“Having prospered as a merchant, Jesse was now worth $100,000 – equivalent to nearly $3 million today – and employed about fifty people. When he reached sixty in 1854, he had begun to withdraw from active management of his business interests. His holdings included several tanneries near Portsmouth, Ohio, and leather goods stores in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Galena, Illinois.”

“Having prospered as a merchant, Jesse was now worth $100,000 – equivalent to nearly $3 million today – and employed about fifty people. When he reached sixty in 1854, he had begun to withdraw from active management of his business interests. His holdings included several tanneries near Portsmouth, Ohio, and leather goods stores in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Galena, Illinois.”

— Ron Chernow