Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Henry, Jacob A 1825 - 
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Author: Portrait & Bio Album, 1890

JACOB A. HENRY. It is the common remark that there is not a more public-
spirited man in the city of Joliet than he with whose name we introduce this 
biographical outline. He has been in all respects the architect of his own 
fortune, rising from an humble position in life to one of affluence, and is 
now one of the capitalists of Will County, and extensively engaged as a 
railroad contractor. Of New England antecedents, he was born in Hunterdon 
County, N. J., the date thereof being April 25, 1825. Mr. Henry was reared a 
farmer's boy, and at an early age was made acquainted with hard work. The last 
active manual labor which he performed was driving a team at $7 per month, and 
of this small wages he was cheated by his employer, who failed in business. 
Then in 1842, when a youth of seventeen years, he entered the employ of the 
Hartford & New Haven Railroad Company, and assisted in laying the first tract 
on the canal road through the city of New Haven. In 1846 he emigrated to Ohio, 
and locating in Elyria, took his first contract in connection with a railroad 
in Ohio and Indiana. He superintended the construction of the northern 
division of the Sandusky road, then, in 1856, came to Illinois, and three 
years later became a resident of Joliet. Thereafter Mr. Henry spent several 
years as a Roadmaster of the Chicago & Alton Railroad. In 1870, going to 
Texas, he filled the contract for the building of the Houston & Great Northern 
Railroad, which he completed in 1873. In the meantime, he also built a portion 
of the Southern Pacific, which involved a large amount of heavy work. In 1888 
we find him operating in Arkansas, and since that year he has built one 
hundred and seventy-three miles of railroad. Few men in this part of the 
country have entered into larger contracts than Mr. Henry, or carried them out 
more satisfactorily. He enjoys the enviable record of having fulfilled every 
contract he has ever made to the letter. Mr. Henry, in 1873, put up one of the 
most elegant residences in Joliet, this being located on Eastern Avenue, and 
still remaining the home of the family. Within and without it is indicative of 
cultured tastes and ample means, and forms one of the most attractive features 
of the city. Mr. Henry has always taken a lively interest in the growth and 
prosperity of his adopted city, and contributed liberally of his time and 
means to this end. For a city of its size, Joliet enjoys an unequalled system 
of street railways, the cars propelled by electricity, and this enterprise was 
inaugurated and carried out by Jacob A. Henry. Every enterprise which is 
calculated to advance the interests of the people, socially, morally, and 
financially, receives his unqualified support. Since the organization of the 
Republican party, Mr. Henry has been its stanch adherent. Although he has 
filled many positions of trust and responsibility, he has never been ambitious 
of official preferment, being content to work out his plans in a quiet way, 
and in this manner has accomplished a vast amount of good. The subject of this 
notice was first married, April 26, 1846, to Miss Nancy, daughter of Ellis 
Briggs, of Winsted, Conn. Of this union there was born one daughter, now the 
wife of J. W. Folk, of Joliet. Mrs. Nancy (Briggs) Henry departed this life at 
her home in Joliet, January 23, 1878. In October, 1885, Mr. Henry contracted a 
second marriage with Mrs. Rachel (Hulsizer) Apgar.

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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