Henry F. Bycroft, well known as a miller and grain man of Gillespie
and also mayor of the city, is a native of England and is a highly
creditable representative of thousands of ambitious young men, who have
sought in America opportunities, denied them in the old countries. He
was born September 15, 1851, a son of James and Catherine (Fenwick)
Bycroft, both of whom spent their entire lives in England, the father
being a farm laborer.
Mr. Bycroft of this review grew to manhood
in the paternal home and acquired the rudiments of an education in the
public schools. At the age of thirteen he was apprenticed to the
miller’s trade and, after completing his term of apprenticeship, worked
at the trade in England until June, 1872. He was then almost twenty-one
years of age and, having decided to seek his fortune beyond the seas, he
went aboard a vessel and landed at Baltimore, Maryland, on the morning
of July 4. He proceeded direct to St. Louis, Missouri; but conditions in
the industrial world were then very unpromising and he had great
difficulty in securing employment, being obliged to work at whatever he
could find, as there appeared to be no demand for men in the trade, for
which he had prepared himself. He had early learned the dignity of labor
and did not hesitate to accept a position as street laborer. He also
drove oxen for Judge Busbee of the criminal court and kept as busy as
possible in such positions as he could find, until conditions changed.
In the fall of 1873 he was employed in the large mills of Kehlor
Brothers at St. Louis and gave evidence of an interest in his work and a
capacity for responsibility, which was very pleasing to the officers in
charge. After eight or nine years, having shown himself to be entirely
competent in the various positions to which he had been advanced, he was
placed in charge of the Union Flour Mills at St. Louis, which he
superintended for four years. He then resigned to accept a similar
position in a mill at Edwardsville, Illinois, for his former employers,
Kehlor Brothers at that point. He continued there until July 21, 1891,
when, having decided'to begin business on his own account, he came to
Gillespie and leased the Gillespie Rolling Mills. Two years later he
purchased the property and has since continuously operated the mills.
During these years he has made many improvements and has kept fully
abreast of the times in his specialty, being now at the head of the
leading industry of Gillespie. The name of the firm is widely and
favorably known throughout this part of the country on account of the
honorable business methods that it has followed. In 1900 Mr. Bycroft
admitted to partnership his son, James E. Bycroft, who began assisting
his father in 1893, and the title of the firm has since been H. F.
Bycroft & Son.
On the 28th of June, 1877, at St. Louis, Mr.
Bycroft was married to Miss Mary E. Dillon and three children were born
to this union: James E., who is associated with his father in business;
Gertrude C., who is at home; and Henry F. Jr., who is engaged in the
livery business at Gillespie. Politically Mr. Bycroft has voted in
support of the republican party ever since he cast his first ballot. He
is now serving his fourth term as mayor of Gillespie, having been
elected on the citizens’ ticket each time. He also very acceptably
filled the office of town treasurer for two terms. He is a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America and the Mutual Protective League of Decatur
and has many friends in those organizations. Although reared in the
Episcopal church he is in thorough sympathy with the Catholic church,
his wife and children being members of that organization. It is a long
step from the condition in which Mr. Bycroft found himself when he
landed a stranger in St. Louis thirty-nine years ago with only five
dollars in his pocket, which he was obliged to pay for his board, to the
position he now holds as a leading citizen of one of the intelligent and
progressive communities of Illinois. He owes his success to an
indomitable spirit of perseverance that never yielded even in the face
of the gravest obstacles, and to a worthy ambition to make a reputable
name for himself in the country of his adoption. It is hardly necessary
to add that no man in Macoupin county is more highly respected by his
friends and acquaintances than the gentleman whose sketch is here
presented.
Extracted 20 Oct 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 184-185.
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