JOSEPH C. ELLSWORTH
Page 251
JOSEPH C. ELLSWORTH
Page 251
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JOSEPH C. ELLSWORTH, a successful agriculturalist residing on section 20, Forest City Township, Mason County, is the son of William and Sarah (Medaris) Ellsworth, the former a native of Virginia, born March 24, 1797, and the latter a native of North Carolina, born October 24, 1795. The parents were married in Ohio January 21, 1819, after which they settled in Shelby County upon a tract of unimproved land. There the father built and operated two sawmills. Coming to Illinois in the fall of 1843 William Ellsworth settled in Lewistown, Fulton County, where he sojourned for five years. In 1849 he came to Havana and remained in Forest City Township until his death, October 14, 1867. His wife had passed away five days before his demise. Their family consisted of nine children, of whom the following six now survive: T. H., J. C., W. E., S. R., J. F., and J. M., the eldest seventy-three, and the youngest sixty years of age. For over forty years the parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, after which they united with the Wesleyan Church, and the father was licensed to preach in the latter denomination. In Shelby County, Ohio, January 1, 1823, the subject of this notice was born and there he was educated in the pioneer log schoolhouse. In addition to gaining a practical knowledge of agriculture in his youth, he also gained some knowledge of the trades of a carpenter and miller. Accompanying his parents to Illinois, he remained with them until 1846. On the 2d of November of that year he married Cynthia, daughter of Charles and Hester (DeFord) Wheeler, the former a native of Pennsylvania and a soldier in the War of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler were married in Ohio and settled in Richland County, where he improved a farm. In 1836 they came to Illinois and settled in Fulton County, where they were early settlers. There Mrs. Wheeler died in 1839, and the father subsequently made his home with his children until his death, September 15, 1865. Mrs. Ellsworth is one of seven children, of whom the survivors besides herself are Charles, Mrs. Sarah Grigsby and John. One of her brothers, Jacob, was Captain of Company K, Seventeenth Illinois Infantry, and served for a period of three years. In an engagement in Missouri he was seriously wounded, being shot through the cheek, mouth and back of the head. However, he recovered his strength and afterward gained considerable prominence as a leader in the Republican party of his section. For a time he was a member of the Illinois State Legislature and he also held the position of Internal Revenue Collector. At his death he left a widow and six children. John Wheeler was also a soldier in the Union army, being a member of the Fifty-fifth Illinois Infantry, in which he served as Corporal. He was seriously wounded in the battle of Shiloh. His present home is in Fulton County, Ill. Mrs. Ellsworth was born in Richland County, Ohio, March 3, 1828, and received a good education in the schools of Fulton County, Ill. After his marriage our subject settled in Milton, Fulton County, whence in 1849 he came to Mason County and for one year resided in Havana Township. Returning to Fulton County, he made a brief sojourn there and in 1853 settled upon his present farm, which was then raw prairie land. At present it contains two hundred and forty acres. One hundred and twenty acres of this in finely improved land, and one hundred and twenty acres is timber land. The farm is located in Manito Township, is embellished with suitable and substantial buildings and forms one of the most valuable tracts in this locality. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Ellsworth has resulted in the birth of three children now living, namely: Ellen, wife of John O'Leary, of Bath, this county, and the mother or seven children; Amanda, who married Harmon Ellenberger and has six children; and Clark W., a resident of Nebraska, who married Ida Pierson and has two children. The children were the recipients of excellent educational advantages and are will informed and highly respected. Mr. Ellsworth is a Republican in politics and has been identified with that party since its organization. For nine years he has served as Road Commissioner and has also served as School Trustee and Director of School District No. 2. |