Grundy County IL Archives Biographies.....Claypool, Lawrence W 1819 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com March 25, 2006, 3:46 pm Author: Bio/Gen Record LaSalle/Grundy 1900 Lawrence W. Claypool Almost from the earliest development of Grundy county the name of Claypool has been inseparably interwoven in its history, and its representatives have ever been men of sterling worth and have labored earnestly and effectively for the substantial development and progress of locality. For many years Lawrence W. Claypool has been identified with the interests of this section of the state and left the impress of his individuality upon the material improvement as well as upon the social and public life of the community. He was born in Brown county, Ohio, June 4, 1819, and was of English lineage. The earliest record of the family extant indicates that about 1645, Sir James Claypool, of England, married a daughter of Oliver Cromwell. Some years later two brothers of the same family crossed the Atlantic from England to America, taking up their residence in Virginia. One subsequently left the Old Dominion for Pennsylvania and cast in his lot with the colony that with William Penn laid the foundation of the Keystone state. It was either he or his descendants, James C. Claypool, who was a signing witness to the Penn charter in 1682. His descendants have spelled the name Claypole. The other brother remained in Virginia, where his son, William Claypool, was born about 1690. He lived to the extraordinary age of one hundred and two years, and had a family of three sons - George, John and James. The last named was born about 1730, and he had three sons whom he reverently named Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He was General Washington's commissary for eastern Virginia and was a most loyal advocate of the cause of liberty. His son, Abraham, removed to Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1799, and became prominent in the early history of that state, serving for several years in the senate. He had six sons and five daughters, the second son being Jacob Claypool, who was born in Virginia in 1788 and became a resident of Brown county, Ohio. He manifested a spirit of patriotism by his service in the war of 1812 and was ever recognized as a man of sterling character and worth. He married Nancy Ballard, a lady of Quaker parentage from North Carolina, and they had two sons - Perry A. and Lawrence W. The former was born in Belmont county, Ohio, June 5, 1815, and died in Grundy county, Illinois, October 15, 1846. In 1834 Jacob Claypool removed with his family to the western frontier, taking up his abode in what is now Wauponsee township, Grundy county, Illinois. He secured for himself and his sons a large tract of land and became a wealthy citizen and a prominent representative of the agricultural interests of the county. His ability led to his selection for a number of important offices and he served as the first county commissioner, was also the probate judge of the county, and held other positions of trust and responsibility. He died in 1876, at the age of eighty-eight years. Lawrence W. Claypool, his son, was a youth of fifteen years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Grundy county. He attended the schools for only about eleven months, pursuing his studies in a little log school-house in Ohio, but he was a man of strong mentality, and through observation and reading became well informed. In 1841, when not yet twenty- two years of age, he was elected the recorder of deeds for Grundy county and served until 1847. In the meantime he became the first postmaster of the town of Morris, holding the position from 1842 till 1845. In 1848 he received the appointment of assistant agent of the canal lands and served in that capacity until all land was sold, retiring from the position in 1860. He was also the town supervisor and a member of the school board for many years, and at all times discharged his duties with a promptness and fidelity that won him the commendation of all concerned. Of the Union cause he was a faithful and loyal adherent. During the Civil war he was a very active and prominent worker in raising volunteers and providing sanitary supplies. In his early life he was afflicted with white-swelling in his right leg, rendering him physically incapacitated for active military service in the field during the great conflict. With the changed conditions and feeling of the time he changed his political adherency, being first a Whig, then an Abolitionist, afterward a member of the Free-soil party and on the organization of the Republican party he became one of its stanch advocates. On the 15th of November, 1849, Mr. Claypool was united in marriage to Miss Caroline B. Palmer, a daughter of John Palmer, of Ottawa, one of the pioneer settlers of LaSalle county, who in June, 1833, traveled across the country from Warren county, New York, to the Prairie state. Mrs. Claypool was born in New York, March 12, 1831, and died in Morris, in February, 1890. Eight children were born of their union, but only one is now living - Henry C. Mr. Claypool was called to his final rest in 1893. He spent his last days in Morris and was a most highly esteemed citizen, respected and honored by all who knew him. Of firm convictions, he was unwavering in his support of whatever he believed to be right, and his integrity was above question. He was faithful in friendship, loyal in citizenship, reliable in business and devoted to his home and family. His record is one well worthy of emulation. Additional Comments: Source: Biographical and Genealogical Record of La Salle and Grundy Counties Illinois, Volume 11, Chicago, 1900, pages 451-453 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/grundy/bios/claypool578nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/ File size: 6.2 Kb