McDonough ILGenWeb

POINTER, Robert C., one of the most prominent of the McDonough County (Ill.) farmers, who is still actively engaged in agriculture, was born in Morgan County, Ill., December 17, 1838. His father, William Pointer, was born in Cumberland County, Ky., and his mother, Elizabeth (Morrison) Pointer, was a native of Fleming County, in that State. They were married May 31, 1835. The grandparents on both sides — Cornelius Pointer (born in Pulaski County, Ky., in 1788, and died in 1833) and Rebecca (Snow) Pointer (born in Maryland in 1789 and died in 1835) — were all natives of Kentucky. William Pointer, the father, was born in Cumberland County, Ky., on November 30, 1812, came to Morgan County, Ill., with his parents in 1828, and remained there until 1855 and then moving to Macomb. Here, for one year, he conducted a hotel known as the "Brown House," situated on the west side of the square. In January, 1859, he sold the hotel to James Brown, and bought a farm in Scotland Township. In the Black Hawk War he enlisted twice, and in the fall of 1861 became identified with the Civil War by joining Company C, Eighty-fourth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, of which he was wagon master, but in the fall of 1862-63 was discharged from the service on account of disability. He then returned to his farm, and afterward removed to Industry, Ill., where he lived with his son Robert until his death in June, 1893, at the age of eighty years. The mother had passed away July 8, 1892, at the age of seventy-six years. William Pointer was a prominent figure in the Free Methodist Church, being a licensed preacher and an ordained elder of that denomination. He solicited the funds to build the church in Macomb, contributing most of the necessary funds himself.

Robert C. Pointer was the second of four children born to his parents. In boyhood he attended the common and select schools and remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-five years old. At that period he married, and moved on his present farm of 240 acres in Section 23, Scotland Township. In May, 1876, he established himself in Bardolph, McDonough County, in the manufacture of drain tile, in connection with the Bardolph Fire Clay Works. Ten years later, he sold out his interest and returned to the farm, where he has since resided. Mr. Pointer has seen this region developed from a raw prairie to its present finely improved condition, and has done his share to promote the transformation. On May 5, 1864, Mr. Pointer was married to Flora Gates, who was born in Scotland Township, and there attended public school in her youthful days, as well as the Macomb High School. Seven children blessed their union, namely: Annie E. (Mrs. J. D. Hayes), Jennie (Mrs. L. L. Gardner), Ida M. (Mrs. G. A. Lewis), Lula (Mrs. B. D. Herndon), William C., Nellie (Mrs. James C. Gift), and Grace G. Mr. Pointer's religious associations are with the United Brethren Church. In politics, he takes the Democratic side of public issues. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the A. F. & A. M., being a member of Industry Lodge No. 327, as also is his son William.

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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 980-981, extracted 17 Mar 2020 by Norma Hass.