Braceville, Illinois

Waynesburg, St,ark County, Ohio, and in 18G1 he closed out his business there and applied his time in Grundy County, erecting the first house in what is now the present site of the village of Braceville. The old building is now known as the Milwaukee Hotel. He used this building as a warehouse and for store room ; he bought corn at that time for 9 cents per bushel, and eggs at 3 cents per dozen. In 1876, he closed out said business, and also his coal interests, in which he had been interested since 1865. At the latter, he sustained a severe loss. By economj-, he had accumulated a fortune, of probably $300,000, the greater portion of which lie lost in the coal business. In 1862, he was commissioned Postmaster at Braceville, which position he holds to-day. Was married, in 1847, to Julia Fisher, the result being one child - Elizabeth, who married S. B. Holly (deceased). His wife died in 1872 and since then he has resided with his daughter. In the spring of 1382, he was chosen Justice of the Peace, which position he now holds. He was identified with the Whig partj-, and since then has been a strong Republican. GEORGE W. BOOTH, farmer and stockbreeder, P. 0. Gardner. Among the leading farmers and stock-dealers of Illinois, the gentleman whose name heads this article ranks second to none. He is a native of Trumbull County, Ohio, and was born Januarj- 13, 1837. His parents, Moses and M3'ra (Hubbell) Booth, were natives of Connecticut, and came to Ohio ai an early daj', where the father died February, 1856, and the mother in this county in 1882. The parents were blessed with three children bj' their union, viz., George W.; Theresa, the wife of Henry Waters ; Emma, the wife of Robert Briscoe, of Marseilles, 111. The mother of our subject was the second wife of Moses Booth, he having married Sarah Judson, the result being several children - Truman, Moses, Samuel, Eliza, Laura, Sallie, et al. Moses B. was in the war of 1812, and he and wife were Presbyterians. George had the chance to attend the district schools in his younger days. At the age of fourteen, he began driving cattle, and at sixteen, he was engaged with F. N. Andrews, of Trumbull County. Ohio. At the age of twenty, he had saved some means, and invested the same in hogs and cattle, which proved successful. April, 18fi3, he took charge of a stock farm for Elias Trumbo, of La Salle Count}-, III, with whom he remained five years, after which he bought 160 acres of land in Greenfield Township, this county. He owned this but a short time, and made several changes before he finallj- settled on his present farm in Braceville Township. Here he began to widen in his stock dealing, and, in 1877, he took in full partnership his son-in-law, L}-man Hawley, which firm name of Booth & Hawley still exists. Their herd of cattle now consists of the following noted families : Rose of Sharon, Pansy, Dulci Bella, Arabella and Seventeens, a class of the first importation from Europe by the Clays. They are also breeding the registered Poland-China hogs, which they ship to different parts of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio and Indiana. The}' are stocking about eight hundred acres of land. Mr. Booth was married, April 9, 1856, to Caroline Rain}-, a daughter of William and Mary (Taylor) Rainy, natives, the father of Ireland, and the mother of Pennsylvania. The parents were blessed with three children - Nancy, Mary and Caroline. Her parents were members of the Seceder Church. Mrs. B. was born May 3, 1838, and her union has given her two children - -Warren (deceased) and Mary, who has one child by her marriage with Lyman Hawley - Maud. Mr. Booth has served his township as Supervisor for eight years, of whicli board he was Chairman seven years. He has also been chosen Town Treasurer of Schools for nine years, and other minor offices. His estimable lady is a member of the Baptist Church of Gardner. He votes the Republican ticket.

Passage source: History of Grundy County, Illinois : Containing a History from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time ... , Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Some of the Early Settlers, Prominent Men, Etc, published 1882.

Lucy aud Mary. Mr. Cottou settled on his present farm iu 1867, buying eightj- acres of James Barrett, and has since added until he has 240 acres of fine land. His union gave him seven children - Mary E. (the wife of James Sherry, of Iowa), Sarah J., Lida (the wife of Jesse Slutter, of Chicago), John J., Nicholas, Anna and Lillie; his wife died August 20, 1879. He has been Assessor; is now Supervisor of Braceville Township; votes the Democratic ticket; his father was a member of the A., F. & A. M., and was buried by that fraternity.

Passage source: History of Grundy County, Illinois : Containing a History from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time ... , Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Some of the Early Settlers, Prominent Men, Etc, published 1882.

March 21, 1845, was the youngest son of Alexander and Rhoda Easton. His father was a carpenter and farmer, born in Franklin County, Mass., September 25, 1801. Spent his last years with our subject, where he died November 1, 1880. His mother, whose maiden name was Rhoda Plumb, was born March 10, 1805 ; was married when seventeen years old to Joseph Lee, who died in 1843, and on March 27, 1844, she was again married to Alexander Easton. She died in Trumbull County, Ohio June 20, 1851 ; such was her life, that none knew her but to love her. C. C. received his education at the common schools of his native town. Working at carpenter work some with his father, he became quite skilled in the business, so that he has since constructed several houses. When sixteen, he came to Illinois and hired out as a farm hand. In the spring of 1868, he bought a farm of 100 acres in Norton, Kankakee County. In 1874, he rented his farm and moved to Gardner, where he lived a year or so, when he bought 120 acres, where he now lives ; has since added forty acres more and all is under a good state of cultivation. C. C. Easton was married in 1860, to Mary Jane, daughter of John Spiller, whose sketch appears elsewhere in the work. Mr. and Mrs. Easton have three children, two boys and one girl^Addison M., Rowland J. and Rhoda Belle. C. C. is a man of correct habits and uncompromising integrity, warmly attached to home and its environments, for which he amply provides. Mrs. Easton is a frugal, industrious woman, skillfully conducting her household affiiirs, always ready to do her part to make a home and make it happy.

Passage source: History of Grundy County, Illinois : Containing a History from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time ... , Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Some of the Early Settlers, Prominent Men, Etc, published 1882.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Braceville Township - it names this place 40 more 40 times.