USA > Illinois > Peoria County > Peoria > Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 20
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As a boy William T. Whiting worked in the fields and did the chores upon the home place. In the winter seasons he attended the public schools but with the opening of spring took his place behind the plow. However, in early manhood he came to the conclusion that he did not care to pursue agricultural pursuits throughout his entire life but preferred a professional career and with this end in view he began reading law in the office of Judge Nicholas E. Worthington, in the spring of 1874. Later he read law with Lawrence Harman and afterward spent a year as a law student in the office of James & Jack. He was admitted to the bar in 1876 but did not enter at once upon active practice. For four years thereafter he engaged in teaching school in the rural districts of Peoria county. He then took up the work of the profession and has been a member of the Peoria bar since the Ist of August, 1880. Advancement in law is proverbially slow, but year by year saw an increase in his business and he has now a large clientage of distinctively representative character. He served for one term as city attorney under Mayor C. C. Clark, having been called to that office in 1891, and something of his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen is indicated in the fact that he was elected alderman on the democratic ticket in the fifth ward, which usually gives a strong repub- lican majority. He has always practiced independently in the general field of law, is attorney for the Savings Bank of Peoria, has been attorney for the park district of Peoria since its organization and has been an advocate on many im- portant cases. He marshals his evidence with the precision of a military com- mander and never fails to give due prominence to the important point in the case.
Mr. Whiting was united in marriage to Miss Linda Craig, of Peoria, who died in 1895, leaving two children : Alida, and Doctor William T. Whiting, Jr., who was a physician and surgeon in the mines at Lafayette, Colorado. While returning in his automobile from a professional call, Dr. Whiting was instantly killed at an interurban railway crossing on the 2d of January, 1912.
Mr. Whiting holds membership with the Masons and with the Modern Wood- men of America. He has never sought to figure prominently in public life out- side his profession and yet is interested in the duties of citizenship to the extent of giving his aid wherever it is needed. He is a firm believer in democratic principles and, as every true American citizen should do, keeps well informed on the issues of the day and votes for the candidates and the principles of his party.
GEORGE B. SUCHER.
In the twenty years in which he has practiced law in Peoria, George B. Sucher has made continuous progress and has now a good clientage which attests his position as an able and well read member of the bar. He began as a mem- ber of the firm of Cassidy & Sucher. On a farm in Putnam county, Illinois. his birth occurred on the 16th of March, 1865, his parents being Jacob and Catharine Sucher. The usual experiences which fall to the lot of a farm boy were his. He attended the country schools and afterward the public schools of Granville, Illi- nois, prior to entering Knox College, at Galesburg, from which he was graduated in 1889. He worked upon the home farm in the summer seasons and for three
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years engaged in teaching school in the winter months, spending a year as teacher of a rural school and two years as a teacher in Auburn, Illinois: It was his desire, however, to become a member of the legal profession and with this end in view he read law in offices in Galesburg and Springfield. He was admitted to practice at Mount Vernon, Illinois, in August, 1892, and immediately afterward came to Peoria. Here he entered into partnership with Lysander Cassidy, un- der the firm style of Cassidy & Sucher and together they so continued until Mr. Sucher was called to the office of police magistrate, which he filled from 1895 until 1903. He made a creditable record in that position and on his retirement he formed a partnership with Joseph Wilhelm, who is now deceased. Mr. Sucher has not only been active in the practice of law but has also been a recog- nized leader in local political circles. In 1904 he was the candidate of his party for the office of state senator. He was declared elected but the election was contested and early in 1905 the contest was decided in favor of his opponent. He served as assistant city attorney under W. H. Moore. In 1909 he formed his present law partnership with C. E. McNemar, and in the spring of 1911, upon the expiration of Mr. Moore's term as city attorney, he, too, entered the firm, under the present style of Sucher, McNemar & Moore. They conduct a general law practice and are accorded a fair share of the litigation held in the courts of the district.
Mr. Sucher was united in marriage to Miss Clara Gunn, of Putnam county, Illinois, and unto them have been born four children, Bertha, Jocob, Ralph and Robert. Mr. Sucher belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Knights of Pythias lodge. Outside of the strict path of his profession, however, he has been most active in political circles, especially in connection with local govern- ment. He has always stood on the side of progress and improvement and he took a very prominent part in the contest for the commission form of govern- ment in Peoria in the spring of 1911. He believes that political power should be exercised for the benefit of the people at large and not in favor of a certain class and has done all in his power to further good government in city affairs.
CAPTAIN JOHN HARRY HALL.
Whatever success came to Captain John H. Hall in his long and well spent life was the merited reward of his earnest and persistent labor, for he started out empty-handed, earning his own living from an early age. He became one of Peoria's pioneers and was always interested in her welfare and upbuilding. His spirit of patriotism was manifest too when, at the alarm of war, he offered his services to the government in defense of the Union.
He was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, May 12, 1828, a son of Captain Wil- liam A. and Prudence (Spaulding) Hall, who were natives of Connecticut and became pioneer residents of Chicago, Illinois, traveling overland in 1822, and taking up their abode in the tiny hamlet which was known as Fort Dearborn. There occurred the birth of their eldest child on the 12th of June, 1823, and it is believed that this is the first white child born in Chicago. The little daughter grew to womanhood and became the wife of Auren Garrett of Peoria. In 1824 the parents left the frontier Illinois town and returned westward as far as Cha- grin Falls, Ohio. A year later they took up their abode in Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania, where they resided until 1829. That year witnessed the establishment of their home in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in 1833 they came to Peoria, arriving on the Ist of September. They were among the earliest settlers here. The town con- tained only a few inhabitants. The Black Hawk war had occurred the previous year, settling forever the question of Indian supremacy in this state. However, there were still many evidences of Indian occupancy in Illinois, and only the
CAPTAIN JOIN IL. HALL
TILDET UNDATION .. -
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southern section of the state was at all thickly populated. To the north lay great uninhabited and unimproved prairies, save that here and there a little settlement had been established, constituting the nucleus of the great, enterprising cities of the present day. The Hall family bore their part in the hardships, trials and pri- vations of pioneer life, and contributed to the early development and progress here. The mother, Mrs. Prudence Hall, died in 1852, but the father long surviv- ing her, passed away August 11, 1881, having for almost a half century been a resident of this city.
Captain Hall pursued his education in the public schools of Peoria, and at the age of fourteen years began clerking in the drug store of Tucker & Mansfield with whom he remained for four years. He afterward went to St. Louis and be- came salesman in the employ of Charles & Blow, druggists. A year later, how- ever, he became a clerk on boats plying between St. Louis and New Orleans, con- tinuing in that work until 1849, at which time attracted by the discovery of gold in California, he started for the Pacific coast, hoping to win a fortune in the mines. He was one of a party of sixteen who left Salt Lake City on a trail over which a wagon had never traveled. They carried with them forty days' rations but were one hundred and twenty-five days in making the trip. Two days before reaching the great desert five of the party, including Captain Hall, were sent as a folorn hope to secure aid for the others. This little band almost starved to death ere they secured assistance. They were obliged to eat a crow and a dog which attended them. At length, however, they saw a deer which they killed and which furnished them food until they arrived at the mission at San Bernardino, California. From that point they sent back supplies to the others of the party. Captain Hall did not meet with the success in the mines that he had anticipated and resolved he would depend upon the business conditions of the middle west for a living. Accordingly he started homeward by way of Central America, pass- ing through Nicaragua. At Graytown he boarded an English man-of-war which sailed for New Orleans, and from that point he pursued up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers to Peoria. For two years thereafter he engaged in farming and then began clerking. In 1856 he took charge of the Springdale cemetery, remain- ing in that position until August, 1862, when he opened a recruiting station on Adams street. On the 29th of the same month he was mustered into the Union army as captain of Company H of the Eighty-sixth Illinois Infantry, and in Octo- ber the command was sent to Louisville, Kentucky. On the Sthi of the month they participated in the battle of Perrysville, and in September, 1863, took part in the battle of Chickamauga. They were also in the hotly contested engagements at Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge, and in the entire series of battles before Atlanta. After the fall of that city Captain Hall and his company marched with Sherman to the sea and then northward through the Carolinas, participating in the engagements at Averyboro and at Bentonville, the latter being the last battle in which Captain Hall took part. He participated in the grand review at Wash- ington on the 6th of June, 1865, where thousands of victorious Union soldiers marched through the streets of the capital and passed the stand from which the president reviewed the army.
At the close of the war Captain Hall returned home and resumed his position in connection with the Springdale cemetery, having charge thereof until 1873. In that year he became president and general manager of the old Fort Clark Street Railway, continuing at its head for many years, or until a few years prior to his death, when he retired.
On the 16th of March, 1854, Captain Hall was married to Miss Janet G. Cov- entry, a native of Scotland, who still survives. They were the parents of four children, of whom two are living, Willis and John D. The former is married and has five children, Harry, Howard, Leslie, Bernice and Murray.
Captain Hall always gave his political support to the republican party from the time of its formation, recognizing that it was not only the defense of the Union during the dark days of the Civil war but that it ever remained a party of Vol. II-9
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reform and progress. His fraternal relations were with the Masons and the Odd Fellows, and the beneficent spirit of those organizations found exemplification in his life. He never sought to do anything especially great or famous but was con- tent to follow the lead of his opportunities, and came in time to a prominent position among the business men of the city in his connection with the street railway. He was ever as loyal and devoted in his citizenship as when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields, and the same spirit of fidelity characterized him in every relation through the long years of an active and useful life which was brought to a close on the 13th of August, 1909, when he had reached the age of eighty-one years.
WILLIAM TRAVIS IRWIN.
Throughout the greater part of his professional career, which had its begin- ning in his admission to the bar in 1881, William Travis Irwin has practiced in Peoria and has gained recognition as one of the able and learned lawyers of this city.
The careful preparation of his cases has been one of the strong and salient features of his success, together with the recognition of the responsibility which devolves upon the lawyer in his efforts to protect life, liberty, right and property. Mr. Irwin was born in Dayton, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, June 1, 1856, his parents being Joseph T. and Mary J. (Travis) Irwin. The family is of Scotch-Irish lineage on the paternal side, the ancestry being traced back to Ben- jamin Irwin, the great-grandfather who was born in the north of Ireland. He became the leader of the family to America, settling in Cumberland county, Penn- sylvania, where his son and namesake, Benjamin Irwin, was born and reared. There the latter married Miss Margaret Marshall, a native of Armstrong county, Pennsylvania. Although born under the British flag Benjamin Irwin, Sr., be- came a soldier in the Revolutionary war and rendered valiant aid to the cause of independence. The maternal 'grandparents of William Irwin were William and Jane Travis, both of whom were natives of Indiana county, Pennsylvania.
Spending his youthful days in his parents' home William T. Irwin began his education in the public schools of his native town and afterward entered the Glade Run Academy from which he was graduated with the class of 1878. Dur- ing vacation periods he assisted his father in the work of the home farm, and when his educational training was sufficient to enable him to win a certificate he took up the profession of teaching in the graded schools of Dayton, and in 1879 came to Illinois, where he began the study of law with Judge Alfred Sample, at Paxton, Ford county. His preliminary reading was thorough and comprehensive and enabled him to successfully pass examination which won him admission to the bar at Springfield, Illinois, in May, 1881. In the succeeding autumn he came to Peoria, and for more than thirty years has practiced in the courts of this city
and district. He entered into partnership here with Judge J. W. Cochran, and the association was maintained until Judge Cochran removed to Fargo, North Dakota. Mr. Irwin then practiced alone until 1896, when he formed a partner- ship with W. I. Slemmons. His preparation of his cases is thorough and ex- haustive, his presentation of his cause clear, forcible and logical. He is seldom if ever at fault in the citation of principle or precedent, and the strength of his defense is found in his correct application of legal principles to the point at issue. In 1891 he was elected city attorney of Peoria and was reelected two years later, notwithstanding that he was a republican candidate in a city which usually gives a strong democratic majority. The vote given him was indeed complimentary to his popularity and to the confidence reposed in his ability, and his record in office is one which gained for him high encomiums.
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On the ist of June, 1886, Mr. Irwin was united in marriage to Miss Ida MI. Woodruff, a daughter of Nelson L. Woodruff. Mr. Irwin was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away in Peoria, on the 7th of August, 1899, leaving one son, Joseph W.
Mr. Irwin has long been a faithful member of the Presbyterian church, and the principles which govern his conduct are further indicated in the fact that he has attained the thirty-third degree in Masonry. He likewise belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, and enjoys the highest regard of his brethren in those orders. He is always interested in matters of progressive citizenship and is a cooperant factor in many projects for the general good, yet he regards the practice of law as his real life work, and in his chosen field of labor has won continuous advancement through merit and ability which has placed him with the leading lawyers of Peoria.
G. L. AVERY.
G. L. Avery occupies a position of leadership as a representative of industrial activity in Peoria, being secretary of the Avery Company, owning and controlling one of the most extensive manufacturing plants in this city. It is true that he entered upon a business already established, but he has contributed to its en- largement and to its successful management and today there is no resident of Peoria who occupies a more honorable or enviable position in trade circles here. He has proven his worth in every connection, has learned the lessons which each day brings and has used the knowledge thus acquired for the furtherance of a business which is a feature in the general prosperity as well as in individual success. Mr. Avery was born in Galesburg, Knox county, Illinois, in 1879, and is descended in the eighth generation from Christopher Avery, the ancestral line being traced down through James, Thomas, Abraham, Nathan, William and George to Cyrus Minor Avery, his father. George Avery was the founder of the family in the west, establishing his home in Galesburg in 1837. There he built the second house in what was then known as Log City, in the midst of a tract that came to be called the Avery farm. He married Saraphena Princess Mary Phelps, who came to the west with her brother and mother, settling in Knoxville, Illinois, where she married Mr. Avery. For many years Mr. Avery continued to engage in general farming but at length retired and took up his abode within the limits of Galesburg, living on North Cherry street. There the fruits of his former toil supplied him with all of the necessities and many of the comforts of life up to the time of his death, which occurred on the first of January, 1884. His wife also died at the Cherry street home. They were mem- bers of the First Congregational church, in the work of which they took active and helpful part, Mr. Avery serving as deacon for many years. His political indorsement was given to the republican party. In the family were six children : Robert H., who died September 13, 1892; Mary, the wife of W. R. Butcher, living at Roodhouse, Illinois ; John T., who died August 11, 1905, at Galesburg ; Cyrus M .; Phoebe T., who is living in Biloxi, Mississippi; and George, also of Biloxi. The first named and his brother, Cyrus M. Avery, uncle and father of our subject, were the founders of the business now conducted under the name of the Avery Company. Cyrus M. Avery was educated in the public schools of Galesburg and Knox College, and after working with his father on the farm for a time engaged in manufacturing. It was early in the 'zos that he joined his brother, Robert Hanneman Avery, in the establishment of a plant for the manu- facture of agricultural implements in Galesburg under the style of R. H. & C. M. Avery. They conducted the business there until 1882, when they removed their
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factory to Peoria. The following year the Avery Planter Company was or- ganized with a capital of two hundred thousand dollars. Ten years afterward the authorized capital was increased to three hundred thousand dollars and in 1900 the name was changed to the Avery Manufacturing Company, at which time the capital stock was increased to one million dollars. After the business was incorporated R. H. Avery became its president and so continued until his death, which occurred on the 13th of September, 1892. At that time C. M. Avery, who was vice president, succeeded to the presidency and remained at the head of the business until his death. From the time of the removal of the plant to Peoria he divided his time between that city and Galesburg. In the latter he was married, October 4, 1877, to Miss Minnie Evalena Bartholomew, who was born at Elmwood, Illinois, February 25, 1856, and is a daughter of Luzerne and Sarah Elvira (Payne) Bartholomew. They became the parents of five children: Elvira Princess, born September 25, 1878; George Luzerne; Grace Ophelia, born October 8, 1883; Harriette, June 20, 1886; and Cyrus Minor, May 29, 1899. The mother is still a resident of Galesburg but the father died on the 15th of September, 1905. He occupied a most honored and prominent position in the business circles of the city and his son, G. L. Avery, has followed in his footsteps.
The latter was largely reared in Peoria but was graduated from Knox College at Galesburg in 1902. He has since been connected with the Avery Company and is today occupying an executive position as its secretary. After his graduation in 1902 he became connected with the business, as private secre- tary to his father, who was then president of the company, and following his father's demise was appointed secretary and also was made one of the directors of the company. His associate officers are: J. B. Bartholomew, president ; H. C. Roberts, vice president ; and Ellwood Cole, treasurer. The first two have been connected with the company for thirty-three consecutive years and the last named for three years, so that the different officers are thoroughly acquainted with their departments of the business. The plant of the Avery Company covers a total of twenty-seven and five-hundredths acres and the main factory building, together with the various warehouses, have a total floor space of six and a half acres. The various departments of the factory are united by an improved type of trolley system of the company's manufacture which greatly facilitates the rapid handling of both finished and unfinished goods at a minimum of expense. That harmonious and notable relations exist between the company and its em- ployes is indicated by the fact that labor troubles are unknown in their factory. The company manufactures steam and gasoline traction engines, self-lift plows, traction steam shovels, traction hauling wagons, threshing machinery and all its various attachments, mounted steel water tanks, farm wagons, corn planters, riding and walking cultivators, single and double row stalk cutters and gaso- line tracts-both farm and city. Their output is sent to all parts of the country and into foreign lands as well. They have branch houses located at Omaha, Des Moines, Kansas City, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota, and Aberdeen, South Dakota. They have a large traveling force upon the road and their Canadian trade is handled from Winni- peg. Their foreign shipments go to Mexico, Argentine Republic, Brazil, Russia, Austria-Hungary, the Philippines, Portugal, China, Sweden, Cuba and Egypt. The foreign trade gives an outlet for much machinery at a time when the ship- ping season for the home trade is lightest. The officials of the company work together in the utmost harmony and their relation is one of close social as well as business interests.
Mr. Avery was united in marriage to Miss Miriam Hunter, of Chillicothe, Illinois, a daughter of E. F. Hunter, and theirs is one of the attractive and hospitable homes of the city. Mr. Avery belongs to the Creve Coeur Club and is recognized aside from other connections already mentioned as a citizen of
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worth, cooperating heartily and generously in support of many projects which have constituted valuable features in the city's growth and improvement. He is a broad and liberal-minded man of progressive spirit, keeping in touch with the tendency of the times and always holding to the high standards which have made the name of Avery the synonym not only for enterprise but for incorrupt- ible integrity in business circles.
HORACE CLARK.
Horace Clark is the secretary and general manager of the Clark Coal & Coke Company, with offices on the ninth floor of the Jefferson building. In this connection he is prominently identified with the trade and business inter- ests of Peoria, yet he does not allow commercial affairs to monopolize his time and energies to the exclusion of other interests and duties. He takes an active part in promoting the moral progress of the city and is now president of the Young Men's Christian Association. He was born in this city July 13. 1863, and is a son of Horace and Mary ( Kingsbury) Clark. His father was one of the early pioneers of eastern Illinois. He came from the state of New York and settled in the town of Morton, in Tazewell county, in 1843. His wife also arrived in this city from New York in the same year. They became acquainted at Morton and were there married, and in 1861 they removed from Tazewell county to Peoria. Here the father established the Horace Clark & Sons Com- pany, owners of flour mills, in 1862. This is today one of the leading concerns of the kind in the county, owning and operating an elevator and flour mills in the conduct of a growing business that is already extensive in its proportions and profitable in its sales. Of this company, Horace Clark, whose name intro- duces this review, is now secretary. The father died in 1902, and Peoria thus lost one of its representative, well known and honored business men. For a long period he survived his wife, who died in 1889.
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