John Gage (August 12, 1802 – December 29, 1890) was an American business and landowner from the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He would live in Cook County for 10 years. The census-designated place of Gages Lake in Warren Township is named after him and his brother George Gage. He was the husband of New Jersey Woman Suffrage Movement organizer Portia Kellogg Gage.

Biography

John was born to James Gage and Polly Drury Gage on August 12, 1802, in Litchfield,

Herkimer County Herkimer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,139. Its county seat is Herkimer. The county was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. It is named af ...

, New York. On October 4th, 1830 he married American activist and suffragist Portia Kellogg in

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the ...

. Both were known to be strong supporters of racial, gender, and religious equality. John and Portia moved to Chicago in 1836, and with the population only being 3,000 at the time, import prices were high and flour was nearly 18 dollars a barrel. When John opened his flour mill in

Wilmette Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 27,087 at the 2010 census. The ...

in 1839, the price dropped to five dollars a barrel. (Equivalent to $610->$170 in 2024) Though economically sound, it is said that the time spent in Chicago was very difficult for the couple as they had four children and only one was said to have survived past infancy. After much concern on the cleanliness of the city, John sold his portion of the flour mill to his brother Jared Gage in 1846. Soon after the couple moved to the area now known as Gages Lake. There they would have eleven more children with only five making it to adulthood. On May 27, 1857 John purchased "136.73 acres of Wilmette land, north of Elmwood Avenue, including where Plaza del Lago now stands, from the widow Mary Dennis for $13,173." Though, after searching for warmer weather the couple decided to move to and settle in

Vineland, New Jersey Vineland is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 60,780. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 61,156 ...

in 1864. The family would make large donations to the County and the village of Wilmette for many years. Their children and grandchildren would handle their real estate after their move. Mainly their second son and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Civil War veteran Henry H. Gage until his passing in 1911. John died in Vineland on December 29, 1890 at 88 years old. His wife Portia would return to Wilmette until her death on February 23, 1903, aged 89. They were both laid to rest in

Siloam Cemetery Siloam Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in the city of Vineland in Cumberland County, New Jersey. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 2020, for its significance in architecture and landscape architecture. With ...

with John's ashes being placed in Portia's casket prior to her burial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gage, John 1802 births 1890 deaths American businesspeople People from Vineland, New Jersey