Charles H. Hoag, of Serena, was born in Delaware county, New York, May 18, 1821, was reared and obtained his education in his native state and learned to farm from his father. His father, Amos Hoag, was born on Quaker Hill, on the line between Connecticut and New York. He married Elizabeth Haynes. In his politics he was originally a Whig but later a Republican; and he died in 1856. Mr. and Mrs. Amos Hoag were the parents of the following children: Albert, who died in LaSalle county, in 1851; George, who died in Serena, in 1869; Mark, who died in 1884; Charles H.; Henry, who died in 1856; Cynthia, deceased: Cyrus, of Delaware county, New York; and Jane, deceased. Our subject's paternal grandfather, Timothy Hoag, was a farmer, of the good old Quaker faith, and died in Columbia county. New York. His wife was a Miss Weed, and one of their children, Gilbert, came west and died in LaSalle county, Illinois.
Charles H. Hoag came to Illinois when twenty-eight years of age, hoping to find a broader field with better opportunities for gaining a competency than the overcrowded east then afforded. Illinois was already known as the "garden spot of the west." But before permanently locating he spent four years in Michigan, going to that state in 1845, stopping in St. Joseph county, where he was married, in 1847, to Hellen Robinson; and they came to LaSalle county, Illinois, in 1849, by wagon, and settled on a rented farm in Dayton township and began life in earnest. After four years of steady toil be purchased the farm be still owns, adjoining the town plat of Serena. Here forty-six years of his life have been spent. Being public-spirited he has ever done his share toward the upbuilding of his home town. In politics he of whom we write was first a Whig and later entered the Republican ranks. He has held many local offices of trust, including town and school offices.
Mr. Hoag's first wife died in 1856, being the mother of three children Mary, wife of Leonidas Fread; Clara, who married Albert Fread, deceased; and William, deceased. Mr. Hoag's second wife was Mary Wells, who died in 1891. Their children were: Lincoln, of Boston, Massachusetts; George, who died in Texas; Lillie, the wife of Walter Carter, of Serena; Cyrus, who died in Kansas, in 1889; Franklin, of Serena; Alvin, of Serena; Adam, who married Josephine Beckwith and lives in Serena; and Maud, the wife of C. B. Stockholm, also of Serena.
In the settlement of every new country there are a large number of the early pioneers who do not remain long, but move on in search of greener pastures and not unfrequently make the mistake of their lives. Not so with Mr. Hoag; for he has remained through the long years until almost a half century has slipped by. He has been afflicted by the cruel band of death, bereaving him of many of his loved ones, yet he has taken the manly view of life's realities and is now enjoying the fruit of his long years of toil and frugal management. It is such men as Mr. Hoag who contribute much toward the advancement of this great west to its present high state of development.
Extracted by Norma Hass from Biographical and Genealogical Record of LaSalle County, Illinois published in 1900, volume 1, pages 376-377.
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