McDonough ILGenWeb

WHITE, Samuel M., who is extensively engaged in stock-raising and general farming in Tennessee Township, McDonough County, Ill., was born in that township July 19, 1850, and there availed himself of the opportunities afforded by the common schools in his vicinity. He is a son of Stephen A. and Elizabeth (McGee) White, and a grandson of Thomas White and Samuel McGee. Stephen A. White, who was born in Highland County, Ohio, came to Tennessee Township in 1840 and worked on a farm, marrying shortly after his arrival. Before his marriage he lived with the parents of the lady who became his wife. He purchased land, in which he dealt for a number of years, and in 1885 retired from active efforts, moving to Colchester, McDonough County. He died in Macomb, Ill., in 1895.

Samuel M. White is the fourth of a family of ten children — seven boys and three girls. He lived with his parents until he reached the age of twenty years, when he married. He bought eighty-one acres of land in Chalmers Township, McDonough County, where he lived until January 1, 1877, when he sold out and bought a little over ninety acres in Tennessee Township, where he lived until February 1, 1894. He then moved to a farm of 400 acres which he owned in the same township. To this property he has added until he now owns 747 acres, all in Tennessee Township. He is considered one of the most substantial and successful farmers in this portion of the State.

Mr. White's first wife was Susan Burford, a native of McDonough County, to whom he was married November 4, 1869. The children of this union were Gertrude (Mrs. Harry Moon), and Maude (Mrs. O. A. Bolles). Some time after he was left a widower Mr. White took, for his second wife, Mary Frances Mort, who was born in Hancock County, Ill., where she enjoyed the advantages of the common schools. Four children are the offspring of this union, namely: Ernest L., Erwin N., Harry L. and Ina, all of whom are at home. In politics, Mr. White is a Democrat, and fraternally, belongs to the A. O. U. W.

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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 1043-1044, extracted 26 Oct 2020 by Norma Hass.