McDonough ILGenWeb

BLOUNT, Asher Benjamin (deceased), former highly respected citizen of Macomb, McDonough County, Ill., was born in Ellisburg, Jefferson County, N. Y., May 27, 1819, a son of Ambrose and Betsy (Wood) Blount. The father was a native of Connecticut, and the mother of Middletown, Vt. Ambrose Blount was a teacher and a magistrate. In 1814 he was enrolled as a "Minute Man," but was never called into service. Betsy Wood, the mother, was a sister of Hon. Reuben Wood, a former Governor of Ohio. In boyhood Mr. Blount enjoyed but limited educational opportunities. At a later period, however, he took a course of study in a select school, subsequently taught for eight or ten seasons and was County Superintendent for a long time. In Jefferson County, N. Y., he was engaged in farming, blacksmithing and carriage making. He came to Illinois in 1866, and entered into the lumber business in Macomb, continuing thus until his retirement from active life. He was for a long time President of the Macomb Stoneware Company, and the Macomb Building and Loan Association. He was the possessor of one of the choicest and most complete libraries in Macomb.

The first wife of Mr. Blount was Roxanna Miles, to whom he was married April 18, 1848, at Watertown, Jefferson County, N. Y. She was born in that county and died in June, 1860, having borne three children, namely: Mary E. (Mrs. J. W. Hosman, who resides with Mrs. Blount); Frank J. (Director of the Blount Pottery, of Macomb); and Fred P., who is farming in Kansas. March 25, 1868, Mr. Blount was united in marriage with Cynthia S. Barney, also a native of Jefferson County. N. Y. This union resulted in two children: Harry, who owns two shoe stores in Macomb; and Myra, wife of Dr. Frank Lane, of Macomb. Mrs. Blount's parents were from Vermont. Her father was born in 1801, and he had a clear recollection of the War of 1812. He was a clothier by occupation, but on account of his health turned his attention to farming. Mrs. Blount completed her education at Falley Seminary, Oswego, N. Y., and afterward became a teacher in that institution, coming with her husband to Macomb in 1868. She is the youngest of five children, who are all living, and that she comes of a long-lived family is further evident from the fact that her parents survived until they were over eighty years of age. In politics. Mr. Blount was a supporter of the Republican party, in which he had been prominent and influential. In Jefferson County, N. Y., he served as Inspector of Schools, Township Superintendent and Township Clerk. He had twice held the office of Mayor of Macomb. In all of these public trusts, he discharged the duties devolving upon him with signal ability and fidelity, and throughout his prolonged career enjoyed the confidence and respect of the entire community. Religiously, he was allied with the Universalist Church. The genealogical record shows that both the Blount and Barney families came from England to New Salem, Mass., just a year apart. Lord Blount, who figured conspicuously in the battle of Shrewsbury, was an ancestor of the American branch. His death occurred October 29, 1899.

---

Source: The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of McDonough County, compiled by Dr. Newton Bateman, and Paul Shelby, 1907, volume 2, page 829, extracted 19 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass.