Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Sennitt, John 
************************************************
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 ddhaines@gmail.com November 10, 2007, 12:12 am

Author: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County

JOHN SENNITT, who has been connected with the office of postmaster of 
Plainfield for thirty-nine years and whose home has been in this town since 
1857, is a native of Cambridgeshire, England, born January 15, 1830, a son of 
John Sennitt, Sr. He grew to manhood on his father's farm and received his 
education in the schools of the neighborhood. After some years as a farmer in 
Cambridgeshire he came to the United States, when twenty-four years of age. 
The voyage across the ocean was made on the "Palestine," which was out of 
sight of land for a month. Going to Ohio he spent one winter and the following 
summer as a farm hand there. With a desire to gain a better education he 
entered Hiram College in the fall of 1856 and while there became well 
acquainted with James A. Garfield, afterward president of the United States, 
but who then was comparatively unknown. The spring of 1857 found Mr. Sennitt 
in Plainfield, where he secured work as a farm employe. However, the work 
proved injurious to his health, and he was obliged to seek another occupation. 
In the spring of 1860 he secured an appointment as assistant postmaster, and 
since that time he has been continuously in the office, either as postmaster 
or deputy. In July, 1869, he was appointed postmaster and continued to act as 
such until President Cleveland's first administration, after which for two 
terms he served as deputy. Since the inauguration of President McKinley he has 
held the office in his own right, which makes a record of thirty-nine years in 
the office, and proves him to be a satisfactory official. He has always been 
stanch in his adherence to Republican principles and the party in Plainfield 
has no adherent more loyal than he. He is connected with and a liberal 
contributor to the Baptist Church, in which denomination his grandfather was 
for many years a minister. He has done much for the advancement of the village 
and has fostered worthy enterprises to the extent of his ability. He erected a 
postoffice building, which was burned in 1898, after which he built the 
structure, on the same site, that is now used for the office. The marriage of 
Mr. Sennitt took place April 20, 1871, and united him with Emma A. Drew, a 
member of a pioneer family of this county. They became the parents of five 
children, four of whom are living, namely: Lina May, Carrie Belle, Grace and 
Charles.

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

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/sennitt1027gbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/

File size: 3.2 Kb