Julie Cahill Tarr, the Chicagoland Graveyard Rabbit, posted a photo of the Chicago Typographical Union Memorial in Elmwood Park Cemetery, River Grove Illinois. It reminded that I found a similar monument a few years ago in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana (one of my favorite cemeteries).
According to The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, the National Typographical Union was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1852. Journeymen printers from fourteen cities were represented; the group from Indianapolis was selected as Union No. 1 “through a random drawing.” The Union later became the International Typographical Union following the admission of Canadian unions in 1869.(1)
Surrounding the monument are 13 smaller markers: (2)
- S. H. Hill, 1874
- W. Spooner, 1875
- Unknown, 1876
- ___ Lee, 1876
- C. Gildricht, 1881
- J. B. Smith, 1880
- J. Sexton, 1905
- J. E. Puhl, 1881
- W. B. Montgomery, 1890
- J. Wilson, 1885
- B. E. Dolbear, 1887
- Mrs. B. E. Dolbear, 1887
- D. Mitten, 1887
Sources:
(1) Cunningham, Joan. “International Typographical Union.” In The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, edited by David J. Bodenhamer and Robert Graham Barrows, 823-824. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1994.
(2) Crow, Amy. Photographs taken at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana, 27 September 2004.
Thanks for your comment. I actually saw your post before I saw the comment and thought great minds think alike. I wasn’t able to find much out other than I believe the union to have been absolved several times and is essentially part of the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (GCC/IBT) (http://www.gciu.org/histtemp.shtml). I wasn’t able to find anything specific on the memorial that I posted, which is a bummer because I wanted to know more. Thanks for sharing yours!
What a wonderful monument!