Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 5

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 5

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William Ohlendorf was fairly well educated in the parish schools of his native place, and reared on his father's farm. In the fall of 1846 he sailed from Hamburg on the "Marie Francisco," and, after a seven weeks' voyage, landed in New York City. He remained there until the spring of 1849, when he learned that his parents were in Cook County, and decided to come West. He came by river to Albany and by canal to Buffalo, thence by lakes on the steamer "Keystone State," landing here in May, 1849. He had been a waiter in New York, and after coming to Chicago obtained a position in the old City Hotel, on Lake Street. He was soon promoted to head waiter, and was with Brown & Tuttle when they went into the Sherman House as proprietors. At that time John R. Walsh, now a wealthy banker in Chicago, was bell boy under Mr. Ohlendorf.

In the fall of 1851 he went to New Orleans and worked in a large hotel during the winter, and from there started to Mexico with General Urajo, but owing to the breaking out of the Rev-

DANA SLADE.

olution did not reach his destination. At the close of that strife General Urajo was appointed by Santa Anna, of Mexico, as Minister Plenipo- tentiary to Prussia, and Mr. Ohlendorf accompa- nied him as interpreter. He was with him one year in Mexico and one year in Prussia.

April 2, 1854, he was married in his native village to Miss Sophia Ohlendorf, and on the Ist of May started for Chicago with his bride. He arrived in that city duly, and began keeping a grocery at the corner of what is now Fifth Ave- nue and Polk Street, and continued in business at that location nine years. In 1862 he settled on a farm in Lake County, and for a period of six years tilled this portion of land. He then sold his property and returned to Chicago, enter- ing into partnership with his brother Louis, and started a lumber business under the firm name of Ohlendorf Brothers. In 1871 ill health caused . him to sell his interest to his brother. When he returned from the farm he settled on West Huron Street, corner of Armour Street, where he has since resided. In the fire of 1871 he lost three houses on Fifth Avenue. Having invested in

considerable property he has done some real- estate business since retiring from the lumber trade, as above mentioned, but has lived rather a quiet life. He has always voted independently in political affairs, endeavoring to always sup- port the best man for public position, and has never had any political aspirations.

To Mr. and Mrs. Ohlendorf has been born a family consisting of six children, two of whom are deceased. Those living are: William C., a physician and druggist, at No. 647 Blue Island Avenue; Henry L., a pharmacist, at the corner of Evanston Avenue and Irving Park Boulevard; Alfred C., a traveling salesman; and Carrie, wife of W. Maack, of Chicago. The members of the family are connected with St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, with which Mr. Ohlendorf has been prominently identified for years. He has always evinced an interest in matters arranged for the good of the public, and enjoys the respect of a large circle of friends. He has witnessed the marvelous growth of the city from a population of about ten thousand to its present importance as the metropolis of the West.

DANA SLADE.

12 ANA SLADE, a prominent citizen of Lawn- name heads this article, was a native of New dale, and since 1864 engaged in the grain Hampshire. He followed the same occupation as his father, farming, and was a soldier of the War of 1812. He died in 1856, and his widow still survives him, aged ninety-nine years. commission business in Chicago, was born March 21, 1826, in Alstead, Cheshire County, New Hampshire. He is a son of Samuel and Eunice (Angier) Slade, and his paternal grand- father, Samuel Slade, senior, was a native of Connecticut, a farmer by occupation and a soldier of the Revolution, who died in New Hampshire, at the age of ninety-nine years. His wife was Hannah Thompson, and they were of Puritan stock.

Samual Slade, junior, father of the man whose

Dana Slade was reared on his father's farm un- til he was nineteen years of age, and was edu- cated in the common schools. In 1845 he went to Boston to learn the butcher's trade, and in 1849 went overland to California, where he re- mained one year at gold mining. In 1850 he returned home by way of Panama and in 1851 located at Detroit, Michigan, where he was en-

R. B. JONES.

gaged in the grocery business four years. He beth Wentworth, daughter of Noah and Sarah then removed to Keokuk, Iowa, where he was engaged in the hotel business until the outbreak of the Civil War, when he returned to New Hampshire with his family. In 1864 he located in Chicago, where he has since been engaged in the grain commission business.

Mr. Slade was married in 1860, to Miss Eliza-

(Buckman) Geer, of New Hampshire. He is the father of three children: Dana, junior; May Sybil and Samuel. Mr. and Mrs. Slade are members of the Unitarian Church. Mr. Slade is a Royal Arch Mason. He is an independent Democrat, and his views are very positive and decided.

RICHARD B. JONES.

ICHARD BENJAMIN JONES, who is a natural and skilled machinist, was born May 1, 1850, in Chester, England, a son of Humphrey and Charlotte (Benjamin) Jones. His parents are of old and highly respected fam- ilies, of English stock. Richard B. Jones is able to put in order, operate or successfully manage any kind of machinery. If he had taken to a professional life he would, undoubtedly, have made a success, as he has force of character and power of mind to follow out any ambition he may have. His talents are not confined to that of a machinist, but he can turn his hand and mind to many things.

Mr. Jones was the first of his father's family to emigrate from his native land, and reached New York August 3, 1864, arriving in Chicago twenty days later. He was one year in the box factory of David Goodwillie, located at the corner of Franklin and Ohio Streets. In 1865 he went to Memphis, Tennessee, where he took charge of the machinery in his uncle's sawmill. When this business closed he was made manager of the Nicholson Pavement Company, which held a contract for paving in Memphis, and occupied this position five months. He was seized with a slight attack of cholera, and, returning North,

entered the factory of Mr. Goodwillie again. He went in as helper, and after a short time was given charge of the machines. He was subse- quently made foreman, which position he occu- pied two years, and was in the same employ until he reached the age of nineteen years. He then divided his time between Mr. Goodwillie and L. B. Walker, selling machinery for the latter, while at the same time he was employed in a new establishment of Mr. Goodwillie's, where he had charge of the machinery. He continued in the service of Mr. Walker until that gentleman sold out to E. C. Preble, and Mr. Jones continued with him.

In 1872 Mr. Jones formed a partnership withı G. A. Russell, with a plant located at Harbor and Green Bay Avenues, in South Chicago. He was interested in the manufacture of boxes for packing purposes, while Mr. Russell attended to the making of sash and doors. This partner- ship continued until 1877, and at the same time Mr. Jones continued his business relation with Mr. Preble until 1878. He subsequently went to Dubuque, Iowa, in the interest of Ingram, Ken- nedy & Day, owners of a sawmill, who desired his aid in placing machinery and starting the same. After six months, however, lie returned

R. B. JONES.

to Chicago and to the employ of Mr. Preble. He was sent to Muscatine, Iowa, in the interest of the Musser Lumber Company, but on his return to the city went back to Mr. Preble and gave his attention more directly to the outside business of the firm.

At the death of Mr. Preble, in April, 1881, Mr. Jones conducted the business under the direc- tion of the Probate Court until October, 1881. In November of the same year a corporation was organized, with Ransom Richards as president and Mr. Jones as superintendent, which position he has since filled with credit to himself and advantage to the firm. He has been in his pres- ent position eighteen years, proving his stability of character and power to please.

Mr. Jones was married, January 1, 1881, to Miss Frances Eleanor, daughter of Alpheus Mills. Three children were born to them: Ella Frances; Grace, who died at the age of four months; and Richard Low, who died at the same age. In November, 1887, Mr. Jones erected a residence at No. 6642 Lafayette Avenue. He has been through all the chairs in Excelsior Lodge No. 22, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. Mr. Jones is a Republican, and has never sought public office of any kind. His father was born in Crewe, a suburb of Chester, England, and died in America in 1889, at the age of sixty- one years. He was a bricklayer, and was em- ployed twenty-two years by the Walker & Parker Lead Company, of Chester. He came to the United States in June, 1872, and entered the service of Mortimoer & Tapper, at the Grand Pacific Hotel. He was later a stationary engineer several years. Until about 1884 he was employed by Mr. Preble and then retired. When he emi- grated from his native land he brought his wife and five daughters, beside a cousin, Price Jones.

The father of Humphrey Jones was John Jones, who was a bricklayer, and lived in Ches- ter, England. He came to America at an early date. He was occupied on furnaces in Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, and other localities, and was an expert at building furnaces. He married Sarah Low, and their children were: Humphrey, Llewellyn, Joseph, John, Myra, and one son

whose name is not recorded. Joseph came to America and died in Los Angeles, California; he was a contracting brick and stone mason.

Mrs. Humphrey Jones was born in Chester, England, and died in 1884, at the age of fifty-six years. She was married at the age of eighteen years, and her children are accounted for as fol- lows: Richard B. is the man whose name heads this sketch; Mary Ellen married A. B. Bunting, a grocer, and resides on Langley Avenue; Sarah, who married William J. Willings, a grocer, resides on Fortieth Street; Elizabeth died at the age of seventeen years; Martha Ann, who mar- ried John Stroebel, a tiller of the soil, lives in Indiana; Emily married Charles Morrison, a farmer in New Hampshire; and Stanley Walker married Elizabeth Taylor. The last named is a grocer and resides at No. 255 Bowen Avenue.

Robert Benjamin, the maternal grandfather of R. B. Jones, raised horses for hunting and for teaming in the lead mines of England. He was born in the neighborhood of Birmingham. He reared hunters for the English nobility and coun- try gentlemen, and was quite successful at this occupation. He married Sarah Lloyd, and their children were named: John, Elizabeth, Louisa, Charlotte, Edwin, Sophia, James and Harriet. John, the eldest, located in Massachusetts at an early date, and later removed to Hutchinson, Minnesota, to which place he traveled with the Hutchinson family in 1860. He was thus one of the pioneers of this section of Minnesota, where he was quite active prior to and after the Indian wars in the vicinity, and where his family still resides.

Chief Crow, the treacherous Indian, who was most active and prominent in the bloody massa- cre of the settlers, ate dinner with Mr. Benjamin only two hours before the slaughter began on the fatal day of the outbreak. This treachery was amply punished later, however, at Mankato, where Chief Crow was one of the culprits exe- cuted. All of Mr. Benjamin's improvements and personal effects were destroyed by the Indians. Mr. Benjamin married Elizabeth Gardiner, and they had seven children. Edwin Benjamin, the first of these, emigrated to the United States in

PINCUS HENOCH.

1858, locating in Boston. He came to Chicago in 1862, and later removed to Reed City, Michi- gan, where he died in the spring of 1898. He married Frances Albright, and had three chil- dren. Louisa Benjamin came over in 1873, hav- ing married Robert Jones, who was not a relative, in England. She returned to England in 1877, and her son, Price, came to America with the parents of the man whose name heads this sketch, as noted above.

Mr. Jones is a man of medium stature, endowed with personal strength and mental energy, which is a result largely of his highly nervous tempera- ment. He is a man of action and moves with the times, sometimes, in fact, ahead of them. His talents have turned to the line of mechanics, as much from early environments as from choice. His domestic life is ideal, he being blessed with an agreeable and helpful companion and a talented and interesting child.

PINCUS HENOCH.

INCUS HENOCH. Fickle fortune seems to pursue some men, and flee from others who are seeking it. Though not smiled upon by this god to as great an extent as some of his old associates, Pincus Henoch is perhaps as happy as, and more contented than, those men who have a million to worry over and leave behind at their death, perhaps to be squandered by their heirs. He has been identified with the early growth of Chicago's commercial interests, and has been intimately associated with such kings of the dry goods world as the Mandel Brothers and the Farwells. While not extreme- ly wealthy, Mr. Henoch has always been com- fortably well off, and is now retired from active business life, preferring to watch the moves of other and younger men, especially those closely related to him.

Born June 12, 1839, he is a son of Solomon and Freda Henoch, who resided in the province of Posen, Prussia, Germany, at the time of his birth. ^ His brother, Elkan, the first of the family to leave the land of his birth, came to America in 1846, and now resides at No. 128 Loomis Street, Chicago. Israel Henry was the next to emigrate to the United States, and came in 1848. His son, Henry, resides at No. 1049

North Halsted Street, at the present time. Maurice emigrated in 1852, and is a liquor dealer in La Porte, Indiana. Pincus was the next to seek his fortune in America; and Marcus, who joined his brother, Maurice, came in 1856. The mother of the family came to the United States in 1860, and died shortly after.

In his early youth Pincus Henoch was bound out, or placed in apprenticeship, to learn the trade of tailor. He did not like this business, however, and soon abandoned it. In August, 1854, he arrived in Salem, Indiana, where his brothers were conducting a store under the title of Elkan & Israel H. Henoch, clothiers. Pincus Henoch was clerk for his brothers four years, af- ter which time they removed their place of busi- ness to St. Joseph, Michigan. Pincus Henoch was placed in charge, and shortly after, became proprietor and continued there until 1864. His brothers then having removed to Chicago, Israel H. in 1858, and Elkan in 1860, and having be- gun the manufacture of clothing, Pincus sold his business and came to Chicago. He took an in- terest in his brothers' business and the firm name now became Henoch Brothers. They were lo- cated at No. 25 Lake Street, and occupied four floors. The store was burned October 9, 1871,

F. M. JOHNSON.

at the time of the great conflagration, and every- thing belonging to the brothers was burned. Pincus Henoch then accepted a position with Shackman Brothers, in New York, in which city he resided one year. He subsequently opened a clothing store in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and was at this location fifteen months. For a short time he was at Princeton, Illinois, in the same business, and two years in Aurora, Illinois. He then removed to Sandwich, Illinois, and sold out his remaining stock. Returning to Chicago, he established a grocery business at the corner of Twenty-sixth Street and "Armour Avenue, which he conducted two years. He entered the employ of Platt Brothers, in Dubuque, Iowa, and was an employe of this concern from 1881 to 1891. He then located in Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin, and had charge of the clothing store of Speicer, Bing & Company four years. At the end of this period he returned once more to Chi- cago and has since enjoyed a well-earned rest. Since 1894 he has resided at No. 5648 Dearborn Street, surrounded by pleasant and agreeable neighbors.

Mr. Henoch was fortunate in securing a pleasant, helpful companion, when he married Miss Pauline, daughter of Marcus and Yette (Brand) Hirsch, July 18, 1867. Mr. and Mrs. Henoch have been blessed with six children, all of whom have proved a blessing to their par- ents and a credit to the name they bear. Solo- mon, the oldest, was born in Chicago, February 25, 1869, and resides at No. 3554 Prairie Avenue. He is agent for a neckwear concern in the city. Freda, born in Chicago March 3, 1870, died here at the age of six months. Marcus, born in Chi- cago November 4, 1871, died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the age of twenty-one years. Selina, born in New York January 5, 1873, died at the age of six months. Harry, born October 18, 1875, in Aurora, Illinois, resides at the home of his parents, as does also Milton Levi, born January 11, 1878, in Sandwich, Illinois.

Pincus Henoch was made a Mason in Occi- dental Lodge, at St. Joseph, Michigan, and was admitted to Chicago Lodge, but is not active at present. He comes of a Hebrew family, and is a staunch and loyal Democrat.

FRANCIS M. JOHNSON.

RANCIS MORTIMER JOHNSON, who was born on Sunday, May 8, 1842, in Hick- ory Lane, Niles, Michigan, is one of the most valued and highly respected employes of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company, having been in the employ of that company since 1865. His parents were Alfred Wells and Dezire (Howe) Johnson, and both came from very old families. The paternal grandfather was John Johnson, and the maternal grandfather of F. M. Johnson was Frederick Howe .. Mr. Howe was a tiller of the soil and he

was born in Vermont. He settled in Syracuse, New York, subsequently, and later removed to Michigan, being one of the first settlers in Ber- rien County.

Mr. Howe traveled through the country with horse teams, there being no steam railway at that time. His children were named as follows: Alonzo, Dezire, Lucinda, Francis, Hezekiah, Adeline, Mary, Nancy, Charlotta, Charles and George. His wife's name was Polly Bliss before her mar- riage to Mr. Howe. Alfred W. Johnson was born June 26, 1810, in Burlington, Vermont. He

F. M. JOHNSON.

came to Michigan in 1831. He had learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner, and erected a res- idence in Niles, Michigan, in Hickory Lane. All his children were born in this house. Mr. John- son did a great deal of contracting in the vicinity of Niles, for building of residences and other erections. He was a Democrat as to political views and served in the legislature two years, about 1847-1849. He died June 9, 1889. His wife was born at Truxton, New York, Friday, May 5, 1815, and died October 18, 1896. Her children were nine in number: John Frederick was born Monday, December 17, 1838, and resides at No. 5140 Wabash Avenue; Richard Marian was born Wednesday, May 13, 1840, married Hattie L. Barker, at Chillicothe, Missouri, and now resides at No. 5140 Wabash Avenue, Chicago; Francis M. is the next in order of birth; Julia Estelle, born Saturday, March 9, 1844, married Henry T. Kimmell December 14, 1865. Her children are: George Alfred, born February 1, 1867, and Edna Estelle, born December 3, 1869;

Mr. Johnson was married February 15, 1862, to Miss Marilla Alwilda Chipman, daughter of Holton and Lucy (Hopkins) Chipman. Mrs. George Franklin, born Thursday, March 5, 1846, Johnson's great-grandfather was born in England, died August 5, 1893. He married Annie C. Cook, at Tiskilwa, Illinois, December 22, 1885; Oliver Howell, born February 12, 1848, died March 24, 1848; Helen Isabella, born Saturday, August 11, 1849, married John A. Montagne October 6, 1873, and has one child, Charles M., born March 23, 1876. Her home is in Niles, Michigan, where her husband is a hardware dealer; Mary Frances, born Friday, November 3, 1853, married Orson Mckay October 2, 1883. Mr. Mckay is an employe of the Santa Fe Rail- road Company and they reside at No. 4735 Evans Avenue; Charles Alfred, born Friday, February 8, 1856, was married at Marshall, Michigan, August 20, 1883, to Bertha Hopkins Perritt. He is the father of one child, Alfred Hopkins, born September 6, 1892. The family resides at Niles, Michigan, where C. A. Johnson is cashier at the First National Bank.

in the reserve corps at Columbus, Ohio, for eight- een months. He was in the battle of Shiloh and his regiment was the first one fired upon. He was also in battles along the Chickahominy River. November 3, 1865, he was mustered out of serv- ice. Mr. Johnson was taken prisoner a Bolivar, Tennessee, but was paroled. After the close of the Civil War Mr. Johnson located in Chicago and entered the employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company and has since been occupied in the interest of that con- cern. He entered as clerk in the freight office and remained in that capacity eighteen years. He then took charge of the out freight house at Polk Street and Pacific Avenue and after eight years was transferred to the Englewood east bound freight, but at the end of four years this house was discontinued and he was returned to the Polk Street house, where he is at the present writing.

and emigrating to America in 1840, located in Eugene, Indiana, later removing to Bristol, of that state, where he died in 1847, at the age of forty-nine years. Holton Chipman was born in Vermont, as was also his wife. She was married in Ohio and died January 24, 1893. She was born April 24, 1809. Her children were nine in number. Lucy Hopkins married Caleb Nash, of South Bend, Indiana, and their children are: Alice, Helen, Delia and Adell; Plilenia Rosalie married Dr. J. N. Roe, of South Bend, and their children are: Lelia, Crestus and Lennie; Rachel Parthenia married John Brown, of Val- paraiso, Indiana, and their children are: Blanch, William and Agnes; Cynthia Florilla married C. S. Payne, of Goshen, Indiana, and their chil- dren are: Lola, Hiram, Chauncey, Emma and Maggie; Anstia Ianthe married Joseph F. Thomas, of Edwardsburg, Indiana, and their only child is

Francis Mortimer Johnson occupied himself at Ella; Delia Alice married John Hudson, of Sac- the same trade as his father until sixteen years of ramento, California, and is now deceased; Cassius Holton married Wealthy Rouse, at Kendallville, Indiana, and their only child is Millie; Marilla Al- wilda is the wife of the man whose name heads age. He enlisted in the army October 17, 1862, in Company E, Twelfth Michigan Regiment. He was sick a large part of the time and served

WILLIAM GASTFIELD. .

this article, and was born November 17, 1843, at Eugene, Indiana; Milton Delmer resides at Rensselaer, Indiana.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are the parents of two children, who have done credit to the rear- ing they received and to the family name, which has never known a tarnish. Frank Rollo was born December 2, 1862, in Harris Township, Elkhart County, Indiana. More extended no- tice of him appears elsewhere in this volume. Ernest Mortimer was born March 23, 1866, and lias also space on another page of this volume.

Though never an office seeker, Mr. Johnson is interested very deeply in the welfare of the Dem- ocratic party, in whose interest he casts a vote at all favorable opportunities. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum.

Mr. Johnson erected a residence at No. 5817 Wabash Avenue in the spring of 1882. This was the first house in the locality, and the nearest house to it at that time was on State Street. The family is one of the well-known and honored ones of the community, and each member is a credit to the neighborhood in which they reside.

WILLIAM GASTFIELD.

ILLIAM GASTFIELD, a very old and highly respected pioneer of Chicago, has resided continuously in Cook County since 1842 and, except a couple of years spent on a farm, has resided in Chicago. He was born in Hessen, Schomberg, Germany, January 9, 1828, the only son of Christian and Sophia (Wolf) Gast- field. The family, consisting of parents and son, sailed from Bremen Harbor in the summer of 1841, and after a tedious voyage in stormy weather and high seas, landed in New York fourteen weeks later.

They came to Buffalo by way of the river to Albany and thence by canal. Their destination was Chicago, as they had relatives in Cook County. Navigation on the lakes being closed they remained in Buffalo one winter and in the spring of 1842, came on to Chicago. Christian Gastfield was a mechanic, but being short of funds, was forced to find employment as a laborer. He died in Chicago a few years after his arrival, and his wife survived him until about 1850, when she, too, passed away.

William Gastfield was educated in the schools of his native place. After coming to Chicago he

was employed by Frank Sherman, first working in his brick yard for a short time, and then spent two years on his farm. He then served at ap- prenticeship of two years at the carpenter's trade, with Jesse Cutshaw. He worked for wages some years before he began building and contracting on his own account. He followed the last-mentioned business for several years and, in 1864, in com- pany with Charles Joerndt, built a sash and door factory on the corner of Curtis and West Huron Streets and carried on a successful business until 1881, when he sold out. He continued building and contracting, and erected many factories and also extended his operations to Columbus, Ohio, and Pittsburgh and Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and Wheeling, West Virginia. He remained active in the business world until about the year 1894.

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 5

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