Author Archives: editor

Allen Cole (sheriff, 1933-34)

Posted on January 1, 2015 by editor

Allen Cole succeeded Samuel Metcalf as Sangamon County sheriff following Metcalf’s dismissal on grounds of insanity. See Sheriff’s ouster, 1933.

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Samuel T. Metcalf (ousted sheriff)

Posted on January 1, 2015 by editor

Samuel Metcalf was dismissed as Sangamon County sheriff on grounds of insanity in 1933. See Sheriff’s ouster, 1933.

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Sheriff’s ouster, 1933

Posted on January 1, 2015 by editor

This entry has been updated. Sangamon County Sheriff Samuel T. Metcalf (1867-1945) was ousted from office in 1933 on the grounds of insanity, a condition apparently brought on by a head injury Metcalf suffered in a fistfight with an Illinois … Continue reading →

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Sangamon County circuit clerks, 1821-2023 (list)

Posted on December 30, 2014 by editor

The histories of most of the 28 people – 26 men and two women – who have held the office of Sangamon County circuit clerk were researched in 2011 by Savannah Little. The resulting brief biographies can be read on … Continue reading →

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Dr. C. Robert Fults (elm cleanup)

Posted on December 23, 2014 by editor

Dr. C. Robert Fults (1911-66) headed a massive volunteer effort to remove dead elms from Springfield streets following an epidemic of elm disease in 1949.

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Elm devastation, 1940s

Posted on December 23, 2014 by editor

The malady that killed thousands of Sangamon County’s elm trees in the late 1940s wasn’t the dreaded Dutch elm disease. It was worse. The Illinois State Journal sounded the first alarm in its Aug. 3, 1945 edition: “Elm attacked by … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Local government | Leave a comment

Helen Dodge Edwards (obituary)

Posted on December 22, 2014 by editor

The Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society for April 1909 to January 1910 included an obituary of Helen Kissick Dodge Edwards (1819-1909), widow of Benjamin Edwards, matriarch of Edwards Place and, as the obituary says, “the ideal of an … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Early residents, Prominent figures, Social life, Women | Leave a comment

Sangamon County Lithuanians in World War I

Posted on December 20, 2014 by editor

More than 50,000 Lithuanian-Americans fought for the United States in World War I. This remarkable number was later leveraged to lobby U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to recognize the newly independent Lithuanian state that emerged from the War’s aftermath. The vast … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal mines and mining, Ethnic groups, Lithuanians, Military | 3 Comments

The Historic Preservation Association of Springfield

Posted on December 19, 2014 by editor

Note: This post has been revised by the author. By the middle 1980s, the preservation of historically and architecturally significant buildings had become the subject of growing attention in Springfield. This attention reflected national trends, as well as regret over … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Historic Sites, Local government, National Register, Springfield | 3 Comments

Henry M. Lutz (Capital Airport, Franklin Life)

Posted on December 17, 2014 by editor

See Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport.

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