USA > Illinois > Peoria County > Peoria > Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 64
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J. EDSON SMITH.
Prominent among the successful, energetic and progressive business men of Elmwood is J. Edson Smith, who is the senior member of the hardware firm of Edson Smith & Son. A native of Elmwood, he was born March 5. 1854, the son of James M. and Catherine ( Nickerson ) Smith, the former born in Craw- ford county, Ohio, April 10, 1823, and the latter in the same state, September 21, 1832. The paternal grandparents, Ichabod and Hannah Smith, were among the earliest, best known and highly honored settlers of Peoria county and came
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to Elmwood in 1837, where they purchased a farm for which they paid a dollar and a quarter per acre. The father of our subject, James M. Smith, came from Ohio to Peoria county with his parents and grew to manhood in Elmwood town- ship. When only a youth he bought a farm there and gradually added to it until he owned two hundred and forty acres. From 1868 to 1872 he was engaged in farming near Morning Sun, Iowa. In 1887 he retired from active life, renting his farm, and resided in Elmwood. His wife is still living in the home, in the eastern part of the town, which residence her husband purchased forty-six years ago. In their family beside J. Edson, of this review, were the following children : George H., who is a banker at Pawnee, Oklahoma; Mark, a contractor at Pueblo, Colorado; H. A .. who operates the old homestead; Mrs. Jennie Whitney ; and Mrs. Maggie Condon.
J. Edson Smith was reared on his father's farm and attended school in Elm- wood until seventeen years of age. After leaving school he clerked for five years in a grocery store and later in a clothing store. In 1884 he established a hard- ware store in Elmwood, on the west side of the square, in the operation of which he has since been engaged. Being progressive, energetic and a keen business man, he has developed his store until it is now five times as large as it was when first opened. He does an extensive plumbing and furnace business in addition to selling hardware, and employs ten men. In 1908 he took his two sons into partnership with him and his business is now operated under the firm name of Edson Smith & Son.
On March 31. 1880, Mr. Smith wedded Miss Inez Washburn, a native of Knox county, Illinois, and a daughter of Bezelah and Sarah Washburn. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have become the parents of two sons, Charles and James Willis. The mother passed away December 7, 1908, leaving a large circle of friends and acquaintances who greatly regretted her departure. Mr. Smith is a republican but he has never aspired to public office, preferring to give all his time to his business interests. He pays much attention to school matters and for over twenty years has served as a member of the school board. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He may well be called one of the most prominent and leading citizens of Elmwood, where he has spent so many years of his life and where he has been so constantly identified with business and social relations.
MARTIN SEHM.
Martin Sehm, vice president and general superintendent of The R. Her- schel Manufacturing Company, located in East Peoria, has been connected with the business interests of Peoria for twenty years. During that period he has manifested the diligence, perseverance and unswerving purpose characteristic of the Teutonic race, which gives them that assurance and stability underlying their power. He was born in Dresden, Germany, on March 21, 1869, and there passed the first twenty-three years of his life.
Reared in a home of comfortable circumstances, Martin Sehm was given the advantages of a good education. After leaving school he learned the ma- chinist's trade and then pursued a course in a Technical High School. After his graduation from this institution he entered the service of the German gov- ernment in the capacity of draughtsman in the artillery construction bureau. He was subsequently employed in a large steel-rolling mill as superintendent of the spring department, remaining in their service until 1892. In the latter year he was married and immediately thereafter together with his young bride he emigrated to the United States, Peoria being his destination. Upon his arrival here he identified himself with The R. Herschel Manufacturing Company, which
MARTIN SEHM
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LEMOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
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was then a struggling enterprise in its infancy. The plant was a small, cheaply constructed frame building and gave little promise of ever achieving its pres- ent magnitude. Mr. Selim was young, intensely energetic and possessed a re- markable capacity for work, and diligently applied himself to the development of the enterprise. A well defined system, methodically followed, sustained by sound judgment and practical ideas gradually brought results, and the interven- ing years showed a marked progress and today The R. Herschel Manufacturing Company is one of the stable and highly prosperous industries of East Peoria. The company now owns about ten acres of ground on which they have erected substantial and thoroughly modern brick buildings, while their equipment in- cludes every modern machine or appliance essential to the successful opera- tion of a plant of this kind. Their products have a wide market and it re- quires the service of one hundred and seventy-five people to execute their orders.
In September, 1892, Mr. Sehm was united in marriage to Miss Meta Herschel, a daughter of M. R. Herschel, a resident of Niederhaestich, in the vicinity of Dresden, Germany. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sehn, as follows: Lenora, a student at Bradley Institute; and Gertrude, and Martin, Jr., who are attending public school. The family have a very pleas- ant residence at 123 Chambers avenue, that was erected in 1905.
Fraternally Mr. Sehm has attained high rank in the Masonic order and be- longs to the Shrine. He is also a member of the Creve Coeur and Ivy Clubs. He has prospered in his undertakings through intelligent and capable applica- tion of his inherent ability and the conservation and expenditure of his forces to meet the increasing demands of his business.
HIRAM E. TODD.
Hiram E. Todd, a successful practicing attorney with law offices at 538-539 Woolner building, Peoria, has followed his profession in this city since 1897. He was born in Kankakee, Illinois, September 10, 1874, a son of Walter W. and Asenath Todd. The family is of English origin, its first American progeni- tor coming to this country in 1637. Representatives of the family took part in the Revolutionary war and the grandfather, Hiram Todd, was one of the first medical practitioners in the state of Illinois, where he practiced among both the white settlers and the Indians, at an early day in the history of the Prairie state. He was also a soldier, taking part in the War of 1812. His son, Walter W. Todd, was major of the Seventy-sixth Illinois Infantry from 1862 to the close of the Civil war, in which he enlisted as a captain. He held the office of county clerk and county treasurer during his political career in Kankakee county and was also one of the trustees of the Eastern Illinois Hospital for the Insane. At the time of his death, which occurred in 1899, when he had reached the sixtieth year of his age, he held the position of cashier of the Chicago Customs House, a place which he had occupied for some years. The passing of the mother oc- curred in 1895 and both were buried in the cemetery at Kankakee.
Hiram E. Todd received his primary education in Kankakce, the city of his nativity, and was graduated from the high school in 1893. After his graduation he entered the University of Illinois, where he studied for one year, and then entered the Kent College of Law, having early determined to devote his life to that profession. He was graduated from Kent College with the degree of LL. B. in 1897, and immediately began the practice of his profession in Peoria, which he has since continued with uniform success. His ability as well as his reliabil- ity were early recognized by the people of Peoria and he was made a member of
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the county board of supervisors early during his residence in Peoria, a position which he held for three years.
Hiram E. Todd was married in this city September 10, 1900, to Miss Bertha Ferris, a daughter of Edward and Harriet Ferris, and unto them have been born two children: Sarah G., now a student; and Harriet, who has not yet attained school age. The political allegiance of Mr. Todd is given to the republican party and he has given considerable attention to politics although not in the capacity of an office seeker. He takes much interest in civic affairs and his voice is heard and opinions received in all matters of policy in which the welfare of his city and county is concerned. Fraternally he is a blue lodge Mason and is a mem- ber of the Creve Coeur Club. He is also affiliated with the Peoria and Illinois State Bar Associations, being elected president of the former in 1912. For eight years he has served as superintendent of the First Presbyterian church Sunday school. His ability as a lawyer and the excellent reputation which he enjoys as a member of that profession have given him a creditable standing among the younger attorneys of Peoria. His practice almost from the beginning has been very satisfactory and he achieved a gratifying degree of success. He has come to be well known in legal, business and fraternal circles of the city of his adop- tion and is one of its valued citizens.
JUDGE ROBERT H. LOVETT.
Numbered among the successful members of the Peoria bar is Judge Robert H. Lovett, who has practiced his profession in the county of his nativity and in the city of his adoption since 1885. He has been a master in the United States chancery court since May, 1905, and has also held the distinction of being county judge of Peoria county. He was born at Brimfield, Peoria county, July 2, 1860, a son of Robert B. Lovett, who was a blacksmith at that place, migrating from Pennsylvania at a comparatively early day. The family is of French origin and representatives of the name settled in this country before the Revolutionary war. Robert B. Lovett passed away in 1903, at the age of eighty-three years, his wife having preceded him to the grave in 1891, her death occurring on Feb- ruary 22, when she was sixty-seven years of age. Both were buried in the family lot in Brimfield cemetery. The father's death was occasioned by a street car accident in Peoria.
Robert H. Lovett is indebted to the common schools of Peoria county for his primary education, graduating from the high school in 1876 at the age of sixteen years. After his graduation he immediately took up the profession of teacher in the country schools for a period of seven years. An inclination to- ward the legal profession as a life work, however, had been noticeably displayed and during the greater part of the period spent in teaching he gave all of his spare time to reading law. After teaching for seven years he attended normal school for one year and in the fall of 1885 was licensed by the supreme court as a legal practitioner. Immediately after being admitted to the bar he began the practice of his profession in Peoria and a year later entered into partnership with Daniel R. Shean, with whom he remained associated until 1904, when he was elected to the county judgeship. Prior to this he had been appointed, in 1900, as United States commissioner and United States master in chancery. He is a member and vice president of the Peoria Bar Association and also belongs to the State Bar Association.
Judge Lovett was married in Brimfield, September 16, 1886, to Miss Laura Gilson, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hosier Gilson. To them have been born a daughter and son: L. Evangeline, attending a Peoria school; and Elliott C., a student of the Bradley Institute. The family residence is at 315 North Douglas
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street, a home which Mr. Lovett erected in 1903. He is a blue lodge Mason, being an honored and active member of that fraternity. He is actively allied with the republican party, being secretary of the county central committee of that party. The successful professional life, coupled with the official career of Judge Lovett, has made him exceptionally well known throughout Peoria county and city, where by his distinguished professional ability he has commended him- self to a large clientele made up of the representative citizenship of Peoria.
WALTER DE VALLE HOPKINS.
Walter De Valle Hopkins, a man of affairs, alert and enterprising, is ac- ceptably filling the position of school inspector and is also prominently connected with business interests as a grocer of Peoria. Progress characterizes his ef- forts in both connections and he seeks to inculcate improved methods which will be productive of practical and beneficial results. He was born January 21, 1879, in Peoria, in that section of the city which was then known as West Bluff. The birth of his father, Walter Hopkins, occurred on board a transport, February 5, 1856, when his parents were coming from London, England. For a consid- erable period Walter Hopkins was engaged in merchandising in Peoria or was employed as a salesman here. He married Miss Sarah Harvey, who was born in Logan township, this county, in 1860. Both are still living. In their family were four sons and a daughter, Walter, Harry, Herbert, Robert and Elizabeth.
Reared under the parental roof Walter D. Hopkins pursued his education in the old fifth ward school on Moss avenue, now known as the Franklin school. On Saturdays and in the evenings when the school session was over for the day he worked in a grocery store in West Bluff, acquainting himself with the business in principle and detail. He continued to act as a salesman in grocery stores until about seven years ago when he organized the W. D. Hopkins Grocery Company and began business on his own account at Madison avenue and Fulton street. His business has steadily increased owing to capable management, re- liable methods and unfaltering enterprise, and he is today the leading grocer in the down-town district. He carries a large and well selected line of both staple and fancy groceries and at all times his business conforms to a high standard of commercial ethics.
Mr. Hopkins is always interested in advancement and improvement, and to this end he belongs to the Peoria Merchants' Association, to the Peoria Retail Grocers' Association, of which he has been secretary for the past five years, and to the Association of Commerce. His fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth and ability, have called him to public office. In the fourth ward he was elected school inspector in April, 1911. The race for the nomination was a nota- ble one, Mr. Hopkins receiving support far in advance of one of the well-known leaders of the party. He became one of the members of the "reorganized school board" following a movement in which publie opinion was aroused against old time methods that were detrimental to the best interests of education. Follow- ing his election in April, 1911, he was appointed a member of the building, the auditing and the finance committees, and is doing excellent work in those connec- tions. Although one of the younger he is also one of the most active members of the school board, wise in his understanding of public needs, valuable in his service and actuated at all times by the spirit of progress because of his realiza- tion of the worth of education as a preparation for life's practical and respon- sible duties.
On the 10th of September, 1901, Mr. Hopkins was united in marriage to Miss Pearl Wyatt, and with their four children, Edith, June, Walter and Keith. they reside at No. 306 Third avenue. Mr. Hopkins and his wife are identified
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with the Hale Memorial Methodist Episcopal church and his membership rela- tions also extend to Temple Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Electa Chapter, O. E. S., West Bluff Lodge, K. P., the Dramatic Order of the Knights of Khorassan, the Fraternal Reserves and the Court of Honor. Steadfast, industrious and deter- mined, his close attention to business has constituted the basis of his rise in the business world, and his public spirited citizenship is the root of his politi- cal preferment.
HUGH E. WILSON.
Hugh E. Wilson is a general legal practitioner with offices at No. 542 Wool- ner building, where he established himself October 15, 1909. He was born near Mason City, Illinois, March 21, 1886, the son of C. R. and Florence L. Wilson. The father is a practical farmer and is still living on the homestead upon which he settled in 1884. He is a man of prominence in the community and is highly respected. The family, which is of English origin, was established on the Amer- ican continent in the eighteenth century.
The primary education of Hugh E. Wilson was gained in the Mason City public schools and he was graduated from the high school in 1903. He then entered the University of Illinois, from which institution he was graduated in 1909 with the degree of LL. B. Immediately afterward he entered upon the practice of his profession in Peoria and from the beginning has met with en- couraging success. He is a member of the Peoria Bar Association.
In political matters Mr. Wilson is independent, supporting such candidates as in his opinion are best qualified to fill the positions to which they aspire. Fraternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp and his social nature finds expression in his membership in the Psi Upsilon fraternity. He is one of the bright young lawyers of Peoria, who by his skill and professional technique which he has displayed since he began the practice of his profession has been marked as being among those of his class who will attain eminence in his chosen profession.
HENRY HERMAN ALBRECHT.
With the retirement from active business life of Henry Herman Albrecht, in 1898, the drug trade of Peoria lost one of its veteran members. Mr. Albrecht's name has been associated with the drug business in this city for many years, and his retirement cost Peoria a good druggist and an active and representative business man.
Henry Herman Albrecht was born at Dielsdorf, Canton Zurich, Switzerland, on December 13, 1841, and received a good education in the public schools of that district. He fitted himself for teaching, but on reaching manhood gave up the idea of following that occupation, and left Zurich for America. He landed in Newark, New Jersey, in 1860, where he resided for three years, and came to Peoria in 1863. His residence here since that time has been continuous with the exception of one year spent in Fairbury, Illinois, as a clerk in the First National Bank of that city. The first position which he obtained in Peoria was that of clerk in a grocery store, owned by a German lady of intense southern sympathies. During the excitement of Lincoln's second presidential campaign, the political views of the owner of the store, clashed with those of her clerk to the extent of open disagreement, and Mr. Albrecht lost his place because he was in sympathy with the Union and opposed to slavery. His next position
HENRY H. ALBRECHT
THE NEW PUBLIC LIBN
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was with the drug firm of P. S. Shelly & Son, 117 South Washington street. Here he remained for some time, becoming thoroughly acquainted with the busi- ness, and acquiring an aptitude for it and a proficiency in it which remained with him during his active career. In 1875 he was given a share of the business, and a few months afterward, Mr. Shelly sold out his interest to Mr. Albrecht, who for many years afterward carried on a most successful business at 117 South Washington street, at that time the center of the retail trade of Peoria. In the year 1885. Mr. Albrecht moved his business to the Hamilton building, 233 South Adams street, where he remained until 1898 when he was compelled to retire on account of failing health.
Since his retirement, Mr. Albrecht devotes his entire attention to looking after real-estate interests in and around Peoria. He is the owner of much city property, and has a large farm near Washington, Tazewell county, Illinois.
Henry H. Albrecht was married in 1868 to Miss Katherine Seng, of Wash- ington, Illinois, a daughter of a pioneer settler of Tazewell county, who came to America from Germany in 1832, making his way by boat up the Illinois river to Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Albrecht became the parents of three daugh- ters: Mary Louisa, the wife of Jack Weinkauff, head chemist and part owner of the wholesale drug firm of Sutliff & Case Company of Peoria; Nellie, who married J. Denzler, teller at the Home Savings & State Bank of this city; and Lillian Odelia, at present employed as a kindergarten teacher in the Peoria public schools. Mr. Albrecht and his entire family are members of the First German Methodist Episcopal church. Henry Albrecht now resides at 900 Mon- son street, this city. He spends his winters at Miami, Florida, where he owns a large grapefruit grove, planted under his supervision, in which he takes an active and intelligent interest.
DELOSS STODDARD BROWN.
Various lines of business activity profited by the cooperation and sound judg- ment of Deloss Stoddard Brown. Capable of controlling extensive interests, he constantly broadened the scope of his labors and business comections and thereby contributed more and more largely to public progress and prosperity as well as to individual success. He was born in the little hamlet of Lightningbug, Massachusetts, on the very top of the Green mountains, situated in the town- ship of Cummington, Hampshire county. His father, Hiram Brown, Sr., was a cabinet-maker and the son, who was the youngest of the family, soon found himself the only bread winner of the household, for his older brothers drifted away from home, in search of more advantageous fields of labor. De- loss S. Brown worked at whatever labor presented itself, picking berries in the summer months and grinding whetstones at the water power mill in the winter seasons. The rocky mountainside seemed to indicate something of his firm determination and unyielding spirit when with a legitimate purpose in view he started out to make his way in the world. Like his older brothers he, too, soon discovered that his little home town offered no path to fortune and, leav- ing the old homestead, he at length arrived in Elmwood, Peoria county. His educational advantages were very limited and he had no financial resources, ren- dering immediate employment, therefore, a necessity. The year of his arrival in this county was 1865. He soon found that a certain jeweler of Elmwood was a drunkard and from him he purchased his outfit with borrowed money. Then he began business as a watchmaker in the window of his brother's shop. He frankly acknowledged that he knew nothing of the trade but he possessed much natural mechanical ability and ingenuity, gave himself to the study of the bus-
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iness and in course of time built up a large jewelry trade, increasing the volume of his business to such an extent that at one time he sold in a wholesale way throughout the central west, having patrons in many cities, including Chicago, which was then a comparatively small town. Year after year he closely applied himself to the conduct and development of his business and won an enviable reputation as an enterprising, progressive merchant.
In 1867 Mr. Brown formed the acquaintance of Frances Bush, of Peoria, and two years later they were married. They became parents of five children, Anna Eveline, Alice J., Eugene, Edna and Deloss S. His sons are the most prominent real-estate men of Peoria and, operating under the name of The Brown Realty Company, have developed and sold several large suburban tracts. In the year 1876 William R. Bush, Mrs. Brown's father, induced Mr. Brown to remove to Peoria and join him in the distilling business, and the two became lifelong business partners. Mr. Brown took up his residence on the East Bluff, where he lived until his death. During a successful career in Peoria he held many positions of trust and responsibility, always meriting and enjoying the complete confidence of his many acquaintances. His opinion concerning invest- ments and business policy was as much sought as that of any man of his time. As the years passed and prosperity attended his labors he extended his activities ยท along many lines, becoming associated with manufacturing, farming, banking, municipal and mercantile interests of the county. By judicious purchase he ac- cumulated large real-estate holdings and with the increase in property values these brought him great wealth. From 1886 until the time of his death he con- ducted the piano and music business known as the Brown, Page & Hillman Com- pany at 309 Main street, of which he was the sole owner. Close application was his watchword and his unremitting devotion to business probably brought on his last illness resulting in. his untimely death on the Ist of July, 1906, at the age of sixty-six years.
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