Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 62

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 62

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WILLARD SCOTT, SR.

ILLARD SCOTT, SR., deceased, who for many years was connected with the leading business interests of Naperville, and for half a century made his home in this section of the great commonwealth of Illinois, was a native of New York, born in Unadilla, Otsego County, April 20, 1808. His parents were Stephen J. and Hadassah (Trask) Scott. The father followed the sea in his early years and became the owner and master of a schooner, which bore his name and was engaged in the coast trade along the At-

lantic shore. In Connecticut he wedded Miss Trask, who was a relative of Gen. Israel Putnam, one of the heroes of Revolutionary fame. On leaving Hartford, Conn., they went to Unadilla, and the year 1816 witnessed their removal to Maryland, where they spent the next decade.

During this time our subject was acquiring an education in the common schools, and also took a short course in mathematics. It was his desire to become a sailor, but his mother urged him not. to do this, for the life was too fraught with dan .

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C. J. MAGILL.

gers. In 1825 the family made a visit to New York, and then started for St. Joseph, Mich., go- ing through Canada to Detroit, and thence by water. The goods were shipped by sailing-vessel to Detroit, and thence Willard took them to their destination. He went to Detroit with a man from Ohio, and the journey thither was a perilous one through the unbroken forest, there being no road except the Indian trails. They reached De- troit ten days before the arrival of their goods, during which time they lived on corn and pota- toes. The family were not pleased with their home in Michigan, and, crossing the Lake, located in Evanston.

On the 16th of July, 1829, Willard Scott wed- ded Caroline Hawley, in Holdermau's Grove. In 1818, her father, Pierce Hawley, went from Ver- mont to Vincennes, Ind., and afterwards came to Illinois, locating in Holderman's Grove in 1825. In the fall of 1830, he and his family, accompa- nied by Mr. Scott and his family, located three miles south of Naperville, in what is now DuPage County, but was then a part of Cook County. Cook County at that time also comprised Lake, McHenry and Will Counties. There were thirty- two votes polled in Chicago that year, Mr. Scott's father depositing the first one. During the War of 1832, our subject proved a valued citizen in the settlement, on account of his knowledge of the Indians and their methods of warfare.

In 1838 Mr. Scott became a resident of Naper-

ville, built the Naperville Hotel, and conducted it for eighteen years, after which lie carried on mer- chandising for twenty years, most of the time be- ing associated with his son Thaddeus. The firm of Willard Scott & Co. controlled the leading bus- iness in this place, and operations are still carried on under that name, Willard Scott, Jr., succeed- ing his father and brother Thaddeus in the busi- ness. Retiring from merchandising after the Civil War, Mr. Scott was President of the Du- Page County Bank, subsequently of the Bank of Naperville, and was a private banker until his death, September 13, 1892. He possessed busi- ness ability of a high order, was sagacious and far- sighted, and his enterprise was tempered by a commendable conservatism. He won success, and his prosperity was the reward of his own labors.

In political belief our subject was a Democrat, and his first vote was cast for Andrew Jackson in 1828. He was a resident of Naperville for more than half a century, and was ever found in the front rank of those enterprises calculated to advance the best interests of the community. Throughout DuPage and Cook Counties he was widely known, and was held in the highest re- gard by young and old, rich and poor. The name of Willard Scott is inseparably connected with the history of this community, and the rec- ord of the county would be incomplete without his sketch.

CHARLES J. MAGILL.

C HARLES JAMES MAGILL, whose name has for years been a synonym for unbiased integrity and honesty of purpose among the early residents of Chicago, was born at St. John's, Newfoundland, in November, 1818. His father,

William Magill, was a native of Middletown, Con- necticut, born June 30, 1792. The Magill family is of Irish extraction, and was founded in Con- necticut by two brothers, named Robert and Will- iam Magill, who came from Belfast and were

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C. J. MAGILL.

among the first settlers of the Connecticut Colony. The old family homestead, which has sheltered many successive generations, is still standing at Middletown.

While a young man, William Magill moved to Newfoundland. For many years he was in the service of the British Government, first as the Collector of the port of St. John's, and later as Governor of the provincial prison at that place. Retiring from public life, he removed to Char- lottetown, in Prince Edward Island, where his death occurred on the fourteenth of August, 1878. He was a man of exemplary character and note- worthy ability, as is evidenced by his long contin- uance in public life. His wife, Ann Morris, who was a native of Dublin, Ireland, died at St. John's, Newfoundland, about the year 1850. Of their three children, Charles J. is the eldest. John was for many years a prominent citizen and public official of Chicago; and Sarah, Mrs. Henry L. Messieur- er, now deceased, was well known to the early residents of Chicago.

William Magill was one of a family of six children, all of whom, with their posterity, have been conspicuous for longevity, intelligence and refinement. His sister, Mrs. Ann Campbell, who was at that time a widow, came to Chicago soon after 1850. For some years she taught a private school on the North Side, and many of her pupils are prominent in the business and social life of Chicago to-day. She was a lady of rare intelli- gence, tact and benevolence, and was regarded by her pupils as a model of wisdom and strength of character. Mrs. Juliette Kinzie, who was well known throughout America as the author of "Wau-bun, " was a niece of William Magill.

At the age of eleven years Charles Magill left home and went to sea, and followed a marine life until the autumn of 1852. A portion of that pe- riod was spent in navigating the Great Lakes. In the year last named he located permanently in Chicago, though he had frequently visited this port previous to that date. He engaged in the forwarding and commission business, becoming the owner of vessel property, and simultaneously acting as agent of vessel-owners at other points on the lakes. Among other corporations which he

represented was the Ohio, Superior & Huron Railroad Company, which was operating a line of boats on the middle lakes. He dealt in salt and other merchandise, and was one of the first mem- bers of the Chicago Board of Trade, joining that body in 1853, and still retaining his membership, though he retired front active business operations in 1893.

While on a voyage to the Bermuda Islands, Mr. Magill, who was then a young man, formed the acquaintance of Miss Esther S. Chalker. This gifted lady became his wife, the marriage taking place at Guilford, Connecticut. The couple first located at Buffalo, but in July, 1854, removed to Chicago, where Mrs. Magill died in October, 1886. She was born at Hamilton, Bermuda, Feb- ruary 7, 1819. Her mother, whose maiden name was Stowe, was descended from one of the oldest families in that colony, her ancestors receiving a grant of land from the British crown upon locat- ing there. The old Stowe residence, now the property of the Government, is still standing at Hamilton.

Mr. and Mrs. Magill were the parents of eight children. Jacob C., the eldest, is a well-known business man of Chicage. Anna C., Mrs. Hugh Alexander, is a resident of Brooklyn, New York. William C. is also well known in Chicago. Ed- ward S. is a commercial traveler residing in Wich- ita, Kansas. Mary E. is the wife of E. C. Ward, of Chicago, in which city Arthur W. also resides. Sarah L., now deceased, was the wife of C. S. Spencer, of Indianapolis, Indiana; and Charles A. is engaged in mercantile business at Kingman, Kansas.

Though he has a host of friends, Captain Ma- gill has formed but few social connections. For many years he has held membership with the Church of the Epiphany, of which he is a Senior Warden. He has always enjoyed the confidence of his associates to a remarkable degree. As an illustration of this fact may be cited the case of one of his early friends in Chicago, who, upon his demise a few years since, made Mr. Magill the sole administrator of his large estate, providing in his will that if any of the heirs should question any act of the executor they should be disinher-

426

J. A. SWEET.

ited. After a long, eventful and useful life, Cap- tain Magill is spending his declining years in well- of his many friends may be long continued.

merited peace and tranquility, which it is the wish

JOHN A. SWEET.

OHN ALLEN SWEET, a member of one of the leading mercantile firms of Chicago, was born March 20, 1846, at Farmington, Frank- lin County, Maine, and comes from the genuine Puritanic New England stock. His ancestors were of those long-lived, hardy, industrious, fru- gal, as well as moral people, who, notwithstand- ing all the hardships and privations consequent upon the early settlement of the country, did not forget to devote themselves to laying the founda- tion for, and the shaping and rounding out of a moral character as an example for their posterity.

His great-grandfather, whose name was Eben- ezer Sweet, was born at Attleboro, Massachu- setts, January 18, 1741. In 1782, he went to that portion of Maine which was then uninhabited ex- cept by Indians, save perhaps, half a dozen white families. He cleared off a little patch of timber land, as the beginning of the settlement after- wards known as Farmington, one of Nature's most beautiful spots to be found anywhere. Here he resided during his long life, and died Novem- ber 4, 1838, at the age of ninety-seven years and ten months. He was a tanner by trade, and in the year 1785 built the first tannery in that township. He was a man of the strictest integ- rity, and lived an exemplary, moral life, industri- ous in his habits, and accumulated a pecuniary independence. He married Desire Daggett, who was also a native of Attleboro, Massachusetts, born September 17, 1745, and died at Farming- ton, Maine, October 4, 1839, at the age of ninety-

four years. They had five sons and two daugh- ters. The third son, Ellis Sweet, who was born November 20, 1770, died May 7, 1848, at the age of seventy-eight years. He married Mary Fuller, who was born in 1775, and died January 2, 1854, at the age of seventy-nine years. He became the owner of his father's farm, in the year 1822. During the War of 1812, he entered the United States service, and was promoted to the rank of Colonel, commanding a regiment during that struggle. He and his wife became the parents of five children, two sons and three daughters. The eldest son. Loring Sweet, was born August 7, 1796, and died July 6, 1881, at the age of eighty- five years and eleven months. He was married, June 7, 1828, to Elizabeth Berry Allen, who was born in 1809, at Canton, Oxford County, Maine, and died in Farmington, March 28, 1875, at the age of sixty-six years. Her father was a Revolu- tionary soldier, and lived to the age of one hun- dred and three years. Five sons and three daugh- ters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Loring Sweet, the subject of this sketch being the fifth son and seventh child.

John Allen Sweet laid the foundation of his ed- ucation in the public schools and academy of his native town, and at the age of twenty-one years graduated from the State University. It was his intention in early life to qualify himself for the practice of law. Coming West in 1868, at the age of twenty-two years, he studied law for about two years, and for several years following applied

427

E. W. CASE.

himself at intervals to legal study, giving his at- tention chiefly to its bearing upon trade and commerce.

In 1872, Mr. Sweet became connected with the wholesale dry goods firm of Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company, of Chicago, assuming charge of their collection and legal departments, and after six years' service, or in 1878, he was promoted to the exclusive charge of the credit, legal and collection departments of this firm, and has occupied that position up to the present time, having retained his present connection for nearly a fourth of a century, and in his particular line of business he has earned the reputation of being the most suc- cessful man in the trade, being admittedly with- ont a peer as a credit manager.

In appreciation of his ability, integrity and long and faithful service, the firm rewarded him with a general partnership, to which he was ad- mitted on the first of January, 1892. Mr. Sweet is thoroughly known among bankers and business men of Chicago, the seat of the keenest commercial competition, where only the fittest can survive, and enjoys a most enviable reputation as a manly, straightforward and safe business manager. In speaking of him, the Inter Ocean recently said: "In appearance, Mr. Sweet is tall and symmet-

rically proportioned. He is genial, affable and courteous, and has a faculty of making and re- taining friends. He is a natural physiognomist, and has rarely been known to make a mistake in reading men's characters. It is to these qualities that his success in a most important department must be largely attributed. He is an indefatigable worker, and is as well known as a man of grand business capacities among the commercial circles of New York, as he is here in Chicago, where he has lived and labored."

Mr. Sweet is a member of the Chicago Athletic Club and prominent in Masonic circles, being a member of Chicago Commandery and Oriental Consistory, having taken the thirty-second degree. On the 18th of June, 1878, he was married to Miss Mary Stevenson, daughter of John W. and Caroline C. Stevenson, of Sandusky, Ohio, where Mrs. Sweet was born, October 2, 1855. They have had two children: Fred Kent Sweet, born September 26, 1879, and died December 1 of the same year; and John Allen Sweet, Junior, who was born April 27, 1881 The family is in com- munion with St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal Church, and holds a desirable position in social circles.

ELISHA W. CASE.

LISHA W. CASE. The New England Yankee never forgets the home of his child- hood. Wherever he may wander, and in whatever situation he may be placed, visions of his native hills and dells are retained in his mind, and these scenes always recall many little acces- sories which contributed their share towards the

comfort and delight of the youthful mind or body. The typical New England homestead is no less famous for its Christian principles, and the sturdy characters which it has trained and sent forth to leave their impress upon every important institu- tion of the great West, than for its culinary tri- umphs and the superior quality of the pastry

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E. W. CASE.

found upon its hospitable boards. And who knows to what extent the memory of the latter has served to keep alive the recollection of precepts and teachings which have helped to mould the characters of many of the best inen and women of the present day?

Elisha W. Case, whose name is identified in the minds of hungry people with one of the most popular articles of daily consumption, was born in Norwich, Connecticut, in January, 1833. He is the youngest son and ninth in a family of ten children born to John Case and Diana Congdon. The Case family is one of the oldest in Connect- icut. Their first American ancestor came, while a young man, from England, and was married in Connecticut, about 1657, to Sarah, daughter of William Spencer. Several successive generations of their posterity have lived in the same locality, and the name is still one of the most common ones to be found in that state.

John, father of Elisha W. Case, was a son of Samuel and Susannah Case. During his youth lie became a sailor, and while on board a whal- ing vessel was taken prisoner by a British man-of- war, whose officers claimed him as a subject of the Crown, and he was pressed into the naval service. He made an ineffectual attempt to es- cape, for which he was severely flogged. He finally succeeded in eluding his captors, and re- turned to the United States in time to enlist in the War of 1812, and rendered valuable service at the battle of New London. After the war he learned the trade of a machinist and was em- ployed for many years in the railroad shops at Norwich. With the exception of a few years spent in Washtenaw County, Michigan, this place continued to be his home until his death, which occurred in April, 1847, at the age of six- · ty-two years. His wife's deatlı took place about eight years earlier.

At the age of fourteen years, his father having died, Elisha W. Case left home and went to New York City, where he learned his trade in the or- iginal Connecticut pie bakery. In 1854 he came to Chicago and, taking advantage of the wide- spread reputation which everywhere existed for New England cookery, he began the manufacture

of "Connecticut pies" on Milwaukee Avenue, near Halsted Street. This was the first exclu- sive pie bakery in the city. The people employed were all natives of the Nutmeg State, well versed in the culinary art, and the superior quality of their wares, which far surpassed anything previ- ously offered in this market, created a demand for them which has been continuously increasing to the present time.

About 1859 the "Mechanical Bakery" began doing business on Clinton Street. Mr. Case be- came the foreman of the pie department of the concern, which filled large contracts for supplies for the Union army. In 1869 he severed his connection with this establishment and became a member of the firin of Case & Martin, which built a large bakery at the corner of Wood and Wal- nut Streets, where the business of exclusive pie- baking was resumed and has ever since been con- ducted. Upon the death of Mr. Martin in 1890, Mr Case became the sole proprietor, and contin- ued to conduct the enterprise until June 1, 1894, when the Case & Martin Company was incorpor- ated.

The fame of their Connecticut pies is well known to everybody in Chicago and many adja- cent cities and towns, and there are few people who cannot testify to their excellence as appeas- ers of appetite. Their goods, which are for the most part hand-made, are prepared from formulas used by the best Connecticut cooks, and such is the demand for this particular article of dessert that about one hundred people are employed in its production, and they turn out from ten thou- sand to eighteen thousand nine-inch pies per day.

Mr. Case is the inventor of the pie wagon which is now used by nearly all bakers and which he began to employ in 1872. He has contrived a number of articles and appliances which are useful in his business, and, though he has spent considerable time and money in experiments, has never patented any of his ideas, some of which have been adopted and patented by others.

June 1, 1851, Mr. Case was married to Eliza Jane Baldwin, daughter of William and Char- lotte Baldwin, of Branfort, Connecticut. Of

429

C. T. NICHOLS.

their five children, one died in infancy, and Ever- ett passed away at the age of twenty-five years. The names of the survivors are John M., Elmer G. and Edna J., the latter the wife of P. M. Vermass, all of Chicago. The family is connected with the Western Avenue Baptist Church, in which soci- ety Mr. Case has been a Deacon for twenty-five years. He has voted for every presidential can- didate nominated by the Republican party, and

though he refrains from political agitation he always endeavors to fulfill his duty as a citizen. In private and social circles as well as in business affairs, he has maintained a reputation for stabil- ity and integrity, which causes him to be among the best known and most highly esteemed citi- zens of this great city, the growth of which has been almost identical with that of his business.

CLIFFORD L. NICHOLS.

LIFFORD L. NICHOLS, of Blue Island, the efficient and well-known Superintendent of the Illinois Division of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, was born in Wyanet, Il1., on the 30th of November, 1856, and is a son of David T. and Hulda G. (Barry ) Nichols. The father came to this State in 1839, taking up his residence in the then town of Chicago, where he carried on a harness-shop for several years. In 1846 he removed to Kane County, Ill., where he was engaged in the same line of business for some time. In 1850 he crossed the plains to California, attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific Slope, but returned to Illinois the following year, as he did not find that wealth was as easily ob- tained in the West as reports had indicated. In 1853 he removed to Wyanet, Bureau County, where he opened a harness-shop, and in 1854 he became agent for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad at that place, continuing with that company in the same capacity, with the ex- ception of two years, up to the time of his death, which occurred on the 10th of December, 1893, at the advanced age of eighty-one years. He was born in Broadalbin, N. Y. His wife, who is a native of Madison, N. Y., still resides in Wyanet.

The gentleman whose name heads this record attended the public schools until fourteen years of

age, when he began to learn the art of telegraphy in his father's office. In 1876, having mastered the business, he left Wyanet and secured a posi- tion as operator, train dispatcher and ticket agent elsewhere. He was employed at various points on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad until 1880, when he entered the employ of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad as train dispatcher. From time to time he won promo- tion as the result of his faithful and meritorious service, until he had become Superintendent of the Eastern Division. Later he was made Super- intendent of the Kansas City Division, and with the exception of a short period remained with that company until 1890, as Superintendent of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Road. He then be- came connected with the Chesapeake & Ohio, and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroads. In 1892 he engaged with the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company as chief train dis- patcher at Horton, Kan., and in August, 1893, he came to Blue Island as Superintendent of the Illinois Division of that. road, which position he now fills.

Mr. Nichols was married in 1878 to Miss Mabel E. Frans, daughter of Harry B. Frans, of Gales- burg, Ill., and a native of California. They now have four children, Earl, Jessie, Ethel and Allan.

4,30

ALONZO HUNTINGTON.

A LONZO HUNTINGTON, who was born at Shaftesbury, Vermont, September 1, 1805, and died in Chicago, November 17, 1881, was a Vermonter of good old stock. Capt. Amos Huntington, of the Revolutionary army, was his grandfather, and, like Samuel Huntington, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was a great-grandson of the first of the name in America. Samuel was also President of the Con- tinental Congress, Chief Justice of Connecticut, Governor of Connecticut, and (1789) recipient of two electoral votes at the first Presidential elec- tion. Alonzo was also grand-nephew of Gov- ernor Galusha, of Vermont. His father owned and operated a marble quarry, in which business young Alonzo took his share of work and respon- sibility, even while laying the foundation of his education; his higher teaching being deferred to that of an elder brother, whom his service at home helped through Union College.

In spite of this sacrifice, he managed to secure a fair degree of good practical culture, and, so grounded, he studied law in Buffalo under the Hon. I. T. Hatch, and was there admitted to the Bar. He came to Chicago in 1835, became State's Attorney in 1837, and administered his office so well as to be re-elected in 1839, serving until 1841. His most noteworthy case in this connec- tion was the prosecution of John Stone for the murder of Lucretia Thompson, which ex- cited great interest, and elicited from the Ameri- can remarks which the presiding judge (Pearson) thought demanded prosecution for contempt of court. A suit was accordingly instituted by the State's Attorney under the orders of the court. It liad no result, except the usual one of calling down the united voice of the press on the head

of the prosecutor, who had simply done his of- ficial duty and obeyed orders.

His term of office ended, Mr. Huntington re- sumed practice, wherein (as in his official life) his qualities and attainments assured success. His manners were dignified, yet cordial; his standing as a man and citizen flawless; his relations in private and family life kind, generous and de- voted. Many know that by his energy, ability, foresight and self-denial he gained a handsome fortune; few have any idea of the burden of duty he was taking so voluntarily on his strong shoul- ders. During much of his later life he was the stay and support of his father, mother, two broth- ers and a widowed sister, besides his own con- siderable family; the whole load sustained with an heroic cheerfulness that either felt no weari- ness, or concealed what it felt. Three genera- tions carried wholly by one inflexible conscience and faithful heart!

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 62

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