Elmer Ellsworth Beach (December 19, 1861 – March 17, 1950) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and lawyer. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1882 to 1883. He later became a lawyer in Chicago, established the Beach & Beach law firm, and practiced law from 1887 until his retirement in the 1930s. He was also grand master of the grand lodge of Illinois Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

Early years

Beach was born in 1861 in Civil Bend,

Fremont County, Iowa Fremont County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census the population was 6,605, making it the state's seventh-least populous county. The county seat is Sidney. The county was formed in 1847 and named for the mili ...

, the son of Henry W. Beach and Eva E. (Canfield) Beach. At age six, he moved with his family to Atwood in northern Michigan where he was raised on a farm. He received his primary education in the public schools of Antrim, Michigan. At age 15, he left the family farm to attend school in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

. He attended Grand Rapids Grammar School and Grand Rapids High School, graduating 1880 in the German course and 1881 in the classical course.

University of Michigan

He enrolled at the

in 1881 and graduated in 1884 at age 22. While attending Michigan, he played

for the

1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in ...

and

1883 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1883 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1883 college football season. The Wolverines played their only home game at the Ann Arbor Fairgrounds. Schedule Roster The following is the roster of the ...

s as the quarterback and a forward, respectively.

Legal career

After graduating from Michigan, Beach began "reading law" with Judge Shorey of Chicago. He was admitted to the bar in 1887. They resided at 1140 Lunt Avenue in the Rogers Park section of Chicago. In 1889, Beach formed a law partnership with his brother, Raymond Walter Beach. The firm engaged in a general law practice under the name Beach & Beach with offices on the Ashland Block in Chicago. In 1908, the "Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois" wrote: "Mr. Beach's success shows what can be accomplished by energy and perseverance, rising, as he has done, from a farmer's boy to the position of one of the leading attorneys at the Chicago bar." In 1921, he was elected grand master of the grand lodge Illinois Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

Family

In July 1889, he married Jessie E. Taylor (1860–1918) of

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

, the daughter of Jay C Taylor and Amanda McCullum. They had two children, Elizabeth Clara Beach (adopted) and Eva Mae Beach. Jessie (Taylor) Beach died July 7, 1918. April 28, 1919, he married Ethel Vianna Taylor (1891–1969) in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of William James Taylor and Celestia L Tomlinson of Chicago. The Law firm of Beach and Beach had represented in 1913 Celestia Taylor in her divorce from William J Taylor. Six years later Elmer Beach married their daughter, 30 years his junior. He and Ethel had one daughter together, Greta Claire Beach. Elmer Beach had two brothers, Raymond Walter Beach and Rex Ellingwood Beach. His brother,

Rex Beach Rex Ellingwood Beach (September 1, 1877 – December 7, 1949) was an American novelist, playwright, and Olympic water polo player. Early life Rex Beach was born in Atwood, Michigan, but moved to Tampa, Florida, with his family where his father ...

, was a noted novelist and playwright. Elmer Beach moved to Biloxi, Mississippi and opened a law office in 1928. At that time he was reported to be the only blind attorney practicing in Mississippi. Beach became totally blind in 1926 following an operation on his eyes for which he charged the surgeon with negligence. The suit was ultimately dismissed. He moved to

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

in approximately 1940. In March 1950, he died at his home in Raleigh at the age of 88 after a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beach, Elmer 1861 births 1950 deaths 19th-century players of American football Michigan Wolverines football players Illinois lawyers People from Fremont County, Iowa People from Antrim County, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan

Early years

University of Michigan

Legal career

Family

See also

References