QUILT HISTORY STORIES
ELGIN, ILLINOIS
RIVER FOREST, ILLINOIS
Boag Ribboncraft, Boag, Inc., and Boag Studios Story
Book 5
Susan Wildemuth, Atkinson, IL
Boag - Roak Lineage (America)
Roak
(The Jacob Roak family isn’t the first generation of this branch of the Roak family to come to America. The 1850 census states he was born in Maine, but it is as far as this researcher was able to trace the American branch of this family. Any additional information which would trace this family back to the crossing to America would be appreciated by the researcher.)
#1 Jacob Roak
Born: 1806 (est.)
Place of Birth: Maine
Death: No Information
Occupation: Shoe Dealer (1850 Census)
President Auburn Bank (1860 Census)
Shoe Manufacturer (1870 Census)
Parents: No Information
Wife: Hannah E. (1850 Census)
Ellen H. (1860 Census)
Ellen H. (1870 Census)
** Name variation for wife
Children: (All born in Maine)
Augusta Ellen 1838 (est.) Mrs. Horatio B. Pulsifer
Rosa J.
Ladora
George M.
Jacob H.
This family lived in Auburn, Maine.
#2 George M. Roak
Born: 1848 (est)
Place of Birth: Maine
Death: No Information
Occupation: Shoe Manufacturer (1870 Census)
Florist (1880 Census)
Parents: Jacob and Ellen H or Hannah E. Roak
Wife: Emma
Children: (All born in Maine)
Edith
Florence
Jim
Ellen 1875-76 (est.)
Emma
Hugh
Alice
#3 Ellen B. Roak (Boag) (Porter)
Born: 1875-76 (est.)
Place of Birth: Auburn, Maine
Death: February 19, 1943
Place of Death: Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida
Occupation: Manager Craft Novelties Company
Parents: George M. and Emma Roak
Husband: James Boag (1st Husband)
They were married in Auburn Maine
on June 23, 1897.
Henry W. Porter (2nd Husband)
They were married between 1918 and 1920.
Children: (Born in Illinois)
George R. June 2, 1899 Florence Force
James T. Jr. Died May 22, 1904 (River Forest) Scarlet Fever (1 year)
Ellen was born in Maine. Her nickname was Nonnie. Others called her “Aunty Boag. 1920 Census states that she and Henry W. Porter were managers of Novelty Ribbon Company.
Boag
#1 William R. Boag
Born: No Information
Place of Birth: New Foundland
Death: No Information
Occupation: Farmer
Parents: No Information
Wife: Fannie M.
Children: (All born in Canada)
Florance M. 1869 (est.)
James F. 1875-76 (est.)
William immigrated to America in 1876.
2. James Thomas Boag
Born: 1875-76 (est.)
Place of Birth: St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada
Death: February 13, 1913 - Forest Home Cemetery
Pulmonary Tuberculosis
Occupation: Salesman (1910)
Parents: William and Fannie Boag
Wife: Ellen. B. (Roak). They were married in Maine
on June 28, 1897. Ellen was born in Maine. Her nickname
was Nonnie. After her first husband death, she married
Henry W. Porter.
Children: (Born in Illinois)
George R. June 2, 1899 (River Forest)
(George Roak)
James T. Jr. Died May 22, 1904 (River Forest) Scarlet Fever. Earl
Infant Death
James Boag immigrated to America in about 1876.
3. George Roak Boag
Born: June 2, 1899
Place of Birth: River Forest, Illinois
Death: February 10, 1940 - Elmwood Cemetery
Pneumonia. At the time of his death he and his family lived 516
Parkside Drive, Elgin, Illinois (Kane County)
Place of Death: Litchfield, Illinois (Montgomery County)
Occupation: Assistant Store Manager – F.W. Woolworths in Kansas
1917/1918)
Store Manager – F.W. Woolworth in Litchfield, Illinois
(1920)
Boag Ribbon Craft Company – River Forest, Illinois (1922
until late 1930s)
Manufacturer – Ribboncraft (1930 Census) Director of
Needlework Division Collingbourne Mills. At the time of his
death his occupation was listed
As traveling salesman, Thread mill.
Parents: James and Ellen Roak Boag
Henry William Porter (Step-father)
Wife: Florence Force
Children (All Born in Illinois)
George R. Jr. November 20, 1921
Bett Ellen
James Thomas
He spent most of his childhood in River Forest and Oak Park, Illinois. He went to local schools before attending private school in North Carolina.
Source for Lineage Information
Ancestry.com. “1850 Census. Auburn, Cumberland, Maine. Jacob and Hannah E.
Roak.” http://www.ancestry.com..
Ancestry.com. “1860 Census. Auburn, Androscoggin, Maine – Jacob H. Roak.”
Ancestry.com. “1870 Census. Auburn, Androscoggin, Maine. Jacob H. and E. H. Roak.”
Ancestry.com. “1880 Census. Auburn, Androscoggin, Maine. Ellen Roak.”
Ancestry.com. “1880 Census. Wendell, Franklin, Massachusetts. James Boag.”
Ancestry.com. “1900 Census. River Forest, Cook, Illinois. Henry W. Porter.”
Ancestry.com. “1900 Census. River Forest, Cook, Illinois. James and Ellen Boag.”
Ancestry.com. “1910 Census. River Forest, Cook, Illinois. Henry W. Porter.”
Ancestry.com. “1910 Census. River Forest, Cook, Illinois – James and Ellen Boag.”
Ancestry.com. “1920 Census. River Forest, Cook, Illinois. Henry W. and Ellen Porter.”
Ancestry.com. “1930 Census. River Forest, Cook, Illinois. George and Florence Boag.”
Ancestry.com. “Maine Marriages, 1892-1996. James and Ellen Boag.”
Ancestry.com. “Social Security Death Index. George R. Boag, Jr..”
Ancestry.com. “World War I Draft Card Registration Cards 1917-1918. George R.
Boag.” http://www.ancestry.com..
Ancestry.com. “World War I Draft Card Registration Cards 1917-1918. Henry William
Porter.” http://www.ancestry.com..
Catherine Beyer, posting to Genealogy.com list, May 23, 2006,
http://genforum.genealogy.com/il/messages/27801.html
City of Auburn (Maine). “Marriage Certificate – James Boag and
Ellen B. Roak.” Auburn, Maine: January 28, 2008.
Courier-News (Elgin, Illinois). “Collingbourne Buys Boag Co.”
February 7, 1936.
Forest Home Cemetery (Forest Park, Illinois), letter to author,
February 16, 2008.
Forest Leaves (Oak Park, Illinois). “Dies In Florida.” February 25,
1943.
Forest Leaves (Oak Park, Illinois). “Founder of Noted Ribbon
Firm Dead.” March 11, 1943.
Forest Leaves (Oak Park, Illinois). “Former Resident Dies in
Litchfield Illinois.” February 22, 1940.
Kate, posting to Genealogy.com., January 30, 2008.
http://genforum.genealogy.com/il/messages/27406.html
Montgomery County (Litchfield, Illinois). “Death Certificate of
George R. Boag.” Litchfield, Illinois: January 22, 2008.
Oak Leaves (Oak Park, Illinois). “Death of James Thomas Boag.”
February 15, 1913.
Rootsweb.com. “Diary of Augusta Ellen Roak Pulsifer.” Androscoggin (County)
Historical Society Newsletter June 2000.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~meandrhs/2000june.html.
State of Illinois Secretary of State Department. “Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916
– James T. Boag (Father) and James T. Boag (Son).” Springfield, Illinois: January 15,
2008.
Special Note
The author would appreciate anyone who has additional Boag books, booklets, or leaflets in their collection, designer information, or photographs to contact her at quiltingbee73@yahoo.com or Susan Wildemuth, 18621 US Highway 6, Atkinson, Illinois 61235.
