BIOGRAPHY - Robert Shambrook
ROBERT SHAMBROOK is numbered among the representative and enterprising
farmers of Lyman Township. His home is on section 5, where he owns eighty
acres of arable land under a high state of cultivation and well improved.
The well-tilled fields and neat appearance of the place indicate his thrift
and enterprise and his is one of the model farms of the community.
Mr. Shambrook was born in Devonshire, near Barnstable, England, June 19,
1825, and was the second in order of birth in a family of five children,
four sons and one daughter, but he has only one brother now living, John, a
successful farmer, who is married and resides in Lyman Township. The parents
were Henry and Frances (Braley) Shambrook, both natives of Devonshire. The
father was a farmer and died at the age of sixty years. He and his wife were
both members of the Episcopal Church.
The subject of this sketch received but limited educational advantages, but
by reading and observation in after life, he has made himself a
well-informed man. In 1853, he was united in marriage to Miss Prudence
Ridge, also a native of Devonshire, and with his bride sailed for America.
Coming to this country, he took up his residence in Ford County, Ill., in
1874, where he has since carried on farming. Four children were born unto
Mr. and Mrs. Shambrook, and the family circle yet remains unbroken: Sarah,
wife of Martin Beer, an agriculturist, by whom she had five children; Fannie
Jane, wife of Henry Forney, a resident farmer of Lyman Township; John Henry,
who married Miss Jane Huxtable and is living in Lyman Township; and
Elizabeth, who also makes her home in Lyman Township. The mother of this
family died October 24, 1875, and her remains were interred in Roberts
Cemetery. Mr. Shambrook was again married, September 24, 1876, at the
Methodist Chapel in Barnstable, England, his second union being with Miss
Grace Braund, a native of Barnstable, born March 13, 1831, and a daughter of
Henry and Elizabeth (Green) Braund.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Shambrook set sail for America at
Liverpool and at length arrived at Quebec, whence they came to Ford County.
Since that time, they have been residents of Lyman Township, and are among
its highly respected citizens. They are members of the Baptist Church, and
have taken much interest in the Sunday-school work. In politics, Mr.
Shambrook has been a stanch Republican since the organization of the party.
He cast his first Presidential vote for Gen. Winfield Scott. He has served
as School Director but has never been an office-seeker, preferring to devote
his entire time and attention to his business interests, which he has
followed with good success. He commenced life in this country as a farm
hand, working at $12 per month, and, in addition to his home farm, he owns
one hundred and sixty acres of land in White County, Ind. His success has
all been due to his own efforts and for it he certainly deserves much
credit. He and his wife are kind-hearted, generous people and are held in
the highest regard by all who know them for their sterling worth.
Extracted 28 Mar 2020 by Norma Hass from Portrait and Biographical Record of Ford County, Illinois, published in 1892, pages 282-283.
