Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II, Part 41

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 41


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HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY


Amanda Miller, daughter of John and Sarah Miller, of Philadelphia, who came to Peoria with her parents in 1843. Frederick Koetter's early education was received in the parochial and public schools of Warsaw, Illinois, and was later supplemented by a thorough course in Coles' Business College in Peoria. Upon his graduation from this school, he obtained a position as clerk in the general store of M. Berdolt in Warsaw, Illinois, in which capacity he served for three years. from 1870 to 1873. He then accepted a position with the firm of Clarke & Company, one of the leading dry-goods stores of Peoria where he remained until 1876. The years from 1877 until 1881 he spent on the road as a travel- ing salesman. In April, 1881, he entered the wholesale liquor house of Mat- thew Henebery, one of the oldest firms of this character in the city, as book- keeper and house-salesman, and remained there until April, 1904. when he re- signed to go into the business for himself. He established the present whole- sale liquor firm of F. W. Koetter & Brother, and since that time has been doing a remarkable business annually. Mr. Koetter is well known in Peoria as a thoroughly reliable and upright man in every relation of life, and this reputa- tion for honor and integrity has made his business prosper and flourish to a wonderful extent during the eight years of its existence.


On October 8, 1885, at Canton, Illinois, Mr. Koetter was married to Miss Charlotte Smith. a daughter of William H. Smith and Elizabeth (Wilcoxen) Smith of that city. Mrs. Koetter's father was a native of Virginia and came to Illinois about 1836. Her mother's family. came from Kentucky, and her grandfather, Elijah Wilcoxen was a nephew of Daniel Boone, pioneer settler of that state. Mr. and Mrs. Koetter are the parents of two children. both liv- ing at home. Florence Mary and William Henry Koetter. Mr. Koetter com- bines in his character the qualities of strict and unwavering integrity with busi- ness ability of a high order, and this is the cause of his success.


EDWARD A. BURRILL.


The profession of railroading is one of weighty responsibility, for the lives of many thousand people are daily dependent upon the efficiency of railroads and this efficiency depends to a great extent upon the policy and management of the individuals who control and direct the road. Edward A. Burrill, now vice president and general manager of the Peoria Railway Terminal Com- pany, has been a practical worker in this line of activity during almost all his business career. He has learned the details of railroad construction and de- velopment, has worked in different capacities in the offices of many of the great lines and has risen to his present position as vice president of one of the largest interurban companies of Illinois by hard work and concentrated in- dustry.


Edward A. Burrill was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, August 20, 1856. His family is of English origin and was founded in America in colonial days. The first representative of the line lived in Maine before the Revolution and was among the pioneers of the fruit belt of New York. Mr. Burrill is a son of A. C. and Frances (Meara) Burrill. The father was a general railway contractor and was active in the service of his country during the Civil war when he fol- lowed the line of attack and rebuilt the railroads torn up by the enemy. He was one of the first men to do any construction work on the Panama Canal. He was killed near Manhattan, Kansas, in 1869, at the age of forty-five years and is buried in one of the cemeteries of that city.


Edward A. Burrill received his primary education in the public schools of Cincinnati, Ohio, and laid aside his books at the age of seventeen to enter the internal revenue service at St. Louis, Missouri. The constant indoor work had


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affected his health, and at the expiration of three years he took a position as fireman on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. He remained in the employ of this corporation for more than two years, gradually working himself up to a higher position and showing his aptitude and intelligence in learning the details of practical railroading. When he returned to St. Louis he took a position as freight clerk for the Terminal Association and remained in that connection un- til 1881. He was then appointed contracting agent for the Great Eastern Fast Freight line and made a record for originality and industry in this capacity. He resigned that position in 1886 to become clerk to the division superintendent of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad. He served in this capacity until January 1, 1893, when he became connected with the Illinois Southern Railroad as super- intendent. Here he remained for ten years, adding to his knowledge of rail- roading and showing himself capable and efficient in the various branches of that profession. In January, 1903, he became superintendent of the Peoria Railway Terminal Company and held that position until January, 1906, when he was elected to his present office as vice president and general manager.


On January 8, 1889, Mr. Burrill was united in marriage at Sparta Hill, Illinois, to Miss Eunice Brown, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Brown, the former a retired farmer and pioneer resident of Randolph county. Mr. Bur- rill and his wife have one daughter, Frances, the wife of O. P. Walker, who is also connected with the Peoria Railway Terminal Company. Mr. and Mrs. Burrill reside in a pleasant and comfortable home at 1319 North Monroe street, and are well known in social circles of this city. Edward Burrill's success in his chosen line of occupation is the direct result of his strict attention to busi- ness and his expert knowledge of the many branches of his profession. In his present responsible position he is showing great initiative and resource, broad intelligence and a keen discrimination. These qualities marked his career in the beginning and have been a dominating factor in his success.


JOHN L. OSWALT.


John L. Oswalt has for many years been prominently identified with the United States internal revenue service, and is also well known in this city as a deputy sheriff. He holds a record of having been in office as government store- keeper and government gauger almost continuously since the Civil war. In all these various activities, Mr. Oswalt has acquitted himself constantly with un- swerving integrity, strict attention to business and unfaltering loyalty to the interests of the country which employs him. He learned his lessons of patriotism and fidelity to duty in the stern school of the Civil war, and his honorable character and upright life are witnesses of their efficacy.


John L. Oswalt was born January 23, 1847, in Wetzel county, West Vir- ginia, the son of Tobias and Sarah ( Archer ) Oswalt, both natives of Virginia. Tobias Oswalt was a mechanical engineer, who moved from his native state to Ohio, in 1852 and established his home at Akron, that state, where his wife died in the fall of 1865. John L. Oswalt was one of ten children, the two eldest of whom were soldiers in the Federal army during the Civil war. He was but five years of age when his parents came to Ohio, and he received his early educa- tion in the public schools of Akron. He was of a quiet, thoughtful and literary turn of mind, taking naturally to his books and intensely interested in his studies. In August, 1863, he enlisted in Hancocks Corps, Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry with which regiment he valiantly served until the end of the war. Immediately upon his discharge he returned to his home and not content with a high-school education which at that time was considered sufficient preparation for any walk of life he entered Alliance College, of Alliance, Ohio, and subsequently spent


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one year in Parkman College where he took up telegraphy and finished in this course. In 1868 he went to Ottawa, Canada, where he worked as an operator and two years later, in 1870, he accepted the position as telegraph agent for the Pittsburgh & Fort Wayne Railroad, which he left to enter the employ of the Big Four, where he continued for fourteen years. He resigned this position in 1884 to accept the office of storekeeper for the United States government, and was assigned to work in Peoria. He has lived in this city since that time, and has gained for himself many friends among the people of the city. He is a man of fine character, sturdy, upright and honorable in all his dealings, proud of his children, loyal to his friends, an unswerving patriot, a true and high minded gentleman.


John L. Oswalt was married on April 1, 1872, to Miss Mary A. Mitchell, of Indiana, and they became the parents of six children. Mr. Oswalt is loyal to his comrades in the Grand Army of the Republic, is a member of the Bryner Post in Peoria, and was instrumental in the organization of the first G. A. R. post in Smithfield, Illinois. He is a member of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a devoted member of the Methodist church, and his religion is of the practical, everyday, working kind. He now has a pleasant home. on Hamilton boulevard in Peoria, and his family have grown up around him and are prominent in their different walks of life. Mr. Oswalt is in the sixty-sixth year of his age, a genial, loyal and kindly man. One sleeve of his coat dangles empty, a proof of the toll his country took of him in the great war of the rebellion.


JOHN RYAN WHALEN.


Everything that is mighty or honorable in this world is the product of labor either of body or mind. The active agent in our growing cities, our spreading commerce, our rising and progressive business enterprises, is the powerful influence of hard and unremitting work. An example of the influence of this quality upon a man's career is found in the life record of John Ryan Whalen. He was born in this city November 7, 1856, and was the son of Thomas and Hanora (Ryan) Whalen, who were both natives of County Kilkenny, Ireland, They came to Peoria in 1850, traveling by way of New Orleans and the Mis- sissippi river. Their son received his early education in the public schools of this city, and afterward learned the mason's trade with the firm of Joseph Hazzard & Son, with whom he kept up his connection from 1874 to 1882, when he went into the contracting business for himself, under the name of John R. Whalen Com- pany, in which occupation he has continued with growing success since that time.


John R. Whalen brings into the contracting business a thorough knowledge of the details of the trade, an ability to manage, direct and control men, and the power over destiny which lies in a capacity for continuous labor. He has been connected with the erection of many of the principal buildings in this city. He was contractor for the mason work of the Methodist church at the corner of Sixth and Franklyn streets, for the magnificent new Y. M. C. A. building recently completed in this city, for St. Patrick's school, the Godel Packing House, the Great Eastern distillery, and had the general contract for the beautiful new Knights of Columbus Club, all built recently in this city, and worthy examples of the quality of John R. Whalen's work. He does much business outside of Peoria, and has built two churches in Bloomington, Illinois, the Baptist and the Christian churches of that city.


His thorough knowledge of the details of the building trade led to his appoint- ment under Mayor William F. Bryan as building inspector of Peoria, which was confirmed under Mayor Woodruff during his first term of office. John R.


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Whalen was superintendent of construction of the new city hall under Mayor Warner, and of the great Acme Harvester Company's buildings at South Barton- ville. In politics Mr. Whalen is a consistent democrat, believing firmly in the principles and policies for which that party stands, and voting the democratic ticket in local and national issues. He was a charter member of the Knights of Father Matthew, and was president of that organization for fifteen years until it was disbanded in 1903. He is a prominent member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and of the Knights of Columbus. He belongs to St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church.


John Ryan Whalen was married in Peoria in 1879 to Miss Mary C. Cuddy, a daughter of William and Catherine Cuddy, natives of Queens county, Ireland, who came to Peoria in 1876. They became the parents of six children, four of whom are living: Hanora, who died August 1, 1895; Thomas C .; William who passed away July 5, 1883 ; Cecelia Elizabeth, who married Henry J. Eynatten, of Peoria, and Statia and John Michael, living at home. His sons, Thomas C. and John M. Whalen are both practical builders and contractors, and are asso- cited with their father in the John R. Whalen Company.


WILLIAM E. HEARST.


One of the outgrowths of the immense distilling interests in Peoria, and a business in a large measure peculiar to a city where wholesale liquor making is carried on on a large scale, is the industry of cattle feeding. In every large distillery in Peoria, thousands upon thousands of cattle, destined for foreign and domestic markets are fed from the refuse and waste incident to the business. Distillery fed beef is considered a luxury in this country, and its flavor far excells that of beef from cattle fed on grass. One of the largest dealers in dis- tillery fed live stock is the great Morris Company, whose shipments in and out of Peoria each year are almost unbelievable. Thousands of cattle are on hand here constantly, being fed and fattened as a side industry in all the distilleries of the city. At the head of the Morris interests is William E. Hearst, general manager of the Peoria branch of the company, holding under his direction and control the constantly growing business along this line, responsible for the de- velopment and progress of the large enterprise, and having, as far as one man can, the future progress and success of this branch of activity, in the hollow of his hand.


William E. Hearst is a native Peorian, having been born in this city in 1866. His father, Alexander Hearst, was for many years a prominent manufacturer in this city, and held the office of school inspector for a long time. William E. Hearst was educated in the public schools of this city and is a graduate of the Peoria high school. He has been a thorough business man all his life, and is intimately acquainted with all the newest and most modern methods in industrial life. His responsible position at the head of the great Morris interests in this city, is a peculiarly difficult one, and he has done much in the course of his con- nection with it to retain this branch of the industry for Peoria. The entire ambi- tion of Mr. Hearst's life is concentrated upon business. He has very few out- side interests, and is known and recognized in this city as a man dominated and controlled by his business principles. He stands at the head of the cattle feeding business here. His shipments annually are the largest in their line in the state. He recently erected at a cost of seventy-five thousand dollars, immense cattle feeding sheds, capable of housing thousands of cattle at a time. His hand and brain are constantly active in the interest of his business, and the growth and development of the industry under his charge is evidence of his remarkable ex- ecutive power and of his qualities of initiative and resource. He is not actively


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interested in politics, as his attention is almost exclusively demanded by his busi- ness affairs.


Mr. Hearst has two sons, Robert E. and John Hearst, who at present are at- tending St. John's Military Academy at Delafield, Wisconsin. His social inclina- tions find expression in his membership in the Creve Coeur Club and his opinion is highly valued in matters pertaining to business policies and commercial affairs generally in the Peoria Association of Commerce, of which he is a well known member. William E. Hearst is essentially a man of business, absorbed in its problems, keenly interested in its development, capable of promoting its progress and in all the various relations of industrial life a man whose early promise has been rarely and quickly fulfilled.


EDWARD J. SMITH.


Edward J. Smith is well known in commercial circles of Peoria as an up- right and reliable business man, interested in everything conducive to the prog- ress and improvement of his home city. He has been prominent in the print- ing business in this city since 1899, and has established a local reputation for accurate, rapid and reliable work. He is a native son of Peoria, having been born here May 29, 1867. His parents were Clark C. and Melissa Smith, who were both born a few miles outside of Columbus, Ohio. The original Smith of this line was a Hollander, who landed in this country in 1741. He married an English woman by whom he had six sons all of whom served in the Revo- lutionary war. The Smiths of this family hold the unique distinction of having been represented in every American war except the Spanish-American. Clark C. Smith, the father of the subject of this sketch served through the Civil war as a member of Company C, Fortieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.


Edward J. Smith received his education in the public schools of Peoria, and immediately upon his graduation he entered the printing firm of J. W. Franks & Sons, where he remained for three years. He then resigned to go to Chi- cago, in which city he served out the balance of his term as an apprentice. He returned to Peoria in March, 1899, and in partnership with Henry E. Johnson, he started a little printing establishment. In July of the same year, Mr. John- son sold his interest in the business to Joseph A. Schaefer. Mr. Smith's con- nection with Joseph Schaefer continued until November 24, 1909, when the latter sold out his interest to his partner, leaving Mr. Smith sole owner of a rapidly growing and well established business. All during his business career, Edward J. Smith has been remarkably successful, especially since he has been in sole charge. His output increases every year in proportion to the increased demand for his goods. His methods are always reliable and his equipment is kept absolutely modern and up to date. In his shop is found every modern facility needed by the artistic and progressive printer. His success is in no way remarkable, since it is the natural result of hard work, a thorough knowledge of the details of the trade, and the adaptation of sound and conservative busi- ness principles to new and progressive methods.


On December 25, 1889, in Peoria, Edward J. Smith married Miss Mattie E. Canterbury, a daughter of A. M. Canterbury, who until his death was a prom- inent live-stock broker of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two daughters : Hazel Helen, aged nineteen and Nelda Lenore, seventeen. Fraternally, Mr. Smith is a member of Temple Lodge, No. 46, A. F. & A. M .; of the West Bluff Lodge, No. 177, Knights of Pythias; and of Charter Oak Camp, No. 87, Modern Woodmen of America. He is a prominent and active member of the First Methodist Episcopal church and belongs to the Men's Club of that or- ganization. He always votes the republican ticket, but does not take an active part


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in local politics, preferring to devote his time and attention to his rapidly grow- ing business. He is active in any movement for the progress and improve- ment of his city, and is a director of the Peoria Association of Commerce. The story of his career is the story of well earned success which is the natural result of hard work and ability.


JOHN HENRY KUHL.


One of the most prominent retail grocers of Peoria is John llenry Kuhl, who for over twenty years has been successfully engaged in business in this city. He is a native of Illinois and has passed practically his entire life in this immediate vicinity, his birth having occurred at Beardstown on the 12th of October, 1864.


In the acquirement of his education John Henry Kuhl attended the common schools of l'ekin, Illinois, until he had attained the age of thirteen years, when he laid aside his text-books in order to qualify himself for a commercial career. His first experience in the business world was obtained in the grocery of Kuhl & DeVries at Pekin, Illinois, in which establishment his brother, George Albert was financially interested. He was an unusually industrious youth and was most ambitious to forge ahead and create a place for himself in the commercial world. This desire but served to stimulate his energies and he applied himself assiduously to mastering every detail of the business, with the expectation of making it his life vocation. His intelligence, close concentration and natural sagacity won him the recognition of older business men of wide experience and he left the employment of this firm at the end of eight years to become traveling salesman for J. & G. Herget, well known wholesale grocers of Pekin. He was only twenty-one when he entered the service of this company with whom he was identified for four years, severing his connection with them at the expira- tion of that time to engage in business for himself. In 1889, together with his brother, George Albert, he purchased the retail grocery of Jenkinson & Bill, located at the corner of Madison & Main streets, this city. This was a well established enterprise, occupying one of the best sites in the city, a grocery hav- ing been located there ever since the city of Peoria was founded. The firm prospered from the first, and their trade grew as they were energetic young men of progressive ideas and high standards of commercial integrity and they not only retained the patrons of their predecessors but constantly added new names to their list of customers. In 1893 John Henry Kuhl bought the interest of his brother and has ever since been conducting the business alone. Two years later he extended the scope of his activities by founding a branch store at 1012 Knoxville avenue. This proved to be a successful venture and in 1908 he opened another place at 723 Third street, which has been equally lucrative, and in 1911, he established a store at 324 Bradley avenue. He is now conducting all four concerns, the main store still being at the original location at the corner of Madison & Main streets. The unusual success that has attended the endeavors of Mr. Kuhl must be attributed to a variety of things, but chiefly to his keen foresight. He is a man of too much business acumen to lose sight of the future in view of the present, and in the upbuilding of his business has not permitted the gain of today to blind him to the profit of tomorrow. It has always been his policy to retain the good-will of every patron, even if this sometimes had to be purchased at his loss, and as a result he has established a reputation for integrity and reliability that has been his chief asset. He carries a good line of food stuffs, the quality of which he can truthfully recommend, and offers them at moderate prices. The personnel of his stores is exceptionally high, patrons always being assured of receiving courteous and considerate treatment, to such an extent as


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to even inconvenience themselves to accommodate their customers. As a busi- ness man, Mr. Kuhl stands high in the esteem not only of those who have had transactions with him but with his competitors, all recognizing his high standards and upright principles as exemplified through his long connection with the com- mercial activities of this city.


Wellington, Kansas, was the scene of the marriage of Mr. Kuhl on the 15th of June, 1887, to Miss Linna E. Brace. Mrs. Kuhl is descended from the early pioneers of this section of Illinois, being a daughter of the late Rev. Charles H. Brace of Minneapolis, Minnesota, whose family were among the first settlers of Stark county. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Kuhl includes one daughter and a son. The former, Lora A., had the distinction of graduating from Vassar Col- lege with honors in June, 1911, and is now living at home, while the son, John Henry, Jr., is pursuing a course in architectural engineering at Champaign, Illinois, with the expectation of making this his life vocation.


The family affiliate with the Congregational church and Mr. Kuhl is a mem- ber of the Men's Sunday Evening Club. He also belongs to the Country Club and is a charter member of the Creve Coeur Club, while his fraternal connec- tions are confined to his affiliation with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Royal League. In all probability the greatest satisfaction Mr. Kuhl finds in the success that has attended his efforts is the knowledge that it has been won through his own endeavors. He is one of the many enterprising American business men whose life records prove that prosperity is more often won through untiring industry and determination of purpose than favorable circumstances, which fact makes their achievements all the more worthy of commendation.




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