JORDAN, WILLIAM HARRISON , for many years a prosperous and substantial farmer in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., but now leading a life of retirement, was born on a farm six miles northwest of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., May 20, 1840. He is the son of William Scott and Eliza (Hill) Jordan. The family history covers a century spent on Illinois soil, and chiefly in Morgan County. Sometime between 1784 and 1800, the grandfather of William H. Jordan came from Union, S.C., and settled on land now included in St. Clair County. Mr. Jordan's uncle served in the War of 1812. His father, William Scott Jordan, was born in what is now St. Clair County, May 10, 1803. After a short time spent in Pike County, Mo., he came to Jacksonville and located near where the old Berean College stood. In 1830 he married Eliza B. Hill, who was born in Pennsylvania, January 17, 1807. In 1832, he was a soldier in the Black Hawk War. Throughout his long life in Morgan County, he was a very active member of the Ebenezer Church, in which he was Sunday-school Superintendent for forty years. He was widely known for his sterling Christian character and kindly generosity, his useful life coming to an end November 17, 1878.

Mr. Jordan received his early mental training in the public schools, and assisted his father in the management of the farm until the outbreak of the Civil War. He then enlisted in Company G, of the "Duncan Rangers," mustered in as the First Regiment Missouri Volunteer Cavalry. He was injured in the charge at Sugar Creek, and, after serving through the battle of Pea Ridge, was discharged in 1862, at Batesville, Ark. He returned home, and, after recovering from his injuries, began farming on rented land, subsequently spending several years in the cattle business. In 1899 he removed to Jacksonville, where he has since resided.

On October 8, 1867, Mr. Jordan was united in marriage to Mary Grund, of Beardstown, Ill., a daughter of Philip and Rosa (Riffer) Grund, early settlers of Cass County. The following children resulted from this union, namely: Henry Philip, who was born July 12, 1868, and died October 5, 1869; Horace Chamberlain, of Jacksonville, born in 1870; Clara E., who was born November 27, 1871, and is the wife of John A. Baschal, of Markham, Ill.; Arthur H., who was born July 10, 1874, and died March 13, 1899; and Ernest Grund, of Jacksonville, born January 11, 1877.

Politically, Mr. Jordan has been a lifelong Republican of the most earnest type. In the noted campaign of 1882 he was a candidate for County Commissioner of Morgan County, and, although the county ordinarily gives a large Democratic majority, he was defeated by only twelve votes. Fraternally, Mr. Jordan is identified with Matt Star Post, G.A.R.