Toland, Cephas bio

History of Fulton County, Illinois; together with Sketches of its Cities, Villages and Townships, Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History; Portraits of Prominent Persons and Biographies of Representative Citizens. Chas. C. Chapman & Co., Peoria, Illinois, 1879, page 931-932, Vermont Township
Cephas Toland, retired merchant, was born in Washington Co., Pa., in 1816. his father, James T., also a native of Pa., a farmer, married Margaret McWhirter, who died when Cephas was in his 6th year. The latter then lived with an uncle until 14 years old, when he for years followed the tannery business. Fire destroyed his establishment in Alexandria, Va. He came, in 1840, to McDonough Co., Ill., where he taught school, and the following year he commenced business in a tannery in Vermont, and then with Enos Moneyhon in this place he entered the dry-goods, and grocery business; they dissolved partnership in a few months, and Mr. T. entered partnership with J. H. Hughes and W. B. Wright in the same business, adding the grain trade, and after some time Mr. T. became a partner of John Shaffer, located at Sharpe’s Landing, and did a large business shipping grain. The warehouse burned down, and Mr. T. went into the stock trade and succeeded well. In 1866 he became a member of the firm of Toland, Sidwell & Douglas, Vermont, and three years afterward retired to a farm of 320 acres which he had previously purchased. He married America Anderson in Vermont, in 1843.