Inventor William Buffham

The village of Millburn in north Lake County is on the National Register of Historic Places for its wonderful historic buildings. The location is also significant for one of its early settlers--William Buffham (1801-1871).

William Buffham (1801-1871), inventor and manufacturer of scientific instruments. 

Buffham was born in London, England and became interested in mechanical devices at an early age. He came to Millburn with his wife and six children in 1850 and set up an optical instrument shop. Buffham may have been attracted to Millburn by the fact that it was settled by English and Scottish immigrants, and had a reputation as a hot-bed of abolitionism and intellectual activity. His mother's family in England had been active in abolition and prison reform.

Buffham is noteworthy for being a maker of optical and astronomical equipment at a time when there were only a few manufacturers of scientific instruments in the United States. While three of his sons worked the family's 140-acre farm, William and his eldest son, William Sharpe made microscopes and telescopes.

Microscope made by William Buffham in 1842. Photo by Mark Wallenfang/Shooting Start Studio (BBDM 97.26.3)

The microscope made by Buffham while still living in England in 1842 was played with by his great-great grandchildren. They did not realize its significance until they reached adulthood.

Buffham also made a collection of biological slides to view on his microscope, and built a cabinet for the slides. Shown is one of Buffham's glass slides of an algae specimen made in 1846. The enlargement of the algae (shown in circles) was made by Baxter Healthcare for the museum.

Gregorian telescope made by William Buffham in Millburn, Illinois, circa 1855. 

Photo by Mark Wallenfang/Shooting Start Studio. (BBDM 97.26.1)

Around 1855, Buffham made a Gregorian telescope. This type of telescope used a concave mirror that inverted the image to allow direct observation of terrestrial objects. Buffham's descendants had been unaware of his manufacturing telescopes until one was found by an antiques dealer out east in the 1990s.

This detail of the Gregorian telescope is engraved
"Buffham, Millburn, Lake Co., Ill." (BBDM 97.26.1; Photo by Mark Wallenfang/Shooting Start Studio)

The Buffhams moved to Racine, Wisconsin in 1868 when his eldest son bought a painting business there.

Buffham continued to make microscopes and optical instruments in Racine, presumably until his death in 1871.

William Buffham's monument at Mound Cemetery, Racine, Wisconsin. 

"Hale and Hearty" Clark Corser

This charming old-timer is Clark Corser (1817-1909), an early settler of Benton Township.

Clark and his parents, Nathaniel and Martha, and siblings set out from Vermont by covered wagon in 1831. They first settled in Indiana and then came to Benton Township, Lake County between 1838 and 1840. Clark was one of the county's first land purchasers, and spent his life as a farmer.

In 1850, Clark joined the California Gold Rush and spent a year there before returning home. Clark married Louisa Rachel Daniels of Caledonia, Wisconsin on October 30, 1851. Together they built two homes in the area of 33rd Street and Sand Ridge Road (now Sheridan Road), near the Dickertown School, and raised a family. After Louisa died in 1898, Clark lived with his oldest son, Robert, and youngest daughter, Mary, who was divorced.

Clark was to be the editor of the history of Benton Township for John Halsey's "A History of Lake County, Illinois" published in 1912. He passed away in 1909 before completing his work. He is buried next to his wife in Lake Mound Cemetery in Zion.

In 1918, children at the Dickertown School of Zion wrote their community's history, including a remembrance of Clark Corser: "He was hale and hearty, able to walk to Zion or dance a jig. He is well remembered by many of the children now in the upper grades."

Based on the congenial portrait of Clark, I'd bet that was a mighty fine jig.