Biographical Sketch of JEHIEL FULLER - Henry County, Illinois Jehiel Fuller, one of the leading farmers of Wethersfield Township, is enjoying a substantial measure of success resulting from close application and careful management of his business affairs. He was born March 29, 1853, on the farm which is still his home. His father, Jehiel Fuller, was a native of Northmoreland, Pennsylvania, but resided principally at Wilkes Barre until his removal to the west. He was a direct descendant in the seventh generation of Edward Fuller, who came to America on the Mayflower from Redenhall, of the County of Norfolk, England. He and his wife died soon after reaching the new world and their son Samuel who came with his parents on the Mayflower became the progenitor of the family in America. >From the same ancestor came Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller, of the Supreme Court. Jehiel Fuller continued his residence in the Keystone state until 1839, when he cam to Illinois and located on the farm which is now the home of his son and namesake, having taken up the claim the previous year. He was one of the earliest settlers in the county and aided in the reclamation of the wild land for the purpose of civilization. With characteristic energy, he broke the sod and tilled the fields, devoting his remaining days to general agricultural pursuit and adding to his possessions until he acquired three hundred and thirty-four acres in Wethersfield Township and just across the line in Stark County. He was a very public-spirited man and took a keen interest in all local affairs. He died July 4, 1871, at the age of sixty-five years, while his wife survived until September 10, 1892. She bore the maiden name of Emiline Felton and was a native of New York State, born May 15, 1813. They were married January 31, 1839, at Peru, Huron County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller were active members of the Wethersfield Congregational Church and both were highly esteemed for their many excellent traits of heart and mind. Their son Jehiel was the seventh in order of birth in a family of eight children, three of whom are living, the oldest being Mrs. Helen Maxfield, of Cincinnati, Ohio, while the brother, Baxter L., is a well-known resident of Henry County. Educated in the district schools, Jehiel Fuller afterward remained upon the home farm and has since made it his place of residence with the exception of the season of 887 which he spent at St. Edward, Boone County, Nebraska, where he then owned a tract of land. He was eighteen years of age at his father’s death at which time he assumed charge of the farm and has since conducted it. Eighty acres were inherited by his older brother, Baxter, but he assumed the management of the remaining two hundred and fifty-four acres, and upon reaching his majority he and his brother bought out the interest of the other heirs, Jehiel Fuller securing two hundred acres. Subsequently he sold his brother twenty acres and bought eighty acres adjoining, so that he now has a farm of two hundred and sixty acres. The land is rich and arable and returns to him substantial harvests as a reward for the care and labor he has bestowed upon it. He has also remodeled and enlarged the home, has built all of the barns and other outbuildings now upon the place, and has made various improvements, equipping the farm with the most modern machinery to facilitate the work carried on. He has given his attention largely to stock-raising, principally handling good market cattle, hogs and sheep. He is also interested to some extent in farming lands in Colorado and Texas and he has various business interests in Toulon, Illinois, and elsewhere. On the 4th of October, 1876, Mr. Fuller was married at Saxon, Illinois, to Miss Kitty Ellen Green, a daughter of Champion K. and G. A. Green, then of Wethersfield Township, later of Logan County, Colorado, but now making their home with Mr. And Mrs. Fuller, to whom have been born three children: Helen Beatrice, born February 9, 181, Ethel Inez, August 6, 1884; and William Green, born May 19, 1891. The last named is attending Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, while the daughters are graduates of the academy at Toulon and of Hedding College, at Abingdon, Illinois. The son is also a graduate of Toulon Academy. In politics Mr. Fuller is a Republican but not strongly partisan and has never been an office seeker. He has, however, been called by his fellow townsmen to serve in several local offices. He was supervisor of Wethersfield Township for twelve consecutive years and school director for many years. He belongs to the Saxon Methodist Episcopal Church in which he has served as trustee and in other offices, while for many years he has been superintendent of the Sunday school. He was a delegate from the central Illinois conference to the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church held at Baltimore in May, 1908. His wife and family are also active members of the church and Mrs. Fuller has been a member of the choir, a teacher in the Sunday school and an officer of the Epworth League for a number of years. The cause of education finds in Mr. Fuller a stalwart champion. He is a man of studious nature and has found his chief recreation in reading and travel. His interest is always concentrated in his farm, his church and his home, and he is one of the honored and representative citizens of Wethersfield Township. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Alice Gless