Chicago Illinois

Biographical Sketch of Albert Joseph MacAdams

MacAdams, Albert Joseph; merchant; born in Chicago, Aug. 19, 1868; son of Henry and Carrie Crosby MacAdams; public school and high schools; married, Cleveland, Feb. 18, 1913, L. Jean Sowers; started mnfg. woodturning machinery, and became stationary engineer; went into grocery business in Ashtabula, 1886, but sold out and went into retail store; came to Cleveland, 1888, and associated himself with Bowman’s wallpaper store; later joined Keep Mnfg. Co., makers of shirts, until they discontinued business here in 1890, when he went into haberdashery with W. B. Davis; became member of the firm in 1898, and in 1902, after spending … Read more

Biography of Walter George Gibbons

Walter George Gibbons, vice president and cashier of the Chestnut-Gibbons Grocery Company, a wholesale concern, doing business in Muskogee, has since 1908 been in charge of this establishment. The business was founded here in 1902 and since Mr. Gibbons took charge material advance has been made in the trade connections of the firm. This results from his close study of every phase of the business, his persistency of purpose and his thorough application. Mr. Gibbons was born in Tiskilwa, Illinois, October 1, 1868, and is a son of George and Mary (Cook) Gibbons, the former a harness manufacturer, devoting his … Read more

The Descendants of Franklin Mary Noyes Rowe of Humboldt County, Iowa

Home of Franklin and Mary Noyes Rowe 1887-1905

This book, “The Descendants of Franklin Mary Noyes Rowe of Humboldt County, Iowa, with Some Notes on Their Ancestors,” authored by Velma Rowe Coffin in Storm Lake, Iowa, in 1955, is a meticulously researched genealogical record spanning 87 pages. It traces the lineage of Franklin Rowe, born December 30, 1836, in Onondaga County, New York, and provides insights into his ancestry and descendants. Free to read or download.

Biography of Mary Pierce Van Zile

Mary Pierce Van Zile. A very important member of the faculty of the Kansas State Agricultural College is Mrs. Mary Pierce Van Zile, dean of women and dean of the division of home economics. Her name is a household word in many widely separated homes, for each year Mrs. Van Zile has under her immediate care and instruction from 800 to 900 girls. They come from many environments and are mostly in the most receptive period of their lives, and the influence exerted by Dean Van Zile largely moulds their future. Mary Pierce Van Zile was born on her father’s … Read more

Biography of Edward Staton Hymer M. D.

Edward Staton Hymer, M. D. A physician and surgeon of most thorough qualifications, whose work had brought a large practice and a rising reputation, Doctor Hymer had spent his professional career chiefly at Sedgwick. A resident of Kansas most of his life, Doctor Hymer was born at Albany, Missouri, November 6, 1883. His remote ancestors came from Germany. His father is E. R. Hymer, who was born in Illinois in 1852, grew up in that state, and at an early day came to Kansas and located at Centralia. After several years he removed to Missouri, but in 1884 was back … Read more

Slave Narrative of Nettie Henry

Person Interviewed: Nettie Henry Location: Meridian, Mississippi Place of Birth: Livingston, Alabama Age: 82 Place of Residence: 19th Street, Meridian, Lauderdale County, Mississippi Nettie Henry, ex-slave, 19th Street, Meridian, Lauderdale County, is 82 years old. She is five feet tall and weighs one hundred pounds. “De Chil’s place was at Livingston, Alabama, on Alamucha Creek. Dat’s where I was born, but I jus’ did git borned good when Miss Lizzie—she was Marse Chil’s girl—married Marse John C. Higgins an’ moved to Mer-ree-dian. Me an’ my mammy an’ my two sisters, Liza an’ Tempe, was give to Miss Lizzie. “I aint … Read more

Biography of Thomas C. Biddle, M. D.

Thomas C. Biddle, M. D. Superintendent of the State Hospital for the Insane at Topeka, Doctor Biddle had long been prominent in his profession in Kansas, where he had practiced as a private physiclan or in connecton with the public service for thirty-five years. His name is well known among the profession not only over Kansas, but his work as superintendent of hospitals for the insane had attracted favorable attention over the country at large. He belongs to a prominent family, of the same branch that produced Nicholas Biddle, one of the first secretaries of the treasury, and many other … Read more

Biography of Hon. James G. Watts

Among the practitioners of the bar of Silver City, Idaho, is James G. Watts, who is also a distinguished member of the state senate. Pennsylvania is the state of his nativity, his birth having occurred in the town of Wellsboro, July 23, 1858. His father, Daniel Watts, was a native of England, and on crossing the Atlantic to America took up his residence in New York, whence he afterward removed to the Keystone state. There he was married to Miss Harriet Goodrich, a native of Tioga county, Pennsylvania, and a representative of an old Puritan family. During the civil war … Read more

Biography of John Deere

No citizen in Rock Island County, or throughout the country, was probably more widely known than John Deere of Moline. He was born at Rutland, Vermont, February 7, 1804, and died May 17, 1886. 1805 the family moved to Middlebury, Vermont, where the children attended school in a district schoolhouse, which had a long fire place across the end of the room. The reading, writing and little arithmetic obtained here, before he was twelve years old, was the principal educational start Mr. Deere had for life. He afterwards attended private school for a few months, but the inborn inclination for … Read more

Biography of Henry Bennett

Henry Bennett, of Topeka, has been a resident of Kansas over forty years. Before coming to Kansas he made an enviable record as a gallant soldier in the Union army, having served with the famous Chicago Board of Trade Battery. He has lived three-quarters of a century, but still retains his youth and the optimism of virile and aggressive manhood. No individual record could be more worthy of a place in Kansas history than that of Henry Bennett. He was one of the two sons of William and Rachel (Ludby) Bennett, and was born at Chicago, Illinois, June 15, 1841. … Read more

Ancestors of Horace Alden Keith of Brockton, MA

Horace Alden Keith

Horace Alden Keith, founder of the Brockton Webbing Company, one of the successful and thriving industries of Brockton, and one of that city’s enterprising and progressive business men, is a descendant on both his paternal and maternal sides of historic old New England ancestry. Mr. Keith was born in West Bridgewater May 25, 1862, eldest son of the late Henry Snell and Thalia (Alden) Keith. The ancestral line of the branch of the Keith family in this country to which Horace Alden Keith belongs, and which follows, is given in chronological order from the first American ancestor. Rev. James Keith, born in 1644, was educated in Aberdeen, Scotland (as tradition says at the expense of a maiden aunt), where he was graduated likely from Marischal College, his name appearing on the roll of 1657, said college having been founded by George, the fifth Earl of Keith Marischal, in 1593. At the age of eighteen years he emigrated to this country, arriving at Boston in 1662. He was introduced to the church at Bridgewater by Dr. Increase Mather, and became settled as the minister of the Bridgewater Church Feb. 18, 1664. Rev. James Keith passed away in West Bridgewater July 23, 1719, aged seventy-six years, having labored in the ministry of the town for fifty-six years.

Biography of Oliver O. Hockett

Oliver O. Hockett, one of the younger members of the medical fraternity of Douglas County, and one of the leading men in the social, professional and educational life of Newman, was born in Paris, Edgar County, Illinois, March 2, 1866. He was graduated from the high school of Paris in 1882 and subsequently entered the state university at Champaign, where he remained for three years. He then took up the study of medicine with Dr. M. P. Smith, with whom he remained until he entered Chicago Hahnemann College, from which well known institution he was graduated in the class of … Read more

Biographical Sketch of George Albert Pierson

George Albert Pierson, who in 1912 established the George Pierson Studio at Muskogee, where he has since conducted business on his own account, previous experience, however, having well qualified him for the management and development of his studio, was born in Raymond, Mississippi, on the 3d of May, 1883, and is a son of Albert and Belle (White) Pierson. His youthful days were devoted to the acquirement of an education in public and private schools, and later he became a student in the Chicago Art Institute, which maintains the largest art school in the country. He also studied at Smith’s … Read more

Biography of Christopher W. Johnson

Christopher W. Johnson, who in a steady competitive way has accumulated a most substantial fortune, is now president of the St. Louis Basket & Box Company, with which he became connected as an operative in the factory upon starting out in the business world almost four decades ago. Step by step he has advanced until he is thoroughly familiar with the minutest detail of the business and his success is attributable to his intimate knowledge of every phase of the work, combined with his genius in the management of men and his executive ability. Mr. Johnson is a native of … Read more

Ingram, Jewell L. “Judy” Connor Mrs. – Obituary

Jewell L. “Judy” Ingram, 74, a former Baker City resident, died July 8, 2003, at Creston, British Columbia, as a result of a motor vehicle accident. Her funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Precht Harrison Funeral Home in Okanogan, Wash. There will be a graveside service after the funeral. A dinner will be served at noon at the Okanogan Senior Center. Judy was born on Nov. 26, 1928, at Christopher, Ill., to Barton Edward Connor and Roxie Gulley Connor. She had 10 brothers and sisters. She worked and lived in Chicago during World War II. She traveled to … Read more

Biography of Jesse L. Conant, M. D.

The subject of this sketch is a worthy example of the large class of well read, careful and honorable physicians who are dear to their fellow townsmen wherever their lot may be cast. They are near to the people in sickness and trouble and grow very near to them in all relations of life, and become, many of them, the most influential men in their communities. Doctor Jesse Lyman Conant, mayor and prominent physician and druggist of Genesee, Idaho, was born in Birmingham, Essex County, New York, May 31, 1831, and is descended from an old Norman family which went … Read more

Biography of James H. Roe

James H. Roe, a member of the firm of Holmes, Roe & Pierson, the publishers of the Riverside Daily Press and Weekly Horticulturist, is classed among the pioneers of Riverside, and for the sixteen years preceding this writing has been prominently connected with the interests and industries of the colony. The brief facts gathered relating to his life are of interest: He was born in Birmingham, England, in 1843, his parents being the Rev. Charles Hill, a native of the north of Ireland, and Mary (Steadman) Roe, a native of England. His father emigrated with his family to the United … Read more

Biography of Eugene L. Dimick

Eugene L. Dimick. The vocation of writing and selling insurance had grown to enormous proportions during recent years, not entirely because the people have come to a realization of the necessity for protection, but also because of the men who are engaged in this line of endeavor, who are educating the general public in realizing the benefits accruing from insurance. To succeed in this line of business a man must possess certain qualities not found necessary in other avenues of business, including a thorough knowledge of all the angles of his vocation, a keen insight into human nature, have the … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William Nicholas Hailmann

Hailmann, William Nicholas; educator; born, Glaris, Switzerland, Oct. 20, 1836; son of William Alexander and Babette Hailmann; educated, Gymnasium, Zurich, and with tutor; studied in Medical College, Louisville, Ky., 1855-1856; (hon. A. M. University of Louisville, 1864; Ph. D., Ohio University, 1885); married Eudora Lucas, of Louisville, Dec. 24, 1857 (died 1904); 2d Helena Kuhn, of Detroit, Dec. 25, 1907; teacher of natural sciences, Louisville High Schools, 1856-1865; director German and English Academy, Louisville, 1865-1973; director German and English Academy, Milwaukee, 1873-1878; director German-American Seminary, Detroit, 1878-1883; supt. public schools, La Porte, Ind., 1883-1894; nat. supt. of Indian schools, 1894-8; … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William A. C. Smith

Smith, William A. C.; pres. The Ohio Quarries Co.; born, Chebanse, Ill., Dec. 15, 1876; son of William and Frances M. Rice Smith; educated, public schools, Chebanse, Ill., and one year at Academy, North-Western University, Evanston, Ill.; married, Davenport, Ia., Sept. 12, 1889, Nettie Grant; issue, three children, Janet, 11, Helen, 6, Richard Murray, 4; two years clerked in general store; two years in Chicago National Bank; 1901-1906, salesman, auditor, sec’y and treas. The Bedford Quarries Co. of Chicago; 1903-1906, treas. The Ohio Quarries Co.; 1907, moved to Cleveland as gen. mgr. of the Ohio Quarries Co.; in 1910, made … Read more