My Genealogy Hound

ROBERT EMERY, an extensive land owner of Randolph County, owns and operates a finely improved farm situated on section 30, township 7, range 5. He was born in Staffordshire, England, August 19, 1830, and is a son of William and Mary A. (Such) Emery, natives of the same shire as that in which his birth occurred. In 1849 the parents, accompanied by their seven children, emigrated to the United States, and in September of that year settled in township 7, range 5, Randolph County, where for a number of years he operated as a renter. In 1853 the father purchased the farm where our subject now lives.

Upon the farm which they improved and transformed into one of the best in the locality, the parents continued to reside until their deaths. Their children were William, John, Robert, Stephen, Mary Ann, Henry C. and Alfred. Of these, four are living, namely: William, of Concordia, Kan., who during the late war enlisted as a member of Company E, Thirtieth Illinois Infantry; our subject; Stephen, of Albina, Oregon, and Henry, who resided in Oklahoma for some time, and now lives in California.

For a short time after coming to this county, Robert remained with his parents. He then went to Chester, where he entered the employ of M. S. McCormack to learn the blacksmith’s trade. A year later Mr. McCormack sold the shop to John Kennedy, with whom our subject remained for six months. Going from there to Opossum Prairie, he finished his apprenticeship with D. Cunningham. After assisting his father on the farm for a short time he opened a blacksmith shop in township 7, range 6, where he remained for three years. Meantime he established a home of his own. In September of the year 1854 he was united in marriage with Miss Mary M. Conder, who was born in Owen County, Ind., November 15, 1831, and came to this county in the fall of 1850, in company with her parents, Martin and Catharine (Fiscus) Conder, who were natives respectively of Kentucky and North Carolina. Mrs. Emery was one of nine children, whose names are, John, Mary M., Frederick, Solomon, Levi, Elizabeth, Adam, Eliza J. and Elias. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Emery has resulted in the birth of eight children, five of whom are living, viz.: R. N., Clara A., Walter, Hattie M. and John. With one exception, the children are all married and have families.

In 1856 Mr. Emery moved to Rockwood, and thence in the year 1871 he came to his present farm in township 7, range 5, where he has since continued to live, with the exception of two years spent in Rockwood. Buying the home farm in the year named, he has since greatly improved the place, and now has one of the comfortable homes of the county. He has deeded to his son twenty-five acres of his farm of one hundred and fifty-one acres. Here he and his wife hope to pass their declining years, surrounded by the comforts which they have earned by persistent labor and good management. They and their children are members of the Christian Church, and attend services in the chapel on the home farm. Mr. Emery is a generous contributor to religious enterprises, and donated the ground on which the church stands. Politically he was a Democrat prior to 1860, but since that time has been a supporter of Republican principles. He and his family are numbered among the best people of the county, where they have so long made their home, and they have gained a warm place in the hearts of their fellow-citizens.