SPENCER GIBBS, retired farmer, Sec. 11; P. O. Middletown; the grandfather of Spencer Gibbs was an emigrant from England, and, on his arrival in this country, settled in Delaware, and, with his son Stephen (father of Spencer), worked in the well-known powder-mills of Dupont, the old gentleman superintending the work; from there they went to Baltimore, Md., to superintend the running of the powder-mills of James Beatty, of that city; in that place, Sept. 16, 1825, Spencer Gibbs was born; his mother's maiden name was Mary Ellis; she died in 1842; in the fall of 1839, the grandfather and his sons came West and located in different parts of Menard Co., Ill.; Stephen Gibbs settled near Athens and remained two years, when he removed to Irish Grove, where he lived and followed farming until his death, which occurred in 1876. The subject of this sketch passed his early life on his father's farm; at 17 years of age, he was apprenticed to the blacksmith trade; this business he has followed, together with farming, all his life. He was married to Louisa Alkire Dec. 24, 1845; she was born in Menard Co. March 28, 1827; her father, John Alkire, was one of the first settlers of Sugar Grove; from this union there were five children, three of whom are now living - William R., born July 24, 1847; Charles, June 27, 1851; Laura, Aug. 10, 1868; the names of those deceased are Lavina, born April 6, 1849, died May 17, 1849, and John, born Feb. 7, 1855, died in early life. Mrs. Gibbs died Oct. 14, 1878. Mr. Gibbs' habits of earnest thought and thorough investigation have led him to take a decided stand in regard to the issues of the day; he was an Old Line Whig, and cast his first vote for Zachary Taylor; on the organization of the Republican party he joined it. He owns 103 acres of land, and is emphatically a self-made man.

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