Dresser, Henry

Born: 1813-12-27 Pomfret, Connecticut

Died: 1898-07-15 Scott County, Illinois

Flourished: 1840-1852 Springfield, Illinois

In 1836, Dresser married Phebe Stone in Connecticut. After serving an apprenticeship as an architect and builder, in 1840 Dresser moved to Springfield, Illinois, where his brother, Rev. Charles Dresser lived. While living in Springfield, Dresser was employed as a carpenter and builder; among other things, he constructed two churches and a county courthouse. In the 1840s, Dresser was a Whig, but in 1858 he switched to the Democratic Party. In 1852, Dresser moved to Scott County, Illinois, where he established a substantial farm and later served as a county judge and state legislator. Dresser's wife Phebe died in 1853, and he re-married to Martha Heseman. Following Martha's death in 1857, he re-married Elizabeth P. Work. Dresser had no living children. He was a Mason and a member of the Episcopalian Church.

History of Sangamon County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1881), 254, 555; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Scott County, IL, 48; Portrait and Biographical Album of Morgan and Scott Counties, Ills. (Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1889), 534-35; Springfield Sunday Journal (Illinois), 17 July 1898, 6:4; Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL.