Thursday, April 15, 2021

Seavers in the News -- Oscar Seaver Dies in 1950 in Illinois

 It's time for another edition of "Seavers in the News" - a weekly feature from the historical newspapers about persons with the surname Seaver that are interesting, useful, mysterious, fun, macabre, or add information to my family tree database.

This week's entry is from The [Crystal Lake, Ill.] Herald newspaper dated 12 October 1950:



The transcription of the article is:

"Oscar Seaver

"Funeral services for Oscar Seidel Seaver, 74, of Barrington, formerly of Lakewood, retired lawyer and former Army officer, were held Oct. 2 at St. Anne's church.  Burial was in All Saints cemetery at Des Plaines.  Military honors were accorded by Barrington American Legion post.

"Mr. Seaver died Thursday evening, Sept. 28, at his home at 226 West Lake street following a two years' illness.  He was born Oct. 31, 1875 at Cambridge, Mass., and was married to Agnes Pohlman in Chicago, on June 29, 1927.  The couple made their home at Evanston for a few years then moved to Crystal Lake where they lived until 13 years ago when they became residents of Barrington.

"Graduated from Harvard university in 1898, Mr. Seaver received his LLD degree from the University of New York in 1907 and was awarded his JD degree at the same school a year later.  He practiced law in New York from 1908 to 1911 when he established a practice in Chicago.  He was active in his profession until early 1949 when he became ill.

"He was a member of the Harvard, Yale, Princeton club of Chicago, the Harvard club  of Chicago, the University club of Evanston, The New York Bar Association as well as the Illinois and Chicago bar associations.  Mr. Seaver was a charter member of Barrington Hills Country club.

"During World War I, Mr. Seaver served with Company G, 327th Machine Gun Battalion, 8rth Infantry Division, as a captain, and while overseas was on the official staff for the prisoner of war trials.  In the Illinois National Guard he held the rank of captain and in 1929 organized the 330th Tank Company, now company G of Maywood.  Mr. Seaver was a major in the United States Army Reserve from 1919 to 1924 when he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

"Mr. Seaver belonged to the Crystal Lake American Legion post and later transferred to the Barrington post.

"Mr. Seaver was the attorney for the Barrington Park Board during 1947 and 1948.  He formerly served at attorney for the Lakewood village board and during his residence in Evanston was an alderman of the first ward and headed various important committees active in the ward.

"Surviving in addition to his wife, are a son, Robert Cushing Seaver; a sister, Miss Margaret Seaver of Boston; two brothers, Dr. Edwin Peter Seaver of New Bedford, Mass., and Samuel Seaver of Markham, Ontario, Canada"

The source citation is:

"Oscar Seaver,The [Crystal Lake, Ill.] Herald newspaper, obituary, Thursday, 12 October 1950, page 13, column 4, Oscar Seaver obituary;  Newspapers.com   (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 15 April 2021).

This obituary provides a name, an age, a death date and place, a birth date and place, a marriage date and place, and the names of his wife, child, and living siblings, plus a fairly full description of his education, legal career, military service, and associations. 

Oscar Seidel Seaver was born 21 October 1875 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of Edwin Pliny and Margaret Wiley (Cushing) Seaver.  He died 28 September 1950 in Barrington, Illinois, Florida.  He married Agnes Cecelia Pohlmann (1896-1986) on 1 January 1926 in Dexter, New York.  They had one child:

* Robert Cushing Seaver (19128-????).

I am a 7th cousin three times removed to Oscar Seaver, with the common Seaver ancestor being robert Seaver (1608-1683), who settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1634.

There are over 10,000 Seaver "stories" in my family tree - and this was one of them.   Life happens, accidentally and intentionally, and sometimes a person has a long legal and military career. I am glad that I can honor Oscar Seidel Seaver today.  

You never know when a descendant or relative will find this blog post and learn something about their ancestors or relatives, or will provide more information about them to me.

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Disclosure:  I have a complimentary subscription to Newspapers.com and have used it extensively to find articles about my ancestral and one-name families.


Copyright (c) 2021, Randall J. Seaver

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1 comment:

Marian B. Wood said...

This means you have an exact address to search for Oscar in the 1950 Census!