USA > Illinois > McHenry County > History of McHenry County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 24
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Growing up at Elgin, Vesper J. Lowe attended the schools of that city and learned to be a blacksmith, following that trade for some years.
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He also was engaged in handling sugar of milk upon an extensive scale, and then in 1900 embarked in his present business, and since 1909 has been its manager, and has been instrumental in developing it to its present proportions.
On August 8, 1894, Mr. Lowe was married to Miss Gertrude Barber, a daughter of Joseph Barber, and they have the following children: Vernon J., who is a veteran of the World War; Howard; Stella, who is Mrs. A. G. Anderson, of Great Lakes, Ill .; and Miss Grace and Donald D., who are at home. They have an adopted daughter, Cora, who was born October 30, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Lowe and their children belong to the Baptist church. In politics he is a Republican, and, in April 1914, he was elected a member of the school board of Marengo, where he maintains his residence.
VINCENT SILAS LUMLEY.
Vincent Silas Lumley, state's attorney of MeHenry County, and senior member of the legal firm of Lumley & Allen, is one of the most prominent attorneys of this region, and a man whose character both in public and private life is without a blemish. He was born at Ringwood, MeHenry County, December 26, 1867, a son of Thomas R. and Eliza (Mitehell) Lumley. The Lumley family are of English deseent, their history having been identified with Yorkshire, England, from a remote period. They were the founders of a fraternal organization, The Foresters, originally composed solely of members of that family but into which, at a later period, members of other English families were admitted.
Thomas R. Lumley, the father of Vincent S. Lumley, was born in Yorkshire, England, July 3, 1827, the son of Thomas Emanuel and Mary Ann Lumley, and was reared to be a farmer in his native country. His father, Thomas Emanuel Lumley, also a native of Yorkshire, was a farmer, and had three brothers, all of whom, like himself, were men of prominence and considerable property. Of these, John, now deceased, was a well-to-do citizen of Seriven, England; Mathew was a piano manufacturer of Hull, England; and Edwin was during his lifetime an extensive farmer of Yorkshire. Thomas Emanuel Lumley served as a soldier during the French-English War, under the Duke of Wellington, and participated in the battle of Waterloo. A former Lord Lumley,
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connected with this family, was friendly to the Puritans and assisted some of them in their efforts to reach the American Colonies during the days of their persecution. Thomas E. Lumley married Mary Ann Wright, and they had an excellent home in Yorkshire where the following named children were born to them: John, Helen E., James, William, Thomas Robert, and Mary Ann. Thomas E. Lumley died in England in 1863, and his wife died in 1848.
Of the above family Thomas R. and William Lumley sailed from Liverpool, England, for America, in 1851, the voyage to New York consuming six weeks. After landing they came to Huntley, McHenry County, direet from New York, and obtained employment for a time on what is now the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. Later they joined the John S. Cummings Company in an expedition across the plains to California. While in California Thomas R. Lumley engaged in the merchandise business for two years, but in 1854 returned to McHenry County. He then bought 335 acres of land in Ringwood Prairie, a portion of which was improved and known as the Halcomb Farm, but the remainder was unimproved. Here he erceted one of the finest farmhouses of that period in McHenry County.
On May 3, 1858, Thomas R. Lumley was married to Ann Eliza Mitchell, born at Kingsville, Ashtabula County, Ohio, February 22, 1836, a daughter of Silas Robert and Mary S. (Hopkins) Mitchell. After marriage Mr. Lumley settled on his farm in McHenry County, where he acquired a large estate, at one time owning 1,000 acres of land. Among his later acquisitions were the Tryon Farm of 275 acres in Heb- ron Township, and the Peterson Farm of 218 aeres in Greenwood Town- ship. Mr. Lumley and his wife remained on their farm until IS88, when they removed to Woodstock, and later to Chicago. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he filled the office of steward for many years. Politically he was a Republican, but he was in no sense an office seeker, preferring to give his attention to his large farming and other activities.
Mr. and Mrs. Lumley were the parents of the following children: Frank B., Clinton G., Genevieve L., Vincent S., Edwin T., Wallace J., and Stanley M., who died August 24, 1890, aged eighteen years. Mr. Lumley died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Tryon, at Chicago, November 14, 1896, aged sixty-nine years. Of their children, Clinton G. was graduated from the University of Illinois and the Chicago Med- ical College, and is now a practicing physician of Chicago; he married Miss Nellie McLean of Urbana, Ill., a graduate of the University of
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Illinois, and they have four children, Harold M., Leslie, Arlene and Dorothy. Edwin T. Lumley took courses in the Dixon Business Col- lege, and the Illinois School of Pharmacy, and is a druggist of Chicago. Wallace J. was graduated from the Dixon Business College and the Illinois School of Pharmacy, and is a resident of Elgin, Ill. Frank B. married Fred Tryon of MeHenry County and they have three children: Glendara H., who married W. V. Hoff, of Blue Island. Floyd C., and Verna E. Mr. Tryon died in 1894, and his widow now resides at Wood- stock. Genevieve L. married George T. Goodnow, who is associated with the firm of Benjamin Moore & Company of Chicago, and they have one child, Pauline. Wallace J. married Margaret Weast. Edwin T. married Cecil Erickson, and they have two children, Gerald and Ber- nice.
Vincent S. Lumley was reared among the peaceful scenes of rural life in Ringwood Prairie, one of the most beautiful of the smaller prairies which dot the rich landscape of Northern Illinois. Here he passed his youthful days, and attended the public schools, acquiring the foundation ยท of a good education under the instruction of Rev. William Nickle. He then attended the normal school at Normal, Hl., and later was graduated from the Northern Business College at Dixon, Ill., where he was valedictorian of his class. After being engaged in teaching school at MeHenry, for a year, he entered the law department at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which he was graduated in 1888 when only twenty years of age, at which time he delivered the class oration. The year previous, when nineteen, he was admitted to practice law in the state of Michigan and at Ann Arbor, and with a single exception, was the youngest student in a class of 142, the others not only being older, but many of them were able lawyers in active prace- tice.
In 1888, the year of his graduation, Mr. Lumley engaged in practice. at Woodstock, in partnership with the late Judge T. D. Murphy, which association continued until the death of the latter. Since that even he practiced alone until he formed a partnership with Charles T. Allen, in 1915. Politically Mr. Lumley is a staunch Republican. In 1896, he was elected state's attorney of MeHenry County, receiving a plurality of fifty-nine votes over those cast for William McKinley for the pres- idency, and securing the largest majority ever given to any candidate for office in the county. In 1900 Mr. Lumley was re-elected, was again returned to office in 1916, and in 1920.
In 1892, Mr. Lumley was united in marriage with Neva D. Bunker,
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at Woodstock. She was born in this city, a daughter of Amos and Dell (Sherman) Bunker. They have two daughters. Mr. Lumley belongs to the Odd Fellows and several benevolent organizations.
PEIIR HJALMER LUNDGREN.
Pehr Hjalmer Lundgren, now living retired at Marengo, is one of the highly respected men of MeHenry County, who was born at Lind- shafen, state of Ostergotland, Sweden, on May 5, 1845. He came to the United States in 1868, and after he landed in New York City, being a painter by trade, he secured a job painting a fruit vessel. This vessel was to make the trip between New York and New Orleans, touching at Aspinwall, and he was to do the work while on the water. For it he was paid $115 in addition to his board. Unfortunately yellow fever broke out on board so he was very glad to reach New Orleans without being stricken down with the scourge. From that city he came north as far as St. Louis, and thence to Chicago, where he was offered work, but having a friend at Des Moines, Iowa, decided to join him, and the two went to work painting stage coaches for the line which then ran between Des Moines and Boone, Iowa, for at that time there was no railroad. After the Chicago fire Mr. Lundgren came to Chicago, thinking to find work during the rebuilding period, but through a friend secured a job of painting the machines manufactured by the Easton Harvester Com- pany at Sycamore, Ill., remaining there for two years, and was soon made foreman over twenty men. In the meanwhile, during the summer, when work was slack at the shop, he secured work house painting, and some of these houses were at Marengo. The locality so pleased him, that he finally located permanently in this city.
In October, 1876, Mr. Lundgren was married to Delilah Renwick, a daughter of Walter and Mary Ann (Haynes) Renwick, natives of New York and Virginia. Mr. Renwick was a stone mason and con- tractor and did considerable work on canal locks in the east. Sub- sequently he came to MeHenry County, locating on a farm one mile east of Marengo, where Mrs. Lundgren was born, March 30, 1850. Mr. and Mrs. Renwick had in addition to Mrs. Lundgren the following children: William, who is living retired at Marengo; James Walter, who lives in California; and Randolph, who lives at Belvidere, III. Mr. Renwick died in 1881, age eighty-one years, his widow surviving
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him for fifteen years. She lived with Mr. and Mrs. Lundgren the last four years, and then died at the age of eighty-two. The old Renwick farm has since been sold.
Mr. Lundgren secured a farm two miles north, and one and one- quarter miles west of Marengo, on the Kiswaukee River Road, and still owns that 103 aeres, upon which he lived until 1900. He then returned to Marengo, and continued his painting. He has bought and sold a few farms at a profit to himself, for he is a good judge of land valnes. In addition to doing all kinds of outside painting, Mr. Lund- gren carried on contracting as an interior decorator. He built his present home after the model furnished him by his father's residence in Sweden, where his father was a large farmer, distiller and hotel man. Mr. Lundgren has been baek to his native land upon several occasions, the first time after ten years' absence from it, and again after his father's death. His mother died in 1897, aged seventy-nine years. He had three brothers who died in Chicago, the last two from injuries received in accidents. Mr. and Mrs. Lundgren became the parents of four children as follows: Carl Leonard, who was graduated from the State University at Champaign, Ill., as a civil engineer, has experienee as a professional ball player, and is now coach for the ball team of the Univer- sity of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Mich., and a traveling salesman during vacation times; Franz Emil, who was graduated from the Marengo High School in 1907, died August 29, 1917, unmarried, being at that time an employe of a clothing store; Eva, who was a stenographer was made private secretary of Robert J. Blum, head man of the cash depart- ment of Sears Roebuck & Company of Chicago, and later was married to Mr. Blum; and Alma, who married Jesse Getman, a traveling sales- man of Belvidere, Ill. Mr. Lundgren is a member of the Odd Fellows. The family are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Lundgren has made nine round trips between the United States and Sweden, and has toured Europe several times.
HENRY MACKEBEN.
Henry Maekeben, mayor of Huntley, is one of the progressive farmers of MeHenry County, and is extensively engaged in the raising of straw- berries, raspberries and all small fruits for the market. He was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1863, and came to the United States in 1865
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with his parents, after a seven-weeks' ocean voyage. They first located at Plum Grove, Ill., where they remained three years, when they moved to Lake Zurich, Ill., where his father managed the 700-acre Fox estate, and in 1872, he, with his parents, came to Harmony, in Coral Township, and bought the old Marshall farm where they lived and the children were schooled. In 1887 Mr. Mackeben went to Chicago and started to work for Thomas O'Brien, in the milk business. In 1888 he was married to Miss Lena Lambrecht at which time he purchased the business of Mr. O'Brien and which he conducted for two years.
After the death of his father he disposed of his business and purchased the old homestead and a few years later purchased the adjoining farm.
In 1901 he moved with his family to Huntley, where he has since continued to live. Mr. Mackeben was a member of the village board of trustees for several years and in 1917 was elected mayor of Huntley, giving the little city a wise and business-like administration.
In 1910 Mr. Mackeben started in the fruit business on a small scale, increasing year by year until his gardens now cover fourteen acres. He has made a study of all plant life giving his entire time and thought . to that end. He is ably assisted in this work by his two children, namely : Harley H. and Ida.
JOHN W. MAIR.
John W. Mair, manager of the Crystal Lake Branch of the Bowman Dairy Company, is one of the leading business men of McHenry County, and one whose sagacity and knowledge of the affairs of his concern recommend him to those in authority. He was born in Scotland, No- vember 8, 1867, one of the twelve children of William and Jane (Rich- mond) Mair, both of whom were natives of Scotland, and are now de- ceased. His father was a farmer by occupation.
John W. Mair attended the public schools of Scotland, and com- pleted his studies in Kelmornock Academy. In 1894, he came to the United States, locating in Illinois, where he became associated with extensive interests in the creamery business, and in 1910, came to Crystal Lake as manager of the plant of the Bowman Dairy Company. The present plant was built in 1902, and has a capacity of 60,000 pounds of milk per day. Mr. Mair has thirty-five people under his supervision.
In 1909 Mr. Mair was married to Miss Hattie Wyant, and he and
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his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He believes in the principles of the Republican party, supports its candidates with his vote, and served Crystal Lake as alderman for one term. His fraternal connections are with the Odd Fellows and the Mystic Workers of the World. In addition to his residence, Mr. Mair owns sixteen acres of land within the corporate limits of his municipality, and 100 acres in Nunda Township.
BENJAMIN F. MANLEY.
Benjamin F. Manley, attorney-at-law, and one of the best known lawyers of MeHenry County, deserves the prestige to which he has attained, for he has won it fairly and honorably. He was born at Alden, Ill., December 31, 1868, one of the four children of Henry F. and Harriet A. (Glass) Manley. Henry F. Manley was born in Vermont, but later came to Alden, Ill., where he lived until his retirement from farming, when he located at Harvard, and there died. During the Civil War, he served as a brave soldier.
After going to the schools of Alden, Mr. Manley attended the Western Normal Commercial Institute, from which he was graduated in 1894, following which he took a course in the legal department of the North- western University, and was graduated therefrom in October, 1899. He then entered the firm of Gann & Peaks of Chicago, with which he continued until October, 1902, when he located at Harvard, where he has since remained. In 1905, he was elected a member of the sehool board, and held office until May 1, 1919, and was city attorney of Har- vard from May, 1907, to May, 1919, and served as Mayor of Harvard from May 1, 1919, to May 1, 1921. He is a member of the MeHenry Bar Association of which he is vice president. Fraternally, he is a Mason and Odd Fellow, and Elk.
Mr. Manley was married to Miss Effie M. Justice, a daughter of John O. Justice of Bushnell, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Manley have one son, John Henry, who is at home. They are members of the First Presby- terian church of Harvard, of which Mr. Manley is a trustee. He is recognized as one of the leading attorneys of the county, and his services in an official eapaeity to Harvard are considerable, and are appreciated, as is shown by his re-election to offiee.
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WILLIS HOMER MANN.
Willis Homer Mann, now deceased, was for some years extensively engaged in handling real estate at Woodstock, where his last years were spent, and where he left a lasting impress upon the city's welfare. He was born at Plymouth, Wayne County, Mich., November 14, 1854, a son of Levi and Melvina Mann.
After a boyhood spent in Michigan, Willis H. Mann engaged in farming near Broadhead, Wis., and developed a very valuable farm and learned to know the agricultural business in all its branches. During 1903, he retired from farming, and coming to MeHenry County, estab- lished himself in a real estate business at Woodstock, expanding until he carried on extensive transactions, and controlled many and varied interests. He was thus engaged when claimed by death on November 16, 1915.
Mr. Mann was united in marriage on March 2, 1871, with Ada Howard, at Carson City, Mich., a daughter of Eben and Elizabeth (Ryan) Howard of Jackson, Mich. Mr. and Mrs. Mann became the parents of the following children: Lilly, Charles H., Floyd, Lizzie, Millard, Earl, Georgia and Homer. Mr. Mann and his family early began attending the services of the Baptist Church, although Mr. Mann was not a member of any religious denomination.
CHARLES E. MARKS.
Charles E. Marks, stock breeder, and dairyman, is one of the pro- gressive men of Woodstock, and one who is fully alive to the possibilities of his calling and the importance of the advancement of his community. He was born in Jo Daviess County, Ill., February 28, 1880, a son of J. H. and Eleanor A. Marks, highly respected residents of Woodstock, having made this city their home for the past three years. J. H. Marks was also born in Jo Daviess County, about sixty-four years ago, his parents having come to that section from England. The parents of his wife came originally from England and the Isle of Man. He is a large owner of McHenry County farm land, and devotes his attention to supervising its cultivation.
Charles E. Marks was five years old when he was taken to Grant County, Wis., where he lived during his educational period, attending
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the local schools and Laurence College at Appleton, Wis. Early in his career, he became associated with his father in stock dealing and handling farm land, their operations extending over several states, in- cluding South Dakota. However, Mr. Marks was impressed with the superior advantages offered for dairying in MeHenry County, and in 1915 bought 295 acres of land adjoining the city of Woodstock, where he made extensive improvements. His farm is now regarded as one of the model ones of the county. A tenant occupies the house on the farm, Mr. Marks having erected for his own use a handsome residence on the city line, but near his farm so that his family can enjoy both country and urban advantages. Mr. Marks erected and equipped a modern and sanitary milk plant for bottling milk and making butter for the city trade at Woodstock, and has Guernsey cows, tuberculin tested, producing the best quality of milk. His policy is "service and quality." He is a breeder of pure-bred Duroe-Jersey swine.
On December 26, 1908, Mr. Marks was united in marriage to Grace W. Willison, and they have three children, namely: Charles Donald, Chester Edgar and Marjorie May. The Methodist Episcopal church holds his membership. Long a Mason, he is well thought of in that order, and his wife is equally interested in the Eastern Star of which both are members. An intelligent and experienced farmer, Mr. Marks is deservedly numbered among the leaders in his calling in this part of the state. For two years he was a member of the city council of Wood- stock.
HENRY FOSTER MARKS.
Henry Foster Marks, now living retired at Huntley, is one of the substantial men of MeHenry County. He was born at Homer, Cortland County, N. Y., August 23, 1843, a son of Azef and Ann (Wallace) Marks, natives of Ohio and England, who were married in New York. When Henry Foster Marks was thirteen years old, the family came to MeHenry County, and the father located on the Sherman farm two miles south of Woodstock, but two years later went on a farm four miles north of Huntley, which he subsequently bought. Still later, he moved to Westside, Crawford County, Iowa.
Henry Foster Marks lived in MeHenry County from the time he was thirteen years old until his father went to Westside, Iowa, when he accompanied him, but after helping to develop a new farm, he sold his
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interests, and returned to Huntley, where he spent several years, and then went to Missouri for a year. Once more he returned to Illinois, and for twelve years conducted a milk route in Chicago. He then went back to MeHenry County for two years, when he was offered the position of superintending a flat building at Chicago, which he accepted, and held it for about ten years. Mr. Marks then returned to Huntley and since then has been practically retired. Having served during the Civil War as a soldier, he was interested in the Grand Army of the Republic, and belonged to Old Glory Post at Chicago, but never con- nected himself with the post at Huntley. He generally attends the reunions, especially of his regiment, and spent a week in camp on the Fiftieth anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, and is now the only survivor of all of the men who went into the service from Huntley.
Mr. Marks was married to Rene Grimley of Huntley, born in New York, February 28, 1849, and they have two sons, namely: William Ernest, who married Martha Allen, is a real estate dealer of Oak Park, Ill .; and Alfred Earl, who is a promoter of oil stock at Kansas City, Mo.
ROBERT F. MARSHALL.
Robert F. Marshall, one of the leading members of the McHenry County bar, is one of the most prominent men of this part of the state, and his public-spirited efforts have been largely instrumental in bringing about many of the recent improvements in local conditions. He was born at Rockford, Ill., June 8, 1880, one of the three children of his parents, William and Almira (Herrick) Marshall. William Marshall was also an attorney of distinction in McHenry County and at Rockford, and he died at Chicago, Ill., April 23, 1902.
Robert F. Marshall attended the schools of Rockford, Academy of Beloit College, and the law department of the Northwestern University, from which he was graduated in 1907 and he was admitted to the bar in the fall of the same year. From 1907 to 1909 he was employed as a law clerk with one of the large law firms in Chicago. From 1909 to 1912 he was engaged in practice at Rockford, and then located at Harvard, forming a partnership with the late Calvin J. Hendricks. With the exception of the three years he spent in Rockford he has made Harvard his home since the spring of 1899. In December, 1917, Mr. Marshall, moved by the spirit of patriotism, relinquished his enviable position
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among the attorneys of McHenry County to enlist in Army Y. M. C. A. work and was first stationed at Camp Logan, where the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Infantry trained for overseas work. He was unable to get an assignment for overseas duty with this organization, and was assigned to Y. M. C. A. duty on the U. S. S. Pocahontas. He has visited Brest, France, and made numerous trips back and forth in the discharge of his duty. Many of the returning soldiers will hold Mr. Marshall in affectionate and grateful remembrance for his service to them.
On September 23, 1911, Mr. Marshall was married to Miss Blanche Marshall, a daughter of Hugh Marshall, of Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall have one son, Hugh F., who was born November 26, 1918. They are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Marshall is a Republican and city attorney of Harvard. Fraternally, Mr. Marshall is a Knight Templar Mason and prominent in his order. With the cessation of his war duties, Mr. Marshall resumed active practice of his profession at Harvard, Ill., where he now resides, and will add to the distinction he has already attained for he is recognized as a lawyer of unusual ability and steadfast purpose.
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