EBENEZER SPINK, the able editor of the Sangamon Valley Times, of Chandlerville, Illinois, was born in Mason county, this State, January 8, 1857, his parents being Ebenezer and Fannie (Baylor) Spink.

The originator of the paternal branch of the family in this country was Daniel Spink a native of England, who emigrated to America in middle life, settling in Rhode Island where he spent the rest of his life. Samuel, his son, was born in Rhode Island, about 1784, and married Ruth Slocumb, also a native of that State. Her parents were Pelick Slocumb and Ruth (Cappes), her mother also being a native of England, and both parents residing in Rhode Island until their death. Both Samuel Spink and his wife resided in the State in which they were born until their death, which occurred in 1814, at the age of thirty years. They were the parents of four children: Washington, William, Louise Ann and Ebenezer, the father of the subject of this sketch. Ebenezer Spink, Sr., was born in Prudence Island, in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, April 12, 1812. After the death of his father, Ebenezer went with his mother to Wickford, on Narragansett bay, and thence to Providence, in 1822, where he received instruction in the rudimentary branches of education. In 1825, he left home and worked in various localities, doing whatever he could to turn an honest penny. He finally went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he met and married his first wife, Juliet Nichols, their marriage taking place in 1832. Two years later, he removed with his family to Indiana, whence they moved, in 1836, to Kentucky. Two children, Alonzo and Melissa, were born to this marriage.

Mr. Spink, Sr., was, sometime later, separated from his wife, and in 1843 married Fannie Baylor, an estimable lady and the mother of the subject of this sketch. Her parents were George P. and Louise E. (Moy) Baylor, who were married in Pennsylvania in 1823. Her father was a native of Germany, and served twelve years in the Revolutionary war, for which he received a large tract of land in Fulton county, this State; her mother was a native of Pennsylvania, where she was born in 1803. They were the parents of eleven children, seven now living, their daughter, Fannie, the mother of our subject, having been born in Pennsylvania, July 18, 1826. The parents eventually removed from the Keystone State to Fulton county, Illinois, where they both died, the mother at the age of fifty-one years and the father aged seventy-two.

In 1853, Mr. Spink, Sr., removed with his wife and children to Illinois, by boat, landing at Havana, and continued to reside in and near that city until his death, August 14, 1892, aged eighty years, three months, and twenty-seven days.

There were twelve children born to bless this union. Two daughters died in infancy. The eldest, Charles H., was born in Kentucky, February 11, 1844. He enlisted in Company B, Eighty-fifth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, in 1862, and was killed in the battle at Peach Tree creek, Georgia, July 20, 1864. The remaining children are as follows: Mary E. Haynes, of Blue Mound, Kansas; Isabelle Chambers, of Mason City, Illinois; Joseph E., of Guthrie, Oklahoma; George W., of Petersburg, Illinois; Clara Yates, of Havana, Illinois; Ebenezer, of Chandlerville, Illinois; Walter W. and James W. of Havana, Illinois; and Lilly M. Morgenstein, of Topeka, Illinois.

Ebenezer Spink, Sr., being one of the pioneer settlers of Mason county, was well known by all the older residents, and was held in high esteem as a neighbor and friend. In 1856 he joined the New Lebanon Baptist Church, on Crane creek, and lived a consistent Christian life ever afterward. Having a large family he never accumulated much property, but was ever a most kind and indulgent father and husband.

Ebenezer Spink, Jr., whose name heads this notice, attended the schools in his vicinity and learned the printer's trade in Havana, Illinois. He resided in Havana until 1879, when he came to Chandlerville and engaged in the publication of The Independent, returning in 1881 to Havana. The following year, however, he again removed to Chandlerville, and bought out the Independent and changed the name to The Sangamon Valley Times, which he has ever since continued to edit and publish.

When eighteen years of age, he was married, in Havana, Illinois, August 8, 1875, to Miss Anna R. Morrison, an estimable lady, a native of Havana, where she was born January 19, 1859. She was a daughter of John and Virginia (Derry) Morrison, prominent and early settlers of Illinois. Her paternal grandmother's people came directly from the Emerald Isle to America, where her grandmother married Thomas Morrison. They had four children, one of whom was John Morrison, the father of Mrs. Spink. He was born in Pennsylvania, December 27, 1821, and came to Illinois in an early day. He was a blacksmith, which occupation he followed through life. He was twice married: first to Aurilla E. Jones, July 1, 1848, and they had two children: Amelia A. and Marcus J. The latter child was born December 27, 1852, and became a prominent man; he died October 16, 1883. On February 16, 1853, the devoted wife and mother died, leaving the son to the care of her husband, the daughter having died in infancy. On December 31, 1854, the father married again, the only child by this marriage being Mrs. Spink. The father died in Havana, Illinois, November 25, 1859. Mrs. Spink's mother, Virginia Derry, was born February 14, 1832, in Virginia, and was a daughter of Jacob and Mary A. S. Baggett both natives of the Old Dominion, the latter having been born near Alexandria, Virginia, on September 20, 1808, and died September 21, 1890. The couple were married March 14, 1834, and reared eleven children, eight of whom are now living, there being also thirty-four grandchildren and twenty-nine great-grandchildren. Virginia Derry's grand parents were Townsend and ______ (Howard) Baggett, both natives of Virginia, who, as far as known, lived and died there, surviving to an advanced age.

Mr. and Mrs. Spink have seven children: Marcus L., born in Havana, July 21, 1877; John C., born in the same place, January 7, 1879; Ernest O., born January 23, 1881; Fay R., born February 21, 1884; Earl M., born March 16, 1888; Flossie M., born January 8, 1890; and Wallace, born January 31, 1892.

Mr. Spink belongs to the Republican party, casting his first vote for General James A. Garfield, for President. The citizens of Chandlerville have honored him with official positions several times. He served two terms as Treasurer of the village and is a member of the School Board. He is a prominent member of the Woodmen, and attends the Congregational Church. Mrs. Spink is an earnest member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.

It is eminently fitting that a person who wields the influence of an editor should be of high moral character and possess the courage to express his honest convictions, both of which are characteristics of the subject of this sketch, and as such he deserves the commendation which he so widely receives.