My Genealogy Hound

BENJAMIN F. WILL. To this gentleman belonged the distinction of being one of the pioneers of Jackson County, where for many years he cultivated a fine farm on section 26, Somerset Township. This place continued to be his home until he was called from earth, December 12, 1893. So successful was he in his undertakings that he became the owner of three hundred and sixty acres of valuable land, and also gave to his children four hundred and twenty acres. The farm is surrounded and divided into fields by good fencing, while granaries, barns and other requisites of a modern estate are to be found conveniently located.

In Somerset County, Pa., the subject of this sketch was born July 19, 1824, being the son of Peter and Mary (Gebhart) Will, natives of Pennsylvania. He was of German descent, his paternal great-grandfather having been a native of that country. In 1836, accompanying his parents, he came west to Illinois, and for a few months sojourned in Sangamon County, near the present site of Springfield. The removal from their eastern home was made with a two-horse carriage and a wagon drawn by four horses, and not only were all the household effects thus conveyed, but also the father, mother and nine children. They were some four weeks en route to the new home, and meantime camped at night wherever the darkness overtook them.

In the fall of 1836 the family came to Jackson County and settled in Somerset Township, where the parents resided until their death. Of their children four survive, viz.: John, who lives in Ava, Ill.; Daniel, whose home is in Campbell Hill, Ill.; Mrs. Margaret Wheeler, a widow, living in Somerset Township; and George G., who also resides in Somerset Township. Our subject was reared to manhood principally in Jackson County, where from youth he was familiar with the scenes of pioneer life. His first home after coming to Somerset Township was a log cabin, which, with its puncheon floor and clapboard roof, presented a typical picture of frontier existence.

All the hardships incident to life in a new and undeveloped country Mr. Will experienced in his youth, and much of his time was devoted to clearing land, of which he improved about three hundred acres. However, he did not devote his attention exclusively to farming, but in addition thereto he and a brother, Alexander (now deceased), operated a sawmill for twenty years, meeting with considerable success in that undertaking. He was a man of extended information upon topics of general and local interest, but his knowledge was gained by self-culture, his educational advantages having been the most limited. In childhood he was a pupil in the neighboring schoolhouse, which was built of logs and furnished with slab seats resting on wooden pins.

August 26, 1847, Mr. Will was united in marriage with Miss Susan A., daughter of Henry Whipkey, one of the pioneers of Jackson County, having settled here some time during the ‘40s. Mrs. Will was born in Somerset County, Pa., and by her union with our subject became the mother of the following named children: Rollin D., who lives in Ava Township, Jackson County; Freeman, also a resident of this county; Corda, wife of H. Gill, living in Somerset Township; George, also of this township; Irvin, who lives in Murphysboro, Ill.; Ollie, wife of Frank Freedline, of De Soto Township; Emma, who married Philip Fager, and lives in Murphysboro, Ill.; Jane, who is the wife of J. Childers, of Jackson County; Nora, the wife of Joseph Schrader, of Murphysboro; Birdie, now Mrs. James Red, of De Soto Township; Julia, living with her mother; and Catherine, deceased.

In his political sentiments Mr. Will was a Republican, and voted at the first election ever held in Somerset Township. While he was frequently solicited to accept offices of trust, he invariably refused, preferring the quietude of home life to the excitement of public affairs. In his religious belief he was a Lutheran, and at the time of his death was serving as Trustee of the church property. His father, in company with Philip Kimmel and a few other pioneers, built the first church edifice of that denomination in the county. Throughout his entire life it was his aim to promote the well-being of his fellow-citizens and aid in the development of the county’s resources, and his labors in behalf of his community entitle him to prominent rank among its honored pioneers.