Biography - William J. Eddy
WILLIAM J. EDDY, a leading physician of Shelbyville, Shelby County, his
native city, was born October 13, 1857. His father, the late William Eddy, a
former well-known citizen of this county, was a native of the county of
Cork, Ireland. His father was born in the same county as himself, and was
derived from Scotch ancestry. He was a shoemaker by trade and spent his
entile life in Ireland.
The father of our subject early acquired the shoemaker's trade of his
father, and followed it in his native land until his emigration to this
country in 1847. He landed at New Orleans, and coming directly to Illinois,
located at Galena, and was actively engaged in the manufacture of shoes in
that city for several years. In 1856 he came to Shelbyville and worked at
his trade here until 1876, when he removed to his farm near Lakewood, and
was prosperously engaged in agricultural pursuits from that time until death
closed his busy career in August, 1890, and deprived the county of a most
worthy citizen, who had contributed his quota to its advancement. he was a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and as a man of upright character
was in every way deserving of the respect accorded to him. He was twice
married. The maiden name of his first wife, mother of our subject, was Mary
J. Roberts. She was a woman of many excellent qualities, and was a
consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Her birthplace was in
Cornwall, England, and she was a daughter of John S. Roberts, who was a
native of the same shire as himself. He came to America with his family in
1840, and first settled in Pennsylvania, after a residence there of a few
years became one of the pioneers of Grant County, Wis. In 1856 he came from
there to this county, and identified himself with its farmers, buying a farm
in Dry Point Township, on which he made his home until his death. The mother
of our subject departed this life in 1865. The father married a second time,
and by each marriage had four children.
Dr. Eddy was given every advantage to secure a liberal education, laying a
solid foundation in the city schools of Shelbyville. Three years' attendance
at the Normal School, one year at Valparaiso, Ind. and two years at the
State Normal at Carbondale, Ill. still further advanced him in his studies.
During that time he taught two terms of school, and employed his leisure
hours in studying medicine, he further prepared himself for the profession
that he proposed to adopt for his lifework by becoming a student in the
College of Physicians and Surgeons, at Chicago, from which he was graduated
with a high standing in 1885. He at once opened an office in his native
city, where he is well-known and popular, and soon won favor in his
professional capacity, as he showed in his practice that he possessed in a
full degree the requisites of a true physician — a sound knowledge of
medicine, skill in diagnosing a case and in applying remedies, and true tact
and courtesy in his intercourse with his patients, he is a member of the
Shelby County Medical Society, and also of the Illinois State Medical
Society, the American Association and of the Central Illinois District
Medical Society. Religiously, he and his wife are members of the Methodist
Episcopal Church.
The Doctor was happily married in September, 1888, to Miss Carrie Chafee, a
native of Ypsilanti, Mich., and a daughter of Dr. Noah F. Chafee, a
well-known physician of this city, with whom our subject is associated in
practice. We are pleased to incorporate in this sketch a brief account of
the life of Dr. Chafee. He was born in Vermont, February 6, 1833, a son of
Daniel and Miranda (Haven) Chafee, who were also natives of the Green
Mountain State. His father was a farmer, and died in his native State in
1839, leaving a widow and three sons. The mother removed with her children
to Wayne County, N. Y., and three years later took up her residence in
Monroe County, Mich., where she married again.
Dr. Chafee grew to manhood in Michigan, and in 1862 came to Illinois. He
stopped during the summer at Shelbyville, where, in the fall of 1862, he
enlisted as assistant Surgeon in the Fourteenth Illinois Infantry, he having
previously graduated from the Medical Department of the Michigan University
in the spring of 1862, and he therefore went to the front well prepared for
his duties, and there gained a valuable experience amid the trying scenes on
Southern battlefields and in army hospitals during the two years that he
remained in the service. In 1863 he was with Gen. Sherman. In 1864 he was in
Georgia, and at Atlanta was taken prisoner while in the performance of his
duties in caring for the wounded and dying, and was held in Libby Prison
three weeks. After that he was returned to Springfield, Ill., and as nearly
all the men in his regiment were still prisoners, he was discharged.
After the war Dr. Chafee returned to Michigan, and practiced medicine in
Lenawee County until 1884, when he came again to Shelbyville, and for some
years has been associated in his profession with his son-in-law, Dr. Eddy.
In April, 1864, while on a furlough, he was married to Miss Josephine
McMath, a daughter of Samuel and Caroline McMath, and a native of Michigan.
They have had five children, three of whom died in childhood, and the others
are Carrie, wife of Dr. Eddy, and Laura, who lives with her parents.
Dr. Chafee is a sound Republican, and always takes interest enough in public
affairs to vote, but does not give much time to politics. Religiously, he is
of the Methodist Episcopal faith. He is a thorough temperance man, and is in
all respects a person of high character and standing as a physician and a
citizen. His record as a Surgeon in an Illinois regiment during the war is
commemorated by his connection with the Grand Army of the Republic.
Extracted 11 Jan 2018 by Norma Hass from 1891 Portrait and Biographical Record of Shelby and Moultrie Counties Illinois, pages 311-313.
