Our summer history tour is scheduled for July 20 and the first stop will be St. James Church at the Sag Bridge in Willow Springs. Saint James was founded in 1833 as a mission of the Catholic Church. Archeologists claim that Father Jacques Marquette may have offered Mass on the bluff in 1673. This location has been inhabited for centuries because of its importance as a lookout.
The present stone church is one of the oldest churches in Illinois and the existing church is the “oldest parish in northern Illinois still functioning at its original location.” It was founded in 1833. (The original church was a rough log cabin located on an Indian trail that we know as Ogden avenue.)
The stone is from a local quarry known as the Lemont-Sag. The Chicago Water Tower on Michigan Avenue and Holy Name Cathedral used stone from the same quarry. It took six long years for the people to haul enough stones to the top of the hill. “Those that did the most work were given cemetery plots closest to the church.”
“Some unique features of St. James are: the urn-topped wrought iron gates which were installed in 1914 and serve as the church entrance; the buttresses that were added to the church building in 1919 when dynamiting the Cal-Sag Channel weakened the foundation; the limestone Stations of the Cross lining the church and cemetery walkway were constructed in the 1920s and donated by parishioners in memory of deceased family members; and the historic wrought iron entrance gates to the St. James complex that were acquired from the Western Electric Hawthorne Plant in 1976 and originally fabricated in 1905.”
We are not only interested in the church but the cemetery as well. James Hunt Michie was a charter member of the Illinois Saint Andrew Society and president in 1847. He is buried at St. James along with his wife, Margaret Guthrie. Both were born in Scotland.
Their daughter, Katherine MacGregor Michie married David Francis Bremner on November 30, 1865.
For more information on the Bremner family, please read the Blog for October 27, 2010.
Wayne Rethford, President Emeritus
Illinois Saint Andrew Society
630-629-4516
History Club meeting, June 1, 2013. We will honor veterans at this meeting so if you have served please join us. John LeNoble and his daughter, Nancy Strolle, have recently taken the “Honor Flight” to Washington, D.C. John will tell us about his trip. There will also be a video showing the landing of our troops on Normandy, June 6, 1944 (D-Day).
The History Tour is scheduled for July 20. Our chartered bus will leave the Scottish Home at 10:30 a.m. First stop will be St. James church and cemetery where we will find and pay our respect to James Michie. Second stop will be at the Wheatland Presbyterian Church, established in 1848 by Scottish immigrants. We will have our lunch at the church, visit the church cemetery and hear from direct descendants of those pioneer families. Our last stop will be at the NaAuSay cemetery, 12 miles west of Plainfield. In this country cemetery is buried Thomas C. MacMillan, president in 1906 and 1907. There are always surprises along the way.
Cost $30.00 per person. To register call 708-447-5092 or my home office at 630-629-4516.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
It only took 37 years!
1889, October 19 - John Crerar, an American of Scottish descent, dies and leaves Chicago money for a library and $100,000 for a “colossal” statue of Abraham Lincoln.
1897 - Augustus Saint-Gaudens was chosen as the sculptor. Born in Dublin, his father was French and his mother was Irish.
1904 - St. Gaudens studio was destroyed by fire, including the model of the Lincoln statue. He was well known to Chicago having sculpted the General John A. Longan monument and the “standing” Lincoln statue in Lincoln park.
1903 - Stanford White visits Chicago to study the location. He was a member of the firm of McKim, Mead and White who were all Scottish Americans.
1904 - Stanford White was chosen to design the architectural settings. The statue would sit on a monolithic pedestal of pink Stony Creek granite surrounded by an excedra or semi-circular area 153 feet in diameter.
1906 - White was murdered by Harry Thaw. White and St. Gaudens were close friends.
1907 - St. Gaudens dies in Cornish, New Hampshire. Before his death he orders the statue of Lincoln to be cast in bronze. It took 12 years to complete the statue and he regarded it as his “crowning glory.”
(Before the statue could be placed in Grant Park there were legal issued to be settled “as to the right of the South Park board to use Grant Park for certain purposes,” and then there was A. Montgomery Ward, known as the “Watchdog of the Lakefront.”)
1908-1913 - The statue lay crated in the basement storerooms of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. (Some sources say it was displayed; others say it was not.)
1913 - In September it was brought back to Chicago and stored.
1914 - “Until the Federal government passes on the question of how far we may project our improvements into the lake and until we know definitely whether we are permitted to construct the proposed strips of land for Park and Boulevard purposes we can say nothing as to the site for the new Lincoln statue. The erection of the statue can’t be hurried anymore that the other lakefront matters can be hurried. It all depends on the government” and the legal actions of A. Montgomery Ward.
1915 - The statue was displayed at the San Francisco World’s Fair and returned to Chicago. It may have also been displayed in other cities but I could not find a list.
1916 - The statue was stored for ten years, covered with dust, in a shed in Washington Park.
1926 - May 31 - Statue was finally unveiled. Judge Charles S. Cutting made the principal address. “Abraham Lincoln has become a world figure. He is the symbol of law and liberty throughout the world.”
1985 - The Chicago Tribune reports that the statue was cleaned and restored. Lights were also added to the area.
Summary: The artist wanted to show the loneliness and isolation that Lincoln endured during the Civil War. His head is slightly bowed as if in deep thought. He is a gaunt figure. Two columns, each 50 feet high, rise from the ends of the excedra. It’s a wonderful work of art, just south of the Art Institute along Michigan Avenue made possible by a Scot and life member of the Illinois Saint Andrew Society.
Wayne Rethford, President Emeritus
Illinois St. Andrew’s Society
630-629-4516
Upcoming Events
History Club meeting, June 1, 2013. We will honor veterans at this meeting so if you have served please join us. John LeNoble, and his daughter, Nancy Strolle, have recently taken the “Honor Flight” to Washington, D.C. John will tell us about his trip. There will also be a video showing the landing of our troops on Normandy, June 6, 1944 (D-Day).
The History Tour is scheduled for July 20. Our chartered bus will leave the Scottish Home at 10:30 a.m. First stop will be St. James church and cemetery where we will find and pay our respect to James Michie, president of the Society in 1847. Second stop will be at the Wheatland Presbyterian Church, established in 1848 by Scottish immigrants. We will have our lunch at the church, visit the church cemetery and hear from direct descendants of those pioneer families.
Our last stop will be at the NaAuSay cemetery, 12 miles west of Plainfield. In this country cemetery is buried Thomas C. MacMillan, president in 1906 and 1907.
There are always surprises along the way.
Cost $30.00 per person. Register online, call 708-447-5092 or 630-629-4516.
1897 - Augustus Saint-Gaudens was chosen as the sculptor. Born in Dublin, his father was French and his mother was Irish.
1904 - St. Gaudens studio was destroyed by fire, including the model of the Lincoln statue. He was well known to Chicago having sculpted the General John A. Longan monument and the “standing” Lincoln statue in Lincoln park.
1903 - Stanford White visits Chicago to study the location. He was a member of the firm of McKim, Mead and White who were all Scottish Americans.
1904 - Stanford White was chosen to design the architectural settings. The statue would sit on a monolithic pedestal of pink Stony Creek granite surrounded by an excedra or semi-circular area 153 feet in diameter.
1906 - White was murdered by Harry Thaw. White and St. Gaudens were close friends.
1907 - St. Gaudens dies in Cornish, New Hampshire. Before his death he orders the statue of Lincoln to be cast in bronze. It took 12 years to complete the statue and he regarded it as his “crowning glory.”
(Before the statue could be placed in Grant Park there were legal issued to be settled “as to the right of the South Park board to use Grant Park for certain purposes,” and then there was A. Montgomery Ward, known as the “Watchdog of the Lakefront.”)
1908-1913 - The statue lay crated in the basement storerooms of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. (Some sources say it was displayed; others say it was not.)
1913 - In September it was brought back to Chicago and stored.
1914 - “Until the Federal government passes on the question of how far we may project our improvements into the lake and until we know definitely whether we are permitted to construct the proposed strips of land for Park and Boulevard purposes we can say nothing as to the site for the new Lincoln statue. The erection of the statue can’t be hurried anymore that the other lakefront matters can be hurried. It all depends on the government” and the legal actions of A. Montgomery Ward.
1915 - The statue was displayed at the San Francisco World’s Fair and returned to Chicago. It may have also been displayed in other cities but I could not find a list.
1916 - The statue was stored for ten years, covered with dust, in a shed in Washington Park.
1926 - May 31 - Statue was finally unveiled. Judge Charles S. Cutting made the principal address. “Abraham Lincoln has become a world figure. He is the symbol of law and liberty throughout the world.”
1985 - The Chicago Tribune reports that the statue was cleaned and restored. Lights were also added to the area.
Summary: The artist wanted to show the loneliness and isolation that Lincoln endured during the Civil War. His head is slightly bowed as if in deep thought. He is a gaunt figure. Two columns, each 50 feet high, rise from the ends of the excedra. It’s a wonderful work of art, just south of the Art Institute along Michigan Avenue made possible by a Scot and life member of the Illinois Saint Andrew Society.
Wayne Rethford, President Emeritus
Illinois St. Andrew’s Society
630-629-4516
Upcoming Events
History Club meeting, June 1, 2013. We will honor veterans at this meeting so if you have served please join us. John LeNoble, and his daughter, Nancy Strolle, have recently taken the “Honor Flight” to Washington, D.C. John will tell us about his trip. There will also be a video showing the landing of our troops on Normandy, June 6, 1944 (D-Day).
The History Tour is scheduled for July 20. Our chartered bus will leave the Scottish Home at 10:30 a.m. First stop will be St. James church and cemetery where we will find and pay our respect to James Michie, president of the Society in 1847. Second stop will be at the Wheatland Presbyterian Church, established in 1848 by Scottish immigrants. We will have our lunch at the church, visit the church cemetery and hear from direct descendants of those pioneer families.
Our last stop will be at the NaAuSay cemetery, 12 miles west of Plainfield. In this country cemetery is buried Thomas C. MacMillan, president in 1906 and 1907.
There are always surprises along the way.
Cost $30.00 per person. Register online, call 708-447-5092 or 630-629-4516.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Who was James McVicker and does he deserve a street name?
A number of streets in Chicago are named for Scots. McVicker Avenue is located at 6032 West and 7347 North to 6258 South. Those familiar with street numbering in Chicago will understand this designation. Who was James McVicker and does he deserve a street name?
James Hubert McVicker was born in New York City on February 14, 1822. His parents were Ulster-Scots but I don’t know their story. His father died the year he was born and the family lived in very moderate circumstances. He had little schooling. At the age of ten he was working as a printer’s apprentice and for the next five years worked in New York City. Then he moved west to St. Louis where he found work as a journeyman printer. At night he studied because his ambition was to become an actor.
In 1840, he was acting in New Orleans. He had small parts in the beginning but gradually increased his roles. By 1848, he was in Chicago at “Rice’s Theater” on Randolph Street, a small frame building. He was married now and his wife was acting on the same stage but in a different play. (His wife had been married previously) They soon leave for a tour of Europe and “find fame and fortune.” Upon returning to this country, they managed a theater in St. Louis but in 1857 moved permanently to Chicago.
In Chicago, he built the first McVicker’s Theater which was the biggest and best playhouse the city had seen. It cost $85,000 and his backers were Potter Palmer, Marshall Field and W. W. Kimball. He and his wife continued acting but his greatest service was bringing to his theater the brightest stars of the day. I could list the names but they mean very little to us now. This first playhouse was destroyed in the fire of 1871.
After the fire, he spent $200,000 to build another theater. Sarah Bernhardt on her first American tour appeared at McVicker's Theater. In 1862, John Wilkes Booth appeared in Richard III. That theater stood until 1922 when it was replaced by a structure seating 1,921. Many of you will remember that last theater. It was destroyed in 1984 when Citicorp Savings of Illinois bought the property.
The McVickers had two children, a beautiful girl named Mary and a son, Horace
They were the children of Mrs. McVicker whose married name was Mary Frances Runyan. In 1867, the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, granted a request to have the children’s name changed from Runyan to McVicker. That resolution can be found on the Internet. Harry followed in his father’s footsteps as a theater manager but in New York City.
The youngest child, Mary McVicker, became an actress at the age of ten and was very popular with the people of Chicago. When she was 18, she married Edwin Booth, the brother of the assassin. The date was June 2, 1869, four years after the death of Mr. Lincoln. I don’t know how the marriage worked out but it appears to have been one of controversy. Edwin was afflicted with Melancholia as was Robert Burns and Abraham Lincoln.
Mary McVicker Booth died November 13, 1881, of consumption at her father’s New York City residence, 13 West Fifty-third street. She had accompanied her husband as he toured Scotland, Ireland and England. Her health and mental status deteriorated and finally her parents went to Europe and brought her back to New York. The Chicago funeral was held in St. Paul’s Universalist Church on Michigan Avenue. Professor David Swing assisted in the service. Mary was a regular attendant at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. She is buried at Rosehill. (Some have written that Mary refused to be buried with members of the Booth family but I don’t know if this is true.)
James H. McVicker died March 10, 1896, and the funeral service was held at the residence, 1842 Michigan avenue. The Rev. H. W. Thomas, pastor of the People’s Church, conducted the service. (McVicker was also a great admirer of Prof. Swing and attended his Central Church for several years.) Burial was at Rosehill. His estate was valued at more than $850,000.
Mrs. McVicker appears to have died in Pasadena, California on August 25, 1904 at the age of 81. She is also buried at Rosehill. There were several attempts to break her will, estimated at $350,000, which also included a statement “that no other burial shall be made in the McVicker lot after that of the testatrix.” I assume this may have been her attempt to keep members of the Booth family from being buried in their family plot.
The McVicker plot is located on the west side of section B, Rosehill Cemetary, Chicago, Illinois. It is marked by a large, polished granite stone with the engraved name, McVicker. I visit at least four times a year and Gus Noble often visits on his walks through the cemetery.
James H. McVicker was an active and popular member of the Illinois Saint Andrew Society. He was one of the 100 chosen to accompany the body of Abraham Lincoln from Chicago to Springfield for burial. He deserves having a street named in his honor.
Wayne Rethford, President Emeritus
Illinois St. Andrew’s Society
630-629-4516
June 1, 2013 - Next History Club meeting. Watch for further announcements.
June 14-15, 2003 - Highland Games, Itasca, IL
July 20, 2013 - Summer History Tour.
James Hubert McVicker was born in New York City on February 14, 1822. His parents were Ulster-Scots but I don’t know their story. His father died the year he was born and the family lived in very moderate circumstances. He had little schooling. At the age of ten he was working as a printer’s apprentice and for the next five years worked in New York City. Then he moved west to St. Louis where he found work as a journeyman printer. At night he studied because his ambition was to become an actor.
In 1840, he was acting in New Orleans. He had small parts in the beginning but gradually increased his roles. By 1848, he was in Chicago at “Rice’s Theater” on Randolph Street, a small frame building. He was married now and his wife was acting on the same stage but in a different play. (His wife had been married previously) They soon leave for a tour of Europe and “find fame and fortune.” Upon returning to this country, they managed a theater in St. Louis but in 1857 moved permanently to Chicago.
In Chicago, he built the first McVicker’s Theater which was the biggest and best playhouse the city had seen. It cost $85,000 and his backers were Potter Palmer, Marshall Field and W. W. Kimball. He and his wife continued acting but his greatest service was bringing to his theater the brightest stars of the day. I could list the names but they mean very little to us now. This first playhouse was destroyed in the fire of 1871.
After the fire, he spent $200,000 to build another theater. Sarah Bernhardt on her first American tour appeared at McVicker's Theater. In 1862, John Wilkes Booth appeared in Richard III. That theater stood until 1922 when it was replaced by a structure seating 1,921. Many of you will remember that last theater. It was destroyed in 1984 when Citicorp Savings of Illinois bought the property.
The McVickers had two children, a beautiful girl named Mary and a son, Horace
They were the children of Mrs. McVicker whose married name was Mary Frances Runyan. In 1867, the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, granted a request to have the children’s name changed from Runyan to McVicker. That resolution can be found on the Internet. Harry followed in his father’s footsteps as a theater manager but in New York City.
The youngest child, Mary McVicker, became an actress at the age of ten and was very popular with the people of Chicago. When she was 18, she married Edwin Booth, the brother of the assassin. The date was June 2, 1869, four years after the death of Mr. Lincoln. I don’t know how the marriage worked out but it appears to have been one of controversy. Edwin was afflicted with Melancholia as was Robert Burns and Abraham Lincoln.
Mary McVicker Booth died November 13, 1881, of consumption at her father’s New York City residence, 13 West Fifty-third street. She had accompanied her husband as he toured Scotland, Ireland and England. Her health and mental status deteriorated and finally her parents went to Europe and brought her back to New York. The Chicago funeral was held in St. Paul’s Universalist Church on Michigan Avenue. Professor David Swing assisted in the service. Mary was a regular attendant at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. She is buried at Rosehill. (Some have written that Mary refused to be buried with members of the Booth family but I don’t know if this is true.)
James H. McVicker died March 10, 1896, and the funeral service was held at the residence, 1842 Michigan avenue. The Rev. H. W. Thomas, pastor of the People’s Church, conducted the service. (McVicker was also a great admirer of Prof. Swing and attended his Central Church for several years.) Burial was at Rosehill. His estate was valued at more than $850,000.
Mrs. McVicker appears to have died in Pasadena, California on August 25, 1904 at the age of 81. She is also buried at Rosehill. There were several attempts to break her will, estimated at $350,000, which also included a statement “that no other burial shall be made in the McVicker lot after that of the testatrix.” I assume this may have been her attempt to keep members of the Booth family from being buried in their family plot.
The McVicker plot is located on the west side of section B, Rosehill Cemetary, Chicago, Illinois. It is marked by a large, polished granite stone with the engraved name, McVicker. I visit at least four times a year and Gus Noble often visits on his walks through the cemetery.
James H. McVicker was an active and popular member of the Illinois Saint Andrew Society. He was one of the 100 chosen to accompany the body of Abraham Lincoln from Chicago to Springfield for burial. He deserves having a street named in his honor.
Wayne Rethford, President Emeritus
Illinois St. Andrew’s Society
630-629-4516
June 1, 2013 - Next History Club meeting. Watch for further announcements.
June 14-15, 2003 - Highland Games, Itasca, IL
July 20, 2013 - Summer History Tour.
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