WILLIAM F. CONSTANT owns and occupies one of the valuable farms of Williams Township, his estate comprising three hundred acres of as fine land as can be found in the county. Even in this vicinity, where good farm buildings are the rule, and modern conveniences abound, there are few places that in these regards equal the one mentioned. The dwelling is a commodious and beautiful one, pleasing in architectural design, built with a view to the comforts of the inmates and furnished in a manner in keeping with their means and tastes. The barn is also large and fine, and every arrangement that will conduce to the conveniences with which the farm and household economy is carried on, may be found upon this estate.
Among the first men to found a home in this part of the county which is north of the Sangamon River was Thomas Constant, the grandfather of our subject. Indians were numerous here when he built his log cabin, and wild game was abundant, supplying the tables of the pioneers with their most substantial food. Mr. Constant entered land but sold his farm in 1836 and engaged in the mercantile business at Athens, continuing it four years. The maternal grandfather, James Stewart, lived to an extreme old age, being ninety-four years old when the Death Angel called him in 1873.
Nathan C. Constant, the father of our subject, was born in Kentucky, but made the Buckeye State his home for some years. In 1820 he removed to this county and was one of the first men to settle in Williams Township, where he built a log cabin in which he lived for ten years. In 1833 he was married to Mary M. Stewart, daughter of James and Roxana (Stillman) Stewart. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart were natives of Ne York and Massachusetts respectively, and in the former State, their daughter was born April 6, 1813. She is still living, and although quite aged maintains her interest in affairs that are going on about her. For half a century she has been a member of the Christian Church. Her companion was removed by death in 1843 at the age of forty-three years. He also belonged to the Church of Christ, as did his parents before him.
Our subject was born in the log house which sheltered his parents for several years, his natal day being February 25, 1838. His early education was obtained in a log schoolhouse, where the light was admitted through greased paper, and the keenness of the winter winds mitigated by the blazing logs in a large open fireplace. When eighteen years old he spent one year in college at Jacksonville, Ill., following which he clerked in Independence, Mo., for a twelvemonth. He then began farming on the old homestead, where he remained until 1874, when he purchased his present farm. In connection with tilling the soil Mr. Constant raises hogs and cattle in considerable numbers, marketing on an average of fifty head of cattle and one hundred and fifty hogs each year.
At the home of the bride's parents in this county, October 15, 1861, Mr. Constant was united in marriage with Elizabeth Lake. She bore him one child, Mary E., who is now deceased. After a happy wedded life of nearly twenty years, Mrs. Constant took her departure from the scenes of time, breathing her last August 4, 1881. She was a member of the Christian Church. September 24, 1884, Mr. Constant was again married, his bride being Parthena McDonald, a native of Missouri. This union has been blessed by the birth of three children: Lillie, who was born June 30, 1885, and is now deceased; Clarence R., whose natal day was June 28, 1888; and an infant Harry F., born August 14, 1890.
No member of the community or of the agricultural class in Williams Township stands higher in the opinions of his fellow men that he of whom we write. Solid in his financial standing, reliable in all his dealings, and intelligent in his judgments, he is deserving of the reputation which he bears. In politics he is a Republican, and he and his respected wife belong to the Church of Christ.