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 RWIN W. SAIN. On section 6, in Morgan Township, lies a good farm of 210 acres, embellished with a handsome and substantial set of buildings, including one of the finest residences in Coles County, a view of which appears on another page. The homestead forms one of the most attractive features in the landscape, being enclosed with neat and substantial fences, well stocked with good grades of the domestic animals, and kept in first-class order. The thrift and enterprise of the proprietor, who is the subject of the following notice, is apparent on every hand, and is a fine illustration of what may be accomplished by perseverance, industry and ample means. The main points in his career are noted as follows: Mr. Sain, a native of the Buckeye State, was born in Hocking County, Oct. 23, 1846, and is the son of James Q. and Lucinda (Wright) Sain, natives respectively of Fairfield and Vinton Counties, the same State. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Philip Sain, who passed the greater part of his life in Ohio, where his remains were laid to rest near the town of Mt. Pleasant. The mother descended from German ancestry, but her people had been residents of Ohio for two or three generations. To the grandparents of our subject there were born eleven children, one of whom died in infancy. The others are recorded as follows: James Q., a resident of Douglas County, this State, and a man of good education, is living retired on a competency; Samuel continues a resident of Ohio; Allen deals in fine horses at Indianapolis, Ind.; Athelinda, who was first married to a Mr. Kitchmiller, who was killed in battle during the late war, subsequently married Hiram Poole, and lives in El Dorado, Kan.; John is farming in Indiana; Isaiah F. is a resident of Ohio; Lemuel, of Topeka, Kan.; Caroline, David and Harvey are in Ohio, the first mentioned the wife of George W. Johnson. James Sain first came to Illinois in March, 1860, and located at Kansas Station, Edgar County, but did not make any purchase of land until four years later, when he bought 120 acres which were improved, and which he occupied until 1866. He sold out and rented for two years, and in 1868 purchased 216 acres, including some of the choicest land in Seven Hickory Township, where he carried on farming until February, 1886. Then deciding to abandon active labor for a time, he rented his farm for $1,150 cash per year for three years, and removed with his family to Arcola, Douglas County, where he now resides. His marriage with Miss Lucinda Wright occurred in the spring of 1844, at the home of the bride in Seven Hickory Township. Mrs. Sain is the daughter of Joseph and Lovina Wright, of Ohio, who were the parents of thirteen children, eight now living. Of these, one is now in Iowa, two in Illinois, and the balance on the homestead in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Wright are deceased. James Sain and wife became the parents of eight children: Irwin W., the eldest, is the subject of this sketch; Milton, a farmer of Douglas County, Ill., is married and has one child; Vinton, unmarried, is dealing in real estate at El Dorado, Kan.; Homer, a farmer and stock-trader, makes his headquarters on the home farm; Richard Harvey, a farmer of Douglas County, is married, and has two children living and two deceased; Lovina Ann, the wife of Joseph Harr, is living on a farm in Dakota, and is the mother of five children; Caroline is living with her parents in Arcola; Mary, a teacher, is still at home. The parents are enjoying good health, and are still regular attendants of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which they have been connected for a number of years. The father identified himself with the Republican party at its organization, and has been a stanch adherent of its principles since that time. Our subject remained under the home roof until after reaching his majority, receiving a common-school education and becoming acquainted with the best methods of carrying on a farm. He was ambitious and industrious, and began early in life to lay his plans for the future. His marriage took place in Seven Hickory Township. June 16, 1870, his chosen bride being Miss Eliza Belle, daughter of James W. and Mary (O’Hair) Frazier, who are treated of elsewhere in this work. Her grandfather served all through the Revolutionary War, and the family, wherever known, were people who universally enjoyed the respect of their community. To Mr. and Mrs. Sain there were born five children, as follows: Cora, born in June, 1872; Lulu, born in September, 1874, and died in November following; Jessie, born in August, 1876; Louisiana, in September. 1879, and James Walter on Christmas Day in 1886. About the time of his marriage Mr. Sain purchased forty acres of land in Morgan Township, to which his father added an equal amount a short time afterward. Our subject, in 1874. increased his landed area to 160 acres, and the following year purchased fifty acres more, so that he now has 210 acres which he has brought to a fine state of cultivation. The improvements which attract the eye of the passer-by are mostly his own, which he has brought about by a wise investment of funds and the supervision of the work going on around him, trusting little to other hands. He has been engaged largely in raising grain and broom corn, and buying large quantities of the latter, of which, during the past seventeen years he has shipped 1,700 carloads. Most of this has gone to Cincinnati, where he has a brother-in-law dealing in this commodity, and to whom of late years he has shipped from 200 to 250 carloads a year. He has also sent large quantities to Philadelphia and Chicago. Mr. Sain has raised fine cattle to some extent and has twenty head of horses. Our subject, although having plenty of private business to engage his attention, has served as Commissioner of Highways in his township, and interested himself in the welfare of the Christian Church at Rural Retreat. Socially, he belongs to the I. O. O. F. at Charleston, has also been interested in the Grange movement in Morgan Township, and politically, affiliates with the Democratic party, with which his mother’s people were identified, while his father was a Republican. |
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