FUNDERBURK, WILLIAM BRADEN. - The visitor to Sangamon County, Ill., invariably remarks upon the excellent appearance of the farms, the flourishing condition of the crops, the neat appearance of the buildings and the healthy look of the livestock. If the visitor be unacquainted with the business of farming, he is very apt to give credit to the excellence of the soil for this condition, not taking into consideration the years of toil, of study and experiment, and of hard, unremitting labor which have been put upon these farms before such results cold be accomplished. He does not think of the long period that has elapsed since these farms were brought under cultivation nor of the more recent period when tilling, grading, ditching, crop rotation and even fertilizing were unknown and unheard of; or when the present farm machinery, the reapers, the mowers, harvesters and threshers, with their horse propelling power, their time and labor saving devices, were something that even the most far sighted never dreamed of. Yet such were the early conditions in Sangamon County, Ill., just as they have been in every other section of the country, where the land had to be reclaimed from the prairie or the forest, and the excellent conditions existing today are the result of hard, conscientious labor and unfailing energy on the part of those who tilled the soil before present scientific methods came into use.

William Braden Funderburk, one of the progressive agriculturists of Sangamon County, is carrying on operations along scientific lines on a fine 110 acre property, on Section 9, Cotton Hill Township. He was born in Cotton Hill Township, December 25, 1864, a son of Alfred Newton and Emily Jane (Ward) Funderburk, farming people of Sangamon County where their lives were spent. Mr. Funderburk secured his educational training in the country schools of Sangamon County, and as a youth was always fond of out-of-door sports. His father was engaged in farming here, and reared his son to the life of an agriculturist, which the latter has always followed. His property is well fenced, his buildings in excellent condition and the farm, all in all, is one of the valuable properties of Cotton Hill Township. In his political belief Mr. Funderburk is a Republican, and his reputation for honesty and integrity, together with his personal popularity, has won him the vote of his fellow townsmen at various elections, and on numerous occasions he has been elected to positions of honor and trust. In 1900 he acted in the capacity of Census Taker. With his family Mr. Funderburk attends the Methodist Church. He is public spirited to a high degree and can always be counted upon to give his support, both moral and financial, to those movements which he feels will be of benefit to his township or the community at large.

Mr. Funderburk was married April 9, 1903, at Glenarm, Sangamon County, Ill., to Miss Mary Elizabeth Lord. Mrs. Funderburk was born November 23, 1866, at Glenarm, which was also the birthplace of her father, Robert Jones Lord, born December 13, 1837, and of her mother, Sarah A. (Rupert) Lord, born March 20, 1850. To Mr. and Mrs. Funderburk have been born two children, both sons. Shelby Lord Funderburk, born June 23, 1906, at home, and Paul Rupert Funderburk, who was born May 15, 1904, but died July 8, 1907.