An article about a group of African American men meeting to discuss social progress on this date in 1915 caught my eye. There were seven men listed as attending the meeting. I was able to trace the family of one man - Fred Wyche. He first appeared in the 1870 census, the son of Hubbard and Mittie Wyche. I was able to confirm this relationship due to the fact that the Wyche family is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery.
His father, Hubbard was from North Carolina according to the 1870 census and his wife was from Georgia. Hubbard's gravestone indicates that he was a member of the Co I of the 67th Illinois Volunteers. The gravestone is incorrect in that Wyche was in Company I of the 67th US Colored Infantry. He enlisted as a substitute for a drafted man. In fact, almost the entire company was composed of substitutes for men who bought their way out of fighting in 1864. Specifically, Hubbard Wyche was a substitute for G B Snedaker of Metamora, IL who most likely paid $300 to Hubbard Wyche to take his place -- this was the statutory amount paid. When G B Snedaker registered for the draft in 1863 he was 35 years old and his occupation was minister. Hubbard was placed in the 67th and sent to Morganza, Louisiana to hold that area for the Union. He served from September 1864 to July 1865 when he was discharged. The photo below is a civil war era photo of the camp at Morganza. If you would like to know more about the substitution of soldiers, the National Archives provides this commentary: http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1994/winter/civil-war-draft-records.html/
Hubbard and Mittie were married in Bloomington on December 20, 1865 after he returned from the war. In the 1870 census they had two children, Frances (3) and Fred (1).
Sadly, Hubbard died in 1871, and Fred's next appearance in the census was in 1900, after he was married to Margaret. They had a daughter then, Alberta. For all the years that Hubbard was an adult, he owned a house at 527 W. Taylor and lived there with his wife. He was a paper hanger by trade and owned his own shop. The 1940 census indicated that he and his wife had an 8th grade education, which was not at all uncommon for any person of their ages at that time in history. Fred Wyche was active in Republican politics and served as a committeeman at large in 1923 and primary election judge in 1904. He was also appointed as a a member of the local negro workers advisory committee to the Secretary of Labor in 1919 and in that capacity tried to place college girls from the South into jobs in Illinois in order to earn their tuition. In 1903 Mr. Wyche directed and starred in an amateur dramatic presentation benefitting the churches.
His daughter Alberta worked as a bottler at an oil manufacturer in Bloomington in 1910. An article about Easter Services at the AME church in 1910 indicates that Alberta performed on the mandolin in a duo with Newman Walker on the piano for the services. Fred Wyche also performed as a choir member and vocal soloist. Fred was noted as a favorite singer on several occasions in the Pantagraph.
Before 1920, Alberta married Calvin Stevely and was living in St. Louis, Missouri. Calvin was a railroad porter and Alberta worked as a clerk in a tailor factory. In 1930, they owned their own home in St. Louis and boarded out rooms to a young family headed by Preston Devenport, a high school teacher, and Ruth Anderson, a beautician, and their two children. Calvin still worked as a porter, but Alberta may have not been employed. Records indicate that Calvin and Alberta had two children of their own, Wyndhan Wyche Stevely and Anna Stevely.
Alberta died of a heart attack at her home October 6, 1938. The Pantagraph announcement recorded her story. Alberta was a graduate of both Bloomington High School and ISNU. She was a school teacher in Oklahoma before she married Calvin Stevely.
The Wyche family had a heritage to be proud of, and Fred Wyche continued his father's active work in improving the opportunities of African Americans as well as providing an excellent start for his daughter.