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 50
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FRANCIS L. WADSWORTH, M.D.
CHICAGO, ILL.
IN our country's earliest history the name of Wadsworth is well known. Among the English immigrants sailing in 1640 in the ship Lyon, there landed at Plymouth and settled at Dukesbury, Massachusetts, three brothers, whose descendants are the Wadsworths, of Maine, Connecticut and New York. We all remember General P'eleg Wadsworth, to whom was allotted the town of Hiram, Maine, in recognition of his gallant service in the Revolutionary War ; Brig- adier-General William Wadsworth of the New York militia, who distinguished himself in the assault on Queenstown Heights in the war of 1812, and later, in the civil war, General James S. Wadsworth, one of the heroes who fell in the battle of the Wilderness. Such is the noble rec- ord and proud heritage in the family which for twenty years has been so worthily represented in our city in the person of Dr. Francis L. Wads- worth.
Born in Hiram, Oxford county, Maine, June 18, 1833, he was the son of John L. Wadsworth, a farmer and lumberman, and a man of great integ- rity and strength of character, from whom, doubt- less, he derived the sturdy excellence which charac. terized him. His mother, Mary Benton Wads-
worth, is the daughter of an old and eminent physician of Maine, and from this side, undoubt- edly, he inherited something of his taste for medicine.
Out of a family of nine children, four sisters and five brothers (of whom the youngest fell at Gettysburg), there remain bút two, a sister and a brother. The former, Bethiah, is the wife of WVm. H. Warren, of Norway, Maine, and the latter, Samuel D., formerly State Senator from Maine, now resides on the old homestead.
Dr. Wadsworth received his early education in the common schools and at the high school of his native town. At sixteen, with a sound basis of practical knowledge, he made a start in life by working as shop-boy in a wholesale and retail tailoring establishment, where he remained until 1857. He then came West " prospecting," traveled extensively, finally becoming associated with an Eastern publishing-house as Western traveling agent. He remained connected with publishing enterprises until 1866, when he settled in Chicago and began to study medicine.
There had always been a secret leaning to- ward the medical profession, and now, though beginning its study later than is common with
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successful physicians, he brought to it all the zest of one who has found his true vocation. In 1867 he entered, and in 1869 graduated from Rush Medical College. After graduation Dr. Wads- worth acted as assistant in the laboratory under the great chemist, Dr. James Van Zandt Blaney, and also assisted Dr. J. W. Freer in a series of very important experiments in investigative physi- ology phenomena by vivisection, etc. He was also adjunct professor of physiology and histology in Rush Medical College, from 1870 until 1880. In 1880 he assumed the chair of physiology and histology in the Woman's Medical College, serving until 1888, when he was appointed pro- fessor of the theory and practice of medicine, which position he held up to the time of his death-1891.
Dr. Wadsworth was physician in charge of St. Joseph's hospital, and a member of the Chicago Medical Society, and, among organizations of a social character, was prominently connected with the Union Club and the Historical Society.
In politics Dr. Wadsworth was always a Repub- lican, having cast his first vote for General John C. Fremont. Nevertheless he preferred principle to party. During the war he was a strong Abo- litionist, very active in local politics, and was well acquainted with Garrison, Phillips and John Brown.
Dr. Wadsworth was married in 1868 to Miss Nye, of Richmond, Indiana, who died a few years
later. She was a devoted mother and was of a thoroughly domestic nature.
In 1872 Dr. Wadsworth was married to Miss Sarah Robinson, daughter of Russell Robinson, Esq., of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and descendant of one of the old New England families. The doctor has two sons living, Charles Freer and Frank Russell,
Mrs. Wadsworth is especially devoted to the happiness and comfort of her home, although she is a woman of strong literary tastes, an extensive reader, and possessed of a decided talent for painting. She was interested and al- ways absorbed in the doctor's professional work and welfare, and was to him that rarest and best of gifts, a helpmate.
In speaking of the personal character of Dr. Wadsworth, we can pay no higher tribute to his worth than that contained in the hearty words and disinterested testimony of a contemporaneous and eminent physician: " Dr. Wadsworth is a thoroughly good, reliable, scientific man, who has the confidence of everybody, and attends rich and poor alike. There is but one side to his nature- he cannot be hired to do any wrong, and in short, ' He is an Israelite in whom there is no guile.' He was a painstaking student, and through sheer force of character, industry and ability has he gained wealth, friends and reputation and risen second to no man in the city, and one of the first physicians in Illinois."
GEORGE V. MASSEY,
DOVER, DEL.
T *HE selection of George V. Massey as a com- missioner of the World's Columbian Expo- sition was not only a commendable, but also a most natural one. Though a comparatively young man, he has had a wide range of experi- ences and brings to this honorable office, as to all his varied public and private trusts and interests, abilities of a very high order.
He is a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, and was born in 1841. He became a resident of Delaware in 1848. He received a thorough education, and fitted himself for the legal pro- fession, and in 1862 was admitted to the bar.
During the same year he enlisted in the First Regiment Delaware Volunteers, cavalry, and entered the Union service and served with dis- tinction as first lieutenant, and subsequently was attached to the adjutant-general's department with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He returned to Dover in 1864 and resumed his profession, and from that time to the present (1892) has devoted himself steadily to it, and for many years has held a leading place among the foremost lawyers of the Delaware bar. He is especially noted as a corporation lawyer, and is counsel for the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company, by which, as well as
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by other large corporate bodies, his advice and opinions are often sought. Mr. Massey has amassed a handsome fortune and is counted among the wealthy men of his city. He is a man of generous impulses, large-hearted, high- minded and charitable, and contributes liberally to all worthy causes and objects. He is a man of scholarly attainments, is well versed in general literature, and keeps himself in touch with the trend of current thought and events, and withal
is characterized by integrity of purpose and nobility of character. He has taken a commend- able part in the politics of his State, and in 1888 rendered efficient service in securing the remark- able Republican victory of that year, and himself lacked but one vote of being elected to the United States Senate. His election to that high office at a future time would be but a fitting recognition of his faithful service and splendid abilities.
WASHINGTON PORTER,
CHICAGO, ILL.
W ASHINGTON PORTER, one of the forty-five Directors of the World's Colum- bian Exposition, and a member of the Ways and Means Committee, was born in Boone county, Illinois, October 26, 1846. His parents, Thomas W., and Charlotte (Lane) Porter, immigrated from England about 1830, and settled, locating at Buffalo, New York, where the father engaged in merchandising. They came to Illinois in 1838 and bought a farm in Boone county, where they lived until the death of the husband and father, which occurred when he was seventy-nine years of age. Mrs. Porter died at the age of seventy-three. The couple had nine children, six boys and three girls, all of whom are now living excepting F. C., who died July 15, 1885, and Miss Anna, who died some years previous to the de- mise of her parents.
Washington Porter remained on the farm and went to school until he was sixteen, when he en- listed in Company B, Ninety-fifth Regiment Vol- unteers, infantry, and served as a private with General Grant in the West. He was in many hard-fought battles; among others, those of Champion Hills and the siege of Vicksburg, and underwent the hardships of the Red River Expe- dition. He was wounded in the shoulder by a
minie-ball at the battle of Guntown, Mississippi, which sent him to the hospital for a month. A furlough of sixty days was then given him, and upon his return he was placed on detached service at Memphis, where he remained until his term expired. In May, 1865, he was mustered out of service and returned to the home farm in Illinois.
The following winter he attended school in Belvi- dere and then began his successful business career.
He engaged in farming for three years and then purchased a business in Belvidere, which he sold, after conducting it one year, at a handsome profit. Prompted by a spirit of enterprise he went West, prospecting, and upon his return endeavored to organize a colony to locate in Kansas. The peo- ple were reluctant to invest in the enterprise and it was abandoned. The wisdom of the movement, as proposed by Mr. Porter, has since been well demonstrated in the fact that the city of Newton now stands where it was proposed to locate the colony.
During this time he and his brother, F. C. Porter, started a California fruit trade. They were the pioneers in this line, shipping the first full car of fruit in 1869, the year of the comple- tion of the transcontinental railroad. This busi- ness, which they began with a very small capital, has grown to enormous proportions, supporting branch houses in Omaha, Minneapolis and New York City, besides packing-houses in various towns and cities of California, with a main office in Chicago. The yearly increasing profit of their fruit trade has made them both wealthy. Janu- ary 1, 1885, the business was incorporated under the name of The Porter Brothers' Company, with Mr. Washington Porter as president, which office he still holds. It is the largest concern of its kind in the United States, if not in the world.
Mr. Porter was one of the most valuable mem- bers of the committee sent from Chicago to Washington to urge the advantages and claims of
Washington Parter
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the western metropolis as a site for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. He has the credit of having done the most effective work at that heated contest, and the earnest labor and un- tiring interest that he showed in advocating their cause will be long remembered by Chicagoans.
An extract from the letter of an eminent man says of him: "He remained at Washington nearly all last winter, at his own expense, in the interest of Chicago. It is impossible to estimate the value of his services in this connection. He did all that any one could do, and was specially fitted for the work in hand."
A prominent officer of the National Commis- sion writes: " It gives me great pleasure to say that from my personal knowledge, Mr. Porter ren- dered invaluable aid to Chicago in that memor- able contest. There were very few men who. did as effective service for Chicago as he. A prosper- ous man, with the suave and pleasant manners which he possesses, is bound to be a power in what- ever he undertakes, and I often heard Direc- tor-General Davis say last winter in Washington, during the great contest for the location of the World's Fair, that a man like Washington Porter, for good effective service, was worth a dozen ordi- nary men. For myself, there are very few men whom I know that I regard as highly."
From a. fellow-member of the Chicago Com- mittee : "I know Mr. Porter well ; he is one of the brightest business men that I have ever met. Public-spirited and well informed, he spent several weeks in Washington during the contest before Congress on the location of the World's Fair. He was earnest and untiring in his ad- vocacy of Chicago, and rendered valuable service. He should be gratefully remembered by Chicago for his efforts in securing the World's Fair."
Another, in speaking of Mr. Porter's efforts, said: "Mr. Porter was called to Washington early in December, and from that date until the final action of Congress, his time and services were freely given to the committee. His large and favorable acquaintance with the senators and members of congress of the Pacific States made his services valuable, and to him more than to any other member of the committee Chicago is in- debted for the favorable action and practically unanimous vote of the senators and congressmen of the Pacific Coast. In all the work of the com- mittee in Washington he was at all times zealous and effective, and all his friends in this city thoroughly appreciate his invaluable services."
A well-known and able Congressman writes : " Without detracting one jot from others on the committee to secure the World's Fair, I can say, without fear of contradiction, that the claims of Chicago were presented by no one more ably and zealously than by Mr. Porter. His genial man- ner, his terse business way of talking, coupled with his great knowledge of the country and his love for Chicago, made many converts. He en- listed me long before the session commenced; his personal friend for years, I made his cause mine. Chicago owes him a debt of gratitude, which I know she will delight to repay. Too much honor cannot be given him."
Mr. Porter has made heavy investments in real estate, and owns some of the choicest and most desirable property in the city.
He is a member of several of the most promi- nent clubs of the city ; he is also a member of the Masonic fraternity. His travels abroad have been very extensive. A charm of manner, together with a world-wide knowledge, make him a man to command the respect of all who know him.
HON. THOMAS M. WALLER,
NEW LONDON, CONN.
T' HE name of the gentleman who heads this sketch is not only familiar to all of the citizens of his own State, but no man is more widely and favorably known throughout the United States than the Hon. Thomas M. Waller, of Connecticut. He is fifty-two years old, and was born in New
York City. At an early age he removed to New London, Connecticut, where he received his edu- cation, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1862. He attained a leading position in his pro- fession in his State ; his practice became very ex- tensive in both the State and Federal courts, and
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while he is celebrated as a brilliant advocate of great power, he is also very learned in the law, and in the circle of his practice at the bar he is as much admired for his legal acumen as for the remarkable gift of oratory which has given him a world-wide fame.
Mr. Waller was elected Mayor of New London two terms of two years cach, and was elected to the State Legislature four times. In 1870 he was made Secretary of State and Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1876, and Governor of the State in 1884, serving two years. He was renominated by his party, receiving a plurality of votes, but the law requiring a majority, his oppo- nent was elected by the Legislature. Mr. Waller ably represented this country as Consul-General
to London under President Cleveland, who, it will be remembered, received Mr. Waller's sup- port in the Chicago convention that nominated President Cleveland, in one of the most effective, cloquent and telling speeches made in that con- vention. Governor Waller is first vice-president of the World's Columbian Commission, and the case, dignity and grace with which he presides over the deliberations of that body prove that the selection was wisely made.
He is married, and in politics a Democrat ; his star is still rising. At present he is a member of the firm of Waller, Cook & Wagner, 15 Wall street, corporation attorneys. Mr. Cook, his part- ner, is the author of "Cook on Corporations," a work of acknowledged authority on corporations.
ABRAM M. ROTHSCHILD,
CHICAGO, ILL.
IN the German village of Nordstetten, which the novelist Berthold Auerbach, whose birth- place it was, has glorified with the light of his genius, Abram M. Rothschild was born, in 1853. There he spent his carlier years until 1866, when he came to America, going direct to Davenport, Iowa, where he joined his eldest brother, Eman- uel, who had established himself there several years before. At first he worked in his brother's store, and to such good use did he put his ener- gies that in 1867, at the age of seventeen, he was admitted as a partner to the firm, which then became E. Rothschild & Brothers.
During the time he was laying the foundation for his future business career, he was also industri- ously supplementing the education he received in the little German village from which he had come, by attending the night schools in Daven- port. Notwithstanding the difficulties under which he labored, he proved himself an apt and progressive student, and soon succeeded in obtain- ing a thorough common school education. In 1871, when Chicago lay in ruins, Mr. Rothschild and his brothers, foreseeing clearly the wonderful success to which the Garden City must soon at- tain, resolved to, and did open a branch of their business here in connection with the one in Davenport. Their confidence in Chicago, partic-
ularly as a manufacturing and business center, grew with their business successes, and accord- ingly, in 1875, the firm of E. Rothschild & Broth- ers withdrew altogether from the retail business, and began the manufacture and sale of clothing on an extensive scale. In 1875 Mr. Rothschild left Davenport, and taking up his residence per- manently in Chicago, at once devoted himself with characteristic energy and enthusiasm to the development of the business.
The large building on Madison street, near Market, soon became too cramped, and accord- ingly the firm took a lcase of more commodious quarters on Wabash avenue. These, too, soon proved inadequate, and in 1881 the firm moved to its own immense double building at 203 and 205 East Monroe street, where it has continued its successful development. It is not so much of the wonderful growth from a retail business in Davenport to a great jobbing and manufacturing concern doing a business of several million dol- lars a year, that Mr. Rothschild is, as he has rea- son to be, so proud, but more of the high financial and commercial standing which his house has attained with the business public, its popularity with its trade competitors and its thousands of customers throughout the country. To this growth Mr. Rothschild has in no small degrec
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contributed. His executive capacity, his tireless energy, his remarkable enthusiasm, have placed him in the front rank of the progressive business men of a most progressive city, while his loyalty, his genuineness and his straightforward manliness have made him friends everywhere.
In addition to his partnership in the firm of E. Rothschild & Brothers, Mr. Rothschild has nu- merous other business interests of magnitude. He organized and is president of the Palace Clothing Company, a corporation which has the leading establishment in Minneapolis, Kansas City and other places. He is also a director and officer in several large local corporations, and on July 13, 1891, he was elected vice-president of the Na- tional Bank of the Republic, a new institution, with a capital of a million dollars. In March, 1891, Mr. Rothschild was chosen to occupy a director's chair on the board of the World's Columbian Exposition, and holds important com- mitteeships, to which he brings a mind well stored with valuable information gained by his broad business experience and enriched by exten- sive travel, both in Europe and America. Mr. Rothschild is a member of the Standard Club
and other social organizations, also of Sinai Con- gregation and several charitable aid societies.
In December, 1882, Mr. Rothschild was mar- ried to Miss Gusta Morris, daughter of Mr. Nel- son Morris, one of America's most successful men. The couple are blessed with one child- Melville Nelson Rothschild.
Although Mr. Rothschild is a native of Ger- many, he is nevertheless distinctively and thor- oughly American. In love for this country and its institutions there is no one who exceeds him, and he is devoted in the discharge of his duties as a citi- zen. Such is the biography of a man who began the struggle for existence with nothing but health, ambition and energy. From them and the honorable principles which have been his guides have come that success which has given him the name of a great merchant. With a repu- tation for the highest possible integrity, a record of splendid successes, an ample fortune, a large and increasing business, a warm circle of devoted friends, and above all, a happy home, Mr. Roth- schild stands, at thirty-eight, a public-spirited citi- zen worthy of the high place he occupies among the representative men of a great community.
STEPHEN A. REYNOLDS,
CHICAGO, ILL.
T HE gentleman whose name heads this sketch is one of the most prominent of the younger members of the Chicago bar. He is distin- guished for his ability to analyze a case, for un- tiring devotion to his clients' cause, and for a quickness of perception that is unusual. As a speaker he is convincing, ready and not easily surprised, and is noted for clearness of statement and facility of logical and concise expression. Having a high sense of professional honor, he never knowingly misstates a fact or proposition of law, and as a consequence, courts place great re- liance upon his arguments. Mr. Reynolds was born July 6, 1849, in Waukesha County, Wiscon- sin, and is the son of Edward H. and Olive (Bid- well) Reynolds.
Stephen A. removed with his parents in 1856 to Belvidere, Illinois, where he attended the pub- lic schools, and in 1868 he entered the University
of Illinois, at Champaign, and was graduated from that institution in 1872. He read law at Belvi- dere, and was admitted to the bar in 1875.
He was elected a Justice of the Peace in Boone County, Ill., in 1873, holding that office three years. He came to Chicago in 1876, and entered at once into a successful practice of the law. He resides at Jefferson, and in 1883 was elected Vil- lage Clerk of that place, which position he held two years. He was elected to the Illinois Legis- lature in 1886, and served with great credit to himself two terms. He was an industrious mem- ber, and was on the Judiciary Committee and also on the committees on Municipal Corporations, Penitentiaries, Drainage, Geology and Science. He was identified with several important measures, and was chiefly instru- mental in pushing through the late law on banks and banking. In social life Mr. Reynolds
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is genial and companionable, warm in his attach- ments and firm in his friendships ; a gentleman liberal in all his views, and of culture and refine- ment, a pleasing conversationalist, and always the
life of the social circle, and he can express his views forcibly and elegantly when the occasion requires. He was married May 6, 1876, to Miss Delia Filmore.
HENRY EXALL,
DALLAS, TEY.
T HE subject of this sketch was born at Rich- mond, Virginia, August 30, 1848. His father is Rev. George G. Exall, a Baptist minister, well known in Virginia and the South, who moved from England when but a child. His paternal grandfather was an English astronomer and divine of considerable renown. His mother is Angy E. (Pierce) Exall, daughter of Joseph Pierce, who was a shipbuilder of Philadelphia, and the repre- sentative of a family long prominent in naval construction in this country. Both branches of his family have an ancient and honorable lineage that extends to a very early period in American and English history. Mr. Exall's carly educa- tion, interrupted when he was thirteen years of age by the civil war, was acquired at his father's academy. Two years later his strong Southern sympathies made him a soldier in the cause. Hc was the boy of his brigade, but his brave and brilliant soldiership marked him even then as the child of destined success. At the battle of Ream's Station his brigade commander presented him with a sword in recognition of his gallant services.
At the close of the war he studied law, but very soon abandoned it for the wider and more active field of commercial life. In 1867 he moved from Virginia to Kentucky, where he engaged in merchandising and the manufacture of woolen goods. In 1869 he was married to Miss Emma Warner, of Owensboro, Kentucky. Three child- ren were born to them, all of whom died when quite young, and in 1875 his wife also died. In 1877 business affairs brought him on a visit to Texas. When he surveyed the great possibilities of the grand State, for whose industrial develop- ment he was to do so much, he determined to sever his ties of residence with old Kentucky and become a Texan. He has represented the State of Texas at conventions of cattlemen, bankers'
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