Posts

Posted on

Immigration and Politics: The Know-Nothing Party in Illinois

Throughout the month of August, we are focusing our attention on immigration and the role immigrants have played in making Illinois what it is today. Follow along here on our blog and on our social media to learn about famous immigrants and immigrant experiences.

In the 1840s and 1850s, instability in Europe created a great influx of immigrants to the United States. Many of these immigrants came from Ireland and Germany, escaping poverty, famine, or political upheaval. From 1845 to 1853, nearly 3 million immigrants entered the United States, and many of them settled in large cities like Chicago.

For some Americans, these changes were unwelcome.… Read More

Posted on

The Wingard and Forney Families: Civil War Experiences

Civil War envelopes from Benjamin Franklin Wingard correspondence

Throughout August, we’re celebrating Illinois Civil War soldiers in honor of the bicentennial. As the Land of Lincoln, Illinois has a rich Civil War legacy. Follow along here on our blog and on our social media to learn more about Illinois’s impact on the Civil War.

In 1980 and 1988, James Russell Vaky donated the Wingard-Forney-Vaky Family Papers to the Library. This collection offers two unique perspectives on the Civil War. Records and letters document Benjamin Franklin Wingard’s life as a Union soldier, while Mary Forney’s teenage diary illustrates the home front experience in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. The two married on October 13, 1870 and resided in Champaign, Illinois after the war.… Read More

Posted on

Jonathan Catlin: 52nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Throughout August, we’re celebrating Illinois Civil War soldiers in honor of the bicentennial. As the Land of Lincoln, Illinois has a rich Civil War legacy. Follow along here on our blog and on our social media to learn more about Illinois’s impact on the Civil War.

Photograph of Jonathan Catlin, undatedBefore the Civil War, Jonathan Catlin was a farmer in Dekalb County. He joined Company G of the 52nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry in September 1861. The 52nd Regiment was organized at Geneva, Illinois and mustered into federal service on November 19, 1861. The regiment engaged in the Battle of Shiloh, the Siege of Corinth, operations against Vicksburg, the Atlanta Campaign, and the March to the Sea.… Read More

Posted on

Joan Jett Blakk: Drag Queen for President

The month of June marks LGBTQ Pride. Follow along on our blog and social media platforms as we explore Chicago’s vibrant LGBTQ community and take a look at influential LGBTQ people from Illinois.  #PrideMonth

“If a bad actor can be elected president, why not a good drag queen?”

— Joan Jett Blakk

Joan Jett Blakk is  the drag persona of Chicagoan performer Terence Smith.  Blakk started her career in 1974. She was also one of the founders of the Chicago chapter of Queer Nation, a political action group focused on enhancing the visibility of queer people and queer issues at the height of the AIDS crisis.… Read More