The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century, Part 53

Author: Robson, Charles, ed
Publication date: 1875
Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy
Number of Pages: 770

USA > Illinois > The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century > Part 53

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Galena, Joe Daviess county, Illinois, where in the fall hc entered the office of the late celebrated Charles S. Hemp- stead, who, having a partial paralysis of the fingers of his right hand, employed him primarily as an assistant in writing, and afterward placed him in charge of a certain amount of his legal business. He remained with this tal- ented practitioner for about one year; then, finding that his own business was increasing with great rapidity, established himself in a separate office. In 1845 he associated himself with his former employer and colleague in a law partner- ship, which was not dissolved until some time after he was clected to Congress, in 1852. While practising his profes- sion in Galena the same traits and characteristics which have since enabled him to assume such a brilliant and useful rôle as a statesman, won for him not only an cxten- sive clientage, but also the love and csteem of the entire community of which he was a valued and leading member. He was elected to Congress on the Whig ticket, from the First Congressional District of Illinois, and was re-elected to cvery subsequent Congress until 1869. He acted firmly and consistently with the Republican party from the moment of its organization, and never failed to support with his voice and means and vote every movement, every measure, whose aim was greater and truer liberty for all; and his record as a legislator, from his vote against the Kansas-Nebraska bill to that for the Constitutional Amendment extending suffrage without distinction of color, is unexcelled among his con- temporaries. In the Thirty-eighth Congress he became the " Father of the House " by reason of having served a longer continuous period than any other member. He had acted as Chairman of the Committee on Commerce in each Con- gress, from the Thirty-fifth to the Fortieth Congress inclu- sive, and in the latter also as a member of the Joint Com- mittee on the Library, and as Chairman of the Special Committee on Immigration. At the death of Thaddeus Stevens he became Chairman of the Committee of Appro- priations. At the Senatorial election in Illinois, in 1864-65, he was a candidate against Governor Yates for the United States Senate, and almost secured an election. An ener- getic, unimpeachable, honest, and talented officer, and a devoted patriot, he became a warm supporter of Ulysses S. Grant at an early date, and was one of the first to discern and point out the ability latent in the future President of the United States. On the accession of General Grant to the Presidency, in 1869, he was appointed Secretary of State, his name being sent to the Senate March 5th, 1869. Find- ing subsequently, however, that his health and strength were inadequate to support the onerous and important duties of the high position assigned him, he soon after sent in his resignation, which was accepted March 11th, 1869. He was then appointed United States Minister to France, and officiated as such during the perilous and trying period of the siege and bombardment of Paris by the Prussian forces, and the still more trying one, rendered dangerous

237

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.

and appalling by the memorable exploits and excesses of the Commune, and the feats of petrolcuses and incendiaries. Not for a moment, even when environed by flames and reckless communists, while the air was full of the noise of ball and obus, did he desert his post, and his conduct throughout that memorable time won for him countless encomiums and laudations, while Americans pointed to him with pride as a fit representative of their land and people. During the progress of the investment he exerted himself ably and fearlessly, not only to shield his own countrymen, to whom in countless cases he rendered assistance of a sorely needed and most valuable kind, but as effectively, also, to protect the properties and persons of those of every clime who were in peril or poverty in the beleagured city. The famishing and wounded Parisians found in him a gen- erous helper, and to the hearths and bedsides of numerous stricken families he carried consolation both in words and more solid offerings. When Count Bismarck's refusal to permit the sending of sealed despatches from Paris to for- eign governments was made public, he, in connection with the Chargé d'Affaires of Honduras and the Chargé d' Affaires of Monaco, signed and published a fitting protest against that arbitrary measure. The following extract from " The Besieged Resident in Paris" will illustrate his conduct at a period fraught with peril for all : " Mr. Washburne remains. He has done his best to induce the government to agree to an armistice, and has clearly told them that they ought not to sacrifice Paris without a prospect of a successful issue. He is in despair at their decision, and anticipates the worst." While the London Daily News wrote as follows : "Mr. Washburne received yesterday a despatch from his govern- ment-the first which has reached him since the commence- ment of the siege-informing him that his conduct in re- maining at Paris is approved of. .... How different American diplomatists are to the prim old women who represent us abroad ! .... Whether the numerous Eng- lish who remain here are then to look to Mr. Washburne or to the porter (at the vacated English embassy) for protection I have been unable to discover." Still our Minister to France, his actions ever since his appointment to that office have never fallen below the high level adopted by him, and doubtless unconsciously, from his first step toward the marches on which he has mounted to such a prominent and honorable station.

on a farm. Upon attaining his twenty-second year he re- moved to Michigan, and there taught school for two or three years, teaching afterward in Illinois for a similar period of time. Later he engaged in farming at La Salle, where he resided during the ensuing three years. He then removed to Sunbury, Livingston county, in the same Statc, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits for a period of fifteen years. He settled finally, in 1867, in Streator, then sparsely settled and containing but a few houses. Here he entered into the hardware business, and prosecuted it until July, 1874, when his establishment was destroyed by fire. Upon rebuilding his store and re-establishing the business he turned over its management entirely to his son. He was for two years Supervisor of the town, in Sunbury, and also Collector of Taxes for the same place. At the present time he is a Director and the Vice-President of the Union National Bank of Streator, and is widely recognized as an expert in financial matters, and an energetic and trustworthy man of business. One of the leading members of the community of Streator, he is prominently identified with its interests, and has been instrumental in adding to the welfare of that town and to the prosperity of its inhab- itants. He was married, May 22d, 1850, to Aurelia A. Mooar.

AVENPORT, COLONEL GEORGE, Pioneer Trader, was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1783. When seventeen years of age he was placed in the service of an uncle, who was master of a merchant ship, to learn the seafaring business. During the next three ycars his life was passed on the water. He visited many seaports on the Baltic, and touched also at various points on the coasts of France, Spain, and Portugal. In the fall of 1803 the ship sailcd with a cargo from Liverpool to St. Petersburg. Shortly after its arrival at the proposed destination an embargo was laid upon all the English vessels in that port, which were taken possession of by the authorities, while their crews were seized by the Russian government and thrown into prison. The crew of Mr. Davenport's vessel were arrested and con- fined in an old stone church, where they were compelled to remain throughout a long and dreary winter, suffering con- stantly from cold, hunger, and rough treatment. In the spring they were finally released, and their vessel was, after some delay, restored to its owner. The ship was returning to Liverpool when an accident occurred which greatly in- fluenced his after life. At the moment of departure a sailor, losing his foothold, fell over the side of the ship and disappeared in the water. Wishing to save the man, he jumped into a small boat near at hand and caught him by the hair. In jumping he broke a leg, and the captain had him removed from the ship to the city, where he was placed in a hospital. Upon recovering from the consequences of

MES, ISAAC, Banker, was born in New Sharon, Franklin county, Maine, April 9th, 1824. His father, Isaac H. Ames, was engaged in farming and agricultural pursuits. His education was acquired primarily at the common schools in the vicinity of his home, subsequently at an academy located in Farmington, where he pursued a course of studies in the higher branches. While occupied in the pursuit of learning he was also engaged at various times in working | this disaster he left the hospital, and recrossing the ocean,

238

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

landed in North America. From New Jersey, his first stopping placc, he proceeded to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he became acquainted with a Lieutenant Lawrence, who induced him to embrace a military career, and procured for him the appointment of Sergeant. He remained at the Carlisle Barracks until 1806, and was then ordered with the regiment to New Orleans, under the command of General Wilkinson. The troops marched across the mountains to Pittsburgh, and thence rowed down the river to New Orleans. In the fall of 1806 he was engaged in the expe- dition against the Spaniards, known as the Sabine expedi- tion, and took an active part in the operations consequent thereupon. At the conclusion of hostilities he returned with the troops to New Orleans, and for some time officiated as orderly to General Wilkinson. In the spring of the follow- ing year he was sent with troops to Homochitto river, in the Choctaw country, where he remained until fall, when he returned to Natchez. He was ordered subsequently on a recruiting expedition, and went from New Orleans to Phila- delphia, thence to Baltimore, and finally, in 1809, to Win- chester, Virginia, where he stayed until the spring of 1810. He was then ordered West and rejoincd his regiment. Removing to Bellefontaine, he remained in this place until 1812, when, connected with Captain Owen's company, he went in a boat up the Mississippi to an island immediately below the mouth of the Illinois river. Ilere he was quar- tercd until the ensuing fall, when he was sent on an expedi- tion against the Indians on the Illinois river, at Peoria lake, where the Pottawatomies had several villages and were in considerable force. The soldiers located themselves at that point and built a block house, being afterward engaged in various fights with the Indians. Subsequently, after failing in their efforts to dislodge the troops, the savages proposed terms of peace, and he, with four other soldiers and a party of Indians, was sent to treat with Gencral Clark, Supcrin- tendent of Indian Affairs, at St. Louis. The treaty was here satisfactorily concluded, and the party returned to Bellefontaine. In that region he resided until 1814, at which date he was ordered to join General Brown, on the Canada line, and was afterward a participant in many en- gagements with the British. He was ultimately honorably discharged from the service, and was employed by Colonel Morrison, government contractor, of Kentucky, as agent to supply the troops with provisions. From St. Louis he pro- ceeded to the mouth of the Des Moines river with the neces- sary stores, and rested there during the ensuing winter. In 1816 the 8th Regiment and a company of riflemen landed on Rock Island, Illinois, and built the stronghold known afterward as Fort Armstrong. At this time there were about ten thousand Indians in the vicinity, whose secret and often openly avowed policy counselled the utter extermina- tion of the white residents and pioneers. He resided near the fort, and continued to supply the troops with provisions for a considerable length of time. He then assumed the rôle of Indian trader, trading with the aborigines for furs

and peltry, and meeting with much success. In ISI8 he relinquished the agency for supplying the troops with stores, and devoted his attention entirely to his transactions with the Indians, trading in opposition to the American Fur Company's agents. In 1822 he established a trading-post at Fever river, and had branch houses also at Flint hills, at the mouth of the Iowa river, at Wapsicinicon, and at Mako- queta rivers; also three other posts on Rock river. His principal dépôt was at Rock Island, whence he distributed his stores and goods to the various points named. In 1825 he was appointed Postmaster of Rock Island. In 1826 an arrangement was made by him with the American Fur Company by which he became a member of that body, selling to it all his goods, trading-posts, etc .; the company in return giving him the management of the trade from the mouth of the Iowa river up as far as Turkey river. In 1834 Rock Island county was organized, and he was elected one of the first County Commissioners of the county. In 1835 the town of Rock Island, originally called Davenport, was laid out. During the Black Hawk Indian war he received a commission from Governor Reynolds appointing him Acting Quartermaster-General, with the rank of Colonel, but he took no active part in the ranks during this conflict. In 1842 he withdrew from the American Fur Company, and finally relinquished entirely the Indian trade, in which he had been engaged for a period of over twenty-three years. July 4th, 1845, he was murdered in his house by a band of robbers, of whom three were ultimately captured and hung at Rock Island.

ITTLE, THOMAS C., Merchant and Manufac- turer, was born in Castine, Mainc, April 24th, 1817, being the son of Otis and Dorothy (Per- kins) Little. He studied in the common schools, and made such rapid progress that at the age of seventeen he became a teacher. In 1835 he entered a dry-goods house in Castine, and afterwards in a similar establishment in Columbus, Ohio. In 1839 he re- moved to Oregon, Ogle county, Illinois, and remained there until 1840, when he went to Dixon, and started business in that place on his own account, in partnership with John M. Fish and S. G. D. Howard, under the firm-name of Fish, Little & Co. Their establishment was the second dry-goods store started in that place. Subsequently the firm was changed to Little & Howard, and in 1841 the former secured the business under his exclusive control, and suc- cessfully carried it on for some years under his own name. In the fall of 1844 he embarked with Joseph B. Brooks in the same business, under the title of Little & Brooks, and continued it until 1849. In 1850 he bought a farm and established a nursery, and carried this on with great profit for nearly twenty-one years. He sold out in 1871. In the fall of 1870, with his son, Thomas C. Little, he engaged in the manufacture of the Northwestern Windmill, under the

239

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

name of Thomas C. Little & Co., and continues that industry up to the present time. He was prominently connected with the early municipal government of Dixon. He was the first School Commissioner of Lee county elected by the people. He has been clerk of the First Baptist Church of that place since 1843, and deacon since 1859. In 1863 he was elected County Treasurer, and was re-elected three times, serving until 1871. As early as 1842 he was a member of the Board of Town Trustees, and for four years was Township Treas- urer. He was one of the first Supervisors elected. He was married in 1840 to Eleanor W. Cobb, of Castine, daughter of Thomas Cobb, a prominent lawyer of that place, who was the son of General David Cobb, one of General Washing- ton's staff. Mr. Little has great business tact and energy. He has amassed a fine fortune by care and enterprise. His public services have rendered him very popular in that sec- tion of the State, and have secured for him the general re- spect of the people residing in it.

GOODRICH, GRANT, Lawyer and ex-Judge, was born August 11th, 1812, in Milton, Saratoga county, New York. His father, Gideon, was a descendant of William Goodrich, who emigrated from Eng- land to this country in 1630, and with his brother Thomas settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1636. Thence they removed to Wethersfield, Connecticut, where the family continued to reside. Here it was that Gideon married, his wife being Eunice Warren, and shortly after their wedlock they removed to Milton, New York. In 1817, when Grant was about six years of age, the family went to Ripley, New York, where his father had purchased large tracts of land. The household consisted of eight sons and one daughter, and their parents, and of this family Grant is now the only living representative. The country was then a new one, and schools were not as yet establishcd. His father, a man of great energy and spirit and especially active in the promotion of education, hired a private tutor for his children. This school was maintained in his own house two winters, and by the gradual addition of his neighbors' children soon had a very respectable roll-call. When ten years of age Grant, being in delicate health, went to live with his sister at Westfield, where he studied the higher English branches and the classics with J. C. Centre, a lawyer of that place. He remained here two years, during which time two of his brothers died of consumption. His own impaired health led to serious apprehensions in regard to him. At quite an early age, the symptoms of consumption, which was an hereditary disease, began to show themselves, and he was compelled to abandon studies and enter that field of activity best calculated to increase his physical strength. His father had meanwhile removed to Portland Harbor, New York, where his brother was cstablished as a vessel-owner in the lake carrying trade. He had since boyhood been enamored

with the ideal sailor's life, and expressed his desire, which was readily gratified, of making a few trips on his brother's vessels. The pure air of the lake and a fair portion of manual exercise soon improved his health by strengthening his lungs. He remained on the lake for two years, acquir- ing new vigor, both mental and physical, and effectually checked his predisposition to consumption. The practical knowledge he obtained of seamanship and of all the business details of the carrying trade has since proved of very great importance to him in the trial of cases involving maritime laws. On the expiration of this nautical career he entered Westfield Academy, where he completed his education. Upon leaving this institution he commenced to read law in the office of Dixon & Smith, remaining with them until April, 1834, preparing himself during this period very thor- oughly for the practice of law. Subsequently, during this year, he removed to Chicago, which then contained scarcely more than 300 inhabitants and not over a dozen frame houses. The dwellings generally were log cabins and block-houses, and within a radius of thirty miles there was no other settlement of importance. In company with a young associate, he located a claim in Du Page county, the present site of Warrenssville, which they shortly after sold. Some considerable time was passed by Mr. Goodrich in travelling through the State. His observations on this tour convinced him that the fine prairie lands must within a short period rapidly develop into a finc farming country, and that Chicago would necessarily be the grand distributing point for the produce raised in that section of the West. Upon his return to that city he opened a law office and engaged extensively in real estate operations. He quickly realized through the exercise of excellent judgment and keen business ability what was then considered a very hand- some fortune. There prevailed at that time a real estate excitement which occasioned the rapid growth of property in valuation. Until the year 1836 real estate operations were conducted upon a very large scale, and the surround- ing country was quickly cut up into tracts for agricultural development. Mr. Goodrich concluded that in this busi- ness there must soon come a reaction, and prudently ar- ranged his own affairs to meet and successfully bridge over an impending crisis. There followed in 1836-7 a general depression, and so far as his individual affairs were con- cerned, he was prepared for it. The city was then made up very largely of young men, among whom there existed an earnest fraternal sympathy. A large number of his friends were involved in the financial crash which ensued, and Mr. Goodrich, with an impulsive generosity which always char- acterized him, accommodated their paper to the amount of $60,000, for which he became liable. He manfully shoul- dered the burden with no attempt to compromise or evade this liability, and spent eighteen of the best years of his life before he became relieved of the heavy pecuniary responsi- bility which through a friendly impulse he had voluntarily taken. He first entered into partnership with A. N. Fuller-

240

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPÆDIA.

ton, but dissolved it upon the expiration of one year. In 1835 he associated in the law business with the late Giles Spring, and this partnership was continued until 1851, when

Mr. Spring was elected Judge of the County Court of Cook county. Their practice, though large, up to 1850 was not particularly remunerative by reason of the embarrassed con- clition of the country. In 1854 he formed a partnership with W. W. Farwell, who is now the Circuit Judge of Cook county, and in 1856 Sidney Smith was added, the firm be-

coming known as Goodrich, Farwell & Smith. It soon obtained the reputation of being one of the ablest law firms in the Northwest. Each member excelled in some particu- lar branch of the profession. Their practice became very extensive and lucrative both in Illinois and the neighboring States, and embraced cases in all the local, State and Fed- eral courts. Mr. Goodrich applied himself so zealously and so unceasingly to the burdensome duties which were forced upon him, that in 1857 his health failed and he was admon- ished to retire for a time from the active duties of his pro- fession. Acting upon the advice of his physician he went to Europe and remained therc until the spring of 1859. Upon his return he was elected one of the Judges of the Superior Court of Chicago, and held that position for more

than four years. On retiring from the bench he resumed

his place at the head of the firm of Goodrich, Farwell &

Smith, and labored industriously in this connection until 1870. He then retired from general practice, confining his attention only to important cases. As a lawyer and judge his reputation is unsurpassed. He was thoroughly read in all branches of law, and was in fact a close student of

that science even after he had attained distinction at the

bar. He has been very prominent in educational and religious movements, and was one of the most active pro-

jectors of the Northwestern University. He, with others, had long felt the necessity for securing better collegiate advantages than had hitherto existed, in order that the

intellectual should keep pace with the material prosperity of the city. In connection with Dr. J. Evans, Orrington Lunt, J. R. Bottsford, William Whelen, and Philo Judson, he originated a plan for a preparatory department in Chicago, and for that purpose bought a half-block upon the site of which now stands the Grand Pacific Hotel. The purchase was effected on a credit of five years. In 1853 they bought of Dr. John Foster 400 acres of land, now the site of Evanston

and Northwestern University, for $25,000, all of this amount, with the exception of $1000, on a credit of five years, the bond being guaranteed by Mr. Goodrich and his fellow-

trustees. In the following year the railroad from Chicago

to Milwaukee was run through this property. This tract was increased by additional purchases, and laid out by the trustees in town lots. Temporary buildings were erected and the new cducational institution was thrown open to the public. The proceeds of the sale of these lots were applied to the erection of substantial structures and the procuring of educational appliances, at an aggregate cost of over

$150,000. Upon a valuation of the property on hand and the proceeds of sales made by the trustees, the total was found to be $1,200,000. This university was very soon placed by the careful and judicious management of Mr. Goodrich and the other members of the board in a very flourishing condition, and it is now without a superior in this country either in regard to the high character and com- prehensiveness of its curriculum or the thoroughness of its methods of instruction. There are now over Soo students connected with the various departments, which comprise a college, female college, law school, school of technology, and a theological seminary which is known as the Garrett Biblical Seminary, which was endowed by the late Eliza Garrett. To Mr. Goodrich are the public largely indebted for the establishment and permanent success of this institution. The First Methodist Church and the building known as the Methodist Episcopal Church block is also a monument to his foresight and devotion to the cause of religion. This church owned a lot of 133 fcet on Clark and So feet on Washington strcets. As is usually the case in large and rapidly growing cities, the tide of busi- ness was crowding places of worship beyond the business centres. In 1858 the question of selling this property and of erecting another and more spacious building farther up town was first agitated in the congregation. There were many projects presented for the most advantageous disposition of this property, and Mr. Goodrich advocated the erection on the site of this church a business block, reserving all save the third and fourth storics, for offices, storcs and other business purposes. These two stories were to be kept and maintained for all time as a place of worship. This plan encountered much opposition, but was eventually seconded by the mem- bership. A liberal charter was secured authorizing the ercc- tion of a suitable structure. It contained, in addition to the provisions above mentioned, a stipulation that the proceeds in the shape of profits, rents, etc., derived from the building, after setting aside $2000 for the support of the ministry, should be devoted to the purchase of lots and the erection of churches in the city of Chicago. A loan sufficient to pay for the erection of this building was successfully negotiated, the building was raised, and at the time of the great fire the indebtedness had all been paid off, and $60,000 had been dis- bursed pursuant to the provisions of the charter. The church block was insured mostly in reliable companies, and a new building has since been erected at a cost of $125,000. The revenue derived therefrom is above $32,000 annually, and the church, as now constituted and managed, has aided many a weak sister congregation to recover from the disastrous results of that conflagration. The First Methodist Episcopal Church still remains in the business centre of the city, and the pressure of trade or love of gain cannot crowd it away. Mr. Goodrich suffcred severely by the fire of 1871. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1832. He is an earnest churchman, and attends to spiritual matters with the same zeal that has characterized his treat-

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The biographical encyclopedia of Illinois of the nineteenth century, Part 53

Author: Robson, Charles, ed Publication date: 1875 Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy Number of Pages: 770

Author: Robson, Charles, ed
Publication date: 1875
Publisher: Philadelphia, Galaxy
Number of Pages: 770