East Ridge Area of Oak Ridge

Roy Bertelli (1910-2003) Block 30  GPS 39.82087N, 89.65473W

Roy Bertelli, who called himself “Mr. Accordion,” gained local fame in 1997, when he paid $30,000 to have his one-person mausoleum erected just inside the Monument Avenue entrance to Oak Ridge.

The memorial includes an engraving of Bertelli’s favorite instrument, with the words “Lifetime Dedication to the Accordion.” However, cemetery administrators refused his request to have one of his accordions cremated and interred with him.

Bertelli first heard accordion music during his senior year in high school, he told a newspaper reporter in 1998.

“Have you ever been in love? Did you ever love anybody? That’s what it was like,” he said.

More information: SangamonLink.org

Governors Guard Monument: Block 32 GPS 39.82165N, 89.65443W

The Governor’s Guard, created in 1874, was a social and ceremonial military drill society. Members would march in important public events, especially those involving Civil War veterans, until the early years of the 20th century. Its first public demonstration apparently took place at the dedication of the Lincoln Tomb Oct. 15, 1874. The Governor’s Guard was largely inactive by Aug. 4, 1925, when this monument was dedicated.

The plaques contain the names of 137 regular members and 81 honorary members (mostly public officials) of the Governor’s Guard.

The monument was paid for by Marjorie Merriweather Post, at the time probably the wealthiest woman in the U.S. She was the daughter of Guard member and Springfield native Charles W. Post, whose marketing of breakfast cereal, including Grape-Nuts and Post Toasties, reinvented the way Americans start their mornings.  

More information: SangamonLink.org

William Northcott (1854-1917) Block 32 GPS 39.82371N, 89.65476W

William Northcott was a lawyer and Illinois’ lieutenant governor from 1897 to 1905. This ornate monument, however, was built because Northcott was “head consul” of a popular fraternal order, the Modern Woodmen of America, for 13 years.

Fraternal and sororal organizations flourished around the turn of the 20th century, partly for social reasons and partly because such groups often offered inexpensive life and health insurance to their members.

The Modern Woodmen today are solely an insurance company.

More information: SangamonLink.org, Wikipedia

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Industrialists & Innovators

Georg family, Block 32 GPS 39.82261N, 89.65403W

Victor Emanuel Georg and his children documented Springfield’s history in photographs for a century. The three best-known family members were Victor Emmanuel Georg (1858-1911) and his sons Victor Emil (1884-1961) and Herbert (1893-1964). Victor Emil and Herbert Georg were nationally known entertainment photographers (Herbert’s forte was circuses). Meanwhile, sister Irma Georg Pree (1886-1964) specialized in photographing women and children. Another son of Victor Emanuel, Raymond (1900-58), managed the family photo businesses, but his artistic specialty was oil and charcoal portraiture.

Robert Carr Lanphier (1878-1939) Block 32 Lanphier-Chapin plot                               GPS 39.82336N, 89.65413W 

Robert C. Lanphier was preparing to study electric engineering when, at the suggestion of Illinois Watch Co. owner Jacob Bunn Jr., he began tinkering with an electric watt meter created by another man, Ludwig Gutmann. Lanphier’s improved version was the genesis of the Sangamo Electric Co., which replaced the watch company in its plant on 11th Street north of North Grand Avenue. Sangamo became one of Springfield’s largest employers and remained so until the Schlumberger Co., a later owner, closed the factory in 1978.

More information: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library’s digest of Sangamo Electric records; “Sangamo: A History of 50 Years,” by Robert Carr Lanphier and Benjamin Thomas (privately printed, 1949); SangamonLink.org

Weaver family: Ira A.(1871-1965), Gailard E. (1883-1942), Edna Dye (1877-1934) and Gertrude Adams Weaver (1896-1971) Block 30 GPS 39.82203N, 89.65383W  

Weaver Manufacturing, founded in Springfield in 1910 by brothers Ira and Gailard Weaver, was for a time the nation’s largest manufacturer of automobile garage equipment, such as jacks, safety test equipment, hydraulic presses and other items.

Ira “I.A.” Weaver was the creative genius of the brothers. With more than 100 patents, he was known as “the Edison of the automotive industry.” Gailard “G.E.” Weaver handled marketing, with an emphasis on automotive safety inspections.

The Weavers sold the business to the Dura Corp. in 1959. The local plant closed in 1973.

Edna Dye Weaver, I.A. Weaver’s first wife, was one of the first women – probably the first in Springfield – to own a new-car dealership (she sold Chryslers). And Gertrude Adams Weaver, I.A.’s second wife, was a powerhouse charity fundraiser. Among many other initiatives, Gertrude Weaver in 1953 became the first woman to head Springfield’s Community Chest drive.

More information: Findagrave.com, SangamonLink.org

Historians

Oliver R. Barrett (1873-1950): Block 32 GPS 39.82266N, 89.65466W

Oliver Barrett, born in Jacksonville, became an autograph collector in his teens and eventually amassed one of the world’s most important collections of Abraham Lincoln documents. Included was the earliest known example of Lincoln’s handwriting, which was on a page of his arithmetic book: “Abraham Lincoln, his hand and pen, he will be good but God knows when.” (The document is now owned by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.)

More information: Wikipedia; “Lincoln Collector: The Story of Oliver R. Barrett’s Great Private Collections” (book) by Carl Sandburg, 1949

Farrell Gay (1933-2023) Block 33 GPS 39.82085N, 89.65417W

Farrell “Dutch” Gay, who made his fortune as a produce broker, helped preserve the Elijah Iles House, one of Springfield’s oldest homes, and founded the Farrell and Ann Gay Museum of Springfield History, housed in the Iles House basement. Gay also collected Illinois Watches, famed railroad watches produced in Springfield from the 1870s until the late 1920s.

More information: State Journal-Register article by Pete Sherman, May 5, 2009.

Sally Bunn Schanbacher (1924-2002) Block 32 GPS 39.82231N, 89.65417W 2

Sally Bunn Schanbacher for decades led efforts to highlight and preserve the history of Sangamon County. She was a director of the Abraham Lincoln Association, innovator of the sound and light show at the Old State Capitol, trustee of the Executive Mansion Committee, co-chair of the 1976 Bi-Centennial Commission, trustee of the Illinois State Historical Library, and chair of the Springfield Historical Sites Commission when the Lincoln Home was designated a National Historic Site. Her efforts won her the Copley First Citizen award in 1982.

More information: State Journal Register First Citizen announcement, October 1982

Benjamin P. Thomas (1902-1956) Block 32, Lot 49 GPS 39.82277N, 89.65453W

Benjamin Thomas’s “Abraham Lincoln,” published in 1952, was for decades recognized as the definitive one-volume biography of the 16th president.  Thomas’s other books included “Lincoln’s New Salem,” Portrait for Posterity,” and “Three Years with Grant.” Thomas also was secretary of the Abraham Lincoln Association.

Fittingly, Thomas’s grave has a view of the Lincoln Tomb.

More information: Wikipedia

Pioneers

The families of three of Sangamon County’s earliest and most prominent European settlers are buried in expansive plots in Block 34.

William (1787-1859) and Margaret Carpenter (1803-1883) and family; Block 34, Carpenter Ground              GPS 39.82357N, 89.65407W

The Carpenters, who emigrated to Sangamon County in 1820, originally operated a ferry and stagecoach stop and later a mill on the Sangamon River north of Springfield. They moved to Springfield in 1828. The Carpenters had extensive land holdings, including what today are major parts of Lincoln Park just east of Oak Ridge Cemetery and Carpenter Park, near the site of their ferry and mill. William, Margaret and a dozen family members are buried in Carpenter Ground.

More information: History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, John Carroll Power and Mrs. S.A. Power (1876), p. 186

 Archer Herndon (1795-1867) and the Herndon family Block 34, Herndon Grounds GPS 39.82373N, 89.65453W 

Archer Herndon was one of the “Long Nine,” nine tall legislators (also including Abraham Lincoln) whose efforts brought the state capital to Springfield. About 30 members of the Herndon family lie in Herndon Grounds. (One who does not, however, is William Herndon, a son of Archer Herndon who was Lincoln’s last law partner and perhaps his most important biographer; he is buried in Block 14).

More information: History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, John Carroll Power and Mrs. S.A. Power (1876), p. 372

Activists

Buff Carmichael (1947-2021): Block 33 GPS 39.82235N, 89.65379W

Buff Carmichael was the public face of the Prairie Flame, a newspaper that reported on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues in central Illinois from 1996 to 2008.  Carmichael co-published the paper with his husband, Jerry Bowman (1955-2017). Carmichael also was one of the driving forces behind construction of Springfield’s AIDS memorial in nearby Lincoln Park. Carmichael and Bowman are buried together.

More information: Warriorswire.usatoday.com (Jan. 24, 2021)

Harriet Knudson (1883-1969): Block 33 GPS 39.82194N, 89.65410W

Harriett Knudson was the driving force behind creation of the 63-acre Lincoln Memorial Garden and Nature Center at Lake Springfield. The garden was designed by famous landscape architect Jens Jensen. She also organized the Springfield Civic Garden Club and started the Springfield PTA Council.

More information: Lincoln Memorial Garden and Nature Center website, “History” page; SangamonLink.org

Rev. Rudolph Shoultz (1918-2000): Block 32 GPS 39.82280N, 89.65480W

Rev. Rudolph Shoultz was pastor of Springfield’s Union Baptist Church for 32 years, from 1968, when he and his wife Vera came to Springfield, until he died in 2000. He also was a forceful advocate for Springfield’s Black community the entire time.

“How can I stand before my congregation and preach Jesus Christ,” he would say, “and not show them how Jesus will provide for them with a job and something on the table?”

More information: Union Baptist Church website (ubc1405.org), “History” tab; portrayal of Vera Shoultz by Willa Barger, 2023 “Echoes of Yesteryear” presentations, Sangamon County Historical Society

Others

U.S. Sen. Shelby Cullom (1829-1914): Block 31 39.82372N, 89.65466W

Shelby Moore Cullom won his first election, as Springfield city attorney, by four votes in 1855. But he went on to become one of the most successful politicians in Illinois history. He was elected four times to the Illinois House – serving twice as House speaker – three times to the U.S. House, two times as governor, and five times to the U.S. Senate. (One of his political advantages may have been a striking resemblance to Abraham Lincoln.)

As a lawmaker, Cullom is best known for leading the effort to create the Interstate Commerce Commission, aimed at forcing railroads to treat their customers equitably. He also served on the commission to establish laws for the new territory of Hawaii, and legislation he sponsored forced the Church of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) to disavow polygamy.

More information: Wikipedia; SangamonLink.org

 Dr. Don Deal (1879-1952): Block 33 GPS 39.82201N, 89.65425W  

Dr. Don Deal (1879-1952) performed Sangamon County’s first blood transfusion in 1914. The patient was Julia Matthews Harney, a farm wife from Middletown, who came to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield for removal of a tumor. The blood was transfused directly from Harney’s husband, Henry, to Julia. The operation was a success … although Henry Harney fainted during the process.

Deal also was very active in medical, community and social circles in Springfield. In a speech to the Rotary Club in 1923, he correctly predicted Springfield’s reinvention as a medical center.

More information: SangamonLink.org

Homer Mountz (1899-1989): Block 33 GPS 39.82230N, 89.65372W 

Homer Mountz was the last director of the Illinois Watch Company Band, which played for parades, concerts and many events for more than 50 years in Springfield. The Watch Company Band, under Mountz’s direction, merged with the Capitol Band in 1933 to form the Springfield Municipal Band, with Mountz as its first director.  Mountz conducted Municipal Band concerts until 1979.

More information: Findagrave.com