Fortune and Faith in Old Chicago: A Dual Biography of Mayor Augustus Garrett and Seminary Founder Eliza Clark Garrett

Augustus and Eliza Clark Garrett's biography tells the story of their ambitious lives and spiritual journeys in early 19th-century Chicago. Augustus made his fortune in the land boom, while Eliza struggled with tragedy and found vindication in her efforts to establish a women's college and theological school. The book explores Chicago's social, political, business, and religious milieu and sheds light on American religious history.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 30 March 2020
Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press

This captivating biography delves into the lives of Augustus Garrett and his wife, Eliza Clark Garrett, offering two equally compelling narratives: the ambitious journey of a man striving for success and the remarkable spiritual odyssey of a woman overcoming profound tragedy. By contextualizing the couple's lives within the vibrant social, political, business, and religious milieu of Chicago's early urbanization, author Charles H. Cosgrove fills a significant gap in the city's history during the mid-nineteenth century.

After relocating from the Hudson River Valley to Chicago, Augustus Garrett achieved great prosperity during the land boom as an auctioneer and speculator. During the city's formative years, he served as mayor and found himself at the center of the first mayoral election scandal in Chicago. To restore his honor, he resigned dramatically and was subsequently reelected the following year. His story provides valuable insights into the inner workings of Chicago politics and business during the antebellum era.

The Garrett couple had endured the tragic loss of three young children to disease, and Eliza arrived in Chicago bearing deep emotional scars. Her journey exemplifies the struggles of sincere and pious women in an era when most individuals attributed unhappy events to divine discipline. Following Augustus's premature death, Eliza embarked on a remarkable mission to dedicate her estate to establishing a women's college and a school for ministerial training. In 1853, she endowed a Methodist theological school, the Garrett Biblical Institute (now the Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary), thus becoming the first woman in North America to establish an institution of higher learning.

Fortune and Faith in Old Chicago not only sheds light on Chicago's history from the 1830s to the 1850s but also delves into American religious history, particularly Presbyteria. This insightful work offers a profound exploration of the lives and legacies of Augustus and Eliza Garrett, providing a valuable contribution to our understanding of this remarkable period in American history.

Weight: 640g
Dimension: 163 x 379 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780809337941