Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1889-07-18

Mr.. Tansill, the founder Of the house
OF r.. W. Tansill Sc Co., is still young
man, although lie has been in active
business for over % quarter of century,
and is now numbered among those sue
cessfpl and prosperous business men of
Chicago who have acquired wealth and
independence through their own talents
and exertions. Mr. Tansill was born in
the State Of Virginia in 1874. His
mother died in 1916, md his father
being mn officer in the u. S. Marine
Corps, tho duties of which required
cruises Of three years duration. the
subject OF orr sketch WAS practically
3ft an orphan when less than two
years OF age. In 1861 he accompanied
his maternal grand parents, w Gems,
to Illinois, where he decided TO remain.
Mr.. TNAsll is the lineal descen dant of
the Rev. Mason Locke Weems, who was
Mt one time the rector of Pohic, General
Washington's church, and is familiarly
known rs the historian OF the revolution.
His works inclnded, among many 9th
ers, the life of Washin gton which con-
contains the original hatcbet
story. On January 1, 1867
he married Mary Il. Motter, of Clayton,
ILL.,, and it was in this town that he
first engaged in the cigar business. At
an early date he became convinced TINT
Chicago was the coming city of the
west, and in 1868 he decided ~ remove
his business to that city, where, in the
great fire of 1871, his entire capital WAS
swept away. Like great many other
of Chicago's young business men, he
was not crushed Ivy this mist fortune, but
making fresh start i'll buSin ess, paying
| his creditors 100 cents on the dollar, lie,
/ for number OF years conducted one OF
/ the largest cigar factories in Chicago.
| The enormous growth of his business,
! covering ns it did the whole country, to-
/ gethcr with the increased demand for
manufacturing and shipping facilities,
! caused him to transfer the manufacture
! OF his cigars TO New York, the wisdom of
which move has been demonstrated by
! the continued expansion OF his business,
so that he now enjoys the distinction OF
| having the largest mil order cigar
/ house in America.
The causes Of Mr. Tansll's success are
not hard to find. He is a man of orig
! inality and action. In carrying out an
! idea he has the rare faculty of adapting
! the means To the end, and once satisfied
of the soundness of his plan, he exc.
cutes it theoretically. These qualities
are perhaps best illustrated by his
unique achievement of building up aud
maintaining a great business with
out drumming. it is needless 10
say that this desirable result could not
have been brought about had lie not
possessed an intuitive genius for
advertising. II is Mr.. Tansil's poi
;"v to, in all cases, do better by his
patrons than lac agrees to DO, but back
of all this remains the fact that he is far
too shrewd to expend brain and money
/ in pushing an article which lacks the
merit to back up its claims. His goods
| are never allowed TO deteriorate, no
matter what the demand for them may
be. The wisdom of his policy is dem
onstrated Ivy the enormous business
which lie has developed.
Mr. TnnSill is probably better known
to the smokers of the country as the
originator of the celebrated "Iansil's
Punch" This brand he placed on the
market nearly quarter Of cen
tury ago. It's popularity WINS phe-
nomenal from the start. Its sales
have been unparalleled in the his
tory OF The cigar trade. and it is recog.
nized to-day by the smoking pablo as
the leading ) cent cigar of the U. 5.