USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Political history of Chicago (covering the period from 1837 to 1887) Local politics from the city's birth; Chicago's mayors, aldermen and other officials; county and federal officers; the fire and police departments; the Haymarket horror; miscellaneous > Part 28
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HENRY SHROEDER.
Henry Shroeder, ex-Alderman of the tenth ward, was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1848, having passed through the course of studies usual in the Fatherland, he arrived on these shores at the age of eighteen. He first found employment with the firm of Letz & Easton, as a livery- man at first, but soon entered the foundery of the former, Mr. Fred. Letz, at that time engaged in several heavy contracts. He afterward engaged in teaming, which he prosecuted with success up to the time of the epizootic, when his business failed him. He then embarked in the wine and spirit trade, locating first on the corner of Mil- waukee avenue and Kinzie street, but subsequently remov- ing to No. 140 Milwaukee avenue.
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Mr. Shroeder was elected, in 1880, on an Independent Democratic ticket; five being in the field at the time.
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SAMUEL STRITCH.
Samuel Stritch is probably one of the most expert ab- stract men in the country. He was born in Kerry county, Ireland, and is about thirty-two years of age. His only education was received in Dublin, where his brother taught in the Royal military school of Phoenix Park. He after- ward attended school at a beautiful spot overlooking the river Slaney, a sparkling stream in the county of Wicklow. He came to America when fourteen years of age, and almost on his arrival became a book-keeper in Cincinnati. He was employed by A. C. Peters & Bros., music publish- ers, but soon after came to Chicago. In 1867 he entered the abstract business with Clase Bros. & Co. His exper- ience here secured him a position in the tax and abstract department of the Recorder's office.
JAMES E. STEWART.
The ex-Chief Inspector of the north-western division of the postal service station at Chicago, springs from the illustrious Scotch house of Stewart. He was born at For- fay, Scotland, July 8, 1841. In 1851 the family settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Having graduated from the high- school he entered the law office of Gabe Bouck. He was studying law when the war occurred. In August, 1862, he entered Company B., Twenty-first Wisconsin Volunteers. He at once went into active service, participating, among other engagements, in the battle of Perryville, where the regiment lost one hundred and ninety-five men, Stone River; Chickamauga, Mission Ridge and the March to the Sea, during which he was made captain for gallantry. He received in person the written surrender of Rollin, N. C. He was mustered out in July, 1865. In 1866, returning to Oshkosh he was appointed a postal clerk and detailed on the North-Western railroad between Cedar Rapids and
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Omaha. He was appointed chief clerk of the railway mail service in 1869. In 1872 he was appointed Inspector.
MICHAEL WASSERMAN.
Ex-County Commissioner Michael Wasserman, who was elected in 1882 by a majority of 2,100, was born in Bavaria in 1846. After a course in classics, our subject had a painful experience in early life. For the want of better employment, he industriously mutilated his fingers putting in window glass, and might point today to several scars as the result. He embarked in the hardware business in St. Louis, and pursued it in Leavenworth. In 1866 he came to Chicago, and entered a printing office, issuing after a time a theater programme for German performances. He afterward became interested in the West Twelfth street Turner Hall, where he supervised for years its numerous festivities. After the great fire Mr. Wasserman distrib- uted, without one cent of compensation, the funds con- tributed by the Turner societies of the country in behalf of the victims, and received the universal commendation of the public for his honesty and energy. He subsequently established a restaurant at 20 Clark street, but some time ago disposed of it to engage in more congenial business. He is engaged in the wine and liquor traffic, and his place is a well known resort for public men.
JAMES M'HALE.
One of the first white men born in the North Division of Chicago first saw the light April 22, 1838, and his birthplace was No. 244 Illinois street. Having completed a successful course of study, our subject apprenticed him- self to the ship carpentering business, and followed it for six years. His first political position may be said to have been under Samuel Chase, Assessor of the North Town of Chi- cago. He afterward assisted William Vocke in the collec- tion of North Town taxes; was a deputy under Sheriff
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Agnew, and also under City Clerk Neumeister. He is a member of the Illinois Legislature.
E. A. FILKINS.
Edward Augustus Filkins, ex-Clerk of the County Board, and a prominent worker in the Republican ranks, was born in Wheeling, Cook county, May 29 1842. He first went to school in Chicago, and completed his studies in New Haven. Returning to Chicago, he entered the hardware store of his father, whose partner was a Mr. Runyon. In 1861 he joined the Nineteenth Illinois Infantry, enrolling in the three-year service. He was with General Rosecrans in his advance into Kentucky; with General Buell, was present at the last battle of Stone River; and was then assigned to the Quartermaster's department up to 1866. In 1867 he entered the County Clerk's office under Edwin S. Solomon afterward governor of Washington Territory; in 1868 he was made a Deputy Clerk in the Circuit Court under Norman T. Gassette; was engaged from 1872 to 1874 in real estate, in 1874 served in the Internal Revenue depart- ment, and in 1877 was appointed Clerk of the County Board.
ANTON IMHOF.
Anton Imhof was born in Bruckenan, Bavaria, July 8, 1835, and when about nineteen years of age came to Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, where he learned the carpentry trade. In 1870 he came to Chicago, where he secured the position of street foreman for the North Di- vision. In 1880 he was elected Alderman of the Sixteenth ward by Democrats and Republicans alike.
JOHN RIORDAN.
Ex-Alderman Riordan, of the seventh ward, was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1830. When eighteen years old he came to New York, and in 1849 arrived in Chicago. His first hard knocks were along the docks, on the old
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Galena, the first road that entered Chicago, and on the Illinois Central from Urbana south. Life became more pleasant when he procured a situation as book-keeper for Farrell, Boyer & Casey. He was with this firm for about two years, and with Heald & Waterhouse afterwards. He finally went into the hay business, locating at No. 531 Throop street.
Alderman Riordan has repeatedly succeeded himself in the Council. He takes great interest in the conduet of the police force, and his selection as chairman of the com- mittee on police is deemed a most wise selection. The po- sition of Alderman Riordan in favor of good salaries for the city employés has always been strongly defined.
S. D. FOSS.
This gentleman was born in Grafton County, New Hampshire, in 1834. His early life was spent on the farm of his father who was a German Whig, and is now aged 77. The ex-Alderman is a Republican but ran independ- ent. There were three in the field and his plurality was thirteen. Attaining his majority he went to Boston and was employed by Mr. Streeter, brother-in-law of the proprietor of the Parker House. He was a livery keeper. In 1860 he went to Pikes Peak and subsequently located a claim in Leadville. He is now engaged in transportation business.
EDWARD P. BARRETT.
Edward Patrick Barrett, ex-Alderman of the Seven- teenth ward, was born in Scottsville, Genesee County, New York, July 12, 1840. When very young, the family removed to the vicinity of Thorald, Canada, and settled on a farm. In 1848 Mr. Barrett's father considered it good fortune to have three stacks of wheat all to himself out west. In 1860 the subject of this sketch went south and drove a team in Louisiana for the firm of Benedict & Marshall,
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contractors. In 1862 he came to Chicago and connected himself with the American Express Company, and was in their employ up to four months after his first election in 1879. IIe ran upon every road leaving the city, it might be said, except the Michigan Central, and Milwaukee & St. Paul, and while many and many an accident occurred on his train he invariably escaped. In 1881 the Alderman was reelected without making scarcely an effort. He was paying strict attention to his duties on the road when apprised of the choice of the people.
GENERAL JAMES SHIELDS.
In the "Political History of Chicago," the following sketch, contributed by William J. Onahan, is not out of place.
" The hero of two wars and Senator from three states."
Few public men in the United States liad a more event- ful career than General James Shields, and Illinois es- pecially has reason to honor his memory and to hold in grateful remembrance his faithful and distinguished r- vices.
Member of the Legislature, Auditor of State, Judge of the Supreme Court he had, by force of character and native ability, attained these different positions of trust and honor in Illinois ; and when war with Mexico was de- clared he was holding the position of Commissioner of the General Land Office. The Congressional delegation from Illinois, headed by Hon. John Wentworth, called on President Polk and urged the appointment of Shields to a military position and rank, comporting with his ability and the high offices he had filled.
The request was granted on the spot, and Shields was commissioned Brigadier General July 1, 1846. He led the Illinois troops in the march to the City of Mexico, and fought with signal gallantry throughout the year- being severely
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wounded at Cerro Gordo and Chapultepec -indeed, in the first accounts of the former battle he was reported killed.
His capacity, bravery, and soldierly skill, won universal recognition in the army, and is testified to in the general orders issued by General Scott, Commander-in-Chief. At the battle of Cherubusco General Shields led the attack on the Mexican reserve, under Santa Anna, his command embracing the Illinois and New England brigades and the celebrated " Palmetto " regiment from South Carolina. With these troops Shields completely routed the Mexican forces, and Santa Anna himself had a narrow escape from capture.
In compliment to his conspicuous success and gallantry General Shields was designated to head the conquering forces entering the City of Mexico.
Many romantic incidents and episodes are related of the General's experience during the war, each of them serving more strikingly to illustrate his chivalric character and sturdy bravery in action, his consideration for his men, and his magnanimity to the enemy when wounded and prisoners in his hands.
At the close of the war he was breveted Major-General and was mustered out of service July 20, 1848.
In the same year he was nominated Governor of Oregon Territory, but declined the appointment. He was then chosen United States Senator by the Legislature of Illi- nois, and served the full term, Dec. 3, 1849 to March 3, 1855.
Defeated for reelection in Illinois, in consequence of the feuds and divisions in his own party, Hon. Lyman Trum- bull being chosen to succeed him, General Shields moved to Minnesota and there established a colony of Irish set- tlers in and around Faribault.
The result of this effort is best and most strikingly
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shown in the fact that the settlement thus formed is now one of the most prosperous farming communities in the state of Minnesota.
General Shields was elected to the United States Senate from Minnesota, which state he represented from May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1859. He subsequently moved to Cali- fornia; and, not improbably, would have been called to represent that state also in the United States Senate, but, as soon as hostilities broke out between the North and South, he offered his services to President Lincoln and was commissioned Brigadier General, August 19, 1861. The general desire of the Irish-American soldiers in the army- a desire which was warmly seconded and voiced by General Meagher, Colonel Mulligan and other Irish-American offi- cers -was that Shields should be placed in command of an "Irish Division," which could easily have been formed; but the War Department received the suggestion coldly, and nothing was done to carry it into effect.
General Shields was given a division in General Banks' army in the Shenandoah valley early in 1862, and com- manded at the battles of Port Republic and Winchester. In the latter he inflicted a severe repulse on Stonewall Jackson, after having been severely wounded in a skirmish on the previous day. When the rebels evacuated Manassas, Stonewall Jackson and eight thousand men were at Win- chester. When Banks advanced, Jackson retired twenty miles south to Strasburg, pursued Shields. Banks then moved on to Manassas and Shields fell back on Winchester. Jackson supposed this was a retreat, and he moved forward again and attacked General Shields at Winchester, March 23, 1862, but was very severely repulsed.
It is now well known and admitted, that, as in the in- stance of other distinguished officers, the political princi- ples held by General Shields and his firm adherence to the Democratic party, formed a barrier to his advancement,
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and even to the according him fair recognition for services rendered.
Following the memorable campaign against General Stonewall Jackson, General Shields resigned his commis- sion in the army and retired to a farm, which he had ac- quired in Carroll county, Missouri, where he lived a quiet and retired life as a farmer till 1877, when he was elected a member of the General Assembly of Missouri. In the same year he was appointed Adjutant General, and after- wards was elected United States Senator from that state to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator Bogy.
Thus General Shields had the remarkable distinction, unique, we believe, in the history of the Senate, of having represented three states of the Union in the highest coun- cil of the nation.
He did not long survive the close of his term of service. He died suddenly in Ottumwa, Iowa, shortly after, follow- ing a lecture which he was called there to deliver.
General Shields was born in the town of Dungannon, County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1810, and in 1826 emigrated to the United States. He made his way to Illinois, settling in Kaskaskia, then the capital, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1832. (During his term of ser- vice as member of the legislature, 1836-7, Shields was en- trusted by a committee of Chicago citizens, led by Hon. John Wentworth, with the bill for an act of incorporation and the first charter of the city of Chicago.)
Largely through his active and zealous championship the measure was pushed through both houses of the Legis- lature, so that General Shields may be said to have obtained the first charter for the city of .Chicago.
While in the Senate from this state the bill donating a magnificent grant of land in aid of the projected Illinois Central R. R. was introduced, and finally passed.
The vast importance of this measure to the develop-
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ment and prosperity of Illinois was scarcely then adequatc- ly estimated, but subsequent results and existing conditions have amply vindicated the policy and statesmanship of this great and splendid gift.
Senator Douglas received at this time almost exclusive credit for this measure, but no small share is in fact justly due to General Shields, who successfully undertook to widen and enlarge the scope of the original grant, and also effected an important change and extension in the pro- posed line of road by which it was made to bisect the state from one end to the other, from Galena to Cairo.
It is a curious and interesting fact that General Shields was offered the command of the Pontifical army at a time, during the reign of the late Pope Pius IX. when the security of the states of the church, the temporal possess- ions of the Holy See, was menanced by revolution and spoliation. After deliberate consideration the tender was declined. We had this statement from General Shields himself.
The career, qualities and character of General Shields may well serve as a model and a study for the public men of our time. Rising by regular graduation in public life from the position of a member of the Illinois Legislature in 1836-7, to the responsible post of Auditor of State, then Judge of the Supreme Court, afterward Commissioner of the General Land Office, which he resigned to take a Gen- eral's rank and position in the army, and finally returning with honorable wounds and a glorious record from Mexico, a grateful state elected him to represent it in the United States Senate; the associate and compeer of Judge Douglas.
These successive honors were not attained by mere accident as sometimes happens in political life; neither were they won by "influence " or through the favors of personal friends.
General Shields worked his own way upward unaided.
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He possessed ability, grit, and sterling honesty. These were the qualities that won,
In whatever position General Shields held he made a record for himself as a faithful public servant, and he came out of every public office held by him, from first to last, with untarnished honors.
Temptation could not move, bribery and corruption dare not approach him. Great trusts and immense responsibilities were often in his hands-he was faithful under every condition. Through his long and chequered public career he probably never possessed $5,000 at any one time.
He had modest tastes and simple habits. All that he possessed when he died was a small farm and the jeweled swords presented to him, one by the state of South Caro- lina after the Mexican war, the other by the city of New York. These are heirlooms for his children, but a more glorious heritage than all is the splendid record of his honorable career, his faithful services and stainless char- acter as a public officer; his bravery and capacity in the field; his wisdom and energy in council; his fidelity to duty on all occasions and in every circumstance.
Nor did General Shields forget his native land. On every fitting opportunity his voice was heard pleading her cause, and championing her right to self-government. Had the occasion presented itself, when his sword would have availed in her service, joyously would he have drawn it against his country's hereditary foe. Once indeed, at the close of the war, the leaders of the Fenian organization made overtures to him to take the command of a force designed to operate against Canada; but General Shields was too experienced a soldier not to see the folly of such a suicidal raid without adequate arms or commissaries, to say naught of the criminality of an unjustifiable invasion.
Of course he promptly declined the offer; but, as he
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himself publicly declared, given the indispensable con- ditions in Ireland to justify a revolutionary movement, he would not hesitate to lead an armed force to join in the struggle for Ireland's freedom .
It is known that, in advance of the organization of the Land League, General Shields had elaborated a plan to unite in a solid organization the American Irish, so as to aid in any home movement that might be set on foot for national enfranchisement or local self-government.
General Shields was a devoted Catholic and, in his later years, devoutly attended to the religious duties of his faith.
When suddenly stricken down in a convent in Ottumwa where he was visiting his niece, to whom he was devotedly attached, he still had the opportunity, in his last hours, to receive the holy rites of his Church.
His remains are interred in Carrollton, the home of his sorrowing widow and family .
No monument yet marks the spot, but a movement is likely to be soon set on foot to erect a suitable shaft over the grave of as pure a man and as brave a soldier as America has known. On that monument may be fittingly inscribed the legend - " Semper et ubique fidelis."
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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 977.31AH3P C001 POLITICAL HISTORY OF CHICAGO CHGO
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