Monthly Archives: November 2013

Joe DeFrates

Posted on November 15, 2013 by editor

Joe DeFrates was the founder of Chilli Man Chilli and a two-time winner of the International Championship Chili competition in Terlingua, Texas. See Chili ‘chilli’ in Springfield.

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The Sugar Bowl restaurants

Posted on November 14, 2013 by editor

Springfield had two Sugar Bowl restaurants, both on South Grand Avenue, which between them lasted from 1919 to 1959. Teddy Gray (1892-1977) was the main operator of the 11th Street and South Grand Sugar Bowl, while Alex Karon (1893-1972) was primarily identified … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Ethnic groups, Greeks, Restaurants, Transportation | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Gertrude Wright

Posted on November 14, 2013 by editor

Gertrude Wright, who was the first African American to graduate from Springfield High School, went on to marry Clement Morgan, a lawyer in Massachusetts. Both Wright Morgan and her husband played prominent roles in W.E.B. Dubois’ Niagara Movement, designed as … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Education, Prominent figures | 3 Comments

‘Iron Man’ Joe McGinnity

Posted on November 14, 2013 by editor

Joe McGinnity, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame known better as “Iron Man McGinnity,” played baseball and ran a tavern in Springfield in the late 1890s. See Pre-1900 baseball. 

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State Sen. Hugh Magill

Posted on November 14, 2013 by editor

State Sen. Hugh Magill (1868-1958) was the original sponsor of the 1913 law that gave Illinois women the right to vote. See Women’s suffrage in Illinois; see also Auburn.

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Josephine Snowden Meek

Posted on November 11, 2013 by editor

Josephine Snowden Meek was salutatorian of the Springfield High School midwinter graduating class in January 1907; she might well have been valedictorian except that she was black. See Black honor student controversy, 1907.

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Black honor student controversy, 1907

Posted on November 11, 2013 by editor

White students in the January 1907 graduating class at Springfield High School objected when it appeared that two black students, both girls, were in line to become the class’s valedictorian and salutatorian. In a suspiciously sudden reversal of fortune, however, … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Education, Prominent figures, Women | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Eva Carroll Monroe

Posted on November 10, 2013 by editor

Eva Carroll Monroe (1868-1950) founded and directed the Lincoln Colored Home, 427 S. 12th St., the first orphanage for black children in Sangamon County. See Lincoln Colored Home.

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Judge John Wickliffe Taylor House

Posted on November 9, 2013 by editor

The 20-room Judge John Taylor House built in 1857, housed the Home and Hospital for Fallen Women starting in 1868 and later the Ambidexter Institute, an “industrial school” primarily for African American boys. The Taylor home, 12th and Cass streets … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Architecture, Buildings, Early residents, Historic Sites, Women | Tagged | Leave a comment

James Adams (1828 pioneers)

Posted on November 8, 2013 by editor

James Adams (1783-1843), was a New Yorker who arrived in Springfield in 1821, apparently in flight from a forgery indictment in his native state. Adams found himself involved in controversy — legal, political, and marital — in Illinois as well. … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches, Early residents, Lincoln, Abraham, Local government, Military, Politics, Prominent figures | Tagged , | Leave a comment