Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 83

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 83

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In 1855 Mr. Greenebaum was married, in New York, to Miss Emily Hyman, whose birthplace is not far from that of her husband. Having been trained in the same manner and under the same customs, they have been happily united all these years in aim and thought, and are warmly wel- comed in general, as well as Jewish, society. Mrs. Greenebaum sympathizes wholly with her husband's benevolent disposition, and does her part in aiding him. For twenty-two years she has been the representative of the Jewish people in the directory of the Home for the Friendless, and has fulfilled her duties in perfect accord with her associates. The only child of this couple, born August 24, 1856, was named George Wash- ington, and died on the day which completed his first year of life. Several orphaned children of relatives have been reared by Mr. and Mrs. Greenebaum with the same loving care which their own would have received had he been spared to them.

Though still influenced much by his early Ger- man training, Mr. Greenebaum is a true Ameri-

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D. S. SMITH.

can, loyal through and through. He is a student of literature and modern languages, of which he speaks half a dozen, and is much interested in music. He has contributed liberally to the mu- sical culture of Chicago, and to providing a home for musical art. He is a firm believer in the power of woman in the ethical development of the world, and approves of every effort to remove her trammels and make her the equal of man in lib- erties and power, as she is in talent.

Mr. Greenebaum is a resident Manager at Chi-

cago of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, and has been connected with the company since the spring of 1882. His ster- ling character and business activity have secured for him a large business from the best element of Chicago, and won for him a deserved respect and confidence on the part of the general officers of the society. Although in his sixty-third year, he is a special favorite of the young people, to whom he is sympathetic and congenial as an associate. He is an optimist, and always pleasant and agreeable.

PROF. DAVID S. SMITH, M. D.

ROF. D. S. SMITH, M. D., late President of the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, was born in Camden, New Jersey, April 28, 1816. His father, Isaac Smith, was born in Salem County, of that state. His mother's family name was Wheaton, a family of Welsh extraction. The sturdy, manly principles which mark the career of Professor Smith are largely due to the character he inherited from his parents. They were both noted for great force of character, and they trained their children in ways of strict right- eousness and integrity. Besides this training, David received from his parents a nature full of energy and perseverance, attributes which were strong factors in leading him to a grand success in the field of labor he eventually chose as his life work. From his mother, particularly, he received a taste for learning that led him to be- come a most diligent student. He made rapid progress in his studies, and early evinced a strong inclination for the study of medicine. In this he was encouraged, and when only seventeen became a medical student in the office of Dr. Isaac Mul- ford, of Camden, New Jersey. He attended three fill terins of lectures at the Jefferson Medical Col- lege in Philadelphia, and graduated in 1836.

Chicago, at that time, began to attract the en- terprising youth of the East, and Dr. Smith, with his references, began practice in Chicago. He was successful from the start, and in 1837 went back to Camden to visit his parents. It was a momentous visit, as it was then that Dr. Smith attained the first insight into the then new doctrine of homœopathy. So interested did he become in the subject, that he resolved to investi- gate it thoroughly. He bought all the books he could find in the English language treating upon the matter, and brought them with him when he returned to Chicago. Circumstances led him to Joliet for a time, and there he studied assiduously the doctrines of Hahnemann. The world to-day knows the result of his researches. Dr. Smith brought the new science to the front to such pur- pose that he has been called "the Father of Western Homœopathy." He procured from the Illinois Legislature, in 1854-55, the charter of Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago. The original draft of this charter was written by Dr. Smith in the law office of Abraham Lincoln at Springfield, Illinois. The achievement of con- ceiving and establishing this college gave to Dr. Smith great honor and credit.

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D. S. SMITH.

Dr. Smith remained in Joliet until 1842, when he returned to Chicago. In the spring of 1843 he adopted the new system in his practice. He was thus the first physician to introduce homœ- opathic practice west of the Great Lakes, a region that now has six medical colleges, twice as many hospitals, and more than two thousand prac- titioners to represent what he stood for singly and alone. He was both surprised and gratified at the favor with which the new system was received by the public. He soon had more calls than he could respond to, and other practitioners were attracted to his side. So rapidly did the new school increase in members, that a medical body was soon formed whose power has kept pace with the other great factors in the growth of the west- ern metropolis. Dr. Smith was naturally elected President of the Board of Trustees of Hahnemann Medical College when it was organized. He held that position until 1871, when he resigned in favor of Dr. A. E. Small. At the death of the latter he was again elected President, and held the office up to the time of his death. He was obliged to desist from his labors on account of failing health at various times, and in 1866 he went to Europe, where he spent a year in travel. His reputation had preceded him, and he was received at the various hospitals and colleges which he visited with the friendliest attention and consideration from the distinguished mem- bers of the profession. When he returned home, in 1867, he was fully restored to health, and fol- lowed his profession till the day of his death.

Dr. Smith was an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and through his mother's in- fluence he became early imbued with a deep religious conviction. He was a man of sterling integrity and unflinching uprightness, simple in his habits, dignified, urbane and generous. His noble efforts and humane spirit were recognized when the cholera epidemic fell upon the city from 1848 to 1854. Instances of his devotion to the suffering poor at that time can be related which place him in the ranks of the most noted bene- factors of the human race. He was hospitable in the extreme, and an attentive listener to all who sought his ear for counsel. Thoroughly ac-

curate in his own habits, he was a strict disciplin- arian, and demanded the same adhesion to duty which he rendered himself. In recognition of his ability, and in appreciation of his services to the cause of homeopathy, an honorary degree was conferred upon him, in 1856, by the Homœ- opathic Medical College of Cleveland, Ohio. In 1857 he was elected General Secretary of the American Institute of Homœopathy, in 1864 was chosen President, and in 1865 Treasurer of this. national association.

Naturally, with his many professional duties, Dr. Smith never sought political honors, but he lived and died a stalwart Republican. He was President of the Second Ward Republican Club in its palmiest days, during the Hayes campaign. He was at the time of his death the honored and popular President of the old Tippecanoe Club of Chicago, which was organized in July, 1887, by those who ad voted for General Harrison in 1840.

Dr. Smith was married, in 1837, to Miss Rebecca Ann Dennis, a native of Salem, New Jersey, who survives him. She came to Chicago in 1835 with her uncle, E. H. Mulford, in whose family she resided until her marriage. Four children blessed their union, two of whom survive. The eldest is the widow of Maj. F. F. White- head, of the United States army. Caroline is the wife of E. L. Ely, of New York City.

Dr. Smith died in Chicago, April 29, 1891. The following resolutions were adopted by the faculty of Hahnemann Medical College and Hos- pital of Chicago, and the members of the hospital staff:

" Inasmuch as we have been deeply grieved by the death of our worthy and venerable colleague, Dr. David S. Smith, we, as a faculty, in expres- sion of deep sorrow, and in acknowledgment of his inestimable services, do hereby adopt the fol- lowing resolution:

" Resolved, That we recognize first of all the loss of the profession at large, in which, as the first representative of our school of practice in this locality, his undaunted energy and marked abil- ity during the pioneer days have given the im- print of success and of character to the modern

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standard of medicine. What he knew to be right he faithfully prescribed. What he honestly be- lieved he bravely defended and earnestly applied. To his ability and his faithfulness the followers of homœopathy owe a debt of gratitude, and the generations to come will bow in reverence to his name.

" Resolved, That as the President of our College and Hospital, we shall miss his guiding spirit and his encouraging presence. In all our work he has ever been a willing helper and a good ad- viser. His life was consecrated to the college he established and loved, and his pride was centered in her prosperity. The joy of his last days was the realization that 'Old Hahnemann ' had ful- filled the desire of his heart and had become the

largest homœopathic college of the world. To every student his words were an encouragement to honest ambition. To every graduate he gave the inspiration of hope.

" Resolved, That more than all we admire the manly qualities and the Christian character of his life. In all things he was ennobling. At all times the silent dignity of his faith gave a strength to his work. His absence will ever be mourned and his memory forever honored. In our loss we shall sacredly prize the record he leaves us.

" Resolved, That to his bereaved family we ten- der our sincere sympathy, and offer the token of love we bore our departed friend and associate in their sorrow."

FRANCIS I. JACOBS.

RANCIS IRVING JACOBS, a gallant vet- eran of the great Civil War, residing at Wil- mette, was born at Spafford Hollow, Onon- daga County, New York, October 4, 1846. He is the son of Rev. Milo E. and Cornelia (O'Far- rel) Jacobs. Milo E. Jacobs was born in Ver- mont, and removed with his parents to New York in boyhood. His father, Elias Jacobs, was a native of Vermont, of German descent. Betsey Jacobs, wife of the latter, was of Welsh descent. The Jacobs family dates from early Colonial times in this country, Elnathan Jacobs, the father of Elias, having been born, probably in Vermont, in 1750.

Milo E. Jacobs was educated at Cazenovia, New York. He entered the Methodist ministry while a young man. In 1857 he went to Ogle County, Illinois, and settled on a farm. Two years later he removed to Winnebago, Illinois, where he joined the Rock River Conference, and was successively located at Lena, Richmond, Sand Lake, Lanark and other charges. He died in

Winnebago, on account of an injury received in Chicago in the spring of 1874, aged fifty-one years. His widow died in Chicago in 1893, aged seventy-two years. She was born at Spafford Hollow, New York. Her father, William O'Far- rel, who was born August 28, 1784, was a farmer, of Irish descent. His wife, Dinah, was a dauglı- ter of Henry and Catharine Turbush, of Fishkill, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Milo E. Jacobs liad three sons and a daughter: Francis I .; Charles H., of Marble Rock, Iowa; Wilbur F., of Rock- ford, Illinois; and Alfaretta, who died at the age of eleven years, at Winnebago.

Francis I. Jacobs attended the public schools until the beginning of the Civil War. In August, 1861, being then fourteen years and ten months old, he enlisted in Company C, Thirty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He served nearly five years, beginning with Fremont's campaign in Missouri. This included the battles of Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove (where five thousand Union troops drove twenty thousand rebels from the

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F. I. JACOBS.

field), and other engagements of minor character. After the Missouri service he was taken down the river to Vicksburg, and took part in the siege of that place and other expeditions in Mississippi. Thence he went to Port Hudson, where he was stationed for some time, and later he was at Mor- ganza Bend, Louisiana. He camped at New Orleans and various points in Louisiana. He was on the Texas frontier during the winter of 1863 -64, where the regiment re-enlisted, and he re- ceived a veteran's furlough.

While returning to the front after the expira- tion of his furlough, Mr. Jacobs met General Banks' army on retreat from its disastrous Red River expedition. The steamers going down stream met those going up and formed a bridge, on which the army crossed from the west bank to an island in the river. This temporary bridge was instantly and readily removed before the enemy could advance and take possession. Mr. Jacobs continued to New Orleans. Later the regiment went to Pensacola by boats, thence overland to Mobile Bay, and helped capture the forts opposite the city, with severe fighting. After the capture of Mobile, they encamped three miles from the city, where pieces of iron fell in camp at the explosion of the arsenal at Mobile Bay. From here they went, by way of Selma, to Montgomery, Alabama, and heard of Lee's surrender on the march.

Mr. Jacobs was soon afterward sent to New Orleans, and thence went on an expedition to Sabine Pass, Columbus and Houston, Texas. While on the levee at Morganza Bend, Louisiana, he was detailed to serve in the artillery force. Being surprised by the enemy while saddling a horse, he received a kick from the animal, in con- sequence of its pain at being shot. This consti- tuted the only injury he received during his service of four years and ten months, though frequently exposed to a galling fire. He was captured that evening and marched about a mile to the enemy's camp. Being unable to walk on account of lame- ness from the kick of the horse, he was assigned to an ambulance, and helped to care for the wounded. During the night a Union ambulance corps arrived, under cover of a flag of truce, and

by claiming to be wounded he was taken in the wagon to the Union camp. Among several hun- dreds of his comrades captured on that day, most were kept prisoners for eighteen months, and many were starved and killed. While on duty guard- ing a plantation in Texas, he was offered the use of a large cotton plantation for three years, free of cost. The owner was about to leave the state for fear of arrest for treason, and thought he could leave his property in no safer hands than those of a Union soldier; but his offer was declined. Dur- ing his service he traveled over 13,000 miles, marching on foot about one-fourth of that dis- tance, and took part in four battles and thirteen skirmishes.

After the war he was engaged in stock-farming at Downer's Grove, Illinois, where he reared thoroughbred horses and cattle. In the fall of 1871, he moved to Chicago, where he was em- ployed in overseeing preparations for rebuilding the burned city. He was also engaged in buying old iron for an eastern foundry. For two years he was engaged in the grocery trade on West Madison Street, and two years in commission business on South Water Street. Five years were spent in the office of the "Panhandle" Railroad, at Crown Point, Indiana. The next six years were passed on a stock farm in Franklin County, Iowa, breeding high-grade horses, cattle and swine. Since 1887 he has been connected with the commission firm of Wayne & Low, on South Water Street, Chicago, taking charge of their butter trade.

Since the fall of 1894 Mr. Jacobs has lived at Wilmette, where he built a pleasant home. His business career has been marked by integrity, activity and thoroughness.

He was married, in 1869, to Miss Julia Flora Hudson, daughter of Horace Hudson, of Wiune- bago, Illinois. They have one adopted child, Edith Wilson Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs is a member of George H. Thomas Post Number 5, Grand Army of the Republic. While living at Crown Point he joined the Masonic order. He takes considerable interest in public affairs, and gives his enthusiastic support to Republican candidates and principles.

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

GEORGE MCKINNEY.

(From Photo by W. J. ROOT).

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GEORGE MCKINNEY.

EORGE MCKINNEY was born in Hender- son County, Illinois, November 18, 1836. His ancestors were the hardy and thrifty people of Scotland. On the authority of Alex- ander Mckenzie, one of the most noted genealo- gists of Scotland, in the revised edition of his celebrated work, published in 1894, the family is a very old one, and is traced back to the O' Beolan, Earls of Ross, or Gilleoin of the Aird, one of the Celtic earls who besieged King Malcolm at Perth, in 1160; and we find from the oldest Norse Saga connected with Scotland, that the ancestor of the Earls of Ross was chief in Kintail as early as the beginning of the tenth century. This powerful chief in the north of Scotland, named O' Beolan, married the daughter of Ganga Rolfe, or Rollo, the noted pirate, who afterward became the cele- brated Earl of Normandy. Following down the Collin Mckinney had five sonsand three daugh- ters. A part of the family, among whom was his son, George Mckinney, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, moved to Casey Coun- ty, Kentucky, in 1800. While on their way thither, over the mountains, he became attached to Ann Riley, a beautiful Irish lassie, whom he married, and who was closely related to Barnabas Riley, the author of the first Ohio code of laws. To them were born a number of sons and daugh- ters, the latter noted for their beauty, which they inherited from their mother. The children were: John, the father of the subject of this sketch; Col- lin, who spent most of his life in Tennessee, as a minister of the Presbyterian Church; Archibald, who was a noted lawyer and Judge in Texas at genealogy of the family, it will be seen that they are descended from the ancient Celtic McAlpine line of Scottish kings; from the original Anglo- Saxon kings of England, and from the Scandina- vian, Charlemagne and Capetian lines as far back as the beginning of the ninth century. Through their inter-marriages they formed the network of cousinship which ultimately included all the lead- ing families in the Highlands, every one of which, through these alliances, has the royal blood of all the English, Scottish and Scandinavian kings, including the royal blood of Bruce and the Plan- tagenet royal blood of England, and many of the early foreign monarchs, coursing in their veins. The family name was derived from John, the son of Kenneth, who would be called in the 'the time of his death; Margaret, Mary and Ann. original native Gaelic "Ian MacChoinnich," the

pronunciation of which, to a foreigner, would be as if spelled MacKenny, and it is from this pro- genitor the Mckennies, Mckinneys and McKen- zies derive their family name. In the case of the Mckenzies, in Scotland the Z has the sound of Y, and the name is pronounced as if spelt "Mc- Kenyie."

In the early part of the eighteenth century, Collin Mckinney and his wife, with three broth- ers of this old family, emigrated to America, loca- ting in Virginia. A part of the family remained there, and have occupied many positions of hon- or and trust in the Old Dominion, one having re- cently been Governor of the state. Others moved out into East Tennessee, from which family came Judge Mckinney, of Knoxville, who for many years was upon the Supreme Bench of Tennessee.

A portion of the family who came out to Ken-

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GEORGE MCKINNEY.

tucky, led by Uncle Collin Mckinney, went to Texas and settled in Collin County, of which Mc- Kinney is the county seat.

John Mckinney was born in Lincoln County, Kentucky, November 2, 1801, and was married there, in November, 1827, to Elizabeth Goode, a native of the same state. In early life he was a farmer, and then spent five years in the office of John Riley, Clerk of Butler County, Ohio; and he later on studied law in the office of Hon. John Pope, in Springfield, Kentucky, who had been a United States Senator, and was afterward ap- pointed Governor of Arkansas by President Jack- son. Here he obtained a good knowledge of human affairs, but he soon tired of the confine- ment of an office, and returned to farming. He had, before studying law, in 1825, settled his fa- ther's estate in Kentucky. He settled on Gov- ernment land in Illinois in 1832, at a place since known as Mckinney's Grove, in Henderson County, where he pre-empted a large tract of land and lived like a patriarch, surrounded by a large family and a host of friends. In Ohio he had become an Abolitionist, which induced him to settle in a free state. He was quite prosperous as a farmer, and owned eight hundred acres of land. In 1844 he removed to Oquawka, where he became a merchant and pork-packer. Success followed his efforts, and he removed to Aledo, the county seat of Mercer County, Illinois, and en- gaged in banking, with a partner, under the style of Mckinney & Gilmore. After a time he pur- chased the interest of his partner in the banking business. He died at Aledo, rich in years, honors and in this world's goods, January 14, 1892, hav- ing attained the ripe old age of ninety-one years. Elizabeth, his first wife, died at the age of thirty- six years. The following are the children who grew to maturity: Hiram, Ann, Elizabeth, John, George and Collin. Of these, Hiram and John are now deceased. Another son, William, died in infancy. Mr. Mckinney's second wife was Mary M. Stewart. She was the inother of Ade- laide, James, Archibald, Mrs. Mary Bergen and Robert Mckinney, who are yet living.

Jolın Mckinney had a personal acquaintance with many of our National statesmen, especially

of the West, among them Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, Horace Greeley, William H. Seward, Gov. William Bross, Rich- ard Yates, and others. In early life, at one time he occupied the same bed at a hotel with Abra- ham Lincoln, then a young law student. He, at one time or another, entertained most of these people at his home in Oquawka, Illinois.

George Mckinney was partially educated in the public schools of Oquawka, but, tiring of school life, he requested his father to allow him to learn the printer's trade, which he did, enter- ing as an apprentice, or "devil," in the office of the Oquawka Plaindealer, edited by F. A. Dal- lam, a well-known journalist. After a year's ap- prenticeship, he entered Knox College, at Gales- burg, Illinois, but, having been badly burned by the explosion of a lamp in which burning fluid was used, he was unable to pursue his studies, and hence left the college about the time Pres- ident Blanchard left the institution. Through ill-health, and a love of adventure and roving, which he has retained to the present day, he was induced to accompany his brother-in-law on a trip to New Mexico, visiting Santa Fe and Los Vegas. At the latter place he bought a Mexican mustang, and, joining a wool train, returned to the Missouri River. At Topeka, Kansas, he dis- posed of his pony, and after working a short time in a printing-office, returned home, via the Mis- souri and Mississippi Rivers. Arriving in Oquaw- ka, he returned to the store, filling the position of bookkeeper and clerk. Here Mr. Mckinney was married to Miss Sarah Frances Chickering, daughter of Joseph Chickering, a talented musi- cian and popular citizen of that place. Rev. J. W. Chickering, the well-known divine, was a brother of Mrs. Mckinney's father. Only two of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Mckinney survived the period of childhood, namely: Alice and William. The former, Alice, is now deceased, and the other, William, is connected with a Chi- cago business house as bookkeeper.

Before the war the father of Mr. Mckinney had retired from business, and turned the store over to his sons. The eldest, Hiram, died in Novem- ber, 1861. Another son, Collin, enlisted in the

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R. J. HAMILTON.

army at the first call for troops, and he was fol- lowed to the field by John. This left only George to manage the store, and, his health fail- ing, he sold the store back to his father, and, ac- companied by his wife, went to California by the Nicaragua route, returning two years later by the Panama route, and locating in Chicago in the fall of 1864. His health began to improve gradually, and he became a member of the Board of Trade. His field of operation was chiefly in the grain- commission business, and for eighteen years he was a well-known figure in business marts. He had the required perseverance, and was rewarded by satisfactory results. He began early to invest in North Shore real estate, and yet owns valuable property there.

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Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, Volume 1899, Part 83

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