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 7
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Charles Kern was born at Otterbach, Rhenish Bavaria, April 18, 1831, as the third son of John and Mary (Stemmler) Kern. He received a good German education in his native town, securing all the advantages offered by the schools of that fa- mous province. But soon the bounds of his native city became too narrow for him. He wanted wider fields for his restless ambition, and in 1849 he decided to make this country his second home. At the age of eighteen he landed on our shores and after a short stay at Dover, Tennessee, settled in Terre Haute, Indiana. Here he went into the restaurant business which, owing to his good man- agement, proved a success.
Mr. Kern's popularity with his townsmen is best shown by the fact, that in 1862 he was nominated for sheriff by the Democrats of Vigo county and triumphantly elected, although Vigo was a Repub- lican county. His administration of this impor- tant office was such as to draw from friend and ad- versary the acknowledgment that he was the best sheriff Vigo county ever had.
Upon the conclusion of his term of office, Mr.
Kern removed to Cincinnati, where he became in_ terested in the management of the Gault House, but, in 1865, he decided to locate further West, and, with characteristic circumspection, selected Chicago as the place which would allow full sway to his enterprising nature. He opened a restaur- ant and made rapid headway. The great fire of 1871 found him the owner of a prosperous estab- lishment, and in a few hours the fruits of years of hard work were reduced to ashes.
With no money and with obligations to meet, but nothing daunted, he made a new start by erecting a temporary building on the old site and re-opening business ere the flames had scarcely died out. By perseverance, pluck and determina- tion he was soon enabled to clear off his old obli- gations in full and was again on the high road to success.
His political career in Chicago extends over a long period. His first appearance in active poli- tics was in 1868, when he was nominated by the Democratic party of Cook county for sheriff. The county, however, being at that time strongly Re- publican, the Democratic party suffered defeat. In 1870 and 1872 he was again nominated for this office, both times by acclamation ; and although the party was twice defeated, the popularity of Mr. Kern showed itself conspicuously in his run- ning ahead of his ticket by four thousand votes and a corresponding marked and steady decrease of Republican majorities. For a fourth time placed in nomination in 1876, he was elected sheriff by a majority of six thousand votes, receiving ten thou- sand more votes than the other candidates on the Democratic ticket, who were defeated by an average of four thousand votes. His administra- tion proved, as was expected, one to reflect credit alike upon himself and his party.
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Renominated in 1878, he came within three thousand votes of election, while the Democratic ticket at large was defeated by an average of thir- teen thousand votes. From that time on he de- voted his energies to his growing business in- terests, though receiving many flattering offers by his party for offices of responsibility and trust. Yet this was not by any means an indication that he was "out of politics," for Charles Kern was ever prominent in the councils of the Democratic party and ever active in its campaigns. He was repeatedly elected to offices of trust by the lead- ing Democratic organizations of Chicago. He filled the office of vice-president of the Iroquois Club. In 1885 he was elected president of the County Democracy and re-elected in 1886. This society, which is a power in Chicago politics, received a thorough reorganization under his leadership.
Receiving the unanimous nomination for the office of treasurer of Cook county by the Demo- cratic county convention, September 5, 1890, he ran again ahead of his ticket and was elected by a majority of nearly 4,000 votes for the term of four years.
Mr. Kern was married in 1852 to Miss Mary A. Whitman, of Lyons, N. Y. They have two chil- dren-Josephine and Harry W. In social circles Mr. Kern is equally prominent as in politics. He
belongs to the Masonic fraternity, being a mem- ber of Ashlar Lodge, No. 308, A. F. & A. M., of Washington Chapter, No. 43, R. A. M., and of Chicago Commandery, No. 19, K. T. Being a lover of field sports and acknowledged to be one of the best shots in the country, he invariably spends ·such time as he can devote to his own pleasure and recreation on the prairies and among the lakes and rivers of the great Northwest.
He is president of the Audubon Club, which office he has held twelve years, and was in 1885 elected president of the Illinois State Sportsmen's Association, while he was also president of the first sportsmen's organization of the city of Chi- cago, the Prairie Shooting Club. His efforts have for years been directed toward the enactment and enforcement of stringent laws for the preservation of game, and have not been with- out results. A member of the Washington Park Club, he is the owner of several teams of noted excellence.
The whole career of Charles Kern, viewed from either the commercial, social or political stand- point, furnishes a splendid example of the success which may be achieved by strict attention to duties, sterling integrity and perseverance. Un- aided, by his own efforts Charles Kern is to-day one of the most respected and influential of Chi- cago's leading citizens.
JACOB NEWMAN,
CHICAGO, ILL.
A MONG the eminent members of the Chicago bar who should still be classed as young men the name of Jacob Newman is conspicuous. He is a self-made man. He was born in Germany on November 12, 1852, one of a large family of children.
When he was four years old, the family immi- grated to the United States and settled on a farm in Butler county, Ohio. Jacob was ambitious, and had a thirst for knowledge, and the quiet, un- eventful life on the farm afforded him few opportunities and fewer attractions, and at the early age of fourteen years we find him start- ing out for himself. Without wealth or its accessories, but with that natural independence
of spirit and perseverance which has always characterized him, he went to Noblesville, In- diana, where he remained six years. In 1867 he removed to Washington, Pennsylvania, and during the same year settled in Chicago, where he has since resided. By self-sacrifice and frugality he was enabled, at the age of eighteen, to enter the University of Chicago, where he pursued a thorough course of study and graduated with honors in 1873. He pursued the study of law in the office of Hon. James R. Doolittle, and was ad- mitted to the bar of Illinois in 1875. He was fortunate in escaping the term of probation, which usually falls to the lot of young lawyers, by securing at once a partnership with Judge Graham, then a
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resident of Chicago, and immediately entered into the active practice of his profession. Judge Gra- ham deeming it advantageous to himself to remove to a western city, left Mr. Newman alone in busi- ness, but with an established clientage which he was able not only to retain but to increase. He remained alone until 1881, when he formed a partnership with Mr. Adolph Moses, under the firm name of Moses & Newman. In 1890 the firm of Moses & Newman was dissolved and since that time Mr. Newman has been alone. The secret of Mr. Newman's success as a lawyer is his familiarity with the principles and ground- work of the law as a science, and his quick- ness to discover the salient points of the case in question and his readiness in applying the principles governing them, as distinguished from what is commonly called "a case lawyer ;" that is, he is versed in all kinds of litigation and can
adapt himself to any case, but has been largely employed as corporation counsel. He has been prominently identified with the . Chicago Gas Company's litigation in its various forms.
Mr. Newman is a member of the Sinai Congre- gation, and is a liberal-minded Jew. He is actively connected with several educational and charitable institutions. In social circles he is much esteemed, and is an active member of the Union League and Standard clubs. Politically, he has always been a Republican. He also belongs to the Masonic fra- ternity.
On May 30, 1888, he was married to Miss Min- nie Goodman, daughter of Mr. Hugo Goodman, an early settler of Chicago, where he has resided for the past forty years. Mr. Newman deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, and it must certainly be a source of just pride to know that what he has achieved is due alone to himself.
FRANKLIN H. HEAD,
CHICAGO, ILL.
A MONG the many prominent citizens of Chicago there is no one, probably, better known or held in greater esteem than is the sub- ject of our present sketch. Descended from an old and worthy English family, who had long been settled in New England, Franklin H. Head was born at Paris, Oneida county, New York, January 24, 1835. His father, Harvey Head, and his mother, Calista (Simmons) Head, were well known and much esteemed in the neighborhood in which they lived, while his grandfather was one of the early settlers of Oneida county, hav- ing removed thither, in 1790, from New England, just one hundred years ago. Our subject's father pursued the calling of a farmer, and as such was well and favorably known.
Young Head received his education, as have many of our most prominent and respected citi- zens, in the public schools of his native county. Leaving these, he decided to enter Hamilton Col- lege, New York, but before doing so he took a preparatory course at Cazenova Seminary. Going through this successfully, he entered the college, and in 1856 he graduated from that institution. He afterwards decided to study law, and, in 1858,
he again graduated, but this time from the law department of the same institution. About this time the great west seems to have had for Mr. Head, as it had for many others, also of Chicago's most prominent citizens, considerable attraction, and he shortly afterwards removed to Wisconsin, and settled in Kenosha, where, for many years, he carried on a very successful legal practice, be- ing elected district attorney, and remaining there until 1865, when he concluded to go further west still, and in this year removed to Salt Lake City. The law, however, was not, it seems, Mr. Head's vocation ; he desired to enter into some business where his abilities would have a larger scope and from which the results would be financially greater, and on his removal to Utah he engaged in the raising of cattle, and also in coal mining, his business at this time frequently taking him to San Francisco and other cities of the Pacific Slope. In 1869 Mr. Head decided to dispose of his interests in Salt Lake City, and he accordingly did so.
Returning eastward, he next located in Chicago, which, by this time, was growing very rapidly. In partnership with Wirt Dexter and N. K.
Franklin AHead
The Century Publistung &-Engraving to. Chicago.
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Fairbank, he engaged in the manufacture of of this city. He is a member of the Univer- lumber and iron, etc., at Elk Rapids, Michigan, sity Club and is president of the Chicago Literary Club. having the general management of the busi- ness up to the beginning of the present year, In politics he is a Republican, and takes con- siderable interest in city, state and national political affairs, though he has never sought for preferment, and would probably not welcome same, even if it was offered him. when he sold his interest in the same to Mr. N. K. Fairbank. In 1882 he became interested in the Chicago Malleable Iron Works, of which he was for many years president. In fact, he has but recently retired from the presidency of this Liberal in his religious views, he attends Pro- fessor Swing's Church, though he is not a member of same. company, but he still retains a considerable inter- est therein. As a partner in the firm of Dole & Co. his firm control the elevators (grain) on the He married, in 1860, Miss Catherine P. Durkee, daughter of Harvey Durkee, Esq., of Kenosha, Wisconsin. She was a lady of rare accomplish- ments, and died in October of this year, leaving as issue three daughters to mourn her loss, viz., Elizabeth, Catherine and Margaret. C., B. & Q. Railroad, and in this particular line undoubtedly do the most extensive business in the city of Chicago. These, however, do not sum up the whole of Mr. Head's interests, for in addition he is a director of the Northwestern National Bank, probably one of the most pros- perous and popular banks in this city. He is also vice-president of the American Trust & Savings Bank, equally as well and as favorably known, and a director in the World's Columbian Exposi- tion.
Interested in many minor institutions, it may be easily imagined Mr. Head is a busy man, as with such interests at stake, he needs to be ever alert and watchful. But yet he finds time to preside at the general meetings of the Illinois Training Schools for Boys (located at Elmwood), an institution in which he takes considerable interest. He has had the honor of being twice president of the well-known Union League Club
In personal appearance, Mr. Head is of medium height, of robust health and of fair complexion, a gentleman, in fact, of fine appearance. In style unpretentious, free from egotism or vanity, sociable and pleasant in manner. He abounds with energy and determination.
Being a man of great foresight, he has so made his investments as to reap good results and can now enjoy the fruits of his labor, with the con- sciousness of having lived an upright, honorable and successful life, gained a host of friends and is so appreciated by his fellow-citizens that the name of Franklin H. Head is synonymous for sterling qualities of a rare order, and he is a. citizen of whom Chicago is duly proud.
LEWIS WOOD ROBINSON,
CHICAGO, ILL.
O N the day that Sumter fell, President Lin- coln called for seventy-five thousand men, and more than that number quickly and cordially responded. Amongst those who offered their services to their country at that time was a young man, who held a diploma of civil and mechanical engineering. His offer was accepted, and he was assigned to the United States Steamship "Ken- nebec" as third assistant engineer. Thus Lewis Wood Robinson entered the navy. In that ser- vice to-day he holds the high position of Chief Engineer, ranking as Lieutenant Commander,
and was a meinber of the Naval Examination Board.
Chief Robinson was born near Haddonfield, New Jersey, March 7, 1840, and is the youngest son in a family of seven children. His brother Franklin died at the end of the late war from sick- ness brought on by exposure during the last cam- paign. His father, William Robinson, belonged to a New Jersey family., He joined the Twenty- eighth Regiment, New Jersey Infantry and died from injuries received at Fredericksburg. His mother, who died when he was only one year old,
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was of English descent, her father, George Wood, was a sailor on board an English man-of-war, but left his ship to join the American army of the revolution.
Young Robinson received his elementary edu- cation at the public schools, Baker's Corner, Camden county, New Jersey, and continued his studies at the Polytechnic College of the State of Pennsylvania. In 1861 he took the degree of bachelor of civil engineering, and in 1864 the de- gree of master of mechanical engineering. In his examinations, Mr. Robinson proved himself a young man of considerable ability ; painstaking, methodical and successful in study. He won the esteem of his professors by his docility and hard work, and was a favorite with his fellow students on account of his generous nature and honorable character. While fond of field sports and of a buoyant and social disposition, he was an earnest and anxious student, and during his college course laid the foundation for the success and reputation which he has since attained.
In 1861 he had completed his studies, was twenty-one years of age, and although he had in- tended to devote himself to civil engineering, he offered his services to the naval department and was accepted. His first appointment was third assistant engineer on the U. S. S. " Kennebec," one of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, under command of Commander Farragut. In this, his first experience of sea life, our young engineer was thrown into the very center of the sea fight and participated in the capture of Forts Jackson and St. Philip and also of the city of New Orleans. During this terrible struggle, Engineer Robinson must have given proof of great ability and bravery, for we soon after find him gazetted as Chief Engineer of the "Kennebec," raised to the grade of first assistant engineer in the navy and with the rank of lieutenant. Step by step Chief Robinson crept up from 1866 to 1874, holding various important positions in the department, and receiving honorable preferment as the reward of ability and gallant service. In 1875 he was chosen general superintendent of the bureau of machinery of the Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia in 1876. The naval authorities granted him leave of absence to accept that honorable position, which he filled with the greatest satisfaction, not only to the promoters of the exhibition, but to the
manufacturers of the world. As a proof of this we may quote the inscription which a valuable gold watch in the possession of Chief Robinson bears: "Presented by the exhibitors of machinery at the Centennial Exposition, 1876, to Lewis Wood Robinson, U. S. Navy, superintendent of the bureau of machinery, in appreciation of his ability as an officer and uniform courtesy as a gentleman."
After his leave of absence the navy department appointed him, January, 1877, senior instructor of steam engineering, at Annapolis, Maryland, and in 1880 he was sent to the "Minnesota," the flag- ship of the training fleet, and was afterwards made chief of that ship. In 1882 he was transferred to the "Tennessee," the flag-ship of the Home and North Atlantic Fleet, and the following year we find him promoted to Chief Engineer with rank of Lieutenant Commander. Later he was ordered to Philadelphia to superintend the fitting out of the "Ossipee " and then sent on a cruise with her to the Asiatic Station. In 1887 Chief Robinson was appointed a member of the Examining Board of Naval Engineers, which position he held until September, 1891.
When the Director General and the Board of Control of the World's Columbian Exposition sought a man of energy, ability and experience for the difficult position of chief of the department of machinery and superintendent of motive power, they paid Chief Robinson the high compliment of selecting him. He accepted and commenced the duties of his office September 5, 1891, the naval authorities having detailed him to that duty by re- quest. The selection of Chief Robinson has given great satisfaction both in this country and abroad. The duties are so numerous, various and extensive, requiring so much knowledge, experience and skill that the appointment itself carries with it and is the expression of a very high compliment, which in this case is well deserved.
Chief Robinson, although over fifty-one years of age, looks much younger. He is a man of fine physical development, and is the picture of robust health. He was married September 5, 1865, to Miss Mary De A. Rupp, youngest daughter of I. D. Rupp, Esq., the well known and prominent historian, whose " Pioneer History of Pennsylvania" is a work of recognized ability and authority.
Chief Robinson's family consists of three sons
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and three daughters. The oldest son, Lewis Wood, Jr., is a young man of considerable promise, and is assistant general manager of the Westing- house Electric and Manufacturing Co. The other children are still pursuing their studies. The
chief is a thoroughly domestic man and finds in the company of his accomplished wife and chil- dren his greatest happiness, and esteems it his highest duty to procure them every comfort and pleasure.
JESSE HOLDOM,
CHICAGO, ILL.
A MONG the well and favorably known law- yers connected with the Chicago bar, it would be difficult, perhaps, to name one who stands higher in the profession, or who is more generally respected, than is the subject of this sketch-Jesse Holdom. He has been a resident of Chicago since 1868, and since 1872, when he was admitted to the bar, has been actively and con- tinuously engaged in the practice of his profession.
He was born in London, England, August 23, 1851. He received an academic education in his native city, and upon its completion entered a law office in London, and there gained a good rudi- mentary knowledge of English law. Upon com- ing to the United States, in 1868, he located in Chicago, and after some two years of further study entered the law offices of Messrs. J. C. and J. J. Knickerbocker (in 1870). Upon J. C. Knicker- bocker being elected judge of the Probate Court, Mr. Holdom entered into partnership with his brother, J. J. Knickerbocker. The firm of Knick- erbocker and Holdom 'maintained a leading posi- tion at the bar, during the ten years of its exist- ence, and developed a large and extensive prac- tice. This partnership was dissolved February 15, 1889, and since that time Mr. Holdom has practiced alone. Common law, chancery, real estate and probate suits have constituted the bulk of his business, and he has devoted more time to these branches than to others, while he has been connected with and, in fact, had the entire management of some of the largest estates that have been through the courts.
The case of Winch, minor, vs. Thomas Tobin, guardian, which was carried to the Supreme Court of Illinois, brought his name into decided promi- nence. His argument was based upon a writ of error sued out of that court, attacking the consti- tutionality of the act of the Legislature con-
ferring jurisdiction upon the Probate Court in guardianship matters, and its power to order the sale of a minor's real estate. An order had been made disposing of valuable property to the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad Company. It was the opinion of some of the leading lawyers of Chicago that the Probate Court had no juris- diction in such cases. Mr. Holdom, however, succeeded in sustaining the jurisdiction of the Probate Court in that case, and the decision of the Supreme Court set the matter at rest. The Supreme Court Reports, from the decision of his first case, in volume LXXIX, to the present time, bear evidence of his continuous and successful business. Mr. Holdom possesses, also, quite an extensive foreign clientage, and frequently visits Europe on behalf of the various interests with which he is connected, and on these occasions often combines pleasure with business.
He has a large and complete law library as well as a well-selected library of general literature that numbers over three thousand volumes, among which are many rare books and some of great value. As is only natural, he prides himself upon the possession of numerous rare works re- lating to the history of his native city, compris- ing, as they do, a complete history of the city of London, from the earliest to the present time. He owns a beautiful residence which is replete with works of art.
Mr. Holdom is a member of the Union League, Hamilton, Oakland and Law clubs of Chicago. In 1890 he was appointed by Governor Fifer Public Guardian for Cook county. On the death of Judge Knickerbocker, while Mr. Holdom was not in any sense a candidate for the vacant Pro- bate Judgeship he was publicly mentioned for the place, and his name met with much favor from the Governor.
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In politics he is a Republican. He is a mem- ber of Trinity Episcopal Church. He was mar- ried, in 1876, to Miss Edith I. Foster, of Ovid, New York, by whom he has three children. Mrs. Holdom died in the summer of 1891.
Personally Mr. Holdom is affable, genial and sociable, and is fond of good-fellowship, and withal he is a man of strict integrity. His whole career has been characterized by an uprightness
of purpose, commendable as exemplary, in every respect. As a lawyer he possesses a thorough knowledge of the law, and is an advocate of no mean order, his arguments being based upon a thorough knowledge of the law and the facts of the particular case he may have in hand. Barely in the prime of life, he has a lucrative practice, and sustains an excellent reputation, both as a member of the bar and as a citizen of Chicago.
RANSOM DEXTER, M.A., M.D., LL.D.
CHICAGO, ILL.
A MONG the widely known and successful physicians of Chicago, none deserves more honorable mention than he whose name heads this sketch. A native of Toronto, Ontario, he was born May 18, 1831, the son of Rev. Ransom Dexter and Lydia (Wilder) Dexter. His father was a native of Erie, Pennsylvania. He rose to prominence as a clergyman, and was one of the pioneers of, and intimately associated with, the temperance movement in Canada. He traces his paternal ancestry to "Farmer" Thomas Dexter, of Lynn, Massachusetts. About the beginning of the present century his grandfather removed from New York State to Canada. His maternal ancestors descended from the French Huguenots, a colony of whom settled in this country about 1640, about the same time that his paternal ancestors came hither from Wales. Both of his grandfathers were commissioned officers during the revolutionary war.
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