TIMOTHY BEACH BLACKSTONE.

  It is fitting that in the history of Branford, Connecticut, there should be mention of Timothy Beach Blackstone, who was one of the native sons of the town, and though after reaching manhood he transferred his activity to the middle west, he never lost interest in his native town and in later years erected there a most magnificent and fitting monument to his father in the Blackstone Memorial Library, which was built at a cost of a million dollars and is a matter of pride to every citizen of Branford.

  Mr. Blackstone was a notably successful man. To build up rather than destroy was the broad policy upon which Timothy Beach Blackstone builded his business career. He attacked everything with a contagious enthusiasm and at all times his progressiveness was tempered by a safe conservatism that prevented unwarranted risks or failures. He was for thirty-five years the president of the Chicago & Alton Railway Company and previous to that time was connected for a brief period with other railway interests of the middle west. His birth occurred at Branford, Connecticut, March 28, 1829, and he traced his ancestors to William Blackstone, or Blaxton, as the name was sometimes spelled, who, according to authentic local records, was a resident of Boston as early as 1623. He owned and cultivated a small farm lying partly within the boundaries of what is now Boston Common. This William Blackstone was born in England in 1595 and arrived in New England about 1622, settling first in what is now Charlestown, Massachusetts. He had in England sold lands which had been held by at least eleven generations, having been handed down from another William Blackstone, who died in England in 1349. The American bearer of that name was married in Boston in 1659 to Mrs. Sarah Stevenson, widow of John Stevenson, the ceremony being performed by Governor John Endicott of the Massachusetts Bay colony. William Blackstone died in 1675 at Lonsdale, Rhode Island, to which place he removed soon after his marriage, and his grave is marked by an appropriate monument erected by manufacturers, who owned the land in later years. His only son, who was born in 1660, removed from Rhode Island to Connecticut and purchased land at Branford, whereon he died many years later. It was at the ancestral home there that James Blackstone was born and reared. He married Sarah, daughter of Asa Beach, of Branford, and he provided for his family by following the occupation of farming. He remained a valued and respected resident of the community throughout his entire life and passed away in Branford, February 4, 1886, at the notable old age of ninety-three years. In 1890 several residents of Branford were endeavoring to establish a public library and solicited gifts from successful business men in other communities, who were natives of the town. In response to a request for such assistance, Mr. T. B. Blackstone, welcoming the opportunity to do a great public service for his birthplace, offered to bear the whole expense of erecting a library building and also decided to endow the library, the architect for which was Solon S. Beman of Chicago, who in making the plans for the building chose the Ionic style of architecture, the details, particularly the Ionic columns in the portico, the marble doorways and the egg and dart molding being copied from the Erechtheum on the Acropolis at Athens. The exterior of the building is a white marble, while pink and grey marble are used in the interior. Upon passing through a marble vestibule one comes directly into the octagonal rotunda, which is forty-four feet in diameter and around which are six rooms. There are handsome mural decorations and every possible appointment that adds to comfort and convenience.

  Timothy Beach Blackstone, son of James and Sarah Blackstone, divided his time between the work of the fields and the acquirement of an education but early displayed special aptitude in his studies, so that his parents sent him to one of the best known academies in the state. Ill health prevented the completion of his course and in 1848 he sought outdoor employment, becoming an assistant in the corps of engineers then engaged on the survey of the New York & New Haven Railroad. In this connection he displayed notable energy and perseverance and built up his physical manhood through outdoor life and labor. He was employed as rodman for a year and in the interval devoted himself to the study of civil engineering ere he became assistant engineer of the Stockbridge & Pittsfield Railway, built in 1849 and now a part of the Housatonic Railroad. He was variously employed in the east, his position being constantly of increasing importance, until 1851, when he became chief engineer of the Illinois Central Railroad and removed to the west, being placed in charge of that portion of the projected line between Bloomington and Dixon. For a number of years he was a resident of La Salle, Illinois, and when his surveys for the road were completed he superintended its construction. In 1856, two years after the Joliet & Chicago Railroad Company had secured a charter, Mr. Blackstone was appointed chief engineer and in this connection personally supervised both the location and building of the entire line, which operated in connection with other local roads of the state, success attending the branch of which Mr. Blackstone had charge although other lines with which it affiliated were not as prosperous. He superintended the laying out and building of the Joliet & Chicago, which was completed in 1857, and in 1861 he was chosen its president. At length it seemed necessary to reorganize the different railway lines of the St. Louis, Alton & Chicago and by legislative enactment a commission was created for that purpose, which in due time purchased the bankrupt portions of the line and perfected a new organization under the name of the Chicago & Alton Railway Company. In 1864 this corporation leased the Joliet & Chicago Railroad and Mr. Blackstone was elected to the directorate. Soon after, his colleagues, recognizing his efficiency, initiative and unfaltering enterprise, chose him for the presidency of the company, of which he remained the head from 1864 until 1899. He acted for a quarter of a century as president without salary or reward of any kind, although he was frequently offered a salary by the board of directors. He seemed to grasp every detail of the situation as well as the great business principles involved, and under his presidency the road kept pace with the progress of the times and rapid growth of the great middle west. In a series of articles entitled “The Railroad Men of America” mention was made of Mr. Blackstone as follows:

  “While several of the men now at the head of great railroad systems in the United States have, like Mr. Blackstone, climbed to their present position from the lowest round [cq] of the ladder he has, perhaps, no contemporary who has for so long a time had so much to do with shaping the policies and controlling the destinies of a single corporation or who has retained so long the implicit confidence and goodwill of so large a body of shareholders in any similar enterprise.”

  Another biographer said, while Mr. Blackstone was still an active factor in the world’s work:

  “It is not too much to assert, that Mr. Blackstone’s business qualities would have earned him success in any undertaking and prominence in any community. Like many another who has risen to eminence, accidental circumstances seem to have guided his early steps. Yet, by adopting the principle of doing with all of his might whatever his hand found to do, he progressed steadily upwards; and at length, with a mind trained by study, observation and experience for greater things, he arrived at a higher goal than even his youthful ambition dreamed of, and one more replete with responsibility than many distinguished political positions. A quality possessed by many of the world’s most successful men, he has had in a marked degree, viz: that of quickly judging of the merits of his associates and assistants. His subordinates are all carefully selected as being the very best, each in his respective department. Merit is always recognized and in proper time receives its due reward. The most humble employe of the company does not work half so hard as its honored president, who regards himself as its chief servant as well as its chief executive officer, and labors assiduously and conscientiously to further its interests and to give a good account of his stewardship.”

  In 1868 Mr. Blackstone was married to Miss Isabella Farnsworth Norton, a native of Norwich, Connecticut, and a daughter of Henry V. Norton. In public affairs Mr. Blackstone was deeply interested although he never sought to figure prominently in political relations. In the early days of his residence in La Salle, Illinois, however, he was elected mayor of the town in 1854 and retired from the office as he had entered it, with the confidence and goodwill of all. He always stood for progress and improvement during the period of his residence in Chicago, cooperating in many important municipal projects. He was a most just and a most unselfish man, and much of his time in later years was devoted to aiding others. He built to the memory of his father probably the finest monument in America, expending more than a million dollars on it. This monument is in the shape of the beautiful library and music hall, in Branford, Connecticut, which he endowed so that it will be maintained for all time, and yet in this memorial to his father and gift to the town he completely effaced himself, there being not a mark on the building to indicate that it was erected through the generositiy [sic] and filial love of T. B. Blackstone. His father’s face and form, however, are perpetuated in marble and upon canvas in the building, showing to this and future generations the likeness of the man who was prominent and honored in Branford.

  The death of T. B. Blackstone occurred on the 26th of May, 1900, and his widow has since erected the beautiful Blackstone Memorial Library building which stands on Forty-ninth street and Lake avenue in Chicago. It was built in classical style of architecture and is a fitting monument to him who ever maintained a deep interest in the welfare of his fellow citizens. Mrs. Blackstone has since turned this over to the Chicago Public Library, so that it remains a radiating force in the culture and education of the people. Simple and unostentatious in his habits, remarkably genial and cordial in manner and open-hearted toward all benevolent projects, Timothy Beach Blackstone was indeed a useful, high-minded citizen.

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