Ira Couch

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Ira Couch
BornNovember 11, 1806
New York
DiedFebruary 28, 1857 (age 50)
Cuba
NationalityUnited States

Ira Couch (November 11, 1806—February 28, 1857) was an American businessman famous for his real estate holdings in Chicago, as well as for creating the city's Tremont House hotel.

Life[]

Couch was born November 11, 1806 in New York state.[1]

In 1836, Couch and his elder brother James settled in Chicago.[1]

Couch worked as a tailor and haberdasher.[2] He ran a shop with his brother on Lake Street where they sold furnishing and tailoring supplies, but they sold the business less than a year after starting it.[1][3] They soon leased the rooming house they had been staying at, transforming it into the Tremont House hotel. It was located was next door to their former business at the corner or Lake and Dearborn.[1][3][4] It became one of the earliest and most famous hotels in the city.[5] The brothers would operate the hotel together.[3] After the hotel was lost in a fire four years later, he opened a new building at the opposite side of the intersection.[1] This new building was also lost to fire in 1849. After that, they reconstructed the hotel again, building what was the city's first grand hotel.[4]

Couch became a millionaire through acquisitions of land and real estate he and his brother made across the city's core.[1][4]

In 1853, Couch transferred the lease of the Tremont House.[1]

Couch died at the age of 50 on February 28, 1857 during a winter stay with his family in Cuba. Couch had fallen suddenly ill shortly before his death.[1] His corpse was shipped back to Chicago, arriving on March 4. His funeral was held on March 6.[1]

At the time of his death, he was believed to be Chicago's second-wealthiest resident, after only William B. Ogden and John Wentworth.[4]

Legacy[]

The 1891 United States Supreme Court decision of Potter v. Couch pertained to his last will and testament, which was being litigated over by family and other claimants seeking shares of the remainder of Couch's estate.[1][6]

Tomb[]

After Couch's death, his family built a mausoleum in Chicago's City Cemetery.[2] He was entombed in it eighteen months after his death, making it his final resting place.[1] The mausoleum was designed by John M. Van Osdel, who had also designed the grand reconstruction of the Tremont House.[3][4] Its construction attracted great attention.[4] Beginning in the 1860s, the city began relocating corpses from the cemetery, and reinterring them elsewhere. Today, Couch's tomb is the only remaining marked grave in the former City Cemetery, which is today the site of Lincoln Park.[2] It is located near the Chicago History Museum building.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bannos, Pamela (2021). "Hidden Truths: Pamela Bannos". hiddentruths.northwestern.edu. Northwestern University. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Maggio, Alice. "Who is Buried in Couch's Tomb? Gapers Block: Ask the Librarian". www.gapersblock.com. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "Couch Tomb | Artwork | Chicago Park District". www.chicagoparkdistrict.com. Chicago Park District. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Keegan, Anne. "TALES OF THE CRYPT". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Ira Couch". WTTW Chicago. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Potter v. Couch, 141 U.S. 296 (1891)". Justia Law. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
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