HENRY G. MARTIN. - Henry G. Martin, who follows general farming and also engages extensively in threshing, makes his home on section 1, Mechanicsburg township. A native son of Ohio, his birth occurred in Athens county, September 12, 1853. His grandfather was Samuel Martin, his parents Caleb and Clarinda (Graham) Martin, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The father was a farmer of Athens county and died there in 1856, when his only child, Henry G., was but three years of age. The mother afterward married William Brake, of Athens county, and is now living in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Reared in his native state, Henry G. Martin acquired a fair English education in the public schools and when fourteen years of age began earning his own living by working as a farm hand and in the coal mines. He was employed in the latter way for about eleven years, most of the time in Ohio. After his marriage he turned his attention to farming, and removing to Iowa he purchased land in Vinton county, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits for several years. In the fall of 1882 he came to Sangamon county, settling near buffalo where he rented a farm upon which he lived for several years. In 1896 he purchased his present property, comprising eighty acres on section 1, Mechanicsburg township, near Dawson, and has since made it his home. In connection with this tract he cultivates a quarter section of the Sully land, so that his attention is given to the operation of two hundred and forty acres. He is practical and progressive in his farming methods and excellent results have attended his efforts. Since 1886 he has engaged in threshing. In that year he became the owner of a steam thresher and he nos operates three threshing machines, one of which he has recently purchased. During the harvest season his services in this direction are in constant demand for miles throughout the surrounding country, and he thus adds materially to his income each year.

In Athens county, Ohio, Mr. Martin was married, February 24, 1876, to Miss Mary Wadley, a native of that county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Martin have been born two children: Maude, the wife of Cloyd Goodner, of Dawson; and Charles Leslie, a young man, at home. The parents and children are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Martin belongs to the Odd Fellows society at Berkley and with his wife is connected with the Rebekah lodge there. He is likewise identified with the Red Men and the Modern Woodmen and his wife with the Royal Neighbors. Politically Mr. Martin supports the Democracy when questions of national importance are involved, but at local elections votes independently. His life has been characterized by industry and crowned with success. Dependent upon his own resources from the age of fourteen years, he has won prosperity through determined and honorable effort and has also gained an untarnished name.