Chicago and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy rail-
road companies, on the South Branch of the Chicago
River, was made during that year. The latter com-
pany was then constructing a new line of road into
Chicago from Aurora, to be used in lieu of the thirty
miles of the Galena & Chicago Union line. Notice had'
been given of a discontinuance of the use of this line
after May, 1864. By the opening of the Chicago, Iowa
& Nebraska Railroad, which was leased to the com-
pany in July, 1862, the Galena & Chicago LTnion
operated a continuous line from Chicago to Cedar
Rapids, via Clinton. During the year, also, the passen-
ger depot of the company at Chicago, which had been
built before the completion of the Freeport line, was
enlarged SO as to 'j,wc an additional story and bring
together under one roof all the ijeneral offices.

The Dixon, Rockford & Kenosha Railroad Com-
pany, whose line was built from Chicago to Rockford,



RAILROAD HISTORY.



â– 35



seventy-two miles, was consolidated with the Chicago
& North- Western Railway Company, January 19, 1864.

On the 2d of June, 1864, the two corporations
whose history has been traced, in a general way, up to
this time — the Galena & Chicago Union and the Chi-
cago & North-Western companies — were consolidated.
At the time of the consolidation, the system controlled
by the new corporation was as follows: From Chicago
via Janesville, Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and Appleton,
to Green Bay, two hundred and forty-two miles; Ke-
nosha to Rockford, the junction of the old Galena road
on Rock River, seventy-three miles; the Galena &
Chicago Union lines, both owned and leased, five hun-
dred and twenty-one miles; the Peninsula Railroad,
seventy miles; total, nine hundred and six miles. The
new company assumed the name, " Chicago & North-
western Railway," because the outlet to the Mississippi
River, by way of Galena, had long since passed under
the control of the Illinois Central road. The Dixon
Air Line, built west from the Junction to the Missis-
sippi River, at Fulton, had been put in operation to
meet this demand. All the roads brandling out from
Chicago now controlled by this company run in a gene-
ral northerly or westerly direction — hence the name. The
adoption, of the name also involved no change of books
or blanks from those used by the old Chicago & North-
western Railway Company.

At the time of the absorption of the Galena & Chi-
cago Union Railroad Company, its officers were: William
H. Brown, president; Edward B.Talcott, general superin-
tendent; Augustine W. Adams, general freight agent;
George M. Wheeler, auditor; Willard S. Pope, engi-
neer; Elliott Anthony, attorney; W. M. Larrabee,
secretary; Henry A. Tucker, treasurer.

The officers of the Chicago & North-Western Railway
Company in June, 1864, were as follows: William B. Og-
den, president; Perry H. Smith, vice-president; George
L. Dunlap, superintendent; George P. Lee, treasurer;
James R. Young, secretary; B. F. Patrick, general
ticket agent; Charles S. Tappen, general freight agent.
Since the lease of the Cedar Rapids & Missouri River
road to the Galena & Chicago Union, in 1862, the line
had been extended to Boonesboro', two hundred and
four miles west of the Mississippi River, leaving about
one,hundred and thirty miles of road to complete to the
Union Pacific at Omaha, so that this has been added
to the North-Western system. Just previous to the con-
solidation, the Galena road had commenced the con-
struction of a bridge across the Mississippi at Clinton,
and during the year 1864 it was completed by the Chi-
cago & North-Western. The Peninsular Railroad Com-
pany, of Michigan, operating a line sixty-two miles in
length from Escanaba to Negaunee, was consolidated
with this voracious corporation in October of that year.
In June, 1865, Joseph B. Redfield, now auditor of the
road, became assistant secretary.

No changes of importance were made among the
officers from June, 1865, until June, 1867, when they
were as follows : William B. Ogden, president ; Perry
H. Smith, vice-president ; M. L. Sykes, Jr., second vice-
president ; James R. Young, secretary ; Albert L.
Pritchard, treasurer ; George L. Dunlap, general super-
intendent ; James H. Howe, general solicitor ; William
H. Ferry, acting director of the Galena Division ;
George P. Lee, local treasurer; Charles S. Tappen,
general freight agent ; B. F. Patrick, general passenger
agent. The company now held the stock of the Green
Bay Transit Company, transacting business between
Fort Howard and Escanaba, the terminus of the Penin-
sula Railroad, now "Division." It also controlled the



Chicago & Milwaukee Railway Company, eighty-five
miles.

Up to this time, the entire amount expended upon
the Chicago & North-Western Railway system was, in
round numbers, $49,232,000. Since the consolidation,
$2,777,000 has been laid out upon it. In June, 1870,
John F. Tracy became president of the road, while the
other officers were as follows : M. L. Sykes, Jr., vice-
president ; Albert L. Pritchard, secretary and treasurer;
James H. Howe, general solicitor ; George L. Dunlap,
general manager ; John C. Gault, general superintend-
ent ; J. B. Redfield, auditor ; C. C. Wheeler, general
freight agent ; and H. P. Stanwood, general passenger
agent. The year 1870 marks the completion and con-
nection of the road with the Winona & St. Peter line,
making one hundred and twenty-one miles included in
its Minnesota Division. By June, 187 1, the Chicago &
North-Western Railway Company operated one thou-
sand two hundred and twenty-six miles of road, having
during the previous January absorbed the Beloit &
Madison Railroad Company. Its rolling stock, since
the date of the Galena & Chicago Union consolidation,
had increased from two thousand four hundred and
twenty cars to six thousand four hundred and sixty,
and over $54,000,000 had been expended upon the
entire system during the past twenty-five years. Its
common stock amounted to $14,720,000, its preferred
to $20,415,000, and its funded debt to $12,800,000.

In June, 187 1, at which time this history of the road
closes in this volume, the Chicago & North-Western
Railway Company was officered as follows : John F.
Tracy, president ; M. L. Sykes, Jr., vice-president ;
Albert L. Pritchard, secretary and treasurer; James H.
Howe, manager; John C. Gault, superintendent; E. H.
Johnson, chief engineer ; B. C. Cook, solicitor ; M. M.
Kirkman, treasurer ; Joseph B. Redfield, assistant sec-
retary and auditor ; R. W. Hamer, purchasing agent ;
C. C. Wheeler, freight agent; and H. P. Stanwood,
ticket agent.

Albert Keep, president of the Chicago & North-Western Rail-
way system, was born in Homer, Cortland Co., N. Y., in 1S26,
and received his education at the common school and the academy
of his birthplace. From 1S41 to 1S46, he was a clerk in a general
country store in his native town. In 1846, he came west and
located at Whitewater, Wis., immediately engaging in mercantile
pursuits. He remained thus employed at that town until 1S51,
when he came to Chicago and entered the wholesale dry goods
business as a member of the firm of Peck, Keep& Co., which com-
prised Philander Peck, Albert Keep, and the latter's brother, Henry
Keep. The business house was No. 211 South Water Street, and
Mr. Keep remained therein until 1857, when he closed out the in-
terests of the firm and sold to their successors, Harmon, Aiken &
Gale. Mr. Keep then invested largely in real estate, and erected
numbers of buildings, which he rented or sold as the real estate
market proffered advantages for doing. When the fire of October,
1S71, swept over the city, it destroyed his office and a number
of his buildings. He immediately erected others, and contin-
ued in real estate and building enterprises until June, 1S73,
when he was proffered the position he at present occupies. Mr.
Keep was also a director of the Lake Shore S: Michigan Southern
Railroad from 1S65 until 1SS2.

Marvin Hughitt, second vice-president and general mana-
ger of the Chicago & North-Western Railway, and president of
the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway and of the
Sioux City & Pacific, and Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley
Railroad companies, was born in August, 1837. He commenced
his business life as a telegraph operator, was one of the first opera-
tors connected with the service in the west, and left the telegraph
business proper to take service with the Chicago & Alton Railroad
in 1856, with which he was employed as telegraph operator, super-
intendent of telegraph, and chief train-despatcher. He entered
the service of the Illinois Central Railroad in 1S62, and was suc-
cessively superintendent of telegraph, train master, assistant gene-
ral superintendent and general superintendent. In 1S71, he be-
came assistant general manager of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul Railway, and in the autumn of 1S71 was appointed general



HISTORY OF CHICAGO.



superintendent of the Pullman Palace Sleeping Car Company.
In February 1S72. he became connected with the Chicago &
North-Western Railway; was general superintendent until June,
1570. when he was also appointed general manager, and in 1SS0
was elected one of its vice-presidents. Since that date, he has been
its second vice-president and general manager. In December,
[88s le was elected president of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minnea-
- i miaha Railway, and in July, 1S84. he was elected presi-
dent of the Sioux City & Pacific Railroad and of the Fremont,
Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad, and at present occupies those
positions.

Perry H. Smith, who in his lifetime was one of Chicago's
prominent and most influential citizens, was a man possessing rare
qualities of both mind and heart. He was born, March 2S, 1S2S,
at Augusta. Oneida Co., X. V.; his father was Timothy Smith, an
influential business man of Augusta, his mother was Lucy Avery,
a descendant of a well-known family of that name in Connecticut,
and was in everv way a worthy and estimable lady. When thir-
teen vears of age. Perry entered Hamilton College, where, five years
later, during one of which he was confined at home by illness from
overwork, he graduated with high honors, standing second in his
class. He then entered, as a student, the law office of N. S. Ben-
ton, a prominent attorney at Little Falls, N. V., and on March
. the day on which he attained his majority, was admitted
to the Bar by Judge Peckham, at Albany, N. Y. In October of
that year, he came west and after looking over Kenosha and Mil-
waukee, established himself at Appleton, in the practice of his pro-
fession, and almost from the time of his arrival took a prominent
part in developing what then was a village of two houses and a
part of Brown County. In 1S51, he was elected the first county
judge of Outagamie County, over Professor James M. Phinney,
serving a fractional term and declining a re-election. In 1854^ he
was elected to the Assembly from the district composed of Outa-
gamie, Oconto and Waupaca counties, and at once became one of
its most influential members. In 1S55, he was elected to the State
Senate. He was both able and influential in that body. In 1S57
and 1858, he was elected to the Assembly. The last year, a very
bitter and acrimonious contest, partially of a personal nature, was
waged upon him and upon the Democratic ticket, and he felt so
sore over it that he determined to, and did in 1S56, remove from
Appleton to Chicago. In 1S56, a special session was held for dis-
position of the immense land grants made by the National Govern-
ment to Wisconsin, to aid in the construction of railroads. Mr. Smith
succeeded in maintaining legislation so that the " Superior *' grant
to aid the building of a road from Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Ap-
pleton to Lake Superior, was transferred to a new company, which,

Utended, was soon consolidated with the Chicago, St. Paul
& Fond du Lac Railroad Company. Mr. Smith became vice-presi-
dent of the company, and when, some time later, it was reorganized
as the Chicago i North-Western, he took the same position with
the latter. Milwaukee having opposed him in everything, in and
out of the Legislature, Mr Smith resolved to "get even" with its
citizens. In that day, the " Milwaukee scheme " was to leave Nee-
nah, Menasha and Appleton out of the line of road, and to strike
northwardly from Oshkosh. Mr. Smith stood by the Lower Fox
River region, and thus carried out his threat ; for through the dis-
position of the grant, which he was chiefly instrumental in effecting,
and the consequent extension of the Chicago road, a great deal of
trade, naturally tributary to Milwaukee, was diverted to Chicago.
After he waselected vice-president of the North-Western, he gained
the confidence of William B. I >gden to such an extent that he was
virtually the actual manager of the road and shaped its policy. It

thai during all the time he was a successful railroad mana-
ger he never forgot his hostility to Milwaukee. While living
at Appleton, he made investments in lands anil lead and iron mines,
and these, together with his railroad connections, made him wealthy.

. Mr. Smith removed to this city, ami for two years lived on
I and Erie streets He then bought a
r of Pine and Huron streets, and occupied it
until it the great fire of 1S71. After that event he

built the magnificent the same site, and which is still

occupied by the f.imil;. - â–  md was furnished

with great elegance, and, in 1^74, when it was finished, was re-
:' the finest residences in the city. In 1868, here-
tired fromthe management of the North-Western Railway, and set
about ei !rh he had accumulated. He made everal

trip* to Europe, and traveled extensively in this country. The re-
linquishmcnt of owever, acted unfavorably upon him,

nind began to fail him. This affection tead-
ily grew worse unti ii 1883, when it became necessary to have a
Conservator after his affairs. His wife

this trust under the appointment of the court, but later relinquished
its responsible dutii • 1 son. 'I he affection of Mr.

Smith's mind showed itself chiefly in loss of memory. Up to
a few weeks of his death he could converse rationally on almost any



subject. His ideas and intentions on politics and current events
were clear and logical, and his conversation as entertaining as ever.
His memory, however, was so treacherous that he often failed ut-
terly to recall one day what he had said or done the day before.
His malady, however, was of an incurable nature, and in March,
1SS5, had reached a stage extremely critical. His illness terminated
in his death, which occurred on the 29th of that month, at the age
of fifty-seven years and eleven days. At his death, Mr. Smith left
a wife and four children, all of whom were comfortably provided
for out of the handsome estate he had accumulated during the years
of his active business life Mr. Smith was married, in 1851, to Miss
Emma A. Smith, daughter of Rev. Reeder Smith, of Appleton,
Wis. The children, already mentioned, are Perry H., Jr. ; Ernest
F. ; Emma, now the wife of F. A. Sawyer, of Boston, Mass., and
William D. Thus briefly have been sketched the life and charac-
ter of Mr. Smith, and though little or no attempt has been made at
laudatory comment, yet the simple facts as they have been stated
show his worth and ability, and that in every sense of the word he
was a self-made man. He was always industrious, brave and seif-
reliant ; it was not his nature to ask favors of anyone, although no
man prized true friendship higher than he. He won his way in
the world by the force of his own genius and will, and being pos-
sessed of a fine education, comprehensive views, excellent judg-
ment, great energy and geniality, these qualities brought to him
not only his success, but a very large circle of warm and apprecia-
tive friends.

John Bice Turner, for many years one of the most able, pub-
lic-spirited and trustworthy of Chicago's early citizens, stands as a
corner-stone of the great Chicago & North-Western Railway system.
William B. Ogden and himself are to day recognized as having
been the most powerful agents in the establishment of the Galena
& Chicago Union Railroad Company, which may be called the
foundation of its giant successor. It is full of interest as well as
instruction to trace the life of such a man along the rugged path-
way by which he reached his ultimate success. His record as a
railroad pioneer commences as early as 1835, in the state of New
York. Having not yet recovered from the business reverses sus-
tained a few years previously, in April, 1S35 being then a young man
of thirty-four, he set to work, under contract, to build seven miles
of the Ransom & Saratoga Railroad. This being accomplished,
he was placed in charge of the entire road and had the honor of
putting in service the " Champlain," a locomotive engine of five
tons weight, and the second of its kind to appear in the northern
states. Most of the " trains " were drawn by horses, of which the
company purchased thirty, and Mr. Turner built a barn every ten
miles along the road, for their accommodation. In November, 1S35,
ground was broken by himself and his partner, as contractors, for the
construction of the Delaware division of the New York & Erie Rail-
road Company. The financial crash of April, 1S37, however, carried
that corporation with it and caused the temporary ruin of the young
contractor and his partners. Subsequently, the company resumed
operations, and the $16,000, which it was feared had been perma-
nently lost, was recovered. His next venture was in partnership
with his brother-in-law, John Yernam, in the building of the Ge-
nesee Valley Canal. When, in 1S40, the State suspended work
upon it, Mr. Turner himself received another set-back. The en-
terprise was resumed, however, and finished, also a section of the
Troy & Schenectady road, by the spring of 1843. This placed Mr.
Turner in more comfortable circumstances, and he resolved to lo-
cate in the west. In company with his wife, he made a journey of
observation as far west as the Mississippi River. Determining to
settle in Chicago, he returned to Troy for his two younger children,
leaving his oldest boy in Williamstown College. He arrived in the
Garden City on October 15, 1S43, boarding, with his family, at the
old Tremont House Early in the spring, Mr. Turner purchased
one thousand acres of prairie land lying south of Blue Island and
put upon it an immense flock of sheep which he had brought from
Ohio. He was now in such comfortable circumstances that he was
enabled to devote his active mind to larger projects connected with
the improvement of the new country which he had made his home.
A railroad from Chicago to the Fox River was the all-absorbing
topic among the active and broad-minded men of the state and the
city. The Galena & Chicago Union Railroad Company had been
inaugurated several years previously, and a small section of the road
constructed, when the funds gave out and work was suspended.
In 1847, ten years after the building of this crude excuse fora rail-
road, Messrs. Ogden and Turner resuscitated the enterprise, and on
the 5th of April, 1847, the former was elected president and Mr.
Turner acting director of the road. Soon afterward, Richard P.
Morgan made a survey of the line, and the two enthusiastic and able
offii i ils traveled through the country soliciting subscriptions.
Winn Mr. Turner was elected president of the company, in De-
cember, 1850, the line had been extended from Chicago to beyond
Elgin, and by September, 1852, it had reached l'reeport, where it
connected with the Illinois Central. Under his administration, the



RAILROAD HISTORY.



'37



Dixon Air line was completed to Fulton, and during that period the
line across the state of Iowa was partially finished. lie resigned
the presidency in 1S5S, after having been, with the exception, per-
haps, of William B. Ogden, the most efficient laborer in laying the
foundation of one of the greatest railway systems in the world. In
1S53, he had organized, also, the Beloit & Madison Railroad Com-
pany, and continued inactive connection with the Galena & Chicago
Union Company and its successor up to the time of his death. When
the consolidation of the Galena & Chicago Union and the Chicago &
North-Western was effected in June, 1S64, Mr. Turner was chairman
of the managing committee. He subsequently served as a directorand
member of the executive committee of the new road, bringing to
bear the same energy, ability and probity which he evinced in his
younger days. One illustration of the confidence which he had
gained, not only of his immediate circle, but even throughout the
country, is here given. During the war, while Fremont had com-
mand in Missouri, and suspicions were abroad that the railways
were swindling the Government, he made an investigation of the
matter and the National Commissioners adopted his figures without
alteration. In fact, the nature of his public enterprises since his
settlement in Chicago had brought him into contact with capital-
ists and professional men scattered throughout the land, and the
name of John Bice Turner had become a synonym for all that was
honest and reliable. In addition to his other manifold labors, Mr.
Turner's name appears as one of the directors of the North Side
Street Railway Company, which was incorporated in February, 1859.
V. C. Turner, his son, and now president, then became manager.
Mr. Turner was born at Colchester, Delaware Co., N. Y., Jan-
uary 14, 1799. His father died when he was two years of age and
his mother when he was fourteen, he having been adopted by a
Mr. Powers soon after the death of his father. In a tan-yard and
upon a farm, with an occasional term of schooling, the boy passed
the early years of his life, and so well did he improve his oppor-
tunities that he was able, in iSig, to unite himself in marriage to
Miss Martha Voluntine, of Malta, Saratoga Co., N. Y. In 1824,
he sold the interest he had obtained in the farm to his brother-in-
law, bought a mill and built a distillery, which, with a store, he
operated at Mattaville, in the same county. Six years thereafter,
business reverses came upon him, which at length induced him to
embark in those railroad enterprises which brought him fame and
fortune. While acting as an official, however, Mr. Turner stu-
diously and conscientiously avoided the rock of speculation — a
marked trait of his upright character being his often expressed fear,
that some one would suspect him of abusing his position for the pur-
pose of increasing his fortune through such means. In March, 1853,
Mr. Turner lost his first wife by death. In 1S55, he was married to
Miss Adeline Williams, of Columbus, Ga. Six children were born to
him, three of whom were daughters. Up to the day of his death, which
occurred on February 26, 1871, he seemed hale and hearty. He died
peacefully and quietly — a fitting end forone whose life was so filled
with good and earnest works. His demise was the occasion for
wide-spread grief — his railroad associates, especially, looking upon
his loss as irreparable. As gracefully and feelingly announced by
General Manager Dunlap, of the Chicago & North-Western road,
its general offices and shops were closed in profound respect for the
memory of this "judicious and faithful counsellor, genial com-
panion, considerate friend and Christian gentleman. His devo-
tion to the material interests of the country was excelled only by
the patriotism which never lost sight of the highest duties of citizen-
ship. His great works live after him, and will keep his memory
green forever."

Henry H. Porter, the president of the Union Steel Com-
pany of this city, is a native of Maine, born in Machias, Wash-
ington Co., in 1837. His father, Rufus King Porter, was a lawyer
and a man of considerable prominence in that profession. His
mother, Lucy Hedge Porter, was a most estimable woman, and
belonged to one of the oldest and best of New England families.
Henry H. Porter was given a fair English education in the com-
mon schools of that dav, besides enjoying the advantages of a
short term in an academy at Andover, Mass. At fifteen years of
age, he began clerking in a store in Eastport, Me., but a year later,
having determined upon trying his fortune in the West, he, in 1853,
came to this city and entered the offices of the old Galena & Chi-