Category Archives: Prominent figures

Bettie Stuart Brown

Posted on July 3, 2014 by editor

Elizabeth “Bettie” Stuart Brown (1838-69) was the oldest child of John T. Stuart and Mary Nash Stuart. John Stuart was Lincoln’s first law partner and Mary Lincoln’s first cousin. Bettie was born in July of 1838, nine months after her … Continue reading →

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Caroline Lamb Black

Posted on July 3, 2014 by editor

Caroline “Lina” Lamb Black (1831-1908) was the third child of James Lamb, a prosperous Springfield merchant and pork packer. She was born in Kaskaskia on Feb. 8, 1831, and moved with her parents to Springfield two years later. Mary Lincoln’s sister … Continue reading →

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Benjamin S. Edwards

Posted on July 3, 2014 by editor

Benjamin Stephenson Edwards (1818-86) was the youngest son of Ninian Edwards, governor of the Illinois Territory and third governor of the state of Illinois. Benjamin received his education at Yale University and became the first citizen born in Illinois to … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Early residents, Historic Sites, John T. Stuart, Lincoln, Abraham, Politics, Prominent figures | Tagged , | Leave a comment

John Carroll Power (historian, Lincoln tomb custodian)

Posted on June 27, 2014 by editor

John Carroll Power (1819-94), was a historian as well as first custodian of the Lincoln Tomb. Born in Kentucky in 1819, Power “was brought up a farmer, but in later life, contrary to his early anticipations, became an author,” according … Continue reading →

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Wheeland Haven, Riverton

Posted on June 25, 2014 by editor

In the early 1900s, in the midst of coal mines and cornfields east of Riverton, was a 17-acre oasis of beauty — Wheeland Haven, the home of Olive Black Wheeland and her husband Cyrus. Cyrus Wheeland was a farmer, grain … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, National Register, Parks, Prominent figures, Women | 17 Comments

A.J. Liebling on Lincoln’s presence in Springfield (1950)

Posted on June 13, 2014 by editor

A.J. Liebling (1904-63), noted essayist and press critic for The New Yorker magazine, visited Springfield in 1950 for the first article in a New Yorker series on the Lincoln tradition. Among those Liebling interviewed were George “Gib” Bunn Jr., Gertrude … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Lincoln, Abraham, Prominent figures, Springfield | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Meredith Rhule

Posted on June 8, 2014 by editor

Meredith Rhule (1910-74), a Springfield native, led Burmese and Chinese guerrillas, often behind Japanese lines, during World War II. He won election as Sangamon County sheriff in 1946, but served only one term after newspaper investigations found he had ignored … Continue reading →

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Hawthorne Place

Posted on June 5, 2014 by editor

The developers of the Hawthorne Place subdivision were ahead of their time. Its construction, starting in 1902, triggered Springfield’s suburban growth and created new ways of living for residents of the city. Hawthorne Place, which takes in Whittier, Lowell and … Continue reading →

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Gambling and the Sangamon County underworld,1948

Posted on June 4, 2014 by editor

The 1948 slaying of a dice game “stickman” helped expose a Sangamon County underworld that featured wide-open gambling and, allegedly, systematic bribery of state, county and city officials. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch at the time had a team of reporters … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Journalism, Law enforcement, Local government, Media, Politics, Prominent figures | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum controversies

Posted on May 26, 2014 by editor

Design and construction of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum took years and involved a variety of political squabbles and maneuvering. If politics could have been put aside, the facility would have been completed much sooner. Of course, since … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Buildings, Historic Sites, Illinois capital, Lincoln, Abraham, Local government, Museums, Politics, Presidential candidates, Presidents, Prominent figures, State government | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment