McDonough ILGenWeb

STIRE, Richard (deceased), formerly one of the most worthy and highly esteemed citizens of Bushnell, McDonough County, Ill., was born in Upper North Bethel, Pa., June 11, 1826, a son of Francis and Louise (Hagaman) Stire, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Stire's father was of Dutch nativity, being a member of a very prosperous family in his native Holland. The brothers-in-law of Francis Stire, the father, was instrumental in founding the famous Cooper Institute, in New York. Richard Stire had five brothers and two sisters. He was one of the best known men of Bushnell, where he located in 1883, although he first settled on a farm in the vicinity of the place in 1856. Nearly every one for miles around Bushnell knew him, and he had hosts of friends. He was a man of upright character, pure life and of the strictest business integrity. He died March 11, 1904, from a stroke of apoplexy. He was about to go to the opera House to attend a lecture, when the end came; falling insensible, he never regained consciousness and died in twenty minutes.

On April 5, 1853, Mr. Stire was united in marriage, in Detroit, Mich., with Margaret Crawford, a native of New Jersey, and a daughter of George and Catherine (Bowman) Crawford, a native of Canada. This union resulted in two children, namely: Howard, of Nebraska, and G. Francis, who died at the age of six years. For two years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Stire lived in Michigan, but in 1855 went to Warren County, Ill., where they spent one year on a farm, whence they moved to a homestead of 160 acres just north of Bushnell, in McDonough County, which Mrs. Stire still owns. On political issues, Mr. Stire's views were in harmony with the principles of the Democratic party. He was confirmed in the Episcopal Church in August, 1865, but finding no organization of that denomination in Bushnell, he united with the Presbyterian Church of that city. His connection with this church extended over a period of about twenty-nine years, during a part of this time officiating as elder. He was a conscientious, dutiful man and a useful citizen, and in his death the community suffered a most serious loss.

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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 1010-1011, extracted 30 Jul 2020 by Norma Hass.