USA > Illinois > Peoria County > Peoria > Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 22
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
194
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
as one of its directors and stockholders, and he is also a stockholder of the Central National Bank.
Mr. Lewis was married, in 1895, to Miss Violet Phelps, of Elmwood, Illi- nois, a daughter of the Hon. W. E. Phelps, and they now have three children, Richard, William and Margaret. Mr. Lewis is a member of the Creve Coeur Club and also of the Peoria Association of Commerce. His activities are wide and varied, touching the general interests of society in all that relates to pro- gressive citizenship. His worth in this direction is widely acknowledged for it is known that his cooperation can be counted upon in support of any move- ment or project for the general good. What he has accomplished in a business way represents the fit utilization of the innate talents and powers which are his and the improvement of the opportunities which come to every individual. No unusually favorable circumstances aided him at the outset but through his energy and close application has he worked his way upward to the conspicuous and enviable position that he now fills.
JOHN P. McMAHAN, M. D.
1
During twenty-eight years' practice in Peoria, Dr. John P. McMahan has maintained a foremost position as a physician and surgeon. Aside from his study in colleges of this country, he has pursued his investigation and researches in Paris and Vienna, and coming under the instruction of some of the most eminent members of the profession in the old world, he became particularly well qualified for the duties which have devolved upon him in his daily prac- tice. He maintains his office at No. 105 Elizabeth street, being located on the Bluff, which is the finest residence section of Peoria. He came to this city the year after his graduation from Rush Medical College, arriving in the spring of 1884. He was born in Pike county, Illinois. The family removed to Logan county, Illinois, during the infancy of Dr. McMahan and he was reared upon a farm, meeting the usual experiences that fall to the lot of the farmer boy who attends the public schools in the winter seasons and works in the fields through the summer months. He was ambitious to secure better educational advantages than could be obtained in the rural schools and therefore entered the Lincoln University, at Lincoln, Illinois, from which he was graduated in 1881. He im- mediately began preparation for a professional career, entering Rush Medical College, of Chicago, in which he pursued a three years' course and was graduated in 1883. In the spring of the following year he opened an office on the plank road in Peoria and about a year later removed to 1415 South Adams street, where he continued for twelve years. He afterward spent a year in post- graduate study and in general hospital work in Europe, dividing his time be- tween Vienna, Austria, and Paris, France. He was absent altogether from ยท Peoria for six years, beginning in 1900, but in 1906 returned to this city. In the interim he engaged in teaching, in 1901 and 1902, in the Post Graduate Med- ical School, at Chicago, after which he went to Colorado and New Mexico, spending some time in the southwest. . Six years were thus passed and he once more located in Peoria, opening his office in this city.
Dr. McMahan is now serving on the staff of Proctor Hospital and he be- longs to the Peoria City Medical Society and the Illinois State Medical Society. His professional work is actuated by high ideals and his practice comes from among the best families in the city. He is ever faithful and conscientious in the performance of his duties and in his practice he finds many opportunities to exemplify the principles of the Masonic fraternity, of which he is a worthy and prominent representative, having taken the Knight Templar degree in the York Rite and the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite. He is also con-
195
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
nected with the Mystic Shrine and Eastern Star. He believes that no other fraternity approaches the Masonic in its ethical teachings and its high purposes and is in hearty sympathy with the order in these connections. Those who know him, and his friends are many, find him a genial, cordial gentleman, whose personal qualities as well as his professional skill entitle him to the high re- gard in which he is uniformly held.
ALBERT E. LEISY.
Albert E. Leisy is well known in connection with the brewing interests which for many years have been a chief source of revenue for Peoria. He is now secretary and treasurer of the Leisy Brewing Company, yet does not con- fine his attention alone to this line, being also secretary and treasurer of the Jefferson Deposit Company and a factor in the promotion of other business concerns. He was born in Keokuk, lowa, July 18, 1868, and is a son of John and Christina Leisy. His youthful days were spent in his native state until 1884, when the family came to Peoria. Throughout the entire period of his residence here the name of Leisy has been associated with brewing interests in this city. He comes of a family that through many generations has been con- nected with this line of business. For two hundred years members of the family were brewers of Germany and after coming to the new world his father, John Leisy, established a brewery in Keokuk, Iowa, where his sons learned the de- tails of the business from the purchase of hops and the making of malt to the art of brewing and the disposal of the product. They sought a broader field of labor, however, than Keokuk offered and found it in Peoria. They became identified with the business in this city in the purchase of the first brewery plant established here. From the beginning of their operations in this city they have met with continuous and growing success until their enterprise is today the largest of its kind in the state outside of Chicago, their plant having a capacity of two hundred and fifty thousand barrels annually. Their barrel and keg trade extends throughout Illinois, Iowa and Missouri and their bottled products are shipped clear to the Pacific coast, one firm in Los Angeles hand- ling nothing beside the Leisy goods. They have increased their bottling plant, erecting an extensive addition thereto and equipping it with the latest improved machinery, including two machines which fill, cork and label ninety bottles a minute each, or one hundred and eight thousand in a day's work of ten hours. During the busy season the plant is operated night and day with two shifts of men and turns out two hundred thousand bottles in the twenty-four hours. They are also manufacturers of Leisy's Malt Ease tonic, a special brew which is recommended by physicians for its particularly nourishing qualities. In this department the Leisy Brewing Company spends annually thirty-five thousand dollars for bottles and eight thousand dollars a year for cases. Their barrel and keg shipments have reached equally large proportions and it is a matter of record that the Leisy Brewing Company has the biggest switching interest on the Rock Island track, distributing twenty-eight carloads daily. The num- ber of their employes exceeds three hundred and sixty and two hundred thou- sand dollars is yearly paid out in salaries. Seventy-five wagons and one hun- dred and sixty horses are used in delivering the product in and around Peoria and the plant covers a tract on the river front in the upper end of the city four hundred and ninety by three hundred and forty-six feet. It comprises a num- ber of buildings, all of which are necessary in the conduct of their growing trade. The brothers who are at the head of this enterprise, E. C. and A. E. Leisy, are both progressive, energetic men, who regard obstacles simply as an
196
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
impetus for renewed effort. They accomplish what they undertake and their business methods are at all times characterized by progressiveness.
This sketch would not be adequate if it represented Albert E. Leisy merely in this one connection. He has been interested in many other business enter- prises, all of which have benefited by his cooperation and his sagacity. He and his brother have proven benefactors in many cases in aiding business interests that were passing through hard straits. They have become stockholders in many a concern that needed a little financial aid and their response to calls of this character are really too numerous to mention, but it is well known that they have produced magnificent results. The Leisy brothers have come to be relied upon in crises of this sort and the encouragement and aid which they have given have invariably proven to be the prime incentive to further endeavor. They were the builders of the Jefferson building at the corner of South Jeffer- son avenue and Fulton street, a strictly modern office building of steel construc- tion, twelve stories in height. They also became large stockholders in the Jefferson hotel and they erected the Orpheum theater on Madison street. This is a beautiful structure, equipped and furnished at a cost of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and it will compare favorably with the finest theaters of the middle west. Albert E. Leisy, moreover, is president of the Peoria Baseball Club and has been connected with the team as one of its promoters for fifteen years. He gave Peoria the first pennant it ever received in 19II.
In 1899 was celebrated the marriage of Albert E. Leisy and Miss Jennie Thobe, of Peoria, a daughter of John Thobe. His social interests are further manifest in his connection with a number of the leading clubs and fraternities of the city. He holds membership in the Creve Coeur Club, the Illinois Valley Yacht Club, the Peoria Country Club and the Social Athletic Club of Peoria. He likewise belongs to the Chicago Automobile Club and the Travelers Pro- tective Association and his name is on the membership rolls of a number of the leading fraternities, including the Red Men, the Eagles, the Elks, the For- esters and the National Union. He is one of the best known men in this part of the state and is an advocate of Peoria, doing everything in his power to enhance its growth and improvement. His influence has proven a vital support in many public projects and without invidious distinction he may be termed one of the foremost residents of the city. He is yet a young man and undoubtedly the future holds in store for him larger opportunities, for he never regards any posi- tion as final. When he once attains an object he passes on with the desire to reach out along further lines. It seems with him that
"In sweat of toil he found life's zest, The moment's work was mastering lord, The long day's call a two-edged sword To fight one's way. to well earned rest ; The joy of work was work's reward."
GEORGE H. WEBER, M. D.
In the days of Peoria's early development the name of Weber was closely associated with pioneer industrial interests for the grandfather was proprietor of a flour mill here. Today the name is synonymous with skill and ability in the medical profession for Dr. George H. Weber has attained a prominent posi- tion as a physician and surgeon, having been an active practitioner of this city since 1900. He is one of Peoria's native sons, his birth having here occurred on the 2d of November, 1876. As indicated the family home was established here at a very early day and the grandfather proved a valued factor in business
197
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
cireles in the conduct of a flour mill at the foot of South street. His son, George F. Weber, the father of Dr. Weber, died in Peoria in 1901 but the mother, who bore the maiden name of Kate Herschberger, is still living.
In the attainment of his education Dr. Weber attended the public schools, completing a high-school course by graduation with the class of 1896. In the meantime he had determined to make the practice of medicine his life work and immediately afterward entered upon preparation for the profession, becoming a student of the Louisville Medical College, from which he was graduated with the class of March, 1900. He put his theoretical knowledge to the practical test as interne of the Louisville City Hospital, where he remained for a year, gaining the broad experience which comes only in the varied work of hospital practice. In 1901 he returned to his native city where he opened an office. For several years he has been associated with Dr. C. U. Collins in the practice of surgery and now devotes his attention exclusively to that branch of the pro- fession. He is serving on the staff of the St. Francis Hospital and in addition he has an extensive private practice, which is of an important character and establishes his position as one of the leading surgeons of the city. He belongs to the Peoria Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society and the Amer- ican Medical Association, and the proceedings of those bodies keep him thoroughly informed concerning the most advanced work being done in the country.
In 1901 Dr. Weber was united in marriage to Miss Edna Comegys, of Peoria, a daughter of Samuel C. Comegys. They are well known in this city where the Doctor has spent his entire life and where his sterling worth has gained for him a large circle of friends. He has attained high rank in Masonry, being now a member of the consistory and of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias and the Dramatic Order of the Knights of Khor- assan. He is loyal to the teachings of these fraternities which he exemplifies in his life and in matters of citizenship he manifests a progressive and public- spirited interest, yet he devotes the greater part of his attention to his profes- sional duties which are constantly growing in volume and importance.
T. W. GILLESPIE, M. D.
Dr. T. W. Gillespie, physician and surgeon of Peoria, is engaged in general practice yet his tendency is toward specialization in the treatment of genito- urinary diseases. He is one of the younger, though successful, members of the profession here, having practiced in this city only since December, 1907. Rush Medical College numbers him among its alumni of the class of 1896. He is a native of Sauk county, Wisconsin, his birth having occurred September 10, 1869, upon a farm just across the river from Kilbourn, Wisconsin, not far from that beautiful scenic district known as The Dells. His parents were Thomas and Martha ( Simpson) Gillespie, who gave to their son such advantages as they could afford and instilled into his mind lessons that have since borne good fruit in high and honorable manhood. He attended the rural schools and afterward continued his studies in the high school at Kilbourn. Later he pursued a two years' course in Lawrence University and afterward took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for a year in Clark county, Wisconsin. He re- garded this, however, merely as an initial step to further professional labor, for it was his desire to become a physician, and with this purpose in view, in the fall of 1893 he entered Rush Medical College, at Chicago, and completed a three years' course, being graduated in 1896. He then accepted a salaried position with Dr. A. C. Cotten, who was at that time city physician of Chicago. For a year Dr. Gillespie had charge of the emergency and surgical work at practically all of the police stations of Chicago. After a year devoted to that work he located
198
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
at Lostant, La Salle county, Illinois, where he engaged in general practice until the fall of 1907, when he came to Peoria. Since then he has acted as assistant to Dr. C. U. Collins in his surgical work. He displays considerable skill in surgical work and is greatly interested in genitro-urinary surgery and his studies and researches along that line incline him to special practice in that field.
Dr. Gillespie is a member of the Peoria City Medical Society and also be- longs to the Illinois State Medical Society and the American Medical Associa- tion. His fraternal relations are with the Masons. He is now serving on the staff of St. Francis Hospital and in addition is accorded a good private practice which is indicative of the confidence which the general public repose in his pro- fessional skill.
THORNTON GILMORE MURPHY.
Not all days in the business career of Thornton G. Murphy were equally bright. At times storm clouds threatened disaster, but with persistent purpose and unfaltering energy he made the best use of his opportunities and in time rose to a position among the prominent representatives of insurance interests in the middle west, becoming the founder and promoter of several insurance companies of Peoria. He was born in Adams county, Illinois, April 26, 1858, and died August 27, 1911. His education was acquired in the district schools near Quincy and in early life he studied medicine for a year in Chicago, thinking then to engage in practice some day. A year's preparation, however, convinced him that he did not wish to enter upon the profession as a life work and he turned from that line of study to a commercial course. He afterward went to Kansas City, where he invested heavily in real estate and also engaged in the nursery business. The city was then enjoying a boom but in time there was a reaction in realty values and Mr. Murphy suffered heavy losses through his real-estate investments. Gathering together what he could of his wrecked fortunes, he came to Peoria in 1890 and sought to again upbuild his business. Here he began dealing in nursery stock and for seven years devoted his time to that line of activity. Success attended his efforts and in 1897 he sold out to embark in still another line. He entered the field of life insurance and again his business ability and enterprise proved adequate to the situation. He organized and developed the Peoria Life Insurance Company, making it a profitable undertaking. He worked with untir- ing effort and personally secured all the charter members necessary to make the concern a success. From the beginning its business and patronage grew, Mr. Murphy continuing to serve as secretary until 1904, when he resigned. He after- ward organized the Corn Belt Life Insurance Company, which was later merged into the La Salle Life Insurance Company of Chicago. He was a man of excep- tionally strong business ability and was recognized as one of the most successful life insurance organizers in this part of the county. As a salesman he had no su- perior and his thorough understanding of every feature of the business and the real value of life insurance made him very successful in founding and promoting such an undertaking.
On the 22d of October, 1890, Mr. Murphy was united in marriage to Miss Iva L. Tarr, a daughter of James F. and Elizabeth (Hughes) Tarr, of Mendon, Adams county, Illinois, where they were pioneer settlers, the father there devot- ing his attention to farming. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Murphy were born five chil- dren: Charles T., who was born September 17, 1891, and died in September, 1894; Leo D., born July 14, 1894; James F., who was born on the IIth of Janu- ary, 1897, and passed away in September, 1897; and Helen and Harold, twins, born December 23, 1901.
THORNTON G. MURPHY
THE
PUBLI
ONI
ASTOR L AND TILDEN FIT
201
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
In his political views Mr. Murphy was an earnest democrat but never an office seeker. He held membership with the Modern Woodmen of America and also in the Christian Science church. He was well read, keeping in touch with the world's thought and progress and becoming also conversant with the best writings of past ages. He had a wide acquaintance in various sections of the state and was honored and respected wherever known and most of all where he was best known. Firm and determined in his convictions, he never faltered in his alle- giance to what he believed to be right and the course and policies which he pur- sued gained him the trust, confidence and good-will of his fellowmen.
CHARLES J. OFF.
To characterize Charles J. Off in a single sentence would be impossible, for so many and varied are his activities and so important has been his work that extended mention is necessary to give an adequate account of what he has accomplished. It is an acknowledge fact, however, that public spirit with him constitutes an even balance to individual ambition, and in the attainment of notable success he has found time and opportunity to cooperate in many proj- ects for the general welfare. He is perhaps best known to the citizens of Peoria as a wholesale merchant, having for many decades been connected with that line of trade, although in 1911 he retired from that field; throughout the state he is perhaps more widely known because of his extensive real-estate oper- ations, for he is today one of the largest land owners of Illinois and his atten- tion is now largely given to the supervision of his property.
Charles J. Off has been a resident of Peoria county since the 11th of May, 1855, and of this city since the spring of 1856. He was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, October 24, 1843, and is the son of John Jacob and Christina ( Straes- ser) Off. He was eleven years of age when in 1855, he accompanied his parents on their emmigration from the fatherland to the new world. They went by rail to Havre. France, from there by sailing ship to New Orleans and from there by boat to Peoria. They settled near the present site of the Insane Asylum at Bartonville, but the following year took up their abode in the city. The father was a stone mason and a builder and continued to work at his trade here for a number of years. He maintained his residence in Peoria until the time of his death.
Charles J. Off began his education in the schools of his native country and mastered the English language as a pupil in the schools of Peoria. He started in business as a clerk in a grocery store here and was continuously conected with that branch of trade from the 12th of September, 1859, until the 11th of February. 1911, so that his name is synonymous with the history of the grocery business of this city. He was employed first as a clerk in a wholesale and retail grocery house until the ist of January. 1873, within which period he steadily advanced, his capability, industry and reliable methods winning him promotion from time to time with a proportionate increase in salary. At length he deter- mined to engage in business on his own account and on the ist of January, 1873. entered into partnership with Henry. Oakford & Fahnestock, a well established wholesale grocery firm of the city. For five years he continued in that connec- tion and then retired from the firm and in 1877 erected the building where the Charles J. Off Company wholesale grocery house is now located. The following year he occupied that building with a large stock of groceries and continued in the wholesale trade as the head of that concern until 1911. The business grew year by year, its ramifying trade interests covering a constantly broadening ter- ritory and the house taking rank with the leading wholesale establishments of the state and for fifteen consecutive years Mr. Off served as president of the Wholesale Grocers Association of Illinois.
Vol. II-10
202
HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY
As Mr. Off prospered-and his success increased year by year-he extended his efforts into other fields of business and placed not a little of his earnings in the safest of all investments-real estate. He became a large owner of city property, and farm lands in Macon, Tazewell, Knox, Wayne and Peoria counties. He now owns about thirty-five hundred acres of valuable farm land of which a noted lecturer on the natural resources of the country has said: "There is no better investment in all America." This property is divided into several farms including one very extensive farm of eighteen hundred acres in Macon county. He also has five hundred and fifty acres in two farms in Tazewell county and ninety-six acres of Richwoods township, Peoria county. Upon his large farm in Macon county he conducts an extensive canning business for the canning of corn, and this, as all other undertakings, in which he has engaged, is proving a profitable enterprise. He is a director of the First National Bank of East Peoria, is the owner of a large coal mine known as the Phoenix upon his farm in Tazewell county and has other business which are profitable sources of revenue. The first land which he ever owned was a tract in Nebraska which he purchased of the government. He became owner of that property soon after the war but traded it afterward for land in Macon county, Illinois. While few men are so extensively connected with farming interests in this state as Mr. Off, he has al- ways maintained his residence in this city, having for fifty-seven years made his home in Peoria.
On the 28th of October, 1879, Mr. Off was united in marriage to Miss Mar- garet Fey of this city, a daughter of David and Barbara Fey. They have five children : Charles David, who married Miss Elsie Wrenn of Washington, and has one child, Charles J. II .; Robert F .: Walter, who married Matilda Huver- stuhl, and has a daughter, Margaret; Clifford, who wedded Helen C. Willock, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; and Clarence, now at school. Four of his sons are now associated with him in business.
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.