BIOGRAPHY - WILLIAM A. BICKET
WILLIAM
A. BICKET, general manager of the Hiram Sibley estate in Ford and Livingston
Counties, was born in Toronto, Canada, September 9, 1842, and is a son of
James and Jane (Leckie) Bicket, both of whom are now deceased. Our subject's
connection with the immense property of which he is now the manager began in
August, 1872, when Michael L. Sullivant was proprietor, and since 1878, when
Hiram Sibley succeeded to its ownership, he has been general manager. A
brief description of the property in question will not be inappropriate in
connection with the biography of its resident legal representative and
general manager, so we give a sketch of the same on another page of this
work.
The father of our subject was a native of Scotland and emigrated to Canada
in his youth. The mother was born in Canada, and was of Scotch and English
descent. Their family consisted of five children, as follows: Isaac B., the
eldest, was a soldier of the Union army during the late war. He was poisoned
by drinking from the poisoned wells of Maryland, and received his discharge
on account of physical disability, but afterward re-enlisted in the
seventeenth Illinois Cavalry and served until the close of the war. He
married, and died in Sibley on the 27th of February, 1880, presumably from
the effects of the poison which remained in his system from the time of his
service. William A. is the next younger. Agnes, the only daughter, is the
wife of the Rev. George Mitchell, B. A., pastor of the Methodist Episcopal
Church at St. Catharines, Canada. James L., the youngest, is employed as
book-keeper in the Sibley estate office in Sibley, Ill. One child died in
infancy.
William A. Bicket was reared and educated in Canada, attended the public
schools and served a flve-years' apprenticeship to the mercantile business
in Perth, Ontario. In 1860, he went to Chicago, and was employed as a clerk
in a commission house for two years, when he removed to Wabasha County,
Minn., where he purchased a farm and was engaged in agricultural pursuits
until February, 1864. On the 25th of that month, he enlisted in Company A,
Seventh Minnesota Infantry, was detailed on special duty immediately after
entering the service and was stationed at Ft. Snelling, where he was in
charge of receiving and forwarding recruits to the front, and continued in
that line of duty until mustered out May 11, 1865.
On his return from the war, Mr. Bicket engaged in the grain commission
business in Chicago until 1866, when he went to Loda, Ill., and took charge
of a distillery, then one of the largest in the United States, continuing
there until August, 1872, when he entered the service of Mr. Sullivant in
Ford County as commissary for his mammoth farm. On the failure and
assignment of his employer early in 1877, he was placed in charge of the
property as manager under the assignee, in which capacity he served until
October, 1878, when Mr. Sibley came into legal possession of the property.
He was retained by the new proprietor in the same capacity and since the
death of Mr. Sibley, on the 11th of July, 1888, he has been general manager
of the estate in Ford and Livingston Counties.
In politics, Mr. Bicket is a Republican, and has been active and influential
in the local campaign work of his party. He is a member of the Ford County
Republican Committee, having often served as delegate to district couuty and
State conventions, and has held various official positions. For fourteen
years he has been Supervisor of Sullivant Township, was Coroner of Ford
County for four years and has held every office at times in the village of
Sibley from President of the Board of Education to President of the village.
He is a Knight Templar Mason, belonging to Sibley Lodge No. 761, A. F. & A.
M.; Gibson Chapter No. 183, U. A. M.; Gibson Council No. 72; and Mt. Olivet
Commandery No. 38, K. T. He is also a member of Lott Post No. 70, G. A. R.,
of Gibson.
On the 14th of February, 1867, Mr. Bicket was united in marriage at
Faribault, Minn., to Miss Ellen Pratt, who was born in Berlin, Wis., and is
a daughter of Henry and Jane E. Pratt. Her father was among the pioneers of
Minnesota, and was in the Government service at the Winnebago Indian Agency
at an early day. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bicket, of whom
six are yet living: Mary Gertrude, wife of the Rev. Elbert H. Alford, of the
Methodist Church, of Sibley, by whom she has two children, Don Bicket and
Genevieve; Nellie Louise is employed in her father's office in Sibley; Effie
May is a teacher in the Sibley schools; James Pratt is a student in Chaddock
College, of Quincy, Ill.; William Albert died at the age of fifteen months;
Harry Leckie died when twelve months old; Grace Darling and Hiram Sibley,
the youngest of the family, now surviving. In their religious belief, the
family are Methodists, members of the church in Sibley, of which Mr. Bicket
is a Trustee.
It is now twenty years since our subject became identified with the property
known as the Hiram Sibley estate and fifteen years since he had full control
of the management of the entire estate in Ford and Livingston Counties. The
history of the growth and development of the property is covered in a
description of the estate published elsewhere in this work, which speaks
volumes in praise of the sagacity, fidelity and executive ability of the
manager. His just, liberal and impartial treatment of the tenants has won
their regard and confidence, while his honest and judicious discharge of
duty has been eminently satisfactory to those interested in the estate.
Extracted 14 Dec 2017 by Norma Hass from Portrait and Biographical Record of Ford County, Illinois, published in 1892, pages 210-212.
