Joseph Ware Tapp 1920s
1920 Federal Census, Alden Illinois
1921 Warren G. Harding is President
1922 daughter Olive weds Richard Woods
1923 Calvin Coolidge becomes president after Harding is assassinated
1924 Joseph Ware Tapp dies in McHenry County Illinois.
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| Clip Art, Liberty Bell |
1920
Federal Census, Alden, McHenry County, Illinois. Joseph is a married dairy farmer, renting his home but working on his own account. He is 62 years old, and living with his wife Laura, daughters Olive and Grace (my grandmother), twins Harold and Helen, and son Glenn.
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| Joseph Ware Tapp 1920 Census Alden, McHenry County, Illinois |
You can see below, McHenry County is the very uppermost part of the state, and quite close to the Great Lake. In the next image, you can see Alden Township butts up against the Wisconsin/Illinois border.
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The images below are from Google Maps. The first one you can see where Alden is in relation to Chicago. The second one is a bit closer. What I found interesting is that the Tapp farm is close to my grandparents August and Grace Tapp Wenkel lived, on Wonder Lake. I'd also heard of Crystal Lake a lot as I lived with them for a year while my Dad was stationed in Viet Nam.
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| Google Maps |
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| Google Maps |
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| 1921 Pepsodent, Evening Public Ledger November, chroniclingamerica.loc.gov |
1921
Warren G. Harding becomes the 29th President of the United States
He served from 1921 until his death in 1923. He was a Republican. At that time, he was one of the most popular US Presidents, but the subsequent exposure of scandals that took place under his administration, and an affair eroded his popular regard. Harding is often rated among the worst US Presidents (Wikipedia -- Harding, 2018).
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Quote: "I don't know much about Americanism, but it's a damn good word with which to carry an election" -- Warren G. Harding (Harding, 2018).
In other news: -- Women receive the right to vote (US Suffrage); Palestine is established; Roaring 20s begins with prosperity for nearly everyone (OurTimelines.com, 2018).
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| 1921 Pepsodent, Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia PA October 1921 pg19 from chroniclingamerica.loc.gov |
1922
Below is a screen shot for the marriage of his daughter Olive to Richard Woods in McHenry County Illinois. I don't know much of her history, yet, but you can find her Ancestry Profile here.
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In other news: -- Insulin is developed, saving lives of countless diabetics (OurTimelines.com, 2018).
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1923
Calvin Coolidge becomes the 30th President of the United States from 1923 to 1929
He was a Republican, Massachusetts governor, and Vice President, becoming President with the death of Warren G. Harding in 1923. He was elected in his own right in 1924. He said very little, although he had a rather dry sense of humor (Wikipedia -- Coolidge, 2018).
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| (Wikipedia -- Harding, 2018) |
President Harding Quote -- "I don't know what to do or where to turn in this taxation matter. Somewhere there must be a book that tells all about it, where I could go to straighten it out in my mind. But I don't know where the book is, and maybe I couldn't read it if I found it" -- (Harding, 2018).
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| Grover Cleveland Stamp (Wikipedia -- Harding, 2018} |
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1924
Joseph Ware Tapp dies in Elgin, Kane County, Illinois. His residence at the time of death is listed as Harvard, McHenry County, Illinois. His wife, Laura Swope Tapp, lived for another 30 years before her death in 1954 in Beloit, Wisconsin. Joseph was only 67 years old. I don't know exactly what he died from, but here is an obituary of sorts found on Find a Grave, with link here.
Images from Google Maps are of where 2 South Jefferson should be. I can't find a house, but to be honest, at the time I searched for the address, December 2019, the navigation on the street view was awful and un-navigable. Oh, well, here is what I have.
Images below are from Ancestry.com. Apparently, I've started to apply for death certificate for my great grandfather, but I failed to send it in. Good thing this blog is here to help me fill in most if not all the gaps! I'll update if and when it becomes available.
Joseph W. Tapp, 67, passed away at Elgin State Hospital after an illness that had its inception five years before when he was afflicted with a partial stroke. He was unable to recover from this visitation and his physical powers waned. He was survived by his wife, Laura Swope, and eight children, 11 grandchildren, 1 sister and 3 brothers (Everett, 2007).Knowing how stroke affects people, I can make an educated guess. Joseph was a farmer. The typical farmer is quite independent, and he most likely could not do the things he used to do. He became dependent on his wife and family. It is highly possible, I suppose, that he may have willed himself to die. If you know more about this, contact me using the form on the right.
Images from Google Maps are of where 2 South Jefferson should be. I can't find a house, but to be honest, at the time I searched for the address, December 2019, the navigation on the street view was awful and un-navigable. Oh, well, here is what I have.
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| Joseph Ware Tapp 1924 death google maps Red is his address in 1924 Blue is Alden where he'd worked the farm |
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| Joseph Ware Tapp 1924 death google satellite map |
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| Joseph Ware Tapp 1924 death google street view |
Images below are from Ancestry.com. Apparently, I've started to apply for death certificate for my great grandfather, but I failed to send it in. Good thing this blog is here to help me fill in most if not all the gaps! I'll update if and when it becomes available.
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| Joseph Ware Tapp 1924 Death index |
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| Joseph Ware Tapp 1924 death notice Andectry.com |
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| Joseph Ware Tapp 1924 Find a Grave screen shot (Everett, 2007) |
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| Joseph Ware Tapp 1924 gravestone (Everett, 2007) |
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| Joseph Ware Tapp 1924 gravestone 2 (Everett, 2007) |
Joseph Ware Tapp on WikiTree.com link
Joseph Ware Tapp on Geni.com link
More information on Elgin State Hospital. It was essentially a multi-purpose facility, treating not only mental illness, but also tuberculosis patients and it provided federally funded care for veterans. It also had, at one time, a separate general hospital. They provided for most of their own food on their patient-run farm full of hogs and cattle and vegetables. Staff lived on the grounds with subsidized housing. The cost of the housing, food, and laundry was deducted from their paychecks (Wikipedia -- Elgin Mental Health Center, 2019).
It has gone through several name changes, with it's very first name being Northern Illinois Hospital and Asylum for the INsane, opening in 1872. It had a man-made lake designed to not only provide tranquility for staff and patients, but also extra water for fire protection. The hospital "was often involved with notable research in medical and behavioral advances and served as a training ground for many physicians and other disciplines ...." (Asylum Projects, 2017).
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| Main building shortly after completion (Asylum Projects, 2017) |
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| Main Entrance Building at Elgin State Hospital (Asylum Projects, 2017) |
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| Illinois Northern Hospital for the Insane, Elgin, Ill. (Asylum Projects, 2017) This view shows the large lake |
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| 1891 Sanborn Map of the Illinois Northern Insane Hospital (Asylum Projects, 2017) |
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| Patients Lose Identity From The Belvedere Daily Republican 12 May 1913 (Asylum Projects, 2017) |
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| World War Veterans' Building at Elgin State Hospital The Belvidere Daily Republican 23 May 1922 (Asylum Projects, 2017) |
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| Jacksonville Illinois Daily Journal 29 July 1920 (Asylum Projects, 2017) |
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| Original doors and architectural features still remained during demolition 1993 |
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| One of the interior rooms with two patient beds 1993 taken before demolition |
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| Italianate style windows 1993 taken before demolition |
Youtube video about this hospital
Veterans' Ward of the Elgin State Hospital
Dave Edlen uploaded this video. Here's what he said about it
The Elgin Mental Health Center of Elgin, Illinois was formerly named the Elgin State Hospital. It once housed a separate, federally funded facility for the care of disabled veterans. From 1932 to 1949 my grandfather, John W. Nelson, was employed by the Illinois Division of Veterans’ Services and worked as a service officer at this facility. He made this film around 1934 showing the hospital grounds, his co-workers, the veterans that he cared for, and some of their activities and special events. Some of the people named in the film are Dr. Charles F. Read, Miss Myrl Leonard, Mrs. Julia Mumme, Miss Della Williams, Miss Lorna M. Beadles, and Miss Grace Hopper. Most of the participants seen in this film were probably veterans of the First World War.
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Resources
Harding, W. G. (2018). Warren G. Harding Quotes. Retrieved from BrainyQuotes: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/warren_g_harding
Illinois County Marriage Records. (1922). Richard and Olive Tapp Woods marriage record. Retrieved 2018, from Ancestry.com: Ancestry.com
Wikipedia -- Harding. (2018, May 26). Warren G. Harding. Retrieved May 27, 2018, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_G._Harding
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