41/20/4 Guide to the John A. Ockerson Papers John A. Ockerson Papers

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19 Library 1408 W. Gregory Dr. Urbana, IL, 61820 URL: http://archives.library.illinois.edu Email: illiarch@illinois.edu Phone: (217) 333-0798 Fax: (217) 333-2868
This finding aid was encoding in EAD by Archon 3.21 from an SQL database source on March 28th, 2024. The collection description/finding aid is written in English
Guide to the John A. Ockerson Papers 1869/1923 University of Illinois Archives Overview of the Collection John A. Ockerson Papers 1869-1873, 1904, 1923 41/20/4 Ockerson, John A., 1848-1924 0.30 English University of Illinois Archives
19 Library 1408 W. Gregory Dr. Urbana, IL, URL: http://archives.library.illinois.edu Email: illiarch@illinois.edu Phone: (217) 333-0798 Fax: (217) 333-2868

Other Information:

0 Pages

Biographical Information:

John Augustus Ockerson (1848-1924) (B.S., 1873, C.E./M.S., unknown year, Doctor of Engineering, 1903) was, according to his matriculation cerficate, the 196th student to enroll at the University of Illinois (then called Illinois Industrial University) when he did so in 1869. In the course of his studies, he was one of the University students who traveled to Chicago to provide security and assistance in the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1871.

After graduation, he had a long and successful career as an engineer, assisting in and leading surveys of the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, the Mississippi River, and the Colorado River. In 1912, he was elected President of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Throughout his career, he received accolades from the governments of the United States, France, Italy, and Sweden.

He was born in Sweden in 1848, and emigrated to the United States when he was a young child. Following the deaths of his parents during the trip, he was raised by relatives and other guardians. He married Helen M. Chapin in 1875, she predeceased him in 1886. They had two children, neither of whom survived infancy. Later, in 1890, he married again to Chara W. Shackelford, who followed him in death in 1928. John A. Ockerson died on March 22nd, 1924, and is buried in St. Louis, MO, with his second wife.

Access Terms

This Collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Topical Term: Faculty Photographs Students
Administrative Information Accruals:

9/1963; 30 October 2023.

Arrangement of Materials:

By subject

Scope and Contents

Papers of John Augustus Ockerson (1848-1924) (B.S., 1873, C.E./M.S., unknown year, Doctor of Engineering, 1903) consist of a photographic album (1869-73) and an autobiographical volume titled Sketches and Experiences from the Life of a Civil Engineer (1923).  Also included is a copy of a bill from the United States Senate authorizing Ockerson to accept accolades from the governments of France, Italy, and Sweden.

Sketches and Experiences is a remarkable text, which provides a rarely-seen insight into the life and career of a noted engineer and an early University of Illinois student.

Subjects of the photo album are faculty members and students from the period 1869-1873.