J C AMBROSE
                                                                             Home



History of Menard and Mason Counties, Illinois, 1879, by Miller & Ruggles
Mason City Township
Page 785

J. C. AMBROSE, hardware, firm of Ambrose & Sands, hardware stores, etc., etc., Mason City; one of the early pioneers of Mason Co.; born in Morgan Co., Va., May 1, 1818; in 1831, he emigrated to Champaign Co., Ohio, and followed farming until 1837, when he went to Quincy, Logan Co., and followed the carpenter and wagon maker trade until 1853, at which date he engaged in hotel-keeping and the merchandise trade until 1861, when he sold out, and, emigrating to Illinois, located in Mason City Township in April, 1861; he then purchased forty acres of land, and, the following August, removed his family upon the farm; he then put in a crop of corn and wheat, the latter proving a failure, and the corn was hauled to Pekin and sold for 10 cents per bushel. Mr. Ambrose mentions some facts representing the hardships and privations of the settlers of Mason Co. at that time; in the fall of 1861, for three weeks, his provisions for his family of six persons consisted of grated corn, rye coffee, salt and potatoes; in November, 1864, he came to Mason City and opened the first restaurant of the place, continuing the same some three years, when ho was employed as clerk in the hardware trade in 1870, and, in July, 1874, commenced the hardware trade for himself, under the above firm name, which they have since successfully followed. His marriage with Rosanna Yost was celebrated Oct. 19, 1842; she was born in Morgan Co., Va., Feb. 14, 1826 ; they were the parents of eight children, of whom three are now living—Mary E., Lycurgus E. and John F., the two sons being associated in business with their father.

Maintained by Mason County Coordinator Donna Mayer