Charles Cloyes

1831 - 1916  (85 years)

• Name	Charles Cloyes  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Born	5 Mar 1831	Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA   [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  Gender	Male
  Died	15 Jun 1916	Prince George, Maryland, USA
  Buried	Glenwood Cemetery, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
  Notes	(from "Leading Men in Chicago"; thanks to Kim Clements) "Mr. Cloyes was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, March 5, 1831. He received his early education at the public schools of his native place, and at an academy in an adjoining town. The father and grandfather of Mr. Cloyes were born at Framingham. The family for many generations had been residents of that section of the country. The earliest ancestor of whom they have record, was a sea captain, who came over from Scotland, and took up his residence there, in the earliest times of the New England colonies. "At sixteen years of age, Mr. Cloyes started out in life for himself, determined to win his own way, and has ever since been entirely dependent on his own exertions. His first step was to obtain a situation as clerk in a store in Newton, Massachusetts. The store was devoted to general merchandise, and the varied experiences gained by him during his stay there, proved of great use to him afterwards. He remained at Newton several years. In the meantime the wonderful progress and growth of the West had been very frequently brought to his notice, and his judgment assured him it was the country for a young man to grow up with, rather than the East. Accordingly, in 1854, he came to Chicago, having decided upon this City as the place of his future residence. He saw in its busy streets, its crowded warehouses, and its numberless daily improvements, the elements of its present magnificent proportions, and deemed it the place best adapted to develop the character of an enterprising young man. "In September of that year, Mr. Cloyes, in partnership with a brother, began business, carrying on a retail trade. Each partner had about two hundred dollars at the commencement of the undertaking, but during the four years in which they continued in it, they gained four thousand dollars. In 1858, some building changes occurring in the locality, interfered somewhat with their trade, and they closed business, Mr. Cloyes going into the country for a time. "During his absence, a friend in Chicago wrote him of an opportunity then lying idle, through which he might work out a fortune: the letter had reference to the coffee and spice business, which had not, as yet, been carried on to much extent in Chicago. Mr. Cloyes, not finding rural life exactly in conformity with his tastes, gladly returned to the activities of the City, and engaged in the spice business, adding, also, a stock of teas. He carried on his affairs alone for a year, and was then joined by his brother, who remained with him three years. In the Spring of 1865, Messrs. Knowles Brothers (Matthew and John C.) became partners in the business, and the style of the firm was thereafter Knowles, Cloyes & Co. "Mr. Cloyes seemed most admirably fitted for the financial management of a great and complicated business; while his partner, Mr. Matthew Knowles, who had been educated, so to speak, in the tea business in London, had by experience and a seeming instinct, become a most accurate judge of teas -- probably the best in the City. "Messrs. Knowles, Cloyes & Co. remained at the place until their business widened to such an extent that a removal was necessary, and they found more spacious quarters at 29 and 31 River street, where they met with continued prosperity. They entered into no speculations, but pursued their regular course with a quiet energy which soon placed them at the head and front of their line of trade. They probably have larger dealings in tea alone, than any other house in the City, not to mention their immense transactions in coffees and spices. Their business steadily increased until the Great Fire of 1871, when, for a day, everything seemed lost. But with hope, energy, and an excellent credit among business men both East and West, they were soon on their feet again. Only a few days after the fire they resumed business in a temporary wooden building; and in considerably less than a year from the fire they had rebuilt and again established themselves on their old site, Nos. 29 and 31 River street, where they still are. "The business of the firm now amounts to more than one million dollars a year, which is nearly ten times that transacted in the first year of its existence. To Mr. Cloyes is due in a great degree the credit of having, by judicious management and careful supervision of the affairs of the firm, brought it to so high a point of success. It is gratifying thus to note the progress of one who has from his boyhood shown so much self-reliance, and whose energy has placed him in the front ranks of the business men of our City. "Mr. Cloyes was married, at twenty-seven years of age, to Miss Catharine Scott, of Clinton, Iowa. They have two children, Emma M., sixteen years of age, and Harry Howard, eight years old. The family are attendants of Unity Church, Rev. Robert Collyer, Pastor. "We have endeavored in this brief sketch to show some of the results which in only a few years have been accomplished by the prudence, industry and business tact of Mr. Cloyes; with his rich store of native qualities, added to his past business experience, we may look for much greater strides in the onward march of the enterprising firm of which he is an active and honored member."
  Person ID	P2625813286	Our Family Tree
  Last Modified	26 Feb 2008

  
  

  Father	Jonas Clayes,   b. 14 Apr 1788, Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA ,   d. 26 Feb 1856, Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA  (Age 67 years)
  Mother	Susan Morse,   b. 4 Jan 1792, Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA ,   d. 18 Apr 1870, Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA  (Age 78 years)
  Married	28 Jun 1822	Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
  Family ID	F1084	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Catherine Celeste VanName,   b. 3 Jun 1831, Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA ,   d. 18 May 1910, Washington, District of Columbia, USA  (Age 78 years)
  Married	17 Aug 1858	Clinton, Clinton, Iowa, USA
  Children	+ 1. Emma Marion Cloyes,   b. 20 May 1860, Clinton, Clinton, Iowa, USA ,   d. 23 Jul 1916, Washington, District of Columbia, USA  (Age 56 years)
  Last Modified	26 Feb 2008
  Family ID	F1080	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map	Load the map	Born - 5 Mar 1831 - Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA Married - 17 Aug 1858 - Clinton, Clinton, Iowa, USA Died - 15 Jun 1916 - Prince George, Maryland, USA Buried - - Glenwood Cemetery, Washington, District of Columbia, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S2645867662] 1880 United States Federal Census, Year: 1880; Census Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Roll: T9_199; Family History Film: 1254199; Page: 465.3000; Enumeration District: 190; Image: 0413. Name: Chas. Cloyes Birth Date: abt 1831 Birth Place: Massachusetts Residence Date: 1880 Residence Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1880usfedcen&h=20907699&ti=0&indiv=try [S2645869972] 1900 United States Federal Census, Year: 1900; Census Place: Jamestown Ward 1, Chautauqua, New York; Roll: T623 1014; Page: 15A; Enumeration District: 103. Name: Charles Cloyes Birth Date: abt 1831 Birth Place: Massachusetts Residence Date: 1900 Residence Place: Jamestown Ward 1, Chautauqua, New York http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1900usfedcen&h=18535660&ti=0&indiv=try [S2645870054] 1910 United States Federal Census, Year: 1910; Census Place: Precinct 9, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T624_154; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 198; Image: 970. Name: Charels Cloyes Birth Date: abt 1831 Birth Place: Massachusetts Residence Date: 1910 Residence Place: Precinct 9, Washington, District of Columbia http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1910uscenindex&h=2848723&ti=0&indiv=try [S2645888927] 1850 United States Federal Census, Year: 1850; Census Place: Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts; Roll: M432_319; Page: 134; Image: 270. Name: Charles Cloyes Birth Date: abt 1831 Birth Place: Massachusetts Residence Date: 1850 Residence Place: Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1850usfedcenancestry&h=10245489&ti=0&indiv=try [S2645886795] 1870 United States Federal Census, Year: 1870; Census Place: , , ; Roll: M593. Name: Charles Cloyes Birth Date: abt 1831 Birth Place: Massachusetts Residence Date: 1870 Residence Place: Chicago Ward 20, Cook, Illinois http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1870usfedcen&h=15776902&ti=0&indiv=try