THOMAS E. MELVIN. For seventy-four years Thomas E. Melvin has been are sident of Greene county. Few indeed of its citizens have so longreside d within its borders and he has intimate knowledge of itshistory as it h as emerged from pioneer conditions to take its placewith the best deve loped counties of this growing commonwealth. He hasseen the work of im provement as it has been carried forward alongprogressive lines, and h as co-operated in many improvements for thegeneral good. For more than h alf a century he has been numbered amongthe substantial and thrifty fa rmers of Rubicon township, and he isnow living a retired life in the c ity of Greenfield.
Mr. Melvin is a native of Tennessee, his birth having occurred inWashi ngton county, on the 22d of December, 1824. His father, JohnMelvin, wa s likewise born in Tennessee and was there married to MissEliza Crouch . In the spring of 1831 he brought his family toIllinois, locating in G reene county, and later he settled in Rubicontownship, where he entere d land from the government and opened up afarm, transforming a tract o f wild prairie into richly cultivatedfields. Subsequently he establish ed his home in Greenfield, where hislast years were passed, both he an d his wife dying in this city.
Thomas E. Melvin was a youth of six years, when he accompanied hispare nts to Illinois and upon the old home farm he was reared,assisting in t he arduous task of developing new land as his age andstrength permitte d. The occupation to which he was reared he made hislife work and as a c ompanion and helpmate on life's journey he choseMiss Elizabeth Coonrod , who was born in Wayne county, Illinois, theirmarriage being celebrat ed in 1847. Her father, Stephen Coonrod, was anative of Kentucky and i n 1829 came to Illinois, being among thefirst settlers of Greene count y.
After his marriage Mr. Melvin engaged in farming on the old homesteadf or two or three years and afterward purchased a farm, while stilllater h e bought the old home place, his father removing toGreenfield. There h e successfully carried on general agriculturalpursuits until 1902, whe n he rented the farm and took up his abode inGreenfield, where he has s ince lived. He owned and in former yearsoperated seven hundred acres o f land, but has now divided theproperty among his children. He made go od improvements upon his farm,erecting a large and substantial barn an d other necessaryoutbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock. A tw o story brickhouse had been built by his father the fall before our su bject wasmarried. He was a very successful farmer and stock raiser, al so fedconsiderable stock, shipping from two to four carloads of cattle t othe city markets annually, together with a large number of hogs. His business capacity and executive force were demonstrated by the capablec onduct of all his farming interests and the excellent financialresults w hich attended his efforts.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin was blessed with six children, of whomf our are living: Sylvester is married and owns a good farm in thiscount y. He has four children: Leon, Morris, Mildred and Marguerite.George, a lso the owner of a good farm in Greene county, is marriedand has two l iving children, Ethel and Grant, the former the wife ofGeorge Sykes, b y whom she has one child, Malcolm. George Melvin alsolost one daughter , Lulu, who died in early womanhood in September,1904. Edward is marri ed and is a farmer of Rubicon township. Minnieis the wife of Bert Metc alf, a farmer of Rubicon township, and theyhave three children, Willia m, Lee and Lewis. Mr. and Mrs. Melvin losttwo children, Edna, who died i n early womanhood; and Emma, who becamethe wife of Charles Smith, and d ied in 1893.
In his political views Mr. Melvin was formerly a Republican and casthi s first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln, but is now aProhibiti onist. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and forsome years w as active in the Grange. A resident of the county fromhis youth to the p resent time, he has for seventy-four years been awitness of its develo pment and is one of the few remaining earlysettlers here. He has seen t he wonderful changes that have occurredduring all these years as the c ounty has been transformed from awilderness and a swamp into a richly a gricultural district, dottedhere and there with thriving towns and cit ies which have all theimprovements and conveniences known to the older e ast. He canremember the days when primitive farm machinery was used an d, infact, has even plowed when following the share as it has turned t hesoil. He also gathered the harvests in the primitive manner of the early days and as the years advanced was quick to take up the methodsth at facilitated the farm work. He remembers, too, the pioneer homeswith t heir hardships and their hospitality. He commands the respect,confiden ce and friendship of his neighbors and acquaintances.
