ROHRER, ALBERT , retired farmer, residing in Waverly, Morgan County, Ill., and ex-President of the Bank of Waverly, was born March 16, 1830, the son of Jonathan and Mary (Traughber) Rohrer, natives of Logan County, Ky. In the fall of 1827, Jonathan Rohrer removed from Kentucky to Illinois, and located on 240 acres of Government land, which cost him $1.25 per acre. His signal success as a farmer is manifest in the fact that previous to his decease, he was the owner of 1,400 acres of very productive land, which he divided among this children, besides leaving them $45,000 in money. At the age of fourteen years Jonathan Rohrer learned the trade of a coppersmith, but never engaged in that occupation. His life was devoted to farming and stock-raising. He was the father of seven children, as follows: Elizabeth, wife of M. S. Kennedy; Albert, Milton S., and John Wesley, deceased; Mary C., widow of Bartley G. Pugh; and Louisa, wife of William Fletcher. The father of this family united with the Methodist Church while living in Kentucky, and although not connected with any religious denomination after settling Illinois, led an exemplary Christian life. He died on February 17, 1879, and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Traughber, passed away March 25, 1879.

In his early youth Albert Rohrer received his mental training in the country schools and the public schools of Waverly, Ill. He began life for himself on a farm of 120 acres, which was a gift from his father, and through the same industry, steadfastness of purpose, economy, preserverance and integrity which dominated the life of that honored parent, accumulated 1,260 acres of land, divided into four farms. This is the outcome of thirty years of diligent and successful effort as a farmer and stock-feeder. Mr. Rohrer was one of the original stockholders on the Jacksonville & St. Louis and the Eastern & Bluff Line Railroads, and he has been active in the promotion of all worthy enterprises in his section of the county. He was also one of the founders of the Bank of Waverly, organized in 1877, serving for several years as one of its Directors, and was its President when the institution was compelled to suspend, through losses occasioned in connection with some of its most important investments. The bank was sponsor for a mill at Waverly, which became heavily involved on account of mismanagement of its affairs, and when its doors were closed, August 11, 1898, Mr. Rohrer, together with several others interested in the institution, found themselves on the verge of financial ruin.

On October 18, 1855, Mr. Rohrer was united in marriage with Jane C. Knowles, a daughter of Burton Knowles, and a native of Indiana. At the age of fourteen years she was brought by her parents to Menard County, Ill. Three children have resulted from this union, namely: Albert Lee, who died in infancy; Newton B., of Waverly, Ill.; and Mary Emma, wife of James E. Hutchinson, of Kansas City, Mo., Superintendent of a division of the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad.

In politics, Mr. Rohrer is a firm Democrat, but, although attending strictly to his duties as a citizen, has never sought political preferment. For many years, however, he served his township as School Director. Religiously, he has been an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for more than fifty-seven years. He donated the land on which Rohrer Chapel is located, and contributed $700 toward its construction. He has also assisted financially in the erection of several other churches in his section. He has lived a busy, useful and dutiful life, and his declining years are solaced by the consciousness that he transmits to his posterity an unblemished name.