Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Haven, Hon Dwight ************************************************ 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 http://www.rootsweb.com/~archreg/vols/00003.html#0000719 February 29, 2008, 12:29 am Author: Past and Present of Will County, IL; 1907 Hon. Dwight Haven is one of the pioneers of New Lenox township and was born in Sheridan, Chautauqua county, New York, December 14, 1821. He is a son of Samuel and Hepsibah M. (Denny) Haven, who came to New Lenox in 1834, our subject being then thirteen years of age. The Haven family, of which he is a representative, are descendants of Richard Haven, who is supposed to have come from Wales to America and settled at Lynn, Massachusetts, about 1635. His wife, Susannah Newhall, came from England about 1630. Elias Haven, the grandfather of our subject, was the only son of Elias Haven, a member of the Minute Men. from Springfield parish, Dedham, Massachusetts, and was killed by the British in the fight following the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775, and was buried under the monument subsequently erected in honor of those who fell on that memorable day at what is now Arlington, Massachusetts. Samuel Haven, father of Dwight Haven, was born in Chesterfield, New Hampshire, July 14, 1799, and in early manhood became a resident of Chautauqua county, New York, whence he removed to Illinois in 1834, settling in what is now New Lenox township. Will county. He purchased land at the first land sale in 1836 and though he had learned and followed the tanner's trade in the Empire state his time and energies were devoted to general agricultural pursuits in Illinois. When the question of slavery became a dominant issue before the people he espoused the liberation of the bondmen and assisted many a negro on his way to freedom in the north, making his home a station on the famous underground railroad. He lived to see adopted the principles for which he stood, for the Civil war was ended, bringing emancipation as one of its results, when on the 12th of March, 1866, he departed this life at the age of sixty-seven years. He had long been a devoted member of the Congregational church. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Miss Hepsibah Maria Denny, was born May 29, 1802, and was the daughter of Charles and Lucinda (Allen) Denny. Her father was a Revolutionary soldier and is buried in the cemetery at Mokena, Illinois. Her mother was a cousin of General Ethan Allen and is also buried at Mokena. Mrs. Haven died in Will county, August 11, 1860, at the age of fifty-eight years. Dwight Haven spent the first thirteen years of his life in his native county and, accompanying his parents to Will county in 1834, has since resided within its borders. His education, begun in the public schools of New York, was continued under the system of public instruction in Illinois and when he permanently put aside his textbooks he concentrated his energies upon farm pursuits, with which he was continuously and successfully connected until 1884. He then retired from the active work of farming but still owns the homestead farm. On the death of his brother, Dr. Samuel Rush Haven, of Chicago, May 4, 1890, he took charge of his estate, having an office in the Title & Trust building, 100 Washington street, in that city. On the 3d of November, 1847, Mr. Haven was united in marriage to Miss Helen L. Savage, who died July 28, 1859, leaving four daughters: Lizzie J., the widow of A. A. Francis; Mary E.. the wife of Charles Francis; Helen L., who married Thomas D. Ferguson, of Normal Park, Chicago; and Emma J., the wife of Gilbert Van Duser, of Fredonia, Kansas. Mr. Haven was again married December 26, 1861, his second union being with Miss Lizzie Craig, a daughter of James Craig, an early settler of Chicago. There were four children of this marriage who attained adult age, while one son, Edward James, died November 8, 1880, at the age of eleven years and four months. The surviving sons and daughters are: Dwight C, county judge from 1902 to 1906 and now president and manager of the Joliet Republican Printing Company; Samuel Rush, of Englewood, Illinois; Edith Agnes, the wife of Rev. A. B. Whitcomb, of Dixon, Illinois; and Bertha Amelia, wife of Dr. Frank Doig Francis, of Chicago. The influence of Mr. Haven has long been felt as an effective force in political circles. Continuously from 1854 he has held the office of justice of the peace and he did effective service in behalf of the public-school system of the county in the position of county superintendent from 1865 until 1869. For several years he served as supervisor and held other local offices, while in 1886 he was elected to the general assembly on the republican ticket. In 1884 he erected a commodious residence in the village of New Lenox. This was destroyed by fire in January, 1903, but has since been rebuilt and he now lives there in ease and comfort. He has passed the eighty-fifth milestone on life's journey, while the period of his residence in Will county covers more than the alloted Psalmist's span of three score years and ten. His mind bears the impress of its early historic annals and of the later elements of its progress and prosperity, and with its growth and substantial upbuilding he has been closely concerned. While the weight of years has weakened his physical strength, his mental powers remain unimpaired, and he takes an active interest in all public questions of the day. He stands today as he has all the years of his life—a worthy representative of the true American, both as a man and as a citizen. Additional Comments: PAST AND PRESENT OF WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS By W. W. Stevens President of the Will County Pioneers Association; Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1907 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/haven2732nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 6.1 Kb