Edwin Stapleton Conway

Other Events and Attributes:

• Education: Wesleyan Seminary
• Religion: Baptist
• Census: 1870, Gillford Township, Wabasha County, Minnesota, USA
• Census: 1880, Cicero, Cook County, Illinois, USA
• Census: 1900, Cicero, Cook County, Illinois, USA
• Census: 1910, Oak Park, Cook County, Illinois, USA

Notes:

At the time of the 1880 census, the Edwin Conway family was living in Cicero, Cook County, Illinois. Edwin was Vice-President of the Kimball Piano Company. According to the book "McNair, McNear, and McNeir Genealogies", Edwin Conway and his wife owned the Mason & Hamlin Piano Company (1923). The following is quoted from the website Greenline Wheels (http://www.greenlinewheels.com/poi/conway-grave) : Conway attended college intending to become a surgeon. He wed Sarah Rogers of Mauston, Wisconsin and they had three children. Quite by accident, Conway became involved with selling organs to farmers and was so successful that W.W. Kimball invited him to head Kimball's wholesale piano establishment in Chicago in 1875. Once settled, he became active in politics and served as president of the Cicero Town Board from 1883-1888. He later served on the Republican Central Committee in Cook County. Conway always remembered his early financial struggles and carried his lunch with him to the Kimball Piano Company office until he had $50,000 in the bank. He served as president of a railroad company, held top positions in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and became a leader in the Chicago Association of Commerce. He was also an early promoter of the first Historical Society in Oak Park, established in May 1898 but disbanded shortly afterwards. On his small gravestone is engraved "He loved his fellow men." He was a delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois in 1896 and a Presidential Elector for Illinois in 1900.

The following is quoted from the book "History of Illinois Republicanism: Embracing a History of the Republican Party in the State to the Prsent Time", by Green B. Raum:

Edwin S. Conway, the Secretary and Manager of the great W. W. Kimball Company of Chicago, is known as one of the best business men in the city. Mr. Conway is proud of the magnificent success which the house that he has so long managed has achieved. He is a guiding hand in one of the largest business enterprises in the West, its splendid instruments being favorably known almost throughout the civilized world. Mr. Conway is one of the most pronounced fac-
tors in Commercial Chicago ; he is a brainy man, who will brilliantly acquit himself in any position that he may assume. He is tactful, with an unusual endowment of good, common, practical sense. He has few equals and hardly a superior as an organizer of business, political and social courses. In the management of his vast business, in his political activity and as the head of social and fraternal organizations, he has been a power in directing toward the achievement of desired purposes. He is a man whose personality makes a deep impression and wins confidence.

Mr. Conway has always been a Republican and active in the campaigns of his party. But his activity in politics is the patriotism of a business man. He could have office if he desired it, but his political purpose is not of a selfish character. He believes that every citizen and business man should consider themselves important factors in popular government, and should perform active duty for the party of their choice. His loyalty to the Republic is evidenced by his loyalty to the doctrines of the Republican party, which he sincerely believes is the party that will perpetuate our beloved institutions. In all activities outside of his business, he is prompted by a public spirit, a sincere desire to promote the interests of the public. In accordance with this spirit he was for six years president of the Cicero Town Board, but after this long service concluded that he had done his duty in this respect, and resigned two years before the expiration of his term in order to give more attention to his business.

Mr. Conway is devoted to the principles of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has given a large amount of time and energy to their advancement. He was a factor in the establishment of the Odd Fellows' Orphans' Home at
Lincoln, Ill., and no man has been more liberal in support of the Institutions controlled by the Order. He has been Grand Master of the State, serving during the World's Fair year. He is Grand Representative to the Sovereign Grand
Lodge serving from 1894 to date. He is a member of the Union League Club and was its Vice President ; and is also a member of Chicago Athletic Club.

Edwin S. Conway was married December 25, 1871, to Miss Sarah J. Rogers of Mauston, Wis., a very accomplished lady. They have three children, Earle E., now with the Kimball Company; and Carle C., who graduated from Yale
College in 1899, is also connected with the Kimball Company; and Sybil Sara. Mr. Conway resides in Oak Park, Ill., and has been intimately connected with the progress of that suburb for more than twenty-five years. He is a life trustee of the Scoville Institute of that town. Mr. Conway has been a member of the Republican State Central Committee and also of the Cook County Republican Central Committee. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention held in St. Louis, in 1896, and in 1900 was elected a presidential elector on the Republican ticket.

Buried:
Lot 90, Section 1

Edwin married Sarah Ann Judson Rogers on 25 Dec 1871 in Wisconsin, USA. Sarah (daughter of William Reuben Rogers and Sally H. McNair) was born on 6 Sep 1850 in Elburn, Kane County, Illinois, USA; died after 1930; was buried in Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Leon Lester Conway was born on 16 Nov 1872 in Mauston, Juneau County, Wisconsin, USA; died on 3 Apr 1876.
2. Earle Edwin Conway was born on 15 Apr 1874 in Mauston, Juneau County, Wisconsin, USA; died in 1931 in Massachusetts, USA; was buried in Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois, USA.
3. Carle Cotter Conway was born on 19 Dec 1877 in Oak Park, Cook County, Illinois, USA; died on 19 Aug 1959 in Lake Placid, Essex County, New York, USA.
4. Sybil Sara Conway was born on 3 Jun 1880 in Mauston, Juneau County, Wisconsin, USA; died on 10 Jan 1957 in Claremont, Los Angeles County, California, USA.
5. Roy Rogers Conway was born on 6 Jan 1883 in Oak Park, Cook County, Illinois, USA; died on 29 Dec 1885; was buried in Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, Cook County, Illinois, USA.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: school teacher
• Census: 1851, McGillivray Township, Huron County, Ontario, Canada
• Census: 1860, Pepin, Pepin County, Wisconsin, USA
• Census: 1865, Gillford, Wabasha County, Minnesota, USA
• Census: 1885, Stillwater, Washington County, Minnesota, USA

Notes:

According to the obituary of his daughter, Mary Etta Conway Rogers, Patrick and Margaret Cotter Conway emigrated from Canada to Wisconsin in October 1857. Patrick Conway appears in an 1879 map of Dakota County, Minnesota, landowners in section 16. He is not on the 1874 map.

Patrick married Margaret Cotter in cir 1831. Margaret (daughter of Dr. Rogers Cotter and Arabella Lyon) was born on 13 May 1813 in Dublin, Ireland, or Sussex, England; was christened on 24 May 1813 in St. Peter the Great, Chichester, Sussex, England; died on 28 Sep 1869 in Gillford, Wabasha County, Minnesota, USA; was buried in 1869 in Gillford Cemetery, Oak Center, Wabasha County, Minnesota, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Also Known As: Margret
• Census: 1865, Gillford, Wabasha County, Minnesota, USA

Notes:

Margaret (Mary) Cotter's baptism was recorded at the "Parish of St. Peter the Great alias Subdeanery, Sussex". The abode of her parents was "barracks", and her father's occupation was stated to be Surgeon of the West Meath Militia. The Rev. Bartholomew Middleton performed the baptism. Margaret Cotter Conway was "churched" (became a member) on 28 September 1844, in McGillivray Township, Middlesex County, Ontario. Her birthplace was stated to be Dublin on the death record of her son, William. Her will was probated in Wabasha County in 1869 (Will Book A, page 49).

Other Events and Attributes:

• Education: Trinity College, Cambridge
• Education: Trinity College, Dublin
• Education: University of Edinburgh
• Occupation: doctor
• Military service: 1811-1829; Surgeon, West Meath Militia
• Immigration: 1835, New York, USA

Notes:

It is possible that Rogers Cotter was born in Kilmichael, County Cork, Ireland, since his father was Vicar there from 1784-1797. Rogers Cotter is identified in his 1810 marriage record as "Rogers Cotter of City of Dublin Esquire." He attended Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1806, but did not graduate), and later graduated as a physician and surgeon from Trinity College, Dublin, and then the University of Edinburgh, on 1 August 1815. His dissertation was entitled "Dissertatio medica inauguralis de tympanita," and was published in Edinburgh in 1815. He entered the army as a surgeon's mate in the West Meath Militia on 26 March 1811. He was assistant surgeon from 1817 until 1829, when the regiment disbanded. He was also surgeon and physician of Balinacaryge Dispensary. He published "The Fables of Aesop, in Latin hexameter verse translated from the original Greek," in Dublin in 1833. Rogers Cotter and his family emigrated in 1835. They sailed on the ship Tallahassee, originating in Ireland, and departing ultimately from Liverpool. The ship arrived in New York on 8 July 1835. The following family members are on the passenger list: Rogers Cotter, no age given; Mrs. (?) Cotter, age 39; James L. Cotter, age 17; George L. Cotter, age 19; John R. Cotter, age 13; Lydia Cotter, age 15; Annabella M. Cotter, age 11, and; A. Cotter, age 1 (female). Upon their arrival, Rogers stated that his destination was Ohio. However, he went instead to Ontario, settling in Toronto Gore Township, Peel County, Ontario. There is no record to indicate that he ever went to the Park Hill, Ontario, area with his sons. On 28 September 1835, he applied to purchase Lot 12, Concession 10, of the Gore of Toronto (Clergy Reserves), but the lot was not for sale. He was described as a "Doctor of Medicine and Surgeon," and "lately arrived in this province with a numerous family." Rogers Cotter is listed in the 1837 census of Toronto, Gore Township, York County, as "Dr. Cotter," living at Concession 10, Lot 12, in the Gore of Toronto. On 9 July 1839, he applied to purchase the same lot, where he had been living as a lessee. Rogers Cotter is listed in "The City of Toronto and the Home District Commercial Directory and Register with Almanack and Calendar for 1837." He appears on page 38 in a list of physicians and on page 162, as living in the Gore of Toronto, Northern Division, Concession 10, Lot 12. Rogers Cotter may have been the Cotter (first name not given) who was buried in McGillivary Township, Middlesex County, Ontario, on 23 September 1845, age 60.

The address given on the baptismal record of his son, George Sackville Cotter, is Strawling Lodge. The baptism took place in Clane, County Kildare, Ireland.

Rogers married Arabella Lyon on 13 Nov 1810 in St. Andrew's, Dublin, Ireland. Arabella was born in cir 1794 in Ireland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

According to family tradition, Rogers Cotter "ran off with a parlor maid." Living with James Cotter at the time of the 1860 Clark County, Ohio, census was a 66-year-old woman named Anna Cotter, who may have been his mother. The baptismal record of her daughter, Mary, states that Arabella's name was Isabella Ann. Isabella is also the name given on the marriage record of her daughter, Annabella, to Amos Barber. Her maiden name may have been Lyne.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Education: St. Peter's College, Cambridge, England
• Education: Westminster School, London, England

Notes:

From: The Dictionary of National Biography, edited by Sir Leslie Stephen and Sir Sidney Lee; Vol. IV. London: Oxford University Press, 1964.

"Cotter, George Sackville (1755-1831), poet and translator, was the fourth son of Sir James Cotter. He was educated at Westminster School, of which he was captain in 1770, and in 1771 he was elected to St. Peter's College, Cambridge. He graduated B.A. in 1775 and M.A. in 1779. Having taken holy orders he became vicar of Kilmacdonough, and rector of Kilcreddan-Garrivoe and Ightermorragh, diocese of Cloyne. In 1788 he published two volumes of 'Poems,' dedicated to Lady Shannon, and consisting of a poem in two books, entitled 'Prospects,' and a collection of odes and other fugitive pieces. In 1826 he published a translation of Terence for the use of the schools, in the preface to which he states that when at Westminster School he had been an actor in three of Terence's comedies. In the following year he printed seven of the plays of Plautus, 'translated literally and grammatically, and cleared of objectionable passages.' The later years of his life were spent at Youghal, Cork, and he died in 1831. By his wife, a daughter of Bayly Rogers, physician and banker of Cork, he left, with other issue, four sons."

George Sackville Cotter was named after Lord George Sackville, a friend of his father's, and was known as "a great musician." His translations of the comedies of Plautus was "Plauti Comoediae septem selectae; Anglice redditae, expurgatae." The comedies are Aulularia, Epidicus, Menaechmi, Mercator, Pseudolus, Trinummus, and Rudens. The book was published by J. F. Dove, London, in 1827. The poems dedicated to Lady Shannon were published by William Flynn, Cork, in 1788. The full title is "Poems, consisting of odes, songs, pastorals, satyrs, &c, and a descriptive poem in four books, called Prospects." His translations of the comedies of Terence was "Four Comedies of Terence, translated, and the stage management and mode of acting them set down, as they were acted at Westminster School; and also the other two comedies of Terence, the Heautotimorumenos and the Hecyra..." It was published by Dodges and M'Arthur, Dublin, in 1824. George Cotter also wrote "An Essay on the Best Mode of Extension of Agriculture in Ireland, by the breaking up and cultivating lay or grasslands." It was printed by A. Edwards, Cork, in 1802. It was originally published in "Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society, 1801." Grorge Cotter is listed in "A Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors" by A. Austin Allibone, published by J.B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, in 1858, and in "The Poets of Ireland: A Biographical Dictionary" by David J. O'Donoghue, published by the author, London, in 1892-3.

George married Margaret Rogers on 4 Nov 1775 in St. Finbarr's, Cork, Ireland. Margaret (daughter of Bayly Rogers and Martha Pigott) died on 11 Feb 1832 in (probably) Dublin, Ireland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Sir James Cotter attended Dublin College, and was at the Middleton School in 1729. He was created a Baronet on 30 April 1763. He represented the borough of Askeyton in the Irish Parliament.

James married Arabella Rogerson in 1746. Arabella (daughter of John Rogerson and Elizabeth Ludlow) died on 18 Mar 1793 in Mallow, County Cork, Ireland; was buried in Carrigtwohill, Cork, Ireland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Bayly Rogers was a doctor. His will was probated in Cork, Ireland, in 1786.

Bayly married Martha Pigott in 1750 in Diocese of Cork and Ross, Ireland. Martha (daughter of Emanuel Pigott and Judith Warburton) was born in cir 1730. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

James Cotter was executed for his devotion to the cause of the House of Stuart.

James married Margaret Mathew in Jun 1705. Margaret (daughter of George Mathew and Mary Aldworth) died in 1725. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Sir John Rogerson was admitted to Caius College, on 22 October 1690, aged 14. He received his B.A. from Dublin University in 1694, and was admitted to the bar at the Middle Temple on 2 June 1690. He was Attorney-General for Ireland (1720-1727), Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, Ireland (1727-1741), M.P. for Granard (1713-1714), M.P. for the City of Dublin (1715-1727), and Privy Councillor for Ireland (1727).

John + Elizabeth Ludlow. Elizabeth (daughter of Stephen Ludlow and Alice Lachard) was born in cir 1680. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Joseph Rogers was a doctor.

Joseph + Margaret Bayly. Margaret (daughter of John Bayly and Anne Tuckey) was born in cir 1680. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Emanuel Pigott of Chetwynd was a Member of Parliament for the city of Cork, from 1735-1760.

Emanuel + Judith Warburton. Judith (daughter of Richard Warburton and Elizabeth Pigott) was born in cir 1700. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]