The next meeting of the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society will be the Annual Show & Tell on Tuesday, January 13th at 7pm. This is often one of the most interesting meetings of the year as one never knows what will turn up. 

All history is local until it is woven together with other stories to become part of the National fabric and there is no aspect of National history that doesn’t touch Tazewell County.

Tazewell residents valued education, and one of the early immigrants, William Blenkiron, played a key role in establishing Pekin High School. William was born 15 April 1830 in Richmond, Yorkshire, England to Bartholomew and Elizabeth Blenkiron. He arrived in the USA as a young man and was an instructor at Jubilee College in Peoria County. 

He arrived in Pekin about 1858 and signed his Declaration of Intent to become a citizen here on 27 October 1859. Just two years later, on 28 October 1861, he signed his Final Oath and received his Final Certificate. He was married 25 June 1863 in Pekin to Anna Sage (1842-1919), who was a daughter of Norton and Caroline Devoe Sage of Green Valley. William was listed as a boarder in the Sage home when he first arrived in Pekin.

The 1860 census listed William as a teacher but by 1861 he was listed as Superintendent of Schools in Pekin’s first city directory.

After retiring from education, he opened a bookstore on Court St. and was then listed as a bookseller and book dealer from 1880 onward. He also served on the city council, board of supervisors, and was otherwise engaged in civic matters about town.

He and Anna had two children: Harry (1864-1918) and Anna L. (1871-1945), but neither of them had children, so the line died out with Anna. However, the name lives on locally as the family chose to create a little subdivision of Lot 14 and Queen’s Square in King’s Addition to the City of Pekin in 1869, which was bounded by Colt St. on the west, Park St. on the South and Alexander St. on the east.

Later a portion of that subdivision was donated by Anna Blenkiron to the park district to become Blenkiron Park or “Tot Lot” as it was commonly known to children. The park is located at the corner of 6th and Park Avenue.

A young man who lived in that area during the 1950s, Mark Werner, relates that the Blenkiron home was moved from the area that would become the park to its current location at 712 S. 7th St., where it still stands today. Your writer recalls walking to Tot Lot from my cousin’s home at Walnut and 4th St. It was and still is a well-loved little park nestled into a historic neighborhood.

The Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society is an award-winning 501c3, all-volunteer organization that has been in continuous service to our members and the public for 47 years. TCGHS operates an archive, library, and research facility at 719 N. 11th St., Pekin. Visit our website at www.tcghs.org to learn more about us. If you have any point of interest that you would like to know more about, stop in at TCGHS or drop us a line.