DeKalb County, Illinois - The whole text, 1885 (part 7 of 28)

His marriage to Mary Robinson took place at Sycamore, Aug. 7, 187 9, and they have had two children, - Ethel C., born Jan. 2, 1881, and died Aug. 8 following; and Floyd B., born March 16, 1884. Mrs. Hartman is the daughter of Horace and Ann E. Robinson, both natives of Massachusetts, whence they removed to Illinois. The former died at Saxon, Henry Co., 111., and the latter resides at Genoa.

bram Ellwood, manufacturer of barbed wire fence stretchers at Sycamore, is the son of Hon. Reuben Ellwood, M. C., whose sketch may be found elsewhere. He is connected with the business interests of the firm lately known as the R. Ellwood Manufacturing Company, whose affairs have recently been assumed by the senior stock-holder.

Mr. Ellwood was born March 26, 1850, in Scotia, Schenectady Co., N. Y. He was a pupil at school until he was 16 years of age, when he engaged as a railroad contractor, operating at various points in the management of construction corps of different lines, among which were the New Orleans, Mobile & Texas Railroad and a line formerly known as the Milwaukee & Northern. On the termination of his transactions in that capacity, he engaged in the duties of a freight and passenger conductor, following that line of business on various railroads. He was an attache of the United States Mail service on the Missouri,

In the fall of 1877 he entered upon the responsibilities of the position of Superintendent of the R. Ellwood Manufacturing Company, in which he was engaged until the fall of 1880. At that date he engaged in the manufacture of wire-fence stretchers and novelties, in December, 1884, consolidating his interests -with his former business and becoming manager.

W. C. Joslyn, farmer on the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 29,Cortland Township, was born in Darien, Genesee Co., N. Y., Nov. 22, 1824, and when ten years of age moved with his parents to Erie Co., N. Y. In July, 1844, he came by steamboat to Chicago, that place having then only 5,000 inhabitants. He came on to Sycamore with Andrew Lovell and Homer Roberts, and in October following he went to Wisconsin and spent the n ensuing winters in the pineries; the summers he spent on the Mississippi River, sawing and rafting lumber to St. Louis, Mo., or was at Sycamore. While in the pineries he learned the Chippewa language of the Indians. He walked i r times to the pineries, a distance of 300 miles, and walked from La Salle and Peru to Sycamore when he saw no other human being on the whole route except at Paw Paw and Shabbona Grove. Once he drove an ox team to the pineries, and his only stopping places were the hotels along the way, which were generally 40 miles apart ! In 1856 he quit lumbering and bought 400 acres of land, of Mr. West, the banker at Geneva; the next year he sold to his partner, L. F. Dow, but in 1858 he bought back 60 acres, on which he has since resided and prospered. He has borne a share of the /. r\ ^j&^.er rofj@^£(a)

Mr. Joslyn was married June 18, 1856, to Mrs. Philura L. White, widow of George H. White, who (0)1 died in Calfornia in 1852. They had one child, George M., born May -8, 1849, who is now a resident of Kansas. Her father, Martin L. Lowel, was born in Lamster, N. H., Dec. 14, 1792, and was in the War of 1812, and was a pensioner. Her mother, Melinda C. La Porte, was born in New Jersey, June 6, 1798. ^ Both of them died in Sycamore. Her parents came to this country in 1870, but she herself had come in 1855. Mrs. J. was born in 1825, in Brookfield, Washington Co., Vt. Mr. Joslyn's father, Orsamus R., v/as born in 1800 and died in 1864, in Alden, Erie Co., N. Y.; and his mother, Osia, nee Sprague, was born in 1806, and died in the above county, in 1844. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Joslyn are: Colin C., born Dec. 9, 1857, now an attorney at law in Minneapolis, Minn.; Carlin D., born May i, 1859, now at Deer Lodge, Montana, 600 miles northwest of Salt Lake City; Dan R., born Oct. 7, 1863, and died in 1870 ; Minnie O. and Linnie R., twins, were born April 8, 1870.

Tames M. Dayton, of the firm of Dayton & Stafford, dealers in live stock at Sycamore, was born Jan. 16, 1839, in the township of Cortland, and has been a resident of De Kalb County all his life. His father, Alvin Dayton, was born in 1809 in Vermont, and removed with his family to De Kalb County in its earliest days. He is the oldest living pioneer settler of Cortland Township. The mother of James M., Abigail, nee Wyman, is a native of Massachusetts.

Mr. Dayton is the second in order of birth of six children born to his parents, four of whom are still living. He began his struggle with fate on attaining his majority, and soon found himself the possessor of 90 acres of land, the result of persistent energy and perseverance in laudable effort. The property was located in his native township and he continued its proprietor six years. At the end of that time he bought a farm in the town of Virgil, in Kane County. His possessions there now embrace 320 acres, the property being in charge of a tenant.

the enterprise in which he is now occupied, and also engaged in the management of a restaurant in partnership with his brother. Four years later he returned to his farm, and after a stay of nearly three years became again a factor in the business element of Sycamore. The shipments during the busy season of Messrs. Dayton & Stafford average about 100 carloads. In summer Mr. D. operates a large roadgrader, and among other merchandise they deal in drain tile and sewer pipe.

The wife of Mr. Dayton was formerly Ann A. Ewings, and their marriage took place Oct. 7, 1861. Mrs. Dayton was born in Ohio, and is the daughter of George and Deborah Ewings. The children born of their union are five in number. Mary, born Jan. 5, 1863, is the wife of Herbert E. Harmon, agent for a nursery house, and resident at Morenci, Mich.; Grant A. was born Dec. 5, 1865, in Cortland Township; Nora A. was born Sept. 25, 1867 ; Lottie, Oct. 21, 1869, in Virgil Township; Josie, Sept. 17, 1873, in Sycamore Township.

lexander Crawford, merchant at Genoa, was born Dec. 22, 1822, in the State of Pennsylvania, where his parents, Alexander and Rachel (Kidd) Crawford, were also born. They removed thence with their children in the fall of 1839, and settled in the township of Sycamore, where their mother died, in 185 r. Later, the father went to Iowa and died there.

Mr. Crawford is the second son of his parents, who became the parents of eight children. He passed the earlier years of his life obtaining his education and assisting on his father's farm. His first independent venture in business was on a rented farm, on which he operated two years, and at the end of that time pre-empted 160 acres of land in Genoa Township. On this he prosecuted the interests of a farmer until 1873, when he bought another farm, of which he took possession and was engaged in cultivating two years. In 1875 he removed to Genoa village and began to operate in butter and eggs, gradually extending his relations until he converted them into those of a general merchant. He is conducting a very extensive business, one of the lea enterprises at Genoa, and manages his affairs in a brick building, which he erected in the summer of 1 88 1. His aggregate of annual sales amounts to about $18,000. His farm in the township of Genoa comprises 376 acres of valuable, well-improved land. Mr. Crawford is in sympathy with the Republican element in politics, and has held the offices of Justice of the Peace and Highway Commissioner. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity.

His marriage to Laura Shurtliff took place Dec. 25, 1845, in Genoa Township, and they have five children, - Theresa, William H., Milton H., Clark E. and Carl B. The oldest daughter is the wife of Charles Smith and resides in Genoa Township.

sratio H. Mason, capitalist, resident at Sycamore, was born Feb. 19, 1829, in the township of Warren, Herkimer Co., N. Y. The family genealogy has been preserved, the record showing that Sampson Mason, the earliest ancestor who became a citizen of the New World, was a soldier and officer o/ the army of Cromwell and probably belonged to the celebrated Ironsides Regiment. In 1650, after the Restoration, he came to America and located at Rehoboth, Mass. He was a member of the Free-Will Baptist Church in England and was active in establishing the Second Baptist Church Society at Swansea, in the Bay State. He married a lady named Russell, and they became the parents of 12 children. Their son, Pelatiah Mason, was born in 1669 and was married May 22, 1694, to Hepzibah Brooks. Eleven children were born to them, of whom Russell was the tenth in order of birth. He was born April 21, 1714, and married Rhoda Kingsley June 5, 1736. The children of whom they became the parents were 12 in number. Philip was born Jan. 29, 1745, and married Mercy Scott. They became the parents of 12 children. Their son, Russell Mason (2d), was born Feb. 25, 1769, and was married on Sunday, Dec. 30, 1792, to Ruth Lapham. Hiram Mason was the fifth of their nine children. His birth occurred Sept. 17, 1805, in Warren* Herkimer Co., N. Y., and he married Fanny Brown, a native of German Flats, born Aug. 9, 1808. They were the parents of Mr. Mason of this sketch. The Mason family continued residents of Massachu- setts until r794, when Russell Mason (2d) removed from South Adams to the State of New York. He was a pioneer settler of Fairfield, Herkimer County, where he became owner of a large tract of timber land, which he cleared and converted into a fine and valuable farm. Later, he removed with his family to Warren Township in the same county.

Hiram Mason and his wife died when their son was in his childhood. The latter, thrown on his own resources at an unusually early period in life, devoted every energy to the amelioration of the circumstances \ in which he found himself and in establishing his gjx prosperity on a firm basis. The first important event f of his life was his marriage, and two years later he came to Illinois and engaged in agricultural pursuits at Sycamore, combining therewith extensive traffic in real estate. He purchased tracts of unimproved land, which he redeemed from "its original state and afterwards sold. He became the owner of 200 acres of land in the western part of Sycamore (including the Joseph Sixbury farm), which he laid out in lots, and portions of which he sold. He also platted one division, now known as Mason's Addition. The grounds connected with his residence on State Street, including four acres, five dwellings variously located and several lots lying in different sections of the corporation, are still in his possession. He owns about 2,500 acres of land in Iowa, still lying uncultivated, and he is also the proprietor of 1,000 acres of fine farming land in De Kalb and Ogle Counties, which is rented. In addition to his transactions in real estate, Mr. Mason operates in loans. He is a Douglas Democrat.

In 1871, associated with James S. Waterman, he formed a stock company and organized the First National Bank of Sycamore, of which he was elected Vice-President. His connection with the institution ceased in 1875, since which he has conducted financiering in a private capacity. When the Sycamore & Cortland Railroad was built he became one of its stock-holders, and has also conducted an abstract business, the firm style in that avenue being Baily & Mason.

The marriage of Mr. Mason to Mary E. Tredway > - occurred Feb. 28, 1850, in the village of Little Lakes & jj» in Warren Township. Mrs. Mason was born in that township April 18, 1832, and was the daughter of Belia and Philotheta (Marshall) Tredway. Her father was an attorney-at-law. Of this union four daughters were born, two of whom are deceased. Eliza V. was born in Mohawk, Herkimer Co., N. Y.i May 29, 1851, and died May [2, 1853, at Sycamore; Fanny F. was born at Sycamore Jan. 7, 1856, and was married Oct. 30, 1878, to Walter H. Loomis; Libbie F., born March 12, 1865, at Sycamore, died March 7, 1869; Mary Maud was born at Sycamore Aug. 17, i87r. Their mother died Aug. 25, 1882.

>hn Patterson, farmer, resident at Genoa, was born April 5, 1821, in Meadville, Pa. He is the oldest son of Joseph and Eleanor (Compton) Patterson. His parents were born in Pennsylvania and came to McHenry Co., 111., in 1846. They retained their residence there until 1864, when they removed to De Kalb County, settling in the township of Genoa, where the death of the father occurred, March 1 8, 1865. The mother died July 3, 1875. Their children were born in the following order: Rebecca, John, Joseph, David, William, Henry, Margaret E., James, George and Robert.

Mr. Patterson is the oldest son and came to Mc- Henry County when he was 24 years of age, in 1845. He resided there until the fall of 1862, the date of his removal to De Kalb County, and purchased 40 acres of land in the township of Genoa. He has increased his landed estate until he is now the proprietor of 200 acres of land in the county of De Kalb. He located in the village of Genoa on his removal hither. Mr. Patterson is a Republican in political sentiment and has held various positions of official trust in the community to which he belongs.

The parents of Mrs. Patterson, Ezra S. and Jane (Brown) Gregory, were natives respectively of Connecticut and Maine. After their marriage they settled in the State of New York, and were there resident until 1837, when they settled in Genoa Township. They have had seven children, three of whom grew to maturity, - Mary J., Starr C. and William G.

rthur J. Thompson, dentist at Sycamore, was born April 24, 1848, in Utica, Oneida Co., N. Y. His father, John J. Thompson, as born April 6, 1813, in Albany, N. Y., and was by vocation a shoemaker. The latter became a soldier of the Civil War and was wounded at Chickamauga, the injury being the primal cause of his death, which occurred April 21, 1883, at Polo, 111. Barbara B. (Brand) Thompson, the mother, was born Jan. 6, 1813, at Eichelfechen, Scotland, and resides with her daughter at Polo, 111. Two of their six children are living. Mary E. is the widow of Cornelius Wadsworth, a former harness dealer at Polo. Charles W. , was killed April 7, 1862, at the battle of.Shiloh, when he was 20 years of age. Jenitt C. is deceased. She died at the age of 20 and was a young lady of superior musical education, being a fine pianist and vocalist. Arthur and Florence were twins. The latter died at the age of six years. James is deceased.

The enlistment of his father in the war for the Union necessitated the removal of Mr. Thompson from school when he was 14 years old, and he learned the trade of a harness-maker. He was afterwards employed in various mercantile houses until 1871. He had been frugal and managed his affairs with the purpose of preparing for his profession, and in that year he became a student in dentistry in the office of Charles H. Carnaga at Polo, 111. At the end of four years he established his office independently and operated about 18 months. In the fall of 1874 he founded his business at Sycamore, in which he has won the reward due to the substantial merits of his work and has a popular and increasing business. Dr. Thompson is an active and influential member of the Odd Fellows Order and belongs to the Patriarchal Circle.

M., daughter of Alfred and Mariah Hunter. Their children were born as follows: Florence J., Dec. 19, 1875; Clara B., Feb. 8, 1879; John A., May 20, 1881. Mrs. Thompson was born April 19, 1847, in Colchester, N. Y.

Barnes P. Brown, farmer, section 29, Genoa fc Township, was born Jan. 3r, 1833, in Benson, Hamilton Co., N. Y. He is the son of Jeremiah L. and Judith (Richardson) Brown, of whom a more extended account is given in the sketches of D. S., J. W. and C. A. Brown, to be found elsewhere in this volume. At the age of four'years he accompanied his parents to De Kalb County, and has been since that age a resident of the township of Genoa, and is a farmer of prominence and a citizen of influence. He owns 429 acres of land, lying principally in Genoa Township, and is also the proprietor of 504 acres in Storey Co., Iowa. In political sentiment and connection he is a Republican.

His marriage to Susan M., daughter of Peter S. and Barbara A. Pratt, occurred April 8, 1854, in Elgin, 111. They have been the parents of 15 children, three of whom are not living. The survivors are - James L., Esther E., Annie R., Elva L., Arthur B.,. William J., Lora and Lena (twins), Franklin B., Susie A., Alta B. and Ethel A. Ida and two children unnamed are deceased.

dward Hoxsey, a business man of Somonauk, was born Jan. u, 1834, in Berkshire Co., Mass., and is a son of Alanson and Nancy (Jones) Hoxsey. The family removed in 1836 to Serena, La Salle Co., 111., where the father became an extensive landholder, owning at one time 800 acres of land. The latter was a native of Berkshire County and was a farmer in the Bay State previous to his removal to La Salle County.

Mr. Hoxsey is the only child of his parents and s but two years of age when his parents became residents of the State of Illinois. He remained on in 1856 to Somonauk, where he engaged in buying grain and stock. Later he became interested in a steam flouring mill (since burned), which he conducted about eight years. He has also been engaged in dry-goods business about five years, and afterward in the sale of hardware sundries, operating in 'those avenues of business in connection with his grain and stock interests. His transactions represent about $200,000 annually. In the fall of 1884 he built the Somonauk skating-rink, a structure 28x96 feet in dimensions.

Mr. Hoxsey was married March 3, 1854, in Serena, La Salle Co., 111., to Sarah Mclnturf, and they have ^ had four children : Isabella, first-born child, is deceased ; Ella, Frank and Florence are the names of the survivors. Mrs. Hoxsey is the daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Debolt) Mclnturf, and is a native of the township of Rutland, La Salle County.

V. Joslyn, farmer, section 33, * Cortland Township, \vas born in Darien, Genesee Co., N. Y., June 3, 1825, and was the son of Phineas and Lorinda (Woodworth) Joslyn, natives of New York State, the former of whom was born April 4, 1792, and died in August, it Sycamore, this county, and the latter was born April 3, 1797, and died Nov. i, 1881, also in this county.

Mr. Joslyn was brought up on a farm in his native county, and in his i4th year came with his parents to this county, where he has ever since resided. He received a common-school education, and was married May 21, 1851, to Miss Sabrina, daughter of Rudolphus and Polly (McKay) Burr. Her father was born Jan. 20, 1796, in Onondaga Co., N. Y., and died July n, 1865, of apoplexy, in this county; and her mother was born Feb. 28, 1796, in Wilkesbarre, Wyoming Co., Pa'., and died March 6, 1866, also in this county. Her father was liberally educated and spent many years of his life as a teacher, keeping school some 14 months in Canada after the War of 1812. Her grandfather, who was a native of Connecticut, cut his way through the woods most of the distance to Onondaga Co., N. Y., where hewaj afterward County Judge for several years. Her parents were married April 2, r82o. In 1847, with a family of three children, they emigrated from Erie Co, N. Y., to this county, arriving March 3, and settling in Cortland Township. Her father and youngest brother, however, came here the previous year.

Mr. and Mrs. Joslyn have had four children, all of whom are living, namely; Ida M., born in Sycamore, 111., May 29, 1856; Mary L., in Pampas, now Cortland, Dec. 7, 1863; Phineas H., in Cortland, April 12, 1868; and Rudolphus, V., Feb. 3, 1870, in Cortland Township, on the old farm.

Mr. Joslyn has been School Director, but has declined the numerous other offices tendered him. He votes the Republican ticket. He has 260 acres of land in his home farm, and owns land also on sections 34 and 28.

acob Spansail, a farmer situated on section 24, Genoa Township, was born Dec. 16, 1833, in Germany. His parents, Jacob and Elizabeth D. Spansail, were natives of Germany and in 1850 emigrated to America, locating in Ohio. They had a family of seven children, - Jacob, Sebastian, Rosa, George, Dora, Catherine and Fred. The father died in Michigan while en route to Illinois to visit his son : the mother survives.

Mr. Spansail was about 17 years of age when he accompanied his parents to America, and he lived in the Buckeye State three years, coming thence to Kane Co., 111. Two years later, in 1855, he removed to De Kalb County and became the owner by purchase of 40 acres in the township of Genoa, and has since maintained his residence thereon. His home estate now includes 320 acres and nearly the entire acreage is under improvement. His herd of cattle includes 50 head on an average and he fattens about 65 hogs yearly.

Mr. Spansail was married March 29, 7857, to Elizabeth Vote, and they have seven children, - Mary E., George H., John M., Rosa (died when three months old), Dora J., Katie M. and Frederick W. Mrs. Spansail was born March 30, 1837, in Crawford Co., Ohio, and is one of ten children born to her parents, - Elizabeth, Mary A., John M., Anna W., Susan, William H., Jacob G., Margaret, Charles F.

Mr. Spansail is a Republican in politics and has been a prominent man in the k-cal offices in his township, having held the position of Road Commissioner rs years and also that of School Director. He is a man of acknowledged business abilities and acted as salesman for the patrons of the New Lebanon cheese factory for three years. In 1882 he was appointed Postmaster of New Lebanon.

eorge W. Dubrock, retired merchant, resident at Somouauk, was born Feb. i, 1830, at Rehna, Mechlenberg, in the northern part of Germany, also, the native place of his parents, John and Maria Dubrock, who had 10 children. Mr. Dubrock is one of four surviving children. He was rs years of age when he left school and began to operate as a salesman in a mercantile establishment in the city of Hamburg, Germany, where he was employed until he emigrated to New York, arriving in that city in 1852. He spent a year in the great metropolis engaged as a cigar packer. At the end of that time he came to Danby, Du Page Co., 111. In company with his brother, Charles J. Dubrock, he opened a general store, in which relation he operated nearly seven years. In the fall of 1860 he opened his mercantile enterprise at Somonauk, which he prosecuted with satisfactory results, until his retirement in January, 1879. Mr. Dubrock is the owner of his fine residence and grounds, the latter including one and a half acres ; also the same quantity south of his residence, which is situated on the La Salle County line, and the land in its rear is in that county. He has another town lot in another part of Somonauk village, and owns 113 acres of farming land one mile east of that place.

He was married Oct. 20, 1859, in Du Page Co., 111., to Amelia Anderson, and they have 10 children, as follows : George E. is a clerk in a wholesale boot and shoe store ; Helen L. and Zillah are next in order of birth ; John W. is a clerk in the same establishment in Chicago where his brother is employed. Jennie, Clara, Frederick F., Mary, Elizabeth and Loe f1 are the names of the others. Mrs. Dubrock was born July 29, 1838, in Rochester, N. Y., and is the fo daughter of William and Mary (Headley) Anderson. The former died in Aurora, 111., Sept. 4, 1865. The latter is living^in Aurora. The father of Mr. Dubrock died about 1870. His mother is 85 years of age, and is still living in Germany. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

?3l Jli^^rederick B. Townsend, cashier of the ^4 fllllK private banking establishment of Daniel "" Pierce & Co. at Sycamore, was born July 30, 1858, in Malta Township, De Kalb County. Amos W. Townsend, his father, is one of the firm, and is in active business life. Eleanor (Pierce) Townsend, his mother, is still living, and the family are residents of Sycamore.

Mr. Townsend was a student in the schools of ^^ Sycamore until he was 17 years of age, when he en- -v? tered the Lombard University at Galesburg, 111., ~ and spent three and a half years pursuing the studies of the scientific course in that institution. On completing his education, he went to Chicago and was O* employed as a clerk in the wholesale and retail drug establishment of Gale & Blocki, where he was occu- ) pied one year; after which he entered Eastman's National Business College at Poughkeepsie, and after pursuing a full and thorough course of commercial study, was graduated, in May, 1881. He returned to Sycamore and assumed the duties of the position he has since fulfilled with ability and fidelity. |

Barnes T. Powell, retired merchant, residing at Somonauk, was born Oct. 17, 1823, in Boston, Mass. Howell Powell, his father, was a native of Wales, and was a gardener by vocation. He emigrated to the United States in boyhood, and in 1837 he came to Illinois. He bought 256 acres of land in North ville, La Salle Co., 111., where he died in 1858. His wife, Mary A. (Pritchard) Powell, was a native of England, and died in April, 1862, in La Salle County. Only two of five children born to them are no>v living. Wil-

Mr. Powell was brought up on the homestead of which he became half owner when he came into possession of his inheritance from his father's estate. He was one of the first of the California adventurers, whither he went in 1849. He returned to Northville in 1851. His share of the homestead was 156 acres, and he purchased 200 acres additional, the whole constituting a valuable farm. He came to Somonauk in 1 86 1, and, associated with E. W. Lewis, engaged in buying and shipping grain and stock. This relation continued about 10 years, when it terminated, and Mr. Powell engaged in the sale of drugs in company with C. E. Wright. Their joint business was in existence one year, when Mr. Powell retired, and has since engaged in nothing of an active nature. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and belongs to the Aurora Commande^y.

He was married in Northville, La Salle Co, III, March 16, 1852, to Ann Stafford. Their three children were born in Northville, as follows : Ida, Feb. 3, 1853; Ella, Jan. 16, 1855; and Carrie, Jan. 6, 1857. Mrs. Powell was born Feb. 26, 1827, in Fabius, N. Y., and is the daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Doubleday) Stafford.

alter G. Adams, manufacturer and dealer in elevator supplies at Sandwich, is the son of Hon. Augustus Adams, of the Sandwich Manufacturing Company, and was born July 12, 1848, in Elgin, 111. (See sketch of Augustus Adams.) He was nine years of age when his parents removed their residence to Sandwich, where his father established the manufacture of the Adams corn-sheller, under the firm style of A. Adams & Sons. The business became merged in the Sandwich Manufacturing Company in 1869, and Mr. Adams, of this sketch, entered the shops to acquire a knowledge of the details of the business. Afterward he went to Marseilles in the interest of A. Adams & Sons, continuing his relations therewith after that branch was converted into the Marseilles Manufacturing Company. He was placed in charge of the foundry department, which he conducted about five years. _^ gsAvg.^sX/5)

Subsequently he returned to the works at Sandwich, and for a time was variously employed, finally becoming Assistant Superintendent. In January, 1884, he became proprietor of the elevator supply department, which he still controls, the Sandwich Manufacturing Company manufacturing the wares in which he deals. He employs one or two traveling salesmen, and ships his goods chiefly to the Western States. Mr. Adams is a Republican in political connection and principles, and is a member of the Mutual Aid

He was married June 8, 1869, in Sandwich, to Emma Cox. Their children are Lydia, born Aug. 7, 1870; Walter Vincent, Oct. 20, 1873; and Albert Henry, Aug. 6, 1876. The oldest child was born in Marseilles; the births of the sons occurred at Sandwich. Mrs. Adams was born Aug. 15, 1850, in Norfolk, Va., and is the daughter of Major A. M. and

|;,apt. William Davis, a retired farmer and former sea Captain, resident at Sandwich, was born Jan. i, 1802, in Westport, Mass. His father, Joseph Davis, was born in the same place, in Bristol Co., Mass., Jan. 15, 1782; he was a farmer and died in Dartmouth, Bristol County, in 1864. The mother of Capt. Davis, Judith, nee Brightman, was born Jan. z, 1780, in Westport and died in the same place about the year 1816.

Captain Davis is the oldest of his parents' seven children, five of whom are still living. He was reared on a farm to the age of 17 years, when he entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the business of a cooper, serving two years and five months. He obtained a situation as cooper on a whaler, and went on a cruise which consumed 1 1 months and 25 days. During seven months of that period the vessel was out of sight of land. The experience of this whaling voyage was pleasing, and Captain Davis decided to pursue a seafaring life, and spent three years before the mast. After that time he became chief mate of a merchant brig, serving in that rank three years, when he was made Captain and continued his life on the sea eight years, commanding different vessels. During the first two years he made five voyages to Pernambuco, South America, whither he carried cargoes of supplies and returning thence laden with hides and sugar. He also visited the West Indies, Amsterdam, Liverpool and most other European ports. He suffered shipwreck three times, on every occasion the vessel but no lives being lost.

Captain Davis abandoned his career as a navigator in 1835, and came to where Sandwich now is, where he is one of the earliest of the first settlers. He is of the opinion that there were but three pioneer settlers before him who are now living. Others now living who were here at that time were then- in childhood. He was accompanied hither by his brother-in-law, Major Dennis, and they together bought 100 acres of timber land. They afterwards divided their joint property and each took up prairie land. The Captain's estate at one time included 400 acres, a part of which is still in his possession and forms the location of his residence. He has platted two additions to Sandwich on the western side known as Davis' Second and Third Additions. In company with others, he bought a piece of land on the north side of the town, which is designated Davis' First Addition. The time and place was so primitive when Messrs. Davis and Dennis came hither that their milling was done at Dayton, La Salle County. His postoffice was at Holderman's Grove, 13 miles distant.

Captain Davis sold parts of his farm from time to time until he had only a residue of no acres, which he sold to his son, its present owner. His first abode was a log house which had been erected on the timber tract previous to his purchase, and in 1837 he built a small frame house which still stands in its original position on Church Street, west of his fine brick residence, which he built about 1869. Captain Davis has been a stock-holder in the Sandwich Enterprise Manufacturing Company since its organization.

His marriage to Eliza Dennis occurred April 13, 1826, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. She was born Oct. 4, 1801, in Tiverton, R. I., and is the daughter of Major and Eunice Dennis. The record of the five children born to Captain and Mrs. Davis is as follows: William, Jr., was born May 29, 1829, and

,li B. Gilbert, attorney, Notary Public and Justice of the Peace at De Kalb, was born in Laurens, Otsego Co., N. Y., April 12, 1822, and is the son of Abner and Betsey (Balcom) Gilbert. The former was born in Massachusetts, the latter in New York. They had four children, - George M., Eli B., Elizabeth E. and Martin M. -

Mr. Gilbert was about eight years old when his parents removed to Norwich, Chenango County, in his native State, and he was a resident there until his removal in 1847 to the county of which he has since been a citizen. He was an attendant at the common schools of his native State until hev was 16 years of age, when he became a student at Norwich Academy, which was then under the management of Benjamin F. Taylor, who has since won a distinguished reputation as a poet. After studying there about two years he engaged in teaching, which constituted his vocation for six years, pursuing it three years at Sycamore, where he located on coming to Illinois. In early life he had acquired a practical knowledge of the trade of builder. In 1850 he began its pursuit as a vocation and was occupied as a carpenter until 1856. Meanwhile he had devoted his leisure to the study of law. In the year named he first entered upon the career of an attorney and two years later secured admission to the Bar of Illinois by application to the Supreme Court. He has since prosecuted the practice of his profession in De Kalb and adjoining counties without intermission.

In April, 1854, he established his business at De Kalb. Two years afterward he was elected Justice of the Peace and has officiated continuously in that position since. In 1866 he was elected President of the Village Board and became ex-officio Supervisor of De Kalb Township. He is a Republican in politics, and is the owner of considerable city property.

A most commendable feature of Mr. Gilbert's labors as Justice of the Peace is his desire to amicably settie all differences between litigants. He ever lends his influence to make peace, which he has often done, and many are the differences he has thus caused to be settled without suit and sent the parties home happy.

What a blessing it is to a community to have such men as public officials and guardians of the public peace and promoters of good will and harmony between neighbors ! Thus, when the true character of Mr. Gilbert 's official life is made known it is easily understood why he has been continuously elected to fill the office for almost 30 years.

In the summer and fall of 1860, Mr. Gilbert was editor of the De Kalb Leader, and advocated the election of the celebrated Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency.

Mr. Gilbert was married Dec. 25, 1851, to Lois A., daughter of Benjamin C. Needham. She was born in Vermont, which was the native State of her parents. Of three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert, only one survives. In 1853 the family resided about six months in the village of Huntley's Station, McHenry County, heowning a house and lot there. During that time Josephine L., eldest child, was born. Her birth occurred Dec. 29, 1853. She grew to womanhood and married John S. Orr, a resident of De Kalb. B. Viola M. was born Sept. 23, 1858, and married Edward E. Spooner, of Steward, Lee Co., 111., where she died July 10, 1875. Jessie Luella E. was born July 9, 1863, and died Sept. 6, 1865, of diphtheria. |

As Mr. Gilbert, the subject of the foregoing sketch, is a representative citizen in the legal profession of De Kalb County, the publishers place a lithographic likeness of the gentleman in this work, which may be found in close proximity.

Jijah Stiles, retired farmer at Genoa, was born Nov. 8, 1829, in Sudbury, Rutland Co., Vt. His parents, Asahel and Fanny (Smith) Stiles, were natives of Vermont and removed to Canada, leaving the Dominion several years later to come to De Kali^ County, £ where they settled in the fall of 1850, locating in the township of Genoa. The mother died there Jan. 9, 1881 ; the demise of the father occurred Feb. 7,

Mr. Stiles was about two years of age when his parents removed to Canada, and came with them to De Kalb County. His education was obtained previous to the age of 16 years in the public schools of the Dominion, where he was also engaged on the farm of his father. His parents were members of his family through the last year of their lives, as he owned half the home farm and finally became proprietor of the entire estate, which included 160 acres located in Genoa Township. He remained there resident until the fall of 1880, at which time he rented his farm and became a resident of Genoa. In politics he is identified with the Republican party and has been active in local official matters for a long period of years. From 1863 to 1865 he was resident of De Kalb and associated in business with his brother, Aaron K. Stiles, now a resident of Chicago.

His marriage to Mary A. White took place at De Kalb, March 25, 1865, and they have three children : Mary D. was born Jan. 15, 1866, Asahel A., March 26, 1868, and Nettie, June 25, 1870. Mrs. Stiles was born June 8, 1846, in Tioga Co., N. Y., and is the daughter of Alfred and Ruth (Gould) White! The former was born in Dutchess County, the latter in Tioga County, in the State of New York. About the year 1862 they came to Illinois, locating primarily in Kane County, and came thence a year later to De Kalb County, settling in the city of the same name. In 1877 they removed to Kansas, wher<jj the father died, Jan. i, 1881. The mother is still resident there. Their children, seven in number, were named as follows: Edward D., Mary A., Benjamin S., Perry G., Mahala, Melissa and Sarah.

eorge P. Wild, of the firm of G. P. Wild & Co., merchants at Sycamore, was born at Valatie, Columbia Co., N. Y. His father, Nathan Wild, was a native of Manchester, Eng., and was by vocation a print manufacturer, following that calling at Valatie after his ren.oval to this country. The mother, Sarah (Henry) Wild, was born in Providence, R. I. They became the parents of nine children, five of whom are living (.885).

years old, when he became a salesman in the mercantile house of Freeland, Squiers & Co., of New York, where he continued until the spring of 1857, the date of his removal to Sycamore. Soon after, the firm of Rogers, Wild & Smith was formed, which afterwards became Rogers & Wild, and later was constituted as at present. The house is prominent in mercantile circles of De Kalb County, and their stock represents an average of about $15,000.

Mr. Wild is and has been a leading business man of Sycamore. He is a member of the banking firm of Daniel Pierce & Co. In political connection and movements he is a Republican, and has officiated in several of the local city offices.

He was married at Sycamore, in December, 1862, to Sarah, daughter of Daniel and Phebe Pierce, a. native of Sullivan Co., N. Y. Three children are now (1885) included in the family, - Daniel, Eleaflor and Elizabeth.

"- of 10 children. Ose, Sarah, Benjamin, Jesse, Phebe and Theo C. are the nam3s of his brothers and sisters who reached mature life. Three children died in infancy.

Mr. Depue was born Oct. IT, 1816, in Sussex Co., N. J. At the age of 18 years he was apprenticed to acquire a knowledge of the wagon-making trade, and served an indentureship of three years. He embarked independently in the business, in which he operated about 20 years. In 1848 he became a citizen of Illinois, taking up his residence at Elgin, Kane County. He passed three years there in the pursuit of his trade, and about 1851 entered the employment of the old Galena, Chicago & Illinois Central Railroad Company, his route extending from Chicago to Freeport and from Dubuque to Centralia.

He came to De Ka'.b County in 1861 and bought 90 acres of land in Genoa Township, moving his family hither in the autumn of the same year. His homestead farm now comprises 360 acres, with 230 acres under improvement, supplied with suitable and creditable farm buildings and well stocked. In political faith and connections Mr. Depue is identi-

He was married April 21, 1838, in New Jersey, to Catherine M. Dennis, and they have five surviving children, - Lucy, Elizabeth, Henry C., Allen and Emma. Anna M., Catherine M., and Caroline A. and a child unnamed died in infancy. Mrs. Depue was born Sept. 26, 1813, in New Jersey, and is the daughter of John and Lucy Dennis. She had two brothers and two sisters, born in the following order : Elizabeth, Henry C., Allen and Emma. She is the oldest of her parents' children, and is a member of the Congregational Church.

'"ustus Preston, one of the pioneers of De Kalb County, now deceased, was born Dec. 28, 1793. He married Sina Hall, who was born Jan. 30, 1802, in Wallingford, Conn. They settled in Ohio, whence they came in 1836 to De Kalb County, and settled on a claim on section 29, Genoa Township, where he was the first permanent resident. His land was part timber and part prairie. He built a log house on the border line between the two, and the primitive character of the locality may be inferred from the fact that during the first year from the front door the deer and wolves might be seen wandering at will over the prairie. After the Government survey, when in 1843 the land came into market, Mr. Preston went to the land office in Chicago, where he proved his claim and received his title. He improved the entire acreage, built suitable and necessary farm buildings, and a comfortable frame house, where he resided, and where his death occurred.

His widow died there Feb. 25, 1869. Their children were named Henry, Augustus, Charles, George L., Norman and Julia E. The homestead is now owned and occupied by the youngest son.

George L. Preston, son of the above, was born April 23, 1835, in Ohio, and was a little more than a year old when his parents removed to the home of their adoption. He received an elementary education in the district schools of Genoa Township, and he afterward studied at Mt. Morris Seminary, and spent six months at Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College at Chicago. After cumpletii g his studies at the latter place he engaged in farming. In 1854, associated with a brother, he purchased 200 acres of land located on sections 17 and 20, in Genoa Township, for which they paid $4 per acre. After improving the land considerably they sold it a few years later. Its present market value is $65 an acre.

Mr. Preston was married Sept. 19, 1864,10 Lucinda May Wadley, and they have one child, Effie lona. She was born near Toronto, Out., and is the daughter of Samuel B. and Hannah (Caswell) Wadley. Her father was a native of Vermont, and was a pensioner of the war of 1812. During the latter part of his life he removed to Lower Canada, where he was married, and later went to Ontario. After a short residence there the family removed to Canada Corners, Kane Co., 111., where the parents died.

After marriage Mr. Preston located on section 32, Genoa Township, on an improved farm which he had previously purchased. He erected an excellent class of frame buildings, where he lived until 1869. In that year he fixed his abode at Sycamore, where he owned the fine residence his family now occupy. On removal hither he engaged in the lumber trade, in which he operated four years. In 1874 he embarked in the sale of groceries and provisions, prosecuting that avenue of business eight years, when he retired. He still owns and rents his farm in Genoa Township, also his store at Sycamore.

In his character as farmer, merchant and citizen, Mr. Preston commands the respect and good will of the generation of which he is a member. He is unobtrusive, considerate and hospitable, and in his retirement from the turmoil of active business life, is passing the years in the simplicity and quiet that befits his character.

assius M. Conrad, County Clerk of De Kalb County, was born in the town of North East, Erie Co., Pa., March 27, 1845, and is the son of John M. and Mary E. (Smedley) Conrad. The former is a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter was born in Connecticut. They are living in Erie Co., Pa.

academy at North East, and subsequently attended the Erie City Academy, in the State of his nativity. In 1863 he made his way to De Kalb County, reaching the township of Kingston April 7 of that year. Six days later he came to Sycamore, and immediately entered upon the duties of Deputy County Clerk. He fulfilled the duties of the appointment continuously until Jan. 26, 1872, with the exception of a few months in 1869. At the former date he was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the death of Wallace M. More. In April following he was elected County Clerk, and has since been his own successor. H-i has also officiated as City Clerk from July, 1870, to April, 1872. The quality of the service rendered by Mr. Conrad is fully attested by the length of time he has retained his relations to the position of deputy and chief official, at this writing (1885) covering a period of nearly a fourth of a century ; and the fact stands as a testimonial to the discretion and wisdom of the people of De Kalb County as it does to his integrity and efficiency. Politically, Mr. Conrad is a Republican of inflexible type.

He was married Dec. 27, 1870, in Chester, N. J., to Anna H. Beauers, and they have had two children, both of whom died in early infancy. Mrs. Conrad was born at Chester, Morris Co., N. J. Mr. Conrad and his wife are members of the Congregational Church, and he is a Trustee of the society

[ athaniel A. Haile, miller, at Lodi, Cortland 4 c!lir/f|i Township, was born March 8, 1840, in "5 Brooklyn, Vt, and is the son of Charles ^ ~J^' and Drexie (Balch) Haile, both of whom are Jfc natives of the Green Mountain State. His '[ parents came to Illinois when he was an infant of six months, making the route hither by way of the railroad and lakes to Detroit, coming from the latter place to Kane County with a team. His father purchased a tract of unimproved land in the township of St. Charles, paying therefor $2.50 an acre. The family are resident of St. Charles.

Mr. Haile grew to manhood, engaged, as is the custom with sons of farmers, in farm labor and attending school. He entered the military service of the United States when he was 22 years of age, enlisting in August, 1862, in Co. E, 127111 111. Vol. Inf. His regiment was assigned to the Army of the West, and was a portion of the command under Sherman in the campaign through Georgia and the Carolinas, marched under the triumphant banners to the sea, and took part in the final review at Washington, D. C. Mr. Haile was under fire at Arkansas Post and at Vicksburg, and in the numerous engagements of the arduous campaign in which his regiment was involved. He obtained his discharge in July, 1865, and returned to his father's farm, where he was occupied with its duties until 1882, the date of his removal to Maple Park. He is pleasantly sit- <i uated, and lias an elegant residence. / ohn Betz, dealer in lumber, agricultural implements and builders' supplies, at Somonauk, was born Feb. 23, 1831, in the Duchy of Nassau, Germany. His parents, Jost Henry and Margaret Betz, died previous to his removal to the American Continent. Four of their children are now living. Two sons reside in Germany. Margaret, only daughter, came to the United States with her brother and is now the wife William Heun, a farmer in Clinton Township, De Kalb County.

They came to the city of New York in 1854 and two months later proceeded thence to Chicago, where they remained a like length of time. In January, 1855, Mr. Betz came to De Kalb County and was occupied one year in farming, after which he went back to Chicago and passed a year in the drygoods house of Bowen Brothers. He went next to Burlington, Iowa, and was there employed six months in a lumber yard. He came subsequently to Somonauk, where he spent several years in various avenues of employment. In February, 1876, in company with P. H. Thomas, he opened a lumber yard, their joint relation existing one year, and at the end of that time he bought the interest of his partner and has since operated alone. In the spring of 1883 he added a stock of agricultural implements, wagons, plows, etc., his investment in stock averaging about $i 1,000.

Mr. Betz was married July 23, 1857, in Burlington, Iowa, to Barbara Koetha, a native of Bavaria. They have one child, Ida, born Nov. 20, 1867. Mr. Betz is a member of the fraternity of Odd Fellows. With his wife, he is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

ohn Ward, a farmer of Cortland Township, occupying the east half of the northwest quarter of section 34, and owning 72 acres on the east half of the east quarter of section 27, and 16% acres on section 14, of Ohio Grove Township, - in all i68*4 acres, - was born in Newark, Licking Co., Ohio, Oct. 16, 1816. His father, William Ward, was born in Fayette Co., Pa., emigrated to Ohio when he was 13 years old, where his father soon died, and he died in Squaw Grove Township, this county, Feb. 3, 1870. He was born Feb. 24, 1790, and participated in the War of 1812. The mother of the subject of this sketch, Mrs. Phebe Ward, nee Beem, was born near Hagerstown, Md., Dec. 14, 1795, and died Aug. 27, 1883; her father was of English descent and her mother of Dutch. Both the latter lived to a great age, - father 96 years and mother 87.

At the age of 20 years Mr. John Ward, the subject of this sketch, came with "his parents, first locating in Squaw Grove, in 1837; eight years afterward he bought 80 acres of land, which he subsequently sold to his father, and he moved to his present farm of 120 acres in October, 1845, where he has since resided. He has added to his original acreage. Since his location here, however, he has spent 20 years going to, operating in and returning from California. He went over the plains, with a single-horse team, as far as Salt Lake, where he joined a company from La Salle Co., 111. After traveling 700 miles with them, he and 1 1 others separated from them and co nploted their journey on foot, crossing the Great Desert and arriving in the gold-mining region Aug. 28. The company whom they had abandoned did not reach the mines until the isth of September. They were 12 in number, having a wagon and three horses, the extra horse to be used in case of emer- gency. Mr. Ward operated on Old Soldier's Gulch and part of the Poor Man and Nelson Creek, and his success was much better than farmrng. Three of Mr. W.'s brothers went with him to the land of gold, and returned with him ; but in four months afterward went back to California, selling their farms here and taking their families with them. They have since lived there and prospered.

Mr. Ward was first married March 25, 1835, to Parmelia A., daughter of Jacob and Susan (Ayers) Rolison ; her parents died in Licking Co., Ohio, many years ago. Mrs. W. was born in that county, Nov. 22, 1816, near Newark, and died, of a spasmodic attack, Dec. 3, 1871, at a neighbor's where she was visiting. By this marriage there were seven children, as follows : Elmira, born July 22, 1837 ; William B., Dec. 21, 1838; Susan, April 10, 1840; Louisa, Nov. 7,1843; Phebe A., Aug. 27, 1850; Delila J., June 14, 1853; and Elmer C., Sept. 6, 1856. Phebe A. is not now living. Mr. Ward was married a second time June 8, 187-, to Mrs. Laura N. Palmer, widow of Isaac H. Palmer, who died March 25, 1865. By her first husband she had five children, namely : Galen E., born Aug. 12, 1849; Alice E., Aug. i, 1850; Clara A., June i, 1853; Frank H., Nov. 4, 1862; and Etta E., Nov. 28, 1864. Mr. Palmer was born Nov. 3, 1825, in Ripley, Chautauqua Co., N. Y. Mrs. W. was born at German Flats, Herkimer Co., N. Y., Aug. 6, 1828, a daughter of Henry R. and Clarissa (Tennant) Gay. Her father was born April 4. 1805, in Herkimer Co., N. Y., and is now living in retirement, in the town of Ripley. Mrs. G., who was born June 5, 1804, in the town of Warren, Columbia Co., N. Y., is also still living. Mrs. Ward's maternal grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

eorge M. D. Wright, hardware merchant at Somonauk, was born July 23, 1845, in the township of Northville, La Salle Co , 111., two miles east of the village where he is now a resident. He is a son of Levi and Esi ther (Whitmore) Wright, and his father was native of New Hampshire. The latter came to LaSalle

., about 1843, and bought 160 acres of land, ] which he converted into an excellent and valuable farm. He died on the homestead in 1865. The mother and ten children yet survive. . Mr. Wright is the ninth in order of birth of 12 children in his parents' family, and was a member of the household until he was several years past his majority. His first independent business venture was in the drug business, associated with C. E. Wright, in which he engaged in Somonauk two years. i On the termination of their relation he entered into a copartnership in the hardware trade with C. R. Frank. Two years later the latter sold his moiety to the brother of Mr. Wright, the new relation existing two years. Afterward the latter became sole proprietor, and has since transacted his business singly. Mr. Wright is conducting a prosperous trade, in which he has one wagon running on the road in the country. He is a member of the Masonic Order, and belongs to the Royal Arch Chapter at Sandwich. He was united in marriage Jan. 8, 1876, in Som- rank W. Lott, jeweler, at Sycamore, was born Aug. 4, 1843, in Sycamore Township. His parents, Zephaniah and Amanda (Roberts) Lott, were pioneer residents of -De Kalb County, and he was reared under the parental authority until he was 17 years of age, when he entered upon the prosecution of his career of independence. He was first employed as a farmer, and followed that calling until 1873. Having decided on the calling of a jeweler as a vocation in life, he bought a half interest in the jewelry establishment of M. F. Warren, at Sycamore, where he acquired a knowledge of the business. This relation was in existence three years, and in 1876 he succeeded to the sole proprietorship of the affairs of their joint business by the purchase of his partner's interest. He has since been engaged in the prosecution of his business, and carries a full stock of common to similar establishments, includin

Mr. Lott was married in February, 1871, to Jennie Woodworth, a native of Auburn, N. Y., and a daughter of John and Mary Woodworth. Their two children are named L. Warren and Frank W.

rles F. Greenwood, Treasurer of De Kalb County, and a citizen of Sycamore, ras born April 6, 1835, in New Berlin, Chenango Co., N. Y. His parents, Thomas J. and Sally (Fairchild) Greenwood, were natives respectively of Connecticut and New York. In 1844 the family came from the Empire State to Sugar Grove, Kane Co., 111., removing thence in August, 1847, to the township of Clinton, De Kalb County. Land was then in comparatively small demand, and the father secured at first a small claim of 80 acres, estimating that he could always find pasture land in close proximity, settlers being exceptions. He passed his life in the pursuit of agriculture, and died on his farm May 22, 1852. At the date of his demise he was the owner of 330 acres of land in Clinton Township, 80 acres in Kane County, and 20 acres of timbered land in the township of Sugar Grove. The mother died on the homestead Feb. 23^ 1859. They had three sons: Nathan S., since deceased ; George, a retired farmer, resident at Waterman, in Clinton Township ; and Mr. Greenwood, of this sketch.

On the division of his father's estate the latter became the possessor of an amount of personal property, and the title to real estate in Iowa, which latter he applied as part payment for 120 acres of land lying on sections 32 and 33, in Clinton Township, whereon he resided from 1860 until 1876, when he removed to the east half of the northeast quarter of section 33, where his homestead is still maintained.

He entered the army of the United States a few months after the commencement of the struggle instituted by the South for the dismemberment of the Union, enlisting Oct. 5, 1861, in Co. G, Second 111. Light Artillery, under Captain Stolbrand. He was in action at the siege of Vicksburg and at Union City, Tenn., and was involved in much skirmish warfare. He became disabled through hardship, exposure and illness, and was honorably discharged Oct. 16, 1863, at Vicksburg. In the township of Clinton Mr. Greenwood earned the reward of good citizenship and public spirit, receiving repeated elections to places of prominence and trust. He served three years as Supervisor, as Commissioner of Highways, and in the various school offices. In the fall of 1882 he was elected to the position of which he is now the incumbent, on the Republican ticket. Mr. Greenwood is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and belongs to Potter Post, No. 12, G. A. R.

His marriage to Catherine I. Darland took place July 4, 1855, in Clinton Township. Mrs. Greenwood was born Sept. 28, 1838, in Fairview, 111., and is the daughter of Benjamin and Catherine Darland. Five children were born of this Union in Clinton Township. Byron P. was born Sept. 26, 1856, and is resident manager of a mercantile enterprise at Marble Rock, Iowa, of which his father is the proprietor. Alice was born May 16, 1859 ; Jennie J. and Charles, twins, were born Sept. i, 1870. The latter died Aug. 21, 1872.

arles Wesley Marsh, whose portrait is presented on the opposite page, resides on country place, on section 14, of De Kalb Township. He was born March 22, 1834, near Cobourg, Ont., and is the oldest son of Samuel and Tamar (Richardson) Marsh. His earliest recorded ancestor was a " Cavalier " and was killed at Edgehill in the course of the conflicts that preceded the Protectorate in England, and whose two sons fled to the American Continent during the first half of the i7th century to escape the vengeance of the Roundheads. The two branches, designated respectively as the Vermont and Connecticut lines of descent of the Marshes, trace their origin to these brothers.

Samuel Marsh was borti Feb. 7, 1804, in Canada, i> and died in De Kalb Township, in April, 1884. He belonged to the Vermont line, his immediate ancestors having originated in the Green Mountain State. With all the male members of his family, including his father, uncles and brothers, he was an active participant in the rebellion in the Dominion in 1837, known to history as the Patriots' or McKenzie's War, and with the others narrowly escaping the fruits of the vengeance of the English Government. All who were not arrested and placed in confinement escaped only by precipitate flight. Samuel Marsh was among the former, and was captured at Kingston, where he was held in jail five months. His trial was long and severe, and he barely escaped conviction and execution. His wife was born March 22, 1807, in Canada, and is a descendant of the Mohawk Dutch, belonging in the maternal line to the Schermerhorn family. Her marriage occurred in Consecon, Can., and she became the mother of three children, two sons and a daughter. The latter was born March 10, 1838, while her father was a state prisoner in the jail at Kingston. She died at Chicago March 13, 1881. The mother of Mr. Marsh is still living.

The father was a farmer, and, after his release, resumed that occupation. In 1844 he sold his property in Canada and started for the part of the United States then known as the " West," to locate a home. He encountered a Millerite camp-meeting at the head of the Bay of Quinte, known as the " Carrying Place," which he attended and became a convert to the tenets of that sect. Firmly convinced that the coming of the Lord was at hand, he returned to his family to await the crisis. The mother, trained and disciplined by the trials she had already experienced, exercised the practical view of Abraham Davenport, and wisely judging that, in any event, the prospects of her sons would be likely to be improved by mental cultivation, while her husband waited, placed them at St. Andrews School at Cobourg. At 1 2 years of age the older son entered Victoria College at Cobourg, having become exceptionally well fitted under the inflexible regime of the school, in which he entered at 10 years of age upon a classical course of study. In 1847, the practical, provident mother collected a sum of money and, by proxy, purchased a quarter of section 18, situated near Shabbona Grove, Clinton Township, in De Kalb County, whither the family removed in 1849. Mr. Marsh of this sketch was then 15 years old and within one year of receiving his degree at Victoria College, having accom- plished the curriculum of three of the four years' course prescribed at his Alma Mater. The failure of the Millerite prognostics had wrought sad havoc with the little fortune of the family ; and upon the 5>i sons, after their removal to the farm in Illinois, rested the responsibility of its management, and they devoted themselves to the labor of reducing the unbroken prairie to a condition of improvement and cultivation. Mr. Marsh taught two winter terms of school, and in 1858, in accordance with his strong ^ predilection for a life devoted to mental endeavor, entered the law office of Hon. Charles Kellum as a student. He was obliged by failing health to relinquish the project and returned to agricultural employ. The details of his efforts in subsequent years are presented in the sketch of his business career which appears in full on another page.

Mr. Marsh is an adherent to the principles of the \ Republican party and a supporter of its issues, which he adopted on entering upon the privileges of American citizenship. In 1868 he was elected to the Jsi House of the Illinois Legislature, where he did ex- 1S cellent service on several committees, as he did in a ^-3 succeeding term in the Senate, to which he was ?7^ elected on the expiration of his period as Representa- ^ live. His labors in those positions won a subsequent recognition at the hands of Governor Beveridge, who ) in 1873 appointed him to a Trusteeship of the Insane Asylum at Elgin, which he has since held continuously and of which body he has been for many years President. The existing condition of the institution is the best possible testimonial to the efforts and abilities of Mr. Marsh, it being acknowledged as among the best managed of the long catalogue of -,5_J> similar institutions in this country.

The character of Mr. Marsh from the celebrity he has achieved in his connection with the machine which revolutionized the system of harvestingthroughout the civilized world, deserves something more than a passing notice. His predominating trait, and one which renders him conspicuous, is versatility, and has been manifested in every enterprise to which he has lent his attention. The scholarship to which he attained in childhood was phenomenal, and he has retained in all their freshness and strength the ^£ tastes and proclivities which are his nature. Had he *) devoted himself to a literary life he would without doubt have attained distinction. Still another leading characteristic of his mind is the simplicity of his predilections. Although in his prosperous days he was the possessor of a generous fortune, he had no aspirations beyond those of a country gentleman. His residence displays no ostentation either in style or equipment, although planned and constructed in his palmy days. But its apartments contain the evidences of a cultivated taste in rare and valuable books and pictures. Among the former are two ponderous and magnificent volumes of Hogarth's and Gillray's engravings from the original plates. The oldest and most curious volume is a copy of the Decretals of the Catholic Church, written by a monk. The work occupied 15 years and was finished in 1409. It was done wholly with a pen, and is from first to last a wonderful and beautiful sample of the perfection attained by the scribes before the days of printing. The work is concluded by the copyist's fervent " Laus Deo." A detached papal bull issued by Gregory XI to a Minorite order in Spain, exhibits six varieties of penmanship. These are but samples of a most valuable collection. Mr. Marsh is the possessor of an interesting collection of pictures and photographs, gathered during a four months' tour on the continent, whither he went for the purpose of recreation and in response to an invitation from the Government to make trial of the Marsh Harvester in Hungary, where he spent six weeks.

Mr. Marsh is an ardent admirer of nature, and his home and its belongings bear the evidences of the direction of his predilections. The park adjacent to the house is stocked with deer and wild fowl, and his library contains an assortment of hunting equipments and trophies of sport, both valuable and curious.

The general estimate of the character of Mr. Marsh is manifest from the fact that when disaster overwhelmed the splendid business in which he was the prime fac.tor, he was the unanimous choice of the creditors for the position of assignee, this tribute of confidence being the outgrowth of the disinterestedness, integrity and solicitude for the general welfare which he has displayed unfalteringly throughout his entire business career., He can receive no better testimonial than the unquestioning trust of the people among whom he has lived from boyhood, in his inflexible probity and unselfishness.

of three children, - George C., Mary F. and Fanny S. The mother died May 12, 1869. The second marriage of Mr. Marsh, to Sue Rogers, occurred Jan. 10, 1 88 1. Mrs. Marsh was born in November, 1841, i at Mariposa, near Lindsay, Ont., and is the daughter of Joel and Mary Rogers.

itames Harrington, M. D., retired physician, resident at Sycamore, has been a citizen of De Kalb County since 1844, when he came here and settled about four miles north of the present city of Sycamore. He was born Sept. 20, 1806, in the Province of Ontario, and is the son of Lot and Sarah (Sage) Harrington. His paternal grandsire was a native of Rhode Island, whence he removed to Vermont. He was a surveyor by profession and pursued that business in the vicinity of Rutland. Lot Harrington was born in Vermont, and in the days of his early _ manhood went to the State of New York, where he *-}§ was married. His wife's parents were from Connecti- cut. Not long after marriage they went to Canada, -$} where the mother died, in 1809, leaving five children. Of these, Dr. Harrington is the youngest of the ) sons.

After his mother's death he was taken to the State of New York, and was taken care of by her relatives in New Berlin, in Chenango County. He was educated primarily in the public schools, and at the age of 17 years commmenced teaching, continuing in that vocation, and at the same time studied medicine, until 1829, when he opened the practice of his profession at Eagle, Allegany Co., N. Y. Two years later he returned to New Berlin, and was a practitioner there until 1844, when he decided to come to Illinois, and test the value of the promises that offered unparalleled inducements to such as desired to advance their fortunes. He made the trip via the Erie Canal from Utica to Buffalo, and came thence to Chicago by the lake route. He obtained private conveyance from Chicago to De Kalb County. He bought a claim of 120 acres of land, situated on sections 8 and 9 of town 41, range 5, now Sycamore. The log house which had been erected on the place, served for a tenement until 1846. when Dr. Harrington built a frame house. In the same year in which he took possession he erected a commodious frame barn. In 1864 he sold the place and removed to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the purpose of educating his children. He returned at the end of a year to Sycamore, where he bought a block of land with a brick house.

He was married in January, 1831, in Allegany Co., N. Y., to Charlotte, daughter of Peter and Mary (Wait) Walrod. Six of their nine children are living: Diana was born Oct. 27, 1832, and died Sept. 10, 1856; Joseph was born April 27, 1837, and died Dec. 23, 1874; Susan was born Sept. 4, 1841, and died in May, 1883; William S. resides in Oregon, and is the Presiding Elder of the M. E. Church in the Portland District ; George L. resides at Sycamore ; Nelson R. is City Marshal of Sycamore ; James F. is a farmer in Jewell Co., Kan.; Mark W. is Professor of Astronomy in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; Mary married P. K. Jones, druggist at Sycamore. The mother died in April, 1871.

Dr. Harrington was elected School Commissioner in 1845, and was re-elected School Commissioner for 1856-7. In the Legislative sessions of Illinois of 1846-7 he was a member of the House of Representatives. He was one of the Supervisors of Sycamore during nine years, and served the entire period as President of that Board.

iram Palmer, farmer on the east half of the northwest quarter of section 35, Cortland Township, was born in Charlotte Township, Chittenden Co., Vt, May 16, 1809, and in 1819 was taken by his parents in emigration to Chautauqua" Co., N. Y., into the wild woods,' moving with a horse team and taking the first wagon that was ever driven into the town of Ripley. In 1835 Mr. Palmer went to Ashtabula Co., Ohio, where he rented a farm, remaining there until 1836. In September of that year, he located in this county, when the prairies here were still unoccupied. He rented a farm near Sycamore a year and then purchased the quarter-section where he now resides. At that time his nearest neighbor was three or four miles distant and there was no house where Sycamore now stands. The contrast between that time and the present, in the appearance and enhanced value of the land, as well as the experiences of life, sets the imagination almost wild.

Mr. Palmer was married May i, 1831, to Julia Hill, daughter of Wyman and Elizabeth (McFarland) Hill, of Scotch ancestry. Her father, a native of Vermont, died in Ashtabula Co., Ohio, about 1859, aged about 70 years, and her mother, a native of Connecticut, died in Chautauqua Co., N. Y., in 1832, about 54 years of age. Mrs. P. was born April 17, 1807. The immediate descendants of Mr. and Mrs. Palmer are : Chauncey S., born March 3, 1832, in Chautauqua Co., N. Y.; J. Sidney, Feb. 20, 1836, in

» this county. His father, Israel Palmer, of English descent, came from the old country to Rhode Island before the Revolutionary War, and thence to Vermont, and finally died in the town of Ripley, Chautauqua Co., N. Y., about 77 years of age ; and Hiram's mother, Sally, nee Champlain, was born in Charlotte Township, Chittenden Co., Vt, and died in 1813, in her native State.

On his first settlement in this county, Mr. Palmer built a log house at the confluence of De Kalb Creek with the Kishwaukee River, and lived there two years, during which time he suffered a great deal from the usual ague, bilious fever, etc. He built his second log house at Coltonville, lived there one year; then a year on Phineas Stevens' farm; and finally a third log cabin, on his present place of residence, where he has now lived for 40 years. After a few years in the first cabin here, he moved to the place a frame

I eorge W. Nesbitt, M. D., practicing physician and surgeon at Sycamore, was born Aug. 20, 1837, in Attica, N. Y. He is a representative of the sturdy and vigorous race known as the Scotch-Irish, his paternal grandparents having belonged originally to the former nationality, which they left at the time of the Irish rebellion and settled in County Cavan, Ulster, Ireland. Henry Nesbitt, his father, was born in that county, in 1803, and became a resident of the United States in 1819. George W.'s mother, Eleanor (Smyth) Nesbitt, was born in 1802, in Argyle, Washington Co., N. Y. Her father was of Scottish birth ; her mother was born in Connecticut and represented a family of ancient origin and of probable German lineage. Henry Nesbitt settled in Attica after his marriage, pursued agriculture as a vocation, and died there in June, 1883. His wife died in Wyoming Co., N. Y., in 1862. Their eight children survive them. The oldest, Susannah, is the wife of A. Prentice, a farmer. David is a farmer in the township of Attica, N. Y. Henry is a farmer in Saratoga Co., N. Y. Dr. Nesbitt is the fourth in order of birth. Samuel S. is a physician by profession and is passing his life in retirement on a large farm in Adams Co., 111. Jane resides in Attica, N. Y. James O. and John W. (twins) are farmers on the homestead in Orangeville, Wyoming Co., N. Y.

Dr. Nesbitt received the training and primary education of a farmer's son, obtaining the latter by attendance at winter terms of school, afterwards completing the curriculum of study at the Genesee and Wyoming Seminary at Alexander, Genesee Co., N. Y., then a popular institution of learning and one which has maintained its prestige. He studied advanced mathematics, classical and modern languages, and was graduated with honors. Imbued with the sentiment in which the youth of his generation was reared, - the obligation to engage actively in the world's work, - he came to Genoa, De Kalb Co., 111., and spent a winter here, engaged in teaching. He turned his face westward in the following spring and passed some weeks in travel and prospecting. During the summer ensuing he was an attache of the Government surveying party on the Red River of the North, operating principally in Minnesota. In the winter following, he taught school in Boone Co., 111., and on the expiration of his engagement he went to Arkansas, and to other States, and pursued the same vocation. Meanwhile he had devoted his leisure and opportunities to the study of medicine and of law. He commenced his legal reading ander the instructions of the Hon. Charles Kellum, of Sycamore, and during the years of 1860-1 he devoted nearly a twelvemonth to the study of medicine in the office of Dr. H. H. Rice, of Randolph Co., 111. His labors as a pedagogue terminated in 1861, when he returned to his native State, and read medicine under the supervision of Dr. H. B. Miller, of Alexander. Later, he attended lectures at the Buffalo Medical College, and was graduated there Feb. 21, 1865.

He entered into an association with Dr. G. W. McCray, of Buffalo, in the wholesale and retail sale of drugs, and also engaged in the practice of medicine. He sold his interest in the fall of 1866, and after an extended tour of prospective observation through the States of the South he located, in the winter of the same year, at Sycamore, where he at once established himself as a physician and surgeon and entered upon a career in his profession second to none in popularity in this section of Northern Illinois.

Dr. Nesbitt has not limited his efforts and energies to the scope of his medical practice, nor confined his interests to the section where he is resident. He is an agriculturist of no mean proportions, and is extensively engaged as a breeder of valuable stock. He is the proprietor of 1,200 acres of farming land in Mitchell and Ottawa Counties, Kan., devoted to the rearing of horses, cattle and swine. He has bred some fine trotting animals, and is at present the owner of four horses of acknowledged speed. He also raises the English draft horses.

The intellectual attainments and proclivities of Dr. Nesbitt are far beyond the common order. He is thoroughly read in medical literature, and has a well earned reputation as a lecturer and contributor to the medical press. He has, on occasion, presented valuable papers before the Illinois State Medical Society, and before the American Medical Association, and has made discoveries in the application of drugs that are of acknowledged benefit to the fraternity. In 1 88 1 he officiated as Vice-President of the Illinois State Medical Society, and in 1883 was elected to the same position. He has not been able to apply his abilities to the administration of local affairs, the duties and responsibilities of his extensive practice monopolizing his time and energies. He is prominent in the Order of Masonry, and is a member of the Royal Arch Chapter.

Dr. Nesbitt was married June 23, 1864, at Buffalo, N. V., to Mrs. Mary H. Davis, a native of Chippewa, Can. She had two children by her former marriage. The youngest, Lydia, is deceased. Cora married Frank Whitney, and they are residents on the farm of Dr. Nesbitt, in Ottawa Co., Kan. One child born to Dr. and Mrs. Nesbitt died in infancy. George W. was born March T3, 1869; John B. was born Jan. 31, 1873. The marriage of Dr. Nesbitt is made memorable by the fact that the ceremony was performed by the Rev. George H. Ball, made a character of history through his intrepid denunciation of the immoral element in the Presidential campaign of 1884.

illiam Raymond, farmer, section 21, Cortland Township, came to De Kalb County in the spring of 1855. He spent the summer ensuing in Genoa, and in the fall of the same year located in the village of Cortland. In company with his brother, he afterward bought a farm on section 16, in Cortland Township, on which he settled in the spring of 1856. On this property he spent some years. In 1883 he bought a farm on section 21, where he established his residence permanently, enlarging and improving his house and building a large barn. The place is under excellent improvements, and is increased in value by the improvements he has made.

Mr. Raymond was born in Otsego, N. Y., Aug 19, 1834, and is the son of Oliver P. and Sarah (Wilbur) Raymond. The former was born in Pawling, Dutchess Co., N. Y., and the latter was a native of Taunton, Mass. When Mr. Raymond was six years of age his father died, while engaged in the management of a hotel at Ashland, Greene Co., N. Y. Soon after that event the family removed to Davenport, Delaware County, in the same State, where the son obtained a common-school education and was reared on a farm, remaining with his mother until his removal to Illinois.

He was first married in 1856, to Minerva Burr. She was born in 1832, in Erie Co., N. Y., and died July 7, 1880, having become the mother of eight children, - Frank B., Fred W., Nathan, Rodolphus J., Henry O., Wilbur P., Minnie and Charles. Frank died Sept. 12, 1879; the youngest son died July 17, 1880. Mr. Raymond was again married July n, 1883,10 Mrs. W. R. Patrick, daughter of J. C. and Hannah (Judd) Hoag. She was born in South Dover, Dutchess Co., N. Y., and was married Oct. 29, 1867, to W. R. Patrick, by whom she had five children - Jennie C., George W. (died 14 months, old),

' Walton R. (died when two years and ten months old), Flora B. and Willimina. One child has been born of her second marriage, Leonard Light. Mr. Patrick died Sept. 13, 1881.

illiam Wallace Marsh, Superintendent of the Turk Motor Works at Sycamore and member of the firm of C. W. & W. W. Marsh, was born April 15, 1836, near Cobourg, Ont. He is the second son of Samuel and Tamar (Richardson) Marsh, and passed the years of his early boyhood on the farm of his father in the Dominion of Canada. He was an infant in his mother's arms when his father became interested and involved in the rebellion in Canada which opened in 1837, and in which the members of the families to which his father and mother belonged were participants. (See sketch of C. W. Marsh.) In 1844, the parents resolved to seek the advantages of the (then) western portion of the United States ; and the homestead in Canada was sold, the father setting out for a prospecting tour, but was suddenly arrested in his purpose by his acceptance of the tenets of the Millerites, who had fixed upon that year as the date of the termination of all earthly things ; and, abandoning all projects dependent upon the future, the father settled with his family at Cobourg, where the sons had the advantages of the excellent Canadian schools.

Mr. Marsh was but eight years old when he was placed at St. Andrews School, and two years later entered Victoria College, where he was a student three years. In 1849 the family circumstances necessitated immediate activity ; and its members, consisting of the father, mother, two sons and a daughter, born in 1838, came to De Kalb County and settled on no acres of land, which had been purchased for them in 1847 by an uncle. It was situated on section 18, and soon after taking possession of the place another tract of similar acreage was purchased on another section. The entire quantity of land in both purchases consisted of unbroken prarie, and was the scene of unremitting labors of the father and sons for nearly eight years.

In 1857 began the experiments from which resulted the machine which will be the medium of transmitting the name of Marsh to posterity as it merits, and in his connection with that invention Mr. Marsh attained all the distinction he craved, and found in its ultimate success the satisfaction of achieving a purpose worth the devotion of a life-time of effort. The idea upon which the Marsh Harvester was founded grew from the observation that a man could bind a bundle of grain while another was being cut; and the idea that followed was the necessity of moving with the cutting apparatus in order to receive the sundered grain at the opportune moment. The years of experiment and struggle that followed and their results are given elsewhere, and form one of the most interesting reminiscences possible.

One incident, which was a memorable one to Mr. Marsh of this sketch, is worthy of special note, as it was a momentous occasion for De Kalb County, as well as to the central figure therein. The test of the Marsh Harvester took place on the farm of Clark Barber, north of the village of De Kalb, in the presence of hundreds of spectators. Numberless reaping machines were in the contest, among which were the pioneer wire and cord binders, both of which proved failures. But the Marsh machine asserted the value of the principles upon which it is based and achieved a complete triumph. Mr. Marsh of this sketch occupied the platform, and in 50 minutes bound the grain cut on an acre, accomplishing the work with the utmost ease.

The Marsh Harvester was thenceforward a recognized fact. On the establishment of their business as manufacturers, the financial interests and all relations specially pertaining to that branch of the business naturally fell under the supervision of C. W. Marsh, the mechanical portion becoming the charge of W. W. Marsh. The latter has been deeply interested for a long term of years in the invention of farm machinery, .and with his brother and others has been the patentee of numberless principles and applications pertaining to agricultural implements. He has invented about a score of harvester appliances, and nearly as many more in other directions, including binders, windmills, plows, cultivators, wirestretchers, paint-mill, corn-cutters, corn-huskers, etc. He has also constructed several mechanical appurtenances which have remained unpatented and are now in common use, among which is the bal loon harvester wheel.

Of Tee

j in the city. In 1873 he purchased the grounds where he built his residence, which include about 12 acres and constitute an attractive and valuable homestead. With the spacious and beautiful family mansion, they are valued at §15,000. His marriage to Mrs. M. J. Smith occurred Jan. 8, 1871, in Chicago, and of their union two children have been born - William W. and Sarah Alma. Mrs. Marsh is the daughter of Rufus and Sarah D. Brown. They

* of Sycamore and continued to serve in that capacity five years. He did much effective business in obtaining high license, which was afterward adopted and is at present (1885) operative in Sycamore.

eorge F. Schoonmaker, farmer and dairyman, section 32, Franklin Township, was born on the same section, in the same township, Feb. 3, 1856. An account of his parents is included in the sketch of his father, 1 J. M. Schoonmaker, which may be found on another page of this work. He was brought up as a farmer's son under the direction of his father, acquiring a practical knowledge of the details of agriculture, and obtaining a common-school education. At the age of 16 years he entered the High School at Sycamore, where he completed « full course of study and was graduated in June, 1875, being one of the first to pursue and finish the prescribed course in that institution. 'He was thenceforward engaged in teaching winters and farming summers for some years.

He finally determined on a permanent settlement in life and was married March 4, 1878, to Florence Amelia Ellis, at Fielding. Her parents, Gilbert and Caroline (Cbilds) Ellis, were of Eastern origin and her mother is yet living. Her father died at Fielding, Dec. 26, 1883. He was a cabinet-maker by trade. The daughter was born Nov. 6, 1853, in Virgfl.Townsbip, Kane Co., 111. She was a resident in her native county until she was ii years old, when lier parents removed to Sycamore, where she entered school and completed her education when 16 years of age. She then became a membtr of the family of a sister at Fielding, whare she continued to reside chiefly until her marriage. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Schoonmaker includes two children : Flora B., boru Dec. 23, 1878; and Blanche M., bom Oct. 5, 1880. They are residents on the paternal homestead, and Mr. Schoonmaker is the owner of no acres situated in" South Grove Township. He is, a Steward in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is also Assistant Superintendent of the Sunday-school. He is a decided Republican in political faith and action. ' - -- ' - ohn Heath, farmer, section 34, Genoa Township, has been a resident of De Kalb County since 1846, and a landholder in the, township of which he is now a citizen since 1848. He first secured a claim of 80 acres, and has 'since increased his estate by the later purchase of 92 acres additional. Of the entire tract, 160 acres have been placed under an excellent type of culture.

In political creed and action he'adopts the principles and issues of the Republican party. He has discharged the duties of Supervisor, of Genoa Township five years and acted as the incumbent of several other official positions.

He was born Feb. 19, 1817, in Argyle, Washington Co., N. Y. His parents, Isaac and Elizabeth (Alger) Heath, were natives respectively of New Jersey and Vermont They had nine children, of whom Mr. Heath is fifth in order of birth. At the age of 20 < years he engaged as a deck-hand on a sloop plying , on the North, or Hudson River, and was occupied in ( that vocation two years. His next venture took him ' to New Orleans, where he passed two years tending bar, returning thence to his native State, where he remained two years and came thence in June, 1846, to De Kalb County.

The first marriage of Mr. Heath, to Elizabeth McQuarie, took place in Chatham, Ont., May 24, 1846. She was a native of New York, and became the mother of three children, - Webster, Eliza and Diana. The youngest child died when two months old. The mother died July 24, 1859. Mr. Heath was a second time married Jan. 24, 1860, in Genoa Township, to Hannah ShurtliflT, a native of Canada. ' -er: £vs».>

Tames C. Wright, farmer on the southwest quarter of section 30, Cortland Township, was born near Manchester, Lincolnshire, England, July 2, 1826. Two years afterward his parents, William and Elizabeth (Credland) Wright, emigrated with their three children to America and located in Vernon Township, Oneida Co., N. Y., on a farm of 50 acres, - land once owned by the Oneida Indians. Mr. W. failed to pay for this farm, and leaving his family there for a time, he came to St. Charles, Kane Co., 111., in 1834. Being a firstclass mechanic, he worked as a wheelwright and in other capacities of a similar nature, and in a year and a half he brought his family to St. Charles, the whole distance from New York State in a one-horse wagon! On this were stowed a wife, three children, two beds, cooking utensils, etc. They were nine weeks on the road. Father and two eldest sons walked the entire distance! Only two nights did the family sleep in a house, and all their meals were cooked by the roadside. They landed at St Charles about the first of November.

The following fall the father died, and James C. and his brother, who had gone out to work for their living, returned to aid in sustaining the family ; but, their mother marrying again, the subject of this sketch started out into the world to take care of himself, being then only 13 years of age. First he was a farm laborer for two years, receiving $6 a month and board, then for two years $9 a month, by which time he had saved from his earnings $50; then for a year $12 a month, three years §11 a month, working for Henry Wager, then for Jerry Brown two years at $11 a month, when he purchased 52 acres of land, going $600 in debt. Subsequently he bought 40 acres more of I. R. Hamlin, running again in debt $600, then 40 acres of Mr. Royce, incurrring another debt of $600, then 23 acres of E. S. Root, incurring a debt of $1,400, and finally, in 1867, sold out and went with the family to California, by the water route, where he resided four years. He bought 1,450 acres of land there of the Government, and raised grain and live stock, having of the latter 107 head -of cattle, 400 hogs and a few horses ; but he finally exchanged that farm for his old -one here in Illinois. In his travels he has crossed the. Atlantic Ocean twice, and the Pacific Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Central America and the Isthmus of Panama each once, - the latter requiring eight days.