Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Moss, George B 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com September 3, 2007, 1:39 am

Author: Genealogical/Biographical Publishing Co

GEORGE B. MOSS, a farmer and stockman of Plainfield Township, has spent his 
entire life in the vicinity of his present home and has not only witnessed, 
but also contributed to, the advancement of local interests, especially to the 
development of the farming resources. He was born in this  township on 
Christmas day of 1839. His father, William, a native of Northamptonshire, 
England, grew to manhood in that shire and learned the millwright's trade and 
the milling business. When about twenty-one years of age he came to the United 
States. After a short time in a mill in Buffalo, N. Y., he came west to 
Illinois, settling in Will County and securing work in the building of the old 
Walker mill near Plainfield. On the completion  of the mill he was placed in 
charge of it. Later he removed to Plainfield and helped to build a mill there, 
taking charge of it upon its completion.

Failing health finally obliged him to seek an occupation affording outdoor 
exercise. In 1845 he bought eighty acres of prairie land, upon which he 
settled and to the improvement of which his subsequent years were devoted. As 
he prospered he added to his property until he owned two hundred and  eighty 
acres, all well improved and cultivated. In politics he allied himself with 
the Republican party on its organization and afterward voted for its 
principles. For several years he held the office of school director. He was a 
very active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The doctrines of this 
denomination he upheld by his life, which was that of an honest, honorable 
man, and a good citizen, whose word was as good as his bond. Personally he was 
of a quiet disposition, with domestic tastes. He died on his home farm when 
seventy-eight years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah 
Baxter, was born in Norfolk, England, and came to America in girlhood, 
settling in Rochester, N. Y., where she first met Mr. Moss. Like  him, she was 
a faithful member of the Methodist Church. Her death occurred on the homestead 
when she was fifty years old. Of her six children George B. was the eldest; 
William is a farmer in this township; Mary A. is the wife of Emory D. Platts, 
of Plainfield; Mrs. Martha O'Leary lives in this township; Mrs. Philenda 
Thompson, a widow, lives in Colorado; and Oliver is engaged in railroading in 
Wyoming.

The subject of this sketch was educated in the schools of Plainfield. When he 
was twenty-one he started out for himself, renting a portion of his father's 
farm and afterward, when his father became too old to engage in manual labor, 
he succeeded to the management of the homestead. On his father's death he 
purchased a part of the farm and has since bought the interests of the other 
heirs, being now the sole owner of the old homestead.  Under his management 
the place is kept improved and its buildings in good repair.

The Republican party receives his vote and he has been active in its rank. For 
a number of years he has served as school director and trustee. In 1862 he 
married Miss Harriet Platts, who was born in New York state and died in this 
township in 1891. The children born of their union are named as follows: 
Sherman, a farmer in this township; Lillie J., deceased; Minnie, wife of 
George Tower; Nellie, Mrs. Meyers, of Joliet; George A. and Cora, who are on 
the old homestead with their father.

Additional Comments:
Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing 
Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present

Biographical Publishing Company; Chicago 1900

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