(1868 - 1953)
Biographical Sources of Information
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Born: August 22, 1868 in Alton, Illinois, USA
Died: Sunday, October 25, 1953 in Alton, Illinois, USA
Buried: October 27, 1953
Place of Burial: Alton, Illinois, USA
Graduated from Alton High School, Alton, Illinois in 1886.
Her name first appears in the Alton City Directory in 1891 -1892 and is listed as living at the same address as her father, Manuel H. Boals. Her name appears in the Alton City Directory as a music teacher in 1899 -1900. She was first listed as a librarian in 1921. She retired as the children's librarian for the Jennie D. Hayner Public Library, Alton, in 1942, at the age of 74.
Minnie M. Boals lived her entire life in Alton, Illinios. Her father owned a planing mill in Alton and, according to a nephew, the entire family was musically inclined. The Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison County, Illinois, contains an entry about her family and states that the Boals family was prominent in the region. They Boals family moved from Centre County, Pennsylvania. The town of Boalsburg was named for them. Her father, Manuel, moved to Alton in pursuit of the carpentry trade. After some time, he became an important business man, owning and operating a planing mill. He was primarily responsible for the construction of the congregational church to which the family belonged. Minnie attended school in Alton and taught there her entire life. She was the Superintendent of Music for the schools in Alton, Illinois. She never married. Minnie seems to have lived her entire life in a three block area. She was born in a house on Sixth Street (see picture). She attended a church that was largely financed by her father and was located at the corner of Sixth and Henry Streets. Her home was on the same block as her church. She taught at Alton High School, located across the street from her family home. She later moved a block away to a second address on Fifth Street and lived there for the remainder of her life. She was buried by a funeral home directly across the street from her church.
This is the house where Minnie was born and lived until she was 43 years old.
The Boals family gravesite in Alton, Illinois.
Grave marker of Minnie M. Boals in Alton, Illinois.
Minnie Boals would have been 38 years old when she attended the 1907 conference held in Keokuk, Iowa.
Biographical Sources of Information
Alton Directory, 1892. Alton, Illinios: A. T. Benson & Co., 1892.
Alton Directory, 1900. Keokuk, Iowa: W. H. McCoy, 1900.
Alton Directory, 1902. Keokuk, Iowa: W. H. McCoy, 1902.
Alton Directory, 1921. Peoria, Illinois: Leshnick Directory Co., 1921.
Alton Directory, 1926. Alton, Illinois: Huber Directory Co., 1926.
Illustrated Encyclopedia and Atlas Map of Madison County, Illinois. Saint Louis, Mo.: Brink McCormick & Co., 1873.
Norton , W.T., ed. Centennial History of Madison County, Illinois and Its People, 1812 to 1912, vol. 1. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1912.
Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison County, Illinois. Chicago: Biographical Publishing Co., 1894.
The Tatler. Yearbook for Alton High School. 1906.
Special thanks to: Don Huber, Alton, Illinois
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Submitted by
Keith Preston
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