HICKS, LAFAYETTE WASHINGTON (deceased), late of Buffalo, Sangamon County, Ill., was a man of ability who won a worthy success and whose memory is held dear by all who knew him. He was born in Bath County, Ky., March 24, 1837, a son of Henry and Sarah (Renn) Hicks, natives of Virginia and members of old American families, who settled in Kentucky, prospered as farmers there, and in the immutable order of events, died there. They have had two sons and four daughters, all of whom have passed away.

Mr. Hicks was educated in the country schools in his native county, and learned farming by actual participation in the operation of the homestead. In 1858, he came to Illinois and settled on a farm in Mechanicsburg Township, Sangamon County, owned then by George and James Hamilton, but now the property of Lord Scully, of England. He was employed there nine years, much of the time breaking ground with oxen. He then bought land and farmed successfully for many years. In 1888, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff, in which office he served with much ability and credit until his death, which occurred in buffalo, October 9, 1891. He also filled the offices of Constable and Justice of the Peace in Buffalo Township for several terms. For nineteen years after he left the farm, he varied his official duties by acting as auctioneer, holding public sales at Buffalo, and in all the country round about. He was a Democrat and a member of the Christian Church.

Mr. Hicks married, June 17, 1859, Miss Louisa Williams, born on Christmas Day, 1838, a daughter of Aaron and Georgia Linnie Williams, the former a native of Pennsylvania and his wife of Kentucky. In early life Mr. Williams settled on a farm in Kentucky where he spent the remainder of his days. He was a Mason. He and his wife were parents of four sons and two daughters and all their children except Mrs. Hicks and her brother Joseph Williams, of Greencastle, Ind., are deceased. Mr. Williams served his country as a soldier in the Mexican War, and his brother fought for the "stars and stripes" in the Civil War. Three of Mrs. Hicks' brothers were members of the Masonic order. Mrs. Hicks owns her home and two other pieces of property in Buffalo, besides 120 acres of land in Mechanicsburg Township, and has lived in her present home in Buffalo, twenty-three years. She is a member of the Methodist Church, and also of the Eastern Star Lodge No. 203, of Dawson, Ill.

Aaron Williams, father of Mrs. Hicks, was a descendant of the illustrious Roger Williams, of New England, and was born in Pennsylvania, about 1802. He was a son of Joseph and Mary (Bartel) Williams, natives of Pennsylvania, the former of Irish and the latter of German descent, farming people in that State. Aaron Williams spent his boyhood on a farm and attended school in his native State and later in Kentucky, his parents having removed to Bath County, that State, where he and they spent the remainder of their lives. He was a farmer and also an iron molder and miller. His parents were early settlers of Bath County, and the school which he attended (barefooted) was supported by subscriptions from its patrons and held in a log building, having slab seats and floor, with greased paper for window glass. He was married in Aberdeen, Ohio, to Miss Georgia A. Linney (or Linnie), and both he and his wife died in Bath County, Kentucky. They were the parents of six children: George J., deceased,, formerly lived at Carlisle, Ky.; Joseph lives at the State Soldiers' Home in Lafayette, Ind.; Mary married Thomas Rogers, of Bath County; William, deceased, formerly a resident of Bath County; John was killed at the age of nineteen years, when a team ran away; Louis, Mrs. hicks. Mr. Williams became a man of prominence and influence in his community and was a useful citizen. He was liberal in religious views and was a member of the Christian Church; a Democrat in political affairs; he was affiliated with the Masonic Order fraternally. He and his wife, who was born and reared in Kentucky, reared a fine family and were much esteemed. Mrs. Hicks is a woman of high character and kind heart, interested in the welfare of those about her, and she is held in tender regard by her many friends, who delight to enjoy her favor and society.