Dead & Buried in Freeport, Illinois

These people either died or are buried in Freeport.

William Rockefeller
William Rockefeller, father of billionaire industrialist John D. Rockefeller, lived in Freeport, died and is buried in Oakland Cemetery. William Avery Rockefeller, Sr. (November 13, 1810 – May 11, 1906) was the father of John Davison Rockefeller (1839 – 1937) and William Rockefeller (1841 – 1922), who both founded the Standard Oil company.

"Big Bill" sold snake oil, and was a confidence trickster. He was an unreliable father, and played no role in his son's business career.

Rockefeller and his first wife, Eliza Davison Rockefeller (1813 – 1889), married in 1837, and were the parents of six children: Lucy, John Davison, William, Mary Ann, Francis and Franklin.

William abandoned the family while John was a teenager, but remained married to Eliza until her death. He was a traveling salesman of dubious products, such as "cancer cures." As William was frequently gone for extended periods, Eliza struggled to maintain a semblance of stability at home.

While still married to Eliza, William had two daughters by Nancy Brown, Clorinda (born 1838) and Cornelia (born 1839).

In 1856, he assumed the name William Levingston, and married Margaret Allen.

After hearing rumors that the richest man in the world had a shameful family secret, the press went into a frenzy. Joseph Pulitzer offered a reward of $8,000 for information about "Doc Rockefeller" who was known to be alive and living under a false name, but whose whereabouts were a family secret. Journalists failed to track him down before he died, and the full story wasn't exposed until years later.

John D. Rockefeller never publicly acknowledged the truth about his father's life as a bigamist. John became an American industrialist and philanthropist. He revolutionized the oil industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy. He had always believed that his purpose in life was to make as much money as possible, and then use it wisely to improve the lot of mankind.

In 1870, the two Rockefeller brothers founded Standard Oil. John kept his stock and as gasoline grew in importance, his wealth soared and he became the world's richest man and the world's first ever billionaire.

Rockefeller is still the richest person in history. In 1902, Rockefeller was worth about $200 million—compared to the total national wealth that year of $101 billion. His wealth grew significantly as the demand for gasoline soared, eventually reaching $1.4 billion, including banking, shipping, mining, railroads, and other industries. As a percentage of the United States economy, no other American fortune—including Bill Gates and Sam Walton—would ever come close.

His foundations pioneered the development of medical research, and were instrumental in the eradication of hookworm and yellow fever. His money transformed a small private religious school into the prestigious University of Chicago.

Married in 1864, John and Laura had four daughters and one son, John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

While William was a bigamist and philanderer, his bloodline has been a major force in American business and politics for 125 years. William's great-grandson David Rockefeller was a leading New York banker. Another great-grandson, Nelson A. Rockefeller, was governor of New York and the 41st Vice President of the United States. A third great-grandson, Winthrop Rockefeller, was Governor of Arkansas. Great-great-grandson, John D. "Jay" Rockefeller IV is a Senator from West Virginia, and another, Winthrop Rockefeller, served as Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas.

John Wilson Shaffer
The Mormons fled from Illinois to Utah to escape persecution. There was great concern about the Mormons, and this led to increased scrutiny from the Federal Government throughout the 1850s and 1860s.

The Mormons were consolidating their power under Brigham Young. Nineteenth century Mormon political theory did not allow for separation of church and state. Anticipating when Christ would rule the earth, the Mormons began in 1844 to prepare a political organization through which Christ would govern. The militia or Nauvoo Legion, theoretically answerable to the territorial governor, was actually under the command of Lt. Gen. Daniel H. Wells, Mayor of Salt Lake City and counselor to President Brigham Young, the Church's Prophet, Seer, and Revelator.

In 1870 President Ulysses S. Grant acted. He appointed John Wilson Shaffer to be Governor of the Utah Territory. A former adjutant to Civil War General Benjamin F. Butler, Shaffer emphasized vigorous enforcement of federal authority. He removed Territorial Secretary Samuel A. Mann, who was linked to the Mormons. He ordered Utah Chief Justice James B. McKean to deal with problems of jurisdiction between federal and territorial officials.

Governor Shaffer believed in crushing acts that appeared rebellious to the federal government. Shaffer took control of Utah affairs from Mormon hands and placed it in the hands of the federal government. Shaffer, with the help of United States troops, gained control of the territorial militia.

He died suddenly in his first year as governor.

Shaffer was a businessman in Freeport. After the Civil War, General Shaffer built the home pictured at right and at left. He lived in it from 1866 to 1870, when he was appointed to be the Governor of the Utah Territory.

The home was later sold to Horatio Burchard, and later still to Dr. William Krape. In 1902 the home was turned into a 40 bed hospital, and was called the Globe Hospital. The institution later evolved into Deaconess Hospital and then Freeport Memorial Hospital. The Shaffer house, still a part of Freeport Memorial, was finally torn down in 1960.

John Wilson Shaffer, also known as J. Wilson Shaffer and J. W. Shaffer was born in Pennsylvania on July 5, 1827. He was a Freeport businessman, a Colonel and Chief of Staff to General Butler, he rose to Brevetted Brigadier General in the Union Army during the Civil War and was the Governor of the Utah Territory in 1870. He died in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 31, 1870. He is buried in Freeport.

Clyde Southwick
Professional baseball player Clyde Aubra Southwick was born on November 3, 1886 in Maxwell, Iowa.

In college, Southwick played for the Iowa State College of Agricultural & Mechanical Arts. He was a catcher, batted left, threw right, was 6 feet tall and weighed 180 pounds.

He got into the majors on August 22, 1911. He went 3 for 12 (.250) with no homers in 4 games for the 1911 St. Louis Browns. He played his last game in the major leagues on September 9, 1911.

He died October 14, 1961 in Freeport, Illinois, and is buried in Chapel Hill Cemetery.

Jack Warhop
My dad used to point out a house at 621 S. Chicago Avenue when I was 11 or 12 years old, and tell me that the man who lived there had been the major league pitcher who gave up the first home run that Babe Ruth hit in the major leagues.

The baseball diamond at Taylor Park was first class. In 1906 the Nebraska Indians came to play the Freeport team. The Freeport Minor League Class D baseball team was called the Freeport Pretzels. The teams ended in at 2-2 tie after 12 innings, and Jack Warhop pitched the whole way for the Indians. Freeport's manager, Bill Morarity, was so impressed with Warhop that he signed him to a contract to pitch for Freeport for $80 a month. So Warhop stayed in Freeport and married a Freeport girl, Grace Nichol.

In 1907 he won 26 games and lost only six. In 1908 he won 30 games and lost six, while the team won 57 games and lost 64 in the Wisconsin-Illinois League. He was drafted by the the New York Highlanders (who in 1913 changed their name to the New York Yankees) in mid-season, and won one game in the major leagues, while losing two. In 1909 he won 13 games and lost 15. In 1910, he was 14-14; in 1911, 12-13; in 1912, 10-19; in 1913, 4-6; in 1914, 8-15, and he went 7-9 in his final season, 1915. His total win-loss record with the Highlanders/Yankees was 69-93, with an ERA of 3.12.

His pitching could be a bit wild at times. His 114 career hit batsmen is a Yankees team record and ranks 37th on the Major League Baseball All-Time Hit Batsmen List. He also holds the Yankees single season record for most hit batsmen, 26 in 1909. On May 6, 1915 he pitched to the opposing pitcher, George Herman Ruth, and the Babe hit his first home run. Warhop also pitched Babe Ruth’s second home run, on June 2, 1915.

His batting average was just .156, but he still holds a major league record for pitchers for having stolen home twice, on August 27, 1910 and July 12, 1912.

He is 11th all-time in Yankee history in games pitched, 105; 13th in ERA and 16th for innings pitched, 1413.

Jimmy Powers wrote in the New York News, "Jack's greatest feats were performed with the Yankees in 1908. He was 5 feet 7 inches, a great workhorse. In 1910 he was good for 243 innings. Back on May 6, 1915, Jack had the dubious distinction of pitching the curve ball that a rookie named Ruth poled out of the park for his first major league home run."

The game was played in the Polo Grounds in New York City. Ruth was pitching for the Boston Red Sox, and Warhop for the New York Yankees. The Yankees won in 13 innings, 4-3.

Today pitchers are coddled, and only pitch every third or fourth day. Jack Warhop often pitched every day or every other day. He had a wicked submarine ball.

After retiring from major league ball, he continued to pitch around the country in the minor leagues, local leagues and exhibition games. In 1955 he appeared on the "What's My Line?" television show.

Jack Warhop died in Freeport on October 4, 1960, and is buried in the Lanark Cemetery.

Home