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Below is a family biography included in The History of McLean County, Illinois published by Wm. LeBaron, Jr. Co. in 1879. These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary. Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more. There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.
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JOHN W. RITTER, farmer; P. O. Arrowsmith; born in Ross Co., Ohio, in 1821, emigrating to this county in 1854, settling in the vicinity of Le Roy, where he remained one year, and then removed to the place which he now occupies; he was the first settler in the southern part of Martin Township. He was married, in 1854, to Maria Dawson, daughter of Henry Dawson, one of the early settlers of Old Town, this county. His education was of necessity limited, as but few facilities existed for acquiring an education in the vicinity in which he lived at that early day, but by observation and diligence he has acquired business capacity sufficient to successfully conduct his present extensive business; he is the owner of one section of land, well stocked and improved and worth about $40 per acre.
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This family biography is one of 1257 biographies included in The History of McLean County, Illinois published by Wm. LeBaron, Jr. Co. in 1879. View the complete description here: The History of McLean County, Illinois
View additional McLean County, Illinois family biographies here: McLean County, Illinois Biographies
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