LITCHFIELD, John P.

John P. LITCHFIELD, one of the representative business men of Toluca, was born on the home farm in Bennington township, Marshall county, August 24, 1862, a son of John and Emily (PALMER) LITCHFIELD, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. There he passed his boyhood and youth, assisting in the labors of the fields and attending the district schools. At the age of nineteen, he entered Eureka college, where he pursued his studies for one year, and then engaged in teaching in Marshall county, his first school being in Evans township. For some time he followed that profession during the winter season, while the summer months were spent in farming.

On the 27th of December, 1886, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. LITCHFIELD and Miss Sarah E. STRATTON, a native of Bennington township, Marshall county, and a daughter of James and Marcia (CHALCRAFT) STRATTON, a sketch of whom may also be found on another page of this volume. They have become the parents of two interesting children: Rollie J., born on the farm in Belle Plain township, Marshall county, October 2, 1889, and Leta L., born in Toluca, May 5, 1895.

Upon a farm in Belle Plain township, Mr. LITCHFIELD continued to reside until March, 1893, when he removed to Toluca, to accept his present position as clerk in the hardware department of the Toluca Lumber & Hardware Company. He is a stockholder and charter member of the same, also a stockholder in the First National bank of Toluca, and interested in the grain business under the firm name of Litchfield & Company. He is a straightforward, reliable business man, and wins the confidence of all with whom he comes in contact.

Mr. LITCHFIELD cast his first presidential vote for Grover Cleveland in 1884, and has since supported the men and measures of the democratic party. He received the nomination for assessor, but was defeated in the great landslide of 1894. In 1893 he was elected village trustee, becoming a member of its first board. He takes a prominent and active part in civic societies, having served as secretary and vice-grand in Toluca lodge, I. O. O. F., which he joined in 1894 and is a charter member; as prelate and vice-chancellor of the Knights of Pythias lodge, No. 461, of which he is also a charter member; and as secretary of the Modern Woodmen of America.

Extracted May 2011 by Norma Hass from The Biographical Record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois, 1896.

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