People

Charles E. Lewis

Charles E. Lewis (born September 3, 1847, Sharon, Litchfield County, Connecticut) was a manufacturer and industrial superintendent associated with the condensed milk industry in Carpentersville, Illinois. He is noted in Kane County records primarily for his long tenure overseeing one of the region's significant food-processing operations during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Known Activities

Lewis served as superintendent of the condensed milk plant at Carpentersville. The Biographical Record of Kane County, Illinois (1898) identifies the facility at that time as a branch of the New York Condensed Milk Company, established in 1888, with Lewis holding the superintendent position since that year (Source: Biographical Record of Kane County, Illinois (1898)). ⚠️ CONTRADICTION: The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County (1904) refers to the same facility as the Borden Condensed Milk Company plant; the 1898 source names it the New York Condensed Milk Company. These may reflect a corporate name change between the two publication dates, or the two sources may be using different names for the same entity.

According to the Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County (1904), Lewis served as superintendent for approximately fifteen years prior to 1904. The Carpentersville facility is described in that source as an "extensive plant," suggesting a substantial manufacturing operation within Kane County by the close of the Progressive Era (Source: Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County (1904)).

Lewis learned the milk business from the Borden family, who are described as pioneers in that industry. His early training took place at a Borden factory in Wassaic, New York, before he came to Kane County (Source: Biographical Record of Kane County, Illinois (1898)).

Before his career in Illinois, Lewis is reported to have spent time as a pioneer in Kansas between roughly 1870 and 1876, though the nature of his activities there is not detailed in available sources. He reportedly left his Connecticut home at age eighteen (Source: Biographical Record of Kane County, Illinois (1898)).

Family Background

Lewis was a native of Sharon, Connecticut, and is of Welsh descent. His father, Miles B. Lewis (born 1811, died spring 1893), was a Connecticut legislator who served two terms in the Connecticut legislature during the same period as P.T. Barnum. The Lewis family traces its origins to Wales, with three brothers reportedly immigrating from Wales to different American states. Miles B. Lewis died in Connecticut in the spring of 1893 (Source: Biographical Record of Kane County, Illinois (1898)).

Lewis's mother, Maria Kelsey Lewis, was also a native of Connecticut and was approximately 84 years of age as of 1898 (Source: Biographical Record of Kane County, Illinois (1898)).

Timeline

YearEvent
1847Born September 3 in Sharon, Litchfield County, Connecticut
c. 1865Reportedly left home at age eighteen
1870–1876Reportedly living and working as a pioneer in Kansas
c. 1870s–1880sReceived early training in the milk industry at the Borden factory, Wassaic, New York
1888Became superintendent of the New York Condensed Milk Company branch at Carpentersville, Illinois (Source: Biographical Record of Kane County, Illinois (1898))
c. 1889Believed to have begun his role as superintendent at the Carpentersville plant, calculated from the "fifteen years" noted as of 1904 (Source: Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County (1904)) ⚠️ See contradiction note above regarding the 1888 vs. c. 1889 start date
Spring 1893Father, Miles B. Lewis, died in Connecticut
1898Profiled in the Biographical Record of Kane County, Illinois as superintendent at Carpentersville
1904Profiled in the Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County as superintendent at Carpentersville
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