Portrait and Biographical Album of Fulton County,
Illinois: containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of
prominent and representative citizens of the county: together with
portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States,
and governors of the state; Biographical Pub. Co., Chicago, IL; 1890;
page 726-727; Transcribed by Margaret Rose Whitehurst
Rev. Charles W. Sanders. Of the good citizens and
professional men of Fulton County, none is more worthy of note than the
Rev. C. W. Sanders. He is identified with the ministry of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church, and is also connected with the farming
interest of this section of the State. He has his home on section
10, Joshua Township, on one of the finest improved farms in the
vicinity. He was a Chaplain in the late Civil War, and not only
did he minister to the spiritual wants and the bodily sufferings of the
noble soldiers who came under his care, but he was often found in the
ranks bravely fighting by their side in the heat of battle in defense
of their common county.
The parents of our subject were Israel and Elizabeth
Sanders. They were natives of Lycoming County, Pa., and were born
October 9, 1806, and April 13, 1807, respectively. They died in
the month of June, 1889, thus rounding out long and useful lives, that
were united in death as in life. The blood of three nations ran
in the veins of the ancestors of our subject, who is derived from
mingled German, English and Scotch stock. He was born December
26, 1828, near Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pa. He has six
brothers and one sister living who are scattered in different
localities in various States of the Union. Strictly speaking, Mr.
Sanders is a self-made man. Before the system of common schools
was established in Pennsylvania, he sought the means of procuring books
so that he could inform himself; and he attended the subscription
schools in the neighborhood of his birth. These were, however,
often very inadequate in their teachings, as the instructors were
oftentimes unlearned. He became a member of what was known as the
Franklin Lyceum, at Hughesville, Pa., a literary institution that
developed his faculty in extemporaneous speaking. It was
patronized by the best young men in that locality, some of whom are
still living and occupying honorable and responsible positions in
various walks in life.
Mr. Sanders was married to a Miss Speck, of Lycoming County,
January 1, 1851. After marriage he decided to follow the
profession of dentistry, and began his studies with a competent
preceptor at Hughesville, Pa. After acquiring a thorough
knowledge of the calling he carried on business up to the time of his
enlistment in the army. The income that he derived from the
practice of dentistry afforded him an opportunity to prepare for the
ministry, for which he had a decided taste and inclination. He
entered upon his theological studies, and after four years began his
career as a minister in the position of chaplain of the One Hundred and
Thirty-first Pennsylvania Infantry, which was enlisted for a period of
nine months, he receiving his appointment on the 1st of August,
1862. After the expiration of his term of enlistment he was
reappointed to the same office August 4, 1864, in the Two Hundred and
Eighth Pennsylvania Infantry, which was enlisted for a period of twelve
months. He not only attended to his duties as a chaplain, but his
patriotic spirit was aroused and he aided in fighting the enemy.
He took part in the battles of Fredericksburg and Petersburg, and
fought in other engagements. After the expiration of one year
Chaplain Sanders was honorably discharged on account of sickness and
disability, and resigning his office he returned to his home at Selin’s
Grove, Pa.
The Rev. Mr. Sanders did not continue to reside in his native
State very long after the close of the war, but in November, 1865, came
to this county, with his family. In the same fall he took charge
of the Evangelical Lutheran pastorate at Canton, and within the space
of fourteen months succeeded in building three Lutheran Churches.
Aside from being an interesting and eloquent divine, he is known
extensively as a great church organizer, and has performed great work
in this line in Fulton County and elsewhere. After resigning his
pastorate in Canton, he took charge of several societies in the county,
which he had been instrumental in establishing, and he still continues
in the ministry. He was elected delegate by the Northern Illinois
Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, to the General Synod of that
denomination which convened at Harrisburg, Pa., September 4, 1865.
The following is recorded of the children born to Mr. and Mrs.
Sanders: Marilla was born August 30, 1854; Cora Alice, May 31,
1856; Kirtz, May 12, 1858; Charles W., Jr., March 18, 1863; Eugenia,
June 24, 1866; Lzzie, June 10, 1868; William, January 12, 1877.
Three of the children are married, and the remainder are at home with
the parents.
Mr. Sanders owns a valuable farm of eighty acres in Joshua
Township, which is under a high state of cultivation and has
first-class improvements. He is highly esteemed by his neighbors
as an able and upright minister and as an honorable citizen.
