Album of genealogy and biograghy, Cook County, Illinois, 10th ed., Part 51

Author: Calumet Book & Engraving Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago, Calumet book & engraving co
Number of Pages: 916

USA > Illinois > Cook County > Album of genealogy and biograghy, Cook County, Illinois, 10th ed. > Part 51

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Stratford, Connecticut, the ancestral American seat, is situated very advantageously upon Long Island Sound, in Fairfield County, which is not only the southwesternmost in that State, but all New England; here the Hawley family has been prominent for many generations. As one au- thority states, "The name of Hawley has stood pre-eminent in the ranks of jurists and statesmen of New England."

ISAAC NEWTON CAMP.

SAAC N. CAMP, one of the prominent busi- ness men of Chicago, who has been success- fully engaged in mercantile pursuits in this city for more than a quarter of a century, is a

native of Elmore, Lamoille County, Vermont, having been born there on the 19th of December, 1831. His ancestors were colonial settlers in the Green Mountain State. His parents, Abel and

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I. N. CAMP.

Charlotte (Taplin) Camp, were both natives of Vermont. The father was a farmer, whose sound sense and good judgment gave him the position of leading citizen among the people of the town in which he lived. For several years he held the office of Postmaster and Town Clerk. He died on the 22d of December, 1890, aged ninety years. In respect to his longevity, he was like his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, each of whom lived to a very advanced age. Among other things that came to Mr. Camp, on account of his integrity and financial ability, was the charge of a large tract of land which was left to the Uni- versity of Vermont by Guy Catlin. In connec- tion with the management of this land was a scholarship in the university held by Mr. Catlin, and placed at Mr. Camp's disposal.

Isaac Newton Camp, after the usual course in the common schools, attended the academy at Bakersfield, Vermont, where he paid his board by teaching music. At the age of twenty he entered the University of Vermont, where he made use of the scholarship above mentioned, and in his spare time earned enough money to pay his cur- rent expenses. After four years of hard study, interspersed with a liberal amount of hard work, he was graduated and received his diploma from his Alma Mater in 1856. Soon afterward he be- came assistant principal in Barre Academy, which had been transferred from Bakersfield during the time he was in college. There he taught math- ematics and music for four years, after which he became principal of the High school, at Burling- ton, Vermont, filling that position until he came to Chicago, April 20, 1868.

In this city Mr. Camp became associated with H. L. Story, and entered the business in which he spent a large portion of his life. The firm took the name of Story & Camp, and continued in business until the spring of 1884, when the Estey Organ Company bought Mr. Story's inter- est, and the firm assumed the style of Estey & Camp, which has been continued to the present date, 1895.

Mr. Camp's life is an exemplification of what a man may do if he has ability and business meth- ods. He began life on a small capital which he

had saved out of his salary as a teacher. With that as a base, and an abundance of energy, per- severance, enterprise and integrity of the highest character, he was prepared to enter the contest for success in commercial circles with a good prospect of winning, and he succeeded. The house of which he is a member is one of the most reputable and substantial in Chicago, and its status is the outgrowth of the efforts of the gen- tlemen who have managed its affairs. It grew up on fair dealing and honest and successful competition with its rivals. At the time of Mr. Story's withdrawal from the firm, the capital exceeded $500,000, and he received $250,000 for his interest in the business. The capital to-day exceeds $1,000,000.

Mr. Camp has been prominently connected with public enterprises. He is a director in the Chicago Theological Seminary and the Royal Trust Company. In April, 1891, he was ap- pointed a director of the World's Columbian Ex- position, and served as a member of the commit- tees on Agriculture and Liberal Arts. In politics Mr. Camp is a Republican, but he does not serve his party with a blind devotion, rather taking a liberal view of political matters, and in local affairs votes for the man whom he thinks best qualified to discharge the duties of the office. For many years he has been a member of Union Park Congregational Church, and is president of its board of trustees. He is a member of the Illinois and Union League Clubs.

On the Ist of January, 1862, Mr. Camp mar- ried Miss Flora Carpenter, daughter of Hon. Carlos Carpenter, of Barre, Vermont. Of the four children born of this marriage, three are now living. The daughter, Charlotte, is the wife of M. A. Farr, of Chicago; Edward N., the elder son, is in business with his father; and William Carpenter, the younger son, is also in the business.

Mr. Camp has found time in his busy commer- cial life to see his native land quite thoroughly, and has also traveled extensively abroad with his family. As a result of his journeyings, he is a better citizen and more loyal American than he would otherwise have been. He is a generous giver to the church and for charitable purposes.

348

E. A. JEWETT.

In consequence of his industrious, well-spent life, and his energy, integrity and force of character, Mr. Camp has raised himself from the bottom round of the financial ladder to a position of in-

dependence, and at this advanced period of his life enjoys the luxuries of wealth, the society of numerous friends, and the pleasures of an environ .. ment of refinements.

EDWARD A. JEWETT.

DWARD ADAMS JEWETT, one of the successful sons of Vermont, now identified with the greatest enterprise of Chicago, was born at St. Johnsbury, July 18, 1838. His grandfather, Dr. Luther Jewett, was one of the pioneers of that town, where he officiated first as a clergyman and later as a physician. He was also a member of Congress from Vermont, elected in 1815 and re-elected in 1817. He was born in Canterbury, Connecticut, and reached the age of eighty-seven years. Ephraim Jewett, the fatlier of the subject of this notice, was in turn a promi- nent citizen of St. Johnsbury, where he carried on a mercantile business. He married Miss Jane Fairbanks, a daughter of ex-Governor Erastus Fairbanks and sister of ex-Governor Horace Fairbanks-a name which is a household word in the Green Mountain State, and familiar in this and other countries in connection with Fairbanks' scales and philanthropic deeds. Mrs. Jane Jewett's grandfather was remotely of English descent, his ancestors being among the first settlers of Massa- chusetts. Both he and his wife lived to extreme old age, departing this life during the boyhood of Edward A. Jewett-Mrs. Fairbanks at the age of ninety-nine years. Erastus Fairbanks was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, in 1792, and was known as Vermont's "War Governor," his second elec- tion to that office having occurred in the fall of 1860. The first election was in 1852.

The ancestry of Edward A. Jewett on both sides was of prime New England stock-a lineage

distinguished for sturdy character, industrious habits and intellectual force-and this scion per- petuates those characteristics to a marked degree. He attended the schools in St. Johnsbury, and later became a student at Phillips Academy, at Andover, Massachusetts, graduating from that famous educational institution in 1857. He then entered Harvard University, but his health hav- ing become impaired, he was obliged to relinquish his studies there at the end of the second year.

He soon after entered upon the business career in which he has since been almost continuously occupied. His first employment was with a large wholesale boot and shoe house in Boston, where he remained until 1861. He was then sent to Burlington, Vermont, to settle up the affairs of a boot and shoe store which had become largely indebted to his employers. Having adjusted this business in a manner creditable to himself and satisfactory to the creditors, he purchased the business of the bankrupt concern and carried on the same for four years. At the end of that period he became interested in the construction of a railway from Swanton, Vermont, to St. John's, Quebec, which subsequently became a part of the Vermont Central system. From 1866 to 1870 he was in the service of the United States Govern- ment as deputy collector of internal revenue at Burlington, Vermont, after which he engaged in the book and stationery business at that place for three years.

In 1873 Mr. Jewett became a resident of Chi-

349

GOTTLIEB MERZ.

cago, and in July of that year he was appointed Assistant Superintendent of the Chicago division of the Pullman Palace Car Company. On the Ist of June, 1874, he was promoted to the office of Division Superintendent, and held that position until April 1, 1888, when he was appointed As- sistant General Superintendent of the company, a position which he still capably fills. This high and responsible position was given to him in recognition of his merits and qualifications. This important trust involves in its operations millions of dollars, under a method so thoroughly systematized that the checks and balances must tally to a cent. The vast system managed by. the Pullman Palace Car Company extends throughout the United States, Canada and Mex- ico, its domain being so broad as to be almost incomprehensible-all under the sagacious super- intendency of this quiet and unpretentious gen- tleman, whose hand is felt and recognized as being constantly at the helm. He has been the recipient of inany evidences of the high regard in which he is held by the heads of this great cor- poration.

In 1870 he married Miss Jennie M. Hubbell, of Charlotte, Chittenden County, Vermont, a member of an old and highly-respected family,

the daughter of S. W. and Polly Hubbell. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Jewett in Chicago is the seat of pleasant hospitality, where their friends are always sure of cordial welcome.

In his social and fraternal relations Mr. Jewett occupies an enviable position. He is an honored member of the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated with Washington Lodge, Burlington Chapter and Council, of Burlington, Vermont; of Chevalier Bayard Commandery, Chicago; and Boston (Mas- sachusetts) Consistory. He served one year as Deputy Grand Master of the State of Vermont, Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter for two years, and Grand Generalissimo of the Grand Commandery for one year. He was an early member of the Sons of Vermont in Chicago, and one of the vice-presidents of that society in 1894. He is a stanch supporter of Republican principles of government, and in 1872 and 1873 he served as aide-de-camp on the staff of Gov. Julius Con- verse, of Vermont. His bearing is uniformly courteous and dignified, and inspires the confi- dence and regard of all who come in contact with him. He can have the proud satisfaction of knowing that it has been to his own capacity, diligence and careful observance of the highest rules of business that his uniform success is due.

GOTTLIEB MERZ.

OTTLIEB MERZ. Among the self-made and patriotic citizens of Chicago of foreign birth, is the subject of this biography. His ancestors were among the prominent people of Menziken, in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland, and he does honor to his lineage. His grandfather moved from that city to Erlach, Canton Berne, where his parents, Jacob and Elizabethı Merz, were born. Jacob Merz was a carpenter, and

passed his whole life in the pursuit of his occu- pation at Erlach.

Gottlieb Merz was born at the last-mentioned place on the 14th of October, 1838, and attended the public schools of his native place until he was fourteen years old. He was then apprenticed to a cabinetmaker and became a journeyman two years later, at the age of sixteen. After this he worked at liis trade in several of the Swiss cities

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GOTTLIEB MERZ.

bordering on the Lake of Geneva, such as Neuf- chatel, Locel, Lucerne, Vevey and Morges. He was also employed for some time in the principal city of Geneva.

At the age of twenty-four, possessed by that spirit of enterprise which has made the American Nation pre-eminent in the world's progress, he determined to settle in the western world, and came direct to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After working six months in a cabinet shop there, he went into a factory employed in the manufacture of picture frames, mirrors and show cases, and after being there two months, was made foreman and had charge of a large business.

Mr. Merz became a resident of Chicago in 1865, and was employed for two years by Stotz & Wolz, makers of cabinet ware. I11 1867 he established his present business-the manufacture of cigar boxes-which has grown under his energetic and judicious care to enormous magnitude. His first shop was in the old Turner Hall on Kinzie Street, where, in 1871, he lost everything in the great fire. The North Side residents did not suppose the devouring element would cross the river from the South Side, until it seemed to leap over all along the river front, and Mr. Merz was sur- rounded, like many others, before he could make arrangements to save anything, and was glad to escape with his family to a place of safety. After this disaster he set cheerfully to work to repair his losses, as far as possible, without wasting any time in repining. He began on Twenty-second Street, whence he removed in June, 1872, to North Franklin Street. His business continuing to grow until he was again compelled to move, he built the brick buildings now occupied by him at 209 to 215 Superior Street, in 1879. Here he turns out daily five thousand cigar boxes, beside from one to two thousand other light packing boxes. The establishment is equipped with the latest improved machinery, much of which is the result of Mr. Merz' inventive genius.

Mr. Merz is the founder and builder of his own fortune, and his example is commended to the youth of the land. His success is the result of no sudden turn of fortune, but to the persistent

pushing of his enterprise, which is the only real "luck" in the world. Sometimes a fortune is rapidly accumulated, but an examination of the case will show that, with rare exceptions, the foundation of such success was laid by long years of patient preparation which fitted the individual for seizing the opportunity when it came. Mr. Merz labored patiently many years at his trade to secure a start in the way of a small capital and a business experience and knowledge of the En- glish language, which fitted him for the promi- nent position he now holds in the business world of Chicago, that typical city of American enter- prise.

While he has been energetic in business, Mr. Merz has also fulfilled his duty to society. He has long been an active member of the Grutli Society, an organization of Swiss-born citizens, of which he was treasurer for ten years. He is a member of the Schweitzer Mænnerchor, the North Side Turners' Society, and was for many years identified with the Sons of Herman. He holds membership in Miethra Lodge, No. 410, in the Masonic Order, beside that of the Consistory and Shrine of the same order. In religious faith he adheres to the German Lutheran Church, and has usually affiliated with the Republican party in matters of public policy.

Mr. Merz was married, in 1864, to Miss Jo- sephine Boppart, who is a native of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Two sons and a daughter of this family died in childhood. The living are, Emilie, widow of Henry Kallemberg; Louise, Mrs. Charles Stierlin; Edward G., who is associated with his father in business (the firm now being G. Merz & Son); and Lily, still in the home of her parents. All reside in Chicago.

By his uniform courtesy and fair dealing, Mr. Merz has won the confidence and good will of all with whom he comes in contact, and he is unan- imously voted one of the most popular of the North Side citizens. He has never aspired to public station, but has been content to fill his place as a gentleman among his fellows and at his own fireside, where he is the center of conjugal and filial regard.

H. M. wi

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H. M. WILMARTH.

HENRY M. WILMARTH.

ENRY MARTIN WILMARTH was born January 25, 1836, at Newport, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, a son of Jonathan · Monroe and Lucy Wilmarth (nee Cheney). He was educated at Kimball Union Academy, situ- uated at Meriden, New Hampshire, which was a preparatory school for Dartmouth College. Com- ing to Chicago in the early days of 1856, he be- gan active business life in the employ of Gerould Brothers, dealers in gas fixtures, an old house on Clark Street, opposite the present site of the Court House; and upon the death of the senior member, acquired and succeeded to the business, under the style of H. M. Wilmarth, which he in- creased to very considerable proportions. After his demise, his younger brother, Thomas Wil- marth, who for a period of years had been asso- ciated with him, became and is at present the owner of said business, located at No. 225 State Street, in a valuable structure owned by the sub- ject of this sketch at the time of his death.

Mr. Wilmarth was one of the projectors and corporators of the Chicago First National Bank, that pillar of financial strength through all panics and monetary trials, of which he remained a Di- rector from its inception to the date of his demise. Speaking of his long connection with that corpor- ation, one of its present leaders was pleased to use the following language: "When the final rec- ord of the old First National comes to be made up, it will plainly be seen, that 110 one stood higher in financial acumen or wiser in management-coun- sels during its first quarter of a century than Henry M. Wilmarth."

The brevity of this narrative, to the many who knew the subject of this article, will appear strangely incongruous, in the light of remem-

brance of his exceedingly long and prominent service in our midst as a man of noteworthy af- fairs. But perhaps this apparent discrepancy will. partially disappear, in the future light of that general knowledge that Mr. Wilmarth was a very modest and unassuming man; alas, further, that such was the pertinacity and concentration of the business genius which he undoubtedly possessed that he allowed himself to engage seriously in but a few matters; but whatever he embarked in was worthy and invariably successful.

His lifelong Republicanism was rewarded, un- sought, by election to the responsible chair ot Alderman during the Civil War. He was a member of several clubs, among them, the Chi- cago and Calumet; but he never in his life joined any secret society. In spiritual views, he was both liberal and honest, being one of the first to assist in the organization of Central Church, where, together with his family, he was, from the time of the coming of the late lamented David Swing to the South Side, an habitual attendant upon services.

Mr. Wilmarth, like so many of our active busi- ness men, was fond of his outings and rustic sum- mer life with rod and gun. He was a prized member of that club which owns a preserve at Marquette, Wisconsin, where many an enjoyable month was spent, recruiting from the arduous labors of exacting city life. Indeed, it was ow- ing to exposure, following a railway accident, re- turning from one of these trips, that we are obliged to chronicle the beginning of his decline in health. His end, which was sudden, for one who had always enjoyed good health, came Feb- ruary 27, 1885. The obsequies were conducted by the late Rev. David Swing, and interment

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H. M. WILMARTH.

was made at Graceland Cemetery. And so passed away in the very height of his powers and reputa- tion one of the worthiest of the fathers of Chicago.

The possessor of many noble traits, perhaps that which more than any other was instrumental in conspiring toward his advancement was his natural tact for managing and planning ahead for men. He carried command in his bearing. As instancing how rapidly this faculty accomplished its end, old friends still recall his action upon that eventful morning of the Chicago Fire, when by his house on the South Side, at whose very step further destruction in that direction was stayed, he called to his assistance a handful of neighbors, and set to work with saving energy an engine, which had been abandoned by its crew, after long and even perilous service. Many believed that by this move the fire was stayed at this point; but Mr. Wilmarth never in his life alluded to it in any boastful terms, or in any way to make a listener believe he had done anything more than an ordinary deed. And small indeed it was to his dauntless mind.

The subject of this sketch was married May 21, 1861, to Miss Mary Jane Hawes, a daughter of Capt. Shubael and Nancy Blackmier (Smith) Hawes, of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Mrs. Wilmarth, prominent in social and charitable functions, survives her lamented husband, living with the still surviving daughter of the children she bore him, as follows: Fanny Hawes Wilmarth, born October 21, 1863, died December 12, 1863; Stella Wilmarth, born August 28, 1865, died Sep- tember 28, 1885; Anna Hawes Wilmarth, born January 27, 1873, unmarried, and a student, at present writing, in the University of Chicago.

The American Wilmarthis are of Norman- French blood, descended from one who in early times settled near Wantage, Berkshire, England; a later branch went into Wales, where in ancient times, they maintained a feudal castle. The patronymic, which was "Wilmot" under the "Conqueror," is still kept by the English stock; but was changed by the Welsli branch to the present "Wilmarth." Their coat of arms is :- Argent, on a fess gules, between three eagles' heads erased sable reaked of the second, an uni-

corn couchant, between two fleur de lis. Froni the latter branch came the progeny emigrating to this country, in the forepart of the eighteenthi century, which settled at the old homestead town of Attleboro, Massachusetts.

While not as distinguished as some families, the numerous persons descended are of uniformly sterling integrity, and the men very successful in business life. In Revolutionary times, they filled the posts and played the part of heroes; many of them, remnants of the survivors, being upon the pension rolls. In fact, the very last person to be killed in that War of Independence was a Captain Wilmarth, who was killed in the final skirmish a few miles out from Charleston, South Carolina, and singularly enough, his being the only fatality.

Henry M. Wilmarth was a son of Jonathan M. Wilmarth, who married Lucy Cheney, and lived at Newport, New Hampshire, where he was, during a long and useful career, a bank di- rector, county treasurer, selectman and recruit- ing officer. Daniel Wilmarth was the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, living at Newport aforesaid, where he was a farmer and mechanic; his wife being a Nancy Monroe, of Rehoboth, Massachusetts. John Wilmarth was great-grandfather; he married Phebe Briggs, of Massachusetts, and removing from the ancestral seat of Attleboro, went to the said Newport by the aid of "blazed trees" for a trail, represent- ing the ninth family to settle in that town.

Mrs. Wilmarth's father, Capt. Shubael Hawes, was a son of Shubael Hawes, Sr., who died in 1802 at Charleston, South Carolina, he being (probably) a son of Benjamin Hawes, who mar- ried a Miss Dorcas Smith. The last-named was a daughter of Benjamin Smith, who married Miss Jedidah Mayhew a daughter of Rev. Thomas Mayhew, a son of Gov. Thomas Mayhew.

Mrs. Wilmarth's mother, Nancy Blackmer Smith, came from Martha's Vineyard, Massachu- setts, being a daughter of Ebenezer and Mary (Hulsart, of New York) Smith; the Smith line, which is of Edgartown and neighboring towns on Martha's Vineyard, runs as follows: Ebenezer Smith, a son of Ebenezer Smith, son of the Ben-

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E. T. SHEDD.

jamin Smith who married Miss Jedidah Mayhew, and had the Dorcas Smith above spoken of as the paternal grandmother of Mrs. Wilmarth. The second Ebenezer Smith married Mrs. Jane Claghorn Mears, daughter of John Claghorn, a son of James Claghorn, a son of James Claghorn, who married Mary (or Mercy) Mayhew, daugh- ter of Gov. Thomas Mayhew. [The conspicuous intermarriages are probably largely due to the insular nature of Martha's Vineyard, with the emphasized isolation imposed upon the early colonial settlers.]

The said Thomas Mayhew, in 1671, was made "Governor of the islands of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and all others embraced within the limits of Duke's County as originally constitut- ed."

Rev. Thomas Mayhew, only son of the Gover- nor, when about twenty-one years of age, entered upon the work of preaching to the aborigines in 1643, about three years before his more widely

distinguished co-laborer, John Eliot, known as the Apostle to the Indians. He took passage in November, 1657, in a large ship, of four hundred tons burden, James Garrett, Master, bound from Boston to England; but the ship was never heard from after leaving port.

The above mentioned Benjamin Smith, Esq., was chosen Representative to the General Court in 1693, 1703 and 1713; was constable in 1701; and selectman in 1693, 1696-97, 1702 and 1703.

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Album of genealogy and biograghy, Cook County, Illinois, 10th ed., Part 51

Author: Calumet Book & Engraving Company, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Chicago, Calumet book & engraving co Number of Pages: 916

Author: Calumet Book & Engraving Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago, Calumet book & engraving co
Number of Pages: 916