USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Biographical history of the American Irish in Chicago > Part 12
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In 1890 Dr. McGrath was married to Agnes, daughter of Rich- ard Ryan of Chicago, and they have twin boys born in 1894, and a baby daughter. Domestic in tastes, he enjoys nothing more than home and family, while at the same time he is of a most social and genial disposition and possesses many warm friends who esteem him for his numerous high qualities.
ALVAH LEWIS CREELMAN.
In fertility of resource, in practical application of every scien- tific force, in inventive genius, America leads the world. There appears to be something in the free air of our country that gives the mind richer scope and increases its natural faculties. Chicago and the great West have not failed to supply their due propor- tion to the large list of American inventors and the subject of the present sketch has produced several appliances which well entitle him to a place in the great and noble list.
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Alvah L. Creelman was born April 24th, 1853, at Monroe, in Monroe County, Michigan. His father, Samuel, was born at Bally- castle, Ireland, in 1808, and when only eight years old went to Que- bec, removing then to the United States in 1818 and settling at Monroe, Michigan. When young Creelman was an infant of twelve months the family moved to Detroit, and here his boyhood was spent. Samuel Creelman died on a farm in Ypsilanti in 1887. He was married in 1842 at Monroe, Mich., to Clarissa J. Rhoades, who is still living with her daughter in Chicago.
Mr. Creelman was educated in the public schools of Ypsilanti, taking the ordinary business course. Of an adventurous disposi- tion, he was but thirteen when he decided to make a start in life for himself, and finding employment as agent with the Wells-Fargo Express Company he traveled for two years through the Rocky Mountains. He then worked for a year with the Union Pacific Rail- road Company as operator and agent and then went south to Selma, Ala., where he was given the position of private secretary to W. L. Lanier, vice-president of the Alabama Central Railroad. In this post of responsibility the fact that he remained for ten years and until the road was sold, speaks sufficiently clearly as to the faithful manner in which his duties were performed. He next removed to Memphis, and found congenial employment with the Western Union Telegraph Co. Electrical subjects had always been to him of primary interest and he was able to carry on his experi- ments. His work has borne good fruit; one result in the produc- tion of a Circuit Protecting Sounder for the protection of railroad train dispatchers being of sufficient importance to obtain ready recognition by the Illinois Central Railroad, who have introduced it along their entire system.
Mr. Creelman was married in 1873 to Miss Emma England, of Saline, La., and there were born to them four children, three boys and one girl.
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The political views of Mr. Creelman have always been those of the Democratic party, which his father also favored. He has trav- eled extensively, claiming to know every principal city throughout the Union. With a pleasant manner and a large fund of ideas, Alvah L. Creelman is a very excellent companion and a most charm- ing friend.
JOHN W. ENRIGHT.
There are many who have never met John W. Enright in person or even had any business relations with him, who will take pleasure in the following sketch and read it with interest, for the reason that they have become acquainted with the man and with his mental bents through his many admirable writings on religious, social and philosophical questions.
Mr. Enright is a native of Dromcolloher, County Limerick, Ire- Jand, and came to the United States with his parents and brothers and sisters in 1850, settling at New Orleans. His father, James Enright, was also born in. County Limerick; he was a builder by occupation, and married Mary Woods, also a native of the same county.
The primary education of John W. Enright was received in the national schools of Ireland, and after coming to New Orleans he was placed under private tutors and he made mathematics his principal study. His first occupation after concluding these studies was as teacher in the public schools of New Orleans, that position being very acceptably filled for five years, when he entered the Redemptorist College of that city, as professor in mathematics,
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and remained there for twelve months. While teacher in the schools, he at the same time studied law in the office of Judge Col- lens, the well known jurist and lawyer, and being a most apt and promising law student, he would probably have followed that pro- fession as his life work and achieved therein honor and success, were it not for an offer of a lucrative character that came to him and proved too strong a temptation for him to resist. It was from the Freret Cotton Press, offering him a place in their employ at a salary of $2,500 a year, now a large sum for so young a man, but even more so at that time-nearly thirty-five years ago. Mr. En- right remained with the company for four years, and until the breaking out of the war, which of course entirely paralyzed the cot- ton business.
Then he came to Chicago, and having accepted a position as book-keeper in the wholesale liquor house of Schwab, McQuaid & Smith, remained with that firm for two years, then entering into business for himself in the same line under the firm name of Smith, Cleary & Enright. This was in 1868, and the concern carried on business successfully until the great fire of 1871, when they were totally burned out, the books as well as the stock being entirely consumed. The firm, however, paid one hundred cents on the dol- lar without even asking any extension, and rebuilding, started in, and continued until January 1st, 1890. In the latter year, Mr. Enright was elected president of the Star Brewery, of Chicago, fill- ing that position for one year, and afterwards the office of secretary and treasurer for two years. At the close of 1892, Mr. Enright start- ed in the distillery business, forming a connection with the Globe Distilling Company, of Pekin, Ill., and also acting as general agent for the Sonoma Wine & Brandy Co., of California. With these two connections Mr. Enright transacts a business of fully one million dollars a year.
Notwithstanding the activity of his business career and the
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constant supervision required, Mr. Enright has found time to in- terest himself somewhat in public matters appertaining to the ad- vancement of his adopted city and the community at large. He was appointed a director of the Chicago Public Library by the late Carter H. Harrison, in 1883, served five years, and during that time he was twice elected president of the Board by the directors. His connection with the Board ceased in 1888.
Mr. Enright was president and treasurer of the Irish American Club, which is now unfortunately out of existence, and is at the present time president of the Marquette Council of the Catholic Benevolent Legion. Though always a staunch Roman Catholic, he is a man of most broad and liberal views, conceding to all the right of freedom of thought as well as freedom of speech. In his politi- cal views he has at all times been a Democrat.
Mr. Enright was married November 30th, 1865, to Mary B. Croghan, of Chicago, the daughter of Edward Croghan, an exten- sive landed proprietor of County Roscommon, Ireland. They have eight children living, five daughters and three sons, and one daugh- ter died two years ago. Their son James P. acts as book- keeper for his father, and another son, Walter J., is a member of the Art Institute, where he has made a good record. He has already become a frequent contributor to current magazines. One of the daughters has also demonstrated very similar abilities. She is a teacher of drawing in one of the high schools of Chicago and has attained great proficiency in that accomplishment. .
For mathematics Mr. Enright still retains his old taste, but outside of his own business he is principally known as a writer for various papers and publications. His reply to Ingersoll, entitled "After Death," which was published in the "Citizen" of October 6th, 1894, was masterly in character, and though an article occu- pying little more than a column of space, contained in a small com- pass as much pertinent thought as might be given in many volumes.
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He met the notorious agnostic on his own grounds, and every line telling, pointed out clearly and most forcibly his fallacious reason- ing. This is mentioned only as an illustration of many other valu- able contributions from Mr. Enright's pen.
Mr. Enright is a man in the prime of life, genial and dignified, a delightful conversationalist, and who, having gathered around him a host of friends, one need hardly say is most warmly esteemed by all who know him for his eminent qualities both of head and heart.
The family relations of Mr. Enright are also of the most happy character, for far from being the austere and tyrannical father of story and oft-times of fact, he is the friend and companion of his children, and while looked up to with the respect due the father and head of the household, he at the same time enters with sym- pathy and interest into their pursuits and recreations.
His brother, Rev. Timothy Enright, entered the Redemptorist College, of Annapolis, Md., in 1856, and was ordained in Baltimore in 1863, in the same class of students which contained Archbishop Gross, of Oregon. As a missionary priest, Father Enright has since traveled through the United States, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and is one of the most noted linguists in the country, speaking some fifteen languages. He is now at St. Michael's Church, where he officiates in connection with the Order of Redemptorists, of which he is a member.
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THOMAS ALEXANDER SMYTH.
The subject of this sketch, if not exactly of Chicago birth, barely escaped that fortune, for it was on the steamboat St. Jo- seph, when journeying from Buffalo to Chicago, and in the Chi- cago Harbor, half an hour before the landing stage was reached, that Thomas Alexander Smyth first saw the light of day.
Neither high political preferment nor stupendous business suc- cess are needed to make a life of pleasing interest to its readers, or of good and valuable instruction to one's fellow men. T. A. Smyth has worked along calmly but continuously. All that his hand found to do, he did with the very utmost of his power, and to-day he stands among the foremost Irish Americans of this great city; no man in it better known, more highly respected, or more truly honored.
He was born September 27, 1848; his father, Michael K. Smyth, and his mother, Bridget McDonald Smyth, were both from Ballina, County Mayo, and of good Irish descent for several generations. The business of Michael K. Smyth was that of importer of lumber and tobacco; he was in very comfortable circumstances and the owner of a number of vessels. In 1828, however, he sought a larger field for action, and settling in Quebec, Canada, engaged in the fur business. A few years later he moved to the United States and took up the business of a wholesale grocer in Buffalo, New York. In 1848 he started for Chicago, and on the journey, as was men- tioned before, Thomas A. was born. He obtained a situation as land agent to William B. Ogden, then largely interested in, and later president of the Galena Air Line. The business abilities Michael K. Smyth displayed obtained quick recognition, and he
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was appointed town clerk in 1850, and served for one year; but at the same time acting for Mr. Ogden. An active member of the Volunteer Fire Department in 1853, the performance of this pa- triotic duty was the cause of his death. One winter night in a temperature below zero, he was called to a fire, and with another volunteer was caught by a falling gable. To save them from the fire, they were deluged with water, and the after exposure produced a severe cold which, in each case, terminated fatally.
Thomas A. Smyth received his education in Chicago public schools, and after passing through the grammar school immedi- ately sought some occupation. He first entered the moulding trade, but it was so disagreeable that he found it necessary to change to that of a mason, in which he continued until 1867. He then started as a contractor on his own account, and was very successful in his venture. Thereafter he entered into business with his brother, John M. Smyth, the well known west side merchant, the firm that is now known as the John M. Smyth Co. Here he remained until 1888, when he sold out his interest and engaged in real estate loans and insurance business, in which he still remains. Success has crowned his efforts, and his real estate investments have brought him very material gains.
Mr. Smyth has always been true to the Democratic party, politi- cal appointment he has never sought, although strong efforts were used to induce him to become a member of the City Council. His popularity was shown, however, on November 7, 1895, in his elec- tion as trustee for five years of the Sanitary District of Chicago, which is engaged in the stupendous undertaking of building the Drainage Canal from Chicago to Joliet, in order to supply Chicago with a perfect system of drainage and also with pure water. The estimated cost of this great enterprise is about $35,000,000.
He was married August 27, 1879, at Boston, Massachusetts, to Sarah Elizabeth. Usher, daughter of Thomas and Mary Usher.
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She was born in England, of Irish parents, her father having been a captain of police, both in England and Ireland. There were five children, Agnes, John, Sarah, Joseph and Thomas, all of whom are living. Mrs. Smyth, who died February 4, 1894, was a tall and graceful woman, of intellectual ideas and strong religious temperament. She had endeared herself to an immense circle of friends, and her loss was a terrible grief to her husband and their children.
Thomas Smyth is an old member of the Knights of Pythias, and also of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He is also in the Royal Arcanum, and is president of his ward club.
JAMES C. DOOLEY.
James C. Dooley, the west side Justice of the Peace, was born in Ireland, December, 1850, the youngest son of a family of eight sons and one daughter. Concerning his parents, his father, Michael Dooley, was a farmer in moderate circumstances, while his mother was formerly Mary O'Connor.
James C. Dooley received his education partly in the national schools in Ireland and partly in the public schools of Chicago, afterwards taking a course in the Bryant & Stratton Business Col- lege. He was sixteen years old when a neighbor of the family in Ireland was setting off to America, and deeply though such a part- ing was felt, he was permitted to go also. Landing in New York in 1866, his sole worldly wealth was fifty cents. The distance and
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lack of funds prevented him journeying to a brother in Wisconsin, and forced him to immediately secure work. He found a position as messenger for the Western Union Telegraph Company. In 1867 he decided to come to Chicago and began to work for the Western Union Telegraph Company in the department controlling the shipment of telegraph poles and other construction supplies. The superintendent of the department having discovered Mr. Dooley's abilities, left the matter of attending to the business of the department entirely in his charge. So well was every duty performed that the manager finally concluded that he was amply able for the place and consequently made him superintendent of the department. Mr. Dooley's great object in life at this time was, however, to secure an education, and for that purpose he at- tended the public schools at night, and by saving much of what he was able to earn also succeeded in taking a night business course in the college mentioned before. He left the employ of the West- ern Union Telegraph Company and obtained a clerkship and the position of Deputy Sheriff in the Sheriff's office of Cook County, in which he remained from 1872 to 1891. By unanimous recom- mendation of the judges he was in 1891 appointed by Governor Fifer, and reappointed by Governor Altgeld, Justice of the Peace of the Town of West Chicago, with jurisdiction within Cook County. This opportunity he utilized to the fullest purpose and commenced the study of law at the Chicago College of Law, and having com- pleted his course was examined in 1895 for admission to the bar before the Appellate Court and the faculty of the Law School and was successful.
A Democrat in his political opinions, he has oftentimes been called upon to act as chairman of town conventions, and for six years was a member of the Democratic County Central Committee. In 1892 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, held at Chicago, which resulted in the election of Grover Cleve-
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land. He was married October 10th, 1876, to Miss Bridget Mc- Carthy, a native of Chicago. They have seven children-Richard, the eldest, a graduate of St. Patrick's School, and now studying law, has shown great promise as a public speaker; Lottie, a student in the Chicago High School; Nellie, is a girl of twelve, who ex- hibits considerable musical talent, having by herself acquired knowledge of the piano and violin, and become quite proficient; the others-James, Charles, Anna, and Genevieve-are attending the Sisters' school.
Justice Dooley is a Catholic in his religious views, attending Father Bonfield's Church with his family. During his early life, being of an exceedingly social disposition, there was scarcely an Irish society of which he was not a member. He, however, did not limit his attention to those societies appealing especially to Irish- men, but was also connected with several others, particularly of such as are of a benevolent nature.
PATRICK MILFORD HANNEY.
It has been said, and possibly with some foundation, that those of the Irish race have succeeded in obtaining a considerable voice in the government of every country to which a migration had been made, with the exception of their own land. Irishmen hold high rank in the armies of France, Spain, Austria, Great Britain, and other countries-the secretary of the Mexican Navy is an Irishman -- and in the United States they are to be found with high rank not only in the army and navy but also in commercial life, for seem-
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ingly the Irish character possesses many of the essentials of suc- cess as well as the peculiar qualification of never being satisfied until the principal place in whatever is undertaken has been achieved.
ยท The subject of this sketch is an Irishman who, absolutely un- privileged in the way of schooling advantages, none the less man- aged to secure a good education, and when thrown, at a very early age, upon the world, full of a strong will and steadfast in his pur- pose, has succeeded in making his name a power in the business world. Mr. Patrick Milford Hanney, president of the Hazel Pure Food Co., and at the same time manager and buyer for the immense grocery department of Siegel & Cooper, was born in County Leitrim, Ireland, April 13th, 1860, his parents being Patrick and Patrica (Fallon) Hanney, whose family were farmers in that section of the country. Patrick Hanney died in 1876 and the mother of our sub- ject is now living in this city.
His career has been an eminently adventurous one; at the age of sixteen, Patrick M. Hanney took up a seafaring life, working his way on a steamer. Arrived in India, he obtained employment with the Hong-Kong and Indian Importing Company in the ca- pacity of an errand boy, and from that position worked his way up until, on reaching twenty-one, he was the general buyer for the company, purchasing $1,500,000 worth of goods each year. He was a splendid judge of values and trading appeared to come to him as a sort of second nature. Having saved some money, he determined to see some more of the world, and was also ambitious to take up the business of coffee growing. With this object in view, he sailed for South America and began to speculate, buying coffee and ship- ping it to New York and Chicago, but being insufficiently experi- enced, the venture did not prove a profitable one.
Moving to New York he remained there two years, doing busi- ness as a broker in foreign products, and in 1886 located in Chi-
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cago, engaging in the jobbing and exporting business. His capital, however, proved too limited, and a reported failure of the bank in which it was known his funds were deposited, forced him out of business, and left him in debt to the extent of $130,000. Sterling in his honesty and a man of the strictest integrity, this heavy loss Mr. Hanney set out vigorously to clear, and so nearly has this been done that at the present writing-1897-there is no man in Chi- cago's commercial circles higher rated or considered.
In 1890 it was brought to the notice of Mr. Hanney that Messrs. Siegel & Cooper, whose store was then located at the corner of Adams and Wabash Avenue, had found the grocery department an unprofitable venture and were determined to close. He offered to take a lease and to this the firm readily assented. The business prospered exceedingly and became practically a gold mine, so much so that when the firm moved to its new building, on State Street, a different arrangement with Mr. Hanney was insisted on. He was offered a certain percentage of the profits and afterwards a straight salary of $8,500 a year, the latter of which he accepted. At the present time he is manager and buyer of the grocery department and his great general knowledge of goods and merchandise has carried him into a very close and confidential relation with the head of this immense firm, who remains in New York to look after the interests of the branch there. Mr. Hanney's good judgment and thoroughly active superintendence have increased the sales of his department in the last six years from $100,000 to $1,500,000 a year, and it must be remembered that this is in a department where others, considered to be strong and experienced, have absolutely failed.
From Mr. Hanney's first arrival in the United States he had noticed that the food products of this country were so cheap and so plentiful that it was possible to put up pure goods and ship abroad at a cost far below what could be done by any other nation.
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Going to Washington, he endeavored, unsuccessfully, to organize such a company, but his agitation of the subject produced good fruit in the recent legislation in several of the States against im- pure foods.
In 1890 he organized, promoted, and has been able to place on a solid business foundation, the Hazel Pure Food Co., which is now selling annually $6,000,000 worth of the pure food products. One-half of the stock in the concern is owned by Siegel & Cooper, and Mr. Hanney owns the balance, and is at the same time president and general manager. In face of the enormous yearly sales, it is unnecessary to state that the business has been a very great suc- cess, or that Mr. Hanney's faith in good and pure foods has been amply justified.
Ile led to the altar, in 1888, Jessie M. Sinclair, of Aberdeen, Scotland, a lady of many accomplishments. They have a family of three children.
Like all Irishmen, Mr. Hanney possesses a strong predilection for athletics of all descriptions, and is a member of the Chicago Athletic Association.
In religious belief he is a Roman Catholic, and in politics inde- pendent. Quite a traveler, he has visited every part of the world, and every year the necessities of his business take him to Europe. He is also an extensive reader, talking intelligently and interest- ingly upon all topics of the day, and is at all times pleasant, cour- teous, kindly, and generous, a gentleman of many friends and by all held in the highest esteem and affection.
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JOSEPH JOHN DUFFY.
To be a self-made man in this western life of unsparing vigor and ceaseless activity is to demonstrate the possession of great and unusual gifts. To be able to withstand successfully the mighty powers of capitalists and by arduous labor, the utilization of every physical and mental power, make the possessors of cap- ital serve you, each on an equal platform, this it is to be notable and deservedly proud. The subject of this sketch may well flatter himself upon the opportunities he has made, the manner in which he has used and the reputation he has gained.
Joseph John Duffy was born in Chicago, August 20th, 1859. His father, John, and mother, Elizabeth (Canfield) Duffy, came to this city from Roscommon, Ireland, in 1840. John Duffy, senior, became one of the most prominent contractors of Chicago in his day. Young John Duffy attended school at St. Patrick's and after- wards at the seminary of our Lady of the Angels, at Niagara Falls. After leaving school, young Duffy went into the general contract- ing business with his father for ten years, afterwards entering into a partnership with his brother Michael. Many large contracts with the City of Chicago were taken by him, among which may be mentioned the Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street viaduct and the Western Avenue and Kinzie Street viaduct. During the last four or five years he has laid on an average between 200,000 and 300,000 yards of street paving.
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