788
HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
located a claim on the east side of the river in Aurora Township, where he afterwards purchased a considerable body of Government land, including the site of the present Spring Lake Cemetery. There was little business for lawyers at Aurora at that time, so Mr. Fridley, who had studied surveying before coming west, turned his attention in this direction, and, by supplementing his labors as a surveyor with farming, became fairly prosperous. In 1836 he was elected the first Sheriff of Kane County, and in the discharge of the duties of this office greatly extended his practical knowledge of the law, so that when, in 1840, he was advanced to the position of Prosecuting Attorney for the district, he had already won a high rank among the pioneer members of the Bar. His district covered an area of twelve counties, and during his incumbency of several years he was brought in contact with the leading members of the profession in Northern Illinois. The late Burton C. Cook, who succeeded Mr. Fridley as Prosecuting Attorney, speaking of the condition existing in this section at that time, says:
"During the term of Mr. Fridley as Prosecuting Attorney, and for a part of my term, the northeastern part of the State was infested by a most dangerous and wicked association of outlaws, thieves and counterfeiters, such as are often found on the frontiers of civilization, having grips, signs and passwords, whereby they could identify each other. They were the enemies of society, unscrupulous and brutal. The citizens of De-Kalb and Ogle counties organized bands of regulators to protect themselves and their property. Mr. Campbell, the Captain of the regulators, was shot at his own house at White Oak Grove, and then the citizens followed, captured and shot some of the more notorious of the gang, and it was finally broken up in this section. The able and efficient prosecution by my friend, Mr. Fridley, was greatly appreciated by the Bar and by the citizens generally at the time, and was greatly instrumental in freeing the country from the presence of evil-doers." Mr. Fridley was a picturesque character, and it is doubtful if any member of the early Bar in Northern Illinois was more widely known or left behind him a larger fund of interesting reminiscence. While affecting a simplicity of speech and manner peculiar to the uneducated backwoodsman, his contemporaries had an appreciation of his nimble wit and keen sarcasm which has been handed down to the Bar of the present day, and which never fails to furnish entertainment to themselves and their friends when "two or three" of the profession are "gathered together" in reminiscent mood. His practical knowledge of the law made him especially successful as a trial lawyer, both as a prosecutor and as a representative of the defense. As a man of affairs he was eminently successful and built up a fortune through his land and farming operations. The later years of his life were given up almost entirely to looking after these interests, and for nearly forty years before his death-which occurred at his home in Aurora, May 29, 1898-he had been practically retired from the profession. During the period of his professional life and long afterwards he was looked upon as the Nestor of the Aurora Bar, and as such, as well as for many other traits of character, was always held in high esteem. Mr. Fridley was married in 1841, at Geneva, Ill., to Miss Eliza S. Kelley, daughter of Maj. William Kelley, a retired officer of the United States Army. Mrs. Fridley still survives, residing at Aurora, Ill., which had been the home of herself and husband for nearly sixty years. Of five children born of this union only one is now living (1903), Mrs. Dunn, of Asheville, N. C.
ALBERT B. FULLER, lawyer, Aurora, Ill., born in Rochester, N. Y., in 1826, and died in Aurora in 1857; admitted to the Bar in Aurora, and was one of the pioneer attorneys of that city. His early death cut short what promised to be a brilliant career. Mr. Fuller was married in 1855 to Miss Catherine Gates, of Jefferson County, N. Y., who afterward became the wife of Dr. P. A. Allaire, one of the pioneer physicians of Aurora.
HENRY G. GABEL, M. D., physician and surgeon, Aurora, Ill., was born in Nassau, Germany, Oct. 27, 1841, and when nine years old was brought to this country by his parents, who established their home in Somonauk, La Salle County, Ill. There he was bred to a farmer's life and educated in the public schools. After reading medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. A. J. Redding, of Bristol, and Dr. L. R. Brigham, of Aurora, he completed his medical studies in the Eclectic Medical Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he received his
