History of Salt Lake City, Part 132

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company
Number of Pages: 1194

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Wilham Jennings was elected Mayor of Salt Lake City in 1882, and his administration gave general satisfaction. Undoubtedly he would have been returned a second term as Mayor, but for the constrained interpretation put upon the Edmunds' Bill, for he was legally eligible to the office. The general record of his public life and of his connections with the commerce of the entire Terri- tory, the building and management of our local railroads will be found interspersed in the foregoing chapters of this history. lle died January 15, 1886, and his memory was honored by the citizens generally.

T. G. Webber and J. R. Winder, a committee appointed by the directors of Zion's Co-opera- tive Mercantile Institution at their meeting on January 16th, 1886, to draft resolutions of respect to the late Hon. William Jennings, Vice-President of the Institution, made their report, which was accepted and adopted, as follows :

Preamble and Resolutions of respect to the late Honorable William Jennings, Vice-President of 7 .. C. M. I.

Whereas : On Friday, the 15th day of January, 1886, it pleased the Almighty Creator and Father of all to remove from our midst, by the hand of death, Hon. William Jennings, Vice- President of this Institution ; and

Whereas, He was closely connected with this Institution from its inception, having been appointed a director in the winter of 1868, holding that position continuously till November, 1873. when he was elected Vice-President, an office he retained until his demise ; he also held the office of Superintendent from 1881 till 1883 ; and,

Whereas, In all these important positions he has manifested a deep interest in the welfare of Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution, which is largely indebted for success and prosperity to his capable efforts, his judgment in all commercial matters being necessarily-owing to his unusual experience and ability-of great value ; and

Whereas, While bowing submissively to the decree of an Allwise Providence, we have a keen sense of the loss that Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution has sustained by the death of so energetic and able a supporter as Hon. William Jennings. It was not alone in a business capacity that we prized him, but also in the closer bond of personal friendship, as he was endeared to us by his many noble traits of character, general kindness of heart and lavish hospitality being among the amiable qualities of his nature ; nor are we alone in placing a high estimate upon the value of our late departed friend and brother, the community having lost the presence in their midst of one who has acquitted himself honorably and efficiently in the public service, as a member of the Territorial Legislature, as Mayor of Salt Lake City and in many other prominent positions ; therefore be it

Resolved, As the sense of the officers and directors of Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institu- tion, that in the death of Hon. William Jennings we have not only been deprived of the services of an honorable, energetic and capable business man, but association with a loved and esteemed brother, and properly considering ourselves as among his intimate, personal friends, and viewing his many excellent qualities of head and heart with admiration, we not only hold his memory in the highest degree of respect, but accord to him a foremost place in our affections ; also

Resolved, That our heartfelt sympathy be tendered to the bereaved family who, in the depar- ture from this life of a loving husband and affectionate father, have suffered an irreparable loss ; also

Resolved, That the above preamble and resolutions be spread upon the minutes of this board meeting in full, and that a copy thereof be engrossed and presented to the family of our late esteemed associate and friend.

4 WILLIAM H. HOOPER.

WILLIAM H. HOOPER.

The late Honorable William Henry Hooper was the son of Henry Hooper and Mary Noel Price. He was born at the old homestead known as Warwick Manor, Dorchester County, Eastern Shore of Maryland, December 25th, 1813.

His father, who died when the subject of our sketch was but three years of age, was of English descent ; while his mother, as her name would indicate, was of Scotch extraction. He attended country school for about a year and a half, this being all the schooling he ever received in his youth.

At the age of fourteen he went into a store as a clerk with a man named Brambci, up to which time he had lived at home with his widowed mother, helping on the farm as best he could.

Two years later he entered the employ of a Mr. Parrott, a merchant at Newmarket, E. S., with whom he remained twelve months, until his employer removed to the West.

Being again out of a situation, he went to Baltimore, where he engaged in his former business ; but his health failing him, he returned to his native place, Eastern Shore, with a small stock of goods -furnished him by his employer. On arriving at home, he took charge of his mother and two sfs- ters, the younger of whom is still alive.

In connection with his business thus established, he, at the age of nineteen succeeded in build- ing a coasting schooner which he christened the Benjamin D. Jackson. About this time much inter- est was being manifested in the West, Illinois being the extreme western frontier; and in 1832, W. H. Hooper, selling his vessel and other effects, paid a visit to St. Louis, intending to go to the lead mines, at Galena, Illinois. The prevalence there of cholera, however, prevented him from carrying out his project and he wintered in St. Louis, then a city of but 6,000 inhabitants.

Early in the spring of 1833, he returned to Maryland, and again took a clerkship in Baltimore. During the same season he made a trip up the Potomac to Washington, being a guest of Thomas H. Hicks, who subsequently became governor and died a senator.

While in Washington he, in company with Mr. Hicks, attended the exciting discussions then going on at the Capitol on the currency question during President Jackson's administration. He was in the Senate gallery when Jackson sent his memorable message to that honorable body pro- testing against their action looking to his impeachment.

In 1835 his eldest sister and her husband died, leaving two daughters, aged respectively two and four years, who came under his charge,

In the fall of the same year he, in company with George Wann, took a stock of goods to Ga- lena, Illinois, where they started business under the firm name of Hooper & Wann. In 1836 Mr. Wann returned to his native State, selling out his interest to Charles Peck and Samuel H. Scales, the house now becoming Hooper, Peck & Scales, afterwards well known upon the frontiers as mer- chants, miners and smelters, as well as being considerably concerned in the steamboat interest.

It was during the year 1836 that Hooper married his first wife, Miss Electa Jane Harris, by whom he had two daughters, both of whom are now dead, as also is their mother, who died in 1844. His youngest daughter, May Dacre, died in 1855, near Galena; the eldest, Wilhelmina, died in 1866, at Platteville, Wisconsin. She was the wife of Mr. John McArthur.

The firm of Hooper, Peck & Scales went down in the panic of 1838, which suspended the mer- cantile and banking interests of the whole country. After giving some two or three years' attention to winding up the business, it was turned over to Mr. Peck, a man of private means and without family, who also received incidental aid from Mr. Hooper, he having to seek his living in other di- rections. After several years of hard struggle, the firm debt, amounting in the aggregate to about $200,000, was paid.

During this period, his mother and family, with the two daughters of his sister, emigrated to Galena, where they remained in his charge until the death of his mother, in 1855, and the marriage of his two nieces, whom he had educated, and who graduated at the Cooper Institution, Dayton, Ohio.

The family owned three slaves, "Old Charley" and his wife and child. Charley had been the playmate of Mr. Hooper's father. They were taken from Maryland to Illinois, where they became free, but they never left the family. "Old Charley" died recently at a very advanced age. For the last ten years he was bed-ridden. He was not forgotten, however, nor forsaken, by him to whose

8.4

HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

rearing he had contributed in earlier times. He was cared for to the last, receiving a liberal stipu- lation regularly from Mr. Hooper.

In 1843 the latter engaged in steamboating, being clerk on board the little steamer Otter, then plying between Galena and St. Paul, near Fort Snerling. The Otter was owned and commanded by his brothers-in-law, the Captains Harris, who were the pioneers of steamboating on the Upper Mississippi. One building only-a Catholic missionary chapel-then marked the spot where now stands the large and flourishing city of St. Paul, Minn., and from which the city derived its name. At that time there were but few white settlers above Dubuque and Prairie Duchein. The country was then a wilderness, which is now embraced in the flourishing States of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

In 1844 he built for the American Fur Company the steamer Lynx. During the memorable high water of that season she was grounded by her pilot, however, on her first trip, near or upon the point of land where the City of Winona now stands. He remained on the river, building and commanding several boats. The last, built in 1847, was known as the Alexander Hamilton, and owned principally by Messrs. Corwiths, of Galena, and Messrs. C. H. Rodgers, of New York. This boat was burned, with twenty-two others, at St. Louis, in May, 1849, the disaster again leaving him penniless in the world. Being thus reduced, he took charge of the books of the then well known house of the West, the Planter's House, St. Louis.

In the spring of 1850, he emigrated to Salt Lake City, under an engagement with Holliday & Warner, merchants. This event, insignificant as it may appear, changed the tenor of his future life. At the time he made the engagement with Mr. Holliday, Captain Harris of Galena and himself were arranging with a Pittsburg company for the construction of an iron steamer, which they pro- posed to ship around the Horn in pieces, with the view of putting her on the Sacramento River. The money for the carrying out of this design was to be furnished by Capt. Harris, and had this project been carried out, in all probability they would have owned the first steamer ever put on that river. It was on account of extreme ill health that Mr. Hooper preferred to make a trip to Salt Lake, where he arrived in the month of June, 1850, but remained with Holliday & Warner till 1853.

In December of 1852, he married Mary Ann Knowlton, by whom he had nine children, three sons and six daughters, the first two being sons, who are now dead. In 1853, and while in com- pany with Holliday and Warner, he went to California with a large adventure of cattle, horses, flour, etc., which latter he disposed of to a large company of emigrants on the road. While in California, he sold his interest in the profits to Holliday & Warner, clearing $10,000 by the transaction, and in company with four other men, including his old friend, John Reese, returned to Salt Lake in the fall, reaching the city in the month of December.

This journey was attended with considerable danger, the country being infested with hostile Indians, and without a house, from where Virginia City, Nevada, now stands, to the settlements of Utah, a distance of about 700 miles.

In 1854, he embarked in mercantile pursuits, and in 1855 was elected a member of the State convention to frame a Constitution for the State of Deseret. In 1857, he was appointed by Gov. Brigham Young, Secretary pro tem of the Territory, to fill the place made vacant by the death of Almon W. Babbitt. This position he held until 1858, when he was relieved by Secretary John Hartnet of St. Louis, who came out with Johnston's army. Mr. Hooper's appointment as Secre- tary pro tem was recognized by the Federal Government.

His coming to Utah changed the course of Mr. Hooper's life, and turned the fates in his favor ; for in 1859, he was elected Delegate from Utah to the Thirty-sixth Congress of the United States. This gave him an opportunity of witnessing the culmination of matters at the Capitol, which re- sulted in the rebellion ot the Southern States.

RREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT TO THE LATE HON. WILLIAM H. HOOPER, PRESIDENT OF Z. C. M. I.

Whereas, On Saturday, December 30th, 1882, it pleased the Allwise Creator to remove from our midst, by the hand of death, the Hon. Wm. H. Hooper, President of this Institution ; and

Whereas, He was intimately associated with this Institution, as a Director, from the date of its first organization, in the winter of 1868, until October, 1877 ; as Superintendent from 1873 until 1875, and as President from 1877 until death called him hence ; and

Whereas, During the whole time he was associated with us, in the several important positions enumerated, his energy in the interest of the Institution was unflagging, and his capacity and judg- ment unsurpassed ; its success being greatly due to his intelligent efforts ; and

THOMAS G. WEBBER.

Whereas, While bowing in humble submission to the Divine will, we deeply realize the fact that Z. C. M. I. has, in the departure to the other life of Brother Wm. H. Hooper, lost an able, active and indefatigable supporter, and in considering his beneficial relations with us in a business capacity, in which he shone pre-eminently, we cannot refrain from also referring to his many estimable qualities manifested in other important spheres. As the Representative of the people of Utah, in the Congress of the United States, for a long series of years, he exhibited statesmanlike ability, associated with unflinching fidelity to his constituents. As a husband and father he was tender and affectionate in the highest degrec; and as a friend, he was steadfast and true as the ever- lasting hills. Nor were his sympathies confined within a limited circle, being as comprehensive as the family of man ; therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the officers and directors of Z. C. M. I. that we have not only suffered, by the death of Brother Wm. H. Hooper, the loss of a gifted, quick-sighted, sagacious and upright man of business, but are thus compelled to part from one whose tenderness of heart, and kindly and genial nature, caused him to be beloved wherever known, and numbering ourselves as we do among his most ardent admirers and sincere friends, we not only hold his memory in the highest respect and esteem, but accord to him a foremost place in our affections ; and

Resolved, That our heartfelt sympathy be tendered to the bereaved family, who have suffered, by the death of their head and protector, an irreparable loss; and further be it

Resolved, That the above preamble and resolutions be spread upon the minutes of this Board meeting in full, and a copy thereof presented to the family of our late lamented associate and friend.

THOMAS G. WEBBER.

Thomas G. Webber, secretary, treasurer, and assistant superintendent of Z. C. M. I., was born at Exeter, England, September 17th, 1836, the eldest son of Thomas B. Webber, by Charlotte, his wife, who died at Exeter December 12th, 1852. He comes from an old and well known Devon- shire family, who for generations have lived at and in the vicinity of Exeter, the celebrated old cathedral town on the Exe.

Webber's father, a man of scientific attainments, an engineer, inventor and electrician, took a prominent part in introducing the electric telegraph at an early day in England. For upwards of forty years past he has been connected with the telegraphic systems of England as engineer and superintendent. A scientific man himself, and realizing the importance of educational training, Mr. Webber gave to his boy, the subject of this sketch, a good English education. An apt scholar, the boy made good progress; mathematics and drawing were his especial likings, in both of which he became proficient.

But, with his mother's death, home seemed to lose its charm, and at length his father was in- duced to place him in a civil engineers' office. Here his mathematics and drawing served him well, and with a natural liking for the profession he made good progress.

One of his companions and a fellow student of engineering having about completed his studies, accepted a position on one of the railways then under construction by the Brazilian government and lett England for America. Young Webber determined to follow at an early day to the New World, which appeared to offer a broad and promising field. Accordingly in the Fall of 1855, having formed the acquaintance of a German named Kraus, who was soon to start for America, he left Eng- land and sailed with Mr. and Mrs. Kraus for New York. Here Kraus and himself opened an engineer's and surveyor's office under the firm name of Kraus & Webber, and by dint of hard work and perseverance they managed to make a living. But the partnership did not last a great while. It was dissolved by mutual consent and in 1857 Webber entered the army. He

HISTORY OF SALT LAKE CITY.

served in Arizona and California, and in the Fall of 1861, was, with a squadron of his regiment, or- dered to proceed, by way of the Isthmus of Panama and New York, to Washington. Early in 1862, he went to Fortress Monroe with Mcclellan's army of the Potomac; shared in the Peninsular and other campaigns of that army ; was present at Yorktown, Williamsburg, Gaines Mill, White Oak Swamp, Malvern, Fredericksburg, Kelly's Ford, Chancellorsville, Upperville, Gettysburg, Williams- port and Falling Waters. He was for a while Commissary and Quartermaster of the First Cavalry ; Quartermaster of the Cavalry Brigade and subsequently Adjutant of his regiment. A good draughts- man and topographer, a fearless and accomplished horseman, he was frequently engaged while serv- ing under McClellan in reconnoissances, undertaken for the purpose of gaining information and sketching the country, as the Virginia Peninsula was practically terra incognita for military pur- poses, when the army landed at Fort Monroe. The maps at hand were inaccurate and misleading, and the only trustworthy information obtainable was that procured by reconnaissance, frequent'y made under fire and at considerable loss of life.

In the winter of 1863 he resigned to join his friend Mr. E. Miller, who some years before had presented the principles of Mormonism to him, and who was then at Florence on his way to Utah. At St. Joseph he learned that Miller would proceed no further west that winter, so he started alone to Atchison and crossed the plains by stage to Salt Lake. Here he early made the acquaintance of business and commercial men, and he now numbers among his most intiniate and valued friends very many, the date of whose acquaintance goes back to the early days of his arrival here.

In the following spring, with T. B. H. Stenhouse, he was busy preparing for the publication of the first daily newspaper in Utah, and on the morning of July 4th, 1864, the Salt Lake Daily Telc- graph was issued.

In 1865, he was commissioned by Governor Doty a colonel of the militia of Utah Territory, and appointed on the staff of the second brigade, then commanded by Gen. Franklin D. Richards.

On May 25th, 1867, he married Mary Ellen Fox Richards, eldest daughter of Gen. F. D. Rich- ards, by Charlotte Fox, his wife. In May, 1869, with his friend Stenhouse, and his old-time asso- ciate, John Jaques, he went to Ogden to publish a daily paper, and on the morning after the last rail, connecting the Union and Central Pacific Railroads, was laid on the promontory, they published the Ogden Telegraph. Thus Colonel Webber took an active part in giving to Utah her first daily papers : the Telegraphs of Salt Lake City and Ogden.

In June, 1869, he left Ogden and the newspaper business, and entered the service of Z. C. M. I., and in October, 1870, was elected secretary of that Institution. His old friend, Thomas Williams, was elected treasurer at the same time. Subsequently the secretary and treasurerships were merged in one, and he was elected to the dual office.

In October, 1876, he resigned to go on a mission to Germany, and was succeeded as secretary and treasurer by David O. Calder, Esq. Early in the following November, with his friend, Gen. H. B. Clawson, he went east to Chicago, the Centennial exhibition and New York, whence he sailed in the Dakota for Liverpool.

After visiting in Devonshire, he again returned to Liverpool, where he met F. S. Richards and H. B. Clawson, Jr., Esqrs., and the three friends traveled through England, France and Switzer- lind together. From Bern, Switzerland, Webber went to Baden and Bavaria, remaining in the Rhine country until the winter of 1877, when he was telegraphed to come home.

Returning to Devon to say good-bye to relatives and friends, he crossed the Atlantic in Novem- ber, meeting his wife, who under the kindly escort of Hon. John Sharp, reached New York City soon after he landed. After visiting friends in Eastern cities, he and his wife returned by way of Niagara, reaching home in January, 1878. During the greater portion of 1878, he was engaged in the settlement of the estate of the late President Young, and at the annual meeting of the stockholders, in October of that year, he was again elected secretary and treasurer of Z. C. M. I. On the second Monday of February, 1884, he was elected a city councilor, and at the last muni- cipal election, February 8th, 1886, alderman, from the second municipal ward.

A warmer or more devoted friendship is rarely seen than that which, for near a quarter of a cen- tury, has characterized the intimacy of Jennings, Hooper, Eldredge and Webber. The two first named have now passed away, but each in his last will and testament, as a further mark of friend- ship and confidence, named Webber as one of his executors, without bonds or sureties, notwith- standing the estate of each will aggregate near a million dollars in value.

From the above brief sketch, it will be seen that Col. Webber has been identified with the great Institution of which he is secretary, treasurer and assistant superintendent almost from the very beginning. Possessing executive abilities of a high order ; with a quick, almost intuitive perception,

H. W. NAISBITT.

and a worker in the broadest acceptation of the term, he has labored diligently and well in the great cause of co-operation. Long association with Z. C. M. I. having familiarized him with every detail of its business, he is thus enabled to handle its complicated and vast transactions with readiness and ability, and the Institution is not a little indebted to him for its complete organization, perfect busi- ness systems and success.

He is eminently a self-made man, having risen altogether by superior ability, coupled with in- tegrity, and to these traits he owes his present important and responsible position. He came to Utah an entire stranger, yet at once became a representative man of the country, a joint founder of the first daily paper in Utah, and for fifteen years he has held his present position in the executive depart- ment of one of the greatest mercantile institutions in America.

H. W. NAISBITT.

Among the common people of Utah -- that is the non-official class-few names are more gener- ally known than that of our subject. For over thirty years a resident of Salt Lake City and en- gaged in public business and duty, it is easy to account in quite a measure for this.

An Englishman by birth, yet of Scotch origin, and belonging to the Naisby's or Naseby's of the Covenanters, it is seen that characteristics are not unseldom hereditary, and marked in this, as in hosts of life histories by the influence of " blood."

The grandfather was in the British service, and was paymaster in the navy when drowned at New Orleans in the war of 1812. The immediate father and uncle were linen manufacturers in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England, but the introduction of cotton fabrics paralyzed that industry, and made the busy northern villages of that County the habitat of idle weavers, whose craft and memory are now obsolete and near forgotten

When our boy was but nine years of age, and partly as a consequence of this trade crisis, the lov- ing father passed away, leaving his widow and five children alone in the battle of life ; no, not alone, for the religious sentiment of the household was voiced, by the dying husband when he said, "mother don't cry, 'I never yet saw the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread.'"

At the age of thirteen, it was necessary that labor should claim the powers of the oldest of the family, and so it came to pass that school was abandoned, and that taste was indulged in the attempt to acquire a knowledge of the hat business, of tinning, of cabinet work, of gardening, and of the grocery and tea business, all of which had an influence felt even unto now.

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History of Salt Lake City, Part 132

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company Number of Pages: 1194

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company
Number of Pages: 1194