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 72

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 72

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J. F. PERRY, County Superintendent of Schools, Joliet ; is a son of Dr. Joseph, of Crete ; he was born in Fairfield, Conn., June 21, 1846 ; his father was a teacher in the public schools of New York City, and the family resided, a portion of the time, on the old homestead in Fairfield, and the balance in New York; in 1854, the family removed to Will Co., settling in Crete ; Mr. Perry prepared for college principally in a classical institution in Bridgeport, Conn., and, in 1866, entercd Yale College, where he graduated in 1870 ; after graduating, he taught a year in the East, and then returned to Illinois ; he taught, one year, as Principal of the pub- lic school in Madison, Cook, Co., and two years, in the same capacity, at Dalton ; in 1874 he came to Joliet as Superintendent of the East Side Schools, continuing as- such until Jan. 1, 1878; in November, 1877, he was elected County Superintend- ent of Schools, which position he now holds.

CAPT. ANSON PATTERSON, mail agent and express messenger of the Joliet branch Michigan Central Railroad, Joliet ; was born in Cayuga Co., N. Y., April 14, 1830 ; when he was about 4 years old, his. . parents removed to Seneca Co., N. Y., in 1845 to Sencca Co., Ohio, and, in 1847, to Will Co., Ill .; his father, Joseph Patter- son, still resides in Joliet Tp. Until the breaking-out of the war, Capt. Patterson followed farming, being engaged for nine years, during the winters, teaching, eight of which he taught in one district. In 1862,

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he entered the 100th Ill. V. I. as First Lieutenant of Co. E, and, after the battle of Chickamauga, was promoted to the rank of Captain, serving till June, 1865 ; among the principal engagements in which he participated were the battle of Chicka- mauga, siege of Atlanta, battles of Jones- boro', Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nash- ville, besides several minor engagements ; he was wounded at the battle of Chicka- mauga Sept. 20, 1863. Returning to Joliet, he was engaged in various kinds of business until 1869, when he was ap- pointed Postmaster at Joliet, holding the office two years, at the end of which time he entered upon his present position. He was married in 1851 to Miss Helen M. McClure, of Joliet; they have had ten children, seven of whom are now living.

JAMES G. PATTERSON, of the firm of James G. Patterson & Son, grocers and news-dealers, Joliet ; was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1831, and came to the United States in 1851, settling in Haver- straw, Rockland Co., N. Y .; three years years later he went to Newburg, thence to New York City, coming to Jolict in the spring of 1855 ; he was engaged in manu- facturing wagons and carriages, and fol- lowed that business until 1862, when he engaged in his present business. He was married April 23, 1855, to Miss Mary A. Harris, of New York City, also a native of County Tyrone, Ireland ; they have seven children-William A., Margaret J., Lillie M., James C., Eliza E., Emma K. and John H.

J. D. PAIGE, proprietor of Paige's Bottling House, Joliet ; was born in Onei- da Co., N. Y., March 27, 1837; in 1844, he accompanied his parents to Jefferson Co., Wis .; in 1857, he left home and came on foot to Joliet, with $1 in his pocket ; he went at once to work, and has been at work ever since ; he has now onc of the largest and best-appointed houses in his line of business in the West; besides which he has established ·branches of his business in Grand Rapids, Mich., Mar- shalltown, Iowa., and Braidwood, Ill .; he was appointed Fire Marshal of Joliet in May, 1877, and has given much study and his best efforts to the Department ; during his administration the Department has been changed from a voluntary to a paid organization, the Gamewell fire-alarm tele-

graph has been introduced, the horses are now owned by the Department (instead of being hired wherever opportunity occurred, as was previously done), and are kept at all times in the engine-houses, with har- ness on, ready to be hitched up at ten sec- onds' notice; many other improvements have been added, and the proficiency to which the Joliet Fire Department has at- tained under the administration of Mr. Paige is cvident from the fact that at the National Firemen's Tournament in Chi- cago, in September, 1878, the Joliet Steamer Company No. 1 carried off first honors in extinguishing burning buildings, with a prize of $350 cash and an elegant silver sct, and also took two other prizes, one of $100 and the other $75; Mr. Paige is at present Township Assessor, to which office he was elected in April, 1878.

CHRISTIAN FERDINAND PAS- OLD, manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes, Joliet; this gentleman is a na- tive of Fleiszen, Bohemia, and was born July 10, 1830 ; he began learning his trade with his father when about 12 years old ; in 1852, he came to this country, spending one year in New York City, and locating in Joliet in 1853; the first cight years he was employed as foreman for Firman Mack, and in the fall of 1860, started in business for himself. He was married April 13, 1857, to Mrs. Catherine Sesser, of Jolict ; she was born in Baireuth, Kingdom of Bavaria, June 5, 1837, and came to Joliet with her parents in 1854; they have eight children -Rosetta, Christian Ferdinand, Jr., Charles Wilhelm, Joseph Friederich, Henry Herman, Oliver George, Flora El- vira and Martin Julius. Mr. Pasold has served two terms in the City Council, from the Third Ward (now the Fourth); in 1869, he was elected City Collector, and, the same year, Town Collector, holding those offices one year.

HON. EDWIN PORTER, proprietor of the Eagle Brewery, and manufacturer of Porter's Joliet Alc and Lager Beer, Jolict; was born in Granger, Medina Co., Ohio, April 19, 1828; went to Cleveland when quite young, and there received an academic education ; in 1856, he came to Joliet, and engaged for two years in man- ufacturing malt; in 1858, he erected his first brewery, which was burncd down in 1868, and, the same year, he erected his

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present extensive buildings. He was Chief Engineer of the Fire Department for five years, beginning in March, 1861 ; he has served three years as member of the City- Council, and, in 1863, was elected Mayor, re-elected in 1864, and again in 1871.

REV. WALTER HENRY POWER, Pastor of St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Joliet ; was born in Waterford, Ireland, in May, 1830 ; he received his classical edu- cation at Tramore, a celebrated watering- place near Waterford ; in March, 1849, he came to America, and entered the Semi- nary of St. Charles Borromeo, on Logan Square, Philadelphia, where he spent five years, and completed his theological stud- ies ; he was ordained a clergyman of the Catholic Church in December, 1853, by Bishop Neumann, of Philadelphia, and was appointed Assistant Pastor of St. Pat- rick's Church, of that city, and was short- ly afterward transferred to St. Philip's Church, Southwark, Philadelphia ; he aft- crward spent a year as assistant to the Foreign Vicar General of the Diocese of Philadelphia ; from there he went to Ham- ilton, C. W., as assistant to the Bishop, where he remained two years; in March, 1859, he came to Illinois, and located at Lacon, Marshall Co., where his jurisdic- tion extended over five counties, embra- cing some half a dozen churches; in June, 1860, he was transferred to Aurora, and in May, 1861, became Pastor of St. Pat- rick's Church, in Chicago; in November, the same year, he assumed the pastoral charge of St. Michael's Church, in Galena, where he remained eight years, coming to Joliet, as Pastor of St. Patrick's Church, in September, 1869.

J. W. PATTERSON, of the firm of Patterson & Longley, dealers in coal, wood and coke, Joliet ; is a native of Newburg, N. Y .; he was born Sept. 12, 1853 ; he is a son of Thomas H. Patterson, of this city ; in early childhood he moved with parents to Haverstraw, N. Y., ncar the battle ground of Stony Point, and there lived until,the spring of 1865, when the family came to Joliet ; he was cducated in the public schools and at Russell's Business College in Jolict ; he also attended the Chicago University for a time; in 1875, he began keeping books for his father and the firm of Lyons & Patterson, and con- tinued at this until 1877, when he engaged

in the coal business for himself. He was married Oct. 18, 1876, to Miss Hattic A. Strickland, daughter of the late Henry Strickland, an early settler of Joliet; they have one child-Claire.

JUDSON C. PORTER, local editor of the Joliet Republican, Joliet ; was born in Fairfield Co., Conn., July 27, 1846; when he was 3 years old, his parents removed to Litchfield Co., in the same State ; at the age of 15, he left home, and went to New Britain, Hartford Co., where he spent two years in the Connecticut State Normal School, after which lie engaged in clerking ; in 1868, he came West, and taught one year in Kankakee; in 1869, he removed to Aurora ; thence, in 1872, to Joliet, and in 1875, became local editor of the Joliet Republican. He was married in New Britain, Conn., Oct. 8, 1867, to Miss Mar- tha J. Holmes, of Hartford Co .; they have two children-Edith May and George E.

FRANK ROBESSON, dealer in gro- ceries, liquors, flour, feed, etc., and propri- etor of Robesson's Hall, Joliet ; was born on the 24th of June, 1828, in that portion of Italy then adjoining and now a part of France ; at the age of 18 years he was ap- prenticed to learn the shoemaker's trade, and two years later (1848), he became a cavalry soldier in Victor Emanuel's Italian army, where he served eight years; after this, he spent one year in Lyons, and, in 1857, came to America ; in 1858, he came to Will Co., and worked three months for Thomas Mapps for his board; after this, he built a small shanty in Joliet and began working at his trade ; he was so poor then that for two days he had nothing to eat ; he followed shoemaking about a year, in the mcan time selling a little confectionery, etc., when, having accumulated a little money, he started in a small way selling liquors, groceries, etc .; he now owns four buildings in Joliet, besides other property ; in 1875, he built Robesson's Hall, at a cost, including lot, of $31,000. He was mar- ried in 1862 to Miss Josephine St. Angie, of Oswego, N. Y., and has one child- Josephinc.

DAVID ROSENHEIM, dealer in cloth- ing, hats, caps, gents' furnishing goods, trunks, valises, etc., Joliet; was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, Dec. 11, 1847 ; he was educated in the public schools of his native country ; on arriving at the age

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of 15 years, he left home and came to this country ; his father had died but a short time before; his mother followed her son about twelve years ago, and now resides in Chicago; on arriving in Joliet, young Rosenheim entered the employ of Morris Einstein, with whom he remained until 1869, when he became a partner in the firm ; in 1875, he purchased his partner's interest in the business, which lic has since continued alone ; he carries a well-selected stock of about $12,000-the largest in his line in the county -- consisting of all grades of men's, youths', boys' and children's cloth- ing, furnishing goods, liats, caps, trunks, valiscs, etc., at prices to suit the times ; he is courteous in manner and honorable in his dealings, and it is these qualities that have contributed largely to his success, He was married June 18, 1878, to Miss Augusta Lindaur, of Chicago. Mr. Rosen- heim is a prominent member of the Ma- sonic fraternity, having taken all the Con- sistory degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry, and for the past year has held the office of High Priest of Joliet Chapter, No. 27, R. A. M.

F. J. RAPPLE, dealer in live stock and proprietor of Joliet Street Market, Joliet ; was born near Strasbourg, Alsace, France, Dec. 19, 1837 ; in 1845, he came with his parents to this country, coming direct to Joliet, where he has lived for thirty- three years. His father, Simon Rapple, a highly-respected farmer of Will Co., died in 1877, leaving five children, the subject of this sketch being the third in age; for the past fifteen years, Mr. Rapple's busi- ness has been farming, dealing in stock, etc. He was married Nov. 13, 1856, to Miss Margaret Adler, daughter of Michacl Adler, one of the early settlers of Joliet ; they have ten children living-Lawrence L., Fred J., Jr., Veronica, John M., Louise B., Simon P., Angic M., Theresa, Ella and Frankie C .; one daughter, Louise, dicd in 1862. Mr. Rapple was elected a member of the Board of Supervisors in 1877, and re-elected in 1878.

BARBER, RANDALL & FULLER, attorneys at law, Joliet; this firm, although existing as a firm only since January, 1877, is composed of some of the oldest and most prominent members of the Will. County bar. Hon. R. E. Barber was born in Rutland Co., Vt., in 1822; at the age

of 10 years, he came with his father's family to Will Co .; he read law in Joliet, and was admitted to the bar in 1847; in 1852, he was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court of Will County, holding the office until 1856 ; he lias been a member of the Board of School Inspectors some ten years ; in 1876, he was chosen Mayor of Joliet, and served one term. Hon. S. W. Randall is a native of Hoosick Falls, Rens- selaer Co., N. Y .; he was born March 23, 1808, but removed to Fredonia, Chautauqua Co., when about 9 years of age; he was educated at the public schools and at Fre- donia Academy ; at the age of 16, he began as an apprentice to learn the printer's trade, and worked two years on the ' Fredonia Censor ; he afterward removed to Frank- lin, Venango Co., Penn., and began read- ing law in the office of Judge Galbraith, and afterward with the late Chief Justice Thompson, in the mean time teaching school and working at the printer's trade ; he was admitted to the bar in 1834, and, in 1835, removed to Erie, Penn., and engaged in practicing law and in editing the Erie Observer; in 1843, he came to Joliet, and engaged in the practice of his profession ; he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court in-, and served- years ; in 1850, he was elected to the State Legislature, and has held other offices of trust and re- sponsibility. Buel A. Fuller was born in Coles Co., Ill., Aug. 8, 1833 ; his parents removed to Danville, Ill., in 1835, and about five years later to Perryville, Ind .; there he entered 'a printing office, working during the day, and attending school even- ings ; about 1848, at the age of 15, he en- gaged in publishing the Temperance Jour- nal and Son's Companion in Danville, Ill., the first temperance paper in the State ; he afterward went to Louisville, Ky., and thence to Madison, Ind., as foreman on the Madison Courier; in 1852, he came to Joliet, and became joint-owner and pub- lisher of the True Democrat with Alex- ander McIntosh ; after awhile, his health failing, he retired from the newspaper business, but resumed it again in 1856 as publisher of the Kankakee Democrat; in the mean time he had been pursuing the study of law, and, in 1857, was admitted to the bar in Joliet ; the next year he was elected City Attorney, serving two terms. The integrity, affability and modesty of all

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these gentlemen are so well known in Will Co., as to require no mention here.

CHARLES RICHARDS, M. D., phy- sician and surgeon, Joliet ; was born in Newport, Herkimer Co., N. Y., July 26, 1832; at the age of 10 years, he removed with his parents to New Haven, Huron Co., Ohio ; after receiving an English educa- tion, he began the study of medicine in the office of. Dr. F. G. Armstrong, of New Haven, Ohio ; he attended medieal lectures at the Albany Medical College, where he graduated in 1855; he then located in New Haven, Ohio, and practiced medi- eine there until 1868, when he came to Joliet, and has been a practicing physician here ever since. He is a member of the Will County Medical Society, of which he was formerly Secretary ; he held the office of Coroner of Will County from 1870 to 1874. He was married on the 25th of March, 1858, to Miss Harriet Mulford, of New Haven, Olio.

DAVID RICHARDS, farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Joliet; was born in Herkimer Co., N. Y., March 27, 1813; he was raised to the dairying business, which he followed until he came West in 1837, making the journey with a team, and settling in Joliet ; the first three years he spent in handling stock through the West, buying principally in Illinois and driving to Wisconsin and selling to the settlers ; he then engaged in the meat bus- iness in Joliet, handling stock at the same time; in 1842, the State became bankrupt and all internal improvements ceasing, Mr. Richards being engaged in supplying the contractors on the Canal, became involved in the financial wreck, and althoughi he paid in full, lost the accumulation of years; in 1844, he engaged in farming and rais- ing and dealing in stock, in which he has continued with good success to the present time ; he was one of the parties engaged in the Joliet Woolen-Mill enterprise which Was started in 1866; he had the manage- ment of the fecding department of the Michigan Central Stock-Yards, for seven- tecn years, and received the first ear-load of stock which was shipped into Joliet by rail; he subdivided and sold the east half of the northwest quarter of Section 15, known as the Canal Trustees' Subdivision, and embracing a part of the best-settled portion of the city at the present time ;

he still owns a large amount of real estate in the city, besides about seven hundred acres of farm lands in the county ; he erected his fine residence on the corner of Washington and Richards streets in 1860. He has been too much engaged in his own business to seek or accept public office of any kind. Mr. Richards was married Jan. 16, 1840, to Miss Mary A. Larraway, of Herkimer Co., N. Y .; they have six children living-Mary, now Mrs. T. H. Ingersoll, of Joliet ; Nancy Jeanette, wife of J. D. Smith, of Omaha, Neb .; John, Newton, William M. and Anson.

JOSEPH REICHMAN, of the firm of J. and J. Reichman, proprietors of the Joliet Meat Market, No. 4, Chicago street, Joliet ; was born in Baden, Germany, Feb. 13, 1836; in that country it is necessary for every boy or young man to serve an apprenticeship to whatever business he in- tends to follow through life; Mr. Reich- man remained on the farm until he was about 16 years of age, and then began learning his present business ; in 1855, he came to this country, and after spending a few months in Erie, Penn., came to Chi- cago ; in 1857, he settled in Joliet and en- gaged in his present business, being the oldest in the business in the city ; he has attended strictly to business and enjoys the results of his labors in a fine home adjoining the city. He was married in July, 1869, to Miss Annie Koch, of Joliet ; they have had five children, three of whom are living-Anton, Mary and Albert.

JOSEPH J. REICHMAN, of the above firm was born in Baden, Germany, March 17, 1851, and lived there until he was 17 years old ; in 1868, he eame to the United States, coming direct to Joliet, where he entered the employ of his uncle, Joseph Reichman, in the market business, and, in 1874, became a partner in the firm. He was married Jan. 14, 1872, to Miss Chris- tina Wucherpfening, of Mokena, Will Co., and has three children living-Regina, Julius and Amalia ; his oldest child, Josc- phina, died in infancy.

JOHN H. RAPPLE, dealer in live- stock and proprictor of Rapple's meat mar- ket, No. 3, North Bluff street, Joliet; is a native of this county; he was born in Jolict Township, on the 20th of January, 1848; he is a son of Simon Rapple, who came to Will County from Alsace, in 1845;

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he was educated in the parish schools of Joliet ; he followed farming until 1870, when he engaged in business for himself in the confectionery trade ; in July, 1874, he went to Southwestern Kansas and opened a farm and remained there until the summer of 1877, when he returned to Joliet and engaged in his present business.

HOPKINS ROWELL, contractor, Joliet ; was born in Hopkinton, N. H., May 16, 1810 ; removed, in infancy, with his parents, to Clarkson, Monroe Co., N. Y. (then part of Genesee Co.), and there lived until he first came West, in 1834 ; he followed the business of brickmaking and farming, receiving an academic educa tion in the Clarkson Academy ; he came West, as an explorer, in 1834 and 1835, and on his latter visit purchased from the Government 80 acres of land, containing the gravel-pit adjoining the city on the east, first buying the claim of John Cook, an old Revolutionary soldier, who had set- tled there in 1832 ; he also purchased an- other tract, of 160 acres, near by ; he still, retains his original purchases, on one of which he began about twelve years ago to develop the extensive gravel-pit above al- luded to ; in 1847, Mr. Rowell again came West, as the General Agent for C. H. McCormick for this region of country, in- cluding Wisconsin, Northern Indiana and Northern Illinois; he was the first to introduce the McCormick Reaper in Jolict, selling it to Robert Stevens, Henry D. Higinbotham and Mansfield Wheeler ; this reaper was in existence until a few years ago, when it was allowed to be destroyed, much to Mr. Rowell's regret; in 1857, Mr. Rowell located here, with his family, and has since been a permanent resident; he is the author of a pamphlet entitled, " The Great Resources and Superior Ad- vantages of Joliet," published in 1871, of which 20,000 copies were circulated, and did much toward bringing the nat- ural resources of Joliet to the attention of capitalists and others, in the East ; he also furnished numerous articles on the subject to the Eastern papers, besides per- sonally visiting, on the part of the city, several of the Eastern cities. He was married in 1848, in Watertown, N. Y., to Miss Mary E. Blood, of that city, and has five children-Jacob H., of Minneapolis, Minn., Annie J., Nathaniel J., Laura J.

and S. Jennie. Mr. Rowell has absolutely declined being a candidate for any office, both before and since coming to Joliet.

R. ROBERTSON, proprietor of the Robertson House, Joliet; was born in Fifeshire, on the Firth of Forth, Scotland, within a few miles of the City of Edin- burgh, May 16, 1822 ; he was raised to the business of flour-milling, and, at the age of 20 years, came to America, and settled in New York City ; therc he en- gaged in the distillery business, which he continucd until 1864, and then came to Joliet and purchased the Joliet Distillery, which he run for two years ; in 1872, he built the Robertson House, which burned down in 1874; the following year, he erected the present elegant four-story-and- basement building, containing seventy-two slecping-rooms above the office floor, com- modious and spacious parlors, etc. ; this is the largest hotel within a circuit of forty miles. Mr. Robertson was married, previ- ously to coming to this country, to Miss Margaret Duncan, of Alloway, Scotland, and has six children living.

ERNEST RUDD, farmer, Sec. 23, P. O. Joliet ; born in Will Co., Ill., Aug. 24, 1854, where he has always lived, and followed the occupation of farming upon the place where he now resides; he owns 50 acres of land, two and one-half miles from Joliet, valued at $60 per acre. Mar- ried Martha M. Miller, May 21, 1875 ; she she was born in Niagara Co., N. Y., March 20, 1853 ; they have two children-George Sanford, born Dec. 12, 1876; David Clar- ence, born Aug. 11, 1878.

MRS. PHŒBE RUSSELL; P. O. Joliet ; one of the early settlers of Will County ; was born in Onondaga County, N. Y., Nov. 1, 1812. She is a daughter of Benjamin and Phoebe Weaver, and came to Homer Tp. with them in 1833. Her father was familiarly known as " Uncle Ben Weaver," and was a promi- nent citizen of Homer till his deatlı in March, 1872, at the age of 91 ycars. Her mother had died ten years previously. Miss Weaver was first married Dec. 12, 1833, to Chester Ingersoll, a native of Vermont, who settled in Will County in 1828, and took an active part in the Black Hawk war. After their marriage, they removed to Chicago and kept the first hotel kept by an American in that city ;

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returning after two years, they settled in Plainfield ; and, seven years later, re- moved to Lockport, thence to Wheatland, and, in 1847, removed to California; Mr. Ingersoll died in San Francisco in Sept. 1850, and Mrs. Ingersoll returned with her family in Will County ; the family con- sisted of four children-Chester, now of Kansas ; Benjamin F,, who served through the war, and now resides in Joliet; Josiah, who also served through the war, and died in January, 1871, from disease contracted in the service of his country ; and James K. P., now of this city. In July, 1851, Mrs. Ingersoll married the late Benjamin F. Russell, of Steuben Co., N. Y., a native of New Hampshire ; they resided in Homer until Mr. Russell's election as Circuit Clerk and Recorder of Will County, in 1859, and then they removed to Joliet ; Mr. Russell held the office two terms of four years each, making one of the most efficient officers the county ever had ; he also held the office of Assistant Assessor of Internal Revenue two terms; he died Sept. 12, 1874, and in his death Will County lost one of her most honored citizens. He left three daughters-Emily J., Ida M. and Mary W .; but one of whom is now living-Ida May, now Mrs. J. J. La Fon- taine, of Joliet; he also left one son of a former marriage-Francis A., now of Michigan. Mrs. Russell was on the first stage ever run from Chicago to Plain- field, when there was but one house between the two places.

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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 72

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