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 75

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 75

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has been Commissioner of Highways, and although repeatedly solicited, he would never accept of any other office in the gift of his neighbors. He married Miss Lucy Ware (the daughter of Benjamin and Betsy Ware), at Rochester, N. Y., Oct. 21, 1832; she was born in Putnam Co., Vt., July 18, 1810; they had three children, two living-Rutledge, born Aug. 1, 1834, and Beulah, born Oct. 15, 1839, and mar- ried to John Keyes, of Joliet, Oct. 21, 1872; and one deccased, Sidney, born June 22, 1846, and died April 4, 1848. Mr. Thornton is the oldest living settler of Troy Tp.

CORNELIUS C. VAN HORNE, de- ceased, formerly of Joliet Tp., was born in Hunterdon Co., N. J., April 13, 1794; shortly afterward, his parents removed to Amsterdam, N. Y., where his father, a widely-known clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church, lived many years. In the spring of 1832, Mr. Van Horne came to Illinois and located in Will (then Cook) Co. He died in Joliet July 7, 1854. In 1813, he married Elizabeth Veeder, who died, in Will Co., in 1838; in 1842, he married Mary M. Richards, who is still living; by his first marriage he had seven children-Abra- ham C., born in 1815; Simon V., born in 1818; Anne, born in 1822 ; Cornelius P., born in 1824; Margaret C., born in 1826 ; Barney W., born in 1829, and Andrew J., born in 1832 ; by his second marriage he had five children-William C., born in 1843; Augustus, born in 1844 ; Elizabeth, born in 1846; Theodore C., born in 1849, and Mary, born in 1852-all now living. He was a man of great force of character, 'and of liberal education, and had much to do with the shaping of events in the early days of Will Co., in the history of which his name occurs often and very prominent- ly ; he gave his name to the locality known as Van Horne's Point. He was succes- sively a Postmaster and a Justice of the Peace, and, upon the incorporation of Joliet as a city, he was chosen its first Mayor ; after a long, active and useful life, he died in 1854, one of the victims of cholera.

F. E. VOIGT, foreman Motive-Power Joliet Cut-off R. R., Joliet ; was born in Leipsic, Saxony, Germany, Aug. 23, 1841 ; the family emigrated to America in 1846, and stopped in Chicago a short time ;

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thence to Michigan City, Ind., and was the first German family settling in the vil- lage and vicinity ; herc, F. E. grew to manhood, and learned his trade ; in 1858, he started to California on foot, taking the overland route and the life of a pioneer and adventurer ; in the latter part of 1859, he reached his destination, having spent almost two years with the Indians, making his way from tribe to tribe; the winter of 1858, he spent in Salt Lake City ; after reaching California, he engaged in mining, and was very successful, making some $4,000; leaving the mines, he went to San Francisco, and, on account of a rheu- matic affection, he sailed to Honolulu, in the Sandwich Islands; here, after a so- journ of some months, having effected a cure, he visited the West India Isles. During the late war, he was in the employ of the Government, in the locomotive de- partment of the Nashville & Chattanooga R. R. He was afterward engaged in con- . structing and rebuilding locomotives at Nashville, Tenn .; subsequently, he was engaged as roundhouse foreman on the A. & M. R. R., at Vincennes, Ind .; here he remained four years; thence to Seymour, Ind., where he had charge of the shops as master machinist two years; he then went to Europe, and remained one year; in the fall of 1872, he returned, and took the position of roundhouse foreman at Michi- gan City, on the M. C. R. R .; in 1877, he came to his present position. He was married July 16, 1872, to Emma Theme, a native of Germany. Owns real estate in Michigan City and Vincennes, valued at $5,000.

GEORGE L. VANCE, manufacturer and dealer in furniture, Joliet; was born in Caledonia Co., Vt., March 13, 1840 ; he received an academic education at the Newbury Seminary, teaching school during the winter vacations; on becoming of age, he engaged in the boot and shoe business in Rutland, Vt .; in 1864, he went to Washington, as corresponding clerk in the Internal Revenue Bureau, remaining until 1870; in the mean time, he pursued a course of law studies in the law depart- ment of Columbia College, in Washington, graduating, and receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws, in 1867. The same year, he was married to Miss Lizzic K. Fowler, of Brooklyn, L. I., who died in

1873, leaving two children-George A. and Gracie F. In 1870, he removed to Houston Co., Minn., and engaged in busi- ness. Hc held the office of Postmaster three years and Justice of the Peace two years ; in 1873, he resigned thesc offices, disposed of his business and removed to Joliet, and entered upon his present busi- ness. He is an active Sunday-school worker, has been Superintendent of the Baptist Sunday school for the past five years and President of the Will Co. Sun- day School Association for the past two. years.

CHARLES WERNER, proprietor of Werner's Hall and Werner's stone quarry, Joliet; has been a resident of this city for the past twenty-seven years, having come direct from Germany in 1851; he was born at. Frankfort-on-the-Main,in Hesse-Darmstadt Sept. 14, 1828 ; when about 15 years old, he was apprenticed to the mason's trade, which he continued until 1851, when he came to this country, landing in New York in July, and coming direct to Joliet ; he soon afterward engaged in working at his trade, and, in 1865, engaged in the stone- quarrying business, which he still continues; he, with his brother, built the Will County Jail and Sheriff's house, the Joliet Union Schoolhouse, St. Mary's Cath- olic Church. besides a large number of prominent buildings in different parts of the city ; in 1868, Mr. Werner purchased Young's Hall, on Chicago street, which burned down in 1874, and the following year he erected Werner's Hall on the same ·site, at a cost of $20,000; he served as Town Collector in 1877. Hc was mar- ried July 17, 1853, to Miss Mary A. Goeble, of Joliet, a native of Prussia ; they have one child-Bertha.

O. R. WESTMANN, photograph artist, Joliet ; was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, Feb. 18, 1833 ; his father, O. R. Westmann, Sr., was the Russian Envoy to the Court of Hesse-Darmstadt, and died when Orloff R. was but two years of age ;. the family remained in Darmstadt ; he was educated in the Gymnasium of Darmstadt, graduating when about 15 years of age ; he then entered the German army as a cadet, and, after the revolution of 1849, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in the 1st Infantry ; he served until 1853, when he came to this country ; he first.

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JOLIET TOWNSHIP.

engaged in elerking in Chicago; in 1855, he purchased a farm in Du Page Co., and engaged in farming for two years ; in 1857, he went West, and spent fifteen years in Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado and New Mexico, engaged in merchandising and mining, and, during the last few years, in photographing, making views for the Smithsonian Insti- tution at Washington ; returning in 1872, he spent two years in Ottawa, and, in 1874, came to Joliet, and purchased the gallery of Mr. John Edgworth, the oldest gallery in the city, where he does as fine work as can be found in this country or Europe; he makes all kinds of pictures, large and small, and guarantees satisfaction to his customers.

S. H. WHITED, retired, Joliet ; was born in Albany Co., N. Y., May 24, 1808; when he was 19 years old, he went to Herkimer Co., and there learned the painter's trade ; he worked for three years for $30 a year, and clothed himself, and at the end of that time had $50 laid by, principally the result of extra work ; this illustrates the habits of industry and eeon- omy which have been characteristie of his whole life ; in 1852, he came to Chicago, settling in Joliet the following year ; he worked at his trade till 1855, when he pur- chased a farm at Twelve-Mile Grove, and followed farming two years, at the end of which time he returned to Joliet. In October, 1861, he volunteered in Col. Wil- son's Mechanies' Fusileers in Chicago, and remained until the disbanding of the regi- ment in February following ; about three months later, he again enlisted in Capt. Ford's cavalry company, attached to Cush- man's regiment, serving three years, prin- cipally engaged in seouting service ; in 1865, he returned to Joliet. It should be mentioned that while living in Herkimer Co., he held successively the offices of Corporal, Sergeant, First Lieutenant and Captain in the New York State Militia, holding a commission five years. He was married in 1832 to Miss Sarah Hinehman, of Little Falls, N. Y .; they have five ehil- dren living-Elias H., tieket agent of the Michigan Southern and C., R. I. & P. Rail- road Companies in Chicago; Harriet A., Charles W., Jessie O., also in the office with his brother in Chicago; and Jerry H., train dispatcher and division operator on the Central Pacific Railroad at Carlin, Nevada.

CHARLES W. WHITED, Joliet ; son of S. H. Whited ; was born in Little Falls, N. Y., March 17, 1842, and came to Joliet with his father's family, and, at the age of 15, entered the office of the Joliet Republican to learn the printer's trade. In June, 1861, he enlisted in Capt. Dan- forth's company, which was first a portion of the 4th Mo. Cav., then was attached to the 53d Ill. I. V., and finally became Co. F. 13th Ill. Cav .; he served two years, and was discharged by reason of ill health. He then entered the employ of the C., R. I. & P. R. R. Co. as fireman, and afterward on the Chieago & Galena Railroad; he then went south as a bridge carpenter with Sherman's army, returning at the elose of the war; since then he has had charge of the telegraph repairs on the C. & A. R. R. three years ; on the C., C. & I. C. R. R. two years ; five years on the U. P. R. R. from Omaha to Ogden; sinee 1873, he has been in the employ of the Western Union Telegraph Co. He was married June 12, 1871, to Miss E. W. Putnam, of Little Falls, N. Y., and has one ehild- Samuel C.

E. H. WEBB, dealer in dry goods and notions (firm of Chittenden, Northrup & Co.), Joliet; was born in Columbia Co., N. Y., May 20, 1844; when he was but 2 years old his parents removed to Columbia Co., Wis. ; he received his edu- eation in a seleet school at Poynette, Wis., and at the State University at Madison ; in February, 1863, he enlisted as a private in Co. H, 36th Wis. V. I., and served eight months in the army of the Potomae, par- tieipating in the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, North Anna and Cold Harbor, besides smaller battles and skirmishes ; at Cold Harbor he was disabled, and while lying in the hospital he received a commission as Second Lieutenant of Co. A, 51st Wis. V. I., and was trans- ferred to the Western army in Missouri ; returning from the war, he entered the dry goods business at Portage City, Wis. ; he afterward spent three years in business in Dakota Territory, and, in 1871, came to Joliet and engaged in his present business. He was married May 20, 1874, to Miss Mary Chittenden, of Plainfield, Ill., daugh- ter of George N. Chittenden, one of the early settlers of Will Co .; they have two children-Elizabeth W. and Winnifred.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES :

Mr. Webb is an active worker in the M. E. Church, of which he has been a member for the past eight years.

EDMUND WILCOX, Justice of the Peacc, Joliet; is one of the early settlers of Will Co .; he came here in 1836 from Onondaga Co., N. Y., where he was born Sept. 18, 1816. After receiving a pre- paratory education at Schenectady, N. Y., he entered Hamilton College, Clinton, N. Y., when 15 years of age, graduating in 1835; the following year, he came to Jolict, and was employed as a clerk one year, until he became of age, when hc engaged in the mercantile business in com- pany with Charles Clement, and two years later purchased the interest of Mr. Clcm- ent, and afterward changed to an exclu- sively dry goods business; in 1858, he sold out and became one of the originators of the Joliet Gas-Light Company ; was its first President, and superintended the erection of the works ; he personally super- intended the gas works for five years, at the end of which time he resumed mer- chandising, which he continued until 1870 ; he was one of the gentlemen designated by the act of the Legislature incorporating the city of Joliet in 1852, to lay off the wards and organize the city government ; he was chosen the first Alderman from the Third Ward (now the Fourth) ; served four years, and was again elected in 1870, serving two years; in 1854, the year of the cholera, he served the city as Mayor pro tem. in the absence of the Mayor ; he has been repeatedly solicited to become a candidate for Mayor, but has as often declined; he was a member of the Board of Supervisors in 1856, 1857 and 1859; he was prominent in obtaining the charter of the C., R. I. & P. R. R., and was one of the committee appointed to confer with Eastern capitalists, their efforts resulting in the building of the road by the owner of the Michigan Southern Railroad: Mr. Wil- cox was elected Justice of the Peace in 1877. He was married March 23, 1845, to Miss Sarah M. Green, of Washington Co., N. Y., and has three children living- William G., Fred C. and Charles C.

GEORGE H. WOODRUFF, dealer in drugs, medicines, books, stationcry, etc., Joliet; was born in Clinton, Oncida Co., N. Y., Aug. 16, 1814, and resided there until 1834; he entered Hamilton College, Clin-

ton, N. Y., in 1829, at the age of 15 years, and graduated four years later ; he then entered the law office of Hon. Daniel Gott, in Pompey Hill, Onondaga Co., N. Y., and remained one ycar, at the end of which time he came West, as the clerk of M. H. Demmond, Esq., the original proprietor of the western portion of the city of Joliet ; he remained with him until the organiza tion of the county in 1836, when he was elected County Recorder, and re-elected in 1839; on leaving the Recorder's office, in 1843, he entered upon his present business ; in 1838, he was elected County Judge, but resigned the office at the end of one ycar ; he served one term as a. member of the Board of Trustees under the village organi- zation ; Mr. Woodruff is the author of " Fifteen Years Ago; or, The Patriotism of Will County," and of two very admir- able lectures, entitled " Forty Years Ago," and consisting of reminiscences of early times in Joliet; he is the author of the " General History of Will County " in this work, besides which he has been an occa- sional lecturer and contributor to news- papers and periodicals for many years.

GEORGE WOODRUFF, President of the First National Bank, Joliet ; was born in Watertown, Jefferson Co., N. Y., Dec. 7, 1812, and lived there until his removal to Will Co. in 1836 ; on his arrival in Jol- iet, he engaged in the grocery and provis- ion trade, which he continued until 1841; he the spent two years in farming in Plain- field Tp .; at the end of which time he re- turned to Joliet and resumed trade ; in 1852, he built an clevator and engaged in the grain business, in which he continued until 1864; some time after engaging in the grain business, he sold out his store, and about 1857 or 1858, associated him- sclf with F. L. Cagwin and others in estab- lishing the Joliet Bank ; he afterward pur- chased the interest of his partners, and in 1864, the First National Bank was organ- ized with Mr. Woodruff as President and his son, Frederick W. Woodruff, as Cash- ier ; he was a partner with others in build- ing and operating the Joliet Woolen-Mill, which was burned down after running sev- eral ycars ; he is one of the original stock- holders of the Joliet Gas-Light Co., of which he has been Treasurer for a number of years ; he has served one term on the Board of Supervisors and one or two terms

Osman Preston

LOCKPORT

Altolmes (DECEASED) NEW LENOX TP

John F. Daggett M.S.

LOCKPORT

JOLIET

THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ELLINOIS

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JOLIET TOWNSHIP.

as Alderman. He was married May 9, 1838, to Miss Dorothy Smith, a native of Rutland, Jefferson Co., N. Y., and has two children living-Frederick W. and Mary C. (now Mrs. J. F. Wilcox, of Joliet) ; one daughter-Cornelia M., wife of J. E. Bush, of Joliet, died in January, 1876.

J. F. WILSON, Cashier Joliet Iron and Steel Works, Joliet ; was born in the town of Canda, N. H., in 1846; in 1850, his father, George Wilson, came West to Illi- nois, and settled on a farm near the present village of Monee; in 1857, the family moved to Joliet; here, at the age of 14 years, J. F. began the work of life for him- self in the capacity of clerk ; he enjoyed the advantages of the city schools, and his early training in business life gave him those necessary qualifications which come to one only through the channels of per- sonal experience, and which have so well qualified him for his position of trust and responsibility ; in 1874, at the re-opening and re-organization of the Iron and Steel Works, he was chosen to the position he now occupies.

HORACE WEEKS, attorney at law, Joliet; was born in Homer Tp., Will Co., Ill., Sept. 20, 1837 ; he is the fifth son of Dr. Nathaniel Weeks, one of the pioneers of Will Co., who came West in 1833 and located in what was called Yankee Settle- ment; his father moved to Lockport when Horace was quite a small boy ; here he re- ceived his education and grew to manhood; at the age of 13, he was employed in the office of the Lockport Telegraph, edited and published by Dr. J. F. Daggett and C. D. Holcomb, and played the " devil " for about two years; in the summer of 1854, he learned the art of telegraphy and had charge of the office at Sheffield, on the C. & R. I. R. R .; here he continued about six months, and then returned to Lockport, and was engaged in the drug business in connection with his father two years; he was next employed as book-keeper in the banking house of J. S. McDonald till 1859, when he entered upon a course of legal study under the direction of E. C. Fel- lows ; this he prosecuted two years; sub- sequently, he was clerk in the post office at La Salle one year, was clerk in the Canal office at Chicago one year and held the same position in the Provost Marshal's office at Joliet two years ; in 1865, he was employed

as ticket agent and operator on the C. & R. I. R. R. at Joliet three years ; in 1868, he was admitted to the bar, and the same year was employed as Deputy Circuit Clerk, a position he held until 1872; in February, 1872, he was appointed Collector of In- ternal Revenue for the Sixth District, and occupied the office till January, 1876 ; in 1877, he was appointed Master in Chan- cery, and still occupies the office. He was married in 1862 to Mary Munson, a native of Illinois ; has five children-Fannie E., Fred B., Kittie, Curtis M. and Henry S.

WILLIAM WERNER, contractor and stone quarryman, Joliet; was born in Frankfort-on-the-Main, in Hesse-Darm- stadt, Germany, Feb. 5, 1831 ; at the age of 16, he was apprenticed to the mason's trade, and, at the age of 20, came to the United States ; he spent three months in Stroutsburg, Penn .; when, his brother Charles having come to Chicago, he came West and joined in the Hickory Creek Settlement, in the town of Frankfort, in October, 1851 ; the Rock Island Railroad had just begun building and Mr. Werner began work on it as a mason, continuing during the winter as a laborer; in the spring of 1852, he settled in Joliet and began business as a contractor, the first building he built being for the late Deacon John Beaumont; he engaged in the quarry business about twenty years ago, and has built nearly all the prominent stone buildings in Joliet, among which may be named the Will County Jail, Union Schoolhouse, West Side Presby- terian and St. Mary's Catholic Churches, etc .; in 1856, he was elected Commis- sioner of Highways and Treasurer, serving three years; in 1861, he was elected a member of the Board of Aldermen, and served four years; he was chosen one of the Draft Commissioners in 1863, to fill the quota of the town; he served on the Board of Supervisors seven years, from 1867 to 1874. He was married Dec. 7, 1853, to Miss Barbara Goeble, a native of Prussia; they have four sons living-Fred- erick Wilhelm, now a medical student at the University of Michigan; Frederick Carl, George Washington and Edwart: Mr. Werner is a leading member of the German Lutheran Church in Joliet, of which he has been President for the past fifteen years.

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GEORGE WHITTIER, manufaet- urer of lime, Joliet ; born in Sommers- worth, N. H., Nov. 27, 1830, where he lived until 6 years of age, when he re- moved. with his parents to Philadelphia, living there one year, then to Penobscot Co., Me., where he lived until 1861, being engaged in milling, lumbering and farming ; at the above date, he came to Illinois and settled in Will Co., where he has since resided ; he owns one-half interest in the limekiln, which is operated under the firm name of J. Whittier & Co .; the above firm manufacture and ship large quantities of lime to points further south. He married, Feb. 10, 1854, Sarah M. Lindsay; she was born in Chester, Penobscot Co., Me., Jan. 16, 1832; they are the parents of three children now living, viz., Angeline, Lucy M. and Clare.

DR. FRANCIS WOERNDLE, drug- gist and chemist, Joliet ; born in Austria, April 14, 1817; he is a graduate of pharmaey and chemistry of the University of Vienna, Austria, known as one of the first in Europe, and has had many years' experienee as a practical apotheeary and ehemist in different cities in Europe and America; he emigrated to America, land- ing in New York in 1849; after spending seven years in the East, a portion of which time he was engaged in business and the balance in traveling and visiting different cities, he came West, and, in 1857, he · engaged in Joliet in the drug business, in which he has been very sueeessful for a period of twenty-one years; his success may be attributed to his thorough practical knowledge of his business and the elose personal attention he has always given to the same.

JOHN YOUNG, retired ; P. O. Joliet; was born in Ulster Co., N. Y., July 18, 1798 ; he remained at home on his father's farm until he was 15 years of age, when he went to work at the milling business under his father, who was also a mill proprietor ; he followed this business until the age of 22, and then engaged in general merchan- dising in the village of Esopus, Ulster Co., and afterward removed to Greenc Co., N. Y., where he was married, in 1825, to Miss Caroline Thompson, daughter of Rev. James Thompson, an Episcopal clergyman of Greene Co. He continued in the mer-

eantile business eight years, and then moved to Brooklyn and established the Brooklyn Collegiate Institute, which he continued till 1844, when he removed to New York City and opened a private seleet sehool. In 1849, he came to Will Co. and entered 560 acres of land from the Government in the present township of Manhattan, to which he added by purchase, from time to time, until at one time he owned over nineteen hundred aeres, being one of the largest land owners in the town- ship; on the organization of the township in 1850, there were but ten voters living in the township, the most of whom were from New York; Mr. Young proposed Manhattan as the name of the new town- ship, and it was immediately adopted. He was chosen the first Supervisor, and held the office eight years ; in 1851, he became President of the Will Co. Agricultural Society, serving until 1859 ; he has also held several subordinate offiees, among which may be mentioned School Trustee Commissioner of Highways, etc. His wife died in 1858, leaving a very promis- ing family of thrce sons and one daughter -James T., now President of the New York Printing and Dyeing Company ; Mansfield and Edward, now among the substantial business men of Joliet, and Caroline E., wife of Franeis L. Cagwin, of Joliet. Mr. Young continued to reside in Manhattan until May, 1876, when he re- moved to Joliet, and now resides with his son Mansfield.

HENRY YOUNG, dealer in eigars and tobaeco, Joliet; was born in the Province of Lorraine, France, Nov. 17, 1825 ; he eame to this country in 1847, landing in New York August 2; he resided eleven years in Buffalo and vicinity, coming to Joliet in 1858 ; he engaged in keeping a publie house, which he continued until the fall of 1874, when he engaged in his pres- ent business. He held the office of Con- stable for eight years, first being eleeted about 1860 ; in 1863, he was elected Street Commissioner, and, in 1873, Alderman from the Fourth Ward (now the Second), serving two years. He was married Oet. 13, 1849, to Miss Mary Braek ; she was born in Luxemburg, Germany, May 5, 1832 ; they have had ten ehildren, eight. of whom are now living-Margarita (Mrs .. Julius Krause, of Joliet), Catherine, Henry:

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J., Charles J., Emma, Rosa, Elizabeth and Joseph ; onc son, Nicholas, lost his life, with several others, by lightning while attending worship in St. John the Baptist's Church, July 31, 1864; another son, Henry, died in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1854.

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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 75

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