Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Clow, William M 1850 - 
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Author: Portrait & Bio Album, 1890

WILLIAM M. CLOW is the son of one of the most prominent pioneer families of 
Will County, who located in Wheatland Township in an early day of its 
settlement, and ever since the name has been closely connected with its 
development and material prosperity, its present representative wearing 
worthily the mantle of his sire. As a wide-awake, intelligent and progressive 
farmer and stock-raiser, our subject bears an important part in sustaining and 
extending the great agricultural interests of his native county. He owns a 
farm on section 14, that compares favorably in all respects with the best in 
this locality. Our subject was born December 18, 1850, in this county, a son 
of the late Robert and Rosanna (McMicken) Clow, natives of Scotland. The 
father of our subject came to this country in 1837 with his father's family, 
his mother having died in the old country. They first located in New York 
State and remained there till 1843, when they came to Will County. The family 
were among the first settlers of the county, and purchased a large tract of 
wild prairie, comprising nearly one thousand acres of land for which was paid 
$1.25 per acre. Robert Clow, the father of our subject, became a prominent man 
in this part of the county, both in its public life and in promoting the 
growth of its agricultural interests, and in his death September 15, 1888, the 
county lost one of its most revered pioneers. He had always displayed great 
public spirit and substantially aided all schemes for the improvement of the 
county or township. He served as Justice of the Peace and as Supervisor of 
Wheatland Township, fulfilling the duties thus imposed upon him with marked 
ability. In his politics he was a Republican and used his influence to promote 
the interests of the party. The mother of our subject was born in 1825, and is 
now pleasantly passing her declining years in the home of her son, John B. 
Clow, in this township. The parents of our subject had eight children of whom 
the following five still survive: William M.; Ellen J., wife of Charles H. 
Farqubar of Chicago; Adam S. a resident of Wheatland Township; John B., also 
of this township; Rose, wife of H. H. Highland of this township. The names of 
those deceased are: Sarah H., Grace M., and Rachael. William, the subject of 
this sketch, grew to a manly vigorous manhood amid the pioneer influences that 
still obtained in this county during his youth. A bright, apt scholar, he was 
given excellent educational advantages, receiving the rudiments of his 
education in the district schools of Wheatland Township, and subsequently 
entered Clark Seminary, now known as Jenning's Seminary in Aurora, Ill., where 
he pursued a fine course of study that will be a help to him in any calling in 
which he is engaged. He first entered the teacher's profession and for two 
terms taught school successfully. But having a natural taste for the vocation 
to which he had been reared, he then turned to it, and has since devoted his 
time to agricultural pursuits, and is actively engaged in farming and stock-
raising. He owns a farm of two hundred and thirty acres, all of which is under 
cultivation, is highly improved, and with its commodious, well-appointed 
buildings and rich harvest fields, is one of the most desirable pieces of 
property in this part of the county. In his marriage in 1874, with Miss Eliza 
V. Cherry, Mr. Clow secured the blessing of a true wife who is devoted to the 
interests of her family. Four children have come to them: Ida G., Robert C., 
Anne L., and Charles H. Mrs. Clow is a native of the city of Buffalo, N. Y., 
and a daughter of Moses and Sarah A. (Mills) Cherry, of that city, both of 
whom are now deceased. William Clow brings to his work a fine equipment of 
brain, energy, readiness of resource, and adaptability to circumstances that 
make him an influence in promoting the financial prosperity of his native 
county. His genial nature and general uprightness of character have won him 
many friends, and with his wife he stands among the first people of the 
community. In his politics, Mr. Clow is a member of the Democratic party. He 
has taken part in public affairs as Township Clerk one year, and as Road 
Commissioner of Wheatland Township, and in both capacities proved himself to 
be a sagacious and faithful civic official.

Additional Comments:
Portrait and Biographical Album of Will County, Illinois, Containing Full Page 
Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens 
of the County; Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1890

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