W. J. WYLDER. The life-labors of the subject of this notice have resulted in the accumulation of a good property, in the shape of a well-cultivated farm, which he has now owned for a period of nineteen years. He has convenient and substantial buildings, and his land, comprising 120 acres, has, under a course of careful cultivation, become exceedingly fertile and finely adapted to the growth of the richest products of Central Illinois. The homestead is pleasantly located on section 17, township 15, range 11, and the proprietor and his family are not only surrounded by all the comforts of life, but enjoy in a marked degree the respect of their neighbors.
Mr. Wylder came to this county in 1852, and for a time operated on rented land. He purchased 120 acres the year following on section 8 of this same township, and which he occupied from 1853 to 1869. Then selling out, he secured that upon which he now resides. He is a native of this State, having been born near Greenfield, in Greene County, March 4, 1831, and is the son of Wylie Wylder, a native of North Carolina, and whose people before him were Southerners. The paternal grandfather, Moses Wylder, it is believed, was a native of North Carolina, and he was one of a family of three sons and two daughters. He was of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Later he settled down to farming pursuits, and after his marriage and the birth of all his children by two wives, removed with his family to DeKalb County, East Tennessee, where his death took place when he had attained his fourscore years. His son, Wylie, the father of our subject, was his eldest born, the child of his first wife, who died when she was in her prime.
The father of our subject was reared to manhood in his native county, and was bred to farm pursuits. He married a maiden of his own neighborhood, Miss Temperance Melton, who was of Southern parentage and reared not far from the town of New Salem, N.C. Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Wylder, together with the Melton family, removed to DeKalb County, Tenn., and engaged in farming pursuits, as before. They lived there until after the birth of seven children, then, in the fall of 1830, made their way to Greene County, this State, and settled in the wilderness, five miles from any neighbor. Mr. Wylder took up a tract of Government land, from which he constructed a comfortable homestead, and, with the exception of three years spent in Texas, there passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1860, when he was a little over seventy-five years old. The wife and mother had departed this life when little past middle age.
The subject of this sketch was the eighth child of his parents, whose family consisted of six sons and five daughters, all of whom lived to mature years, and all, with one exception, were married. One son, Thomas N., enlisted as a Union soldier in Company K, 27th Illinois Infantry, and at the battle of Mission Ridge was shot through the leg and died in the hospital at Chattanooga, Tenn., at the age of twenty-seven years. One other brother died when six months old. W. J., our subject, remained a resident of his native county until reaching man's estate, and learned the trade of harness-making. He came a single man to this county, and in 1852 was married at the home of the bride, in Lynnville Precinct, to Miss Willmuth W. L. Jones. This lady was born in Howard County, Mo., and is the daughter of Joel and Nancy (Anderson) Jones, who were natives of Kentucky. This branch of the Jones family is of Welsh descent, while the Andersons trace their ancestry to Holland. The parents of Mrs. Wylder were reared and married in the Blue Grass State, whence they removed to Missouri, and in which State their two children - Mrs. Wylder and her sister Sarah - were born.
When the Jones family came to this county, they located on a tract of wild land, on section 16, township 15, range 11, where they established a permanent home, and where the parents resided until their demise. Mr. Jones was accidentally killed by a runaway horse, attached to a sleigh, from which he was thrown and received such injuries that he only survived a short time. He was then about fifty years of age. Mrs. Jones survived her husband until August, 1879, and died at the age of seventy-five years. Both were members of the Christian Church.
Mrs. Wylder was but a child when coming to this county. She was reared to womanhood under the parental roof, and attended the district school, while at the same time she was taught to make herself useful, and became an expert housekeeper. Of her union with out subject there is one child only, M. Anna, who was born in Greene County, this State, June 29, 1854, and is now the wife of Thomas Paschal. Mr. Paschal is the son of Coleman and Sarah (Street) Paschal, the former of whom died in Cass County when her son Thomas was four years old. The mother died ten years later, and thus at the age of fourteen years the boy was left to fight the battle of life singly and alone. He employed himself at whatever he could find to do until a youth of seventeen years, and then, the Civil War being in progress, enlisted as a Union soldier in Company F, 17th Illinois Infantry. He served one year, met the enemy in battle at Spanish Fort, and, escaping unharmed, received his honorable discharge.
Mr. Paschal, upon leaving the service came directly to this county, and has since made his home within its limits. Since his marriage, which occurred, Nov. 22, 1877, he has lived on this same farm, near his father-in-law, and the two families occupy a good position among the representative people of the county. Our subject, with his wife and children, is identified with the Christian Church, in which mr. Wylder is an Elder and Mr. Paschal a Deacon, attending services at Chapin. Both gentlemen, politically, are pronounced Republicans.