Legacy

Records show the Walker branch of President George W. Bush’s family, which settled in central Illinois, included slave owners.

Untitled Document Add President George Walker Bush to the list of top-tier U.S. politicians whose ancestors include slaveholders. U.S. Census records for 1790 to 1830 testify t

Degrees of separation

Walkers were kin to man who helped put Lincoln in the White House.

Untitled Document The Bush side of the presidents’ family receives nearly all of the attention from historians; the Walker side, by comparison, is almost anonymous to histo

Dr. Gonzo comes home

A former king of comedy finds a new way to make people happy

At the height of his career, in the 1980s, he was a headliner. He had audiences all across the country rolling in the aisles. He shared stages with Jerry Seinfeld and Huey Lewis, partied with Joe Wals

Star Ledgers

Local businessman sees historical value in Lincoln-era checkbooks

A checkbook is a fairly uninteresting document, a record of expenditures that offers, at best, a narrow glimpse into its owner’s activities. But when the checkbook was the property of a friend a

“Before it’s gone”

Veteran, one of five brothers who served, witnessed end of World War II

His life today is simple and quiet. His days are spent in the tiny town of Fillmore, Ill., where he was born more than eight decades ago. But in an instant, Morgan Evans can return to anothe

Loneliness

Grandmother’s memories of lives extinguished in 1945

The June day is perfect for a wedding — bright sunshine, water merrily cascading from the large metal statutes in the fountain, a slight breeze playing with the bride’s dark hair

By hook and by Crook

State Museum found a champion in 1906

I don’t know for sure whether history repeats itself, but I do know this: What goes around comes around. Nearly 100 years ago, on Nov. 27, 1907, Professor Alja Robins

history talk 6-30-05

Last year, Dan Hillis — a local attorney who is originally from Binghamton, N.Y. — purchased a home on South Douglas Avenue that he is now in the process of renov

Northern exposure

When the family and friends of Olga McAnarney gathered during Christmas week last year to mourn her death, the traditional repast after the burial was an occasion that reunit

history talk 6-9-05

In the hot summer of 1904, Springfield photographer Guy Mathis sallied forth from his downtown offices above Coe’s Book Store at Fifth and Monroe streets in his