My Genealogy Hound

COLLISTER, GEORGE W. farmer, Sec. 18, P.O. Breese. Mr. Collister is an early settler of this county, and was born in Vermont, November 6, 1818; in company with the Hon. Judge Worcester, of White Hall, he set out by way of the Lake Erie Canal and Ohio River for Illinois; in due time the two emigrants arrived at White Hall when it contained a few scattered houses. Mr. Worcester became a school teacher. Mr. Collister worked at his trade, that of a blacksmith, for three years, proprietor of a shop; he now moved on Apple Creek, between Wilmington and White Hall, where he opened a blacksmith shop; during this time, date 1839, he was married to Miss Maria Johnson, a native of Vermont; for many years he worked as a blacksmith, and in 1852 set out for the golden shores of the Pacific, where he remained five years among the gold mines, becoming moderately successful; in 1857, returning to Illinois, he settled down to the sweet life of a farmer, having purchased 130 acres prior to his journey to the Pacific; for forty-two years, with the exception of his short residence on the Pacific coast, Mr. Collister has made his home here; for thirty-six years he has been a resident of Wilmington, and is the oldest settler now living within its limits; the marriage of Mr. Collister was blessed with six children, five of whom are living: Alfred, George, Lucy, Julia, and Mellisa; Mr. C. owns a valuable town property.