George King Later in Chicago

George King Later in Chicago

• Jul 03, 2025
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I have found no records of George Later’s travels in the far west, but there is a gap in his timeline between his last residence in Broughton at age 17 in 1871 and his first residence in Chicago at 29 in 1883, so that would seem to be consistent with the newspaper account.

In Chicago, he first established himself on State Street in the South Loop and began in business as a house painter. In 1889, he married Mary Connors, an Irish girl born in Cambridge, Mass., three months before their child, George Phillip Later, was born. The family moved to 4236 S. Langley Ave. in the Grand Boulevard neighborhood, home to stately mansions in the eastern blocks and with working class areas to the west.

I imagine it was those mansions that sustained George’s work as a painter. His 1910 census record indicates he owned a shop.

In 1896, George King Later cleared up his immigration status when he was naturalized as an American citizen. The record indicates that he arrived as a minor previously allegiant to “Canada-Gt. Brit.-Ire.” Even so, he continued to fudge his Canadian origin in future census records.

George remained at the Langley Avenue address for 30 years, even after Mary passed in 1914. He took a German-speaking second wife, Anna, in his later years, and they moved to the South Shore neighborhood after he retired in the 1920s.

George King Later died in October 1928, following his sister Agnes to the grave by six months. He is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Chicago.