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Show I NOW HEAP OF WESTERN UNION I ' l The cloctlon of Theodoro N. Vail to the presidency of tho Western Union C--iS-Telegraph company to take tho placo of Col. Robert C. Clowry, who resigned, furnishes a romarkable lnstanco of realized ambitions. The father and mother of Theodore N. Vnll lived at Morrlstown. N. J.. where they owned tho Speedwell Iron works. For several years prior to 1843 Professor Morse had been working on tho tolegraph, undlBcouraged by tho remarks of friends that tho schomo was Impractical and ridiculous. In 1837 Alfred Vail, a young and ambitious am-bitious engineer, uncle of Theodoro N Vail, camo to tho Inventor's aid. Tho dot and dash alphabet, known as the Morso code, was worked out by Alfred Villi, and tho two men were nt oppo-Gilo oppo-Gilo ends of the wlfo when the historic message, "What God hath wrought." was sent along the line In 1844. 1 Theodoro Vail had moved to Carroll county. Ohio, and there, on July 10. 1845. tho young Theodoro wafl born. Later tho Vails returned to Morrlstown. and there tho boyhood of tho new president of the Western Union wan passed. Tho lad's first loaning was not toward telegraphy. Ho attended tho Morrlstown Mor-rlstown common school and later studied medicine. Tho possibilities of telegraphy finally weaned Theodore away, much agalnBt tho desires of his mother. Ho went to Now York and got a position as operator. His parents soon after went to Iowa nnd young Vull got n placo with the Union Pacific railroad In a small town west of the Missouri river. Ho was twenty-one years of age then. In addition to his duties nt the key ho had also to perform those of station agent and his satisfactory work commanded tho attention of Gen. Grenvllle M. Dodge, chief engineer of tho Union Pacific. Seven years later ho was made genoral superintendent of the. railway mall sorvlco and 3cnt to Washington. In Washington he bocamo acquainted with Prof. Graham Dell, Inventor of tho telephone, and at his request resigned from the mall scrvlco to Join him in the telephone business. Just as his undo had developed tho Invention of Morso forty years before, Vail In 1878 started to develop tho tolephone. Tho efforts of Theodoro N. Vail were responsible for tho gigantic American Telephone and Telegraph company of todny, which controls tho Westorn Union. Mr. Vail Is seven yoars the Junior of Colonel Clowry, who was born on a farm In Will county, 111., September 8, 1838. It is doubly romantic In that Colonel Clowry stnrtod as a poorly paid telegraph oporator about the same tlmo that young Vail was trying to grasp tho wonderful sclonco of telegraphy, then being projected by his uncle, Alfred Vail, tho practical friend of Professor Profes-sor S. F. B. Morse. |