Sardias Vosburgh, born on July 8, 1836, in Lackawanna Township, Pennsylvania, is a key figure in Willow Creek Township, Illinois. He moved to Illinois in 1855, initially farming in DeKalb County before purchasing and improving a 120-acre farm in Willow Creek Township. His farm, now 240 acres, is one of the finest in the area. Married to Ellen Atherton in 1864, they have three children. Vosburgh has played a significant role in local governance, serving multiple terms as Supervisor and Assessor, and is a staunch Republican, highly regarded for his contributions to the community’s development.
Sardias Vosburgh is a prominent member of the farming community of this county, who has not only been active in its agricultural development but has borne a conspicuous part in its public affairs. He is one of the principal men of his calling in Willow Creek Township, which he ably represents on the County Board of Supervisors.
Mr. Vosburgh was born in Lackawanna Township, Luzerne County, Pa., July 8, 1836. His father was Charles Vosburgh, a native of Livingston County, N.Y., and a son of Cornelius Vosburgh, who is believed to have been born in the Empire State, where he carried on business as a farmer until his removal to Pennsylvania. He became an early settler of Lackawanna Township. He bought a large tract of land in the wilderness, cleared a farm, and resided there until the fall of 1854, when he came to Illinois. He purchased a farm in La Salle County, a half mile north of the village of Earlville, in Earlville Township, and made that his home until he closed his eyes in death in 1864. The maiden name of his wife was Permelia Pulver. She died on the Earlville farm in the fall of 1877.
The father of our subject was young when his parents removed to Pennsylvania, and there he grew to vigorous manhood. In due time, he took unto himself a wife in the person of Miss Vanluvanee E. Millesant, a native of the State, and a daughter of Israel and Rachel Millesant. After marriage, he settled on a part of his father’s old homestead and resided there until 1854, when he sold his property there and took up his abode at Clark’s Summit, Lackawanna County, the same State. He made his home there until his life was rounded out in death in February, 1890. His wife also died on that farm, her demise occurring in the fall of 1881.
The subject of this biographical review was reared in his native county amid its pleasant scenes and obtained a sound, practical education in the district school, which was supplemented by one term’s attendance at Kingston Seminary. In April 1855, at the age of nineteen, well-equipped for the battle of life and ambitious to make something of himself, he left the shelter of the parental roof to start out in the world on his own account. He turned his face towards the boundless prairies of this State, as his father owned land in Shabbona Township, DeKalb County, and he shrewdly foresaw that a young man of energy, enterprise, and tenacity of purpose must of necessity do well in tilling the rich soil of this section of the country. He rented his father’s land until 1867 and did well in its cultivation. In that year, he invested a part of his money in one hundred and twenty acres of wild prairie that is included in his present farm in Willow Creek Township. He set to work with his customary vigor, and in the years that have elapsed, he has wrought a great change by the many substantial improvements that he has made, so that he has here one of the finest pieces of property in this locality. He has erected a commodious set of buildings, placed his land under fine cultivation, planted an abundance of fruit and shade trees, and everything about the place betokens the presence of one who fully understands his business and carries it out in a systematic and well-ordered manner, so as to reap the best results by applying only the most approved methods of conducting agriculture. Mr. Vosburgh has been fortunate in his farming operations, has made them remunerative, and has been enabled to add more land to his original purchase, so that he now has two hundred and forty acres of well-improved realty.
Mr. Vosburgh was married in 1864 to Miss Ellen Atherton, a native of Lackawanna Township, Luzerne County, Pa., and a daughter of Joseph Atherton. She understands well the art of making a home cozy and cheerful, and cooperates with her husband in dispensing a pleasant hospitality to whomever of their numerous friends crosses their threshold, or to any stranger that may happen within their gates. They have three children — William, Fannie, and Nellie. Fannie is the wife of William Fleming, of Willow Creek Township.
A man of our subject’s caliber, high standing, and well-known business tact possesses in an eminent degree those qualifications that fit one for public life, and his fellow-citizens, recognizing this fact, have frequently called him to important civic stations. Thus in 1883, he was elected Supervisor to represent Willow Creek on the County Board of Supervisors, was re-elected to that office in 1884, and in 1885 was elected Assessor, to which position he was re-elected in 1886. In 1887 he was again honored by election to his former office as Supervisor and has served continuously since, proving to be a valuable official, and his influence is felt in the enactment of all measures that have accrued to the public good from the time he entered upon the duties of his position. He has always been a Republican in politics, and his party has no firmer advocate in the township.