My Genealogy Hound

S. B. EATON is a worthy representative of the business interests of Du Quoin. He is the senior member of the firm of S. B. Eaton & Co., proprietor of the Jupiter Coal Mines, and also of a large mercantile establishment, and is one of the Directors of the First National Bank of Du Quoin. His excellent business and executive ability, and his honorable, straightforward dealings have given him a prominence that places him at the front in business circles.

Mr. Eaton was born July 15, 1857, on a farm two and a-half miles south of Du Quoin. His father, W. B. Eaton, was born in Gratton, Mass., in 1831, and was the eldest son of Abel B. Eaton, who was also an eldest son. The latter was for some years a shoemaker of Massachusetts, but after his removal to New York was employed on the Hudson River. The family is directly descended from General Eaton, of Revolutionary fame, and traces its ancestry back to the landing of the “Mayflower.” Daniel Eaton, the great grandfather of our subject, was quite a prominent man, and he and his son, Abel B., together with the latter’s son, W. B., came to Illinois. The first named died in Chicago, and the second in Madison County, Ill., where he engaged in farming.

Like his father, W. B. Eaton learned the shoe-maker’s trade, and was employed on the Hudson River for several years, but after coming to the west, turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. Later he came to Du Quoin, where he is now acting as Superintendent of the large coal mines belonging to his son. He married Elizabeth Buckels, who was a native of Knoxville, Ind., and died in May, 1890. In the family were three children: S. B.; Abel C., who is a master mechanic and is employed in the mines in that capacity; and Mary E., wife of Edward Musselman, the partner of the subject of this sketch.

S. B. Eaton was the eldest of the family, and was descended from a line of eldest sons dating back five generations. His school privileges were quite limited. When a lad of twelve, he managed to get possession of a one-horse rig, and commenced to run an express wagon in Du Quoin, following this business for several years. At the age of seventeen he went to St. John, a little salt manufacturing town near Du Quoin, where he was employed in a store for ten years. Returning to this place, Mr. Eaton embarked in merchandising in company with his father-in-law, William Blackburn. They began operations on a small scale, but the young man possessed energy, enterprise and ambition, and it was not long before he was making money. He enlarged his stock to meet the growing demands of his trade, and is now at the head of an extensive mercantile establishment, which yields him a handsome income. In 1886 he became interested in a coal mine, in company with others, and opened up what is known as the Jupiter Coal Mines. Employment is furnished to some two hundred men, and the mine yields a large output. Mr. Eaton is also one of the stock holders and a Director in the First National Bank of which he is now Vice-President. He has other business interests of an extensive and important nature.

On the 2d of May, 1888, Mr. Eaton wedded Laura, youngest daughter of William Blackburn, his former partner in business, and now a wealthy retired merchant. They have one child, William Leslie, three years old. Their home, which is one of the elegant residences in southern Illinois, was erected at a cost of $20,000, and is richly and tastefully furnished. It is also the abode of hospitality, for their many friends always receive within its doors a hearty welcome.

Mr. Eaton is a Prohibitionist in politics, but has never been an office seeker. He is one of the Trustees of the Methodist Church, to which his wife belongs. Whatever he undertakes he always carries forward to a successful completion, and few men in this part of the state have made such rapid strides in the financial world.