Person Page

     Edwin Weston Phillips was born on 15 April 1883 in Pontiac, Oakland Co., Michigan.^1,3,4 He was married by G. N. Jennings to Bertha Kuhn, daughter of Ernest Kuhn and Emma Hauchen, on 15 April 1903 in Pontiac, Oakland Co., Michigan.⁵ They divorced sometime between 1920 and 1929.⁶ He died on 27 May 1929 in Pontiac, Oakland Co., Michigan, at age 46 from double pneumonia.² He was buried on 29 May 1929 at Perry Mount Park Cemetery in Pontiac, Oakland Co., Michigan.²
     In 1900, at age 17, Edwin Weston Phillips was working as a farm laborer in the home of Israel Beattie and his family in West Bloomfield Twp., Oakland Co., Michigan.⁴
     In 1910 he and his wife Bertha were living at 75 Huron Street in Pontiac, Oakland Co., Michigan.⁷ They moved to 113 Willow Ave. in Pontiac sometime before 12 September 1918.³ In 1920 they had two roomers, Joseph and Jennie Gilbeau, ages 46 and 47.⁸
     He was working as a wagon driver in 1910, and later as a laborer. In 1918 he was doing road work for the D. A. Slater Construction Co. in Pontiac.^7,8,2,3

     Manuel E. Wise was born on 23 August 1871 on a farm northeast of Cerro Gordo, Piatt Co., Illinois.^5,4,6 He was married first, by Rev. Troxel, to Maude Elizabeth McKinnie, daughter of William Lewis McKinnie and Eleanor Hood, in an evening ceremony at 8:00 on 27 May 1896 at the bride's home near Springfield, Sangamon Co., Illinois. The groom's parents were hosts at a reception for them on 1 June 1896.^{7,8,9,2,10,11} He married second Flora C. Fuhring, daughter of August Fuhring and Miller (?), on 26 September 1948.^4,12 He died on 26 July 1969 at age 97.⁵ He was buried at East Frantz Cemetery in Unity Twp., Piatt Co., Illinois.⁵
     In some sources, his given name is listed as Emanuel.⁵ He and his first wife Maude lived on a farm in Cerro Gordo, Piatt Co., Illinois. They often had hired help living with them, including David Pool, age 21, in 1900; Earl McClary, age 25, and (presumably) his wife Grace, age 22, in 1910; and Charles Vanaman, age 41, in 1930.^{13,14,15,16,17}
     He was the first president of the Farm Bureau in Piatt Co., serving for seven years.⁴ He also served as a school trustee, and Sunday School superintendent at the First Brethren Church.⁴ He was a member of the Masonic Lodge in Cerro Gordo for 72 years, of the Knights Templar of Decatur, and of the Springfield Shrine.⁴
     He and his second wife Flora moved to 817 N. Oakland in Decatur, Macon Co., Illinois, on 3 September 1955⁴, where they lived until at least 1966.⁴

     Maude Elizabeth McKinnie was born on 9 March 1875 in Springfield, Sangamon Co., Illinois.³ She and Manuel E. Wise, son of Jacob Wise and Elizabeth Kuns, were married in an evening ceremony at 8:00 on 27 May 1896 by Rev. Troxel at the bride's home near Springfield, Sangamon Co., Illinois. The groom's parents were hosts at a reception for them on 1 June 1896.^5,6,7,2,8,9 She died on 26 April 1947 in Cerro Gordo, Piatt Co., Illinois, at age 72.^10,11,3 She was buried at East Frantz Cemetery in Unity Twp., Piatt Co., Illinois.³
     She and her husband Manuel lived on a farm in Cerro Gordo, Piatt Co., Illinois. They often had hired help living with them, including David Pool, age 21, in 1900; Earl McClary, age 25, and (presumably) his wife Grace, age 22, in 1910; and Charles Vanaman, age 41, in 1930.^{12,13,14,15,16}

     Frederick Darlington Bowditch was born on 22 November 1859 (his death certificate says 24 November 1859) in Tarboro, Edgecombe Co., North Carolina.^3,2,5 He married Helen Louise Tryon, daughter of Harvey Seth Tryon and Anna Elizabeth Rudolph, on 12 August 1896 at the bride's home a mile west of Mahomet, Champaign Co., Illinois. The evening ceremony was performed by the bride's father, and the yard was lit with Japanese lanterns.^6,7 He died on 19 November 1920 at home in Urbana, Champaign Co., Illinois, at age 60 from a kidney and urinary tract infection.² He was buried on 22 November 1920 at Woodlawn Cemetery in Urbana, Champaign Co., Illinois.²
     His middle name comes from Sallie Darlington, a young woman from Pennsylvania who responded to an 1854 New York Daily Times ad looking for an organist for a church in "a pleasant Southern town" (Tarboro). Sallie lived with his parents during the winters of 1854-55 and 1855-56 and became close to his mother Elizabeth.^8,9,10
     In the spring of 1861, when he was less than two years old, his parents moved from Tarboro to the mountains of Yancey Co., North Carolina, where he grew up.¹¹ His first formal education was at age 16, when he attended a Presbyterian school in Burnsville, Yancey Co., North Carolina.¹² To pay for his schooling he worked in a store. He liked it, but thought that it was "very dirty work handling meat, flour, feathers, etc."¹³
     In late 1881, at age 21, he left North Carolina for the west, perhaps heading for Colorado. Along the way he stopped in Urbana, Illinois, where his brother Charles was then living and working on a farm. In a letter to Charles dated 2 November 1881 their mother wrote "I suppose ere this you have Fred with you. I cannot realize it! He took us all by surprise, and went off so suddenly!" He was in Swedona, Kansas, in December 1882, but soon headed back east to Urbana. Charles eventually returned to North Carolina, and Fred took over his job on the farm.^14,15
     Determined to get an education, he started at Urbana High School in 1883, at age 23, and graduated on 24 May 1884. There were twelve in his graduating class, and each gave a speech. His was titled "Our Way Leads to Rome." In 1888 he graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana in a class of 55. In the yearbook "The Sophograph" he was described as "Formal in apparel; in gait and countenance like a grandfather."¹⁶
     Around 1884 his parents, due to their failing health, began dividing their property in Yancey Co. among their children, and on 4 October 1885 he and his brother Charles jointly received 1130 acres. His siblings Georgiana, John, and Joseph also received shares.¹⁷ On 20 October 1885 he and his siblings also entered into an agreement to pay their brother Nathaniel, who hadn't been heard from since 1877, $200 each should he ever return.¹⁸ On 17 August 1889 he and Charles divided their land, with Fred taking 900 acres of mountain land, and Charles taking 230 acres that included a house and all the cleared land.¹⁹
     He began his teaching career in the fall of 1888 in Urbana.¹⁶ After about three years he moved to Morristown, Hamblen Co., Tennessee, where he had more than 80 students, and where he thought chances for advancement were better.²⁰ He soon moved back to Illinois, however, and became school superintendent in Mahomet in 1894.¹⁶ In August 1895 he was granted a lifetime State Teachers Certificate after passing the required examinations.²¹
     He and his future wife Helen Louise Tryon met in Mahomet about 1895, when he was 35 and she was 19. He asked her to marry him on their second date, but she refused. He persisted, and they became engaged a year later.²²
     Immediately after their marriage they moved into a house at 504 Vine St. in Urbana that he had purchased for $1200, with a $400 down payment.^23,24 He was then teaching math at Urbana High School, earning just $50 per month. He supplemented his income by working in the office of the county superintendent of schools on Saturdays for 20¢ an hour, and by tutoring college students in the evenings. Later he also served as principal at various schools in the Urbana area.²⁵
     He and Helen spent the summer of 1897 at her parents' farm in Mahomet. Helen's father told them they could keep half the proceeds from the sale of fruit grown on the farm, provided they found a buyer, and picked and delivered the fruit. Helen was several months pregnant with their first child at the time, and Fred "spent all summer picking strawberries, currants, cherries, gooseberries, blackberries, and peaches." Helen later wrote that "One summer of this was enough for him," and that he later started a summer school in Urbana that paid quite well. For a couple of years, they also received $25 a month from a mica mine on Fred's property in North Carolina.²³
     In July 1900 the family moved into "a little green house" at 504 South Race St. in Urbana that they bought from Eddy May McDonald for $1500.^26,27 Eventually they built a new house on the property, renting a house on the south side of Urbana while it was being built. Fred lived in the Race St. house the rest of his life.^28,29
     In 1902 his nephew Roy Bowditch left North Carolina and came to live with him in Urbana and go to school.³⁰
     He and four others ran for the 1902 Republican nomination for Champaign County superintendent of schools. At the county convention in May he led after the first ballot with 46 votes (out of 166), with J. G. Mosier second. A majority was required for the nomination, however, and after the 23rd ballot Mosier was nominated with 90 votes, with Charles H. Watts finishing second with 76.³¹ Mosier later declined the nomination, however, and the Republican Central Committee met in Champaign on 7 July 1902 to choose a new candidate. According to a newspaper article Fred was again a strong candidate, but the nomination went to Watts on the 10th ballot.³² Because the election had made him well-known in Champaign Co., he was offered a job as superintendent of schools in Homer at a salary of $90 per month. He preferred staying in Urbana, however, and the local school board rewarded him by raising his teacher's salary to $90 per month, the highest of any teacher in Urbana at that time.³³
     On 11 June 1904, after his mother Elizabeth's death, John H. Bowditch and Mary (Bowditch) Hall, children of his brother Nathaniel, filed a complaint with the Superior Court of Yancey Co. asking for their share of his parents' estate.³⁴ An amendment to the complaint, filed on 3 August 1905, asked that the earlier deeds dividing the estate among between him and his siblings be declared invalid, on the grounds that (1) Elizabeth had "became so diseased, enfeebled and unsound" that she was sent to the State Hospital at Morganton; (2) after treatment she was released on probation to her daughter Georgiana; and (3) Georgiana used her undue power and control to unjustly influence Elizabeth into executing the various deeds of land to her children.³⁵
     The court agreed, and declared that the deeds were null and void. Commissioners were appointed by the court to repartition the land, and delivered their final report on 15 March 1907. Various amounts were taken from the tracts originally deeded to Frederick and his siblings, totaling 395 acres, and awarded to John and Mary, with 172 acres coming from Frederick's share.^36,37
     On 22 September 1908 he and his wife Helen sold their property in Yancey Co., then totaling 728 acres, to James L. Hyatt for $10,000 (around $14 an acre). About six years earlier (when the total was 900 acres, before the repartitioning) they had been offered $2500, but turned it down.^38,39 They then bought a 160-acre farm in Gratiot Co., Michigan, paying $65 an acre, where the family vacationed each summer.⁴⁰
     On 28 October 1908 he helped his brother Charles purchase their sister Georgiana's share of the family land in Yancey Co. (258 acres after the repartitioning) for $5000, mortgaging his farm in Michigan to obtain the money, and became a joint owner.^41,42 He sold his interest in the land to Charles on 30 March 1917 for $3500.⁴³
     He retired from teaching in 1916 with a pension from the Illinois state teachers pension and retirement fund of $400/year.⁴⁴ Late in his life he served as an alderman in Urbana, and was asked to run for mayor, but refused.⁴⁵ He was also very active in managing and improving their farm in Michigan.³
     He died intestate, and his wife Helen was appointed administrator of his estate. She received a "widow's award" of $500, plus 1/3 of the estate after expenses, and each of the four children received 1/6 of the estate. With his children Frederick and Harvey having previously received their shares, the value remaining was $1283.31, with $641.65 going to Helen, and $320.83 each to his children Lawrence and Robert. Since Lawrence and Robert were minors, their shares were paid to Helen.⁴⁶

     Helen Louise Tryon was born on 9 February 1876 in Mahomet, Champaign Co., Illinois.^3,6 She married Frederick Darlington Bowditch, son of Joseph Henry Bowditch and Elizabeth Blanchard Abbot, on 12 August 1896 at the bride's home a mile west of Mahomet, Champaign Co., Illinois. The evening ceremony was performed by the bride's father, and the yard was lit with Japanese lanterns.^6,7 She died on 7 December 1971 at Leisure Manor in St. Petersburg, Pinellas Co., Florida, at age 95.³ She was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Urbana, Champaign Co., Illinois.³
     Because their father was the minister, as children Helen and her brother William were not allowed to do many things other children did. They couldn't play cards, or even look at them. They couldn't attend the circus or any other kind of show, go roller skating at a public rink, or go to parties. She later wrote, though, that she had "no remembrance of envy or unhappiness because of this." She does remember the simple pleasures of that time, such as ice skating, sledding, picnics, and singing around the organ. Her young life seemed "happy and serene within a home filled with love and contentment."⁸
     After the death of her mother's sister Francis in 1883, her cousins Phoebe, Alice, and Preston came to live with her family in Illinois.⁹ She and Alice were close in age and "like sisters," and were "together constantly."¹⁰ Alice's sister Phoebe died from tuberculosis in June 1888, and Alice developed the same disease in late 1889. The family moved to Lawtey, Bradford Co., Florida, about December 1889, hoping the warmer climate would improve her health.^11,12 They all grew homesick, however, and Alice did not get any better, so they soon returned home to Mahomet, Champaign Co., Illinois. Alice died there about a year later.^{11,13,14,15,16,17} Long after the deaths of Phebe and Alice, Helen wrote "I have often thought through the years, how different my life might have been had they lived and we could have had contact with each other through the years. A great deal went out of my life when they were taken."¹⁰
     Her first date was at age 17, with Walter S. Ware. The invitation came in the mail, and they went to the Methodist Church to hear a missionary talk about her work in India. They dated for about two years. He eventually asked her to marry him, but only if she would convert to his Baptist religion. She couldn't do that, however, and turned him down.¹⁸
     By that time she had also met her future husband Frederick Darlington Bowditch. He asked her to marry him on their second date, but she refused. He persisted, and they became engaged a year later.¹⁹
     Immediately after their marriage she and Frederick moved into a house at 504 Vine St. in Urbana, Champaign Co., Illinois, that Frederick had purchased for $1200, with a $400 down payment.^20,21
     They spent the summer of 1897 at her parents' farm in Mahomet. Helen's father told them they could keep half the proceeds from the sale of fruit grown on the farm, provided they found a buyer, and picked and delivered the fruit. Helen was several months pregnant with their first child at the time, and Fred "spent all summer picking strawberries, currants, cherries, gooseberries, blackberries, and peaches." Helen later wrote that "One summer of this was enough for him," and that he later started a summer school in Urbana that paid quite well. For a couple of years, they also received $25 a month from a mica mine on Fred's property in North Carolina.²⁰
     In July 1900 the family moved into "a little green house" at 504 South Race St. in Urbana that they bought from Eddy May McDonald for $1500.^22,23 Eventually they built a new house on the property, renting a house on the south side of Urbana while it was being built.^24,25
     On 22 September 1908 she and Fred sold their property in Yancey Co., North Carolina, then totaling 728 acres, to James L. Hyatt for $10,000 (around $14 an acre). About six years earlier (when the total was 900 acres, before the repartitioning) they had been offered $2500, but turned it down.^26,27 They then bought a 160-acre farm in Gratiot Co., Michigan, paying $65 an acre, where the family vacationed each summer.²⁸
     After her husband's death in 1920, she continued living in their house in Urbana, and is listed there in the 1930 and 1940 censuses. Her son Robert was still at home in 1930, and she also had boarders Ethel D. Hamilton (a schoolteacher), William Hamilton (age 15, probably Ethel's son), and Ernest Dauksch (age 16). Ethel was still with her in 1940, with two other boarders, Belle South (also a schoolteacher) and Ethel Cole (a nurse).^29,30
     She was active in various local clubs and church activities. She was a member of the Urbana Woman's Club and the Urbana Woman's Literary Club, serving for a time as its president.^31,32 She also served for many years as president of the Woman's Home Missionary Society of the First Methodist Church in Urbana³³, and on 29 April 1938 was elected first vice president of the Woman's Home Missionary Societies of the Champaign district.³⁴
     On 31 August 1935 she left Urbana to spend a year living in New York, probably with her son Lawrence's family in Manhasset, Nassau Co.³³
     On 30 March 1948 she sold her house in Urbana, where she had lived for nearly 50 years, to Ruth Jorgenson for $12,000. As a condition of the sale, she agreed to wallpaper the two front rooms and the stairway to the second floor.³⁵ From then until 1952 she lived with her son Robert's family in Charleston, Kanawha Co., West Virginia,³⁶ then moved to St. Petersburg, Pinellas Co., Florida.³⁷
     In her will, dated 2 February 1968, she left $500 to each of her nine grandchildren (including her son Harvey's adopted son Robert), with the remainder to be divided equally between her four sons. Her son Frederick was named executor.³⁸

     Harvey Russell Bowditch was born on 4 January 1899 in Urbana, Champaign Co., Illinois.^2,4 He married Loretta Mae Gordon, daughter of Charles Fink and Jennie Sloan, on 30 November 1920 in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois.⁵ He died on 11 January 1980 in Laguna Hills, Orange Co., California, at age 81.^6,1
     He went by his middle name Russell.⁷
     About March 1900 (when he was "a little over a year old") he was seriously ill with pneumonia.⁸
     He spent part of 1917, from at least May to September, working in Canada on an 800-acre wheat farm.^9,10 He also served briefly in the U.S. Army during World War I, enlisting on 14 October 1918 at age 19. He was discharged on 16 December 1918 after the Armistice was signed.¹¹
     After his marriage, he formally adopted his wife's son Robert from her previous marriage to Curt Gfroerer.¹²
     He graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign with a B.S. in agriculture in 1920¹³, and worked briefly for the Great Western Sugar Co. on a beet farm in Fort Collins, Larimer Co., Colorado.^14,13
     He soon gave up his career in agriculture and moved into the investment banking and insurance business, and was working as a stockbroker at the time of his daughter Patricia's birth in 1922.¹⁵ He joined Stone & Webster and Blodget (an investment and securities firm) in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, abt 1928, and left there in March 1942 to become a vice president at Empire Securities Co.¹⁶ He apparently left there after a short time, since he joined the American Automobile Insurance Co. in Chicago that same year as manager of its investment department.¹⁷ He later became a financial vice president and served as chairman of the Finance Committee, and was promoted to executive vice president in 1954.¹⁸ In 1956, when American Auto became part of the American Insurance Co. of Newark, New Jersey, he was elected as an executive vice president and member of the board of directors of the parent company.^19,17 He was elected as a vice president of Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. in 1963, when plans were being made to combine its operations with those of American Insurance, and supervised the investment portfolio of the combined companies¹⁷ until retiring in 1965.¹
     In January 1955 he was nominated as a director of the University of Illinois Alumni Association.²⁰ He also volunteered with the Boy Scouts, and in 1956 was installed as a member of the Boy Scout Council executive board in St. Louis, Missouri.²¹
     He and his wife Mae lived in Cook Co., Illinois, for most of his career (in Park Ridge from at least 1922 to 1942).^15,22,23,4 They moved to St. Louis, Missouri, about 1955¹⁸, then to Short Hills, Essex Co., New Jersey, about 1956¹⁹, and to the San Francisco, California, area in 1963.²⁴ At the time of his mother's death in 1971 he and Mae were living in Shawano, Shawano Co., Wisconson.²⁵

     Lawrence Joseph Bowditch was born on 18 August 1902 at home in Urbana, Champaign Co., Illinois.^2,5,1 He married Romola Jean Reese, daughter of Joseph Henry Reese and Jennie Shadley, on 21 June 1930 at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Urbana, Champaign Co., Illinois.^6,7 He died on 6 February 1980 in New York at age 77.^1,5
     He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1924 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, and continued on, graduating with a master's in thermodynamics in 1925.⁸
     Soon after receiving his master's he joined the Linde Air Products Division of Union Carbide. He transferred to the Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Division in 1929, and was promoted to vice president in 1944. During his career he served as vice president of chemical, olefine, and Texas pipe divisions, and also as vice president of plant design and construction, overseeing the establishment of plants in Seadrift, Texas, and Torrance, California. He retired in 1965.^8,1
     In 1930, just before his marriage, he was living in Niagara Falls, Niagara Co., New York, renting a room from Mary Moran, a widow.⁹ After their marriage he and his wife Romola lived in New York City, possibly in the borough of Queens on Long Island where their children were born.⁷ His mother Helen lived with them there for about a year, in 1935-36.¹⁰ They moved to Charleston, Kanawha Co., West Virginia, about 1938 or 1939, and were listed there on 8 April in the 1940 census.¹¹ They were enumerated a second time in 1940, on 28 May in Neptune Beach, Duval Co., Florida.¹² They returned to New York in August 1940, possibly to Queens where their daughter Adrienne was born in 1941, or to Manhasset in neighboring Nassau Co., Long Island, where they were living by 1946.¹³
     They also had a summer home in Vineyard Haven, Dukes Co., Massachusetts, on Martha's Vineyard. The house formerly belonged to Capt. Gilbert Smith, and was built in the 1700s. They spent about 30 years working on its restoration, and it is now part of the West Tisbury Historic District.^1,14
     He was interested in the history of American seafaring¹, and he and Romola both enjoyed collecting antiques, saltwater fishing, and traveling.¹⁴ On a charter fishing trip while vacationing in Key West, Florida, in 1949, they caught three sailfish, seven dolphins, two bonita, two mackerel, and a barracuda. The two largest sailfish, caught by Romola, were over seven feet long, and weighed 52 and 49 pounds. Lawrence's sailfish was about five feet long.¹⁵

     Robert Preston Bowditch was born on 22 February 1914 in Urbana, Champaign Co., Illinois.³ He married Bess Laing, daughter of Alexander Webster Laing and Mary Wright, on 5 October 1940 at the First Presbyterian Church in Charleston, Kanawha Co., West Virginia. All three of Robert's brothers were ushers.^5,1 He died on 7 September 2000 in Durham Co., North Carolina, at age 86.^6,3 He was buried at Westminster Presbyterian Church Memorial Garden in Durham, Durham Co., North Carolina.⁷
     He graduated with high honors from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Champaign Co., Illinois, in 1935, majoring in mechanical engineering.³ While in college he was a member of the band and served as its president for two years.¹
     Very soon after graduation, in July 1935, he began working at Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corp., part of Union Carbide, in South Charleston, Kanawha Co., West Virginia.¹ He began in the gas concentrate raw materials area, and during World War II worked on the design of the first commercial unit for making polyethylene.⁸ In 1964 he was assistant to the general manager for thermoplastics.²
     In April 1940, a few months before his marriage, he was living as a lodger with the family of John Morrison in Charleston.^9,10 After their marriage he and his wife Bess lived for a time in an apartment in the South Hills neighborhood of Charleston¹¹, but by 1944 had moved into a house on Brooks St.¹² In 1957 he was transferred to his company's New York office, and he and Bess, along with their daughter Mary, moved to nearby Summit, Union Co., New Jersey.³
     He retired from Union Carbide in 1978 at age 64, then went back to school at Pace University in New York, earning an M.S. degree in taxation. He worked another ten years in the tax field before retiring again in 1992.³
     He and Bess then moved to The Forest at Duke, a continuing care retirement center in Durham, Durham Co., North Carolina, where they were among the first residents.¹³
     He loved golf, and while living in New Jersey was a longtime member of the Canoe Brook Country Club. In Durham he was a member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church and served as the church's assistant treasurer.³

     Harvey Seth Tryon was born on 16 April 1835 (the Bowditch genealogy and the 1900 census say 1836) in Glastonbury, Hartford Co., Connecticut.^2,3,1,4 He married Anna Elizabeth Rudolph, daughter of William Rudolph and Phebe Jones, on 21 December 1870 in Maroa, Macon Co., Illinois. It was a simple wedding. The bride's dress, that she had made herself, was "the color of ashes of roses."^3,5,6,7 He died on 13 June 1931 in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan, at age 96.² He was buried on 15 June 1931 at Oak Hill Cemetery (south quarter, lot 110, block 4) in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan.^2,8
     He was raised in Glastonbury, Hartford Co., Connecticut, on a farm called "Tom's Hill."⁹ He moved to Bloomington, McLean Co., Illinois, about 1855. Before leaving, he borrowed money from his sister Harriet. He had attempted to borrow money for the trip from an Uncle Seth, who was quite wealthy and well-known in the community, but was turned down because his uncle didn't approve of his leaving.⁹
     He attended Illinois Wesleyan College in Bloomington, studying to be a minister. He had been raised in a very religious family, and decided to become a minister as a very young man, after hearing a funeral sermon for a co-worker killed in a factory accident.⁹
     He served in the Union Army during the Civil War, enlisting in Champaign, Champaign Co., Illinois, on 8 August 1862. He was mustered in as a private in Company H of the 125th Illinois Volunteer Infantry on 3 September 1862 in Danville, Illinois, and was mustered out as a sergeant on 9 June 1865 in Washington, D.C. At the time of his enlistment he was described as 5 feet 6 inches tall, with light hair, gray eyes, and a fair complexion. He contracted pneumonia three times during the course of the war, and often went hungry. He was paid $13 a month, which he sent to a Mr. Abbott, a friend back home in Mahomet, who invested it for him.
     After being mustered in at Danville his regiment moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, then across the Ohio River to Covington, Kentucky. On 25 September they were sent to Louisville, arriving the evening of 27 September. The next day they were attached to Col. Daniel McCook's Brigade, and on 1 October, as part of Gen. Buell's forces, they began pursuing Confederate Gen. Bragg's army, culminating in the Battle of Perryville on 8 October. The 125th Illinois was not directly engaged, but supported various batteries and chased retreating forces at the end of the battle.
     The regiment next moved to Nashville, Tennessee, arriving on 7 November 1862 after a "meandering march." They soon moved to Mills Creek, then back to Nashville around 10 December, where they remained in camp until 3 August 1863, when they left for the front lines as part of Gen. Gordon Granger's Reserve Corps. They traveled through Franklin, Columbia, Athens, Huntsville, and Bridgeport, and over Lookout Mountain, ending up in Georgia at the Battle of Chickamauga on 19-20 September. During the battle they were nearly victims of an ambush at Reed's Bridge on 19 September, and were under fire most of the next afternoon and on the following day at Rossville Gap.
     After returning to Chattanooga, the Brigade was assigned to the 2nd Division of the 14th Army Corps under Gen. Jefferson Davis, and designated as the 3rd Brigade. In October and November 1863 the regiment was camped along the north side of the Tennessee River, across from its junction with the Chickamauga River. At dawn on or about 18 November ("about a week before the battle of Missionary Ridge") they were shelled by rebel batteries from a bluff across the river. Several soldiers were wounded, and the regiment's Chaplain was killed.
     On 24 November they crossed the Tennessee River, and engaged the enemy at the Battle of Missionary Ridge on 25/26 November. After pursuing the retreating Confederates as far as Ringgold, Georgia, they marched toward Knoxville intending to assist Gen. Burnside, who was under siege there. However, the Confederates abandoned the siege on 4 December, and the regiment returned to Chattanooga on 18 December.
     They next saw action during the Atlanta Campaign under Gen. William T. Sherman, first at the Battle of Resaca from 13 to 15 May 1864, then at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on 27 June, where the regiment led the Brigade's charge against the entrenched enemy. After crossing a marshy creek, with thick growth on both sides, they continued uphill toward the enemy under continuous fire. The Confederate position was too strong, however, and the Brigade suffered heavy casualties, losing a third of its men, including their commander Col. Daniel McCook and his replacement Col. Oscar Harmon. The 125th Illinois Regiment had 120 men killed or wounded within about 20 minutes.
     By 3 July 1864 the Confederate forces had been outflanked, and the regiment helped pursue the enemy through Marietta to the Chattahoochee River. They crossed the river on 18 July, fought at Peachtree Creek on 19 July, and continued on to the Siege of Atlanta from 22 July to 25 August, including the Battle of Utoy Creek from 5 to 7 August.
     At the Battle of Jonesborough, from 31 August to 1 September, the 125th Illinois regiment again led an assault on the enemy's position, this time successfully, which led to the capture of a complete Confederate Brigade totaling about 1700 men. This battle ended the Atlanta Campaign, allowing the occupation of Atlanta by Union forces.
     After a short rest the regiment participated in the pursuit of Confederate cavalry as far as Florence, Alabama, then returned to Atlanta on 14 November. They left Atlanta almost immediately, as part of Gen. Sherman's march to the sea from 15 November to 10 December, and then participated in the Carolinas Campaign from January to April 1865. They encountered heavy fighting at the Battle of Bentonville from 19 to 21 March, and finally reached Goldsboro, North Carolina, on 23 March.
     After the surrender of Confederate Gen. Johnston on 26 April effectively ended the war, the regiment marched to Richmond, Virginia, then on to Washington, D.C., where they participated in the Grand Revue on 24 May, and were mustered out on 9 June. The members of the regiment then traveled to Chicago, where they received their final payments and were discharged.^10,11,12
     The history of the 125th Illinois Infantry by Robert Rogers, Second Sergeant of Company B, includes the following:
     He had been ordained as a Methodist minister before the war, first serving at the church in Mahomet, Champaign Co., Illinois. After the war, he again served in Mahomet, and also in Maroa, Macon Co., Illinois. His service was called a "charge," with more than one church being served at a time, and, by church rules, never more than three years at one place.¹⁴ In 1870 he was living in Sadorus, Champaign Co., Illinois, in the household of William H. Roberts.¹⁵
     He and his future wife Anna Elizabeth Rudolph met in Maroa, Macon Co., Illinois, where he was the minister. He was often invited to dinner, and they began courting. When he had to leave Maroa for another ministry, he asked her to write to him, which she did. When he answered her letter, her grandmother told her it would be "forward" and "unladylike" to reply before a month had passed. But, he took this as a sign that she wasn't very interested, and didn't write back. When her sister Emma died, Annie sent Harvey the newspaper article about her death. He then came back to Maroa to see her, and they were soon engaged.⁶
     In 1880 he and his wife Anna were living in Hopedale, Tazewell Co., Illinois, with their children William and Helen.¹⁶
     After the death of his wife Anna's sister Francis in 1883, he and Anna took in Francis's children Phoebe, Alice, and Preston Carter, who were seven to eleven years old. The children came back to Illinois with them after their mother's funeral. Their father James C. Carter paid well for their support, enough that they were able to have a "hired girl" who lived with them.¹⁷
     Their household was very religious. Sundays were for worship, with a "class meeting" followed by the regular service, then Sunday School. After a midday dinner, the afternoon was spent reading, followed by an evening church service. Another prayer meeting was held Wednesday evenings.¹⁸
     In 1885 he resigned from the ministry and moved his family to a farm in Mahomet, Champaign Co., Illinois, that he had purchased at the end of the Civil War. The heavy farm work was done by a tenant, but Annie and the children picked and canned the fruit grown on the farm.¹⁹
     He soon returned to the ministry as pastor of the Mt. Vernon country church in Hansly Twp., Champaign Co., Illinois, a prosperous farming community near Champaign, where he served for three years.²⁰
     Their niece Phoebe died from tuberculosis in June 1888, and Alice developed the same disease in late 1889. The family moved to Lawtey, Bradford Co., Florida, about December 1889, hoping the warmer climate would improve her health. The minister there, a Rev. Bonnell, was a friend of Harvey's.^20,21 They all grew homesick, however, and Alice did not get any better, so they soon returned home to Mahomet. Alice died there about a year later.^{20,22,23,24,25,26}
     His last ministry was in Tolono, Champaign Co., Illinois, which he served by driving back and forth from his farm in Mahomet. He retired for good about 1892.²⁷
     In 1899 he and Anna sold their farm in Mahomet, and built a new home on West Hill Street in Champaign, Champaign Co., Illinois.²⁸ In 1900, however, they are listed in the census at 304 West Eureka St. in Champaign, with their son William.⁴ They are listed on West Hill Street in Champaign in 1910, without their son William.²⁹
     In 1914 they moved to Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan, about 80 miles from their son William, and lived there the rest of their lives.³⁰ They listed there in the 1920 census, at 611 Paris Ave. S.E. A boarder, Carrie Anderson, age 19, was living with them.³¹ In 1930, after his wife's death, his son William and daughter-in-law Effie were living there with him. William is listed in the census as the head of the household, and Harvey is mistakenly listed as "father-in-law" instead of father.³²

More Information / Background

• 125th Regiment, Illinois Infantry
  
• Civil War Regimental and Unit Histories, by the Illinois Adjutant General. See "125th Regiment, Illinois Infantry." (PDF)
  
• Battle of Perryville
  
• Battle of Chickamauga
  
• Chattanooga Campaign
  
• Battle of Missionary Ridge
  
• Atlanta Campaign
  
• Battle of Resaca
  
• Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
  
• Battle of Peachtree Creek
  
• Battle of Utoy Creek
  
• Battle of Jonesborough
  
• Sherman's March to the Sea
  
• Carolinas Campaign
  
• Battle of Bentonville
  
• Grand Review of the Armies.
  

     Anna Elizabeth Rudolph was born on 7 June 1846 (the Bowditch genealogy says 1845) in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co., Pennsylvania.^1,4 She married Harvey Seth Tryon, son of Harvey Tryon and Mary Dickinson, on 21 December 1870 in Maroa, Macon Co., Illinois. It was a simple wedding. The bride's dress, that she had made herself, was "the color of ashes of roses."^5,6,7,1 She died on 30 November 1929 in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan, at age 83 from a stroke.^1,4 She was buried on 2 December 1929 at Oak Hill Cemetery (south quarter, lot 110, block 4) in Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan.^1,8
     She went by the nickname "Annie."³ After the death of her parents within six months of each other about 1861, she and her sisters Emma and Francis were taken in by their mother's parents Joseph Jones and Anna (?). Their brother Willie, however, was sent to a boys' school in Philadelphia..^9,3
     She tried to collect some money from her uncle Sylvester, that had been owed to her father, but was told that "if she could get blood out of a turnip, he would pay it."³ She soon found work at a photography studio, and gave her younger sister Fannie some of her earnings each week for washing her clothes.³
     At about this time the entire family moved to Maroa, Macon Co., Illinois, where her uncle Edward Jones had purchased some land (which was later lost). They hoped the change would improve the health of her sister Emma, who had contracted tuberculosis.^3,9 She listed there in her grandparents' household in the 1870 census, along with her sister Francis, uncle Edward, and aunt Anna Jones.⁹
     She and her future husband Harvey Seth Tryon met in Maroa, Macon Co., Illinois, where he was the minister. He was often invited to dinner, and they began courting. When he had to leave Maroa for another ministry, he asked her to write to him, which she did. When he answered her letter, her grandmother told her it would be "forward" and "unladylike" to reply before a month had passed. But, he took this as a sign that she wasn't very interested, and didn't write back. When her sister Emma died, Annie sent Harvey the newspaper article about her death. He then came back to Maroa to see her, and they were soon engaged.⁷
     She played an active role in the church as a minister's wife, playing the organ, singing, teaching Sunday School, working in the Ladies' Aid and Missionary Societies, and calling on the sick.⁷
     In 1880 she and her husband Harvey were living in Hopedale, Tazewell Co., Illinois, with their children William and Helen.¹⁰
     After the death of her sister Francis in 1883, she and Harvey took in Francis's children Phoebe, Alice, and Preston Carter, who were seven to eleven years old. The children came back to Illinois with them after their mother's funeral. Their father James C. Carter paid well for their support, enough that they were able to have a "hired girl" who lived with them.¹¹
     Their household was very religious. Sundays were for worship, with a "class meeting" followed by the regular service, then Sunday School. After a midday dinner, the afternoon was spent reading, followed by an evening church service. Another prayer meeting was held Wednesday evenings.¹²
     In 1885 the family moved to a farm in Mahomet, Champaign Co., Illinois, that her husband had purchased at the end of the Civil War. The heavy farm work was done by a tenant, but Annie and the children picked and canned the fruit grown on the farm.¹³
     Their niece Phoebe died from tuberculosis in June 1888, and Alice developed the same disease in late 1889. The family moved to Lawtey, Bradford Co., Florida, about December 1889, hoping the warmer climate would improve her health. The minister there, a Rev. Bonnell, was a friend of Harvey's.^14,15 They all grew homesick, however, and Alice did not get any better, so they soon returned home to Mahomet. Alice died there about a year later.^{14,16,17,18,19,20}
     In 1899 she and Harvey sold their farm in Mahomet, and built a new home on West Hill Street in Champaign, Champaign Co., Illinois.²¹ In 1900, however, they are listed in the census at 304 West Eureka St. in Champaign, with their son William.²² They are listed on West Hill Street in Champaign in 1910, without their son William.²³
     In 1914 they moved to Grand Rapids, Kent Co., Michigan, about 80 miles from their son William, and lived there the rest of their lives.²⁴ They listed there in the 1920 census, at 611 Paris Ave. S.E. A boarder, Carrie Anderson, age 19, was living with them.²⁵

     Loretta Mae Gordon was born on 18 May 1893 in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois.^2,3 She married first Curt Frank Gfroerer on 25 February 1916 in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois.⁴ They were later divorced.⁵ She married second Harvey Russell Bowditch, son of Frederick Darlington Bowditch and Helen Louise Tryon, on 30 November 1920 in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois.⁶ She died on 9 January 1976 in Orange Co., California, at age 82.⁷
     She went by her middle name Mae.^6,8,9
     Although the Bowditch genealogy lists her as the daughter of Robert Gordon and Jennie Sloan,¹ and she is listed as Mae Gordon in both of her marriage records, she was the biological daughter of Charles Fink and Jennie Sloan, and took the surname Gordon when her mother remarried. This conclusion is supported by the following evidence.
     First, from her death record, Mae was born 18 May 1893^10,11, and Robert Gordon and Jennie Sloan weren't married until 8 July 1897.¹² They are listed together in Chicago in the 1910 census, both with the notation that this was their second marriage. With them are Edward Gordon, age 21, and Lorrette Gordon, age 16, listed as Robert's son and daughter.¹³
     Second, Robert Gordon died in 1915, and his obituary says he was survived by his wife Jennie and son Robert Gordon Jr., with no mention of Edward or Mae.¹⁴ Jennie died in 1926, and her obituary says she was preceded by her husband Robert and son Stephen, and survived by children Edward and Mae, with no mention of a Robert Gordon Jr.¹⁵
     Finally, there are birth records for Edward Gerald Fink, son of Chas. Fink and Jane Frances Sloan, born 29 December 1888 in Chicago,¹⁶ and Mary Loretta Fink, daughter of Charles Fink and Jennie Sloan, born 18 May 1893 in Chicago.² And the 1953 death record for Edward Gerald Gordon says he was the son of (?) Fink and Jennie Sloan, born 29 December 1888 in Chicago.¹⁷
     In the 1900 census she and her brother Stephen are listed with the surname Fink, living with her mother's sister Mary (Sloan) Kelley and her family at 762 Estes Ave. in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois.¹⁸ Her mother Jennie and step-father Robert Gordon are listed together about four blocks north, at 821 Lunt Ave.¹⁹ In 1910, as noted earlier, she and her brother Edward are listed with the surname Gordon, with their mother and step-father at 1629 Lunt Ave. in Chicago.^13,20
     She and her son Robert K. were living in Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, in January 1920 as boarders in the household of C. W. Johnson, and she is listed in the census as divorced. She was working as a stenographer for an insurance company, and she and Robert are listed in the census with the surname Gfrorer.⁵ Her first husband Curt was then living with his parents in Chicago, but still listed in the census as married.²¹
     She and her second husband Harvey lived in Cook Co., Illinois, for most of his career (in Park Ridge from at least 1922 to 1942).^22,8,9,23 They moved to St. Louis, Missouri, about 1955²⁴, then to Short Hills, Essex Co., New Jersey, about 1956²⁵, and to the San Francisco, California, area in 1963.²⁶ At the time of her mother-in-law's death in 1971 she and Harvey were living in Shawano, Shawano Co., Wisconson.²⁷