592 Cherry

The stately Queen Anne Victorian house at 592 Cherry has been associated with several notable writers, veterans, and doctors since it was constructed in 1896.

The house was built for Frances and Joseph R. Gay. While relatively little is known about them, what we do know is quite interesting. Joseph Gay was born in England in 1862 and immigrated to the US when he was two years old. In 1884, he married Maryland-born Frances and moved to the Chicago area a few years later. Once in the area, Gay began working in publishing and within a few years, he was named president of the Chicago Publication and Lithograph Company at 334 Dearborn Street.

While census and directories name “publishing” as Gay’s primary career, he was also an accomplished writer. In 1896, Gay published his first of several co-authored self-help and inspirational books about and for Black Americans. Several of his books, including College of Life, or Practical Self Educator and Life Lines of Success can still be purchased online.

That same year, the Gays built their home in Winnetka at 592 Cherry. While the architect is unknown, the house is significant as an “unusual example of Queen Anne with classical details.” The Gays lived in the house until 1903, when they sold it to Dr. James and Emma Ely.

Like the Gays, the Elys were well-known in Winnetka. James Ely was born in 1863 in Pennsylvania. After graduating from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery in 1887, Ely began working as a dentist in Philadelphia. He married Emma Dinsmore and in 1903, the couple purchased the home at 592 Cherry and moved to Winnetka.

While James and Emma were reportedly well-liked in the village, the best-known member of the Ely family was their eldest son, Dinsmore Ely. During WWI, Dinsmore served as a pilot in the Lafayette Flying Corps, a group of American volunteer pilots who flew in the French Air Force. On April 21, 1918, Dinsmore was engaged in combat with several German planes over France when his plane was shot down. He died in a hospital in Paris and was buried, with honors, at Des Gonard’s Cemetery at Versailles. A year later, his father published a collection of Dinsmore’s letters and memories in a book titled Dinsmore Ely: One Who Served. In one of the letters, Dinsmore wrote, “It is an investment and not a loss when a man dies for his country.”

In 1927, the Elys sold the home at 592 Cherry to another doctor and veteran, Dr. Francis E. Senear and his wife Anne, who lived there until 1958, when they sold it to William I Martin, Jr. and his wife Betty Jean.

William Martin (or Bill, as he was known) was also a veteran, but is better known for his accomplishments as a writer. From the time the Martins moved into the house at 592 Cherry until they sold it in 1961, Bill served as the principal of Crow Island School. After those three years, however, he resigned from the position in order to focus on a career as a writer. That career proved to be very successful. Martin wrote several beloved children’s books before he passed away in 2004. Amongst his best-known books are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (published in 1967) and the beloved book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (published in 1989).

Due to its architectural significance and its association with several notable residents, 592 Cherry is now a locally designated landmark.