Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 51

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 51

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).

In 1873 Mr. Jewett became a resident of Chi-

349

GOTTLIEB MERZ.

cago, and in July of that year he was appointed Assistant Superintendent of the Chicago division of the Pullman Palace Car Company. On the Ist of June, 1874, he was promoted to the office of Division Superintendent, and held that position until April 1, 1888, when he was appointed As- sistant General Superintendent of the company, a position which he still capably fills. This high and responsible position was given to him in recognition of his merits and qualifications. This important trust involves in its operations millions of dollars, under a method so thoroughly systematized that the checks and balances must tally to a cent. The vast system managed by the Pullman Palace Car Company extends throughout the United States, Canada and Mex- ico, its domain being so broad as to be almost incomprehensible-all under the sagacious super- intendency of this quiet and unpretentious gen- tleman, whose hand is felt and recognized as being constantly at the helm. He has been the recipient of many evidences of the high regard in which he is held by the heads of this great cor- poration.

In 1870 he married Miss Jennie M. Hubbell, of Charlotte, Chittenden County, Vermont, a member of an old and highly-respected family,

the daughter of S. W. and Polly Hubbell. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Jewett in Chicago is the seat of pleasant hospitality, where their friends are always sure of cordial welcome.

In his social and fraternal relations Mr. Jewett occupies an enviable position. He is an honored member of the Masonic fraternity, being affiliated with Washington Lodge, Burlington Chapter and Council, of Burlington, Vermont; of Chevalier Bayard Commandery, Chicago; and Boston (Mas- sachusetts) Consistory. He served one year as Deputy Grand Master of the State of Vermont, Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter for two years, and Grand Generalissimo of the Grand Commandery for one year. He was an early member of the Sons of Vermont in Chicago, and one of the vice-presidents of that society in 1894. He is a stanch supporter of Republican principles of government, and in 1872 and 1873 he served as aide-de-camp on the staff of Gov. Julius Con- verse, of Vermont. His bearing is uniformly courteous and dignified, and inspires the confi- dence and regard of all who come in contact with him. He can have the proud satisfaction of knowing that it has been to his own capacity, diligence and careful observance of the highest rules of business that his uniform success is due.

GOTTLIEB MERZ.

G GOTTLIEB MERZ. Among the self-made and patriotic citizens of Chicago of foreign birth, is the subject of this biography. His ancestors were among the prominent people of Menziken, in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland, and he does honor to his lineage. His grandfather moved from that city to Erlach, Canton Berne, where his parents, Jacob and Elizabeth Merz, were born. Jacob Merz was a carpenter, and

passed his whole life in the pursuit of his occu- pation at Erlach.

Gottlieb Merz was born at the last-mentioned place on the 14th of October, 1838, and attended the public schools of his native place until he was fourteen years old. He was then apprenticed to a cabinetmaker and became a journeyman two years later, at the age of sixteen. After this he worked at his trade in several of the Swiss cities

350

GOTTLIEB MERZ.

bordering on the Lake of Geneva, such as Neuf- chatel, Locel, Lucerne, Vevey and Morges. He was also employed for some time in the principal city of Geneva.

At the age of twenty-four, possessed by that spirit of enterprise which has made the American Nation pre-eminent in the world's progress, he determined to settle in the western world, and came direct to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After working six months in a cabinet shop there, he went into a factory employed in the manufacture of picture frames, mirrors and show cases, and after being there two months, was made foreman and had charge of a large business.

Mr. Merz became a resident of Chicago in 1865, and was employed for two years by Stotz & Wolz, makers of cabinet ware. I11 1867 he established his present business-the manufacture of cigar boxes-which has grown under his energetic and judicious care to enormous magnitude. His first shop was in the old Turner Hall on Kinzie Street, where, in 1871, lie lost everything in the great fire. The North Side residents did not suppose the devouring element would cross the river from the South Side, until it seemed to leap over all along the river front, and Mr. Merz was sur- rounded, like many others, before he could make arrangements to save anything, and was glad to escape with his family to a place of safety. After this disaster he set cheerfully to work to repair his losses, as far as possible, without wasting any time in repining. He began on Twenty-second Street, whence he removed in June, 1872, to North Franklin Street. His business continuing to grow until he was again compelled to move, he built the brick buildings now occupied by him at 209 to 215 Superior Street, in 1879. Here he turns out daily five thousand cigar boxes, beside from one to two thousand other light packing boxes. The establishment is equipped with the latest improved machinery, much of which is the result of Mr. Merz' inventive genius.

Mr. Merz is the founder and builder of his own fortune, and his example is commended to the youth of the land. His success is the result of no sudden turn of fortune, but to the persistent

pushing of his enterprise, which is the only real "luck" in the world. Sometimes a fortune is rapidly accumulated, but an examination of the case will show that, with rare exceptions, the foundation of such success was laid by long years of patient preparation which fitted the individual for seizing the opportunity when it came. Mr. Merz labored patiently many years at his trade to secure a start in the way of a small capital and a business experience and knowledge of the En- glish language, which fitted him for the promi- nent position he now holds in the business world of Chicago, that typical city of American enter- prise.

While he has been energetic in business, Mr. Merz has also fulfilled his duty to society. He has long been an active member of the Grutli Society, an organization of Swiss-born citizens, of which he was treasurer for ten years. He is a member of the Schweitzer Mænnerchor, the North Side Turners' Society, and was for many years identified with the Sons of Herman. He holds membership in Miethra Lodge, No. 410, in the Masonic Order, beside that of the Consistory and Shrine of the same order. In religious faith he adheres to the German Lutheran Church, and has usually affiliated with the Republican party in matters of public policy.

Mr. Merz was married, in 1864, to Miss Jo- sephine Boppart, who is a native of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Two sons and a daughter of this family died in childhood. The living are, Emilie, widow of Henry Kallemberg; Louise, Mrs. Charles Stierlin; Edward G., who is associated with his father in business (the firm now being G. Merz & Son); and Lily, still in the home of her parents. All reside in Chicago.

By his uniform courtesy and fair dealing, Mr. Merz has won the confidence and good will of all with whom he comes in contact, and he is unan- imously voted one of the most popular of the North Side citizens. He has never aspired to public station, but has been content to fill his place as a gentleman among his fellows and at his own fireside, where he is the center of conjugal and filial regard.

OF THE L."VERSITY OF ILLING' ;

H.M. Colmare

351

H. M. WILMARTH.

HENRY . M. WILMARTH.

ENRY MARTIN WILMARTH was born January 25, 1836, at Newport, Sullivan County, New Hampshire, a son of Jonathan Monroe and Lucy Wilmarth (nee Cheney). He was educated at Kimball Union Academy, situ- uated at Meriden, New Hampshire, which was a preparatory school for Dartmouth College. Com- ing to Chicago in the early days of 1856, he be- gan active business life in the employ of Gerould Brothers, dealers in gas fixtures, an old house on Clark Street, opposite the present site of the Court House; and upon the death of the senior member, acquired and succeeded to the business, under the style of H. M. Wilmarth, which he in- creased to very considerable proportions. After his demise, his younger brother, Thomas Wil- marth, who for a period of years had been asso- ciated with him, became and is at present the owner of said business, located at No. 225 State Street, in a valuable structure owned by the sub- ject of this sketch at the time of his death.

Mr. Wilmarth was one of the projectors and corporators of the Chicago First National Bank, that pillar of financial strength through all panics and monetary trials, of which he remained a Di- rector from its inception to the date of his demise. Speaking of his long connection with that corpor- ation, one of its present leaders was pleased to use the following language: "When the final rec- ord of the old First National comes to be made up, it will plainly be seen, that no one stood higher in financial acumen or wiser in management-coun- sels during its first quarter of a century than Henry M. Wilmarth."

The brevity of this narrative, to the many who knew the subject of this article, will appear strangely incongruous, in the light of remem-

brance of his exceedingly long and prominent service in our midst as a man of noteworthy af- fairs. But perhaps this apparent discrepancy will. partially disappear, in the future light of that general knowledge that Mr. Wilmarth was a very modest and unassuming man; alas, further, that such was the pertinacity and concentration of the business genius which he undoubtedly possessed that he allowed himself to engage seriously in but a few matters; but whatever he embarked in was worthy and invariably successful.

His lifelong Republicanism was rewarded, un- sought, by election to the responsible chair of Alderman during the Civil War. He was a member of several clubs, among them, the Chi- cago and Calumet; but he never in his life joined any secret society. In spiritual views, he was both liberal and honest, being one of the first to assist in the organization of Central Church, where, together with his family, he was, from the time of the coming of the late lamented David Swing to the South Side, an habitual attendant upon services.

Mr. Wilmarth, like so many of our active busi- ness men, was fond of his outings and rustic sum- mer life with rod and gun. He was a prized member of that club which owns a preserve at Marquette, Wisconsin, where many an enjoyable month was spent, recruiting from the arduous labors of exacting city life. Indeed, it was ow- ing to exposure, following a railway accident, re- turning from one of these trips, that we are obliged to chronicle the beginning of his decline in health. His end, which was sudden, for one who had always enjoyed good health, came Feb- ruary 27, 1885. The obsequies were conducted by the late Rev. David Swing, and interment

352

H. M. WILMARTH.

was made at Graceland Cemetery. And so passed away in the very height of his powers and reputa- tion one of the worthiest of the fathers of Chicago.

The possessor of many noble traits, perhaps that which more than any other was instrumental in conspiring toward his advancement was his natural tact for managing and planning ahead for men. He carried command in his bearing. As instancing how rapidly this faculty accomplished its end, old friends still recall his action upon that eventful morning of the Chicago Fire, when by his house on the South Side, at whose very step further destruction in that direction was stayed, he called to his assistance a handful of neighbors, and set to work with saving energy an engine, which had been abandoned by its crew, after long and even perilous service. Many believed that by this move the fire was stayed at this point; but Mr. Wilmarth never in his life alluded to it in any boastful terms, or in any way to make a listener believe he had done anything more than an ordinary deed. And small indeed it was to his dauntless mind.

The subject of this sketch was married May 21, 1861, to Miss Mary Jane Hawes, a daughter of Capt. Shubael and Nancy Blackmer (Smith) Hawes, of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Mrs. Wilmarth, prominent in social and charitable functions, survives her lamented husband, living with the still surviving daughter of the children she bore him, as follows: Fanny Hawes Wilmarth, born October 21, 1863, died December 12, 1863; Stella Wilmarth, born August 28, 1865, died Sep- tember 28, 1885; Anna Hawes Wilmarth, born January 27, 1873, unmarried, and a student, at present writing, in the University of Chicago.

The American Wilmarths are of Norman- French blood, descended from one who in early times settled near Wantage, Berkshire, England; a later branch went into Wales, where in ancient times, they maintained a feudal castle. The patronymic, which was "Wilmot" under the "Conqueror," is still kept by the English stock; but was changed by the Welsh branch to the present "Wilmarth." Their coat of arms is :- Argent, on a fess gules, between three eagles' heads erased sable reaked of the second, an uni-

corn couchant, between two fleur de lis. From the latter branch came the progeny emigrating to this country, in the forepart of the eighteenth century, which settled at the old homestead town of Attleboro, Massachusetts.

While not as distinguished as some families, the numerous persons descended are of uniformly sterling integrity, and the men very successful in business life. In Revolutionary times, they filled the posts and played the part of heroes; many of them, remnants of the survivors, being upon the pension rolls. In fact, the very last person to be killed in that War of Independence was a Captain Wilmarth, who was killed in the final skirmish a few miles out from Charleston, South Carolina, and singularly enough, his being the only fatality.

Henry M. Wilmarth was a son of Jonathan M. Wilmarth, who married Lucy Cheney, and lived at Newport, New Hampshire, where he was, during a long and useful career, a bank di- rector, county treasurer, selectman and recruit- ing officer. Daniel Wilmarth was the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, living at Newport aforesaid, where he was a farmer and mechanic; his wife being a Nancy Monroe, of Rehoboth, Massachusetts. John Wilmarth was great-grandfather; he married Phebe Briggs, of Massachusetts, and removing from the ancestral seat of Attleboro, went to the said Newport by the aid of "blazed trees" for a trail, represent- ing the ninth family to settle in that town.

Mrs. Wilmarth's father, Capt. Shubael Hawes, was a son of Shubael Hawes, Sr., who died in 1802 at Charleston, South Carolina, he being (probably) a son of Benjamin Hawes, who mar- ried a Miss Dorcas Smith. The last-named was a daughter of Benjamin Smith, who married Miss Jedidah Mayhew a daughter of Rev. Thomas Mayhew, a son of Gov. Thomas Mayhew.

Mrs. Wilmarth's mother, Nancy Blackmer Smith, came from Martha's Vineyard, Massachu- setts, being a daughter of Ebenezer and Mary (Hulsart, of New York) Smith; the Smith line, which is of Edgartown and neighboring towns on Martha's Vineyard, runs as follows: Ebenezer Smith, a son of Ebenezer Smith, son of the Ben-

353

E. T. SHEDD.

jamin Smith who married Miss Jedidah Mayhew, and had the Dorcas Smith above spoken of as the paternal grandmother of Mrs. Wilmarth. The second Ebenezer Smith married Mrs. Jane Claghorn Mears, daughter of John Claghorn, a son of James Claghorn, a son of James Claghorn, who married Mary (or Mercy) Mayhew, daugh- ter of Gov. Thomas Mayhew. ['The conspicuous intermarriages are probably largely due to the insular nature of Martha's Vineyard, with the emphasized isolation imposed upon the early colonial settlers.]

The said Thomas Mayhew, in 1671, was made "Governor of the islands of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and all others embraced within the limits of Duke's County as originally constitut- ed."

· Rev. Thomas Mayhew, only son of the Gover- nor, when about twenty-one years of age, entered upon the work of preaching to the aborigines in 1643, about three years before his more widely

distinguished co-laborer, John Eliot, known as the Apostle to the Indians. He took passage in November, 1657, in a large ship, of four hundred tons burden, James Garrett, Master, bound from Boston to England; but the ship was never heard from after leaving port.

The above mentioned Benjamin Smith, Esq., was chosen Representative to the General Court in 1693, 1703 and 1713; was constable in 1701; and selectman in 1693, 1696-97, 1702 and 1703.

The oldest Ebenezer Smith was born in 17co, and was a selectman in 1738 and 1739.

His son, Ebenezer, Esq., was born tn 1734, and was a housewright and a man of considerable local influence; was selectman in 1773-74-75, 80- 81-82-83, 1790 and 1794.

The said Benjamin Hawes was one of a com- mittee of five in 1719 to consider the matter of building the meeting house for the town. He was a selectman for 1711 and 1712.

EZRA T. SHEDD.

ZRA TWITCHELL SHEDD, a commercial traveler, who has been identified with the business of Chicago for nearly thirty years, was born at Norway, Maine, May 11, 1837. He is the third child born to John S. and Sally (Coffin) Shedd, and represents the sixth genera- tion of one of the oldest and most respectable American families, as shown by the following record:

Daniel Shedd, a native of England, settled at Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1642. About fifteen years later he removed to Billerica, Massachu- setts, where the balance of his life was doubtless spent. He was a man of sterling character and determination, qualities which have been im- pressed upon his posterity, as illustrated by the

fact that of four thousand whose history has been traced, 11011e were ever convicted of misdemeanor. Over forty of his descendants are known to have participated in the Revolutionary War. He was the father of five sons and six daughters, of whom the third son, Zachariah, born 1656, was three times married and had seventeen children. Sev- eral members of this family were massacred by the Indians, at Billerica in 1692. Five sons of Zacharialı Shedd grew to maturity, of whom the youngest, Benjamin, born 1724, had four sons and one daughter. His third son, Lemuel, born 1762, served seven years in the Revolutionary War. He was one of General Washington's life guards, endured all the hardships of the encamp- ment at Valley Forge and was employed much of

354

E. T. SHEDD.

the time on scouting duty. During the Burgoyne campaign he was sent from Washington's head- quarters with an express order to General Gates. Passing through a country infested with tories, he was in constant danger of his life, and one time was obliged to abandon his horse and run through the woods to escape capture. He took shelter behind a sheet of water which fell over a preci- pice, leaving a space in which his body could be concealed. After his pursuers had passed he re- sumed the journey on foot and succeeded in de- iivering his message.

In 1788 Lemuel Shedd became one of the first settlers of Norway, Maine, where Joseph Stevens built the first house in 1786. He married Ruth Simonds, a descendant of Samuel Simonds, a prom- inent Puritan of Boston. They had four children, three of whom grew up, namely: Nathaniel P., Abigail (Mrs. Joseph Holt), and John S. The last named lived and died upon a farm in Norway. He passed a peaceful, uneventful life, and was never involved in litigation of any kind. He first married Miss Alice Noyes, by whom he had two children-Clarissa wife of Francis Blake, of Lar- amie, Wyoming; and Ward Noyes, who lost his life during the Kansas Border War in 1857. Af- ter the death of his first wife Mr. Shedd married Miss Sally Coffin, a native of Conway, New Hampshire. The names of their children are, Augustus F. of Chicago; Alice Augusta, widow of Moses Rolfe, now living on the old homestead at Norway, Maine; Ezra T .; and John Wesley, who died in infancy. Sally Coffin was a daugh- ter of James Coffin, and her mother was a daugh- ter of Phœbe (Richardson) Stevens.

James Coffin was a descendant of Tristam Cof- fin, who settled at Salisbury, Massachusetts, in 1642. ' As early as the fourth century the Coffin family had extensive estates in Normandy. Sir Richard Coffin, knight, accompanied William the Conqueror to England in 1066, and the manor of Alwington, in Devonshire, was assigned to him in recognition of his services. His descendants were prominent knights through several succeed- ing reigns. Tristram Coffin was born at Brixlin, near Plymouth, England, in 1605, and married Dionis Stevens. A few years after coming to

Massachusetts, he became one of a party of ten who purchased Nantucket Island from the In- dians. The original deed is still preserved in the family. He and his sons at one time owned one- fourth of the whole island. He transacted much important public business for the settlers, and was a man of affairs. Of his numerous descend- ants many were Quakers, among them Levi Coffin, of Newport, Indiana, the so-called "presi- dent of the underground railroad," and the original "Uncle Phineas" of "Uncle Tom's Cab- in." The number also includes two admirals of the British navy and a number of eminent Amer- icans, among them John G. Whittier, Lucretia Mott and Carleton Coffin, the journalist and his- torian of Boston.

Ezra T. Shedd was named in honor of Ezra Twitchell, of Bethel, Oxford County, Maine, the husband of Betsey Coffin, who was a sister of James Coffin. In 1856 he left home and came to Illinois, locating at Aurora, where he engaged in mercantile business. In 1868 he removed to Chicago, which has since been his residence and business headquarters. During this time he has represented several of the leading wholesale houses of the city, and was for ten years employed by one concern. Since 1888 he has served the interests of Sweet, Dempster and Co., in Illinois. He has also been successfully engaged in building houses for sale for some years past. He was married, in 1863, to Helen Scarritt, daughter of the Rev. Josiah A Scarritt, of Sandwich, New Hampshire. The lady was born at Warren, New York, and died in Chicago, June 16, 1894, at the age of fifty-three years. She possessed marked literary ability and was recognized as one of the greatest female parliamentarians of the West. Her life was largely devoted to philanthropical labors. She was a charter member and first vice- president of the Philosophical Society, the nucleus of all the literary societies of the city. She was a charter member and at one time president of the Woman's Club, and for many years served as chairman of the reform committee of that organ- ization, which was largely instrumental in secur- ing the apprehension and conviction of the noto- rious Chicago "boodlers." Through an address

355

R. A. KINZIE.

delivered before the County Board, she secured the appointment of the first lady physician on the staff of the Cook County Insane Asylum. She was also identified with the Fortnightly Club, serving re- peatedly as its secretary, and for ten years was president of the Physiological Society. At the United States Woman's Congress, held at Denver in 1889, Mrs. Shedd read a paper entitled "Wo- man in Affairs," which attracted much attention throughout the country. She was a charter member of the Saracen Club, and was an inde- fatigable worker in every field devoted to the ad- vancement of modern progress and reform.

Mr. Shedd is liberal in religious views. He is the first vice-president of the Sons of Maine, and has been for years actively identified with the Saracen Club, the Sunset Club and the Philo- sophical Society. He has always voted with the Republican party on State and National issues,

but is independent in municipal and judicial elec- tions. He is a moderate protectionist, believes in the maintenance of a stable and honest cur- rency and an economical administration of the gov- ernment. He is a careful student of American history, and his far-sightedness has enabled him to foretell many important political events. Soon after the beginning of the Lincoln-Douglas sena- torial campaign, he predicted that Mr. Lincoln would be the next President of the United States, a forecast which was received with much skepti- cism by his associates. He also predicted the nomination to the presidency of R. B. Hayes im- mediately after his triumph over "Bill" Allen in the contest for the Ohio Governorship. Mr. Shedd is a gentleman of genial, open character, and enjoys the friendship of a large number of leading citizens throughout the Northwest.

ROBERT A. KINZIE.

OBERT ALLEN KINZIE. The history of Rome will never be considered complete without the story of Romulus and Remus; the history of New England will always find its most interesting chapter that which tells of the Pilgrim fathers; and the history of Chicago will always begin with the account of the Kinzies and Whistlers. These were the earliest of the pioneers of the settlement which has developed into the present city of Chicago. The father of John Kinzie, our early pioneer, was a Scotch- man; his name was John Mckenzie, and he lived at Quebec, and, lastly, at Detroit, where lie died. The wife of this gentleman, we are told in "Wau-bun," was Mrs. Haliburton, whose daughter by her previous marriage was mother of the late General Fleming and Nicholas Low, of New York. Mr. Kinzie (the name was con- tracted to Kinzie because of its constant mis-

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 51

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