William B. Andruss diary and commissions, 1855-1876.

Newberry Library

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6kt7hww (person)

The Newberry was founded on July 1, 1887 and opened for business on September 6 of that year. The Newberry’s establishment came about because of a contingent provision in the will of Chicago businessman Walter L. Newberry (1804-68), which left what later amounted to approximately $2.2 million for the foundation of a “free, public” library on the north side of the Chicago River, if his two children died without issue. After the deaths of Mr. Newberry’s daughters and then, in 1885, of his widow, t...

Edward E. Ayer Manuscript Collection (Newberry Library)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w65v4bgx (corporateBody)

Andruss, William B. (William Benajah)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6477cvw (person)

Lee County, Ill., merchant. Born in 1824 in Jerusalem, N.Y., raised as a farmer, and educated at the Franklin Academy in Prattsburgh, N.Y., William B. Andruss married Dolly Bell in 1846, and in 1847 they had one child, Virgil B. Andruss. In 1855 Andruss traveled to Michigan and Illinois seeking a new home and career, and finally settled with his family in Amboy, Lee County, Ill., where he and his wife opened a daguerrotype and ambrotype studio. A hardware merchant by 186...