My Genealogy Hound

THOMAS LICKISS. All honor is due to the noble pioneers of Illinois, who braved the hardships of pioneer life, endured many privations, and sacrificed much in order to establish homes for themselves and their families. It is due to their patient and persistent labors that the growth and prosperity of the state were laid upon enduring foundations. Some of these men have passed from the scenes of their earthly labors and live only in the affectionate remembrance of those who recognize their indebtedness to them.

The events in the life of Thomas Lickiss, embraced in the period extending from his birth in England, in July, 1811, to his death in Randolph County, March 28, 1878, may be briefly recorded as follows: He was reared to manhood in his native place, and was a young man of twenty-three years when in 1834 he came to America, remaining in this country about eleven years. Meantime, he visited Mexico, Canada and various parts of the United States. He then returned to England, where he married and made his home for four years. However, he was not content to remain permanently in England, and accordingly we find him in 1849 again in the United States. The same year witnessed his arrival in Steeleville, where he afterward resided.

Having learned the trade of a blacksmith in England, Mr. Lickiss opened a shop at Steeleville, and followed that occupation until compelled by disability to give it up. He then embarked in the mercantile business, and conducted a flourishing and profitable trade until the time of his death. In 1845, he married Miss Elizabeth Denniss, a native of England, whose parents lived and died in that country. In 1879, Mrs. Lickiss married John, the eldest brother of her late husband, and he continued the mercantile business until his death, which occurred in November, 1879. Since that time, Mrs. Lickiss has continued the business, and notwithstanding the fact that she is nearing her seventy-fourth birthday, she is quite active, and gives her personal supervision to the management of the store. She has never had any children of her own, but has reared three, Mary A. Ford, an orphan, who married John Sanders, and now resides in California; Maud May Williamson, who is still with her, and Fred Williamson, whom she cared for from the time of his mother’s death until his father’s second marriage.

Although Thomas Lickiss was a quiet, unassuming man, the people among whom he dwelt held him in warm regard, as they always found in him a true friend, ever considerate and pleasant in his manner, and they had a high opinion of his personal character, knowing him to be a man of principle and sound integrity. In his religious preference he, with his wife, was a Presbyterian, which has been the faith of the family for many generations.