USA > Illinois > Peoria County > Peoria > Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 6
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Reared in the country Robert Evans passed his early years in a manner very similar to other farmer lads of that period. At the usual age he entered the common schools, completing his education upon his graduation from the El Paso high school in 1883. He subsequently engaged in teaching in Woodford county for two years and then went to Emporia, Kansas. There he turned his attention to journalism, beginning his newspaper career on the Emporia News, of which he was city editor for three years. Returning to El Paso, he bought an interest in one of the local papers, which he edited for eighteen years. At the expiration of that time, he came to Peoria and founded the Duroc Bulletin. Three years later the business was incorporated under the name of the Peoria Bulletin Company, and his plant is now located at number 201-203 South Washington street. As the name would imply his paper is entirely de- voted to the interests of the Duroc Jersey hog, and it is the only publication issued whose columns are exclusively confined to any single breed of hogs. The paper has become well known during the eight years Mr. Evans has been publish- ing it and not only has a large circulation but has become recognized as a valu- able advertising medium. His early agricultural training and thorough familiar- ity with live stock well qualified him for this undertaking and through judicious management the paper has been placed on a paying basis.
At Emporia, Kansas, on the 15th of January, 1889, Mr. Evans was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Rooke, and they have become the parents of six chil- dren, as follows: Annie, now the wife of Hugh Miller, principal of the schools of Lockport, Louisiana ; Walter R., who is a professional athlete and associated
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with his father in business; Bernard; Esther; George; and Lawrence, now re- siding in Chicago.
Fraternally Mr. Evans is affiliated with the Masonic order and in politics he is a republican. He has become recognized, since publishing The Duroc Bulletin, as one of the best authorities in the country on this particular breed of hogs and from 1893 to 1906 he was secretary of The National Duroc Jersey Recording Association; in December, 1911, he was elected secretary of the American Duroc Jersey Swine Breeders' Association and maintains an office in the Live Stock Record building, stock yards of Chicago. He has become widely known through his official duties and also through the columns of his paper and enjoys a favorable acquaintance among agriculturists and stockmen throughout the United States.
GEORGE PARKER, M. D.
Dr. George Parker, with offices at 427 Jefferson building in Peoria, acts as medical director of the Peoria Life Insurance Company and is one of the rising young professional men of this city, having practiced here since 1905. He was born in Huntsville, Illinois, and reared in Mount Sterling, this state. His father, Dr. William Parker, is still practicing at Mount Sterling.
George Parker received his early education in the graded and high schools of Mount Sterling and following his graduation entered the Illinois College at Jacksonville, which institution conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. He next became a student in the Northwestern University Medical School, being graduated from that institution in 1902 with the degree of M. D. After winning his M. D. degree he served for a year and a half as interne in the Cook County Hospital of Chicago and then spent one year in post-graduate work in Vienna and Berlin, coming direct from these world-renowned seats of medical learning to Peoria. Dr. Parker does a general practice, making a spe- cialty of diagnosis and the treatment of internal diseases. He is on the staff of St. Francis Hospital and in 1910-II acted as president of that staff. As a mem- ber of the Peoria City .Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, he keeps in close touch with the progress that is being continuously made by the profession.
Dr. Parker selected as his life helpmate and companion Miss Amy Josey, of Calumet, Michigan. To them were born two sons, William and George, Jr. Aside from his professional activities Dr. Parker finds time to fraternize with some of the leading social institutions. He has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Masonry, belongs to the Mystic Shrine and is also a member of the Creve Coeur Club of Peoria.
ERNEST H. WAHLFELD.
Ernest H. Wahlfeld is secretary and treasurer of The Wahlfeld Manufactur- ing Company, which fact is ample assurance of his being entitled to mention among the capable representatives of the business and commercial interests of Peoria. His birth occurred in this city on the 4th of October, 1883, and he is a son of August and Anna Wahlfeld, who are mentioned at greater length else- where in this work.
Peoria has always been the home of Ernest H. Wahlfeld, who attended the public schools until he was sixteen years of age, in the acquirement of an edu- cation. Feeling he was then qualified to begin preparation for his life voca-
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tion, he laid aside his text-books and became a worker in the plant with which he is still connected. He began in a very minor capacity and won his promo- tion from department to department by reason of the energy and intelligence he manifested in the discharge of his duties. He applied himself diligently to the mastery of every detail of the business, becoming thoroughly familiar with its varying needs and requirements, thus qualifying himself for the position he now holds as an official of the company. The Wahlfeld Manufacturing Com- pany engage exchisively in the manufacture of interior woodwork and fixtures. their plant being located at Nos. 1101-1125 South Washington street. Mr. Wahlfeld is progressive and highly intelligent and has given much thought and consideration to all questions relating to the development of the company's en- terprise. He is widely informed on all matters pertaining to industrial or com- mercial conditions and keeps in close touch, not only with those having direct bearing on his own interests, but those affecting business affairs generally.
This city was the scene of Mr. Wahlfeld's marriage in 1905 to Miss Clara Tappe, a daughter of Mrs. Marie Tappe. They reside at No. 211 Moss avenue, where in 1900. they erected a very attractive and comfortable home, thoroughly modern in all of its appointments.
Mr. and Mrs. Wahlfeld are members of St. Paul's German Lutheran church and his allegiance in political matters he accords to the republican party. He is widely known in the city and highly regarded among both his social and busi- ness acquaintances, the majority of whom have known him from early child- hood. and recognize in him a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family.
JOSEPH MILLER.
Joseph Miller, now deceased, figured prominently in industrial and financial circles of Peoria, and owed his success to hard work and honest methods. In all his undertakings he put forth earnest, persistent effort, realizing that the source of power is within the individual, and that not upon environment or circumstances does progress depend. He became well known in connection with the lumber trade of the city, also with its manufacturing, insurance and banking interests, and in every relation commanded the trust and admiration of his associates. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, March 25, 1848, a son of Joseph Miller, who was a native of Germany and became one of the early residents of Peoria after living for a few years in Cincinnati subsequent to his immigration to the new world. It was in the early '5os that he arrived in Illinois, where he entered the lum- ber trade, establishing a yard which constituted the nucleus of the present large lumber business now conducted under the name of Joseph Miller & Sons. He built his success upon a broad and stable basis, and the reliability of his methods commended him to the public patronage.
Joseph Miller, whose name introduces this review, was but three years of age when brought by his parents to Peoria, and in the German schools of this city he pursued his studies. His business training came to him under the direction of his father whom he joined after putting aside his text-books, thoroughly ac- quainting himself with every department of the trade. The business prospered year after year, for, to the broad experience and sound judgment of the father were added the enterprise and progressiveness of the two sons, for both Joseph Miller and his brother Frank were admitted to a partnership in the business under the style of Joseph Miller & Sons. Following the father's death the brothers continued the business with Joseph Miller as the senior partner, and thus the subject of this review was closely associated with the lumber business of this city'up to the time of his death. The business of the house constantly
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grew in volume and importance for they carried an extensive line of lumber and all kinds of building material, and their business methods measured up to the highest standard of commercial ethics. Joseph Miller was well known also in other connections, becoming treasurer of the Garside Manufacturing Company, vice president of the German Fire Insurance Company and a director of the Commercial German National Bank. He found ready solution for intricate bus- iness problems, and seemed to recognize almost intuitively the possibilities and opportunities of a situation. He was also prominently identified with the Board of Trade and enjoyed an enviable reputation for his sound, conservative and reliable business methods and his straightforward dealing.
On the Ioth of April, 1871, occurred the marriage of Mr. Miller and Miss Mary DeFries, a daughter of Charles DeFries. They became the parents of four children : Joseph, who is identified with the firm of Joseph Miller & Sons; Mary M., Emma J. and Oscar W. The eldest son is now married and has two children, Joseph, Jr., and Helen Elizabeth. Mr. Miller held memebrship in the St. Jos- eph's Catholic Church, also with the St. Joseph's Brothers and Knights of St. George. His political support was given to the republican party where national questions and issues were involved, but in local elections he cast an independent ballot. He was a splendid type of a successful German-American citizen. What- ever the quiet forces and influences at work in his life to shape his destiny, it was evident at the outset of his business career that he understood clearly the fact that energy and unfaltering perseverence constitute the surest basis upon which to build success. Those qualities were ever numbered among his salient characteristics and won for him the constant promotion and advancement which attended him in his business career and gained for him his prominent and hon- orable position in the trade and banking circles of the city.
MARCUS WHITING, M. D.
In the twenty-nine years of his connection with the medical profession in Peoria, Dr. Marcus Whiting has made continuous progress, keeping in touch with the advancement that has characterized the medical fraternity in its search for the deep scientific truths which underlie their work. He came to this city in April, 1883, then a young man of nearly twenty-three years. He was born on a farm in Lafayette county, Missouri, August 22, 1860, a son of the Rev. Charles Whiting, D. D., a Baptist minister, who devoted forty years of his life to the work of the church. At intervals he accepted new pastorates, filling Baptist pulpits in Dover, Boonville and Springfield, Missouri; Fort Scott, Kansas; and Quincy and Can- ton, Illinois. Earnest and purposeful, his teachings bore fruit in the lives of those who came under his guidance and he continued actively and successfully in the work of the ministry to the time of his demise, which occurred in Canton, Illi- nois, April 26, 1893. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Lucy Webb, still survives him at the age of seventy-nine years. She was ever in hearty sympathy with him in his work in behalf of the church, and in the training of her children in the home she gave to them principles which have been effective forces in molding their lives since leaving the parental roof.
Dr. Whiting, whose name introduces this record, acquired his primary educa- tion in the different towns in which the family were located. He was a student in the high school of Quincy, Illinois, and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1875. He continued his studies for four or five years, following the direction of his father, who was a man of liberal education, the son devoting his attention to the classics. The broad knowledge thus acquired served as an excellent founda- tion upon which to build professional learning. Determining to make the prac- tice of medicine his life work, he matriculated in Rush Medical College at Chi-
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DR. MARCUS WIHTING
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONE.
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cago as a member of the class of 1880, and was one of thirteen in a class of one hundred and eighty-five to pursue the full three years' course that brought him to his graduation on the 20th of February, 1883. Throughout his entire pro- fessional carcer he has been a resident of Peoria, opening an office in this city on the Ist of April, at No. 902 North Adams street. After six months, however, he removed to 800 North Adams street, where he maintained his office for twenty- one years. During that period his practice steadily grew as the public came to recognize his skill and ability, which were continually augmented by his further study and research. For five or six years he had his office in the Woolner build- ing, from which he removed to his present location in the Jefferson building, in June, 1910. He has never specialized but has continued in general practice and throughout the entire period of twenty-nine years has been accorded a liberal patronage. His work has been eminently satisfactory and resultant and his close conformity to a high standard of professional ethics has brought him the regard and confidence of his brethren of the medical fraternity. He has done consider- able hospital work, serving on the staff of St. Francis Hospital, also of the Deaconess Hospital and the Proctor Hospital. He has also served as commis- sioner of health of Peoria, filling the office from 1888 until 1890, inclusive. He has kept in touch with the advancement made by the medical profession not only through private reading and research but also through the proceedings of the Peoria City Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, in all of which he holds membership. His practice has made continuous demands upon his time and energies and yet he has found oppor- tunity for cooperation in business affairs of an entirely different character. He was one of the incorporators and original stockholders of the Interstate Bank & Trust Company of Peoria and served on its directorate for several years, retiring in 1910.
On January 24, 1888, Dr. Whiting was united in marriage to Miss Martha Elizabeth Garthwait, of Indianapolis, and unto them has been born a daughter, Ethel, who is the wife of A. B. Scofield, of Peoria. In Masonry Dr. Whiting has attained high rank. He has not only taken the degrees of the lodge but has also acquainted himself with the work of capitular, cryptic and chivalric Masonry in the chapter, council and commandery. He has likewise crossed the sands of the desert with the nobles of the Mystic Shrine and he belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, to the Maccabees Tent, to the Royal League and to the For- esters. His political allegiance is given the democratic party and in its local coun- cils he is a man of considerable influence, holding firmly to the principles which he deems of vital moment in good government. He served for six years, or for three terms, as alderman from the first ward of Peoria, being called to the office in 1903. In that connection he exercises his official prerogatives in support of many progressive public movements. At all times he stands for advancement and improvement whether in professional relations or in his connections with the city's best interests. He is a man of broad and liberal culture, whose friendship is prized wherever he is known and most of all where he is best known.
BERNARD MURNIGHAN.
Bernard Murnighan, who has been vice president and manager of the Peoria Bedding Company with factories at 1500 North Adams street since its incorpo- ration in 1910, was born in Bloomington, Illinois, on the 8th of November, 1876. He is a son of P. J. and Margaret ( Mullins) Murnighan. The father was em- ployed as gardener by Judge Davis, a position which he held for forty-two years. His death occurred on the 5th of August, 1894, when he was eighty-two years of
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age. His wife passed away in 1884 and they are both buried in the Catholic cemetery.
Bernard Murnighan was a pupil in the public schools of Bloomington until he was thirteen years of age. At that time he laid aside his text-books and began earning his own livelihood by work as a farm hand. He was first employed by a cousin, A. Williams, for eleven months. Afterward he returned to Bloom- ington and was employed for some time in the labeling department of a packing house, but on the 17th of January, 1890, he entered his present line of business. He started with the firm of Robert Thompson as an apprentice, but in about four years he had worked up to the position of foreman of the mattress department. He served in that capacity until 1899, when he removed to New York city and became foreman of the Acme Bedding Company. After two years he accepted the position of superintendent of the Bohnart Brunsman Company. Three years later he returned to Bloomington and remained there as foreman of the Dodge- Dickinson Company until in March, 1910, he formed the present company. He has since been a resident of Peoria and is at present serving as vice president and manager of the Peoria Bedding Company. He has worked his way upward from a position of minor importance to the head of a concern which has a wide reputation as reliable manufacturers.
On the 15th of July, 1900, Mr. Murnighan was married to Miss Jeannette Kirby, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Kirby, the former a prominent agri- culturist of his locality. In politics Mr. Murnighan gives his support to the republican party, and although he has never sought nor desired office, he main- tains a citizen's interest in the issues of the day. He holds membership in the Association of Commerce. His life has been an extremely busy and useful one, and while his interests have brought him great success, his work has always been of a nature which benefits the community as well. The family residence is located at 1508 North Madison street.
PETER COLCORD BARTLETT.
It is not given to the majority of men to attain prominence in military or political circles, but the possibilities of a successful career in business are before every individual. The attainment of success, however, attests the possession of certain essential qualities. These are industry, concentration, close application and firm purpose and with all these requisites Peter Colcord Bartlett was richly endowed. By their exercise he gained a creditable position in business circles and, moreover, his was a notable career in that he remained actively in business to the time of his death, which occurred when he was about eighty-five years of age. He was born February 13, 1826, in Salisbury, New Hampshire, and departed this life in Peoria, April 5, 1911. As a pioneer merchant and representative business man he certainly deserves mention in this volume. His parents were Peter and Anna (Pettengill) Bartlett. The father was a capable and learned physician, who in 1836 removed to Peoria, becoming one of the earliest prac- titioners of medicine in this city which at that time contained a very limited pop- ulation. He was a representative of one of the old New England families, among whose members were many who attained prominence, their names being closely associated with a number of the leading educational institutions of New England, also with the records of the bar and the medical profession.
Peter C. Bartlett was a pupil in the public schools of his native town and also of Peoria, following the removal of the family to this place. He first sought employment as a clerk in a general store and his initial business experience qualified him for larger responsibilities at a later date. He soon entered the employ of Pettengill & Bartlett, proprietors of a general mercantile establishment,
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the junior partner being a cousin of Peter C. Bartlett. While thus employed the latter carefully saved his earnings until his industry and economical expenditure had brought him a sufficient sum to enable him to engage in business on his own account. He then opened a grocery store, which he conducted successfully for twelve years. His trade grew during that period and brought him substantial success. He afterward turned his attention to the dry-goods business, forming a partnership with A. P. Bartlett, who had previously been his employer when a member of the firm of Pettengill & Bartlett. The connection between the cousins was discontinued in 1877, when A. P. Bartlett retired from business. The following year Peter C. Bartlett entered the revenue service, in which he continued for seven years. On the expiration of that period he once more be- came connected with the grocery trade, in which he continued successfully up to the time of his death. He was a business man of the highest type and the straight- forward, honorable policy which he followed is still being pursued by his son Edward P. Bartlett, who is his successor in commercial circles. Despite his eighty-five years he went cach day to his office and continued actively in business to the time of his demise.
On the 12th of November, 1851, Mr. Bartlett was united in marriage to Miss Abigail Thompson, and unto them were born four sons but Henry T. Bartlett is the only one now living. The wife and mother passed away September 2. 1861, and Mr. Bartlett afterward wedded Margaret Culbertson, by whom he had five children : Sue Herron, Nancy Culbertson, Edward P., Lucy Ellen and Wil- liam C. There are two granddaughters : Alice C., a daughter of Henry T. Bart- lett : and Margaret C .. a daughter of Edward P. Bartlett.
The parents were members of the Presbyterian church and were people of broad and liberal views and of charitable spirit, ever ready to extend a helping hand to one in need or to speak an encouraging word. In business affairs Mr. Bartlett was conservative yet never allowed this to interfere with progressive- ness. He clung tenaciously to a cause which he believed to be right and his opinions were founded upon through understanding of every vital question. He was a well read man and he was fond of music. He had many lovable traits of character, was always considerate of the opinions of others and his friendship was much prized by all to whom it was given. There are no exciting chapters in his life record but it is that of a man who ever recognized his duties and met his obligations.
JAMES B. DOOLEY.
James B. Dooley is the president of the firm of Dooley Brothers, agents for the Dupont powder and dynamite and wholesale and retail coal merchants in Peoria, having their offices at 604 South Adams street. He was born in Nova Scotia, June 21. 1856, the son of Edward and Johanna Dooley. The father followed the occupation of coal mining. He passed away in this city in 1888 and is buried in St. Mary's cemetery.
James B. Dooley attended school in Nova Scotia until he was ten years of age when, to help toward the support of the family, he began working in a coal mine and followed that line of work until 1886. During that time he won promotion and attained a remunerative position in the business. In 1881 he came to Peoria and here, in 1887, he was appointed by Mayor Kinsey as a policeman, in which capacity he served for two years. Subsequently he was appointed bridge tender. holding that office for three years. Then, he and his brother, Richard A. Dooley, started the business with which they are now connected. They have met with excellent success and in 1908 is was incorporated into the present firm. They
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are the only Dupont agents in Peoria. Mr. Dooley is also president of the East- ern Coal Company, the mine being owned by himself and his brother.
In Peoria, on the 25th of February, 1884, Mr. Dooley was married to Miss Fredericka Schultz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Schultz. The father is a farmer in Peoria county and an old settler here. To Mr. and Mrs. Dooley has been born one son, Edward, who is the cashier of the Dooley Brothers Company. The family lives at 713 Garden street in a residence that was erected in 1897. In politics Mr. Dooley is a democrat and he and his family adhere to the faith of the Catholic church. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters and of the Loyal Americans. Mr. Dooley's success in life is due to his energy, persistence and business management.
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