The Whittle mausoleum in Peru City Cemetery has an unusual history. Although it bears the Whittle family name, its construction was financed by William Packer, an English immigrant and coal miner who spent much of his adult life living with his sister’s family.
Understanding why Packer made this remarkable provision in his will begins with the story of English immigrant families who made their homes in the Illinois Valley.
From Gloucestershire to Illinois
Joseph and Jane Packer lived in East Dean, Gloucestershire, England, where they raised their children. During the 1870s and early 1880s, the family gradually emigrated to the United States.
Their three older children—Sarah, William, and Annie—arrived first, settling in Illinois. In August 1882, Joseph and Jane followed with their younger sons, Fred and Joseph Jr. Rather than joining their older children in Illinois, they continued west to the Dakota region.
Both Packer daughters married English immigrants who worked in the Illinois Valley coal mines. Sarah married George Phillips in the summer of 1871, while Annie married John Whittle in January 1877.
Sarah’s life was tragically short. She died in 1879 at approximately 29 years of age, leaving four children, all younger than eight. Her husband eventually moved the family to Iowa, where he became a farmer and remarried.
Another Packer son, Joseph, eventually came to LaSalle County from South Dakota. He married Elizabeth Doak in 1888, but died in 1893, shortly before the birth of their youngest child.
The Whittle Household
Annie and John Whittle raised three children: Alice, also known as Allie, born in 1878; Stella, born in 1882; and John Jr., born in 1888.
By 1900, Annie’s brother William Packer was living with the Whittles. Like his brother-in-law, William worked as a coal miner. Two other English immigrants employed in the mines also boarded with the family.
The Whittle children pursued different occupations from their father and uncle. Alice became a schoolteacher, and her younger brother John Jr. eventually followed her into teaching. Stella later moved to Chicago, where she worked as a restaurant cashier.
Although records generally identified the family’s residence as LaSalle Township, later evidence suggests they lived in the Jonesville area.
William Packer never married and continued living with the family as the children grew into adulthood.
Years of Loss
In May 1913, Alice Whittle was admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital in LaSalle. She died four days later, at age 34, from an intestinal obstruction described on her death certificate as causing paralysis of the bowels. She was buried in Peru City Cemetery.
Less than a year later, another tragedy struck. Stella, who was living and working in Chicago, developed pneumonia. She died on 19 May 1914, after an illness lasting twelve days.
The loss of both daughters within a single year must have profoundly affected the Whittle household.
Then, in September 1918, William Packer was hospitalized at St. Mary’s in LaSalle. He died on 17 September at age 63 (although his death certificate lists an age of 66).
His death revealed an unexpected aspect of his life.
William Packer’s Investments
Although Packer had worked as a coal miner, his probate records reveal that he had accumulated a substantial estate through investments.
Much of his wealth consisted of promissory notes, several secured by trust deeds on real estate. These arrangements allowed borrowers to obtain money while pledging property as security for repayment. Packer, as holder of the notes, was entitled to collect principal and interest.
The records connect these investments to several individuals involved in arranging real estate financing.
George A. Wilson, one of the trustees named in the transactions, was a founder of the Eureka Building and Loan Association and later president of the LaSalle National Bank, both in LaSalle. Other notes involved William S. Mason, a real estate and insurance broker, and Cornelia Mason.
The borrowers represented a cross-section of the community.
Stany and Katherine Marczykowski lived on Seventh street in LaSalle, where Stany operated the Tri-City Flour and Feed Company. Frank and Maria Bartlett were farmers in the Waltham area. Ernest Downs was another English immigrant from the same region as Packer.
Among the borrowers were Benedetto and Rosario Cimino of LaSalle. Benedetto worked as a coal miner. Rosario, also known as Sadie, later worked as a seamstress for a cement company. The 1930 census reveals the unusual nature of her employment: she repaired cement bags.
One of Packer’s larger notes was secured by property in Deaf Smith County, Texas. How he came to acquire an interest in this distant property remains unknown.
The surviving records do not establish whether Packer personally originated these loans or acquired the notes through financial intermediaries. Nevertheless, they show that he had invested money in interest-bearing obligations rather than relying solely on wages and savings.
His estate ultimately produced more than $4,500.
A Final Gift to His Family
Packer’s will directed that the remainder of his estate be given to his nephew John Whittle Jr. for a specific purpose: constructing a family mausoleum in Peru City Cemetery.
Packer wanted his own remains and those of his deceased nieces, Alice and Stella, placed inside. He also provided that Annie, her husband John, and their son John Jr. should eventually rest there.
John Jr. carried out these instructions.
While the estate was being settled, another loss occurred. Annie Whittle died in Chicago on 30 April 1919, following an illness involving uterine cancer. She was buried in May. Whether she was initially buried in a grave and later transferred to the mausoleum has not been established.
By 23 December 1919, when John submitted the final accounting, the mausoleum was complete. He reported spending $3,975.80 on its construction. The probate folder even contains a photograph of the finished structure.
The court accepted the final accounting and approved the settlement.
The Remaining Whittles
After losing his wife, daughters, and brother-in-law, John Whittle Sr. retired from coal mining. His son John Jr. began working as a taxi driver.
On 11 March 1925, John Jr. married Susan “Susie” McIntosh of LaSalle. Just seventeen days later, his father died on 28 March.
John Jr. and Susie welcomed a son, John, in 1928. Known as Jack, he later worked in the tool department at Westclox.
By 1950, John Jr. was described as an invalid in the census. Susie worked at St. Mary’s Hospital and later at People’s Hospital.
John Whittle Jr. died on 30 June 1955, and was placed in the family mausoleum.
With his death, all six people William Packer had named in his will had come to rest together.
More than a century after its construction, the mausoleum remains a testament not only to the Whittle family, but also to the devotion of William Packer, whose life as a coal miner concealed an unexpected financial legacy and whose final wishes ensured that the family with whom he shared his home would remain together.
Citations
The following sources were referenced in the research and development of this story:
“Illinois, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999,” image 518 of 811, digital image, Ancestry (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939J-5ZSP : accessed 15 October 2026); citing Wills, Vol X, 7 Feb 1918 to 3 Apr 1919, pp. 357-8, LaSalle County, Ottawa, Ill.
LaSalle County Probate Folder, 1918, Box 741, File 11, William Packer, LaSalle Genealogy Guild, Ottawa, Ill.
State of Illinois, Department of Public Health, Certificate of Death, 1918, No. 28373, William Packer; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9KB-QPMR : accessed 5 October 2026).
“1861 England Census,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8767/images/GLSRG9_1754_1759-0263 : accessed 15 October 2026), entry for Joseph Packer, East Dean, Gloucestershire; citing The National Archives, RG 9, piece 1755, folio 74, p. 29, Ecclesiastical District: Saint John, enumeration district (ED) 17, household 165.
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“Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q28Z-9J5D : 15 October 2026), John Whittle and Annie Packer, 13 Jan 1877.
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1880 U.S. census, LaSalle, Illinois, mortality schedule, enumeration district (ED) 70, [no family number given], Sarah Phillips; accessed via “U.S., Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8756/images/ILT1133_62-0566 : accessed 15 October 2026), 1880>Illinois>LaSalle; citing NARA Archive Group T1133.
“New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957,” image 2 of 9, Joseph, Jane, Fred, and Joseph Packer, lines 15–18, images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYM237_456-0279 : accessed 15 October 2026); citing Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897, RG 36, 1882August>2`1>England, NARA.
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