THOMAS B. CULLY is one of the younger generation that has grown up since this county has been settled, and who have inherited their fathers' homesteads. The farm upon which Mr. Cully is now residing was located by his father very early in the history of Morgan County, about 1834, and is situated on section 36 of township 16, range 11, and consists of 170 acres of average Illinois prairie land, which means as good as there is under the sun.

Mr. Cully's father, Joshua Cully, bought this place when it was partially improved. He came here from his native State (Indiana), where he was reared to manhood and married, and after the birth of two children came to Morgan County. He came overland with teams, and located on the farm that Joshua Cully had previously selected. After the selection was made Mr. Cully sent for his wife and children. About a year after they came to Morgan County Mrs. Cully died, while in the prime of life, leaving two children, one of whom, Elizabeth, died at the age of forty-five years, and left two children, her husband having died before her. The living child of Mr. Cully by his first marriage is J. M. Cully, now a resident of Kansas, where he is engaged in farming. Joshua Cully married for his second wife Miss Mary E. Shartzar. She was born in Virginia of German ancestry, and was quite young when her parents removed from Virginia to Illinois, where they located in township 15, range 11, near the County Poor Farm, and there her parents died. Her father was a very successful farmer, and was well liked by his neighborhood. Joshua Cully was fortunate in his selection of a wife, and together they built up a good home and a most excellent reputation. Mr. Cully was born in the first year of this century, and died in 1859. His wife survived him, passing away in 1881, when she was sixty-seven years of age. The house that was built by his father and mother is owned by Thomas B. Cully, and by him is held in reverence. In this country people think too little of old landmarks, and the march that is being made toward riches is never stopped, nor even obstructed for a moment, by any of the old monuments that ought to be retained for the associations that cluster around them. The old log cabin, in which the early struggles of our fathers and mothers were made, ought to be preserved as a precious relic of the heroic days when it cost something to be resident of Illinois.

Thomas B. Cully is the second child of eight children, five sons and three daughters. All the daughters and two of the sons are now dead. William W. and John J. are now residents of Morgan county, where Thomas B. was reared and educated. He was married here to Mary E. Angel, who was also a native of Morgan County, and was born in 1847. She is the daughter of John Angel, whose biography appears in another part of this Album. Mrs. Cully had the advantage of being trained to womanhood by careful, conscientious, and intelligent parents. She is the mother of eight children: Ida M., Thomas H., James O., Nellie C., Johanna, Elmer and Albert (Twins), and Frank.

Since their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cully have lived on the farm which they now own and occupy, and where they have scored a great success in life. They are members of the Methodist Church, an organization in which they take a great deal of interest. Politically, Mr. Cully is an ardent Democrat, and has held about all the local offices.