BAXTER, ALBERT CRUM, A.B., M.D. - Persistent effort along one line, when intelligently directed, is certain to bring a measure of success, and in nothing is this more true than in medicine. Even the most intelligent physician and surgeon of today finds it necessary to continue his studies and reading in order to keep abreast of the times, and one who has succeeded to an unusual degree is Dr. Albert Crum Baxter, of Springfield, who, for some years, has been a representative member of the medical profession in Sangamon County. He was born October 9, 1800, at Literberry, Morgan County, Ill., a son of Hiram Bennett and Ellen (Crum) Baxter.

James Baxter, who founded the family in America, came from his native place, County Tyrone, Ireland, during the American Revolution, and located at Pittsburgh, Pa. After his arrival he married Rebecca Riddle, who was born at Berlin, Germany, so that Dr. Baxter springs from sturdy stock on both sides. Later, James Baxter moved to Ohio, selecting as his home the present site of the city of Dayton, and there his son, William Baxter, was born August 1, 1804. In 1815 the Baxter family came still further west, making the trip down the Ohio River in a flatboat to Madison, and in that neighborhood, in 1828, William Baxter was married to Jane Kerr, a daughter of Josiah Kerr, a Scotchman who had come to this locality about the same year as the Baxters. The first home of the newly married couple was a one-room, one-story round log house, equipped with a door and window, a puncheon floor and stick-and-mud chimney. No nails were used in building this primitive cabin, weights being used in conjunction with poles to hold the roof in place, while the door was fastened with wooden pins. After many years spent in this house, Mr. Baxter replaced it with a large stone structure built from stone from his own quarries, and it is still in excellent repair. The children born to William Baxter and wife were twelve in number, ten sons and two daughters, and seven of these sons served their country as soldiers during the Civil war.

Hiram Bennett Baxter, the sixth son of William Baxter, was one of those who served as a soldier, and he was born September 22, 1840. Enlisting as a private in Company K. Twenty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, he rose to the rank of captain, taking part in the campaigns of the Army of the Cumberland, and his company was in the front on the memorable march of General Sherman's forces to the sea. Twice wounded, he served until 1865, when he was honorably discharged. Of the seven sons who were soldiers, no two were in the same regiment or same battle, and the Baxter family was the only one in this section that sent so large a contingent to prove its patriotism. In 1866 Captain Baxter came t Morgan County, Ill., and followed various callings, including teaching school, conducting a general store at Literberry, and filling contracts for a railroad company. Becoming interested in agricultural matters, he began farming in 1881, near Ashland, Ill., and now owns 1,707 acres of very valuable land. He is not a member of any church, but contributes liberally to religious work. On October 4, 1876, Captain Baxter was married to Lydia Ellen Crum, a daughter of Abram Alvin Crum, of Literberry. The paternal grandparents and parents of Mrs. Baxter came from Kentucky and southern Indiana in 1831 to Morgan County, Ill., and secured land from the government at $1.25 per acre. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Baxter were of the Buchanan and Liter families, of English and German origin, respectively, and they came from Virginia to Illinois in 1832. Mrs. Baxter passed away March 26, 1907, having had two sons: Albert Crum Baxter, and William Abram Baxter, the latter being on a farm in Cass County.

Albert Crum Baxter, after attending the schools of his district, in 1897,m entered Whipple Academy, at Jacksonville, from which he was graduated in 1900, and then took a literary course at Illinois College. In 1903 he began the study of medicine in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and was graduated from its medical department in 1907. With the degree of M.D., having previously obtained his degree of A.B., in 1904, from the literary department. He belonged to the Phi Beta Pi fraternity, the Gynecological staff, and the Phagocytes. In order to secure experience, Dr. Baxter was connected with the Morgan Hospital, of New York City, during the summer and fall of 1906, but in the winter of that same year came back to Illinois, and located at Springfield, where he has developed an excellent practice.

On April 15, 1908, Mr. Baxter was married at Beacon, Mich., to Miss Ethel J. Mitchell, born in Michigan, a daughter of Joseph and Janet (Wassley) Mitchell, natives of England. Dr. Baxter is a Knight Templar Mason, and also belongs to Springfield Consistory, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and Ansar Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, being one of its officers. He belongs to such leading professional bodies as the American Chemical Society, the Sangamon County and Illinois Medical Societies, and the American Medical Association. Politically he is a Republican.