Biography - JOHN T. TODD
John
Thomas Todd, who is one of the active and successful business men of Tuscola
and who has been with the exception of two years, agent for the I. D. & W.
Railway Company from the time the road was built to the present, having
first entered its service as agent at Marshall, Indiana, on August 1, 1879,
was born in Edgar county, Illinois, June 8, 1862. He was reared in Edgar and
Champaign counties and received his education in the public schools at
Newman. In 1866 his parents removed to Douglas county and settled on a farm
near Newman. He is a son of David and Mariah (Wilson) Todd, who were natives
of Ireland, and who were both Episcopalians in their religious belief. David
Todd was a bookbinder by trade and in about 1844 emigrated to this country,
first settling in New York City, where he worked at his trade until 1855,
when he emigrated west and located on a farm in Edgar county. The
grandfathers of Mr. Todd were James Todd and William Wilson, both born in
Ireland.
In 1883 Mr. Todd was united in marriage to Miss Laura, a daughter of L. J.
Cash, of Newman. He is the founder of the Douglas County Telephone Company,
now a sub-licensee of the American Bell Telephone Company, the change being
made in order to get the use of the instruments and the long-distance
connections of the Bell Company. Mr. Todd is still the president and
business manager of the company, with J. W. Hamilton as secretary. In 1892
he removed to Chicago, where he was engaged for two years in perfecting and
developing an invention known as the "thermograph," of which Mr. Todd is the
patentee and inventor. This instrument is for automatically recording the
variations of temperature of refrigerator cars while in transit, also of the
several rooms of cold storage plants, hot houses, etc., where it is
desirable that a uniform temperature be maintained. With Mr. Todd's
invention it is possible to have a printed record made on a narrow strip of
paper ribbon, showing the variations of temperature at such intervals of
time as may be desired, from the time a car of meat leaves Chicago until it
arrives in San Francisco, from which record any neglect in re-icing car en
route may be located, and as the record shows the time of day and date of
every variation, it is an easy matter to place the responsibility for any
neglect by the several railway companies handling the car.
John T. Todd is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and his standing as a
man, especially in railroad circles, is second to none. During his residence
in Tuscola he has borne an important part in the progress of the city, and
his courteous manner and his integrity and ability have won him a high place
in the esteem of his fellow citizens.
Extracted 09 Jun 2019 by Norma Hass from the Historical and Biographical Record of Douglas County, Illinois, published in 1900, pages 210, 213.
