JOHN C. HOLLOWAY. Among the retired farmers who have done good service in the earlier days of Macoupin County, and who now in their later years are enjoying the fruits of their labor with a conscience at ease and an active interest in the welfare of the community, we are pleased to mention the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this brief notice. He resides at Palmyra where with his family he enjoys the pleasant home which he has so truly earned. He was born in Scott County, Ill., four miles west of Winchester, April 5, 1836. His father George M. Holloway was born June 14, 1813, in Clarke County, Ky., and was the son of John Holloway, a native of Virginia, and one of the first settlers of Clarke County, who removed to Kentucky in very early days. This pioneer emigrated to the State of Illinois in 1823, making the trip overland. He settled in what is now Scott County being one of its first settlers.

At the time that John Holloway Sr., came to this State Indians were more plentiful than whites. There was no settlement whatever where Springfield now stands and Chicago was unheard of. There was, however, a military post there which was known as Ft. Dearborn. The pioneer made claim to a tract of Government land four miles west of Winchester and resided there until his death in 1841. His son George resided with his parents until his marriage, and then took charge of the old homestead and continued his residence there for many years. The maiden name of the mother of our subject was Mary Elizabeth New. She was born in Kentucky and her father John New as a native of Virginia. She reared to man's and woman's estate eight of her nine children, namely: Lucinda, our subject, Parmelia, Mary E., Martha, Ellen, Samantha A., Lucy E. and Wealthy.

The one of whom we write had his early training and education upon the home farm and in the pioneer schools of Scott County and he has lived to see a wonderful growth in this section, as since his birth the wild prairies have given place to richly cultivated farms, fruitful orchards, populous towns, and tracts crossed by many a stirring railroad train. In his early years there was no railroad in his vicinity and Naples, on the Illinois River, was the nearest market for supplies and at which to dispose of the products of the farm. Deer, turkeys and other kinds of game abounded, and the garments of his childhood were made by the mother's hand from cloth which she had manufactured with her carding comb, her spinning wheel and her loom.

The young man resided with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-one and then bought eighty acres of land near Winchester and lived there for four years. He then sold this property and bought one hundred acres a mile and a half from Winchester and after residing there for a year sold it at an advance and came to Macoupin County, purchasing two hundred and forty acres of land in South Palmyra Township. He added to his land by purchase at different times and now has five hundred acres. He resided on this farm until 1887 and then after a few months residence in Carlinville built the pleasant home where he now resides in South Palmyra Township.

The marriage of Mr. Holloway with Miss Nancy Baker, took place in 1856. The lady was born in Adams County, Ill., and was the daughter of John Baker; her married life was to be of brief duration for she died in 1860. His second marriage was in December, 1865, when he was united with Miss Lucy E. Smithson, a native of Clarke County, Ky., whose father, J. Wesley Smithson, was born in South Carolina. His father, John Smithson, removed from South Carolina to Ohio, and thence to Kentucky, where he resided for a time in Bourbon County. He then went to Clarke County and bought a home six miles south of Winchester. There he lived for many years before coming to Illinois, where he died at the home of his son William, near Winchester, Scott County, Ill. The father of Mrs. Holloway was reared on the home farm in Kentucky and resided there until 1859, when he came to Illinois and resided in Scott County until after the war of the Rebellion. He then went to Missouri and made his home in Lafayette County, and afterward in Johnson County, where he passed away at the age of seventy-one. His wife, a native of Clarke County, Ky., was Mary E., daughter of Patrick Henry Danielson, a native of Kentucky. The great-grandfather, John Danielson, was born in Virginia and was one of the early settlers of Kentucky. He lived for a time in Bourbon County and was one of the men who cut away the canebrake and cleared the ground where the first courthouse was built in Paris, Ky. He secured land in Clarke County, built a log cabin and began to clear a farm.

When the War of 1812 broke out John Danielson enlisted and while he was absent in service his wife and servants cared for the property. After his return he improved his place considerably and remained a resident there until his death. His son, the grandfather of Mrs. Holloway, was a blacksmith by trade and in 1854 went to Johnson County, Mo., and bought a farm of sixty acres near Fayetteville, on the Warrensburg and Lexington road, where he resided until his death. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Shaer. Her father, Jacob Shaer, was of German parentage and born in Maryland. He was one of the first settlers of Bourbon County, Ky., and spent his last years there. His wife's maiden name was Elizabeth Unemaher, and she died in Paris at the age of one hundred and four years. The mother of Mrs. Holloway still has her home in Johnson County, Mo, but spends most of her time with her children.

Mr. Holloway has by his first marriage two children living, George W. and John L. The former married Emma Sims and the latter Mary Holloway and has two sons - Arthur L. and Cleva C. Mrs. Holloway is an earnest and efficient member of the Baptist Church. To our subject and his wife six children have been born, namely: Etta B., Oliver C., Charles A., Mary E., Myrtle and Nora C. Etta married Mr. August Depheide and has one child, Irma. These children of an honored and honorable family are well sustaining the reputation of their ancestors and are worthy and esteemed members of society.