Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Fewtrell, Samuel 1837 - 
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Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com May 5, 2007, 1:27 pm

Author: Portraits & Bio Sketches, 1890

SAMUEL FEWTRELL. 

Many of the master mechanics who give tone and solidity to the manufacturing 
industries of our country were born, reared, and educated in their special 
pursuits, in busy England. Among the number of such, Samuel Fewtrell, 
Superintendent of the rail department of the Illinois Steel Works is a notable 
example. Beginning at the early age of nine years in a rolling mill in his 
native land, and continuing for forty years, step by step advancing in his 
chosen vocation, he has passed through varied experiences. His busy life is 
well worth recording and should inspire others to more persistent effort. To 
have a purpose in life and to work for its attainment is half the battle. 
Samuel Fewtrell was born April 20, 1837, and is a son of Joseph Fewtrell, a 
miner who was engaged at different times in iron, stone and coal mines. On the 
l5th of November, in the year of 1858, in a large chapel in Wolverhampton, 
England, he was united in marriage with Ann Riddle, who has shared his joys 
and reverses, his home and its cheer. To them have been born eight children, 
six of whom are living. The eldest, who was christened Tom, is engaged in the 
steel works with his father. Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Hewlett, Mrs. Ellen J. 
McCormick, Jessie Edith, Ada Florence and William Henry, are the other 
surviving members of the family circle. In the year 1871, attracted as 
thousands of others have been, by the wonderful stories of America's 
resources, possibilities and rich promises to the industrious, Mr. Fewtrell 
came hither, locating first at Elmira, N. Y. Vividly does he remember his 
landing in New York among strangers, with but twenty-five cents in his pocket 
and seeking a new home with strange associations. He expended the small sum 
which he possessed for stamps and paper to acquaint those left behind with the 
fact of his safe arrival, and making his way to Elmira, he at once began the 
course of perseverance that has ever marked his life. A few months thereafter 
we find him in Lockport, N. Y., and March, 1873, in Joliet, Ill. When he 
arrived in this city Mr. Fewtrell had $7 in his pocket and a freight bill of 
$17 confronting him. He resolutely went to work as helping heater in the old 
iron mill. When the mill shut down in 1874, he went to California, where he 
remained about a year, and thence to St. Louis, Mo., where he worked a few 
months in the Tudor mills. He next returned to Joliet, but in 1877 went to 
Colorado, where he assisted in starting a mill at Pueblo, known as Fox's mill. 
He spent a few months in the mining district, where he was introduced to many 
new phases of life and learned a different vocabulary from that to which he 
had been accustomed. Paradoxical as is the thought, he can now refer with 
pleasure to many unpleasant experiences through which he passed. While in 
England Mr. Fewtrell was never farther than forty miles from his home, but 
once breathing the free air of America, he imbibed its spirit of restlessness 
to the full and in his travels we can trace him south as far New Orleans, 
north to North Dakota, and west to the Pacific, and once on a visit back to 
sunny England. His wife partaking the same spirit has three times crossed the 
briny deep, each time taking with her four children. Although in his native 
land Mr. Fewtrell had received wages of $4 per day and in New York he received 
but $2.25, yet he preferred the new home and has never regretted becoming an 
American citizen. Mr. Fewtrell is a Republican in politics and socially a 
member of the Royal Arcanum. He is an earnest, energetic citizen, whose life 
affords a bright example of what may be won by persistent, patient effort.

Additional Comments:
Portrait and Biographical Album of Will County, Illinois, Containing Full Page 
Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens 
of the County; Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1890 
 


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