Joseph Capps - Jacksonville, IL
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 44.269 W 090° 14.036
15S E 737028 N 4402317
"The Capps Woolen Mills made a sensible addition to the sheep industry. Specialty stores began replacing general stores, and cash began to replace bartering and buying on credit." - History of Jacksonville
Waymark Code: WM183PF
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 05/24/2023
Views: 0
County of marker: Morgan County
Location of marker: W. Lafayette Ave & Church St., Jacksonville
Marker erected: September 16, 1939
Marker erected by: Employees of J. Capps & Sons, LTD and A.C.W.A Local 199
Marker Text:
JOSEPH CAPPS
Pioneer manufacturer, Founder
of J. Capps & Sons in 1839.
Built first woolen mill on
this site 1841
presented by
Employees of J. Capps & Sons, LTD
and
A. C. W. A. Local 199
Sept. 16, 1939
"A direct descendant of the William Capps who came from London to Virginia [Elizabeth City] in 1609 with Thomas Gates & Somers. William Capps is known in Virginia as an 'Original Planter'. Joseph was born in Kentucky to Caleb and Martha Williams Capps. About age 16 [1827] he began to learn the machinist's trade. Ten years later he made his way to Illinois [1837]. In 1838 we find Joseph in Jacksonville, Illinois. Here he built and maintained a business that would last about 150 years. That business was the Capps & Sons Woolen Mills. It began as a fulling mill; then, later evolved to a facility that actually produced finished woolen goods. Examples of products produced by that mill include Indian Blankets [the kind described by '(number of)fingers'] and 'Bullet Proof Suits' for Secret Service or FBI! I still wear a Capps & Sons sport coat in wintertime. Joseph married Sarah Ann Higgins Reid in 1837. They had seven children" - Find-A-Grave