USA > Illinois > Biographical and memorial edition of the Historical encyclopedia of Illinois > Part 5
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ALEXANDER CAMPBELL MANN.
No more genial, better informed or diplomatie class of men can be found than those identi- fied with the sales departments of the larger mercantile and manufacturing houses; for the nature of their work demands that they be this, with its necessary acquaintance with places, and with persons of differing opinions
and tastes. Salesmanship is an art, involving an intimate knowledge of psychology, and a man's status as "one of the best" of salesmen, carries the implication of a wide-spread popu- larity, a cleverly trained mind, and a more than adequate maintenance.
Alexander Campbell Mann was born in Spin-
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Il Bermingham
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Ingdale, Scotland, May 19, 1844, a son of Hugh Maun and his wife, and was one of ten chil- dren. The parents remained, throughout their HIves, in their native country. Three of the children came to America to make their future home: James, who located at Embro, Ontario, Canada; Robert, who was first a merchant in Embro, Ont., and later became a farmer, liv. ing at Simeve, Ont .; and Alexander Campbell, who came also to Embro, Ont., and remained there for eleven years working in the dry goods store owned and operated by his brother James. These three brothers are all now de- ceased, as are all the other members of the family with the exception of Mrs. Hugh Murray, of Glasgow, Scotland. Alexander C. Mann came to Chicago in 1871 to enter the employ of Field, Leiter & Co., with which firm he remained for some time, retaining his posi- tion when it was later succeeded by Marshall Field & Co., and long before his death became one of the best and most widely known sales- . men in the middle West, in the wholesale dry goods department.
Alexander C. Mann married Miss Alpina Agues Frazer, of Melbourne, Canada, on April 25, 1872. She was a daughter of Rev. John Frazer, M. A., and Charlotte (Markbam) Frazer, both originally of Scotland, who came to Chicago in 1872, after a short residence in
Melbourne, Canada, The Rev. Frazer and his wife later returned to Canada where the rest of their lives were passed. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Alexander C. Mann : Mrs. Archibald Pyper, of Boston, Mass. ; Miss Alexan- dria Mann, who Is living at home ; Hugh C. Mann, who is a resident of Chicago; and John J. Maun, who is in the State Auditor's office, at Springfield. and who, incidental to his work, is studying law.
Throughout his life, Mr. Mann was a strict and earnest churchman, and was a member of the St. Andrew's Society Church ( Presbyterian) and a trustee of the John Crerar Memorial Church. It was in his home life that Mr. Mann found his greatest enjoyment; and those of his more intimate friends viewed him as typi- .cal of the true American man. Considerable property came into bis possession, it being some twenty-seven years since he built his spacious home in Chicago. He also owned land in Port- age, LaPrairie, Canada. In the later years of his life, he was troubled with Bright's disease, and some few weeks prior to his death, went south to Ocean Springs, Miss., seeking an im- provement in health, but the hopes of his family were not realized and he died there, December 26, 1911 . Not only bis family and his employ- eis but also a host of friends deeply mourned bis departure from life.
JACOB HAISH.
The invention of barb wire and its successful manufacture gave an impetus to agricultural activities, and as a natural consequence to all lines of endeavor dependent upon the farmer and his products, which has never been cor- rectly appreciated or understood. Naturally the first efforts of the inventor met with oppo- sition, for no good has ever been accomplished without carping from those too ignorant or dis- interested to comprehend the merit of a pro- posed change. While this opposition necessarily retarded the development of the business at first, the genius who is responsible for the in- vention and its world-wide use today, was not discouraged, but forged ahead, and now can be justly proud of his courage and foresight. Re- alizing the need for an effective and cheap fencing, Jacob Haish, to whom the world owes a great debt because he was the inventor of the barb wire, kept in close touch with those who had need of such a commodity, from 1857 to 1872, while he was a lumber merchant and
building contractor. His active brain was on the alert to figure out some practicable method by means of which a less burdensome material could be furnished. At first he thought of plant- ing osage orange seed and weaving the ensuing growth into plain wire and board fences, using the thorns as a safeguard against the encroach- ment of stock. This idea rose doubtless from the fact that the osage hedges were so largely in use during this period. Experience taught him that not only was this scheme impractica- ble, but that others had been working along this same line. While regretting this check, Mr. Haish did not discontinue his experiments and finally evolved what is known as the "S" barb, and transforming the second story of his car- penter shop into a barb wire factory, com- menced manufacturing. In order to turn out his invention, however, this enterprising genius found it necessary to invent a twisting device and a spool, which is still used, and small hand machines for forming the straight wire into the
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form of the letter S. The wire was placed upon the market years before a patent was ap- plied to protect it. Others were working along the same line, but Mr. Haish had the right idea and the energy to develop it, and became the leader and advance agent of the new era in fencing. While he has had imitators, the prin- ciples evolved by him have never been changed, but used on all subsequent machines, for it was his device that made barb wire a merchantable product.
The first spool of barb wire shipped to Cali- fornia he packed in a half-barrel, as the rail- road companies refused to handle it unless the barbs were covered. A new difficulty presented itself, but Mr. Haish proved equal to it and sought to preserve his wires from rust by plac- ing paint in troughs in front of the twister, but, finding that this would not work out suc- cessfully, eventually secured a varnish which has continued very satisfactory. Many false claimants arose, but Mr. Haish succeeded in holding to his invention, and reaped accordingly. As he has himself stated, the following suni- - mary gives concisely what he has accomplished : "The 'S' barb was my invention and the first practical and commercially successful barb wire introduced. One of my early patents shows the first iron post for field fence with a section of woven wire. I had in operation the first twist- ing and spooling device. I sent out to the trade the first wooden spool on which barb wire is wound, no change since. I secured the first dip- ping paint for barb wire. I introduced the first automatic barb wire machinery. The principles involved in my hand machines for twisting. spooling and putting on the barbs were the same as now used in all automatic barb wire ma- chinery. I introduced a new era in methods of advertising which are in vogue today."
Mr. Haish was born near Carlsruhe, Germany, March 9, 1827, a son of Christian and Christine (Layman) Haish, natives of Baden, Germany, from whence they emigrated to the United States in 1535, settling first in Pennsylvania. but later moving to Crawford County, Ohio, which then contained but a small settlement in the heart of the virgin forest. Jacob Haish came to Illinois soon after the family migration westward, and his father joined him on a farm which he had secured in Du Page County. By his first wife. Christian Haish had six children, Jacob Haish being the only survivor. Jacob Haish had attended school held in a primitive log cabin in Crawford County, Ohio, although
at the same time he was expected to give assist- ance with the work on the farm. Owing to the fact that his father was a carpenter, Jacob Haish was given a good practical training in that trade, and his natural talent for inventive work was thus stimulated and developed. Leav- ing home at the age of nineteen years, he worked on a farm in Du Page County, and then was in a hotel at Oak Plains, now Maywood, Ill., moving to Naperville, where, May 24, 1847, he married Miss Sophia Ann Brown, a daughter of a farmer. The young couple commenced their life together on Mr. Brown's farm, but within two years Mr. Haish was able to purchase a farm in Pierce Township, De Kalb County. As his health would not stand the work of the farm, however, Mr. Haish went to Kaneville, Ill., and resumed carpentering. In 1853, he and his wife became pioneers of Buena Vista, now De Kalb, Ill., Mr. Haish erecting a tiny home for them. A spur of the railroad was extended to the settlement soon thereafter, and the rapid- ity with which the town grew suggested to Mr. Haish the desirability of establishing a lumber yard. In connection with his yard he carried on his building operations and eventually de- veloped into the inventor, manufacturer and capitalist he is today. His factory now covers 40,000 square feet of floor space, is steam heated and electrically lighted. This plant was erect- ed at a cost of over $100.000. Other interests controlled by Mr. Haish are the Jacob Haish State Bank, which he founded in 1884; com- panies for the manufacture of a manure spreader, a farmer's gas engine, a cream sep- arator and various products connected with the wire industry such as nails, staples, and similar commodities.
The success which has attended Mr. Haish's efforts is well-merited, and he has ever been generous in assisting others. He has given largely towards the cause of education in De Kalb, and his charities are almost numberless. Among other donations was that of $14,000 to the State Normal School, for the library now known as the Haish library, and he has re- sponded generously to appeals from similar in- stitutions. In addition he has erected several school buildings at his own expense, and con- tributes heavily towards religious organiza- tions. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, but he does not confine his liberality to this denomination. In his home life Mr. Haish finds his ideal, for his wife, who has shared his joys and sorrows, dis-
Jacobzaish
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HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.
couragetuents and triumphs with him, is a true helpmert. The friends they have chosen from their wide acquaintance are most numerous and the warm regard and true esteem in which Mr. and Mrs. Haish are heki is of that gratify-
ing sort which has congeniality, strong and wor- thy purposes and faith as the seed from which it springs, On May 24, 1914, Mr. and Mrs. Haish celebrated the sixty-seventh anniversary of their marriage.
1737562
RUFUS EMERSON DODGE.
Survess in life along any path of endeavor de- mands honesty, energy, proper preparation, con- nientiousness and self reliance. Genius may also be present but for permanency, practical qualities and the homely virtues are necessary. To the undoubted possession of these may we, in part, attribute the success that has crowned the efforts of Dr. Rufus E. Dodge, who has figured prominently in the medical profession of Chicago, for a number of years, and has maintained throughout his entire career a high standard of professional ethics and scientific principles. Rufus Emerson Dodge was born at Mullet Lake, In the upper peninsula of Michigan, August 6, 173, and is a son of Auson R. and Sylva J. (Gee) Ihelge. They are worthy descendants of promi- Bent old American families, intelligent, earnest, lowest people. Both the Dodge and Gee fam- Hex were represented in the War of the Revolu- Bob. and the paternal great-great-grandfather of Dr. Daley, born in 1730, married a sister of General Joseph Warren, who commanded the Numerivan forces at the battle of Bunker Hill. The early ancestors came from England and set- ted in Massachusetts during the period of Amer- lean colonization. Anson R. Dodge and wife were born in Ashtabula County, O., and are now residents of Saginaw, Mich., where Mr. Dodge is engaged in a lumber business and is numbered among the influential and prominent residents of Saginaw County, where he has also held important political offices. Of the four chil- dren born to Anson R. Dodge and wife, three sons and a daughter, but two sons survive, Dwight W., of Saginaw, Mich., and Rufus E., of Chicago.
The early educational training of Dr. Dodge was secured in the public schools of his native county, and when thirteen years of age he be- came a student in the public schools of Saginaw, where he passed through consecutive grades to his graduation from the high school when eight- een years of age. From the time that he was a boy he had held to the resolution to one day become a professional man, and chose medicine as that most likely to prove congenial and profit- able. Therefore, following his graduation from
the high school he began making plans as to the best method of bearing the expenses of a college education and secured a position with a manu- facturing concern with which he remained for four years, in this way earning every dollar nec- essary to carry him through college. In 1895 he entered Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago and completed a four-years' course, being gradu- ated with the class of 1899. During his senior year he spent six months as an interne in the Hahnemann Hospital and this brought him broad and practical experience that enabled him to readily and successfully discharge the duties which have devolved upon him in private prac- tice. He has been medical examiner for the Commercial Life Insurance Company and also for the Knights of Maccabees, and is fleet sur- geon for the Columbia Yacht Club, of which he is a life member. He formerly served on the staff of the Hahnemann Hospital but prefers to concentrate his energies upon his private prac -. tice and is now serving only on the staff of the Rhodes Avenue Hospital. He has business in- terests in addition to his professional duties and is now chairman of the board of directors and treasurer of the Mark Process Company, a $1,000,000 corporation, with offices in the Fisher building. Ile was also vice-president of the Crescent Gold Mining Company.
On August 16, 1893, Dr. Dodge was united in marriage with Miss Millie M. Byerlein, of Sag- inaw. Mich., a lady of culture and refinement, who died March 15, 1895, leaving one son, Anson P., who survived his young motber but two months. Dr. Dodge is a member of the Masonic fraternity and also of the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of Maccabees, Along profes- sional lines he is connected with the Homeo- pathic Medical Society, the Illinois Homeopathic Medical Society, and the American Institute of Homeopathy. He is fond of yachting and out- door sports of all kinds. He has maintained his office at No. 3300 Cottage Grove avenue for a number of years and resides at No. 535 E. Thirty- fourth street. He has an extensive and lucrative practice, holds to high ideals in his professional service and he is justly numbered among the
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HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ILLINOIS.
leading professional men of his city, which is distinguished for high rank in the medical pro- fession. The spirit of progress which has been the dominant factor of the opening years of the twentieth century has been manifest in no con- nection more strongly than in the science of medi- cine. Investigation and research have brought forth many scientific facts and established prin- ciples, and step by step, Dr. Dodge has kept pace with the march of advancement. His pro-
fessionai service has ever been discharged with a keen sense of conscientious obligation and his skill has brought him to a prominent position. He is intelligently feterested in all that per- tains to modern progress and improvement, not only along professional but also material and moral lines, always finding time to study great public questions and over ready to lend his in- Muence for the betterment of humanity.
ISAAC LEONARD ELLWOOD.
In the death of Isaac Leonard Ellwood the city of DeKalb lost one of its most useful citi- zens-a man, who not only recognized bis du- ties but performed them faithfully, industriously and conscientiously-one who went even beyond this and zealously guarded and in every way sought to promote its interests. The city admin- istration also lost a counselor whose place it will be hard to fill. The loss of such a man, standing for honest government. for opposition to gang rule, for careful financial management. for efficiency in all matters pertaining to the city's welfare, and who entertained and illus- trated the highest ideal of good citizenship, is no ordinary loss. Such men are not so plentiful that their passing away is a matter of only current interest. Not alone, however, as a public official was Mr. Ellwood an integral factor in the activities of DeKalb, but was also potent in the busy marts of commerce and trade. The head of one of the city's chief mannfactur- ing plants, he long held a position of prestige among the business men here, and the reputa- tion he enjoyed was built up by years of honest fulfillment of every obligation.
Isaac Leonard Ellwood was born August 3, 1S33, at Salt Springville, Montgomery County, N. Y. He traced his ancestry back to Thomas Ellwood, the famous Quaker, who was born near London in 1039, and who was disinherited by his father on account of his religious belief. He received his education principally from John Milton, the poet, and it was at his suggestion that the beautiful poem, "Paradise Regained," was written in 1671. After having written "Paradise Lost," Milton submitted it to Ellwood for criticism, and after commending it the lat- ter said: "Thou hast said much here of Para- dise Lost, but what hast thou to say about Paradise Found?" Milton declared that it was this question that inspired the writing of the latter poem. The name of Thomas Ellwood is
highly honored wherever the Society of Friends has a foothold. His autobiography has been printed in this country, and the Quaker poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, honored his memory with a memoir. He was greatly persecuted on account of his beliefs. but bore all vilification and abuse with a manty courage and patience that eventually won the admiration of his worst enemies. The Ellwood coat-of-arms, found upon the panels of an old castle in England and described in several published works on her- aldry, has the motto, Fide et Sedulitate. The authenticity of this tradition concerning the an- cestry of the family cannot be indisputably verified. for Thomas Ellwood mentioned no children in his autobiography, and his brother died young, so that Isaac Leonard Ellwood may have descended from an uncle of Thomas Ell- wood, but the stock is the same. The family was established in America in 174S, when Rich- ard Ellwood, his wife and two children. came to this country and settled in the Mohawk val- ley. near St. Johnsville, N. Y. Two years later was erected a stone building on what was then known as King's Road. This house, which still stands and is in remarkably good preservation, is now located near the line of the New York Central Railroad. The lower story was built for defense and the only openings in the wall besides the strong door were portholes which are still to be seen, as well as bullet holes in the wood. At his death, a few years later, Richard Eilwood left four sons: Richard, Isaac, Ben- jamin and Peter, and two daughters, one of whom married a Scranton and the other a Van Allen.
Isaac Ellwood, the grandfather of Isaac Leon- ard Ellwood, had a farm about six miles from Fort Champlain, and there his death occurred when he was between sixty and seventy years of age. John Ellwood, one of his sons, died at Oneida, N. Y. ; another, Abram, was the father of
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Isaac L. Ellwood. He married Sarah DeLong, a daughter of James DeLong, a native of France, and they became the parents of seven sons, namely : Chauncey, deceased, who was at one time mayor of Sycamore, Ill .; Reuben, formerly of Sycamore and a member of Congress, also deceased ; Alonzo, who was the state grand mas- ter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and a merchant of Sycamore, but has passed away; Livingston, who engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Schenectady, N. Y., until his death; Hiram, at one time mayor of DeKalb, now deceased ; James E., ex-postmaster of Sycamore; and Isaac L. There were also three daughters: Mrs. Livingston Walrod, who came with her sister, Mrs. Joseph Sixbury, to DeKalb County, Ill., in 1835, and they resided here until their deaths; the other sister, Mrs. Alida Young, also dying here.
The educational advantages of Isaac Leonard Ellwood were somewhat limited, as his parents were people of moderate means, and were able to secure for their children only a training in the rudimentary branches. When still a lad, he secured employment at driving a team on the Erie Canal, at ten dollars a month, and subsequently he became a clerk and was em- ployed as salesman until his eighteenth year. At that time, the country was thrown into a state of excitement by the discovery of gold in California, whence young Ellwood made his way with other ambitious and adventurous youths. Four years of life in the West followed, filled with various experiences and varying fortune, but eventually, by frugality and thrift, he man- aged to accumulate enough to establish him- self in business in a modest way and, returning to DeKalb, he opened up a little hardware store that formed the nucleus for the great business he enjoyed in later years. It was, however, in the manufacture of barbed wire that Mr. Ell- wood made his greatest fortune. With Joseph F. Glidden, he secured patents and formed a partnership for the manufacture of this new fencing material, which Mr. Glidden had in- vented, and which still bears his name. The subsequent profits were enormous, but Mr. Glid- den disposed of his interests to the Washburn & Moen Manufacturing Company, of Massa- chusetts, in 1876, and they together, after some years of litigation, issued licenses to various factories. Later Mr. Ellwood became the sole owner of the great industry at DeKalb, which he conducted under the style of the I. L. Ell- wood Manufacturing Company. Gradually, the
use of barbed wire became general, not only the farmers but the railroads using great quantities of it. Mr. Elfwood bad the courage to devise and the ability to carry through to a successful conclusion new and progressive ideas. He spent nearly one million dollars in the perfecting of a machine that takes the raw wire from the coil, and barbs, twists and spools it ready for the trade, and when the machine was complete, it was found that it would do the work of eight men and do it more perfectly. This was only one of the machines that made the I. L. Ellwood Manufacturing Company factory one of the best equipped in the state. He also engaged exten- sively in the manufacture of wire nails and woven wire fencing but eventually disposed of his interests therein to the American Steel & Wire Company, a $50,000,000 corporation, which was organized by Mr. Ellwood, together with John W. Gates and John Lambert, and is now one of the subsidiary companies of the United States Steel Company.
It was to the efforts of Isaac Leonard Ell- wood that the training school for teachers, long recognized as a very desirable institution in the center of a locality boasting of the best graded and high schools in the state, was eventually secured, he spending several months at Spring- field and accomplishing the passage of a bill through the Legislature, in 1895, which provided for the Northern Illinois State Normal School. He was made one of the trustees of this insti- tution and was largely responsible in having it located in DeKalb. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Ellwood platted the I. L. Ellwood addition to DeKalb, where he erected club houses and resi- dences for the accommodation of the school people, and this addition he presented to the children, with the agreement that they would install cement walks, a paved street, a sewer system and shade trees, and today this addition is one of the show places of DeKalb.
Mr. Ellwood was married, at the home of William A. Miller at DeKalb, January 27, 1859, to Miss Harriet Miller, and they had seven children : William L., Mrs. Harriet Mayo, Mrs. Mary Lewis, Mrs. Jessie Ray of Denver, Colo., E. Perry, and two sons who died in infancy. Mrs. John Lewis has also passed away. William L. Ellwood for several years was engaged in importing and breeding French draft horses, making annual trips to France and personally attending to the purchase and selection of his stock. He has entire charge of the Ellwood stock farms, located in the vicinity of DeKalb
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