CHARLES J. OFF, only member of
the firm of C. J. Off & Co., is one of the largest and most prominent wholesale
grocery dealers in Peoria, also engaged as a manufacturer of baking powder and
grinder of spices, etc., and is conveniently located at Nos. 116-118-120 Liberty
Street, where he does a large and satisfactory business. The success which has
attended the firm since its establishment under the present management, January
1, 1878, is a rare compliment to the business capacity and efficiency of its
projector. In addition to his city salesmen Mr. Off employs seven or eight men
on the road.A native of the Kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, Mr. Off was born October 24, l843, and when a boy of eleven years came with his parents to American. They located in Peoria, being among its early settlers. Charles J. had begun a practical education in the German tongue in his native country and completed his studies in the city schools of Peoria. He entered upon his business career at the age of sixteen years as a clerk in a retail grocery store in this city. He was in Chicago one year during the war, in the grocery business, and had charge of the Commissary Department at Camp Douglas, which was furnished with supplies by Mr. Solomon, his employer, under Col. Deland, now of Jackson, Mich.
In the fall of 1863, Mr. Off returned to Peoria and entered the employ of the grocery firm of Ulrich & Ruppelius, remaining with them until January 1, l873. He then formed a partnership with Messrs. Henry, Oakford, and Fahnestock, which continued for five years with profitable results. Mr. Off then erected his present story building and established his present business which has increased yearly to magnificent proportions.
On January 1, 1890, Mr. off enlarged his facilities for doing business by the addition of twenty-four feet front so that he now has a building of seventy-two feet front, and four stories and basement in height, all of which is devoted to his business. It is situated in the center of the wholesale district. The spice and coffee mills were added two years from the establishment of the main business, Mr. Off purchasing of Dr. B.F. Miles the Peoria Chemical Works. The accumulations of Mr. Off have been the result of his own industry as he started out in life dependent upon his own resources, and he furnishes a fine illustration of the results of energy and perseverance.
In politics Mr. Off affiliates with the Republican party. He was for one year a member of the Board of Supervisors and a member of the Finance Committee of that body. With this exception he has given his entire attention to his business affairs. He has been for many years identified with the Masonic fraternity, having attained to the Knight Templar and Thirty-Second degrees. He is an Episcopalian in religion and with his estimable wife belongs to St. Paul’s Church in Peoria.
The subject of this notice was joined in wedlock with Miss Maggie Fey, October 28, 1879, at the bride’s home in this city. Mrs. Off was born in 1855, in Kentucky, and is a daughter of the well-known David Fey, the leading jeweler of Peoria. Mr. and Mrs. Off are proud in the possession of four bright boys, namely: Charles David, Robert, Walter, and Clifford. The family residence is located in the northern part of the city and forms one of its most attractive homes.
A lithographic portrait of Mr. Off on another page claims the attention of the reader, among other valuable features of this volume. (Portrait & Biographical Album of Peoria, Illinois (1890), pages 823-824, submitted by Susan Hare)
