Edward was born
February 20,
1892 the third child of Habib and Sabina Yah-habb (phonetic
spelling) near the small Syrian town of Blaut (near Beirut
Lebanon). His family raised sheep and goats,
some of which were housed on the ground floor level of the family’s
home. The family heard that
life was better in the United States – that it was
“the land of milk and honey”.
Furthermore, they were Christians (eastern Orthodox) which made
life more difficult for them among the Syrian
Muslims.
Sometime around 1899–1900 Habib and oldest
son John left Sabina and the other children to find a suitable home in the
United States. Arriving in
the United
States, they changed their name to
“Jacobs” believing that was a more American sounding name. Several months later Sabina,
daughter Kate, son Edward, daughter Edna, and baby son James sailed to
New
York.
The family ended up in Streator, Illinois where they eventually purchased
a home at 1507 Baker
Street.
Edward would have been about 9 years old.
Although his family spoke Syrian at home,
Edward learned English quickly.
He had very little formal schooling, but he learned to read Arabic
from his family. As soon as
he could, he found farm work locally. He was a migrant worker for
several years, eventually ending up on John Held’s farm near Washburn in
Marshall/Woodford county, Illinois. It was there that he met John and
Sarah’s youngest daughter Ethel.
She had been widowed in 1908 and was raising two sub-teen
daughters. Nothing is known
about their romance or how long they knew one another but Ethel became
smitten by Edwards extremely handsome face and infectiously winning
personality. She’d never met
anyone quite like him. In
opposition to her family, they were married September 27, 1916. Ethel’s family and friends were
very displeased by her choice – Edward had no obvious skills, no money,
and with his curly black hair and dark skin – he looked to their
German/Irish eyes like a black man although most of them had never seen
one!
Edward, his new wife, and two stepdaughters
Verda and Rhena moved into Ethel’s home on East Chestnut
Street in Washburn across from her sister Myrt
Beschorner and parents John and Sarah Held. Then, in October Edward opened his
barber shop on the east side of Jefferson Street between Hink’s
restaurant and the post-office.
As the business grew, so did Edward’s
reputation as an honest and generous man. He gained a reputation as a man
who could be trusted and who controlled his temper while dealing with
difficult situations. By
example, he influenced others to do the same. By now, his friends called him
“Jake”.
In 1917, Edward received his naturalized
citizenship in Eureka, Illinois. This opened new possibilities for
him. At the encouragement of
his friends, he decided to run for Sheriff. The campaign was merciless. His opponent’s campaign literature
portrayed him as an outsider – he was of foreign birth – the “n” word was
used to describe his darker skin.
Edward was defeated in the election. He was totally disillusioned and
ultimately decided that he didn’t belong in that small bigoted town. He told Ethel he wanted to sell
out everything and move to Chicago where they could live with less
criticism. Ethel had
experienced tough times and gossip through the suicide of her first
husband Henry Shafer in 1908.
She simply said she wasn’t leaving – her whole family lived there
and if he wanted to leave it would be by
himself.
Ethel was right. The barber shop business continued
to grow and Edward began apprenticing other young men including his
stepson-in-law Guy Snider. In
those days the barber cut hair and gave shaves, but he also did massage,
removed moles and warts.
Along with Mr. Knapp the druggist, he developed an all purpose
salve called “JK”. He had
everyone convinced it could heal anything!
By the mid-1920s, he had 5 children of his
own – Edward Jr., Roberta, Robert, Eloise, and Daryle. They were now comfortable enough
to contract for a new home to be built near the county line in northern
Washburn. Unlike their small
house on Chestnut, the deluxe new house had electricity, indoor plumbing,
central heat, large walk-in closets, a large living-room for entertaining,
a recreation room, and separate rooms in the finished basement for laundry
and canned food storage. The
two story bungalow had windows which opened all the way to the top for
better summer ventilation.
There was even room for a flock of chickens and a couple milk-cows
in the yard. Life was good
and Edward was sure this really was the land of milk and
honey.
Then, in 1929 the great depression
hit. The business suffered –
many paid by barter which put food on the table but didn’t help with the
bills. Some people just
didn’t come in to get their haircuts or shaves. Edward decided they simply had to
get out of the new house with the mortgage and move back to Ethel’s small
house on Chestnut
Street.
Mr. Ireland who held their
mortgage, tried to talk him out of his decision offering to make changes
to the mortgage but Edward wouldn’t budge. So, after four short years,
the family reluctantly moved back.
Edward never forgot that hard time. When the depression was over and
his business once again prospered, he helped others who were less
fortunate. He loaned money to
people who didn’t qualify for bank loans. Anyone was always welcome to take
a meal at the Jacobs’ table even homeless
drifters.
The Jacobs house was kept on a tight schedule
because of Edward’s business.
At 11:55 he
locked the shop bringing any customer home to share the large noon meal. The meal was always on the table
and the family was seated waiting for the town’s noon whistle. Then the blessing was said, the
meal eaten, and Edward went back to work. Supper was at 5:00 and again he returned to work until
9:00. This was repeated six days a
week. Haircuts were never
more than one dollar and there was a sign in the shop guaranteeing the
haircut would not take more than three and a half
minutes.
Edward and Ethel were constantly aware of
their lack of formal education.
The children were encouraged to correct their parents’ grammar and
spelling (at home). A
dictionary was ever-present on the dinner table when the children were
growing up. Any time an
unfamiliar word was used, it was to be looked up in the dictionary by
whoever didn’t know its meaning.
Edward and Ethel read the children’s school books after the
children were in bed.
Consequently, it was no surprise that the children were all
encouraged to attend college.
Two of them graduated from college.
Edward was baptized in the Jordon River and would have attended the
Greek Orthodox church if there had been one closer to Washburn. He joined the Methodist
Church with his
children, although he never felt comfortable attending regularly. He was there whenever there was an
important event and he was a regular contributor. Edward’s Arabic Bible was always
close at hand in the barber shop.
He read from it every night before returning home. He could read the Arabic and
translate it into English as he read. Sometimes as a special treat, he
would recite the Lord’s Prayer in Syrian as the
blessing.
Edward was a member of the Free
Masons. On Sunday, he pursued
his hobbies of fishing, gardening, and hunting. Once in a while he would take
friends up to Ethel’s farm in South Dakota to go Pheasant
hunting. Sunday afternoon and
evening was his time with Ethel.
They would usually take a drive. Sometimes they’d just enjoy the
drive and other times they would visit family. A picnic in an old school yard was
not uncommon in nice weather.
Edward was a natural hunter-gatherer. He knew where the wild
horseradish, watercress, black walnuts, mushrooms, and blackberries grew
and when they were ready for harvesting. He knew every wild bee tree
too. He ate almost anything
wearing out three sets of false teeth. Once while visiting relatives in
Alabama,
he ate some very attractive red fruit from a tree and ended up having his
stomach pumped. Anything was
good when placed between two slices of bread – raw onions, radishes,
sliced kidney, tongue, and raw unpeeled garlic! He even had some of the grandkids
thinking that sucking on raw rhubarb or cracking open peach and apricot
pits for the nuts were good.
No one ever knew whether he enjoyed eating all these things or
whether he simply enjoyed the response he got from other people while
doing it.
Edward was an avid game player – no one
could defeat him. He
especially loved Checkers, all card games, and Monopoly. He had a game table in his shop
consisting of an old stool with an inverted cardboard box and an old piece
of linoleum on top. There
were always several of his friends engaged in a game – all smoking cigars
purchased from Edward’s shop.
He too would join the game and puff a cigar between
customers.
Edward was always there for his
family. Whenever anyone
needed help, he was there – sometimes with money and sometimes just with
advice or support.
Edward’s life ended after a brief illness
caused by a brain tumor. When
sons Edward Jr. and Daryle opened his safe deposit box, they found enough
cash to pay off all of the children’s mortgages, deeds to 3 farms, three
or four houses, and at least one local business. He also held a mortgage on the
Washburn Bank for an addition to their building. He was not rich by any means, but
he left his wife enough to live comfortably for another 23 years. He had gained much respect,
influence, and admiration in
his adopted community.
