In 1847, he was very active in raising up the 1st Illinois Regiment commanded by Col. Newby for the Mexican war. Capt. John M. Cunningham, the father of Mrs. John A. Logan was chosen captain of his company, and John. A. Logan, First Lieutenant. There were no railroads in those days, and the brave 1st Regiment had no recourse but to walk to Santa Fe, New Mexico. They started from Alton and it was a brave and weary march, that took them two years to do. As it happens, they didn’t get a chance to fire a shot, for the scrimmage was over before they reached Santa Fe but they didn’t know it. Lieutenant White had been promoted to Major over the march.
By the 1850 census, the White family had three children that were listed as Elizabeth 4, Franklin 2 and Amzi F. 1. In the early 1850’s, John served on the founding board for the Williamson County Agricultural Society and was instrumental in 1856 in locating and founding the first County fairground west of town. (Not to be confused with the Fair Ground on the east side of town, which was the second one.)
In the spring of 1857 a vacancy occurred in the office of County Clerk, and White was chosen to fill it. He served out the term and was re-elected twice. The 1860 census reflects John 39 and Emily 32 with children Amzi 11, Lilly 6, Minnie 4 and youngest Leona 2. His occupation was county clerk and they were living in the Marion School District (a 1 by 2 mile strip that constituted the city limits). He claimed a real estate value of $6,000 and a personal estate of $2,860.
In 1861 when the Civil War broke out, southern sympathies ran high. A large number of Marion citizens had roots in Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas or Georgia. A group was formed and attempted to secede from the Union. They went as far as drawing up a declaration of succession and submitted it. Arrests were made for treasonous offenses and tempers ran high. Only through the efforts of men like John A. Logan, George W. Goddard, John H. White and John M. Cunningham was the situation brought under control. In a show of support of the Union, the 31st Illinois Infantry was formed and John resigned his office to enter the army.
John was mustered into service by the Governor of Illinois on Sept 8, 1861 as Lieutenant Colonel of the 31st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Company S. under the usual three year term of service. He fought at the battle of Belmont, where he had his horse shot under him. Whereas the 31st would serve the Union faithfully in numerous brutal battles throughout the war, time would run short for John.
On February 15, 1862 while participating in the Battle of Fort Donelson in Tennessee he was mortally wounded just one week shy of his 41st birthday. This made John the first Civil War casualty for Marion. He was described in the regimental records as “Bravest of the Brave”. In 1863 his regiment raised a marble monument in the Marion cemetery to his memory, at a cost of $1,000. His body rests in Old Rose Hill cemetery Block 9.
His widowed wife, Emily, remarried in 1867 to William N. Mitchell. John’s daughter Lilly White (no puns) married J.C. Mitchell (William Mitchell’s son )who served as Circuit Clerk for the county from 1886-1894 and cashier of the First National Bank (the building currently occupied by the Bank of Marion). Lilly died in 1901 leaving seven children, the Mitchells were ancestors of many prominent Marion citizens today.
John’s son Amzi F. White also became one of Marion’s leading citizens. Amzi was a druggist, postmaster of Marion, real estate agent and land agent for the Illinois Central railroad. He owned the A.F. White building situated in the 800 block on the south side of the public square (west side of S. Market). The building was demolished in the late 1990’s to make way for the new civic center.
(Photos from 1905 Souvenir Book, WCHS and the Williamson County Historical Society; data from 1905 book, Pioneer Folks and Places by Barbara Barr Hubbs, Federal census records, IRAD, Marion City cemetery records; compiled and edited by Sam Lattuca on 01/08/2013)