Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 29

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 29

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December 8, 1774, and died in 1816, in Wind- ham County, Vermont. She was a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Clark) Pratt. One of her brothers, Samuel Pratt, located at Buffalo, New York, in 1804, driving thither from Vermont in the first carriage that ever entered that place. He became a leading merchant of Buffalo, and his descendants are prominent hardware and iron dealers in that city. The Pratt family is supposed to have been established in America by ancestors who came from the north of Ireland. The Hub- bard's are probably of English origin. Both were well-to-do families in Vermont before moving to New York.

In 1844, Mr. and Mrs. Crawford left their New York home and came to the young and growing city of Chicago. In their family were four chil- dren, who reached mature years. Gilbert, who is now engaged in the real-estate business in Chica- go; John, who was prominently connected with the same business for some years, but is now de- ceased; Sophronia A., widow of A. B. Kellogg and a resident of Denver, Colorado; and Hiram P., whose sketch is given on another page of this work.

On coming to Chicago, in the year 1844, Peter Crawford began dealing in lumber. Twelve years later he removed to Cicero Township, where, in 1848, he had purchased a tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres, paying for the same $15 per acre. This tract is now within the city lim- its. Mr. Crawford lived upon that farm until his death, which occurred in 1876, at the age of eighty-two years. He had been in good health until a few days before his death, which was the result of a severe cold, contracted while attending an election. He had voted at every Presidential election from 1836, at which time he supported William Henry Harrison. He was always an advocate of a protective tariff, and his last vote was cast for R. B. Hayes. His wife, who survived him about ten years, died in 1886, at the ripe old age of eighty years. Peter Crawford possessed a large fund of general information, and a remark- able memory, which, combined with good judg- ment and natural business ability, fitted him for a successful and honorable business career.

JOHN SOLLITT.

199

JOHN SOLLITT.

OHN SOLLITT, now in his eighty-first year, was in his younger days one of the largest contractors and builders of Chicago. He was born November 19, 1813, in Stillington, County of York, in what is one of the most beautiful sec- tions of England. His ancestors were Hugue- nots, who emigrated from France to England some two hundred years ago. His paternal grandfather was John Sollitt, and his maternal John Cass. The former was a stone-mason, and the latter a carpenter. The father of our subject, John Sol- litt, was also a stone-mason and a sculptor. All were prominent in their professions and lived and died in England.

At the age of six years the subject of this sketch entered the common schools of Stillington, and was graduated therefrom in his twelfth year, after which he began learning the carpenter's trade with his grandfather. He remained in his employ until his twenty-first year, when, in May, 1834, with his wife and child, he went to Canada. He worked at his trade in Hamilton and Toronto for a year or two, when a friend, residing in Mad- ison, Wisconsin, wrote to him glowing accounts of that country, and he decided to remove to that place. He started by way of the Lakes for Milwau- kee, but, experiencing difficulty in reaching that point, on account of a storm raging on Lake Mich- igan, he landed in Chicago. This was on the 6th of June, 1838, and lie had but $5 in his pocket. Chicago, at that time, contained a population of about four thousand.

Business was very dull in this city then, and lie had difficulty in obtaining employment; but he finally made an arrangement with Azel Peck, a prominent contractor and builder, in whose em- ploy he remained for three years. He then en- tered the service of Peter Lewis Updyke, with

whom he continued for five years. On the expi- ration of that period he entered into partnership with Messrs. Peck and Updyke, and their's be- came the leading firm of the kind in Chicago. Mr. Peck died in 1848, and the partnership was continued between Mr. Sollitt and Mr. Updyke until the latter's death, in 1850. In the fall of 1849 they erected the old Tremont House, which was destroyed in the great fire of 1871. Mr. Sollitt then carried on building operations alone, with great success. He erected several of the finest buildings in Chicago, including the old court house, built in 1852-53, and having acquired a competency through thrift and enterprise, he

retired from business, and has since given liis time to hiis private interests and the enjoyment of a well-earned rest. Soon after his retirement from building operations, he purchased large tracts of land in Kankakee and Will Counties, forty-three miles from Chicago, and there moved his family, hoping the country air would prove beneficial to his wife's health. This hope, however, was disap- pointed, for she died in 1871. During this period Mr. Sollitt spent a portion of his time in Chicago and the remainder with his family. The town of Sollitt, in Will County, was named in his honor, and he gave to the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Company $1,000, with whicli to build a new depot at that place. After the death of Mrs. Sollitt he brought his family back to Chicago, and now resides in his handsome home at No. 515 Jackson Boulevard.

When scarcely twenty years old Mr. Sollitt was joined in wedlock with Mary Smith, daughter of Thomas Smith. Her father, a farmer by occupa- tion, resided in Tollerton, Yorkshire, England. Her uncle, Thomas Pollard, carried on a large and popular hotel, called the "Angel Inn," situated

200

BARNARD THALMANN.

near Tollerton, on the main stage road between London and Edinburgh. Mrs. Sollitt died of cholera in Chicago, in 1850, and was buried in Graceland Cemetery. Eight children were born of their union. Elizabeth, now a resident of En- glewood, has been twice married. Her first lius- band was Alfred Bromfield, and her present hus- band is William Ivers. By each inarriage she has had three children. Mary died in childhood. Hannah, deceased, was the wife of Henry Curtis. Jane, deceased, was the wife of Thomas Wallin. James J. lives in Sollitt. Oliver died when one year old. John resides in Oklalioma; and Fanny died in Chicago in 1865. In 1854 Mr. Sollitt was united in marriage with Anna Rowntree, who was one of a family of seven children. She was born in or near Richmond, Yorkshire, England, and came to America with her parents, who located in Rochester, Racine County, Wisconsin. On their deaths she went to live with her brother Chris- topher, who resided near that city, and at his home was married. After a happy wed- ded life of seventeen years, which was all passed in Chicago, with the exception of one year in Sollitt, she died of consumption, and was laid to rest in Graceland. She had two children. Charles, who resides in Sollitt, where he follows farming, is married and has two children, Leslie and John. The daughter, Blanche, is the wife of Nathaniel Board, a solicitor for the Chicago &

North-Western Railroad, residing in Oak Park. In 1874 Mr. Sollitt was married in the town of Waterford, Wisconsin, to Anna Blackburn, and they liave a son, Walter, a bright and promising youth of seventeen years, who is now preparing for college in a Chicago academy.

Mr. Sollitt cares little for society, preferring to give his time and attention to his family. He was reared in the Episcopal Church, which he at- tended for a time on first coming to Chicago. Later, he joined Robert Collyer's Unitarian Church, and occupied a pew there for a number of years. He erected the first Unitarian Church built in Chicago, its location being on Washing- ington Street, between Clark and Dearborn. Po- litically, Mr. Sollitt is a conservative Democrat, and has, with few exceptions, voted that ticket. He is an advocate of free trade, the advantages of which have been made evident to him since leaving England. While never aspiring to office or taking an active part in politics, he ran for Alderman in1 1852 and County Clerk in 1854. He has always been a reader of the Chicago Tribune, and is a man well informed on all questions of the day. He was one of Chicago's earliest settlers, and is a model of a healthy mind in a healthy body, of business industry and integrity, and of civic virtue. His memory of events relative to the past history of Chicago is perfect, and a rec- ord of them would make a volume.

BARNARD THALMANN.

B ARNARD THALMANN, who carries on agricultural pursuits 011 section 30, New Trier Township, was born in Prussia on the 23d of March, 1836, and is a son of Gerhard Thalmann, who was born in the same country, July 24, 1801, made farming his life work, and died on the 16th of July, 1867. His wife bore

the maiden name of Kerdrad Kohle, and was a daughter of Adolph Kohle, a native of Prussia, and a stone-cutter by trade. She was born in that country in 1804, and by her marriage had a family of four sons and two daughters, of whom three sons are living, namely: Barnard of this sketch; Henry, Postmaster of Gross Point; and

201

ADAM MELZER.

Joseph, a farmier of that community. The parents came to America in 1847, landing in New York on the 14th of April, after thirty days spent upon the bosom of the Atlantic. After visiting rela- tives in Boston for three weeks they came to Cook County, and Mr. Thalmann purchased eighty acres of land on section 30, New Trier Township. He afterwards added forty-four acres on section 33, and there made his home until called to his final rest.

Barnard Thalmann spent the first eleven years of his life in his native land, and then accompa- nied his parents on their emigration to America. In his father's home his childhood days were passed, and during his youth he became familiar with farm work in all its departments. On the 26th of September, 1865, he was united in ınar- riage with Mary Feldmann, who was born in Gross Point, June 4, 1848, and is a daughter of Jo- seph Feldmann, whose birth occurred in Prussia on the 4th of August, 1817. He came to America with his parents in August, 1833. His father died in Albany, New York, while en route for Chicago, and the other members of the family continued their westward journey. For two years they lived in Chicago, and then removed to New Trier Township. Here Mr. Feldmann still re- sides, making his home with his daughter, Mrs. Thalmann. His other children are: Christina, wife of Anton May, a contractor and builder of Wilmette; Frank, an engineer on the Ft. Wayne

Railroad, residing in Chicago. Mrs. Mathias Pauly, Mrs. Nick Fellens and Mrs. Peter Kunz, all of Chicago; and Mrs. Nick Surges, of Lom- bard, Du Page County, Illinois.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Thalmann have been born twelve children, of whom nine are living, five sons and four daughters: John G., who was born April 5, 1867, and is a carpenter residing in New Trier; Joseph, born February. 24, 1871, who fol- lows farming; Barnard, born May 25, 1873, a car- penter; Elizabeth, born August 11, 1875; Kate, September 23, 1877; Frank, December 7, 1880; Anton, June 27, 1883; Mary, March 28, 1885; and Anna, July 25, 1890. Elizabeth attended St. Joseph's College, of Milwaukee, for one year, and all have received good common-school ad- vantages. The parents and their family are members of St. Joseph's Catholic Church of Gross Point.

Mr. Thalmann cast his first Presidential vote for Stephen A. Douglas, and has since been a sup- porter of the Democratic party and its principles. He was twice elected Overseer of Roads, and was School Director for several years. He is also a member of St. Joseph's Library and Sick Benefit Association. His farm, located on section 30, New Trier Township, is under a high state of cultivation and well improved with all modern accessories, and the owner is regarded as one of the leading agriculturists of the community. .

ADAM MELZER.

A DAM MELZER, a self-made man and enter- prising citizen, now residing in the town of Northfield, Cook County, is of German birth. He was born in the province of Bavaria, Ger- many, March 29, 1844, and is a son of John C. and Catherine (Horn) Melzer. His parents were

also natives of Germany, and were there married in 1835. The father was born on the 20th of April, 1811, and at this writing, in the summer of 1894, makes his home with his son Adam, en- joying remarkably good health for one who has attained the very advanced age of eighty-three

202

N. J. BROWN.

years. His wife passed away in November, 1893, in the seventy-eighth year of her age. The year 1853 witnessed their emigration to America, and after a long and tempestuous voyage of seventy- nine days they reached New York. Their fam- ily numbered ten children, eight of whom are yet living. The eldest daughter died in New York City soon after the family came to America. John, a carpenter and farmer, now resides in Niles Township; Jacob is a cabinet-maker and under- taker of Northfield; Adam is next in order of birth; Margaret, who became the wife of John Ward, of Maine Township, died May 19, 1888; Jo- hanna is the wife of Nicholas Haupt, a farmer of Maine Township; Eva, twin sister of Johanna, and the widow of Peter Soergel, now lives in Chi- cago; Nicholas is a cabinet-maker and farmer of Northfield; Katie makes her home with her brothers and sisters; and William carries on agricultural pursuits in Massena, Cass County, Iowa. After landing in New York the family at once resumed their westward journey and came by way of Buffalo and Detroit to Chicago. They at once took up their residence in Maine Town- ship, but after three years removed to Northfield Township, where different members of the family now reside.

No event of special importance occurred during the childhood and yonth of Adam Melzer. The first nine years of his life were spent in his native land, and he then came with his father and mother to the New World. Since that time he

las resided in Cook County, and is therefore m11inbered among its early settlers. In the fall of 1866, as a companion and helpmate on life's journey, he chose Miss Louisa Wildhage, daugh- ter of William Wildhage, a native of Hessen- Schaumberg, Germany. The lady was born in the same locality in February, 1846. To Mr. and Mrs. Melzer have been born five children, a son and four daughters, who in order of birth are as follows: William, born March 2, 1868; Mag- gie, August 15, 1872; Katie, June 17, 1875; Lulu, May 18, 1881; and Josie, August 5, 1884.

Mr. and Mrs. Melzer have spent their entire wedded life in their pleasant country home, which is the abode of hospitality and good cheer. Mr. Melzer, with foresight and sagacity, saw that the best investment a farmer could make to improve his land in this locality would be to drain it, so he has spent over $1,000 in tiling his eighty-acre tract. He is now receiving a rental of $8 per acre for his farin, almost double what he could have obtained previous to draining it. It is now a valuable and desirable property.

Socially, Mr. Melzer is a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity, belonging to Vesuvius Lodge No. 81, A. F. & A. M., of East Wheeling. Until quite recently he was a Democrat in his political views, but is now independent. Whatever suc- cess he has achieved in life is due to his own efforts. He started out for himself empty-handed, and the property which he has acquired is the just reward of his labors.

NATHANIEL J. BROWN.

ATHANIEL J. BROWN is one of the noted pioneers of Illinois, for many years having been prominently identified with the busi- ness interests and leading enterprises of Cook County. During his boyhood he took up his res-

idence on the frontier, living in Michigan. He was born in Windsor, Vermont, in 1812, and at the age of three was taken by his parents to New York, living in the neighborhood of Rochester and Lockport until 1826, when, with the family, he

203

N. J. BROWN.

emigrated to Ann Arbor, Michigan. The public schools of the Empire State afforded him the greater part of his educational privileges. Early in life he embarked in small business ventures, and later became associated with his brother, who was the owner of flouring-mills at Ann Arbor. His brother also established a stage line, and he became one of its agents. While thus engaged he became familiar with a largeamount of territory, and when a favorable opening presented itself, he mnade good investments in real estate, purchasing land in Kent, Ionia and Clintou Counties, which afterward yielded him rich returns. His land in Kent County was covered with pine timber, and, with his usual sagacity, Mr. Brown saw that it would one day become very valuable. He resolved to place it on the market in Chicago, and to this end chartered the schooner "White Pigeon."

Mr. Brown built a mill upon his land, and as soon as possible in the spring of 1835, a raft of lumber, which contained six schooner loads, was launched at what is now Granville. With a big lumberman from Maine to assist him, Mr. Brown cut the craft loose from its moorings. No such attempt as this to carry lumber down the stream had been made before, or since, but the journey was safely accomplished. Arriving in Chicago, he found that objections were made by the local dealers to him selling lumber there, but he finally obtained permission, and disposed of liis cargo at a handsome profit. For some time he continued his lumber shipments to Chicago with excellent success.

While in this city, Mr. Brown formed the ac- quaintance of Augustus Garrett, who afterward founded the Biblical Institute of Evanston. Mr. Garrett proposed that they form a partnership, and they finally agreed to form a combination which should not interfere with Mr. Brown's land speculations in Michigan. He owned a section of land in the center of Ionia County, Michigan, and a town was platted upon it. Mr. Garrett was to have charge of the sale of the lots, and Mr. Brown proceeded to the new town of Ionia and proposed to erect a sawmill there. Lots sold rapidly, and the following winter Senator Ewing succeeded in having the Grand River district land-

office located there. Through some trickery, however, this was not done, but Mr. Brown man- aged to sell his lots and realized therefrom a small fortune. This was invested in Chicago land. and Garrett & Brown became the owners of three thousand acres in the Chicago land district. They became the owners of the most famous auction house in the West, and it was soon filled with goods of every kind from the East, to be sold at auction or traded for town lots, for settlers were rapidly coming in and there was a wild scramble for property. The business done at the first house increased so rapidly that two branch houses were established. They not only sold all kinds of com- modities and town lots, but also disposed of Illinois and Wisconsin property. At one time they owned nine thousand acres in and near Chi- cago. In 1837 the partnership was dissolved.

Mr. Brown is a keen, far-sighted business man, and this characteristic was shown by his invest- ment in lands at Madison, Wisconsin, at the time the State Capitol was located there. Knowing that the location would cause a boom, he made ar- rangements whereby he received the news of the location eighteen hours in advance of any official report; thus he had ample opportunity for secur- ing the property, and within a day he had sold land until he had realized in cash more than half as much money as he had invested. His later sales also added materially to his income. Mr. Brown became interested in banking with Lyman A. Spaulding, of Lockport, New York, establish- ing a bank at Ann Arbor, Michigan. In later years he was engaged in the construction of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, taking a contract to complete two sections, running through what is now the village of Lemont. The financial panic caused by the suspension of the National Bank about that time caused the canal contractors to receive no pay, and Mr. Brown suffered an enor- mous loss. During his work on thecanal, however, he obtained a knowledge of the geology of the neighborhood and noted the immense deposits of limestone. Afterward investing in these, he de- veloped an important industry, and became tlie owner of a valuable property. He removed to Lemont and was soon recognized as its leading

204

FRANCIS SIXT.

citizen, and now has a larger property interest in the city than any other citizen.

Mr. Brown has ever been a friend to the labor- ing classes, in fact his own life has been one of labor. The cause of temperance has found in him a warm friend and he has done much to promote

sobriety among working men. In politics, he was a Democrat, and supported that party until its members in the South fired on Ft. Sumter, when he espoused the cause of the Union and joined the ranks of the Republican party, with which he has since affiliated.

REV. FRANCIS SIXT.

L EV. FRANCIS SIXT. In the medieval ages of chivalry, when men shed their blood and gave up their lives freely on the field of battle in support of the principles they loved, it was no uncommon thing for a warrior, after his days of wars and battles were over, to retire to a religious institution and devote the remainder of his days as zealously to the cause of Christianity as he had fought for the success of his chosen cause in secular matters. Loyola, whose name will be ever dear to the heart of true Catholics, was a soldier priest, whose military training and experience fitted him for the ecclesiastical offices he was later to fill with so much honor. The fathers in the church at the present day are not so frequently graduates from the school of arms, or men who have responded to their country's call for defenders, but there are some such, even now.

Rev. Francis Sixt, of Lemont, is one. His family dates back to the year 1200. On the 21st of May, 1850, he first saw the light of day at the village of Unterroedel, among the fruit and grain fields of Bavaria, and there his youth was passed. At the early age of five, he began his education at the public school, where he continued until he was twelve years old. At that date he went to the Gymnasium in Eichstadt, attending there and at Amberg till he had reached the age of nine- teen1. He was then drafted into the army, and served in the Sixth Cavalry Regiment of Bavaria

for two years. During his term of service the Franco-Prussian War occurred, and he saw some of the most arduous service in that hard-fought and terrible struggle. He was present at the victories of Sedan, Orleans and Paris. In follow- ing the army of McMahon with "Unser Fritz" into Sedan, he spent twenty-one hours in the sad- dle each day for three days, and he and many other soldiers were so blistered by hard riding that the blood from their mutilated limbs ran into their boots, and the scars of their wounds yet remain1.

In March, 1871, at the close of the war, his military service being ended, Mr. Sixt came to the United States, landing at New York on the 2Ist of April. He then proceeded to Milwaukee, where lie entered St. Francis' College. Among his instructors were Rev. Mr. Salzmann, D. D .. Rector; Archbishop Katzer, Professor of Dogmas and Philosophy; Reverend (now Monseignor) Zeininger, teacher of Philosophy and Chemistry; Rev. Joseph Reiner, now rector of St. Francis and Professor of Modern Languages; and Rev. Mr. Moppethorst, rector and Professor of Moral The- ology and Common Law. Our subject was gradu- ated in 1876, and on the 10th of June of that year was ordained by Rt .- Rev. Bishop Folly, D. D., Bishop of Chicago. Soon after he became assistant to the Rev. Patrick Riordan, rector of St. James' Church, of Chicago, now Archbishop of San Fran- cisco, remaining six months, and then taking a

205

A. W. BURNSIDE.

similar place with Rev. Ferdinand Kalvelage, of St. Francis' Church, where he remained two years longer. He was then transferred to Lockport, Illi- nois, where he took charge of St. Joseph's Church, with two missions, Gooding's Grove and Mokena, attached. This work occupied his time and at- tention for the next six years.

On the Ist of April, 1884, Father Sixt was transferred to Lemont, since which time he has been rector in charge of St. Alphonsus' Church. At his coming, he found the financial affairs of the parish in a very bad condition, two-thirds of the church property sold for taxes, and the parish about to dissolve. Father Sixt is a positive man,

and he took hold of the spiritual and temporal affairs with a firm hand and brought together the members of the church, collected inoney, paid off the indebtedness, redeemed the property, and re- paired the buildings, spending upwards of $10,000 in that way. He put everything in a prosperous condition, and the people of his parish are now among the most happy and contented. He was the man for the place, and by precept and exam- ple has shown his people how to succeed, and they follow his teachings to a very great de- gree, for his influence has been and still is great among his parishioners, many of whom he has helped to buy homes.

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 29

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