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William B. Andruss diary and commissions

 Collection
Identifier: VAULT-Ayer-MS-3002

Abstract

Diary, Mar. 10, 1855 - Apr. 3, 1856, and seven commissions and appointments to public office in Lee County, 1860-1877. Diary documents Andruss' daily activities, travel, photography business, and emigration via Bellevue, Mich., with his family to Amboy. Daily entries record illnesses, chores and jobs, visits with friends and relatives, church lessons, town and political meetings, and public lectures on such topics as temperance and slavery. Also mentioned are the names of photographic subjects at the Andruss' Bellevue and Amboy studios. Appointments and commissions as notary public, justice of the peace, and county surveyor are issued by the state of Illinois and signed by the governor.

Dates

  • Creation: 1855-1876

Creator

Language

Materials are in English.

Biography of William B. Andruss

Lee County, Ill., merchant. Born in 1824 in Jerusalem, N.Y., raised as a farmer, and educated at the Franklin Academy in Prattsburgh, N.Y., William B. Andruss married Dolly Bell in 1846, and in 1847 they had one child, Virgil B. Andruss. In 1855 Andruss traveled to Michigan and Illinois seeking a new home and career, and finally settled with his family in Amboy, Lee County, Ill., where he and his wife opened a daguerreotype and ambrotype studio. A hardware merchant by 1866, Andruss held numerous local public offices and was also active in church and temperance affairs.

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet (8 items)

Ownership and Custodial History

Forms part of the Edward E. Ayer Manuscript Collection (Newberry Library)

Processing Information Note

Diary formerly known as Ayer MS 22.5. Commissions and appointments formerly known as Ayer MS 22b.

Status
Completed
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository

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