Irving John Gill was born of Quaker ancestry in Tully on Apr 26, 1870 to Joseph & Cynthia Gill. The family didn’t stay long in Tully & by 1875, they’d moved to Syracuse where Joseph is listed as a carpenter in the census. It is thought that it was from his father that he learned the love of architecture. By 1889, "Jack" (which he liked to be called) was employed in the Syracuse architectural office of Ellis G. Hall as a draftsman. In 1890, he moved to the offices of Joseph Silsbee in Chicago. In 1891, he transferred to another architectural office in Chicago where the famed architect, Frank Lloyd Wright was the chief draftsman. He worked on the Transportation Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition (aka The Great 1893 Chicago World’s Fair).
     After the fair, Gill moved to San Diego, CA because of ill health. It wasn’t long before the famous weather restored him. In San Diego, he’s known as the architectural genius who changed the look of the city with his distinct simple & clean style. He was employed by the wealthy throughout the United States & built homes in New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts & Maine.
     He is now widely considered the first & preeminent architect of the Modernist era. Many books have been written about him & his style. There is the Irving J Gill Foundation that is a not-for-profit corporation founded to preserve Gill’s work & legacy. And, of course, his bio is in the “Biographical Dictionary of American Architects” which wrongly notes that he was born in Syracuse.
     Gill’s only marriage was late in life and ended shortly after it had begun in divorce. He had no children. He died alone in Carlsbad, CA on Oct 7, 1936.

    He was a Representative from New York; born in Otisco, Onondaga County, N.Y., August 26, 1899; attended the public schools of Tully, N.Y.; was graduated from the Manlius Military Academy, Manlius, N.Y., in 1919 and the Central City Business School, Syracuse, N.Y., in 1921; operated a general store and served as postmaster of Nedrow, N.Y., 1921-1923; in 1923 became owner and operator of a bakery at Tully, N.Y.; member of Tully Board of Education 1933-1938; member of the board of supervisors of Onondaga County 1938-1943; county clerk of Onondaga County 1943-1946; member of the advisory board of the Marine Midland Trust Co., Tully, N.Y.; area board of directors, Lynchburg College, Va.; elected as a Republican to the Eightieth and to the eight succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1947-January 3, 1965); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1964 to the Eighty-ninth Congress; vice president, Lu-Mar Enterprises, Inc.; resided in Ormond Beach, Fla., until his death there July 16, 1978; interment in Tully Cemetery, Tully, N.Y.

(Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present (Online)

    Mary E. Sheehan was born Sep 25, 1876 in Truxton, NY, the daughter of David & Ellen Sheehan. When a young girl, the family moved to Tully, NY. She graduated from the House of the Good Shepherd in Syracuse, NY as a nurse. Circa 1909, she joined the Army Nurse Corps and served in that organization until her retirement in 1934.
     In 1917, Miss Sheehan was the Chief Nurse at the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC. She was selected by Brig. Gen. Theodore Lyster to be the Chief Nurse of Base Hospital #115 which was to specialize in the treatment of head, ear & eye injuries suffered in WWI.
     On July 31st, Mary & her nurses set sail for Liverpool, England onboard the SS Megantic arriving there on Aug 11th. By Aug 16th, they had arrived at their destination at Vichy, Allier, France as part of the American Expeditionary Force. The hospital became fully functional, Sept 11, 1918.
     Eleven thousand patients later, the hospital closed on Feb 12th, 1919 & the nurses (Mary included) arrived in New York on April 15th. After her return, she was assigned to several other hospitals but it was while she was at the William Beaumont Hospital in El Paso, TX in 1923 that she was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal for her work as Chief Nurse in WWI.
     She died on Mar 2, 1936 in Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, DC after a short illness. Her body was returned home to Tully and buried next to her family in St. Leo's Cemetery.