Israel Blackburn: A Journey from Enslaved Person to Founder of Downers Grove

Israel Blackburn: A Journey from Enslaved Person to Founder of Downers Grove

by Marty Acks

Israel Blackburn was born into slavery in 1818 in Kentucky. By 1865, he was serving in the U.S. Colored Infantry in Kentucky. Blackburn moved his family north to Downers Grove, a suburb of Chicago, shortly after the war. He became a respected member of the community and within a few years, in 1873, was one of the 38 founding signers of the Incorporation Papers for the new Village of Downers Grove. In this presentation, you learn the unique story of Israel’s life. This story will be told by following the large amount of archival material found from both traditional and unexpected sources.  

Marty Acks is an amateur genealogist and historian. He has been researching his family history since 1999 after having caught the bug from his mom and dad. He volunteers at WikiTree where he contributes to the global family tree, leads surname studies for the Porterfield and Lenover surnames, contributes to the global tree, and acts as a WikiTree Ambassador. Marty is a board member of CAGGNI and the Downers Grove Historical Society.