JEAN DAGLE, one of the finest photographic artists of southern Illinois, is proprietor of an art gallery in Murphysboro. His life record is as follows: He was born in Port Huron, Mich., April 6, 1855, and is of French descent. His grandfather, Jean Dagle, was a native of France, and when a child was taken by his parents to Canada. He became a farmer of New Brunswick, and there Francis Dagle, father of our subject, was born and reared. Having attained to mature years, the latter married Mary Smith, a native of Essex County, Vt., and they became the parents of five sons and two daughters. One son, Henry, served as First Lieutenant of Company A, Twenty-sixth Michigan Infantry, and was killed at the battle of Spottsylvania Court House. Charles, a Sergeant of the Ninth Michigan Cavalry, was captured, and incarcerated in Florence Prison for nine months. In the fall of 1872, he was on the steam propeller "Souvenir," which sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Ludington. His was the only body found, and it was recovered after eleven months. Jackson, who was Orderly in Company A, Twenty-sixth Michigan Infantry, now resides in Kalkaska, Mich. Frank, who was a member of the same company, lost his left arm in the battle of Spottsylvania. He was then transferred to the Invalid Corps, and continued in the service until the close of the war. He has since been a member of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, and now resides in Silver City, N. Mex. The daughters are, Mrs. Lura Pottgen, of Waco, Tex.; and Mrs. Emma Dunham, of Kalkaska, Mich.
The father of this family is a farmer by occupation. He removed to Port Huron, Mich., where he owned a tract of pine land, and engaged in the manufacture of lumber. In 1864 he removed to Pent Water, Mich., where he bought pine land and engaged in the same line of business until his retirement. His wife died in 1883, in Pent Water, since which time he has made his home with his children.
Our subject is the youngest of the Dagle family. The first nine years of his life were spent in Port Huron, after which he went with the family to Pent Water, and in its common and high schools acquired a good education. He became a millwright, and worked in sawmills and gristmills in western Michigan until 1883, which year witnessed his removal to Texas, where he learned the photographic art. He afterward bought a gallery in Texas, where, as a member of the firm of Dagle & Arvin, he carried on business for about three years. On the expiration of that period he sold out, and was employed by a New York firm as traveling photographer, taking views of fine scenery. After two years spent in that way, he came to Murphysboro, in May, 1889, and purchased the photograph gallery of John Minner. His studio is located in the Murphysboro Bank Block, is supplied with all necessary apparatus of the most improved methods, and is lighted by electricity. In May, 1893, he established a gallery in Cairo, and is doing a good business at that place.
In Belleville, Ill., in February, 1887, Mr. Dagle was united in marriage with Mrs. Ella Crain, a native of St. Clair County. Her father was killed in the Civil War. By her first marriage she had a daughter, Minnie. Mrs. Dagle is a member of the Lutheran Church, and Mr. Dagle belongs to the National Photographers' Association. He is also Past Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias lodge, is a member of the Knights of Honor, and of the Fraternal Mystic Circle. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the Democracy. In connection with his other interests, Mr. Dagle is a stockholder in the Mississippi Valley Building and Loan Association of Chicago, and in the National Homestead and Loan Association of Bloomington, Ill. As before stated, he is one of the finest photographic artists in southern Illinois, and his excellent workmanship has gained for him a liberal patronage and high reputation.
Extracted 22 Feb 2017 by Norma Hass from 1894 Biographical Review of Jackson, Massac, Pope, and Hardin Counties, Illinois, pages 544-545.