R. H. Shumway

Shumway was born July 26, 1842, at his family farm in Kishwaukee, Illinois.

[1] In 1870, he founded the R. H. Shumway seed company on his farm in Rockford, Illinois.

[4] Shumway died in Rockford on the evening of December 30, 1925 from injuries suffered after being hit by an automobile three days prior.

M. Raymond "Ray" Shumway ran the large mail-order business until he died of heart disease on March 16, 1933.

[5] In the 1980s the rights to the name were purchased and, after some effort to publicly rediscover the lines of seeds once carried, began operation, continuing to this day.