Transcribed by Mary Ann Kaylor
Page 1035:
BEASON, JOSEPH C. (deceased), who for many years carried on a farm near Illiopolis, Ill., was an industrious and useful citizen and enjoyed the confidence and regard of his friends and neighbors. He was born in Logan County, Ill., January 11, 1846, a son of Henry and Sarah (Collins) Beason, the former born in Xenia, Ohio, and the latter in Logan County. The father was an early settler of that county and spent the remainder of his life farming there, both he and his wife dying on the homestead. They were the parents of three sons and two daughters, of whom the only survivor is Jacob, of Chatham, who served as a soldier in the Civil War.
Mr. Beason worked on his father's farm until he reached his majority, acquiring his education in the country schools. He then engaged in farming on his own account, spending several years in Logan County and then locating near Illiopolis, where the remainder of his life was spent. His widow has lived in the village of Illiopolis for the past four years.
Mr. Beason was married in Shelby County, Ill., June 19, 1874, to Mrs. Emily (Rice) Wood, born February 4, 1844, in Shelby County, Ill., daughter of Nathan Rice and wife, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Alabama. Mr. Rice was a farmer and a minister of the Christian Church, and was an early settler of Shelby County, where he spent the remainder of his life, and died in 1875. The mother died in 1897. Of the six daughters and four sons in the family three children now survive: Mrs. Beason; Spencer, of Los Angeles, Calif.; and Nathan, of Kansas, where he lives on a ranch. The father of Nathan Rice, Sr., was a soldier in the Revolution and served under General Washington. Emily Rice was married (first) in Shelby County, November 12, 1862, to William Wood, born near Bloomington, Ill., whose parents were early settlers of Illinois. Mr. Wood served three years in the Civil War, enlisting from McLean County. His death occurred in 1868. To the union two children were born: William T., of Illiopolis, where he conducts a barber shop, and Hattie A., wife of Charles McCorkle, a carpenter by trade and janitor of the Christian Church and the schoolhouse in the village.
Seven children were born to Joseph C. Beason and wife, of whom the following survive: Overton, of Illiopolis; Carrie, wife of William Rice of Missouri. Mr. Beason died on his farm April 2, 1899, widely mourned by his family and friends. Both he and his wife became useful members of the Christian Church, and he was a Democrat in politics. Mrs. Beason owns a comfortable home in Illiopolis, the family home for the past forty years.