Within just a few years, A. Louis had lost his paternal grandmother, father, mother, and fraternal grandmother. He was the only remaining Iverson, yet excelled remarkably.
In The Art Institute of Chicago Circular of Instruction of the School of Drawing, Painting, Modelling, Decorative Designing, and Architecture, 1902-1903, with a Catalogue of Students, 1901-1902, A. Louis Iverson is indicated as a student in the evening architecture class. Elsewhere in the guidebook, the fee for "Evening classes, three evenings a week, for one term" is listed $6.00. Source
We visited Chicago's Newberry Library and were able to obtain Art Institute books from 1899-1900 (students from 1898-1899), and 1903-1904 (with students from 1902-1903). Unfortunately the 1901-1902 book was missing. A. Louis was not listed as a registered student in the available surrounding years. I therefore compared the complete list of evening architecture students and discovered that the norm was to attend for only one year. I believe only one or two students were listed two years in a row.
Fortunately, Ellen had lived to see her only child's marriage. On 2 June 1905, A. Louis married Martha “Myrle” Devellin, whose family had moved to Chicago from Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Witnessing the ceremony were James A. Bliss (music teacher), Mrs. I. F. Iverson (A. Louis’ widowed mother Ellen), Carrie Devellin (Myrle’s sister), Charles A. Smith (Carrie’s future husband), Mrs. Sara Jane Devellin (Myrle’s mother), Clarence W. Caldwell (perhaps a relative of Sara Jane), Mrs. C. MacFarland (believed by my mother to be an inlaw of Sara Jane), and Claire (last name illegible).
Wedding booklet of A. Louis Iverson and Myrle Devellin. Scanned from personal family records.
There is no indication of any particular church affiliation indicated in the booklet. Thus, I performed a search for Reverend Henry Lenz, and determined from several sources that he was a Free Methodist minister. According to the 1905 Chicago directory, he ministered the Second Free Methodist Church, located at 48 Lexington. Myrle's family had been Presbyterian, and Myrle later became Episocopalian.
We have a family Bible from Myrle's side of the family. Some faint pencil marks are visible but were written over in pen, perhaps by one of Arthur's future daughters, since the handwriting is not his. It confirms their marriage ceremony took place at 296 Irving Avenue, which was Arthur's residence at the time.
A. Louis Iverson. Scanned from personal family records. The picture at left was taken at Hartley Studio / H. E. Kuessner, proprietor / 309 West Madison Street, Chicago. It is signed "Arthur Louis Iverson, Aug. 30 '03." A note on the back reads, "To her I love ~ ALI 1903." However, the handwriting does not look quite like A. Louis', so the inscription may have been written later by someone else.
A young Myrle Devellin. Scanned from personal family records.
By this time, A. Louis was living at 296 or 297 Irving Avenue, and was employed as a draftsman according to the 1905 city directory. (His name is recorded as "Iverson, Iver A.")
A. Louis' and Myrle's first child, Audrey Helen Iverson, was born 15 April 1906 in Chicago. On 13 December 1908 daughter Dolores Valesca Iverson was born, followed by daughter Berenice Hermione Iverson on 10 September 1910.
During these years, A. Louis was well-respected as a skilled architectural draftsman and excellent musician, particularly in piano. Several newspapers mention his career advancement. By 1907 he moved to Rockford, Illinois, to work for architect D. S. Schureman, while Myrle apparently stayed behind or split her time in Chicago. In the 1908 Rockford directory, Schureman draftsman Arthur L. and wife Myrle M. reside at 1013 Mulberry Avenue in Rockford. Newspapers from 1909 indicate that A. Louis returned to Chicago due to his wife being ill. I am not certain of the nature of the illness; perhaps it was related to her pregnancies. While A. Louis temporarily returned to Chicago he worked for the firm Otis & White, during which time he sketched the residence for Dr. W. R. Fringer, noted for his work and research publications in ophthalmology. A. Louis also sketched for Winthrop Ingersoll, president of the Ingersoll Milling Machine Company, whose business earned over one million dollars annually and employed 600 people. Later, the whole family, along with Myrle's mother Sara Jane Devellin, moved back to Rockford where A. Louis returned to work at the D. S. Schureman firm.
D. S. Schureman's architectural firm seemed to attract engaging, interesting people who were enthusiastic about their career. Several of them stayed after work in the evenings where A. Louis played the piano.
Daily Register Gazette, Rockford, Illinois. 21 June 1907. "There are some talented musicians in the office force, especially Mr. Iverson, the foreman, who will rank with most of the professionals as a pianist. There is an instrument in the office and at 5 p.m. business ceases and they have a little music as recreation. All clients and their friends are invited to call any evening..."
The lighthearted tone of the above articles seems to reflect the spirited personality of D. S. Schureman. In 1899, before A. Louis was employed with the firm, Schureman designed the Freeport, Illinois, City Hall. According to the Freeport website,
"When the architect of the new building, D.S. Schureman, requested that his name be put on the cornerstone of the building, city officials refused. Later, Schureman arrived at the suggestion that the new building, which would also serve as the library, should don names of figures famous in literature and science on its exterior, and city officials thought it a grand idea. Only later, when they realized that the first letters of the following inscribed names: Dante, Shakespeare, Spencer, Chaucer, Homer, Uhland, Rabelais, Emerson, Milton, Addison, and Newton, actually spelled 'D.S. Schureman,' did they realize they had been had, much to the amusement of the rest of the City."
"When the architect of the new building, D.S. Schureman, requested that his name be put on the cornerstone of the building, city officials refused. Later, Schureman arrived at the suggestion that the new building, which would also serve as the library, should don names of figures famous in literature and science on its exterior, and city officials thought it a grand idea. Only later, when they realized that the first letters of the following inscribed names: Dante, Shakespeare, Spencer, Chaucer, Homer, Uhland, Rabelais, Emerson, Milton, Addison, and Newton, actually spelled 'D.S. Schureman,' did they realize they had been had, much to the amusement of the rest of the City."
1910 census from Rockford, Illinois, showing Arthur L. Iverson, wife Myrle, daughters Audrey and Dolores, and mother-in-law Sara Jane Devellin. Daughter Berenice was born in September of that year.
For reasons unknown to me, A. Louis and family moved to the Detroit, Michigan area by 1911. Perhaps Schureman retired; perhaps A. Louis was attracted by new architectural career opportunities in the growing city. The city directories from 1914, 1915, and 1916 indicate that Arthur L. Iverson was a draftsman at Smith, Hinchman & Grylls in Detroit, while residing in suburb of Royal Oak. The family's life in Michigan is examined on the final page. Click here to continue.