Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II, Part 63

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 63


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Henry Ullman was united in marriage with Miss Clara Newman, sister of the late Max Newman, in August 1856, the forty-second anniversary of their mar- riage being observed with fitting ceremonies at the Ullman home, August 12, 1898. They had four children, two sons, Edward H. of Chicago and Morris D. of Peoria; and two daughters, Hattie and Lorena. Henry Ullman for years was president of the Hebrew congregation, Anshai Emeth, a member of the Peoria library board, and filled other positions of trust and responsibility in Peoria and elsewhere. He bore a national reputation in the B'Nai B'rith, being elected in 1880 national president of the grand lodge Mrs. Ullman was a mem-


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ber of the board of the Cottage Hospital, now the Proctor Hospital, and her hus- band was of the advisory committee.


lJenry Ullman was of the strictest integrity, of positive convictions based upon a rare conception of right ; self-made, but of rare refinement and self- acquired intellectual attainments. In social circles he was an acknowledged leader. He was deeply interested for years in philanthropic work. He held the position of president of the Hebrew congregation until a few months before his death, insisting upon declining the reelection in consequence of his enfeebled physical condition, though not relaxing his interest in the completion of the Monroe Street Temple. He desired to assist in the dedication of the Temple, but this was denied him, for death carried him away a few weeks before the event. His advice in the library board was frequently solicited and freely given. His judgment was appreciated and his disposition was universally kind.


"So he left no enemies, and all who knew him were his friends" is the sum- ming up of his life by a newspaper friend.


Mr. Henry U'llman assisted in the organization of Schiller Lodge of Masons, A. F. & A. M., serving as Master in his customary able manner as he acquitted himself in any function he undertook. He was universally spoken of as an ex- emplary husband and father and his memory will long be fondly cherished.


The funeral services were held at the residence, Wednesday, September 7, Past Masters of Schiller lodge acting as bearers. They were David Fey, John F. Ileschong, J. F. Boerckle, Christian Klingle, Charles Ulrich and Joseph A. Weil. August Pfeiffer conducted the Masonic services at the cemetery. Mem- bers of the library board, of the congregation of Anshai Emeth and the Old Settlers Union served as honorary bearers. Dr. E. N. Calisch of Richmond, Virginia, conducted the services, delivering the eulogy, Dr. Charles Levy reading passages in Hebrew and offering prayer. Dr. Calisch in his oration, in part said : "To his friends he was loval. He was a conscientious citizen, a God-fearing Jew. To his children he leaves the rich legacy of a good name which is more precious than gold and more lasting than brass or marble. To us he leaves the memory of his righteousness which will be a perennial blessing. He was long a leader among Jewish people. He served with diligence and he represented the congregation with dignity. He gave the best portions of his intelligence, his energy and his judgment to its progress. He had hoped and prayed that he would live to see the dedication of the new temple, but like Moses of old, he led his people to the borderland, but was not permitted to cross. His eyes are now open to the perpetual blessed light of immortality."


This legacy of an honorable life and an unshadowed name Henry Ullman left to his son, Morris Ullman, who is now the sole owner of the wholesale liquor business of Henry Ullman & Son. The traditions of strict business honesty, good faith, and commercial honor, which during the father's life were the pride and honor of the business, have been carried out by the son. The business is growing upon this firm foundation, and is important in furthering Peoria's commercial progress.


Morris D. Ullman was educated in the old Second Ward grammar school, and in the Peoria high school. This education was supplemented by a thorough course in Coles' Business College. After the completion of his school career, Morris Ullman began his business life by traveling for his father, with whom he later formed a partnership known as Henry Ullman & Son, and he became sole owner of the firm on his father's death. As a business man, Morris Ullman carries on the traditions of his father. He is a type of Peoria business man of whom the city is justly proud, and is carving out for himself a career of hon- orable industry.


Morris Ullman is a strict adherent to the faith of his fathers. He takes a great interest in the Jewish affairs of this city. He is a Mason and a member of the Colanthe Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and active in the Jewish order I. O. B. B.


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He is a member of the Anshai Emeth temple, to which his father gave so much of his time and means.


On March 30, 1904, Morris Ullman married Miss Freda Elizabeth Frued, of Detroit, Michigan, and they have two children, Henry Morris and Carolyn Frued Ullman. Mrs. Ullman is a worthy helpmate to her husband in his honor- able life. She is a devoted adherent of the Jewish religion, and is active in every deserving charity of the city.


It is to people like him, and to business concerns like Henry Ullman & Son, that Peoria owes much of her commercial prosperity. Men who are intelligent, refined, honorable and fair-dealing, loyal to their faith, stanch in their beliefs, charitable to the poor, faithful to their friends, are the material out of which the coming greatness and glory of the world are to be made.


JOSEPH E. DAILY.


Joseph E. Daily, city attorney of Peoria, is a graduate of the law depart- ment of Yale University, where he received the degree of LL. B. He was born in Manito, Illinois, January 27, 1888, a son of J. S. and Druie R. Daily. The father, who came from Chillicothe, Peoria county, in 1909, is president of the Daily-O'Brien Company of this city. The grandfather emigrated to the new world from County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1855, and settled in Illinois where he became well known, having organized drainage districts in the counties of Taze- well and Mason.


The primary education of Joseph E. Daily was received in the public schools of Chillicothe and he graduated from the high school of that city with the class of 1904. After leaving school he spent one year as manager for the Postal Tele- graph Company at the Chillicothe office and later was employed as a telegraph operator by the Santa Fe Railroad Company. Having through his industry saved enough money for his purpose he then attended the University of Illinois for two years and later entered Yale University, from which he was graduated with honors, the degree of LL. B. being conferred upon him. Immediately after his graduation he located in Peoria for the practice of his profession and since May 1, 1911, he has filled the office of city attorney, with offices in the city hall. His political allegiance is unreservedly given to the republican party and he takes a commendable interest in civic and political affairs. He is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and also of the Knights of Pythias. He makes his home with his father, the family residence being at 129 North Garfield avenue. Mr. Daily, although a young man, gives promise of early be- coming one of the prominent and successful members of the legal profession in this part of the state. His education along literary and legal lines has been lib- eral and the constant attention which he gives to extending his knowledge and proficiency in the law has qualified him to hold with distinction to himself and satisfaction to his party and the city the important office to which he has been called.


CHARLES CRANE MILES.


Charles Crane Miles, a partner in one of the leading grain firms of Peoria, P. B. & C. C. Miles, is the junior member of the firm established in 1875, though Mr. Miles' initial activities in the grain trade date back to 1873, from which time he has been continuously in that business. The firm operates elevators and does a general grain business. Charles C. Miles was born August 1, 1852, in Wash-


THE NEW YORL PUBLIC LIBRAS


ASTOR LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS. ·1


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ington, Tazewell county, Illinois. His parents were Benjamin Eustis and Jane (Crane) Miles. The father was born in Athens county, Ohio, and located in Washington, Illinois, in 1843. The mother was born in Zanesville, Ohio, and took up her abode in Washington, Illinois, about 1845. The earliest ancestor of the Miles family to come to this country was John Miles, who settled in Con- cord, Massachusetts, about 1635. Among the representatives of the family were soldiers and officers in the Revolutionary and Civil wars.


In the acquirement of an education Charles Crane Miles attended the common schools of Washington, Illinois. His father owned a flour mill and grain eleva- tor, so that as a boy the subject of our sketch received his early business training along the lines of commercial activity which he later followed. At the age of seventeen years, however, and until the age of twenty-one he was telegraph operator and railroad agent for the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway, his last service for that company having been as operator and train dispatcher in the superintendent's office in Peoria. The lure of the grain trade, however, pos- sessed him and in 1873 he drifted back into the business calling in which his boyhood years had found him. Two years later the firm of P. B. & C. C. Miles was established. During all the years since 1873 Charles C. Miles has been in active grain business, which he has followed very successfully. In addition to his grain business, elevators, etc., he has farms in Illinois, Kansas and Arizona, to which he gives as much of his personal attention as is permitted by the exact- ing duties of his other affairs. Mr. Miles has occupied the position of president of the Peoria Board of Trade and is at present one of its directors. He is also a director of the Illinois National Bank, which office he has held since the organization of that institution. He has a creditable military record, having served for five years, from 1875 to 1879 inclusive, in the state militia as a mem- ber of the National Blues.


Mr. Miles was married September 25, 1879, at Peoria, Illinois, to Miss Mar- garet Flora Minor, daughter of John and Martha Minor. Iler father long held public office in Peoria, having at various times been deputy sheriff, superin- tendent of police and collector of township taxes. Mr. and Mrs. Miles have two children: Grant Minor, who married Miss Georgia Rider ; and Louise Minor. who wedded Jeremiah McQuade.


In political faith Mr. Miles is a republican but he has liberal tendencies and in local affairs bestows his support upon his friends or worthy candidates in other parties. He is a member of some of the fraternal insurance orders, giving them as much of his time and attention as could be expected of a man in his strenuous business life. He is a member of the Creve Coeur and Peoria Country Clubs. He has long been a consistent member of the First Congregational church, contributing liberally to its support. He has been an active Sunday school worker, having for nineteen years been the superintendent of the school with which he is affiliated. In his business relations, his civic duties, his church and Sunday school work Mr. Miles stands a prominent figure in the city of which he has so long been a resident. The city of Peoria has few men of greater worth than Mr. Miles when his various business, civic, religious and fraternal activities are taken into account.


CHARLES A. MACAULEY.


Charles A. Macauley is the general agent for the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company in the Peoria district, with offices located in suite 809 of the Jefferson building. He has been acting in this capacity since July, 1909, and that he has been efficient and fully competent to discharge the duties imposed is manifested by the period of his service. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, on


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February 25, 1878, and is the son of William T. and Margaret (Hopwood) Macauley. The father founded and for many years conducted a wholesale book and stationery business in Detroit, which is now being operated by his brother. J. F. Macauley. He passed away on the 5th of March, 1897, and was laid to rest in the Woodmere cemetery of that city beside the mother, who died on October 30, 1879. The Macauley family is of Scotch-Irish origin, but they have been residents of America for more than a hundred years.


The preliminary education of Charles A. Macauley was obtained in the public schools of his native city, and this was later supplemented by a course at Miami University, where he terminated his student days in 1896. During the succeeding two years he was identified with various occupations, but at the age of twenty he entered the insurance field, as the local agent for an Indianapolis firm. He engaged in the business with the expectation of making it his life voca- tion, and with this view in mind applied himself tirelessly to acquiring the faculty of adapting himself to the innumerable requirements essential to success in this profession. As a result he made rapid progress. The company quickly recog- nized his. powers and his apparently unlimited capacity for work so they pro- moted him from time to time in accordance with the ability he exhibited until he was superintendent of the office. Later he was sent out on the road, and for two and a half years before coming to Peoria was their traveling representative.


Mr. Macauley was married in December, 1898, to Miss Anne D. Clarke, a daughter of Thompson B. and Rosamond E. Clarke, of Florida, and to them have been born two children, Warren T. and Margaret Jeanne, both of whom are at- tending school. They reside at 132 North Glenwood avenue.


Fraternally Mr. Macauley has attained the rank of a thirty-second degree Mason of the Scottish Rite, and he has been a member of the Mystic Shrine since 1903. He is affiliated with the Creve Coeur Club and the Peoria Country Club and has held membership in the Indianapolis Commercial Club for two years. During his college days he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He was at one time president of the Indianapolis Alumni Association and was the first president of the Miami Alumni Association of Indiana. In his political views he is republican, his support being given to the progressive faction of that body. Such success as Mr. Macauley now enjoys must be largely attributed to the fact that he started out at the beginning of his career with a well defined purpose, toward the attainment of which he has loyally labored despite the ob- stacles and disappointments encountered.


HENRY PENN.


Henry Penn, who resides on his farm of sixty-seven acres, in Rosefield town- ship, was born January 2, 1871, in Pekin, Illinois. His parents were Jacob and Anna (Quick) Penn, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Eng- land. They were married in Peoria, Illinois, in 1868 and settled in Tazewell county. In their family were nine children, of whom Henry, of this review, was the eldest.


Henry Penn was reared under the parental roof and remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age, when he engaged in coal mining, which occupa- tion he followed for ten years. He was first employed in the mines at Hanna City and later at Edwards Station, during which time he was very successful and, being very thrifty, laid by a good sum of money. In 1902 he rented one hundred and twenty acres of land in Jubilee township, on which he followed farming for five years. In 1907 he purchased his present tract of land, which was known as the William Parr farm and is located on section 27 and has on it a coal mine


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from which Mr. Penn last year cleared over thirteen hundred dollars. In his farming as well as in his mining operations Mr. Penn has been successful.


On the 12th of February, 1892, Mr. Penn was united in marriage to Miss Martha Gillman, who is the daughter of George and Elizabeth Gillman, of Peoria county. Mr. and Mrs. Penn are the parents of four children: Anna, who was born October 24, 1893; Lizzie, born July 23, 1896; Elmer, born July 24, 1898; and Roy, born May 2, 1900. In politics Mr. Penn is a democrat. He is greatly interested in the cause of education and is at the present time serving as a member of the school board. Energetic, diligent and persevering, he is always found reliable in all his business connections and stands for the progressive element in citizenship and for trustworthiness in every relation.


ABRAHAM JACOBSON.


Abraham Jacobson, a practicing attorney at law and a real-estate dealer with offices at 435-7 Main street, has been associated with the professional and busi- ness life of Peoria since 1896. He was born at Suwalken, Russian Poland, Oc- tober 12, 1873, a son of Nathan and Rachel Jacobson. The father came to Peoria in 1889 and after many years devoted to business, is now living retired.


Abraham Jacobson received his preliminary education in the land of his birth where he attended public and private schools. After arriving in the new world in August, 1892, he settled in Peoria and spent one year in school, at the end of which time he was graduated. After putting aside his text-books he entered the law offices of I. J. Levinson, and ex-Judge J. W. Maple, where he remained for eight years. While engaged with that law firm he studeid law at night, after his duties of the day were over. As he was the eldest child it was necessary for him to assist in the support of the family. In August, 1896, after having gained much practical experience in the law office where he had worked, and also hav- ing studiously devoted his evenings to the mastery of his chosen profession, he took the examination before the appellate court at Mount Vernon, Illinois, and, satisfactorily answering the questions propounded to him, was licensed to prac- tice as an attorney by the supreme court of the state. In the following year, he formed a partnership with Robert Schooles, the present states attorney, with offices in the old library building. This partnership was continued until the fall of 1898, when it was dissolved by mutual consent, after which he formed an- other partnership with the Hon. John Daily. This partnership was continued four years and the law practice of the partners was very satisfactory. Since the dissolution of the latter connection, which was also by mutual consent, Mr. Jacobson has been alone in the practice of his profession and has at all times been accorded a very liberal practice and has been uniformly successful. For a long time in addition to his law practice he has been conducting a thriving real- estate business and, owing to his ability to read human nature and his winning personality, has been so successful, both in his professional and business career, that he has now become one of the heavy tax payers of Peoria county.


Mr. Jacobson was married in Springfield, Illinois, October 24, 1909, to Miss Lena Olian, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Olian. One daughter has been born to them, Charlotte M., the day of her birth being July 30, 1911. In his political views Mr. Jacobson is a republican. He is a blue lodge Mason and also an active worker in the congregation of the Jewish churches, being a trustee of one of them. The family reside at 320 Crescent avenue, in their comfortable and well appointed home. His successful professional and business career may well be taken as an object lesson by the young men of this country who are obliged to start out in life with nothing but their hands and brains with which to build their fortune. He not only was without means but was required to


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work while still young to support the family. Courage and unremitting industry were necessary for him to succeed and the large degree of success which he has won clearly indicates that he possesses those essential traits of character in full measure. He is well known in business and legal circles in Peoria and his repu- tation through the community is well established.


CHARLES BALLANCE.


A man of remarkable force of character was Colonel Charles Ballance. The limited opportunities of his youth seeemd no bar to his progress and ambition and energy, guided by sound judgment and upright principles, brought him from humble surroundings into important professional connections. Moreover, he became recognized as a man of scholarly attainments and one whose gifts were ever wisely used for the benefit of the public as well as for his personal advance- ment. He was born November 10, 1800, in Madison county, Kentucky, and came of English ancestry, representing a family that for more than two centuries. however, has lived in America. The first of the name in the new world settled in Virginia. Following the outbreak of the war with the mother country Charles Ballance, the grandfather of him whose name introduces this review, espoused the cause of the colonies and laid down his life on the altar of independence. His son, Willis Ballance, born and reared in Virginia, was married in Culpeper county that state, in 1796, to Joyce Green and soon afterward a removal was made to Kentucky.


Charles Ballance was a young child when his mother died. The father after- ward married again and the boy seems to have grown toward manhood without mnuch guidance or control aside from his own strong sense of right. He was imbued with an unconquerable desire to obtain an education beyond that offered in the country schools and he eagerly availed himself of every opportunity to earn the means that would enable him to pursue a course of study along some educational line. Eventually he entered the office of Judge Terry T. Haggin, of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and following his preparation for the bar was engaged in practice in his native state for two years. He then came to Illinois and in 1831 opened an office in Peoria, then a small town. His practice grew with the growth of the city and he easily maintained a foremost position among the members of the Peoria bar. He was appointed soon after his arrival in Illinois to the position of county surveyor of Peoria county, in which capacity he served for some years. That enabled him to tide over the period when a small population made an extensive law practice impossible, but the number of his clients grew with the development of the county until his law business made strenuous demands upon his time and energies. In this connection a con- temporary biographer has written: "His legal ability was of a high order and, in all questions involving the rights of property holders, he had no superiors. It was in this line his reputation rests. Owing to the way in which Illinois became a part of the United States there was much vexatious controversy over the 'French claims,' some of which were just, but many spurious and absurd. By the purchase of a large tract of land in the southern part of Peoria (now Bal- lance's addition), on which some of these claims infringed, Mr. Ballance became almost immediately interested in the study of land titles. For a long series of years he fought these claims, sometimes with other attorneys to assist him, but more frequently single-handed, against some of the best lawyers in the west. Several of the cases were carried to the supreme court of the United States, where they were argued by him in person. Sometimes successful and sometimes defeated, he persevered till he triumphed over all his opponents and removed entirely and forever that incubus on the prosperity of the city, the 'Peoria French claims,' so that now no such claims exist."


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In 1835 Colonel Ballance was married to Miss Julia M. Schnebly, a dangh- ter of Henry Schnebly, one of the well known of the okl-time citizens of Peoria. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ballance were born ten children and with one exception all lived to adult age.


From the beginning of his residence in Peoria Mr. Ballance was recognized as a leader in local political circles, for his patriotic citizenship and his well known devotion to the public good cansed his fellow townsmen to again and again seek his aid and cooperation in matters relative to the general welfare. On attaining his majority he had become a supporter of the whig party with which he was identified until it disbanded and he joined the new republican party, following its banners until his demise. His indorsement thereof canie about through his opposition to the extension of slavery in the northern territory. Ilis fellow townsmen elected him mayor of Peoria in 1855 and he gave to the city a businesslike, practical and beneficial administration. Previously he had been alderman from the first ward, which then embraced a quarter of the entire city. His individuality was strong and although differing from some others in the advocacy of measures promotive of general interest, none could impeach his honesty of purpose or his desire to further commercial prosperity. In 1870 he published a History of Peoria of standard authority and of great historical value, in which his views upon public measures effecting the city are somewhat fully set forth. He was a stanch advocate of the Union cause during the Civil war and although more than sixty years of age raised, largely at his own expense the Seventy-seventh Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, of which he was elected colonel. It was a matter of the deepest regret to him that his age and the state of his health compelled him to resign before the regiment was ordered forth for active service. Throughout his entire life he was actuated by principles of loyalty and of progressiveness and citizenship. We again quote from a former biog- rapher who said: "The life of Colonel Charles Ballance is a record of energy and of perseverance under difficulties, crowned with ultimate and complete suc- cess. Through the long period of his life he retained his enterprise, his cheer- fulness of disposition and, above all, his desire to know. The fact that a subject was new or obscure was sufficient to inspire in him a warm interest, and no amount of difficulty could daunt his industry. Although in common with most young men of the early days of the past century he had little direct schooling. his love of study led him in every direction till his knowledge became encyclo- pædic. Science and philosophy, theology and medicine, history and poetry all interested him and so well could he converse on any one of them that to the listener it seemed that the subject under discussion must be his chosen one. 'Never waste a minute' was his favorite motto, and much of his reading was done in the odd moments when waiting for others." It was this habit of his life that made Colonel Ballance a man of much more than ordinary ability with whom association meant expansion and elevation. His career is one which may well serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others, showing to what mental heights and to what financial and political positions one may attain who possesses energy, determination and high purpose.




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