52 Ancestors: Week 4 "At the Library": The Truth About the Death of Catherine Elizabeth (Winters) Graham Mapplebeck

According to her death certificate, my 2nd-great-grandmother Catherine Elizabeth (Winters) Graham Mapplebeck died of coronary sclerosis due to chronic nephritis on 4 March 1942.

 Elizabeth Maplebeck death certificate. Missouri State Board of Health.

She was 80 years old, so the cause of death seemed quite plausible. I never suspected that there was more to it until I visited the Hayner Public Library District's Genealogy & Local History Library in Alton, Illinois, where Elizabeth and her children had lived for a time. I searched the digitized newspaper collection and came across a brief item from the 5 March 1942 issue of the Joplin Globe entitled "Two St. Louis Women Overcome by Smoke, Die." One of the women was Elizabeth Mapplebeck!

I went to the St. Louis County Library to look for more information. At that time, I did not have access to the digital archives of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, so I looked through the microfilm. The 3 March 1942 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch contained more details ("Invalid Perishes in Nursing Home Fire; 9 Overcome," p. 3.). A fire had broken out at the Brantwood Nursing Home in Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri. The nursing home had opened about four months previously, and had no outside fire escape. The fire started near the motor for the electric icebox. One man, Henry Kern, died of asphyxiation an hour after he was taken to the hospital. Five others had been carried out while unconscious, but had been revived. Three people were stated to be in serious condition. Elizabeth Mappleback was at the hospital, but was not considered to be in serious condition. However, the next day, her death was reported ("Woman, 82, Second Victim of Lemay Hospital Fire." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4 March 1942, p. 7C. )

It is strange that there was no mention of anything related to the fire on her death certificate. She must have suffered from smoke inhalation. Perhaps the stress of the experience brought on a heart attack.

Travel Tuesday: Elizabeth (Winters) Mapplebeck and Granddaughter Vivian Visit Toledo, Ohio

In 1907, my 2nd-great-grandmother Catherine Elizabeth (Winters) Mapplebeck and her granddaughter Vivian briefly visited Alton, Madison County Illinois. They had moved from Alton to St. Louis, Missouri in 1906. They probably visited Elizabeth's friends. They then went to Toledo, Ohio for a few weeks.

Alton Evening Telegraph, 3 June 1907, page 5

Elizabeth's son Garfield Graham was living in Toledo, Ohio in 1907. They must have been going to visit him.

Polk's Toledo Directory for the Year Commencing July 1907, page 646. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Those Places Thursday: 519 E. 9th St., Alton, Illinois

My great-great-grandmother Catherine Elizabeth (Winters) Mapplebeck lived at 519 E. 9th St., Alton, Madison County, Illinois from 1902-1905. She moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1906. Her two children, Kathleen (my great-grandmother) and Garfield Graham (also known as Kathleen and Garfield Mapplebeck) also lived at 519 E. 9th St. when the family first moved from their previous residence at 637 E. 3rd St., Alton. Garfield moved to Peoria, Illinois in 1904. Kathleen had moved to St. Louis by 1904.

W. H. McCoy's Alton City Directory, Including the Towns of Upper Alton, North Alton, and East Alton. 1902-1903. Keokuk, Iowa: W. H. McCoy. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

W. H. McCoy's Alton City Directory, Including the Towns of Upper Alton, North Alton, and East Alton. 1905-1906. Keokuk, Iowa: W. H. McCoy. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

52 Ancestors: Week 21 "Military": Thomas J. Tarkington

Because I have not yet been able to prove the parentage of my 3rd-great-grandfather Joseph Tarkington, I cannot be sure of the relationship between myself and Thomas J. Tarkington. But if my theory is correct and Joseph S. Tarkington lied on his Southern Claims Commission claim because he thought his claim would not be approved if he admitted to having a son who was in the Confederate Army, Thomas was my 3rd-great-grandfather's brother, and my 3rd-great-grandfather's son Thomas was probably named after him.

Thomas J. Tarkington was the son of Joseph S. Tarkington and Amelia Owen, who married in Williamson County, Tennessee on 6 June 1818. In 1830, the family was living in Giles County, Tennessee. Thomas was under 5 years old at the time of the 1830 United States census. In 1833, Joseph S. Tarkington married Nancy (Sanders) Theall in St. Mary's Parish, Louisiana. Thomas was not in his father's household at the time of the 1840 United States census. I am not sure who he was living with. In 1843, Joseph S. Tarkington, who had remained in Louisiana, deeded Thomas 380 acres of land on the Big Harpeth River in Williamson County, Tennessee. (Armistead, Sarah Peery; Sawyer, Ova Lee Peery; and Russell, Lorraine Peery. Boyer, Penny Russell, ed. Tarkington-Kersey, Theresa, photo ed. Tarkingtons of Tennessee: Genealogy of John G. Tarkington. 2001.)

On 30 November 1843, Thomas married Rosanah (or Rosannah or Rosanna) Midyett in Williamson County, Tennessee. He gave B. H. Harrison power of attorney to sign and seal his name to obtain a marriage bond.

Power of attorney to sign bond to obtain marriage license. Nomination and appointment of B. H. Harrison by Thomas J. Tarkington. 30 November 1843. Ancestry.com. Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002. Nashville, TN, USA: Tennessee State Library and Archives. Microfilm.

Marriage, Thomas J. Tarkinton and Rosanna Midyett. Williamson County, Tennessee. 30 November 1843. Ancestry.com. Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002. Nashville, TN, USA: Tennessee State Library and Archives. Microfilm.

Thomas and Rosanah had two daughters, Nancy and Elizabeth.

On 16 June 1846 in Alton, Madison County, Illinois, Thomas enlisted in the army. Alton is close to the Missouri border, near St. Louis. Two of Rosanah's half-brothers had left Tennessee and gone to Missouri; maybe Thomas had taken his family to stay with one of them, and then left to enlist. Thomas was a private in the 2nd Regiment of Illinois Volunteers.

Record of the Services of Illinois Soldiers in the Black Hawk War, 1831-32, and in the Mexican War, 1846-8. Prepared by Isaac H. Elliott, Adjutant-General of the State of Illinois. Springfield, IL: H. W. Rpkker, 1992. Page 235. Available from Google Books.

Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Mexican War, compiled 1899 - 1927, documenting the period 1846 - 1848. Thomas J. Tarkinton, Wheeler's Co., 2 Illinois Foot Vols. (Bissell's), Mexican War. NARA M616. Available from Fold3.

In his Southern Claims Commission claim, Joseph S. Tarkington stated that his only son (I am skeptical about the "only" claim) was killed at the Battle of Buena Vista.

Orleans Parish, Louisiana claim no. 12265 (Joseph S. Tarkington), Allowed Case Files, Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880; Settled Accounts and Claims, Third Auditor. Records of the Treasury Department Accounting Officers, Record Group 217. National Archives, Washington, DC. Page 4. Available from Fold3.

Orleans Parish, Louisiana claim no. 12265 (Joseph S. Tarkington), Allowed Case Files, Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880; Settled Accounts and Claims, Third Auditor. Records of the Treasury Department Accounting Officers, Record Group 217. National Archives, Washington, DC. Page 19.  Available from Fold3.

The Battle of Buena Vista (also called the Battle of Angostura) took place in Puerto de la Angostura, Coahuila, Mexico on 22-23 February 1847. It was the last major battle in northern Mexico during the Mexican War. Major General Zachary Taylor and General John E. Wool led the United States troops to victory over the Mexican army.

Battle of Buena Vista. Lithograph published and printed by Henry R. Robinson, from a sketch by Major Eaton. Available from Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons.

Map of Battle of Buena Vista. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

Rosanah married Thomas E. Adams on 3 January 1850 in Panola County, Texas. Thomas and Rosanah's daughter Nancy lived with her paternal grandfather and his wife in St. Mary's Parish, Louisiana at the time of the 1850 United States census.

52 Ancestors: Week 15 "How Do You Spell That?": James Mapplebeck

James Mapplebeck, the second husband of my great-great-grandmother Catherine Elizabeth Winters and the adoptive father of his stepchildren (my great-grandmother Kathleen Graham and her brother Garfield), had an uncommon surname. At times that has been advantageous. For example, it would have been much more difficult to find the newspaper articles about my great-grandmother and the father of her oldest child (whose name had been previously been unknown to me) if she had been using her birth surname instead of her adoptive surname. However, sometimes finding members of this family can be challenging, because the surname has been spelled many different ways in records. The first part of the name is pronounced "Maple." (I learned this from my family, and it explains why I have often found the name spelled with only one p in records.)

The Mapplebeck family came from Rawcliffe, Yorkshire, England. The name is usually spelled Mapplebeck in British records. Some examples from FamilySearch include the indexed baptismal record of James' father George Mapplebeck, the indexed marriage record of George Mapplebeck and his first wife Mary Stephenson, and the indexed baptismal record of George and Mary's son William Mapplebeck (James' half-brother). But in Canada and the United States, I have found many different spellings. In the 1851 Census of Canada, George, Mary, and William were enumerated in York County, Canada West (Ontario) with the surname Maplebeck. In the 1861 agricultural census of Canada, George was enumerated in Minto Township, Wellington, Canada West with the surname Mappelbeck. James may have been born in Minto Township. According to his death certificate, he was born on 29 December 1858. George purchased land in Minto Township in the mid-1850s.

In 1871, the Mapplebeck family lived in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada. The 1871 Census of Canada enumeration is the first one that I have located for James. The family surname is spelled Mapplebeck in the census record. When James' father George died on 15 May 1878, his surname was spelled Maplebeck.

In the early 1880s, James, his brother George, and his mother Jane moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. James and his brother worked as glassblowers. In the 1883 Lovell's Montreal Directory, all three family members appear in the alphabetical directory with the surname Mappleback, and in the street directory with the surname Mapplebeck. James married my great-great-grandmother Catherine Elizabeth Winters on 20 November 1885. His surname was spelled Mapplebeck in the record from St. Mary's Church in Hochelaga. He became a father to Elizabeth's two children Kathleen and Garfield, from her marriage to James Graham. They used his surname until they were adults. (Kathleen took the surname Walker after the birth of her first child, and used her married name, Boe, after her marriage to John Boe. Garfield returned to his birth surname, Graham, when he was in his mid-20s.)

In the 1891 Census of Canada, James' surname was written as MapleBack. In FamilySearch's and Ancestry.com's index to the 1891 Census of Canada, his name appears as Back James Mapleback. The Mapplebeck family moved to Alton, Madison County, Illinois, where James worked as a glassblower for the Illinois Glass Company. His mother Jane, sister Sarah, and brother George moved to Camden, New Jersey. His half-brother William Mapplebeck lived with his wife and children in Hamilton, Ontario.

By 1898, James had moved to San Francisco, California, where he worked as a glassblower for San Francisco & Pacific Glass Works. His surname was spelled Mappelbach in the 1898 and 1899 San Francisco city directories. His wife and her children remained in Alton, Illinois.

By 1900, James had moved to Martinez, Contra Costa County, California. His surname was spelled Mapplebeck in the 1900 United States Census. He lived in a household headed by a man named N. P. Ohaver. He and J. J. Barfield, age 15, were both listed as "Partner." He was listed as a glassblower.

In 1910, James lived in Alabama, Sacramento County, California. He worked as a teamster in a vineyard. In the 1910 United States Census, his surname was spelled Mapplibeck.

In 1914, James Mapplebeck was listed in the Index to Precinct Register, Yuba County, California. He was listed in the Far West District, He lived in Wheatland, was a farmer, and was a Republican.

I have not been able to locate James in the 1920 or 1930 United States censuses. His death certificate suggests (based on length of residence in California, 47 years) that he continuously lived in California after he arrived in the late 1890s. Perhaps his surname is badly misspelled in the census records.

In 1934, James Mapplebeck was on the list of registered voters in Sacramento County, California. He was a laborer in Sacramento, and was a Republican.

In 1936, James Mapplebeck was listed in the Sacramento city directory as a resident of Home for Aged. In the 1940 United States census, James was listed as a resident of Home for the Aged in San Joaquin, Sacramento County, California. He was enumerated with the surname Maplepeck.

James died of bronchial pneumonia in Sacramento County Hospital on 7 September 1946. He was buried in Sacramento County Cemetery.

So many spellings! 

Lovell's Montreal Directory, For 1883-1884, Containing an Alphabetical Directory of the Citizens, Street Directory, an Advertisers Classified Business Directory, and a Miscellaneous Directory, to which is added Directories of Coteau St. Louis, Coteau St. Pierre, Cote des Neiges, Cote St. Antoine, Cote St. Luc, Cote St. Paul, Cote Visitation, Hochelaga, Lachine, Laprairie, Long Point, Longueuil, Mount Royal Avenue, Mount Royal Vale, Notre Dame de Grace, Outremont, St. Jean Baptiste Village, St. Lambert, St. Louis of Mile End, Town of St, Cunegonde, Town of St. Henry, Verdun, and Village of St. Gabriel. Corrected to June 16th, 1883. Montreal: John Lovell & Son. Available from  Ancestry.com. Canada, City and Area Directories, 1819-1906 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

St. Mary's Church, Hochelaga, Quebec, Canada. Marriage of James Mapplebeck and Elizabeth Winters, 20 November 1885. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Available from Ancestry.com. Quebec, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.

1891 Census of Canada, Ste Marie Ward, Montréal Centre, Quebec, district 172, page 1, family 5. Available from Ancestry.com. 1891 Census of Canada [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.

J. P. Hodge and Sons' Directory of the City of Alton, North Alton and Upper Alton, 1895-1896. Alton, IL: J. P. Hodge & Sons. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory for Year Commencing May 1898. San Francisco: H. S. Crocker Company, 1898. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

1910 United States census, Alabama, Sacramento County, California, population schedule, enumeration district 87, supervisor's district 2, sheet no. 5A. Available from Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. 

Index to Precinct Register, Yuba County [California], 1914. General Election November 3. Page 16. Available from Ancestry.com. California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.

1940 United States census, San Joaquin, Sacramento County, California, population schedule, Home for the Aged, sheet no. 2B. Available from Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Mystery Monday: Why Did James Mapplebeck Go to California?

In 1895, James Mapplebeck was living in Alton, Madison County, Illinois. He had left Montreal, Quebec, Canada around 1891-1892, after the 1891 Census of Canada.

J. P. Hodge and Sons' Directory of the City of Alton, North Alton and Upper Alton, 1895-1896. Alton, IL: J. P. Hodge & Sons. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

By 1898, he was living in San Francisco, California. He was still at the same address in 1899.

Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory for Year Commencing May 1898. San Francisco: H. S. Crocker Company, 1898. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Crocker-Langley San Francisco Directory for Year Commencing May 1899. San Francisco: H. S. Crocker Company, 1898. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

His wife (my great-great-grandmother Catherine Elizabeth Winters) and her two children, whom he had raised as his own since they were young, did not go with him. They were still living in Alton, Illinois in 1899.

W. H. McCoy's Alton City Directory, Including the Towns of Upper Alton, North Alton, and East Alton, 1899-1900. Keokuk, Iowa: W. H. McCoy. Available from Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

Why did James Mapplebeck go to California? His mother Jane, brother George, and sister Sarah had also left Montreal; they had gone to New Jersey. His half-brother William Mapplebeck had been living in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (where James had lived until after the death of their father), but by 1899 he had moved to Detroit, Michigan. His uncle John Mapplebeck was living in Hamilton, Ontario. The only person I know of who had any connection to James Mapplebeck who had spent time living in San Francisco was Charles Buise. He was probably a relative of Elizabeth Buise, the last wife of John Bennet Winters (the father of Catherine Elizabeth Winters). Charles may also have been related to Catherine Elizabeth Winters or her children, because the death notice of his mother Margaret McGillivray was transcribed in the Winters family Bible. However, Charles Buise died in 1893.

A possible explanation for his move is the Klondike Gold Rush. George Carmack and his brother-in-law Snookum Jim Mason discovered gold at Bonanza Creek (then called Rabbit Creek) on  16 August 1896. On 15 July 1897 in San Francisco and 17 July 1897 in Seattle, prospectors returned from the Klondike with large amounts of gold, and the Klondike stampede began. Approximately 100,000 people attempted to reach the goldfields.

Excelcior (the first steamer to carry passengers to the Klondike after news of the discovery of gold) leaving San Francisco for the Klondike, July 28, 1897. Photo by Sam C. Partridge [Public domain]. Available from University Libraries, University of Washington and Wikimedia Commons.

To reach the Klondike, prospectors traveled from Seattle or San Francisco to Alaska, and then to the Yukon.

Map showing routes from San Francisco to Alaska and the Klondike.  George Davidson. San Francisco: Alaska Exploration Company, 1898. Available from David Rumsey Map Collection.

Prospectors came from all over the United States and from other countries. The Alton Evening Telegraph included information on traveling to the Klondike.

Alton Evening Telegraph, 15 March 1898

Alton Evening Telegraph, 22 March 1898

Perhaps James Mapplebeck traveled to the Klondike, returned to San Francisco, and chose to stay in California. (He never returned to his family.) Or maybe he went to San Francisco with the intention of traveling to the Klondike, but ended up staying there. I hope to find additional information that may confirm this theory.

Tombstone Tuesday: Vivian Evelyn (Boe) Schaefering

My great-grandmother Kathleen Graham's oldest child, Vivian Evelyn, was born on 9 August 1901 in Alton, Madison County, Illinois. Vivian's biological father was Samuel R. Bowen. She was known as Vivian Walker until her mother married John Boe;  Vivian then took his surname and was raised as his daughter. Vivian married Erwin Edgar Schaefering on 7 February 1922 in Obion County, Tennessee. Vivian died on 12 December 1978 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her ashes are interred at Hillcrest Abbey Crematory and Mausoleum in St. Louis.

52 Ancestors: #28 Catherine Elizabeth Winters

My great-great-grandmother Catherine Elizabeth Winters was born on 12 November 1861 in Tonawanda, Erie County, New York. She was the daughter of John Bennet Winters and Anna "Ann" Walker. By 1866, Elizabeth had moved to Chicago, Illinois with her family. Her younger siblings Hugh, Alice, and David all died between 1866 and 1868. Her family was probably affected by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. On 19 September 1872, Elizabeth's mother Ann died.

Elizabeth married James Graham. The family story is that he had been a Catholic priest. I have not yet found their marriage record, but they probably married before 31 October 1879, when my great-grandmother Kathleen (probably born Catherine, because earlier records show her with that name) was born. Elizabeth's father John died in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 25 December 1879. The Graham family was definitely in Canada by 1881, when they appear on the 1881 Census of Canada, living in Hochelaga, Quebec, Canada (near Montreal, and now part of Montreal). Their son Garfield was born on 26 May 1881 or 1882. After 1883, James Graham disappears from the records. The family story is that he went back to the priesthood. On 20 November 1885 in Montreal, Elizabeth married James Mapplebeck, a glassblower who was originally from Ontario, Canada. Their marriage record states that she was a widow. However, considering the family story, I am not sure if she was really a widow. Although I am skeptical of the story that James Graham returned to the priesthood, he may have abandoned the family.

The Mapplebeck family (Elizabeth's children used their stepfather's surname until the early to mid-1900s and appear to have been at least informally adopted by him) moved from Montreal to Alton, Madison County, Illinois sometime after the 1891 census, between 1891 and 1892. By 1898, James Mapplebeck had left the family and gone to California.

Elizabeth moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1905. Her daughter Kathleen was already living there. By 1908, her son Garfield had moved there as well. In the 1910 United States Census, Kathleen and her family were enumerated in Elizabeth's household, possibly visiting from North Dakota. Elizabeth ran a boarding house in St. Louis.

On 2 March 1942, there was a fire at the Brantwood Nursing Home in Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri. The 3 March 1942 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch stated that Elizabeth Mapplebeck was one of the patients who was at City Hospital after the fire. Elizabeth died on 4 March 1942. According to her death certificate, the cause of death was coronary sclerosis due to chronic nephritis. There was no mention of the fire, but surely it played a role in her death. Elizabeth was cremated on 5 March 1942, and her ashes were scattered on 27 April 1942.

 

Birth record, Catherine Elizabeth Winters. Winters family Bible.

St. Mary's Church, Hochelaga, Quebec, Canada. Marriage of James Mapplebeck and Elizabeth Winters, 20 November 1885. Drouin Collection. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.

Alton, Illinois city directory, 1901-1902.

Alton Evening Telegraph, 20 October 1905, p. 4

 

St. Louis, Missouri city directory, 1923

Elizabeth Maplebeck death certificate. Missouri State Board of Health.

Joplin Globe, 5 March 1942

Workday Wednesday: Illinois Glass Company

Frontispiece of the1906 Illinois Glass Co. Bottle Catalog. Available from http://www.sha.org/bottle/igco_1906.htm.

James Mappleback, the second husband of my great-great-grandmother Catherine Elizabeth Winters and the stepfather/adoptive father of her children Kathleen (my great-grandmother) and Garfield Graham, was a glassblower. The family left Montreal, Quebec, Canada after the 1891 Census of Canada and was living in Alton, Madison County, Illinois by 1892. The Illinois Glass Company was located in Alton. James Mapplebeck may have moved to Alton with his family because he would be able to find work there as a glassblower. He is listed in the 1895-1896 Alton, Illinois city directory as a blower at the glass works.

By 1898, James Mapplebeck had left Alton, Illinois and was living in San Francisco, California. He was still working as a glassblower. His family remained in Alton. In the 1900 United States census, Garfield (using the surname Mapplebeck; he later reverted to his birth surname, Graham) is listed as an apprentice glassblower. In the 1901-1902 Alton city directory, he is listed as working at the glass company.

Samuel Bowen, the biological father of Kathleen's first child Vivian, also appears in this directory.

The Illinois Glass Company manufactured flint, blue, green, imported green, amber, and opal bottles. The 1903 Illinois Glass Company catalog is available online at Soda and Beer Bottles of North America. 1906, 1920, and 1926 catalogs are available from the BLM/SHA Historic Glass Bottle Identification & Information Website.

Glass workers, Shop No. 6, Illinois Glass Company, Alton, IL, May 1910. Library of Congress (public domain). Available from Madison County ILGenWeb.

The Madison County ILGenWeb's Alton, Illinois Photos page includes photos of glass workers at the Illinois Glass Company in Alton. Although members of my family were no longer working in Alton in 1910, the photos still give me an idea of what their work lives were like.

Joe Manning has written about Joseph and Frank Dwyer and Henry Maul, who worked at the Illinois Glass Company as boys. Some of the workers at the glass company were underage. According to the 1940 United States census, the highest grade that Garfield Graham had completed was the 5th. Perhaps he was one of the underage workers at the glass company.