Coles County IL Archives Photo Tombstone.....Zimmerman, W. B. And Louisa J. (Black) 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Gloria Kinzel rkinzel@woh.rr.com April 19, 2008, 3:20 pm

Cemetery:           Rosedale Cemetery
Name:               W. B. And Louisa J. (Black) Zimmerman

Date Of Photograph: xxxx
Photo can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/coles/photos/tombstones/rosedale/zimmerma885ph.jpg
Image file size: 33.7 Kb

WILLIAM BAILEY ZIMMERMAN, son of MARTIN ZIMMERMAN and SARAH GRIEVER, was born 
04 Feb 1826 in Stanton, Augusta, Virginia, and died 19 Jul 1897 in Oakland, 
Illinois.  He married LOUISA JANE BLACK 27 Feb 1849 in Oakland Twp., Coles 
County, Illinois, daughter of JAMES BLACK and ELIZABETH ASHMORE.  She was born 
13 Mar 1827 in Clark County, Illinois, and died 11 Jun 1908 in Oakland, 
Illinois.

From the Oakland Messenger:
The funeral Of Mr. W. B. Zimmerman, who died suddenly with heat prostration, 
Monday, will take place from the Presbyterian church, of which he was a 
member, Wednesday afternoon, Rev. Phifer, of Charleston officiating. The 
deceased had been a member of this church for over fifty years, and his 
presence will be greatly missed by the brethren of the church. He was always a 
liberal contributor to its welfare and took quite an active interest in every 
way.

When Mr. Zimmerman was found Monday he looked like that he had fallen asleep. 
His arms were crossed over his chest and his hat was drawn down over his 
eyes.  From the position in which he laid under the tree it is evident that he 
must have gone to the shade tree about ten o'clock, for the tree would have at 
that time furnished plenty of shade, a fact that caused Uncle Bailey to seek 
its friendly shelter. His vest was off and so were his shoes. A party of men 
and boys, Monday afternoon, looked for over an hour for these articles, but 
neither of them could be found. Some think that he pulled them off in the 
field where he had been working, while others think that he did not pull them 
off until he got under the shade of the tree. If this latter theory is correct 
some hobo has come along and, thinking that he was asleep, stole the vest and 
the shoes. Those who helped to carry the body to his home,  and who were 
present when he was first found, are of the opinion that the deceased suffered 
no pain but quietly fell asleep, and while he was asleep his heart stopped 
beating and he died.

Just how much the deceased was worth at the time of his death is not 
positively known, and probably will not be known until the appraisers of his 
estate get through with their work. It is thought that he was worth at least 
one hundred thousand dollars. Ten years ago, when the Coles County history was 
published, Uncle Bailey told the historian that he had 5,000 worth of bank 
stock and 800 acres of land.  Taking this as a basis, and being a man of 
accumulative habits, as he was, it is probable that his land holdings at the 
time of his death were sixteen hundred acres and his bank stock at least 
fifteen thousand dollars. Besides this he had a lot of money loaned out. Judge 
Winkler was asked by the reporter if he had ever written a will for the 
deceased and answered that he had not. However, President Rutherford, of the 
Oakland National Bank, who was a close personnel friend of the deceased, says 
that Mr. Zimmerman had made a will but he was not at liberty to state the 
contents of the same.

As stated in Monday's issue the deceased had but two daughters, Mrs. J. Q. 
Kinzel and Mrs. L. J. Norton.  If there had been no will these ladies would 
have shared equally in the division of the estate. Just how the will reads no 
one probably knows now, but it will be filed soon for probate and then it will 
be known exactly what disposition has been made of the property. Mr. Zimmerman 
was a strong Republican and previous to that was a Whig. He was very 
charitable. Many a poor man was aided by him of which the public knows nothing 
about. He was also a man of sterling integrity, and his word was his bond. 

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