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 375-377; Transcribed by Margaret Rose Whitehurst
Marcus L. Tankesley, President and General Manager of the
White Oak Roller Mills, and President of the village board of Astoria,
stands among the foremost of the prominent business men who have
contributed so largely to the financial prosperity of this part of the
county. With true public spirit and characteristic liberality, he has
aided every enterprise that would in any way advance the welfare of the
community, promote the growth of the town, or improve its condition.
Our subject came of good old pioneer stock, and numbers among
his ancestry some of the early settlers of this State. He is himself a
native of Illinois, born in Scott County, June 1, 1844. His father,
Lawner B. Tankesley, was a native of Breckenridge County, Ky., and a
son of Charles Tankesley, who was born in South Carolina. The
great-grandfather of our subject was a wagon-master in the
Revolutionary War. The grandfather was reared and married in his native
State, taking as his wife Nancy Waters. He continued to make his home
in South Carolina until 1790, when he removed to Kentucky, and was a
pioneer of Breckenridge County. He bought a tract of timber land and
built a cabin in the wilderness where the Indians still made their
homes, and deer, bear and other wild animals roamed at will. He was
obliged to build pens of heavy logs to protect his pigs and calves from
the ravages of the bears. Mr. Tankesley lived in his Kentucky home
nearly forty years, and then, in 1828, left it to accompany his family
to the primeval wilds of Illinois, making the entire journey with a
team. He settled in that part of the State now known as Scott County,
where he entered a tract of Government land. He erected suitable
buildings, and there his death occurred at the ripe age of seventy-five
years. His wife lived to be eighty-three years old when she too passed
away.
The father of our subject was sixteen years old when his parents
came to Illinois. When the Black Hawk War broke out, though he had
scarcely attained manhood, he enlisted and did good service in helping
to drive the Indians from Northern Illinois. He was of a studious
thoughtful turn of mind, was ambitious to secure an education, and
making the best of his opportunities became quite learned. He commenced
teaching when he was in his teens and was one of the pioneer teachers
of Scott County, conducting a school in the winter season and the
remainder of the year engaging in farming. He made his home in Scott
County until nearly the time of his death, when a valued citizen and a
good man was removed from the community where he had so long made his
home. A short time before his demise, he went on a visit to his
daughter in Texas, and he died while with her in 1887. In early manhood
he married Margaret Ann Gillham. She died on the home farm in Scott
County when only thirty years of age. Mrs. Tankesley was a daughter of
Capt. William Gillham, who is thought to have been a native of North
Carolina. He removed from that State to Illinois, and was one of the
early settlers on the American Bottom, east of St. Louis. He lived
there a few years and then removed to Scott County, where he bought
land. He dealt quite extensively in live stock and accumulated a goodly
fortune for those days. He became one of the most prominent citizens of
the county. He was very active in its political life as a Whig, and
bore an important part in public affairs. He commanded a company in the
Black Hawk War and represented his county in the State Legislature. He
married Margaret McDow. His useful and honorable career was brought to
a close by his death at an advanced age and he was buried on his own
land.
Marcus Tankesley was very young when he had the sad misfortune
to lose his mother by her untimely death. He continued to live with his
father until he was seventeen years old, and was given the advantages
of an excellent education attending school quite steadily. He was
scarcely more than a boy when the war broke out. With a deep and
patriotic love of country inherited from his forefathers, he determined
to volunteer to fight for the old flag, and in August, 1861, he
enlisted in Company B, Twenty-seventh Illinois Infantry. Our gallant
young soldier took part in thirteen general engagements and among the
most important battles in which he fought we may mention Belmont,
Island No. 10 siege of Corinth, Stone River and Chickamauga. He was in
Sheridan's division at Missionary Ridge, Resaca, New Hope Church, and
Kenesaw Mountain. His brave soldierly qualities, his fidelity in
discharging the duties that fell to his position and his general
trustworthiness gained him the good opinion of his superiors and made
his war record a creditable one. After more than three years of
experience of a hard life on the Southern battlefields, he was
honorably discharged from the service at Springfield, September 20,
1864, and returned home to his rejoicing friends.
In 1865 Mr. Tankesley, ambitious to secure a better education,
attended school in Springfield, and for a year closely applied himself
to his studies there. After that he entered the employ of the Chicago
& Alton Railroad, as a station agent and telegraph operator. Later,
he was with the Wabash Railroad Company in the same capacity. In 1870
he went to the territories in the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad
to assist in building a line of telegraph wires. At that time Western
Nebraska, Western Kansas and Colorado were practically unsettled, and
deer, antelope, elk and buffalo were plenty on the plains, where
thriving towns have since sprung up. Our subject stayed four months in
the West, and on his return to Illinois became station agent and
operator in the employ of the Rockford, Rock Island & St. Louis
Railroad Company. Seven years later he resigned that position in order
to give attention to the manufacture of flour with W. H. Emerson. They
built the White Oak Roller Mills, and our subject has since devoted
himself to the management of the big business that he and his partner
have under their control. They have their mills supplied with all the
most approved machinery, and have a large capacity for making flour of
a fine quality.
Mr. Tankesley and Miss Anna Bailey, a native of New Orleans,
were married in 1869. They have five children: Emma, Roy, Fred, Walter
and Wade. Their home is attractive and within it hospitality reigns
supreme, the pleasant, womanly hostess and courteous, kindly host
always extending a cordial welcome to any who cross its threshold.
No man has done more for the upbuilding of Astoria and its
general improvement than our subject, who has proved a valuable
acquisition to the citizenship of this locality. His prompt and
methodical business habits, good financial talent and tact in the
management of affairs have brought him before the public as a desirable
civic official, and as President of the Village Board of Trustees he is
pushing forward the interests of his adopted home with characteristic
ability. He is a man of much decision of character and intelligent and
pronounced views on all subjects, particularly in the matter of
politics, acting with the Democratic party.
