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 53
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In 1859 Hill, Knox and Company obtained con- trol of their distillery, and held it until it rotted down. Some of Mr. Death's creditors tried to obtain forcible possession of the distillery on account of a prior mortgage after Hill, Knox and Company had purchased possession of it. They put a notorious desperado in charge of the office at night. Mr. Hill went into the office to force him out. After a severe encounter, in which clubs and knives were freely used, he induced the man to procure his attorney, under whom he was acting. Returning, they attempted to force Mr. Hill out by clutching his throat. He being too strong for them he clutched the attor- ney by the throat until he cried quits, and finding he was surrounded by hundreds of women and men with stones, ready to fight for " Harry Hill," he retreated and never again attempted to take possession. In 1860 Mr. Hill sent Mr. Death and his sons to Pike's Peak to hunt gold. He fur- nished them with ox teams and a year's provisions, but being unsuccessful, on their return he started the old gentleman in the grocery business, in Can- ton, Missouri, where he soon after died. During a part of the civil war Hill, Knox and Company
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paid the United States government a tax of ninety-six thousand dollars per month, fitted out and sent a large number of men into the Union army, and bought of the first issue of govern- ment bonds as much as they could raise money to purchase. The distillery plant was destroyed by fire in 1864, without insurance, entailing a heavy loss upon its owners. It was never rebuilt, but the same firm constructed in its place a large woolen mill at Warsaw, at a cost of one hundred and eighty thousand dollars, the most complete mill of its kind in the west. This mill has been conducted at a great loss, for the benefit of the town, ever since. About this time the firm be- came a silent partner of the great dry-goods house of J. V. Farwell and Company, through Douglas Farwell, whom they furnished with eighty thou- sand dollars to enable him to become an equal partner in the business. They also started a com- mission business in Chicago, having Simeon Far- well as an associate.
In 1866 Mr. Hill entered upon a new era in his various experiences, engaging extensively in rail- road building. Associated with his brothers, J. B. and William Hill, Ch. Frost, of New York; Benj. E. Smith, of Columbus, Ohio; A. M. Waterman, of St. Louis; J. W. Marsh, M. T. Hunt, Col. E. P. Buell, C. H. Mellen and John E. Walker, of of Warsaw, he undertook the construction of the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad. He was made president of the construction company, and pressed the work to completion with his wonted energy. After its completion he was made vice- president of the railroad. After the completion of the road in 1868 Mr. Hill, accompanied by his family and some friends, John E. Walker, wife and daughter, visited California, and was present at Ogden at the completion of the Union and Central Pacific Railroads. At the request of the president of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad Company, J. Edgar Thompson, Mr. Hill hurried home to make a report of what he considered was the probability of the Pacific railroads being able to earn operating expenses and fixed charges. His adverse report then made was justified by the result. About this time Mr. Hill, associated with Andrew Carnegie-he who has done more to reduce the price of steel rails than any man in the United States, for in 1879 the price of steel rails was from one hundred to one hundred and thirty
dollars per ton, while to-day, by protection, he is enabled to give to the United States steel rails at thirty dollars per ton-with Charles and James F. Secor, men who furnished for the government more gunboats and war ships during the Rebel- lion than any men of their time, J. E. Thompson, Thomas A. Scott, Benjamin F. Smith, Ex-Gov- ernor Dennison and General Drake organized a company for the purpose of constructing the M., I. & N. R. R. from Alexandria, Missouri, to Ne- braska City, Nebraska. Mr. Hill was made super- intendent of the Construction Company, and sub- sequently was elected vice-president of the road.
Another construction company was organized, consisting of J. W. Converse, Gov. Dennison, B. F. Smith, Brown and Deshler, Wm. W. Phelps, Mr. Hill and others, to build the Midland Pacific Railroad from Nebraska City to a connection with the Union Pacific at Fort Kearney. About one hundred miles of each had been completed when the panic of 1873 forced a suspension of the work. Mr. Hill's associates called him to New York for consultation. Their opinions dif- fered from that entertained by him. They thought the panic would not continue over ninety days. Remembering 1857, he believed it would last through several years. Some of his eastern friends acted upon the ninety day idea and were forced to assign. He husbanded his resources, and laid his plans accordingly. In connection with Gen. Drake and H. L. Griffin, upon their individual resources and credits, Mr. Hill built some forty miles more of the road, operated the M. I. and N. and kept it out of the hands of a receiver. Subsequently he and his associates sold the Midland Pacific to the Chicago, Burling- ton and Quincy Railroad Company at a great sacrifice, losing several hundred thousand dol- lars.
In 1878 Mr. Hill was one of a committee of three selected by the bondholders . to purchase, sell and reorganize the T., P. and W. Railway. This was successfully carried out, and the sum of six millions of dollars realized upon the sale, to the satisfaction of all concerned. While engaged in these operations Robert G. Ingersoll was em- ployed by Mr. Hill's company as attorney and counsel, and between him and Mr. Hill there sprang up a warm and lasting friendship. Mr. Hill believes that Ingersoll's influence is for the
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best, and does much to weaken the power of superstitious and narrow-minded men.
In 1879, in company with Andrew Carnegie, Mr. Hill went to New York to arrange for the completion of the railway constructions which had been interrupted by the financial panic. The M., I. and N. Railroad was extended by Mr. Hill and Gen. Drake through two more counties in Iowa, and they, at the same time, organized a company and built a road, twenty-six miles in length, from Albia to Centerville, which was built and sold within one hundred days from the time ground was first broken, an unparalleled feat up to that time in railroad building. This road was paralleled by the C., B. and Q. In 1881 Mr. Hill and his associates disposed of the M., I. and N. and T., P. and W. railways to the Wabash system, of which Jay Gould was at that time the head and controlling power. This transaction was made with Mr. Gould in person, and Mr. Hill found him a most courteous and affable gentle- man and a man of his word. This large and successful transaction closed Mr. Hill's railroad enterprises, and after nearly a year spent in Cali- fornia he took up his residence in Minneapolis with the intention of retiring from active busi- ness. But he was greatly attracted by the enter- prise of the community, and stimulated by the indication of a great future before it, made some large real-estate investments. For over thirty years he is and has been a partner in the bank of Hill, Dodge and Company, of Warsaw, Illinois, formerly the First National Bank. He engaged with activity in the organization of the Flour City National Bank of Minneapolis, and has been on
its board of directors since its organization. In 1891, in connection with his sons and Wallace Campbell, he established the bank of Hill, Sons and Company, of which he is the president.
The life of Mr. Hill has been a remarkable one, and it would take a volume to relate all the inter- esting incidents of his active career. From small beginnings, by industry, good habits, persever- ance and integrity he has achieved rare success. His business associates, among whom are some of the foremost men of the country, and his social friends, all unite in their admiration and high re- gard for him. His charities and benefactions, although quiet and unobtrusive, are none the less large. He has materially aided many worthy men and contributed liberally to deserving chari- ties. Generous, honorable, genial and large- hearted, Mr. Hill still continues his active life, in the full enjoyment of its well-earned fruits, high in the esteem of his friends and associates, loved by many and respected by all. Through all his business life Mr. Hill has never repudiated an obligation nor made an assignment, although he passed through two of the severest panics eyer known to this country. He is fully con- vinced that total abstinence from the use of intoxicating liquors and tobacco is essential to every man's success. He believes that abstaining from the use of liquors and tobacco, in addition to perseverance, honesty and industry, will assure success to any young man in this great and generous country, to which every native or foreign born citizen should be loyal, and uphold the, principles of the government, the strong founda- tion of which is education and free schools.
WILLIAM DONALDSON,
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
W TILLIAM DONALDSON is a native of Scotland, born at the village of Milna- thort, Shire of Kinross, June 16, 1849. His father, John Donaldson, was a manufacturer of shawls, and his ancestors for many generations were among the industrial class of the shire. William was sent to the village school. From boyhood he was designated by his father and had chosen for himself a mercantile life, and at the age of fif-
teen years he was bound as apprentice to a draper in his native town for a term of four years. At the close of the apprenticeship he secured a clerkship in a dry-goods store at Glasgow at forty pounds a year. There he remained for the next eight years, being promoted as time went on to the most responsible positions in the establish- ment. Before the termination of this engage- ment he was married to Miss Mary Turner, of
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Glasgow. After twelve years spent in learning the business, and as an employé of others, Mr. Donaldson felt a yearning for independence, and a growing desire to become himself a merchant. Opportunities in his native land were not alluring to a young and friendless man. Reports from America stimulated his ambition. So leaving his wife and young children in her paternal home, and accompanied by his younger brother, and present partner, L. S. Donaldson, he came to this country in 1877, and the brothers took employ- ment in Providence, R. I. Here they remained for four years. Early in 1881 Mr. W. Donaldson left Providence and came to Minnesota, stopping at St. Paul. Here for a few months he was em- ployed in the store of Auerbach, Finch, Van Slyke & Co. He was soon impressed with the superior advantages which Minneapolis offered for retail trade, and renting a small store, opened a stock of ladies and gentlemen's furnishing goods. In less than a year, the lease expiring, and not being able to negotiate its renewal, he took a de- partment in the "Glass Block," which had just been erected by Colton & Co., and conducted it for his own benefit and at his own risk. After a few months the Coltons failed, and their stock was purchased by Mr. Samuel Groocock, who placed Mr. Donaldson in charge of a stock of general dry goods. In April, 1884, Mr. Donald- son brought out the Groococks, and taking his brother into partnership, commenced business in
the old Glass Block, as William Donaldson & Co. They continued here for the next three years, laying the foundation for one of the now most extensive and successful retail establishments in the northwest. Ample as was the old Glass Block in its dimensions, it became too restricted for the enlarging business of the new firm, and they were driven for want of room, in 1887, to tear it down and erect upon its site the present palatial Glass Block. The building is of iron and glass, five stories in height, one hundred and fif- teen feet on Nicollet avenue, and one hundred and thirty-two feet on Sixth street. The sales of the firm the present year will reach two million dollars. It employs no less than four hundred and seventy five persons. Mr. Donaldson does not allow his business activity to isolate him from social life. Whenever the sons of old Scotia are found in sufficient number a Caledonian Club springs up as if by spontaneous growth. Of such a club in Minneapolis he is chief (presi- dent).
He has chosen a retired spot on Lake of the Isles for a home, where a well appointed but not ostentatious house, which is the center of the family life, has been erected. Recently he has purchased · a beautiful villa, with spacious grounds, at Lake Minnetonka, which will be the summer home. Four children, two boys and two daughters, of whom the elder are at school, con- stitute the home circle.
FRANKLIN LEWIS GREENLEAF,
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
F RANKLIN LEWIS GREENLEAF, son of Gardner Greenleaf, contractor, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, October 7, 1847. His paternal grandfather, Gardner Greenleaf, was a captain in the Revolutionary War, and served with distinction throughout the war for indepen- dence. The Greenleaf family is one that was prominent amongst the early settlers of New England, and members of the branch from which our subject is descended were among the earliest of the residents of Boston.
The education of young Greenleaf was ob- tained in the public schools of his native city,
supplemented by a course in the Chauncey Hall School, from which he graduated, prepared either for college or for business. At the age of eigh- teen (in 1865), he determined to enter the battle of life for wealth and position, and removed to Denver, Colorado, where he entered into mercan- tile pursuits, combined with mining. Here he re- mained for three years, at the end of which time he visited his friends and relatives in the East, and instead of returning to Denver, located in Minneapolis, where he entered business as a shoe merchant. For seven years he continued in this business, meeting with success and increasing his
F. Le Guenbuf
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business, which afterward included that of manu- facturer. In 1875 he entered into the milling busi- ness, purchasing the Dakotah Mill, and forming the firm of H. F. Brown & Co. In 1878 he became associated with Mr. W. H. Hinkle, and purchased the Humboldt Mill, which was operated by Hin- kle, Greenleaf & Co. In 1890 he disposed of his interest in the Humboldt Mill, but still retained the Dakotah Mill. The Florence Mill, of Still- water, Minn., is also operated by him.
Mr. Greenleaf has been extensively interested in the development of the wheat business of the northwest ; for several years he was president of the Red River Valley Elevator Company, vice- president and general manager of the Minnesota and Dakota Elevator Company, vice-president of the Duluth and Dakota Elevator Company, and a director in the Northern Pacific Elevator Com- pany.
In 1890 he entered into the grain business with Frank S. Tenney, under firm name of Greenleaf & Tenney. This firm is one of the largest actual handlers of wheat in Minnesota.
Mr. Greenleaf has been frequently honored by
his business associates. In 1889 he was president of the National Millers' Association, and now (1891) is president of the Minnesota State Millers' Association ; also elected president of National Transportation Association in 1891.
From 1884 to 1889 he was vice-president of the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, and since then he has been president of that organization.
Politically he is affiliated with the Republican party. He represented his fellow citizens for four years, from 1884 to 1888, as alderman in the city council.
In religion he is a Universalist, and is an at- tendant of the Church of the Redeemer.
On January 13, 1875, Mr. Greenleaf was mar- ried to Miss Florence M. Cahill, daughter of W. F. Cahill, a resident of Minneapolis since 1856. Mr. Cahill has been largely interested in the milling en- terprises of Minneapolis, and operated the Galaxy Mills.
Mrs. Greenleaf was one of the first white children born in Minneapolis. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Greenleaf has been blessed with two children, a girl and a boy.
HON. AUSTIN HILL YOUNG,
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
T HE subject of this sketch is distinguished as a lawyer of high standing and an able jurist of many years' experience on the bench. He is thoroughly posted in all the theories and subtleties of his profession, and no lawyer in the northwest keeps more thoroughly abreast of the decisions of the courts than he. He is quick of perception, and easily grasps the salient points of a case. His critical analysis of a subject covers all of its points and leaves no gaps. to fill. He has a judicial temperament without bias. It was a pleasure to do business in his court, the ma- chinery of which was always in excellent working order.
When off the bench he has always enjoyed a large and lucrative practice. He is a fluent, logical advocate, and conducts all of his legal business with strict regard to a high standard of professional ethics. In his integrity all confide.
He was born at Fredonia, Chautauqua county,
New York, on December 8, 1830. His parents were Abijah Young and Rachael, his wife, née Hill. Abijah Young was by occupation a cabinet- maker. He died in February, 1837.
Austin commenced his education in the com- mon schools of his native town, and completed his studies at Waukegan, Illinois. He read law in the office of Messrs. Ferry and Clark, at Wau- kegan. Mr. Ferry is now (1892) governor of Washington Territory.
Leaving Waukegan in April, 1854, Mr. Young went to Prescott, Wisconsin, where he remained about twelve.years. He was elected clerk of the circuit court and filled that office until 1860, when he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in partnership with Mr. H. M. Fitch, and so continued until Mr. Fitch entered the army. In 1862 Mr. Young was admitted to practice in the supreme court of Wisconsin, and during the same year was elected district attorney,
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and served four years in that capacity. He was elected to the state senate in 1863, and held that office two years. In this connection the United States Biographical Dictionary says : " From the fact of Judge Young's obtaining these responsible positions of trust in a comparatively short time after arriving there a bricfless lawyer and a stranger, the conclusion is naturally ad- duced, that he must have possessed excellent and commendable qualities to so soon command the respect and confidence of the people." From 1855 to 1858 Judge Young was also interested in mercantile pursuits, whereby he obtained an experience in business matters which he has found of great service since occupying the judicial bench.
In 1866 Judge Young went to Minnesota, and settled at Minneapolis, where he has since re- sided. He formed a partnership with Mr. W. D. Webb, under the firm name of Young and Webb, but Mr. Webb shortly withdrew from the firm, and Mr. Young continued the practice alone until 1870, when he formed a partnership with Mr. Thomas Lowry, which continued until June I, 1872, when he was appointed judge of the court of common pleas. He also at this time resigned his position as city attorney, to which office he had been elected in 1871. In 1876 the state leg- islature consolidated the court of common pleas
and the district court, giving this district two judges, the statute also making the judge of common pleas one of the district judges. At the following election Judge Young was elected to retain the office for the full term, expiring in 1884. His associate in office was Judge Vander- burgh. In 1884, he was re-elected for a term of six years, at the end of which time he retired from the bench and resumed the practice of the law.
In 1891 the present partnership was formed, consisting of Judge Young and Frank M. Nye, doing a general and extensive law business under the firm name of Young and Nye.
Judge Young married in April, 1854, and lost his wife by death in 1868. He married again, and again death claimed his wife. His present wife, whom he married April 9, 1872, was Miss Lenora Martin, daughter of Milton Martin, of Williamstown, Vermont. He has two children living, Edgar A., born February 19, 1861, and Alice, born June 11, 1866.
In politics, Judge Young is a Republican, and he and his wife are both members of the Plym- outh Congregational Church, of Minneapolis, in which he is also a deacon. He is a courteous, affable gentleman ; liberal and public spirited, who takes an interest in everything calculated to develop and improve his city and state.
RUEBEN CLARK BENTON,
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
S INCE his settlement in Minneapolis in 1875, Col. Benton has been one of the most promi- nent figures at the bar. The solidity of his char- acter, his attainments as a lawyer, and not least, his genial temper and courteous manner, have made him a leader of the bar. A practice of twenty years in his native state had already given him ripe experience and thorough acquaintance with all the varied features of his profession ; while a boyhood passed upon a ragged farm had infused into a robust frame the vigor which comes from an active life, and a few years of active and not inglorious military service, in early manhood, had steadied and matured his character.
To go no further back in his ancestry to seek
the English origin of the family, tinged with Celtic blood, his great-grandfather, Jacob Benton, was an officer in the Continental line from Con- necticut. The family preserves as an heirloon, an autograph order given by Gen. George Washing- ton to Captain Benton, detailing him for service upon the picket line at Valley Forge. His father bore the same name given to this, his eldest son. He had settled in Waterford, Caledonia county, Vermont, in early life, where he owned a farm. He was prominent in public affairs, hold- ing many local offices, as well as representing his town in the state legislature, and in later life drifted into practice of law. His mother was Almira Fletcher, allied with the prominent fami-
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R.c. Baulor
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lies of that name in Vermont, and connected with the Fletchers of Minneapolis.
R. C. Benton was born in Waterford, May 13, 1830, but removed with his father's family to Essex county, in the same state, when he was eleven years old. He had an early desire to re- ceive a collegiate education, which was not sec- onded by his father, and he remained upon the paternal farm until his majority, in the meantime seeking a preparation for college as best he could, and devoting some time to reading law with an uncle, Jacob Benton, of Lancaster, New Hamp- shire, and also with William Heywood, of Guild- hall, Vermont. Within ten days after reaching his majority, he entered the University of Ver- mont, at Burlington, in the third term of the fresh- man year, where he completed the college course and graduated in 1854. Like most farmers' boys of the period, he had a debt for his education, which must be discharged before entering upon a profession, and he spent the following two years in teaching a grammar school in Lamoille county, Vermont. He was admitted to the bar in 1855, and commenced practice the following year at Johnson, Lamoille county, Vermont. After two years he removed to Hyde Park, in the same county, forming a partnership with John A. Child, of that place.
The growing law business of the young lawyers was interrupted by the clarion of war, which, resounding among the mountains, summoned the sons of the Green Mountain boys of the Revolu- tion, as it had their ancestors, to leave the plow in the furrow and the brief unread, and hasten to the defense of their country's flag. Mr. Benton joined a company of volunteers, of which he was commissioned captain, in the Fifth Regiment of Vermont Infantry, and then marched to the front. This regiment was actively engaged during the whole of the first peninsular campaign. At the battle of Savage Station he received a buckshot wound in the arm. Later in the same year he was promoted to lieutenant colonelcy of the Eleventh Vermont Infantry, which afterwards became the First Vermont Artillery. After his promotion his command was stationed on the defenses of Washington. On the 13th of May, 1864, the regiment was ordered to the front, serving as three battalions of infantry, and joining Grant's army at Fredericksburg. It shared the dangers
and glories of the flanking campaign carried on in the approach to Richmond. At the sharp action of Cold Harbor, Col. Benton was actively engaged, and during the exposures which fol- lowed that action, contracted a malarial fever, which obliged him to resign his command. Re- turning to Vermont, he found his partner had died, his law business had been broken up, and the expenses of a family left behind had dissi- pated his slender accumulations. While he was endeavoring to gather up the scattered threads of his affairs, he was summoned by the governor of his state to aid in repelling the raid organized by rebel refugees in Canada on St. Albans. After two months in this service, he again returned to his law.
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