USA > Illinois > Biographical and memorial edition of the Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 25
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general practice Dr. Copeland maintains his oflice at No. 25 F. Washington street, where he has an extensive and lucrative patronage. His home is at No. 3148 Warren avenue. Dr. Cope- land has long been characterized as a man of high ideals whose research work equals his exertion with regard to bis practice. He is broad-minded and charitable and one of the most highly respected members of his profession.
GEORGE C. AMERSON.
When ambition has been satisfied and each separate aim fulfilled, there is no further in- centive to effort, and progression ceases. The possibilities of successful accomplishment, how- ever, urge forward those who stand highest in public esteem and have proven their right to be ranked among desirable citizens. Such men have unvaryingly given to their work close ap- plication and demonstrated their possession of the characteristics of honor, integrity and de- termination. Such a man is Dr. George C. Amerson, who for a number of years has fig- ured among the eminent men of his profession. He is a worthy member of the Chicago medical fraternity and is recognized as an able phy- sielan and surgeon. He was born at Chicago, November S, 1877, a son of William and Matilda 11. (Schaube!) Amerson, the father a native of England, born in London, September 21, 1841, and the mother a native of Pennsylvania. They were among the pioneers of Austin, Illinois, as they settled there when it was a mere village. There the father developed into a successful business man and public official, serving very acceptably for a number of years as a member of the school board and also as police magis- trate. Although now living retired, he keeps in close touch with civic matters, and can always be depended upon to support those measures that will advance the general welfare of his community. Mrs. Amerson died September 21, 1906, when sixty-one years old. She and her husband were the parents of nine children, namely : John, Matilda, William II., Edmund J., Mary Ida, Harvey S., George C., Della G., and Lucy H., of whom the first two are now deceased.
Dr. Amerson attended the public schools of Austin, and was graduated from its high school in the class of 1SOS. Following this he entered the Homeopathic College of Chicago, and was graduated therefrom in 1902. Dr.
Amerson then received an appointment as in- terne in the Cook County Hospital, and for eighteen mouths gave to his duties a faithful service, and gained a broad, varied and practical experience. Still later, he took a post graduate course at the College of Physicians and Sur- geons, the medical department of the University of illinois, and was graduated from the latter in 1004. He then began a general practice, thus continuing for three years on West Madison street, but since 1907 has limited his practice to surgical work, for which he is eminently fitted. In 1911 the degree of A. M. was con- ferred upon him by Valparaiso University. His work and the skill he displayed in his opera- tions resulted in his appointment as attending surgeon of the Cook County Hospital and he held that office for seven years, his term expir- ing in January, 1913. He was also attending surgeon at the Frances E. Willard Hospital until October 1, 1913, when he resigned to ac- cept the position of staff surgeon to the West Side Hospital of Chicago. He has been attend- ing surgeon to Garfield Park Hospital from 1004 to date. Dr. Amerson began teaching in the Chicago College of Medicine and Surgery in 1906, and is now professor of surgery in that Institution. He has displayed a capability along educational lines equal to the skill which he manifests in the operating room, and is rapidly forging his way to the front among the older surgeons of the city. Dr. Amerson was made assistant surgeon, with the rank of captain of the Illinois National Guard, and was as- signed to the First Infantry. He belongs to the Chicago Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and the Na- tional Association of Military Surgeons. On January 1, 1912, he was elected Grand Presid- ing Senior of the Phi Chi Medical Fraternity, the largest medical fraternity in the world, of
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which he has been an active member for five years. He is also a member of the Hamilton Club of Chicago.
On October 3, 1906, Dr. Amerson was united in marriage with Miss Isabel L. Coyle, a daughter of Charles Coyle of Chicago, and they have a son, William Palmer, born October 6, 1907. Dr. Amerson holds membership with Aus- tin Lodge No. 250, A. F. & A. M .; with the Tribe of Ben Hur, and is also a member of the Royal League. He is a Republican in political
faith, and the Methodist Church is his religious home. His recreation sports are fishing, hunt- ing, baseball, and similar outdoor entertain- ments, while he travels considerably. Holding to high ideals in his profession, Dr. Amerson devotes himself to his conception of duty, and keeping himself fully abreast of current events, both in his profession and outside matters, is able to enlarge his field of accomplishment, and exert a further influence for moral uplift and the betterment of existing conditions.
JOHN B. LENNON.
John B. Lennon, who is a member of The National Commission on Industrial Relations, was born in Wisconsin, October 12, 1849. He is a very active and prominent labor leader. For twenty-four years he was secretary of the Journeymen Tailors' National Union and resided for some years at Brooklyn, N. Y. In 1890 the headquarters were removed to Bloomington, Ill. During his long official connection in this body he rose rapidly in the estimation, not only of the union labor interests, but also of the best representatives of men of all political parties. He has now, for twenty-six years, been treas- urer of the National Federation of Labor, one of
the strongest and most conservative of labor organizations. He has been exceedingly fortu- nate in retaining the confidence of the union labor organizations, and by his cautious, con- servative and wise advice has obtained a re- markably high degree of general publie confi. dence. This confidence was illustrated most emphatically by President Taft, in 1912, who appointed Mr. Lennon to his present position, and this confidence was, if possible, still further emphasized by President Wilson, who, in 1913, reappointed Mr. Lennon upon this commission, where he has continued to merit general con- fidence.
EDWIN SMITH CONDIT.
Some men are born optimistic, with a love of their fellows in their hearts, and are workers who labor for the delight of accomplishment. Such men learn the lessons of life direct from the sources of contemporary knowledge. Mature years have no terrors for them because with them come added experience and multiplied ability to meet and conquer obstacles. The es- sentials which help to form real history are not always those which are emblazoned upon the pages of printed matter, but the everyday events, each one of which bears its part in the progress of the world. If it be truly said that all men are born equal, and commence their lives with the same opportunities, then indeed must credit be given those who forge so far ahead of others with whom, in the beginning, they were equal. One of the men who in his life exemplified the philosophy indicated above, and whose death left a community sorrowing, and large business interests suffering, was the late Edwin Smith Condit of Chicago.
Edwin Smith Condit was born at Centralia, III., August 2, 1858, a son of Edwin Smith and
Harriet Newton (Mitchell) Condit, the former born at Northville, N. Y., October 19, 1818, and the latter at Parsippany, N. J. Edwin Smith Condit, Sr., was a lumber merchant and banker at the place of his birth, but soon after his mar- riage moved with his wife to East St. Louis, Ill., and six years later to Centralia, the same state. He became the owner of the Condit Lumber Company, and president of the First National Bank of Centralia, which latter insti- tution later became the Old National Bank, and he was interested in other affairs of Centralia where his death occurred in 1901.
Growing up at Centralia, Edwin Smith Con- dit, the younger, attended its excellent schools and later the Illinois University at Champaign, Ill., where he took a general course. Return- ing to Centralia, he went into the lumber busi- ness with his father, and also handled real estate extensively. Still later he was with the Old National Bank for many years, when he organized the Merchants State Bank of Cen- tralia, and in 1901, assumed the duties pertain- ing to its cashier. In 1906, Mr. Condit came
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to Chicago to become manager of the Southern Plantation Development Company, and was one of the first men to force the development of property values at Gary, Ind. In this work he found congenial activity and handled large realty interests until his death, December 17, 1911.
On March 16, 1881, Mr. Condit was united in marriage with Miss Rena Price Pullen of Cen- tralia, a daughter of Burden and Lucile (O'Broussier) (Gex) Pullen, natives of New Jersey and Kentucky, respectively. Mr. Pullen was born June 8, 1833, in Mercer County, N. J., but was taken to Middleton, O., in 1839, by bis father, who was a fruit farmer. From that place, Mr. Pullen came to Centralia in 1856, making that city his home until his demise. Having been trained in raising fruit, Mr. Pullen established himself as a fruit grower after coming to Centralia, and specialized in grow- ing strawberries and peaches. On December 10, 1857, he married Lucile O. Gex, who came of French descent, and they had nine children, namely : Lucien C., Mrs. Rena Condit, Mrs. Maud Abbott, Blanche, Mrs. May Marshall, Fred, Rome B .. Burd G. and Mrs. Lillie Beel, the last named, Blanche and Mrs. Abbott being deceased. Mrs. Pullen died at Centralia, in 1891, and on September 13, 1893, Mr. Pullen married Mrs. Anna E. Russell of Clinton Coun- ty, Ill., who survived him. Mr. Pullen was a charter member of the First Baptist Church of Centralia, and was a man of deep religious convictions. First a Whig, Mr. Pullen later became a Republican, and finally a Democrat, and served as vice-president of the State Board of Agriculture. He was one of the Commis- sioners appointed by Governor Altgeld to take
charge of the Illinois exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, and was chair- man of the Committee on Horticulture and Floriculture. For twenty years he served on the State Board of Agriculture, retiring at the expiration of that period. He was also a trus- tee of the University of Illinois, and was named as chairman of the Committee on Grounds. In a business way he was connected as president with the Centralin Ice and Cold Storage Co., and assisted in the organization of the Mer- chants State Bank, which he also served as president. The death of this representative cit- izen and high minded Christian man occurred July 28, 1913.
Mr. Condit was a Republican, as was his father, who served Centralia as police magis- trate from 1859 to 1886, or a period of twenty- eight years, and he was also alderman, city collector, supervisor, and held other offices, as his judgment was valued and bis services appreciated. His sor, whose name beads this review, did not aspire towards a public life. Both were very consistent in their support of the Presbyterian church, to which they be- longed. The father was a Mason of thirty-four years' standing at the time of his death. The son was a member of the Chicago Athletic, South Shore and Colonial clubs of Chicago. In fraternal circles he was a Knight of Pythias and Elk. A man of parts, he developed his natural capabilities, and assisted others in do- ing likewise. Mr. and Mrs. Condit became the parents of the following children: Julius Strawn, who is engaged in a real estate busi- ness at Gillespie, III .; G. Pullen, who is also in a real estate business, at Gary, Ind. ; and Cecil O., who is at home.
KARL SCHURZ VROOMAN.
Karl Schurz Vrooman was born at Macon, Mo., October 25, 1872; was graduated at Har- vard University and also at Oxford University, England. He has large landed interests in MeLean County and his permanent home is in Bloomington, Ill. He has made a special study of social and governmental problems, and has given to the public, through some of our first class literary magazines and other publications, in the most charming and convincing manner, clearly illustrated ideas of advanced and ad-
vancing thought and culture. Besides a number of other publications, he is author of "Taming of the Trusts," and of able papers upon the country's most important railroad problems. He appears likely to have a brilliant future. At present (1015) he is doing good work as first Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture, Wash- ington, D. C. ITis speeches and writings are attracting increasing attention all over the United States.
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JAMES AUDUBON BURHANS.
It is sometimes found that efforts die away and enterprise becomes engulfed in inertia when the individual gains his desired goal, while, on the other hand, the chances for successful attain- ment continually encourage the exercise of per- severance and energy. In almost every case, those who have reached the highest positions in public confidence and esteem, and who are accounted among the most influential in busi- ness and professional lines are those whose lives have been devoted, without cessation, to deep study and close application. It is probable that the law has been the main highway by which more men of merit have advanced to prominence and position in the United States than any other road, and it is not unusual to find among the leading citizens of a community a legal practi- tioner. To respond to the call of the law, to devote every energy in this direction, to broaden and deepen every possible highway of knowledge and to finally enter upon this chosen career and find its rewards worth while- such has been the happy experience of James Audubon Burhans, one of the leading legists practicing before the Chicago bar. Mr. Burhans has gained honor and position in his profession through the applica- tion of honesty, energy, perseverance, conscien- tiousness and self-reliance, and has kept abreast of his calling in its constant advancement; but it is not alone as a lawyer that he is known to the people of his adopted city, for he has also attained distinction as a financier, has con- tributed largely to literature, has numerous club connections, and, greater than all, perhaps, has given freely of his time, his money and his energies, in promoting religious and charitable movements.
James A. Burhans was born on a farm in Laporte County, Ind., October 28, 1852, a son of Peter and Martha Huut (Andrews) Burhans, the former a son of William and Jane (Del'ew) Burhans, formerly of Ulster County, N. Y., and the latter a daughter of James H. and Sarah (Whitehead) Andrews, of English ancestry. Both families were prominent in the colonial epoch of this country. A very complete and extensive genealogy of the Burhans family was published about the year 1850, tracing the de- scent of nearly all of the name in this country back to the progenitor, one Jacob Burhans, who came from Holland in 1600. William Burhans was a farmer by occupation, and was one of the
prominent and influential men of the day and locality in which he lived.
The youthful days of James A. Burhans were spent upon a farm in Lake County, Ind., to which his parents had moved when he was a child; and here he grew to maturity, well nourished by the plain but hardy fare and strengthened by the laborious duties attached to farm life. lie secured his early literary training in the public schools, and this was later supplemented by a course in the business college at Valparaiso. ind., and by four years of study in De Pauw University. Greencastle, Ind., from which he was graduated in 175, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He at once entered upon a careful preparation for the practice of law as a student in the Northwestern University law school, Chicago, which, in 1977, conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Sub- sequently he received from De Pauw University the honorary degree of Master of Arts. Long previous to the completion of his college course, he had entered upon the profession of teaching, obtatuing his first school when eighteen years of age. In following that profession, he largely secured the funds necessary for the acquirement of his own education, yet other labors during his college days and the summer vacations also helped to supply the funds. While pursuing his law course, he worked and slept in a Chicago law office. The elemental strength of his char- acter was thus shown in his determination to secure advancement and the means employed thereto. Immediately following his graduation, Mr. Burhans opened a law office in Chicago, where he has since been engaged in practice. He has made substantial progress as a member of the bar, specializing in the department of law relating to real estate and municipal bonds, and in his field of practice he has largely been re- garded as an authority and has secured an ex- tensive clientage. His contributions to legal literature include "The Law of Municipal Bonds, and a Digest of the Statutory Laws Governing the Investment of Corporate and Trust Funds," published in 1859. This work was accepted and used as an authoritative handbook by many state departments, especially in the eastern and New England states, in their examinations in passing on the investments of savings banks, trust companies, insurance companies, etc. He has for many years been one of the recognized authorities on municipal bond laws, his practice
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in that line and examinations as attorney for leading bond brokers and bankers in Chicago and other cities covering municipal bond issues from almost every state in the Union, including many large issues, extending into the millions. In addition to his activity in connection with his profession, Mr. Burhans is also interested in the real-estate and mortgage loan business, originally as a member of the firm of Andrews & Burhans, later Andrews, Burhans & Cooper, and after- ward Cooper & Burhans.
On October 7, 1879, at Valparaiso, Ind., Mr. Burhans was married to Miss Jessie Pierpont Smith, of that city. They have no children of their own, but a son of a deceased brother was adopted and educated by them, Dr. Percy A. Burhans, now a practicing dentist at Tulsa, Okla., who in 1905 married Daisy McDonald of Chi- cago. They also provided a home and assisted in the support of a number of other orphan relatives. Throughout their entire lives they have been guided by a spirit of helpfulness that has found tangible expression in many good deeds.
The legal and financial concerns, the educa- tional, political, charitable and religious inter- ests, which constitute the chief features in the Me of every city, have all prospered by the sup- port and co-operation of James Audubon Bur- hans, While he has won distinction in the law and made valuable contributions to legal litera- ture, his life has never been self-centered, but has reached out to the broader interests which affect men in sociological and economic relations and at all times has cast the weight of his in- fluence and aid on the side of progress in those connections. He has been particularly well known through his efforts in support of Sunday school work and of the many organized chari- ties which take cognizance of the needs of the individual and the community. Like all men to whom life means more than the attainment of material wealth, Mr. Burhans has kept informed on the political questions related to the welfare and progress of his country, and in national politics is a Republican, while at local elections, where no issue is involved, he casts an independ- ent vote. While in college, he became a member of the Beta Theta Pi, and while attending law school was elected to the membership of the Phi Delta Phi. His membership relations also ex- tend to the Union League Club of Chicago, the Chicago Bar Association, and the Methodist church, and in religious and charitable work and
enterprises he has always taken an active part. For nine years Mr. Burhans was superintendent of one of the largest Sunday schools of Chicago, that of the Oakland Methodist Church, and no religious activity has been dearer to his heart than the Sunday school work. For five years he was associate superintendent of the Chicago Waifs' Mission, then meeting in the Armory on the lake front, and later was associate superin- tendent of the Evanston First and Epworth Methodist Sunday schools. For twenty years he served on the executive committee of the Cook County Sunday School Association and at different times was its treasurer and president. In 189 he was one of the American secretaries of the first World's Sunday School Convention, in London, England, and he and Mrs. Burhans were members of the fourth convention, held in Jerusalem in 1904, and of the seventh, held in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1913. Mrs. Burhans is well known in social circles of Chicago. At the time of her marriage she was a primary teacher in the public schools, and she has always been prominent and successful as a primary Sunday school teacher and worker. She acted as super- intendent of the primary department in the Oak- land Methodist Church of Chicago, for twelve years, from 18 5 until 1897, and for a number of years thereafter occupied the same position in connection with the Evanston First Methodist Church. She was county primary Sunday school secretary for Cook County for several years and state primary secretary of Illinois for two years. In 1004 she was appointed as the special repre- sentative of the Illinois State Sunday school convention at Jerusalem, but unfortunately on this trip to the Orient she sustained an injury on a Palestine steamer landing which resulted later in making her an invalid for a number of years, compelling her to give up most of her active work. Aside from his labors in behalf of the Sunday school, Mr. Burhans has been identi- fied with many organized movements of the church and independent charities. He has been president or endowment fund treasurer of the Methodist Episcopal Old Peoples' Home from its organization ; was president of the Epworth Children's Home, and has long served either as president or vice-president and endowment fund treasurer of the Methodist Deaconess Orphan- age at Lake Bluff. He is likewise president of the Amanda Smith Industrial Home for Colored Children; president of the Agard Deaconess Rest Home at Lake Bluff; and vice-president
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and treasurer of the Chicago Deaconess Home, and vice-president of the Des Plaines Camp Ground Association and the Chicago Boys' Club. He is serving as a trustee of the Wesley Hospital, and for several years was president and chairman of the executive board in charge of its operation. He has also been a member of the boards and an active supporter of the City Missionary Society, the Chicago Training school, the Pacitic Garden Mission, the Chicago Tract Society, and a number of similar organizations. In fact, wherever he has seen the opportunity to extend a helping
hand to a fellow traveler on life's journey, he has done so. The analytical mind of the lawyer has pointed out to him the most effective ways of aiding others, and his sound judgment bas been a valuable factor in the control of organ- ized charities and movements for moral progress. Mr. Burhan's life has been full of lessons-les- sons of purity, of patience, gentleness, industry and forbearance. These he inculcates daily, not alone by the easy words of counsel, but by the calm and steady light of an example which has illumined each act and word, and which has cast its influence upon all around.
WILLIAM O. DAVIS.
William O. Davis was born of Quaker parent- age, in Lancaster County, Pa. In 1557 he taught the first school in the district now occupied by the town of Normal, and here he married Eliza, oldest daughter of Jesse W. Fell. For the benefit of his health he joined a Pike's Peak expedition at the time of the Colorado gold excitement in 1859. In 1868 he purchased an interest in the Bloomington Daily Pantagraph. becoming sole owner February 21, 1871. Hle was remarkably industrious and painstaking and applied himself to all parts of a newspaper business, including the editorial work, and astonished the news- paper publishers of the state by his masterly understanding of all the numerous and necessary
details of the printing business. He saw the circulation of the paper increase to 15,000 copies. The Pantagraph Printing and Publishing Com- pany was, in 1889, an outgrowth of his manage- ment, and it has become one of the largest, if not the very largest printing establishment in the United States located in as small a place as Bloomington. His strongest points were his wonderful power of attracting to his employ young men of ability, and of training them to habits of industry and honesty, and inspiring them with zeal for work in behalf of the public and thereby with love for their genial and kindly employer.
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