William J. Bross | |
|---|---|
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| 16thLieutenant Governor of Illinois | |
| In office January 16, 1865 – January 11, 1869 | |
| Governor | Richard J. Oglesby |
| Preceded by | Francis Hoffmann |
| Succeeded by | John Dougherty |
| Member of theChicago City Council from the1st ward | |
| In office 1857–1859 Serving with James Long | |
| Preceded by | Sylvester Sexton |
| Succeeded by | J.K. Botsford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 4, 1813 |
| Died | January 27, 1890(1890-01-27) (aged 76) |
| Resting place | Rosehill Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Children | Jessie Bross Lloyd |
| Alma mater | Williams College |
| Profession | Newspaper editor |
| Signature | .png) |
William J. Bross (November 4, 1813 – January 27, 1890) was an American politician and publisher originally from theNew Jersey–New York–Pennsylvaniatri-state area. He was also elected as the 16thLieutenant Governor of Illinois.
He engaged in the lumber trade with his father before attendingWilliams College. He taught at schools for ten years, then headed west toChicago, Illinois. He engaged in book-selling and publishing interests before co-founding the successfulDemocratic Press paper. Following the organization of theRepublican Party in 1854, Bross became a staunch supporter of its political candidates. His support forAbraham Lincoln helped him win support for a bid as lieutenant governor. In 1865, he accompanied futureVice President of the United StatesSchuyler Colfax on a trip west to California, later publishing a book about the excursion.
William Bross was born on November 4, 1813, in northwestSussex County, New Jersey.[1] He was the eldest of eleven children of Deacon Moses Bross and Jane (Winfield) Bross. He was the eldest because he was born a few minutes before his twinStephen Decatur Bross. When they were nine, the family moved toMilford, Pennsylvania, in anticipation of the construction of theDelaware and Hudson Canal. The boys worked with their father to furnish lumber for the canal nearShohola.[2]
In 1832, Bross enrolled at Milford Academy, then attendedWilliams College, rooming with his twin brother. William Bross was one of the founding members of The Social Fraternity at Williams, forerunner toDelta Upsilon. Shortly after graduating in 1838, he became the principal of Ridgebury Academy inRidgebury, New York. In 1843, he began to teach at a school inChester, Pennsylvania, where he worked for another five years. Starting in 1846, Bross took trips west to identify a better place to settle. He decided on the emerging city ofChicago, Illinois, which he reached on May 12, 1848.[2]
Bross quickly formed a partnership with S. C. Griggs and the Newman & Co. publishing house, opening the book-selling firm ofGriggs, Bross & Co. The partnership dissolved eighteen months later. In the autumn of 1849, Bross co-published thePrairie Herald, a religious newspaper, with Rev. J. A. Wright. Bross first achieved prosperity in 1852 when he teamed with Chicago PostmasterJohn L. Scripps to start theDemocratic Press. The paper espousedDemocratic viewpoints, but differed from the party line regardingslavery, notably opposingStephen A. Douglas'sMissouri Compromise.[3]
When theRepublican Party formed in 1854, Bross became a public speaker on behalf of the cause. He gave the first public endorsement ofJohn C. Frémont for President in the West, speaking at Dearborn Park the night he was nominated. Bross toured southern Illinois, generally a pro-slavery area, to extoll the virtues of Frémont.[2] While at theformer State House inVandalia, Illinois, he became acquainted with fellow Frémont campaignerAbraham Lincoln and the two would often speak at the same engagements.[3]
In 1857, Bross was elected to theChicago City Council, and represented the1st ward until 1859.[4][5] TheDemocratic Press struggled financially after thePanic of 1857. On July 1, 1858, the paper was merged into theTribune, creatingThe Press and Tribune. Bross advocated for Abraham Lincoln for President following his nomination. Following the outbreak of theCivil War, in 1863 Bross helped to raise the29th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry. It was commanded by one of his brothers,Col. John A. Bross, who was killed on July 30, 1864, during theSiege of Petersburg.[2]
Bross's support of Lincoln helped him to gain nomination as the Republican candidate forLieutenant Governor of Illinois underRichard J. Oglesby. He traveled withSpeaker of the United States House of RepresentativesSchuyler Colfax in 1865 to examine the path west to California. two years later he traveled to Europe with his daughter.[2]
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Soon after graduating from college and gaining his first job, in 1839 Bross married Mary Jane Jansen, the daughter of Dr. John T. Jansen. They had four sons and four daughters, but only one child, Jessie, survived to adulthood.[2] Their daughter Jessie Bross marriedHenry Demarest Lloyd, known as a muckraking journalist. GrandsonWilliam Bross Lloyd was a founding members of theCommunist Labor Party of America.
In 1879, Bross established the Bross Foundation atLake Forest University in memory of his son Nathaniel. He donated $40,000 to invest over ten years to buy literature "on the connection, relation, and mutual bearing of any practical science, the history of our race, or the facts in any department of knowledge, with and upon the Christian Religion." University trustees offered $6,000 as a prize to one who would author a book best fulfilling these conditions; it was won byJames Orr ofUnited Free Church College forProblems of the Old Testament Considered with Reference to Recent Criticism. The fund also enabled the university to pay for lecturers, who includedFrancis Landey Patton,Marcus Dods,John Arthur Thomson,Frederick J. Bliss, andJosiah Royce.[6]
Bross died in Chicago on January 27, 1890, and was buried inRosehill Cemetery.[1]
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Republican nominee forLieutenant Governor of Illinois 1864 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Illinois 1865-1869 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
