| Dates: | 1843-1902 |
| Size: | 0.75 linear feet in 2 boxes |
| Repository: | Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, 400 S. State St., Chicago, IL 60605 |
| Collection Number: | spe.chas |
| Immediate Source of Acquisition: | Donated by Dr. Joseph B. Francus, 1983. |
| Conditions Governing Access: | Materials are open without restrictions. |
| Conditions Governing Use: | Please consult staff to determine ability to reuse materials from collection. |
| Preferred Citation: | When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is: Horace Gair Chase Papers [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections, Chicago Public Library. |
| Finding Aid Author: | Processed by Galen Wilson, May 1990. Updated and ingested into ArchivesSpace by Johanna Russ, 2021. |
Abstract
The collection consists of correspondence, primarily related to the business of real estate in early Chicago.
Biographical/Historical
Horace Gair Chase was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, July 9, 1827, one of three sons of probate judge Horace and Betsy (Blanchard) Chase. His mother died when he was young, and his father remarried in June 1844. At age sixteen he was apprenticed to the mathematical and nautical instrument store of Samuel S. Thaxter & Son in Boston, where he remained for over a year until his health failed. He appears to have boarded with the Cushing family at this time. Off duty hours found young Horace at the library, various church and temperance meetings, and occasionally at the theatre. His politics at this time were yet undecided and he attended Democrat and Whig meetings with equal enthusiasm. By his twentieth birthday, Horace was back in Hopkinton working as a cobbler.
In 1852, Horace followed his brothers Samuel B. and Charles C. to Chicago and became employed by real estate dealer James H. Rees, who with Edward Rucker, originated the land abstract system in Chicago. In 1855, Horace and Samuel Chase joined fortunes with James Rees to form Rees, Chase & Co. Eventually, Mr. Rees was bought out, and the firm became Chase Brothers & Co. Over the next decade and a half, the fortunes of the firm improved, and Horace settled at 864 Prairie Avenue, and in 1869 at 924 Prairie Avenue. This latter address is now the 1900 block of that street, a neighborhood described in Mayer and Wade’s Chicago: Growth of a Metropolis as “the focus of fashionable living” in the 1860s. The Chase home was a block away from the Marshall Field mansion erected in 1874 and three blocks from the Philip Armour home.
In 1870, brother Charles C. Chase joined Chase Brothers & Co. The fourth partner was George H. Bailey, and the office was located at 48 LaSalle Street. After the fire of 1871, in which the Cook County abstract records were destroyed, it was found that Chase Brothers & Co. and two other abstract firms (Shortall & Hoard and Jones & Seller) had each lost part of their indices, but together had a complete set, with some duplicates. The three firms therefore merged, and still later consolidated with Chicago Title and Trust. Immediately after the fire, Chase Brothers & Co. established its offices at 299 W. Washington Street. Horace maintained a separate loan business with John B. Adams as well.
Horace G. Chase married in Chicago on June 14, 1860, to Ellen Marian Sherwin. They became the parents of four children: Samuel M., Bessie L.B., Lucy B., and Horace Stanley. Charles C. Chase married in 1874 to Bel (d. 1883) and moved to Lake View, then a separate city. Samuel B. Chase also settled in Lake View. Both Horace and Marian survived into the twentieth century, and in their retirement years summered at Hopkinton, New Hampshire. In politics he was a Republican. The Chases belonged to the Reformed Episcopal Church. He was a member of the Masonic Order.
An outline of the Chase Family Tree is provided here in the print version of this finding aid.
Scope and Contents
The majority of the collection consists of correspondence involving the three Chase Brothers, principally 1880 to 1885. The collection is, however, not strictly company records, but rather Horace G. Chase’s papers inasmuch as he is the recipient of almost all the incoming correspondence.
Because of the dual nature of many of the letters as both business and personal, no attempt has been made to separate correspondence into two distinct series. The Chase genealogy in the printed guide available in the Special Collections Reading Room will help identify relationships between writers and recipients.
As much of the correspondence is on letterhead stationery, the collection is a valuable resource for 1880s Chicago business letter style. All items with a Chicago connection have been so noted in these folder titles. The journals of Horace Chase in 2:22 cover his apprenticeship in Boston; the journal in 2:23 concerns his New England life before coming to Chicago.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged alphabetically by format or topic. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by name of writer/recipient pair, and chronologically within each writer/recipient grouping. Family, personal, and business material is interfiled. Writers who have written more than one letter have their own folders; writers of one letter are generally found in the Miscellaneous folders (1:38-41).
Related Materials
A photograph of Chase’s home can be found in the Frank W. Smith Plate Glass Slide Collection. See GP-SMITH 778.
Subjects
- Chase, Charles C.
- Chase, E. Marian (Ellen Marian)
- Chase, Horace G. (Horace Gair), 1827-1913
- Chase Brothers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.)
- Real estate agents — History
- Land titles — Registration and transfer — History
Collection Inventory
| Box 2 | Folder 15 | Churches, Christ Church (Chicago), 29th Lenten letter, 1890 |
| Box 2 | Folder 16 | Churches, Miscellaneous (non-Chicago); 1875-1885, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 1 | Correspondence - Adams, J.B. to Horace G. Chase, 1880 December |
| Box 1 | Folder 2 | Correspondence - Cady family, 1880-1882, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 1 | Correspondence - E.L. Canfield (real estate) signed letter to H.G. Chase, 1884 May 8 |
| Box 1 | Folder 3 | Correspondence - Chase, Bel to E. Marian Chase, 1880 September 1 |
| Box 1 | Folder 4 | Correspondence - Chase, Bel, death of, 1883 |
| Box 1 | Folder 5 | Correspondence - Chase, Charles C. to Horace G. Chase, 1880-1881 |
| Box 1 | Folder 6 | Correspondence - Chase, Charles C. to Horace G. Chase, 1882 |
| Box 1 | Folder 7 | Correspondence - Chase, Charles C. to Horace G. Chase, 1883 |
| Box 1 | Folder 8 | Correspondence - Chase, Charles C. to Horace G. Chase, 1884 |
| Box 1 | Folder 9 | Correspondence - Chase, Charles C. to Horace G. Chase, 1885 |
| Box 1 | Folder 10 | Correspondence - Chase, Charles C. to Minot & Co. 1878 |
| Box 1 | Folder 11 | Correspondence - Chase, E. Marian to Horace G. Chase, 1881-1885, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 12 | Correspondence - Chase, Horace G. to Charles C. Chase, 1884 |
| Box 1 | Folder 13 | Correspondence - Chase, Horace G. to E. Marian Chase, 1880-1881 |
| Box 1 | Folder 14 | Correspondence - Chase, Horace G. to E. Marian Chase, 1882 |
| Box 1 | Folder 15 | Correspondence - Chase, Horace G. to E. Marian Chase, 1883, 1885 |
| Box 1 | Folder 16 | Correspondence - Chase, Horace G. to J. Albert Mason, 1880 |
| Box 1 | Folder 17 | Correspondence - Chase, Lucy B. & Bessie L.B. 1882-1885, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 18 | Correspondence - Chase, Olcott to Horace G. Chase & Mrs. Alexander, 1880-1881 |
| Box 1 | Folder 19 | Correspondence - Chase, R. to Horace G. & E. Marian Chase, 1879, 1883 |
| Box 1 | Folder 20 | Correspondence - Chase, Samuel B. to Horace G. Chase, 1880-1881 |
| Box 1 | Folder 21 | Correspondence - Chase, Samuel B. to Horace G. Chase, 1882 |
| Box 1 | Folder 22 | Correspondence - Chase, Samuel B. to Horace G. Chase, 1883 |
| Box 1 | Folder 23 | Correspondence - Chase, Samuel B. to Horace G. Chase, 1884-1885, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 24 | Correspondence - Chase, Samuel M. to Parents, 1881-1883 |
| Box 2 | Folder 2 | Correspondence - Chase Bros. & Co. Conveyancers, billing stationery, 1870s |
| Box 1 | Folder 25 | Correspondence - Cleveland, Ellen to E. Marian Chase, 1880-1881 |
| Box 1 | Folder 26 | Correspondence - Cleveland, Ellen to E. Marian Chase, 1882, 1884 |
| Box 1 | Folder 27 | Correspondence - Cleveland, Ellen to Horace G. Chase, 1881 |
| Box 1 | Folder 28 | Correspondence - Cleveland, J.H. to Horace G. & E. Marian Chase, 1880-1883 |
| Box 1 | Folder 29 | Correspondence - Cushing, Jennie M. to Horace G. Chase, 1881-1885, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 3 | Correspondence - Empire Warehouse Co. signed letter to H.G. Chase, 1880 December 10 |
| Box 1 | Folder 30 | Correspondence - Ford, Bertha to Horace G. Chase, 1884-1885, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 4 | Correspondence - Giles, Brother & Co. (jewelry) signed letter to H.G. Chase, 1881 December 9 |
| Box 2 | Folder 5 | Correspondence - M. Keitz (picture frame) signed letter to H.G. Chase, 1881 January 10 |
| Box 2 | Folder 6 | Correspondence - Lyman, David B. (lawyer), to H.G. Chase, 1881-1882 |
| Box 1 | Folder 31 | Correspondence - McDaniel, A. to Horace G. Chase (Wilmette land), 1883 April 10 |
| Box 1 | Folder 32 | Correspondence - Mason, J. Albert & Louise Sherwin, wedding invitation, 1870 |
| Box 1 | Folder 33 | Correspondence - Mason, J. Albert to E. Marian Chase; 1883-1884 |
| Box 1 | Folder 34 | Correspondence - Mason, J. Albert to Horace G. Chase; 1880, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 35 | Correspondence - Mason, Louise Sherwin to E. Marian Chase, 1882-1884 |
| Box 1 | Folder 36 | Correspondence - Mason, Louise Sherwin to Horace G. Chase, 1880-1883, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 37 | Correspondence - Mills, Joseph to Horace G. Chase, 1880-1881 |
| Box 1 | Folder 38 | Correspondence - Miscellaneous business, New England, New York, Indiana, 1881-1884 |
| Box 1 | Folder 39 | Correspondence - Miscellaneous family (includes Stanley Chase), 1880-1884, 1902, undated |
| Box 1 | Folder 40 | Correspondence - Miscellaneous personal (Chicago), 1880-1882 |
| Box 1 | Folder 41 | Correspondence - Miscellaneous personal (non-Chicago), 1879-1885, 1901-1902 |
| Box 2 | Folder 7 | Correspondence - Osborne, H.S. & F.S. to Horace G. Chase, 1882 February 9, 20 |
| Box 2 | Folder 8 | Correspondence - Peabody, Francis B. & Co. to H.G. Chase, 1880, 1884 |
| Box 2 | Folder 9 | Correspondence - Rice & Cleaver (real estate) signed letter to H.G. Chase, 1881 April 11 |
| Box 1 | Folder 42 | Correspondence - Rickcords, William to Horace G. Chase, 1880-1885 |
| Box 1 | Folder 43 | Correspondence - Santa Claus to Chase family, 1879-1882 |
| Box 2 | Folder 10 | Correspondence - A.H. Sellers (lawyer?) signed letter to H.G. Chase, 1885 February 7 |
| Box 1 | Folder 44 | Correspondence - Sherwin, John R. to Horace G. & E. Marian Chase, 1883-1884 |
| Box 2 | Folder 11 | Correspondence - Smith & Burgett (lawyers) signed letter to H.G. Chase, 1880 April 20 |
| Box 2 | Folder 12 | Correspondence - W.C. Stevens’ Gallery, exhibition flyer, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 13 | Correspondence - Thornburgh & Blessner (mill and elevator supplies), signed letter to H.G. Chase, 1884 December 16 |
| Box 2 | Folder 14 | Correspondence - Traders Bank signed letter to H.G. Chase, 1883 February 15 |
| Box 1 | Folder 45 | Correspondence - Wright, A.J. to Horace G. Chase, 1880-1882 |
| Box 1 | Folder 46 | Correspondence - ----, Cousin Gertie to Horace G. & E. Marian Chase, 1881-1885 |
| Box 1 | Folder 47 | Correspondence - ----, Cousin Lizzie to Horace G. & E. Marian Chase, 1880-1885 |
| Box 1 | Folder 48 | Correspondence - ----, Cousin Tim to Horace G. Chase, 1881-1885 |
| Box 2 | Folder 25 | Envelopes (empty), undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 17 | Finances, Bills and invoices (Chicago), 1879-1882 |
| Box 2 | Folder 18 | Finances, Bills and invoices (Connecticut & Massachusetts), 1870-1884 |
| Box 2 | Folder 19 | Finances, Bills and invoices (New Hampshire), 1872-1886 |
| Box 2 | Folder 20 | Finances, Bills and invoices (location not given), 1875-1879, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 21 | Finances, Horace G. Chase, account book, principally with William Rickcords, 1875-1878 |
| Box 2 | Folder 26 | Invitations and calling cards, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 22 | Journals, Horace G. Chase (Boston, Mass.), 1843 August 6-1844 February 4 |
| Box 2 | Folder 22 | Journals, Horace G. Chase (Boston, Mass.), 1844 February 6-July 2 |
| Box 2 | Folder 23 | Journals, Horace G. Chase (Boston, MA), 1846 September 20-1847 August 11 |
| Box 2 | Folder 24 | Land records (Chicago), 1876, 1882, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 27 | Newspaper clippings, 1885, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 28 | Printed flyers, manuscript notes, 1873-1882, undated |
| Box 2 | Folder 29 | Schools, correspondence, printed material, 1879-1885 |
