Biographies of Cook County Residents
presented by Illinois Genealogy Trails
(View the Biography Index to see a
list of available names)
Biographies of Cook County Residents
presented by Illinois Genealogy Trails
(View the Biography Index to see a
list of available names)
ROBERT M. SWEITZER.
In the public life of Chicago during the present century no one man has been more consistently and steadily honored
in a way to reflect his undeniable personal popularity and his strength with the Democratic masses of the city
and county than Robert M. Sweitzer. Many figures have come and gone in the public affairs of the county, but in
one office, that of county clerk, there has been no change for almost a quarter of a century, though in the meantime
the center of gravity in national and local politics has shifted time and again. Robert M. Sweitzer is a native
son of Chicago, and was born in that city May 10, 1868, son of Martin J. and Sarah (Lamping) Sweitzer. He was educated
in public schools and St. Patrick's Commercial Academy, and subsequently received the honorary Master of Arts degree
from the Christian Brothers College of St. Louis. Mr. Sweitzer began his career in 1884, as a clerk with W. F.
Mc Laughlin & Company. He was a salesman with James H. Walker Company from 1885 to 1893, and with the John
V. Farwell Company from 1893 to 1910. Mr. Sweitzer was first elected to the office of county clerk of Cook County
in 1910, and in 1930 was reelected for his sixth consecutive term. As county clerk he is also ex-officio county
comptroller and court clerk. The only times Mr. Sweitzer has ever been beaten in a political race were the two
occasions when he ran for mayor, the first time in 1915 and then in 1919. His record in elections and in public
service justify the general opinion that he is the most resourceful leader of the Democratic party in Northern
Illinois. Mr. Sweitzer has devoted himself to the ad ministration of his office, but is a popular member of a number
of organizations, including the Chicago Athletic Club, Illinois Athletic Club, Iroquois Club, Butterfield Country
Club, Olympia Fields Country Club, Chicago Riding Club, Chicago Yacht Club and the Chicago Schwaben Verein. He
is a director of the Illinois Commercial Men's Association and of the Illinois Traveling Men's Health Association.
He is an Elk and Knight of Columbus, and on May 29, 1924, Pope Pius conferred upon him the decoration of Knight
of St. Gregory the Great. Mr. Sweitzer married, August 3, 1904, Miss Alice Jane Kevil, of Chicago. They have three
children, Robert M., Jr., Alice and Margaret. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F.
Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
ABRAM DALE GASH
has had a career of unusual distinction in several different fields, the law, Masonry, literature and public affairs.
For over thirty years he has been one of the very able and successful members of the Chicago bar. In public affairs
his outstanding service was as the first incumbent of the office of president of the Illinois State High way Commission,
and he deserves a great deal of credit for his work in organizing and laying the foundation for Illinois' modern
high way system. Mr. Gash is a native Missourian. He was born near Macon in Macon County, February 11, 1861, son
of William Thomas and Maria (Dale) Gash. He is of old American and Revolutionary ancestory on both sides. His great-great-grandfather,
Thomas Gash, was a Virginian who in early life went across the mountains to Kentucky and became a planter and slave
owner in Mercer County of that state. His will bequeathing quite an extensive estate was probated in Mercer County
in 1812. Mr. Gash's grandfather, Samuel Gash, left Kentucky and went to Howard County in Central Missouri in 1831.
He was a pioneer there. Abram Dale Gash has in his possession two patents to Government land in that county made
out to his grandfather and signed by President Andrew Jackson. In the maternal line Mr. Gash is a descendant of
Captain Dale, who served with John Paul Jones in the war for independence.
Mr. Gash grew up in Macon County, Missouri, received his early education there and quite early became interested
in politics and for four years was deputy circuit clerk. He utilized the opportunities of that office to take up
the study of law. Mr. Gash in 1890 went to Utah and had many interesting experiences in that state. He was admitted
to the bar of Utah 1891, and practiced law at Provo, was elected and served as prosecuting attorney of Utah County,
serving two terms of two years each, four years; and also served on the staff of the governor of the state. Leaving
Utah, he came to Chicago in 1898, and has gained a very high standing as a lawyer of that city. For twenty-seven
years Mr. Gash had his offices in the old Oxford Building, at the corner of LaSalle and Randolph streets, a site
now occupied by the Metropolitan Building.
In the agenda of improvements which he proposed to work out during his administration as governor, Edward F. Dunne
emphasized a program for good roads building, and in enlisting the most capable man to head the newly created Illinois
State Highway Commission he selected the Chicago attorney, Abram Dale Gash, who served throughout the four years
of Governor Dunne's administration and continued as a holdover for six months in the same position under Governor
Lowden. In that way Mr. Gash earned a noteworthy distinction as a pioneer in the good roads movement in Illinois.
During that time plans were made and a program of education carried on which may be regarded as the foundation
of the highway system by which Illinois now has a hard surfaced mileage equalled by few states in the Union.
Mr. Gash throughout his life has acknowledged a deep call from literature, which has proved an interesting diversion
from his professional work. He has written both poetry and prose, and his volume of poems published in 1923, under
the title The Triumph and Other Poems, entitles him to an important rank among Illinois poets. Mr. Gash has many
Masonic connections in Chicago and while living in Utah he was master of Story Lodge No. 4, A. F. and A. M., at
Provo, and had the distinction of being elected grand master of the Grand Lodge of Masons of that state. His first
wife was Nannie Rutherford, who was the mother of his oldest son, Lowell Edwin Gash. In 1905 he married Maude Blomquist.
Their children are William A., Abram Dale, Jr., and Rose Marie. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation"
by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
GEORGE M. PULLMAN.
At the time of his death, October 19, 1897, George M. Pullman was known in both hemispheres as the inventor of
the palace car, president of the Pullman Palace Car Company, and founder of the town of Pullman. Mr. Pullman was
born in the village of Brockton, Chautauqua County, New York, on the 3rd of March, 1831, son of James Lewis and
Emily (Minton) Pullman. George M. was a persistent, self-reliant boy, and at the age of fourteen left the home
schools to get into business, his inducements being forty dollars per year and a "chance to learn." After
spending a year as a clerk in the Brocton store, he joined his elder brother, R. H. Pullman, at Albion, New York,
learned the trade of cabinet making and became his brother's partner, and participated in a fair business until
his father's death, November 1, 1853. He returned to his home to be the mainstay of his widowed mother and the
four dependent members of the family, and there he took a contract for raising buildings and doing other work along
the line of the Erie Canal, which was then being enlarged by the State of New York. In 1859 he moved to Chicago
and, with a capital of $6,000, commenced his career as an engineer and contractor, and some of the largest buildings
of the Chicago of that day were raised through the energy and ingenuity of George M. Pullman, when a young man
of about thirty. Soon after locating in Chicago Mr. Pullman obtained permission from the Chicago & Alton Railroad
to experiment in one of its repair shops on two old cars, and see what could be done in the way of sleeping accommodations.
At a cost of $8,000 he succeeded in fitting the cars with such taste and ingenuity that they were attached to a
regular passenger train and made several trips. In the midst of these initial experiments he went to California,
where his ability as a mechanic and engineer assisted him to collect quite a capital with which to push his sleeping
car project. Returning to Chicago in the early '60s, Mr. Pullman confidently resumed his enterprise, and with the
aid of skillful assistants and at a cost of eighteen thousand dollars, produced a model car within about a year
from the commencement of his labors. It was beautifully frescoed, finely upholstered, richly carpeted, and the
woodwork showed that the builder had no superior in the country as a cabinet maker. It was an innovation to the
railroad world and rightly named the "Pioneer." At this stage of the enterprise Abraham Lincoln was assassinated,
and that his precious remains might be duly honored, they were placed in the magnificent "Pioneer," bridges
were raised along the line, platforms were adjusted, and the body of the beloved president was conveyed to its
last resting place, in Springfield. Not long afterward General Grant, then heralded as the foremost living American,
came to his old Galena home, and to bear the war hero thither the palace car was again called into requisition.
An other railroad therefore adjusted itself to its magnificence, and before the public were aware, it had been
transferred from the class of luxuries to that of necessities. The "Pioneer" was first placed on the
Chicago & Alton Road, and sleeping cars modeled upon it were successively introduced on the Michigan Central,
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the Great Western systems. The Union Pacific first received the benefit of
his dining cars. In 1887 he designed the vestibule car and placed the first vestibule trains on the Pennsylvania
Company's trunk lines. Mr. Pullman established his first car works at Atlanta, Georgia, in 1866, and in the following
year organized the Pullman Palace Car Company and founded the Chicago plant. In 1880 he commenced the erection
of his great works at the town of that name, which he also founded, upon a 8,000-acre site, twelve miles south
of Chicago on the line of the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1899 the name was changed from the Pullman Palace Car
Company to the Pullman Company. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume
IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
WILLIAM WELLINGTON HUGGETT. Among the men who have contributed toward the definite establishment of Chicago as a world port,
none has played a more important role than William W. Huggett, vice president and general manager of the National
Terminals Corporation, in active charge of the North Pier Terminal at Chicago and the extensive terminals at East
Chicago, Indiana, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Returning to Chicago in 1919, he has been untiring in the building
up of the Chicago organization and in placing it in a position of power and influence in Chicago's Commerce. Mr.
Huggett is a native Chicagoan and a son of William H. and Bessie (Bradt) Huggett, and both members of Illinois
pioneer families. His father was born at Chicago in 1857 of ancestors who came from Sussex, England, with Irish
ancestry intermingled. His mother was of the Shirley family on her mother's side, the Shirleys being from Colonial
American stock of Massachusetts, who were pioneer settlers on Cherry Valley, near Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois.
The boyhood and young manhood of William W. Huggett were passed in the Woodlawn and Hyde Park section on the South
Side of Chicago, where he attended the Walter Scott Grade School and Hyde Park High School. He embarked in the
railroad business in the offices of the traffic department of the Illinois Central Railroad, and, developing a
great liking for this line of work, was employed as traffic manager for a number of industries on the South Side.
When the United States entered the World war, in April, 1917, Mr. Huggett volunteered for service in the United
States Marines, and received his training at Paris Island, South Carolina. In the latter part of 1917 he went overseas
with the Sixth Regiment of Marines, attached to the Second Division, and served in France until after the close
of the war, having been in military service for twenty-six months. Mr. Huggett returned to Chicago in 1919 and
entered the employ of the National Terminals Corporation, the headquarters of which are at Indianapolis. He became
identified with the North Pier terminal, a subsidiary at Chicago, and assisted in the reorganization of that company,
since which time it has had a remarkable growth. He first became general manager and later was made vice president
and general manager, in charge of all operations of the North Pier Terminal, as well as the extensive terminals
at East Chicago, Indiana and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The warehouse of this company at Chicago, with its three-quarter-mile
span, is at the end of Illinois Street, abutting the Chicago River and terminating at its junction with Lake Michigan.
Daily at the North Pier there can be seen craft from England, Norway, Sweden, the Latin countries, Newfoundland
and South America. Supplies of every sort are unloaded for distribution to the local transportation lines, all
of which are represented in the port layout, the railroads through spurs, electric tunnels and boats for service.
When the deep waterway is completed, boats plying on the Mississippi will unload at North Pier Terminal or at East
Chicago, where British boats now unload iron ores for the steel mills, international oil refineries their petroleum
products, and similar cargoes. The new outer drive under way by the South Park and Lincoln Park boards cuts through
the heart of the North Pier Terminal, and when it is completed the public will have the opportunity of seeing this
at present hidden port of world commerce. Mr. Huggett is still a young man, but has accomplished much in his chosen
field of endeavor, in which he is already accounted as an acknowledged leader. He is a member of the American Legion
and the Lake Shore Athletic Club and takes a commendable interest in civic affairs, but has found little time to
give to matters outside of his business. Mr. Huggett married Miss Agnes Lees and they are the parents of three
children: William Stanley, Dorothy Agnes and Ralph Merle. The beautiful family residence is at Hazel Crest, Illinois.
("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
FRANCES E. WILLARD
was born at Churchville, New York, September 28, 1839, but the following year her parents moved to Oberlin, Ohio,
and in 1846 came around Lake Michigan through Chicago to a new home in Wisconsin. She attended the Milwaukee Female
College in 1857, and in 1859 graduated from the Northwestern Female College of Evans--ton, Illinois, and taught
natural science in that school from 1862 to 1866. From 1871 to 1874 she was president of the Woman's College of
Northwestern University and in that capacity introduced the system of self government which was adopted by various
other colleges. She was professor of aesthetics in the Northwestern University in 1873-74. She resigned her work
as an educator to identify herself with the cause of temperance, serving as corresponding secretary of the National
Women's Christian Temperance Union. She presented, under the auspices of the National Women's Christian Temperance
Union, memorials to each of the four political conventions for the nomination of President of the United States
in 1884. She was a founder of the Home Protection party in 1884, and a member of its executive committee, and accepted
the leadership of the White Cross movement in her own union in 1886, which remained her special department until
her death. She was president of the Woman's Council of the United States from its organization in 1887; a delegate
to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1887, and was elected to the Ecumenical Conference
in 1889, but was refused admittance. She was president of the American branch of the International Council of Women
of the World's Women's Christian Temperance Union in 1888; chairman of the World's Temperance Committee of the
Columbian Exposition in 1893, and was also head of the purity work of the World's and National Women's Christian
Temperance Unions. She lectured extensively in Europe and the United States, performed many editorial duties and
was author of: Nineteen Beautiful Years (1864); Hints and Helps (1875); Women and Temperance (1883) ; How to Win
(1884) ; Women in the Pulpit (1888); Glimpses of Fifty Years (1889); A Classic Town (1890); and the following leaflets:
"A White Life for Two," "The White Cross Manuel," and "The Coming Brotherhood." She
died in New York City, February 18, 1898. A white marble bust by Lorado Taft was placed to her memory in Northwestern
University in 1898. Her estate was bequeathed to the National Women's Christian Temperance Union. ("ILLINOIS,
The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
FREDERIC SIEDENBURG, S. J., prominent Catholic educator and sociologist, has since 1911 been an honored member of the
faculty of teaching and administration of Loyola University of Chicago. Father Siedenburg was born at Cincinnati,
Ohio, January 28, 1872, son of Frederic and Barbara (Kaelin) Siedenburg. He took his Bachelor of Arts degree at
Saint Xavier College in Cincinnati in 1893, and in that year joined the Society of Jesus, better known as Jesuits.
He continued his studies in St. Louis University at St. Louis, where he received the Master of Arts degree in 1899.
He was a member of the faculty of Saint Ignatius College at Chicago from 1900 to 1903, and then returned to St.
Louis University as one of its instructors. He devoted himself to his theological studies at St. Louis University
from 1904 to 1908, and following that went abroad and was a research student of sociology and economics in the
universities of Innsbruck and Vienna during 1909-11. He was ordained a priest of the Catholic Church in 1907. In
1911 Father Siedenburg joined the staff of Loyola University and in 1914 established the School of Sociology (now
known as the School of Social Work) which was the first school for the training of social workers under Catholic
auspices in the world. Father Siedenburg is still Dean of the School and also of the Downtown College of Liberal
Arts. Some idea of the scope of his interests and his activities can be had from a list of the organizations with
which he has been connected actively since coming to Chicago. He was vice president of the board of directors of
the Chicago Public Library and is a member of the board of public welfare commissioners in the Department of Public
Welfare of Illinois. In 1916 he was appointed by Governor Dunne a member of the Illinois Centennial Commission
and reappointed by Governor Lowden and he contributed to the great work of that body. He is a trustee of the Social
Workers Country Club, member of the Ohio Society of Chicago, the Medievalists, is a Republican. He was for eight
years a member of the executive committee of the National Conference of Social Work. He is Chairman of the Chicago
Chapter of the American Association of Social Workers; since 1904 has been a member of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, is a life member of the American Sociological Society, American Academy of Political
and Social Science and National Conference of Catholic Charities. At the 1931 Illinois Conference of Social Welfare,
Father Siedenburg was elected President of the 1932 Conference held at the State University in October, 1932. He
is vice-chairman of the Committee of Cultural Relations with Latin America. He was the founder and for fourteen
years has been president of the Illinois Catholic Historical Society, is a director of the Illinois State Historical
Society, member of the Chicago Historical Society. He is vice president of the Madonna Center, member of the Social
Service Club and the Alpha Kappa Delta Sociological Society. Dean Siedenburg is also a frequent contributor to
Sociological and Church journals in Europe as well as in America. He has also lectured on social and educational
themes in all parts of the United States. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne,
Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
LYMAN TRUMBULL
was born in Colchester, Connecticut, October 12, 1813, was educated there, at the age of twenty went to Georgia
and taught school, studied law at the same time and was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1837. In the same year he
came to Illinois, locating at Belleville, St. Clair County. His public career upon which his reputation largely
rests commenced in 1840 by his election to the State Legislature. Before the expiration of his term, he was appointed
in 1841 secretary of the state of Illinois, and after two years of service in that office resumed the practice
of law, in which he soon ranked among the leaders of the bar in the state. He was tendered the position of secretary
of state by Governor Carlin, but before his acceptance the tender was withdrawn by Governor Ford. His next political
ventures consisted of two unsuccessful attempts to secure the nomination for Congress. He was shortly thereafter
a candidate for United States senator and for the nomination for governor, in both of which ventures he was likewise
unsuccessful. In 1846 he secured the nomination for Congress, but was defeated; in 1848 he was nominated and elected
one of the justices of the State Supreme Court under the new constitution and was reelected in 1852, but resigned
in 1853.
During the comparatively short period of his occupancy of a seat on the bench he distinguished himself by the accuracy
of judgment he displayed, acute discrimination and familiarity with organic and statute laws. In 1854 he was elected
a member of the Thirty-fourth Congress and before taking his seat the Legislature elected him to the United States
Senate for the term beginning March 4, 1855, and ending in 1861. During this period he served as chairman of the
Committee on the Judiciary, one of the most important senate committees during this period of great agitation.
As senator he was outspoken against the policy and doctrines of the old Democratic party with which for years he
had been prominently identified and became active in promoting the policies advocated by the new Republican party.
In all questions relating to slavery he acted in direct opposition to his colleague, Stephen A. Douglas, and fought
bitterly the popular sovereignty plan of settling the slavery question in territories and future states. His advocacy
of the policies of the new party and his able opposition to his able colleague, Douglas, soon gained for him a
national reputation as statesman of extraordinary ability. In 1860 he advocated the election of Lincoln, and subsequent
to the election, but before the inauguration, he was one of the few men in the Senate who was outspoken in favor
of the adoption of prompt and vigorous methods for the maintenance of the Union. In 1861 he was elected for a second
term and reelected for a short term in 1867. During the period from 1861 to the end of his term as senator, and
as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he framed and advocated many of the most important acts passed by Congress
during the period immediately subsequent to the war, among which was the amendment to the Constitution abolishing
slavery.
In the impeachment trial of President Johnson he voted for acquittal on the articles of impeachment. He resided
in Belleville until 1849, when he removed to Alton and in 1863 to Chicago, where he became a leader of the bar
in that city. He did not reenter public life after the expiration of his third term in the United States Senate
until 1880, when he was a candidate for governor against Shelby M. Cullom, in which campaign he was defeated. He
died in Chicago July 10, 1896. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV,
1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
LEONARD SWETT
was born near Turner, Maine, August 11, 1825; was educated in Waterville (now Colby) College and studied law in
Portland, Maine, for two years. He was on his way south with the intention of locating there as a lawyer at the
time of the Mexican war and entered the service as a private soldier in the Fifth Regiment of Indiana Volunteers.
He was invalided out in July, 1848, and went to Bloomington, where the next year he entered upon the practice of
law. Associated with him in practice on the same circuit were John T. Stuart, Edward D. Baker, Abraham Lincoln
and Stephen T. Logan, and among this group he was recognized as a leader. Like all lawyers of his day, he became
interested actively in politics soon after his admission to practice and in 1852 he canvassed the three congressional
districts as Whig elector, and a few years later, upon the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, he united with other
Whigs in the formation of the Republican party. He was a pronounced anti-slavery advocate, and spoke throughout
the state on this subject. During the campaigns of 1854-56-58-60 his interest in this question and his association
with Lincoln led him to advocate the latter's nomination for the presidency by the new party, and his influence
with a small group of able lawyers in the circuit did much to secure Lincoln's nomination and later his election.
Lincoln relied upon the friendship and advice of a few men who were not members of his cabinet, and while Swett
held no official position with the government throughout Lincoln's administration, it is said that he spent most
of his time in Washington during that period as the advisor of the President, often being intrusted by him with
confidential missions of the utmost importance. In 1865 Swett removed to Chicago and formed a partnership for the
practice of law with Judge V. H. Higgins and Col. D. Quigg. The prominent and unselfish position he had occupied
as Lincoln's friend and adviser and his activities in the events leading up to the war, together with his known
ability as a lawyer, soon brought him a large practice, and he became in a short time one of the leading members
of the bar. While possesed of a keen, logical mind and rare mental attainments, he was a man of broad sympathies.
His reputation rests not so much upon his association with Abraham Lincoln and participation in events of national
importance as upon his genial and affable disposition and his achievements as a practicing lawyer. He died in Chicago
June 8, 1889. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed
by Kim Torp)
THOMAS HOYNE,
pioneer Chicago lawyer, was born in New York City February 11, 1817. His ambition and remarkable intellectual talents
enabled him to triumph over an early life of poverty and adversity, and while earning his living in New York he
laid the foundation of that broad knowledge and culture which later distinguished him. Largely due to the influence
of George Manierre, whom he met in a debating club in New York, he came to Chicago at the close of 1837 and became
an assistant to Mr. Manierre, then clerk of the Circuit Court. He continued his studies under J. Young Scammon,
was admitted to the bar in 1839 and in a few years had made a reputation not only as a well-read lawyer, but a
brilliant and resourceful advocate and orator. He was a partner of Benjamin F. Ayer, and after 1864 had as one
of his partners Oliver H. Horton. He remained head of the firm of Hoyne, Horton & Hoyne until his death. He
was a Democrat and Free Soiler, and in 1853 President Pierce appointed him United States district attorney of Illinois,
and in April, 1859, he became United States marshal and supervisor of the census in the northern district of Illinois
in 1850. He was one of the very active members of the Union Defense Committee during the Civil war. In 1876 he
was candidate for mayor on the Reform ticket, and though the balloting gave him a majority of 33,000, the office
was given to the regular democratic candidate by order of a circuit judge, and Mr. Hoyne refused to carry the contest
further. He helped found a chair of international and constitutional law in old Chicago University in 1859, was
the first secretary of the Chicago Astronomical Society, a member of the Academy of Sciences and Chicago Historical
Society, and from 1877 until his death was president of the board of trustees of the Union College of Law. Among
his writings his "The Lawyer as a Pioneer" is one of the valuable sources of information regarding the
history of the early Chicago bar. Thomas Hoyne was killed in a railroad accident July 27, 1883, at the age of sixty-six.
He married a daughter of Dr. John T. Temple of Chicago, and their son, Thomas M. Hoyne, carried on the general
work of his father and added much to the prestige of the name Hoyne in Chicago. A third generation is represented
by Maclay Hoyne, a grandson of Thomas Hoyne the elder. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward
F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
MARK SKINNER,
born at Manchester, Vermont, September 13, 1813, was connected on the maternal side with the Pierpont family, and
his father, Richard Skinner, was eminent as a Vermont lawyer, and served as governor, member of Congress and chief
justice of that state.
Mark Skinner graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1833, later spent a year in the New Haven Law School
of Yale, and had as private instructors, Judge Ezek Cowen, the noted author of Cowen's "Treatise," and
also Nicholas Hill at Albany, who was a master of the profession. Arriving at Chicago in July, 1836, Skinner was
shortly thereafter admitted to the bar; practiced for a time with George A. 0. Beaumont; and in 1847 became a partner
of Thomas Hoyne. He was city attorney in 1840, school inspector in 1842, United States district attorney in 1844,
a member of the Legislature in 1846, and was chairman of the meeting in 1846 which made the arrangements for the
great harbor and river convention in 1847.
In 1852 he succeeded Giles Spring as judge of the Cook County Court of Common Pleas. On account of ill health he
declined a renomination to the bench in June, 1853. At his entrance on the duties of judge, finding the calendar
overladen, he sat continuously for seven months, cleared it up and kept ahead. Toward the close of his term there
was argued before his court the prayer of James H. Collins for an injunction against the Illinois Central Railroad
for appropriating land at rear of Mr. Collins' residence. This brought into Illinois courts for the first time
the dispute over riparian rights on the lake shore which subject continued to provide a theme for litigation until
very recently. As a lawyer it is said that no one of his contemporaries so extensively represented non resident
capitalists or handled larger amounts of the borrowed money so extensively used in building up the City of Chicago.
Among the interests with which he especially identified himself was the Reform School, of which he was one of the
founders and president of the first board of directors. He helped organize the Young Men's Association and the
Chicago Lyceum, was the first president of the Chicago Sanitary Commission and during the war was a member of the
United States Sanitary Commission; was long connected with the Chicago Relief and Aid Society; and was identified
with almost every public enterprise and improvement projected during his active citizenship in Chicago. ("ILLINOIS,
The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
J. SOULE WARTERFIELD
is a native of Western Tennessee, but has lived in Chicago since boyhood and for many years has been a prominent
figure in real estate circles, especially in the constructive side of that business. Mr. Warterfield is now vice
president of Starrett Brothers, Incorporated, one of the largest building construction firms in the United States.
The headquarters of the company are in New York. However, the business originated in Chicago, during the '90s,
at the time of the World's Fair. Starrett Brothers were pioneers in the construction of the modern skyscraper type
of building. Many of the loftiest buildings in Chicago, New York and other large cities of the United States have
been erected by this firm as owners and con tractors. The head of the organization, Col. William Starrett, is well
known in the building industry as author of The Skyscraper, a very interesting and popular account of the technical
side of modern building construction. The books originally ran as a series of articles in The Saturday Evening
Post in 1929. J. Soule Warterfield was born at Union City, Tennessee, June 24, 1888, son of J. Soule and Lila (Stanbrough)
Warterfield.. His first American ancestor, Phillip Warterfield, settled in Virginia, in 1715.. Mr. Warterfield
is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was educated in the South Division High School of Chicago
and at the age of nineteen became identified with construction work as construction manager for the Chicago firm
of engineers W. S. Shields & Company. From 1910 to 1917 Mr. Warterfield was manager of the industrial department
of the noted real estate organization of Whiteside & Went worth. Later he became a partner in the firm of Warterfield
& Cousin, who managed some well known properties in the central district, including the Hartford Building and
Morrison Hotel. He left that organization to join Starrett Brothers, Incorporated. Mr. Warterfield has had a prominent
part in real estate organizations in Chicago. For two years he was manager of the Chicago Real Estate Board, was
a director of the Chicago Board and the State Association of Real Estate Boards, was secretary and treasurer of
the State Association and was chair man of the property management division of the National Association of Real
Estate Boards. He was also active in the Building Managers Association, the Maywood Real Estate Board, Chicago
Board of Underwriters, is a member of the Chicago Association of Commerce, the Lake Shore Athletic Club, Hamilton
Club, Chicago Rod and Gun Club, West-ward Ho Golf Club and the Columbia Yacht Club.
Mr. Warterfield during the World war volunteered in the regular army and went with the Twenty-third Engineers to
France, being overseas nearly two years. He was with the Army of Occupation in Germany. He has been active in American
Legion circles. Mr. Warterfield was for four years editor of the Chicago Realtor.
He married in 1919 Miss Flora Oswald, of Chicago. His business address is with the Starrett Brothers' office at
8 South Dearborn Street and his home is at 1405 South Eighth Avenue. Maywood. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the
Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
BRYAN LATHROP,
who died May 13, 1916, was a wealthy, generous and public spirited citizen to whom the people of the city were
indebted during his lifetime and since for his constructive work in behalf of several of Chicago's cultural and
philanthropic institutions. He was born at Alexandria, Virginia, August 6, 1844, and came to Chicago in 1865. During
his early career he was identified with the real estate business, and later as a manager and trustee of estates
and as an investment banker. Mr. Lathrop had a prominent part in the movement to place the Theodore Thomas Orchestra
on a permanent basis, and for a number of years was president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestral Association. He
was also president of the Chicago Relief and Aid Society, was a trustee of the Chicago Art Institute and the Newberry
Library. He married a daughter of Judge Asa 0. Aldis. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward
F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
MATTHEW LAFLIN,
who was born in Massachusetts December 16, 1803, and died May 21, 1897, was the last survivor of the Chicago pioneers
whose lives were linked with Fort Dearborn. His life record was a story of New England thrift and business sagacity
rafted on western energy, enterprise and adventure. His father was a gun powder manufacturer, and Matthew Laflin's
first business was driving a wagon over New England selling the product of his father's mill. Later he and his
brother, Luther Laflin, acquired a powder factory in New York State. It was in search of sales for the output of
this factory that Matthew Laflin came to Chicago in 1837 to negotiate a sale of powder to the builders of the Illinois
and Michigan Canal. He decided to establish Chicago as the western head quarters of the business. During the winter
of 1838-39, Mr. Laflin and his family lived in old Fort Dearborn. In order the better to handle the business of
his growing western agencies, Mr. Laflin in 1840 formed a partnership with Solomon A. Smith, under the name of
Laflin & Smith. While a member of this firm Mr. Laflin became interested in the possibilities of Chicago real
estate, and after 1849 concentrated his attention upon real estate. At one time he owned 140 acres of land within
the Chicago city limits. He was one of the largest land holders on the West Side in the vicinity of Ogden Avenue
and what is now Lafiin Street. In that then out lying locality he established Chicago's first stockyards. He built
and owned a famous tavern there, known as the Bull's Head Hotel. He was one of the principal promoters and largest
owners of Chicago's first water works which drew its supply from the lake instead of wells. Matthew Laflin was
one of the sturdy and courageous citizens who sustained the community in the depression that followed the financial
panic of 1857. He refinanced the Elgin Watch Company when it was on the verge of failure, and became one of the
largest stockholders in the company. It was his capital and enterprise that laid the foundation of Waukesha as
a famous Wisconsin watering resort. During the war he was a Union Democrat. One of the chief monuments to Matthew
Laflin in later years is the Chicago Academy of Sciences in Lincoln Park. He provided the home of that institution,
formerly known as the Matthew Laflin Memorial. His sons, George H. and Lycurgis, were also prominent Chicago business
men. George H. Laflin was identified with the old Chicago Hydraulic Company, which established the first water
works. The brothers opened the first house for the sale of fine paper in Chicago, a business in which they continued
until the fire of 1871. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933,
Transcribed by Kim Torp)
LEVI Z. LEITER
not only accumulated a great fortune as a Chicago merchant, but gave to that city the inspiration of his generous
and public spirited leadership in times of adversity and prosperity. His is a name honored in Chicago traditions
along with those of Marshall Field, Potter Palmer, John V. Farwell and others with whom he was contemporary and
associated. Of Calvinistic Dutch stock, he was born at, Leitersburg, Maryland, in 1834, and died June 9, 1904.
His business apprenticeship was served in his home state and at Springfield, Ohio, and in the summer of 1854 he
arrived in Chicago. For nine years he was associated with the firm of Cooley, Wadsworth & Company, which was
the predecessor of John V. Farwell & Company. Both he and his fellow employee, Marshall Field, acquired an
interest in the firm, and in 1865 they sold out to John V. Farwell and bought from Potter Palmer a controlling
interest in the business that pioneer merchant had built up. For a year the business was continued under the firm
name of Field, Palmer and Leiter. On January 1, 1867, Mr. Palmer sold out all of his interest to the two younger
men, and from that time until 1881 the house was Field, Leiter & Company. It was one of the firms that suffered
complete loss of building and stock in the great fire, but immediately rebuilt and continued in business on a larger
scale than ever.
After retiring from the mercantile business in 1881, Mr. Leiter concentrated his attention upon his real estate
interests. He was one of the original directors and a large stock holder in the Illinois Trust & Savings Bank.
As a man of wealth, Levi Z. Leiter indulged his individual taste and intellectual curiosity in the collection of
books and art works and bestowed his wealth generously and wisely in support of institutions that have been land
marks in Chicago's cultural progress. For many years he was a director of the Chicago Relief and Aid Society, which
rendered inestimable service in behalf of the thousands of homeless people after the fire. He was the second president
of the Chicago Art Institute, was the first president of the old Commercial Club, was a liberal supporter of the
Chicago Historical Society and of the American Sabbath School Union. He married in 1866 Mary Theresa Carver. His
son Joseph Leiter, a native of Chicago, who was president of the Veigler Coal Company of Illinois, and one of the
executors of the Leiter estate, will be long remembered for his spectacular operations in the wheat market in 1897-98.
Mary, one of the daughters of Levi Z. Leiter, became the wife of Lord Curzon, viceroy of India. ("ILLINOIS,
The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
HARLOW N. HIGINBOTHAM.
The greatest community and collective enterprise Chicago carried out in the nineteenth century was the World's
Columbian Exposition of 1893. It marked, as one discerning artistic critic said, "the real beginning and the
inspiration for a new era of art and architecture in this country." Moreover, while the "white city"
as a material entity disappeared quickly, it was "a dream city that will never die." It is generally
acknowledged that the chief figure among the many men and women who brought the great exposition through its difficulties
to its glorious accomplishment was Harlow N. Higinbotham, who served as president of the exposition from 1892 until
its close. His devotion to this great cause involved a tremendous personal sacrifice, both to his business affairs
and his own comfort, but in that respect h exemplified a type of citizenship that has been one of Chicago's greatest
assets. Mr. Higinbotham was one of Chicago's great merchants, and for many years a close associate and partner
of Marshall Field. He was a native of Illinois, born at Joliet October 10, 1838, and died April 18, 1919. He was
educated in Lombard University at Galesburg, attended a commercial college in Chicago, and enlisted in the famous
Mercantile Battery of Chicago at the beginning of the Civil war. At the close of the war in 1865 he became an employee
of Field, Palmer & Leiter, and in 1868 attained a partnership in the firm of Field, Leiter & Company. From
1881 to 1901 he was a partner in the firm of Marshall Field & Company.
After the Fair, Marshall Field spent a million dollars in buying up many of the treasures of art, science and industry
that had been exhibited at the exposition, and he and Mr. Higinbotham and other public-spirited citizens raised
the funds for the organization of the Field Columbian Museum, which was housed in the Fine Arts Building in Jackson
Park until the more permanent structure for the museum was erected on the Lake Front. Mr. Higinbotham served as
president of the Field Museum from 1897 to 1909. His generous interests went out to many other causes: He was president
of the Newsboys' and Boot b'acks' Association, of the Chicago Free Kindergarten Association, the Chicago Home for
Incurables, and the Municipal Sanitarium for Tuberculosis. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon.
Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
HON. EDWARD J. BRUNDAGE,
who began the practice of law in Chicago in 1893, has figured almost constantly before the people of his home city
or state in some public office, from member of the Legislature to president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners,
judge of the Court of Claims and attorney general of Illinois.
He was born at Campbell, New York, May 13, 1869, and when he was eleven years of age his parents moved to Detroit.
At the age of fourteen he left school and began winning his own way. His first employment was in a railroad office,
and when the headquarters of his chief were transferred to Chicago, he went along. While thus employed he studied
law, and in 1893 was graduated from the Chicago College of Law. He was elected to the Illinois General Assembly
in 1898, again in 1902. In 1901 he was a member of the board of commissioners as vice president from Illinois to
the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo. He was elected president of the Cook County Board in 1904 and reelected
in 1906, and it was during his term in that office that the new County Building was erected. In April, 1907, he
became corporation counsel of Chicago and set a record of remarkable diligence and energy in handling the work
of that office. Mr. Brundage was judge of the Court of Claims of Illinois in 1915-17. He was elected attorney general
in 1916, at the same time that Frank 0. Lowden was elected governor. He was reelected in 1920, and for eight consecutive
years was the efficient head of the law department of the state government. Among other features of his work as
attorney general were his successful defense of the two-cent passenger fare law, his vigorous prosecution of the
riot cases in East St. Louis, his upholding of the constitutionality of the hard road act under which Illinois
initiated its road building program. Soon after retiring from office Mr. Brundage was appointed receiver for the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, and served in that capacity until March, 1928.
Mr. Brundage is a Knight Templar and thirty-third degree Scottish Rite Mason. He married December 17, 1913, Germaine
Vernier, and has four children. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume
IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
JOHN JACOB GLESSNER
became a resident of Chicago just before the great fire, was an important figure in making Chicago a center for
the manufacture and distribution of farm machinery, and for years played a leading role in the civic and cultural
life of the community.
Mr. Glessner was born at Zanesville, Ohio, in January, 1843. His early education was acquired in the public schools
of Zanesville and in the local newspaper business. In 1864 he entered the field of harvesting machinery manufacture,
becoming a member of the firm of Warder, Bushnell & Glessner at Springfield, Ohio. For many years he was vice
president of that corporation. In order to manage the business of his firm from a point nearer the center of the
agricultural belt in the West, he became a resident of Chicago in 1870. He was credited with an important share
in the remarkable success of his company, and when its business was combined with that of other leading harvester
machinery companies and the International Harvester Company came into existence, Mr. Glessner was chosen vice president.
He is still a director of the International Harvester Company.
As a Chicagoan, Mr. Glessner was called upon as a wise counselor and successful manager of various municipal and
charitable institutions. While he was president of the Citizens Association that body prepared the drainage canal
bill and secured its passage by the Legislature. For about seventeen years he was a director of the Chicago Relief
and Aid Society. He has been president of the board of trustees of Rush Medical College, a trustee of the Chicago
Orphan Asylum, of the Chicago Orchestral Association, and of the Chicago Art Institute. He was at one time president
of the old Chicago Commercial Club. Mr. Glessner married in 1870 Frances Macbeth, daughter of James R. Macbeth
of Springfield. His children are John George M. and Mrs. Frances Lee. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation"
by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
WILLIAM R. HARPER,
first president of the University of Chicago, was born at New Con cord, Muskingum County, Ohio, July 26, 1856.
At the age of eight years he entered the preparatory department of Muskingum College, and in 1870 was graduated
with the degree Bachelor of Arts, delivering his graduating oration in the ancient Hebrew language. He continued
his graduate studies in Yale University in 1873-75. From 1880 to 1886 he held the chair of Hebrew and Old Testament
Exegesis in the Baptist Theological Seminary at Morgan Park, Illinois. He resigned to take the chair of Semitic
languages at Yale University, three years later was appointed Woolsey Professor of Biblical Literature, and instructor
in Semitic languages in the Divinity School, performing the duties of three offices until the close of the school
year 1890-91. In the meantime he had been principal of the Chautauqua College of Liberal Arts.
The crowning work of his life was the establishment of the University of Chicago. Under the auspices of the American
Baptist Educational Society a plan was projected for establishing a university in Chicago. In 1889, John D. Rockefeller
contributed $600,000 as an endowment fund if $400,000 more was pledged in ninety days. This amount was soon raised,
and a site of twenty-five acres valued at $400,000 was purchased. Dr. Harper assumed the duties of president in
June, 1891, having as his aims the creation of the most comprehensive and liberal university in the world, and
the reformation of the present system of collegiate education. The boldness of his scheme, not the least of which
was the securing of an endowment fund of several mil lions of dollars, gave confidence in him to those to whom
he appealed. Mr. Rockefeller added $1,000,000 to his original subscription, of which $800,000 was designed as an
endowment for non-professional graduate instruction. The executors of the Ogden estate donated $500,000 for a scientific
school, and an additional fund of $1,000,000 was raised. The work of practical instruction began in October, 1892,
and by December there were five hundred and eighty-nine registered students in all departments. Doctor Harper was
head of the Department of Semitic Languages, and as head of the University made his influence felt in every department.
His chief characteristics were manifested in his plans of work, his policies of government, and his methods of
teaching. He was paramount as a teacher, and in certain lines he was probably the greatest pedagogue of his generation.
Doctor Harper was at the same time extensively engaged in literary labors and was author or editor of a long list
of text books and critical reviews. He died at Chicago January 10, 1906. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation"
by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
WALTER Q. GRESHAM
was a citizen of Indiana when not a national figure, but he was for several years a Federal judge of the Seventh
Judicial Circuit and as such held court at Chicago, succeeding Judge Drummond. He was born in Harrison County,
Indiana, March 17, 1833. His father, William Gresham, was killed in 1835 while performing his duties as sheriff,
and soon afterward his widow and children moved to Harrison County, Indiana. Walter Q. Gresham was a student of
Indiana University, was admitted to the bar in 1854 and first entered politics as a speaker against the Nebraska
bill, and subsequently, in 1856, for Fremont, the Republican presidential candidate. He was elected a member of
the Indiana Legislature in 1860, and during the Civil war organized a company, and served successively as captain,
lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and on the recommendation of General Grant was promoted to brigadier-general August
11, 1863. March 13, 1865, he was brevetted major-general of volunteers for gallantry before Atlanta. In December,
1869, he was appointed by President Grant, United States District Judge for Indiana, and was on that bench until
April, 1882, when he became postmaster-general in President Arthur's cabinet. One conspicuous act while he was
post master-general was barring the Louisiana lottery from the mails. On September 4, 1884, he was transferred
to the treasury department, but in December, 1884, he resigned to become United States Judge for the Seventh Judicial
District holding court at Chicago. He distinguished himself by his remarkable grasp of legal complications, and
his decision in the celebrated Wabash Railway case showed courage in protecting minority rights from aggression
by some of the great railway magnates of that time. Though he had always been a Republican, Judge Gresham accepted
the invitation of President Cleveland to be come Secretary of State in March, 1893. He held this office a little
more than two years. He died at Washington, May 28, 1895. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon.
Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
SIDNEY NICOLAS STROTZ. A world center for sports is not the least among the claims advanced for Chicago's premier place
among the great cities of the world. Nowhere does amateur or professional sportsmanship receive a more spontaneous
patronage and applause. Within the past decade Chicago, largely due to the public spirited activity of groups of
citizens or individuals, has presented for the sport loving world unsurpassed facilities for their exercise. These
facilities include magnificent racing tracks, the great Soldiers Stadium on the lake front, and perhaps greatest
of them all, because it affords perfect arenas and immense auditorium for indoor sports of all kinds, the wonderful
stadium at 1800 West Madison Street.
For this magnificent institution the sport loving world owes a great debt to Sidney N. Strotz, president of the
Chicago Stadium Corporation. Mr. Strotz is a young man, prominent and successful in business, and has found a means
of expressing his public spirit through the institution which he helped create and of which he is now the head.
Mr. Strotz was born in Chicago April 26, 1898, son of Charles N. and Clara A. (Heinemann) Strotz. His mother still
lives in Chicago. His father, who died in 1928, was at one time a member of the tobacco manufacturing firm of Grady
& Strotz, but for many years before his death was connected with the American Tobacco Company at New York.
Sidney N. Strotz attended the public schools of Chicago, continued his education in St. John's Military Academy,
and was a student of Cornell University when he left college to join the colors during the World war. He enlisted
as a private, became a member of the Three Hundred and Twenty-sixth Battalion of the Tank Corps, and spent eighteen
months overseas. While there he was advanced to sergeant, first class, in the Engineers. For six years after the
war Mr. Strotz was connected with an automobile supply company. He then organized and became president of the American
Sales Corporation, and later was one of the organizers and became vice president of the Wrap-Rite Corporation of
which he is now vice president and of which he was general manager until he was called to the office of president
of the Chicago Stadium Corporation.
Mr. Strotz and his brother, Harold C. Strotz, handled most of the work of financing the building of the great stadium
on West Madison Street, and they have been leading figures in the development of the stadium for its complete service
to the world of sport and entertainment and as the most perfect convention hall in America. Mr. Strotz is a member
of the Chicago Athletic Club, Rotary Club, Steuben Club, National Auditorium Managers Association, and the American
Legion. His home is at 483 Illinois Road in Lake Forest. Mr. Strotz married Frances Vyse, a native of Chicago and
daughter of Arthur J. Vyse. Their three children are Shirley, Charles Nicolas II, and Sandra. ("ILLINOIS,
The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
ELIHU BENJAMIN WASHBURNE was born in Livermore, Maine, September 23, 1816, learned the trade of printer, graduated from Harvard
Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1840, and soon afterward went west and located at Galena, Illinois, beginning
practice with Charles S. Hempstead in 1841. Along with a good knowledge of the law he possessed an invincible courage
and fearlessness, and that was equally necessary to success either in the law or in politics, in the early days
of Galena which was a characteristic mining center. Several incidents are told of his having exercised physical
as well as moral suasion during his early career at Galena. He continued to practice until elected to Congress
on the Whig ticket in 1852, and continued to represent his district until 1869, taking a prominent position as
a Republican on the organization of that party. On account of his long service he was known as the "father
of the house," administering the speaker's oath three times to Schuyler Colfax and once to James G. Blame.
General Grant in 1869 appointed him his secretary of state, but he soon afterwards resigned to become ambassador
to France, where he achieved special distinction. He was the only official representative of a foreign government
who remained in Paris during the reign of the commune. For his conduct he was honored by the governments of France
and Germany alike.
After his return to the United States he made his home in Chicago. He was strongly favored as a candidate for the
presidency in 1880. For several years he devoted much of his time to literary pursuits. Mr. Washburne compiled
and published in 1882 a book which is an important contribution to Illinois biography, Sketch
of Edward Coles. He died at the age of seventy-one in Chicago October 22, 1887,
and left a large estate. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933,
Transcribed by Kim Torp)
WASHBURNE, Elihu Benjamin, Congressman and diplomatist,
was born at Livermore, Maine, Sept. 23, 1816; in early life learned the trade of a printer, but graduated from
Harvard Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1840. Coming west, he settled at Galena, forming a partnership
with Charles S. Hempstead, for the practice of law, in 1841. He was a stalwart Whig, and, as such, was elected
to Congress in 1852. He continued to represent his District until 1869, taking a prominent position, as a Republican,
on the organization of that party. On account of his long service he was known as the "Father of the House,"
administering the Speaker's oath three times to Schuyler Colfax and once to James U. Blame. He was appointed Secretary
of State by General Grant in 1869, but surrendered his portfolio to become Envoy to France, in which capacity he
achieved great distinction. He was the only official representative of a foreign government who remained in Paris,
during the siege of that city by the Germans (1870-71) and the reign of the 'Commune." For his conduct he
was honored by the Governments of France and Germany alike. On his return to the United States, he made his home
in Chicago, where he devoted his latter years chiefly to literary labor, and where he died, Oct. 22, 1887. He was
strongly favored as a candidate for the Presidency in 1880. ["Historical
Encyclopedia of Illinois" Transcribed by Kim Torp]
JOHN M. SCHOFIELD,
who rose to the rank of major-general in the United States Army, was born in Chautauqua County, New York, September
29, 1831, was brought to Illinois at the age of twelve, and in 1853 graduated from the West Point Military Academy.
He was an artillery officer and a military instructor until the beginning of the Civil war. For a time he was major
in a regiment of Missouri volunteers, was made captain of artillery in the regular army May 14, 1861, served as
chief-of-staff to General Lyon at the battle of Wilson's Creek, became major-general of volunteers November 29,
1862, and from May 13, 1863, to January 31, 1864, commanded a department of the Missouri. He then was assigned
the command of the department and army of the Ohio and participated in Sherman's Atlanta campaign and was with
General Thomas in the pursuit of Hood's forces, culminating in the battles of Franklin and Nashville. For gallant
and meritorious services at Franklin he was commissioned brigadier-general in the United States Army and brevet
major general. During the military reconstruction he served successively as commander of the department of North
Carolina, the department of the Potomac and the First Military District of Virginia, and from June 2, 1868, was
secretary of war under President Johnson until March 14, 1869. He was promoted to major-general of the regular
army March 4, 1869, and commanded various departments and military divisions, and for a time was superintendent
of the West Point Military Academy. In 1883 he succeeded General Sheridan in command of the military division of
the Missouri with headquarters at Chicago. On the death of General Sheridan in 1888 he was assigned by President
Cleveland to command the United States Army with headquarters at Washington. General Schofield died in 1906. ("ILLINOIS,
The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
ANTHONY JOSEPH SCHMIDT was admitted to the bar in 1912 and since that year his abilities and industry have served to put
him in the front rank of the Chicago bar. He is member of the law firm Gorman, Schmidt & McGrath, at 30 North
LaSalle Street.
A native of Chicago, he was born May 22, 1885, son of Joseph and Veronica (Slipf) Schmidt. His parents were born
in Germany and after their marriage came to America and settled in Illinois in 1869. His father for many years
was superintendent of the Harvey Mill & Lumber Company.
Anthony Joseph Schmidt attended public and parochial schools in Chicago, the Chicago Seminary of Sciences and was
graduated LL. B. from the Chicago Law School in 1912. Subsequent work and post-graduate studies brought him the
degree Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Chicago Law School in 1914. Mr. Schmidt for a few years practiced alone
and since 1922 has been a member of the firm Gorman, Schmidt & McGrath. This firm handles an extensive general
practice. Mr. Schmidt's special forte is real estate, probate and chancery law. He is a member of the Chicago Bar
Association and Chicago Law Institute, the Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity, is a member of the Olympic Golf Club,
Birchwood Country Club and Knights of Columbus, of which latter he is a past deputy grand knight, lecturer and
advocate. He first married Jule Meyer, deceased, and afterwards married Martha Niles. His home is at 1225 Chase
Avenue. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by
Kim Torp)
SAMUEL MILES HASTINGS, Illinois manufacturer, who during 1915-17 was president of the Illinois Manufacturers Association,
and reelected president in 1931, has frequently come before the public as a speaker on industrial subjects. His
experience and achievements have made him one of the outstanding figures of the present generation.
Mr. Hastings was born at Rimersburg, Pennsylvania, August 14, 1860, son of Eli and Rachel Whitehall (Kerr) Hastings.
A year or so after his birth his father enlisted in a Pennsylvania company and regiment for service in the Union
army. Eli Hastings was a cabinet maker by trade. In 1865 the family came to Illinois and located at Gardner. The
Hastings family is of Revolutionary and Colonial ancestry. Samuel M. Hastings attended school at Gardner, Illinois,
and his business career was begun in the humble capacity of clerk in a dry goods store at Braidwood. In 1879, at
the age of nineteen, he had acquired an active interest in a retail dry goods store there. In 1884 he moved to
Streator, where he continued in business for five years and since 1889 has been a factor in the commercial and
industrial life of Chicago. Mr. Hastings from 1889 to 1893 was abroad traveling on business in Europe. On his return
to Chicago he engaged in the manufacture and sale of computing scales. Mr. Hastings was president for twenty-five
years of the Dayton Scales Company, and now chairman of its finance committee, one of the largest organizations
of its kind in the world and a division of the International Business Machines Corporation, of which he is also
a director. He is a director of the Central Republic Bank & Trust Company, and chairman of the board of the
Highland Park State Bank. His home is in Highland Park and he was mayor of that North Shore suburb for twelve years,
from 1915. For a number of years he has been president of the board of trustees of the Highland Park Presbyterian
Church He is a Republican, member of the Chicago Athletic Association, Old Elm Country Club and many other civic
and social organizations
He married, September 16, 1881, Miss Jannette Rankin, of Braidwood. She died in 1922 In 1925 Mr. Hastings married
Nettie Ann Moore. He has one son, Rolland Thomas Rankin Hastings, who is president of the Sanitax Brush Company.
The son married Ruth Beebee and has three children, Holland, Lydia and Jean. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the
Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
BALFORD QUINTIN SHIELDS,
Chicago lawyer and industrial journalist, was reared and educated in Kansas and first came to Chicago during the
World war period and spent a year or so in the American diplomatic service.
He was born at Lost Springs, Marion County, Kansas, in 1894, son of Joseph B. and Clara (Fengel) Shields. Both
the Shields and Fengel families were early settlers in Kansas. Joseph B. Shields, who still makes his home at Marion,
Kansas, was born in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Shields have been a prominent family. They are of Scotch Irish
descent. A kinsman of the family was Gen. James Shields, one of the distinguished officers of the Civil war. Joseph
B. Shields moved to Kansas in 1881 and has lived in Marion County for over half a century. He has been a farmer
and cattle raiser, and is credited with being the oldest breeder of Here ford cattle in that state, and where he
is still engaged in the cattle business. His name is widely known for his prowess and activities in public and
political affairs. He was the founder and is still president of the Kansas Mutual Telephone Company. He was one
of the founders of the Farmers Union in Kansas and has been a leader in that organization. During the Populist
uprising in Kansas in the early 1890s he espoused the principles of the organization, though previously he had
been a Democrat.
His wife, Clara Fengel, went with her parents to Kansas in 1871. The Fengels were Kansans through the blighting
period of the 1870s, when the state suffered visitations of grasshoppers and plagues of drought and financial calamities.
Her father, John Peter Fengel, was of French-German ancestry and came from Frankfort-on-the-Rhine region. He first
located on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, later moved to Villisca, Iowa, and from there went to Kansas.
Balford Quintin Shields was reared in a rural locality, and had a first hand and practical acquaintance with farming,
stock raising and the business interests of a small town. His educational advantages were crowned by several years
in the Kansas State Agricultural College at Manhattan. While there he studied journalism, and was graduated with
the Bachelor of Science degree in 1918. Immediately after leaving college he was assigned duties as an attaché
of the war department's surgical staff in Chicago, and after the armistice was sent by the state department as
vice consul to New South Wales, Australia. He was in that service at Sydney for over a year. After returning to
Chicago Mr. Shields attended Northwestern University School of Commerce and studied advanced journalism for two
years or four semesters. He then entered the John Marshall Law School, and received his degree Juris Doctor in
1925. Since that date he has been busily engaged in the practice of law. The field of work in which he is especially
interested and in which he has shown decided talent has been in commercial law, in the handling of estates and
probate matters, and insurance law. Some of his clients have brought him business from as far west as the Pacific
Coast. Few men in such a brief period of years have been so successful as Mr. Shields in establishing an independent
reputation and business in a great city like Chicago. Mr. Shields still retains a keen interest in journalism,
especially that relating to trade and industrial matters. He has been a regular contributor to trade and industrial
publications. Mr. Shields has his offices at 77 West Washington Street and his home is in the Brevoort Hotel. He
is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Commercial Law League of America, the Insurance Claim Association
of America, and the honorary journalistic fraternity Sigma Delta Chi. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation"
by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
JACOB G. GROSSBERG.
A practicing Chicago lawyer for forty years, Jacob G. Grossberg has built into his reputation the qualities of
a penetrating intelligence, the resources that are the result of study and scholarship, a broad-mindedness and
a great ability in handling matters invested with public interest.
Mr. Grossberg has lived in Chicago since he was twelve years of age. He was born in Kovno, then Russia, now Lithuania,
on April 10, 1870. In 1882 his parents came to the United States and after a few months in Cleveland moved to Chicago
in the same year. In Chicago, Mr. Grossberg attended public schools, and in 1888 was graduated from the old South
Division High School at Twenty-sixth Street and Wabash Avenue. After graduating he entered the Northwestern University
Law School, then known as the Union College of Law, and was granted his LL. B. degree in 1890. He is perhaps the
oldest practicing lawyer in Chicago of Russian-Jewish parentage. In his early years as a lawyer he was associated
with Senator James Hamilton Lewis, with whom he is again associated at the time of this publication, in 1932. When
Senator Lewis became corporation counsel of Chicago, during the administration of Mayor Dunne, Mr. Grossberg was
appointed special assistant corporation counsel in traction matters. Judge Dunne's story of his long fight for
municipal ownership of public utilities as presented on other pages of this publication gives credit to some of
Mr. Grossberg's special contributions to the movement. His labors cleared up many of the tangled questions and
smoothed the path toward municipal ownership, and he also contributed many articles in the public press on the
subject. Mr. Grossberg was at one time president of the Municipal Ownership League of Chicago, and he organized
and became the first president of the Public Owner ship League of Illinois. When Mayor Dunne became Governor Dunne
Mr. Grossberg served as a member of the Mining Investigation Com mission and as attorney for the State Board of
Arbitration.
His personal and professional services have again and again been at the disposal of organizations representing
the liberal spirit of the community. He was legal representative for Chicago in opposing the injunction sought
by the traction companies to restrain the city from enforcing the safety ordinances, and he carried the case to
the Supreme Court, which sustained the position of the city government. Many residents of Chicago will recall the
organization known as the Washington Park Forum, popularly known as the "Bug Club," whose meetings were
frequently interrupted by the police until Mr. Grossberg, as attorney for the Forum, secured a perpetual injunction
restraining the South Park Commissioners from interfering with public speaking under the auspices of the club in
the park. Mr. Grossberg represented the Pokagon tribe of Indians in presenting their claim to lake front lands.
Still another exercise of his legal influence and efforts, which attracted a great deal of public attention, was
his service as attorney for the exhibitors of the famous film "Birth of a Nation" when it was first introduced
in Chicago. He succeeded in enjoining the city administration under Mayor Thompson from interfering with the showing
of the picture. He has also been prominent in Jewish organizations, his most notable work being the organizing
of the Jewish Congress movement. He acted as president of the Jewish Congress Association for the middle western
states in 1915-17. Mr. Grossberg married, January 30, 1894, Doris Elkan. They have four children, Victor, Ralph,
Herbert and Edith. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed
by Kim Torp)
THOMAS J. McNULTY
is president of McNulty Bros. Company, an old established firm of builders and contractors in architectural, sculpture
and plaster work. The McNulty Studios in Chicago are the head. quarters of a large force of modelers, sculptors
and other experienced craftsmen, who are relied upon to express the genius of this company for some of the finest
work in their line anywhere in America.
Thomas J. McNulty was born in Ireland, in 1861. The firm of McNulty Bros. Company grew from the ambitious efforts
of Thomas J., Michael F. and Patrick Henry McNulty, three Irish boys who came to America in search of fame and
fortune. Of these three brothers Patrick Henry died in New York in 1920. Thomas J. McNulty served his apprenticeship
at Philadelphia. He has been a resident of Chicago since 1884. The firm of McNulty Bros. Company was organized
in 1890. Besides the main plant and offices in Chicago, branch establishments are maintained in Detroit and Pittsburgh.
Michael F. McNulty has charge of the business at Pittsburgh.
The business of McNulty Bros. Company covers an extensive field, not only in all classes of plaster ornamentation
and finish, but in the use of plaster as an intermediate and final stage in the ornamentation of great office and
industrial structures. Their work is exemplified in prominent buildings in Chicago and all the other leading cities
of the county. These include banking, commercial and industrial buildings and in many instances the chief charm
and attractiveness of such buildings are derived from the modeling and sculpture work done on them by the artists
an artisans of McNulty Bros. Company. The original designs for their work are made by architects and sculptors
and then worked out in clay and plaster. These plaster castes furnish the matrix for the more permanent work of
the builder, being transmuted into marble, bronze, granite, metal or whatever material is suitable in the decorate
design of the structure. The work of McNulty Bros. Company can be seen in many of the principal buildings in the
eastern, central and southern states. The McNulty Brothers' business is one built upon honor and one that has brought
well deserved fame to three ambitious and serious minded immigrant youths from Ireland.
Thomas J. McNulty married Miss Josephine Davis, of Chicago. To their union was born a family of eleven children,
eight sons and three daughters. Their names are Joseph D., Thomas Joseph, William G., James F., John P., Paul Davis,
Robert, Edward D., Mary C., Eunice Anne and Nancy Claire. All were born in Chicago, were educated in the schools
of that city, and several of the sons finished their education in Georgetown University at Washington, where members
of the McNulty family have been represented in the student body during most of the time for a quarter of a century.
Three active junior members of the firm at Chicago today are the sons Joseph D., James F. and Robert. ("ILLINOIS,
The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
J R. STANLEY CROWDER,
dealer in investment securities and head of the J. R. S. Crowder & Company, at 10 South LaSalle Street, has
lived all his life in Chicago and has a consecutive experience since youth in the banking business.
Mr. Crowder was born in the Ravenswood section in the Town of Lakeview, where his parents were early settlers.
His birthplace was only a few blocks from his present home at 4506 North Lincoln Street. His father, the late Richard
L. Crowder, was born in Surrey, England, in 1848 and came to America when nineteen years of age. After a brief
stay at Kalamazoo, Michigan, he went to Florida, and in the early 1870s came to Chicago, locating in Lakeview.
He had the honor of serving as the first postmaster of Lakeview. Richard L. Crowder died in 1928. His wife, Laura
Hooper Crowder, who died in 1927, was born at Woking, near London, and was a child when her parents came to Chicago.
Her father, John Wesley Hooper, was also an early settler in Lakeview. Mrs. Richard L. Crowder was the first regent
of the Robert Burns Chapter, Daughters of the British Empire, serving in that capacity for several terms. She did
much for the British Old People's Home and was otherwise well known in British societies.
J. R. Stanley Crowder attended Ravenswood Grammar School and Lakeview High School and began his career as a messenger
for the old Commercial National Bank. He put in six years with that bank, which became the Continental & Commercial
National Bank and for thirteen years was a banker in his old home neighborhood, with the Sheridan Trust & Savings
Bank. He started there as teller and later became vice president and director. He left the Sheridan Trust &
Savings Bank and became vice president of Frank P. Parish & Company, when that firm of dealers in investment
securities established their Chicago offices. Then, in March, 1930, Mr. Crowder organized his own business as investment
bankers.
Mr. Crowder takes much pride in his long and active connection with the All Saints Episcopal Church. When he was
six years old he became a choir boy, and later, as his voice matured, became a member of the regular choir. This
is one of the older church choirs in Chicago. For nearly twenty years he has been treasurer of the church. His
interest in music has made him a member of the Mendelssohn Club and several other organizations devoted to the
cultivation of sound musical taste. He has been an official in movements and organizations to make Uptown Chicago
better known as a business and social center. He is a past- president of the North Shore Kiwanis Club, which he
helped organize. He is a member of the Midland Club and Executives Club, belongs to the various Masonic bodies,
the Chicago Yacht Club. He married Miss Martha Hipp, of Bucyrus, Ohio. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation"
by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
CORNELIUS J. HARRINGTON is a prominent young Chicago lawyer, master in chancery of the Superior Court of Cook County, Illinois,
and a World war veteran. He was born in Chicago, August 5, 1897. His parents were natives of Ireland. Mr. Harrington
attended parochial and public schools, completing his high school work, and was in his nineteenth year when he
volunteered for service in the World war. In June, 1917, he enlisted in Battery D of the One Hundred and Forty-ninth
United States Field Artillery, which prior to the war had been the old First Illinois Field Artillery. The One
Hundred and Forty-ninth Field Artillery became a unit in the famous Rainbow Division, and this regiment has been
frequently referred to as "Reilly's Bucks," its commander being Gen. Henry J. Reilly. Mr. Harrington
accompanied his regiment overseas on October 18, 1917, and served a total of eighteen months overseas, in France
and Germany. With his regiment he participated in five major offensives and defensives in France, including the
Champagne-Marne defensive, the Aisne-Marne offensive, the St. Mihiel offensive, the Meuse-Argonne offensive, and
other engagements. Chicagoans have been very proud of the splendid record made by this field artillery regiment.
Mr. Harrington received his honorable discharge from the army in May, 1919, and at once resumed his law studies
at DePaul University College of Law. He received the LL. B. degree in 1921 and the LL. M. degree in 1922. Mr. Harrington
has been practicing law since 1921, when he be came associated with the office of one of Chicago's leading law
firms, McCormick, Kirkland, Patterson & Fleming. Later he became counsel for the Board of Election Commissioners
of the City of Chicago, and for several years has specialized in election contests. In 1923 he was appointed master
in chancery of the Superior Court of Cook County to Judge John J. Sullivan, and in December, 1929, was reappointed
for his fourth consecutive term in that office. In addition to his duties as master in chancery Mr. Harrington
is counsel for the Board of Assessors, and also counsel for the Democratic party in Cook County, and has built
up a successful, general law practice. His offices are at 111 West Washington Street. He is a member of the Phi
Alpha Delta law fraternity, Knights of Columbus, LaSalle Assembly, Elks, Illinois Athletic and Crystal Lake Country
Clubs. Mr. Harrington resides at 5433 Ellis Avenue. He married Miss Carolyn Speer, and they have three sons, Cornelius,
Robert and James. ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation" by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed
by Kim Torp)
Mrs. CHARLES J. TRAINOR. Death took from Chicago's charitable and social life a very beautiful figure when Mrs. Charles
J. Trainor passed away in August, 1930. For thirty-five years she had been prominent in woman's club circles throughout
Illinois. She was regarded as an authority on political, civic and parliamentary questions and was outstanding
in the numerous organizations with which she was affiliated. She was a past president of the Chicago Federation
of Women's Organization, founder and president of both the Native Daughters of Illinois and the South Side Catholic
Woman's Club, treasurer of the Illinois Federation of Women's Clubs, chair man of American Citizenship for Illinois,
Chicago chairman of immigration of the National Council of Catholic Women, immigration chair man of the Ambrose
Club and a member of Big Sisters and the Illinois Club. The best part of her work was done in deeds of practical
charity, but she was also greatly admired for her intellect and culture. She was a writer and lecturer and an authority
on Illinois history. Above all, she was a devout and militant Catholic, and her personal life was a constant expression
of her faith.
Her maiden name was Mary Agnes Rafferty and she was born in Chicago, August 23, 1870, member of the well known
Rafferty family that has contributed a number of prominent characters to Chicago's public life. Mrs. Trainor was
survived by her husband, Charles J. Trainor, Chicago attorney and master in chancery, and a son, James J. Trainor.
For years Mrs. Trainor gave liberally of her own means and of her individual labors to the charitable work carried
on by the church in connection with foreign groups. In many instances that work went forward and prospered because
of her individual participation, and after her death parish priests and monsignors have declared they hardly knew
how they could get along without her. In recent years a large population of Mexicans of the working class, most
of them poor, have congregated in the steel mill district of South Chicago. Here they came under the spiritual
care of the parish of Our Lady of Guadaloupe. In connection with this church Mrs. Trainor extended a great deal
of her time and energy, and so endeared herself to these humble people that she was spoken of as an angel of mercy.
At her funeral a great group of them came to her home and overwhelmed it with flowers. She had done similar work
among the Italians in the southwest section of the city. Her influence as a writer and lecturer extended, as has
been noted, to a wide field of activities and organizations. She made addresses to hundreds of clubs in Chicago
and throughout Illinois and the Middle West. She spoke in all the leading cities of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana,
Ohio, Missouri and other states. On the lecture platform she was known for her addresses on a wide range of topics,
among them being the following: "American Citizenship," "Responsibility of American Citizenship,"
"The Struggle for Individual Freedom," "We, the People," "Growth and Development of Political
Parties," "Current Events," "The Foundation of Good Government," "Why the Woman's
Club," "Illinois Under Three Flags," "Club Ethics," "Parliamentary Procedure."
"The French in Illinois," "The Power of Organization," "Why be a Club Woman," "The
Declaration of Independence," "The Constitutions of the United States and of Illinois," "Great
Charters of Liberty," "Early History of Illinois." ("ILLINOIS, The Heart of the Nation"
by Hon. Edward F. Dunne, Volume IV, 1933, Transcribed by Kim Torp)
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