JOSEPH V. BRECKON. This young and enterprising farmer owns and occupies a farm of 1818 acres - his father's old homestead - which is finely located in township 15, range 9, section 5. He purchased the interest of the other heirs to the property, and is carrying on the improvements commenced by his honored sire during the early settlement of this county. The land is under fine state of cultivation, with good improvements. It is devoted principally to general agriculture, but Mr. B. is also considerably interested in blooded stock, having a goodly number of Short-horn cattle together with horses and swine.
Our subject was born Aug. 26, 1864, and acquired his education in the district school. His life passed quietly and uneventfully during his boyhood and youth, and he learned farming in all its details from his father, who was a man of great enterprise and energy, and who conducted his labor in a first-class manner. The father, the Rev. Vickerman Breckon, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1828, and lived there until 1843, when he emigrated to America with his parents, William Breckon and wife. They came directly to Illinois and located on a tract of land in Morgan County. Vickerman, when a youth of seventeen years commenced the battle of life for himself with a capital of twenty-five cents, and one old horse worth about $35. He secured a tract of land and in due time his industry and perseverance were rewarded in the establishment of a good homestead. He was married Jan. 17, 1855, to Mrs. Elizabeth (Wilson) Stimpson, a native of his own country, and they became the parents of three children, - Joseph V., our subject, Sarah M. and James W. The daughter became the wife of Charles Hopper, of English birth, and a boot and shoe dealer in Jacksonville. They have six children - Thomas V., Effie, Fletcher, Lena, Clara Belle, and Freddie. James W. married Miss Emma L. Trotter, and is farming in this county.
The parents of our subject in about 1889, took up their residence in Jacksonville. They have been residents of this county for a period of forty-six years, and the father a goodly portion of this time has officiated as a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Joseph V., our subject, was married in Morgan County, this State, March 14, 1888, to Miss Effie L. Padget, who was born in Macoupin County, Ill., Nov. 1, 1864. She is the daughter of Joseph and Amanda Padget, the latter of whom died when Effie was but two years old. The father is still living in Macoupin County, where he is carrying on farming. Her only brother, Charles E., is a resident of Pendleton County, Mo.
Mr. and Mrs. Breckon are the parents of one child, a son, Paul, who was born Jan. 28, 1889. They are both members in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. B. has been Librarian for three years. Politically, he is a strong prohibitionist and a zealous worker in the cause of temperance. The young couple are very pleasantly situated, and an engraving of their home appears in this volume. They have plenty of this world's goods and are surrounded by hosts of friends.