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 8
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The London Times, though at first unfriendly and constantly prejudiced, candidly admitted, after witnessing its practical operation in the field before the World's Fair jury, that the value of the McCormick reaper was equal to the entire cost of the exhibition.
Mr. McCormick's triumph was now complete. Honors showered in upon him, and both fame and fortune were at his command, and yet he remained always the same modest, unassuming man.
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In 1855 the reaper was exhibited at the Uni- versal Exposition of Paris, and here it obtained the Grand Prize. In the Great World's Fair in London, in 1862, it received the highest award. Twelve years later it was again exhibited at the Exposition held in Paris, and was awarded this time, not only the Grand Prize, but its inventor was decorated by the Emperor with the Cross of the Legion of Honor-an honor, we need hardly say, bestowed upon few. We can not in a work of this nature particularize fully the many rewards which the McCormick reaper subsequently re- ceived, for they were so many and so varied that their mere enumeration would require more space than we have at present at our disposal. Though at first hampered by a lack of capital, and isolated from centers of communication and trade, and also opposed by the ignorance of the laboring classes, who feared the introduction of labor- saving machinery, and consequently were bitter in their opposition, Mr. McCormick overcame every obstacle. His untiring energy and great adminis- trative ability surmounted every impediment, and although Congress at first refused to grant him just patent protection, he eventually established his claim thereto, and in the argument before the Commissioner of Patents, Hon. Reverdy Johnson remarked : "The McCormick reaper has already contributed an annual income to the whole coun- try of over $55,000,000, which must increase through all time;" while the testimony of Hon. Wm. H. Seward was that, "owing to Mr. Mc- Cormick's invention, the line of civilization moves westward thirty miles each year." Words such as these have no uncertain meaning. They are authoritative, definite, explicit, and are a glow- ing tribute to him whose benefactions to the industrial world cannot be too highly estimated, nor are they capable of being overstated. In 1878 Mr. McCormick visited Paris for the third time, and there received for his reaping and self- binding machine a Grand Prize of the Exposition, and the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor was also conferred on him in recognition of his " having done more for the cause of agriculture than any other living man," at this time being also elected a Corresponding Member of the French Academy of Sciences. These honors but confirmed the opinion already expressed by two of his country's most famous statesmen
with regard to his invention and the utility thereof.
The great fire of 1871 consumed, amongst the many other large buildings, the McCormick Works in this city. But the smoke of its embers had barely died away before Mr. McCormick com- menced to rebuild. To-day the plant is the larg- est, in output, of its kind in the world, covering, as it does, twenty-four acres (including grounds) ; over 1,500 men are employed therein, and the yearly manufacture now amounts to more than 100,000 machines. They are in use in every sec- tion of the civilized world, and in fact the sun never sets without a McCormick reaper having been at work in some harvest field or meadow in some quarter of the earth. Such is the result of an invention which, beyond a doubt, revolutionized the industrial world, and made its inventor one of the foremost men of the present century-a century which has produced so many great men and so many wonderful inventions.
Married in 1858 to Miss Nettie Fowler, daugh- ter of Melzar Fowler, Esq., of Jefferson county, New York, he was blessed with a family of four sons and three daughters, two of whom, a son and daughter, died in infancy.
Always to the front, and foremost in all good works, he took a keen interest in matters of a religious and educational nature. In 1859, at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, held at Indianapolis, Mr. McCormick offered to endow the professorships of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary of the Northwest, provided the Seminary was located at Chicago. These conditions being gratefully accepted by the Assembly, the institution was accordingly estab- lished in this city, and since its foundation here has proved to be an immense power for good, while its influence in promoting the cause of Christianity throughout the great Northwest can probably never be justly estimated, for its value is incalculable. In addition to the original grant, Mr. McCormick subsequently contributed to it numerous other large donations from time to time, and to-day it stands forth as a fitting monu- ment to him who had its interests so much at heart, and to whose princely liberality it owes its existence.
Further evidence of his great interest in relig- ious and educational work was his purchase in
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1872 of the Interior, a paper established in this city to represent the Presbyterian Church, but which had become financially weak, and was struggling with financial difficulties, out of which it seemed unable to extricate itself. To advance the interests of the Theological Seminary, to promote the welfare of the denomination gen- erally throughout the Northwest, and to foster the union between the Old and New schools, Mr. McCormick, at the solicitation of many friends, purchased it, and under his direction the Interior became a journal of vast influence, and financially strong.
A liberal contributor to two of the colleges of his native State (including those located in Lexington and Hamden-Sidney), during the whole of his lifetime he bore in affectionate re- membrance the State of Virginia, in which he was born, and was ever most loyal and mindful of her best interests.
Of his administrative ability and wonderful business capacity we have already spoken ; and it was undoubtedly great, for amidst the various labor agitations and conflicts of the last few years there has been but little trouble amongst the workmen at the McCormick Works. Professional labor agitators, combined with external pernicious influence, however, threatened at one time to sow the seeds of discord amongst an otherwise united and satisfied body of men. It resulted, however, in little or no good to the originators thereof, for such was Mr. McCormick's regard for justice being done his fellow-man, and such his liberality to those who served for him, faithfully, that his men had a genuine regard for him, and this was signalized upon more occasions than one, and in such a manner as to leave no doubt as to the sponta- neous nature of their feelings toward him and his family. In all his career he was characterized by firmness, promptness and decision, and by his un- swerving fidelity to the right, and his frank, fair dealings, he failed not in impressing upon all with whom he had to do, the genuineness and worth of his own manhood; while in his character he also combined those qualities of heart and mind that rendered him deservedly popular and secured to him the warm friendship of all who knew him. Of him it may in truth be said, that the two principal controlling points in his life were un- swerving integrity and kindly humanity.
Toward the close of his life Mr. McCormick suffered considerably. His magnificent intellect, however, never faltered, and to the last he re- mained the active head of the great company which he had organized and so successfully devel- oped, and which to-day still bears his name. He is said to have remarked upon one occasion, when discussing the advisability of retiring from active work at a certain age: "I know of no better place for a man to die than in the harness." And thus, as if to give point to his words, his wish was fulfilled, and he died as he had wished to- " in the harness."
Such a career as that of Cyrus H. McCormick benefits not only those who live during his time, but it also produces beneficial influences upon the young of future generations. An analysis of his life work by the youth of any age will certainly stimulate the most thoughtful and energetic to exert themselves to parallel his record. Cyrus H. McCormick was possessed of most of those traits of character that assure men of success in business life and endear their names to those with whom they are brought into contact. He was honored, not only in social circles, but. also by those who labored for him in minor capaci- ties.
His death took place May 13, 1884. The city of Chicago has ofttimes been called upon to la- ment the death of many of those who had been numbered amongst its most esteemed and re- spected citizens-many of those who had been pioneers in the work of its foundation and large contributors to the various enterprises which had aided in creating for this city the reputation she has for many years enjoyed and so fully main- tained. Yet we question very much whether the death of any citizen of this great city was ever so generally regretted as that of the late Cyrus Hall McCormick. His death was not only a great loss to this city, but by his decease the United States of America lost one of its great- est inventors, one of the most enlightened bene- factors, and a man whom the present century may be justly proud of having produced and en- couraged.
In the city of Chicago the evidences of sorrow in the hearts of the multitude that congregated to pay their last tribute to his memory were to be seen upon every hand. Press and pulpit, not to
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mention different organizations, added their tes- the honored of the nation, and its perpetuity will timony to his worth, and to-day the name of remain unchanged so long as a blade of grass or " McCormick " stands high upon the roll of an ear of grain shall continue to grow.
CHARLES K. GILES,
CHICAGO, ILL.
C HARLES K. GILES, fourth son of Prescott and Elmira (Stratton) Giles, was born at Athol, Massachusetts, on August 2, 1840. He traces both his paternal and maternal ancestry to the early Puritan settlers of New England, one of his forefathers arriving in the Mayflower.
His early life was uneventful. His elementary education was obtained in the village school, which fitted him for an academic course of study in the New Salem Academy, where he finished his school education and graduated in 1857.
His first experience in business life was in the same line as that he is now in, and his business career, since the day he launched upon the mer- cantile sea, has been identified with the jewelry trade, and it is but just to state that he has made an enviable record for himself in that line, the house of Giles Bros. and Co. being to-day as widely and favorably known with the jewelry trade as any in the United States. After ob- taining a slight insight into the business, in the employ of his brother, Frederick Giles, of Maiden Lane, New York, he, with another brother, Wil- liam A. Giles, came West, and began business in 1858 at McGregor, Iowa, under the firm name of Giles, Brother and Company.
With foresight and good judgment, the Giles brothers perceived that Chicago was destined to become the great central distributing point of the United States, and accordingly, in 1860, they re- moved thither, and established themselves in the jewelry business at 142 Lake street, under the style of Giles Bros. and Co. The firm is still (1892) doing business under that name, with an unbroken record of thirty-two years, a record no othe, jewelry house in Chicago can show, and it is doubtful whether any firm in any line in this city can show a continuous existence under one firm name for that length of time. The firm prospered from the start. In 1871 they removed to No. 79 State street, where everything they had
was swept away in the general conflagration of October 8th and 9th of that year. But, thanks to their unsullied record, they found themselves with practically an unlimited credit. They re- sumed business, and had re-entered upon a pros- perous mercantile career, when, in 1874, their prosperity was again interrupted by the destruc- tion of their building by fire. Since the fire of 1874 the prosperity of the house of Giles Broth- ers and Co. has been undisturbed. In 1882 our subject purchased a controlling interest in the house and formed a limited stock company, of which he is the president. The marvellous suc- cess of the house of which our subject has been the controlling spirit for so many years is un- doubtedly due to his sound business principles and honorable mode of conducting his business affairs. The house, to-day, is the most widely known and the largest of its kind west of New York, and it transacts business not only in the United States and Canada, but its books contain the names of customers in the Sandwich Islands and other distant parts of the globe. In 1883 the house added to their business a diamond-cut- ting department, and it is the only establishment of its kind, outside of New York, in the United States.
On March 25, 1873, Mr. Giles was married to Miss Mary Ferry, daughter of W. H. Ferry, of Chi- cago; the union is blessed with three daughters.
In social circles Mr. Giles is widely and favor- ably known, and is a member of the Calumet, Electric and Union League social clubs. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and has passed from the Blue Lodge through the degrees of the Mystic Shrine and Scottish Rite. Politically, he is a staunch Republican.
He is a man of domestic habits and owns a beautiful home in Lake Forest, the most beau- tiful suburb of Chicago, whither he repairs when his business permits, and passes his spare time
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in the circle of his family. He is a lover of sports, and takes great interest in hunting and fishing. He has visited most places of interest, both in this country and in Europe, and gained a
vast store of valuable information. His career has been marked with signal success, the result of native ability combined with business enterprise, perseverance and tact.
GEORGE SCHNEIDER,
CHICAGO, ILL.
T HE subject of this biography is a fine repre- sentative of the German character, and stands prominent among the leading men of Chicago as a journalist, an officer of the gov- ernment, a financier, a banker, and a private citizen.
. A native of Permaseus, Rhenish, Bavaria, he was born on December 13th, 1823, and is the son of Ludwig Schneider and Josephine (Schlick) Schneider. He received his early education in the Latin school of his native place, and at the age of twenty-one entered the field of journalism, for which he was eminently fitted both by nature, inclination and ability.
While acting in this capacity he took a most active interest in the Revolution of Rhenish Ba- varia against the tyranny of the Bavarian govern- ment, and he was appointed commissioner for several districts of the Provincial government, and rendered most efficient service.
When the revolt was suppressed by the assist- ance of the Prussians, that portion of the insurgent army of which Mr. Schneider was an officer passed into France, and while there he saw that the hope for further help in the attempted revolution was vain, so he concluded to leave for the United States, and arrived in New York in July, 1849, his only capital an education, dauntless courage and determination to succeed.
He first went to Cleveland, Ohio, but not find- ing a promising field he pushed westward to St. Louis, Mo., and there with his brother, who had also shared the ill fortunes of the Rhenish Revolution, started the Neue Zeit, a daily German paper with liberal anti-slavery tendencies. After the destruction of his establishment by fire in 1850, he accepted a professorship of foreign lan- guages and literature in a college near St. Louis, but soon removed to Chicago, and began the publication of the Daily Illinois Staats Zeitung,
which had been previously published as a weekly paper.
He took a decided stand against the " Missouri Compromise " in 1854, and he was one of a small company who called the first meeting held to pro- test against this slavery-extending scheme. His outspoken opposition brought upon him the wrath of those who favored the measure, and in 1856 an unsuccessful attack was made upon his office, the result of which was to increase the influence of the paper among all classes.
This opposition to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise resulted in the organization of the anti-Nebraska party, which afterwards became the Republican party. At the convention held for the organization of this body, he was a. delegate, and notwithstanding the efforts of the "Know Nothings " to secure the repeal or modification of the naturalization laws, he, with the assistance of Abraham Lincoln and others, succeeded in incor- porating into the platform of the new party a plank, guarantecing that the rights enjoyed by foreign-born citizens should not be disturbed, a guarantee which he, with the assistance of the Hon. John M. Palmer and other Western leaders, succeeded in having incorporated in the national platform adopted by the Philadelphia convention of 1856, which nominated John C. Fremont for President, and to which convention Mr. Schneider was a delegate from Illinois.
From 1858 to 1860 he strongly advocated the nomination of Hon. Wm. H. Seward for the presidency, believing him to be the most available man for that position at that time; but in the Republican convention that met in the Chicago wigwam, and of which he was a delegate, he found the followers of his candidate in the minority ; though disappointed he promptly and heartily supported Mr. Lincoln, between whom and him- self a warm personal friendship existed.
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Immediately after his inauguration, Mr. Lincoln appointed Mr. Schneider consul to Denmark, with the special mission of enlightening the popular sentiment of northern Europe to the real merits of the contest between the United States govern- ment and the rebellious South. By writing and freely talking with the people, he accomplished his mission satisfactorily.
Resigning his consulship in 1862, he returned to Chicago, having in the meantime sold his interest in the Staats Zeitung. He was next appointed Collector of Internal Revenue by President Lincoln, and for four years discharged the duties of his office with fidelity and to the entire approval of the government. During his administration he introduced and strictly adhered to the principles that are now known as "Civil Ser- vice Reform," selecting the men he needed for positions of trust with reference entirely as to their fitness and merit.
After the expiration of his term of office, he was elected president of the State Savings Institu- tion, which under his management soon ranked at the head of all financial establishments of its kind. Disposing of his interest in this institution in 1871, he was elected president of the National Bank of Illinois, a position which he still holds. This institution is recognized as one of the most successful banks in the city, and it is but just to say that its high standing is due to the excellent judgment, prudence and popularity of its presi- dent.
As a business man Mr. Schneider is discerning, conscientious, cautious and conservative. As a citizen, his sympathies are always on the side of good order, progress and improvement, and in
every relation of life he is uniformly a gentleman of honor, loving justice and doing right ; in all his career he has been active in promoting the interests of his fellow-countrymen.
In 1877, Mr. Schneider was tendered the posi- tion of United States minister to Switzerland by President Hayes, but declined the offer, and in 1880 was an elector-at-large on the Garfield ticket.
He was for several years president of the Ger- man Society for the protection of immigrants and the friendless of that nationality, and through his influence a bill, providing for the protection of immigrants arriving on our shores, was passed by Congress.
Mr. Schneider was married on the 6th of June, 1853, to Miss Mathilda Schloetzer, daughter of Dr. Schloetzer, who was government physician in the district of Rhenish Bavaria. The couple have an interesting family of seven children.
Mr. Schneider was pardoned many years ago for the part he took in the Revolution of 1849, and has revisited the home and scenes of his boyhood, which still have for him many sacred associations.
It is the lot of but few men to attain the high position of honor and distinction that the subject of our sketch has attained; with him success in life has been reached by his sterling qualities of mind and a heart true to every manly principle ; he has never deviated from what his judgment would indicate to be right and honorable between his fellow-man and himself, and now after a long and eventful life, he can look back on the past with pride and enjoy the remaining years of his life, having gained for himself by his honorable, straightforward career the confidence and respect of the entire community in which he lives.
JOHN R. WILSON,
CHICAGO, ILL.
F EW American journalists have risen to con- spicuous prominence in so short a time as he whose name heads this sketch. He was born at Hornellsville, New York, on April 28, 1852, and is the son of Stephen L. and Harriet (Smith) Wilson, and a nephew of Charles L. Wilson, formerly editor and proprietor of the Chicago Evening Journal. The paternal grandfather of
our subject was Judge John Q. Wilson, of Alba- ny, New York, whose father was a Scotchman, who married a Miss Lush, of the Dutch Set- tlement, New York. The mother of our sub- ject was a native of Schenectady, New York, whose grandfather was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary War.
After closing his studies at Lima, New York,
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Mr. Wilson, in July, 1871, removed to Chicago and accepted a clerkship in the counting room of the Chicago Evening Journal, then under the management of his uncle.
In February, 1880, he became associated as a partner with the late Andrew Shuman, then editor-in-chief of that paper, and leased it for a term of three years, at the expiration of which time he secured the controlling interest in the company, which he still retains.
Under its former management the Evening Journal, while challenging the respect of its readers, acquired a reputation of being extremely conservative, but under the guidance of Mr. Wilson, who is a man of keen business tact and progressive ideas, it has come to the front rank as
a newspaper and a moulder of public opinion. Mr. Wilson has an aversion to mere sensational- ism, but is alive to the necessity of keeping in touch with the events of the times and giving to his readers all the legitimate news of the day, and has gathered around him a corps of accomplished writers and news-gatherers, who, under his intelli- gent direction, have made the Chicago Evening Journal one of the foremost and best evening newspapers in the land. The Evening Journal building-just south of the Tribune and Inter Ocean buildings-is one of the most imposing structures on Dearborn street, while its appoint- ments are in all respects among the best.
In October, 1885, Mr. Wilson was married to a Miss Ripley, of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
HON. IRUS COY,
CHICAGO, ILL.
T HE spirit of self-help is the source of all genuine growth in the individual, and as exhibited in the lives of many, it constitutes the true source of national strength.
The record of the subject of this sketch enti- tles him to a prominent place in the present work, for his life is an example of the power of patient purpose, resolute working, and steadfast integrity, and illustrates in no uncertain manner what it is possible to accomplish when perseverance and determination form the keynote of a man's life.
He was born in Chenango county, New York, July 25, 1832, and is the son of John and Almira (Pierce) Coy. His father was a soldier in the war of 1812, and a man much respected in his day. Receiving his early education in the common- schools of the neighborhood, young Coy after- wards entered Central College, Courtland county, New York, and was graduated therefrom in 1853. His desire was to fit himself for the legal profes- sion, and in order to get money he engaged as a day laborer in the hay and harvest field, and in the fall of that year, with but fifty dollars in his possession, came to Illinois and engaged as a clerk in a dry goods store. From his earnings while thus employed he saved enough to defray his ex- penses through the New York State and National Law School, at Poughkeepsie, New York, and
after completing his studies, was admitted to the bar at Albany, New York, in 1857. Returning to Illinois, he located in Kendall county, and with but thirty-five dollars in cash, a suit of clothes and a few text-books, he started in to compete with the skill and experience of the profession. Success, however, seemed to be with him from the outset, for he soon acquired a lucrative prac- tice, and it was not long ere he became the lead- ing lawyer in that section of the State, and such was his ability and reputation that his counsel was sought by those far and near, and during his resi- dence in that county he was engaged in every trial of any note before the courts of his circuit. The esteem in which he was held in Kendall coun- ty may be gathered from the fact that he repre- sented that county in the State Legislature of 1869 and 1870, where he became an influential leader ; and it was said that during these sessions no important measure could be passed unless aided by his influence and counsel, while many of his speeches were undoubtedly among the most eloquent ever delivered in the Illinois Legis- laturc. And it may be truly said that no constit- uency ever had a more faithful servant than Ken- dall county had in Mr. Coy, or any State a more zealous legislator-in the best sense of the term- than had the State of Illinois.
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