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 ENLEY ANDERSON occupies a snug farm of eighty acres on section 11, in Charleston Township, of which he has been in possession since the spring of 1872. He is a gentleman of good education, having attended Eureka College, and one who has seen considerable of the world, having, when a younger man, traveled over a large part of the territory west of the Mississippi. He was variously occupied in his youth, but finally decided that there was nothing better or healthier than life in the rural regions, and which he has thoroughly enjoyed since becoming the possessor of his present farm. To this he has given his careful attention, and with his family is surrounded by all the comforts of life. Our subject is a native of Indiana, born on the farm of his father near Frankfort, Oct. 20, 1845, and is the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Stutsman) Anderson, natives of North Carolina and Indiana respectively. Jacob Anderson removed with his parents when a boy to Indiana, and was there married in the southern part of the State. He afterward removed to a point near Frankfort, where he became the owner of a flouring-mill, which he operated until the spring of 1849. He then came to Central Illinois and purchased about 3,000 acres of land in Charleston and Seven Hickory Townships, where he put up a substantial brick house, and instituted many other admirable improvements. Here the mother died in April, 1860. Jacob Anderson survived his wife twelve years, dying in April, 1872, at the age of seventy-six years. Of their eight children, but four are now living, namely, Sarah, Mrs. Van Sickle; Bruce, Henley, and Samantha, Mrs. Calvert. The father of our subject was a man of many excellent qualities, honest and upright in his dealings, decided in his views, and an uncompromising supporter of the Democratic party. He also belonged to the I. O. O. F. Henley Anderson remained a member of his father’s household until the death of the latter. In the meantime he had been mostly engaged in acquiring a good education, and after leaving Eureka College, started in January, 1804, for the Pacific Slope. He employed that year in traveling, and then returning to this county, served three years at the jeweler’s trade at Charleston, where he continued until about 1867. Then going to Lexington, Ky., he took a course of study in the Agricultural and Mechanical College, after which he followed farming until 1872. Two years later he established a jewelry store at Charleston, which he conducted until 1878, then determined to abandon all trades and occupations, for the independent life of a farmer. His labors in this direction have been amply rewarded, and he is ranked among the well-to-do and substantial agriculturists of Coles County. The lady who has been the sharer of the home and fortunes of our subject since the spring of 1875, was formerly Miss Emma, daughter of William and Susan Ricketts, of Charleston. She was born in 1856, and remained under the parental roof until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. A. have no children. |
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