Sangamon County, Illinois Biographies

Winfield S. Collins
WINFIELD S. COLLINS, attorney; civil engineer; county and prosecuting attorney Big Horn county; (Rep.); b. March 30, 1848, Mechanicsburg, Ohio; s. of Horace W. and Juliette (Sattley) Collins; educ. pub. schls. Johnson county, Iowa; grad (C. E.) Iowa State Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa, 1876; taught winter schools while going to college and studied law; studied law, Springfield, Ills., 1877, and taught school same time; admitted to practice, June, 1879; practiced in Springfield, Ills., 1880-2; res. in Nebraska, 1882-5; located at Fort Fetterman, nr. Douglas, Wyoming, fall of 1885; one of the first settlers and the first law practitioner in Douglas, 1886.7; removed to what is now Big Horn county, Wyoming, 1887: first one to drill for oil in Big Horn county, at Bonanza, 1888; engaged in surveying and civil engineering, 1888.92; took filings on lands for settlers, surveyed their ditches, secured permits for water, and took final proofs until 1896; surveyed townsite of Basin, 1896, under U. S. Townsite laws, and secured the county seat of Big Horn county; organized Big Horn County Bank, 1898; director same bank, 1898-1902; 1903 began organization of The Big Horn Canal Co.; financed and became manager and president same. 1905-8; located Big Horn Fuel Co. fields, 1908; has practiced law in Basin since; county surveyor, Brown county, Nebraska, 1882-5; appt U. S. Commissioner, (only one in Big Horn Basin) 1892-8; county and prosecuting attorney, Big Horn county, 1899-1903 and appointed to same office, 1913-15; elected same office, 1915-17; first mayor of the town of Basin; mem. I. O. O. F.; Elks; M. W. of A.; Eagles. Address: Basin. Wyoming.
["Men of Wyoming: The National Newspaper Reference Book of Wyoming Containing Photographs and Biographies of Over Three Hundred Men Residents", 1915 – TK - Transcribed by FOFG]

Chesteen D. Cooper
*CHESTEEN D COOPER was born in Sangamon County Illinois, November 08, 1845, a son of Isaac and Kezia Cooper. He married Miss Sarah J Glaze, daughter of Christian and Susan Glaze, January 06, 1870. They have nine children: Minnie M, born November 04, 1870, now Mrs. C.D. Thompson; Lola, June 26, 1873, now Mrs. Thomas Elz; Issac, August 06, 1875; Amanda E, August 29, 1877, now Mrs. E.J. Betts; Sarah A, October 30, 1879, now Mrs. John Myers; *Chesten D, December 21, 1881; Oscar W, August 05, 1885; *Elza S., July 26, 1888; and James 1, July 07, 1893. They also reared one child, a nephew, Edward S. Blair, born August 27, 1888. The children are all living, and all married except James I. Mr. Cooper farmed in Illinois till the spring of 1874. He then came to Adair County, where he has since lived continuously on the farm he now owns. It consists of 120 acres, two and one half-miles northeast of Adair. He also now owns an interest in 126 acres of land in the same neighborhood. Mr. Cooper and his family are members of the Christian church. He is a loyal Democrat. Mrs. Cooper was born in Brown County, Ohio May 24, 1852, a daughter of Christian and Susan Glaze.
[* Signifies that the spelling is exactly how it was in the original source.]
[Source: "The History of Adair County Missouri", by E.M. Violette (1911) - JR - Sub by FoFG]