Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Hazelton, Charles R ************************************************ 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, 12:13 am Author: Past and Present of Will County, IL; 1907 Charles R. Hazelton was one of the pioneer settlers of Will county with broad experience in the mode of life which is common on the frontier. His record forms an integral factor in the history of Will county and it is therefore with pleasure that we present it to our readers. He was born in Bennington county, Vermont, December 31, 1809, and departed this life November 14, 1898. His parents were Elisha and Mary (Kent) Hazelton. The father was a cloth- dresser by trade and died January 13, 1833, at the age of sixty-four years, while his wife passed away March 3, 1875, at the age of ninety years. In their family were two sons and two daughters. Charles Hazelton was reared upon a farm in Vermont, where he remained until 1833, when at the age of twenty-four years he went to Sandusky county, Ohio. There he followed farming for eighteen years and in 1854 came to Will county, Illinois, settling in Wesley township. He first purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 1, and as his financial resources increased he extended the boundaries of his property until at the time of his death he owned five hundred and twenty acres of well improved land, having brought his fields under a high state of cultivation and added to the farm all modern equipments and accessories. He led a busy, active and useful life and in all of his business relations was straightforward and honorable. Mr. Hazelton was married twice. He first wedded Miss Mary Wolcott, a native of Sandusky county, Ohio, and they became the parents of three children but only one is now living: George, a resident of Peru, Kansas, who was a soldier in an Ohio regiment during the Civil war. On the 28th of June, 1854, Mr. Hazelton was married to Mrs. Anna R. Ball, nee Van Fleet, at Oswego, Kendall county, Illinois. She was born in Hunterdon county. New Jersey, February 5, 1823, and was a daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth (Krymer) Van Fleet. There were eight children in the Van Fleet family, of whom three now survive, namely: Mrs. Hazelton; Nelson, who is living in Los Angeles, California; and William, of Ontario, California. The father was a farmer of New Jersey and in 1824 removed to Tompkins county, New York, where he resided until 1835. He then made his way westward to Aurora, Illinois, traveling with horse teams through Canada, Michigan and Indiana to his destination. He hauled the first load of dry goods from Chicago to Aurora for C. R. Livingston, at which time there were only three buildings in Aurora, Mr. Livingston having a log house and store on the west bank of the Fox river, together with another log house and a log sawmill on the east side of the river. Mr. Van Fleet located on government land two and a half miles south of the village of Aurora but at that time the land had not been surveyed by the government. So wild and unsettled was the country that he had to take his wheat and corn to Ottawa to have it ground, for the nearest mill at that time was located there. He first built a log cabin on his half section of land and in due course of time replaced it with the frame dwelling in which he spent his last days, passing away October 1, 1874, while his wife died February 11, 1885. His daughter, Anna Van Fleet, was first married on the 27th of November, 1845, to Russel Ball, who was born in Wilmington, Vermont, March 8, 1818, and died in Bristol, Illinois, December 17, 1850. There were two children by that marriage: Alice A., born February 21, 1847; and Sarah E., who was born December 28, 1850. Mr. Ball became a resident of Bristol, Illinois, in 1844. Later he purchased the old Ball homestead and thereon erected the first stone house in that locality. It is standing today, being-one of the old and substantial landmarks of the county, having for many decades been a mute witness of the changes which have occurred there and the advancement that has been made. Mr. Ball's nearest market at that time was Chicago and often he was from four to six days on the road, hauling his wheat and corn to market. He bought corn in those days at ten cents per bushel. His political views were in accord with the principles of the whig party. While in New York he held membership with the Baptist church but did not ally himself with any church following his removal to Illinois, as there was no congregation of his denomination in the neighborhood. Unto Charles R. Hazelton and his second wife were born five children: Eleanor J., who was born April 13, 1855, and is the wife of William Mellen, who is living in Gilman, Illinois; Vesta I., who was born February 22, 1857, and married Amassa Bell; Ida D., who was born July 22, 1859, and married Carroll Walton; Nelson E., who was born April 17, 1862, and married Jennie Raymond; and Susan M., who was born June 30, 1864, and is the wife of Thomas B. Reid, living in Ottawa, Kansas. Mrs. Hazelton is now living in her eighty- fourth year. She is a very pleasant and well preserved woman and occupies an attractive home with her daughter Sarah E. Ball. She has twenty-one grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren now living. For a long period she has been a resident of this county. Both of her husbands were pioneer settlers here and were men of genuine personal worth, who commanded the good will and confidence of those with whom they came in contact. 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/hazelton2723nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 6.2 Kb