Robert Miars and Bessie Purcell - Breaking Down Barriers to Justice

Well...maybe not so much justice but they were thrown together by chance in the 1940s. My grandmother, Clementine (Stenger) Miars kept a lot of stuff.  Included in her stash of cards, letters, newspaper clippings and pictures was an article that caught my eye.

It seems as though my maternal grandfather served on a "New-Style" of grand jury in Peoria County.  The "New-Style" is that for the first time in county history, women were included on a Grand Jury panel.  Robert Miars is seated in the front row of this photo second from the right.

When did this occur?  Well....good question.  The clipping above is undated so I'm left to "guestimate".  I would say it was early to mid 1940s given how young he looks.  I also think this momentous event occurred after he was married in 1940.

Glancing through the names of the other jurors I noticed another person identified as being from Brimfield, Illinois - Bessie Purcell. In the picture above she is in the back row third from the left. That name was not familiar to me so I went to my "go-to" sources for Brimfield people to try to figure out if I knew her....Find A Grave or the Brimfield News.

As usual Find A Grave comes through again.  Bessie E. Marvin Purcell (1885 - 1970) is buried in the Brimfield Township Cemetery next to her husband, Walter (1879-1924). (1)  But neither her maiden name nor her husband's name were familiar to me.  But...never fear....Find A Grave has her three children attached to her memorial as well.  The first is a daughter that died as a toddler.  The second was a daughter Margaret Purcell Heinz who's husband was Carl. Although the Heinz name is familiar I don't think I really remember this couple.  And...finally....Bessie's third child was Bernice Purcell Johnson who is the wife of L. Ivan Johnson.

Bingo!!  Now I know Bessie.  She is the mother of a a very nice woman I knew growing up as Mrs. Johnson.  Bessie's grandson was a childhood friend of my dad and was in my parents wedding!

So now mystery solved....My grandfather, Robert Miars served on the first grand jury in Peoria County, Illinois that included women along with one from the Brimfield area, Bessie (Marvin) Purcell.

Now...more questions.  When was this exactly?  How long was his grand jury service for?  How often did the grand jury meet?  Did he and Bessie ride to Peoria together?  What did he think about serving with women on this jury?  Did they have any interesting cases?

More answers likely gone with the wind!


Bibliography -
(1) Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 October 2019), memorial page for Bessie E. Marvin Purcell (16 Oct 1885–29 Nov 1970), memorial no. 58250907, cemetery marker in Brimfield Township Cemetery, Brimfield, Peoria County, Illinois, USA; maintained by "MBrouch," contributor no. 47343722.

Newspaper clipping - "First of New-Style Grand Juries in Session," newspaper clipping mentioning Robert Miars of Brimfield, unknown newspaper and date; digital image 2019, from the Clementine (Stenger) Miars collection; privately held by  Jana (Miars) Minor, Aurora, Illinois, 2019.  Newspaper is likely the Peoria (Illinois) Journal or Peoria Star. Likely from the 1940s.

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