Category Archives: Ethnic groups

A. Morris Williams (lawyer, developer)

Posted on July 11, 2016 by editor

A. Morris Williams was a prominent African-American attorney and real estate developer in Springfield from the 1900s to the 1930s. See Dudley Hotel.

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Dudley Hotel

Posted on July 11, 2016 by editor

The Negro Motorist Green Book, a nationwide guide for the African-American traveler, for 20 years listed only one hotel in Springfield as open to blacks: the Dudley Hotel, 130 S. 11th St. The Dudley and its predecessors at the same … Continue reading →

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First Chinese residents

Posted on June 3, 2016 by editor

Springfield’s first Chinese residents probably were three laundrymen – identified as As-Sing, Sam-Sing and Chun-Lung – hired by John McCreery, proprietor of the St. Nicholas Hotel, in January 1873. The Illinois State Register reported on their arrival in an article … Continue reading →

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Jack Johnson (boxing champion)

Posted on April 12, 2016 by editor

“Battle royals” in Springfield were a springboard to fame for boxer Jack Johnson, who went on to become the first African-American heavyweight champion. Johnson (1878-1946) was tutored in Springfield by Johnny Connors (1867-1966), a  boxer himself as well as a … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Amusements, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures, Sports and recreation | 1 Comment

Joe Yucas (‘King of the Lithuanians’)

Posted on January 16, 2016 by editor

This entry has been retitled and greatly expanded. Joe Yucas (1874-1926) was a Springfield bar owner and political operative who the Illinois State Register once called “the King of the Lithuanians.” According to his obituary, Yucas immigrated to the U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Crime and vice, Ethnic groups, Hotels & taverns, Lithuanians, Prominent figures | 1 Comment

Alby’s Tavern & the Stasukinas family

Posted on January 16, 2016 by editor

Alby (Albinas) Stasukinas, son of Lithuanian immigrants Joseph and Rose (Poskevicius) Stasukinas, opened his storied tavern at 14th and Carpenter streets in 1944. Alby quit coal mining in 1940 to work at the Illiopolis munitions plant, but by 1944 he … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Crime and vice, Ethnic groups, Hotels & taverns, Lithuanians, Social life | 2 Comments

Richard Pryor (comedian)

Posted on January 12, 2016 by editor

Comedian Richard Pryor (1940-2005) famously grew up in a house of prostitution operated by his father’s mother in Peoria, but he briefly lived in Springfield with his mother and maternal grandparents. Pryor’s mother, Gertrude Thomas Pryor (later Emanuel), also was … Continue reading →

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Black Civil War veterans buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery

Posted on January 9, 2016 by editor

At least 28 African-American Civil War veterans are buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, according to Kathleen Heyworth’s Private Lewis Martin and African-American Civil War Soldiers in Springfield, Illinois (2015). The following list, taken from Heyworth’s research, lists each … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Military | 1 Comment

Black Civil War soldier’s POW experience

Posted on January 8, 2016 by editor

Isaac Gaskin (ca. 1847-1900), born a slave in Mississippi, served with the 29th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War and was captured by Confederates in the botched Battle of the Crater outside Petersburg, Va., on July 30, … Continue reading →

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Jenrose Wilson (African-American history interviews)

Posted on November 19, 2015 by editor

Jenrose Wilson was born in Alton and moved to Springfield when she was 12. By age 16, she was married and had had her first child. She lived in St. Louis, Alton and Chicago before returning to Springfield, where she … Continue reading →

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