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In 1906, Marshall F. and Charity B. (Lewis) Brake left their Hamilton County farm home and came to Mt. Vernon. Then this family numbered parents, five daughters and three sons. They selected a small cottage at 1407 South 10th, Mt. Vernon, as their home, and with industrious hands and minds, made it into a home for this large family. This, with the exception of a few months following a fire which destroyed that home, remained the Brake homestead until death took the father and mother in 1933. The father became an employee of the Mt. Vernon Car Manufacturing Co., worked as a common laborer; sons and. daughters of employable age too, became wage earners, while the younger children entered schools, learning to become respected citizens of the city and community. Life of the parents immediately took a trend of citizenship in which they took up responsibilities of community welfare and the Brake name was entered upon the rolls of some fraternal and church bodies. These activities continued so long as health permitted. As for the children, school activities found them accepting the teaching with which Mt. Vernon students have been blessed. Graduation days found them among the leaders of their respective classes. Growing older, they proved to be citizens of merit and the family has contributed to the growth of the community. The family is not lacking in patriotic activities, one son being a veteran of military service during World War I, seven grandsons serving with honor in World War II, one grandson and granddaughter serving during the Korean War and one grandson now serving in our American embassy at London, England. The family has been fortunate so far as length of life is concerned; only two deaths of the eight children have marred the family picture. Today all surviving children live in Mt. Vernon with the exception of Pearl, the daughter now living in California. The Brake name is still alive in Mt. Vernon, in that the one surviving son, Earl, maintains a home here, as do three of the daughters, all widows. They are Stacy Kern, Maude Eller and Candace Dougherty . One grandson, Neal Brake, temporarily residing in London, is a member of the American embassy, also considers his home with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Earl Brake of Mt. Vernon. - Lewis Marshall Brake *NOTE* Some ommisions may have occured to protect living individuals.
"Facts and Folks A History of Jefferson County, Illinois" |
For corrections or additions, please contact me: Sandy Bauer