USA > Illinois > Coles County > The History of Coles County, Illinois map of Coles County; history of Illinois history of Northwest Constitution of the United States, miscellaneous matters, &c., &c > Part 54
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83
523
CHARLESTON TOWNSHIP.
Pork-Packing Houses, and he continued in the packing business until 1873, when he became President of the Second Na- tional Bank ; he has served two terms as member of the Board of Supervisors. Mr. Johnson was first married Feb. 10, 1848, to Miss Harriet Jeffries, daughter of the late Thomas Jeffries, one of the early set- tlers of Coles Co. ; she died April 14, 1853, leaving two children-Felix, now in the Second National Bank, and Emily, now wife of Charles E. Wilson, of Charles- ton ; Mr. Johnston was married again Aug. 10, 1855, to Miss Sarah A. Gray, of this county ; they have three children living-Mattie E., Bertha and Hugh.
JACOB LINDER, farmer and stock- raiser ; P. O. Charleston. Among the pioneers of Coles Co. who settled here prior to the year 1830, was Jonathan Lin- der, who was born in West Virginia Aug. 8, 1808. He was the son of a farmer, and on becoming of age he came West, ac- companied by his father's family ; they made the journey in wagons, and on arriv- ing ir. Coles Co., they took up some land and purchased other land, and engaged in farming. After a few years, he revisited his native State, performing the journey there and back on horse-back. In 1834 or 1835, he married Miss Margaret Cossell, a daughter of Michael Cossell, another of the pioneer settlers ; she was born in West Virginia, and came to the county with her parents in 1830. They continued to re- side in Charleston Tp. till their death. Mr. Linder died in April, 1877, his wife having died in 1872. They left one son, Jacob Linder, who was born in Charleston Tp., Jan. 6, 1836, and who now owns and occupies the old homestead on Sec. 4, consisting of 207 acres of land. He also owns sixty-five acres nearer town. He was married May 31, 1860, to Miss Rachel A. McIntire, of Seven Hickory Tp., and has one child living-Minnie E.
GEN. G. M. MITCHELL, Postmaster, Charleston, was born in Warren Co., Ky., Oct. 5, 1835. His father, Bedford Mitch- ell, came to Coles Co. in 1851 and settled in Paradise Township, where he died in 1856. In 1852, the subject of this sketch, then a lad of 17, entered a store in Paradise, as clerk for Cunningham & Son, where he remained six years. He then followed merchandising for himself until
1859, when he was appointed Deputy Sheriff under Malden Jones, and served until May, 1860. On the 1st of May, 1860, he married Miss Kate Miles, daughter of John Miles, of Charleston, and has seven children. Removing to Mattoon, he formed a partnership with John Cunningham, under the firm name of Mitchell & Cunningham, and continued in general merchandise business until the breaking-out of the rebellion. In June, 1861, he entered the army as Captain of Co. C 1st I. V. C .- the first three-years regiment to leave the State. He served with that regiment till February, 1862, when he was promoted to Lieutenant- Colonel of the 54th I. V. I. In October, 1863, was promoted to Colonel. In 1864, he re-enlisted with his regiment as a veter- an, and in the fall of the same year was brevetted Brigadier General, and was mus- tered out of the service Nov. 3, 1865, having. served actively and continuously for nearly five years ; he participated in the siege of Vicksburg, the battle of Par- ker's Cross Roads, Tenn., and was with Gen. Steel in all his campaigns in Arkan- sas. Returning from the war, he was elected Sheriff of Coles Co., holding the office two years. He was appointed Post- master at Charleston in April, 1877.
JAMES A. MITCHELL (deceased) ; one of the early pioneers of Coles Co., was born in Washington Co., E. Tenn., Aug. 27, 1797 ; he was a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Allison) Mitchell ; his father was a native of North Carolina and emi- grated to Tennessee in an early day. He passed his early life on his father's farm near Jonesboro, Tenn., and after obtain- ing a thorough preparatory education en- tered Washington College, in his native State, but, after a time, left college and en- gaged in merchandising. He was married May 12, 1818, to Miss Esther Collom, of his native county ; she was born Oct. 28, 1799. He came to Coles Co. in 1833, and entered a large quantity of Government land, and engaged in farming, dealing in stock, etc. For a number of years, he resided in Charleston, but after- ward retired to a farm near town, on which he resided till his death. He was a promi- nent citizen and a prosperous business man. He was for several years School Commis- sioner of Coles Co. He died Oct. 14,
524
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES :
1843, while on a visit to his old home in Tennessee, leaving a wife and nine chil- dren-Robert A., for twenty years Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Charleston, and now of Kansas, Ill. ; Jonathan C., now a farmer in Missouri; John D., a physi- cian of Terre Haute, Ind., Sarah E., wife of Thomas Cheeseman, of Missouri ; Sam- uel, who died in 1873 ; Luther and James A., farmers in Coles Co., Alexander C. and Isaac B., merchants in Charleston. His widow, now Mrs. Lumbrick, still re- sides in Charleston,
LUTHER C. MITCHELL, farmer and stock-raiser; P. O. Charleston ; a son of James A. and Esther (Collom) Mitch- ell ; was born in Washington Co., Tenn., June 2, 1830 ; in 1833, his father's fam- ily removed to Charleston ; he was raised on the farm, and at 19, started for him- self; after farming two years, he made the trip to California, where he spent eight months in mining ; going thence to Australia ; there he remained seven years, and, returning in 1860, he resumed farm- ing and dairying; he removed in 1871 to his present farm on Sec. 19, where he owns eighty acres of land. He was mar- ried March 5, 1861, to Miss H. A. Waddle, of Coles Co .; they have seven children living-Kittie B., William A., Rhoda H., Ella, Alice, James and Emily E. Mr. Mitchell has served six years as School Director.
ALEXANDER C. MITCHELL, deal- er in books, stationery, toys, etc., Charles- ton ; is a native of Coles Co., being a son of James M. and Esther (Collom) Mitchell, a sketch of whom is given above; he was born in Charleston Dec. 6, 1836 ; until 1860, he remained on the farm, receiving a common school education. He was married Dec. 27, 1859, to Mrs. Carrie Roberts, of Charleston. In 1860, he engaged in the boot and shoe business in Charleston, and continued in that two years ; the next two years were spent in farming, after which he followed the gro- cery business until 1876 ; he was engaged for a short time in the drug business, after which he entered upon his present busi- ness ; he has two sons-Walter G. and Wirt A.
ISAAC B. MITCHELL, dealer in groceries and provisions, Charleston ; is the youngest son of James A. and Esther
Mitchell ; he was born in Charleston, Ill., Jan. 6, 1841 ; he remained on the farm until the age of 15 years; the next four years he spent in the Charleston Academy, where he prepared for the Sophomore class in college, intending to pursue a college course; but, in 1861, owing to circumstances, he abandoned the idea and engaged in farming. In April, 1862, he enlisted in Co. A, 68th I. V. I., for three months. He continued farming until 1865, teaching school during the winters; in 1865, he engaged in mercan- tile business in Charleston. He was mar- ried Dec. 11, 1866, to Miss Florida A. Miles, a daughter of John A. Miles, of Charleston, and has four children-John M., Charles B., Richard R. and Paul. He continued merchandising until 1867, and then farmed for one year, starting in his present business in 1868.
ALLISON M. MITCHELL, of the firm of Ashmore & Mitchell, dealers in boots and shoes, Charleston; is a native of Coles Co; he was born in Charleston Dec. 29, 1852, being the son of Rev. Robert A. and Ann E. Mitchell; his father was born in Washington Co., Tenn., and came to Coles Co. with his parents in 1833; he received a collegiate education, and after pursuing a theological course. located in Charleston as Pastor of the Presbyterian Church, of which he remained in charge for twenty years. Allison M. Mitchell, the son, was raised on a farm until he was 19 years old, and then entered the grocery store of his uncle, I. B. Mitchell, where he remained for three years, after which he spent about two years in the employ of W. M. & E. A. Jenkins ; on the 1st of January, 1878, in company with W. J. Ashmore, he pur- chased the boot and shoe business of B. M. Payne, in which he has since con- tinued.
JOHN A. McCONNELL, editor of the Charleston Plaindealer, Charleston ; was born in Cadiz, Ohio, Dec. 26, 1826; he began, at 12 years of age, to learn his father's business of chairmaking; his in- clinations were, however, toward literary or professional pursuits, but he was pre- vented from carrying out his intentions in that direction by a weakness of the eyes ; at the age of 17, he began teaching school, and taught during the winters for four
525
CHARLESTON TOWNSHIP.
years ; in 1859, he engaged in the grocery business in Cadiz, in which he continued until 1871, when he embarked in the tan- ` ning business, and followed this until the spring of 1878 ; he then came to Charles- ton and assumed editorial charge of the Charleston Plaindealer, a Republican newspaper, the oldest in the county. He was married Jan. 3, 1861, to Miss Mary Quest, of Cadiz, Ohio, a native of Indiana Co., Penn.
WM. M. McCONNELL, Charleston, of the firm of M. A. McConnell & Co., pub- lishers of the Charleston Plaindealer, was born on the 28th of August, 1855, in Cadiz, Harrison Co., Ohio ; he is a son of James McConnell, of that city ; he at- tended the public schools of his native town, graduating from the high school in 1872; he at once entered the office of the Cadiz Republican, to learn the printer's trade, and, after completing his appren- ticeship, remained in the office as a jour- neyman until he came to Charleston, in the spring of 1878, as one of the proprie- tors of the Plaindealer.
WM. E. MCCRORY, Cashier of the First National Bank, Charleston, is a son of James McCrory, who came from Harri. son Co., Ky., to Coles Co. in 1837; was for two years engaged in business in Charleston, and was for a time Postmaster of this city ; he returned to Kentucky in 1839, and remained there until 1850, when he removed permanently, with his family, to this county ; he was for eight years County Clerk, and is now a promi- nent farmer in La Fayette Tp. William E. was born in Cynthiana, Harrison Co., Ky., March 20, 1839; after spending a year as a clerk in the County Clerk's office, under his father, he became Cashier, at the age of about 17 years, of the Farmers' and Traders' Bank, where he remained until 1860, when that bank, in common with the other State banks-being based upon Southern bonds, went down, after which, Marshall & McCrory continued the banking business for about a year; he then served for a time as Deputy County Clerk, under Jacob I. Brown; then clerked for a while for R. M. & H. S. Parcels, after which he resumed the banking busi- ness, as Cashier for the Coles County Bank of T. G. Chambers & Co., and, on the con- solidation of that bank with the First
National Bank, in 1868, he became Cashier of the latter institution, which position he still retains; he served one year as Town Clerk. He was married March 20, 1860, to Miss Kate Parcels, a daughter of the late John F. Parcels, an early and highly re- spected citizen of Charleston ; they have one son living-Walter P.
T. J. MARCH, SR., dealer in furni- ture, Charleston ; was born in Baltimore, Md., March 22, 1807 ; he is the only son of John and Eliza March ; losing his father in early childhood, he was very early in life thrown upon his own resources ; at the age of 8 years, he was placed in a tailor shop, where he was put to ripping up old clothes, after which he worked successively for a tobacconist in stripping tobacco, in a chair-factory, learning to bottom chairs, and in a sieve-factory. In his 15th year, he began learning the house-joiner's trade, and on becoming of age, went to Philadel- phia, where he followed his trade up to 1835, two years of which time he spent in the employ of Stephen Girard, and helped to build the large and elegant structures composing Girard's Square. He was mar- ried March 22, 1831, to Miss Rosina D. Creighton, a daughter of John and Mar- garet Creighton, of Philadelphia ; she was born in that city November 1, 1810; they have had nine children, five of whom are living-Thomas J. (of Charleston), Lizzie I. (wife of J. M. Ashmore, of Charleston), George A. (of Downey, Los Angeles Co., Cal.), Robert A. (of Charles- ton) and Rosina D. (now Mrs. H. E. Brooks, of Charleston). On the 4th of July, 1835, Mr. March left Philadelphia and removed to Louisville, Ky., and in March, 1836, came to Coles Co .; he put up a rail cabin ten feet square in what is now Morgan Tp., and there lived with his family for three months, when they re- moved to Charleston ; after following his trade of a house-joiner for a number of years ; he engaged in cabinet-making and the undertaking business, and for the past fifteen years or more, has been in the fur- niture business. Mr. March built the first iron front store in Charleston on the east side of the square, in 1858; besides this, he has erected two other substantial brick buildings and three dwellings, not to men- tion the large number he has built for other parties; his enterprise has been re-
526
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES :
warded with success, he having accumu- lated a comfortable property, owning nine buildings in the city, ineluding the fine brick store in March's Block.
COL. THOMAS A. MARSHALL, deceased, late of Charleston ; was a son of Hon. Thos A. Marshall, a prominent lawyer, and for more than twenty years Judge of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky ; he was born in Frankfort, Ky., Nov. 4, 1817; in early childhood, he removed with his parents to Paris, Bourbon Co., Ky .; his opportunities for obtaining an education were excellent and were appreciated and improved by him ; he early became a stu- dent in Transylvania University, and, in about 1833, entered Kenyon College, but near the close of the Junior year, he left College, and was employed for a few months on the survey of the Louisville & Lexington Railroad; after reading law and attending a course of lectures in the law department of Transylvania University, in Lexington, Ky., his father being then a law professor in that institution, he was admitted to the bar, and, in 1837, began practice in Vieksburg, Miss., where he en- joyed a very successful law practice until his removal to Illinois. He was married Sept. 4. 1838, to Miss Ellen I. Miles, daughter of Dr. James I. Miles, of Frank- fort, Ky. ; in November, 1839, he removed to Coles Co., where he had previously purchased a tract of 800 acres of land, known as Dead Man's Grove ; he removed to Charleston two years afterward and re- sumed the practice of his profession ; turning his attention to politics, he became a leading politician, and was associated with Abraham Lincoln, Lyman Trumbull, David Davis, John M. Palmer, N. B. Judd and others in the organization of the Republican party in 1856, previously to which time he had been an Old Line Whig ; in 1847, he had been a member of the State Constitutional Convention, and, in 1856, was a member of the Republican State Convention, and the same year, at the earnest personal solicitation of Mr. Lincoln, he became a candidate for the State Senate on the Republican ticket, and was elected by a large majority. He was subsequently in 1860, elected to the same office on the Presidential ticket which eleeted Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States ; it should be mentioned that in 1853 he
became Cashier of the Farmers' and Trad- ers' Bank in Charleston and continued as such during the existence of the same. In July, 1861, he became Colonel of the 1st I. V. C., and served his country gallantly and faithfully until the muster-out of his regiment in the fall of 1862. In July, 1863, he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Utah, but shortly afterward resigned his position; in 1864, he was appointed Postmaster at Vieks- burg, Miss., holding that office until July, 1865 ; he was President of the bank of T. A. Marshall & Co. until its reorganization as the Second National Bank, when, owing to ill health, he retired to his farm, where he resided until his death on the 11th of November, 1873; he left a family of six children-William S. (now in business in Denver, Colo.), Eliza M. (Mrs. J. W. True, of Louisa Co., Iowa), James M. (now a Captain in the Quartermaster's Depart- ment of the regular army and stationed in Baltimore), Thomas A. (of Denver, Colo.), Charles T. and John H .; Mrs. Marshall and the youngest two members of her fam- ily reside in Charleston.
JAMES M. MILLER, dealer in dry goods, boots and shoes, clothing and fur- nishing goods, Charleston ; has been a cit- izen and merchant of Charleston for more than forty years, being the oldest merchant now doing business in the city ; he was born in Spencer Co., Ky., Aug. 29, 1814 ; he is a son of John H. and Jane Miller, the former a native of Virginia, and the latter of Pennsylvania; he was raised on a farm and followed the occupation of farming until 1838, when he came to Charleston and engaged in general mer- chandising, having visited the State and purchased land in Bond Co. two years be- fore ; he has continued in the mercantile business to the present time, with the ex- ception of one year which he spent in the cattle business in Wisconsin ; although Mr. Miller has passed through several sea- sons of financial depression, and has him- self suffered some reverses of fortune, his mercantile career has, upon the whole, been a prosperous one ; he has always paid dollar for dollar, and has a comfortable competency remaining ; he has done much to improve the city, having built several stores and dwellings, expending no less than $30,000 in improvements ; he was
527
CHARLESTON TOWNSHIP.
the first of the Charleston merchants to purchase goods in New York City, which he did for the first time in 1844. He has served two terms in the City Council. He was married April 7, 1842, to Helen E. Walker of Charleston, a native of Ken- tucky ; she died July 24, 1851, leaving one daughter-Mary F. (now Mrs. A. C. Stallard, of Shelby Co., Ky.). Mr. Mil- ler was married again Aug. 3, 1852, to Nancy S. Harris, of Cortland Co., N. Y.
TARLTON C. MILES, Charleston, is a native of Franklin Co., Ky. ; he was born near Frankfort, on the 1st of May, 1825 ; he is a son of Dr. James I. Miles, a physician of that county ; his early life was spent in the subscription schools in his neighborhood ; in 1845, he came to Coles Co. He was married Oct. 3, 1848, to Miss Sophia O. Van Deren, a daughter of Joseph Van Deren, of Coles Co .; she was born in Cynthiana, Harrison Co., Ky., Jan. 18, 1829, and came to Illinois with her parents in 1835; they have six chil- dren living-Isaac J., William V., Ella M., Ida T., May R. and Tarlton V. Mr. Miles first engaged in farming in La Fay- ette Tp., owning a large quantity of land in the county; in 1855, he removed and began business as a general merchant, in which business he continued for about three years ; in 1858, he removed with his family to Texas, with a view to enga- ging largely in stock-raising, but in 1860, it being apparent that a war between the two sections was inevitable and was fast ap- proaching, he returned North, and en- gaged in the lumber business and in run- ning a saw-mill near Milton Station ; he continued his farming and stock operations until about five years ago. Mr. Miles is now in England, where he has been since September, 1878 ; owing to this, the fore- going sketch is far from complete, on ac- count of a lack of detailed information. He has served the public in various offices of trust and responsibility, and always with entire satisfaction to the people.
W. S. MINTON, of the firm of Min- ton, Alvey & Van Meter, proprietors of the City Mills, Charleston; was born in Washington Co., Penn., Dec. 10, 1828; at the age of 12 years, he began to work in his father's mill, and there became fa- miliar with every branch of the milling business ; he continued in that for eight
years, and. in 1848, started with his father in the dry goods business; six years later-1854-he came to Illinois, bringing with him a thousand head of sheep, and engaged in sheep-raising in Vermilion Co .; he soon after removed to Edgar Co., where he traded his sheep for Western lands, and coming to Coles Co., settled on a farm near Charleston ; after farming five years, he engaged in mer- chandising in Kansas, Edgar Co .; in 1864. he removed to Charleston, and with W. G. Wright and A. K. Spears, started in the grocery trade ; since then, he has been en- gaged in the hardware and lumber busi- ness, the grocery business and the boot and shoe trade ; in 1877, the firm of Minton, Alvey & Van Meter erected the City Mills, a fine brick structure, costing $15,000, containing four runs of stone, and fitted up with the latest improved machinery for manufacturing flour by the patent process. Mr. Minton was married Oct. 14, 1853, to Miss Matilda R. Wright, a daughter of Samuel Wright, now of Charleston, and has two children-Clarence H. and Evan- geline St. Clair.
HON. JOHN MONROE, deceased, late of Charleston ; was born in Glasgow, Barren Co., Ky., Sept. 24, 1811 ; his boyhood was passed in the private schools of his native town; his father dying when he was but a boy, he entered the apothecary- shop of his uncle, Dr. George Rogers, a physician of Glasgow, and there became familiar with the compounding of medi- cines, and also studied medicine under his uncle's instruction ; he first began prac- tice in Tennessee, and, in November, 1833, came to Illinois and engaged in the prac- tice of his profession in Shelbyville, soon removing to Charleston, and, a few years later, he engaged in business as a dry goods merchant. Returning to Kentucky, he was married, April 4, 1840, to Mrs. Martha Ferrish, a widow lady of Greensburg, in that State, and came again to Charleston ; . they had six children, two of whom are still living-Mrs. Stanley Walker and Lewis Monroe, of Charleston. His wife died May 14, 1854, and, on the 6th of November, 1854, he married Miss Han- nah Chambers, a daughter of James and Sally Chambers, of Cynthiana, Ky., who came to Coles Co. with her parents in 1851 ; of five children of this marriage, thrce are
528
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:
now living-Emma (wife of Thomas T. Threlkeld, of Charleston), Virginia and Henrietta. Dr. Monroe continued in the dry goods trade in Charleston until 1858, when he moved to Lafayette Tp., where he owned a farm of 1,700 acres. He laid out the village of Stockton, building the switch and a warehouse and store at that place ; he still, however, retained his in- terest in business in Charleston, and, in 1865, returned to that city. He was an enterprising, successful business man, genial in manner, and, although carrying on a variety of important enterprises, he never allowed the cares of business to weigh upon him; he had great faith in human nature, of which he was an excel- lent judge; he trusted largely to others, although he kept his business well in hand, and, happily, his confidence was never be- trayed ; he took special pleasure in assist- ing worthy young men in business, and numerous instances can be found of men, now prosperous, who owe their start in life to Dr. Monroe. He owned, at his death, a fine farm of 800 acres, besides eight business houses and two dwellings in Charleston. He was an active Democrat, but never an office-seeker; he was, how- ever, for a number of years one of the Supervisors of the county, and one of the most efficient members ever on that Board ; he also represented this county at one time in the State Legislature. He died July 29, 1877. Mrs. Monroe still resides in Charleston, surrounded by an interesting family and in the enjoyment of an ample fortune.
LEWIS MONROE, Charleston, of the firm of Monroe & Co., proprietors of the Coles County Mill, is a son of the late Dr. John Monroe; he was born in Charleston May 29, 1846 ; he received his education in the public schools, and, at the age of 18, began business, a partner in the dry goods house of Hutchinson, Monroe & Co .; he continued in this business seven years, when, his health failing, he retired to a. farm at Monroe Station, in La Fayette Tp. ; four years later, he returned to town and resumed business, which he continued till 1877; in October, 1878, he engaged in running the Coles County Mill. For a number of years his interests have been divided between Charleston and La Fay- ette Tp., where he owns a farm of 800
acres, and keeps about one hundred and twenty-five head of cattle, besides other stock ; he has other real estate interests in Charleston and Coles Co. Mr. Monroe was married Nov. 29, 1865, to Miss Lydia Chilton, daughter of James Chilton, of Charleston, and has six children.
IION. H. A. NEAL, attorney at law, Charleston ; is a native of New Hampshire; he was born in Tuftonborough, Carroll Co., Dec. 13, 1846; he was raised on a farm until he was ten years of age, and then his parents removed to Great Falls, N. H .; he attended the public schools of that city until 1863, when the family returned to the farm; in the fall of 1864, he en- tered the army as a member of Co. K, 1st N. H. Heavy Artillery, and served till the close of the war; on his return, he attended one term in the Academy at Effingham, N. H., and the following winter taught a country school ; in the spring of 1866, he went to Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and pursued a commercial course of study in Eastman's Business College, where he graduated in September following; he at once came West, and engaged in teaching in Coles Co. ; the next year, he became Principal of the Grammar School in. Paris, Ill., and, in 1868, went to Watseka, Iroquois Co., Ill., where he had charge of the public schools for three years ; the winters of 1871 and 1872, he spent in the law department of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, reading during vacations in the office of Wiley & Parker, in Charleston ; he was admitted to the bar in June, 1873, and began practice in Charleston ; in 1875, he entered into partnership with Messrs. Wiley & Parker, the firm becoming Wiley, Parker & Neal; in 1876, Mr. Parker moved to St. Louis, since which time the firm has been Wiley & Neal. He was married June 17, 1873, to Miss Lizzie Jones, of Paris, Ill. ; she died in October, 1874, leaving one child-Orra E. In 1876, Mr. Neal was elected on the Repub- lican ticket to the State Legislature, and re-elected to the same office in the fall of 1878.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.