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This picture was taken by, Jesse Sawyer between 1875-1898.
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The ostrich race was part of an annual fund-raiser
in the City of Peoria.
It featured various "stunts" including various animals being
harnessed & racing around the Peoria Stadium. Folks in general as
well as the general population of Peoria seemed to be more of a true
community at the turn of the century versus the indifferent
population 100 years later. I've seen this same differentiation in
my 60+ years. - Steve Slaughter - 2009
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The man is thought to be Andrew Lyding.
Andrew's family was definitely found of ostriches attached to carts.
The family lived in Chillicothe, Peoria county and Minonk, Woodford
county from about 1875 to about 1906. Andrew, his wife and four of
his children are buried in Springdale Cemetery in Peoria. Andrew
died about 1901 in Peoria. He was born in 1839 in Schenklengsfeld,
Hessen, Germany. He immigrated to America in 1865. He married his
wife Wilhelmina, also an imigrant from Germany, in Philadelphia
about 1871. He worked as a farmer, fence maker and wire worker. He
was the father of seven children, 3 girls and 4 boys. Their names
were Bertha, Tilllie, Lulu, Alfred, John, Joseph and Harry. They
were devout Baptists and were members of the German Baptist Church
in Richwoods, Illinois. The family left Peoria County and moved to
Chicago so that the youngest son, Harry, could attend the
prestigeous Rush Medical College in Chicago. Harry died in Chicago
in 1911 after treating a patient with Scarlett Fever and contracting
the disease himself from her. His death was front page news in the
Chicago newspaper as he was only 24 years old. None of the other
doctors wanted to treat the woman. Two of Andrew's sons became
dentists in Chicago. Andrew's son Alfred was an Evangelist in
Chicago and Peoria. One of Andrew's daughters married and moved to
Ontario, Canada, another became a successful accountant in Los
Angeles California, but the oldest daughter stayed at home and cared
for her mother. Andrew's widow with her daughters, Tillie and
Bertha, and son Alfred, left Chicago after the tragic death of Dr.
Harrison Andrew " Harry" Lyding and resided in Los Angeles
California until they died.
I would be very interested to know if anyone comes forward with
additional information about Andrew Lyding and his family.
Debbie Lyding , source #63
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