Will County IL Genealogy – Access Genealogy

Biography of William Francis Holcomb

William Francis Holcomb, a member of the Society of California Pioneers of San Bernardino County, and the discoverer of gold in the valley which bears his name, was born in Indiana in 1831, but his parents moved to Will County, Illinois, in his infancy, where they lived till he was eight years old. They then went, in 1839, to Iowa and located in Portland, Van Buren County Iowa. His father having died, his mother moved with her family in 1845 up into Wapello County and took up a piece of Government land. The same year his oldest brother, Stephen Holcomb, … Read more

Biography of William Oliver

William Oliver has been a resident of Kansas more than thirty years, and during the past fifteen years had carried on some very prosperous activities as a farmer and truck raiser in the vicinity of Topeka. He was born in Iowa County; Wisconsin. His father Evan Oliver was born in Wales in 1830, and came to America in 1836 when a boy of six years, his parents settling near Dodgeville, Wisconsin. The Olivers were pioneers in Wisconsin Territory, and pursued farming and developed a fine homestead which members of the family occupied for a great many years. In 1856 Evan … Read more

Biography of William M. Jamieson

William M. Jamieson. Few of the business men of Wichita have had more varied careers than has William M. Jamieson, who, since 1910, has been engaged in the handling of large realty transactions in this city. A Scot by birth, he came to America as a lad, and during the next forty years his activities carried him to many out-of-the-way places of this continent, where he was connected with the construction of some of the largest engineering projects of the time. The broad experience and knowledge of men which he gained during this period of his life have been of … Read more

Will County Illinois School Records

The Fountaindale Public Library of Bolingbrook, Illinois has digitized school records, freely accessible online here. These records include administrative, teacher’s daily registers, and school enrollment cards.

Shau-be-na Potawatami Chief

The following incidents in the early history of Shau-be-na are principally taken from his own statements, and the truth of them, no person acquainted with the old chief will doubt. My first acquaintance with Shau-be-na occurred nearly forty years ago, while his whole band, one hundred and forty-two in number, were hunting on Bureau River, Illinois. Being encamped near my father’s residence, I visited them almost daily for many weeks, and always felt myself at home in the old chief’s wigwam. Shau-be-na was above the medium size, tall and straight, with broad shoulders and intelligent face, while his bearing and … Read more

Biography of Silas R. Dague

Silas R. Dague. As president of the Dague Business College, in the City of Wichita, Mr. Dague has been the potent force in the development and upbuilding of one of the admirable and influential educational institutions of the Sunflower State, and the college of which he is the executive head is maintained at the highest modern standard, with the best of material facilities and with a corps of instructors who are notable for distinct efficiency in the work of the respective departments to which they are assigned. Mr. Dague was born in Will County, Illinois, on the 17th of February, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Giddings, R. S.

Giddings, R. S. of Giddings, Banker & Co., first came to Russell in January 1878 and engaged as clerk for a general merchandise store until he became a partner in the above firm. He was born in Seneca County, N. Y., in 1852. Mr. Giddings lived in his native county until 1876, when he went to Joliet, Ill., and clerked in a dry goods house until 1878 when he came to Russell. This is an enterprising firm and deserves the patronage of the public.

Proebstel, Sandra D. Eich Mrs. – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Sandra D. Proebstel, 27, of La Grande, died Sept. 6, 2001, at Grande Ronde Hospital. At her request there will be no services. Disposition was by cremation. Mrs. Proebstel was born May 26, 1974, at Joliet, Ill., to Kenneth and Joyce Kunz Eich. She received her education in Illinois and Florida. She enlisted in the U.S. Army and met her future husband, Joshua Proebstel, at Fort Hood, Texas, where they were both stationed. They were married April 6, 1997, at Killeen, Texas. After they were discharged from the Army, they moved to La Grande, where Mrs. Proebstel … Read more

Biography of Theron H. Palmer

Theron H. Palmer, architect and builder, and a worthy representative of the business men of Southern California, was born February 14, 1849, in Joliet, Illinois, to which place his parents emigrated from New York State several years previous. In his early childhood they removed to the young city of Chicago, where young Palmer attended school, and upon entering his teens started in to learn the drug business. Soon after the war of the Rebellion broke out, though considerably under the required age, fired by youthful patriotism, he attempted to enter the army, and was twice thwarted in his purposes by … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Charles B. Murray

Murray, Charles B.; chemist and metallurgist; born, Worcester, Massachusetts, April 6, 1866; son of Peleg F. and Mary Prince Murray; educated, common schools at Worcester; took B. S. degree at Polytechnic Institute, at Worcester, Mass., in 1887; married, Attleboro, Mass., Jan. 29, 1890; Ellen Lincoln Robinson; issue, two children, Philip F., and Mildred A.; after leaving school, asst. chemist at Joliett Steel Co., Joliet, Illinois; spent a year in Buena Vista, Virginia, as chemist, and a year with the Minnesota Iron Co.; January, 1893, was appointed chief chemist and metallurgist at the Eliza Johnson Works, of the Carnegie Steel Co.; … Read more

Biography of William McConochie

A man who both as a public official and as a prominent citizen has been an important factor in moulding Rock Island’s municipal history is William McConochie. The son of John and Annie (Campbell) McConochie, he was born at Gatehouse, a little village on the southwest coast of Scotland, January 11, 1847. His father’s ancestors had lived in that part of Scotland since the days of Wallace and Bruce. His mother’s family were Highlanders, and were of the house of Argyle. The elder McConochies, with their family, emigrated to America in the spring of 1853. Coming westward they settled at … Read more

Biography of Walter Robson

Walter Robson, a former representative of Pottawatomie County in the Legislature, is a man of large and important business interests in and around Westmoreland. His chief business is farming, but whether as a farmer, legislator, merchant he had played a forceful and virile part in every one of his numerous interests. Reared in Kansas from early infancy, Mr. Robson was born at Wilmington in Will County, Illinois, February 26, 1875. His father, John Robson, is and for many years had been a prominent factor in Pottawatomie County and is still living on his farm two miles northeast of Westmoreland. He … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Dr. Nyland W. Rice

Dr. Nyland W. Rice, deceased, was born in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1850. His literary education received at Claveric University, and his medical education at Hahnemann, Philadelphia. At the latter place the first honors of his class were bestowed upon him, by which he was appointed to practice two years in the college hospital. After this he went to Aurora, Illinois, and then, his health failing, he came to San Bernardino. Here he began to practice as the pioneer homoeopathist in the city. He was a man who possessed much personal magnetism and was a general favorite with all. He was … Read more

Biographical Sketch of J. W. Moore

J. W. Moore, lumber merchant, Mattoon; was born in Kent Co., England, in June, 1832; when 10 years of age, he lost his father; in 1850, his mother, with her family, immigrated to America and settled in Chicago, where they remained about two and one-half years; they then removed to Cook Co., where himself and an older brother engaged in farming and operating a country store, his mother managing largely the interests of her family; in 1865, the subject of this sketch moved to Monee, Will Co., and, in company with a Mr. Dickson, under the firm name of Dickson … Read more

Biography of George Bell

George Bell and members of his family have been prominently identified with various localities in Kansas for thirty-five years or more. The family now reside in Topeka. The birthplace of George Bell was Darlington, Yorkshire, England, where he was born in 1845. He grew up at Darlington, and while there he lived on an estate where Queen Victoria’s three noted grandsons came to hunt. George Bell came to know these distinguished European characters very well. They are now the Czar Nicholas of Russia, Emperor William of Germany and King George of England. George Bell in 1877 came to America, was … Read more

Biography of Theodore H. Polace

Theodore H. Polace has been a lawyer of recognized standing and ability at the Marysville bar for over thirty-five years. His career began as a teacher, but he soon turned to the law and had found in it an occupation fitted to his talents and tastes, and had made it the medium of his chief service in the world. Mr. Polace was born near Grete in Will County, Illinois, March 12, 1860. He comes of a scholarly family and one that had given several members to the ministry of the Lutheran Church. His father, Rev. Gustav W. Polack, was born … Read more

Biography of Samuel R. Clifford

Samuel R. Clifford has long been an active factor in business affairs in Butler County and retains this connection through his present post as assistant cashier of the El Dorado National Bank, El Dorado, Kansas. Mr. Clifford was born in Will County, Illinois, April 12, 1857. His ancestry in the paternal line originated in England and was founded in America during colonial days. His grandfather was also named Samuel R. Clifford and was a native of New York State. He was one of the pioneers in the Village of Chicago, and Mr. Clifford of El Dorado had in his possession … Read more

Biography of William E. Durant

William E. Durant. Few citizens of Clay County are better known than William E. Durant, who is clerk of the District Court, a veteran of the Civil war, and a representative and bearer of a name that had been honorably known in this state for over a half century. He was born in Will County, Illinois, April 25, 1843. His parents were Edward T. and Sally Ann (Whallon) Durant, and his paternal grandparents were Edward and Lucina (Willey) Durant, natives of New York. The Durant ancestors went from France to England and in colonial days came to the United States … Read more

Biography of George L. Beard

George L. Beard is an Arkansas City business man of thirty years’ standing, and owned and directs the largest exclusive athletic and sporting goods house in the State of Kansas. Mr. Beard first came out to Kansas in the early ’70s, and there is no one who knows the history and the people of Southern Kansas better than this veteran merchant. Mr. Beard is a native of Illinois, born at Naperville, about thirty miles from Chicago, on August 8, 1846. His father, Charles Beard, was one of the early pioneers in that section of Illinois. The Beard ancestry goes back … Read more

Biography of George W. Vaughn

George W. Vaughn. Constructive enterprise in America had had its most notable triumphs in railroad building. In that field American ingenuity, indomitable energy and resourcefulness, have been displayed at their best. The history of railway building on this continent had many splendid names, and some of the greatest of them belong to Kansas. Not least among them was the late George W. Vaughn, or Major Vaughn, as he was more generally known, who died at Leavenworth February 3, 1916. He had a national reputation in engineering circles, and was a man, who, from the common walks of life, attained wide … Read more