Thayer, Edward R.

Born: 1815-07-07 Amherst, Massachusetts

Died: 1912-09-09 Springfield, Illinois

Flourished: Springfield, Illinois

Thayer's family moved west to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1835. They remained there briefly before moving to Springfield, Illinois, where Thayer's father opened a mercantile business. Thayer entered into a partnership with his father in February 1838, and remained employed as a merchant in Springfield the rest of his life. He also helped establish the city's woolen mills. A Whig and later Republican, Thayer was a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln. He never married and lived in local hotels for his entire adult life.

Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Sangamon County (Chicago: Munsell, 1912), 2:1660; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 10 February 1838, 3:1; Illinois State Journal (Springfield) 10 September 1912, 1:5, 2:2-3.