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WILLIAM LAFAYETTE IGOU, who owns and operates a farm of two hundred and thirty-seven acres on section 34, adjoining
Grove City, is one of the substantial citizens of Mt. Auburn Township. He is a native of the Prairie State, and
has passed nearly his entire life in Christian County. His birth occurred August 11, 1851. His parents, Joseph
and Frances (Day) Igou, were natives of Ohio and Virginia,
respectively. The father was born in Champaign County,
and when a young man came to Illinois with his father, becoming one of the pioneers of Christian County. It was
in this State that his marriage with Miss Day was celebrated. She was only a child when she came to this locality,
and here she was reared and educated. For a number of years Mr. Igou devoted himself to farming, but in 1885 he
went to Dakota, where he spent the remaining years of his life, passing away in 1891. His wife is still living
and now resides Oshkosh, Oklahoma, I. T.
The subject of this notice spent his youth in the county of his birth, and on account of limited educational facilities
was obliged to rely upon his own resources in the acquisition of an education. At the age of eighteen years he
left home and went to work on a farm, continuing to hire out by the month for over three years. During this time
he carefully kept his means and purchased a small tract of land. For ten years he rented a farm, after which he
bought a farm of forty acres, on which he located. He still continued as a renter also, and in a few years was
able to purchase an adjoining forty acres. This property he still owns and occupies and has greatly improved and
placed under good cultivation. He has erected a good substantial house and set out a thrifty orchard. In the fall
of 1892, he became the owner of one hundred and fifty-seven and a-half acres, adjoining Grove City. This is a well-improved
and valuable farm, both on account of its situation and fertility. There are a pleasant residence, large barns
and a well-trimmed osage hedge upon the place. It is also
divided into forty-acre fields by means of this same useful hedge.
The 24th of August, 1875, was an eventful day in the life of Mr. Igou, for at that time Miss Martha Jane Gideon
was united in marriage with him. Mrs. Igou is a native of the Old Dominion, but was reared in this county. Her
father, Frank Gideon, is now a resident of Indiana. Mr. and Mrs.
Igou are consistent members of the Grove City Methodist Episcopal Church, of which the former is one of the Trustees.
In regard to the question of politics, Mr. Igou is well known as a true friend to the Republican party, and is
a patriotic citizen, in all that term implies. He is a member of the School Board, and upholds all educational
measures to the extent of his ability. He is a public-spirited man, and takes an active part in everything calculated
to serve the good of the people.
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