Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II, Part 5

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 5


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


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IHISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY


own nobility of character was manifest in its very simplicity. He regarded life as his opportunity for doing good, for furthering progress and promoting civ- ilization and he felt that all this was best conserved through a close conformity to the teachings of the church.


WILFORD C. BLACK.


Wilford C. Black has been the secretary of the Peoria Hotel Keepers' Associ- ation since its organization in 1906. He was born in Boone, Iowa, February 9. 1872, the son of James W. and Emma Black. The father was a well known capitalist and live-stock man there and also served as mayor of that city. During the Civil war he volunteered and after one year of service was mustered out on account of a wound which he had received. During the Spirit Lake uprising of the Indians he was one of the fifty men who were chosen by the governor of Iowa to control that part of the country for one year. These men were designated as "the fifty brave men of Iowa." He passed away in 1898 at the age of sixty- six. His wife, who preceded him by a number of years, died in 1874 at the age of twenty-six. Both are buried in the Glendale cemetery in the family burial ground.


Wilford C. Black received his carly education in the public schools of Boone and afterward studied at the Sacred Heart Academy, from which institution he was graduated at the age of eighteen. He then studied law for one year, after which he left his native town, going to Memphis, Tennessee, then to New Orleans and later to a number of cities in the south. Finally he located in Oklahoma City, where he was employed in a farm implement house as a bookkeeper and general man. He remained in that position until 1896, when he became a trav- eling salesman for the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company at Racine, Wiscon- sin. During that same year he was transferred to Peoria, where he became local manager of that firm. In 1905 he was appointed general sales manager at Racine but resigned his position after two months to purchase the Hotel Black, of which


he is today the proprietor. Since the organization. in 1906. of the Peoria Hotel Keepers' Association, which has its offices located at No. 100 Chestnut street, Mr. Black has served as its secretary. He has been very successful in hotel work and also in other business affairs, and he has extensive holdings in this city.


At Milwaukee, on December 19, 1905, Mr. Black was married to Miss Jean Hollinghausen, a daughter of Julius and Jennie Hollinghausen, who reside at Austin, Illinois. The father was engaged in the shoe business in Chicago. In poli- tics Mr. Black is a republican and fraternally he is a Mason, having attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite and belonging also to the commandery and the shrine at Peoria. He is likewise affiliated with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and is a member of the Creve Coeur Club. He resides in his beau- tiful, modern home, which was erected in 1909, at 146 West Parkside drive. An extremely successful and enterprising business man, Mr. Black has rendered valuable service in advancing the interests of and in improving the hotels of this city.


JOHN E. KEENE.


Starting out in life without any vaulting ambition to accomplish something especially great or famous, John E. Keene has followed the lead of his oppor- tunities, doing as best he could anything that came to hand and seizing legitimate advantages as they have arisen. He has never hesitated to take a forward step when the way was open and, although content with what he has attained as he


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HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY


has gone along, he has always been ready to make an advance. Fortunate in possessing ability and character that have inspired confidence in others, the simple weight of his character has carried him into important relations with large interests until he is now a member of the firm of Kempshall & Keene, managers of the General Western Agency of the Aetna Life Insurance Company, and, moreover, a prominent figure in financial circles as the vice president of the Dime Savings & Trust Company and the vice president of the Title & Trust Company.


Mr. Keene was born March 28, 1853, in Loudoun county, Virginia, and has been a resident of Peoria county, Illinois, since 1858, in which year his parents, Thomas W. and Roberta E. A. Keene, removed to this section of the state. Both the father and mother were natives of Virginia and were of Scotch-Irish descent. They remained continuous residents of Peoria and Tazewell counties from 1858 until death, the father passing away in 1902, while the mother's period of resi- dence covered an entire half century, as she was not called to her final rest until 1908. Thomas W. Keene was a builder. He resided in Elmwood from 1861 until 1878 and afterward in Peoria and in Washington, Illinois.


John E. Keene has been practically a lifelong resident of Peoria county. He supplemented his public-school education by a course in Asbury, now De Pauw, University at Greencastle, Indiana, from which he was graduated in June, 1877, with the Bachelor of Arts degree. Three years later his alma mater conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree. He represented the university in the state oratorical contest of 1877 and was chosen to deliver the master's oration in 1880. Immediately following his graduation he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church and devoted his life thereto until 1884. He was pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Peoria from October, 1882, until October, 1884, during which period the present house of worship was erected. On account of failing health he gave up the ministry in the latter year and identified himself with the Aetna Life Insurance Company, of which he is now manager, conducting his business along that line under the firm name of Kempshall & Keene. While he has thoroughly acquainted himself with insurance in every particular, he has not concentrated his energies upon this business to the exclusion of all other interests, having extended his efforts into other fields with equal success. As his financial resources have permitted he has made large investments in land and his holdings are now extensive. Moreover, he occupies a very prominent position as a financier of Peoria, being an extensive stockholder and the vice president of both the Dime Savings & Trust Company and the Title & Trust Company of Peoria. Well balanced mentally and physically, he pos- sesses sufficient courage to venture where favoring opportunity is presented and his judgment and even paced energy have carried him forward to the goal of success.


Mr. Keene has been three times married, losing his first two wives by death. In Chicago, on the 8th of August. 1893, he wedded Miss Florence M. Overall, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James G. Overall, of Lewistown, Illinois. Her father was an Englishman by birth and was a large stock dealer but died about forty years ago. Mr. Keene's children are: Dr. Floyd E. Keene, a practicing physician of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: and Florence R., who on the 25th of March, 1909, became the wife of A. Wilson Oakford, a wholesale grocer. Mr. Keene is a member of the First Congregational church, deeply interested in its growth and success, as is evidenced by his hearty support of and cooperation in its vari- ous lines of work. Since 1890 he has been a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge and is a past chancellor of West Bluff Lodge, No. 177. He also belongs to the Creve Coeur Club. Politically he is a believer in republican principles but does not hesitate to cast an independent ballot, if his judgment so directs. He believes that in politics and in citizenship the interests of the many should be regarded before the welfare of the few. He filled the office of school in- spector of Peoria from 1900 until 1905 and in 1900 lie was also appointed a mem-


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ber of the Library board, which position he still fills, having served for three years as its president. His influence has always been on the side of progress, improvement and advancement. He has never believed in choosing the second best in business, in matters of citizenship or in social and church relations. He is a dependable man under any condition and in any emergency. His quietude of deportment, his easy dignity, his frankness and cordiality of address, with the total absence of anything sinister or anything to conceal, foretoken a man who is ready to meet any obligation of life with the confidence and courage that come of conscious personal ability, right conception of things and an habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities.


BENJAMIN L. SOMMER.


Benjamin L. Sommer, who has been secretary and treasurer of the Keystone Steel & Wire Company of Bartonville since 1904, was born in Livingston county, Illinois, on the 17th of January, 1880, his parents being Peter and Mary ( Breis- acher ) Sommer. After pursuing his education in the public schools of Tremont, Illinois, until he was fifteen years of age, he entered Brown's Business College where he took the regular course of study to prepare him for a business career. After having graduated from that institution he accepted a clerical position with the concern of which he is now an officer, and by gradual but constant promotion reached the position he now holds. His business ability has been of great value to the company, and much of the development and expansion of the activities of the Keystone Steel & Wire Company since its reorganization in 1904 is due to Mr. Sommer's labors.


In politics he is a republican, but because of his broad views he casts his vote for man and measure rather than strictly according to party dictates. He holds membership in the Creve Coeur Club. Although still a young man he has won a high place in the business circles of Peoria.


WILLIAM DOLPHUS DICKSON.


From a comparatively humble position in the business world William Dolphus Dickson gradually advanced, overcoming difficulties and obstacles and resolutely working his way upward to success and prominence. What he accomplished represented the fit utilization of his time, talents and opportunities and was the fitting reward of laudable ambition and persistent energy. He was born in Millsborough, Ohio, August 16, 1848, and was, therefore, in his sixty-third year when death called him on the 21st of January, 1911. His parents were John and Priscilla ( Martin ) Dickson, who carefully guided his younger years, endeavoring to plant within his mind the seeds that would in time bring forth rich fruit in all that makes for honorable manhood. His education was acquired in the public schools of his native city and he started in the business world as a tinner, ac- quainting himself with that trade and also the trade of a furnace worker. Grad- ual advancement brought him to the ownership of a business of that character and in time he extended the scope of his business to include hardware, furnaces, heating and ventilating and eventually a plumbing department was established. He built up a good business in all those lines, keeping abreast of the progress of the times and doing work as a contractor of a most important character. His sales, too, were extensive and indicated his honorable, straightforward dealing. As the years passed he became identified with building operations in Peoria, of which city he became a resident in 1872. He erected the Observatory building,


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the Majestic Theater and also the present business house occupied by the Dickson Company in the conduct of the trade which had its inception in the marked en- terprise and laudable ambition of him whose name introduces this review. He was a man of marked constructive and inventive ability and was the inventor and patentee of the Dickson Heating and Ventilating Systems and the Bifurcated Drain Spout, devices which have been accepted and adopted by the trade as valuable improvements in their respective lines. Each forward step in his career brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities. He never regarded any position as final but considered it rather as the starting point for further con- quests in the business world. In addition to his commercial connections he was a director and treasurer of the Farmers Loan Association and aided largely in placing this upon a safe and substantial basis.


On the 6th of October, 1884, at Camp Chase, Ohio, Mr. Dickson was united in marriage to Miss Ella Heyle, a daughter of John C. Heyle, and unto them have been born three children, a son and two daughters, Victor Heyle, Hazel B. and Nina. Mr. Dickson was a member of several clubs and trade associations. He belonged to the Country Club and the Creve Coeur Club and his high stand- ing in business circles is indicated in the fact that he was president of the Master Plumbers' Association and also president of the Master Tinners' Association. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and his religious faith was that of the Congregational church. Life to him meant opportunity-the opportunity to accomplish substantial results in business, to aid his fellowmen and to make wise use of his time and talents. He never faltered in the performance of any duty and met every obligation and situation with the courage that comes from personal rectitude and an understanding of one's own powers and capacity.


WINSLOW EVANS.


Since the inception of the city, Peoria has always been distinguished for the high rank of her bench and bar. Each decade has brought new recruits to the profession and many have developed ability which places them in a fore- most position among those who are protecting in the courts the lives and liberty, the property and the rights of their fellowmen. To this class belongs Winslow Evans, who has practiced continuously in Peoria since 1891. Fifteen years be- fore he had been admitted to the bar in Marshall, Illinois, practicing there and in the surrounding country until he came to this city twenty-one years ago.


Mr. Evans was a native of Marshall, his birth having there occurred on the 19th of December, 1855. His parents were Albert and Harriet (Springer) Evans, who established their home in Marshall county in 1830 upon their arrival in Illinois from Newark, Ohio. The grandfather, Joshua Evans, was a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, and was of Welsh descent, but in pioneer times had removed to Ohio and later the family became represented in the pioneer development of this state. Albert Evans was a farmer by occupation, devoting his entire life to the tilling of the soil after he took up his abode in Marshall county, where his remaining days were passed.


Winslow Evans was reared upon the home farm until he reached the age of twelve years, after which he spent a number of years in Wenona, Marshall county, and there enjoyed the benefit of public-school instruction. Still his ambition for an education was not satisfied and he entered the Illinois Wesleyan University at Bloomington, from which he was graduated. He afterward did post-graduate work and pursued the law course and in the intervals of his study engaged in teaching in Marshall county. He regarded that, however, merely as an initial step to other professional labor, for it was his desire to enter upon the practice of law, which he did in his native town, having been


WINSLOW EVANS


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HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY


admitted to the bar in September 1876. He practiced alone for a few years and then became a member of the firm of Edwards & Evans, being thus as- sociated until he withdrew in order to remove to Peoria in 1801. Since that time he has continued in private practice on his own account. Ile remains a general practitioner, well versed in all departments of jurisprudence, yet has been connected with much of the most important litigation tried in the courts of the district during the last two decades. For four years he was judge of the county court of Marshall county. He has always been careful to conform his practice to a high standard of professional ethics and never seeks to lead the court astray in a matter of fact or law. He has ever treated the court with the studied courtesy which is its due, nor has he indulged in malicious criticism because it arrived at a different conclusion, in the decision of a case, from that which he hoped to hear. He is calm, dignified self-controlled and has given to his clients the service of great talent, unwearied industry and broad learning.


In 1883 Mr. Evans was united in marriage to Miss Eva Mccullough, a na- tive of Henry county, Illinois, and they now have one son, Donald W., who is a graduate of the Northwestern University, at Evanston, Illinois, where he pur- sued the literary and law courses. He was graduated from that institution and in the fall of 1911 joined his father in practice. Aside from his law work Mr. Evans is serving on the board of directors of the First National Bank and the Savings Bank of Peoria and for both of these is attorney. He is a Knight Templar Mason and is a charter member of the Creve Coeur Club. He has now been a member of the Illinois bar for more than thirty-five years and his work in the courts has placed him in a prominent position, while his individual worth has gained him the friendship and warm personal regard which in every land and clime are accorded in recognition of those characteristics which work for honor- able manhood and citizenship.


CHARLES W. LUCAS.


Among the leading commercial enterprises of Peoria is the excellent con- fectionery and jobbing house of Charles W. Lucas who is successfully carrying on a large and growing business at No. 415 South Washington street. To this department of trade he has devoted his energies for nineteen years, establishing the enterprise on a small scale but gradually developing it to large and profit- able proportions until his business today features as one of the important manu- facturing and commercial undertakings of the city.


Peoria county numbers Mr. Lucas among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Mossville, January 31, 1873. His parents were J. P. and Anna M. (Schnebly ) Lucas, both of whom have now passed away, the father's death occurring in 1910, while the mother survived until the 15th of October, 1911. They were early settlers of this county, J. P. Lucas arriving about 1850.


Charles W. Lucas was only a year old when the parents removed from Mossville to Peoria, which was then a town of some size and importance, yet gave comparatively little indication of reaching its present size and greatness. His father had been engaged in the grocery business in Mossville but after re- moving to Peoria he conducted a milk dairy for a time. He gave to his son such advantages as he could afford and the boy, after acquiring his education in the city schools, began to earn his own living by working as a clerk in a book store, in which he was employed for a year. He next secured a position in a wholesale candy factory, with which he was connected until he started in busi- ness for himself. While in that employ he acquainted himself with every branch of the trade, learned the methods of manufacture and the best process of shipment and with that knowledge as a foundation he has builded his success. Vol. II-3


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He now occupies a prominent position in trade circles as a wholesale confectioner and jobber of candies. He is engaged in the manufacture of hard goods of this character, including peanut candy and butterscotch, having a splendidly equipped establishment at No. 415 South Washington street. He started in busi- ness on a small scale, handling a stock at his residence and doing his manufactur- ing there but in 1907 he removed to his present location and he now occupies four floors of the building, having about seven thousand square feet of floor space. In the conduct of the business in Peoria he employs ten men and also has two traveling salesmen upon the road and one city salesman. Shipments are made to the surrounding territory and the trade is constantly growing.


In 1904 Mr. Lucas was married to Miss Cora James, of Lincoln, Illinois, a daughter of D. H. James, and they now have one child, Marjory. Mr. Lucas belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Masonic lodge and is also connected with the Illinois Commercial Men's Association. His business ability is demonstrated in the success which he has won. He had no special advantages to aid him at the outset of his career but he realized that energy, determination and honest dealings are indispensable con- comitants of success. Through the employment of these agencies he has con- stantly advanced and his business is one which adds to the commercial activity and consequent prosperity of the city as well as to his individual success.


FRANK J. MILLER.


Frank J. Miller was a lifelong resident of Peoria and it will be long ere his friends cease to remember him, for he had a firm hold on the affectionate re- gard and respect of those with whom he came in contact. He represented busi- ness interests of the city as a member of Joseph Miller & Sons and also of the Garside Manufacturing Company, in both of which connections he manifested a spirit of progress that found tangible expression in substantial success. He was born March 9, 1850, in this city, and came of German ancestry, manifest- ing in his life many of the sterling characteristics of the people of the father- land. He was a son of Joseph Miller, a native of Germany, who on coming to America first settled in Cincinnati but in the latter '40s came to Peoria, where he established a lumberyard, continuing in that business for many years. He was one of the early lumber merchants of the city and is classed with those who laid broad and deep the foundation upon which has been builded the present growth and prosperity of this section.


His son Frank J. Miller was sent to the German schools of Peoria, in which he pursued his studies to the age of eighteen years, when he began working for his father in the lumber business. He studied every phase of the trade, mani- fested unfaltering industry in performing the tasks that devolved upon him and won his promotion not through parental influence but through genuine personal worth. Eventually he was admitted to a partnership under the firm style .of Joseph Miller & Sons. Following the death of the father he was associated with his brother Joseph Miller, who is also now deceased. They controlled and enjoyed an extensive trade, their sales reaching a large annual figure. They handled building materials of all kinds, sought to obtain only a fair profit upon their investment and in all of their dealings were strictly reliable. Their pro- gressiveness was tempered by a safe conservatism that never countenanced un- warranted risks and yet they steadily forged forward along the path of success. In addition to his connection with the lumber trade Mr. Miller was interested in the Garside Manufacturing Company and was a stockholder in the Commercial German National Bank.


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HISTORY OF PEORIA COUNTY


On the 5th of November, 1873, occurred the marriage of Mr. Miller and Miss Franziska Streibich, a daughter of Frederick Streibich, a prominent pioneer of Peoria. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Miller were born seven children: Frank J., who is engaged in the lumber business as a member of the firm of Joseph Miller & Sons; Joseph F .; Fred C., who is also associated with the lumber company ; Charles W., who is a practicing physician of Peoria; Edward A., a jewelry manufacturer of this city; Irma, the wife of William J. Fickeson, of Peoria ; and Olga, at home.


Mr. Miller held membership in St. Joseph's German Catholic church and his political faith was that of the republican party, his ballot always being given for the support of its men and measures. He was interested in all the uplifting in- fluences of life. He greatly enjoyed German literature and was a home man, devoted to the welfare of his family. He possessed that quality which for want of a better term has been called personal magnetism, having the happy faculty of drawing men to him by reason of his sterling character, his geniality, his kindly spirit and his hospitality. He was, indeed, a warm-hearted and great- hearted man and there was in his life record much that is worthy of commenda- tion and emulation.


ROBERT J. EVANS.


Robert J. Evans, president of the Duroc Bulletin Company, founded that paper and has published the same for the past eight years. He was born in El Paso, Illinois, August 22, 1863, and is a son of Robert and Nancy Evans. The father was one of the pioneer agriculturists of Woodford county, and as he was an enterprising and progressive man he became one of the foremost citizens of his community, efficiently discharging the duties of various township offices. Both parents are now deceased, the father having passed away in 1893 and the mother in 1906. They are buried in the cemetery at El Paso. The Evans family was originally of Welsh extraction, but they have been residents of America for practically a century, the fourth generation having been born here.




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