Frank O. Schneider Historical Maps and Business Records, 1656-1943 | Illinois History and Lincoln Collections

Scope and Contents:

This collection contains 34 of Schneider's Illinois maps (the rest of his map collection has been divided between the Library's Rare Book and Manuscript Library and Map Library), Schneider's map acquisition records, and copies of maps that Schneider obtained from originals in the Library of Congress. The collection also contains 16 volumes of business ledgers from Albert Schneider & Sons and other insurance companies, as well as two scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings of insurance advertisements and articles about the insurance business.

Biographical/Historical Context:

Frank O. Schneider (1887-1943), of Kankakee, Illinois, was a civic-minded businessman and nationally respected figure in the Savings and Loan community. Schneider dedicated his professional life to the Kankakee Federal Savings and Loan Association (originally called the Kankakee Building and Loan Association), a company that enabled thousands of Kankakee residents to buy homes of their own. In addition to his duties as President of the Savings and Loan, Schneider was a partner in the Albert Schneider & Sons insurance firm, and he served as the director of several national banking and savings organizations.

Schneider was also a collector of early maps and atlases. He was particularly interested in cartographic representations of the Kankakee River.

Acquisition Source: The collection was donated to the Library between 2000 and 2008 by Lorraine Z. Schneider (Frank Schneider's daughter-in-law) and her children, including Richard and Eileen Schneider, Ann L. and William C. Walters, and Donna A. and Richard M. Duffield.