James G. Stokes collection
James G. Stokes of St. Charles, Illinois, lived with his family in Lake Forest in the 1940s, attending Lake Forest High School. The Stokes home was 797 North Sheridan Road, dated 1867, one the oldest local residences incorporating one of the earliest buildings, a former store from the northeast corner of McKinley and Deerpath.
Mr. Stokes's father, Edgar H. Stokes (d. 1980) began working for the Estate of Marshall Field I, 1834-1906, in 1919, working for his father-in-law, Richard H. Peel, who retired in 1943 when the Estate was "formally closed" upon marshall Field III achieving he age of fifty. Edgar Stokes stayed on with Marshall Field III, 1893-1956, working at the Sun-Times building, continuing to work with the Field family real estate, etc. interests. Richard H. Peel worked for the Marshall Field family for forty-four years, beginning in 1899 as an office boy for Arthur B. Jones, personal secretary to Marshall Field Jones brought Peel with him to the Estate.
In addition to descriptions of remnants of the Estate's papers (5 pp.) and of the family's history with the Estate and Marshall Field III's business affairs (3 pp.), Mr. Stokes donated a collection of eleven smaller snapshot black and white photographic prints taken by him or with his camera, of the house at 797 North Sheridan Road in the later 1940s. These show especially the wooden west-facing front porch later removed by his parents and replaced by a smaller (extant) sun porch on the southwest corner of the house, architect unknown. The original porch is unusual and suggests it may date from the mid 1890s when architects Pond & Pond were active in Lake Forest. There is also a one-page advertisement on the house at 797 North Sheridan, from recent years, and showing the porch added by the Edgar Stokes family in the 1940s.
The photographs and the advertisement are located in the "Lake Forest -- Houses" address, etc. photo file (Sheridan Soad, 797 N.); the two documents are in the Special Collections reference file for local families, under Stokes family, with a cross reference under Field family.
Arthur H. Miller
November 8, 2009