Mr. and Mrs. .Slater are the [larcnts of seven
836
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAIHICAL RECORD.
children: John Charles was born in the Shetland
Islands on the 28th of January, 1861, and when
he grew to manhood married Ellen Averj', and
is a leading farmer of Milk's Grove Township;
James Alexander is a farmer of Washington;
William L. and George A. (twins) are farmers of
Milk's Grove Township; Margaret Ann is the wife
of Hollis Avery, of Kankakee County; Agnes C.
and Frank are at home. These children received
good public-school educations, and Geoi'ge at-
tended the seminary at Onarga, and they were thus
well fitted to meet tlie duties of life.
Our subject and his family attend the Presby-
terian Church. Mr. Slater has been a School Trus-
tee for about nine years, and is much interested
in educational matters. He is not an office-seeker,
preferring to devote his time to his home and farm
interests, but lias been induced to accept several
positions of trust and honor, the duties of which
he has discharged in an able and efficient manner.
At present he is a Trustee and Road Commissioner,
and for five 3'ears has been Treasurer of the Board
of Commissioners. He heard political speeches by
Lincoln and Lovejoy, and was an Abolitionist
from the time of his first becoming a citizen of the
United States. Later, he has been a supporter of
the Republican party and its principles, and his
sons are also members of that party. His first
vote was cast for James A. Garfield. In local
elections he votes for the man whom he thinks
will best fill the position, regardless of party
politics.
ANIEL MONROE is an old resident of
Milk's Grove Township and owns a farm
on section 1. His birth occurred on the
25th of June, 1837, in Glasgow, Scotland.
His father, Hugh Monroe, was of Highland birth,
and left his home when a boy, going to Glasgow,
Scotland. Upon his arrival in that city, he ap-
prenticed himself for seven years to the cabinet-
maker's trade. Through his own efforts and dil-
igent study he managed to acquire a good educa-
tion. In Glasgow he met and was married to Miss
Jean Campbell, who was a native of that city.
They removed to London, where he worked at his
trade for about fourteen years. In the spring of
1851, they took passage on a sailing-vessel, the
"Hendriek Hudson," which was bound for New
York City. They wei'e seven weeks upon the At-
lantic, and upon their arrival in New York City
the}' started at once for the West. They settled
in Joliet, Will County, 111., where lie worked at
his trade. His death occurred in tiie year 1854,
and the mother died at Wilmington in 1855. They
were both consistent members of the Presbyterian
Church, and Mr. Monroe was a successful business
man.
Daniel Monroe lived in London from the time
he was a year old until his parents emigrated to
America, at which time he was about fourteen
years of age. He received fair school advantages
in London and also attended the Will Count}'
schools. Having to depend upon his own efforts
for a liveliliood, he was early inured to the hard-
ships of pioneer life. In 1868, he came to this
county and bought land where he now lives. His
purchase consisted of one hundred and sixty acres
of land which had upon it no improvements what-
ever. It was wild prairie and the grass upon it was
about four or five feet high. The country was
largely under water and great flocks of geese and
ducks were abundant in this region. He now has
a nice farm and a well-improved one. Upon it are
a good house and other buildings, trees and hedges.
He is a successful, enterprising and progressive
farmer and has wonderfully developed his prop-
erty.
On the 20th of October, 1869, occurred the
marriage of Mr. Monroe and Miss Catherine M.
Compton. Her father, James Compton, now liv-
ing in Clifton, is an old settler and highly re-
spected citizen of this county. Mrs. Monroe was
born near La Fayette, Ind., and came with lier par-
ents to this county in 1865. This union has been
blessed with four children, who were all born and
reared upon this farm: Amy E., now at liome, re-
ceived her education in the county sciiools and at
New Carlisle, Ind.; Harvey J. assists liis father
upon the farm; Clarence H. and Eva A. are still un-
der the parental roof.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
837
At tlie first call of liis country for volunteers in
defense of the Union, Mr. Monroe enlisted in
Company F, Twenlietii Illinois Infantry, under
Col. C. C. Marsb. He enlisted at .loliet, where the
company was organized on the 24th of April, 1861.
They first went to Alton and from there to Cape
fiirardeau. Tlie first battle in which the regiment
took part was near Frederickstown, Mo. It was
followed by the engagements at Ft. Henry and
Donelson. He was under Gen. McCleruand and
his regiment lost heavily in the engagement, forty
being killed and one hundred and twenty wounded.
On the 6th and 7th of April, 1862, the regiment
was stationed in the thickest of the battle of Shiloh,
where they had hard fighting for two days and
were driven back incli by inch. They also took
an active part in the siege of Corinth. He was in
the assault on Vicksburg under Gen. Logan, on
the 22d of May, 1863, in which his regiment lost
heavily. He witnessed its surrender and marched
into the city on the 4th of July. The siege lasted
from the 19th of May until that date and his regi-
ment was most active during that time. He was
also in the Meridian campaign under Sherman
and participated in the battles of Baker's Creek
and Jackson. The time of his service having ex-
pired, he returned home for a visit and re-enlisted
at Joliet, in Companj' D, Sixth Regiment, Gen.
Hancock's Corps. They went to Washington,
from there proceeded to Harrislturg, tlience to
Pittsburg, and back to AVashington during the
winter of 1864-65. He was in that cit^- at the
time of Lincoln's assassination. After a service
of four }-ears and three months he received his
discharge on the 1st of April, 186."), at that time
being First Sergeant. He was ever found at his
post of dut}' and was a faithful and brave soldier.
With the exception of a short time after the siege
of Vicksburg, when he was obliged to return home
on a furlough on account of fever, he was on act-
ive dutj' during the whole time of his service.
After his return from the arm3-, our subject
went to Atchison, Kan., and started across the
plains by wagon, arriving in Salt Lake Citv in
the fall of 1868. He spent the winter there and
in the spring continued his journey to Salmon
River, Idaho, where he went into the mines. In
1867, he returned to this county and has operated
bis present farm since that time. Politically, Mr.
Monroe is a stanch Republican and cast his first
vote in 1860 for Abraham Lincoln. He had the
pleasure of hearing Mr. Lincoln plead a case as a
law^-er before he was President. Our subject has
been elected to fill several local positions, though
he is not an office-seeker and prefers to devote
his time to his business interests. He is one of
the best and most public-spirited of citizens and
is held in the highest esteem throughout this sec-
tion. He is a self-made man and started in life
without any means. He has ever shown an enter-
prising and progressive spirit and has achieved
great success. He is a friend to educational meas-
ures and has given his children a good education,
thus fitting them for the battles and duties of life.
—5-
^^>^^<m=^-
'«l I^ILLIAM G. SANDERS, a well-known
\/\j// farmer of Ashkum To^Tiship, lives on
^^^ section 16. He is a native of England,
and was born on the 24th of March, 1846, in
the city of Birmingham. Warwickshire, of which
place his parents, William and Mary Ann (Graj')
Sanders, were also natives. The father, with his
famil}-, emigrated to the United States about Sep-
tember, 1856, settling in AVestchcster County,
N. Y., where he resided for about a year and a-
half. He then removed to Kendall County-, 111.,
where he located on a farm and engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits for about twenty years. Desir-
ing to retire from the arduous labors and duties
of the farm, he went to Bristol, 111., where he
spent the last, years of his life. He dejjarted this
life April 6, 1884. His wife survives him and
makes her home in Bristol.
William Ct. Sanders came to the United States
with his parents when a lad of ten 3'ears and grew
to man's estate in Kendall County, where his
youth was spent engaged in the usual duties of
farmer lads and in attending the common schools.
Later, he went to the Aurora Commercial College,
where he received a good business education, thus
fitting him for the active business pursuits of life.
838
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
He remained with his father until after reaching
his majority, assisting him iu the care of his farm.
During this time, liowever, he worked some for
himself, and his first experience in farming for
himself was in Ogle County, where he was thus
occupied for about three years. In 1872, Mr.
Sanders came to Iroquois County and bought a
tract of eight}' acres in Aslikum Township, on
which he still makes his home. Of this farm but
a few acres had been broken, and but slight im-
provements made. In the way of buildings there
was but a small shanty, iu which he lived while he
made other improvements. Soon bountiful harvests
rewarded his care and cultivation, and now a
substantial home, good stables and other build-
ings show the owner to be a tlirifty and prosper-
ous farmer. This farm is located two and a-quar-
ter miles from Clifton, and is considered a
valuable piece of land.
In Joliet, Will County, on the 29th of October,
1874, occurred the marriage of Mr. Sanders and
Miss Elizabeth B. Malcolm, a native of Illinois,
who was reared and educated in Joliet. Her fa-
ther, James Malcolm, was born in Scotland, and
grew to manhood and was married in Bristol,
Kendall County, to Miss Jessie Y. Bertram, No-
vember 4, 1845. He was one of the first settlers
and honored pioneers of Joliet, being one of the
first to locate in the city. He was a miller by trade
and a much-respected citizen. When crossing the
ocean to this country', he was shipwrecked, and,
with some others, climbed upon some floating ice
and was afterward rescued by a passing ship.
Many others of the crew and passengers who got
into the ship's small boats have never been heard
from, and are supposed to have found watery
graves. He departed tliis life January 31, 1885.
Mrs. Malcolm died July 16, 1889.
While not members of any church organization,
our subject and his estimable wife attend the
Clifton Methodist Episcopal Cliurch, to which
they give their support, and are firm believers in
its doctrine. Socially, Mr. Sanders is a member of
Clifton Lodge, A. F. & A. M. Since casting his first
ballot for Gen. U. S. Grant in the Presidential
election in 1868, he has ever supported the prin-
ciples of the Republican party. He has never
been an aspirant for official positions, but has
preferred to give his entire time and atten-
tion to his agricultural and business interests.
He is a representative citizen of this section,
and has won many friends by his integrity of
character and his manly course in life. Mr. and
Mrs. Sanders have two mteresling children: Cora
and George, and two little girls, Edith and Eva,
died in early childiiood.
EBEN L. HILLS, Supervisor of Milk's Grove
Township, resides on section 15. He was
,- - " born in the town of Big Grove, Kendall
County, III., on the 13tii of November, 1843. His
father, Eben M. Hills, was a native of Connecti-
cut, his birth occurring on the 8th of October,
1801, in Goshen, Litchfield Count}'. His early
life was passed upon a farm, and when he arrived
at mature years he was married, in Burnliam Center,
Oneida County, N. Y., to Miss Stella Sears. The
wedding was celebrated on the lltli of June, 1828.
Mrs. Hills was a native of the Empire State, her
birth occurring in South East, Putnam County,
N. Y., on the 2Ut of August, 1806. After his mar-
riage, Mr. Hills removed to Illinois, coming by
way of the Lakes. His family and goods came by
team overland. He arrived in Kendall County
in 1833, when the country was nothing but a wil-
doi-ness. He proceeded to open up and develop
a farm and afterwards became the owner of an-
other one. He was quite successful as a business
man and farmer, and was a strong anti-slavery
man, and politically a Whig. He was a firm be-
liever in the common schools, was a good citizen
and a kind neiglibor. He and his wife were
highly esteemed members of the Congregational
Church of Lisbon, where for a long time he was a
Deacon. He was a man of wide reading and in-
telligence and was held in high regard by all. His
death occurred on the 17tli of February, 1859, and
that of his wife on the 19th of June, 1884. Mrs.
Hills spent her last days with her children.
In their family were eight children: Mrs. Caro-
line Cass, a widow, resides in West Superior,
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
839
Wis.; Hubert died in South Dakota; Frederick B.
is a leading farmer of Keudall County; Melissa
Stone lives in Sandwich, De Kalb County; Marj-
Ann died when a child; Eben L., our subject;
Sarah Lamira and Luther B. make their home
in California. With the exception of the two eld-
est children, who were born in Oneida Countj-,
N. Y., thej were all born and reared in Lisbon, 111.
The early years of our subject were passed upon
his father's farm in Illinois in the usual pursuits
of farmer boys. For that early day he received
quite a fair common-school education, and at nine-
teen years of age he left his studies in order to
enter the army. He left Lisbon in company with
the regiment in which he had enlisted on the l.ith
of August, 1862, as a member of Company' E,
Ninet\ - first Illinois Infantry, under Col. H. M.
Day, and was mustered into service at Springfield.
The compan}' was detailed to guard railroad
bridges in Kentuck3". Gen. Morgan made them
prisoners, our subject being captured on the 27th
of December, 1862. He was paroled and sent lo
St. Louis, where he was kept until July, 1863.
After being released, he proceeded to Vicksburg,
thence went to New Orleans and afterward to
Texas. He then went to Mobile and assisted in
the capture of that city. He entered the service
as a private soldier and was an Orderly at head-
quarters. He w.as a faithful and efficient soldier,
ever to be found at his post of duty and true to
the trust reposed in him.
Returning from the war. he went to Springfield
and arrived at his home on the 28th of July, 1865.
On the 29th of November, 1866, Mr. Hills was
married to Miss Phila M. Bushnell, a native of the
Empire St^te. Their marriage was celebrated in
the house where he was born at Lisbon. Kendall
County. Mrs. Hills is a daughter of Richard and
Adeline (McCuen) Bushnell, who came to Illinois
in 1848, when Mrs. Hills was but four years of
age. They fii-st settled in McIIenry County, then
at Dundee, Kane County, and finally removed
to Lisbon, when she was about eleven years of
age. Mr. and Mi-s. Bushnell are now both de-
ceased. Three children grace the union of our
subject and his wife: Lillian M. is the wife of
Arthur Boswell, and lives in Nebraska. She was
born in the same house where her father's birth oc-
curred, and grew to womanhood in Kankakee
County. Susan H. resides at home and was born
at Chebanse, Iroquois County. She acquired her
education in the public schools of Ouarga. Hubert
was horn in Chebanse and assists his father upon
the home farm.
In 1870, Mr. Hills removed to Kankakee and en-
gaged in farming there until 1885. Since that
time he has made his home in this township and
operates a farm of four hundred and eighty acres.
This is a well-improved piece of property, and as an
agriculturist he meets with success. For several
years he has engaged in breeding English Shire
horses and has a number of full-blooded imported
and registered animals. He is the owner of some
very fine stock, and in all his business enterprises
he shows good judgment and sagacity. Mr. and
Mrs. Hills are faithful members of the Congrega-
tional Church at Chebanse. Socially, he is a mem-
ber of the Grand Array Post at Chebanse and be-
longs to the order of Modern Woodmen. He cast
his fii-st vote for Gen. U. S. Grant and has been a
stanch Republican since the war. He has often at-
tended the conventions of his party, both county
and senatorial. At present he is .Supervisor of the
township, and has served as Township Clerk for
four years. He makes an able and efBcieut officer
and discharges the duties of his position to the
satisfaction of all. Mr. Hills is pleasant and genial
and his hospitable home is always open to his many
friends.
.it>>'^ III I I ^
/^ HARLES W. RAYMOND. Every com-
(li munity has a few men who stand pre-emi-
^^l' nent in the eyes of its citizens. This is be-
cause of their inherent public spirit, generous im-
pulses or superior ability. Out of the mass which
constitutes the community these few men shed
their lustre abroad — their light shines not tike a
lamp which reflects its rays simply upon the four
walls of a room, but like the sun, which shines
upon all; they stand above their fellows; their
840
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
reputations extend beyond the narrow confines of
their homes; their influence reaches out beyond
the little community in which they happen to re-
side, and their names become iiousehold words be-
cause of the pre-eminent position which they hold
in society'.
Charles W. Raymond, the subject of this sketch,
is an apt illustration of this fact. Born in humble
circumstances, and battling withadversity, he has
been constant in purpose, and has achieved a dis-
tinction in which he may well take pride, even as
the friends who have watched his progress and ad-
mired his career are proud of the position he has
attained among his fellowmcn.
He was born iu Dubuque, Iowa, the son of Capt.
William M. Raymond and Mary E. (Meyers) Ray-
mond. Scon after his birth tlie family removed
to Nashville, Tcnn., where the father conducted a
prosperous business until the clouds of war began
to hang like a dark pall over the threatened na-
tion. Treason stalked with arrogance through the
streets of the Rock City and vowed du-e venge-
ance upon all who dared to assert their loyalty to
the Union. Capt. Raymond, in whose veins flowed
the blood of Revolutionarj'sires, was, however, not
to be intimidated; he denounced in vehement
terms the folly and futility of secession, and so
outspoken and emphatic were his sentiments of
loyalty to the Old Flag that he became a marked
man and was obliged to flee for safety, his escape
from lynching being due to the warning of a
friend, a Southern sj'mpathizer, whose friendship
was yet so strong and true that he secreted the
loyal but despised Yankee on his own premises
until he could find safe passage with his family to
the North. Capt. Raymond landed at Lawrence-
burg, Ind., where heat once joined the Fifty-second
Indiana Infantry, being elected First-Lieutenant
of Company D, of which he subsequently be-
came Captain. The family went on to Indianap-
olis, where they remained during the war. Capt.
Raymond followed the fortunes of his regiment
through all its vicissitudes; shared in its bivouacs,
its battles and its marches, until he finally arrived
with the army at Nashville, the old home from
which he had been driven, and he here lost his life
in the memorable battle of December 16, 1864. His
remains were brought to Cincinnati (his birth-
place), where they were tenderly laid to rest in the
Curamingsville Cemetery in Januarj', 1865.
The widow, with three orphaned children, then
moved to Mt. Washington, Ohio, in order to be
near her relatives, with whom she afterward came to
Illinois, locating in Washington, Tazewell County.
Charles, then a youth, spent three years upon a farm
in Linn Township, Woodford County. Afterward
he joined his mother, who had moved to Onarga,
Iroquois County, where he entered Grand Prairie
Seminary. He applied himself zealously to his
books, and completed his studies in Wabash Col-
lege, at Crawfordsville, Ind. For a time he worked
in the flax mill at Onarga as tow-boy, but in 1878
he came to Watseka, where he was given a clerk-
ship in the olDce of the County Clerk, being in
1882 installed as Deputj' County Clerk under
Henry A. Butzow. In the interim, he studied law
and was admitted to the Bar in 1886. To-day,
although still a young man, he stands in the front
of the legal [ii'ofession in Iroquois County. As
an orator, he is the peer of any of his colleagues,
having (in his determination to succeed as a public
speaker) overcome obstacles which have discour-
aged many another even better equipped. To-
day he will staitd before his auditors and com-
mand their profoundest attention by the fascina-
tion of his speech, while man}' people in Watseka
well remember his complete failure and mortifica-
tion in his first attempt to speak in public a few
years ago. Words failed him, his tongue refused
utterance, his face flushed, his limbs trembled; he
stood there unable to utter a sentence, when, in
abject humiliation, he took his seat, but in his dis-
comfiture still resolved that he would 3'et over-
come his timidit}' and some day prove to his
friends that perseverance and determination will
triumph in the end. This episode occurred in
1879 before a large audience (the writer of this
sketch being one of the number), where he had
been advertised to sj)eak in the old Opera House
on Third Street. The editor of the Iroquois Times
in his report of the proceedings, August 23, 1879,
referred to the matter in these kindly woi-ds of
encouragement: " Don't be discouraged, Charley;
the greatest orators the world ever produced failed
PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPHICAL RECORD.
841
in their first efforts. We expect to hear from _vou
yet." And "Charley" has verified the prophecy
of the sympathizing editor.
Being tlioroughly conversant with tlie affairs of
the county, he was in 1886 selected by the Board
of Supervisors to conduct the prosecution in the
celebrated case of the People of the State of Illi-
nois for use of Iroquois County vs. John W. Riggs,
ex-Circuit Clerk, to recover certain trust funds
and fees withheld by the defendant. In the pros-
ecution of this, one of his first cases and a most
important one, he exhibited such skill and de-
termination that he at once sprang into promi-
nence, and his reputation as an able and fearless
attorney became established at the very threshold
of his practice. The successful prosecution of this
case did much to inaugiu-atc some wholesome re-
forms among the county officials. From that time
forth Mr. Raymond's career has been one of uni-
form success. He was employed by Hon. John L.
Hamilton in 1891 in the contest between this gen-
tleman and Henry A. Butzow for the seat in the
Thirty-seventh General Assembly from the Six-
teenth Senatorial District of Illinois, in which he
scored a complete victory for his client, who was
seated as a Republican, though the House in which
the contest took place was Democratic. This con-
test atttracted general interest throughout the
State, as the election of a United States Senator
was involved and much depended upon the com-
plexion of the House, the parties being almost
equally divided, three Independents wielding the
balance of power. He was also engaged in the
Munhall-Mann contest, wherein the latter, having
been declared elected by the Board of County
Canvassers and installed as Circuit Clerk, his
rights were disputed by the complainant, who al-
leged irregularities at the polls, which, if corrected,
would entitle him to the office.
Mr. Raymond has taken an active part in poli-
tics and is recognized as one of the leaders of the
Republican party in Eastern Illinois, where he
wields a marked influence. He has attended vari-
ous conventions (county, congressional and dis-
trict) and in 1892 was a delegate to the Republican
State Convention, where he was chosen as a Rep-
resentative-at-Large of that body to the National
Republican League, which met at Buffalo, N. Y.,
in September of that year. Here be became con-
spicuous, being placed upon several important
committees, and was honored as Chairman of the
committee of three (Judge James H. Blanchard,
of New York, and Judge John P. Seamans, of
California, being the other two members) to notify
Gen. J. S. Clarkson of his election as President of