Category Archives: Ethnic groups

The governor takes a wife (1896)

Posted on November 2, 2024 by editor

Gov. John Riley Tanner “was addicted to pomp and circumstance,” Robert P. Howard wrote in Mostly Good and Competent Men, Howard’s 1988 guide to Illinois’ chief executives. If so, Tanner lived his best life in December 1896 and January 1897. … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Celebrations, Coal mines and mining, Illinois capital, Labor unions, Military, Oak Ridge signs, Politics, Prominent figures, Social life, Spectacles, State government | Leave a comment

Electioneering in early Springfield

Posted on October 30, 2024 by editor

As the 1930 political season got started, Illinois State Journal editor/columnist J. Emil Smith noted, with some regret, that Springfield probably wouldn’t see a classic torchlight parade, the kind he remembered from his youth. Here’s an excerpt from Smith’s “Making … Continue reading →

Posted in Celebrations, Politics, Portuguese, Spectacles | Leave a comment

Springfield High School sketches, 1930 (Alda Raulin)

Posted on October 8, 2024 by editor

                                    Alda Raulin captured classic views of Springfield High School in five line drawings that led off the 1930 edition of The Capitoline, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Arts and letters, Buildings, Education, Illustrations, Lithuanians, Lithuanians, Schools and school districts, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Albert Giles, ‘Hero or Villain’?

Posted on June 17, 2024 by editor

Albert Giles, a Black sharecropper from Arkansas, was sentenced to death in connection with what is known as “the Elaine Massacre,” one of the bloodiest racial conflicts in U.S. history. Giles served four years on death row before the charges … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Crime and vice | Leave a comment

Lucy Rountree and family

Posted on February 17, 2024 by editor

For the past 30 years, the story of Thomas Jefferson and his relationship with the enslaved Sally Hemmings has gained America’s attention through books, movies, and the integration of Jefferson’s descendants, both white and African-American, at family reunions. Unfortunately, Sally’s … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Early residents, Family life, Women | 1 Comment

The Hammerslough/Rosenwald family, clothiers

Posted on January 22, 2024 by editor

The Capitol Clothing House opened in Springfield in 1856 with the slogan “Low Prices and Good Goods.” Aside from providing inexpensive, ready-to-wear clothes to pre-Civil War Springfield, the Capitol Clothing House is the reason Springfield can boast that it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Historic Sites, Jewish, Lincoln Home, Lincoln Tomb, Lincoln, Abraham, Prominent figures | 1 Comment

Hebrew Ground, Oak Ridge Cemetery

Posted on October 10, 2023 by editor

“Hebrew Ground” at Oak Ridge Cemetery is the resting place of 342 early Jewish settlers to Springfield and Central Illinois. It is marked by a plaque, dedicated in September 2023, that sits in front of the graves of Springfield’s first … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches, Early residents, Ethnic groups, Jewish, Markers, Oak Ridge signs, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

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

Coney Island restaurant

Posted on July 19, 2023 by editor

On a sunny April day in 1989, hungry Springfieldians lined up to savor a hot dog from the Coney Island Restaurant at 114 N. Sixth St.  The line, which wrapped around the block, included citizens from all walks of life, … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Celebrations, Ethnic groups, Greeks, Prominent figures, Restaurants | 4 Comments

Sam Willis, chef

Posted on April 30, 2023 by editor

Thousands of African-Americans fled Springfield in the wake of the 1908 race riot. The city’s best chef may have been one. Samuel Willis (1856-1920), a native of Virginia, moved to Springfield in the 1870s. He apparently learned the restaurant business … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Business, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Uncategorized | 6 Comments