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 OHN T. MONTGOMERY, M. D., well I known throughout Coles County as one of its most skillful and successful physicians, is still a young man, with a prospect of many years of usefulness, both as a citizen and practitioner. He has already made his mark in his profession, and has fully established himself in the confidence and esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Dr. Montgomery is a native of Greenfield, Mo., born Oct. 18, 1852, and the son of Rev. George W. and Sarah A. (Rankin) Montgomery, natives of Tennessee. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Montgomery, was born in the North of Ireland, and was brought when an infant to this country by his parents, who located in North Carolina. He was reared to farming pursuits, and moved across the Mississippi, where his death took place in Greenfield, Mo., in 1858. He had in the meantime married, and reared a family of eleven children. Two of the sons are yet living, namely, Rev. George W. and Nelson. The former commenced his labors as a Christian minister in 1849, identifying himself with the Cumberland Presbyterians. His first charge was in Greene County, Mo., whence he came to this county in 1866, settling in Oakland, where he remained until 1872, and then became a resident of Ashmore, where he has a charge and continues his pious mission in the same intelligent and able manner for which he was distinguished at the outset. In the household of Rev. George and Mrs. Sarah Montgomery were twelve children, of whom John T. was the eldest. The father had wisely invested his surplus funds in a medium sized farm, which provided a comfortable home for his children, and where our subject was reared until seventeen years of age, pursuing his studies in the district schools. Afterward he attended Mt. Zion Seminary, the Decatur High School and the Illinois State Normal School, finishing his studies in the latter institution. He commenced reading medicine under the instruction of Dr. W. J. Peak, of Oakland, after which he entered Chicago Medical College, where he graduated with honors on the 21st of March, 1876. Dr. Montgomery commenced the practice of his chosen profession as partner of his former preceptor, Dr. Peak, with whom he continued six months at Oakland. He then removed to Bushton, where he practiced five and one-half years. He took up his residence in Charleston in the spring of 1882, and in the comparatively brief time as a physician here, has made really remarkable headway. He is a close student and an extensive reader, and has availed himself of every opportunity to advance in the knowledge of his profession. He has identified himself with the American Medical Association, the Esculapian Medical Society of the Wabash Valley, and the Coles County Medical Society of Surgery and Medicine. Dr. Montgomery was married, Oct. 12, 1876, to Miss Mary A. Gerard, a native of Ohio, and the daughter of Jackson Gerard. Of this union there have been born four children—Sarah E., Mack G., Mary M. and John T. The family is pleasantly located in a snug home in the central part of the city, and enjoy the society of its refined and cultivated people. The Doctor is Republican in politics, and socially belongs to the Masons, the I. O. O. F. and the K. of P. He was one of the original Directors of the Charleston Home and Loan Association, and in 1884 was United States Examining Surgeon of the Fourteenth Congressional District. He is at present a member of the City Board of Education, and a man who uniformly takes an interest in every enterprise calculated for the welfare and progress of his fellow-citizens. |
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