USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > History of the city of Lincoln, Nebraska : with brief historical sketches of the state and of Lancaster County > Part 32
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
Jersey. She was a woman of positive views and earnest character, and sought to impress the value of correct principles upon her children.
I. M. Raymond was born at Niskayuna, Schenectady county, New York, on the 3d of May, 1842. He received a common-school edu- cation, and then spent one term in the JJonesville AAcademy, Saratoga county, New York, and a term at the Chittenango Polytechnic Insti- tute, and at this date closed his seventeenth year. He then taught
HON. I. M. RAYMOND.
two terms of country school in Scoharie county, devoting about a year to this employment. He then removed to Waterloo, Iowa, where he worked on a farm for six months, and then obtained a clerkship in the grocery store of his elder brothers, at Waterloo. He worked hard from 1861 to 1865 in this position, and then went to Waverly, Iowa, and took the management of a grocery store there, owned by his brothers. While in Waverly he held his first political office, being a member of the city council. He managed the store at Waverly until November, 1871, and then removed to Lincoln, Ne-
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braska, and established the wholesale grocery house of Raymond Bros. & Co., of which he has ever since been the able manager, and which has been remarkably successful.
In 1886 he was elected a member of the House of the Twentieth Session of the Nebraska Legislature, and was the author of the Pri- mary Election Law, now in operation, a very important and satis- factory measure, as it is in accordance with the very fundamental principles of republican government, allowing all the people to nom- inate candidates, instead of a few schemers.
In 1887 it became a very practical question whether the jobbing trade of Lincoln, or any interior point in Nebraska, could long sur- vive the fatal effects of the discriminations in freights, founded upon the Missouri river, where rates were adjusted at the expense of Ne- braska, without regard to the length of haul. This condition of freight charges threatened to put a stop to the commercial growth of Lincoln, and to require Nebraska generally to pay a ruinous tribute to the Missouri river railway combination that would continue to sap the prosperity of the State, as it had done for many years.
Mr. Raymond began to agitate the necessity of the people of Lin- coln rising and making a most determined resistance to these oppres- sive discriminations, and finally wrote a strong letter, explaining to the people in clear and forcible terms how dangerous it would be to longer continue to suffer the unfair freight tariffs to retard and even threaten the life of the city's commerce. This letter was published in the daily papers of Lincoln, and led up to the reorganization of what had become a totally dormant Board of Trade, and later to the organization of a Freight Bureau in connection with the Board of Trade, designed to study the problem of railway freight charges, and devise such plans as would afford substantial relief.
In this great contest Mr. Raymond was the main inspiration and di- recting force, and so skillfully, wisely, and courageously, was the cause pressed that the roads finally decided that it would be wise policy for them to yield, and place Lincoln on the same freight-tariff footing as the Missouri river towns. This was the first positive fracture made in the great Missouri river pool, one of the most powerful combinations of capital that ever existed on this continent. The value to the pub- lie of the equitable economic principles of the concessions secured by the Lincoln Board of Trade, not only for Nebraska but the entire
24
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
West, cannot well be over-estimated. And the splendid results fol- lowing that contest may be attributed to I. M. Raymond more than to any other man ; in fact, without his aid it is doubtful if success would have crowned the contest.
As a result of the great service he had rendered the public, he was nominated for the State Senate in 1888 almost without opposition, and elected by a large majority. He proved a very useful member of the Legislature, his eminent business ability being recognized in his appointment to the chairmanship of the Committee on Finance, Ways, and Means, in the Senate, the most important committee in the gift of that body. He introduced and secured the passage of Raymond's Bank- ing Bill, a measure which thoroughly and judiciously placed neces- sary restrictions upon bankers of the State, in the interest of a higher public credit, and for a better defense of depositors. This was one of the most important and valuable measures enacted by the twenty-first session of the Legislature.
Mr. Raymond is a business man of a high order of ability. He has managed the large wholesale grocery business of Raymond Bros. & Co. with eminent success, and that house is one of the most prosper- ons in the State. In 1882 Mr. Raymond assisted to organize the Exchange National Bank of Hastings, of which he was made presi- dent and still continues to hold that position. During the spring of 1889 he became one of the incorporators of the American Exchange National Bank, of Lincoln, of which he was also made President, and to the affairs of which he gives a considerable share of his personal attention. He is also one of the directors of the Lincoln Stock Yards, and a member of the Lincoln Packing and Provision Com- pany. In fact, he is an enterprising and valuable citizen of the city and State, always ready to contribute to the success of really impor- tant and deserving public enterprises.
Among the business men of Lincoln there are none more thoroughly representative of the growth and possibilities of the great West than A. E. Hargreaves, the head of the extensive wholesale house of Har- greaves Bros. He is a thoroughly representative Lincoln man as well, having begun his business career in Lincoln when the city was in its infancy, and kept pace with its advancement, growing from a poorly-paid clerk to the head of a firm doing a million dollars' worth
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of business annually, while Lincoln has developed from a hamlet to a magnificent city of more than fifty thousand people.
Mr. Hargreaves was born in the world's metropolis, London, in 1853. His father, Abraham Hargreaves, was a contractor, and his mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Ilingworth.
As he entered commercial life when only eleven years old, his edu- cation was confined to the instruction received at an early age in the common schools. But his business education was thorough, and when he left England, in 1872, to seek his fortune in the new world, he knew more about the details of business than many men of twice his age. At this time Nebraska was being extensively advertised in En- gland by the Land Commissioners of the B. & M. railroad, and with others Mr. Hargreaves sailed from England direct for Lincoln.
The journey was an uneventful one, and on August 12, 1872, Mr. Hargreaves found himself at Pacific Junction. That his business ca- reer in Nebraska was begun at the bottom of the ladder is evidenced by his statement that at Pacific Junction he found himself in that con- dition which is designated in the Western vernacular by the expressive word, "strapped," and he was compelled to negotiate a loan of five dollars before he was able to continue his journey to Lincoln. Upon his arrival at Lincoln he was greatly discouraged. The town was a mere hamlet; there was little business of any kind, and remunerative employment was an unknown boon. If he had had the means at this time he would have returned to England. Not having the means, however, with which to get away, he made the most of the circum- stances, and secured a job at the fair grounds as a sort of general ronstabout.
After working in various capacities on a salary for several years, Mr. Hargreaves decided to go into business for himself, and in 1875 opened up a peanut stand on the south side of O street, between Elev- enth and Twelfth streets. He was still anxious to go back to En- gland at that time, but a kind fortune, disguised in the habiliments of poverty, prevented. Careful and industrious, he found his business increasing from year to year. In 1876 he moved into the next block west, when he added books and stationery to his business.
The fruit and confectionery business was evidently the one for which he had a peculiar adaptation, and the one which furnished the widest field. This grew so rapidly that in 1879 he decided to go into the
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN.
wholesale trade, and selling out his book and stationery business to Clason & Fletcher, erected a two-story building at 1028 P street, and established a wholesale fruit and confectionery house. As the devel- opment of the country tributary to Lincoln brought the demand, fancy groceries were added to the trade, and the firm rapidly became one of the best known in the State.
The business increased so rapidly that the firm found it imperative upon them to find more commodious quarters and better facilities for doing business. Accordingly in 1886 they bought the large three-
A. E. HARGREAVES.
story-and-basement building at the corner of Eighth and O streets. The abundant room and ample track facilities here gave opportunity for extending the business indefinitely. A straight line of staple and fancy groceries was put in, and a jobbing business in these goods was built up scarcely second to any in the city. The fruit de- partment was continued under the management of Mr. W. B. Har- greaves, Mr. Hargreaves's younger brother, who was given an interest in the business in 1882. The house is still one of the largest fruit- jobbing houses in the State. In 1888 a department for the exclusive
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LINCOLN AS A BUSINESS CENTER.
handling of tea and cigars was established, and the tea department is undoubtedly the largest west of Chicago. The business of the firm in 1889 will amount to $1,000,000.
In 1878, Mr. Hargreaves was married to Miss Jennie Blair, of this city, and now has a family of three children. Always at the front in matters of public enterprise, liberal in the treatment of his employés, prompt, and courteous in all his business relations, it is safe to say that Mr. Hargreaves's present popularity and prosperity are but the beginning of what his business career will develop in the future.
Joseph J. Imhoff is one of the most prominent and successful busi- ness men of Lincoln, a representative of our best citizenship. He was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, on May 8, 1835. His father was Mr. Joseph Imhoff, and his mother Mrs. Catherine Heffley- Imhoff, who were born and spent their lives in that section of the Keystone State. They were descended from German parentage, and inherited the sturdy, industrious, and upright characteristics of their race. Joseph Imhoff was engaged in managing a hotel in Somerset, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, for thirty-eight years, and also in farming, in both of which pursuits he was successful. His son, Joseph J. Imhoff, was the sixth of eight children, and spent his childhood and youthful years among the hills of his native country, acquiring a common-school education, until the age of fourteen, when he began his mercantile experience as a clerk in a store of general merchandise. After devoting three years to this work, he turned his attention to mechanical pursuits, learned the carpenter's trade, and followed it for five years.
Then he decided to go westward, and removed to Urbana, Illinois, where he continued to follow for two years more the vocation of car- penter and builder. He then decided to seek a new and growing country, and located in Omaha, in 1856. Soon afterward he settled in Dakota county, and engaged in the business of carpenter and builder for a couple of years, building thirty-seven houses during that time. He then took up his residence in Nebraska City, where he engaged again in the mercantile business. While here the movement for the location of the State Capital at Lincoln was developed, and Mr. Imhoff became one of the original syndicate of fifteen who came
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from Nebraska City, and stayed the uncertain fortunes of the venture by assisting to bid off' the lots at the appraised value, when the first sale was made on the 17th to the 22d of September, 1867. Had it not been for the courage of these men, it is very doubtful whether the capital would have been located at Lincoln. Ex-Governor Reed, now of Utah, was one of the syndicate at the sale, and remarked that "the people must be d-d fools to invest their money in the wild prairie lots : for himself he would not give $500 for the whole town site." Mr. Reed relented, however, and invested $750 in three lots before leaving town.
In 1872, Mr. Imhoff removed to Lincoln, and for a year was occu- pied with handling general merchandise, and in a general trading and real estate business, which was lively at that time. In September, 1873, he bought the "Douglas House," and changed the name to "The Commercial Hotel," which he conducted with great success for thirteen years. He made it the leading hotel in Lincoln, the political head-quarters of Nebraska, and the best-known hostelry in the State. He enlarged it from a small affair, until it acquired its present pro- portions of 108x150 feet, and three stories high. He then sold it for $80,000.
Mr. Imhoff has been a promoter, organizer, and manager, of many of the most important enterprises of the city, and has been one of its most liberal benefactors. He is always cheerful in contributing largely to any really meritorious project for the public welfare. He has ever been willing to assist in founding and building up enter- prises of importance to Lincoln. He was one of the organizers of the Union Savings Bank, and is yet a principal stockholder and di- rector. He was mainly instrumental in the establishment of the Union Stock Yards, was at one time Vice President of the company, and is still a stockholder. He was a moving spirit in the organiza- tion of the Lincoln Driving Park Association, and was its first Pres- ident. He finally bought the park, expended $7,500 in improving it, and then sold it for $75,000. He was one of the incorporators of the Lincoln Street Railway Company, the first line in the city, and con- tinned President of the company until its sale to the city corporation. When the Rapid Transit Street Railway Company was organized, Mr. Imhoff also became a leading contributor to its capital, and was made President of the company. He assisted to help form the Lincoln
RESIDENCE OF J. J. IMHOFF.
State Journal Lincoln Nen
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Electric Light Company, whose capital is $100,000, and has con- tinned its executive officer from the first. These facts will give some idea of the energy and activity of Mr. Imhoff's business life.
Among the benevolent objeets for the city's good, in which he has been a principal helper, may be mentioned the erection of the city churches, especially St. Paul Church, of which he is a prominent member, as is Mrs. Imhoff, the Wesleyan University, and the new Young Men's Christian Association building. His good acts are- legion, of which these are among the largest, and best known. It may be doubted whether any man has done more for the commercial, financial, charitable, and social good of Lincoln than Mr. Joseph J. Imhoff.
On November 5, 1862, Mr. J. J. Imhoff was married to Miss Mary E. Rector, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sanford S. Rector, of Nebraska City. Mrs. Imhoff was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, and her parents still reside in Nebraska City She is one of the most active and useful workers in the Christian enterprises of the city, and their beautiful home at the southeast corner of J and Twelfth streets is one of the most elegant, and at the same time most hospitable, in the city. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Imhoff are four, namely : Mr. Charles H. Imhoff, Cashier of the Union Savings Bank ; Mr. Joseph B. Imhoff, Superintendent of the Lincoln Electric Light Company, and Misses Ono May and Hattie J. Imhoff, residing at home.
Mr. Lonie Meyer is one of Lincoln's most energetic, successful, and able business men and financiers. From a small beginning, sixteen years ago, he has worked his way steadily upward, in the face of ob- stacles and discouragements, until he is now at the head of the exten- ive wholesale and retail business in general merchandising, which he - conducts at numbers 108 and 110 North Tenth street, east of Govern- ment Square, under the firm name of L. Meyer & Co. Mr. Meyer is one of the typical men of success in the city, and has kept pace with its growth from village days to its arrival at a city greatness.
Mr. Meyer was born August 12, 1853, near Carlsbad, Austria. Ilis father, Dr. David Meyer, was then a physician of prominence in that locality, and since has acquired celebrity owing to his fifty-five years of practice, and to the fact of his being the oldest member of
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his profession residing in the empire of Austria. His mother, Mary Becker-Meyer, was a lady of refinement and pleasing social disposi- tion, highly esteemed by the people of her acquaintance. Mr. Meyer is the fifth of the eight children of Dr. and Mrs. Mary Meyer.
Louie Meyer attended the schools of his native country from the age of five years to that of fourteen, and was industrious and ready in acquiring learning. After having received a good, practical educa- tion, he entered a store in the town of Carlsbad, and spent a year as a clerk, learning the business. Then, feeling that there were greater opportunities in the United States than in his native land, for a young man of courage and energy, he resolved to come to America. There- fore, he sailed for the shores of his adopted land in the summer of 1870. He landed at New York and proceeded to Des Moines, Iowa, where he spent four or five months with relatives.
Having heard of the fair prospects of Lincoln, he came to what was then a very youthful and struggling capital, in January, 1871, and engaged with the merchants, Rich & Oppenheimer, as a clerk. He performed his duties faithfully for four years and became a skill- ful salesman, thoroughly educated in his line of business.
Feeling that he understood the lay of the land, and having some capital, he decided to engage in business on his own account, and therefore opened a grocery store in 1874, when about twenty-one years old. He pushed his business during the succeeding three years, and his trade was growing steadily and surely ; but the flames devoured his stock and store in March, 1877.
His characteristic energy and resolution was here manifested in a signal degree. Though seriously crippled in his finances by the mis- fortune he had just passed through, he did not hesitate a moment, but immediately began to rebuild his business and his fortune, and has never ceased to push his affairs from that date to the present time with all the vim of his young manhood. The rewards of his patience, perseverance, and skill, are now manifest in the extensive and growing business of L. Meyer & Co., and the esteem of his fellow citizens is also fully and unreservedly shown in various ways. He added dry goods in 1880 and now does an extensive jobbing as well as retail business.
For two years Mr. Meyer served as treasurer of the Board of Trade of Lincoln, a very difficult position to fill successfully, and it is safe to say that he would have been elected again had he not declined to
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serve. llis management of the affairs of this office was able, and his energy in working for the public welfare was not excelled, if equaled, by any other man in the city.
In fact, Mr. Meyer is recognized as one of the most able financiers and safe business men of this city, and ranks among Lincoln's fore- most citizens in any important public enterprise. This is manifested in various ways, one of which is his active connection with the work of the Board of Trade, already referred to. Another was his election to the City Council, in April, 1888, from his ward, the Fifth. Mayor Graham has placed Mr. Meyer at the head of the Finance Committee of the City Council, probably the most difficult place to fill in the city government, owing to the constant requirements for new expenditures and enlarged credits, growing out of the rapid development of this young and expanding metropolis. Mr. Meyer has proven equal to the severe tests of his ability, and his recommendations always receive respectful attention and consideration. Mr. Meyer was married to Miss Anna Gunarson, of this city, a lady of many high qualities of mind and heart, on October 2, 1879. Three children cheer their home, including one son, Max Meyer, and two daughters, Pauline and Leah Meyer. They are among the most bright and excellent young people of the city.
Mr. Meyer and Mrs. Meyer rank among the leading people of Lin- coln's social eireles, and justly have the respect of the entire city.
In January, 1887, Hon. H. T. Clarke, who was then and had for years been one of the most prominent and enterprising business men of Omaha, one of the branches of business in which he was engaged being wholesale drugs, concluded that Lincoln offered better advan- tages for the wholesale trade, and consequently changed his place of business in that line to this city.
For the accommodation of this business Mr. Clarke erected, at the corner of Eighth and P streets, a magnificent four-story brick and stone building, 100 by 150 feet, in which a heavy stock of drugs was placed, and business commenced. The firm of the II. T. Clarke Drug Company is composed of the following gentlemen : Hon. H. T. Clarke, John C. Clarke, W. E. Clarke, W. C. Mills, and Charles .J. Daubach, all gentlemen of business experience and ability. Ever since the opening of this house its business has been steadily growing,
1887
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN. .
until now it amounts to more than a half million per year. It is one of the institutions of which Lincoln is proud.
Among the early business men should be mentioned Pflug Bros., Martin and Jacob, who were merchants here in 1868 and for several years later. They were active workers for the good of the city.
The work of Elder J. M. Young, W. T. Donovan, Milton Lang- don, Seth P. Galey, and John Cadman, has been referred to elsewhere.
No man deserves more credit for good work in building up the moral and social interests of the city than Elder Henry T. Davis, now pastor of Trinity M. E. church, and who has been in the ministry in this county longer than any other man now here. His brother, Mr. A. M. Davis, now conducting a wholesale and retail carpet house at 1112 () street, has for many years aided to push the interests of the city forward. Mrs. A. M. Davis has also been and still is a leader in the cause of charity and humanity.
Messrs. Austin and Oliver N. Humphrey, of the Humphrey Bros. Hardware Company, have been leading builders up of the city for twenty years. Dr. H. G. Gilbert established a drug and hardware store at 101 North Ninth street late in 1867, under the firm name of Hawley, Gilbert & Co. In the spring of 1869 Humphrey Bros. bought the hardware interest of Mr. Hawley, and in the fall of that. year bought out Dr. Gilbert, since which time it has been Humphrey Bros., and the Humphrey Hardware Company, the latter company having been incorporated in 1881, when C. J. Heffley became a mem- ber. The elegant four-story brick block at 101 and 103 North Ninth street, and their large wholesale and retail implement and hardware trade, attests their success. They are ever ready to aid public enter- prises, Mr. Austin Humphrey being a prominent officer in the State Agricultural Society and a member of the city Board of Public Works. Mrs. O. N. Humphrey is a prominent worker in the charities and social progress of the city.
Bohanan Brothers, M. G. and F. H., have been active builders of the city from pioneer days, having been leading business men since 1868. They have conducted their meat market at 937 O street since that date, and their livery barn at 221 South Tenth street for many years. Their brick block, on the southwest corner of Tenth and N, is one of the largest in the city. It was built in 1887, and forms only a part of their possessions.
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LINCOLN AS A BUSINESS CENTER.
"T. P. Kennard and John Gillespie helped found the city, and have ever been active in building it up, Mr. Kennard now being a director in the city Board of Trade.
Few men have done more to build the city than J. J. Butler, who erected the first brick block in Lincoln, and who has built more blocks than any other man in the place, with one or two exceptions. He now owns two brick blocks, and has commenced the erection of a third. He is a prominent member of the Irish National League, having been president of the Lincoln Branch.
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