John T. Pembroke, who has charge of the grain business of G. B.
Carrico at Womac, where he has been residing for the past four years,
was born in Jersey county, Illinois, on the 27th of October, 1863. He is
a son of Wesley N. and Sarah E. (Sumner) Pembroke, the father being a
native of Illinois and the mother of Indiana.
Wesley N. Pembroke
was born in Jersey county, this state, and there he was reared and
educated. When old enough to begin to work for himself he rented some
land in Jersey county that he operated for a few years and then came to
Macoupin county. Upon his arrival here he located in Shaws Point
township in the vicinity of Atwater, where he rented and cultivated land
until 1897, when he withdrew from active work. He has ever since lived
retired in Atwater where he owns a very pleasant residence. Seventy-five
years have elapsed since the birth of Wesley N. Pembroke, during the
last two of which he has been traveling life’s journey alone, his wife
having passed away on the 9th of January, 1909.
Reared in the
country the educational advantages of John T. Pembroke were limited to
the district schools, which at that period were both limited and
inefficient. He remained on the farm with his parents, assisting his
father in tilling the fields and caring for the crops, until he was
nineteen years of age. He then began his career as a wage earner by
going out to work by the month as a farm hand, and later he joined a
threshing crew. This served to enable him to acquire the means to begin
his independent agricultural career, so at the expiration of a few years
he went to Butler, Illinois. There he rented a farm that he operated for
two years, subsequently returning to Macoupin county where he continued
to farm as a renter. In 1907 he withdrew from agricultural pursuits and
came to Womac to take charge of the elevator and grain business of G. B.
Carrico, which position he now fills.
On the 22d of November,
1884, occurred the marriage of Mr. Pembroke and Miss Lena K. Henderson,
a daughter of John and Carrie (Hill) Henderson, natives of Indiana. The
father was a blacksmith and followed his trade in Indiana for several
years. He came from there to Jersey county, Illinois, during the early
days and established a shop that he operated for eight or ten years.
Disposing of his business at the end of that time he came to Macoupin
county, first locating at Medora, but later he removed to Shaws Point
township. After conducting a shop there for about eight years he went to
Litchfield, where he was actively identified with his trade until 1900,
when he retired. He has now attained the venerable age of eighty-five
years and continues to make his home in Litchfield. The mother, however,
passed away on the 22d of December, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Pembroke were the
parents of six children: Hallie R., who is twenty-two years old, the
wife of Edward Lyons, of St. Louis, Missouri; Alta B., now twenty years
of age, who became the wife of H. T. Smith, a farmer of Shaws Point
township; Hazel May, eighteen years old; Dale M., a youth of sixteen
years; Ross H., of the age of thirteen; and Joy Vernon, who has attained
the age of nine years. The four last named are all living at home.
The religious views of the family are manifested through their
affiliation with the Christian church, while fraternally Mr. Pembroke is
identified with the Modern Woodmen of America and is clerk of the camp,
in which he holds membership. His political support is given to the
republican party and he is serving at the present time as township
collector; he has also acted in the capacity of school director. He is
very comfortably situated and has a pleasant residence and three and a
half lots in Womac.
Extracted 15 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 408-409.
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