Recently a patron of the Pekin Public Library suggested that we look into the history of the residence at 1119 Hamilton Street. The patron said that he’d grown up in the general neighborhood of that house, that he’d always gotten a somewhat unsettling “vibe” about it, and that he’d heard rumors of tragic events there.
At his suggestion, I began to research the history of 1119 Hamilton Street. The research findings will be presented in a short series of articles here at “From the History Room.”
The lot on which this residence is located has the legal description of SEC 35 T25N R5W CASEYS ADDN LOT 5 (EXC N77′) BLK 1 SE 1/4. Thus, 1119 Hamilton is a home in the Casey’s Addition of Pekin, at the north end of a part of the general part of town that colloquially has been known as Bean Town — Pekin’s old German quarter. Tazewell County Assessor’s records say the house was built 1897 — making the house 128 years old — but the address “1119 Hamilton” does not appear in Pekin city directories until 1904. During the first 23 years of the house’s existence, 1119 Hamilton was home to a fairly rapid succession of families, most of them German-Americans, as one would expect for a house in Bean Town.
However, the 1898 directory does show a residence next door, at 1115 Hamilton, then the home of Julius G. Epkens (1870-1944), a laborer. Epkens and his family are also listed at 1115 Hamilton in the 1900 U.S. Census. By the time of the 1904 Pekin city directory, Julius Epkens no longer lived at 1115 Hamilton St. — instead we find Anton Zimmerman (1861-1918), a blacksmith.
As for 1119 Hamilton St., since that address is not listed in city directories from 1898 to 1903, our only information on who lived there during those years is the 1900 U.S. Census, which says it was then the home of the Maurer family. In a census record dated 15 June 1900, we find 1119 Hamilton St. as the residence of Henry Maurer, 26, born Sept. 1873 in Germany, a tailor who had come to America in 1890, with his wife Milla, born Dec. 1875 in Ohio, the daughter of German immigrants, and their son Wesley H., 3, born Jan. 1897 in Illinois, and their 6-month-old daughter Julia E., born Nov. 1899 in Ohio. From that record, we can identify the head of household as Heinrich Philipp Maurer, that is, Henry Philip Maurer (1872-1949), and his wife “Milla” as Emilie Anna (Boeckler) Maurer (1875-1957), who are buried in Lakeside Cemetery along with their younger children Eugene and Louise. In 1912, Henry went to work for the Gus Rhine Tailor Shop in downtown Pekin, working there until his death from a heart attack on 30 May 1949. He was survived by his wife and their two sons and three daughters, Julie, Ruth, and Louise.
The Henry Maurer family moved from 1119 Hamilton St. by 1903, being succeed by another German immigrant family. The 1904 Pekin city directory in 1904 lists three residents of the house: a German immigrant named Peter Haupts (1857-1938), who worked for The Ubben Coal Company, owned by Ubbo Ubben, and Peter’s daughters Miss Maggie Haupts and Miss Mary Haupts, a domestic.
The city directories indicate that the Hauptses did not reside at 1119 Hamilton for very long, because in the 1906 and 1908 Pekin city directories we find Albert Leroy “Bert” John(s) (1882-1956), an employee of Henry Herget’s Pekin Stave & Manufacturing Company. Bert lived there with his wife Bertha (Eertmoed) John(s) (1882-1973) and their children. Notably, although Bertha belonged to a family of German origin, Bert himself was of New England Yankee descent. He spelled his surname variously as either John or Johns, but finally decided to drop the -s altogether.
The following year, the 1909 Pekin city directory shows that the John(s) family had moved from 1119 Hamilton. In their place, we find Thaddeus Warsaw “Thad” Mott Jr. (1881-1948), a bartender, living there with his wife Amelia E. (Birkmeier) Mott (1880-1953) and their children. In the 1910 directory, the Motts are listed at 1121 Hamilton instead of 1119 Hamilton, which does not appear in the 1910 directory at all.
However, the 1910 U.S. Census as well as the 1911 Pekin city directory both show that 1119 Hamilton St. was then the residence of Walter William Olander (or Ohlander), a miner who was born in 1884 in Lithuania and died between the 1930 and 1940 U.S. Censuses. Walter lived there with his wife Mary (Schmidgall) Olander (1886-1975) and their children. The following year, the 1912 directory again shows Walter W. Olander, but says he had gone to work for the Chicago Shoe Repair Shop, 508 Court St.
About this time, 1119 Hamilton St. saw its second non-German residents. The Pekin city directories from 1913 to 1915 show that this house was then the home of John Carrick III (1890-1971), a miner, and his wife Margaret (Carr) Carrick (1890-1963) and their children. Carrick and Carr are Scottish surnames. Up till this point, almost all of this house’s residents were either German immigrants or the children of German immigrants.
After serving as the Carrick home for about two years, 1119 Hamilton St. is shown in the 1916 Pekin city directory as the home of Don H. Marrs (1890-1967), laborer, and his wife Junie Belle (Parkin) Marrs (1890-1957) and their children.
Thus, we see that in the first 23 years of this house’s history, 1119 Hamilton St. home to these five families: Maurer, Haupts, John(s), Mott, Olander, Carrick, and Marrs.
Next week we will continue the story of 1119 Hamilton St., telling of the next family who lived there. It is without a doubt the most memorable, and tragic, chapter in the house’s history.
