Transcribed by Mary Ann Kaylor

Page 1224

H. H. CHURCHILL , who has spent his entire life in Sangamon county, is now a prosperous farmer, living on section 17, Clear Lake township, where a property of one hundred and forty-two acres annually yields to him its rich harvests. It was upon this farm that he was born, January 14, 1847, his parents being Culvin S. and Hester F. (King) Churchill, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. The father, born in 1825, was a son of George Churchill, who was also born in Kentucky and became one of the pioneer residents of Sangamon county, arriving here when this was a frontier district in the year 1828. He entered land from the government, thus securing two hundred and forty acres, and the patents were signed by President John Quincy Adams. Culvin S. Churchill was reared on the old homestead amid the wild scenes of pioneer life, and assisted in the arduous task of reclaiming the land for the purposes of civilization. After arriving at years of maturity he married Hester F. King, who in her girlhood days was brought to Sangamon county by her father, William B. King, an early settler of this locality. Culvin S. Churchill succeeded to the ownership of the old homestead and he afterward bought more land until his property comprised three hundred and sixty acres, which he owned at the time of his death on the 8th of October, 1888. His wife had passed away in January of the previous year. In their family were three sons and six daughters, of whom only three are now living: H. H. Churchill and two sisters. These are Mrs. Permelia A. Huston and Amanda P., wife of M. T. Foracker, both of Springfield. One brother, Fielding A., died at the age of twenty-one years; and George W., at the age of seven years; while Sallie, the sixth child, died in early womanhood; Emma at the age of three years; and Julia and Lizzie, twins, in infancy, the former at the age of six months and the latter at the age of nine months.

H. H. Churchill, spending his boyhood days on the old family homestead, assisted in the cultivation of the fields until his father's death, and in fact had the practical management of the place for some years before that time. His education was obtained in the public schools. He was married on the 21st of August, 1873, to Miss Lizzie A. Grubb, who was born in Pennsylvania, but was brought to Illinois in her early girlhood days by her father, Amos Grubb, who arrived in 1857 and is now living in Riverton. Mr. Churchill succeeded to a part of the old homestead, and as his financial resources have permitted he has purchased more land, so that he now owns two hundred and sixty-five acres in two farms in Clear Lake township. Both are well improved and supplied with modern equipments. On the home farm he built a good residence and the necessary outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, and further labors are indicated by the fact that he has adorned his place by shade and ornamental trees and has also planted a good orchard. His life has been characterized by industry and his unflagging labor has brought to him a well-merited measure of success.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Churchill has been blessed with five children: Culvin A., who is married and resides on his father's land; Charles F., a bookkeeper in Barclay, Illinois; Elmer H., who is principal of the Bissell school of Clear Lake township; Earl E., a student in the high school of Sp0ringfield; and Oscar O., a student in the home school. The parents hold membership in the Christian church of Clear Lake, and Mr. Churchill belongs to the Riverton Lodge, A.F. & A.M.; Clear Lake Lodge, No. 445, I.O.O.F.; and the Modern Woodmen Camp. His political support, where national issues are involved, has been given to the Republican party since he cast his first presidential vote for General Grant in 1868, but at local elections he votes independently of party ties. He believes in good schools and the employment of capable teachers, and he has served for a number of years as a member of the school board and is now its president. Outside of this he has never sought or desired office, preferring to give his time and energies to his business affairs, which have been managed so capably that he is today one of the substantial agriculturists of his community. He has witnessed the development of Sangamon county from a wilderness and swamp. He has seen the timber and brush cleared away, the prairies broken and cultivated, towns and cities built and the work of improvement and progress carried forward until his section of the state is now one of the best improved in the entire Mississippi valley.