USA > Illinois > Biographical and memorial edition of the Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 23
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Washington Porter first attended the public schools of his native county and then entered the Belvidere High school. Although but a boy in years Mr. Porter was old enough to respond to the call of patriotism and August 15, 1\62. enlisted in Company B, Ninety-fifth Ilinois Volunteer Infantry, serving until the close of the Civil war, being in action at Champion's Hill, Siege of Vicksburg and the Red River Ex- pedition, and was wounded in the engagemwrut at Guntown, Miss., June 10, 1804. He was
mustered out of the army in June. 1865, on account of the wound received in battle.
Although always a man of action it was not until he came to Chicago That Mr. Porter began to prove his mettle. Establishing himself in a fruit business, from the start he began to set a pace bis competitors have found hard to equal. It was he who shipped the first carload of fruit to Chicago from California, and was so im- pressed with the possibilities of that state for fruit growing, that he furnished the money for planting the first orchard and vineyard in Fresno County, California, in 1869. Ile also brought to Chicago in that same year the first full carload of bananes from Panama and the first carload of limes from Mexico and South America that ever came into the city. Mr. Porter was instrumental in establishing and maintaining a large fruit trade between the Pacific States and those of Central America and through Chicago with Europe. He con- tinned to operate along these extensive lines until 1001, when he disposed of his business, and since then has devoted himself to handling his private investments, which consist to a large degree of Chicago realty located in the central part of the city.
As a director of the World's Columbian Ex- position Mr. Porter rendered that body and Chicago invaluable service, and was a member of the committee appointed to wait upon Con- gress to secure legislation favorable to this city. A member of the Ways and Means Committee of the exposition, he did much to make the ex- position the magnificent success it was. As a member of this committee he was chairman of the sub-committee who sold the Columbian half- dollars for ten thousand dollars for the World's Fair to Wyckoff, Seamans & Benedict, manu- facturers of the Remington typewriter. Pro- gressive in his ideas Mr. Porter has been one of the leading factors in promoting the Lake Front permanent improvements, and is a firm advocate of the "City Beautiful" plans. It is safe to say that no movements which had for their object the betterment of his city, country or State, have been promulgated during the past forty years without his hearty co-operation.
On June 11, 1801, Mr. Porter was married to Miss Paulina Lee of Chicago, and they have had three children : Paulina C., Washington Jr., and Frederick C. Mr. Porter belongs to the Masonic fraternity, as well as to the South Shore Coun-
Jos@ Bradech
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try, Chicago Athletic and Calumet Golf clubs and the George H. Thomas Post No. 5, G. A. R., being as popular in them as he is in the outside
world, for he possesses that pleasing personality and commanding mentality that win and re- tain friends.
JOSEPH COLL BRADEN.
When the entire story of the building of the great Drainage Canal goes into history, the name of Joseph Coll Braden will be identified with it because of his indefatigable labors, con- tinued through ten years as a member of the board of trustees of the Sanitary District of Chicago and as chairman of the Engineering Committee. Ilis entire service on this board covered ten years, during which period his fore- Night, his judgment, his prudence and regard for necessary economy in the use of public funds, made him an invaluable public othicial. When he retired from the board of trustees in order to give attention to his personal business affairs, his withdrawal was felt as a great loss to this board of public utilities. While his name must ever be closely associated with this great and successful enterprise, it is prominently identi- fied with other lines, particularly insurance. Joseph C. Braden was born at Joliet, Ill., Jan- uary 29, 1858, a son of Joseph Long and Jane (Coll) Braden, and a grandson of Walter Braden. It is not necessary for men who have jwrsonally achieved much to recall the deeds of ancestors to add to their laurels but, if such were the case, Mr. Braden had reason to be proud of the name he bore. His father, Joseph Long Braden, was a prominent and influential man in Illinois, was presidential elector when Abraham Lincoln was made president, and a leader in Republican politics. For thirteen years he was the able editor and also the proprietor of the Joliet Republican; also served that city as postmaster, and at the time of his death, Feb- ruary 10, 1869, had been chosen by President Johnson for the high office of Minister to Spain.
Attending the public schools of Joliet and taking a business course at Notre Dame Uni- versity, South Bend, Ind., Joseph C. Braden thus laid a solid foundation and imbibed practical ideas that he soon developed into entire self- supporting independence. He started out from college with no false ideas, from the very first maintaining a high regard for the dignity of labor, and this had been one of the principles of his life. In him Labor had always found a friend and the working man a defender. In south Mr. Braden was employed as a clerk in a
mercantile establishment and also was a laborer in the Joliet Rolling Mills and still later served for about two years as one of the guards at the Illinois State Prison at Joliet. For a short period Mr: Braden then read law in the office of Judge Ellwood, of Joliet. In 1879 he em- barked in the insurance field, forming the insur- ance ageney of Park & Braden, and built up the largest business in that line at Joliet Over- taken by severe illness, however, he sold his interest and in February, 1881, came to Chicago, which city was his home and the scene of his labors until death. His former beautiful home stands on Prairie avenue. Having become thoroughly interested in the insurance business, Mr. Braden for a time was connected with the tiri of Moore & James, in this line, in 1890 becoming associated with the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Milwaukee, Wis., and later with the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, which connection he retained to the time of his death. He was prob- ably one of the best known men in the insurance world in the northern part of the United States. Polities, especially in the Thirty-second Ward, Chicago, interested him as a high minded, pub- lie spirited citizen. As a strong Republican, in which political faith he was cradled, his value was frequently emphasized. In 1894 he was made Central Committeeman (County) of the Thirty-second Ward and later became secretary of the Cook County Campaign Committee, and in 1.05, secretary of the Republican City Campaign Committee, during the candidacy of Hon. George B. Swift for Mayor of Chicago. In 1895 Mr. Braden was elected by a majority of about 49,000 as a member of the board of trustees of the Sanitary District of Chicago. For a decade following Mr. Braden gave the best that was in him to the manifold responsibilities which this position entailed. his personal business interests in the meanwhile being put aside. In 1806 he was appointed chairman of the Engineering Committee, the most important committee of the drainage board, his energy and persistence largely furthered many of the most important measures, co-operating heartily with other mem- bers of the board in every way.
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Mr. Braden was married December 16, 1854, to Miss Isabel Stringfield, a daughter of Dr. F. M. and Agnes (Munson) Stringfield. This family is in direct line of descent from Oliver Cromwell. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Braden, Owen Munson, was a veteran of the Civil war and for thirteen weeks was a prisoner in Libby Prison. It was during this time that he became known as the "Yankee psalm singer" to thousands of his unhappy fellow prisoners whom he comforted and cheered by his inspiring singing. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Braden: Agnes Grace, who is Mrs. Paul Chapman, of Chicago; Jean Louise, who is de- ceased ; Frances Marian, who is Mrs. Edgar A. Boon of Chicago, and Josephine Cornelia, well
known in society circles in Chicago. A treasured possession of the family is the silver plated shovel with which Mr. Braden dug the last shovel full of earth that opened the great Drainage Canal, that triumph of construction, the benefits of which are uncalculable. For many years prominent in Masonry, Mr. Braden was a mem- ber of Apollo Lodge, No. 642 A. F. & A. M., Fairview Chapter, Mt. Joy Commandery No. 53, K. T., and Oriental Consistory and Medinah Temple. lle had the personal tastes of the wholesome American man and belonged to the Chicago Athletic Club, to the Hamilton and Sheridan clubs and was a charter member of the South Shore Country Club.
Mr. Braden died April 15, 1914.
CHARLES FREDERIK ERIKSON.
The life of a good man teaches a lesson not easily forgotten, and the record he made while living continues to wield a powerful influence long after all that is mortal of him has been returned to the dust from whence it sprung. The good that men accomplish certainly does live after them, giving to their deeds an immor- tality that is infinite, and beyond the power of perfect comprehension in a human state. The late Charles Frederik Erikson was one of those men who spent himself in the service of others and whose ambitions were centered about achieving those reforms which would lead to a moral uplift and advancement along all lines, especially for his own people. He was the owner and publisher of the Swedish Tribune-News of Chicago, and one of the leaders among the Swed- ish-Americans of this city. Mr. Erikson was born at Halleberg, Sweden, May 6, 1866, where he was reared, and given a public school edu- cation, being graduated from the high school course. In 1887, the ambitious young man left Sweden for the United States, confident that in the latter country he would find the freedom not given in his own land. After two years spent in Marinette, Wis., he reached Chicago, which was to be the scene of his life work, un- happily terminated when he was in his prime of useful manhood. Upon coming to this city, he became connected with the Chicago Herald, and in 1893 went to Omaha, Neh., where for four years he conducted an advertising agency. In 1897, he visited the exposition at Stockholm as a representative of the Trans-Mississippi Com- mission.
During this time he had become an important
factor in politics, and at one time was candi- date for the office of city comptroller of Omaha. In 1899 he returned to Chicago, where he con- tinued his advertising activities, and in 1905 bought the Tribune, an old run-down Swedish paper, and later purchased the News, a similar journal. Combining them, he immediately in- fused new life into these two almost defunct papers, publishing them under the name of the Tribune-News. From then on he devoted him- self to the development of bis organ, and suc- ceeded so well that at the time of his unhappy demise the paper had a paid circulation of over 65,000, which is remarkable when it is remem- bered that this journal is conducted almost ex- clusively in the interests of the Swedish people. Mr. Erikson was also a stockholder in the Union Bank of Chicago.
On February 27, 1895, Mr. Erikson was mar- ried to Miss Selma Dahlstrom, born at Omaha, Neb., a daughter of Andrew G. and Mary (Soderberg) Dahlstrom, both natives of Sweden. Mr. Dahlstrom came to the United States in 1866, and his wife in 1864, and they were mar- ried at Omaha, Neb., in 1868. His death oc- curred at Omaha, in November, 1897, when he was sixty-one years old. Mrs. Dahlstrom sur- vives and makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Erikson. The latter was educated in the common and high schools of Omaha. Four chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Erikson : Leon- ard, Marie, Stanley, and Caryl, born October 21, 1913, seven months after her father's death.
Mr. Erikson held membership in the Illinois Athletic, the Press, The Advertising Men's and the Swedish clubs, all of Chicago. He was a
brErikson
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member of the King Oscar Lodge of Masons, St. Cecilia Chapter, St. Bernard Commandery, also a Shriner. He was an attendant of the Uni- tarian church together with his family. Mr. Erikson was a great lover of children and was very philanthropie in an unostentatious way, never looking for praise, but doing what he did out of his own kindness of heart, in many in- stances his family never knowing of his good deeds until told of them after his death by those who bad benefited by them. Mr. Erikson was a member of the Chicago School Board and at his death the board ordered the flags be at half- staff on every public school building in the city for ten days as a mark of respect to his mem- ory, and a special committee was appointed to
attend to the proper details relative to the funeral and drafting of resolutions. This com- mittee was composed of John J. Sonsteby, Charles Sethness and William Rothmann. Mr. Erikson passed away March 15, 1913, and the funeral was held at his late residence, 5439 Magnolia avenue, on March 19, and interment was made at Rosehill. He was buried with Masonic honors and the prelate of King Oscar Lodge officiated. The floral offerings of the Chapter, Commandery and Shrine were most beautiful. The members of the Board of Edu- cation were in attendance, as well as a large concourse of relatives and friends who knew and loved this truly good man, whose passing leaves a void not easily filled.
JOHN ELLIS GILMAN.
During the past forty-two years Dr. John Ellis Gilman has been engaged in the practice of medicine at Chicago, Ill., and by his devotion to the duties of his profession, his close study and his pronounced skill, has won a liberal and representative practice. His talents and execu- tive ability have gained hin recognition, espe- cially among his fellow physicians in the school of Homeopathy, of which he is an honored advo- cate. Hle has maintained throughout his entire career a high standard of professional ethics and honorable principles.
Of a family conspicuous for strong intellect, indomitable courage and honesty of purpose, Dr. Gilman was brought up amid the surround- ings of a cultured home. He was born at Har- mon, a suburb of Marietta, Ohio, July 24, 1841, a son of Dr. John Calvin and Elizabeth C. (Fay) Gilman. Owing to the fact that his father was a skilled physician, Dr. Gilman, the son, perhaps, naturally turned towards the prac- tice of medicine. He attended the public schools of Marietta, and studied his early professional lessons under the guidance of his father, and when, at the age of seventeen years, his father died, he continued his medical studies under an elder brother, also a distinguished member of the profession at Marietta. Later he pur- sued his studies under Dr. George Hartwell, of Toledo, Ohio, and continued under his pre- ceptorship until matriculating in the Habne- mann Medical College, of Chicago, where he took the entire course, being graduated there- from in 1871 with the degree of M. D. Soon thereafter he began the practice of medicine at Chicago and has continued in active practice
here ever since. He was the first physician to offer his services for relief of sufferers in the great fire of 1871, and was appointed by the Relief and Aid Society secretary of its com- mission on sick and hospitals. He held the chair of physiology, sanitary science and hy- giene, and afterwards the chair of materia medica in the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago from 1884 to 1904, when he was retired with the title of professor emeritus. In 1906 he introduced the X-ray in therapeutic practice, and afterwards used it in treating cancers, per- forming the first surgical operation in which the X-ray was ever used. For years his inter- est in Hahnemann Medical College has been profound, and he not only has given it his valuable services as physician, surgeon and in- structor, but has wielded his facile pen in its support and that of the school of medicine which it represents. In addition to his expert medical articles, Dr. Gilman contributed regularly for many years to both the Evening Post and the Evening Journal, of Chicago, and was assistant editor of the Chicago Art Journal and editor- in-chief of The Clinique. While he writes as a man of science whose studies have led him far afield in the world of profound thought, he is sufficiently a master of the art of letters to present his subjects in an easy, entertaining style that has won for bim widespread popu- Iarity as an author. It is not given to many men to excel in so many divergent lines, but Dr. Gilman has found time to indulge his love for the fine arts, and was mainly instrumental in building up and maintaining the old Crosby Opera House Art Gallery. For years he has
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been an honored member of the Chicago Press, the Chicago Athletic and the Palette and Chisel clubs. He holds to the highest of ideals in his professional service and his work is character- ized by a conscientious devotion to duty and a display of knowledge that is remarkable. His work has brought him before the people of Chi- cago in a way that will not easily be forgotten,
and he has never been found lacking in any of the essentials of the truly great man.
In 1860 Dr. Gilman was united in marriage with Miss Mary D. Johnson, a daughter of William Johnson, of Westborough, Mass. Dr. and Mrs. Gilman have had one son, William T., who is also numbered among the eminent phy- sicians of Chicago.
HENRY BAIRD FAVILL.
Where aspiration is gratified and every ambi- tion gained, it is not unnatural for effort to ter- minate and energy to lose itself in indolence. The possibilities of successful attainment, how- ever, continually act as an incentive to the ex- ercise of persevering effort and it is found in nearly every case that those individuals who have reached the highest places in public esteem and a position of recognized influence in the professional or business world are those who have applied themselves to continuous study and close application. The able, the prosperous and the most prominent men are not as a rule those who start out with the ambition to achieve something phenomenally great, but those who, at the outset of their careers, place a just valu- ation upon honor, integrity and high ideals of citizenship. Those qualities formed the capital of Dr. Henry Baird Favill, of Chicago, when he entered upon his professional duties, and with this as a foundation he has built up an envi- able reputation in the ranks of his chosen call- ing. Step by step he has kept pace with the advancements which have marked the spirit of progress in the medical profession, and, while classed among Chicago's later physicians, he is also numbered among the most able and efficient, owing to the fact that his thorough training, his inherent inclination and his constant study of methods and discoveries of this and other countries have placed him preeminent among the men who have devoted their whole energies to the alleviation of the sufferings of mankind.
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Dr. Favill was born August 14, 1860, at Mad- ison, Wis., and is a son of Dr. John and Louise (Baird) Favill. He was given a liberal and thorough education, and doubtless inherited his inclinations for the profession from his father. On completing his elementary course, he entered the University of Wisconsin, where he com- pleted the classical course and was graduated from that institution with the class of 1880, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Owing to the fact that his father was a prominent and
skilled physician, Dr. Favill was brought up under the environments of the profession and the training and discipline were valuable to him during the formative period of his life. In early boyhood he decided to follow in the footsteps of his father and eagerly embraced every op- portunity which would qualify him for profes- sional service. Soon after completing his lit- erary education, he matriculated in Rush Med- ical College, Chicago, in which he took a thor- ough course, and was graduated from this insti- tution in 1883, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. His standing in his class may be inferred from the fact that when a vacancy oc- curred on the staff of internes of the Cook County Hospital during his senior year, he was appointed to fill the position. Returning to Madison, Wis., he then engaged in the prac- tice of his profession with his father, and when the latter passed away, some eight months later, Dr. Henry B. Favill continued in prac- tice alone. He was for three years connected with the law school of the University of Wis- cousin. as lecturer on medical jurisprudence. In 1893 he accepted invitations from the Chi- cago Polyclinic and Rush Medical College to come to this city and fill the respective chairs of medicine and of adjunct professorship of medicine in those institutions. At the same time he entered upon private practice in the city and has since continued therein with marked suc- cess. In 1898 Dr. Favill was chosen to fill the Ingalls professorship of preventive medicines and therapeutics in Rush Medical College, and in 1900 was appointed professor of therapeutics and as attending physician at St. Luke's, Pas- savant Memorial and Augustana hospitals, His work in this connection is important, while his private practice and consultations are exten- sive.
Dr. Favill is a member of the American Acad- emy of Medicine, the American Medical Asso- ciation, the Illinois State Medical Society, the Physicians' Club of Chicago, the Chicago Path-
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ological Society, the Wisconsin State Medical Society and numerous other organizations. He has been president of the Chicago Tuberculosis Institute for six years. He was president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1907 and 1508; was chairman of the council on health and public instruction of the American Medical Associa- tion ; president of the National Society for Men- tal Hygiene, and has held various other impor- tant offices. Both as a public speaker and a writer, Dr. Favill is clear and forceful, and while not a prolific author, some of his publi- cations are recognized as among the most val- uable contributions to the literature of the pro- fession. Among the best known of these are: "Treatment of Chronic Nephritis" (1897) ; "Treatment of Arterio-Sclerosis" (189S) ; "Mod- ern Methods of Medical Instruction" (1898) ; "Toxic Correlation" (1898) ; and "Rational Diagnosis" (1899). Dr. Favill has rendered a great service to the profession and to the pub- lic in his constant labors for the elevation of the professional and ethical standard of his calling. By reason of his position as medical educator and as an officer or member of some of the most influential medical organizations, he has had unusual opportunities for exerting his influence for the elevating of his calling, and his accomplishments in this direction constitute, perhaps, his greatest contribution to the med- leal history of his time.
Dr. Favill served for some years as president of the City Club of Chicago, an organization numbering 2,000 members, having as its main purpose the investigation and improvement of municipal conditions and public affairs in Chi- cago. During his administration, the club com- pleted a splendid new home on Plymouth court and is now in a highly prosperous condition. He has also served as a member of the civic
industrial committee of the Chicago Association of Commerce, a committee which has always been active and effective in its specified work. For three years he was president of the Munic- ipal Voters' League, an influential organization working for an honest and efficient city coun- cil, and was one of the first directors of the Bureau of Publie Efficiency, organized for the purpose of improving the efficiency of local gov- ersmental agencies. In the charitable field he has always been active. He is now a director of the United Charities and is associated with the management of various other charitable and philanthropie organizations of the city.
Dr. Favill was married in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 18-5, to Miss Susan Cleveland Pratt and to this union one child was born: John, a grad- uate of Yale University and of Harvard Med- ical School. Mrs. Favill is well known in social circles of the North side. She takes an active and interested part in the charitable and social work, and is a woman of much refinement and grace of manner. fler friends are to be found all over the city, having been drawn to her by an appreciation of her many admirable qual- ities of mind and heart. Dr. Favill is well known in club circles, being a valued member of the University, the City, the Commercial and the Saddle and Sirloin clubs. Besides his pro- fessional work, he is interested, to quite an ex- tent, in stock farming and stock raising, and owns a fine tract of land near Madison, Wis., where he is developing a herd of pure-bred Hol- stein cattle. A man of scholarly tastes, of genial temperament and kindly disposition, Dr. Favill holds an enviable position in the esteem of those with whom he comes into contact by reason of his irreproachable life, as well as by his professional attainments and success.
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