DUNKEL, MILTON, one of several honored retired farmers living at Pleasant Plains, Sangamon County, Ill., is of that good old Ohio stock which has done so much for the development of the Middle West. He was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, July 30, 1848, a son of Andrew and Angeline (Young) Dunkel, and is the only survivor of his father's family. The family of Dunkel is of German origin and was founded in America in colonial times. Andrew Dunkel was born in Ohio December 4, 1824, son of John and Catharine (Morehart) Dunkel, who had fourteen children, only one of whom, Mrs. Levina Dorand, wife of W. H. Dorand, contractor and builder, of Pleasant Plains, now survives. Andrew and Angeline Dunkel had three children, two of whom, a son and a daughter, died in infancy. John and Catharine Dunkel moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio not long after the close of the War of the Revolution. Eventually they moved to Cartwright Township, Sangamon County, where Mr. Dunkel died in 1868 and his widow in 1872.
Angeline (Young) Dunkel was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Myers) Young, both of German descent and born in Berks County, Pa. Her father spent all his active years as a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, chiefly in Fairfield County, Ohio. He died when Mrs. Young was only three years old. Later he mother married Jacob C. Valentine, of Pickaway county, Ohio, and lived to be seventy-five years of age. Angeline Dunkel was born February 15, 1827, and was educated in subscription schools, and by her own efforts becoming a woman of fine attainments for her day and generation. She was twenty-one years old when she married. It was in 1855 that the family came to Illinois and Mr. Dunkel took up land in Cartwright Township, Sangamon County. At eighteen she united with the English Lutheran Church at Circleville, Ohio. After they came to this state, she and her husband joined the Missionary Baptist Church of Richland, with which they were helpfully identified as long as they lived. She passed away February 25, 1890, aged sixty-three years, and he September 4, 1898, aged seventy-three years.
Milton Dunkel came as a lad with his parents to Sangamon County in 1855, was brought up to a practical knowledge of farming and obtained his education in the public school near his boyhood home. In 1872 he married Miss Dora A. Smith, born in Cartwright Township, a daughter of William and Sarah (Dorety) Smith. Mr. Smith was born in Scotland and Mrs. Smith in North Carolina. They married in the State just mentioned and came to Illinois in 1844 and both died when Mrs. Dunkel was as yet only a child, he in 1849 and she in 1853. By trade Mr. Smith was a carriage painter. His son, Robert B. Smith is a farmer in Cartwright Township and another son, William W. Smith, is a farmer in Auburn Township. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dunkel settled on the old Dunkel homestead, where they farmed successfully till "February 22, 1899, then moved to Pleasant Plains, where Mr. Dunkel had bought a beautiful home, and they lived there very happily till Mrs. Dunkel died. She was born near the old Richland Baptist Church August 24, 1850, was married March 19, 1872, joined the church mentioned June 1, 1873, and died March 7, 1907, aged fifty-six years, six months and thirteen days. As a girl she was distinguished by a mild disposition and a gentle, affectionate nature. Her early conversion tended to develop and strengthen those admirable qualities. Her life in the church was marked by growing earnestness and increasing interest in the progress of the Redeemer's Kingdom on earth. She was always attentive to the sick and generous to the unfortunate. In her home life she was a model of faithfulness and loving kindness. Her spiritual home was early put in order and her temporal home was no less carefully looked after. These lines were dedicated to her by one who knew her well:
"Life, I know not what thou art,
But know that thou and I must part,
And when or how or where we met
I own to me's a secret yet.
Life, we've been long together,
Through pleasant and through cloudy weather -
'Tis hard to part when friends are dear,
Perhaps 'twill cost a sigh, a tear;
Then steal away, give little warning,
Choose thine own time,
"Say not good night,
But in some brighter clime
Bid me good morning."
Her home was noted for its genial hospitality. In all that she loved and loved to do she had her husband's sympathy. He has always been ready to contribute his full share toward the advancement of religion and education. Friends in need have ever found him a friend indeed. In politics he is a Democrat. He was a member of the County Board for two years, including the time of the remodeling of the Court House, was a Township Trustee from 1889 to 1908 and Tax Collector in 1899. His public spirit has made him a citizen of whom his neighbors are justly