- William Irving Shuman
Infobox Person
name = Irving Shuman
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birth_name = William Irving Shuman
birth_date = birth date|1882|9|18
birth_place =Sullivan, Illinois ,United States
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nationality =German-American
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occupation = Businessman, banker and political activist
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party =Democrat Party
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spouse = Pearl Thomason (1903-)
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children = Mary Elizabeth Shuman, daughter
Maybelle Shuman, daughter
parents = Charles and Mary Richardson (McPheeters) Shuman
relations =Isaac Bowman , great-grandfather
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footnotes =William Irving Shuman, or simply Irving Shuman, (
September 18 ,1882 -?) was an American businessman, banker and political activist during the late 19th and early 20th century. A longtime member of theDemocrat Party inMoultrie County, Illinois , he was an Illinois delegate to the1912 Democratic National Convention and served as assistant U.S. Treasurer inChicago, Illinois duringWorld War I .Biography
Shuman was born to Charles and Mary Richardson (McPheeters) Shuman, in
Sullivan, Illinois . He lefthigh school at age 16 and almost immediately taken on at the State Bank of Sullivan where he worked his way from bank teller, assistant cashier and finally to head cashier within five years. After two years, the 23-year-old Shuman was elected director becoming one of the youngest banking officials in the United States. He was also elected as director of the Sullivan Elevator Company, one of the largest grain concerns incentral Illinois , as well as the president of Group Seven of the Illinois Banking Association from 1911 to 1912. The organization represented Sangamon, Macon, Christian, Shelby, Montgomery, Macoupin and Moultrie counties. At the end of his term, he was unanimously elected as a member of the Council of the Illinois Bankers' Association for a three year term.He was also appointed to the State Bankers' Committee on Agricultural and Vocational Education and, two years later, he became assistant U.S. Treasurer on October 13, 1913. He remained in this position throughout the First World War, Shuman's early duties being to coordinate with Chicago banking officials in expediting the first issue of Aldrich-Vreeland currency and supervise the distribution of $25 million from the Chicago sub-treasury. He was also chosen by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
William Gibbs McAdoo to co-operate with banking officials of the newly builtFederal Reserve Bank of Chicago . Shuman placed the bank in a working basis and later received acclaim by governors and assistants for his assistance.Prior to his appointment, he had become active in politics as a somewhat militant
Progressive Democrat . In 1910, he became interested inWoodrow Wilson as a possible presidential candidate and, at the behest of McCombs, he assisted in campaigning for Wilson in Illinois and the Midwest during the presidential election the following year. He was given complete control over the downstate Illinois campaign as well as being involved in the primaries inSouth Dakota and special work inMinnesota ,Michigan andIndiana . Later elected as a member of the 19th Congressional District inBaltimore, Maryland , Shuman is credited as being one of those whose influence switched the Illinois delegation to support Wilson in the Baltimore convention.After Wilson's successful election as
President of the United States , he returned to his former position with the Sullivan Elevator Company becoming treasurer and director, a director of the Citizens' Abstract Company and theFirst National Bank inWheaton, Illinois . He also became a member of theSons of the American Revolution , being the great-grandson ofIsaac Bowman , as well as a member of theUnion League , the Iroquois, Chicago Press, and Railway and Manufacturers' Club. He was also a 32nd degreeFree Mason and one of the officers of theGrand Royal Arch chapter. [Press Reference Library. "Notables of the West". Vol. II. New York: International News Service, 1915. (pg. 446)]Following his death, he was buried in
Arlington National Cemetery inArlington, Virginia . [cite web |url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/testing/bio3236.html |title=Index to Politicians: Shuldberg to Shyne |accessdate= |accessmonthday= |accessdaymonth= |accessyear= |author=Kestenbaum, Lawrence |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2008-05-12 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Political Graveyard |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]References
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