BIOGRAPHY - ELIZABETH McTIER
No
history of Ford county would be complete without mention of Mrs. Elizabeth
(Thatcher) McTier, who is the oldest lady living within its borders. For
more than a half century she has been a resident of Illinois and since 1867
has made her home in Ford county. She is the widow of William McTier, who
was born in New Jersey, October 23, 1808. The birth of Mrs. McTier occurred
in the same state, May 28, 1812, and she is therefore now in her
ninety-sixth year. She was left an orphan when very young, after which she
lived with her grandparents until she was twelve years of age and then
started out to earn her own living. She worked for others up to the time of
her marriage, which was celebrated in New Jersey.
Mr. and Mrs. McTier continued to reside in the east until 1854, when they removed to Illinois, settling first in Canton. There the husband worked at his trade of wagon-making for a number of years or until 1867, when they removed to Ford county, where Mrs. McTier has since made her home. The death of her husband occurred on the 27th of June, 1886, and was the occasion of deep and wide-spread regret not only to his family but to many friends as well. Unto him and his wife were born eight children but only two are now living: J. B., who is a resident of Knox county, Illinois; and E. B. McTier, who is blind and makes his home in Piper City.
Mrs. McTier derives a good income from a valuable farm of one hundred and twenty acres on section 14, Pella township. She also owns two nice residences in Piper City, renting one of them, while she occupies the other with her granddaughter, who is acting as her housekeeper. Mrs. McTier now has six grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Although Mrs. McTier is so well advanced in years she is yet quite active, retaining her physical and mental faculties in a remarkable degree. She is widely known in Piper City and Ford county, where she has now lived for more than forty years and throughout this entire period she has enjoyed the respect and esteem of those with whom she has come in contact, while her good deeds have closely endeared her to many. It is with pleasure that we present to our readers the life record of Mrs. McTier, the oldest lady of Ford county, and we join with her many friends in wishing that she may be spared to reach the one hundredth milestone on life's journey.
Extracted 17 Oct 2016 by Norma Hass from History of Ford County, Illinois, From Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, author E. A. Gardner, Volume 2, pages 768-771.
