JOHN WARD HUNTER: Congressman, b. in Brooklyn, N.Y., 15 October 1807. He was educated in the common schools of Brooklyn, engaged in business there in 1836-65, was assistant auditor in the custom house. In 1866 was elected as a Republican to fill out the unexpired term of Joseph Humphrey, dec., serving from December, 1866 till March, 1867. He was Mayor of Brooklyn in 1875-76.
Smith D. Atkins, who is a lawyer, soldier, journalist and politician, was born on the 9th of June, 1836, near Elmira, Chemung Co., N. Y.; he came with his father’s family to Illinois in 1848, and lived on a farm until 1850. He then became an apprentice in the office of the Prairie Democrat, which was the first paper published in Freeport. He was educated at Rock River Seminary, Mt. Morris, Ill., working in the printing-office and studying during his spare hours, and in 1852 obtained the foremanship of the Mt. Morris Gazette, while he was yet a student in … Read more
Honorable Charles Betts, Freeport, is one of the most prominent figures of the Stephenson county bar, and his long association with legal affairs gives him the colloquial title of “Judge” Betts. He is called the Nestor of the bar, and is now living in an honorable retirement from professional life. He was born in Batavia, Genesee county, New York, June 13th, 1825, and up to the time of his admission to the bar his life was passed in the Empire state. His educational privileges eminently fitted him for the profession of his choice. At all times he has made the … Read more
C.N. Bentley, whose home is on section 21, Harlem township, is one of the venerable figures of the pioneer gatherings of Stephenson county. It indeed has few if any residents whose settlement antedates his own. He knows what it means to open up a new country to civilization, and he is now living in the peace and comfort that follows a long and useful career. Eldred Bentley, the grandfather of the subject of this article, was born in Rhode Island, but spent the greater part of his life in Rensselaer county, New York, and died in Chautauqua county of that … Read more
Jacob Krohn, Freeport, is the president of the Second National bank of that city, and his careful and conservative management has made it one of the solid institutions of the North-west, for its name and reputation extend far beyond the limits of city or county. Mr. Krohn was born in Pyritz, Pomerania, Prussia, February 22, 1832, exactly one hundred years after the birth of Washington, and received his early education in the schools of his native city. When he was twenty years old he left his Prussian home to found another under more kindly auspices on the soil of the … Read more
Henry H. Mynard, retired farmer, who has been a resident of Stephenson county since 1863, was born in Greene county, New York, November 3rd, 1822. After marriage his parents, Elisha B. and Persis (VanHorn) Mynard, both of Columbia county, New York, moved to Greene county where they resided until 1841 when they removed to Cook county, Illinois, and there engaged in farming until the death of the former in 1845. He served in the war of 1812. Mrs. Mynard died in Lee county, Illinois, in 1865. They had six children, two of whom are now living- Henry H., our subject, … Read more
Hon. Willard P. Naramore, the veteran physician and surgeon of Lena, is probably the most prominent of the older pioneers who have witnessed the development of the county from the open prairies to the present highly cultivated agricultural and manufacturing community. He combines two qualifications seldom found in the medical profession-a high proficiency in the art of healing and exceptional financial ability. Too often the practitioner devotes his time and strength to his clientage for many years neglecting the financial side of the profession and finds himself late in life with little to sustain his declining years and the old … Read more
Thomas Carroll is an engineer who has seen many years service with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Road. Beginning on the engine when only eighteen years old, he has come to understand its very life, and almost make it a part of himself. He knows every whim and fancy of the iron horse and can coax it to its utmost exertion. Thomas Carroll, Sr., the father of the Freeport engineer, was born in county Monaghan, Ireland, and came to America when a young man. He lived in New York for a time and came to Freeport in 1854, the … Read more