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PAST AND PRESENT OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD AND SANGAMON COUNTY ILLINOIS
By Joseph Wallace, M. A.
of the Springfield Bar
The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, IL
1904



ROBERT T. CLOYD. - Among the honored residents of Chatham must be numbered Robert T. Cloyd, who is now living a retired life in that village. He is a native of Sangamon county, his birth having occurred in Curran township, July 8, 1849. On his paternal side he is of English descent and his ancestors were early settlers of Virginia, which was the birthplace of his grandfather, Thomas Cloyd, his natal year being 1798. His great-grandfather, Thomas Cloyd, Sr., was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, valiantly aiding the colonies in their struggle for independence. In 1825, the grandfather came to Illinois and after residing for a time in Marion county, this state, settled in Sangamon county before the winter of the deep snow. Here he entered and bought land, becoming the owner of a good farm.

Matthew Cloyd, our subject's father, was born in Marion county, Illinois, September 10, 1825, but was principally reared in Sangamon county, where in early manhood he married Miss Fanny Clements, a native of Christian county, Illinois, and a daughter of James Clements, one of the pioneers of that locality. They made their home on a farm in Woodside township, where Mr. Cloyd at first owned only forty acres, but as his financial resources increased he added to his property from time to time until he had twelve hundred acres of valuable farming land, which he later gave to his children. He spent the last twenty years of his life in retirement from active labor at Chatham, where he died on the 11th of March, 1901. His estimable wife still survives him. In their family were four sons and four daughters, of whom one daughter is now deceased, but the others are all living and have families of their own. One daughter is the wife of Hon. B. F. Caldwell, the member of congress from this district.

Reared upon the home farm, Robert T. Cloyd was educated in the common and higher schools of this county and remained at home with his father until twenty-five years of age, aiding in the operation of the farm. He was married in Woodside township, February 18, 1875, to Miss Mary Baugh, who was born in that township and there spent her early life, her father being Squire Baugh, who was born on the Atlantic ocean of German parents. Mr. and Mrs. Cloyd have two children: Lilly is now the wife of S. H. Williams, who is now operating a part of the Cloyd farm, and they have one son, Harold. C. C. is a mechanic living in Springfield. He is also married.

After his marriage Mr. Cloyd located on a farm in Curran township, where he owned one hundred acres of land and later added to his property until he had two hundred and twenty acres, on which were good and substantial buildings. In order that he might better educate his children he removed to Chatham in 1885 and still makes his home in that village, where he owns residence property. He still oversees the operation of his farm, however, and has extended its boundaries until they now embrace three hundred acres, on which are two sets of farm buildings.

By his ballot Mr. Cloyd supports the men and measures of the Democratic party, casting his first presidential vote for Horace Greeley, but he has never sought or desired office, though he served for six consecutive years as a member of the town board. He is a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator at Chatham and as a public-spirited, progressive citizen gives his support to all enterprises for the public good. His estimable wife is a member of the Christian church and both are highly respected by all who know them.



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