Biography - James Slater
JAMES SLATER. Pioneer life in the Prairie State was not, perhaps, so
full of hardships as in some of the more densely wooded sections of our
country, but those who came to this State in the early days can recount many
tales of deprivation which sound strangely to the ears of the younger
generation. In the days when the subject of this sketch first lived in
Illinois, there was no Justice of the Peace nearer than Shelbyville, and for
four years after his coming here no property was assessed for taxation.
Mr. Slater was born near the city of Indianapolis, Ind., May 2, 1824. His
parents were William and Jane (Wilson) Slater, the father being a native of
Yorkshire, England, and the mother being born in Kentucky. They were married
in Indiana and resided there until 1832, when they came to Lawrence County,
Ill., and afterward to Montgomery County where they settled in 1844.
The subject of this biographical sketch came to Shelby County in the year
1848 and for four years previous had lived just across the line and within
sight of the village of Oconee. Farming was his occupation and he did much
pioneer work in Montgomery and Shelby Counties. His first marriage which
took place in Montgomery County, Ill., prior to his coming to Shelby County,
united him with a young lady of great loveliness of character, Miss Ann
Morrell. Her married life was brief but full of cares and responsibilities,
as was that of all early pioneer women. She died in 1853 after having become
the mother of five children, one of whom died in early childhood; Jennie
died in 1889. The two who survive are Horatio and Sidney, both of whom are
energetic young farmers of character and enterprise, the eldest living in
Fayette County and the younger in Oconee Township.
In 1863 our subject assumed a second matrimonial alliance with Avy J.
(Turner) Ishmael. Seven children were born of this marriage, five of whom
were gathered to the arms of the Heavenly Shepherd in early childhood, and
the two who are living are Otis, who resides at home and Alta, now Mrs. Ed.
Morgan who lives on a farm in this township.
Mr. Slater retired from the farm about nine years ago, and engaged in the
business of merchandising. He owned and operated a store in Oconee, and
there carried a full line of groceries, provisions, queensware, tinware,
notions, etc., and enjoyed a lucrative trade. He always took an active
interest in political affairs and worked with the Democratic party,
believing that the principles announced by the author of the Declaration of
Independence are good enough for the guidance of the country in these modern
days. He was Justice of the Peace for eighteen years, in Montgomery County.
He was elected Supervisor from his township when he lived in Audubon,
Montgomery County, and had served as School Director, having always taken a
deep and abiding inti in the public school system. During his forty-seven
years' residence in this vicinity he witnessed the development of this
county from a wilderness to its present state of high cultivation.
The Oconee Lodge No. 392 A. F. & A. M., is the social body with which Mr.
Slater was formerly connected, but at the time of his death he was
nonaffiliated. He held no church membership but was interested in the
progress of churches and schools and all institutions looking to the
progress of Oconee. He was distinctively a pioneer of this region and a man
who had the confidence and respect of all with whom he is acquainted. Mr.
Slater died August 28, 1891, aged sixty-seven years eight months and six
days.
Extracted 17 Aug 2020 by Norma Hass from 1891 Portrait and Biographical Record of Shelby and Moultrie Counties Illinois, pages 688-689.
