Grundy County IL Archives Biographies.....Laymon, Thomas ************************************************ 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, 3:59 pm Author: Bio/Gen Record LaSalle/Grundy 1900 THOMAS LAYMON. For more than a third of a century Thomas Lamon[sic] has resided upon his present farm in Maine township, Grundy county, locating here soon after his return from the war, for at the time when hostilities were in progress between the north and the south he went forth in defense of the Union and valiantly followed the old flag. He is descended from colonial ancestry that resided in Tennessee and were of German and Irish lineage. His paternal grandparents, Abraham and Elizabeth (Goodpaster) Laymon, were natives of Tennessee, whence they removed to Clermont county, Ohio, in early pioneer days. They had a family of ten children, namely: James M., Elias, David, Will, Cynthia, John, Rachel, Frank, Cornelius and Jesse. James M. Laymon, the father of our subject, was born in Clermont county, Ohio, September 4, 1807, and received such educational privileges as could be obtained in the subscription schools of that day. His training at farm work, however, was not meager, for in youth he began work in the fields and became familiar with all the duties that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He was married in 1825 to Mary Sloan, a daughter of George and Mary (Storey) Sloan, natives of Pennsylvania and the parents of seven children, as follows: Nellie, Thomas, Mary, Margaret, John, William and Maria. Mr. and Mrs. Sloan were both members of the Methodist church, and the father carried on agricultural pursuits in Clermont county, Ohio. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Laymon located on a farm in that county, whence they removed to Indiana, settling near Crawfordsville, where they carried on agricultural pursuits for about four years and then went to Bartholomew county, that state. Subsequently they became residents of Miami county, Indiana, where the father purchased three hundred and twenty acres of heavily timbered land, upon which no home had then been erected. This was about 1835. Mr. Laymon cleared one hundred and sixty acres of his land, erected substantial buildings, planted a large orchard and made a good pioneer home. He was afterward cheated out of this property by a dishonorable banker who got him to exchange it for worthless Iowa land. In 1856 he removed to Lee county, Illinois, where he purchased eighty acres, improving the farm until 1859, when he came to Grundy county and purchased a quarter section in Braceville township. To the improvement and development of that tract he devoted his energies until his death, and was regarded as one of the most industrious and enterprising farmers of the neighborhood. Unto him and his wife were born fifteen children, nine of whom reached years of maturity, namely: George, Elizabeth, Abraham, Will, John, Thomas, David, Martha and Lida J. Both Mr. and Mrs. Laymon were members of the Methodist church, and in politics he was a Democrat in early life, but in 1860 supported Abraham Lincoln and afterward voted the Republican ticket. His life was straightforward and honorable, and he reached the good old age of eighty-six years, passing away upon the home farm, February 4, 1890. His wife died January 3, 1894, at the age of eighty-seven years. Thomas Laymon, whose name introduces this review, was the fifth child of his father's family and was born in Bartholomew county, Indiana, May 15, 1846. His educational privileges were limited. He attended a subscription school for three months, but otherwise is self-educated. He began work on the farm when very young and aided in the labors of the field until after the inauguration of the great civil war, when, in the eleventh ward of Chicago, on the 7th of October, 1864, he enlisted for three years. He was then only eighteen years of age. After serving for a year, however, the war ended and he was honorably discharged in Chicago, July 12, 1865, having in the meantime been promoted to the rank of corporal for meritorious conduct. He participated in the battle of Stone River and in the second battle at Franklin, which was one of the most hotly contested of the war. He was also in the engagement at Nashville, Tennessee. At one time he was quite ill, but did not go to the hospital, and throughout his service was always loyal to the old flag and the cause it represented, doing his duty promptly and cheerfully. He also had two brothers in the war. Abraham C. served for three years as a private of Company C, Forty- seventh Indiana Infantry, and participated in many battles, his death occurring soon after the war from the effects of hardships endured. John was a private of the One Hundredth Illinois Infantry and served for about ten months. When the country no longer needed his aid Mr. Laymon, of this review, returned to Braceville township and for a year operated a rented farm. He was married April 10, 1866, to Esther Morrison, who was born November 9, 1836, in Peoria, Illinois, and was a widow at the time of her marriage to Mr. Laymon. She is a lady of culture and refinement. Her father, Elias Colwell, was a farmer and pioneer of Peoria county, Illinois, whither he removed from Stark county, Ohio. His children were Louisa, Esther and Melissa. The second daughter was married to William Morrison, a farmer of Grundy county, Illinois, and they became the parents of two children, Eliza A. and Hannah, both of whom are now living. Mr. Laymon lost his first wife October 13, 1896, and in Chicago, on the 24th of January, 1899, he wedded Allie J. Ellyson, who was born March 4, 1866, in Petersburg, Virginia, a daughter of James F. and Jane (Rolfe) Ellyson. Her father was born at Dinwiddie, Virginia, and was of English descent. He was a well-educated man and a coachmaker by occupation. He died at the age of thirty-five years, during the infancy of his daughter. He had been a soldier in the Confederate service during the civil war, and his death resulted from the hardships which he had endured. In his family were two daughters, Allie J. and Josephine, the latter the wife of J. O. Smith, of Raleigh, North Carolina. Mrs. Laymon was reared in Petersburg, Virginia, by her mother and was educated in the city schools. In later years she made her home with her sister, Mrs. Smith, of Raleigh, .North Carolina, and afterward came to Illinois. In 1866 Mr. Laymon purchased his present farm, which he has greatly improved, erecting a tasteful and commodious residence and substantial out-buildings. He has one daughter, Elva J., now the wife of D. R. Anderson, a lawyer of Morris, and they have one child, Ray. In his political views Mr. Laymon is a Republican, and he is an honored member of the Grand Army Post at Gardner, Illinois. Straightforward in business and industrious and enterprising, he has through his carefully managed affairs won a comfortable competence. He and his wife reside on the old homestead and the household is noted for its gracious hospitality. Additional Comments: Source: Biographical and Genealogical Record of La Salle and Grundy County, Illinois, Volume 11, Chicago, 1900, p638-640 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/grundy/bios/laymon38gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 7.6 Kb