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JOHN M. COUNCIL, post office, Illiopolis, was born in this county, June 7, 1851; his father, Geo. W. Council, was born in White county, Illinois, in 1820. His mother, whose maiden name was Jane Mitts, was born in 1822; both were of German descent; they were married about 1842, and had eleven children, viz: William C., Mary A., John M., Nelson L., Elizabeth, Charles, Henry, Flora, Emma, George Grant and Anna May; Charles is deceased, and the mother died in 1878.
John M. Council, the subject of this sketch , was married September 21, 1871, to Miss Elizabeth E. Hay, daughter of Benjamin and Isabel Hay, of Ohio, and was born June 9, 1850; she was of German extraction; they have four children: Flora Bell, born in July, 1872; Robert Arthur, in November, 1874; Louella Jane, in March, 1876; George Walter, in March, 1879, and J. E., September 10, 1881. Mrs. Council's father died in 1873, and her mother in 1874. Mr. C. owns one hundred and fifty-one acres of land, valued at $50 an acre. He was elected justice of the peace, but declined to serve. They are members of the Christian church.