Published August 23, 2024
By Arlis Dittmer
A photo of John Garner used in a Lions Club publication. (Photo courtesy of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County.)
There is an archival box in the research area of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County labeled John F. Garner. Curiosity led me to open the box and discover the life of John Franklin Garner.
Garner was born on a farm in West Point, Illinois in 1878. His parents were described as “prominent residents of that section.” He attended West Point schools and Carthage High School. He graduated from Chaddock College with a Bachelor of Laws in 1898.
Garner married Cora Jansen in 1903. They had no children. He left his home on December 24, 1924 and refused to come home. Mrs. Garner went to court for a legal separation and support. Her lawyer filed suit and the sheriff attempted to serve the papers, but Garner had left the city to avoid being served. He told friends he did not intend to return. He did return. The divorce was never finalized as Mrs. Garner died at St. Mary Hospital during an operation for gallstones in 1927. On all subsequent census records, Mr. Garner identified as a widower.
Though Garner appeared to have a messy personal life, he had a very successful professional life. He served the Quincy community as a lawyer, county judge, Mayor, and States Attorney. Always interested in the Navy, he was active in the Naval Militia of Illinois. In Quincy he was a Lieutenant commanding the Fourth Division, Second Ship’s Crew.
After graduation from Chaddock Garner worked in the law office of George H. Wilson. He was not admitted to the bar until he turned 21 in October 1899. He later set up his own office. In 1910 he was appointed judge of the county court for a little less than a year. He entered politics as a Republican and was elected Mayor of Quincy in 1911, serving a two-year term. In 1920, he was elected states attorney for a four-year term. The November 24, 1960 Herald-Whig said he “won fame as a criminal lawyer… [handling] some of the outstanding criminal cases of the county.”
Garner was active in several organizations such as the Elks and the Masons. His longest commitments was to the Lions Club. He was the first president of the Quincy Lions Club, served as district governor, and edited the club’s bulletin. The Lions Club was first organized in Chicago in 1917. Local business clubs were invited to join the new association. In 1924 Garner presided over the dedication of a monument dedicated to Abraham Lincoln’s father Thomas and his step-mother Sarah Bush Lincon. The Illinois Lions Club sponsored the grave monument in the Old Gordon Cemetery of Shiloh Church in Coles County because the old grave stone had been chipped away by souvenir hunters.
Like so many of his fellow Quincyans, Garner loved to travel. His archival box holds three photo albums, mostly of trips, and a 283-page document chronicling his six-month trip around the world. He documents every step of the way starting with all the farewell parties given by his friends to his departure from Quincy on the Chicago Burlington and Quincy’s Illinois Zephyr heading west on December 23, 1935. He and his traveling partner, John Waldhaus of Keokuk took 10 days to get to San Francisco, stopping to see the sights whenever the train stopped. They left on the S. S. Van Buen on January 3, 1936 heading to Hawaii where they spent six days before leaving for Japan.
He gives detailed descriptions of all of their destinations in southeast Asia but had to bypass Siam (now Thailand) and French Indochina (now Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam) due to cholera outbreaks. By the time they got to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) he writes in his journal, “We were impressed everywhere with the British Empire.”
They traveled the Suez Canal and visited Egypt and Palestine, seeing Jerusalem during the holy week preceding Easter before leaving for Italy. From there they went to Germany. But days later, he writes about Germany from Belgium because they did not want to write anything about Germany while there.
Garner writes he was “glad to be out of Germany… . There is something indescribable about the atmosphere of the country that makes one uncomfortable.” Even though his traveling companion Waldhaus was German, he too was glad to be out of Germany. Gerner wrote that there were uniforms of all types everywhere. Even the boys and girls were in uniform. There were frequent parades of marching men and bands. When they would ask questions, people would whisper the answers.
Garner wrote that the Germans were spending money and building constantly. He questioned where the money was coming from. The travelers had problems with their visas and were questioned both entering and leaving the country.
Hitler pictures were everywhere. Garner wrote, “Hitler is a dictator… Hitler is a radical and will get his way ruthlessly, he is a dictator… until such time as the people rise up against him.”
Their trip was not over as they traveled in Holland, Belgium, and France, particularly visiting the various World War I battlefields. In England they visited London and several castles, returning to France and sailing from Marseilles to New York. From New York they took the train to Chicago and then down to Quincy arriving on June 6, 1936.
At the end of his journal on page 283 he writes, ”When I hear any fellow Americans, including Eleanor R and Madam Perkins, talk disparagingly about living conditions in this country, I will give them a swift kick in the pants.” He was referring to President Franklin Roosevelt’s wife Eleanor and the Secretery of Labor, Frances Perkins. As a staunch Republican, Garner did not think much of Franklin Roosevelt the Democrat president from 1933 to 1945.
Garner registered for the draft at age 39 in World War I but was not called to serve. He also registered at age 63 in 1942 for service in World War II. He died in 1960 and is buried in Woodland Cemetery.
Arlis Dittmer is a retired health science librarian and former president of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. During her years with Blessing Health System, she became interested in medical and nursing history—both topics frequently overlooked in history.
Sources
Chaddock College Catalogue. Quincy, IL: Volk, Jones & McMein, Printers, 1898
Illinois Lions Club. The Service of Dedication of the Monument Erected above the Graves of Thomas and Sarah Bush Lincoln, Father and Step-Mother of Abraham Lincoln, [Booklet] May 16, 1924.
“John F. Garner, 82, Former Judge, Dies.” Quincy Herald Whig, November 24, 1960.
“The Luncheon at The Newcomb.” Quincy Daily Journal, June 19, 1911, 10.
“Mrs. Frank Garner Asks Separation From Her Husband.” Quincy Daily Herald, March 14, 1925, 10.
“Operation Fatal To Mrs. Garner Attorney’s Wife.” Quincy Herald Whig, October 29, 1927, 8.
“Orders for the Military.” Quincy Daily Journal, April 22, 1903, 7.
“Separation Is Sought In Suit By Mrs. Garner.” Quincy Whig Journal, March 15, 1925, 3.
“Steinbach Nominated.” Quincy Daily Whig, March 1, 1911, 8.
