Alonzo Wheeler Jerome was born on March 8, 1834 at Four Mile Point, New York.
Oddly, he is not mentioned at any of the relevant web sites, or even the official one for the nearby town of Coxsackie.
The Coxsackie Historic Preservation Commision and the Green County Historical Society have not heard of him, nor has the librarian at the Vedder Memorial Library.
Go figure.
Jerome moved to Paxton, Illinois in 1868, and it was from there that he launched his assault upon the chess world with his analysis of the bodacious Jerome Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+
A hometown hero?
Not if you check the Paxton home page. Nary a whisper.
I have submitted the following "classified ad" to the paper:
We will see what, if anything, happens.Looking for information on or relatives of Alonzo Wheeler Jerome. Born March 8, 1834 at Four Mile Point, New York; moved to Paxton, Illinois in 1868; March 6, 1873, married Jane "Jennie" A. Ostrom. Known for "The Jerome Gambit" published in the Dubuque Chess Journal, American Chess Journal, and elsewhere; died from the complications of a gastric ulcer March 22, 1902 in Springfield, Illinois. richardfkennedy@hotmail.com
Jerome died in Springfield, Illinois. Historical information about him has been crowded out by that political upstart, Abraham Lincoln.
However, his obituary was available from The Journal:
March 23, 1902
Mortuary Record
Jerome - Died, at 9 o'clock Saturday night, March 22, 1902, at his home, 812 South Third Street, Capt. A. W. Jerome, aged 67 years. The death of Captain Jerome was not unexpected, as he had been bedfast for two months. He came to Springfield at the beginning of the Tanner administration and since then had held the position of guide at the state house. During is stay in this city Captain Jerome became well known. He was a native of New York and was a veteran of the civil war. A widow is the only survivor. The remains will be sent Monday to Paxton for burial.
1 comment:
An email from Tom Purser, past editor of the "Blackmar Diemer Gambit World" magazine; author of Blackmar Diemer Gambit Correspondence Tournament, The Langeheinecke Defense to the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, and with Anders Tejler, Blackmar Diemar & Gedult; and Elephant Gambit with Niels Jensen and Rasmus Pape --
Rick,
Your post on Alonzo's bio bumped up against my interest in genealogy and I just spent some time checking the man out in a few of my sources. Found him in the 1860 census, with parents, younger brother and sister, and a couple of servants. Found him in 1880 and 1900 with Jennie. In 1880 they have a six-year old son, George, but he evidently had passed on by time of Alonzo's death. Also in their 1880 household were two of Jennie's sisters. I can send you the JPG images of these entries if you're interested.
Another interest entry is a patent for a "printing-machine" he was issued in 1885. Probably the best source I came across where you might turn up more biographical info is an index to a Civil War pension, first for himself as an invalid, then for his wife as an invalid. You might use this to find more data in the pension file in the National Archives.
Tom
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