Category Archives: Prominent figures

Jessie Palmer Weber

Posted on January 4, 2014 by editor

Jessie Palmer Weber was Illinois state librarian from 1898 until her death in 1926 and also helped organize and served as the first secretary of the Illinois State Historical Society. She also was involved in creating the Journal of the Illinois … Continue reading →

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Sangamon County poets

Posted on December 29, 2013 by editor

For a time in the early 20th century, central Illinois was famed across the country as the home of important poets, writers who were inventing new forms of verse that spoke in the voices of a new age. If it … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Lindsay, Vachel, Prominent figures, Sangamon River | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

Posted on December 6, 2013 by editor

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 1218 South Grand Ave. E., began in 1876 under the name of Lincoln Memorial Chapel, an Episcopal mission directed at former slaves. The mission was short-lived, but local Episcopal bishops Revs. George Seymour and Edward Osborne … Continue reading →

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Coal miner union war, 1932-37

Posted on November 26, 2013 by editor

A bitter battle between rival coal mine unions, a battle that began and effectively ended in Springfield, led to strikes, bombings, street riots and at least six killings in Sangamon County in the 1930s. The United Mine Workers of America, … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal mines and mining, Depression, Law enforcement, Prominent figures | Tagged , | 24 Comments

Susan Lawrence Dana

Posted on November 16, 2013 by editor

Note: This entry was significantly expanded in July 2023. See “Hat tips” below. Susan Lawrence Dana (1862-1946) was a Springfield socialite, activist and philanthropist best known for commissioning architect Frank Lloyd Wright to transform her family’s Civil War-era home at … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, Museums, Prominent figures, Schools and school districts, Social services, State government, Women | 2 Comments

Joe DeFrates

Posted on November 15, 2013 by editor

Joe DeFrates was the founder of Chilli Man Chilli and a two-time winner of the International Championship Chili competition in Terlingua, Texas. See Chili ‘chilli’ in Springfield.

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Gertrude Wright

Posted on November 14, 2013 by editor

Gertrude Wright, who was the first African American to graduate from Springfield High School, went on to marry Clement Morgan, a lawyer in Massachusetts. Both Wright Morgan and her husband played prominent roles in W.E.B. Dubois’ Niagara Movement, designed as … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Education, Prominent figures | 3 Comments

‘Iron Man’ Joe McGinnity

Posted on November 14, 2013 by editor

Joe McGinnity, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame known better as “Iron Man McGinnity,” played baseball and ran a tavern in Springfield in the late 1890s. See Pre-1900 baseball. 

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State Sen. Hugh Magill

Posted on November 14, 2013 by editor

State Sen. Hugh Magill (1868-1958) was the original sponsor of the 1913 law that gave Illinois women the right to vote. See Women’s suffrage in Illinois; see also Auburn.

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Black honor student controversy, 1907

Posted on November 11, 2013 by editor

White students in the January 1907 graduating class at Springfield High School objected when it appeared that two black students, both girls, were in line to become the class’s valedictorian and salutatorian. In a suspiciously sudden reversal of fortune, however, … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Education, Prominent figures, Women | Tagged , | 4 Comments