George Quartermass, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of George Quartermass
GEORGE QUARTERMASS, retired farmer, first came to Porter County, Ind., with his family from Canada in 1860, and settled where he now resides and engaged in farming. He was a native of the State of New York, and was born February 19, 1813. Moved to Canada with his parents when but a small boy, and was reared there to manhood. Was twice married, first to Emily Harris, who died in Canada in 1860. He married his second wife, Sarah Janes, in Porter County, and he and she are yet living at Wheeler. The names of the children born to his first marriage were Eliza, Almira, Reuben, James (deceased), Martha, Emerson, George and Martin (deceased). The children are all married. In 1871, Reuben came to Valparaiso and opened a general store, and this led to the business that is now carried on by those of that name. At the end of four years, Emerson became a partner of Reuben, and the firm then became Quatermass Bros. Previous to their partnership being formed, the building now occupied by E. Quatermass & Co., was built, and into this they removed their stock in 1874. In 1878, Reuben Quatermass retired from the partnership, and in March, 1882, moved to Moline, Kan., where he yet resides, engaged in the stock business. Emerson then formed a partnership with a brother-in-law, F. W. Schenck, under the firm name of E. Quatermass & Co., Their stock comprises on the first floor dry goods, gents' furnishing goods, house furnishing goods, and notions of every description; on the second floor is clothing, carpets and merchant tailoring. They carry a first-class stock of all kinds of dry goods, silks, and, in fact, everything that can be found in a city ten times the size of Valparaiso. Their force employed in this establishment is twenty-four persons, and they do an average annual business of $100,000. Emerson Quatermass, the senior member of the firm, was born in Canada in 1850; came to Porter County in 1872, and in November, 1878, married Miss Grace Schenck, daughter of Benjamin Schenck, deceased, one of the pioneers of Porter County. Mr. Q. is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mrs. Q. is a member of the Christian Church.
Source: Goodspeed, Weston A., and Charles Blanchard. 1882. Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: Historical and Biographical, Illustrated. Chicago, Illinois: F. A. Battey & Company. 771 p.
Page(s) in Source: 267-268
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook