The History of Will County, Illinois : containing a history of the county a directory of its real estate owners; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; general and local statistics.history of Illinois history of the Northwest, Part 70

Author:
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago : Wm. Le Baron, jr. & co.
Number of Pages: 980

USA > Illinois > Will County > The History of Will County, Illinois : containing a history of the county a directory of its real estate owners; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; general and local statistics.history of Illinois history of the Northwest > Part 70

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

FRED. KIESSLING, buteher and stock dealer, Joliet ; born in Bavaria, Ger- many June 13, 1850, where he lived and attended school until 13 years of age, when he was apprenticed in the butehering busi- ness for three years, which time he served and, after successfully passing his examin- ation, he emigrated to America, landing in New York Oct. 5, 1866; coming directly West, he located in Joliet, Will Co., Ill., where he has sinee continued to live; for ten years he resided on Summer'st., West Side, Joliet ; being an excellent judge of stock, he has been engaged in buying stock for other parties when not engaged in buying on his own account; sinee lo- cating here he has given his exelusive attention to buying and shipping stoek in connection with his butehering business, his store and market being located corner Bluff st. and Western ave., West Side, Joliet.

THOMAS KEEGAN, retired mill- wright, Joliet; born in county of West Meath, Ireland, April 11, 1803, where he learned and worked at the millwright trade until 29 years of age, when he immi- grated to Canada, landing at Quebec in 1832; here he engaged upon Government works until the eholera forced him to leave, when he went to Toronto and engaged at his trade for three years ; next, to Roches- ter for three years, then to Rome, Mich., for eighteen months ; from there he went

to Chicago, from which place he came by stage to Joliet, where he located his family May 20, 1840, which place he has since made his home; he owns a fine residenee on Centre st., which he erected in 1850; Mr. K.'s first work in Joliet was building Jones' steam flour-mill in 1840, being the first mill of the kind in Joliet ; from there he, with John Clarkson, went to Marseilles, and built the first flour-mill of that place, then to New Orleans, where he remained until being driven away by the yellow fever, when he came back to Joliet, since which time his skill and labor have been extensively employed in all the neighboring towns as well as in Janesville and Watertown, Wis. He married May 11, 1835, to Ann O'Brien, born in Ireland in 1807; ten children were the fruits of this union, nine of whom are deceased ; Ellen, the one living, now lives with her parents.

E. R. KNOWLTON, dealer in grain, hard and soft coal and wood, Joliet ; is a son of Calvin Knowlton, President of the Will County National Bank ; he was born in Worcester, Mass., Jan. 23, 1844; at the age of 7 years, he accompanied his parents to New Albany, Ind. ; thenee shortly afterward to Michigan City, and, in 1856, to Joliet ; he attended the public schools of this city. His first business ex- perience was in the hay business in Matte- son, Cook Co., Ill., where he remained about two years ; he then returned to Wor- eester Co., Mass., and engaged in farming, and after six years, came again to Joliet, sinee which time he has been in the grain business here. He was married Jan. 11, 1865, to Miss Alice J. Wheeler, of Matte- son, Cook Co., Ill., and has one child- Mary L.

ALONZO LEACH, retired, Joliet ; was born in Sangerfield, Oncida Co., N. Y., Sept. 28, 1816; when he was 8 years of age, he left his native county, and went to Eaton, Madison Co., N. Y .; in 1836, he went to Michigan, and in 1838, eame to Joliet ; he spent about a year in charge of a hotel, and then engaged in the soap and ehandlery business ; in 1842, he was elected Constable, and appointed Deputy Sheriff, and served until 1848, when he was elected Sheriff of Will Co. The constitution not allowing an incumbent of the office to liold two terms in succession, he retired at the end of his term, but was again elected in

692

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

1852, and again in 1858 ; in the mean time he was engaged in farming and stock-rais- ing. On the breaking-out of the war, he was appointed sutler of the 4th Ill. V. C., under Col. Dickey. After the battle of Pittsburg Landing, he sold out and returned home, where he engaged in dealing in stock. He was appointed Postmaster at Joliet in 1867, and held the office two years. He was married May 10, 1856, to Mrs. Mary Gutterson, of Joliet, who died Nov. 2, 1866. Mr. Leach was married again, May 8, 1870, to Mrs. Mary J. White, of Joliet; she died Jan. 31, 1871.

JOHN LAMBERT, dealer in coal, wood, coke, etc., Joliet ; was born in Lam- bertville, Hunterdon Co., N. J., Jan. 12, 1847. In January, 1862, at the age of 16 years, he enlisted in Co. D, 1st New Jersey V. C. ; served one year on detailed duty in Virginia, and was discharged by reason of ill health ; he again volunteered as a Sergeant in Co. A, 3d N. J. V. C., serving till the close of the war ; during the first year he was detailed as private orderly to Gen. Burnside ; afterward, under Gen. Custer, he participated in the Shenandoah campaign of 1864, including the battles around Washington, the battle of Win- chester, and terminating in the splendid victory of Cedar Creek, the occasion of Gen. Sheridan's famous ride " From Win- chester twenty miles away ; " in 1865, in the battles of Waynesboro, Ashland, Dinwiddie Court House and Five Forks, where he was wounded by a fragment of a shell, losing a part of his left hand, and also had his horse shot under him ; after this he participated in all the battles under Grant until the surrender of Lee, and in the grand review of the army in Washing- ton, where his company was reduced to but four men able to perform duty out of the original number of 101. He was discharged Aug. 9, 1865. Mr. Lambert came to Grundy Co., Ill., in 1867, and in 1870, to Joliet. He was for six years an officer at the State Penitentiary, after which he served as Deputy Sheriff under Warren S. Noble, serving during the strike in Braid- wood in 1877. During the exciting polit- ical campaign of 1876, Mr. Lambert organ- ized the Republican Guards of Jolict, of which he was chosen Captain. He was married in April, 1876, to Miss M. E.

Bishop, of Joliet, and has one child- Anna E.

JOHN C. LANG, editor of the Joliet Republican, Joliet, is a son of Thomas J. Lang, one of the early settlers of Will County, who emigrated from Groton, N. H., to this county in 1836, and settled in the town of Frankfort ; afterward removed to Plainfield, where he now residcs. John C. Lang was born in Frankfort, Will Co., March 24, 1844; in 1862, he entered the Union army as a member of Co. D, 100th I. V. I., and served till the close of the war, participating in all the arduous service and all the battles of that regi- ment, and returning with it in 1865. He then spent two years on the farm, and, in 1867, made the trip via the Isthmus and California, to Arizona Territory, where he remained three years, engaged in mining, and in the employ of the Government in the Quartermaster's Department ; in July, 1870, after his return from the West, he entered the employ of the Illinois State Penitentiary, in this city, occupying suc- cessively the positions of Guard, Keeper, Assistant Deputy, and Deputy Warden, until October, 1874; from December, 1874, to August, 1875, he was employed on the Joliet Record, since which time he has been editor of the Republican. He was married Nov. 19, 1874, to Miss Emma Webster, of Joliet, and has two children- Francis M. and Horace W.

H. M. LYFORD, dealer in clothing, hats, caps, furs and furnishing goods, Joliet ; has been engaged in his present business in this city since 1868; he is a native of the Province of Quebec; he was born in Stanstead, Dec. 3, 1844; he lived there until he was about 17 years of age, when he left home, and, going to Boston, entered a wholesale grocery house as a clerk, remaining there four years ; on com- ing West, he went first to St. Louis, where he remained about a year and a half, com- ing to Joliet as above stated ; his business career in this city has been a successful one, as he studies the wants of his cus- tomers, and uses every endeavor to supply thiem, keeping a fine line of goods at the lowest prices. Mr. Lyford was married in December, 1865, to Miss Ellen A. Ladd, of his native town, a daughter of O. A. Ladd, now of this city ; they have one son -- Winfield E. Lyford. Mr. Lyford is Col-

693

JOLIET TOWNSHIP.

lector of the city and township of Joliet, to which office he was elected in June, 1878.

JOHN D. LELAND, Steward of the Illinois State Penitentiary, Joliet. John D. Leland, born in the State of New York, came West in 1868, and was soon there- after, under Elmer Washburn, Warden, appointed Steward of the Illinois State Penitentiary, which position he success- fully held until August, 1872, when under the force of circumstances he was induced to resign ; after a few years spent in farm- ing, and on the produce market, liis well- known qualities as to economy and carefulness in performing the duties of Steward of the Penitentiary, gave reason for a renewed call to that position, in 1877; under his present supervision, the extensive commissary department of the Penitentiary has been managed at less ex- pense and to more general satisfaction than at any previous time in the history of the institution.

JOHN LEY, farmer, Sec. 18; P. O. Joliet; was born in Prussia Oct. 17, 1823, where he followed farming until 19 years of age, when he emigrated with his parents to America in 1842, and settled in Will Co., Joliet Tp., on Sec. 19, living there until 1852, when he removed two miles east of Joliet, near the Red Mill, where he lived until 1856, when he settled upon his present place ; he owns 220 acres of well-improved land, which he has accumulated by his own energy and industry. He married, in 1847, Elizabeth Magert ; she was born in Vir- ginia ; they have four children living, viz., John, Valentine, Frederick D. and Law- rence; the deceased are Joseph and Hub- bert. Mr. Ley has held the office of School Director for three years ; also, as Road Commissioner.

FRANK E. MARSH, of the firm of Carpenter & Marsh, grain merchants and proprietors of the Union Transfer Elevator, Joliet ; was born in Joliet June 27, 1849; he is the son of H. N. Marsh, an early set- tler of Will Co., and for many years past the agent of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company in this city. He was educated in the public schools of Joliet, and at the Chicago Academy; in 1868, he became ticket agent and telegraph · operator of thé C., R. I. & P. R. R.,

and continued till the spring of 1874, when he entered into partnership with H. S. Carpenter in the grain and elevator busi- ness ; they are now the heaviest dealers in Northern Illinois outside of Chicago ; they do an extensive export business, about three-fourths of their grain being pur- chased for foreign shipment. Mr. Marsh was Superintendent of the Will County Historical Society in 1871 and 1872, pre- viously to its being merged into the Joliet Public Library. He was married Feb. 4, 1873, to Miss Kate Richmond, of Joliet, and has two children - Horatio Richmond and Loren William.

H. N. MARSH, freight and ticket agent of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company ; has been a resident of Joliet since 1835 ; he is a native of Franklin Co., Mass., and was born Nov. 15, 1812; about 1828, his parents emi- grated to Western New York, where they resided until 1835, when they came to Will Co., and settled in what is now Crete Tp., Mr. Marsh at the same time locating in Joliet ; he followed his previous business of cabinet-making until the spring of 1847, when he purchased the True Democrat, which, on the organization of the Repub- lican party, was changed to the Joliet Republican; previous to this, he had served two years as School Commissioner of the county ; he continued to publish the True Democrat until July, 1852, and in October of the same year, on the com- pletion of the C., R. I. & P. Railroad to this point, he took charge of the office in this city, and has remained in charge ever since, with the exception of an interval of three years, from 1864 to 1867, during which period he served as Postmaster of Joliet; in 1850, he was appointed Asst. U. S. Marshal, to take the census of Will Co .; he was elected a member of the City Council in 1876, and again in 1878.

GEORGE J. MUNROE, attorney at law and financial agent, Joliet ; was born in Baraboo, Sauk Co., Wis., Feb. 11, 1853; after receiving an English education in his native county, he entered Oberlin College, Ohio, at the age of 16 years, and after spending two years in that institution, became a student in the National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, graduating from the classical department in 1872; he had previously been engaged in teaching during

694

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

his vacations, and after graduating he assumed charge of the public school at Marlboro, Stark Co., Ohio, remaining one year ; he then spent about six months in traveling in the West, after which he began the study of the law in the office of Sleeper & Whiton in Chicago, and also attended one course of lectures at the Union College of Law in that city ; he was admitted to the bar Jan. 15, 1877, and practiced in Chicago until the fall of the same year ; in March, 1878, he settled in Joliet, and entered upon the practice of his profession ; in addition to his law practice, he does quite an ex- tensive business in loaning money for Eastern capitalists. He was married Nov. 21, 1877, to Miss Addie P. Simonds, eldest daughter of S. O. Simonds, Esq., of Joliet.

G. MUNROE & SON, wholesale and retail grocers, Joliet ; this is the largest grocery house in Will Co., doing a business of at least a quarter of a million dollars per annum; it was established in 1865 ; George Munroe, the senior member, was born in Jefferson Co., N. Y., April 4, 1821; he came to Will Co. in 1849, and spent thirteen years in farming in Florence Tp .; previously to this, he had been en- gaged in the foundry business. He was elected Sheriff of Will Co., in 1862, and served two years; has also served one term as School Trustee, and one term on the Board of Aldermen. George H. Mun- roe, son of George Munroe, is also a native of Jefferson Co., N. Y., where he was born Sept. 24, 1844, and accompanied his par- ents to Will Co. in 1849. On the election of his father as Sheriff, in 1862, he en- tered the office as Deputy Sheriff, remain- ing two years. In 1865, he became a partner in the firm of G. Munroe & Son .. He was married in May, 1869, to Miss Eva Weeks, of Joliet. In 1875, the Joliet Stone Company was organized, and Mr. Munroe, being one of the three equal stock- holders, was made President, which posi- tion he still holds ; he is also Treasurer of the Joliet Opera House Company.

UZIAH MACK, manufacturer and wholesale and retail dealer in boots and shoes, Joliet ; was born in Northampton Co., Penn., Jan. 14, 1835; in early child- hood, he accompanied his parents to North- umberland Co., and several years later, to Montour Co., in the same State, where he

1 lived until he came to Joliet, in 1858. In July, 1862, he enlisted in Co. H, 100th Ill. Vols .; was appointed Sergeant, and afterward promoted to Sergeant Major, and finally to First Lieutenant of Co. K, in which position he served till the close of war; he served under Gen. Thomas in the Army of the Cumberland, and with Sher- man in his march through Georgia, as far as Jonesboro and Lovejoy; he was with the command from the time it left home until its return, in 1865. After the war, he went to St. Joseph, Mo., and engaged in business, remaining there two years, when he sold out and returned to Joliet, where he entered into partnership with his uncle, Firman Mack, in the wholesale and retail boot and shoe business, the firm be- ing F. & U. Mack, which continued until the death of his partner, Aug. 10, 1872, since which time he has continued the business alone. He was married April 19, 1867, to Miss Jennie Flemming, of Truro, Nova Scotia ; she died Oct. 15, 1876, leaving three children-Robert L., Mary and Willie.

ISAAC T. MILLSPAUGH, Police Magistrate, Joliet ; was born in Orange Co., N. Y., Feb. 26, 1820 ; his parents died when he was about 15 years old, and he then went "out West " to Tompkins Co., N. Y. ; he made his home there and in Cort- land Co. until 1844, when he removed to Joliet ; he followed his trade of a black- smith for a year or more, and made the first steel plow in Joliet ; he then went to Chicago and engaged as fireman on the old Chicago & Galena Union R. R. (now a branch of the Chicago & Northwestern), which extended at that time but eight miles west of Chicago ; he fired the first new locomotive on that road ; about a year later, he returned to Joliet, and run one season on the packet from Chicago to Peru ; he then became a fireman on the Chicago & Rock Island R. R., and run the first en- gine into Joliet, in 1852 ; he was the first blacksmith in the Chicago & Alton round- house, where he worked half a dozen years or more. He served for fourteen years as Assessor for Joliet Tp .; he was elected Police Magistrate in May, 1878. He was married in March, 1842, to Miss Charlotte Elizabeth Noyes, of Cortland Co., N. Y .; she died in 1846, leaving one son, Charles H., who served through the late war as Drum

695

JOLIET TOWNSHIP.

Major of the 100th Ill. Vols., and is now a musician in Joliet. Mr. Millspaugh was married again, in July, 1852, to Miss Mary L. Roberts, of Joliet, formerly of Lock- port, N. Y .; they have one son-Frank D., a fireman on the Michigan Central R. R.

G. N. MARVIN, keeper, weighmaster, shipper and receiver, State Prison, Joliet ; was born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., in 1818 ; his early life was that of a farmer's son ; he followed agricultural pursuits during his residence at the East ; in 1858, he came West and located in Plainfield, Will Co., where he was employed as foreman on the farm of Å. McAllister for one year ; he then purchased a farm on the Plainfield road two miles west of Joliet, which he farmed two or three years; he next re- turned East and spent one or two years ; after traveling some months, he again returned West to Joliet, and was en- gaged as foreman on the farm of William P. Caton for three seasons; he had charge of 1,500 acres, harvesting about 400 acres of meadow each season; Jan. 9, 1868, he connected himself with the prison and has remained here ever since. His first mar- riage to Marietta Hammond occurred in 1838; his second marriage to Laura C. Barber, a native of Pennsylvania, was cel- ebrated in 1873; has three children- Emma A., George W. and William A., all married.

ALEXANDER MCKEOWN, rail in- spector, Joliet Iron and Steel Works, Joliet; was born in Antrim Co., Ireland, Feb. 2, 1851 ; he attended the common schools and besides was a student in Kennedy College, Dublin, nine months; he immi- grated to America May 1, 1872, and first settled in Joliet, where he engaged in learn- ing core-making in the Jolict Foundry ; at this he spent eleven months and then en- gaged in the steel-rail mill as laborer ; here he worked two months, when he was promoted to the position of rail inspector, night turn; he served two years and at the shutting-down of the mills in 1873, he went to Springfield and labored at gencral work in the mills there four months ; subsequently, he labored at Bridgeport mills seven months, and on the re-open- ing of the Joliet mills, returned and was for three years and four mouths rail · inspector on the night turn; in 1877, he

went to the Vulcan Mills, in St. Louis, and remained seven months; he then went to Mississippi and was engaged at various points in State work till March, 1878, when he returned to Joliet and was pro- moted May 1 following, on the re-open- ing of the mills, to the position of rail inspector, day turn; thus, by close atten- tion to business and strict uprightness with his employers, he has secured for himself a position of responsibility and trust which he richly merits.

COL. S. W. MUNN, attorney at law, Joliet ; was born in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., May 14, 1824; his father was poor and unable to assist him in obtaining an education, and he was, therefore, obliged to to depend upon his own exertions for what learning he received ; he worked on a farm for $8 per month, for nine months, attend- ing a district school during the remaining three months; thus he worked two years for onc man ; he also spent six months at a seminary in his native county ; in 1845, he left home on foot, with carpet-bag in hand and $30 in his pocket. and went to Ashtabula Co., Ohio, where he engaged in teaching and attending school at Grand River Institute, a Presbyterian manual- labor school, where he could pay his way by his industry ; here he remained three years, in the mean time reading thoroughly a few of the elementary works on law. In 1848, he married Miss Imogene Mixer and removed to Wisconsin, where he com- pleted his law studies and was admitted to the bar and began practice in 1850; in September of the same year his wife died, leaving one child-Charles W., who is now engaged in practice with his father in Jolict ; in 1852, he went to California, and engaged in mining and surveying for the Government ; returning, he located in Wil- mington, Ill., and resumed the practice of his profession. In August, 1861, he raised a company of volunteers in Wilmington, of which he was commissioned Captain, and which was mustered in as Co. A, of the 39th I. V. I .; in December, 1862, he was promoted to Major, and served till Janu- uary, 1863, when he was compelled by failing health to resign ; he participated in the campaign of 1862, in the Shenandoah · Valley, including the battle of Winches- ter, then under Gen. McClellan until the army left Harrison's Landing, in August,

696

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

1862, when his Division was ordered to Suffolk, Va., where it remained until he resigned. On his return to Wilmington, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney for the then Ninth Judicial Circuit, serving four years; in the spring of 1865, he re- moved to Joliet, where he has since been engaged in general practice of law, and in November last was elected as Represent- ative to the Legislature; he served for a time on Governor Cullom's Staff, with the rank of Colonel. Col. Munn was married in 1851, to Miss A. O. Crocker, of Madison, Ohio; they have two children-Minnie I. (wife of R. A. Chapin, of Colo.) and Frank E., a law student in Geneva, Ohio.

CAPT. ALEXANDER McINTOSH, political editor of the Joliet Sun, Joliet ; was born in Fulton Co., N. Y., of Scotch parent- age in 1822 ; he was raised on a farm ; when he was 19 years of age, he entered the academy at Galway Center, Saratoga Co., N. Y., as a student, and acquired a liberal education, spending three years in that institution ; he came to Joliet, Ill., in 1845, and, in 1847, started in Joliet the True Democrat, now the Joliet Repub- lican; he sold out in 1848, and, in 1849, went to California, where he remained three years; returning to Joliet in 1852, he repurchased the True Democrat, which he published and edited until 1857; in 1856, he was elected on the Republican ticket Circuit Clerk and Recorder of Will Co., for a term of four years; in 1863, he was appointed by President Lincoln, Captain and Quartermaster in the United States Army was with Sherman's army in 1864 ; was on the famous march to the sea, and up through the Carolinas and Virginia to Washington; he was retained in the serv- ice after the disbanding of the volunteers, being assigned to Mobile as Post Quarter- master ; in 1866, he resigned this position and returning Will Co., embarked in mer- cantile business in Wilmington ; in 1869, he purchased the Wilmington Independent, which he published until 1873; in the spring of 1874, he returned to Joliet, and in the fall of the same year became the political editor of the Joliet Republican, which position he retained till January, 1877 ; in the fall of that year, he entered upon the editorial management of the Joliet Phoenix, from which he withdrew in July, 1878, to assume the position of political

editor of the Joliet Sun; Capt. McIntosh joined the Republican party upon its organ- ization in 1856, and has ever remained true to its principles, and, although a man of pronounced views on all political and moral questions, and participating in many exciting political campaigns, he retains the entire respect and confidence of his fellow- citizens of all parties.

F. MUNCH, dealer in coal, wood, coke, etc., Joliet ; is a son of F. X. Munch, who came to this country from Alsace, settling in Will Co., in 1839; he served as a soldier in the war with Mexico, and is now a highly respected citizen of Joliet Tp .; his son, F. Munch, was born in Joliet Tp. April 3, 1851, and remained at home un- til he was nineteen years of age, and then spent two summers in working near Mi- nooka ; in 1873, he came to Joliet City, and spent two years in the employ of J. Q. A. King, starting in business for him- self in 1875. He was married Nov. 16, 1876, to Miss Jennie Hurley, daughter of William Hurley, of Minooka; they have one child-Louis I.

DAVID G. MURPHY, firm of Mur- phy Brothers, livery and feed stable, Joliet ; is a native of County Roscommon, Ireland ; he was born Jan. 14, 1844 ; his father, P. F. Murphy, came to this country in 1850, settling in the town of Troy, where he was a prominent and respected citizen for twenty-seven years; he died in 1877, at the age of 92 years ; the family consisted of fourteen children, nine brothers and five sisters, eight of whom are living; David G. resided in Troy until March, 1874; fol- lowed farming, and represented his town- ship in the County Board of Supervisors for three years ; on coming to Joliet, he engaged with Francis Murphy in his pres- ent business. ' In 1876, he was elected Supervisor in Jolict by a very large ma- jority, but declined to serve. He was married June 10, 1868, to Miss Mary McGuire, of Lockport, Ill., and has five children - Catherine F., Mary Alice, Thomas B., Winnifred A. and Angela A. Mr. Murphy's brother, Father Thomas B. Murphy, late Pastor of St. Mary's Church, in this city, died April 10, 1878; he was a gentleman universally respected and be- loved, not only by the members of his con- gregation, but by the entire population of the city and county.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The History of Will County, Illinois : containing a history of the county a directory of its real estate owners; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; general and local statistics.history of Illinois history of the Northwest, Part 70

Author: Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Chicago : Wm. Le Baron, jr. & co. Number of Pages: 980

Author:
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago : Wm. Le Baron, jr. & co.
Number of Pages: 980