Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 2nd ed., Part 36

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

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On November 28, 1870, in Chicago, Mr. Ham- mett married Miss Mary E. Culver, who is a native of that city. Her parents, John Breese Culver and Margaret A. Boyd, were born in New Jersey, and the city of Leith, Scotland, respec- tively, tlie latter being a daughter of John and Jeannette Boyd. Mrs. Hammett's paternal grand- father, Phineas Culver, was born March 17, 1764, in Bernard, Somerset County, N. J. His father came from Shrewsbury, England, to Bernard when an old man, and Phineas was early left an orphan.

With three elder brothers he joined the fortunes of the Continental Army, being employed for sev- eral years as errand boy, and carrying a musket at last. He settled at Horseheads, N. Y., and became wealthy, owning five hundred acres of land, but he refused to employ slave labor, as did many of liis neighbors. His wife, Phœbe Breese, was a daughter of John and Hannah (Gilder- sleeve) Breese, the former one of the first set- tlers at Horseheads, N. Y., and his wife a scion of an old Protestant-Irish family. John, father of John Breese, was born in Shrewsbury, England, in 1713, and settled at Bernard, Somerset County, N. J., in 1735. His wife, Dorothy Riggs, was also a native of Shrewsbury. John Breese, their son, was born at Bernard in November, 1738. Hannah Gildersleeve was born in June, 1750, and they were married June 30, 1769, a date which is supposed to have followed his settlement at Horse- heads. Phœbe and Deboralı Breese, their twin daughters, were born in February, 1773. From the Breese family are descended many noted American citizens, among whom may be mnen- tioned the late Judge Samuel Sidney Breese, Chief Justice of the State of Illinois; Samuel Findlay Breese Morse, inventor of the electric telegraph; and Samuel Sidney Breese, Rear-Admiral of the United States Navy, who was buried at Newport.

John B. Culver, one of the prominent early citizens of Chicago, now resides with his daugh- ter, Mrs. Hammett, at Wheaton. The children of the latter, nine in number, are as follows: Albert, a student in the medical department of the Michigan University at Ann Arbor; Llewel- lyn; Edith May; Edward; Helen; Amy; Law- rence; Dorothy and Margaret. The eldest mar- ried Mary Ione Cook, of Chicago.

Mr. and Mrs. Hammett are communicants of the Methodist Church, and in many ways are active in furthering the best interests of the community. Their home bears miany evidences of refined and cultivated taste, and is the domicile of a happy and well-trained group of children, the central figure being the cheerful wife and mother. Mr. Hammett has never taken a prominent part in political affairs, but has always adhered to the Republican party, as the advocate and adminis-

302

P. P. MATTHEWS.

trator of sound principles of government. He has served as a member of the Town Council of Wheaton, and is now a Trustee of the Adams Memorial Library. Without any sound of trump-

ets, he proceeds daily to perform to the best of his ability his duty to himself, his family and his fellow-men.

PASCHAL P. MATTHEWS.

7 ASCHAL P. MATTHEWS, one of the highly respected citizens of Hinsdale, who well de- serves representation in the history of his adopted county, is a native of the Empire State. He was born in Herkimer County, August 3, 1811, and is a son of Edmund and Lucy (Mc- Clelland) Matthews, the former of French descent, and the latter of Scotch lineage. Edmund Matth- ews was twice married, and by his first union had a son, Charles. By the second, there were five children: Henry; Lucy, deceased, wife of Reuben Wellington; Paschal P .; Emery, and Lucretia, deceased, wife of Myron Everetts. In early life the father of this family was a carpenter, and helped to build the first market-place in Bos- ton. Later, however, he followed agricultural pursuits. He served during the War of 1812, as Quartermaster, and died on his farm in New York September 2, 1848, at the age of seventy- three years. His wife survived him some time, and passed away February 17, 1862. They held membership with the Presbyterian Church in Mexico, Oswego County, N. Y.

Mr. Matthews whose name heads this record spent his boyhood and youth upon his father's farm, remaining at home until he had reached his twentieth year, when he began to earn his own livelihood. Later, he attended school for a few months, and then engaged with a stage company for ten years. He was afterward for nearly ten years captain of a packet-boat on the Erie Canal, running between Syracuse, Schenectady and Utica. With the hope of bettering his financial condi-

tion, lie determined to come to the West in 1859, and, carrying out this resolution, took up his residence in Chicago. He embarked in the grain business, and was connected with the Board of Trade for many years, continuing operations along this line until 1883, when he retired from active business.

On the 21st of May, 1840, Mr. Matthews wedded Miss Louisa Vinton, and they became the parents of one child, a daughter, Alice, now the wife of Nelson R. Davis. The mother died in 1891, since which time a niece of Mr. Matthews has been keeping house for him.

For many years our subject lias been a mem- ber of the Odd Fellows' fraternity. In early life he exercised his right of franchise in support of the Whig party, but on its dissolution joined the ranks of the new Republican party and has since fought under its banner. It was in 1889 that he came to Hinsdale, where he has a beautiful home and ten acres of valuable land within the corpora- tion limits of the town. He has now reached the age of eighty-two, but his years rest lightly upon him, and he is still strong and active. His eyes are bright, his mind clear and keen, and he is a good and rapid penman. While not a church member, he has always attended religious services and contributed liberally to church and benevo- lent work. He is a man of fine physique and excellent carriage, and bids fair to live for many years to come. His life has been honorable and upright, and his many friends hold him in high regard.

MARSHALL FIELD

MARSHALL FIELD.

303

MARSHALL FIELD.

M ARSHALL FIELD, the merchant prince of Chicago, who believes in sharing his pros- perity with his fellow-citizens, comes of the hardy New England blood which has done so much toward developing the whole northern half of the United States. He was born in Conway; Franklin County, Mass., in 1835, and is a son of a farmer of that town. His early life differed none from that of lads of that time and region. His education was supplied by the local public school and academy, and his attention was early turned toward a mercantile career, which accord- ed best with his tastes and ambition.

The student of human progress, and the youth who seeks an example worthy of his emulation, in the struggle for success will find in the career of Marshall Field one more proof that the road to prosperity ís a plain and narrow path, which lies open to almost every American youth. With no capital other than an active brain and the en- ergy of youth, he laid the foundation of a mag- nificent estate, and a firm adherence to a simple rule of business has enabled him to complete the superstructure. He has never borrowed money, and has always insisted on the same rigid com- pletion of contracts on the part of others which has characterized his own actions.

At the age of seventeen, young Field went to Pittsfield, in his native State, where he spent four years as clerk in a general store. Having thor- oughly mastered the details of the business, he began to look about for a field that promised a wider opportunity for a young man. At that time (1856), Chicago was a city of about sixty thousand people, and he resolved to cast his lot in the growing town, which showed an energy that promised a rapid development. On his ar-

rival in Chicage, he at once secured employment in the wholesale dry-goods house of Cooley, Wadsworth & Co., which soon after became known as Cooley, Farwell & Co. Though he occupied a subordinate position, his ability and familiarity with business soon became appar- ent to his employers, and at the end of four years he was taken into partnership, and the largest house of its kind in the West became Farwell, Field & Co. In 1865 this firm was dis- solved, and Mr. Field entered into a partnership with Potter Palmer and L. Z. Leiter, under the title of Field, Palmer & Leiter, which connection continued two years, at the end of which time Mr. Palmer withdrew, and the house was hence- forth known as Field, Leiter & Co. until 1881, when, upon the withdrawal of Mr. Leiter, the style became Marshall Field & Co., and has so continued. For almost thirty years Mr. Field has been the head of the firm, and under the operation of his simple business rules it has steadily prospered. In 1868 the business was located at State and Washington Streets, where the buildings and stock were totally consumed in the great fire of 1871, entailing a loss of three and one-half millions of dollars. After serious delays, and with much difficulty, two and one- half millions of this were collected from the insur- ance companies, and with a dead loss of one mill- ion dollars, the business was continued, being temporarily located at State and Twentieth Streets, while the rebuilding of the house at State and Washington went on. This has been grad- ually increased in size by purchase and construc- tion until it covers more than one-half of the block bounded by State, Washington and Ran- dolph Streets and Wabash Avenue. In the year

304

J. A. DOLLINGER.

1893, the portion covering the southeast corner was constructed, embodying every essential of comfort and convenience known to the modern builder's art. The wholesale department was separated from the retail in 1872, and removed to the corner of Madison and Market Streets. This location was soon found inadequate for the needs of the business, which was continually increasing, and in 1885 the construction of a building for the wholesale business was begun on the block sur- rounded by Fifth Avenue and Franklin, Adams and Quincy Streets. This was completed in 1887, and at once occupied, and continues to be the model of its kind for the whole world.

Such, in brief, is the record of achievements. Let none ask for further details. To the subject of this biography all publicity is extremely dis- tasteful. The public demands all the knowledge obtainable, some from motives of mere curiosity, others from honest desire to benefit from the ex- perience of a successful man. If one would em- ulate his example, let him adopt the same rules of life: Always pay cash, never give a note or mortgage, labor steadily, and never speculate or spend anything idly. In the conduct of the great wholesale house of Marshall Field & Co., goods are purchased for cash and sold on short time. Customers are strictly required to meet their payments, and are thus led to be cautious in contracting obligations, and prompt in their cancellation. By this method, the house retains the trade of the best and most success- ful merchants, and the interests of all are con- served. Under this safe and wholesome system,

the trade has grown to the annual dimensions of $35,000,000. The pay-roll of the two stores in- cludes from 3,500 to 4,000 persons, and to all of these, as well as any who may have business with him, Mr. Field is always accessible. Witlı a won- derful power of organization, and the ability to gauge the qualifications of his subordinates, he encourages each by uniform kindness and consid- eration, and all are most loyal and faithful aids in the prosecution of business.

Mr. Field's home is the seat of quiet luxury, with 110 ostentation. He goes little into society, but takes a deep interest in the welfare of the city of his home, and responds liberally to all just calls upon his purse, though much of his benevo- lence is secretly bestowed. When the estab- lishment of the new University of Chicago was made possible by the liberality of Mr. Rockefeller and others, Mr. Field donated a valuable tract of city ground as a part of the site. This gift seems all the more liberal in view of the fact that the institution is controlled by the Baptist Church, while Mr. Field is a Presbyterian. After the World's Columbian Exposition was closed, the people of Chicago began to agitate the idea of preserving as much as possible of the exhibits in a permanent home, which was made possible by Mr. Field's gift of one million dollars. On the second day of June, 1894, this institution was formally opened, under the title of " The Field Columbian Museum, " witlı a few simple cereno- nies, and its benefits are likely to extend to many generations and many millions of the American people.

JOHN ANTON DOLLINGER.

OHN ANTON DOLLINGER, a traveling salesman residing at Wheaton, is numbered among the early residents of Du Page County, and has made his own way in the world since he was ten years of age. He was born in Baden,

Germany, on the 24th of December, 1845, and is the eldest child of Christopher Dollinger, a native of the same place. His mother died when he was an infant, and when he had arrived at the age of twelve years his father brought the four children

305

D. N. CHAPIN.

to America. The second child, Adelaide, Mrs. George Rieser, resides in Naperville Township, DuPage County. Christopher, Jr., is a resident of Colorado Springs, Colo .; and Margaret, Mrs. Luther, dwells in Fredericksburg, Neb. Chris- topher Dollinger engaged in farming in Naper- ville Township, where he died in 1873, aged about sixty years.

From the time of his arrival in America, our subject has been independent of parental aid in supporting or educating himself. He took em- ployment in a hotel and meat-market kept by his maternal uncle, Nicholas Graff, at Danby, now Glen Ellyn, attending school a portion of the time, and continued in this way until the death of his uncle. He was afterward employed in a general store until 1862, when he entered the military service, as a member of Company I, One Hundred and Fifth Illinois Infantry, in defense of the American Union. This service continued about three years, and involved a participation in many of the most decisive battles of the war. Mr. Dollinger was mustered out at Washington in June, 1865. While in front of Chattanooga, he was excused from duty on account of illness, but refused to leave his comrades, and remained at the front to the finish.

Since 1867 Mr. Dollinger has been in mercan- tile business, and for some years kept a grocery in Chicago. For the last seventeen years he has traveled in the capacity of salesman, and twelve of those years have been passed in the service of his present employers, Franklin MacVeaglı & Co. In 1872 he became a resident of Wheaton, and he is the owner of a handsome brick residence on Wesley Street, near Scott. He takes an active interest in the social affairs of the town, being a prominent member of the Grand Army of the Re- public and Knights of Pythias, as well as a genial, magnetic gentleman, whose friends are numbered by his list of acquaintances. He entertains lib- eral religious views, and is an ardent supporter of the principles of the Republican party.

In 1868 Mr. Dollinger married Miss Eniagene C. Wicks, who was born in Carthage, N. Y., and bears in her veins the blood of the principal Eu- ropean settlers of New England and New York -French, English and Dutch. Her parents were Stutley and Ann E. (Strong) Wicks, the former being a son of Stutley Wicks, whose wife's maiden name was Treadway. Three children complete the family of Mr. and Mrs. Dollinger, namely: Anna W., Charles A. and William.

DEACON NEWTON CHAPIN.

12 EACON NEWTON CHAPIN, deceased, a prominent resident of northeastern Illinois, was a man widely and favorably known. He was born in Chicopee, Mass., April 17, 1821, and was a son of William and Lucy (Day) Chapin. The family is descended from Deacon Samuel Chapin, who emigrated from England about 1640. He was one of the seven men who founded Spring- field, Mass., and was prominent in the 'govern- ment of that town for many years. Twenty

thousand of his descendants contributed to the erection of a monument to his memory in Spring- field a few years since. His direct descendants now number fifty thousand people, about three- fourths of whom are professed Christians, inany of them being widely known in church work and other fields of labor. The family is indeed an honored one.

Newton Chapin spent his boyhood upon a farm, aiding in the labors of the fields from an early

306

D. N. CHAPIN.

age. His school privileges in youth were limited, but, wishing to acquire a good education, he at- tended Andover Academy after reaching the age of twenty-one, meeting his tuition with money saved from his wages as a mechanic. Leaving school, he engaged in carpenter work in Spring- field, and followed that occupation and bridge- building until 1856, when he decided to seek a home in the West, hoping thereby to benefit his financial condition. Coming to Illinois, he located in Chicago. The previous season he spent a few months in St. Louis, Mo. In 1867, he removed to Lombard, where he made his home until 1874, when he returned to Chicago. In this city Mr. Chapin was engaged in bridge and depot building, his first contract being the building of the first Van Buren Street bridge. He was associated first with William B. Howard, and later with D. L. Wells, and built many bridges for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and other corpor- ations. He was the inventor of the "Newton Chapin Clamp and Key" for truss bridges.

In the great fire of 1871, he lost all his property, but managed to pay off his creditors in full, al- though he never afterward became a wealthy man. He was a man whose word was as good as his bond, and no one ever suffered loss at his hands. After the fire he became interested in the manu- facture and sale of the Babcock Fire Extinguisher, and was also associated with his son in the station- ery business. He was the publisher of "Chapin's Lumber Reckoner," which is now in general use throughout the United States and Europe. A short time before the great fire Mr. Chapin had returned home after a fifteen-months trip abroad. He was accompanied by his family, and visited many places of interest in Europe, Asia and Africa. The journey was made chiefly on account of the health of Mr. Chapin, and in 1876 he went to Denver, Colo., hoping thereby to benefit his health. He returned to Chicago in 1878, where he continued to reside until his death, December

17, 1887. He was married forty years previous, i11 1847, to Carra B. Sawin, a native of Ashland, Mass. They became parents of six children, four of whom died in childhood. William Newton Chapin, the eldest, now has charge of the produc- tion of tlie Ticonderoga Paper Campany, of Ticon- deroga, N. Y. He married Ella T. Hull, daugh- ter of R. E. Hull, of Detroit, Mich., and they have had five children, of whom one died in infancy, while Edna, Mary, Helen and Newton are still living. Charles O., the other son of the family, is engaged in the manufacture of stationery special- ties in Chicago. He resides in Lombard and is a member of the Congregational Church of that place. He takes a very active part in the work of the church, and the Christian Endeavor Society, and is always ready to aid in promoting the best in- terests of the community in which he lives. In Denver, Colo., he wedded Fannie E., daughter of J. G. A. and S. E. Finn. They have adopted three children, two of whom died in infancy, and Ruth Sawin Chapin, the third, died June 20, 1893; at the age of four years and three months. Mrs. Carra Chapin, wife of our subject, was called to her final rest November 24, 1885, at the age of fifty-nine.

Mr. Chapin became one of the Deacons of Ply- mouth Congregational Church of Chicago as early as 1857, and was ever prominent in its work and upbuilding. He contributed liberally to the erec- tion of the house of worship, and on removing to Lombard became the prime mover in the building of the Congregational Church at that place. He was always active in church work, and at his death was a teacher in the Sunday-school of the Union Tabernacle Congregational Church. He was a man of fixed principles and strict integrity, whose whole life was governed by conscientious motives. Always interested in the spiritual welfare of the community, he left to his family an untarnished name, well worthy of perpetuation in the history of his adopted county.

307

C. H. HARRISON.

HON. CARTER H. HARRISON.

ON. CARTER H. HARRISON, deceased, late Mayor of Chicago, was one of the most prominent citizens of the western metropolis for the long period of thirty-six years, and was its most popular citizen. The record of his life is interwoven with the history of the community, with its social, business and political career. A native of Fayette County, Ky., he came of an old Virginian family, which was connected with the struggle for independence, and which had among its members one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. His father was a gentleman planter, and from his birth, February 15, 1825, until his sixteenth year, he remained in the old southern home. After completing his common- school and academic education, he studied under Dr. Marshall, of Lexington, brother of Chief Justice Marshall, thus preparing himself for his university course. He entered the sophomore class at Yale in 1842, and was graduated in law and letters in 1845. At college he was a member of the Scroll and Key Society, whose roster em- braces the names of the most prominent men who claim Yale as their Alma Mater. After his re- turn to Kentucky, Mr. Harrison attended a post- graduate course of law lectures for a year. He then went back to his boyhood home, and was the manager of the large plantation from 1847 to 1851

In the latter year, Mr. Harrison went abroad, spending some months in visiting Paris, London, Edinburgh and the cities of Germany and Austria. The ostensible purpose of this trip was the pur- chase of some blooded cattle, and this business brought him in contact with the Earl of Ducie, at whose country seat he made a long visit. It was during this trip that he studied the French and German languages, his knowledge of which proved of immense benefit to him in later years, and inade him one of the best representatives of

the nation in receiving the foreign visitors at the World's Columbian Exposition, so lately closed. Leaving Europe, Mr. Harrison then spent many months in travel through Syria, Palestine and Asia Minor, in company with Bayard Taylor, who was then gathering material for his book, "The Land of the Saracen," in the preface of which the author refers to "my traveling con- panion, Mr. Carter Henry Harrison, of Clifton, Ky."

Returning to his native land and State in 1852, Mr. Harrison completed his law studies and was soon afterwards admitted to the Bar. In 1855, he married Miss Sophie Preston, of Henderson, Ky., and unto them were born four children who are yet living: Lina, wife of Heaton Owsley, of Chicago; Carter H., Jr .; William Preston and Sophie G. There were six other children, all of whom died in early youth.

Chicago was first visited by Mr. Harrison the year of his marriage, and so well pleased was he with the young city that he sold his Ken- tucky home, and in 1857 made a permanent loca- tion here. The $30,000 which he secured from his Kentucky property he at once invested in real estate. One of his earliest purchases was the block at the corner of Clark and Harrison Streets, which he still owned at the time of his death, and which in the years that have passed has be- come very valuable. He also bought unim- proved land on the West Side, which was later made the Carter Harrison Subdivision. His first home was at the southwest corner of Hermitage Avenue and Congress Street, where he erected a residence in 1860. Six years later he purchased the Honore home at No. 231 Ashland Avenue, where he continued to reside until his death.

On coming to Chicago, he engaged to a limi- ted extent in law practice, but he who was to be- come so well known as an orator and extempor-

308

C. H. HARRISON.

aneous speaker was then so timid about public speaking that he abandoned the law. In 1871, he entered upon his official career, being elected County Commissioner. In1 1872, he was pre- vailed upon to make the race for Congress against Jasper D. Ward, but was defeated by seven hundred votes. In 1874, he again accepted the nomination. He and his opponent, Mr. Ward, who had defeated him two years previously,. both claimed the election, and on a recount of votes Mr. Harrison was declared the winner by a majority of eight. It was while he was in Congress that, in September, 1876, his wife died. She passed away in Gera, Germany, where the elder children were attending school, and was there interred. While Mr. Harrison was crossing the ocean to bring his motherless children home, his Democratic constituents nominated him for Congress, and a few days after his return he was re-elected, defeating Col. George R. Davis by six hundred votes. Later the remains of his wife were brought back to Chicago and interred at Grace- land. He refused the re-nomination for Congress in 1878.

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 2nd ed., Part 36

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