BIOGRAPHY - GARRETT NUGENT
The business affairs of Garrett Nugent are capably conducted and make him one of the leading residents of the village of Cabery. He possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution, while his close application to business and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which he is today enjoying.
He was born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, August 5, 1855, and when eleven years of age accompanied his parents on their removal to Wilmington, Will county, Illinois. He is a son of Nicholas Nugent, who was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, and crossed the Atlantic to Canada when a young man. There he acted as baggagemaster on the Great Western Railroad for four years and following his marriage removed with his family to Illinois, settling in Will county, where he lived for one year. He then removed to Essex township, Kankakee county, where he owned and operated a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, his time and energies being devoted to its further development and improvement until he laid aside the more active cares of business life. In early manhood he wedded Sarah Magher, a native of County Kilkenny, Ireland, who came to Canada with two brothers, Thomas and Patrick Magher. The death of Nicholas Nugent occurred on the 19th of May, 1901, when he had reached the age of seventy-eight years, while his wife survived until the 6th of November, 1907, and was eighty-five years of age at the time of her death.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Nugent were born seven children, namely: Garrett, of this review; Michael, a retired farmer of Essex township, Kankakee county; Mrs. Bridget Hayes, of Sibley, Ford county, Illinois; Richard E., who resides on the home farm in Essex township, Kankakee county; Nicholas, who followss agricultural pursuits in Essex township; Thomas, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume; and Mrs. Margaret A. Mulligan, who also resides on the old homestead in Essex township.
Garrett Nugent may well be termed a self-made man, for he started out in the business world at the early age of twelve years and for thirty-two years was in the employ of the Shobey family as a farm hand and as a clerk in their store in Union Hill. What higher testimonial of capability and fidelity could be given than the fact that he was so long retained in that employ. Desirous to engage in business on his own account, however, he joined his brother in the grain trade at Cabery in 1898 and after a three years' partnership bought out his brother's interest and has since conducted the business under his own name, operating an elevator with a capacity of twenty thousand bushels. As a grain merchant his business is not only of value to himself but also to the community, furnishing a good market for the farmers of this locality. He likewise deals in coal and agricultural implements and his business is constantly increasing, owing to his tireless energy, keen perception and honesty of purpose.
In 1888 Mr. Nugent was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Ryan, who was born in Wilmington, Will county, Illinois, in 1866, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Ryan, who were natives of Ireland but spent their last days in Wilmington. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Nugent has been blessed with two daughters, Alice and Margaret, and the family is prominent socially. They attend the services of the Catholic church and Mr. Nugent is fraternally connected with the Woodmen, while politically he is a stalwart republican. He has made a most creditable record in the business world and has contributed in substantial measure to the promotion of commercial activity in the village in which he lives.
Extracted 17 Oct 2016 by Norma Hass from History of Ford County, Illinois, From Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, author E. A. Gardner, Volume 2, pages 832-833.
