Monmouth Chamber of Commerce

Monmouth Chamber of Commerce

Calvin Orth: Monmouth’s modest millionaire

 In the 19th century, Monmouth boasted a long line of wealthy capitalists. Names like Hardin, Quinby, Hanna, Weir and Pattee are inscribed on impressive monuments in Monmouth Cemetery.

 In the 19th century, Monmouth boasted a long line of wealthy capitalists. Names like Hardin, Quinby, Hanna, Weir and Pattee are inscribed on impressive monuments in Monmouth Cemetery.

Then there was Calvin S. Orth. He lies beneath a modest headstone, did not live in a Broadway mansion and is little remembered, but his accomplishments were no less remarkable.

Born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in 1835, Orth was the son of a tanner who later became a successful farmer and encouraged each of his nine children to pursue higher education. Calvin graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and immediately took a job as a clerk in a local dry goods store, before venturing west to Iowa City in 1856.

Two years later, Orth removed to Keithsburg, Illinois, where with a partner he established a mercantile business called Orth and Weaver, which was moved to Bedford, Iowa, in 1876. Orth married Mary Frances “Fanny” Sheriff of Keithsburg in 1869 and two years later became a founder and the first cashier of Farmer’s National Bank in Keithburg.

All this time, Orth was operating a number of farms, raising cattle, hogs and produce. They were so successful that he soon turned his efforts to rehabilitating deteriorated farms. In this capacity, he traveled throughout the United States, purchasing thousands of acres in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, Minnesota and other states. But because he did not believe in displaying his wealth, few people realized its extent.

Like his mother, Orth’s wife gave birth to nine children, three of whom attended Monmouth College. The eldest, William, taught in rural schools before attending Monmouth and later graduated from Rush Medical College and became a prominent Chicago physician. Son Paul graduated from dental school in Chicago and practiced in Monmouth before locating to San Diego. Another son, Godlove, was a pharmacist in Chicago.

The daughters were active in Monmouth social circles. Sallie married Louis Vogt, a successful Monmouth grocer. Their youngest, Maude, married Monmouth’s city attorney, Erle P. Field. Mary, the eldest, became the wife of Irven F. Dains, president of Western Stoneware.

Always interested in education, Orth served as president of the Keithsburg school board for many years. When he decided to retire in 1891, he moved his family to Monmouth in order to be closer to the culture and education provided by Monmouth College.

The Orths lived in a large but unassuming residence, which still stands at 519 E. 1st Ave.

Orth bought a house at 519 E. 1st Ave. — a large, comfortable residence that was off the main thoroughfares and far from ostentatious. The Orths were popular in the community, active in the Presbyterian Church, and Calvin kept his hand in business, serving as a director of Monmouth’s People’s National Bank.

In the fall of 1898, Orth returned to Monmouth after spending some time attending to his mercantile business in Iowa. Shortly thereafter, he suffered a stroke and rapidly went downhill. He died on Jan. 1, 1899, at the age of 63. He was buried in Keithsburg.

In 1903, Orth’s daughter Mary was united in marriage to I. F. Dains and the young couple moved in with her mother, at 519 E. 1st Ave. They would continue to live there until the mother’s death in 1927. I have a small personal connection to the house, as I lived there the first two years of my life.

Orth’s real estate holdings were so extensive that they became the subject of an Illinois appellate course case brought by some of his heirs in 1964, due to an ambiguous clause in Orth’s 1898 will.

by Jeff Rankin

Editor and historian for Monmouth College. Avid researcher of western Illinois history for 40 years. FB and Twitter. jrankin@monmouthcollege.edu

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