USA > Illinois > Cook County > Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 8th ed. > Part 86
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102
On the first day of January, 1854, Mr. Huber, accompanied by his wife and children and a party
of friends, sailed from Havre, France, bound for the United States. The party consisted of thirty- five members, and after a voyage of seven weeks landed in New York, and reached Chicago March 13. Their objective point was Wisconsin, but as Mr. Huber had only twenty-five dollars 011 reaching Chicago, he decided to remain in the city, and the other members of the party continued their journey to the Badger State.
The next day after his arrival Mr. Huber found employment in a soap factory, his compen- sation to be seventy-five cents per day of twelve hours. Not being able to support his family with this meager salary, he obtained a situation on South Water Street, which he retained three summers, working winters in packing houses. August 2, 1854, his wife died, leaving him with the entire care of three children.
February 2, 1855, he married Mrs. Elizabeth Catherine Mangold, who had a son by her former marriage, and with mingled pride and pleasure Mr. Huber relates that their wedding expenses were thirty-five cents, spent for cake to give the four children a feast. Soon after their marriage, with their combined capital, he bought a quarter of an acre of land on Larrabee Street, where they lived the succeeding ten years. Both were in- dustrious and energetic, and hopeful for the future. Mr. Huber continued to work in the city, and for eleven successive winters was in the employ of Reynolds & Haywood. He practiced the closest economy, and was able to save a part of his salary, besides paying all his obligations. His good wife cultivated their garden, growing vegetables for the city market. On the first basketful of vegetables sold she realized twenty-
592
J. K. EDSALL.
eight cents, with which she bought coffee. As their means increased they bought a few cows and engaged in selling milk.
While residing on Larrabee Street Mr. Huber bought several lots, which were used for garden- ing purposes. In1 1864 he bought eight acres of land on Racine Avenue, a part of which he now occupies. After locating ou this land he carried on market gardening extensively, and was very prosperous. For the eight acres of land he paid nine hundred dollars an acre, and in 1895 sold five acres of this for seventy thousand dollars, to the Alexian Brothers. He also bought other lots, and at one time owned sixteen acres of land in Chicago. His different investments proved profitable and by indefatigable industry, strict integrity in all his dealings, and keen business foresight, he achieved success. At the age of seventy years he retired from active business, with a handsome competence, and has since en- joyed a well-earned rest.
In his domestic relations Mr. Huber was always happy. By his first wife he had seven children, only three of whom are now living, namely: Conrad, who resides in Lake View; Elizabeth, widow of Mr. Schwackert, of South- port Avenue; and Jacob, who lives at No. 255 Racine Avenue. Mr. Huber and his second wife were the parents of the following children, Ru- dolph, who died of scarlet fever at the age of three and a-half years, and Wilhelmina, wife of William George Reichwald. The mother of these died in April, 1879.
Mr. Huber supports the principles of the Republican party. He has been for a number of years one of the directors of an orphan asylum, and is also a director of the German hospital, and identified with Saint Paul's Lutheran Church. He is a highly respected and valuable citizen, and evinces a creditable interest in the affairs of the country of his adoption, and of the city it which he resides.
JAMES K. EDSALL.
9 AMES KIRTLAND EDSALL was born at Windham, Greene County, New York, May 10, 1831, and was the son of Joseph Edsall and Nancy Kirtland Edsall. His grandfather, John Edsall, served in the Revolutionary War, and was with General Washington at the crossing of the Delaware. He belonged to a family that settled with the early colonists in New Jersey.
Samuel Edsall, the first of the name in this country, came from the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, in 1644. By marriage this English an- cestry was mingled with the sturdy qualities of the Knickerbocker Dutch.
Joseph Edsall, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a man possessed of unusual natural ability and extensive general information, and
ever manifested a determination to secure for his children the best educational advantages that lay within his reach. His wife, Nancy Edsall, was born in Connecticut, but removed with her parents, Richard and Lydia (Lord) Kirtland, to Durham, New York, whence the family subse- quently moved to Windham. She was a woman of superior education, and an exemplary Christian, who left upon her children the impress of her character.
Jaines K. Edsall received his education in the common schools, and later pursued a course of study comprising modern science, mathematics, languages, and classics, in the academy at Pratts- ville, New York. He paid his expenses at the latter place by teaching and working upon the
593
J. K. EDSALL.
home farın. His father selected him as the lawyer of the family, and at the 'age of twelve years liis brothers and sisters conferred upon him the title of "The Counsellor." His brother Henry was in like manner selected for a physician. The suc- cess which attended each one in his life work, shows the correctness of their father's judgment.
James left the academy in 1851, and began the study of law in the office of Herman Winans of Prattsville, and taught school during the follow- ing winter. In the spring of 1852, he took a clerkship in the office of Alexander H. Bailey, of Catskill, New York, where he could pay his ex- penses and at the same time pursue his studies. In the following September, he passed an exami- nation for the bar, before the Justices of the Supreme Court, at Albany, New York.
In December, 1853, he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the following summer to Fond du Lac, in the same State. From there he went to Saint Paul, Minnesota, and in the fall of 1854, he settled at Leavenworth, Kansas. There he was made a candidate on the Free State ticket for rep- resentative in the first Territorial Legislature; and though he received a majority of the local votes, armed bodies of men came over from Mis- souri, and by fraudulent means, elected a Slave State candidate. In 1855, he was elected to the Legislature which was organized under the "To- peka Constitution." He participated in the de- liberations of that body and was a member of the committee to draft a code of laws for Kansas. He was present as a member of the Topeka Legisla- ture, when, on July 4, 1856, it was broken up by United States troops, by order of President Pierce.
July 24, 1856, Mr. Edsall married Caroline Florella Moore, at Florence, Michigan, whence her family had moved from Delhi, New York. Three children were born to them as follows: James Star, Samuel Cook and Emily Farrington. The only one living is Samuel Cook, who, after several years spent with his father in the study and practice of the law, entered the ministry of the Episcopal Church, and is now Rector of St. Peter's Church, Chicago.
James K. Edsall became, in his early manhood, and continued through life, an ardent adherent of
the Episcopal Church, giving liberally of his means to its support and regularly attending its services. For several years before his death, he was a vestryman in his son's parish. In August, 1856, he moved to Dixon, Illinois, and there con- tinued in the practice of his profession. Though then only twenty-five years old, he soon attained a leading position at the bar of northern Illinois, and built up an extensive practice. His name frequently appears as counsel in the reports of the Supreme Court, and rarely upon the losing side. Ill 1863, he was elected Mayor of Dixon, and in 1870 was elected to the Senate of the Twenty- seventh General Assembly of Illinois, in which capacity he served two years. This body con- tained several of the ablest lawyers of the State, and of these Mr. Edsall was accorded a place among the first.
The adoption of the new Constitution of 1870, rendered it necessary to frame general laws to take the place of the incongruous mass of special legislation which had previously been in vogue, and by common consent it seems to have been thought expedient to confide that duty to the most competent hands. The present general law for the incorporation of cities and villages was framed in the Senate Committee on Municipalities, of which Mr. Edsall was then chairman, and most of its provisions bear the impress of his study and thought. The sections of the Conveyance Act, which prescribed short forms of deeds and mort- gages, so brief that they contain but few more words than an ordinary promissory note, aside from names of parties and necessary descriptions, and yet so complete that the single word "war- rant " expresses full covenant for title written out in the most exact legal phraseology, were drafted by him.
The public and the bar are more indebted to him than to anyone else for the incorporation into the Practice Act of 1872, of those liberal provi- sions which did much to rescue the common law system of pleading and practice, in use in this State, from the reproach which rested upon it. His clear thought, sound judgment and legal ac- quirements, were such as to distinguish between the real merits of the system based upon the com-
594
J. K. EDSALL.
mon law and the mass of outgrown technicalities by which it was overlaid. He took a leading part in the .discussion of the important subjects which came before the Senate and prepared the report of the Judiciary Committee in support of the right of the State to impose and collect reason- able tolls for the use of the improvements which it had made in the navigation of the Illinois River. He made an argument of great power in support of the constitutionality of Governmental control of railroads and warehouses. At the close of his speech, he predicted that this power would ulti- mately be sustained by the Supreme Court, a pre- diction which was subsequently verified by the decision of that conrt in "Munn versus the State of Illinois," a cause argued by him as Attorney- General. At the conclusion of the opinion of the United States Supreme Court in that case, Chief Justice Waite said, " In passing upon this case, we have not been unmindful of the vast impor- tance of the question involved. This and cases of a kindred character were argued before us more than a year ago by most eminent counsel, and in a manner worthy of their well-earned reputations."
Mr. Edsall's work in the State Senate made such an impression upon his fellow-members of the Legislature, that inany of them insisted he was the man needed by the State for its Attorney- General. His nomination by the Republican Convention followed, and in 1872 he was elected Attorney-General of the State, and was re-elected to the same office in 1876. The manner in which he discharged the duties of that office earned for him the admiration of his professional brethren, and the gratitude of the people. The case of Munn versus the State had been argued a year prior to his election, and, upon the anthority of members since retired from the bench, is said to have been decided against the State, when con- sidered in conference, but the opinion had not been announced. A re argument of the case was ordered by the Court after the election of two new judges, who filled vacancies. Mr. Edsall availed himself of this opportunity, and as Attor- ney-General, filed an argument in behalf of the State, which became the basis of the opinion of the Court, sustaining the power of the State to
pass laws prescribing the maximum charges by public warehouses for the storage of grain. The eight years which he held the office of Attorney- General formed an epoclı in the legal and consti- tutional history of the State. The revenue cases which he successfully carried through the courts of the State and the United States, involving taxes to the amount of millions of dollars, speak for themselves as to the value of his services, and the untiring labor and legal talent displayed in their management.
In all his varied career as student, lawyer, legis- lator, senator and attorney-general, Mr. Edsall showed himself in every way worthy of the im- portant trusts imposed upon him. Prompt in all his actions, decided in his opinion and independ- ent of thought, he never deviated from the course which duty had marked out, and always acted without regard to popular favor. A lover of free- dom and equality, his sympathies were ever en- listed in the cause of the oppressed, and he firmly maintained the rights of the people. In the dis- charge of his official duties he showed himself the possessor of a sound judgment, a thorough knowl- edge of constitutional law and the principles of government, and that he was profoundly versed in jurisprudence. He was one of those rare lawyers capable of arguing from first principles, and able to strike out in original paths. During his incumbency of the office of Attorney-General his official opinions were constantly sought and relied upon by the Governor and other executive officers of the state, upon all questions of legal or constitutional difficulty, and he invariably met the demands of the occasion in such manner as to solve the problem presented and make plain the path of official duty. Gifted with a high order of talent, patience, perseverance and most estimable social qualities, few men stood higher in the ap- preciation of the public than did the subject of this sketch, James K. Edsall.
The reputation he made, and the position he achieved before the public, were such that it was quite generally assumed that he would be a can- didate for Governor of the State at the election of 1880. But mere official positions not within the line of his profession, appeared to have no attrac-
-
595
JOSEPH MEISNER.
tion for him. He did not even entertain the propo- sition to become a candidate for Governor, and more than a year prior to the expiration of his term gave notice to all aspirants to the office of Attorney-General, that he designed to retire to private practice and would not be a candidate for that office. In pursuance of this resolution, he moved to the City of Chicago in September, 1879, and there opened an office for the practice of law.
After Mr. Edsall's retirement to private prac- tice he was several times retained as private coun- sel for the State, when it became necessary to defend the constitutionality of important laws; notably in the cases of the Illinois Central and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroads in the United States Supreme Court, in which it had been asserted that the charters of these companies exempted them from State control. During the years of his private practice in Chicago, Mr. Edsall's services were frequently sought in cases of a public character, involving the application of great skill in constitutional law, and, as was to be expected, his role was nearly always that of an advocate for the people. Among the more promi- nent cases with which his name thus became as- sociated, and in which he materially contributed to the final victories achieved, were the Lake Front case and the Gas Trust case. It was a
marked characteristic of his legal career that lie always won the respect and admiration of his legal opponents. Able lawyers who had met de- feat at his hands repeatedly sought his aid as counsel in their own difficult cases. In his later years a large proportion of his practice was of this character, and this still further developed his re- markable power of concentration, and those quali- ties of keen perception which enabled him to speedily get at the root of things and unravel difficult snarls.
But while it was as a lawyer that James K. Edsall deserves to be classed as a really great man, it was in his domestic and social life that the amiability and kindness of the man shone most brightly forth. He was never so happy as with his grandchildren on his knee. Those who knew him intimately loved him best. He was one of those men who are a tower of moral strength in the circle in which they live; and when, on June 19, 1892, he died, after an illness of four months succeeding a stroke of paralysis, brought on by overwork, he was mourned by many who had experienced his ever kind gener- osity. His body was laid away in the cemetery at his old home in Dixon; where, after an interval of some two years, his beloved life partner came to rest by his side.
JOSEPH MEISNER.
OSEPH MEISNER, who was for several years an expressman of Chicago, was born December 24, 1809, in Hirshberg, Austria. He was educated iu his native country, and there fell in love with a young girl named Anna Froech- lich, a daughter of Joseph and Theresa (Schluka) Froechlich. They were married in Jung Buns- lau, Austria, in 1850, though the bride was then only seventeen years old. Two years later they
came to America and settled in Chicago, where Mr. Meisner obtained employment. They resided at No. 175 Jackson Street, their home having been bought by Mrs. Meisner. Mr. Meisner died in Chicago, September 24, 1883.
After the death of her husband Mrs. Meisner bought the property at No. 811 Fairfield Avenue, where she now resides. She has been a success- ful business woman and a good wife and helpmate
C
596
A. J. NOWLEN.
to her husband. She has been able to accumu- late a comfortable fortune, which she inanages to the best advantage, being possessed of good judg- ment: She is the mother of six children, name- ly: Anna, Amalia, August, Matilda, Peter and Mary. Anna first married Henry Thage, who died, and now she is the wife of William Molzen; Amalia married John Stepens; Matilda is the wife of William Rohe; and Mary was married to Henry Busche.
Mrs. Meisner always practiced frugality and in-
dustry, and so able was she in the management of her affairs that she laid the foundation of a small fortune, which will benefit her posterity for many generations. She is a kind mother and was a dutiful and affectionate wife, combining those qualities of mind and heart which win for a wo- man the respect of all. She is an example of what may be accomplished by a woman left with 110 protector, if ambitious and willing to do her best. She is well known in her community, and has the respect and esteem of all.
ADDISON J. NOWLEN.
A DDISON JOSHUA NOWLEN, a prominent citizen and well-known business man of Irv- ing Park, was born March 28, 1828, at Conesville, Schoharie County, New York. He is a grandson of Joshua Nowlen, who was born in Connecticut of Irish descent, and who moved to New York. He served his country as a soldier in the War of 1812. He was a farmer by occupa- tion, and married Miss Rhoda Scoville. Their son, Ira Nowlen, the father of Addison J. Nowlen, was born in Conesville, which was his home most of his life. He was a prominent citizen and served as Captain in the State Militia several years. When quite a young man, he married Sophia Toles, who was of Welsh descent, but was a relative of the Tinkham family, which is of Pilgrim origin in this country. Subsequently he removed to Benton Harbor, Michigan, where he and his wife both died in 1871. Of their five children, the following is the account: Almira is the wife of Rev. A. M. Shaw, of Whitney's Point, New York; Albert is a farmer, fruit grower, and business man of Benton Harbor, Michigan; Louisa died in Nemaha County, Kansas; Victorine is the wife of John McCoy, who lives in Nemaha County, Kansas; and the subject of this sketch.
Addison J. Nowlen spent his early youth on the farm of his father, and after completing the course of the district school, he continued his education at the Delaware Literary Institute of Delaware County, New York, in which he pur- sued a course for four years. With this good foundation, he took a legal course at Hamilton College, and later studied in a law office at Oneonta. At the latter place he had access to the law books from the library of the famous novelist, James Fenimore Cooper, for whom the town was named.
In 1853, having been admitted to the bar, Mr. Nowlen practiced law in the courts of New York for the next twelve years, making a specialty of criminal cases. He soon became prominent in this line and was retained on some of the most noted cases that have ever been tried in the courts of that State. In 1856, his health had become so seriously impaired by his diligent application to his profession, that he found it necessary to seek some employment which would give him exercise in the open air, and at the solicitation of his brotlier, he removed to Benton Harbor, where, when his health permitted, he assisted the county surveyor. So proficient did he become in this
597
A. D. KENNEDY.
line of work, that he was elected to the office of county surveyor.
Immediately after the great fire, he came to Chicago and took up the business of examining titles and similar work connected with real estate. This venture has proved so successful that he has continued it ever since. Soon after locating in Chicago, he built a fine residence in Irving Park, which is surrounded by pleasant grounds. He also has other interests in that suburb, with whose social and business welfare he is in sympathy.
September 4, 1850, Mr. Nowlen was united in marriage with Clarinda Niles, who was born at Sydney Center, Delaware County, New York, and is a daughter of Joseph and Sally (Barstow) Niles. They have no children of their own, but have adopted one daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Nowlen attend the Reformed Church of Irving Park, but they still hold membership in the Congregational
Church at Benton Harbor, Michigan. In the latter Church Mr. Nowlen was a most valued and influential member, and it was by his energy and perseverance that the funds were raised to build the first church edifice. He has always been active in movements for political reform, and is at present president of the Civic Federation of the twenty-seventh ward. While he favors the prin- ciples of the Prohibition party, his support has usually been in the interests of the Republican party since its organization, having "stumped " the State of New York, in 1856, for John C. Fre- mont.
Throughout his life Mr. Nowlen has found his main enjoyment in music and art. He was for- merly a member of the Mozart Society and has been the leader of many choirs, being still en- gaged in that kind of work. He is a member of the Art Institute.
ALEXANDER D. KENNEDY.
A LEXANDER DALTON KENNEDY, one of the best-known underwriters of Chicago, was born in Kendall County, Illinois, March 24, 1842, and is the son of John M. Kennedy, of whom extended notice is given elsewhere in this volume. His parents moved to Chicago when he was seven years of age, and he was educated in the public schools of thiscity. One of his first business ventures was in the capacity of sutler of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry, which position he filled from October, 1861, till April, 1862.
In May, 1862, lie entered the employ of James K. Murphy, one of the pioneer underwriters of Chicago, and has since been almost exclusively engaged in that line of business. Beginning as office boy he worked his way by degrees to the position of cashier and manager, and in the spring of 1866 succeeded Mr. Murphy as agent
of the Peoria Marine & Fire Insurance Company, the firm name changing to Kennedy & Williams. Mr. Kennedy was a member of this firm until 1868, when he received an appointment in the grain inspecting department of Illinois.
In 1871 he became policy clerk and manager of the underwriting department of E. E. Ryan & Company, and in 1876 he was given an interest in the business. When Mr. Ryan died, in 1882, the firm became Kennedy & De Roode, and in 1886 was changed to A. D. Kennedy & Company and so it has since remained. In the twenty-two years following the year 1871, the firms with which Mr. Kennedy was connected wrote insur- ance policies in twenty-eight different companies, on which the premiums amounted to nearly two million dollars. The present firm occupies coni- modious offices in the Woman's Temple, and is
598
H. I. HOWLAND.
recognized as one of the most reliable concerns doing business in its line in the city.
Mr. Kennedy was married in November, 1869, to Miss Lizzie Elliott, daughter of H. J. Elliott, an early resident of Chicago, who died when Mrs. Kennedy was a young child. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy became the parents of six children, namely: Alexander D., Junior, a professional athlete, who has won considerable renown in that line; Harry J., manager of a department in the store of the Monarch Bicycle Company in this city; Mattie, wife of Joseph Burton, a receiv- ing teller in the American Exchange National Bank, in Chicago; Lallah Rooke, wife of R. W.
Kinsely, manufacturer of cornice and metal roofing, of Chicago; Memay, a student of Notre Dame College, South Bend, Indiana. One son died in childhood.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.