Mt. Vernon, Illinois - The Arthur Residence on North Street

The twenty-three room home of W. C. (Walter Clifford) Arthurs is one of the icons of Mt. Vernon architecture.  Arthurs was the son-in-law of the Car Shops founder David O. Settlemire and he took over the presidency of the business after Settlemire's death in 1908. My own great-grandfather, Joseph W. Wade worked as a foreman at the Car Shops.  Arthurs and his wife Iola lived together in this home at 800 North Street until his death in 1928.  She died in 1938 and both are buried at Oakwood Cemetery.

Those Places Thursday - Mt. Vernon, IL Reservoir

These two early 1900's postcards show what is referred to as the "New Reservoir" of Mt. Vernon, Ill.  Postcard number one was postmarked July 5, 1909 and features a horse and buggy crossing over the spillway of the reservoir.

The back was addressed to Mrs. J. G. Kramer, 1110 Powell Av, Evansville, Ind. and appears to have been from a daughter.

"Dear Folks, Am having a fine time.  All o.k.  Was talking to papa this a,m. over the phone,  Hope you all are having a nice time.  _____  said not to look for me till you see me.  Will write later.  Please write soon.  Love to all."

The second postcard, which shows the bridge and driveway over the new reservoir (in color), was postmarked May 29, 1914 and sent to Miss Bertha Zinc in Centralia, Illinois from Lilly E. Johnson,

"Dear Bertha:  How is everyone?  Would sure love to see you again.  Hazel Hester was in Mt. V. this week. I had quite a chat with her.  I have been working for a long time.  Like my position fine.  pardon my delay? and not forget to write to your old friend."

According to Thomas Puckett in "Mt. Vernon  A Pictorial History" there were three reservoirs in Mt. Vernon.    Number one was a small reservoir that held a capacity of about 10 million gallons of water and was formed by building a dam  across a small ravine on the west side of the city.  Another reservoir was built in 1893 across Casey Fork Creek north of town on Tolle road with a small, steam-pumping station on the creek bank.  The city's third reservoir , the "new reservoir" was built on the property of the Strattan family and is now known as Jaycee Lake.

Those Places Thursday - Jefferson County Courthouse x 5 - Mt. Vernon, Illinois

Most people who are from, or who have lived in, Jefferson County, Illinois know a little something about the County Courthouse located in the town square in Mt. Vernon.  In the nearly two-hundred year history of the Mt. Vernon/Jefferson County area there have actually been five courthouses constructed throughout these two centuries.  The first, a log building 18 feet by 20 feet by 13 feet high, was erected in 1819 for a total  of $160.00 by John Sanders.  

That building soon became obsolete and in 1821 county commissioners contracted for a second building to be built.  That courthouse was not actually completed until 1829 by builder McBride.  The building was made of brick, twenty by thirty feet, two stories high and the total cost was $780.93.  In 1839 a portion of the courthouse fell down and the entire town came together and razed the entire structure.  By the end of 1841 a third courthouse had been constructed for a cost of $5500.  This 40 feet square structure had a cupola supported by pillars and surrounded by a railing.  This courthouse was destroyed by the great tornado/cyclone of 1888.

A fourth courthouse was erected after the disaster (see postcards#1, #2 and #3 below) and was in use until 1939.

Jefferson Co Courthouse - Postcard Postmarked Sep 1912

Jefferson Co Courthouse - Postcard Postmarked Sep 1913

Jefferson Co Courthouse (note steeple removed) circa1935

A fifth and final courthouse was erected in 1939 (see postcards #4 and #5 below).  Please note Civil War canon at Northwest corner of the square.

5th & final Jefferson Co courthouse erected 1939

5th & final Jefferson Co courthouse erected 1939 postmarked 1949

Sources:

1.  Mt. Vernon A Pictorial History by Thomas A. Puckett, 1991, G. Bradley Publishing.

2.  Facts and Folks, A History of Jefferson County, Illinois, 1978, Jefferson County Illinois Historical Society, Taylor Publishing company, Dallas, TX.

Workday Wednesday - Photographers - Unknown Mt. Vernon, IL Girl 1886

I have been sadly missing from this blog for sometime now, but life just seems to get in the way - there are only so many hours in the day and days in the week!  I recently posted this cabinet card from 1886 on my other blog, ForgottenFacesandLongAgoPlaces, of an unknown young woman who had her picture taken by well-known Mt. Vernon photographer James Hitchcock.  Although this girl is most likely no relation to me I decided to re-post to this blog.  Who knows, perhaps someone will recognize her and we can solve the mystery of her identity!

When I saw this cabinet card come up for sale on eBay, I knew I had to have it. This beautiful young woman with the winsome look on her face had her photo taken by Mr. & Mrs. Jas. Hitchcock of Mt. Vernon, Ills, my hometown. I am fascinated with the photography of Major James Hitchcock who lived and worked in Jefferson County, Il from about 1870 until his death in 1916. I have collected a few of his photographs, but this is by far my favorite to date.

When I received this photo in the mail I was excited to see that there was handwriting on the back and thought that the subject was identified. Upon closer examination, sadly it appears that the words say, "got home from Bonnie (or Rome) this AM Aug 30th 1886." Such a disappointment, but at least it helps to date the photograph.

Major James Hitchcock was a well-known Mt. Vernon citizen, coming to the city in 1870 from Indiana after the Civil War. He was born in Gibson County, Indiana in December 1843 to John William and Margaret (Brasher) Hitchcock. In 1862 he enlisted in the 71st Indiana Infantry, Company E, and transferred to the 6th Indiana Cavalry in February 1863. In 1864 in a disastrous attempt to release prisoners held at the notorious Andersonville, GA prisoner of war camp, he and 2,000 others were captured by Confederate troops and was himself held as a P.O.W. for nine months. He was taken from Andersonville to "somewhere in Florida" along with other prisoners where they were able to make their escape along the way.

In May of 1868 in Richland County, IL he married Annie E. Gardner and by 1870 they were living in Jefferson County, IL with a one year old daughter Barbara (Ruby). A son Ray was born in 1873 and a daughter Ethel in 1879. For many years he and his wife operated an extremely successful photography studio at 219 South Tenth Street in Mt. Vernon, IL (Jefferson County). He was well respected for his craft and his photos documented most of the history of Jefferson County and the surrounding areas between 1870 - 1910. His wife died in 1912 and Hitchcock was reported to be grief-stricken. He died four years later on 2 Jan 1916 and he and his family are buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Mt. Vernon.

Happy 4th of July! - Early 1900's Celebration on Mt. Vernon, IL Town Square

Mt. Vernon, IL town square prob 1904 - 1910

This real photo postcard depicts the Mt. Vernon, IL town square in the early 1900's, most likely between 1904 and 1910. It appears to be celebration of some sort, there are what appear to be women of the Salvation Army or a similar organization standing in line in the front of the card.  There are numerous other people milling about including at least one child carrying the American Flag.  I am not certain as to the exact location on the square, but I believe the courthouse to be to the right.  

I am basing my dating of this card on several things.  First of all it is unfortunate that the card was not postmarked and mailed, but the Azo Card Company used different stamp box marks during different time periods.  This stamp box (see picture below) has four diamonds in the corners all pointing upwards which means this card could have been produced between 1904 and 1918.   Secondly, there are horse and buggies in this picture and no motor cars which were being made during this time frame.  I am sure there were people in Mt. Vernon who had motor cars as early as 1904, however not everyone could have afforded them and would still be using a horse and buggy.  Third, the other women in the photograph are wearing  shirtwaist type dresses which are more in line with the 1900 - 1910 era.  Since I know that the card was not made before 1904, I can only assume that the earliest this could have been taken was 1904 and possibly a few years after that.

It is still a wonderful piece of Mt. Vernon history and hopefully more information will be found to determine it's date and purpose.

Sunday's Obituary - Fern Bruce Warren Williams, Mt. Vernon, IL

Fern Bruce 1920's

Mt. Vernon Register News 28 Jun 1958

My great-grandmother, Charlotta Ruth Banks Wade Berry's half sister, Fern Bruce.  Fern was the daughter of Sarah Eva Talley and Frank Z. Bruce.  She was born 6 Jul 1900 in Mt. Vernon, IL and died 28 Jun 1958 also in Mt. Vernon.  She is buried at Oakwood Cemetery.

Those Places Thursday - 1954 Fort Lauderdale on Andrews Avenue

Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 1940's - 1950's

My Smith relatives (grandparents, great-grandparents, grand aunts and uncles) began moving to Fort Lauderdale, Florida from Mt. Vernon, Illinois in the 1950's.  This postcard depicts Andrews Avenue which was once a popular destination for shoppers and visitors in Fort Lauderdale.   This card which was postmarked 1954 gives a good feeling for the times.

Workday Wednesday - Mildred's Beauty Salon 1941

Ad from the Mt. Vernon (Illinois) Register News (1941) for my grand aunt Mildred Wade Smith's (1917 - 1995) beauty shop.  If you look closely under "Operators" you will see her name as well as my grandmother's Doris Smith, her sister. Doris and Mildred Wade, sisters, were married to two brothers, Diamond (my grandfather) and Claude Smith. They lived in Mt. Vernon for most of their lives until they moved to Fort Lauderdale, FL in the 1950-60's where Aunt Millie opened another salon, the Curl & Swirl.

Millie and Doris - Ft. Lauderdale 1954

Those Places Thursday - Porter & Bonds Drugs - Mt. Vernon, IL

Another postcard depicting Porter & Bond Drugs in Mt. Vernon, IL on the corner of South Union and Broadway (tenth & Broadway today, see Tom Puckett's book).  I don't remember this drugstore, but I do recognize this building. The first picture is the postcard I purchased and I'm guessing this picture was taken either in the 1930's or 1940's. I'm  not an expert on old cars so any help nailing down the time I would appreciate.

The second picture is a drawing from the June 24, 1893 issue of the Mt. Vernon Daily Register. According to the corresponding article, "Dr. S. S. Porter, of St. Louis, and Rufus J. Bond, are the proprietors of the drug store at the southwest corner of the square.  This firm carries an immense stock of drugs, paints, oils, glass, wall paper and patent medicines.  The resident manager, Mr. Bond, is one of our solid, substantial citizens and is in for everything that will improve Mt. Vernon."

According to William Henry Perrin*  Rufus J. Bond, was born 11 Nov 1847 in Shiloh Township, a son of Michael Bond, a native of North Carolina who came to this county in 1829.  Rufus was educated in Jefferson County and began clerking in the drug store of Samuel S. Porter at the age of twenty-two.  By 1893 he was a partner with a half-interest in the store.

From the Saturday Herald (Decatur, IL) 25 Feb 1888, Porter & Bond was one of the many buildings in Mt. Vernon that was totally destroyed by the cyclone that hit Mt. Vernon on 20 Feb 1888.

*History of Jefferson County Illinois, 1883, Chicago, Globe Publishing Co.

Sunday's Obituary - Wave Bruce Warner

My grandmother, Doris Smith's aunt, her mother's half sister, Wave Bruce Warner, she was the daughter of Frank Zopher Bruce and Sarah Eva (Talley) Bruce.  Her husband was Jack Warner, baseball scout from Los Angeles and former Detroit Tigers' 3rd baseman 1925 - 1928.

Wave Bruce Warner 1920's

Wave B. Warner
Mt. Vernon


Wave B. Warner, 89, Mt. Vernon, died 6:44 p.m. May 10, 1991, at Good Samaritan Regional Health Center.  Mrs. Warner was born Feb. 26, 1902, in Jefferson County, a daughter of Frank Z. and Sarah Eva (Talley) Bruce. July 27, 1925, in Los Angeles, she married John R. "Jack" Warner, who died March 13, 1986.


Services will be 2 p.m. Sunday at the chapel at Mt. Vernon Memorial Gardens with J. Howard Kraps officiating. Burial will follow in Mt. Vernon Memorial Gardens.  Friends may call after 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the chapel in Mt. Vernon Memorial Gardens.


Mrs. Warner is survived by several nephews, nieces, great-nephews, and great-nieces.  Mrs. Warner was a member of First Presbyterian Church.  She was preceded in death by her parents and six sisters.  Memorials may be made to the Jefferson County Heart Association and will be accepted by Hughey Funeral Home at any time.  Hughey Funeral Home is in charge of the services.


Source: Mount Vernon Register News
Date:  May 11, 1991

Those Places Thursday - Methodist Orphanage - Mt. Vernon, IL

This picture postcard postmarked 1946 is the Methodist Children's Home in my hometown, Mt. Vernon, IL.  I remember as a young girl while in grades three and four having a friend from the orphanage; I couldn't really grasp why she lived there, why she couldn't come to my house for sleepovers, etc.  Looking back as an adult I see  this picture and realize how lucky I was to have two parents and a real home.

The orphanage was relocated to this building in 1921 from Creal Springs.

Egyptian Hospital - Mt. Vernon, IL

This postcard depicts a short-lived hospital from Mt.Vernon from nearly one hundred years ago.  According to Dr. Charles K. Wells, M.D. in his book, "A. History of Hospitals in Jefferson County, Illinois" the Egyptian Hospital was only in operation between the years of 1909 - 1919.¹ It was located in a brick building erected by Mrs. Walter Fly at 106-108 North Eleventh Street.²

It was originally run by Dr. J. W. Hamilton, then eventually taken over by Dr. J. T. Whitlock until 1917 upon the onset of WWI when a number of doctors from Mt. Vernon volunteered to serve with the Armed Forces.  With the failing health of Dr. Whitlock, the hospital was for a short time taken over by Dr. S.A. Thompson until it was turned into the Illinois Hotel sometime before 1920.  It was later torn down and the site became a parking lot.

Sources: 

¹ A History of Hospitals in Jefferson County, Illinois.  Dr. Charles K. Wells, M.D.  1993 Azusa Printing, Mt. Vernon, 62864.

² Mt. Vernon A Pictorial History by Thomas A. Puckett, 1991 G. Bradley Publishing, Inc. United States.

International Shoe Factory - Mt. Vernon, Illinois

I have been shamefully absent from my blogs the past month for a myriad of excuses, first vacation, then a death in the family, stresses at work and finally just plain laziness.  I was going through a number of old postcards I have purchased and this particular one struck me as I remember my Grandmother, Doris Wade Smith, telling me how she went to work at the Shoe Factory when she was just fifteen years old.  This would have been around 1928, I believe when her father, Joseph Wade, lost his job with the "Car Shops" in Mt. Vernon and she had to leave school and get a job to help out her family.  It appears, however, by the 1930 Census of Madison County, Illinois that Joseph had moved his family to the Village of Madison and secured a job as a machinist at the Car & Foundry Co. and my grandmother was back in school.

International Shoe Factory, Mt. Vernon, IL

I remember seeing this old building all my life, it is located at 19th Street and Perkins in Mt. Vernon, IL.  It was owned by the International Shoe Factory and produced many famous lines of shoes.  According to an article in the Mt. Vernon Register News, April 15, 1964 in the text of a speech given by M. R. Chambers, President of the International Shoe Factory, "the production of the 75,000 square foot building was finished and production started in 1920."  By 1963 the factory had made over 31,755,000 pairs of shoes and at one time employed over 800 people.  Sometime In 1968 it announced it's closure of the factory; In July 1969 in another Register News story, Florsheim Shoes stated their intention to take over the factory and keep on many of the 350 employees.

Those Places Thursday - Mt. Vernon, Illinois Town Square View from Courthouse

Another great score from eBay, this postcard was postmarked 1916 and shows the town square view facing south from the Courthouse of my hometown Mt. Vernon, Illinois.

Sunday's Obituary - Sarah Eva Talley Bruce - Mt. Vernon, IL

Sarah Eva Talley Bruce 1914

Sarah Eva Talley Bruce
23 Sep 1870 - 23 Mar 1953

My great-great-grandmother, Sarah Eva Talley Bruce was born 23 Sep 1870 Wabash County, IL to Richard Henderson and Jane Frances (Williams) Talley.  She died 23 Mar 1953 in Mt. Vernon, Jefferson County, IL.


 

Sunday's Obituary - Charlotta Ruth Banks Wade Berry

Charlotta Ruth Banks Wade Berry

Charlotta Ruth Banks Wade Berry 
31 May 1895 - 9 Sep 1960


My great-grandmother, Charlotta Ruth Banks, was born 31 May 1895 in Wabash County, IL to Sarah Eva Talley and Sherman Banks (see previous story).  Charlotta grew up without her father and had four younger half-sisters when her mother remarried Frank Z. Bruce.  On 24 Apr 1912 at the age of sixteen Charlotta married Joseph Washington Wade who was twenty years older than her.  Their first child, my grandmother Doris, was born 27 Aug 1913 followed by Mildred in 1917 and Hugh Joseph in 1919.

Charlotta ca 1905 age 10

Great-grandfather Joseph was a foreman at the car shops in Mt. Vernon, IL cand they lived a good life for the times. Unfortunately, sometime around the late 1920's business slowed and Joseph lost his position.  Sometime after 1930 Charlotta and Joseph divorced and Charlotta later married Mack Berry.  Charlotta was bedridden in the last years of her life; as a little girl I remember going with my parents to her home in Granite City, Illinois.  She and her husband kept many Chihuahua's as pets and the dogs on her bed would growl and snap at me.  As I young child I was terrified of them, strangely enough I now have two chihuahua's of my own.  Charlotta died 9 Sep 1960 in Madison County, Illinois and is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.

Sunday's Obituary - Robert Calvin Smith - Mt . Vernon, Il

Bob Smith Age 35

Robert Calvin Smith 16 Sep 1888 - 31 Oct 1958

Last week I wrote briefly about my great-grandmother Verna Merritt Smith.  This week's obituary is about her husband, my great-grandfather Robert Calvin Smith.  Robert, or Bob as he was called, was born in Mt. Vernon, IL on 16 Sep 1888 to Milton A. and Mary F. (Scott) Smith.  Despite trying his hand early on at his father's occupation as a plumber, with the advent of automobiles Bob quickly found his niche.  Smith men have always been very mechanically inclined and working with engines seemed to be his calling.  He ran a garage in Mt. Vernon for many years with several of his sons.

Bob & Verna Smith 1950's

At some point in the late 1940's or early 1950's poor health forced him to retire from his garage.  He and Verna spent a couple of winter in Flagstaff, Arizona and then Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  I like this picture of them - not sure where it's taken, but he looks very relaxed and enjoying his retirement.  On 31 Oct 1958 (my third birthday) he died in a Fort Lauderdale nursing home.  He was buried in Williams Cemetery in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.

Sunday's Obituary - Verna A. Merritt Smith

Verna A. Merritt

Verna Anna Merritt Smith 17 Jan 1889 - 29 Mar 1972

My Great-Grandmother, Verna Anna Merritt Smith was born in Wilson County, TN 17 Jan 1889 to Obidiah J. and Florence (Sewell) Merritt.    The family moved to Jefferson County, Illinois around 1900.  Verna was the second of six children and her mother Florence died when Verna was just thirteen years old.  From all accounts, times were hard for the Merritts after their mother died.  In 1909, Verna married Robert Calvin Smith and they had eight children, one of those being my grandfather, Diamond Milton Smith.  They raised their children in Mt. Vernon, Illinois where great-grandpa Bob was an auto mechanic.

Verna A. Merritt Smith

Great-grandma Verna was quite a character and had a wicked sense of humor.  She was full of gumption right up until the end.  I like to think she got this from her grandmother, Amanda J. Martin.  Verna's husband Bob Smith died in October 1958, Verna 29 Mar 1972 in Fort Lauderdale, FL where they had lived for a number of years.  The following obituary is from the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.