Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 19th ed., Part 64

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : La Salle Book Co.
Number of Pages: 908

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He rose to the rank of Captain, and as such was in command of that intrepid score of com- rades who made the march in 1675 to Brookfield, to treat with King Philip, where, falling into an ambush, about one-half of the band was slaugh- tered. Captain Wheeler had his horse shot under him while in the saddle, and, being himself badly wounded, was from under the very tomahawks of savage foes rescued by his son, Sergeant Thomas Wheeler, who, although suffering from wounds, placed his father upon another horse of a fallen soldier, and from the bloody scene both found safety in flight.

The following year, Captain Wheeler died, never having recovered from the effects of his wounds. Thomas Wheeler, junior, in the mean time having married and had children, later re- moved to the rapidly developing town of Marl- boro, situated only a few miles west.

The scene now changes to New Marlboro, in Berkshire County, western Massachusetts, whose original grantors were principally from Marlboro, whence the name. Benjamin Wheeler, a de- scendant of the said Thomas Wheeler, junior, was the first settler in this new grant, and one of the organizers of New Marlboro. The winter of 1739-40 was spent by him entirely alone in his log cabin, provisions being brought from Shef- field, the nearest settlement, ten miles distant. The next year he brought his family, who, the following season, were reinforced by the arrival of several other families.

The old Wheeler homestead is situated one mile northwest of New Marlboro Center, on the road to Great Barrington, on the right of An- thony Brook (so called from the last Indian oc- cupant of the valley), and remained in the family for one hundred and forty years, through five generations of direct descendants, four of the number bearing the Christian name of Benjamin. From the first Benjamin Wheeler, above named, the descent is traced to the subject of this biog- raphy through Zenas Wheeler and his wife, Azubah; their son Zenas, born October 22, 1756, and his wife, Elizabeth; their son, Warren Wheel- er, born March 10, 1788, who was the father of Uriah H. Wheeler, as related below. Trans- planted to new soil, the family tree throve and spread out its branches, many of them bearing distinguished offspring, conspicuously Capt. Ze- nas Wheeler of Revolutionary War times.

In the western part of New Marlboro, at a place locally known as "Mill River," is a fine water power upon the Konkapot River, where in

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U. H. WHEELER.

later years paper and lumber manufacturing has been extensively carried on. Attracted thither in 1836, Warren Wheeler erected the first mill for the manufacture of writing paper. So rapidly did the new industry develop, that in 1855, of three paper mills then running there, that of Warren Wheeler & Co. was the largest, more than forty hands being employed and a yearly output of $50,000 worth of stock being made-a remarkable showing for so early a day; therefore no wonder the firm was rated very high in the metropolis of New York.

This firm later became Wheeler & Sons, after- wards Wheeler, Sheldon & Babcock, and was finally sold out to a syndicate known as the Marlboro Paper Company, and later to the Brook- side Paper Company, while to-day these large in- dustries of the vicinity are controlled by the well- known Berkshire Paper Company. It will thus be seen that Warren Wheeler was one of the founders of the trade.

The subject of this sketch, Uriah Harmon Wheel- er, was born at New Marlboro in the year 1825, being a son of the said Warren Wheeler and wife, Alice (Harmon) Wheeler. Of delicate mould, he was an apt pupil, and we know made the most of opportunities at local schools and later at Meriden (Connecticut) Academy. At the age of twenty-one, he became a partner with his father in the paper mill, succeeding to a place made vacant by the death of an elder brother, Warren Wheeler, junior, who had formerly been the first partner of Cyrus W. Field, father of the Atlantic Telegraph Cable.

Uncertain health led to disposing of this lucrative business in 1854, at which period father and son came West; the former to Berrien Springs, Michigan, the latter to the welcoming city of Chicago, where he located on the South Side, destined henceforth to be his home. For ten years he was a partner and Chicago repre- sentative of the great lumber firm of E. & J. Can- field of Chicago, and Manistee, Michigan, which then owned extensive local yards, situated on the West Side, near the Lake Street Bridge. When this branch of the business was sold out, not wishing to leave Chicago, Mr. Wheeler

severed his pleasant relationship with this firm. Subsequently he bought from the well-known John B. Idson his interest in the wholesale belt- ting and rubber business at No. 174 Lake Street, thus becoming a partner of Sylvanus Hallock (formerly of New York), under the firm style of Hallock & Wheeler, one of the first, largest and most reputable houses of its kind in their day.

Here failing health found him in January, 1875, obliged to hait midway in life's pleasant march. For the final two years, he endured the lot of a patiently resigned invalid; and so when the Angel of Death visited his eartlily home, April 21, 1876, he found not an anxious but a prepared well-doer, at peace with both God and men. The remains were borne by loving friends from the family mansion at Twenty-second Street to their last home, Rose Hill. The Rev. Dr. Mitchell officiated at the obsequies of one who had for a long time been a stanch supporter of the First Presbyterian Church. In politics, he was an unswerving Republican; never aggressively active in political life, but quietly fulfilling his duties of citizen as he wisely knew them.

Mr. Wheeler was married, in 1846, to Miss Lorinda Canfield Wheeler, of New Marlboro, who was born at Hudson, on the Hudson, where her parents were for a time residing. She was a daughter of Abraham Wheeler, who married a Miss Lorinda Canfield, of eastern New York, a descendant of an old Connecticut family.

Their happy union was blessed with four chil- dren, whom unkind fate removed upon the very threshold of their lives. Mr. Wheeler possessed a typical old-school Massachusetts face, intellectu- ally refined and bearing an expression almost feminine in gentleness. Deeply set dark blue eyes lent a spirituelle radiance to finely chiseled, classic features, as vividly portrayed by the skilled brush of the well-known New York artist, Theodore Pine. Beloved by those with whom lie became intimate, he was held in respectful esteem by all acquaintances in business relations. Socially he was an ever-welcome, genial compan- ion, full of clever, refined thoughts, delivered without ostentation. His superior success was

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mainly due to a well-defined, consistent conser- vation of energies, for while naturally conserva- tive, a delicate constitution was continually teach- ing this essential lesson. And here we stay our

narrative, with an observation of an honored fel- low-citizen: "He was faithful in all things. None of our business men has better merited the epithet gentleman."

AARON OLLENDORFF.

R EV. AARON OLLENDORFF, one of the most highly respected citizens of Chicago, died at his home in that city October 30, 1895, and his remains were deposited in Wald- heim Cemetery. He was born August 31, 1816, in Rawicz, in the Province of Posen, Prussia, and was a son of Marcus Ollendorff, a wealthy contractor of that city, where his ancestors had been born and reared for many generations.

The subject of this sketch received a liberal education, preparing for a teacher, and com- menced his career at the age of seventeen as tutor in a private family in Kozmen, Germany. At the age of twenty-five years he was a teacher and minister in Holland, where he achieved con- siderable fame through an address made at the funeral of a noted rabbi. This address was printed and sold throughout the entire kingdom, · the proceeds being devoted to the building of a synagogue. Proceeding to Pleshen, in the Prov- ince of Posen, he opened a school, and also be- came an instructor in the Jewish religion. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Theological Seminary at Posen.

In 1855 he accompanied his brother and broth- er-in-law to Australia, whither they were led by the brilliant promise of the newly opened gold- fields. They were ten weeks on the voyage from England to Australia on a sailing-vessel. Arriv- ing in Melbourne, he immediately became pastor of a Hebrew congregation, but returned in 1858 to Germany, locating in Breslau, where he opened a college for boys in company with his brother- in-law, P. Joseph, Doctor of Philosophy.

Mr. Ollendorffinvested his means in real estate, but the speculation proved unfortunate, and in

1866 he came to America to retrieve his fortunes. He located for a time in Baltimore, where he was associated for a time with Mr. Joseph, a brother-in-law, in the wholesale jewelry business. From there he was called to Chicago to take charge of the North Chicago Hebrew congrega- tion, the first of that sect on the North Side. He officiated there three years, the house of wor- ship being located on Superior Street, near Wells Street, and his residence was on Illinois Street, near LaSalle Avenue. He was next called to Quincy, Illinois, where he officiated three years, thus escaping the great Chicago fire. In 1873 he returned to the city and became an active member of his former congregation, devoting himself for the remainder of his life to private pursuits.

Beside the subject of this sketch, the Ollen- dorff family has produced another noted scholar -Professor Ollendorff, of Paris, France, who was the author of grammars in all modern languages, many of which are still in use.

Doctor Ollendorff was married in Great Glogau, Germany, March 29, 1853, to Miss Sophia Joseph, of Great Glogau, Silesia, Germany. She was a native of that place and daughter of Jacob and Henrietta (Peisach) Joseph. The children of Doctor and Mrs. Ollendorff were Fannie, Martha, Max, Paul and Arthur. The only survivor, Fannie, is the wife of Millard Cass, a prominent real-estate dealer of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Cass are the parents of two sons, namely: Mr. Philip Cass, a promising young man of twenty- one, who is an expert electrician and bicyclist; and Sigmund Cass, now eleven years old, a stu- dent of the Chicago public schools.

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S. P. SKINNER.

Doctor Ollendorff's mother, Helen Ollendorff, was a famous beauty, born and reared in Dantzig, West Prussia. The fame of her beauty extended to Rawicz, wliere her future husband lived. He hastened to Dantzig and succeeded in bringing her home as liis bride. The beauty of this lady was transmitted to her posterity, and is noticeable in her only granddaughter living on this side of the Atlantic. She lived to the great age of ninety-six years, and preserved her remarkable beauty and vivacity of spirits until her death.

Reverend Doctor Ollendorff was one of the greatest Talmudic and Hebraic scholars of the age, and was considered an authority on all mat- ters pertaining to ancient Hebrew history. His funeral was one of the most imposing ever seen on the North Side, and was conducted from the new temple of the North Side Hebrew congrega- tion, corner of LaSalle Avenue and Goethe Street, the Reverend Doctor Norden, pastor of the con- gregation, and Reverend Doctor Felsenthal offici- ating.

SAMUEL P. SKINNER.

EV. SAMUEL PROUTY SKINNER, one of the fathers of Universalism in the West, and for seven years the publisher of its lead- ing western organ, passed away in Chicago, August 12, 1858, at the age of forty-eight years. He was the son of Baxter Skinner, a farmer in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he was born in 1810. The family was noted for its intellect- ual force, and furnished one of the Presidents of Lombard University, at Galesburg, Illinois, Otis A. Skinner.

Samuel P. Skinner was educated in New Eng- land, and at the age of twenty-two was married, in Conway, Franklin County, Massachusetts, to Miss Armenia Pulsifer, a native of that town. She survived him two years, dying in Chicago in 1860. They had no children, but adopted a niece, Sarah A., who is now the wife of Charles E. Lake, residing in Chicago. Dr. Skinner, as he was called by his contemporaries, was justly so styled, for Lombard College (as it was then known) conferred upon him the degree of Doc- tor of Divinity; but he did not accept it, for reasons best known to himself. He was a man of rare beauty of character, and spread sunshine wherever he went. He was beloved by all who knew him.

He first preached at Cambridgeport, Massachu- setts, whence he went to Baltimore, Maryland, and was pastor of the Universalist Society there

ten years, Returning to Boston, he preached oc- casionally at Newton Upper Falls, near that city. His health was never robust, and he decided to try the western climate.

He arrived in Chicago in October, 1845, and six months afterward accepted a call to the First Universalist Church, now known as St. Paul's, and at present presided over by Rev. A. J. Can- field, D. D. He purchased land at the north- west corner of Van Buren Street and Wabaslı Avenue, upon which was erected in 1856 a church edifice patterned after the church of Rev. Dr. Neal, at Boston. This was destroyed in the great conflagration of 1871, soon after which tlie society built a church at great expense of the east side of Michigan Avenue, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth Streets, on what was known as the Widow Clark property, for years a land- mark of Chicago. Later the church was abandoned as being too far down town, and the present handsome house of the society was put up at Thirtieth Street and Prairie Avenue. Rev. Mr. Skinner continued as pastor until 1852, when he was compelled to give up the ministry on account of feeble health. Though not possessed of a good voice, his sermons were able, and he held the society together and established it firmly.

Upon abandoning the pulpit, he did not get out of church work, and bought the Better Cove-

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J. Y. SANGER.

nant, a small denominational paper, which he en- larged and improved, changing the name to the New Covenant. It is now a flourishing religious journal, known as the Universalist. He was an easy writer and superior editor, and continued the management of the paper for some years, when he sold it to Rev. D. P. Livermore, who con- ducted it a long time, until his removal to Bos- ton, where he now resides.

In his last years Dr. Skinner gave some atten- tion to real-estate investments, and he left a com- petence to his family. Cut off at a comparatively early age, the church lost in him one of its most faithful and useful workers, and his memory is still lovingly cherished in its records. He was of a retiring disposition, and those who intimately knew him best appreciated his worth. His works live after him.

JAMES YOUNG SANGER.

AMES YOUNG SANGER was conspicuous for many years among the prominent eastern- born citizens of Illinois. His birthplace is in Sutton, Vt., his birth having occurred on the 7th of March, in the year 1814. He received a prac- tical common-school education, and was a pre- cocious youth in business matters. At the age of fourteen, he became head clerk in the store of Isaac Harris, of Pittsburgh, Pa., then the largest mercantile establishment of its kind in the city. He was methodical, devoted to the interests of his employers, remarkable for his readiness and facility in business, and commanded the admiring commendation of his associates.

His father, David Sanger, after removing from Vermont, associated with himself one of his sons, and they became contractors on the Erie Canal and other public works in the State of New York. They built some of the locks at Lockport, N. Y., and had other contracts on the canal, James Y. Sanger being associated with them. The four sons of David Sanger all became contractors and build- ers of public works. . After completing their work in New York, they went to Pennsylvania and engaged in the same kind of business. Going from there to Ohio, they assisted in the construc- tion of the Ohio canals; still going westward, they performed similar work on the Wabash &

Erie Canal. Following the completion of this undertaking, J. Y. Sanger moved to St. Joseph, Mich., where he opened a general store, and was interested in bridge-building and similar enter- prises.

In 1836 James Y. Sanger, his father and Gen. Hart L. Stewart came to Chicago and bid for contract work on the Illinois & Michigan Canal, which was let by the State of Illinois. Several of these contracts were secured by these gentle- men, who had formed a co-partnership for that purpose, and their first work was in the vicinity of Chicago. As the work progressed southwest- ward, the canal was constructed where now the famous quarries of Lemont and neighboring towns are situated, and a vast amount of rockwork was excavated. They also built the aqueduct and bridge at Ottawa, the locks at Peru, and constructed various other public works. In the spring of 1840 J. Y. Sanger moved to Chicago.

The year 1842 proved disastrous to them. There was due them a large amount of money for work which they had performed at an im- mense outlay. The State defaulted payment, and they were compelled to accept in satisfaction of their claim State script, whose commercial value was twenty-five per cent. of its face repre- sentation. Mrs. Sanger received as a present

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I. Y. SANGER.

from her husband $2,000 of this script, worth $500, with which she bought a lot, on which the Stewart House now stands. One half of this she afterward sold to her sister, the wife of Gen. Stewart, at cost price; upon the other half, which constituted the corner lot, she erected a two- story frame house, with frontage of twenty-five feet, and planted the remainder, a strip of fifteen feet, with trees and flowers for ornament. This property she sold a few years afterward for $12,000.

In the year 1850, James Y. Sanger, Gen. Stewart, L. P. Sanger and others organized a company to build public works, especially rail- roads, on a more extensive scale than the people of the West had ever seen them carried on be- fore. This organization was known as Sanger, Camp & Co., and its first undertaking was the construction and equipment of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, which was projected to run from East St. Louis to Vincennes, Ind. For the completion of one hundred and fifty miles of line the compensation was to be $5,000,000. Shortly afterward, they contracted with the Belleville & Alton Railroad Company to build a line from Belleville, by way of St. Louis, to Alton for $1,000,000. In the winter of 1853-54, the North Missouri Railroad Company contracted with this firm for a railroad from St. Louis to the Iowa State line, northwesterly one hundred and eighty miles. The estimates for this work were about $7,000,000. In 1855 another contract was made by Sanger, Camp & Co. to complete a railroad from St. Louis, by way of Vandalia, to the Wabash River, near Terre Haute, a distance of one hun- dred and sixty miles, and for this they were to receive $8,000,000. The total of the contracts undertaken by this company, within the dates mentioned, amounted to more than $21,000,000. Nothing more clearly illustrates the energy and enterprise of the members of this company than the mention of these figures. Their work was pushed with vigor, and their operations were watched with interest by the people of the entire West.

In addition to the works which the company constructed, and which have been already men-

tioned, a line of railroad fifteen miles in lengtlı was built from St. Louis to Belleville, which be- came one of the most profitable pieces of railroad property in the United States, in proportion to its length. The year 1857 scattered broadcast its calamities with an impartial hand, and financial troubles involved Sanger, Camp & Co., as they did thousands of others. The railroad companies with which their contracts were made were una- ble to meet their financial obligations, and this company was compelled to take $8,000,000 for the work they had performed, which, if completed according to the contract, would have brought them $21,000,000. In 1857 James Y. Sanger, disappointed in his expectations with regard to eastern railroads, turned his attention toward the West, and went to California, where he put in operation a railroad from Sacramento to Marys- ville, the first one ever operated in California. He remained on the Pacific Coast for two years, and then returned to Chicago.

At the outbreak of the Civil War he became a contractor for Government supplies, which con- tinued to be his principal business during the continuance of the war. After the return of peace, he again engaged in railroad work, and associated with Gen. James H. Ledlie in the or- ganization of a syndicate to build the Union Pa- cific Railroad. The syndicate secured several large contracts. Before any considerable amount of work had been done, Mr. Sanger's health failed, and he was disappointed in his expecta- tion of putting his whole time upon this pro- ject. In a short time his condition compelled him to abandon it entirely. His interest in the company was taken by Gen. John M. Corse, who was afterward Postmaster at Boston. Thus it was that Mr. Sanger missed an opportunity of sharing the large profits of this enterprise. He returned to Chicago, where he remained until his death, on July 3, 1867.

It was after his settlement at St. Joseph, Mich., that Mr. Sanger met Miss Mary Catherine Mc- Kibben, daughter of Col. James Mckibben, whose family had moved from Pennsylvania to Michigan after his death. Col. McKibben's wife was the daughter of William Nelson, an Irish

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H. W. THOMAS.

gentleman, who emigrated to America after the Revolutionary War and settled in Bedford, Pa., where his family grew up and his only daughter married Col. Mckibben. The acquaintance of Mr. Sanger and Miss Mckibben resulted in mutual affection and led to their marriage, which occurred at Lockport, Ill., April 5, 1841. Miss Mckibben was born in Westmoreland County, Pa., and was one of four children born to Col. and Mrs. Mckibben. She was the true help- mate and companion of the noble husband whom she survives, and for the honor of whose memory she has performed many good works. She is familiar with the history of Chicago from the period of its early growth, and is still a resident of this city. She has been the mother of two sons and one daughter, all of whom were born in Chicago. One son, James Mckibben Sanger, died Septem- ber 19, 1877, leaving two sons, James P. and John Foster Sanger. The other son, Fred W.

Sanger, resides in his native city. The daugh- ter is the wife of George M. Pullman, of Chicago.

For more than thirty years Mr. Sanger was one of the most prominent citizens of Illinois, and one whose efforts contributed as much as those of any other toward the growth and development of the State. The influence of the enterprises with which he was identified upon the commerce of the West is incalculable. The four hundred and fifty miles of railroad in the construction of which he was largely instrumental, were built at an out- lay of $12,000,000. It is not necessary to speak of the many lesser enterprises with which he was identified. He was widely known, not only in commercial, but also in social circles, and was a prominent member of the Masonic order. His success in life was due to his fertility of resource, his wonderful ability to recover from pecuniary embarrassments, and his indomitable energy.

REV. HIRAM WASHINGTON THOMAS.

EV. HIRAM WASHINGTON THOMAS, D. D., the subject of this sketch, is the son of Joseph and Margaret (McDonald)'Thomas, who were well-to-do farmers in Hampshire Coun- ty, W. Va. On his father's side he is of Ger- man and Welsh, and on his mother's Scotch and English, extraction. Hiram is the fourth in a family of six children, having three brothers older and two sisters younger than himself, and was born in Hampshire County, among the moun- tains of West Virginia, April 29, 1832. When but a year old the family removed to Preston County, near the Maryland line, where he grew to manhood. He was naturally of a slender con- stitution, with a massive brain overtopping his body, and it was fortunate that his childhood and early manhood were spent on a farm among the

rugged mountains. The outdoor active life of a farmer toned up his physical constitution to a reasonable equality with his mental capacity, so that he has been able to bear an amount of in- tellectual work surpassed by few, and at the age of sixty years his vigor is unimpaired and his personal appearance still youthful. The educa- tional facilities of his native place were, fortu- nately perhaps for him, meagre and primitive, and he was left to the very necessary work of preparing a constitution for future use. The thirst for knowledge was, however, so great in him, that at the age of sixteen he went one hun- dred miles on foot to Hardy County, Va., and worked nights and mornings for a winter's school- ing at a little village academy. Two years after, one Doctor Mckesson, of his neighborhood, took

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 19th ed., Part 64

Author: Publication date: 1900 Publisher: Chicago : La Salle Book Co. Number of Pages: 908

Author:
Publication date: 1900
Publisher: Chicago : La Salle Book Co.
Number of Pages: 908