Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 18

Author: La Salle Book Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : La Salle Book Co.
Number of Pages: 910

USA > Illinois > Cook County > Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899 > Part 18

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He was a member of the North Side Union

Club, but growing infirmity of health and life-long devotion to home influences prevented much so- cial dissipation. On Dearborn Avenue, at the corner of Elm Street, in a luxurious mansion- house, to which he removed in 1884, he spent happy days following a most usefully busy career.

Up to the time of the great fire, he had at- tended at the Wabash Avenue Methodist Church; afterwards for some years at the Plymouth Con- gregational Church, but finally became an habit- ual attendant at David Swing's church, on the North Side, following him to the Music Hall or- ganization across the river, being thus long in intimate relations with him who so feelingly offi- ciated at the final obsequies, preceding interment at Graceland. The time of going to the other shore was September 4, 1894, subsequent to a stroke of paralysis and some years of indisposi- tion; and when his venerable form, which had borne the trials of upwards of eighty-five years, was laid to rest, there was not a dry eye over the melancholy thought that the worthiest of the rem- nant of the early pioneers had gone to his well- merited reward. And thus the first generation passed into that history which it is the province of tliis publication to rescue from oblivion for the edification and teaching of future times.

Said the well-known philanthropist, Dr. Pear- son, in speaking of Mr. Adsit: "He was a thor- oughly upright mnan, whom I never knew to fail in any undertaking. He passed through the pan- ics of 1857, 1866 and 1873, and the great fire, not without financial loss, but without a blemish upon his reputation, meeting every obligation faithfully." Mr. John J. Mitchell, President of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank, remarked shortly after his demise: "Mr. Adsit was a man of the very highest integrity, and none stood higher than he among the business men and bank- ers of Chicago. * * In his death Chicago loses not only one of her foremost citizens, but one who helped to make the city's history, and the success she now enjoys."

Mr. Adsit married, January 21, 1840, Miss Ar- ville Chapin, of Chicago, who, herself in ad- vanced age, survives him, waiting her message to join on the other side him she so long, so deep-

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ly loved. Seven children blessed their union, namely:

Leonard D. Adsit, who was born January 29, 1841, and who died in Chicago in 1879, having been a banker, associated with his father;

Isabella F., who married Ezra I. Wheeler, of Chicago, a commission merchant, now deceased, leaving her without children;

James M. Adsit, Jr., born April 7, 1847, un- married; a former banker with his father; now a stock broker with office in the Stock Exchange;

Charles Chapin, who is associated with his brother as a stock broker; born July 14, 1853; married in October, 1890, to Mary Bowman Ash- by, of Louisville, Kentucky, by whom one child, Charles Chapin, Jr., was born July 3, 1892;

Caroline Jane, educated at Dearborn Seminary, then at Miss Ogden Hoffman's private school in New York City; unmarried;

Frank S., born September 7, 1855; died in childhood;

Jeanie M., educated at Dearborn Seminary; unmarried.

Mrs. Adsit comes of an old and distinguished New England family, of which she is a repre- sentative of the seventh American generation. Springfield, Massachusetts, is their leading home- stead, where members have erected a magnificent statue of their "Puritan divine" ancestor.

Deacon Samuel Chapin, who married a Miss

Cisily, was the progenitor from whom are de- scended all in the United States. He came from abroad to Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1641, at which time he took the "freeman's oath" in Bos- ton. The following year he went to Springfield, then one of the frontier towns, where he was for a long time a local magistrate and one of its first deacons.

His son Henry married Bethia Cooley, and re- sided in Springfield. Was a Representative in the General Court, a merchant sea-captain be- tween London and Boston; afterwards retired to live in Boston; then to Springfield. He had a son,

Deacon Benjamin, who married Hannah Col- ton, and lived in Chicopee, a set-off portion of northern Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was one of its first deacons. He had a son

Captain Ephraim, who married Jemima Chapin, his own cousin; lived in Chicopee, where he was an old-time inn-keeper. He also served in the French and Indian Wars. He had a son

Bezaleel, who also married his own cousin, Thankful Chapin; living at Ludlow Massachu- setts. He had a son

Oramel, who married Suzan Rood; living in Ludlow, Massachusetts, thence removing to Mil- waukee, Wisconsin, later to Chicago, where he died.

Their daughter Arville married the subject of this sketch.

HAMILTON M. ROBINSON.

AMILTON MOFFAT ROBINSON was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Eng- land, February 12, 1862, and is the eldest son of James Hamilton Robinson and Frances Jane Moffat. Both the parents represent ancient Scottish families.

James H. Robinson, who was born in London

and educated at the Edinburgh High School, engaged in business in Manchester, England, soon after completing his education, and later in London, in the East India trade. He continued in business about thirty years, dealing in jute and export merchandise. During a portion of this time he resided at Calcutta, in order to give

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personal supervision to his export trade. In 1885 he retired from business and came to America, locating at Winnipeg, Manitoba, where his chil- dren had preceded him and where he still resides. His father, George Brown Robinson, had suc- ceeded his (George's) father in the East India trade, and also resided for some years in Calcutta. He married Jane Campbell Hamilton, like him- self a native of Scotland. She is still living in London, at the age of seventy-five years.

Mrs. Frances J. Robinson was a daughter of Col. Bowland Moffat, who commanded the Fifty-fourth Regiment of the British army, was a veteran of the Crimean War, and was stationed for some years at Calcutta, at which place Mr. and Mrs. James H. Robinson were married. A num- ber of the ancestors of Colonel Moffat were well- to-do merchants in the West India trade, and sev- eral members of the family served in the British army.

Hamilton M. Robinson was but six months old when the family moved from London and again took up its residence in Calcutta. Seven years subsequently he returned to Europe, and at- tended boarding-schools at various points in the South of England. At the age of sixteen years he finished the course at Chatham House College, Ramsgate, Kent. It had been his in- tention to enter the East Indian civil service, but owing to his father's financial embarrassments at that time, he abandoned this purpose and en- tered the London office of Kelly & Company, East India merchants. He began in the capacity of office boy, but with such vigor and intelligence did he apply himself to business, that in the brief space of four years he became the office inanager of the firmn. He continued in that connection un- til September, 1883, when he determined to seek a wider field for the development of his talents and ability, and came to America, joining his brother in the Northwest Territory of Canada. He homesteaded a farm in Manitoba, but a short time sufficed to convince him that the pursuit of agriculture was neither as profitable nor congenial as he had anticipated. In the following May he joined a friend who was coming to Chicage, and has ever since made this city his home and place

of business. In the spring of 1885 he again visited the Northwest Territory, and as a mem- ber of Colonel Boulton's scouts, assisted in sup- pressing the Riel rebellion.

He arrived here with neither money, friends nor influence, and wasted no time in seeking or waiting for a genteel position, but immediately began work at the first employment which he could obtain. In the mean time he was constantly on the alert for a more lucrative occupation, and in a few weeks secured a position as bookkeeper with the Anglo-American Packing and Provision Company, with which he remained for about three years. In May, 1887, he resigned this em- ployment and obtained a position with the firm of Crosby & Macdonald, marine underwriters. He continued in this connection about five years, winning the confidence and esteem of his em- ployers, and demonstrating his integrity and ability for the transaction of business. In1 what- ever position he has been placed he has ever been an indefatigable worker, striving to promote the interests of those whom he served, even at the expense of his own health and personal comfort. On the first of June, 1892, Mr. Robinson formed a partnership with James B. Kellogg, under the firm name of Kellogg & Robinson, marine average adjusters. This is one of the leading firms of marine adjusters upon the shores of Lake Michi- gan, and their success has been gratifying from the start.

Mr. Robinson is a member of the Lake. Board of Average Adjusters, and of the Association of Average Adjusters of the United States. He has never identified himself with any political party, but takes an intelligent interest in questions of public policy, and has been an American citizen since 1891. He is heartily in sympathy with the spirit of American institutions, and may be classed as one of the most desirable and useful among the foreign-born citizens of Chicago.

He was married, in 1887, to Ida T. Cleverdon, of Toronto, province of Ontario, Canada, daugh- ter of William Thompson Cleverdon and Nanie Geech, both formerly residents of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

LIBRARY OF THE L.NIVERSITY OF ILLING ;

montuller

M. W. FULLER

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MELVILLE W. FULLER.

M ELVILLE WESTON FULLER. The fol- Journal. Though opposed in politics, the two lowing sketch of Chief Justice Fuller was men were always personal friends, and at last, by a curious coincidence, found themselves in Wash- ington together; the one Chief Justice of the Su- preme Court, and the other Secretary of State. written by the late Major Joseph Kirkland for the "History of Chicago," published by Mun- sell & Company, by whose permission it is here reprinted:

Chief Justice Fuller traces his descent direct to the "Mayflower." His father was Frederick A. Fuller, and his mother Catherine Martin Weston. His grandfather on the mother's side was Nathan Weston, Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court; and his uncle, George Melville Weston, was a prominent lawyer of Augusta. Melville Weston Fuller was born February 11, 1833, at Augusta, Maine, and grew up with good educa- tional advantages. He was prepared for college at Augusta, and entered Bowdoin College in 1849, where he was graduated in 1853. Thence he went to Dane Law School (Harvard), where so many of our western jurists have earned their diplomas. He is described as having been a rather aimless youth, but in college a model student, with a special gift for public speaking. He began his law practice in Augusta, but find- ing business lacking, he employed his time and eked out his income by newspaper work; a cir- cumstance to which is doubtless dne something of the literary facility which has always formed a strong feature in his career.

An interesting fact connected with this journal- istic experience is this: At a certain session of the Legislature which Melville W. Fuller reported for the Augusta Age (which he and his uncle, B. A. G. Fuller, published together), James G. Blaine was engaged as correspondent of the Kennebec

Mr. Fuller's success in Augusta as a lawyer was in proportion to the law business of the place, and so not large or satisfying. His success in politics was in proportion to his ability, and there- fore excellent. At twenty-three he was City At- torney and President of the Common Council of Augusta.

Still, it must have been unconsciously borne in upon him that Augusta and Maine, always loved and honored by him, were, after all, a "pent-up Utica" to such a soul as his. He must, at least, see the great West. In 1856 he came to Chicago, meeting here his friend and fellow-townsman, Mr. S. K. Dow, a practicing lawyer, who urged him to emigrate, offering him a place in his office and, at his choice, either a partnership in the business or a salary of $50 per month. He chose the latter, and worked on those terms five months, living within his income. But scarcely a year had passed before lie began to do a fine and prof- itable business, which went on increasing with remarkable speed and steadiness up to the time of his leaving the Bar for the Supreme Bench.

In politics he was a stanch Democrat, and by friendship and sympathy a warm adherent of Stephen A. Douglas. At Mr. Douglas's death in 1861, lie delivered the funeral oration, his speech being a masterly production. In the same year he was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention, and two years later we find him in

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the Illinois Legislature. Here he gave the same strenuous support to the war which was offered by other Douglas men; he was a Unionist, but not an anti-slavery man or Republican. The war Democrats were in favor of the war as they thought it should be conducted, giving their ad- herence to the Mcclellan plan as being the most certain to triumph and restore the integrity of the country.

Here it seems well to quote from some fine verses written by Mr. Fuller long afterward. They are on the death of General Grant, and show at once a loyal feeling for the great soldier's services and a true poetic thought and diction; a power of composition rare in the learned, prac- ticed and successful lawyer:

Let drum to trumpet speak -- The trumpet to the cannoneer without- The cannon to the lieavens from each redoubt, Each lowly valley and eachı lofty peak, As to his rest the great commander goes Into the pleasant land of earned repose. * * * *

Not in his battles won, Though long the well-fought fields may keep their name, But in the wide world's sense of duty done, The gallant soldier finds the meed of fame; His life no struggle for ambition's prize, Simply the duty done that next him lies. * *

Earth to its kindred earth:

The spirit to the fellowship of souls! As, slowly, Time the mighty scroll unrolls Of waiting ages yet to have their birth, Fame, faithful to the faithful, writes on high His name as one that was not born to die.

Mr. Fuller was a hard worker in his profession; and it is said of him that in any case his stoutest fighting is done when the day seems lost, when he is very apt to turn defeat into victory. He is reported to have had, during his thirty years' practice, as many as twenty-five hundred cases at the Chicago Bar; which, deducting his absence at the Legislature, etc., would give him at least one hundred cases a year; fewer, necessarily, in the earlier part of his practice, and more afterward. This shows a remarkable degree of activity and grasp of business. He has never made a specialty of any kind of law, though there are some where- in his name scarcely appears; for instance, di- vorce law and criminal law. Among his many cases are Field against Leiter; the Lake Front

case; Storey against Storey's estate; Hyde Park against Chicago; Carter against Carter, etc., and the long ecclesiastical trial of Bishop Cheney on the charge of heresy.

His partnership with Mr. Dow lasted until 1860. From 1862 to 1864 his firm was Fuller & Ham, then for two years Fuller, Ham & Shep- ard, and for two years more Fuller & Shepard. From 1869 to 1877 he had as partner his cousin, Joseph E. Smith, son of Governor Smith, of Maine. Since that time he has had no partner. His business was only such as he chose to ac- cept; and his professional income has been esti- mated at from $20,000 to $30,000 a year. His property includes the Fuller Block on Dearborn Street, and is popularly valued at $300,000.

He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1864, 1872, 1876 and 1880, always taking a prominent place. Just after Mr. Cleve- land's first election to the Presidency, Mr. Fuller called on him in Albany, and Mr. Cleveland at once conceived for him a very high appreciation. On the death of Chief Justice Waite it seemed de- sirable that the new Justice should be taken from the West; and Mr. Fuller's liberal education, the catholicity of his law practice, his marked indus- try, ability and command of language-all these, joined with his devotion to the principles of his party, made him a natural choice for nomination to the position. High and unexpected as was the honor, Mr. Fuller hesitated before accepting it. If it satisfies his ambition in one direction, it checks it in another.

The salary of the Chief Justice of the United States is $10,500 a year; very far less than the gains arising from general practice in the front rank of lawyers, or from service as counsel of any one of hundreds of great corporations. So there comes a kind of dead-lock; if a man happens to be born to riches, he is pretty sure never to go through the hard work which alone gives leader- ship in the law. If he starts poor, then, having lıis fortune to make, he cannot take Federal judi- cial office, that being a life-long position. The only way in which the Federal Bench can be ap- propriately filled, under the circumstances, is when by chance a man prefers power and dignity

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to mere riches; or where his success has been so sudden that he is able (and willing) to accept a judgeship as a kind of honorable retirement from the struggle and competition of practice.

Aside from these considerations, Mr. Fuller felt a natural hesitancy in undertaking a responsibil- ity so trying and hazardous.

As to the money obstacle, Mr. Fuller probably felt himself, through his great and rapid success, able to afford to accept the appointment. He ac- cepted it, was hailed in his new dignity with genial cordiality, and has filled the office with un- impeachable credit and honor.

Mr. Fuller's first wife was Miss Calista O. Reynolds. She died young, after bearing him two children. He married a second time, taking

to wife Mary Ellen, daughter of the distinguished banker, William F. Coolbaugh. His family 110w consists of eight daughters and one son; and his domestic and social relations are as happy as it is possible to imagine, the young ladies being full of gaiety and loveliness in all its styles and types. He himself is never so well content as in his own household, making merry with all. Itis even whispered that should his resignation 11ot throw his own party out of the tenancy of the office to which it chose him, he might give up the irksome and confining dignity and the forced residence in a strange city, and return to the West, to the city of his choice, to the home of his heart.

CAPT. JOHN PRINDIVILLE.

D APT. JOHN PRINDIVILLE, whose name is a synonym for honesty, courage and gener- osity among the early residents of Chicago, was born in Ireland, September 7, 1826. The names of his parents were Maurice Prindiville and Catharine Morris. While a boy at school Maur- ice Prindiville ran away from home and went to sea, making a voyage to India, thereby gratifying his thirst for adventure and forfeiting the oppor- tunity to enter Trinity College at Dublin. Re- turning to his native land, he there married Miss Morris, and in 1835 came with his family to Amer- ica. After spending a year at Detroit, he came to Chicago, where he was for several years in charge of Newbury & Dole's grain warehouse. With his family, he took up his residence in a log house on Chicago Avenue, at the northern terminus of Wol- cott (now North State) Street, which was subse- quently extended. The locality was long known as "the Prindiville Patch." The nearest liouse was Judge Brown's residence, on the west side of Wolcott Street, between Ontario and Ohio Streets,

the only one between Prindiville's and River Street, the intervening territory being covered with thick woods. Indians and wild beasts were numerous in the vicinity at that time, and John Prindiville became quite familiar with the Indians and learned to speak several of their dialects. His father and he were firm friends of Chief Wau- bansee and others, and always espoused their cause in resisting the encroachments of the whites upon their rights and domains.

As a boy John was noted for his dare-devil pranks, thoughi always popular with his comrades, whom he often led into difficulties, out of which he usually succeeded in bringing them without seri- ous results. He was one of the first students at St. Mary's College, which was located at the cor- ner of Wabash Avenue and Madison Street. Upon one occasion, he led a number of students upon a floating cake of ice near the shore of the lake. The wind suddenly changed, and, before they were aware of their condition, floated their preca- rious barge out into the lake. Upon discovering

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JOHN PRINDIVILLE.

the danger, John promptly led the way back to shore by wading through water breast deep. This prompt action, aided by his reputation for honesty and truthfulness, saved him from punishment at the hands of the college authorities. He always had a great desire to live upon the water, and at the age of eleven years he gratified this tendency by shipping as a cook on a lake schooner. Two of the first vessels upon which he sailed were the "Hiram Pearson" and "Constitution." His menial position made him the butt of the sailors, but he took so readily to the life of a mariner and performed his duties so thoroughly and capably, that he rapidly won promotion to more respon- sible posts, and when but nineteen years of age became the master of the schooner "Liberty," engaged in the lumber trade between Chicago and other Lake Michigan ports. For about ten years he was the skipper of sailing-vessels, abandoning the last of these in 1855, after which he com- manded several steamers, although that was never so much to his taste as sailing. In 1860 he for- sook marine life, though he has been ever since interested in the operation of lake craft. From 1855 to 1865 he and his brother, Redmond Prin- diville, operated a line of tugs upon the Chicago. River. During this time, in August, 1862, he had a narrow escape from instant death by the explosion of the boiler of the tug "Union." Though not regularly in command of the vessel, he chanced to be on board at that time, and had just left the wheel, going aft to hail another tug, when the accident occurred. Captain Daly, who took his place at the wheel, and several others were instantly killed.

As a skipper, Capt. John Prindiville was noted for quick trips, always managing to out-distance any competing vessels, though he made wreck of many spars and timbers by crowding on canvas. One of his standing orders was that sail should not be shortened without instructions, though it was allowable to increase it at any time deemed desirable. He was ever on the alert and always took good care of the lives of his crew and pass- engers. He was a strict disciplinarian, but was always popular with his men, who considered it a special honor to be able to sail with him, and

were ever ready to brave any danger to serve him. These included a number of those who had been accustomed to curse him when he first began his marine career in the capacity of cook.

In 1850 Captain Prindiville commanded the brigantine "Minnesota" (which was built in Chi- cago, below Rush Street Bridge), the first Amer- ican vessel to traverse the St. Lawrence River. Her cargo consisted of copper from the Bruce Mines on Georgian Bay, and her destination was Swansea, Wales. Owing to the stupidity and in- capacity of the pilot, she ran upon the rocks in Lachine Canal and was obliged to unload. This was a disappointment to the youthful captain, who was ambitious to be the first lake skipper to cross the ocean. He and his brothers owned the schooner "Pamlico," the first vessel loaded from Chicago for Liverpool. This was in 1873, and the cargo consisted of twenty-four thousand seven hundred bushels of corn.

November 17, 1857, occurred one of the most disastrous storms which ever visited Lake Michi- gan, an event long to be remembered by the fami- lies of those who were sailors at that time. A number of vessels were wrecked off the shore of Chicago, and many lives were sacrificed to the fury of the elements. The number of fatalities would have been far greater but for the bravery and har- dihood of Captain Prindiville and his crew, who manned the tug "McQueen" and brought many of the men to land in safety, though at the peril of their own lives. For this act of bravery and humanity, on the evening of that day, Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, in behalf of the citizens, who had assembled at the Tremont House, ten- dered him a purse of $700 in gold. This valua- ble testimonial he modestly declined, recommend- ing that the money be distributed among the families of the crew of the "Flying Cloud," all of whom had been lost in the storm. This is only one of the many instances of his courage and self- sacrifice in behalf of others. It is an acknowl- edged and well-known fact that he lias saved more human lives than any other navigator on Lake Michigan.

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 18

Author: La Salle Book Company (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : La Salle Book Co. Number of Pages: 910

Author: La Salle Book Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : La Salle Book Co.
Number of Pages: 910