Ira Clifton Copley

Ira Clifton Copley was an American publisher, politician, and utility tycoon. Born in rural Knox County, Illinois, Copley's family moved to Aurora when Copley was 2 so he could be treated for scarlet fever. After graduating from Yale College and the Union College of Law in Chicago, Copley assumed management of the Aurora Gas Light Company. He successfully guided the company into a regional utilities giant, eventually merging his assets into the Western Utility Corporation, which he sold in 1926.

Copley purchased his first newspaper in 1905, eventually amassing over two dozen papers as Copley Press. He was a Republican and was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1911, where he served until 1923. From 1915 to 1917, he represented his district as a Progressive. Copley was defeated in a primary in 1922. He is the namesake of the Old Copley Hospital in Aurora, IL, built in 1880, originally named the City Hospital of Aurora. It was re-named in 1937 Copley Memorial Hospital when Mr. Copley donated $2 million toward an expansion. A new hospital was built in 1995 about 3 miles southwest of the old hospital and was named the Rush–Copley Medical Center. His adopted sons James S. and William went on to notable careers in business and art, respectively.

Wikipedia

1865 Illinois state census

1870 United States census

1880 United States census

Marriage to Edith Strohn:

• Affidavit for marriage license
• Marriage certificate

Passport applications:

• 1900
• 1923

1900 United States census

Immigration to New York City, New York:

• 1908
• 1926
• 1933
• 1934

1920 United States census

1930 United States censuses:

• Aurora, Illinois
• Coronado, California

Immigration to Boston, Massachusetts (1931)

Immigration to Honolulu, Hawaii (1933)

Immigration to Los Angeles, California (1933)

1940 United States census

Death