CAIRO
Alexander County/Illinois Genealogy Trails
ST. MARY'S HOSPITAL MEDICAL STAFF-1941
CAIRO POLICE WHO DIED IN LINE OF DUTY
Cairo, despite decades of decline
and depression, remains one of the most fascinating cities in the
state of Illinois. So much of the city's past glory and shame
stands recorded in the streets and buildings that remain,
individual works of architectural brilliance. What gives Cairo
its magnificent sense of past times, however, is the same thing
that threatens its future; decay. The history of Cairo is among
the most complex and fascinating of any municipality in Illinois,
rife with schemes, skirmishes, phenomenal growth and almost
equally phenomenal decline. In many respects, it remains to this
day the history of promise unfulfilled.
From the first, explorers and settlers dreamed of
the grand city which would surely rise on the Mississippi-Ohio
floodplanes. The prohibitive cost of levees, however, caused
economic problems, political intrigue and frustrating delay to
surround Cairo's founding. Finally, the levee system and the
southern terminus of the Illinois Central Railroad, itself an
important chapter in Illinois history, combined to make Cairo a
prominent center connecting rail and river traffic.
Sources: HISTORY OF ALEXANDER, UNION AND PULASKI COUNTIES, ILLINOIS, edited by William Henry Perrin, 1883, Chicago: O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Publisher, 183 Lake St. Reprinted in 1969.
THE CAIRO CITIZEN, CAIRO, ILLINOIS, "The History of Cairo."
With its strategic position, Cairo
became all-important during the Civil War. It was fortified
immediately. General U. S. Grant, the Army of the Tennessee, the
Siege of Vicksburg, the Naval Battle for the Mississippi--all
were launched from Cairo's riverbanks. At nearby Mound City
National Cemetery, the graves of over 2000 unknown Confederate
boys lie beside those of their former Union enemies.
With the return of peace, the town became a curious mixture of
violence and gentility. Along the wharfs, saloons and gambling
casinos catered to rough rivermen, while a discreet carriage ride
away, the genteel sheltered in near-palatial mansions along
"Millionaire's Row." Lavish churches, opera houses,
orchestras, hotels and monumental government buildings boasted of
Cairo's wealth.
Cairo's decline has been steady for decades. In 1920 the
population was 15, 203 and in 2000 it was 3,642. Cairo is the
county seat of Alexander County.
(Used with permission from the Cairo Citizen website http://www.cairocitizen.com.)
MAYORS
OF CAIRO
(Partial listing)
Thomas Wilson--3 terms
Henry Winter--2 terms
John M. Lansden--1871
Col. John Wood--1873-1875
Napoleon B. Thistlewood (1837-1915)--1879-83, 1897-1901
C. R. Woodward--1895
Walter H. Wood--1924, 1928
August Bode--1935-38; 1942
Egbert A. Smith--1945-54
Sources: the obituary of Louis H. Meyers, 1834-1918; the Political Graveyard--http://politicalgraveyard.com; obituaries.
Louis H. Meyers--1868
Sources: the obituary of Louis H. Meyers, 1834-1918; the Political Graveyard--http://politicalgraveyard.com; obituaries.
ST. MARY'S HOSPITAL MEDICAL STAFF
The Medical Staff at St. Mary's Hospital on March 15, 1941: Dr. H. J. Elkins of Mounds, Dr. Van Andrews, Dr. Flint Bondurant, Dr. Rendleman, Dr. J. W. Dunn, Dr. Edward Miller, Dr. Howard C. Moreland, Dr. B. S. Hutcheson, Dr. W. R. Wesenburg of Mounds City, Dr. Lewis C. Ent, Dr. C. L. Weber, Dr. O. T. Hudson of Mounds, Dr. Howard D. Stuckey, Dr. Fay S. Comer, Dr. Phil McNemer and Dr. James J. Johnson. --Contributed by Stephen Newell.
CAIRO POLICE WHO DIED IN LINE OF DUTY
Police Officer Henry W. Dunker
Cairo Police Department, IL
EOW: Sunday, September 18,1892
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Sergeant Horace Edward Jones
Cairo Police Department, IL
EOW: Monday, September 13, 1932
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Source: The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. http://www.odmp.org/browse.php
©2005-2008
Anna Newell, Illinois Genealogy Trails
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