FRANCIS E. DODDS. When a good man dies the entire community suffers a loss, although he may leave an influence that widens as the years roll by, through the better lives of those who were directly benefitted by him. So when the late Francis Dodds was called from time to eternity, many felt a personal sense of loss due to the knowledge of his unassuming piety, good citizenship and habits of industry and prudence. A native of this county, he had become known to a large circle and had pursued a career that had won an abundant reward in a financial sense.
The parents of our subject were Joseph and Martha (Drennan) Dodds, who are numbered among the old settlers of this county. He was born in Ball Township, January 27, 1829, and grew to manhood on his father's farm, where he continued to reside until his marriage. He then operated rented land two years, after which he bought a tract on section 21, Pawnee Township, and devoted himself so assiduously to his chosen work that he accumulated a fine property. At the time of his death he owned four hundred acres of prime land on which he had erected a full line of excellent farm buildings and made the improvements which stamped it as one of the most valuable farms in the vicinity.
The lady whom Mr. Dodds won for his wife bore the maiden name of Paulina K. Fletcher. She is a daughter of Capt. Job and Frances (Brown) Fletcher, natives of Todd County, Ky., who were among the early settlers of this county. They breathed their last in Ball Township, the mother in January, 1880, and the father in March, 1883. They had eight sons and daughters, of whom Mrs. Dodds was the sixth in order of birth. She was born in Ball Township, February 15, 1837, and was joined in holy wedlock to our subject in Springfield, February 22, 1855. She now occupies the homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, to which she holds the title.
Four children came to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Dodds; Martha F. is now the wife of William Keisacker; Virginia E. married N. E. Kenney; Henrietta A. is the wife of G. C. Baker; John S. died when about ten years old. The mother has been a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church since she was sixteen years old and the deceased father was likewise a well-respected member. The consolation of religion cheered the dying hours of Mr. Dodds and comforted his widow in her bereavement. The date of the demise of our subject was October 18, 1880. He had taken an active interest in the affairs of the neighborhood, although not an office seeker but a man who attended strictly to his personal affairs and duties of citizenship. Socially, he was a prominent member of the Masonic order, holding membership in Auburn, Ill., and belonged to the Blue Lodge and Royal Arch Masons.
The portrait of the late Mr. Dodds, presented in connection with this brief history, will be welcomed by his many friends as a valuable addition to this volume, which aims to perpetuate the life records and features of many of Sangamon County's most prominent citizens.