for a number of years. Our subject soon after
coming here located on the land whai-e he now re-
sides and proceeded to develop and open up a
farm. At that time the prospects were rather dis-
couraging, as the land was wild prairie and much
of it a wilderness or swamp. Deer were very
plentiful and prairie wolves as well. The Illinois
Central Railroad had just been built through Che-
banse Township and the towns of Chebanse and
Ashkum were simply stations. Mr. Howe developed
a farm of one hundred and twenty acres adjoining
the village of Clifton, which is a valuable and most
desirable piece of property. On this he still makes
his home and has a comfortable and substantial
residence, commodious barns and outbuildings.
Everything about the farm denotes the thrift, care-
ful cultivation and enterprise of the owner, and it
is a model farm in every respect.
In 1845, Mr. Howe led to the marriage altar
Miss Sarah S. Cowdrey, a daughter of David H.
Cowdrey, a well-known lawyer of New York City.
The death of Mrs. Howe occurred in 1806. She was
the mother of four children: Helena C. is the wife
of Edward S. Perry, of New Haven, Conn.; Walter
M. holds a responsible business position in Chicago;
William F. is Secretary of the Railroad Employes'
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
823
Banking and Trust Company in the same cit_v; and
Isabella is the wife of Francis P. Murray, who lives
in Montana, where he has large mining interests.
Mr. Howe was again married, this time in 1867, to
Abbie A. (Hutchins) White, who was the widow of
H. K. White, one of the first settlers of Clifton,
and a grain merchant by occupation. Mrs. Howe
was born in Boston, Mass., and was there educated.
In his political sentiment, Mr. Howe has ever
been a supporter of the Republican party since its
organization. He was formerlj- a Whig and a great
admirer of Henry Clay. Though a public-spirited
man and much interested in the welfare and pro-
gress of his fellow-citizens, he has never asked for
or accepted official positions. He has ever given
his hearty support to the public schools and edu-
cational measures and has served for 3'ears as a
member of the .School Board. Our subject and his
wife are active members of the Congregational
Church of Clifton. Bj' his many friends and ac-
((uaintances he is highly esteemed as a man of up-
right character and strict integrity.
WiOHN B. VAN WYCK has been for many
I years a resident of Clifton and was born in
New Paltz, Ulster County, N. Y., on the
' 28th of June, 18.31. His paternal grand-
father bore the same name as our subject. He. was
offered a commission as an officer in the Revolu-
tionary War by Gen Washington. At that time,
Mr. A'an Wyck did not accept the honor, but took
comm.ind of a home regiment. He was a promi-
nent and popular public man, possessing marked
business ability, thereby accumulating a large
property. His death occurred in 1841, and he left
a large estate to his heirs. The parents of our sub-
ject were Alfred and Charlotte (Viets) Van Wyck,
the former a native of New York, and the latter of
Massachusetts. Their family' consisted of three
sons and three daughters, but only one is now liv-
. ing, the subject of this sketch. From Fishkill,
N. Y., where tliey had formerly made their home,
the parents came to Illinois in 1863, locating in
Clifton, Iroquois County, where they spent the re-
mainder of their lives. The mother was called to
the home beyond on the 12th of .September, 1880, at
the age of seventy years, and the father survived her
until January- 13, 1892, when he too p.assed away.
He had attained the age of ninety years and eight
months. His father was also long lived, having
reached the age of four-score years at the time of
his death. The father of Mrs. Van Wyck lived to
the remarkable age of ninety-four years. Alfred
Van Wyck was a farmer b\- occupation and upon
his emigration to the West purchased a quarter-
section of land, which included about all of the
present site of Clifton east of the railroad.
The boyhood days of John ^'an Wyck were
spent upon his father's farm and his time was de-
voted to work in the fields. He received such ed-
ucational privileges as the district schools afforded
and has since added to his store of knowledge by
reading and observation until he is now a well-in-
formed man. On the 10th of July, 1867, was
celebiated the wedding of Mr. Van W3'ek and Miss
Mary C. Gorham. The lad^" is a daughter of
Walter II. and Laura (Hubbel) Gorham, both of
whom are natives of Newburgh, N. Y. Two chil-
dren have blessed the union of our subject and his
estimable wife: Alfred, who was born in Washing-
ton, D. C, died when six months old. Laura, the
daughter, was also born in that city.
Mr. and Mi-s. Van Wyck came to Clifton on
their wedding tour and made their home here for
about four years. They then went to Washington,
where our subject secured a contract for building
sewers. Though they remained in the Capitol City
four years, they always regarded Clifton as their
home, and after finishing his contract they returned
to this place. In the winter of 1878-79, Mr. A'an
Wyck went to Knoxville, Tenn., where he took
the contract for quarr^'ing the marble to be used
in the construction of the custom house at Mem-
phis. He remained there for about two 3'ears,
then returned to Clifton, where he has made his
home continuously since. He devotes some atten-
tion to agricultural pursuits. He has a beauti-
ful home in Clifton and his many friends delight
to share in the hospitalit}- there abounding.
Mr. Van Wyck has been a member of the Village
824
PORTRAIT AKB BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Board of Trustees for many years and for one
year was its President, pi-oving a competent official.
He and his wife are members of tiie Congrega-
tional Church, to which they belonged before com-
ing West. He is one of the Trustees and also
Clerk of the church. In politics, he is a stanch Re-
publican and has supported that party since its
organization. Previous to that time, he was a
Whig, as were also his father and grandfather.
He is a representative and influential citizen and
takes a leading part in all measures tending to the
welfare and progress of the comniunitj'.
^ASPE!
^^^ASPER REUSE, an enterprising and thrifty
rnier of Chebanse Township, owns a farm
section 6. He was born in Switzerland,
on the 10th of October, 1836. He received good
common-school advantages in the French language,
and when nineteen years of age he determined to
seek his fortune in America. He went to Havre
and took passage in a sailing-vessel, which took
thirty-three days to make the voyage to New York.
He arrived in tliat city on the 10th of June, 1856,
and started immediately' for the West. He first
went to Ottawa, 111., near which city he went to
work on a farm and continued to live in La Salle
County for seven years. With his carefully hoarded
savings, he then purchased a tract of forty acres of
partially improved land in La Salle County, on
which he settled and engaged in agricultural pur-
suits for about four years. In 1867, he sold that
property and removed to Iroquois County, buying
one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land, where
he still resides. This place had forty acres of
partially improved land, and for buildings had
only an old cabin upon it, in which Mr. Reuse
lived for some five years. He opened up and cul-
tivated his entire property, and for the first few
years received but slight encouragement and lit-
tle reward for his labor. Undaunted, however,
he persevered and brought the property under
such good cultivation that it soon brought forth
abundant harvests. He has always been industri-
ous and saving and has from time to time, as his
financial resources increased, added to his original
farm until he now has four hundred acres, all in
one bod}' with the exception of eighty acres, which
are situated one mile east of Clifton. He has erected
a good residence, barns and a granary. On his
place is also a good orchard, and on ever}' hand
can be seen the care and cultivation of the owner.
Mr. Reuse commenced his life in Illinois a poor
man and without any capital except a good con-
stitution, and has by his well-directed efforts and
enterprise accumulated a comfortable fortune and
a fair income.
In November, 1863, was celebrated the marriage
of our subject and Mary Ribordy, a native of the
same country as her husband. She was educated
and grew to maidenhood in Switzerland and came
to the United States with her father, Gasper Rib-
ordy. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Reuse seven children
have been born: Henry, at home; Josephine, a suc-
cessful teacher in Aurora Parochial School; Louis,
Julia, Anna, Clotilde and Emeiy. The family are
Catholics in religious faith and members of the
Clifton Church.
Politicall}-. Mr. Reuse affiliates with the Repub-
lican part}' and cast his first ballot for Hon. James
G. Blaine. He has never aspired to official posi-
tions, but has ever been a friend to all educational
and public measures tending to the good of the
community. He has served for years on the
School Board and is a firm believer in good public
schools. By his many qualities of worth and his
upright character, Mr. Reuse has won the esteem
and confidence of all.
p. H. TRRSCOTT, one of the pioneer set-
tlers of Chebanse Township, came with his
^_, . family to Illinois in 1857, and settled upon
^^!fJ a farm about four miles to the soutlieast
of Chebanse, where he lived for about one year.
The two years succeeding, Mr. Trescott taught
school during the winter at Sugar Island, devot-
ing his attention to agricultural pursuits in the
summer time. On account of much sickness in
his family, he decided to remove from the farm to
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
825
the village of Chebanse, and has made this his home
ever since. This was in 1860, and the whole re-
gion, like many others, was very depressed, money
having no regular purchasing power; and as most
of this section was an unimproved swamp and
wilderness, sickness was the rule. Farmers had
not the advantages of the labor-saving machinery of
to-day, and corn was sown b^- hand and most of the
grain gathered with a cradle. There was not a
bush as large as a pipestem within two miles, and
a person could drive for forty miles without even
seeing a fence. At that time deer and game were
in abundance, and it w.as thought that there would
be ample grazing for stock for all time to come.
Our subject is a native of the Keystone State,
his birth having occurred near Harveyville, Hunt-
ington Township, Luzerne Count}-, on the 30th
of Septembev, 1824. His paternal grandfather was
a soldier in the AVar of the Revolution, and es-
caped as by a miracle in the Wyoming massacre
on the 3d of July, 177.8. While creeping through
an oat field in the night, a number of Indians on
horseback jumped over him as he lav crouching
in a furrow. The Indians were scouring the coun-
try throughout Luzerne County for the scalps of
the unfortunate white settlers. Our subject's ma-
ternal grandfather w.is also a soldier in the Revo-
lutionary War.
The parents of Mr. Trescott, Luther and Elenor
(Parke) Trescott, were both descendants of Quaker
stock. The former was a native of Vermont, and
the latter of the province of New Brunswick.
They were the parents of four sons and four
daughters, five of whom still survive: Mrs. Susan
Dodson, of Weatherly, Carbon County, Pa.; Mrs.
M. L. T. Hartinan, of Shickshinn}', Luzerne
County, Pa.; Mrs. M. A. Lemon, of Asbury, Colum-
bia County, Pa.; our subject, and Mrs. R. J. G.
Beers, of Weatherly, Carbon County, Pa. Mr. and
JSIrs. Trescott si)ent their entire lives in Pennsyl-
vania and both departed their lives in the house
where our subject was born. The father's death
(iccurred in February, 1877, he being at that lime in
his ninetieth ^ear. He came of a remarkably long-
lived family and two of his l)rothcrs also attained
.â– 1 very advanced age. One f>f them. Peter Sylves-
ter, died in 1884, at the age of ninety-three years,
and the other, Edward Lewis, reached the age of
ninety-six years and two months, his death occur-
ring in May, 1890.
On the 22d of September, 18.50, Mr. Trescott,
whose name heads this sketch, was joined in wed-
lock with Jliss Sallic .\nn Dodson, daughter of
Stephen B. and Flavia (Tubbs) Dodson, of Penn-
sylvania. Her grandmother's name was Franklin,
and the uncle of the latter, Capt. .John Franklin,
w.as an own cousin of Benjamin Franklin, the phil-
osopher, inventor and statesman. To Mr. and
Mrs. Trescott ten children have been born, as fol-
lows: Olin Rush, now dece.ased; Ada C, also de-
ceased; Stephen O., who married Miss Nellie Buck,
of West Union, Iowa, and now makes his home at
Fremont, Colo., where he helped to organize a com-
pany that operates the gold mines at Cripple Creek;
Lntlier R.; Henry A., deceased; Charles Fremont,
also now deceased; Amy E. is the wife of De Witt
C. Merrill, a general merchant in Cabeiy, 111., and
unto them hare been born two children, Margucr-
ita Mabel and Wallace Trescott; William IL, Llo.yd
F. and Edward L. are the youngest of the familv.
For a number of years Mr. Trescott engaged in
the butcher's business in Chebanse, and started the
first meat-market here. He aftetward embarked
in the real-estate business, selling out his former
business in 1867. In addition to his real-estate
occupation he has for manj\vears engaged more or
less in agricultural pursuits, although his residence
has been in Chebanse since 1860.
In 1862, Mr. Trescott was elected .Justice of the
Pe.ace and for the long period of thirty years has
continued to fill that office. He has also filled several
other official positions, and the same month that
he was made Justice of the Peace he was also elec-
ted School Trustee .and h.as held that position since
then. In 1869, he was made Supervisor and served
for one year. He w.as also the Assessor of Che-
banse Township for the two years of 1865 and
1866, and at present is the President of the Village
Board of Trustees. He has been a member of the
same board during most of the time of his residence
here and has been its President a number of terms.
In all of his official positions he has been prompt and
faithful in the discharge of tlie duties, which fact
is well evinced by the repeated calls he has had
826
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
from his fellow-citizens to fill various positions of
trust. In political sentiments he is a stanch Re-
publican and has cast his ballot for every Repub-
lican Presidential candidate from Fremont to
Harrison. He made two visits to his old home,
friends and relatives, the first one beinj;; in 1864
and the next one in December, 1891. He has
been a Mason since 1867, holding membership with
Chebanse Lodge No. 429, A. F. & A. M., of which
he has been Secretary about half of the time since
joining and still holds that office. He is a repre-
sentative citizen, and as one of the pioneer settlers
well deserves a place in this volume.
ELWIN L. AVRIGIIT, tlie efficient Postmaster
of Chebanse, is a native of the Empire State,
his birth having occurred in Jordan, Onon-
daga County on the 7th of January, 18.30. His
maternal grandmother, Mrs. Mary (Hedding) Ball,
figured conspicuously in the Revolutionary War.
She was one anioiig maiij' women who took off
their stockings and petticoats to supply AVashing-
ton's soldiers, wiio were suffering greatly for
shoes and clothing, and who could easily be
tracked by the blood on the snow and ice from
their naked feet. Her husband when seventeen
years of age was received into the army and
served throughout the Revolutionary War. A
brother of Mrs. Ball was taken prisoner by the
Tories, who without giving him time to dress car-
ried him from Newark, N. J., to New York over
the ice and snow. On the trip both of his feet
were frozen and he suffered so greatly from the
exposure that his death soon followed. He had
occasioned this cruel treatment by the Tories on
account of his befriending the American soldiers
as far as lie was able, assisting to feed and clothe
them. He was a merchant of Newark, and his life
was one of the many sacrificed for the liberties of
our glorious country.
The parents of our subject were George and
Elizabeth (Ball) Wright, and to them seven chil-
dren were born, three daughters and four sons,
five of whom are still living: Maiy, Antoinette,
Lucy, Elwin and Gideon. The father in his youth
learned the trade of tool-making, which occupa-
tion he followed until improved machinery drove
him out of the business, at which time he turned
his attention to general blacksmitliing. Mrs. Wright
did the carding, spinning and weaving for the
clothing of her family. Most of their lives were
spent upon a farm. The death of the father oc-
curred in New York in 1882, and for many years
previous to this he had been retired from business.
In the town of Jordan, Mrs. Wriglit departed this
life in the following year.
The early education of our subject was largely
attained in the public schools of Jordan, after
which he entered the .Jordan Academy, which he
attended during the winter season. In June, 1856,
he came to Illinois, taking a course in the Bryant
& Stratton Business College of Chicago. Thus well
equipped for the business of life, he commenced
buying poultry, game and like merchandise,
which he shipped to the New York markets. He
afterward bought hogs and cattle for the Chicago
market and was ver}' successful in his business en-
terprises. At the lirst call for volunteers during
the late war, Mr. Wright enlisted for the ninety
days' service, but the quota from Illinois being
sufficient at that time he was not received into
active service.
In February, 1862, was celebrated the marriage
of Mr. Wright and Miss Olive Twombly, of Kan-
kakee, and to them have been born twelve chil-
dren, nine of whom are still living. The eldest,
Antoinette, is the wife of Almond Lowe, a farmer
living about half way between Aurora and St. Ann,
111; they have one child, Henry. Lillie died when
about a year old. The younger are Jesse, Nellie,
Maggie, Helen, Alta, George, Lemuel and .Sher-
wood (twins), and another pair of twins, who died
unnamed.
Immediately after his marriage, Mr. AVriglit
leased the Milk's Grove farm, consisting of about
seven hundred acres, which he carried on forabout
two years. After th.it he removed to Cheb.anse,
purchased a hay press and has made this place his
home since that time. From 186.5 until 1870,
he ran his hay press and for the following four-
teen years was book keeper for the firm of Capen
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
827
& Co., grain de.ilers .and elevator men. During the
next five 3-ears lie w.is engaged in liuying stock,
cattle and hogs, wliicii he shipped to Chicago. In
the month of April, 18«1), IVIr. Wright received
notice of iiis appointment by Postmaster-General
Wanamaker to the office of Postmaster of Che-
hanse and entered upon the discharge of his
duties on the ith of May of that year. He has
shown good abiiit}' and efficiency in filling this
position and has given satisfaction to all.
Mr. Wright is a stanch Republican in politics
and assisted to build tiie Republican wigwam in
Chicago, where Abraham Lincoln was nominated
for the Presidency. He is a public-spirited and
progressive man and is alw.ays in the front ranks
of those who advance the prosperity and best in-
terests of this coniniunit}'. In liis business rela-
tions, he is trustworthy and honorable, .and his
manly course in life has won for him the respect
of all.
fflEODORE KABCOX was born in Ohio,
about fourteen miles from Cincinnati, in
Hamilton County, on the 12th of March,
1824. His birthplace is about three miles from
that of Gen. Harrison. His maternal grandfather
was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was for
many years a resident of Montgomery County,
Ind., near Crawfordsville, emigrating there from
New York. He w.as of Irish descent, and at the
time of his death was about sixtj- -seven years of
age. On his father's side, our subject is of Eng-
lish origin. He is a son of .lohn and Julia Ann
(Bryant) Babcox. The former was a native of
New Jersey, and the latter was born in Genesee
County, N. Y. They were the parents of four
children: Elizabeth became the wife of O. G. Wiil-
hite, a tailor in Crawfordsville, Ind., where she
died in 1868. They had four children: John,
Alice, Florence and Frank, all of whom are now
living. Theodore is next in order of birth; John,
Jr., died when a child of four years; Stephen is
the youngest of the family.
In 1818, Mr. and Mrs. Babcox removed from
New York to Ohio, settling upon a farm near Cin-
cinnati, where they resided for eighteen years. In
18;36, the father went to New Orleans, and there
contracted the dread disease, yellow fever, which
caused his death. Soon afterward, the brother of
Mrs. Babcox, Zcphaniah Bryant, moved a family
from Ohio to a pKace within ten miles of Craw-
fordsville, Ind., and our subject chose to leave
home, going with his uncle upon the trip to live
with his grandfather, whose children had all grown
up and had left the old homestead to make homes
for themselves. After Mr. Babcox had resided
with his grandfather for about two j'ears, his mo-
ther, with her other children, also removed to the
same neighborhood. She was again married, be-
coming the wife of Samuel Kirkpatrick, with
whom in 1846 she went to Joliet, 111. She de-
jiarted this life in February, 1848.
Theodore Babcox raa<le his home with his grand-
father until nearly fifteen years of age, and then
.started out to make his own living in the world.
In 1842, he went to Joliet, near which city he ob-
tained emplovraent on a farm. He was allowed
the privilege of reserving for himself a small tract
of land, on which be sowed wheat in order to ob-
tain money with which to secure a better education.
During the summer months he worked upon a
farm and attended school in the winter at Craw-
fordsville, going back and forth as the seasons
rolled by. When he first removed to .loliet, the
town was very small and he killed a deer on the
present town site, which fact would indicate
somewhat the wildness of the place at that time
In 1850, with his brother Stephen, he went to
California, where they prospected for gold. In
October of the following year, he returned home,
but his brother preferred to remain in the West,
and a number of years afterward removed to
Washington Territory, where he lived for some
years. In 1877, his death occurred at Silver City,
Idaho. He was about four years younger than
our subject.
On the 18th of January, 1849, occurred the
marriage of Theodore Babcox and Miss Nancy
Ann Cameron, daughter of Hugh and Sarah (Zum-
walt) Cameron. Four children have blessed their
828
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
union: Florence became the wife of A. H. B. Ellis,
who was a soldier in the late war, and who now
draws a pension of $72 per month. Their home
is at Hastings, Mich., where he has held a number
of offices, among them those of Deputy Sheriff and
Constable. They have four children: Effie, P2m-
met, Edith and Cecil. The second child of our
subject, .John, resides in California. Alonzo lives
in Eads, Colo. He is engaged in farming, and is
Deputy Sheriff and Constable. He married Miss
Louise Vose and three children grace their union:
Marie, Robert and Theodore. The youngest of
the family, Nancy Ann, died on the 28th of Octo-
ber, 1861. The wife of our subject held member-
ship with the Methodist Episcopal Church and
died in that faith on the 27th of April, 1856.
Mr. B.abcox was again married, on the 4tli of
March, 1857, when Miss Mar}' Hunter, a native of
Kentucky, became his wife. Her parents died when
she was about seven years of age. By this union
have been born the following children: Reason G.,
who was married in Peoria and now makes his
home in Wisconsin, where he is engaged in the
railroad business. He has one child. Maude, who
became the wife of Terry Steele, a stock bn^-er
and sliipper of Chebanse. Fred died on the 12th
of November, 1863, while an infant. Emma Dora,
the youngest of the family, is still at home. The
mother of these children departed this life on the
21st of March, 1882. She was a consistent mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcop.al Church and left
many friends to mourn her loss.
Upon returning from California, where he had
been quite successful, Mr. Babcox settled upon a
farm about ten miles north of Crawfordsville,