Search Results for: jubilee

Springfield hotels turn away Black singing group, 1881

Posted on September 2, 2023 by editor

Springfield hotels refused to house America’s best-known Black choral group in 1881. The result was nationwide condemnation, a rebuke from President James A. Garfield, and a scramble by embarrassed local residents to repair the city’s reputation. The group was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Abolitionism, African Americans, Amusements, Arts and letters, Hotels & taverns, Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, Social life | 3 Comments

Gov. William H. Bissell

Posted on August 31, 2021 by editor

When Gov. William Bissell was reburied in 1871, the crowd may have been bigger than at any Springfield funeral since that of Abraham Lincoln. Bissell was the first Republican, first college graduate and first disabled person elected governor. He also … Continue reading →

Posted in Illinois capital, Markers, Oak Ridge signs, Politics, Prominent figures, Spectacles, State government, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

St. Agnes Parish, Springfield

Posted on August 25, 2020 by editor

On August 25, 1889 a religious procession marched from the former Church of the Immaculate Conception at Seventh and Monroe streets to College Street, where St. Agnes Catholic Church was to be erected. Hundreds of marchers waved American flags, ecclesiastical … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches | 4 Comments

Rev. Charles Dresser (Lincoln marriage, Lincoln Home)

Posted on July 5, 2020 by editor

The man who built the cottage that became the Lincoln Home also officiated the marriage of Abraham and Mary Lincoln. His life’s work, however, was formation of the church that became Springfield’s Cathedral Church of St. Paul. Rev. Charles Dresser … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Churches, Historic Sites, Lincoln, Abraham, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

St. Patrick Parish, Springfield

Posted on August 22, 2019 by editor

The flag of Ireland lay draped beside the Stars and Stripes at a banquet held at the St. Nicholas Hotel on St. Patrick’s Day 1915. Springfield’s Irish Fellowship, led by the Irish-born Rev. Timothy Hickey, had organized Lá Fhéile Pádraig, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Churches, Ethnic groups, Irish, Irish, Schools and school districts | 2 Comments

Dr. Sheppard A. Ware, physician

Posted on May 27, 2019 by editor

Dr. Sheppard Anderson Ware (1872-1948) was a physician in Springfield for 40 years. He was also was a member of the Sangamon County Medical Society and additionally worked for the Illinois State Department of Health. Born in Brownsville, Tenn., Ware … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Ethnic groups, Politics, Prominent figures, Public health | Leave a comment

The Irish in early Springfield

Posted on March 28, 2019 by editor

There were Irish in Sangamon County before there was Sangamon County. When county commissioners  had to choose a temporary county seat in 1821, the only practical location was a scattering of squatter cabins near what today is First and Jefferson … Continue reading →

Posted in Early residents, Irish | 11 Comments

Calvary Cemetery

Posted on November 4, 2017 by editor

Calvary Cemetery, Springfield’s Catholic cemetery, operated for almost 70 years as almost two cemeteries – one for Germans and the other for everybody else. Calvary was founded in 1857, when two of the city’s earliest local parishes bought 16 acres … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches | 18 Comments

Patrick Henry statue, St. Joseph School

Posted on September 29, 2017 by editor

The mystery of what happened to St. Joseph School’s statue of Patrick Henry may never be solved. But the question of how a life-sized marble sculpture of a Protestant patriot happened to stand above the entrance of a Catholic school … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Arts and letters, Buildings, Churches, Education, Schools and school districts | 1 Comment

Women’s vote history, Sangamon County

Posted on April 24, 2017 by editor

Following the Civil War, Illinoisans decided their state constitution needed updating. Delegates met in Springfield from December 1869 until May 1870, and one of the issues they debated was whether to allow universal suffrage. The 15th amendment to the U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in Local government, Politics, Prominent figures, Sangamon County, Schools and school districts, Springfield, Women | Leave a comment