McDonough ILGenWeb

PACE, Henry Jackson, who is successfully engaged in the livery business in Macomb, Ill., was born in the place of his present residence December 6, 1862, a son of George W. and Sally J. (Sweeney) Pace, who lived on a farm the first year after their marriage, and then moved to Macomb, occupying the same house in which they now reside. George W. Pace kept a dry-goods and grocery store. The paternal grandparents were William J. and Sally Sparks (Vawter) Pace. The former came from Cumberland County, Ky., in 1830, and died in 1855, while the latter, who was a sister of the late Allen Vawter, died in 1850. The journey to Macomb was made by an ox-team, and they lived for a year in a log house with an earthen floor. William H. Pace walked three miles to borrow a plow, crossing a creek on a log, and returning the same way, with the plow on his shoulder. The county was then very sparsely settled.

In his boyhood, Henry J. Pace attended the common schools of his neighborhood, when his health, which was frail, permitted. By dint of close application he managed to obtain a good education, and after his school days worked for a while as clerk in his father's grocery. As this employment was injurious to his health, he went into the livery business in 1897, which afforded more outdoor exercise. Since then his patronage has increased a hundred per cent. His stable, on West Carroll Street, was destroyed by fire in the summer of 1905, causing a loss of more than $8,000. Rapidly recovering from the disaster, he secured an equipment superior to the old one and has re-established his business on a better basis than before.

Mr. Pace is a man of strict integrity in his business dealings. His daily life is marked by moral rectitude and he is respected by all who know him. In religious belief, he is a Universalist, and politically, gives his support to the Republican party. His fraternal affiliation is with the K. of P.

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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, pages 971-972, extracted 17 Mar 2020 by Norma Hass.