Source: History of Whiteside County, Illinois
By: William W. Davis, M. A.
Vol. II
Chicago: The Pioneer Publishing Co., 1908

Transcribed by: Denise McLoughlin
Tampico Area Historical Society
www.tampicohistoricalsociety.citymax.com

Pages: 1085-1087

JOSEPH FRANCIS UTLEY

There are men who, by reason of public service, figure prominently in public regard. There are others whose extensive business interests claim attention and admiration; but the man who is long remembered is he whose good qualities of heart and mind endear him to his fellowmen, winning warm friendships and unqualified trust. Such was Mr. Utley, of Sterling, whose well rounded character brough him into close connection with the business, the political and the social interests of his city, and who at all times commanded the trust and warm personal regard of his fellowmen.

He was born in Turin, Lewis county, New York, on the 18th of April, 1851, his parents being Dr. Henry and Caroline (Butler) Utley, who for many years made their home in Whiteside county, and were of that type of American citizens who ever uphold the legal and political status and promote the intellectual and moral progress. It was in the year 1859 that Dr. Utley, making his way westward from the Empire state, took up his abode in Como, where he engaged in the practice of his profession until 1866, and then came, with his family, to Sterling. Here he lived until his death, which occurred July 9, 1906, and was a prominent representative of the professional life of this city.

Joseph Francis Utley spent the first eight years of his life in the Empire state, and then came with his parents to Whiteside county. He was a youth of fifteen at the time of the removal to Sterling, and here he made his home throughout his remaining days. His education, which he had been pursuing in Como, was continued in the public schools here, and he entered business life in connectin with the drug trade, joining his brother, H. B. Utley, in the ownership and conduct of a drug store under the firm style of J. F. & H. B. Utley. He was also the oldest employe in point of service of the International Harvester Company. For thirty-five years he represented the McCormick Harvester Company and the International Harvester Company as general agent, although he entered that employ in the capacity of salesman and collector. His ability and fidelity soon gained recognition in merited promotion, and from that time on he was connected with the original company and its successor, and was regarded as one of its best agents. As he prospered in his undertakings he made judicious investments in real estate and became the owner of a number of valuable pieces of property in Sterling. His business integrity was ever above question, and in the development of trade he employed only such methods as would bear the closest investigation.

On the 18th of October, 1876, Mr. Utley was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Barrett Richards, a daughter of Hon. Daniel and Frances G. (Barrett) Richards, who were natives of the state of New York and early settlers of Whiteside county. The paternal grandfather, Paul Richards, died in the Empire state. The maternal grandfather, Theodore Sedgwick Barrett, a native of New York and a farmer by occupation, came to Whiteside county, Illinois, in 1853, and remained for a short time in Sterling, after which he removed to a farm in Galt, there dying when about eighty-six years of age.Daniel Richards, becoming one of the early settlers of Whiteside county, engaged in business as a hardware merchant in Sterling, and afterward practiced law for a number of years. He was prominent in official life, and in fact was one of the distinguished citizens of Whiteside county, whose record reflected credit and honor upon the people who honored him. He died at the age of fifty-three years, and is still survived by his widow, who is now seventy-six years of age. Extended mention of them is made on another page of this volume. Their family numbered three daughters: Miss Ella G. Richards; Mrs. Caroline Utley; and Grace F., now the wife of C. E. Windom, of Sterling.

Five children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Utley: Florence Richards, now the deceased wife of Frederick Alpheus Schmoeger; Edward, who died in infancy; Pauline Caroline, who is attending a business college; Mildred Josephine, a student in the Sterling high school; and Theodore Henry, who at the age of nine years is attending the public schools.

Mr. Utley attended the Congregational church, of which his wife is a member, and he was prominent in Masonary, holding membership in Rock River Lodge, No. 612, A. F. & A. M.: Sterling Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M.; Sterling Commandery, No. 57, K. T.; and the Mystic Shrine. His political allegiance was given the republican party and in its work, growth and success he was deeply and actively interested. He was several times called to represent the second ward in the city council and exercised his official prerogatives in support of many practical andprogressive measures. He was also the republican state central committeeman from his district for several terms and had a wide acquaintance among the distingquished political leaders of the state. Governor Deneen offered him a trusteeship of the Watertown hospital for the insane, but private business duties prevented his acceptance.

Perhaps no better estimate of his life, the character and the work of Mr. Utley can be given than in the words of the Sterling Gazette, which at the time of his death wrote: "Frank Utley, as he was known to nearly every man in Whiteside county, was a man of absolute and unswerving honesty, fearless in every act of his life and thoroughly conscientious in every duty, He was outspoken to the verge of harshness at times, but his was due to his innate honesty of purpose which caused him ever to speak his mind fully and clearly and straight to the point. He was a charming conversationalist and those who knew him best felt for him a friendship which is the privilege of only such gentlemanly natures as was his."