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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA CHAMPAIGN ILL. HIST. SURVEY
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
OF THE
AMERICAN IRISH IN CHICAGO
EDITED BY
CHARLES FFRENCH.
WITH STEEL AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS.
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK: AMERICAN BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLISHING CO. 1897.
H. C. COOPER, JR., & CO., CHICAGO.
ILL. Hist Surve
977.30049162 B52
INTRODUCTION.
.
It is, surely, not an unimportant contribution to the history which is of the present and the future, that there should be put in enduring form something of the story of the American Irish who have taken such a noble part in making one of the greatest cities of one of the greatest nations. What part Irishmen, or those of Irish descent, have borne in building up the vast central city of the Ameri- can continent is generally understood, but the biographies of those who have accomplished most have never yet appeared in a form which could be permanent. That a collection of such biographies is most desirable is believed by the publishers; and it is felt, as well, that such a book will be welcomed by Irishmen, and native Ameri- cans scarcely less, and that it will be accepted as a good part of pres- ent local history. To living Irishmen it may not seem of as much importance as it will to their children and grandchildren, who will, because of it, be better enabled to appreciate what the men of to-day are doing and have done.
What one potent group has accomplished in advancing the growth in all telling ways of one of the regnant cities of the world will be always matter of interest, and a greater interest will come when those who read in the future find what will enable them to learn something of the personality of men who did well in a field of effort where results have surpassed all that has come, within such limit of time, in the whole world's history.
The one end sought in gathering this series of biographies has been to secure but plain outlines of the histories of those thus grouped together. Nothing appears which is not an account made curt and truthful. The work is not intended to be of the laudatory
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INTRODUCTION.
class of biographical publications, but of the strictly unembellished type, containing only matter which may not be questioned. It is not insisted that the work is fully comprehensive the production of such a volume would be a feat extremely difficult-but it is thought that it occupies, honestly and effectively, a place of im- portance in a field which has not heretofore been occupied. It is hoped and believed that not Irishmen alone will everywhere appreciate its quality, but that Chicagoans and Americans gener- ally will count it something of value and importance, an addition to the literature of the place and time.
STANLEY WATERLOO.
.
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
OF THE
AMERICAN IRISH IN CHICAGO.
MOST REV. PATRICK A. FEEHAN, D. D.
Noble representative of a great race, a man loved and honored, an ecclesiastic revered and respected by all sections of the com- munity, liberal natured, broad minded, generous, kindly and free, full of understanding of special circumstances and conditions, and with a heart open in sympathy to every necessity, Most Rev. Pat- rick A. Feehan, D. D., Archbishop of Chicago, is an Irishman and an American whom Americans as well as Irishmen must delight to honor.
Archbishop Feehan was born in the County of Tipperary, Ire- land, on August 29th, 1829, the son of Patrick and Judith (Cooney) Feehan. In early childhood he was carefully trained by his good parents and the best teachers within reach. In his sixteenth year he was sent to the Ecclesiastical Seminary at Castleknock, and two years later to St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, in both of which institutions he was a distinguished student. In 1852, though en-
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE
titled to a place on the Dunboyne establishment, he preferred to enter at once upon the duties of the priesthood, and selected the Archdiocese of St. Louis as the scene of his future labors. Or- dained priest on November 1st, 1852, until July, 1853, he taught in the Ecclesiastical Seminary and preached in the Cathedral, al- ternately with Most Rev. Peter R. Kenrick, D. D., Archbishop of St. Louis, and two young priests now in the Episcopacy-Most. Rev. John Hennessey, D. D., Archbishop of Dubuque, and Most Rev. Patrick J, Ryan, D. D., Archbishop of Philadelphia. In July, 1853, he was appointed assistant at St. John's Church, St. Louis, Mo. About this time a terrible cholera epidemic raged in the city, which called forth all the self-sacrifice of the devoted young priest. Days and nights were spent in administering consolation to the poor sufferers, sometimes even preparing them for burial where friends and kindred deserted them. Appointed president of the Ecclesi- astical Seminary in July, 1854, he filled this office with great dis- tinction until July, 1858, when he was appointed pastor of St. Michael's Church, St. Louis. A year later he was promoted to the pastorate of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, St. Louis, where he continued until November 1st, 1865, when he was conse- crated Bishop of Nashville, Tenn. To his new home he was accom- panied by Rev. Fathers Riordon and Walsh, of St. Louis, who died of yellow fever in 1878. The first years were ones of great labor. By his untiring efforts and constant attention to duty he brought the people to the Sacraments, he instructed and prepared the chil- dren for First Communion and Confirmation, and by his great busi- ness talent won the confidence of public men. He was most as- sidnous in preaching and instructing the people and many new Catholics were received into the Church, some of whom were among the old settlers and wealthy citizens. When Dr. Feehan went to the Diocese of Nashville he found only a few priests, most of them being Dominican Fathers, a convent of Sisters in Memphis, an
.
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AMERICAN IRISH IN CHICAGO.
academy and an orphan asylum conducted by Sisters of St. Dom- inic, near Nashville. The academy was so heavily in debt that it was sold at auction soon after Bishop Feehan's arrival. He bought it in for the Sisters, thus securing their lasting gratitude and preventing great loss for the Catholic community. In August, 1866, the cholera made its appearance in Nashville and during its continuance Bishop Feehan labored unceasingly to console the sick and dying. At the close of the epidemic he purchased a home on one of the finest sites of the city and established a community of the Sisters of Mercy from Providence, R. I. The yellow fever visited Memphis in 1877 and 1878, to which twenty-three priests fell mar- tyrs. The full extent of this calamity will be realized when it is known that there were less than thirty priests in the whole State of Tennessee at the time. The diocese was soon again enjoying health and prosperity, when the news came from Rome that Dr. Feeban had been appointed First Archbishop of Chicago.
The death of Right Rev. Thomas Foley, D. D., administrator of Chicago, caused a vacancy difficult to fill. Archbishop Feehan left Nashville amid the tears and blessings of his many friends and reached Chicago on September 10th, 1880. His arrival was the occasion of a grand demonstration. The Archdiocese of Chicago, then, as now, comprised eighteen counties in the northern part of the State of Illinois. The wants of the Catholics were zealously at- tended to by one hundred and eighty priests who had charge of one hundred and sixty churches. Archbishop Feehan found that although his predecessors had done much to meet the needs of the times, still the Great Fire had destroyed nearly all the Catholic structures of any importance in the City of Chicago, and new churches could scarcely be erected to keep pace with the rapid growth of population. Under the administration of Archbishop Feehan, one hundred and two churches have been erected in the archdiocese during the past seventeen years, new parochial schools
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE
have been built and old ones enlarged, so that over sixty thousand children are now educated in these structures. The great financial interests of the archdiocese have been carefully attended to, and the archdiocese of Chicago is one of the richest and most solvent in the United States. Homes for the aged, hospitals for the sick, Houses of Providence for young women, orphan asylums, foundling asylums, all attest the far-seeing care of Dr. Feehan to meet the many needs of a large center of population, while his encourage- ment of a school for deaf mutes, his wise direction of the establish- ment of the Chicago Industrial School for Girls and St. Mary's Training School for Boys at Feehanville, deserve lasting gratitude. Indeed there is no section of the city or of the Archdiocese of Chi- cago that has not felt his zeal for religious charity and Christian education, and here we may be pardoned for giving a brief list of some of the principal churches, schools and Eleemosynary institu- tions that have been erected since he became Archbishop and that will always stand as monuments of his munificence and desire to have the ardent faith of his devoted and liberal people appear even in material structures:
Churches-St. Adalbert's, St. Alphonsus', St. Augustine's, St. Bernard's (first marble church ever built in Chicago), St. Cecilia's, St. Charles Borromeo's, St. Elizabeth's, St. George's, The Assump- tion, St. Gabriel's, Holy Angels, St. Jarlath's, St. John Cantius, St. Malachy's, St. Mary's of Perpetual Help, St. Martin's, St. Monica's (for colored people), The Nativity, St. Pius's, St. Thomas', St. Vin- cent's, St. Patrick's (Amboy), St. James' (Belvidere), St. Mary's (Freeport), St. Joseph's (Harvard), St. John the Baptist's (Johns- burg), St. Patrick's (Kankakee), St. Patrick's (Lemont), St. Mary's (Oregon), St. Patrick's (Rochelle), St. Mary's (Rockford), St. Rose's (Wilmington).
Schools-De La Salle Institute, St. Patrick's Academy, Loretto Academy (Joliet), St. Francis Academy (Joliet), Our Lady of Mount
AMERICAN IRISH IN CHICAGO.
Carmel Academy, Loretto Convent (Englewood), Normal School (Irving Park), St. Agatha's Academy, The Josephinum.
Eleemosynary Institutions - St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Mercy Hospital (large additions), St. Joseph's Hospital (rebuilt), Alexian Brothers Hospital, The Ephpheta School for Deaf, Houses of Prov- idence for young girls out of place, on the north, south and west sides of the city; Homes for the Aged, on the north and south sides; Chicago Industrial School for girls, St. Mary's Industrial School for boys (Feehanville), News Boys' Home, Boys' Orphan Asylum (Irving Park).
In a word, Archbishop Feehan has not only cared for every need for the living, he has also provided resting places for the dead in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Sancta Maria Cemetery, and a new ceme- tery soon to be opened on the west side. He resides in a magnificent residence, built by himself, near Lake Michigan and fronting on Lincoln Park, and is now building a summer villa at Feehanville.
As a legislator, Archbishop Feehan has been prudent and con- servative. He participated in the proceedings of the Second Ple- nary Council of Baltimore, in 1866; he took an active part in the General Council of the Vatican; he was one of those summoned to Rome to formulate the Schemata of the Third Council of Baltimore, and deserves great credit for the part taken in the wise delibera- tions of that body. After the approval of the decrees at Rome he held a Synod making them applicable to the Archdiocese of Chi- cago.
Archbishop Feehan cannot be treated with justice in the limits of a necessarily brief biography. He has never made a mistake in the guidance of the religious affairs of the archdiocese, and this will be appreciated when it is known that the Catholics of Chi- cago are ministered to in twelve different languages and that all are unanimous in proclaiming his wisdom and his fairness to each and every member of the Church. He is justly popular with Cath-
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE
olics. He has been honored by his people on various occasions, notably on his return from Rome preparatory to the Third Council of Baltimore and on the occasion of his Silver Jubilee, in the fall of 1890. The celebration of his Silver Jubilee lasted for nearly a week and was the occasion of one of the largest parades ever wit- nessed on the streets of Chicago.
As Metropolitan, Archbishop Feehan has the whole State of Illi- nois under his charge, with a Catholic population of over a million. The Archdiocese of Chicago over which he is immediately interested has a Catholic population of over seven hundred thousand who at- tend two hundred and sixty-two churches and are ministered to by four hundred and thirty priests.
JOHN M. SMYTH.
Equally as manufacturer, merchant, and one identified with po- litical and public affairs, John M. Smyth is justly regarded as a thoroughly representative man. Personally he unites an old coun- try lineage with the development and energy characteristic of the new world.
The parents of the subject of this sketch, Michael K. Smyth and Bridget (McDonnell) Smyth, left Ireland for America in the summer of 1843, and John M. Smyth was born at sea on the 6th of July of that year. The family came from Ballina, County Mayo, where their people had long been settled, and where Mr. Michael K. Smyth was a surveyor. Their first residence on this side of the Atlantic was in Quebec, but later they removed to Montreal, in which city they lived
John in Sungphe
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AMERICAN IRISH, IN CHICAGO.
for five years, settling in Chicago in 1848. In the now historic days when early Chicago was mapped out, Mr. Michael K. Smyth sur- veyed lands for that notable pioneer real estate owner, William B. Ogden, the first mayor of Chicago. Mr. Smyth, like many others in those early days, had his opportunities of becoming wealthy by the acquisition of land, subsequently very valuable, but to be had then . for comparatively trifling considerations. For instance, he was offered once for certain services, the Erie square block of land be- tween Kinzie and Michigan, Market and Franklin, afterwards easily worth $400,000, but which he declined to accept because it would have taken a year of labor and some slight cost to have leveled a high bank upon it, removed refuse and put generally into market- able shape. Meantime, while the elder Smyth was taking a hand in making the ground plan of the future World's Fair City, young John M. was attending the renowned "Kinzie" school, known among the youth of that time as "Wilder's" from the name of the principal, then responsible for shaping and developing the young ideas. Hav- ing completed school terms sufficiently well to equip himself with a sound general education, he started out in life on his own account. He chose the typographic art and that section of it represented in the composition rooms of a daily newspaper. Mr. Smyth was em- ployed successively upon the early newspapers of Chicago: the "Morning Herald;" the Chicago "Democrat," when the historie pa- per was owned by that representative citizen, Mayor Wentworth, "Long John," and lastly on the "Press and Tribune," now the "Tribune."
Mr. Smyth, when in a leisure hour, likes nothing better than to dwell upon the details of the early newspaper life and business of Chicago; that epoch in Chicago when James W. Sheahan started "The Times" (Sheahan & Price), afterwards purchased by the Hon. Cyrus HI. McCormick, and subsequently advanced to a conspicuous place in modern daily journalism by the distinguished editor, Wil-
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE
bur F. Storey. But the comparatively unremunerative business of the printer and publisher did not satisfy John M. Smyth.
IIe embarked in business for himself in 1867, opening a furniture store at 92 West Madison Street. This was the beginning of the business that has since grown to such immense proportions and has made the name of its proprietor almost a household word in every part of the city. To accommodate his increasing business, he removed his establishment in 1880 to its present location, where he greatly extended and enlarged the operations of the establishment. The store was destroyed by fire in April, 1891, but Mr. Smyth im- mediately rebuilt on the same site, completing and occupying, by November 1st of the same year, the largest and handsomest business block on the West Side. It is a business which now embraces liter- ally thousands of individual accounts, and the fair and just manage- ment of the great time credit department has deservedly won for John M. Smyth thousands upon thousands of friends and well wish- ers in Chicago.
Mr. Smyth was sent to the City Council in 1878, re-elected as Al- derman until 1882, and has twice served as a Presidential Elector in the successful campaign for Garfield in 1880, and also upon the Blaine ticket. He managed the latter campaign, in Chicago and Cook County in 1884 and also the Republican campaigns of 1894 and 1896. Mayor Hempstead Washburne appointed him a member of the Library Board in 1892, and from that date until 1895 Mr. Smyth served the Library upon its Finance committee. In politics he has ever been a consistent Republican, and as member and chairman of the County Central Republican Committee, has always been active in that great political party.
With all this, he is much more of a family and domestic man than a political aspirant, and cares most to live simply within the conventional requirements of the responsible citizen. Mr. Smyth married June 14th, 1871, Miss Jane A. Hand, and eight children,
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AMERICAN IRISH IN CHICAGO.
three sons and five daughters, blessed a union which led to an ex- ceptionally happy domestic life. The best exemplification of his energy and success as a Chicago business man, is found in the ac- complishment of certainly the greatest business in his special direc- tion ever known in the West.
MORTIMER J. SCANLAN.
Mortimer J. Scanlan, a member of the well known firm of Jo- seph J. Duffy, contractor, and a native of Chicago, where he was born March 18th, 1862, is another of that notable family that have for the last fifty years been prominent factors in the development and growth of this city. His father, Timothy Scanlan, a native of County Limerick, Ireland, emigrated to Boston, Mass., in 1848, and. came to Chicago in 1851, where he followed the profession of marine and stationary engineer. Still active, notwithstanding the weight of years, well preserved and prominent in the Catholic Order of Foresters and a number of other organizations, he resides in the city he chose as his permanent home, and with whose uprising and well-being he and his family have had so much to do. His wife, Hannah, mother of Mortimer, came from Limerick to Chicago in 1849, and they were married the same year.
The subject of this sketch received his education in the public schools of this city, afterwards entering the employ of the C., R. I. & P. R. R. as clerk, a position he retained for seven years. Anxious to be his own master, he then started in the coal business on the west side, and in this unvarying success ever from the com- mencement has been his portion. In 1891 and 1892 he was elected West Town Clerk of the City of Chicago, and in 1894 Assessor of
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE
the West Town. In 1895 he associated himself with Joseph J. Duffy in the contracting business, and up to the present time has been chiefly engaged in building the four mile water tunnel, under the firm name of Joseph J. Duffy.
Mr. Scanlan is a member of the Royal League and of the Knights of Columbus. In religion he is a Roman Catholic and in his political affiliations he is a Democrat, having always taken an active interest in his party's growth and development. In 1891 he married Miss Nellie Turner of Chicago, and they have three children, all girls.
Mr. Scanlan is a man of fine physique, six feet two in height, well proportioned and of vigorous constitution. He was always fond of athletic sports, making quite a mark as a baseball player, especially in the City League and Board of Trade nines, and still attends a gymnasium. His recreation is not limited, however, to the robust and physical, for like most of the Scanlan family he is a great lover of music, and withal a man of courteous and genial disposition, and as may be judged from the political position to which he has been elected, has hosts of warm and esteeming friends.
ARTHUR DIXON.
1
Arthur Dixon is one of the most prominent and highly re- spected citizens of Chicago. His private character is one to be loved and admired and as a public man his record is without blem- ish. His life has been devoted to pure motives and manly princi- ples, and by following a fixed purpose to make the most and best
(
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AMERICAN IRISH IN CHICAGO.
of himself, he has overcome all difficulties and risen to a place of influence and honor among public-spirited men.
Mr. Dixon was born in the north of Ireland, County Fermanagh, of Scotch Irish descent. His parents, Arthur and Jane Allen Dixon, had four sons and one daughter. Arthur is the only surviv- ing son. His father, a farmer and country school teacher, was a man of more than ordinary intelligence, who also practiced with considerable success as a country attorney. From his parents he inherited many sterling traits of character, that have signally characterized his life. When a youth of eighteen he was attracted by the advantages and opportunities of the new world and came first to Philadelphia, where he spent a short time in visiting friends. Or July 4th, 1858, Arthur went to Pittsburgh and there passed three years in the nursery business, learning tree grafting and planting. In 1861 Mr. Dixon became identified with the interests of the Garden City and entered upon his business career as a elerk in the grocery store of G. C. Cook, but soon after began business on his own account, in a small retail grocery, which he successfully conducted for two years. His connection with his present indus- try began about 1863, and was occasioned by a seeming accident. In payment of a grocery debt he was obliged to take a team and wagon and with this he began a general teaming business at No. 299 Wells Street, now Fifth Avenue. From this beginning pros- perity has attended the undertaking, until now, 1897, it is the largest transferring company west of New York.
His success has come through close attention, earnest effort, perseverance, good management, and honorable dealing. Mr. Dix- on has been identified with various movements which have con- tributed to the city's welfare and progress during the past thirty years. In the spring of 1867 Arthur Dixon was first elected Alder- man from the Second Ward of Chicago, on the same ticket with ex- Mayor Rice. From that time until April, 1891, when he voluntarily
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE
declined to longer remain a member of the City Council, he was re- elected with increased majorities and sometimes without opposi- tion, and has the honor of having served longer than any other Alderman of Chicago. He has been called the "Nestor of alder- men" and "Watch Dog of the City Treasury." On June 1, 1891, Mr. Dixon was presented by the City of Chicago with the following resolutions richly bound and superbly illumined and engrossed. This volume is prized as one of his richest treasures:
At a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Chicago, held April 27th, 1891, the following preamble and resolutions en- dorsing the official actions of Alderman Dixon were unanimously adopted:
Whereas, The City Council of the City of Chicago is about to lose the services of its oldest and best known member through his voluntary and we hope temporary retirement from the political field of action,
Resolved, That we, the colleagues, some of many years, others of short acquaintance, tender to Alderman Dixon on this occasion the expression of our heartiest good wishes for his future, and also the expression of our appreciation of the loss the council and the city sustain through his withdrawal from our municipal legisla- ture.
Resolved, That we place on record our conviction of his great public worth, his zeal for honest and economical government, his sincere interest in the cause of the taxpayers and his undoubted and unquestioned ability in every position assigned to him; and further, we record the expression of our hope that his zeal, his earnestness and ability may soon be utilized for the public in some new capacity; and be it further
Resolved, That the city clerk be and is hereby directed to spread this preamble and the resolutions upon the records of the
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AMERICAN IRISH IN CHICAGO.
council, and to present to Alderman Arthur Dixon a suitably en- graved copy of the same.
Hempstead Washburne, Mayor.
Jas. R. B. Van Cleave, City Clerk.
In 1874 Mr. Dixon was chosen president of the City Council and was re-elected to that place for six years. At various times he served as chairman of the finance and other important commit- tees. As a member of the City Council, Mr. Dixon was a recognized leader in debate, a practiced parliamentarian, and an authority on the interpretation of the powers and provisions of the city charter. He advocated, among other important measures, that of the city owning her own gas plant, of high water pressure, building sewers by special assessments, the creation of a public library, the annex- ation of the suburbs, the building of viaducts over railway cross- ings, the drainage law, the city's interest upon her public fund, the extension of fire limits. He was appointed by the mayor one of the executive committee of arrangements for the World's Colum- bian Exposition, and was also one of the committee that was in- strumental in arranging and passing the ordinance providing for the loan of five million dollars for the Exposition. In April, 1892, Mr. Dixon was elected a Director of the World's Columbian Di- rectory and his services and counsels in that capacity were invalu- able in the prosecution of this enormous enterprise. Mr. Dixon has been a member of city and county Republican central com- mittees for more than thirty years, and has frequently served as chairman of the same.
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