Eccles G. Van Riper was Mayor in Evansville, Indiana in 1870. He is the only Mayor of Evansville that we do not have a picture for in the Mayor Hall of Fame. I am looking for any picture of Eccles G. Van Riper that I can find. A portrait for the local Mayor Hall of Fame could be painted, if there was an actual photo as reference, or if a headshot photo exists, the actual photo could be used. He was born in New York, about 1742, and died September 26, 1914 in New York. He was captured in the U.S. Civil War when buying up cotton fields, sentenced to death, got a reprieve when leadership changed. Wound up in Evansville, IN because the company he worked for, Fatman & Co., had their Midwest Headquarter in Evansville. Eccles married the daughter of the first Mayor of Evansville. Eccles became Mayor when Mayor Walker died in office, as a the city council person in charge of finances, became Mayor for less that three months, until a special election could be held. Eccles was divorced in 1882, and shortly after moved to Moscow, Russia. While in Moscow, he was appointed Consul. He was accused of pretending to enter exhibits in World Fair types of events. He was asked to leave Moscow. It is mentioned that Russia had a photo of him in the Russian Rogue’s Gallery so he could be identified if he tried to come back to Russia. Any idea how to obtain that photo? It appears he spent the remainder of his life in New York.
gkillough [at] evansville.in.gov