Forest Home Cemetery Overview
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  • History of Forest Home Cemetery
    • Native Americans
    • Chapel
    • Bridge over the Des Plaines River
    • Eisenhower Expressway
  • Gravestones and Monuments
    • Gravestone Symbols
    • Unique Gravestone Monuments >
      • White Bronze
      • Rustic Gravestones
      • Photo-ceramic
      • Tiffany Designed Monuments
      • Druids
      • International Organization of Odd Fellows (IOOF)
    • Mausoleum
    • Ashes Scattered and Interred
    • Degradation and Theft
    • Original Deeds and Bookkeeping
  • Labor Activists
    • Haymarket Monument >
      • The Haymarket Affair
      • Haymarket Time Capsule
      • George Engel
      • Samuel Fielden
      • Louis Lingg
      • Adolph Fischer
      • Albert Parsons
      • Michael Schwab
      • August Spies
      • Oscar Neebe
    • Radical Row >
      • Eddie Balchowsky
      • Voltarine de Cleyre
      • Eugene Dennis
      • Raya Dunayevskaya
      • Joseph Dietzgen
      • William Z. Foster
      • Emma Goldmen
      • Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
      • Ben Reitman
      • Lucy Parsons
      • Franklin Rosemont
      • Ann Sosnovsky Winokur
    • Labor and Political Burials >
      • Joe Mariani
      • Cigar Makers' International
      • International Alliance of Bill Posters and Billers of America
  • People of Interest Buried in Cemetery
    • Ashbel Steele
    • Austin Family
    • Philander Barclay
    • Edwin Oscar Gale
    • Sophy and Charles Drechsler
    • Fedinand Haase
    • Doris Humphrey
    • Flora Gill
    • Dr. Clarence and Grace Hemingway
    • Dr. Frank and Phyllis Oreland
    • Augustin and Elizabeth Porter
    • Edward Hand and Lillie Morey Pitkin
    • Martha Louise Rayne
    • Origen White Herrick
    • Dr Thomas Roberts Hurlbut
    • Joseph and Betty Kettlestrings
    • Roos Family
    • James Fletcher Skinner
    • Billy Sunday
    • Adolph Westphal
  • Ethnic and Other Groupings
    • African American
    • Dutch
    • Hispanic
    • Roma (Gypsy)
    • Children
    • Military
  • Disaster Victims
    • Eastland ship disaster
    • Iroquois Theatre Fire
    • Smallpox Epidemic
    • St. Valentine's Day Massacre
  • Cemetery Tours
  • Addtional Resources
    • Forest Park Review articles

Sophy and Charles Drechsler
Sophy (1875-1953), Charles (1873-1925)

Picture
Sophy Drechsler was the daughter of John and Carolyn Sievert, one of the first families to settle in what is now River Forest. As she was growing up, the area was so sparsely settled that she was the only one in her graduating class at Harlem School. In 1895 she married Charles Drechsler, a young man determined to succeed in business.

At an early age, Drechsler had left his family's farm in Leyden Township and trained with J. W. Senne, an early undertaker in Forest Park and Oak Park. When he was only twenty-two years old, Drechsler bought out Senne and continued to operate the under taking and ambulance services. In addition, he managed a wide range of business ventures that included repairing and upholstering furniture, renting fireproof storage space, moving furniture, and eventually, selling Franklin automobiles.

In 1898, Drechsler commissioned the noted architect E. E. Roberts to design a four-story brick building, which still stands in Oak Park at 1116 Lake Street, just west of Marion Street. The building housed and advertised all his various business ventures, as shown in the drawing here After his death, Sophy Drechsler kept the funeral home operating and served as its bookkeeper until her son Earl completed school. She remained active in the family business until her own death.


Information from Nature's Choicest Spot

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