Biographies
For more than 30 years, the Evergreen Cemetery Walk has brought to life the voices of McLean County's history. Costumed actors portray individuals representing all walks of life from the county's past on the beautiful grounds of Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. To date, we have featured 205 different individuals whose stories illustrate the impact the people of McLean County have had– locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. One of the lasting legacies of this educational program are the biographies that have been written about each and every single person that has been featured on the Cemetery Walk. We hope that you will enjoy this glimpse into our local history and find these a useful resource too.
Dietrich, Julius R.
Julius R. Dietrich was born in September of 1858 in Heinichen Saxony, Germany. He spent most of his early life in Germany having been educated in schools an...
Man
1850s
Featured in
2005
Doubleday, Ulysses Freeman
Ulysses Freeman Doubleday was born on December 15, 1792 in New Lebanon, Columbia County, New York. He was the son of Abner (born: February 3, 1757, died: ...
Man
1790s
Featured in
2005
Gridley, Asahel
A great deal of the information known about Asahel Gridley is based on reminiscences of his friends and family, enemies and rivals, hearsay, conjecture, ...
Man
1810s
Featured in
1998
, 2014
Mayers, Aaron
Aaron Mayers was born in Manheim, Pennsylvania in about 1827. It is unknown when exactly Mayers moved to Bloomington and there is little information availabl...
Man
1820s
Featured in
1997
Rodenhauser, William
William John (Wilhelm Johannes) Rodenhauser (1842-1919) was among a large contingent of German immigrants to arrive in McLean County in latt...
Man
1840s
Featured in
2021
Shipley, Richard
Richard Shipley, like many young people of his day, became captivated with the circus. Not only did many circuses regularly pass through Bloomington-Normal, ...
Man
1900s
Featured in
2016
Stevenson, Adlai E. I
A devout Democrat in a staunchly Republican district, Adlai E. Stevenson I managed to be twice elected to the U.S. Congress by the people of McLean County in...
Man
1830s
Featured in
1995
Major, William Trabue
William Trabue Major was born on March 1st, 1790 about three miles from Frankfort, Kentucky. His parents were John Major and Judith Trabue Major. His fathe...
Man
1790s
Featured in
1999
Wolcott, John Laurens
John Wolcott was born in Berkshire County, Massachusetts on August 30, 1808. He learned his trade by working with his father, a cabinet maker and undertaker...
Man
1800s
Featured in
2006
Moore, Asa Harvey
Asa Harvey Moore was born on October 20, 1820 in Rutland, Westchester County, Massachusetts. He was the oldest child of Asa and Sabra Lovell Moore, both of R...
Man
1820s
Featured in
2005
Ferre, Goodman
Goodman Ferre (pronounced Ferry) was born on January 27, 1806 and died on September 24, 1897. When he arrived in Bloomington in the 1840s the population was...
Man
1800s
Featured in
2006
FitzHenry, Judge Louis
Louis FitzHenry was born in Bloomington on June 13, 1870. He was the oldest son born to Hiram and Elizabeth Johnson FitzHenry. The family lived at 319 East L...
Man
1870s
Featured in
2008
Haggard, David
David Haggard was proud of his family tree. David was a descendant of Sir Andrew Ogard, a Knight of Bradenham Castle in County Norfolk which lies on the east...
Man
1760s
Featured in
2000
Hanner, Carl Gustav
Carl Gustav Hanner was born in Kungsholmen Parish, Stockholm, Sweden on August 8, 1840. His mother, Maria Lilja, was an unmarried, twenty-two year old maidse...
Man
1840s
Featured in
2008
Hawks, Samuel Lockhart
Samuel Lockhart Hawks, known as “Louis” Hawks, was born in Scotland on March 7, 1832 the son of Robert and Margaret (Lockhart) Hawks. He married Emeline Pres...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2003
Hewett, Edwin C.
Edwin C. Hewett was born November 1, 1828 in Worcester County, Massachusetts. He was the first child of Timothy and Lavina Hewett. Hewett’s father was a farm...
Man
1820s
Featured in
2007
, 2020
Horine, William H.
William (Bill) Horine was born to Adam and Sallie (Mason) Horine on March 3, 1840 in Jessamine County, Kentucky. He had seven siblings: Adam, Sarah, Anderso...
Man
1840s
Featured in
2011
Law, David D.
David D. Law was born in Lebanon City, Pennsylvania on March 30, 1852 and was the son of William and Elizabeth Carmaney Law. David and his family most likely...
Man
1850s
Featured in
1996
, 2004
Livingston, Sigmund
Read Must Men Hate onlineSigmund Livingston was b...
Man
Visiting Voice
1870s
Featured in
2021
Lott, Harrison Clay
Harrison Clay Lott was born August 16, 1848 in Madison, Indiana. When Lott was fifteen years old he enlisted in the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. H...
Man
1840s
Featured in
2006
Noble, Clyde Van
Clyde Van Noble (1881-1955) became a jeweler’s apprentice as a teenager and had a promising career in his chosen trade. However, that career was put on hold ...
Man
1880s
Featured in
2018
Orme, William Ward
William Ward Orme was born February 17, 1832 in Washington, D.C. William’s parents died when he was 13 years old. He lived with a grandfather who taught hi...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2006
Read, Roland
Roland Spencer Read was born in Bloomington, Illinois, on May 26, 1895. He was one of three sons born to Dora “Dottie” (Hodge) and George Burt (G.B.) Read. D...
Man
1890s
Featured in
2017
Rogers, Dr. Thomas
No matter one’s opinion regarding Dr. Thomas Pierce Rogers’s professional practice or political leanings, one cannot refute that Rogers was a “man who did th...
Man
1810s
Featured in
2015
Seibert, Leonard
Leonard Seibert was born on August 18, 1831 in Koenig, a borough of Essen, Germany. He came to the United States around 1855 living first in New York City, t...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2003
Smith, Dr. Lee
Dr. Lee Smith was born on May 8, 1832 near Havens Grove, Illinois. He was the first child born to John and Anna (Havens) Smith. Smith’s father was a native o...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2011
White, William Richard
William Richard White was born on December 22, 1844 in Goosenest Prairie, Coles County, Illinois. The town, now known as Lerna, is located in Southeastern, I...
Man
1840s
Featured in
2010
Adams, Dr. William Henry Harrison
Dr. William Henry Harrison Adams was born on March 30, 1840 in Effingham County, Illinois. He was the oldest son of Christopher Beeks Adams, (born May 12, 18...
Man
1840s
Featured in
2005
Jackman, John
John Adams Jackman was born March 22, 1816 in Boscawen, New Hampshire, where his great-grandfather and grandfather—Deacon George Jackman and Squire George Ja...
Man
1810s
Featured in
2016
Higgins, Hamer
Considering his chosen line of work, one might not be too surprised to learn that Hamer J. Higgins, born on February 14, 1840, entered this world in the comp...
Man
1840s
Featured in
2016
Heafer, Napoleon B.
Napoleon B. Heafer was born on December 14, 1823 in Charleston, West Virginia. At the age of ten, after spending only six months in school, Heafer began to l...
Man
1820s
Featured in
2002
Hogg, Harvey
The Bloomington lawyer and Civil War cavalry commander, Harvey Hogg (originally from Tennessee), led an eventful and principled, albeit short, life. He was a...
Man
1830s
Featured in
1996
Goodheart, James
James Goodheart is recognized in our local history as the son of two “honored pioneers” as well as for the many experiences he enjoyed due to his long time r...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2013
Graves, Linus
Linus Graves was born in Williamstown, Vermont on April 2, 1815 one of eleven children born to Calvin and Fannie (Robinson) Graves. The Graves family was one...
Man
1810s
Featured in
2003
Benjamin, Reuben Moore
Reuben Moore Benjamin was born on June 29, 1833 in Chatham Center, Columbia County, New York (20 miles southeast of Albany). His grandfather, Ebeneezer Benja...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2001
Brokaw, Abraham
Abraham Brokaw (he preferred to go by Abram), was born November 6, 1815 in Somerset County, New Jersey. He was the son of William and Helen Ditmus Brokaw. Th...
Man
1810s
Featured in
2000
Brown, Henry L.
Henry Brown was never afraid to learn new skills to overcome the challenges which life threw at him. After his parents divorced and the Great Depression came...
Man
BIPOC
1910s
Featured in
2013
Burnham, John Howard
John Howard Burnham was born on October 31, 1834 in Essex, Massachusetts. His parents, John Burnham and Sarah Choate Perkins, were descended from some of the...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2002
Butler, James Preston
At the passing of James Preston “Press” Butler in 1918, newspapers, both near and far, took the opportunity to present editorial obituaries. The Pantagra...
Man
Visiting Voice
1830s
Featured in
2022
Bynum, Edward
True and literal meaning is leant to the phrase “brothers in arms” by and his younger brother Lincoln, who served in France as fellow soldiers of Company K o...
Man
BIPOC
1890s
Featured in
2017
Bynum, Lincoln
True and literal meaning is leant to the phrase “brothers in arms” by Lincoln Bynum and his older brother Edward, who served in France as fellow soldiers of ...
Man
BIPOC
1900s
Featured in
2017
DeMotte, Harvey C.
Harvey Clelland DeMotte was a devoted and beloved teacher who worked to bring out the best in every student. A long-time member of the faculty at Illinois We...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2015
Foster, Daniel T.
Captain Daniel T. Foster was born on July 22, 1841 in Waitsfield, Washington County, Vermont. He worked as a farm hand for several years before he began work...
Man
1840s
Featured in
2010
Jung, Jacob
Jacob Phillip Jung was born on February 9, 1850 in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois to parents Christian and Elizabeth (Brandenburger) Jung—both natives of G...
Man
1850s
Featured in
2016
Kirkpatrick, Charles
Much of the information about Charles Kirkpatrick’s life comes from an autobiographical interview that was conducted at 10:00 a.m. on December 19, 1952 a...
Man
1870s
Featured in
2019
Mandler, Christoph
Christoph Mandler was born on April 23, 1858 in Daubringen, County of Gressen in the Grand Duchy of Hessen, Germany. His parents were Heinrich Mandler and M...
Man
1850s
Featured in
2010
McClun, John Edward
John Edward McClun was born on February 19, 1812 in Frederick County, Virginia. He was the youngest of eight children born to Thomas and Elizabeth Bailey Mc...
Man
1810s
Featured in
2008
McCormick, Henry
Henry McCormick was born on February 5, 1837 in Belmullet, County Mayo, Ireland. He spent his boyhood on his family’s farm and attended the local grammar sc...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2007
McCoslin, William
William McCoslin (1830-1878) was born in Vandalia, Illinois on July 27, 1830. While the names of his parents are unknown, we do know that he...
BIPOC
Man
1830s
Featured in
2020
McNulta, John
John McNulta was born on November 9, 1837 in New York City, New York. His father was Irish and his mother was from Scotland. McNulta received his education...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2011
Moratz, Paul
Paul O. Moratz had a passion for building and design that started at a young age. For 34 years Moratz designed concert halls, schools, libraries, hospitals, ...
Man
1860s
Featured in
2016
Munsell, Oliver
Oliver Spencer Munsell (pronounced Muhn-sl) was born on June 8, 1825 in Miami County, Ohio to Leander and Hannah (Lee or See) Munsell. He was the second of f...
Man
1820s
Featured in
2019
Price, John Joseph
John Joseph Price was born on October 16, 1835 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Little information is known about his early life including the names of his parents. In 1...
Man
1830s
Featured in
1998
Riebsame, Christian
Captain Christian Riebsame (1839-1913) was a German-born citizen who came to the United States in 1853. During the Civil War he served in the 116th Illinois ...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2015
Roeder, John Conrad
John C. Roeder was born in Nordeck, Germany in about 1836. He was the son of Conrad and Elizabeth Roeder. While there is little information about his early...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2011
Beich, Paul F.
Paul Frank Beich was born in Wehlau, East Prussia (now part of Russia) on May 22, 1864. He was the son of August, a government hospital inspector and later t...
Man
Visiting Voice
1860s
Featured in
2022
Duff, Peter
Peter Duff (1856-1919): Peter Duff moved to Normal, IL after fleeing Kentucky following the end of the American Civil War. Upon his arrival,...
Man
BIPOC
1850s
Featured in
1995
Funk, Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin Funk was born on October 17, 1837 to Isaac and Cassandra Funk. Benjamin was the seventh of the ten children born to Isaac and Cassandra. ...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2012
Funk, Henry
Henry Funk was a career orchardist, apiarist, poultry man, and horticulturalist. Though not to be confused with the locally renowned Funk family of Funks Gro...
Man
1850s
Featured in
2018
Frank, Henry “Teddy”
Henry “Teddy” Frank was born in Pennsylvania sometime in 1840 or 1841 and remained there until the outbreak of the Civil War. He served in Company A of the P...
Man
1840s
Featured in
1999
, 2004
Carman, George
“‘To write, or not to write: whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to sit and scratch your pate in vain for thoughts, or manfully to seize the shears and clip—...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2021
Thomas, George Washington
George Washington Thomas was born in Wisemantown, Kentucky, around 1860 or 1861. At that time Kentucky was still a slave state but there are no records that ...
BIPOC
Man
1860s
Featured in
1998
Rayburn, Jennie
Jane “Jennie” Buttolph Rayburn was born May 11, 1858 in Middlebury, Vermont a daughter of William Wallace Buttolph, and his wife Mary Ann. William was a rai...
Woman
1850s
Featured in
2006
Wakefield, Cyrenius
Cyrenius Wakefield (1815-1885): Dr. Cyrenius Wakefield settled in Bloomington, IL in 1850. Wakefield was an accomplished dr...
Man
1810s
Featured in
1995
Wunderlich, Gerald “Jerry” White
Gerald “Jerry” Wunderlich (sometimes spelled Wonderlich) was born on August 25, 1889 in Chicago, Illinois. His biological parents are unknown. When he was a...
Man
1880s
Featured in
2012
Allin, James
James Allin was born on January 13, 1788 in North Carolina. He was the son of Isaac and Sarah Frances (Randle) Allin. In 1798 at the age of ten, his family m...
Man
1780s
Featured in
1998
Hawkins, Absalom
Absalom Hawkins, known as Ab by nearly all, was born on December 25, 1855. According to his obituary, he was born in Kansas City, Kansas. However, census rec...
BIPOC
Man
1850s
Featured in
2008
Harris, Carter
Carter Harris was born April 15, 1856 on a small plantation in Red Bank, Mississippi. A son of the master and an enslaved mother, Harris was of Black, White,...
BIPOC
Man
1850s
Featured in
2007
Covington, Dr. Eugene
Eugene Gray Covington was born in Rappahannock County, Virginia on August 1, 1872. His parents were Joseph and Elizabeth Holmes Covington, who were both born...
Man
BIPOC
1870s
Featured in
2001
Crothers, Dr. Eli Kirk
Dr. Eli Kirk Crothers (1826-1893) was a successful physician and druggist from the time of his arrival in Bloomington in 1850. He is most re...
Man
1820s
Featured in
2015
Klemm, C.W.
Carl Wilhelm (C.W.) Klemm was born on May 1, 1845 in Haynrode, Saxony, Germany. His grandfather sold Brazilian coffee and his father was a dry goods merchant...
Man
1840s
Featured in
2001
Austin, Grace Jewett
Grace Merrill Jewett Austin was born on January 12, 1872 in Laconia, New Hampshire. She was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. A.H.C. Jewett. Grace graduated fro...
Woman
1870s
Featured in
2010
Erickson, Alexander G.
Swedish immigration during the nineteenth century was part of a larger trend occurring in the wake of vast economic and social transformation brought about b...
Man
1860s
Featured in
2022
Calimese, Napoleon
Napoleon J. Calimese (pronounced Calimeez) was born February 18, 1890 in Irvine, Kentucky. He was one of six children born to Jerome and Mildred Calimese. It...
Man
BIPOC
1890s
Featured in
2019
Anthony, Susan B.
Champion of temperance, abolition, the rights of labor, and equal pay for equal work, Susan Brownell Anthony became one of the most visible leaders of the wo...
Woman
1820s
Featured in
2020
Guthrie, Adam
Adam Guthrie was born on March 10, 1825 in Circleville, Pickaway Co., Ohio. He was one of twelve children born to Robert and Catherine Spawr Guthrie. His fat...
Man
1820s
Featured in
2000
, 2014
Blue, Richard
Richard Blue was born on February 22, 1842 in Dayton, Ohio. The names of his parents are unknown, but it was reported that his mother was from Virginia ...
BIPOC
Man
1840s
Featured in
2023
Rhymer, Paul
Paul Mills Rhymer was born in Fulton, Illinois on November 21, 1905. He was the eldest son of Sidney and Mabel (Gale) Rhymer. In 1907, the Rhymer family...
Man
Visiting Voice
1900s
Featured in
2023
King, Mary Reed
In the later portion of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Captain Samuel Noble King was among McLean County’s m...
Woman
1840s
Featured in
2023
King, Samuel Noble
In the later portion of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Captain Samuel Noble King was among McLean County’s m...
Man
1830s
Featured in
2023
Jones, Annie Ethel
Annie Ethel Berry was born in Booneville, Mississippi on May 19, 1899, to Malaci Berry and Ida Eugenia (Bynum) Berry. For most of her life, she went by her m...
BIPOC
Woman
1890s
Featured in
2023
Eyer, Lloyd
Lloyd Eyer served as physical director of the Bloomington YMCA for twelve years from 1905 to 1917, was manager of Read’s Sporting Goods (then known as W.B. R...
Man
1880s
Featured in
2013
Hobbs, Dr. William C.
Dr. William Hobbs was born in Maryland on December 24, 1800. Very little is known about his life before coming to Bloomington including who his parents were....
Man
1800s
Featured in
2012
Ijams, Lewis Ellington
Lewis E. Ijams was born on November 21, 1841 near Zanesville, Ohio. His parents were Lewis and Eliza (Rodman) Ijams who all together raised seven children (...
Man
1840s
Featured in
2011
Radbourn, Charles "Old Hoss"
Charles Radbourn was born on December 11, 1854 in Rochester, New York. He was the son of Charles and Caroline Gardner Radbourn. His parents were from Bath, ...
Man
1850s
Featured in
1995
, 2004
, 2014
Crothers, Dr. Marie Louise
Dr. Mrs. Marie Louise (DePew) Crothers (1833-1920), wife of well-respected physician and druggist Dr. Eli Kirk Crothers, was one of the firs...
Woman
1830s
Featured in
2015
Clark, Lue Anna Sanders
Much of what we know about Lue Anna Brown Sanders Clark comes from her own words, in the form of five oral history interviews that were conducted from th...
BIPOC
Woman
1890s
Featured in
2018
Duff, Julia
Julia Edith Duff was born on June 5, 1895 in Normal, Illinois, the daughter of Peter Charles and Fannie (Walker) Duff. Her parents came to Normal from Kentuc...
BIPOC
Woman
1890s
Featured in
1997
, 2004
, 2021
Calimese, Louise
Napoleon J. Calimese (pronounced Calimeez) was born February 18, 1890 in Irvine, Kentucky. He was one of six children born to Jerome and Mildred Calimese. It...
Woman
BIPOC
1890s
Featured in
2019
Fell, Hester Vernon
Hester Vernon Fell was born on March 2, 1819 in Little Brittain, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She was the sixth child born to William and Rachel (Milner)...
Woman
1810s
Featured in
2002
Bach, Maria Sophia
Maria Sophia (Koehler or Kahler) Bach was the wife of pressman and political dissident, William Bach Sr. Both immigrants from Germany, the couple met in Phil...
Woman
1830s
Featured in
2013
Elder, Mary
Mary Elvira Elder was born in Bloomingburg, Fayette County, Ohio on September 18, 1835 according to her grave marker, or November 15, 1835 according to her o...
Woman
1830s
Featured in
2001
Merchant, Mary Arenz
Mary Arenz Merchant was born on February 28, 1841 in New Berlin, IL the fourth of ten children born to Francis and Louisa Arenz of Arenzville, Cass County, I...
Woman
1840s
Featured in
2003
Sanders, Susan Pike
Susan Augusta Pike Sanders was born in Maine on March 25, 1842. She was the third of seven children and the first daughter of Harrison Wallace Pike and Susan...
Woman
1840s
Featured in
2003
Bradner, Judith Ann
Judith Major Allin Bradner was born on May 9, 1814 in Bourbon County, Kentucky to Mr. and Mrs. William T. Major. In 1834 her father and his brothers decided ...
Woman
1810s
Featured in
2000
Cahill, Francis
Francis Cahill, Jr. was born on April 5, 1922 in Chicago, Illinois. He was the oldest of four sons born to Francis Cahill, Sr. and Margaret (Eilerman) Cahill...
Man
1920s
Featured in
2018
Calcote, Matilda
Matilda Bell Heaston entered the world on November 30, 1910. Born to Jake and Doshie (Robinson) Heaston in Randolph, Tennessee, Matilda was one of 15 childre...
BIPOC
Woman
1910s
Featured in
2015
Claxton, Belle Blue
Belle Blue Claxton was born in Bloomington, IL on April 30, 1872. She was a daughter of Richard Blue and Emily Louisa Cooper. She had a brother, James Perc...
Woman
BIPOC
1870s
Featured in
2003
, 2014
Colby, Celestia Rice
Celestia Rice Colby was born on December 19, 1827 in Andover, Ohio. She was the fourth child born to Joel and Flavia (Bradley) Rice. She was named for an o...
Woman
1820s
Featured in
1998
, 2014
Barton, Lucinda
Lucinda Robinson Barton was born on January 18, 1838 in Washington Co., Missouri. When she was four, her parents, Robert and Jane Robinson, moved from Missou...
Woman
BIPOC
1830s
Featured in
2000
Edwards, Ruby
Ruby A. Jackson was born on January 29, 1906 in Bloomington, Illinois. She was the daughter of Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth (Wilson) Jackson. Not much is k...
BIPOC
Woman
1900s
Featured in
2013
Geneva, Carolyn Schertz
Carolyn Schertz Geneva was born on October 13, 1892 in Hudson. Illinois. She was the daughter of David and Carrie (Kaufman) Schertz. By 1900, the family had ...
Woman
1890s
Featured in
1998
, 2017
Marmon, Mary Ann
Mary Ann (Cheney) Marmon (1837-1908) grew up in a log cabin on the Illinois prairie and was a member of one of the earliest white families t...
Woman
1830s
Featured in
2021
Porter, Ida
Ida Porter was born on September 19, 1863 in Normal, Illinois. She was the daughter of Solomon S. and Amanda M. Shueey Porter. Her father, Solomon, was bor...
Woman
1860s
Featured in
2005
Stokes, Ella Lee
Ella Lee Luallen is one of many important voices in the Black history of McLean County. She was born to Leslie (Lesley) J. Luallen and Margaret Clara (Jones)...
BIPOC
Woman
1910s
Featured in
2022
Morgan, Lucy Orme
Lucy Orme Morgan was born on January 21, 1858 in Bloomington, Illinois. She was the third of four children born to William Ward Orme and Nannie McCullough Or...
Woman
1850s
Featured in
2010
MacGillivray, Dr. Margaret
Dr. Margaret MacGillivray was born in Dunfermline, Scotland on October 21, 1845. She was a very intelligent and cultured woman and became one of the first fe...
Woman
1840s
Featured in
2001
Gridley, Mary
Mary Enos Gridley was born in Onondaga Hollow, Onondaga County, New York on March 18, 1818. When she was a child her parents, William C. and Clarissa Barney ...
Woman
1810s
Featured in
2001
, 2014
Funk, Florence Mae Risser
Florence Mae Risser Funk (1871-1923) was one of McLean County’s most renowned suffragists and society women. Politically well-connected, Fun...
Woman
1870s
Featured in
2020
Hall, Helen Ross
Helen Ross was born on September 15, 1846 in the village of Kenagh, in County Longford, Ireland. She was the oldest of nine children born to John and Elizab...
Woman
1840s
Featured in
1999
Hanson, Ethel Hamilton
Ethel Hamilton Hanson was a popular member of society circles and active in educational, political, and charitable work in the community. Sh...
Woman
1880s
Featured in
2017
Hartmann, Mary J.
Mary J. Hartmann was born on October 13, 1845 on a farm in Franklin Township, Washington County, Indiana. She was the daughter of Jacob and Susan Hartmann. ...
Woman
1840s
Featured in
2007
Locher, Beulah Baker
Beulah Baker Locher was born on January 7, 1881 in Gibson City. She was the daughter of Frank R. and Cordelia Shelton Baker. When she was just a few years ol...
Woman
1880s
Featured in
2003
Smith, Alice Orme
Alice Orme Smith served as a nurse with the American, British, and French forces during World War I from May 1917 until February 1919. After the war she redi...
Woman
1880s
Featured in
2013
Scott, Julia Green
Julia Green Scott was born to privilege and distinguished ancestry on February 14, 1839 in Danville, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Rev. Lewis Warner, a r...
Woman
1830s
Featured in
2000
Jackman, Sarah Farnum Sargent
Sarah Farnum Sargent Jackman was born on December 18, 1816 in Boscawen, New Hampshire. She was the oldest of five children born to Isaac, (b. November 21, 17...
Woman
1810s
Featured in
2005
Becker, Augusta "Gussie"
Augusta Becker, known as “Gussie” to most, was born in Berlin, Germany on November 13, 1882, to Carl and Amelia (Klawitter) Becker. Gussie was one four child...
Woman
1880s
Featured in
2018
Holder, Julia
Julia Montrose Holder was on born December 24, 1884 in Bloomington, Illinois to Dan and Kate (Saltonstall) Holder. She was one of two children born to the co...
Woman
1880s
Featured in
2017
Murray, Ethel
Much of what we know today about Murray comes from oral history which can sometimes contradict existing historical documents. In situations where there i...
BIPOC
Woman
1910s
Featured in
2016
Noble, Emily Vecchi
Emily (Vecchi) Noble was born on Church Street in London, England on February 4, 1886 to Enrico and Emily Vecchi. She had two sisters, Margherita and Roma, a...
Woman
1880s
Featured in
1997
, 2018
Rankin, Melinda
Melinda Rankin was born in Littleton, New Hampshire on March 21, 1811. She attended and taught school in New Hampshire until the 1840s when she, like many pe...
Woman
1810s
Featured in
2002
, 2004
Rice, Martha Baker
Martha H. Baker (Rice) was born in Richmond, Kentucky on September 4, 1817. Her parent’s names are not known. She had five brothers and sisters whose names...
Woman
1810s
Featured in
2011
Fox, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Irons Folsom
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Irons was born in about 1862 in Peoria to Charles and Ettie Maria English Irons. She was their only child. Lizze’s father Charles was a ...
Woman
1860s
Featured in
2008
Esque, Eliza (Davis)
Eliza Davis Esque was born around 1845 in St. Charles County, Missouri. Little is known about her family including the names of her parents. However, it is...
BIPOC
Woman
1840s
Featured in
2011
Hamilton, Kate Waterman
Kate Waterman Hamilton was born on November 12, 1841 in Schenectady, New York the only daughter of Farwell H. Hamilton and his wife Ruth A. Cady Hamilton. I...
Woman
1840s
Featured in
2006
Moratz, Palma
Palma Moratz was born on April 6, 1879 in Bloomington, IL to German-born parents, Hermann and Emilie Eisner Moratz. Her father, Hermann, immigrated to the Un...
Woman
1870s
Featured in
2000
Hawkins, Julia Bee
Julia Bee was born in Illinois on March 29, 1863. It is not known who her parents were but in the 1880 census she was listed as the daughter of Henry and Ell...
BIPOC
Woman
1860s
Featured in
2002
Howard, Emily
At the turn of the twentieth century, when the public reception of visual arts in Bloomington, Illinois could be characterized as “tepid,” or indeed, “positi...
Woman
1830s
Featured in
2020
Mayes, John Jackson
John Jackson Mayes, Jr. was born on April 7, 1851 in St John’s, New Brunswick, Canada. Mayes was the son of John Jackson Mayes, Sr. and Sybil (Robert) Mayes,...
Man
1850s
Featured in
2023
Christian, Annie May
Annie May Christian (who went by May for most of her life) was born on November 28, 1866 to Matthew and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Christian in Decatur, Illinois. ...
Woman
1860s
Featured in
2019
Duff, Alverta
Alverta Duff was the oldest child of Peter Charles and Fannie E. (Walker) Duff. She was born on August 25, 1885 in the house her father built at 107 W. Popl...
BIPOC
Woman
1880s
Featured in
2005
, 2021
Kessler, Clara Louise
Clara Louise Kessler (1893-1968) “knows and loves children and is vitally interested in them,” said actress Jane Cowl after reading Kessler’s poetry. Clara K...
Woman
1890s
Featured in
2015
Christian, Elizabeth Jane Mitchell
Elizabeth Jane Mitchell, called Lizzie, was born on July 16, 1842 at Stout’s Grove near Danvers in McLean County, Illinois. She was one of seven children of...
Woman
1840s
Featured in
2007
Livingston, Hilda
Sigmund Livingston was born on December 27, 1872 in Giessen, Germany. He was one of eight children born to Mayer and Dora (Bluemenfeld) Livingston. The Livin...
Visiting Voice
Woman
1890s
Featured in
2021
Dodge, Flora Pennell
Flora Pennell Dodge was born on September 14, 1868 in Normal, Illinois. She was the youngest of five children born to John R. Dodge and Caroline Odell. At ...