BIOGRAPHY - Thomas Wiley
THOMAS
R. WILEY, M. D., B. S., the pioneer physician and surgeon of Gibson City, or
the oldest in years of practice now residing there, was born near Colfax,
McLean County, Ill., June 19, 1844. His parents were Lyttle R. and Sarah R.
Wiley. The father was a native of Kentucky, born near Lexington, on the 16th
of November, 1819, and came to Illinois in 1840, engaging in farming in
McLean County. His marriage was celebrated in Indiana, his wile being a
native of that State, born in Switzerland County. He died in November, 1889,
but her death occurred at her home in McLean County, this State, in
September, 1885.
Thomas R. was reared on a farm until twenty years of age and after attending
the preparatory schools, took a full collegiate course at the Illinois
Wesleyan University, being graduated with the degree of B. S. in the class
of 1871. He then began the study of medicine with Dr. Hill, of Bloomington,
and later took a course of lectures at the Michigan State University at Ann
Arbor. Later he attended Rush Medical College of Chicago, where he further
fitted himself for the practice of his profession, and was graduated in the
class of February, 1874. The following March he established practice in
Gibson City, which he has continued with marked success to the present time.
He is a member of the Illinois Central Medical Association and of the
National Railway Surgeons' Association. He has been the local surgeon of the
Illinois Central Railroad for four years and is examining physician and
surgeon for the following named insurance companies and societies: New York
Life, New York Mutual, the Equitable of New York, New York Home; Aetna, of
Hartford; Northwestern Mutual, of Milwaukee, Wis.; Franklin, of Hartford,
Conn.; the Mutual, of Hartford, Travelers', and others.
On the
17th of June, 1874, Dr. Wiley was married in Bloomington, Ill., to Miss
Mattie E. Reeves, a daughter of O. S. Reeves. Mrs. Wiley was born in McLean
County, and was reared in Leroy, Ill. She is a devoted member of the
Christian Church and one of its earnest workers. Her father died when she
was a child and her mother, who still survives her husband, makes her home
in Bloomington. Dr. and Mrs. Wiley have one child, a daughter, Beulah Belle,
who was born in Gibson City.
The Doctor is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and, in political
sentiment, is independent. He has been chosen by his fellow-citizens to
various official positions of honor and trust. He was the second President,
of Gibson Village Board. For several years he has been a member of the
Village School Board, for three years of that time serving as its President
and has shown much interest in the advancement of education. He was one of
the organizers of the People's International Investment and Loan
Association, of which he has been its President, and a director. He is also
interested in the land syndicate that has invested in the city real estate
under the title of the Gibson Land Improvement Company. In addition to
valuable city property, Dr. Wiley is the owner of a fine farm of five
hundred and thirty acres, situated in the town of Brown, Champaign County,
which he leases. The Doctor is a physician and surgeon of recognized
ability, thorough culture and large experience. He has been eminently
successful in his practice, accumulating a valuable property, and has won a
foremost place among the skilled of his profession in Eastern and Central
Illinois.
Extracted 04 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from Portrait and Biographical Record of Ford County, Illinois, published in 1892, pages 235-236.
