Background on Snell From Google Books

HERE is an interest in biography beyond that felt by relatives and friends. The records of success or failure possess an educational value as object lessons in the strange drama of

life.

It may be a question whether men make the times in which they live, or the times make the men. This is certain, however: that they are found moving along together and are closely related; and, whilst one's environments are not all of one's own choosing, there is a self-determining power of judgment, of energy and acquisitive ness, by which the individual may not only take advantage of existing conditions, but may improve them, may create other and better conditions of

success.

And hence the whole truth takes in both theories; men and their times are correlative, co-operative, each helping make the other. And this is one of the biographical lessons that is accentuated in the lives of those who have helped make Chicago what it is. Nature supplied the conditions; courage, fortitude, foresight and hard work made the possible real, and in making a great city these noble toilers made themselves great. And this should emphasize to the rising generation the fact and the lesson that success is not a matter of chance, but of judgment, of wise planning, of patient working and waiting.

More than any other in our country, Chicago is a city of self-made men; and for the reason that its wonderful growth has been largely within. the lives of those who saw its beginning, and have grown with its growth. And though not among the earliest settlers, the subject of this sketch lived in what is now included as the limits of the city, and made its industries the center of his business activities; and then, leaving the old farm

ton boulevard that has continued to be the family home.

Amos Jerome Snell is the son of John Peter and Maria (Scouten) Snell, and was born at Man' heim, Herkimer county, N. Y., December 28, 1823. Both parents were of Mohawk Dutch descent. There were four sons and five daughters, and of this large family only two brothers are still living. They were strong, ambitious and hard-working. They lived on a farm, and the father was a member of the General Assembly of New York in 1823. From such an inheritance came the fine physical form and the habits of industry, economy, integrity and business ability of Amos Jerome Snell.

In his early years Mr. Snell had but the common educational advantages of the community, but these he improved, and when, in August, 1841, he went with his brother-in-law, Henry Hopsen, to St. Marys, Ohio, he was able to take charge of a school in that place. Mr. Snell received nothing from home; worked in the harvest field for money to go to Ohio.

December 31, 1846, he was married to Miss Henrietta Sedam, only child of Henry and Amanda (Palmerton) Sedam of Sedamsville, Hamilton county, near Cincinnati. Both parents dying before her fifth year, her home was with her grandfather, John Palmerton. The young couple arrived in Chicago with only eighteen dollars and fifty cents; this they counted over and over, but could make the amount no larger.

They drove to Lake Geneva to visit a brother; not liking the outlook there, they started back to Chicago and on the way stopped at a little hotel. at Palatine. The proprietor being discouraged, they bought him out and a small beginning was made. They remained here but a short time, as

moving to Jefferson, he started a store and kept the postoffice in 1847, and then entered into a contract to supply wood and lumber for the North-Western railroad. This proved to be a profitable business; he bought two thousand acres of timber land in Wisconsin, worked a large force of men and teams, and kept a supply store on the grounds. Mr. Snell always felt a friendly and personal interest for those in his employ, and encouraged them to save their wages and get a start for themselves. It was in this way that he came to own his first lot in Chicago. One of his men wanted to get a yoke of oxen and a wagon of his own that he might add to his income; he had a lot on Harrison street, away out in the prairie, and offered to trade it for the oxen and wagon, and, without knowing or caring much about its value, Mr. Snell, to encourage the poor man, made the trade. He did not see the lot for years after, and then built his first house in the city upon it and gave it to Mrs. Snell, and she still holds it and values it as a memento of the earlier years of their mutual struggles in the battle of life.

Mr. Snell was a producer rather than a speculator; he made his large fortune, not by trading upon the values of others, but by himself creating values. He probably built and owned more dwelling houses than any other one man in Chicago, and all this vast work was confined largely to the West side. His policy was to buy lots and build, not in the suburbs or by laying out towns, but right in the heart of what is now near the center of the city. He bought and built, but seldom, if ever, sold, and, intending to keep the property, it was for his interest to build well, and to never neglect needed repairs, and in this way he found little trouble in securing good tenants, and, perhaps more than any other large landlord, had their good will. It was a part of his nature to do whatever he did well; the old "plank road" that he built and owned for so many years was always kept in good condition.

Mr. Snell was ever the poor man's friend; he recognized the fact that all men had not the same ability to plan and get along, and when those who were renters upon his farms had poor crops or fell behind in payment, if they were trying to do the best they could, he encouraged them and carried them over, saying, "It will be better next

year," and in this and other ways he helped many to help themselves, and when he was gone all of these said: "We have lost our best friend."

In personal appearance Mr. Snell was large and fine-looking; in public life he sought no position but took a deep interest in the affairs of the city and the country. His personal tastes and habits were simple and unobtrusive; he loved his friends, but best of all he loved and enjoyed his own home, and if he had a weakness it was his over-willingness to gratify every wish of those most near and dear.

Large, strong, quick and aggressive in business, Mr. Snell may have seemed austere and even severe at times, but it was the hurry and intensity of his great nature to accomplish results; beneath all these was ever a true and tender heart of sympathy for the weak, the poor, the suffering, and he planned and worked for their relief. His presence seemed to be an assurance of success, for others unconsciously felt his power to overcome all obstacles and were inspired by his courage and fortitude.

What Mr. Snell would have done with his large property for public or benevolent purposes cannot be known, for his plans were cut short by his untimely death, but Mrs. Snell has probably fulfilled, in part at least, what would have been his wish, by her gift of $50,000 to the University of Chicago. His religious beliefs and feelings were broad and generous; he was a warm friend, a regular attendant and supporter of the Peoples' Church.

The sudden and sad ending of the life of one so well and widely known was felt as a public loss and sorrow. Not by the hand of an enemy, for he had none, did he fall, but by that of burglars who had entered his home in the hours of night. Hearing the noise, and not knowing the sense of fear, he rushed down stairs and commanded them to leave his house; the only answer was the ball that pierced his heart, and he fell dead upon his own floor.

To this home were born four children; one died in infancy, and there are living: one son, A. J. Snell, Jr., two daughters, Mrs. Grace Snell Coffin and Mrs. Alice Snell Green.

Mrs. Henrietta Snell, the widow, who through so many years was the strong and helpful companion of her husband in the early struggles

and later successes, lives in the old home, and with wonderful strength and hope has borne up under the terrible shock and the great loss and sorrow of February 8, 1888. From that day to this, 

through all the weeks of the winters and the summers, loving hands and hearts have placed flowers upon the grave of this devoted husband and father.

Source: The Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Representative