Headstones From Plot Belonging To Prominent Early Chicagoan Alexander Robinson Returned To Family
(CBS) -- The descendants of one of Chicago's most prominent early citizens are unveiling a piece of history today, something the family feared might have been lost decades ago, reports WBBM's Steve Miller.
Alexander Robinson was an Indian chief.
Robinson family historian Dan Melone says Robinson was a smart man.
"He was a businessman," he said. "For example, he was a teetotaler. But he also owned one of the first taverns in Chicago."
Melone says he helped save several lives at the Fort Dearborn massacre.
The federal government gave him land near what is now Norridge and Forest Preserve. He died in 1872 and was buried on his land.
The headstones in the family plot of Alexander Robinson disappeared more than 60 years ago.
It turns out the Forest Preserve took them away and stored them because they were being vandalized so often.
Now they have been returned to the family.
Verlyn Spreeman is Chief Robinson's direct descendant.
"To be able to see that and see the writing on there... it felt a little bit weak in the knees," Spreeman said.