Following is one of the Biographies and Stories which where gathered by Charles Sumner McKamy in the 1950s for publication in a Crawford County History Book. Unfortunately he passed away before the book was published.
Fred Fulling, son of John Fulling and Effie E. Fulling, born on his fathers farm southeast of Palestine, Ill. in 1881. His Father came to Palestine in 1850. My parents were married in 1879 and to this union only one son, myself, was born. My Mother's maiden name was Effie E. Browning.
I was reared on the home place, attending school at Centenial and the Palestine schools. I was married to Nettie E. Richey in the year 1904 and to this union was born one son, Bryl C. Fulling. He married Dorthy C. Nigh and to them were born six children, five boys and one girl.
During my entire life I have been an active farmer and live-stock businessman on our 600 acre farm near Palestine. I was a stockholder and Director, and was elected President of the Palestine State Bank in 1933.
My Grandfather, Henry Fulling, Sr. was born on May 18, 1824 in Germany, where he received a military training in their school, coming to this country from Bremen, Germany by vessel landing in Baltimore about the year 1840 and from there he went to Cincinnati, where he worked for some time and from there to Terre Haute, later coming to Palestine on the hunt for his brother, Fred, (spending his first night near Palestine in a corn shock) whom he found at John Huston's. His brother took him to the Finley Paul farm where he secured work. He and Cullen Wilson herded cattle on the land where the Big Four depot now stands in the year 1849. In that year he married Samine McColpin and to that union were born two sons, John and Henry, Jr. and two daughters, Mary, who married George L. Wesner, and Sarah Postlewaite, wife of Alva S. Postlewaite. Through industry and thrifty habits he soon began doing business for himself buying small tracts of land each year as he could until he had accumulated quite a fortune and with the aid of his sons he continued in business under the firm name of Henry Fulling and sons, until two or three years before his death in his 84th year, on Feb. 2, 1909.