- OSCAR I. JACOBUS, one of the prominent business men of Rock
County, and the present
- secretary and superintendent of the Pauline Pottery Company,
of Edgerton, was born in New York City, July 4, 1840, and is
a son of David and Eliza (MASON) JACOBUS, the former a native
of New Jersey, and the latter of New York. The father was a cabinet
maker by trade, which occupation he followed throughout his life.
He spent his later years in the city of Chicago, where he engaged
quite extensively in the manufacture of furniture, and became
well know throughout the leading business circles of the West.
The product of his establishment gained a wide reputation and
his orders were received from all over the country.
- There were five children born to Mr. and Mrs. JACOBUS. Both
were members of the First
- Baptist Church of Chicago, in which the former filled the
office of Deacon for many years. The wife was called to her final
rest in 1859, and was interred in Rose Hill Cemetery in Chicago.
Mr. JACOBUS died in the same city in 1886, and was laid to rest
by the side of the loved one gone before. Socially, he was an
Odd Fellow, and politically, a Republican.
- The education of our subject was received in the common schools,
and when completed he
- entered the furniture establishment of his father with whom
he remained until the age of eighteen years, when he engaged
in the grain commission business in Chicago. After three years
spent in that line, he went into the jobbing cutlery business,
which he followed with good success until the great Chicago fire,
when with hundreds of others, he lost everything and had to begin
anew. He soon secured employment as a book-keeper for J. B. Lyon
& Co., the Board of Trade firm, with whom he continued until
he began experimenting in the line of decorated pottery ware
in 1883. He began business in a small way, renting an old house
on 36th street, and building a kiln, his wife doing the decorating.
After many trials and failures, he finally succeeded in producing
a creditable style of decorated ware, which he placed upon the
market. This gained quite a reputation as the Pauline Ware. As
his sales increased, he increased his facilities, employing a
larger force and built up a good trade. While residing in Chicago,
his attention was called to clay found at Edgerton, and several
samples were sent to him, with which he experimented. Finding
it specially suited to his purpose, he came to Edgerton to see
about making arrangement for procuring the clay for his work,
and after considerable correspondence, the citizens of the town
induced him to move his factory to that place A stock company
was organized on the 1st day of January, 1888, under the name
of the Pauline Pottery Company, with the following officers:
E. W. BABCOCK, President; Charles F. MABBET, Vice-President;
Thomas HUTSON, Treasurer; and Mr. JACOBUS, Secretary and Superintendent.
He removed with his family to Edgerton in March, 1888, and at
once began erecting the plant. The first kiln was burnt in July,
1888, and since that time operations have been carried steadily
forward. Although the factory is in its infancy, it is steadily
gaining a reputation, which in a few years will make it once
of the largest and leading establishments of its kind in the
country. The ware that is manufactured is principally ornamental
and is decorated in glazed colors. Porous cups for electric batteries,
used in telephone work, are also manufactured, the clay found
in the neighborhood being peculiarly adopted to the construction
of that kind of ware. Mr. JACOBUS is a man of sterling worth,
possessing good business ability and foresight, and under his
able management the factory is rapidly gaining a position among
the leading industries of the State of which the citizens of
Edgerton and Rock County may well be proud. The force employed
numbers about twenty-five men.
- On the 13th day of December, 1861, Mr. JACOBUS was united
in marriage with Miss Pauline
- BOGERT [BORGERT], and unto them have been born two children
- Allen D., who was born May 2, 1863, and is now foreman of the
Pauline Pottery Company; and Jennie P., who was born Jan. 4,
1869, and is now the wife of John P. P. COON, junior partner
of the firm of A. S. Flagg & Co., hardware dealers of Edgerton.
Both children received the advantage of a liberal education,
while residing in Chicago. Although having dwelt there for little
more than a year, Mr. JACOBUS and his family hold a high position
in social circles and are greatly esteemed by all who know them.
Mrs. JACOBUS, who is a most estimable lady, is a member of the
Baptist Church. Socially, our subject is a member of the Blue
Lodge of Masonry at Edgerton, and also belongs to Chicago Chapter,
R.A.M.; Chevalier Bayrd Commandery, K.T.; Oriental Consistory
and Medina Temple, N.M.S.; and Orion Lodge, K.P. of Edgerton.
He takes great interest in civic societies, and is a worthy member.
Politically, he is a Republican, having supported that party
since casting his first Presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln
in 1861. Public spirited and progressive, Mr. JACOBUS is a leading
citizen of the community in which he resides and has gained a
prominent position among the business men of the town. We are
pleased to record his sketch in the permanent history of Rock
County and its representative citizens.
-
- Taken from "The Portrait and Biographical Album of
Rock County, Wis." (c)1889, pp. 701-702.
-
- Courtesy of Carol
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