Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Boyer, Hon Charles Edward ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com September 3, 2007, 1:38 am Author: Genealogical/Biographical Publishing Co HON. CHARLES EDWARD BOYER. In reflecting upon the advancement of the county of Will, men of thoughtful minds give due credit to the pioneers, among whom were Mr. and Mrs. Boyer, of Lockport. Though many years have passed since the death of Mr. Boyer, his widow still survives, in the enjoyment of the competence which his energy accumulated, and surrounded by the evidences of an advancing civilization. When, as a child of seven years, she first saw the county where she has since resided, its settlers were few and widely scattered, its towns were mere hamlets and its farms wholly unimproved. Looking back over the long vista of years, she can narrate many an interesting story of those early times when hardships were many and the obstacles to success innumerable. In the prosperity of the present no one rejoices more than she. The finely improved farms of the county; the clanking of machinery; the humming of the saw; the shrill whistle of the locomotive and the long trains of freight and passenger cars that pass in every direction; the well- built schools; neat houses; handsome churches and fine business blocks, all proclaim this region to be the abode of peace and prosperity, in the securing of which the early settlers were a potent factor, and which, indeed, would not have been possible without their self-sacrificing and constant labors. Mr. Boyer was born and reared in Reading, Berks County, Pa., and, as a young man, clerked in a store in Philadelphia. Coming west in 1836, he was employed in the Chicago office of the company that had charge of the building of the Illinois and Michigan canal. For a time he had the supervision of their office work, but later took a contract on the canal, and in this way, in 1838, he was first induced to come to Will County. In the filling of his contracts he displayed so much efficiency and intelligence that his standing as a contractor was assured from that time forth, and he was thus enabled to gain a constantly increasing success. When the canal was being deepened he had a number of large contracts in connection with the same, and at the time of the building of the Chicago & Alton Railroad through the county he was one of its heaviest contractors. While his extensive business interests took much of his time, he did not allow them to prevent him from participating in public affairs. He was a stanch believer in Democratic principles and never lost an opportunity to promote the success of his party. His fellow citizens, recognizing his fitness for public office, offered him the highest gifts within their power. In 1864 he represented the district in the state legislature, and at the time of his death, which occurred September 21, 1868, he was his party's candidate for the state senate. Successful in business, he left his family a large property, consisting principally of city real estate and farm lands. At the time of his death he had so much work planned for the future that it required two years for his widow to complete all of the contracts, and she successfully managed the same until they were filled. The lady who became the wife of Mr. Boyer, at Lockport, April 14, 1840, bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Runyon and was born in Preble County, Ohio, February 22, 1823. Her father, Armstead Runyon, was a native of Lexington, Ky., and at fourteen years of age accompanied his parents to Ohio, where he lived on a farm for a number of years. In 1827 he brought his family to Illinois and settled near Danville. From there, in the fall of 1830, he came to what was then Cook (now Will) County, and settled on a farm one and one- half miles from the present site of the city of Lockport, being one of the very earliest settlers in this vicinity. During the Black Hawk war he was obliged to take his family for protection to old Fort Dearborn, where they remained for several weeks; he and several others then returned to Will County and built a blockhouse on Mr. Sisson's farm, in which the families of the neighborhood lived for some time. While the men cultivated the land, the women remained in the blockhouse. From the building a good view could be had of the surrounding country, and when any Indians came in sight, the women would notify their husbands by raising a flag on a pole. During the building of the canal Mr. Runyon left his farm and opened a hotel in Lockport. In the fall of 1849 he went to California and purchased a large ranch on the Sacramento River, twenty miles from Sacramento, where he remained for twenty years extensively engaged in raising fruit. In 1869 he removed to Santa Rosa, Cal., but still continued to manage his farm. He died in that town when seventy-six years of age. Politically he was a Democrat, and in religion a Universalist. His father, Michael Runyon, a native of Kentucky, settled in Will County about 1834 and afterward made his home on Hickory Creek, where he died in 1857. His wife was a cousin of Robert Blackwell, one of the early and well-known Chicago attorneys. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Boyer, William and Charles died in boyhood. The older daughter, Emma B., became the wife of David E. Corneau, of Chicago, and they have one son, Perry B. Corneau. The younger daughter, Florence B., Mrs. Olaus Paulson, resides with Mrs. Boyer, and has four children: Elizabeth B., Louise, Norman B. and Emma C. Paulson. The only son who attained manhood was Julius A., who operated a quarry in this county and died in Lockport, at thirty-six years of age. He married Helen Cook (daughter of Isaac Cook), now Mrs. Robert Aull, of St. Louis, Mo. They had three children: Julius A., Charles E. (deceased) and Douglas C. Boyer. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Boyer has superintended the property and, in spite of her seventy-six years, she is quite active and business-like. In the beautiful residence built by Mr. Boyer in 1856 she has continued to reside, hospitably entertaining her friends and beloved by all who know her. As one of the oldest living settlers of the vicinity of Lockport she is entitled to the esteem in which she is held. Additional Comments: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present Biographical Publishing Company; Chicago 1900 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/boyer1622nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 6.9 Kb