Charles Abraham Purcell

CHARLES A. PURCELL Death Takes Wealthy Citizen who had Lived Seventy Years in this Community--Ill but a Week Charles A. Purcell who had lived in this community for seventy years, died last Saturday morning at his home after an illness of a week. He was in his seventy-seventh year and until recently had appeared to e in the good health with which he had been favored all of his long life. Mr. Purcell lived as a child on Ridgeland avenue, just south of North avenue where his father had a farm. He was born in New York state by his family came west in his childhood. He studied at Lowell school and recalled standing at the fence on the Lake street side of the school ground and watching soldiers marching to Chicago to entrain to the front--that was in the civil war. All of Mr. Purcell's brothers and sisters, only one of whom is now living, Mrs. Mary Dowling of Los Angeles, became people of wealth and consequence. Mr. Purcell early engaged in the malt and grain business and he and his brother amassed large fortunes in this enterprise. During the least thirty years he had not been engaged in active business although he went daily to his office in the city to manage his investments. While he had the means to indulge himself in travel he seldom spent a night away from home and enjoyed most a simple manner of living. In his youth, he married a daughter of Dr. William C. Gray, for many years editor of The Continent and a leader in the Presbyterian church. She passed away about fifteen years ago. During the last two years Mr. Purcell made his home with Mr. and Mrs. H. L. Baldwin at 714 Clinton place, River Forest. The surviving members of his family are a son, William, a well known architect of Portland, Ore., a grandson, Charles, of Forest Hills, Downers Grove, and a granddaughter, Miss Vaun Purcell of River Forest. Funeral services took place at the residence on Tuesday afternoon, Dr. Daniel T. Denman, officiating. --Oak Leaves (Oak Park, IL), 27 Mar 1931, pg. 80

Spouse: Anna Cora Gray, daughter of William and Anna. Anna Cora and Charles were married in Dec., 1879, but were long estranged when she committed suicide in June, 1914, in Los Angeles.

Siblings: William Henry; Michael Jr.; James Victor; Hannah Drucilla; Thomas B.; Lucretia; Mary Eliza; Ann; John; Charles was the youngest.