| Notes |
- DAY, EZEKIEL, one of Peoria's prominent business men of the last half century, was born at Butler. Pennsylvania, August 4. 1805, the son of Daniel and Mary Day. His paternal ancestors were among the early settlers of Plymouth Colony, of whom three brothers came to America, one finally settling in New Jersey. From the latter branch of the family Mr. Day was descended. After receiving a common-school education he learned the trade of manufacturer of tobacco at Pittsburg, later on establishing a factory of his own which he conducted for a number of years. He also became the owner of a passenger steamer, which was engaged in the trade between Pittsburg and Cincinnati. After continuing in the tobacco trade, which he conducted successfully for many years, and during which he accumulated a snug fortune, he retired. Being a man of active, vigorous temperament, he soon grew restless and dissatisfied with a life of inactivity, and a few years later, engaged in the iron manufacturing business in Venango County, Pennsylvania. This proved a lucrative and prosperous business under the operation of the protective tariff of that period; but when, under the administration of President Buchanan, the tariff laws were modified in the direction of free-trade, the change, for the time being, proved disastrous to the iron industry, and Mr. Day suffered with the rest. After losing a large amount of money in the effort to keep his establishment in operation, he was compelled to abandon the business. In 1850 Mr. Day removed to Peoria and here resumed his old business as a tobacco manufacturer, which he continued until 1875, when he finally retired.
In politics Mr. Day was an ardent Republican and, during the war for the preservation of the Union, a zealous supporter of the policy of President Lincoln. In religious belief he adhered to the faith of his fathers, which was that of the Presbyterian Church.
On February 3, 1835, he was married at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to Miss Elizabeth Gallaher. Dr. Thomas Burrell, the grandfather of Mrs. Day, established the first iron-works at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and her mother started the first fire in the furnace, christening the works "The Cambria"—a name which has since become familiar as that of one of the most extentive establishment of its kind in the world. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Day. of whom four are still living, viz.: Dr. A. H. Day, now of Colorado; F. P. Day, of Omaha, Nebraska, where he is engaged in the coal business; William P. Day, President of the Day Carpet and Furniture Company of Peoria, and Josephine E., wife of William H. Day, Secretary and Treasurer of the same Company.
Mr. Day was a man of strong domestic feelings, and his life was devoted largely to the society of his family and to the promotion of their welfare and happiness. His death occurred February 23, 1893. (Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Peoria County, 1902, page 444, submitted by Janine Crandell)
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