Ela, John W.

John W. Ela was born in Meredith New Hampshire in 1840. Ela received his law degree from Harvard University and upon graduation, set up his own law practice in his native town. Ela practiced law in Meredith until the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1863, Ela volunteered as a soldier in the 15th New Hampshire volunteer infantry. Ela served for the entire duration of the Civil War, and by the war’s end, Ela had been promoted to the rank of Captain.

When the Civil War had come to a close, Ela returned to his practice of law. He did not, however, return to Meredith. Ela chose to set up a law practice in Chicago, which would become his home for the next 36 years, until his death. His law practice was quite successful, but in addition to his own private practice, Ela became one of the chief advocates for municipal service law. He is given credit not only for advocating municipal service law in Chicago, but also for framing it and helping push it through the Illinois legislature.

In May of 1900, Mayor Carter H. Harrison II appointed Ela to the Chicago Civil Service Commission. After only one month of service on the board, Ela was made President. Ela also served as an attendant in sessions of legislation, and would often give his opinion on legislative issues at the state government level. Although Ela was a Democrat, he was known for his bi-partisan nature and frequently worked with both Republicans and Democrats on issues of his concern. Despite his extensive public service and his foot heavily in the door of politics, he personally never sought office, which in many ways added to his political clout since many viewed his motivation for political involvement as purely altruistic.

His life, however, came to an unfortunate sudden end. On December 15th, 1902 John Ela was attending a national civil service convention in Philadelphia, and, while reading a document, he suffered a stroke and died shortly thereafter. Not too long before his death, Ela had been told by physicians that he could die suddenly at any moment. Ela had passed the information about his physical instability on to some of his close colleagues; thus his abrupt death was not entirely unexpected. Nonetheless, his death was greatly lamented in the political circles in which Ela had dedicated his life to serving.

Next: Levy Mayer

Sources:

“Civil Service Worker, Who Died Suddenly.” Chicago Daily Dec. 16, 1902. ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Chicago Tribune (1849-1986). Pg. 4

Farmer, William M.

William M. Farmer was born on June 5, 1853 in Fayette County, Illinois. Farmer’s grandparents resided in both North Carolina and Kentucky. It was William Farmer’s father who first moved to and remained in Illinois. Originating from the south, the Farmer family owned slaves; however, they favored abolition of slavery and were strong supporters of the Union cause during the Civil War.

As a boy, Farmer studied at the local district schools until he attended McKendree College. His first two years at McKendree, Farmer devoted himself to classical studies. As a boy, Farmer had become interested in law. His father held the position of Justice of the Peace, and he would often watch the cases brought before his father. Thus after three years at McKendree College, Farmer decided to pursue law as a field of study and entered Union College of Law, located in Chicago. In June of 1876, Farmer was admitted to the bar, and immediately in July, opened up his own law office in Vandalia. Right before he was admitted to the bar, Farmer married a Miss Henninger. The couple was married on December 23, 1875. The two would go on to raise three children.

After four years of practicing law in his own private firm, Farmer was elected to the position of state’s attorney in 1880 for Fayette county. Farmer only served one term in this capacity and then once again devoted time to his private practice. Farmer was always, however, an avid Democrat and deeply cared about the party and politics. In 1888 he was elected to the House of Representatives in the General Assembly. After serving a two-year term, Farmer was elected to be a state senator. In the senate he was chairman of the judiciary committee, and served as a delegate to the Democratic national convention. In 1891, Farmer was part of the “101” senate members, who voted ex-Governor Palmer to the United States Senate. In addition to being an avid Democrat, Farmer was also a member of the Knights of Pythias, and was known as a very sociable individual.

In 1897, Farmer was elected to the Circuit Bench of Illinois, serving in the Fourth Circuit. He was re-elected in 1903, and was later appointed to the Appellate Court in the Second District. After serving on the Appellate Court for a only brief time, Farmer was elected to the Illinois Supreme Court in 1906, and was re-elected in 1915, and again in 1924. Farmer resigned from office on June 6, 1931. On August 28, 1931 barely three months after his resignation, William M. Farmer died in his home at the age of 78.

Next: John P. Hand

Sources:

• Ed. John M. Palmer. The Bench and Bar of Illinois: Historical and Reminiscent. Volume II. Lewis Publishing Company: Chicago, 1899.
• “William M. Farmer.” Illinois Supreme Court Justice Archives.

Hand, John P.

John P. Hand was born in Henry County, Illinois on November 10, 1850. Hand began his studies at Rock River Seminary in Mount Morris, Illinois. Hand went on to attend Iowa State University and graduated in 1872. After graduation, Hand resolved to pursue a career in law and was admitted to the Bar in 1875.

Hand opened an office in Cambridge, and quickly established a high number of clients and became a respected person in the legal field. Consequently after residing in Cambridge for ten years, Hand was nominated and elected to serve as a Judge for Henry County. Hand served from 1885-1890. After his term was up, Hand stepped down from the bench, and served as the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Hand practiced as the Assistant U.S. Attorney for four years, serving from 1890-1894.

In 1894, Hand returned to his own private practice of law. However, he soon reacquainted himself with serving as a judge, and on June 4, 1900, Hand became a member of the Illinois Supreme Court. Hand stayed on the Supreme Court for 13 years, and finally resigned on July 16, 1913. In this time period, Hand served as Chief justice in 1903, and again in 1907.

Hand spent his life with his wife Elizabeth (Brayton) Hand. The two were married on October 26, 1871. They had one son who later moved to Chicago, while Hand and his wife remained in Cambridge. It was in Cambridge that John P. Hand died on May 22, 1923.

Next: Benjamin Drake Magruder

Sources:

• Ed. John M. Palmer. The Bench and Bar of Illinois: Historical and Reminiscent. Volume II. Lewis Publishing Company: Chicago, 1899.
• “John P. Hand.” www.state.il.us/court/supremecourt/justicearchive/Bio_Hand.asp

Harrison, Carter H. II

Carter H. Harrison II was the 30th mayor of Chicago, in office from 1897-1905 and then again from 1911-1915. His father, Carter H. Harrison, also served as mayor of Chicago from 1879-1887. Harrison senior was re-elected 1893 for a fifth term, but was assassinated in his home by a failed politician named Patrick Eugene Prendergast on October 28th, 1893. Earlier that day Harrison Senior had announced in a speech “I intend to live for more than half a century! And at the end of that half century London will tremble lest Chicago shall surpass her.”

Although the Daley family, (Richard Joseph Daley and Richard Michael Daley) are today noted for their domination of the Chicago political scene, the same can be said for the Harrison family in the late 19th and early 20th century. Both Carter H. Harrison Jr. and senior were elected to five terms in office accounting for 10 of 17 mayoral elections from 1879 until the outbreak of World War I. Carter H. Harrison Jr. greatly respected his father and resembled him in appearance and political policy.

Carter Harrison Jr. was born on April 23, 1860 in Chicago. In 1873 Harrison’s mother, who never took a liking to the Chicago lifestyle, took Harrison Jr. and his brother and sister to Germany. Harrison Jr. stayed in Germany with his brother and sister until his mother’s death in 1876. Upon returning to Chicago, Harrison Jr. enrolled in a Catholic prep school where he received his high school and graduate educations. After graduating, Harrison Jr. chose to attend Yale Law School, the same place his father received his law degree.

After Harrison Jr. graduated law school in 1883, he passed his time in Chicago working as a poet, and a journalist under the pseudonym Cecil H. Harcourt. During this time, Harrison developed a great respect for his father, and decided to carry on his legacy and run for the mayor of Chicago. Like his father Harrison appealed to the working class, but his elite upbringing also appealed to the Chicago’s affluent community. He ran on a platform of progressive civic reform which was well received by the City’s population, and in 1897 he was elected the 30th mayor of Chicago.

The largest controversy Harrison faced in his administration was known as the “Traction Wars,” traction referring to electric streetcar companies. In 1858 the Chicago City Council gave corporate rights to private streetcar companies to carry passengers on Chicago streets for profit. The original contract gave rights for twenty-five years, but in 1865 private companies received a ninety-nine year contract from a corrupt Illinois state legislature. A man named Charles Tyson Yerkes owned most of the streetcars in the city by the time that Harrison Jr. became mayor of Chicago. Yerkes was known to have a number of politicians in his pocket, one of them being state senator named John Humphrey. Humphrey introduced a series of legislation in 1896 which would expand private streetcar rights in Chicago by fifty years. The bills also only mandated minimal compensation from the streetcar companies to the city. Harrison Jr. took an ardent stance against the Humphrey bills and over the next decade fought any franchise expansion. Although Humphrey did very little in leading the fight against the streetcar companies, his visible stance on the issue earned him public approval.

Like his father, Harrison Jr. was an ardent Democrat and believed morality should not be a part of politics. In regards to gambling, prohibition, prostitution and other vices, Harrison adopted a “live and let live” policy. However, the political opposition to vice which surrounded the 1911 mayoral election forced Harrison to use Chicago Police to close several brothels in the city. Ironically, coming down hard on prostitution is what Harrison is most remembered for in Chicago. At the end of his fifth term, Harrison was physically weary from the strain of politics, and after being defeated in the 1915 Democratic primary, he officially retired from politics.

Next: Carter Harrison

Harrison,Carter H.

Carter Henry Harrison Senior, who served five terms and eight years as Mayor of Chicago until he was assassinated in 1893, came from a family which was, steeped in American history and political involvement dating back to 1635, when the patriarch of the Harrison family was Clerk of the Virginia Council. Carter Henry Harrison’s great grandmother Susannah Randolph was a descendant of Pocahontas. What is remarkable, however, is that in Carter Henry Harrison’s family line one finds a signator of the Declaration of Independence, and two U.S. Presidents. Carter Henry Harrison’s great uncle, Benjamin Harrison not only signed the Declaration of Independence, but also introduced a resolution of independence to congress. One of Benjamin Harrison’s sons, William Henry Harrison went on to become President of the United States in 1841, and President Harrison’s great grandson Benjamin Harrison became President of the United States in 1889.

While Carter Henry Harrison Senior’s father’s side was noted for its politicians, his mother’s side was distinguished for its soldiers. Carter Henry Harrison Senior’s mother was Caroline Evalind, whose father, grandfather, and great grandfather were all notable soldiers in their time. Her great grandfather was an officer in the English Army, her grandfather was General William Russell famous for fighting the Indian Wars, and her father Colonel Russell, a cavalry captain, is credited for leading the attack in the Revolutionary War Battle, King’s Mountain.

Carter Henry Harrison Senior was born February 15th, 1825 to Carter Henry Harrison II and Caroline Evalind. Although, Carter Henry Harrison Senior is known as “senior,” he is technically the III in his family to bear the name. He grew up in Elk Hill, Kentucky in a log cabin. His father died, shortly after his birth, and his mother schooled him until he was 15. At this time, he went to Lexington to study under Dr. Lewis Marshall who was the brother of Supreme Court Justice Thomas Marshall. In 1845 he began attending Yale, and after graduating at age 20, studied law at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. After one year of law school, however, he decided to return home to live the life of a farmer on his family’s plantation. In 1851, Harrison traveled Europe for two years where he began to develop an affinity for urban life. When he returned to the states he finished his law degree and graduated in 1853. The same year he married Sophonisba Preston and moved first to St. Louis and then finally to Chicago.

Although Harrison intended to open a law office, he became involved in buying and selling real estate. However, a financial storm in 1857 affected him terribly and Harrison spent the next ten years trying to get on his feet financially. During this time, five of his children died in infancy.

In an attempt to move away from real-estate, Harrison made an unsuccessful attempt at running for the lower house of the State legislature, but it was not until the great Chicago Fire in 1871 that the catalyst for Harrison’s life as politician would emerge. Harrison’s support for the “fire proof ticket,” a ticket composed of both Democratic and Republican nominations for city offices, gained him a nomination and election as County Commissioner. After serving a three-year term as County Commissioner, Harrison decided to run again for congress. He was narrowly elected as the Democratic Representative for 44th National Congress, in March of 1875. Harrison quickly developed a reputation as a skilled orator, and was re-elected for a second term. During his re-election campaign his wife died suddenly of illness and Harrison immersed himself in his work. He served in congress until the end of his second term in 1878, and chose not to seek a third term. Harrison would lament later in life that he never fully enjoyed the life of a congressman. Harrison did not abandon statesmanship all together; in fact, he barely missed a beat. In the spring of 1879, Harrison was elected to be the mayor of Chicago.

Harrison was elected to the office of mayor five times, serving from 1879-1887 and then again in 1893.. The time that Harrison served in office was a time of expansion and development for Chicago. When Harrison arrived in Chicago in 1855 the public revenue for taxation was slightly over $200,000; by the time of his death this number exceeded $15,000,000. Harrison was known, however, as a champion of people’s rights. With railroads being built from one end of Chicago to the other, Harrison continually fought for workers’ rights against the railroad companies that tried to usurp them. Harrison’s commitment to the public is epitomized by his role in the Haymarket Riot. The night of March 4th, 1886 an unknown person threw a bomb at police officers during a workers’ strike organized by local socialist party members. Harrison was quick to speak out against anti-socialist language in the media, not only saying that socialists did not sympathize with the bomb throwers, but also asserting that socialists represented the “workers, thinkers, and writers” of the United States.

Harrison made an unsuccessful bid for Governor of Illinois in 1884, and was only narrowly re-elected to his 4th term as mayor; he stepped down at the end of that term. Harrison decided he wanted to get back in public life, however, and ran for the mayorship unsuccessfully in 1891. Not to be easily dissuaded, however, he ran again, and was re-elected in 1893 in time to host the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. His term, however, was cut short by assassination. Two days before the World Fair opened, on October 28th, 1893, failed politician Patrick Eugene Prendergast killed Carter Henry Harrison in Harrison’s home. Earlier that day Harrison had announced in a speech “I intend to live for more than half a century! And at the end of that half century London will tremble lest Chicago shall surpass her.” Carter Henry Harrison Senior was the first Chicago Mayor to serve five terms; the next Mayor of Chicago to serve as long a term, was his son Carter Henry Harrison II.

Next: Johnny Powers

Sources:

Abbot, Willis John. Carter Henry Harrison: A Memoir. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1895. Kantowicz, Edward R. “Carter H. Harrison II: The Politics of Balance.” Ed. Paul M. Green and Melvin G. Holli. The Mayors: The Chicago Political Tradition. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2005.