Loose Newspaper Clippings
from "Your Hospital" undated, probably 1939
A Brochure for Victory Memorial Hospital, Waukegan, Illinois
THE GROWTH OF A COMMUNITY SERVICE
Fifty years ago Waukegan was without a hospital. On
September 25th, 1891, a group of men and women met and discussed
ways and means of establishing a hospital, but lack of money
forced them to postpone their plans. From their discussion, however, arose
the Lake County Hospital Association.
This group, composed of Mrs. W. B. Besley, Mrs. Edward Spring,
Mrs. Edward Sauter, Mrs. G. B. Watrous, Miss Kitty Compton,
Miss Emma Shumway, Miss Mary Lyon and Mrs. Weyhe, rented the
A. C. Hathorne home on North Avenue and virtually created a
hospital. Local physicians, true to the medical spirit, gave their
services free. The citizens so appreciated the benefits of
hospitalization that in 1896 the Association was able to buy
the Liebich home, situated on the corner of Franklin
and North Avenue.
Eight years later, Mrs. Jane McAlister, by the gift of $21,000,
made possible the erection of the brick building, rightfully
called the Jane McAlister Hospital, which stands on the same
corner. The first patient was admitted September 24th, 1904,
and the first operation was performed three days later.
Stringent economy, the continuous support of all local church
organizations and the efforts of the original Association
enabled the hospital to care for a steadily-increasing
number of patients.
On Christmas Day, 1918, Mr. Fred Brown Whitney presented
Judge C. C. Edwards, then president of the Association,
with a large donation, the first toward a new and better
community hospital. In March, 1920, a campaign to obtain funds
was begun - a campaign so successful that on May 20th, 1922,
the cornerstone of the Victory Memorial Hospital was laid.
The original and subsequent contributions, the time effort and
assistance donated, were all those of the citizens of Waukegan
and its environs. The result is a modern, fireproof hospital
which is entirely free from capital debt. It is a
nosectarian and nonprofit enterprise, a true community
project and a worthy memorial to the Lake County men
who served in the World War.
Harriet E. Edwards
loose clipping, source unknown undated
Miss Gott Takes Vows
Waukegan Girl Becomes Bride of
L. J. Bonner At First Baptist.
Miss Arlene N. Gott, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ellis Gott, 402
Besley pl., became the bride of Lyman J. Bonner, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Leslie Bonner, of Millburn, at First Baptist church May 21.
The Rev. Wayne Clark, pastor, read the service with the bride's
father giving her in marriage.
For her wedding gown the bride chose white satin with a sweetheart
neckline trimmed in Chantilly lace and with lace edging
the long train. Her fingertip veil was held in place by a halo of
pearls and she carried white gladioli with larkspur.
Mrs. Kenneth Watson of Ft. Belvoir, Va., was her sister's matron
of honor and bridesmaids were Mrs. Vernon Stahnke of Champaign
and Miss Darlene Hagberg of Woodstock. The matron of honor wore a frock
of orchid faille taffeta with matching blusher. Bridesmainds wore pale
green and pale yellow taffeta frocks respectively and carried
colonial bouquets.
Howard Bonner was the best man and ushers were Howard Petty and
David O'Brien.
The reception held at First Baptist church was attended by
200 guests. The newlyweds left afterwards for a honeymoon in
the East. At home now they are living in Millburn.
The bride, a graduate of Waukegan Township High School, is
employed at Illinois Bell Telephone Co. Her bridegroom, a graduate
of Warren High school attended the University of Illinois.
loose clipping, source unknown undated
Mrs. Bella Tombaugh
Mrs. Bella Tombaugh, 97, formerly of Waukegan, died yesterday in the
home of her son, R. S. Tombaugh, in Logansport, Ind.
Born Nov. 27, 1856 in Millsburg, Pa., the daughter of
George and Sarah Greenfield Toppin, she lived in
Millburn for many years prior to coming to Waukegan in 1900.
She moved to Logansport in 1944. Her husband, Dr. L. H. Tombaugh,
well known Waukegan physician, died in 1930.
In addition to her son, Mrs. Tombaugh leaves two nieces.
Services will be conducted in the First Congregational Church,
Waukegan, at 3 p.m. tomorrow by the Rev. Edgar Ross. Burial
will be in Northshore Garden of Memories.
loose clipping, source unknown undated
WAS HERE
Mrs. Geo. Cooper. Heiress,
Visited Former Home.
Mrs. George Cooper, of London, reputed to be one of the richest women
in the world, having inherited about $25,000,000 from her great uncle the
late banker George Smith visited the haunts of her childhood in Lake
County Thursday. She came up from Evanston reaching here about ten
o'clock and went directly to Millburn where she spent the day calling on
friends whom had not seen her in many years.
Accompanying Mrs. Cooper was her brother George Smith, of Evanston,
his wife and daughter.
The party engaged a hack at Raeside's and reached Millburn
about noon.
They took with them a large number of bouquets which were taken to the
cemetery and laid on the graves of relatives of the heiress.
Some time was spent in the old village cemetery and then the party
visited the old Smith farm, Mrs. Cooper's home until she left Lake
County to go and live with her uncle whose vast wealth upon his death
fell to Mrs. Cooper and her brother James, "the silent man of Wall
Street." The villagers turned out enmasse to greet Mrs. Cooper
and all in all her visit was quite an event.
Mrs. Cooper and relatives returned to town about 7:30 o'clock and took the
trolley to Evanston.
This is Mrs. Cooper's first visit to her old home in many years and she
enjoyed the trip greatly meeting the friends whom she had known in childhood,
most of whom she had not seen since leaving the county.
loose clipping, source unknown undated
CHICAGO'S FIRST BANKER:
GEORGE SMITH, NOW QUITE ILL.
"GEORGE SMITH of Chicago" is seriously ill in London.
This news has come to the old settlers as an announcement
that the pioneer banker of Chicago and the Northwest is
tottering to the grave. He who came out of Scotland to pile
up his millions in the new country has been feeble for a
decade. Traveling between his castle in the Highlands to
winter in the south of France, and stopping on the way at
the Reform Club in London, he has watched his bonds and
investments multiply until at 93 he is reported to be one
of the richest men in the world – a bachelor, with only a
nephew or two and a young friend here and there to be made
wealthy perhaps when he goes away. With the early days of
Chicago and the West George Smith is connected as the
father of financiers, the man who loaned millions at the
beginning to men who were building up the cities and
clearing the woodlands.
Sixty-five years ago this spring a young man made his
way through the lakes from Buffalo to Detroit, took a stage
coach across Michigan and got out in Chicago to see what
the chances were for making a living. He had with him only
a few thousand dollars. Five years later the signature of
George Smith to a bank certificate issued by himself was as
good as gold in a dozen states. By 1860 he had redeemed in
currency every dollar of outstanding notes, closed the
doors of his banking-houses in Chicago, Milwaukee, St.
Louis and Georgia, packed up his papers, instructed his
representatives and sailed for the Highlands of Scotland.
In 1833 George Smith left his farm and started for New
York with letters to eminent banking firms there. He didn't
like the place. He pushed on to Buffalo, spent the winter
there, and came to Chicago in 1834. The little money he had
brought with him went into city lots and in wild land where
Milwaukee now stands. When the prices jumped in 1835 and
1836 he unloaded. That was his beginning. He returned to
Scotland, organized the Scottish-Illinois Land Investment
Company, and returned with Patrick Strachen, Alexander
Mitchell and W. D. Scott. They were prepared for business
in Chicago in 1837, as this advertisement, which appeared
in the Democrat of Aug. 16, indicates:
"To rent – Several houses and rooms suitable
for families. Apply to Strachan & Scott,
corner of Lake and Wells streets, or
to George Smith, Lake House.
And they rented and bought and sold and prospered.
In 1839 Mr. Smith secured from the Wisconsin legislature
a charter for the Wisconsin Marine and Fire Insurance
Company, authorized to receive deposits and issue
certificates to the sum of $1,500,000. Alexander Mitchell
was sent to Milwaukee as secretary and manager of the
company, and Mr. Smith opened another banking institution
in Chicago under the name of George Smith & Co. Senator C.
B. Farwell was his cashier. This was the first legitimately
conducted bank in the city and the West. From the Milwaukee
bank were issued certificates which circulated in the
middle West states for years, and were acceptable out in
Iowa and Missouri so long as the name of George Smith was
attached. One of the conditions upon which he issued these
certificates, say his contemporaries, was that the borrower
must circulate them as far from Chicago as possible, so
that it would take them a long time to come back for
redemption. In case one turned up too speedily Smith would
send for the man and make him pay an additional interest.
That was Smith. Here is a copy of one of the certificate:
(not reproduced here)
In 1853 Mr. Smith _____ the company to Alexander
Mitchell ____ was reorganized as the Wisconsin Marine and
Fire Insurance Company Bank. The name was unwieldy,
however, and, as its ___ecessor had been known as "Smith's
Company," it was generally called "Mitchell's bank."
During these years George Smith was buying up railroad
bonds and making other investments when the quotations were
down and selling out when they went up. He bought Argentine
bonds at 20 and sold $14,000,000 of them at par. He secured
large holdings in the Milwaukee and St. Paul, the old
Galena, now the Northwestern, the Alton and other western
railroads. He bought a strip of land between Twentieth and
Twenty-first streets, running from State street to the
lake, cut it up into lots and sold it at city prices. The
George Smith addition to Chicago was his and it helped him
to add to his millions. He still owns half a block on
Indiana, between Twenty and Twenty-first streets, and a
vacant lot on Indiana avenue. Two auxiliary banks in
Georgia, one at Atlanta, the other at Griffin, were
established when the Marine Company's certificates had to
be given up. Mr. Smith sought out places as far out of the
way as he could find, so that redemptions would be delayed
for a long time and also that they might be free from the
raids of rivals in Chicago who sought to cripple him by
buying up large amounts and presenting them in a bunch.
Certificates from these banks were also well received and
there were large profits for Mr. Smith. He sold them out in
1858, when he began to prepare to return to Scotland, and
that was the last Chicago or the United States saw of the
name of George Smith, banker. To show the extent to which
his certificates were used it is interesting to note that
the amount of the Milwaukee notes out in 1841 was $34,028
and in 1851 – the company's last year - $1,470,000. One of
the $5 certificates is still retained by Fernando Jones,
and he declares that as a relic it is worth many times its
face value.
George Smith is recalled as a rather slender man of
medium height. He came West to make money, and his ability
to make it was only equaled by his determination. "The
pioneers," says Fernando Jones, "found him a hard dealer,
exacting but always straightforward. Every dollar of the
certificates was redeemed on presentation, and all but
about $34,000 was presented in the end. Smith would demand
payment of notes on the day set. Favor was shown to none. I
remember one man who asked for a renewal and as met with a
prompt refusal. He scurried on Water street and finally
collected the amount in hundred dollar lots. Mr. Smith took
the money, returned the canceled note and then turned to
his cashier and said: 'I guess, if Mr. So and So wanted a
little favor we could grant it, couldn't we?' And the man
borrowed back the same amount, gave another note and
returned the loans to the Water street merchants. That was
the kind of a man Smith was. He wanted everyone to know
that he was doing business on business principles. Smith
never was much of a sociable man. He lived at the hotels,
gave now and then to some institution, helped to support
the fire department and accumulated a fortune. I believe
that he is worth nearly $200,000,000. I saw him about
twelve years ago in Nice and he always had two men
supporting him when he walked about. He has been feeble for
a decade, but by taking exceptional care of himself, living
temperately, he has hung onto life. Probably no other man
was so widely known in the West up to the '60s."
The story of Mr. Smith's boyhood life is briefly told.
He was born in 1806 in the parish of Old Deer,
Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He attended the private school at
Strichen, prepared for college at Udney, entered King's
College at Aberdeen and remained two years preparing to
study medicine. His eyes gave out, however, and after
attending lectures for a year at Ediburgh he rented a farm
in the parish of Turiff and worked there until he left for
America in 1833. He has revisited this country only once
since he went back in 1860. He made a short trip through
the country in 1866. In New York and nearly all the large
cities he has representatives now. In New York a man named
Geddes, a nephew, is in charge of his interests.
loose clipping, source unknown undated
(letter to the editor)
What about rights?
ON JAN. 16 the fate of the Millburn school district and the
ownership of the Millburn school building will be decided.
I, who have lived most of my life in the area, paid my
taxes to maintain that district and build that school will
have NO VOTE on the destruction of the district or the
transfer of ownership of a school building which is
partially mine!
Since the lines of the proposed unit district are drawn
to exclude me, I can not vote on the question of what is to
be done with my school property, nor can any of the
Millburn elementary school patrons who, like me, are not
included in the proposed new unit district.
How can students, teachers and administrators who have
participated in protests, marched and demonstrated for
civil rights, demanded loudly and long that everyone must
be given a voice in making the decisions affecting him,
either sit back quietly and allow this fragrant abuse, or
worse, add their support to it?
Is it because when a question involves what they suspect
may be to their personal advantage, they are less concerned
with others' "rights"? May not we, whose "rights" now are
being denied be pardoned for accusing our educators of
hypocrisy?
The Millburn elementary school district is a political
entity of long standing. Decisions made affecting it should
be made by ALL those in the district whose effort and
financial support are contributing to its existence. Any
other method of resolving the problem is discriminatory,
undemocratic and a direct violation of our Constitutional
guarantees.
P. W. Anderson
Rte. 2, Lake Villa
loose clipping, source unknown undated
Mrs. Matson To Give Talk At Millburn
MILLBURN – Mrs. Edward Matson, a teacher at Millburn School
and well-known in Lake County for her travel lectures, will
be guest speaker at the Millburn PTA meeting tomorrow at 8
p.m.
The annual Founders' Day program will be held at the
Millburn Congregational Church, and will feature a talk on
the topic "Investments in Sound International Relations."
Mrs. Matson will show slides "The Middle East Today" to
illustrate her talk.
Among the past presidents to be honored at the program
are: Mrs. Julia Slocum, Mrs. Beatrice Anderson, Mrs. Lyman
Thain, Mrs. Leslie Bonner, Mrs. Alice Anderson, Mrs. Don
Holem, Mrs. Ray Boller, Mrs. Chalmers Wooley, Mrs. James
Lahey and Mrs. William Paulsen.
A silver offering will be taken up for the Lake County
Council of PTAs' Golden Jubilee Scholarship Fund.
In charge of the refreshments will be Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd
Stephens, chairmen, Mr. and Mrs. George DeYoung, Mr. and
Mrs. Kenneth Young, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Brodowski and Mrs.
Lois Crawford.
The public is invited to attend this meeting.
loose clipping, source unknown undated
JAMES FOSTER
MILLBURN – James Foster, 66, formerly of Millburn, died
yesterday in Hines Veterans Hospital, Chicago, after a two-
year illness.
Born in Manchester, England, March 25, 1893, he had
lived in the area for 26 years. He was a member of the
Millburn Congregational Church, Millburn Lodge No. 127, AF
& AM, the Antioch American Legion Post and a past worthy
patron of Millburn Eastern Star Lodge. He was an Army
veteran of World War I and had operated the Foster General
Store in Millburn for 10 years.
He leaves his widow, Esther; a son, William A. of
Antioch; a daughter, Mrs. Louis (Shirley) Getz of Gurnee;
eight grandchildren; a brother, Joseph of Tuscon, Ariz.;
and two sisters in England.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the
Millburn Congregational Church with the Rev. L. H.
Messersmith, pastor, officiating.
Friends may call at the funeral home, 1521 Washington
St., Waukegan, after 7 p.m. tomorrow.
Burial will be in Millburn Cemetery.
loose clipping, source unknown undated
JAMES FOSTER
MILLBURN – Funeral services for James Foster, 66, formerly
of Millburn, who died Wednesday in Hines Veterans Hospital,
Chicago, after a two-year illness, will be held at 2 p.m.
tomorrow at the Millburn Congregational Church.
Born in England March 25, 1893, he had lived in the
Millburn area for 26 years and had operated the Foster
General Store here for 10 years.
Surviving are his widow, Esther; a son, William Alm; a
daughter, Mrs. Louis Goetz; eight grandchildren; a brother
Joseph, and two sisters in England.
Friends may call at the funeral home, 1521 Washington
St., Waukegan, after 7 p.m. today.
Burial will be in Millburn Cemetery.
loose clipping, source unknown undated
Death of Mrs. Girard.
Wednesday about five o'clock at the home of her daughter,
Mrs. H. S. Gail, occurred the death of Mrs. Girard, an old
settler and well known in the vicinity.
Death was the result of sickness extending over a period
of about two years.
Deceased was eighty-six years of age and was considered
one of the oldest residents of the county. She formerly
lived in Waukegan. The funeral will be held from the house
Saturday morning.
loose clipping, source unknown undated
J. S. Denmans Of Millburn
Have Anniversary Party
Many Friends And Relatives
From Surrounding Communities
Enjoy Buffet Dinner.
Almost 60 friends and relatives of the J. S. Denmans of
Millburn helped them observe their silver wedding
anniversary at a dinner party yesterday at the homestead in
Millburn. Before her marriage, Mrs. Denman was Miss
Margaret White of Waukegan. They were married in Millburn
and have always made their home there. Silver appointments
and candlesticks and a huge bouquet of red and white roses
centering the dinner table were the gifts of their three
daughters and two sons.
The buffet dinner was a surprise to Mr. Denman, who had
gone to church in the morning and returned to find all the
guests assembled, but not so to Mrs. Denman, who was
overseeing the preparation of the dinner. Numerous, gifts,
flowers and well wishing messages were received by Mr. and
Mrs. Denman.
Out of town guests attending the party were Mr. and Mrs.
C. E. Denman, Gurnee; George Wyckoff and daughter Ruth; Mr.
and Mrs. Swen Swanson and daughter Charlotte; Mr. And Mrs.
Ed Scull and daughter Virginia and Mr. and Mrs. William
Knowles and daughter Cornelia of Chicago; Mrs. Ruth
Anderson and daughter Jean and Miss Grace Jamison, Oak
Park; Mr. and Mrs. Robert Webster and daughter Roberta,
Berwyn; Mr. and Mrs. Laurin Denman and son Laurin Jr.,
Evanston.
Mr. and Mrs. Lorraine Webster, Mrs. Elmer Webster, Mr.
and Mrs. Gomer Hopkins and Mrs. Caroline Ga__, Highland
Park; Mrs. James Denman and son Everett, Mr. And Mrs. W. S.
Denman and sons Elvin and Donald, Waukegan; Mr. And Mrs. Ed
Denman and daughters Vene, Alta and Laura, McHenry; Earl
Kane Jr., Mundelein; Miss Bernice Bauman, Mr. and Mrs. Will
Bonner and Mr. and Mrs. Ralph McGuire, Millburn and Mr. and
Mrs. Lloyd Atwell and son Lloyd Jr., Lake Villa.
loose clipping, source unknown undated
OBITUARY.
Ezekiel Boylan, of Antioch.
Those now living who can look back over a long period of
forty three years of Antioch's history may possibly
remember a boy of ten, who came to this township, homeless
and without friends, in search of employment, with naught
but a rugged, honest face to recommend him. It was the good
fortune of Mr. Ira R. Webb to give the strange boy a home
and remuneration for his labor. It was on the farm of Mr.
Webb that the young man secured a start in life.
Mr. Boylan was born in Ireland in 1838. But little is
known of his early childhood except that at the age of six
he came with his father's family to America, whither the
mother had already done. Before the vessel reached port the
father died and was buried at sea; the children continuing
their long journey to Chicago, where Mr. Boylan spent a
greater part of the interval until he came to Lake County.
As a boy he was industrious, honest and careful in his
resources and when he became a man these principles were
firmly fixed in his character and to them he adhered
throughout life. He never sought popularity and
consequently his biography is free from romance or
adventure. In 1868 he was married to Miss Mary Webb, and
settled upon a farm south of Antioch which he purchased
from Mr. H. R. Fairman, where he has lived continuously
since.
He was a man of fine physique, and never spared his
strength or endurance and was eminently successful in
farming to which he devoted his entire attention, never
venturing into fields of speculation where wealth could
possibly be more quickly and easily acquired.
About ten years ago he was compelled by failing health
to lay aside the "shovel and the hoe," but continued the
management of his estate and could not be persuaded to
permanently leave the home to which he had devoted so many
years of toil.
Never did disease find a more determined enemy, but day
by day and year by year it kept up an incessant
bombardment, and at last reduced the stalwart form into
almost a helpless condition. Various noted physicians and
more favorable climates were sought but all in vain; he
could not find relief and invariably returned to the care
of Dr. E. H. Ames, his lifelong friend, in whom he reposed
perfect confidence. During his long illness he was ever
cheerful and often suffered needless pain rather than
complain.
We who were closely associated with him marveled at his
genial manner, even when the clouds of discouragement were
the darkest about him. During the past decade his greatest
pleasure was derived from the visit of young people and
children to his home, their gay laughter would always bring
the old light to his eyes and the kindly smile to his lips.
Without pain, without warning, without a movement which
those who were near him could detect the day of life closed
upon him on the morning of the 28th of February. He has just
completed the dictation of a letter when the end came,
showing that his mind and memory were clear to the last
moment of his life.
The funeral was from Hickory, Sunday, March, 3rd.
He leaves a wife, a daughter, Mrs. H. H. Grimm; a son,
Ira W., and two brothers, Thomas and William, both
prosperous farmers in Iowa.
loose clipping, source unknown undated
LAMB, Helen
Mrs. Helen Lamb rests at the White and Tobin funeral home.
Services there tomorrow, 10:30 a. m., Rev. Edward A.
Voorhees officiating. Body will be shipped immediately to
Plainfield, Wis. Final rites there Saturday afternoon.
Burial Plainfield cemetery.
from the pages of the Waukegan News-Sun undated
MRS. REYNOLDS RITES MONDAY
Relatives State Facts of Her Life
That Undertaker Refused to Divulge.
Because of refusal on the part of the undertaking
establishment at 236 N. Genesee st. to give the address or
other facts concerning the death of Mrs. Mary R. Reynolds,
The New-Sun yesterday was unable to give a complete report.
It had been the wish of relatives of the deceased, however,
that the public be notified immediately, and they were in
no way responsible for failure to give the facts. From them
the following information was received today:
Mrs. Mary R. Reynolds, an ardent Congregationalist and a
former Kansas resident, who moved to Waukegan last April,
died at 12:30 a.m. yesterday at 717 North ave., where she
had lived with two daughters, Mrs. H. M. Mann and Mrs. May
Lewis. She had celebrated her eightieth birthday on April
4, but had been in poor health for some time.
Mrs. Reynolds was the widow of the late Thomas W.
Reynolds, who died in 1921. His birthplace was Hickory
Corners, where he was also raised. Mrs. Reynolds was born
in New York state, but went to Kansas as a small girl, and
for most of her life she lived in Topeka, where her eldest
daughter, Miss Mary Reynolds, survives. Besides her three
daughters she also leaves four grandchildren and two great
grandchildren.
The funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Monday at the
funeral home, 236 N. Genesee st., where Mrs. Reynolds lies
in state. The Rev. Karl Roth of Lake Forest will officiate,
and burial will be at Hickory cemetery.
loose clipping, source unknown undated
FRANK A HAUSER
Funeral services for Frank A. Hauser, 73, of Millburn, were
held Friday, July 31, in Antioch with the Rev. L. H.
Messersmith, of the Millburn Congregational Church,
officiating. Burial was in Millburn Cemetery.
Mr. Hauser died Thursday, July 29, in the Lake County
Tuberculosis Sanitorium, Waukegan.
Born Dec. 10, _____ in Waukegan, he was a lifelong
Millburn resident.
He married Louise Huff on June 22, 1918 in Waukegan.
A retired carpenter, Mr. Hauser was a member of Camp 174
of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Surviving are his widow, Louise; six sons, Frank J. and
Elmer of Waukegan, Arthur and Clarence of Kenosha, Raymond
of Menominee, Mich., and Glen of Antioch; two daughters,
Mrs. Clifford (Marie) Weber of Kenosha and Mrs. Orville
(Phyllis) Hairrell of Waukegan; one brother, Otto of
Wadsworth; three sisters, Mrs. Mamie Nauta of Kenosha and
Mrs. Jacob (Sue) Nauta and Mrs. Julia Ofenloch of Waukegan;
and 18 grandchildren.
Mr. Hauser was preceded in death by his sister,
Madeline.
