USA > Illinois > Cook County > Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 8th ed. > Part 51
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had saved out of his salary as a teacher. With that as a base, and an abundance of energy, per- severance, enterprise and integrity of the highest character, he was prepared to enter tlie contest for success in commercial circles with a good prospect of winning, and he succeeded. The house of which he is a member is one of the most reputable and substantial in Chicago, and its status is the outgrowth of the efforts of the gen- tlemen who have managed its affairs. It grew up on fair dealing and honest and successful competition with its rivals. At the time of Mr. Story's withdrawal from the firm, the capital exceeded $500,000, and he received $250,000 for his interest in the business. The capital to-day exceeds $1,000,000.
Mr. Camp has been prominently connected with public enterprises. He is a director in the Chicago Theological Seminary and the Royal Trust Company. In April, 1891, he was ap- pointed a director of the World's Columbian Ex- position, and served as a member of the commit- tees on Agriculture and Liberal Arts. In politics Mr. Camp is a Republican, but he does not serve his party with a blind devotion, rather taking a liberal view of political matters, and in local affairs votes for the man whom he thinks best qualified to discharge the duties of the office. For many years he has been a member of Union Park Congregational Church, and is president of its board of trustees. He is a member of the Illinois and Union League Clubs.
On the Ist of January, 1862, Mr. Camp mar- ried Miss Flora Carpenter, daughter of Hon. Carlos Carpenter, of Barre, Vermont. Of the four children born of this marriage, three are now living. The daughter, Charlotte, is the wife of M. A. Farr, of Chicago; Edward N., the elder son, is in business with his father; and William Carpenter, the younger son, is also in the business.
Mr. Camp has found time in liis busy commer- cial life to see his native land quite thoroughly, and has also traveled extensively abroad with his family. As a result of his journeyings, he is a better citizen and more loyal American thian he would otherwise have been. He is a generous giver to the church and for charitable purposes.
348
E. A. JEWETT.
In consequence of his industrious, well-spent life, and his energy, integrity and force of character, Mr. Camp has raised himself from the bottom round of the financial ladder to a position of in-
dependence, and at this advanced period of his life enjoys the luxuries of wealth, the society of numerous friends, and the pleasures of an environ .. ment of refinements.
.
EDWARD A. JEWETT.
DWARD ADAMS JEWETT, one of the successful sons of Vermont, now identified with the greatest enterprise of Chicago, was born at St. Johnsbury, July 18, 1838. His grandfather, Dr. Luther Jewett, was one of the pioneers of that town, where he officiated first as a clergyman and later as a physician. He was also a member of Congress from Vermont, elected in 1815 and re-elected in 1817. He was born in Canterbury, Connecticut, and reached the age of eighty-seven years. Ephraim Jewett, the fatlier of the subject of this notice, was in turn a promi- nent citizen of St. Johnsbury, where he carried on a mercantile business. He married Miss Jane Fairbanks, a daughter of · ex-Governor Erastus Fairbanks and sister of ex-Governor Horace Fairbanks-a name which is a household word in the Green Mountain State, and familiar in this and other countries in connection with Fairbanks' scales and philanthropic deeds. Mrs. Jane Jewett's grandfather was remotely of English descent, his ancestors being among the first settlers of Massa- chusetts. Both he and his wife lived to extreme old age, departing this life during the boyhood of Edward A. Jewett-Mrs. Fairbanks at the age of ninety-nine years. Erastus Fairbanks was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, in 1792, and was known as Vermont's "War Governor," his second elec- tion to that office having occurred in the fall of 1860. The first election was in 1852.
The ancestry of Edward A. Jewett on both sides was of prime New England stock-a lineage
distinguished for sturdy character, industrious habits and intellectual force-and this scion per- petuates those characteristics to a marked degree. He attended the schools in St. Johnsbury, and later became a student at Phillips Academy, at Andover, Massachusetts, graduating from that famous educational institution in1 1857. He then entered Harvard University, but his health hav- ing become impaired, he was obliged to relinquish his studies there at the end of the second year.
He soon after entered upon the business career in which he has since been almost continuously occupied. His first employment was with a large wholesale boot and shoe house in Boston, where he remained until 1861. He was then sent to Burlington, Vermont, to settle up the affairs of a boot and shoe store which had become largely indebted to his employers. Having adjusted this business in a manner creditable to himself and satisfactory to the creditors, he purchased the business of the bankrupt concern and carried on the same for four years. At the end of that period he became interested in the construction of a railway from Swanton, Vermont, to St. John's, Quebec, which subsequently became a part of the Vermont Central system. From 1866 to 1870 he was in the service of the United States Govern- ment as deputy collector of internal revenue at Burlington, Vermont, after which he engaged in the book and stationery business at that place for three years.
In1 1873 Mr. Jewett became a resident of Chi-
349
GOTTLIEB MERZ.
cago, and in July of that year he was appointed Assistant Superintendent of the Chicago division of the Pullman Palace Car Company. On the Ist of June, 1874, he was promoted to the office of Division Superintendent, and held that position until April 1, 1888, when he was appointed As- sistant General Superintendent of the company, a. position which he still capably fills. This high and responsible position was given to him in recognition of his merits and qualifications. This important trust involves in its operations millions of dollars, under a method so thoroughly systematized that the checks and balances must tally to a cent. The vast system managed by the Pullman Palace Car Company extends throughout the United States, Canada and Mex- ico, its domain being so broad as to be almost incomprehensible-all under the sagacious super- intendency of this quiet and unpretentious gen- tleman, whose hand is felt and recognized as being constantly at the helm. He has been the recipient of many evidences of the high regard in which he is held by the heads of this great cor- poration.
In 1870 he married Miss Jennie M. Hubbell, of Charlotte, Chittenden County, Vermont, a member of an old and highly-respected family,
the daughter of S. W. and Polly Hubbell. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Jewett in Chicago is the seat of pleasant hospitality, where their friends are always sure of cordial welcome.
In his social and fraternal relations Mr. Jewett occupies an enviable position. He is an honored member of the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated with Washington Lodge, Burlington Chapter and Council, of Burlington, Vermont; of Chevalier Bayard Commandery, Chicago; and Boston (Mas- sachusetts) Consistory. He served one year as Deputy Grand Master of the State of Vermont, Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter for two years, and Grand Generalissimo of the Grand Commandery for one year. He was an early member of the Sons of Vermont in Chicago, and one of the vice-presidents of that society in 1894. He is a stanch supporter of Republican principles of government, and in 1872 and 1873 he served as aide-de-camp on the staff of Gov. Julius Con- verse, of Vermont. His bearing is uniformly courteous and dignified, and inspires the confi- dence and regard of all who come in contact with him. He can have the proud satisfaction of knowing that it has been to his own capacity, diligence and careful observance of the highest rules of business that his uniform success is due.
GOTTLIEB MERZ.
G OTTLIEB MERZ. Among the self-made and patriotic citizens of Chicago of foreign birth, is the subject of this biography. His ancestors were among the prominent people of Menziken, in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland, and he does honor to his lineage. His grandfather moved from that city to Erlach, Canton Berne, where his parents, Jacob and Elizabeth Merz, were born. Jacob Merz was a carpenter, and
passed his whole life in the pursuit of his occu- pation at Erlach.
Gottlieb Merz was born at the last-mentioned place on the 14th of October, 1838, and attended the public schools of his native place until he was fourteen years old. He was then apprenticed to a cabinetmaker and became a journeyman two years later, at the age of sixteen. After this he worked at his trade in several of the Swiss cities
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GOTTLIEB MERZ.
bordering on the Lake of Geneva, suclı as Neuf- chatel, Locel, Lucerne, Vevey and Morges. He was also employed for some time in the principal city of Geneva.
At the age of twenty-four, possessed by that spirit of enterprise which has made the American Nation pre-eminent in the world's progress, he determined to settle in the western world, and came direct to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After working six months in a cabinet shop there, he went into a factory employed in the manufacture of picture frames, mirrors and show cases, and after being there two months, was made foreman and had charge of a large business.
Mr. Merz became a resident of Chicago in 1865, and was employed for two years by Stotz & Wolz, makers of cabinet ware. In 1867 he established his present business-the manufacture of cigar boxes-which has grown under his energetic and judicious care to enormous magnitude. His first shop was in the old Turner Hall on Kinzie Street, where, in 1871, he lost everything in the great fire. The North Side residents did not suppose the devouring element would cross the river from the South Side, until it seemed to leap over all along the river front, and Mr. Merz was sur- rounded, like many others, before he could make arrangements to save anything, and was glad to escape with his family to a place of safety. After this disaster he set cheerfully to work to repair his losses, as far as possible, without wasting any time in repining. He began on Twenty-second Street, whence he removed in June, 1872, to North Franklin Street. His business continuing to grow until he was again compelled to move, he built the brick buildings now occupied by him at 209 to 215 Superior Street, in 1879. Here he turns out daily five thousand cigar boxes, beside from one to two thousand other light packing boxes. The establishment is equipped with the latest improved machinery, much of which is the result of Mr. Merz' inventive genius.
Mr. Merz is the founder and builder of his own fortune, and his example is commended to the youth of the land. His success is the result of no sudden turn of fortune, but to the persistent
pushing of his enterprise, which is the only real "luck" in the world. Sometimes a fortune is rapidly accumulated, but an examination of the case will show that, with rare exceptions, the foundation of such success was laid by long years of patient preparation which fitted the individual for seizing the opportunity when it came. Mr. Merz labored patiently many years at his trade to secure a start in the way of a small capital and a business experience and knowledge of the En- glish language, which fitted him for the promi- nent position he now holds in the business world of Chicago, that typical city of American enter- prise.
While he has been energetic in business, Mr. Merz has also fulfilled his duty to society. He has long been an active member of the Grutli Society, an organization of Swiss-born citizens, of which he was treasurer for ten years. He is a member of the Schweitzer Mænnerchor, the North Side Turners' Society, and was for many years identified with the Sons of Herman. He holds membership in Miethra Lodge, No. 410, in the Masonic Order, beside that of the Consistory and Shrine of the same order. In religious faith he adheres to the German Lutheran Church, and has usually affiliated with the Republican party in matters of public policy.
Mr. Merz was married, in 1864, to Miss Jo- sephine Boppart, who is a native of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Two sons and a daughter of this family died in childhood. The living are, Emilie, widow of Henry Kallemberg; Louise, Mrs. Charles Stierlin; Edward G., who is associated with his father in business (the firm now being G. Merz & Son); and Lily, still in the home of her parents. All reside in Chicago.
By his uniform courtesy and fair dealing, Mr. Merz has won the confidence and good will of all with whom he comes in contact, and he is unan- imously voted one of the most popular of the North Side citizens. He has never aspired to public station, but has been content to fill his place as a gentleman among his fellows and at his own fireside, where he is tlie center of conjugal and filial regard.
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
(From Photo by W. J. ROOT)
351
J. W. TOPE, M. D.
JOHN W. TOPE, M. D.
OHN WESLEY TOPE, M. D., of Oak Park, who has achieved some distinction in medical and surgical science, there and elsewhere, was born at New Philadelphia, Ohio, November 10, 1845. He is the eldest son in the family of Jacob J. and Mary (Brown) Tope. 1
John Tope, the grandfather of Jacob J. Tope, was a native of Maryland, who became a resident of Holliday's Cove, West Virginia. During the War of 1812 he and his brother, George, held ex- tensive contracts with the United States Govern- ment for furnishing beef to the army. In 1815 he removed to Carroll County, Ohio, of which he was one of the original settlers. He and his sons erected extensive mills at a place still known as Tope's Mills. His son, George, who became the father of Jacob J., was born at Holliday's Cove, West Virginia. He was a miller by trade and continued the business founded by his father for inany years.
Jacob J. Tope was born at Tope's Mills, Ohio, February 22, 1822. He was a blacksmith by trade, and during his latter years engaged in farming. He also had a taste for military affairs, and served for some time as captain of a rifle company in the Ohio militia. During the Mexican War this company tendered its ser- vices to the United States Government, but, owing to the termination of the conflict a short time afterward, it was not called into service. Mr. Tope died in 1862, of typhoid fever, con- tracted while on a visit to his son, John W. Tope, who was then in the United States serv- ice in Virginia. Mrs. Mary Tope is still living at New Philadelphia, Ohio, at the age of sixty-nine
years. She was born in Harrison County, in the same State, and is a daughter of John Brown, a farmer, who' went thither from Pennsylvania. Three sons and one daughter were born to Jacob J. and Mary Tope. John W. is the eldest of these; George W. is a farmer of New Philadel- phia, Ohio; William A. is a physician at Dow- ner's Grove, Illinois; and Mary is the wife of John Heaton, of Harrison County, Ohio.
John W. Tope passed his early boyhood upon the homestead farm. He was in his sixteenth year when the great civil strife, which for years had threatened to dismember the nation, devel- oped into actual warfare. Though but a youth in stature, he already began to manifest the patriotic determination and enthusiasm which foretold the distinguishing characteristics of the future man.
Embracing the first opportunity, he enlisted August 20, 1861, in Company I, Thirtieth Ohio Infantry. After serving three years, he re- enlisted in the same company and remained in the ranks until the close of hostilities. He was at first attached to the Army of West Virginia, under General Rosecranz, and participated in engage- ments at Gauley Bridge and Fayetteville. When that commander was succeeded by General Coxe he participated in the latter's unsuccessful expedi- tion, which was designed to cut off communication between Richmond and North Carolina. Just after the second battle of Bull Run his regiment joined Pope's Army and took part in the famous battles of South Mountain and Antietam. They were afterward transferred to West Virginia and went into winter quarters at Ganley Bridge, under
352
CAPT. J. D. COURTRIGHT.
command of Gen. Joseph Lightburn. Thence they were ordered South, and joining Sherman's army just after the battle of Chickasaw Bayou, were attached to the First Brigade, Second Divi- sion, Fifteenth Army Corps. Mr. Tope was on the first detail set at work upon the famous Vicks- burg canal, but, having contracted the measles, he was disabled for three weeks, and took no further part in that gigantic enterprise. After the fall of Vicksburg he accompanied Sherman's army in the march from Memphis to Chattanooga, served throughout the Atlanta campaign, the March to the Sea, and thence northward to the city of Washington, where he participated in the Grand Review. After this his regiment was sta- tioned for a time at Little Rock, Arkansas, whence they returned to Columbus, Ohio, and were mus- tered out August 20, 1865, just four years from the date of Mr. Tope's enlistment. He had passed through these successive campaigns without real injury, and returned to the pursuits of peace, matured and developed in both mind and body.
He then began the study of medicine with Dr. J. D. Otis, at New Philadelphia, Ohio. In the fall of 1868 he entered Rush Medical College, Chicago, where he spent two years in practical preparation for his chosen profession. During eighteen months of this time, August, 1868, to January, 1870, he was an interne in the Cook County Hospital, and upon his graduation lie
was appointed medical superintendent of the Cook County Insane Hospital, which had just been completed at Jefferson, a position which he filled with credit for four years.
In 1876 he located in Oak Park, where he has ever since been engaged in general practice, though his field of usefulness is by no means con- fined to that village. He gives special attention to practical surgery, and for three years past has been an attending surgeon at the Cook County Hospital. From time to time he has become i11- terested in different business enterprises; in 1892 became one of the incorporators of the Oak Park State Bank, and has ever since been a member of the board of directors of that thriving institution.
The Doctor was most happily married in 1880, to Della Whaples, daughter of Reuben Whaples, one of the earliest pioneers of Cook County. The . three children which have been born to them are named respectively, Helen, John and Oliver. The family attends the Congregational Church of Oak Park and is welcomed to the most select social circles of that delightful suburb, a village justly celebrated for its many cultivated and happy homes. The Doctor is identified with Phil Sher- idan Post No. 615, Grand Army of the Republic, and holds a conspicuous position in Masonic circles, having been a charter member of Siloam Commandery No. 54, of which body he was commander in 1886.
CAPT. JAMES D. COURTRIGHT.
C
APT. JAMES DEARBORN COURT- RIGHT, who was long known as one of the most skillful and reliable navigators on the Great Lakes, was born February 27, 1828, in the State of New York. He was the son of James and Eliza (Dearborn) Courtright. When he was a boy, his parents moved to Madison, Ohio, and
later to Painesville, Ohio. At the age of sixteen years he began sailing on the lakes, and lie fol- lowed that business for nearly forty years, mak- ing trips to all the ports on the lakes, but chiefly between Chicago and Buffalo. For many years he commanded the "City of Painesville," one of the finest vessels on the lakes, in which he owned
4
353
W. M. MEREDITH.
an interest. At one time he was wrecked in a storm on Lake Erie, though fortunately no lives were lost. He afterwards commanded the "Dick Sommers" for several years. About the year 1881 he retired from business, owing to failing health. He had lived in Cook County since No- vember, 1876, having been two years in Austin, and the remainder of the time in Chicago. He died in Chicago, September 11, 1886, at the age of fifty-eight years.
He was married January 8, 1862, to Mrs. Nancy Custin, widow of Edwin Custin, and sister of Capt. Stephen Seamiens, whose biography ap- pears elsewhere in this history. Mrs. Courtright is
now living in Austin, and is nearly sixty-six years old. Mr. and Mrs. Courtright had two children, one of whom died in infancy. The other lives in Austin, and is now Mrs. Clara E. Seamens, wife of George R. Seamens.
While a young man, Mr. Courtright made two trips to California, but he soon returned to tlie pursuits and surroundings in which the most of his life was spent, and which possessed such great attraction for him. Captain Courtright was a member of the Masonic order and was identified with a commandery of Knights Templar at Painesville, Ohio. He was a lifelong Democrat, but never an office-seeker.
WILLIAM M. MEREDITH.
ILLIAM MORTON MEREDITH was born in Centerville, Wayne County, Indiana, April 11, 1835. He was educated in pri- vate schools and in White Water College, served an apprenticeship to the printing business, in 1852 commenced work as a journeyman in the office of the Indianapolis Journal, and was en- gaged there as a compositor when the War of the Rebellion broke out in 1861. In 1860 he was a delegate to the National Typographical Union, which assembled that year in Nashville, Tennes- see. For some years prior to the war he had been a member of the Indianapolis City Grays, and was among a great many of that organization who at once tendered their services to the Union. A few days after marching into camp, and before being regularly mustered into the service, young Meredith was appointed by Governor O. P. Mor- ton, assistant to the Commissary General of In- diana, and served in that capacity, instructing regimental quartermasters and commissaries, until June, 1862, when he was commissioned second lieutenant, with authority to recruit a company.
In about one month the company was fully enlisted to the maximum number of one hundred one men, and Meredith was. mustered and commissioned captain of Company E, Seventieth Indiana Vol- unteer Infantry, Col. Benjamin Harrison com- manding, in which he served until discharged for disability contracted in the line of duty at Atlanta, Georgia, August 12, 1864. He was with his regiment every time it was engaged in battle, re- ceiving honorable mention for gallantry during the Atlanta campaign, and especially for his con- duct at the battle of Resaca, Georgia. Return- ing to Indianapolis, Meredith again went to work as a printer in the Journal office in that city, and in 1867 became foreman of the establishment. In 1872 he removed to Saint Louis and accepted the foremanship of the office of the Daily Democrat of that city, which position he retained until July, 1875, when the Democrat and Globe were consoli- dated, and he accepted a position with the Western Bank Note Company of Chicago, and removed to that city. After ten months residence within the city limits he removed to the beautiful
354
STEWART COLLINS.
suburb of Austin, where he bought a home, and where he has since made his residence.
July 1st, 1889, Captain Meredith was appointed by President Harrison, chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Treasury Department, Washington, District of Columbia, and filled that office with honor and credit to himself, and acceptably to his superiors-Secretaries Windom, Foster and Carlisle,-until July 1st, 1893, when he was relieved, to give place to a Democrat. He then returned to Chicago, and again entered the service of the Western Bank Note Company, as superintendent of the Steel Plate Printing De- partment, which position he holds to-day.
He was married April 23, 1867, to Miss Ter- ressa A. Richey, of Indianapolis, Indiana. Their married life has been a most happy one. They have been blessed with five children, two sons and three daughters, all of whom are living.
Politically, Captain Meredith has been a faith- ful Republican. It is his proud boast that his first vote was for Fremont, the first Republican candidate for president,-and that he has never forsaken the line.
He comes of Welsh descent, his great-grand-
father, Luff Meredith, having come to the colony of Delaware fromn Wales early in 1700. His 'grandfather, John Wheeler Meredith, served un- der Washington during the War of the Revolu- tion. His uncle, John Meredith, was an officer in the regular army during the War of 1812; an- other uncle, Joseph Busbey Meredith, was an In- dian fighter during the Blackhawk War; several cousins served in the Mexican War, and the sub- ject of this sketch, as stated above, served honor- ably in the Union Army during the War of the Rebellion. His father, Samuel C. Meredith, was for many years editor and publisher of a newspa- per in Indiana, and now lives, aged ninety, in the city of Indianapolis, beloved and respected by all.
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