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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



Ancestor of Earliene Kaelin

CLARENCE P. DUNLAP - Clarence P. Dunlap, who is living on section 22, Fancy Creek Township, is the owner of a valuable farm of one hundred acres. This is known as the old Dunlap homestead, and it is well equipped with modern accessories and conveniences, while the care and labor bestowed upon it make it a very productive tract. It was upon this farm that Clarence P. Dunlap was born, his natal day being November 15, 1865. His father, J. R. Dunlap, was born in Carter county, Tennessee, April 24, 1821, and the grandfather, John Dunlap, was born in Pennsylvania, May 15, 1785. Removing to Tennessee he located in Carter county, and was there married to Miss Catherine Tipton, by whom he had nine children, all born in Tennessee. With his family he removed to Illinois in 1828, settling in Sangamon county among its first residents. He took up his abode in Fancy Creek township, where his grandson, Clarence P. Dunlap, now resides.Few indeed, were the settlers who had come into this portion of the state at that time. The grandfather entered his land from the government, little of it having as yet been reclaimed. He then cleared and broke this, built upon it a substantial home and opened up a good farm, upon which he reared his family. He took an active and helpful part in the work of early progress and improvement and was known as one of the valued pioneer settlers.

It was upon the old family homestead that John R. Dunlap was reared to manhood, sharing with the family in the hardships and trials of pioneer life. He was married in Sangamon county, December 10, 1840, to Miss Emily A. Brown, a native of Kentucky, and a daughter of James Brown, another of the early settlers of central Illinois, who came here from the Blue Grass state in 1824. John R. Dunlap succeeded to the ownership of the old homestead and also had other landed interests. He became a prominent farmer of his township, his labor in the fields and meadow being attended with a high degree of success. Upon his farm he reared his family and at length passed away, at the old home about 1892. His wife survived him for a few years, but has now departed this life. This worthy couple were the parents of ten children, of whom five sons and three daughters grew to mature years.

Clarence P. Dunlap was reared upon the old home farm and at the usual age he entered the common schools. He remained with his father until the latter's death and then inherited a part of the estate including the old home. He was married in Moultrie county, Illinois, on the 17th of November, 1886, to Miss Clara E. Frantz, a native of Moultrie county, and a daughter of D. C. Frantz. The lady was reared and educated in the place of her nativity and by her marriage has become the mother of three children : Gertrude, Effie Jean and Clarence C..

Mr. Dunlap exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy when questions of state and national importance are involved, but at local elections when there is no issue before the people, save the capability of the candidates, he casts his vote for those whom he thinks best qualified for office. His first vote was cast for Grover Cleveland and his last for William Jennings Bryan. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen Camp and to the Knights of the Maccabees. His entire life has been spent in Sangamon county, and he is a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family. The work of development and improvement which was begun by his grandfather and carried forward by his father, is now being prosecuted by him, and in all matters of citizenship he is loyal to the general good, so that the name of Dunlap has been long and honorably associated with the history of Sangamon county, the family having been founded here three-quarters of a century ago.




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