Skip to main content

Love and Remembrance

Last year, the McHenry County Historical Society & Museum celebrated 60 years of collecting, preserving, and sharing its county's history with the public. To commemorate this anniversary, our featured exhibit, “60 Years, 60 Objects: Stories from McHenry County,” remains on display through October 2024. This exhibit highlights sixty objects from the historical society’s collection.

Fleur-de-lis pin-locket

Object 57 is a lapel locket attached to a Fleur-de-lis pin. This locket was owned by Delia Cleary of Marengo. It was purchased from Gill Jewelers in Marengo in the early 1900s.

Delia Greene Cleary, a daughter of James and Anna Mackin Greene, was born in Edgartown, Ireland, on February 11, 1874. She married James Cleary in Manhattan, New York, on October 14, 1913. At the time of their marriage, James was a Marengo stock dealer. Their first child, James Jr, was born in Marengo about 1915. James Cleary died in Marengo on June 2, 1941. He is buried in Marengo’s Sacred Heart Cemetery. Delia Greene Cleary died in Woodstock on June 8, 1961. She is buried in Marengo’s Sacred Heart Cemetery with her husband. The lapel locket was purchased from Gill Jewelers in the early 1900s.


Proprietor Thomas Gill was born in 1857 in New York and worked selling newspapers on trains in the Buffalo area. At the age of 18 he moved west to Illinois. In 1890, Gill was in the jewelry watch. and silverware business.

By 1905 Gill had built his own building on North State Street in Marengo and went into partnership 

with Steve Otis. When Gill moved his jewelry business into this new location, he added a line of phonographs, pianos, and organs. In 1914, Steve Otis retired, and Thomas Gill continued his business, but in music. Gill was an accomplished musician and played the cornet. The second floor of his building on North State Street was used as an orchestra rehearsal room. Gill died in 1926, and his son Ira operated the family business until about 1932.

Visit the McHenry County Historical Society’s Museum to view the lapel locket and the other 60th anniversary objects on display during museum hours: Tuesday through Friday, 1 to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 11 am to 4 p.m.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Let's Hit the Open Road! It’s the final month to view our featured exhibit, “60 Years, 60 Objects: Stories from McHenry County.” Last year, the McHenry County Historical Society & Museum celebrated 60 years of collecting, preserving, and sharing its county's history with the public. This exhibit highlights sixty objects from the historical society’s collection. Object 52 is a 1915 contract between the Harley-Davidson Motor Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the three Bottlemy brothers of Alden, Illinois.   This contract is for the purchase of eight 1915 motorcycles from the company. The contract describes the Bottlemy brothers’ territory as the two northern tiers of townships in McHenry County, Illinois, and Sharon and Walworth Townships in Walworth County, Wisconsin.    Clarence (1881-1962), Ervin (1890-1981), and Glenn Bottlemy (1896-1981) were sons of Charles (1862 – 1934) and Elizabeth Schnacker (1869 – 1925) Bottlemy. All three brothers were born in Al...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meet Lester Edinger

Last year, the McHenry County Historical Society & Museum celebrated 60 years of collecting, preserving, and sharing its county's history with the public. To commemorate this anniversary, our featured exhibit, “60 Years, 60 Objects: Stories from McHenry County,” remains on display through October 2024. This exhibit highlights sixty artifacts from the historical society’s collection. Object #46 is a n olive drab army uniform worn by Lester Edinger during World War I.    Many sources note that Lester Edinger wore this World War I uniform on horseback as Grand Marshall of the Woodstock and Greenwood Memorial Day parades for many years.  Lester Edinger, a son of Adam and Catherine Edinger, was born in Hebron, Indiana on December 21, 1893. Following the death of her husband, Catherine “Kitty” Edinger moved her family to Woodstock, Illinois where young Lester became a drill press operator at the typewriter factory. He joined the Illinois National Guard in Woodstock and ...
Post a Comment
Read more
 January Collections Spotlight Last year, the McHenry County Historical Society  celebrated 60 years of collecting, preserving, and sharing its county's history with the public. To commemorate this anniversary, our featured exhibit, “60 Years, 60 Objects: Stories from McHenry County,” remains on display through October 2024. This exhibit highlights sixty artifacts from the historical society’s collection. Object #37 is an unfinished violin made by Silas Pierce. The finished portion of the violin includes the soundboard, fingerboard, and scroll. The violin lacks a bridge, tailpiece, pegs, and strings. It has not been varnished. Silas Pierce, a son of Mavel and Eleanor White Pierce, was born in Spring Grove on March 22, 1849. His parents had come to what became Spring Grove in 1838. Silas lived all his life in Spring Grove except for a couple of years in Michigan. He married Lizzie Rix of Volo, and they had four children. Silas owned a “wood shop” at 8007 Blivin Street, where he...
Post a Comment
Read more