Vermilion county Illinois, HENRY L. CHACE

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p. 246-247

HENRY L. CHACE. The farming lands of Vermilion County comprise its most 
valuable property, and the men who have redeemed them from their 
primitive condition occupy no unimportant position among a vast and 
intelligent population. The subject of this notice may be properly 
classed among these, as he turns in annually a handsome sum to the 
county treasury as taxes on the property which he has accumulated, 
largely by the .labor of his own hands He is a land owner to the extent 
of a fine farm of 440 acres, with the residence, on section 5, township 
23, range 12, which, together with its buildings and improvements, 
forms one of the most desirable estates in this part of Vermilion 
County.

  The native place of our subject was Newport R. I., where he first 
opened his eyes to the light March 7, 1843. There he spent his boyhood 
and youth, completing his education in the High School. This brought 
him up to the time of the Civil War. On the 13th day of October, 1862, 
he enlisted as a Union soldier in Company D, 12th Rhode Island 
Infantry, in which he first served a short time as a private, and later 
received the rank of Sergeant. His regiment was made a part of the 
First Brigade, Second Division, 9th Army Corps, and operated mostly 
with the Army of the Potomac. He participated in the battle of 
Fredericksburg, and was under Gen. Burnside in his skirmishes through 
Kentucky. He left the regular ranks in August, 1863, and was assigned 
to the Quartermaster's department, and given charge of two large 
pontoon trains, numbers 15 and 17, Army of the James, and was mostly 
stationed at City Point until the fall of 1865, when he assisted in the 
reconstruction of the burned bridge at Richmond after the surrender of 
Lee's army, when he was mustered out and returned home.

  Our subject for a year after leaving the army engaged in business in 
his native town, and in the meantime was married, March 26, 1866, to 
Miss Anna E. Cogswell. Soon afterwards they removed to Kendall County, 
this State, where he engaged in farming two years, then moved to the 
vicinity of Seneca, LaSalle County, where he sojourned for a period of 
eight years. His next removal, in 1877, was to the farm which he now 
owns and occupies. Upon this he has effected many improvements, 
gathering around him all the conveniences and appliances of the 
enterprising and progressive agriculturist. He votes the straight 
Republican ticket, and has held the various minor offices of his 
township. As an ex-soldier he belongs to the G. A. R., and finds his 
religious home in the Universalist Church.

  Henry Chace, the father of our subject, was likewise a native of 
Newport, R. I., where he was born in 1812. The paternal grandfather was 
Capt. James Chace. who followed the sea for many years, but finally 
settled on terra firma in Newport, and there spent his last days. There 
was a large representation of the Chace family in that city, where they 
were familiarly known for several generations, and traced their 
ancestors to the Puritans. Henry Chace in early manhood was married to 
Miss Mary Lyon, and for a time was engaged as a merchant in Georgetown, 
S. C. The wife of our subject was also a native of Newport. She was the 
daughter of Aaron S. Cogswell, of Revolutionary fame, who was the 
representative of an old and honorable family, which furnished a number 
of successful business men to the commercial interests of that time.