Vera, Illinois

Is a flourishing little village of about two hundred and fifty inhabitants, situated on the line of the Illinois Central Railroad, and in the midst of a good fermlng district. Vera is also quite a shipping point for fruit. One season the shipment of peaches reaohed 80,000 boxes, and 10,000 bushels of apples. The town is well supplied with ohurohes and schools. The largest store of general merchandise is kept by Little and Stokes. Mr. L. is also postmaster. A small grocery store is oarried on by John Fifer. The hotel of the town is kept by C. Stanbum. J. M. Parkes owns and operates a good flouring mill of four run of burrs, which is the largest enterprise in the township. The R. R. Co. have recently built a new freight and passenger depot. There is also a cooper and blacksmith shop in the town. Dr. John 8. Barton is practising medicine at this point.

Passage source: History of Fayette County, Illinois, published 1878.

The youngest ton of John and Syntha (Patterson) Little, was bom July 17, 1844, in Fayette County. His parents were natives of Tennessee, and oame to Illinois at an early day. Until his twenty-first year he lived in his native county. In 1864 he enlisted in the Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry, and was sent to Nicholasville, Kentuoky, to join his regiment. The regiment was ordered to Knoxville, Tennessee, and from there to Cleveland, where they joined Gen. Stoneman's oommand. They were in the battles of Big Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain, and the disastrous engagement in whioh Gen. McPher- son lost his life. They were next ordered to Macon, Georgia, in which ex¬ pedition they lost nearly one-half their regiment, by being taken prisoners. They were then ordered back to Nicholasville, remounted, and sent to Pulaski, where they joined Gen. Schofield's command; thence to Waynes¬ boro', and joined Gen. Hatch's cavalry, where they had a severe engage¬ ment with Forest's cavalry. The Union troops were in much smaller num¬ bers, and had to fall back. They were reinforced by infantry from Colum¬ bia, on the double quick. They then fell back to Columbia, from where a detachment was sent down Duck Run to guard a crossing, when a fight ensued, and they had to cut their way out Traveling all night they reached Franklin in the morning, when they were again engaged. From here they returned to Pulaski, where they were mustered out. Mr. Little returned home, and engaged in various business enterprises. For the past five years he has been merchandizing at Vera, where he is also Post¬ master and Agent for the Illinois Central Railroad.

Passage source: History of Fayette County, Illinois, published 1878.

His company was mustered out on the 29th July, 1865, at Galveston, Texas, and after an absenoe of three years and twenty days in all, Mr. Ray returned to his home, where he has since devoted the whole of his time and attention to farming and fruit-growing. He has in his home-farm 169 acres of land, in addition to outlying property, and a business house in Vera, all of which has been obtained by bis own industry and strict attention to business.

Passage source: History of Fayette County, Illinois, published 1878.

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 Sharon Township - it names this place 1 more 1 time.