Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 2nd ed., Part 13

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago : Calumet Book & Engr. Co.
Number of Pages: 808

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of lumber. He was but fairly started when a three-days rain set in, and the surface of the prairies became so soft that the wagon sank deep in the mud, making progress almost impossible and compelling an occasional lightening of the load by throwing off a part. After sleeping three nights on the wagon with such shelter as could be made with boards from the load, with the rain beating down pitilessly and the wolves' howling the only accompaniment, he arrived at the Des Plaines River, still twelve miles from his destina- tion. The stream was so swollen by the rains that it was impossible to cross with the wagon, and the balance of the load was thrown off and the oxen turned loose to find their way back to their owner, which they did without accident. After the rains were over and the ground became settled, the trip was repeated, the lumber recov- ered and brought safely to Chicago. These are some of the experiences of the pioneer, and can never be forgotten by those who pass through them.

When Mr. Cobb had completed his building, which was two stories in height, he rented the upper story, and began business on the ground floor. The capital consisted of $30, furnished by Mr. Goss, who was a partner in the venture, and was invested in stock for a harness shop. The industry and business ability of the working part- ner caused the enterprise to prosper and grow, and at the end of a year he withdrew and set up business on his individual account in larger quarters. His business continued to grow, and in 1848 he sold out at a good advance. He then engaged in the general boot and shoe, hide and leather trade, in partnership with William Os- borne, and found success beyond his fondest an- ticipations, and in 1852 he retired from mercan- tile operations. About the same time, he was appointed executor of the estate of Joel Matteson and guardian of the latter's five children. When this trust closed in 1866, the estate was found to have been vastly benefited by his shrewd man- agement of the trust.

With characteristic foresight, Mr. Cobb early began to invest in Chicago realty, and the wisdom of his calculations has been abundantly demon-

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strated. He has also been identified with semi- public enterprises, or those which largely con- cerned and benefited the city, while yielding a return to the investors. In 1855 he was elected a Director of the Chicago Gas Light and Coke Company, and subsequently one of the Board of Managers. This position he held until he sold his interest and retired from the company in 1887. It was his executive ability which was largely re- sponsible for the establishment of cable roads in the city, those on State Street and Wabash Ave- nue being constructed under his advice and direc- tion, while President of the Chicago City Railway. He is still active in the councils of that company, as well as of the West Division horse railway. For many years he was among the controlling members of the Chicago & Galena Union and Beloit & Madison Railroads, now a part of the Northwestern System (see biography of John B. Turner). Mr. Cobb is a Director of the National Bank of Illinois, and several blocks of fine build- ings in the business district contribute to his in- come, as the result of his faith in the city and sagacity in selection.

While being prospered, he has not forgotten to add to his own felicity by contributing to the happi- ness of others. He has been one of the kindest husbands and fathers, and not only his family but the city of his home have often shared in his bene- factions. When the effort to raise $1,000,000 for the buildings of the new University of Chicago was straining every resource of the Trustees, Mr. Cobb came forward unsolicited and donated $150,- 000, assuring the success of the movement. The "History of Chicago," by John Moses, says: "It is believed that up to the time when this subscrip- tion was made, few, if any, greater ones had ever been made to education by a Chicago citizen at one time. A noble building, tlie Cobb Lecture Hall, now stands on the University campus, a monument of the builder's liberality and public spirit. As long as the great university endures, this memorial of Silas B. Cobb's, life will stand, the corporation having pledged to rebuild the liall if it should be destroyed." The Presbyterian Hospital and Humane Society of Chicago are also among the beneficiaries of his generosity, and Mr.

Cobb will be remembered as one of the city's largest benefactors, as well as a successful busi- ness man.

In 1840 Mr. Cobb married Miss Maria, daugh- ter of Daniel Warren, whose biography appears elsewhere in this work. He thus describes his first meeting with his future bride: "I arrived in Chicago in the spring of 1833. In October of the same year I was occupying my new shop op- posite the Kinzie Hotel-in the building of which my first dollar was earned in Chicago. Standing at my shop one afternoon, talking with a neigh- bor, my attention was attracted by the arrival at the hotel of a settler's wagon from the East. With my apron on and sleeves rolled up, I went with my neighbor to greet the weary travelers and to welcome them to the hospitalities of Fort Dear- born, in accordance with the free and easy cus- toms of 'high society' in those days. * There were several young women in the party, two of them twin sisters, whom I thought partic- ularly attractive, so much so that I remarked to my friend, after they had departed, that when I was prosperous enough so that my pantaloons and brogans could be made to meet, I was going to look up those twin sisters and marry one of them or die in trying." The same pertinacity and acumen which characterized his every undertak- ing carried him through seven years of toil and privation until he had won the prize, which in- deed she proved to be. Their wedding took place on the 27th of October. Her twin sister married Jerome Beecher (for sketch of whom see another page).

Mrs. Cobb passed away on the 10th of May, 1888. Of her six children, only two survive. Two daughters died in infancy, and Walter, the first-born and only son, and Lenore, wife of Joseph G. Coleman, are also deceased. The others are: Maria Louisa, wife of William B. Walker, and Bertha, widow of the late William Armour.

Being a man of firm principle, Mr. Cobb has always adhered to a few simple rules of conduct, in the adoption of which any youth may hope to win moderate success, at least. He early discov- ered the disadvantage of being in debt, and made it a rule as soon as he got out to stay out. The

I46

W. E. ROLLO

other words forming his motto are: Industry, economy, temperate habits and unswerving in- tegrity. A few more words from the pen of Mr. Cobb will fittingly close this brief article. On the guests' register in the Vermont State Build- ing at the World's Columbian Exposition, ap- peared this entry over his signature: "A native

of Vermont, I left Montpelier in April, 1833, and arrived at Fort Dearborn, now the city of Chicago, May 29th of the same year. I have lived in Chi- cago from that time to the present day. Every building in Chicago has been erected during my residence here."

WILLIAM E. ROLLO.

ILLIAM EGBERT ROLLO is a well- known citizen of Chicago and a veteran underwriter, having been engaged in that line of business since 1850. He was born in the Parish of Gilead, Hebron Township, Tolland County, Connecticut, January 3, 1851. His par- ents, Ralph R. Rollo and Sibyl Post, were natives of South Windsor, Connecticut. The former was a farmer by occupation, and a son of William Rollo, who, in addition to his agricultural inter- ests, carried on the business of a tanner and cur- rier. Their progenitors were among the earliest colonists of Connecticut, and traced their lineage, through a long line of English ancestry, froni the famous William Rollo, better known in history as William the Conqueror.

Ralph R. Rollo died in 1869, at the extreme old age of eighty-eight years. Mrs. Sibyl Rollo passed away in 1833, in her fifty-first year. They were strict adherents of the Congregational faith, and observed most rigidly the rules of its creed. The names of their children were: Lucy A., who died in South Windsor, Connecticut, in 1858; Evelyn S., who died in Chicago in 1882, while the wife of Elizur W. Drake; Ralph R., who be- came a resident of Chicago in 1870, and died in 1872; Henry, who died in childhood; Lucinda F., Mrs. Solyman W. Grant, who departed this life at Conneaut, Ohio, in 1845; Samuel A.,

whose death occurred in New Jersey in 1864; and William E., whose name heads this notice.

The last-named became a student at East Wind- sor Academy, and completed his education at a similar institution at East Hartford, graduating therefrom at the age of eighteen years. It had been his intention to take up the study of law, but his father sternly forbade that plan, declaring that no man could simultaneously be a lawyer and a Christian. Accordingly he abandoned his cherished hopes, and in 1850 he went to Colum- bus, Ohio, as a representative of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. While in that city he was also the agent of the Springfield Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Springfield, Mass- achusetts, the State Mutual Fire of Pennsylvania, and the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Com- panies. His faithful and efficient management of the business in his hands soon caused other cor- porations to seek his services, and in 1858 he be- came the General Agent of the Girard Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and during the next two years established agencies in Chicago and all the principal cities of the West.

Since 1860 he has been permanently located in Chicago. In 1863 he organized the Merchants' Insurance Company of Chicago, which included among its stockholders many of the most substan- tial citizens and business men of the city. This

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J. G. ROGERS.

corporation had become well established, and was doing a most flattering, lucrative business, when it was overtaken by the great holocaust of 1871, going down-in company with many other or- dinarily invincible companies-before the un- dreamed-of assault upon its assets. The year fol- lowing that disaster, through Mr. Rollo's efforts, the Traders' Insurance Company was re-estab- lished and made a successful and solid institution. After two years, owing to failing health and other great demands upon his time, he turned over the enterprise to other parties. Since that time he has been carrying on the insurance agency of William E. Rollo & Son. This firm manages the

Western Department of the Girard Insurance Company, and represents a number of other lead- ing underwriting concerns.

Mr. Rollo was married, in October, 1845, to Miss Jane T. Fuller, daughter of Gen. Asa Ful- ler, of Ellington, Connecticut. Mrs. Rollo is a native of the same state, born at Somers. They are the parents of two daughters and a son, Jen- nie Sibyl, Evelyn Lavinia and William Fuller, the last-named being a member of the firm of William E. Rollo & Son. Mr. Rollo las adhered strictly to the business of underwriting, meeting with success where men of less energy and perse- verance would have despaired.

HON. JOHN G. ROGERS.

ON. JOHN GORIN ROGERS, who was for many years one of the ablest and most popu- lar jurists in Chicago, has been thus de- scribed by previous writers:

"Nature designed him for a Judge. His mind was of the judicial order, and he would in almost any community have been sought for to occupy a place on the Bench. The high esteem in which he was held as a jurist among the entire profession was the result of a rare combination of fine legal ability and culture and incorruptible integrity, with the dignified presence, absolute courage, and graceful urbanity which characterized all his offi- cial acts. Like the poet, the Judge is born, not made. To wear the ermine worthily, it is not enough for one to possess legal acumen, be learned in the principles of jurisprudence, familiar with precedents and thoroughly honest. Most men are unable wholly to divest themselves of preju- dice, even when acting uprightly, and are uncon- sciously warped in their judgment by their own mental characteristics or the peculiarities of their education. This unconscious influence is a dis-

turbing force, a variable factor, which more or less enters into the final judgment of all men. In this ideal jurist this factor was not discernible, and practically did not exist."

Judge Rogers traced his ancestry from some of the most honorable families of Virginia, being de- scended from Giles Rogers, who emigrated from Worcestershire, England, to Virginia in the sev- enteenth century. He settled at the present vil- lage of Dunkirk, on the Mattapony River, in King and Queen County. The maiden name of his wife, whom he is supposed to have married in Virginia, was Eason, or Eastliam. They were the parents of three sons and three daughters. One of the sons, John Rogers, married Mary Byrd, daughter of Captain William Byrd, who came from England to Virginia late in the seven- teenth century. Captain Byrd was a native of Cheshire, and received from the Crown a grant of land embracing most of the site of the present city of Richmond and of Manchester, on the op- posite side of the James River. John Rogers was a farmer and surveyor, and lived in King and

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J. G. ROGERS.

Queen County. He also took up land on the border between Carolina and Spottsylvania Coun- ties. His initials, with the date 1712, are carved upon a rock there. Among the descendants of John and Mary (Byrd) Rogers may be men- tioned General George Rogers Clark, the noted Kentucky frontiersman, and his brother, William Clark, the explorer of the American Northwest, beside a number of prominent military men, in- cluding Colonel George Grogham, of Fort Meigs and Sandusky memory, as well as several emi- nent statesmen and jurists. Among the latter was Hon. John Semple, who became a United States Senator from Illinois.

In the first year of the present century, Byrd Rogers, a son of John and Mary Rogers, moved to Fayette County, Kentucky, where he soon aft- erward died. He had four sons and two daugh- ters. One of the sons, George Rogers, became an eminent physician, and died at Glasgow, Ken- tucky, in March, 1860. He married Sarah Hen- sley Gorin, a daughter of General John Gorin, who served in the Continental army, and rose to the rank of Major during the War of 1812. Mrs. Sarah H. Rogers was born December 11, 1800, and died in 1870. Dr. and Mrs. Rogers had four sons and five daughters, and two of the former became Judges. These were John Gorin Rogers, the subject of this notice, and George Clark Rog- ers, who became a Circuit Judge at Bowling Green, Kentucky, and died tliere about 1870.

John Gorin Rogers was born at Glasgow, Ken- tucky, December 28, 1818, and died in Chicago, January 10, 1887. His primary education was obtained at the village school, and at the age of sixteen years he entered Center College at Dan- ville, Kentucky, an institution famous for its lect- ures on law, in which he acquired the founda- tion of his professional knowledge. Thence he went to Transylvania University at Lexington, from which he graduated in 1841, with the de- gree of Bachelor of Arts. He began his practice in his native town, being a part of the time asso- ciated witli his uncle, Hon. Franklin Gorin, one of the oldest lawyers of the State.

In 1857 he became a resident of Chicago, where his talents and ability soon won him a prominent

position at the Bar. In 1870 he was chosen one of the five Judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County, a position to which he was repeatedly re-elected and continued to hold during the bal- ance of his life. He commanded the universal re- spect of the people and the members of the Bar, and, though he was always nominated as a Dem- ocrat, he received the support of many leading Republicans.

Judge Rogers always took an active interest in public affairs, and previous to his elevation to the Bench he was interested in many prominent political movements, though he was never a vio- lent partisan. In early life he was an old-line Henry Clay Whig, and in 1848, and again in 1852, he was placed on the electoral ticket of that party in Kentucky. In 1860 he became identi- fied with the Democratic party, and was placed on the Bell and Everett electoral ticket of Illinois. In 1856 he was a member of the convention which nominated Millard Fillmore for President of the United States. Had lie chosen to pursue a polit- ical career, he could, no doubt, have held some of the highest offices in the Nation; but after his election to the Bench he refrained from taking any active part in politics, contending that a Judge should be in all things strictly non-partisan, and should not lower the dignity of his office, or subject himself to a charge of prejudice or favor- itism, or place himself in any position where any one might think that he had a claim on him for special favors.

Though not a total abstainer, Judge Rogers was always an advocate of the temperance cause, and at one time was Grand Worthy Patriarch of the Sons of Temperance of the State of Kentucky. In 1849 he joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and from that time until his death was the recipient of numerous honors from the order. In 1863 he was elected Grand Master of Illinois, and in 1869 was Grand Representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge of the United States. Aft- er the great Chicago fire, he was selected as one of the Chicago Odd Fellows' Relief Committee, and as treasurer of that body received and dis- bursed $125,000. He helped to organize the Char- ity Organization Society, which was formed to

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promote the co-operation of all the charitable or- ganizations of the city in 1883. In 1878 he was elected the first President of the Illinois Club, and was re-elected to that position in 1882. He was also a prominent member of the Iroquois Club.

Judge Rogers was always popular in society, where his genial love for humanity and sincerity of purpose won him a host of friends, and his name came to be a household word among the older residents of Chicago. He always manifest- ed a deep interest in the poor and humble of his fellow-citizens, and would often stop to grasp the hand of a man of no social position, while he might merely pass with a pleasant bow a million- aire or social leader.

In 1844 Mr. Rogers was married to Miss Ara-

bella E. Crenshaw, daughter of Hon. B. Mills Crenshaw, who afterward became Chief Justice of the State of Kentucky. Mrs. Rogers, who still survives her noble husband, is a lady of higlı culture and many accomplishments, and to her loving thoughtfulness and kindly assistance may be attributed much of the success achieved by her husband. They were the parents of four chil- dren, all of whom reside in Chicago. Henry, the eldest son, though finely endowed intellectually, owing to ill-health has not been actively engaged in business for many years; and George Mills Rogers, the second son, is a well known attorney and Master in Chancery; the eldest daughter is the wife of Joseph M. Rogers; and Sarah is the wife of ex-Judge Samuel P. McConnell.

EDSON KEITH.

DSON KEITH, one of Chicago's self-made men, is numbered among the most energet- ic, honorable, progressive and broad-minded residents of the city. He was born at Barre, Ver- mont, January 28, 1833, and is a son of Martin Keith, a prominent farmer and builder of that place, who afterward became a resident of Chicago.

The Keith family in America are all descend- ants of Rev. James Keith, of Bridgewater, Mass- achusetts, who emigrated from Scotland about 1660. Though but sixteen years of age at that time, he was a graduate of Aberdeen College, and became the pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Bridgewater. It is said that his first sermon was delivered from a rock in "Mill Pasture," so- called, near the river. He married Susannah, daughter of Deacon Samuel Edson, and they had nine children: James, Joseph, Samuel, Timothy, John, Jariah, Margaret, Mary and Susannah. Unto James (second) were born eight children:

James, Mary, Gensham, Israel, Faithful, Esther, Jane and Simeon. The children of James (third) were: Noah, Comfort, James and Abigail. One of the children of Comfort Keitlı was Abijah, born June 20, 1770. He was born in Uxbridge, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and was one of the early settlers of Barre, Washington Coun- ty, Vermont.

Martin Keith was the second son of Abijah, and was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, Feb- ruary 23, 1800, and came with his father's family to Barre, Vermont, in 1804. He was married to Miss Betsey French, and had seven children: Damon, Judith, Osborn R., Edson, Byron and Elbridge Gerry.

Betsey French was one of the fourteen children of Bartholomew and Susannah French, who came to Barre from Alstead, New Hampshire, in 1791. Bartholomew French, who was one of the earliest settlers of Barre, built the first mill in that place.

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EDSON KEITH.

He was a veteran of the Revolutionary War, and was born in Sutton, Massachusetts. A historian of the town of Barre says: "To this energetic man and his descendants much of the prosperity of the town, from the time of his arrival until the present day, is due." Twelve of his seventeen children lived until the youngest was past sixty years of age. At least two of his sons served in the War of 1812, and one of them, named Bar- tholomew, commanded a company of Vermont troops, and served as a Captain of militia for many years afterward.

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Keith removed to Chica- go in 1859. The former died here in 1876, at the age of nearly seventy-seven years, and the latter in 1868, aged about seventy years. They were worthy representatives of the pioneer families of New England, and cherished the same love of hon- or and truth for which their ancestors were con- spicuous, while practicing that rigid adherence to principle which has distinguished their posterity.

Edson Keith passed his childhood upon the homestead farm and in attendance at the public school. At the age of seventeen years he went to Montpelier, where the next four years were spent. Il1 1854 he came to Chicago, beginning his mercantile career in this city as clerk in a re- tail dry-goods store. Two years later he became a salesman and collector for a wholesale house, dealing in hats, caps and furs. In 1860 he be- came a member of the firm of Keith, Faxon & Company, jobbers of hats, caps, furs and milli- nery. Since that tinie he has been continuously associated with that line of business, though the style of the firm has undergone a number of changes and transformations, and the volume of its transactions has been repeatedly multiplied. He is now senior member of the wholesale fancy dry-goods and millinery establishment of Edson Keith & Company, on Wabash Avenue, and President of the firm of Kcith Brothers & Com- pany, wholesale dealers in hats, caps, etc., whose place of business is on Adams Street. In addition to these, he is proprietor of Keith & Company, grain warchouseinen, and is a stockholder and Director of tlie Metropolitan National Bank.

He has ever taken a keen interest in the growth and progress of Chicago, maintaining perfect con- fidence in its future greatness, and has at differ- ent times managed some extensive real-estate transactions, which not only have contributed to his personal gain, but have been important fac- tors in the financial prosperity of the commun- ity.

But a few years had elapsed after casting in his lot with the growing metropolis before he had es- tablished a reputation for integrity of character and honorable dealing which has ever been con- sistently maintained, and he enjoys the esteem and confidence of his colleagues and coadjutors to a degree attained by few men in the West.

In 1860 Mr. Keith was happily married to Miss Woodruff, of Chicago. This union has been blessed with two sons: Edson, Jr., a graduate of Yale College and later of Columbia Law School, New York City; and Walter W., a graduate of Yale.

Though a sympathizer with Republican princi- ples, Mr. Keith is not a strict partisan, but sup- ports such men for public office as he deems most worthy of his confidence. And, while he does not hold membership with any religious organiz- ation, he is a liberal supporter of institutions tend- ing to upbuild the moral and intellectual senti- ment of the people. He is a patron of art and literature, and was for several terms a Vice-Presi- dent of the Art Institute of Chicago. He served for three years as President of the Citizens' Asso- ciation, in the inception of which he was one of the foremost movers, and which did a great work in the reform of municipal and state affairs. He was three years President of the Calumet Club, and is identified with numerous other leading clubs of Chicago and New York City. His hon- orable and successful career stands out on the horizon of Chicago's history, a fitting example to its rising generations of the rewards which await persistent and intelligent application, when accompanied by straightforward dealing, but- tressed with regular habits and unswerving integ .. rity of character.

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 2nd ed., Part 13

Author: Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Chicago : Calumet Book & Engr. Co. Number of Pages: 808

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago : Calumet Book & Engr. Co.
Number of Pages: 808