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Revision as of 18:07, 16 February 2007 by Shsilver (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Timothy Blackstone | |
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 Timothy B. Blackstone Bronze Plaquelocated in Blackstone Library | |
| Mayor of La Salle, Illinois | |
| In office 1854–1855 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 28, 1829 Branford, Connecticut |
| Died | May 26, 1900 Chicago, Illinois |
| Height | 200px |
| Spouse | Isabella Farnsworth Norton |
| Children | none |
| Residence(s) | Chicago, Illinois |
Timothy Beach Blackstone (March 28, 1829 – May 26, 1900) served as president of the Chicago and Alton Railroad from 1864 through 1899. He was also a one-term Mayor of LaSalle, Illinois and a founding president of the Union Stockyards.
Early life
Blackstone was born in Branford, Connecticut, the sixth child, and fourth son, of James Blackstone and Sarah Beach. His father, James, served in the Connecticut state Senate representing the sixth district. The family is descended from William Blaxton, who arrived in New England in the seventeenth century.
Health issues caused Blackstone to drop out of school in 1847, and he got a job working for Roswell B. Mason, surveying the New York and New Haven Railroad. He only worked on the NY&NH for a year before becoming an assistant engineer on the Stockbridge and Pittsfield Railroad. Again, he only remained with the firm a short time before leaving for the Vermont Valley Railroad. In 1851, Roswell invited Blackstone to help lay out a railroad between Bloomington and Dixon, Illinois. Blackstone accepted the job and moved to La Salle, Illinois.
Ascendancy
Blackstone was elected mayor of La Salle in 1854 and served a single term, his only brush with elected office. After leaving office, he returned to working on railroads, first as chief engineer of the Joliet and Chicago Railroad, which would eventually become the Chicago and Alton Railroad. Blackstone became president of the Joliet and Chicago Railroad in 1961, keeping the line running in the black while other divisions were filing for bankruptcy. When the system was reorganized, he was named president of the board of directors for the company. John Drake I served on the board of directors. Although Blackstone served as of the Alton Railroad for more than a quarter century, he refused a salary. The the Board of Directors voted to pay him $10,000 per year, he turned it down.
In 1899, a syndicate headed by E.H. Harriman wanted to purchased the Alton Railroad, and Blackstone disapproved of the sale. After many months of wrangling, Blackstone transferred all his stock in the company to the United States Trust Company and resigned as the President, effective on April 1, 1899. This action allowed the Harriman syndicate to take over the line.
In addition to his activities in the Railroads, Blackstone was the first president of the company that controlled the Union Stock Yards.
In 1868, Blackstone married Isabella Farnsworth Norton, the daughter of a successful businessman from Norwich, Connecticut.
Blackstone died of pneumonia on May 26, 1900, in Chicago, Illinois. His funeral was held at the Second Presbyterian Church and was then transported to Norwich, Connecticut for burial.
Blackstone mansion
Blackstone built a mansion for himself at 252 Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The property later became th site of the Blackstone Hotel and the Blackstone Theatre. Following the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, he invited his friend John Crerar to stay with him, which Crerar proceeded to do for twelve years. Crerar donated the Crerar Library to the city of Chicago and Blackstone continued to donate to the maintenance of the building throughout his life. Blackstone also donated a library and building to his hometown with the only stipulation that it be named in honor of his father. The building was designed by Chicago architect Solon Spencer Beman.
Blackstone library (Hyde Park)
In 1904, Isabella Blackstone donated the T.B. Blackstone Memorial Branch Library to the city of Chicago. Located at the intersection of Blackstone Avenue, Lake Park Avenue, and Forty-ninth Street, the library is modeled after the James Blackstone Library in Branford, Connecticut.
Support for Zionism
Blackstone was an early financial supporter of his cousin, William Eugene Blackstone, who in 1891 proposed giving Palestine to the Jews.
References
- ^ "T.B. Blackstone. Former Alton President. T.B. Blackstone Is Dead". Chicago Daily Tribune. 1900-05-27. p. 6.
- ^ Ida Hinman. "Biography of Timothy B. Blackstone." Methodist Book Concern Press, 1917.
- ^ Berger, Miles L., They Built Chicago: Entreprenuers Who Shaped a Great City's Architecture, Bonus Books, Inc., Chicago, 1992, p. 155., ISBN 0-929387-76-7.
- "Blackstone Gives It Up". Chicago Daily Tribune. 1899-03-31. p. 3.
- Peggy Sullivan, "Naming the Branches," Journal of the Caxton Club, June 2006, p.1.
- "The Blackstone Zionists". 2006-09-06. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
External links
| Preceded by | President of Chicago and Alton Railroad 1864 – 1899 |
Succeeded bySamuel Morse Felton, Jr. |
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