Under Every Tombstone: THE GREENWOOD INN, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS - Benjamin Bayless and his son, George Wood Bayless

Last month I told you the story of a hotel that used to be on the northwest corner of Hinman Avenue and Greenwood Boulevard in Evanston, Illinois. The French House started out as exactly that - the home of businessman Orvis French and his family. After the Great Chicago Fire in October of 1871 French took displaced family and friends into his home. Inasmuch as his previous businesses were wiped out by the fire, he decided to expand his house and run it as a hotel on a permanent basis. French ultimately expanded The French House into a 125 room hotel and ran it to the delight of permanent and transient guests until March of 1892 when he sold The French House to Benjamin Bayless.

Before we look at the French House when it was run by Benjamin Bayless, and the change of name to the Greenwood Inn, let's first take a look at Benjamin Bayless.

Note: All throughout the records the family name was spelt both "Bayliss" and "Bayless." For consistency, I will use "Bayless."

Benjamin Wilhelm Bayless was born February 2, 1844 in Louisville, Kentucky. He was the first-born of Dr. George Wood Bayless (1817-1873) and Virginia LaFayette Browne (1824-1902). George and Virginia Bayless had nine children: Benjamin Wilhelm (1844-1920), Mary Browne/Mrs. Sidney Hobbs (1846-1926), twins Sallie Gault (1847-1915) and Elizabeth Wood/Mrs. John O'Bannon (1847-1913), Martha Bullitt/Mrs. Chas. Boteler (1849-1879), Maria Duren/Mrs. George Lindenberger (1850-1909), George Wood (1852-1912), Virginia (1858-1860), and Esther Shephard/Mrs. Frederick Earle French (1854-1926). George Wood Bayless tried his hand at farming but ended up a well-respected physician.

Benjamin Bayless makes his first appearance in the 1850 US Census. The family was living in Weston Township, Platte County, Missouri. The family consisted of: George W. Bayless (33 years old), Virginia (25), Benjamin (6), Mary (4), Elizabeth (3), Sallie (3) and Martha (1). George Bayless was not yet a doctor; he reported his occupation as "Farmer." He also told the census taker his farm was worth $15,000.00 ($556,000 today).

By the time of the 1860 US Census, the Bayless family had moved back to Kentucky, and George Bayless was now a Doctor. The family consisted of: George W. Bayless (43 years old), wife Virginia (35), Benjamin (17), Mary (15), Sally (13) and Elizabeth (13) - labelled as "Twins" on the census form, Martha (11), Maria (9), and George (8). In addition George's mother Elizabeth (79) was living with the family and also Elizabeth Scrugham (19) a Seamstress. George Bayless was doing quite well financially. He said he had real estate worth $15,000 ($523,000 today) and personalty worth $30,000 ($1,045,000 today). Benjamin is listed on the form as a "Clerk."

The 1870 US Census finds the Bayless Family living in the 7th Ward of Louisville, Kentucky, and twenty-seven year old Benjamin still living with his parents. The family consisted of: G. W. (53 years old), Virginia (45), Benjamin (27), Sally (23) , Martha (21), Mariah (20), George (18), and Esther (6). In addition, the family had four people living with them; three housekeepers and a cook. Benjamin is listed as a "Merchant," with personalty of $3,000 ($66,000 today). Benjamin's father Dr. Bayless reported real estate of $28,000 ($606,000) and personalty of $25,000 ($552,000 today).

On October 20, 1870, Benjamin Bayless married Wilhelmine Kiameche Crawford (1848-1878) in Louisville. The groom was twenty-six; the bride was twenty-two. Benjamin and Wilhelmine had four children: Charles Thomas (1871-1906), Kiameche Crawford (1873-1873), George Wood (1875-1955) and Wilhelmine (1878-1952). Wilhelmine the daughter was born March 12, 1878 and her mother died March 22, 1878 probably as a result of complications from childbirth. In those days "complications from childbirth" was the leading cause of death for women. They would get an infection from giving birth and their bodies were too weak to fight off the infection in the era before anti-biotics.

Wilhelmine Bayless was buried in the Bayless plot at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville (Section B, Lot 11):

Photo courtesy of Find a Grave volunteer babs

Photo courtesy of Find a Grave volunteer babs

The 1880 US Census shows Benjamin Bayless living with his three children at 551 Third Street in Louisville, Kentucky. An office building occupies that space today. The family consisted of Benjamin (38 years old), children Charles (8), George (5) and Wilhelmine (2). In addition, also living with them was Benjamin's mother-in-law Katherine Crawford, and a nurse, a cook and a housekeeper. Benjamin was listed as an "Importer."

Although Benjamin Bayless started his business career selling Insurance, ultimately he started a company called Bayless Bros. & Co. in Louisville. Bayless Bros. & Co. became very successful by importing and selling fine china, glassware and queensware, and also made Benjamin Bayless a wealthy man.

Several times in early 1889 Illinois newspapers reported that Benjamin Bayless and some of his associates came to Illinois from Kentucky looking for investment opportunities. They visited Decatur, Illinois several times as reported by the Decatur Weekly Republican on May 02, 1889:

On September 18, 1889, Benjamin Bayless married Laura Donelson (1864-1896) in Chicago. The groom was forty-five; the bride was twenty-five. Here's how the Chicago Tribune reported it in their September 22, 1989 editions:

Benjamin Bayless made numerous trips to Illinois to pursue business opportunities. Instead he found a bride for himself. But Bayless found his best business opportunity in a very roundabout way. Benjamin Bayless' daughter Wilhelmine married Orvis French's son Frederick (of the horse-drawn bus) on June 1, 1886 in Louisville.

It is not beyond possibility that Orvis French might have mentioned at some point that he was thinking of selling the hotel. Frederick French would have known that his father-in-law was looking for business opportunities and may have brought the two parties together. We do know that it was a shock on March 26, 1892 when the sale of The French House was announced:

After the sale had closed, and the French family had moved out, Benjamin Bayless made the decision to try to keep everything exactly as it had been when Orvis French ran the house. Try as he might to keep this moving along on a even keel, sometimes it did not work out that way - as evidenced by the Chicago Tribune of December 26, 1895:

In early 1896, Benjamin Bayless felt that it was time for a change. He changed the name of The French House to The Greenwood Inn. Here is a photo of the hotel from that time:

Unfortunately life got in the way, as it sometimes seems to. Bayless' second wife, Laura Donelson Bayless died on October 12, 1896 in Evanston. Here is her Death Notice from the Chicago Tribune from October 13, 1896:

and here is her obituary from the Evanston News-Index of October 17, 1896:

Laura Donelson Bayless was buried in the Bayless Family Plot in Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville:

The 1900 US Census finds widower Benjamin Bayless and his family living in The Greenwood Inn. The family consisted of: Benjamin Bayless (56 years old), son George (25), daughter Wilhelmina (22), Benjamin's mother Virginia (75), brother-in-law Sidney Hobbs (59) sister Mary B. (52) and niece Virginia B. (25). There were also fourteen "Servants" who acted as cooks, maids, etc. In addition, on the day of the census, June 12, 1900 there were forty-two guests staying at The Greenwood Inn. The guests were Lawyers, Engineers, Private Secretaries, Auditors, etc. Definitely an "upper-class" crowd.

Benjamin reported that he was a Widower, that he was fifty-six years old, that the was the Owner of The Greenwood Inn, and that he owned it free-and-clear. He also said that he could read and write, and that he spoke English, as did all the staff and guests of the hotel. Here's another photo of The Greenwood Inn from that era:

And here is a "side shot" which shows how far back the hotel went along Greenwood Boulevard:

There are many photos of the outside of The Greenwood Inn. Here are two rare pictures from inside - the Dining Room:

and the Sun Room:

Benjamin Bayless did not like being unmarried. He had been married twice; unfortunately he was widowed twice. He decided to try again and on June 24, 1902 he married Maud Marie Rice. The groom was fifty-eight; the bride was thirty-five. Here is how one newspaper, the Chicago Inter-Ocean, reported the wedding on June 29, 1902:

The Chicago Tribune was a little more sedate in the way they reported the marriage on June 29, 1902:

Here is a photo of Maud Rice Bayless from her passport application:

After his marriage, Benjamin Bayless moved out of the Greenwood Inn and bought a house at 1033 Hinman Avenue in Evanston:

1033 Hinman Avenue Evanston, Illinois

In 1908 when Benjamin Bayless was sixty-four years old he decided to retire and turned over the daily management of The Greenwood Inn to his son George who had been the Head Bookkeeper for the hotel. As is often the case, George made a few changes. He built a double house annex across the street and a cottage added to the main structure. Other than those changes, life at the Greenwood Inn remained the same as it had for years, which was one of the things guests found most appealing.

The 1910 US Census provides some mysterious information about the Bayless family and the Greenwood Inn. At the time of the 1910 US Census, Benjamin and Maud Bayless were still living at The Greenwood Inn. Benjamin stated that he was sixty-five years old, was on marriage #3 and that he had been married to his present wife for eight years. He said he was a "Hotel Owner" and that he owned the hotel free and clear. The first mysterious item on the 1910 Census concerns Benjamin's wife Maude. She said she was forty-six years old, that this was her first marriage, and that she too had been married for eight years. But then she revealed that she had given birth to one child, and that the child was not still living in 1910. I was unable to uncover any additional information about the deceased child of Benjamin and Maud Bayless.

The second mysterious item concerns fifty year old Alice Adams. She too, is living at the Greenwood Inn, but she lists her occupation as "Hotel Lessee." I was not able to uncover any additional information about who Alice Adams was, or what she was doing at the Greenwood Inn.

In addition to the Bayless family and the mysterious Alice Adams, there were thirty-two staff members living at the Inn, and sixty guests of the hotel on April 16, 1910 when the census taker came to call.

One change that George Bayless did make was that he started to advertise. In the past, The Greenwood Inn relied on word-of-mouth advertising, but George decided that ads in the Chicago Tribune might help spread the word. Here's one from the Chicago Tribune June 9, 1908:

Through the years The Greenwood Inn also advertised jobs that were available - waitresses, busboys, cooks, a pastry chef, maids and housekeepers, etc. The ads were pretty standard - each offered a salary plus room and board at the Inn. Typically the positions were advertised for a particular race - both whites and blacks were accepted, but in 1919 this ad appeared for the first time:

During this period the hotel itself received no publicity, and I'm sure that's the way that George Bayless wanted it. There were the usual mentions of local people coming and going, an occasional wedding that took place there, and the parents who were permanent residents who lost a son in World War I.

Sometime prior to 1920, Benjamin and Maude Bayless bought a house at 720 Milburn Street in Evanston:

720 Milburn Street, Evanston, Illinois

Benjamin Bayless died July 28, 1920 in Evanston. He was seventy-six years old. Here is his Death Notice from the Chicago Tribune:

As you can imagine, the obituary in the Evanston News-Index was much larger:

Benjamin Bayless' death record said he would be buried at Chicago's Graceland Cemetery, but Graceland's online index did not show an entry for him. I checked Find a Grave, and it turns out that someone had created a Find a Grave page (with photos) for him at Rosehill Cemetery in the community mausoleum, and it turns out that person was me.

Bayless had been cremated at Graceland, and was interred at Rosehill in the Larkspur Court Columbarium, upstairs at Unit One of the Rosehill Mausoleum:

Benjamin Bayless' Last Will and Testament was interesting in that he did not leave the Greenwood Inn to his wife Maude, he left the hotel (and his $5,000.00 life insurance policy) to his son George (1/3), his daughter Wilhelmine (1/3) and his granddaughter Wilhelmine (1/3). He did leave his wife $200.00 per month out of the income of the Greenwood Inn ($2,950.00 in today's funds), which he later reduced to $100.00 per month.

In the 1910 US Census Bayless said he owned the Greenwood Inn free and clear, but in his will he mentions a mortgage with the State National Bank in the amount of $10,000.00 ($150,000.00 today).

Benjamin Bayless' son George had been running The Greenwood Inn since 1908. Benjamin and his wife had moved out of the Inn sometime before 1920, so Benjamin's death did not affect the day-to-day running of the Inn.

George Bayless ran the Greenwood Inn as it had been run since it was The French House - quietly. The only time the Greenwood Inn appeared in the newspapers during George Bayless' tenure when was when the death of a long-time tenant was reported.

The end came for the Greenwood Inn in 1952. Here is the report from the Chicago Tribune from July 31, 1952:

The article refers to a ninety-nine year ground lease with Northwestern University that expired in 1947 and had been extended for five years. Orvis French built his home on the site in 1869 not 1847. Perhaps French assumed an existing ground lease with Northwestern for whatever had previously occupied that plot.

The Greenwood Inn was replaced by the aptly named Greenwood Inn Apartments in 1955. The apartments were built by local real estate mogul George J. Cyrus who built them in his usual colonial architectural style. Cyrus was a long-time Evanstonian and had an appreciation for local history. He erected a commemorative sign in front of the apartments recalling what had occupied the space in prior years. When the Greenwood Inn Apartments were converted to the Greenwood Inn Condominiums in 1983 the sign was removed. Here are some photos of the Greenwood Inn Condominiums in 2022: