PARKINSON, William H.
William H. PARKINSON, a thorough and
skillful farmer and a business man of more than ordinary
capacity, is a representative of the agricultural interests of
Evans township. There he is recognized as an important factor in
preserving the reputation of Marshall county as being
one of the best counties in this section of the state. His fine
farm is located on section 20.
His father, William PARKINSON, Sr., was
born in England,
in 1800, and when six years old crossed the
Atlantic
with his parents to the new world. Locating in Licking county, Ohio, he there grew to manhood and married Miss Jane
MILLIKEN, whose birth occurred in Westmoreland county,
Pennsylvania, in 1801, but she was reared in Licking
county, Ohio, where their wedding was celebrated. In
1856 they emigrated to Illinois,
making their home upon a farm near Ottawa,
in La Salle county, until the father’s death, in November,
1860. The mother then moved to
Marshall
county with her children, residing on a farm four miles west of
Wenona, where she died in December, 1877.
In the family of nine children, five are
still living, namely: Martha, who lives near Garfield, Illinois,
is the wife of J. J. WINTER, by whom she has five children,
three sons and two daughters; Margaret is the wife of Clark
DOWNEY, of Wenona, and they have two children; Sarah E., who
also makes her home in Evans township, is the widow of Aaron G.
MARTIN, and is the mother of three children: Catherine R. is the
wife of William TRUMBO, of Linn county, Missouri, and they have
five children, three sons and two daughters; William H.
completes the family. The mother was an earnest member of the
United Brethren church.
Born in Licking county, Ohio, August 9,
1842, our subject was fourteen years of age when he accompanied
his parents to La Salle county, Illinois, and there acquired his
education. At the age of nineteen he commenced the battle of
life for himself and has always turned his attention to
agricultural pursuits, at first caring for the home farm. Coming
to Marshall
county in 1865, he settled on a tract of wild land on section
29, Evans township, which he at once began to improve and
cultivate, but in 1872 purchased his present place which was
partially improved. The farm comprises one hundred and six acres
of rich and arable land, which he has placed under a high state
of cultivation and thereon erected his comfortable residence and
good barn in 1881.
In 1866, Mr. PARKINSON led to the marriage
altar, Miss Isabel GIBSON, daughter of James and Lucy (GAYLORD)
GIBSON, the former a native of
Scotland, and the latter of
Pennsylvania. Her maternal grandfather,
Lemuel GAYLORD, become a resident of Marshall county as early as
1831. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, in which
struggle his father, Lieutenant Aaron GAYLORD, was killed at the
battle of Wyoming. The parents of Mrs. PARKINSON were
married in Marshall
county, settled upon section 8, Evans township, where they spent
the remainder of their lives, the father dying in 1855, and the
mother in 1891. In their family were tow children – Isabel and
James, of Benton county, Indiana. Previous to her
marriage with Mr. GIBSON, the mother had been the wife of George
MARTIN, who first came to
Marshall
county about 1830, and who participated in the Black Hawk war.
To them were born two children – Aaron G., deceased, and Sylvia,
widow of James KIRKPATRICK, who became a member of the One
Hundred and Fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the civil
war, and died in the service.
Mrs. PARKINSON was born on section 8, Evans
township, December 10, 1843, and was educated in the district
schools of the neighborhood. By her marriage with our subject
she has become the mother of six children, all of whom have been
given good educational privileges. James W. completed the
business course and graduated at the Northern Illinois school at
Dixon. He also graduated at the
Chicago
Veterinary
College
and is now practicing his profession. Ginson is deceased. Lucy
J., who was also a student at
Dixon
and later became a teacher, is now the wife of James HAMILTON,
of Evans township. Edgar G. also took the business course at
Dixon, and is now a student in the
Normal at Valparaiso,
Indiana. May E. is attending the
Normal at Normal, Illinois.
Grace A. completes the family.
The parents are both members of Evans
Grange, No. 35, in which for two years he served as master. Mr.
PARKINSON has always supported the republican party and is a
strong silver man. Himself a well-informed man, for over twenty
successive years he has served as school director, for the same
length of time has been secretary and treasurer of the Cumberland Cemetery association, for two years was
president of the Marshall County Farmer’s Institute, and is its
present secretary and treasurer. When he began life for himself
his only property consisted of a fifth interest in one hundred
acres of land which sold for twenty-seven dollars per acre, but
he has steadily worked his way upward until he is now the
possessor of a good farm, which yields him a comfortable income.
He has made many friends throughout the county, and all who know
him have for him the highest regard.
Under the auspices of the Katherine Gaylord
Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution, in 1896, a beautiful
monument was erected over the grave of Katherine GAYLORD, the
wife of Lieutenant Aaron GAYLORD, and the great grandfather of
Mrs. PARKINSON. In the erection of the monument, contributions
were made by descendants of the worthy heroine, Mrs. PARKINSON
being among the number contributing. The following inscription
was placed on the monument:
“Katherine Cole Gaylord, wife of Lieutenant
Aaron Gaylord, 1745-1840. In memory of her sufferings and
heroism at the massacre of
Wyoming, 1778, this stone is erected by
her descendants and the members of the Katherine Gaylord Chapter
of the Daughters of the American Revolution.”
Extracted March 2011 by Norma Hass from
The Biographical Record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois,
1896.
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