Contributed by ChesterH. Neff
[email protected]
MARLOW, John Wesley.—-Theagricultural interests of Schuyler County, Ill., have a well-known representativein John Wesley Marlow, a native-born son of Camden Township, where practicallyall of his busy and useful life has been passed. The subscriptionschools of this locality afforded him such advantages as were possiblein pioneer days. The churches of the community gave him religioustraining and taught him in youth the duty which he owed to God and mankind. The soil of the township, tilled in a systematic manner, netted him a fairincome from early life and laid the foundation of his present prosperity,enabling him from time to time to add to his possessions until at thiswriting he owns 365 acres of valuable farm land.
The record of the familyappears in the sketch of Levi S. Marlow, presented upon another page ofthis volume. John Wesley Marlow was born at the old homestead August16, 1840, being a son of Hanson Marlow. After having gained a knowledgeof the three Rs in the neighboring schools, he turned his attention togeneral farming, in which he acquired a through training under his father. On Aug 15, 1861, he was united in marriage with Eliza Jane Green, Daughterof William and Hannah (Spencer) Green, honored pioneers of Schuyler County,but both now deceased. Of the Green family one son and one daughter(Mrs. Ayers) alone survive, and are the residents of Camden Township. After his marriage, Mr. Marlow settled on Section 14, Camden Township,where he bought ninety-five acres of bottom land wholly unimproved, andduring the next five years he was busily engaged in the cultivation ofthe property. While living on that farm two of his children wereborn. About 1866 he sold the land and removed to Richardson County,Neb., but in the fall returned to Schuyler County and traded his Nebraskaproperty for 80 acres on Section 27, Camden Township, where he has sincemade his home. In 1881 he lost his first wife, by whom he had thefollowing children: Levi, William Ray, Mary E., Henry, Rosetti, CharlesW. and Annie. Levi was born May 31, 1862 and died January 26, 1865; Mary E. was born October 26, 1964 and died September 11, 1876. WilliamR. was born February 25, 1866 and died December 8, 1868. Henry, bornFebruary 14, 1868 is a farmer in Camden Township. He married SophiaWeightman, by whom he has had seven children, five of whom are living. Rosetti, was born December 10, 1869, is the wife of Albert Lung, a farmerin Camden Township, by whom she had nine children, seven of whom are living. Charles W., born November 18, 1871, died February 12, 1873; and Annie,born April 18, 1874, deceased wife of Mead Clayton, left one child.
The second marriage of JohnWesley Marlow united him with Jemima Weightman, who was born in CamdenTownship February 1, 1863, being a daughter of that honored pioneer, WilliamWeightman who is still living, his wife having died February 4, 1908. Of this union six children were born, namely: Asa U., born December6, 1883, who died November 2, 1903; Martha Jane, born May 10, 1885, Getrude Victoria, born December 28, 1886, who is the wife of Burt A. Davis,a farmer of Camden Township; John W., born March 17, 1891, who assistshis father on the farm; Minnie Elizabeth, born May 1, 1893; and NettieRuth, born July 29, 1895. The hospitality of the Marlow family isproverbial. Their guests look with especial pleasure upon a visitto the far, whose genial owner deservedly ranks among the honored men ofthe township. In local improvements he has maintained a constantinterest. His devotion to his native county is unquestioned, andhis solicitude regarding his permanent prosperity is deep In religiouswork he has been faithful and generous. The Union Chapel owes itsorganization and usefulness largely to his labors. To the buildingfund he contributed $55 in cash and forty-five days’ work, while Mr. Weightmangave $50 and his work, the united labors of the two men being the meansof dedicating the church free from debt. Many have been the changeshis eyes have beheld since his youth. Agricultural processes havebeen revolutionized. In early days he was accustomed to the tedioustask of threshing the wheat with a flail; the grain was then hauledby wagon to Quincy, where it was sold at twenty-five cents per bushel. The days of dollar wheat were then undreamed of, nor were there any prophetsto herald the coming inventions which would radically change all knownmethods of harvesting and threshing. The telephone was then unheardof, and many other conveniences, which are regarded as necessities by peoplein the twentieth century, were then unknown, yet the pioneers look backupon those days with a keen recollection of the many pleasures they enjoyedand a vivid appreciation of their happiness in spite of the lack of modernimprovements.
Biography, John Wesley Marlow. Reference: Chapter 32, Page 877, Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois andHistory of Schuyler County, edited by Newton Bateman, Paul Selby, &Howard F. Dyson; Munsell Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908. Submitted by Chester H. Neff, Jan. 2000.
Copyright 2000-2006 C. H. Neff;all rights reserved. For personal use only. Commercial use of the informationcontained in these pages is strictly prohibited without prior permission.If copied, this copyright must appear with the information.
Return to Submitted Biographies
Bios& Family Histories Page
FamilyBranches Index
Returnto Home Page