William RIDDELL, one of the most prominent representatives of financial interests in Sparland, where as president of the Sparland Bank he is occupying a foremost position in business circles, was born in Scotland, November 21, 1844. The days of his boyhood and youth were passed in that country and in 1866 he came to the United States and made his way to Marshall county. In early years of his residence here he engaged in general agricultural pursuits for five or six years and subsequently he turned his attention to shipping stock. For thirty-two years the grain trade figured as a prominent feature in his business and in May, 1903, he became president of the Sparland Bank, with H. E. Westcott as its cashier. This is a private bank, having back of it personal resources to the amount of eight hundred thousand dollars. Mr RIDDELL has also various other financial interests and his wise counsel and keen discrimination are valued factors in the successful establishment and control of a number of important business concerns of the county. He possesses keen discrimination and marked sagacity and is a man of enterprise, positive character, indomitable energy, strict integrity and liberal views, and has been fully identified with the growth and prosperity of the state of his adoption.
In 1881 Mr. RIDDELL was married to Miss Mary SMITH, of this county, and they became parents of three children, of whom two are living. In his political views Mr. RIDDELL is a stalwart republican, having supported the party since he became a naturalized American citizen. He holds membership in the United Presbyterian church and stands for all that is ennobling and uplifting in the social life of the community. He has always been prominent in public affairs, yet without aspiration for office, and no one has been more actively or commendably interested in the welfare and development of this part of the state. Viewed from a business standpoint he has a most creditable record, having persevered in the pursuit of a persistent purpose and thus gained a most satisfactory reward. His life is exemplary in many respects and he has the esteem of his friends and the confidence of those who have had business relations with him.
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 |
