W. B. Probasco and James P. Lott, Burch House, Bloomington, Illinois, ca. 1869

A business card for William B. Probasco and James P. Lott, who were the proprietors of the Burch House hotel in Bloomington, Illinois, for a number of years in the 1860s. According to various sources (see below), Probasco purchased the hotel in 1866, but Lott left Bloomington and moved to Chicago in 1870, so their partnership in running the hotel lasted less than five years.

-- Burch House newspaper ad, 1869. An advertisment that ran in the Bloomington Weekly Leader, April 15, 1869, p. 7, provided the same information that's printed on the card.

-- James P. Lott moved to Chicago in 1870. An entry about "James P. Lott" in the Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois (1905), vol. 2, Cook County edition, p. 939, states, "In January 1861, he came with his father to Bloomington, Ill., where he at first engaged in the grocery business, and afterward conducted a hotel. Coming to Chicago in 1870, he worked for his father's firm."

-- William B. Probasco bought the Burch House in 1866 and ran the hotel until 1871. Rochelle Gridley wrote about "The Probasco Family" on her 100 Years Ago in the Pantagraph blog, July 14, 2017, observing that William B. Probasco bought "the Burch Hotel in 1866 and ran that business until 1871, when he went into the grain business."

-- William B. Probasco was in the business until 1871. A profile of "W. B. Probasco" in The History of McLean County, Illinois (1879), p. 811, confirms that "he was engaged in the hotel business in Bloomington until 1871."

Burch House,

Cor. Front and Madison Sts., Bloomington, Illinois.

Probasco & Lott, proprietors.

Transient board, $2.00 per day. General stage office.

Omnibus leaves the house. Connecting with all trains.

W. B. Probasco. Jas. P. Lott.