Frank FARLING, who for eight years has resided in Marshall county, his home being on section 26, Whitefield township, is however, a typical resident of the middle west, being a native son of Illinois, while in his life he has been imbued with the spirit of enterprise that has been the important factor in the substantial upbuilding of the central Mississippi valley. His birth occurred in Mendota, La Salle county, on the 21st of May, 1865, his parents being Thomas B. and Elvina (EBY) FARLING, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. When a young man the father came to Illinois and, having learned the trade of a carpenter and builder in the east, he began working in that way in Mendota, where for many years he was closely associated with building operations. He there died in 1904 and his widow is still living in that city. Six of their children yet survive: Emma, the wife of a Mr. FEATHERGEAU, who is connected with an engraving house of Chicago; William, who is with his brother Frank; John, a carpenter of Chicago; Frank, of this review; Edward, who is engaged in the engraving business in Chicago; and Carrie, who is with her mother in Mendota.
Mr. FARLING, whose name introduces this record, is indebted to the public school system of Mendota for the educational privileges which he enjoyed and which prepared him for life's practical duties. After putting aside his text-books he entered upon his business career as a farm hand in La Salle county, and for eighteen years he was connected with agricultural interests in Putnam county. Eight years ago he came to Marshall county and his time and energies are now given to the further development and improvement of a farm of eighty-one and a half acres situated on section 26, Whitefield township. This property is the visible evidence of his life of thrift and enterprise and from his fields he annually gathers good harvests as the reward of his persistent and energetic labors.
In 1888 Mr. FARLING was united in marriage to Miss Harriet LONG, a native of Bureau county, Illinois, and they became the parents of four children, of whom three are living, Thomas, Albert and Blanche, all of whom are in school. In 1902 Mr. FARLING was again married, his second union being with Miss Henrietta LYONS, a native of England. There is one son by this marriage, William I., born July 3, 1906.
Mr. FARLING is connected through membership relations with Putnam camp, No. 2107, M. W. A., while in his political views he is an earnest republican. No special family or pecuniary advantages assisted him at the outset of his career in the business world, but he recognized the fact that earnest labor is a safe foundation upon which to build success and as the years have passed his diligence has been manifest until his work is now crowned with a goodly measure of prosperity and he is accounted one of the substantial farmers of Whitefield township.
Extracted July 2011 by Norma Hass from Past and Present of Marshall and Putnam Counties Illinois, 1907.
| Bureau | Putnam | |
| Stark |
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La Salle |
| Peoria | Woodford |
