Best, Jacob
1335 W. Arthur Avenue Coal Dealers
President of the Jacob Best Coal Company
Source: Rogers Park Directory, 1919, page 9.
Jacob Best emigrated from Prussia in 1869 to settle in Chicago. He carved out a life for himself and his family as a saloon keeper in the Lake View neighborhood. By 1887 he had a well-established business, only to die and leave his four children destitute, thanks to a conniving stepmother. His two youngest children--a son, the second Jacob in this story, and a daughter--were even sent to an orphanage. Though he had little formal education, Jacob in 1909 founded what would become one of the largest wholesale/retail coal businesses in the United States. Along the way, he established himself as a civic leader and philanthropist; Jacob also found true love that began with a chance encounter one day at Marshall Field & Company.
Book: The Best Coal Company in All Chicago, and How It Got That Way, by David P. Bridges
FREE DOWNLOAD: http://download-business-book.net/56748-the-best-coal-company-in-all-chicago-and-how-it.html
