Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 8th ed., Part 13

Author: Calumet Book & Engraving Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Chicago : Calumet Book and Engraving Co.
Number of Pages: 930

USA > Illinois > Cook County > Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 8th ed. > Part 13

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In appearance Mr. Forsyth is a large, well-

proportioned man, with a kindly, shrewd face, the true index of a man who has lived an honest, helpful and kindly life. Though bearing the weight of seventy-five years and the responsi- bilities which the possession of great wealth al- ways brings, he is elastic in mind and body, and bids fair to live to an extreme old age.

TREAT T. PROSSER.

REAT T. PROSSER. There are few tasks more difficult than to sketch the life of an inventor. The world is so jealous of inno- vation and improvement upon established metli- ods, so wedded to the past, and withal so disin- clined to recognize the brilliancy of more prac- tical genius, that the man who discovers de- ficiencies in practical mechanics and supplies them often goes to his grave unrewarded, even by the gratitude of the world he has benefited. He hears the name of the warrior, of the statesman, of the poet, even of the politician, in every household or business mart, but often his own, if mentioned at all, as of one who is building cas- tles in the air.

But gifted innovators, while deeply feeling the lack of appreciation, have often adopted the sen- timent of Keplar, who said: "My work is done; it can well wait a century for its readers, since God waited full six thousand years before there came a man capable of comprehending and admir- ing His work." Now and then, however, genius is so practical, and its fruits contrast so brilliantly with what has preceded, that it compels almost instantaneous recognition and homage, and among the fortunate possessors of the latter class was the subject of this article, the late Treat T. Prosser.

The Prossers are of Welsh descent, but the Treats, from whom Mr. Prosser was descended on the maternal side, were English. The first ancestors of the former family to come to America were two brothers, who came from Wales some time prior to the Revolutionary War, in which supreme contest two of their descendants partici- pated, and one met his death. The family lived 011 Prosser Hill, just outside of Boston, and it was in the Prosser barn that the members of the historic Boston "tea party" disguised themselves as Indians, previous to throwing the tea over- board into Boston Harbor. Grandfather John Prosser was one of the two members of the family mentioned previously as having served in the struggle with the Mother Country. He married Bethia Truesdale, daughter of a Connecticut phy- sician, and had eight sons and one daughter.

Of these children, Potter A. Prosser, the father of Treat T., married Eliza, a daughter of Tinio- thy Treat, whose son, a physician, became famous through the services he rendered during tlie great cholera epidemic. The Treat family came from Pitminster, Somerset, England. Richard Treat was baptized in 1584. Among the pron- inent descendants are Gov. Robert Treat, and Rev. Samuel Treat, of Pitminster. The father's birth occurred August 11, 1793, and the mother

T. T. PROSSER.

was born March 29, 1798. Their marriage was solemnized on the 5th of November, 1818, and of their union were born five children. The mother, a woman of many domestic virtues and lovable traits of character, died at the compara- tively early age of fifty-five years, but the father lived to the great age of ninety-six.

Treat T. Prosser was born in the little town of Avon, New York, January 22, 1827. . His youth and early manhood were passed in his native State, and his early education was received in its comnion schools. After reaching his majority he attended the academy at West Avon, feeling the need of a more thorough school training before starting out to earn his own way in life. Always handy in the use of tools, at the early age of fourteen he had been engaged at the trade of a millwright, in which he soon became a proficient workman. But while his hands were busily engaged at this work, his thoughts were wander- ing out upon the whole broad domain of mechan- ical science, and his studies at the academy were for the purpose of fitting himself for tlie career to which all his talents and his inclinations urged him.

From the young millwright developed an inventor of agricultural implements of great value; of a superior system of machinery for the manufacture of bolts; of universally recognized improvements upon steam engines; of a practical and widely used machine for pegging boots; of coal machinery; of the Prosser Cylinder Car, and of many other mechanical devices, which either are now, or will become in the future, of great benefit to mankind. He drew the plans for the Chicago Hydraulic Company, which built the first water-works system in Chicago.

In 1851 Mr. Prosser came to Chicago, and the wisdom of his choice of a location was demon- strated long ago. No other city has ever opened such welcoming arms to men of genius as has she, nor out of her own prosperity rewarded them so bountifully. The great fire of 1871 found him among its victims, and he lost the greater part of the accumulations of years; but financial loss is one of the minor evils to a inan who has within himself the. power to mould, in a great measure,

his own destiny, and is no mere inert mass, lying helpless under the buffetings of the winds of ill- fortune. The energy which was one of the marked points in his character asserted itself, and his days were ended in the prosperity he deserved.

From 1851 until the date of his death, Decem- ber 11, 1895, Mr. Prosser made Chicago his home, with the exception of two years spent in the Rocky Mountains, six years in Boston, and a short vacation spent in Europe. He was the first man to introduce the steam engine and the quartz-mill into the Rockies, the engine being constructed of material shipped from the East, the boiler being literally built in that wild region. While in Europe he was elected a member of the Society of Mechanics of England and Scotland, an honor which speaks of his high inerits as a mechanical engineer.

In West Bloomfield, New York, September 26, 1849, Mr. Prosser married Miss Lucy J. Phillips, and of their union two children were born1: Henry Blinn Prosser, of Chicago; and Mary Augusta, wife of Oscar E. Poole, of Lakeside, Illinois. Mrs. Prosser was the daughter of Isaac Webster Phillips, a relative of the famous Web- ster family, his mother being a sister of Noah Webster's father. Isaac Phillips was a native of Hartford, Connecticut, but removed to West Bloomfield, where he served as Justice of the Peace, and was commonly known as Judge Phil- lips. He came to Chicago late in life, and died at the home of Mrs. Prosser, at the age of sev- enty-two years. His wife, whose maiden name was Laura Miller, reached the advanced age of ninety-two years.

Closely wedded to his profession, Mr. Prosser generally refused the responsibilities of official positions, but made an exception to this rule after the Great Fire, when he acted as superintendent of the distribution of food to the destitute in Districts Four and Five. These duties he filled in an energetic and impartial manner, which accorded well with the other actions of his well- spent life. In his politics lie voted with the Republican party.

Oscar E. Poole, who married Mr. Prosser's only daughter, was born January 18, 1857, in Will

J. W. LARIMORE.

County, Illinois, and is a son of Ezra and Eliza Treat Poole, pioneers in Will County, where they settled in 1850. He received his principal educa- tion in Joliet, where lıis guardian lived. His father died when he was but one and a-half years old, and his mother died when he was ten years old. His boyhood was spent in Joliet. At the age of eighteen years he became a clerk in his uncle's store, and three years later became a partner. At the age of twenty-two he entered the employ of the State, in the capacity of storekeeper

at the State Penitentiary, remaining a number of years in that position. From there he went to Chicago, where lie first started a milk business and then became a traveling salesman for Kinney & Company, and, later, their manager. He finally bought out the business, and it is now conducted under the name of Poole & Company. Mr. Poole was married, February 27, 1885, to Miss Mary Augusta Prosser, who is the mother of four children now living: Edward Prosser, Helen Irene, Lucy Eliza and Malcolm Alan Poole.

PROF. JAMES W. LARIMORE.

AMES WILSON LARIMORE, who died suddenly of heart failure at his home in Chi- cago, May 30, 1894, was for many years prominent in the literary, social and religious work of the city. He was born in Steubenville, Ohio, May 6, 1834, and was a son of Joseph and Mary Jane (Wilson) Larimore, both also natives of that place. The earliest progenitors of the family known were French Huguenots, who fled from their native land after the cruel revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV., locating in Scotland. There the name was difficult of pronunciation on the Scotcli tongue, and from "Laird o' the Moor," the name gradually came to its present form.

The first settlement of the family in Amer- ica was made in Chester County, Pennsyl- vania, where David Larimore, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born March 31, 1782. For many generations the Larimores lad been distinguished for literary tastes and attain- ments, and David Larimore was no exception to the rule. He was a man of affairs, and conserved

the family estates, which were considerable. He died at Norristown, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1857, having almost completed his seventy-fifth year.

James Wilson, father of Mrs. Mary J. Lari- more, came of a Scotch-Irish family, which has borne a prominent part in the literary and social life of the United States, furnishing many not- able statesmen, attorneys and generals to the Nation. This family is also a strong factor in the literary life of America, and Professor Lari- more inherited talents from both lines of ances- tors.

The youth of the latter was spent at Niles, Michigan, whither his parents removed when he was two years old. He early manifested a fond- 11ess for books, and most of liis life up to the age of twenty-six years was spent in school. He was sent, in 1852, to Olivet Institute, in Eaton County, Michigan. Having an uncle in the faculty of the Hampton and Sidney College in southern Virginia, he was induced to go there. He remained some time, but the climate did not

J. W. LARIMORE.

agree with him. Consequently, he decided to finish his education at the North. He took a course at the University of New York City, which graduated him in the Class of 1860. He had a thorough theological education, having spent a year at Union Theological Seminary, later taking a full course at Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey, preparatory to entering the Presbyterian ministry. He preached most of the time, supplying different churches during the latter part of his theological studies, his first regular "call" being to one of the largest and most important churches at that time in Albany, New York, the Third Dutch Reformed. He had, however, a decided preference for life in the grow- ing West, and became pastor of the First Presbyte- rian Church of Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Under his able ministry, this soon became the largest so- ciety of that denomination west of the Mississippi River. In 1863 he accepted the Chaplaincy of the Ninth Iowa Cavalry, at the earnest solicita- tion of his particular friend, Adjutant-General Baker, of Iowa, and at once went into the field with the regiment, spending most of the time in the Department of Little Rock, Arkansas, being Post Chaplain at De Valls Bluff. Just before the death of President Lincoln, in 1865, he was by him brevetted Major, and also assigned to the position of Hospital Chaplain in the regular United States army. He resigned his position at De Valls Bluff, as he had been ordered to re- port for duty at Webster Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, in April, 1865. Owing to the uncer- tainty of the mails, he did not receive his papers until several days after the President's assassina- tion.

At the close of the war Professor Larimore came to Chicago, and in the fall of 1865 was installed as pastor of the Seventh (now West- minister ) Presbyterian Church of this city, which position he filled for something over two years. In the mean time he did much literary work, and for a period gave his exclusive attention to this congenial labor. He developed a great aptitude for journalism, and was offered the position of city editor of the Chicago Evening Journal in the spring of 1871, and accepted. He discharged the

duties of this responsible charge with marked ability and success for three years.

On the fatal ninth of October, 1871, when the Journal office was a ruin through the historic "great fire," Mr. Larimore gave a characteristic exhibition of energy and perseverance. With the aid of the editor-in-chief, Hon. Andrew Shu- man, an edition of the Journal was produced on a hand press, which they secured in a job-of- fice on the West Side; and with the flames threatening to consume the building over their heads, the paper was issued at the usual hour of publication-being the only representative of the Chicago daily press put forth on that day.

The numerous writings and publications of Professor Larimore had attracted the notice of the University of Chicago, and in March, 1874, he was elected to the professorship of physics in that institution. In consequence of this, he re- signed his connection with the Journal May 2 of that year. He did not, however, enter upon the duties assigned him at the university, but later on accepted a similar position at the Cook County Normal School at Englewood. In Sep- tember, 1878, he was elected teacher of physics and chemistry at the North Division High School of Chicago. He entered at once upon his duties, and continued to fill the chair for eleven consecutive years, with great credit to himself and the school, making many devoted friends among his pupils.

Before coming West Professor Larimore was married, at Hudson, New York, to Miss Katie Hoysradt, a beautiful and talented young lady, who died in Chicago in 1865. Her remains, with those of their two little boys, rest in the cemetery at Niles, Michigan.

In 1867 he was again married, by Reverend Doctors Humphrey and Harsha, to Miss Hattie Stevens, of Chicago, the soprano singer of his church choir .. She was born in Strykersville, Wyoming County, New York, being the young- est of the three daughters of the late Ira Stevens of that town. In the year 1854, while she was a small child, the family went to St. Charles, Kane County, Illinois. Her father, a talented singer, died very suddenly of cholera the day following

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON.

their arrival, which was during the great epidemic of that year. Her mother, Percy Talmage Hotchkiss, a refined Cliristian lady, was born near New Haven, Connecticut. She died in April, 1888, leaving her six children, and many friends, to mourn her loss.

Mrs. Larimore received her education in the high school at St. Charles, finishing it in Chi- cago, where the greater part of her life has been spent. Possessing marked musical talent, she devoted most of her time to its development, which brought her some distinction. At one time, while a young lady, she was urgently solicited to enter upon an operatic career. She was turned from that course by conscientious scruples. Aside from her musical talent, she is a lady of much culture and pleasing personality, and was ever a true helpmeet and companion to her talented husband in all his labors. Three bright children were given to Mr. and Mrs. Lari- more, all of whom are now deceased. Hattie Gertrude, the eldest, passed away at the age of two years. Paul, a promising lad, reached the

age of ten years, and was the subject of a most touching and beautiful obituary from the pen of Dr. Nixon, of the Inter Ocean. Blanche died in infancy. The remains of the husband and father and their three children lie buried at Rose Hill.

During his ministry in Chicago, Professor Larimore preached many quite noted sermons, one of the most marked being what was called by the daily papers his "Crosby Opera House ser- mon." He also preached the sermon at the in- stallation of the late Professor David Swing, who was loved by so large a number of the leading citizens of Chicago. At the time of his death these two ministers were the only surviving mem- bers of the original Presbytery of the city. Pro- fessor Larimore was ever active in good works, always having the welfare of his kind at heart, but "God's finger touched him and he slept." The following lines express but feebly the high opinion in which he was held by his friends:

"To know him was to love him, None named him but to praise."

CAPT. CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON.

APT. CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON, one of the old landmarks of Chicago, who arrived in this city as long ago as 1838, was a native of the little kingdom of Denmark, and was born near Copenhagen, October 3, 1819, his parents being natives of the same locality. His father was killed by an accident before Christopher was a year old, and the latter was bound out to a farmer on the island of Als. Imbued with the strong love of the sea which has filled so many of his country- men and made them famous as sailors the world over, at the early age of fourteen years he shipped at Sonderburg, Denmark, on board an ocean

vessel, and within the next two or three years had sailed around the globe. In the winter of 1837 he found himself in the city of New Orleans, and, having long desired to verify the statements he had heard of the advantages America offered to industrious, enterprising youth of all nations, he left his ship, and started for the heart of the country. After reaching St. Louis, he went to Peoria, in this State, whence, by means of a hired team, he reached this city.

Mr. Johnson's employment after reaching what was then the muddy little village at the mouth of the Chicago River was as a member of a survey-

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON.

ing party; but he served thus only a short time, and soon after sought the more familiar and con- genial life of a sailor on the Great Lakes. On one occasion, while on a trip on one of the Lower Lakes, on a vessel called the "Maria Hilliard," he was shipwrecked and met with other mishaps. But on the whole fortune favored him; and after a few years' service as a common sailor, he was able to buy a small schooner, the "Helena," and took charge of her as captain. In 1849, while coming with a cargo of bricks from Little Fort, near Kenosha, the "Helena" was sunk near the Rush Street Bridge. On her voyage to Chicago, she had sprung a leak, but by the efforts of the captain and crew, she had been kept afloat until the city was reached. After raising his vessel, Captain Johnson sailed her for some time longer, but in 1853 concluded to give up sailing for good. His life on the lakes had given him a pretty fair insight into the lumber business, and in this he embarked, remaining thus engaged until the Great Fire, when, in common with innumerable others, he lost almost his entire savings. Fort- unately, however, he did not lose his residence, which was then on the West Side. He was the owner of a farın at Lemont, and he moved his family there for a time. His handsome new farmhouse was destroyed by fire two years later, and he built another.

Captain Johnson had married in 1849, and for the next twelve years he reared his children on the farm. He retained the real estate he had owned in Chicago previous to the fire, and had added to it, and at the end of the twelve years he removed his wife and family to the city, finding here greater scope for himself and promise of future occupation for his sons. His property interests increased to such an extent that his time was fully taken up in managing his private affairs, and he never entered any other business. During all his life in Chicago he lived on the North Side, where he was universally known and popular with all. He built his first home on the corner of Ohio and Market Streets, a spot which he then considered the most prepossessing in the city. His objection to the South Side was due to its mud, that portion of the city being

almost impassable in the early days on account of its level. At one time he intended to buy the land on which the Briggs House now stands, but after considerable deliberation concluded the site was too muddy, a succession of mud holes having to be crossed to reach it.

Captain Johnson's widow, who yet survives, was previous to her marriage Miss Emily Ray- mond, a daughter of John and Louise Raymond. She is a native of Copenhagen, and was born September 1, 1833. At the age of ten years she came to America with her father, who was a ship- carpenter. He followed the lakes until his death, which resulted from an accident he met with while in the pursuit of his calling, being caught and crushed between two ships. His death occurred some months later, at the age of forty-five years, August 11, 1853. Mrs. Johnson's marriage occurred in Du Page County, this State, near Naperville, December 9, 1849, and resulted in the birth of thirteen children, of whom the fol- lowing are living: Maria Louise, Mrs. A. Nelson, of Chicago; Lena Amelia, Mrs. John S. Lee, of Lemont; Evelyn, Mrs. D. T. Elston, of Chicago; Henry W., living in Socorro, New Mexico; Benja- min Franklin, of Pomeroy, Washington; Charles Christopher and George W. Johnson, of this city.

In politics Captain Johnson was an ardent sup- porter of the Republican party, and his party's candidates were never defeated by his failure to do his duty at the polls. During the early years of the Civil War he served as Collector of the Nortlı Town, but a naturally retiring and modest disposition kept him from ever being conspic- uous in politics. In religious faith he accorded with the Lutheran Church. The respect in which he was held was shown at the time of his death, which occurred September 28, 1895, within a week of his seventy-sixth birthday anniversary. He had been an enthusiastic member of Cleveland Lodge of the Chicago Freemasons, in which he was initiated June 11, passed July 7, and raised October 13, 1859, and his fellow Masons attended his funeral in a body. His early life had been full of incident and adventure, but his later years found him quietly fulfilling the duties of a self- respecting, honorable life.

LIBRARY OF THE MNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

Hartt Stewart

H. L. STEWART.

HART L. STEWART.

EN. HART LE LAC STEWART, who was very prominent in the development of Mich- igan and Illinois, a participator in the Black Hawk War, and a leading citizen of Chicago for a generation, came of the sturdy stock which paved the way for and was active in the civilization of many of the eastern States of this country. He was born in Bridgewater, Oneida County, New York, August 29, 1803, and died in Chicago May 23, 1882.

The name indicates the Scotch origin of his ancestry, but the date of their transplanting to America is not known. From the recollections of General Stewart, published by him at the re- quest of his family, it is learned that his grand- parents, Samuel Stewart and Patience Hunger- ford, lived in Tolland County, Connecticut. The latter was, undoubtedly, of English lineage. She died many years before her husband, who passed away in 1816, at the age of eighty-two years. They had nine children, and the second, William, was the father of the subject of this biography.

William Stewart was born in 1772, in Con- necticut, and was an early settler in the Territory of Michigan. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and also served in the militia regiment, com- manded by his son, which went from Michigan to aid in suppressing the Indians under Black Hawk in 1832. He was married at Mansfield, Windham County, Connecticut, in 1795, to Miss Validia Turner, eighth of the ten children of Timothy and Rachel (Carpenter) Turner, of Mansfield. Timothy Turner was born August 18, 1757, in Willington, Connecticut, which was also the native place of his wife. The latter died in Mansfield Center, Windham County, Con-

necticut, June 22, 1799. They were married August 20, 1776. Timothy Turner was a soldier of the Revolution, serving in the "Lexington Alarm Party" from Mansfield, Connecticut. He was the son of Stephen, third and youngest son of Isaac Turner, born in Bedford, Massachusetts, whose father came from England. Rachel Car- penter's parents were James and Irene (Ladd) Carpenter. The former was a son of Ebenezer Carpenter and Eunice Thompson. Ebenezer, born in Coventry, Connecticut, as was his son, was the son of Benjamin Carpenter and Hannah, daughter of Jedediah Strong. Benjamin was the tenth child of William Carpenter and Priscilla Bonette. The former was one of the four chil- dren of William Carpenter, who came from South- ampton, England, in the ship "Bevis" in 1638, and settled in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. (See biography of Benjamin Carpenter in this volume. )

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 8th ed., Part 13

Author: Calumet Book & Engraving Company, Chicago Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Chicago : Calumet Book and Engraving Co. Number of Pages: 930

Author: Calumet Book & Engraving Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Chicago : Calumet Book and Engraving Co.
Number of Pages: 930