Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Booth, Keokuk B ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com October 4, 2007, 8:58 pm Author: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County KEOKUK B. BOOTH. As an enterprising business man, Mr. Booth was well known to the people of Joliet. The record of his life affords an illustration of the fact that he who is quick to see opportunities and equally quick to grasp them may attain success, in spite of early disadvantages and many obstacles that confront him. His was a life of diligence. When only fourteen years of age he left home, and from that time he made his own way in the world, succeeding so well that, although he was only in the prime of life when he died, he had accumulated a competency and built up a substantial business. Meantime he had also made many friends, and it is said that his funeral was one of the largest ever held in Joliet, this fact affording in itself an indication of his popularity as a man. Mr. Booth was born in Libertyville, Ohio, May 11, 1857, a son of T. C. Booth, a descendant of English ancestors who first settled in New Jersey and thence removed to Ohio. When he was fourteen he and his brother, Harry O., came west, and he secured a clerkship in a Chicago clothing store. He was a self-made and a self-educated man in every sense. His evenings were spent in the school room, where he laid the foundation for a store of knowledge that aided him in his business and made his society valuable to his numerous friends. After his marriage, in 1884, he removed to Lake Geneva, Wis., and entered the hardware business as a member of the firm of T. C. Smith & Co. After the death of Mr. Smith Mr. Booth came to Joliet, in 1887, and founded the business in which he afterward engaged, and which he enlarged from time to time. He had a three- story laundry operated by steam and furnished with modern appliances, it being the largest and best laundry in the city. He was active in the National Laundrymen's Association, and assisted in organizing the Illinois State Laundrymen's Association, of which he was elected the second president. In politics he was a Republican, and in religion a Universalist. He was a charter member and stock-holder in the Union Club. Fraternally he belonged to Matteson Lodge No. 175, A. F. & A. M., Joliet Chapter No. 27, R. A. M., Joliet Commandery No. 4, K. T., and Medinah Temple, N. M. S., of Chicago. The marriage of Mr. Booth took place in Chicago, September 10, 1884, and united him with Miss Susan F. Smith, who was born in Ottawa, Ill., a daughter of Nohr R. and Anna (Brush) Smith, natives of Homer, N. Y., and Amityville, Long Island, N. Y. Her grandfather, Nohr R. Smith, Sr., was born in Bridgeport, Conn., and became a large miller in Homer, N. Y. He was one of the organizers of Cortland Academy, and served as a member of the original board of twelve trustees, continuing on the board until his death, at seventy-four years. His father was a captain in the coasting trade and was a native of Connecticut, of English ancestry. Nohr R. Smith, Jr., graduated from the academy which had been founded largely through his father's efforts. When a young man he settled in Ottawa, Ill., where he built up a large and profitable grain business. His death occurred in Secor, Ill., in 1877. Politically he voted with the Democrats. His wife, who was a member of an old Long Island family, died in Ottawa. They were the parents of three children, but Mrs. Booth is the sole survivor. She was educated in Cortland Academy and Monticello Seminary at Godfrey, Ill., and is now an educated and accomplished woman, possessing not only social charms, but also business ability, and is successfully managing the business established by her husband. Like him, she is a believer in the doctrines of the Universalist Church. As he was active in Masonry, she, too, has been prominent in the allied organization, the Eastern Star, and is past matron in Chapter No. 187 in Joliet. Mr. Booth died June 24, 1899, and three days later his remains were buried, with Masonic honors, in Oakwood cemetery. He is remembered as a reliable, industrious business man, who abundantly deserved the prosperity that his efforts had gained. Additional Comments: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/booth974gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 4.9 Kb