BIOGRAPHY - A. CHERRY
A.
L. Cherry is now living a retired life on his farm of one hundred and sixty
acres, located on section 9, Patton township. He is a native of the Buckeye
state, his birth having occurred in Greene county, on the 13th of December,
1832. His parents, James and Elizabeth (Greenwood) Cherry, were natives of
Virginia and at an early day took up their abode in Ohio, where the father
purchased land and there reared his family of eleven children, of whom only
two now survive, the brother of our subject being David, a resident of Ohio.
A. L. Cherry acquired his education in the schools of his native state and remained under the parental roof until he had reached the age of twenty years. He then learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for seven years. Believing, however, that he would more readily acquire a competence in other pursuits in the west, he then made his way to Moultrie county, Illinois, where he operated a tract of land which he rented, for two years, and he also spent three years in Washington, Iowa. In 1862 he took up his abode in Ford county, purchasing a farm of eighty acres, situated on section 9, Patton township, to which he later added an additional eighty-acre tract, so that his place now embraces one hundred and sixty acres. He has erected all of the buildings which are here seen today and added to the productiveness of his fields by the liberal use of tiling, so that his farm is now in a high state of cultivation. For many years he was actively identified with the work of the farm but owing to his well directed labors and careful management he acquired a competence that now enables him to spend the evening of his life in honorable retirement.
Mr. Cherry has been twice married, his first union being with Miss Martha Davis, by whom he had four children but two of the number are now deceased, the surviving daughters being: Laura, who resides in Paxton; and Etta, the widow of Samuel Strong, a resident of Ford county. The wife and mother passed away in 1870, and three years later Mr. Cherry was married again, his second union being with Margaret Archer, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1835. She graduated from the high school in Washington, Pennsylvania, and for eight years prior to her marriage was successfully engaged in teaching. The parents of Mrs. Cherry were natives of Virginia and of Pennsylvania respectively, and she is one of a family of thirteen children, of whom only three survive, her sisters being: Sarah, the wife of Charles Ross, of Crawford county, Illinois; and Charlotte, the widow of Jonathan Raney, of Ohio.
Mr. Cherry has always given his support to the republican party and aside from serving as school director for several years has filled no public office, his time and attention during his active business career having been fully occupied with his private business affairs. Both he and his wife are consistent members of the United Presbyterian church at Paxton. He has lived in Ford county for more than four decades and during that time has witnessed many changes as pioneer conditions have given way to more modern methods in various lines. His acquaintance is wide and no man of this section of the state enjoys in larger degree the esteem and high regard of his neighbors and friends. He has now reached the advanced age of seventy-five years and his persistent labor in former years now enables him to enjoy in retirement the accumulations of a profitable, successful and honorable career, while in the companionship of his estimable wife he takes great delight.
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 370-374.
