Few men are sufficiently versatile to successfully pursue two separate and entirely different vocations during their lives. Rare, indeed, is the farmer that becomes a dividend earning manufacturer, especially after he has attained middle age, and become a man of substance through his own efforts in tilling the soil. Such, however, has been the achievement […]
Much has been written in this historical work of the banks and bankers of Rock Island and Moline. However, in estimating the financial strength of Rock Island County the banks and bankers of its smaller municipalities are deserving of very prominent mention, for they are the tributaries of larger financial institutions and have an important
Rufus Walker, one of the most extensive fuel dealers in Moline, was born in Williamstown, Orange County, Vermont, December 10, 1839, his parents being Rufus and Susan Walker. Eleven children, seven boys and four girls, were born to this couple. The father, who was a shoemaker by trade, died December 22, 1839, when the subject
A good mental and physical equipment, unflagging energy, and temperate habits have been leading factors in the elevation of Robert Ward Olmsted, from a poor boy, dependent upon his own resources, to the honored position of judge of Rock Island County. Born on a farm in Edgington Township, Rock Island County, Illinois, May 6, 1868,
