McDonough ILGenWeb

MERIWETHER, George, one of the best known and most respected farmers in Industry Township, McDonough County, Ill., was born September 1, 1833. in Floyd County, Ind., where he obtained what schooling the conditions of his boyhood permitted. He is a son of James P. and Nancy (Ebersole) Meriwether, his father a native of Kentucky, and his mother, of Ohio. His grandfather, John Meriwether, was born in Virginia in 1776, and his grandmother, Emma (Bell) Meriwether, was a native of Kentucky. George Meriwether worked at farming and at the cooper's trade in Indiana until April, 1850, when he came to Schuyler County, Ill., where he was employed as a cooper until August, 1862. He then enlisted m Company B, One Hundred Nineteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in which he served three years and ten days. His regiment was attached to the Army of the Gulf, which had several successive commanders. Mr. Meriwether was mustered out August 26. 1865, and returned to McDonough County. He had previously purchased a farm of eighty acres in the southwestern portion of Industry Township, on which he located in 1869.

Mr. Meriwether was married, November 26, 1857, to Mary E. Huff, who was born and educated in Schuyler County, Ill. The offspring of this union is as follows: Sarah C. (Mrs. William Craig); Emma B. (Mrs. Joseph Pollock); J. P., of Macomb, Ill.; W. J., a farmer in McDonough County; Mary Edna (Mrs. William McGaughey); E. L., of Schuyler County; and Fannie, who remains under the parental roof. The religious belief of Mr. Meriwether is that of the Presbyterian Church, and politically, he gives his support to the Republican party. For eighteen years he served the township as School Director. Fraternally, he is a member of the G. A. R. The subject of this sketch has made a record that leaves him no cause for regret. As a farmer and mechanic, he has been careful and industrious; as a soldier, he was faithful and true; and as a citizen he has been public-spirited and useful.

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Source: The Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of McDonough County, compiled by Dr. Newton Bateman, and Paul Shelby, 1907, volume 2, page 957, extracted 12 Sep 2019 by Norma Hass.