â– , Miss Mary V Haim 3, of Philadelphia.
Daring the early years of Odd Fellowship in this city. Mr. Gray
ii 1 in the
ler for many years.
Geoi enjoys two di 1 onnection with
nong the oldest living
settlers; the of one of the oldesi railroad men.
1 I <>.. N. Y., in 1 - 1 -
of Alfred and V I) Gray. At the age of twi
entered a store in Monro ' ounty, N. Y.,whi ned until
1834, when he came to Chicago— his parents, with the remainder
of the family, having arrived here during the preceding vear. Since
coming here, Mr. Gray has fought the battle of life, as was inev-
itable with the early residents of Chicago, and now enjoys the
position he occupies, with the Pullman Palace Car Company, as a
reward for his earnest labor in the interests of the railroads with
which he has been associated and as a deserved recognition of the
aptitude and knowledge acquired by such experience. Shortly
after his arrival, Mr. Gray became a clerk for Gurdon S. Hubbard,
at that time a general storage and commission merchant as well as
a mercantile dealer in the various provisions, breadstuffs, etc.,
needed in a frontier settlement. With Mr. Hubbard he remained
two years, and then was employed by " Uncle" Peter Cohen, a
merchant, for about one year; after which he was with O. H.
Thompson, for about the same period. Business then became de-
pressed, and he did anything that would result in achieving a live-
lihood ; and, in adverting to this epoch of his residence, Mr. Gray
remarks : ' ' That the inhabitants of the Chicago of to-day can not
understand the straits and makeshifts that had to be resorted to by
the early settlers of the city, and what a large amount of persist-
ence and dogged determination was needed to adhere to the for-
tunes of our city, despite the numberless actual and prospective
discouragements of its early growth." But he, with the other
members of that little phalanx, stuck to the "cradled infant," be-
ing always employed, in various capacities, during his long resi-
dence, and now rejoices in its magnificent maturity. In 1S4S, he
engaged as a traveling agent with the McCormick Harvester Man-
ufacturing Company, performing the duties necessary during the
winter, while during the continuance of navigation, he ran the
" Illinois," a packet-boat on the Illinois and Michigan Canal.
These two business engagements he continued until 1S51, when he
became connected with the Michigan Southern & Northern Indi-
ana Railroad, the embryo of the Lake Shore & Michigan South-
ern, whose office was then under the Tremont House. As a
matter of correlative history, it may be stated that at that time a
line of stages was run from the termination of the road, twenty
miles; then the railroad again connected with Michigan City; then
omnibuses were ran for twelve miles, over a plank road, to La-
Porte, Ind., from which point the railroad was complete to Toledo,
O. , a large portion being laid with strap rail; and from Toledo it
ran to the Maumee Swamp, where stages were again employed.
Thus, three interregnums of staging occurred between Chicago and
Buffalo, and in these stage lines Mr. Gray was actively and finan-
cially interested. On February 22. 1852, the through line to Chi-
cago was opened, being the first uninterrupted railway communi-
cation between New York and this city. The technical designa-
tion of Mr. Gray's office, with the Michigan Southern lV Northern
Indiana and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroads, was
general western agent, which he retained until 1S62, when he
resigned. One incident of his trials, in connection with this office,
was the prevalence, in early days, of the ' Wild Cat Currency,"
which was a constant source of anxiety and worry to him ; as a
bank arose and fell so rapidly, that what was quoted as good
money in the morning might be worthless by the evening ; and
Mr Gray was annoyed by the apprehension that such depreciation
might transpire, at any moment, in the large amounts of money he
handled on the company's account. In 1S65, he resumed his asso-
ciation with the Lake Shore road, being made general western
agent of the through line to Buffalo, which he retained until his
resignation in 1S67. In that year, he became general agent of the
Pullman Palace Car Company, at Chicago, and occupied that situ-
ation until his appointment, in 1873, to the one he at present occu-
pies, that of general ticket agent. In 1S54. Mr. Gray was one of
the founders of the present hardware house of Hibbard, Spencer,
Bartlett & Co. then inaugurated as Tuttle, Hibbard & Co., and
comprising Nelson Tuttle, Fred. Tuttle, H. G. Hibbard, and
George M. Gray; Mr. Gray remaining as a silent partner until
1S64. He was married, in 1839, to Miss Maria Louisa Johnson,
of Brownsville, Me. Mr. Gray has for many years been an Odd
Fellow, having taken all the degrees in that organization.
W. P. Johnson, general passenger agent of the Lake Shore
& Michigan Southern Railway, was born on June 22, 1834, at
Whitehall, N. Y. At seventeen years of age, he entered the service
of the Bennington & Rutland Railway (then the Western Vermont
Railroad), as office boy in the general office at Rutland, Yt. In
August, 1854, Mr. Johnson came to Chicago and entered the em-
ployment of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (then the
Chicago & Aurora Railroad), as clerk in charge of ticket reports and
fit kits. 1 le retained this position until 1855, when he entered the
service of the Illinois Central Railroad, as bookkeeper for the
passenger department, and the same year was appointed general
passenger agent of that road. He retained this position until
June I, 18S0, when he resigned, for the purpose of accepting the
position he at present occupies.
I.. II. CLARKE, chief engineer of the Lake Shore & Michigan
Southern Railway, was born in Becket, Mass., in 1S30, the son of
RAILROAD HISTORY.
'55
Abijah and Judith (Hayward) Clarke. Hi; received his education at
the common schools of his native place and subsequently at the Lee
Academy. His first business experience was precisely that of so
many of the Eastern boys — clerk in a general country store; which
position he only retained for a few months, however. He then,
about iS4q, commenced his railroad experience as rodman on the
Vermont & Massachusetts Railroad, from Fitchburg, Mass., to
Brattleboro', Vt., and remained there for about six months ; after
which he occupied the same position on the Vermont Valley Kail-
road, from which he was promoted to leveler, and remained with
that road about eighteen months. In the spring of 1 85 1 , Mr. Clarke
came to Illinois, and entered the employof the Illinois Central Kail-
road as assistant to the division engineer, whose division comprised
the line, from about thirty-five miles south of the Illinois River, in
the vicinity of Minonk station, to Decatur. He remained there
two years, and then received the appointment of chief engineer of
the Racine & Mississippi Railroad, where he remained for about
eighteen months, until the road became bankrupt. He then, in
the spring of 1S55, returned to the Illinois Central, and was divis-
ion engineer in charge of the completion of the line from Mattoon
to Centralia. After the finishing of this last section, in the fall of
1856 — it was opened for traffic about January 1, 1857 — Mr Clarke
became division engineer in charge of the maintenance of the road
— track, bridges and buildings — between Kankakee and Centralia,
and occupied that position until eariy in 1859, when he was ap-
pointed chief engineer of the entire line. This appointment Mr.
Clarke retained until May 1, 1S77, when he accepted his present
office, which he has retained since. Mr. Clarke was married, in
1S53, at Bloomington, III., to Miss Rosan Brown, of Geneva, 111.;
they have one daughter, Mary Judith, now Mrs. C. II. Babcock, of
this city. About 1S62, Mr. Clarke became a member of Oriental
Lodge, No 33, A.F. &AM.
Michigan Central ^Railway Company. — In the
first volume of this history, the building of the main
line by the State of Michigan and the Michigan Central,
from Detroit to Kensington — then called Calumet —
fourteen miles south of Chicago, has been stated.
Upon its completion, in May, 1852, running arrange-
ments were made with the Illinois Central for the use
of its track from Kensington. The only road operated
in Illinois by the Michigan Central Company is the
Joliet & Northern Indiana, from Joliet, east twenty-
nine miles, to the state line at Lake, where it connects
with the Michigan Central, and is operated under per-
petual lease, $89,000 annual rental being paid. It com-
menced operation in 1854. The roads owned and
operated by the Michigan Central Railway Company
in 187 1 were: Chicago & Detroit, two hundred and
eighty-four miles; Jackson & Niles, or the Air Line,
one hundred and three miles; Grand River Valley, Jack-
son to Grand Rapids, ninety-seven miles; Jackson, Lan-
sing & Saginaw, one hundred and forty-four miles;
Kalamazoo & South Haven, thirty-two miles; Niles &
South Bend, ten miles; Joliet & Northern Indiana, forty-
four miles — all aggregating seven hundred and fourteen
miles. The company had, in addition to the lines men-
tioned, the use of the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore
road to Pentwater, a distance of one hundred and fifty
miles, which brought the mileage of roads actually
operated up to eight hundred and sixty-four miles. The
construction of second tracks betwen Lake Station and
Niles and Ypsilanti and Detroit, was begun in 1871,
and the introduction of steel rails marked the history
of the road during the same year. Under the Illinois
State act of 1869, the Michigan Central, Illinois Cen-
tral and Chicago, Burlington ec Quincy companies were,
in 1871, using the same grounds for depot purposes in
Chicago, the land lying between the main river and
Randolph Street, east of Michigan Avenue. The prin-
cipal officers of the company in that year were: James
F. Joy, president; N. Thayer, vice-president; Isaac
Livermore, treasurer; H. E. Sargent, superintendent;
Joshua Crane, assistant treasurer and secretary; and
William Boott, auditor.
Homer Earle Sargent, capitalist and president of the
Fargo & Southern Railway, was born in Leicester, Mass., and re-
ceived his education at the academy in that town. When Mr.
Sargent became of age, he decided I' 1 enter into the railroad service,
ami in 1845 he took his hrst position. It isageneral rule, where a
man commences a trade or profession in early life, is unfaltering
in the prosecution of his calling, and never loses sight of his original
intentions, that that man is the one who will most surely be success-
ful. Mr. Sargent is no exception to this rule, for he has devoted
forty years of his life to his first adopted vocation. He entered
into the service of the Boston & Wotcester Railroad as station agent,
in 1845, at Millbury, Mass. Later he was transferred to the office
at Worcester ; and afterward, for eight years, was general freight
agent of the company at Boston, lie was connected with this
company for thirteen years; and while general agent personally
prepared the first through freight tariff ever inaugurated, by which
merchandise was shipped across the country from Boston to
St. Louis. The maiden venture of Mr. Sargent, from which has
grown a through traliic business unequaled in any other
country of the world, made an indelible impression upon
his mind. The first shipment was a consignment of boots
and shoes for North & Scott, of St. Louis. In making
the tariff, Mr. Sargent visited the offices of the New York
Central, at Albany, the Great Western Railroad of Canada, the
Michigan Central of Detroit and Chicago, and Chicago & Alton,
also in Chicago. He conferred personally with Mr. Druland,
since deceased, of the New York Central ; C. J. Brydges, general
manager of the Great Western, who is now the chief factor of the
Hudson Bay Company, at Montreal; with Superintendent Rice, of
the Michigan Central, at Detroit, who is now a resident of Con-
cord. Mass ; and then with Governor Matteson, who was president
of the Chicago & Alton road, and who also controlled the interest
of the steamboat line from Alton to St. Louis, the place of desti-
nation of the goods. Thus the above named gentlemen formed
the first tariff sheet, through and by the exertions of Mr. Sargent.
The business, of course, was not thoroughly systematized, and it
was agreed by the representatives of the different roads that a
special mark should be placed upon the packages so they could be
easily identified. The tariff amounted to about a combination of
the different local rates. It was two dollars and forty-five cents
for one hundred pounds from Boston to St. Louis, the same goods
now being shipped for fifty cents, or less, a hundred, and is an
every-day occurrence. From this shipment, originated by Mr.
Sargent, has grown the through bill-of-lading system which is now
generally in vogue. In 1858, Mr. ^argent was called by the Michi-
gan Central Railroad Company to take the office of general freight
agent at Chicago. He held that position for eight years, and was
then made general superintendent and general manager, which
position he held for the same length of time, his service with the
Michigan Central road covering a period of sixteen years. An-
other event occurred in Mr. Sargent's career, while with this road,
which served to place his name prominent among the energetic
and enterprising railroad managers of that time. While acting
as general manager of the Michigan Central, George M. Pullman
had put his sleepers on the Chicago & Alton line. When the
third rail was laid on the Great Western Railroad, Mr. Sargent—
who was one of the incorporators of the Pullman's Palace Car Com-
pany and for many years afterward a director — was largely instru-
mental in securing the first Pullman sleeping-car service eastward
from Chicago over his road, Mr. Pullman running his cars over
that line, the Great Western and New York Central, to Rochester,
New York. This was considered a marked event. The friendsof
Mr. Sargent count among the many prominent efforts of his life
none greater than the origination of the Union Slock Yard- of this
city, The success of which was entirely due to his initial labor.
Chicago, up to 1864, had several very extensive stock yards, owned
by different corporations, but these were so badly located and in-
accessible that it was deemed necessary that something should be
done to concentrate this growing traffic. It was thought advisa-
ble, in order to secure the very best advantages, to establish union
yards, where the location and space would be all that was required
for years to come. Mr. Sargent, with keen perception of what was
necessary and essential to the success of such a scheme, decided
that no better location could be found for the union yards than
where they are now situated. The land was then far awaj from
the outskirts of the city, but midway between the in-coming an. I
out-going stock-carrying roads, and ii was adjacent to the p
interests then located on tin South Branch of the Chicago River.
The Union Stock Yards and Transit Company was organized in
1S64, and the stock of the corporation was almost all irami
subscribed by the leading railroads of Chicago. Mr. Sargent was
1 hairman of a committee of three who purchased the present lot .1-
tion of John Wentworth for £100,000 for a half-section ol land
It is now worth a scored millions, the center of a great popula-
tion, and the largest interest ol the kind in the world. II. II.
Porter, now one of the leading railroad men of the west, and who
IS6
HISTORY OF CHICAGO.
was then general freight agent of the Lake Shore & Michigan
Southern Railroad, and John Houston, then the representative of
the Pittsburgh. Fort Wayne ..V Chicago line were the other mem-
bers of this committee. The purchase of this land was made prior
to the organization of the company, which received a special charter
from the State Legislature on February 13, 1S05. Mr. Sargent was
made one of the directors and was a prime mover in the manage-
ment of the stock yards until a few years ago, when he gave way to
younger men. It took several years for the originators to complete
the stock-yard system, but Mr. Sargent may look back with the
greatest degree of pride to what he did toward the establishment of
an interest, now grown to magnificent proportions, and which is a cri-
terion and model for further enterprises of a like nature. After leav-
ing the Michigan Central, Mr. Sargent was offered the general man-
agement of the Northern Pacific Railroad. This was in 1S77. He
at first declined, but later in the year he was prevailed upon to accept
the position, in which he continued until May, iSSi, just previous
to the completion of the road. He tendered his resignation upon
the retirement of C. 11. Wright, president of the road, who was
succeeded by Frederick Billings. In September, 1883, Mr. Sar-
gent became interested in the projected railroad which was destined
to run from Fargo, Dakota, to Ortonville, Minnesota. This road,
which is one hundred and twenty miles in length, is owned by a
syndicate of less than a dozen persons, residents of New York and
Chicago. Mr. Sargent is president of the company; and at the
lime he became identified with the Fargo & Southern th:re had
been but thirty-five miles graded. In less than ten months, or on
July 3, 1S54, the entire line was completed and ready for opera-
tion. The road connects at Ortonville with the Hastings and
Dakota division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway,
thus making a through line between Fargo, Minneapolis, St. Paul
and Chicago. Through passenger trains were put on this line
August 17, 1SS4, and the business of the road has constantly and
rapidly increased since its inception. It has been of great value
to Fargo ; and the Argus of that city, speaking of Mr. Sargent and
his connection with the Fargo iS: Southern Railway, says :— The
people of North Dakota know Mr. Sargent well. The people of
Fargo have a right to claim him as one of her greatest benefactors
and somewhat of a citizen, because he has always had a warm
spot in his heart for the city, and spends much of his time here
now, as president of the Fargo & Southern railway system, in
which he takes great pride. The Fargo & Southern, although
originated by Fargo men, owes its great success to Mr. Sargent
taking hold and engineering its financial operations and securing
its completion. Besides his heavy railroad interests in Dakota
and Minnesota, this gentleman is identified largely in this city, in
several corporations. Mr Sargent was first married at Worcester,
Mass, to Maria, daughter of Thomas Bottomly, Esq., in 1848.
Her death occurred in 1S52. On December 2, 1861, Mr. Sargent
was again married, his wife being Rebecca E. Wheaton, of War-
ren. R. I. They have four children, the eldest of whom, Fred
erick Sargent, is now in the lumber trade at Necedah, Wis. and
1 graduate of the I'. S. Naval Academy, of Annapolis, Md ;
the second sun, John Sargent, is attending the Sheffield Scientific
School of Vale College ; and the other two children, William and
Homer E., Jr., are at home.
NATHAN A. SKINNER, commercial agent of the Nickel Plate
Line of the New York, Chicago iV St. I ,ouis Railway, was born
in Ontario County, N. Y., March 22, 1829. Mr. Skinner was
brought up at home until he attained his majority, receiving his
education at the schools of his native town. About 1S51, Mr.
Skinner began business life by taking a position with the Rochester
nation Company, shippers of freight by canal between
Rochester and New York City. He clerked in their office until
â– n he went to Suspension Bridge, New York, as agent of
the Union Express Company, the first organized fast freight line
in America. A circular issued by that company, in August, 1S55,
states that they were ready to make contracts for delivering freight
direct from Detroit, without change of cars, to points on the Chi-
â– on ,v St. Louis and Illinois Central railroads; that it was
the only messenger freight express between New York or Boston
and the West. Goods shipped on those days, even by the so-called
1 igi I to be transferred several times before
r destination. The capital stock of the Union Ex-
ompany was $150,000, and the rates on first class freight,
from New Vo ., were Si. 71 a hundred. Among the
names of agen in this circular — there were only ihir-
that of N. A. Skinnet ten m Bridge. Mr. Skinner
nl of this company foi iboi ' three v :irs. and then took a
pK/sition with a banking house at Suspension Bridge, with which
he remained until Decern , 1861. In that month, he cami to
Chicago vork as bill clerk for the Michigan Central
Railroad. II- held that time, and was then pro-
moted to .-. chief clerkship in one of the departments, which he
h>dd for about two years. Mr. Skinner then received an appoint-
ment as contracting agent for the Blue Line Fast Freight, an
auxiliary of the Michigan Central, with headquarters in this city.
He remained in that office for some years, and was then made
freight agent in this city for the Great Western Railway, in whose
service he remained until the opening of the Nickel Plate Line,
in October, 1SS2. He was appointed commercial agent of that
line, now controlled by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail-
road, and has held the position up to date. Mr. Skinner is a most
affable, genial and obliging railroad man, and has always stood in
the highest estimation of his employers and co-laborers. During
his fifteen years' connection with the Michigan Central Railway,
he won hosts of friends, who took occasion, on the first day of Jan-
uary, 1871, to express their admiration for him by the presentation
of a very handsome gold watch and chain as a slight token of the
high regard in which he was held by the donors.
John H. Cook, now general northweste:n freight agent of
the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway, is among the oldest rail-
road men in Chicago, having been in service nearly thirty-six years.
Mr. Cook was born in Otsego County, N. Y., on June 25, 1830.
In 1849, he went to work with the Michigan Central Railway,
when that company's line was only completed to Kalamazoo, and
he commenced on the construction of the road running west from
the above mentioned point. He was so employed until the Michi-
gan Central line was completed to New Buffalo, and then was
given a freight conductor's position, which he held until 1857. He
was then made assistant train manager on the division between
Marshall and Chicago, the line having been completed to this city
early in 1S52. He acted in that capacity for about two years, and
was then given charge of a passenger train which he ran until the
breaking out of the war in 1861. The Michigan Central, at that
time, leased the northern division of the Louisville, New Albany &
Chicago road, and for three years Mr. Cook was their representa-
tive in the south, southeast and southwest territory, with his head-
quarters at Indianapolis. In 1865, he took the position of joint
western passenger agent for the Michigan Central and the line
then known as the Indianapolis iS: Cincinnati Line, with headquar-
ters in Chicago, which office he held for about two years, at which
time the line was abandoned. He then connected himself with
the Pennsylvania Company, and acted as their ticket agent in this
city, with his office under the old Tremont House up to the time of
the fire of 1871. His office was then removed to the temporary
Tremont House, on Michigan Avenue. When the burned district
was being rebuilt, a little brick building was erected on the corner
of Madison and Canal streets, and Mr. Cook moved his office
thereto, selling the first ticket from that building himself, as well
as the very last, when the house was torn down to make greater
improvements. He was with the Pennsylvania line until 1S75, and
then took the position of general agent for what was then known
as the Rockford, Rock Island & St. Louis Railroad. The Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad ultimately obtained possession of
the Rockford line, and Mr. Cook was sent to St. Louis as their
general southern agent, and remained there three years In 1S80,
he returned to Chicago to accept the office of general northwestern
freight agent of the 'Frisco Line, and he holds that position up