DeKalb County, Illinois - The whole text, 1885 (part 10 of 28)

Mr. Rowen has taken a sincere interest in political affairs, local as well as general. He cast his first Presidential vote for Harrison, and except in 1844, when he voted for Polk, he has supported a straight Republican ticket. He has officiated two years as Supervisor, two as Road Commissioner, and the extent of his services as Assessor covers a period of 20 ^ years, the longest term served by any man in that position in De Kalb County. He has discharged the } obligations of other minor offices, and has been Postmaster at Kirkland 10 years.

Mr. Rowen was married July n, 1847, in Alabama Township, Genesee Co., N. Y., to Emmeline Baker. She was born Jan. 21, 1821, in Pompey Township, Onondaga Co., N. Y., and was the daughter of Nathan and Mahala (Shattuck) Baker. The mother died a few years after her marriage, and the father, after this second matrimonial alliance, came to Michigan and settled near Battle Creek, where he died in advanced age. Mrs. Rowen was brought up and educated in the State of which she was a native and she was a teacher for some time previous to her marriage. She died June 1 1, 1883, leaving five children. Frank S. is a resident of Van Horn, Iowa, where he is conducting a hotel in the interests of the St. Paul Railroad Company. Fred B. is a resident on section 36, of Franklin Township. Fremont resides on his father's homestead. Harley is a general merchant in Kirkland. Emma is officiating as her father's housekeeper.

.lisha A. Kirk, Supervisor of Franklin Township (1885), is a resident at Kirkland and engaged in the sale of drugs. He is the son of W. T. and Loisa (Riddle) Kirk (see ^ sketch), and was born in Franklin Township, Feb. 3, 1845. He passed the years of his minority on his father's farm, and obtained a fair common-school education, completing his course of study at Wheaton College in Du Page County, in 1866. Returning from school, he engaged in farming in Franklin Township, in which he was occupied A until the fall of 1876, the date of his removal to Kirkland, and of his embarking in his present business enterprise. He retains the ownership of his farm in Franklin Township, which is under excellent improvements and supplied with a fair type of farm buildings.

He was married Dec. 22, 1873, in Wheaton, Du Page County, to Lovina M. Howard, and three children have been born to them, Gracie M., Alien H. and William C. Mrs. Kirk was born March 5, 1849, in Du Page Co., 111., and is the daughter of C. K. W. and Mary (Stowe) Howard. Her father was born in the State of Vermont and came thence to Du Page County, where he is yet a resident. The mother died some years ago in Wheaton. Mrs. Kirk was educated at the collegiate institute in her native place. Mr. Kirk is a radical Republican, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Kirkland.

eorge H. Hill, farmer, section 21, Kingston Township, was born May 20, 1810, in Rensselaer Co , N. Y. He received a fair English education in the place of his nativity and obtained a thorough knowledge of saddlery and harness-making. He worked with his father until he was 21 years old, and subsequently was employed in various places in the same business until 1835, passing the last two years in Oneida Co., N. Y. In the early spring of the year named he came to Illinois and located a claim in what is now Kingston Township, De Kalb County, which included 1 60 acres of land. Mr. Hill is one of the earliest settlers of the county, coming prior to the survey, completed in 1837. Mr. Hill came from Chicago to Du Page County with a team, and, leaving his horses and family there, he walked to the point where he located his claim, and erected a shanty for shelter for his family and household appurtenances. Having made ready*, he went with an ox team to Chicago, where he had left his effects, and on his return through Du Page County stopped for his family. Indians were abundant but seldom troublesome, although they were addicted to petty thieving, and on one occasion stole Mrs. Hill's thimble.

the society of his wife and one child, began the task of constructing a home, placing his house on the edge of the timber tract. Within the first year the little house was destroyed by fire, and the inmates lost everything but the clothing they wore at the time. The cabin was rebuilt upon the former site, and the family resided there three years. The home was removed at the end of that period to the site now occupied by the modern residence, which replaced the pioneer log cabin in 1848. The latter house is entirely the work of his own hands, as his means and opportunities precluded his hiring assistance at that time.

He has been one of the foremost in the official affairs of De Kalb County since he has been one of its citizens. He was appointed in 1835 one of a committee of five to settle disputed titles to claims, De Kalb County being at that date a part of La Salle County. He was made Justice of the Peace at an early date and held the office many years. He was first Treasurer and Assessor of De Kalb County after its separation from Kane County, and he held the position of County Commissioner four years. In 1848 he was a member of the Second Constitutional Convention, which assembled at Springfield that year. At that time the office of County Commissioner was abolished and a township organization adopted. Mr. Hill was appointed one of the Associate County Judges and discharged the responsibilities of the office four years. In 1854 he was elected County Judge to succeed Hon. E. L. Mayo, of Sycamore, and was the incumbent of the position eight years, being succeeded therein by Daniel B. James, of Sycamore. He has officiated five years as Supervisor of Kingston and as Treasurer of that municipality exactly 30 years. He has been and still is one of the prominent and leading citizens of the county, and has always been an important factor in its general development and well-being.

Joseph and Mercy (Mortimer) Hill, the parents of Mr. Hill, were natives of Connecticut and were pioneer settlers of Rensselaer Co., N. Y., where they passed most of their lives, and where the mother died. The father came late in life to Kingston, and died at the home of his son.

Mr. Hill was married Sept 15, 1833, in Columbia Co., N. Y., to Sarah B. Wallace. The record of the children born of this union is as follows : Ophelia was bom Oct. 18, 1834, in Oneida Co., N. Y., and

J f the wife of W. P. L. Russell, of Lee Co., 111. William W. was born Oct. 23, 1836, in De Kalb County, and lives on the homestead where he was born. Anna E., wife of L. J. Bliss, of Kansas, was born

(&j Aug. 22, 1838. Mary A., born Nov. 18, 1840, married John Heckman, of Kansas. Sarah J., born Aug. 22, 1842, is the wife of A. H. Clark, of Kingston Township. James J. was born March 14, 1844, and died June r, 1861. Geo. H., Jr., was born Dec. 25, 1846, and died March 12, 1853. Mrs. Hill is the fifth child of James and Betsey B. (Stacey) Wallace, and was born April 13, 1812, in New Lebanon, Columbia Co., N. Y. Her parents were natives of Connecticut and located after marriage in the last mentioned place, where the death of her father occurred in 1834. Several years subsequent to that event his widow came to De Kalb County with her children and died in Genoa.

;braham D. Graves, farmer and stockman, section 30, Franklin Township, was born in the town of Guilford, Piscataquis Co., Maine, April 25, 1826! His father, Nathaniel Graves, was born in i8or, near Scituate, Mass., and is still living, in Green Co., Iowa. He is of mixed Scotch and English extraction, and of New England parentage. He was a farmer and came West in 1845, making a location in De Kalb County, before its township organization. About 1874 he became a resident of Iowa. Anna J. (Young) Graves, the mother, was born Dec. i, 1803, in Lewiston, Maine. She was the child of a clergyman, who followed that calling during the last 20 years of his life in his native State. The mother of Mr. Graves died at Wall Lake, Iowa, Aug. 10, 1882, being nearly 79 years of age. She was the mother of four sons and five daughters. One of the former and two of the latter are deceased (1885). Mr. Graves is the oldest child; Andrew died at Guilford, Me.; Julia- L. lives in Green Co., Iowa; J. H. resides at Wall Lake, Iowa.; Augusta A. is a resident at Marysville, Kan.; Elvira J. died in infancy, at Parkman, Me.; Vesta A. lives at Creston, Ogle Co,, 111.; Hannah died at Wall Lake, Iowa; N. Frank is a resident at Westmoreland, Kan.

ents in his native State, where he attended the public schools until 18 years of age, when he entered the village academy at Foxcroft, Me. The next year his father came West and settled in a section now included in Ogle County, and situated contiguous to De Kalb County, before the organization of the latter into townships. He became a teacher during the winter seasons, having charge of schools in De Kalb and Boone Counties 13 successive winters. During the summers intervening he engaged vigorously in breaking up prairie, several hundred acres lying within Ogle and De Kalb Counties being first placed in tillable condition by him.

Mr. Graves was married April 13, 1850, in Franklin Township to Salina L. Churchill. The parents of Mrs. Graves, Oliver and Pantha L. (Andrews) Churchill, were natives of Vermont and of New England ancestry. They removed to Cattaraugus County in the State of New York, where the daughter was born, May 3, r83r. She was 12 years of age when, in 1844, she accompanied her parents to De Kalb County, where they were among the earliest of the pioneer settlers in Franklin Township. Her father became an extensive land-holder, and remained a resident of the township during the remainder pf his life, a period of nearly 40 years, and died in September, 1882. Her mother was killed July 4, 1850, by a stroke of lightning. Mr. and Mrs. Graves have been the parents of eight children. Eva S. was born Jan. 7, 1852, and was married April 6, 1870, to Milton D. Patten, a farmer of South Grove Township. Pantha L. was born Oct. T2, 1854, and died Sept. 6, 1855. Fred was born July 7, 1856, and was married Feb. 21, 1883, to Jennie Wallace. He is a practicing physician at Rockford, 111. He was graduated at Bennett Medical College in Chicago, in 1881. Charles S. was born Jan. 18, 1862, and is a student at Evanston College, where he is pursuing a course of classical study preparatory to the study of law. He was a graduate of ihe High School at Sycamore in 1882. Nathaniel A., born July 5, 1864, is a student at Bennett Medical College. Amos C. was born Feb. 10, 1867 ; Bertie E. was born Aug. 27, 1872; John, born Jan. 12, 1875, died March 13,

Mr. and Mrs. Graves have been residents of Franklin Township during their entire married lives with the exception of a single year. The homestead includes 160 acres of excellent land in a high state] of cultivation. Mr. Graves is a Republican of a decided type, and has officiated in the several local positions of importance in his township. He has been Assessor, and has served seven years as Township Clerk, and has discharged the duties of Treasurer 15 years. He is a Steward of the Methodist Church society, of which he and his wife have long been members.

["ames R. Graham, farmer, residing on section 1 1 , Mayfield Township, is a son of Robert and Louisa (Parker) Graham, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of New York. They were married and settled in Kentucky, whence they moved to this State in 1835. They remained at Ottawa, La Salle County, this State, during the winter of that year, and in the spring of 1836 came to this county and settled in Mayfield Township. His father followed farming as a vocation in the township mentioned until his death, which event occurred March 7, 1860. Two children were born of their union, namely, Sarah Elizabeth and James R. The former died in 1860, aged 30 years.

James R. Graham is the only surviving child of his father's family, and was born in Campbell Co., Ky., Dec. i, 1832. He was but three years of age when his parents came to this county, and resided with them in Mayfield Township until his father's death. His years of minority were passed on the farm and attending the common schools. On the death of his father he became owner of the old homestead by inheritance. It consists of 200 acres of land on sections n and 14, Mayfield Township, most of which is in a good tillable condition. Mr. Graham is considered one of the progressive fanners of his township. He keeps about 45 head of cattle and six horses, and fattens from 30 to 50 head of hogs yearly.

Mr. Graham has been twice married. His first wife was a Miss Mary E. Loossey, and their union occurred in Campbell Co., Ky., Jan. 24, 1856. She was a daughter of Stephen and Sarah (Richardson)

Loossey, parents of six children, namely : Mary E., Lucinda, Nancy, William, James and Lydia. Mary E.', wife of Mr. Graham, was born in Kentucky in 1839, and was the mother of one child, Mary E., only issue of their union. She is now the wife of Winfield Divine, resident of Sycamore. Mrs. Graham died in Mayfield Township, Feb. 28, 1857, and Mr. Graham was again married, in Kingston Township, Jan. 12, 1858, to Miss Nancy Stilwell. She was a daughter of Joseph and Martha (Barrackman) Stilwell, natives of Kentucky, in which State they r.esided until their death. They were the parents of eight children, namely : Mary A., John W., William, Eliza, Catherine J., Nancy, Robert and James.

Nancy Graham was born in Campbell Co., Ky., Nov. 23, 1830, and is the mother of six children by Mr. G. They were born as follows : Lorenzo, Robert, Charles W., Carrie B., Jennie A. and William H., and are all living except Lorenzo, who died in infancy.

.ugh McQueen, farmer, section 29, South (@> Grove Township, was born July 29, 1829, =rt in the Scottish Lowlands, at a place about ^ 12 miles from Ayr, where Robert Burns was » born. His father died when he was between

I three and four years old, and when 10 years old he was thrown upon his own resources for self-maintenance. He received a fair education through the aid of his friends and the energetic application of his own energies, and he operated as a farm laborer in his own country, being thus engaged until his marriage.

He was married June 7, 1847, in Ayrshire, to Jane McKenzie. She was born June 25, 1827, and is the daughter of John and Ellen (Key) McKenzie. Mr. and Mrs. McQueen have had 10 children, three of whom are deceased. Those who are living are John, Hugh, Jr., Mary, Ellen (2d), Frank, Jane and William A. Ellen is the wife of Fred Vodden, a farmer of South Grove Township. Jane, Elizabeth and Ellen are the names of those who are not living.

After his marriage Mr. McQueen engaged in the brick and tile trade in his native country, and was interested in that business about 20 years. In August, 1867, he came to America with his family and landed at the port of New York. After a very

In 1871 Mr. McQueen purchased 160 acres of land, and he has increased his estate by later additions until he is now the proprietor of 480 acres of land, situated at three different points. He is specially engaged in raising Short-Horn and Durham cattle, and is ranked among the leading operators in that line in the county. Formerly he, bred the Berkshire

. swine to a considerable extent, but is now giving his' -ttention to. raising swine of the Poland variety. Mr. McQueen is an ardent Republican in politics,

'ohn N. McDowell, farmer, section 25, Franklin Township, was born in the same township in De Kalb County, on section 12, Oct. 1 8, 1840. His parents, John and Martha (Biddle) McDowell, were born respectively in Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Both came to De Kalb County in early life and were married here. They have since resided on a farm in Franklin Township, where the son was born. Both are still living, at the ages of 72 and 66 years.

Mr.. McDowell was brought up at home, attended the common schools in boyhood and in youth went to the seminary at Wheaton, Du Page Co., 111. At the age of 21 years he began his independent existence as a farmer on a piece of land deeded to him by his father. This he afterwards sold, and in 1864 purchased 90 acres in another part of the same township, on which he had a brief residence, and went thence to South Grove Township, settling on 160 acres of land on section n, on which he resided eight years. He returned afterward to his native township, and later proceeded to Missouri, whence he came back two years afterward to his former home. He has since resided on 180 acres of land situated near Kirkland village, owned by his mother and aunt. He is a Democrat in political principles.

He was married in Flora Township, Boone Co., 111., to Evaline Newton, who became his wife Marcli 28, 1861. She was born June 20, 1844, in the State of New York, and is the daughter of William and Margaret (Tuttle) Newton. Her parents were farmers and natives of New York. She came with her parents to Boone Co., 111., when a child of four years, and there acquired a district-school education. Mr. and Mrs. McDowell have had nine children, - Adelbert, William, Clayton, Fred, Porter, Paul, Edgar and Ivan (twins) and John.

heodore D. Driscoll, farmer, section n, South Grove Township, was born April 5, 1 838, on the farm on which he now resides. His parents, William and Margaret (Losier) Driscoll, were the first settlers in South Grove Township. They were born respectively in Ohio and Pennsylvania. They made a homestead claim of 150 acres of land in 1836, previous to the Government survey, and it was the first claim made in the township by permanent settlers. Their experiences were the same as those so often repeated, - no neighbors, supplies obtainable only from remote points, the nearest mill being at Ottawa, 50 miles distant, where they were obliged to make their way with an ox team. The family included eight children.

Mr. Driscoll was the seventh child, and was only three years of age when the death of his father occurred. He continued to live with his mother until he was of age, and obtained a practical commonschool education. In 1859 he became the proprietor of the homestead, and has had charge of the comfort and welfare of his mother since he was qualified by age and circumstances foi> the duty. ' He is the owner at present of 430 acres, all under cultivation, supplied with a good residence and one of the largest and most convenient barns in De Kalb County. Mr. Driscoll is skilled in the rearing of stock and annually fattens a large number of cattle and hogs for market. He is a loyal and zealous Republican, any has held various local township offices.

He was married Jan. 6, 1876, to Harriet A. Tindall, and they have four children, - Jesse, Elizabeth J., Harriet L. and Arthur. Jesse and Mary (Barber) Tindall, the parents of Mrs. Driscoll, were natives of New Jersey and New York, and came to this county about 1842. She was born in South Grove Town- ship Jan. 21, 1843. She was reared in this county and was well educated, becoming a teacher and following that profession until her marriage.

\ ilham Carpenter, farmer, section 16, Mayfield Township, is a son of John and Joanna Carpenter, natives of New York and Massachusetts. They were the parents of 1 1 children, namely: John, Elizabeth,

William Carpenter, subject of this biographical notice, was born in Schoharie Co., N. Y., March 26, 1813. His father was a blacksmith, which trade William learned and followed, contributing his earnings toward the support of the family until 23 years of age. On account of his father's limited means and large family to support, William was unable to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the common schools, and received only such education as a determined mind could acquire from home study and parental assistance.

He worked at his trade, after leaving home, for about a year and a half in his native State, and then went to Portage Co., Ohio, where he continued to follow his trade until 1848.

In the fall of the latter year, Mr. C. came to this county, traveling the entire distance with a team of horses and occupying 17 days. He was accompanied by his wife and two children, and on his arrival here purchased 80 acres of school lands on section 16, Mayffeld Township, on which he settled and at present resides. He now has 86 acres, all of which is in a good tillable condition.

Mr. Carpenter was united in marriage, Feb. 12, 1835, in Delaware Co., N. Y., to Miss Clarissa C. Whitely. Four years later, in 1839, his wife died, and Jan. 12, 1840, in Portage Co., Ohio, he was a second time married to Miss Mary S. Frost. She is a daughter of Levi and Elizabeth (Slocum) Frost, natives of Massachusetts and Connecticut respectively. They came to this county in 1851, and after residing here about three years removed to Iowa, irhere, in Floyd County, July 21, 1865, her fa died. Her mother then returned to this county and died in Mayfield Township, Feb. 23, 1870. They were the parents of 10 children, namely, John S., Eliza W., Mary S., Levi, Jr., Laura G., Amos B., Delia P., Oliver D., James M. and Edmond E.

Mrs. Carpenter was born in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., March 26, 1814. She was the mother of two children by Mr. Carpenter, namely, Mary C., born Nov. 2, 1840, and William D., born Nov. 3, 1843. Mrs. C. died in Portage Co., Ohio, Nov. 3, 1843, and Mr. Carpenter was a third time married Jan. i, 1844, in Portage County. The lady of his choice was Miss Laura G. Frost, a sister of his former wife. She was born in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., April 12, 1818.

"ohn Hatch, farmer, section 21, De Kalb Township, was born May 15, 1817, in Otsego Co., N. Y., and is the son of Sylvanus id Edith (Gardner) Hatch, who were also born in the Empire State. They removed to Jefferson County when their son was two years of age, and he passed his life in that county, chiefly engaged in teaming, until his removal to Aurora, 111., in 1855. He continued to reside in Aurora and in that vicinity until 1862, where he was engaged in farming, when he purchased 90 acres of land in De Kalb County, where he has since resided and conducted his agricultural projects. He keeps 20 milch cows and raises a very fine grade of horses. His entire acreage is under advanced cultivation.

Mr. Hatch is a Republican in political preference and has held several local official positions. His marriage to Irena Willey took place in Jefferson Co., N. Y., Dec. 17, 1838; and-one child, Mary P., was born to them Sept. 17, 1850. He has also raised five children, which he has taken from various poor farms. Mrs. Hatch was born Aug. 24, 1815, in Jefferson County, and she is the daughter of Eleazer and Wealthy (Marsh) Willey, who were both natives of Oneida Co., N. Y.

eneral Everell Fletcher Dutton, President of the Sycamore National Bank, was born Jan. 4, 1838, in Charlestown, N. H., and is the second child of William P. and Lucinda J. (Blood) Dutton. The former was born Oct. i, 1817, and was reared under the New England regime for the training of farmers' sons, - common-school education and agricultural labor. He was married in 1835 and was a farmer in the Granite State until 1844, the date of his removal with his family to St. Charles, Kane Co., 111., whence he went to Dupage County, and subsequently, in 1846, to Sycamore, De Kalb County, where he was a resident until the spring of 1857. He conducted the affairs of the Sycamore House several years, after which he was appointed Deputy Sheriff under Morris Walrod, and succeeded to the same incumbency under E. P. Young and Joseph F. Glidden, during which periods he was practically chief official. In 1854 he established a commercial business at Sycamore, and later admitted E. H. Barnes as a partner. Political events and national affairs generally at the time when he reached manhood were of a character which tended to awaken every latent principle of patriotism and sense of justice and right that might be slumbering within a man's consciousness. He was a born and bred Democrat of the Jackson school, and, true to the element with which he had drifted up to 1856, he had accepted the issues of the party without question. Always fearless in the expression of his sentiments, his ardor was rewarded by his appointment as Postmaster at Sycamore. Early in 1856 he went to Kansas, rooted and grounded in the belief that the free-State element was the very head and front of anarchy and treason, and confidently anticipating that the results of his investigation of existing conditions would redound materially to the prestige of the Democratic party. To a man of his temperament, the outrages he witnessed could bear but one significance, and he returned to Sycamore a declared free-State man. His intrepid denunciations of the operations of the border ruffians cost him his political head, and in consonance with his instincts he removed his interests to Kansas, in February, 1857. He located at Stanton (then Lykins) County, and engaged in farming. Within a year he was elected the first Treasurer of his county, and served two years. In 1859 he was a member of the Constitutional Convention at Wyandotte, and was a factor in framing the Constitution of the State. In 1861 he was elected Sheriff of the county, the name of which had been changed to Miami, and he removed to Paola, where he resided until 1873. He was reelected Sheriff in 1863. He was conspicuous in Kansas history during the war, was the leader of the citizens whose determined attitude averted the fate of Lawrence from Paola in 1863, and he acted as aid to the Governor.

In 1873 he returned to Illinois and again engaged in farming. He moved again to Paola in 1876, where he operated for a time as a business man and is now retired from active life. The mother of Gen. Dutton was born Jan. 18, 1818, and died at Sycamore June 15, 1875. Emma, the oldest child of William P. Dutton and his wife, married Aaron K. Stiles, now of Chicago, President of the Van Depoele Electric Light Company, and who is extensively interested in the manufacture of barbed wire. Charles E. is a printer in San Franciscp, Cal. Joel W. died at Sycamore Feb. 3, 1855, when he was n years old.

General Dutton was a lad of eight years when his parents located at Sycamore, and during the 1 1 years that intervened before their removal to Kansas, he passed the time as an assistant in his father's store and in the postoffice, meanwhile attending the common school, finishing his education by a year of study at Mt. Morris Seminary and a similar period at Beloit College, Wis. He went with his parents in February, 1857, to Kansas, where he passed nearly two years in unremitting toil on an unbroken prairie farm, varying his days of labor in driving four yoke of oxen breaking the soil, by splitting rails and other work requiring proportionate outlay of physical effort. In the fall of 1858 he returned to Sycamore to enter upon the duties of Deputy County Clerk, under A. K. Stiles, and held that incumbency until April, 1861.

The seed sown in De Kalb County during the portentious period that preceded the tangible expression of the culmination of Southern hate and fury in Charleston Harbor, yielded spontaneous harvest when the reverberations from the attacking guns at Sumter swept over the prairies, freshening under the vernal sun, and imparting hope to those who gloried in their possibilities, and to whom the beautiful acres within their ken typified their country, - their whole country. Its threatened dismemberment roused a desire for immediate action in the breasts of hundreds, and in less than a week the streets of Sycamore were patroled by crowds of volunteers with but a single thought, - the Nation's danger, and the necessity of intelligent preparation for duty in the exigency that seemed imminent. It is ludicrous, but no less true, that these self-constituted recruits for the military service of the United States, organized for preparation, and, in the lack of regulation armament, pressed broom-sticks and hoe-handles into service as auxiliary to their purpose, and with these harmless representatives of legitimate weapons they engaged in the practice of mimic warfare. President Lincoln made his first call for troops April 16, and two days later young Dutton enrolled his name, constituting himself a member of one of the two companies of volunteers from De Kalb County, who anticipated the action of the Governor and held themselves in readiness to answer a possible summons. While red tape was adjusting its kinks, the volunteers proceeded with their preparations. One of the chiefest honors which rests upon the members of the two organizations that moved heaven and earth to obtain an opportunity to lay their lives on the shrine of a united government, is the singleness of purpose that constituted their motive. The ororganization to which private Dutton belonged was designated " Company F," and was assigned to the 1 3th Illinois Regiment, going to Dixon, 111., under the leadership of Capt. Z. B. Mayo. The completion of the organization of the company resulted in the election of Mr. Dutton as First Lieutenant, and he was mustered into the service of the State as the incumbent of that position May 10, 1861. The regiment was mustered into the United States service May 24 of the same year. June 16 it was sent to Caseyville, 111., a town near St. Louis, Mo., where it was detailed for the surveillance of the rebel element of that city, moving forward to Rolla, Mo., July 6, following.

The " 1 3th Illinois" was the first Union regiment that crossed the Mississippi River into Missouri, where their presence accomplished much good in many directions. At Rolla, Aug. 13, Captain Mayo resigned his position, and was succeeded by Lieutenant Dutton. The regiment remained at Rolla until

Oct. 2g, and, in addition to the routine of military duty, performed cavalry service, chasing guerrillas and bushwhackers. On the day named above the command joined the army of General Fremont at Springfield, having marched 120 miles in four days and doing heavy skirmish work on the way. General Fremont, noting the valor and discipline displayed, assigned the regiment to an honorable position ; but, being removed, his command was scattered to various points, the i3th returning to Rolla. The influence through which Fremont was subjected to such humiliation, or the purposes served thereby, will ever remain an unsatisfactory mystery to the members of his command. March 6, 1862, the regiment was ordered from Rolla to support General Curtis, and marched again to Springfield almost at the speed of " double quick," and thence to Northwestern Arkansas, joining the army of Curtis at Pea Ridge, averaging more than 25 miles' march daily. The command moved through Northern Arkansas, made a feint of attacking Little Rock, and accomplished some lively skirmishing. It encountered the severer hardships of war in supplies being cut off, the men being compelled to live on parched corn and green whortleberries for several days. The forced march previous to and down the White River was one of the most terrible in the history of the the regiment. At first cold, insufficient food, incessant rain and dangers from the marauders who infested that region, made it a most dismal experience, which became misery during the close of the march, the cold having changed to intense heat, and there being no water save in the cypress swamps, abounding in reptiles and filth, the wells being poisoned or otherwise rendered unfit for use by the citizens as the troops approached. This experience lasted more than three months ; the regiment reached Helena, Ark., July 14, with half its numbers sick from the effects of hardship and privation. Captain Dutton was sent home on sick leave in August, and on the second of September, 1862, was made Major of the 105111 111. Vol. 'Inf., which was raised in De Kalb and Du Page Counties, under the call " for 300,000 more." He was transferred by special order of the Secretafy of War to the latter command Sept. 22, and, eight days after, proceeded to Louisville, Ky. Thenceforward, until the regiment joined the army of General Rosecrans near s! ) Bowling Green, the raw troops encountered the reali- 5^ ties of soldier life. Forced marches, guard and (? V picket duty, skirmishes of greater or less importance, '"- * disease and privations made up the catalogue of painful variety. Nov. n, the brigade was ordered to Q Scottsville, Ky., and on the 25th of of the same month proceeded to Gallatin, Tenn., where it went into winter quarters, Dec. 10, - all but the " rosth," which moved on the nth to South Tunnel, where the main body remained until Feb. i, 1863, and suffered greatly from sickness. At that date it rejoined i the brigade, which remained at Gallatin until the close of spring. The services of Major Button during the six months of arduous labors performed by his regiment are specially mentioned. He had charge of the scouts from the brigade, - 250 in number, - and spent days and nights in the saddle for weeks, capturing prisoners, cotton bales, horses and mules. June i, 1863, the regiment proceeded to ) Lavergne, and a month later to Murfreesboro, whence > it returned to Lavergne, and on the igth of August J\ entered -Fort Negley at Nashville, where it remained j=i until February, 1864. Many of its officers and men 5* were detailed for special duty. Major Button was a made a member of the Board of Examination, constituted by the Bepartment at Washington for the pur- [ pose of assigning officers to the colored regiments, and he discharged the duties of the position until May, 1864. On the first day of that month the regiment received marching orders for the immediate front, and on the day following the command moved forward to become ah actor in one of the most splendid movements recorded in the history of modern warfare, and which resulted in a decisive triumph of ( the Union forces. The first time the io5th was in active service as a regiment, was at the battle of Resaca, when -the conduct of its members won special mention from its superior officer, one of the most intrepid and competent in the history of the war ; and throughout the campaign through Georgia and the Carolinas, their achievements were the subject of general comment. In the subsequent history of his regiment, the several special mentions of General Button particularize his " gallantry and dash." *|» July 13, 1864, Colonel Bustin returned to Sycamore on a furlough, and Major Button succeeded to the j vacancy, remaining in command till Aug. 4. Buring this time occurred the battle of Peach-Tree Creek (July 20), in which the rosth was heavily engaged, capturing the flag of the i2th Louisana regiment. On return of the Colonel, the Major was mustered in as Lieutenant Colonel. Soon afterward Colonel Bustin acceded to the command of the Bivision, and that of the io5th devolved upon his junior officer, who discharged the duties of the position until the close of the war.

From Atlanta the regiment marched " to the sea," to Savannah, thence through South Carolina and North Carolina to Goldsboro and Raleigh, and thence through Richmond to Washington, participating in the battles of Lawtonville, Feb. 2, 1865; Smith's Farm, March 15, and Bentonville the igth. At Smith's Farm, or Averysboro, the 105 th drove the enemy from his works, capturing two 1 2-pounder guns, which Col. Button and some of his men turned and fired on the retreating enemy; and in token of the regiment's gallantry at this point and in the Atlanta campaign, Col. Button, its commander, received from the President the appointment of Brigadier General by brevet, his promotion dating from March 15, 1865, for "gallantry and meritorious service in the campaign in Georgia and the Carolinas, and for distinguished services at the battle of Smith's Farm, N. C."

At Raleigh the army was made sad by hearing of President Lincoln's assassination, and later joyous by Lee's and Johnston's surrender, and then the homeward march to Washington, where the regiment took part in the Grand Review. General Button was mustered out at the Capital, June 7, 1865, after a continuous period of service of over four years and two months.

On leaving the army, General Button returned to Sycamore. In 1868 he was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court, in which capacity he officiated eight years.

In the winter of 1877, during the 3oth General Assembly of Illinois, he served as Clerk of the House of Representatives. He was elected Clerk of the Supreme Court of the Northern Grand Bivision of Illinois in 1878, and held the position until Bee. i, 1884.

In June, 1883, Gen. Button secured a large proportion of the stock of the Sycamore National Bank, and on the death of J. S. Waterman became its President. He is also President of the Beadle County (Bak.) National Bank. He is an extensive operator in real estate in Iowa and Illinois, and he owns 400 acres of improved land near Genoa, devoted to dairy purposes. With his father-in-law; Harmon Paine, he owns 250 acres near Cortland, which is also a dairy farm. In Iowa and Minnesota he is the proprietor of about 4,000 acres of chiefly wild land.

General Dutton was married Dec. 31, 1863, at Sycamore, to Rosa A. Paine. She was born in Herkimer Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of Harmon and Clarinda (Van Horn) Paine. The children of this marriage are George E., born May 8, 1866, and William P., born April 25. 1872. Harmon Paine was born July 25, 1822, at German Flats, Herkimer Co., N. Y. His wife was born in Springfield, N. Y., Feb. 26, 1824. Their marriage occurred Jan. 13, 1842, and they have three children living, - Rosa A. Button, Ida D. Boynton and W. Burt Paine. The family removed to Sycamore in 1853, where the father became proprietor of the hotel property now known as " Ward's Hotel." It passed from Mr. Paine's ownership in 1869, since which date he has engaged in farming, associated with his son.

fames H. Woods, a farmer of Franklin Township, located on section 29, was born in Frederick Township, Washington Co., Pa., May 19, 1847. William Woods, his father, was a farmer and a native of Pennsylvania, and was of English descent. His mother, Amelia C. Gapen, was a native of the same State and of English lineage. They had five children, of whom James is the third in order of birth. He was eight years of age when his parents became residents of Franklin Township. His father died there, on the home farm, Jan. 15, 1859. The death of his mother occurred Aug. i, 1863. The home estate was divided among the children after the deaths of the parents, and James finally purchased the whole estate, which included 160 acres. He had lived at home without intermission until the demise of both father and mother. The farm is now in an advanced condition of improvement, with good farm buildings. Mr. Woods was married Jan. i, 1868, in Belvidere, Boone Co., 111., to Marilla Shannon. She was born Dec. 4, 1847, >n tne township of Spring in Boone Co., 111., and is the daughter of Robert and Jane A.

(Main) Shannon. Her parents were natives of the State of New York and were of New England ancestry. Her father was a farmer by birth and inheritance, and came to Boone Co., 111., in 1845, where he was a pioneer settler in the township of Spring. They are now living in Flora Township in the same county.

arcus W. Cole, of the hardware firm of Heckman & Cole, Kingston, was born Feb. 8, 1836, in Lockport, Niagara Co., N. Y. His parents, Washington and Harriet (Stiles) Cole, were natives of the State of New York, and located in 1858 in Kingston Township, on section 4, where they have since lived. Alma B., Maria M., John A. and Walter L. are the names of the brothers and sisters of Mr. Cole, who are all younger than he. His father came with his family to Clark Co., 111., in 1837, and he continued a resident at home until he was 20 years old, when he came to Kingston Township and became a farm laborer, and worked two years by the month. He next took a farm to work on shares, and operated in that method one year. He came to Kingston Township in 1858 and engaged in farming, in which he continued until January, 1882. In that month he bought the hardware interest of W. Shaub, and became an associate in business with Philip Heckman. The firm have since operated with success and profit. Mr. Cole is the owner of 180 acres of land in Kingston Township, of which 160 is under improvements.

He was united in marriage Sept. 12, 1858, at the residence of H. H. Little, in Kingston Township, to Anna Eliza Little. She was born in Erie Co., N. Y., July 24, 1840, and is the daughter of Henry and Eva (Bingham) Little. (See sketch of H. Little.) Alice E., born April 21, 1861, is the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Cole. She was graduated at the High School at Genoa, June TO, 1881.

years as Treasurer, of which latter position he is the present incumbent (1885). In his political faith and connections he is a Republican. He is a member of the Free-Will Baptist Church, and has been Clerk of the society to which he belongs for 20 years. He has acted six years in the capacity of Clerk of the Fox River Quarterly Meeting. He has been an influential member of the Masonic Lodge, No. 288, at Genoa, for 19 years. Mr. Cole is a practical printer by trade, having obtained a complete and thorough knowledge of the details of that business while a residenfc of Marshall, Clark Co., 111., but has never pursued it as a vocation. He is the local correspondent of the Genoa Issue.

-oyd D. Bowan, banker and real-estate broker, resident at Kirkland, was born March 9, 1824, in Genesee Co., N. Y., and is the third son of W. H. and Betsy (Gorham) Rowan. His great- grand parents on his father's side came from Ireland to America, and settled in the eastern part of the State of New York, where they reared their family and passed their lives among the farming community, to which they belonged. The father of Mr. Rowan left his native State and went to Racine, Wis., where his residence was brief, and he came to De Kalb County, where he pre-empted a farm, and was among the earliest of the pioneer settlers of Franklin Township. Mr. Rowan, senior, died April 4, 1880, aged 80 years and four months. The mother was a native of Vermont, of English ancestry, and died in Franklin Township, in 1860, aged 54 years. After her death, her husband contracted a second marriage. She was survived by her nine children, all of whom are still living excepting Perry, the youngest, who was killed at the battle of Murfreesboro, in 1862.

Mr. Rowan was 18 years -old when his parents came with their nine children to Illinois. They were in straitened circumstances, and the children were early made familiar with the labors of a farm in a new county. Mr. Rowan assisted his father in bearing the burdens of his large family and reduced means until he was 22 years of age, meanwhile preempting 1 60 acres of land in Franklin Township. He borrowed money at 20 per cent to secure his claim, and at the end of five years, by his energies, thrift and untiring industry, he was cleared from debt. The difficulties in the case may be understood from the fact that Chicago was 65 miles distant, and was their nearest market for produce, a fact made interesting and memorable by the lack of railroad facilities as well as by the beauties and attraction's of a prairie highway, which are not yet by any means traditional. Mr. Rowan pressed his plans in agricultural venture and engaged extensively in traffic in stock, adding to his estate until he is the proprietor of 240 acres of land, all but 40 of which lies in De Kalb County. The remainder is situated in Ogle County, and the entire acreage is under cultivation. Mr. Rowan owns, besides, 480 acres in Iowa and 1 60 acres in Nebraska, also several town lots in Kirkland. In 1882 he erected a building for the transaction of his business as a banker, which is characterized as the best for the purpose in De Kalb County, being entirely fire-proof. In August, 1883, he established the enterprise in which he became associated with B. N. Deane, and has been conducting operations in that line with gratifying results. He has been connected with the Republican . party since its organization. In his religious belief he is, in the Bible sense, an " infidel." Mr. Rowan's marriage to Mary L. Thomas took place March 4, 1847. She was born May i, 1826, in Genesee Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of R. B. and Eliza Thomas. Her parents came to Illinois when she was 12 years of age, first settling in Winnebago County. She was 20 years old when they removed to De Kalb County, where, soon after, she was married. The father died in Boone Co., 111. A brother of Mrs. Rowan died in Kingston Township, of consumption. Henry, another brother, is married and a resident on the family homestead. Mrs. Rowan is the second child of her parents. Mr. Rowan and wife have made nine trips to California to spend the winter, and his wife is there this (the tenth) winter.

eorge J. Dettmer, farmer, section 1 9, South Grove Township, was born Feb. 26, 1847, in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, and is the i of William and Willmina (Alberding) Dettmer. When he was between three and four years old his parents emigrated to America d settled for a time in the State of New York, coming thence to De Kalb County in 1858 and settled on section 20, South Grove Township. The mother died in 1872, aged about 62 years. The father resides with his son and is 77 years of age. They became the parents of six children, five of whom are now living, and are residents of South Grove Township.

Mr. Dettmer is the fourth child in order of birth, and in 1870 became a land-holder by the purchase of 240 acres of land. He is an agriculturist of somewhat extensive relations, all his own tract of land being under improvement, and being also the manager of the homestead property, still owned by his father. He is also dealing largely in stock. Mr. Dettmer is a Republican of the true ring, and has been active in several local offices.

He was married March 8, 1880, in Fielding, Ogle Co., 111., to Amanda Koch. She was born Sept. 4. 1855, in Ogle County, of German parentage, descendants from some of the early settlers of Pennsylvania, and now living in Ogle County. Mr. and Mrs. Dettmer have one child, - William E., born March arvey A. Jones, attorney, senior member of the law firm of Jones & Bishop, at Sycamore, was born on Grand Prairie, near Lafayette, Ind., Oct. 17, 1837, where his parents had settled among the first of the early pioneers of the Wabash Valley. His father, David Jones, who was an energetic man and prominent farmer, was born near Morganstown, Monongahela County, West Virginia, Feb. 18, 1798. His mother, Mary (Owens) Jones, of Welsh and Scotch-Irish extraction, was born July 19, 1802, near the city of Savannah, Ga. Amanda (Mrs. Morehouse), their first-born child, is now deceased. John M. C. went to California in 1848 during the first days of the mining excitement in the Golden State, arriving at Yreka, where he made a permanent location, became Sheriff of Siskiyou County, and died Aug. 12, 1882, aged 52 years. Abel is a mine operator in Oregon. James O. was graduated in the Law Department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and is a farmer of Grand Prairie, Ind., engaging semi-occasionally in the practice of his profession. Deborah (Mrs. Hill) is deceased. Lewis is a farmer in the vicinity of Chillicothe, Mo. Levi M. is a prominent citizen and attorney of Fort Wayne, Ind., and is also engaged in realestate brokerage, and has platted and built a valuable addition to the city. David C., deceased, was a graduate in the Law Department of the University of Michigan, and figured prominently in local politics in Tippecanoe Co., Ind.; Asa F. is a popular physician and a resident on the family homestead on Grand Prairie, Ind.

Mr. Jones of this sketch is the seventh child of his parents. He followed the labors of the farm during the summer and attended school winters until he was 17 years of age, when he became a student at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Ind., and pursued his studies at that institution in 1854-5. He was then lame from necrosis affecting the knee. He was often compelled to climb to the fifth floor on one leg and cane. He went thence to Lombard University, Galesburg, 111., continuing his educational course there until February 1861. In the .spring following he went to Missouri and engaged in teaching, in which he was occupied through the summer and fall, when the contingencies of civil war necessitated a change of base.

Coming North to Illinois, he became a student of law in the office of Hon. A. M. Harrington, of Geneva, under whose supervision he read for his profession two years. In 1863 he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, where he was graduated in the spring of 1865.

Coming to Sycamore soon after, he formed a partnership with Hon. Daniel B. James, County Judge. Their business relations terminated in 1869. Mr. Jones conducted the affairs of his office singly until 1880, when he entered into his present connection with Charles A. Bishop, who had prepared for his profession as attorney under his senior's instructions. They are conducting a business which places them in the foremost rank in the legal fraternity of De Kalb County, a condition which is largely the outgrowth of the repute earned by Mr. Jones in his unremitting attention to the responsibilities and functions of his profession for nearly a score of years, during which he has maintained his office at the same location in Sycamore, No. i, George's Block, on State Street. Mr. Jones is a practitioner in the State and Federal Courts and has been and is connected with some of the most important cases associated with the history of the section of which De

Kalb County forms a part, and it can be truly said that he is equally at home in the office and as an advocate at the Bar. In political affiliation he has been an ardent and active Republican, and aided materially in the formation and organization of the party in Indiana and Iowa, where he operated as a stump speaker, and did valiant service, although laboring under the disadvantage of youth, being but 1 8 years of age. He has been prominent in the ranks of temperance and has striven to accomplish all possible things in that direction by connecting himself with and laboring in the furtherance of the Order of Good Templars, and latterly has favored the advancement of the prohibition element. He has also aided as he might by occasional contributions to the press. He is a student as well as a lawyer, and his studies have by no means been confined to the narrow limits of the law, but have taken a comparatively wide range in theology and general literature, in which last he has been greatly assisted and encouraged by his wife, whose natural love for literature has made her home a place of study.

The family patronymic is of Welsh origin, and the lineage is distinct from three brothers, James, David and Enoch Jones, who came to this country just previous to the War of the Revolution. James was a physician and surgeon in the Colonial Army during the struggle for independence. The second was a Calvinistic Methodist clergyman, a graduate of theTravena College, founded by Lady Huntingdon. It is supposed that the third was a farmer. They located on the Welsh tract near Wilmington, Del. Daniel Jones, the grandfather of Mr. Jones of this sketch, was born on that tract April 10, 1754, and married Mary Alston, who was born Nov. n, 1770, in Philadelphia. Her parents were Joseph and Mary (Berry) Alston, and her father was a merchant in Philadelphia. He conducted extensive commercial interests and was the owner of several merchantmen in the trade between the Continental ports and those of this country. He was English by birth, and had brothers in the British Army; yet, sympathizing with the colonies and still being loyal to his native land, he determined to take no part in the then impending conflict, and accordingly 'sought a residence in the West Indies, where he died. Daniel and Mary Jones became the parents of 13 children, Enoch, Susan, James A., John, Lewis, David, James jd), Abel, Levi, Mary, Alston, Margaret and Isaiah

Harvey A. Jones was married Feb. 28, 1861, to Sarah Dudley Perkins, who was born Oct. 14, 1838, in Charleston, now St. Charles, Kane Co., 111., and is the daughter of Otho W. and Nancy K. Perkins. Her father was born June 16, 1807, in Grafton Co., N. H., and died in Kane Co., 111., Sept. 13, 1870. He was a settler in that county in 1835, in its early period of development, and became prominently identified with its progress. His wife, Nancy (Kelley) Perkins, was born July 3, 1808, in Belknap Co., N. H., and died June 30, 1863. Two sons were born to them, - Jonathan D., May 21, 1840, and Otho W., Jr., April 21, 1842: both are deceased. Mrs. Jones is the oldest and only surviving child. She was educated at the convent of St. Agatha of the Lake, in Chicago, and completed her studies at Lombard University at Galesburg, 111., where she was a student four years. She is a lady of superior attainments, is well versed in current and classical literature, and has written considerably for the press.

Of seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Jones, but two survive. Dudley Kelley, born May 5, 1862, died on the day of birth. Mary Fuller was born May 10, 1863; Owen Dudley, born .Nov. 21, 1865, died Jan. 22, 1867 ; Anna K. was born Feb. 10, 1869 ; Harvey Alston, Jr., born October 28, 1871, died April n, 1880. Sarah Dudley, born June 24, 1873, died July 15 following. David Dudley, born July 24, 1874, died April 5, 1880. The deaths of two promising and beautiful sons occurred within the same week, of malignant diphtheria. The oldest surviving daughter, Mary Fuller, was married on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 1884, to Elmer Jerome Baker, of the publishing house of Baker, Collings & Co., Chicago, and editor and publisher of the Farm Implement. She is a graduate of the High School at Sycamore, was a pupil one year at the Musical Conservatory at Fort Wayne, Ind., and was a student two years at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.

Since Mr. Jones came to Sycamore and identified himself with its Bar and with its society, he has been a prominent factor in both. When some of the traits of his mind are studied, and notice is taken of the persistence, energy and care with which he prosecutes his profession, coupled with the added power :-x^_£Ti^ ^Ai/syXj given by his well-stored mind, both of legal and general knowledge, and his ability to present his arguments in a forcible manner, we have the solution of his unusual success at the Bar. Unlike most college graduates, he -has continued his studies, with even a growing interest, since he left the college hall. The hour of midnight often finds him poring over some valuable book, more with the desire to inform his mind than for entertainment. As a gentleman, worthy as a representative of his profession, as well as a citizen of De Kalb County, we place Mr. Jones portrait in this volume. It is engraved from a photograph taken in 1884.

illiam H. Townsend, a farmer on section n, of May field Township, is a native of the same township. His father, Stephen Townsend, was born in Sullivan Co., N. Y., June 30, 1807, and his mother, Ann (Denman) Townsend, was born in the same county 15, 1809. They came to this county in 1840, settling in Mayfield Township, where he died March 25, 1883. She is still living on the old homestead. They had six children, - Amos W., Nancy D., Ellen, Kate A., William H. and Hattie E.

Mr. Townsend, of this sketch, was born March 16, 1847, and was married in Mayfield Township Oct. 12, 1871, to Lorena Sherwood. Her father, C. W. Sherwood, was born Feb. 9, 1830, in the State of New York, whence he moved to Whiteside Co., 111., when he was 15 years of age. He was married to Mary Landis, Nov. n, 1849, who was a native of Union Co., Ind., and was born Jan. 9, 1828. They moved to De Kalb County from Carroll County, where they had been residents for about two years. He was a minister of the Christian Church, which calling he followed for 22 years. He died in Cerro GordoCo., Iowa, July 7, 1878, where he had been living about one week. They were the parents of seven children. - Lorena, Henry M., Fanny E., Sarah J., William F., Emma and Edward. Mrs. Townsend was born in Whiteside Co., 111., Aug. 10, 1850. The children in her family now are Hattie B., born July 17, 1872; R. Clyde, born Aug. 10, 1873, and died vhen three months old; Winnifred, born March 12, 1875 ; Floyd S., born July 28, 1882, and an infant.

Mr. Townsend has held the office of Township Treasurer ten years, and is the present incumbent of that office. He has also been Township Clerk eight years, Road Commissioner, School Director, etc. He is a Republican in political matters, and in religion \t. both himself and wife belong to the Christian Church.

S. Joiner is a farmer on section 26, Mayfield Township. His parents, Sylvanus and Beulah (Smith) Joiner, natives of Vermont, first settled in Wolcott, Wayne Co., N. Y., then in Pike, Allegany Co., same State. In 1842 they came and settled in Mayfield Township, this county, where they spent the remainder of their days. She died Sept. 16, 1863, and he Dec. 30, 1866. They had nine children, - Alta, Andrew, Cyrus S., Osgood C., Corinna, Henry J., Daniel P., Floretta and Hudson H.

The subject of this sketch was born in Wolcott, Wayne Co., N. Y., Oct. 5, 1813, and when 16 years old he went to Pike, Allegany Co., N. Y. In 1837 he came to De Kalb Co., 111., with his wife, and settled where he still lives, one of the oldest pioneers in the county. His landed estate he has increased from 107 to 147 acres, 130 of which is in good cultivation. In politics he is a Republican, and has held the office of Road Commissioner.

Mr. Joiner was married in Chautauqua Co., N. Y., April 24, 1836, to Miss Eltnina, daughter of Jonathan and Lois (Battles) Lyon, who were natives of Vermont and came to De Kalb County in 1837, settling in De Kalb Township, where they resided until their death; she died in February, 1839, and he in April, 1860. Their children were Elmina, George W. and Alta. Mrs. J. was born in Naples, Ontario Co., N. Y., Oct. 3, 1814. Mr. and Mrs. Joiner are the parents of six children, - Oscar F., Francisco H., Helen L., Orlando A., Flora M. and Alta E. Oscar F. was born in De Kalb Township, April 2, 1838, and married Sylvia Patridge. She was born in Allegany Co., N. Y. They are the parents of two children,^Carrie E. and Burt, who now reside at Independence, Kan. Francisco H. was born Jan. 23, 1840, and died Sept. 1 6, 1847. Helen L. was born Oct. 27, 1843, and died Feb. 8, 1848. Orlando A. was born July 27, 1849, in Mayfield Township. He married Miss Laura Esther Camp. She is the daughter of Frank- lin and Eliza B. (Dow) Camp, natives of New Hampshire. She was bom June 4, 1851, in Mayfield Township. They are the parents of three children, - Arthur D., born Oct. 22, 1873 ; Leon A., born June 24, 1876; and Elmer F., born June 29, 1881. They are residing on the homestead with the parents of Mr. J. Flora M. was born Feb. 27, 1849, and is the wife of E. P. Smith. She. was married Jan. 6, 1870. They have one child, - Albert P., - and reside in Mayfield Township. Alta E. was born March 19, 1852, and died May 30, 1858.

dward Barringer, farmer, section 25, Franklin Township, was born March 30, 1828, six miles from the city of Troy, N. Y., in Rensselaer County, and is the son of Martin and Mary A. (Ives) Barringer, born and J bred farmers in the Empire State. When the son was six years old his parents removed to Genesee County, in the State of New York, coming thence in 1844 to Franklin Township, where they resumed their accustomed vocation, becoming landholders. The mother died at Belvidere June 27, 1877; th-i father died in Florida, in November, 1880.

Mr. Barringer was married at Belvidere, June 5, 1856, to Maryette Rote. She was born Jan. 12, 1831, in Lycoming Co., Pa. Her father, Rev. Daniel Rote (see sketch of Francis Rote on another page of this work), descended from Holland ancestry, was a minister in the Keystone State for many yea'rs and followed the same calling after his removal to De Kalb County in 1846. He died in Franklin Township in 1864. The mother, Mary (Kitchen) Rote, was born in Vermont and died in 1865, aged 77 years. The father was 73 years old when his demise occurred. Mrs. Barringer was 15 years of age when she accompanied her parents to the State of Illinois. Her children are three in number. Carrie is a medical practitioner at Alden, McHenry Co., III.; Emma is the wife of S. P. Crosby, who is managing the Barringer homestead ; and Carrie A., who died when 18 years old.

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Barringer settled on 80 acres located on section 25 of Franklin Township. The homestead property includes 240 acres, all under good cultivation, with fine farm

Mr. Barringer is a staunch and active Republican. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and his wife belongs to the denomination known as "Christians."

enry M. Thomas, farmer, section 30, Kingston Township, was born Sept. 8, 1830, in Chautauqua Co., N. Y., and is the son of R. B. and Eliza C. (Tuttle) Thomas, the former a native of New York, the latter of Massachusetts. They had three children, of whom Mr. Thomas is the youngest. He was about nine years of age when his parents removed their family to Ogle Co., 111., and they removed thence to De Kalb County six years later, settling in Kingston Township. Mr. Thomas engaged in farming, which he has since pursued, and he is the owner of 200 acres of land, nearly all of which is, improved. During the course of the Civil War he was drafted, but supplied a substitute, to whom he paid $808.

Mr. Thomas was married Dec. 23, 1855, in Chisago Co., Minn., to Mary Ring, and their four children were born as follows: R. B., Aug. 7, 1864; Eliza B., Aug. 23, 1866; Cornelius T., born May 2, 1858, died Sept. 5 of the same year; and Minnie L., born April 21, 1863, died May 26, 1879. Mrs. Thomas is the daughter of Cornelius and Ellen Ring, and was born March 22, 1837, in Erie Co., Pa. Her parents were born in Ireland. They removed in her childhood to Peru, 111., where her father died, and later her widowed mother went to Minnesota. Mr. Thomas is an uncompromising Republican.

artin L. Ives, resident of Kirkland, was born -n Troy, N. Y., Nov. 18, 1834. His parents, Jacob and Louisa (Quackenbush) Ives, belonged to the farming community in the State of New York, and were 1 f residents of Genesee County, where the mother ^ died in 1838. In 1848, the father came to Franklin ) Township with two young children, - Martin and daughter. They settled on 40 acres of land pur- chased by the father. His death in March, 1849, deprived the little ones of a father's care and left them wholly orphaned. They were therefore placed in charge of a sister, who had removed to the same township two years previous. Mr. Ives remained with her some time and obtained a fair degree of schooling. When he was old enough he became a farm laborer, and was employed at various points until his marriage, Dec. i, 1861, to Eliza C., daughter of Leonard and Margaret W. (Dibble) Aurner.

» descent. Their marriage took place in Michigan, and they settled in Illinois in 1837. Mrs. Ives was born July 12, 1839, on her father's homestead, and was reared and educated in the same township. When she was 17 years of age she became a teacher, and pursued that calling as a vocation until her

? Township, situated on section 30, on which the family lived and were engaged in the pursuits common /I to agriculture until 1884. In that year they removed to Kirkland and purchased village property, on which they established their home for their declining years. Mr. Ives is the proprietor of a valuable farm, comprising 280 acres in Kingston Township. In his political faith he is an uncompromising Republican, and has held the position of School Director 21 JF years, besides occupying the incumbency of nearly & \ every other township office. Mrs. Ives has been an active and useful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since she was 14 years of age, and has officiated as Superintendent of the .Sunday-school in the village of Kirkland for the last three years.

fames L. Clark, clergyman and farmer, section 10, Mayfield Township, is a son of Nathaniel and Mary A. (Flemming) Clark, natives of the North of Ireland. They were married and resided in that country until the spring of 1838, when they emigrated to the United States, locating at Pittsburg, Pa. In the fall of 1842 they came to this State and for 21 years, until 1863, they were residents of La Salle County. In the spring of the latter year they removed to Somonauk, this county, and after a residence there of 14 years, until 1877, they removed to Mayfield Township, where they are at present residing. Their family comprised seven children, three of whom are yet living, namely: James I., William and John D.; Margaret and Eva died at the age of 10 years each; two died in infancy.

James L., the eldest son, and subject of this notice, was born in Ireland, Jan. i, 1837. The following spring his parents emigrated to the United States, and James remained under the parental rooftree, assisting his father and attending the common schools until he had attained the age of 16 years. On arriving at that age he entered Wheaton College, at Wheaton, Du Page County, this State, and was there engaged in prosecuting his studies, a portion of five years, assisting his father during the summer seasons on the farm.

After leaving Wheaton College, Mr. Clark engaged in teaching, which profession he followed for a period of nine years, meeting with unqualified success.

Abandoning the profession of a teacher, he assisted an Elder of the Wesleyan Methodist Church on his circuit, and in the fall of 1867 came to Mayfield Township, this county, and engaged in preaching the faith of that Church, being ordained in the fall of 1868. He was attached to the Rock River Circuit, of the Illinois Conference, and for three years followed his profession on that circuit. He was President of the Conference six years, and Secretary three years. From there he went to Boone County, this State, at which place he was engaged in the ministry for anothen three years, converting many to the faith he preached.

From Boone County he returned to Sycamore, this county, and was in charge of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of that city for three years. He then moved on his farm of 160 acres, on section 10, Mayfield Township, where he is at present residing. Rev. Clark has not abandoned the ministry, although he follows the vocation of a farmer, and preaches in the Wesleyan Methodist Church at Mayfield and also ^t Sycamore. His farm of 160 acres has about 100 acres under cultivation.

Henderson, in Harding, La Salle Co., this State, April 5, 1860. She is a daughter of John H. and Elizabeth E. (Powell) Henderson, natives of Kentucky and North Carolina respectively. They were married and settled in Brownsville, Haywood Co., Tenn. Her father was so strongly an advocate and lecturer on anti-slavery that he concluded the climate of Tennessee was "unhealthy" for one entertaining those views, and especially one who had the courage to proclaim them, and concluded to move North. He accordingly came to La Salle County, this State, with his family and located on Indian Creek, that county, in June, 1829. They were driven from that county on account of Indian troubles, and for three years Mr. Henderson taught school in Sangamon County, this State, whence he had moved his family. He then returned to his home in La Salle County, where he resided until his death, which event occurred in 1848. They were the parents of seven children, namely : Mary, George W., Francis, Erastus F.> Martha, Sarah and Annetta. . ..

Politically, Mr. Clark affiliates with the Republican party ,but is a strong temperance man, and last November voted with the Prohibition party. He has held the office of Town Trustee for about two terms, and is a respected and esteemed citizen of the county.

^amuel H. Harrington, farmer, section 32, Franklin Township, is the son of S. P. and Polly (Hicks) Harrington, and was born on section 20, April 24, 1849. He passed the years of his minority in alternate labor on his father's farm and in attendance at the public school. When he became of age he assumed the management of the homestead estate. He was married Jan. i, 1873, in Belvidere, Boone Co., IH., to Sarah B. Blanchard. She was born in Flora Township, Boone Co., 111., and is the oldest of four children. Her parents, Roswell and Elizabeth (Whiting) Blanchard, were natives respectively of New York and Maine, and came in early life to Boone County, where they met and were married. They became farmers in that county, and a few years later sold their property in Flora Township, removing thence to Genoa Township in De Kalb County, purchasing a large farm, which they continued to conduct until 1880, the date of their settlement in the village of Genoa. They are still resident there and aged 63 and 58 years. Mr. and Mrs. Harrington have three children - Ina E., Ralph E. and Oldis I.

Mr. Harrington became proprietor of his father's farm by purchase after his marriage. The homestead included 160 acres, which he has increased by later purchase to 200 acres, and the entire acreage is under improvement. He has recently become interested in raising Durham cattle. Politically he is a Republican, and is active and influential in the local ranks of that element.

.iram G. Vandeburgh, farmer, section 32, Kingston Township, has been a resident of De Kalb County since 1847. His parents, Cornelius and Nancy (Swartwood) Vandeburgh, were born respectively in New Jersey and New York. After their marriage they located in the latter State and subsequently removed to Pennsylvania, going thence to Ohio. The mother died in that State, and the senior Vandeburgh came with his family to De Kalb County, dying in Kingston Township, Jan. 15, 1870.

Mr. Vandeburgh is the youngest of 10 children, and was born Aug. 4, 1827. He obtained the limited common-school education possible at the time when his parents resided in Ohio, whither they removed when he was two years of age, and he lived with them in the Buckeye State during their residence there, and came in 1847 with the father to De Kalb County. He has lived since continuously in Kingston Township, with the exception of four years which he spent at Kalamazoo, Mich., engaged in carpentering. In 1849 he became the proprietor of 80 acres, and now owns 180^ acres of land, which includes 20 y2 acres in timber.

The Library

township of Mayfield, to Caroline E. Fairclo, a native of Illinois. She died in Kingston, Mays, 1 86 Cleaving two children : Isaiah, born Aug. 28,1855; an<^ Orilla, Sept. 14, 1860. The daughter is the wife of C. W. Parker, of Kingston Township. Mr. V. was again married March 4, 1865, in Mayfield Township, to Mary E., daughter of Samuel and Mary (Tower) Knight. Her parents were born respectively in the States of Maryland and Vermont. After their marriage they settled in Illinois, and in 1845 located in De Kalb County, where they are among the useful and substantial citizens, and among the first settlers. They have had 10 children, and Mrs. V. is the second in order of birth. She was born in Columbus, Adams Co., 111., May 24, 1842. She is the mother of one child, - Lydia A., born in Kingston, July 6, 1868.

form M. Severy, stockman and farmer, section 27, Somonauk Township, was born Nov. 4, 1829, in Oxford Co., Maine, in the town of Dixfield. His father, Jacob Sever}', was born Feb. 3, 1795, in Sutton, Mass., which was also the birthplace of John's mother, Rebecca (Stevens) Severy. She was born Feb. 1 1, 1787, and died in Dixfield, on her birthday in 1832. Jacob Severy was born Feb. 3, 1795, and died in Jay, Maine, Aug. 15, 1877. They were members of the agricultural class and had four children. One is deceased. Dexter is a breeder of and dealer in Holstein stock in Victor Township. Satira is not living. Hiram is a Holstein stock-raiser in Adams Township, La Salle Co., 111.

Mr. Severy is the youngest child and is a farmer by training and inheritance, having been brought up to that calling. He also learned the details and art of house and sign painting, which he pursued seven years. In 1853 he bought 80 acres of land in Somonauk Township, on which he has since resided and prosecuted his business. He has 132 acres in his present estate. For more than a score of years he was extensively interested in raising fine Poland- China swine, and in 1882 he inaugurated his business in Holstein cattle by the purchase of six thoroughbreds. His herd includes 14 thoroughbreds /f>2,/ft >«nU?x«Xi^' /"> A.

(fifteen-sixteenths) and 1 8 high grades (seven-eighths). He has one fine registered animal, Prince of Kenosha, numbered 1,728 in the H. H. B. His drove ot swine contains commonly about 125 head, and his place has all the modern facilities for cattle breeding. Mr. Severy was united in marriage Jan. 17, 1855, in Lowell, Mass., by Rev. A. Brewster, to Sarah Hubbard, and they have two children, - Francis E., born Feb. 9, 1859, wife of Edward Martin, and resident on her father's farm; John M. was born Oct. I, 1867; two children - Sarah J. and John M. (ist) - are deceased. Mrs. Severy is the daughter of Jeremiah and Jemima (Stewart) Hubbard, and was born Oct. 23, 1829, in Wells, Maine.

ames Richards, farmer, section 19, South Grove Township, was born Sept. 3, 1818, at Saratoga Springs, N. Y. Jacob Richards, his father, was of Welsh lineage and New England parentage, his ancestors having removed from that section of the United States to the neighboring State of New York, in its pioneer period. He married Nancy wood, who was born in Greenfield, Saratoga County, and was a resident of that county throughout her entire life. Her death occurred in 1859, when she was 73 years old. The father died in May, 1842. Their family included 10 children, of whom two are deceased.

Mr. Richards was the seventh child of his parents, and continued under the parental roof until of age. He was educated at the academy at Stillwater, N. Y., and in the year following that in which he attained his majority he began teaching in Saratoga County, which he made his vocation until his marriage, Sept. 20, 1849, to Lucretia Ward. The ancestral stock from which Mrs. Richards descended was originally Scotch. Six generations of Wards who preceded her father were descended from three families bearing the family name who came to this country from Scotland, and from them the name is diffused throughout the New World. William and Harriet (Ross) Ward, the parents of Mrs. Richards, trace their immediate descent from New England branches, some of whose members were soldiers of the war for independence. The father died in Worcester Co., Mass.; the mother died in Saratoga County, in 1884, at the age of 86 years. Mrs. Richards was born April 10,

20, in Petersham, Worcester Co., Mass. Her father died when she was five years of age, and she remained under the control of her mother until she was 13 years old; when she began to fit herself for a (c>; teacher. She commenced her labors in that line when 1 6 years old, passing alternate seasons between school and teaching, and afterwards in study at the State Normal School at Albany, where she was graduated in 1845, in the first class that graduated at that school. Of her marriage, four children have ( been born, and three are living. Harriet W. marj> ried Harry Wadey, a farmer of Lynnville Township, i Ogle Co., 111. Their marriage occurred in 1870. Martha A. is the wife of George Tindall, of South Grove Township. Jessie L. married Solomon M. Hollis, of Kane County, who is engaged in the windmill business. The deceased child was a daughter and was named Carrie C.

Immediately after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Richards settled in Winnebago Co., 111., and soon -. afterward bought a farm in Creston, which he sold -jSj later and became, in 1868, by purchase, the pro- Jr? prietor of 93 acres, on which he has since resided, in *2- De Kalb County. The tract is all under cultivation, = and has excellent farm buildings. Vr Mr. Richards is an enthusiast in politics and has ^ contributed for a number of years to the local press, ) being a candid and forcible writer. He has been Postmaster of Deerfield Prairie since 1868, and has other important local positions, among which are those of Assessor and Trustee.

Among the prominent and representative citizens of the county whose portraits we present in this book, i we take pleasure in giving that of Mr. Richards, x* J which was engraved from a photograph taken in 1884.

».enry T. Merrill, farmer, section 25, Franklin Township, is an apiarist and manufacturer of cider and butter. He was born Sept. 26, 1814, in Delaware Co., N. Y. His father, William Merrill, was born in Connecticut, and was a shoemaker by trade, and also a tanner and currier. His marriage to Catherine Wilber took place in Delaware County, where she was born and passed her entire life, dying July 8, 1850, it the age of 62 years. She became the mother of S«^ git children. In 1838 the father came West and died Oct. 7, of the same year, at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Mary Olmstead. He was 53 years of age.

Mr. Merrill was the sixth child of his parents, and was one of the four who survived their earliest youth. He was brought up and educated in his native county, obtaining a good common-school education, which he supplemented by a course of commercial study at the business college at Albany, N. Y.

He was married Feb. n, 1839, in Oswego Co., N. Y., to Mrs. Catherine Merrill, daughter of John I. and Sarah (Lucky) Burst. Her parents were members of the agricultural class of the State of New York, and in the maternal line were descendants from the French Huguenots. They passed the closing years of their lives with their children at Franklinville, McHenry Co., 111. Mrs. Merrill was born Oct. 9, 1815, in Schoharie Co., N. Y. She was a pupil at school in her native county, where she lived until her marriage to her first husband, John W. Merrill, by whom she had two children. Sarah is the wife of David Johnson, of Marengo, McHenry Co., 111. She died April 6, 1867. Lewis is a farmer and resides in Kingston Township. Of her second marriage, five children have been born : John, Jan. 29, 1849; Sanford, Jan. 13, 1852; Maria E., March 4, 1855 ; Mary was born Dec. 6, 1842, and married March 4, 1874, to Hiram Burchfield, and resides in Kingston Township; Clara was born Aug. 14, 1856, and was married Nov. 26, 1881, to Byron G. Burbank, an attorney and now a professional teacher, which is also the vocation of his wife. They are perfecting their knowledge of the German language at Hamburg.

In 1851 Mr. and Mrs. Merrill located in Franklin Township, where the former established himself in the business of a merchant, in which he had been engaged in the State of his nativity. He erected the first building for the exclusive purpose of mercantile business in the township, and he was the means of the establishment of one of the first postoffices in the county, which was designated Lacy. He continued its official for a period of nearly 20 years, and is the senior Postmaster in the county, as well as the longest in office. He is the owner of 101 acres of land, and attends to the several varieties of business specified at the beginning of this sketch. In politi- 5? ^Sgsjsr -^f^S^v^ cal faith and connections he is a Republican, and has discharged the duties of nearly every local position in his township. The family attend -the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which the mother is an earnest and active member.

hilander Murdock Alden, cashier of the Sycamore National Bank, was born Jan. 27, 1835, in Lyme, Grafton Co., N. H. He is a lineal descendant of the historic pair at Plymouth, John Alden and Priscilla Molines or Mullens, who discussed the claims of Miles Standish to the lady's favor, which resulted in her question, "Why don't you speak for yourself, John?" Joseph Alden, the second son of John and Priscilla, was born in 1624 and became the father of six children. His son John was born about 1669. David, oldest son of the latter, was born in 1702, and by his marriage eight children were born. David, second son, was born in 1730, and became the father of four sons and two daughters. Andrew, youngest son, was born about 1765, and his second son, Philander, was born in 1799, - on the loth day of November. Of the marriage of the latter to Polly L. Murdock, six sons and a daughter were born. P. M. Alden, of this sketch, who is the youngest of the sons, represents the present generation, and is the sixth in direct line of descent from his illustrious ancestor, who was the last male survivor of the Mayflower emigrants, and who signed the compact in her cabin before landing at Plymouth Rock. We have no record of his ancestry in England previous to the emigration. Philander Alden died March 8, 1835, at Lyme. His wife was born Aug. 20, 1801, and is still living at Sycamore, at the advanced age of 83 years. Calvin Murdock, maternal grandsire of P. M. Alden, was born Oct. 10, 1775, and died Oct. 9, 1807. His wife, Polly (nee Leonard) Murdock, was born in 1780 and died in 1859. They were Scotch by descent. Of the family of Philander and Polly Alden, four children survive; George L., merchant at Middleboro, Mass.; Thomas J., freight agent at Campello, Mass.; Mary L., wife of Hon. Samuel Alden, of Sycamore ; and Philander M., the subject of this sketch. Martha Jane, wife of A. W. Sawyer, of Sycamore, is a half sister.

Mr. Alden obtained a good common-school education, and completed his studies at the High School in his native place, coming West at the age of 20 years. During the first year of his stay in De Kalb County, he was occupied as a farm assistant in the township of Mayfield. He taught school the following winter, and in 1856 came to Sycamore, where he followed the bent of inclination and acquired a complete knowledge of the art of making daguerreotypes and ambrotypes. He made a success of that line of business until the crisis of 1857, when the stringencies of the times wrought such a change in the faces of his patrons as precluded their reproduction on plates or in ordinary cameras (unless in sections) from inordinate length (!), and Mr. Alden disposed of his business. Within the sarne year he obtained the position of Clerk in the Recorder's office at Sycamore, under James H. Beveridge, where he officiated until 1859. In that year he entered the banking house of the late J. -S. Waterman. He discharged the duties of cashier and confidential clerk in that institution until 1864, with no intermission save a period of three months in 1861, which he passed m the military service of the United States, as leader of the 1 3th Illinois regimental band (recruited and organized by his efforts), with the rank of Lieutenant. In 1864 he accepted an appointment in the State Savings Bank of Chicago, where he was employed two years. In 1866 he became a traveling agent in the interests of various fire insurance companies, as a general adjuster of losses and supervisor of agencies. In 1870 he became assistant and acting secretary of the Lamar Insurance Company of Chicago, a corporation of which the Hon. Leonard Swett was President. His connection with that body was terminated by the great fire of October, 1871. At the earnest solicitation of J. S. Waterman and others, he returned to Sycamore and was elected to the responsible position which he has since held in the National Bank, and in which he is now a heavy stock-holder. Since the death of James S. Waterman in July, 1883, Mr. Alden, having been named in the will as one of the executors of the estate, has borne the chief responsibility in the settlement of the extensive connections of the property, which is estimated at a value of more than half a million dollars. He is also executor and administrator of the estates of John S. Hunt and John C. Waterman, deceased. The manner in which Mr. Alden has executed the responsibilities of the trusts devolving upon him, proves the genuineness of his integrity and the justice of the reputation he has earned for energy and executive ability, as well as probity and unswerving rectitude.

Mr. Alden's general relations with the interests of Sycamore are as extensive as those of any of its citizens, and he gives considerate attention and substantial aid to all schemes, religious, educational, or in any sense conducive to the general welfare. He has been identified with many of the manufacturing enterprises established at various periods at Sycamore.

On the organization of the Board of Education he was elected a member thereof and made its Secretary. He officiated in that office six years, taking a special interest in and giving much personal attention to matters pertaining to educational affairs. He is at present (1885) Township Treasurer of Sycamore, having be^n appointed his own successor in that responsible office. As a member of the Board of Managers, and as Secretary and Treasurer of the Elmwood Cemetery Company, in which positions he has officiated a number of years, he has accomplished much in the way of improving and beautifying the grounds connected according to the purpose for which they are set apart. Together with other business interests at Sycamore, he established an insurance agency, and has since conducted extensive and successful relations in that avenue, being at the date of this writing assisted by his son, Fred H. Alden. He represents 14 leading home and foreign fire insurance companies, with an aggregate capital of nearly $100,000,000.

Mr. Alden is a member of the Congregational Church, an officerof the society, and an active worker in the Sunday-school. He has been Superintendent for several years, also a prominent member of the choir, and characteristically interested and alert in discerning and promoting the welfare of the Church. The entire family of Mr. Alden are members of the same Church; a fact worthy of note.

The marriage of Mr. Alden to Laura J. Sawyer, of Sycamore, took place Feb. 29, 1860. SJie is the daughter of Alfred and Margaret Sawyer, and was born in Massachusetts, March 13, 1843. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Alden has been blessed by the birth of four children. The first - Henry L. - died in infancy. The others - Susie E., Abbie W. and Frjd H. - are still joyous members of a model household, md bless and brighten the home circle. The family residence is on Somonauk Street. It is known as the

Mr. Alden, in his character and daily walk, is a fine representative of the stock from which he springs. He inherits all the traits of the best elements of New England, which has supplied the material for men who ha-ve constructed the West. Like his ancestors, he is a self-made man. He is not only temperate in his habits, but he also is and has always been a total abstainer from the use of tobacco or liquor in any form.

orton McKeague, farmer, section 32, Kingston Township, was born July 15, 1830, in the county of Durham, Ont., and is the son of William and Charlotte (McDonald) McKeague, both of whom were born in Canada, of Scotch ancestry. They continued to reside in Canada after their marriage, and there passed their entire lives, where they reared their six children, named Norton, Diana, William, George, Helen and Mary.

Mr. McKeague was educated in the excellent schools of the Dominion, remaining until he was 18 years of age, receiving a thorough course of instruction in agricultural pursuits. At the age mentioned he went to the State of New York and passed three years in Livingston County, and subsequently returned to Canada. He remained there about 18 months, and in October, 1853, he came to Kane Co., 111. He operated there four years, and in 1857 removed to De Kalb County. He purchased 85 acres in Kingston Township, which has since been his homestead. Five acres of his estate are in timber. He has spent six years in Grand Traverse Co., Mich., where he was employed between two and three years in a saw-mill, and at the end of that timehe built a grist-mill, and he continued its management more than two years.

In political faith and principles Mr. McKeague is a Republican. He has officiated two terms as School Director, and the same length of time as Overseer of Highways.