SSGHS and PFHS Seek Information on St. Anne Church and
Early Farm Families
The South Suburban Genealogical & Historical Society (www.ssghs.org) is
collecting
information on the St. Anne Catholic Church formerly in Park Forest, IL
(Sauk Trail & Westwood).
The church cemetery still exists and we are compiling a history of the
church and its members.
We are attempting to find out what happened to the church building that existed (at least)
until the early 1950's. If you have any documents about or photographs of
the church,
please contact us.
SSGHS is also working with the Park Forest Historical Society
(www.parkforesthistory.org)
to collect early photographs of the original farms that once made up the area
now known as
Park Forest as well as the histories of the families who owned the farms.
If you are researching
any of the early land owners of this area, and wish to be included in
this project,
please contact us.
We are looking for early plat maps of Bloom, Rich and Monee
Townships from
1840-1940. If you own these or know of local sources where we might
obtain copies,
please contact us.
Below is a listing of the surnames that were in St. Anne Cemetery in 1990 when it was
read by SSGHS.
If you are researching any of these families and wish to be included in this project,
or if you are a descendant
of an early Park Forest area family (pre 1946), please contact us at
Behrens
Berg
Berney
Biehn
Blattner
Blettner
Bock
Buselmeier
Bush
Campe
Carroll
Christopher
De Benedetto
Di Fiore
Einhorn
Emmerich
Engels
Fazzini
Foley
Furhmann
Gender
G--horn (marker unreadable)
Gorman
Gusselmeier
Hayes
Illgen
Isoylt
Jurkewicz
Kehoe
Keilman
Kelley
Kelly
Ketel
Klawitter
Klein
Koebele
Ledoux
Lennon
Lorig
Lustig
Lux
Mahan
Merk
Metzger
Morgan
Nussbaum
Ohmer
Petersens
Pfeifer
Pierceall
Polignat
Powers
Radtke
Scheidt
Schirra
Schroeder
Soelker
Steinhaus
Stephen
Tilton
Tucker
Turrellns
Vehrs
Weber
Wehren
Weishaar
Wolf
Wolff
The reading for this cemetery is located in our library. Also, if you wish to have a photo of
headstones in this cemetery please refer to our photo service www.ssghs.org/photo_service.htm
We hope to be hearing from you.
Kathy Wellington-Nassios
President, SSGHS
www.ssghs.org
Library 708-335-3340
Chicago Tribune February 3, 2008 and AARP Bulletin March 2008 Feature 1950s House Museum
On February 3, 2008 the Chicago Tribune ran a wonderful story by Joel Hood on the museum in the Metro section, Page 1 and page 5, with color photographs by John Smierczak (a former resident!). You have to pay to read it on their official site, but there is another site which still had the text for free. The article has brought many visitors to our doors in the past few months.
Cotton and Quail Antiques Gazette Article July 2008
We are on the web in a pretty impressive article from Cotton and Quail Antiques Gazette, reprinted on Antique Trader website, July 3, 2008. The article title is, "Step into the 1950s at Park Forest House Museum," by Alan M. Petrillo. We have had trouble linking it to the website. You can search 1950s House Museum and find it on the web.
"Step into the 1950s at Park Forest House Museum"
August 30, 2008 Marks 60th Anniversary of Tenants Moving In to Park Forest Rentals
1950s Museum moves into 141 Forest Blvd in October 2007
August 30, 2008 is the 60th Anniversary date of the first three families moving into the rental units in Park Forest. The first three families to move in were Ross and Leona DeLue with their five year-old daughter, Mary, William and Jane Heckman, and Manuel and Madeleine Kanter. Each family was received by a different ACB employee, so at different times, each was recognized as the First Family. The ones who stayed the longest were Ross and Leona DeLue, who were often recognized as the First Family of Park Forest. Leona tells us jockeying for the claim of who moved in first was always a very friendly competition.These three families were honored along with the first 100 families on the plaque the Village of Park Forest dedicated in the Downtown on July 30, 2008, located at Founder's Way and Main Street.
