Jennie B. Plym
May 7, 1874-July 11, 1970
Niles Daily Star, Monday, July 13, 1970, page 1, col. 1&2, microfilm Niles District Library
Mrs. F.J. Plym, Niles benefactor, is buried today
Niles--Funeral services were held in Niles' First Presbyterian Church this afternoon for Mrs. Francis J. (Jennie B.) Plym, 96, who died early Saturday morning in her home on Topinabee Road after several years of failing health. The service was conducted by the Rev. Donald E. Gordon, associate minister.
Mrs. Plym was recognized as an authority on Niles and area history and had collaborated with the late Mr. and Mrs. Ballard in publishing several books describing early Niles history, copies of which are at the Niles Historical Assn. and Niles Library.
She was also an avid collector of books pertaining to early American history and the expeditions of such explorers as Father Marquette, Charlevoix and others in the St. Joseph River and Great Lakes areas. An extensive collection of such volumes, including several by French historians, was donated to the Niles Library several years ago by Mrs. Plym.
Mrs. Plym's keen interest in literature prompted her to donate to the city a new library in 1961. Of modern design, it is located at Main and Seventh Street, and replaced the Andrew Carnegie library on North Fourth Street which had long before outgrown its limited space.
Other interests of the deceased included work as an amateur botanist and ornothologist. From the window of her home on the St. Joseph River, Mrs. Plym spent many hours with field glasses watching and identifying many of the rare species of birds, which had their habitat in the area, which lead to her close interest in Fernwood.
She also had a keen interest in Indian lore, shared with her late husband, that resulted in an extensive collection of Sioux Indian artifacts. Prior to his death in 1940, the collection was donated to the Fort St. Joseph Museum and is believed to be one of the finest of its kind in existence.
Mrs. Plym, the former Jennie Barber, was born May 7, 1874, in Rantoul, Ill. and spent her elementary and high school days in Holdrege, Neb. She graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1898, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi Sorority.
About the time of her graduation, the Barber family moved to Lincoln, Neb., where she met and married, on March 10, 1903, Francis J. Plym, a young architect getting his start in that city.
Shortly thereafter, the couple moved to Kansas City,Mo., where Mr. Plym continued his work as an architect and where he developed and patented a greatly improved method for the setting of plate glass windows. Their only son, Lawrence, was born while they lived in Kansas City.
While on a trip to Michigan in search of a plant site, Mr. Plym stayed overnight in Niles and liked the city so well he decided not to look further.
The original site of Mr. Plym's factory was the present location of the Kawneer Co. plant on North Front Street. The firm grew rapidly and, as it prospered, the Plyms shared their benefits with the community.
On of the early family gifts to Niles was a 67-acre tract which included Plym Park Golf Course, playground and athletic field. Because the city had no hospital, the Plyms purchased, in 1925, the Dresden home on St. Joseph Avenue, known as "Castle Rest," and remodeled it into a hospital. It was announced on Dec. 24, 1925, as a Christmas gift to the city and remained as one of the family's favorite charities.
In addition to widespread philanthropics in the Niles area, gifts included the Senior Citizens' Home in Mr. Plym's home parish in Backaby, Sweden. Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., and Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, as well as an endowed room of the John Morton Building in Philadelphia, a building erected by persons of Swedish ancestry to commemorate the landing of Swedish peoples in Delaware in 1638.
They also founded the Plym Fellowships in Architecture and Architectural Engineering at the University of Illinois, from which Mr. Plym graduated, to allow recipients a year of study and research abroad in their chosen fields.
Because of his interest in Swedish American affairs, Mr. Plym was appointed as chairman of the Swedish-American tercentenary observance held in the 1930s and was later cited for his work by the king of Sweden, who decorated him with his country's Order of Vasa.
Over the years, Mrs. Plym's interests included the Women's Progressive League and Ladies Historical Society. She was a charter member of the Niles Garden Club and Niles College Club, later called the American Association of University Women. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church and, at one time, superintendent of its Primary Department.
Survivors include a son, Lawrence, of Niles, a daughter, Mrs. Marian Troup, of San Marino, Calif.; 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Another daughter, Mrs. Helen Plym Grimes, died several years ago.
Interment was in Silverbrook cemetery.
The family has requested that memorials be sent to Niles Public Library, Pawating Hospital, First Presbyterian Church or Fernwood, Inc.