USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Biographical history of the American Irish in Chicago > Part 9
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This short period sufficed for him to give evidence of such abil- ity that the moment the work was completed he was appointed one of the division engineers of the New Orleans & North Eastern Railroad. In this position he was engaged on the construction of the great bridge across the Pontchartrain swamp, the longest piece of trestle construction in the world, being twenty-two and a 8
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half miles in length. The work was difficult in the extreme, and when it was finished the young engineer, not yet twenty-one years of age, was broken down by the frightful fevers caught among the swamps.
For the winter he returned to Cincinnati, and in the spring fol- lowing went to the republic of Mexico to work on the Moun- tain division of the Tampico branch of the Mexican Central R. R. Yellow fever broke out among the engineers and workmen, and although Mr. Hill was anxious to reorganize a force and continue the work, the railroad people decided to abandon it for the time being. His next field of work was in Florida, where he laid out several towns. Soon after this he went to Colorado, having been appointed Assistant Inspector General of Surveys for the South- western district of the United States. At the end of his term of service in this position, Mr. Hill purchased a saw mill property in Colorado. He has many and exciting adventures to relate of this time, and is perhaps the only man in the world who ever saw an avalanche at close range from its birth to its destructive end, and is yet living to tell the tale.
Leaving Colorado he went to California, having been called to San Francisco to consider propositions to undertake important work on the Panama Canal. Although flattering offers were made to him, he preferred to remain in the United States, and accepted the position of locating engineer on the Chesapeake & Ohio R. R., soon after being made division engineer on the same work. His work at this time, the completion in less than six months of twelve miles of exceedingly difficult railroad building along the south bank of the Ohio River, in Kentucky, and many months before any other section of the road was finished, marks his great energy and ability. Under Captain Stack he was later assistant locating en- gineer on the Ohio and Northwestern R. R.
Being in Cincinnati in 1886, the confidence reposed in his good
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judgment and executive ability is indicated by the fact that dur- ing the terrible riots there, Mr. Hill was placed in command of a battery defending the jail, and for a week protected that institu- tion, the objective point of the rioters, although the adjoining court house was meantime burned to the ground.
The gas fields at Findlay, Ohio, attracted his attention next- this was in 1887-and his investments and work in that territory were financially successful. Being desirous, however, of active work in his profession, it was not surprising to find him abandon- ing the speculative for the active field. Chicago had been long locked upon by him as the best field for his energetic abilities, and accepting the position of track engineer of the Santa Fe R. R., he remained in that position until the completion of the road. He was then appointed by Mayor Roche, Assistant City Engineer, hav- ing in his charge the south division of the city. At the close of his term he opened offices in Chicago, and has continued up to the present in business here.
Foreseeing the rapid growth of the suburban towns of the city, he paid particular attention to the engineering needs of these com- munities, and the waterworks, sewers and streets of some of the loveliest of Chicago's suburbs are his handiwork. Among others may be mentioned: West Auburn; Maywood, with thirty miles of water pipe; West Pullman; Wilmette, twenty-six miles water pipe and twenty-six miles sewer, costing $400,000; La Grange, and Grossdale.
Soon after the spring election of 1896, it was generally under- stood that there would be important changes in the personnel of the engineering corps in charge of the work of constructing the Drainage Canal. It has been persistently said that, from the time these changes were first mooted up to the present, the successor to the present chief engineer would be Mr. Fremont Hill, of the firm of Hill & Enricht, engineers in this city.
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The Drainage Canal ranks among the greatest and most im- portant engineering enterprises known to modern civilization. In addition to the material difficulties and problems to be met and overcome, others, due to the political, financial and local condi- tions under which the work must be carried on, make it a matter of prime importance that the chief engineer should not only be thoroughly competent from the technical point of view, but should possess great executive ability and a perfect comprehension of the peculiar factors entering into the task he undertakes. Whoever is chosen must be intensely practical, a hater of all desultory meth- ods, and with determination to complete the canal at the mini- mum expenditure of money. Those who are best acquainted with Mr. Hill say that he fulfills all these requirements, and possesses every necessary qualification in a most eminent degree, referring to his record in support of their contention.
Early in 1893 Mr. Hill married Miss Edith M. Hoover, daugh- ter of J. W. Brubeker, Esq., of Lancaster, Penn., and lives in a charming home in the Village of La Grange, which his active work- ing has so greatly helped to beautify. He has two brothers, both older, of whom the elder, Alfred, is a retired lawyer and capitalist in Cincinnati, and the other, Frank K., is Lieutenant in the U. S. Navy, being now stationed on the U. S. Cruiser New York.
Mr. Hill is a fine specimen of young American manhood. He stands over six feet in height, and is in the pink of physical per- fection. His personality is a very winning one, and his manners invariably courteous, but at the same time frank and open; even to make his acquaintance is to be anxious to secure him for a friend. His practical work in the field has been supplemented by careful study, and he is so thoroughly equipped in his profes- sion that during the past few months he has been in serious cor- respondence with the authorities of the Russian Empire in regard to undertaking the difficult mountain work on the Trans-Siberian
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R. R., the construction of canal and irrigation works, and general engineering development of that country. The inducements, how- ever, will need to be very strong, for he prefers to remain in the United States, and confidently expects to win as great and lasting a renown here as could be gained abroad. His success in business he considers due to the fact that, while he demands a fair price, he never does any but first class work, and Mr. Hill can certainly point to many achievements in support of the latter contention.
MATTHEW J. CORCORAN.
Matthew J. Corcoran is another of this city's young Irish Amer- icans who deserves mention in this record. Born on October 13th, 1865, at Mountmellick, Queens County, Ireland, his parents were Matthew and Margaret (Bowe) Corcoran, both of whom are still living in the old homestead, the birthplace of the subject of this sketch. Matthew Corcoran is by occupation a farmer, and in addi- tion to the farm he rents he owns considerable real property in Mountmellick. The family has always been enthusiastically Irish. The grandfather of Matthew J. was a member of the United Irish- men, and the company of which he was captain stood all prepared for the summons to join Robert Emmet, and which never being given, the company had to be disbanded.
Matthew J. Corcoran received his education in the national school at Mountmellick, Queens County, Ireland. His schooling over, for four years he served at the dry goods business in the store of John McMahon, who, at the time, was chairman of the Mount-
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mellick Town Commissioners. He then went to Dublin and be- came a salesman with the well known firm of general merchants, Pim Brothers, on South Great George's Street, where he remained for three years. Returning to his home in Mountmellick on a visit, he was offered and accepted the superintendency of Mr. McMa- hon's growing business. Here he remained until 1886, when his ambition led him to follow the example of many of his country- men by coming to the United States, where from the first he has been eminently successful.
He received the appointment of Deputy Sheriff in 1894 under Sheriff James H. Gilbert on the recommendation of Judge Frank Baker, of the Circuit Court, and was reappointed by Sheriff James Pease to the position, in which he continues at the present writing.
Mr. Corcoran has, from a youth, been closely identified with Irish affairs, and before he left Ireland was a member and secre- tary of a local branch of the Land League as well as a member of the National League. At the present time he belongs to Division 12, Ancient Order of Hibernians, and for two terms held the posi- tion of recording secretary. He is connected with the Charles J. Kickham Literary and Social Club, with the St. Anne's Catholic Total Abstinence Society, belongs to the Royal League, and also to the Irish-American Lyceum.
A Roman Catholic in his religious views, he is in politics a Dem- ocrat, and at the present time secretary of the Fourth Ward Dem- ocratic Club and also a member of the Cook County Democracy.
In personal appearance Mr. Corcoran is very tall-six feet two inches-and rather slim. When a boy, football and cricket were his great pleasures, and now he is a firm believer in bicycling. For total abstinence there is to-day no more thorough advocate in Chi- cago, and Mr. Corcoran has oftentimes given it as his heartfelt opinion, that those of the Irish race would be the greatest people on the face of God's green earth if more temperance was exercised
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in the drinking habit. To his strong conviction on the subject and his complete adherence to its dictates he believes whatever of suc- cess has attended his energetic endeavors to be unquestionably due.
Ireland is to him well known ground, for all its chiefest features and most beautiful spots have been visited and studied. An in- teresting conversationalist, a man of good judgment, pleasant in his manner and happy in every incident of social intercourse, Mr. Corcoran possesses and is esteemed and respected by a host of friends.
LAWRENCE HENELY.
Lawrence Henely was born in London, England, February 1st, 1847. Of his parents, John and Winnifred (Dowling) Henely, his father was a native of Tuam, County Galway, Ireland, and had connected himself with the Ribbon Men of 1847 and 1848. A tailor by trade, he had come to the United States about the year 1849, settling first in New York, later in Lexington, Ky., and finally mov- ing to Iowa in the year 1854, where he now resides. The mother of eur subject was from Queens County, Ireland, and died in Iowa in 1892.
Lawrence Henely was educated in the public schools of Iowa, which he left in 1866, and went to Omaha, Neb., securing employ- ment with the wholesale grocery house of Creighton & Morgan. He remained with this firm as book-keeper for four years. Chicago was chosen as his home in 1874, and he embarked in the grocery business on his own account. At this business he continued until in 1890 he entered the employ of the Cooke Brewing Company as
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cashier and head book-keeper, a position he holds at the present time.
Mr. Henely was married, in 1869, to Miss Anastasi Conway, daughter of Robert Conway, of Dubuque, Iowa. The latter was a cousin of General Thomas Maher, of the Irish Brigade, and he him- self was a member of that famous organization and greatly distin- guished himself during the war. They have had ten children, of whom nine are living.
In his political views he is a Democrat with strong silver ideas, while in religion he is a Roman Catholic, and a regular attendant of St. James Church. Since his youth all Irish affairs have pos- sessed for him the greatest interest. He was a member of the famous Land League Movement, is a member of the Irish National Society, and also the Ancient Order of Hibernians, of which he is Past State President and at present President of Cook County.
He is a man of genial disposition and kindly nature, who, by the most sterling qualities of head and heart, has earned the respect and regard of a very large circle of friends.
JAMES AUSTIN HOGAN.
No work aiming to record the worthy deeds of the American Irish in Chicago would be complete were honorable mention want- ing of James Austin Hogan. He was born in this city on the north side December 2d, 1852, his parents being Martin and Mar- garet (Wall) Hogan, both of whom were natives of County Tipper- ary, Ireland. They had left the old home for the New World in
Las. Q. Argan
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1847, making a short stay in the City of New York, and then mov- ing to Chicago, where Martin Hogan assisted in the building of the Illinois & Michigan Canal and later was a boatman on it until 1877, in which year he died, having made hundreds of friends and being very deeply regretted. A worthy man and a good citizen, highly respected in the community, he was at the same time a strong Irish patriot, and ever willing to do what was in his power for the cause. His wife followed him to the grave in 1885.
The subject of this sketch attended the parish schools of his district and later spent twelve months at Bryant & Stratton's Business College, where he remained until he was eighteen years of age. Then he went to work for his father as steersman on the canal boat, retaining this position for one season, when he came under the notice of Mr. John W. McGinniss, then secretary of the Illinois Stone Co., for which concern Mr. Hogan was at the time hauling stone. Mr. McGinniss offered the young man a position in his office if he could keep books, and the young man, full of faith in his own abilities, was given charge of the books of this company on August 2d, 1871. As the years have passed on he has from time to time received promotion and has filled the positions of secre- tary, treasurer, and finally that of general manager, the responsi- ble office which he now holds. The Illinois Stone Co. is the old- est of its kind in the country, having been organized in 1852, and its volume of business being the next to the largest of any in this city. The company's quarries are situated at Lemont, and the chief business is done in dimension and rubble stone, which have been supplied for a large number of the prominent public and private buildings of Chicago.
Mr. Hogan from his youth up has taken a lively interest in Republican politics, and has for many years represented his ward -- the Sixth-at all City, County, and State Conventions, having been a County Central Committeeman since 1888. In the spring
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of 1895 the estimation in which he was held by his party was shown by his election as South Town Collector.
Mr. Hogan is a member of the Royal Arcanum, the order of United Workmen, the Independent Order of Foresters, the Knights of Pythias, and in all of his lodges has filled every chair. He is also a member of the Columbus and Sheridan Clubs, as well as the Builders and Traders Exchange; in the latter he has held the office of vice-president, treasurer, and is at the present president and delegate-at-large.
In his religious views he is a Roman Catholic and belongs to the congregation of St. Bridget's Church. Mr. Hogan was married to Frances L. Hendry, a Buffalo lady of Irish descent on her moth- er's side, in November, 1872, and they have had five children, two daughters and three boys. Both Mr. Hogan and his amiable wife are very social in their dispositions, and are never happier than when dispensing hospitality in their charming home at 2919 Haines Street.
Mr. Hogan is generous and liberal in all worthy matters of charity which are brought to his attention, and like his father before him, is also at all times a friend of his kinsmen across the seas, and takes a lively interest in all affairs affecting the land of his forefathers or those of Irish blood in this city.
Tireless activity and unwavering energy are the leading char- acteristics of those men who have mainly contributed to Chicago's present prominence among the great cities of the world. As a rule, too, these founders of our city have been self-made men, and their lives have served as stimulating influences to those who have followed, and in this connection this brief sketch of the career of James Austin Hogan, a truly representative American Irishman, is full of example and good precept.
AtRics
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P. H. RICE.
Among the men foremost in this city as identified with Western industrial enterprises, those who have become known far and wide by reason of the magnitude of their operations and the vast extent of their trade connections, none is there whose personality is of a more interesting character or whose career has been more impres- sive or beneficial as an object lesson to the community at large than the subject of the present sketch, Mr. P. H. Rice, the well known arbitrator of the Chicago Brewers' Association.
He was born September 9th, 1847, in County Wexford, Ireland, his parents being William and Mary (Furlong) Rice. William Rice belonged to a family that had for a long time been famous in the malting and distilling business in Ireland, and coming to the United States in 1850, he settled down at Belvidere, Ill., entering the employ of Lawrence Maloney & Co., who was at that time the proprietor of the largest distilling plant in the country. Later, when the plant was moved to Elgin, Ill., Mr. Rice accompanied it, and for many years was one of its most trusted and responsible officers. He died in 1886, and his wife, the mother of P. II. Rice, followed him in 1896.
The subject of this sketch attended the public schools of Elgin, from which he graduated at the age of fourteen. Employment was then secured by him in a store at Elgin, and there he re- mained for three years, when his good sense recognizing that edu- cation was the key to honest commercial success and that he had not been so well supplied in that particular as he ought to be, he entered the College of Notre Dame, passing through the commer- cial course and graduating at the end of two years. In 1866 Mr.
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Rice came to Chicago and entered the employ of F. E. Rigby, a wholesale and retail dealer in paints, wall paper, etc., in the ca- pacity of salesman and manager.
From his early youth Mr. Rice had been around the malt house and distillery in which his father was interested, and the latter instructed his son in the rudiments of the trade and gave him an opportunity of seeing its practical working. Strict frugality having enabled the young man to save some money, in 1868 he purchased a malt house at Elgin, and in connection with his father operated the same. This was really the foundation of the business which was later to make the name of P. H. Rice famous in con- nection with the malting and distilling interests of the West, an industry the magnitude of which, in a very large degree, is due to Mr. Rice's ability, energy and indefatigability.
The first business experience of the subject of the present sketch had an infelicitous termination. Remaining in the employ of the Mr. Rigby before mentioned until immediately preceding the fire, he bought the latter's interest in the business and when that event in the history of Chicago happened he was burnt out, losing $25,- 000. This loss probably proved the foundation of his fortune. In the fire all the malt houses in the city had been destroyed, and Mr. Rice, quick and resourceful, saw the opportunity to make money by developing that industry, and quickly grasped the occa- sion. During his few years of residence in Chicago, he had been successful in establishing a good credit, and now consequently he was in a position to borrow whatever money he needed to take up the malting business on an extensive scale.
The distillery at the corner of Kinzie and Seymour Streets, Chicago, was purchased by him in 1875, and this he enlarged and improved in many important particulars. As an illustration of his standing in the financial world of this city, it may be recorded that during the panic of 1893 his plant was the only one in the
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United States which continued to run to its full capacity, and in regard to commercial rating, P. H. Rice is given as high as any individual in this city.
In addition to other large brewing and distilling interests in Chicago, Mr. Rice has also established and is at present operating the largest malting plant in the world. This is at West Chicago on the Belt Line and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, its capacity being two million bushels per annum. Recently, in association with his brother, T. J. Rice, he purchased the plant of the Star Brewery, which they have thoroughly reconstructed and enlarged until it has become the model brewery of Chicago and with a capacity of three hundred thousand barrels per annum both in storage and refrigeration. The product, too, is noted both for its purity and for its health restoring qualities, and the malt extracts are famous throughout the world.
Mr. Rice is a director of the Fort Dearborn National Bank, a prominent member of the Board of Trade, and one of the largest grain buyers in his line on the floor. The reputation in which he is held among his business associates was evidenced in his choice as arbitrator for the Chicago Brewers' Association. He is the owner of large cattle interests in the West, and also of consid- erable and very valuable city property, and in speaking of the latter it is said he possesses such a predilection for corner prop- erties that he now possesses more improved street corners in Chi- cago than any other individual. He was also one of the organ- izers and the first president of the Lake Street L, which he brought men from New York to develop.
Mr. Rice was united in marriage in 1878 to Miss Mary J. Walsh, the daughter of a prominent North Side citizen and furniture man- ufacturer, and they have a family of five boys and one girl. The eldest son, William P., has already developed a remarkable apt- ness in the line of electricity, and when only twelve years of age
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made his own batteries and wired Mr. Rice's house with electric wires. The boy's disposition, however, was too studious for the good of his health, and his father therefore thought it advisable to remove him from school and place him at the military academy at Orchard Lake, Mich., so that he might be given better oppor- tunities to develop physically. Mr. and Mrs. Rice have traveled extensively throughout the United States, and are both of the im- pression that one's own country should be known thoroughly be- fore any thought given to foreign travel. Mr. Rice is a devout Roman Catholic and is a member of the congregation of St. James Church. Formerly he was one of the strongest pillars of St. Mal- achy's Parish, and by his financial aid and endorsement greatly assisted the Rev. Thomas P. Hodnett in the erection of his present handsome church. While his leisure moments are few and far between, yet still he finds time to attend the meetings of, and is an old and valued member of the Sheridan, the Columbus and the Commercial Clubs. Public spirited and benevolent, he has at all times shown himself a practical sympathizer with the charita- ble work of Chicago, as well as being ready at all times to assist with his purse and influence his kinsmen across the seas. He was one of the original subscribers to the Catholic colonization scheme, formulated by Bishop O'Connor of Omaha, Archbishop Ireland, and a number of leading Catholic laymen, and was also mainly instrumental in the locating of Feehanville, for which he secured the site and gave four years to superintending its building up and placing the town on a sound financial footing. When the terrible Johnstown, Pa., disaster roused the whole United States to pity, his feelings found a substantial outcome, for he quickly had a train load of flour dispatched to the scene.
Up to the last presidential campaign, Mr. Rice had been an unflinching Democrat, but, as he expresses it, "At the last elec- tion all good business men knew upon which side their bread was
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buttered, and cast their votes for sound money." His political sagacity was evinced by his prophecy regarding the secretaryship of the United States treasury, for on the day following the elec- tion he informed Mr. Lyman J. Gage in a conversation, that he felt convinced that the position would be offered to him. He now proudly calls himself the "Original Gage man."
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