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 44
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churches many a poor, struggling church has found in Arthur Dixon a friend in need. For many (over twenty-eight) years he has been a teacher of a Bible class in the Sabbath School of the First Church, and out from that class, and from his instructions men have gone into leading positions in the Methodist Church in Chicago, and through the country. It is not an uncom- mon thing to find men in all parts of the country who attribute the highest impulse of their lives to
the instruction they received in his Bible class. Perhaps the best evidence of Mr. Dixon's Chris- tian character and influence is found in his own home, where a large family of sons and daughters love him dearly and have the faith of their father by their association and work in the Methodist Church. If, as some one has said, 'the best evi- dence of a man's Christian character is what his children think of his Christianity,' then is Arthur Dixon an honored Christian."
EDWARD WILLIAM RUSSELL,
CHICAGO, ILL.
A MONG the lawyers who began practicing at the Chicago bar in the early years of its history as a city, many found it more profitable to confine themselves largely to an office practice than to engage in the active litigation of causes. While it has followed that lawyers of this class have achieved as much professional distinction, they have received less professional notoriety than some of their contemporaries.
The jury lawyer who successfully conducts his client through the uncertain mazes of litigation, always achieves greater notoriety than his col- league who devotes himself to that branch of practice which is designed to keep clients out of court; but the latter is, perhaps, the more useful public servant of the two, and deserves no less honorable mention. One of the noted lawyers of this class is Edward William Russell, who set- tled in Chicago in 1858, and for thirty-three years has been a practicing attorney of the Chi- cago bar.
Mr. Russell was born in Sunderland, Franklin county, Massachusetts, July 2, 1834, of pure Puritan stock. He is the son of William W. and Lucretia (Delano) Russell. His mother was a direct descendant of John and Priscilla Alden, made famous in song by Longfellow. On his father's side, among the earliest ances tors in this country, was the Rev. John Rus- sell, the first Congregational minister who settled in Hadley, Massachusetts. His father was a farmer, and the lad had the training usual to farm life, "being a boy" of the genuine New England stamp of those days, alternating his work
on the farm with the studies in the district school, enjoying, however, some additional educational advantages, as a result of which we find him, at the age of seventeen, graduating from Williston Seminary, of East Hampton, Massachusetts. From the age of seventeen to twenty he taught school, and at the same time devoted his leisure to reading law. He afterward continued his law studies in the office of Messrs. Wilcox & Gray, at Detroit, Michigan, where he was admitted to the bar in 1858. During the same year he re- moved to Chicago, with the view of making it his permanent home. In 1861 he formed a co- partnership with Francis S. Howe Esq., then a. highly esteemed member of the bar, under the firm name of Howe & Russell. This firm maintained an honorable and prominent position at the Chicago bar, until it was dissolved by the death of Mr. Howe, in 1878, since which time Mr. Russell has practiced law without a partner, devoting his energies to corporation and real estate law, and acting as counsel. For years he has been the general counsel for the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank and several other large corporations.
Mr. Russell was married in St. James Church, Chicago, June, 1864, to Miss Maria Jesup, of Albany, New York. The union has been blessed with two daughters and one son.
In politics Mr. Russell is a staunch Republican, though never an office-holder nor an office-seeker. He is one of those men who is wedded to his pro- fession. "The law," says an old maxim, "is an exacting mistress, and he who would become one
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of her votaries must give her all his time and at- tention." This seems to be the view which Mr. Russell has taken of his profession, and he has devoted himself diligently and assiduously to the duties of active practice.
Mr. Russell is an able advocate, a lawyer who
knows the law, and a counselor who advises clients carefully and conscientiously. He is not less es- teemed as a citizen of Chicago than as a member of the bar, and his kindly impulses and charming cor- diality of manner have made him popular among all classes of people.
HENRY HOWEY SHUFELDT,
CHICAGO, ILL.
THE subject of this sketch was born in Dutchess county, New York, March 30, 1834. His father, George A. Shufeldt, was an Admiralty lawyer in New York City, whose ancestors were Hanoverians who came to this country in 1702, and were granted lands on the Hudson river by Queen Anne. His mother was the daughter of an English elergyman who came to this country in 1783, and whose grandfather was for fifty-four years in charge of one church in Wooler, Northumberland, England. The grand- father of Mr. Shufeldt was intimately associated, after coming to this country, with Chancellor Liv- ingston, and his mother was a child-companion of the distinguished Chancellor. She died at the age of ninety-six. At the last interview of this son with his mother, in reply to the question, " Do you remember Robert Fulton?" she said : "I sat on the lap of Chancellor Livingston when Robert Fulton made the contract with him re- garding the running of the first steamboat on the Hudson river."
Mr. Shufeldt was educated in the common schools of his native county, and afterward went through the grammar school of Columbia Col- lege, then in charge of Charles Anthon, and the Kingston Academy in Ulster county, in which his father had been prepared for Union College, of which the distinguished Doctor Nott was then president. An inclination for the sea, inherited from an ancestry of sailors and naval people, was fostered by the reading of Marryat's sea novels, and at the age of sixteen, in the year 1850, he went to sea. Between the years 1850 and 1857 he made seventy voyages to the West Indies as sailor and navigating officer, one voyage around the world and several across the Atlantic. Hc was in China during the great Taeping Rebellion
and was shut up for a number of months in the Yang-tse-Kiang river during the siege of Shanghai. A brother of his is the present Admiral Shufeldt of the United States navy, who was instrumental in securing the Corean treaty with China, which no other power had been able to do.
In the last month of the year 1857 Mr. Shufeldt settled in Chicago and has remained there ever since. In 1858 he went into the distilling busi- ness, and the well-known firm of 11. H. Shufeldt & Company has from that time, without change of name, been one of the leading houses of that branch of business in the country. The relations of this great house with the United States govern- ment have always been of the most honorable character, and it has paid in taxes to the govern- ment, without attempt at evasion, some eighty million dollars. Mr. Shufeldt retired from active business in June, 1891.
In 1859 Mr. Shufeldt married Miss Emeline Egan, a daughter of William B. Egan, a physi- cian, whose name is prominently associated with the history of Chicago, and who is rement- bered by many of its older residents. By this union Mr. Shufeldt has three children, all married-one daughter living at Seattle, on the Pacific coast, another in New York City and one son living in Chicago.
In religion and politics Mr. Shufeldt is a man of liberal and independent views. As a citizen, while entertaining enlightened views on public questions, he is in no respect a partisan.
Socially, Mr. Shufeldt is one of the most cordial and engaging of men. His elegant city residence and his beautiful country seat at Oconomowoc, where he delights to spend his summers, are open to a wide and generous hospitality. In business he is sagacious and enterprising, as the great
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success of the house that bears his name attests. His business methods have been a model which other houses have sought to imitate. In his relation to employés and customers he is sym- pathetic and makes their interests his own. He
is always ready to espouse the cause of any one who has any claim on him whatever, and there is no doubt that his success and popularity have been largely owing to this warm personal interest he takes in the success and welfare of others.
WILLIAM LAW, JR.
CHICAGO, ILL.
A MONG the names of distinguished members of the Chicago bar, that of William Law, Jr., is conspicuous. He was born on January 31, 1841, in Hancock county, Illinois. He is the son of Dr. William Law, now a retired physician of prominence of Shullsburg, Wisconsin.
His parents came from the North of Ireland and settled in Shullsburg, where William received his elementary education from a private tutor, and continued his studies in the Plattsville Academy.
In 1859 he commenced the study of law, the practice of which was to be his life profession. He entered the office of Messrs. Higber & Law, at Shullsburg, and later pursued his studies with Mr. Oscar Taylor, in Freeport, Illinois. In January, 1861, he entered the office of the late Hon. Jas. H. Knowlton, a lawyer eminent at the Chicago bar, under whose preceptorship he com- pleted his course of study. He was admitted to the bar in 1862, and immediately commenced the practice of his profession.
In 1864 he located in Boisé City, the capital of Idaho Territory, where he was actively engaged in most of the important litigation of the Idaho courts during his residence there, and was for some time clerk of the United States District Court and also for a while Acting United States Attorney. He returned to Chicago in 1866, and his career at the Chicago bar has been marked with ability. His practice has been general and extended to all of the courts, and while it has not been confined to any one branch of law, still his experience in corporation law has brought him in prominent connection with some of the most important cases of corporation litigation in the history of Chicago. He was county attorney for two years, which position he filled to the satisfaction of the community.
He is at present (1892) a director in and the legal advisor of the Northwestern Masonic Aid Association of Chicago, and he is very prominent in Masonic circles. He was created a Mason in 1867, in Ashlar Lodge, No. 308, A. F. and A. M. He has reached the thirty-second degree of Masonry. He is a member of Montjoie Com- mandery, K. T., and a life-member of the Oriental Consistory.
In social circles he is much esteemed. He is a member of the Home and Harvard clubs of Englewood, and of the Sunset Club of Chicago. He is also a prominent member of the La Salle Club, and was at one time vice-president of it.
In politics he is a staunch and zealous advocate of Democratic principles. He always takes an active interest in politics, and he has always, both by voice and pen, endeavored to assist his party during its campaigns.
In 1868 he married Miss Kate Zimmerman, a daughter of Henry W. Zimmerman, one of Chicago's pioneer settlers. They have one daughter, named Genevieve, a young lady of fifteen, who is quite accomplished.
Mr. Law has four brothers and one sister. T. J. Law, one of his brothers, is an ex-judge of Lafayette County Court and editor and proprietor of the Peck and Gad. He is well and favorably known throughout the state of Wisconsin. An- other brother, Dr. John Law, is an eminent physician of Leadville, Colorado, and another is a merchant in Darlington, Wisconsin. His only sister is the wife of Mr. George W. Douglass, president of the Shullsburg (Wis.) Bank.
Mr. Law is an able, well-read attorney, and dis- criminating in his practice. He is considered an eloquent advocate and reliable counselor. He is honorable and honest in his professional advice, consulting the interests of his clients, and is noted
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for his devotion to those who intrust their affairs to him. He commands the respect of the courts, and the confidence and esteem of his fellows.
He is of dignified carriage and of commanding presence, and has fine, clear-cut features and a striking personality. His mind has been stored with useful knowledge, which he has culled from
observation and from contact with many different people as well as from study. He is an interest- ing conversationalist and always courteous and affable. With a character above reproach, an ambitious nature, and having the courage of his convictions, he is loved by his friends and hon- ored by all who know him.
JASON H. SHEPARD,
CHICAGO, ILL.
ASON H. SHEPARD was born on October J 15, 1838, at Cleveland, O. He was reared and educated in that vicinity, and resided there until his twenty-fifth year, when he removed to Chicago. After obtaining a thorough common- school education, at the age of sixteen he began his business career by teaching school. Two years later he embarked on the sea of mercantile life by entering as clerk the supply store of the Cleve- land Rolling Mill Company, located at Newburg, a suburb of Cleveland.
He became their chief clerk, and also at one time had entire charge of the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company's supply store, thus showing that even in his very young days Mr. Shepard was looked upon as a young man deserving of confi- dence, and also as one capable of having control of the executive branches of a large mercantile business. To show that they appreciated his en- deavors to attend to their best interests, they ten- dered him the position of bookkeeper and cashier for the Union Rolling Mill Company, of Chicago, now the Illinois Steel Company, an offshoot of the Cleveland corporation. He accepted the position and entered upon his new duties in Chi- cago in 1863.
In 1868 he resigned, and entered into copart- nership with John Dolese, establishing the paving and quarrying business of Dolese & Shepard. To show how suceessful the partnership has been, one has merely to state that the firm is acknowl- edged by all acquainted in that line of business to be undoubtedly the best known on this conti- nent ; and the name of the firm will survive in memory long after the natural term of life of the present partners has expired, as their work on the boulevards and drives of Chicago will be remem-
bered and spoken of long after the present gener- ation lies underneath the sod.
Mr. Shepard has charge of the contracting and financial part of the business, whilst his partner attends to the execution of the contracts.
Mr. Shepard is prominently known in financial and commercial circles, and enjoys the very high- est reputation for honesty and integrity. He is a member of the Calumet, Washington Park and Union League clubs.
He is a member of Hesperia Lodge, No. 411, A. F. and A. M., and of Chevalier Bayard Com- mandery, No. 52, K. T. He was reared in the State of Ohio, aptly called by an eloquent histo- rian, " the lap of patriotism and the mother of Re- publicanism ;" he has followed the teachings of his father, and is prominently known asa staunch Republican. He has never desired a political position, but he has been brought prominently be- fore the citizens as an available candidate for the mayoralty, but made no effort for the nomination. His father was a lieutenant in the Sixth Ohio Vol- unteer Cavalry, and spent eighteen months of the war enduring the suffering and cruelty of the Southern military prisons ; his brother was one of the first to respond to Lincoln's call and enlisted in the same regiment upon the call for ninety- day men ; he afterward re-enlisted for the balance of the war.
On December 16, 1868, Mr. Shepard was mar- ried to Miss Margaret M. Taylor, of Portland, Me. They have two children-Henri Elias and Laura Janet.
Mr. Shepard is a most courteous gentleman, a man of prepossessing appearance, dignified and commanding, sought by men of culture for his social qualities and gentlemanly bearing, respected
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in the community, and at the helm of a most prosperous business ; he is another picture of
what honesty and integrity combined with fore- sight and grit have done for a number of men.
HON. CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW, LL.D.
NEW YORK.
C HAUNCEY M. DEPEW, Commissioner of the World's Columbian Exposition, was born in Peekskill, New York, April 3, 1834. His father, Isaac Depew, was a prominent citizen of Peeks- kill, and his mother, born Martha Mitchell, was a lady of marked personal beauty and fine accom- plishments, and a member of a New England family whose most illustrious representative was Roger Sherman, one of the signers of the Decla- ration of Independence, she being a granddaughter of the Rev. Josiah Sherman, the brother of Roger. Her father, Chauncey R. Mitchell, was a distinguished lawyer, and famous for his elo- quence. Her mother, Ann Johnston, was a daughter of Judge Robert Johnston, of Putnam county, who was Senator and Judge for many years, and owned Lake Mahopac, and much of the country thereabouts. Mr. Depew's remote ancestors were French Huguenots, who quit the inhospitable land of their nativity about the time of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, and were of those who founded New Rochelle, Westchester county, New York, in honor of La Rochelle, France, which their Huguenot progeni- tors had defended with dauntless courage against the assaults of their persecutors. The family settled in Peekskill two hundred years ago, and the farm purchased at that time still belongs to them. Mr. Depew's boyhood was spent in his native village, and here he was prepared for col- lege. He was known as an apt scholar, as a leader among his fellows, and as giving unmistakable promise of future brilliancy and usefulness. At the age of eighteen he entered Yale, and in 1856 was graduated with one of the first honors of his class. The year of his graduation was signalized in a political way by the organization of the Re- publican party, and his first vote for President of the United States was cast for John C. Fremont. In 1860 he took the stump for Abraham Lincoln for president, and during the campaign addressed many large and enthusiastic audiences in the Ninth
Congressional District, and in other parts of New York where he was best known, and was hailed with delight wherever he went. In 1861 Mr. Depew was nominated for the Assembly in the Third Westchester County District, and although the Democrats were largely in the ascendant in the county, and hopeful of the district, he was elected by a majority of two hundred and fifty-nine, a high compliment to his personal popularity. He was re-elected in 1862, and his name was prom- inently associated with the Speakership. He was made Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, was part of the time Speaker pro tem., and was honored as but few legislators of his experi- ence and years are ever honored.
Mr. Depew was chosen by the Republican party as its candidate for Secretary of State, and the campaign was an exciting one. Mr. Depew took the aggressive from the start, and led his forces with consummate skill and with an energy and dash that carried consternation into the ranks of the enemy. At the close of the contest he had reversed the decision of 1862 and was proclaimed the victor by a majority of 30,000. In this can- vass, Mr. Depew displayed prodigious power of endurance. He discharged the duties of his office with credit to himself and honor to the State ; and upon the expiration of his term, was tendered a renomination by his party, which he unhesitat- ingly declined. When Andrew Johnson succeeded to the Presidency of the United States, and before he broke with the party which had associated his name with that of Abraham Lincoln and elevated him to power, he selected Mr. Depew for the post of Collector of the Port of New York, and had proceeded in the business so far as to make out the commission; but becoming incensed against Mr. Edwin D. Morgan, then one of the Senators from New York, because of that gentleman's refusal to sustain his veto of the Civil Rights Bill, he tore up Mr. Depew's credentials, and never sent his name to the Senate for confirmation.
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Still later, in the same administration, the Secretary of State, William H. Seward, appointed Mr. Depew United States Minister to Japan, and for a time he was disposed to accept ; but after hold- ing his commission for four weeks Mr. Depew declined the office, with the determination to withdraw from political life.
In 1866 Mr. Depew was appointed the attorney for the New York & Harlem Railroad Company, and in 1869, when this company was consolidated with the New York Central, and became the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company, with Commodore Vanderbilt at its head, Mr. Depew was made the attorney of the new organ- ization, and was afterward elected a member of its Board of Directors. As the influence of the Vanderbilts extended, and one road after another was brought under their management, the range of Mr. Depew's official jurisdiction became corre- spondingly wider, and in 1875 he was promoted to be general counsel for the entire Vanderbilt system, and elected to a directorship in cach of the lines comprising it, in which, in addition to the New York Central & Hudson River, arc included the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, Michigan Central, Chicago & North-western, St. Paul & Omaha, West Shore and Nickel Plate Railroads. In 1872 he permitted the use of his name as a candidate for Lieutenant-Governor on the Liberal-Republican, or Greely, ticket ; but his party was unsuccessful, and he shared its fate. In 1874 he was the choice of the Legislature for Re- gent of the State University, and was also ap- pointed one of the commissioners to build the Capitol at Albany.
On the 4th of March, 1881, James A. Garfield was inaugurated President of the United States, and on the 16th of May following, the Hon. Roscoe Conkling and the Hon. Thos. C. Platt, United States Senators from New York, resigned their seats in the Senate ; the former for the term to expire March 3, 1885, and the latter to close March 3, 1887. Soon after the organization of the Cabinet it became evident that there was to be trouble between the President and the senior Senator from New York ; and as time passed the President's attitude toward Mr. Conkling became intolerable to the Senator, while on the other hand Mr. Conkling's bearing toward the President was not even remotely suggestive of submission
or concession. Mr. Platt shared in the feelings and convictions of his colleague and the resigna- tion of both was the outcome of this disagree- ment. Mr. Conkling had long been the leader of the Republican party in the Senate and in the State he had so ably represented; and the an- nouncement of his withdrawal from the Senate had a bewildering effect upon the party through- out the whole country. Governor Cornell advised the Legislature of the resignation of the Senators, and on the 31st of May the two houses balloted separately for their successors. The Republicans had a majority in each House, and after the first ballot went into joint convention. Mr. Depew was pressed into the lists by many of the most influential men in the Republican party, and yielded reluctant assent to the use of his name. He was regarded by his friends as the man above all others worthy to succeed Mr. Conkling, if Mr. Conkling could not be his own successor; and it was deemed practicable to present him for Mr. Platt's unexpired term, which had two years longer to run. The first ballot for a Senator to succeed Mr. Platt was distributed amongst eighteen candidates. In the ballot under consid- eration, Mr. Depew divided the honors with Mr. Platt, who had been elected by this same Legisla- ture, and led Governor Cornell handsomely. The Republicans had held no caucus, and now went into joint convention without formal consultation or agreement. On the second joint ballot, Mr. Depew tied Mr. Platt ; on the third, he led him by two; on the seventh, he forged gallantly ahead to the tune of sixteen; on the tenth, he led him by twenty-six, and on the fourteenth he moved readily away from his strongest competitor by twenty-nine, leaving all the others to bring up the rear with but a feeble showing of speed or strength. On the nineteenth ballot Mr. Depew only lacked ten votes of an election, and on the thirty-fourth this record was repeated ; other ballots carricd him very near to the goal. His friends stood by him with unflagging loyalty, and in such numbers as to demonstrate beyond all question that he was the man for the occasion, and the choice of a majority of his party's representatives. On the ninth ballot he had a majority of three over all the other candidates; on the tenth, seven ; and, finally, when a caucus was held and a candidate nominated, the entire caucus only numbered
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