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 73

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 73

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ROSITER RUDD, farmer, Sec. 24; P. O. Joliet; was born in Lafayette, Ind., Nov. 3, 1840 ; removed with his father's family to Jolict Township, Will Co., Ill., when 1 year old; he worked upon his father's farm until 24 years of age, when his father died and Mr. Rudd became the possessor of his present farm, which con- sists of sixty acres of well-improved land, valued at $50 per acre. Married Aug. 15, 1860, Miss Jane Gregg ; she was a native of Canada ; they are the parents of five children-Luly, Fayty, Harriet, Free- man and Mansfield, all living ; Mr. Rudd has filled the office of School Director for six years with entire satisfaction.

MOTHER M. FRANCIS SHANA- HAN, Joliet ; Superior of the Convent of the Sisters of St. Francis ; is a native of County Limerick, Ireland ; when quite

young, she came to this country with her parents, who settled in New York State, residing in Cold Spring and Hudson, and afterward removed to Chicago; she was educated in St. Patrick's School, in Chicago, completing her studies there when about 17 years of age ; she remained with her parents until she entered into religion at the age of 24; after completing her novitiate, she was made Directress of the school of St. Boniface in Chicago; one year later, she was transferred to Freeport, Ill., returning thence to Chicago, from which city she went to Mansfield, Ohio, as Directress of St. Peter's School, and in June, 1877, came to Joliet as Superior of the Convent here; this is the mother house of the order in this portion of the country, having twenty-one missions in Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Missouri ; there are eight teachers in the home institution, five of whom are engaged in teaching in the academy, and three in Father Gerardus' Parochial School.

W. W. STEVENS, attorney at law, Joliet ; was born in Oxford Co., Maine, July 14, 1832 ; when he was but two. years of age, his parents removed to Dover, thence to Sullivan Co., N. H., where he made his home until 1855. He received an academic education at the Andover Academy, N. H., where he grad- uated in July, 1854; the following year he came to Will Co., and engaged in teaching, soon afterward settling in Joliet, where he studied law in the office of Parks & Elwood; he was admitted to the bar in March, 1859, and has contin- ued the practice of his profession ever since; he formerly did an extensive in- surance business, having the largest agency in the city ; but in 1873, he disposed of that branch of his business to A. A. Osgood ; he was elected City Attorney in 1863, and has been several times re- clected to the same office; he has, also, served three years on the Board of School Inspectors. He was married Sept. 6, 1859, to Miss Althea H. Hawley, daugh- ter of Oscar L. Hawley, one of the earliest settlers of Will Co., and has seven children.

HON. HENRY SNAPP, attorney at law, of the firm of Snapp & Snapp, Joliet ; was born in Livingston. Co., N. Y., June 30, 1822; when he was but 3 years-

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old, his father's family removed to Roches- ter, N. Y., and, in 1833, eame to Will Co. and settled in what is known as "Yankee Settlement," in Homer Tp .; his father, Abram Snapp, was a farmer, a man of inflexible will, of sterling and uncompro- mising integrity, of commanding presenee, and, though of unassuming manners, a man of great talent, and a highly respected citizen; he died in 1865, leaving four children-three daughters and one son, Henry, who inherited, to a large extent, the characteristics of his father ; he remained at home, on the farm, until he became of age, when he came to Joliet and read law in the offices of E. C. Fel- lows, Esq., and Hon. S. W. Randall ; he was admitted to the bar in 1843, but did not begin practice until 1850; he started out in his profession with a determination to make an able lawyer ; he relied not upon natural ability, but applied himself to study, and has been a elose student ever since ; being a ready speaker, and a man of brilliant imagination, and of pro- nounced opinions on all moral and political questions, it is not strange that he should be selected by his fellow-citizens to repre- sent them in the councils of state ; he was elected to the State Senate in the fall of 1868, and in 1872 resigned the office to accept the nomination as Representative in Congress, from the Sixth Congressional Distriet (now the Seventh); he was elected for the unexpired term of Hon. B. C. Cook, who had resigned, and having served out his term, deelining a renomination, he returned to Joliet and resumed the prac- tice of his profession ; it may be mentioned that in 1854 he held the office of City Attorney; was for eight years a partner of Hon. Franeis Goodspeed, now Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Illinois. He was married in January, 1847, to Miss Adeline Broadie, of Joliet, and has five children-Sarah, wife of Dorranee Dibell, of Joliet ; Elizabeth (now Mrs. George M. Campbell, of Joliet), Henry D., (engaged in practice with his father), Howard M. (attorney at law in Joliet), and Charles D.

C. W. STAEHLE, bookbinder, Joliet ; was born in Tubingen, Kingdom of Wur- temberg, Germany, March 13, 1825 ; he was educated at the University of Tubing- en, and afterward learned the book- binder's trade, which he followed until he

was 26 years of age, when he came to the United States; this was in 1851; he spent four years in New York City, work- ing at different trades, the last year as draughtsman for Elias Howe, the inventor of the sewing machine ; from New York, he eame directly to Joliet, and for eight years was engaged as pattern-maker in Jones' agricultural foundry ; in 1859, he established his present business in a small way, having no capital, afterward eombin- ing the picture-frame business ; by atten- tion to business and the wants of his customers, his business has steadily in- creased, until now his house is the leading one in his line in the eity. Mr. Staehle has been Notary Publie for the past nine years; in 1868, he was elected City Col- leetor, serving one year ; he has been a member of the Board of School Inspeet- ors constantly sinee 1868, the past six years being Clerk of the Board. He waf married in 1849 to Miss Mary Bertsch, os Wurtemberg, Germany, and has seven children living-Christian, Louise, Otto, Albert, Edwin, Fred and Martha.

COL. LORENZO P. SANGER (de- ceased), Joliet ; was born in Littleton, N. H., March 2, 1809. When but a small boy, he accompanied his father's family to Livingston Co., N. Y., at that time a vast wilderness in the then Far West, and, like other pioneers, could only obtain the com- mon log schoolhouse education in the win- ter, and in summer worked on a farm or in a saw-mill. When the Erie Canal (termed at that time, in derision, “ Clin- ton's Diteh ") was begun, his father, David Sanger, took a contract on the Canal, at Rochester, and afterward at Black Rock, about 1824, where he remained until the Erie Canal was completed. At this time but three steamboats were running on Lake Erie, and Lorenzo P. Sanger went on the Pioncer as steward. In the fall of 1826, his father removed to Pittsburgh, Penn., and engaged in heavy contracts on the Penn- sylvania Canal, and continued until eom- pleted, finishing near Johnstown, Lorenzo having charge of a part of the work. When about 20, he took a contract to build a loek near Livermore, Penn., and was known as the " boy contraetor." When this was finished, he went into the mer- eantile business at Blairsville, Penn. He married Rachel Mary Denniston, of Den-

niston's Town, Westmoreland Co., Penn., Feb. 3, 1830, and, the same year, removed his store to that place. About 1831, he joined J. Noble Nesbit at Freeport, Penn., in sinking a salt-well. After drilling sev- eral hundred fect, they struck a large flow of salt water, and with it what the salt men termed "that infernal American or Seneca oil," since known as petroleum; and as the value of the oil was not then known, the well was abandoned and he lost all. From Freeport he went on the Beaver Ca- nal and built a lock and dam twelve miles above Beaver, at the mouth of Kanakanes- sing Creek. When this was completed, he removed to Miamisport, Ind., and engaged in heavy contracts on the Indiana Canal. His work was on the Indian Reservation, and was completed amid many discourage- ments, the country being almost a wilder- ness and very unhealthy. In 1835, he started in the then fashionable way of traveling, viz., on horseback, to St. Joseph, Mich., and joined Gen. Hart L. Stewart, now of Chicago, in merchandising and warehouse business, and steamboating on the St. Joseph River. At the letting of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, in June, 1836, Stewart, Sanger & Wallace contracted to dig Sections 156 and 157, on the heavy rock ex- cavation above Lockport, Ill. The next season, he removed permanently to Illinois, and followed the Canal to La Salle, where he built lock No. 15. He next formed a company and took the contract to improve the 'rapids of Rock River at Sterling, Ill. In March, 1843, he joined Smith Gal- braith in a line of stages from Chicago to Galena, via Dixon, and the next year pur- chased Galbraith's interest. While at Ga- lena, he was elected State Senator. In 1847, Frink & Walker, Sanger & Co., Da- vis & Moore, and Neil, Moore & Co. united and formed the Northwestern Stage Co., embracing Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wis- consin, Iowa and Missouri, Mr. Sanger removing to St. Louis and taking charge of the western division until 1851, at which time the firm of Sanger, Camp & Co. contracted to build the western division of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, after completing which, Sanger, Stewart & Truesdail took the contract for building the North Missouri Railroad from St. Louis to Macon, Mo. Both of these roads were heavy enterprises, through comparatively

new countries, and involved the engaging of hundreds of subcontractors. Botlı have become important trunk lines. In 1857, the State of Illinois let to Lorenzo P. Sanger and Samuel K. Casey, under the firm name of Sanger & Casey, the con- tract to build the State Penitentiary at Joliet, and in June, 1858, leased to them the convict labor of the State, the convicts being then confined in the Penitentiary at Alton, the commerce and discipline of the latter being in charge of W. A. Steel until July, 1860, when the last of the convicts were removed by him to the new Peniten- tiary at Joliet. During the last named year, he removed to Joliet, and, in 1862, to a farm one mile northwest of the city. Having, during his busy life, been the em- ployer of tens of thousands of men, and the nation at this time being in the midst of the war of the rebellion, President Lin- coln wrote to Gov. Yates to send Mr. Sanger a commission as Colonel and request him to join the army in Tennessee and Kentucky for staff duty or whatever his health would enable him to do. This was done, and Col. Sanger immediately threw up his business and joined the army in Kentucky, where he remained until his health was almost entirely gone, when he was compelled to return home in a prostra- ted condition, from which he never fully recovered. In 1865, Col. Sanger and W. A. Steel, under the firm name of Sanger & Steel, opened quarries north of and ad- jacent to Joliet, which proved to be the best limestone yet found in America, and which they developed into a very large business, employing from three to four hundred men and a hundred horses, the canal and railroad also passing through their works. Though Missouri, Wiscon- sin, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois patron- ized their works largely, the United States Government was their heaviest customer for material to build the Rock Island Ar- senal, Marine Hospital in Chicago, Custom Houses at Des Moines, Iowa, and Madison, Wis., etc. The same year, 1865, Sanger, Steel & Co. took the contract to deepen the twenty-one rock sections of the Illinois & Michigan Canal. This was to remove solid limestone sixty feet wide and ten feet deep, the object being to remove perma- nently tlie lift-lock in Chicago and Jack's lock near Lockport. Col. Sanger died in

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Oakland, Cal., where he had gone for the benefit of his health, on March 23, 1875, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Joliet. He had three children-Maj. W. D. Sanger, who served as an aid on Gen. Sherman's staff in the late war, and died in St. Louis in November, 1873; Frances Louise, wife of Hon. W. A. Steel, of Jol- iet, and Henry A. Sanger, now of Flor- ence, Ala. Col. Sanger, although a man of unyielding purpose and rugged charac- ter, was kind-hearted in his public dealings, and exceedingly tender in the private and domestic relations of life.

HON. W. A. STEEL, proprietor of the Joliet Stone Quarries, Joliet ; was born in Blairsville, Penn., Oct. 11, 1836; his father, Hon. Stewart Steel, was a lawyer of eminence in that State; Mr. Steel, when about 17 years of age, spent a short time in mercantile business in Cumberland, Md., and Pittsburgh, Penn .; in 1855, he came West and spent a short time in Joliet on his way to Missouri, where he built six miles of the North Missouri Railroad, and there made his first start in a business career which has been so cminently suc- cessful; in 1857, he returned to Joliet, which since that time has been his perma- nent home. He became cashier for Messrs. Sanger & Casey, who had just obtained the contract for building the State Peniten- tiary. In 1858, he went to Alton as Dep- uty Warden of the State Penitentiary ; then located in that city, the Warden be- ing Samuel K. Casey, who resided in Joli- et, and remained in the sole charge of the commerce and discipline of that institution until July, 1860, at which time he re- moved the last of the convicts to the new institution at Joliet ; he then entered the law office of Judge Newton D. Strong, of St. Louis, having previously pursued his law studies in private ; he was admitted to the bar in St. Louis on the 4th of April, 1861. On the breaking-out of the rebell- ion, he engaged in the construction of . four monitors for the Government, viz. : the Tuscumbia, Indianola, Chillicothe and the Etlah, the last being a full-blooded monitor ; he afterward enrolled a battalion of 450 men, called the National Iron Works Battalion ; was commissioned Major and placed in command of the battalion, and stationed in St. Louis for the defense of that city, where he remained until after

the close of the war. In July, 1865, Mr. Steel engaged with his father-in-law, Col. Lorenzo P. Sanger, in opening his present extensive quarries, the largest in the coun- try, the firm being Sanger & Steel, and so continued till March 1, 1871, when he purchased Mr. Sanger's interest, and is now the sole proprietor. Among the prom- inent buildings for which Mr. Steel has furnished the stone may be mentioned the Custom-houses at Madison, Wis. and Des Moines, Iowa, about sixty Court Houses and Jails in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, among them the new Court House at Rockford, Ill., the finest in the State out- side of Chicago, and the St. Louis Four Courts ; the Government buildings at Rock Island, for which he furnished fully 30,000 car-loads of stone; the railroad bridge over the Mississippi River at Du- buque, the United States Marine Hospital at Chicago, and a portion of the stone for new State Capitols of Illinois and Michi- gan, besides which are churches and private buildings without number. Stone from his quarries is to be found in the cemeteries throughout all of the Northwestern States. Besides his quarry interests, he sank and worked the first shafts in the Wilmington coal region. In March, 1870, Mr. Steel was licensed to practice in the Supreme Court of the State, and on the 22d of April following, in the Supreme Court of the United States, and in the United States Court of Claims, Jan. 10, 1871 ; he has not followed the practice of the law except in the United States Courts at Washing- ton, and then only attending the cases of himself and friends. He led the move- ment which procured the passage of an act of the Legislature empowering the city of Joliet to make an appropriation for the building of the Joliet Iron and Steel Works, the largest in this country, and with two exceptions, the largest in the world; this was accomplished in the facc of the most violent opposition, not the least being the Governor's veto. He was mar- ried Jan. 16, 1862, to Miss Frances Louise Sanger, daughter of the late Col. Lorenzo P. Sanger, of Jolict, and has three children -Sanger (now a student in Racine Col- lege), Louise and Frances. Mr. Steel has collected a very valuable library of 6,000 volumes, including works on law, medicine, theology, science and general literature,

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES :

among which are many old and rare vol- umes, some of which were printed as long ago as 1537; a further notice of this library may be found in the history of the city, in another part of this work ; he also inaugurated the first public library in Jol- iet, in 1867. Mr. Steel was first elected Mayor of Joliet in 1869, and has three times since been elected to the same office.

HENRY SCHIEK, dealer in wines and liquors, Joliet ; was born in Carlsruhe, Baden Baden, Germany, Oct. 25, 1842; . in 1848, the family came to America and located in Frankfort Tp., Will Co .; here he grew to manhood, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits for about twenty-six years ; in 1874, he moved to Joliet and engaged in his present occupation. He was married March 12, 1866, to Henrietta Mueller, a native of Germany; has three children-Matilda, Emma, Edward. Owns 120 acres in Frankfort Tp.

ROBERT L. SEWARD, retired farmer; P. O. Joliet ; was born in Otsego Co., N. Y., in 1828; his early life was that of a farmer's son ; he enjoyed the advantages of the common schools of his native State; in 1847, he began the trade of wagon-making in Portlandville, on the Susquehanna River, and worked under instructions three years; in August, 1850, he came West to Illinois, and first engaged in working for Rodney House, and continued with him two years ; he then engaged in carpentering about one year, and, in 1854, purchased a farm in New Lenox Tp., and followed agricultural pursuits about eleven years ; in 1865, hav- ing sold out, he moved to Jackson Tp., where he farmed six years; in 1871, he moved to Joliet, and has since not been actively engaged in business, except some transactions in real estate and loaning money. He was married in April, 1853, to Sarah M. Moore, a native of Otsego Co., N. Y .; she died in January, 1859. His second marriage, to Mrs. Elizabeth Ger- man, was celebrated in June, 1861; her maiden name was Brown, a daughter of one of the early settlers of Will Co. From the first wedlock two children were born- Eugene W., of Russell Co., Kan .; Cora S. His father came with him to Illinois, and died at the advanced age of 89 years.

CHARLES H. SUTPHEN, retired ; P. O. Joliet ; was born in Cherry Valley, Otsego Co., N. Y., Fcb. 15, 1806 ; his

father, Gilbert Sutphen, was a native of New Jersey, and was of Dutch and Irish descent, his father, John Sutphen, having come from Holland some time before the Revolutionary war, and his mother being of one of the first families of Dublin, and came with her parents to America and set- tled in New Jersey about the same time. Shortly after the Revolutionary war the family removed to Cherry Valley, N. Y., and settled on a farm about four miles south of the village; on this farm Gilbert Sutphen, the father of Charles H., grew to manhood, and married Mary Higinbotham in Worcester, Otsego Co .; she was of English descent, born in Rhode Island, and removed to Worcester, N. Y. with her parents when quite young. After their marriage, Mr. Sutphen's parents continued to reside in Cherry Valley until the break- ing-out of the war of 1812; his father was called upon to help defend his country, and joining the army, fell at the battle of Lundy's Lane; his family consisted of five children-Julia Ann, Mary Ann, Charles H., Sarah and Jane, of whom the subject of this sketeh is the only one now living. After his father's death, Charles H., then 8 years of age, was sent to live with his grandfather, Higinbotham, in Cazenovia, Madison Co., N. Y., and re- mained two years, attending school a por- tion of the time; he afterward lived three years with one James Cagwin in the same county ; his mother then marrying Thomas Southworth, of Sherburne, Chenango Co., N. Y., he lived on the farm with them until the age of 21, with the exception of one year spent in attending an academy ; his health being impaired, he, on the advice of a physician, went to Boston, and took a voyage on a cod-fishing vessel up the Straits; returning with his health somewhat improved, he shipped' as Cap- tain's clerk with Capt. Law on board the ship Concordia in the merchant service, making one voyage, and on his return to Boston, Capt. Law obtained him a situation in the Custom-house as messenger to the Surveyor of Customs-Elbridge Gerry, son of the late Elbridge Gerry, Governor of Massachusetts and late Vice President of the United States ; in this office he re- mained two years, spending his evenings in the acquisition of useful knowledge. Mr. Gerry then secured him a situation in the

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Pay Department of the U. S. Army, where he remained eight years, or until Sept. 1, 1834. He was married in 1831 to Elizabeth H. Dow, of Boston, and, in April, 1834, came to Illinois and selected a claim at the head of Indian Creek (timber), in La Salle Co .; on a portion of his claim now stands the village of Earl- ville ; he returned for his family in May ; left the army office Sept. 1, and started for Illinois, arriving safely with his family in his new home in October, 1834 ; he built a double log house on the site of the present village of Earlville and went to farming; in 1835, the land came into market, and, in 1839, he purchased 1,000 acres, and occupied it as a stock farm for over twenty years; in 1853, hc built a large brick house near where the log one stood; he was one of the first Justices of the Peace in Indian Precinct, Earl Tp., and held the office continuously for fifteen years, when he resigned ; he was also Postmaster of Earlville for seven years; he held many other prominent offices, including that of Supervisor from that town. He had a family of six sons and three daughters. Charles T. Sutphen was the first white male child born in the township ; he and Albert arc in California ; George is in Aurora, Ill., Frederick in Missouri, and Gilbert and William are in Iowa. Sarah married S. Cook, of Earl, now deccased. Carrie T. was the first white female child born in the township, and married W. H. Graham, of St. Louis. Mary married O. S. Gray, of Ottawa. They are now both deccased. Mr. Sut- phen's wife died April 6, 1870, and, in 1871, he removed to Joliet, where he still resides, and married the widow of the late H. D. Higinbotham.

DR. GEORGE B. SALTER, dentist, Joliet; came to Joliet in 1860; he was born in Stark Co., Ohio, Oct. 6, 1837 ; in 1845, his parents removed to Monroe, Mich., and therc he lived until 1857, when he went to Freeport, Ill., and there learned dentistry ; in 1859, he removed to White- water, Wis., and one year later came to Joliet, as above stated, and has practiced dentistry here ever since ; he has been a member of the State Dental Association since 1867, and in 1877, was a delegate to the American Dental Association. He served onc term as Vice President of the

Joliet Library and Historical Society. He was married Jan. 13, 1864, to Miss Mat- tie Ellis, of Whitewater, Wis., and has one daughter, Viola B.

HON. ANTON SCHEIDT, dealer in hardware, tinware, stoves and house-fur- nishing goods (Scheidt & Smith), Joliet ; was born in Schoenenburg, Alsacc, France, Jan. 30, 1827 ; in 1849, he came to the United States ; spent onc year in the State of New York, and then came West, re- maining a short time in Chicago, and com- ing to Joliet in 1850; the first two years he worked in a wagon and plow shop in Homer Tp., and in April, 1852, was married to Elizabeth Palmer, of Joliet, who was born in Harthaem, in the King- dom of Baden, Germany, in 1824, by whom he has four children ; the same year (1852), he built the Chicago House, on Bluff st., and kept it as a boarding-house until 1862. In 1857, he entered into partnership with Sebastian Stephen in the brewery business; in 1862, he purchased his partner's interest, enlarged the brew- ery, and run it until 1874, when he leased it to Henry Eider, the present occupant. In 1875, he entered upon his present busi- ness, with his son-in-law, Paul Smich ; besides their regular line of hardware busi- ness, they are large contractors and manu- facturers of all kinds of galvanized-iron work, etc. Mr. Scheidt has served cleven years on the Board of Alderinen, being first elected in 1861; in 1874, he was chosen Mayor of the city of Joliet, holding the office one ycar ; he has also served three terms on the Board of Supervisors.

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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 73

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