Category Archives: Businesses

Marion Businesses

Kern, Charles M. 1837-1906, Marion Trustee & Merchant, Young and Kern Dry Goods

Posted on by June 12, 2014

Charles Kern 1904Charles M. Kern of Marion was born in Monongalia County, West Virginia on July 18, 1837, the son of James and Mary Goosman Kern, natives of West Virginia, of German and French stock respectively.

In 1860 Charles was living in Monongalia County, West Virginia near Morgantown.  His parents, James and Mary Kern had five children at home: Charles, 23; Margaret, 21; Francis, 17; Caroline, 14 and George, 11.

Charles was reared in his native county, and was married and engaged in milling there.  In 1863 he went west, located at Marion, Illinois and engaged in mercantile pursuits.  Continue reading →

Denison, Dr. Edward L. 1835-1900, Physician, Legislator and Marion Alderman

Posted on by August 30, 2023

 

Dr. E.L. Denison by horse in front of his office in Marion, Illinois ca 1880. Unknown Goodall standing on walk. Photo courtesy of the Williamson County Museum

Dr. E.L. Denison by horse in front of his office in Marion, Illinois ca 1880. Unknown Goodall standing on walk. Photo courtesy of the Williamson County Museum

Dr. Edward L. Denison, physician, legislator and Marion Alderman, was born August 16, 1835, in Senaca, New York.  He was the son of Edward L. Denison (1789-1871) and Eveline Hitchcock (1808-1886) and the brother of prosperous Marion businessman and Mayor, Charles H. Denison.

Edward had four brothers and sisters:  David Delome Denison (1827-1864), Charles Hoton Denison (1837-1908), Harriet Newel Denison (1840) and Amelia Emma Denison (1843). Charles H. married Mary Elizabeth Bundy Mar. 21, 186x; Harriet married George A. Seaver June 20, 185x, and Amelia married J. D. Walden on October 24, 1864.

Edward L., the father, moved the family to Huron County, Ohio in 1844 and in the 1850 census the family was living in Ruggles, Ashland County, Ohio. All four of their children were born in Ohio.  He then moved the family on to McHenry County, Illinois in 1854.  Edward L., the son and our subject, attended college at Marengo Seminary and moved to Southern Illinois in 1857. He taught school in Jackson, Union and Williamson Counties and studied medicine. Continue reading →

Howell, William H. 1845-xxxx, Merchant, Alderman, & Entrepreneur, Westbrook & Howell

Posted on by June 9, 2014

William H. HowellWilliam Harvey Howell, merchant, alderman, & entrepreneur was born in Monongalia County, West Virginia, on the 4th day of May, 1845, the son of George and Mary Howell. His great-grandfather, Samuel Howell, emigrated from England to Maryland, and his grandparents, Annie and Laban Howell, came from Maryland into West Virginia.

William H. Howell’s father, George Howell, was one of seven sons, good old English stock. His father died when he was only three years old and his mother married again two years later, which caused William to live with his grandfather Howell until he was sixteen years old. In March, 1862, he came west to Carbondale, Illinois, and there learned fine carpentering and soon became a contractor. In 1869 he went to Kansas and during the boom in that state he carried on an extensive contracting business. Continue reading →

Smith, J.C.B. 1859-1930, Title, Abstract and Law Firm

Posted on by September 18, 2023

John C. B. Smith was born on February 3, 1859 to Thomas Smith (1829 – xxxx) and Narcissus Jane May (1835 – xxxx) in New Columbia, Massac County, Illinois.

In the 1850 census, his 22 year old, unmarried father, Thomas, was living in Massac County, Illinois with 24 year old James and Queentina Smith who are suspected to be his brother and sister-in-law.  Thomas’s future bride to be, Narcissus Jane May, lived three houses down from them. On October 24th of the same year, 1850, Thomas Smith and Jane May were married. Continue reading →

Warder, William H. 1859-1936, Warder Law Firm, 502 S. Market St.

Posted on by October 24, 2014

William H. Warder 1859-1936
1904 Impromptu Group
William H. Warder home at 502 S. Market St.
Isabella Warder Bundy, died in1883

William H. Warder, legislator, attorney and teacher, was born on August 21, 1859 in Johnson County, Illinois, the second son of Joseph Warder (1810-1887) and Anne T. Kirkham (1822-1890). His mother, Anne, was the daughter of Thomas Kirkham and Elizabeth Pruitt.

Joseph Warder and Ann Thomas Kirkham (1822) were married near the Blue Lick Springs, in Fleming County, Kentucky on Feb 3, 1842. They resided in Flemingsburg for 7 or 8 years and then moved to Maysville, the county seat of Mason County, Kentucky where they lived for about two years. Two children, Elizabeth and Isabell, had been born to them while they resided in Flemingsburg. Continue reading →