The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
This month we’re featuring two new collections from two Illinois public libraries: Chrisman Public Library and Chester Public Library. Both collections were digitized by the Illinois Heartland Library System’s Mobile Memory Lab, which works with Illinois Libraries to digitize local history and genealogy materials from residents of the library’s town and the surrounding areas.
Here are a few of our favorite items from these new collections:
T. B. Shoaff in racing car. July 4, 1917. Chrisman Public Library. Mobile Memory Lab: Chrisman Public Library. Courtesy of the Chrisman Public Library.Overland 10 on race track, Indy 500. [n. d.] Chrisman Public Library. Mobile Memory Lab: Chrisman Public Library. Courtesy of the Chrisman Public Library.Shakespeare Club, Chrisman, Illinois, January 1948. January 1948. Chrisman Public Library. Mobile Memory Lab: Chrisman Public Library. Courtesy of the Chrisman Public Library.
Tecumsel Literary and Library Association shares certificate, Edith Matey. [n. d.] Chester Public Library. Mobile Memory Lab: Chester Public Library. Courtesy of the Chester Public Library.Family Bible belonging to Minnie Adams [2]. [n. d.] Chester Public Library. Mobile Memory Lab: Chester Public Library. Courtesy of the Chester Public Library.
The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
This month we’re featuring a new collection that contains historic correspondence and relate materials during the US Civil War: George Durfee Correspondence and Papers (1861–1901)from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
Born in Michigan, George S. Durfee (1840–1907) was living in Decatur, Illinois, when he joined Company A, 8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry in 1861. Durfee’s correspondence describes his experience in camp life and campaigns and battles, including Fort Donelson, Vicksburg, and the occupation of Texas, as he rose through the ranks to captain while serving with the unit until 1866. Though most of the correspondence is between Durfee and his uncle, there are also letters from Durfee’s mother and sister. After the war, Durfee returned to Decatur and in 1867 married Sally Powers. In 1901, Illinois Governor Richard Yates (1860–1936) appointed Durfee a member of the Illinois-Vicksburg Military Park Commission, charged with marking the positions of Illinois troops at the Siege of Vicksburg. The Commission’s report, Illinois at Vicksburg, was published in 1907 after the dedication of the Illinois Memorial in 1906 at Vicksburg National Military Park, to commemorate the Illinois soldiers who fought and died there during the Vicksburg campaign.
Here are a few of our favorite items from this new collection that tell the story of different battles and campaigns during the American Civil War, as well as the age-old problem of “why haven’t you written me back yet?”:
Letter from Margaret Durfee [Mother] (Decatur) to George S. Durfee, June 7, 1861 [page 1]. June 7, 1861. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Durfee, George. Correspondence and Papers, 1861-1901. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Letter from George S. Durfee (Cairo, Illinois) to H. B. Durfee [Uncle] (Decatur, Illinois), October 16, 1861 [page 1]. October 16, 1861. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Durfee, George. Correspondence and Papers, 1861-1901. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Letter from Jennie E. Durfee [sister] (Decatur, Illinois) to George S. Durfee, January 18, 1863 [page 1]. January 18, 1863. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Durfee, George. Correspondence and Papers, 1861-1901. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Letter from H. B. Durfee (Decatur, Illinois) to George S. Durfee (Vicksburgh, Mississippi), November 15, 1863 [page 1]. November 15, 1863. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Durfee, George. Correspondence and Papers, 1861-1901. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Letter from George S. Durfee (Provast Marshall’s Office, Marshall, Texas) to H. B. Durfee [Uncle] (Decatur, Illinois), June 21, 1865 [page 1]. June 21, 1865. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Durfee, George. Correspondence and Papers, 1861-1901. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Letter from Illinois Vicksburg Commission to George S. Durfee, November 14, 1901 [page 1, certificate]. November 14, 1901. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Durfee, George. Correspondence and Papers, 1861-1901. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
This month, in honor of Memorial Day, we’re featuring a new collection full of materials related to university courses and activities during World War I: the Evarts B. Greene World War I Papers, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. An American historian, Evarts B. Greene (1870–1947) was a professor and administrator at the University of Illinois from 1894 through 1923, when he was appointed the first De Witt Clinton professor of history at Columbia University until his retirement in 1939. During his tenure as head of the History Department at the University of Illinois, Greene served as chair of several committees related to campus activities during World War I. The items in this collection include correspondence and related materials to the “War Issues” course, an academic class required by the War Department for all university students enrolled in the Student Army Training Corps.
Here are a few of our favorite items from this new collection that tell the history of the “War Issues” course:
Letter from Evarts B. Greene (Urbana, Illinois) to Louis Pelzer (Iowa City, Iowa), October 23, 1918 [front]. October 23, 1918. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Evarts B. Greene, World War I papers, 1916-1920. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Preface of the University of Illinois’s Course on the Issues of the War, undated [page 1]. [n. d.] University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Evarts B. Greene, World War I papers, 1916-1920. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Letter from W. Trelease to Evarts B. Greene, October 10, 1918 [front]. October 10, 1918. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Evarts B. Greene, World War I papers, 1916-1920. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Letter from James H. Tufts (Chicago, Illinois) to Evarts B. Greene (Urbana, Illinois), November 29, 1918 [front]. November 29, 1918. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Evarts B. Greene, World War I papers, 1916-1920. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
In celebration of Earth Day, this month we’re featuring a new collection of watercolor illustrations: the Illustrations for The Fishes of Illinois, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. The Fishes of Illinois (first edition 1908, second edition 1919) was the culmination of decades of work led by naturalist Stephen A. Forbes, chief of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History (now the Illinois Natural History Survey). Co-authored with ichthyologist Robert Earl Richardson, Forbes intended to create a reliable guide for the fish species present in Illinois, including color illustrations alongside descriptions of each species’ anatomy and appearance, habitat and distribution through Illinois, and lifecycle and taxonomy as known at the time. In the introduction, Forbes attributes the gorgeous illustrations to Lydia M. (Hart) Greene and Charlotte M. Pinkerton, whose signatures can be seen on some of the illustrations in the digital collection.
Here are a few of our favorite items from this new collection:
Etheostoma coeruleum. [n. d.] Created by Charlotte M. Pinkerton. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Illustrations for The Fishes of Illinois. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Charlotte M. Pinkerton’s Notropis whipplii. Created by Charlotte M. Pinkerton. 1903. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Illustrations for The Fishes of Illinois. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
Ameiurus nebulosus. [n. d.] University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Illustrations for The Fishes of Illinois. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Lydia M. Hart’s Ictiobus bubalus. Created by Lydia M. (Hart) Green. [n. d.] University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Illustrations for The Fishes of Illinois. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Lampetra wilderi. [n. d.] Created by Charlotte M. Pinkerton. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Illustrations for The Fishes of Illinois. Courtesy of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
This month we’re featuring a new collection full of architectural drawings and related materials: the Frederick Wainwright Perkins Papers, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. A Chicagoan architect, Frederick Wainwright Perkins (1866–1928) designed residences and buildings throughout the Midwest, including Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Among other drawings and photographs, this digital collection includes architectural drawings for the Charles H. Schweppe residence, commissioned in the early 20th Century by Marshall Field & Co. Chairman John G. Shedd (also known for gifting the funds to create the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago) as a wedding present for his daughter Laura and her husband Charles Schweppe.
Here are a few of our favorite items from this new collection:
Charles H. Schweppe Residence – South Elevation, January 28, 1915. January 28, 1915. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Frederick Wainwright Perkins Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
J. H. Barker Residence – Plan of Attic, Sections, and Entrance Porch, circa 1905 [front]. 1905. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Frederick Wainwright Perkins Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.A Group of Buildings for Charles H. Schweppe – First Floor Plan, January 7, 1914 [front]. January 7, 1914. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Frederick Wainwright Perkins Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
Photograph of three people outside of Cudahy residence, under construction, 1904. 1904. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Frederick Wainwright Perkins Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Cellar Plan, circa 1896. 1896. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Frederick Wainwright Perkins Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
This month we’re featuring two new collections from Illinois State University (ISU), both of which explore circus history in Illinois: the P. T. Barnum Letters and Ephemera collection and the Ward Family Postcards collection. American showman Phineas Taylor “P. T.” Barnum (1810–1891) is probably best known for co-founding the three-ring Barnum & Bailey Circus in the late nineteenth century. The documents in this collection, which includes letters from Barnum himself, relate to Barnum’s circuses, business ventures, and Barnum’s purchase and disposition of Villa Park, approximately 760 acres of land in what is now metropolitan Denver, Colorado. The Ward Family Postcards collection features postcards sent by the Flying Wards, an aerial act that played in circuses and other venues in the early twentieth century, to their family back home as they toured through North America and Europe, offering insight into the developing trapeze act as well as historic postcards of different American cities.
Here are a few of our favorite items from these two new collections:
Das Völkerschlachtdenkmal as der Vogelschau [back]. August 3, 1913. Published by Louis Glaser. Illinois State University. Ward Family Postcards. Courtesy of Illinois State University.Oregon Lumber Co., Baker City, Oregon [front]. circa 1906-1918. Published by W. A. Baird. Illinois State University. Ward Family Postcards. Courtesy of Illinois State University.Hotel Tilden Hall, Bloomington, Illinois [front]. March 31, 1938. Published by Curt Teich & Co. Illinois State University. Ward Family Postcards. Courtesy of Illinois State University.P.T. Barnum letter to George S. Bowen, October 16, 1875 [page 1]. October 16, 1875. Illinois State University. P. T. Barnum Letters and Ephemera. Courtesy of Illinois State University.P.T. Barnum letter to Sol Smith, January 21, 1851 [page 1]. January 21, 1851. Illinois State University. P. T. Barnum Letters and Ephemera. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
This month we’re featuring four new collections from four Illinois public libraries: Galesburg Public Library, Hayner Public Library, Sparta Public Library, and Williamsville Public Library & Museum. All four collections were digitized by the Illinois Heartland Library System’s Mobile Memory Lab, which works with Illinois Libraries to digitize local history and genealogy materials.
Here are a few of our favorite items from these four new collections:
Flood of 1903, Chester, Ill. June 1903. Sparta Public Library. Mobile Memory Lab: Sparta Public Library. Courtesy of Sparta Public Library.Container for storing hair. [n. d.] Williamsville Public Library & Museum. Mobile Memory Lab: Williamsville Public Library & Museum. Courtesy of Williamsville Public Library & Museum.Right to make and sell American Bee Hives, E. B. Main. November 24, 1863. Galesburg Public Library. Mobile Memory Lab: Galesburg Public Library. Courtesy of Galesburg Public Library.Betty Young Typewriting Certificate. November 23, 1948. Hayner Public Library. Mobile Memory Lab: Hayner Public Library. Courtesy of Hayner Public Library.
As the weather starts to warm up and the school semester ends, we here at the IDHH are ready to celebrate summer and summer vacations! Whether you’re headed outside for some fun in the sun and sport, off to the beach for the sand and waves, or just remaining at home for a staycation, we hope you can take some time to rest and relax before the “Sirius-ly Scorching Dog Days of Summer” arrive.
Here are a few of our favorite items related to summer vacations:
Vacation Days, Lake Bluff, Ill. m86.1.1481. August 7, 1913. Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County. Lake County History in Postcards. Courtesy of Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County.High School kids on vacation, Bloomington-Normal, IL 1949. July 7, 1949. Created by Stanley Lantz. McLean County Museum of History. Pantagraph Negative Collection, 1946 – 1949. Courtesy of McLean County Museum of History.Vacation days, Chicago [front]. July 19, 1909. Imprint by V.O. Hammon (Chicago, Ill.). Eastern Illinois University. Booth Library Postcard Collection. Courtesy of Eastern Illinois University.High School kids on vacation, Bloomington-Normal, IL 1949. July 7, 1949. Created by Stanley Lantz. McLean County Museum of History. Pantagraph Negative Collection, 1946 – 1949. Courtesy of McLean County Museum of History.Me travel? …not this summer. Vacation at home. 1945. Created by Albert Dorne (1904-1965). Illinois State University. World War II-Era Posters and Propaganda. Courtesy of Illinois State University.Sublimating vacation; Pantagraph photostory; vacations during wartime, Bloomington, IL, 1944. July 19, 1944. Created by Gladys Mittelbrusher. McLean County Museum of History. Pantagraph Negative Collection, 1940-1944. Courtesy of McLean County Museum of History.
The IDHH contains some content that may be harmful or difficult to view. Our cultural heritage partners collect materials from history, as well as artifacts from many cultures and time periods, to preserve and make available the historical record. Please view the Digital Public Library of America’s (DPLA) Statement on Potentially Harmful Content for further information.
In recognition of Black History Month, the IDHH would like to revisit previous years’ posts, which feature people like Mayor Harold Washington and Timuel D. Black, Jr., events like the Million Man March, and communities such as Maxwell Street Market and the African American student population at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
This month we’re featuring two new collections from Illinois State University (ISU), both of which explore the history of ISU: the Charles E. Hovey Presidential Papers collection and the Illinois State University Historical Photos collection. Charles Edward Hovey (1827–1897) was the first President of ISU, then known as Illinois State Normal University, a state teacher’s college and the first public university in Illinois; this collection features letters written by and about Hovey, as well as other foundational documents to the University and family photographs. The Historical Photos collection features digitized photographs that document the history of ISU, from its founding in 1857 to its modern activities in the 2020s.
Here are a few of our favorite items from these two new collections:
Class of 1860, Illinois State Normal University. 1860. Created by Staford Engraving Company. Illinois State University. Illinois State University Historical Photos. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
Library card catalog, North Hall, Illinois State Normal University. c. 1914-1920. Illinois State University. Illinois State University Historical Photos. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
Gymnasium (Cook Hall), Illinois State Normal University. Created by Illinois State University Photographic Services. Illinois State University. Illinois State University Historical Photos. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
Photograph of Letter to Edwin C. Hewett, 1858. 1858. Created by Charles E. Hovey. Illinois State University. Charles E. Hovey Presidential Papers. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
E.W. Bakewell, Esq, 1883-04-09 [page 1]. April 9, 1883. Created by Charles E. Hovey. Illinois State University. Charles E. Hovey Presidential Papers. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
