| Portrait and biographical record of Christian County, Illinois : containing biographical
sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies of all the Governors of the
state, and of the Presidents of the United States. Chicago, Ill. : Lake City Pub. Co., 1893, p244.
Transcribed by Judy Rosella Edwards, 2007. |
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C. A. PRATER, an attorney of Edinburgh, and President of the Citizens' State Bank, is a native of Illinois.
He was born in Fayette County, January 21, 1851,
and is a son of Elisha and Nancy (Watkins) Prater. His father was born in Tennessee
in 1815, and was of Irish descent. In his native State he was reared upon a farm, and in 1840 emigrated to Fayette County, Ill., where he met and married Miss Watkins, her family having
there located in a very early day. In 1861, Mr. and Mrs. Prater came to Christian County, where the father died
in 1887, at the age of seventy-two years. His widow is still living in Edinburgh.
They were the parents of
nine children, five sons and four daughters, two of whom died in infancy. Louisa J. is now the wife of A. McCarty,
of Edinburgh; J. A. is living in
Taylorville; C.A. is the next
younger; Sarah J. is the wife of Henry Jenkins, of Centralia, Ill.; and Mary C. is the wife of W. W. Love, of Edinburgh.
Our subject is the fifth in order
of birth. When a lad of ten summers he came with his parents to Christian County. He began his education in the
district schools of Fayette County, and completed
it in this county. Upon the home farm he was reared to manhood, and to his father gave the benefit of his services
until twenty-four years of age, when he began teaching in the district schools, which profession he followed for
a period of seven years. During that time he began studying law, and pursued his researches in that direction with
a law firm in Springfield. After thorough preparation
he was admitted to the Bar, in January, 1882, and at once entered upon the practice of his chosen profession. Locating
in Edinburgh, he has here since made
his home and has been numbered among its leading attorneys.
In 1877, Mr. Prater was united
in marriage with Miss Martha J. Finley, a native of Christian County, Ill. Their union has been blessed with one
son, Lyman, who is still with his parents. In his political views, Mr. Prater is a Democrat,
has served as Justice of the Peace and has held other local offices. In his social relations he is connected with
Edinburgh Lodge No. 631, I. 0. O. F., of Edinburgh,
and is a member of the Christian Church. He possesses skill and ability as a lawyer and has secured a large number
of clients. The liberal patronage which he receives is well merited, for he takes rank among the prominent leading
practitioners of. the community. He is also President of the Citizens' State Bank, and is recognized as an enterprising,
progressive and public-spirited citizen of Edinburgh.
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