J. W. FULLER AND J. E. LUFKIN

Union County Illinois Genealogy Trails

Transcribed and submitted by Darrel Dexter

THEY NURSED THE ILLINOIS CENTRAIL INTO LIFE

J. E. Lufkin and J. W. Fuller, 92 and 90, both of Anna, Ill.

J. E. LUFKIN                                        J. W. FULLER


Helped Build Line in 1852 near Cairo
    At Anna, Ill., reside John E. Lufkin and James W. Fuller, who were among the first employees of the Illinois Central Railroad.  Both worked on the construction of the right-of-way at the southern end of the charter lines near Cairo, as early as 1852.  Both are still active at present, although one is in the nineties and the other almost as old.
    Mr. Lufkin was born March 23, 1830, on a farm near New Gloucester, Me.  When he was 18 years old, many railroads were being constructed in this country.  He worked on several in the East at 50 cents a day and board, and even at that age was foreman of a gang of graders.  Gradually, he worked his way westward because the possibilities loomed greater to him.
    In 1852 he learned that the Illinois Central was in need of men for the construction of its line between Centralia and Cairo.  The romance of the frontier had gripped his heart.  He decided to make the long journey to the new field which looked most promising to him.
    There was much wilderness between him and his goal, and there were few cut paths to follow.  Travel in those days was indeed a hardship, and it required days to make what we would not call a short journey.  The rivers offered the least resistance to travelers, and when a long trip was to be made, they were the usual means of getting there.

Helped Build the Roadbed
    Mr. Lufkin traveled down the Ohio River until he reached Cairo, then up the Mississippi to a place called Willard’s Landing.  Ware station is in that locality now.  He brought his river journey to an end there, and traveled overland to Jonesboro.  On his arrival there, he was placed in charge of a gang of men, and sent north of Cobden to construct the roadbed of the Illinois Central.  Anna, his present home, was not then in existence.  He was foreman of that gang with their wheelbarrows for two years.  At the end of that time, the rails were put in place, and train service started.
    Mr. Lufkin was given a position as conductor on a train between Cairo and Centralia.  Sam George was the only conductor, he says.  But business was not good soon after that, and the life of a conductor became much too tame for Mr. Lufkin.  He had lived the greater part of his life in the outdoors and could not bring himself to liking the quiet life.
    At his request, the superintendent, George Watson, took him off as conductor and made him roadmaster.  He served in this capacity between Cairo and Pana for ten years.  His salary was increased from $60 to $80 a month when he was made roadmaster.  During the time he was in this position, Marvin Hughitt was the assistant superintendent, and Colonel R. B. Mason was the chief engineer.  The latter was succeeded by General George B. McClellan, who was later called to the army during the Civil War.

Resigned after Eighteen Years
    Mr. Lufkin was in the service of the Illinois Central Railroad for eighteen years.  When he informed the officials that he intended to resign, they told him that he was in line for a promotion to trainmaster.  But Mr. Lufkin was eager to get into business for himself.  He wanted to settle down in one place where he could remain with his family.  The result was that he entered business in Anna.
    But business life eventually proved to be too tame.  He craved the open, even though he had now reached the age of 80.  he felt that all of his muscles were not being brought into play, and that he was gradually wasting away.  So he bought a 40-acre farm near Anna.  He planted fruit trees on his land.  Although the farm is about three miles from Anna, he often walks that distance to keep himself in trim.  He accustomed himself to long walks when he was roadmaster by plodding over the ties for miles each day.
    Mr. Lufkin will be 92 years old in March, and he insists that he is good for the century mark and more.  He always has a good word for the company.  He believes in it to the extent that he advised his son to enter the service.  This son, John Lufkin, is supervisor of signals at Grenada, Miss.

Traveled in an Ox-Cart
    Mr. Fuller, the other Illinois Central builder at Anna, was born in February 1832, at Skaneatelea, N.Y.  When he was 10 years old, his parents moved to Chicago, where they remained for one summer.  They then moved to Mount Vernon, Ill.  In 1852 the Fuller family moved to Union County and settled near the present site of Anna.  The family made the trip in a wagon drawn by an ox team.
    Mr. Fuller obtained a position as foreman of a construction gang which was working on the Illinois Central right-of-way between Cairo and the Big Muddy River.  When this work was completed, and train service started, Mr. Fuller made a contract with the company to fence the right-of-way between Cairo and Centralia.  He used wooden fence rails and boards.  All the cattle guards and gates were constructed by him.  At each private crossing, he installed a gate; the total number between Centralia and Cairo was 1,500.
    In 1854 he assisted in laying the rail from the Lower Cache into Cairo.  He was then made foreman of the wood-sawing crew, operating between Centralia and Cairo.  Their engine ran on the railway track from station to station.  It was placed at one side when there was sawing to be done, and after the work was finished, the men placed it back on the track to move on to the next stop.  When a train replenished its supply of wood, he says, the entire crew was employed, and it required fifteen or twenty minutes at each station.

Coal Burners Took His Job
    This work was brought to an abrupt end in 1853, Mr. Fuller says, when the Illinois Central Railroad began installing coal burners.  He was then made a section foreman between Anna and Cobden.  While in this position, he placed the first ballast in the road.  Rocks were broken with sledge hammers, he says.
    In 1867 Mr. Fuller was made track supervisor between Anna and DuQuoin, and he continued in that position until he resigned in 1869.
    In that year he became a farmer near Anna, and he was made a great success of it.  In 1884 he organized a shipping association, and was chosen its first president.  Each year since he has been re-elected to that position.  Although he really likes farming, Mr. Fuller says that he had to keep away from his former associates every time he went to town for fear that the desire to return to railroading would overpower him.  He is still a great friend of the Illinois Central.
    Mr. Fuller also expects to climb over the 100 mark in years.  In February he will be 90 years old.  From all appearances he knows what he is talking about, too, for he gets around to work on schedule every day and seems just as lively as in his younger days, which is remarkable for a man who attended the famous Lincoln-Douglas debate at Jonesboro, Ill., when Lincoln was   candidate for president.                                                                         (Illinois Central Magazine, February 1922, pages 47-49)