Known Activities
Todd worked as a machinist and engaged in an unusual local enterprise: the manufacture of barometers and the publication of a weather calendar. No further details about the scale or distribution of this business are recorded in the 1878 source, but it suggests a practical scientific bent uncommon among his contemporaries in Kane County. (Source: Past and Present of Kane County, Illinois (1878))
By 1878 he owned 60 acres of land valued at $12,000. He was a Greenbacker in his political affiliation and a Congregationalist in religious membership, the latter a denomination with a notable presence in the Dundee community. (Source: Past and Present of Kane County, Illinois (1878))
Todd was a neighbor and apparent acquaintance of Hugh Todd, a farmer and dairyman in Dundee, though no family connection between the two men is established in the source. The shared surname and overlapping community ties may be coincidental.
Family
William T. Todd married Mary E. Murray in 1849. Mary was born in Tompkins County, New York. Together they had three children:
- Frank M. Todd
- Ella M. Todd, who married S. Billings
- Charles F. Todd
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| Sept. 27, 1821 | Born in Franklin County, Vermont |
| Fall 1837 | Came west, settling in the Dundee, Illinois area |
| 1849 | Married Mary E. Murray |
| 1878 | Listed as machinist, barometer manufacturer, and landowner (60 acres, valued at $12,000) in Kane County history |
Sources
- The Past and Present of Kane County, Illinois (1878). Available at archive.org. Primary biographical entry for William T. Todd, p. offset-2564548.