Martha "Mattie" Lorig, born 1868

Mattie Lorig, ca 1880s

Martha “Mattie” Lorig was born 29 December 1868 in Mt. Pleasant, Henry County, Iowa and was the youngest child of Henry and Katie Lorig. With her father’s occupation given as “laborer” on the census records it should not seem strange that at times the family is not living in Mt. Pleasant all year round. Henry would have gone where they were hiring. The family did have the deed to the property and house in Mt. Pleasant as early as 1860.

At age 20 Mattie married Wilford Eustis Marshall on 5 January 1889. They had two sons, Harold born 1 October 1891 and Clarence 23 January 1894. The family lived in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois where Mattie continued to live until she passed away at age 94 years in 1962. Like her brother, Edd, Mattie lost her eyesight and was legally blind the last several years of her life. Wilford Marshall was a house painter for his occupation. He died in 1934 at age 70. Perhaps Mattie would consider her greatest accomplishments her two sons, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Harold Marshall, ca 1910s

Harold’s daughter, Ruth Dudrow, wrote this biographical sketch of her father several years ago--

“Harold LeRoy Marshall, the son of wilford and Mattie Lorig Marshall was born on 1 October 1891 in Aurora, Illinois. When he was a young lad his family, which now included his younger brother, Clarence, moved to the West Pullman area on the far south side of Chicago.

“After his school years Harold worked in the shoe department of the Peoples Store where he met Mr. W.C. Fryer who eventually became his partner in their own shoe store.

“Harold met his future bride, Lora Roberts, in the youth group of their church, they were married in 1915 and eventually two children were born—Hubert in 1920 and Ruth in 1924.

“During the Great Depression, when the shoe store could no longer support two families, Harold was able to find work selling advertising in the Yellow Pages of the phone book for the R.H. Donnelly Co. Then, during the war years he worked long hours in a defense factory as a precision inspector. In 1945 he was able to purchase the Pullman-Commodore-Waterfall phone book from his father-in-law, G.F. Roberts. Harold and Lora worked together in his successful business until they retired in 1960 and moved to Lakeland, Florida. Lora died in 1967 and Harold [passed away 30 April 1991 just shy of his 100^th birthday].

“This almost bare bones outline of this life of Harold Marshall does not really do justice to him as it does not begin to tell of his hard work to support his family and see that his children were able to graduate from college. Nor does it adequately show his honesty and trustworthiness in business as well as in the rest of his life. Mere words never could. – Ruth Marshall Dudrow, 1985”

Lora Roberts, 1915

[photo courtesy of Ruth Dudrow]

This picture of Lora Roberts in her wedding dress was so lovely it was begging to be shared.

Clarence Marshall, 1910s

Clarence Marshall was still living at home in 1920 with his parents. On the World War I draft registration he is listed as “single, short, blue eyes, brown hair.” At some point he moved to New Jersey where he married in 1925 at age 30 to a girl of 18 named Mary [no maiden name given]. They had one child, Margaret born in 1927. In 1930 he is found on the Federal census in Linden, Union County, New Jersey with his occupation as the Assistant Supervisor at the United Lead Works. He died in 1975 in Roselle, Union County, New Jersey.

Mattie Lorig Marshall