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. 2 > Part 16
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Mr. Gardner has been twice married ; first, in
June, 1869, to Miss Maroa E. Conklin, of Darien, Wisconsin, and again in October, 1873, to Miss Luella W. Humphrey, a native of Portland, Maine. In stature he is tall, with an exceedingly pleas- ant expression, and distinguished appearance. He has a host of friends, and is highly esteemed by all who know him.
In every position in his eventful life which he has been called to fill, Mr. Gardner has been highly successful. As a business man he is up- right, reliable, and honorable. In all places and under all circumstances, he is loyal to truth, honor and right, justly regarding his self-respect and the deserved esteem of his fellow men as infi- nitely more valuable than wealth, fame, or posi- tion. In those finer traits of character which attract and endear man to man in ties of friend- ship, which triumph over misfortune, and shine brightest in the hour of adversity, in these qualities he is royally endowed. Few men have more devoted friends than he, and none excels him in unselfish devotion and unswerving fidelity to the worthy recipients of his confidence and friendship.
GEORGE W. WARVELLE, .
CHICAGO, ILL.
G EORGE W. WARVELLE was born on May 3, 1852, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to William and Eliza Warvelle. He is of English descent on the paternal and Irish on the maternal side. He is one of the prominent younger members of the Chicago bar. He received his early education in his native city, first taking a thorough academic course.
He began life as a dry-goods clerk, and after- wards spent several years on the stage, and was for a time, prior to the great fire of 1871, a mem- ber of a stock company at McVicker's theater. He commenced the study of law in 1872, and was admitted to the bar in November, 1876. He practiced his profession at Kenosha, Wisconsin, until 1887, but foreseeing the many and superior advantages afforded in a great city, he removed to Chicago and has diligently appplied himself to his profession, and in an ineredibly short time he has acquired a large and varied practice. He has been
engaged in some of the most important litigations of the courts, and has come to be known as a safe counselor and an able advocate. He is one of the most prominent and favorably known Masons of the country, belonging to all the bodies of the York and Scottish rites, and has taken all the degrees, including the sublime and last-the thirty-third. He has held the position of presid- ing officer in lodge, chapter and council, and is at present (1892) First Lieutenant Commander of Oriental Consistory, S. P. R. S., thirty-second de- gree, Chicago, and Most Illustrious Grand Master of Illinois, R. A. M. Mr. Warvelle was one of the founders of that worthy institution, the Illinois Masonic Orphan Home of Chicago, and is one of its present trustees.
He is president of the Acacia Club of Chicago : is connected with the staff of several law journals. and is the author of some notable works on law, among them, " Warvelle on Abstracts," " Warvelle
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on Vendors," which have become standard works in the profession.
Mr. Warvelle attends the Episcopalian Church. He was married on the 31st of December, 1878, to Miss Lydia Bangs, of Kenosha. They have two bright little girls.
His arguments to the court are sound, dignified, and logical, while his oratory to the jury is forceful and eloquent. His life has been that of an up- right man and Mason. Each new acquaintance is one added to the list of those who delight to honor him, and their number is legion.
NEWTON C. WHEELER,
CHICAGO, ILL.
M R. NEWTON CALVIN WHEELER is an able lawyer and a successful business
man. He is learned in the law, and well-versed in literary lore. He has a clear, well-balanced mind, an accurate sense of right and justice, and good judgment, and is a counselor and adviser whose opinions are valuable. There is in his make- up very little of sentiment or romance, but in whatever he says or does, he is exceedingly prac- tical and utilitarian. As a speaker, he is clear, logical and forceful, and, without wasting words, he carries his hearers direct to the point, with his ready command of well-chosen, classical English.
He is the son of Dr. Calvin and Sarah J. (Hoyt) Wheeler, and was born at Bristol, in Kendall county, Illinois, on August 21, 1849. His father was a native of New Hampshire, and his mother came originally from Connecticut. They afterwards lived in the State of New York, where they were married, and removed thence, in 1834, to Kendall county, Illinois, where Dr. Wheeler was a prominent and able physician, and an influential and honored citizen until his decease in 1876. His widow still (1892) resides on the old homestead at Bristol.
Newton attended the public schools of his native village, and at the age of sixteen years be- gan his studies preparatory to entering college, at Clark's Seminary, Aurora, Illinois, and subse- quently finished his preparatory course at Beloit College, whither he went in the fall of 1867. During the fall and winter terms of 1868-69, he engaged in teaching near his home, with excellent results, developing unusual talent as a teacher. Contrary to his purpose, which had been to re- turn to Beloit College, he yielded to the solicita- tions of friends, and in the fall of 1869 joined the freshman class of the University of Chicago.
After the great fire of October 8 and 9, 1871, he discontinued his college studies for a time, and accepted a position as tutor in Washington University, at St. Louis, Missouri. He filled that position with marked success until the summer of 1872, and declined an urgent request to continue his services there at an advanced salary, in order to complete his college course. He returned to college in the fall of 1872, but only for a short time. Winnetka Academy, then a branch of the University of Chicago, was with- out a principal, and at the urgent request of the president of the University, Mr. Wheeler was prevailed upon to take charge of that school. He, however, declined a permanent appointment, and returning to college, was graduated in the classical course with the class of 1873. This class was noted in the annals of the University for scholarship and oratorical ability; the late la- mented Dr. Edward Olson and George C. Ingham being among Mr. Wheeler's classmates. As a writer and speaker he was among the first in his class, his graduating oration receiving the highest encomiums of the local press.
In college he was a commanding spirit, an earnest student and an excellent scholar. He was at the same time a leader in college sport and a whole-souled, generous companion, meriting and obtaining the highest regard of both teachers and college-mates. He was an enthusiastic mem- ber of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, and in his senior year was elected president of his class.
Mr. Wheeler spent the year following his grad- uation from college at the Union College of Law, Chicago. He subsequently was a student and clerk in the law office of Messrs. Lyman and Jackson, and upon examination before the Su- preme Court at Ottawa, in September, 1875, was
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admitted to the bar of Illinois. He was soon afterwards called home by the serious illness of his father, whose decease occurred in May, 1876, and during the remainder of that year was en- gaged in settling his father's estate. He then spent a year traveling, making business trips through the central and southern states, and upon returning to Chicago was engaged for six months as assistant to Mr. Huntington W. Jackson, re- ceiver of the Third National Bank of Chicago, in settling the affairs of that institution. In the fall of 1878, Mr. Wheeler opened an office and began the practice of his profession. In May, 1881, he associated himself with Colonel Daniel W. Munn, under the present firm name of Munn and Wheeler. Their practice extends into all branches of the law, and they are ranked among the lead- ing law firms of Chicago.
As a business manager, Mr. Wheeler is con- servative, careful and judicious. His investments have been made after careful investigation, and have yielded him most satisfactory profits .. He
is a man of genial nature, social, jovial and com- panionable, and strongly attached to his friends, and counts it a pleasure to do for them. A marked characteristic is his uniform sincerity. There is nothing of hypocrisy in his nature, and cant he abhors.
He has been one of the active promoters of the Woodlawn Park Club, and for several years has been its president. He is also an officer, and for a number of years was president of the board of trustees of Woodlawn Park Presbyterian Church. In politics, he has always been a staunch Republican. He is a man of commanding pres- ence, being tall, and of well-proportioned phys- ique, with an honest, open face, and clean, clear- cut features.
Mr. Wheeler was married on November 12, 1881, to Miss Lizzie M. Stiles, daughter of the late Richard Stiles, of Chicago. Mrs. Wheeler is a lady of fine womanly qualities, who presides with dignity and grace over their home at Wood- lawn, one of Chicago's choicest suburbs.
MILTON ROBINSON FRESHWATERS,
CHICAGO, ILL.
UCCESS in any profession is more the re- S
sult of energy, perseverance and natural apti- tude than of connection, influence or social standing. The majority of the most prominent and able lawyers of the Chicago bar are what may be termed self-made men.
Amongst the number who have won success in the legal profession by native energy, determina- tion and energy, is the subject of thissketch. He was born August 9, 1844, at Wellsburg, Brooks county, Virginia. He is the son of George W. and Margaret A. (May) Freshwaters. The Fresh- waters family are of Holland descent, and have been residents of the above-named county for over one hundred and fifty years. On his moth- er's side our subject is a descendant of the O'Con- nell family, of Ireland, of which the celebrated Daniel O'Connell was a member. George W. Freshwaters was at one time a large farmer and stock raiser, but is now a retired capitalist. Mil- ton R. received his early education in the district schools. He afterwards entered Hopedale Sem
inary, Ohio, and at a later period Allegheny Col- lege at Meadville, Pennsylvania. After remain- ing there three years he entered Bethany College, Brooks county, Virginia, at that time under the supervision of Bishop Alexander Campbell, the founder of the religious sect known as Campbell- ites or Christians. In 1866, at the age of twenty- two, he was graduated from this college, and almost immediately afterwards commenced his business career, being elected superintendent of the public schools of his native county, and made principal of the High School at Wellsburg. He served two years in this capacity, and was impor- tuned to serve another term, but, having in the meantime commenced the study of law in the office of James H. Pendleton, Esq., he declined the offer, in order to continue his legal studies uninterruptedly. Having at length completed his studies, he, in 1869, passed a highly creditable examination and was admitted to the bar of Vir- ginia. He was almost immediately admitted to partnership with Mr. Nathaniel Richardson, a
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prominent lawyer of Virginia. In the fall of 1869 he was elected State's Attorney, being the only Democrat elected on the whole ticket, the dis- trict being strongly Republican. Occupying this office until the spring of 1872, he declined a re- nomination, and removed to Chicago, establishing himself in the Quinlan Building, where he occu- pies to-day the identical office he then entered. Upon locating here, Mr. Freshwaters decided to eschew politics, desiring to devote his whole time to the practice of his profession, but in 1888 he was, without his consent, nominated on the Demo- cratic ticket to represent the Third Congressional District of Illinois, and, nothwithstanding the dis- trict was strongly Republican, he succeeded in reducing the Republican majority of over five thousand to about six hundred. In 1891 he was nominated on the Citizens' Ticket for the office of City Attorney, but was not elected. Although as a State's Attorney, Mr. Freshwaters had had
considerable experience of criminal practice, he decided, upon settling in Chicago, to forego that branch of the profession, and to devote his time and energy to chancery, probate and general office practice, which he has done with most grati- fying results.
A Freemason, he is a member of Hesperian Lodge, and of the Oriental Consistory, thirty- second degree, and also of the Mystic Shrine of Medinah Temple, the O. G.'s and of the Knights of Rome, and of the Red Cross of Constantine. In all these lodges he is a prominent and much- esteemed brother. He is courteous in manner, of pleasing address, genial and affable, energetic and decisive in character, and possesses a well-earned reputation for strict attention to business, a thor- ough knowledge of the law, and integrity of the highest character. A successful business man, a prominent lawyer and a representative citizen, he is esteemed and respected by all who know him.
ISAAC N. CAMP,
CHICAGO, ILL.
I SAAC N. CAMP was born in Elmore, Lamoille county, Vermont, on December 19, 1831. He is the son of Abel and Charlotte (Taplin) Camp, both of whom were natives of the Green Moun- tain State. His father was a farmer, one of the leading men and postmaster in the town in which he lived. He also had charge of a large tract of land left to the University of Vermont by Guy Catlin, and among his privileges in connection therewith was that of a scholarship at the above named university, placed at his disposal by Mr. Catlin, to use in whatever way he thought fit. Mr. Camp died December 22, 1890, aged ninety years. His father, grandfather and great-grand- father also lived to extreme old age. Our subject prepared for college at Bakersfield Academy, Vermont, paying for his board by teaching music.
At the age of twenty he entered the Univer- sity of Vermont, and, to his credit be it said, earned in his spare time the money required to meet his current expenses. After four years of hard study he was graduated with the class of 1856. At the conclusion of his college course he was offered and accepted a position as assistant
principal in the school where he had prepared for college-Barre .Academy (transferred from Bakersfield). He remained there, teaching math- ematics and music, until 1860, when he became principal of the high school at Burlington, Vermont, a position which he filled until his removal to Chicago in 1868 (April 20). Form- ing a partnership with Mr. H. L. Story, under the style of Story and Camp, this partnership continued until the spring of 1884, when the Estey Organ Company purchased Mr. Story's interest in the business, and the firm became Estey and Camp, under which style it continues to the present time (1892). The business was commenced with a small capital, but by energy, perseverance and enterprise the firm became one of the most substantial and reputable in the city of Chicago, and at the time of Mr. Story's with- drawal their capital exceeded half a million dol- lars, and he received as his portion two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The capital of the firm to-day amounts to over one million dollars.
Appointed by the Congregational denomina- tion (of which body he is a member) a director in
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the Chicago Theological Seminary. Mr. Camp is also a director of the Chicago Guarantee Life Society and of the Royal Safety Deposit Com- pany. In April, 1891, he was elected a director of the World's Columbian Exposition, and is a member of its Committee on Agriculture and Liberal Arts.
Though a Republican in politics, he is by no means a politician, and rarely takes any active part in political matters more than to perform his duties as a citizen. In religious belief he is a Congregationalist and a member of Union Park Congregational Church, being also the president of its board of trustees. He is also a member of the Illinois and Union League clubs. Mr. Camp was married January 1, 1862, to Miss Flora M. Carpenter, daughter of the Hon. Carlos Car-
penter, of Barre, Vermont. They have had four children, three of whom are now living. The daughter is Mrs. M. A. Farr; the eldest son, Edwin M., is in business with his father, while the youngest, William C., is now preparing for college.
Mr. Camp has traveled extensively with his family, both in Europe and in the United States.
In personal appearance he is of medium height,. with fair complexion and of robust build, and has a pleasing presence and address, and is social and genial in manner. He is a man of generous impulses and contributes liberally to church, charitable and benevolent enterprises. The archi- tect of his own fortunes, he has built up a large and solid business, and as a citizen of Chicago he is both popular and highly esteemed.
ALBERT G. SPALDING,
CHICAGO, ILL.
F EW men in this broad nation of ours have attained greater prominence or are better known, particularly among the young men of the country, than is Albert G. Spalding, the subject of the following sketch.
There are many exemplifications of the old say- ing, that many men strive for greatness and never attain it, while others have it thrust upon them, whether they will or no, but there are certainly none more striking than that furnished by the career of A. G. Spalding. When a slender youth in his teens, he conceived a great fancy for the game of base ball, now the national game of our country, and it was through his early love for this and other out-door sports, that the lines of his life were laid in channels down which it has drifted upon a career made notable by the attainment of nearly all those things which men ordinarily strive for.
The parents of A. G. Spalding, James L. Spald- ing and Harriet I. (Goodwill) Spalding, were resi- dents of Byron, Illinois, where Albert was born September 2, 1850. He received his education in his native town, and at Rockford, Illinois, where his parents removed when our subject was thir- teen years of age, and finished his schooling in Rockford with a course in the Commercial College
there. Even at this time, when scarcely seven- teen years of age, his skill as an amateur base-ball player had drawn toward him the attention of many of the base-ball enthusiasts of his section, and in 1867 he was urged to join the Forest City club of Rockford, a semi-professional organization which had attained considerable reputation at that time. Spalding's forte was pitching, and almost immediately upon joining the Rockfords his repu- tation as a pitcher which had hitherto been of rather a local character, spread far and wide, until he was eventually offered, in 1871, an appoint- ment with the Boston club, which he after some hesitation accepted. His family were very much opposed to his playing ball professionally, but Albert's enthusiasm for the game and a promise of good behavior and habits overcame these ob- jections, and he went to Boston in 1871, where he remained five years.
His work with the Boston club, which then con- tained some of the greatest base-ball talent of the country, at once placed him in the foremost rank of professional players. He was immensely pop- ular with his fellow players, with the club officials and with the public, and this fact, coupled with his strictly temperate habits, his close attention to his professional duties and the burning ambition
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to better his own condition, and at the same time benefit the game of his boyhood days, did much to make him a leader in base-ball affairs.
He had early entertained the idea that if the attempt were properly handled, base ball might be successfully introduced into other countries than our own, and through his enthusiasm in this direction, a party comprising the Boston and Ath- letic base-ball teams crossed the ocean to Europe in the summer of 1874 for a tour of Great Britain and Ireland, that would give the residents of these countries some idea of the attractions of the American game. Mr. Spalding visited England in the winter of 1874, and closed the business ar- rangements for the trip, returning home in April, and crossing again with the teams in July. Their exhibition games in the leading cities of England and Ireland were well attended, although few of the citizens were familiar with the simplest rules of the game. The trip attracted a great deal of attention both in this country and in England, and the party was royally entertained by the bet- . ter class of sportsmen in each city it visited. This trip and the responsibility that was thrown upon young Spalding as the business assistant of Man- ager Harry Wright, who was placed in charge of the two clubs during the tour, had much to do with arousing within him an ambition to raise his position from that of a professional player to that of a manager of a club team. His experience on that tour had given him quite an insight into the work of controling players, and afterward a desire to manage a professional team himself became so powerful an influence on his actions that he soon began to lay his plans for a successful accomplish- ment of his ambitious views, and only awaited a favorable opportunity to carry them into execu- tion.
Such an opportunity came when it was least expected. In 1870 the Boston people made over- tures to the veteran manager, Harry Wright, through whose skill in club management the Cin- cinnati club had achieved championship honors in 1869 by an unexampled career of success in the field, and in 1871 Mr. Wright took charge of the Boston club. Then began that club's success in winning the professional championship of the country from 1871 to 1875, during which time Mr. Spalding was the only pitcher of the club and also captain of the nine. In 1875 the Chicago club
took similar measures to strengthen the club's team at the expense of the Boston club, just as Boston had previously taken at the cost of the Cincinnati club, and it was through this action of the western club that the opportunity for gratify- ing his ambition to become the manager of a club team was afforded, and the result was that in 1876 Spalding became the manager and captain of the Chicago club team. Success crowned his efforts in the inaugural year of his engagement, and the Chicago club became the professional champions of the National League in 1876. It is worthy of note that from the period of his first becoming a professional player to the time of his retirement from active connection with the game in 1891, covering a period of twenty-six years' time, he has been in the service of but two professional organ- izations, first as pitcher of the Boston club, during the first four years of its winning championship honors, and also as captain of the team, and then as manager, secretary and finally president of the Chicago club. This is a record unequalled in the history of any individual player in the country, and one which can be referred to with excusable pride.
Not only was Mr. Spalding the manager and leading spirit of the Chicago team, but soon after his arrival in Chicago in 1876 he became engaged in the work of establishing the present great house of A. G. Spalding & Bros., the original firm con- sisting of A. G. and J. Waller Spalding, and in 1879 their brother-in-law, William T. Brown, became identified with the firm. For month after month while the young business was being established, the young captain of the Chicago team, after a hard contest on the field, would go to his office and work until midnight, and sometimes until long after, and arise in the morning in time for the transaction of matters pertaining to the team, and perhaps an hour or two to his business, and and would then take the field for an afternoon's game, with more hours of work at his office to fol- low.
Within a year or two, however, the new Na- tional League, which Mr. Spalding, in conjunction with William A. Hurlbert, had been largely instru- mental in organizing, had become well established, and the game itself had entered upon its subse- quent prosperous career. The business of the house of Spalding had also increased, and that so
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rapidly, that at the end of another year Mr. Spald- ing was compelled to give up his connection with the team and its active management, and devote his entire time to his mercantile pursuits, although he still retained the secretaryship of the club. He continued as secretary until the death of President Hurlbert, which occurred in the spring of 1882, when Mr. Spalding was made president, an office which he occupied up to April, 1891. In that year, desiring to still further retire from active work, he resigned the presidency, which he had so long held, and James A. Hart, the present chief executive, succeeded him.
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