see also Ginestra, Leo
on 1972 Heritage Homes Tour, photo of staircase, house 117 yrs old original owner Freeman Graham
Source: Rockford Morning Star 10/1/1972 & Rockfordiana-Historic Houses and Landmarks-3, p21
Freeman Graham
Graham, Freeman
not in 1857 City Directory
Source: 1857 Rockford City Directory
1859-60, 1866 City Directory lists Graham as foreman, Talcott, Emerson & Co.
Source: 1859 – 1860 1866 Rockford City Directory
and Julia, and 5 children are in 1860 census here
Source: 1860 Federal Census
came to Beloit in 1855, and engaged in the implement business and 4 sons, Freeman, Byron, Julius and David, launched Graham Cotton Mills, Graham Distillery and paper mills
cotton mills, (Graham & Sons) resident 905 So main St.
Source: 1869 Rockford City Directory pg. 235
Rockford, Rock Island and St. Louis Railroad Company – 1870
Source: Rockford Weekly Register-Gazette Mar. 19, 1870
905 South Main Street
905 South Main Street
David Graham, Graham & Co.
Freeman Graham, office at 702 South Main Street
J. Graham, Graham & Co.
All reside at 905 South Main Street
Source: 1876 Rockford City Directory
Graham-Ginestra Home for sale – 2015
Source: Rockford Register Star 7/3/2015
Main St., South, 905
Graham, Freeman, Sr, retires, resides at 905 S Main
Source: 1889-1890 City Directory
House is also listed at 1115 S Main St., and as Graham-Ginestra Museum more on house in library’s Rockfordiana files newspaper article, above found in Sept 1978, Register-Republic
Heritage Houses – 1972
Source: Rockford Morning Star Oct. 9, 1972
Main Between Morgan and Loomis
Main between Morgan and Loomis
Residence of Freeman Graham
Foreman at Talcott, Emerson and Company
Source: 1859-1860 Rockford City Directory
Main St., South, 1116
home of H.S. Warner built by Mrs. Warner’s father, Freeman Graham
Source: Rockfordiana – Historic Houses and Landmarks – 1 & Rockford Morning Star 5/17/1965 & 1902 Rockford City Directory Graham was owner of Graham Distilleries Ginestra bought house in 1925 Ginestra opposes Blackhawk Bottling wall proposal carriage house, outhouse are preserved
Source: Rockfordiana – Historic Houses and Landmarks – 2 pg. 50 & Rockford Morning Star 6/29/1969
“pre-Civil War home offered as a museum” limestone blocks used to build house; typifies South Rockford; 1 exterior, 2 interior photos daughter Mrs. Schmeltzer has offered house to Rockford Park District for preservation as a museum Rockford Park District owns and maintains Tinker Cottage and lands around it as a park
Source: Rockfordiana – Historic Houses and Landmarks – 4, p23 & Rockford Morning Star 09/01/1978
Guadalajara De Noche
Source: 1994 & 2005 City Directory
Rockford’s Oldest Houses
Herrick Cobblestone House, 2027 Broadway, Built 1847; Elijah L. Herrick; Cape Cod Colonial with Greek Revival style adaptations Graham-Ginestra House, 1115 So. Main St., Built in 1857, Freeman Graham, lived there 1857 – 1927. The Ginestra Family bought the home in 1927 and lived there until 2006. Civil War Hospital, “Camp Fuller Civil War Hospital,” 1260 No. Main St., built in 1842, Brewmaster’s House, Peacock Brewery, 500 No. Madison, Built circa 1845, Jonathan Peacock bought the house in 1849. By his death in 1893, he was recognized as the richest man in the county, with an estate worth 1/2 a million dollars. Jacob Posson House, 201 No. Second St., home of a Civil War Veteran, lost an arm in the Battle of Shiloh ; built 1842. Willard Wheeler House, 228 So. First St. Built 1843; Wheeler was the second tinner in Rockford, village trustee, mayor of Rockford.
Source: Nuggets of History; Vol. 52, No. 3, October 2014