Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 35

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 35

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Gov. Thomas Hinckley married, first, Decem- ber 4, 1641, Mary Richards, of Weymouth (whose sister Alice married Dept .- Gov. William Brad- ford), and, second, March 16, 1660, Mary Glover (widow of Nathaniel), who is said to have been beautiful in person and the most accomplished and intelligent woman in the colony; of which excellent characteristics abundance has come down to later generations.

At the time of his death he had had seventeen children, of whom fifteen lived to maturity; only three of them, however, being sons to leave issue, namely: Samuel, John and Ebenezer, from whom are descended a very numerous and widely scat- tered posterity. By the second wife he had nine children; the fifth of whom, John, born June 9, 1667, married Thankful Trot May 1, 1691, had six children: one John, the youngest, born Feb- ruary 17, 1701, married, September 17, 1726, Be- thiah Robinson and had eight children; the fifth child, Adino, born December 12, 1735, married Mercy Otis, had three children, the youngest being

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Solomon, born in Barnstable, Massachusetts, March 3, 1770, married Mercy Otis, finally set- tled at Pomfret, New York, where he died De- cember 19, 1831; he had eight children: George Otis (father of the subject of this sketch), born October 30, 1795, married Sally Taylor, of Buck- · land, Massachusetts, died in Sacramento, where he was buried; left in Illinois the following chil- dren: Samuel (subject of this sketch), Mary O., Sarah E., Otis D., Horace A., Harriet W. and Abirer T.

The Barnstable (Massachusetts) family of Otis is descended from Gen. John Otis, born in Barn- stable, Devonshire, England, in 1581, came to Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1635, thence to Scituate, thence to Barnstable. His son John came to Barnstable with his father, where he left descendants, many of them illustrious. One of his sons, Col. John Otis, was twenty years Representative, Commander of Militia eighteen years, First Judge of Probate thirteen years, and Chief Justice of Court of Common Pleas and His Majesty's Counsel twenty-one years; left six chil- dren: two females (of whom Mercy, married Gen. James Warren, brother of Gen. Joseph, who fell at Bunker Hill) and four males: First, Gen. John, King's Attorney and member of Coun- cil nine years; second, Nathaniel, Register of Probate many years; third, Solomon, Register of Deeds, County Treasurer, etc., etc., died 1778; fourth, Col. James, two years Speaker of House of Representatives, Judge of Probate, Chief Jus- tice of the Court of Common Pleas, Member of the Council, and, from the time of departure of General Gage to the adoption of the Constitution of Massachusetts, exercised the functions of Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth by right of sen- iority. He had ten children, the most illustrious being James Otis, Jr., "The Patriot," immortal- ized by opposing the "Writs of Assistance," "The Stamp -Act," etc., etc., of whom United States President, John Adams, said: "I have been young and now am old, and I solemnly say that I have never known a man whose love of country was more ardent or sincere; never one who suffered so much; never one whose services for any ten years of his life were so important to

the cause of his country as Mr. Otis' from 1762 to 1770."

Samuel was born June 12, 1818, at Buck- land, Franklin County, Massachusetts, two hun- dred years after Thomas Hinckley, the Governor of Plymouth Colony. The maiden name of his mother was Sarah Taylor, from whom he derived his middle name.

While Samuel was yet a child, his parents moved to Chautauqua County, New York, a sec- tion of country at that time regarded as the far West. In 1836 his father turned his footsteps still farther towards the outskirts of civilization, and finally selected Illinois as his future home.

The journey was made with ox-teams, by slow stages, through an almost unbroken wilderness, which the red man had but recently ceded by treaty. Young Hinckley drove one of the teams. Passing beyond Chicago, his father pre-empted a tract of land where Lake Forest now has its pala- tial homes and college halls.

Here Samuel began his life work. The priva- tions and trials of those pioneer days and years were numerous and extremely severe. Every- thing had to be made; the houses of logs hewn from the forest; roads laid out and cut through heavy timber; mills to be erected and the wilder- ness cleared away and the ground made ready for civilization.

In those far-off times, flour cost twenty dollars per barrel, and other things in proportion. The Indians, too, were frequent visitors at the cabins of the pioneers. As a rule they were harmless, but wanted all the food there was in sight.

It was in this school of trial, and sometimes of adversity, that Samuel T. Hinckley was educated for his business career, and thereby trained to habits of industry, strict economy and perfect in- tegrity-enduring qualities which he carried with him through life.

At the age of eighteen this young pioneer came to Chicago on a quest of furthering his fortunes, and was most fortunate in coming to the fa- vorable notice of Captain (afterwards General) J. D. Webster, at that time Superintendent of Improvements in the local lake harbors, including, besides our own, Milwaukee, St. Joseph and

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Michigan City. Such work required absolute freedom from ice; so in the spring, summer and autumn months, our young hero toiled manfully on from sunrise to sunset, often overtaxing his strength, but never his resolution; the outcome of it all being that he made a very excellent im- pression upon his employer, which eventually ripened into a most sincere friendship, and con- tinued until the General's death.

In winter the woods on every side gave em- ployment for ready, strong hands; for instance, he sometimes hired himself out to cut timber and split rails down on the Fox River, a hard task set betore him, when it is considered that he usually had to walk five or six miles to and from his work.

While engaged in this severe physical labor he did not neglect his mind. His early tastes in- clined him to study, but his educational advan- tages in boyhood were of the limited sort incident to the development of a new country. His desire for knowledge, however, led him to supplement this rudimentary training by night study, a sys- tem of self-education which he followed for many years, poring over his books by the light of a candle far into the night. His course of study was comprehensive, including those branches which pertained to mechanics, as well as those which would fit him for the duties and responsibilities of social and business life.

Thus year by year, he laid the foundation for what he afterwards became, a wisely-useful, highly esteemed, self-made man. Though · not a civil engineer, at different times he was called upon to perform many of the duties which now-a-days fall to such an office; though not a graduated me- chanic, yet he used with deftness saws and tools so fine that it required the aid of a microscope to see clearly the component parts; nor yet an artist, yet full of artistic sense and adaptability, leaving as an example of much not to be mentioned a creation in mezzotinting, full of feeling, of the Mother of Christ and Infant, esteemed almost above all else by the family.

When the Chicago & Galena Union Railroad was under construction, Mr. Hinckley became one of the first engineers, and had the honor of run- ning the first engine out of Chicago across the

Fox River. It was the old "Pioneer," the mem- ory of which is treasured by many early Chica- goans, and which now has a place in the Field Columbian Museum.

In 1852 he went into business for himself, as grocer on Randolph Street, subsequently remov- ing to State Street, near Van Buren, where for long years he was known as an enterprising mer -. chant of unimpeachable integrity. In1 1865, in com- pany with Gail Borden, of New York (father of the enterprise and now of world-wide reputation in connection with such product), and Messrs. Cole and Hubbard, of Elgin, Illinois, he founded the Elgin Condensed Milk Company, now known as the Illinois Condensing Company, and con- tinued his active relations with this concern until his death.

Mr. Hinckley was a brave man, not only in the sense of not shrinking from responsibilities which confronted his life as a matter of course, but more worthily in the taking up of dangerous situations, not necessarily a part of his legitimate cares, but ever exemplifying the "Golden Rule." At the first season of the cholera, when many sufferers were succumbing to the fell disease, for which there seemed no remedy, when persons who were physically able were fleeing the place as from a plague, he stayed calmly at the post of danger, down by the river, nursing, praying and officiat- ing at the last sad rites, not himself falling a vic- tim, as God sometimes requires should happen, but coming out of the ordeal chastened and up- lifted in soul.

The son of parents who believed the holding of human beings in bondage to be wrong, if not positively sinful, he was strongly anti-slavery in his convictions. In early life his sympathies were with the Whigs, but after the formation of the Republican party, his affiliations were with that organization. While firm in his political faith, he took no active part in politics, contenting himself with casting his ballot for the ticket of his choice.

But the keynote of his long, noble life is to be found in his religion. A practical, vivifying, Godly and charitable religion: not content in lip service of a Sunday morning, but celebrating seven days of the week in actions showing how man's

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sphere, clearly read, stretches nigh to the very throne of God.

For a half century he was identified with the First Presbyterian Church of our city, ready at all times to assist in assuming disbursements and advancing moral well-being, and when the church undertook the establishment of mission Sunday- schools he became one of the active workers in the old Foster Mission, never losing interest in works of piety and true benevolence. He was a member of the Humane Society and Secretary of the one at Elgin for some ten years.

Mr. Hinckley never married. His interests were centered on home, his mother especially re- ceiving more than the usual share of affection, and he cared for her most tenderly while she lived. This love for kindred waxed with his increasing years, and was as ardent and constant to the last, as when they were together under the old roof- tree in childhood.

None the less he loved his church and country; but better than all else, he loved his God. His benevolence was beautiful and Christlike. Emu- lating the example of his Saviour, he cherished the young with a special affection, and into what- ever home he entered as friend or guest, the little ones became at once his fast friends.

This lover of the young supported two mission- aries of the American Sunday-school Union, who gave their whole time to caring for destitute chil- dren. The reports received from them were very gratifying to him, from the fact that so many were being saved from lives of sin and ignorance. The non-sectarian character of the work was particu- larly pleasing.

His personal expenditures were very moderate. He ate, dressed and took his enjoyment modestly and inexpensively. His extravagances were his gifts to others. His benefactions were not con- fined in a narrow channel, he ever remembered the poor, the sick and the unfortunate, and had a heart overflowing with kindliness and charity.

He gave with a liberal hand to the Young Men's Christian Association, the American Sunday- school Union, Mr. Moody's Bible Institute, the Pacific Garden Mission, and many other institu- tions. His benefactions were unostentatious.

He was exact in his business, kind to all who served him, and his employes loved him as a friend. It was said by one who knew him intimately for many years, and who is himself noted for his correct judgment of men, that "he was one of Nature's noblemen," careful and considerate in his language and action, never wilfully saying or doing anything to wound the feelings of another. In private life he exemplified the most generous and unselfish traits of character. An attractive and interesting conversationalist, his utterances were chaste and dignified; any unbecoming jest, or any departure from purity in thought or ex- pression he treated with silent contempt; yet he was one of the most companionable of men. He had a keen sense of humor, and enjoyed a witty saying or repartee with great pleasure, which was more expressed by the smile in his eyes than by words, and at the same time showing the most gentle consideration for anyone who might be the object of merriment in social conversation.

He maintained this happy trait of a genial heart to the last, even when suffering great pain. Though an invalid for many years, he kept active in business till his final sickness, and the fatal termination of his disease, September 5, 1894, after a short illness, was a great sorrow and shock to his family and many friends.

A glowing, but richly-merited tribute was paid to Mr. Hinckley's character by his pastor, Rev. Dr. John H. Barrows, of the First Presbyterian Church. Among other things, Doctor Barrows said: "He made himself the friend and helper of those in his employ or associated with him. Much might be said of his unselfish and constant benevolence. He regarded himself as a steward indeed, and he was a faithful steward. How con- stantly he remembered the old First Church and its benevolent causes, is well and gratefully known to some of us. We have lost one of our choicest members from this church, and made one of our choicest additions to the ranks of the redeemed on high."

"His life was gentle, and the elements

So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up, And say to all the world ' This was a man.""'

S. G. SPAULDING.

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SAMUEL G. SPAULDING.

AMUEL GRAY SPAULDING The name Spalding, like other names ending in "ing," is one of the earlier surnames borne by Eng- lish- speaking people. The Spaldings of the Uni- ted States have been fortunate in having the gen- ealogical history of the family written by Samuel J. Spalding, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, from which we learn many facts relative to its growth and progress.

John de Spalding ( Burgess of Lenn) was a pur- chaser of lands of about the fifty-first year of the reign of Henry III. (A. D. 1267). Other records of land transfers of very ancient date occur.

Edward Spalding was the first of the family of whom we have any knowledge, and he came to America in the earliest years of the Massachusetts Colony, probably between 1630 and 1633. He first appears in Braintree, Massachusetts, where his wife, Margaret, and his daughter, Grace, died, the former in 1640, and the latter in 1643. He was made a Freeman May 13, 1640, and was one of the settlers of Chelmsford, in the same colony, which town was incorporated in 1655. He was a Selectman in 1654, 1656, 1660-61, and Sur- veyor of Highways in 1663. In 1664 the town records made note of his fine orchard. His fam- ily has been ably represented in every war of the Colonies and United States (see sketch of Will- iam A. Spalding). He died February 26, 1670.

Samuel Brown Spaulding, the father of the sub- ject of this sketch, was descended from Edward Spalding, through Andrew (2), Andrew (3), James (4), Silas (5). He was born January 27, 1789, in Granville, New York, and later resided at Brandon, Vermont, where he was a prominent merchant. His first wife was Anna Gray, whom he married October 2, 1814. She was born Jan- uary 2, 1790, in Rutland, Vermont, and died

July 23, 1841, in Brandon. The second wife was Lucy Lyon, the wedding occurring November 18, 1841. She was born November 25, 1796, in Brandon. The children of Samuel B. and Anna Spaulding were four, Samuel G. being the third. He was born October 26, 1822, at Brandon, Vermont.

After taking a course in the public schools of his native town, he learned the mercantile busi- ness. When only about twelve years of age he became a clerk in a store in Brandon. Some years later, while still a youth, he went to Clare- mont, New Hampshire, leaving home with but twenty-five cents in his pocket. He engaged in the sale of books, and as a compensation for his services received $12 per month, out of which he paid all his expenses.

His next employment was as commercial trav- eler for a book house in Vermont, and in that line he did good work, obtained good wages and saved something from his earnings. With his little capital he engaged in supplying notions to wholesale dealers in the State of Vermont. In this business he was successful, but, on account of poor health, he was obliged to dispose of his business, and James Fisk, afterwards celebrated as a Wall Street broker, became the purchaser. Two weeks after this sale Mr. Spaulding was on his way to the West, where he expected to find a more congenial climate and better commercial prospects.

In April, 1857, he arrived at Milwaukee, by way of the Lakes. He entered into partnership with a man who was engaged in the tobacco trade, but soon found that he had obtained some knowledge at the cost of the capital invested, the volume of profits not being what liad been repre- sented. Making the best of the situation, Mr.

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Spaulding became sole proprietor of the little store, and then put his energies to work to build up a trade. In the course of time he added a wholesale feature and, becoming his own solici- tor, he built up a fine wholesale business in the Northwest. In those days the railroad ran no farther than La Crosse, and thence to St. Paul the journey was made by boat.

As Milwaukee did not afford the advantages which his growing trade required, Mr. Spaulding removed to Chicago in November, 1865, and with Mr. Levi Merrick, of Milwaukee, formed the firm of Spaulding & Merrick, and carried on the wholesale tobacco business. Manufacturing was a prominent feature of the industry, and in a short time the business was so arranged that Mr. Spaulding traveled for the house, while Mr. Mer- rick had charge of the manufacture. The volume of their transactions rapidly increased, and in 1871 the number of persons employed by the firm was between two and three hundred, but the great fire of that year swept everything the firm had out of existence.

Returning home, accompanied by Mr. Mer- rick, father of his partner, after spending all the fatal night of the beginning of the conflagration in observing its progress, Mr. Spaulding announ- ced to his wife, "All I had is gone up in smoke." To this she bravely replied, "We have our health and our hands." Mr. Merrick's comment on this reply was, "There is good cheer for you." The situation was discussed, and the partners re- solved to start anew in business. Friends who admired their pluck and energy offered plenty of financial assistance. Out of $36,000 insurance, they afterwards received $13,000. The three- story factory at Nos. 9 to 15 River Street was replaced by another, and a greater number of per- sons employed. The history of the firm from this on is a record of success. Wise manage- ment and hard work built up a great business, the second largest in their line in the United States. In 1889 Mr. Spaulding sold his interest, but the business is still conducted under the old name.

Samuel G. Spaulding was married at St. Al- bans, Vermont, on the twelfth day of March, 1857,

to Miss Marcia Isabel Hawkins. She was born July 17, 1828, at Reading, Vermont, and is a descendant of William Adrian Hawkins, who was born January 18, 1742, and died at Reading, Vermont, in 1817. His grandfather was a na- tive of Dublin, Ireland, and married an English woman. He emigrated to Bordeaux, France, where two children, a son and a daughter, were born. After his death his widow brought the children to America. A son of the son, William Adrian Hawkins, became a tailor. He went to Wilton, New Hampshire, a short time before the Revolution, and resided there until 1789, when he moved to Reading, Vermont. He enlisted, April 23, 1775, in Captain Walker's company of Col. James Reed's regiment New Hampshire troops. He rose through the grades of first sergeant, en- sign and lieutenant to the rank of captain. He was made ensign for gallant conduct at the battle of Bunker Hill. He served in the war seven years, and was paid off in the almost worthless cur- rency of those days. Forty bushels of rye was the most valuable part of the pay he received for his services. He married Abigail, daughter of John and Abigail (Livermore) Keyes, who was born at Northborough, Massachusetts, in Decem- ber, 1743, and died at Reading, Vermont, in 1813. They were the parents of eight children. William Lewis, the fourth child, was born at Northborough, Massachusetts, June 14, 1773, and died at Reading, Vermont, November 26, 1859. He married Anna Townsend, and they were the parents of seven children. He was a successful teacher, and taught out schools that others failed to govern. He held town offices, and was Postmaster at the time of his death, being then eighty-seven years old and in the full enjoy- ment of his mental faculties.

Lewis, eldest child of William L. and Anna Hawkins, was born at Reading, January 23, 1798, and died at Sherburne, Vermont, April 29, 1875. He was a manufacturer and dealer in boots, shoes, saddles and harness, and also dealt in horses, which he sold at Boston. He married Aliva Amsden, and they were the parents of three children, of whom Marcia is the youngest. Mr. and Mrs. Spaulding were the parents of

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two children: Mabel, the wife of Charles Fox- well, junior; and Howard Henry Spaulding, who now occupies a position with the house of Spauld- ing & Company, jewelers of Chicago. Mrs. Fox- well has one child, Frances. H. H. Spaulding married Florence Baker, and has two children, Lester and Howard, Jr.

Samuel G. Spaulding died on the fifth day of September, 1893, at the age of seventy-one years. Starting with but twenty-five cents in his pocket, he worked his way from poverty to a command- ing position in the line in which he spent most

of his life, and in which he took a great interest. He attended all the conventions of the tobacco manufacturers, and his views had great influence among his associates in the trade. His geniality and scrupulous honesty and business tact were the foundation stones upon which his success was built. Mr. W. D. Spalding, in speaking of him said: "I knew him over thirty years. I never met a pleasanter man than Mr. Spaulding. He was genial, large-hearted and a true gentleman, and made friends with every one he met."

EDWARD A. FILKINS.

DWARD AUGUSTUS FILKINS, a veteran of the great American Civil War, has the honor of being a native of Cook County, his birth having occurred in the village of Wheel- ing, on the 29th day of May, 1842. He is a son of Joseph Filkins and Clarissa Johnson, who were among the earliest and most esteemed pioneers of northern Illinois. Their ancestors included some of the most loyal citizens, and members of the Johnson and Filkins families have partici- pated in every war of the Nation.

Joseph Filkins was born at Berne, Albany County, New York. His father's name was Richard, and his grandfather, Isaac Filkins, was one of the earliest English colonists of Long Island. He came from Cornwall, England, and settled within the present limits of the city of Brooklyn in 1665. He was a farmer and stock- man by occupation, and was accompanied to this country by two of his brothers, one of whom was named Richard. Col. Henry Filkins, a descend- ant of the last-mentioned, commanded a regiment of Continental troops during the Revolution and, upon the organization of the United States Gov- ernment, in recognition of his services, he was

appointed the first Collector of the Port of New York by President Washington.

Richard Filkins, son of Isaac, removed while a young man to Albany County, where he became a prominent farmer, and married a Miss Crabbe, of Troy. Their son, Joseph Filkins, came West, by way of the Great Lakes, in 1835, and, on land- ing from a sailing-vessel at Fort Dearborn, pro- ceeded to Wheeling and pre-empted a large tract of land at that point. He was engaged in agri- culture for the next fifteen years, and in 1837 built the first frame house on the stage line be- tween Chicago and Milwaukee. This house is still standing, and forms a prominent landmark in the village of Wheeling. In 1850 he moved to Chicago, and, in company with his son-in-law, embarked in the wholesale hardware trade. The name of the firm was Filkins & Runyon, and their place of business was at the corner of Lake and Wells Streets (the latter now known as Fifth Avenue). His death occurred in Chicago, No- vember 12, 1857, at the age of fifty-two years. He was a stanch Democrat, and was well known as a public-spirited and progressive citizen. In 1842 he was elected Collector of Cook County,

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 35

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