John Lewis Loring Barlett Born on Sept. 14, 1856, in Edinburgh, Indiana, John Mooney Lewis would become a nationwide casket seller. John was raised in Indiana and remained there until his early 20s. According to his death announcement in the Quincy Whig, John worked in the sale and manufacturing of coffins with the Cincinnati Coffin... Continue Reading →
Illinois History Post-World War II: Veterans, Suburbia, and Politics
In the years after World War II, the United States was rocked by immense change. Every aspect of society was altered in some way. There was no one area, geographically or other, left untouched. Illinois, like many other states, both fought against and accepted change after World War II. Map of Illinois One of the... Continue Reading →
Quincy Inventors, Pt. 3
Arthur Pitney Did you know the “father of the postage meter” was born in Quincy, Illinois? Arthur Pitney was born in Quincy in 1871. When he was 19 years old, he moved to Chicago. He attended the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, where he spent days viewing the mechanical inventions exhibited. When he returned to... Continue Reading →
A “Post-Pandemic” Takeaway: A Public Historian Working in the Museum Sector
It’s been over two years since the COVID-19 pandemic uprooted humanity and created a world of “unprecedented times”. I’m, like many others, still struggling to find a balance between this new world and the past–or what we know and understand to be normal. In order to keep moving along, I’ve had to find different ways... Continue Reading →
A Brief History of the Woodland Home and its Architecture
Born out of the 1850 cholera epidemic, Woodland Home has been functioning since 1853, carrying out its mission “ … to provide comfort, care and shelter to the homeless, the neglected, the orphaned, the abused.” The building known as Woodland Home, which Quanada currently occupies, has been at the corner of 27th and Maine Streets... Continue Reading →
Quincy Inventors, Pt. 2
Joseph M. Harrop–Pharmacist Owner and Inventor Fence-making Machine, 1884 Joseph Harrop was born in Pennsylvania in September 1847. He worked as a baker before enlisting in the US Army in May 1870. By the following year, he had deserted the Army. Sometime after he left the Army, he moved to Quincy and married Harriot Webb. ... Continue Reading →
Quincy Inventors, Pt. 1
Charles R. S. Curtis, Fire Escape Patent Thanks to a Quincyian we have improved fire escapes! Did you know that Charles R. S. Curtis of Quincy is credited with creating a mechanical fire escape? On May 6, 1884, Charles filed a patent for “a new and useful improvement in Fire-Escapes”. His objective was to provide... Continue Reading →
Mary Kenney O’Sullivan: Labor Activist Hailing from Hannibal, Missouri
Mary Kenney O’Sullivan was born in Hannibal, Missouri on January 8, 1864, to Irish immigrants. She became an American labor leader and reformer who devoted her life to improving the working conditions for industrial factory workers by creating and organizing labor unions. She achieved only a fourth-grade education but apprenticed as a dressmaker. She made... Continue Reading →
John Quidor: A Literary Artist in Quincy
John Quidor was born in Tappan, New York, on January 26, 1801. He was the third son of Peter and Maria (Smith). At the age of 10, he moved with his parents to New York City. Historians know little about his childhood and education; however, Quidor was apprenticed to a successful portrait painter, John W.... Continue Reading →
The Finale: Part Three of the 1920s Book Review Series #8
Challenging all of the other scholars in this series, J. Stanley Lemons specifically focuses on the role of social feminism in the 1920s. The Woman Citizen: Social Feminism in the 1920s (1973) explores the role women activists had during a turbulent period of history. Lemons state he seeks to reexamine the 1920s and argues that... Continue Reading →