BIOGRAPHY - GEORGE STOCKDALE
George
Stockdale is a representative of the farming interests of Ford county and is
also serving as a member of the board of county supervisors, He was born in
Yorkshire, England, February 9, 1851, his parents being William and Frances
(Coates) Stockdale, both of whom were natives of Yorkshire, the former born
in 1822 and the latter in 1819. The father was a farmer by occupation and
resided in the place of his nativity until 1871, when he crossed the
Atlantic to the United States, settling upon a farm near Bloomington,
Illinois. For a long period he tilled the soil and in the careful management
of his place developed an excellent farm, which year by year brought him a
good financial return. In later years he has lived retired and at the
present writing, in 1908, makes his home with his son George. He is a
republican in politics and interested in the questions and issues of the day
but has never been an office seeker. His wife died in 1884 at the age of
sixty-five years and was laid to rest in the Bloomington cemetery. They were
the parents of five children, of whom four are yet living: Thomas, of
Bloomington, Illinois; George, of this review; Elizabeth, the wife of
Christopher Doner, of Bloomington, Illinois; and Rose, who became the wife
of John Mann and also makes her home in Bloomington, Illinois.
George Stockdale was reared to his twentieth year in Yorkshire, England, and acquired his education in its public schools, but ambitious to enjoy better business opportunities than could be obtained in the home neighborhood, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States in 1871, lauding at New York city in company with his mother and sisters. He had no funds with which to provide for their immediate wants and for a week or more, while waiting for transportation to Bloomington, he and his mother were sent to Ellis Island, where Mr. Stockdale shoveled coal for their board. When funds readied them they continued their journey westward to Bloomington, Illinois, and in that locality George Stockdale began his career as a farmer. He was employed at farm labor until 1876, when he came to Ford county and settled on the Sullivant estate. Here he has been identified with agricultural interests for the past thirty-one years and is now farming four hundred acres of land which is a part of the Sibley estate. The neat and attractive appearance of the place indicates his careful supervision and practical and progressive methods, he being widely known as one of the leading farmers of the county.
In 1878 Mr. Stockdale was united in marriage to Miss Laura Roseland, of Sullivant township. Unto them have been born seven children: Rose, now deceased; George, Maud and William, all at home; Florence, who has departed this life; Leta, at home; and one who died in infancy.
In politics Mr. Stockdale is a stanch republican and is serving for the third consecutive term as a member of the county board of supervisors, his reelections being a tangible proof of the confidence that is reposed in him by his fellow townsmen and of the ability which he displays in the discharge of his duties. He is a member of Burr Oaks Lodge, No. 321, K. P., and of Lookout Camp, No. 1136, M. W. A. He certainly deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, as he owes his success entirely to his own labors. Not afraid of hard work, his industry has proven the key which has unlocked for him the portals of prosperity.
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 778-781.
