Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 8th ed., Part 33

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 33

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"Resolved: That the heartfelt sympathy of each and every member of this Board is felt for his family in their great loss and affliction; and that a copy of these Resolutions be sent to them, and also spread upon the records of this Company."

In politics he was an inflexible Republican, always casting his ballot, but as carefully avoid- ing any approach towards active politics. In re- ligious faith he was liberal, having for many years attended Dr. Ryder's church, St. Paul's Universalist, whose pastor held and was held in mutual esteem from as far back as the early '6os.

And so, with little variety or romance, lived and died one of the sturdiest, most useful of our citizens. Subsequent generations, with more lei- sure and wealth, may develop more elegance and refinement; but to men of Mr. Gage's virile stamp the city of Chicago (as well as the entire West, yes, in truth, all new countries) owes the founda- tion stones of future greatness and prosperity. Without the first courses of masonry there can never be builded high superstructures, with or- nate, elaborate and admirable dome and spire. What Washington, Jefferson, the Adamses and others were to the infant colonies, struggling for very existence and recognition as an independent nation, such were Mr. Gage and his associates to Chicago. Most of them are now gathered to their fathers, but their deeds are immortal. That Chicago is now the wonder and envy of the world is mainly owing to the persistent, honest efforts early and late of such citizens as Mr. Gage fitly typifies.

Mr. Gage married, December 15, 1849, at the scene of his nativity, Miss Martha Webster, by whom, fortunately, he left one child, a son, to bear his esteemed namne, Frank Newton Gage, who was born July 24, 1853. After receiving a good education in Chicago, he entered his father's store, but later witlıdrew, and is at present an active member of the Stock Exchange. He inar-

ried, in 1889, Olive E. Lewis, of this city, who lias borne him a son, Jolın Newton Gage, named for his grandfather, the subject of this sketchi.

Martha Webster is a daughter of Enoch and Betsy Webster (relatives before marriage) born in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Enochi was a son of Caleb Webster, of Revolutionary fame. Betsy was a daughter of Stephen Webster. Mrs. Gage is thus related through both her parents to the greatest of America's statesmen and orators, Daniel Web- ster, of Marshfield, Massachusetts. She is also related to the famous Mrs. Dustin, of Colonial times. Captured by Indians, who dashed out the brains of her sleeping babe, she was marched miles into the wilderness. While her captors were asleep, she loosened her fetters, and, having slain every colored face of them, safely made her return home, as set out in graphic early historical authorities. Of all the heroines of "good old colony times," and there were thousands of such, it has always appeared that she was queen of them all by this single episode.

The family of Gage (which is of Norman ex- traction) derives its descent from one De Gaga (Ganga or Gage), who accompanied William the Conqueror into England in 1066. After the "Conquest" he was rewarded by a large grant of land in the forests of Dean, Gloucester County, adjacent to which he fixed his abode and erected a family seat at Clerenwell (otherwise Clarewell). He also built a large mansion house in the town of Chichester, wherein he died, and was buried in the neighboring abbey. His posterity re- mained in the vicinity for many generations, in ' credit and esteem, of whom there were Barons in Parliament in the reign of Henry II. The line from the beginning of the fifteenth century has been traced as follows: John Gage had a son, Jolın Gage, born 1408; married Joan Sudgrove. Their son was Sir John, knighted 1454; married Eleanor St. Clere; died September, 1486. Will- iam, Esquire, born 1456; married Agnes Bolney. Their son, Sir John, born 1480, knighted May 22, 1541; married Phillippa Guilderford; died April 28, 1557. Their eldest son, Sir Edward, knighted by Queen Mary, married Elizabeth Parker. Their son, John, Esquire (eldest of nine

225

E. McK. TEALL.

sons), thirty years old at his father's death; heir to fifteen manors and other Sussex lands. John (nephew) made Baronet March 26, 1622; married Penelope, widow of Sir George Trenchiard; died October 3, 1633.

John (second son), of Stoneham, Suffolk Coun- ty, England, came to America with John Win- throp, Jr., landing at Salem June 12, 1630; in 1633 olie of twelve proprietors of Ipswich; wife Anna died in June, 1658; married (2d) Mary Keyes, November, 1658; moved to Rowley 1664; held many responsible offices of trust and fidelity in Ipswich and Rowley, in which latter place lie died in 1673. Daniel (second son) married

Sarah Kimball in 1675; died November 8, 1705. Daniel, born March 12, 1676; married Martha Burbank, March 9, 1697; settled on the banks of the Merrimac River, on the main road to Me- thuen, where the old Gage House, the oldest in town, still stands. Died March 14, 1747. Dan- iel (third son), born April 22, 1708, removed to Pelham, New Hampshire; died September 24, 1775. David (fourthi son), born August 9, 1750. Nathan (fifth), the father of the subject of this sketch, whose son and grandson, enumerated herein, bring the record up to the extraordinary number of seventeen consecutive male generations.

EDWARD McK. TEALL.

C DWARD MCKINSTRY TEALL. The de- velopment of the insurance business has kept pace with the growth of other commercial enterprises and has assumed such magnitude and variety, and become so complex and at the same time so vital to life and property, that it must 110W be regarded as one of the important industries of the United State. The last few years have seen reductions in the rates of insurance, and corres- ponding advantages to property-holders, in Chi- cago, in consequence of the rapid development of the art of constructing fire-proof buildings and the great improvement in the facilities for check- ing and extinguishing fires. These important changes, which are still in progress, require prompt attention and action by the companies doing business here, for competition is just as fierce in this line of business as in any other. In fact, the sharp, but honorable, rivalry among in- surance men has developed a number of experts in the business, men with sufficient mental pene- tration to foresee the result of changed conditions, and sufficient executive ability to carry out such

methods as are most likely to secure favorable results.

Among the most successful and systematic manipulators of this art is the gentleman whose name heads this notice. His birth occurred at Albany, New York, July 27, 1839, his parents being Edward Mckinstry Teall and Eliza Perry. The founder of the family in America was Oliver Teall, who came from England and settled at New Haven, Connecticut, about 1723. His fa- ther had been Apothecary General to the British army, serving under the Duke of Marlborough during the reigns of William I. and Queen Anne. Prudence, the wife of Oliver Teall, who came with him to America, died at Killingsworth, Con- necticut, June 24, 1780. Oliver Teall, second son of this couple, married Ruth Hurd and set- tled at Killingsworth. He served as a Surgeon in the British Army during the French and In- dian War, and also during the War of the Amer- ican Revolution, maintaining his loyalty to the crown throughout his life. Five of his sons, Timothy, Titus, Oliver, Joseph and Nathan,

226

E. McK. TEALL.

served in the Continental ariny. Father and sons were mutually antagonized by their loyalty to their respective causes, and never became rec- onciled. Another son, named Benjamin, having lost an eye during his childhood, was thus inca- pacitated for military service and did not partici- pate in the conflict.

Oliver Teall (third) was born in Middletown, Connecticut, January 1, 1759. When only six- teen years old he enlisted under General Putnam, Captain Gale's company, and afterward served in Captain Hyde's company, which was success- ively stationed at Fort Trumbull and at Provi- dence, Rhode Island. He was subsequently as- signed to Colonel Sommers' command at Ger- mantown, Pennsylvania. He was one of the devoted band which endured the historic hard- ships of Valley Forge, where his brother Titus died of smallpox. Later in the war he was sta- tioned at West Point and on the Highlands. He acted as guard to General Washington and his family while they attended church. After peace came he married Susan, daughter of Col. Brin- ton Paine, of Dutchess County, New York. They settled at Upper Hillsdale, Columbia Coun- ty, New York, where he became a prosperous. farmer. They were the parents of twelve chil- dren. His death occurred at Albany on the 18th of September, 1842, aged eighty-two years.

Col. Brinton Paine, who was an officer of the Continental army, was a descendant of Stephen Paine, who came to Massachusetts in 1638, and became one of the leading citizens of the colony, He was one of the chief contributors to the pros- ecution of the . Indian wars. His son Stephen was present at the great swamp fight in which King Philip's band was exterminated.

Edward M. Teall, Sr., was a son of Oliver Teall, third. He became a prominent merchant of Albany, and was also proprietor of one of the first lines of boats on the Erie Canal. He did a general forwarding business, and the Chicago Americani of April 9, 1839, the first issue of a daily paper in this city, contained his business advertisement. He was for many years influen- tial in New York politics. Eliza Perry was born at Lenox, Massachusetts. Her father, Freder-

ick Perry, who was a son of a clergyman, was a native of Connecticut. He was a graduate of Williams College, and became a cotton manufac- turer at Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

The subject of this biography received his primary education in private schools, and after- ward became a student in the academy of Albany. In the spring of 1857 he came to Chicago and S0011 after secured employment as a clerk in the insurance office of Higginson & James. This line of business was then in its infancy, and the most sanguine enthusiasm could not have foreseen the extent to which that industry would be developed. He went to work with a will, and his fidelity, thoroughness and aptitude soon won the confi- dence and good-will of his employers. In 1863 he _ became one of the partners of the firm of Alfred James & Company, which continued to transact business for about three years. Their place of business was at the southeast corner of Sontlı Water and Clark Streets, which location was the center of the insurance business at that time. He afterward formed a partnership with Freder- ick P. Fisher, a relation which continued for ten years, during one of the most important eras of the insurance business in the West. At the end of that period the present firm of Edward M. Teall & Company was formed, Cyrus A. Hardy, a trusted clerk of the former firm, being the jun- ior member. Mr. Teall is one of the Directors of the Westchester Fire Insurance Company of New York, and in addition to serving the local interests of that corporation the firm represents several leading insurance companies of other cities. The business in its charge is conserva- tively and honorably conducted, and the firm en- joys the confidence of the public and of under- writers to a remarkable degree. Mr. Teall is President of the Chicago Fire Underwriters' As- sociation, and has been for a number of years.

On the 11th of June, 1862, Mr. Teall was mar- ried to Miss Katherine Mead, of New York City, daughter of Isaac H. Mead and Rachel Van Voor- hees Demorest. Mrs. Teall's maternal grand- father was also a native of New York City, being a scion of a very old and well-known family of that municipality. Mr. Teall has been for many

227

A. G. BURLEY.

years a member of the Third Presbyterian Church of Chicago, in which he officiates as Trustee and Elder. He is a member of the Illinois Club, and Deputy Governor of the Society of Colonial Wars of the State of Illinois, which he helped to organize. He is also a member of the Illinois Society of Sons of the American Revolution, and still preserves the Teall coat-of-arms granted to the family by George I. in 1723. He has been

often urged to enter the arena of politics, has been tendered important nominations by the Re- publican party, of which he is an active and dis- tinguished member, but prefers to devote himself to his business, home and social duties. For rec- reation, he and his wife have always spent the summer at their beautiful farm and summer home in the Berkshire Hills, Stockbridge, Massachu- setts.

ARTHUR G. BURLEY.

A RTHUR GILMAN BURLEY. The year 1812 is a national epoch, for at that time the United States, for a second time within the easy memory of man, started in to chastise the British Lion. What events of world-wide significance have transpired during those more than eighty intervening years ! To think of it is * Gladstone, an octogenarian, is still in the harness of active business life. We who live in Chicago know what that means in this day. Honor to whom honor is due !

like a dream: to have predicted it, would have re- sulted in that day in an inquirendo de lunico pro- ceeding concerning the lack of brain matter in the bold transgressor of common sense who should prophesy. Two years later, Robert Fulton was making his (the very first) steamboat trial upon the Hudson River. Then came steain as applied to locomotives, which has done more than any- thing else in so rapidly opening up the great in- terior and West of our immense country, where- as, before, ox-carts and canal-boats were the most approved forms of transportation of chattels, prior to the advent of the "prairie schooner," which shortly preceded the "Union Pacific." The telegraph, reapers, thousandfold manufac- tories, electric light and locomotion (not to men- tion scores of other wonderful economic and utili- tarian inventions of more recent date within the present century), all cry out that, in point of actual comfort and intelligent means of effecting

business ends, the world has since that year 1812 done almost more than had been done in the hundreds and thousands of years which had pre- ceded. And all this within the memory of liv- ing men; yes, within the memory of one now liv- ing in our midst, who, wonderful to relate, like

Arthur Gilman Burley, the subject of this sketch, was born in the aforesaid year of 1812, upon the fourth day of October, at Exeter, New Hampshire, unto James and Charlotte I. (Gilman) Burley, his father being the Cashier of the Exeter Bank.

The Burleys are regarded Down East as "good stock;" that seems to be the prevailing opinion in our city, from all that is thus far known of them in our-midst. The first by the namne who came to our shores was Giles Burley, who, witlı his wife, Elizabeth, settled at Ipswichı, Massachu- setts, in the year 1648. Here, in 1664, he took the proper oath and became a "commoner." He was also a "planter," and lived eight years of his useful life upon Brooke Street of that ancient town, and owned "Division Lot No. 105, 011

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A. G. BURLEY.

Great Hill, Hogg Island," in that vicinage. He had a son, Andrew Burley, who was born at Ipswich, September 5, 1657. The latter married Mary, a daughter of the rather celebrated Roger Conant. Upon the death of his father, while in childhood, he was bound out (as was the old cus- tom) to one John Brown. He was called in records "husbandman and yeoman," and bore the rather dignified title of "Cornet." He had a son, Hon. Andrew Burley, who was born at Ipswich in June, 1694. His career was replete with hon- ors, including among others the positions of Jus- tice of the Court of Sessions and Representative to the State Legislature in the years 1741 and 1742. He acquired, and left intact, a large es- tate. He was twice married; first, to Lydia Pengry, by whom he had six children; secondly, to Mrs. Hannah Burnham. He had a son, An- drew Burley, Jr., who married a Mrs. Hannah Cogswell (a daughter of his father's wife). He graduated at Harvard College in 1742, and lived on Brooke Street in Ipswich (near the location of his first American progenitor), upon land for- merly granted to Governor Dudley's son Samuel.

He left a son, James Burley, who was by trade a cabinet-maker, also an officer in the Revolu- tionary War. The latter married Susannah . Swazey, and died in Exeter, New Hampshire, leaving a son, James Burley, Jr., who has been already noticed as the father of the subject of this sketch.

Arthur Gilman Burley received for his educa- tion the best that the common schools of his na- tive Exeter had to offer, which information was somewhat rounded out by a supplementary year at the Exeter Academy. He resolutely turned his young face toward the distant West at the age of twenty-three, reaching his future home, Chi- cago, on the seventeenth day of May, 1835. (Sixty long years ago. Imagine the appearance at that time of the country which is at present covered by our fair city ! How many of the comers of that day are yet in the flesh ?)

Mr. Burley first worked as clerk for John Hol- brook in a boot and shoe shop for about two years. In 1837 he went to New York City, to buy for his brother-in-law, Stephen F. Gale, a

stock of books and stationery (one of the very first to be imported among us), and remained with Mr. Gale for about two years following.

In 1838 the crockery business of the North- west was founded by Mr. Burley, who bought from the State Bank of Illinois a stock of such goods, his place of trade being then located at the corner of La Salle and Lake Streets. He has been in that business ever since, a period of over fifty-seven years, and is now regularly on duty at the old stand.

He was burned out in 1842, and then moved to No. 105 Lake Street, later to No. 175 on the same thoroughfare, where, in 1852, he was joined by a brother-in-law, Mr. John Tyrrell, who came on from New Hampshire to enter into a partnership. This still continues in operation, being incor- porated under the firm style and name, "Burley & Tyrrell, Importers and Dealers of Crockery, Chicago."

They had built their own quarters at No. 48 Lake Street about 1857, but, fortunately, had disposed of the same before the time of the Great Fire in 1871. They still had their store located therein, which, of course, went up in smoke and down to the ground in ashes. After this fire they had a temporary office at the corner of State and Sixteenth Streets; then occupied a store for about three years at the corner of Van Buren and Wabash; then removed to No. 83 State Street; and finally to Nos. 42, 44 and 46 Lake Street, which premises they continue to occupy at this time. Having found it cheaper to rent, they have never cared to build.

Mr. Burley also had the misfortune of having his home burned up in 1874, when he was living below Harrison Street. He is now, as for a long time, cosily situated at No. 1620 Indiana Avenne.

Although an unostentatious man, Mr. Burley has been a very prominent figure in social and business matters for very many years. Few in- deed, if any, can antedate him in this relation. He aided in the formation of the First Unitarian Church (since called the Messiah) in 1836, one of the oldest and foremost in the entire North- west, and of which he has always been a most in- terested and conspicuous member.

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R. R. CLARK.

In politics, he has always been, since the days of the Whigs were no more, a consistent Re- publican, but in no sense or wish a public charac- ter. A true exemplifier of the best principles of Free Masonry, with which he affiliated as early as 1848, he has never cared to go to the height of degrees his proficiency and long service would have richly entitled him to, and undoubtedly have brought-choice flowers of honor in their train, but he has been Treasurer of Oriental Lodge for forty-two years. He was also for a time much interested in the mysteries of Odd-Fellowship.

Not at heart a club man, he has nevertheless been a member of the Calumet, as he is at present upon the roll of the Chicago Club. Very do- mestic in habits, he is not frequently found in the

circle of club habitues. In public affairs and whatever promotes the business and social good and welfare of the community, Mr. Burley always is an interested, and usually a participating, citi- zen. Young in enthusiasm, certainly he bears his laurel of years gracefully, as we will sincerely hope he may long live to do.

Upon the twenty-fourth day of September, 1849, Mr. Burley was joined in marriage with Welthy- an Loomis Harmon, who comes of a good old- time Down-East family. It is regretted that no children have been born to them to perpetuate the name and further the noble traits the family has conspicuously borne up to this time in the history of our country.

ROBERT R. CLARK.

OBERT RODMAND CLARK, an early resi- dent of Lake View, now a part of Chicago, is descended from English ancestors and was born in Clarkson, Monroe County, New York, May 24, 1831. His great-grandfather, William Clark, came from England and located first on the Hudson River, at Albany, New York, later re- moving to the Mohawk Valley. He was pos- sessed of some means, and dealt in realty during his residence in America. His son William had large holdings of lands and farms in central New York, and was one of the first American import- ers of Morocco leather, having his headquarters at Utica, New York, his native place. He was among the first settlers of Monroe County, and the town of Clarkson was named for him and another settler of the same name, though no rela-

tive, who located there in the same year. He died there at the age of sixty-eight years. Five of his seven children, four sons and a daughter, grew to maturity.

The third of these, William L. Clark, born in Utica, was about twenty years old when his par- ents moved to Clarkson. He married Cornelia Stewart, a native of Wyoming County, New York. Her parents, Daniel and Sallie (Fish) Stewart, were children of native Scotch parents, and were born in Chemung County, New York. She lived to the age of eighty-two years, passing away at the home of her son in Lake View in 1886. William L. Clark was an extensive farm- er, but lost heavily in speculation in later life. He was an upright man, and reached the age of seventy-two years, dying in Lake View in 1876.

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R. R. CLARK.

He was affiliated with the Universalist Church, while his wife adhered to the Presbyterian teach- ings of her fathers. They were the parents of three children. The eldest, Sallie, is the widow of George B. Marsh, now residing in Chicago; and the youngest, Laura, is the wife of Charles L. Bassett, of LaPorte, Indiana.

Robert R. Clark is the second child of his par- ents. He combines in a happy degree the sturdy qualities of physical and mental make-up of his ancestors. When a mere boy he determined to recover his father's lost homestead as a home for his parents, and before he had reached the age of twenty years had accomplished his purpose. Previous to the age of sixteen years he had the educational advantages afforded by the common schools, and he then went to Michigan, where he found employment as a school teacher. Return- ing for a short time to the home farm, he became, in his eighteenth year, check clerk on board the steamer "Empire State," plying between Buffalo and Chicago, then the finest vessel on the Lakes. He was subsequently on board the "Wisconsin" one year, and returned, as chief clerk, to the "Empire State," where he continued five years. He also served on the "Southern Michigan" and "Western Metropolis," all these boats being the property of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. The last two only ran from Buffalo to Monroe or Toledo, where they connected with that portion of the railroad completed from Chi- cago to those points. Mr. Clark was on board the steamer "Northern Indiana" when it burned on Lake Erie, one beautiful morning, off Point au Place, with a loss of between four and five hundred passengers. Being a good swimmer, he remained on board until the fire had swept to the stern of the vessel (because of its propulsion toward the shore), and after entering the water saved several passengers by giving up to them doors which he had wrenched from the staterooms for his own use. He was finally picked up by a boat bound for Buffalo, and made his regular trip out of that port on another vessel the night of the same day. When the "Golden Gate" was

wrecked on the bar at the mouth of Erie Harbor, a short time later, Mr. Clark was on board, and was saved with all the rest save one, who tried to swim ashore in the midst of the wreckage. The wreck was continually swept by the waves, but it was safer than the choppy bay, full of the floating cargo of the "Golden Gate." All who remained on board were safely conveyed to shore by a Government vessel in the morning. With the exception of one year, which was spent as re- ceiver in charge of the ticket office at Buffalo, Mr. Clark continued in the marine service until he settled in Chicago in 1857.

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 8th ed., Part 33

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