USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Historical review of Chicago and Cook county and selected biography, Volume I > Part 46
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Mr. Allerton worked on a farm until he was eighteen years of age, and then began stock raising on his own account, buying also in Wayne county, New York, for the New York markets. But his oper- ations drew him further and further toward the west, and, having al- ready purchased a stock farm in Piatt county, Illinois, he located at Chicago in 1856. He bought his first cattle shipment in the old Merrick yards on Cottage Grove avenue, and as the city had no bank he had to depend upon express shipments of money from New York. In May, 1860, upon a sharp decline in the market, he bought every hog in Chicago ($80,000 worth), cornered the market, and, although he was for a time in desperate straits to find a house which would cash his sight draft on New York, he finally got the money of Aiken & Morton at one per cent, and out of the profits of the deal laid the foundation of his fortune as a farmer, a stock dealer and a financier. His experience of this period also suggested to his practical Yankee mind the need of union stock yards and better banking facilities for Chicago.
In the sixties there were three live stock yards in Chicago. In 1865 Mr. Allerton and John B. Sherman commenced to agitate the proposition of a combination of their interests through the public press and among public spirited citizens, especially those connected with the trade. In 1866 their efforts bore results in the firm estab- lishment of the Union Stock Yards, which have perhaps done more for the business and commercial advancement of Chicago than any
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other enterprise which can be named. In the succeeding years Mr. Allerton also became interested in the stock yards at Pittsburg, Phil- adelphia, Baltimore, Jersey City (New York yards). St. Joseph and Omaha. For many years he was president of the Allerton Packing Company and is now president of the Allerton-Clarke Company.
Mr. Allerton was also largely responsible for the establishment of the pioneer bank of Chicago founded under the national banking law, so widely known as the First National Bank, of which he was an original director and in which he still holds large interests. There are two things which he says he never offers for sale-stock in the First National and Illinois farm lands. It is said that he is now the owner of 40,000 acres of agricultural realty in Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska and Wyoming.
Mr. Allerton's most valuable estate, and one of the model live stock farms of the world, comprises 19,000 acres near Monticello, Illinois. "The Farms," as the place is known, lies in two counties, and there are three railroad stations upon it for the reception of its products and their transportation to market. Although every acre is tilled to perfection, fine horses, cattle and hogs are the chief sources of revenue. "The Farms" house is of brick, simple yet tasteful, and modeled after the typical residence of the English country gentleman. Then there is the Allerton summer home at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, standing at the center of two beautiful farms of eighty acres each. with a velvet lawn in front, and a superb garden, greenhouses, barns and dairy in the rear. A steam launch is ever ready for the family or visitors. One of Mr. Allerton's near neighbors on the lake is R. T. Crane, a king of industry in another line. . Mr. Allerton's winters are spent in California, and here again he has shown his artistic tastes and originality, having converted one of the old Spanish mis- sion buildings into a quaint, elegant winter home.
Returning to what Mr. Allerton has done for Chicago, it is not generally remembered that he introduced the cable system of trans- portation to Chicago, and, although its usefulness has been long out- lived, it was a vast improvement over mule and horse transportation. In 1880 he saw the cable at work in San Francisco, and, being a stockholder in the South Side Traction system, induced Superintend- ent Holmes to investigate the innovation himself, with the result of giving the city its pioneer rapid transit line. Mr. Allerton is still a
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director of the Chicago City Railway Company. In addition to fill- ing the positions of trust already mentioned, for so many years, he is a director in the First Trust and Savings Bank, National Safe De- posit Company, North Waukegan Harbor and Dock Company, Weaver Coal and Coke Company, Arcade File Works (president) and Art Marble Company (vice president). He has also large real estate interests in the city.
Mr. Allerton's broad and sound judgment have long been recog- nized and utilized by the foremost citizens of Chicago, not only in the conduct of large business enterprises and financial institutions, but in matters of public concern. He was on the directory of the World's Columbian Exposition, and in the World's Fair year he was also put forward by his friends for the mayoralty on the Republican ticket. But he was never a politician, and as it was also an "off" year, he failed of election. His ideas as to practical benevolence are well il- lustrated by his establishment, in conjunction with the late Henry E. Weaver, of the St. Charles Home for Boys, several years ago, the mainstay of that institution and its inmates being agriculture.
Mr. Allerton's first wife, whom he married at Peoria, Illinois, was Miss Paduella W. Thompson, who died in 1880, leaving two children, Robert H. and Katie R. In 1881 he wedded Miss Agnes C. Thompson, the sister of his first wife, who is still living. His ances- tral history has brought him membership in the Illinois Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Society of Mayflower De- scendants, and his political, social and outdoor proclivities have in- duced him to join the following clubs: Calumet, Union League, Washington Park, Chicago Golf and Marquette. His Chicago resi- dence is at No. 1936 Prairie avenue. His book "Practical Farming," was published in 1907.
Norman B. Ream is one of the strong men of Chicago who have made its influence national, and even international. He is a past
NORMAN B. master of details, but has never rested content with
the accomplishment of small things. Starting life
REAM. with becoming modesty, he mastered one field after another until he is now a power in finance, real estate, railroad man- agement, and the municipal and political activities which naturally accompany such broad influence in practical affairs.
Mr. Ream is a native of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, born
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November 5, 1844, and is a son of Levi and Highly (King) Ream. The Ream family originally came from Germany, the maternal branch being of intermixed Scotch and German blood. For many genera- tions the American ancestors have resided in Pennsylvania, Mr. Ream's father, until of recent years, having been a Somerset farmer ; he is now a resident of Sacramento, California.
Norman B. Ream was brought up in the section of Pennsylvania named above, and had so rapidly advanced in his studies that he com- menced to teach district school when he was only fourteen years of age. As he became absorbed in the new ambrotype process of pho- tography he abandoned his pedagogical aspirations and for three years studied and practiced the art of photography in connection with the more prosaic work of the farm. He then dropped everything for the Union cause and enlisted in the Eighty-fifth Regiment, Penn- sylvania Volunteer Infantry, participating with that command in the McClellan peninsular campaign of 1862 and subsequent operations in the Carolinas, including the siege of Charleston, as well as the operations around Savannah, Georgia. In an engagement near the latter city, Mr. Ream, who had been promoted to a first lieutenancy and was then acting adjutant of his regiment, was so severely wound- ed as to be incapacitated for service until the following June, about four months. He then rejoined his regiment, which had been trans- ferred to the Army of Virginia, under General Butler, and in almost the first engagement in which he participated was again badly wound- ed. In the month of August he again joined his regiment, but found that his health had been undermined by repeated injuries, combined with the physical strain incident to incessant campaigning, so that he was soon afterward obliged to accept his honorable discharge and return to his Pennsylvania home.
After taking a course at a commercial college in Pittsburg and clerking for a short time in a general store, Mr. Ream located at Princeton, Illinois, where he served as a clerk in a dry goods store. This was in 1866. His next advance in the business field was to form a partnership with Charles Mosshart, under the firm name of Mosshart & Ream, selling his interest in the business in the following year and removing to Osceola, Iowa. For the succeeding three years this was his headquarters for extensive and profitable operations in the grain, live stock and implements business.
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In 1871, just before the great fire, Mr. Ream became a resident of Chicago, and locating at the Union Stock Yards engaged in the live stock commission business, later venturing into the railroad stock market, being for some time a member of the New York Stock Exchange. In 1888, however, he ceased to operate on the exchanges, profitable as his operations had been, and commenced to invest largely in Chicago real estate, as well as in other city property. His in- vestments in this direction have resulted in the erection of such struc- tures as the Rookery, of Chicago and the Midland Hotel, of Kansas City. He has also obtained large interests in cattle ranches in the west, and farm and timber lands in various parts of the country.
Mr. Ream's wide influence in the management of transportation systems and financial and industrial institutions is but faintly indi- cated by a mere mention of his directorship in the following: Balti- more & Ohio Railroad Company, Chicago & Alton Railroad Com- pany, Erie Railroad Company, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road Company, Colorado Southern Railway Company, Lehigh Val- ley Railroad Company, Seaboard Air Line System, Chicago Union Traffic Railway Company, Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, United States Steel Corporation, First National Bank (Chicago), Interna- tional Harvester Company, Pullman Company, National Biscuit Company, Central Safety Deposit Company, Federal Trust and Sav- ings Bank, First Trust and Savings Bank, Guaranty Trust Company (New York), Metropolitan Trust Company, National Safe Deposit Company, New York Security and Trust Company, Reliance Com- pany, Corn Products Company, Federal Trust Company (Chicago) and Mount Hope Cemetery Association. In politics, Mr. Ream is an independent Republican, and is a member of the Chicago, Calumet, Athletic and Commercial clubs, of Chicago, and the Union and New York, of New York City.
In 1876 Mr. Ream was married to Miss Carrie Putnam, daughter of Dr. John Putnam, of Madison, New York, and they have five sons and two daughters.
Charles Lawrence Hutchinson represents the modern type of pro- gressive citizenship, which stands for the higher life based on mate-
CHARLES L. rial prosperity ; for the clear, practical mind, which can wisely guide the affairs of the world without being blinded to the beauties of nature, art and spir-
HUTCHINSON.
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itual influences. So, while he has been identified actively and in- fluentially for more than thirty years with the Corn Exchange Bank. of which he is now vice president, he is far more than a financier. After being president of the Chicago Art Institute for twelve years, while it was struggling for a firm foothold in the appreciation and confidence of the community, he secured from the city the imposing lake front site for the installation of a permanent collection of art treasures, which should remain a constant uplifting influence for the incalculable benefit of the present and the future. Since the firm founding of the Art Institute he has continued at its head, and his labors and zeal in its behalf and the public cause have never slackened. Neither has he rested content with doing all in his power to push on the high cause of art. to the limit of his abilities and strength, but has been almost equally active in church work, his firm and living faith in the final triumph of good being symbolized by his adherence to Universalism.
Charles L. Hutchinson was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on the 7th of March, 1854, being the son of Benjamin P. and Sarah M. Hutchinson. His father, who was known for many years as one of the most successful operators on the Chicago Board of Trade, as well as a leader in business, commerce and finance, died in 1900. In 1873 Charles L. graduated from the Chicago high school, and, after spending two years in the grain and packing house businesses, entered his father's banking house, even then known as the Corn Exchange Bank. The readiness with which he seized upon the intricacies of finance was only exceeded by the industry with which he mastered one department after another, until he was made its president. He acted as such for more than twelve years. Although the son of a rich man, his wealth never clogged his activities nor spoiled his un- affected democracy, and, cultured man that he is, he has never shirked work nor been anything but approachable to those whose motives and propositions appeal to his sense of justice, manhood and morality. His was among the powerful personal influences which brought the World's Columbian Exposition to Chicago, and which, when located here, kept the great enterprise on a high plane. In the final organiza- tion he was chairman of the fine arts committee, and, in that capacity, was largely instrumental in ensuring the permanency of the Chicago Art Institute.
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The extent of Mr. Hutchinson's activities and the varied influ- ence which he exercises cannot be better illustrated than by a men- tion of some of the official positions which he at present holds. Be- sides those already mentioned, he is a director of the Northern Trust Company, treasurer of the Auditorium Association and the Univer- sity of Chicago, trustee of the Carnegie Institution, president of the Chicago Orphan Asylum, director of the Presbyterian Hospital, and trustee of the Old People's Home. He has also been an active and leading member of the St. Paul's Universalist church for twenty- five years, having been superintendent of its Sunday school. He also belongs to the following clubs: Chicago, University, Union League, Caxton, Literary, of which he is president, Onwentsia, South Shore Country, Cliff Dwellers and Bankers'.
In 1881 Mr. Hutchinson married Miss Frances Kinsley, daughter of H. M. Kinsley, and their home at 2709 Prairie avenue has long been a center of cultured, artistic and charitable life.
Charles Gates Dawes, president of the Central Trust Company of Illinois, ex-comptroller of the currency and a financier of national
repute, both in practice and the clear enunciation of
CHARLES G. DAWES. theories, is a native of Marietta, Ohio, born August 27, 1865. He is a son of General Rufus R. and Mary B. Dawes, his father serving in the war of the Rebellion as the brave colonel of the Sixth Wisconsin Regiment, a brilliant unit of the famed Iron Brigade. He was brevetted brigadier general for dis- tinguished services and gallant conduct at the head of his regiment.
Charles G. Dawes was educated in the common schools of his native town and at Marietta College, graduating from the latter in- stitution in 1884, and two years later from the Cincinnati Law School. He had already done considerable work as a railroad civil engineer, and after graduating in law became chief engineer of a small line which is now a part of the Toledo & Ohio Central railroad. In 1887 he removed to Lincoln, Nebraska, and for seven years was there engaged in the practice of the law. Having made a special study of railroad freight rates he was retained by many Nebraska shippers in their suits against the railroads, whose hearings brought about the passage of the Interstate Commerce law. In the pressing of these suits he came into marked prominence as a lawyer, and at the same time obtained high standing as a Republican leader and campaigner.
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In 1894 he removed to Evanston, Illinois, having acquired an inter- est in the local gas company, his activities in this direction afterward extending to La Crosse, Wisconsin, and other points.
Mr. Dawes had long been an ardent admirer of William McKin- ley, and in 1895 inaugurated the work in Illinois which led the Re- publican State Convention of 1896 to instruct its delegates to sup- port him for president in the national nominating convention. He was appointed on the executive committee of the Republican national committee and was regarded as McKinley's special representative. When Mr. Dawes was appointed comptroller of the currency in 1897, his relations with the President became even more confidential, and his businesslike conduct of the affairs of his office, especially his re- gard for the welfare of depositors in the national banks, met with the cordial approval both of the administration and the general public, irrespective of party. On October 1, 1901, he resigned the office to enter upon his campaign for the United States senatorship, but in May of the following year withdrew from the contest and, a few days later, was elected to his present position as head of the Central Trust Company of Illinois. Mr. Dawes was the youngest man who ever held the position of comptroller of the currency; but in his case com- parative youth and inexperience seemed to be no drawback to ad- vancement. His reputation as a financier has been strengthened by his management of the important banking institution of which he is president, while his book, "The Banking Systems of the United States," has for several years been recognized as a standard work.
On January 24, 1889, Mr. Dawes married Miss Caro Dana Bly- myer, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and their children are Rufus Fearing and Carolyn. The family home is still in Evanston. Mr. Dawes is a welcome, active and influential member of many clubs, his connection including membership in the Chicago, Union League, Glen View, Evanston, Evanston Country, Evanston Golf, Marquette and Hamil- ton.
Edward Samuel Lacey, president of the Bankers' National Bank of Chicago, enjoys a national reputation as an able financier, and has
EDWARD S. won his way to his present honored position in the
business, social and political world through his pre-
LACEY. eminent perseverance, foresight and integrity. He was born in the town of Chili, Monroe county, New York, November
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26th, 1835, and is a son of Edward DeWitt and Martha C. Pixley Lacey.
Edward D. Lacey was born in Bennington, Vermont, and died at Charlotte, Michigan, November 6th, 1862, aged nearly fifty-three years. He possessed in a notable degree those qualities of integrity, intelligence and tenacity of purpose for which the people of the Green Mountain state are notable. He removed with his parents to Monroe county, New York, when but ten years of age, and was educated at Henrietta, in that state. He engaged in mercantile busi- ness at Chili, New York, and in 1842 removed to Michigan, locating the next year at Kalamo, Eaton county-then a comparative wilder- ness. He was a man of prominence in that locality, filling many po- sitions of public trust and responsibility, and was a leading spirit in the development and improvement of that section of the state. He was a son of Major Samuel Lacey and grandson of Ebenezer Lacey, natives of Woodbury, Connecticut. The latter served in the Con- necticut Line through the Virginia and Pennsylvania campaigns of the Revolutionary war, under Generals Washington and Lafayette, becoming an orderly sergeant in the latter's command. He was a son of Thaddeus Lacey, who moved to Connecticut from Boston, Massa- chusetts. The first ancestor in America came from the vicinity of Belfast, Ireland, and located in Boston, in 1704.
Samuel Lacey was born at Woodbury, Connecticut, and went with his parents, Ebenezer and Mary (Hurd) Lacey, to Vermont, in 1784. He established the second cloth-dressing works in the state at Bennington, and in 1818 removed to Monroe county, New York, where he was a prosperous and influential citizen. During the war of 1812 he was major of the First Regiment of Vermont Militia, which was called into service on the northern frontier. He assisted in the first organization of the Whig party at Syracuse, New York, in 1835, and was for many years one of its ablest supporters. He died at Marshall, Michigan, May 9th, 1863, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. He married Ruth, the eldest daughter of Anthony Si- gourney, of Oxford, Massachusetts, a Revolutionary veteran who took part in the disastrous campaign of 1776 on Long Island and about New York City, being twice wounded in battle during that service. He was the fourth in line of descent from Anthony Sigour- ney, a prominent Huguenot who, with his wife, escaped from Ro-
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chelle, France, after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, and became one of the founders of Oxford, Massachusetts. Mrs. L. H. Sigourney, the famous writer and poet, married a descendant of the same family.
The subject of this biography was about seven years old when the family settled in Eaton county, Michigan, where he continued to reside until 1889. He was educated at the public schools and Olivet College. At the age of eighteen years, he began his business career as clerk in a general store at Kalamazoo, Michigan.
In 1857 he returned to his home at Charlotte, Michigan, and in 1862, in partnership with Hon. Joseph Musgrave, established a pri- vate bank which became, in 1871, the First National Bank of Char- lotte. He was the active manager of this institution from its or- ganization, officiating as director and cashier, and upon the death of Mr. Musgrave, became its president. He was distinguished for ability and thoroughness in methods, and became identified with many important business interests. He was a director, and for many years treasurer of the Grand River Valley Railroad Company, which he helped organize.
Early in his career his fellow citizens began to recognize his fit- ness for the discharge of public duties, and his opinion on financial questions has always been accorded great consideration. His first official position was that of registrar of deeds of Eaton county, which he held for four years, beginning in 1860. In 1874 the gov- ernor of Michigan appointed him a trustee of the State Asylum for the Insane and he continued to fill this position for six years. In 1876 he was a delegate to the national Republican convention at Cin- cinnati, and from 1882 to 1884 was chairman of the Republican state central committee of Michigan. He also served as the first mayor of Charlotte, and assisted in inaugurating its excellent system of pub- lic improvements. In 1880 he was elected to Congress from the Third Michigan district, and served two terms. He was nominated by ac- clamation and elected by a vote far ahead of his ticket in each in- stance. He declined to accept the candidacy for a third term, but in 1886 became a candidate for the United States senate, in which he was unsuccessful, although he showed great strength and popularity.
In Congress he served on the committee on postoffices and post- Vol. 1-31
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roads, and coinage, weights and measures; but he was distinguished chiefly through the ability displayed in the consideration of financial questions. In the Forty-eighth Congress he attracted wide attention by a masterly speech on the silver question. His address on the use of silver as money, delivered before the American Bankers' Asso- ciation in Chicago in 1885, was received with marked attention, and increased his popularity among financiers. His prominence in mone- tary circles caused him to be recommended by friends in Michigan, New York, Boston and Chicago for the position of comptroller of the currency, to which he was appointed in 1889. This office, so far as regards national finance, is second only to that of secretary of the treasury. His administration, extending from 1889 to 1892, covered one of the most critical periods in the history of the national banking system. He pursued a vigorous and yet conservative policy, keeping in view the protection of depositors and creditors, and his conduct of the office was endorsed by the ablest financiers. His in- tegrity and ability have always been recognized, and his national rep- utation caused his services to be sought by many of the leading finan- cial institutions of the country. Believing in the resources and fu- ture of Chicago, he resigned in June, 1892, to accept the presidency of the Bankers' National Bank of that city.
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