Early Library Leaders and Supporters
The history of librarianship in Urbana is a history of local support. Every iteration of the Urbana Library, from the subscription library of the 1850s to the institution we use today, was and is the result of the efforts of Urbana citizens. Below you will find some of the earliest allies of the library, but this is by no means an exhaustive list. The Young Men's Library Association had over fifty men contribute money to organize The Urbana Free Library in 1872. In 1908, the Commercial Club of Urbana, a local civic group, was the first to push for a new building. In the libraries later years, we depended on support from the Friends of the Library and other local citizens to fund major projects, including two library expansions. As recently as 2005 we received support from hometown celebrity Roger Ebert to fund our last expansion.
Frank Jaques (1839-1896) was a founding member of the Urbana Library Association, 1872-1874 and helped lead the transition to The Urbana Free Library. In a petition presented to the City Council in July 1874, Jaques and the Urbana Library Association asked for the city to take over the library because, “it appears that the reading room and library is patronized more by laboring men and men of small means who cannot well afford to pay dues as the businessmen of the city.” The city agreed and The Urbana Free Library was born.
Jaques continued as the treasurer and a library board member from 1874 until his death in 1896. He also undertook annual book-buying trips to Chicago and New York City on behalf of the library and solicited money from friends and colleagues for book purchasing. Upon his death, his daughter Minnie Jaques, took up his treasurer’s role and remained in the position for fifty years. Another Jaques family member, his niece Ida B. Hanes served for fifty years (1874-1924) as The Urbana Free Library’s head librarian.
Minnie Jaques (pronounced Jakes) (1864-1953) moved to 207 West Elm Street in Urbana when she was two years old and remained there her entire life. She received her education from the University of Illinois in 1886 and was a first cousin of Ida B. Haines. Her father, Frank Jaques, along with a large group of Urbana citizens, founded The Urbana Free Library and he became its first treasurer. When Frank became ill and no longer could maintain his position as library treasurer, Minnie took up his role in 1896 and was officially designated by the city council in 1898.
As library treasurer, Jaques was involved with nearly every major library project and proposal throughout her tenure, including being a member of the building committee for the new library that eventually became The Samuel T. Busey Memorial Library. She held her position as treasurer for over fifty years. In a letter given to Jaques during a memorial in honor of her fifty years as treasurer, the city thanked her for her dedication to the library and her years of service. “You have seen the library grow from its very founding; you have seen its inadequate quarters in the city building and when Mrs. Busey gave the funds for a memorial to her husband, General Samuel T. Busey; you helped plan the beautiful building in which the library is now housed.”
Frederick E. Eubeling (1841-1911) was born in Lauenburg, Prussia and immigrated to the United States when he was twelve. He started working for local druggist J.W. Jaquith within weeks after arriving in Urbana. Despite criticisms from patrons about his non-native tendencies and language barrier, Eubeling quickly learned the druggist trade and picked up English. By the age of 21, Eubeling was a qualified druggist and enlisted in the Illinois Volunteer Infantry in support of the Union. Following the war, Eubeling became the Urbana City Treasurer in the 1870s and helped found The Urbana Free Library with Frank Jaques and other Urbana men. In the 1890s, he worked in the library with Ida Haines mending and organizing books and was a member of the library board of directors from 1898-1911. Upon his death, Eubeling left a perpetual endowment of $10,000 to The Urbana Free Library in his bequest along with his library of books. These funds were to be used solely for the purchase of books for the library, approved by the librarian.
Ida B. Haines was the second and longest tenured librarian in the history of The Urbana Free Library. Haines began her library career in November 1874 after the first librarian, University of Illinois Civil Engineering student Samuel H. Hooks, was fired for fabricating his credentials after holding the position four months. She remained the head librarian of every iteration of The Urbana Free Library through the opening of The Samuel T. Busey Memorial Library in 1918. As the librarian, Haines was a supporter and advocate for the new library and the Urbana community. In January 1917, before Busey announced her donation, Haines was the lead spokesperson at an Urbana Men’s Civics Club meeting promoting the library’s services and the need for a new building. According to Haines, “one visit to the library, you can see for yourselves. We need more room.” She retired in 1924 after fifty years of service.
George McKinley Bennett (1863-1935) was born in Champaign, Illinois. Bennett studied to be a pharmacist and took his first position in a Bloomington drug store in 1885. On January 1, 1887, he purchased half interest in a drug store on Main and Race in Urbana along with his brother-in-law E.M. Knowlton. The Knowlton and Bennett building, which still stands today, was a leading business institution under Bennett’s care. The building held The Urbana Free Library from 1876, when it was known as the Zachariah E. Gill Building, until 1893 when it was under the name Knowlton and Bennett. A key member and organizer of the Urbana Association of Commerce, Bennett was part of the first group to propose a new library building in Urbana in 1908. Three years later, he joined the building committee for the library and pushed to get funding from Andrew Carnegie. After Carnegie withdrew his offer, Bennett sought different ways to pay for the library rather than abandon the project. In addition to his work on the building committee, he was also a member of The Urbana Free Library Board of Trustees for 45 consecutive years.
Joseph Oscar Cunningham (1830-1917) was born in Erie County, New York. Cunningham moved from Erie County to Huron County, Ohio, then Vermillion County, Indiana before finally landing in Urbana in 1853. That same year he purchased the local Urbana Union newspaper and owned the business until 1858 when he decided to attend law school in Cleveland. After a year of law school, Cunningham opened his first law office in Urbana on May 1st, 1859. Two years later, he was elected as a county judge, a position he held four years. Cunningham was a founding member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees and served from 1868-1873. Cunningham was also an acquaintance and avid supporter of Abraham Lincoln and his political ideals.
Aside from his public and political endeavors, Cunningham was known for his extensive home library. When asked why he did not vacation in warmer weather in the winter, Cunningham responded, referring to his books, “How could I leave my friends for so long a time?” Upon his death in 1917, Cunningham left his library of 300+ books of American history to the soon-to-be opened Samuel T. Busey Memorial Library. In his will, Cunningham thanked Mary E. Busey for her library contribution and was proud that his books would have a place to be “properly housed”.