Pardee, Theron

Born: 1817-07-15 New York

Died: 1888-01-19 Chicago, Illinois

Born in Herkimer County, New York, Theron Pardee was a salesman, merchant, manufacturer, cashier, and banker. He moved to Chicago in 1841 to sell propellers for steamboats. He engaged in this business, as well as in the construction of reapers off and on, until 1849. He also worked in the trading, storage, and shipping of agricultural commodities until 1852. He built the city's first elevator, which was horse powered. In 1842, he began working as an insurance agent for the North-Western Insurance Company, retiring from the business in 1850. He married Elizabeth Lupton in October 1845, and eventually had at least five children with her. In 1853, he moved to Bloomington, Illinois, where he was a stockholder in and the cashier of the McLean County Bank. His hard work and entrepreneurial spirit yielded impressive returns: by 1860, he had a personal estate worth $5,000 and owned real estate valued at $120,000. He returned to Chicago in 1864.

A. T. Andreas, History of Chicago (Chicago: A. T. Andreas, 1885), 2:635-36; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Cook County, 28 October 1845, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Ward 2, Bloomington, McLean County, IL, 179; Gravestone, Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, IL.