Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Purdy, Kenneth L 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com November 10, 2007, 3:59 am

Author: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County

KENNETH L. PURDY, a prominent business man and coal operator of Joliet, was 
born in Ontario, Canada, January 4, 1852, a son of Lewis W. and Catherine 
(Wright) Purdy. Of a family of twelve children he is fourth among the seven 
survivors. Of the others we note the following: Sophronia L. is the wife of W. 
Griffith, a merchant at Sydenham, Ontario; Orvis W. is a business man of 
Sydenham; Almeda J. married Horatio Day, a wealthy mill owner and landed 
proprietor; Mary A. is the wife of Alfred Hunter, who is a farmer in Ontario 
and the president of the Agricultural Society of Portland Township; Eulisa M. 
is the widow of Harland W. Townsend, who was president of the Standsted 
University, province of Quebec; and Victor M. is a Presbyterian minister in 
British Columbia. Born in New York state in 1816, Lewis W. Purdy was still a 
boy when he accompanied his parents to Ontario and settled in Kingston. His 
occupation was that of a farmer. Early in life he associated himself with the 
Methodists, and afterward give of his time and money freely to the work of 
that denomination, which he practically established in Ontario. With others, 
he formed a union of all Methodist churches in Canada. For years he was 
trustee of Albert College, a Methodist institution at Belleville, Ontario. As 
a local preacher his services were constantly in demand. In local politics he 
was also active. For thirty-five years he served as a justice of the peace, 
besides which he held other positions of trust. His death occurred September 
24, 1891. His father, Hosea Purdy, who was of Scotch lineage, was a native of 
England and immigrated to New York, thence went to Ontario, where he spent his 
last years on a farm. He, too, was an ardent worker in the Methodist Church. 
He died when in his eighty-eighth year. Our subject's mother was born in 
Sydney Township, near Belleville, Ontario, in 1824, and died September 10, 
1898, exactly eight years after the death of her husband; and it is a 
noteworthy fact that both were the same age, to a day, at the time they died. 
Her parents were natives of Scotland, and settled in Canada in early married 
life. Two of their sons became Methodist ministers, and the others were also 
leaders in that denomination. In the common schools and the business college 
at Belleville our subject obtained his education. In early manhood he 
conducted the home farm, after which, with a brother, he embarked in the 
lumber business, and in the mining of mica and phosphate of lime. Withdrawing 
from the partnership, in March, 1890, he came to Joliet, where he engaged in 
contracting and building. In 1895 he established his present coal business, 
which has grown to satisfactory and profitable proportions. Politically he is 
a Republican. Fraternally he is connected with the Patriotic Order Sons of 
America, and Joliet Lodge No. 112, Knights of the Globe. The marriage of Mr. 
Purdy, in 1876, united him with Miss Mary E. McRory, a native of Sydenham, 
Canada, and a daughter of John McRory, a member of parliament from the 
district of Addington for many years, member of the council for three years, 
reeve of his township for eleven years, and warden of his county for a year. 
Six children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Purdy. Four of these are 
now living. The eldest, Lillian Gertrude, is the wife of Ernest Sallenbach, an 
expert plumber with Strong, Bush & Handwerk, of Joliet. Wilson Winfred, Ernest 
Elmer and Ina May are being given excellent educational advantages in Joliet 
schools. The family are connected with the Methodist Church. Mr. Purdy has 
been a choir leader in most of the Protestant churches of Joliet, and has 
trained the largest choirs of this city, being an efficient chorister. He is a 
gifted vocalist, possessing a voice with a remarkable range that enables him 
to sing any part from the lowest to the highest. He is also a finished 
pianist, and has a thorough knowledge of almost every musical instrument.

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

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