THOMAS HEDGE was born in Yarmouth, Mass., on the 14th of February, 1815. His ancestors were of English-Puritan stock. His paternal ancestor in America, Captain William Hedge, was commander of a vessel which he sailed from London to Boston, when the latter could lay small claim to being the “Hub of the Universe.” It was only a village of a few hundred inhabitants. Captain William Hedge was among the first settlers of Yarmouth, in 1638, when the town was founded. James Hedge, father of the subject of this sketch, was also a sea-captain and a farmer. He died in Yarmouth, in 1854.
The boyhood of Thomas Hedge was spent on a farm in his native town, where he enjoyed the advantages both of public and private schools. At the age of seventeen he went to Boston, and engaged as clerk in a commission house, where he remained two years, when he entered the counting room of Burgess & Sons, a heavy firm engaged extensively in the West Indian trade. Here he acted in the capacity of book-keeper, and also went to Cuba in the interest of the business of the house, where he remained eight months, and then returned to Boston.
In the fall of1836, he came to Burlington, in company with two other young men, with whom he spent about three years in mercantile business, if such a promiscuous trade in a frontier town might be called. This proving unprofitable in the sparse settlement, and poverty of the country, he returned again to Boston, and his old firm – Burgess & Sons – employed him to take charge of their business in Cieufuego, Island of Cuba, where he remained four years.
Concluding, then, to fulfil [sic] an important engagement which he had made with a young lady in his native town, and to seek a home on American soil, he returned to Yarmouth, and in September, 1843, was married to Miss Eliza B. Eldridge. Immediately upon his marriage, he came to Burlington. He brought with him a stock of goods and started a store. From that time till 1858 he was engaged in mercantile and produce business. From 1858 to 1861 he was partner in the banking house of Lauman, Hedge & Co. Till March, 1862, he carried on the produce business. He then went into the firm of Gilbert, Hedge & Co., in the lumber business, which he has continued till the present time. This business may be briefly sketched as follows:
The firm, as at present constituted, was formed in March, 1866. Last year they handled between eighteen and nineteen millions feet of lumber, besides lath and shingles in immense quantities. Among lumber dealers they occupy a conspicuous place; and how much of the developement [sic] of Iowa is owing to their exertions in supplying an abundance of lumber, at cheap rates, we will not undertake to say. The firm is largely interested in pine lands in Wisconsin, and makes operations in them an important feature I their business.
Mr. Hedge has not always been successful; no man is, till he finds the right business and the right place, and the pursuit of these may often consume the earlier years of a man’s life.
“There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.”
But few are able at once to find that favoring tide and embark upon it at the right moment. Talents for business are not all, there must also be an opportunity; and where this necessary conjunction does not occur, days of anxious toil and planning may be expended to little purpose.
When Mr. Hedge first came to Burlington, the town was new and the country poor. The field, therefore, for mercantile business was very limited, and within those narrow limits barren of results. Goods and merchandise were not what the few settlers needed, but lumber and materials to build their houses and fences, and market for their produce. Those who had gone into the produce and lumber business were meeting with success. Mr. Hedge, seeing the situation, changed his business and made money. He is now considered among the wealthy men of Burlington.
Mr. Hedge is, neither by instinct or practice, a politician, though he has held some offices of responsibility and trust, and has always filled them with honor and credit. He has been, and is at present, a member of the Board of Supervisors; was two years a Trustee of the State Insane Asylum; and is at present one of the Directors of the First National Bank.
He is a man of genteel and courteous manners, and of a Christian spirit. His integrity has been tested both in public and private life, and, for honorable dealing, his character stands above reproach. In 1854 he became a member of the Congregational Church in this city, of which he is a liberal supporter. He is also public spirited and liberal in matters pertaining to the general good of the community.
Mr. Hedge has two children – one son and one daughter. The former, Thomas Hedge, Jr., is engaged in the practice of law in Burlington. He is a graduate of Yale College, and also of the Law School of New York. While in the midst of his college studies, he volunteered in the war of the rebellion, and entered a New York regiment as second lieutenant. He made a good record in the army.
Mrs. Hedge died in May 1869, since which time her only daughter, Anna B. Hedge, has presided over the affairs of the household.
Mr. Hedge has a substantial and beautiful home on Fifth street, fronting the public park, and has the leisure to accord that hospitality which he so highly enjoys.
Source: An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Des Moines County, Iowa. A. T. Andreas, Chicago, Ill., 1873, p. 31
THOMAS HEDGE was born in Yarmouth, Mass., on the 14th of February, 1815. His ancestors were of English-Puritan stock. His paternal ancestor in America, Captain William Hedge, was commander of a vessel which he sailed from London to Boston, when the latter could lay small claim to being the “Hub of the Universe.” It was only a village of a few hundred inhabitants. Captain William Hedge was among the first settlers of Yarmouth, in 1638, when the town was founded. James Hedge, father of the subject of this sketch, was also a sea-captain and a farmer. He died in Yarmouth, in 1854.
The boyhood of Thomas Hedge was spent on a farm in his native town, where he enjoyed the advantages both of public and private schools. At the age of seventeen he went to Boston, and engaged as clerk in a commission house, where he remained two years, when he entered the counting room of Burgess & Sons, a heavy firm engaged extensively in the West Indian trade. Here he acted in the capacity of book-keeper, and also went to Cuba in the interest of the business of the house, where he remained eight months, and then returned to Boston.
In the fall of1836, he came to Burlington, in company with two other young men, with whom he spent about three years in mercantile business, if such a promiscuous trade in a frontier town might be called. This proving unprofitable in the sparse settlement, and poverty of the country, he returned again to Boston, and his old firm – Burgess & Sons – employed him to take charge of their business in Cieufuego, Island of Cuba, where he remained four years.
Concluding, then, to fulfil [sic] an important engagement which he had made with a young lady in his native town, and to seek a home on American soil, he returned to Yarmouth, and in September, 1843, was married to Miss Eliza B. Eldridge. Immediately upon his marriage, he came to Burlington. He brought with him a stock of goods and started a store. From that time till 1858 he was engaged in mercantile and produce business. From 1858 to 1861 he was partner in the banking house of Lauman, Hedge & Co. Till March, 1862, he carried on the produce business. He then went into the firm of Gilbert, Hedge & Co., in the lumber business, which he has continued till the present time. This business may be briefly sketched as follows:
The firm, as at present constituted, was formed in March, 1866. Last year they handled between eighteen and nineteen millions feet of lumber, besides lath and shingles in immense quantities. Among lumber dealers they occupy a conspicuous place; and how much of the developement [sic] of Iowa is owing to their exertions in supplying an abundance of lumber, at cheap rates, we will not undertake to say. The firm is largely interested in pine lands in Wisconsin, and makes operations in them an important feature I their business.
Mr. Hedge has not always been successful; no man is, till he finds the right business and the right place, and the pursuit of these may often consume the earlier years of a man’s life.
“There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.”
But few are able at once to find that favoring tide and embark upon it at the right moment. Talents for business are not all, there must also be an opportunity; and where this necessary conjunction does not occur, days of anxious toil and planning may be expended to little purpose.
When Mr. Hedge first came to Burlington, the town was new and the country poor. The field, therefore, for mercantile business was very limited, and within those narrow limits barren of results. Goods and merchandise were not what the few settlers needed, but lumber and materials to build their houses and fences, and market for their produce. Those who had gone into the produce and lumber business were meeting with success. Mr. Hedge, seeing the situation, changed his business and made money. He is now considered among the wealthy men of Burlington.
Mr. Hedge is, neither by instinct or practice, a politician, though he has held some offices of responsibility and trust, and has always filled them with honor and credit. He has been, and is at present, a member of the Board of Supervisors; was two years a Trustee of the State Insane Asylum; and is at present one of the Directors of the First National Bank.
He is a man of genteel and courteous manners, and of a Christian spirit. His integrity has been tested both in public and private life, and, for honorable dealing, his character stands above reproach. In 1854 he became a member of the Congregational Church in this city, of which he is a liberal supporter. He is also public spirited and liberal in matters pertaining to the general good of the community.
Mr. Hedge has two children – one son and one daughter. The former, Thomas Hedge, Jr., is engaged in the practice of law in Burlington. He is a graduate of Yale College, and also of the Law School of New York. While in the midst of his college studies, he volunteered in the war of the rebellion, and entered a New York regiment as second lieutenant. He made a good record in the army.
Mrs. Hedge died in May 1869, since which time her only daughter, Anna B. Hedge, has presided over the affairs of the household.
Mr. Hedge has a substantial and beautiful home on Fifth street, fronting the public park, and has the leisure to accord that hospitality which he so highly enjoys.
Source: An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Des Moines County, Iowa. A. T. Andreas, Chicago, Ill., 1873, p. 31
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