Fordtran Family Collection

Collection

Identifier: RHC-RC-330

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Fordtran Family Collection contains materials of the Fordtran/Wherley/Barkley family. The items were among the personal effects of Lola Belle (Barkley) and Eugene Fordtran. Material related to Rockford High School is a large part of the collection and includes student published periodicals and newsletters when Fred and Marie Barkley (1908-09) and Dorthy Wherley (1945) attended the school. The collection also contains records related to Lola Belle (Barkley) Fordtran’s attendance at Northern Illinois State Teachers College (NISTC) from 1938-1942. These materials include NISTC publications, catalogues, and programs as well as Lola Belle’s registration forms, room contacts, class assignments, and textbooks. The collection also includes photographs. Two from 1920 capture Wherley family members: Norman, Mary, Bertha, and Ruben Gunther, Sr. The 1940s photo shows Lorayne Wherley with her bowling league group. Also included are writing samples of Frances Conklin French. F.C. French was an alias used by Peggy French, a dear friend of Lola Belle.

Dates

created: 1908-circa 1965
Other: Majority of material found in 1930s and 1940s
Other: Date acquired: 01/30/2013

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on access to the collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights to the materials belong to the Regional History Center; literary rights in the collection are dedicated to the public.

Biographical or Historical Information

Eugene H. Fordtran was born in Fayette, Texas on August 25, 1912. He attended Northern Illinois University in the 1930s and graduated with a degree in chemistry. Eugene married Lola Belle Barkley in Palatine, on April 19, 1958. Eugene passed away in July 1977 at his home he shared with Lola Belle in Villa Park, IL. Lola Belle stayed in Villa Park until late in life when she went to live at Park Strathmoor Nursing Home in Rockford where she passed away at the age of 72 on August 26, 1992. Lola Belle was born in Rockford on June 20, 1920. She graduated from Harlem High School in 1938 and Northern Illinois Teachers College with a degree in home economics in 1942. She taught at Burr Oak School and Harlem High School until 1945 when she was hospitalized for one year with polio. She substituted in the Harlem School District after her hospitalization. Lola Belle was a member of NIU Alumni Association and supported many charities, including the Brookfield Zoo. She was also interested genealogy. Lola Belle and her mother, Marie Barkley, were involved in Help-One-Another Circle, a women's social and philanthropy club based in Harlem Township (Illinois), from 1919 to 1959. Family genealogy: Lynette and Judy Wherley are nieces of Eugene and Lola Belle (Barkley) Fordtran. Fred and Marie Barkley are Lola Belle’s parents. Dorothy Marie (Barkley) Wherley is Lola Belle’s sister, Eugene Fordtran’s sister-in-law, and Reuben Gunther Wherley, Sr.’s daughter-in-law. Lorayne Wherley is Lynette’s and Judy’s aunt, Dorothy’s sister-in-law, and Reuben Gunther, Jr’s sister. Bertha Wherley is Reuben Gunther, Sr’s wife and Reuben, Jr’s mother. Harold Sherman is Dorothy and Lola Belle’s uncle.

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