Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 37

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 37

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).

253

E. J. ADAMS.

tiously and well; has deliberation and discretion, which are essential requisites to success in the head of the postoffice. He is always calm and self-reliant, under the evident consciousness that he is able to perform the work before him; has none of the pretenses of a vain man, and none of the hesitancy of a weak one. He has been influ- ential with the department at Washington in se-

curing needed reforms and appropriations in the interest of the office, and hence the public. There seems to have been a certain leaven of intellectual and moral power formed in him, or infused there, which has been the prime impetus in spurring the powers of his youth and impelling the ener- gies of his manhood."

EUGENE J. ADAMS.

UGENE JOSEPH ADAMS, a native of Chicago, who has spent half his life in rail- road service in this city, was born Decem- ber 6, 1862. He is a son of Thomas and Joan (Burke) Adams. Thomas Adams was born in the parish of Emily, County Tipperary, Ireland, and died in Chicago, August 27, 1893, at the age of sixty years. About 1850 he emigrated to America and located in Chicago, where he soon obtained employment as a clerk in the postoffice, under Postmaster Isaac Cook. He served in this capacity eight or nine years, at the end of which time he became baggage agent of the Pittsburg & Fort Wayne Railroad. He served this corpo- ration at its Chicago terminal until the Union Passenger Station was built, in 1881. At that

date he became the General Baggage Agent of the Union Depot Company, supervising the handling of all the baggage transported by the five lines entering that station. He continued to discharge the duties of this position up to the time of his death, a fact which attests his faithfulness and capability. He was a member of the Roman Catholic Church and an adherent of the Demo- cratic party.

Mrs. Joan Adams, who still resides in Chicago, was born at Elgin, Illinois. She is a daughter of Eugene Burke, an early settler at that place, who died there in 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Adams

were the parents of eight children, all now resi- dents of Chicago, to whose training and education the parents gave especial attention. Their names are: Eugene J., Margaret V., Samuel M., James J., John F., Mazie E., Harry S. and Elizabetlı.

Eugene J. Adams attended St. Patrick's Com- mercial Academy and afterward took an eighteen- months course at Bryant & Stratton's Business College. At the age of sixteen years he became a clerk in his father's office, and was continuously connected therewith up to the time of the latter's death. He succeeded his father as General Bag- gage Master at the Union Station, a position for which he was amply fitted by experience and training, and which he acceptably fills at the present time. Fifty men are required to handle the baggage which passes through this station, and twenty-five others are employed in taking care of the United States mails which arrive and depart therefrom. Mr. Adams supervises the work of these departments with an ease and alac- rity born of years of practice and experience, and enjoys to an unusual degree the confidence of the corporations served by the terminal company. His position is one requiring constant and unre- mitting attention, and permits of no vacations or holidays throughout the entire year. Compara- tively few of the people who constitute the trav- eling public realize or appreciate to what extent

254

STEPHEN SEXTON.

their comfort or convenience depends upon the prompt and systematic labors performed by Mr. Adams and his assistants.

In 1889 occurred the marriage of Mr. Adams and Miss Helen E. Rowan, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Rowan, of Chicago. A son is the fruit of this union, now four years of age, and bearing the name of Thomas. Mr. Adams and

his family are members of the Lawndale Catholic Church, and Mr. Adams is a member of the Royal League. He has been a Democrat from boyhood, though he never participates in active politics. His life has been devoted strictly to the performance of duty, and his rapid promotion is due to his energy, punctuality and capacity.

STEPHEN SEXTON.

TEPHEN SEXTON, among the pioneer residents of Chicago, is deserving of especial mention in this volume. His father, Syl- vester Sexton, in whose veins the Scottish blood flowed, was born in County Clare, Ireland, and came to the United States in 1808. He settled at Rochester, New York, where he died in 1810, shortly before the birth of his son Stephen. The latter was the youngest of eight children. He grew up in Rochester, where he married Ann Gaughan, who was born in County Mayo, Ireland, as were her parents, Thomas and Margaret (Jack- son) Gaughan. The last-named was a relative of President Andrew Jackson, for whom her grandson (see sketch on another page) received his second Christian name. Thomas Gaughan was numbered among the van of Chicago settlers, having located on the site of what is now South Chicago in 1819. He died there in 1827, and his widow survived until 1864, reaching the age of ninety-three years.

Stephen Sexton was a pioneer settler in Chi- cago, coming here early in the year 1834, and locating on the North Side. He was a carpenter by occupation, and became very well known as an expert draughtsman, builder and contractor. One of the first public schoolhouses in Chicago was erected by him. He was an ardent Demo- crat, and took an active part in political move-

ments during the early days. He died April 7, 1861, having been preceded to the other shore eleven days by his wife, who died on the 27th of March, that year. They had eight sons and four daughters who grew to maturity. Margaret Elizabeth married James E. Cassidy, and also reared twelve children; Thomas S., for many years an employe of the Chicago postoffice, died in December, 1889; Mary Ann married James E. Ennis, and reared nine children, all of whom graduated at the Chicago High School; three died in early childhood, and James A. is the seventh; William H. is a citizen of New Orleans, Louisi- ana; Sarah E. married John Highland, of Chica- go, who was a Sergeant in Colonel Sexton's com- pany of the Seventy-second Illinois Infantry; Henry M. is superintendent of the refrigerator- car service of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, being the inventor of the cars used; George M. is a resident of Chicago; Eliza married George B. Hopkins, who is superintendent of a western division of the Wells-Fargo Express; Anstin O. and Joseph W. are residents of Chica- go, the former being a prominent Democratic pol- itician, who served several years in the City Coun- cil and eight years as a Member of the Illinois Legislature; and Louis N. resides in Liverpool, England. All the daughters are deceased, and seven of the sons are still living.

255

A B. MCLEAN.

ARCHIBALD B. McLEAN.

RCHIBALD BRUCE McLEAN. It is a re- markable circumstance that this gentleman, although he has attained the age of over seventy-five years and has spent the greater part of this time either in active business or military service, has never been a witness of an accident. He was born at Stirling, Scotland, a locality teem- ing with romantic interest and historic reminiscen- ces, on the 7th of April, 1820. Both his parents were worthy representatives of the Scotch nation.

His father, Alexander McLean, who was born at Callendar, became a cabinet-maker at Stirling, where his death occurred when Archibald was but three years old. The mother, Elizabeth (Robinson) McLean, was a native of Bannock- burn. After reaching the age of eighty years she came to America, and died at Brooklyn, New York, in 1871, at the venerable age of one hun- dred and one years and two months. She was the youngest of a family of ten children which was conspicuous for the longevity of its members. Her eldest brother, James Robinson, reached the age of one hundred and fifteen years, dying at Glengary, Canada. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander McLean were the parents of seven sons, four of whom still survive. James is a business man of Glasgow, Scotland. Alexander and George are citizens, respectively, of Brooklyn and Albany, New York. John died in Cork, Ireland, after serving fifteen years in the British army. Neal died in a hospital from the effects of wounds re- ceived during the great American Civil War; and Archibald B. is the next in order of birth. Don- ald, the eldest of the family, died in boyhood.

Archibald B. McLean grew to manhood in his native town, and at the age of ten years began to

learn the tailor's trade, an occupation which he has continued ever since, with the exception of the time spent in military service. At the age of seventeen years he entered the British army as a member of the Seventy-first Highland Light In- fantry, which was soon afterward ordered to Can- ada to assist in quelling the rebellion then in progress in that colony. He saw considerable skirmish duty during this expedition, and was stationed most of the time at Montreal or St. John's, Canada.

In 1843 he was discharged from the service of the Crown, and, coming to the United States, lo- cated at Albany, New York, where he worked at his trade for the next two years. At the end of that time he enlisted in the United States navy and embarked on the seventy-four-gun ship "Col- umbus," which sailed from Brooklyn, New York, upon a voyage around the world. While at a Chinese port the crew first heard of the war be- tween the United States and Mexico and received orders to sail for the coast of California. Upon their arrival they patroled that coast until the close of hostilities, when they returned to the Atlantic Coast by way of Cape Horn. The voy- age, which terminated at Norfolk, Virginia, had lasted for thirty-five months, during which time they had sailed sixty-eight thousand miles.

Mr. McLean again went to Albany and opened a tailoring establishment, carrying on business at tliat place until 1854, when he came to Chicago and engaged in business on Randolph Street. Three years later he removed to Janesville, Wis- consin. Here he carried on a merchant-tailoring establishment until the outbreak of the rebellion, when he was again seized with the spirit of mil-

256

R. N. TRIMINGHAM.

itary enthusiasm. Soon after the fall of Fort Sumter he recruited Company D of the Second Wisconsin Infantry, and, declining a Captain's commission, became the First Lieutenant thereof. He reached the field with his regiment in time to take part in the disastrous battle of Bull Run, and after serving six months resigned his commission and applied for a position in the Ma- rine Corps. Having passed the prescribed age, and the officers not being aware of his past naval experience, his services were declined, and he re- enlisted in Company C, of the Twenty-seventh Wisconsin. He chose the position of color-bearer, and served in that capacity until the close of hos- tilities. Though he was constantly exposed to the fire of the enemy, taking part in many of the bloodiest engagements of the war, Mr. McLean received no wounds and was never in a hospital. After participating in the battles of Fort Donel- son, Pittsburg Landing and Corinth, he took part in General Shield's expedition in Arkansas. This campaign encountered fourteen general en- gagements in twenty-one days, besides meeting a great deal of guerrilla warfare. After the close of the campaign he was sent to Mobile and took part in the siege of that place, which terminated the war.

After peace came he remained one year in Janesville, but in 1866 again located in Chicago,

where he was continuously engaged in merchant tailoring until June, 1894, when he resigned the business to his son, W. S. McLean, who had previously been for some years a partner in the business. During the twenty-nine years' exist- ence of this establishment it has won and retained a valuable patronage and is still in a flourishing condition.

On the 11th of April, 1849, Mr. McLean was married to Margaret Shields, a native of Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland. Four children have been born to them, all of whom are residents of this city. They are: William S., the present successor of his father in business; Archibald, who is also connected with the establishment; George, who has charge of a department in the great wholesale establishment of Marshall Field & Co .; and Isa- bella, now the wife of William L. Melville. Mr. and Mrs. McLean are the proud grandparents of eight children.

For over forty years Mr. McLean has been con- nected with the Masonic order, and although he has been at times a member of other societies, is not identified with any other organization at the present time. He has been a steadfast Repub- lican from the organization of that party, and has ever been a patriotic and public-spirited citizen of the land of his adoption.

RALPH N. TRIMINGHAM.

R ALPH N. TRIMINGHAM, Secretary of the Chicago Underwriters' Association, is one of the best known insurance men in the city. He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, Sep- tember 2, 1838, and is the eldest son of Ralph and Ann (Brine) Trimingham, and a member of one of the oldest Colonial families.

The Trimingham family was founded in Ber- muda by James Trimingham, who emigrated

thither from England during the reign of Charles II. and died there April 1, 1735, The mercan- tile house which he established and conducted there during his lifetime was inherited and en- larged by successive generations of his descen- dants. He was the father of four sons and two daughters. Of these, John, the third son, mar- ried Elizabeth Jones. Francis, the third son of this couple, died in 1813. He inherited the rare

257

R. N. TRIMINGHAM.

commercial instincts of his ancestors, and under his able guidance the business assumed extensive proportions, and branch houses were established in the Barbadoes, St. Vincent, and St. John's, Newfoundland. Several of his sons became partners in the concern, and continued the busi- ness for some time after his death. The firm owned a number of vessels and maintained exten- sive trade between the places above mentioned and various ports in Great Britain and South America.

Francis Trimingham married Frances Light- bourn, and they were the parents of eight chil- dren, the youngest of whom was Ralph, father of the subject of this notice. The last-named gen- tleman, who was born at Bermuda in 1801, re- moved while a young man to St. John's, taking charge of the company's interests at that place. He was married there, and about 1847 removed to Baltimore, Maryland, where the firm of which he was a member also established a mercantile house. Four years later he disposed of his inter- est in the business, and in 1851 removed to St. Vincent, where he turned his attention to agri- culture and operated a large sugar plantation for the next four years. He then came to Chi- cago, and for a brief period re-engaged in mer- chandising, but soon retired from active business. His death occurred in 1869, at the age of sixty- eight years. His wife survived until August, 1874, departing this life at the age of sixty-three years. She was born in Newfoundland and was a daughter of Robert and Ann Brine. They came from the South of England and settled at St. John's, where Mr. Brine was for many years a prosperous merchant.

Ralph N. Trimingham was educated at private schools, it being the intention of his parents to give him a college education and fit him for the Episcopal ministry. This purpose had to be abandoned, however, and at the age of sixteen years he entered upon his business career as clerk in a lawyer's office at St. Vincent. His subse- quent occupations liave usually been of a clerical order, and he seems to be peculiarly adapted for the accurate, methodical labors which are so es- sential to success in such avocations. For some

time previous to the departure of the family from St. Vincent he was employed as cashier in a dry- goods store, and his first occupation in Chicago was of a similar nature. A few years after locat- ing here he entered the office of Magill & La- tham, vessel-owners and commission merchants, with whom he remained for some time. He sub- sequently became a bookkeeper for his uncle, William Brine, who was a commission merchant operating upon the Board of Trade.

Since 1866 he has been identified with the fire- underwriting interests of the city. His first con- nection in that line was with the Home Insurance Company of New York, under the management of Gen. A. C. Ducat, with whom he remained for a little over ten years. After leaving the em- ploy of the Home he for a short time became en- gaged in mercantile pursuits, but soon re-entered the business of fire insurance. In 1882 he was elected Secretary of the Underwriters' Exchange, a combination of insurance companies, and when the members of that organization united with those of the Chicago Board of Underwriters in forming the Chicago Fire Underwriters' Associa- tion, an institution organized for a similar pur- pose, he continued to serve the new concern in the same capacity. In 1894 the last-named cor- poration was succeeded by the Chicago Under- writers' Association. In recognition of his expe- rience and previous services, Mr. Trimingham was elected Secretary of the new association, and the performance of his duties to these successive organizations has absorbed his time and attention since 1885.

On the 16th of April, 1885, he was married to Miss Carrie J., daughter of Robert G. Goodwillie, an early resident of Chicago. They are the par- ents of two daughters, named, respectively, Eliz- abeth and Anna. For thirty-eight years Mr. Trimingham held membership with the Third Presbyterian Church of Chicago, in which, for seventeen years, he was Elder and Clerk of the Session. He is now Elder of the First Presby- terian Church at Oak Park, where he lives. He has been identified witlı the Masonic order for the last twenty years, being a member of Cleve- land Lodge, Washington Chapter and Siloam

258

G. W. BARNARD.

Commandery, Knights Templar, of which he is Past Eminent Commander. His life has been marked by diligent, punctual habits and the con- scientions observance of upright principles. He has witnessed the growth and development of

Chicago for nearly forty years, and during all that time he has spent but little time out of the city, his chief recreation being found in his domestic and social relations.

GILBERT W. BARNARD.

ILBERT WORDSWORTH BARNARD is well known amid Masonic circles through- out America and Europe, and has a world- wide reputation for sterling character, accommo- dating manners, and devotion to the interests of the order. He was born at Palmyra, Wayne County, New York, June 1, 1834, and is the son of George Washington Barnard, whose death oc- curred previous to the birth of this son. The father of George W. Barnard, whose name was spelled Bernarde, was a Frenchman. Following the noble example of the immortal La Fayette, he came to America to enlist in the cause of free- dom, and upon the termination of the conflict settled in western New York, where he married and became the father of two sons. The elder of these died without issue, and the second lived and died in Wayne County, that state. The lat- ter became the captain of a passenger packet on the Erie Canal, a position of considerable import- ance in his time. His wife, Sabrina Deming, was a native of New York, and now resides in Howard City, Michigan, at the extreme old age of eighty years, her present name being Preston.

Gilbert W. Barnard was reared in the family of his maternal grandfather, David Demming, a na- tive of Connecticut, who removed to Jackson County, Michigan, soon after his grandson be- came a member of his family. The Demming family was founded in America by four brothers, who settled in Connecticut early in the seven- teenth century. The name was originally spelled

Dummund, but by a process of evolution peculiar to foreign names in America, it became Demming, and was contracted by the present generation by the omission of one "m."

The subject of this biography spent the first fifteen years of his life in Jackson County, Mich- igan, whence lie came to Chicago and began his business career as clerk in a general store. He afterward engaged in the book and stationery business, which line of trade he carried on for several years, achieving a reputation for upright and honorable dealing, and winning the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens. During the first year of his residence in Chicago he joined the volunteer fire department, and during the next nine or ten years rendered much valuable service to the city.

In October, 1864, he joined the Masonic order and has ever since been actively identified with its interests. He has taken over three hundred degrees known to Masonry, and has filled most of the principal offices in the subordinate and grand lodges. He is at present Past Master of Garden City Lodge; Past High Priest of Cor- rinthian Chapter No. 69, R. A. M .; Past Emi- nent Commander of St. Bernard Commandery No. 35, Knights Templar; Past Commander-in- Chief of Oriental Consistory; Grand Secretary of the Grand Chapter; Grand Recorder of the Grand Council and of the Grand Commandery; and Grand Secretary of the Council of Deliberation, S. P. R. S., and other bodies.

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLIN " ;

MANZ

JACOB MANZ.

259

JACOB MANZ.

In 1877 he was elected Secretary of the Capit- ular, Cryptic and Chivalric Grand Bodies of the State of Illinois, a position he has ever since filled, and has devoted the best years of his life to the interests of the fraternity, administering to the wants of his brethren, and relieving the needs of their widows and orphans in distress. His sig- nal ability and unrelenting efforts in the perform- ance of his duties have won for him a host of friends and admirers. He has labored untiringly in behalf of the Illinois Masonic Orphans' Home, of which he was the first Secretary, and through his active efforts has contributed much to the up- building of that worthy institution.

His long connection with the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite has placed him in correspondence with all branches of the order in all parts of the world. His commodious quarters in the Masonic Temple are general headquarters for Masonic affairs, and the resort of brethren from every civ- ilized country on the globe. They contain an ample library, and are filled with numerous other articles of use or interest to members of the fra- ternity.

Mr. Barnard was married in 1863, and one child, a daughter, is still living, he having lost three children.

JACOB MANZ.

ACOB MANZ, one of the self-made men of Chicago, and prominent among its Swiss- American citizens, is an excellent representa- tive of the benefits of a Republican Government. He was born October 1, 1837, in Marthalen, in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, in which his grandparents and parents, Jacob and Elizabeth (Keller) Manz, were also born.

Jacob Manz, Sr., was a stone-cutter in early life, and became an architect and superintendent, which indicates that he made the best use of his faculties and opportunities. Having heard much of the wonderful republic beyond the seas, he came to America in 1853, to ascertain for himself if it afforded better opportunities for an ambitious man than his native land. He spent six months at Lima, Ohio, and came to Chicago in the spring of 1854. He soon decided to remain here, and wrote to his wife to dispose of their property in Switzerland and follow him, with the children. On account of the youth of some of the latter, whose studies were not yet completed, as well as the difficulty of disposing of the property to ad-

vantage, the move was postponed until death pre- vented the meeting again on earth of husband and wife. The latter died in 1860, at the age of fifty-eight years. Mr. Manz did some building in Chicago, but was forced in a short time to give up business by the failure of his sense of hearing. His latter years were occupied in carving marble monuments, and he died in 1886, aged eighty- four years, leaving two sons and two daughters. Marguerite, the eldest, is the wife of Ulrich Liechty, residing at Polk City, Iowa. Elizabeth, Mrs. Toggenburger, is living at Bluffton, Ohio, near which place the younger son, William, also resides.

Jacob Manz, the elder son and third mature child of his parents, grew up in his native village, attending the public schools until his thirteenth year. He was then apprenticed to a firm of wood- engravers in Schaffhausen, with whom he re- mained until sixteen years old. Through the dissolution of partnership of his employers, he was unable to finish the prescribed term of his ap- prenticeship, but his natural ability and industry

260

HUGO NEUBERGER.

had already made him a skillful engraver. He immediately set out for America, crossing the ocean on a sailing-vessel, and arriving in Chicago in the middle of July, 1855. He soon found em- ployment with S. D. Childs & Company, with whom he continued six years, and was next for five years in the employ of W. D. Baker, a well- known Chicago engraver. His long terms in these connections are sufficient indication of his faithfulness and skill. After a short period with Bond & Chandler, Mr. Manz formed a partner- ship with another engraver and went into busi- ness for himself, late in 1866.

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.

Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 37

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