Category Archives: Prominent figures

Virginia Eifert

Posted on August 8, 2014 by editor

Virginia Eifert (1911-66) was a self-taught naturalist, artist and newspaper columnist and the founding editor of The Living Museum, published by the Illinois State Museum, which she oversaw from 1939 until her death in 1966. She also was the author … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Prominent figures, Women | Leave a comment

General strike, 1917

Posted on August 7, 2014 by editor

Union members shut down mines, railroads, bakeries, restaurants, laundries and construction sites across Sangamon County in September 1917 following the violent breakup by police and the Illinois state militia of a pro-labor march. The march — for which city officials … Continue reading →

Posted in Labor unions, Law enforcement, Local government, Politics, Prominent figures, Transportation, Women | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Duncan McDonald, labor leader

Posted on August 1, 2014 by editor

Duncan McDonald (1873-1965), while not as well-known as John L. Lewis, was almost certainly more principled as both a United Mine Workers leader and a politician. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library’s Chronicling Illinois collection characterizes McDonald’s labor career this way: … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Business, Coal mines and mining, Lincoln, Abraham, Politics, Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, Springfield Survey | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Illinois State Museum

Posted on July 30, 2014 by editor

The Illinois State Museum began, unlikely as it seems, in New Harmony, Ind. Former museum director R. Bruce McMillan described the quandary that faced Illinois’ first state geologist in his article on the museum’s centennial , “The First Century,” published … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Buildings, Illinois capital, Museums, Prominent figures, State government | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wedding customs before the Civil War

Posted on July 28, 2014 by editor

Pre-Civil War weddings in Sangamon County had their peculiarities, often including macaroon pyramids and very early starting times, as Caroline Owsley Brown remembered in 1914. Here are Brown’s descriptions of some of those weddings. Barret/Johnson Miss Eliza Barret’s wedding at … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Early residents, Family life, Histories, Prominent figures, Women | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Payne Stone Age Collection

Posted on July 18, 2014 by editor

Edward W. Payne (1857-1932), a Springfield banker and property investor, amassed a huge collection of stone relics — most, though not all, from pre-Columbian America — with the intention of building a museum to house them. At his death, however, … Continue reading →

Posted in Depression, Historic Sites, Museums, Native Americans, Prehistory, Prominent figures, State government | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Women’s literary clubs

Posted on July 14, 2014 by editor

The literary club movement began early in the 19th century as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution. The first recorded occurrence was a lecture series started in Milbury, Mass., in 1826. By 1834, 3,000 groups had been organized to listen … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Arts and letters, Lindsay, Vachel, Prominent figures, Social services, Springfield Survey, Women | 4 Comments

Lora Hieronymus Robie (educator and book lover)

Posted on July 12, 2014 by editor

Lora Hieronymus Robie, one-half of the couple who had Frank Lloyd Wright design Chicago’s famed Robie House, spent far more time as a Springfield resident than she did in the house named after her and her husband. Lora Robie (1878-1947) … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Business, Education, Prominent figures, Women | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Spaulding (village)

Posted on July 10, 2014 by editor

The village of Spaulding, off Illinois 54 east of Springfield, got its name from a mammoth nursery and orchard. In central Illinois, the name Spaulding today is synonymous with Lake Springfield and City Water, Light and Power. But before Willis … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Business, Coal mines and mining, Communities, Farming, Prominent figures | 10 Comments

The Mack family and Springfield’s McDonald’s restaurants

Posted on July 6, 2014 by editor

Springfield’s Lithuanian historian, Sandy Baksys, covers the beginnings of McDonald’s restaurants in Springfield in three posts on her Lithuanians in Springfield, Illinois web site. Here’s how she led off the first installment: Anybody who’s eaten a McDonald’s hamburger in Springfield … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Ethnic groups, Lithuanians, Prominent figures, Restaurants | 1 Comment