BIOGRAPHY - CAMPBELL BROTHERTON
In
Guthrie and throughout this section of Ford county the name of Campbell G.
Brotherton is regarded as a synonym of integrity, for over the record of his
business career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. He
possesses unfaltering diligence and his labors are intelligently directed by
sound and discriminating judgment. His birth occurred in Valley Grove, West
Virginia, not far from Wheeling, in 1865. His parents were John and Mary
(Gaston) Brotherton, the former a farmer by occupation. Their son Campbell
was only about a year old when his father died, being then about fifty years
of age. The mother came to Illinois in 1878 and located on a farm southeast
of Guthrie, which is now the property of Richard Bonnen.
Campbell G. Brotherton was a youth of thirteen years at the time of the removal to Illinois. He acquired his preliminary education in the district schools and afterward continued his studies in the Gibson high school, thus qualifying for a practical and responsible business career. In the school of experience he has also learned many valuable lessons and from the incidents, contacts and experiences of life he has learned many helpful lessons. He remained at home until seventeen years of age and then started out in life on his own account as a clerk in the store of P. J. Yager in Guthrie, where he continued for five or six years as a most trustworthy and faithful employe. Desiring that his labors should more directly benefit himself, he then began buying grain in Guthrie and has since continued in the business, being one of the well known grain merchants of this part of the state. In the fall of 1898, in association with Mr. McClure, he built an elevator and at the same time they established a banking business, which has been of much convenience to the people of the district. They also handle lumber, coal and tile and their trade is now quite extensive.
In September, 1889, Mr. Brotherton was united in marriage to Miss Addie L. Minor, a daughter of J. M. and Julia Minor, who were farming people. Her mother is now deceased, while her father resides upon a farm near Guthrie. Mrs. Brotherton was born in 1870 and died in 1902, leaving five children: Roy, Floyd, William, Vernard and Edna, all yet at home. Mr. Brotherton is devoted to the welfare and happiness of his family and regards no personal effort or sacrifice on his part too great if it will promote the welfare and interests of his children.
He has been school treasurer for about fourteen years and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. He was made an Odd Fellow in Gibson City Lodge, No. 542, I. O. O. F., on the 25th of October, 1889, and became a charter member of the Guthrie Lodge, with which he is now indentified. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church. Viewed in a personal light, Mr. Brotherton is a strong man, strong in his honor and his good name, strong in his ability to plan and to perform. He is noted throughout the community for his honesty and the citizens of Guthrie and the vicinity speak of him only in terms of the highest praise. This record is such a one as any man might be proud to possess and it has won for him the entire respect of his colleagues and the admiration of his contemporaries.
Extracted 19 Oct 2016 by Norma Hass from History of Ford County, Illinois, From Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, author E. A. Gardner, Volume 1, pages 428-431.
