Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II, Part 42

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 42


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CHRISTIAN BUEHLER, SR.


The life record of Christian Buehler is another illustration of the fact that when the enterprising spirit of the German finds scope in the opportunities of the new world the result is success. For eighteen years he was a resident of Peoria, during which period he made for himself an enviable position in busi- ness circles and was the pioneer in introducing many improvements in the gen- eral butchering and pork-packing business.


A native of Stuttgart, Wurttemberg, Germany, Mr. Buehler was born on the 25th of December, 1821, and after spending the period of his boyhood and youth in the fatherland, came to the United States in 1849, when a young man of about twenty-eight years. He first took up his abode in the city of Phila- delphia, but soon afterward made his way westward. On the Ist of January, 1857, he was married in Chicago to Miss Anna Schlenker, and there resided for three years after his marriage before coming to Peoria in 1860. Following his arrival in this city he engaged in the pork-packing and general butchering business, establishing one of the pioneer industries of the kind here. He be- gan the undertaking on a small scale and was one of the first packers in the United States to successfully carry on a business of that character through the summer season. Packers came from other places to investigate his way of do- ing business in preserving meats in the summer time and inspect his small plant for he was in advance of the great majority in the use of a refrigerating system in connection with the meat-packing business. The success of his meth- ods led others to follow the same course for the superiority of his way of hand- ling meats was widely acknowledged.


Mr. Buehler continued to make his home in Peoria from the time of his arrival in 1860 until his death on the 15th of October, 1878. Unto him and his wife were born eight children, Anna, Martin, Christian, Robert, Herman, Carl Friedericka and Albert.


CHRISTIAN BUEHLER, SR.


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Following the death of Mr. Buehler his eldest son, Martin, associated with the mother, Mrs. Anna Buehler, carried on the business for some time. Mr. Buehler was a democrat in his political views and while not a prominent poli- tician, recognized the duties and obligations of citizenship and gave his sup- port to various projects for the public good. The Masonic fraternity found in him an examplary representative and one ever loyal to its interests and wel- fare. His was a well spent life and through the middle portion of the nine- teenth century he figured prominently in the business circles of Peoria. Mrs. Anna Buehler passed away in Chicago, in April, 1895.


WILLIAM F. JOHNSON.


William F. Johnson, the founder and proprietor of the Johnson Cigar Com- pany located at 606-608 Adams street, is one of Peoria's estimable citizens and highly enterprising and successful young business men. He was born in the city of Peoria and is a son of Herman and Mary Johnson. The father was a native of Germany, whence he emigrated to the United States at the age of seven years, locating with his parents in Peoria. Here he was educated and reared to man- hood, subsequently learning the cooper's trade. He followed this vocation for a time but later withdrew therefrom to become a member of the fire department, following this occupation until his death twelve years ago at the age of fifty- two. He was one of the veterans of the force in years of service and every department of the municipal government was well represented at his funeral, which was conducted with full honors to the man who had discharged his duties with rare capability and efficiency for many years. The mother subsequently became the wife of William Hawthorne, and is now residing at 709 Hancock street, this city. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were the parents of seven children, as follows: Benjamin, who is deceased; John, who is employed in the hardware store of Hunter & Strebler; Henry, who is deceased; William, the subject of this sketch; Charles, the foreman of the factory of the Johnson Cigar Com- pany ; and Anna and Kate, both of whom are deceased.


The entire life of William F. Johnson has been passed in this city, his educa- tion being obtained in the old Fifth Ward school. When he had acquired such knowledge as was deemed essential to a business career, his text-books were laid aside and he entered the cigar factory of Jacob Hoffman to learn the trade. Later he became an employe of Nicholas Webber, with whom he remained until he had gained sufficient experience to engage in business for himself. As he was young in years and had but limited capital it was necessary for him to begin in a very small way, but as he operated his establishment with intelligence and used a good quality of tobacco in the manufacture of his products he succeeded in building up a profitable trade. He has enlarged his quarters at various times and now gives employment to twenty people in his factory, and his business is con- stantly expanding. His special brands are the "Peoria Star" and "La Teresa" both of which are very popular and in great demand among his patrons. Mr. Johnson has every reason to feel gratified with the development of his business, which stands as the result of his own hard work and close application, as he never has received any assistance other than is accorded every business man of recognized worth and responsibility. He has been in business for fourteen years and during that time has made most notable progress, being the owner of one of the well established and thriving industries of the city.


For his wife and helpmate, Mr. Johnson chose Miss Nellie Everett of Chi- cago, and they live at 202 Culter street, where they own a very pleasant residence. He attends the Methodist church and his fraternal relations are with the Fra-


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ternal Order of Eagles and the Independent Order of Red Men. He also is a member of the Cigarmakers' Union.


Mr. Johnson's achievements show what it is possible for a young man of ambitious spirit and industrious habits to accomplish, despite the keen competi- tion that prevails in practically every line of business at the present day. He is held in high regard in local business circles, the policy and methods he pur- sues in the conduct of his business being such as to recommend him to the respect and esteem of all who have transactions with him.


ARCHIBALD THEODORE McMASTER.


The young men of Peoria have undeniably exercised a powerful influence upon the great business development of the city. Thousands of young men have gained for themselves names that will endure and distinction in the paths of industry in this city during the past half century. The young men of Peoria have always been her pride and best support, contributing their brains and energies to the vast commercial progress of the city, and to the upbuilding of her municipal activity.


Prominent among young men of this class is Archibald T. McMaster, whose name heads this sketch. He is one of Peoria's typical business men, devoting his brains, his time, his labors to the building up of the coal business in which he is engaged, and promoting the advancement of the city in building up his own prosperity. Mr. McMaster is preeminently a man of one business. He started in his present occupation when a mere boy, and it has absorbed his faculties and energies ever since, without however, impairing his interest in the welfare of the city, and in her municipal advancement. Mr. McMaster is known as a forceful man whose strong and well balanced views have enabled him to accomplish what he has undertaken, and to gain considerable prestige in the business world, and his reputation for honesty and uprightness is of the very best.


Archibald Theodore McMaster was born in Girard, Illinois, August 21, 1874, the son of James and Matilda McMaster of Peoria. James McMaster is still living in this city, which has been his home all his life, and is a prominent gov- ernment gauger here. Archibald McMaster went to the grammar schools of Peoria until he finished the eighth grade. He then entered Brown's Business College, where he took the complete commercial course of bookkeeping and shorthand, and laid the foundation of the business system upon which his suc- cess is based. Upon leaving school, he entered at once upon the coal business, as an employe of Newell & Clark, a former wholesale coal company of Peoria. When this firm dissolved a short time after Mr. McMaster became connected with it, he entered the employ of Miles & Company, where he remained until 1901. These two positions offered him every opportunity of learning his chosen business from the ground up, an opportunity which he was not slow to grasp, and which his business talents and power of concentration and hard work, enabled him to improve. He mastered the business in the minutest detail, from office work to actual mining of the coal. He learned the outside business by traveling on the road for ten years, and he was superintendent of a mine for two years in Tazewell county, so when he left the offices of Miles & Company to go into the coal business for himself, he had a solid foundation behind him of thorough knowledge and perfect equipment.


On October 27, 1898, Mr. McMaster was married in Peoria to Miss Matilda Gauss, daughter of William P. Gauss of this city, who was at one time a promi- nent wholesale grocer, and active in city and county politics, but who lives at present retired. They have one son, Archibald James, nine years old, at present attending the White school.


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Mr. McMaster's political affiliations are republican. He takes a great interest in politics and is at present a county supervisor having been elected to that body in 1911. He had only served one year as a supervisor when he was chosen chair- man of the board and he serves at present in that capacity and is also chairman of the county board of equalization of taxes. He is prominent in the Masonic or- der, the Knights of Pythias, The North American Union and the T. P. A.'s. His interest in the commercial progress of the city finds expression in his member- ship in the Peoria Association of Commerce, while he finds relaxation and rec- reation as a member of the Peoria Social Athletic Club. The Order of Kokoal of which he is a well known member affords him an opportunity to exchange with men of kindred interests, views and opinions regarding his line of business.


It is impossible to estimate the value of men like Mr. McMaster to the city, at least during their lifetime. Hard work, unfailing industry, energy un- deterred by obstacles, determination and high-minded probity, have a market and a value in commercial and industrial life, which extends itself to the whole social economy. Every man, from the toiling laborer to the merchant prince, receives benefit from them.


WILLIAM ANDREW HIERRON.


William Andrew Herron is numbered among those who have left their impress upon the history of Peoria. He came to this city in 1840, when it was a small town of little industrial or commercial importance, and from that time until his death was closely connected with its progress and upbuilding, winning eventually a place among its foremost financiers as the president of the Peoria Savings Bank and a director of the Second National Bank. Throughout his entire life he made good use of his time and opportunities and in all of his business deal- ings he ever recognized the rights and privileges of others. His path was never strewn with the wreck of other men's fortunes, for throughout his entire career he used constructive methods, winning his success through close application, unfaltering energy and intelligently directed labor.


Mr. Herron was a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Ship- pensburg. Cumberland county. His father. Francis Herron, was of Scotch- Irish descent, belonging to a family that was represented in Cumberland county for several generations, where at one time they were proprietors of a large tract of land that included several farms, the entire district being known in that locality as Herron's Row. The family were members of the Middle Spring church, which is so largely represented in the Presbyterian circles in Peoria. Francis Herron wedded Jane Wills, also a native of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, and a woman whose amiable and sterling traits of character won her the love of all with whom she came in contact.


The youthful days of William A. Herron were spent upon the old homestead farm until he reached the age of fifteen, when he came west with an aunt, Mrs. Martha ( Herron) Cunningham, and spent the winter of 1839 at Belleville, Illi- nois. In the following spring he came to Peoria and from that time foreward was closely associated with the business development of the city. He was first employed as a clerk in the drug store of his uncle, Dr. James Mossman, one of the city's earliest physicians, who died here about 1850. The store was located on the upper side of Main street, adjoining the Peoria hotel, of which Augustus O. Garrett was then proprietor. Mr. Herron practiced strict economy as well as industry and in time his labors had brought him a sufficient capital to purchase the store in which he had been employed. He afterward removed his stock of goods to the corner of Main street and Printer's alley, occupying the old historic building which was wrecked by an explosion just after he had vacated it. His removals were made to accommodate an increasing trade and also to keep pace


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with changes in the business center of the city. In 1849 he erected a brick build- ing at the south corner of Main and Washington streets and for more than a half century a drug store has been at that site. He prospered in his undertakings there and conducted his business until 1856, when his health became impaired through close confinement in the store and he sold out. He then turned his attention to the lumber trade in partnership with Joseph Elder, this enabling him to spend more time out of doors. He then continued in the business until 1868, when he withdrew from commercial circles and entered the field of bank- ing, in which he continued until his death. In 1868 he established the Savings Bank of Peoria, in connection with John Hamlin, Charles P. King, Lorin G. Pratt, Zenas G. Hotchkiss, Philip Zell, Lewis Howell and Thomas C. Moore. This was the pioneer institution of its kind in the city and from the outset has enjoyed a prosperous existence. The bank was originally conducted as a part- nership concern but in 1894 was incorporated under the laws of the state. In 1872 Mr. Herron became president and manager and so continued until his death, which occurred thirty-four years later on the 14th of December, 1906. His progressiveness was always tempered by a safe conservatism, whereby inter- ests of depositors were carefully guarded. His business judgment was sound and his counsel was sought by many. He recognized fully the responsibilities devolving upon him and allowed no unwarranted risks. However, the invest- ments of the bank were so judiciously made that success continually attended. the business and the bank grew with the growth of the city, becoming one of the strongest financial concerns of this part of the state. In addition, Mr. Her- ron served for many years as a director of the Second National Bank, now the Peoria National Bank. He was also one of the founders and original stock- holders of the Peoria Gas Light & Coke Company, which came into existence in 1853. He served for an extended period as one of its directors and was also its president for a number of years. He never met with failure or business re- verses during his long and active career owing to the fact that his sagacity was keen, his judgment sound and his enterprise unfaltering. He found pleasure in the solution of intricate business problems and at all times he so conducted his business affairs that they reflected credit and honor upon the city in which he operated.


In 1846 Mr. Herron was united in marriage to Miss Susan Bartlett, a daugh- ter of Dr. Peter Bartlett. Some time after the death of his first wife he was mar- ried, November 4, 1884, to Mary Walker, a daughter of Isaac and Sarah S. (McIlvaine) Walker, who were pioneers of Peoria. His children were four in number: William A., who is assistant teller in the Savings Bank of Peoria and who married Anna Louise Greenwood, by whom he has one daughter, Anna Louise Herron; John W., a student in La Fayette College at Easton, Pennsyl- vania; Mary, who is attending the Commonwealth school at Boston; and Anna A., deceased.


Mr. Herron was ever recognized as a public-spirited citizen, whose devotion to the general good was manifest in tangible ways. His cooperation could always be counted upon to further any movement that he deemed essential to the general welfare and his attitude was preeminently one of progress in relation to municipal affairs. He voted with the republican party and served for six years as alderman from his ward and also for seven years as a member of the board of supervisors, in which connections he discharged his official duties in a way that reflected credit and honor upon the community. He was active in the organization of the Second Presbyterian church, contributed liberally to its sup- port and was ever one of its most faithful and devoted members. The specific and distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest esti- mate of himself and his accomplishments but rather to leave the perpetual record establishing his character by the consensus of public opinion on the part of his fellowmen. Throughout Peoria and eastern Illinois William A. Herron was spoken of in terms of admiration and respect. His life was so varied in its


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activity, so honorable in its purposes, so far-reaching and beneficial in its efforts that it became an integral part in the history of the state. In no sense a man in public life, he nevertheless exerted an immeasurable influence upon Peoria ; in business life as a financier and promoter of commercial enterprises; in social circles by reason of a charming personality and unfeigned cordiality, in politics by reason of his public spirit and devotion to the general good and in church circles by his support and aid to those measures which are factors in moral progress.


CORNELIUS N. MIHIGAN.


The pages of this work illustrate the lives of many successful men, whose foresight in legal affairs contributes largely to gain for Peoria her present metro- politan position. Among the most prominent of these is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, Cornelius N. Mihigan. Mr. Mihigan is another eminent example of what energy, industry and perseverance will accomplish when ju- diciously applied. When he takes hold of a case, his name is a sure guarantee of intelligent handling. Mr. Mihigan has won large success as a clearheaded, straightforward lawyer, and fully deserves the recognition he has received as a worthy, energetic citizen, and a lawyer of fine judgment and rare probity.


Cornelius N. Mihigan was born in Summerville, New Jersey, on March 15, 1855. His father, Jeremiah Mihigan was born in Ireland, but came to America at a very early age. He settled in New Jersey, where with true Celtic versatility he practiced the various trades of painter, machinist, bookkeeper and tailor until his son Cornelius was a few months old, when he came to Peoria with his wife, Catherine Mihigan and family. Here they lived for fourteen years, moving to Pekin at that time in which city they resided for ten years.


Cornelius Mihigan received his early education in the schools of Peoria and Pekin. His education was completed at the age of sixteen years, but was later supplemented by a course in the Drew Business College of Pekin. On leaving school, Mr. Mihigan obtained a position as clerk in a Pekin grocery store and remained there for four years, resigning to enter the wholesale grocery of J. & G. Herget of Pekin as bookkeeper, a position which he held for two years. But these various clerical positions were merely preliminary to his actual start upon his career in life, which was the law. He resigned his position with J. & G. Herget to read law with Whitney & Foster, leading lawyers of Pekin at that time, and after two years of constant application, and intelligent study of law in all its branches, he was admitted to the bar in 1878, and began practicing for himself in Pekin. In three years time, he had gained a practice and a pres- tige which justified his removal to a larger city, and in 1880 he returned to Peoria and opened a law office here, where he has remained since that time. Mr. Mihigan's practice had gained steadily every year of his residence here, and his reputation as a man thoroughly conversant with the details of his profession, and honorable and high-minded in all the different phases of his life, has grown with it. For many years he has held an enviable position upon the list of mem- bers of the Peoria bar. He has achieved honorable distinction in the ranks of a great profession. His practice embraces all kinds of law and every class of case, but his specialty is criminal law, and to this phase of practice he gives much of his time and attention.


Cornelius N. Mihigan was married in Peoria in 1885 to Miss Carrie M. Reed, and they have one son Lyle Emerson Milligan, eighteen years of age and at present a student of the Peoria high school.


Mr. Mihigan's political affiliations are democratic, and although he does not participate actively in politics to any extent, he is always ready to lend his influence in support of a worthy cause. He is an active member of the Elks


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and of the Knights of Pythias, but does not allow these clubs or secret organi- zations to absorb his time to the detriment of his business.


Mr. Mihigan is a true lawyer, far more absorbed in any case on hand than if it were a deciding factor in his very own welfare, and he feels that a trust has been given into his keeping to be handled with absolute integrity, best ability and careful judgment. He is never caught unprepared, and therefore need ask no favors because of negligence; he has so mastered the law and the facts that he knows the real issue of a given case, and his enthusiasm and ardor impress with their earnestness and lucidity courts and juries.


HENRY R. WOODWARD.


To exactly what extent Henry R. Woodward influenced the business de- velopment of Peoria it is impossible to determine until the projects with which he was connected have reached their full fruition as factors in the business activity, development and upbuilding of the city. It is well known, however, that few men have contributed more largely to the advancement of Peoria through the conduct of business affairs and the establishment of various pro- jects which have had direct bearing upon the city's prosperity and growth. He was a native of Ohio and a son of Henry T. Woodward, who was born in Ire- land but established his home in Peoria county during the pioneer epoch in its history.


It was in the early '40s that Henry R. Woodward arrived in Peoria county, brought hither by his parents who settled upon a farm. He witnessed the early development of this region and as the years passed became a very prominent and influential factor in business progress. He formulated various plans which he carried forward to successful completion and thus contributed to the mate- rial advancement of the section. His first undertaking in Peoria was in the conduct of a wholesale notion business. Success followed him in every venture and each forward step brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities. An inheritance which came to him from the old country, after he had been identified with farming interests here for a few years, was invested in Peoria property and projects, and the soundness of his judgment was manifest in the excellent returns which crowned his labors. It was in the year 1870 that he became one of the founders of the well known manufacturing pharmaceutical house of Allaire, Woodward & Company, his associate in the venture being Charles B. Allaire. From that time to the present the business has grown along substantial lines, a safe conservative policy being established that has not, however, checked the progressive spirit which must be manifest in all success- ful commercial enterprises of the present day. Gradually the trade of the house grew until the name today is a familiar one in connection with the larg- est manufacturing mercantile enterprises of the state outside of Chicago. He extended his efforts to financial circles as one of the first directors of the Com- mercial National Bank and his business acumen was ever regarded as a valu- able asset in connection with the management of any business concern with which he became identified.




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