Full text of "Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois : with portraits"

"LI B R.AR.Y

OF THE
UN IVER.SITY
OF ILLINOIS

92O.O773
Ail
1897

Return this book on or before the
Latest Date stamped below.

University of Illinois Library

Jin

OCT -'

AUG14

JUL08

J 2000

L161 H41

ALBUM OF GENEALOGY

AND

BIOGRAPHY

COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

WITH PORTRAITS

EIGHTH EDITION, REVISED AND EXTENDED

CHICAGO

CALUMET BOOK & ENGRAVING CO.
1897

THE CALUMET PRESS

PRINTED BY

CALL-MET BOOK & ENGRAVING COMPANY
170-174 SOUTH CLINTON STREET

CHICAGO

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PRBFACB

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(A

E BELIEVE the time has arrived
when it becomes the duty of the
people of this county to perpetuate
the names of their pioneers, to fur-
nish a record of their early settle-
ment, and relate the story of their progress.
The civilization of our day, the enlightenment of
the age, and the duty that men of the present
time owe to their ancestors, to themselves and to
their posterity, demand that a record of their lives
and deeds should be made. In biographical history
is found a power to instruct man by precedent, to
enliven the mental faculties, and to waft down
the river of time a safe vessel, in which the names
and actions of the people who contributed to
raise this country from its primitive state may be
preserved. Surely and rapidly the great and
aged men, who in their prime entered the wilder-
ness and claimed the virgin soil as their heritage,
are passing to their graves. The number remain-
ing who can relate the incidents of the first days
of settlement is becoming small indeed, so that
actual necessity exists for the collection and pres-
ervation of events without delay, before all the
early settlers are cut down by the scythe of Time.
To be forgotten has been the great dread of
mankind from remotest ages. All will be forgot-
ten soon enough, in spite of their best works and
the most earnest efforts of their friends to preserve
the memory of their lives. The means employed
to prevent oblivion and to perpetuate their mem-
ory have been in proportion to the amount of intel-
ligence they possessed. The pyramids of Egypt
were built to perpetuate the names and deeds of
its great rulers. The exhumations made by
the archaeologists of Egypt from buried Memphis
indicate a desire of those people to perpetuate the
memory of their achievements. The erection of
the great obelisks was for the same purpose.
Coming down to a later period, we find the Greeks
and Romans erecting mausoleums and rnonu-

ments, and carving out statues to chronicle their
great achievements and carry them down the
ages. It is also evident that the Mound-builders,
in piling up their great mounds of earth, had but
this idea to leave something to show that they
had lived. All these works, though many of
them costly in the extreme, give but a faint idea
of the lives and characters of those whose memory
they were intended to perpetuate, and scarcely
anything of the masses of the people that then
lived. The great pyramids and some of the
obelisks remain objects only of curiosity; the
mausoleums, monuments and statues are crumb-
ling into dust.

It. was left to modern ages to establish an intel-
ligent, undecaying, immutable method of perpet-
uating a full history immutable, in that it is al-
most unlimited in extent and perpetual in its ac-
tion ; and this is through the art of printing.

To the present generation, however, we are in-
debted for the introduction of the admirable sys-
tem of local biography. By this system every
man, though he has not achieved what the world
calls greatness, has the means to perpetuate his
life, his history, through the coming ages, for the
benefit of his posterity.

The scythe of Time cuts down all; nothing of
the physical man is left. The monument which
his children or friends may erect to his memory
in the cemetery will crumble into dust and pass
away; but his life, his achievements, the work he
has accomplished, which otherwise would be for-
gotten, is perpetuated by a record of this kind.

To preserve the lineaments of our companions
we engrave their portraits; for the same reason
we collect the attainable facts of their history.
Nor do we think it necessary, as we speak only
truth of them, to wait until they are dead, or un-
til those who knew them are gone; and we need be
ashamed only of publishing the history of those
whose lives are unworthy of public record.

'075231

PREFACE.

The greatest of English historians, MACAU-
LAY, and one of the most brilliant writers of the
present century, has said: "The history of a
country is best told in a record of the lives of
its people." In conformity with this idea, the
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM of
this county has been prepared. Instead of going
to musty records, and taking therefrom dry sta-
tistical matter that can be appreciated by but few,
our corps of writers have gone to the people, the
men and women who have, by their enterprise
and industry, brought the county to a rank sec-
ond to none among those comprising this great
and noble State, and from their lips have ob-
tained the story of their life struggles. No more
interesting or instructive matter could be pre-
sented to an intelligent public. In this volume
will be found a record of many whose lives are
worthy the imitation of coming generations. It
tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by
industry and economy have accumulated wealth.
It tells how others, with limited advantages for
securing an education, have become learned
men and women, with an influence extending
throughout the length and breadth of the
land. It tells of men who have risen from the
lower walks of life to eminence as statesmen, and
whose names have become famous. It tells of
those in every walk in life who have striven to suc-
ceed, and records how success has usually crowned
their efforts. It tells also of many, very many,
who, not seeking the applause of the world, have
pursued "the even tenor of their way," content
to have it said of them, as Christ said of the
woman performing a deed of mercy "They have
done what they could." It tells how that many

in the pride and strength of young manhood left
the plow and the anvil, the lawyer's office and
the counting-room, left ever}- trade and pro-
fession, and at their country's call went forth
valiantly "to do or die," and how through their
efforts the Union was restored and peace once
more reigned in the land. In the life of every
man and of every woman is a lesson that should
not be lost to those who follow after.

Coming generations will appreciate this vol-
ume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from
the fact that it contains so much that would never
find its way into public records, and which would
otherwise be inaccessible. Great care has been
taken in the compilation of the work, and every
opportunity possible given to those represented to
insure correctness in what has been written; and
the publishers flatter themselves that they give
to their readers a work with few errors of conse-
quence. In addition to the biographical sketches,
portraits of a number of representative citizens
are given.

The faces of some, and biographical sketches
of many, will be missed in this volume. For this
the publishers are not to blame. Not having a
proper conception of the work, some refused to
give the information necessary to compile a sketch,
while others were indifferent. Occasionally some
member of the family would oppose the enter-
prise, and on account of such opposition the
support of the interested one would be withheld.
In a few instances men could never be found,
though repeated calls were made at their resi-
dences or places of business.

CALUMET BOOK & ENGRAVING CO.

ADDENDA.

The preparation of this volume has involved the labor of several years. Since the pages
were stereotyped, several of the subjects of biographies have passed away.

Among these are :

A. G. HURLEY .......... page 227

I. N. CAMP, 546

E. H. CASTLE, 544

J. D. CATON, 115

REV. OTTO GROENEBAUM, ........ 622

C. M. HENDERSON, 391

EDSON KEITH, 53

M. N. KlMBELL, 528

T. E. LEWIS, 297

ORRINGTON LUNT, ......... 503

JAMES MCMAHON, ......... 181

GEORGE M. PULLMAN, ... . 231

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

Ills CenturyBjllisMnj 4 Zi - ica

J. R. HOXIE.

JOHN R, HOXIE.

(JOHN RANDOLPH HOXIE. Chicago, the
I Queen of our Great West, is indebted for its
G) marvelous growth and rapid development,
which have caused the whole world to acknowl-
edge its commercial greatness, to a few men,
who, to lay the foundations of metropolitan su-
premacy, gave the best of their heart's blood,
their brain power, and nerve forces. The ma-
jority have as their reward wealth or honor, but
few have both. Among the active business men
who have acquired both was the subject of this
sketch, who obtained it through close attention
to business, and unswerving integrity and up-
rightness of character.

John R. Hoxie was born December 13, 1831,
in Macedon, near Rochester, New York, and his
parents were Cornelius and Anna (Brawnell)
Hoxie. He received a partial education in the
Macedon Academy, but as his tastes impelled
him to use every opportunity for learning busi-
ness ways, his schooldays were thus cut short.
Many stories of his youthful trading propensities
illustrate his ability in doing well for himself, and
in him could plainly be seen the future financier
and business man. On one occasion he wished
to buy a fish-hook, but as his finances were low,
he applied to the banker of the town, who lent
him three cents. After catching and disposing of
the fish he very promptly paid his debt, thus
winning the esteem of his creditor. At the age
of fourteen years he bought all the turkeys in the
neighborhood and realized a handsome profit on
them. At seventeen years of age he was able to
buy his "time" or independence from his father,
for one thousand dollars. He was always pru-

dent with his earnings, and many times walked
from Albany to Rochester to save the fare by
stage.

Mr. Hoxie became a sub-contractor on the
Niagara Falls Railroad at an early age, and later
was in the same position on the Staten Island
Railroad. While in the latter position the yellow
fever began raging and he was quarantined, but
finally escaped to the mainland. After spending
nearly two years in Virginia he returned to
Rochester, New York, where he became a dealer
in live stock, which he shipped over the Michigan
Southern and other Railroads. His fame as a
man of great business tact and ability spread
over many States, and in 1857 he received an
offer to assist in the management of the shipping
business of the Michigan Southern Railroad, with
headquarters in Chicago. This offer was re-
ceived by telegram, and hastily packing his
satchel, he told his mother he would return in a
few days; but the days lengthened into weeks,
months, and years, and he did not return home
until 1862. The officers of the company recog-
nized his ability, and the position of stock agent
was offered him, which he accepted and retained
during his connection with the road.

At this time the company was almost bankrupt,
but Mr. Hoxie infused new life into the business
by building up the freight traffic, thus saving it
from financial ruin. For this service the com-
pany was ever truly grateful, and he was retained
in office long after his active interest ceased.
Largely through his influence the Railroad was
able to retain its controlling interest in the Union
Stock Yards, and the profits from the tremendous

J. R. HOXIE.

traffic in live stock thus brought to it. When a
combined effort was made by the other roads to
induce Mr. Hoxie to retire from the service of the
Michigan Southern, he declined every consider-
ation offered him, and remained faithful through
all temptation.

From early morning until late eve did he labor
in the interest of this road, and this was practi-
cally his life work. He foresaw great possibilities
in its future, and steadily strove to carry it for-
ward to its destiny. His nature rejoiced in
victory over opposition, and the sharp competition
he often met was refreshing to his restless spirit,
and a stimulus to greater exertions. He loved
work for its own sake, not for praise and reward.
In the end, however, he paid the usual penalty
for living under such high pressure, by the in-
vasion of sickness and premature death. His
nature could not rest, and though his life was
shorter, he accomplished much more than the
majority of business men.

Though an extremely busy man, he was al-
ways cheerful, and liked the society of his fel-
lows. He was, however, a stranger to the
fashionable clubs, and made his home the scene
of his rest and recreation. His wife was a
worthy life companion, and her delight was to
make the home pleasant, having a serene manner,
a contented disposition, and being a great help to
her husband in curbing his great ambition and
teaching him the lessons of patience.

As soon as he was able Mr. Hoxie began to
invest money in securities, and so good was his
foresight that he became wealthy. In 1878 he
bought a large grant of laud from the heirs of
Dr. Hoxie, a veteran of the Texan and the Mexi-
can Wars, and an army surgeon under General
Houston. This grant embraced ten thousand
acres of land in Williamson County, Texas, to
which he added another purchase of seven thou-
sand acres. It is situated thirty-five miles from
Austin, and six thousand acres of it have been
cultivated, and fifty families reside on it.

Mr. Hoxie also bought fifty-two thousand
acres of land at Midland, Texas, in the Counties
of Martin and Andrews, this land being used for
grazing. Beside his mansion on Michigan Ave-

nue, he had a country home twenty- one miles
south of Chicago, which included seven hundred
fifty-seven acres of land. Here he spent many
hours away from the cares of business life, and
lived close to the heart of Nature. On all his
farms he has kept the buildings in excellent
repair, having built many new ones. Unlike
most business men, he early instructed his wife
in the details of his affairs, being animated by the
principle that what was his also belonged to her.
To this wise precaution his widow now largely
owes her ability to manage the property with
such success.

Mr. Hoxie made annual trips to his possessions
in the South, and to every one of these Texas
owed some improvement, and he many times
used his influence in opening some avenue of
commerce. In 1887 he decided to retire from
business, but never fully carried out his intention.
When he was in Texas he made his headquarters
at Fort Worth and there he was held in high es-
teem by all the inhabitants, and especially the
business men. Prior to his coming to this town
the business was very dull, but he inspired confi-
dence by organizing the Farmers and Mechanics'
National Bank, with a capital of one million
dollars. He was the president of this bank and
also of the First National Bank at Taylor, Texas.
He was connected with twenty other banks in this
State, his influence and standing giving them
power to exist.

In 1891, at the urgent request of the citizens
of Fort Worth, he organized Stock Yards and
Packing Houses, and the next year passed through
a strike which made his presence at the yards
necessary. This was such a severe strain on his
finely organized nervous constitution that he
never recovered his former health. A small bene-
fit was gained at Carlsbad Springs, Germany ,but
nothing could entirely stay the ravages of the
disease, diabetes, from which his death resulted.
He passed away November 21, 1896.

Mr. Hoxie was a talented man, and had many
charming traits of character. His influence was
ever for good and his advice in municipal affairs
was often sought and freely given. He was presi-
dent of the Board of Trustees of Hyde Park and a

LEONARD SWETT.

school trustee in the town of Lake. During the
centennial year he was a candidate for Congress
on the Democratic ticket, but was defeated.
Though he never afterward held any office his in-
fluence was such that he controlled many positions
of trust and responsibility. His rare wit and
skillful repartee may be said to be gifts inherited
from his mother, well-known for her good sense
and quick perception.

Mr. Hoxie became interested in the Chicago
City Railway Company and was instrumental in
extending the cable lines, being for many years
one of the largest individual stockholders. He
was many times the youngest member of various
boards of management, where he was neverthe-
less recognized as a born leader. His associates
often called him "Boy", among these being such
men as Silas B. Cobb, Daniel Jones, Solomon
Sturges, Lyman Blair, John DeKoven, Samuel
Nickerson, Lyman J. Gage, John B. Sherman,
P. D. Armour, Samuel Allerton, and others
equally well-known . He was called the ' ' Mogul ' '
of the Stock Yards Railroad along Fortieth street,
which was secured by his indefatigable energy.

In his business methods Mr. Hoxie was unlike
the average man. Though possessed of sufficient
ability to carry on numerous vast business enter-
prises at the same time, he never used books to
record his transactions, but so carefully was
everything systematized that he suffered no loss
from this fact. His was an eccentric character,
but he was no recluse, and enjoyed rare friend-
ships. He was well-known in Masonic circles,
having attained the thirty-second degree. His
wealth was accumulated in a legitimate way, and
his only extravagance was indulged in providing
for the comfort of his family. In religious
belief he was a Quaker, and helped build and
maintain the church at Twenty-sixth Street and
Indiana Avenue. The principles of his forefathers
seemed to be the guide and rule of his life.

Mr. Hoxie was married October 22, 1872, to
Mary J., daughter of P. D. Hamilton. Among
the Quakers she was known as "John's wife. "but
her husband always spoke of her with deference
as Mrs. Mary J. Hoxie. Their union was blessed
by three children, namely: John R., Junior,
Gilbert H. and Anna C.

LEONARD SWETT.

I EONARD SWETT was born August n,
1C 1825, near the village of Turner, Oxford
\ J County, Maine, on what was known as
Swett's Hill. This hill slopes in all directions,
and constitutes one of the most beautiful spots in
New England, and has ever since been owned
by the family. His father, John Swett, was born
in Gorham, Maine, February 4, 1789, and mar-
ried Remember Berry, on August 29, 1816. The
latter was born at Buckfield, Maine, December
22, 1794. They settled after their marriage on
the above-named hill, and lived and died there.
The father was seventy years old, and the mother
in her eighty-ninth year at the date of their
respective deaths.

Leonard Swett's grandfather was John Adams
Swett, named for his mother, who was Sarah
Adams, a descendant of John Quincy Adams,
President. John Adams Swett was born June 23,
1763, and died July 14, 1844. He married Betsey
Warren, who was born June 28, 1763, and died
June 3, 1846.

Leonard Swett's great-grandfather was Dr.
Stephen Swett, born at Durham, New Hampshire,
and died in Otisfield, in 1808. He married Sarah
Adams, who was born in Durham, New Hamp-
shire, and died in 1807. They were married at
Durham in 1757.

Mr. Swett, the subject of this sketch, died
June 8. 1889. He married Laura R. Quigg, of

LEONARD SWETT.

Bradford, Massachusetts, July 20, 1854, and they
had one son, Leonard H. Swett. March 5, 1886,
his wife died, and July 14, 1887, he married
Marie A. H. Decker, who survives him.

Leonard Swett was the second son and fourth
child of his parents, and they conceived the idea,
at an early date, of giving him a better education
than the town afforded, consequently he was sent
to select schools in the vicinity, and completed
his education at North Yarmouth Academy and
Waterville College, now Colby University. He
then read law for two years with Messrs. How-
ard & Shepley, at Portland, Maine, and started
in the world to seek his fortune. At first he
traveled in the South for nearly a year, then, with
the spirit of adventure, he volunteered as a sol-
dier in the Mexican War, and was under General
Scott from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico.
The war closed in May, 1848, when Mr. Swett
returned and settled at Bloomington, Illinois. He
commenced the practice of his profession in the
fall of 1849, and gave to that profession the labor
of a life. He was in indifferent health, on ac-
count of a disease contracted in Mexico, which
rendered it impracticable for him to sit in an office
and do office work, and, therefore, at first he
commenced to travel the circuit. The bar of that
circuit, the eighth at that time, embraced many
men of marked ability, some of whom have since
acquired a national reputation. David Davis,
since distinguished as a judge of the supreme
court and a senator of the United States, was the
judge from 1849 to 1862. Abraham Lincoln, for
two years a member of congress, and afterwards
known to the world as the martyred President
and the emancipator of a race, was one of its
lawyers. Edward D. Baker, a member of con-
gress from the Sangamon District, also afterward
from the Galena District, later a distinguished
citizen of California, and a senator of the United
States from Oregon, who died leading his men at
the battle of Ball's Bluff, in the Civil War, was
also one of its lawyers. There were also Edward
Hannagan and Daniel W. Voorhees, since sena-
tors from Indiana, who attended the eastern part
of the circuit, and Stephen T. Logan, John T.
Stuart, U. F. Linder and Oliver L. Davis. The

sessions commenced the ist of September, and
ended about the ist of January. The spring
circuit commenced about February and ended in
June. In a life with' these men and upon this
circuit, Mr. Swett spent his time from 1849 to
1862. The lawyers would arrive at a county seat
of from five hundred to two thousand inhabitants,
and the clients and public came in from the coun-
try adjoining at about the same time. The law-
yers were employed in such suits as were then
pending in court, and the trials were immediately
begun. After from three days to a week spent
in this manner, the court would adjourn and the
cavalcade start for the adjoining county seat, when
the same processes would be repeated. Twice
a year fourteen counties were traversed in this
way, and in this manner Mr. Swett received his
earlier legal education. David Davis, in a speech
at Springfield, said in substance that this time
constituted the bright spot of his life. In this
expression he would doubtless be joined by every
man named, most of whom now live beyond the
river.

In 1865 Mr. Swett moved to Chicago, where
he soon acquired a prominent and leading position
as a lawyer. During his life in the country, in
Illinois, he took an active part in politics, taking
part in the agitation of the slavery question, and
canvassed nearly the whole state in the years
1852, 1854, 1856, 1858 and 1860. He, however,
held but one office, which was that of member of
the legislature, in 1858 and 1859, and this was at
the special request of Lincoln himself, to save to
the latter the vote of McLean County. That
county at the previous election had been carried
by four votes. Lincoln thought Swett could be
elected, and asked him to run. He did so, car-
rying the county by nearly five hundred majority.
He then engaged earnestly in the work of secur-
ing the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for Pres-
ident, writing to public men and organizing other
workers. The three men who did more than all
others to make Mr. Lincoln the nominee in 1860
were Leonard Swett, David Davis and Norman
B. Judd; and the two men who were closest of all
to Mr. Lincoln until his death were Swett and
Davis. Norman B. Judd was given a foreign

LEONARD SWETT.

mission, David Davis was made supreme judge,
but Leonard Swett declined to take office under
the administration. He was closer to Lincoln's
innermost thoughts and sympathies than any man
in the world. He was much like Lincoln in per-
son, complexion and manner, so much so that he
was often mistaken for the President in Washing-
ton, and he was much of the Lincoln mould, in-
tellectually.

It has often been remarked that intimate as
Lincoln was with Leonard Swett, he never gave
him any office, and Swett was often asked the
reason why. He always evaded the question,
but, in a letter to W. H. Herndon, the author of
the " Life of Lincoln," written a short time before
Mr. Swett died, the latter explained this fact:
When David Davis was a candidate for the su-
preme bench, soon after Lincoln's election to the
presidency, he was opposed by a senator of great
influence, named Browning, whom Lincoln was
almost ready to appoint. Leonard Swett was a
warm friend of David Davis, and, going to the
president, he said: " If you will give that place
to Davis I will take it as one-half for him and
one-half for myself, and never again will ask you
for anything." David Davis got the appoint-
ment, and Leonard Swett was true to his word.
He said, not long before his death, that he was
always glad he kept out of office.

After his removal to Chicago, he devoted him-
self exclusively to his profession, and absolutely
ignored politics. Mr. Swett was distinguished as
successful in the trial of causes, in fact, he did
little else during his professional life. In Chicago
the most important cases were intrusted to him,
and it was a rare thing that he lost one of them.
The reason of this was, that he attended to the
details of the preparation personally, himself see-
ing and talking with his witnesses, so that when
the cause was heard in court it fitted together
' ' without noise of axe or hammer. ' '

His business, in the main, was in civil cases;
for instance, Thomas A. Scott, during the war,
employed him for the Quicksilver Mining Com-
pany to go to California to get possession of
the great quicksilver mine near San Jose, after
an adverse decision in reference to the Almaden

claim. This country acquired by the treaty of
Guadeloupe Hidalgo, at the close of the Mexican
War, a large tract of land, now embracing many
States and Territories, described by boundaries,
and our Government agreed, wherever individu-
als owned lands within these boundaries, it would
issue to such parties a patent. Under the Mexi-
ican law there were two kinds of titles, a mineral
title, or a right to what the land contained under
the surface, and a surface title. One man might
own one title and another man the other. We
have but one, the surface, and one owning that
owns all above and below. The Barons had a
mineral title to what they called the Almaden
mine, and had made, prior to the decision, im-
mense improvements. Justos Larios owned the
surface title, and this was bought, and the Quick-
silver Mining Company was organized upon this
title. In 1863 the Supreme Court of the United
States decided that the Baron title was a forgery.
The quicksilver claim of Justos Larios had not
been heard, and this left this property of immense
value belonging either to the Government or to
the quicksilver company. A contract was made
between the Government and the quicksilver
compan}', by which a possession might be taken,
which should be joint as between the Government
and said mining companj-, and Mr. Swett was
appointed by President Lincoln to go to California
and acquire this joint possession, it being under-
stood that he would offer the Barons one million
dollars for their improvements. It was also a con-
dition of this agreement that the proceeds of the
mine should be deposited in the mint at San Fran-
cisco until the termination of the litigation between
the Government and the Quicksilver Mining Com-
pany. He went to" California, arriving there
May 19, 1863, and leaving September 14, having,
by aid of the courts and negotiations, secured the
possession of the mine. Although Mr. Swett
maintained a large office at Chicago, he, occasion-
ally, at home and abroad, defended persons from
criminal accusations, when the defense presented
something attractive. In the vindication of honor,
or if, upon the common frailty of the race, an act
was done, he was a most accomplished and effect-
ive advocate for the accused. He dealt, like a

LEONARD SWETT.

mental philosopher, with the purposes of the
mind of the accused, and revealed to the compre-
hension of the court and jury the mysterious in-
fluences which produced the act of the party.
He tried the will, purpose and intent, and not the
mere physical act upon which the charge was
founded. His mind delighted in the beautiful
philosophy of the law; he dealt with its spirit, not
with its letter. In this manner, in thirty-six
years, he defended twenty men for murder, en-
tirely clearing eighteen and two escaping with
light punishment in the penitentiary.

He was called out of the city in criminal cases
from Hartford, Connecticut, to defend the officers
of the Charter Oak Life Insurance Company for
conspiracy; to Denver, where, with Hon. Thomas
Patterson, he defended Stickney, who shot a man
in a fit of jealousy, killing also a young and at-
tractive woman; and to Yankton, where he de-
fended Wintermute for the killing of McCook.

His style in a trial was simply the abnegation
of every consideration except winning that case.
To this he sacrificed everything. His style of
speaking was earnest and convincing. He was
the Chicago counsel for the Union Mutual Life
Insurance Company, of Maine, and distinguished
himself by gaining a suit for that company against
the Chicago University, which had become fa-
mous in the legal reports for its knotty problems
of law and equity.

On the 2ist of June, 1888, he made the nom-
inating speech for Walter Q. Gresham for Presi-
dent of the United States. Mr. Swett's address
was an independent utterance, touching in an
extremely effective manner the salient qualities
of the individual eulogized, and also those points
in his public career which "had brought him so
prominently before the people as a possible presi-
dential candidate.

In private life Mr. Swett was a man of social
disposition and strong attachments. He was a
pleasant companion and a warm and steadfast
friend, and was generous almost to a fault. His
nature was kind, genial and sympathetic, and his
social intercourse was enlivened by so many gen-
erous and endearing qualities, that it won for him
the affectionate regard of those who knew him

intimately to an extraordinary degree. In person
he was imposing; six feet two inches in height,
and weighing, when in health, two hundred and
twenty-five pounds or more. He possessed a
strong face, with heavy, bushy, black eyebrows,
over-hanging deep-set brown eyes, sparkling and
brilliant, but kindly withal. An expansive, in-
tellectual forehead betokened his strength of
character. His voice was extremely rich and
musical, and always pleasant to listen to.

The Chicago Bar, by Frank B. Wilkie, said of
him the following:

" As a speaker he had few or no superiors at
the bar. He required scarcely any preparation to
make a speech on any subject. He saw a case
clearly, and had the faculty of presenting it with
equal clearness. He had that tendency toward
amplification found in all true orators, and by
whose aid he presented a single point in so many
salient aspects, that it became as apparent as sun-
light to his auditory. This ability to not only
clearly present a point, but to restate it and reit-
erate it under a slightly changed form up to a
boundary where it becomes thoroughly under-
stood, and yet, which is not carried beyond into
the region of verbosity and tiresome and useless
reiteration, is one of a high order, and it is one
which Mr. Swett seemed to possess to perfection.
Its due and judicious exercise requires an accur-
ate knowledge of the men whom it is employed
upon, and the precise ideas and illustrations which
are demanded by their comprehension. Mr. Swett
had all these qualities, and the additional one of
being an excellent logician and an admirable
manager, who thus not only knew what should
be presented, but the very best form in which the
presentation should be made.

"Possibly the not least remarkable feature of
his oratorical power was his ability to employ
pathos. Herein, when occasion required, he rose
to a most effective level. He was both rhetorical
and natural in this direction, the former being to
some extent a sequence to the latter, in that he
felt what he said, and therein, as usually happens,
was eloquent. He was exceedingly happy in the
use of this powerful element. When in this mood
he smote the rock of men's hidden emotions, and

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

F. FRANK F. HENNING

F. F. HENNING.

obediently as in the case of Moses, the waters
gushed forth in response to the summons. From
the possession of this subtle power to touch ef-
fectively men's emotional natures, Mr. Swett had
what the world would suspect from seeing him,
and that was a powerful element of poetry in his
character. This was true; and its existence was
not only the source of his power to touch the
hearts of others, but it refined his nature and
gave him a chivalry that exhibited itself in a lofty
regard for women, an integrity in business mat-

ters that could not be disturbed, and a kindly con-
sideration that leavened all his intercourse with
others. In fine, the poetical quality, while it in-
troduced no element of effeminacy in his char-
acter, while it did not detract from his masculine
vigor or interfere with his comprehensive ability,
softened his naturally rugged make-up, and gave
him an efficient refinement. ' ' Leonard Swett was
one of nature's noblemen, and worthy to be re-
membered as Abraham Lincoln's most trusted
friend.

FRANK F. HENNING.

f~RANK F. HENNING, President of the
rft German-American Hospital, of Chicago,
I has been connected with business interests
and philanthropic institutions in that city for a
third of a century. He was born May 3, 1840,
in the city of Gransee, Germany, and is the
eldest son of Frederick and Henriette (Kanow)
Henning. The family is of Swiss descent, the an-
cestors having left Switzerland about 1780, on
account of religious persecutions.

Frederick Henning and his wife were natives
of the same part of Germany as their son, Frank
F. He was by trade a harness-maker, but later
cultivated a farm and, about 1848, decided to
emigrate to America, but as his father objected,
he went into the country and bought a farm,
which he conducted until he came to the United
States. In 1855, the parents, with six children,
sailed from Bremen on the sailing ship ' 'Othien, ' '
and five weeks later landed at New York. They
came to Chicago, and after remaining a week, re-
moved to Port Washington, Wisconsin.

They finally settled about six miles from Mani-
towoc, Wisconsin, where Frederick Henning
bought one hundred sixty acres of timber land,
which he cleared, and cultivated several years.
He is now living retired in Manitowoc. Of his
ten children six were born in the Fatherland and
four in Wisconsin. Only five of these are now

living, namely: Frank F. , the eldest; Paulina,
now Mrs. Schroeder; Henrietta, wife of George
Bodmer, of Chicago; Emma and Matilda. The
mother died in 1893, aged eighty-four years, and
the father has reached the age of eighty-six
years.

Frank F. Henning was reared on his father's
farm and educated in the common schools of his
native city. In 1859 he left home, with only one
dollar in his pocket to make his own way in the
world. He worked at loading a cargo on a
vessel at Monitowoc and unloading it at Chicago,
to pay his passage to the latter city. From there
he walked to Morris, Illinois, a distance of sixty
miles, where he found employment on a farm at
eight dollars a month. Here he attended school
during the winter of 1859-1860. July 28, 1861,
he enlisted at Aurora, for three years, in the
Union Army, and was mustered September i2th
of that year, in the Thirty-sixth Illinois Volun-
teer Infantry, Company D. His regiment was
assigned to the Western Division, and saw hard
service in Missouri and Arkansas, and he par-
ticipated in all the engagements where his regi-
ment acted. Mr. Henning's first engagement
was at Pea Ridge, and he was wounded at the
battle of Stone River in the foot, head and right
hip. He was taken, more dead than alive, to
the field hospital, and after the wounds were

F. F. HENNING.

dressed, he was sent to the hospital at Nashville.
From here he was sent to' Cincinnati, and was
discharged in July, 1863, for disability.

Upon his discharge he returned to his home in
Wisconsin, where he remained until the early
spring of 1864, and since that time has been a
resident of the city of Chicago. He found em-
ployment with Lohn & Koenig, for a time, in
gluing chairs; then as salesman and bookkeeper,
and in 1867 he bought a quarter interest in the
business, the firm then becoming Koenig, Hen-
ning & Gamer. Their business was located at
Nos. 48 and 50 Fifth Avenue, where the fire of
1871 wiped them out, and left them with a debt
of twenty-five thousand dollars, which was the
amount of insurance they carried, but they were
able to obtain only six thousand dollars therefrom.

Immediately after the fire the firm built a
furniture factory, and in a year and a-halfpaid-
their liabilities. Mr. Henning remained a mem-
ber of this firm until the spring of 1881 . About
1878 a German Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion was organized, of which Mr. Henning be-
came president; its members visited hospitals,
jails and poorhouses. Being of a sympathetic
nature, Mr. Henning became interested in the
sufferings of humanity and their alleviation, and
decided to devote the remainder of his life to philan-
thropic work. He had acquired a comfortable
competence, and when he retired from manu-
facturing, in December, 1883, he secured the in-
corporation of the German Hospital, and in 1884
it was opened in a building owned by Mr. Hen-
ning. Most of the funds for the foundation of
this institution were raised by Mr. Henning, who
was its president. It was located at No. 242
Lincoln Avenue, where he donated two years'
rent. The present site of this hospital was pur-
chased in 1886, Mr. Henning advancing three
thousand dollars for the first payment, and a year
later nine thousand dollars for building purposes.
Its generous benefactor was president until 1896,
when he resigned and withdrew, on account of
differences of opinion among some of the directors
and physicians.

The hospital had accumulated property worth
sixty thousand dollars, with an endowment fund

of twenty-one thousand dollars, and for thirteen
years Mr. Henning had devoted his time and
energy to it, with no compensation in money.
In 1886 he organized a deaconess' society for the
purpose of procuring trained nurses, and failing
to get enough in this way, they branched out and
erected a large building for a nurses' training
school, which is now used as the German-Ameri-
can Hospital. Nurses have received two years'
training when they graduate from this institution,
and about fifty nurses have been graduated.
Thus this institution is not only a hospital, but a
training school for nurses. The noble founder
cared not for honor or glory to himself in this
good work, but found his compensation in the
lives made happier and better, and the benefit of
his fellow-creatures from the results of his time
and study.

In 1893 Mr. Henning was one of the prime
movers in organizing the Bethesda Industrial
Home, at Morton Grove, Cook County, Illinois,
for the aged, infirm and helpless. In 1894, a
printing office was established at the home to
assist in defraying the expenses. This has
proved a success, and there are now two monthly
papers issued from it. Mr. Henning has ever
since been connected with its management.
Though he is a firm supporter of Republican
principles, he could never be induced to accept
office for himself.

He has been twice married. June 28, 1866, he
wedded Miss Dorothy Gamus, a native of Han-
over, Germany, and they had six children, of
whom three are living, namely: Frank, Arthur,
and Oswald. The mother died in 1881. Febru-
ary 28, 1883, he was united in marriage with
Miss Emily Buerstatte, daughter of Henry and
Maria (Meister) Buerstatte. She was born in
Manitowoc, Wisconsin. They have three chil-
dren, Meta, Laura, and Walter. Mr. Henning
has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances,
and is known for his good works in all parts of
the great metropolis. His example is worthy of
study and emulation, and he is honored and
admired by all. He has been connected with the
Chicago Avenue Church (Moody's) a number of
years.

HERMANN RENDTORFF.

HERMANN RENDTORFF, an enterprising
German-American citizen, has been identi-
fied with Chicago for over thirty years. He
was born August 6, 1843, in Sauk City, Sauk
County, Wisconsin, being a son of Edmund and
Henrietta (Graepel) Rendtorff, both of whom
were natives of Hamburg, Germany.

Edmund Rendtorff came to the United States
in 1838. He was highly educated in his native
tongue, as well as in three other languages, and
was employed as correspondent and general office
man. On coming to this country he worked on a
farm in Illinois for a short time, and then went
to Wisconsin. He was among the first settlers
of Sauk City, and for some time was employed
as clerk on a steamboat on the Rock River. He
made a pre-emption claim to government land in
Sauk County, and was able to buy eighty acres of
it when it came into market. His education and
ability fitted him for activity in the management
of public affairs, and he soon became prominent
in the county, being its first treasurer.

He had been engaged to Miss Graepel before
leaving Germany. In 1842. she came to America,
and upon her arrival in New York they were
married and settled upon his land, where he con-
tinued farming for seven years. In 1847 he went
to St. Louis as bookkeeper for Childs & Com-
. pany, wholesale grocery dealers in that city. At
the end of six years he returned to Sauk City and
conducted a grocery store there for a period of
twenty-five years. Mrs. Rendtorff died in 1889,
at the age of seventy years, and her husband sur-
vived until 1892, reaching the good age of sev-
enty-six years. All of their six children grew to
maturity, the eldest being him whose name heads
this article. The second, J. Christian Rendtorff,
resides on North Avenue, in Chicago. Susanna
is the wife of F. A. Oswald, of the same city.

Johanna is the next in order of birth. Emma,
Mrs. Theodore Krueger, is also a resident of
Chicago; and Richard O. is deceased.

Hermann Rendtorff had but limited opportuni-
ties for education. He was reared on the farm
and attended school only during the winter
months. He remained with his parents until he
reached the age of eighteen years, and might have
continued longer but for the outbreak of hos-
tilities between the North and the South in 1861.
He was filled with patriotic love for the land of
his birth, and on the I4th of September, 1861,
having just completed the eighteenth year of his
age, he enlisted as a soldier in Company D, Ninth
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He bore an active
part in all the engagements in which his regi-
ment participated, and was wounded in the right
thigh by a bullet at the battle of Newtonia, Mis-
souri, in September, 1863. He spent three months
in hospitals at Fort Scott and Fort Leaven worth,
Kansas, and still carries in his flesh the bullet
which caused his injury. On his recovery he
rejoined his regiment, with which he continued
until honorably discharged at the close of his
period of enlistment, at Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
December 4, 1864.

He returned to his native place and remained
until February 20, 1865, on which date he became
a resident of Chicago. He entered the employ of
Ressing, Inderrieden & Company, wholesale and
retail grocers, with whom he remained two years.
At the end of this time he entered into partner-
ship with G. E. Roscher, in a retail grocery
store at No. 206 North Clark Street, and two
years later sold out to his partner.

He now entered the hardware establishment
of his brother : in-law, Mr. Oswald, at Nos.
139 and 141 Milwaukee Avenue, and rapidly
mastered the business. At the end of one year he

PETER JACKSON.

formed a partnership with Mr. Oswald, and they
opened a store on the corner of Lake and Halsted
Streets, under the firm name of Rendtorff &
Oswald. This connection lasted only a few
years, and Mr. Rendtorff removed to the North
Side and established an independent business on
North Avenue. Two years later he purchased
property on the corner of North Avenue and
Mohawk Street, consisting of four lots and build-
ings, whither he removed his stock and contin-
ued business. In 1 880 he added the manufacture
of stove- boards, which he carried on in connec-
tion with his hardware store. In the year 1883
he formed a partnership with his brother, J.
Christian Rendtorff, and they opened two stores,
one being at No. 154 North Avenue, and the
other at No. 700 Lincoln Avenue. Their brother,
Richard Otto, had charge of the former, and
after his death they sold the Lincoln Avenue
store.

In 1883 Mr. Rendtorff felt that he had earned
a vacation, and sailed for Europe in that year,
spending thirteen months in visiting England,
Ireland, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria,
Holland, Italy and Germany. On his return he
opened a jobbing house in stoves, at No. 16 Lake
Street, which he conducted until 1896, and then
sold out. In 1894, when Mr. Rendtorff began
building the present block at the corner of North
Avenue and Mohawk Street, the stock was
removed to No. 1 54 North Avenue, now conducted

by his brother, J. Christian, who owns it, the
partnership having been dissolved by mutual con-
sent in 1896.

Mr. Rendtorff has continued the manufacture
of stove-boards since he first established it, and
is now extensively engaged in the manufacture of
a patent milk -pail with a detachable strainer, and
a patent split-lock stove-pipe elbow. At present
he is giving all his attention to his manufacturing
interests, which are rapidly growing under his
prudent and energetic management. Thirty-five
men are employed in this business, and the
products are shipped to nearly every state in the
Union. His long business career in Chicago has
made him a wide acquaintance, and firmly estab-
lished his reputation as an upright and fair deal-
ing business man.

September 8, 1875, Mr. Rendtorff was married
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Miss Ida Stuetze, a
native of that city. Though not connected with
any religious organization, Mr. Rendtorff is a
supporter of all good works, and feels a keen in-
terest in the moral, social and material welfare of
the community in which he resides. His first pres-
idential vote was cast in Little Rock, Arkansas,
in 1864, for Abraham Lincoln, and he has since
supported the candidates of the Republican party.
He is a member of Hancock Post, No. 560,
Grand Army of the Republic, and is highly
esteemed by all classes of citizens because of his
genial manner and manly worth.

PETER JACKSON.

POSTER JACKSON, who is an old settler iii
LX Chicago, having lived here since 1870, was
|*3* born in September, 1852, in County Carlow,
Ireland, and is a son of William and Mary
(Wynne) Jackson, natives of that country. He
received his early education in his native land,

and improved his opportunities for advancement
in that country, but he was an ambitious youth
and not satisfied with his prospects there, so de-
cided to come to the new world.

Previous to the age of eighteen years he emi-
grated to the United States, coming direct to

T. L. KRAMER.

the "City by the Lake," which has since been
his residence. His brother James came to Chi-
cago and remained a short time, and another
brother, William J. , emigrated later, and located
in New York City, where he still resides. He
was formerly employed as a buyer by A. T.
Stewart.

Peter Jackson realized the advantage of contin-
uing at one trade through life, and accordingly
satisfied himself of his abilities for his life work
before beginning it. He decided to enter the
employ of a railroad corporation, and he was
compelled to begin with a small salary and a place
at the bottom round of the ladder. By his care-
ful study and attention to details, and his perse-
verance, he was able to advance to the responsi-

ble position of conductor, which position he held
for about eight years. He is now a stationary
engineer, and has the confidence and esteem of
his associates and fellow-citizens.

December 31, 1874, Mr. Jackson married Mary
Josephine Kilcran, a daughter of Frank Kilcran,
whose biography may be found on another page
of this book. They had eight children, six of
whom are living, namely: William, Mary, Sarah,
Jane, Frank and Ellen. Mr. Jackson, as well as
his parents and relatives in Ireland, are members
of the Episcopal Church. He is a true and loyal
citizen of the United States, and takes an interest
in the affairs of the country. In national politi-
cal matters he is a Republican, but is independ-
ent in local politics.

THEODORE L, KRAMER.

'HEODORE LALUCK KRAMER, a veter-
an of the Civil War, was born December 9,
1846, in Towanda, Bradford County, Penn-
sylvania, and is of German descent. His grand-
father, Abram Kramer, left Germany on account
of political trouble and his property was confis-
cated by the German Government.

Albert M. Kramer, father of Theodore, was
born in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, about
1822, and was a machinist for many years in
Towanda. He died at the age of sixty years, in
Ulster, in the same State. His wife, Carolina
Long, was a native of Fairmont, Luzerne County,
in that State, and was a daughter of Abram Long,
a farmer. She died about the year 1850, in To-
wanda.

Their son, Theodore L. Kramer, attended the
public schools of Towanda until he reached the
age of fourteen years, when he began work as an
iron moulder. Before the completion of his six-
teenth year he enlisted, September i, 1862, in a

militia regiment called to oppose the invasion of
Maryland by General Lee in that month. He
served thirty days at this time, and again for a
like period in the following year, when Pennsyl-
vania was invaded.

In December, 1863, he joined the One Hundred
Fifty-second Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, which
was stationed at [Fortress Monroe. On the
ist of February following, the One Hundred
Eighty-eighth Pennsylvania Infantry was formed
from volunteers from the One Hundred Fifty-
second Artillery, and Mr. Kramer was among
these, and was assigned to Company G. The
regiment became a part of the Eighteenth Corps,
under Gen. "Baldy" Smith, in the Army of
the James. The Tenth and Eighteenth Corps
were subsequently consolidated and made the
Twenty-fourth Corps. Mr. Kramer was dis-
charged, with his company and regiment, Decem-
ber 14, 1865, at City Point, Virginia.

During his service he participated in the follow-

T. L. KRAMER.

ing battles and skirmishes: Gettysburg, in Penn-
sylvania; Swift Creek and Proctor's Creek, Dru-
ry's Bluff, Petersburg, Deep Bottom, Cold Har-
bor, Assault of Petersburg, June 18, 1864, Mine
Explosion, July 30, 1864, Chapin's Farm and
Assault of Fort Harrison, Sailor's Creek and
Appomattox Court House, where Lee surren-
dered, in Virginia.

In the assault on Fort Harrison at Chapin's
Farm, September 28, 1864, Mr. Kramer distin-
guished himself in a manner which won the ap-
plause of all who witnessed his action, including
several field officers, and gained the thanks of
Congress, whose approval was made apparent by
conferring upon him a beautiful bronze medal.
The assaulting column, commanded by Gen. E.
O. C. Ord, was obliged to march one and one-
fourth miles in the face of a heavy artillery fire,
and the colors of the One Hundred Eighty-eighth
went down five times. On the fifth fall, young
Kramer ran forward, seized the flag and carried it
to the fort, where he turned it over to one of the
regular color guard. When the fort was reached
Kramer was the first to mount the wall, and
seized the standard of a Texas infantry regiment,
which formed a part of the garrison . He was at
once made the target of every rifle within the fort
which could be brought to bear upon him, and
four bullets pierced his blouse. On looking
around he discovered that not a single comrade
had followed his lead, and he at once threw him-
self down and, taking the captured flag along,
rolled back into the moat surrounding the fort,
which was at the time dry and afforded shelter to
the Union troops, as the guns could not be trained
low enough to molest them.

In a few moments they made a united attack
upon the fort, during which Private Kramer cap-
tured a lieutenant-colonel. The latter fired one
cartridge point blank at his captor, but missed,
and before he could again raise the hammer of
his pistol Kramer's musket was pressed against
his breast and he surrendered. For these brave
acts, which were witnessed by General Ord, Kra-
mer was recommended for gallantry to the War
Department, and received the "Medal of Honor"
with a letter of transmittal, as follows ;

WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT GENERAI/S OFFICE,

Washington, March 29, 1865.

Sir.

Herewith I enclose the Medal of Honor, which
has been awarded you by the Secretary of War,
under the Resolutions of Congress, approved July
12, 1862, "to provide for the presentation of
Medals of Honor to the enlisted men of the army
and volunteer forces who have distinguished or
may distinguish themselves in battle during the
present rebellion."

Please acknowledge the receipt of it.
Very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

E. D. TOWNSEND,
Assistant Adjutant General.
Private Theo. Kramer,

Company G, i88th Penna. Vols.

On the reverse of this medal is inscribed:

THE CONGRESS
to

PRIVATE THEODORE KRAMER,

Co. G,
1 88th PENNA. VOLS.

On the evening of September 28, 1864, follow-
ing the capture of Fort Harrison, Kramer was
one of the party of one hundred men sent by
General Ord to occupy a redoubt on the James
River. They were attacked by infantry in front,
while the enemy's gunboats kept up a fire in the
rear, from the river, and were all captured except
Kramer and one other, who escaped at great risk.
Thus was completed a day of most exciting and
important events in the career of Mr. Kramer.

After the close of the war, Mr. Kramer came to
Chicago and was employed as an iron moulder
until 1 880, when he was appointed a letter carrier,
through the influence of Gen. John A. Logan,
and has continued in that occupation ever since.
He is a member of George H. Thomas Post, No.
5, Grand Army of the Republic, and in politics
has always been a Republican. In 1875 he was

C. T. WHEELER.

made a Mason in Kilwinnig Lodge, No. 311, of
Chicago, and in 1878 was exalted to the supreme
degree of Royal Arch Masonry, in Sandwich
Chapter, No. 107, of Sandwich, Illinois.

In January, 1875, Mr. Kramer was married to
Miss Ida E. Vosburgh, of Chicago, a daughter of
Hiram A. Vosburgh, a painter of Janesville, Wis-

consin, where she was born. Her mother was
Sabra Doty, a member of a family prominent in
that place. Four sons and three daughters have
blessed the union, namely: Roy M., Carlisle L.,
Albert J., Jessie J., John A., Clara V. and Hazel
L. Mr. Kramer lives at No. 930 North Hoyne
Avenue in a pleasant home of his own.

CALVIN T. WHEELER.

QALVIN THATCHER WHEELER. Among
I C the old-time merchants and bankers of Chi-
\J cago who, by their firmness of character and
honesty of purpose, left the impress of integrity
in the volumes of unwritten history of our great
metropolis and reflected the beacon" light of our
commercial stability over the whole world, we
must count him whose name heads this article.

Mr. Wheeler was born in West Galway, New
York, and is a son of Luther and Mary (Belts)
Wheeler. His grandfather, Silas Wheeler, and
two brothers went from Massachusetts to Fulton
County, New York, and eventually removed to
Steuben County, in the same State, where a town
was named after them. They were known by the
people in the neighboring section for their thrift,
honor and fidelity.

Luther Wheeler was by trade a builder. He
was a good citizen, who was honored and respect-
ed by all classes. In his old age, he and his wife
removed to Amsterdam, New York, and here
they died nearly at the same time, both at about
the age of eighty years. Mrs. Wheeler was a
devout Presbyterian, being an active member of
the Church, and was the mother of five sons and
three daughters. Her father, Isaiah Belts, was
a lieutenant in the Revolutionary army.

Calvin T. Wheeler received his primary educa-
lion in Ihe common schools of New York and Il-

linois. He left New York al Ihe age of len years,
in Ihe company of his uncle, Dr. J. T. Belts, who
practiced his profession in Kaskaskia, Illinois,
where he sellled in 1818, being one of Ihe pioneer
physicians of the Slate. He hoped to make a
physician of Calvin T. Wheeler, but even al that
early age his nephew had a tasle for active busi-
ness life, and refused his uncle's offer to give him
a college education. Instead, he entered his un-
cle's store as a clerk. While al Kaskaskia he
altended school, and profited by the instruction of
Professor Loomis, a famous scholar and an honored
man. Kaskaskia was at that time the social cen-
ter of Ihe State, and many of the most prominent
men in Illinois were located there. His associa-
tions among Ihe people of Ihis town exerted a
life-long influence on Ihe career of Mr. Wheeler,
and his memory to-day is replete with pleasant
recollections of his early life in Ihe capital of
Illinois.

In the flood of 1844 the waters of the Kaskas-
kia and Mississippi Rivers rose lo such a height
thai Ihe nuns, teachers and pupils of the Convent
of the Sacred Heart, built by Pierre Menard, had
lo be rescued in boats and removed to Saint Louis,
where the convent now flourishes. Six months
previous to the flood Mr. Wheeler had removed
to Pekin, below Peoria, Illinois, where he was
engaged in business. From there he removed to

J. A. ERICKSON.

Saint Louis, where he secured a position as
clerk in the banking house of Clark & Milton-
berger.

In 1850 he took a trip to California, going to
New Orleans, and continuing the journey on a
large steamboat called the ' 'Georgia, ' ' which was,
according to custom in those days, commanded
by a naval officer, to Chagres, Central America.
The passengers were taken up the Chagres
River in canoes to the head of navigation. From
there they made their way over the mountains to
the Pacific coast, where they took a sailing vessel
at Panama, bound for San Francisco. The
journey lasted sixty days, and when Mr. Wheeler
arrived at the Golden Gate he at once set out for
the gold mines, by way of Sacramento. He en-
gaged in mining, and for a time was successful.
Then he sold out his interest and returned to Saint
Louis, where T. J. S. Flint made him a proposi-
tion to come to Chicago and open a commission
office under the name of Flint & Wheeler. He
did so, and the office was located near the Wells

Street bridge, their grain elevators being situated
on the South Branch of the Chicago River, where
the Rock Island elevators now stand.

Mr. Wheeler continued in the commission bus-
iness until he engaged in banking, in connection
with the firm of Chapin, Wheeler & Company,
which was located on the corner of Lake and
LaSalle Streets. After two years they transferred
their interests to W. F. Coolbaugh & Company.
This was just previous to the war, when the so-
called stump-tailed money was in circulation.

During the war Mr. Wheeler re-entered the
grain commission trade. When the Union Na-
tional Bank was organized, he was chosen First
Vice-President, and after the death of Mr. Will-
aim F. Coolbaugh he was elected president of
the bank. He continued in that capacity nearly
four years, at the end of which time he resigned
and organized the Continental National Bank.
He was president of this five years, and then re-
tired from business cares, at the close of a useful
and influential career.

JOHN A. ERICKSON.

(JOHN ALFRED ERICKSON, a contractor
I and builder, who resides in South Chicago,
C/ was born December 8, 1844, near Gutten-
burg, Sweden, and is a son of Eric Peterson and
Ella (Johnson) Peterson. He received his edu-
cation in his native country, and when he was
old enough, found employment at farm labor in
the region near his home. He was thus engaged
until 1870, when he married and settled in Lind-
holmen, near Guttenburg, where he became a
carpenter in a ship-yard. He remained here
from that time until 1881, and learned all the de-
tails of ship building, being able to construct an
entire vessel. He then emigrated to America
and settled in South Chicago.

On his arrival in this city he found employ-
ment as a carpenter, and because of his ability
and training he has followed this trade most suc-
cessfully. He soon engaged in contracting, and
has erected many buildings in South Chicago, the
first one being a residence for John Danielson, a
clothier, at Hoegswis, Illinois.

He was married October 30, 1870, to Miss
Louisa Larson, who is now visiting her relatives
and friends in Sweden. They have one child,
Charles Erickson. While Mr. Erickson has
learned to love the country of his adoption, he
still remembers the friends and associations of his
native country, and in 1894 he visited the scenes
of his boyhood, where his father, aged eighty-

THOMAS CARBINE.

five years, yet resides. He is a member of the
Swedish Lutheran Church.

On coming to South Chicago, Mr. Erickson
bought a lot at No. 8944 Houston Avenue, and
built a small house, where he resided until 1894,
and then erected a three-story brick building, at
a cost of seven thousand dollars. He has kept
his place in good repair, and has the finest prop-
erty in the neighborhood.

Mr. Erickson has reached his present prosper-
ity through his tireless energy and careful study
of all work going on in his sight. When in the
ship-yard at Guttenburg, he formed the habit of
learning the details of all that came under his
observation, and has always improved his other
opportunities in the same way. He has thus won
the respect and confidence of his patrons and as-
sociates.

THOMAS CARBINE.

"HOMAS CARBINE, an inventor, who re-
sides in Chicago, was born October 22, 1819,
in Manchester, England. The family were
well and favorably known in that country for
many generations, some being in the army, and
some being merchants. The grandfather of
Thomas Carbine, James Carbine, was a native of
England, and went to Jamaica on commercial
business, and there made his home thereafter. He
married there, and reared a large family of chil-
dren, one son being lost on the "Royal George."

His son James became a soldier, and for forty-
one years was an officer in the British Army. He
was an aide of the Duke of Wellington at Water-
loo and other battles. He was near the Duke
when he gave the famous order, "Advance the
guards," in a calm voice, and later when he
uttered the world-famed words, "Would to God
that night or Bluecher would come," He often
told the history of battles in which he had par-
ticipated to his children, and Thomas Carbine,
whose name heads this article, can relate them in
a most interesting manner. Captain Carbine was
retired on full pay, whereupon he bought a fine
black charger which he rode for twenty-one
years, and the noble animal died at the age of
thirty years.

Captain Carbine was married in Manchester,

England, where he died at the age of nearly
eighty years. His wife had been a teacher in a
private seminary. She was the mother of ten
sons and died in Manchester, aged seventy-
six years. Thomas Carbine was the only one of
the children to come to America.

Thomas Carbine was educated in Manchester,
and learned the trade of carpenter, and being
skillful as a mechanic he became an expert mill-
wright in America, where he constructed some im-
portant work in this line. He came to the
United States in 1840, being six weeks on the
journey. He located in Utica, Oneida County,
New York, which was then only a country
village, and remained there twelve years. He
came to Chicago in 1853, and in 1856 sold his
home in Utica and removed his family to Chicago.
Here he followed the bent of his inventive genius,
and took care of his real-estate interests, having
interested himself in property in the city.

While in Utica Mr. Carbine was able to render
some valuable assistance to the New York Central
Railroad Company, which paid him generously,
and has since given him free transportation. He
used the money received to purchase a lot and
build his residence. Mr. Carbine invented a
machine for winding balls of yarn without a
bobbin, for which he received a royalty of five

A. H. PERKINS.

thousand dollars, which he judiciously invested
in real estate in 1855. This formed the nucleus
of the prosperity which enabled him to retire
from the cares of business life, and spend the
latter part of his life in peace and comfort. He
also invented a process by which kerosene oil is
converted into a gas which may be used for heat-
ing purposes. The latter invention he never
patented, and humanity will receive the free gift
of his labors in this way.

Mr. Carbine was married in Manchester,
England, August 5, 1838, to Miss Sarah Brad-
bury, daughter of John and Frances Bradbury,
natives of England. She was born January 3,
1819, in the city where the marriage took place.
The two children now living are: Mary F. C.
and Charlotte E. P. Mary is the wife of

Frederich Bluhm, and Charlotte of James New-
brun. The latter has three children, namely:
Sadie, wife of Edward E. Reading; Arthur C.
and James C. Mr. and Mrs. Carbine are mem-
bers of the Episcopal Church.

For thirty-six years the former has been a mem-
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
and he is also connected with the Independent
Order of Recceabites, an order of total abstinence.
In his political views he is independent, and is a
good example of Chicago's substantial citizens.
In 1888 he and his wife celebrated their golden
wedding, and received a gold medal from the
German Old Settlers' Society for being the oldest
non-German couple on the picnic ground, their
combined ages amounting to one hundred fifty-
seven years.

AMOS H. PERKINS.

Gl MOS HENRY PERKINS was born in Nor-
J I wich, Connecticut, July 26, 1836, and was
/ I one of five children, three boys and two
girls. He was the son of Isaac and Nancy N.
(Allen) Perkins, and a direct descendant of
Miles Standish on his mother's side. Isaac
Perkins was a carpenter and builder, but died
when Amos was but ten years old.

The subject of this biography learned his
father's trade, but followed it for only a short
time. He was educated in his native place, and
at the age of twenty came to Chicago, and soon
afterward began taking contracts for paving, lay-
ing sidewalks and roofing. Mr. Perkins was a
man of more than average intelligence, and
became a shrewd, careful and successful business
man. He was one of the contractors who con-
structed La Salle Street tunnel. He continued
to be a large contractor in cedar blocks, asphalt
pavements and Portland cement walks, having

had contracts for this in most of the large cities
in the country. During the war he was a heavy
dealer in tar, and at one time controlled nearly
all of that product manufactured in the United
States.

Mr. Perkins was married July 20, 1874, to
Miss May, daughter of John and .Mary (De For-
est) Tristram, of Norwalk, Connecticut. They
had four children, Emery B., Lorenzo B., Mrs.
Nellie M. Harris and Mrs. Jennie C. Brown, the
latter being deceased.

Mr. Perkins attended Dr. Hillis' church at
Central Music Hall, and he was an exemplary
citizen and a good man. In his sphere he con-
tributed in no small degree toward making Chi-
cago the western metropolis of the United States.
He was widely known in the West, East and
South, and was beloved by all who came within
reach of his magnetic and benevolent influence.
He was the originator of the Western Paving

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

DR. JOHN O. HUGHES

(From Photo, by W. J. ROOT)

J. O. HUGHES.

Supply Company, and although V. W. Foster
was its president, he was its practical head and
manager. -

He was a member of Covenant Lodge, No. 526,
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and of
Corinthian Chapter, No. 69, Royal Arch Masons.
In politics he was a Republican. He died sud-
denly, of apoplexy, at the age of sixty-one
years, and at the time of his death was vice-
president of the Western Paving Supply Com-
pany. He had the universal respect of all
representative elements of the city. Mrs. Perkins
is an intellectual and accomplished woman and

made for her husband the home which he prized
so dearly, and which by her management always
remained to him a haven of rest and comfort,
where he ever found recreation from the cares of
his ever-increasing business, and where he loved
to entertain the friends who knew him best and
loved him most. His was a most active and
useful life, and although called away seemingly
before his time, he accomplished much more than
others do in a longer space of time, and, best of
all, leaves to his posterity and friends an untar-
nished name that will be remembered by future
generations.

JOHN O. HUGHES.

HOHN OWEN HUGHES, M. D., who has an
I extensive practice in Norwood Park and
G/ vicinity, was born November 12, 1838, in
New Brunswick, New Jersey, and is the second
child of Owen and Catherine Hughes. Owen
Hughes was for many years superintendent of a
coal yard in that place, where he and his wife
died. They were the parents of five children,
only two of whom, John O. and Catherine, came
to the West. The others are: Kirkpatrick, who
died in Elizabeth, New Jersey; Catherine, a
resident of Chicago; James, who has charge of the
packing room of a rubber factory in New Bruns-
wick, New Jersey; and Frank, superintendent of
construction of boats in the Government^employ.
John Owen Hughes became an orphan at an
early age, and in his youth had very little educa-
tion, being obliged to begin the battle of life when
only a boy. His ambition was not satisfied by
the employment he was able to find, and he
wished for greater attainments than his limited
opportunities for improvement had given him.
He spent his leisure hours in study, and was thus
able to obtain a teacher's certificate. He came

to Chicago at the age of twenty, and taught in
several parts of Illinois, occupying his spare mo-
ments with the study of medicine. Thus his
youth was spent in a struggle for advancement,
and he formed habits of thought and application
that have been retained in his after life.

In 1862 Mr. Hughes enlisted in the One Hun-
dred Third Illinois Volunteers, Company D, join-
ing the Fifteenth Army Corps. This was the
corps commanded by General Sherman, and with
him Mr. Hughes continued until the close of the
struggle. He was present in many important
engagements, among them the Atlanta Campaign
and the March to the Sea and through the Caro-
linas. After Mr. Hughes had been with the
army six months, he was placed in the medical
department, where he remained, doing surgical
work on the battlefield, such as dressing wounds
temporarily, and preparing men for the operating
board.

At the close of the war Mr. Hughes entered
Rush Medical College, and graduated in 1868,
since which time he has practiced his profession.
In 1873 he located in Norwood Park, which has

F. W. PARKER.

since been his place of residence. He acquired a
large practice there and in neighboring villages,
which has been principally attended to at his
office for several years, and built a handsome
residence in 1882.

May 12, 1868, he married Mary V. Hartough,
a native of Fairview, Fulton County, Illinois,
and a daughter of Henry and Catherine (Vander-
veer) Hartough, both of whom are natives of
New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes had four

children, namely: Frank, who was drowned at the
age of fifteen years; Kate Hazeltine, who resides
with her parents; Martha Lilian, who died when
six years old; and Edwin, who lives at home.
Mr. Hughes is a man of progressive ideas, of
broad intellect, and feels a warm interest in the
public welfare. He is a member of the American
Reformed Church of Norwood Park, and a valiant
supporter of the principles of the Republican
party.

FRANCIS W. PARKER.

r~RANCIS WAYLAND PARKER, who car-
fri ried the Cook County Normal School to a
| ' high degree of usefulness and is known
among educators all over the United States and
in many parts of Europe, is still a student and is
active in promoting the cause of primary educa-
tion. Colonel Parker disclaims utterly all pre-
tensions to having found any new methods or
principles of education. His only claim has
been and is that he is trying himself to study
the great subject of education in its applica-
tion in the common schools, and to lead other
teachers to study this great subject. He has a
firm and unalterable faith in the common school
system; he believes that the common schools will
be brought to a point of efficiency equal to the
demands of this great Republic; that the salva-
tion and perpetuity of the Republic depend upon
the proper education of the children.

Francis W. Parker was born October 9, 1837,
in the village of Piscataquog, Town of Bedford,
New Hampshire, which has since been swallowed
up in the neighboring city of Manchester.
Col. John Goff, one of the ancestors of the
subject of this notice, was the first settler on the
present site of Manchester, and several local
names still preserve his memory. His son,

Maj. John Goff, was an officer of the Revolution-
ary army, and was the great-great-grandfather of
Colonel Parker. Colonel John Goff was a famous
hunter, was an officer at the siege of Louisburg,
and active in the French and Indian war. Being
too old to participate actively in the Revolution-
ary struggle, he yet acted an important part in
training Generals Sullivan and John Stark in
military tactics and preparing them for the duties
which they so well performed. The family of
Goff is supposed to be closely allied to that of
Goff the regicide, made famous by the pen of
Sir Walter Scott.

William Parker, grandfather of the subject of
this sketch, was a drummer under Gen. John Stark
at Bunker Hill, and served through the Revolu-
tion as a soldier. He was founder of the village
at the mouth of the river Piscataquog, called
Squog by the people, where excellent rafting and
harbor privileges were found for the navigators of
the river Merrimac.

Three ancestors of Colonel Parker, a Rand, a
Goff and a Parker, were buried on Copp's Hill,
the graveyard of the Old North Church in Bos-
ton. All were members of Cotton Mather's
church. His maternal grandfather, Jonathan
Rand, was the first recorded teacher at Old Der-

F. W. PARKER.

ry field, now known as the city of Manchester.
Ministers and teachers were numerous among the
ancestors of Colonel Parker. His mother, Milly
Rand, was a teacher, said to practice original
methods with great success. Her grandfather
was a graduate of Harvard College, a classmate
of John Hancock, and many years librarian at
Harvard. John, brother of Milly Rand, was a
famous portrait painter and inventor of the me-
tallic tube, now in general use, for holding paints
and oils.

Robert Parker, son of William, was a cabinet-
maker, noted in the section where he lived for
his excellent work. He was an ardent adherent
of the Baptist faith, and named his son in honor
of the famous Dr. Francis Wayland, president of
Brown University. He died when this son was
but six years of age.

The latter attended the school of his native vil-
lagfe when he was three years old, having pre-
viously learned to read, and entered the local
academy at the age of seven. When eight years
old he read in Porter's Rhetorical Reader, had
been through Colburn's Arithmetic, and was
taken from school and bound out to William
Moore of Goffstown. He spent five years upon a
farm, being privileged to attend school only eight
or nine weeks in the winter, but considers this
one of the most fortunate periods in his primary
training. At the age of thirteen years he left
the farm and entered the academy at Mount
Vernon, New Hampshire. Here he worked his
way along by sawing wood and performing
various sorts of manual labor. With the addi-
tional money earned on farms in summer he was
enabled to pay his expenses at school in winter,
and this hard experience served to develop the
most sturdy habits of self-reliance and industry.

When he was sixteen years old he attended
Hopkinton Academy, and in the winter of 1854-55
he taught school at Corser Hill, now called Web-
ster, New Hampshire. At a salary of fifteen dol-
lars per month, he presided over a school includ-
ing seventy-five pupils, many of them older than
himself. The following winter he taught school
in Auburn, New Hampshire, and such was his
success that he was employed several successive

winters in that town. His first winter's salary
was eighteen dollars a month, and this included
board on the old-fashioned system of "boarding
'round."

By continuing his plan of farm labor in sum-
mer, teaching and attending school, he came, at
the attainment of his majority, to the charge of
the village school in Hinsdale, New Hampshire,
and was subsequently at the head of the grammar
school of his native village.

In 1858 he went to Carrollton, Green County,
Illinois, where, with one assistant, in one room,
he superintended the instruction of one hundred
and twenty-five pupils, ranging in age from
twelve to twenty-five years. Without striking a
blow he continued to manage this school two
years, where two of his predecessors had been
driven out by the insubordination of the pupils.

True to his inherited martial instincts, young
Parker sought to enter the service of his country
immediately upon the outbreak of hostilities in
the Civil War, which occurred while he was at
Carrollton. Being unable to secure admission
to an Illinois regiment, he returned to his native
state and at once entered the Fourth New Hamp-
shire Regiment as a private. Before the regiment
was mustered he was elected first lieutenant of
Company E, and in the following winter was
made captain. The first three years of the war
were spent by this command at various points
along the Atlantic Coast, in Florida, Georgia and
South Carolina, participating in the long siege of
Charleston.

Early in 1864 the regiment was placed in the
command of General Butler at Bermuda Hun-
dred, and Colonel Parker was in several great
battles during the long campaign of 1864. At
Drury's Bluff he lost twenty-eight of his forty-
two men. The regiment was under General
Grant at Cold Harbor, and took part in the siege
of Petersburg. In the Crater fight the Fourth
New Hampshire lost fifty men, and immediately
thereafter Captain Parker was placed in com-
mand. August 16, 1864, at Deep Bottom, he
was suddenly called to the command of a brigade,
and was severely wounded in the chin and neck
while engaged in repelling a second charge of the

F. W. PARKER.

enemy. For many weeks he lay in the hospital,
suffering from a crushed windpipe. In the spring
of this year his regiment numbered a full one
thousand men, and only forty could be mustered
at the last charge in the fall.

In October, 1864, he was able to leave the
hospital and go home to recuperate. He was
active in the presidential campaign of that year,
and in December was married to Miss Phene E.
Hall, of Bennington, New Hampshire. Having
been promoted to lieutenant-colonel, he joined his
regiment after the battle of Fort Fisher, succeed-
ing Colonel Bell, who fell in the first attack upon
the fort. He marched with General Scofield
across North Carolina to meet Sherman. Soon
after the junction of forces was made at Cox's
Bridge, Colonel Parker was made a prisoner and
taken to Greensburg, North Carolina, where he
first learned of the failure of armed rebellion,
through the surrender of General Lee. For his
bravery at Deep Bottom he was made a brevet-
colonel.

Colonel Parker was mustered out with his
command in August, 1865, and immediately took
the position of principal of the grammar school at
Manchester, New Hampshire, which he held
three years, at a salary of eleven hundred dollars
per year. Despite his aversion he was drawn
into politics, and determined to move in order to
avoid his mistaken friends, for he felt sure he
could not succeed in politics and teaching at the
same time. He felt that teaching was his mission,
aud proceeded to Dayton, Ohio, where he was
engaged as a teacher. Here he began to put in
practice some of his ideas of reform in education,
and, in spite of opposition from parents and
teachers, was sustained by the Board of Educa-
tion. In 1871 he took the position of assistant
superintendent of the schools of Minneapolis,
Minnesota. During this year his wife died, and
he resigned his position and went to Europe to
study the science of education.

He spent two and one-half y ears in the Univer-
sity of Berlin, Germany, and also took a course
of two years in philosophy under a private tutor.
During his vacations he visited the schools and
art galleries of the continent and made a study of

European geography and history, and returned
to America in 1875. His trip abroad was under-
taken largely to satisfy himself whether his ideas
were in conformity with those of the great
thinkers of the world, and he came back fully
confirmed in his theories.

In April, 1875, he was made superintendent of
the city schools of Quincy, Massachusetts, which
were then in charge of a board, including John
Quincy Adams, Charles Francis Adams and
James H. Slade. The board gave him full
authority and co-operated with him in his labors
of re-organization. Much opposition was en-
countered on the part of teachers, and the con-
troversy attracted thirty thousand visitors to ob-
serve the workings of the schools of Quincy
during the three years Colonel Parker was in
charge. In 1880 he was made one of the super-
visors of schools in Boston, where he again met
opposition from teachers and principals, but he
was re-elected. He was offered the superintend-
ency of schools at Philadelphia, but refused this
to accept the position of principal of the Cook
County Normal School.

Here was opportunity to exercise his talent for
training teachers, and here he could get near to
the children, whom he wished to reach and bene-
fit. He entered upon his duties January i, 1883,
and met once more the antagonism of teachers
and conservative citizens. But results soon began
to demonstrate to these the wisdom of his scien-
tific theories, and he was heartily sustained by
the school board, and the institution was placed
in successful operation in spite of politicians and
other enemies to progress.

Colonel Parker is the author of "Talks on
Teaching, ' ' ' 'Practical Teacher, ' ' ' 'How to Study
Geography," "Outlines in Geography," tract
on "Spelling," and "Talks on Pedagogics. " He
has visited every state in the Union, and lectured
before institutes and conventions in most of them.
A few of his lectures may be here mentioned:
' 'The Child and Nature, ' ' ' 'The Child and Man , ' '
"Artist or Artisan Which?" "Home and
School," "The Ideal School," "Education and
Democracy." He is also the editor of a unique
publication called the "Cook County Normal

COL. VICTOR GERARDIN.

School Envelope," which shows the development
of concentration in the Cook County Normal
School, month by month.

In December, 1882, he was married to Mrs. M.
Frank Stuart, the first assistant in the Boston
School of Oratory. Mrs. Parker is a leading ex-
ponent of the Delsarte system of expression, and
is a faithful coadjutor of her husband in his noble
plans for benefiting the human race. Their

home on Honore Street, Englewood, bears many
evidences of her artistic taste in architecture and
furnishings. Its library contains over four thous-
and volumes, including many in the Norwegian,
French, Dutch, German, Italian and Indian
languages, which the Colonel reads readily.
The lawns and extensive garden furnish him
with physical exercise, by way of rest from his
mental and literary labors.

COL. VICTOR GERARDIN.

EOL. VICTOR GERARDIN, known in Chi-
cago as the "Father of the French," was
born February 17, 1832, in Baccarat, France,
where his father, Joseph Gerardin, was a farmer.
The father of the latter, who bore the same name,
followed the same avocation in the same locality.
The mother of the subject of this sketch, Agatha
Math, was a native of the same place, and, like
her husband, was a scion of a family that has re-
sided there since the eleventh century. Joseph
Gerardin, junior, served under the great Napo-
leon during the last two years of his campaigning
in Europe.

Victor Gerardin was the thirteenth child of his
parents and was deprived of his mother by death
when he was but three years old. For six years,
until he was twelve years of age, he attended the
village school and then came to America with a
sister who was married. He arrived in New
York on the ist of April, 1844, and went to
work the next day in a glass factory, where he
continued one year. He then entered into an
apprenticeship at the hatter's trade, which he
continued until he attained his majority. During
his early apprenticeship his salary was not suffi-
cient for his maintenance, and he supported him-
self by selling papers and blacking boots in New
York City. He did not neglect at the same time to
improve his mind, and rapidly gained a mastery
of the English language.

In 1854 he came to Chicago and engaged in
business with a partner, the firm being known as
Grosset & Gerardin. The senior partner died in
1877, and Mr. Gerardin has continued the busi-
ness of hatter alone ever since. He was the first
in Chicago to engage in the manufacture of silk
hats, and is now the oldest artisan in that line in
the city. In the Great Fire of 1871 all his real
and personal property went up in smoke. He
continued business, however, opening first in the
house of a friend within ten days after the fire;
and eventually paid in full every dollar of claims
against him. His first place of business was on
South Water Street, where he continued three
years, and afterwards remained on La Salle Street
between Randolph and Lake Streets, until the
fire. For one year thereafter he was located on
Canal Street, and has continued ever since at his
present location on Clark Street, near Monroe.
He was an extensive manufacturer, and previous
to the panic of 1873 turned out enough hats to
supply the present trade of the Northwest.

Mr. Gerardin has ever been active in promoting
social and benevolent labors and has been a mem-
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since
he was old enough to be eligible, having been
initiated in Sincerite Lodge No. 233, of New York
City, on the day he became of age. In Chicago
he was for many years a member of Union Lodge
No. 9, and left that to become a charter member

J. M. KENNEDY.

of Rochambeau Lodge No. 532, the only lodge in
Chicago working in the French language, of
which he was the principal organizer. This is
one of the six lodges in the United States work-
ing in that language, and was instituted Novem-
ber 12, 1873.

From the ist of March, 1859, Mr. Gerardin or-
ganized the French Mutual Society (Societe Fran-
caise de Secours Mutuels) and was its first presi-
dent, filling that position for twelve consecutive
terms. In 1861 he organized the Societe de
Bienifaisance, of which he was president at
the time of the fire in 1871. After that calam-
ity this society distributed fifteen thousand francs
to the sufferers. In 1886 Mr. Gerardin or-
ganzed the Cercle Francais, of Chicago. All
these societies are still in existence except
the benevolent society, which was merged in
the others when it had accomplished its pur-
pose, after the fire. One of Mr. Gerardin's
most highly prized treasures is an autograph let-
ter from the wife of Marshal McMahon, who was
president of the French relief society, acknowl-
edging the receipt of funds sent from Chicago for
the relief of the French flood sufferers, while
McMahon was president of the French Republic.

While a resident of New York City Mr. Ger-
ardin served from 1852 until 1854 as a volunteer
fireman with Engine Company No. 1 1 . He has
been a member of the Grand Lodge of Illinois,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, since 1877.

In religious faith he adheres to the Roman Cath-
olic Church. He was a Republican up to the
Cleveland-Elaine campaign of 1884, since which
time he has adhered to the Democratic party.
October 18, 1876, he was commissioned colonel of
the "Hayes & Wheeler Minute Men of '76," on
the staff of Gen. John McArthur. During the
Civil War he was an ardent supporter of the ad-
ministration, and an intense patriot. During the
World's Fair he had charge of the Parisian Hat-
ters' Exhibit, and had previously served as a
member of the committee of one hundred, ap-
pointed by Mayor Cregier. to secure the location
of that exhibit in Chicago.

He re-visited France in 1864, and again during
the Franco-Prussian War, and on the last trip
made a tour of England and Ireland. In Janu-
ary, 1859, he was married to Marion, eldest
daughter of John Magee, of Belfast, Ireland (for
genealogy, see biography of Charles D. Magee,
in this volume). Five of the nine children of
Mr. Gerardin are now deceased. The names of
all in order of birth, are: Minnie, Rea, Agatha,
Eliza, Victor, Joseph, Walter, Emile and Esther.
The third, sixth and seventh died within a period
of two weeks, in the year 1875, of diphtheria, and
are buried in Graceland Cemetery. Eliza died in
1867, and Emile in 1884. Mr. Gerardin has
lived for the last fourteen years in his present
residence, which is located at No. 1128 North
Halsted Street.

JOHN M. KENNEDY.

QOHN MCMILLAN KENNEDY, for many

I years a business man of Chicago, now living
O in retirement at Oak Park, was born in the
Parish of Colmonell, Ayrshire, Scotland, Feb-
ruary 26, 1815. His parents were Alexander
Kennedy and Elizabeth McMillan. The former

was a farmer, a tenant on the family estate which
was inherited by his eldest brother. He was
born April 7, 1772, and died December 14, 1871,
thus lacking only four months of being one hun-
dred years old. He was the father of twelve
children, of whom the following is the record:

J. M. KENNEDY.

Margaret is the widow of Rev. Andrew Mc-
Dowell and resides at Stirling, Scotland; David
inherited the family estate, which consists of one
thousand five hundred acres, and also the title of
Laird of Craig; John M. is the subject of this
sketch; Anthony M. was a merchant and planter
in Camden, South Carolina, where he died De-
cember 17, 1892; Sarah is the widow of George
McAdam and resides in Rickton, Scotland; Robert
was a merchant in Camden, South Carolina,
where he died in 1896; Mary became the wife of
David Denholm, and died in Chicago in 1854;
Alexander died in 1852, in England; Elizabeth
died in Scotland in 1861; Agnes, wife of David
Thorburn, resides at Newton Stewart, Scotland;
Jane died at the age of twelve years; and James
died at his native place, aged twenty-one years.
John M. Kennedy received a common-school
education in Scotland, and at the age of fifteen
years, in company with his younger brother,
Anthony, sailed from Greenock, Scotland, Oc-
tober 10, 1830, in the good ship "Rogers Stewart"
for America. After a voyage of fifty days they
arrived at Savannah, Georgia, and proceeded by
steamer to Augusta, in the same State, and
thence by stage to Camden, South Carolina.
There they joined a cousin, a merchant, who
gave them employment as clerks. The elder
brother remained until March 24, 1834, when,
in company with Frederick Witherspoon, he
made the journey to Fox River, Illinois, on
horseback, a distance of one thousand two hun-
dred and forty-four miles. On Big and Little
Rock Creeks, in what is now Kendall County,
they located farms, and there Mr. Kennedy car-
ried on farming until November, 1848. At that
date he removed to Chicago, and from 1849 to
1852 was engaged in the lumber business. From
1852 to 1857 he did a commission business, which
proved very successful, but his accumulations
were swept away in the panic of 1857. During
the terms of John Wentworth and John C.
Haines as mayors of Chicago, from 1857 to 1860,
he served as chief of police with much credit,
and was urged to serve longer, but refused. For
the next five years he was employed by Howe &
Robbins, grain dealers, and from 1865 to 1878

dealt in lime as city salesman. In the last-named
year he accepted the position of weigh-master on
the Chicago & Alton Railroad, which he held
until 1887, when advancing years compelled him
to resign. Since that time he has been living in
the enjoyment of the period of rest and recreation
to which his long years of usefulness so eminently
entitle him. In 1890 he built the pleasant cot-
tage he now occupies at Oak Park, which has
since been his home.

Mr. Kennedy is one of the few men living who
have witnessed the entire growth of Chicago as a
city. On his first visit to that place he con-
sidered it a very undesirable place to live, but later
made it his home, wishing to secure skilled
medical care for his wife, who was then an invalid.
He was afterwards induced to remain in order to
gain educational advantages for his children. His
reminiscences of early Chicago are very interest-
ing. Though he has passed his eighty-second
birthday anniversary, his memory is excellent,
and he recalls the events of his youth and early
manhood quite as clearly as those of more recent
occurrence. In earlier years he was opposed to
the extension of slavery, and was successively a
Whig and a Republican. He cast his first
vote for President in 1836, and has therefore
voted in sixteen presidential elections. In re-
ligious views he has been a lifelong Baptist, and
united with the Tabernacle Church of Chicago in
1851. He was a member of this church forty
years, though it was afterwards named the
Second Baptist Church. For ten years he served
as deacon in this organization. Since 1891 he
has been connected with the First Baptist Church
of Oak Park,

March 30, 1837, Mr. Kennedy was married to
Eliza Ann Rogers, a native of Camden, South
Carolina, and a daughter of Alexander and Mary
(Kelso) Rogers. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers were both
natives of Pennsylvania, the former of Irish and
the latter of Scotch descent. Seven children
were born of this union, as follows: Mary, now
the widow of Samuel Ludington, resides with her
father; Elizabeth, who was for thirty-eight years
a teacher in Chicago, but now retired, also re-
sides with her father; Alexander is in the insur-

HENRY WINKELMAN.

ance business in Chicago; Anthony is chief grain
inspector of Boston, Massachusetts; John, James
and Walter died in childhood. Mrs. Kennedy
died in 1851. The subject of this notice was
married a second time October 20, 1852, to Rosetta
E. Hamilton, a daughter of David and Jerusha
(Hulet) Hamilton. Mrs. Kennedy was born
near Aurora, Erie County, New York. Her
parents removed to Illinois in 1838. Seven chil-
dren were born of this marriage, as follows:
David, who is a member of the real-estate firm of
Kennedy & Ballard of Chicago, and resides at

Oak Park; William E., a railroad man on the
Union Pacific Railroad; Hulbert, Ellen Eliza,
Albert and Charles died in infancy; Robert B. is
employed with his brother in Oak Park, where
he resides. The mother departed this life Jan-
uary 23, 1892. Mr. Kennedy is blessed by
twenty-seven grandchildren and eight great-
grandchildren. He has also cared for two orphan
nieces, Mary L- Goff, now the widow of John J.
Kott, and Agnes D. Kennedy, now Mrs. Frank
M. Crittenden, both of whom reside in the city
of Chicago.

HENRY WINKELMAN.

HENRY WINKELMAN was born January
3, 1847, in Tedinghausen, Braunschweig,
Germany, and is a son of Henry and Eliza-
beth (Klueber) Winkelman, neither of whom
ever came to America. John Winkelman, brother
of the subject of this sketch, came to America
in 1861 and settled in Baltimore, Maryland. His
sympathies were on the side of the South in the
great civil strife, and he enlisted in the Confed-
erate army, and was killed during the war. Mary
Winkelman, his sister, came to America in 1863,
and afterwards married Henry Kassens. She and
her husband reside at Colehour. Henry Win-
kelman served in the cavalry service of Germany.
He came to America in 1875, and in 1878 went
to South Chicago, where he now resides.

Henry Winkelman received all his education
in his native country, where he remained until
he was nearly twenty years old. The example
of his older brother and his sister gave him the
desire to come to this country, and when he was
able to do so, he emigrated. He reached New
York in July, 1866, and located in Brooklyn,
where he remained until 1 88 1, being employed

by a grocer until 1872, when he engaged in busi-
ness for himself, conducting a meat market.

In 1881 Mr. Wiukelnian came to South Chi-
cago and opened a meat market at No. 10026
Ewing Avenue. Later he bought some property
a few doors away and moved his business, and in
1884 he bought property at No. 9801 Ewing
Avenue. He moved his business to this place,
where he has conducted it since that time, and in
1895 he built the comfortable brick flat which he
occupies.

In 1872 Mr. Winkelman married his first wife,
Margaret Kolenberg, of Germany, but she died
when they had been married less than two years.
They had one child, who died when an infant.
In 1876 he married his second wife, Miss Annie
Kleemeyer.

Mr. Winkelman has become well acquainted
with the customs of his adopted country, whose
interest he has at heart. In politics he does not
follow party lines and prejudices, but votes for
the man rather than for the party. He is a suc-
cessful business man and enjoys the respect of his
friends and neighbors.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

HENRY C. FRICKK

(From Photo, by W. J. ROOT)

H. C. FRICKE.

HENRY C FRICKE.

HENRY CHRISTIAN FRICKE, a vener-
able pioneer of Chicago, was born August i,
1815, in Springe, Hanover, Germany. His
parents were Gottlieb and Mary (Ohm) Fricke,
also natives of Springe, which is an ideal town,
surrounded by mountains and having its own
municipal government. The ancestry of Mr.
Fricke dates back many centuries, its members
having lived in the quaint little town of Springe,
where they held positions of responsibility and
led upright and useful lives, and were educated
according to the opportunities of their times.

Mr. Fricke's grandfather was a man of affairs,
and occupied and tilled an estate of two thousand
acres, for which he paid a yearly rental of two
thousand German thalers to the King of Hano-
ver. He was well educated, was a brainy man,
of good executive ability, and reared a large fam-
ily in the good customs of the country. His son,
Gottlieb, succeeded to the homestead, and gradu-
ally paid off the other heirs. He was industrious
and frugal, and reared a family of ten children,
two of whom, Henry C. Fricke and the youngest
daughter. Louise Tamcke, now reside in Chicago.

The subject of this sketch received the educa-
tion afforded by his native town, and, being fond
of study, made the best of his opportunities. He
was gifted with excellent musical faculties, and
was wont to associate with the best elements of
society there, in the study of his favorite art. He
became an expert performer on the spinnet, an
instrument which was superseded by the piano,
and he was among the musical leaders of the place.

When it became necessary for him to select
a vocation in life, he decided to become an ac-

countant. He was elected to the office of city
treasurer for life, and was subsequently elected
burgomaster of Springe, but the Government re-
fused to confirm this, because of his free expres-
sion of liberal views during the stormy days of
1848. He was too democratic for happy life un-
der a monarchy, and by this oppressive act Han-
over lost a good citizen, while the United States
was thereby a gainer. Although the ties which
bound him to his native land were strong, he de-
termined to seek his fortune in the new world.

May 8, 1853, he left Springe and arrived in
Chicago July 24 of the same year. In the fol-
lowing November his wife, Fredericka (born Ho-
bein), followed with their five children. He soon
found employment as bookkeeper in a small shop
on La Salle Street, near the present south entrance
to the tunnel. The cholera attacked his employ-
ers, Braunhold & Sonne, and the care of the en-
tire business fell upon Mr. Fricke for a time.
Soon after, through the friendship of George
Schneider, the well-known ex-banker, he received
the appointment of delivery clerk in the foreign
mail department of the postoffice, a position for
which his education and previous business expe-
rience especially fitted him. George B. Arm-
strong, who has left the impression of his genius
on the mail service of the United States and the
world, never to be effaced, was then assistant
postmaster, and became a warm friend of Mr.
Fricke.

The latter served faithfully in the postoffice
seven years, and then entered into a partnership
with Dr. Julius Lubarsch, taking a one-third in-
terest in the business of Dr. Lubarsch. Mr.

3 2

G. W. WIEDHOF.

Fricke became business manager and conducted
matters satisfactorily to all concerned from Feb-
ruary, 1861, to January 2, 1872, when he bought
out the interest of Dr. Lubarsch, and subsequently
acquired the one-third interest of Dr. Louis Coni-
itti, who had superintended the medical depart-
ment of the business. The latter interest was
conferred upon Mr. Fricke's son, Dr. Gustav H.
Fricke, who had just completed his medical edu-
cation at Rush Medical College.

In 1882 Mr. Fricke was seized with writer's
paralysis, and turned over the entire management
of business to his son. In July of that year he
set out for a trip to Europe, accompanied by his
daughter, Augusta, who much enjoyed the visit
to her father's native home. It was a memorable
trip for both.

In 1870 Mr. Fricke moved on fifty acres of
land in Maine Township, one mile west of Park
Ridge. He gradually improved it until it became
a park farm, and was a happy gathering place for
his children and grandchildren. In course of
time he invested in city real estate, including a
valuable property on Clark Street, near Goethe,

and three houses on Superior Street. Since No-
vember 5, 1896, he has lived in one of these, and
has made a charming miniature garden in the
rear, where he enjoys a well-earned rest from the
toils of a long and busy life. He is well known
to a large number of Chicagoans as an industri-
ous, kind-hearted man, who loves to entertain
his friends and relatives, and is a most excellent
type of the thrifty German-American citizen.

Mr. Fricke was married February 17, 1839, in
Springe, to Miss Fredericka Hobein, who was a
woman of fine qualities, and proved a worthy
helpmeet to her husband. She died November 3,
1895, and was buried in Graceland Cemetery.
After her death Mr. Fricke's youngest sister cared
for his household until his return from the farm
to the city. His children are named in order of
birth: Mary, Mrs. Oscar Margraff"; Emma, wife
of George Wittbold, whose biography will be
found in this volume; Sophia, Mrs. Adolph Gar-
the; Dr. Gustav H. Fricke; and Augusta, wife
of George Garland. Besides these five children,
Mr. Fricke is proud of twenty -four grandchildren
and seven great-grandchildren.

GEORGE W. WIEDHOF.

JO)EORGE WHITTINGTON WIEDHOF

I was born December 25, 1874, at No. 1402
vj Dunning Street, Chicago, and is the son of
Alfred H. and Bertha A. Wiedhof. His great-
grandfather was a general under Napoleon Bona-
parte, and was of Polish birth. He had previous-
ly served in the Russian army, but at the begin-
ning of trouble between Russia and Poland he
took sides with his native country, and later
went to France and served until the downfall and
exile of the Emperor. He shared the troubles
of Napoleon, and when he was sent to St. Helena,

Mr. Wiedhof and his wife, who was a Spanish lady,
were on board the ship, called "Bellerophon."
It was on this journey that their son, grandfather
of George W. Wiedhof, was born. Mr. Wied-
hof returned to Europe later, settling in Eng-
land, which country the family adopted until
A. H. Wiedhof emigrated to America in 1854.
He is a contractor and builder, and still resides
in Chicago, being now sixty years old, and a hale
and stalwart man.

George W. Wiedhof received his early educa-
tion in the common schools of the North Side in

G. H. BALL.

Chicago, and later graduated from the Lake View
High School. His education was completed by
a course in dentistry at the Northwestern Univer-
sity, and previous to his graduation he assisted
some of the most prominent dentists in the city.
When only twenty-one 3~ears of age, he estab-
lished himself in the profession, and has a rapid-
ly growing practice. His best efforts are in crown
and bridge work and in gold filling, in which
line he has made a good reputation. Dr. Wiedhof
was formerly a member of various military com-

panies, but of late years has been too busily en-
gaged in his business to retain his interest in them.
In political affairs Dr. Wiedhof has very liberal
views, and he always takes great interest in ben-
efiting his fellow-men. He is connected with
several social societies, in all of which he is a
genial and influential member. He is one of the
rising business men of the city, but has many
outside interests, and keeps informed on all sub-
jects, which enables him to be a brilliant conver-
sationalist and a genial companion.

GODFREY H. BALL,

Y HO WITT BALL, a prominent
business man of Chicago, identified in many
ways with its commercial and social inter-
ests, is descended from an old family prominent
in the military affairs of Great Britain. He was
born February 15, 1853, in the city of Melbourne,
Australia, being the son of Capt. George Pal-
mer Ball of the British army.

The latter was in the East India service, and
for meritorious conduct was made a captain at
the early age of twenty-three years, and served
all through the terrible Indian mutiny. His
wife, Isabella Ball, was a daughter of Col.
Robert Hazelwood, who served in India under Sir
Arthur Wellesley, afterwards Du'ke of Welling-
ton. While in India, Colonel Hazelwood was
stationed most of the time at Madras (where Mrs.
Ball was born), but saw some very hard fighting
during the mutiny. When Captain Ball retired
from the service, he went with his family to live
in Australia. One of his sons, Albert T. Ball,
who settled in that country, was killed with his
wife, in a terrible railroad accident, which oc-
curred at MacKay, June 14, 1897.

When the subject of this sketch was four years
of age his parents went to England, and after

residing one year in Liverpool, came to America.
In 1858 they settled on a farm in Smithtown,
Long Island, forty-three miles from Brooklyn.
The father was a highly educated man, a graduate
of Dublin University, and from him the son re-
ceived his primary education. During his youth
he worked on his father's farm and spent con-
siderable time in hunting and fishing. In the
year 1863 the family moved to Brooklyn and he
completed his education in the public schools of
that city.

At the age of fifteen years he entered the em-
ploy of Jabez A. Bostwick, of New York, after-
ward well known as one of the leading spirits of
the Standard Oil Trust, and continued in his
service two or three years. He next spent one
year in the service of a man named Warner, in
the custom-house business, at New York. His
next engagement was in the capacity of private
secretary to Walter Brown, of the firm of Walter
Brown & Son, at that time one of the largest
wool merchants in the country.

Mr. Ball was now convinced that his business
experience qualified him for advancement, and
seeing little opportunity in, a house where so
many preceded him, he replied to an advertise-

S. V. R. BRUNDAGE.

merit, through which, upon the strong recom-
mendation of Mr. Brown, he secured a position
with Gardner G. Yvelin, founder of the establish-
ment of which Mr. Ball is now the managing
partner in Chicago. The firm was known for
some time as Yvelin & Smith, and after the
death of the founder it became Smith & Vander-
beck, which was in turn succeeded by the present
firm of James P. Smith & Company; the parent
house, situated at Nos. 90 to 94 Hudson Street,
New York, has been established since 1831. Mr.
Ball has been twenty-five years connected with
this house, and since December, 1880, when he
located in Chicago, he has been manager of its
business here. He has traveled extensively, and
during a period of eleven years visited every large
city in America many times.

In June, 1886, Mr. Ball was married to Mary
Clement Harriot, a native of Covington, Ken-

tucky, and scion of a very old and loyal family of
that State. Mr. Ball's family includes a son and
daughter, namely: James Percival, and Louise
Harriot, aged, respectively, ten and five and one-
half years.

The family is very comfortably settled at No.
4028 Lake Avenue. Mr. Ball was brought up
in the Episcopal Church, to which he still ad-
heres. He is entirely independent of political
parties, having no faith in any organization, but
is a good citizen, and casts his vote and influence
where he believes they will result in the greatest
good to the community. He is a true sportsman,
with happy recollections of his youthful days, and
enjoys an outing in fishing or the chase as much
as ever. His genial and affable manners continue
to make and retain friendships, and the success
of the firm of which he is manager proves him an
intelligent, clear-headed business man.

STEPHEN V. R. BRUNDAGE.

TEPHEN VAN RANSALAR BRUND-
AGE, a prominent citizen of the West Side
in Chicago, now deceased, was a scion of the
sturdy Scotch blood which has been widely influ-
ential in developing the best material and
moral interests of the United States. Mr.
Brundage was born December 25, 1839, in
Barry County, Michigan, being the eldest child
of Alonzo and Diadama (Dean) Brundage, both
of whom were natives of the State of New York.

George Brundage, father of Alonzo Brundage,
was born in Scotland, and passed most of his life
on a farm near Oswego, New York. He was
well known in that section of the State, and
was regarded as one of the representative citizens.
He adhered to the principles of government ad-
vocated by the Whigs, and was repeatedly chosen
by his fellow-citizens to represent them in posi-

tions of responsibility. Beside the subject of this
sketch, he reared the following children: Alon-
zo, George, Genoa, Frederick and Emma.

Stephen V. Brundage was educated in his
native State, and acquired the trade of blacksmith.
Although he never served a regular apprentice-
ship, he had a natural aptitude for mechanics,
and became a highly skilled artisan in iron.
After coming to Chicago, in 1867, he was sixteen
years foreman of the blacksmith shops of the Chi-
cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He re-
linquished this position to engage in business on
his own account.

In 1876 he established himself in a blacksmith
shop on West Twenty-second Street, where he
was assisted only by his eldest son. From this
small beginning was built up a very successful
business in the production of high-grade wagons

OCTAVE CHAPLEAU.

and carriages, and the factory now employs twenty
men, continuing to turn out only first-class
goods, such as are sought by people preferring
quality to cheapness. This growth was not sud-
den, and was the result of the industry, prudence
and upright character of the founder. Two of his
sons, the first and third, became interested in the
establishment, and are continuing on the lines
laid down by their father.

Mr. Brundage was married January 15, 1862,
at Newark, Illinois, to Miss Maratta Hollenback,
daughter of Wesley and Catherine (Rarich)
Hollenback, who were among the pioneer set-
tlers of northern Illinois. They resided in Ken-
dall County during the Blackhawk War, and
were among those warned by Chief Shabbona in
time to escape the fury of the Indian warriors.
They passed away at their home in Newark, Illi-
nois. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Brundage
are: Nelson Alonzo, Charlotte Louise (wife of G.
G. Shauer), Edwin Wesley, Frederick Leroy and

Stephen Walter, the last-named being a member
of the dental profession in Chicago.

Mr. Brundage passed from earth May 23, 1895,
as the result of paralysis. He was widely known
as a splendid mechanic, and a true friend and
good companion. He was for many years a regu-
lar attendant of worship at Saint Paul's Methodist
Church, and was a most just and upright man.
He was identified with the Masonic order, hold-
ing membership in Pleiades Lodge, No. 478,
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and most of
the members of his family are connected with
the order, either in the Blue or Eastern Star
Lodges. Mr. Brundage was very successful as a
business man, being far-sighted and conservative
in management. He had a horror of debt, and
had clear title to all property which he acquired.
Among his possessions were a farm in Dakota,
the shops where he conducted business and a
substantial, four-story flat building, in which he
made his home.

OCTAVE CHAPLEAU.

0CTAVE CHAPLEAU was born February
27, 1834, in Saint Rose, Canada, and was
the son of a farmer at that place. His early
education was obtained in his native town, and
when he was old enough he began the study of
the stone-cutter's trade. Hoping to better his
condition, he removed to Chicago, in 1866, and
found ready employment at his trade.

In 1880 he removed to South Chicago, and en-
tered the service of the Illinois Steel Company in
building a mill, where he was employed four
years. He resolved to enter business in his own
name, and accordingly bought ground and run
a stone yard on Harbor Avenue. He was very
successful and remained there until his death.

August 5, 1866, he married Celina Hebert,

daughter of Frank and Elizabeth (Seymore)
Hebert. She was born February 16, 1841 , in Saint
John, Canada. Mr. Chapleau was a member of
the Roman Catholic Church. In politics he took
an active part, and was a Republican in senti-
ment. He bought a lot at No. 8902 Superior
Avenue, and in 1882 built the house which is
now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Anton Gleitsman.
He died May 26, 1893, and was mourned by a
large circle of friends and acquaintances.

Anton Gleitsman was born July 12, 1852, near
Milwaukee. His parents were natives of Ger-
many, but are old settlers in Wisconsin, having
emigrated several years before Anton Gleitsman
was born. He received his education in the com-
mon schools of Wisconsin, and at an early age

GEORGE DUNLAP.

began to learn a trade. He became an engineer
in a blast furnace. He came to Chicago in 1882,
and since that time has been employed in a mill.
May 22, 1895, he was united in marriage with
Mrs. Chapleau, the widow of Octave Chapleau.

Roman Catholic Church. They are highly es-
teemed socially and have many friends. The
former is a member of the Knights of Pythias,
and in his political views is convinced of the jus-
tice of the principles advanced by the Republican

Mr. Gleitsman and wife are communicants of the party, and is one of its firmest supporters.

GEORGE DUNLAP.

/2JEORGE DUNLAP was born November 2,
|_ 1825, in Lorraine, Jefferson County, New
V.J York. He is a son of William I. and Mar-
garet P. (Lane) Dunlap, both born in Cherry
Valley, New York. John Dunlap, father of Will-
iam I. Dunlap, was a captain of volunteers in
the Revolutionary War from Cherry Valley, and
his wife escaped the great massacre at that place
by taking refuge in the fort. He was seven years
in the service. His father was from the north of
Ireland, and the family is of Scotch descent. He
came to Cherry Valley, New York, where, with
two brothers, he had a right of a township of
land. The two brothers were lost at sea, with
the papers showing the claim to the land, and the
lawyer employed to settle the affair took all the
land excepting two hundred acres. John was
born on this farm and spent his life there. His
wife was a Miss Campbell, and they have five
children, namely: William I.; Livingston, a doc-
tor, who practiced in Indianapolis until his death;
Robert, who died in Milwaukee; Hannah, Mrs.
Walrad, of Cherry Valley, deceased; and Eliza-
beth, who died in young womanhood.

William I. Dunlap served as a volunteer in the
War of 1812. He removed to Jefferson County,
New York, in 1822, and in 1836 he came to Ill-
inois, settling first in Mendota, and later, in 1840,
in Leyden, which latter place was his residence
many years. He died in 1856, at the age of sixty-
nine years. His wife died in 1865, at the age of

seventy-seven years. She was born in Elizabeth-
town, New Jersey, and removed to Cherry Val-
ley with her parents when she was a child. Her
father was of Dutch descent, and her mother of
English origin. William I. and Margaret Dun-
lap had ten children, of whom the following is
the account: John, who was a tanner and cur-
rier of Green Bay, Wisconsin, died when forty
years old. Ann Eliza, deceased, married Oren
Hotchkiss and lived at Champaign. Matthias L. ,
who died in 1875, was a horticulturist and a writ-
er on kindred subjects in the Chicago Tribune, his
column being "The Farm and Garden;" he lived
in Leyden, where he started an extensive fruit
farm, and subsequently removed to Champaign,
Illinois; his son, Henry, is a member of the
present state senate. Menzo is a farmer, whose
home is in Sevoy, Illinois; Sally, deceased, mar-
ried James H. Kinyon, of Champaign; William
is a retired wheelwright, and resides at Irving,
Lane County, Oregon; Robert, a dealer in agri-
cultural implements, lives in Iowa City, Iowa;
George is the subject of this sketch; Charlotte,
deceased, married Erastus Bailey, of Wheeling,
Illinois; and James Hamill died when twenty-
two years old.

George Dnnlap removed with his parents to
Lewis County, New York, when seven years old,
and there he attended the common schools. He
came to Chicago in 1836, arriving on his eleventh
birthday, and subsequently attended school in

Z. M. HALL.

Troy Grove, La Salle County, Illinois. Later he
attended a select school in Ottawa a few months.
In 1840 he came to Leyden, then called Dunlap's
Prairie, in honor of M. L. Dunlap, his brother,
who surveyed much of the land in that vicinity,
and was a prominent man, being a member of
the state legislature one term. George Dunlap
pre-empted one hundred and twenty acres of Gov-
ernment land, and when it was put upon the mar-
ket bought it. He lived on this farm, carrying
on general farming until 1864, when he sold it.
He was deputy sheriff six months, and then be-
came assistant United States assessor, which posi-
tion he held eleven years, resigning to take his
seat in the twenty-ninth general assembly. He
then engaged in the real-estate business, uniting
with L. J. Swift in the firm of Dunlap & Swift.
In 1884 he was compelled to leave the cares of
the business, which had become one of the most
successful on the West Side, on account of failing
health. He subsequently removed to Santa Cruz,
California, where he has ever since spent the
winter months.

In i8"69 he bought the first lots and built the

first house in the village of Norwood, where he
had his residence until 1884. In 1896 he built
the pleasant home he now occupies. January 27,
1851, he married Almeda Pierce, of Sandy Creek,
Oswego County, New York. She is a daughter
of John and Hannah (Ballou) Pierce, the latter
of French ancestry, and both natives of Rhode
Island. Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap became the par-
ents of six children: De Clermont is a civil en-
gineer, and resides in Chicago; Hetty S., who is
a school teacher, lives with her parents; Clifton
F. is a printer of Chicago; Alice S. resides at
home; Jessie D. married Percy V. Castle, a law-
yer, who resides in Austin; and Mira died in
1894.

Mr. Dunlap has held many local offices. He
served four years as supervisor of Leyden, five
years as justice of the peace, and was school di-
rector twenty-three years. He is a member of
the Masonic order, having at present a demit
from Santa Cruz Lodge, Santa Cruz, California.
He is a well-read man, an intelligent citizen, and
one who takes an interest in the affairs and im-
provements of the generation in which he lives.

ZEBULON M. HALL.

7KBULON MONTGOMERY HALL is a
I. descendant of an old colonial family who
/~) emigrated from Coventry, England, in 1630,
and settled in Boston, Massachusetts. The pro-
genitor of the family in America was John Hall,
the father of nine children. Of these Gersham
Hall was the ancestor of the subject of this biog-
raphy. He received the best collegiate education
that could be obtained in New England at that
time, and later took a part in the Revolutionary
War, proving himself a brave officer. He was a
man of great firmness of religious conviction, and
his Bible is yet in possession of the family as one
of its dearest treasures.

His son, Gersham, also received a liberal edu-
cation and resided in Boston. He died near Ball-
ston Springs, New York. His wife's father, was
also a soldier in the Revolution. His grandson,
Loammi, married Miss Sarah Duell, a daughter
of Benjamin and Sybil (Putney) Duell, who were
of the Quaker faith. Loammi Hall and his wife
resided in Perry, Genesee County, New York,
where they were highly respected and wealthy
farmers. For a time they kept a hotel, which
was a landmark in the county. The family were
blessed with long lives, and most of them lived
to be more than seventy years of age. Loammi
Hall and his wife died when they were compar-

Z. M. HALL.

atively young, in Genesee County. Their chil-
dren were: Minerva, Jabesh, Loammi and Zebu-
Ion M. Minerva married Walter Purdy, and is
the only one living. Jabesh removed to Wiscon-
sin, where he accumulated considerable property,
and where he died. To secure this property for
its rightful owners, Zebulon, though only a boy
of sixteen years, undertook the long journey to
Wisconsin, and was successful.

Soon after this, in 1836, the subject of this
notice came to Chicago, and eventually became
one of the city's most influential citizens. He
became employed in the grain elevator business
by Charles Walker, and was for years a confiden-
tial employe. When he had learned the details of
the business, he engaged in it on his own respon-
sibility and became very successful. His brother,
Loammi, became his partner and they engaged
in the wholesale grocery trade, under the firm
name of Hall Brothers, but the city life and close
confinement did not suit Loammi, who withdrew
and engaged in agricultural pursuits, in which he
prospered. Mr. Hall next took for a partner
Charles Harding, and the well-known firm of
Harding & Hall was formed, which conducted a
lucrative wholesale ship chandlery business for
many years. Mr. Hall at all times assumed the
more active part in the conduct of business, and
his management was characterized by such tact and
ability that Mr. Harding was enabled to withdraw
from the firm, which was continued by Z. M. Hall
& Company until 1875, when Mr. Hall withdrew,
in order to recuperate his health. For this pur-
pose he went to Jackson County, Oregon. His
active mind could not rest, however, and he was
not entirely idle, but while there became interested
in the stock business. After spending three years
in Oregon, he returned to Chicago, where he
resided until his death, which took place in Sep-
tember, 1894, at the age of seventy-four years.

Mr. ' Hall was married in Chicago, to Miss
Kezzie Frost, a foster-daughter of Capt. A. W.
Rosman, commander of the steamer "Atlanta," of
the Goodrich line. He is one of the most noted
captains on the lakes, having begun life on the
water at the early age of seven years. At the
age of seventeen years he became a captain, and

for fifty years sailed the lakes, without having
any serious accident. He was a grandson of
Coonrod Rosman, who settled in Canada about
the middle of the seventeenth century, and whose
descendants removed from Canada to Pennsyl-
vania. Captain Rosman was a son of Abraham
and Rachel (Jones) Rosman, the former a soldier
of the War of 1812, and the latter a descendant
of the world- renowned Paul Jones. Captain Ros-
man had two children, Charles A. and Eva, the
latter the wife of Frank Hamilton. The former
received a gold medal from the government for
saving life on Lake Michigan. The exposure
incident to this brave deed brought on con-
sumption, from which his death resulted.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Z. M. Hall were:
Francis Montgomery, Edgar Albert, Harry Vic-
tor, Sadie Beatrice and Bessie Eugenia. The
oldest son was drowned from the steamer "Ver-
non," and left a wife and three children. Edgar
A. is connected with the Hanchette Paper Com-
pany; Harry V. is living in Arizona; Sadie B. is
the wife of Lloyd James Smith; and Bessie E. is
Mrs. A. G. Morely.

Mr. Hall was a Mason, and was one of the
liberal supporters of the New England Congre-
gational Church, being one of its first members.
In politics he was a strong Republican. To all
enterprises which would assist in bettering the
lives and condition of the human family, he gave
his sympathy and aid. Though he was liberal to
a fault, he accumulated a property, and had he
been more selfish, the history of Chicago would
have recorded another millionaire. He lived a
life of noble impulse, and all that could be said
of his inner life would reflect to his credit and in-
tegrity.

During the Great Fire he telegraphed to Indian-
apolis for a fire engine, which was placed on a
raft in the river, near his building, adjacent to the
Randolph Street bridge, and thus it was saved,
being the only one rescued in the center of the
city. It was a five-story grocery store. After
the fire he helped feed the public, and was pro-
tected by a company of soldiers, sent to him by
Gen. Philip A. Sheridan. They formed a
double line, and he was thus able to distribute

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

JOSEPH H. ERNST

(From Photo, by W. J. ROOT)

J. H. ERNST.

alike to rich and poor, which he did without any
compensation. He did not take advantage of
the helplessness of his fellow-creatures, and try
to raise the value of his goods, but by his gener-

osity suffered a loss that weakened his business,
and this, with the panic of 1873, caused him
much embarrassment, but he continued it until
the year 1875.

JOSEPH H. ERNST.

(JOSEPH HENRY ERNST. Germany has
I contributed to Chicago and Cook County a
Q) large percentage of their inhabitants. Many
of these have achieved success in various business
pursuits, while some have won distinction in the
different professions, and others have risen to
prominence in public affairs, and their names
have become as familiar as household words.
Among this vast number probably no one is
more widely known or more highly respected
than the gentleman whose name stands at the
head of this article. For more than forty years
he has been a resident of the city, much of the
time occupying official positions, and in public
and private life every duty has been honestly dis-
charged and every trust held sacred.

Mr. Ernst was born February 24, 1838, on the
River Rhine, in Germany, near Bingen, made
famous by an English authoress in the beautiful
poem, "Bingen on the Rhine." He is a son of
John and Barbara (Meyer) Ernst, natives of that
place. John and Barbara Ernst became the par-
ents of four children, namely: Joseph H., of
whom this sketch is written; Adam, deceased;
Catherine, widow of Mr. Hausman, of Chicago;
and John, also deceased. The father died in
1877, and the mother preceded him eight years,
passing away June 4, 1869.

Joseph Ernst received his early education in
the common schools of his native country, and
spent one year at the mason's trade. In 1854 ne
sailed in the sailing-vessel "St. Nicholas" from
Havre, France, to New York, the voyage lasting

forty-eight days. On landing he came to Chicago,
going to Buffalo by way of the Hudson River and
Erie Canal, and the remainder of the way by rail.
Two years later, the family, consisting of his
parents and two brothers and a sister, emigrated
to the United States, and located in Chicago.
Joseph H. Ernst lived with his aunt, whose
brother, Joseph Meyer, came to Chicago in 1845,
and was widely known as the sexton and super-
intendent of the old Chicago City Cemetery from
1847 until the time of his death, which occurred
December 1 6, 1864. Joseph became his assistant,
and helped to keep the records of that time.
While thus engaged he attended the old Franklin
School two years, and graduated in 1856. The
next two years he attended Sloan's Commercial
and Law College, from which he graduated in
1858.

In 1864 Mr. Ernst opened a grocery store on
North Wells Street, at No. 581, which he con-
ducted two years. He was then appointed j?y
the mayor as superintendent of the vacation of
that part of the old city cemetery known as the
Milliman tract. This work occupied two years
and the city council then passed an ordinance to
vacate the remainder of the cemetery, which is
now included in Lincoln Park, appointing Mr.
Ernst to superintend the work. He was fre-
quently consulted by the Lincoln Park Commis-
sioners during the early part of their work and fur-
nished them with much valuable information, be-
ing of great assistance to them. At the time of the
Great Fire the city cemetery records were des-

HENRY LAWRENCE.

troyed. Mr. Ernst was clerk in the comptroller's
office, in charge of exchange of city cemetery lots,
also city taxes and city real estate, and remained
in this office until May, 1882.

In 1874 he engaged in the real-estate and loan
business in partnership with Mathias Schmitz,
under the firm name of Ernst & Schmitz, at No.
271 East North Avenue, and in this venture he
has ever since been successfully engaged. Since
1874 Mr. Ernst has been secretary of the German
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of North Chi-
cago, being elected annually by a general meet-
ing of all the members.

Mr. Ernst was elected alderman of the Fif-
teenth Ward in 1886, on the Democratic ticket,
and was re-elected in 1888 in the present Twenty-
first Ward. At the next election he declined a
re-nomination. In 1892 his friends prevailed
upon him to accept a nomination as an independ-
ent candidate, and he was elected, receiving near-
ly as many votes as both the other candidates.
He has always discharged his public and private

duties most faithfully, and was urged to accept a
nomination for city treasurer, but declined. He
is one of the directors of the German Catholic
Orphans' Asylum of High Ridge.

September 20, 1860, Mr. Ernst married Miss
Katharine Schutz, a native of Germany, who
came to the United States in 1853, an d reached
Chicago in 1854. They have had eight children, of
whom the six following are living: Anna, wife of
William H. Weckler, residing on the corner of
Wolfram and May Streets, Chicago; Adolph
Charles, who is employed in his father's office;
Andrew Joseph, also with his father; William
Gregor, an attorney; Katharine Isabella; and
Mary Angelica. Mr. Ernst and his family are
members of Saint Michael's Roman Catholic
Church. Mr. Ernst has resided on the North Side
ever since he came to the city, in the vicinity of
what is now Lincoln Park, and since 1873 his
home has been at the corner of Eugenie Street
and Cleveland Avenue, where he had a beautiful
residence erected in 1892.

HENRY LAWRENCE.

HENRY LAWRENCE, D. D. S., for many
years connected with the business interests
of Chicago, and one of the most valuable
citizens of that city, was born November 1 1 , 1823,
in the city of London, England. He was a son
of John Lawrence, for many years a resident of
New York City. He received his primary edu-
cation in the public schools of London, where he
proved himself an apt and willing student. After
coining to America, in 1859, he took up the study
of dentistry with a prominent dentist of Philadel-
phia, where he graduated, winning the esteem
and admiration of his teacher. He then removed
to Louisiana, and practiced his profession for a
short time, and then went to Yazoo, Mississippi,

where he remained until 1863, and then removed
to New Orleans. He remained in the latter city
until July, 1877, obtaining a profitable and lucra-
tive practice. Most of his patrons were among the
Creoles or old white settlers of that historic town,
and thus he was enabled to save a comfortable
fortune. His winters were spent in the North
during this time, and he was especially attracted
by Chicago, it then being a rapidly growing city,
whose energetic citizens especially appealed to his
regard.

Mr. Lawrence always enjoyed the comforts of
life, though he was industrious and frugal. He
never ceased studying, and was a student of rare ap-
plication, being the inventor of several dental in-

JOSEPH JUNK.

strunients, and often making his own tools. He
was an ingenius craftsman, and frequently assisted
his fellow.-dentists in some difficult operation or
in the invention of some useful instrument. One
of his inventions which has won fame for him is
a water motor, thus doing away with foot power.
He was a member of Chicago and New Orleans
dental societies, being an honored guest at the
meetings of these societies held in the homes of
the members, as was then the custom.

Mr. Lawrence was reared in the faith of the
Church of England, and always adhered to that
denomination, attending its services, although he
liked other preachers very much, especially Dr.
Thomas, whom he always delighted to hear. He
was not connected with any secrect society, pre-

ferring rather a quiet home life. He was very
companionable and had great sympathy with
all his fellow-men and women, being the happy
possessor of a large number of friends and ac-
quaintances. He exercised charity to all de-
serving poor, not being ostentatious in all this,
but believed in following the dictates of his heart
only,- and not seeking the approval of his friends.
He neyer, in any way, catered to the good-will of
the masses. His every action was prompted by
duty as he saw it, and thus in him is seen an ex-
ample of an upright and honest man, true to his
friends and principles. He died, in Chicago
on the 6th of March, 1891, lamented by hosts of
those who had learned to know him and call him
friend.

JOSEPH JUNK.

(1OSEPH JUNK was born January 15, 1841,
I at Salmrohr, near Trier, Germany. He was
G/ the son of Joseph and Margaret Junk, natives
of the same place. The former was a teacher
there, and a scholarly man, who was esteemed
and honored by all in the community. He lived
to be over eighty years of age, and died in his
native town. They had one son and five daugh-
ters. Two of the latter were Sisters of St. Charles
and well known as nurses during the wars. One
of them, Margaret, was known as Sister Eu-
phrasia, and was Mother Superior of the convent
at Mettlach, the town where the famous German
pottery is made. The owner of the manufactory
built the convent. Her sister, Anna, was also in
the convent, known as Sister Anastasia. Both
of them are now deceased. The other three
daughters are married, and live in Germany.
The father of Joseph Junk, senior, was burgo-

master of Salmrohr, and was killed by robbers,
who mistook him for another man, for whom they
were lying in wait.

The subject of this sketch was educated in Ger-
man}', and came to America at the age of twenty-
seven years. After landing at New York, he
came directly to Chicago, where he learned his
trade with his old neighbor and countryman,
Peter Schoenhoff, one of the early brewers of this
city. He was afterward associated for several
years with Huck's Malt House.

May 18, 1871, he married Miss Magdalena,
daughter of Hubert and Elizabeth (Thormann)
Hagemann, well-known residents of Chicago, who
came here in 1853. They formerly had a grocery
on the West Side. In 1895 they celebrated their
golden wedding. Of their nine children, only
Magdalena now survives.

Mr. Junk embarked in the brewing business in

J. H. RAAP.

1884, on the corner of Thirty-seventh and Hal-
sted Streets. In this he had a valuable assistant
in his wife, who became familiar with the details
of the business. They were but fairly started
when he died, February 23, 1887. At that time
they manufactured about nine thousand barrels
of beer annually. The estate was involved in
debt for half its value, but with commendable
zeal Mrs, Junk continued the business, and so
well did she manage it that from time to time she
was able to increase it, until at the present time
the brewery yields eighty thousand barrels of
beer annually, all of which finds a market in
Chicago. Mrs. Junk deserves great credit for
her work, especially when we remember that she
was then the mother of six small children. The
names of the children are as follows: Joseph P.,
Edward H., Mary E., Rose Anna, Aloysius and
Mary Magdalena. Religiously the family are
members of the Saint Augustine Roman Catholic
Church.

The two eldest sons are associated in business
with their mother, and the eldest, though but

thirteen years old at the death of his father, was
of great assistance to his mother, devoting his
whole time and energy to the business. The
eldest daughter, Miss Mary E. Junk, is fast be-
coming well known as a musician, excelling es-
pecially on the harp, to which instrument she has
devoted many years of hard study.

The successful life of Mrs. Junk is well calcu-
lated to interest her descendants as well as the
citizens of Chicago, who are ever ready to honor
and give due credit to those who assist in build-
ing up the city's manufacturing interests, thus
adding wealth and comforts to many homes.

In 1890 Mrs. Junk built a handsome home, in
spacious grounds, on Garfield Boulevard, which
her aged parents share with her and which very
nearly represents the ideal home, where rest and
comfort await those wearied with the business of
the day. Not only does Mrs. Junk possess energy
and business capacity, which all must admire,
but in addition to these she possesses those quali-
ties of mind and heart which make her a good
mother and a true woman .

JOHN H. RAAP.

(JOHN HENRY RAAP was born August i,
1840, in L,udingworth, Hanover, Germany,
(*) and was a son of Ernst and Catharina M.
(Cords) Raap, both natives of that place. In
1854 the family removed to America, settling in
Chicago, where Mr. Raap bought a house of three
rooms on Cornell Street, near Ashland Avenue.
They had two children, namely: John Henry
Raap, whose name stands at the head of this arti-
cle; and Mrs. Minnie Dilcherd, who resides at
No. 67 Cornelia Street, in Chicago. The parents
were thrifty and economical, and they won the
respect of the community. They died at their
home on Cornell Street.

John Henry Raap received most of his educa-
tion in his native country, which he supplement-
ed by subsequent reading and observation. He
was confirmed in the German Lutheran Church,
and of this faith he remained an adherent. He
was a bright, intelligent boy when he came to
America and soon learned to speak the English
language fluently. He possessed those qualities
that insure success in the business world. On his
arrival in Chicago he became employed in a brick
yard, and, realizing the advantages of a better edu-
cation than he then possessed, he attended a night
school, and there he studied diligently to prepare
himself for the business career that was after-

C. D. MAGEE.

wards his. He had indomitable courage and per-
severance and he saw the hopeful side of life.

Mr. Raap's first business venture was a grocery
store, on the corner of Pratt and Milwaukee Av-
enues, which he conducted only a short time.
He then removed to Dunkel's Grove, where he
had a general store two years and then sold out
to return to the city, engaging in the flour
and feed trade at Nos. 572-74 Milwaukee Avenue
in a small building which was gradually merged
into a wholesale liquor house. In 1870 he built
the large building occupied by the business at the
present time. He gradually extended his trade
until he ranked among the foremost and most
successful German business men in the city.

As would be expected, Mr. Raap was connect-
ed with many social orders and societies, among
which are the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
the Sons of Hermann, the Central Turner Society,
the Teutonia Maennerchor and the Chicago Re-
bekah Society. In political opinions he was a

Republican, and he had much influence in polit-
ical affairs, but he never held any office. He
passed away April 23, 1897.

Mr. Raap was twice married. His first wife
was Sophia Sohle, a native of Germany, now de-
ceased. May i, 1873, he married Miss Helena
Hannah Gilow, a daughter of Fritz and Mary
(Wagner) Gilow, natives of Grim, Prussia. She
proved to be in every way a worthy helpmate,
and was of invaluable assistance to her husband,
being as ambitious and enterprising as he. She
was ever willing to lead, and she conducted the
home and helped in the business of her husband.
She is a true type of the German- American house-
wife, always alert and willing to further her hus-
band's interests. She survives her husband, and
is the mother of five children, now living, namely:
John Henry, junior, Tillie L,., Robert R., Ernst
E. and Pearl Frances. The two older sons con-
tinue to carry on the business which was left by
their father.

CHARLES D. MAGEE.

HARLES DAVIDSON MAGEE, who has

1 ( been connected with the iron industry of
\J Chicago for many years, was born October
3, 1846, in the beautiful city of Belfast, Ireland.
His parents were John and Elizabeth (Croft)
Magee, both natives of that country. The fam-
ily emigrated to America in 1855 and settled in
the growing city of Chicago, which was then
just beginning to give evidence of future great-
ness. There the elder Magee engaged in the
iron, steam and gasfitting business, which he
had learned and conducted before leaving Ire-
land, and continued it successfully until his death,
at the age of sixty-five years, October 27, 1878.

Charles D. Magee spent his early boyhood in
his native city and there attended school. He
was but nine years of age when the family set-
tled in Chicago, and in the public schools of that
city he completed his education. He then en-
gaged in business with his father and spent
twenty years in steam and gasfitting, thus se-
curing a thorough and practical knowledge of all
the details of that trade and gaining a wide and
varied experience, which has been of great use to
him in his later business connections. Having
shown an aptitude for trade and having gained a
large acquaintance among business men, he
readil} 7 secured a position as traveling represen-

AUGUST DRESEL.

tative of the Corundum Wheel Company, and
since that time he has served the interests of
many of the most prominent iron firms in the
United States, to the advantage and satisfaction
of all parties. At present he is interested in the
Automatic Acetylene Gas Company and is de-
voting his energies to the promotion of that en-
terprise.

Mr. Magee was married in 1865 to Miss Mary
D. Williams, who was bom June 29, 1845, in
Terre Haute, Indiana, and is a daughter of R. G.
and Sophronia D. Williams, both natives of New
York. Mrs. Williams died December 19, 1896.
Mr. and Mrs. Magee are the parents of three
children, John E., Albert M. and Charles D.,
aged thirty, twenty-six and nineteen years, re-
spectively.

The subject of this notice is a valued and in-
fluential member of the Wesleyan Methodist
Church, worshiping at the church on Halsted
Street, near Fullerton Avenue. He is prominent

in the Masonic order, and in 1894 organized the
Order of the White Shrine of Jerusalem, for which
he wrote the ritual This order bears the same
relation to the adopted rites of Masonry that the
Order of Knights Templar does to the main body
of Masonry. The order was incorporated by Mr.
Magee in the State of Illinois, October 3, 1895,
and the Supreme Shrine was then organized with
headquarters at Chicago, Mr. Magee being
elected Supreme Chancellor for a term of three
years. Later the headquarters were removed to
Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they are still
located. Membership in the order is limited to
Master Masons and their wives, mothers, sisters,
daughters and widows. It is rapidly growing in
numbers, having extended itself into three States,
Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois. Mr. Magee
is a conservative in politics. He is a most genial
and affable gentleman, ever ready to give help
and advice to those who ask it, and is considered
one of Chicago's most energetic business men.

AUGUST DRESEL

GJ1 UGUST DRESEL, for many years identi-
J I fied with the business life of Chicago, has
/ I been engaged in his present occupation of
florist since 1866. He began business at No.
656 Clybourn Avenue, and continued there until
about 1888, when he sold out to Samuel J.
Pearce. He then established himself at his pres-
ent place of business, near the corner of Western
and Belmont Avenues, where he has about one
and one-half acres of ground under glass. His
principal products are roses and plants for spring

planting. He also raises palms and several
varieties of flowers for cutting, selling the bulk of
his product to dealers.

Mr. Dresel was born October 9, 1838, in Hoi-
stein, Germany, and is a son of Henry and Anna
Dresel, both natives of the same province. The
son was educated in his native land, where he
went through a long and thorough course of
training in landscape gardening, and the cultiva-
tion of all kinds of pi ants produced for market.
He continued in this occupation until his removal

L. J. SMITH.

to the United States. In June, 1865, he left the
Fatherland, taking passage on a steamship which
sailed from Hamburg bound for New York. He
landed in the last-named city in the latter part of
July, and proceeded thence to LaFayette, Indiana,
where he remained but a short time, removing to
Jasper County, in the same State.

In March, 1866, he had saved enough from his
earnings as a farm laborer in Indiana to pur-
chase a horse, and he rode the animal to Chi-
cago. After his arrival he soon found employ-
ment in the old Sheffield Avenue nursery of Mar-
tin Lewis. During that season he worked at
various occupations, and in the following spring
he purchased from Mr. Lewis the floral depart-
ment of his nursery, and began business for him-
self. The beginning was small, but he was in-
dustrious and attentive to the wants of his cus-
tomers, working early and late to build up his
fortunes. In a short time he was enabled to
purchase the greenhouses which he occupied, and

he has ever since continued to conduct the busi-
ness with gratifying success. For six years he
was also interested in the manufacture of brick,
being a stockholder of the Northwestern Brick
Company while it existed.

He has usually supported the Democratic party
in matters of political principle, but is not a
strong partisan, and is wholly independent in
considering local affairs. The candidate who
seems to him best qualified and most willing to
carry out the wishes of his constituents is certain
to receive his support, regardless of party dicta-
tions.

December 20, 1866, Mr. Dresel was married to
Miss Mary Kj-ersgaard, a native of Denmark.
Two of their children died in childhood, and
there are five living, namely: Claussin, Sophia,
August, Henry and Louis. The family is identi-
fied with the Lutheran Church and bears its
share in the social life of the community, where
it is held in the highest respect.

LLOYD J. SMITH.

I LOYD JAMES SMITH, one of the most
It active and earnest of our business men, is
l_^ a descendant of old Russian and English
families, and is a native of Wheeler, Indiana.
His grandfather, Peter Smith, was born in Eng-
land, and was a brother of Sir Harry Smith,
a noted officer of the British army, who fought in
the American Revolution.

Peter Smith's son, James P. Smith, who was
born and educated in London, came to the United
States at the age of fourteen years, and was for
thirty years the manager of the Central Elevators
of Chicago. He married Helen Christopher,
daughter of a high official in the Russian govern-
ment, who left his native country because of the
jealousy of other officials, and left his property
in Russia.

Lloyd James Smith is one of their children.
He was educated in a Chicago high school and
the Metropolitan Business College. His first em-
ployment was with the Northwestern National
Bank, as messenger, at the age of seventeen
years. After thus spending two years, he re-
moved to Idaho, and in that state and in Oregon,
spent two years in charge of a cattle ranch.
After this he was a broker for the Central Elevator
Company, and the Munger-Wheeler Company.

In 1889 he became general manager of the
Santa Fe Elevator and Dock Company, and the
Chicago Elevator Company, and is now the sec-
retary and treasurer of the Santa Fe Company.
Since 1890 Mr. Smith has been a director of the
Board of Trade, and his office continues until
1900. He is chairman of the executive commit-

4 6

A. H. BUSSE.

tee, and has served on all important commitees of
the directory. He has always represented the
elevator interests in any controversies.

Mr. Smith has been chairman of the Cook
County Republican Central Committee, and served
two years as its vice-president. For five years
he was the vice-president of the Marquette Club,
and is a member of the Chicago Athletic Club.
In political principle he is a Republican, and

takes great interest in national and local af-
fairs. He has attained high rank in the Masonic
fraternity, and affiliates with Medinah Temple of
the Mystic Shrine.

October 15, 1890, he married Miss Sadie B.
Hall, and they are the parents of one child,
Lloyda Kezzie Smith, born October 4, 1891.
Mrs. Smith is a daughter of Z. M. Hall, whose
biography appears in this work.

AUGUST H. BUSSE.

GlUGUST HUBERT BUSSE was born No-
I I vember 10, 1867, in a house which stood on
/ I an alley between Commercial and Houston
Avenues and Ninety-second and Ninety-third
Streets. This house was subsequently moved to
No. 9205 Commercial Avenue, where it still
stands. August H. Busse is a son of August
and Caroline (Albert) Busse. He received his
education in the common schools of Chicago, part
of the time attending the Bowen School. At the
age of fourteen years he was obliged to leave his
studies to attend to the more serious duties of life.
He was first employed in the planing mill of
Crandall, Fisher & Company, now belonging to
Kratzer & Fisher. After spending a year with this
firm, he was employed a year in the drug store
of Arnold & Merrill, and then became engaged
in carpenter work for Otto Schoening, with whom
he remained about one year.

May 9, 1885, Mr. Busse entered the service of
the City Fire Department, as a driver at first,
and truckman afterwards. In a fire which oc-
curred in December, 1888, his left hand was in-
jured, the small bones in his left knee were
broken, and he received an injury in his side, so
that he was compelled to remain at home six

months. The fire which caused him so much
suffering was on Mackinaw Avenue, between
Eighty-fifth and Eighty-sixth Streets.

Upon his recovery from injuries received while
in the fire department, Mr. Busse resolved to find
other employment, and accordingly, on May 23,
1889, he joined the police force as patrolman,
and for the past two years has been employed as
messenger in the South Chicago Station. In his
business life he has attended strictly to the duties
of his position, and has always shown a disposi-
tion to rise in station. While serving at a large
fire May 8, 1897, Mr. Busse took a severe cold,
which brought on hemorrhage of the left lung,
and incapacitated him from active duty for many
months.

Mr. Busse was married April 2, 1890, to Miss
Catherine, daughter of Joseph and Catherine
Leiendecker. They are the parents of the fol-
lowing children: Joseph, Frederick William and
George Augustus. Mr. Busse and his family are
communicants of the Roman Catholic Church,
and he is connected with the Policemen's Be-
nevolent Association. He is a man of genial and
pleasant manner, and has many firm friends, by
whom his merits and character are appreciated.

LIBRARY

OF THE

riMIVERSITY OP ILLINOIS

JOEL ELLIS.

ELLIS, for nearly fifty years an active

I citizen and useful business man of ChicagO )
G/ was descended from the old Puritan stock
which has done so much in developing the men-
tal, moral and material interests of the United
States. The energy, fortitude and stern moral
character which characterized the founders of the
New England colonies is still observed in many
of their descendants, and these attributes were
possessed by Joel Ellis in a marked degree.

His first ancestor of whom any record is now
to be found was Barzillai Ellis, born June 9, 1747,
presumably in Massachusetts, and of English
blood. March 6, 1773, he married Sarah Tobey,
who was born June 5, 1755, no doubt in the
same State and of similar ancestry. They resid-
ed in Conway, Franklin County, Massachusetts,
whence they moved, about the close of the last
century, to Chautauqua County, New York.
Here Barzillai Ellis died in 1827. His youngest
son, Samuel Ellis, died in Chicago in 1856. The
other children were Barzillai, Asa, Freeman, Ben-
jamin, Joel and Elnathan.

The children of Benjamin Ellis were Parmtlia,
Eleanor, Jane, Stephen, Mason, Datus, Joel (the
subject of this sketch) and Ensign. His wife
was Sophia Birch, a native of Connecticut. Ben-
jamin Ellis died in Fredonia, New York, in 1855.
He was a farmer, and cleared up land in the prim-
eval forest, which consumed the best years of his
life and required the assistance of his children,
who had little opportunity to attend school.

Joel Ellis was born in Fredonia, Chautauqua
County, New York, May 25, 1818. As above
indicated, his early years were devoted to the toil

which usually befell farmers' sons in those days,
and he attended school but very little. Schools
were far apart and held sessions of only three
months per year, in winter, when attendance on
the part of many children was almost impossible.
However, Joel Ellis was blessed by nature with a
sound mind and body, and his clear judgment
and active industry made him a successful busi-
ness man and good citizen.

When, in 1838, he set out for the West,
whither an uncle (Samuel Ellis, before mentioned)
had preceded him, he was an energetic and self-
reliant young man of twenty years, full of cour-
age and hopefulness and the ardor and ambition of
a strong nature. Arriving in the autumn, he found
the young city of Chicago suffering from the com-
mercial and industrial stagnation which followed
the financial panic of 1837, and his search for
employment was a vain one. The only offer which
he received was from his uncle, who was engaged
in farming some miles from the then city, but on
ground now built up with thousands of the finest
homes in Chicago, along Ellis, Greenwood and
other avenues of the South Side. He continued
in farm labor with his uncle for two years, much
of which time was occupied in chopping wood
from the timber which then covered this region,
and which must be cleared away to make room
for a tillable farm.

From 1840 to 1858 he was associated with
Archibald Clybourn, an active business man of
Chicago (see biography elsewhere in this work),
and became thorough!}- conversant with the meat
business, which was one of Mr. Clybourn's chief
enterprises. It was at the house of Mr. Cly-

4 8

JOEL ELLIS.

bourn that he met the lady who became his wife
in 1844. This was Miss Susan Galloway, a sis-
ter of Mrs. Clybourn and daughter of James
and Sally (McClenthan) Galloway, of Pennsyl-
vania birth and Scotch ancestry. Her grand-
father, Samuel Galloway, was a native of Scot-
land, whose wife was of Pennsylvania-German
descent. They were among the earliest settlers
on the Susquehanna River, and Samuel Galloway
was a soldier in the Revolutionary Army. Mrs.
Ellis was taken by her parents, when a small
child, to Sandusky, Ohio, and thence the fam-
ily came to Chicago, arriving on the gth of
November, 1826. They left Sandusky on the
ist of October, in a sailing-vessel, and were
wrecked south of Mackinaw, but were rescued by
another vessel, which brought them to Chicago.

James Galloway had visited Illinois in the fall
of 1824, and was very much charmed with the
country' about the Grand Rapids of the Illinois
River (now known as Marseilles), where he bought
a claim. He spent the winter of 1826-27 in
Chicago with his family, and settled on this claim
in the following spring, and continued to reside
there the balance of his life. His wife died in
1830, and he subsequently married Matilda Stipes,
of Virginia. In character Mr. Galloway was a
fit representative of his sturdy Scotch ancestry,
and was well fitted for pioneering in those early
days, when means of travel and communication
were difficult, and the dwellers in the wilderness
were compelled to forego many comforts and
social advantages, besides braving the enmity of
their savage neighbors.

Of the five children of James and Sally Gallo-
way, Mrs. Clybourn is the eldest. The second,
Jane, wife of Washington Holloway, died in 1894.
John died in Missouri. Susan is Mrs. Ellis.
George, born April 12, 1828, at Marseilles, is now
deceased. Of the second marriage, Archibald
and Marshall are the only surviving offspring.
The former now shares a part of the original farm
at Marseilles with George's widow. The latter
resides in Chicago.

On leaving the employ of Mr. Clybourn, Mr.
Ellis engaged in the retail meat business on his
own account, and furnished supplies to many of

the leading hotels and to vessels entering Chicago
Harbor. In 1865 he formed a partnership with
Thomas Armour and began an extensive whole-
sale business in meats and provisions, which
grew beyond his fondest dreams of success. In
fifteen years he amassed a comfortable fortune,
which was largely invested in improved real es-
tate in the city. As the care of his property ab-
sorbed much of his time, he decided to retire from
active business, and, in the spring of 1871, he pur-
chased twenty acres in the town of Jefferson (now
a part of the city of Chicago), on which he built
a handsome suburban home, in which he hoped
to pass the balance of his days in well-earned rest
from the arduous labors which had occupied his
earlier years. Scarcely was he settled in his new
home when the great fire of October, 1871, rob-
bed him of all his buildings save the home at Jef-
ferson, just completed. Without any repining,
he set to work at once to repair the losses. It
was his custom to rise at two o'clock in the morn-
ing and drive into the city to begin business.
There were no rapid-transit systems then to move
suburban residents quickly from and to their
homes, and he took means which would appall any
but such stout natures as his to rebuild his fort-
unes. In this he was moderately successful, and
when a cancer caused his death at his home in
Jefferson, October 29, 1886, he left his family
comfortably provided for.

A quiet, unassuming man, he gave little atten-
tion to public affairs, though he took the interest
in local and national progress which every true
American must feel, and discharged his duty as
it appeared to him by supporting the Republican
party after it came into existence, having former-
ly affiliated with the Whigs. He was a member
of the Masonic fraternity, and was an active sup-
porter of the Universalist Church, being among
the organizers of St. Paul's congregation, whose
pastor, Rev. W. E. Manly, performed the cere-
mony which made him the head of a family. Be-
sides his widow, he left three children, namely:
Lucretia, now the widow of George W. Pinney,
residing in Chicago; Winfield, of Highland Park,
Illinois; and Mary Josephine, Mrs. Algernon S.
Osgood, of Chicago.

WILLIAM LEE.

{DQILLIAM LEE, a leading citizen of Pull-
\ A I man, was born at Rochester, New York,
YY June 14, 1851. He is a son of Rev. Henry
Washington Lee and Lydia Mason Morton.
Rev. H. W. Lee was a native of Hamden, Con-
necticut. He entered the Episcopal ministry at
an early age, and filled pastorates of several
years each at Springfield, Massachusetts, and
Rochester, New York. In 1854 he was made
the first regular Bishop of Iowa, and filled that
position during the balance of his life, his resi-
dence being at Davenport, where his death oc-
curred in 1874, at the age of fifty-nine years.
He was one of the most active and distinguished
men of that faith in the United States during his
time, and greatly advanced the prosperity of the
Episcopal Church in the West.

The Lee family is of English lineage. Col.
Roswell Lee, the father of Rev. H. W. Lee,
served in the regular army of the United States
for many years. He participated in the War of
1812, and subsequently had charge of the United
States Armory at Springfield, Massachusetts, for
a considerable period of time. He was very
prominent in the Masonic order, and a lodge of
that fraternity at Springfield was named in his
honor.

Mrs. Lydia M. Lee, who is now living at Salt
Lake City, Utah, at the venerable age of eighty-
four years, was born at Taunton, Massachusetts.
She is a daughter of ex-Governor Marcus Mor-
ton, of that State. The latter was of English de-
scent, and served for many years as Chief Justice
of the State of Massachusetts previous to his
election as Governor.

William Lee, whose name heads this article,
spent most of his boyhood in Davenport. In

1864 he entered Hamden Military Academy, at
Hamden, Connecticut, taking a two-years course
at that institution. He subsequently became a
student at Racine College, Racine, Wisconsin,
but upon completing the junior year, in 1870, he
went to Griswold College at Davenport, Iowa, an
institution of which his father had been the
founder. The following year he graduated, re-
ceiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then
became connected with the engineer corps of the
Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, and spent
about one year about Kearney, Nebraska, where
he was engaged in laying off the line of that
road, then in course of construction. Being de-
termined to perfect himself in this profession, he
took a special course in engineering at Lawrence
Scientific School, Harvard University.

In 1873 he located at Chicago and engaged in
general surveying, but the next year went to
Salt Lake City, and occupied the next two sea-
sons in surveying and mining. Four years more
were spent in general engineering work at San
Francisco. Returning to Illinois in 1880, he was
employed as assistant engineer in platting the
town of Pullman. Three years later he entered
the service of the United States Government, on
a survey of the Hennepin Canal, and also as-
sisted in surveying the Illinois and Calumet
Rivers. He was subsequently connected with
the Public Works department of the village of
Hyde Park, and upon the annexation of that ter-
ritory to the city of Chicago, in 1889, he con-
tinued for one year in the engineering depart-
ment of the city. In the summer of 1890 he took
charge of platting the town of Harvey. Two years
were occupied in laying off this village, together
with its drainage and water- works systems. Since

Z. A. NEFF.

that time he has done most of the surveying and
engineering work for the villages of North Har-
vey, Dolton, Riverdale, Homewood, Matteson
and other places. During this time he has also
done most of the work in this line for the Pull-
man Land Association and Pullman's Palace Car
Company. His reputation for accurate and reli-
able workmanship causes his services to be re-
peatedly sought wherever he is known.

In October, 1873, Mr. Lee was united in matri-
mony to Miss Anna Cleo Everett, daughter of
William H. Everett, of Davenport, Iowa. Mrs.
Lee was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and
her death occurred at Chicago June 25, 1884, at

the age of thirty-five years. She left a son and a
daughter, named, 'respectively, Henry W. and
Mabel. Mr. Lee was again married, November
15, 1888, to Florence Isabel Ferguson, daughter
of William and Anna W. Ferguson, of Cincin-
nati. Two children have been born of this union,
namely, Alice Ferguson and Lydia Morton. The
family moves in the best social circles and enjoys
the good- will of all its acquaintances. Mr. Lee
is a member of the Western Society of Civil En-
gineers. A Republican in political sentiment,
he takes a patriotic interest in all important pub-
lic affairs, but never seeks the political patronage
of his fellow-citizens.

ZACHARIAH A. NEFF.

G7ACHARIAH ADDISON NEFF, a resident
I. of Cook County for the past thirty years,
I^J and a public official during the greater part
of that time, is a native of Pennsylvania, born
April 21, 1834, at Blairsville, Indiana County,
in that State. His father, Amos Neff, was born
in Virginia, probably at West Point, and was a
son of John Neff. It is supposed that members
of the Neff family came to America from Alsace-
Lorraine, and settled simultaneously in Virginia,
Pennsylvania and New York, in each of which
States their posterity have been numerous for
many generations. Amos Neff died when the
subject of this sketch was about seven years old.
Elizabeth Brewer, who became the wife of
Amos Neff and mother of Z. A. Neff, was born
in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Her fa-
ther, whose Christian name is supposed to have
been Andrew or John Andrew, served in the
Revolutionary army, and received a grant of six
hundred acres of land in Wisconsin from the Gov-
ernment in recognition of his services. While a
young man he was captured by Indians and held
a prisoner seven years. At the time of his death

he lacked less than five months of completing his
one-hundredth year. His daughter, Mrs. Neff,
was born before the beginning of the present
century, and was a strong and industrious wo-
man. She died at the early age of fifty-seven, in
1856. Beside the son whose name heads this
article, she had a daughter, Martha A., who is
now the widow of James Amesbaugh, residing at
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Z. A. Neff grew to manhood at Blairsville,
Pennsylvania, and received the full benefit of the
public schools. He learned the tinner's trade, and
during the Civil War had charge of the tin, cop-
per and sheet-iron department of the Government
railroad shops at Alexandria, Virginia, serving
in that capacity throughout the war. The mili-
tary railroad system was organized by the noted
Andrew Carnegie, who brought to the scene of
action a number of workmen, including Mr.
Neff. These works grew to immense propor-
tions before the close of the war.

After peace came, Mr. Neff came to Chicago
and opened a tin shop, to which was soon added
a stock of general hardware, and he did much

W. J. KEMPER.

jobbing and railroad work. In the spring of
1872 he sold out and removed to Dolton, where
he opened a hardware business and continued it
about twenty years. He was appointed Post-
master at Dolton by President Garfield, and re-
appointed by President Harrison, serving in all
about ten years. He is at present Clerk of the
Village of Dolton, and since 1891 has been a
County Constable, the duties of that office oc-
cupying most of his time. During the time when
not otherwise occupied, he does considerable col-
lecting for Chicago houses, and on all occasions
has shown himself to be a reliable, industrious and
capable business man.

He was married April n, 1872, to Miss Sarah
S. Harter, who was born in Delaware, Ohio, and
came to Illinois with her parents in 1843, theirs
being the second family to locate on the site of
the present village of Dolton. Mrs. Neffis the
only child of John Harter and his second wife,

Elizabeth, whose maiden name was Rheem. Her
father had six other children, all of whom are or
have been well-known citizens of Dolton. Mrs.
Elizabeth Harter sprang from a distinguished fam-
ily in Pennsylvania. She was a native of Rox-
bury, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and
died at Dolton in August, 1843. She was first
married to William Grearson. The only son of
this union, George W. Grearson, was killed by
the explosion of a tug in the Chicago harbor in
1863.

Mr. Neff aided in the organization of a lodge of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Dolton,
which has since surrendered its charter. He has
always been a Republican in his political allegi-
ance, and has voted for every presidential candi-
date of that party since attaining his majority,
including John C. Fremont in 1856. He has
always been a public-spirited and useful citizen,
and enjoys the respect of all his associates.

WILLIAM J. KEMPER.

fDGjlLLIAM JOHN KEMPER, one of theold-
\A/ es * res idents f Chicago, who gained a
V Y competence here by his characteristic Ger-
man industry, frugality and integrity, was born
on the 2d of February, 1816, in the Province of
Osnabrueck, Hanover, Germany. His parents
were Juergen Bernhardt and Katharine (Schuster)
Kemper. The latter died at the age of fifty-two
years in Germany. The father came to America
in 1840, and settled in Chicago, where he died
twelve years later.

The subject of this sketch received his primary
education in the public schools of Germany.
From fourteen to eighteen years of age he worked
as a farm laborer for one employer. On reach-
ing his majority he put into execution his pre-
viously conceived determination to seek his fort-

une in the new and free world beyond the seas.
He landed in New York in 1836, and found em-
ployment, in company with his brother, John
Kemper, in a tannery in Sullivan County, New
York.

May 14, 1837, he settled in Chicago. His first
employment here was in the capacity of cook,
serving the people engaged in developing a Gov-
ernment harbor in the Chicago River. For sev-
eral years subsequently he was employed by the
lale John Wentworth and others. His next em-
ployment was in the milk business with Lill &
Diversey, who were established at the foot of
Chicago Avenue. In 1843 he engaged in the
milk and vegetable business on his own account,
and continued this for twenty-one years, or until
he retired in 1864. By his honesty and strict

W. J. McELDOWNEY.

attention to business he gained favor in the eyes
of the public, and was known and respected
throughout the northern part of the city.

In 1848 Mr. Kemper bought the block of
ground bounded by Orchard and Larrabee Streets
and Fullerton and Belden Avenues. This ground
has appreciated immensely in value since then,
and it has been gradually sold off, except a plot
at the corner of Orchard Street and Fullerton
Avenue, one hundred and thirty by one hundred
and seventy-five feet in dimensions, where Mr.
Kemper has his home, in the midst of one of
the most beautiful residence districts in the city.
The great fire of 1871 destroyed two large houses
which he owned at the corner of Wells and Hill
Streets.

On the i gth of July, 1843, in Chicago, Mr. Kem-
per was married to Miss Katharine Toenigen,
a native of the Province of Otersberg, Hanover,
Germany. She is a daughter of Nicholas and
Mary (Gerken) Toenigen. Mrs. Kemper is the
second of two daughters born to her parents; she
was robbed of her mother by death at the age of
eleven years. She came to America with her

sister, Mrs. Henry Knopp, in 1842. Nine chil-
dren have been given to Mr. and Mrs. Kemper,
namely: Anna Marie, Katharine, John, Louise,
Christina, Margaret, William Henry, Edward
Hermann and Richard George. The eldest and
second sons are now deceased. The second
daughter is the wife of F. Kruse; the next mar-
ried Frank Pfunder; the fourth is Mrs. William
Ermeling; and the fifth is the wife of Charles
Baltz. The surviving sons married respectively
Stella and Anna Sourwine. All are happily set-
tled in business and social life in Chicago. Anna
Marie has devoted her life to her parents, and is
the stay and comfort of their old age. One of
the most joyful events in the history of the fam-
ily was the celebration, in 1893, of the golden
wedding anniversary of the parents, who are still
in the enjoyment of good health, and have dwelt
for forty-five years in the same place. They are
associated with the Evangelical Association, be-
ing identified with the Wisconsin Street Church.
Mr. Kemper voted for the elder Harrison, and
has supported the Whig or Republican ticket
ever since.

WILLIAM J. McELDOWNEY.

JOHN McELDOWNEY, Pres-
identofthe Bank of Chicago Heights, a
son of John McEldowney , whose biography
appears in these pages, have inherited many of
the qualities which made his father a leading and
influential citizen. He is honest, straightfor-
ward and friendly, and keeps in view the welfare
of his fellows and of the community. He was
born June 30, 1843, in Bloom, and spent his boy-
hood on his father's farm in his native town. In
childhood, and in the intervals of farm labor in

later years, he attended the common school of the
neighborhood, and finished his studies at Lake
Forest Academy.

Soon after the completion of his nineteenth year,
in October, 1862, he enlisted in his country's serv-
ice in the suppression of rebellion. He became
a member of Company M, Fourteenth Regiment
of Illinois Cavalry, under Colonel Capron. He
served nine months in Kentucky, and was dis-
charged at the end of that time, with the rank of
sergeant.

C. D. HEWS, A. M., M. D.

On his return to Bloom in 1863, Mr. McEl-
dowuey entered the store of James Hunter in the
village, and continued in his service until the
spring of 1868. He then purchased a farm of one
hundred and twenty acres, which he subsequent-
ly increased to two hundred and sixty acres in
Bloom Township; this he retained and tilled until
1892, when he sold a quarter-section to the Chi-
cago Heights Land Association. The remaining
one hundred acres, adjoining the village, he still
retains.

Upon the organization of the Bank of Chicago
Heights, January i, 1893, in which he was in-
strumental, Mr. McEldowney was elected its pres-
ident and has filled that position since. He is a
member of the Presbyterian Church of Chicago
Heights, of which he is treasurer and a member
of the board of trustees. He has always taken
an intelligent interest in the conduct of local

affairs, and has often been selected to act in their
administration. He has been Supervisor several
years, and has also been Town Treasurer. He
is a steadfast Republican in general political prin-
ciple.

He was married October 22,1866, to Miss Mary
H. McQueen, a native of Elgin, Illinois, daugh-
ter of George and Margaret (McCormick) Mc-
Queen, both natives of Scotland. Five children
complete the family of Mr. and Mrs. McEldown-
ey, namely: John Howard, commercial editor
of the Chicago Tribune; George I., book-keeper
of the Chicago Heights Bank; Annie, William
Frank and Ralph. As the result of his industry,
prudence and sagacity, Mr. McEldowney is now
at the head of one of the soundest and most suc-
cessful business institutions of the community,
and enjoys the respect and friendship of his
fellow-citizens.

CHARLES D. HEWS, A. M., M. D.

(TJHARLES DEANEHEWS, A. M., M. D.,
I ( the first medical practitioner at Roseland,
\J was born at La Porte, Indiana, April 5,
1846. His parents, Dr. Richard B. Hews and
Jane Elizabeth Spaulding, were natives of Penn-
sylvania, and became early settlers in northern
Indiana. His paternal grandfather, Bursten Hews,
was an Englishman, who crossed the ocean and
located in the Keystone State about the beginning
of the present century. He kept an inn at Can-
ton Corners, in Bradford County. His wife was
an offspring of the famous Clendenning family
of Scotland. She was a lady of extraordinary
physical vigor, and a devout adherent of the
Baptist faith. She was accustomed to walk twen-
ty miles and back regularly each Sabbath (proba-

bly to Towanda) to reach the nearest point at
which she could enjoy the close communion of
that sect. Even in old age she persistently de-
clined the services of a carriage in going to church.
She died at La Porte, Indiana, at the venerable
age of ninety-six years.

Dr. R. B. Hews studied medicine at Phila-
delphia, and became a practitioner of the "Thom-
sonian" school. About 1830 he removed to La
Porte, making the journey with a horse and
sleigh, accompanied by his wife. He practiced
there several years and also engaged in mer-
cantile business, opening the first store in the
place, and bringing his goods from Detroit by
team. In addition to these pursuits, he oper-
ated extensively in real estate upon the present

C. D. HEWS, A. M., M. D.

site of Joliet, Illinois, and other Western cities.
The ground now occupied by the Union Depot
at Kansas City was purchased by him before any
one had dreamed of a railroad at that point. His
death occurred at L,a Porte in 1892, at the age of
eighty-six years. Mrs. Jane E. Hews is still liv-
ing at the last-named place, at the age of seventy-
six years. Her father, Charles Spaulding, was
also of English lineage. Dr. and Mrs. R. B.
Hews were the parents of nine children, two of
whom died in infancy. Robert is a resident of
Oakland, California, where he is Commissioner
of Public Works. William, a prominent business
man of Kansas City, is a veteran of the Forty-
eighth Indiana Volunteers. James died in 1895,
in Chicago, while Assistant Auditor of the Wis-
consin Central Railroad. Charles D. is the next
in order of birth. Mary J. is the wife of George
H. Serviss, a banker of New Carlisle, Indiana.
Elizabeth died in 1884, at L,a Porte, Indiana,
where Kittie, the youngest, now resides.

Dr. C. D. Hews evidently inherits the vigor-
ous constitution and tendency to longevity which
distinguished his progenitors. He received a
liberal education, first taking a course at Hills-
dale College, Hillsdale, Michigan, from which he
received the degree of Master of Arts. In 1864
he became a student at the Chicago University,
and later attended the University of Michigan at
Ann Arbor, graduating from that famous in-
stitution in 1869, with the title of Doctor of Medi-
cine. He had previously practiced about one
year at Marengo, Illinois, with Dr. Green, one of
the oldest surgeons in the State.

Soon after leaving Ann Arbor he located at
Roseland, where he has ever since been engaged
in the active practice of medicine and surgery.
When he came to this place the nearest physicians
were at Blue Island and Hyde Park, and his
practice extended for miles through the surround-
ing country. Though his field of usefulness has
been curtailed geographically, if measured by the
number of patients treated it has been constantly
increasing, and his popularity has been well
merited. He is a member of the Chicago and
Illinois Medical Societies.

During Sherman's Atlanta campaign, in 1864,

Dr. Hews enlisted under the call for three hundred
thousand troops for one hundred days' service, and
was enrolled in Company B, One Hundred and
Thirty-eighth Indiana Infantry. He served un-
der General Milroy, and accompanied the expedi-
tion as far as Atlanta. He took part in a num-
ber of skirmishes with Texas rangers, and other
guerrilla bands. While encamped at Tantallon ,
Tennessee, his company, while on a foraging ex-
pedition a few miles from camp, was surprised
and captured by a Confederate force under Gen-
eral Forrest, who was on the way to destroy Elk
River Bridge, on the Nashville & Chattanooga
Railroad. Not wishing to be encumbered by
prisoners, the enemy were content with confiscat-
ing all the clothing, money and other valuables
of the Union men, who were obliged to work
their way back to camp as best they could, and
were afterward jeered by their comrades on ac-
count of their scanty toilet. In common with the
other volunteers who responded to that call, the
Doctor received a certificate of thanks, which was
signed by President Lincoln and Secretary Stan-
ton ; this he still cherishes among his most valued
relics.

The Doctor was married in 1876, and has one
daughter, Carrie Hews, now a student at Loretto
Academy, Loretto, Kentucky. He is a member
of the Masonic order, and has always been a
Democrat in political sentiments. He served two
terms as a member of the Board of Trustees of
the village of Hyde Park (now the Thirty-fourth
Ward of the city of Chicago) . He has always
been interested in promoting public works, and
was instrumental in securing the first appropria-
tion for the improvement of Michigan Avenue
through the village of Roseland, and in straight-
ening that thoroughfare from Roseland to the
Calumet River. Though his professional services
are in almost constant demand, he finds time to
keep well informed on the leading public ques-
tions of the day, and displays independent judg-
ment in forming and expressing his opinion. He
keeps thoroughly abreast of the times on all pro-
fessional and scientific subjects, and his library
and instrumental appliances embrace all the latest
and best productions in those fields.

G. H. PETERMAN.

GEORGE H. PETERMAN.

HENRY PETERMAN is one of
l_ the oldest and most faithful employes of
vU Pullman's Palace Car Company. His youth
was spent upon the banks of the Potomac River,
and his lineage has been traced from some of the
early pioneers of the valley of that historic stream,
a region famous for the production of men of
sterling character and self-sacrificing devotion to
principle. His parents were John Foster Peter-
man and Pamelia Rosina Grosh.

John F. Peterman was a son of G. W. Peter-
man, a veteran of the War of 1 8 1 2 . He probably
enlisted from Virginia, but was later found in
Mercersburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a native
of Martinsburgh, Virginia, and his mother's
maiden name was Lingefelder. Her family at
one time owned a tract of land in the city of
Washington, including the site of some of the
United States Government buildings. G. W.
Peterman died January 21, 1845, aged fifty-seven
years. His wife, Mary Catherine Tabler, died
February 20, 1859, a ' the age of sixty-three.
She was a native of Virginia, of German descent.

John F. Peterman was born at Mercersburgh,
Pennsylvania, and died at the age of fifty-four
years, December 16, 1872, in Cumberland, Mary-
land. He was a carpenter contractor by oc-
cupation. Mrs. P. R. Peterman was a daugh-
ter of Henry Grosh and Prudence M. L,eggett.
Henry Grosh 's grandparents came from Bavaria
before the Revolutionary War, and located at
Graceham, Maryland. Frederick, the father of
Henry Grosh, was born there about 1775.
Frederick Grosh' s mother-in-law, Mrs. Smith,
was captured by Indians during the Revolu-
tionary War, was held a captive seven years,

and died soon after her release. Henry Grosh
was a baker and confectioner at Williamsport,
Maryland, and also practiced the Thomsonian
system of medicine. He died there at the age of
eighty-seven years. Mrs. Peterman is the eld-
est of his twelve children, and is now living at
Pullman, aged seventy-four years. Her mother's
people were of English lineage, and conspicuous
for their longevity. The family was founded in
the United States by two brothers, one of whom
reached the great age of one hundred and twelve
years.

George H. Peterman was born at Cumberland,
Maryland, November 10, 1846. He was there-
fore less than sixteen years of age when the ani-
mosities which had long agitated the people of
the two great sections of the country culminated
in civil war. Cumberland was destined to see
much of the ravages of the strife. The majority
of its people sympathized with the Confederate
cause, and those inclined to be loyal to the Gov-
ernment hesitated about taking any decisive
action.

Young Peterman was enthusiastic in the Union
cause, and taking up a collection among those of
his schoolmates who were patriotically inclined,
purchased a few yards of bunting, which his
mother sewed into a flag. This was raised on
the public square and carefully guarded by the
boys to prevent its destruction, which had been
threatened. This was the first United States
flag raised in the town after the beginning of
hostilities. Young Peterman watched the progress
of the war with impatience for two years, then
enlisted, April n, 1863, in Company H, Third
Maryland Potomac Home Brigade. He was

JOSEPH CALDWELL.

mustered out May 29, 1865, having served in
the Middle Department, under Gen. Lew Wal-
lace. Just previous to the battle of Monocacy,
he received a bayonet wound in the groin, but
continued on duty regularly. He took part in
the battle of Monocacy, in Sheridan's entire
campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, and in
other minor engagements, and was with the regi-
ment constantly except when on detached duty.
After the war Mr. Peterman became a house car-
penter at Cumberland, and thence removed to
Newark, Ohio.

In June, 1881, he came to Pullman, where he
at once began work for the Pullman Company.
He worked at house-building for a year or two,
and then entered the car-shops. For the past
twelve years he has been continuously employed
in the trimming department, a fact which testifies
to his skill and reliability.

He was married September 27, 1892, to Miss
Delilah V. Clem, of Baltimore, Maryland, daugh-

ter of William S. and Julia Ann (Favorite) Clem.
William S. Clem was a miller by trade, and when
the war began he was employed at Culpeper
Courthouse, Virginia. Though he sympathized
with the Confederate cause, he took no part in
the struggle, but during the disorder which pre-
vailed there he was murdered. His wife died in
1852, soon after which event Mrs. Peterman went
to live with her grandfather, George Favorite,
at Mechanicstown (now Thurmont), Maryland,
where most of her childhood was passed. She was
reared in the Baptist faith, and her husband in
that of the Lutheran Church. Mr. Peterman is
a member of J. B. Wyman Post No. 521, Grand
Army of the Republic, at Pullman, and of Cum-
berland Lodge No. 60, Knights of Pythias, at
Cumberland, Maryland. A stanch Republican
from boyhood, in the fall of 1893 he helped to
organize the Pullman McKinley Club, the first in
the United States. It now has over seven hun-
dred members.

JOSEPH CALDWELL.

(JOSEPH CALDWELL, a prosperous mer-
I chant of Chicago Heights, represents one of
G/ the oldest families of the southern part of
Cook County. He was born October 22, 1847,
in the township where he resides, and is a son of
John and Mary Jane (Caldwell) Caldwell. John
Caldwell was a native of Glasgow, Scotland. His
father, Hugh Caldwell, died during his child-
hood, and he lived with his grandfather, a farmer
and milk dealer, in Kilbarton. Peter, a brother
of John Caldwell, became an extensive mason
contractor at Glasgow, Larges and Paisley. He
fitted the system of gas lights for the streets of
Larges and built a wall around the cemetery
there. He died on the first night that the streets
were lighted by gas, and his body was the first
interred in the cemetery.

John Caldwell came to America at the age of
eighteen years and landed at Montreal, Canada,
June i, 1833. About a year later he went to
Detroit, Michigan, and for the next ten years he
was employed most of the time in driving the
stage on the Tuttle Brothers' line from Detroit to
Chicago. Four and six horses were driven to
each coach, and besides carrying the mail a thriv-
ing business was done in the transportation of
passengers. The only competitor of this line was
that of Frink & Walker, and frequent races were
indulged in by the drivers of rival stages, who
were always ambitious to be the first to arrive at
each point with their loads of human freight.
Though there was an occasional breakdown or
capsizal, and more zeal than prudence was some-
time displayed by the drivers, everyone enjoyed

JOSEPH CALDWELL.

the sport. Mr. Caldwell was always fond of re-
lating reminiscences of those pioneer days.

Mr. Caldwell was subsequently employed in a
grain elevator at Michigan City, Indiana, and
drove a team about one year between Chicago
and Joliet, hauling supplies for contractors on the
Illinois and Michigan Canal. At one time his
buffalo robe was stolen by some of the workmen
on the canal, many of whom were desperate char-
acters. He searched about until he found it, con-
cealed under the bunk where they slept. Find-
ing themselves detected, they threatened to take
his life, but were restored to good humor by a
treat of liquor, and Mr. Caldwell was ever after
one of the most popular men on the road.

In 1844 he pre-empted a farm in Bloom Town-
ship, and the following year added to this by the
purchase of eighty acres from the Government at
one and one-fourth dollars per acre. He then
built a cabin and began cultivating his farm, to
which additions were made from time to time,
his present homestead being purchased in 1856.
He became the owner of more than half a section
in all, and lived thereon continuously until his
death, which occurred August 26, 1886, his age
at that time being more than seventy-two years.
He was a thrifty farmer and an earnest Christian.
Soon after locating in Bloom, he became one of
the prime movers in organizing a Presbyterian
Church at the present location of Chicago
Heights, and he served as an Elder of this so-
ciety for many years. Later he united with the
Presbyterian Church at Homewood, in which he
was an Elder the balance of his life.

On Christmas Day of the year 1844, Mr. Cald-
well was married to Miss Mary Jane, daughter of
Joseph Caldwell, one of the earliest settlers of
Bloom Township, who located there in 1838 and
purchased four hundred acres of land from the
United States Government. Mrs. Caldwell sur-
vives, at the age of seventy-four years, residing
on the homestead farm, a part of which has never
changed hands since pre-empted by her husband.
She was born at Belmalone, County Tyrone, Ire-
land, and came to America with her parents in
1826. The family lived at Lennoxville, Canada,
and continued to reside there until their removal to

Cook County, in 1838. While en route by way
of the Erie Canal, Mrs. Caldwell saw a train of
cars for the first time in her life. Her father
died in Bloom, April 29, 1860, aged seventy-
seven years. His wife, Dorothy (Jack), survived
until February 22, 1872, reaching the advanced
age of eighty-three years. The following is a
record of their offspring: James died November i,
1864. Rosanna, Mrs. John Little, born October
i, 1817, died March 2, 1883. Archibald, born
June 13, 1820, died November 18, 1892. Mary
J., Mrs. John Caldwell, was born Augusts, 1822.
Thomas, born September i, 1826, died June 16,
1881. Eliza, wife of William Caskey, born De-
cember 7, 1828, died February 21, 1854. Martha,
born October 15, 1829, is the widow of James Orr,
residing at Harvey, Illinois. Dorothy, born
June to, 1831, is the wife of James Brisbane, of
New Lenox, Illinois.

Mrs. Caldwell is quite active in mind and body,
and exhibits her remarkable memory of events
and dates. She often recalls the time when the
prairie surrounding her home was almost unin-
habited, and the groves which now dot the land-
scape consisted of mere shrubs. None of the
streams had been bridged when she came to this
county, and travelers were obliged to make long
detours to avoid those which were too deep to be
forded. She had been the mother of eleven chil-
dren, five of whom died in infancy. A record of
the others is as follows: Julia was born October 1 1 ,
1845; Joseph was born October 22, 1847; Maria,
Mrs. H. M. Goodell, residing at Titusville,
Florida, was born October 23, 1855; James was
born June 21, 1857; John, born October 10, 1859,
died June 28, 1878; Edward, born June 26, 1861,
is now in business in New York City.

Joseph Caldwell, whose name heads this article,
grew to manhood on his father's farm, which he
helped to cultivate and improve, attending the
public schools of the district in the intervals of
this labor. He spent two years at Lake Forest
University , and then returned to the farm. He was
married March 26, 1874, to Catherine R., daugh-
ter of Robert Wallace, of whom further mention
is made in this volume in the biography of E. A.
Wallace. Mrs. Caldwell was born in the town-

DR. j. MCLEAN.

ship in which she resides, and has presented her
husband with six children, namely: Clara Jane,
Anna Maria, Martha Janett, Mertie Lorena,
John and Jesse.

Soon after his marriage Mr. Caldwell took
charge of the farm of his father-in-law, which he
continued to operate until 1890, maintaining an
extensive dairy. In the last-named year two hun-
dred and forty-one acres of this land were sold to
the Chicago Heights Land Association, constitut-
ing the first ground subdivided by that corpora-
tion. Mr. Caldwell then purchased a general
merchandise store in the village, where he has

since been continuously engaged in trade. He is
a progressive, public- spirited and reliable citizen,
and has often been called upon to fill positions of
trust by his fellow-townsmen. He has been a
School Director for the past twelve years, and
School Treasurer of the township eight years.
He is Clerk of the Board of Education at the
present time, and was thirteen years Treasurer of
the Union Detective Association. He has been a
steadfast Republican, and from early life a mem-
ber of the Presbyterian Church, and was sixteen
years Secretary and Treasurer of the Union Sun-
day-school Association.

DR. J. McLEAN.

0R. JOHN McLEAN is the able surgeon em-
ployed by the Pullman Palace Car Com-
pany to attend any of its employes who may
be accidentally hurt while in pursuit of its duties.
He is also engaged in a general practice of medi-
cine and surgery at Pullman, and during his
residence of fifteen years in that beautiful suburb
has come to be regarded as one of the most ex-
emplary and useful citizens in the town. He is
remotely descended from the celebrated clan Mc-
Lean of Scotland, which includes among its poster-
ity many noted citizens of the United States.

John McLean, great-grandfather of the Doctor,
was born near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where
he grew to manhood and married. About 1750
he removed to Greensboro, North Carolina, and
built a house of cedar logs there, which is still
occupied by some of his descendants. One of his
sons, Joseph McLean, served in the Continental
army.

Robert McLean, another son of John McLean,
was born at Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina,
in 1763. He was a pioneer of Illinois, going to
Franklin County in 1818. He erected a log
house there, and returned to his native State,

whence he brought his family the next spring.
His wife was Jean Akin, a native of North Caro-
lina, of Scotch descent. Two of her brothers
were volunteers in the American army at the bat-
tle of Guilford Courthouse.

James Akin McLean, son of Robert and Jean
McLean, was born March 25, 1809, in Guilford
County, North Carolina. He became an ex-
tensive farmer and stockman of Franklin County,
Illinois. During the Black Hawk War he served
under Captain Ewing, in Colonel De Ment's regi-
ment, and took part in the engagement at Kel-
logg' s Grove. While on this expedition he visited
Fort Dearborn, where he met General Scott. J.
A. McLean's wife, Lydia Smith, was born near
Macon, Georgia, and was the daughter of James
Smith, a native of the same State, who became a
resident of Illinois in 1820. The Smith family
was of English ancestry.

Dr. John McLean, son of James Akin and
Lydia McLean, was born in Franklin County,
Illinois, October 7, 1837. His early life was
spent on a farm, working during the summer and
autumn, and attending school about three months
each winter. At the age of twenty he began the

F. B. MOORE, M. D., B. S.

study of medicine in the office of Dr. Francis
Ronalds, then residing in Benton, Illinois. Dur-
ing the winter of 1 860-61 he attended the St.
Louis Medical College.

In the following July he enlisted, and on the
loth of August he was mustered in the Fortieth
Regiment, Illinois Infantry. On the I4th of the
following November he was commissioned Second
Lieutenant of Company A of this regiment. He
was present at the capture of Paducah and took
part in the battle of Shiloh, where he received
a serious wound, April 6, 1862, necessitating
the amputation of his left foot. The regiment
was highly complimented by the commander,
General Sherman, for holding its ground under
the enemy's fire after its supply of cartridges was
exhausted.

September 23, 1862, he resigned his commis-
sion, but afterwards volunteered his services as a
surgeon to accompany an expedition sent by the
Sanitary Commission from Chicago. They pro-
ceeded by steamboat to Vicksburg and picked up
a load of sick and wounded soldiers, which they
brought up the river. He then entered Rush
Medical College at Chicago, from which he grad-

uated in 1863. In June of that year he located
at Duquoin, Illinois, where he practiced medi-
cine and surgery until October, 1881. At this
date he accepted the position of surgeon of the
Pullman Palace Car Company and removed to
his present residence.

Dr. McLean was married in 1870 to Eugenie
Paris, daughter of David and Elizabeth Paris, of
Bloomington, Illinois. They have one son, Guy
Marshall McLean, a practicing physician of La
Porte, Indiana.

The Doctor is associated with numerous fra-
ternal and benevolent organizations, as well as
professional societies, including the American
Medical Association, the Academy of Railroad
Surgeons, the Royal Arcanum, Independent Or-
der of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias; J. B.
Wyman Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and
Illinois Commandery of the Loyal Legion. A
life-long Republican, he takes little interest in
local political strife, but entertains well-defined
views of the leading political questions of the day.
A man of self-reliance and much force of char-
acter, he exerts a powerful and beneficent influ-
ence in the community.

FLOYD B. MOORE, M. D., B. S.

f~LOYD BROWN MOORE, M. D., B. S., fills
r3 a prominent position in the professional and
I f social circles of Pullman, Roseland and
other southern suburbs of Chicago. He was
born December 13, 1866, at Brockville, Canada,
and his parents, Abner Daniel and Betsey Jane
(Brown) Moore, were natives of the same locality.
Abner D. Moore is a son of Frederick Moore,
whose parents came from Ireland and settled in
Canada about the beginning of the present cent-
ury. Frederick Moore is still living on a farm
at Brockville, at the venerable age of eighty-four
years. Abner D. Moore has been a speculator in

grain and live stock nearly all his life. In 1867
he went to Portage, Wisconsin, and removed
thence, two years later, to Fort Dodge, Iowa. He
subsequently moved to Manson, in the same
State, and is now living, at the age of fifty-five
years, in Brockville, Canada. His wife, Betsey
J. Moore, died in Manson, Iowa, in 1889. Her
parents were natives of Canada, of English lineage.
Dr. F. B. Moore graduated from the High
School of Manson, Iowa, after which he entered
the Northern Indiana Normal School at Val-
paraiso, Indiana. After spending two years upon
the scientific course of that institution, he grad-

LOUIS OSWALD.

uated, in 1886, with the degree of Bachelor of
Science. He then entered the Chicago Medical
College (now Northwestern University Medical
School), and in April, 1889, received the degree
of Doctor of Medicine from that college.

He immediately entered upon the practice of
medicine at Pullman, where he has since re-
mained, with gratifying and pecuniary success.
In the spring of 1896 he built a modern brick
residence at Roseland, in which he maintains an
office, as well as at Pullman. He follows the
general practice of both medicine and surgery,
and has been enabled by his success to invest to
some extent in suburban real estate, which he
improves from time to time, and thus adds to the
general prosperity of the community.

Dr. Moore was married in November, 1891, to
Miss Mattie Alice Rolston, of Kensington, daugh-
ter of John M. Rolston, a well-known undertaker of
Chicago, now deceased. Dr. Moore is identified

with numerous social, fraternal and beneficial
orders, in most of which he fills the position of
examinimg surgeon. These include Prosperity
Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows;
Palace Lodge, Pullman Chapter and Calumet
Commandery, of the Masonic order; Calumet
Lodge, Knights of Pythias; Pullman Council,
National Union; Royal Council, Royal League;
Pullman Tribe of Ben Hur, and the South Side
Physicians' Club. He has been health officer
of the South Side district for several months, and
is now public vaccinator.

He is local examining physician for a number
of the leading life insurance companies of the
United States, and is a useful and influential citi-
zen, of whom any community might well be
proud. He amply merits the prosperity and
popularity which he enjoys. Politically he is
independent, putting the man above party, and
patriotism above politics.

LOUIS OSWALD

I GUIS OSWALD, one of the leading mer-
I C chants of the southern portion of the county,
\ J is a finely educated representative of a good
German family. He was born in one of the
beautiful villages which border the Rhine River,
namely, Saint Guarshausen, Province of Hesse-
Darmstadt, Nassau, March 7, 1836. His grand-
father, Henry Oswald, was a farmer, who owned
an estate in Westerfeld, Germany, and his father,
also named Henry, was for nearly fifty years
demanenrath of the Duke of Nassau, having
charge of the extensive estates of that nobleman.
He was but three years younger than the present
century, and died in June, 1879, at the age of
seventy-six years. His wife, Carolina Zink, died
in April, 1847, at the age of forty- six years. She
was the daughter of Rev. William Zink, a min-

ister of the Evangelical Church, for many years
pastor at Homburg for der Hoche.

Louis Oswald attended the gymnasium at
Wiesbaden, studying pharmacy and chemistry,
and graduating in these branches at the early age
of seventeen years. Immediately after this he
came to America, and remained several months in
New York City, where he found employment in
a drug store. In April, 1854, he came to Chicago,
and entered the drug store of Dr. Philip Mathie,
on State Street, between Adams and Monroe.
This store was then on the outskirts of the city,
and Mr. Oswald boarded in a house on the pres-
ent site of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific
station. The cholera raged through the first
season of his residence here, and the young emi-
grant had ample opportunity to observe its effects.

G. VAN DER SYDE.

The drug store in which he was employed was in
a hotel building, in which more than forty people
died of this terrible scourge during the season.

In 1856 Mr. Oswald went to Homewood, and
accepted a position in a general store kept by
Herbert & Zimmer, with whom he remained
eighteen months. He then entered a branch store
there, operated by Charles Robinson, of Blue Is-
land, which was later conducted by Robinson,
Hastings & Company. In 1859 he removed to
Bloom (now Chicago Heights), which village
then contained two stores, a blacksmith shop,
wagon shop and paint shop.

After working as a clerk one year in the gen-
eral merchandise store of James Hunter, he be-
came a partner in the firm of S. B. Eakin & Com-
pany, which conducted a similar establishment.
In 1865 he bought out the interest of Mr. Eakin,
and has ever since conducted the business alone.
He was Postmaster from 1865 to 1893, a period
of twenty-eight years, and in 1876 his original
store building was greatly enlarged. For many
years he bought and shipped grain from this
station, which was originally established by the
Michigan Central Railroad Company, on account
of his business.

Mr. Oswald was married May 2, 1861, to Miss
Mary, daughter of Jacob and Barbara (Sauter)
Claus. Jacob Claus, who was an engineer, lost
his life by drowning in the Chicago Harbor. Bar-
bara Sauter came in 1832 (then a young girl) to
Chicago, in company with the family of John H.
Kinzie, on the first steamer which landed here.
Mrs. Oswald was born in Michigan City, Indiana,
and died December 6, 1888, aged forty years.
Five of her seven children are living, the others
having died in childhood. Dr. Julius W. Oswald,
the eldest, is a surgeon in the Alexian Brothers'
Hospital in Chicago. Otto A. is a clerk in his
father's store. Frederick C. is a student in the
Chicago Art Institute, and Cora B. and Florence
B. remain with their father. Mr. Oswald has
just reason to be proud of his children (all of
whom are finely educated) and of his business
record. He was a member of the Evangelical
Church in youth, but is not now connected with
any society. He cast his first Presidential vote
for Gen. John C. Fremont, and has voted for
every Presidential candidate since. He was Col-
lector of Bloom Township in 1863, and takes a
warm interest in public schools, serving for many
years as School Trustee and Director of his district.

GORIS VAN DER SYDE.

SORIS VAN DER SYDE is one of the earliest
settlers at Roseland, and has been largely
instrumental in promoting the growth and
development of that thriving suburb. His par-
ents were Leonard and Line (Steanberg) Van
derSyde, who, with their family, joined the party
which originally settled at this place in 1849.
The father, who had been a butcher in the Fa-
therland, became the owner of ten acres of land
on the west side of what is now Michigan Ave-

nue. He carried on the business of a market-
gardener until the growth of the town necessitated
the subdivision of his land for building purposes.
Some of the principal residences and business
blocks of the village now stand upon this site.
His death occurred October 8, 1875, at the age of
seventy-two years. His wife, who was born in
the same year as her husband, survived until
February 24, 1877. Their children are Goris,
subject proper of this notice; Line, widow of

G. VAN DER SYDE.

Peter Dalenberg, of Roseland; Agnes, Mrs. John
Ton, of the same place; and Nellie, Mrs. John
Prince, now deceased.

Goris Van der Syde was born at Numansdorp,
Province of South Holland, December 13, 1827.
He was educated in his native town, and after
coming to this country attended an English
school one winter. He has always been an ex-
tensive reader, and speaks and writes the English
language accurately. When the family located
here, deer, wolves and other wild game roamed
over the. prairie about their home. Having been
reared in a thickly populated country, the young-
er members of the family were at first afraid to
wander far from the house, but soon became ac-
customed to their new surroundings. He engaged
in the meat business at first, but a few years later,
in 1852, opened the first store in the town, and
continued in mercantile business until 1880, when
he retired from active pursuits, being succeeded
by his son, who now conducts one of the leading
stores in Roseland. For several years after Mr.
Van der Syde came here there were but two
houses on Halsted Street between his place and
Twelfth Street, that being the road which he
usually traveled with his ox-team to bring his
goods from the city. At first their postoffice
was at Chicago, but after the Illinois Central
Railroad was built to Kensington an office was
established at that place, known as Calumet
Junction. In 1861 this office was removed to
Roseland, and named Hope, that name being aft-
erwards changed to Roseland. Mr. Van der Syde
was appointed the first Postmaster at this place,
and held the office continuously for twenty-five
years, through successive changes in the national
administration.

Realizing that there was a great future for in-
vestors in real estate, about 1860 Mr. Van derSyde
bought eighty acres, in company with his brother-
in-law, Mr. Dalenberg, the price of the tract be-
ing eleven hundred dollars. This they afterwards
divided, each taking forty acres. Soon after pur-
chasing land here, Mr. Van der Syde planted a
great many shade trees, finding recreation from
his indoor pursuits in this manner. These shade
trees are now the pride and ornament of the town,

and have greatly enhanced the value of his prop-
erty. Mr. Van der Syde subsequently sold thirty-
three acres of his property for $66,000, and the
whole has been subdivided and mostly built up
with residences and business blocks, all being
now included in the city of Chicago. He has in-
vested quite extensively in farming lands in New-
ton County, Indiana, where he devotes consider-
able attention to planting vineyards and the culti-
vation of various kinds of fruits. He helped to
organize the Pullman Loan and Savings Bank,
and was one of the first Directors of this flourish-
ing and solid institution, an office which he still
holds.

In December, 1856, Mr. Van der Syde was mar-
ried to Engeltje De Young, daughter of Henry
and Geertje (DeVreis) De Young, of South Hol-
land, Cook County, Illinois. Her father died in
1893, aged nearly ninety years, and her mother
in 1878, at the age of nearly eighty years. Mrs.
Van der Syde was born in Puersen, South Hol-
land, and came to America with her parents in
1848. Of the six children of Mr. and Mrs. Van
der Syde who reached mature years, three are now
living: Leonard, a prominent merchant of Rose-
land; Henry, who is a farmer of Newton County,
Indiana, and George, who is still at home with his
parents. Those deceased are Mary, Harry and
Nellie, the last named being the wife of George
McCutcheon.

Mr. and Mrs. Van der Syde are connected with
the Dutch Reformed Church at Roseland. A
Republican in politics, the former served as Col-
lector of Calumet Township for two terms, and
was for one term Town Clerk. When he occupied
the former position the whole tax-roll of the
township, which then included South Chicago,
was contained in a small volume which he car-
ried in a hand satchel. His duties as one of the
township officials during the great Civil War re-
quired him to assist in the expenditure of the
bounty raised by the township to induce volun-
teers to enter the service and fill its quota of
troops. His public duties have always been dis-
charged in a faithful and capable manner, and he
enjoys the friendship and good-will of all his fel-
low-citizens.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

ALBERT J. LAMMORIS

A. J. LAMMORIS.

ALBERT J. LAMMORIS.

G| LBERT JACOB LAMMORIS, whose career
LJ strikingly illustrates the truth of the modem
/ I saying that "Nothing succeeds like suc-
cess," was one of the self-made men of our times.
He belonged to a class of young men who,
though poor, find in metropolitan life the in-
centives which superinduce the highest and best
efforts of which men are capable; to master the
disadvantages that are supposed to hinder their
progress when opposed by rich and powerful
rivals. The indomitable energy which char-
acterized Mr. Lammoris was of a sort not to be
balked by the inconveniences of poverty, and
his career was a model one, in every way worthy
of emulation.

Although of foreign birth, he became, when
yet a boy, thoroughly imbued with American
ideas, and throughout his life he was actuated
by that spirit of "push" which is distinctively
characteristic of Americans. He was born in
Gripskerk, one of the seven provinces of Gron-
ingen, Holland, April 25, 1858, a son of Jacob and
Johanna (De Vries) Lammoris, who came to
America in 1864 and settled in Grand Haven,
Michigan. Two years later they came to Chi-
cago, young Albert being then eight years old.
His parents were too poor to furnish him the
essentials necessary to attendance on the public
schools. As a boy he was naturally bright and
active, having the faculty of adaptation, and
could apply himself vigorously to the accomplish-
ment of a purpose. But he lacked opportunities,

and it was his misfortune to be deprived of the
wholesome influence of home training.

At the age of fourteen years he was admitted
to the Industrial Home for Boys at Lansing,
Michigan, where he remained one year. The
influence of this institution was of the greatest
benefit to him, and there he laid the foundation
for a career which, though brief, has been
paralleled in but few instances. In 1872 he re-
turned to Chicago, being then less than fifteen
years of age, practically without a home and des-
titute of means. However, he was not dis-
couraged by these disadvantages, but resolutely
set about overcoming them, and for several years
was variously employed. He had a natural
aptitude for mechanics, and, acquiring a few
tools, he established himself in the chair-repair-
ing business. This he followed a few years,
achieving sufficient success to enable him, with
his scanty savings, to open a small furniture store,
on the West Side, in 1881. In this venture he
prospered, each year adding to the success
which had begun to brighten his life.

His circumstances warranting so important
and necessary a step, April 13, 1882, he was
united in marriage with Miss Mary L. Sherman,
a young lady of talent and pleasing culture.
Subsequently he opened another store in the same
line of business, and successfully conducted both
establishments until 1893, when he disposed of
them. He had ample means now, and what,
perhaps, is still better, an invaluable practical ex-

6 4

A. J. LAMMORIS.

perience, which enabled him to execute a long
cherished plan that of establishing cheap lodg-
ing houses for the unfortunate poor of Chicago.
His own early privations and battles with poverty
had given him an insight into the needs of the
poor, and to the betterment of their condition
he now proposed to devote his time, talents and
means.

His plan was to furnish lodgings at the lowest
price consistent with cleanliness, the minimum
rates to be fifteen to twenty-five cents per day.
The "Liberty House" was the first of the kind he
erected, and it proved so successful that he im-
mediately secured a large building on Clinton
Street, now known as the "Friendship House,"
which he fitted up according to plans of his own.
It is a mammoth house, having seven hundred
twenty-five rooms, with baths, laundry, fire
escapes, in short, modernly equipped throughout.
From its opening the "Friendship" had a large
patronage, and it continued to be deservedly
popular. Subsequently Mr. Lammoris became
connected with the "Arcade" and "Norwood,"
both houses similar in character but smaller. To
the conduct of these hostelries he gave his per-
sonal attention, it being to him as much a labor
of love as of profit. It was his custom to give a
dinner to the poor every Thanksgiving Day,
feeding on some occasions eighteen hundred
homeless men, at a cost of more than one thou-
sand dollars. To the general relief fund of the
charitable societies he was a regular and gener-
ous contributor, and his donations to the boys of
the Industrial Home were made semi-annually
on July, fourth and at Christmas. To this in-
stitution he was affectionately attached, always
speaking of it as "my home," and yearly he
visited it.

In all his charitable works he was unostenta-
tious, always giving freely of his means and in a
way to attract as little attention as possible. Be-
cause of his philanthropical works he was often
spoken of in the public prints as "The best friend
the homeless poor of Chicago ever had . " In all
his habits Mr. Lammoris was decidedly tem-
perate. Excesses of any kind were abhorrent to
him, yet neither was he a purist of the extreme

type. He knew the weaknesses of human nature,
was always humanely human and his great,
sympathetic heart went out in brotherly feel-
ing to those unfortunates who had become
slaves to the vices of appetite and passion.

He was fond of travel, and in company with
his wife, made five trips abroad, visiting the
Paris and Vienna expositions, as well as nearly
all the historic places of continental Europe and
Great Britain . But it was in the public institutions
for the poor and unfortunate of foreign lands that
his greatest interest centered. As many of these
as he could reach received his carefel scrutiny,
that he might thereby be profited by this obser-
vation when he came to develop certain plans
which he had under deliberation pertaining to
philanthropic work which he hoped to carry out
in the future.

Mr. Lammoris was a domestic man in the
broadest sense of the term. To his family he
was devoted. The noble impulses of the man
are illustrated by the following incident: On
his way home one night, he observed a little girl,
about seven years old, on the street, alone and
crying. She could give no intelligent account of
herself. Pressing the waif to his bosom, he car-
ried her to his home, and subsequently legally
adopted her, giving her the name of Mabel S.

He was an active participant in political affairs,
in principle a Republican, but in no sense was he
an office-seeker, the preferment of official place
having no allurements for him. His death was
both untimely and unexpected. From his youth
he had been blessed with good health. For some
months previous to his demise he had labored be-
yond the point of human endurance, and being
subjected to exposure as well, he took cold,
which terminated in pneumonia, and after five
days of suffering he passed to his reward April
2, 1895.

John Sherman, father of Mrs. Lammoris, was
born in England, where the years of his boy-
hood were passed. His opportunities for ob-
taining an education were of the best. His par-
ents desired that he should enter the ministry,
and to that end he was prepared in that old and
famously historic seat of learning, Trinity Col-

CAPT. BARTHOLOMEW QUIRK.

lege, Dublin. But the life of a clergyman was
not to his liking, and in consequence thereof he
ran away from home and came to America, land-
ing in New York a short time previous to the
outbreak of the Mexican War. At the first call
for troops he enlisted and was assigned to duty
in the marine service and actively participated
in the movements of that department during the
war. He received several wounds in action,
none of which was of a disabling character.

In New York City, in 1853, he was married to
Miss Louisa Philips. In 1865 he came to Chi-

cago, where he lived permanently until his death,
which occurred March 7, 1890, at the age of
seventy-one years. Many years of his life were
devoted to travel, and he visited most parts of
the inhabited, civilized globe. He possessed a
genial, sunny nature, which made him a great
socral favorite, and he was deservedly popular
with those who justly appreciate refinement and
courtly grace. Mrs. Sherman is a descendant of
an old New York family, a lady of many pleas-
ing qualities. She resides with Mrs. Lammoris,
her only surviving child.

CAPT. BARTHOLOMEW QUIRK.

EAPT. BARTHOLOMEW QUIRK was
born in March, 1836, in Castle Gregory,
County Kerry, Ireland. His ancestors were
tillers of the soil. His parents, Francis and Ellen
(Lynch) Quirk, were natives of the same town
where he was born a beautiful site overlooking
the Bay of Tralee and the Atlantic Ocean. Fur-
ther mention of his ancestors will be found in the
biography of James Quirk, in this work.

The subject of this sketch received his educa-
tion in Chicago, pursuing the primary course in
the first public school of the city the old Dear-
born School. He served an apprenticeship at the
trade of carpenter, which occupied his time and
attention for many years. With all of his broth-
ers he served in the Volunteer Fire Department
of early Chicago, and was a member of Red
Jacket Company No. 4. He was one of the
organizers of the Shields Guards, named after
General and United States Senator Shields,
of Mexican War fame. About ninety-five per
cent, of this organization, of which Captain Quirk
was one of the most active promoters, entered the
Union army and did valiant service in preserving
the country as a whole, being a part of the Twen-

ty-third Regiment Illinois Volunteers, under the
famous Col. J. A. Mulligan. Although the
quota of the State had been filled, by the personal
solicitation of Colonel Mulligan, President Lincoln
was induced to accept the services of the regiment,
whose memory has been perpetuated in the one
famous song, ' ' The Mulligan Guards. ' '

In the mean time it had proceeded to Missouri
and participated as an independent organization
in the Battle of Lexington, where most of the
regiment was captured by General Price. They
were exchanged in the winter of 1861-62, and the
regiment was reorganized and proceeded to Har-
per's Ferry, in May, 1862, and joined the cavalry
forces of General Sheridan, with whom they par-
ticipated in many active engagements. Colonel
Mulligan was killed near Winchester, Virginia.
The regiment subsequently campaigned through-
out the war under different commanders and
became very much reduced in numbers, so that
several of the companies were consolidated.

Captain Quirk entered the service as a second
lieutenant, and resigned in February, 1865, hav-
ing served over three years. After the war he
returned to Chicago and continued building

CHRISTOPHER REICH.

operations, in connection with which he invested
in real estate and improved property, and was
quite successful. His first presidential vote was
cast for Abraham Lincoln, and he has ever since
been a warm adherent of the Republican party.
He took a great interest in the struggles of Ire-
land against British oppression, and was one of
the warmest supporters of the Fenian movement.

Captain Quirk served as a member of the City
Council two terms, and was several years a dep-
uty sheriff of Cook County. With his wife and
family he adheres to the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1857 he was married to Miss Jane McCarthy,
and they have three children: Mary E., Helena
J. and Francis I. The second daughter is the
wife of Lawrence J. Reed, of Chicago.

CHRISTOPHER REICH.

CHRISTOPHER REICH, now living a re-
1 1 tired life in Ravenswood, is a native of
\J Chicago, where his parents, Michael and
Mary Ann (Tillman) Reich, were early settlers.
Michael Reich was born in 1813, in Lorraine,
France, and received his education in his native
place, remaining with his parents until he was
of age, and assisting his father, who was a dealer
in tobacco. He served the term then required in
the French army, which was seven years. About
1840 he emigrated to the United States, sailing
from Havre and landing at New York. He
came directly to Chicago, but soon removed to
Saginaw, Michigan, where he found employment
in a saw-mill, and received his remuneration in
the product of the same. He remained two
years, then sent for his wife and two children,
and located in Chicago, living for a short time on
Harrison Street, and then on State Street. He
bought twenty-seven acres of land on the South
Side, and ten acres on the North Side, and en-
gaged in gardening. He cultivated this land for
several years, and was very successful in this
venture. He was married in his native country,
and his two eldest sons were born there, four
others being born in Chicago.

His children were: Michael, who was drowned
in Lake Michigan, while on the pleasure boat
"Lady Elgin;" Mary and Jacob, deceased; Chris-

topher, the subject of this notice; Caroline, wife
of Peter Franzen, of Englewood; and Peter, of
Lake Station, Indiana. In 1857 the family re-
turned to France, with the exception of the two
eldest sons. Mr. Reich had sold part of his prop-
erty in Chicago, but in 1860 he returned to that
city and resumed gardening. He again visited
France in 1865, to look after some property he
had purchased during his former visit, and he
remained two years, after which he again re-
turned to Chicago, and engaged in gardening.
He was always thrifty in the management of his
affairs, and accumulated a competence. He took
an interest in public concerns, but never held an
office, and supported the Democratic party. He
and his wife were members of the Roman Catholic
Church. Mrs. Reich died October 28, 1889, and
Mr. Reich passed away January i, 1893.

Christopher Reich was born March 13, 1844,
receiving his primary education in the public
schools of Chicago, and later attending school two
years in France. He remained with his parents
until he grew to manhood, assisting his father in
the care of his garden until he was twenty-two
years of age. When his parents went to France
the second time, he and his brother Peter re-
moved to Calumet, where they bought twenty-
five acres of land, which they cultivated. The
health of Christopher failed, and he sold his

HENRY KARNATZ.

share of land to his brother, and traveled in
Europe, learning the art of photography while
there.

January 3, 1867, he married Miss Mary A.
Kerber, a native of Chicago, and a daughter of
John and Floradiue Kerber. Her parents were
natives of Baden-Baden, Germany, and were
early settlers of Chicago. In 1868 Mr. Reich
opened a dry-goods store on the corner of Larra-
bee and Center Streets, which he conducted
successfully until he lost his stock and building
in the Great Fire of 1871. He rebuilt, and again
engaged in business, which he continued until
1875, when he removed to Dyer, Lake County,
Indiana, and kept a general store two years.
He then removed to Crown Point, where he en-
gaged in the same business, and five years later
he returned to Chicago, and opened a store on
Larrabee Street, opposite Wisconsin Street, which
he conducted two years. He removed to Engle-
wood, where he was proprietor of a store two
years, and then retired from business on account
of the death of his wife, which occurred April 12,
1891.

Mr. Reich spent a year in Milwaukee, to rest
and regain his health, which was then poor.
Mr. and Mrs. Reich were the parents of ten
children, only five of whom are now living. Their

names are: John C., Margaret, Christopher, Jo-
sephine and Edward. In August, 1895, Mr.
Reich married Miss Catherine Leis, a native of
Chicago, and daughter of Jacob Leis. In politics,
Mr. Reich favors the Democratic party. He and
his wife are communicants of the Roman Catho-
lic Church, being identified with the parish of
Our Lady of Lourdes. Mr. Reich is an honored
and respected citizen of Ravenswood, and takes
an active interest in the welfare of that suburb,
and also of his native city.

Michael Reich, the eldest son of Michael
Reich, was born in 1834, in Lorraine, France,
and came to Chicago with the family in 1842.
He followed gardening all his life. In 1860 he
married, and about three months later he was
prevailed upon by friends to go on an excursion
to Milwaukee. This was on the fatal eighth day
of September, 1860, when the pleasure steamer,
"Lady Elgin," collided with another boat, off
Gross Point, and nearly all the passengers were
lost. Mr. Reich was among those who perished.
He was a man who took quite an interest .in
public affairs, and was for some years a member
of the Volunteer Fire Department of the city,
being a member of Company No. 7 when first
organized, and later of No. 10. He was well
known and highly respected.

HENRY KARNATZ.

HENRY KARNATZ was born December 13,
1 86 1, in Mecklenburg-Schvverin, and is a
son of Joachim and Mary (Deitlow) Karnatz,
both of whom were born in the same locality.
His father was a laborer, and in 1867 he moved
to America with his family, starting from Ham-
burg, and coining to Chicago by way of New

York. In April, 1868, he came to Jefferson and
rented forty-one and one-half acres, where he
carried on gardening. The land is near what is
now Forest Glen, and in 1877 he was able to buy
it for six thousand dollars. It then contained
but a few buildings, and he subsequently added
good ones. Later, he bought thirteen and three-

E. S. OSGOOD.

fourths acres. He had six children, three of
whom died in Germany. The remaining three
are: John, who resides on the home farm and
owns a blacksmith shop near Bowmanville;
Charles, who resides on a part of his father's
farm; and Henry, the subject of this sketch.
Joachim Karnatz died June 8, 1897, after an ill-
ness of only two days, at the age of seventy-seven
years, nine months and thirteen days. His wife
survives him, having reached the age of seventy-
fonr years. Both were members of the Evangel-
ical Lutheran Church, being connected with Saint
John's Church of Mayfair.

Henry Karnatz attended the public school, and
also the Lutheran School of Niles, then called
Dutchman's Point. He left school at the age of
thirteen years. He has since worked with his

father on the farm, and at present he manages
the part of it connected with the old home. He
learned the painter's trade, and has a shop, where
he does work for his brother, and sometimes for
others.

March 19, 1888, Henry Karnatz married
Amelia Sell, who was born in Pomerania, and is
a daughter of Charles and Minnie (Schroeder)
Sell. Charles Sell died in 1897, in Leyden
Township, where his widow still lives. Mr. and
Mrs. Karnatz have four children, namely: Min-
nie, Henry, John and Annie. Mr. Karnatz is a
member of the same church as his parents, name-
ly the Evangelical Lutheran. He is of the same
political principle as his father, and supports the
Republican party. He is a public-spirited and
intelligent citizen, and enjoys the respect of all.

EDWIN S. OSGOOD.

|"~ DWIN SEW ALL OSGOOD, a well-known
JO citizen of Austin, was boni November 21,
I 1842, in Moulmein, in the British East
Indies. He is the son of Rev. Sewall Mason and
Sarah Maria (Willsey) Osgood. The Osgoods
are an old English family, three of whom came to
America in 1635, and settled in Massachusetts.
They were William, Christopher and John, and
from Christopher is descended the subject of this
sketch. Emery Osgood, the father of Rev. Sewall
M. Osgood, was a Baptist clergyman, whose field
of labor was in western New York. Sewall M.
Osgood was born in New York and there learned
the printer's trade. He conducted a local news-
paper at Jefferson, New York, a number of years.
In 1836 he went to the East Indies, in connec-
tion with the American Baptist Missionary Union,
and he printed the first bible ever printed in the
Burmese language. While he was there he was
ordained a minister, and he continued in the

missionary work until his death, in Chicago, in
1875, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife,
Sarah M. Osgood, was born in Tioga County,
New York, and was of Dutch descent. She died
in 1849, at about forty years of age.

Edwin S. Osgood was four years old when his
parents returned to the United States from India.
He was educated in the common schools and in a
high school in Philadelphia. In 1860 he came
to Chicago, and soon after August 29, 1862
he enlisted in the Chicago Mercantile Battery, and
served to the close of the war. He took part
in the Vicksburg campaign, and was later in
Louisiana, Texas, and Mobile, Alabama. He
participated in Banks' Red River expedition, after
which he was detailed in the paymaster's depart-
ment, and he served in that capacity until the
close of the war.

After the war he returned to Chicago and en-
gaged in business with a building contractor, and

JOHN VAN NATTA.

later he was employed as solicitor and bookkeeper
for the Terra Cotta Company. After this he
was with H. C. & C. Durand, wholesale grocers.
In 1880 he engaged' in the manufacturing busi-
ness for himself, and since 1893 has been in the
business of engraving and electrotj ping. He is
now a member of the firm of Osgood & Company,
engravers, the firm comprising Mr. Osgood and
his son, Frederick S. Osgood.

In 1868 Mr. Osgood was united in marriage
with Elizabeth A., daughter of Timothy M. and
Elizabeth (Covington) Bryan, of Philadelphia.
Timothy Matlack Bryan was a grandson of
Timothy Matlack, a soldier Quaker, whose picture
hangs in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, in
memory of his services to the country during the
Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. E. S. Osgood have
five children living, namely: Helen, Mrs. Henry
Husted, of Austin; William P., a student in the
Chicago University ; Frederick S., of the firm of

Osgood & Company; Edwin H. and Elizabeth
M. All the members of the family are con-
nected with the Baptist Church of Austin, which
village has been their home since 1871. The
family furnished four of the thirteen constituent
members of the First Baptist Society, and Mr.
Osgood has since been an officer of the church,
being at present superintendent of its Sunday-
school.

Mr. Osgood is a member of Kilpatrick Post,
Grand Army of the Republic, at Austin. He
has always been a Republican in his political
views. He was two years a member of the Board
of Trustees of the town of Cicero, and three
years one of the school trustees. He is con-
nected with all reforms in Austin, and interested
in improvements, and though his business is in
the city, his interest is chiefly in his home, and
he is a valuable member of society in his com-
munity.

JOHN VAN NATTA.

(lOHN VAN NATTA was one of the worthy
I pioneers of Cook County, and numbered
Q) among his friends most of the early settlers
of northeastern Illinois. He was born in Dutch-
ess County, New York, February 25, 1796, and
was the son of James Van Natta, both of the lat-
ter 's parents being natives of Holland. John
Van Natta lived at several different points in
New York, part of the time in Geneseoand Steu-
ben Counties, and part of the time in Chautauqua
County, where he was married. In 1832 he re-
moved to Cass County, Michigan, and settled at
Adamsville. As everyone in that region, includ-
ing his own family, was suffering from fever and
ague, he determined to seek a more salubrious
climate, and accordingly, soon after the Black-
hawk War, he took a trip to Illinois, and was so

well suited with the country that, in 1834, he re-
moved his family to this State, coming with a
team and wagon. He landed in Chicago June
15, and stopped a few days at the Sauganash
hotel, but decided to make his home on higher
ground further west, so he continued his journey
to Naperville. He made his home for a few years
at Big Woods, in DuPage Count}'. As he pos-
sessed one of the few horse teams in the county,
he found it profitable to spend considerable of his
time in freighting goods from Chicago and De-
troit. He was employed by many of the emi-
grants who arrived in Chicago during the next
few years, to transport their families and effects
to points in the interior of the State, and many of
the acquaintances formed in this manner were
continued through life.

P. J. MAGINNIS.

Later he moved to Kane County, and in 1841
he located on the western bank of the Des Plaines
River, where he lived many years, and owned two
hundred acres of timber and prairie land, situated
on both sides of the river.

His later years were spent in Chicago, where
he lived some time in retirement from business
cares. He was always distinguished for his gen-
erosity to those of his neighbors who might be in
want or trouble, and many a settler who arrived
upon the prairies of Illinois a few years later than
he did was supplied with seed and provisions,
free of charge, by Mr. Van Natta.

In 1821 he was married to Miss Polly Farns-
worth, in Chautauqua County, New York. She
was a native of Vermont, born in 1803. They
had six sons and two daughters, namely: Ira, de-
ceased; Harvey, of Trenton, Missouri; William,
of McHenry County, Illinois; Mary, now Mrs.

Lovett; Henry, of Littleton, Colorado; Maria L.,
who married George Hatchings, and died in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Charles, of this city; and
James, a resident of Cragiri, Cook County. Mrs.
Polly Van Natta died in Leyden Township, Cook
County, Illinois, September 12, 1851. She wasa
devout member of the Baptist Church. Later Mr.
Van Natta was married to Mrs. Sarah (Davidson)
Fish, whose death occurred in Chicago a few
years previous to that of Mr. Van Natta.

In early life the latter was identified with the
Baptist Church, but after his second marriage he
united with the Methodist Church. He was al-
ways distinguished for his uniform uprightness of
character and his social, kindly disposition, which
will cause him to belong remembered by all who
knew him. He died near Berryville, McHenry
County, Illinois, in June, 1885, in the ninetieth
year of his age.

PATRICK J. MAGINNIS.

f"\ATRICK JOHN MAGINNIS, a self-made
LX business man of Chicago and a valiant soldier
[$ of the Civil War, was a native of Ireland,
born March 6, 1842, in the town of Newry.
His father, John Maginnis, who was a stone
mason, came to America when the son was an
infant. He found employment at first on Staten
Island, New York, whence he proceeded to Chi-
cago and finally engaged in the grocery business
here. When Patrick was about eight years old
he was brought to Chicago by his mother, who
soon after died of cholera.

The subject of this sketch was early left largely
to his own resources, and rapidly developed in-
dependence of character. He was largely self-
educated, and worked his own way to success in
life by the exercise of industry, guided by his
natural talents and prudence. He acted as clerk

in his father's store until the beginning of the
Civil War, when he immediately offered his serv-
ices in behalf of his adopted country. He was
then only nineteen years old, and was twice re-
jected on account of his youth, but was finally
accepted, June 15, 1861, as a member of the sub-
sequently famed Mulligan Guards. This com-
pany was mustered into the service as Company
I, Twenty- third. Regiment Illinois Volunteers.
It was a fighting company and saw hard service,
in which Mr. Maginnis bore his full share. He
was discharged because of sickness at Lexington,
Missouri, having risen to the rank of sergeant.

After the war he went to Ireland to aid in the
Fenian movement in the cause of Irish freedom.
He was almost immediately seized by the British
authorities, and spent eight months in an Irish
jail. He was released near the close of the year

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

DR. A. R. SOMMERVILLE

A. R. SOMMERVILLE, M. D.

1865, and returned to Chicago, bringing with
him his only sister, Mary Maginnis, who became
the wife of Thomas Boyle, Mr. Maginnis' sub-
sequent partner in business. She died in Chi-
cago March 17, 1891. For a time Mr. Maginnis
was employed in a cooperage establishment, and
then engaged in the grocery business. He met
with success, and finally established himself in
the ice business after the Great Fire of 1871. At
first he was a member of the firm of Maginnis &
Boyle; subsequently the enterprise passed into the
hands of an incorporated company, known as the
Lincoln Ice Company, which still continues, in
which Mr. Maginnis held a controlling interest,
and of which he was president at the time of his
death, September 6, 1893.

October 20, 1874, Mr. Maginnis married Miss

Nellie, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Welsh)
Whitty, natives of Ireland. The parents died
in that country, and Mrs. Maginnis came to
America in 1865. She was thirteen years old
when, in company with her brother, Nicholas,
aged twenty years, she came to America. She
is a lady of much business acumen, and has taken
her husband's place in the management of af-
fairs with great success. The establishment is
conducted on a large scale, and now employs
eighty teams and nearly two hundred men. The
children of Mr. and Mrs. Maginnis, who are re-
ceiving the advantages of the best educational
and social connections, are named in order of
birth: Mary A., John F., Thomas B., Edward
A., Charles P., Helen, Robert E. and George
Washington.

AGNES R. SOMMERVILLE, M. D.

Gl GNES ROBENA SOMMERVILLE, M. D.,
L_l a prominent physician of Chicago, was born
| I July 12, 1842, in Troy, New York, and is a
daughter of John and Jessie (Armstrong) Som--
merville. Her father died in 1896, at the age of
eighty-five years, and her mother is also deceased.
They were the parents of twelve children, six
daughters and the same number of sons.

Agnes R. Som merville received her early edu-
cation in her native town, and graduated from
the Willard Seminary, one of the best schools of
Eastern New York. In 1869 she was afflicted by
a very severe attack of muscular rheumatism,
and after having tried a great variety of medi-
cines and treatments, finally decided to try the
electrical cure. The science was then in its
infancy, but has since advanced to a well-recog-
nized place in the healing of diseases. She re-

ceived the electric bath treatment, which com-
pletely cured her. She was so grateful to the
science for its benefits to her that she began the
study of it at once, and has won great success
with the "new dry bath" cure. Dr. Sommerville
stands at the head of her profession, and is the
only lady in Chicago who is a graduate of elec-
tric therapeutics.

In 1859 Miss Sommerville came to the city of
Chicago to visit some friends, and while here,
she met John Sommerville, whom she married in
1860, and has ever since resided in the great
metropolis. She is the mother of two daughters,
both of whom are married. They are: Effie, Mrs.
John Clark Aubrey, and Jessie, Mrs. William
Donely.

Dr. A. R. Sommerville has not only followed
the teachings of others, but has also made inde-

T. G. SPRINGER.

pendent research iu her profession. She is the
patentee of several electrical instruments, which
have proved a boon to the students of electricity
as applied to the cure of disease. She enjoys a

of offices located in McVicker's Theater Building,
on Madison Street. Combined with her great
business ability, and her love for her profession,
she has a truly womanly character, and is honored

large and lucrative practice, and occupies a suite and esteemed by all who know her.

THEODORE G. SPRINGER.

'HEODORE GREEN SPRINGER. Among

the truly representative men in the great
metropolis of the Great West are many
whose reputations have passed beyond the con-
fines of the American continent, and whose names
are also enrolled in the scientific annals of the
European continent for giving the world new
ideas in science, which have given to humanity
greater comfort, thus benefiting the human race
at large. Among those names should be men-
tioned the subject of this sketch, whose unselfish
life and devotion to science entitle him to a place
in this volume.

He was born February i, 1832, in Bellevernon,
Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and is a de-
scendant of a family distinguished in Europe.
His great-grandfather, Michael Springer, born in
Stockholm, in 1727, when a young man entered the
service of King George of England and fought
under the banner of his royal master. As a re-
ward for services rendered, he received a grant of
land in the American colonies, consisting of a
tract of land two days' journey north and east of
Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburg. The land com-
prised five hundred fifty-seven acres, and was situ-
ated in what is now Westmoreland Count}'. A
part of the original homestead is still in the pos-
session of the descendants of the family. Benjamin
Franklin's name appears on the parchment which
conveyed the land to Michael Springer. He im-
proved the land and reared a large family. His
son James was born in Westmoreland, and be-

,eame a thrifty manager of the patrimonial estate.
He was a pioneer in developing the coal mines of
southwestern Pennsylvania, and shipped its prod-
uct by flatboats down the Monongahela River to
Pittsburg. He was a sturdy Democrat in political
matters and affiliated with the Baptist Church,
but later his descendants became members of the
Christian Church. He died at the age of seventy-
six years. His wife, Sally Smith, was a native of
Westmoreland County, and a daughter of Bar-
tholomew Smith, a brave soldier of the Revolu-
tion, whose death occurred while General La
Fayette was making his second visit to America,
and the military funeral services at the old Reho-
both Cemetery were made more impressive by the
General's attendance. Mrs. Sally Springer was
fifty-five years old when she died. She was the
mother of the following children: Martina, Theo-
dore, Sophia, Anselmo, Caroline and Everill.

The subject of this sketch, Theodore G.
Springer, received the benefits of the schools of
his county, but the ambitious boy was not satis-
fied with the meager information they were then
able to give. He qualified himself for a collegiate
course, and in time entered Hiram College, which
at that time was a shining light among educa-
tional centers in Ohio. Here he improved his
time, and laid the foundations for future years of
study and research. He was a classmate of the
lamented president, James A. Garfield, and from
their acquaintance here sprang a friendship which
lasted through life. After graduating, life on the

S. B. HAGGARD.

old homestead became monotonous to the enter-
prising young man and he resolved to go West.
He did not come empty-handed, but was able to
buy up large tracts of land and land warrants in
Boone and Jasper Counties, and managed his es-
tate with varying success.

His mind was ever active amid his rural sur-
roundings, and he invented several things of great
utility to farmers, among them being a wagon
brake, which is yet used quite extensively. He
also invented a process for distilling water, and at
about the same time a process for manufacturing
an illuminating gas in hotels and farmhouses,
which was the most successful of all his inven-
tions, and which subsequently engaged all his
attention. He took out forty or more patents,
covering many useful inventions. The most
noted is his invention ofsetteline gas. Mr. Pres-
ton, the director of the United States mint in
Washington, was one of his two partners, and
they succeeded in getting out a first-class patent.
Later this was sold to the old Setteline Gas Syn-
dicate, which made a fortune from the manu-
facture.

In the interest of his inventions, and especially
gas, Mr. Springer traveled extensively in Europe,
where he was treated with great respect by the
great scientists of the Old World, who recognized
in him a genius. His water-gas invention, and

its introduction, took him to France, Spain, Ger-
many, Belgium and England. In the latter
country he spent two and one-half years, mostly in
London, and was compelled to return to America
on account of the state of his health, as he was
suffering from Bright's Disease, from which he
finally died.

Mr. Springer was a man of great determination
and force of character. His perceptive and in-
ventive faculties were developed to a remarkable
degree, which enabled him to remember the prac-
tical part of life while studying his inventions,
and he left to his family a competency which will
always surround them with the comforts of this
world. He was always mindful of the welfare of
his loved ones, which he showed in numerous
ways.

Mr. Springer was connected with the Masonic
order, but was not a club or lodge man, as his
home was his place of rest and recreation. His
wife was a worthy companion of such a man. His
portrait shows all that distinguishes the inventor
and builder. Among his companions and
fellow-men Mr. Springer stood for all that is rep-
resented by honor, true manhood and integrity.
His good name and his life-work are a rich legacy
to coming generations, who will revere his mem-
ory. He is survived by his wife and daughter,
Mrs. C. W. Doton, both of Chicago.

SAMUEL B. HAGGARD.

(7JAMUEL BALDWIN HAGGARD, one of
^\ the surviving pioneers of Cook County, is
)/ now living in retirement at Austin, and re-
lates many interesting historical reminiscences of
Chicago and other places. He was born near
Winchester, Kentucky, Novembers, 1814, and
is a son of Dawson Haggard and Charity Bald-
win. The great-grandfather of Dawson Hag-

gard was a Welshman by birth, but came from
England to Virginia. His grandson, David, the
father of Dawson, was born near Charlottesville,
in that State. He was a carpenter by trade and
assisted in the construction of Thomas Jefferson's
magnificent mansion at Monticello, which was, no
doubt, the finest residence in America at that time.
David Haggard and his twin brother, Bartlett,

S. B. HAGGARD.

who could scarcely be distinguished from each
other, served alter tiately" in the Continental army
under one enlistment for several years, and the for-
mer was present at the surrender of Lord Corn-
wallis. David Haggard afterwards removed with
his family to Kentucky. They were accompanied
by several other Virginia families, including the
Breckenridges and Marshalls, and the journey
was made by floating down the Kanawha and
Ohio Rivers as far as Maysville, Kentucky,
whence they went overland to Clark County.
Owing to the hostility of the Indians, they were
obliged at times to take refuge in a fort at Boones-
boro. David Haggard lived in Clark County
until 1823, when he removed to Christian County,
and in 1836 he located in Bloomington, Illinois,
where his death occurred seven years later, at the
age of eighty years. His wife, whose maiden
name was Nancy Dawson, survived until ninety
years of age, passing away at Cerulean Springs,
in Trigg County, Kentucky.

Dawson Haggard became a farmer and also a
carpenter. He lived in Clark County until about
1817, when he removed to Christian County,
whence a few years later he removed to Trigg
County, in the same State. His death occurred
there in 1829, at the age of thirty-five years. He
was a licensed preacher of the Baptist Church,
and occasionally held services. After the death
of her husband, Mrs. Charity Haggard removed
to Indiana, and from there in 1841 removed to
Bloomington, Illinois, where she died about eight
years later. Her seven children are all living in
Illinois, the youngest nearly seventy years of
age. Their names and residences are as follows:
Samuel B., Austin; Nancy, widow of Hiram
Morris, Bloomington; David Dawson, of the same
place; Mary Jane, widow of John Shrock, Chi-
cago; Sarah Elizabeth, of the same city; John
William, Bloomington; and Julia Ann, widow of
John L. Matthews, Chicago. The two last-named
are twins.

Samuel .B. Haggard attended the frontier
schools of Kentucky, in which State he also learned
the trade of carpenter. In 1835 he became a
resident of Bloomington, Illinois, where he fol-
lowed his trade until the fall of 1843, when he

removed to Chicago. He brought his family
with a horse and buggy and paid one dollar per
day for a man and team to bring his effects to
this city, being several days on the road and
camping out one night at Wolf Grove, five miles
from the nearest house. He secured employ-
ment in the iron foundry of Scoville & Gates,
where he had charge of the woodwork for sev-
eral years. In the fall of 1847 ne entered the
employ of McCormick & Gray, who had just
completed a factory building on the north side of
the Chicago River east of Rush Street bridge.
He superintended the erection of the machinery
in this establishment and was superintendent ot
the works until 1850. Five hundred reapers
were built the first season, after which Mr. Gray
retired and the firm became McCormick, Ogden
& Company. Upon severing his connection with
this concern, Mr. Haggard began the manufact-
ure of chain pumps at No. 224 Randolph Street.
He continued in that location until 1866, when he
removed to the West Side and added a stock of
hardware. He carried on this enterprise for ten
years longer, when he permanently retired from
active business. Since 1873 he has made his
home in Austin, and is now one of the oldest
residents of that suburb. For many years he en-
joyed the acquaintance of the leading business
men of Chicago, most of whom he has survived.
In May, 1837, Mr. Haggard was married to Miss
Mary Mason, daughter of George and Elizabeth
(Howser) Mason, of Bloomington, Illinois. Mrs.
Haggard was born at Nicholasville, Jessamine
County, Kentucky, and was a member of the
Baptist Church from childhood. She departed
this life in 1889, at the age of seventy -three years.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Haggard was blessed
with seven children, of whom the following is the
record: Belle, widow of William Rucker, resides
at Austin; Winfield Scott is a citizen of Chicago;
Martha Jane is the wife of Albert Wicker, of
Franklin Grove, Illinois; John David is a well-
known citizen of Austin; Mary Frances, Mrs. S.
S. Gould, lives in Oak Park, Illinois; Edith is
the wife of E. W. Marble, of Austin, at which
place Charity Elizabeth died at the age of thirty-
four years. In 1887 Mr. and Mrs. Haggard cele-

FRANK KUHN.

brated their golden wedding, which was attended
by all their children and grandchildren, as well as
by all of Mr. Haggard's brothers and sisters.

For thirty years past Mr. Haggard has been
connected with the Baptist Church, and his
career has been in all respects well worth)' the
emulation of posterity. Though in the eighty-
third year of his age, he is still quite vigorous
and his mind is clear and active. He distinctly
remembers events which occurred when he was
but three and one-half years old, and is likewise
well posted on current events. He has always

kept well informed on public affairs and remem-
bers the presidential election of 1824, at which
J. Q. Adams was elected by the House of Repre-
sentatives, the opposing candidates being Henry
Clay, Andrew Jackson and William H. Crawford.
He cast his first presidential ballot in 1836 for
William Henry Harrison and has voted for every
Whig and Republican candidate for that office
since that time. He has affiliated with few social
organizations, but is a member of the old Tippe-
canoe Club of Chicago, and is held in the highest
regard by his contemporaries.

FRANK KUHN.

|~~RANK KUHN. Among the German citi-
r^ zens of Chicago, who, by their world-re-
I nowned thrift and economy accumulated
wealth, was the subject of this sketch. He was
born February 27, 1827, in Elsass, then in France,
but now a part of Germany. He came to Amer-
ica when quite a young man, in a sailing-vessel
which anchored at the port of- New Orleans, be-
ing thirteen weeks on the voyage. He soon af-
ter left New Orleans on account of the yellow
fever and went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he re-
mained one year.

In 1853 he came to Chicago, where he worked
two years at the cabinet-maker's trade, which he
had learned from his father, who was a skilled
mechanic. He then, in company with Peter
Schmidt, established a retail store for the dispens-
ing of beverages, on Kinzie Street, which was a
resort for the early inhabitants of the West Side.
After two years he moved to the corner of Mil-
waukee Avenue and Des Plaines Street, where
he was, until 1859, a landmark. At this time
he removed to the corner of Milwaukee Avenue
and Erie Street, and here conducted business for

almost eight years, when he removed to Kuhn's
Park, which pleasure resort he built up and im-
proved and conducted for five or six years.

He was married August 10, 1859, to Miss
Katharine Otzel, a native of Kur-Hessen, Ger-
many. They had eight children, four of whom
are now living, namely: Frank C. ; Emma, wife
of John Spenger; Adolph A., and Annie, wife of
Herman Bartells, a bookkeeper for thirteen years
in the Hide and Leather National Bank in Chi-
cago, where he enjoys the confidence and respect
of all its officers and employes. Another son
lived to the age of thirty years and was married
to Miss Ida Koch, whose father was an old and
respected citizen of Chicago.

Mr. Kuhn died May 31, 1890, in Chicago, of
poison, administered in some unknown way to
his entire family, though he was the only one who
died from its effects. His large property is still
in possession of his widow, who, as a good Ger-
man wife often does, assisted greatly in its ac-
cumulation. Mr. Kuhn also left a good name,
and is remembered as an upright citizen, honest
and true to every obligation.

7 6

CAPT. DANIEL QUIRK.

OAPT. DANIEL QUIRK, whose life came
I ( to an end as the result of his exposure to
\J the hardships of war, was a native of County
Kerry, Ireland, born about 1826. His parents,
Francis and Eleanor (Lynch) Quirk, came to
Chicago when Daniel was ten years old, and
lived for several years on the North Side. Later
they removed to Woodstock, McHenry County,
Illinois, where they passed the balance of their
days.

Daniel Quirk attended the first free school in
Chicago, located near the present site of Mc-
Vicker's theatre. While yet a boy he was em-
ployed in a book and news store kept by John
McNally, where John R. Walsh, now president
of the Chicago National Bank, was a fellow-
clerk. The outbreak of the Civil War found him
here. He had joined a militia company known
as the Shields Guards. April 15, 1861, this
company enlisted in the Twenty-third Regular
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and in July of the
same year the regiment was sent to the front in
Missouri. Daniel Quirk was elected captain of
Company K, and served in that capacity; but
the period of enlistment of the men was short,
and he re-enlisted and went to Virginia, where
he was in the Army of the Potomac. Within a
few days after entering field service, in July,
1861, he was taken prisoner by General Early's
command. He was quickly exchanged, and im-
mediately re-entered the service, as before re-
lated. In all his campaigns he was accompanied
by his faithful wife, who shared the hardships
and chances of war. She was also taken prisoner
by the rebels, who treated her with great courtesy.
After one week's detention she was released by
the chivalrous rebel, General Early. Among their

fellow-prisoners were Mrs. Dr. John Taylor, of
Chicago, and Nathan Goff, afterward a member
of President Garfield's cabinet.

On Sunday, July 4, 1854, Mr. Quirk was mar-
ried to Miss Margaret, daughter of Thomas and
Margaret (O'Connor) Moore, the latter a native
of Sligo, Ireland. The former was a native of
Dublin, and a relative of Thomas Moore, the
poet. The Moore family came to America in
1837, and for some years the father kept a grocery
store in Albany, New York. In 1847 they came
to Chicago.

Mrs. Quirk was born March 15, 1834, in
Dublin. She showed the most heroic devotion
through hard campaigns, and many sick and
wounded bear testimony to her skill as a nurse,
and kindness of heart. For some time before
leaving the service, Captain Quirk was ill, and
the faithful nursing of his wife saved his life for
many years, though he was forced to resign on
account of his inability to perform military duty.
After having served over three years, in July,
1864, he reluctantly abandoned military scenes
and returned to Chicago. He never entirely
recovered from the effects of his military priva-
tions, although his partially disabled limb did
not prevent him from volunteering for active
duty in Ireland, when James Stephens proposed
to fight there in 1865. Like many another pa-
triotic Irish- American, Captain Quirk discovered
that Mr. Stephens had miscalculated his military
resources, and when the Irish people's office was
seized, and most of the leaders arrested, he was
compelled to escape by way of England; in this
expedition he was also accompanied by his faith-
ful wife. But Captain Quirk remained as enthu-
siastic as ever Ireland was never absent from

C. M. LEONARD.

his thoughts, and it is doubtful whether, during
his periods of comparative health, he was ever
absent from any gathering having for its object
the advancement of the Irish cause.

The Great Fire of 1871 burned Captain Quirk
out of house and home. He set to work again
with energy to regain a competency, and in this
he was moderately successful. Although an
invalid he responded promptly to his country's
call when the Haymarket riot called out the
Second Regiment. He commanded Company E
in person till quiet was restored. The Govern-
ment, mindful to some extent, at least, of his
services to the Union, gave him a post office
clerkship, which he retained till two years before
his death. In 1880, accompanied by his wife,
he went to Europe in the hope of recovering his
lost vigor, but in vain, and the end came at his
home on Superior Street, July 29, 1882. At the
present writing Mrs. Quirk has resided a period
of forty-four years in this house, where, sur-
rounded by many of life's blessings, she is still
devoted to the memory of her brave husband.

Captain Quirk was a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic and of Holy Name Church.
He and his good wife adopted and reared a

daughter, Leonora M. Quirk, who is now the wife
of Nicholas Neary, of Chicago. From early
youth Mrs. Neary has been devoted to art, of
which she is a critical judge, and her home is
adorned with some of the choicest gems of paint-
ing and kindred arts. She is a painter of no
mean ability, and excels especially in portrait
work.

The appended document is self-explanatory:
HEADQUARTERS SECOND REGIMENT.

May 13, 1877.

Capt. Daniel Quirk,

Commanding Co. E.

Sir: The Board of Officers unanimously press
you to withdraw the letter of resignation lately
addressed to the Colonel commanding.

They are of one mind that your withdrawal at
this juncture would be a disastrous blow to Com-
pany E, and a calamity to the entire regiment.
Your conspicuous zeal in the organization and
maintenance of the regiment, and the fidelity
with which you have promoted its best interests
and welfare, are appreciated by every member of
the command and all would deplore your with-
drawal.

We therefore earnestly urge you to still stand
by the colors of the Second and maintain the in-
tegrity of Company E.
Signed JOSEPH T..TORRENCE, COL.

CHESTER M, LEONARD.

CHESTER MARSHALL LEONARD, an
1 1 honored veteran of the late Civil War, was
U born in 1845, in Granville, Washington
County, New York, and is a son of Elijah D.
and Matilda (Harrington) Leonard, natives of
that State. Mrs. Matilda Leonard died in 1865,
and her husband survived her until 1896, when
he passed away, at the age of eighty-four years.

When Chester M. Leonard was seven years of
age his parents moved to the West, locating in
Kenosha County, Wisconsin, where they were
among the earliest settlers. They shared the
hard life of the pioneer, and were deprived of
many advantages. The schools of that section
were then very poor, but Chester M. Leonard
received a fair education, and he has supple-

JOHN BUCHANAN.

merited it with observation and experience
throughout his life, having always striven for
improvement and advancement. His early life
was spent with his parents on the farm, and
when he was a young man he found employ-
ment in the Kenosha Carriage Works, where he
remained until the outbreak of the Civil War.

In 1 86 1 he enlisted at Ripon, Wisconsin, in
the First Wisconsin Cavalry, and served under
General Sherman at the battles of Stone River,
Chickamauga, Altoona, Atlanta and many others.

He married Miss Lydia A. Burdock, a native
of Trenton, New York, in Racine, Wis., in 1866,
and they became the parents of five boys, namely:
Arthur Lee, William H., Adelbert Ellsworth,
Herbert and Clarence.

Since the war Mr. Leonard has been engaged

in engineering, which trade he now follows, with
especial attention to mechanical engineering, in
which he takes great interest. From a boy his
tastes have been in the direction of mechanical
labor, and he has always improved every oppor-
tunity for enlarging his knowledge and skill in
that branch of work. He is genial and friendly
of manner, and has the warm friendship of a
large circle of acquaintances and associates. He
has the confidence of his employers, and despite
the fact that he has lived through many trying
experiences during the war, he is as capable of
doing his work well as many younger men, and
is always found at the post of duty in civil life,
as he was in military service. He is ever ready
to favor any movement calculated to promote
human progress and improvement.

JOHN BUCHANAN.

3OHN BUCHANAN, a citizen of South Chi-
cago, was born May 10, 1859, in Ireland, and
is a son of John and Mary (Welsh) Buchan-
an, both natives of the Emerald Isle. His par-
ents lived all their lives in their native country,
but John was such an ambitious youth that he
became possessed of a desire to try his fortunes in
the New World, by himself. He cherished this
ambition until he was eighteen years old, and
then he was able to emigrate.

John Buchanan arrived in New York in 1877,
and after spending a short time in that city,
removed to Philadelphia, where he found employ-
ment at various occupations, being some of the
time with the firm of French & Richards. Not

being very well satisfied with his life in Phila-
delphia, he removed to Chicago in 1881, and after
a few years' residence there, found employ-
ment with the Illinois Steel Company, where he
is at present engaged.

November 12, 1884, Mr. Buchanan married
Miss Annie Egan, and they became the parents
of the following children: Denis Patrick (de-
ceased), Mamie, John, Robert Emmett, Frank and
Joseph Stephen.

Mr. Buchanan is a thoroughly reliable citizen,
and has an interest and pride in the progress of
his adopted country. He and his family are com-
municants of Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic
Church.

LIBRARY

OF THE

HNIVERSITY OP ILLINOIS

ELISHA GRAY

EUSHA GRAY.

ELISHA GRAY.

QROF. ELISHA GRAY, whose inventive
LX genius and persevering industry have played
]3 no inconspicuous part in revolutionizing the
business methods of the modern world, bears in
his veins the sturdy and vigorous blood of some
of America's founders. His grandfather, John
Gray, was of Scotch-Irish descent, and was a
farmer in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where
he died. Mary Moore, wife of John Gray, was a
native of Delaware, presumably of English blood.
She survived her husband and moved, with her
younger children, to the vicinity of Georgetown,
Ohio, and afterward to Monroe County, in the
same State, where she died. She was the mother
of Thomas, Elijah, Elisha, David, John and
Samuel Gray.

David Gray was an Orthodox Quaker; a quiet
man, of noble character, and beloved by all who
came within his benign influence. He was a
farmer, and lived near Barnesville, Ohio, whence
he moved to Monroe County, in that State, where
he died, in 1849, in the prime of life, at the age
of about forty years. His wife, Christiana Edg-
erton, was a native of Belmont County, Ohio,
where her parents, Richard and Mary (Hall)
Edgerton, were early settlers. Richard Edgerton
was born in North Carolina, of English descent,
and was a prominent member of the Society of
Friends. The family was noted for the large size
of its members, all being six feet or more in
height. They were also brainy people. John
Edgerton was a noted leader of the "Hicksite"
Quakers, and a powerful anti-slavery agitator in
Ohio and Indiana. His brother, Joseph Edger-
ton, was the leading Orthodox Quaker of his day,
and a great preacher. He was vigorous to the

end of his life, which came after he had attained
the age of eighty years. The Halls were also a
vigorous and intelligent people, and prominent
among the Quakers.

David Gray and wife were well-read and intell-
igent, and engaged in teaching in early life.
Mrs. Gray was liberally educated for that day in
Ohio, and her influence went far in preparing her
son for the prominent part he was destined to
take in the development of modern practical
science. She survived her husband many years,
reaching the venerable age of seventy-eight, and
died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Sarah
Cope, in New Sharon, Iowa.

Elisha Gray was born near Barnesville, Bel-
mont County, Ohio, August 2, 1835. From a
recent work, entitled "Prominent Men of the
Great West," the following elegant and carefully
prepared account of Professor Gray's life is taken :
"When young Gray was but twelve years of
age, he had received three or four months of dis-
trict schooling and the usual industrial training
given to farmers' lads of his age and condition of
life. Over forty years ago his father died, leav-
ing Elisha in a large measure dependent upon his
own resources for a living. When fourteen years
of age he apprenticed himself to a blacksmith,
and partly mastered that trade, but, his strength
being greatly overtaxed, he was forced to give it
up and joined his mother, who had removed to
Brownsville, Pennsylvania. Here he entered the
employ of a boat-builder, serving three and a-
half years' apprenticeship, learning the trade of
ship-joiner.

"At the end of this time he was a first-class
mechanic and began to give evidence of his

ELISHA GRAY.

inventive genius. He was handicapped, how.
ever, by the meagreness of his education, and
was little more than able to experiment with the
simplest contrivances. The testimony of one
who knew him intimately at this time indicates
that he had a consciousness of his own resources
and was of the belief that Nature had destined
him to accomplish some important work in life.
He had a great desire to acquire that funda-
mental knowledge which would open for him the
way to intelligent research, investigation and
ultimate achievements.

"While working as an apprentice, he formed
the acquaintance of Prof. H. S. Bennett, now
of Fisk University, then a student at Oberlin
College, Ohio, from whom he learned that at
that institution exceptional opportunities were
afforded to students for self-education; and
immediately after he had completed his term of
service he set out for the college, with barely
enough money in his possession to carry him to
his destination. He arrived in Oberlin in the
summer of 1857, at once going to work as a
carpenter, and supported himself by this means
during a five-years course of study in the college.
As a student he gave especial attention to the
physical sciences, in which he was exceptionally
proficient, his ingenuity being strikingly mani-
fested from time to time in the construction ot
the apparatus used in the classroom experiments.
His cleverness in constructing these various
appliances made him a conspicuous character
among the students. While pursuing his college
course he was not fully decided as to what pro-
fession he would take up, and, at one time, he is
said to have contemplated entering the ministry,
finally deciding, however, not to do so. Perhaps
the course of his life was decided by a remark of
the mother of the young lady who afterwards
became his wife. This was in a joking spirit,
to the effect that ' it would be a pity to spoil a
good mechanic to make a poor minister.' In
fact, to this casual remark the now famous in-
ventor has declared himself to be, in great meas-
ure, indebted for what he has since accomplished.
Truly, the worthy lady must have been of a
sound and discriminating judgment, to discover

the hidden worth of the young man, and she,
doubtless, more than any one else, in his earlier
days, fanned the latent sparks of genius into the
flame which, in later days, revealed to his brain
the contrivances which have made his name
famous, and which have proved of inestimable
value to civilization.

"From 1857 to 1861 the Professor devoted
himself to unremitting toil and study, and the
result was that his naturally delicate constitution
was impaired by the great strain upon his mental
powers. In 1861, just when the future was
brightening with the promise of success, and
when he thought his days of struggling were
past, he was stricken with an illness from which
he did not recover for five years. After his mar-
riage, in 1862, to Miss Delia M. Sheppard, of
Oberlin, and, with a view to the betterment of
his health, Mr. Gray devoted himself for a time
to farming as an occupation. This experience
was disappointing, both in its financial results
and in its effects upon his health, and he returned
to his trade, working in Trumbull County, Ohio,
until he was again prostrated by a serious illness.
Following this, came two or three years of strug-
gle and privation; of alternate hope and disap-
pointment, during which he experimented with
various mechanical and electrical devices, but
was prevented by his straitened circumstances
from making any headway in profitable invention.
Pressed by his necessities, he was once or twice
on the point of giving up his researches and
investigations entirely and devoting himself to
some ordinary bread-winning industry; but he
was stimulated by his faithful and devoted wife
and her mother, both of whom had an abiding
faith in his genius, and who aided him in his
work with all the means at their command, and
to whose influence was largely due the fact that
he continued his efforts in the field of invention.

"In 1867 a more prosperous era dawned upon
him, with the invention of a self-adjusting tele-
graph relay, which, although it proved of no
practical value, furnished the opportunity of in-
troducing him to the late Gen. Anson Stager, of
Cleveland, then General Superintendent of the
Western Union Telegraph Company, who at once

ELISHA GRAY.

became interested in him and furnished him facil-
ities for experimenting on the company's lines.
Professor Gray then formed a co-partnership with
E. M. Barton, of Cleveland, for the manufacture
of electrical appliances, during which time he
invented the dial telegraph.

" In 1869 he removed to Chicago, where he
continued the manufacture of electrical supplies,
General Stager becoming associated with him.
Here he perfected the type-printing telegraph, the
telegraphic repeater, the telegraphic switch, the
annunciator and many other inventions which
have become famous within the short space of a
few years. About 1872 he organized the West-
ern Electrical Manufacturing Company, which is
still in existence and is said to be the largest
establishment of its kind in the world. In 1874
he retired from the superintendency of the elec-
tric company and began his researches in teleph-
ony, and within two years thereafter gave to
the world that marvelous production of human
genius, the speaking telephone. Noting one day,
when a secondary coil was connected with the
zinc lining of the bath tub, dry at the time, that
when he held the other end of the coil in his left
hand and rubbed the lining of the tub with his
right, it gave rise to a sound that had the same
pitch and quality as that of the vibrating contact-
breaker, he began a series of experiments, which
led first to the discovery that musical tones could
be transmitted over an electrical wire. Fitting
up the necessary devices, he exhibited this inven-
tion to some of his friends, and the same year
went abroad, where he made a special study of
acoustics and gave further exhibitions of the
invention, which he developed into the harmonic,
or multiplex, telegraph. While perfecting this
device, in 1875, the idea of the speaking tele-
phone suggested itself, and in 1876 he perfected
this invention and filed his caveat in the Patent
Office at Washington. That another inventor
succeeded in incorporating into his own applica-
tion for a telegraph patent an important feature
of Professor Gray's invention, and that the latter
was thereby deprived of the benefits which he
should have derived therefrom, is the practically
unanimous decision of many well informed as to

the merits of the controversy to which conflict-
ing claims gave rise; and the leading scientists
and scientific organizations of the world, accord-
ing to a certain periodical, have accredited to him
the honor of inventing the telephone. In recog-
nition of his distinguished achievements, he was
made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor at the
close of the Paris Exposition of 1878, and Amer-
ican colleges have conferred upon him the degrees
of Doctor of Laws and Doctor of Science.

"For several years after his invention of the
telephone he was connected with the Postal Tel-
egraph Company, and brought the lines of this"
system into Chicago, laying them underground.
He also devised a general underground telegraph
system for the city, and then turned his attention
to the invention of the 'telautograph,' a device
with which the general public is just now becom-
ing familiar through the public accounts of its
operation. On March 21, 1893, the first exhibi-
tions of the practical and successful operation of
this wonderful instrument were given simultane-
ously in New York and Chicago, and on the
same day the first telautograph messages were
passed over the wires from Highland Park to
Waukegan, Illinois. The exhibitions were wit-
nessed by a large number of electrical experts,
scientists and representatives of the press, who
were unanimous in their opinion that Professor
Gray's invention is destined to bring about a
revolution in telegraphy.

' 'One of the beauties of electrical science is the
expressiveness of its nomenclature, and among
the many significant names given to electrical
inventions none expresses more clearly the use
and purpose of the instrument to which it is
applied than the term, 'telautograph.' As its
name signifies, it enables a person sitting at one
end of the wire to write a message or a letter
which is reproduced simultaneously in fac simile
at the other end of the wire. It is an agent
which takes the place of the skilled operator and
the telegraphic alphabet. Any one who can
write can transmit a message by this means, and
the receiving instrument does its work perfectly,
without the aid of an operator. The sender of
the message may be identified by fhe/ac simile of

EUSHA GRAY.

his handwriting which reaches the recipient, and
pen-and-ink portraits of persons may be as
readily transmitted from one point to another as
the written messages. In many respects the
telautograph promises to be more satisfactory in
its practical operations than the telephone. Com-
munications can be carried on between persons at
a distance from each other with absolute secrecy,
and a message sent to a person in his absence
from his place of business will be tound awaiting
him upon his return. These and many other
advantages which the telautograph seems to
possess warrant the prediction that in the not
very distant future telautography will supplant
in a measure both telephony and telegraphy.
The transmitter and the receiver of the telauto-
graph system are delicately constructed pieces of
mechanism, each contained in a box somewhat
smaller than an ordinary typewriter machine.
The two machines are necessary at each end of a
wire, and stand side by side. In transmitting a
message an ordinary feed lead pencil is used. At
the point of this is a small collar, with two eyes
in its rim. To each of these eyes a fine silk -cord
is attached, running off at right angles in two
directions. Each of the two ends of this cord is
carried round a small drum supported on a ver-
tical shaft. Under the drum, and attached to
the same shaft, is a toothed wheel of steel, the
teeth of which are so arranged that when either
section of the cord winds upon or off its drum, a
number of teeth will pass a given point, corres-
ponding to the length of cord so wound or un-
wound. For instance, if the point of the pencil
moves in the direction of one of the cords a dis-
tance of one inch, forty of the teeth will pass any
certain point. Each one of these teeth and each
space represents one impulse sent upon the line,
so that when the pencil describes a motion one
inch in length, eighty electrical impulses are sent
upon the line. The receiving instrument is prac-
tically a duplicate of the transmitter, the motions
of which, however, are controlled by electrical
mechanism. The perfected device exhibited by
Professor Gray, and now in operation, is the
result of six years of arduous labor, an evolution
to which the crude contrivance used in his earliest

experiments bears little resemblance. The man-
ufacture of the instruments will be carried on by
the Gray Electric Company, a corporation having
offices in New York and Chicago and a large
manufacturing establishment just outside the
limits of the suburban village of Highland Park,
Illinois, of which place Professor Gray has been
for many years a resident. Here, in addition to
his workshop and laboratory, the renowned
inventor has a beautiful home, and his domestic
relations are of the ideal kind.

' ' The title by which Professor Gray has been
known for so many years came to him through
his connection with Oberlin and Ripon (Wis-
consin) Colleges as non-resident lecturer in
physics, and his general appearance is that of the
college professor or the profound student. He
has none of the eccentricities which are the con-
spicuous characteristics of some of the great
inventors of the age, and, when not absorbed in
his professional work, he is delightfully genial
and companionable.

"When the World's Congress of Electricians
assembled in the new Art Institute in Chicago,
on the 2ist of August, 1893, there were gathered
the most noted electricians of all the world. The
congress was divided into two sections, one of
which termed the official section was com-
posed of representatives designated by the vari-
ous Governments of Europe and the Americas,
and was authorized to consider and pass upon
questions relating to electrical measurement,
nomenclature and various other matters of import
to the electrical world. To the other section ot
the congress were admitted all professional elec-
tricians who came properly accredited, and they
were permitted to attend the sessions and partici-
pate in the deliberations of the congress, although
they were not allowed to vote on the technical
questions coming before it.

' 'When it was determined that the convening
of international congresses of various kinds
should be made one of the leading features ot
the Columbian Exposition, a body, which became
known as the World's Congress Auxiliary of the
World's Columbian Exposition, was organized
for the purpose of promoting and making all

B. C. MILLER.

necessary preparations for these gatherings. To
Prof. Elisha Gray, of Chicago, this body as-
signed the task of organizing the congress of
electricians, and placed upon him the responsi-
bility of formulating the plans and making all
initiatory preparations for what was, unquestion-
ably, the most important and interesting conven-
tion of electricians ever held in this or any other
country. While the Professor called to his assist-
ance many distinguished members of his profes-
sion, by virtue of his official position, he was the
central and most attractive figure in this great
movement.

"Professor Gray is a member of the Union
League Club of Chicago. Politically, he is a
Republican. He has traveled extensively, not
only in this country but throughout Europe.
He is now in his sixty-first year, and he stands
as an illustrious example of the general rule, for,
although not yet an old man, he is one of the
few prominent in the early days of electrical
development who maintained their prominence
and added to their reputation in the rapid strides
which have been made during the last decade.

But few of the early workers in the electrical
sciences have maintained their prominence in the
later development. This is undoubtedly due to
the lack of plasticity which is usually attributed
to maturer years, the possession of which in
younger men often gives them the advantage in
the rush for supremacy in new adaptation and
under ever-changing conditions. Where, how-
ever, this plasticity has been preserved during
maturer years, as has been the case with the
subject of this sketch, the maturer judgment and
riper experience which those years have enabled
him to bring to bear upon the newer problems
have in many cases resulted in inventions and
improvements of the utmost importance to man-
kind and the cause of civilization. Professor
Gray is a man of fine personal appearance, pleas-
ing address, commanding bearing, and a man
who will attract attention in any assembly, and
who, on account of his great electrical skill and
general scientific attainments, and because of his
pleasing and affable manner, has won for him-
self many friends and admirers. ' '

DR. BENJAMIN C. MILLER.

0R. BENJAMIN COKE MILLER, one of
the most successful physicians and most
highly respected citizens of Chicago, passed
away at his home on Everett Avenue, in that
city, June 25, 1891. He was descended from a
long line of American ancestors, who were dis-
tinguished as physicians and gentlemen.

The founder of the family in this country was
Adam Miller, who was born near Metz, France
(now included in the German Empire), and from

whom the subject of this biography was a de-
scendant in the eighth generation. He settled
with his family in Frederick, Maryland, and be-
came a large planter. He was noted as a man
of wealth, culture and refinement, and held many
slaves. These were liberated by his bequest on
his death, and their loss at that time almost beg-
gared his heirs; but they honored his behest.
The family continued to reside in Maryland for
several generations. The great-grandfather of

8 4

B. C. MILLER.

Dr. Benjamin C. Miller moved to Shelby ville,
Kentucky, where his son, Dr. Henry Miller, be-
came an extensive planter. The latter was a
tall and fine-appearing man, a noted physician
and a man of affairs. He died at Shelbyville, of
old age.

Dr. Jefferson Miller, son of the last-named,
was bsrn in Gallatin County, Kentucky, No-
vember 29, 1807, and was educated in Virginia.
Through over-confidence in his friends, he lost
much of his property, and then took up the study
of medicine with Dr. Clarke, a noted physician
of his native State. While still a young man, he
settled in the practice of his profession at Rush-
ville, Indiana, and became widely known for his
skill in the healing art. He united with the
Methodist Church there in 1839. As a Chris-
tian, he was liberal to all churches. As a citizen,
he was public-spirited, and was much loved and
respected by all. As a physician, he was un-
usually successful, and was a man of extraordin-
ary worth and usefulness in all relations of life.
November 20, 1832, he married Eliza A. Stand-
ford, of Greencastle, Indiana, and two of their
children grew to maturity, namely: Dr. Benja-
min C. and Henry Miller, the latter now a resi-
dent of Ladoga, Indiana. The father died at
that place, November 5, 1885, and his wife sur-
vived him about five and one-half years, passing
away in May, 1891.

Benjamin C. Miller was born April 30, 1846,
in Rushville, Indiana, and went with his parents
early in life to Montgomery County, in the same
State, receiving his primary education at Ladoga.
In the spring of 1862, when he was barely six-
teen years of age, he ran away from school at
Battle Ground, Indiana, and enlisted as a private
in the Eleventh Indiana Cavalry, then in camp
at Indianapolis, preparatory to service in the
Civil War. As this enlistment was made with-
out the consent of his father, the latter was en-
abled to claim him, which he did, and conducted
the ambitious boy back to school. Before the
father had reached home on the return from this
duty, the son was again in camp, and he was
this time permitted to have his way. He joined
Company K, of the Eleventh Cavalry, of which

he was made Sergeant, and participated in the
service of that organization until December 19,
1863, before the completion of his eighteenth
year, when he was mustered out as a First Lieu-
tenant.

One day soon after this, a handsome young man,
some six feet, six and one-half inches in height,
bronzed by exposure in the line of military duty,
and dressed in the handsome uniform of a Lieu-
tenant, called at the home of his parents in La-
doga. On learning the number of his regiment,
they plied him with questions about Company K,
and inquired if he knew young Benjamin Miller.
He replied in the affirmative. At this moment
his favorite dog came into the room, and, upon
being spoken to by his young master, gave the
most extravagant expressions of joy, bringing
tears to the eyes of Mrs. Miller, who could scarcely
forgive herself for failing to recognize her son
until after this faithful animal had shown her his
identity.

Entering Rush Medical College of Chicago,
young Miller was graduated with honor on the
gth of February, 1869. He passed the competi-
tive examination, and was appointed House Phy-
sician and Surgeon of Cook County Hospital,
serving a year and a-half. He was then made
County Physician, in which capacity he served two
years. He was immediately made Superintendent
of Public Charities, having charge of the County
Hospital, Insane Asylum and Alms House.
After filling this position about eighteen months,
he was appointed Sanitary Superintendent of
Chicago by Mayor Medill, and was continued in
that office by Mayor Colvin. During this period
he was very useful in the community by his skill-
ful management of the cholera epidemic of 1873.
In 1875 he was made Surgeon, with the rank of
Major, on the staff of Gen. A. C. Ducat, Com-
mander of the Illinois National Guard. In 1876
Dr. Miller resigned the position of Sanitary Su-
perintendent and went abroad. He spent about
a year in studying in hospitals at Aberdeen and
Edinburgh, Scotland, and London, England.
Returning to Chicago, with added knowledge
from these observations, he was enabled to com-
mand a large share of the most difficult and re-

J. M. HANNAHS.

munerative medical and surgical practice of the
then metropolitan city. In 1889 he was ap-
pointed by the United States Government a Pen-
sion Examiner, and continued to fulfill the duties
of this position until his death.

December 24, 1872, Dr. Miller was married to
Miss Etta Barnet, of Chicago. She, with one
daughter, survives him. The latter, Miss Mary
Etta Miller, is a bright Chicago girl. She is
possessed of marked literary and artistic tastes,
and her work as a pen-and-ink artist has attracted
considerable attention. Mrs. Miller is a daugh-
ter of the late George Barnet, a sketch of whose

career will be found on another page of this
work.

Dr. Miller's character was summed up in a
few heartfelt and well-chosen words by his con-
temporary, Dr. Pagne, as follows: "A man of
extraordinary talent and attainments was Dr.
Miller. While City Physician, he inaugurated
the system of newsboys' picnics and outings. His
friends were many, by reason of his greatness of
heart. Chicago loses a good citizen, and the pro-
fession an able member."

The last sad rites over his remains were con-
ducted by South Park Masonic Lodge, and his
body was interred in Oakwoods Cemetery.

JAMES M. HANNAHS.

flAMES MONROE HANNAHS, one of the
I oldest residents of Chicago, having come
Q) here as early as 1836, is a descendant of an
old and influential New England family, which
originated in Ireland, the family name having
been spelled in that country Hannah. The
great-grandfather of James M. Hannahs was the
first member of the family to leave his native
land for the New World. He settled in Litch-
field, Connecticut, where he was an active and
influential citizen, and later became a zealous
patriot. On the breaking out of the War of the
Revolution, that contest with the Mother Coun-
try which tried the mettle of her sons so sorely,
he made his adopted country's cause his own,
and was made a member of the Committee of
Safety formed at that time.

Daniel Hannahs, son of the foregoing, and the
grandfather of the subject of this notice, was a
soldier in the War of 1812. He was wounded at

the battle of Queenstown, and for his services
enjoyed a pension from the Government until his
death, which occurred in 1842. Leaving Con-
necticut, he moved with his family to central
New York, settling in the wilderness near the
Mohawk River. Undaunted in courage, and of
a fine, soldierly physique, he was well fitted by
nature for the Herculean task of founding a home
in the primeval forests, and in his wife he found
a willing helpmate. The latter was Elizabeth
Gordon, a cousin of Lord George Gordon, the
hero of the "Gordon Riots" of 1798, for his
leadership in which he was imprisoned in Lon-
don and tried for treason, but finally acquitted.

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Hannahs became the
parents of four children, all sons: Chauncey,
Marvin, William and Daniel. Of these, Marvin
removed to Albion, Calhoun County, Michigan,
in 1835, and became one of the leading men in
that locality, and in later years his son George

J. M. HANNAHS.

was elected State Senator from Michigan. Will-
iam, another son of Daniel Hannahs, became a
prosperous woolen merchant of New York City.
His son, a law student, immediately after his
graduation from Yale College, raised a company
of cavalry in New York City, in the first month
after the Civil War opened, and took the field.
He was made Captain of this company, but, sad
to relate, was killed in Virginia, in May, 1861.

Chauncey Hannahs, the father of James Mon-
roe, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in the
year 1791, and removed with his parents to New
York State, assisting his father in clearing
up his farm. In later years, in this same lo-
cality, he engaged in the foundry business. In
1835 he removed to Wisconsin, then considered
in the very far West, and located on Government
land in Kenosha County, where the rest of his
days were spent, his demise occurring in 1873,
from old age. While living in New York State
he had been Captain of an artillery company,
and the title then gained he ever afterwards bore.
In person large and strong, he delighted in out-
door pursuits, and the pioneer life which he
chose on leaving his old home in the East was
one well suited to him in every respect. In his
early life he had been an ardent Whig, but on
the formation of the two great parties of Repub-
licans and Democrats, he allied himself with the
latter, and proved an equally earnest champion
of its principles. In his religious leanings he
was a Presbyterian, his wife being of the same
faith. The latter was born in the year 1793, in
Oneida County, New York, a daughter of Enos
Nichols, a pioneer of that county, where he lived
in a covered wagon until he could erect for him-
self a house in the wilderness. He later became
a pioneer of Lake County, Illinois, near the Wis-
consin State line, and his family thus became
neighbors of the Hannahs family.

Mrs. Chauncey Hannahs died on the old home-
stead in Keuosha County in 1882, also from old
age. She had been the mother of seven children,
as follows: Mrs. Ann Doolittle, William H.,
James M., Thomas J., Francis G., Frederick, and
Adeline, who died at the age of fourteen years.
A strange and shocking fatality occurred in this

family, no less than six deaths taking place with-
in twenty-two months, three children dying with-
in three days of each other. All who now sur-
vive are James M. and his brother, Francis G.

The subject of this sketch was born June 26,
1821, in Herkimer County, New York, and re-
ceived a common-school education in a little
schoolfeouse on the banks of the historic Mohawk
River. On leaving school he entered his father's
foundry to learn the business, and after coming
to Chicago he followed the trade of a foundry-
man in connection with a partner, the firm name
being Hannahs & James. He continued thus en-
gaged until he entered the employ of Wahl
Brothers, manufacturers of glue, with whom he
remained for twenty-five years, during part of
that time representing the firm in New York
City. After leaving Wahl Brothers he was act-
ively engaged in promoting elevated railroads in
Chicago, on a new principle.

July 3, 1851, in Cook County, Illinois, Mr.
Hannahs married Miss Matilda Irish, a daugh-
ter of Perry Irish, and a native of Holley, New
York. Several children were born of this mar-
riage, but all died in infancy. Mrs. Hannahs
died September 19, 1885, in Chicago.

Mr. Hannahs has been for over forty years a
consistent member of the Baptist Church. In re-
gard to politics he is a Republican, having been
a stanch Abolitionist previous to the war. He
is a strong believer in the efficacy of free silver,
and champions his cause with great ardor. While
in the employ of Wahl Brothers, his business led
him to travel extensively throughout the United
States, and he has hosts of friends up and down
the country, as well as in Chicago. Like many
other Chicago business men, he was at one time
a farmer in Cook County, but he yielded to the
superior attractions of city life and sold his farm of
one hundred and sixty acres, which he had bought
for $3 per acre. He has many reminiscences of
early days in Illinois, and has contributed many
interesting articles to Chicago newspapers, de-
scribing the scenes and incidents of early days
in this locality, and noting the stupendous
changes wrought in the face of the country since
he came here, a pioneer of 1836.

LIBRARY

OF THE

HNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

JACOB FORSYTH.

(TACOB FORSYTH. In every community,
I no matter how small, the intelligent observer
G/ will find men who have risen above their
fellows, both in fame and fortune, by sheer force
of character and the ability to seize fortune at the
tide. Though to the casual onlooker there often
has seemed an element of "luck" in the chances
of prosperity which have come to them, a closer
observer will see that it has more often been the
fortunate meeting of the man and the opportunity ;
the opportunity may, perhaps, have occurred
a hundred times before, but the man who should
seize it, and by his ability and energy force results
from it, has never before appeared.

Jacob Forsyth, an old resident of Chicago, and
one of its leading citizens, exemplifies the truth
of the foregoing in a marked degree. Born in the
North of Ireland, of Scotch descent, he possesses
those fortunate characteristics which have placed
so many of his countrymen on the highroad to
success honesty, ambition, energy and resistless
tenacity of purpose. Overlooking the daily dis-
couragements, disappointments and hardships of
their life, they keep ever before them the high
object of their ambition; and if failure instead of
success is their portion, it is through no weaken-
ing of their powers by self-indulgence or idle re-
pining.

In the days of King James I. of England there
sprang up a class of men known as "under-
takers," who, in consideration of certain grants
of land, undertook to locate a specified number of
settlers upon the vast tracts of vacant ground in
northern Ireland. It was at this time that a great
emigration was made from Scotland to this region,
and gave to the world that sturdy, industrious

and highly moral class of people called Scotch-
Irish. Prior to the siege of Londonderry, an
epoch in the history of northern Ireland, the an-
cestors of Jacob Forsyth settled in what is now
the county of Londonderry. They were a rural
people, and, as near as can be learned at the
present time, were engaged in agriculture.

To John Forsyth and his wife, Margaret Cox,
was born a son, whom they christened Jacob. The
latter married Elizabeth Haslette, and their son
John was the father of the subject of this sketch.
John Forsyth married Mary Ann Kerr, a native
of County Londonderry, who was the daughter
of Alexander Kerr and Anne Osborne, the latter
of English descent. The Kerrs were of Scotch
lineage, and very early in Ireland. The parents
of Alexander Kerr were Oliver and Elizabeth
(Wilson) Kerr.

The father of Mr. Forsyth was an intelligent
farmer, and the possessor of a small landed
property. Anxious that his son should have the
' 'schooling' ' which is the ambition of most of his
countrymen, he sent him to a celebrated private
academy, the principal of which was a famous
Greek and Latin scholar and a renowned
mathematician, in his vicinity. Possessing the
studious inclination and the quick perceptions of
an apt scholar, the youth profited greatly by his
attendance here, and the proficiency he ac-
quired in penmanship gained for him his first
position in America.

Jacob Forsyth was born January 12, 1821, at
the old town of Limavady, near the present rail-
road station and thriving village in County Lon-
donderry, Ireland, known as Newtown, Limavady.
Filled with the ambitious spirit which builds

JACOB FORSYTH.

cities and develops the commercial possibilities of
the world, he set out for the United States at the
age of fifteen years. Settling in Pittsburg, Penn-
sylvania, he there first found employment as
copying clerk and errand boy for the great com-
mission and forwarding house of Forsyth & Com-
pany, a member of which firm was a near relative.
The firm was the oldest commission house in the
city, and owned a large fleet of steamers, running
on various western rivers. In those days the
copying book had not been invented, and all let-
ters had to be copied by hand, and this work fell
to young Forsyth. By the interest he took in
his work, and the care with which everything
entrusted to him to do was performed, he soon
won his way into the confidence of his employers,
and was promoted from one responsible position
to another, until he had attained that of head
bookkeeper.

Mr. Forsyth remained with Forsyth & Com-
pany for fifteen years altogether, and at the end
of that time his abilities had become so well
known outside of the concern that he was offered
several other advantageous positions. Accepting
one of these, he became the Through Freight
Agent of the Pennsylvania Railroad, with head-
quarters in Chicago, and by this means became a
permanent resident of this city in 1857. After a
few years' service in this capacity, he accepted
the position of General Western Agent for the old
"Erie" Road.

About this time, his business giving him op-
portunities for observing the prevailing real-es-
tate conditions, he became impressed with the
excellent opportunities to buy land cheaply ; and
with a premonition of the growth of the city, and
the consequent rise in land values, he resigned
his position and began to invest largely in real
estate. His wife had inherited a large amount
of land in Lake County, Indiana, from her brother,
George W. Clarke, who died in 1866, and to this
Mr. Forsyth added by purchasing the holdings
of small owners in the vicinity, until he had ac-
quired ten thousand acres, a large estate for this
land of comparatively small holdings. He had
the shrewdness to buy this so as to form one im-
mense tract, arguing that one large tract would

possess more value than the same amount in scat-
tered portions. During subsequent years he ex-
perienced much annoyance and was caused many
years' litigation in his efforts to expel squatters
from the tract. They were very numerous
around Lakes George and Wolf at the time, and
their dislodgment was a matter of much difficulty.
Mr. Forsyth was in litigation for five years before
he finally obtained redress, and during this time
read book after book on land decisions and the
question of riparian rights, on which he is now
one of the best-posted men in the country, and
able to give information to many an intelligent
attorney in that line of practice.

When, finally, a decree was pronounced in his
favor, he sold eight thousand acres of his land to
the East Chicago Improvement Company for one
million dollars, one-third of which sum was paid
down. The company, however, failed to meet
subsequent payments, and as a compromise the
present Canal and Improvement Company was
formed in 1887. From this Mr. Forsyth ac-
cepted as reimbursement part cash, a large
amount of bonds, and some stock in the company.
In 1881 he bought another large tract on the
lake shore, lying directly north of the present
site of East Chicago, and in 1889 he sold a por-
tion of this to the Standard Oil Company, and
on it has since been built its large plant, known
as Whiting. The limits of the city of Chicago
having been extended to the Indiana line, across
which lies Mr. Forsyth's land, the latter has been
consequently enhanced in value, and has been
greatly benefited thereby.

AtUniontown, Pennsylvania, Mr. Forsyth mar-
ried Miss Caroline M. Clarke, daughter of Robert
Clarke, of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, who
has borne her husband nine children, five sons
and four daughters, all of whom are living.
The family occupies a handsome, comfortable
house on Michigan Avenue, and the home is per-
vaded by an air of taste and refinement which
is not always an element in the homes of the rich.

In politics Mr. Forsyth is a Republican, a
stanch advocate of his party's men and principles,
though, owing to the stress of his extensive busi-
ness interests, he has never found it convenient

T. T. PROSSER.

to take an active part in political affairs. Had
he done so, and brought the same energy and
discernment to bear that he has displayed in the
management of his private interests, it is safe to say
that he would have made his mark in the political
world, as he has made it in the business affairs of
his adopted city.

In appearance Mr. Forsyth is a large, well-

proportioned man, with a kindly, shrewd face,
the true index of a man who has lived an honest,
helpful and kindly life. Though bearing the
weight of seventy-five years and the responsi-
bilities which the possession of great wealth al-
ways brings, he is elastic in mind and body, and
bids fair to live to an extreme old age.

TREAT T. PROSSER.

'REAT T. PROSSER. There are few tasks
more difficult than to sketch the life of an
inventor. The world is so jealous of inno-
vation and improvement upon established meth-
ods, so wedded to the past, and withal so disin-
clined to recognize the brilliancy of more prac-
tical genius, that the man who discovers de-
ficiencies in practical mechanics and supplies them
often goes to his grave unrewarded, even by the
gratitude of the world he has benefited. He
hears the name of the warrior, of the statesman,
of the poet, even of the politician, in every
household or business mart, but often his own, if
mentioned at all, as of one who is building cas-
tles in the air.

But gifted innovators, while deeply feeling the
lack of appreciation, have often adopted the sen-
timent of Keplar, who said: "My work is done;
it can well wait a century for its readers, since
God waited full six thousand years before there
came a man capable of comprehending and admir-
ing His work." Now and then, however, genius
is so practical, and its fruits contrast so brilliantly
with what has preceded, that it compels almost
instantaneous recognition and homage, and
among the fortunate possessors of the latter class
was the subject of this article, the late Treat T.
Prosser.

The Prossers are of Welsh descent, but the
Treats, from whom Mr. Prosser was descended
on the maternal side, were English. The first
ancestors of the former family to come to America
were two brothers, who came from Wales some
time prior to the Revolutionary War, in which
supreme contest two of their descendants partici-
pated, and one met his death. The family lived
on Prosser Hill, just outside of Boston, and it
was in the Prosser barn that the members of the
historic Boston "tea party" disguised themselves
as Indians, previous to throwing the tea over-
board into Boston Harbor. Grandfather John
Prosser was one of the two members of the family
mentioned previously as having served in the
struggle with the Mother Country. He married
Bethia Truesdale, daughter of a Connecticut phy-
sician, and had eight sons and one daughter.

Of these children, Potter A. Prosser, the father
of Treat T., married Eliza, a daughter of Timo-
thy Treat, whose son, a physician, became famous
through the services he rendered during the
great cholera epidemic. The Treat family came
from Pitminster, Somerset, England. Richard
Treat was baptized in 1584. Among the prom-
inent descendants are Gov. Robert Treat, and
Rev. Samuel Treat, of Pitminster. The father's
birth occurred August n, 1793, and the mother

T. T. PROSSER.

was born March 29, 1798. Their marriage was
solemnized on the 5th of November, 1818, and
of their union were born five children. The
mother, a woman of many domestic virtues and
lovable traits of character, died at the compara-
tively early age of fifty-five years, but the father
lived to the great age of ninety-six.

Treat T. Prosser was born in the little town of
Avon, New York, January 22, 1827. His youth
and early manhood were passed in his native
State, and his early education was received in its
common schools. After reaching his majority he
attended the academy at West Avon, feeling the
need of a more thorough school training before
starting out to earn his own way in life. Always
handy in the use of tools, at the early age of
fourteen he had been engaged at the trade of a
millwright, in which he soon became a proficient
workman. But while his hands were busily
engaged at this work, his thoughts were wander-
ing out upon the whole broad domain of mechan-
ical science, and his studies at the academy were
for the purpose of fitting himself for the career to
which all his talents and his inclinations urged
him.

From the young millwright developed an
inventor of agricultural implements of great
value; of a superior system of machinery for the
manufacture of bolts; of universally recognized
improvements upon steam engines; of a practical
and widely used machine for pegging boots; of
coal machinery; of the Prosser Cylinder Car, and
of many other mechanical devices, which either
are now, or will become in the future, of great
benefit to mankind. He drew the plans for the
Chicago Hydraulic Company, which built the
first water-works system in Chicago.

In 1851 Mr. Prosser came to Chicago, and the
wisdom of his choice of a location was demon-
strated long ago. No other city has ever opened
such welcoming arms to men of genius as has
she, nor out of her own prosperity rewarded them
so bountifully. The great fireof 1871 found him
among its victims, and he lost the greater part of
the accumulations of years; but financial loss is
one of the minor evils to a man who has within
himself the. power to mould, in a great measure,

his own destiny, and is no mere inert mass, lying
helpless under the buffetings of the winds of ill-
fortune. The energy which was one of the
marked points in his character asserted itself, and
his days were ended in the prosperity he deserved.

From 1851 until the date of his death, Decem-
ber n, 1895, Mr. Prosser made Chicago his home,
with the exception of two years spent in the
Rocky Mountains, six years in Boston, and a
short vacation spent in Europe. He was the first
man to introduce the steam engine and the
quartz-mill into the Rockies, the engine being
constructed of material shipped from the East, the
boiler being literally built in that wild region.
While in Europe he was elected a member of the
Society of Mechanics of England and Scotland,
an honor which speaks of his high merits as a
mechanical engineer.

In West Bloomfield, New York, September 26,
1849, Mr. Prosser married Miss Lucy J. Phillips,
and of their union two children were born:
Henry Blinn Prosser, of Chicago; and Mary
Augusta, wife of Oscar E. Poole, of Lakeside,
Illinois. Mrs. Prosser was the daughter of Isaac
Webster Phillips, a relative of the famous Web-
ster family, his mother being a sister of Noah
Webster's father. Isaac Phillips was a native of
Hartford, Connecticut, but removed to West
Bloomfield, where he served as Justice of the
Peace, and was commonly known as Judge Phil-
lips. He came to Chicago late in life, and died
at the home of Mrs. Prosser, at the age of sev-
enty-two years. His wife, whose maiden name
was Laura Miller, reached the advanced age of
ninety-two years.

Closely wedded to his profession , Mr. Prosser
generally refused the responsibilities of official
positions, but made an exception to this rule after
the Great Fire, when he acted as superintendent
of the distribution of food to the destitute in
Districts Four and Five. These duties he filled
in an energetic and impartial manner, which
accorded well with the other actions of his well-
spent life. In his politics he voted with the
Republican party.

Oscar E. Poole, who married Mr. Prosser 's only
daughter, was born January 18, 1857, * n Will

J. W. LARIMORE.

County, Illinois, and is a son of Ezra and Eliza
Treat Poole, pioneers in Will County, where they
settled in 1850. He received his principal educa-
tion in Joliet, where his guardian lived. His
father died when he was but one and a-half years
old, and his mother died when he was ten
years old. His boyhood was spent in Joliet.
At the age of eighteen years he became a clerk in
his uncle's store, and three years later became a
partner. At the age of twenty-two he entered the
employ of the State, in the capacity of storekeeper

at the State Penitentiary, remaining a number of
years in that position. From there he went to
Chicago, where he first started a milk business
and then became a traveling salesman for Kinney
& Company, and, later, their manager. He finally
bought out the business, and it is now conducted
under the name of Poole & Company. Mr. Poole
was married, February 27, 1885, to Miss Mary
Augusta Prosser, who is the mother of four
children now living: Edward Prosser, Helen
Irene, Lucy Eliza and Malcolm Alan Poole.

PROF. JAMES W. LARIMORE.

(TAMES WILSON LARIMORE, who died
I suddenly of heart failure at his home in Chi-
G) cago, May 30, 1894, was for many years
prominent in the literary, social and religious
work of the city. He was born in Steubenville,
Ohio, May 6, 1834, and was a son of Joseph and
Mary Jane (Wilson) Larimore, both also natives
of that place. The earliest progenitors of the
family known were French Huguenots, who fled
from their native land after the cruel revocation
of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV., locating
in Scotland. There the name was difficult of
pronunciation on the Scotch tongue, and from
"Laird o' the Moor," the name gradually came
to its present form.

The first settlement of the family in Amer-
ica was made in Chester County, Pennsyl-
vania, where David Larimore, grandfather of
the subject of this sketch, was born March 31,
1782. For many generations the Larimores had
been distinguished for literary tastes and attain-
ments, and David Larimore was no exception to
the rule. He was a man of affairs, and conserved

the family estates, which were considerable. He
died at Norristown, Pennsylvania, March 16,
1857, having almost completed his seventy-fifth
year.

James Wilson, father of Mrs. Mary J. Lari-
more, came of a Scotch-Irish family, which has
borne a prominent part in the literary and social
life of the United States, furnishing many not-
able statesmen, attorneys and generals to the
Nation. This family is also a strong factor in
the literary life of America, and Professor Lari-
more inherited talents from both lines of ances-
tors.

The youth of the latter was spent at Niles,
Michigan, whither his parents removed when he
was two years old. He early manifested a fond-
ness for books, and most of his life up to the age
of twenty-six years was spent in school. He
was sent, in 1852, to Olivet Institute, in Eaton
County, Michigan. Having an uncle in the
faculty of the Hampton and Sidney College in
southern Virginia, he was induced to go there.
He remained some time, but the climate did not

J. W. LARIMORE.

agree with him. Consequently, he decided to
finish his education at the North. He took a
course at the University of New York City, which
graduated him in the Class of 1860. He had a
thorough theological education, having spent a
year at Union Theological Seminary, later taking a
full course at Princeton Theological Seminary,
Princeton, New Jersey, preparatory to entering
the Presbyterian ministry. He preached most of
the time, supplying different churches during the
latter part of his theological studies, his first
regular ' 'call' ' being to one of the largest and
most important churches at that time in Albany,
New York, the Third Dutch Reformed. He had,
however, a decided preference for life in the grow-
ing West, and became pastor of the First Presbyte-
rian Church of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Under his
able ministry, this soon became the largest so-
ciety of that denomination west of the Mississippi
River. In 1863 he accepted the Chaplaincy of
the Ninth Iowa Cavalry, at the earnest solicita-
tion of his particular friend, Adjutant-General
Baker, of Iowa, and at once went into the field
with the regiment, spending most of the time in
the Department of Little Rock, Arkansas, being
Post Chaplain at De Vails Bluff. Just before the
death of President Lincoln, in 1865, he was by
him brevetted Major, and also assigned to the
position of Hospital Chaplain in the regular
United States army. He resigned his position
at De Vails Bluff, as he had been ordered to re-
port for duty at Webster Hospital in Memphis,
Tennessee, in April, 1865. Owing to the uncer-
tainty of the mails, he did not receive his papers
until several days after the President's assassina-
tion.

At the close of the war Professor Larimore
came to Chicago, and in the fall of 1865 was
installed as pastor of the Seventh (now West-
minister) Presbyterian Church of this city, which
position he filled for something over two years.
In the mean time he did much literary work, and
for a period gave his exclusive attention to this
congenial labor. He developed a great aptitude for
journalism, and was offered the position of city
editor of the Chicago Evening Journal in the
spring of 1 87 1 , and accepted. He discharged the

duties of this responsible charge with marked
ability and success for three years.

On the fatal ninth of October, 1871, when
\h& Journal office was a ruin through the historic
"great fire," Mr. Larimore gave a characteristic
exhibition of energy and perseverance. With
the aid of the editor-in-chief, Hon. Andrew Shu-
man, an edition of the Journal was produced
on a hand press, which they secured in a job-of-
fice on the West Side; and with the flames
threatening to consume the building over their
heads, the paper was issued at the usual hour of
publication being the only representative of the
Chicago daily press put forth on that day.

The numerous writings and publications of
Professor Larimore had attracted the notice of
the University of Chicago, and in March, 1874,
he was elected to the professorship of physics in
that institution. In consequence of this, he re-
signed his connection with the Journal May 2
of that year. He did not, however, enter upon
the duties assigned him at the university, but
later on accepted a similar position at the Cook
County Normal School at Englewood. In Sep-
tember, 1878, he was elected teacher of physics
and chemistry at the North Division High
School of Chicago. He entered at once upon
his duties, and continued to fill the chair for
eleven consecutive years, with great credit to
himself and the school, making many devoted
friends among his pupils.

Before coming West Professor Larimore was
married, at Hudson, New York, to Miss Katie
Hoysradt, a beautiful and talented young lady,
who died in Chicago in 1865. Her remains, with
those of their two little boys, rest in the cemetery
at Niles, Michigan.

In 1867 he was again married, by Reverend
Doctors Humphrey and Harsha, to Miss Hattie
Stevens, of Chicago, the soprano singer of his
church choir. . She was born in Strykersville,
Wyoming County, New York, being the young-
est of the three daughters of the late Ira Stevens
of that town. In the year 1854, while she was a
small child, the family went to St. Charles, Kane
County, Illinois. Her father, a talented singer,
died very suddenly of cholera the day following

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON.

their arrival, which was during the great epidemic
of that year. Her mother, Percy Talmage
Hotchkiss, a refined Christian lady, was born
near New Haven, Connecticut. She died in
April, 1888, leaving her six children, and many
friends, to mourn her loss.

Mrs. Larimore received her education in the
high school at St. Charles, finishing it in Chi-
cago, where the greater part of her life has been
spent. Possessing marked musical talent, she
devoted most of her time to its development,
which brought her some distinction. At one
time, while a young lady, she was urgently
solicited to enter upon an operatic career. She
was turned from that course by conscientious
scruples. Aside from her musical talent, she is
a lady of much culture and pleasing personality,
and was ever a true helpmeet and companion
to her talented husband in all his labors. Three
bright children were given to Mr. and Mrs. Lari-
more, all of whom are now deceased. Hattie
Gertrude, the eldest, passed away at the age ot
two years. Paul, a promising lad, reached the

age of ten years, and was the subject of a most
touching and beautiful obituary from the pen of
Dr. Nixon, of the Inter Ocean. Blanche died in
infancy. The remains of the husband and father
and their three children lie buried at Rose Hill.
During his ministry in Chicago, Professor
Larimore preached many quite noted sermons,
one of the most marked being what was called by
the daily papers his "Crosby Opera House ser-
mon." He also preached the sermon at the in-
stallation of the late Professor David Sw^ng, who
was loved by so large a number of the leading
citizens of Chicago. At the time of his death
these two ministers were the only surviving mem-
bers of the original Presbytery of the city. Pro-
fessor Larimore was ever active in good works,
always having the welfare of his kind at heart,
but ' 'God's finger touched him and he slept. ' ' The
following lines express but feebly the high opinion
in which he was held by his friends:

"To know him was to love him,
None named him but to praise."

CAPT. CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON.

EAPT. CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON, one of
the old landmarks of Chicago, who arrived
in this city as long ago as 1838, was a native
of the little kingdom of Denmark, and was born
near Copenhagen, October 3, 1819, his parents
being natives of the same locality. His father was
killed by an accident before Christopher was a year
old, and the latter was bound out to a farmer on the
island of Als. Imbued with the strong love of
the sea which has filled so many of his country-
men and made them famous as sailors the world
over, at the early age of fourteen years he shipped
at Sonderburg, Denmark, on board an ocean

vessel, and within the next two or three years
had sailed around the globe. In the winter of
1837 he found himself in the city of New Orleans,
and, having long desired to verify the statements
he had heard of the advantages America offered
to industrious, enterprising youth of all nations,
he left his ship, and started for the heart of the
country. Aftei reaching St. Louis, he went to
Peoria, in this State, whence, by means of a hired
team, he reached this city.

Mr. Johnson's employment after reaching what
was then the muddy little village at the mouth
of the Chicago River was as a member of a survey-

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON.

ing party; but he served thus only a short time,
and soon after sought the more familiar and con-
genial life of a sailor on the Great Lakes. On
one occasion, while on a trip on one of the Lower
Lakes, on a vessel called the "Maria Hilliard,"
he was shipwrecked and met with other mishaps.
But on the whole fortune favored him; and after
a few years' service as a common sailor, he was
able to buy a small schooner, the "Helena," and
took charge of her as captain. In 1849, while
coming with a cargo of bricks from Little Fort,
near Kenosha, the "Helena" was sunk near the
Rush Street Bridge. On her voyage to Chicago,
she had sprung a leak, but by the efforts of the
captain and crew, she had been kept afloat until
the city was reached. After raising his vessel,
Captain Johnson sailed her for some time longer,
but in 1853 concluded to give up sailing for good.
His life on the lakes had given him a pretty fair
insight into the lumber business, and in this he
embarked, remaining thus engaged until the
Great Fire, when, in common with innumerable
others, he lost almost his entire savings. Fort-
unately, however, he did not lose his residence,
which was then on the West Side. He was the
owner of a farm at Lemont, and he moved his
family there for a time. His handsome new
farmhouse was destroyed by fire two years later,
and he built another.

Captain Johnson had married in 1849, and for
the next twelve years he reared his children on
the farm. He retained the real estate he had
owned in Chicago previous to the fire, and had
added to it, and at the end of the twelve years he
removed his wife and family to the city, finding
here greater scope for himself and promise of
future occupation for his sons. His property
interests increased to such an extent that his time
was fully taken up in managing his private
affairs, and he never entered any other business.
During all his life in Chicago he lived on the
North Side, where he was universally known
and popular with all. He built his first home on
the corner of Ohio and Market Streets, a spot
which he then considered the most prepossessing
in the city. His objection to the South Side was
due to its mud, that portion of the city being

almost impassable in the early days on account of
its level. At one time he intended to buy the
land on which the Briggs House now stands, but
after considerable deliberation concluded the site
was too muddy, a succession of mud holes having
to be crossed to reach it.

Captain Johnson's widow, who yet survives,
was previous to her marriage Miss Emily Ray-
mond, a daughter of John and Louise Raymond.
She is a native of Copenhagen, and was born
September i, 1833. At the age of ten years she
came to America with her father, who was a ship-
carpenter. He followed the lakes until his death,
which resulted from an accident he met with while
in the pursuit of his calling, being caught and
crushed between two ships. His death occurred
some months later, at the age of forty-five years,
August ii, 1853. Mrs. Johnson's marriage
occurred in Du Page County, this State, near
Naperville, December 9, 1849, and resulted in
the birth of thirteen children, of whom the fol-
lowing are living: Maria Louise, Mrs. A. Nelson,
of Chicago; Lena Amelia, Mrs. John S. Lee, of
Lemont; Evelyn, Mrs. D. T. Elston, of Chicago;
Henry W., living in Socorro, New Mexico; Benja-
min Franklin, of Pomeroy, Washington; Charles
Christopher and George W. Johnson, of this city.

In politics Captain Johnson was an ardent sup-
porter of the Republican party, and his party's
candidates were never defeated by his failure to
do his duty at the polls. During the early years
of the Civil War he served as Collector of the
North Town, but a naturally retiring and modest
disposition kept him from ever being conspic-
uous in politics. In religious faith he accorded
with the Lutheran Church. The respect in
which he was held was shown at the time of his
death, which occurred September 28, 1895, within
a week of his seventy-sixth birthday anniversary.
He had been an enthusiastic member of Cleveland
Lodge of the Chicago Freemasons, in which he
was initiated June n, passed July 7, and raised
October 13, 1859, and his fellow Masons attended
his funeral in a body. His early life had been
full of incident and adventure, but his later years
found him quietly fulfilling the duties of a self-
respecting, honorable life.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

H. L. STEWART.

HART L. STEWART.

EN. HART LE LAC STEWART, who was
very prominent in the development of Mich-
igan and Illinois, a participator in the Black
Hawk War, and a leading citizen of Chicago for a
generation, came of the sturdy stock which paved
the way for and was active in the civilization of
many of the eastern States of this country. He
was born in Bridgewater, Oneida County, New
York, August 29, 1803, and died in Chicago May
23, 1882.

The name indicates the Scotch origin of his
ancestry, but the date of their transplanting to
America is not known. From the recollections
of General Stewart, published by him at the re-
quest of his family, it is learned that his grand-
parents, Samuel Stewart and Patience Hunger-
ford, lived in Tolland County, Connecticut. The
latter was, undoubtedly, of English lineage.
She died many years before her husband, who
passed away in 1816, at the age of eighty-two
years. They had nine children, and the second,
William, was the father of the subject of this
biography.

William Stewart was born in 1772, in Con-
necticut, and was an early settler in the Territory
of Michigan. He was a soldier in the War of
1812, and also served in the militia regiment, com-
manded by his son, which went from Michigan
to aid in suppressing the Indians under Black
Hawk in 1832. He was married at Mansfield,
Windham County, Connecticut, in 1795, to Miss
Validia Turner, eighth of the ten children of
Timothy and Rachel (Carpenter) Turner, of
Mansfield. Timothy Turner was born August
18, 1757, in Willington, Connecticut, which was
also the native place of his wife. The latter died
in Mansfield Center, Windham County, Con-

necticut, June 22, 1799. They were married
August 20, 1776. Timothy Turner was a soldier
of the Revolution, serving in the "Lexington
Alarm Party" from Mansfield, Connecticut. He
was the son of Stephen, third and youngest son
of Isaac Turner, born in Bedford, Massachusetts,
whose father came from England. Rachel Car-
penter's parents were James and Irene (Ladd)
Carpenter. The former was a son of Ebenezer
Carpenter and Eunice Thompson. Ebenezer,
born in Coventry, Connecticut, as was his son,
was the son of Benjamin Carpenter and Hannah,
daughter of Jedediah Strong. Benjamin was the
tenth child of William Carpenter and Priscilla
Bonette. The former was one of the four chil-
dren of William Carpenter, who came from South-
ampton, England, in the ship "Bevis" in 1638,
and settled in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. (See
biography of Benjamin Carpenter in this
volume. )

When Hart L. Stewart was twelve years old,
his father moved to Batavia, Genesee County,
New York, where he purchased land of the Hol-
land Land Company, and the son helped to clear
this ground of timber. When seventeen years old
the latter went into the office of David D. Brown,
at Batavia, to study law. At the end of a year
he was forced, by lack of means, to take some
remunerative employment, and after vainly seek-
ing a situation as school teacher, in which he
hoped to be able to continue his legal studies, he
engaged as clerk in a store in Oneida County
with an uncle. Through the recommendation of
the latter, at the end of a year he was employed
by a merchant named Blair in Rochester, New
York. After four months' service at Rochester,
he was sent by Mr. Blair to open a branch store

9 6

H. I,. STEWART.

at Lyons, New York, where he continued in
charge until the fall of 1822.

He now determined to engage in business on
his own account, and, securing the assistance of
his brother, George Stewart, opened a store at
Lockport, New York, where a successful trade
was carried on, they having the benefit of credit
with Mr. Blair and other Rochester merchants.
In 1823 Hart L,. Stewart took a sub-contract to
finish the work of Judge Bates on the Erie Canal,
which he completed, with a fair profit, the next
year. These facts indicate that the young man
had developed good business qualifications, which
attracted the favorable notice and assistance of
influential men.

Having now gained a practical experience in
canal construction, he sent his brother, Alanson
C. Stewart, who had become associated with him
in the mean time, to Cleveland, Ohio, in October,
1824, to secure a contract on the Ohio Canal.
Hart L,. had become engaged in the lumber busi-
ness at Niagara, New York, and continued it un-
til November, 1825, being at the same time in-
terested in the Ohio contract which his brother
secured. They next contracted to execute sec-
tions on the western end of the Pennsylvania
Canal, and in November, 1826, took the con-
tract to bore a tunnel for the canal on the Coue-
maugh River. This was finished in 1829, and
was the first tunnel of its kind in the United
States. Among those connected with the canal '
enterprise, they were known as the "boy con-
tractors," the elder brother but twenty-four years
old; but they were credited, and justly, with
superior practical knowledge. They were the
first to introduce the method of securing light by
means of reflecting mirrors placed at the mouths
of the tunnel. Work was prosecuted from both
ends, night and day, and its completion was re-
garded as one of the greatest achievements of the
age, and the subject of this notice was furnished
with some very flattering letters when he left
Pennsylvania.

Having made a considerable profit from his
contracts, he now resolved to invest some of it in
lands, before engaging in further ventures, and
with that end in view, took a trip of exploration

through Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, which oc-
cupied three months. He purchased about one
thousand acres on White Pigeon and Sturgis
Prairies, in St. Joseph County, Michigan.

Another plan which had for some time been
considered was now consummated, and on the
fifth of February, 1829, he was married to Miss
Hannah Blair McKibbin, of Franklin County,
Pennsylvania. In September of the same year
they set out for their new home in Michigan.
At the end of a six-weeks journey from Pitts-
burgh, they arrived at White Pigeon, November
7, 1829, and here a log cabin was erected. After
making further provisions for a home, young
Stewart went to Detroit and presented to Gov-
ernor Lewis Cass his letters of introduction.
These were from Governor Porter, Senators
Blair and Lacock, Judge William Wilkins and
James S. Stevenson, President of the Canal Board,
of Pennsylvania, all of whom Governor Cass
characterized as his personal friends.

In the spring of 1830 the Governor sent to Mr.
Stewart a commission as Colonel of Militia, and
a year later appointed him one of the commis-
sioners to locate the county seats of St. Joseph
and Cass Counties. At this time, the entire
population of Michigan, including Detroit, the
chief city of the West, numbered but a few thou-
sand whites. Through the influence of Colonel
Stewart, a post route was established by the
Government to supply the few scattered settle-
ments extending from Detroit toward Chicago.
The two Stewart brothers before named were the
contractors for carrying the mails once in two
weeks, which was accomplished on horseback,
over a region where one hundred tons are now
carried daily. Hart L. Stewart was made Post-
master at Mottville, with the franking privilege,
and his own letters and papers constituted the bulk
of the mail at his office. In 1832 he was appointed
Judge of the County Court by Governor Porter,
and the next year he was commissioned Circuit
Judge, in which capacity he officiated the next
three years.

In 1836 Judge Stewart was elected a member
of the Second Constitutional Convention, which
was called to fix the southern boundary of the

H. L. STEWART.

State of Michigan to correspond with the line as
established when Indiana and Ohio were ad-
mitted to the Union. By this convention he was
sent to Washington to secure, if possible, the ad-
mission of the State with boundary as established
by the ordinance ceding the Northwest Territory
to the United States, and including Michigan
City and Maumee City. That he did not suc-
ceed is a matter of history, but the State secured,
in offset, all of what is now known as the North-
ern Peninsula of Michigan. On this mission
Judge Stewart formed the acquaintance of many
of the leading men of the Nation at that time.

On his return home, Judge Stewart found that
the Legislature had chosen him Commissioner of
Internal Improvements, and in this capacity he
took charge of the survey of the St. Joseph River
for slack- water navigation, and also of the Central
Railroad. The latter was partially built by the
State, and then turned over to the Michigan Cen-
tral Railroad Company. In 1838 he received the
commission of Brigadier-General, commanding
the Fourteenth Brigade, Michigan Militia. When
the Indians, under Black Hawk, threatened to kill
or drive out the settlers in northern Illinois and
southern Wisconsin, the Government requested
the Governor of Michigan to send volunteers to
the rescue. General Stewart was ordered by
Governor Porter to raise a regiment as soon as
possible, and this was found an easy tas,k, as
volunteers, from the age of sixteen to sixty, were
numerous. The service lasted about six months,
and Colonel Stewart's regiment included his
brothers, A. C. Stewart, as Commander of a com-
pany; Samuel M. Stewart, as Lieutenant of an-
other; besides two other brothers and his father
as volunteers. The latter was especially valuable
as a drill master, on account of his previous serv-
ice in the War of 1812. He was now sixty years
of age.

In June, 1836, General Stewart attended the
letting of the construction contracts on the Illinois
& Michigan Canal, and contracted for a large
amount of deep-rock work near Lockport. He
had as partners A. S. Stewart, Lorenzo P. Sanger,
James Y. Sanger, and others, who took personal
charge of the work, while he continued in charge

of his personal and official interests in Michigan.
In 1840 the inability of the State to meet its
financial obligations compelled the contractors to
abandon the work, at great loss, and ruin in
many cases. About this time General Stewart
took up his residence in Chicago, and in 1842
he was elected a member of the Legislature, and
was active in securing the acceptance of the for-
eign bondholders' proposition to complete the
canal. None of the contractors had ever received
anything for their losses previous to that time.
While on a trip to Canada to secure workmen for
the canal in 1839, General Stewart was placed
in arrest, under the impression that he was a spy
in the interest of the "Patriot War. " Through
the influence of friends, his mission was made
known to the Canadian authorities, and he was
discharged and furnished every facility for carry-
ing out his business. From 1845 to 1849, under
the administration of President Polk, General
Stewart served as Postmaster at Chicago, being
the first presidential appointee in that office.

He now turned his attention to railroad con-
struction, and became interested in some of the
largest contracts ever given in the West to a
single firm. The history of these undertakings
is fully related in this volume in the biography
of James Y. Sanger, who was associated with
General Stewart in this work, and need not be
repeated here. During the progress of their
work, in partnership with several others, they
became proprietors of the Rhode Island Central
Bank, and this, in common with many others,
was wrecked by the financial upheaval of 1857,
though its proprietors were enabled to close up its
affairs honorabl)- and with little loss to them-
selves.

General Stewart became a member of the
Masonic fraternity in 1824, and subsequently
took all the chapter and encampment degrees
and several others. In political sentiment, he was
a Democrat. He was one of the few brave spirits
who stood with Stephen A. Douglas at North
Market Hall, on the evening of September i,
1854, when a mob of political opponents refused
to let the "Little Giant" be heard, and even
threatened him with bodily harm. In religious

9 8

J. H. RICE.

faith, General Stewart was a true "neighbor," a
Presbyterian, and for forty years rarely failed to
listen to Rev. Dr. Patterson's sermons in the
Second Presbyterian Church of Chicago. He
was an able leader, quiet and gentle in his man-
ners, sociable and genial, making his home a
happy place for the frequent reunions of a large
and interesting circle of friends.

On the i2th of February, 1849, authority was
granted by the State to five individuals, one of
whom was Hart L. Stewart, to incorporate the
Chicago Gas Light and Coke Company, which
was granted the exclusive right to supply gas to
the city of Chicago for ten years. Before the
close of the next year, the streets of the city and
many private buildings were for the first time
illuminated by gaslight. In 1857 General Stew-
art was Vice-President of the Great Western In-
surance Company, with a capital of half a million
dollars, and office at No. 160 South Water Street.
The Stewart Building, at the northwest corner of
State and Washington Streets (which was torn
down in 1896, to make way for one of Chicago's
famous high office buildings), was the fourth
structure erected by General Stewart on that
spot the first one having been for many years
his family home.

Hannah Blair McKibbin, wife of General
Stewart, was descended from old and honorable
families. Her maternal grandfather, William
Nelson, was a brother of the famous Admiral
Horatio Nelson, the hero of Trafalgar. His wife

was Mary Harvey, and their children were Will-
iam, James and Mary Esther. William Nelson,
senior, died in 1803, at which time his daughter
was about fifteen years old. She married Col.
James McKibbin, of Franklin "County, Penn-
sylvania, and their eldest daughter, Hannah B.,
became the wife of General Stewart, as before re-
lated, and the mother of the following children:
Mary Esther, Frances Validia, Amelia Mott,
Catherine E. , Jane, Anna Waldo, Hannah McKib-
bin and Helen Wolcott. The first married Henry
A. Clark in 1850, and both are now deceased,
being survived by a son, Stewart Clark, of Chi-
cago. The second died at St. Louis, Missouri,
while the wife of Watson Matthews, leaving one
child, Fannie V. Matthews. Amelia and Cath-
erine died in childhood. Jane Stewart married
John C. Patterson, and died in 1875, leaving a
son, Stewart Patterson. Hannah McKibbin is
the wife of George Sydney Williams, of Chicago.
The youngest is the wife of Lorenzo M. Johnson,
manager of the Mexican International Railroad.
Mary C. McKibbin, sister of Mrs. Stewart,
married James Y. Sanger, whom she survives,
and is among the most interesting surviving
pioneers of Illinois. She is spoken of by General
Stewart as the "Daughter of the Regiment,"
during the campaign against Black Hawk. She
was then a miss of fourteen years, and ready to
ride on any expedition, carrying dispatches and
otherwise aiding in conveying information.

JAMES H. RICE.

(TAMES HARLOW RICE, one of the oldest
I and most highly respected business men of
(*/ Chicago, passed away at his home on Michi-
gan Avenue, in that city, February 6, 1896.
He was born in Tompkins County, New York,
in 1830. His parents, Asa and Polly (Reed)
Rice, were natives of Massachusetts, and settled

in New York in 1811, shortly after their mar-
riage. Asa Rice was a prosperous farmer, well
known and esteemed for his great moral worth.
Both he and his wife were members of the Meth-
odist Church and active in good works. They
attained a venerable age, the former dying when
eighty years old, and the latter at seventy-five.

E. W. EVANS.

Mr. Rice was an "old-line" Whig, and in later
life became a Republican. His nine children
reached mature years, and three came West,
namely, Henry, Columbus T. and James H.
Rice. The first two are now residents of Adair
County, Missouri. Columbus Titus Rice came
with his brother to Chicago in June, 1854, and
proceeded to Missouri four years later, and has
resided there ever since. In early life he was a
carpenter, and worked at that occupation while a
resident of Chicago. On going to Missouri he
engaged in farming, but is now retired from act-
ive life. He was married in New York in 1855
to Miss Catherine Wickoff, who is still his com-
panion on life's journey. They are the parents
of six children, namely: Edward, Flora, Mary,
Elizabeth, Charles, Augusta and James.

James H. Rice was also a carpenter, and very
early after arriving in Chicago began contract-
ing for the erection of buildings. Among the
structures erected by him were the old Tremont
House and the Commercial Hotel. He built the
first structure put up after the fire of 1871, which
was located on Quincy Place. From 1856 to
1878 he was associated in this business with Mr.
Ira Foote, with whom he was acquainted in early
life in New York.

In 1872 he engaged in the plate and window-
glass trade, and built up an extensive and pros-
perous business. This passed into the control of
an incorporated company, known as the James
H. Rice Company, of which he was President.
He also became President of the Stewart Estep
Glass Company, which engaged in the manu-

facture of glass at Marion, Indiana. Both these
institutions were flourishing at the time of his
death. In trade circles for years he had been a
leader, and his counsel had ever been sought and
his sterling qualities of mind and heart thor-
oughly appreciated. Among Mr. Rice's personal
friends was the late Cyrus H. McCormick, for
whom he did much work during his building ca-
reer. He was widely known during the early
days in Chicago, and was esteemed and respected
by all classes of citizens.

In 1876 he was married to Miss Margaret Su-
san Gilliland, a native of Ohio, at that time a
resident of Perry, Iowa. She died February 4,
1896. During the last eighteen years of her life
she had been an invalid. In life they were to-
gether and in death not divided. No children
blessed their union, but his wife was ever to him
his child and care, and his devotion in this rela-
tion was most beautiful. The double funeral
from their late home was conducted by Rev. J. L.
Withrow, a personal friend of Mr. Rice, with
whom he was for some time associated on the
Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Hospital.
He spoke feelingly of the man and woman and
their works, aims and ideas. The remains were
laid away in Oakwoods Cemetery, the active
pallbearers being workmen in the employ of the
James H. Rice Company. By Mr. Rice his em-
ployes were ever considered as his "boys." Some
of these "boys" are men, aged and gray, who
had been in his service for a quarter of a century,
and all of them will miss his kindly, genial
presence.

ENOCH W. EVANS.

ITNOCH WEBSTER EVANS, who for a
Ky score of years ranked as a leading member
L_ of the Chicago Bar, was born at Fryeburg,
Maine, in 1817, and died in Chicago, September
2, 1879. He was one of eleven children born to

Capt. William and Anna Evans, further notice
of whom will be found elsewhere in this volume,
in connection with the biography of Dr. Moses
Evans.

Enoch W. Evans received his early education

IOO

JOHN DICKINSON.

at Fryeburg Academy and Waterville College,
in his native State. Later he went to Dartmouth
College, where he pursued a classical course, and
graduated with the Class of 1838. He then en-
gaged in teaching at Hopkinton, New Hamp-
shire, and simultaneously began to read law in
the office of Judge Chase, a noted jurist of that
State.

In 1840 Mr. Evans came to Chicago, where he
was admitted to the Bar during the same year,
soon after removing to Dixon's Ferry, Illinois,
remaining at that place two or three years.
Thence he went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where
he practiced his profession until 1858. At that
date he again located in Chicago, and was en-
gaged in general practice in this city up to the
time of his death. During this time he tried
many important cases, which he managed with
marked ability, gaining a numerous and profit-
able clientage.

On the i6th of September, 1846, Mr. Evans
was married, Miss Caroline Hyde, of Darien,
New York, becoming his wife. Mrs. Evans, who
is a daughter of James Hyde, still survives, at
the venerable age of seventy-four years, making
her home in Chicago. She is the mother of four
living children: William W., a prosperous at-
torney at Chicago; Lewis H., a civil engineer, at
present connected with the track elevation of the
Chicago & Northwestern Railway in Chicago;
Carrie, Mrs. William L. Adams, and Mary W.,
the two latter also residents of Chicago.

Mr. Evans was a gentleman of quiet, un-
ostentatious habits, and gave but little heed to
public affairs. He confined his labors and at-
tention almost exclusively to professional sub-
jects, and achieved an enviable standing among
his contemporaries, which justly entitles this
brief record of his life to a place among the annals
of his adopted home.

JOHN DICKINSON.

(JOHN DICKINSON, a highly successful
I operator upon the Chicago Board of Trade,
Q) residing at Evanston, was born in the his-
toric old town of Deerfield, Massachusetts, No-
vember 21, 1855, and is a son of Philander P.
and Mary A. (Feeney) Dickinson.

The Dickinsons were among the earliest
Colonial families of Massachusetts. Philander
R. Dickinson, the grandfather of the subject of
this notice, was a wholesale and retail shoe
dealer in New York City for many years. He
attained the great age of ninety-eight years, dy-
ing at Springfield Massachusetts.

Philander P. Dickinson became an extensive
manufacturer of brooms at Springfield, and had
at one time the largest factory in that State. This
establishment was destroyed by fire, inflicting
upon Mr. Dickinson a financial loss which he
was never able wholly to retrieve. In 1860
he removed to Iowa, locating first at Claremont,

and settling later at McGregor. At the latter
point he again engaged in the manufacture of
brooms, and built up a fair business On account
of failing health, he retired from active business
about 1865, and returned to the East. The last
ten years of his life were passed at Norwalk,
Florida, where he died in 1884, at the age of
sixty-nine years. He was a member of the
Baptist Church, and a steadfast Republican.

Mrs. Mary A. Dickinson died at Evanston in
1878, aged forty-nine years. She was born in
New York City, her parents being of Irish de-
scent. Her father was a wholesale shoe mer-
chant in that city. She was a member of the
Baptist Church. Her children are named and
reside as follows: Millie D., Mrs. Julius Ball,
Montague, Massachusetts; Mary J., and Delia,
wife of F. H. Bennett, Chicago; John, Evanston;
Hattie M., Denver, Colorado.

John Dickinson was a small boy when the fam-

BENJAMIN SHURTLEFF.

101

ily came West, and he received his education at
the Evanston High School. He began his busi-
ness career in a furniture store, and established
himself in business as a shoe dealer at Evanston,
with success. In 1879 he sold out and joined the
Chicago Board of Trade, with which he has ever
since been identified. He was among the younger
members of that body, but soon demonstrated
his capability and soundness, and has won the
confidence and esteem of the entire membership.
He handles all kinds of grain and provisions, as
well as stocks and bonds and other paper securi-
ties, on his own account, and has met with al-
most uniform success. His profits have been
largely invested in real estate at Hammond,
Indiana, and in Florida timber lands and orange
groves.

Mr. Dickinson was married, November 25,
1875, to Miss Mary Alice Johnson, daughter of
Anthony Johnson and Catherine (Ganer) John-

son. Mrs. Dickinson was born at Port Jervis,
New York, where her father was connected with
important railroad interests for some years. Mr.
Dickinson is identified with the First Methodist
Church of Evanston. He is a man of domestic
tastes, and devotes little time to social recreations.
He supports the Republican party, whose policy
he believes to be in the interest of good govern-
ment and the commercial prosperity of the
country.

In 1889 he built an elegant residence at the
northwest corner of Asbury Avenue and Church
Street, Evanston, which is surrounded by one of
the handsomest and best- kept lawns in Cook
County. In short, the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Dickinson, throughout its exterior and interior
appointments, bespeaks the refined tastes and
cultivated instincts by means of which, only,
such an establishment can be designed and main-
tained.

BENJAMIN SHURTLEFF.

gENJAMIN SHURTLEFF, one of the found-
ers of Lake View, whose identity is rapidly
becoming lost in the vast city of Chicago, is
still a resident of that former suburb, and affords
an excellent type of the pioneers of the metrop-
olis of the West. He was born in Ernesttown,
Lennox County, Ontario, July 19, 1812. His
ancestors were English, and were very loyal
subjects of the British crown. The first one in
the American colonies settled in Massachusetts,
whence Lemuel Shurtleff, grandfather of the
subject of this notice, removed to Canada at the
beginning of the American Revolution. He
settled in Ernesttown, Lennox County, Ontario,
where he engaged in farming, reared a large
family, and reached a good old age. He had
three sons, Seldon, Jacob and Gideon.

The last-named passed his life in Canada,
exceeding the age of eighty years, and was a
farmer. He was a quiet, faithful Christian,

devoted to the Methodist Church, and the welfare
of his fellow-men was dear to his heart. His
wife, Mary Ward, probably of Irish descent, was a
tender and true wife and mother, and, like himself,
a faithful member of the Methodist Church. She
died at the age of sixty-two years. Of their
twelve children, eleven grew to maturity, and
three of the sons became residents of the United
States. Their names were Samuel, Jacob, Gid-
eon, Lemuel, Benjamin, Miles, John, Polly, Amy,
Lydia and Amanda. Lemuel was an able me-
chanic, and built some of the large iron mills at
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at which place he died.
Miles was admitted to the Bar in New York, and
became interested in the manufacture of iron at
Rochester, New York, for many years.

Benjamin ShurtlefF passed the first eighteen
years of his life on the home farm, receiving such
intellectual training as was afforded by the dis-
trict schools and good home surroundings. At

102

BENJAMIN SHURTLEFF.

the age of eighteen years he began learning the
joiner's trade, of which he became master. In
1837 he joined his brother in Pittsburgh, Penn-
sylvania, and was associated with him in erecting
large manufacturing plants there. Among these
may be mentioned the immense iron mills of
Spang, Chalfant & Company at J3tna, and
the rolling mills of Louis Dalzell & Company
at Sharpsburgh, another suburb of Pittsburgh.
Among his fellow-workmen was Mr. C. K. Gar-
rison, since one of the most successful business
men and capitalists of that city, who was regarded
by Mr. Shurtleff as one of the brightest business
men he ever met. Twelve years of industrious
application there gave Mr. Shurtleff a small cap-
ital, which he resolved to invest in a newer place,
and he set out for Chicago.

Arriving here in 1851, he immediately made
investments in real property, which his foresight
told him was sure to appreciate greatly in value.
He secured twenty acres in Lake View Town-
ship, beside three twenty-acre tracts in section
33, town 39 north, range 14, most of which has
been subdivided and sold off. Shurtleff s Addi-
tion was one of the most valuable and well-known
subdivisions on the old maps, and he now has
valuable property on the South Side of the city.
His present possessions include about ten acres
of the most valuable land in the city, including
many improved lots in the vicinity of his home,
on Oakdale Avenue. In 1870 he built six sub-
stantial houses on the corner of Fremont and Oak-
dale Avenues, which were beyond the ravages
of the great fire of the next year and became
immediately profitable.

May 5, 1853, at Sharpsburgh, Pennsylvania,
Mr. Shurtleff was married to Miss Lucinda J.
Sewell, daughter of James H. Sewell, an old
resident of Pittsburgh. Judge James Sewell, a
well-known character of that city, was a brother
of Mrs. Shurtleff. Mrs. Shurtleff was bom in
Baltimore, Maryland, and died January 10, 1856,
in the prime of young womanhood, being but
twenty-seven years old at the time of her death.
She left a daughter, Lucy J., who was reared by
her aunt, Mrs. J. B. Roberts, well known in Pitts-
burgh, Pennsylvania, society. She was educated

at Ferry Hall Seminary, at Lake Forest, Illinois,
and Hellmuth College, London, Canada, and is
now the wife of Bruce M. Myers, of Chicago.
Subsequently, at Chicago, Mr. Shurtleff married
Mrs. Margaret A. Buker, who was born Sep-
tember 2, 1837, at Greenwood, Maine. She was
a daughter of Capt. Isaac P. Furlong, who was
a native of Maine, and commanded a company
in the War of 1812. His father took up the
first claim in the town of Greenwood, Oxford
County, Maine. Mrs. Shurtleff was a genial
companion to Mr. Shurtleff in every sense of the
word, and also a good business manager. She
was a woman possessed of more than ordinary
native ability, and esteemed for many good qual-
ities of head and heart. She passed away July
7, 1894, leaving two sons by her first marriage.
Harry Leslie Buker, who was educated principally
at the Schattuck Military School, Faribault,
Minnesota, is well known in musical circles in
Chicago, and was associated twelve years with
the Slay ton Lyceum Bureau of that city. The
other son, .William F. Buker, is an actor by pro-
fession and a resident of New York City.

Mr. Shurtleff was among the early members of
the old Fullerton Avenue Presbyterian Church of
Chicago, and has been a stanch supporter of the
political principles of the Republican party all his
life. In 1844 he voted for Henry Clay for Presi-
dent of the United States, and he was among the
promoters and organizers of the Republican party,
voting for Fremont in 1856. His has been a
quiet life of industry and attention to his private
affairs, with no seeking after public honors. He
has ever given of his time, influence and means
toward the promotion of any movement calculated
to further the general welfare, and his example
is commended to the careful attention of every
youth who hopes to make something of himself
in the business, social or moral world. His suc-
cess has not been the result of accident, but has
been built up by shrewd calculation, and the
prudent use of means acquired by the practice of
habits of industry and right living. He refused
his share of his father's estate, preferring it
should go to his sisters.

D. B. FONDA.

103

DAVID B. FONDA, M. D.

0AVID BARTHOLOMEW FONDA, M. D.,
is a representative of an old and prominent
Empire State family which settled in and
named the county-seat of Montgomery County,
New York. His grandfather, John Fonda, was
a native of Holland, and settled at a place called
Bogt, in Albany County, New York, where he
owned an estate comprising several thousand
acres. His only son, Henry Fonda, was born
there and inherited this estate. Most of his life
was passed at Watervliet, New York, where he
died at the age of sixty-six years, in June, 1841.
His wife, Rebecca Hall, was born at Mayfield,
Fulton County, New York, and died in August,
1840, at the age of fifty-six years. Henry Fonda
was somewhat active in political affairs, though
he never sought or accepted office for himself.

David B. Fonda was born November 6, 1834,
in Watervliet, Albany County, New York, where
he remained until he reached the age of sixteen
years. In his native township, at a place called
Elisha's Kill, he received his primary education,
completing the course of the upper school before
he was sixteen years old.

He was then appointed principal of the Second
District School of the Third Ward of Schenectady,
New York, where he taught one year. His first
teacher's certificate was granted by Jonathan
Pearson, professor of languages in Union Col-
lege, at Schenectady, and superintendent of the
public schools of that city. The scene of his
labors for the next four years was a place called

Lowell's Corners, where he taught in the joint
district embracing portions of the towns of Cherry
Valley and Seward, in the Counties of Schoharie
and Otsego. While teaching here he pursued a
private course in moral and mental philosophy,
and the Greek and Latin languages, under the
tutelage of Franklin Pierce, a cousin of the Presi-
dent who bore the same name. At the end of
this time he was prepared for matriculation at
Hartwick College, a Lutheran Theological institu-
tion.

It is evident from the progress made up to this
time that Mr. Fonda was a close student. By the
time he attained his majority he had occupied a
responsible position as teacher for a period of five
years. The hard work involved in these labors,
coupled with the diligent pursuit of his studies
preparatory to further advancement, made deep
inroads upon his physical strength, and a connec-
tion which he formed at this time changed his
plans and the entire course of his life. March 22,
1855, he was married to Miss Clarinda Lowell, a
descendant of the famous New England family of
that name, who was born at Lowell's Corners.
She was a daughter of Nyram Lowell.

In 1855, with his bride, Mr. Fonda removed to
Chicago. Having a relative who was in the
service of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad,
he sought and secured employment as a brake-
man on this line for the sake of the outdoor
labor, and at the end of fourteen months spent in
this capacity, he found his health fully restored.

104

D. B. FONDA.

He then accepted a position as teacher at Rose-
hill, and began the pursuit of a medical course at
Rush Medical College. He attended lectures at
this institution during the two years beginning in
1859 an( i ending in 1861.

Early in 1862 he enlisted as a private soldier,
in Company C, Eighty-ninth Illinois Volunteer
Infantry known as the Railroad Regiment, being
composed entirely of railroad men. By the time
the regiment was mustered he was promoted to
Orderly Sergeant, and continued in service
through Kentucky with the Army of the Cumber-
land until the battle of Perryville. After this
engagement he was sent with a detail to escort an
ambulance train to Bardstown, Kentucky. On
his arrival there he found that he had been. ap-
pointed chief steward of the hospitals at that point.
He continued there until the latter part of 1863,
and became secretary of the medical corps, which
embraced eight army surgeons. When he entered
the army his weight was one hundred forty-
five pounds, but during his service it was re-
duced to ninety-four pounds, and through the
recommendation of the surgeons he was honorably
discharged on account of disability, although he
had never as yet asked for a release from duty.
On his return to Chicago he was prostrated by
a severe illness, which continued for a period of
three months.

Recovering his health, he again entered Rush
Medical College in 1864, and two years later com-
pleted the coarse. He subsequently entered
Bennett Medical College, from which he received
a diploma in 1878. In 1866 he began the practice
of medicine at Jefferson Park, and has continued
to reside there ever since. In 1867, without any
solicitation on his part, he was elected by the
County Board to the post of County Physician and
superintendent of the insane paupers sustained by
the county. Through his vigorous protest
against the mixture of insane with the other
wards of the county, the board was induced to
appropriate money for a building to be devoted
exclusively to the care of the insane. This was
begun in 1868, and on the first day of the year
1871 Dr. Fonda installed the patients in his charge
in their new quarters. At the end of four years'

service he retired and resumed his private practice
at Jefferson, in which he has since continued with
the ever-increasing confidence and respect of the
community.

Dr. Fonda has been somewhat active in the
conduct of local affairs, and the promotion of the
common welfare. In 1874 he was elected a mem-
ber of the village board of Jefferson, of which
body he was immediately made president and
continued four consecutive years in this position.
He was for many years health officer of the vil-
lage, which was co-extensive with the town of
Jefferson, until it was merged in the city of Chi-
cago, and was again a member of the village
board from 1884 until 1886. During the first
year of this service he was president of the board,
but refused that office during the second year, in
order that he might be active on the floor in the
discussion of many important movements then
pending. For many years he was County Phy-
sician in charge of the medical relief of the poor
outside of public institutions. In 1889, when
Jefferson was annexed to the city of Chicago, Dr.
Fonda was elected one of the first aldermen from
the twenty-seventh ward, and in the following
April he was re-elected and served two years.
In political matters he has always acted with the
Republican party, having allied himself with it
in 1856, and although he has sometimes voted
for individuals not on his party ticket, he has
ever remained true to its principles. In recent
years he has made numerous addresses on political
and economic subjects, which have been received
with much applause.

Dr. Fonda is still a member in good standing of
the Lutheran Church at Gardnersville, New York.
On a visit to the scenes of his early life, made in
the fall of 1897, he attended worship at this place,
where he met but one person that he had previ-
ously known. After an absence of forty years
this visit to his childhood home, although a very
pleasant one on the whole, was much saddened
by the absence of familiar faces. In the midst of
family connections numbering thousands, he was
still among strangers.

Dr. Fonda was for many years connected with
Hesperia Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted

L. J. HALSEY.

105

Masons, of Chicago, and was a charter member
of the first Masonic Lodge in Jefferson. He is
now connected with Wylie M. Egan Lodge,
Washington Chapter, Siloam Council, St. Ber-
nard Commandery, and Medinah Temple, of the
Mystic Shrine. He was for many years con-
nected with Home Lodge No. 416, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, of Chicago, and is a mem-
ber of George H. Thomas Post No. 5, Grand

Army of the Republic. He is Grand Medical
Examiner of the Independent Order of Mutual Aid
of the State of Illinois.

Mrs. Fonda passed away in 1890, at the age of
fifty-five years, leaving one child, Carrie Azubah,
who resides with her father. Dr. Fonda is yet in
possession of sound health, and a vigorous intel-
lect, and has many years of usefulness both as a
citizen and physician before him.

REV. LEROY J. HALSEY.

REV. LEROY JONES HALSEY, D. D.,
LL. D. On the 28th day of January, A.
D. 1812, Leroy Jones Halsey was born in
Cartersville, Goochland County, Virginia, on the
banks of the James River, twelve miles from
Richmond, the first-born son of John and Lucy
(Tiller) Halsey. His paternal ancestry is traced
back through the Virginia and North Carolina
settlements to a New England stock of the date
of 1640. He was acquainted with the hardship
>f straitened circumstances in his early childhood.
When he was less than five years old his father
met with reverses by too generously becoming
liable for another man's debt. It deprived him
of his business and his home, and forced his emi-
gration to the far southwest to begin life anew.
He located at Huntsville, Alabama.

Leroy was always of a studious habit. He ac-
quired the rudiments of knowledge at home, and
from the few books and periodicals available he
had gained much information before he went to
school. At school learning was a pleasure to
him. Study was a delight, and this love of ap-
plication and research so early manifested was
characteristic of his entire collegiate and theo-
logical course, and remained with him through
life. The days spent in the classic shades of the
old Green Academy at Huntsville were among
the happiest of his youth.

At the age of nineteen he left his home in
Huntsville to enter the University of Nashville,
at Nashville, Tennessee, where he was matricu-
lated in the autumn of 1831, and entered the
junior class. His education had been begun and
was prosecuted from first to last with the ministry
of the Gospel definitely in view.

In the summer of 1834 he was graduated, and
after a visit to his home he returned to Nashville
and taught a select school for a year, from the
proceeds of which he repaid his college debt, and
then accepted the position of tutor in the college.
At the same time, in November, 1835, he placed
himself under the care of the Presbytery of Nash-
ville as a candidate for the Gospel ministry.
Having served as tutor for a year he accepted the
appointment of substitute professor of languages
in place of a professor who was to be absent
for a year.

These three years succeeding graduation, one
spent in private teaching, and two in college
work, were beneficial in fixing and testing scholar-
ship, and also from a financial point of view.
They enabled him to discharge his debt and to
accumulate a fund sufficient to defray the expense
of a theological course.

Retiring from these pleasing associations in the
summer of 1837, after a brief visit to his home
he journeyed eastward by stage coach and steam-

io6

L. J. HALSEY.

boat until, at Frederick, Md. , he had his first
view of a railway train, and thence through Bal-
timore and Philadelphia, his first experience of
railway travel, as far as Trenton, N. J. On the
gth day of November he entered the Theological
Seminary of Princeton.

On the agth day of September, 1840, the semi-
nary life of Dr. Halsey ended with his gradua-
tion. He had been licensed by the Presbytery of
New Brunswick on the 5th day of August pre-
ceding. He immediately began his journey to
the West, stopping in Philadelphia to preach in
several of the churches there and to receive his
commission from the Board of Missions assign-
ing him to missionary labor in the bounds of the
Presbytery of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

This work continued for more than two years,
when its widely known success and the growing
reputation of Dr. Halsey brought such urgent
calls to wider fields that he was constrained to
give them heed. The one which proved the
most attractive was the one which showed the
greatest need. A recently organized congrega-
tion in the city of Jackson, the capital of Missis-
sippi, was seeking for consecrated leadership and
preaching power. They were without a house
of worship, with little numerical or financial
strength, but with united and zealous purpose
and with a growing and influential community
around, in crying need of Gospel privileges and
influence and work. He accepted their call, and
removing to Jackson, was ordained by the Pres-
bytery of Mississippi and installed pastor on the
sistday of March, 1843.

A commodious house of worship was soon
provided. The congregation grew and the work
enlarged. This prosperous work continued for
five years. 'During this pastorate, on the 24th
day of April, 1844, he was married to Caroline
Augusta Anderson, of Pendleton, South Carolina,
a granddaughter of Gen. Robert Anderson of
Revolutionary fame.

His well-known success in Jackson led to his
being called to undertake a similar work in Lou-
isville, Kentucky, where a small colony of Presby-
terians desired him to lead them in the work of
founding and establishing a church. Satisfied of

the importance of the enterprise, and undismayed
by its prospective difficulties, he accepted their
call and entered upon the work in the autumn
of 1848.

The church grew rapidly under his ministry.
A comfortable house of worship was speedily pro-
vided, and very soon the congregation, in point
of numbers and ability and efficiency, took rank
with the older churches of the city.

Here he conducted a happy, useful and success-
ful pastorate for ten years, in connection with the
Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church, the same
organization that, in a different locality, is still ac-
tive, strong and prosperous, under the name and
title of the Warren Memorial Church.

In 1859 he was appointed by the General As-
sembly to the Chair of Ecclesiology, Sacred
Rhetoric and Pastoral Theology in the Presby-
terian Theological Seminary of the Northwest,
which the same assembly located at Chicago, on
the basis of an endowment of one hundred thou-
sand dollars donated by the late Cyrus H. Mc-
Cormick, of this city. The institution is now
known as McCormick Theological Seminary.

He entered upon his work in Chicago in the
autumn of that year. The city then contained a
population of barely one hundred thousand. The
seminary was domiciled at first in a rented build-
ing at Clark and Harrison Streets. Two years
later it found temporary quarters in the base-
ment of the North Presbyterian Church at Cass
and Indiana Streets. The present location, at
North Halsted Street and Fullerton Avenue, was
first occupied for seminary purposes in the winter
of 1863 and 1864.

Dr. Halsey continued his active labors in the
seminary for thirty-three years, terminating
them only in 1892, when he was eighty years old.
In addition to the labors of the pastorate and
of the professor's chair he was a faithful and in-
fluential helper in the councils of the church; he
responded to invitations for addresses on public
occasions, and was a frequent contributor to the
columns of the press. In 1858 he published his
first book, "The Literary Attractions of the
Bible," a work of classic merit, which holds and
will continue to hold an assured place among the

L. J. HALSEY.

107

preserved gems of English and American litera-
ture.

After Dr. Halsey came to Chicago his voice
and pen occupied a wider sphere than that of the
seminary alone. He preached often and in many
pulpits all over the land and always with great
acceptance. In 1860 he issued "Life Pictures
from the Bible, ' ' a work that has held, and will
always hold with those who possess it, an eminent
place among the delineations of Bible character.
In 1861 appeared "The Beauty of Immanuel,"
an exposition of the life, character, person, work,
offices and glory of the Christ whom he loved
and adored, a work most stimulating to piety and
helpful to devotion.

In 1866 he published, in three large volumes,
through the L,ippiiicott press, the "Life and
Works of Philip Lindsley, D. D.," a labor of
love, preserving to posterity the literary produc-
tions of one of the most accomplished educators
of his day. In 1871 appeared from his pen ' 'The
Memoir of Lewis W. Green, D. D.," and in 1881
a volume entitled "Living Christianity," a brief,
clear and strong presentation of the fundamentals
of Christian faith and the essentials of Chris-
tian duty.

About this time he became Professor Emeritus
and continued to give regular instruction in
the matters of church government -and the sacra-
ments. His pen was by no means idle, for in
1884 he published a very instructive and edifying
book on "Scotland's Influence on Civilization,"
and in 1893 there came from his pen the work
into which he had poured the affections of his
heart and the accumulated events and emotions
of thirty years, "The History of the McCormick
Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian
Church," an octavo volume of five hundred
pages.

Dr. Halsey lived to be eighty-four years old,
dying June 18, 1896.

One of the large privileges of human life is to
dwell in immediate touch with great and good
men. The very presence, the example, and the
teachings of such men, tend to form the character,
to guide the thinking, to elevate the taste and to
direct the activities of whole communities. Be-

neath their kindly but potent influence, society
is rounded out into fairer proportions, the pur-
pose to accomplish noble ends becomes more de-
cisive, sympathy expands and deepens, and life
is found, more and more, to be truly worth the
living. One of the noblest of this high class was
the subject of this sketch.

For thirty-seven years Dr. Halsey lived in
Chicago. He entered on his work in that city
in the zenith of his powers. Long and painstak-
ing education had fitted him to exercise with
commanding ability the sacred office to which he
had been chosen. He had reached first rank as
a preacher and pastor before he entered on the re-
sponsible task of training young men for the
ministry, and he came to this new work ripe in
learning, mature in piety, skilled in administra-
tion, familiar with the best methods of profes-
sional education, intimately acquainted with the
foremost churchmen of the period, ardent in the
cause of a world- wide evangelization, embalmed
in the confidence of the influential communion,
which he represented, and in every way well
fitted to advance the important enterprise to which
he stood committed.

At the time of his entrance to Chicago Dr.
Halsey was called to lay the foundations upon
which varied structures should be raised. Society
was hardly formed, and his influence was felt in
directing it along lines of Christian refinement.
There was but one Presbyterian Church on the
North Side, and that near the heart of the city.
He early helped plant another and then others
as the years went by.

McCormick Theological Seminary was but just
opened in Chicago. Its maintenance and develop-
ment and permanent establishment had yet to be
provided for.

Few men have ever been called to so large and
so varied a work in so important a center and at
such an epoch-making period. For this impos-
ing undertaking he had the equipment requisite,
whether we consider it on the side of a large and
unhesitating faith in the sublime truths which he
came to teach and defend, or in the stead y cour-
age for the day of small things to be fostered in a
period of unrest and conflict or of conspicuous

io8

THOMAS GOODE.

talents fitted to meet the diversified calls arising
from the extensive task or of sublime patience
in the midst of the fluctuations and discourage-
ments incident to the sure establishment of a
young institution in the center of a comoaratively
new section of our great country.

In the prosecution of these wide ranging labors
Dr. Halsey laid his formative hand on a larger
number of men than any other theological teacher
of the Presbyterian Church in the West. His
early colleagues soon passed on one in less than
two years, to his heavenly home the others to
important fields elsewhere.

Dr. Halsey remained undaunted at his post in
sunshine and in storm, when rude war rolled un-
checked over the land, when peace once more

settled on a still united nation. Under all the
changes of an eventful period he stood fast, the
one commanding figure in the changing scene,
around whose person the destinies of the institu-
tion revolved, and in whose lone hand its inter-
ests often reposed. And ere yet unseen hands
with gentle touch closed his eyes to earthly sight,
to be re-opened so soon amid the splendors of
mediatorial glory he had witnessed the triumphs
of the cause to which he had devoted so many
years of his life, in the establishment of a semi-
nary of sacred learning, equal in its equipments to
any in the land, and full to overflowing with in-
genuous youth in preparation for the noble work
of preaching the Gospel in every tongue and to
every land under the sun.

THOMAS GOODE,

'HOMAS GOODE, one of Chicago's most
worthy pioneers, now living in rest and re-
tirement on Racine Avenue, was born
April 18, 1816, in the Parish of Enfield, in Mid-
dlesex, near London, England. He is a son of
Thomas and Maria (Head) Goode, the former a
native of Warwickshire, and the latter of Middle-
sex, England.

Thomas Goode, senior, was an orphan from the
time he was a small boy, and was sent to London,
where his eldest brother lived, and where he
learned the trade of baker, at which he worked
for many years. He had seven children that
grew to maturity, three of whom came to America
with their parents. John and Thomas came in
1845, sailing from London, and upon arriving in
New York, they went to Albany by boat, and
from there proceeded to Buffalo by the canal.
From Buffalo they came to Chicago by the old
steamer "Madison."

In 1859 Thomas Goode visited England, and

when he returned to America his parents accom-
panied him, spending their last years in Chicago.
The father died in 1870, his wife having preceded
him by three years. Edward, a younger brother,
came to the United States about 1864, and still
resides in this city, and John Goode makes his
home in Florida.

Thomas Goode received only an ordinary educa-
tion in the schools of his native land, which were
then much poorer than now, and was early em-
ployed in a greenhouse, in the cultivation of
flowers and plants.

In 1840 Mr. Goode married Miss Ellen Colpus,
and their first three children were born in Eng-
land. Soon after coming to Chicago he bought
property on the West Side, in Carpenter's Ad-
dition, and later, bought twelve acres in North
Chicago, afterwards Lake View. Here he raised
vegetables extensively for the city market, and
through his prudence and industry, and the great
growth of the city, became wealthy. He sold

G. N. POWELL.

109

some of his land to a railroad company, and the
remainder mostly in lots. He retired from active
business about ten years ago. Mr. Goode is an
ardent Republican, but has never been willing to
accept any public office himself. He is an ad-
herent of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Mr. Goode has been married twice. By his
first wife he had six children, two of whom died
in infancy. Those of his children living are:
Edwin Peto; Jane, wife of John M. Gibson; La-

vinia and Rowland T. The mother of this family
died about 1879. In 1891 Mr. Goode married
Miss Margaret M. Gubbins, a native of the city
of Chicago.

Mr. Goode has lived many years in his present
location, and has many friends. He is one of the
oldest and most highly respected citizens of this
part of the city, where, during his long residence,
he has proven his sterling qualities of mind and
heart.

GEORGE N. POWELL.

fJfEORGE NELSON POWELL, one of Chi-

bcago's pioneers, came to the West in 1833.
He was descended from English and Welsh
ancestry, and his lineage has been traced back to
Thomas Powell, who was born in August, 1641
(probably in Wales), and died at Westbury,
Long Island, December 28, 1721. A descendant
of his in the fourth generation, Obadiah Powell,
was the grandfather of the subject of this sketch.
Obadiah Powell died in Saratoga County, New
York, at the age of nearly one hundred years.
Some time previous to the Revolutionary War he
removed thither from Dutchess County, in the
same state, with his wife Betsy, taking all their
belongings on the back of a pony. Like his
Quaker ancestry, he was opposed to war, and
was much censured during the Revolutionary
struggle because of his non-combatant position,
and most of his personal property was confiscated.
He was steadfast in his convictions, however, and
lived to be one of the leading farmers in the com-
munity. At the age of ninety-eight years he
husked several baskets of corn, which he carried
on his shoulder to the loft of his carriage-house.

He was the father of three sons and eight daugh-
ters, all of whom lived to extreme old age, and
his house was the favorite gathering-place of his
descendants. His son, Frost Powell, lived until
1840 in Dutchess County, New York, where he
married Katharine Nelson, who was of Dutch
descent. In 1840 he removed to Waterford, Ra-
cine County, Wisconsin, where he died a few
years later.

His son, George N. Powell, whose name heads
this article, was born August 13, 1807, in Dutchess
County, New York. He received the best edu-
cation that the locality afforded at that time, and
early in life became a general contractor. Being
convinced that the West offered great business
opportunities, he removed in 1833 to Chicago.
Here he rented a tract of land from Archibald Cly-
bourn, and engaged in farming and gardening. In
1836 he located in what was afterwards known as
Jefferson Township, making claim to the north-
east quarter of section thirty-six, which he pur-
chased at the land sale of 1838. He at once com-
menced the improvement of a farm on this land,
which was then in a state of nature, and for sev-

G. N. POWELL.

eral years kept a public house for the entertain-
ment of travelers. While still in the prime of
life, and apparently having many years of active
usefulness before him, he was stricken with
cholera and died August 18, 1850. Besides being
a careful and successful business man he was ever
active as a citizen and took a great interest in pub-
lic affairs, affiliating in politics with the Dem-
ocratic party.

March 22, 1835, Mr. Powell married Miss Ara-
mesia Harmon,' who was born in Montgomery
County, Virginia, February 27, 1820. Her par-
ents, Henry Harmon and Mary Ann Horn-
barger, were natives of that state, and the chil-
dren of Revolutionary soldiers. Henry Harmon
enlisted as a soldier in the War of 1812, but peace
was declared before his services were called for.
He died October 29, 1829, and his widow mar-
ried Jacob Miller. In 1832 this couple came to
Chicago, where Mr. Miller worked as a carpen-
ter. In 1849 he made the overland journey to
California, and died there in the fall of that year.
His widow died December 27, 1876, in Minne-
sota. The family arrived in Chicago at the time
of the Black Hawk War, and took refuge in Fort
Dearborn. The daughter, Aramesia, was but
twelve years of age at that time, and received her
education and grew to womanhood in the pioneer
settlement. She has been an observant witness
of the marvelous growth of Chicago from a mere
hamlet of log huts to the second city in the land.
George N. and Aramesia Powell were the par-
ents of six children, the first of whom, George
W., died in childhood. John Frost, the second,
is a prominent citizen of Waukegan, Illinois,
where for some years he was largely engaged in
manufacturing. He is especially active and in-
fluential in the municipal affairs of that city, where
he served many years as alderman, and was
Mayor three terms. He is largely interested in
Chicago property. William H., the third son,
was a dealer in real estate in Chicago from 1870
until his death, in August, 1896. He married
Elizabeth J. Ritchie, who bore him a son, George
H. Powell, now engaged in the real-estate bus-
iness in Chicago. Mrs. Elizabeth J. Powell died
in 1886.

Daniel N. and Mary C., the fourth and sixth,
are deceased. A sketch of the fifth, Perry P.,
appears below. In 1862 Mrs. Powell married
Theodore Mismer, a native of Strasburg, which
was at the time of his birth, in France, but now
belongs to Germany. They have one daughter,
Clara, now the wife of Fred C. Irwin, of Chicago.
Perry Polk Powell, the youngest son of George
N. and Aramesia Powell, was born January n,
1845. He remained at home assisting in the
cultivation of the farm and attending the district
school until he reached the age of seventeen
years. At that time the Civil War was stirring
the martial spirit of every patriotic American,
and young Powell was no exception to the rule.
Though still very young, he enlisted, July 6,
1862, in Battery A, First Illinois Light Artillery.
In the fall of that year he took part in the Vicks-
burg Campaign under General Sherman, and
celebrated his eighteenth birthday by participat-
ing in the Battle of Arkansas Post. On account
of sickness he was discharged August 7, 1863, but
on his recovery re-enlisted in Battery G of the
First Illinois Light Artillery, and was discharged
at the close of the war at Memphis, Tennessee.

After farming for one year in Cook County,
Mr. Powell removed to Blairstown, Iowa, where
he carried on a general store for about two years.
He then returned to Cook County, and has since
followed farming and gardening. In 1870 he
also engaged in the real-estate business, in which
he has been very successful. He has given his
hearty support to the Republican party and was
a member of the first board of trustees of Jeffer-
son after its organization as a village. He was
initiated into Masonry in July, 1867, in Lincoln
Lodge No. 199, at Blairstown, Iowa. He is a
member of Winfield Chapter No. 42, Royal Arch
Masons, and is Past Commander of Winfield Com-
mandery No. 15, Knights Templar, both of Win-
field, Kansas. He is also a member of Siberd
Post No. 58, Grand Army of the Republic, De-
partment of Kansas. Mr. Powell was married
January 10, 1872, to Miss Mary E. , daughter of
Thomas and Christie McGregor. Three children
have blessed this union, named in order of birth,
Maud, Frank and Ethel.

C. B. DUPEE.

CHARLES B. DUPEE.

/TJHARLES BILLINGS DUPEE. Among
1 1 the business men who helped to promote
\J the growth of Chicago, both materially and
morally, the subject of this sketch should receive
honorable mention. His ancestors were the de-
voted French Huguenots, whose love of liberty
and freedom of religious thought induced them to
leave old France and settle in the New World.
James, grandfather of Charles B. Dupee, was born
in Walpole, Massachusetts. He was among the
most progressive of the citizens of the old Bay
State. (See sketch of H. M. Dupee for com-
plete genealogy. )

Their son, Cyrus Dupee, was also born in Wal-
pole, and learned the mercantile business in Bos-
ton. For a long period he was engaged in the
wholesale provision Iradein Brighton, Massachu-
setts. He was married at Brighton (now Alls-
ton), Massachusetts, to Miss Elizabeth English,
of that place. He died there in 1841, leaving
eight children. Three of his sons, Charles B.,
Cyrus and Horace Dupee, became prominent bus-
iness men of Chicago, where the last two are still
engaged in active life. He was a man of sterling
character, devoted to his family and diligent in
business. The family has for many generations
been noted in mercantile business, and has al-
ways maintained a high reputation for integrity.

Charles B. Dupee was born in Brighton, Mass-
achusetts, May 12, 1823. His first business under-
taking was in the meat and ice trade at Fitchburg,
Massachusetts, in which he was moderately suc-
cessful. In 1 8 54 he became a resident of Chicago,
establishing himself here in June of that year
his family, which at that time consisted of a wife

and two children, following in September. He
continued in the meat business in Chicago, and
after a time began putting up hams by a process
of his own, which secured for him an excellent
reputation and trade, and he grew prosperous and
extended the business by adding the wholesale
provision trade. He exercised great care in the
preparation of his goods, which he insisted on
giving his personal inspection, and the result was
an ever-increasing trade and a high reputation
for his wares, which continued to be popular on
the market long after his demise. He was in-
dustrious and economical, and his painstaking
care provided him a handsome competence. For
many years he carried on a large trade in supplies
for the United States Government.

Among his brother merchants, Mr. Dupee was
known for his unswerving fidelity to those prin-
ciples of true manhood that lift a man high above
the rank of ordinary men and make for him a
name in commercial centers that will forever be
worthy of remembrance and emulation. He was
a shrewd, far-seeing businessman, and his advice,
often sought by friends, was safe and reliable.
For about twenty years he was a resident of
Hyde Park, and was highly esteemed by the res-
idents of that suburb for his many noble qualities.
He was identified with the Republican party, but
was never connected with any office or political
work, and was in everyway a model citizen, and,
above all, an honest man the noblest work of
God.

After retiring from business, Mr. Dupee made
good investment in real estate, and the rapid ap-
preciation in value of his holdings added mate-

112

J. A. PEARSONS.

rially to his resources, so that his declining years
were passed in the enjoyment of the competence
which his long years of industry had earned. He
passed away at his home in Chicago August 12,
1887, and his last words were: "I have been an
honest man." He left the impress of his strong
character upon the business world of Chicago, and
a good name that will be ever cherished by his
family.

On the yth of April, 1847, at Boston, Massachu-
setts, Charles B. Dupee was married to Miss Em-
meline, daughter of Seth and Louise (Miles)
Wellington, old and respected residents of Bos-
ton. The Wellingtons were among the noted pio-
neers of the commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Mrs. Dupee's ancestor, Roger Wellington, mar-
ried Miss Foster, a daughter of Dr. Foster, who
was the first settled physician in Charlestown,
Massachusetts. The Wellington monument,

standing in the Watertown (Massachusetts) cem-
etery, was erected over two hundred years ago.
Three children came to bless the home of Charles
B. and Mrs. Dupee. Their names are, Charles
Frederick, Elizabeth A. and Emma M. The sec-
ond is now deceased, and the last is the wife of
Reuben D. Coy, of Chicago. Her only child is
a daughter, named Margaret Wellington Coy.
Charles F. Dupee came with his parents to Chi-
cago in 1854. His father admitted him to part-
nership in his growing business in order to have
his aid in its conduct. Since the business was
closed out he has given his attention to the care
of his large property interests. He has two
children, Elizabeth S. and Charles Edward Du-
pee.

In 1890 Mrs. Emmeline Dupee built one of the
handsomest residences in Glencoe, Illinois, where
her family now resides.

JOHN A. PEARSONS.

(JOHN ALONZO PEARSONS, an early set-
I tier of Evanston, was born in Bradford, Ver-
Q/ mont, September 8, 1818. He is a son of
John Pearsons and Hannah Putnam, natives, re-
spectively, of Lyndeborough and Francestown,
New Hampshire. John Pearsons was a promi-
nent farmer and lumberman of Bradford, where
he located at the age of twelve years. For some
years he also kept a hotel there, known as the
Mann House. He was a soldier of the War of
1812, serving throughout that struggle. His
death occurred in Bradford, October 7, 1857, at

the age of sixty-five years. His mother, whose
maiden name was Elizabeth Kimball, also died
there at an extreme old age.

Mrs. Hannah Pearsons died at Holyoke, Mass-
achusetts, in 1888, at the age of ninety-one
years. She was a daughter of John Putnam, a
Revolutionary soldier, and a relative of Gen.
Israel Putnam. John Putnam served seven years
in the Continental army, and was at one time a
member of General Washington's Life Guard.
He afterward became an Adjutant of Vermont
militia, and, with two of his sons, participated in

J. A. PEARSONS.

the War of 1812. In later life he was a car-
penter and bridge-builder at Bradford. His wife,
Olive Barron, lived to the age of ninety-three
years.

John A. Pearsons spent his boyhood in Brad-
ford, where he attended the district school, and,
at the age of nineteen years, began teaching, a
calling which he continued for four winters at and
in the vicinity of Bradford. He helped to con-
duct his father's hotel, and subsequently carried
on the same business at White River Village and
Norwich, Vermont. The latter place was then
the seat of General Ransom's Military School.

In September, 1852, he arrived in Chicago,
where he was employed for a time by John P.
Chapin, a prominent pioneer of Chicago. In
March, 1854, he located at Evanston, being in-
duced to settle there through the influence of
Dr. Hinman. Mr. Pearsons was the first to build
a house on the university lands, the location be-
ing identical with his present residence on Chi-
cago Avenue. Others soon followed his example,
and when the Chicago & Milwaukee Railway
reached that point the next winter, there was a
rapid influx of people. Such was the demand for
building materials and other merchandise, that
Mr. Pearsons found it advantageous to engage in
the business of general teaming. For eighteen
years he operated Pearsons' Evanston Express,
employing a number of teams and wagons on the
road between Chicago and Evanston, and the
business which he started has ever since been
continued, and is still a prosperous enterprise.
For some time he also kept a livery stable at
Evanston.

In 1872 Mr. Pearsons sold out his express line,
and spent the following winter in the woods of
northern Michigan in the interest of his brother,
D. K. Pearsons, the well-known lumberman and
philanthropist. Becoming interested in the lum-
bering industry, and finding the business agree-
able to his health, which had become considerably
impaired, he spent the ensuing twelve years in
the lumber woods, during a part of which time
he operated a lumber-yard in Evanston. In 1885
he disposed of his lumber interests, since which
time he has lived in practical retirement. He

has filled nearly every office in the township, vil-
lage, and city of Evanston, and his official as well
as business obligations have always been dis-
charged in a creditable and efficient manner.

On the twenty-fifth day of October, 1842, was
celebrated the marriage of Mr. Pearsons and Miss
Hannah Stevens Bay ley, of Newbury, Vermont,
a daughter of Amherst Bayley and Melissa Stev-
ens, both natives of Newbury. Mrs. Pearsons'
paternal grandfather was the distinguished Gen-
eral Jacob Bayley, of the Continental army. Her
maternal grandfather, Simeon Stevens, was an
extensive farmer and highly exemplary citizen of
Newbury, distinguished also for his musical tal-
ents, being the possessor of a strong and very
sweet voice, which he retained even in old age.
He survived until nearly ninety years of age.

Mrs. Pearsons is a lady of many graces of mind
and heart. In her youth she won considerable
celebrity as a participant in the State Musical
Conventions of Vermont. She was one of the
prime movers in organizing the Woman's Ed-
ucational Aid Association, which was formed
in 1871, and has been an officer of the association
from its inception, and for eighteen years has
served as its President. The object of this
society is to assist worthy young ladies of lim-
ited means in obtaining an education. The Col-
lege Cottage, which was built soon after the or-
ganization of the association, has been several
times enlarged and improved, and now accommo-
dates about fifty-five students, and is recognized
as a worthy adjunct of the Northwestern Univer-
sity at Evanston.

Mr. and Mrs. Pearsons are the parents of two
children, and have lost two by death, one passing
away in infancy. The eldest, Henry Alonzo, is
a business man of Chicago, residing in Evanston.
Isabella is the wife of Wilbur F. Mappin, of
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Helen, who was the
wife of Rev. Harvey R. Calkins, died March 27,
1892, at the age of twenty-six years. Two
grandchildren, Harry Putnam Pearsons and Lil-
ian Mappin, make glad the hearts of this worthy
couple.

In October, 1892, the golden wedding of Mr.
and Mrs. Pearsons was celebrated, and they are

R. C. HALLETT.

still in the enjoyment of excellent health and that
contentment of mind which is "a continual feast, ' '
and few of their acquaintances, and none among
strangers, can readily believe the number of their
years of usefulness already spent. They are
members of the First Methodist Church of Evan-
ston, which they helped to organize in the sum-
mer of 1854, at which time the society comprised
but six members. Mr. Pearsons was the Chorister
of the church for many years, and is one of the
Trustees of the Des Plaines Camp- Meeting Asso-
ciation. Mr. Pearsons cast his first vote for Will-
iam Henry Harrison, and was a member of
a military band which furnished music for

many of the public gatherings of the famous po-
litical campaign of 1840. He played in this band
for ten years. Since the organization of the Re-
publican party, he has been an adherent of its
principles. When he first located inEvanston, a
large portion of the present site of the city con-
sisted of a marsh covered with water, and none
of the streets had been improved. He has wit-
nessed the material development of the town until
it has come to be recognized as the first sub-
urb of Chicago, and has simultaneously watched
its intellectual and moral growth, in the promo-
tion of which he has been an interested factor.

REUBEN C HALLETT.

REUBEN CROWELL HAlvLETT, grandson
of one of the hardy pioneers of the Missis-
sippi Valley, and son of James Hallett, of
whom extended mention is made elsewhere in
this volume, has the proud distinction of being
a native of Illinois. He was born at Mount Car-
roll, in Carroll County, on the isth day of Octo-
ber, 1857, an d grew up in his native village,
where he received his primary schooling. He
attended Beloit College, Wisconsin, and finished
his education at the Wesleyan University, Bloom-
ington, Illinois, where he received instruction in
the law department from Adlai E. Stevenson,
Gen. Ira J. Bloomfield, John M. Hamilton, and
other noted attorneys of the state.

He was admitted to the Bar in 1880, and be-
gan the practice of law at Mount Carroll, but
soon turned his attention to other and more con-
genial pursuits. He became the owner and pub-
lisher of the Herald at Mount Carroll, which he
retained about a year. He then went to Rock-
ford, Illinois, where he was connected with the

Rockford Watch Company seven years. He re-
sided in Cleveland, Ohio, for a year, being iden-
tified with the Arctic Ice Machine Manufacturing
Company. During the last three years he has
been the western representative of the Hildreth
Varnish Company of New York, with headquar-
ters in one of the Grand Pacific offices, on Jack-
son Street, Chicago.

Mr. Hallett possesses a keen business instinct,
and his kind and genial manners and knowledge
of human nature make him an exceptionally suc-
cessful salesman. His dealings are largely with
railroad companies, and cover many large con-
tracts. He takes an active interest in all that
pertains to the general welfare, and is thoroughly
posted on questions that engage the public mind.
He was the independent candidate for States At-
torney of Carroll County in 1 880, but usually acts
with the Republican party. He was made a
Master Mason at Mount Carroll, and is now en-
tering upon the work of the exalted degrees.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

J. D. CATON.

JOHN D. CATON.

(JOHN DEAN CATON was born in Monroe,
I Orange County, New York, March 19, 1812.
O He is the fifteenth of the sixteen children of
Robert Caton, and the third child of his mother,
Hannah (Dean) Caton, who was the third wife of
Robert Caton. The latter was born March 22,
1761, on a plantation owned by his father (Robert
Caton) in Maryland. He joined the Continental
Army at the age of fourteen. Though very young
at the outbreak of the Revolution, he gave good
service to his native land in that struggle, and
after the triumph of colonial arms, settled on the
Hudson River, in New York. He died in 1815.
Robert Caton, grandfather of the subject of this
biography, was born in England, of Irish de-
scent, and served in the English army before set-
tling in Maryland. He was a prominent citizen
of that colony long before the Revolution, and
the name is a conspicuous one in Maryland soci-
ety to-day. Robert Caton, during the life of his
second wife, joined the Society of Friends, and
became a preacher in that denomination, his third
wife being a member also. His four children by
his third wife, according to the rules of that de-
nomination, became birthright members, and so
has the subject of this sketch continued; he is
now a member of the society in good standing.

When John D. Caton was four years old, his
widowed mother took him to Oneida Count}-,
New York. His advantages were few, but he re-
ceived the primary training of a common school.
At the age of nine years, he was set to work with
a farmer, at two and one-half dollars per month,
and brought home a quarter of beef as the fruit of
his first earnings. Work was afforded only in the
summer, and his winters were spent in school un-
til he was fourteen. It had been his father's wish

that he should be equipped for life with a trade,
and he was apprenticed. A weakness of the eyes
interfered with the completion of his time, and at
sixteen, he joined his mother at Utica, New York,
where he was enabled to put in nine months at the
academy. He was so diligent and apt that he
was thus equipped for earning by surveying and
teaching school. While teaching, he pursued
the study of the classics, and also did a little work
in the law by practicing in justices' courts. He
entered the office of Beardsley & Matteson, at
Utica, as a student, at the age of nineteen years.
He later studied with James H. Collins, who af-
terward became a leader at the Chicago Bar and
was a partner in practice with Mr. Caton.

Having become well grounded in the theory of
law, and having attained man's estate, he resolved
to settle in the new West and establish himself in
practice. He had a special incentive in this de-
termination, in the fact that he was the accepted
lover of one of "York State's" fairest daughters,
and was anxious to secure a permanent home.
Having reached Buffalo by canal, he took pas-
sage on the steamer "Sheldon Thompson," which
brought him to Detroit, and thence he took stage
to Ann Arbor, still undetermined as to his loca-
tion. Still pushing westward, he rode in a wagon
to White Pigeon, and here, by pure accident, he
fell in with a cousin, whose husband, Irad Hill,
was a carpenter and was employed by Dr. John T.
Temple, of Chicago, to build a house for him
there. The doctor and Mr. Hill were then in
White Pigeon getting lumber for this purpose.
Young Caton joined the rafting party which
transported the lumber down the St. Joseph
River, and took passage on the schooner which
conveyed it to its destination. This was the

J. D. CATON.

"Ariadne," whose cargo of lumber and immi-
grants was about all she could carry.

He soon determined to locate here, and in a
few days set off on horseback for Pekin, one hun-
dred and fifty miles away, to seek admission to
the Bar. Here he met Stephen T. Logan, after-
wards partner of Abraham Lincoln, and other
leading attorneys of the State. After court ad-
journed and supper had been taken, the young
applicant accompanied Judge Lockwood, of the
Supreme Court, in a stroll on the river bank, and
after being plied with questions on the theory and
practice of law, was addressed in these words:
"Well, my young friend, you've got a good deal
to learn if you ever' expect to make a success as a
lawyer, but if you study hard I guess you' 11 do it.
I shall give you your license." It took but nine
years for the new licensee to attain a place beside
his examiner on the supreme bench of the State.

Mr. Caton's first case was in the first lawsuit
in the village of Chicago, in which he appeared
as prosecutor of a culprit accused of stealing thir-
ty-six dollars from a fellow-lodger at the tavern.
When the defendant was brought before Squire
Heacock, Caton insisted that he be searched, and
he was stripped to his underclothing. Before he
could replace his apparel, as directed by the court,
the prosecuting attorney discovered a suspicious
lump in his stocking. Seizing hold of this lump,
he turned down the stocking and disclosed the
missing bills. The case was then adjourned till
next day, and a Constable watched the prisoner
all night, having confined him under a carpenter's
bench. Next morning when he was arraigned,
Spring and Hamilton appeared for the defence and
took a change of venue to Squire Harmon, who
held court in the old tannery, on the North Side
near the river forks. The whole town was now
agog with the novel spectacle of a public trial;
and Harmon, in order to give all a chance to en-
joy the show, adjourned to Wattle's Tavern, on
the West Side, where the case came off with much
eclat; all the young attorneys "spreading them-
selves' ' in their respective speeches. Judge Caton
remembers that he dwelt particularly on the enor-
mity of the act of this serpent who had brought

crime into this young community where it had
been unknown. The thief was held for trial, but
the device (then new) of "straw bail" gave him
temporary liberty, which he made permanent by
running away as soon as the money was recovered;
and as the public had had the fun and excitement
of a ' 'lawsuit' ' nobody cared much what became
of the author of this welcome break in the village
monotony. If he had been tried and convicted it
would have been only the beginning of trouble,
for there was no jail wherein to keep him. Young
Caton got ten dollars for his fee the first money
he had ever earned in Illinois by his profession
and it just paid the arrears of his board bill.
(History of Chicago, edited by Moses and Kirk-
land.)

Having now been launched in practice, Mr.
Caton rented an office in the "Temple Building,"
having his lodging in the attic of the same struc-
ture. To "make ends meet," he rented desk
room in his office to his contemporary, Giles
Spring.

Justice Caton recalls July 12, 1834, an era in
his youthful experience. It was the beginning of
his judicial career; the date of his election to the
office of Justice of the Peace, the only public office
he ever held except those of Alderman of the city
(1837-8) and Justice of the Supreme Court of the
State (1843-64). He became its Chief Justice in
1857. The election of 1834 was a fierce contest,
"bringing out every last voter in the precinct,
from Clybourne to Hardscrabble and beyond, per-
haps even taking in the Calumet Crossing." The
Government piers had been built and the begin-
ning of a channel had been cut across the imme-
morial sandbar, but as yet it had never been used.
On this memorable day, the schooner "Illinois"
chanced to be lying at anchor, and the friends of
Caton (George W. Dole and others), to the num-
ber of a hundred or more, got ropes to the schooner
and dragged her by main force through the un-
finished dug-way. Then they decked her with
all the bunting in the village, and, hoisting sail,
sped triumphantly up the stream to the Forks
the first vessel that ever penetrated the Chicago
River. And when the votes were counted the

J. D. CATON.

117

tally showed John DeanCaton, one hundred and
eighty-two; Josiah C. Goodhue, forty-seven.
(Story of Chicago, 130).

An incident in the life of the future chief jus-
tice, which saved him to the people of Illinois, is
elsewhere related in the biography of Col. Julius
\Varren, who was ever gratefully remembered by
Mr. Caton as his dearest friend.

In the spring of 1835 Squire Caton felt himself
able to assume the cares of a household, and he
returned to New York, where he was wedded to
Miss Laura Adelaide, daughter of Jacob Sherrill,
of New Hartford. Their wedding tour was an
ideal one, being a passage from Buffalo to Chicago
on the brig "Queen Charlotte." This was one
of the vessels captured in Put-in-Bay and sunk in
the harbor of Erie by Commodore Perry in 1812.
After twenty years, it had been raised and refitted,
and this was her first trip.

In 1836 Mr. Caton built the first dwelling on
the ' 'school section, ' ' west of the river. This was
at the southwest corner of Clinton and Harrison
Streets, and at that time it was so far from other
dwellings that it was called the ' 'prairie cottage. ' '
It fell before the great holocaust of 1871. About
the same time that he built this house, he entered
into partnership with Norman B. Judd (who
drafted-the first charter of Chicago) . The finan-
cial difficulties of 1837 almost crippled the ambi-
tious young lawyer, and to increase his troubles,
his health became impaired and he was advised
by his physician to return to farming. He took up
a tract of land near Plainfield, which he still owns,
and removed his family thither in 1839. He con-
tinued the practice of law, and the records show
that he tried the first jury cases in Will and Kane
Counties, as well as Cook.

Mr. Caton was appointed an associate justice of
the Supreme Court in 1842, and his united terms
of service, by successive elections, amounted to
twenty-two years. During the latter portion of
this time he occupied the position of Chief Justice.
The duties of his high office were completed day
by day, no matter how much of the night they
might consume, and the court in his day was al-
ways up with its docket. In 1864 he left the
Bench, and has since given his time to travel,

literary labors and the conduct of his private af-
fairs. He has published several works, among
which are "The Antelope and Deer of America,"
"A Summer in Norway," "Miscellanies" and
"Early Bench and Bar of Illinois."

Before 1850 Justice Caton became interested in
the electric telegraph. This was before the organ-
ization of the Western Union, and he set to work
to re-organize and set in order the dilapidated and
scattered lines. They had hitherto occupied the
wagon roads, and he secured the adoption of a
system by the railways, where it was soon found
to be an absolute necessity. When the Western
Union took hold of the business, Judge Caton and
his fellow-stockholders were enabled to make most
advantageous terms for the disposition of their
interests.

Death first invaded the home of Judge Caton in
1891, when a daughter, her mother's namesake,
was taken aw?y, and in 1892, Mrs. Caton went
before. For fifty-seven years, this happily-as-
sorted couple had traveled together the journey
o r life, and they were, no doubt, the oldest sur-
viving couple in Chicago at the time of Mrs. Ca-
ton's demise. During her last illness Judge Caton
remarked to his family physician that they had
lived together for more than fifty-seven years
without a cross or unkind word ever passing be-
tween them. Two children survived her, namely:
Arthur J. Caton, a Chicago business man, who
was admitted to the Bar, and Caroline, now the
wife of the distinguished attorney, Norman Wil-
liams.

In August, 1893, Judge Caton suffered a slight
stroke of paralysis. Before this affliction, advanc-
ing years had brought on the old trouble with his
eyes, which had, happily for his future career,
turned his attention from a trade, but up to the
beginning of 1893, he was able to read a little with
the aid of strong glasses. By the aid of a reading-
secretary, he keeps up an acquaintance with
literature and current events. Even the added
trial of decay in his powers of locomotion did
not make him despair or become morose. To
a close friend he said: "I do not repine. I do
not lament the advance of age and the loss of fac-
ulties; not one bit. I enjoy my life, and thank-

T. H. WEBSTER.

fully recognize the numberless compensations and
alleviations that are mercifully left me. No; I
am well content."

He still survives at the age of eighty-three, and

it is a little remarkable that the first lawyer in
Chicago to bring a case in a court of record is
still with us, with intellect unimpaired, when the
bar numbers more than three thousand.

THOMAS H. WEBSTER.

'HOMAS HOLMES WEBSTER. Among
the many fire-insurance agents with which
La Salle Street abounds, there is, perhaps,
no other man whose reputation for safe and con-
servative business methods has been more con-
sistently sustained than he whose name heads
this notice. His entire business training and
experience have been acquired in this city, and,
while the opportunities for speculation have been
abundant, and the chances for unusual profit have
seemed quite as alluring to him as to others, he
has conscientiously avoided all participation in
that hazardous and demoralizing field, confining
his attention to the regular channels of business,
and thereby maintaining his business credit and
securing the confidence and good- will of his asso-
ciates.

Mr. Webster was born in Leeds, England, on
the 2gth of October, 1846. His parents, John and
Mary (Holmes) Webster, were natives of York-
shire. John Webster was employed for some years
in the cloth-mills at Leeds, but being desirous of
procuring better opportunities for his growing
family, in 1853 he came to America. He located
in Chicago and secured employment with the Chi-
cago Gas Light and Coke Company, whose inter-
ests he continued to serve until his death, which
occurred in 1866, at the age of forty-two years.
He began as a laborer, but with such faithful-
ness and ability did he serve the interests of the
company that he was soon promoted to a more re-
munerative occupation, and at the time of his de-
mise was the assistant Secretary of the company.

His wife survived him but two years, passing
away at the age of forty-four. They were mem-
bers of the Second Baptist Church of Chicago,
and had formerly been connected with the Taber-
nacle Baptist Church.

Thomas H. Webster, with his mother and the
balance of the family, joined his father in Chica-
go in 1855. He is one of a family of thirteen
children, of whom but two others now survive.
Their names are Sarah H., Mrs. W. C. Corlies;
and Louisa L., Mrs. R. M. Johnson, all of Chi-
cago. Thomas was educated in the public schools
of this city, and upon the death of his father as-
sumed the care of the family, supplying' to its
members, as far as possible, the place of the de-
ceased parent. His first employment was in the
capacity of a clerk in a dry-goods store, where he
continued for about one year. Since the ist of
August, 1863, he has been consecutively connect-
ed with the business of fire underwriting. He be-
gan as office boy for the Chicago Firemen's In-
surance Company, but was soon appointed to a
clerkship, and about 1865 bcame the cashier of
the company. This position he filled until the
concern was annihilated by the great fire of 1871.
After that disaster, the affairs of the corporation
were placed in the hands of Hon. O. H. Horton,
as assignee, and this gentleman secured the serv-
ices of Mr. Webster as his assistant, his familiar-
ity with the affairs of the concern being of great
value in closing up its business.

Mr. Webster was afterwards successively con-
nected with the firms of Walker & Lowell, and

LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF ILUN(

W. C. GOUDY.

119

the Globe Insurance Company, continuing with
the latter concern until it went out of business in
1876. He then became a clerk for S. M. Moore,
with whom he soon after entered into partnership,
under the firm name of S. M. Moore & Com-
pany. Upon the retirement of the senior member
in 1886, this firm was succeeded by that of Web-
iter & Wiley, Mr. E. N. Wiley becoming the jun-
ior partner. In 1889 the latter firm was consol-
idated with that of H. de Roode & Company,
under the name of Webster, Wiley & de Roode.
On the first of November, 1 894, Mr. de Roode re-
tired from the firm, since which time the business
has been conducted under the name of Webster,
Wiley & Company, Mr. C. P. Jennings having
become a third partner on January i, 1895.

Mr. Webster was married, September 13, 1881,
to Miss Anna Martindale, a native of Ohio, and
a daughter of Rev. Theodore D. Martindale, a

Methodist clergyman of that state. Mr. and Mrs.
Webster are the parents of two sons, Frank M.
and Ralph N. Mr. Webster is identified with the
Union League, Sunset and Metropolitan Clubs,
and Lexington Council of the National Union.
He is not an active participant in political strife,
but has all his life been a supporter of Republican
principles.

Having been the head of a family from the age
of twenty years, he has had few opportunities for
recreation, and finds his greatest pleasure in the
midst of the home circle. His business opera-
tions have been confined to the realm of fire un-
derwriting, and while others have in some in-
stances accumulated more wealth than he, the
substantial friendship and esteem of his colleagues
are his, and his record is one which causes no re-
grets.

WILLIAM C GOUDY.

CHARLES GOUDY. To be a
leader in any profession in a city the size of
Chicago, means to be the possessor of large
intellect, of close application and happy fortune;
to be in the front rank of contemporary lawyers
in a metropolis whose courts decide as many
cases as the combined judiciary of all Great
Britain, is a mark of pre-eminence indeed. Such
pre-eminent distinction has been already noted
by the Muse of History in her vast temple of
fame, where, chiseled in conspicuous recent
strength, we read the sterling name of William
Charles Goudy.

Mr. Goudy was born near Cincinnati, Ohio
(but "across the line" in Indiana), on the isth
day of May, 1824, unto Robert and Jane (Ainslie)
Goudy. His father was a native of North Ire-
land and of Scotch-Irish ancestry, of that virile

blood which has already played so thrilling a
part in American history on sea and land. The
name is spelled Goudie in Scotland, where the
poet Burns immortalized it in song in that stanza
of a poem wherein occurs the line, ' 'Goudie, ter-
ror of the Whigs!" The family continues to hew
true to the block, for who ever heard of any
Goudy who was anything but a Democrat in
the United States ? His mother, who was of
English birth, was residing in Pennsylvania when
taken to wife by Mr. Goudy 's father.

Robert Goudy was a carpenter in early life, later
changing, as do so many of our citizens, his calling
to printing, in which craft he was busied for some
years at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But when
the future Judge Goudy was a boy of ten years,
his father moved to Jacksonville, Illinois, a most
fortunate field, as afterwards developed, for all the

I2O

W. C. GOUDY.

family. Here, in 1833, he began the publication
of Gaudy's Farmers' Almanac, the first annual
of its kind to be printed in the Northwest, which,
filling a greatly felt need, grew speedily into the
deserved prominence it maintained for the many
years during which it was a household word.
Later, he embarked in a newspaper of fair pro-
portions for that era; in which connection let it
not be overlooked that it was the first press to
call pointed attention to that rising young star,
Stephen A. Douglas. The son also did his share
of battling for this candidate during that heated
campaign when Douglas defeated Lincoln in the
memorable congressional contest.

The subject of this sketch graduated at the
Illinois College of Jacksonville in 1845, an alma
mater made proud time and again by the grand
deeds of her hero pupil, whom she has twice hon-
ored with her post-graduate degrees, namely,
Master of Arts and Doctor of Laws. Suffice to
say, that none of her myriad graduates ever won
such special favor more fairly than he of whom
we are writing.

While reading law thereafter, Mr. Goudy
taught school in Decatur. Later he went for a
time into the office of Stephen A. Logan, partner
of Lincoln. In 1847 he was admitted to the Bar
at Lewistown, Illinois, entering directly into
partnership with Hon. Hezekiah M. Weed, of
that place, where he rapidly rose in public notice
and favor. Taking an active part in politics, he
was partially rewarded in 1852 by being elected
States Attorney of the Tenth Judicial Circuit,
which position of trust he resigned in 1856; and
from 1857 to 1861 was twice returned as State Sen-
ator for the Fulton-McDonough district. In 1859
fame and rapidly growing practice invited him
to Chicago, the great Western center, which, like
Athens of old, calls annually for its tribute of
talent and oratory from its outlying territory.
For about the next thirty-five years his reputa-
tion and his wealth grew with amazing rapidity,
until none throughout the entire Mississippi Val-
ley was better or more favorably known in his
profession than Judge Goudy. His learned skill
was demonstrated in the higher courts all over
this western county, from which, in frequent

triumphs, he went to more honorable laurels
achieved before that tribunal of dernier resort, the
Supreme Court of the United States. His specialty
was the law of real property, in which branch
of learning he was recognized as a leader all over
the vast domain his talents dominated; indeed,
there have been expressed on more than one oc-
casion sincere regrets that Judge Goudy left no
published work upon this broad field of judicature,
of especial application in the newer West, for
the guidance of future brothers. It would indeed
have been the labor of a legal giant, gigantically
performed. During all this later period, not a
volume of Illinois Reports, and they number into
the hundreds, but bears his name as attorney or
counsel in cases of gravest import and represent-
ing questions and corporations of greatest magni-
tude.

As illustrating the thoroughness with which
he worked and the minuteness of inquiry and
research to which he -would voluntarily go, rather
than admit he was beaten or acknowledge there
was no redress (in his opinion) for his client,
we must digress sufficiently to call attention to
that case (the Kingsbury-Buckner), perhaps
most famous of all his many noted cases, which
involved the question of the fee of that splendid
piece of central real estate upon which now stands
the Ashland Building, the great law office re-
sort, corner of Randolph and Clark Streets, in
our city. This case long looked hopeless for the
party in whose interests Judge Goudy had been
retained. Conviction of the fact that the grantee,
who seemed to own the fee, was really a holder
for cestuis qui trust was sincerely entertained, but
in support of such hypothesis not a scintilla of
evidence seemed possible to be introduced. Early
and late, far and near, in and out of season, our
lawyer toiled to find some slight link, so vital to
support such a much-sought chain of title. In
short, almost at a standstill, sufficient proof was
at last unearthed from a letter written as casual
correspondance to a relative of the writer in the
Down East. This became the turning-point of
the case. For his services the Judge is said to
have been paid the largest fee known in the
West. How many thousands is not known, but

W. C. GOUDY.

121

surely it was earned in such a manner as to be
gladly paid by a client who would have lived and
died in ignorant non-assertion of rights, but for
the untiring researches of his lawyer. Let every
young attorney ponder well the significance of
the story; just such opportunities time and again
have made in an instant the name and fame
)f the energetic hero. The ability to win cases
is the crucial test of lawyers; and a still greater
test is the ability to effect a desirable compromise,
as the subject of this sketch often did; for exam-
ple, in the notable Wilbur F. Storey will case.

During the later years of his exceedingly active
career, the firm of which he was senior member
was styled Goudy, Green & Goudy, and for
a considerable period prior to his demise he was
chief counsel for the Chicago & Northwestern
Railway, in which position he had the excep-
tional fortune of holding his former private
clientage. It is worth recording that the reasons
for his being retained by that railway were
found in numerous suits brought against it by
Mr. Goudy for clients, who usually won.

Mr. Goudy married, August 22, 1849, a most
estimable and cultured lady, Miss Helen Judd,
of Canton, Illinois, a daughter of Solomon Judd,
quite a distinguished Abolitionist. His father was
Solomon Judd, Sr., of Westhampton, Massachu-
setts, coming of excellent ancestry, tracing back
to the pride of all Yankees, the "Mayflower" of
1620. Mrs. Goudy's mother was Eleanor Clark,
born of an old Northampton, Massachusetts,
family.

Two children cheered their most happy wedded
life. Clara Goudy (an adopted daughter), born
in October, 1857, married, in 1887, Ira J. Geer,
of this city, a practicing lawyer of superior
repute, by whom she has one child, William
Jewett Geer. Judge Goudy left an only son,
William Judd Goudy, who was born in 1864,
for an extended sketch of whom vide other pages
herein.

Mrs. Goudy was born on the 2ist of November,
1821, at Otisco, Onondaga County, New York,
was educated at the Aurora Academy of that
State, after which she taught school for about
nine years. She then removed to Canton, Illinois,

where she had been teaching her own private
school for young ladies about two years at the
time Judge Goudy won her undying affections.
She survives her deeply mourned husband, and,
while not in perfect health, yet for her mature
age well preserved; and it is the earnest wish
of all her myriad friends and recipients of generous
benefactions that she may long continue in a
sphere of wisely contented usefulness. She is
unostentatiously conspicuous for her many works
of charity, formal recognition of which was made
some years since in her elevation to the position
of President of the Board of Managers of the Half
Orphan Asylum. Truly may it be said in sim-
ple, modest truth, her life has been a model for
imitation.

The old Goudy homestead, one of the choicest,
most elegant of its time, was located in what has
since become a very public neighborhood, about
No. 1 140 North Clark Street. In the early days
it stood in a magnificient grove of trees some
acres in extent, whose retirement received a con-
tinual benediction from the murmurs of the lake
near at hand. Later operations have subdivided
and covered with many dwellings this lovely
property. "And the place thereof shall know it
no more." Anticipating growing encroachment
upon that privacy in which Mr. Goudy so much
delighted, he finally built a solid, ornate mansion
of gray granite at No. 240 Goethe Street, than
which none of our citizens can boast of a more
complete or elegant home. In full view of the lake
(but a block distant), contiguous to a beautiful
private park, within easy access of business
haunts, and yet enjoying the stillness of a veritable
country seat, Judge Goudy with his wife there
found the oasis of existence, his seat of recupera-
tive rest, his scene of domestic bliss, for he was
emphatically, notwithstanding the grandeur and
publicity which cast a halo about his character,
a domestic man. Though a valued member of
the Union and Iroquois Clubs, he was not an
habitue of their inviting halls, save on rare special
occasions.

In politics, like all his lineage, he was a sturdy
Democrat ; not particularly aggressive, but full of
wise counsels and dictator of winning courses to

122

H. F. FRINK.

be pursued in accomplishing certain political
ends. His first vote was cast for L,ewis Cass in
1848; he had much to do with the nomination of
President Cleveland to his last term of office; and
might have passed away in occupation of the
most dignified seat of judicial honor within the
gift of our country, i. e., the Supreme Bench of
the United States, had not his ever honorable
principles decided him to withdraw in favor of
his old friend, the present Chief Justice, M. W.
Fuller. He was at one time President of the
Lincoln Park Board of Commissioners, as he had
been among those most actively valuable in lay-
ing out the bounds and bringing into being that
most beautiful of all our resorts.

Judge Goudy was a "gentleman of the old
school," always courteous and scrupulously hon-
orable; the possessor of a frankly-bright, prepos-
sessing face, brimful of character. A very broad
forehead surmounted features all finely chiseled;
his figure was but of medium height and physical
weight, but capable of expressing great dignity
upon occasion. Though rather sickly in youth,
by abstemious habits he had grown for many
years to be quite robust, in which condition he
was maintained by studious attention to all his

habits, save that of work. In this, he reminds
one strongly of the great Csesar, who, sickly in
youth, by careful regimen grew to endure in-
credible labors. Indeed, it was from over appli-
cation, following too speedily a season of malady,
that Judge Goudy met his end April 27, 1893;
which found him suddenly, like the lightning
flash, seated in his chair by the office desk, whither
he had injudiciously repaired upon important
business. His tough, perennial thread of life,
which had been vexed and tugged at time and
again by his response to urgent demands, was
strained beyond endurance; it snapped, and the
heroic melody of a noble life became forever in-
stantly silent. He was buried under the auspices
of the Fourth Presbyterian Church, in which he
had always had a vital interest, and now sleeps the
peaceful sleep of the just in the family lot at Grace-
land Cemetery, which spot will long continue to be
marked by the dignified memorial now rising
over his remains.

He left a supremely honorable name. Out of the
many illustrious heroes found herein, none need
doubt that the memory of the greatest will not
survive that of Hon. William Charles Goudy.

HENRY F. FRINK.

HENRY FARNSWORTH FRINK, whose
business and social relations cause him to be
well known in Cook County, enjoys the dis-
tinction of being a native of Chicago, and repre-
sents one of its most esteemed pioneer families.
The house in which he was born stood at the
corner of Wabasli Avenue and Randolph Street,
and the date of his advent was April 17, 1848.
His parents were John and Harriet Frink, an ap-
propriate notice of whom is given elsewhere in
this book.

Henry F. Frink was afforded excellent educa-

tional advantages, and at twenty years of age
graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts
from the Chicago University. It is needless to
add that his subsequent career has been such as
to reflect credit upon his Alma Mater. He began
the study of law in the office of Sleeper, Whiton
& Durham, and in 1872 was admitted to practice
by a committee composed of members of the Bar
appointed for the purpose of examining candi-
dates. Since that date he has been continuously
engaged in practice, making a specialty of real-
estate law and the examination of abstracts. His

J. M. ADSIT.

123

ample experience and accurate knowledge of
these subjects are of great value to himself and
his clients, and cause his opinions to be received
with respectful attention by attorneys and officials
generally. He deals in city and suburban realty
to a considerable extent, and by the exercise of
foresight and discrimination in these operations
has accumulated a competence, which he endeav-
ors to invest in such a manner as to promote the
commercial interests of the community. In 1891
he organized the Austin State Bank, of which he
has ever since been the President, giving consid-
erable of his time and attention to its affairs. His
business of all kinds has been conducted in such
a manner as to secure the best results to his col-
leagues and at the same time to inspire the confi-
dence of the public in his judgment and integrity.
On the I4th of April, 1886, occurred the mar-
riage of Mr. Frink and Miss Louise Creote, a
most estimable lady and a daughter of Joseph
Creote, an early pioneer of Chicago. A daugh-
ter, Mildred, helps to brighten the home circle of
Mr. and Mrs. Frink. The former of this couple

adheres to the Episcopal faith, in the tenets of
which he was instructed in youth, while his wife
is a member of the Baptist Church at Austin,
where the family resides.

Socially, Mr. Frink is identified with the Royal
League and Athletic Clubs. While never an act-
ive politician, he is not unmindful of the duties
of citizenship, and usually casts his ballot in sup-
port of Republican principles.

Previous to the great Chicago fire he occupied
an office with W. D. Kerfoot at No. 95 Washing-
ton Street, and for a time subsequent to that dis-
aster he shared with that gentleman the historic
cabin in the street, which served them as a shel-
ter pending the rescue of their safe from the em-
bers and the erection of their new building. He
did duty as a member of the citizens' patrol guard
immediately after the great fire, a temporary ar-
rangement for the protection of homes and prop-
erty, which was instrumental in preventing a
great deal of the pillage and plundering to which
the city was exposed until the police force could
be re-organized.

JAMES M. ADSIT.

(TAMES M. ADSIT. To have been among
I the first in Chicago to engage in any honor-
Q) able calling is quite sufficient to make such
a one a local historical personage for all time to
come, and so the career of James M. Adsit is
filled with unusual interest, because of the con-
spicuous fact that, apart from his being an excep-
tional character, he was among the first bankers
to enter upon a career of finance within the pres-
ent limits of Cook County.

Mr. Adsit was born February 5, 1809, in
Spencertown, Columbia County, New York, unto
Leonard and Frances Adsit {nee Davenport).
His father dying when the son was but six years
of age, he went to live and remain with his
grandfather Adsit, and after finishing the com-

mon-school education customary for those early
days, went for a time into employment in his
uncle Ira Davenport's store.

On April 2, 1838, he arrived in Chicago,
then a city of but a single year's standing, con-
sisting of only a few streets stragglingly built up;
and, as one of the earliest pioneers, founded a
private bank at Number 37 Clark Street in 1850,
having up to that time, from the date of his arri-
val, been engaged in loans and investments on
Lake Street. In 1856 he removed one door to
Number 39 Clark Street, where he remained un-
til the "Chicago Fire," at which time he had the
great misfortune to lose all of his personal papers
and books connected intimately with much of
Chicago's early history, whereby vanished forever

124

J. M. ADSIT.

valuable data covering the development of the
city for its first three decades. But fortune was
his on that occasion to save the bulk of moneys
and securities in the vaults of his office, thereby
being able to reassure his depositors, many of
whom on days following came with woeful visage,
in expectation of news of their hard-earned
means having gone up in flames.

Shortly after he had re-opened his banking busi-
ness at Number 422 Wabash Avenue for a few
months, he removed to a store on Wabash Avenue
a few doors from Congress, thence to the Ogden
Building, corner Lake and Clark Streets. He then
built at Number 41 Clark Street, where he contin-
ued in active life until 1881 . At that date, owing
somewhat to failing health, he decided to merge his
corporation into the Chicago National Bank, of
which he became the first Vice-President, resign-
ing, however, in 1885, a t which time he retired
from active life.

His shortsightedness, if indeed we are right to
so style the matter, was a lack of faith in the
future real-estate values of Chicago. Had a bold
course been adopted in this direction, it would
have resulted in the acquiring of an estate vast
indeed: but sufficient honor is his, in that he un-
swervingly carried out his financial life in strict
integrity.

While ever a stanch Republican in politics,
Mr. Adsit was never prominent in public life, fig-
uring rather in the background on movements
which were to be carried out for the public weal.
In that sense he was always a most active and
useful member in aid of advances. Among the
institutions with which he was conspicuously as-
sociated was the Mechanics' Institute, of which
he was the first Vice-President. Following the
panic of 1857, when threatened by adverse cir-
cumstances with destruction, he lent strong finan-
cial support, and was for years one of the chief
managers, until its future of honor and usefulness
was assured. In 1871 he was Chairman of the
Clearing House Association. Among the large
estates promoted under his management was that
of Allen C. Lewis, which was enhanced greatly
in value through his shrewd handling.

He was a member of the North Side Union

Club, but growing infirmity of health and life-long
devotion to home influences prevented much so-
cial dissipation. On Dearborn Avenue, at the
corner of Elm Street, in a luxurious mansion-
house, to which he removed in 1884, he spent
happy days following a most usefully busy career.

Up to the time of the great fire, he had at-
tended at the Wabash Avenue Methodist Church;
afterwards for some years at the Plymouth Con-
gregational Church, but finally became an habit-
ual attendant at David Swing's church, on the
North Side, following him to the Music Hall or-
ganization across the river, being thus long in
intimate relations with him who so feelingly offi-
ciated at the final obsequies, preceding interment
at Graceland. The time of going to the other
shore was September 4, 1894; subsequent to a
stroke of paralysis and some years of indisposi-
tion; and when his venerable form, which had
borne the trials of upwards of eighty-five years,
was laid to rest, there was not a dry eye over the
melancholy thought that the worthiest of the rem-
nant of the early pioneers had gone to his well-
merited reward. And thus the first generation
passed into that history which it is the province
of this publication to rescue from oblivion for the
edification and teaching of future times.

Said the well-known philanthropist, Dr. Pear-
son, in speaking of Mr. Adsit: "He was a thor-
oughly upright man, whom I never knew to fail
in an>- undertaking. He passed through the pan-
ics of 1857, l866 an( * l8 73. an d the great fire,
not without financial loss, but without a blemish
upon his reputation, meeting every obligation
faithfully." Mr. John J. Mitchell, President of
the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank, remarked
shortly after his demise: "Mr. Adsit was a man
of the very highest integrity, and none stood
higher than he among the business men and bank-
ers of Chicago. * * * In his death Chicago
loses not only one of her foremost citizens, but
one who helped to make the city's history, and
the success she now enjoys."

Mr. Adsit married, January 21, 1840, MissAr-
ville Chapin, of Chicago, who, herself in ad-
vanced age, survives him, waiting her message
to join on the other side him she so long, so deep-

H. M. ROBINSON.

125

ly loved. Seven children blessed their union,
namely :

Leonard D. Adsit, who was born January 29,
1841, and who died in Chicago in 1879, having
been a banker, associated with his father;

Isabella F., who married Ezra I. Wheeler, of
Chicago, a commission merchant, now deceased,
leaving her without children;

James M. Adsit, Jr., born April 7, 1847, un-
married; a former banker with his father; now a
stock broker with office in the Stock Exchange;

Charles Chapin, who is associated with his
brother as a stock broker; born July 14, 1853;
married in October, 1890, to Mary Bowman Ash-
by, of Louisville, Kentucky, by whom one child,
Charles Chapin, Jr., was born July 3, 1892;

Caroline Jane, educated at Dearborn Seminary,
then at Miss Ogden Hoffman's private school in
New York City; unmarried;

Frank S., born September 7, 1855; died in
childhood ;

Jeanie M., educated at Dearborn Seminary;
unmarried.

Mrs. Adsit comes of an old and distinguished
New England family, of which she is a repre-
sentative of the seventh American generation.
Springfield, Massachusetts, is their leading home-
stead, where members have erected a magnificent
statue of their "Puritan divine" ancestor.

Deacon Samuel Chapin, who married a Miss

Cisily, was the progenitor from whom are de-
scended all in the United States. He came from
abroad to Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1641, at
which time he took the "freeman's oath" in Bos-
ton. The following year he went to Springfield,
then one of the frontier towns, where he was for
a long time a local magistrate and one of its first
deacons.

His son Henry married Bethia Cooley, and re-
sided in Springfield. Was a Representative in
the General Court, a merchant sea-captain be-
tween London and Boston; afterwards retired to
live in Boston ; then to Springfield. He had a son,

Deacon Benjamin, who married Hannah Col-
ton, and lived in Chicopee, a set-off portion of
northern Springfield, Massachusetts, where he
was one of its first deacons. He had a son

Captain Ephraim, who married Jemima Chapin,
his own cousin ; lived in Chicopee, where he was
an old-time inn-keeper. He also served in the
French and Indian Wars. He had a son

Bezaleel, who also married his own cousin,
Thankful Chapin; living at Ludlow Massachu-
setts. He had a son

Oramel, who married Suzan Rood; living in
Ludlow, Massachusetts, thence removing to Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin, later to Chicago, where he
died.

Their daughter Arville married the subject of
this sketch.

HAMILTON M. ROBINSON.

HAMILTON MOFFAT ROBINSON was
born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Eng-
land, February 12, 1862, and is the eldest
son of James Hamilton Robinson and Frances
Jane Moffat. Both the parents represent ancient
Scottish families.
James H. Robinson, who was born in London

and educated at the Edinburgh High School,
engaged in business in Manchester, England,
soon after completing his education, and later in
London, in the East India trade. He continued
ip business about thirty years, dealing in jute
and export merchandise. During a portion of
this time he resided at Calcutta, in order to give

126

H. M. ROBINSON.

personal supervision to his export trade. In 1885
he retired from business and came to America,
locating at Winnipeg, Manitoba, where his chil-
dren had preceded him and where he still resides.
His father, George Brown Robinson, had suc-
ceeded his (George's) father in the East India
trade, and also resided for some years in Calcutta.
He married Jane Campbell Hamilton, like him-
self a native of Scotland. She is still living in
London, at the age of seventy-five years.

Mrs. Frances J. Robinson was a daughter
of Col. Bowland Moffat, who commanded the
Fifty-fourth Regiment of the British army, was
a veteran of the Crimean War, and was stationed
for some years at Calcutta, at which place Mr. and
Mrs. James H. Robinson were married. A num-
ber of the ancestors of Colonel Moffat were well-
to-do merchants in the West India trade, and sev-
eral members of the family served in the British
army.

Hamilton M. Robinson was but six months
old when the family moved from London and
again took up its residence in Calcutta. Seven
years subsequently he returned to Europe, and at-
tended boarding-schools at various points in
the South of England. At the age of sixteen
years he finished the course at Chatham House
College, Ramsgate, Kent. It had been his in-
tention to enter the East Indian civil service, but
owing to his father's financial embarrassments
at that time, he abandoned this purpose and en-
tered the London office of Kelly & Company,
East India merchants. He began in the capacity
of office boy, but with such vigor and intelligence
did he apply himself to business, that in the brief
space of four years he became the office manager
of the firm. He continued in that connection un-
til September, 1883, when he determined to seek
a wider field for the development of his talents
and ability, and came to America, joining his
brother in the Northwest Territory of Canada.
He homesteaded a farm in Manitoba, but a short
time sufficed to convince him that the pursuit of
agriculture was neither as profitable nor congenial
as he had anticipated. In the following May he
joined a friend who was coming to Chicage, and
has ever since made this city his home and place

of business. In the spring of 1885 he again
visited the Northwest Territory, and as a mem-
ber of Colonel Boulton's scouts, assisted in sup-
pressing the Riel rebellion.

He arrived here with neither money, friends
nor influence, and wasted no time in seeking or
waiting for a genteel position, but immediately
began work at the first employment which he
could obtain. In the mean time he was constantly
on the alert for a more lucrative occupation, and
in a few weeks secured a position as bookkeeper
with the Anglo-American Packing and Provision
Company, with which he remained for about
three years. In May, 1887, he resigned this em-
ployment and obtained a position with the firm
of Crosby & Macdonald, marine underwriters.
He continued in this connection about five years,
winning the confidence and esteem of his em-
ployers, and demonstrating his integrity and
ability for the transaction of business. In what-
ever position he has been placed he has ever been
an indefatigable worker, striving to promote the
interests of those whom he served, even at the
expense of his own health and personal comfort.
On the first of June, 1892, Mr. Robinson formed
a partnership with James B. Kellogg, under the
firm name of Kellogg & Robinson, marine average
adjusters. This is one of the leading firms of
marine adjusters upon the shores of Lake Michi-
gan, and their success has been gratifying from
the start.

Mr. Robinson is a member of the Lake Board
of Average Adjusters, and of the Association of
Average Adjusters of the United States. He has
never identified himself with any political party,
but takes an intelligent interest in questions of
public policy, and has been an American citizen
since 1891. He is heartily in sympathy with the
spirit of American institutions, and may be classed
as one of the most desirable and useful among
the foreign-born citizens of Chicago.

He was married, in 1887, to Ida T. Cleverdon,
of Toronto, province of Ontario, Canada, daugh-
ter of William Thompson Cleverdon and Nanie
Geech, both formerly residents of Halifax, Nova
Scotia.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

M. W. FULLER

127

MELVILLE W. FULLER.

I ELVILLE WESTON FULLER. The fol-
lowing sketch of Chief Justice Fuller was
written by the late Major Joseph Kirkland
for the "History of Chicago," published by Mun-
sell & Company, by whose permission it is here
reprinted:

Chief Justice Fuller traces his descent direct
to the "Mayflower. ' ' His father was Frederick A.
Fuller, and his mother Catherine Martin Weston.
His grandfather on the mother's side was Nathan
Weston, Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme
Court; and his uncle, George Melville Weston,
was a prominent lawyer of Augusta. Melville
Weston Fuller was born February n, 1833, at
Augusta, Maine, and grew up with good educa-
tional advantages. He was prepared for college
at Augusta, and entered Bowdoin College in 1849,
where he was graduated in 1853. Thence he
went to Dane Law School (Harvard), where so
many of our western jurists have earned their
diplomas. He is described as having been a
rather aimless youth, but in college a model
student, with a special gift for public speaking.
He began his law practice in Augusta, but find-
ing business lacking, he employed his time and
eked out his income by newspaper work; a cir-
cumstance to which is doubtless due something of
the literary facility which has always formed a
strong feature in his career.

An interesting fact connected with this journal-
istic experience is this: At a certain session of the
Legislature which Melville W. Fuller reported for
the Augusta Age (which he and his uncle, B. A.
G. Fuller, published together), James G. Elaine
was engaged as correspondent of the Kennebec

Journal. Though opposed in politics, the two
men were always personal friends, and at last, by
a curious coincidence, found themselves in Wash-
ington together; the one Chief Justice of the Su-
preme Court, and the other Secretary of State.

Mr. Fuller's success in Augusta as a lawyer
was in proportion to the law business of the place,
and so not large or satisfying. His success in
politics was in proportion to his ability, and there-
fore excellent. At twenty-three he was City At-
torney and President of the Common Council of
Augusta.

Still, it must have been unconsciously borne in
upon him that Augusta and Maine, always loved
and honored by him, were, after all, a "pent-up
Utica" to such a soul as his. He must, at least,
see the great West. In 1 856 he came to Chicago,
meeting here his friend and fellow-townsman,
Mr. S. K. Dow, a practicing lawyer, who urged
him to emigrate, offering him a place in his office
and, at his choice, either a partnership in the
business or a salary of $50 per month. He chose
the latter, and worked on those terms five months,
living within his income. But scarcely a year
had passed before he began to do a fine and prof-
itable business, which went on increasing with
remarkable speed and steadiness up to the time
of his leaving the Bar for the Supreme Bench.

In politics he was a stanch Democrat, and by
friendship and sympathy a warm adherent ot
Stephen A. Douglas. At Mr. Douglas's death in
1861, he delivered the funeral oration, his speech
being a masterly production. In the same year
he was elected a member of the Constitutional
Convention, and two years later we find him in

128

M. W. FULLER.

the Illinois Legislature. Here he gave the same
strenuous support to the war which was offered
by other Douglas men; he was a Unionist, but
not an anti-slavery man or Republican. The
war Democrats were in favor of the war as they
thought it should be conducted, giving their ad-
herence to the McClellan plan as being the most
certain to triumph and restore the integrity of the
country.

Here it seems well to quote from some fine
verses written by Mr. Fuller long afterward.
They are on the death of General Grant, and
show at once a loyal feeling for the great soldier's
services and a true poetic thought and diction; a
power of composition rare in the learned, prac-
ticed and successful lawyer:

Let drum to trumpet speak
The trumpet to the cannoneer without
The cannon to the heavens from each redoubt,

Each lowly valley and each lofty peak,
As to his rest the great commander goes
Into the pleasant land of earned repose.

* * * *

Not in his battles won,
Though long the well-fought fields may keep their name,

But in the wide world's sense of duty done,
The gallant soldier finds the meed of fame;
His life no struggle for ambition's prize,
Simply the duty done that next him lies.

* * * *

Earth to its kindred earth:
The spirit to the fellowship of souls!
As, slowly, Time the mighty scroll unrolls

Of waiting ages yet to have their birth,
Fame, faithful to the faithful, writes on high
His name as one that was not born to die.

Mr. Fuller was a hard worker in his profession ;
and it is said of him that in any case his stoutest
fighting is done when the day seems lost, when
he is very apt to turn defeat into victory. He is
reported to have had, during his thirty years'
practice, as many as twenty-five hundred cases at
the Chicago Bar; which, deducting his absence at
the Legislature, etc., would give him at least one
hundred cases a year; fewer, necessarily, in the
earlier part of his practice, and more afterward.
This shows a remarkable degree of activity and
grasp of business. He has never made a specialty
of any kind of law, though there are some where-
in his name scarcely appears; for instance, di-
vorce law and criminal law. Among his many
cases are Field against Leiter; the Lake Front

case; Storey against Storey's estate; Hyde Park
against Chicago; Carter against Carter, etc., and
the long ecclesiastical trial of Bishop Cheney on
the charge of heresy.

His partnership with Mr. Dow lasted until
1860. From 1862 to 1864 his firm was Fuller &
Ham, then for two years Fuller, Ham & Shep-
ard, and for two years more Fuller & Shepard.
From 1869 to 1877 he had as partner his cousin,
Joseph E. Smith, son of Governor Smith, of
Maine. Since that time he has had no partner.
His business was only such as he chose to ac-
cept; and his professional income has been esti-
mated at from $20,000 to $30,000 a year. His
property includes the Fuller Block on Dearborn
Street, and is popularly valued at $300,000.

He was a delegate to the Democratic National
Conventions of 1 864, 1872, 1876 and 1880, always
taking a prominent place. Just after Mr. Cleve-
land's first election to the Presidency, Mr. Fuller
called on him in Albany, and Mr. Cleveland at
once conceived for him a very high appreciation.
On the death of Chief Justice Waite it seemed de-
sirable that the new Justice should be taken from
the West; and Mr. Fuller's liberal education, the
catholicity of his law practice, his marked indus-
try, abilit}- and command of language all these,
joined with his devotion to the principles of his
party, made him a natural choice for nomination
to the position. High and unexpected as was the
honor, Mr. Fuller hesitated before accepting it.
If it satisfies his ambition in one direction, it
checks it in another.

The salary of the Chief Justice of the United
States is $10,500 a year; very far less than the
gains arising from general practice in the front
rank of lawyers, or from service as counsel of any
one of hundreds of great corporations. So there
comes a kind of dead-lock; if a man happens to be
born to riches, he is pretty sure never to go
through the hard work which alone gives leader-
ship in the law. If he starts poor, then, having
his fortune to make, he cannot take Federal judi-
cial office, that being a life-long position. The
only way in which the Federal Bench can be ap-
propriately filled, under the circumstances, is
when by chance a man prefers power and dignity

JOHN PRINDIVILLE.

129

to mere riches; or where his success has been so
sudden that he, is able (and willing) to accept
a judgeship as a kind of honorable retirement
from the struggle and competition of practice.

Aside from these considerations, Mr. Fuller felt
a natural hesitancy in undertaking a responsibil-
ity so trying and hazardous.

As to the money obstacle, Mr. Fuller probably
felt himself, through his great and rapid success,
able to afford to accept the appointment. He ac-
cepted it, was hailed in his new dignity with
genial cordiality, and has filled the office with un-
impeachable credit and honor.

Mr. Fuller's first wife was Miss Calista O.
Reynolds. She died young, after bearing him
two children. He married a second time, taking

to wife Mary Ellen, daughter of the distinguished
banker, William F. Coolbaugh. His family now
consists of eight daughters and one son; and
his domestic and social relations are as happy as
it is possible to imagine, the young ladies being
full of gaiety and loveliness in all its styles and
types. He himself is never so well content as in
his own household, making merry with all. It is
even whispered that should his resignation not
throw his own party out of the tenancy of the
office to which it chose him, he might give up the
irksome and confining dignity and the forced
residence in a strange city, and return to the
West, to the city of his choice, to the home of
his heart.

CAPT. JOHN PRINDIVILLE.

ft} APT. JOHN PRINDIVILLE, whose name is
I ( a synonym for honesty, courage and gener-
\J osity among the early residents of Chicago,
was born in Ireland, September 7, 1826. The
names of his parents were Maurice Prindiville and
Catharine Morris. While a boy at school Maur-
ice Prindiville ran away from home and went to
sea, making a voyage to India, thereby gratifying
his thirst for adventure and forfeiting the oppor-
tnnity to enter Trinity College at Dublin. Re-
turning to his native land, he there married Miss
Morris, and in 1835 came with his family to Amer-
ica. After spending a year at Detroit, he came to
Chicago, where he was for several years in charge
of Newbury & Dole's grain warehouse. With his
family, he took up his residence in a log house on
Chicago Avenue, at the northern terminus of Wol-
cott (now North State) Street, which was subse-
quently extended. The locality was long known
as "the Prindiville Patch." The nearest house
was Judge Brown's residence, on the west side of
Wolcott Street, between Ontario and Ohio Streets,

the only one between Prindiville' s and River
Street, the intervening territory being covered
with thick woods. Indians and wild beasts were
numerous in the vicinity at that time, and John
Prindiville became quite familiar with the Indians
and learned to speak several of their dialects.
His father and he were firm friends of Chief Wau-
bansee and others, and always espoused their
cause in resisting the encroachments of the whites
upon their rights and domains.

As a boy John was noted for his dare-devil
pranks, though always popular with his comrades,
whom he often led into difficulties, out of which he
usually succeeded in bringing them without seri-
ous results. He was one of the first students at
St. Mary's College, which was located at the cor-
ner of Wabash Avenue and Madison Street. Upon
one occasion, he led a number of students upon a
flqating cake of ice near the shore of the lake.
The wind suddenly changed, and, before they
were aware of their condition, floated their preca-
rious barge out into the lake. Upon discovering

JOHN PRINDIVILLE.

the danger, John promptly led the way back to
shore by wading through water breast deep. This
prompt action, aided by his reputation for honesty
and truthfulness, saved him from punishment at
the hands of the college authorities. He always
had a great desire to live upon the water, and at
the age of eleven years he gratified this tendency
by shipping as a cook on a lake schooner. Two
of the first vessels upon which he sailed were the
"Hiram Pearson" and "Constitution." His
menial position made him the butt of the sailors,
but he took so readily to the life of a mariner and
performed his duties so thoroughly and capably,
that he rapidly won promotion to more respon-
sible posts, and when but nineteen years of age
became the master of the schooner "Liberty,"
engaged in the lumber trade between Chicago and
other Lake Michigan ports. For about ten years
he was the skipper of sailing-vessels, abandoning
the last of these in 1855, after which he com-
manded several steamers, although that was never
so much to his taste as sailing. In 1860 he for-
sook marine life, though he has been ever since
interested in the operation of lake craft. From
1855 to 1865 he and his brother, Redmond Prin-
diville, operated a line of tugs upon the Chicago.
River. During this time, in August, 1862, he
had a narrow escape from instant death by the
explosion of the boiler of the tug "Union."
Though not regularly in command of the vessel,
he chanced to be on board at that time, and had
just left the wheel, going aft to hail another tug,
when the accident occurred. Captain Daly, who
took his place at the wheel, and several others
were instantly killed.

As a skipper, Capt. John Prindiville was noted
for quick trips, always managing to out-distance
any competing vessels, though he made wreck of
many spars and timbers by crowding on canvas.
One of his standing orders was that sail should
not be shortened without instructions, though it
was allowable to increase it at any time deemed
desirable. He was ever on the alert and always
took good care of the lives of his crew and pass-
engers. He was a strict disciplinarian, but was
always popular with his men, who considered it
a special honor to be able to sail with him, and

were ever ready to brave any danger to serve
him. These included a number of those who had
been accustomed to curse him when he first began
his marine career in the capacity of cook.

In 1850 Captain Prindiville commanded the
brigantine "Minnesota" (which was built in Chi-
cago, below Rush Street Bridge) , the first Amer-
ican vessel to traverse the St. Lawrence River.
Her cargo consisted of copper from the Bruce
Mines on Georgian Bay, and her destination was
Swansea, Wales. Owing to the stupidity and in-
capacity of the pilot, she ran upon the rocks in
Lachine Canal and was obliged to unload. This
was a disappointment to the youthful captain, who
was ambitious to be the first lake skipper to cross
the ocean. He and his brothers owned the
schooner "Pamlico," the first vessel loaded from
Chicago for Liverpool. This was in 1873, and
the cargo consisted of twenty-four thousand seven
hundred bushels of corn.

November 17, 1857, occurred one of the most
disastrous storms which ever visited Lake Michi-
gan, an event long to be remembered by the fami-
lies of those who were sailors at that time. A
number of vessels were wrecked off the shore of
Chicago, and many lives were sacrificed to the fury
of the elements. The number of fatalities would
have been far greater but for the bravery and har-
dihood of Captain Prindiville and his crew, who
manned the tug "McQueen" and brought maity
of the men to land in safety, though at the peril
of their own lives. For this act of bravery and
humanity, on the evening of that day, Hon.
Stephen A. Douglas, in behalf of the citizens,
who had assembled at the Tremont House, ten-
dered him a purse of $700 in gold. This valua-
ble testimonial he modestly declined, recommend-
ing that the money be distributed among the
families of the crew of the "Flying Cloud," all of
whom had been lost in the storm. This is only
one of the many instances of his courage and self-
sacrifice in behalf of others. It is an acknowl-
edged and well-known fact that he has saved more
human lives than any other navigator on Lake
Michigan.

Captain Prindiville is the father of eight living
children, the offspring of two marriages. On the

J. W. GARY.

i8th of November, 1845, Miss Margaret Kalehr
became his bride. After her death he married
Margaret Prendergast, a native of Burlington,
Vermont, who came to Chicago with her parents
about 1840. Of his three sons, Redmond is now
an ex-captain of lake craft, and resides in Chi-
cago. James W. and Thomas J. are associated
with their father in the vessel and marine busi-
ness.

Captain Prindiville has been a steadfast Roman
Catholic from boyhood, and is now a communi-
cant of the Cathedral of the Holy Name. He is

broad-minded and tolerant toward all sincere
Christians. He is a member of the Royal Arca-
num, and in national politics has been a life-long
Democrat, but gives his support to any good citi-
zen for local office, irrespective of party fealty.
He has been a member of the Chicago Board of
Trade since 1856, and is now one of the oldest
citizens connected with that body. His noble,
self-sacrificing spirit and unquestioned integrity
of character have won a host of friends, by whom
his memory will be cherished long after the mere
man of millions has passed into obscurity.

JOHN W. GARY.

(JOHN W. CARY was the lineal descendant
I in the fifth generation of John Gary, who
(2) came from Somersetshire, near Bristol, Eng-
land, in 1634, and joined the Plymouth Colony,
and a son of Asa Gary, who was born in Mans-
field, Connecticut, in 1774. He was born Feb-
ruary ii, 1817, in Shoreham, Vermont. Four-
teen years later, his parents removed to western
New York, where he attended the common
school, assisting his father on the farm until, at
the age of twenty, he entered Union College. He
supported himself through college, and was grad-
uated with the Class of 1842. Two years later he
was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of
New York, and followed his profession in Wayne
and Cayuga Counties until 1850, when he re-
moved to Wisconsin, taking up his residence at
Racine. He took an active interest in educational
matters, and as a School Commissioner was in-
strumental in developing the public-school sys-
tem of Racine. He was elected State Senator in
1852, and Mayor in 1857. Two years later he
removed his home to Milwaukee, and was at

once engaged as solicitor and counsel to fore-
close the mortgages given by the La Crosse &
Milwaukee Railroad Company. At the resulting
sale, the property was purchased by the Milwau-
kee & St. Paul Railroad Company (now the Chi-
cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul), which he had in-
corporated, and of which he continued as the
legal adviser and one of the controlling spirits to
the day of his death, a period of thirty-six years.
Until 1887 he was the General Solicitor of that
company, at which time the Board of Directors
created the office of General Counsel, and he was
then chosen to that position, which he continued
to fill up to the time of his death. He was not
only the legal adviser of that company, counsel-
ing on all questions and conducting all its litiga-
tion, in which he was eminently successful, es-
pecially before the Supreme Court of the United
States, but during all that time he was the chief
counselor and adviser of the general policy of the
company. He stood high in the legal profession,
and was regarded by all as one of the best equip-
ped railway lawyers in the country. Some of the

132

J. W. GARY.

cases in which he appeared as counsel before the
Supreme Court of the United States, and in which
he was successful, rank among the most notable
cases of that court. He argued before that court
what is known as the Milk Rate case, which was
the case of the State of Minnesota against the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Com-
pany, decided in April, 1890. The magnitude
of that case, both as regards the principle in-
volved and the moneyed interest affected, places
it by the side of such cases as the Dartmouth
College case, the case of McCulloch versus Mary-
land, and the Slaughter House cases. The Su-
preme Court in that case held, as Mr. Gary had
for many years contended, that the reasonableness
of a rate of charge for transportation of property
by a railroad company was a question of judicial
determination, rather than of arbitrary legislative
action, and that State Legislatures, in fixing the
rates of freight, must fix reasonable rates; that is,
rates which are compensatory , such as will per-
mit carriers to receive reasonable profits upon
their invested capital, the same as other persons
are permitted to receive.

The success of Mr. Gary in this case is all the
more notable from the fact that fifteen years pre-
viously he appeared as counsel for the St. Paul
Company in what are- known as the Granger
cases, in which that court declined to adopt the
rule which it afterwards established in the Milk
Rate case.

Of the members of that court at the time the
Granger cases were argued, but one remains,
Justice Field, and of the leading counsel who ap-
peared in those cases all have passed away ex-
cept William M. Evarts. It is a notable fact that
Mr. Cary survived every justice who was a mem-
ber of that court at the time of his first appearance
therein, as well as the leading lawyers who were
practicing in that court at that time.

It is told of Mr. Cary that he successfully
argued fourteen cases during one session of the
Supreme Court, against such men as Caleb Cush-
.ing, Matt H. Carpenter, Henry A. Cram, of New
York, and other eminent men.

In 1872, while a member of the Wisconsin
State Legislature, he was requested to draw a

general railroad law for the state, which he did,
and the statute which he prepared was adopted
and is still in force, and has passed into history
as one of the most important laws ever enacted in
Wisconsin, and is regarded by all as a law fair
both to the people and the railway companies.

No person in the State of Wisconsin was better
or more favorably known than Mr. Cary. His
reputation as a lawyer of marked abilities, and
his character for candor and integrity as a man,
were enviable. At all times and everywhere he
maintained the honor of his profession and the
majesty of the law. Those who knew him best
respected him the most.

He always took a great interest in political af-
fairs, and was unusually well versed in national
and political history. Throughout his entire man-
hood he was a devoted adherent of Democracy,
receiving in 1864 the nomination for Congress,
and upon several occasions the complimentary
vote of the Legislature for United States Senator.
During the long period in which the Democratic
party was in the minority, which covered nearly
the whole of his maturer years, Mr. Cary re-
mained steadfast in his loyalty to its principles.
But for this fact his name would undoubtedly
have found place on the pages of history among
the most eminent statesmen of his generation. A
man of vast mental endowment, clear of judg-
ment, and true as the needle to the pole was he
to the right as he saw the right.

He resided in Milwaukee until 1890, when the
general offices of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul Railway Company were removed to Chicago.
At this time he removed his home to Hinsdale, a
suburb of Chicago, where he resided until his
death, which occurred in Chicago on March 29,
1895.

In 1844 Mr. Cary was married to Eliza Vilas,
who died in 1845, leaving a daughter, Eliza. In
1 847 he was married to Isabel Brinkerhoff. He
has seven children living, namely: Eliza, who is
the wife of Sherburn Sanborn ; Frances, the widow
of Charles D. Kendrick; Melbert B., Fred A.,
John W., Jr., George P. and Paul V.

In his intercourse with his fellow-men, and
with his associates in professional labor, he was

E. W. BAILEY.

133

alway considerate and gentle. No unkind or
reproachful word ever passed his lips. He was
true and faithful in friendship, magnanimous in
his dealings with others, and every act was
prompted by the highest sense of honor. He was
modest and unassuming, simple and unaffected in

manner, and admired, trusted and loved by all
who knew him.

" In his family and home life
He was all sunshine; in his face
The very soul of sweetness shone."

EDWARD W. BAILEY.

|~DWARD WILLIAM BAILEY, a member
fJ of the Chicago Board of Trade, was born at
Elinore, La Moille County, Vermont, Au-
gust 31, 1843. His parents, George W. Bailey and
Rebecca Warren, were natives of Berlin, Vermont.
The Bailey family is remotely of Scotch lineage.
George W. Bailey was one of a family of thirteen
children, and was bereft of his father in childhood.
He participated in the War of 1812, entering the
sen-ice of the United States at the age of sixteen
years. But little is known of his service, except
that he was in the battle of Fort Erie. He be-
came a prominent farmer and practical business
man, officiating as President of the Vermont
Mutual Life Insurance Company, and for many
years filled the office of Judge of Probate in
Washington County, a circumstance which indi-
cates the regard and confidence reposed in him
by his fellow- citizens. His death occurred at
Montpelier in 1868, at the age of seventy years.
Mrs. Rebecca Bailey was a daughter of Abel War-
ren. She died upon the homestead farm at El-
more in 1885, having reached the mature age of
eighty-three years.

Edward W. Bailey is the youngest of ten chil-
dren. His education was obtained in the public
schools, and in Washington County Grammar
School at Montpelier. From the age of seventeen
years, he assisted his father in the management
of the homestead farm, thereby developing a
strong muscular frame and acquiring strength
and endurance for the subsequent battle of life.

He also inherited the upright character and con-
scientious principles for which his progenitors
had been conspicuous, and when, in 1869, he en-
tered upon his commercial career, he was fully
competent to meet and master the exigencies and
vicissitudes which ever beset the business man.
At that date he purchased a grocery store at
Montpelier, and the following year he and his
partner increased their business by the addition
of a gristmill. When the firm dissolved, a few
years later, Mr. Bailey retained the mill and
still continues to own and operate the same.

In 1879 he located in Chicago, and, in partner-
ship with V. W. Bullock, began dealing in grain
on commission, an occupation which still em-
ploys his time and attention. After the first two
or three years, Mr. Bailey became sole proprie-
tor of the business, and now occupies commo-
dious quarters in the Board of Trade Building.
In most instances, he has been successful, and he
has ever maintained a reputation for honorable
dealing and integrity of character, which has
earned him the confidence of all his business as-
sociates. There is, perhaps, no man upon the
Board of Trade to-day in whom the public has
better reason to trust or whose business credit is
freer from imputation.

In June, 1869, he was married to Miss Jennie
Carter, daughter of Charles H. Carter, of Mont-
pelier, Vermont. The lady was born in Wil-
mington, Massachusetts, and has become the
mother of two children: George C., who holds a

134

J. B. BRADWELL.

responsible position with the great packing house
of Swift & Company, and Mary D., wife of Fred-
erick Meyer, of Chicago. Mr. Bailey holds
liberal views on religious subjects, and was for
many years a member of the congregation of the
late Prof. David Swing. He is not in fellowship
with any social or religious organization. Though
not an active politician, he never fails to exercise

the right as well as duty of casting a vote,
and supports Republican principles, believing the
Republican party to represent the best social and
economic ideas. He is a man of resolution and
prompt action, and his industrious habits have
made him an exemplary business man, whose life
and character are worthy of the emulation of the
rising generation.

HON. JAMES B. BRADWELL.

HON. JAMES B. BRADWELL. This dis-
tinguished gentleman, an excellent portrait
of whom is herewith presented, was born
April 1 6, 1828, at Loughborough, England. His
parents were Thomas and Elizabeth (Gutridge)
Bradwell. The family left England when James
was sixteen months old, and settled in Utica,
New York, where they resided until 1833, when
they removed to Jacksonville, Illinois. They
went from Jacksonville to what is now Wheeling,
Cook County, Illinois, in Ma}-, 1834. The fam-
ily made the trip in a covered wagon drawn by a
span of horses and a yoke of oxen, and, although
the distance was but two hundred and fifty miles,
it took twenty-one days to complete the journey.
Young Bradwell spent a number of years upon a
farm in Cook County, splitting rails, breaking
prairie, mowing and cradling in the old-fashioned
way, which aided to give him that strength of
body and mind which he possesses at the age of
sixty -seven. His early education was obtained
in a log schoolhouse; later in Wilson's Academy,
of Chicago, in which Judge Lorenzo Sawyer, of
California, was tutor; and was completed in Knox
College, Galesburg, Illinois. He supported him-
self in college by sawing wood and working in a
wagon and plow shop afternoons and Saturdays,
where he often had to take his pay in orders on
stores, which he discounted at twenty-five cents

on the dollar. This resulted in the young man
taking an oath that if ever he lived to employ
men he would never pa}- them in orders or truck.
Although he has paid hundreds of thousands
of dollars for wages, he has religiously kept his
oath. For a number of years before his admis-
sion to the Bar he worked as a journeyman at
several different trades in Chicago. He is a
natural mechanic, and, believing with Solomon
that "the rest of the laboring man is sweet," he
aimed, even when on the Bench and at the Bar,
to devote a portion of every day to some kind of
manual labor. It is said that he could earn his
living to-day as a journeyman at any one of sev-
enteen trades. As a process artist he has few su-
periors. He invented a process of his own for
doing half-tone work, and has the honor of hav-
ing made the first half-tone cut ever produced
in Chicago that of Chief Justice Fuller, of the
United States Supreme Court. Nearly forty years
ago he was admitted to the Illinois Bar, and,
being a good speaker, a bold, dashing young
man, and considerable of a "hustler, "he succeeded
in building up a large and paying practice. In
1 86 1 he was elected County Judge of Cook Coun-
ty by a larger majority than any judge had ever
received in the county up to that time; and in
1865 he was re-elected for four years. Judge
Bradwell was elected to the Legislature of Illi-

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

MRS. MYRA BRADWELL

MYRA BRADWELL.

135

nois in 1873, and re-elected in 1875. He has
held many offices in charitable and other institu-
tions; presided at Cleveland during the organiza-
tion of the American Woman Suffrage Associa-
tion; was President of the Chicago Press Club;
President of the Chicago Rifle Club, and for
many years was considered the best rifle shot in
Chicago; President of the Chicago Bar Associa-
tion; President of the Illinois State Bar Associa-
tion, and for many years its historian; President
of the Chicago Soldiers' Home; Chairman of the
Arms and Trophy Department of the Northwest-
ern Sanitary Commission and Soldiers' Home
Fair in 1865; one of the founders of the Union
League Club of Chicago, President of the Board
of Directors the first year, and the first man to
sign the roll of membership, "Long John" Went-
worth being the second; he has been President of
the Chicago Photographic Society, and was Chair-
man of the Photographic Congress Auxiliary of
the World's Columbian Exposition.

When on the Bench he ranked as a probate
jurist second only to the distinguished surrogate,
Alexander Bradford, 'of New York.

He was the first judge to hold, during the war,
that a marriage made during slavery was valid
upon emancipation, and that the issue of such a
marriage was legitimate upon emancipation and
would inherit from their emancipated parents;

or, in other words, that the civil rights of slaves,
being suspended during slavery, revived upon
emancipation. The opinion was delivered in the
case of Matt C. Jones, and was published ap-
provingly in the London Solicitors' Journal, and
fully endorsed by Mr. Joel Prentiss Bishop ten
years after it was rendered, in one of his works.
Judge Bradwell was the friend of the widow and
the orphan an able, impartial judge.

He was an influential member of the Legisla-
ture, and aided in securing the passage of a num-
ber of measures for the benefit of the State and
the city of his adoption. He holds advanced
views as to the rights of women, and introduced
a bill making women eligible to all school offices,
and, mainly by his influence and power, secured
its passage; also a bill making women eligible to
be appointed notaries public.

Judge Bradwell has taken the Thirty-third and
last degree in Masonry, and is an honorary mem-
ber of the Supreme Council with its Grand East
at Boston, and also an honorary member of the
Ancient Ebor Preceptory at York, England. He
has recently published a neat volume of Ancient
Masonic Rolls and other matter of interest to the
order, showing that there was originally no pro-
vision against the admission of women to the fra-
ternity.

MYRA BRADWELL

IV^YRA BRADWELL. In these latter days
I V I of the century, a century which has done
|(jj| more for women than any other in the his-
tory of the world, it is interesting to record the
life of a citizen of Chicago of national reputation,
who wrought earnestly, wisely and successfully
for woman's advancement.

To follow in a pathway which has been made
for one is easy. To be an original and practical

leader, clearing the way for others to come, is a
difficult undertaking. Such a leader was Myra
Bradwell, one of the pioneers in the movements
to give woman equal rights before the law and
equal opportunities to labor in all avocations.

Myra Bradwell was born in Manchester, Ver-
mont, February 12, 1831. In infancy she was
taken to Portage, New York, where she remained
until her twelfth year, when she came West with

MYRA BRADWELL.

her father's family. In the warp of her nature
was woven the woof of that sterling New England
character which has made such an impress on
our national life. On her father's side she was
descended from a family which numbers many
noble men, philanthropists, eminent divines and
noted statesmen. Her father, Eben Colby, was
the son of John Colby, a Baptist minister of New
Hampshire. Her father's mother was a lineal
descendant of Aquilla Chase, whose family gave
to the world the noted divine, Bishop Philander
Chase, of the Episcopal Church, and Salmon P.
Chase, Chief Justice of the United States.

On her mother's side she was a descendant of
Isaac Willey, who settled in Boston in 1640. Two
members of the family, Allen and John Willey,
served in the Revolutionary War, and were in the
little army which suffered glorious defeat at Bun-
ker Hill. Her family were aggressive Abolition-
ists and stanch friends of the Lovejoys. The
story of the murdered martyr, Elijah Lovejoy, as
recounted by the friend of her youth, Owen Love-
joy, made a deep impression upon her mind.
Thus early was implanted a hatred of slavery
and injustice in the soul of one who was destined,
in after years, to bear a conspicuous part in free-
ing her sex from some of the conditions of vas-
salage in which it had stood a champion who
broke one of the strongest barriers to woman's
enfranchisement, the Bar, and paved the way for
women into the upper halls of justice, into the
greatest court of the world. As a student, pos-
sessed of a keen, logical mind, with the soul of a
poet, she early evinced a deep love for learning,
and made the most of the limited educational ad-
vantages which were then deemed more than suf-
ficient for girls. After studying at Kenosha and
the ladies' seminary in Elgin, Myra engaged in
teaching.

May 18, 1852, Myra Colby was united in mar-
riage with James B. Bradwell. Soon after her mar-
riage she removed with her husband to Memphis,
Tennessee. While there she proved herself a
veritable helpmate, conducting with her husband
the largest select school in the city. In two
years they returned to Chicago, where her hus-
band engaged in the practice of the law, and

where they have since resided. With the ardor
of a true patriot, she could not remain inactive
when danger threatened the Government which
her Revolutionary ancestors fought to establish.
During the war she helped care for the suffering,
the wounded and the dying. The Soldiers' Fair
of 1863, and the Fair of 1867 for the benefit of
the families of soldiers, had no more active or
efficient worker than Mrs. Bradwell. She was a
member and Secretary of the Committee on Arms,
Trophies and Curiosities of the great Northwest-
ern Sanitary Fair, and was the leading spirit in
producing that artistic and beautiful exhibition in
Bryan Hall in 1865. When the war was over,
she assisted in providing a liDme for the scarred
and maimed and dependent veterans who shoul-
dered the musket to preserve the Union.

Becoming deeply interested in her husband's
profession, she commenced the study of law un-
der his tutelage, at first with no thought of be-
coming a practicing lawyer, but subsequently she
decided to make the profession her life work, and
applied herself diligently to its study. In 1868
she established the "Chicago Legal News," the
first weeekly law periodical published in the West,
and the first paper of its kind edited by a woman
in the world, and which stands to-day the best
monument to her memory. Believing fully in
the power of the law, she adopted as the motto
of the "Legal News" the words Lex Vincil, which
have always been at the head of its columns.
Practical newspaper men and prominent lawyers
at once predicted its failure, but they under-esti-
mated the ability and power of its editor. She
obtained from the Legislature special acts mak-
ing all the laws of Illinois and the opinions of the
Supreme Court of the State printed in her paper
evidence in the courts. She made the paper a
success from the start, and it was soon recognized
by the Bench and Bar throughout the country as
one of the best legal periodicals in the United
States. With her sagacity, enterprise and mas-
terful business ability she built up one of the
most flourishing printing and publishing houses
in the West. Two instances may be cited to
show her business energy and enterprise. From
the year 1869, when she first began to publish

MYRA BRADWELL.

137

the Illinois session laws, she always succeeded
in getting her edition out many weeks in advance
of any other edition. At the Chicago fire, in
common with thousands of others, she lost home
and business possessions, but, undismayed by
misfortune, she hastened to Milwaukee, had the
paper printed and published on the regular pub-
lication day, and thus not an issue of her paper
was lost during this trying time in our city's
history.

She finally decided to apply for admission to the
Bar and to practice law. She had been permitted
to work side by side with her husband as a most
successful teacher, why not as a lawyer ?

In 1869 she passed a most creditable examina-
tion for the Bar, but was denied admission by the
Supreme Court of Illinois, upon the ground that
she was a married woman, her married state be-
ing considered a disability. She knew that the
real reason had not been given. She filed an ad-
ditional brief which combated the position of the
court with great force, and compelled the court
to give the true reason. In due time the court,
by Mr. Chief Justice Lawrence, delivered an elab-
orate opinion, in which it was said, upon mature
deliberation, the court had concluded to refuse to
admit Mrs. Bradwell upon the sole ground that
she was a woman. She sued out a writ of error
against the State of Illinois in the Supreme Court
of the United States. Her case in that tribunal
was argued in 1871 by Senator Matt Carpenter.
In May, 1873, the judgment of the lower court
was affirmed by the United States Supreme
Court. Mr. Chief Justice Chase, who never failed
to give his powerful testimony to aid in lifting
woman from dependence and helplessness to
strength and freedom, true to his principles, dis-
sented. As has been well said, "the discussion
of the Myra Bradwell case had the inevitable ef-
fect of letting sunlight through many cobwebbed
windows. It is not so much by abstract reason-
ing as by visible examples that reformations
come, and Mrs. Bradwell offered herself as a living
example of the injustice of the law. A woman of
learning, genius, industry and high character,
editor of the first law journal in the West, forbid-
den by law to practice law, was too much for the

public conscience, tough as that conscience is. ' '
Although Mrs. Bradwell, with Miss Hulett,
was instrumental in securing the passage of a
law in Illinois granting to all persons, irrespec-
tive of sex, freedom in the selection of an occu-
pation, profession or employment, she never re-
newed her application for admission to the Bar.
Twenty years after, the judges of the Supreme
Court of Illinois, on their own motion, performed
a noble act of justice and directed license to prac-
tice law to be issued to her, and March 28, 1892,
upon motion of Attorney-General Miller, Mrs.
Bradwell was admitted to practice before the Su-
preme Court of the United States.

A pioneer in opening the legal profession for
women, Myra Bradwell' s signal service to her
sex has been in the field of law reform. Finding
women and children without adequate protection
in the law, she devoted herself with the zeal of
an enthusiast to secure such protection. One of
the most wonderful phases of her character was
the power which she exerted in securing these
changes in the law.

It is interesting in this connection to note that
she was the only married woman who was ever
given her own earnings by special act of the
Legislature. She drafted the bill giving a mar-
ried woman a right to her own earnings. A case
in point, so monstrous in its injustice, gave an
added impetus to her zeal. A drunkard, who
owed a saloon-keeper for his whisky, had a wife
who earned her own living as a scrubwoman,
and the saloon-keeper garnisheed the people who
owed her and levied on her earnings to pay her
husband's liquor bill. It needed but an applica-
tion like this for her to succeed in her efforts to
pass the bill. She also secured the passage of
the law giving to a widow her award in all cases.
Believing thoroughly in the principle enunciated
by John Stuart Mill, "of perfect equality, admit-
ting no privilege on the one side nor disabil-
ity on the other," she was an enthusiastic sup-
porter of the bill granting to a husband the
same interest in a wife's estate that the wife had
in the husband's. While holding most advanced
views upon the woman question, she recognized
that the prejudice of years cannot be overcome in

138

MYRA BRADWELL.

a day, and that the work must be done by de-
grees.

She therefore never missed an opportunity to
try to secure any change in the law which would
enlarge the sphere of woman. With this purpose
in view, she applied to the Governor to be ap-
pointed Notary Public. Finding her womanhood
a bar to even this humble office, she induced her
husband, who was in the Legislature, to intro-
duce a bill making women eligible to the office of
Notary Public, which bill became a law. The
bill drafted by her husband permitting women to
act as school officers, and which was passed while
he was in the Legislature, received her hearty sup-
port. In all the reforms which Mrs. Bradwell se-
cured, she was not acting as the representative of
any organization, but they were secured through
her personal influence. Twice Mrs. Bradwell
was honored by special appointment of the Gov-
ernor, being appointed a delegate to the Prison
Reform Congress at St. Louis; and it was mainly
by her efforts that women, after a severe contest,
were allowed a representation on the list of officers,
she declining to accept any office herself; subse-
quently she was appointed by the Governor as
one of the Illinois Centennial Association to repre-
sent Illinois in the Centennial Exhibition of 1876.

Mrs. Bradwell circulated the call for the first
Woman Suffrage Convention held in Chicago,
in 1869, and was one of its Vice-Presidents. She
was one of the active workers in the suffrage
convention held in Springfield in 1869, and for a
number of years one of the executive committee
of the Illinois Woman Suffrage Association. She
also took an active part in the convention at
Cleveland which formed the American Woman's
Suffrage Association. Once only was she per-
mitted to exercise the right of suffrage. Under
the recent school law in Illinois she cast her bal-
lot for the first and last time, her death occurring
on the fourteenth day of February, 1894.

A thorough Chicagoan, in the life, progress
and best interests of her city she had a citizen's
interest and a patriot's pride. She was untiring
in her efforts to secure the World's Fair for Chi-
cago, accompanied the commission to Washing-

ton, and rendered valuable services there in ob-
taining the location of the Exposition in Chicago.
She was appointed one of the Board of Lady
Managers, and was Chairman of the Committee
on Law Reform of its auxiliary congress. It is
interesting to note that the woman who labored
so courageously, persistently and effectively to
secure for women their rights was herself a rep-
resentative in the first national legislature of
women to be authorized by any Government.

Mrs. Bradwell was the first woman who be-
came a member of the Illinois State Bar Associa-
tion and the Illinois Press Association; was a
charter member of the Soldiers' Home Board,
the Illinois Industrial School for Girls, the Wash-
ingtonian Home, and the first Masonic chapter
organized for women in Illinois, over which she
presided; was a member of the Chicago Women's
Club, the daughters of the American Revolution,
the Grand Army Relief Corps, the National Press
League and the Woman's Press Association.

A gentle and noiseless woman, her tenderness
and refinement making the firmness of her char-
acter all the more effective, Mrs. Bradwell was
one of those who live their creed instead of preach-
ing it. Essentially a woman of deeds, not words,
she did not spend her days proclaiming on the
rostrum the rights of women, but quietly, none
the less effectively, set to work to clear away the
barriers.

A noble refutation of the oftimes expressed be-
lief that the entrance of women in public life
tends to lessen their distinctively womanly char-
acter, she was a most devoted wife and mother,
her home being ideal in its love and harmony.
She was the mother of four children', two of whom
survive her, Thomas and Bessie, both lawyers,
and the latter the wife of a lawyer, Frank A.
Helmer, of the Chicago Bar.

Of this gifted and honored lady it has been
truthfully said: "No more powerful and convinc-
ing argument in favor of the admission of women
to a participation in the administration of the
Government was ever made than may be found
in Myra Bradwell' s character, conduct and
achievements."

JOHN FRINK.

139

JOHN FRINK.

(7OHN FRINK, who was probably as well

I known as any man in the United States, out-
G) side of National public life, was a leader in
the operation of transportation lines before the
days of railroads, as well as in railroad building
and operation. He was born at Ashford, Con-
necticut, October 17, 1797, and died in Chicago
May 21, 1858. He represented the seventh gen-
eration of his family in America, being descended
from John Frink, who settled at New London,
Connecticut, previous to 1650. The last-named
took part in King Philip's War, as a Colonial sol-
dier, and for his services in that conflict was
awarded by the General Court of Connecticut a
grant of two hundred acres of land and permis-
sion to retain his arms.

John Frink, the father of the subject of this
notice, removed about 1810 from Ashford, Con-
necticut, toStockbridge, Massachusetts, becoming
the proprietor of the Stockbridge Inn, a noted
hostelry, which is still kept there. He afterward
kept taverns at Northampton and Palmer, Mass-
achusetts. His death occurred at the latter place
in 1847, at the age of sixty years.

While a young man, John Frink, whose name
heads this article, started out in the operation of
a stage line. One of his first ventures was the
establishment of a stage line between Boston and
Albany, by way of Stockbridge. His partner in
this enterprise was Chester W. Chapin, ofSpring-
field, Massachusetts, afterward conspicuous in
railroad operations. A branch to New York City
was soon added, and the undertaking was entire-
ly successful, becoming a prosperous medium of
travel. Mr. Frink was subsequently instrument-
al in the establishment of a stage line between
Montreal and New York, an undertaking of con-
siderable magnitude in those days.

About 1830 he made a trip, by way of Pitts-
burgh, to New Orleans, and was so favorably im-
pressed with the development and progress of the

West that he determined to transfer the field of
his operations to a new territory. Accordingly,
in 1836, he came to Chicago, and soon after his
arrival purchased the stage line in operation be-
tween Chicago and Ottawa, Illinois. He soon
afterward established a connecting line of steam-
boats on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, be-
tween the latter point and St. Louis, and the
route thus completed immediately became a pop-
ular thoroughfare. Another stage line was short-
ly afterwards put into operation between Galena
and Chicago, by way of Freeport. Galena was
then the metropolis of the Northwest, and this
line of stages became the most important over-
land route of travel in that region. Another ex-
tensive undertaking was the establishment' of
stages between Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin.
The business was conducted at the outset by the
firm of John Frink & Company, later known as
Frink & Walker. This became one of the most
powerful business concerns in the Northwest, and
its operations eventually extended to Des Moines,
Iowa, and Fort Snelling, Minnesota. All compe-
tition was driven out of the way, even though
business was sometimes conducted for a season at
a loss, in order to maintain their supremacy. An
immense number of men and horses was em-
ployed. The stage sheds were located at the
northwest corner of Wabash Avenue and Ran-
dolph Street, with extensive repair shops adja-
cent; and the principal stage office was on the
southwest corner of Dearborn and Lake Streets,
opposite the Tremont House, then the principal
hotel of Chicago.

One of the most important features of the busi-
ness was the carriage of the United States mails,
and the securing and care of the contracts for the
same kept Mr. Frink in Washington a large por-
tion of the time, and brought him in contact and
intimate acquaintance with the leading politicians
and public men of the nation. These contracts,

140

O. B. PHELPS.

which involved large sums of money, were faith-
fully carried out, a fact which enabled him to
hold them in spite of aggressive competition. He
was a man of rare executive ability, excelling the
various partners with whom he was associated in
that respect to such a degree that he was kept
constantly on the move to regulate the adminis-
tration of business. He was a man of fine phys-
ical make-up and of most unusual colloquial and
conversational abilities, which made him popular
in any circle where he chanced to be. He was
extremely fastidious in dress and the care of his
personal appearance, and required the most scru-
pulous care and thrift in all his employes. No
man who failed to keep matters under his charge
in first-class order could remain a day in his em-
ploy.

When the steam locomotive became a practical
success, Mr. Frink at once saw that it would su-
persede the horse as a means of propelling pas-
senger vehicles. He accordingly began to close
out his interests in the stage business, transfer-
ring his capital and energy to railroad building
and operation. He was one of the prime movers
in the construction of the Chicago & Galena Un-
ion Railroad, and also the Peoria & Oquawka,
now a part of the great Burlington System, and
in the Peoria & Bureau Valley Railroad, at pres-
ent a branch of the Rock Island System. He
did not live to witness the ultimate completion
of these lines, but their success vindicated his
foresight and judgment.

Mr. Frink was first married to Martha R.

Marcy, who died in Chicago in 1839, leaving
three children: John, Harvey and Helen. The
last-named became the wife of Warren T. Hecox,
one of the original members of the Chicago Board
of Trade, and all are now deceased. For his
second wife he chose Miss Harriet Farnsworth,
who was born in Woodstock, Vermont, July 2,
1810, and died at Wheaton, Illinois, March 7,
1884. Her father, Stephen Farnsworth, was a
descendant of Matthias Farnsworth, an early set-
tler of Groton, Massachusetts. The descendants
of the last-named, in direct line, were Samuel,
who was born at Groton, October 8, 1669; Steph-
en, born in 1714, died at Charleston, New Hamp-
shire, and who took part in the French and Indian
War, in which two of his brothers were killed.
Stephen, Jr., father of Mrs. Frink, was born in
Charleston, New Hampshire, June 20, 1764. He
moved to South Woodstock, Vermont, where he
became a prominent fanner and miller. He
served as a member of the Vermont Legislature,
and was a Justice of the Peace for a great many
years.

Mrs. Harriet Frink was one of the earliest
members of St. James' Episcopal Church of Chi-
cago, and when Trinity Church was formed on
the South Side she joined that society. She aft-
erwards became a member of Christ Church, and
continued to be a communicant thereof until her
death, both she and her husband being buried
from that church. Their children are George,
Henry F., and Eva, Mrs John W. Bennett, all of
whom reside at Austin, Illinois.

OTHNIEL B. PHELPS.

ITHNIEL BREWSTER PHELPS. The
subject of this sketch was born at Cones-
ville, Schoharie County, New York, Febru-
ary 18, 1821, and was the elder of two children

springing from the marriage of George W. Phelps
with Zerviah Potter. His mother dying when
Othniel was only two years of age, his father
married Mary Chapman in the year 1824,

O. B. PHELPS.

141

wherefrom it will be seen that his step-mother
was the only maternal parent of whom he ever
had a memory. From this second union eight
children came into being, the eldest of whom was
William Wallace Phelps, a sketch of whom will
be found upon other pages in this work; in con-
nection with which will also be found a succinct
account of the Phelps genealogy, which, for ob-
vious reasons, is not reprinted at this place.

His early life was spent upon a farm (it seems
as if the farms of that generation did the raising
of all the brains, as well as vegetables, etcetera,
of the country), and his erudition, save the self-
learned, was limited to the common school. At
a very youthful age, he went to Catskill, New
York, as clerk in the mercantile house of Joshua
Fiero, and, being one of unusual energy and self-
reliance, after a few years he started a mercantile
business for himself at Windham, Greene County,
New York, to which place he removed, and in
which occupation he was engaged for the next
succeeding six years.

Selling out at the end of that period at an ad-
vantage, he removed to Williamstown, New York,
where he engaged in the tanning business, be-
coming the possessor of one of the finest proper-
ties in that part of the country at that time ( es-
pecially notable in one of so few years) . He was
estimated to be worth an estate of $80,000, which,
however, was entirely swept away by the panic
of 1857.

Almost directly with the disappearance of his
household gods, he set his face towards the then
far West to retrieve, as fortune should favor him,
his lost accumulations. Chicago was the fortun-
ate end of his journey, which was not then, as
might be now, wooed into a longer continuance
than necessary by luxurious conveniences for
traveling. He bought a house on West Madison
Street; but within a few years found the spot
henceforth to be most dear to him on earth, pur-
chasing again, at Number 2427 Indiana Avenue.
The large brick mansion, standing to-day nearly as
he found it, was one of the finest places in the
city at that time, and a veritable landmark in this
generation; for in the early sixties and for
long after this was well out on the edge of the

town, viewing to the westward, as far as Michi-
gan Avenue, a thrifty cornfield in summer time.

His business relations from the start were with
our prince of citizens, Potter Palmer, for whom
he acted as confidential adviser and credit man,
with power of attorney (a position of great re-
sponsibilities) up to the time of the Big Fire in
1871. From this time, although in the very mer-
idian of life, hale and hearty, having re-made a
conspicuous estate, he lived the retired life of a
gentleman of leisure.

Politically he was a Republican, and for sever-
al years he acted as a prominent City Alderman,
closing his record thus in 1882, because of the
results of an outspoken nature, which would nev-
er quietly allow public wrongs to be attempted.

He was a keen lover of finely bred dogs and
horses, of which he owned many in his time,
finding in this about his only real extravagance.
Most pleasant days found him on the boulevards
behind as fine a pair of gentleman's drivers as
our city could boast; and when a better pair passed
him on the road, he quietly remarked to himself,
"That is the team I want." From this trait, it
has been said, those who knew this proud weak-
ness often realized exceptional prices for horses
from one who, they knew, would have them, if he
had set his mind that way, regardless of cost. In
this connection it should not be forgotten that he
was a charter member of the famous Washington
Park Club, now for long years one of the most
distinguished places for race meetings in the
country.

Not what would be called a pious man, he was
none the less a fair-minded, public-spirited citi-
zen, who was a great credit to our city (more so,
perhaps, than some who are prominent in mat-
ters ecclesiastical) , and a regular attendant at Dr.
Scudder's Congregational Church. Between Dr.
Scudder and Mr. Phelps there was a deep and
wholesome regard, and this pastor officiated with
much feeling at the final obsequies, after which
the remains were borne to Graceland Cemetery,
where they lie at the foot of a sightly monument.
Physically, he was a portly man; facially, he
had a physiognomy in which all could read a grim
determination that whatsoever was undertaken

I 4 2

O. B. PHELPS.

would, the Heavens permitting, be put through;
yet, he was kind and generous; though blunt,
warm-hearted indeed. His health was uniformly
good, save for the vital lurkings of the insidious
heart disease, which suddenly took him hence on
the seventh day of February, 1891.

Mr. Phelps was twice married. First, to Miss
Emerette Steele of Windham, New York, about
the year 1846. She died, without issue, in the
year 1880, and was buried at Graceland. Second,
to Mrs. Sarah Van Buren, the widow of Aaron
R. Van Buren, of Catskill, New York, in Decem-
ber, 1882. Her first husband was of the family
of the so-called "Kinderhook" (New York) Van-
Burens, which has produced a number of illus-
trious men, chief among them being our eighth
National Chief Magistrate, Martin Van Buren.

Mrs. Sarah (Van Buren) Phelps survives her
husband, in good health, and without children.
Mrs. Phelps' parents were Franklin and Hannah
(Groom) Graham, of Catskill, New York, her fa-
ther being a son of Samuel and Martha (French)
Graham, of Windham, New York. Her grand-
mother French was of French parentage, and
from Montreal, Canada. It is needless to remark
that the Grahams are of Scotch antecedents.
From Beers' "History of Greene County, New
York" (p. 402), we learn that the said Samuel
Graham went from Conway, Massachusetts, about
the year 1800 to Windham, New York, where, in
the village, he bought of one Constant A. Andrews
a property (at present known as the Matthews
Place, and owned by N. D. Hill), whereon the
first tannery of the place, a large one for the
times, was constructed prior to 1805 by said
Samuel Graham. The latter passed into a son's
hands, and continued to be operated up to 1832.
Samuel died there in 1830, aged seventy years.

The Massachusetts Grahams are undoubtedly
descended from old Connecticut stock, which has
been very prolific in numbers and emigrating
members to other of the United States, not a few
of whom have made prominent names for them-
selves. From Cothren's "History of Ancient
Woodbury, Connecticut" (pp. 545 et seq.}, we

glean the following of both the trans-Atlantic and
native tree:

The family arms are: Or, on a chief sable three
escalops of the field; crest, an eagle, wings hover-
ing or, perched upon a heron lying upon its back,
proper beaked and membered gules; motto, Ne
Oubliez.

The family is of great antiquity, tracing its de-
scent from Sir David Graeme, who held a grant
from King William the Lion of Scotland from
1163 to 1214. His descendant, Patrick Graham,
was made a Lord in Parliament about 1445, and
his grandson, William, Lord Graham, was, in
1504, by James IV., created Earl of Montrose.
His son William was second earl, succeeded in
turn by John, John ( Junior) and James, fifth earl,
a very distinguished character in history. He was
born in 1612, and joined the Covenanters against
Charles I. , but later became loyal to his sovereign,
who created him Marquis of Montrose. He had
a varied career, which ended by his execution in
1645 by the axe on the scaffold, as did that of so
many contemporaries. He was succeeded by
James, James, and James, fourth Marquis, who
was made Lord High Admiral of Scotland in
1705, and in 1707 Duke of Montrose. Then
came David, Earl and Baron Graham, succeeded
by William (his brother), James, James, the
fourth Duke of Montrose, etc., who was a Com-
missioner of India Affairs, Knight of the Thistle,
Lord Justice-General of Scotland, Chancellor of
Scotland, etc.

The Rev. John Graham, A. M., a second son
of a Marqnis of Montrose, was born in Edinburgh
in 1691; he graduated at the University of Glas-
gow, and studied theology at his native Edin-
burgh; came to Boston in 1718, where he married
Abigail, a daughter of the very- celebrated Dr.
Chauncey, of Harvard College. Later Rev. Mr.
Graham removed to Exeter, New Hampshire, but
in 1722 to Stafford, Connecticut, and in 1732 to
Woodbury, Connecticut, where he lived until his
death, in December, 1774. He was an eminent man
and left a family of five sons and four daughters,
from whom are descended a numerous progeny.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

S. B. COEP.

SILAS B. COBB.

(7J ILAS BOWMAN COBB. In the entire his-
2\ tory of the world it has been vouchsafed to
Q) but few men to witness the growth of a mu-
nicipality from a few dozen in population to a
million and a quarter souls. No story of Chicago's
development can be written without cognizance of
Silas B. Cobb as one of its initial forces. It was
such sturdy, self-reliant and hopeful young men
as he that began the development of her great-
ness, and carried forward her growth in middle
and later life. Ever since the little band of Pil-
grims established a home on the rocky and frost-
locked shores of Massachusetts, New England has
been peopled by a race of enterprising and adven-
turous men, whose habits of industry and high
moral character have shaped the destinies of the
Nation. It is not strange, then, that the hamlet
planted by their descendants on the swampy shore
of Lake Michigan in the 303' should become the
commercial, industrial and philanthropical me-
tropolis of America.

Silas W. Cobb, father of the subject of this
sketch, gained a livelihood by various occupa-
tions, being in turn a farmer, a tanner and a tav-
ern-keeper, and the son was early engaged in
giving such assistance to his father as he was able.
When other boys were applying themselves to
their books, he was obliged to employ his strength
in support of the family. His mother, whose
maiden name was Hawkes, died when he was an
infant, and he knew little of maternal love or care,
growing up in the habit of self-reliance which
carried him through many difficult enterprises
and made him a successful man. He was born
in Montpelier, Vermont, January 2$, 1812, and

is now entering upon the eighty-fourth year of
his age. He is keenly active in mind and sound
in body, taking a participating interest in all the
affairs of life.

At the age of seventeen, young Cobb was regu-
larly "bound out," according to the custom of
those days, for a term of years, as apprentice to a
harness-maker, having previously made a begin-
ning as a shoemaker, which did not suit his taste.
Within a twelvemonth after he was "articled" to
the harness-maker, his employer sold out, and the
new proprietor endeavored to keep the lad as an
appurtenance to his purchase. Against this the
manly independence of the youth rebelled, and the
new proprietor was obliged to give him more ad-
vantageous terms than he had before enjoyed.
Having become a journeyman, he found employ-
ment in his native State, but he was not satisfied
with the conditions surrounding him. After nine
months of continuous toil and frugal living, he
was enabled to save only $60, and he resolved to
try his fortune in the new country to the then
far West.

Joining a company then being formed at Mont-
pelier to take up land previously located by
Oliver Goss, the young man having but just at-
tained his majority in spite of his father's re-
monstrance, set out. From Albany, the trip to
Buffalo was made by canal packet, and in the
journey from home to this point all his little sav-
ings, except $7, were exhausted. The schooner
"Atlanta" was about to leave Buffalo for Chicago,
and Mr. Cobb at once explained to the captain
his predicament. The fare to Chicago was just
$7, but this did not include board, and Mr. Cobb

144

S. B. COBB.

was delighted, as well as surprised, when the
captain told him to secure provisions for the jour-
ney and he would carry him to Chicago for the
balance. After a boisterous voyage of five weeks,
anchor was dropped opposite the little settlement
called Chicago. Its hundred white and half-breed
inhabitants were sheltered by log huts, while the
seventy soldiers forming the garrison occupied
Fort Dearborn. And now a new hardship assailed
the young pioneer. Disregarding the bargain
made in Buffalo, the tricky commander of the
schooner refused to let him leave its deck until
his passage money had been paid in full. For
three days he was detained in sight of the promised
land, until he was delivered by a generous
stranger, who came on board to secure passage to
Buffalo. His first earnings on shore were applied
by Mr. Cobb in repaying the sum advanced by
his kind deliverer. Before the boat sailed he
found employment on a building which James
Kinzie was erecting for a hotel. He knew noth-
ing of the builder's trade, but had pluck and
shrewdness, and took hold with such will that he
was placed in charge of the work, at a salary of
$2.75 per day a very liberal remuneration in his
estimation. The building was constructed of logs
and unplaned boards, and did not require a very
high order of architectural skill, but within a
few days a man, seeking the position, called at-
tention to the lack of experience on the part of
the youthful superintendent, and clinched the
matter by offering to do the work for fifty cents
less per day.

Mr. Cobb now invested his earnings in a stock
of trinkets and began to trade with the Indians,
by which he secured a little capital, and resolved
to erect a building of his own and go into busi-
ness. The nearest sawmill was at Plainfield, forty
miles southwest of Chicago, across unbroken
prairies. Getting his directions from an Indian,
Mr. Cobb set out on foot to purchase the lumber
for his building. There being 110 trail, he was
guided solely by the groves which grew at long
intervals, and found only one human habitation
on the way. From one of the settlers at Plain-
field he secured the use of three yoke of oxen and
a wagon, with which to bring home his purchase

of lumber. He was but fairly started when a
three-days rain set in, and the surface of the
prairies became so soft that the wagon sank deep
in the mud, making progress almost impossible
and compelling an occasional lightening of the
load by throwing off a part. After sleeping three
nights on the wagon with such shelter as could
be made with boards from the load, with the rain
beating down pitilessly and the wolves' howling
the only accompaniment, he arrived at the Des
Plaines River, still twelve miles from his destina-
tion. The stream was so swollen by the rains
that it was impossible to cross with the wagon,
and the balance of the load was thrown off and
the oxen turned loose to find their way back to
their owner, which they did without accident.
After the rains were over and the ground became
settled, the trip was repeated, the lumber recov-
ered and brought safely to Chicago. These are
some of the experiences of the pioneer, and can
never be forgotten by those who pass through
them.

When Mr. Cobb had completed his building,
which was two stories in height, he rented the
upper story, and began business on the ground
floor. The capital consisted of $30, furnished by
Mr. Goss, who was a partner in the venture, and
was invested in stock for a harness shop. The
industry and business ability of the working part-
ner caused the enterprise to prosper and grow,
and at the end of a year he withdrew and set
up business on his individual account in larger
quarters. His business continued to grow, and
in 1848 he sold out at a good advance. He then
engaged in the general boot and shoe, hide and
leather trade, in partnership with William Os-
borne, and found success beyond his fondest an-
ticipations, and in 1852 he retired from mercan-
tile operations. About the same time, he was
appointed executor of the estate of Joel Matteson
and guardian of the latter' s five children. When
this trust closed in 1866, the estate was found to
have been vastly benefited by his shrewd man-
agement of the trust.

With characteristic foresight, Mr. Cobb early
began to invest in Chicago realty, and the wisdom
of his calculations has been abundantly demon-

S. B. COBB.

strated. He has also been identified with semi-
public enterprises, or those which largely con-
cerned and benefited the city, while yielding a
return to the investors. In 1855 he was elected
a Director of the Chicago Gas Light and Coke
Company, and subsequently one of the Board of
Managers. This position he held until he sold
his interest and retired from the company in 1887.
It was his executive ability which was largely re-
sponsible for the establishment of cable roads in
the city, those on State Street and Wabash Ave-
nue being constructed under his advice and direc-
tion, while President of the Chicago City Railway.
He is still active in the councils of that company,
as well as of the West Division horse railway.
For many years he was among the controlling
members of the Chicago & Galena Union and
Beloit & Madison Railroads, now a part of the
Northwestern System (see biography of John B.
Turner). Mr. Cobb is a Director of the National
Bank of Illinois, and several blocks of fine build-
ings in the business district contribute to his in-
come, as the result of his faith in the city and
sagacity in selection.

While being prospered, he has not forgotten to
add to his own felicity by contributing to the happi-
ness of others. He has been one of the kindest
husbands and fathers, and not only his family but
the city of his home have often shared in his bene-
factions. When the effort to raise $1,000,000 for
the buildings of the new University of Chicago
was straining every resource of the Trustees, Mr.
Cobb came forward unsolicited and donated $i 50, -
ooo, assuring the success of the movement. The
"History of Chicago," by John Moses, says: "It
is believed that up to the time when this subscrip-
tion was made, few, if any, greater ones had ever
been made to education by a Chicago citizen at
one time. A noble building, the Cobb Lecture
Hall, now stands on the University campus, a
monument of the builder's liberality and public
spirit. As long as the great university endures,
this memorial of Silas B. Cobb's life will stand,
the corporation having pledged to rebuild the hall
if it should be destroyed." The Presbyterian
Hospital and Humane Society of Chicago are also
among the beneficiaries of his generosity, and Mr.

Cobb will be remembered as one of the city's
largest benefactors, as well as a successful busi-
ness man.

In 1840 Mr. Cobb married Miss Maria, daugh-
ter of Daniel Warren, whose biography appears
elsewhere in this work. He thus describes his
first meeting with his future bride: "I arrived
in Chicago in the spring of 1833. In October of
the same year I was occupying my new shop op-
posite the Kinzie Hotel in the building of which
my first dollar was earned in Chicago. Standing
at my shop one afternoon, talking with a neigh-
bor, my attention was attracted by the arrival at
the hotel of a settler's wagon from the East. With
my apron on and sleeves rolled up, I went with
my neighbor to greet the weary travelers and to
welcome them to the hospitalities of Fort Dear-
born, in accordance with the free and easy cus-
toms of 'high society' in those days. * * * *
There were several young women in the party,
two of them twin sisters, whom I thought partic-
ularly attractive, so much so that I remarked to
my friend, after they had departed, that when I
was prosperous enough so that my pantaloons and
brogans could be made to meet, I was going to
look up those twin sisters and marry one of them
or die in trying." The same pertinacity and
acumen which characterized his every undertak-
ing carried him through seven years of toil and
privation until he had won the prize, which in-
deed she proved to be. Their wedding took place
on the ayth of October. Her twin sister married
Jerome Beecher (for sketch of whom see another
page).

Mrs. Cobb passed away on the loth of May,
1888. Of her six children, only two survive.
Two daughters died in infancy, and Walter, the
first-born and only son, and Lenore, wife of Joseph
G. Coleman, are also deceased. The others are:
Maria Louisa, wife of William B. Walker, and
Bertha, widow of the late William Armour.

Being a man of firm principle, Mr. Cobb has
always adhered to a few simple rules of conduct,
in the adoption of which any youth may hope to
win moderate success, at least. He early discov-
ered the disadvantage of being in debt, and made
it a rule as soon as he got out to stay out. The

146

W. E. ROLLO.

other words forming his motto are: Inaustry,
economy, temperate habits and unswerving in-
tegrity. A few more words from the pen of Mr.
Cobb will fittingly close this brief article. On
the guests' register in the Vermont State Build-
ing at the World's Columbian Exposition, ap-
peared this entry over his signature: "A native

of Vermont, I left Montpelier in April, 1833, and
arrived at Fort Dearborn, now the city of Chicago,
May 2gth of the same year. I have lived in Chi-
cago from that time to the present day. Every
building in Chicago has been erected during my
residence here. ' '

WILLIAM E. ROLLO.

QGJILLIAM EGBERT ROLLO is a well-
\ A / known citizen of Chicago and a veteran
Y V underwriter, having been engaged in that
line of business since 1850. He was born in the
Parish of Gilead, Hebron Township, Tolland
County, Connecticut, January 3, 1851. His par-
ents, Ralph R. Rollo and Sibyl Post, were natives
of South Windsor, Connecticut. The former was
a farmer by occupation, and a son of William
Rollo, who, in addition to his agricultural inter-
ests, carried on the business of a tanner and cur-
rier. Their progenitors were among the earliest
colonists of Connecticut, and traced their lineage,
through a long line of English ancestry, from the
famous William Rollo, better known in history
as William the Conqueror.

Ralph R. Rollo died in 1869, at the extreme
old age of eighty-eight years. Mrs. Sibyl Rollo
passed away in 1833, in her fifty-first year. They
were strict adherents of the Congregational faith,
and observed most rigidly the rules of its creed.
The names of their children were: Lucy A., who
died in South Windsor, Connecticut, in 1858;
Evelyn S., who died in Chicago in 1882, while
the wife of Elizur W. Drake; Ralph R., who be-
came a resident of Chicago in 1870, and died in
1872; Henry, who died in childhood; Lucinda
F., Mrs. Solyman W. Grant, who departed this
life at Conneaut, Ohio, in 1845; Samuel A.,

whose death occurred in New Jersey in 1864; and
William E. , whose name heads this notice.

The last-named became a student at East Wind-
sor Academy, and completed his education at a
similar institution at East Hartford, graduating
therefrom at the age of eighteen years. It had
been his intention to take up the study of law,
but his father sternly forbade that plan, declaring
that no man could simultaneously be a lawyer
and a Christian. Accordingly he abandoned his
cherished hopes, and in 1850 he went to Colum-
bus, Ohio, as a representative of the Hartford
Fire Insurance Company. While in that city he
was also the agent of the Springfield Fire and
Marine Insurance Company of Springfield, Mass-
achusetts, the State Mutual Fire of Pennsylvania,
and the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Com-
panies. His faithful and efficient management of
the business in his hands soon caused other cor-
porations to seek his services, and in 1858 he be-
came the General Agent of the Girard Fire and
Marine Insurance Company, and during the next
two years established agencies in Chicago and all
the principal cities of the West.

Since 1860 he has been permanently located in
Chicago. In 1863 he organized the Merchants'
Insurance Company of Chicago, which included
among its stockholders many of the most substan-
tial citizens and business men of the city. This

J. G. ROGERS.

corporation had become well established, and was
doing a most flattering, lucrative business, when
it was overtaken by the great holocaust of 1871,
going down in company with many other or-
dinarily invincible companies before the un-
dreamed-of assault upon its assets. The year fol-
lowing that disaster, through Mr. Rollo's efforts,
the Traders' Insurance Company was re-estab-
lished and made a successful and solid institution.
After two years, owing to failing health and other
great demands upon his time, he turned over the
enterprise to other parties. Since that time he
has been carrying on the insurance agency of
William E. Rollo & Son. This firm manages the

Western Department of the Girard Insurance
Company, and represents a number of other lead-
ing underwriting concerns.

Mr. Rollo was married, in October, 1845, to
Miss Jane T. Fuller, daughter of Gen. Asa Ful-
ler, of Ellington, Connecticut. Mrs. Rollo is a
native of the same state, born at Somers. They
are the parents of two daughters and a son, Jen-
nie Sibyl, Evelyn Lavinia and William Fuller,
the last-named being a member of the firm of
William E. Rollo & Son. Mr. Rollo has adhered
strictly to the business of underwriting, meeting
with success where men of less energy and perse-
verance would have despaired.

HON. JOHN G. ROGERS.

HON. JOHN GORIN ROGERS, who was for
many years one of the ablest and most popu-
lar jurists in Chicago, has been thus de-
scribed by previous writers:

"Nature designed him for a Judge. His mind
was of the judicial order, and he would in almost
any community have been sought for to occupy a
place on the Bench. The high esteem in which
he was held as a jurist among the entire profession
was the result of a rare combination of fine legal
ability and culture and incorruptible integrity,
with the dignified presence, absolute courage, and
graceful urbanity which characterized all his offi-
cial acts. Like the poet, the Judge is born, not
made. To wear the ermine worthily, it is not
enough for one to possess legal acumen, be learned
in the principles of jurisprudence, familiar with
precedents and thoroughly honest. Most men
are unable wholly to divest themselves of preju-
dice, even when acting uprightly, and are uncon-
sciously warped in their judgment by their own
mental characteristics or the peculiarities of their
education. This unconscious influence is a dis-

turbing force, a variable factor, which more or less
enters into the final judgment of all men. In
this ideal jurist this factor was not discernible,
and practically did not exist."

Judge Rogers traced his ancestry from some of
the most honorable families of Virginia, being de-
scended from Giles Rogers, who emigrated from
Worcestershire, England, to Virginia in the sev-
enteenth century. He settled at the present vil-
lage of Dunkirk, on the Mattapony River, in King
and Queen County. The maiden name of his
wife, whom he is supposed to have married in
Virginia, was Eason, or Eastham. They were
the parents of three sons and three daughters.
One of the sons, John Rogers, married Mary
Byrd, daughter of Captain William Byrd, who
came from England to Virginia late in the seven-
teenth century. Captain Byrd was a native of
Cheshire, and received from the Crown a grant
of land embracing most of the site of the present
city of Richmond and of Manchester, on the op-
posite side of the James River. John Rogers was
a farmer and surveyor, and lived in King and

148

J. G. ROGERS.

Queen County. He also took up land on the
border between Carolina and Spottsylvania Coun-
ties. His initials, with the date 1712, are carved
upon a rock there. Among the descendants
of John and Mary (Byrd) Rogers may be men-
tioned General George Rogers Clark, the noted
Kentucky frontiersman, and his brother, William
Clark, the explorer of the American Northwest,
beside a number of prominent military men, in-
cluding Colonel George Grogham, of Fort Meigs
and Sandusky memory, as well as several emi-
nent statesmen and jurists. Among the latter
was Hon. John Semple, who became a United
States Senator from Illinois.

In the first year of the present century, Byrd
Rogers, a son of John and Mary Rogers, moved
to Fayette County, Kentucky, where he soon aft-
erward died. He had four sons and two daugh-
ters. One of the sons, George Rogers, became
an eminent physician, and died at Glasgow, Ken-
tucky, in March, 1860. He married Sarah Hen-
sley Gorin, a daughter of General John Gorin,
who served in the Continental army, and rose to
the rank of Major during the War of 1812. Mrs.
Sarah H. Rogers was born December n, 1800,
and died in 1870. Dr. and Mrs. Rogers had four
sons and five daughters, and two oi the former
became Judges. These were John Gorin Rogers,
the subject of this notice, and George Clark Rog-
ers, who became a Circuit Judge at Bowling
Green, Kentucky, and died there about 1870.

John Gorin Rogers was born at Glasgow, Ken-
tucky, December 28, 1818, and died in Chicago,
January 10, 1887. His primary education was
obtained at the village school, and at the age of
sixteen years he entered Center College at Dan-
ville, Kentucky, an institution famous for its lect-
ures on law, in which he acquired the founda-
tion of his professional knowledge. Thence he
went to Transylvania University at Lexington,
from which he graduated in 1841, with the de-
gree of Bachelor of Arts. He began his practice
in his native town, being a part of the time asso-
ciated with his uncle, Hon. Franklin Gorin, one
of the oldest lawyers of the State.

In 1 857 he became a resident of Chicago, where
his talents and ability soon won him a prominent

position at the Bar. In 1870 he was chosen one
of the five Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook
County, a position to which he was repeatedly
re-elected and continued to hold during the bal-
ance of his life. He commanded the universal re-
spect of the people and the members of the Bar,
and, though he was always nominated as a Dem-
ocrat, he received the support of many leading
Republicans.

Judge Rogers always took an active interest
in public affairs, and previous to his elevation to
the Bench he was interested in many prominent
political movements, though he was never a vio-
lent partisan. In early life he was an old-line
Henry Clay Whig, and in 1848, and again in
1852, he was placed on the electoral ticket of that
party in Kentucky. In 1860 he became identi-
fied with the Democratic party, and was placed
on the Bell and Everett electoral ticket of Illinois.
In 1856 he was a member of the convention which
nominated Millard Fillmore for President of the
United States. Had he chosen to pursue a polit-
ical career, he could, no doubt, have held some
of the highest offices in the Nation; but after his
election to the Bench he refrained from taking
any active part in politics, contending that a
Judge should be in all things strictly non-partisan,
and should not lower the dignity of his office, or
subject himself to a charge of prejudice or favor-
itism, or place himself in any position where any
one might think that he had a claim on him for
special favors.

Though not a total abstainer, Judge Rogers
was always an advocate of the temperance cause,
and at one time was Grand Worthy Patriarch of
the Sons of Temperance of the State of Kentucky.
In 1849 he joined the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, and from that time until his death was
the recipient of numerous honors from the order.
In 1863 he was elected Grand Master of Illinois,
and in 1869 was Grand Representative to the
Sovereign Grand Lodge of the United States. Aft-
er the great Chicago fire, he was selected as one
of the Chicago Odd Fellows' Relief Committee,
and as treasurer of that body received and dis-
bursed $ 1 2 5 ,000. He helped to organize the Char-
ity Organization Society, which was formed to

EDSON KEITH.

149

promote the co-operation of all the charitable or-
ganizations of the city in 1883. In 1878 he was
elected the first President of the Illinois Club, and
was re-elected to that position in 1882. He was
also a prominent member of the Iroquois Club.

Judge Rogers was always popular in society,
where his genial love for humanity and sincerity
of purpose won him a host of friends, and his
name carne to be a household word among the
older residents of Chicago. He always manifest-
ed a deep interest in the poor and humble of his
fellow-citizens, and would often stop to grasp the
hand of a man of no social position, while he
might merely pass with a pleasant bow a million-
aire or social leader.

In 1844 Mr. Rogers was married to Miss Ara-

bella E. Crenshaw, daughter of Hon. B. Mills
Crenshaw, who afterward became Chief Justice
of the State of Kentucky. Mrs. Rogers, who
still survives her noble husband, is a lady of high
culture and many accomplishments, and to her
loving thoughtfulness and kindly assistance may
be attributed much of the success achieved by her
husband. They were the parents of four chil-
dren, all of whom reside in Chicago. Henry, the
eldest son, though finely endowed intellectually,
owing to ill-health has not been actively engaged
in business for many years; and George Mills
Rogers, the second son, is a well known attorney
and Master in Chancery; the eldest daughter is
the wife of Joseph M. Rogers; and Sarah is the
wife of ex -Judge Samuel P. McConnell.

EDSON KEITH.

HUDSON KEITH, one of Chicago's self-made
Kj men, is numbered among the most energet-
I ic, honorable, progressive and broad-minded
residents of the city. He was born at Barre, Ver-
mont, January 28, 1833, and is a son of Martin
Keith, a prominent farmer and builder of that
place, who afterward became a resident of Chicago.
The Keith family in America are all descend-
ants of Rev. James Keith, of Bridgewater, Mass-
achusetts, who emigrated from Scotland about
1660. Though but sixteen years of age at that
time, he was a graduate of Aberdeen College, and
became the pastor of the Presbyterian Church at
Bridgewater. It is said that his first sermon was
delivered from a rock in "Mill Pasture," so-
called, near the river. He married Susannah,
daughter of Deacon Samuel Edson, and they had
nine children: James, Joseph, Samuel, Timothy,
John, Jariah, Margaret, Mary and Susannah.
Unto James (second) were born eight children:

James, Mary, Gensham, Israel, Faithful, Esther,
Jane and Simeon. The children of James (third)
were: Noah, Comfort, James and Abigail. One
of the children of Comfort Keith was Abijah, born
June 20, 1770. He was born in Uxbridge,
Worcester County, Massachusetts, and was one
of the early settlers of Barre, Washington Coun-
ty, Vermont.

Martin Keith was the second son of Abijah,
and was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, Feb-
ruary 23, 1800, and came with his father's family
to Barre, Vermont, in 1804. He was married to
Miss Betsey French, and had seven children:
Damon, Judith, Osborn R., Edson, Byron and
Elbridge Gerry.

Betsey French was one of the fourteen children
of Bartholomew and Susannah French, who came
to Barre from Alstead, New Hampshire, in 1791.
Bartholomew French, who was one of the earliest
settlers of Barre, built the first mill in that place.

150

EDSON KEITH.

He was a veteran of the Revolutionary War, and
was born in Sutton, Massachusetts. A historian
of the town of Barre says: "To this energetic
man and his descendants much of the prosperity
of the town, from the time of his arrival until the
present day, is due." Twelve of his seventeen
children lived until the youngest was past sixty
years of age. At least two of his sons served in
the War of 1812, and one of them, named Bar-
tholomew, commanded a company of Vermont
troops, and served as a Captain of militia for many
years afterward.

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Keith removed to Chica-
go in 1859. The former died herein 1876, at the
age of nearly seventy-seven years, and the latter
in 1868, aged about seventy years. They were
worthy representatives of the pioneer families of
New England, and cherished the same love of hon-
or and truth for which their ancestors were con-
spicuous, while practicing that rigid adherence to
principle which has distinguished their posterity.

Edson Keith passed his childhood upon the
homestead farm and in attendance at the public
school. At the age of seventeen years he went
to Montpelier, where -the next four years were
spent. In 1854 he came to Chicago, beginning
his mercantile career in this city as clerk in a re-
tail dry-goods store. Two years later he became
a salesman and collector for a wholesale house,
dealing in hats, caps and furs. In 1860 he be-
came a member of the firm of Keith, Faxon &
Company, jobbers of hats, caps, furs and milli-
nery. Since that time he has been continuously
associated with that line of business, though the
style of the firm has undergone a number of
changes and transformations, and the volume of
its transactions has been repeatedly multiplied.
He is now senior member of the wholesale fancy
dry-goods and millinery establishment of Edson
Keith & Company, on Wabash Avenue, and
President of the firm of Keith Brothers & Com-
pany, wholesale dealers in hats, caps, etc., whose
place of business is on Adams Street. In addition
to these, he is proprietor of Keith & Company,
grain warehousemen, and is a stockholder and
Director of the Metropolitan National Bank.

He has ever taken a keen interest in the growth
and progress of Chicago, maintaining perfect con-
fidence in its future greatness, and has at differ-
ent times managed some extensive real-estate
transactions, which not only have contributed to
his personal gain, but have been important fac-
tors in the financial prosperity of the commun-
ity.

But a few years had elapsed after casting in his
lot with the growing metropolis before he had es-
tablished a reputation for integrity of character
and honorable dealing which has ever been con-
sistently maintained, and he enjoys the esteem
and confidence of his colleagues and coadjutors to
a degree attained by few men in the West.

In 1860 Mr. Keith was happily married to
Miss Woodruff, of Chicago. This union has been
blessed with two sons: Edson, Jr., a graduate of
Yale College and later of Columbia Law School,
New York City; and Walter W., a graduate of
Yale.

Though a sympathizer with Republican princi-
ples, Mr. Keith is not a strict partisan, but sup-
ports such men for public office as he deems most
worthy of his confidence. And, while he does
not hold membership with any religious organiz-
ation, he isa liberal supporter of institutions tend-
ing to upbuild the moral and intellectual senti-
ment of the people. He is a patron of art and
literature, and was for several terms a Vice-Presi-
dent of the Art Institute of Chicago. He served
for three years as President of the Citizens' Asso-
ciation, in the inception of which he was one of
the foremost movers, and which did a great work
in the reform of municipal and state affairs. He
was three years President of the Calumet Club,
and is identified with numerous other leading
clubs of Chicago and New York City. His hon-
orable and successful career stands out on the
horizon of Chicago's history, a fitting example
to its rising generations of the rewards which
await persistent and intelligent application, when
accompanied by straightforward dealing, but-
tressed with regular habits and unswerving integ
rity of character.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

J. F. EBERHART.

JOHN F. EBERHART.

(7OHN FREDERICK EBERHART, fifth
I child of Abraham and Esther Eberhart (nee
O Amend), was born January 21, 1829, at
Hickory, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, his early
years being busily spent upon his father's farm,
situated in the then new-settlement region.

In 1837 he moved with his parents to Big Bend
(on the Allegheny), in Venango County, Penn-
sylvania, still occupying himself with agricultural
pursuits, save in winter, which time was given
over to district schools. At sixteen he left school,
becoming himself a country pedagogue, his first
charge being located at the mouth of Oil Creek
(near Franklin), Pennsylvania, where, after the
manner so eloquently depicted by Eggleston
in "The Hoosier Schoolmaster," he "boarded
'round" and received his few dollars per month
for "teaching the young idea how to shoot."

The following year he took advanced tuition in
drawing, writing and flourishing, afterward teach-
ing these accomplishments to others. After some
further schoolteaching, and having himself com-
pleted the curriculum of the Cottage Hill Acad-
emy at Ellsworth, Ohio, he entered Allegheny
College, in 1849, whence he graduated July 2,
1853, having, like many another contemporary
who has since "made his mark," worked his way
through college by teaching and working upon
farms. He always took a leading part in his
classes, as well as in many field sports, outlifting,
outjumping and outrunning all his several hun-
dred classmates. Perhaps we may allow this to
speak as a prophecy of later superior achieve-
ments. In oratory he was proficient, as is suffi-
ciently attested by the plaudits of the several
thousand auditors who attended his Fourth of
July oration near his old home at Rockland, Pa.,
two days after his graduation.

The succeeding fall he assumed the duties of
Principal of the Albright Seminary at Berlin,
Somerset County, Pennsylvania. This first in-
stitution of letters founded by the Evangelical As-
sociation developed and prospered under his fos-
tering care. And here a digression is briefly
made in order to call attention to the fact that the
Rev. H. W. Thomas, now pastor of the People's
Church, Chicago, was a pupil of his at this time.

The first serious disappointment in his life
work, as Mr. Eberhart had first planned it, oc-
curred after two years' confinement over school
duties, at which juncture several consulting doc-
tors of medicine prognosticated a growing con-
sumption, which he could not outlive beyond a
few months at the furthest. Packing up his pos-
sessions, he set his face toward the great West,
a country destined to give him that abundant
measure of renewed life which he has since spent
in the interest of others as well as himself. April
1 5< l8 55. was the date of his first coming to Chi-
cago, at which time in the then "Muddy City"
he remained only a short interval, on his way to
Dixon, Illinois, where for a time he edited and
published an early newspaper, called the Dixon
Transcript. About this time he also prepared and
delivered lectures upon chemistry, natural philos-
ophy, meteorology and astronomy, they being
among the first popular lectures to be illustrated
by practical apparatus. He also at this period
traveled for New York publishing houses, and was
largely instrumental in establishing district-school
libraries in the state. But, best of all, in this in-
vigorating climate, with its changes of diversified
labors, attended by abundance of outdoor sports
and healthy exercises, he regained and fortified
that healthful virility which through more than
three and a-half decades has amply sufficed to

152

J. F. EBERHART.

keep him well engaged in honorable pursuits;
until at this writing, through untiring self-efforts,
he stands prominent and time-honored among the
early educators of Illinois and the West.

On locating in Chicago, he purchased and for
three years edited and published, "The North-
western Home and School Journal," interspers-
ing such labors by lecturing before and conduct-
ing teachers' institutes, not only in Illinois, but
also in other western states, coming thus into
personal contact with the leading educators of the
day, such as Elihu Burritt, Henry Barnard and
Horace Mann.

He was elected Superintendent of Schools of
Cook County in the fall of 1859. This office he
uninterruptedly held for ten years, during which
time he earnestly labored to arouse a unanimity
of interest and enthusiasm of which our local
school history affords no parallel. Our free
schools in the county up to this time had never
been under proper supervision, and were when
he assumed the duties in a neglected condition.
But he began a thorough systematic visitation of
schools, conferring with teachers and directors,
organizing institutes, etc. ; until, finding it im-
possible to secure otherwise the services of ade-
quately qualified teachers, he began his agitation
for a county normal school, and with such suc-
cess, that in 1867 a school was opened at Blue
Island, through provisions made by the Board of
Supervisors. This school, since removed to Nor-
mal, has grown to be a power in the land, being
sought by many pupils coming from long distan-
ces, and always having a large attendance roll.
Among other noteworthy acts we may call to
mind the following: Mr. Eberhart was among
the organizers of the Illinois State Teachers' As-
sociation, the first seventeen consecutive sessions
of which he attended; he assisted in establishing
the State Normal University, and in making many
valuable changes in the state school law, includ-
ing the original act authorizing counties to estab-
lish normal schools, and was the principal mover
in forming the State Association of County Super-
intendents, which chose him for its first President.
As President of the County Board of Education,
he was the means of introducing the ' 'kindergar-

ten" into the Cook County Normal School, and
also aided in establishing the system of free kin-
dergartens in the city. During all this time he
was a member of the American Institute of In-
struction, as well as one of the first life members
of the National Teachers' Association. Mr. Eb-
erhart received many overtures to accept profes-
sorships and presidents' chairs in some of our
leading institutions of learning, but he always
declined, principally because he did not again
wish to risk his health and life in such work.

Always imbued with a liking for travel and
outings, and with generous tastes for a liberal,
rational enjoyment and improvement of life and
its grand possibilities, after a quarter of a century
spent as before briefly indicated, he set about ac-
cumulating a fortune out of real estate. At the
time of the panic of 1873 he was esteemed one of
the millionaires of the city. However, through
joint interests with others, which he had to settle,
he lost his possessions, but is now again a wealthy
man, and is content in making a wise use of his
powers and gifts, being a liberal parent and hus-
band, and munificent in charity donations.

Personally Mr. Eberhart is rather slender, but
well proportioned, six feet in stature, of affable
manners, positive in opinion, Republican in poli-
tics and of deeply religious convictions.

Christmas Day, 1864, the subject of this sketch
was married to Miss Matilda Charity Miller, a
daughter of Joseph C. and Mercie H. Miller, of
this city. This most estimable lady was born in
Toronto, Canada, but in infancy was brought to
the United States, where, prior to her marriage,
she became a prized teacher. She has become
the tenderest of mothers, and full of thoughtful
kindnesses toward unfortunates in life. Six chil-
dren have blessed their union, namely: Maude
Winifred, born November i, 1866, and who died
February n, 1873; John Joseph, born September
8, 1870; Frank Nathaniel, December 17, 1872;
Mary Evangeline, April 3, 1875; Grace Josephine,
June 4, 1877; an d Wilfred, June 12, 1881, and
who died December 26, 1882.

A brief genealogy of the family is here added:

The name has been variously spelled, Everhart,
Everhard, Eberhardt, Eberhard and Eberhart

J. F. EBERHART.

153

being the most common forms. Such changes of
patronymic spelling are by no means unusual in
German descendants living upon American soil;
but Eberhart is believed to be the most general,
as well as correct, English orthography, and is
used by the branch which is the subject of this
sketch.

This family, which from 1280 to 1723 (a period
of four hundred and forty -three years) gave birth
to counts and dukes reigning over the province of
Wurtemberg, is of Swabian (Bavarian) German
origin. Through the middle ages its numerous
descendants have figured very conspicuously in
the history of that country and the advancement
of civilization. As a generation they have lived
ahead of their respective years; have been a mar-
tial, well-educated, honorable and religious branch
of the human race.

One Eberhart rendered invaluable assistance to
Martin Luther, hero of the Reformation, since
which era most of the families have belonged to
the Lutheran Church. Of its many men of let-
ters, space permits a reference only to Johannes
August Eberhardt, friend of Frederick the Great,
Privy Councilor to the King of Prussia, mem-
ber of the Berlin Academy, one of the greatest
scholars of the eighteenth century, who composed
many able treatises, some of them authority to
this day.

Of the sovereigns of this family, whose deeds
and virtues are celebrated in prose and verse (the
lyric king of German song, the immortal Schil-
ler, pausing in Parnassian flights to do them
homage), we must chronicle how "Duke Eber-
hard the Noble," "Duke Eberhard the Groaner"
(or "Rushing Beard"), "Duke Eberhard the
Mild," "Duke Eberhard with the Beard," "Duke
Eberhard the Younger," "Prince Eberhard" and
"Duke Leopold Eberhard" were some of the
most noted rulers springing- from the loins of this
famous race.

The first above was the founder of the royal
line, being the most daring warrior Wurtemberg
has ever produced, of whom it is written:

"Then spoke Eberhard the Great,

Wurtemberg's beloved lord,
'No great cities boast my state,

Nay, nor hills with silver stored.

" 'But one treasure makes me blest,
Though the days are fierce and dread;

On each subject's loyal breast
I can safely lay my head.'

" 'Eberhard !' cried one and all,

And meekly before him bowed,
'Thou art richest of us all! '

And their praise rang long and loud.'

The grandson of ' 'The Noble' ' was ' 'The Rush-
ing Beard," whose episode connected with the
fatal conduct of his son Ulrich is famed in art,
compositions thereupon being hung in the Cor-
coran Gallery at Washington (District of Colum-
bia), in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and two
canvases in the Museum of Rotterdam; while in
Wurtemberg's capital is a life-size statue in mar-
ble of "The Rushing Beard," which is among
the first objects of interest to attract the attention
of the visitor.

Intermarriages were made with such leading
families as the Ulrichs, Rudolphs, Henrys, Fred-
ericks, Hartmans and Ludwigs, whose names are
occasionally found in the line of rulers, when a
male heir was wanting to the Eberharts; or, per-
chance, a female sovereign for a time appears, as
in the case of the Duchess Henrietta, widow of
"Eberhard the Younger."

With the death of Charles VI, Emperor of Ger-
many, in 1740, passed away the glories of the
House of Hapsburg. At this era the Eberhardts
also ceased to reign in Wurtemberg, being de-
throned partly by their own injudicious counsels
and conduct, but more especially by the then
growing ascendancy of the Catholics. This was
the time of self-expatriation of many of their line
in quest of better fortunes, together with the civil
and religious freedom of the New World.

In 1727 three brothers, Michael, Peter and
Joseph, came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Of
these, Michael Eberhart came from Germany in
the ship "Friendship, John Davis master, land-
ing in the City of Brotherly Love October 16,
1727. He had a son Paul, born during the voy-
age to America, who lived in Northampton Coun-
ty, Pennsylvania, until 1773, when he removed
to the "Manor Settlement" near Greensburg,
Pennsylvania. He had a third son, Christian,
who married Anna Maria Snyder, of his native

154

D. H. PINNEY.

place, where he died in 1849, at the advanced age
of seventy -seven. He had a second son, Abra-
ham, who was born December 28, 1797, and who
married, August 22, 1820, Esther Arniend, of
New Salem, Pennsylvania. At twenty-five he
removed into the wilderness of Mercer County,
Pennsylvania, where he cleared a farm and erect-
ed a sawmill on the Little Neshannock. He

afterward lived in Illinois and Iowa, and was the
first to take up residence in the suburb of Chi-
cago Lawn, October 2, 1877. He died August 7,
1880, and was interred in Rose Hill Cemetery.
He was a man of great good sense and stanchest
probity. From him descended a fifth child, John
Frederick Eberhart, the subject of the foregoing
sketch.

HON. DANIEL H. PINNEY.

HON. DANIEL HYDE PINNEY, a worthy
member of the Chicago Bar, and formerly
Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of
Arizona, is descended from one of the early Colo-
nial families of Connecticut. His grandfather,
Peter Pinney , was a native of the ' 'Land of Steady
Habits," and his parents, Martin and Nancy
(Johnson) Pinney, were born in Vermont. Mar-
tin Pinney was reared in Franklin County, Ver-
mont, and settled in Western New York about
1830. He was a carpenter and builder, and
erected many of the early buildings of Orleans
County, New York, where he died in 1869, at
the age of seventy years. His widow is still liv-
ing there, in the ninety-second year of her age.
The subject of this notice is the seventh of their
nine children.

Daniel H. Pinney was born in Albion, the seat
of Orleans County, New York, June 2, 1837. He
received the benefit of the common schools of his
native town, and when still a young man joined
the engineering corps employed in the enlarge-
ment of the Erie Canal, continuing in that work
two years and gaining a practical knowledge
which ever after proved of advantage to him.
He was possessed of energy, and a worthy ambi-
tion to rise in the world, and resolved to try his
fortune in the new West.

The year 1856 found him in Chicago, looking

for any honorable employment. For about two
years he worked as a clerk and in various occu-
pations, and in the mean time set his mind on the
study of law. Going to Michigan City, Indiana,
he entered the office of J. A. Thornton, a leading
attorney of that place. When business called
him to Joliet, Illinois, he continued his studies in
the office of Snapp & Breckenridge, and applied
himself with such industry and aptitude that he
was admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of
the United States in the fall of 1861.

His first experience as a practical lawyer was
obtained in the town of Wilmington, Will Coun-
ty, this State, where he practiced two years with
moderate success. At the end of this period he
returned to Joliet and continued his way into
the confidence and esteem of the public. This is
shown by the fact that he was five times elected
City Attorney of Joliet, and in 1876 he was the
successful candidate, as an Independent, for a seat
in the General Assembly. He espoused the cause
of Judge David Davis as candidate for the United
States Senate, and as an active and aggressive
worker, was largely instrumental in the success
of that candidacy. He continued his law prac-
tice in Joliet until 1882, when he was appointed
by President Arthur to a position on the Supreme
Bench of Arizona, which he filled with credit to
all concerned for four years.

F. E. R. JONES.

155

After spending a year in California, Judge Pin-
ney returned to Illinois, settling in Chicago, where
he has continued in practice since. He is an
exceptionally able trial lawyer, and has handled
a wide range of cases, many of them taking him
to the Supreme Courts of adjoining and distant
States. He is, withal, a very modest man, and
gets no more credit than he is entitled to. He is
a member of the Chicago Bar Association and of
the Sons of New York. Being an independent
thinker, he has not allied himself with any organ-
izations other than social ones. In religious faith
he is a Universalist, and attended the Englewood
church of that denomination as long as he dwelt
near it. He was an original Lincoln Republican,

and was for many years an active campaigner,
but retains his independence of party lines, and
acts in elections according to his faith in respec-
tive candidates.

In 1865, at Albion, New York, Mr. Pinney
was married to Miss Mary, daughter of John B.
Lee, a prominent citizen of that town, which was
Mrs. Pinney 's birthplace. She died in 1872, leav-
ing a son, William Lee Pinney, now in business
at Phoenix, Arizona. In 1874 Mr. Pinney mar-
ried Miss Mary E. Bowman, of Shawneetown,
Illinois, a native of Kentucky, who has borne him
three children, Harry Bowman, Sidney Breese
and Nannie E. Pinney, aged, respectively, nine-
teen, seventeen and nine years.

FRED E. R. JONES.

f~ RED ELLSWORTH RANDOLPH JONES.
[3 To what extent the character of an individ-
| ual is molded by the circumstances and con-
ditions which surround him is a problem that ad-
mits of almost unlimited discussion. But no stu-
dent of human nature will attempt to deny that
the environments of childhood exert a powerful
influence upon the life of the future man or wo-
man. A thorough business training, begun at
an earty age, and vigorously adhered to in ma-
ture years, while it may dwarf some of the finer
sensibilities and smother many of the noblest at-
tributes of a man's nature, seldom fails to develop
a capable, systematic and successful business man.
Mr. Jones was born at Chelsea, Washtenaw
County, Michigan, January 18, 1860, and is a son
of Aaron C. Jones and Carrie R. Clarke. A. C.
Jones was born in New York, and came, during
his childhood, with his parents to Michigan.
They settled near Adrian, where his father, Ab-
ner Jones, became a prominent farmer. The lat-
ter was a native of New York. Aaron C. Jones

was a master marble-cutter, but being troubled
with weakness of the lungs, which was aggra-
vated by the pursuit of this calling, he abandoned
it. In 1868 he came to Chicago and engaged in
the fire-insurance business, which occupied his
attention until the great fire. The spring follow-
ing this disaster he contracted a severe cold, which
developed consumption and terminated his life.
His death occurred in 1874, at the age of forty-
five years.

Mrs. Carrie R. Jones, who still resides in Chi-
cago, was born in Goshen, Indiana, where her
father's death occurred about the time she was
eleven years of age. Her mother's maiden name
was Randolph, and she was a relative of the noted
Virginia family of that name the Randolphs of
Roanoke. Her grandfather, who was a man of
considerable means and influence, devoted much
time and money to the cause of the American col-
onies during the Revolutionary War. During
the progress of that struggle he made an expedi-
tion to the West Indies in the interests of the Na-

156

B. M. WIEDINGER.

tional Government, leaving his motherless chil-
dren in charge of a neighbor and friend. His
absence was unexpectedly prolonged, and during
this time the neighbor moved across the Ohio
River to the western frontier, and the family was
never re-united.

The subject of this sketch attended the public
school until twelve years of age, at which time,
owing to his father's failing health, he was
obliged to abandon his studies and begin the bat-
tle of life. He obtained employment in the in-
surance office of the late George C. Clarke, his
first position being that of errand boy. Under
the instruction and training of his kind employer,
he rapidly developed an aptitude for business and
was promoted to more responsible positions. At
the age of twenty years he became the bookkeeper
and confidential man of the concern, with which
he continued to be identified until 1893. Few
boys of his age had to contend with the stern,
realistic problems of life to such a degree as he,
but, with the advice and counsel of his employer
and aided and sustained by his mother's counsel,
he made the most of his opportunities. He at-
tended night schools at intervals and subsequently

became a teacher of bookkeeping to night classes
at the Chicago Athenaeum.

In January, 1893, he was made City Manager
in Chicago of the Liverpool & London & Globe
Insurance Company, which position he has filled
up to this time with credit to himself and the mu-
tual advantage of the parties concerned. He now
occupies one of the finest suites of offices in the
city, being located in the new and modern Asso-
ciation Building.

Few people who know Mr. Jones as an able,
thorough-going business man are aware that be-
neath his calm, sedate and unemotional exterior,
there are veins of sentiment, philosophy and enthu-
siasm which are seldom allowed to assert them-
selves during business hours. His more intimate
associates, however, know him as a man of re-
fined and cultivated tastes, who has given consid-
erable attention to the study of vocal music and
other arts. He is a member of the Apollo and
Mendelssohn Clubs. He takes little interest in
political or other public movements, but feels a
deep concern in the development of the intellect-
ual and spiritual sentiments of mankind.

BERNHARD M. WIEDINGER.

BERNHARD MARIA WIEDINGER, an
educator of prominence and one of the old-
est members of Chicago's German colony,
believed in the brotherhood of man and the equal-
ity of all before the law, and this brief sketch of
his life will show a little of the much he did for
the emancipation of the down-trodden from op-
pression and slavery, as well as something of his
efforts in educating and preparing for the respon-
sibilities of after life many of the active and in-
fluential citizens of Chicago.

Professor Wiedinger was born at Engen, near
Constance, in Baden, Germany, on the isth of
August, 1826. His ancestors, though not titled,
were persons of property and influence, and were

among the leading citizens of the municipality in
which they dwelt.

Abraham de Santa Clara, a monk and author
of distinction some centuries past, was a near
relative of Professor Wiedinger's maternal ances-
tor of several generations ago. Among the host-
ages shot by General Moreau in the Napoleonic
wars, and whose bones were recently interred
with great honor, was an ancestor on the mater-
nal side. For a political offense another gave up
his life under the leaden prison roof of Venice.

His father, George, served as an officer in the
French army in the famous Peninsular campaign,
and with his brothers was in the Government em-
ploy, he being engaged in arboriculture and viti-

B. M. WIEDINGER.

157

culture, and having charge of a large number of
men. George Wiedinger died some time in the
fifties, aged seventy-seven. His wife, Apollonia,
nee Fricker, died in 1848, at the age of fifty-six.
This couple were the parents of thirteen children,
only three of whom grew up to years of maturity,
all the others dying in early childhood. The eld-
est child was George, the second Julius Batiste,
and Bernhard was the youngest.

Bernhard Wiedinger obtained at Constance the
education afforded by the real school and gymna-
sium, and later attended the Heidelberg Univer-
sity. There he spent two years, and was noted
alike for his knowledge of languages and musi-
cal versatility. The noted rebellion of 1848 broke
out while he was a student at the university, he
being then twenty -two years old, and enrolled as a
soldier. Young Wiedinger had imbibed in his
studies a fierce and unquenchable love of liberty,
and hatred of all forms of oppression and tyranny,
and did not hesitate to cast his lot with the Revo-
lutionists and share in the dangers that the up-
rising brought to those who participated in it.
He saw bloody work, and was several times
wounded. A wound which he received in the
head was of a serious nature. The collapse of
the Revolution brought swift and summary pun-
ishment to many who had raised their hands for
liberty. Among those who were taken was young
Wiedinger. Until two days before his trial all
who were tried were sentenced to death and exe-
cuted. His punishment was severe, on account
of his having been enrolled in the army. He re-
ceived a sentence of ten years in prison, seven
months of which were spent in solitary confine-
ment. After spending something over a year in
prison, by the aid of friends he escaped to Switz-
erland, and later went to France. In the latter
country, on account of a speech he made at a
demonstration by Republicans, he was compelled
to leave the political asylum he had sought in
Europe, and come to America, where his efforts
in the cause of freedom were destined to be far-
ther-reaching and more successful than they had
been in countries where oppression had crystalized
in monarchy.

Arriving in the United States in 1851, he re-

mained for a time at Philadelphia, where he had
distant relatives. He at once began to learn the
language of the country, and in order to do so in
what he thought would be the most successful
way, he obtained employment on a farm where
he would hear only English spoken. He re-
mained on the farm one month, and in after life
he often jocosely said that in that time he learned
just five words, "breakfast, dinner and supper,
horse and harness." He was not long, however,
in acquiring a knowledge of English. Among
his earliest acts was filing a declaration of his in-
tention to become a citizen of the republic whose
political institutions were so dear to him.

His first permanent employment was as travel-
ing salesman for a Philadelphia book house, and
in that business he remained for some time and
traveled much. He early became an enthusiastic
worker in the cause of the abolition of slavery.
He was a delegate to the first Republican Na-
tional Convention held at Cincinnati in 1854, an( i
stumped the state of Indiana with Oliver P. Mor-
ton for that party, speaking in German. Later,
he went to Kansas, where he thought his efforts
in the abolition cause would be more helpful, and
there had charge of a station of the "underground
railroad," as it was called, for the aid of slaves
escaping from the South. He spent some time
in the law office of Sherman & Ewing, and was
assistant Secretary of the famous Topeka Con-
vention. John Brown numbered him among his
band, and when he planned his historic raid on
Harper's Ferry sent for him; but he arrived at
the place of rendezvous twelve hours too late.
In the early part of 1860 he started an abolition
paper at St. Joseph, Missouri, but one night a
mob visited his office, threw his type and presses
into the river, and he was compelled to seek a
more promising field of operations. Coming to
Illinois, he recruited a company of one hundred
men for the famous Hecker regiment, and was
elected Captain. On account of defective sight,
caused by injury to his eyes when a child, he was
prevented from going to the front.

Soon afterward he came to Chicago and bought
out a German school of small proportions and en-
gaged in the work of education. He was very

B. M. WIEDINGER.

successful as a teacher, and soon had three hun-
dred pupils in attendance. Later he organized a
company which built a schoolhouse on the corner
of La Salle Avenue and Superior Street. His
health failing, he was compelled to give up teach-
ing in 1868 and seek outdoor employment. Sub-
sequently he gave private lessons, was a clerk in
the postomce for a year, and also held a position
in the City Clerk's office for two years. A por-
tion of the time between 1868 and 1878, when his
health permitted, he was engaged in teaching.
He spent a part of this time in the school, but
most of the time as a private tutor. In those
years, beside the misfortune of bad health, he
suffered the loss of his schoolhouse and household
goods in the great fire.

In 1865 Mr. Wiedinger was married to Miss
Mary D. Moulton, a native of Maine, and a
daughter of Judge Jotham Tilden Moulton, of
Chicago. Mrs. Wiedinger is a descendant of an-
cestors who helped build up the New England
States. Her father, born October 8, 1808, was a
graduate of Bowdoin College, where the poet
Longfellow was one of his teachers. He gradu-
ated from Harvard Law School, where he was a
classmate of Wendell Phillips and Charles Sum-
ner, with the latter of whom he maintained a life-
long friendship. Coming to Chicago in 1852, he
bought a third-interest in the Chicago Tribune,
which he sold a year later. He held the office of
Deputy Clerk of the United States Court, and
United States Commissioner and Master in Chan-
cery, which last office he held until after the fire.
His death occurred in 1881. Mr. Moulton was
the son of Dr. Jotham Moulton, and grandson of
Colonel Moulton, who died in 1777, after serving
one year in the struggle for independence. Mrs.
Wiedinger has been a teacher for a large part of
her life, rendering valuable assistance to her hus-
band in his profession. She has also written for
the press, contributing translations, original stories
and poetry.

Mr. Wiedinger left three sons: George T.,
Bernhard M. and Frank A. The first of these is
a lawyer, the second is engaged in real-estate work,

and the third has chosen the newspaper profession.

Mr. Wiedinger was one of those earnest and
tireless men whose energies keep them always em-
ployed. As a friend of freedom, he took an
active part in the great moral struggle that pre-
ceded the appeal to arms, in which he was unable
to engage on account of physical infirmity, but
to the aid of which his most effective assistance
in every other way was given. He aided in
the organization of the Republican party, in
order that a bulwark of freedom might be es-
tablished, and stood in the forefront of progress
of that party till 1888, when he considered the
party had gone from the position it formerly oc-
cupied, and he then joined the ranks of the Dem-
ocracy. As an educator, he took a place among
the leading Germans of Chicago, and his worth
as a teacher is often testified by the leading Ger-
man-American citizens of Chicago, who were his
pupils and life-long friends. He was liberal in
his ideas and progressive in his work, and said
that, if he had done nothing else, he had made it
impossible to have a successful German school in
Chicago without having an English teacher in it.
In the organization of societies of various kinds
he took a leading part. He was one of the or-
ganizers and President of the Turners' Associa-
tion of Chicago, also one of the organizers of the
Schiller Liedertafel, and. its musical director. In
recent years a bowling club, composed of his
former pupils, assumed the name of " Wieding-
er' s Boys."

In physique Mr. Wiedinger was a powerful
man, and a complete master of the art of self-de-
fense. Once, when attacked by three ruffians, he
knocked one down with his fist, kicked over an-
other, and the third, seeing the condition of his
companions, fled for safety. He was a prolific
writer in his early years, and the habit of con-
tributing to the newspapers he kept up through
life. As a friend, a husband and father, he showed
those rare characteristics that endeared him to his
familiars. His gentle, confiding nature, his do-
mesticity and devotion to his family were ap-
parent to all.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

SAMUEL J. JONES.

159

SAMUEL J. JONES, M. D., LL. D.

(3AMUEL J. JONES, M. D., LL. D., is a na-
/\ live of Bainbridge, Pennsylvania, born March
Q) 22, 1836. His father, Doctor Robert H.
Jones, was a practicing physician in the Keystone
State for a third of a century, and died in 1863.
The mother, whose maiden name was Sarah M.
Ekel, is a member of one of the pioneer families
of the old town of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, of
Swiss and Huguenot descent. At the age of sev-
enteen, their son Samuel, having finished his pre-
paratory studies, in the fall of 1853, entered Dick-
inson College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, from
which he was graduated four years later with the
degree of A. B. In 1860 he received the degree
of A. M., and in 1884 was honored by his alma
mater with the degree of LL. D. His choice of
a vocation in life was no doubt influenced by his
father's successful practice of medicine, and at an
early age he determined to follow in his father's
professional footsteps. Accordingly, on leaving
college, he began the stud}' of medicine, which he
pursued for three years under his father's super-
vision. In the fall of 1858 he matriculated at the
University of Pennsylvania, and after pursuing
the studies prescribed in the curriculum of the
medical department of that institution, took the
degree of M. D. , in the spring of 1860, just thirty
years after the father had graduated from the
same university.

The advantages and opportunities for observa-

tion and adventure presented by the United States
naval service proved too attractive for the young
practitioner to resist, and he became one of the
competitors in the examination of candidates for
the position of Assistant Surgeon. He success-
fully passed the examination, and received his ap-
pointment just before the outbreak of the War of
the Rebellion, and entered upon a life which, for
activity, change, excitement and opportunity for
acquiring experience, should have fully satisfied
his desires in those particulars. He first saw
service on board the United States steam frigate
"Minnesota," which sailed under sealed orders
from Boston, May 8, 1861, as flag-ship of the
Atlantic blockading squadron. Three months
later he was present at the battle of Hatteras In-
let, which resulted in the capture of the Confed-
erate forts with fifteen hundred prisoners, and
ended the blockade-running there. This was the
first naval battle ever fought in which steamships
were used and kept in motion while in action.
In January, 1862, Doctor Jones was detached
from the "Minnesota" and detailed as Surgeon of
Flag-OfEcer Goldsborough's staff, on the expedi-
tion of Burnside and Goldsborough, which re-
sulted in the capture of Roanoke Island. Later
he was assigned to duty as Staff Surgeon under
Commander Rowan, and was present at the cap-
ture of Newbern, Washington and other points on
the inner waters of North Carolina.

i6o

SAMUEL J. JONES.

Soon afterward Doctor Jones accompanied an
expedition up the Nansemond River for the relief
of the Union forces engaged in repelling General
Longstreet's advance on Suffolk, Virginia. This
force was under the command of Lieutenant Gush-
ing, of Albemarle fame, and Lieutenant Lamson.
In the spring of 1863 Doctor Jones was assigned
to duty at Philadelphia, there passed a second
examination, was promoted to the rank of Sur-
geon, and assigned to duty at Chicago, where,
among other duties, he was engaged as Examin-
ing Surgeon of candidates for the medical corps
destined for naval service in the Mississippi River
Squadron. While occupying this position he was
ordered to visit various military prisons, and there
examined more than three thousand Confederate
prisoners who had requested permission to enlist
in the Federal service, and who were accepted
and assigned to men-of-war on foreign stations.
He was ordered to the sloop-of-war "Ports-
mouth, ' ' of Admiral Farragut' s West Gulf Block-
ading Squadron, in 1864, and was soon after as-
signed to duty as Surgeon of the New Orleans
Naval Hospital, where he was at the close of the
Rebellion. In the fall of 1865 he was sent to
Pensacola, Florida, as Surgeon of the navy yard
and naval hospital. In 1866 he was again as-
signed to duty at Chicago, where he remained
until the marine rendezvous there was closed, in
the same year. In 1867 he was ordered to the
frigate "Sabine," the practice ship for naval ap-
prentices, cruising along the Atlantic Coast, which
was his last active sendee in the navy.

In 1868, after eight years' continuous service,
Surgeon Jones resigned to devote his attention to
private practice. Not long after he was elected
delegate from the American Medical Association
to the meetings of the medical associations of
Europe, and was, at the same time, commissioned
by Governor Geary, of Pennsylvania, to report
on hospital and sanitary matters of England and
the continent. He attended the meetings ot the
societies at Oxford, Heidelberg and Dresden, and
in the month of September, at the last place,
participated in organizing the first Otological
Congress ever held. Combining travel with study,
he enjoyed the remainder of the year in visiting

various pans of Europe and investigating medi-
cal and sanitary affairs, giving special attention
to diseases of the eye and of the ear. On his re-
turn to the United States he resumed practice in
Chicago in 1868. Soon after he was elected
President of the Board of Examining Surgeons
for United States Pensions at Chicago, and was
also made a member of the medical staff of St.
Luke's Hospital, and there established the de-
partment for the treatment of diseases of the eye
and ear, with which he has since been connected.

In 1870 Doctor Jones was again elected a del-
egate from the American Medical Association to
the meetings of the European associations, and,
during his stay abroad, spent some months in re-
search and investigation. In the same year he
was elected to the newly-established chair of
Ophthalmology and Otology in Chicago Med-
ical College, now Northwestern University Medi-
cal School, a position he continues to hold. He
also established the eye and ear department in
Mercy Hospital and in the South Side Dispensary,
having charge of each of them for about ten
years. For a number of years he was one of the
attending staff of the Illinois Charitable Eye and
Ear Infirmary in Chicago. In 1876 he was a
delegate from the Illinois State Medical Society
to the Centennial International Medical Congress
at Philadelphia, and in 1881 represented the
American Medical Association and the American
Academy of Medicine at the Seventh International
Medical Congress at London. The Ninth Inter-
national Medical Congress was held in Washing-
ton, District of Columbia, in 1887, and of this Doc-
tor Jones was a member. He was President of
the section of otology, and was e x-officio a mem-
ber of the Executive Committee, whose duty it
was to arrange the preliminary organization of
the congress.

In 1889 Doctor Jones was elected President of
the American Academy ot Medicine, whose ob-
jects, as stated in its constitution, are: "First, to
bring those who are alumni of collegiate, scien-
tific and medical schools into closer relations with
each other. Second, to encourage young men to
pursue regular courses of study in classical and
scientific institutions before entering upon the

WILLIAM O. KEELER.

161

study of medicine. Third, to extend the bounds
of social science, to elevate the profession, to re-
lieve human suffering and prevent disease."

Doctor Jones, as may be inferred from the read-
ing of the foregoing recital of his services in his
profession, is an enthusiastic worker and an able
physician, whose genial manner and success in
practice have made him widely known. His la-
bors in the many societies of which he has been a
member have been ably supplemented by the
product of his pen, which has been directed to-
ward raising the standard of the practice of medi-
cine. His writings have frequently appeared in
medical journals, and for several years he was
editor of the Chicago Medical Journal and Exam-
iner, one of the leading periodicals of the country.
He has successfully applied himself to acquiring
knowledge pertaining to his specialty, and for
twenty years has been recognized by both the
medical profession and the public as authority on
all matters pertaining to ophthalmology and otol-
ogy. He has always stood high in the esteem of
the profession, and has been active and influential
in its councils and deliberations. His fine personal

appearance, genial manners, fund of entertaining
conversation, and frank, manly deportment have
made him a favorite, both as an individual and a
practitioner, and drawn to him a large clientele.

He has never held any political office, but has
preferred the reward which has come to him, un-
sought, in his profession and in literature and
science. He has for a quarter of a century been a
member of the Chicago Academy of Science, and
he is one of its Board of Trustees. He is also
President of the Western Association of the
Alumni of the University of Pennsylvania, and of
the Illinois Alpha Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa,
the oldest Greek-letter society in the United States,
founded in 1776, whose membership has always
been restricted and conferred as a recognition of
scholarship.

When the Illinois Naval Militia was organized
as a part of the National Naval Reserve, he was
solicited to give that organization the benefit of
his large experience in the naval service in the
War of the Rebellion, and he is now Surgeon of
the First Battalion, and has taken an active in-
terest in its development.

WILLIAM O. KEELER.

O. KEELER, who after an active
career i s spending his declining years at the
home of his only surviving son, No. 6818
Wright Street, Englewood, was born in Danbury,
Conn., on January i, 1819. His paternal grand-
father, of Scotch descent, was extensively engaged
in farming, and gave to each of his children as
they married considerable tracts of land. His
death occurred at the advanced age of ninety-five
years. Abraham G. and Sarah (Dan) Keeler,
parents of William O., were natives of Connecti-
cut. The father followed farming in that locality
until his death, which occurred December 23,

1836, at the age of sixty-two years. He was
drafted for service in the War of 1812, but hired
a substitute. His wife lived until 1860, passing
away at the age of seventy-seven years. She was
a member of the Baptist Church, under the in-
fluence of which church her children were reared.
William O. Keeler is the sole survivor of a
family of eight sons and two daughters. He was
reared in his native town, and at the age of seven-
teen beganjearning the hatter's trade. For some
years he engaged in the manufacture of hats and
in merchandising, devoting his time and atten-
tion to those enterprises throughout his business

162

ALBERT WILSON KELSO.

career. He established the first hat manufactory
in Yonkers, N. Y., employing eighty workmen,
which was considered a large force at that time.
On the 26th of April, 1843, Mr. Keeler was
united in marriage with Miss Abigail Stuart Clark,
daughter of Sallu P. and Hannah (Benedict)
Clark. Eight children were born of their union,
six sons and two daughters. Ella, now deceased,
was the wife of J. Deville Dennis. William P.
married Miss Temperance Hayward, daughter of
Ambrose D. and Martha (Wiley) Hayward, the
former a native of Maine, and the latter of Mass-
achusetts. They have two children, William P.
and Martha Abigail. William P. Keeler has
since April, 1872, held the responsible position of
City Cashier in the wholesale house of Marshall
Field & Co. He and his wife are members of the
Englewood Christian Church. On the nth of
May, 1864, while yet a boy, he enlisted in the
War of the Rebellion, joining the one hundred
day men and becoming a member of Company A,
One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Illinois Infan-
try, U. S. A., continuing in the service until the
25th of October. Frederick S. and Isaac Ward
were the next younger, but are now deceased, as
also Frank, twin brother of Fannie. The latter
is the wife of Walter Colby, of Chicago, and
they have two children, Otis Keeler and Abigail

Stuart. Susan C. and Charles L. have also passed
away, and the mother of this family, who was a
devoted member of the Christian Church, died
May 17, 1889, in her sixty-seventh year.

In 1852, William O. Keeler went to California
in search of gold, and after a two-years stay re-
turned to Danbury, Conn., remaining thereuntil
the fall of 1854. He then came to Chicago and
opened the first hat, cap and fur store on Randolph
Street, under the old Mattsson House, occupying
this stand for a number of years. He afterward
removed to a new block on the opposite side of
the street, conducting the business until 1861.
He then accepted a clerkship with a hat house
on Clark Street, near Lake, and later at No. 77
Lake Street, in the Tremont Block, remaining
there until 1866. In that year he went upon the
road as a traveling salesman, which calling he
pursued for a limited time only. His later years
have been mostly spent in the manufacture of
dress hats, but in the spring of 1894, after pass-
ing his seventy-fifth milestone, the infirmities of
age compelled him to give up work. Father and
son have never been separated in their lives ex-
cept for comparatively brief intervals, the home
of the one having always been the home of the
other.

ALBERT WILSON KELSO.

G| LBERT WILSON KELSO, of Chicago, oc-

I | cupies the responsible position of chief clerk
/I in the office of the Assistant General Manager
of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad.
The record of his life is as follows: A native of
Shippensburgh, Pa., he was born on the 22d of
October, 1859, and is a son of James W. and
Anna B (Shade) Kelso. His father was also a
native of Shippensburgh, and died in that town
when the son was only six months old. By trade

he was a painter and decorator, and did a good
business along that line. After the death of her
first husband, Mrs. Kelso married Henry High,
and is now residing in Wilson, Kan.

Mr. Kelso whose name heads this record at-
tended the public schools until fourteen years of
age, thus becoming familiar with the common
English branches of learning. His knowledge
has since been greatly supplemented by reading,
experience and observation, and he has thus be-

WALES TOBEY.

163

come a well-informed man. At the age of eigh-
teen he emigrated westward, removing with the
family to Wilson, Kan. From the age of eight
years he had been accustomed to work in a brick-
yard, and also engaged in other labor, thus con-
tributing to his own support. He is a self-made
man, and whatever success he has achieved in
life is due entirely to his own efforts.

While living in Wilson, Kan., Mr. Kelso sought
and obtained a position as night clerk in a hotel.
Later he removed to Russell, Kan., where he was
employed in the same capacity. In May, 1880,
he entered the service of the Union Pacific Rail-
road Company and removed to Wallace, Kan.
For seven years he continued his connection with
that road, becoming chief clerk in the Division
Superintendent's office at Wallace, his merit and
ability winning him a promotion to which he was
justly entitled. Later he was in the office of the
Superintendent of Bridges and Buildings of the
Union Pacific Railroad Company at Omaha, and
on the 27th of April, 1887, he engaged with the
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad at To-
peka, Kan., occupying a position as clerk in the
office of the Superintendent of Roadways. In
August, 1890, he came to Chicago as chief clerk

in the office of the Assistant General Manager,
which position he now holds. He discharges his
duties with promptness and fidelity, and wins the
respect of all with whom he is brought in contact.

Turning from the public to the private life of
Mr. Kelso, it is noted that in June, 1883, was
celebrated his marriage with Miss Elizabeth Spahr,
daughter of John and Mary Spahr, who were
residents of Carlisle, Pa. The family circle now
includes four children, a son and three daughters:
Mary, Edith, Newton and Nora.

Socially, Mr. Kelso is a member of the Masonic
fraternity, and has taken high rank in the order,
belonging to Topeka Commandery and Medinah
Temple of the Mystic Shrine. From his boyhood
he has been an advocate of Republican principles,
and since attaining his majority he has cast his
vote for the men and measures of that party.
He is an accurate and reliable scribe, who has
won his way to his present responsible position
by his own unaided efforts. His integrity, indus-
trious habits and systematic business methods in-
spire the confidence of his superior officers, and
his many admirable social qualities have gained
him numerous personal friends.

WALES TOBEY

JALES TOBEY, a leading citizen of Worth
Township, claims New York as the State
of his nativity, his birth having occurred
near Plattsburg, on the 28th of September, 1831.
His parents were Jesse and Statira (DeKalb) To-
bey. The father, who was born in Champlain,
N. Y., was an attorney by profession and became a
large land-owner and iron-founder. He traveled
extensively through the West, and in the commu-
nity where he lived was recognized as one of its
most prominent business men. His death oc-

curred in Plattsburg, N. Y., in July, 1873, at the
age of seventy-three years. The Tobey family was
of English origin. Jesse Tobey, Sr., the grand-
father of Wales, was one of four brothers who in
an early day came to America. The others set-
tled in Connecticut, Vermont and Ohio, respec-
tively. Mrs. Statira Tobey was a native of the
Empire State, but her parents were born in Penn-
sylvania, and were of German descent. Her
death occurred in 1841.

Wales Tobey spent his boyhood days upon a

1 64

HIRAM P. CRAWFORD.

farm in Jay Township, Essex County, N. Y.,
and attended the public schools and an academy.
Thus he acquired a good English education, which
well fitted him for the practical duties of life. At
the age of nineteen he left home and entered upon
his business career as book-keeper and salesman
in a mercantile establishment in Newport, Mich.,
where he was employed for three years. He be-
lieved it would be to his advantage to begin bus-
iness in the West, and his judgment was not at
fault, as the years have shown. He worked for
the firm of E. B. & S. Ward, relatives of his
grandmother. When the three years had passed,
he went to Grand Haven, Mich., where he began
business on his own account as a dealer in wood,
furnishing steamboats on the lake. In 1851 he
became a resident of Milwaukee, and thence went
to Strong's Landing, Wis. The following spring
he came to Cook County, 111., settling in Worth
Township. '

In 1856, Mr. Tobey purchased his present farm
near Worth Station. It was then a tract of wild
land, but he at once began to clear and cultivate
it, and now has a finely improved farm, supplied
with all modern accessories and conveniences.
He has bought and sold considerable real estate,
and this branch of his business has also proved
to him a good source of income. For ten years
after locating on his farm, his nearest postofnce
was Blue Island, a distance of nine miles, but
through his efforts offices were established at
Worth, South Mount Forest and Grosskopf.
For a year after this result was attained the mail

was brought from Blue Island by private enter-
prise, for the Government had not then estab-
lished a mail route. Mr. Tobey, in connection
with two other men, supported the mail route by
subscription.

On the 8th "of January, 1858, Mr. Tobey was
united in marriage with Elizabeth Van Horn,
daughter of A. C. Van Horn, of Homer, 111. They
had three children: John Dillon, a dealer in hay,
grain and ice, in Chicago; Emma, wife of F.
Hepperley, of Norfolk, Neb.; and Marion, wife
of John Elliott, of Winside, Neb. The mother
of this family passed away February 14, 1870, at
the age of thirty years. She was a member of
the Methodist Church.

Mr. Tobey was married to his second wife,
Elizabeth M. Burt, daughter of Alvin Burt, of
Westport, N. Y., January 8, 1874. She was the
mother of one child, Charles Clifford Tobey.
She passed away June 14, 1892, at the age of
forty-seven years.

Mr. Tobey attends the services of the Meth-
odist Church at Worth, which was built upon
land contributed by him. In earlier years he
was a Republican, but since the formation of
the Prohibition party has been identified with that
movement. He has never sought, nor would he
accept, public office. He has witnessed the mar-
velous development of Chicago and Cook County
for more than forty years, and has borne no small
part therein, ever striving to promote the moral
and intellectual growth of the community as well
as its material prosperity.

HIRAM PRATT CRAWFORD

HIRAM PRATT CRAWFORD, a real-estate
dealer of Crawford's Station, Chicago, is a
native of the Empire State, his birth having
occurred in Buffalo on the 3d of January, 1831.

He is a son of Pe:er Crawford, whose biography
will be found elsewhere in this work. He at-
tended the public schools of Buffalo and Chicago.
At the age of nineteen, he was established by his

FRANK H. NOVAK.

165

father in a lumber-yard in Marengo; and when the
railroad was extended to Belvidere, he removed to
that place, whence he afterward went to Rock-
ford, 111. In 1855, he became a resident of Gales-
burg, where he carried on business for two years.
Since 1857, ne nas resided at the old homestead,
where he is engaged in looking after his exten-
sive real-estate interests. The original farm pur-
chased by his father has constantly increased in
value, and now includes some of the most valuable
suburban property adjacent to the city.

In 1870, Mr. Crawford married Miss Sarah A.
Launt, daughter of Lewis L,aunt, of Hamden,
Delaware County, N. Y., the birthplace of Mrs.

Crawford. Three children graced this union,
namely: Sadie B., wife of M. D. Broadway, of
Chicago; Nettie S., and Jessie L., deceased. The
parents and their children hold membership with
the Baptist Church. In his political views, Mr.
Crawford is a Republican, andstanchly advocates
the principles of that party. He has filled vari-
ous positions of trust, having been Assessor, Tax
Collector and Superintendent of Public Works in
Cicero Township. Mr. Crawford is a gentleman
of rare physical strength for one of his years. He
is kindly in manner, hospitable, and deeply in-
terested in the growth and progress of Chicago.

FRANK H. NOVAK.

f~RANK H. NOVAK, a leading attorney of
r^ West Pullman, was born near Iowa City,
I Johnson County, Iowa, on the i6th of No-
vember, 1862, and is a son of Frank and Barbara
Novak, who are still living on a farm near Iowa
City. The former is a native of Vienna, Austria.
He crossed the Atlantic to America in 1858, and
became one of the pioneer settlers of Johnson
County, Iowa. He is now one of its most ex-
tensive farmers and representative citizens. His
wife, who was born near Praug, Austria, is a
daughter of Frank and Mary Hiek, early settlers
of Lynn County, Iowa, who emigrated to America
from Praug, Austria, in 1855.

In taking up the personal history of our sub-
ject, we present to our readers the life record of
one who is both widely and favorably known in
this section of Cook County. After attending
the common schools, he entered the Iowa City
Commercial College, from which he was graduated
in the Class of '85. He then engaged in teach-

ing for several terms, and met with good success
in that line of work. He afterward became a
student in the Iowa State University, of Iowa
City, and, on the completion of the collegiate
course, entered the law department, having de-
termined to become a member of the legal pro-
fession. H^e received his diploma in 1889, and
was thereby entitled to admission to the Bar and
to practice in the federal courts.

Immediately after completing his law studies,
Mr. Novak opened an office in Iowa City, and
was there engaged in business until August,
1893, when he crossed the Mississippi into Illi-
nois and located at West Pullman, where he has
since made his home, becoming the leading at-
torney of that growing suburb, and doing business
as a lawyer and loan and collection agent. He
is also interested in real-estate and in live-stock
investments near Iowa City, where the breeding
of English Shire horses and Red Polled cattle is
made a specialty.

1 66

JOHN J. LEAHY.

On the 28th of March, 1890, Mr. Novak was
united in marriage with Miss Nellie M. Burke,
daughter of Thomas Burke, a resident of Oxford,
Iowa. The lady is a native of Ottawa, Illinois.
Their union has been blessed with one child, Marie
Barbara.

The parents both attend the Catholic Church.
Mr. Novak is a member of the Knights of Pythias
fraternity, the Knights of the Maccabees and the
Order of Red Men. In politics, he is a Democrat,

and warmly advocates the principles of that party.
He has held a number of public offices, was Town-
ship Clerk both in Lucas and Monroe Townships
of Johnson County, Iowa, was Assessor of Mon-
roe Township, and filled other positions of public
trust. Mr. Novak is a gentleman of pleasing
address, good business judgment and marked pro-
fessional ability, making friends of all with whom
he comes in contact in either business or social
relations.

JOHN J. LEAHY, M. D.

(lOHN j: LEAHY, M. D., who is successfully
I engaged in the practice of medicine in Le-
Q) mont, was born in April, 1863, and is a na-
tive of County Limerick, Ireland. His father,
Thomas Leahy, was a native of Tipperary, and
his mother, Margaret Leahy, of Kitteely. The
Doctor acquired his primary education in the na-
tional schools of the Emerald Isle, and then began
the study of medicine in the College of Surgeons
in Dublin, where he remained for three years.
In 1883, he emigrated from Ireland, and in Sep-
tember of that year reached Chicago, where he be-
came a student in Rush Medical College. He
there spent two years, and still another year in the
Cook County Hospital.

In April, 1885, Dr. Leahy acted upon the ad-
vice given to the young men of America by the
sage of Chappaqua and went West, settling at
Delmar Junction, Clinton County, Iowa. At-
tracted by the inducements offered at Lemont,
however, he, in the autumn of the year 1885
settled in this place, where he has enjoyed a large
and constantly increasing practice. Much of the

time Dr. Leahy has been employed by corpora-
tions working large forces of men. From 1886 to
1891, he was surgeon for the Santa Fe Railroad
Company, and during the year 1892 he was
physician and surgeon for the firm of Frazier &
Chalmers, manufacturers of mining machinery at
Chicago, where he was busily engaged, having in
charge a thousand men and their families. Since
the beginning of 1894, ne has been physician and
surgeon to the Illinois Stone Company, and also
to Section 5 of the Drainage Canal at Lemont, in
addition to his general practice.

In 1887, Dr. Leahy married Miss Margaret
Reardon, of Lemont, daughter of Thomas and
Helen Reardon, whose sketch appears elsewhere
in this volume. Three bright and beautiful chil-
dren, two girls and a boy, have blessed this un-
ion. They are Clara Louise, John J. and Mar-
ion. Dr. Leahy's cheerful disposition makes him
many friends, professionally and otherwise, and
he enjoys a large and lucrative practice. He has
one brother in this country, Rev. Patrick Leahy,
of Lyons, Iowa.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

CYRUS H. McCORMICK.

CYRUS HALL McCORMICK.

EYRUS HALL McCORMICK, measured by
his achievements and their influence upon
mankind, must rank as one of the greatest
benefactors of modern times. This statement is,
perhaps, a comprehensive one, but it is not un-
warranted by facts, and indeed was given an au-
thoritative stamp when, in the latter years of Mr.
McCormick's life, he was chosen a corresponding
member of the French Academy of Sciences, on
the ground of his having done more for the cause
of agriculture than any other living man. Why
this broad and generous tribute ? Why is the
name of Cyrus Hall McCormick remembered and
honored, and why will his memory hold a sacred
niche in Fame's enduring temple throughout all
coming time ? To answer queries of this nature
we must give a brief sketch of the life, the influ-
ences, and the labors of him concerning whom
they are asked.

The McCormick family lived in Rockbridge
County, Virginia. They were descendants of an
early settler in that portion of the S.tate, who had
been invited thither by the fertile fields lying in
the broad valley between the Shenandoah and
Blue Ridge mountain ranges. It was here that
Cyrus Hall McCormick was born on the isth of
February, 1809. His parents were Robert and
Mary Ann (Hall) McCormick, and their circum-
stances, while perhaps not warranting luxurious
living, were, nevertheless, conducive to comfort
and the peaceful enjoyments common to that pe-
riod. It was an era when modern frivolities and
diversions were comparatively unknown, and
when the hearts of men and women found their
sweetest solace in the regularly recurring sen-ices
held in the little church. Light literature was there
unknown, and books of travel, history and biog-

raphy were almost equally scarce. As a conse-
quence, the Bible was much read in the homes of
the people, and its precepts were more carefully
instilled into the minds of its students than is com-
mon in this push-and-hurry age of ours. The
parents of young McCormick were recognized by
their neighbors as the possessors of marked abil-
ity and integrity of character, and their lives and
actions were shaped in conformity with the best
ideals of Christianity.

It was amid surroundings such as these that
the subject of this sketch acquired those traits
which mark the career of the successful man,
and to which men of all times and of all nations
have paid the tribute of their admiration and
their praise. This schooling of his character
at home was supplemented by young McCor-
mick's attendance upon the " Old Field " school,
where the rudiments of book knowledge were
acquired, and this was further enhanced by an
evident desire for knowledge not found in books,
a knowledge of the practical, of the common things
about him. Genius is rarely an accidental trait,
and it will be seen that the natural environments
in which young Cyrus lived were shaping his
destiny. His father was a man of more than or-
dinary ability, himself a student throughout all the
years of his life, with an inclination toward in-
vention, and indeed an inventor in fact, as sever-
al useful devices are accredited to his ingenuity
in this line. He was extensively engaged in
farming, and had^, upon his premises both black-
smith and wood-working shops for the prompt re-
pairing of the various farm implements, as occa-
sion demanded. He appears to have been fond
of the workshop, and it was but natural that he
should give considerable time and attention to the

1 68

CYRUS H. McCORMICK.

construction of experimental devices as they sug-
gested themselves to him. Among some of the
improvements resulting from his experiments were
a hemp-breaking machine, a threshing-machine,
and a blacksmith's bellows. As early as 1809,
he conceived the idea of a grain-cutting mechan-
ism, and in the summer of 1810 his conception
had assumed a tangible form and was taken into
the field for practical test. The cutting device
consisted of a system of rotary saws, revolving past
the edges of stationary knives, so as to cut like
shears. A witness who saw its performance in
the grain field described it as " a somewhat fright-
ful looking piece of machinery when moving."
It failed to meet the expectations of its inventor
and was laid aside, though the idea of the reaper
kept possession of him for several years thereafter,
and he in fact made one or two subsequent at-
tempts to perfect the machine, but without success.
To his father's experiments and failures young
Cyrus paid much attention, and it is not un-
likely that at an early age he brought himself to
believe that he would some time bring order out
of the chaos which had marked the elder's reap-
er-inventing career. He had a natural liking for
mechanical inventions, and spent a goodly portion
of his time in his father's workshops, becoming
quite an adept in the use of the various tools. At
the age of fifteen he made a grain cradle, by the
use of which he was enabled to go into the har-
vest field and keep pace with the older laborers.
A little later he constructed a hill-side plow, a
practical and useful invention, which threw alter-
nate furrows either right or left. This was pat-
ented, but was in turn superseded by his horizon-
tal self-sharpening plow. It was at the age of
twenty-two that he determined to devote his en-
ergies to the reaper; and with his father's fail-
ures before him plainly showing what was im-
practicable, and perhaps offering vague suggest-
ions as to what the practicable machine must be,
he dreamed, he thought, and he worked. He first
convinced himself that the principle adopted by
his father was fundamenUil.'y wrcfg, he believing
that the cutting device should give way to a hori-
zontal reciprocating blade, which should operate
upon the grain in mass. Deciding upon the de-

tails of such a machine, he set to work with his
own hands to combine them in wood and iron.
He became so deeply absorbed in his work that his
father, remembering his own futile attempts in the
same line, sought to discourage the boy, telling
him that he was wasting both his time and talents.
Happily, however, Cyrus saw deeper, and with
that persistence which was an inborn trait of his
character, continued on in his work, and in the
summer of 1831 went into a field of grain with the
first successful reaper that was ever built. The
distinguishing features of that machine were the
reciprocating blade, operating in fixed fingers; the
platform for receiving the falling grain ; the reel
to draw the grain back to the knives; and the
divider, to separate the grain to be cut from that
left standing. These features and their combina-
tion must be credited to the genius and skill of
Cyrus Hall McCormick. They are found in all
grain-cutting machines now extant, of whatso-
ever name or nature, and to dispense with them
" would be to wipe every reaper out of existence."
The words quoted are from " Knight's New Me-
chanical Dictionary', ' ' compiled and edited by Ed-
ward H. Knight, A. M., 1,1,. D. , in charge of
the classifications and publications of the United
States Patent Office.

When the field experiment had demonstrated
the practical utility of his invention, it was tem-
porarily relegated to a secondary place in the
mind of its inventor. To enter at once upon the
work of building machines for general use would
involve an expenditure and obligation which, at
that time, it was felt, could not be assumed; and
therefor, more perhaps as a stepping-stone than
otherwise, Mr. McCormick entered into a partner-
ship for the smelting of iron ore, a business which
appears to have moved along smoothly and with
some degree of success until the panic of 1837,
when it went down in the general crash which
carried with it so many older and more preten-
tious enterprises. Looking out upon the wreck,
Cyrus McCormick saw all material interests reced-
ing from him; looking within, he saw a sturdy
young manhood, and felt the red blood of ambi-
tion coursing through his veins. Little time was
spent in repining. The first thing to be done

CYRUS H. McCORMICK.

169

or at least to be provided for was the payment
of every obligation which the firm had assumed,
and to this end Mr. McCormick sacrificed all his
possessions, including the farm which his father
had given him. Then, with his face turned toward
the light, with faith in himself and the reaper,
he cast about him for ways and means for the
further improvement of his machine, its manu-
facture and sale. Like most stories of great suc-
cesses, this is the story of small beginnings, many
vicissitudes and perplexities, and some anxiety;
but over all the rainbow of hope. The shops of
the old Virginia farm were utilized as ' ' factories ' '
during the first few years, and, as may be imag-
ined, the annual output of machines was insig-
nificant until the year 1845, when it was decided
to start a plant at Cincinnati, Ohio. Arrange-
ments were also made at this time with a firm at
Brockport, New York, for building the reaper on
a royalty. It was thought that from these two
points the East and West could be supplied, but
the popularity of the grain cutter outran the ex-
pectations of its inventor, and, to accelerate the de-
velopment of the regions farther west, a demand
for it sprang up and became so general that it
was decided to again enlarge the plant, increase
the facilities, and locate near the great and grow-
ing market of the West. Accordingly, in 1847, the
McCormick Reaper Works became one of the
great industries of the young city of Chicago. In
1848 seven hundred machines were built and sold,
and from that-time to this the business has shown
a steady growth, until its proportions are well
nigh amazing. The present capacity of the Mc-
Cormick Reaper Works exceeds 150,000 machines
every year; and, with the possible exception of
India, there is no grain and grass growing coun-
try beneath the sun where the McCormick ma-
chines are not employed in garnering the crop.

After the assured success of the reaper at home,
Mr. McCormick took measures to bring it to the
attention of the agriculturists of the Old World.
As an initial step in this direction, the machine
was placed on exhibition at the first World's Fair,
held in London in 1851. It was at a time when
English eyes were given to the casting of unfriend-
ly glances toward whatever emanated from Yan-

keedom, and the McCormick reaper was not al-
lowed to escape the ridicule of the press, the
London Times characterizing it as "a cross
between an Astley chariot and a wheelbarrow."
Before the Exposition season closed, however,
the reaper completely conquered prejudice and
the Times made the amende honorable by stating
editorially that it was ' ' alone worth the entire ex-
pense of the Exhibition," and the Great Council
Medal was awarded to Mr. McCormick 011 the
ground of the originality and value of his inven-
tion. From this moment fame and fortune were
assured, and there were no fields either at home
or abroad in which McCormick was not conquer-
or. At the UniversalExposition at Paris, in 1855,
he was awarded the Grand Prize. Again at Paris in
1867 he gained the Grand Prize and decoration by
the Emperor with the Cross of the Legion of Hon-
or. It was at this time that M. Eugene Tisseraud,
Director-General of the Imperial Domains, said:
' ' The man who has labored most in the general
distribution, perfection and discovery of the first
practical reaper is assuredly Mr. McCormick, of
Illinois. Equally as a. benefactor of humanity
and as a skillful mechanician, Mr. McCormick
has been adjudged worthy of the highest distinc-
tion of the Exposition." A third triumph was
secured at Paris in 1878, when the Grand Prize
was once more bestowed upon Mr. McCormick,
and he was also honored by the French Academy
of Sciences, as was referred to in the opening
paragraph of this sketch. Many personal trib-
utes might be given illustrating the high regard
in which Mr. McCormick was held, and showing
the recognition of the value of his invention.
During his life-time honors came to him thick and
fast, and it is not untimely to add here that since
his death the business which he founded, and the
harvesting machines which still bear his name,
stand first and foremost in the business and agri-
cultural world. Honors have continued to come
to the McCormick, not the least of which were
those secured at the World's Columbian Exposi-
tion 01*1893.

Cyrus Hall McCormick encountered obstacles
which only a matchless energy and ability could
have overcome. At the beginning of his career,

170

JOHN B. TURNER.

and ior a long time afterwards, he was inconveni-
enced by a lack of capital and by his isolation
from centres of communication and trade. He
was forced to overcome the opposition originally
brought to bear against all labor-saving machines.
Congress refused to give him just patent protec-
tion, for the reason that his invention was so val-
uable that all should be allowed to make it !
But against all these odds he came out conqueror.
Steadily he overcame every obstacle and estab-
lished his claim to be A benefactor of the indus-
trial world.

Man's better nature, his human side, his kind-
lier, gentler self, cannot be always seen to advan-
tage in the hurly-burly of an active business ca-
reer, and it is pleasant to recall the memory of
Cyrus Hall McCormick as he appeared to those
who knew him in social life, in his home, in his
church relations, and in all those varied walks
that lead away from business and touch the strings
of human hearts. Mr. McCormick had this gen-
tler nature, and, while it is not our purpose here
to rehearse the many ways in which this charac-
teristic evinced itself, still a sketch of his life
should contain a brief mention of those more con-
spicuous acts wherein are shown the trend of his
benevolence and the munificence of his philanthro-
py. In 1859, at the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church held at Indianapolis, he
made a proposition to endow the professorships of
the Presbyterian Theological Seminary of the
Northwest, on condition that it be located at Chi-

cago. The conditions were accepted, and the
seminary, which, in addition to the original en-
dowment, received from Mr. McCormick numer-
ous other magnificent donations, is to-day a proud
monument to his liberality and nobility of heart.
On the educational and religious lines of his work
was also his purchase of the Interior, a news-
paper established in Chicago to represent the Pres-
byterian Church. In the hour of its financial
struggles he purchased it, placed it upon a sound
financial basis, and it is to-day one of the most
able and influential religious journals published.
He was also a liberal contributor to various schools
and colleges in different parts of the country,
those of his native Virginia coming in for gener-
ous recognition at his hands.

In 1858 Mr. McCormick married Miss Nettie
Fowler, daughter of Melzar Fowler, Esq. , of Jeff-
erson County, New York. Four sons and three
daughters were born to them, two cf whom, a son
and a daughter, died in infancy. The surviving
children are: Cyrus Hall McCormick, now Presi-
dent of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Com-
pany; Mary Virginia; Anita, widow of the late
Emmons Elaine; Harold and Stanley.

Mr. McCormick died on the 1 3th of May, 1884.
His life was rounded out by something more than
the three-score and ten years of scriptural allot-
ment; but we live in deeds, not years, and, meas-
ured by this standard, the life of Cyrus Hall Mc-
Cormick was long, and ever longer groweth.

JOHN BICE TURNER.

flOHN BICE TURNER, founder of the great
I railway system now known as the Chicago
(2) & Northwestern, will ever deserve the grat-
itude of Chicago for his public spirit and perse-
verance in carrying out his enterprises in the face

of great financial and other difficulties. The pio-
neers of Chicago, whose number is rapidly grow-
ing small, speak of him in the most kindly and ap-
proving terms. Probably but a very small percent-
age of the thousands who daily ride to and from

JOHN B. TURNER.

171

the city on the "Northwestern" suburban trains
ever consider the hardships endured by those who
first undertook to construct a railway to the West
from the struggling young city by the lake. It
had no double track at first, and no "parlor" or
"palace sleeping" cars followed its strap rails.
The generation which found a modern-equipped
line ready for its accommodation can little under-
stand the conditions that obtained when John B.
Turner laid the first ' 'T' ' rails in Illinois.

The subject of this biography was born in Col-
chester, Delaware County, N. Y. , on the I4th of
January, 1799, less than a decade after the estab-
lishment of the present United States Government.
His father, Elisha Turner, died when he was but
two years old, and his mother when he was four-
teen. Her maiden name was Patience Coville, and
she was of Dutch origin. The Turners are of Eng-
lish lineage. Soon after his father's death, J. B.
Turner was adopted by David Powers, and passed
his youth on a farm and about a tanyard operated
by his foster-father, in the meantime receiving such
instruction as the country schools of the time af-
forded. In 1819, he married Miss Martha Volun-
tine, and settled down at farming. Five years
later, he sold out his interest in the farm and pur-
chased a mill and store, and built a distillery at
Maltaville, in Saratoga County, which he oper-
ated six years. Financial reverses caused him to
abandon these interests, and his attention was first
turned to railroad construction in 1835, when he
took a contract to build seven miles of the Ran-
som & Saratoga Railroad. After its completion,
Mr. Turner was placed in charge of this road,
most of whose trains were hauled by horses, of
which the company owned thirty head, and he
constructed bams every ten miles for the accom-
modation of the motive power. It was on this
line, under Mr. Turner's management, that the
"Champlain," an engine of five tons' weight, was
placed in commission, being the second of its kind
in use.

In November, 1835, Mr. Turner, with a part-
ner, broke ground on the Delaware Division of
the New York & Erie Railroad, but was forced to
suspend operations when the financial disasters of
April, 1837, crippled the owners, and the capital

of the contractors appeared to be swallowed up.
The subsequent resumption of the company re-
stored to Mr. Turner the $16,000 which he re-
garded as lost, and with a brother-in-law, John
Vernam, he engaged in building the Genesee Val-
ley Canal. The suspension of operations by the
State on the canal in 1840 again caused a heavy
loss to Mr. Turner, but on the resumption of con-
struction this was, in part, restored to him. By
the spring of 1843, he had completed a section of
the Troy &Schenectady Railroad with profit, and
he turned his attention toward the growing West
as the most desirable field for the investment of his
capital. With his wife, he made a trip as far
West as the Mississippi River, and decided to lo-
cate at Chicago, returning East at once for his
family.

The I5th of October, 1843, found him again in
Chicago, and he took up quarters at the old Tre-
niont House. His active mind readily grasped
the opportunities for investment, and one of his
first moves was the purchase of one thousand
acres of land near Blue Island, on which he placed
a herd of sheep, brought from Ohio in the spring.
An attempt at railroad building had been made
as early as 1837, and a few miles of strap rails
had been laid, terminating on the prairie not far
from the present western limits of the city of Chi-
cago. In 1847, Mr - Turner and William B. Og-
den, the first mayor of Chicago, organized a com-
pany to construct a road westward from Chicago,
and on the 5th of April in that year, Mr. Ogden
was elected President, and Mr. Turner Acting
Director of the Chicago & Galena Union Railroad,
the objective point being Galena a town little
less than Chicago in size and importance at that
time. Both the gentlemen above named were en-
thusiastic in the interest of the enterprise, and by
their untiring labor in soliciting subscriptions to
stock and securing right of way from the people
most benefited by its construction, said construc-
tion was made possible. At the election of officers
in December, 1850, when Mr. Turner was made
President, the track was completed beyond Elgin
and reached Freeport, where it connected with the
Illinois Central in September, 1852.

By this time, it had been demonstrated that the

172

E. F. L. GAUSS.

western prairies were destined to support an im-
mense population, and attention was turned to the
construction of the "Dixon Air Line," from
Turner Junction west to the Mississippi River.
This was rapidly completed under Mr. Turner's
active and able management, and a portion of the
line across the State of Iowa was also completed
under his presidency, before he resigned in 1858.
He continued an active director of the road, and
in the Chicago & Northwestern, after the consol-
idation of the different lines, until his death. In
1853, he organized the Beloit & Madison Railroad
Company, which became a part of the same sys-
tem, being now a part of the Madison Division,
and on the consolidation, in June, 1864, of these
various lines, he was chairman of the committee
having the arrangements in charge, and was af-
terward a member of the Executive Committee of
the Chicago & Northwestern. Mr. Turner was
also a director of the North Side Street Railroad,
incorporated in February, 1859, and continued to
hold stock during his life.

In 1853, Mr. Turner was called upon to mourn
the death of the wife who had shared in his early
toils and successes, and in 1855 he married Miss
Adeline Williams, of Columbus, Ga. Three sons
and three daughters were given to him. He was
vigorous and active to the day of his death, which
was the 26th of February, 1871, more than sev-
enty-two years of life having been his allotted
time. The end came peacefully and quietly, and
on that day Chicago lost one of her most valued
and upright citizens, who did what he could to
benefit his fellows. On the day of his funeral,
the offices of the Chicago & Northwestern Rail-
way were closed out of respect for the "judicious
and faithful counselor, genial companion, consider-
ate friend and Christian gentleman. His devo-
tion to the material interests of the country was
exceeded only by the patriotism which never lost
sight of the highest duties of citizenship. His
great works live after him, and will keep his
memory green forever."

E. F. L. GAUSS.

fT F. L. GAUSS is First Assistant Librarian in
rp the Chicago Public Library, and the responsi-
I ble position which he occupies finds in him a
capable incumbent. He is also a patron of literature
and music, and indeed is a friend to all those arts
which are calculated to elevate and benefit man-
kind. He claims Germany as the land of his
birth, which occurred in Stuttgart in 1842. He
came of one of the old aristocratic families of that
country, and was reared accordingly. The father
died in 1848, and the mother was called to her
final rest in 1845.

Mr. Gauss whose name heads this record at-
tended school in his native land for a number of
years, and in 1859, at the age of seventeen, he

crossed the Atlantic to America, settling in New
York City. When the war for the Union broke
out, and President Lincoln called for volunteers
to aid in crushing the rebellion which threatened
to destroy the nation, he at once enlisted, joining
the boys in blue of Company K, First New York
Infantry. After two years of valiant service he
was honorably discharged, in 1863.

Mr. Gauss on leaving the army went to Mis-
souri, where he studied theology in the Missouri
Evangelical School, and later he pursued his
studies in an Episcopal academy in Ohio. In
1871, in St. Louis, he was ordained as a minister,
and was given charge of the church in Bunker
Hill, 111., where, as there were many German

ROBERT S. HILL-

173

settlers in that locality, his services were con-
ducted in his native tongue. In 1874 he went to
Europe in order to complete his studies, and from
1875 until 1878 was a minister in the State
Church of the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland. In
the latter year he again crossed the Atlantic to
America, and took up his residence in Galena,
111., being called to the pastorate of the church at
that place, of which he continued in charge for
two years. In 1880 he came to Chicago, and en-
gaged in literary work while in the employ of
the Government, in which employ he continued
until 1885. In 1887 he entered the Chicago Pub-
lic Library. He was' afterward made First As-
sistant Librarian, and still fills that position. He
also continues his ministerial work to a limited
extent, although he accepts no pastorates.

In 1867 Mr. Gauss was united in marriage
with Miss Henrietta Stehlin, and to them has

been born a family of five children. The parents
and their children are all members of the Con-
gregational Church, and take a most active in-
terest in church work, doing all in their power
for its promotion and success.

Mr. Gauss has won a high reputation as a pub-
lic speaker, and at one time delivered many ad-
dresses in support of the Republican party, the
principles of which he warmly advocates. He
has, however, never aspired to public office. He
has also won note as a metrical translater. He
is a man of most liberal education, and during
the famous Anarchists' trial served as official in-
terpreter. Socially, he is connected with the
Schiller Club, of which he is Secretary, and also
belongs to the Royal Arcanum, the National
Union and the German Press Club, which latter
he is now serving as Treasurer. He is also Pres-
ident of the Chicago Library Club.

ROBERT S. HILL.

ROBERT S. HILL, who is successfully en-
gaged in the practice of law in Chicago, was
born in Buxton, York County, Maine, on
the 3ist of August, 1851. His ancestors on his
father's side came from England. Three brothers
of the name of Hill crossed the Atlantic with the
early English colonists and settled in Massachu-
setts. One of them afterwards removed to the
district of Maine, and from this branch of the Hill
family the subject of this sketch is directly de-
scended. The members of the family were prom-
inent land-owners and business men, and often
bore an important part in the events which went
to make up the history of colonial days. Mr.

Hill's great-grandfather was the owner of the
property in Buxton, Maine, now occupied by his
father. The grandfather was a resident of Bux-
ton, and took part in the War of 1812, during
which he was commissioned as an officer by the
Governor of the Pine Tree State. Another of the
ancestors of the subject of this sketch was an offi-
cer in the Revolution, and was numbered among
the heroes of the battle of Bunker Hill. Another
was captured by the English and taken to Can-
ada, where he was forced to live among the Indi-
ans for an entire winter, during which time he was
subjected to great hardships and suffering. He
finally escaped and returned to his home in Maine,

ROBERT S. HILL.

much to the surprise and pleasure of his wife and
family, who supposed him dead.

On his mother's side Mr. Hill traces his ances-
try back to the ' ' Mayflower, ' ' being descended
from Moses Fletcher, who crossed the Atlantic
in the vessel which brought the Pilgrim Fathers to
the shores of the New World. The latter was a
member of the Council of Plymouth, and now lies
buried at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, where
his name appears on the monument erected in
memory of those old heroes.

Mr. Hill's father, now retired from business
with a competency, was an active lumberman and
farmer in Buxton, Maine. He has always taken
a keen interest in the religious, educational and po-
litical matters pertaining to his town, state and
country. He was a great admirer and a warm
friend of the late Hon. James G. Elaine.

The boyhood days of R. S. Hill were pleasant-
ly passed in his native town, and he was given
good educational advantages by his father. After
leaving the common schools in Buxton, he at-
tended Limington and Gorham Academies, both
of Maine, and his first effort in life after leaving
the latter institution was to engage in school
teaching in his native state, being then twenty
years of age. After a brief and successful experi-
ence as a school teacher, he came to the West with
his uncle, and entered Michigan State University
at Ann Arbor, being graduated from the law de-
partment of that institution in the Class of ' 74.
He then returned to New England, and for one
year studied law in the oflice of an attorney in Bos-
ton. The year 1876 witnessed his return to the
West and saw him located in Chicago. He im-
mediately embarked in practice, which he has car-
ried on continuously since. He makes corpor-
ation law a specialty, and has been very success-
ful, winning many important cases. At the pres-
ent time he is employed as attorney for a number
of corporations.

On the 26th of January, 1877, Mr. Hill was
married in Buxton, Maine, to Miss Fannie S.
Owen. Her ancestors came from England and
aided the colonies in their struggle for iudepen-

ence, taking a leading part in the War of the Rev-
olution. One of the number was captured by the
British in 1807, taken on board a man-of-war, and
forced to serve as a part of the crew. After a few
weeks' service, while the ship was cruising off the
coast of Massachusetts, he took advantage of a
favorable opportunity, jumped overboard, swam
safely ashore and returned home. To Mr. and
Mrs. Hill have been born five children, as fol-
lows: Harry Robert, who died of diphtheria in
1 882 ; Owen T. , now a student of the Fuller School,
Hyde Park; Helen M. and Alice, who attend the
same school; and Robert S., a little lad of three
and a-half years.

Mr. Hill is a great admirer and firm supporter
of the Hon. Thomas B. Reed, who is his
choice for the presidency. He has known Mr.
Reid all his life, and on account of a knowledge of
his character, ability and political proclivities, he
supports him as a presidential candidate. Mr.
Hill takes a very warm interest in political affairs,
and labors earnestly to promote the growth and
insure the success of his party. He is recognized
as a good parliamentarian and, because of his
knowledge of the rules of parliamentary usage,
has often been called upon to preside over politi-
cal meetings where trouble and turbulence were
anticipated, and as such presiding officer has been
able, even in very exciting meetings, to maintain
order and discipline where one less skilled would
have failed.

Mr. Hill is a member of the Sons of Maine. He
contributes liberally to benevolent institutions,
yet makes no display of his charity. In his tastes
he is domestic and enjoys the companionship of his
family much more than that of general society.
In his religious belief he is liberal, broad minded
and charitable, believes in his children attending
church and Sunday-school and having instilled
into their minds the principles of Christianity. In
both business and social circles he is well known
as an honorable, upright man, and is held in the
highest regard by his many acquaintances and
friends.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

^^^

JESSE SPALDING.

JESSE SPALDING

fl ESSE SPALDING is a descendant of one of
the oldest American families. The euviron-
ment of the New England fathers was calcu-
lated to bring out and develop all that was
sturdy and vigorous in both mind and body, and
their descendants continue to manifest the traits
of character which enabled them to survive the
hardships which they were compelled to endure,
and which rendered prosperity possible in the
face of the most forbidding conditions.

The town and family of Spalding are known
to have existed in Lincolnshire, England, in the
twelfth century. Between 1630 and 1633, Edward
Spalding left that town and settled in Braintree,
in the then infant colony of Massachusetts. From
him the line of descent is traced through Joseph,
Nathaniel, Joseph, Joseph and John to Jesse.

The Spalding family first settled in southern
Connecticut, early in the seventeenth century.
Its members shared in the work of subduing the
wilderness, as well as defending their homes from
the aboriginal savages. Some of them achieved
distinction in the heroic defense of Fort Groton,
Connecticut. Many served in "King Philip's
War," and fifty-two were active in the Revolu-
tion, of whom nine participated in the battle of
Bunker Hill, where one fell from his dying horse.

Joseph Spalding, grandfather of Jesse, was
born in Plainfield, Connecticut. He was an of-
ficer of the Revolutionary army, and removed to
Pennsylvania in 1780, settling on land near Ath-
ens, Bradford County, on the upper waters of the
Susquehanna River. This land was claimed by
both Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and Mr.
Spalding was obliged to pay tribute to both com-
monwealths before he could secure a clear title.
This was a great hardship, but he went to work

with characteristic energy, and shortly thereafter,
despite all discouragements, became a prosperous
farmer and leading citizen of the community.

John, father of Jesse Spalding, was active and
influential in Bradford County affairs, and at one
time occupied the office of Sheriff, winning uni-
versal approbation by the intrepid and vigorous
manner in which he discharged his official (and
often perilous) duties in a new and somewhat
lawless community. His wife, Elizabeth, was a
daughter of Dr. Amos Prentiss, a distinguished
physician of Groton, Connecticut, and a represen-
tative of a prominent Colonial family.

Jesse Spalding was born at Athens, Pennsylva-
nia, April 15, 1833. While assisting his father
in farm work, he found time to acquire such edu-
cation as the common schools and the academy
of his native town afforded. On attaining his
majority he engaged in lumbering on the north
branch of the Susquehanna, and became a woods-
man and raftsman. At the age of twenty-three
he began to deal in lumber on his own account,
and was successful. His product was rafted to
Middletown, Columbia and Port Deposit, and
marketed in Washington, Alexandria, Norfolk
and Richmond, Virginia, and other points.

Foreseeing the rapid growth of the young city
of Chicago, he removed hither in 1857, an( ^
soon after bought a sawmill at Menekaunee, at
the mouth of the Menominee River, in Wiscon-
sin, where he commenced the manufacture of
lumber. This mill was burned in 1870, rebuilt
and burned in 1871, rebuilt in 1872, and is now
finely equipped with gang, band and circular
saws and modern machinery, being thoroughlj r
complete in all its appointments. For a time
business was conducted by the firm of Wells &

I 7 6

JESSE SPALDING.

Spalding, the firm name later becoming Spalding
& Porter, and subsequently Spalding, Houghtel-
ing & Johnson. In 1871, the concern was incor-
porated as the Menominee River Lumber Com-
pany, and in 1892 Mr. Spalding purchased the
interest of his partners, and has since been the
sole owner. Shortly after he bought out the
New York Lumber Company at Menekaunee, he
secured a milling property at the mouth of Cedar
River, about thirty miles above the city of Me-
nominee, and in 1882 he organized the Spalding
Lumber Company, of which he became President,
being at the same time its active manager. His
purchases of timber-lands in Wisconsin and Michi-
gan to supply the mills of these companies with
logs have aggregated two hundred and sixty-five
thousand acres. Besides its value for timber, this
land has proven rich in iron ore, and three mines
are now successfully operated on the property.
The output of the mills at Cedar River is shipped
in boats owned by the Spalding Lumber Com-
pany direct to Chicago, whence it is distributed
from the Chicago yards to the western and south-
western markets in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska,
Kansas and Missouri. Lumber has also been ship-
ped recently, in large quantities, direct from the
mills at Menekaunee to Detroit, Buffalo, Roch-
ester, Albany and Boston. The companies of
which Mr. Spalding is the head are among the
largest of their kind, and annually produce from
sixty to seventy-five millions of feet of lumber.

Although he cannot be said to have been a pio-
neer in the lumber business of Chicago, few men
have been more closely identified with its growth
than Mr. Spalding. In fact, his name is indissol-
ubly linked with the political, social and business
interests of the city and the Northwest.

Mr. Spalding is amply fitted by nature and
training for the manipulation of large interests,
and his success is in no small degree due to the
fact that he does not despise small things. All
the minutiae of his extensive interests are famil-
iar to him, and his practical experience enables
him to give attention to the smallest details. His
investments in banking and other financial con-
cerns are made with the same judicious care, and
are equally successful with his other undertak-

ings. He is a director in many large corporations
of the city, and his advice is frequently sought in
the conduct of many important enterprises. It is
not strange that his fellow-citizens should discover
in him a capable man of affairs; and when the city
was destroyed by fire in 1871, he was sought out
as one who would be useful in adjusting public
business to existing conditions, and in raising
Chicago from its ashes and reviving business ac-
tivity. He was three years in the City Council,
and while Chairman of the Finance Committee,
he, by judicious management, aided in the resto-
ration of the city's financial credit, materially
furthering the establishment of good municipal
government. In 1861, when the Nation was
threatened with destruction, Mr. Spalding was
among its most active defenders. He was re-
quested by the Adjutant-General of the State of
Illinois to build and equip barracks for the Gov-
ernment soldiers (afterward known as "Camp
Douglas"), besides which he built barracks the
following year on the North Side for returning
soldiers. He furnished all the material for these
structures, receiving in payment the State Audi-
tor's warrants, there being no funds in the Treas-
ury to be applied to this purpose.

Mr. Spalding has been an active worker in the
interests of the Republican party from its incep-
tion, because he believed the weal of the Nation
depended upon the success of the principles main-
tained by that party. He was a personal friend
of Grant, Arthur and Conkling, as well as other
now prominent National leaders, and gave coun-
sel in many grave exigencies. He presided at
the unveiling of the Grant monument in Lincoln
Park. In 1881 he was appointed by President
Arthur Collector of the Port of Chicago, and filled
that office in a manner most acceptable to the
Government and the people of the city. With
him a public office is a trust, to be executed with
the same faithful care which one bestows on his
own private affairs; and when he was appointed
Director of the Union Pacific Railroad on behalf
of the Government by President Harrison, he
made a personal investigation of the property in
his own painstaking way, submitting the report to
the Secretary of the Interior. This report, which

S. P. McCONNELL.

177

gave a careful review of the resources of the
country traversed by the line, and its future pros-
pects, was ordered printed by Congress, and com-
manded careful attention from financiers and those
concerned in the relations of the Pacific roads to
the Government. It was also embraced in the
annual report of the Board of Directors of the
Union Pacific Railway Company.

Mr. Spalding was associated with William B.
Ogden and others in the project for cutting a
canal from Sturgeon Bay to Green Bay, by which
the danger of navigating "Death'sDoor" (as the
entrance to Green Bay is known) could be avoid-
ed, as well as saving a distance of about one hun-

dred and fifty miles on each round trip between
Chicago and Green Bay ports. This was com-
pleted in 1882 by the Sturgeon Bay & Lake
Michigan Ship Canal and Harbor Company, of
which Mr-. Ogden was the first President, suc-
ceeded on his death by Mr. Spalding. During
the first year of its operations, 745,128 tons of
freight passed through the canal, and in 1892
the business amounted to 875,533 tons. In 1891
4,500 vessels (trips) passed through, and the
next year the number was 5,312. Congress hav-
ing passed an act to purchase the canal and make
it free to all navigators, it was turned over to the
United States Government in 1893.

HON. SAMUEL P. McCONNELL.

HON. SAMUEL PARSONS McCONNELL
was born in Springfield, Illinois, July 5,
1849. His parents, John and Elizabeth
(Parsons) McConnell, still reside at Springfield.
James McConnell, grandfather of the subject of
this sketch, came from County Down, Ireland,
about 1810, and engaged in the manufacture of
gunpowder in New Jersey. He afterward re-
moved to Sangamon County, Illinois, where he
became an extensive farmer and wool-grower.
He was one of the first to cultivate the prairie
soil of Illinois, demonstrating its fertility and
general advantages to his neighbors. He amassed
considerable property, and died in 1867.

John McConnell was born in Madison County,
New York, but went with his parents to Illinois
in his youth. When the United States became
involved'in civil strife, he recruited a company of
soldiers, and entered the military service as a
Captain, rising by promotion to the rank of Gen-
eral. Since the close of the war he has been en-
gaged in the insurance business in Springfield.
Mrs. Elizabeth McConnell was born in Connecti-

cut, and is descended from English emigrants who
located there about the middle of the seventeenth
century. Her grandfather, John Parsons, was a
Captain in the Continental army.

Samuel P. McConnell was educated at the
Springfield High School and Lombard University
at Galesburg, Illinois, graduating from the latter
institution in 1871, with the degree of Bachelor
of Arts. He read law with the firm of Stewart,
Edwards & Brown, of Springfield, and was ad-
mitted to the Bar in 1873. In December of the
same year, he came to Chicago, where he has
since been a prominent member of the Bar, and
has occupied an honorable position upon the
Bench.

In 1889 he was elected a Judge of the Circuit
Court of Cook County, to fill the vacancy caused
by the death of Judge McAllister, and, upon the
expiration of the term in 1891, he was re-elected.
In 1894 he resigned this office, and resumed his
private practice. He was led to take this step by
the inadequacy of the salary paid a Circuit Judge.
It is much to be regretted that almost any man

MINER RAYMOND.

fitted to grace and honor the Bench is able to earn
several times the salary of a Judge in private
practice.

Among the most prominent cases tried before
Judge McConnell may be mentioned the first
Cronin trial, the case of Ross versus White, the
Chicago City Railway Company versus Springer,
and the receivership of the J . H. Walker Com-
pany, in which property to the amount of five
millions of dollars was involved. His impartial
and equitable decisions earned him the respect of
attorneys, jurors and litigants, and his departure
from the Bench was widely regretted.

In 1876 he was married to Miss Sarah Rogers,
daughter of Judge John G. Rogers, of whom ex-
tended mention is made on other pages of this
volume. Judge and Mrs. McConnell are the par-
ents of three children, named, respectively, Julia,
James and Eleanor.

From youth Judge McConnell has been a Dem-
ocrat, departing from the precepts and example
of his father. He has never been a candidate for

any other office than that of Judge, though re-
peatedly importuned by party managers to be-
come a political leader. Among the social and
fraternal associations into which he has naturally
been drawn, may be mentioned the Iroquois, Lit-
erary and Waubansee Clubs. While President of
the first-named organization, he took a decided
position on the silver question, which was antag-
onistic to that of many members, and he felt it
incumbent upon him to resign, but this act
aroused such a strong protest in the club, that he
was induced to withdraw his resignation.

He presided over the city convention which se-
lected delegates to the State Democratic Confer-
ence, held at Springfield in June, 1895, to deter-
mine the attitude of the party on the silver issue.
He was made Permanent Chairman of this con-
ference, which wholly sustained his views upon
the question at issue. In this, as in all other
matters affecting public policy, he has been actu-
ated by a desire to promote the general welfare,
and without wish to occupy office.

REV. MINER RAYMOND, D. D., LL.D.

REV. MINER RAYMOND, D.D., LL.D.,
the oldest college professor in the Methodist
denomination, both in respect to age and
length of service, and one of the oldest teachers
of theology now living, is a resident of Evanston,
and until a short time since was active in edu-
cational work, in which he had been engaged for
more than sixty years. He is a native of New
York City, and was born on the zgth of August,
1811. His father was Nobles Raymond, and the
genealogist of this family has traced its descent
from Raimonde, Count of Toulouse, France, and
demonstrated that, on account of its espousal
of the Huguenot faith, its members were expa-
triated, and some fled to Essex, England, whence

the emigration to America occurred. The Ray-
monds became settlers in New England, and now
a host of this name, many of them prominent in
commercial and educational affairs, trace their
descent to the two or three who came to the
colonies in very early times.

Nobles Raymond married Hannah Wood, and
they became the parents of nine children, of
whom Miner was the eldest. Soon after his birth
his father removed with his family to the village
of Rensselaerville, New York, and there the boy,
when of school age, began to receive the rudi-
ments of his education, remaining in school un-
til twelve years of age. At that time his services
were required in his father's shop, and he spent

MINER RAYMOND.

179

the following six years in learning the art of
making shoes, in which he became so proficient
that his handiwork was second to that of no other
workman in style or finish. The same rule of
doing well whatever he did was as rigidly ad-
hered to when he was a mechanic as it has been
since he has held a position in the forefront of
educators.

The event in his youth most far-reaching in its
results on character and fortune was his conver-
sion and union, at the age of seventeen years,
with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which
he was to be so conspicuous and honored. His
father and mother were faithful adherents of that
creed. For more than twenty years they were
the only permanent residents of Rensselaerville
who were connected with that church, and their
house was ever a home for Methodist ministers.
The account of the great revival at Wilbraham,
Massachusetts, kindled in Miner Raymond a de-
sire for knowledge; it was the turning-point in a
great life, starting him on a new course and
bringing him into intimate and helpful relations
with an educational institution. Through the
efforts of the Presiding Elder of the district in
which he resided, he began his advanced educa-
tion in the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham,
then the only Methodist institution of learning of
any magnitude on this continent, of which only
three or four were then in existence. Like many
another student, he added to his limited means
by the labor of his hands; and the proceeds of
his work on the bench, mending the boots and
shoes of his fellow-students, helped to meet the
expenses incident to his education. But this did
not continue long. It was soon discovered that
he was endowed with the gift of teaching, and he
was made assistant teacher, a position which he
held for three years, while still a student in the
academy. His especial faculty for elucidating
the principles of arithmetic, which were then
very imperfectly treated in the textbooks, led to
his selection as teacher of a class of teachers, and
this was the starting point of his long career as
an educator.

Graduating in 1831, he was immediately made
a member of the faculty, and taught in that in-

stitution with marked success for ten years. In
1833 his name appears in the catalogue as usher,
and it was then he began his remarkable peda-
gogic labors. In 1834 he was advanced to the
charge of the English department, where he
labored with great success and growing popu-
larity for four years. During this period he had
been a diligent student and had delved deep into
the mysteries of ancient languages, the natural,
mental and moral sciences, and the higher mathe-
matics, for which he discovered a taste and apti-
tude. When the degrees were conferred by the
Wesleyan University upon the students he had
taught at the academy, he received, in recogni-
tion of his high ability and efficient services,
the honorary degree of Master of Arts. In 1838
he was promoted to the chair of mathematics,
which he filled with distinction for the three
years he remained as a teacher in the institution.

While yet engaged in teaching, Professor Ray-
mond joined the New England Conference, in
1838, and three years later entered upon pastoral
work. He served two years at Worcester, Massa-
chusetts, four years at Church and Bennett Street
Churches, Boston, and in 1847 went to Westfield,
where he remained one year.

Upon the resignation of Robert Allyn as Prin-
cipal of the Wesleyan Academy, Professor Ray-
mond was requested by the trustees to take the
position at the head of that institution. The
pastorate was the ideal life work to which he was
attached and for which he had educated himself,
but, after mature consideration, he decided to put
aside preference, and accept what he considered
a call of duty, and entered upon the work with a
devotion and energy that left a very deep impres-
sion upon the school at the head of which he
stood.

The first two or three years of Dr. Raymond
at Wilbraham were tentative and preparatory.
New buildings were necessary to the success of
the school, and how to get them was a problem,
the solution of which demanded his full strength;
but he met the difficulties and conquered where
most men would have failed. In spite of debt
and other obstacles, he succeeded in erecting
Fisk Hall, in 1851. In the two years following

i8o

MINER RAYMOND.

the number of pupils greatly increased, and in
the year 1853 rose to over six hundred, nearly
double the attendance of previous years. Through
the efforts of Dr. Raymond, Binney Hall was
built, in 1854. The principal building of the
institution, including its dormitory and board-
ing apartments, was destroyed by fire two
years later. Nothing daunted by this calamity,
he set about obtaining the means to rebuild it in
still nobler proportions, and that same year suc-
ceeded in completing a structure costing fifty
thousand dollars. By the act of an incendiary,
in 1857, this structure was also destroyed, but
Dr. Raymond and a few brave aids rose superior
to the discouragements that had beset them, ob-
tained money by popular subscription, aroused
the friends of education throughout the state, and,
by petition and strong personal influence, secured
legislative aid, by which means a third building,
more commodious, more beautiful and more cost-
ly than its predecessors, rose upon the site of
their ruins, and to-day is the chief ornament of
this seat of learning, a monument to the faith
and indomitable courage of Dr. Raymond.

In 1864 he was elected to the chair of system-
atic theology in Garrett Biblical Institute, Evans-
ton, Illinois, and resigned his position at the
head of the academy, which he left enjoying a
high degree of prosperity. Coming to Evanston,
he entered upon a work which his long experience
as a teacher, ripe scholarship, and" devotion to his
profession have made eminently successful and
gratifying in its results. For thirty-one years
he filled a position in which he was eminently
useful as a teacher, and during three years of
that time was also pastor of the First Methodist
Episcopal Church in Evanston. Soon after en-
tering the institute, he became convinced that he
was spending one-third of his time in telling the
students what the meaning of the theological
authors was. Then came the determination to
write out his lectures and make the expression
as plain as possible, so that theology might be
clearly taught and readily understood. In due
time appeared his "Systematic Theology," in
three volumes, intended for students preparing
for the Methodist ministry, which has proved to

be a very popular book. One distinguished
authority is quoted as saying: "It is the strong-
est defense of Arminianism we have seen." Be-
sides his pastoral work, Dr. Raymond has helped
to direct the work of the church in its national
councils. Six times he was elected as a delegate
to the General Conferences, as follows: Pitts-
burgh, in 1848; Boston, in 1852; Indianapolis, in
1856; Buffalo, in 1860; Philadelphia, in 1864;
and Brooklyn, in 1868.

Dr. Raymond was married, August 20, 1837,
to Elizabeth Henderson, of Webster, Massachu-
setts, who died September 19, 1877. Five chil-
dren were born of this union, all of whom are
now living. Mary is the widow of Philip B.
Shumway, the builder of the Elgin, Joliet &
Eastern Railroad, and now resides in Evanston.
William is in the employ of that railroad. Samuel
B. is a prominent citizen and prosperous sugar
broker in Chicago. James H. is a well-known
and successful patent lawyer in Chicago. Freder-
ick D. is Secretary and Treasurer of the Elgin,
Joliet & Eastern Railway Company.

On July 28, 1879, Dr. Raymond was united in
marriage with Isabella (nee Hill), widow of Rev.
Amos Binney. Dr. Raymond's domestic life has
been a pleasant one; his house has been the dwell-
ing-place of peace and happiness. His exemp-
tion from illness up to the past winter, and the
contentment of his mind, have conspired to pre-
serve his physical vigor, which is evidenced by
the full head of hair, now of flowing whiteness,
and the clear, bright eye which lends vivacity to
his countenance.

Rev. David Sherman, D. D., author of the
' ' History of the Wejleyan Academy at Wilbra-
ham," has thus written of Dr. Raymond:

' ' His first essays in teaching reveal the born
schoolmaster, destined to advance to the fore-
front. No one who attended his classes can ever
forget his clear and forcible instructions. The
principles involved in the study were seized upon
and traced onward through intricate problems as
in lines of light. No one could fail to see or to
be carried with the demonstration. But his
superiority as a teacher was not simply in the ex-
tent and accuracy of his knowledge, or even in

JAMES McMAHON.

181

his ability to make truth visible; it was rather in
that higher ability to develop the student and to
create in him the capacity to investigate and
master truth. It was not simply the amount of
knowledge he communicated, it was the way he
impressed himself upon other minds coming un-
der his instruction. The man, even more than
the pedagogue, was behind his utterances."

The same writer, in speaking of him as a
preacher, says:

' ' With him religion was the main considera-
tion, and his convictions on the subject were
deep and strongly expressed. He spoke with
the demonstration of the spirit and power. If
his prayers and exhortations were thoughtful and
intellectual,, they were, at the same time, intense

and fervid, enlisting the emotions of the heart as
well as the accurate formulations of the brain.
* * * * Though gifted with large capacity
for astute and accurate thought, he was gladly
heard by the people, because his logic usually
came to a white heat. To the religious people of
Wilbraham he was for a quarter of a century the
oracle. No other principal, certainly after Dr.
Fisk, obtained so firm and enduring a hold upon
the people as Miner Raymond."

What was said in those days may be repeated
with emphasis concerning his labors in later
years, when in the enjoyment of his full intel-
lectual strength and the knowledge and experi-
ence gained in more than half a century of con-
tinuous mental activity.

JAMES McMAHON.

(TAMES McMAHON. Few people in Evan-
I ston are as well known, or regarded with as
(*/ much sincere respect and admiration, as the
subject of this notice and his excellent wife.
During their residence of over thirty years in
Cook County, they have been almost constantly
identified with charitable and philanthropic en-
terprises, and have won the friendship of both
rich and poor to an unusual degree.

Mr. McMahon was born at Belfast, Ireland,
June 4, 1813. He is a son of Alexander Mc-
Mahon and Mar> 7 Ann Douglass, both of whom
were of the stanch Scotch- Irish blood which has
ever been active in promoting the best interests
of mankind. Alexander McMahoii was the de-
scendant of a family which had been for many
generations engaged in the linen trade. Two of
his brothers were extensive merchants at Belfast,
Ireland, and amassed a fortune there. Alexander
turned his attention to agriculture, and in 1819
came to America. After living for a time near

Watertown, New York, he removed to a farm near
Kingston, Canada, upon which he resided for fifty
years, departing this life in 1883, at the age of
ninety-three years. He was the father of fourteen
children, of whom James was the eldest. He was
an honorable and thrifty business man, and accu-
mulated a competence, in the enjoyment of which
his later years were spent. He and his wife were
devout Presbyterians. The latter died at King-
ston, several years later than her husband.

James McMahon enjoyed excellent educational
advantages, pursuing courses of study success-
ively at Andover Academy; Cheshire Academy, at
Cheshire, Connecticut; and Washington (now
Trinity) College, at Hartford, Connecticut. His
parents designed to fit him for the Presbyterian
ministry., but, while a student at Washington
College, he became converted to the Episcopal
faith, and abandoned his theological studies, to
their great disappointment. While a young man,
he spent considerable time in travel, visiting Eu-

182

JAMES McMAHON.

rope three times, and becoming quite familiar
with the ways of the world and its business
methods. In 1849, in company with a party of
young men of his acquaintance, he went to Cali-
fornia, by way of the Isthmus. He remained
three years in that state, during which time he
mined successively at Hangtown, American Val-
ley and Big Bar, and also recovered his health,
which had become considerably impaired before
his departure from the East. At the last-named
mines he gained a rich reward for his labors, and
thence returned to the East, again making the
voyage by way of the Isthmus, a regular line of
steamers having been established since he first
made the journey.

He landed at New Orleans, thence went to Dal-
las County, Alabama, where he purchased an ex-
tensive cotton plantation with a retinue of slaves,
and had just established a profitable business
when the Civil War broke out. On account of his
political views, he found it impracticable to re-
main there, and in 1860 he was obliged to
abandon his property and remove to the North.
He located in Chicago, where he became asso-
ciated with the insurance agency of Thomas B.
Bryan, and continued to carry on that line of
business for a number of years, representing the
Mutual Life, the Mutual Benefit and the Equit-
able Life Insurance Companies. His business
ventures were fairly successful, and he had accu-
mulated -considerable property when the great fire
of 1871 visited the city. Most of what he saved
from that disaster was swept away by the panic
of 1873. At the latter date he moved to Evans-
ton, and for a few years conducted a restaurant
in Davis Street. Since 1882 he has filled the of-
fice of Township Supervisor, being re-elected
each season without opposition. In addition to
his official duties, he acts as a purchasing agent
for Evanston merchants, making regular trips to
Chicago in their interests.

He is a thirty-second-degree Mason, and is
held in the highest regard by his brethren of that
order, from whom he has received many testimo-
nials. He first joined Oriental Lodge, and is
now identified with Evans Lodge, Evanston
Chapter, Evanston Commandery and Oriental

Consistory, his duties as Tyler of these several
bodies taking up considerable of his time.

Mr. McMahon was married, in 1865, to Martha
Cornelia Converse, daughter of Samuel Augustus
and Anna (Easton) Converse, of Stafford, Con-
necticut. Mr. Converse, who was a descendant
of the French Huguenots who located in America
during the Colonial period, died in Connecticut,
at the extreme old age of ninety-three years. He
was an influential citizen of Stafford, and a pen-
sioner of the War of 1812. Mrs. McMahon came
to Chicago in 1860, and was associated with Mrs.
Mary A. Livermore in conducting the great San-
itary Fair. Mr. McMahon was also one of the
promoters of this undertaking, and sold thousands
of tickets in its support. Though not blessed
with children of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Mc-
Mahon have adopted and partially reared several
children, one daughter, Harriet Wilmina, having
been a member of the family from infancy. She
was first married to Professor W. W. Graves, an
instructor in the Northwestern University, and
since his death has become the wife of Edwin
O'Malley, of Chicago. Jennie, another adopted
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. McMahon, is now Mrs.
Cameron, of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

When he first located in Chicago Mr. McMahon
resided on the South Side, near the home of
Stephen A. Douglas, who became his intimate
friend. He helped to organize St. Mark's Church,
on Cottage Grove Avenue, and was for some
years one of its most active and influential mem-
bers. He served four years as Superintendent of
Trinity Mission, and he and his wife have been
communicants of St. Mark's Church of Evanston
since removing to that city. Previous to the
Great Rebellion, he was a Democrat, but since
coming to Chicago has been a consistent Repub-
lican. He is a life member of the Masonic Vet-
erans' Association of Chicago, and during the
war acted as agent for the numerous Masonic
charities of the city of Chicago, securing relief
and transportation for many indigent members of
the order belonging to the Union army. The
retrospection of his long and useful life may well
afford comfort and satisfaction in his declining
years.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

(From Photo, by W. J. ROOT)

JONATHAN CLARK

JONATHAN CLARK.

(JONATHAN CLARK, prominent among Chi-
I cago contractors and builders, was born at
O West Walton, in the county of Norfolk, Eng-
land, May 28, 1828. His parents were William
and Christina Clark, and his father died when
Jonathan, the eldest of four children, was only
seven years old. At the age of eight he was put
to work herding sheep on the Norfolk commons
and keeping the birds off the fields of grain, for
which he received two shillings (fifty cents) per
week. He went out to service on a farm at twelve
years of age. His earnings during the last year
of service he saved to pay his way to America.
Previous to that time he had contributed his
wages to the support of his widowed mother and
his younger brothers.

On the 2ist of September, 1848, Mr. Clark
sailed from England, and arrived in Chicago on
the 2jth of November, via New York, being nearly
ten weeks on the journey. He came by way of
the Lakes directly to Chicago, penniless and
friendless, but resolute and ready for whatever
came. His first employment was hauling wood
into Chicago. The winter was very severe, and
he froze his feet, and, through the dishonesty of
his employer, he lost his wages. In the spring
of 1849 he worked six weeks for Jefferson Mun-
son, of Downer's Grove, and then returned to
Chicago and became an apprentice to P. L. Up-
dyke and John Sollitt, with whom he spent three
years, learning the trade of carpenter and joiner,
and at the expiration of that time receiving'the
sum of $200 for his services. He spent six months
as a journeyman, and then began contracting on
his own account, and was successful, accumulat-

ing money from the start. By saving his earn-
ings, he was able to pay his brother's passage to
America in 1849, an< i i n l &5 the two brought
over the remainder of the family.

In 1860, in company with his brother, Mr.
Clark went overland to Denver, where they
fitted up the first express building and the post-
office. After spending the summer there, they
returned in the fall by team, as they had gone.
On the Platte River Mr. Clark's horse was stolen,
and while trying to recover it, he traveled on
foot in the night, and was surrounded by wolves,
barely escaping with his life. The thief was
captured, and Mr. Clark's companions wanted to
try him, but as that meant conviction and hang-
ing, he refused to allow it, and the offender was
permitted to accompany the outfit to Omaha, and
to go unpunished. In 1867 Mr. Clark was ap-
pointed by Gov. Oglesby to superintend the con-
struction of Illinois buildings at the Paris Expo-
sition. There the United States Government,
recognizing his worth, secured his services in the
Department of Works, and appointed him assist-
ant to the Superintendent of the American por-
tion of the exposition. Before returning to the
United States, he visited his old home and por-
tions of Switzerland and Germany.

During the years he was engaged in contract-
ing, Mr. Clark did an immense business, and
erected many residences, stores and business
houses. Among them were the Bowen Block,
McCormick Hall Block, Kingsburg Music Hall,
Kingsburg Block, the Chicago Water Works,
Bigelow Hotel, the Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation building and Academy of Design, the

184

GEORGE G. CUSTER.

Brother Jonathan building and the First National
Bank building. The reconstruction of the Chi-
cago Water Works was the first job he did after
the fire, and the embers were still hot when he
began work on it. The Bigelow Hotel occupied
the site of the present postoffice, and disappeared
in the great fire. Mr. Clark was both builder
and owner of the Academy of Design, which was
the first building ever erected in Chicago for a
fine-arts exhibit.

In 1852 Mr. Clark married Miss Alice Sarde-
son, a native of Lincolnshire, England, but then a
resident of Chicago. Of the marriage, five chil-
dren were born and all are now living in Chicago.
They are: Euna, the wife of Shea Smith, of Shea
Smith & Co.; F. W.; George T.; Retta M., now
the wife of Dr. Kauffman, of Chicago; and J. Y.
The sous F. W. and G. T. are members of the firm
of Jonathan Clark & Sons Co., contractors, who
have erected many buildings, notable among
which are the Art Institute and the Government
buildings at Ft. Sheridan. The senior member of

this firm is not now actively connected with the
company, but is employed in erecting and manag-
ing buildings, of which he has about a score, built
on ground held on ninety-nine-year leases.

Mr. Clark is a Republican, a member of the
Union League and Sunset Clubs, and a Thirty-
second Degree Mason, in which order he has held
many high offices. He attends, but is not a mem-
ber of, Dr. Thomas' Church. In his later years
he has traveled largely through the United States,
including the Pacific Coast and Florida. He has
a fruit farm and an elegant residence at Fn..tland
Park, in the latter State.

Jonathan Clark is numbered among the men
who have made Chicago, and given it the char-
acter which it bears. Through trials, by perse-
verance and an honest course, he has risen to
prominent place in the city which he has made
his residence for almost half a century, and where
he is an honored citizen, who bears his years
with dignity, and grows old gracefully in the
midst of a large circle of devoted friends.

GEORGE GRANGER CUSTER.

f2fEORGE GRANGER CUSTER, who is now

b serving as Auditor of the City Board of Ed-
ucation, was born on the 6th of December,
1838, in Sanford, Edgar County, Illinois. His
father's ancestors bore the name of Granger, and
came from England to America, locating in Con-
necticut. His father was a physician, and in
Newark, Ohio, married Nancy Link. His death
occurred at the early age of twenty-eight years,
and soon after our subject, then a child of six
months, was taken for adoption by Isaac D. Cus-
ter, of Terre Haute, Indiana, whose name he
then assumed. He found in his foster-father a
kind-hearted and liberal man, who could not have

treated an own son with more kindness and con-
sideration. The maternal ancestors of the sub-
ject of this sketch were of French origin, and on
emigrating to the New World settled in Freder-
icksburg, Virginia, about the middle of the eigh-
teenth century. From there the maternal grand-
father with his family removed about the year
1825 to Newark, Ohio.

When George was a child of six years, the
Custer family removed to St. Louis, Missouri,
and for five years he attended Wyman's private
school. Soon after he accompanied his father on
a trip to California, where they remained for one
year. Mr. Custer went to the West to see the

GEORGE G. CUSTER.

185

country, and took his adopted son on account of
his poor health. The result of the trip proved the
wisdom of the father, as the son became a strong,
hearty boy, and now enjoys a vigorous manhood.
He made the journey across the plains on horse-
back, leaving St. Louis on the 4th of April,
1850, on the steamboat "Princeton," and., arriv-
ing at old Ft. Kearney, Nebraska, fifteen days
later. There they remained until the early part
of May, when, the grass having grown sufficiently
to furnish feed for horses and mules, they re-
sumed their journey. They were eighty-six days
in making the trip from the Missouri River to
Hangtown, now Placerville, California. Their
next resting-place was Sacramento, from whence
they went to San Francisco. They suffered the
usual hardships and privations incident to the
trip across the plains in days of the gold excite-
ment, being sometimes for days with very small
rations of food, and only water sufficient to moisten
the lips; but, notwithstanding, no illness fell to the
lot of father or son during the trip to and from
California. Mr. Custer had no mining experi-
ences, for he was then too young to dig for gold.
After a sojourn of a few months in California, he
returned home, by way of the Isthmus, stopping
on the way at the island of Jamaica and in New
York City, from whence he came West, by way
of the Hudson River to Albany, thence to Buffalo
by rail, by lake toChicago, by canal to La Salle,
and on the steamer "Robert Fulton" to St. Louis.
Mr. Custer then attended Jones' College until
eighteen years of age, and resided in St. Louis
until 1854, when the family removed to a farm
near Davenport, Iowa. In the fall of 1855, he
returned to St. Louis and accepted a position as
assistant book-keeper in the retail grocery house
of Ellis & Hutton, at that time the largest estab-
lishment of the kind in the city. In the summer
following he returned to Davenport and entered
the employ of Thomas H. McGee, wholesale
grocer, as chief clerk and book-keeper, and in the
spring of 1857 took charge of the office of the
Burtis House, then the best-equipped hotel west
of Chicago. After a few months he was taken
sick and returned to the farm, where he remained
until coming to Chicago, in April, 1862.

In the mean time Mr. Custer was married. On
the 4th of October, 1860, he wec'ded Miss Sarah
Ann Kelly, of Davenport. The lady was born in
Mt. Carmel, near Cincinnati, Ohio, September 7,
1842. Her father, Daniel C. Kelly, a native of
Cincinnati, is now living in Davenport, Iowa,
where the foster-father of this subject also resides.
They are aged respectively eighty and eighty-
three years, and still active and in good health.
Four children have been born to Mr. Custer and
his wife: Tillie, who is now the wife of Robert J.
Clark, and has one child; Hattie Winchell, wife
of William G. R. Bell; Sadie Belle; and George G.

On leaving the farm in Iowa, Mr. Cutter came to
Chicago and accepted a position as assistant com-
mercial reporter on the Morning Post, edited by J.
W. Sheahan, with which he was connected for a
year. He then entered the employ of Hobbs, Oli-
phant & Co. , commission merchants, and at the end
of three years started in business for himself as a
member of the firm of Olcott, Lash & Co. , in the
same line of business. This venture proved un-
successful, on account of the credit given country
customers. Mr. Custer then engaged in the
brokerage business, but during the great fire again
met with losses, after which he spent three years
with Hall & Winch, sash and door manufacturers.
He then returned to the Board of Trade, and was
quite successful in business for several years, but
at length lost his fortune in a "big corner."

At that time Mr. Custer left the city, removing
to Nevada, Illinois, where he took charge of an
elevator owned by A. M. Wright & Co. On his
return in 1880, he accepted a position with
James H. Drake & Co., commission merchants,
with whom he remained for a year and a-half,
when failing health forced him to abandon that
work. Farm life had previously proved benefi-
cial, and he again resorted to that cure, carrying
on agricultural pursuits until his health was re-
stored. Once more he entered the employ of
Hall & "Winch, with whom he continued until
the death of the junior partner, when the business
was closed out. He \vr.s then with the firm of
Garvey & Jenkinson until they retired from busi-
ness.

In May, 1886, Mr. Custer became Auditor of

i86

WILLIAM WEST.

the Board of Education, and has been unani-
mously re-elected since that time. He was the
candidate for the office of Assessor of West Chi-
cago, on the Democratic ticket, in 1871, but
never sought political preferment, although he
took an active part in politics in early life. He is
known as a conservative Democrat. Socially, he
is connected with the Royal Arcanum and the
Royal League, and is the First Vice-Presideut of
the California Pioneers. In early life he joined
the Baptist Church, but as its doctrines were not
in accordance with his broad and liberal views, he

joined the Third Unitarian Church, and was, until
his removal from the West to the South Side, one
of its active and respected members. He is so-
cially inclined, possessed of a genial nature and
pleasant disposition. He is popular among his
acquaintances, and is one who makes and retains
friends. He possesses a sanguine temperament,
is an energetic worker and not easily discouraged.
Fond of home and family, he is true to those who
rely upon him, and his faithfulness and sterling
worth have won him warm regard.

WILLIAM WEST.

|t> QlLLIAM WEST, one of the enterprising
\ A / citizens of Cook County, now successfully
V V engaged in farming on section 30, Niles
Township, is numbered among the early settlers
of the State, having come to Illinois with his
parents in 1836. He is a native of Yorkshire,
England, born on the 2ist of June, 1814. His
father, James West, was born in Shipton, Eng-
land, in 1768, and died in the fall of 1838, two
years after his emigration to America. His wife
bore the maiden name of Jane Hodgen, and was
a daughter of Thomas Hodgen, a shoe-maker of
Great Husband, England. As above stated,
James West, accompanied by his family, bade
adieu to friends and native land and sailed for
America in the good ship "Sylvenus Jenkins,"
which brought him to New York after an un-
eventful voyage of thirty-one days. He was de-
tained in New York quite a while on account of
the sickness of a relative, John Dewes, but at
length resumed his journey and traveled toward
the setting sun until he reached Cook County.
He became the first settler of Jefferson Township,
and it was his intention to purchase a claim as

soon as the land came into market, but death
frustrated his plans.

William West pre-empted a quarter-section of
land in JeSerson Township, on which he resided
until 1856, when he came to Niles Township, his
present home. One of the most important events
of his life occurred in 1843, when was celebrated
his marriage with Mrs. Isabella Mosley, a daugh-
ter of John Kendel, who was a native of York-
shire, England, and a farmer by occupation.
Mrs. West was born in \orkshire, December 18,
1821, and died January 28, 1864. Their union
was blessed with four sons and five daughters,
and five of the number are still living, namely:
William, who was born June n, 1850, and now
resides in Chicago; Mary Jane, who was born
April 27, 1852, and is the wife of Robert Robin-
son, of Avondale; Isabella E., who was born
August 27, 1857, and is the wife of John Proctor,
a resident of Arlington Heights; Martha Ann,
who was born February 20, 1860, is the widow
of Emil Haag, and resides in Niles; and Edward,
who was born January 18, 1864, and is now en-
gaged in the flour and feed business in Chicago.

J. D. TOBEY.

187

In 1866, Mr. West was again married, his second
union being with Mrs. Frances Ollinger, who is
now deceased.

Mr. West cast his first vote for William Henry
Harrison and has voted at each Presidential elec-
tion since that time. He now affiliates with the
Democracy, but from 1860 until 1892 supported
the Republican candidates. He received no spe-
cial advantages in life, his school privileges being

obtained previous to his tenth year, and his edu-
cation from that time was acquired through con-
tact with the world. He had no capital or influ-
ential friends to aid him in business, and the suc-
cess which has crowned his efforts is the just re-
ward of his own labors. As a citizen he is pub-
lic-spirited and progressive and devoted to the
best interests of the community, and by those who
know him he is highly respected.

JOHN D. TOBEY.

(TOHN DILLON TOBEY, who is doing an
extensive business as a dealer in hay and
grain in Chicago, was born at Worth Sta-
tion, Cook County, on the 3d of September,
1859, and is a son of Wales and Elizabeth Tobey,
who are represented on another page of this work.
He spent his early boyhood days upon his father's
farm, and acquired his education in the district
school of the neighborhood and in the High School
of Blue Island. At the age of seventeen he left
home with $2.85 in his pocket. From that time
he has made his own way in the world unaided,
and the success he has achieved is therefore due
entirely to his own efforts. He began work as a
farm hand, receiving $15 per month in compen-
sation for his services. With his first season's
wages he bought a half-interest in a threshing-
machine, and the following winter started a hay
press.

Fifteen months after leaving home, Mr. Tobey
had accumulated $3,300, besides a hay-press,
teams, etc. In connection with his other work
he also did road contracting in Worth Township.
For one year after coming to Chicago he was in
the employ of Nelson Morris & Co. , buying sup-
plies of feed for the stock. Since 1886 he has
engaged in his present business as a dealer in hay
and grain at No. 309 Twenty-sixth Street. He al-

so handles ice. His business has steadily in-
creased in volume, until it has now assumed ex-
tensive proportions, and on the ist of June, 1894,
the J. D. Tobey Hay and Grain Company was in-
corporated. Of this Mr. Tobey is president and
general manager. For some years he has been
the best known dealer in his line on the south side
and is now the largest retail dealer in the United
States. He also deals in city real estate and
farm property, and has invested to some extent in
western lands.

On the loth of September, 1885, Mr. Tobey
was united in marriage with Miss Clara M. Burt.
The lady is a native of Westport, Essex County,
N. Y., and is a daughter of Alvin Burt. Their
union has been blessed with one child, Gracie.
They also lost two sons who died in infancy
within two weeks of each other.

Mr. Tobey takes considerable interest in civic
societies, and is a member of Golden Rule Lodge
No. 726, A. F. & A. M. ; a life member of Chi-
cago Commandery No. 19, K. T. ; and also be-
longs to Medinah Temple and the Mystic Shrine;
to Acacia Club; to America Lodge No. 271, K.
P. ; Longfellow Lodge No. 708, R. A. ; George
B. McClellan Council of the National Union;
Chicago Heavy-Weight Base Ball Club, the Sud-
seite Turngemeiude, and several other social and

188

ALEXANDER McDANIEL.

insurance orders. He votes with the Republican
party, but has never sought or desired political
preferment, in fact has several times refused pub-
lic office. Physically, Mr. Tobey is the picture

of health and strength. He is of a social, genial
nature, and is a gentleman of rare business abil-
ity, having attained success through good judg-
ment, ready decision and energetic determination.

ALEXANDER McDANIEL

Gl LEXANDER McDANIEL, of Wilmette, is
LJ now living a retired life, enjoying a rest which
/ I he has truly earned and richly deserves. He
has for many years resided in Cook County, and
is so widely and favorably known that he needs
no special introduction to the readers of this vol-
ume. This work would be incomplete without
the record of his life, which is as follows: He
was born February 13, 1815, in Bath, Steuben
County, New York, and is a son of Daniel Mc-
Daniel, who was of Scotch descent, but was born
in the State of New York and made farming his
life work. He married Rachel Taner, a lady who
was born and reared in the Mohawk Valley, and
was a descendant of the Mohawk Dutch. They
became the parents of seven children, four sons
and three daughters.

Alexander McDaniel is the eldest son. The
days of his boyhood and youth were spent in his
parents' home and he became familiar with all the
duties of farm life. He aided in the cultivation
of the old homestead until he had attained his
majority, when he started out for himself, and,
leaving the East upon the tide of emigration which
was steadily moving westward, he came to Chica-
go, arriving in this city on the 2yth of May, 1836.
Here he worked until the I4th of August, when
he went to New Trier Township, spending sever-
al days looking up lands on the Ouilmette Indian
reservation. He then returned to Chicago, where
he continued until October, when he again came
to New Trier Township, and pre-empted one hun-
dred and sixty acres of Government land where

the town of Winnetka now stands. The land in
the reservation had not then been surveyed. Mr.
McDaniel deposited the price of the property with
the Government agent until it should be surveyed
and placed upon the market, which was four
years later. He built a log cabin, one of the first
four houses which stood between Chicago and the
present site of Winnetka, and there he kept bach-
elor's hall for four years. The only neighbors he
had for the first year, except Erastus Patterson,
were Indians, and he was the only young man in
that locality. Speaking of the Indians, he said
the Ouilmettes were quite enlightened and good
neighbors, always being peaceable. Mr. McDan-
iel purchased three forty-acre tracts of land, pay-
ing the usual price of $1.25 per acre, and forty
at twenty shillings per acre. Upon this land a
part of the town of Evanston now stands. When
he first came to Cook County there were only
three small log cabins north of Chicago, and many
of the now thriving villages and cities had not
sprung into existence, while the work of progress
and civilization seemed hardly begun.

On the ayth of November, 1842, an important
event in the life of Mr. McDaniel occurred, his
marriage with Miss Emeline Huntoon. The la-
dy was born in Champlain, New York, March n,
1824, and is a daughter of George W. and Lucin-
da (Bowler) Huntoon, whose family numbered
ten children. The father was a ship carpenter,
and was born in Vermont, December 9, 1791.
The mother was born January 9, 1796. With
their family they came to Cook County in 1840,

W. R. DERBY.

189

settling on the present site of South Evanston.
Mr. and Mrs. McDaniel became the parents of six
children. Jane, who was the wife of William
H. Kinney, Postmaster of Wilmette, is now de-
ceased; Ellen, widow of A. B. Balcam, resides
with her parents; Charles, who enlisted at the age
of sixteen and served three years in the Eighth
Illinois Cavalry, is now a carpenter and contractor
of Wilmette; George is interested in mining in
Colorado; Henry is a policeman of Wilmette;
and William Grant is a fireman on the North-
Western Railroad.

Mr. McDaniel exercises his right of franchise
in support of the Republican party. His first vote
was cast on the 4th of May, 1837, for William
B. Odgen, first mayor of Chicago, and his first
presidential vote supported William Henry Harri-
son. Soon after the village of Wilmette was start-
ed, he was appointed the first Postmaster, hold-
ing the office for nineteen successive years, when
he resigned in favor of Mr. Kinney, the present
incumbent. He has never sought or desired po-

litical preferment, his time and attention being
largely occupied by his business interests. His
wife, a most estimable lady, holds membership
with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and takes
an active part in its work and upbuilding. For
twenty-six years Mr. McDaniel has been a resi-
dent of Wilmette. His first home at this place,
located on Center Avenue, was the fourth house
built in the town, and in it he resided for twen-
ty-three years. In 1891, he erected a more sub-
stantial and modern dwelling on the same street,
and there spends his declining days. He has wit-
nessed almost the entire growth and development
of the county, the best interests of the communi-
ty ever find in him a friend, and his hearty sup-
port and co-operation are given to those enter-
prises which are calculated to advance the gener-
al welfare. His sterling worth and strict integri-
ty have made him a leading citizen of the com-
munity and one well worthy of representation in
this volume.

WILLIAM R. DERBY.

fDQlLUAM R. DERBY, who was for many

\ A I years prominently identified with the his-
Y V tory of this community, was numbered
among the honored pioneer settlers, having be-
come a resident of Cook County in 1834. He
was born in Dorset, Bennington County, Ver-
mont, on the 1 7th of March, 1805, and was a
son of Sylvester Derby, whose birth occurred in
the same locality in 1780. In 1816 the father
removed with his family to Genesee County, New
York, where he remained until his death, which
occurred at the ripe old age of ninety years.

William Derby spent the first sixteen years of his
life at his parents' home, and then began to learn
the trade of a wool carder and dresser, which he

followed for nine years. He later engaged in the
hotel business for nearly two years, and in 1834
he emigrated westward to try his fortunes on the
broad prairies of Illinois. He settled on section
34, township 37, range n, about three miles
southeast of the village of Lemont. At that
time there were only two houses between Joliet
and Chicago. The latter place was a small vil-
lage, and the most far-sighted could not have
dreamed of the prominence and importance which
were to make it the metropolis of the West and
one of the important cities of the world. Mr.
Derby had for neighbors a brother-in-law, Jere-
miah Luther, Orange Chauncy and Joshua Smith,
all natives of Vermont except Mr. 'Luther, who

W, R. DERBY.

was born in New York. When Mr. Derby came
to Cook County he had a span of horses, harness
and wagon, some household effects and $40 in
money. He disposed of his team in order to pay
for his land when it came into market, and he
was thus enabled to purchase one hundred and
forty acres. It was wild land, but with charac-
teristic energy he began its development, and in
course of time transformed it into a fertile farm.
He built a log house, in which he lived for about
twenty-five years, and then erected a two-story
brick residence, which he made his home until
1879, when he sold his farm (then containing
two hundred acres) and removed to Lemont.

Mr. Derby was married on the 28th of June,
1830, in Castile, New York, to Miss Eliza N.
Luther. Together they traveled life's journey for
about half a century. On the 5th of April, 1880,
Mrs. Derby was called to the home beyond. She
was beloved by all who knew her and her friends
were many, By their marriage were born four
children, of whom two are now living. Sylvester
L-, the elder, was born in Castile, New York,
September 18, 1836, and at a very early age was
brought to Lemont, where he has since made his
home. He graduated from the high school of
Chicago, and during his early business career
followed farming, but in 1879 he disposed of his
land and removed to Lemont, where he embarked
in the lumber trade, and also in the manufacture
of lumber in Michigan. His standing as a busi-
ness man is above reproach. His systematic
methods, his enterprise and his fair and honor-
able dealing have gained him the confidence and
esteem of all with whom he has been brought
in contact. He enjoys a liberal patronage, and
has a well-equipped lumber-yard. On the 24th
of September, 1855, l je was married to Charlotte
D. Russell, of Dover, New Hampshire, and to
them were born five children, four yet living,
namely: Mrs. Ida E. Brown, Sylvester O.,O. R.
and J. A. L. The three sons are associated with
their father in the lumber trade. They are thor-
ough business men, of sterling integrity, and the
firm is one of prominence in the community.

Sylvester L. Derby has been honored with sev-
eral offices of trust, the duties of which have
ever been discharged with promptness and fidel-
ity. In politics he is a Republican. In 1892 he
was President of the Illinois Retail Lumber Deal-
ers' Association. Although he is now nearing
his sixtieth birthday, he is still hale and hearty
as a young man of twenty-five, and is recognized
as one of the leading citizens of Lemont.

John T. Derby, the younger son of William R.
Derby, was born in Lemont, October 29, 1840,
acquired his early education in a log schoolhouse
at Gooding's Grove and later was graduated from
Castile University. He began life as a school
teacher in the town of Palos, Cook County, and
for several years continued teaching in Cook and
Will Counties. He studied law with Judge J. P.
Atwood, of Chicago, where he was admitted to
the Bar, and in 1 873 was chosen Assistant County
Superintendent of Schools under George D. Plant,
which position he held until the close of Mr. Plant's
official term. He was the first City Attorney of
Lemont, and was a member of its first Board of
Education. On the 7th of May, 1862, was cele-
brated his marriage with' Clara H. Dakin, of
Millerton, Dutchess County, New York, and by
their union were born three children, of whom
Nettie E. and Edward D. are now living. Mrs.
Derby died February i, 1885, and in 1886 Mr.
Derby married Miss Abbie E. Jones, of Du Page,
Will County, Illinois. He is at present engaged
in the practice of law, and is a radical temper-
ance man, who supports by his ballot the Prohi-
bition party.

William R. Derby, whose name heads this
record, was an advocate of Democratic principles
and was often called to office by his fellow-towns-
men. He served as Supervisor, was also Justice
of the Peace for five years, was Township Treas-
urer sixteen years and Township Clerk for sev-
eral years. In these various offices he was ever
true and faithful. All who knew him respected
him for his upright life and straightforward deal-
ings and for a public and rjrivate career which
were alike above reproach.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

L. A. BUDLONG.

. 191

LYMAN A. BUDLONG.

j YMAN ARNOLD BUDLONG is a highly
It representative type of all that constitutes a
[_2r well-ordered life. He is descended from an
ancestry which dates back to the crucial period
of American history back to that period when
the principles of liberty, involving perfect freedom
of conscience first began to crystallize and take
form in the minds and hearts of a brave and reso-
lute people, from whom, as a nation, has been
inherited that priceless legacy of liberty which is
so distinctively American.

From the best evidence extant, Francis Bud-
long, the founder of his family, came to. this coun-
try some time during the seventh decade of the
seventeenth century, and effected a settlement in
the province of Rhode Island. Here, in 1669,
he married Mrs. Rebecca Howard (nee Lippit),
of Warwick, Rhode Island. It was in the year
1675 that Massasoit, the renowned chieftain of the
Wampanoags, died and was succeeded by his son
Philip. Urged by his young warriors, Philip
disregarded the treaty of his father, which had
been kept by him for fifty years, and inaugurated
a war for the purpose of destroying the whites
and recovering his hunting grounds. For a year
flame and the scalping-knife, in the hands of a
merciless foe, wrought the destruction of more
than six hundred houses, while nearly one thou-
sand men fell in battle, and scores of women and
children came tinder the tomahawk of the infuri-
ated savages. During this struggle, known in
history as King Philip's War, the family of
Francis Budlong, save one, was massacred an in-
fant boy having been spared. This little one was

given a home in the family of Mr. John Lippit,
its uncle, by whom it was reared, and from
this rescued waif descended the numerous
Budlongs widely scattered throughout the coun-
try. Tradition asserts that they are of French
origin, probably of Huguenot blood, as, a little
previous to that time, a great number of Hugue-
nots had fled from France to our shores to seek
a place where they could exercise, without hind-
rance, the privilege of free conscience.

Lyman A. Budlong is of the seventh generation
in direct descent from Francis, the founder of the
family in America. His paternal grandfather
and great-grandfather bore the name of Samuel,
and gallantly served in the Continental army
during the war for independence, the former as a
drummer boy and the latter as a private soldier.
The parents of Mr. Budlong were Joseph S. (born
March i, 1804) and Mary Ann (Arnold, born
April 20, 1804) Budlong, both of whom were born
in Rhode Island, where their lives were passed.
The father died March 14, 1887, and the mother
departed this life January 5, 1894.

Mary Ann (Arnold) Budlong was of the sev-
enth generation from William Arnold, a native of
Cheselbourne, England, who settled in Provi-
dence Plantations (now Rhode Island) in early
colonial days. Her parents were Ephraim and
Waity (Warner) Arnold, the former being a son
of Simon and Hannah (Chapman) Arnold.

Of Joseph S. Budlong's ten children, nine
grew to maturity and reared families. In order
of birth, they are as follows: James Arnold (now
deceased); Albert, who died in childhood; Will-

192

L. A. BUDLONG.

iara Henry, a resident of Jersey City, New Jersey ;
Lyman Arnold, the subject of this sketch; Mary
Elizabeth, who became the wife of William
Johnston, of Washington, Vermont, and died in
1862; Abbie Stone and Catherine Rhodes (twins),
the former now the widow of Horace Bates, of Bel -
lingham, Massachusetts the latter the wife of
Daniel Burlingatne, of Cranston, Rhode Island;
Waity Warner, who married William Tyler, of
Brooklyn, New York; Joseph Arnold, a resident
of Cook County, Illinois (see sketch in this work);
and Simeon, who resides in Cumberland, Rhode
Island.

It was in the picturesquely rural town of
Cranston, Rhode Island, that Lyman A. Bud-
long was born, on the 22d of December, 1829.
In the public school of his native town he was
taught the rudimentary branches of learning,
and subsequently he attended a seminary where
a wider course of study was entered upon. When
he was eighteen years old he was competent to
teach, and for five years he was successfully en-
gaged in that work during the winter months,
devoting the rest of the year to farm labor. His
first school lasted for a term of four months, for
which he received twelve dollars per month, all of
which he gave to his father. Subsequent to at-
taining his majority he attended a few terms of
school, which rounded out his education, making
him highly proficient in the range of his studies
and it is to the thoroughness of his educational
training that is due in large measure his success
in life.

Equally painstaking had he been in acquiring
a thorough knowledge, in all its details, of gar-
dening. From his youth he was a connoisseur in
plant-culture. He learned plant life as he learned
books, by concentrated effort and intelligent ap-
plication. It is in the combination of this mental
and physical training, directed by a high aim,
that enabled him to overcome adverse conditions,
and, eventually, to reach the goal of successful
accomplishment.

His marriage with Miss Louise L. Newton, of
Norwich, Vermont, was celebrated October 6,
1856. Mrs. Budlong was born in Norwich, Ver-
mont, January i, 1833, and is a daughter of

George and Orella (Snow) Newton, natives of
Vermont, the former being a son of Dr. Israel
Newton, who served through the Revolutionary
war. To George and Orella (Snow) Newton
were born two sons and four daughters, as fol-
lows: Cyril C. (now deceased), who married Re-
becca McConachie, by whom he had three chil-
dren Emily, George and Mary; Louise L. (Mrs.
L. A. Budlong); Lucy Amelia, widow of Mr.
Lewis Wilson; Mary A., widow of Orlando Tal-
cott; Ellen E. , wife of W. N. Spring, of Le Mars,
Iowa; and George P., now deceased.

Mr. Budlong, the subject of this sketch, contin-
ued to reside in his native place until 1857, when,
realizing that a constant narrowing of environ-
ment was taking place in the East, he decided to
seek in the West a field of operations where no
restraint upon ambition from cramped surround-
ings existed. He selected Cook County as the
most promising field for contemplated operations.
His working capital was small, but that in nowise
checked the ardor of his ambitious spirit, although
it necessitated beginning in a small way and on
leased land. To increase his revenue, he taught
a country school near his home during the winter
of 1858-59, and in the two following winters he
taught in the neighboring county of Du Page.
The balance of the time was employed in garden-
ing for the Chicago market. His income, though
limited, was more than enough to meet his ex-
penses, and the surplus was employed in extend-
ing his operations. In 1861 he located on part
of the estate he now occupies that of the late Dr.
Foster and has made market-gardening his life's
work.

He is the pioneer of the West in the pickling
business. His original plant was established im-
mediately after his arrival in Cook County, the
first output being four hundred bushels. From
this modest beginning has grown his present
mammoth business, the annual product of his
present plant being one hundred thousand bush-
els of pickles, one hundred thousand bushels of
onions, and fifty thousand bushels of other kinds
of market vegetables. This vast amount is
grown on five hundred acres of land, which is
tilled on the highest scientific principles. When

L. A. BUDLONG.

193

he located upon this land, less than forty acres of
a tract of six hundred was tillable. More than
one hundred acres was a labyrinth of bog and
quagmire, and the rest could be made arable only
by an extensive system of drainage. Every acre
has been reclaimed, subdued and brought to the
highest state of perfection. In addition to the
best drainage facilities, he has fitted up two
pumping stations, with the best of modern appli-
ances, to carry off the surplus water in wet sea-
sons, when ordinary drainage is insufficient. One
of these is located on a low tract of one hundred
and twenty acres, and the other drains a quarter-
section, their capacity being five thousand gallons
a minute, each.

During the harvesting season from July 15 to
September 15 he employs an average of eight
hundred people, and from one to two hundred
during the balance of the year. All his products
are justly celebrated for superior quality, his well-
known brands being sufficient guaranty of their
high excellence. A large part is sold direct to
the jobbing trade in most of the states east of the
Rocky Mountains, while no inconsiderable quan-
tity is sold from wagons in the city to the retail
trade.

Mr. Budlong's career furnishes an illustration
of the results to be obtained by a clear and well-
defined purpose. He is not a theorist, but a calm,
practical man, who reaches conclusions through a
process of reasoning peculiar to men of methods
and ripe experience. His well-defined power of
application is particularly noticeable, and he is
the possessor of marked administrative abilities.
For many years, until his sons became competent,
under his tutelage, to bear a part of the burden
of cares arising from a large business, he person-
ally superintended the operations of the various
departments, carrying in his mind the innumer-
able details.

Although his life has been one of ceaseless
activity, he has, withal, retained intact those
pleasing social qualities which have made him so
deservedly popular with all. His nature is thor-
oughly democratic, and he caters to none because
of wealth or social position. The laboring man
upon his estate is treated with the same kindly

consideration he would accord to a king. He is
one of the most companionable of men, and, hav-
ing been a close observer of passing events, and a
student as well, he is an interesting and instruct-
ive conversationalist.

In early life Mr. Budlong's political preferment
was for the Democratic party, but, being always
an adherent of the principles which gave birth to
the Republican party, he cast off his fealty to the
former in 1 860, since which he has zealously sup-
ported Republican men and measures. With local
public affairs he has been prominently identified,
having always taken an active and leading part in
whatever, in his judgment, best subserved the
public good. Upon the organization of the vill-
age of Jefferson he was elected a trustee, in which
capacity he has since served several times. He
was also the first to be elected to the position of
Mayor of the village. He held the office of
school director twenty-eight consecutive years,
until the village was merged in the city of Chi-
cago. He is a prominent member of the Masonic
order, being a charter member of Providence
Lodge No. 711, of Jefferson, in which he accept-
ably served many years as Worshipful Master.
He is also identified with Corinthian Chapter,
Apollo Commandery and Oriental Consistory,
of Chicago.

Mr. and Mrs. Budlong became the parents of
five children, namely: Mary L., wife of A. L.
Jones, of Mokena, Illinois; Edward L.; Lyman
A. (deceased); Joseph J., and Laura W., wife of
H. H. Chester, of Evanston, Illinois.

All the children reside near their father, in
pleasant homes, all worthily reflecting much
credit upon their parents by the correctness of
their lives. Mr. Budlong is essentially domestic,
and derives much pleasure from the associations
of the home circle, which has been enlarged by
the arrival of thirteen grandchildren. His modern,
well-appointed home is replete with all that a
cultivated taste can suggest, and here he is spend-
ing the evening of his days in the quiet content-
ment of a successful and well-ordered life. His
three- score and seven years rest lightly on his com-
pact frame, time having made but slight impres-
sion upon his rugged constitution.

I 9 4

REV. C. F. EBINGER.

REV. CHRISTIAN F. EBINGER.

REV. CHRISTIAN FREDERICK EBIN-
GER, the first minister of the Evangelical As-
sociation ordained in Illinois, was numbered
among the first permanent settlers of Cook Coun-
ty. He took up his home in what is now the
town of Niles in 1834. He was the youngest
son of John and Katharine Ebinger, and was
born February 8, 1812, near the city of Stuttgart,
Germany. He was well educated in his native
place, and reared to the occupation of florist and
gardener. For a number of years he had charge
of a flower garden of King William of Wurtem-
berg.

In 1831, John Ebinger, with his wife and three
sons and one daughter, came to the United
States and located at Detroit, Michigan. Early
in 1834 he set out for Chicago, and in May of
that year he pre-empted eighty acres of land on
the Indian trail leading to Milwaukee, which was
subsequently occupied by a plank road. He
built a one-story log cabin, twenty-four by four-
teen feet in ground dimension, and began life in
true pioneer style. His children were: Frederick,
John, Elizabeth (who became the wife of John
Plank), and Christian F., all of whom are now
deceased.

Christian F. Ebinger had just attained his
majority when he came with his parents to the
United States. February 12, 1834, at Ann Ar-
bor, Michigan, he was married to Miss Barbara
Ruehle, who was born August n, 1812, in
Indebach, near Stuttgart, Germany. Her par-
ents were Joseph and Barbara (Schwegler)
Ruehle. Her mother died when Mrs. Ebinger

was eight years of age, and after her death her
father married Eva Magdaline Allmeudinger.
Mrs. Ebinger came to America in 1832, with her
father and stepmother. They settled at Ann
Arbor, Michigan, where the father died only six
weeks after their arrival. She continued to re-
side with her stepmother until her marriage, and
then set out with her husband to accompany the
latter' s parents to Chicago. All their belongings
were placed in a light wagon, in which the old
people rode, while the young couple made their
honeymoon trip on foot, the journey consuming
three weeks. They camped at night, with the
blue canopy of heaven for a cover, and father and
son took turns in guarding their resting-place
against possible surprises by Indians or wild
beasts.

Christian F. Ebinger was reared in the Luth-
eran Church, but in 1840 he became identified
with the Evangelical Association, The follow-
ing year he was ordained as a preacher, and
acted in that capacity until his death. He oc-
casionally supplied the pulpit for other ministers,
but never became an itinerant. He followed
farming, and was industrious and careful in his
business methods, and was successful. He took
a lively interest in public affairs, and was a friend
to education. He served as school trustee for
many years, and held nearly all the offices of the
township, being its first assessor and overseer of
the poor, and was many years supervisor. He
died in 1879, after a useful career, and his funeral
was one of the most notable in the community
where he was the pioneer settler.

ADOLPH ARNDT.

195

His family included thirteen children, of whom
ten reached maturity, namely: Christian, a resi-
dent of Niles; Mary, who became the wife of
Henry Giffert, and died in 1860. (Her husband
was a Union soldier, and died from injuries re-
ceived in the Civil War. He was the father
of William Giffert, now assessor of the West
Town of Chicago.) Henry, now deceased; Eliza-
beth, who was the wife of William Neff, and is
deceased; Margaret, wife of Louis Grafius, of
Chicago; Daniel, who died at the age of fifteen;
Sarah, widow of William Weathers, now resid-
ing with Mrs. Ebinger; Louise, wife of William
Grafius, of Chicago; Caroline, Mrs. M. J. Good,
of the same city; and William R., a resident of
Aurora, Illinois.

From the inception of the Republican party in
1856, Mr. Ebinger was one of its stanchest sup-
porters. In the early years of his residence in
Niles he dispensed a generous, open-handed
hospitality to all comers, although he did not
keep a hotel. The aboriginal inhabitants of the
country were his friends, because he treated them
with uniform kindness, and were often enter-
tained at his home. He was intimately ac-

quainted with Blackhawk, whom he often enter-
tained, and who is described by Mrs. Ebinger as
a man of fine appearance, who spoke English
readily, and dressed in civilized costume.

Mrs. Ebinger is one of the most interesting
talkers upon early history in Chicago, although
she has never mastered the English language,
and converses freely with visitors, relating many
interesting reminiscences. She has nearly com-
pleted the eighty-fifth year of her age, and still
assists with the labors of the household, and con-
trols the management of an extensive farm. Her
sister-in-law, the wife of Frederick Ebinger,
was a resident of Fort Dearborn, having come
from Ann Arbor as companion to Mrs. Wilcox,
wife of the general in command of the fort. At
the social functions which Mrs. Ebinger attended
at the fort, she danced to the music of the only
violin within a hundred miles. For some years
after her settlement with her husband in Niles,
there were no houses between their home and the
village of Chicago, and the nearest residence to-
ward Milwaukee was seven miles away. Her
vision of Chicago, bounded by Fort Dearborn and
the World's Fair, is one now enjoyed by very few.

ADOLPH ARNDT.

GlDOLPH ARNDT, a market-gardener of
LJ South Evanston, is a representative Ger-
/ 1 man-American, who has resided in Cook
County for nearly half a century. He was born
in Schmolda, Prussia, June n, 1843, and is a son
of Frederick and Anna Marie Arndt, natives of
the same place. They, with their family of six
children, came to America in 1854, landing at
New York, whence they came direct to Chicago,
arriving July 4 of that year. They located at
Rosehill and engaged in farming on rented land.
About six weeks after their arrival Mrs. Arndt

died of cholera. Mr. Arndt continued farming
until his death, which occurred a number of
years ago.

Adolph attended school for some time in Rose-
hill and received a limited education. He was
reared tQ farming and gardening, which have been
his life work, and in which work he is -still en-
gaged, operating about twenty-five acres. His
father died before he was of age, therefore he
early learned to depend upon himself, and is
practically a self-made man, having acquired his
valuable property by his own industry. In 1868

PETER BISDORFF.

he bought twenty acres of land in sections 19 and
24, Evanston Township. This was new and un-
improved land, which he cleared and improved
himself.

Mr. Arndt has always taken a lively interest
in political affairs. He supports the Democratic
party, and has held the offices of highway com-
missioner and village trustee of South Evanston.
May 12, 1869, he married Miss Mary, daughter
of Peter Muno, whose biography appears on an-

other page of this work. They have a family of
ten children, namely: Elizabeth, wife of Michael
Becker; Peter, who married Nettie Eiden, and
resides at Edgewater; Henry, Charles, Christian,
Mary, Joseph, William, Minnie and Theresa;
two children died in infancy. All in this family
are members of Saint Nicholas' Roman Catholic
Church of South Evanston. Mr. Arndt is a
good citizen, who encourages every worthy enter-
prise.

PETER BISDORFF,

("\ETER BISDORFF, an eminently respectable
LX citizen and successful market-gardener, was
[$ born January 8, 1841, near the city of Lux-
emburg, Germany, and is a son of John and Kath-
arine Bisdorff, both of whom were natives of the
same locality.

The father was a man of superior intelligence,
and had the advantage of attending the best
schools and colleges of Germany. His superior
qualifications were recognized by his government,
and he was given the important position of For-
ester to the Crown, a place of honor and trust,
which he filled many years to the entire satisfac-
tion of his sovereign.

Peter Bisdorff, whose name heads this article,
passed the years of his minority in his native
land, where he enjoyed the advantages of the
splendid German school system and obtained a
good education. In 1861, just after turning to
his twentieth year, he went out from the parental
home to secure a home and fortune for himself in
America. After an uneventful voyage he disem-
barked at New York, and at once made his way
to Wisconsin, locating near Mineral Point.

In 1862 he came to Chicago, where he had
relatives, and at once began in earnest to lay the
foundations for a successful career. He faith-

fully served one employer four years and another
two. His savings had been carefully laid by,
and he was now enabled to open the business of
market-gardening on his own account, although
in a small way and on leased land. He had
patience and perseverance, and each year added
somewhat to his cash account, and in 1870 he
was able to buy two lots near Halsted Street.
This ground he cultivated most successfully
eighteen years, and then traded for land on
Argyle Street, where he now resides, and is
engaged in gardening. At present he is the
owner of six acres of land, five of which are
devoted to cultivation of all kinds of vegetables
for the city market.

His career illustrates very aptly what can be
accomplished in the long run, without capital at
the start. Constant effort, intelligently directed,
has won for Mr. Bisdorff that which he set out to
acquire, namely, a competency to maintain him in
comfort after his working days are over. Al-
though his life has been a busy one, he has all
this time kept himself thoroughly posted on cur-
rent topics of the day, and is in touch with the
spirit of the times. In politics he is independent,
catering to no party, and is dominated by none,
but votes as his best judgment directs him. His

C. H. CEPERLY.

197

political interest stops at the exercise of suffrage,
and he is in no sense an office seeker.

He was married January 2, 1868, to Miss Anna
Leider, a native of Wisconsin, who has borne
him nine children: William, Nicholas, John,
Katharine, Peter, Mary, Barbara, George and
Joseph. Mr. and Mrs. Bisdorff and all of their
children are members of St. Mathias' Roman
Catholic Church, and are among its liberal sup-
porters.

Mrs. Bisdorff is the second daughter of William
and Katharine (Michael) Leider, natives of Lux-

emburg, who came to America in 1848, and
settled in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. Mrs.
Bisdorff was born there July 14, 1849. The
family included the following children: Mathias,
Margaret (now deceased), Anna, Nicholas, John,
Katharine, Samuel, George, Theodore and Bar-
bara. Mathias and John live in Wisconsin, and
all the others are residents of Chicago. Katha-
rine is the wife of John Schiller, and Barbara, of
Peter Funk. The mother of this family died in
1875, and the father survived her twelve years,
dying in 1887.

CORNELIUS H. CEPERLY.

CORNELIUS HENRY CEPERLY, presi-
I ( dent of the Old Settlers' Society of Rogers
Vj Park, is a native of the State of New York,
born October 31, 1841, in the town of Root,
Schoharie County. He is the youngest child of
Barnard and Dolly (Russell) Ceperly, both of
whom were born in the same State, descendants
of the early Dutch settlers of that region. They
had a family of thirteen children, eleven of whom
grew to maturity, and of this number five are liv-
ing at this writing, namely: David, of Chicago;
Daniel, a farmer of Gilmore City, Floyd County,
Iowa; Hannah, widow of John A. Oliver, and a
resident of West Monroe Street, Chicago; Clara,
wife of William Russell, of Clarksville, Butler
County, Iowa, and the subject of this notice.
The father died in New York, and the mother came
.West to settle with her sons about 1846, and lo-
cated on a farm in Northfield Township, this county.

Here Cornelius H. Ceperly grew to manhood,
and received a fair education in the common
school, which he attended in the winter months
his time being occupied with the duties of the
farm in summer.

August 9, 1862, he enlisted as a soldier in

Company G, One Hundred and Thirteenth Illi-
nois Volunteer Infantry, and served until the in-
tegrity of the Union was assured, participating in
all the engagements in which his regiment fought.
He never shirked, was never wounded or sick,
but was always on duty at his post, until he was
discharged, June 20, 1865, at Memphis.Tennessee.

On his return from the field, he took up the
arts of peace where he had left them, engaging
for a short time in farming. He then resumed
his practice in carpenter work, in which he had
had some experience prior to going to the war,
and became master of the trade. About 1868 he
began contracting and building on his own ac-
count, in which he continued with gratifying
results to himself and patrons, until June, 1895.
Since that time he has acted as building inspector
in the service of the city of Chicago, and his pub-
lic duties are discharged with the same care and
fidelity which always characterized his work.
The East End School and many of the residences
at Rogers Park were erected by him, and his
work testifies to his integrity and skill.

In politics he is an ardent Republican, and his
first presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lin-

198

MICHAEL WEBER.

coin in 1864. He served several terms as a mem-
ber of the school board of Rogers Park, and was
one term its president. He takes a lively interest
in the success of his part}-, which he believes to
be devoted to the protection and service of the
public interests, in which he aims to labor per-
sonally. He is a regular attendant of the Con-
gregational Church, of which his family are
communicants, and is a member of the Royal
Arcanum, Loyal League and Cumberland Post
No. 737, Grand Army of the Republic.

April 10, 1866, Mr. Ceperly was married to
Miss Frances J. Kerr, a native of Roscoe, Winne-
bago County, Illinois, a daughter of Charles and

Ann (Larkin) Kerr, the former a native of Scot-
land, and the latter of England. Mr. Kerr died
February 14, 1874, his good wife having passed
away November 8, 1873.

Mr. and Mrs. Ceperly are the parents of a son
and five daughters, namely: Clara, wife of
Calistus Ennis, of Chicago; Cornelia, wife of R.
M. Simon, the present recorder of Cook County;
Walter, who resides with his parents; Alice (Mrs.
John Jones) , of Rogers Park ; Lydia and Ruby ,
at home. Mr. Ceperly is a frank and genial gen-
tleman, whom it is a 'pleasure to meet, and his
friends are numbered by those who meet him in
any of the relationships of life.

MICHAEL WEBER.

WEBER, a real-estate dealer
residing at No. 3766 North Hermitage
Avenue, Chicago, has been a resident of
Cook County for forty-five years. He was born
January 3, 1827, in Ebersheim, near Mainz, Rhein-
Hessen, Germany, and reared to farm life there,
receiving a good education. February 22, 1852,
he was united in marriage with Miss Anna Maria
Baer, who was born in Oberolm, near Mainz.
About two weeks after their marriage they bade
adieu to home and friends, and set out for far
America, to seek a new home and make their
fortune.

They came direct to Cook County and located
in the town of Ridgeville, where Mr. Weber
bought the land on which he now resides. Some
thirty years later his brother Mathiascame; three
years later his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Thart; and
five years ago, his brother, John Weber, came to
this country and located in Chicago, but their par-
ents remained in Germany, where they died several
years ago. After his arrival in Cook County Mr.

Weber devoted his energies to farming and
gardening, and by industry he acquired a hand-
some property. At one time he owned one hun-
dred and thirty-six acres of valuable land, and
he also invested considerable in city property. In
the Great Fire of 1871 he lost about eighteen
thousand dollars' worth of property, but he was
not discouraged, and renewed his activity in bus-
iness. After this disaster he gave up farming, and
in company with his son, Bernard F. Weber, en-
gaged in real-estate transactions, which they con-
ducted successfully several years.

During the last eight years Mr. Weber has con-
fined his operations to the. disposal of his own
land. He occupies a beautiful residence, which
he built in 1891. It is supplied with all the mod-
ern improvements, and elegantly furnished, and
he and his good wife live in happy contentment,
surrounded by all the comforts of life and many
of its luxuries. They began life in a humble way,
amid the primitive surroundings of the pioneer
days, and have earned, by their own prudence

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flNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

MATHIAS MANN

(From Photo by W. J. ROOT)

MATHIAS MANN.

199

and good management, the blessings which they
enjoy. Their family includes a son and two
daughters, all comfortably settled near them,
namely: Bernard F. (see biography elsewhere in
this work); Margaret, wife of Max Sorgatz; and
Gertrude, Mrs. Fred Kellner, of Chicago.

Mr. Weber has fulfilled the public duties of a
good citizen, having served seven years as com-
missioner of highways. In political matters he

acts with the Democratic party. Both he and his
wife are among the faithful members of Saint
Henry's Roman Catholic Church, to whose sup-
port they are liberal contributors. In all the
years of his residence in Cook County, Mr. Weber
has borne an important part in the development of
city and country, and by his fair dealings and up-
right character has won the confidence and re-
spect of many friends.

MATHIAS MANN.

[ATHIAS MANN, an old settler and real-
estate dealer of Rogers Park, is a native
of Chicago, born February 16, 1844. His
parents were Tillman and Katherine (Earth)
Mann, both of whom were born and reared in
Prussia and married there before coming to the
United States.

The name Mann is of English origin. The fam-
ily was founded in Germany by the great-grand-
father of our subject, who was a veterinary sur-
geon by profession, and went to Germany during
the early Napoleonic wars. The grandfather of
Mathias was also a veterinary surgeon, and his
father, Tillman Mann, served in the German
Army as a horseshoer. Tillman Mann had two
children, Nicholas and Mary, when he came to
Chicago and settled on the North Side, in 1842.
They traveled by water over the whole distance
from the Fatherland. From New York they
went by the Hudson River to Albany, and thence
on the Erie Canal to Buffalo, where they took
ship for Chicago, arriving in this city on the Na-
tional holiday, July 4.

For four years Mr. Mann labored in a brick
yard in Chicago, and by saving his earnings lie
was then enabled to purchase land which soon
made him independent. He bought twenty-six

acres on section 31 of Ridgeville Township, and
engaged in farming and gardening. The subject
of this sketch was born while the family resided
in Chicago, and a daughter, Barbara, came at
the farm home. All are still living except Mary.
The father died January 26, 1872, and was sur-
vived more than ten years by his wife, who passed
away September 10, 1882. Mr. Mann was suc-
cessful in life, and found opportunity to give
some attention to the conduct of public affairs.
He was chosen by his fellow-citizens to fill vari-
ous official positions.

Mathias Mann succeeded to the possession of
the homestead, and continued farming and gar-
dening until 1895, when he platted Mann's Addi-
tion to Rogers Park, and is now engaged in dis-
posing of the same and in the transaction of a
general real-estate business. His sound and
practical judgment and general intelligence fit
him for the transaction of this kind of business.

In politics Mr. Mann is a stanch Democrat,
and takes an active part in the control of local
affairs. He has served as trustee of the village
of Rogers Park four years, was school director
six years, and acted as judge of election in 1896.
He is a public-spirited and progressive citizen,
and takes a lively interest in all matters pertain-

200

J. A. BUDLONG.

ing to the public welfare. He has been a di-
rector in Saint Henry's Roman Catholic Church
many years.

April 23, 1868, Mr. Mann was married to Miss
Margaret Muno, a native of Prussia, who came
to this country in infancy with her parents, Peter
and Mary K. Muno, of whom mention is made at
length on another page of this volume. To Mr.
and Mrs. Mann were born the following children:
Mary K., wife of Joseph Trausch, of Rogers
Park; Katharine M. , who became the wife of J.

P. Jaeger, and died in 1893, leaving one child;
Henry, Elizabeth, Birdie and Edward. Mrs.
Mann died April 13, 1885.

Mr. Mann has spent almost his entire life in
Rogers Park, and has not only witnessed the
growth and development of this beautiful suburb,
but has contributed his share to its advancement,
and is reckoned among its most worthy citizens.
In 1894 he visited Europe and spent about three
months in traveling among the interesting scenes of
the Old World.

JOSEPH A. BUDLONG.

(JOSEPH ALBERT BUDLONG, a prosper-
I ous florist of Chicago, is a native of Rhode
(*/ Island, born March 17, 1841, at Cranston.
He is a son of Joseph S. and Mary Ann (Arnold)
Budlong, extended mention of whom, and their
ancestry, is made in the sketch of L. A. Budlong,
on other pages of this volume.

Mr. Budlong's boyhood was passed under the
parental roof, the public schools affording him the
only means of an education, which, though mea-
ger in scope, had the merit of thoroughness. In
the great school of business experience, and
through reading and observation, he has acquired
a knowledge of men and things which makes him
an intelligent and useful citizen. His father's
occupation was market-gardening, and young
Joseph was, early in life, introduced to an expe-
rience between the rows of growing plants. He
was thus employed until after passing his major-
ity, when he decided upon a change of occupation
and location, and went to Providence, Rhode Is-
land, following the carpenter's trade two years.

In 1862 he came to Cook County and joined his
brother, Lyman A., who had settled here five
years before, in the gardening and pickling busi-
ness. From his brother he obtained employment

on a salary, remaining with him three years. The
country was low and almost continuously wet,
and this, with other causes, gave rise to condi-
tions which developed in him a serious rheumatic
ailment, causing intense suffering, and he was
eventually compelled to return to the East. In
Brooklyn, New York, he secured a clerkship with
another brother, who was a merchant, and while
thus engaged he became acquainted with Miss
Teresa Smith, to whom he was married February
i, 1866. She is a native of Brooklyn, daughter
of William and Priscilla (Timms) Smith, both of
whom were born in London, England.

Shortly after his marriage he returned, with
his wife, to Cook County. Leasing land from
his brother, he began gardening upon his own
responsibility, and continued successfully two
years. He then entered into a co-partnership
with his brother in the gardening industry, and
from a small beginning, they developed gradually
one of the largest enterprises of its kind in the
West. This business relation between the broth-
ers was happy in conduct and results and was
continued seventeen years, at the end of which
period it was dissolved by mutual consent.

The efforts of the subject of this sketch had

CHARLES SMITH.

201

been so well directed that he was able to buy ten
acres of ground, which he leased to another, who
built greenhouses for the cultivation of vegeta-
bles. Upon the expiration of this lease, Mr.
Budlong assumed personal control and vigorously
set about the cultivation of his own land. He
extended the lines by erecting new greenhouses,
and entered quite extensively upon the produc-
tion of all kinds of garden vegetables, being thus
engaged for a number of years. For the past ten
years he has grown flowers exclusively, princi-
pally roses and carnations for the cut-flower trade.
This business, under his wise management, has
been lucrative and has grown to great propor-
tions. There are now upon his estate eighteen
greenhouses, each having an area eighteen by
two hundred feet, and one thirty by three hun-
dred feet in size. The product is something
enormous and is rapidly disposed of through the
commission houses of the city. His is, probably,
one of the largest individual businesses of the
kind in the country, and it stands as the strong-

est evidence that now, as ever success can be
won by intelligent direction, supplemented by
persistent and tireless effort.

To Mr. Budlong and his estimable wife have
been born three children. Albert Henry, the
eldest, is married and resides near his father,
having two children. The second died in early
childhood. The youngest, Florence M., is the
wife of John Spellman, of Kvanston, and the
mother of one child.

Mr. Budlong' s political affiliation is with the
Republican party. He is prominently identified
with the Masonic fraternity, being a charter mem-
ber of Providence Lodge No. 711, of Jefferson.
He maintains good standing in Corinthian Chap-
ter, Royal Arch Masons, Apollo Commandery,
Knights Templar, and Oriental Consistory, of
this city. As no one can reach these exalted de-
grees who is not of well-known probity and abil-
ity, his standing in this great order is sufficient
testimonial of his standing in the community
which has been so long his home.

CHARLES SMITH.

/TjHARLES SMITH, one of the progressive
I ( and successful German-American citizens of
\J Cook County, is deserving of honorable
mention among those who left home and native
land, with all the endearing associations sur-
rounding one's birthplace, to make a home and a
name in the midst of strangers, whose language
and customs were as strange as their faces. He
was born February 26, 1854, near Hamburg,
Schlesvvig-Holstein, Germany (then part of Den-
mark). His parents, Asmusand Maria Schmidt,
were born and lived at the same place until the
death of the mother. Some years after this sad

event, the father came to Chicago, and died at the
home of the son whose name heads this notice,
in 1891.

Charles Smith received a good education in his
native language and was early accustomed to the
labors of the farm. He is made of the superior
material which is not satisfied to sit down in idle
contentment or drift with the current of events
listlessly. He was not satisfied with his environ-
ment and opportunities, and early determined to
emigrate to that free country across the Atlantic
Ocean, of which he had read and heard. In 1871
he arrived here, a poor boy of seventeen years,

202

J. G. FENN.

yet rich in a good, sound mind and healthy body,
with strong reliance upon himself and hopes of
the future. When he reached Chicago he had
about a dollar left, but he immediately went to
work as a gardener, and continued diligently at
work and saving his earnings until he had accu-
mulated enough to begin business for himself in
a small way.

For a few years he tilled leased land, and by
industry and careful management was able in
time to purchase ground. In 1886 he bought
seven acres of land on Touhy Avenue, Rogers
Park (Chicago), and is now very comfortably
situated, with a pleasant home and substantial
furnishings. Here dwells a united and happy
family. May 2, 1877, Mr. Smith was married
to Miss Sophia Sobey, who was born April 21,
1854, in Wemorby, Sweden. Her parents died
when she was but fourteen years old, and she
came to America at eighteen, and has never re-
gretted the fortune which brought her here.

Three children complete the family of Mr. and
Mrs. Smith, namely: Frederick, born July 25,
1878; Helen, October 3, 1882; and Lulu, March
3, 1888. Carl, born May 19, 1881, died at the
age of eleven months. Though they are faithful
believers in the faith of the Lutheran Church, on
account of the distance from any house of worship
of that denomination, they are accustomed to at-
tend the Methodist Church services.

Mr. Smith is held in high esteem by his fellow-
citizens, as is attested by the fact that he was
several times elected to the responsible position
of trustee in the village of West Ridge while
that corporation existed. He is not bound to
any political party, and is wont to use his best
efforts in securing honest and competent men to
administer public affairs, regardless of party dis-
tinctions. By upright practices and diligent at-
tention to business he has gained the respect of
all who know him and an independent position in
the world.

JOHN G. FENN.

(JOHN GEORGE FENN, a representative
\ German-American citizen who has now re-
Q) tired from active life, has been a resident of
Chicago since 1853, and now makes his home in
that portion of the city known as Rogers Park.
He was born October 22, 1825, in Kreis Unten
Franken, Bavaria, and is the son of Charles and
Margaret (Stratz) Fenn. The father was a cooper
in his native land, and in 1853, with his wife
and six children, came to the United States.
Disembarking in New York on July 10 of that
year, he proceeded by rail to Buffalo, New York,
by boat to Detroit, and thence by rail to Chicago.

He died in 1860, and his wife survived him nine-
teen years. Their children, in order of birth,
were: John George, whose name heads this
sketch; Charles; John and Christian, who are
now deceased; Margaret, wife of Charles Schmidt,
residing in Wisconsin, and Barbara, who is also
deceased.

John George Fenn was reared in Bavaria, where
he received the liberal education accorded to every
German child, and became master of the cooper's
trade, which he followed until he came to Chi-
cago. The capital of the entire family on its ar-
rival here consisted of about one hundred dol-

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HNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

REV. F. N. R. PKRRY

REV. F. N. R. PERRY.

203

lars. The subject of this sketch soon found em-
ployment in a lumber yard, and was so industri-
ous and careful of his earnings that he was en-
abled to go into business on his own account after
three years. At that time he opened a restaurant
at No. 229 North Clark Street, and continued
there three years, when he bought a lot on the
opposite side of the same street, and built a
business block, which he immediately occupied.
In the Great Fire of 1871 he lost all his posses-
sions, including this building and two houses,
for which he recovered a very little insurance.
However, he had credit and friends, and im-
mediately proceeded to rebuild, and continued

the business about eight years on the same site.
At the end of this period, owing to failing health,
he was forced to give up business, and since 1879
he has been living a retired life at his present
home. He has never taken much interest in
political contests, and is content to leave to others
the struggles of practical politics.

August 31, 1863. he was married to Elizabeth
Gundermann, a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, who
came to the United States in 1854. She remained
in New York City two years and then came to
Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Fenn are Lutherans in
religious faith. The former is a member of the
Ancient Order of Druids and the Sons of Hermann.

REV. FRANK N, R. PERRY.

REV. FRANK NOEL RANSOM PERRY,
pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes
at Ravenswood, is a representative of a prom-
inent pioneer family of the State of Illinois. His
maternal grandfather was Noel Le Vasseur, who
was in Chicago when it was but a hamlet. He
was the first settler at Bourbonnais Grove, in Kan-
kakee County. He donated the site of Saint Vi-
ator's College, and was long connected with the
growth and development of that section of the
State. Noel Le Vasseur came to Chicago with
Gurdon S. Hubbard, who was his warm personal
friend, and who. upon the death of Le Vasseur,
went to Bourbonnais Grove to attend his funeral.
Father Perry is the son of Albert S. Perry, who
came to Illinois from Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The subject of this sketch and his brother, Ed-
ward H. Perry, are the only surviving members
of the family of Albert S. Perry.

Rev. Frank N. Perry was born in Kankakee,

Illinois, February 9, 1862. He pursued a class-
ical course of study at the College of Saint Viator's
and his theological course in Saint Mary's Sem-
inar}', at Baltimore, Maryland. He was ordained
a priest June 16, 1887, and for about eight years
succeeding his ordination he was assistant priest
at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.

The first religious services in the parish of which
Father Perry now has charge were conducted by
Father Coughlin at Bennett Hall, on the first
Sunday in March, 1892. Services were held
there until October of the same year, when the
present church edifice was ready for occupancy.
In May, 1893, on account of ill-health, Father
Coughlin resigned pastoral charge of the parish,
and was succeeded by Father Perry. The church
was dedicated October 1 5th of the same year. In
May, 1895, the priest's residence was completed.
The parish, though comparatively young, is in a
prosperous condition.

204

R. F. DILGER.

ROBERT F. DILGER.

ROBERT FRANK DILGER, a market-gar-
dener of Chicago, residing at No. 4183 North
Clark Street, is a native of Cook County,
born January 13, 1859. He is the second son of
Frank Paul and Charlotte (Wollner) Dilger.

Frank P. Dilger was born at 2 o'clock on
the morning of April 2, 1828, in Dorndorf, Koen-
igreich, Wurtemberg, Germany, and died at Rose-
hill, Cook County, Illinois, December 26, 1872,
at'n o'clock A. M. Charlotte Wollner, born
March 7, 1831, in Teszin, Mecklenburg-Schwer-
in, Germany, died at 2:30 o'clock, November 24,
1869, at Rosehill. Mr. Dilger came to America
in 1852, and located immediately at Chicago.
Mrs. Dilger came with her parents to Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, in 1851, and the next year removed
to Chicago. They were married in this city, No-
vember 29, 1856. All their children were born at
Rosehill, as follows: Frank P., August 26, 1857;
Robert F., January 13, 1859; Sophia, April 21,
1861; Mathias P., December 10, 1862; Anna Ma-
ria, December 12, 1864. The last-named is the
wife of William Volk, a grocer of Chicago. Ma-
thias is a florist at Waukegan, Illinois.

Frank P. Dilger enjoyed good educational ad-
vantages in his native land, and there learned the
carpenter's trade. On arriving in this country he
continued as a journeyman for a short time, and
then began the erection of buildings by contract.
Many of the farm buildings in the former town-
ship of Lake View, in Niles Township, and at
Gross Point, were erected by him. He built the
first Saint Henry's Church at what is now High

Ridge. In connection with his building opera-
tions, he carried on farming and gardening, where
the son whose name heads this article now re-
sides. At one time he owned a park at Rosehill
Cemetery, which he exchanged in 1860 for eight
acres of land, a part of which is now owned by
Robert F. Dilger. He took a commendable in-
terest in public affairs, but never sought an offi-
cial position. He died at the age of forty-five
years, in 1872, having survived his wife nearly
four years. She passed away November 24,
1869. She was identified with the German Lu-
theran Church, while he was a devoted member
of Saint Henry's Catholic Church.

Robert F. Dilger was educated in the public
schools and has ever been an intelligent reader
and observer. He is well informed on the ques-
tions that engage public minds, and is a public-
spirited and progressive citizen. He grew to
manhood in the neighborhood in which he lives,
and enjoys the respect and confidence of his con-
temporaries. Believing that the Republican party
is the exponent and advocate of the truest and
best principles of public policy, as compared with
other political organizations, he has ever been
found among its most faithful adherents.

While a boy Mr. Dilger worked eight years for
Mr. Nicholas Kransz, of whom extended mention
is made in this volume. After arriving at matu-
rity, he spent three years in the seed store of J.
C. Vaughan, a well-known seedsman and florist
of Chicago. He has been self-sustaining since
the age of thirteen years, and is essentially a self-

H. E. ROUNDS.

205

made man. Being careful of his earnings, he was
able, on leaving the service of Mr. Vaughan, to
establish himself in business, and has continued
ever since with gratifying success.

November 24, 1887, he was married to Miss
Maggie Riedel, daughter of Charles and Kathar-
ine (Weber) Riedel, natives of Germany. Mrs.
Dilger's parents now reside at De Pere, Wiscon-
sin. She is the second of their six children. The

others were: Mary, who died at the age of seven
years; Charles, now a resident of Tacoma, Wash-
ington; Edward, now deceased; Carrie and Lou-
ise, the latter also deceased. Mrs. Dilger is the
mother of three children, namely: Alois, Elmer
and Robert Walter. The family is not connected
with any church organization, but is respected
and esteemed as among the best moral elements
of the community.

HORACE E. ROUNDS.

HORACE E. ROUNDS, editor and proprietor
of the Rogers Park News-Herald, is a native
of Enosburg, Vermont, born September 29,
1838. He is a son of Lester and Aurilla (Parker)
Rounds, the former being a native of Canada, and
the latter of Vermont. The Rounds family is
descended from English and Irish ancestry.

Lester Rounds was a gentleman of good edu-
cation, acquired in the schools and seminaries of
Vermont and New York. He moved to the
West in 1840, with his family, and settled in
South port (now Kenosha), Wisconsin, in which
locality he was among the first settlers. His fine
attainments made him a desirable acquisition to
the little frontier settlement, where he was one of
the pioneer school teachers. In 1844 he moved
to Ceresco (now Ripon), Wisconsin, founded by
the "Fourierites," a society of the community
order, originated by Francois Marie Charles
Fourier, a French Socialist, whose plans for so-
cial reform were never successfully realized.
While living in Ceresco, Mr. Rounds was ap-
pointed postmaster, which position he held until
the phalanx went to pieces in 1848.

In 1850, he, with three others (his brother, J.
M. Rounds, William Starr and W. C. Dickerson)

founded the village of Eureka, Wisconsin. Here
Mr. Rounds, or "Uncle Lester," as he was
familiarly called, established himself in a general
mercantile business, in which he achieved con-
siderable success. Being fitted by nature and ed-
ucation for leadership, he became a sort of public
functionary, holding many local offices, such as
postmaster, justice of the peace and administrator
of estates. In his early life he was an ardent Whig,
and later espoused the principles of the Repub-
lican party, being one of its most radical de-
fenders. He was a man of great goodness of
heart, and few men had a greater popularity at
home than "Uncle Lester." To him and his de-
voted wife were born five children, namely: Ster-
ing P. , at one time public printer of the United
States Government, and a gentleman of the high-
est attainments, who died in 1887, aged nearly
sixty years; Rhoda A. (Mrs. Alberts. Bolsten,
of Sugar Grove, Illinois) ; Horace E. ; Edward
Q. , who died at the age of three years; and
Florence, who died in infancy. Lester Rounds
died in 1888, at the age of eighty four years, and
Mrs. Rounds in 1882, at the age of seventy-five
years.

The subject of this sketch was a year and a-

206

H. E. ROUNDS.

half old when his parents settled at the present
site of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and received his ed-
ucation in Eureka, in such branches as were
taught in district schools. In 1854, when fif-
teen years of age, he came to Chicago, then a
city of only sixty-five thousand people, to learn
the printer's trade in the office of his brother
Sterling, who was then proprietor of the most
important job printing establishment in the city.
He remained here six years, and thoroughly
mastered the intricacies of the printer's art, also
acquiring some proficiency in writing for the
Chicago Sunday Leader and Rounds' Printers'
Cabinet.

The discovery of gold at Pike's Peak made him
ambitious of acquiring wealth by the ' 'short cut, ' '
and in 1860 he started for that Eldorado in
charge of a train of six wagons drawn by oxen,
carrying mining machinery and supplies. Forty-
five days were consumed going from St. Joseph
to the Gregory mining camp. He remained a
year and a-half in Russell Gulch, meeting with
poor success, and finally sold the mill and ma-
chinery for about one-fifth of its cost. He was a
member of a law and order committee, which
had for its object the trial and punishment of the
many criminals who infested the mining camps,
and assisted in preserving order at the execution
of one criminal and in flogging another for
heinous crimes.

From there he went to Denver, Colorado, and
with his brother, Sterling P. , bought a quarter
interest in the Rocky Mountain News, remaining
there eighteen months. In 1863 he sold to Gov.
John Evans, returned to Chicago, and shortly
after went to Eureka, Wisconsin, where he joined
his father in the mercantile business, after being
rejected as a volunteer for the Union army on ac-
count of a temporary physical disability.

In June, 1864, he tried again with better suc-
cess and enlisted in Company C, Forty-first Wis-
consin Volunteer Infantry, a hundred-day regi-
ment, which went at once to Memphis, Tennes-
see, in the vicinity of which it became actively
engaged in desultory warfare with marauding
bands of the enemy, under General Forrest, and
other bushwhacking bands. He was at Memphis

when the rebel General Forrest raided that city,
and took part in the hot skirmish that followed.
He served a month longer than his enlisted term.

Returning to Eureka, he resumed business
vt ith his father for a time, then established the
Eureka Journal, the first and only paper the town
ever had, conducting the enterprise one year.
During this year, 1867, he was united in mar-
riage with Miss Hattie N., daughter of LaFayette
and Lucy M. Parker, of Racine, Wisconsin.
Subsequent to this event, he went to Oshkcsh,
Wisconsin, and established the Oshkosh Journal,
having for a partner Hiram Morley. This vent-
ure proved fairly successful, and after five years
of unremitting toil in building up a circulation
and acquiring a good advertising patronage, the
business was sold to the Oshkosh Northwestern.
Returning to Chicago in 1873, he again took a
position with his brother, Sterling P., with whom
he was associated for ten years. In 1884 he ac-
cepted the assistant editorship of Peck' s Son,
published at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which po-
sition he ably filled for two years, doing a large
share of the literary work. Succeeding this, he
established a job printing office in Milwaukee,
which he conducted until 1891, which year dates
the establishment of his present paper at Rogers
Park, the News-Herald, which is considered to
be one cf the essential fixtures of the place.

Mr. Rounds is a member of Cumberland Post,
No. 737, Grand Army of the Republic, of which
he has been quartermaster ever since its forma-
tion, except one year, when he was commander.
He is a Republican in politics, and cast his first
vote for the lamented Lincoln when a candidate
for his second term.

To Mr. and Mrs. Rounds have been born four
children, three of whom are living: Elinor, wife
of Howard D. McLeod, of Muskegon, Michigan;
La Fayette and Aurilla. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Rounds are members of the Congregational
Church, and take an active interest in religious
works. It can be truthfully said that much of
the progress made by the handsome and thriving
suburb of Rogers Park is due in considerable
part to the publicity given it by the News-
Herald.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

WILLIAM S. JOHNSTON

(From Photo by W. J. ROOT'

W. S. JOHNSTON.

207

WILLIAM S. JOHNSTON.

p QlLLIAM SKEA JOHNSTON, the well-
\ A / known carriage manufacturer of Oak Park,
V V comes of that sturdy, God-fearing Scotch
lineage which has given so many substantial citi-
zens to all the newer parts of the world. He was
born January 12, 1841,111 the parish ofOrphir,
in the Orkney Islands. His parents were John
and Janet (Skea) Johnston. The former was
born in the Shetland Islands, where his ancestors
had lived for many generations. His father re-
moved with his family to the Orkney Islands,
where the son became a blacksmith. Mrs. Janet
Johnston died in 1847. She was the mother of
nine children, as follows: John, who died in Lon-
don in 1848; James, now residing in Oak Park,
Illinois; Janet (Mrs. Joseph Haloro), who still
lives in the Orkney Islands; Thomas, a blacksmith
in Stockton, California; Magnus, who died in
childhood; William S., the subject of this sketch;
Andrew, a blacksmith and carriage builder, re-
siding in Chicago; Archibald, who died in the
West Indies in 1867; and one who died in infancy.
John Johnston married, as his second wife, Miss
Katherine Wilson, who became the mother of
four children, of whom the following is the rec-
ord: Ann (Mrs. David Scott) died in Edin-
burgh, Scotland; John resides in Oak Park; David
died in the Orkney Islands, where Mary (Mrs.
Peter Turn's) still resides.

William S. Johnston learned the trade of a
blacksmith in his father's shop, where he worked
until he reached his majority. His educational
advantages were very limited, but he has largely
made up for the lack of early advantages by the
use of rare business judgment and strong common

sense. In the year 1862 he engaged with the
Hudson Bay Company to go to York Factory,
located about four miles from Hudson Bay, for
five years. There he did various kinds of black-
smith work for the Indians, in the interest of the
above company, such as making traps, spears
and axes, and repairing their guns and other im-
plements. For this work he received thirty-six
pounds a year and fifty acres of land at the end of
the five years. At the end of his term of service
he received a grant of a piece of land near Winni-
peg, though at that time it was still a wilderness.
This he sold and engaged for another year with
the same company at Fort Pelley, in what is now
Manitoba. He subsequently journeyed down the
river to York Factory, where he took passage to
London. Thence he went to his old home, and
after a short visit, removed to Edinburgh, where
he remained eighteen months, working at his trade.
In 1870 he resolved to seek his fortune in the
United States, and, having previously married,
he came to New York, whence he continued his
way to Wilmington, Will County, Illinois, where
he worked for about one and a-half years. He re-
moved in 1872 to Oak Park and opened a carriage
and horse-shoeing shop on Lake Street, in a
building which had previously been used as a
carpenter shop. Though he received much oppo-
sition and- even threats from others in the same
line of work, he remained at his post and soon
saw his business begin to prosper. After five
years he erected a fine building, near the same lo-
cation, and continued the business until 1886.
During that year he built a more commodious
structure on Harlem Avenue, and in 1887 opened

208

W. H. REEDY.

a carriage shop, taking his two sons into partner-
ship. This shop is complete in every detail, and
is equipped for doing all work connected with car-
riage and wagon building. He has also built a
number of dwelling houses at Oak Park.

November 19, 1869, Mr. Johnston was married
in Edinburgh, Scotland, to Miss May Linklator
Scarth, daughter of John Stuart Scarth and May
Linklator. Mrs. Johnston, who is a lady of cult-
ure and refinement, was born at Kirkwall, in the
Orkney Islands, a town famous for its monument
to the Covenanters who suffered martyrdom near
there, as well as for St. Magnus' Cathedral, the
oldest institution of its character in Scotland.

John S. Scarth was the son of a British soldier,
and was born on board a man-of-war en route to
France from Malta, where his father had been
stationed. The latter served twenty-one years in
the army, participating in the Battle of Waterloo
and many other engagements, and finally retired
upon a pension. John S. Scarth learned the
tailor's trade, but spent most of his life as an in-
structor in vocal and instrumental music, for

which art he had a peculiar talent. For forty
years he was precentor at St. Magnus' Cathedral.
He died in Liverpool, England, in 1888, aged
seventy-nine years. His wife, who was descend-
ed from an old Orkney family, died at the same
place in 1875.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnston have been the parents
of six children, of whom two died in childhood.
The others are: Ellen (.Mrs. Peter L. Petersen),
of River Forest; Lillie, who is at home with her
parents; John and Archibald, associated in busi-
ness with their father. Two nieces, Adelaide and
Flora, have also been adopted into the family.
Mr. and Mrs. Johnston were members of the Free
Church of Scotland, and are now connected with
the First Presbyterian Church of Oak Park. In
1893 they made a visit to their old home in the
Orkney Islands, and also to many other points of
interest in England and Scotland. Fraternally
Mr. Johnston is connected with Harlem Lodge
No. 540, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons,
and with General Grant Council No. 916, Royal
Arcanum, both of Oak Park.

WILLIAM H. REEDY.

HENRY REEDY, an enterpris-
ing young business man of Chicago, was
born in Rock Island, Illinois, September 10,
1861, and is a son of John and Mary (Graham)
Reedy. John Reedy was born at Manaugh, near
Silvermines, County Tipperary, Ireland, and his
wife was a native of the same country. He came
to America in 1851, stopping in Cincinnati, Ohio,
where he learned the trade of machinist. Three
years later he went farther West, and after living
temporarily at Muscatine, Iowa; St. Louis, Mis-
souri, and other places, finally settled at Rock
Island, Illinois, where he worked at his trade in
the Deere Plow Works until 1872. In that year

he removed to Chicago, which has since been his
home. From 1872 to 1889 he was engaged in the
Reedy Elevator Works, and since that time has
been retired. Mrs. Mary Reedy died in Chicago
April 20, 1897, at the age of sixty-six years.
She was a faithful member of the Church of the
Holy Name (Cathedral), in which the family has
worshipped for many years.

Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Reedy, of whom two died in childhood. The
others are: William H., of whom this article is
written; Mary, Mrs. C. O. Foltz, Antioch, Illi-
nois; John T., employed in the store of A. H.
Abbott, Chicago; James W., a machinist in the

T. L. HUMPHREVILLE.

209

works of the Reedy Elevator Company; Henry
J., connected with the Board of Trade firm of
Swartz & Dupee; Kate, Mrs. O. J. Walsh, of
Chicago; and Graham D., bookkeeper in the of-
fice of the Reedy Elevator Company.

William H. Reedy, the subject of this sketch,
attended the public schools of Rock Island and
also of Chicago. In 1877 he left school and the
following year entered the employ of Gardner,
Stone & Company, a Board of Trade firm of Chi-
cago, with whom he remained one year. In
1879 he became bookkeeper in the office of his
uncle, J. W. Reedy, who was engaged in the
manufacture of passenger and freight elevators.
On the organization of The Reedy Elevator
Manufacturing Company in 1885, J. W. Reedy
became president and W. H. Reedy secretary and
treasurer of that concern. In 1889 the former
died and his sister succeeded to his office, but
the latter still retains the offices held by him.
The business was established in 1864 and has an
extensive trade in the West, Northwest and
South, and has a branch in New York City.

September 18, 1889, Mr. Reedy was married

to Miss Clara Downey, who was born in Liver-
pool, England, and is a daughter of John and
Mathilda Sophia (Fowler) Downey. This union
has been blessed by four children, named in order
of birth, Marie, Clara, Leo and Marguerite. The
family is connected with St. Luke's Roman
Catholic Church of River Forest. That beauti-
ful village has been its home since 1891, and since
1893 it has occupied the elegant residence which
was completed in that year. Mr. Reedy has
been a Democrat in all National questions, but
in local affairs he is independent of party prejudice.
He has always been much interested in athletics,
being himself well developed physically. In
former years he devoted considerable attention to
rowing, having been a member of two well-known
boat clubs, the Delaware and the Iroquois. He
was also at one time an enthusiastic hand-ball
player, and for several years was interested in
the game of base ball in a semi-professional way.
In 1878 he was one of the .first amateur pitchers
in Chicago to throw the curved ball, which had
been introduced by professionals the previous
season.

THOMAS L. HUMPHREVILLE.

'HOMAS LIBERTY HUMPHREVILLE
is one of the best known citizens of the
village of River Forest, whose long years
of professional labor have extended his acquaint-
ance throughout Cook County. His lineage is
traced from some of the oldest and most esteemed
New England families, his ancestors on the
paternal side, who were doubtless of English
origin, having first settled in this country in the
vicinity of West Haven, Connecticut.

His grandfather, Lemuel Humphreville, was
one of five brothers who resided in that locality.
He was a farmer by occupation and served some

time in the Continental army, contracting rheu-
matism from exposure on the battlefield, on ac-
count of which he was granted a furlough and
went home to recuperate. While he was there
his neighbors, who were nearly all tories, at-
tacked his house at night with stones and clubs,
breaking out the doors and windows, and mak-
ing it uninhabitable for the time being. His son,
Lemuel, then a lad of seven years, was knocked
senseless by a stone. Lemuel Humphreville,
senior, married a Miss Beecher, a member of the
family from which sprang the noted Brooklyn
divine of that name. Mr. and Mrs. Humphre-

210

T. L. HUMPHREVILLE.

ville reared a family of seven daughters and two
sons, most of whom were noted for their great
longevity, two of the daughters reaching the age
of ninety-eight years, and another, Anna Peck,
surviving to the age of one hundred and three.

Liberty Humphreville, the second son of this
worthy couple, was born at Northfield, Litch-
field County, Connecticut, his birthday being
identical with that of the nation, July 4, 1776, on
account of which fact he was so named by his
patriotic father. While a young man he re-
moved to Chenango County, New York, and
thence to a farm in the town of Pompey, Onondaga
County, New York. His death, which was
caused by an accident in the hay-field, occurred
July 20, 1818. His wife, whose maiden name
was Milly Marsh, survived until 1857, passing
away in Delphi, New York, at the age of sixty-
seven years. She was also a native of Litchfield
County, Connecticut, and her parents, Thomas
Marsh and Polly Peck, became early settlers in
Pompey, New York. Besides Mrs. Humphre-
ville, their family included a daughter, Sally, and
three sons, Edward, Hiram and Thomas Horatio.
The last-named, who was an attorney by profes-
sion, was for some years a resident of Chicago.
Liberty and Milly Humphreville were the parents
of two sons and two daughters: Charles L., who
died at the age of twenty-two years; Lucena,
Mrs. Charles Jones, who died in River Forest,
Illinois, in 1895, at the age of eighty-three years;
Olive, wife of Dr. Eli Cook, who died in
Delphi, New York; and Thomas Liberty.

The last-named was born at Pompey, New
York, July 16, 1817. His early boyhood was
passed upon a farm, the time being varied with
attendance at the country school and one or two
terms at a select school. In the seventeenth
year of his age he turned his back upon his home
and early associations, determined to seek his
fortune in the western wilds of Michigan, a point
which seemed as remote at that time as China or
Japan are to the people of Chicago at the present
day. With all his possessions packed in a small
hand satchel, he made the journey from Syracuse
to Buffalo by way of the Erie Canal. At the
latter city he met a former school-mate, whose

hospitable reception served to alleviate the pangs
of homesickness which he had begun to feel, and
permitted him to continue the journey with a
cheerful heart. The steamer "Daniel Webster"
bore him from Buffalo to Detroit, whence he
traveled by stage to Saline, Michigan, a frontier
town, in which his uncle, Thomas H. Marsh,
was engaged in the practice of law. At the lat-
ter 's suggestion he determined to fit himself for
that profession, but in the mean time was obliged
to become a clerk in a general store in order to
earn a livelihood. He spent several years in that
way, pursuing his legal studies by night, and at
odd intervals, often burning his tallow candle or
dip until 3 o'clock in the morning. Once each
year during her lifetime, he made the journey to
New York to visit his mother. In 1843 he was
admitted to the bar at Ann Arbor, and for a num-
ber of years thereafter he was engaged in legal
practice in that city and the adjacent towns, re-
taining his residence at Saline. He was subse-
quently employed by mercantile houses in New
York City to attend to their legal business through
the West, his operations extending to several
States.

In 1863 he located in Chicago, where he has
ever since been engaged in general practice. His
first office was on Randolph Street, and at the
time of the city's destruction by fire, eight years
after his arrival, his place of business was at No.
87 Washington Street. At that time he had an
elegant residence on the lake shore, at Whitney
Street (now Walton Place), which, with its con-
tents, was also destroyed. He and his family
barely escaped with a horse and buggy, taking
such few articles as they could carry and fifteen
dollars in cash. Driving to the country on the
north-west side of the city, they encamped on the
prairie for the first night, amid thousands of other
homeless refugees. Many victims of that awful
holocaust who had less reason to feel discouraged
than Mr. Humphreville, gave up in despair, but
though then past fifty years of age, he set res-
olutely about the task of retrieving his fortunes
and providing a home for his family. In a few
days he secured the use of a building at the cor-
ner of Green and Van Buren Streets, which served

DELOS HULL.

211

for a time the double purpose of office and resi-
dence, the office portion being shared with several
other attorneys. Old and new clients began to
seek his services, and a prosperous practice was
soon established. Since May 27, 1881, his home
has been at River Forest, 'and for twelve years
past he has served as police magistrate of that
village. The high regard in which he is held by
members of his profession and the uniform fair-
ness of his decisions cause many cases to be
brought to his court for adjudication from all
parts of the city and county.

Mr. Humphreville was married December 3 1 ,
1843, at Saline, Michigan, to Miss Ann Eliza
Oliphant, a native of Barnegat, New Jersey.
She died in April, 1846, leaving one daughter,
Anna Eugenia, now the wife of R. M. Van Ars-
dale, of New York City. Mr. Humphreville was
again married, July 16, 1848, the bride being
Mary Ann Gurley, daughter of Dr. Royal
and Sally (Post) Gurley, of Saline, Michigan.
This lady was born in Ontario County, Michigan,
and died at River Forest, Illinois, June 20, 1885,
aged nearly fifty-two years. She bore her hus-

band five sous, named respectively, James Royal,
Torrence Liberty, Erasmus Darwin, Gurley Mc-
Clellan and Louie D. The second son is engaged
in business at Fondis, Elbert County, Colorado,
and all the others reside in Cook Count}-.

Mr. Humphreville has always been a consistent
Democrat. He cast his first Presidential vote for
Martin Van Buren in 1840, and recalls many in-
teresting reminiscences of that famous "hard
cider" campaign. He was postmaster at Saline,
Michigan, for eight years or more, receiving his
official commission from President Tyler. Mr.
Humphreville also served several terms as Cir-
cuit Court Commissioner in Washtenaw County,
Michigan. In 1885 he was appointed postmaster
at River Forest by President Cleveland, holding
that office until its consolidation, four years later,
with the Oak Park office. Though nearly eighty
years of age, he is still as sprightly and active as
most men of forty or fifty. The dignified and
honorable course which he has always pursued,
whether acting in an official capacity or in that
of a private citizen, causes him to be universally
esteemed.

DELOS HULL,

0ELOS HULL, one of the most patriotic and
public-spirited citizens of Oak Park, was
born at Lafayette, Onondaga County, New
York, April 12, 1842. Heisason of EdwardH.
Hull and Maria Van Valkenburgh, the former of
whom was born at Truxton, Cortland County,
New York, November i, 1806, and died at
Lombard, Illinois, May 22, 1878. He learned his
father's trade, that of miller, and afterwards en-
gaged in mercantile business at De Ruyter, New
York. Later he read law with A. Scott Sloan,
since a judge of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin,
and also with H. C. Miner, at De Ruyter, New

York. In 1852 he headed a company of sixteen
emigrants who went to California by way of the
isthmus. There he engaged in mining for two
years, and afterwards operated a grist mill at San
Jose, an enterprise which proved quite remunera-
tive. In the spring of 1856 he returned to New
York, and the next fall came to Illinois, making
his home at Lombard, where he practiced law
during the remainder of his life. He filled a
number of public offices in Du Page County, in-
cluding those of district attorney, clerk of the
circuit court and county recorder.

The ancestry of this family has been traced to

212

DELOS HULL.

Tristram Hull, who came from Hull, England, in
1632, and settled on Nantucket Island. He was
a sea-faring man and commanded a merchant ves-
sel. He and his people were Quakers and suf-
fered their share of the persecution which was
accorded to their sect in those days. One of his
female relatives was burned at the stake for "her-
esy" on the public square of Boston. John Hull,
one of the descendants of Tristram Hull, laid out
the city of Hudson, New York, at which place
his son, George, the father of Edward Hull, was
born in 1787. George Hull died at Oak Park in
1886, lacking only six months of being one hun-
dred years old. His mother, whose maiden name
was Anna Haight, reached the age of ninety-four
years. Sallie Barnard, who became the wife of
George Hull, was the daughter of a sea captain,
who was a relative of Benjamin Franklin. Her
mother's maiden name was Myrick.

Mrs. Maria Hull was born at Canaan, Colum-
bia County, New York, in August, 1812. The
names of her parents were Lambert Van Valken-
burgh and Freelove Aylesworth. Mr. Van Valk-
enburgh was a scion of one of the Knickerbocker
families, and became a prominent farmer near
Lockport, Niagara County, New York, where he
settled about 1820. Mrs. Hull is now living at
Oak Park, having reached the venerable age of
eighty-five years. She is the mother of five sons
and one daughter who survived the period of
childhood. Of these, George Henry and Frank-
lin are now deceased; Thomas M. is a well-known
citizen of Wheaton, Illinois; Dewitt C., who
served two years in Company D, Seventeenth
New York Cavalry, died in July, 1865, from
disease contracted in the service; Delos is a twin
brother of the last-named; and Sally J. is the
widow of Liberty Jones, and now resides at Oak
Park.

Delos Hull was six years old when the family
removed to De Ruyter, New York, where he at-
tended the public schools and the Seventh Day
Baptist Seminary. In June, 1858, he came to
Lombard, Illinois, and continued his studies for a
time. His first business experience was acquired
as clerk in a general store in Lombard, and in
1860 he began teaching in the country schools

near that village. The next spring he became a
bookkeeper in the first steam laundry opened in
Chicago, but abandoned that occupation to go to
the defense of his country, enlisting on the 2oth
of August, 1861, in Company H, Eighth Regi-
ment Illinois Cavalry, known as Farnsworth's
Black Abolition Regiment. He served in the Ar-
my of the Potomac during his entire service, being
in almost constant activity until July 21, 1865,
when he was honorably discharged. He partici-
pated in nearly all of the engagements of that
army, including many cavalry fights and a num-
ber of general battles, among which may be men-
tioned Williamsburgh, Fredericksburg, Antietam,
Gettysburg, South Mountain, and the Seven Days'
Campaign in the Wilderness. The next morning
after the battle of South Mountain his regiment
was sent out to Boonesboro to reconnoiter, and
unexpectedly encountered a force of four thousand
Confederates, which they defeated in a hand to
hand fight, by the use of seven-shooting carbines,
which had then just been introduced, and took the
enemy considerably by surprise. It was in this
conflict Mr. Hull was struck by a spent ball, which
was stopped by a diary in his pocket, but escaped
serious injury throughout, which seems almost
miraculous, considering the many dangers to which
he was exposed.

Upon the return of peace he was employed for
about one year by the American Express Compa-
ny in Chicago, and in the fall of 1866 he went to
Lockport, New York, where he was in the employ
of his uncle, D. A. Van Valkenburgh. Two years
later he returned to Lombard and engaged in
farming and dairying. But he was of too active
and enterprising a spirit to be long contented in
that occupation. In the fall of 1870 he became
assistant bookkeeper in the Chicago office of the
Weed Sewing Machine Company, and soon after
took charge of its city business. One year later
he became the state agent of that concern for Min-
nesota, making his headquarters at St. Paul. He
afterwards traveled for three years as special rep-
resentative of the company, and about 1876 start-
ed an independent city agency in Chicago in
company with J. VV. Kettlestrings. He subse-
quently became traveling representative of the

A. H. PRESTON.

213

clothing house of Charles P. Kellogg & Company,
which connection was continued until his appoint-
ment, June i, 1889, to the office of postmaster
at Oak Park, a position which he held until April,
1 894. During the previous year he had purchased
the coal business of Johnston & Company, at that
village, to which he has since devoted most of his
time and attention. Under his management the
trade has grown to considerable proportions, and
besides doing an extensive retail business, which
employs a number of men and teams, a wholesale
office was established in Chicago, May i, 1897.
He is also president of the Oak Park Business
Men's Association.

December 31, 1868, Mr. Hull was married, at
Oak Park, Illinois, to Amelia E. Whaples, daugh-
ter of Reuben Whaples, one of the pioneers of

northern Illinois. Of three children born to this
union, two sons died in infancy, the only survivor
being a daughter, Mabel L., now the wife of
George Sinden, of Oak Park. Mr. Hull is
a member of the First Congregational Church
of Oak Park; and, being naturally of a social
and genial nature, has affiliated with a num-
ber of fraternal organizations, among which
may be mentioned the Masonic order, the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, Grand Army of
the Republic, and the Royal League. He has al-
ways been a stanch Republican, but has never
filled any elective office. Embodying the phys-
ical vigor and unswerving devotion to principle
which distinguished many of his progenitors, he
commands the respect and admiration of all with
whom he comes in contact.

AUGUSTUS H. PRESTON.

GJUGUSTUS HITCHCOCK PRESTON en-
I \ joys the unique distinction of being the old-
/ i est locomotive engineer (measured in years
of continuous service) whose headquarters is
Chicago. He has been in the railway train serv-
ice for about forty -five years, and since 1855 has
been employed as an engineer on the lines now in-
cluded in the Chicago & Northwestern system.
During all this time he has never lost a whole
month nor been suspended for any cause. He
has covered in all about 2,200,000 miles, and
though by the rules of the company he was
entitled to retire on a pension several years since,
he is still hale and hearty, and continues to cover
his daily route with the regularity of clock-work.
Mr. Preston was born at Atwater, Ohio, De-
cember i, 1831, the names of his parents being
Justus and Sina (Hall) Preston. The ancestorsof
Justus Preston were among the colonial emigrants
who came from England and settled in this coun-

try in 1635. He was born near Meriden, Con-
necticut, where his father died about ten years
subsequent to his birth. The boy learned the
trade of wheel-wright.and during the War of 1812
spent about three months in military service,
being employed in defense of the New England
coast. He subsequently removed to Atwater,
Ohio, and followed his trade there for a number
of years. Thence he removed his family and ef-
fects with ox-teams to Illinois in 1837.

He settled at Sycamore, DeKalb County, near
which place he bought a large tract of land from
the United States Government and engaged in
farming. He was a natural mechanic, and made
most of his agricultural implements, besides
erecting his farm buildings. His first house at
this place, which was built of logs and roofed with
split shingles, did not contain a single nail. He
died June 2, 1847, at the age of fifty-three years.
He was a man of simple tastes, who concerned

2I 4

A. H. PRESTON.

himself but little with public affairs. He was
married at Meriden, Connecticut, to Lodema
Brockett, who died at Atwater, Ohio, about 1827,
leaving one son, Jared, a farmer now residing at
Genoa, Illinois. Mr. Preston's second wife was a
Miss Hall, of Wallingford, Connecticut, to whom
he was united January 18, 1829. She died Feb-
ruary 26, 1869, at the age of sixty-seven years.
She was the mother of six children, as follows:
Henry, who died at Genoa, Illinois, in February,
1868, in the thirty-eighth year of his age; Au-
gustus H.; Charles; George; Norman and Eliza-
beth, Mrs. De Witt Greene. The last-named
lives in Chicago, the two youngest sons live at
Sycamore, and Charles at Genoa, Illinois.

Augustus H. Preston spent most of his boy-
hood upon his father's farm. While driving
thence to Chicago in June, 1847, he saw a loco-
motive for the first time in his life, near the pres-
ent village of Oak Park. The following fall he
came to the city and began to learn the black-
smith trade, in the shop of Hollingsworth &
Pierce, which stood on the east side of Canal
Street, between Randolph and Lake Streets, west
of which was then along stretch of open prairie.
In July, 1852, he began work on the Michigan
Central Railroad, as a fireman, and on the 24th
of June of the following year, entered the employ
of the Chicago & Galena Union Railroad. Two
years later he was promoted to the position of
engineer, in which capacity he was first employed
on a gravel train at Sterling, Illinois. For two
years, beginning in 1857, he drew an accommo-
dation train between that place and Fulton, haul-
ing all the freight and passengers between those
points. After this he was placed in charge
of passenger trains between Chicago and Fulton,
and since the consolidation of the road with the
Chicago & Northwestern in 1864, has been al-
most constantly employed on passenger trains.
For several years he spent two weeks of each
month drawing the pay-car over the entire sys-
tem. From 1865 to 1890 he drew nearly all the
special fast trains sent out over the road. In
June, 1866, he hauled a special fast excursion
train to Omaha and return, for the officials of the
road, and two months later took a party of editors

to Omaha on another fast run. In June, 1876,
he took the Jurrett & Palmer Special Fast Con-
tinental Train from Chicago to Clinton, covering
the distance of 140 miles in two hours and thirty
minutes, stopping eight minutes for water. This
was the fastest time made by the train on any di-
vision between New York and San Francisco.
In the period covered by the World's Fair Mr.
Preston covered 96,000 miles and carried 100,000
passengers. During his connection with this
system he has drawn material for the construction
of about 1 50 miles of its lines, and for three months
drew a passenger train between Clinton and
Marshalltown, Iowa, when there was not a house
along the route.

Mr. Preston was married September 8, 1856,
to Eliza, daughter of Dorastus and Juliet (Saf-
ford) Wright, of Elgin, Illinois. Mrs. Preston
was born at Malone, New York, and came to
Illinois with her parents in 1849. Her father,
who was a carpenter by trade, was born at Fair-
field, Vermont, and died at Nelson, Illinois, in
1864, aged sixty-six years, his remains being in-
terred at Elgin. Both he and his wife were of
English lineage, and sprang from some of the
earliest Vermont families. Mrs. Juliet Wright
died at Elgin in 1863, at the age of fifty-three
years. She was born at Cambridge, Vermont,
and was a daughter of Eric Safford, whose father,
David Safford, served as an officer in the Con-
tinental Army.

Mr. and Mrs. Preston are the parents of five
children, of whom the following is the record:
Frank D. is an engineer on the Chicago & North-
western Railroad, living at Oak Park; Harry W.,
who lives at Danville, Illinois, holds a similar
position on the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Rail-
road; Juliet is the wife of C. H. Haight, of New
York City; Percy C. is a fireman on the Chicago
& Northwestern Railroad, residing at Elgin, Illi-
nois; and Jessie M. is still with her parents. Mr.
and Mrs. Preston are communicants of Grace
Church (Episcopal) of Oak Park, and the for-
mer is a member of the Brotherhood of Loco-
motive Engineers and of the Masonic order, be-
ing identified with Harlem Lodge No. 540, and
Cicero Chapter No. 180.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

WILLIAM BEYE

WILLIAM BEYE.

215

WILLIAM BEYE.

(3 QlLLIAM BEYE. In the death of William
\Al ^ e y e > which occurred at his home in Oak
V V Park, April 10, 1897, Cook County lost a
patriotic and exemplary citizen, and the city of
Chicago lost an energetic and useful business man.
Though an alien by birth, he was a thorough rep-
resentative of American principles and senti-
ments, and no citizen of the United States could
have been more loyal to the traditions of this
country.

He was born in Halle, Duchy of Brunswick,
Germany, May 12, 1841. He was the son of
Henry and Hannah (Bummer) Beye, his father's
name being probably of French origin. Henry
Beye was the proprietor of a stone quarry which
furnished material for buildings. He died in
Halle, in the fall of 1886, at the age of eighty-three
years. He was a prominent citizen, interested
in public affairs, of temperate habits, and a mem-
ber of the Lutheran Church. Mrs. Hannah
Beye died at the age of fifty-three years, in 1857,
leaving four children, namely: Hannah (Mrs.
Wiechert), former wife of C. Lember, who was
killed near Stover, Missouri, soon after the Civil
War commenced. (He was a Union soldier and
was killed by a guerrilla.) Henry, who died Sep-
tember 13, 1895. in Marshall Count)', Iowa, at
the age of sixty years; William; and Fred, who
still lives at the old homestead in Germany. Hen-
ry Beye, senior, married a second time, having
one daughter, now Mrs. Eiler, of Marshall Coun-
ty, Iowa.

William Beye lived in his native country until
he was fifteen years old, receiving a common-
school education. In 1856 he came to the United
States, locating in Elk Grove Township, Cook
County, with his cousin, Louis Albright. He

spent the next few years in farm work, attending
school in winter. In September, 1861, he en-
listed in Company D, Eighth Illinois Cavalry,
and was mustered out in the Army of the Poto-
mac. After serving two and one-half years, he
re-enlisted in the same company. He took part
in the battles of Williamsburg and Fair Oaks,
when Companies F and D acted as body guard of
General Keyes throughout the seven-days fight.
On the last day of this campaign, the troops on
the James River were overtaken by a terrific thun-
derstorm, and many of the men thought the last
day of the world had come. On reaching Alex-
andria, they were joined by Pope's returning
army. The next fight was at South Mountain,
where they met Allen Pinkerton, who brought
news of the surrender of Harper's Ferry. During
the week between South Mountain and Antietam,
there was almost constant fighting. His regi-
ment held a bridge leading towards Sharpsburg,
under fire of a Confederate battery. Mr. Beye
took part in the review of the army by President
Lincoln, soon after which General Burnside took
command. After the battle of Fredericksburg
they were sent further South, and guarded the ex-
treme left of the army during the following winter.
In June, 1863, Mr. Beye was at Chancellorsville
under General Hooker. During Lee's invasion
of Pennsylvania, they came almost every day into
active service.

On the second day of Gettysburg Mr. Beye was
left a target for many rebel bullets, in an open
field, having been separated from the rest of the
company. Before the battle closed, his regiment,
with others, was sent to Boonesboro, to intercept
the retreat of the enemy. They had constant
fighting for a week, when Leerecrossed the Poto-

216

A. A. KNAPP.

mac. After the battle of Gettysburg they were
alternately driving and being driven, till the two
armies confronted each other on the Rappahan-
nock, in the second battle of Fredericksburg. In
the spring of 1864 his brigade was employed in
keeping the guerrillas in subjection in Lowdon
Valley. During General Early's advance upon
Washington, in the summer of 1864, they were
employed in the defense of that city. From this
time until Lee's surrender, their headquarters were
at Fairfax Court House. They received the news
of Lincoln's assassination about one o'clock on the
morning following its occurrence, with orders to
guard all roads and ferries. The regiment acted
as an escort at his funeral, soon after which they
were sent by way of the Baltimore & Ohio Rail-
road to Parkersburg, Virginia, thence down the
Ohio River to Saint Louis, where they were mus-
tered out.

Returning to Illinois, Mr. Beye attended the
Elgin Academy one winter, then entered Bryant
& Stratton's Business College, and obtained a sit-
uation in the county treasurer's office, where he
remained sixteen years. For twelve years he was
left in complete charge, as assistant treasurer, un-
der eight different heads of that department. His
reliability in discharging the duties of that respon-
sible position was so generally recognized that the
bondsmen of each successive treasurer, during
this time, required his retention in that place.

In the spring of 1883 Mr. Be}^e entered into
partnership with James H. Heald, forming the
grain and commission firm of William Beye &
Company. In the following winter they were
joined by J. C. Howell, the firm becoming Howell,
Beye & Company, which firm continued to do
business until 1889, when Mr. Beye withdrew and
became a stockholder in the well-known McNeill
& Higgins Company, wholesale grocers, and he
was identified with it until his death. He was
also to some extent interested in banking in the
city.

In 1878 he was married to Miss Nellie C. Lom-
bard, of Boston, Massachusetts, and they had
eight children, who are still living, namely: Han-
nah C. ; Marian and William, junior, who are"
students at Oak Park High School; Cudworth,
Howard, Edward Lawrence, Elizabeth and Hel-
en J.

The family of William Beye has lived in Oak
Park since 1884, and attends the Unity Church in
that village. Mr. Beye was always a Republican
in politics. He was a member of the Oak Park
Club, which he served as president, and of Phil
Sheridan Post, Grand Army of the Republic. For
a number of years he was a member of the board
of education in Oak Park.

After a very short illness Mr. Beye died, as above
noted, at his home, No. 242 Maple Avenue, in
Oak Park.

ALBERT A KNAPP.

Gl LBERT ASA KNAPP, a well-known busi-
I_l ness man of Oak Park , was born in the town
/ I of York, Du Page County, Illinois, January
20, 1852, and is a son of Asa Knapp, of whom an
extended notice appears elsewhere in this volume.
He spent his boyhood on his father's farm, and
attended the district school. Later he became a

student at Wheaton College, and after completing
his studies returned to the farm. From 1872 to
1882 he carried on a cotton plantation at Athens,
Alabama. In the latter year he again took up
farming in Du Page Count}-, which he continued
until 1891, when he removed to Oak Park and
opened a livery business. He is still engaged in

ASA KNAPP.

217

that vocation, which has proved very lucrative
and successful, he having one of the most finely
equipped stands of the kind in Cook County.

July 20, 1876, Mr. Knapp was united in mar-
riage to Miss Ellen Sabin, who was born in
Schaumburg, Cook County, Illinois. Mrs. Knapp
is a daughter of John and Laura (Aldridge)
Sabin, who came from Susquehanna County,
Pennsylvania, to Schaumburg, Illinois, in 1845,

being among the early settlers of that locality.
John Sabin was a native of Connecticut. Five
children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs.
Knapp, as follows: Asa Lee, Grace, Earl, Hattie
and Owen. All are at home, and all except the
eldest and the youngest are in school. Fra-
ternally, Mr. Knapp is a member of Court Oak
Park No. 3119, Independent Order of Foresters.
In politics he is an ardent Republican.

ASA KNAPP.

(S\ SA KNAPP, an early pioneer of DuPage
LJ County, Illinois, who was for over twenty
/ I years a resident of Cook County, was born at
Pine Plains, Dutchess County, New York, March
ii, 1811, and died at Melrose Park, Illinois,
August 23, 1896. The Knapp family is of Ger-
man origin, but has been located in America for
several generations. The father and grandfather
of the subject of this notice, each of whom bore
the name of Asa, were natives of Connecticut,
and became farmers in Dutchess County, New
York.

Asa Knapp, of whom this sketch is written,
spent his boyhood on his father's farm and grew
to be a fine specimen of physical manhood. He
also acquired a practical knowledge of business
affairs and was well fitted to lead a pioneer life.
Having reached his thirtieth year he resolved to
invest his savings in a region where land was
cheap, and to aid in the development of the Great
West. Accordingly, in 1837 he removed to the
prairies of DuPage County, where he purchased a
claim to a half-section of land in the town of
York, for which he paid five hundred dollars.
Two years later, when the survey was made, he
was obliged to pay one dollar and a-quarter per
acre in addition, to the United States Government.
This land was soon brought under cultivation

and he rapidly acquired more. At one time he
had one thousand acres and was able to give a
finely improved farm to each of his three sons, be-
sides retaining the original homestead. He was
a persistent, hard-working man, and though a
part of his land was rented he always gave it care-
ful supervision. He took an active interest in
the affairs of the town and county and held sev-
eral offices of trust and honor, being supervisor of
the town of York in 1854, and serving as a mem-
ber of the DuPage County Board of Commission-
ers in 1846-47-48.

Wishing to give his children better educational
advantages, Mr. Knapp removed in 1861 to Oak
Park, where he resided about two years. He then
returned to his old home, but in 1876 retired from
active farm life, removing to Melrose Park. There
he spent his declining years, still giving personal
attention to his business affairs and retaining his
health and strength until a short time before his
death.

October 10, 1841, Mr. Knapp was married to
Philura Plummer, daughter of Caleb and Polly
(Webster) Plummer. Caleb Plummer was born
in Vermont, March 31, 1780, and removed to
Alden, Erie Count}', New York, where he mar-
ried and where his daughter Philura was born
August 6, 1818. He died there November 29,

218

GEORGE NORDENHOLT.

1840. His wife was born March 3, 1783, and
died in DuPage County, Illinois, August 2, 1853.
Eight children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs.
Knapp, one of whom died in childhood. Of the
others the following is the record: Phoebe (Mrs.
John J. Dooley) resides in Baker City, Oregon;
Emma (widow of Henry Vernon) resides in
Wheaton, Illinois; Hattie and Evelyn reside at
Melrose Park; Albert A. and William P. are

citizens of Oak Park; and Charles Elmer is secre-
tary of Price Brothers Printing Company, of
Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Knapp
celebrated their golden wedding October 10, 1891,
surrounded by many friends and relatives. Both
were members of the First Congregational Church
of May wood, Mrs. Knapp having united with
that denomination while a resident of Oak Park.
The latter departed this life March 28, 1895.

GEORGE NORDENHOLT.

NORDENHOLT, a well-known
j_ business man of Oak Park, at present presi-
VU dent of the Cicero and Proviso Ice Company,
has been for many years prominently connected
with the business and real-estate interests of the
suburbs of western Cook County. He was born
near the seaport city of Bremen, Germany, No-
vember 30, 1855, and is the only son of Frederick
and Margherita (Wragge) Nordenholt. The fa-
ther, who was a mason by trade, died when his
son was three years old. Besides the son, the
family consisted of one daughter, Mary, now
Mrs. Louis Stahmer, of River Forest. Mrs.
Nordenholt, who afterwards married Diedrich
Barkemeyer, died in Germany in 1888, aged
sixty-two years. Mr. Barkemeyer is now living
in Oak Park, at the age of sixty-five years.

George Nordenholt received the common-school
education of his native land, and when about
fourteen years of age was apprenticed to learn the
baker's trade. This he accomplished in three
years, and for about two years traveled in various
parts of Germany. He then became baker on
one of the vessels of the North German Lloyd
line of ocean steamers, and continued in this
work, with the exception of one or two short in-
tervals, until 1878. His first trip to America
was in 1872, when he made a short stop in New

York City. In all he crossed the Atlantic eighty-
six times.

In 1878 he removed permanently to the United
States, locating in Chicago, where he worked at
his trade nearly two years. At about this time
he began to recognize the advantages of Oak
Park as a location for a bakery, and wishing to
establish himself where he could receive the full
benefit of his own efforts and business manage-
ment, he concluded to locate in that suburb.
With a small amount of money which he had ac-
cumulated, he opened a bakery, and for some
time he was able to do all the work with the help
of a boy. But as the patronage increased, more
help was required, so that when the business
passed into other hands it employed eighteen
men and three girls. Having acquired a com-
petency, and wishing to retire from active labors,
Mr. Nordenholt sold the bakery in 1895 to Mr.
Albert Burgess, by whom it is still operated.
After a few months of leisure, Mr. Nordenholt
found that idleness was not in accord with his
enterprising nature, and in looking for something
to employ his time, hit upon a bankrupt ice com-
pany, which he concluded might be put upon a
paying basis by judicious management. He there-
fore incorporated a new company, under the name
of the Cicero and Proviso Ice Company, of which

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

JOHN D. WALLER, M. D.

(From Photo by W. J. ROOT)

J. D. WALLER.

219

he became the president. Under his able super-
vision the enterprise has been very successful,
and its business is still growing. In the season
of 1896 four thousand tons of ice were sold.
New ice houses and barns have been erected , and
new wagons and machinery purchased, all of the
best to be obtained. Sixteen horses are used to
distribute the ice, and the industry gives employ-
ment to about twenty men during the season.

Aside from the pursuit of his regular business,
the subject of this notice has been equally suc-
cessful in handling and improving real estate.
His dealings in that line have covered a wide
area, including Melrose Park, May wood, River
Forest, Harlem and Oak Park. It has been his
custom to improve his holdings as far as possible,
and he has erected many houses and other build-
ings. In 1895 he built the elegant modern resi-
dence, at the corner of Chicago Avenue and
Marion Street, which is the family home. Be-
sides this he still owns a residence in Oak Park,
two in River Forest and a fine brick store build-
ing in Harlem.

April 28, 1883, Mr. Nordenholt was married
to Miss Mary E. Burkhardt, who was born in
Hesse-Cassel, Germany, and is a daughter of
August and Elizabeth (Middendorf) Burkhardt.
The family emigrated from the Fatherland to
England, whence in 1873 they came to Chicago.
Mr. and Mrs. Burkhardt now reside in Harlem.
Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Nordenholt, named in order of birth, George D.,
Louis B., Arnold, Bertha B. and Walter Wash-
ington. The third died in childhood. The mem-
bers of the family are regular attendants of the
Presbyterian Church of Oak Park.

The subject of this sketch is a hearty supporter
of the Republican party, but takes active part in
public affairs only when his services are necessary
to carry some important measure. He is devoted
to his home and family, and allows no outside
affairs to crowd out his domestic interests. His
chief recreation is a few weeks of hunting and
fishing each year. He usually spends his vaca-
tion in northern Wisconsin, and in his home are
many trophies proving his skill as a sportsman.

JOHN D. WALLER.

(JOHN DUKE WALLER, M. D., a leading
I member of the medical profession in Oak
Q) Park, was born in Maysville, Kentucky, April
6, 1852. He is the son of Hon. Henry Waller,
whose biography is given elsewhere in this work .
John D. Waller attended the public schools of
Chicago. His health failing, he engaged in busi-
ness and eventually, through his own efforts,
prepared himself for the study of medicine and
entered Rush Medical College, from which he
graduated in 1883. In 1882 he began to practice,
as assistant physician in the insane asylum at
Jacksonville, Illinois, where he remained for five
and one-half years. While there he was one time

president of the Morgan County Medical Society.
In May, 1888, he came to Oak Park, where he
has since remained, engaged in the practice of
medicine, to which he has given his exclusive at-
tention, and in which he has been eminently suc-
cessful, having frequent calls to all the neighbor-
ing suburbs. Dr. Waller was married in 1888
to Miss Katherine, daughter of Rev. William
Short, D. D., a Methodist preacher, who was presi-
dent of the Illinois Female College in Jacksonville
for a period of eighteen years. Mr. Short is now
superintendent of the Illinois Institute for the
Education of the Blind, at Jacksonville.

Dr. and Mrs. Waller are the parents of three

22O

G. M. DAVIS.

children, namely: Judith Car}', Marie Short,
and Katherine. Dr. Waller and his wife are
members of the Presbyterian Church of Oak
Park. He is a member of Siloam Commandery
of Knights Templar, of Oriental Consistory, the
National Union, of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, a charter member of the Oak Park Club,
a prominent member of the Masonic order, and

of a number of other orders. Though reared
amidst the precepts and traditions of the Demo-
cratic party, he began at an early age to have in-
dependent and liberal ideas concerning the ques-
tions of public policy, and for the past twenty
years he has supported the Republican party,
though his political activity does not extend be-
yond the casting of his own ballot.

GEORGE M. DAVIS.

EEORGE MORTIMER DAVIS, an influen-
tial citizen of Austin, and a successful busi-
ness man of Chicago, was born at Eaton,
Madison County, New York, August 25, 1844.
His parents, Richard Mowry Davis and Rowena
Wells Davis, both sprang from families which
were conspicuous in the early history of the
United States. Richard M. Davis was born to
Nathaniel and Sophronia (Johnson) Davis, in
Erieville, New York, and was a millwright by
trade, also working at pattern- making. He died
at the age of nearly seventy-seven years, at Ham-
ilton, New York, December 31, 1889. In 1858,
while working at making patterns, in Utica, New
York, Mr. Davis wrote on a slip of paper, which
he nailed between two pieces of lumber, "When
you find this, I will be in kingdom come." It
was found by workmen a few months after his
death, but no one in the foundry at that time
knew who the writer was. Mrs. R. W. Davis
was born in Erieville, New York, and died at
Eaton, New York, November 4, 1872, at the age
of nearly fifty -eight years. She was a daughter of
Barker Wells and Fanny Stillman. The parents
of the last-named were John Stillman and Mary
Potter, the latter a lineal descendant of Ichabod
Potter, who was born in Portsmouth, Rhode
Island, in 1637. His descendants in direct line
to Mrs. Stillman were named respectively,

Thomas, Thomas and George. Mr. and Mrs.
Davis' children were: Frances C. (Mrs. James P.
Marsh, of Chicago), Helen Celeste (Mrs. Walter
Morse, of Eaton, New York) and George M.

George M. Davis lived at Eaton, New York,
until nearly grown to manhood. At fifteen years
. of age, he began to learn the machinist's trade.
After two years he went to Binghamton, New
York, where he worked in a gun factory which
was engaged in filling contracts for the United
States Government. Later he worked in a gun
factory in Watertown, and then in Ilion, New
York. In 1865 he went to Oil City, Pennsylva-
nia, and from there to Cincinnati, Ohio. After
spending six months in that city, he came to
Chicago, in 1866.

On his arrival he began the business of mak-
ing steam gauges, his first location being on
Washington Street near Fifth Avenue. He
has ever since been engaged in that line of busi-
ness, with which he now includes different special-
ties in steam fittings, many of which are his own
invention. He originated the idea of an auto-
matic air valve for steam radiators and first intro-
duced the use of the same in steam-heated
buildings. He afterwards devised an automatic
steam regulator for reducing the pressure of steam
used for heating purposes; also a patent steam
trap, and many other appliances now in general

H. H. HUNT.

221

use; while in some cases he has anticipated a de-
mand for articles sure to be appreciated at some
future time.

This enterprise has always prospered, as have
others in which he is interested. Since 1870 he
has been located at Austin, and since 1894 he has
owned the electric light plant in that place. He
is a director of the Prairie State National Bank of
Chicago, is extensively interested in silver mines
in Mexico, and is a member of the March-Davis
Bicycle Company, Chicago.

December 31, 1867, he married Miss Henrietta,
daughter of Dr. Ira and Frances Dales, of Chica-
go. Dr. Ira Dales was born at Courtright, Dela-
ware County, New York. His parents were John
and Sarah (Cavin) Dales, the latter a cousin of
Alexander Hamilton, the eminent statesman and
financier. Three of the nine sons of Mr. and
Mrs. Dales became physicians. Dr. Ira Dales
was married at Monticello, New York, to Frances
Coit. He practiced a number of years at Port
Jervis, New York, and in 1854 came to Illinois,
locating at Aurora, where his death occurred two
years later. Mrs. Frances Dales, who is now
over eighty years of age, has lived at Austin since
1871. She is a daughter of Dr. Joseph Coit
and Mary Voris. Dr. Coit, whose family was
of English lineage, served as a surgeon in the
Texan army during the war between that State

and Mexico, and died in that service. Mary
Voris was born on Long Island. Her ancestors
were among the old Knickerbocker families which
came from Holland.

Mrs. Davis was born in Monticello, New York.
She is the mother of two sons, Walter Edgar,
manager of the March- Davis Bicycle Company,
Chicago; and George Coit, a student of mechan-
ical engineering at Michigan State University,
Ann Arbor, Michigan. The family is identified
with the Presbyterian Church of Austin, and its
members are recognized at leaders in the most
progressive public movements of that suburb.
Mr. Davis is an ex-president of "The Oaks," the
principal social club of that village, in which he
has taken a lively interest. He was a charter
member of the Park Lodge, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, and has passed through all the
chairs therein. Always a Republican, his only
official service has been in the capacity of a mem-
ber of the Board of Education at Austin, of which
he is now the oldest member. During his connec-
tion with that body the number of teachers em-
ployed has increased from four to more than fifty,
and it is largely due to the wise and far-seeing
policy adopted by himself and his colleagues that
the schools of that place are acknowledged to be
among the most efficient and progressive in the
State.

HARRISON H. HUNT.

HARRISON HOBART HUNT, a veteran of
the great Civil War, was identified with im-
portant business interests in Chicago for
nearly a score of years, and led an exemplary and
useful life in both civil and military affairs, which
amply entitles him to commemoration in this rec-
ord. He was born at Orange, Franklin County,
Massachusetts, July 8, 1845, and died at Oak
Park, Illinois, June 15, 1893. The names of his

parents were Rodney Hunt and Margaret Parker.
Rodney Hunt, who was a scion of an old New
England family, was born at Ashburnham, Mas-
sachusetts. For over thirty years he was engaged
in the manufacture of woolen mill machinery at
Orange, and both he and his wife passed away at
that place.

After leaving the public schools, Harrison H.
Hunt pursued a course at a business college at

222

H. H. HUNT.

Poughkeepsie, New York. When only seventeen
years of age he enlisted in the Fifty-second Regi-
ment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and
served one year as an orderly under General
Grover, in the Department of the Gulf. He took
part in General Butler's expedition against Fort
Gibson, and in the subsequent Vicksburg cam-
paign.

After his term of enlistment expired he went
to Boston and became a bookkeeper in a whole-
sale paper house. In 1867 he went to Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, where he was employed for a time by
Josiah A. Noonan & Company, wholesale paper
dealers. He afterwards did a commission busi-
ness in hides and wool in that city, and from
there removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, whence he
traveled through Ohio, Illinois and other West-
ern States, in the interests of the wholesale paper
firm of Moore, Wilstach & Moore. Still later
he became a traveling representative of a firm of
safe manufacturers in that city. Returning to
Milwaukee in 1871, he spent the next year in the
United States Internal Revenue service. He then
returned to Orange, Massachusetts, where for
three following years he was connected in business
with his father.

In 1875 Mr. Hunt located in Chicago, believ-
ing that this rapidly growing city presented the
best field for putting to practical use the knowl-
edge gained by his previous varied experience.
Here he first became a salesman for F. P. Elliott
& Company, wholesale paper dealers. From the
time of his arrival in this city he gave his exclu-
sive attention to this branch of business and upon
severing his connection with the above-named
firm entered into an engagement with McCann,
Fitch & Converse, which lasted about three years.
Upon the death of Mr. McCann he purchased the
interest formerly held by that gentleman and the
firm became Fitch, Hunt & Company, under
which name the enterprise continued five or six
years. In 1887 Mr. Hunt sold his interest in
this concern, after which he became the head of
the house of H. H. Hunt & Company, which
continued to do a prosperous wholesale paper
business during the balance of his life. His com-
mercial transactions were always conducted with

the utmost integrity, and his relations with pat-
rons and contemporaries were such as reflected
great credit upon his character.

On the 3oth of August, 1870, at Milwau-
kee, Wisconsin, occurred the wedding of Mr.
Hunt and Miss Annie E. Mower, daughter of
Samuel F. and Anna C. (Litch) Mower. Samuel
F. Mower, who was a dealer in butter, eggs and
cheese in Boston, Massachusetts, was born at
Worcester, and died at Newton, in the same
State, January 16, 1856, having reached the age
of fifty-three years. His father, Ebenezer Mower,
who was a farmer at Worcester, reached the great
age of one hundred years. After the death of her
first husband, Mrs. Anna C. Mower married
Gen. Harrison C. Hobart, and they removed
to Wisconsin, living for a number of years at
Chilton, and later at Milwaukee, in that State.
General Hobart, who still resides in the last-
named city, has long been distinguished in the
military and political affairs of the State of Wis-
consin. Mrs. Hobart died at Milwaukee August
ii, 1896, at the age of seventy-nine years. She
was born at Bradford, Vermont. Her maternal
grandfather, John House, was one of the original
proprietors of the town of Hanover, New Hamp-
shire, and built the first two-story house in that
place. During the Revolutionary War he was
very active in the cause of American Independ-
ence and in the course of the conflict served as
captain of three different companies of New
Hampshire troops. He participated in engage-
ments at Saratoga, White Plains and Ticonderoga,
and shared the horrors and privations of the ter-
rible winter at Valley Forge.

Since 1876 Mr. Hunt had been a resident of
Oak Park, and that attractive suburb is still the
home of his family, which includes, besides his
widow, a son, Rodney, who is a student at Rush
Medical College, Chicago, and a daughter named
Helen A. The family has long been identified
with Grace Church (Episcopal), of Oak Park,
and Mr. Hunt was a member of Phil Sheridan
Post No. 615, Grand Army of the Republic. He
was a charter member of Garden City Council,
Royal Arcanum, but afterwards united with
General Grant Council at Oak Park.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

J. N. GAGE.

223

JOHN N. GAGE.

(JOHN NEWTON GAGE. The subject of
I this sketch was born in Pelham, New Ramp-
ed shire, May 30, 1825, unto Nathan and Me-
hitable (Woodbury) Gage. Being brought up
on a farm, a fact which holds true of most of our
leading pioneer citizens, his early educational ad-
vantages were limited to such common schools as
the ubiquitous energy so characteristic of New
England Puritans and their descendants had at
that early date made possible at the scene of his
nativity. At about twenty years of age, he put
forth his "best foot" in taking the first step upon
his pathway through life, and though he often
found the way beset with difficulties, yet he was
always found bravely and tirelessly at work, per-
forming his tasks as a man and Christian in the
best of the light given unto him.

His first independent work was in the Waltham
(Massachusetts) Cotton Company's Mills, where,
in he later became overseer in its weaving-room.
After a period of eight years of such service, mak-
ing it his determination to come West, he took
private evening lessons in bookkeeping, so as not
to interfere with the discharge of his paid duties,
which he finally resigned to others (and, we fain
believe, less competent) hands. He set out for
Chicago, the distant but much-sought El Dorado
of our country at that time, which he first saw,
spread out in a panorama almost as Nature's God
had made it, in the spring of 1857.

He soon met with co-operative energies in the
persons of Christopher C. and Daniel Webster,
with whom he directly entered into articles
of partnership, establishing one of the earliest
wholesale and retail millinery houses of our city,
known then by the firm style of Webster & Gage,

their first place of business being located on Lake
Street. Having the misfortune of being burned
out in 1857, they re-opened at No. 78 Lake Street,
where they continued until the withdrawal of the
Websters, about 1868. Mr. Gage took into a
new partnership formed at that time a brother,
Seth Gage, and a nephew, Albert S. Gage, under
the new name of Gage Brothers & Company, a
name retained to this day (after a brief interval of
change to A. S. Gage & Company), by which the
house has continued to grow and remain known
throughout the entire West and Northwest.

Being burned out by the Great Fire, they set up
temporarily in A. S. Gage's private house, until
they were enabled to re-open for a period of two
months in a temporary structure upon the Lake
Front. From this location they removed to Wa-
bash Avenue, near Jackson, thence to the corner
of Madison Street and Wabash Avenue, where
the trade still finds them profitably busy, one of
the noted houses of the city.

The subject of this sketch sold out to his part-
ner, A. S. Gage, about 1878. Thereafter, though
in excellent health, he lived a life of respected re-
tirement until the sad event of his demise from
blood poisoning, following upon what seemed to
be a trivial complaint, June 1 1, 1887, & t h' 3 man-
sion house, No. 1 308" Michigan Avenue, whence
his remains were borne to the family lot in Oak-
wood Cemetery.

The following is a copy of the resolutions
adopted by the Directors of the Wright & Law-
ther Oil and Lead Manufacturing Company on
this sad occasion:

"WHEREAS, Death having taken from us our
esteemed fellow-member and Vice-President, Mr.

224

J. N. GAGE.

John N. Gage, one of the founders of this com-
pany, who died June n, 1887, it is hereby

"Resolved: That in the death of Mr. John N.
Gage the company has suffered an irreparable
loss. Appreciating, as we do, his worth as a
man, his careful, just and conservative business
methods, we can never fully fill his place in the
Company's affairs;

"Resolved: That the heartfelt sympathy of each
and every member of this Board is felt for his
family in their great loss and affliction; and that
a copy of these Resolutions be sent to them, and
also spread upon the records of this Company. ' '

In politics he was an inflexible Republican,
always casting his ballot, but as carefully avoid-
ing any approach towards active politics. In re-
ligious faith he was liberal, having for many
years attended Dr. Ryder's church, St. Paul's
Universalist, whose pastor held and was held in
mutual esteem from as far back as the early '6os.

And so, with little variety or romance, lived
and died one of the sturdiest, most useful of our
citizens. Subsequent generations, with more lei-
sure and wealth, may develop more elegance and
refinement; but to men of Mr. Gage's virile stamp
the city of Chicago (as well as the entire West,
yes, in truth, all new countries) owes the founda-
tion stones of future greatness and prosperity.
Without the first courses of masonry there can
never be builded high superstructures, with or-
nate, elaborate and admirable dome and spire.
What Washington, Jefferson, the Adamses and
others were to the infant colonies, straggling for
very existence and recognition as an independent
nation, such were Mr. Gage and his associates to
Chicago. Most of them are now gathered to
their fathers, but their deeds are immortal. That
Chicago is now the wonder and envy of the world
is mainly owing to the persistent, honest efforts
early and late of such citizens as Mr. Gage fitly
typifies.

Mr. Gage married, December 15, 1849, at the
scene of his nativity, Miss Martha Webster, by
whom, fortunately, he left one child, a sou, to
bear his esteemed name, Frank Newton Gage,
who was born July 24, 1853. After receiving a
good education in Chicago, he entered his father's
store, but later withdrew, and is at present an
active member of the Stock Exchange. He mar-

ried, in 1889, Olive E. Lewis, of this city, who
has borne him a son, John Newton Gage, named
for his grandfather, the subject of this sketch.

Martha Webster is a daughter of Enoch and
Betsy Webster (relatives before marriage) born in
Haverhill, Massachusetts. Enoch was a son of
Caleb Webster, of Revolutionary fame. Betsy was
a daughter of Stephen Webster. Mrs. Gage is thus
related through both her parents to the greatest
of America's statesmen and orators, Daniel Web-
ster, of Marshfield, Massachusetts. She is also
related to the famous Mrs. Dustin, of Colonial
times. Captured by Indians, who dashed out
the brains of her sleeping babe, she was marched
miles into the wilderness. While her captors
were asleep, she loosened her fetters, and, having
slain every colored face of them, safely made her
return home, as set out in graphic early historical
authorities. Of all the heroines of "good old
colony times, ' ' and there were thousands of such,
it has always appeared that she was queen of
them all by this single episode.

The family of Gage (which is of Norman ex-
traction) derives its descent from one De Gaga
(Gauga or Gage), who accompanied William
the Conqueror into England in 1066. After the
"Conquest" he was rewarded by a large grant of
land in the forests of Dean, Gloucester County,
adjacent to which he fixed his abode and erected
a family seat at Clerenwell (otherwise Clarewell).
He also built a large, mansion house in the town
of Chichester, wherein he died, and was buried
in the neighboring abbey. His posterity re-
mained in the vicinity for many generations, in
credit and esteem, of whom there were Barons in
Parliament in the reign of Henry II. The line
from the beginning of the fifteenth century has
been traced as follows: John Gage had a son,
John Gage, born 1408; married Joan Sudgrove.
Their son was Sir John, knighted 1454; married
Eleanor St. Clere; died September, 1486. Will-
iam, Esquire, born 1456; married Agnes Bolney.
Their son, Sir John, born 1480, knighted May
22, 1541; married Phillippa Guilderford; died
April 28, 1557. Their eldest son, Sir Edward,
knighted by Queen Mary, married Elizabeth
Parker. Their son, John, Esquire (eldest of nine

E. McK.

225

sons), thirty years old at his father's death; heir
to fifteen manors and other Sussex lands. John
(nephew) made Baronet March 26, 1622; married
Penelope, widow of Sir George Treuchard; died
October 3, 1633.

John (second son), of Stoneham, Suffolk Coun-
ty, England, came to America with John Win-
throp, Jr., landing at Salem June 12, 1630; in
1633 one of twelve proprietors of Ipswich; wife
Anna died in June, 1658; married (2d) Mary
Keyes, November, 1658; moved to Rowley 1664.;
held many responsible offices of trust and fidelity
in Ipswich and Rowley, in which latter place he
died in 1673. Daniel (second son) married

Sarah Kimball in 1675; died November 8, 1705.
Daniel, born March 12, 1676; married Martha
Burbank, March 9, 1697; settled on the batiks of
the Merrimac River, on the main road to Me-
thuen, where the old Gage House, the oldest in
town, still stands. Died March 14, 1747. Dan-
iel (third son), born April 22, 1708, removed to
Pelham, New Hampshire; died September 24,
1775. David (fourth son), born August 9, 1750.
Nathan (fifth), the father of the subject of this
sketch, whose son and grandson, enumerated
herein, bring the record up to the extraordinary
number of seventeen consecutive male generations.

EDWARD McK. TEALL.

[~~DWARD McKINSTRY TEALL. The de-
j^ velopment of the insurance business has kept
|_ pace with the growth of other commercial
enterprises and has assumed such magnitude and
variety, and become so complex and at the same
time so vital to life and property, that it must now
be regarded as one of the important industries of
the United State. The last few years have seen
reductions in the rates of insurance, and corres-
ponding advantages to property-holders, in Chi-
cago, in consequence of the rapid development of
the art of constructing fire-proof buildings and
the great improvement in the facilities for check-
ing and extinguishing fires. These important
changes, which are still in progress, require
prompt attention and action by the companies
doing business here, for competition is just as
fierce in this line of business as in any other. In
fact, the sharp, but honorable, rivalry among in-
surance men has developed a number of experts
in the business, men with sufficient mental pene-
tration to foresee the result of changed conditions,
and sufficient executive ability to carry out such

methods as are most likely to secure favorable
results.

Among the most successful and systematic
manipulators of this art is the gentleman whose
name heads this notice. His birth occurred at
Albany, New York, July 27, 1839, his parents
being Edward McKinstry Teall and Eliza Perry.
The founder of the family in America was Oliver
Teall, who came from England and settled at
New Haven, Connecticut, about 1723. His fa-
ther had been Apothecary General to the British
army, serving under the Duke of Marlborough
during the reigns of William I. and Queen Anne.
Prudence, the wife of Oliver Teall, who came
with him to America, died at Killingsworth, Con-
necticut, June 24, 1780. Oliver Teall, second
son of this Couple, married Ruth Hurd and set-
tled at Killingsworth. He served as a Surgeon
in the British Army during the French and In-
dian War, and also during the War of the Amer-
ican Revolution, maintaining his loyalty to the
crown throughout his life. Five of his sons,
Timothy, Titus, Oliver, Joseph and Nathan,

226

E. McK. TEALL.

served in the Continental army. Father and
sons were mutually antagonized by their loyalty
to their respective causes, and never became rec-
onciled. Another son, named Benjamin, having
lost an eye during his childhood, was thus inca-
pacitated for military service and did not partici-
pate in the conflict.

Oliver Teall (third) was born in Middletown,
Connecticut, January i, 1759. When only six-
teen years old he enlisted under General Putnam,
Captain Gale's company, and afterward served
in Captain Hyde's company, which was success-
ively stationed at Fort Trumbull and at Provi-
dence, Rhode Island. He was subsequently as-
signed to Colonel Sommers' command at Ger-
mantown, Pennsylvania. He was one of the
devoted band which endured the historic hard-
ships of Valley Forge, where his brother Titus
died of smallpox. Later in the war he was sta-
tioned at West Point and on the Highlands. He
acted as guard to General Washington and his
family while they attended church. After peace
came he married Susan, daughter of Col. Brin-
ton Paine, of Dutchess County, New York.
They settled at Upper Hillsdale, Columbia Coun-
ty, New York, where he became a prosperous,
farmer. They were the parents of twelve chil-
dren. His death occurred at Albany on the i8th
of September, 1842, aged eighty-two years.

Col. Brinton Paine, who was an officer of the
Continental army, was a descendant of Stephen
Paine, who came to Massachusetts in 1638, and
became one of the leading citizens of the colony,
He was one of the chief contributors to the pros-
ecution of the Indian wars. His son Stephen
was present at the great swamp fight in which
King Philip's band was exterminated.

Edward M. Teall, Sr., was a son of Oliver
Teall, third. He became a prominent merchant
of Albany, and was also proprietor of one of the
first lines of boats on the Erie Canal. He did a
general forwarding business, and the Chicago
American of April 9, 1839, the first issue of a
daily paper in this city, contained his business
advertisement. He was for many years influen-
tial in New York politics. Eliza Perry was born
at I^enox, Massachusetts. Her father, Freder-

ick Perry, who was a son of a clergyman, was a
native of Connecticut. He was a graduate of
Williams College, and became a cotton manufac-
turer at Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

The subject of this biography received his
primary education in private schools, and after-
ward became a student in the academy of Albany.
In the spring of 1857 he came to Chicago and
soon after secured employment as a clerk in the
insurance office of Higginson & James. This line
of business was then in its infancy, and the most
sanguine enthusiasm could not have foreseen the
extent to which that industry would be developed.
He went to work' with a will, and his fidelity,
thoroughness and aptitude soon won the confi-
dence and good-will of his employers. In 1863 he
became one of the partners of the firm of Alfred
James ^& Company, which continued to transact
business for about three years. Their place of
business was at the southeast corner of South
Water and Clark Streets, which location was the
center of the insurance business at that time.
He afterward formed a partnership with Freder-
ick P. Fisher, a relation which continued for ten
years, during one of the most important eras of
the insurance business in the West. At the end
of that period the present firm of Edward M.
Teall & Company was formed, Cyrus A. Hardy,
a trusted clerk of the former firm, being the jun-
ior member. Mr. Teall is one of the Directors
of the Westchester Fire Insurance Company of
New York, and in addition to serving the local
interests of that corporation the firm represents
several leading insurance companies of other
cities. The business in its charge is conserva-
tively and honorably conducted, and the firm en-
joys the confidence of the public and of under-
writers to a remarkable degree. Mr. Teall is
President of the Chicago Fire Underwriters' As-
sociation, and has been for a number of years.

On the nth of June, 1862, Mr. Teall was mar-
ried to Miss Katherine Mead, of New York City,
daughter of Isaac H. Mead and Rachel Van Voor-
hees Demorest. Mrs. Teall's maternal grand-
father was also a native of New York City, being
a scion of a very old and well-known family of
that municipality. Mr. Teall has been for many

A. G. BURLEY.

227

years a member of the Third Presbyterian Church
of Chicago, in which he officiates as Trustee and
Elder. He is a member of the Illinois Club,
and Deputy Governor of the Society of Colonial
Wars of the State of Illinois, which he helped
to organize. He is also a member of the Illinois
Society of Sons of the American Revolution, and
still preserves the Teall coat-of-arms granted to
the family by George I. in 1723. He has been

often urged to enter the arena of politics, has
been tendered important nominations by the Re-
publican party, of which he is an active and dis-
tinguished member, but prefers to devote himself
to his business, home and social duties. For rec-
reation, he and his wife have always spent the
summer at their beautiful farm and summer home
in the Berkshire Hills, Stockbridge, Massachu-
setts.

ARTHUR G. BURLEY.

GJRTHUR GILMAN BURLEY. The year
I I 1812 is a national epoch, for at that time
/ | the United States, for a second time within
the easy memory of man, started in to chastise
the British Lion. What events of world-wide
significance have transpired during those more
than eighty intervening years ! To think of it is *
like a dream: to have predicted it, would have re-
sulted in that day in an inquirendo de lunico pro-
ceeding concerning the lack of brain matter in the
bold transgressor of common sense who should
prophesy. Two years later, Robert Fulton was
making his (the very first) steamboat trial upon
the Hudson River. Then came steam as applied
to locomotives, which has done more than any-
thing else in so rapidly opening up the great in-
terior and West of our immense country, where-
as, before, ox-carts and canal-boats were the
most approved forms of transportation of chattels,
prior to the advent of the "prairie schooner,"
which shortly preceded the "Union Pacific."
The telegraph, reapers, thousandfold manufac-
tories, electric light and locomotion (not to men-
tion scores of other wonderful economic and utili-
tarian inventions of more recent date within the
present century), all cry out that, in point of
actual comfort and intelligent means of effecting

business ends, the world has since that year 1812
done almost more than had been done in the
hundreds and thousands of years which had pre-
ceded. And all this within the memory of liv-
ing men; yes, within the memory of one now liv-
ing in our midst, who, wonderful to relate, like
Gladstone, an octogenarian, is still in the harness
of active business life. We who live in Chicago
know what that means in this day. Honor to
whom honor is due !

Arthur Gilman Burley, the subject of this
sketch, was born in the aforesaid year of 1812,
upon the fourth day of October, at Exeter, New
Hampshire, unto James and Charlotte I. (Gilman)
Burley, his father being the Cashier of the Exeter
Bank.

The Burleys are regarded Down East as ' 'good
stock;" that seems to be the prevailing opinion
in our city, from all that is thus far known of
them in our-midst. The first by the name who
came to our shores was Giles Burley, who, with
his wife, Elizabeth, settled at Ipswich, Massachu-
setts, in the year 1648. Here, in 1664, he took
the proper oath and became a "commoner." He
was also a "planter," and lived eight years of
his useful life upon Brooke Street of that ancient
town, and owned "Division Lot No. 105, on

228

A. G. BURLEY.

Great Hill, Hogg Island," in that vicinage. He
had a son, Andrew Btirley, who was born at
Ipswich, September 5, 1657. The latter married
Mary, a daughter of the rather celebrated Roger
Conant. Upon the death of his father, while in
childhood, he was bound out (as was the old cus-
tom) to one John Brown. He was called in
records "husbandman and yeoman," and bore the
rather dignified title of ' 'Cornet. ' ' He had a son ,
Hon. Andrew Burley, who was born at Ipswich
in June, 1694. His career was replete with hon-
ors, including among others the positions of Jus-
tice of the Court of Sessions and Representative
to the State Legislature in the years 1741 and
1742. He acquired, and left intact, a large es-
tate. He was twice married; first, to Lydia
Pengry, by whom he had six children; secondly,
to Mrs. Hannah Burnham. He had a son, An-
drew Burley, Jr., who married a Mrs. Hannah
Cogswell (a daughter of his father's wife). He
graduated at Harvard College in 1742, and lived
on Brooke Street in Ipswich (near the location
of his first American progenitor) , upon land for-
merly granted to Governor Dudley's son Samuel.

He left a son, James Burley, who was by trade
a cabinet-maker, also an officer in the Revolu-
tionary War. The latter married Susannah '
Swazey, and died in Exeter, New Hampshire,
leaving a son, James Burley, Jr., who has been
already noticed as the father of the subject of this
sketch.

Arthur Gilman Burley received for his educa-
tion the best that the common schools of his na-
tive Exeter had to offer, which information was
somewhat rounded out by a supplementary year at
the Exeter Academy. He resolutely turned his
young face toward the distant West at the age
of twenty-three, reaching his future home, Chi-
cago, on the seventeenth day of May, 1835.
(Sixty long years ago. Imagine the appearance
at that time of the country which is at present
covered by our fair city ! How many of the
comers of that day are yet in the flesh ?)

Mr. Burley first worked as clerk for John Hoi-
brook in a boot and shoe shop for about two
years. In 1837 he went to New York City, to
buy for his brother-in-law, Stephen F. Gale, a

stock of books and stationery (one of the very
first to be imported among us), and remained with
Mr. Gale for about two years following.

In 1838 the crockery business of the North-
west was founded by Mr. Burley, who bought
from the State Bank of Illinois a stock of such
goods, his place of trade being then located at
the corner of La Salle and Lake Streets. He
has been in that, business ever since, a period of
over fifty-seven years, and is now regularly on
duty at the old stand.

He was burned out in 1842, and then moved to
No. 105 Lake Street, later to No. 175 on the same
thoroughfare, where, in 1852, he was joined by a
brother-in-law, Mr. John Tyrrell, who came on
from New Hampshire to enter into a partnership.
This still continues in operation, being incor-
porated under the firm style and name, "Burley
& Tyrrell, Importers and Dealers of Crockery,
Chicago."

They had built their own quarters at No. 48
Lake Street about 1857, but, fortunately, had
disposed of the same before the time of the Great
Fire in 1871. They still had their store located
therein, which, of course, went up in smoke and
down to the ground in ashes. After this fire
they had a temporary office at the corner of State
and Sixteenth Streets; then occupied a store for
about three years at the corner of Van Buren and
Wabash; then removed to No. 83 State Street; and
finally to Nos. 42, 44 and 46 Lake Street, which
premises they continue to occupy at this time.
Having found it cheaper to rent, they have never
cared to build.

Mr. Burley also had the misfortune of having
his home burned up in 1874, when he was living
below Harrison Street. He is now, as for a long
time, cosily situated at No. 1620 Indiana Avenue.

Although an unostentatious man, Mr. Burley
has been a very prominent figure in social and
business matters for very many years. Few in-
deed, if any, can antedate him in this relation.
He aided in the formation of the First Unitarian
Church (since called the Messiah) in 1836, one
of the oldest and foremost in the entire North-
west, and of which he has always been a most in-
terested and conspicuous member.

R. R. CLARK

229

In politics, he has always been, since the days
of the Whigs were no more, a consistent Re-
publican, but in no sense or wish a public charac-
ter. A true exemplifier of the best principles of
Free Masonry, with which he affiliated as early
as 1848, he has never cared to go to the height
of degrees his proficiency and long service would
have richly entitled him to, and undoubtedly have
brought choice flowers of honor in their train,
but he has been Treasurer of Oriental Lodge for
forty-two years. He was also for a time much
interested in the mysteries of Odd-Fellowship.

Not at heart a club man, he has nevertheless
been a member of the Calumet, as he is at present
upon the roll of the Chicago Club. Very do-
mestic in habits, he is not frequently found in the

circle of club habitues. In public affairs and
whatever promotes the business and social good
and welfare of the community, Mr. Burley always
is an interested, and usually a participating, citi-
zen. Young in enthusiasm, certainly he bears
his laurel of years gracefully, as we will sincerely
hope he may long live to do.

Upon the twenty -fourth day of September, 1849,
Mr. Burley was joined in marriage with Welthy-
an Loom is Harmon, who comes of a good old-
time Down-East family. It is regretted that no
children have been born to them to perpetuate
the name and further the noble traits the family
has conspicuously borne up to this time in the
history of our country.

ROBERT R. CLARK.

ROBERT RODMAND CLARK, an early resi-
dent of Lake View, now a part of Chicago,
is descended from English ancestors and was
born in Clarkson, Monroe County, New York,
May 24, 1831. His great-grandfather, William
Clark, came from England and located first on
the Hudson River, at Albany, New York, later re-
moving to the Mohawk Valley. He was pos-
sessed of some means, and dealt in realty during
his residence in America. His son William had
large holdings of lands and farms in central New
York, and was one of the first American import-
ers of Morocco leather, having his headquarters
at Utica, New York, his native place. He was
among the first settlers of Monroe County, and
the town of Clarkson was named for him and
another settler of the same name, though no rela-

tive, who located there in the same year. He
died there at the age of sixty-eight years. Five
of his seven children, four sons and a daughter,
grew to maturity.

The third of these, William L. Clark, born in
Utica, was about twenty years old when his par-
ents moved to Clarkson. He married Cornelia
Stewart, a native of Wyoming County, New
York. Her parents, Daniel and Sallie (Fish)
Stewart, were children of native Scotch parents,
and were born in Chemung County, New York.
She lived to the age of eighty-two years, passing
away at the home of her son in Lake View in
1886. William L. Clark was an extensive fann-
er, but lost heavily in speculation in later life.
He was an upright man, and reached the age of
seventy-two years, dying in Lake View in 1876.

230

R. R. CLARK.

He was affiliated with the Universalist Church,
while his wife adhered to the Presbyterian teach-
ings of her fathers. They were the parents of
three children. The eldest, Sallie, is the widow
of George B. Marsh, now residing in Chicago;
and the youngest, Laura, is the wife of Charles
L. Bassett, ot LaPorte, Indiana.

Robert R. Clark is the second child of his par-
ents. He combines in a happy degree the sturdy
qualities of physical and mental make-up of his
ancestors. When a mere boy he determined to
recover his father's lost homestead as a home for
his parents, and before he had reached the age of
twenty years had accomplished his purpose.
Previous to the age of sixteen years he had the
educational advantages afforded by the common
schools, and he then went to Michigan, where he
found employment as a school teacher. Return-
ing for a short time to the home farm, he became,
in his eighteenth year, check clerk on board the
steamer "Empire State," plying between Buffalo
and Chicago, then the finest vessel on the Lakes.
He was subsequently on board the "Wisconsin"
one year, and returned, as chief clerk, to the
"Empire State," where he continued five years.
He also served on the "Southern Michigan" and
"Western Metropolis, " all these boats being the
property of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern
Railroad. The last two only ran from Buffalo to
Monroe or Toledo, where they connected with
that portion of the railroad completed from Chi-
cago to those points. Mr. Clark was on board
the steamer "Northern Indiana" when it burned
on Lake Erie, one beautiful morning, off Point
au Place, with a loss of between four and five
hundred passengers. Being a good swimmer,
he remained on board until the fire had swept to
the stern of the vessel (because of its propulsion
toward the shore), and after entering the water
saved several passengers by giving up to them
doors which he had wrenched from the staterooms
for his own use. He was finally picked up by a
boat bound for Buffalo, and made his regular
trip out of that port on another vessel the night
of the same day. When the "Golden Gate" was

wrecked on the bar at the mouth of Erie Harbor,
a short time later, Mr. Clark was on board, and
was saved with all the rest save one, who tried
to swim ashore in the midst of the wreckage. The
wreck was continually swept by the waves, but
it was safer than the choppy bay, full of the
floating cargo of the "Golden Gate." All who
remained on board were safely conveyed to shore
by a Government vessel in the morning. With
the exception of one year, which was spent as re-
ceiver in charge of the ticket office at Buffalo,
Mr. Clark continued in the marine service until
he settled in Chicago in 1857.

Having made some successful investments in
Chicago during his previous visits here, he de-
cided to settle here, a resolution which was, prob-
ably, strengthened by his marriage, in 1857, to
one of Chicago's fair daughters. This was Miss
Blanche, only daughter of the late Daniel Elston,
one of Cook County's most worthy and honored
pioneers. In 1859 Mr. Clark turned his atten-
tion to the fuel trade, and later dealt in lumber,
but his chief occupation has been the handling of
realty. For the last twenty years he has made a
specialty of leasing residence property to others
who would improve it, and has been largely in-
strumental in building up what was formerly a
. suburb known as Lake View, now a part of the
great metropolis in name as well as in fact. He
has naturally taken a keen interest in the moral
and material welfare of that section, and has act-
ively participated in the government of the town
and village of Lake View. In political affilia-
tion he is found with the Democratic party on
national issues. In religious belief he is ex-
ceedingly liberal, and very independent in all
thought and action. His early experience taught
him self-reliance, and his history should serve as
a worthy example to the ambitious young man.
He is still the owner of the old homestead in New
York. Mr. Clark is fond of hunting, and is a
member of the Poygan Shooting Club, whose
members spend much of the duck-hunting season
on Lake Poygan, in Wisconsin.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

G. M. PULL-MAN.

231

GEORGE MORTIMER PULLMAN.

(3 EORGE M. PULLMAN was born in Brocton,

bChautauqua County, New York, March 3,
1831, and is the third child of James Lewis
and Emily Caroline Pullman. The father was a
native of Rhode Island. Emily C. Pullman was
the daughter of James Minton, of Auburn, New
York. She was a good wife and mother, and
assisted her husband in implanting in the minds
of their children the best moral principles, while
inculcating habits of industry' and careful study.
The father was a builder and house-mover, and
George early began to observe his methods, while
assisting in his operations. Some very useful ap-
pliances of the business are the invention of the
elder Pullman. He died in 1853, and the respon-
sibility of head of the family fell upon George,
who was the eldest unmarried son. Through
almost forty years of her widowhood, he was the
stay and loving aid of his mother, who passed
away in May, 1892, after seeing all her seven chil-
dren occupying responsible and useful positions
in life.

Royal H., the first-born, is pastor of the First
Universalist Church of Baltimore. His interest
in public affairs is demonstrated by the fact that
he was the candidate of his party for Congress in
1890. Albert B., who died in 1893, occupied up
to 1882 responsible positions in the Pullman
Palace Car Company, which is the creation of his
younger brotli-.r, George. James M. Pullman,
D. D., is pastor of the Universalist Church at
Lynn, Massachusetts, the leading parish of that
sect in America. Charles L. was, until Septem-
ber, 1894, contracting agent for the Pullman Com-
pany, but is now engaged in other business in
Chicago; and Frank W. was Assistant United
States District Attorney of New York, where he
died in 1879. Helen A. is the wife of George

West, of New York; and Emma C. is the wife of
Doctor William F. Fluhrer, chief surgeon of Belle-
vue Hospital, New York.

George M. Pullman was always of a practical
turn of mind, and was a diligent student of
branches which were calculated to fit him for a
business life. He enjoyed the benefit of a com-
mon-school education, and is remembered as an
industrious and hard-working pupil. At the age
of fourteen, he undertook to sustain himself, his
first employment being that of a clerk at $40 per
year. Neither his remuneration nor his tastes or
habits were likely to lead him into dissipation,
and he seems to have done his work with credit
to himself and satisfaction to his employer. At
the end of the year he joined his eldest brother,
who had a cabinet-making shop at Albion, New
York. This pursuit was well calculated to pre-
pare him for the subsequent conduct of the larg-
est building and furnishing enterprise in the
world, though he was, probably, wholly uncon-
scious of his future at that time. He persevered
and was faithful, because it was part of his nature,
as well as the natural result of his teachings and
early surroundings. He continued in the cabinet
work until the death of his father, in 1853. The
long illness of the head of the family, who wasted
away in gradual decline, had exhausted the means
of the common purse, so that the widow was con-
fronted with the necessity of providing for her-
self and her minor children. In doing this, she
was not left to battle alone, for her son George at
once took up the responsibility of head of the
household and relieved her of financial burdens.
The Erie Canal was about to be enlarged, and
the commissioners had asked for bids for raising
or removing many buildings along its banks.
Young Pullman was the successful bidder on some

232

G. M. PULLMAN.

of these contracts, and so well did he manage his
enterprise that he was enabled to maintain the
family in comfort, and arrived in Chicago in 1859
with a capital of $6,000 as the result of his sav-
ings. About this time the courts decided that
Chicago had the power to grade the streets, and
he quickly found ample employment in raising
the buildings to correspond with the grade.
Probably but few of the modern residents of the
city know that the streets of the South Side are
some ten feet above the original prairie level, and
that the buildings standing in 1856 had to be
raised that distance to meet the street level. In
1860 Mr. Pullman was occupying a lot of two
hundred feet front, at the corner of Washington
and Franklin Streets, with his machinery and ap-
pliances, and a small one-story building for an of-
fice. He was full of the spirit of push and prog-
ress which animated Chicago in those days, and
did not hesitate to enter upon undertakings of
great magnitude. Among these was the lifting
of the entire block of brick buildings facing the
north side of Lake Street, between Clark and La
Salle. This was successfully accomplished by
the aid of six thousand jackscrews, without in-
terruption to the business conducted in the struc-
tures, or the breaking of a single pane of glass
or a yard of plaster.

A recent writer says: " His true mission was
the creation of the sleeping-car system. *
Nowhere else has the matter of splendid, ingen-
ious, artistic appliances for indoor comfort been
carried to such a pitch as in the devising and
constructing of the palace car, of which thousands
have been built; and each year, if not each day
and each car, brings a studied advance on its pre-
decessor. * * Giving his days to labor
and his nights to restful travel, a man may spread
his field of usefulness over a continent, without
the sapping of his strength or the shortening of
his days."

The idea of the sleeping-car came to him one
night while observing his fellow train-passengers
buying head-rests from a vendor to mitigate the
discomfort of an all-night ride. Soon after, he
took passage on one of the ' ' night cars ' ' of the
time, and while seeking repose on the comfortless

shelf provided, evolved the idea of the modern
sleeper. His knowledge of cabinet-making here
came to his aid, and he met and overcame many
difficulties in the preparation of a model. The
general plan varied but little from the present
form, having comfortable berths that could be put
away during the day, leaving a coach suitable for
day travel. In 1859 he secured from the Chicago
& Alton Railway two old passenger coaches to
experiment with, and in an unused railway shed,
on the present site of the Union Passenger Station
at Chicago, he worked to realize his idea, wholly
at his own expense. The result was the first
pair of real "sleepers" in the country, which
were put in successful operation on the night
trains between Chicago and St. Louis.

This result did not deter him from an undei-
taking which he had for some time contemplated,
namely, a trip to the gold fields of Colorado.
After three years of mining, he returned to Chi-
cago very little richer in purse, but with addi-
tions to his stock of experience. He now set to
work to improve his original design of sleeping-
cars, which no one had had the shrewdness to
take advantage of during his absence. The cars
which he had remodeled were too small and not
of sufficient strength to carry out his ideas, and
he set to work to construct one especially for the
purpose. The car must be higher, the berths
wider, and more taste and elegance employed in
its furnishing. At an expenditure of one year's
time and $18,000 in money, he produced the first
real ' ' palace car. ' ' It was named the ' ' Pioneer, ' '
and is now stored in honorable retirement at
Pullman; but it was found to be too high to go
under some of the viaducts spanning the rail-
roads, and the wide steps would not pass the
platforms of many stations. It began to look as
ii he must build a railroad to accommodate his
invention. Just at this time the body of the
martyred President, Lincoln, was to be brought
from Washington to his native state, and the
obstacles to the passage of the ' ' Pioneer ' ' were
removed, in order that it might be employed in
that sad funeral journey. It formed a part of
the train which took the body to its last resting-
place at Springfield. From that time the eastern

G. M. PULLMAN.

233

roads were open to it and its counterparts. The
present wide use of the Pullman sleepers, in
Europe as well as in .America, is too well known
to need comment. The history of the Pullman
Palace Car Company is almost as well understood,
though many who enjoy the facilities for comfort-
able travel afforded by it know little of the labors
of its founder in establishing a happy and desira-
ble home for its employes at Pullman.

The history of the great strike at Pullman and
among railway employes in 1894 is also now a
matter of history. During its progress Mr. Pull-
man maintained a dignified and consistent atti-
tude, notwithstanding much harsh and unjust
criticism; and the course of the Pullman Com-
pany in that struggle has been generally vindi-
cated.

The Nation, in its issue of November 22, 1894,
refers to the general feeling that the existence of
the Government and of society itself was at stake
in this strike, and that to give in to the strikers
at that point, or at any point, would have been a
deadly blow to liberty and the rights of property ;
and says: " What account of the circumstances
accompanying this strike, which was not so much
a strike as a social convulsion, can be complete
if it leaves out the intense anxiety of the best
citizens lest a fatal surrender of principle should
be made?" * * * " There were hundreds of
thousands of the best American citizens who re-
joiced with great joy at that critical moment that
Mr. Pullman was unyielding;" and "Americans
abroad anxiously scanned the fragmentary des-
patches and prayed fervently that Mr. Pullman
would at any rate stand firm."

Mr. Pullman has been identified as an initial
force with other large enterprises than the Palace
Car Company, of which he is the head. Among
these may be mentioned the Metropolitan Ele-
vated Railway of New York, which was con-
structed in the face of determined and powerful
opposition. He has taken an active interest in
the project for the construction of a canal across
the isthmus of Nicaragua. Another work in
which he rendered great public sen-ice was in the
distribution of relief funds after the great fire of
1871. At the earnest appeal of Mayor Mason,

he accepted the charge of disbursements as trus-
tee, which was accomplished without the loss of
a dollar, though to the detriment of his private
interests through consumption of his time.

In private life Mr. Pullman is a patron of art
and literature, and a supporter of elegance and
refinement in society. In 1867 he married Miss
Hattie A., daughter of James Y. Sanger (whose
biography appears elsewhere in this work). Two
daughters, who are active in philanthropic and
religious work, and twin sons complete the fam-
ily. They are: Florence Sanger; Harriet S.,
now the wife of Francis J. Carolan; George M.,
Jr. , and Walter Sanger.

It has been Mr. Pullman's happy privilege to
erect for the Universalist Society at Albion, New
York, a memorial of his parents, in the form of
a handsome and substantial church edifice. It
is built of dark brown Medina stone, 125x80 feet
in ground dimensions, with perfect furnishings
and decorations. On the right and left, as one
enters the auditorium, are placed the bronze
medallion portraits of Mr. Pullman's father and
mother. They were designed by Sculptor Carl
Rohl Smith, of Chicago. They are oval, two
feet five inches by one foot nine inches, and
framed in a narrow moulding, ornamented with
pearls. The tablet inscription is as follows:

Erected by a Son

as a
Memorial to His Father,

JAMES LEWIS PULLMAN,

In Recognition of His Love and Work for the
Universalist Church and Its Faith,

and
In Memory of His Mother,

EMILY CAROLINE PULLMAN,

One with Her Husband in the Joys and Hopes of

Religion.
Dedicated January, 1895.

It is inclosed in a lx>rder composed of a wreath
of ivy, the symbol of affection. A beautiful me-
morial window is in the west transept.

The dedicatory services were held on the last
day of January, 1895, the sermon being delivered
by Rev. R. H. Pullman, of Baltimore. At the
installation of the pastor, on the same day, the

234

C.'G. HUTCHINSON.

Rev. James M. Pullman, of Lynn, Massachusetts,
preached the installation sermon, when the Rev.
Charles Fluhrer, D. D., late of Grand Rapids,
Michigan , was made pastor. Others who officiated

in the services were the Rev. Dr. C. H. Eaton,
D. D., of New York; the Rev. Dr. J. K. Mason,
D. D., of Buffalo; and the Rev. Asa Saxe, D. D.,
of Rochester.

CHARLES G. HUTCHINSON.

QHARLES GROVE HUTCHINSON, a pro-

1 1 gressive and energetic business man of Chi-
vj cago, was born in Williamsville, Erie Coun-
ty, New York, January 24, 1847, and is a son of
William H. Hutchinson and Jane Grove. The
Hutchinson family, which is, doubtless, of Eng-
lish origin, located in the Connecticut Colony as
early as the seventeenth century. Joseph, the
father of William H. Hutchinson, served through
the War of 1812, as lieutenant of a compan}' of
Connecticut troops. He took part in the campaign
about Fort Erie and Buffalo, and the close of the
war found him stationed at Detroit. Soon after the
cessation of hostilities he resigned his commission
and settled in western New York. His sojourn
in this locality during the war had revealed to
him its pre-eminent advantages as an agricult-
ural country. For many years he was landlord
of the Mansion House at Williamsville. His
death occurred in Chicago in 1877, at the a & e f
seventy-nine years.

William H. Hutchinson, who was born in Leb-
anon, Connecticut, removed with his family to
Chicago in the spring of 1849. Soon after com-
ing to this city he began the manufacture of soda
water, which he continued up to the time of his
death, which occurred in 1880, at the age of six-
ty-five years. His place of business was at the
corner of Randolph and Peoria Streets, where he
erected a large factory, which escaped destruction
in the Great Fire. The family residence, at the

corner of North State and Erie Streets, was swept
away in that conflagration. His prompt loan of
a quantity of soda-water boxes, which afforded
admirable pigeon-holes at the time, enabled the
postoffice to resume the distribution of the mails
with little delay after the fire. He was ever a
public-spirited citizen and an enthusiastic ad-
herent of the Democratic part}-, contributing
much of his time as an organizer and worker for
its success, though always refusing to be himself
a candidate for any office.

Mrs. Jane (Grove) Hutchinson was born in New
York. Her father, who was a native of Penn-
sylvania, was of Dutch descent. The name was
originally written Groff. While returning from
a visit to Mackinaw, in 1856, Mrs. Hutchinson
became a victim of one of the saddest disasters
which ever occurred upon Lake Michigan, being
one of the passengers of the ill-fated steamer
" Niagara," which burned off Port Washington,
Wisconsin. She was the mother of four sons:
Chester M., of Hawthorne, Cook County, Illi-
nois; William A., who is in the United States
revenue service at Port Townsend, Washington;
and George C. and Charles; G., both of whom are
residents of Chicago. William H. Hutchinson
was married a second time, to Miss Mary M.
Warner, of Williamsville, New York, and they
became the parents of two sons, Douglas and
Eugene, the latter of whom is now deceased, and
the former resides in Chicago.

G. M. ROGERS.

235

Charles G. Hutchinson attended the Washing-
ton School of Chicago until he was fifteen years
old, after which he was a student for four years at
the Military Academy at Fulton, Illinois. After
the close of the Civil War there being no further
promise of demand for military service he re-
turned to Chicago, and became identified with
his father's business, which he continued to con-
duct for some time after the death of its founder.
In 1879, in company with his brother, George C.
Hutchinson, he established a factory for the pro-
duction of bottlers' supplies and extracts, under
the firm name of W. H. Hutchinson & Son, which
is still retained. Two years later the present
factory on Desplaines Street was built, and about
forty men are employed therein. The subject of-
this notice is also identified with several other im-
portant industries. He is a stockholder and
Treasurer of the Independent Brewing Associa-
tion, and President of the Chicago Fountain Soda
Water Company. He is one of the stockholders

of the Coit Paint Company (incorporated) , and is
the inventor and patentee of the Hutchinson
Spring Bottle Stopper, a unique and useful ap-
pliance, which has come into almost universal use.
Mr. Hutchinson is a prominent member of the
Masonic fraternity, being identified with D. C.
Cregier Lodge, Washington Chapter, Chicago
Commander}', Knights Templar, Oriental Con-
sistory and Medinah Temple of the Mystic Shrine.
Like his father, he has been a life-long Democrat,
but never seeks public position. He is an en-
thusiastic and successful sportsman, and makes
frequent excursions to the woods of Northern
Wisconsin for the purpose of indulging his taste
for fishing and hunting. He is a member of the
Eagle River Fishing and Shooting Club, and of
the Cumberland Gun Club, two of the leading
sportsmen's organizations of Chicago. In all his
business and social relations he is deservedly pop-
ular, through his genial and social disposition
and his kind and courteous manners.

GEORGE M. ROGERS.

MILLS ROGERS is not only dis-

btinguished as one of the foremost attorneys
and jurists of Chicago, but has given much
study and careful attention to the leading public
questions of the day. He is well versed in prob-
lems relating to political economy and municipal
reform, and his views are never narrowed by con-
siderations of party policy, nor are his expressions
colored by mere personal or mercenary motives.
His professional integrity and his reputation as
a citizen have been equally well maintained, and
no modern record of Chicago's representative men
would be complete without some notice of his
achievements.

Mr. Rogers was born at Glasgow, Kentucky,
on the sixteenth day of April, 1854, and is a
son of the Hon. John Gorin Rogers and Arabella
E. Crenshaw, extended notice of whom, together
with the genealogy of their families, is given
elsewhere in this volume. The subject of this
sketch was but four years old when the family
came to Chicago. He was educated at the public
schools and the Chicago University, supplement-
ing the instruction so received by a course at Yale
College, from which famous institution he was
graduated in 1876. He began his legal studies
in the office of Crawford & McConnell, and con-
tinued the same in the Union College of Law

236

G. M. ROGERS.

now the law department of the Northwestern
University.

In 1878 he was admitted to the Bar, and began
practice in partnership with Samuel P. McConnell,
a well-known barrister, since one of the Judges of
'the Circuit Court of Cook County. During the
continuance of this partnership he was chosen at-
torney for the Citizens' Association, and was a
member of the committee which prepared and
secured the passage of the original reform city
election law. He also personally prepared the
primary election law, which was adopted verbatim
by the committee of the association having that
subject in charge, and was presented to the Legis-
lature for adoption. Owing to the fact that this
bill was in charge of Senator Crawford during its
passage, it became known as the ' ' Crawford
Election Law."

His services in behalf of this association could
not fail to attract attention to his signal ability as
a lawyer and a statesman, and caused his ap-
pointment as Assistant City Attorney. This po-
sition he filled with such credit that, in 1886, he
was appointed City Prosecuting Attorney, but ow-
ing to the ill-health of his wife, which demanded
that he should travel with her, he resigned the
office in April of the following year. After return-
ing to the city he was appointed, in November,
1887, to the office of Assistant United States At-
torney, but resigned that position in the following
March, to re-engage in private law practice.
With this business he has combined that of real-
estate and loans, and his transactions have grown
to such volume as to require the assistance of
several clerks.

On the ist of February, 1889, he was ap-
pointed :i Master in Chancery of the Circuit Court
of Cook County, and has discharged the duties of
that judicial office with such candor and im-
partiality as to earn and receive the approbation
of courts, attorneys and litigants.

In 1893 it was deemed advisable by the leading
lawyers of Chicago to take some practical steps
toward the separation of judicial affairs from the
contamination of political interests. With this
end in view, they placed in nomination eight
candidates for judicial positions, who were equally

divided in political affiliations between the two
leading parties. Mr. Rogers received the highest
vote of any candidate before the Bar Association
the total number being 1346, out of which he
received 1222. This nomination came to him
without any solicitation on his part, and, although
the " party machine" which dominated the Dem-
ocratic convention prevented the endorsement
of his nomination, which he made no effort to
secure, his endorsement by the members of the
Bar, who were influenced by no political consid-
erations, but by a desire to elevate the judiciary
and purify the administration of justice, was re-
garded as a far greater compliment than an elec-
tion as a candidate of any political party could
have been.

On the 3d of June, 1884, Mr. Rogers was mar-
ried to Philippa Hone Anthon, a daughter of the
late Hone Anthon, of New York City, whose
family is conspicuous for the large number of
eminent professional men among its members.

Mr. Rogers is one of the founders of the Iro-
quois Club, and among the other clubs with
which he is prominently identified may be men-
tioned the Illinois, University and Law Clubs.
In the fall of 1888 he united with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, in which his father had
been one of the leading spirits, and he has repre-
sented his lodge in the Grand Lodge of Illinois.
In 1882 he made a foreign tour in company with
his brother, who was suffering from ill-health,
and visited the principal cities and other points
of interest in Europe. His active mind and keen
observation could not fail to make this trip of
value to him in broadening his experience and
extending his knowlege of men and the affairs of
the world.

For a number of years after beginning his pro-
fessional career, he was prominent in the political
counsels of the Democratic party. In 1880 he
was nominated as the candidate of his party for
State Senator. His personal popularity may be
judged from the fact that the usual Republican
majority of two thousand in his district was re-
duced to eight hundred. For some time he was
Vice- President of the Cook County Democratic
Committee, and labored diligently, though in

ROBERT HERVEY.

23?

vain, to bring about some needed reforms in the
organization and methods of the party. Becom-
ing displeased with the methods of politicians, he
became one of the organizers of the Iroquois
Club, which was established for the purpose of

exerting an influence in National politics, leaving
local strife to those whose taste led in that direc-
tion, and he was elected one of its first Vice-
Presideuts.

ROBERT HERVEY, LL. D.

ROBERT HERVEY, LL. D., who was for
nearly forty years a familiar figure in Chi-
cago court rooms, was born in Glasgow,
Scotland, August 10, 1820. He is a son of Alex-
ander and Elizabeth (Gibson) Hervey. The fa-
ther was a son of Robert Hervey, who founded a
mercantile establishment at Glasgow, in which
Alexander succeeded him. The business career
of the latter was cut short by his death, when his
son Robert was but eleven years of age. Mrs.
Elizabeth Hervey afterward came to America, and
for a number of years resided with her son in
Chicago. She died at Brockville, Canada, in
1862.

Robert Hervey was educated in his native city,
first at a grammar school and later at the Uni-
versity of Glasgow. While at this institution he
began the study of medicine, and the knowledge
thus obtained was of great use to him in subse-
quent legal practice. With this information he
often surprised courts, as well as expert witnesses.
At the age of seventeen years he went to Canada,
intending to enter into mercantile business in
connection with uncles who were residing there.
By the advice of one of the latter, however, he de-
cided to study law, and became a student of Hen-
ry Sherwood, of Brockville, afterward the Attor-
ney-General of Ontario. When this gentleman
removed to Toronto, Mr. Hervey accompanied
him to that city, where he was admitted to prac-
tice in 1841. He then opened an office at Otta-
wa, then called By town, the eastern terminus of
the Rideau Canal, which had recently been com-
pleted. He continued his legal business at Otta-

wa until 1852, when he came to Chicago, and has
since been continuously in legal practice here.

He first opened an office in partnership with
Buckner S. Morris and Joseph P. Clarkson, at
the southeast corner of Lake and Clark Streets,
in the same building where Judge Thomas Drum-
mond then held United States Court. Mr. Her-
vey subsequently took James R, Hosmer into
partnership for a time, and in May, 1858, became
a partner of Elliott Anthony since a distin-
guished Judge of the Superior Court. Mr. A. T.
Gait was afterward admitted to this firm, and
for many years the firm of Hervey, Anthony &
Gait was one of the best known in Chicago. Mr.
Hervey 's early partner, Joseph Clarkson, was a
brother of Bishop Clarkson, who was then Rector
of St. James' Church on the North Side, and
afterward became Bishop of Nebraska.

Mr. Hervey has practiced in all courts, from
Justices' up to the Supreme Court of the United
States, to which latter he was admitted in 1873,
and has been employed on some of the most im-
portant criminal cases in Cook County. The first
of these was in 1855, when he defended Patrick
Cunningham, accused of killing a policeman.
This case created a great sensation in Chicago, but
Mr. Hervey secured a change of venue to Wau-
kegan, where the minds of the jurors were less
prejudiced than in Chicago, and his client was
sentenced to the penitentiary for eight years for
manslaughter. The adroit and skillful manage-
ment of the defendant's attorney saved the latter
from a death sentence and established the law-
yer's reputation. Though he has defended some

ROBERT HERVEY.

notorious criminals, none of his clients have ever
been executed. He was attorney for some of the
aldermen and Cook County Commissioners who
were accused of "boodling," and all his clients
were acquitted.

One of the most important cases taken up by
the firm of Hervey & Anthony was the dissolu-
tion of the consolidation of the Chicago & Galena
Union Railroad Company with the Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad Company, a deal which
was manipulated by the directors of the respect-
ive roads to the dissatisfaction and alleged dis-
advantage of the stockholders of the former road,
who had not been consulted in the matter. The
contest was finally settled by payment of dam-
ages to the plaintiff stockholders of the Chicago
& Galena Union.

For six years past Mr. Hervey has been afflict-
ed with ill-health, which has confined him to his
house and prevented his attendance at court or
social gatherings. While his health permitted
him to do so, he attended the Episcopal Church.
Since 1865 he has been a member of the Masonic
fraternity, having joined Blaney Lodge at that
date. While a young man he joined the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows at Ottawa, and be-
came the Noble Grand of Ottawa Lodge No. 1 1.
His connection with this order was abandoned,
however, on his coming to the United States,
though he has often regretted this action. While
a citizen of Canada he was quite an active politi-
cian, and spent considerable of his time, energy
and money in the effort to help shape local affairs.
His uncle, who realized the futility of this course,
exacted a promise from young Hervey on coming
to Chicago, that he would not mingle in the pol-
itics of the United States. This pledge has been
faithfully observed, and he did not become a voter
until 1887.

In 1852 he became a member of St. Andrew's
Society, an organization in which he has ever
taken an active interest, and has probably done
as much for its promotion as any single member.
He has served as President of the society for six
terms. The object of this association is to relieve
the distress of the unfortunate among the coun-
trymen and women of its members, and it has

come to be one of the leading charitable institu-
tions of the city. In the winter of 1865, during
which there was much suffering to be relieved
among the poor and unfortunate, the funds of the
society became exhausted, and, at the request of
his friends, Mr. Hervey prepared and delivered a
lecture on Robert Burns at the old Metropolitan
Hall. The receipts of this lecture netted the
society about $450. This address met such pop-
ular approval that it was afterward several times
repeated in other places. In 1883 the faculty of
Wesleyan University at Bloomington, Illinois,
invited him to deliver this lecture, together with
an address to the graduating class of that institu-
tion. This request was cheerfully complied with,
and as a token of their appreciation of this effort
the degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon
him by the university. Another lecture on
Walter Scott, which he delivered several years
later at the same hall, also netted the society a
handsome sum. In 1865 he helped organize the
Caledonian Club, and was chosen its first Chief,
a position which he filled several years.

Mr. Hervey was first married to Miss Maria
Jones, daughter of Dunham Jones, a farmer near
Brockville, Canada, who removed thither from
the United States during the Revolutionary War,
on account of his loyalty to the British Crown.
Mrs. Maria Hervey fell a victim to the cholera in
1854. In 1861 Mr. Hervey was again married,
to Frances W. Smith, a native of Rochester, New
York, and his present helpmate. Her mother,
who is now Mrs. T. B. Bishop, is a native of
England, and resides in Chicago, aged over eighty
years. Mr. Hervey has three children. Alexan-
der is a farmer near Charleston, Missouri. Rob-
ert is the manager of an extensive lumber com-
pany at Tonawanda, New York; and Sophia is
the wife of Sidney F. Jones, of Toronto, Ontario.
For twenty-four years past Mr. Hervey lias lived
near the lake shore, on Twenty -fifth Street, hav-
ing moved to that location a short time previous
to the great Chicago Fire, and thereby avoided
becoming one of its victims. In this pleasant lo-
cation his most recent years have been altogether
spent, and here his friends always receive a hearty
welcome.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

AUGUST BECK

AUGUST BECK.

239

AUGUST BECK.

(3| UGUST BECK, for nearly forty years an
f I active business man of Chicago, and one of
/ 1 the city's most popular German- American
residents, passed away at his home in that city,
on the morning of March 5, 1897. Mr. Beck had
not only a distinct and pleasing personality, but
he had as well, in happily blended combination,
a nicety and precision of mental adjustment that
made him at all times, and under all circumstan-
ces, the master of every business complication.

He was born August 8, 1830, at Steinbach, in
the Grand Duchy of Hessen, and was descended
from a family which has included among its mem-
bers, in the last century, a number of men
high in the political and official circles of Ger-
many. His father, Frederick Wilhelm Beck, was
born July 29, 1800, in Bersrad, Grand Duchy of
Hessen, and was a school teacher, being employed
previous to 1840 in Grosskarben, and thereafter,
until 1870, at Giessen, where he died in 1883.
Here was celebrated in 1875 the golden wedding
anniversary of himself and his estimable wife, in
the presence of all their children. February 13,
1825, Mr. Beck was married to Miss Elizabeth
Sang, who was born November 17, 1807, in
Sauerbach, Hessen. She died in 1877, in her
seventieth year.

August Beck was educated at the gymnasium
of Giessen, and when eighteen years old entered
the employ of a leaf tobacco house at Mannheim.
Later he was with G. W. Gail & Company, of
Giessen, manufacturers of tobacco, with whom he
continued several years. In 1854 he came to the
United States and entered the branch house of the
same company at Baltimore.

He came to Chicago in 1855, and July 17 of
that year he began business under the firm name
of August Beck & Company, handling tobacco at
wholesale and manufacturing cigars. The latter

part of the business, however, he soon abandoned.
In 1857 he entered into a partnership with Mr.
Carl Wirth, 1 under the style of Beck & Wirth.
After the death of Mr. Wirth the concern was in-
corporated in 1881, Mr. Beck becoming president.
In this capacity he labored with untiring zeal to
promote his business interests, in which he was
eminently successful.

The disastrous conflagration of 1 87 1 swept away
almost his entire fortune of about one hundred
thousand dollars. But he was not disheartened
by this catastrophe. To him this was but an in-
cident in his career, and the iron-like quality of
the man asserted itself. On the ashes of his for-
tune, he resolutely set about re-organizing his
affairs. His integrity and probity of character
had been thoroughly established in his fourteen
years of ceaseless business activity, and the great
confidence which he enjoyed in commercial circles
is attested by the fact that on the day after the
Great Fire he received from the well-known firm
of C. F. Tag & Son, of New York, a telegram
authorizing him to draw upon them for seventy-
five thousand dollars.

With everything gone but his good name, he
established himself squarely on the principles of
his high code of honor, scorning to take advan-
tage of his creditors by forcing a liquidation of his
indebtedness at a discount, as many did. He
steadfastly refused to make any proposition of
settlement on a compromise basis. For years he
toiled early and late, with an eye single to one
purpose that of recovering from his losses; and
in time he paid every creditor in full, with inter-
est, declining every other settlement. He trav-
eled extensively throughout the territory in
which he sold goods, and thereby laid the solid
foundation of the success of the present firm,
largely upon personal acquaintance with jobbers

240

J. A. REIS.

and merchants of the retail trade. In 1892 he laid
aside the active cares of his large business his
son-in-law, Otto C. Schneider, purchasing his
interest. The latter insisted, however, upon Mr.
Beck retaining the title of president in the cor-
poration, which he did.

Mr. Beck traveled extensively abroad, and
crossed the ocean ten times, to visit his beloved
Fatherland. His love for the country of his na-
tivity in no sense detracted from his loyalty to the
land of his adoption. He was thoroughly Ameri-
can in his views, and loved the institutions of this
country, and he enjoyed thoroughly and to the
fullest extent the liberties and advantages all en-
joy in common in this favored land. His family
connections in Germany are of the highest order.
His eldest brother, William Beck, in Darmstadt,
enjoys the distinction of being a Privy Councillor
to the Grand Duke ofHessen. His brother-in-
law, at Mayence, has been a member of the Ger-
man Reichstag, and his youngest brother, Charles
Beck, whose place of residence is in Havana,
Cuba, has the honor of representing different
countries as Consul to "The Pearl of the
Antilles."

Mr. Beck was Consul of the Grand Duchy of
Hessen at Chicago, from 1866 to 1871, and when
he retired from that service was decorated by the
Grand Duke with the "Ritterkreuz of the Order
of Philip the Magnanimous. ' ' He was an hon-
ored member of the Germania Club of Chicago,

and was a supporter of the Republican party in
American politics, but was not a politician, al-
ways declining to become a candidate for political
preferment.

In 1857 he was married to Miss Louise Ger-
lach, of Frankfort-on-the-Main. She died in

1893, leaving three children, namely: William
C., Charles F., and Emily, the wife of Otto C.
Schneider.

Mr. Beck's last continental trip was made in

1894, upon which occasion he visited Egypt and
other remote lands. While on the African conti-
nent his health became impaired, but he was
greatly benefited by a sojourn of several weeks
in the pure air of the mountains of Switzerland.
Upon his return from this trip he lived a quiet
life, at his comfortable home on La Salle Avenue,
surrounded by his children and grandchildren, to
whom he was devotedly attached. He was one of
the most companionable of men, and his con-
genial, sunny nature always made all who came
into his presence feel at ease. He was well
informed and a pleasing conversationalist. His
leisure hours were whiled away at his favorite
pastime, the intricate game of skat, at which he
was considered an expert player. Said one who
knew him well: "His loyalty to friends, the per-
fect simplicity and frankness of his character, and
the total absence of affectation and outward dis-
play made him an exceptionally good friend to all
who enjoyed his confidence. ' '

JOSEPH A. REIS.

(JOSEPH ADAM REIS, of Rogers Park, is a
I carpenter and builder, also a florist, and was
(/ born in Monroe County, Illinois. On the
maternal side he is descended from the oldest
German family in the State. The Reis family
was founded in this State by his father, Peter A.

Reis, who was born in Rhenish Bavaria about
1838, and came to this country when a small boy
with his parents, Peter and Margaret Reis, lo-
cating in Monroe County, where the parents died,
and where Peter A. Reis still resides.

On the maternal side, Joseph A. Reis is de-

JOHN BERG.

241

scended from an old German family that was
founded in this country in the early part of this
century by his great-grandfather, Joseph Platz,
who came from Rhenish Bavaria, and settled near
New Orleans, Louisiana. Joseph Platz, the ma-
ternal grandfather of Mr. Reis, came to Illinois
when a boy, with his mother and two half-broth-
ers, the family settling at Columbia, Monroe
County.

On reaching manhood he became the owner of
the first stone quarry and lime kilns in the State.
He died in 1871, leaving a family of four daugh-
ters, Deborah, the mother of Mr. Reis, being the
second.

Peter A. and Barbara Reis have ten children,
all of whom are living. 'Joseph A. is the only
member of the family who lives in Cook County.
He was educated in the public schools of Colum-
bia, and learned the carpenter trade with his uncle,

spending his vacations working at the trade, and
one year after graduating from school. After
learning the trade he worked as a journeyman
several years. For some years he was foreman
for Mr. Kinney, of Evanston. In 1892 he en-
gaged in the production of vegetables in green-
houses, but two years ago turned the business
into the growing of flowers for the city market.
He is also engaged in contracting for building
greenhouses.

September 16, 1884, he married Margaret
Muno, a daughter of Henry and Margaret (Pink)
Muno. They have seven children, namely: Mar-
garet, Agnes, Clarence, Elizabeth, Arthur, Hen-
rietta and Joseph. All are members of Saint
Henry's Church. Mr. Reis is a Democrat in
politics, but has never sought office. He is an
intelligent, reading man, and a useful member of
society.

JOHN BERG.

3OHN BERG, of Bowmanville, is one of the
old residents of Chicago. He was born- in
Germany, January 18, 1825, and is a son of
Nicholas Berg. In 1840 he emigrated to the
United States, being the only member of his fath-
er's family who came to America. He spent a
short time in Indiana before locating permanently
in Chicago. Being without means or influential
friends, he was obliged to accept any kind of em-
ployment as a means of earning an honest living.
By carefully saving his earnings he was enabled
to buy a team and wagon, and for some years did
an express business. For a few years he kept a
buffet on Clark Street, in Lake View.

In 1871 he bought two acres of land in Bow-
manville, and started a small grocery store, where
his sons are now conducting the large business
that has grown from that small beginning. About

two years later he added a saloon to his grocery
business, and here continued to do a profitable
trade until 1894, when he turned the business
over to his sons, and has since been living in
retirement.

His business career was characterized by indus-
try, enterprise and fair dealing. In public affairs
he has taken a considerable interest. In National
and State elections he usually acts with the Re-
publican party, while in local concerns he is found
supporting the men best qualified for administra-
tive positions. He served several years on the
board of trustees of Jefferson Township, and a
number of years as justice of the peace, and is at
the present time a notary public.

Mr. Berg and his family are members of Saint
Mathias' Roman Catholic Church. He has been
twice married, h;s first wife dying without issue.

242

RICHARD RUvSK.

April 21, 1854, lie married Miss Mary Nernberg,
a native of Germany. To this union nine chil-
dren have been born, namely: Mary, wife of
Peter Gort; Anna, now Mrs. August Goetz, of
Bowmanville; Theresa, wife of Edward Munz, of
West Pullman; Katharine, wife of John Sumnick,
of Chicago; William, a grocer of Bowmanville,

who married Elizabeth Penning, by whom he has
two children, Andrew and Peter (twins), both in
business at Bowmanville. John Adam married
Miss Alvina Singstock; and Susie, the youngest
of the family, is the wife of Elmer Clark.
Andrew Berg married Helen Miller, and Peter,
his twin brother, married Miss Jennie Brown.

RICHARD RUSK.

RICHARD RUSK has been a resident of Cook
County for over a quarter of a century. He
was born February 28, 1838, in County
Armagh, Ireland, and is a son of Alexander and
Elizabeth (Fair) Rusk, the former born in Scot-
land and the latter in County Armagh, Ireland.
Mrs. Rusk died in Ireland, June 20, 1859, the
very day that Richard Rusk landed in the United
States. After the death of his wife Alexander
Rusk went to Australia and remained three
years, returned to Ireland, and after spending
three years there, came to America, bringing
with him his three daughters. He located near
Washington, District of Columbia, and bought
twelve acres of land, part of General Lee's farm.
After the heavy oak timber was cleared off the
land, he planted it with peach trees, and spent
most of the remainder of his life there. Mr.
Rusk lived the last five years of his life in George-
town, where he died about 1873. The family
consisted of four sons and four daughters, namely:
George, who died in Ireland; Richard, the sub-
ject of this notice; William, now living in Wash-
ington, District of Columbia; Samuel, of Cali-
fornia; Margaret and Jane, twins, the former de-
ceased, and the latter living in Washington; Lucy
and Elizabeth.

Richard Rusk was educated in the national
schools of Ireland. At the age of nineteen years,
he began to learn the trades of carpenter and

wagon maker. He was apprenticed for the term
of seven years, but after working five years and
a-half with no pay, he became tired of it, and ran
away to work for another man, who paid him four-
pence a day, about fifty cents a week. He was an
ambitious youth, and with even these small earn-
ings he was able to save enough to buy himself
clothing for two years and his passage to America.

In May, 1859, he sailed from Belfast, arriving
two days later in Liverpool , and started the same
night for America, in the sailing ship "White
Star," having on board nine hundred and eighty
emigrants. After an uneventful voyage of five
weeks he landed in New York, and from there
he went by way of Albany to Rutland, Vermont,
to visit a cousin. He worked in Vermont at his
trade two years, and then, in 1862, went to New
York, and from there to Washington, where he
worked at his trade in a Government shop one
year. He was transferred to the field and em-
ployed in repairing ambulances and buggies,
which he continued until the close of the war,
with the exception of two months when he was
ill. He was in the employ of the Government
at the time of the assassination of President Lin-
coln, and attended his funeral.

After the war, Mr. Rusk opened a wagon shop
at No. 22 West Washington Street, Chicago, and
did a successful business. He next went to Rut-
land, La Salle County, Illinois, and built a new

L. C. WEMPLE.

243

wagon shop and carried on a successful business
nearly three years. In 1869 he came to Cook
County and bought ten acres of land in sections 1 1
and 1 2 Jefferson Township, and engaged in garden-
ing. He leased three hundred acres of the Jack-
son farm and carried on farming also. He now
owns thirty acres of the same land, and, besides
the farm, owns a fine business block on Lincoln
and Graceland Avenues, Chicago.

On Christinas day of 1864, in Washington, Mr.
Rusk married Miss Margaret Wallace. Mr. and
Mrs. Rusk had eight children, seven of whom are

now living. They are: Charles, who lives on
Belmont Avenue; John; William; David; Anna,
wife of John Flood; Mary, now Mrs. James Shea,
of Rogers Park; and Margaret, wife of Arthur
Bairstow.

Mr. Rusk has always shown great interest in
the prosperity of his adopted country, and is a
progressive citizen. He usually acts with the
Republican party, but always supports the man
he considers most fit for an office, whether local
or national. The family is identified with the
Episcopal Church.

LEONARD C WEMPLE.

I EONARD CARL WEMPLE, of Rogers
1C Park, was born in the town of Fonda, Mont-
l_y gomery County, New York, February 9,
1836. He is the son of Jacob Van Alstine and
Eleanor (Veeder) Wemple. His ancestors were
Holland Dutch, and both families were founded
in America before the Revolutionary War. Jacob
Van Alstine, the great-great-grandfather of Leon-
ard Wemple, served as a soldier in the War for
Independence and was present at the surrender
of Burgoyne.

In 1848, when the subject of this sketch was
twelve years of age, the family came to Chicago.
Jacob V. A. Wemple was a manufacturer of
threshing machines, and obtained the third patent
granted by the United States Government on a
machine for threshing and separating the grain
from the straw and chaff. He carried on the
manufacture of machines in Chicago until 1859,
when he failed in business. He then went to
Winnebago County, in this State, and engaged in
farming, on land previously purchased. Subse-
quently he removed to a farm in Branch County,
Michigan, where he died in 1873, and his good
wife died seven years later. They had a family

of fourteen children, three of whom died in
childhood. The following grew to maturity, and
four are living at this writing: Caroline, John;
Leonard C. , the subject of this article; Maria
Jane, deceased; Virginia Catherine, deceased;
Lavina, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased, and Eu-
gene. These are among the heirs of the cele-
brated Trinity Church property of New York.

Leonard C. Wemple was fairly educated in
private schools in Chicago. He was early
trained in his father's shop, and became an ex-
pert workman in both wood and iron, and has all
his life followed that form of mechanics. For
nearly half a century he has been a resident of
Chicago, with the exception of some months
which he spent in California, on two different oc-
casions. No better testimonial of his ability as a
workman, of his reliability and good habits can
be formed than the fact that for the past fourteen
years he has been in the employ of the William
Deering Harvester Company, of Chicago, as a
pattern-maker, a position which he still occupies.

March 23, 1864, Mr. Wemple married Miss
Ruth, daughter of Philip G. and Anna (Austin)
Whelden. She was born in Rensselaer County,

244

H. C. HANSEN.

New York, and came to Illinois with her parents
when a child, and was reared on a farm in Boone
County. Her parents were natives of the Empire
State, and had five children, namely: Charles G.,
Elizabeth, Ruth, Nathaniel G. and Isaiah. The
mother died when Mrs. Weniple was five years of
age. A few years later Mr. Whelden married
Miriam Harriet Austin, sister of his first wife,
and they became the parents of three children
Harriet Ann, Philip G. and Jabez. After coming
to this State Mr. Whelden engaged in farming in

Boone County, until he retired from active busi-
ness and became a resident of Rockford, where he
died in June, 1895, his wife having been dead five
years.

To Mr. and Mrs. Wemple were born three chil-
dren, as follows: Willis Grant, an engineer on the
Chicago & Northwestern Railway; Clarence
Nelson, also in the employ of the same railroad
company; and Ada Louise. Mr. Wemple is a
Republican in political opinion, and is a regular
attendant of the Methodist Church.

HENRY C HANSEN.

HENRY CHRISTIAN HANSEN, a promi-
nent business man of Oak Park and Chi-
cago, was born at Waygaard, near Tondern,
Schleswig-Holstein, October 8, 1840. As far as
known, nearly all his progenitors have been noted
for longevity and physical vigor. His grandfa-
ther, Daniel Hansen, was born at Leek, in the
same State, March 19, 1766. He was engaged in
mercantile business at Waygaard during the
greater part of his life. In this enterprise he was
succeeded by his only son, Hans Johann Diedrich,
who became the father of Henry C. Hansen.
Hans J. D. Hansen was born at Waygaard, Oc-
tober 8, 1802, and died in the same place in 1851,
at the age of forty-nine years, one month and
three weeks. His wife, whose maiden name was
Anna Sonnichsen, died there in 1893, having at-
tained the age of ninety-two years. She was born
at Nord Waygaard and was the eldest in a family
of eleven children.

Henry C. Hansen is the youngest .of six chil-
dren born to his parents, and the only represen-
tative of the family in the United States. He
was educated in the public schools of his native
place, and at the age of sixteen years entered a

mercantile establishment at Niebull, where he
spent five years in learning the details of that
business, serving four years of this time without
wages. He was afterward employed in other
cities, and spent one year in a large wholesale and
retail dry-goods house at Hamburg.

After the close of the War of 1866 he came to
America and spent the next year in a grocery
and market at Wheeling, West Virginia. He
then came to Chicago, where he was first employed
in a retail grocery store on Chicago Avenue.
He was afterwards connected with dry-goods
houses in that city, and in 1873 removed to Oak
Park, where he purchased a stock of general
merchandise and carried on that line of trade for
the next fourteen years. Since that time he has
devoted most of his attention to the real-estate
and loan business, maintaining an office for that
purpose in Chicago. Having acquired considerable
property in the city and suburbs, its care now oc-
cupies most of his time. He has always taken
an active interest in movements calculated to
promote the development of Oak Park and ad-
jacent suburbs. He was one of the first men in-
terested in the construction of the Cicero & Pro-

SIVERT HOLLESEN.

245

viso Electric Railroad, and was for a time a mem-
ber of the board of directors of that corporation.
This organization built the first line of electric
road in Cook County, and has since constructed
a number of other lines, connecting the city with
most of the West Side suburbs. He was also one
of the prime movers in the organization of the
Ogden Street Railway Company, which was
formed for a similar purpose. In 1892 he became
one of the incorporators of the Oak Park State
Bank, and has ever since been vice-president of
that thriving institution. He has several times
served the town of Cicero in official capacities,
having filled the office of collector for one year,
and that of trustee four years. In political action
he has always been unbiased by party prejudice,
and supports such men and measures as he be-
lieves to be in the best interests of the country.
In 1872 he was a warm supporter of Horace
Greeley for the presidency, and for a number of
years thereafter sustained the national Democratic
ticket. In 1896 he was a delegate to the con-
vention at Indianapolis which nominated John M.
Palmer for the presidency, but, becoming con-
vinced that the business interests of the country

could be best served in that manner, he cast his
ballot for William McKinley. Though reared
in the Lutheran faith, he has never affiliated with
any religious or social organization since coming
to the United States.

He was married in March, 1874, to Catharine
Gaugler, daughter of Moritz Gaugler, of whom
further notice appears on another page of this
book. Mrs. Hansen was born in Chicago, and
has developed unusual skill in painting and wood-
carving. Among many other things, she has
designed and executed a fire screen of combined
carved and embroidery work which has attracted
considerable attention as a remarkable amateur
production. She is a member of the Gesellschaft
Erholung, a charitable organization in Chicago,
and pieces of carving contributed by her have
realized good prices for the benefit of that society.
Mr. and Mrs. Hansen have two sons, Moris and
Edward, both of whom are graduates of the Oak
Park High School, and the latter of Bryant and
Stratton's Business College. The elder son is an
amateur painter of ability, and no guest of this
family can fail to be impressed by the skill dis-
played in the handiwork of its members.

SIVERT HOLLESEN.

DIVERT HOLLESEN, an industrious, pro-
7\ gressive and successful citizen of North
\~) Chicago, was born August 10, 1849, in
Schleswig-Holstein, Germany (then a part of
Denmark). His parents, John and Mary Chris-
tina Hollesen, were natives of that place, where
they passed their entire lives. The father died
in 1856, and the mother iri 1892.

Sivert Hollesen grew to manhood in his native
land and received a fair education, which is as-
sured to every citizen of that country. He was
early accustomed to the duties of farm life; but

has always spent his leisure time in reading and
studying, and is thoroughly well informed on the
topics which engage the attention of the people of
the present day. He writes and reads rapidly in
the Danish, Norwegian and English languages,
and speaks the German tongue fluently.

In 1871 he came to the United States, by way
of Leith and Glasgow, Scotland, and first touched
American soil at Quebec, proceeding thence to
Chicago, by way of the Grand Trunk Railroad.
On his arrival here he possessed twenty dollars in
gold, with which he began life. He was first em-

246

CELESTIAL KELLER.

ployed as a laborer, and very soon found employ-
ment at gardening, at which he served twelve
years for one employer, Mr. R. J. Lewis, a
well-known gardener and florist. During most
of this time he occupied the position of foreman.

In 1886 he began business for himself, on rent-
ed ground, at the corner of Fullerton and Racine
Avenues, and has achieved remarkable business
success. In 1887 he purchased fifteen acres of
land, at the corner of Devon Avenue and Perry
Street, on which he has placed all of the improve-
ments, including a good residence and out-
buildings.

He is now doing a large and profitable business
in producing vegetables for the city markets. He
employs four men all the time, and this force is,
of course, largely increased during the summer
months. In 1892 he bought twenty-three acres
in North Evanston; the following year he pur-
chased ten acres in Niles Township. These are
considered by good judges to be shrewd invest-
ments. Mr. Hollesen has never been ambitious

to manage the affairs of his neighbors or of the
public generally, but is a steadfast Republican,
and does not fail to perform his duties as a private
citizen, as he understands them.

June 17, 1882, he was married to Miss Frances
Schoenbeck, who is a daughter of Peter and Anna
Schoenbeck, natives of West Prussia, in which
country Mrs. Hollesen was born May 13, 1859.
In 1880 she came to America, with her parents,
who are now residents of Rogers Park. Mr. and
Mrs. Holleseu have seven daughters Anna,
Mary, Fallie, Martha, Sophia, Clara and Frances.
They lost a son at the age of three months. All
are identified with Saint Henry's Roman Cath-
olic Church.

Mr. Hollesen is deserving of credit not only for
the material success which he has attained, but
for the cultivation of his mind and talents, in the
midst of a most laborious life, and he is now
respected as one of the most intelligent and pro-
gressive citizens of the community in which he
resides.

CELESTIAL KELLER.

CELESTIAL KELLER, who is engaged in
I ( farming on North Clark Street, Chicago, has
\J been a resident of Cook County since 1857.
He was born September 22, 1830, in Argon,
Switzerland, and is a son of Frank Lorenz and
Mary (Stagmeyer) Keller. He was educated in
the beneficent public schools of Switzerland, and
became master of the carpenter's trade, at which
he worked in connection with farming.

He came to the United States in the year before
named, disembarking at New York and proceed-
ing directly to Chicago, where he secured employ-
ment at his trade until the Great Fire of 1871.

After this he took up farming at his present loca-
tion, and has continued that occupation since.

Mr. Keller does not take an active part in the
management of public affairs, leaving these cares
to more ambitious souls. He is a faithful adhe-
rent of the Roman Catholic faith, while the re-
maining members of his family are connected with
the Presbyterian Church.

November 25, 1867, Mr. Keller was married to
Katharine Klein, daughter of Christopher and
Anna (Young) Klein. Mrs. Keller's family came
to America in 1866, and arrived February 2 of
that year in Chicago. A month later they bought

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

HENRY O. LOVETT

H. O. LOVETT.

247

land on Clark Street, and continued farming there
for many years. The mother was killed by an
accident September 9, 1876, and the father died
April 14, 1886. They were adherents of the
Presbyterian religious faith. They were from the
Rhine Province of Prussia, Germany, where both
were born, as were their children, who came with

them, namely: Katharine (Mrs. Keller); Anna,
wife of Jacob Meelbeier; Michael, now deceased;
Christopher, a resident of Chicago; Barbara, wife
of Henry Rumstick; Sybla (Mrs. Frederick
Meyer); and Elizabeth, wife of Michael Boscheit.
Mr. and Mrs. Keller have lost three children, and
have two living, namely: Albert and Bertha.

HENRY O. LOVETT.

HENRY ORISON LOVETT was born in
Bath, Steuben County, New York, in 1826,
and was the son of Joseph and Lydia
(Crouch) Lovett, the latter being a native of
Connecticut, in which State she was married to
Mr. Lovett. About 1835 the family came to Cook
County, locating on Grand Avenue (then known
as the Elgin Road), in the present village of
Galewood. His father died here, and his mother
died in Palmyra, New York, at the home of her
son, Joseph Lovett.

When grown to manhood, Henry O. Lovett
settled in the town of Leyden, where the
remainder of his life was spent. He became
the owner of six hundred acres of prairie
and timber land, and was one of the most exten-
sive farmers of that township. Much of his prop-
erty has been sub divided, the present village of
Ellsworth having been laid out thereon.

Mr. Lovett was one of the leading members of
the Norwood Baptist Church at Norwood Park.
He took an active interest in establishing a good
system of public schools in the town of Leyden,
and aided in many other progressive movements.
He filled many local offices, and discharged every
public duty in a most acceptable and conscientious
manner. He was a Republican in principle, but

could hardly be called a politician, and never
sought to advance his private interests at public
expense.

He was married December 3, 1848, to Miss
Mary, daughter of John and Polly Van Natta, of
whom further notice is given elsewhere in this
volume. Mrs. Lovett was born in Mina, Chau-
tauqua County, New York. They were the par-
ents of seven children, namely: John J., of Mont-
clare; Mary H., who died September 23, 1860, at
the age of nine years; Ella A., the wife of Rev.
John L- Jackson, pastor of a Baptist Church in
Hyde Park; Charles Edwin, who died August 5,
1883, at the age of thirty years; Stanley Ernest,
who died at the age of eighteen months; Emery
Orison, a Baptist minister at Fort Scott, Kansas;
and lona Esther, wife of William C. Brown, who
resides at Oak Park.

Mr. Lovett died January 4, 1873, at Ellsworth,
Cook County, Illinois, at the age of forty-seven
years. Since 1891 Mrs. Lovett has made her
home at Oak Park. She relates many interesting
incidents and reminiscences of earl}' life in Chi-
cago and Cook County, and anyone who is inter-
ested in the history of this locality and its pioneers
will find it a treat to listen to her, as one can learn
much from her on this topic.

248

MORITZ GAUGLER.

lORITZ GAUGLER, one of the worthy
pioneers of Cook County, was born June
12, 1808, at Undercept, Elsass (at that
time a part of France) , and his death occurred at
Oak Park, October 3, 1879. His father, Nicholas
Gaugler, was a professional cook and was em-
ployed for many years in the family of a French
nobleman. His wife died when the son, Moritz,
was but three years old. The latter learned the
trade of cabinet-maker in his native land, and in
1830 emigrated to the United States. He located
at Watertown, New York, where he followed his
trade, though he found that much of the skill
which he had acquired was of but little use in
this country. He was married there, and in
1836 came to Chicago, spending six weeks in the
journey, which was made by the way of Erie
Canal and the Great Lakes. A short time after
his arrival he went to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin,
where a number of Chicago people were inter-
ested in the construction of a sawmill. He was
employed about two years at that place, then in
the midst of the wilderness. During this time
he made several trips to Chicago with an ox-
team, sometimes being several weeks upon the
way, owing to the almost impassable condition of
the roads. He subsequently took up his resi-
dence in Chicago, where he worked at the car- .
penter trade and such other employment as of-
fered opportunity to gain a livelihood. He some-
times eked out his income by picking strawberries
for market, as that fruit grew very abundantly

in the vicinity of Wright's Grove, on the North
Side. After a time he began taking building
contracts, but in this enterprise was not very
successful.

Soon after coming to Chicago he made the ac-
quaintance of William B. Ogden, and an intimate
friendship always existed between them. He
was often advised by Mr. Ogden to invest his
savings in real estate, but hesitated for several
years about accepting this advice. Among the
tracts which he had been urged to purchase was
one of about two acres, on the west side of Clark
Street, between Schiller Street and North Ave-
nue, which was offered to him for six hundred
dollars. A few years later, having become con-
vinced of the advantage of such investments, he
paid ten thousand dollars for the same piece. He
made his home there for several years, in the
mean time subdividing and selling portions of it,
which yielded him a handsome profit on the in-
vestment.

About 1865 he removed to Oak Park, which
was then a small straggling village. He bought
considerable property at that place, much of
which he subdivided and improved from time to
time. He built two houses on Chicago Avenue,
among the first erected on that thoroughfare in
Oak Park. He was always interested in public
affairs, and served several terms as a member of
the board of trustees of the town of Cicero, dur-
ing which time some noteworthy public improve-
ments were made. He was a natural musician,

JULIUS RISTOW.

249

and all of his descendants have inherited more or
less of his talent in that direction.

Mr. Gaugler was married in 1835, to Catharine
Young, who survives him and is now living at
Oak Park, at the venerable age of eighty-six
years. She was born at Winterburg, France, and
came to the United States about 1830, in company
with her brother, who left his native land in
common with many^of his countrymen, to evade
the onerous military duty imposed there. Pre-
vious to her marriage, Mrs. Gaugler was em-
ployed as head cook in a hotel at Watertown,
New York. Her father, Nicholas Young, oper-
ated a line of teams engaged in transporting salt

from Germany into Elsass. About 1835 became
to the United States, and lived at Watertown,
New York, until his death, at the age of seventy-
five years. His wife reached the age of ninety-
eight years. Her brother, Nicholas Wehrung,
was an officer in the army of Napoleon I, as was
also a Mr. Marzloff, who married a sister of Mrs.
Gaugler. Of five daughters born to Mr. and
Mrs. Gaugler, three grew to womanhood, name-
ly: Josephine, Mrs. Frederick Cronemeyer, of
Omaha, Nebraska; Emaline, deceased wife of
George Timme, of the same place; and Catharine,
now the wife of Henry C. Hansen, of Oak
Park.

JULIUS RISTOW.

(1 ULIUS RISTOW is one of the industrious
I and progressive citizens which Germany has
G) furnished to Cook County. He is the eldest
son of the late Erdman and Katherine Ristow, of
whom further mention is made in the biography
of Otto Ristow, in this work. The subject of this
sketch was born October 13, 1845, in Germany,
where he grew to manhood, receiving a thorough
training in the profession of florist. At the same
time he received the liberal education which is
guaranteed to every German subject by the munif-
icent educational system of the Empire.

In 1858 lie married Miss Amelia Hager, and
ten days after this interesting event in his life he
set sail, accompanied by his loving bride, to
make a home and fortune in free America. It is
easy to imagine with what conflicting emotions
this young pair severed their connection with
home, friends and native land, while buoyed up
with youthful hopes and confidence in each other,
to begin life amid strange surroundings, in a
country whose language was strange and un-
musical to them. They had been bred to habits

of thrift and industry, and felt sure that they
would never want while health and strength were
spared them.

For a few years after his arrival in Cook Coun-
ty, Mr. Ristow worked in the service of others,
until he could save something from his wages.
He did not falter in his determination to make a
home, and in this he was cheered and aided by
his faithful wife. In 1872 he located in what was
then called Bowmanville, and with his brother,
Otto Ristow, began business as a florist, upon
leased land. This arrangement continued seven
years, and in 1884 he bought an acre of land on
Western Avenue, where he now lives. After-
ward he purchased an additional half acre, and
the greater portion of his ground is now covered
by greenhouses, devoted to the production of
roses for the cut-flower trade. As Mr. Ristow
thoroughly understood every detail of this im-
portant industry, he has made a success of the
business. Although he began a poor man, he is
now in comfortable circumstances, but he does
not relax his careful attention to business or his

250

SIMON SIMON.

accustomed diligence in its prosecution , and every
youth anxious to succeed in life is advised to
study the plan of his operations.

While he has usually supported the Democratic
party in political contests, Mr. Ristow is not
strongly partisan, and does not believe that any
party or set of men embodies all the patriotism or
true philosophy of government, and is disposed
to ignore party lines, especially in local matters.
He has never desired or sought public honors,
preferring to devote his time to his own business
and the best interests of his family. He is a

member of the Lutheran Church, and has ever
borne his share in its maintenance.

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Ristow includes
nine children, all born in Chicago and all living
at this writing. Clara, the eldest, is the wife of
Herman A. Banske, and the mother of three
children, Otto August, Herman William Albert
and Elsie Amelia, besides one who died in in-
fancy. The second daughter, Anna, is the wife
of Albert Kuno, a gardener of Bowmanville. The
other children are: Mollie, Ida, Leo, George,
John, Richard and Edward.

SIMON SIMON.

ilMON SIMON, of Ravenswood, Chicago, is
a pioneer settler of that locality. He is a
native of Prussia, Germany, born May 19,
1840, and is a son of Jacob and Gertrude Simon,
natives of the same place, where the father
learned and followed the trade of shoe-nail smith.
In 1847, with his family of nine children, he set
out for America, and arrived in Chicago on the
7th of July in that year. Having exhausted his
means in the journey, he was obliged to accept
any employment that offered, and set bravely
about making a home and a name for himself
and children in the land which they has sacrificed
so much to reach. He took up his residence on
Dearborn Avenue, between Elm and Division
Streets, where Mrs. Simon died in the fall of
1865. After the Great Fire of 1871, the father
lived with his son, Michael Simon, where he
died in 1885. Both he and his good wife were
born in the year 1795. Their children were:
Mathias; Mary, widow of Peter Moulton; Jacob,
deceased; Anna, wife of Jacob Weber; Peter;
Johanna, widow of Mathias Cossman; John, Nich-

olas and Michael, deceased; William; and Simon,
the youngest. Besides these, one died in infancy
in the old country. When the parents celebrated
their golden wedding in 1865, seventy-three chil-
dren and grandchildren were present to con-
gratulate them.

Simon Simon, the subject of this notice, was
educated in the Franklin School, at the corner of
Sedgwick and Division Streets. At the age of
sixteen years he went to learn the trade of
moulder, in the study and practice of which his
time was occupied for several years, until failing
health compelled him to abandon it. For about
twelve years he was a member of the Chicago
police force, and for a period of eight years he
kept a restaurant. He is now in the service ot
the county, as an attache of Sheriff Pease's office,
and has acted as turnkey a number of years, un-
der two preceding sheriffs.

In 1860 Mr. Simon was married to Miss Anna
Elizabeth Myer, a native of Prussia, who came
to Chicago when a small child. She was a foster
daughter of Jacob Myer, who was the second

CAPT. ANDREW TORKILSON.

251

husband of her mother. Mrs. Simon passed from
life September 3, 1892, leaving a family of three
sons the second of whom is recorder of Cook
County and two daughters, namely: George,
Louise, Robert M., Henry and Katharine. The
eldest son is an artist of well-known skill.

Mr. Simon became a resident of Lake View
(now part of Chicago) in 1875. Since becoming

a citizen of the United States he has given his
earnest support to the principles advocated by the
Republican party. To all of his children he is
devoted, and he has given to each the best educa-
tional opportunities. These have been appreciated,
and the family is known as a united and highly
cultivated one, enjoying the respect of the com-
munity in which it resides.

CAPT. ANDREW TORKILSON.

EAPT. ANDREW TORKILSON was an
early settler of Chicago, and one of the city's
representative Scandinavian citizens. He
was born on the western coast of Norway in 1825.
His advantages for obtaining 'an education in the
primary branches were good. His parents were
ambitious for him to have a bright future, and,
after completing an elementary course in the com-
mon schools, he had his choice of what his career
should be, though they themselves were inclined
to see him enter the ministry. This was not
young Andrew's choice, however, and as he had
a predisposition to military life, he chose that,
and at once entered the National Military School
of his country, at Christiania, where he was care-
fully taught in the manual of arms and the ab-
stract principles of war. He graduated after six
years of close application. Afterwards he entered
the Government service, having been commis-
sioned lieutenant, and served a year, when he re-
signed to come to America. He could not leave
without a permit from the Government officials,
which he had difficulty in securing.

In 1854 ne emigrated to America in a sailing-
vessel, which was seventy-two days en route,
landing at New York. From there he came to
Chicago by the water route, and upon settling
here he learned the cooper's trade, which he fol-
lowed for some years. He had a shop of his own,

and at times employed as many as thirty men.
In this business he was very successful, accumu-
lating considerable property. Previous to the
outbreak of the Civil War he was appointed to
the police force of the city, proving himself a brave
and efficient officer. In 1856 he made a Euro-
pean trip, visiting England, Ireland, many points
of the continent, and his own home in Norway,
being gone a year.

Early in 1861 came the opportunity to distin-
guish himself in the profession of arms, for which
he had been carefully fitted. He recruited one
hundred twelve men in the city, tendering them,
with himself, to Governor Yates, but the State
quota being then full, the Governor was compelled
to refuse acceptance. In this dilemma he com-
municated with the Executive of Wisconsin, ten-
dering himself and all the men he had recruited,
and was accepted. Out of his own pocket he
paid the fare of these men to Madison, Wisconsin.
Beside this he had clothed and lodged the men for
sixty days previous, in order to keep them to-
gether. They were a magnificent body of men,
not one of whom measured less than six feet in
height.

Upon arriving in Madison they were organized
as Company A, Fifteenth Wisconsin Infantry, and
Mr. Torkilson was appointed captain. The regi-
ment was at once sent to the seat of war, and was

252

CAPT. ANDREW TORKILSON.

incorporated in General Grant's army at Cairo,
Illinois. Under this redoubtable chietain the
regiment took part in the decisive victories which
resulted from Grant's first campaign, fighting at
Perryville, Forts Donelson and Henry, and at
Island Number Ten. Then under General Buell,
but still in Grant's army, it fought in the last
day's fight at Shiloh; then came the bloody en-
gagements of Corinth, Murfreesboro, Chatta-
nooga, Missionary Ridge, and the subsequent
fighting of Sherman's army up to the final siege
of Atlanta. Captain Torkilson acquitted himself
as became a true and gallant soldier, which he
was. The deafening noise of the scores of con-
flicts so impaired his hearing that he was obliged
to surrender his commission, which he did with
reluctance.

Upon his return to civil life he settled in Chi-
cago, aud was for the second time appointed to
the police force, this time by his friend, Mayor
John Wentworth. He was active in the city's
politics, and wielded an influence that was con-
siderable. Mayor Wentworth said of him, "To
Captain Torkilson' s influence I am indebted for
my election." The mayor was his devoted friend,
and their mutual confidence was never disturbed
to the end of their lives.

Some years after the war Captain Torkilson
settled in Fort Dodge, Iowa, where he followed
coopering and hotel-keeping, and held numerous
official positions of trust. In 1873 he returned to
Chicago and settled in Rogers Park, which could
then boast only a few scattering homes. For a
time following his settlement there he had charge
of the toll-gate, and was subsequently engaged in
the cooperage business.

He was an active and energetic man, and en-
joyed the confidence and esteem of all who knew
him. In height he stood six feet three inches,
and weighed about two hundred twenty pounds.
His scholarly attainments were of a high order
and he remained a Student all his life, keeping
himself informed upon the leading and important
questions of the day. He was an honored mem-
ber of the Masonic order, having attained to the
Master's degree.

He was twice married, his second wife, Miss

Christina Smith, a native of Nonvay, being wed-
ded to him in Chicago. Their union resulted in
seven children, six of whom are living, namely:
Benjamin, Andrew F., John A., Thomas F.,
Clara F. and Anna C. ; Mary E. is deceased.
Mrs. Torkilson, who is still living, is a daughter
of Benedict and Elizabeth Smith, of Norway. The
former still survives, and is a gentleman of influ-
ence and worth, having followed the seas for a
great many years. He has visited America twice,
attending the Centennial Exhibition at Philadel-
phia, in 1876, and in 1893 the World's Fair in
this city, making the last journey both ways un-
attended, though over ninety years of age.

Captain Torkilson was an ardent Republican
in politics, and his party had no more stanch
supporter than he. Public service was uncon-
genial to him in many ways, but he sought to
fulfill his share of the duties of a good citizen.
His death occurred October 18, 1881, and his
remains repose in Rogers Park, where they were
interred with Masonic honors.

Benjamin Smith Torkilson, eldest son of Cap-
tain Torkilson, was born in Chicago November
15, 1859. He was reared in the city, and edu-
cated in its public schools. In youth he learned
the cooper's trade, and later learned stone-cutting.
Politically, he affiliates with the Republican par-
ty. He was married to Miss Emma Collins in
1883, and they have four children, namely: Ella,
Marion, Anna and Margaret. Mrs. Torkilson
was born at Bailey's Harbor, Wisconsin.

The second son, Andrew F. Torkilson, was
born in Chicago in 1863. He was reared in
Rogers Park and educated in the elementary
branches in the public schools of that suburb.
This was supplemented by a course in a business
college, and he has, for a number of years, ac-
ceptably filled a responsible position with the
Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Company,
being store-keeper of its dining-car service. He
is an esteemed member of the Masonic fraternity
and of the Royal League. His wife, Clara (Bart-
lin) Torkilson, has borne him a son, named
Fremont. Mr. Torkilson is a young man of
pleasing, affable manners, and of good business
and executive ability.

HENRY WALLER.

253

HENRY WALLER.

HENRY WALLER, for many years a promi-
nent representative of the Chicago bar, was
born in Frankfort, Kentucky, November 9,
1810, and died at River Forest, Illinois, July 28,
1893. He sprang from a family which has pro-
duced many illustrious men, both in this country
and in Europe. Among the noted members of
the Waller family in England were Sir William
Waller, a distinguished general and member of
Parliament during Cornwall's time, and Edward
Waller, the poet. A member of this family came
to Virginia about the time of the Restoration , and
settled in Spottsylvania County. Among his de-
scendants were John and William Edmund Wal-
ler, eminent Baptist ministers, who suffered con-
siderable persecution from the Church of England.
Richard, the son of Rev. William E. Waller,
was the father of C. S. Waller, deceased, formerly
commissioner of public works in Chicago, and at
one time assistant state auditor of Kentucky.
William S., another son of Rev. William E.
Waller, was for about forty years cashier of the
Bank of Kentucky. He married Miss Brecken-
ridge, a lady whose deep religious convictions and
conscientious devotion to principle made her a
typical representative of one of the foremost fam-
ilies of the Bluegrass State. The four sons of this
couple, Henry, James B. , William and Edward,
became prominent citizens of Chicago, and all are
deceased. There were two daughters, Mrs. Cath-
arine Carson, deceased, and Mrs. Susanna P.
Lees, who is a resident of New York City. The
former was the mother of Mrs. Clifton Brecken-
ridge, wife of the present United States Minister
to Russia.

Henry Waller graduated from West Point in

1833, but soon resigned from the military service
and studied law at Maysville, Kentucky, where
he was a law partner of the Rev. John A. Mc-
Clung, attorney, and was one of the lawyers en-
gaged in the celebrated Dred Scott case. In 1855
he came to Chicago, where he practiced law twen-
ty years. In 1875 he was appointed a master in
chancery. He continued to discharge the duties
of that office until about 1891, when he declined
a reappointment on account of failing health. He
lived on Ashland Avenue about twenty years, but
in 1886 he moved to River Forest, where the. re-
mainder of his life was spent in retirement.

Mr. Waller was married to Miss Sarah Bell
Langhorne, daughter of John T. Langhorne, ot
Maysville, Kentucky, a well-known hotelkeeper
of that city, whose wife was Elizabeth B. Payne,
a daughter of Col. Duvall Payne, who was a
brother of the noted Col. Thomas Y. Payne. 'She
was the second of five children. The others were:
Mrs. Elizabeth Green, Mrs. Judith L. Marshall,
Maurice Langhorne, and John D. Langhorne.
Maurice Langhorne was captain of a Mississippi
steamer before the war, and a well-known charac-
ter on the Father of Waters. His brother graduated
from Annapolis, and was an officer in the United
States Navy for many years. Mrs. Sarah B.
Waller died in Chicago, December 13, 1883, at
the age of sixty- two years. Mrs. Waller was a
student at Aberdeen, Ohio, where she was a class-
mate of Gen. U. S. Grant. She was married at
the age of fifteen years, and was the mother of
ten children before she was thirty-six years old.
She was chiefly self-educated, and was a historian
of some note. She was a remarkable woman,
queenly in social circles and a leading spirit among

254

P. H. DOBBINS.

the brilliant men and women of her time. During
the war she was a ministering angel to the sick
and suffering Southern prisoners at Camp Doug-
las. Her influence for good was felt by everyone
who came within her reach, and many bless her
memory. Following are the names of her chil-
dren : William Smith Waller, who died in Chicago
in 1874, aged thirty-six years, and who was a
dealer in real estate; Rev. Maurice Waller : D. D.,
of Lebanon, Kentucky; Lilly L-, chief matron of
the Police Department of Chicago; Henry, a well-
known real-estate dealer in Chicago; Edward C. ,
of the same occupation, residing at River Forest;
Catherine, wife of Rev. John G. Hunter, D. D. ,
of Harrodsburg, Kentucky; Judith C. W. (Mrs.
William S. Johnston) , of Chicago; John D. ; Bell
Langhorne, of Chicago; and James B., of Norfolk,

Virginia, who is connected with the Seaboard Air
Line Railroad Company.

Politically Mr. Waller was a conservative Dem-
ocrat. He served two terms in the Kentucky
Legislature before leaving that State, from 1845
to 1849. In Illinois he was the firm friend and
co-laborer of Stephen A. Douglas, at whose funeral
he was an honorary pall-bearer. They stumped
the State together in several campaigns. During
his earlier years in Chicago, Mr. Waller was a
member of the old South Presbyterian Church
(of which Rev. W. W. Harsha was then pastor) .
He was afterward identified for a number of years
with the Third Presbyterian Church of Chicago.
He was firm and uncompromising in all his con-
victions, and able to hold his own in debate with
the ablest speakers of his day.

PARIS H. DOBBINS.

RARIS HORACE DOBBINS, a successful
yf young business man of Chicago, who now
J>3 resides at River Forest, was born in the city
of Paris, France, October 6, 1869, and is a son of
Thomas S. and Mary C. Dobbins, of whom ex-
tended notice will be found in this volume. While
an infant, Paris H. Dobbins was brought by his
parents to the United States, arriving in New
York City on the first anniversary of his birth.
His education was obtained in Chicago, where he
attended the public schools, and later the Har-
vard School, one of the best-equipped private
educational institutions in the city.

At the age of seventeen years, he began his
business career as a clerk in the First National
Bank. Three years in this connection sufficed to
give him a thorough knowledge of practical
business methods, and in 1890 he formed a part-
nership with his brother, Charles E. Dobbins,
and engaged in the manufacture of steel springs.
Though begun on a rather limited scale, the en-

terprise has been prosperous from the start,
from twenty to forty men being now employed.
All kinds of wagon and carriage springs are
manufactured by the firm, which is now known as
Dobbins & Company.

December 29, 1890, was celebrated the marriage
of Paris H. Dobbins to Miss Lottie C. Spurck,
daughter of P. E. Spurck, of Peoria, Illinois.
They have two living children, named respect-
ively, Mary Corinneand Thomas Deshler. Since
May i , 1896, their home has been at River Fuicst,
where they attend Saint Luke's Catholic Church.
In this rural suburb Mr. Dobbins finds much
pleasant recreation from the noisy and tumultuous
life of the city. He is connected with the Bank-
ers' Athletic Club of Chicago. He has usually
supported the Democratic party, but has more
recently acted independent of party lines, and in
the fall of 1896 supported William McKinley for
President of the United States, believing his can-
didacy to be in the interests of national prosperity.

A. B. MCLEAN.

255

ARCHIBALD B. McLEAN.

RCHIBALD BRUCE McLEAN. It is a re-
LJ markable circumstance that this gentleman,
/ I although he has attained the age of over
seventy-five years and has spent the greater part
of this time either in active business or military
service, has never been a witness of an accident.
He was born at Stirling, Scotland, a locality teem-
ing with romantic interest and historic reminiscen-
ces, on the yth of April, 1820. Both his parents
were worth y representatives of the Scotch nation .

His father, Alexander McLean, who was born
at Callendar, became a cabinet-maker at Stirling,
where his death occurred when Archibald was
but three years old. The mother, Elizabeth
(Robinson) McLean, was a native of Bannock-
burn. After reaching the age of eighty years
she came to America, and died at Brooklyn, New
York, in 1871, at the venerable age of one hun-
dred and one years and two months. She was
the youngest of a family of ten children which
was conspicuous for the longevity of its members.
Her eldest brother, James Robinson, reached the
age of one hundred and fifteen years, dying at
Glengary, Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander
McLean were the parents of seven sons, four of
whom still survive. James is a business man of
Glasgow, Scotland. Alexander and George are
citizens, respectively, of Brooklyn and Albany,
New York. John died in Cork, Ireland, after
serving fifteen years in the British army. Neal
died in a hospital from the effects of wounds re-
ceived during the great American Civil War; and
Archibald B. is the next in order of birth. Don-
ald, the eldest of the family, died in boyhood.

Archibald B. McLean grew to manhood in his
native town, and at the age often years began to

learn the tailor's trade, an occupation which he
has continued ever since, with the exception of
the time spent in military service. At the age of
seventeen years he entered the British army as a
member of the Seventy-first Highland Light In-
fantry, which was soon afterward ordered to Can-
ada to assist in quelling the rebellion then in
progress in that colony. He saw considerable
skirmish duty during this expedition, and was
stationed most of the time at Montreal or St.
John's, Canada.

In 1843 he was discharged from the service of
the Crown, and, coming to the United States, lo-
cated at Albany, New York, where he worked at
his trade for the next two years. At the end of
that time he enlisted in the United States navy
and embarked on the seventy-four-gun ship "Col-
umbus," which sailed from Brooklyn, New York,
upon a voyage around the world. While at a
Chinese port the crew first heard of the war be-
tween the United States and Mexico and received
orders to sail for the coast of California. Upon
their arrival they patroled that coast until the
close of hostilities, when they returned to the
Atlantic Coast by way of Cape Horn. The voy-
age, which terminated at Norfolk, Virginia, had
lasted for thirty-five months, during which time
they had sailed sixty-eight thousand miles.

Mr. McLean again went to Albany and opened
a tailoring establishment, carrying on business at
that place until 1854, when he came to Chicago
and engaged in business on Randolph Street.
Three years later he removed to Janesville, Wis-
consin. Here he carried on a merchant-tailoring
establishment until the outbreak of the rebellion,
when he was again seized with the spirit of mil-

256

R. N. TRIMINGHAM.

itary enthusiasm. Soon after the fall of Fort
Sumter he recruited Company D of the Second
Wisconsin Infantry, and, declining a Captain's
commission, became the First Lieutenant thereof.
He reached the field with his regiment in time
to take part in the disastrous battle of Bull
Run, and after serving six months resigned his
commission and applied for a position in the Ma-
rine Corps. Having passed the prescribed age,
and the officers not being aware of his past naval
experience, his services were declined, and he re-
enlisted in Company C, of the Twenty-seventh
Wisconsin. He chose the position of color-bearer,
and served in that capacity until the close of hos-
tilities. Though he was constantly exposed to
the fire of the enemy, taking part in many of the
bloodiest engagements of the war, Mr. McLean
received no wounds and was never in a hospital.
After participating in the battles of Fort Donel-
son, Pittsburg Landing and Corinth, he took
part in General Shield's expedition in Arkansas.
This campaign encountered fourteen general en-
gagements in twenty-one days, besides meeting a
great deal of guerrilla warfare. After the close of
the campaign he was sent to Mobile and took
part in the siege of that place, which terminated
the war.

After peace came he remained one year in
Janesville, but in 1866 again located in Chicago,

where he was continuously engaged in merchant
tailoring until June, 1894, when he resigned the
business to his son, W. S. McLean, who had
previously been for some years a partner in the
business. During the twenty-nine years' exist-
ence of this establishment it has won and retained
a valuable patronage and is still in a flourishing
condition.

On the nth of April, 1849, Mr. McLean was
married to Margaret Shields, a native of Elgin,
Morayshire, Scotland. Four children have been
born to them, all of whom are residents of this
city. They are: William S., the present successor
of his father in business; Archibald, who is also
connected with the establishment; George', who
has charge of a department in the great wholesale
establishment of Marshall Field & Co. ; and Isa-
bella, now the wife of William L- Melville. Mr.
and Mrs. McLean are the proud grandparents of
eight children.

For over forty years Mr. McLean has been con-
nected with the Masonic order, and although he
has been at times a member of other societies, is
not identified with any other organization at the
present time. He has been a steadfast Repub-
lican from the organization of that party, and has
ever been a patriotic and public-spirited citizen of
the land of his adoption.

RALPH N. TRIMINGHAM.

RALPH N. TRIMINGHAM, Secretary of the
Chicago Underwriters' Association, is one of
the best known insurance men in the city.
He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, Sep-
tember 2, 1838, and is the eldest son of Ralph
and Ann (Brine) Trimingham, and a member of
one of the oldest Colonial families.

The Trimingham family was founded in Ber-
muda by James Trimiugham, who emigrated

thither from England during the reign of Charles
II. and died there April i, 1735, The mercan-
tile house which he established and conducted
there during his lifetime was inherited and en-
larged by successive generations of his descen-
dants. He was the father of four sons and two
daughters. Of these, John, the third son. mar-
ried Elizabeth Jones. Francis, the third son of
this couple, died in 1813. He inherited the rare

R. N. TRIMINGHAM.

257

commercial instincts of his ancestors, and under
his able guidance the business assumed extensive
proportions, and branch houses were established
in the Barbadoes, St. Vincent, and St. John's,
Newfoundland. Several of his sons became
partners in the concern, and continued the busi-
ness for some time after his death. The firm
owned a number of vessels and maintained exten-
sive trade between the places above mentioned
and various ports in Great Britain and South
America.

Francis Trimingham married Frances Light-
bourn, and they were the parents of eight chil-
dren, the youngest of whom was Ralph, father of
the subject of this notice. The last-named gen-
tleman, who was born at Bermuda in 1801, re-
moved while a young man to St. John's, taking
charge of the company's interests at that place.
He was married there, and about 1847 removed
to Baltimore, Maryland, where the firm of which
he was a member also established a mercantile
house. Four years later he disposed of his inter-
est in the business, and in 1851 removed to St.
Vincent, where he turned his attention to agri-
culture and operated a large sugar plantation for
the next four years. He then came to Chi-
cago, and for a brief period re-engaged in mer-
chandising, but soon retired from active business.
His death occurred in 1869, at the age of sixty-
eight years. His wife survived until August,
1874, departing this life at the age of sixty-three
years. She was born in Newfoundland and was
a daughter of Robert and Ann Brine. They
came from the South of England and settled at
St. John's, where Mr. Brine was for many years
a prosperous merchant.

Ralph N. Trimingham was educated at private
schools, it being the intention of his parents to
give him a college education and fit him for
the Episcopal ministry. This purpose had to be
abandoned, however, and at the age of sixteen
years he entered upon his business career as clerk
in a lawyer's office at St. Vincent. His subse-
quent occupations have usually been of a clerical
order, and he seems to be peculiarly adapted for
the accurate, methodical labors which are so es-
sential to success in such avocations. For some

time previous to the departure of the family from
St. Vincent he was employed as cashier in a dry-
goods store, and his first occupation in Chicago
was of a similar nature. A few years after locat-
ing here he entered the office of Magill & La-
tham, vessel-owners and commission merchants,
with whom he remained for some time. He sub-
sequently became a bookkeeper for his uncle,
William Brine, who was a commission merchant
operating upon the Board of Trade.

Since 1866 he has been identified with the fire-
underwriting interests of the city. His first con-
nection in that line was with the Home Insurance
Company of New York, under the management
of Gen. A. C. Ducat, with whom he remained
for a little over ten years. After leaving the em-
ploy of the Home he for a short time became en-
gaged in mercantile pursuits, but soon re-entered
the business of fire insurance. In 1882 he was
elected Secretary of the Underwriters' Exchange,
a combination of insurance companies, and when
the members of that organization united with
those of the Chicago Board of Underwriters in
forming the Chicago Fire Underwriters' Associa-
tion, an institution organized for a similar pur-
pose, he continued to serve the new concern in
the same capacity. In 1894 the last-named cor-
poration was succeeded by the Chicago Under-
writers' Association. In recognition of his expe-
rience and previous services, Mr. Trimingham
was elected Secretary of the new association, and
the performance of his duties to these successive
organizations has absorbed his time and attention
since 1885.

On the 1 6th of April, 1885, he was married to
Miss Carrie J., daughter of Robert G. Goodwillie,
an early resident of Chicago. They are the par-
ents of two daughters, named, respectively, Eliz-
abeth and Anna. For thirty-eight years Mr.
Trimingham held membership with the Third
Presbyterian Church of Chicago, in which, for
seventeen years, he was Elder and Clerk of the
Session. He is now Elder of the First Presby-
terian Church at Oak Park, where he lives. He
has been identified with the Masonic order for
the last twenty years, being a member of Cleve-
land Lodge, Washington Chapter and Siloam

G. W. BARNARD.

Commandery, Knights Templar, of which he is
Past Eminent Commander. His life has been
marked by diligent, punctual habits and the con-
scientious observance of upright principles. He
has witnessed the growth and development of

Chicago for nearly forty years, and during all that
time he has spent but little time out of the city,
his chief recreation being found in his domestic
and social relations.

GILBERT W. BARNARD.

0ILBERT WORDSWORTH BARNARD is

bwell known amid Masonic circles through-
out America and Europe, and has a world-
wide reputation for sterling character, accommo-
dating manners, and devotion to the interests of
the order. He was born at Palmyra, Wayne
County, New York, June i, 1834, and is the son
of George Washington Barnard, whose death oc-
curred previous to the birth of this son. The
father of George W. Barnard, whose name was
spelled Bernarde, was a Frenchman. Following
the noble example of the immortal La Fayette,
he came to America to enlist in the cause of free-
dom, and upon the termination of the conflict
settled in western New York, where he married
and became the father of two sons. The elder
of these died without issue, and the second lived
and died in Wayne County, that state. The lat-
ter became the captain of a passenger packet on
the Erie Canal, a position of considerable import-
ance in his time. His wife, Sabrina Deming,
was a native of New York, and now resides in
Howard City, Michigan, at the extreme old age
of eighty years, her present name being Preston.
Gilbert W. Barnard was reared in the family of
his maternal grandfather. David Demming, a na-
tive of Connecticut, who removed to Jackson
County, Michigan, soon after his grandson be-
came a member of his family. The Demming
family was founded in America by four brothers,
who settled in Connecticut early in the seven-
teenth century. The name was originally spelled

Dummund, but by a process of evolution peculiar
to foreign names in America, it became Demming,
and was contracted by the present generation by
the omission of one " m."

The subject of this biography spent the first
fifteen years of his life in Jackson County, Mich-
igan, whence he came to Chicago and began his
business career as clerk in a general store. He
afterward engaged in the book and stationery
business, which line of trade he carried on for
several years, achieving a reputation for upright
and honorable dealing, and winning the esteem
and confidence of his fellow-citizens. During the
first year of his residence in Chicago he joined
the volunteer fire department, and during the next
nine or ten years rendered much valuable service
to the city.

- In October, 1864, he joined the Masonic order
and has ever since been actively identified with
its interests. He has taken over three hundred
degrees known to Masonry, and has filled most
of the principal offices in the subordinate and
grand lodges. He is at present Past Master of
Garden City Lodge; Past High Priest of Cor-
rinthian Chapter No. 69, R. A. M.; Past Emi-
nent Commander of St. Bernard Commandery
No. 35, Knights Templar; Past Commander-in-
Chief of Oriental Consistory ; Grand Secretary of
the Grand Chapter; Grand Recorder of the Grand
Council and of the Grand Commandery; and
Grand Secretary of the Council of Deliberation,
S. P. R. S., and other bodies.

JACOB MANZ.

259

In 1877 he was elected Secretary of the Capit-
ular, Cryptic and Chivalric Grand Bodies of the
State of Illinois, a position he has ever since filled,
and has devoted the best years of his life to the
interests of the fraternity, administering to the
wants of his brethren, and relieving the needs of
their widows and orphans in distress. His sig-
nal ability and unrelenting efforts in the perform-
ance of his duties have won for him a host of
friends and admirers. He has labored untiringly
in behalf of the Illinois Masonic Orphans' Home,
of which he was the first Secretary, and through
his active efforts has contributed much to the up-
building of that worthy institution.

His long connection with the Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite has placed him in correspondence
with all branches of the order in all parts of the
world. His commodious quarters in the Masonic
Temple are general headquarters for Masonic
affairs, and the resort of brethren from every civ-
ilized country on the globe. They contain an
ample library, and are filled with numerous other
articles of use or interest to members of the fra-
ternity .

Mr. Barnard was married in 1863, and one child,
a daughter, is still living, he having lost three
children.

JACOB MANZ.

(JACOB MANZ, one of the self-made men of
I Chicago, and prominent among its Swiss-
(*/ American citizens, is an excellent representa-
tive of the benefits of a Republican Government.
He was born October i, 1837, in Marthalen, in
the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, in which his
grandparents and parents, Jacob and Elizabeth
(Keller) Manz, were also born.

Jacob Manz, Sr., was a stone-cutter in early
life, and became an architect and superintendent,
which indicates that he made the best use of his
faculties and opportunities. Having heard much
of the wonderful republic beyond the seas, he
came to America in 1853, to ascertain for himself
if it afforded better opportunities for an ambitious
man than his native land. He spent six months
at Lima, Ohio, and came to Chicago in the spring
of 1854. He soon decided to remain here, and
wrote to his wife to dispose of their property in
Switzerland and follow him, with the children.
On account of the youth of some of the latter,
whose studies were not yet completed, as well as
the difficulty of disposing of the property to ad-

vantage, the move was postponed until death pre-
vented the meeting again on earth of husband
and wife. The latter died in 1860, at the age of
fifty-eight years. Mr. Manz did some building
in Chicago, but was forced in a short time to give
up business by the failure of his sense of hearing.
His latter years were occupied in carving marble
monuments, and he died in 1886, aged eighty-
four years, leaving two sons and two daughters.
Marguerite, the eldest, is the wife of Ulrich
Liechty, residing at Polk City, Iowa. Elizabeth,
Mrs. Toggenburger, is living at Bluffton, Ohio,
near which place the younger son, William, also
resides.

Jacob Manz, the elder son and third mature
child of his parents, grew up in his native village,
attending the public schools until his thirteenth
year. He was then apprenticed to a firm of wood-
engravers in Schafihausen, with whom he re-
mained until sixteen years old. Through the
dissolution of partnership of his employers, he
was unable to finish the prescribed term of his ap-
prenticeship, but has natural ability and industry

260

HUGO NEUBERGER.

had already made him a skillful engraver. He
immediately set out for America, crossing the
ocean on a sailing-vessel, and arriving in Chicago
in the middle of July, 1855. He soon found em-
ployment with S. D. Childs & Company, with
whom he continued six years, and was next for
five years in the employ of W. D. Baker, a well-
known Chicago engraver. His long terms in
these connections are sufficient indication of his
faithfulness and skill. After a short period with
Bond & Chandler, Mr. Manz formed a partner-
ship with another engraver and went into busi-
ness for himself, late in 1866.

The firm was known as Maas & Manz, and was
first located at the corner of Clark and Washing-
ton Streets, and was two years later moved to
Dearborn and Madison. While here, Mr. Manz
became the sole proprietor of the business, by
purchasing the interest of his partner, and was a
very heavy loser in the great fire of 1871, realiz-
ing almost nothing of insurance. He had faith,
however, in himself and the city, and very soon
opened a shop on West Madison Street, near
Union, whence he shortly removed to Clinton
and Lake Streets. He subsequently occupied
locations on LaSalle, Madison and Dearborn
Streets, and is now established atNos. 183 to 187
Monroe Street. The business, in the mean time,
has kept pace with the growth of the city and
the improvements in the art of engraving. It is
now conducted by an incorporated company,

known as J. Manz & Company, of which Mr.
Manz is President, F. D. Montgomery Vice-
President, and Alfred Bersbach Secretary and
Treasurer. Every process of engraving adaptable
to the printing-press is carried on, and about one
hundred people are employed in the establish-
ment.

The genial and benevolent character of Mr.
Manz has naturally led to participation in the
work of many social and charitable organiza-
tions. He is a member of the Sons of Hermann,
Schweizer Maennerchor, Swiss Benevolent Socie-
ty, Germania Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons, and Gauntlet Lodge, Knights of Pythias,
also of the Royal League and National Union. In
religious faith, he adheres to the Swiss Reformed
Church, and has been a Democrat in political
preference since 1876. His only visit to the home
of his childhood was made in the summer of 1894,
when he made a tour of interesting localities in
Europe.

Mr. Manz has been twice married. January 6,
1859, he wedded Miss Carolina Knoepfli, who
died September 7, 1866. She was a native of
Ossingen, Switzerland. Two of her children are
living, namely: Caroline and William Manz.
November 24, 1867, Mr. Manz married Johanna
Hesse, who was born in Crivitz, Mecklenburg.
Germany. Her children are Ida, Paul, Adolph
and Helena Manz.

HUGO NEUBERGER.

HUGO NEUBERGER. Germans as a class
are a thrifty people, and when, after some
years, those who have come from the Fa-
therland return to pay their visits to old, loved
scenes, their friends wonder at the wealth Fort-
une has allowed them to so quickly acquire
in our beloved country of such advantages; for
here each man is equal in the eyes, not only of

God, but the law; here he may do as he pleases,
so long as he does not commit a crime or trespass
upon the rights of his neighbors. Politically,
they are formidable too, for we can see in the
election of Governor Altgeld what power is theirs
when they unite upon a candidate.

A man of influence among his fellow-citizens
was Hugo Neuberger, who was born at Camberg,

HUGO NEUBERGER.

261

near Frankfort, Germany, on the 8th day of April,
1819. He came of a good family, one of his
brothers afterward becoming Mayor of his native
place, in which office he was 'continued for a
period of twenty years. Hugo, being a younger
son, and denied, according to the laws of the Old
World, some of the rights and advantages of an
elder child, like so many other enterprising young
men, came to this country to seek his fortune (or,
let us say, to make his fortune) , in boyhood. He
settled very soon after his arrival in his life-long
home, Chicago, which he grew to love with that
strong attachment entertained by all the old set-
tlers, who have seen its wonderful rise from a
sandy lowland (not unlike a part of Holland) to
its present growth as the metropolis of the Mis-
sissippi Valley, and destined before long to be-
come one of the most powerful cities of the globe.

He bought, after many exchanges (for he was
a man of speculation, a typical American, always
ready for a trade), the valuable piece of property
now known as Nos. 284 and 286 North Clark
Street, about the year 1860. Here he built a
substantial frame house, used as a grocery and
(according to the Old Country custom) a beer
hall combined, with his residence adjoining.
This was destroyed some years after his death,
in the great fire of 1 87 1 . His widow rebuilt more
substantiall}' in brick a structure of three stories,
now used as dwelling flats, having by self-denial
and unusual good sense been able to keep the
property and family together, and to see the latter
properly brought up to become useful members
of the community.

Mr. Neuberger had been a landscape-gardener
in Germany; but it is needless to remark in those
early days there was no demand for such services
in this vicinity, although no doubt at this date,
were he again to come among us as he did so
many years ago, his able intelligence would be
eagerly sought by the owners of some of our pal-
atial residences, for we have already grown to
number in our midst some of the finest homes
to be found anywhere in the country. Accord-
ingly, he turned his active mind to something that
was practicable in those days, from which he had
the satisfaction of knowing that he died in fair

circumstances, and future advances certainly con-
spired to give to his family who survived him a
success in life which at that time could not have
been altogether foreseen.

He was a consistent Democrat, voting regularly
but never seeking office. He was a Catholic in
faith, although his family, like their mother, have
altogether embraced the Lutheran tenets. As a
citizen he was law-abiding and reliable and had
many friends. He died in July, 1863, and was
buried in the family lot in Graceland Cemetery.
Had he lived to more mature years he would have
been justly proud of his family, whom it was fated
he should be taken from in middle life.

Mr. Neuberger married, May 25, 1854, Miss
Magdalena Ludwig, of Detroit, Michigan, a
daughter of Simon and Margaret (Knaben) Lud-
wig, who emigrated from Baden, Germany. She
was born in the City of Straits, July 18, 1835,
removing to this city in early life, where she
grew to know and love the subject of this sketch;
and although widowed in early life, she has been
faithful to his memory ever since, as she will die,
filled with the trust of guiding aright the family
of young people entrusted by God to her moth-
erly charge. All of them have grown to be a
comfort to her, respectable members of the com-
munity, and some of them with descendants who
call her "Grandma." It is owing to her watch-
ful care during the past more than thirty years
that her children grew up in honor, and that they
could be kept together in a home, and with a
property left them (of comparatively little value
at the time) now grown to be of considerable
worth.

Four children were the fruits of their happy,
though short, wedded life. Louise, born April 3,
1855, married, April 5, 1883, Julian Vaudeberge,
of Chicago, an editor in good standing; they have
two children, Madeline Marie and' Julian. Ba-
betta married, in 1892, David J. Lyons, of the
merchant police force, who unfortunately died the
following year, leaving no children. Magdalene
is unmarried. Hugo George married, in 1887,
Miss Emma L. Hunting, of Chicago, who died
in 1892, leaving two children, Anna Louise and
Florence Augusta. He has been for some years a

262

E. F. PEUGEOT.

commercial traveler, but at present is employed
on the merchant police.

We thus see that Mr. Neuberger established

bring honor and fame to his name. Therefore it
is eminently fitting that his history should be
preserved herein, that those who shall follow in

one of the representative German families of the after years ma)- gain a faint idea of the early life

city, whose members, as they grow more and
more into harmony with American ideas, will

of this Chicago pioneer.

EDWARD F. PEUGEOT.

[TOWARD FREDERICK PEUGEOT, an

1^ early citizen of Chicago, and at one time a
I leading merchant and importer, was born in
Buffalo, New York, September 8, 1836, and was
the son of Peter Peugeot, a native of France. He
was also a relative of Peugeot Brothers, the fa-
mous bicycle manufacturers of Paris. Peter Peu-
geot was a highly esteemed citizen of Buffalo,
New York, to which city he removed from France
in 1833. He was engaged several years in the
hardware business, and as a manufacturer of ma-
chinery, but, having amassed a competency, he
retired from active business twenty years before
his death, which occurred November 22, 1875, in
the seventy-fourth year of his age, having been a
resident of Buffalo forty-two years. His wife, De-
siree, nee Sachet, also a native of France, survived
him, and her death occurred in November, 1886.
They were the parents of thirteen children, all
but two of whom died before their father. Ellen
J. became the wife of Judge W. M. Oliver, ol
Buffalo, and died at San Marcial, New Mexico,
while there trying to restore her health. An-
other daughter, Amelia, now deceased, became
the wife of George P. Bird, now a wealthy mill-
owner in Helena, Montana.

The other survivor was Edward, the subject
of this sketch, who came to Chicago in 1857,
when twenty-one years of age, and displayed
great ability in building up the largest toy im-
porting house in the West, which was known as
Peugeot' s Variety Store. During the time when
his business was largest, he made annual visits

to France to select goods. He was the local rep-
resentative of some of the largest and best known
manufacturing companies in France. When Chi-
cago was destroyed in 1871, he lost everything,
and, on account of the failure of the local insur-
ance companies, caused by the unparalleled mag-
nitude of their losses, he realized nothing from
that source. However, he went into business
again after the fire, and to some extent retrieved
his fortune.

On the I4th of March, 1861, Mr. Peugeot was
married to Maria L. Flershem, daughter of Lem-
uel H. Flershem, who is mentioned at length in
this volume. Four children blessed the home of
Mr. Peugeot, namely: Nina, now the wife of
Conrad Mueller, real-estate dealer and Assistant
Clerk of the Sheriff of New York County; she
has one child, Edward Herman Mueller. lone,
the second daughter, resides with her mother.
Pierre and Leon are now in the employ of W.
McGregor & Company, of Chicago. Mr. Peugeot
died August 8, 1886, and subsequently his widow
became the wife of William McGregor (see sketch
elsewhere in this work).

Edward F. Peugeot was a man in whom those
elements so essential to social popularity and
business success were prominent, and he was al-
ways the center of a large circle of admiring
friends. He was a very enterprising merchant,
possessing a high character and integrity, and
left to his children, as a legacy, a good name and
an excellent example of true manhood.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

Bk ,*. C.y. Co. Cficayo.

/^>

FERDINAND LINK.

263

FERDINAND LINK.

l"~ ERDINAND LINK. ' 'Der Gipfel des Ber-
IV es f un ^ e ^ * m abend Sonnenschein," sings
| ^ the beautiful, irresistible Lorellei, seated
upon the picturesque summits of those storied,
castle-crowned highlands of the Rhine, whence
she drew to herself all who came within the scope
of her vision. It is proper now to write modestly
of one born in the Fatherland, to whom the sound
of "America" was, like the harmony of theold folk-
song, an entrancing melody, full of bright proph-
ecy, the hope of whose fulfillment he could not
withstand.

Ferdinand Link was born on the ist of No-
vember, 1829, in Birkigt Herzogthum, Meinin-
gen, Germany, his parents being Trougott and
Rosina (Schmidt) Link, persons of respectable
attainments, who lived and died in the Old Coun-
try. At about his fourteenth year he had com-
pleted the learning of the same trade as his
father, a carriage-maker, after which, in accord-
ance with the custom of his country-men, he
traveled to improve his knowledge of the craft, a
phase of intelligent life very interestingly set forth
by the great Goethe in his immortal ' ' Wilhelm
Meister."

Having acquired whatever seemed necessary to
thoroughly fit his genius to his life-work, he re-
solved to come to the United States of America;
so, in 1848, at the age of nineteen, he set sail
from Bremen upon a passage which took forty-
nine days in crossing to Baltimore, where he
disembarked on the 6th of July, 1848. Presently
he found employment at his old trade with a
Mr. Bishop, with whom he remained for a time
in mutual good-will. Anon, desirous to see more
of the New World, and getting on famously with

the new language, he set out for Richmond, Vir-
ginia, via the Natural Bridge, up to Abington,
where he continued his trade for a season, or un-
til the ist of November, 1850. Thence, at that
time, he proceeded to Kingston Springs, and by
way of the Mississippi River as far south as New
Orleans, directly returning as far north as this
city, which he reached the last week in Decem-
ber, 1850. and where for more than forty years
he has continued uninterruptedly to reside, pros-
pered, honored, and full of dignified interests in
our midst.

Mr. Link is a very modest man, but in his
craft it remains true that in the younger days he
was the peer of any in our city, which is amply
evidenced by some handiwork, so superior and
excellent, that it raises a well-defined doubt as
to whether there was any other here who at that
time could have done so skillfully. In the lan-
guage of the country whence he came to our
shore, he was a master mechanic, a "turner" of
rare ability. Among the things which came
like magic from his deft touch were the following,
which recur readily to the mind: A finely carved
turnout for Governor Wise, of Virginia; the first
hearse ever used in our city which had glass sides,
made for Undertaker Gavin, before which they
used a rough conveyance with a pall thrown over
the coffin; and the first public hack ever con-
structed here or seen upon our pioneer streets.
Surely this is quite sufficient to establish Mr.
Link's right to be remembered as one of the best
"turners" who ever lived with us, and certain-
ly the man who did the first really fine kind of
work in several valuable lines.

For eleven years he was foreman for Richard

264

FERDINAND LINK.

Biel, a carriage manufacturer on the West Side,
who "has now gone to the "bourne whence no
traveler returns. ' ' While working at his trade,
Mr. Link also began to turn his attention to that
source of financial wealth which has made most
of our rich men, and that was to real-estate in-
vestments; for never in the history of the world
has there been so much money made in so short
a time out of building sites as right here in our
little Cook County, Illinois. Foreseeing himself
what would certainly come of it, he began to make
good moves in this direction as fast as he could
get money to buy with. On State Street, near
Chestnut, which for the greater part has been the
locality of his winning moves, he purchased a
piece of land and proceeded, in 1858, to put up
some houses for rent. The results were gratify-
ing from the start.

In the winter of 1864, in reduced health (ad-
vised by his physicians to do so if he wished to
prolong his life), he took his family and went to
California. The route, before the days of the
steam horse, was from New York City, via the
West Indies and the Carribean Sea, to Aspinwall
and Panama, and then by another line of steam-
ers to San Francisco, in which last city he stopped
for some time, his condition being much amelior-
ated by the salubrious climate, and his interest
deeply aroused by the quaint customs of that
strange new country, whose hills were made of
gold . For a season he soj ourned at Los Angeles (at
a period prior to this of they? de siecle) , Alame-
da, Warm Springs, and returned home in March,
1867, via Nicaragua and Greytown. Mr. Link's
love of travel is remarkable, and his keenly-
observing eyes, with the note-book which he
invariably keeps, make it intensely interesting
after long years to revisit with him in memorized
record those scenes of former delights.

On his return he invested in more real estate
near the site of his former possessions, and put up
houses upon the same; then came the fire of 1871,
that mighty holocaust which cost so many their
entire fortunes, and did inestimable damage for a
time to all our citizens, until returning courage
resulted in rebuilding better than was ever
dreamed of before. Mr. Link lost by this fire

seven houses, which shows that he had already
grown to be quite a landlord. Nothing daunted,
with that admirable energy which was so charac-
teristic of the age, he mortgaged his land to set
to work and build again, this time including the
construction of a grocery store near the corner of
State and Chestnut Streets, which he personally
conducted up to the year 1882, when he finally
retired from business, well intrenched in his fort-
unes, with hosts of friends his genial, honest and
frank nature had won him, for he never made an
enemy in his life.

That he might spend his closing years ' 'under
his own vine and fig tree," he bought a fine lot
at Number 76 Walton Place, overlooking the lake
at its foot (and which now has within plain view
the celebrated Newberry Library, since construct-
ed, one of the famous libraries of the world) . where
he erected a commodious home, wherein the years
pass by (when he is not in other scenes) like a
dream of the fabled days of old.

In 1852, tired of single blessedness, Mr. Link
took to his heart a wife (one of the most congen-
ial, entertaining, whole-souled women in our whole
city), Miss Mary Laux being her maiden name.
She was born, like himself, in Germany, in the
town of Losheim, County of Merzig, Province of
Trier, West Prussia, it being territory formerly
belonging to the French, and quite adjacent to
the famous Alsace-Lorraine country of later years'
contest. Her father, Peter Laux (coming of an
old French family) , had been a second orderly for
the great Napoleon. At the battle of Leipsig,
his horse being shot under him, he caught the
horse of the first orderly, who had himself been
killed, which was so bewildered by the fray and
smoke of battle, that when soldat Laux, being ig-
norant of the way to his troop, gave the horse his
head, he dashed away into the very enemy 's lines,
where, by a singular mistake, a French flag,
which had been captured, was handed him, he
being taken for one of their own German forces.
Thereupon, he put spurs to his horse and started
like lightning away for the opposite side among
his friends. His horse was shot by the volley
sent after him, and he himself badly wounded in
the leg, sustaining, besides several flesh wounds,

FERDINAND LINK.

265

a fracture of the leg bone. Crawling under a
corn stack, he managed to escape apprehension,
and in this way was left for three days before be-
ing rescued by his own men and taken to hospital
to have his painful wounds dressed. In the mean
time, however, he had crawled to the River Katz-
back to bathe himself, and had kept the old flag,
which later came safely into Napoleon's hands.
This episode stamps him as a man not only of
strong vitality, to withstand such suffering and
hardships, but also as a heroic soul, of no common
mould.

Mr. Laux, in 1840, took his wife and family,
including those who were married, to America;
and at this juncture befel a very pathetic scene.
As they were about to leave France forever, the
vessel bringing from St. Helena the remains of his
old general, Napoleon, was coming into port. He
wept like a child, and exclaimed, "Why art thou
not alive, that I might again forsake my friends
and family to follow thee?" With Barbara, his
wife, he landed upon Chicago soil on the twenty-
fifth day of August, 1840. They have both
passed to their eternal rewards, for few of the
older settlers are longer left to greet us.

Mrs. Link was born the twenty-fifth day of
March, 1833, so that she began her blissful wed-
ded life at the early age of nineteen. One child
has blessed their union, Ferdinand Eugene Link,
who was born September 10, 1852. He learned
his trade of druggist with Mr. Van Derburg, and
went into the employ of Tollman & King, whole-
sale druggists, with whom he still remains, his
services being rewarded with the responsible po-
sition of manager. He was married, in 1875, to
Miss Marion Langdon of this city, by whom he
has three children , Ferdinand (third) , Marion and
John.

Politically the subject of this sketch is a Dem-
ocrat, not an office-seeker, nor fanatic in his views;
locally, he invariably selects the best man, in his
candid judgment, for support.

Physically Mr. Link is not a large man, but
so engaging in manner that he seems to rise at
times to the stature of a giant, as he graphically
depicts interesting experiences he has passed
through in his varied life of many vicissitudes.

He is one of the most unassuming, genial men
it is one's good fortune to run across, hospitable
and full of good parts. As an instance of the po-
etic feeling of his soul (a thing somewhat rare in
our crowding, rushing city) , at an advanced age,
he bought a fine piano, and started in to learn
music. He progressed with such amazing rapidity
that, although he had but six months' lessons, he
really plays very well, and some difficult pieces
of classical music, too. Jt is one of the proudest
recollections of his experience that he was per-
mitted, on a foreign tour, to play for a few mo-
ments upon the piano of Frederick the Great, in
the castle at Potsdam, during which exceptionally
honored occasion he very touchingly ran through
the pathetic bars of "Sad Thoughts of Thee."
One can readily picture this inspiring incident, of
one returning from a new country, full of honor
and wealth, to the home of his nativity, to view
for a season the place that gave him birth. Ah,
it is a strange world we live in, and strange in-
deed are the changes which come to us all!

The incident above related occurred upon his
memorable tour of the continent in 1892, when
he felt he must visit again the old endeared scenes
of his boyhood. Not alone those, but France, Bel-
gium and England were traversed; and if anyone
doubts the good use our friend made of his sight,
let him sit for a while listening to the "logbook,"
as it has been the writer's privilege, and doubt
would vanish before the perfect light of enrapt-
ured conviction. It is understood that he is plan-
ning another trip abroad for the near future, for
lie is an indefatigable traveler.

In closing, we must not forget to say, that as
his earthly life has been correct, and his surround-
ings beautiful and uplifting, so he has had the
wise foresight to see to it that his remains after
death may be in a temporary earthly mansion
suitable to his wishes. In the family lot at St.
Boniface Cemetery, he has finished the construc-
tion of a family tomb, which for exquisiteness of
design and perfection of execution is unsurpassed.
There is no finer owned or erected in this city s
places of burial. The exterior facades are of
that handsome, durable stone, rock-faced, known
as Blue Bedford; while the interior rises grace-

266

W. W. PHELPS.

fully and without that sense of oppression so fre-
quent in low-constructed burial places, being com-
posed of English Channel fire brick and elegant
imported Italian marbles. In the center rises the
catafalque, which will one day contain the last
mortal remains of our dear friend and his beloved

spouse. Each one has his themes of delight. Can
there be a more beautiful wish than to lie securely
safe after one's earthly existence is over, surround-
ed by the beauties which, like the hills, pass not
away until the judgment day?

WILLIAM W. PHELPS.

WALLACE PHELPS, one of
the earliest and most conscientious of our
business men, was born at Conesville,
Schoharie County, New York, June 17, 1825. His
parents were George and Mary (Chapman)
Phelps.

Being of the generation of self-made men, he
started out with a clear, straightforward mind,
aided by a common-school instruction, to do his
life work as the Creator foresaw it would come to
pass.

First in Oneida, at nineteen years of age, and
elsewhere in his native State, he waited upon
customers as a clerk behind merchants' counters,
and in 1847 went to Catskill, Greene County, New
York, to clerk for Potter Palmer. It is needless
to add, he did his humble early duties as faith-
fully and ably as he bore the later more hon-
orable and distinguished burdens which time
demonstrated he was more than equal to carrying.

Henceforth he was fated to join forces with that
truly royal man, Potter Palmer, the bare mention
of whose name thrills the listener with intense
admiration, and conjures up in his mind the
rapid achievement of our unrivalled city; in all
and through all of which none has been more
modestly conspicuous and helpful than Mr. Pal-
mer. Along with Mr. Palmer, Mr. Phelps was
mainly to work out his destiny. It was fitting,
for they were brothers-in-law; and so long, un-
ruffled and intimate were their mutual relations

and regard for each other, that the two men
actually grew more and more in personal appear-
ance alike. One glance at Mr. Phelps' face,
as the artist left it for our delight, and the
lineaments of his "dear friend Potter" suggest
themselves. Together they removed, in 1851, to
Lockport, New York, there engaging in business
for about one year only, for in 1852 they started
resolutely for the then Far West, resting their
weary limbs by the head of the beautiful Lake
Michigan, in which place fortune had decreed
they should win honorable names and a goodly
portion of the desires of this life. One has quite
finished his labors and is at rest above all earthly
value. Soon the other will go to his comrade's
side, while this scene shall know their presence no
more; but history is the better, and future genera-
tions, though they may lealize it not, will be the
happier and better that two such American noble-
men were among us in our infancy.

Soon after their advent, Mr. Palmer, having
some capital at command, entered into the dry-
goods business, wherein Mr. Phelps was his con-
fidential friend and financial secretary for long
years, always in every way satisfactory in his
discharge of onerous trusts.

In 1865 Mr. Phelps went for himself into the
wholesale and retail carpet business with a part-
ner, under the style of Hollister & Phelps, hav-
ing purchased the interest of the former partner,
Mr. Wilkins. He sold out his interest in this

W. W. PHELPS.

267

paying establishment the June preceding the his-
torical fire of 1871. Thereafter for some six
months he enjoyed the delights of old Europe,
with the keen intellectual appreciation so charac-
teristic of him, combining business with health-
ful recreation, as he did considerable buying for
Mr. Palmer, who was furnishing the Palmer
House, recently built at that time.

Returning to the United States in good condi-
tion, he lived the easy life of an ' 'old-school' '
gentleman for a period of eight years. But act-
ive life extended too great temptations to one
of his temperament; so it is not surprising, when
Mr. Palmer made him a flattering offer, that he
found it impossible to resist, and so it is chronicled
that the last twelve years of his life were spent
as confidential financial manager of that great
hostelry, one of the grandest and best known in
the wide world, the Palmer House. In him Mr.
Palmer had full and explicit trust and confidence.
He said: "I can goto California; I maybe gone
six months; and when I return, I feel I shall
hear everything has gone on just the same."

Alas, all must pay the sad debt of nature. Mr.
Phelps died May 18, 1891, of Bright's Disease,
and was interred in the family lot at Graceland,
where a fine monument marks his beautiful final
resting-place. For many years he was an at-
tendant at the Plymouth Congregational Church,
where he held a pew. Bishop Cheney, a warm
friend, officiated at the funeral obsequies at his
magnificent mansion house, No. 2518 Prairie
Avenue.

Mr. Phelps married, first, Lydia Palmer, sister
of Potter Palmer, in the fall of 1867. She died
on the very day of the Fire of 1871 , without issue.
September 9, 1873, he wedded Miss Cornelia
Austina Hubbard, of Spring Prairie, Wisconsin.
In good health, she continues to survive her
lamented husband, whose memory is sacred in
her heart and whose worth she delights to exalt
and honor. How strong under such circumstances
does the merit of this undertaking appear ! They
who make for themselves honorable names, but
are barred by fate against leaving children, must
herein find their most lasting and fitting monu-
ment in this record of their good deeds.

Cornelia A. (Hubbard) Phelps is a daughter of
Alfred Hubbard and Hannah Steele, of Wind-
ham, Greene County, New York, being the
youngest of eight children. Alfred Hubbard was
a son of Timothy Hubbard and Dorothy Raleigh,
of Connecticut. Hannah Steele was a daughter
of Stephen Steele and Hannah Simonds, also of
Connecticut.

Mr. Phelps was a stanch Republican, a con-
scientious Christian, a gentleman and a lover of
home. Tall and straight of stature, his pale
blonde face, handsome, yet full of kindly charac-
ter, firm mouth, prominent eyes, heavy eyebrows
and massive forehead well denoted the strength he
possessed. He and Mr. Palmer might have been
taken for brothers. Their names are indelibly
associated, and those who, in coming years, when
the flowers are blossoming over ancient graves,
shall read the records of the two lives, will un-
derstand more deeply and solemnly than words
can depict what this age and this city owe to men
like Potter Palmer and William Wallace Phelps.

It is fitting that this work shall record the fol-
lowing quite full and satisfactory genealogical
descent:

Ichabod Phelps, who was a merchant in Eng-
land, married Betsy Bristol, and, coming to this
country, in company with three brothers, settled
at Salisbury, in Litchfield County, Connecticut.
Later he removed to Wyoming, Pennsylvania,
where he continued to reside until the historical
massacre there by the Indians under the notorious
Brant, upon which event he took a fresh depart-
ure for Broome, Schoharie Count y, New York,
where he built and conducted a general store.
His son, Othniel Phelps, born in 1777, died in
1856. He was twice married; first, to Polly Fiero,
and secondly to Hannah Frost, who lived to the
remarkable age of ninety-two years, dying in
1876.

The eldest son by the first marriage was
George W. Phelps, who was born in 1798, at
Conesville, Schoharie County, New York, and
died July 3, 1866. He was twice married; first,
about the year 1820, to Zerviah Potter, who died
three years later, leaving two sons, Othniel B.
and Samuel P. (for a sketch of Othniel B. vide

268

C. E. PIPER

other pages herein) ; second, he married, about
1824, Mary Chapman, who was born February
25, 1801, and died January 28, 1879. She was
a daughter of Samuel Chapman (born January
13, 1773, died November 30, 1858) and Rhoda
Cowles, his wife (born September 3, 1775, and

died in 1801). By this second marriage there
were eight children: Helen M., John M., Mary
Z., Catherine, Lucinda M., George C., Abbie
A. and William Wallace Phelps, the subject of
this sketch.

CHARLES E. PIPER.

QHARLES EDWARD PIPER was bom in

1 1 the city of Chicago June 12, 1858. His fa-
\.J ther, Otis Piper, well and favorably known
to the pioneer business men of Chicago, was of
English extraction, and traced his descent di-
rectly to ancestors who arrived in America and
settled at the town of New Salem in 1782. His
mother, Margaret (McGrory) Piper, of Scotch-
Irish lineage, was a native of Prescott, province
of Ontario, Canada, whither her father removed
in 1824.

Otis Piper, with his family, came to Chicago in
1851, at a time when the struggling town was
barely beginning to give promise of future impor-
tance, and cast in his lot with the few fervent-
spirited citizens whose eyes of faith saw, above the
alternating sand dunes and swamps of that early
period, something of the glory of the present me-
tropolis. Amid the surroundings common to the
pioneer outposts of civilization in our country,
Charles Edward Piper, the subject of this sketch,
first saw the light of day. The foundation of his
education was laid in the public schools of the
city, and in the face of many trials and vicissi-
tudes was, nevertheless, so firmly planted in the
mind of the young boy that an unquenchable
thirst for knowledge, and an indomitable deter-
mination to obtain it, impelled him to successively
graduate from the high school in 1876, the North-

western University in 1882, and the Union College
of Law in 1889, earning, in the mean time, his
own livelihood and the means to meet his stu-
dent's expenses.

After completing his law course, he entered
upon practice with Mr. Wilbert J. Andrews, un-
der the firm name of Andrews & Piper, a firm
which is recognized as one of the leading real-es-
tate law firms in Chicago. The business of buy-
ing and selling real estate has naturally grown up
with the practice of real-estate law, and the sub-
urban town of Berwyn was founded by and is to-
day, to a considerable extent, the property of Mr.
Piper and his associates. Socially Mr. Piper is a
genial, warm-hearted gentleman, easy in his man-
ners and a favorite in several social organizations
with which he is connected, notably the Prairie
Club, of Oak Park, and the Lincoln Club, of
West Chicago. In religious matters he is a fol-
lower of Wesley, and a consistent member of the
Methodist Church. He is President of the State
Epworth League and Treasurer of the National
Epworth League. Politically he is a Republican,
"dyed in the wool," is President of the town of
Cicero, and has held the office of Supervisor of
the town of South Chicago, as well as that of
member of the Board of Education of the town
of Cicero.

August 15, 1882, he married Carrie L. Gregory,

FRANCIS WARNER.

269

daughter of Edwin and Anna S. Gregory, of
Nauvoo, Illinois, and granddaughter of Robert
Lane, partner of John Morris, of Philadelphia, of
Revolutionary fame. The three living children
of Mr. and Mrs. Piper are: Carrie E., born May
29, 1884; LuluL.; and Robert G. , December 6,
1889.

Mr. Piper vividly recalls the burning of Chi-
cago on the fatal October 8, 1871, but at that
time, fortunately, was residing outside of the burnt
district, and escaped any serious personal dam-
ages or loss. He is the President of the Method-

ist Forward Movement of Chicago, and takes
deep interest in the building of the Epworth
House, at Number 229 Halsted Street, now in
process of erection. This house, like its prototype,
Hull House, is designed to serve as an oasis in
the desert of poverty and iniquity, and will aid
greatly in the regeneration of that benighted re-
gion. He was one of the founders, and is now an
officer, of the Epworth Children's Home, and is
at the present time President of the Chicago Meth-
odist Social Union.

FRANCIS WARNER.

F~ RANCIS WARNER, a quiet, worthy citizen
ry of Chicago, is a descendant of very early
| English and German yeomanry. He was
born at Watertown, Massachusetts, January 26,
1819. His parents, George Warner and Mary
Salisbury, were natives, respectively, of Pack-
ington and Ashby de la Zouche, in Leicestershire,
near the border of Nottinghamshire, England.
The family name was originally Werner, and was
brought to England from Germany, after the Re-
formation of Martin Luther. England had just
become a Protestant country, and the founder of
this family on English soil received a grant of
land near the Welsh border. He had a coat-of-
arms, the principal objects on which were a castle
surmounted by a squirrel, with a motto signify-
ing, " Not for ourselves alone, but for others."
Mary Salisbury was a lineal descendant of a man-
at-arms who flourished long before the first
Werner came to England, and was granted a
"hide " of land (being all that he could surround
with an ox's hide cut into strips) by the lord of
the manor, whose life he had saved in battle.

Members of the Warner family came to America
in the early Colonial days, and it is a tradition
that one settled in each of the colonies of Massa-
chusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

George Warner and Mary Salisbury were mar-
ried in England in 1806, and removed four years
later to Massachusetts, where eight of their eleven
children were born. Mr. Warner was a lace
weaver, and was employed at his trade in and
about Watertown, Massachusetts, until 1837,
when he came to Illinois. He engaged in farm-
ing in Northfield Township, La Salle County, for
over twenty years, and then went to Iowa, and
settled on the Soldier River, near the present site
of Ida Grove. After he retired from farming he
returned to Massachusetts and died at Ipswich,
in that State, in 1874, at the age of eighty-nine
years. Both he and his wife were born in 1785.
The latter died in Illinois in 1851, age sixty-six.

All of their seven sons and two of their daugh-
ters grew to adult life. Samuel, born in England,
and an upholsterer by occupation , passed most of
his life in Massachusetts, and died, as the result

270

FRANCIS WARNER.

of an accident, in St. Louis, Missouri. George,
born in Massachusetts, was a farmer; he died in
La Salle County, Illinois, in 1882, from the ef-
fects of a fall. Mary, Mrs. Sanford Peatfield,
resides in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Alfred is a
resident of Michigan, and John died in Newton,
Massachusetts, in 1892, at the age of seventy-
three. The subject of this sketch is the sixth.
Elizabeth, deceased, was the wife of William
Powell, a farmer in La Salle County, Illinois.
Thomas died in California from the effects of
drinking alkali water; and William is engaged in
mining in Utah.

Francis Warner was reared in Newton, Massa-
chusetts, and was taught to read by his mother.
His only attendance at a public school was one
half-day, at which time the teacher was absent.
At the age of fifteen years he was apprenticed to
a cabinet-maker, and his articles of indenture
stipulated that he was to receive $50 per year
and his board. During this apprenticeship he
made the most of his opportunities for material
and mental advancement. He joined several
others in a plan to secure instruction, and they
were taught four nights each week, for which the
teacher received fifty cents per night. So faith-
ful and diligent was young Warner, that he be-
came a journeyman at the age of nineteen. He
immediately went to Boston, where he continued
to ply his trade until 1843, when he came to Illi-
nois and took up farming on Somomauk Creek,
in La Salle County.

In the spring of 1861 Mr. Warner responded
to the call for troops to defend the Union. He
first went out in the three-months service, under
General McClellan, who was a personal acquaint-
ance, in West Virginia. He was a participator
in the battle of Rich Mountain, and was one of
the detail which accompanied the body of the
Confederate General, Garnett, to Washington, en
route to his home in Virginia.

In 1862 Mr. Warner again joined the Federal
forces, being attached to the Provost- Marshal's
department, with the pay and rank of Captain,
and was chiefly employed in the charge and hand-
ling of prisoners of war, with headquarters in
Washington. After the surrender of New Or-

leans, he joined Colonel Wood's command, the
First United States Regiment, with which he con-
tinued until May, 1865, when he was honorably
discharged.

While a resident of La Salle County, Mr. War-
ner was twice elected to the office of Sheriff, and
demonstrated such superior ability in the capture
of offenders, that his services were sought by de-
tective agencies throughout the country. Soon
after leaving the army he took charge of Allen
Pinkerton's New York detective agency, where
he continued a year, removing thence to Chicago,
where he occupied a similar position until his
health failed, in 1879, and he was compelled to
resign. After spending three months at the sea
shore, on the advice of his physician, he returned
to Chicago, very much improved in health anc
strength, and at once, in 1880, took charge of the
detective service of the American Express Com-
pany at Chicago. This was his last active em-
ployment, in which he still holds an honorary po-
sition. Though now in his seventy-seventh year,
Mr. Warner exhibits plenty of mental and physi-
cal vigor, and is still a useful member of society.

Mr. Warner is a Royal Arch Mason, and was
for many years active in the order. He is a mem-
ber of the Congregational Church, and a con-
sistent and stanch Republican in principle, being
one of the founders of that political organization.
In 1840 he married Miss Juliette Back, who was
born in Burlington, Vermont, August 17, 1819,
and is a daughter of Jasper and Sally (Harring-
ton) Back. Mr. Back was one of the minute-
men who served at the battle of Plattsburgh,
during the last war with Great Britain. Four of
Mr. Warner's eight children are now living.
Francis Armstrong Warner, the eldest, is a resi-
dent of Chicago. Alice, the second, died while
the wife of Albert Forbes, leaving an infant
daughter, who was reared by Mr. Warner. Juli-
ette died at the age of eighteen months, and Isabel
is the wife of Dr. Edward J. Lewis, of Sauk Cen-
ter, Wisconsin. Ernest died at three years of
age, Charles at fourteen, and Gray resides at
Denver, Colorado. Nellie is the wife of Henry
B. Gates and resides in Wilmette.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

LYMAN J. GAGE.

27 x

LYMAN JUDSON GAGE.

I YMAN JUDSON GAGE, President of the
I C First National Bank of Chicago, is widely
l~) known as the leading financier of the
West, as well as an active power in political and
other movements. As a promoter and active Di-
rector of the World' s Columbian Exposition, he
earned and received the good-will of every citi-
zen of Chicago, as well as of most of the world be-
side.

Eli A. Gage and Mary Judson, parents of the
subject of this biography, were natives of New
York, of English descent, their ancestors being
numbered among the early settlers of New Eng-
land. The student of American history cannot
fail to note that much of the energy and good
sense which gave direction to the development of
the entire northern half of the United States was
contributed by the New England blood.

L,yman J. Gage was born at De Ruyter, Madi-
son County, N. Y., June 28, 1836, and passed
the first ten years of his life in that village. On
the removal of the family to Rome, N. Y., in
1846, he entered the local academy, but left school
to engage in business life at the age of fourteen.
For a year, he was employed as clerk in the Rome
postofHce, and was detailed by the Postmaster as
mail-route agent on the Rome & Watertown Rail-
road at the age of fifteen. In 1854 he became
junior clerk in the Oueida Central Bank at Rome,
at a salary of $100 per annum. His duties in
that position were somewhat varied, and involved
the sweeping of the bank, as well as many other
duties which are fulfilled by a janitor in larger
institutions. The ambitious soul of the youth
who was destined by fate to control in time great
financial enterprises, could not always be content
in this position, and after a year and a-half of

service, with no immediate prospect of advance-
ment in position or salary, he resolved to try his
fortune in the growing West.

On the 3d of October, 1855, young Gage,
being then a little past the completion of his nine-
teenth year, arrived in Chicago with a capital
consisting of brains and energy. He shortly
found employment in the lumber-yard of Nathan
Cobb, a part of the time in keeping books, and
often in loading lumber. He continued in this
employment until the business changed hands in
1858. The financial depression of that period
made many changes, and, rather than remain idle,
Mr. Gage accepted the position of night-watch-
man at the same place. At the end of six weeks
in this service, in August, 1858, he was offered
and accepted the position of book-keeper in the
Merchants' Savings, Loan & Trust Company, at
an annual salary of $500. Here he found field
for the exercise of his abilities, and his advance-
ment was rapid. On the ist of January follow-
ing, he was promoted to the position of paying
teller, with the accompanying salary of $1,200
per year. In September, 1860, he became As-
sistant Cashier at $2,000 per annum, and a year
later was made Cashier. In August, 1868, he
resigned this position to accept a similar one in
the First National Bank. On the re-organiza-
tion of this institution, at the expiration of its
charter in 1882, Mr. Gage was elected Vice-Pres-
ident and General Manager, and became Presi-
dent January 24, 1891. Thus are briefly related
the steps of his progress, but they were not the
result of accident. Back of them were the quali-
ities which inspired the confidence of his fellows,
and the ability to make intelligent use of his op-
portunities.

272

O. P. BASSETT.

Mr. Gage was one of the organizers of the Amer-
ican Bankers' Association at Philadelphia, in Oc-
tober, 1876, and was made President of that body
in 1882, and twice successfully re-elected, a com-
pliment both to Chicago and the man. He is a
member of two social clubs of the city, the Chi-
cago and the Union, an ex-President of the Com-
mercial Club (an organization limited to sixty
members) , and a Director and Treasurer of the Art
Institute. Mr. Gage takes a warm interest in
all matters affecting the public welfare, and has
been quite active as a member of the Republican
organization, because he considers the Republi-
can party the best exponent of his ideas on the
conservation of human liberty and general pros-
perity. While somewhat active in promulgating
his principles, he is by no means a narrow parti-
san, and will not tolerate anything which his
judgment or conscience does not approve, because
it bears the endorsement of his party. He has
been frequently urged to accept a nomination for
some public position, as the spontaneous choice
of the public urged, but his business interests
could not be set aside sufficiently to permit. At the
last regular municipal election he could have been
almost unanimously elected mayor, had he per-
mitted the use of his name. In spite of the cares
of his responsible position, he gave much of his
energy to the promotion of the World's Fair en-
terprise, and was made President of the Board of
Directors at its organization in April, 1890. This
he resigned on his accession to the bank presi-
dency, nearly a year later, but continued as an
active member of the Board. It is no injustice to

his contemporaries to say that the final success of
the scheme was in a large measure due to the
influence and efforts of Mr. Gage. When the
hostility of New York seemed likely to take the
location away from Chicago, Mr. Gage was one
of four local capitalists to guarantee the comple-
tion of the ten-million-dollar guaranty fund re-
quired by Congress from Chicago. It was while
on his way to attend a banquet in New York in'
honor of this event, that Mr. Gage was stricken
with a serious illness, which it required a dan-
gerous operation to overcome, and the whole na-
tion rejoiced when it was announced that he would
recover.

Mr. Gage is a student of rare discrimination,
and his public speeches show a cultivated taste in
literature, as well as a mind well stored with use-
ful knowledge. He has a happy faculty ofim-
parting information to others, and his occasional
addresses on financial, political and other topics
are greeted with wide and careful attention. In
private life, he is a most companionable gentle-
man, and gives ear as readily to the request of
the humble individual as the large investor. He
has been twice married. In 1864 he espoused
Miss Sarah Etheridge, daughter of Dr Francis
Etheridge, of Little Falls, N. Y. She died in
1874, and he was married to his present wife, Mrs.
Cornelia Gage, of Denver, Colo., in 1887. Their
home is on North State Street, near beautiful Lin-
coln Park, and here Mr. Gage spends most of his
evenings, ever gathering something from his well-
selected library.

ORLAND P. BASSETT.

| RLAND P. BASSETT, of the Pictorial Print-
ing House, of Chicago, and the owner of large
greenhouses in Hinsdale, where he makes
his home, was born March 31, 1835, in Towanda,
Pa. His father, John W. Bassett, was a wheel-

wright of the Keystone State, and in 1872 became
to Illinois, spending his last days in Chicago at
the home of his son, where he died at the age of
eighty-four years. He was a member of the Pres-
byterian Church. His wife bore the maiden name

J. O. CLIFFORD.

273

of Angeline Crocker, and passed away several
years previous to the death of her husband. Their
family numbered nine children, of whom four are
yet living: Henry, John, Orland and Chauncy.

Mr. Bassett whose name heads this record was
reared in his native State, and remained with his
parents until he had attained his majority. The
greater part of his education was acquired in a
printing-office. In 1854 he began the printing
business, which he has followed up to the present
time, and step by step he has worked his way up-
ward until now he is President of the Pictorial
Printing Company, of Chicago. He owned the
entire business until about four years ago, when
he sold the controlling interest. It was in March,
1857, that he came to the West and located in
Sycamore, 111., where he published a paper, the
Sycamore True Republican, for nine years. He
then sold out and removed to Chicago, where he
carried on a job printing-office until 1874, when
he bought out the establishment of the Pictorial
Printing Com pan y, as before stated.

On the 5th of April, 1858, Mr. Bassett was
united in marriage with Miss Betsey M. Shelton.

One child has been born to them, Kate B., wife
of Charles L. Washburn, of Hinsdale. They
have one son, Edgar B.

For many years Mr. Bassett was a supporter of
the Republican party, but is now independent in
his political views. In 1887 he removed to Hins-
dale, where he makes his home, but still does
business in Chicago. He also has in Hinsdale
the largest greenhouses to be found in the West,
does an extensive business in this line, and em-
ploys a large number of men. When he began
business in Sycamore he had 110 capital and bought
his outfit on credit, but he has steadily worked
his way upward, and the business of the Chicago
Pictorial Printing Company has at times amounted
to $1,000 per day. The company is well known
throughout the United States and Canada, and .
also in parts of Australia and South America, and
its success is due in a large measure to the untir-
ing efforts and good management of Mr. Bassett.
He is a genial and pleasant gentleman, is very
popular, makes friends wherever he goes, and is
justly deserving of the high regard in which he
is held.

JAMES ORRA CLIFFORD.

(TAMES ORRA CLIFFORD was born Decem-
I ber 8, 1856, at Salem, Kenosha County,
G/ Wis. , being the son of Emery and Mary Jane
(Osgood) Clifford. He comes of English ances-
try, and his forefathers were among the early set-
tlers of the New England States. His paternal
grandparents, John and Nancy (Ray) Clifford,
were born in New Hampshire. They afterward
settled at Collins, Erie County, N. Y. They were
the parents of eleven children. Emery, the sev-
enth of these, was born at Collins, Erie County,
N. Y., October 21, 1832. In the year 1846 his
parents removed from New York and settled near

Salem, Kenosha County, Wis. His maternal
grandparents, John Sherman and Jane (Orvis)
Osgood, were natives of Brookline, Windham
Count}', Vt. They were the parents of five chil-
dren. Mary Jane, the eldest, was born at Brook-
line, Windham County, Vt., November 30, 1838.
In the fall of 1851 they removed from Vermont,
settling on a farm near Salem, Kenosha County,
Wis.

Emery Clifford and Mary Jane Osgood were
married at Salem, Kenosha County, Wis., on
February 8, 1856. They settled on a farm near
Salem, Wis., where their four children were born.

274

J. O. CLIFFORD.

Emery Clifford enlisted in the First Wisconsin
Heavy Artillery, Company L, and was stationed
at Arlington Heights, near Washington, D. C.,
guarding the United States capital until the close
of the civil war, after which he returned and was
engaged in agricultural pursuits until the autumn
of 1874, when he sold his farm and removed to
Delmar, Clinton County, Iowa, where he still re-
sides. Of his four children, James O. is the eld-
est. Jennie O. resides with her parents. Lurie
E. died unmarried in 1882; and Gay Emery, the
youngest, is married and resides at Arthur, Ida
County, Iowa, where he is the manager of a lum-
ber-yard.

The subject of this sketch entered the public
(country) schools at the age of eight years. From
the age of eleven he was employed in assisting his
father with the farm work during the summer, and
attending school in the winter, until the summer
of 1873, at which time he left home, going to
Delmar, Clinton County, Iowa, where he entered
the railway service as a messenger boy and ap-
prentice under his uncle by marriage, William E.
Roberts, who was agent for the Chicago & North-
western Railway Company at that station. Here,
during the following year until October, he learned
telegraphy and the duties of a station agent
generally, and has since been in the employ of
the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company
consecutively, as follows: October, 1874, to Au
gust, 1880, at various stations on the Iowa Divis-
ion as telegraph operator and agent. In August,
1880, while he was stationed at Montour, Iowa,
he was appointed to the position of Traveling
Auditor. In this capacity he traveled over the
entire Northwestern System. On November 7,
1887, he was appointed Freight Auditor of the
Chicago & Northwestern Railway ; Fremont, Elk-
horn & Missouri Valley, and Sioux & Pacific
Railroads, with office at Chicago, which position
he holds at the present time. His long continu-
ance in this position, where a thorough knowl-
edge of the intricacies of railway accounting, sys-
tematic supervision, and accuracy in every detail,
are essential, attests his executive ability and
faithfulness. His management in business affairs
is characterized by a progressive spirit, seeking

improved methods and higher efficiency in mat-
ters pertaining to his chosen profession. In har-
mony with this idea he has been a member of the
Association of American Railway Accounting Of-
ficers since its organization, having always taken
an active and influential part in its deliberations,
and having been honored by his fellow-members
with the office of Vice-President of the Associa-
tion.

On November 7, 1883, Mr. Clifford married
Miss May Elizabeth Dannatt, who was born at
Low Moor, Iowa, June 25, 1859, and who is a
daughter of Benjamin and Jane (Cortis) Dannatt,
natives of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, England,
respectively. In 1851 her grandfather, Samuel
Dannatt, came from England and purchased five
thousand acres of land in Clinton County, Iowa,
giving to the location the name of his old home in
England, and to his residence the name of Kill-
inghome Hall, after his English estate. They
resided at Clinton, Iowa, until October, 1885, at
which time they removed to Wheaton, 111., where
they now occupy a pleasant home on Main Street,
corner of Franklin. To them have been given
five children. Grace Edith was born at Clinton,
Iowa, February i, 1885. The other four were
born at Wheaton, DuPage County, 111. Lewis
Dannatt on April 17, 1886; Oliveon JuneS, 1887;
Marshall Emery on February 26, 1892; and Alice
on April 8, 1893. Mr. Clifford has served two
terms in the City Council of Wheaton as represen-
tative of the ward in which he lives, having de-
clined further honors in that direction.

Mr. Clifford possesses a fine physique, and has
the easy, cordial bearing which makes and retains
friendships. He is of a social disposition and is
prominently identified with numerous fraternal
orders, among which may be named the Masonic,
Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica and National Union. He attends the Epis-
copal Church, in which Mrs. Clifford is a com-
municant, and gives his political fealty to the
Republican party. Mrs. Clifford is a refined and
amiable lady, who presides over their pleasant
home with easy grace, and aids her husband in
making it a hospitable and attractive abode.

THEODORE HUBBARD.

275

DR. THEODORE HUBBARD.

0R. THEODORE HUBBARD, the first
Postmaster of Babcock's Grove, and a prom-
inent citizen of Cook County, was born
in Putney, Vt. , October 19, 1803, and died in
Chicago, February i, 1873. His parents were
Theodore and Dorothy (Wilson) Hubbard. The
family is descended from Edmund Hubbard, who
was born in Hingham, England, about 1570, and
crossed the Atlantic to Charlestown, Mass., in
1633. He died in Hingham, Mass., March 8,
1646. One of his sons, Rev. Peter Hubbard, a
dissenting clergyman, founded the oldest church
now in existence in the United States, located at
Hingham. He died there January 20, 1679, in
the seventy-fifth year of his age, and the fifty-
second year of his ministry. He was a graduate
of Magdalen College, of Cambridge, England.
Among Edmund Hubbard's descendants are num-
bered many eminent judges, ministers and educa-
tors, and the present Earl of Buckinghamshire,
England, is a descendant of the same family. The
Hobarts, or Huberts, of England came from Nor-
mandy during the reign of William the Conqueror.
The earliest known record of the family locates
them near Dieppe, Normandy, in 1198. They
were a baronial family in Norfolk, England, where
John Hobart resided in 1260. One of his de-
scendants, James Hobart, was made a Knight of
the Sword by Henry VII. in 1504. They were
created baronets in 1611. Our subject repre-
sented the eighth generation in America. The
names of his progenitors in direct line were Ed-
mund, Thomas, Caleb, Benjamin, Peter, Sr.,
Peter, Jr., and Theodore.

Peter Hubbard, Sr., died near Ft. William Hen-
ry during the French and Indian War, of wounds
received in that service. His son was an Ensign
in a New Hampshire company during the Revo-
lutionary War. The father of our subject was
born in Keene, N. H., October 25, 1774, and

died in Hartford, Vt., February 15, 1814. His
wife died at Babcock's Grove, July 16, 1840, at
the age of sixty-seven years.

Doctor Hubbard was the fourth in their family
of seven children. He was married November
25, 1828, to Anne Ward Ballou, who was born
December 29, 1809, in Deerfield, near Utica, N.
Y. , and was a daughter of Ebenezer and Marana
(Ward) Ballou. The Ward fataily has an ex-
tensive genealogical history, which can be traced
back to 1 1 30. The name is derived from ' 'Gar' '
or "Garde." Ralph de Gar, ordelaWarde, flour-
ished in Norfolk, England, at the time of Henry
II.

Returning to the personal history of Dr. Hub-
bard, we note that he settled in Chicago May 21,
1836, and about a year later went to DuPage
County, pre-empting a farm near the present vil-
lage of Glen Ellyn. A few years later he was
made the first Postmaster of Babcock's Grove,
keeping the office in his house and bringing the
mail from Bloomingdale on horseback. In 1851,
he returned to Chicago, where he engaged in the
practice of medicine until his death. He had pre-
viously studied for the ministry, but later entered
the medical profession, and as a physician se-
cured a liberal patronage. He also had an ex-
tensive knowledge of law, and was a man of more
than ordinary intellectual ability, although he
had little opportunity for education while a boy.
For several years he served as County Commis-
sioner of DuPage County.

Of the children of Doctor and Mrs. Hubbard,
Augustus, a civil engineer, died in Amboy,
111., in April, 1865. Carlos, manager of a wagon
factory, died in Chicago at the age of forty years.
Oscar died in Groesbeck, Tex., in April, 1877;
Adolphus, who was the founder of the Sons ol the
American Revolution in 1879, is now connected
with the California University of San Francisco,

2 7 6

NATHAN DYE.

and is a member of many historical societies. Ed-
ward Clarence, who '^as a prominent attorney of
Hartford, Ky., died in Chicago, June 27, 1887,
at the age of forty-four years. He was a mem-
ber of the Thirteenth Illinois Infantry during the
late war. Enlisting April 21, 1 86 1, he was dis-
charged June 1 8, ^864, after having participated
in the battles of Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post,
Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, siege of
Vicksburg, and other engagements. Ellen, who
died soon after aer graduation from the Chicago
High School, pnd Laura complete the family.

Mr. Hubbard was a life-long Democrat, but all
of his sons sup port the Republican party. In his re-
ligious views he was a Universalist. Of the first
Masonic lodge of Chicago he was a charter mem-
ber and was made an honorary member previous

to his death. Prominent in public and business af-
fairs, he was an honored and highly respected
citizen, who for many years was connected with
the leading interests of Chicago. His skill and
ability as a physician won him an enviable repu-
tation, and he was widely known as a man of ster-
ling worth. Mrs. Hubbard is an honorary mem-
ber of Chicago Chapter of the Daughters of the
American Revolution, and is honorary Vice- Pres-
ident of the Daughters of 1812. She is also a
member of the Historic Council, which was estab-
lished to keep alive the memories of the men who
gave liberty and fraternity to the western world.
She now resides in Glen Ellyn with her daughter
Laura, who is a lady of intelligence and refine-
ment, and a corresponding member of the Chi-
cago Historical Society.

PROF. NATHAN DYE.

. NATHAN DYE. No mention of the
LX musical fabric of Chicago and the West can
1$ be considered complete without a notice of
Professor Dye, who was endeared to many of the
early families of Chicago. A man who attained
the ripe old age of eighty-three years, he was
beloved by all with whom he came in contact.
He was a pioneer in his chosen profession, and
taught both vocal and instrumental music in
three generations of some families. One of the
secrets of his great success lay in his love of the
divine art, and his ability to so simplify his meth-
ods as to bring them within the grasp of almost
infantile minds.

Nathan Dye was born in the town of De Ruy-
ter, Madison County, New York, June 30, 1808,
and lived on the homestead farm until he was
sixteen years of age. The country schoolhouse
was a mile and a-half away, and the boy attend-
ed school half of each year from the age of seven
to ten years, helping on the farm during the in-
tervals, as was customary with lads of his time.

After this, he had but three months' schooling,
although always a student. When he was twelve
years of age, he met with an accident which
caused a lameness from which he never entirely
recovered. He was married, in 1833, to Miss
Lucy Maria Kinyon, of Milan, New York, and
four years later they removed to Kenosha, Wis-
consin, then called Pike Creek, and later South-
port.

A few years after coming West, Mr. Dye deter-
mined to devote his life wholly to music, which
had hitherto employed but a portion of his time
and energy. In 1844116 introduced his induct-
ive method of teaching in Milwaukee, Wiscon-
sin, by giving a series of concerts there with a
class of his Kenosha pupils. He continued to
teach in Milwaukee, with pronounced success, un-
til 1848, when he settled permanently in Chicago.
His phenomenal power of teaching children to
read music at sight attracted wide attention. For
years his classes, both adult and juvenile, were
a prominent feature of the musical world of Chi-

NATHAN DYE.

277

cago and adjacent cities. A part of his life work
which is full of beautiful memories was that con-
nected with those of his pupils whom he assisted
in the development of musical powers that must
have remained dormant but for this generous and
kindly teacher. How many were placed in con-
dition of self-support along the line indicated by
nature's gift, only their helper knew. Several
of Professor Dye's pupils made brilliant reputa-
tions on the lyric stage and in great oratorios.
He numbered in his early classes some of Chica-
go's most prominent citizens. The well-known
comic opera singer, Lillian Russell, first started
on her musical career under his tutelage. In the
spring of 1880 the Professor was tendered a tes-
timonial and complimentary benefit concert at
Central Music Hall, which his old friends and
pupils made a great success.

In November, 1843, ^ e was bereaved by the
death of his wife, which occurred in Kenosha,
and a year's illness followed this sad blow. The
loss was somewhat compensated by the survival
of his three children for many years thereafter.

His only son, Byron E. Dye, died at Paola,
Kansas in September, 1883, and his remains were
taken to Kansas City for burial. His daughters
are Harriet A. and Frances E., of Chicago, the
former being the wife of N. Buschwah, and the
latter the wife of Gen. C. T. Hotchkiss, who won
his title in the Civil War. This sketch is penned
in loving memory of Professor Dye by Mrs. Hotch-
kiss. In 1855 Professor Dye married Miss Cor-
delia A. Hamlin, daughter of the late Rev. E. H.
Hamlin, once pastor of the First Baptist Church
of Chicago. Twin sons were born of this union.

After thirty-five years of happy wedded life,
they were separated by death only two months,
her demise occurring first. He passed away July
30, 1891, at his home, 383 Park Avenue. He
had been an invalid about seventeen months,
though his final illness was a severe attack of
pneumonia, which his great age made resistless.
His funeral took place Sunday, August 2, at Cen-
tral Music Hall, and his remains were interred
in the family lot at Kenosha, beside those of his
first wife. The funeral services were conducted
by Rev. Thomas G. Milsted, of the First Unita-

rian Church of Chicago, assisted by Mrs. Emma
J. Bullene, a trance speaker and an old pupil of
Professor Dye.

Professor Dye was an advanced thinker in the
line of religious conviction, investigating fear-
lessly and impartially new theories, and listening
gladly to the presentation of truth, as seen by
Christian or unbeliever. He accepted the tenets
of spiritualism, after the most careful and can-
did research, finding satisfaction in its teachings
as given by the scientific writers in that line of
thought. He was a great admirer of Rev. Dr.
Thomas, in whose discourses he found much food
for reflection.

Professor Dye was a descendant of old Revolu-
tionary stock, and imbibed the love of liberty
with his earliest breath. It is not strange, there-
fore, that he was identified with the earliest Aboli-
tion movement, and labored unflinchingly for the
emancipation of the colored man. Fifteen mem-
bers of the Dye family served in the Continental
army, several of them being officers. Among
the number was Gen. Thomas Dye, a personal
friend of Washington and La Fayette, who were
often entertained at his house in Bergen, New
Jersey, during the memorable winter of 1777-78.
Daniel Dye, grandfather of the subject of this
biography, endured the horrors of that winter at
the Valley Forge encampment, his feet being
swathed in rags for protection. He often related
reminiscences of the privations endured by him-
self and comrades at that time. At one time a
number of British officers visited General Wash-
ington under a flag of truce, and such was the
destitution prevailing in the camp that the only
refreshment he was able to offer them consisted
of baked potatoes and salt, which were served on
pieces of bark, in lieu of plates. Daniel Dye
was born in Kent County, Connecticut, February
10, 1744. He enlisted in Captain Beardsley's
company, Seventh Regiment of the Connecticut
Line, May 28, 1777, and was under command of
Col. Heman Sift. He was discharged from that
company February 17, 1778. Prior to entering
the regular service, he was a member of Captain
Fuller's company of militia, and did duty in the
New York campaign of 1776. He was the father

2 7 8

THOMAS TAGNEY.

of eight children, the eldest of whom was John
P. Dye, born May 9, 1768. About 1791 he
moved from Connecticut to western New York.
His wife's name was Sally Rhodes, and Nathan
was the tenth of their eleven children.

Professor Dye was a member of the old Tippe-
canoe Club, and ever maintained the principles

upon which that organization was founded. He
was always thoroughly posted on current political
events and matters of historical interest. Every
movement looking toward the moral and physical
uplifting of humanity in general received his
cordial support and commendation.

THOMAS TAGNEY.

"HOMAS TAGNEY, whose death occurred
on the seventh day of September, 1894, a *
897 Seminary Avenue, was one of the early
settlers of Chicago, having first .visited this city
in 1836, nearly sixty years ago. He was a native
of Sheffield, England, born May 15, 1818. His
father, Thomas Tagney, was a musician in the
British army, as was also one of his brothers. In
1833 the elder Tagney migrated with his family
to Canada, where he taught music, in which he
was very proficient, for several years. The family
afterward returned to England, but the subject of
this sketch preferred to remain in this country,
and continued for a short time with his uncle in
Canada. Young Tagney was of a restless and
roaming disposition, and desired to see other parts
of the world. He accordingly went into the
Southern States, and was engaged on different
plantations in Alabama and Louisiana, in the vi-
cinity of New Orleans, for several years. Al-
though only a boy in his teens at the time he
went there, he rapidly acquired knowledge that
enabled him to direct plantation work, and he be-
came an overseer. In this employment he earned
good wages, a large portion of which he managed
to save.

Abandoning that life in 1836, he came direct to
Chicago, with a small fortune, which he invested
in North Side property. Two lots, 143 and 145
Illinois Street, for which he paid $600, he still

had in his possession at the time of his death,
and their value had increased to twenty-five thou-
sand. For several years Mr. Tagney was a steam-
boat engineer, and sailed all over the Lakes, from
Buffalo to Duluth On retiring from the lake
service he settled at Muskegon, Michigan, where
he resided 'five years, and was engaged as engi-
neer in the sawmill there. Returning again to
Chicago, he engaged as mechanical engineer in
the employ of the Fulton & St. Paul Grain Ele-
vators. He superintended the construction of the
former (first known as Munn & Gill's Elevator),
both in its original construction and when rebuilt
in 1873. He was continuously in the employ of
this elevator company f