USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > The biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of representative men of Chicago, Minnesota cities and the World's Columbian exposition : with illustrations on steel. V. 1 > Part 34
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51
Farm life always had for him a peculiar attrac- tion, that even the success of latter years in other lines of business has not lessened. In 1857 hc closed his practice at Chicopee, and removing to Ogle County, Illinois, settled on a farm. Herc,
H _ Cooper Jr & Co
DK Pearsons,
333
BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY AND PORTRAIT GALLERY.
however, his active mind was not at rest. Destiny had marked out for him a wider and more active field of labor, and it was not long before he was established in Chicago in the real estate trade. He sold lands for the Illinois Central Railroad Company, the Sturges estate, Mr. Michael Sulli- van, the farmer-king, and others, his sales in Illi- nois alone amounting to over one million acres. Through these transactions he made a wide acquaintance throughout the West, so that when, in 1860, he turned his attention principally to loaning money for moneyed men upon farm lands, he had a large patronage, which constantly in- creased, and for twelve years he loaned an average of more than one million dollars annually. The business was not only remunerative to him, but this vast sum of money being distributed throughout the farming community was of incal- culable benefit in developing the country, and such were his business methods that the interests of both lender and borrower were conserved, and their universal confidence maintained. Mr. Pear- sons had made profitable investments from time to time, and his private interests had so increased that they required his undivided attention, and in 1877 he ceased loaning money for other capital- ists and devoted himself to his own matters.
He has been a large stockholder and director of the Chicago City Railway Company, the American Exchange National Bank and other financial in- stitutions of Chicago, but his favorite investments have been in real property. He purchased large tracts of timber lands in Michigan, which yielded him great profits.
Ever since he settled in Chicago Mr. Pearsons has taken an active interest in whatever pertained to her material prosperity and good name, and when called to fill positions of trust, has con- scientiously and intelligently performed his duties, honoring those whom he represented, benefit- ing the public and doing credit to himself. He has twice represented the First Ward of Chi- cago in the Common Council, being elected on both occasions on a non-partisan ticket. The value of his services as chairman of the finance committee in that body cannot be overestimated. The financial condition of the city was deplorable. Owing to extravagance an indebtedness largely in excess of the constitutional limit had been in- curred. To meet the deficiency the city had is-
sued certificates of indebtedness whose legality was disputed in the courts. Eastern capitalists had invested largely in these certificates, and were alarmed at the situation. Financial disaster was spreading all over the country, and capital, which had become solicitous for its, securities, was averse to almost every proffer of new investment. Chi- cago would soon need more money. Her finan- cial standing must be maintained. Conscious of the need of speedy and decisive action, Mr. Pear- sons was commissioned to visit the East, and soon appeared among the bankers of New York City. Some of them knew him personally or by reputa- tion, and those who did not were soon made acquainted with the object of his coming. His earnest, business-like, straightforward manner won their confidence and allayed their fears. He had come officially, as a member of his city's Com- mon Council, and privately as a capitalist and man of honor, to assure them that Chicago would pay her debts. He pledged his word of honor and that of his city that whoever might be in power, however courts might decide, and what- ever financial crisis might come, Chicago would redeem her pledges and pay her certificates of indebtedness, principal and interest, promptly on time. They believed in him, and were inspired with new faith in the city he represented. Their confidence was not misplaced ; his word was sa- credly kept. His predictions were fully verified, and when, a little later, more ready money was needed, he was again commissioned to secure it, and with little difficulty raised among local capi- talists half a million dollars. This achievment is all the more remarkable in view of the fact that in the meantime the courts had decided that the much-discussed certificates were practically value- less-illegal promises to pay, which the city might repudiate at will, but which she never did. The result of these negotiations was to establish the financial standing of Chicago, and such was the public appreciation of the services of the man who accomplished it, that upon Mr. Pearsons' voluntary retirement from the Common Council two years later, a committee of citizens waited upon him, and in a series of handsomely engrossed resolutions, testified their own and their city's high regard for his effective work in this and other public matters, and stating, among other things, that he had fulfilled the duties of his
334
BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY AND PORTRAIT GALLERY.
office "with the approval and plaudits of his en- tire constituency, regardless of party affiliations."
About the time of his retirement from political life, Mr. Pearsons withdrew from his more ardu- ous business enterprises and resigned several of his corporation directorships, although retaining his monetary interests in them. With a view of getting his property in such shape that he could enjoy the comforts of life unhampered by con- stantly pressing business cares, he began buying and improving choice residence property, princi- pally in the north division of Chicago. He soon had in his possession about one hundred fine houses and flats, and from which he derives a large income.
Mr. Pearsons has been an extensive traveler, both in his own and in foreign lands. He has visited Europe three times, and but recently (1890) returned from Egypt.
Great as has been Mr. Pearsons' success as a business man and financier, and valuable as have been his public services, that which most distin- guishes him and in which he takes the greatest satisfaction and pride, is his system of practical philanthropy. To him, money is valueless cx- cept as it is put to some good use, and he has most wisely decided to be the almoner of his own bounty. To attempt to enumerate all who have been the objects of his benevolence were a hope- less task. Their name is legion. But without making mention of his hearty responses to the calls of men and women in need, it may be stated that his public gifts during the last ten ycars have amounted to one million dollars. His favorite method of giving to public institutions is to base his gift on the condition that another sum be raised, which condition has, in every in- stance, been met. He has given to Beloit Col- lege, Wisconsin, in buildings and endowment, two hundred thousand dollars; to Lake Forest Uni- versity, one hundred thousand dollars ; to Knox College, Galesburg, Ill., fifty thousand dollars ; to Chicago Theological Seminary, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ; to the Presbyterian Semi- nary, of Chicago, fifty thousand dollars; to the Young Men's Christian Association, thirty thou- sand dollars; to the Women's Board of Foreign Missions, twenty thousand dollars; to the Pres- byterian Hospital, sixty thousand dollars ; to Yankton College, Dakota, fifty thousand dollars,
besides other donations to various religious, edu- cational, benevolent and charitable objects and uses, amounting, in the aggregate, to two hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars. His method of conditioning his gifts to educational institutions, upon the raising of an equal or larger amount, has resulted in endowing them with many hun- dred thousand dollars which else they might never have received.
lle has a practical sympathy for worthy young men and women who are striving to get an edu- cation, and specifies in his gifts to colleges that one-half shall be placed in the hands of trustees, and the income loaned to needy students at a moderate rate of interest, principal and interest to be repaid when the borrower is able. The wisdom of this system of giving is apparent, when one considers that in this way worthy young men are enabled to become beneficiaries, without weakening their manhood or lessening their self-respect.
Mr. Pearsons is a man of strong and marked personality, deliberate in his judgments, firm in his convictions and resolute in his determinations. Physically, he is well preserved, and though sev- enty-two years of age, he has the appearance of being much younger. Erect in form, he walks with a steady step, and in all his bearing carries himself as a man conscious of the dignity and nobility and worth of true manhood. Yet he is a modest man, and in all his benevolent work he has, as far as possible, avoided publicity, finding satisfaction in the consciousness of having used his money and talents in doing good, rather than in the plaudits of his fellow-men.
Since taking up his abode in Chicago, Mr. Pear- sons has been a firm believer in her destined greatness and in the growing importance of the West. Yet he has never ceased to remember, with admiration and affectionate regard, the State of his nativity. He was one of the organizers of the Society of the Sons of Vermont, and one of its early presidents, and from its founding has been active in promoting its interests.
Mr. Pearsons was married, in August, 1847, to Miss Marietta Chapin, whose family is well known in Western Massachusetts. Mrs. Pearsons is a woman of the true New England type, and she enters heartily into her husband's methods and plans of benevolent work, and throughout lite
335
BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY AND PORTRAIT GALLERY.
has been to him a true helpmeet. She presides with womanly grace over their elegant and happy home, at Hinsdale, one of Chicago's most roman- tic suburbs, and here Mr. Pearsons, in the society of his wife and intimate friends, finds his highest social enjoyment. He has never belonged to a club or secret society.
Such is an outline of his life, and while it may
not disclose all that has contributed to his re- markable success, one who reads it must be im- pressed with the fact that a genius for hard work has been no small factor. His life has been manly ; his actions sincere ; his manner unaffected, and his speech from the heart. In a word, it has been a life full of good work, and furnishes an example most worthy of emulation.
CHARLES H. FOSTER,
CHICAGO, ILL.
C' HARLES H. FOSTER was born at Roch- ester, New York, on April 14, 1835. Dur- ing his boyhood he attended the Wadsworth School and Dewey's High School in his native city, and at the age of seventeen years went to Albany, New York, where he became agent of the Mercantile Line of Canal Boats, running be- tween Albany and Rochester, New York. Al- though but a youth he discharged the duties of the position with ability, and retained it for three years. In 1854 he went to New York City, and for one year was engaged in the for- warding business on his own account, his busi- ness consisting of transporting coal and lumber from New York and Philadelphia for the Roch- ester market. Closing out his business in the summer of 1855, he removed to Chicago and took a position with the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad Company, his first work being checking goods in the freight department of that road. He was check and bill clerk in the local freight office for about eighteen months, and in January, 1857, was made assistant cashier in the same office, in 1858 was chief clerk in the general freight office, and in 1859 chief clerk in the general ticket office, and from January, 1860, to January II, 1863, was general bookkeeper in the secretary's office, and he continued with the Galena & Chicago Union Company until the spring of 1863. During the years 1863 and 1864 he was employed as chief clerk in the office of Mr. Samuel T. Atwater, agent of the Buffalo Mutual Insurance Company.
January II, 1865, Mr. Foster was tendered the position of general accountant under Mr. W. M. Larrabee, secretary and treasurer of the Chicago &
Alton Railroad Company, with whom he had been associated while in the employ of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad Company. The tender of the position was a worthy recognition of Mr. Foster's eminent fitness and ability. He gladly accepted it, and until May, 1879, was subordinate to Mr. Larrabee.
For some time prior to this Mr. Larrabee's health had been failing and the duties of his office had fallen upon Mr. Foster, his chief clerk, who was made treasurer pro tempore at that time. His health continuing to fail, Mr. Larrabee was compelled to resign his office and Mr. Foster was elected secretary and treasurer in his stead, and has continued to fill those offices with marked success until the present time (1892). Mr. Foster is also secretary of the Joliet & Chicago Railroad Company, secretary and treasurer of the Missis- sippi River Bridge Company, and secretary and treasurer of the Louisiana & Missouri River Railroad Company, all of which corporations are auxiliaries of the Chicago & Alton Rail- road.
Mr. Foster was married in Chicago, on Decem- ber II, 1864, to Miss Caroline Van Inwagen, a daughter of Anthony Van Inwagen, who was formerly engaged in the forwarding commission business at Chicago. Mrs. Foster died on No- vember 7, 1884, leaving three children, viz .: Ger- trude, wife of Waite Bliven; Harry C., receiv- ing teller of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank, and Eugene, who was born on November 5, 1884. Mr. Foster's parents were William C. and Permelia (Wilson) Foster. His father was a prominent miller and forwarding merchant at Rochester, New York. He died on November
336
BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY AND PORTRAIT GALLERY.
25, 1880, honored and esteemed by all who knew him. His mother died on June 6, 1887.
Mr. Foster's progress has been a steady growth along the line of honest, persistent effort. He is a man whose record is clean and who is prized by
his associates and esteemed by all for his genuine worth. His name is a familiar one in railway cir- cles, and everywhere is a synonym for faithful- ness, ability, integrity, trustworthiness and manly virtue.
JOHN TRYON CHUMASERO,
CHICAGO, ILL.
PROMINENT among the energetic, far-seeing and successful business men of Chicago, is the subject of this sketch. After a varied expe- rience in the East, he made Chicago his liome when about thirty years of age, and has resided there continuously since.
Mr. Chumasero was born in Rochester, New York, on September 30, 1839, and comes of excel- lent parentage. His father, Hon. John C. Chu- masero, was a resident of Rochester, New York, more than forty years, and during that time was judge for many years and was very prominent in political matters. He was chairman of the com- mittee for raising troops, and president of the American National League in 1862, and was instru- mental in preventing trouble several times during the critical period of drafting. The Chumasero family trace their origin as far back as the Span- ish Inquisition, when they emigrated to Holland. His mother was Emily Root Tryon, of Connecti- cut. Her family trace their ancestry in this coun- try back to the year 1652, and were previously of aristocratic English lineage. Thomas Tryon was the first Governor of New York, and another member of the family was Governor of North Carolina in 1765. Other instances might be cited, but it is sufficient to say the Tryon family have an excellent record.
Under the watchful care of his parents, young Chumasero received his education first in the public schools until he was twelve years old and then for the next four years under a private tutor. During his early years he proved himself a talent- ed, industrious and methodical student, and was highly successful for a boy of his age. When six- teen years old he was placed in the office of his uncle, E. N. Buell, to learn business forms and methods. He was very successful, and for two years had charge of the books of the firm. After
leaving his uncle he conducted a manufacturing business for himself with good results, but at the commencement of the War of the Rebellion he sold out and entered the service of his country. The Governor of New York commissioned him ad- jutant of the One Hundred and Eighth New York Regiment, which was commanded by Colonel Oli- ver H. l'almer, well known in later years as presi- dent of the Western Union Telegraph Company. Before going to the front with his regiment he was made recruiting officer for his district, and mus- tered several regiments into the service, paying them the bounty of fifty dollars per man, which amounted to several hundred thousand dollars. The young adjutant participated with his regiment in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, where he proved himself a brave soldier and a good disciplinarian. His arduous duties and the exposure to which he was subjected at this time brought on an attack of typhoid fever, and the best his comrades could do for him was to send him on horseback from Harper's Ferry to a sick camp at Arlington. The results of this journey and the delay of proper treatment rendered his case hopeless; the doctors gave him up, and for weeks he lay at the point of death. His consti- tution, however, was strong and sound, and he pulled through, contrary to expectation, but was so emaciated that he weighed only ninety pounds. The results of this illness he felt for years after. At this time he received his discharge from his regiment and went home to his family, where for two years, notwithstanding their great care and kindness, he remained an invalid. The first em- ployment in which he engaged after his illness was in the New York custom house, in charge of the claim desk, an office to which he was appointed by Collector Hiram Barney, and which he filled with satisfaction for two years. Resigning his posi-
John à bohumasing
339
BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY AND PORTRAIT GALLERY.
tion, he went into the office of a Wall street broker, but his health failed and he returned to his home in Rochester, where he soon grew strong again. In 1868 his business instinct led him to Chicago, which was then the growing city of the West. Although without friends or prospects in his new home, he was convinced that energy and ability would be recognized and rewarded. Hisfirst position was with Messrs. Day, Allen and Co., then the largest wholesale grocers in Chicago, as book-
keeper and cashier. After the fire of 1871 the firm was dissolved and the partners retired from business. His next position was as assistant cash- ier with the firm of Messrs. J. V. Farwell and Co. He entered on the duties of this position in Decem- ber, 1871. Six months later he was appointed assistant to Mr. Simeon Farwell, who had charge of the credits and finances of the firm, and whose illness soon afterward threw the whole responsi- bility of that department on Mr. Chumasero. In 1879 he became a partner in the business, and in 1880, when the business was incorporated, he was chosen secretary, and has had for the past nine years the entire management of the credits and finances of the concern.
Quiet and unassuming in manner, reserved but agreeable in conversation, precise, accurate and
methodical in business, Mr. Chumasero stands very high among the business men of this country. Thoroughly honorable in his treatment of others and of irreproachable integrity, he is a leader among leading business men.
Mr. Chumasero was married in 1863 to Eva C. Young, daughter of Mr. Benjamin T. Young, of Brooklyn. They have two children, Kenneth P. and Emily C. For a number of years Mrs. Chumasero has been an invalid, and her daugh- ter, an accomplished young lady, has acted the hostess, presiding over the home with ease, grace and dignity. To surround his wife and children with every comfort and luxury has been the great- est pleasure of Mr. Chumasero's life. In social circles Mr. Chumasero is very popular. He was one of the first members of the Union League, Chicago, Washington Park, Calumet and Chicago Athletic clubs. He is a vestryman of Trinity Episcopal church, and president of the Illinois Industrial School for boys, and a member of Custer, Post, G. A. R., and a director in the Atlas National bank.
Mr. Chumasero is a man of extensive reading and culture and his literary taste has been culti- vated and improved by extensive travel both in this country and in Europe.
WARREN GRAFTON PURDY,
CHICAGO, ILL.
W ARREN G. PURDY is a native of Balti- more, Maryland. He was born on May 20, 1843, to John H. and Louisa A. Purdy. From his early boyhood he attended the public schools of his native city, graduating from the High School, now known as the Baltimore City College, in 1859. The same year, when but sixteen years of age, he removed to Chicagoand took a position as clerk in the storeroom of the Illinois Central Railroad shops. He resigned his position in the early part of 1863 to accept a position with the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad Company at St. Louis, Missouri. A year later he returned to Chicago and became connected with the Quarter- master's Department of the U. S. Army, serving as Chief Clerk at Camp Douglas and in the city until the latter part of 1865, when he was ordered
to Texas, and served as Chief Clerk of the west- ern district of that State, with headquarters at Brownsville, until the latter part of that year. In January, 1867, he became general bookkeeper for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Com- pany, at Chicago. In December, 1867, he was promoted to the position of cashier, and ten years later, in April, 1877, he became local Treas- urer. On June 2, 1885, he was elected Treasurer and Secretary of the same company, and in Sep- tember, 1887, was elected Vice-President, while still retaining the offices of Treasurer and Secre- tary.
His Masonic record is a history by itself; he became a Mason in Blair Lodge, A. F. and A. M., in 1864, and was elected Secretary of the lodge the same year. In 1867 was elected First Lieu-
.
340
BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY AND PORTRAIT GALLERY.
tenant-Commander of Chicago (afterward Orien- tal) Consistory, S. P. R. S., and in 1871 received the thirty-third degree of Masonry, being at that time probably the youngest thirty-third degree Mason in the United States. In 1876 he served as Worshipful Master of Landmark Lodge, No. 422, A. F. and A. M., and subsequently as an offi- cer in Fairview Chapter, R. A. M .; in 1879 he was elected Treasurer of Apollo Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templar, of Chicago, and in 1880 took an active part in the triennial conclave of that Order held in Chicago. During the conclave he was a member of the Executive Committee, and also Adjutant-General. Subsequent to this conclave, Montjoie (mounted) Commandery, No. 53, Knights Templar, was organized. Of this Commandery Mr. Purdy was one of the charter members, and for the first three years was its Eminent Commander. In 1885 he was elected
and commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the Sec- ond Regiment Illinois National Guards, which office he held until 1889, when he resigned.
Politically, Mr. Purdy has been affiliated with the Democratic party, although his actions have always been independent and not bound by party tics.
On March 13, 1865, he was married to Miss Acca L. Colby, of Chicago, by whom he has four children, viz .: William A. (at present Paymaster of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway), Ella F., Warren, Fred and Bertha A.
The residence of Mr. Purdy and family is in Kenwood, where, in the circle of his fireside, sur- rounded by his family, he passes the happiest moments of his life. Socially, Mr. Purdy is an active member of the Kenwood Social Club, and one of the earliest members of the Union League Club of Chicago.
HENRY T. BYFORD, M. D.
CHICAGO, ILL.
T HERE are few men, whatever be their tal- ents or profession, whose efforts and achieve- ments Chicago watches with more interest than she gives to Henry Turman Byford. Nor is this interest felt simply because he is the son of a great man, but because, by his own worth, he has won a place in the hearts of his fellow-citizens. The late William H. Byford, M. D., L.L. D., was, at the time of his decease, one of Chicago's most famous surgeons, and it is by individual endow- ment of the highest order that the son is advanc- ing to fill the father's place.
The Byford family came originally to America many generations ago, from Suffolk, England. The branch of the family in which we are inter- ested gradually drifted towards the interior of the country, and William H. Byford was born in Eaton, Ohio. His wife, Mary Anne Holland, was the daughter of Hezekiah Holland, a noted phy- sician of Kentucky. Five children were the result of this union. Henry T. Byford, who is the only surviving son, was born in 1853, in Evansville, Indiana. His brother, Dr. William H. Byford, Jr., who died in 1883, was, in his specialty, the foremost surgeon of Minneapolis.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.