Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II, Part 16

Author: Rice, James Montgomery, 1842-1912; S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 930


USA > Illinois > Peoria County > Peoria > Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 16


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97


In May. 1887, in Brimfield, Peoria county, Mr. Read was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Barlow and they now have five children, Mary Lillie, Emma Alice, Stella, John Wilbur and Sala Hamilton. J. Wilbur is engaged in business with his father as an auctioneer and Sala H. is connected with the express and storage department of the business.


In politics Mr. Read has always been a republican since obtaining the right of franchise and is today recognized as one of the active workers of the party in this portion of the state. He is a speaker of ability and prominence ; is a wide reader of books, magazines and papers that deal with the chief political ques- tions of the day and is a student of political economy. In 1899 he was appointed sealer of weights and measures for Peoria but otherwise has held no public office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business interests that, continually growing in volume and importance, make heavy demands on his time and energies.


E. H. BRADLEY, M. D.


Peoria has reason to be proud of the personnel of her medical profession and the ability displayed in the various lines of practice. This is an age of speciali- zation and the man who attains high skill is he who concentrates his efforts along a single line of activity, acquainting himself with everything that pertains thereto. This Dr. E. H. Bradley has done and his work in the treatment of dis- eases of the eve, ear, nose and throat has brought him much more than local reputation and fame. He has resided in Peoria continuously since 1892 and in the intervening period of twenty years has confined his efforts alone to the par- ticular work in which he is still engaged. He was born in the eastern part of Ontario, Canada, September 18, 1861, and is a son of J. A. Bradley. The father was a leading citizen of his town, where he carried on merchandising and also


140


HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY


served as postmaster for about fifty years. There Dr. Bradley was reared and attended the public schools, continuing his education in the Sydenham (Ontario) high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1880. Thinking to find broader and better business opportunities elsewhere, he then went to the Canadian northwest and was one of the first homesteaders in Saskatchewan, where he spent two years, after which he returned to the place of his nativity. Having determined to enter upon a professional career and thinking to find the practice of medicine a congenial vocation, he soon afterward matriculated in the University of the City of New York as a medical student. Later he entered the University of Vermont at Burlington and was graduated therefrom in 1891 with the M. D. degree. He conducted a general practice in Canada for some time and won success in that way. His attention was more and more largely concentrated, however, on diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. He found that branch of the profession a most interesting one and his reading and study were directed largely along that line. In 1892 he came to Peoria as assistant to Dr. Dombrow- ski, a specialist in the treatment of the eye, ear nose and throat. A year later he was admitted to a partnership and the business connection between them continued for three more years. He then entered upon an independent practice, opening an office on his own account, and to further qualify himself for the work in which he was especially interested he took a post-graduate course in New York city at the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat College. He is now oculist and aurist at the St. Francis Hospital and in addition he has a large private practice, which is constantly growing in volume and importance. He belongs to the Peoria City Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Oto-Laryngology, and the American Medical Association, and has served both as secretary and as president of the first named.


Not only in professional lines has Dr. Bradley proved his worth as a valued and representative resident here. His, labors in other connections have been of an important character. He has served for four years, or for two terms, as super- visor of Peoria, the nomination for the office being given him without his knowl- edge or consent. He made no canvass for the position but his personal worth secured his election. He served for one year as chairman of the finance committee, which converted the debt of two hundred thousand dollars in Peoria county into bonds, thus placing the finances of the county upon a business basis. He keeps well informed concerning all the significant, vital political problems and is an earnest and unfaltering advocate of the republican party.


Dr. Bradley was united in marriage to Miss Maud Matthews, of Peoria, a daughter of Newton Matthews, of this city. He belongs to the Illinois Valley Yacht Club, of which he is serving as a director, and he has also filled the office of club commodore. He likewise holds membership in the Creve Coeur Club and is a prominent Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, while of the Mystic Shrine he is also a representative. His inter- ests and his activities are wide and varied. There is nothing narrow nor self- centered in his life. He reaches out along the lines of usefulness and his work in many directions has been most serviceable in the world.


HENRY MANSFIELD.


With the passing away of the late Henry Mansfield. Peoria lost one of her most substantial and prominent citizens, whose active connection with commer- cial affairs and extensive business enterprises for more than half a century, made him one of the dominant factors in promoting the progress and development of the city. The greater part of his life was passed in the state of Illinois, his birth


HENRY MANSFIELD, SR.


STOR NOIX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.


143


HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY


having occurred in New Haven, Connecticut, on the 22d of March, 1816. He was a son of leverett and Sarah ( Sanford ) Mansfield, both natives of Connecti- cut. The father was born in North Haven in 1786, and the mother in New Haven on March 8, 1789. They were married in Connecticut and subsequently went to Esperance, New York, Mr. Mansfield being one of the prominent and influential citizens of that community until 1843. He then disposed of his interests there and removed to Illinois, then considered to be the far west. Upon his arrival in this state he first located in the vicinity of Elgin, but he later went to Princeville, Peoria county, and there he passed away on the 23d of December, 1868, just three days after the death of his wife. They had both lived to attain a ripe old age, being eighty-two and seventy-nine years respectively. In the paternal line Henry Mansfield belonged to one of the early colonial families of Massachusetts. being a direct descendant of Richard Mansfield, who came to America from Devon- shire, England, in 1639, and located near Hampden, Massachusetts. He was the father of a large family, among his sons being one Joseph Mansfield, who became an extensive property holder and the owner of the famous Mansfield farm. His son Titus, the great-grandfather of our subject, married Mabel Todd, and they became residents of North Haven, Connecticut, and there their son Richard was born. He chose for his wife Mary Styles and they in turn became the parents of Leverett Mansfield, the father of Henry Mansfield.


Reared at home, in the acquirement of his education Henry Mansfield attended the local schools. While still in his early youth he left home and went to Albany, New York, obtaining a position in one of the leading drug stores of that city. There he learned the business, continuing to remain until his health became affected to such an extent by the close confinement that it was necessary for him to procure outdoor employment and seek a change of climate. He, therefore, joined a party of government surveyors and went to northern Michigan in the Chippewa Indian section, a hundred miles from a white settlement, where he remained for four years. While his general health was greatly improved by the vigorous climate of the north, the air and severe cold brought on throat and lung troubles that made it advisable for him to go to a warmer climate, so he started for St. Louis. The accommodations for travelers in those days bore little resem- blance to the luxurious trains of the present period, particularly in the more sparsely settled portions of the middle west, and the journey southward was not only slow and tiresome but it proved to be most exhausting. Therefore, when Mr. Mansfield reached Peoria he stopped over for a rest and to seek professional advice. He was referred to Dr. N. S. Tucker, a nephew of Dr. E. J. Dickinson, and thus began the acquaintance that developed into a lifelong intimacy and a business connection that covered a period of practically half a century, having been terminated by the death of Dr. Tucker in 1888, just forty-nine years and nine months after they first engaged in business. As his health began to improve Mr. Mansfield considered the advisability of locating in Peoria, and recognizing that there was an excellent opening he and Dr. Tucker established a drug store, that under their efficient management became one of the leading concerns of the kind in the city. This enterprise thrived from its incipiency, and yielded to its proprietors a most gratifying income. Mr. Mansfield early began to invest his surplus income in real estate, which proved to be most lucrative, his returns from this and his business together with the property that came to him by inheritance, making him one of the wealthiest men in the city. In the direction of his enter- prises he always manifested the highest standards of commercial integrity.


Mr. Mansfield was twice married. His first union was with Miss Harriet A. Elting, a native of Red Hook, Dutchess county, New York, who came west with her people in the early pioneer days. They located in Peoria and here Mrs. Mans- field was residing at the time of her marriage. Three children were born to them, two of whom are deceased; the third, Fannie, who became the wife of O. B. Blakeslee, lives in San Gabriel, California, and has two children, Henry M. and


144


HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY


Denison. In 1856, Mr. Mansfield married Miss Isabelle F. Servoss, a native of the city of New York, and a daughter of Thomas L. Servoss, and a granddaughter of John Pintard, L.L. D., also of New York city. Eight children were born of this marriage, seven of whom are still living: Louise P., who married C. W. Mosher, formerly of Chicago, now of Portland, Oregon; Henry, an attorney of Peoria ; Nathaniel S .; Eleanor T., who married J. Harold Ross; Isabelle F., the wife of J. Lee Newton ; Margaret E., the widow of F. J. Green ; Sarah Sanford, who became Mrs. George H. Newton and died November 29, 1902; and Eliza H., who is living with her mother. Mr. Mansfield passed away May 29, 1893, and is survived by his widow, who resides at 112 Perry avenue, this city.


During a residence here that covered a period of more than fifty years, Mr. Mansfield made many close and stanch friends who admired him for his wonder- ful business ability and the enterprising and progressive spirit he at all times manifested in matters of citizenship, but most of all they esteemed him because of his high sense of honor, fine personality and kind, generous nature.


MARSHALL T. LOTT.


Marshall T. Lott, a member of the banking firm of Clinch, Schenck & Lott of Elmwood, is a native resident of this city, born February 22, 1863. He is a son of William H. and Catherine ( Vansickle) Lott, the father a native of Canada and the mother of New Jersey. The father as a young man came to Illinois, locating at Elmwood, where he was married. He was a carpenter by trade and later was engaged in the grain business at Chillicothe, Illinois, where he re- mained for ten years. He then moved to Hoopeston, Illinois, where he also was engaged in the grain business, but after two years he returned to Elmwood where he purchased a farm and resided until his death. He was an excellent business man and was an assignee with Mr. Thomas Clinch and Walter A. Clinch of the H. P. Tracy bank of Elmwood at the time of its failure. He and Mr. Clinch then organized the present bank with which the subject of this sketch is now connected. Mr. Lott was killed in 1887 in the Chatsworth wreck. His wife is still living. In their family are two sons and three daughters, all of whom are now living.


Marshall T. Lott received his early education in the public schools of Hoopes- ton and Elmwood, completing a high-school course. Also for six months lie at- tended the Burlington Business College. He then worked on the farm until 1887, when he became connected with the banking business. He has been very successful in the business world, and the bank of Clinch, Schenck & Lott is now one of the well known banks of Peoria county.


In 1889 Mr. Lott was united in marriage with Miss Lucy P. Wiley, a native of Elmwood, and daughter of Wilson and Rebecca Wiley, who were early set- tlers in this section of Illinois. To Mr. and Mrs. Lott have been born two children : Clifford, the elder, is a graduate of the Elmwood high school and was for two years a student at Knox College. He is now teaching at Lowpoint, Illinois. Alice is a graduate of the Elmwood high school, was for one year a student at Knox College and for one half year a student in the University of Wisconsin. She is now engaged in teaching at Farmington, Illinois.


Politically Mr. Lott is a republican, and he served as first city treasurer un- der the new corporation which was established in 1892. Also he was a member of the board of city aldermen for ten years. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, being a member of the Shrine at Peoria. He belongs to the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows and was identified with the Knights of Pythias at Elmwood until the lodge gave up its charter. He is well known in the bank- ing world, and is a member of the Bankers Association of Illinois, also of the


1.15


HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY


American Bankers Association. Mr. Lott is a man of admirable characteristics, and his banking and all his business efforts have ever been conducted on a high mental and moral plane. Throughout his entire residence in Elmwood he has always been classed with the valued citizens in this community.


JAMES DROWN PECK.


Though not a politician, James Drown Peck has been an influential factor in relation to matters of public importance, particularly in his advocacy of the in- terests of the people in the fifty year franchise campaign. Through many years he has maintained a creditable position in business circles and, although now seventy-three years of age, is engaged in dealing in paints, oils and artists' sup- plies as well as doing contract painting. He was born in Rhode Island, Sep- tember 3, 1839, his parents being Leonard and Harriet ( Scott ) Peck, who were also natives of that state and are now deceased. The son was born upon a farm but pursued his education in the schools of Providence, Rhode Island, and there learned the painter's trade, which he followed in that city. After the outbreak of the Civil war, however, he put aside business and personal considerations that he might offer his aid to the government, enlisting as a member of Com- pany I, Eleventh Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry. He served for one year as a private and was brevetted sergeant of his company at the close of the war. During the last year of the war he came to Peoria, having determined to make his home in the middle west. At the corner of Jackson and Hale, now Glen- dale streets, he was located for ten years. He then established a paint shop in Dr. Troyer's building on Hamilton street, where the Mayer office building now stands, and there he conducted a painting business in connection with his partner, Charles Frazier. He then established an independent enterprise on South Adams street and later purchased a store at Nos. 104 and 106 Main street. There for a number of years he conducted a general painting business, also dealing in paints, oils and artists' supplies. At length he removed to No. 208 Main street. where he continued the sale of paints and artists' materials for twenty years. Recently he has removed to No. 211 South Madison avenue. The old-time paint- ers of Peoria are James D. Peck, John A. Bush and Richard McBurnie-all veteran business men of the city whose activity has been a factor in the in- dustrial development here. For years Mr. Peck has been a large employer of labor, utilizing the services of a number of men in the execution of his paint- ing contracts. His work is seen in various sections of the city and he is at all times accorded a very liberal patronage, which is well merited.


Mr. Peck has been married twice. In 1864 he wedded Miss Harriet A. Woodberry. This was after he had enrolled as a soldier of the Union army and he ran away in order to wed the lady of his choice. They adopted three children but two died in childhood. The other, Nellie June, became the wife of Oliver Boynton, of St. Ignace, Michigan, and departed this life seven years ago, being survived by her husband and two sons. Having lost his first wife, Mr. Peck married Mrs. Louisa Demorest, and they now reside at No. 229 North Elizabeth street.


Mr. Peck has never been a chib man but he maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in Bryner Post. G. A. R. He has never been a politician in the usually accepted sense of that term, yet he was elected and served for two years as a member of the city council from the fifth ward during the time of the fifty year franchise campaign, in which he fully demonstrated his loyalty to the people and their interests. He has ever closely studied vital and significant questions of the day and has given his sup- port to many measures which he has believed to have appreciable values in


146


HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY


municipal affairs. He belongs to the First Congregational church and has served on both the board of trustees and the board of deacons. He has thus worked earnestly for material, political and moral progress and a well spent life has established him high in public regard. while his record as a citizen has proven him to be as true and loyal to the welfare of his country in days of peace as he was in times of war.


CAPTAIN HENRY DETWEILLER.


Captain Henry Detweiller, deceased, who was the founder of the Detweiller Ice Company, which has its offices at 108 South Adams street, has been a resi- dent of this city since 1837. He was born June 19, 1825, in Lorraine, which was then a province of France but now belongs to Germany. His parents were Christian and Catherine (Shertz) Detweiller, both of whom were natives of France. The father was engaged in farming, milling and in the transportation business there, in which occupations he accumulated a large fortune. He owned three large estates, situated in different parts of the province, at which he lavishly entertained the gentry and nobility for weeks at a time, according to the custom of that day. During the War of 1812 and 1813 he met with great reverses, and he passed away in 1832, a poor man.


Henry Detweiller remained in his native country until 1837, when he came to America together with his mother and three sisters, reaching New York after a voyage of sixty-eight days. Then the family made their way to Peoria to join a brother, John Detweiller, who had located in this city in 1833. Their journey from New York to Peoria covered a period of forty-two days. They traveled from New York to Rochester and thence to Buffalo by canal, from there by way of the lakes to Cleveland and then to Cincinnati by canal. From there they went by boat down the Ohio river to the Mississippi and then up the Illinois to Peoria, which at that time was a village of about twelve hundred inhabitants. During the following year the mother and one sister passed away. After coming to Peoria, Mr. Detweiller attended school and clerked for his brother, who kept the St. Croix tavern on Water street, which was then the principal street in Peoria. Afterward he clerked in a shoe store for Charles W. McClellan and later for Samuel Voris & Company, receiving as compensation six dollars per month. The business of Peoria with the outside world was at that time chiefly transacted by water, and Mr. Detweiller conceived a strong desire to become a pilot on the river. Accordingly he entered the employ of John Frink, of the firm of Frink & Walker, and became employed on the steamer Frontier, which was then running as a mail and passenger packet from Peoria to Peru. Through the kindness of Mr. Frink, the captain instructed Mr. Detweiller in the work of operating the boats and he was soon appointed as second pilot. He was upon this boat, the Frontier, when it was sunk by the steamer Panama, which ran into it at the "Towhead" above The Narrows. This occurred in the early morning of Sep- tember 2, 1842, just after the Frontier had left the village of Little Detroit, which was then situated on the eastern shore of the river but which has since entirely dis- appeared. By running the boat ashore at the "Towhead." the forty or fifty pas- sengers who were on board, escaped with their lives, but the boat was a total loss.


The company then built a new steamer which was christened Chicago, on which Captain Detweiller became second pilot under his old instructor. He remained with that boat until it was withdrawn from the river in the spring of 1844. He then continued as second pilot on other boats for a year. In 1847 he was made captain of the Governor Briggs, which then carried the St. Louis and Alton trade. At that time, owing to the war with Mexico, the boat carried many troops and much equipment from Alton to Jefferson Barracks, below St. Louis. In 1848 and


Ceny Hetweil Jerry Delweillen


THE NEW LRK PUBLIC LIBRARY |


ASTOR, LEWOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS,


149


HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY


1849 he acted as first pilot on different boats. The latter year was remarkable for the epidemic of cholera which broke out in St. Louis and hundreds were dying there daily. People were leaving the city upon boats as rapidly as possi- ble and Captain Detweiller continued at his post until one night. while taking the steamer Danube to St. Louis, he was suddenly stricken with cholera, super- induced by overwork and loss of sleep, and had just time to ring the stopping beils before he fell to the floor of the pilot house. Fortunately, a pilot on the Mississippi was on board and he took charge of the boat. Captain Detweiller was then removed to Peoria, where for nine months he was unable to resume his duties. His captain at that time was stricken with cholera, died from the effects and was buried in Pekin.


From 1850 to 1860 the river business between the north and the south was very large. During these years Mr. Detweiller acted in the capacities of pilot and captain on a number of boats on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. In 1856 he became part owner of the steamer Movastar and in 1857 became the sole owner of the steamer Minnesota. During his last years upon the river he frequently had Abraham Lincoln as a passenger and came to know him well. In 1862 he offered his services to the government and was sworn into service at St. Louis. He was assigned to the command of the United States steamer Jen- nie Lind and was ordered to Cairo to await the arrival of the fleet with General Pope's troops from Island No. 10. The Jennie Lind was detailed as a dispatch boat to the flagship, accompanying the fleet up the Tennessee river to Pittsburg Landing. Later on Captain Detweiller was with the fleet at Memphis. In 1863 he was transferred to the United States steamer Yankee, of which he had charge until the close of the war, and was attached to the fleet at the fall of Vicksburg. While managing the government transports he performed much important and often hazardous service. So great was the danger to which his boat was ex- posed during these perilous years that Captain Detweiller was compelled to adopt various schemes to evade the enemy and often his boat was disguised as a gunboat. The Yankee was never seriously disabled, although often fired upon, and the last important service of the boat was to take a cargo of horses, mules and stores, valued at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, from St. Louis to New Orleans. The boat was fired upon, but the cargo was at length safely delivered in New Orleans. After the war Captain Detweiller was in charge of the steamer Beaver until 1874.


Captain Detweiller abandoned the work on the river in order to give his entire attention to the ice business, in which he had engaged in 1870 in partner- ship with N. L. Woodruff. In December. 1876. Captain Detweiller severed his connection with Mr. Woodruff and the business has been conducted ever since, either in his own name or under the name of the Detweiller Ice Company.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.