Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 2nd ed., Part 68

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

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Notwithstanding the enormous demands of his practice, Dr. Earle wrote a large number of med- ical articles on a wide range of subjects, which at- tracted the attention of the profession, not only in America, but in Europe.

Among his writings were notable essays on tem- perance, education, military themes and general topics. He contributed much to medical journals and was one of the authors of "Keating's Cyclope- dia of Diseases of Children," and also of the "American Text Book of Diseases of Children."

From his occupancy of the Chair of Diseases of Children in the Woman's Medical College, Dr. Earle was able to publish many papers on pedi- atrics. Among others is one entitled: "Diphthe- ria, and Its Municipal Control," after the reading of which before the Chicago Medical Society, a resolution was offered by Dr. Earle and passed without a dissenting vote, recommending the pres- ent system of placarding infected houses. He also wrote articles on typhoid fever and influenza.

Dr. Earle was an earnest, consistent Christian throughout his life, from the time he united with the Congregational Church at fourteen years of age. In 1870, he became a member of the Union Park Congregational Church of Chicago, where his name has ever since had an honored place.

At a meeting of the Chicago Gynæcological So- ciety, held May 24, 1894, Dr. Henry T. Byford said of Dr. Earle: "Outside of the profession he * was popular and prominent. *

* He was passionately fond of music and was a good singer. Hewas a favorite after-dinner orator. He possessed a commanding, almost colossal, figure, a hand- some face, a powerful intellect, a magnetic tem- perament, and a voice whose sonorous and sympa- thetic vibrations commanded attention and made friends. He took no vacations and worked almost incessantly, notwithstanding the urgent and con- stant appeals made by his wife and friends. But the limit of physical endurance was reached on October 20, 1893, when he was taken ill with spinal meningitis. Cerebral symptoms soon de- veloped, and he died November 19."

Dr. Foster said: "In the medical societies he encouraged cordial fraternal relations among their members and the dissemination of practical knowl- edge in the profession, and appreciated the power of societies for public good, either through indi- vidual effort or by united influence upon special legislation. My acquaintance with Dr. Earle dates from his graduation. During his entire professional career he was aggressively active, never daunted, always hopeful. He had an ex- ceptionally large circle of friends, and few enemies, notwithstanding his pronounced and outspoken opinions. He was a born fighter of disease, and was as anxious and determined to exterminate it as

MARY W. OSBORN

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M. W. W. OSBORN.

he was to overcome any other obstacle. He was the ideal representative family physician. Dr. Earle was thoroughly practical in his teaching; he practiced what he taught, and taught wliat he practiced. He did not pretend to be a classical and learned professor, but instilled into his stu- dents all that he knew of the subject he was teaching."

Dr. E. J. Doering said: "I certainly never knew a more generous, gentle and kind-hearted man than Dr. Earle. His very presence was an inspiration, his genial and cordial greeting made us all feel at home, and I feel that in his death we sustain a loss we never can fill, and that we shall always treasure and cherish his memory as long as life lasts."

MARY W. W. OSBORN.

ARY WHITING WHEELER OSBORN. The subject of this sketch was born as early in the century as November 26, 1809, at Dorchester, Massachusetts, unto .William and Jerusha Wheeler (nee Whiting). Like her con- temporaries in "rock-bound" New England, she had only a common school education, finishing with the "R's" at fourteen, and beginning the active duties of an unusually long and happy life

Her mother died at a time when this daughter, of whom we are writing, was but six months old, leaving only one other daughter, Jerusha, who died in Michigan in 1891, aged past eighty-five. Indeed, the whole family seem to be of excep- tional vitality. Mary Whiting Wheeler, even before leaving school, was, nights and mornings, already at her tasks, which developed in her the busy, contented spirit which has continued to characterize her days down into the vale of ad- vanced years. In the old days of the early na- tion, all were useful members of society; to labor was a pride, not in any sense a mortification. And so, at fourteen, our subject most cheerfully started in to help support her aged grandparents, Jotham and Susannah Whiting, of Hingham, Massachusetts, by fitting shoes, which for years was her skilled and remunerative custom, for such old merchants as Caleb Loud, Elias Hunt,

Abner Curtiss and Goddard Read, the local Astors and Stewarts of their day.

It is worthy historical mention of those times, now faded since the invention of machinery, to pause to narrate how she received for her labors from four to seven cents per pair for fitting shoes, "finding" for herself needles, thread, wax, awls, clamps, etc., the merchants furnishing only the stock. Yet she sometimes made as high as six pairs a day, which was good pay for the times, and we can readily believe that none of her mates ran their fingers more deftly along their work than she.

Her early days were spent in Abbington (now Rockland), Massachusetts, where many of her relatives still survive, and where on November 6, 1827, in her home, she was married to John William Osborn, of Pembroke, Massachusetts. He was a very skillful shoemaker of his day. She moved with her husband, in 1830, to Pembroke, Massachusetts; thence in 1840 to Tecuinseli, Len- awee County, Michigan, where her husband died in 1877; thence to Elkhart, Indiana, to live with her eldest daughter, Mrs. Susannah W. Hart. From this place she came to Chicago, where she is at present staying with her daughter, Mrs. Sherwood.

She has had eleven children, of whom nine are yet living-Susannah W., who married Malcolm

520

DAVID FIELWEBER.

Hart, of Elkhart, Indiana; James W., who mar- ried Margaret Delamater, of Tecumseh, Michi- gan, who died leaving three children, Vesty E., Margaret and Mary Alice; John Henry, who married Anne Whittemore, by whom he had three children, William and Carrie, twins, and Mamie Loretta; Mary Caroline, who married Nathaniel Lampman, and became the mother of four children-William Hart, Charles Edward, Oliver Rufus and Albert Clealand; Abigail M., who married George W. Sherwood (for whom and her husband, as long time residents of Chi- cago, see sketch on another page); Benjamin A., who married Sarah Whittemore, by whom he had two children, Frederick Arthur and Margaret; he had a second wife, Rose Calvert, by whom he had no children. George F., who married Laviah Hill-one child, Jennie; Louis A., who married Mollie Steinberg, to whom were born three chil- dren, Edgar Louis, Hattie May and Bessie B .; Lucetta A., who was married to Charles Bemis, and became the mother of six children, Herbert, Wallace, Bertha Alice, Earnest Osborn, Guy, Bernice and Ethel May; Edward Wilbur, who died in Adrian, Michigan, in February, 1855, aged four; Edward Eugene, who married Annie

Calvert, by whom he had four children, Lillian May, Harry Wilbur, George Malcolm and Ben- jamin Franklin.

At the age of eighty-five past, the subject of this sketch is living in good health and spirits, hale and hearty; and seemingly the veil of more than a nonogenarian will be drawn before she leaves a life whereof she has none but pleasant memories to add to present comforts. She has thirty-six grandchildren and thirty-two great- grandchildren. Who of our residents can point to a more numerous progeny, while yet living?

Without the aid of glasses she sews with a readiness and accuracy that is marvelous; is an excellent conversationalist and with memory ex- ceptionally retentive for her years. On the occasion of the celebration of her octogenarian birthday, no fewer than three metrical compositions, in good taste, written by her descendants, greeted her ears:

"Care's wrinkled the brow of dear inother, Her hair is now turned quite gray; One hardly would think so, to see her, 'That mother is eighty to day."

(See genealogy under shetch of George W. Sherwood.)

DAVID FIELWEBER.

12 AVID FIELWEBER, a blacksmith of Mor- ton Grove, who is also engaged in business as a dealer in buggies, wagons, harvesters, agricultural implements and hardware, is num- bered among the leading business men of Niles Township. Enterprise and industry have won for him success, and his reputation is one well merited. He was born in Lake County, Illinois, December 16, 1856, and is a son of Jacob and Kate (Hierchberker) Fielweber. This worthy couple were married in 1844, and the same year

left Germany, the land of their birth, for the New World. The father was born in Alsace, then a part of France, June 5, 1818, and served as a soldier for seven years in the French army. The paternal grandfather, Jacob Fielweber, was also a native of Alsace, and fought under Napoleon in the war with Russia.

David Fielweber is the second or youngest son in order of birth in a family of ten children, numbering two sons and eight daughters, of whom Sarah and Carrie are now deceased. Those

521

D. L. ROBERTS.

still living are: Jacob, a farmer of Dennison, Crawford County, Iowa, who is the sixth eldest; David, of this sketch; Katie, wife of George Popp, a farmer of Waterloo, Iowa; Ellen, a resi- dent of Chicago; Frederika, wife of John Keller, who is in the flour and feed business in Chicago; Sophia, widow of Henry Methling, of Chicago; Emma, wife of John Urich, a policeman of the sanie city; and Louisa, wife of Otto Buelow, a commission merchant of Chicago.

Under the parental roof Mr. Fielweber whose name heads this record spent the days of his boyhood and youth. At the age of seventeen lie began learning the trade of blacksmithing, serv- ing a three-years apprenticeship, and since that time has made it his life work. He was first em- ployed in Wauconda Township, Lake County, for three years; afterwards spent one year in Pal- atine, Cook County, and four years in Chicago. He then began business for himself as a dealer in agricultural implements and hardware in Niles Township, buying a three-acre lot, upon which was an inferior dwelling and shop. With less than $300 he began operations here, but his busi- ness has steadily increased, until he now employs

eight men and is enjoying an extensive trade. Since buying his lot he lias erected a two-story building for his machinery, and in 1891 he built a neat two-story frame dwelling in modern style of architecture and supplied with all modern conveniences.

On the 2d of July, 1882, Mr. Fielweber led to the marriage altar Miss Mary Methling, daughter of John Methling, a retired farmer of Wheeling, Cook County, and a native of Mecklenburg, Ger- many. The lady was born March 21, 1862, and by her marriage has become the mother of two daughters: Clara, born December 5, 1883, and Ella, born January 3, 1886.

The public gives to Mr. Fielweber a liberal patronage, for he earnestly desires to please his customers and is straightforward and honorable in all business transactions. In politics he is a Republican, but has never sought or desired political preferment. He and his wife hold mem- bership with the Lutheran Church. The cause of education finds in him a warm friend, ever ready to advance its interests, and for several years he has efficiently served as School Director.

DAVID L. ROBERTS.

12 AVID LEWIS ROBERTS, a worthy pioneer of Cook County, whose life record is highly deserving of preservation in these pages, was born at Denbigh, Wales, November 29, 1801, and died in Jefferson, Illinois, December 30, 1864. His parents, Thomas Roberts and Eliza- beth Lewis Roberts were Independants or Con- gregationalists, and their house was well known in both North and South Wales as a hospitable home for traveling ministers of that denomina- tion. David L. attended school until twelve years of age, and at sixteen, left liome and came

to America, joining his brother, Henry Roberts, at Utica, New York. There he learned the trade of tanner and currier and, later, carried on a tan- nery at Booneville, New York. Soon after com- ing to this country, he joined a temperance so- ciety, one of the earliest organizations of that character in America, and strictly adhered to its principles throughout his life.

In1 1836, he came to Illinois, locating at Joliet, whither he brought his family from New York, with a team and wagon. The country through which they traveled was sparsely settled, and

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D. L. ROBERTS.

nearly every habitation did duty as a tavern, though the accomodations furnished were often of the rudest. A part of their goods was shipped by water. The vessel in which they came was partially loaded with salt, and sunk in the Chi- cago harbor, before its cargo was discharged. Most of Mr. Robert's goods were rcovered, though much of them were damaged by brine. A year or two after going to Joliet, he built a residence which was considered quite a pretentious man- sion in those days, and is still standing. He en- gaged in the business of packing pork, supply- ing contractors on the canal with meat and other provisions. His packing house, which was situ- ated upon an island in the river, was swept away by a sudden freshet, and he then took a contract for construction on the Illinois and Michigan canal. He was thus engaged for several years, employing a large number of men, and, though the State failed to pay, he completed his contract. He refused to take advantage of the bankrupt law, but sacrificed all his avaliable property to meet his obligations, and eventually settled with all his creditors.

In 1839, Mr. Roberts became a resident of Chi- cago, where he dealt in general merchandise for a time, and afterwards kept the "Chicago Tem- perance House," located on the east side of La Salle, between Lake and Water Streets. In 1844, he purchased a farm in Jefferson Township, on the site of the present village of Jefferson Park. A country tavern had been built on this property a few years previously, by Elijah Wentworth. This house displayed the sign of "Clarendon Ho- tel," but was more popularly known as "The Old Geese Tavern." Mr. Roberts took down the sign, but continued to maintain a house of enter- tainment, known as the Roberts Hotel. This house stood where is now the intersection of Mil- waukee and Lawrence Avenues, and was the only house in that locality when Mr. Roberts took possession.

Mrs. Wentworth, wife of the previous proprie- tor, was quite a heroine in local annals. Soon after she and her family settled there, she visited Fort Dearborn, where she learned that an Indian uprising was anticipated. Borrowing a horse

from an officer at the Fort, she followed the Indian trail which passed the log cabin eight miles out upon the prairie, where now Lawrence Avenue crosses Milwaukee Avenue. She met many wag- ons loaded with women and children, the men walking and urging on the jaded oxen. "Going the wrong way," they said, but heart and home were beyond to her. Arriving at home she found her husband and son-in-law had gone two or three miles farther up the North Branch. Often, as the horse bounded through the fallen leaves or stepped upon some broken branch, she thought she heard the dreaded war whoop; but at last the perilous ride was rewarded by seeing her loved ones safe in Fort Dearborn, where they were com- pelled to stay sometime for fear of an Indian massacre. At that time, the North Branch often overflowed its banks, and Mrs. Wentworth had frequently seen the Indians come in their canoes from the North Branch to Milwaukee Avenue near her house, more than a mile and a-half from the bed of the river.

After living at Jefferson for a few years, Mr. Roberts rented his farm and hotel, and returned to Chicago and kept the United States Hotel, at the corner of Randolph and Canal Streets, which subsequently burned down, with all its contents. Failing to recover any insurance, he returned to Jefferson, where he continued to reside until his death. His farm, which comprised about three hundred acres, has been subdivided, and is now a part of the city of Chicago.

In early life, Mr. Roberts was married to Mary Annı Clark, daughter of Henry and Mary A. (Elderkin) Clark, who were natives of Windham, Connecticut, and represented prominent colonial families. Several members of these families bore a part in the Revolutionary conflict. Mrs. Mary A. Roberts, who was born in New York, died a year or two after her marriage, leaving one son, Clark Roberts, now a prominent citizen of Jeffer- son, Chicago. Mr. Roberts was afterwards mar- ried to a sister of his first wife, Mrs. Hannah Jackson, who bore him two daughters, Mary A., now a resident of Chicago, and Ellen O., deceased. Mrs. Hannah Roberts died at Jefferson in 1867.

Mr. Roberts was always a public-spirited citi-

523

SAMUEL WAYMAN.

zen, devoted to the progress and moral welfare of the community. He was instrumental in or- ganizing the Congregational Church at Jefferson, donating the site for its church and parsonage, and was the chief contributor towards the build- ing and support of the same. He was one of the earliest Abolitionists of Cook County, and while living in Chicago, sometimes sheltered fugitive slaves in his house. He began to vote the Anti- slavery ticket when the advocates of the move-

ment were so rare it was not worth while to have printed tickets. He served for a number of years as Justice of the Peace, and always enjoyed the respect and good will of the entire community. When the family first settled in Chicago, there were no pavements and but few sidewalks. They were often obliged to wade through deep mud to reach the Presbyterian church, on Clark, between Madison and Washington Streets, where they worshipped.

SAMUEL WAYMAN.

AMUEL WAYMAN, one of the founders of Chicago, was among the number who were permitted to witness some of the results of their early labors, in the development of the busi- ness metropolis of America. Though not a na- tive of this country, he was one of its most loyal and worthy sons by adoption. He was born at Haddenham, Cambridgeshire, England, July 31, 1811, and was the son of James Wayman, an English farmer, who gave his sons, three of whom became American citizens, the best rudimentary education which his time and home afforded. Samuel Wayman was early apprenticed to the trade of painter and glazier, of which he became master. As soon as he was ready to begin life on his own account, he resolved to settle in the United States, and accordingly, at the age of nineteen years, he sailed for the home of the free. He was accompanied by a younger brother, James Wayman, and the adventurous boys landed in New York City in July, 1830, after a perilous sailing voyage. They soon found employment on New Jersey farms and remained in the vicinity of New York until the following spring.

Cincinnati was then known as the "Queen City of the West," and they determined to settle there, in the hope of soon establishing themselves in business. Proceeding to Philadelphia, they were able to make arrangements for the carriage of their small belongings, all of which were con- tained in a trunk, on one of the numerous freight wagons then plying between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, to the latter point. For themselves, they were content to make use of the means of locomotion with which nature had provided them, as they were forced to husband their financial re- sources against future and unknown needs. Being stout of body, as well as of will, they arrived duly in Pittsburgh. Though their journey could not be called a pleasure jaunt, a cheerful disposition and good health, together with hope for the future, made the trip pass pleasantly, as a notable feature of life in the New World. By making themselves useful at the landings, in taking on wood and in other ways, a passage on an Ohio steamer to Cincinnati was cheaply secured.

At Cincinnati, Samuel Wayman at once found employment at his trade, and soon began to lay

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SAMUEL WAYMAN

up something for the future. The value of his foresight and thrift was all too soon demon- strated, for the spring of 1833 found Cincinnati suffering in common with the whole country from the finanical depression caused by President Jackson's veto of the United States bank bill. All building operations at once stopped, and many unfinished structures were seen about the city. The mechanic is always among the first to feel the effect of financial stringency, and these un- completed buildings were often marked in chalk, "vetoed," by the wags among the sufferers. Mr. Wayman could not endure forced idleness in which the savings of his industrious days were being exhausted, for very long, and he set out for Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where he had been led to believe work awaited him. Here, the state of affairs was no better than in Cincinnati, and he pushed on to South Bend, on foot. The proprie- tor of the hotel at which he put up there, had a contract for building a new court house, and was glad to secure the services of a com- petent man in painting and otherwise ornament- ing the building. Here, Mr. Wayman labored for some weeks, and by his ingenuity was enabled to carry out the contract to "grain" the front door. By mixing the cheap paints on hand and applying the tip of a racoon's tail as brush, the inost artistic job of door painting then known in South Bend was accomplished. After completing a few odd jobs there, the young artist again found himself out of work.

It was here that his attention was first directed to Chicago. One of the pioneers of that infant city gave him such glowing accounts of its pros- pects that he concluded to go there instead of re- turning to Cincinnati, where he had hoped to go into business on his own account at an early day. He secured passage to La Porte in a wagon bound for a camp meeting at that point, expecting to continue from there to Chicago by stage. It was found, however, that the contemplated stage line was not yet running, and again Mr. Wayman found it desirable to travel on foot. With a con1- panion bound for the same objective point, whom he accidentally met in La Porte, he set out. The country was sparsely settled, and comortable

stopping places were few, but they got on very well until within some thirty miles of their desti- nation, when they went into camp for the night. Soon, a terrific rain storin came o11 and, be- ing without shelter, they resolved to push on their way, rather than suffer the exposure in camp. Early morning brought them within sight of Fort Dearborn. After taking breakfast with a trader at the mouth of the Calumet river, they rested until afternoon, and walked into the little settlement known as Chicago on the afternoon of August 15, 1833

At the famous Sauganash Hotel, kept by Mark Beaubien, Mr. Wayman found shelter and slept that night on the floor. This house was the po- litical headquarters, and was crowded with guests, many of whom were among the leading citizens of the future metropolis, and Mr. Wayman soon formed the acquaintance of all and quickly learned the plans for improving the place. He foresaw something of the future growth of the city, and determined to cast in his lot with the enterprising souls who controlled. He at once obtained pro- fitable employment and immediatly opened a lit- tle shop. His industry and prudence soon se- cured to him a small surplus for investment, which was at once placed in that neverfailing source of profit, Chicago real estate. By continuing this steadfast course until 1840, he laid foundation of the great fortune which was at once his surprise and merit. While his faith in the future of the young city never flagged, he did not dream that in his lifetime it would reach the point where it would entertain the whole world at the most stu- pendous industrial and artistic exposition in the history of the human race.

For nine years, from 1840, Mr. Wayman de- voted his attention to farming in Northfield Town- ship, Cook County, Illionis, and moved in 1849 to Packwaukee, Wisconsin, where he invested in a store and mill, which he successfully operated until 1866, since which year his home continued to be in Chicago until his death. He passed away full of years, and regretted by the entire group of pioneers, as well as a wide circle of friends, March 25, 1891. The fiftieth anniversary of his arrival in Chicago witnessed a notable

525

J. R. SANDY

gathering at his home in the city, when the rapidly-diminishing band of old settlers gathered to congratulate him and one another, and to renew early acquaintances and recount their pioneer ad- ventures. In speaking of this event, a recent writer says: "The silver-haired host himself was then counted one of the pioneers with whom time had dealt most leniently, and the years added to his life since that time have not perceptibly dimmed his mental or impaired his physical powers. Al- ways a worthy and much-esteemed citizen, he has become, in the evening of his life, one of the most picturesque and interesting characters, whose information concerning the local happenings of half a century in Chicago is almost cyclopedic."

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 2nd ed., Part 68

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