One of the most carefully kept and well cultivated farms in Shipman
township is that of Charles Warren Black, who in addition to his
agricultural pursuits is discharging the duties of a railway postal
clerk, having been in the government service for thirteen years. He was
born in the vicinity of Medora, Macoupin county, on the 16th of October,
1864. He is a son of one of the successful agriculturists of this
county, the late Charles Black, who was born in Circleville, Ohio, on
the 3d of April, 1838. One of five children when still a young lad,
Charles Black became self-supporting. Leaving home, he went to Sedalia,
Missouri, where he resided until 1860, when he came to Illinois,
locating in Greene county. There he met Miss Martha J. Baldwin, to whom
he was married on the 16th day of August, 1863. She was a native of
Ohio, her natal day having been the 3d of April, 1839, and a daughter of
Benjamin and Martha (Varner) Baldwin. In the paternal line she was of
English extraction, the Baldwins having come from the mother country to
Virginia during the colonial days. They were always numbered among those
loyal settlers who struggled for the advancement of the colonies and
sought freedom from the yoke of Great Britain, a great-great-uncle of
our subject having fought in the War for Independence. During his early
manhood Benjamin Baldwin removed from his native state to Ohio, locating
in the vicinity of Osceola prior to the war of 1812. There, he engaged
in farming until the second war with Great Britain broke out, when he
enlisted and hurried to the front, serving during the entire period of
hostilities. When peace was restored he returned to Ohio and became one
of the influential and prominent men of his community, having been
elected to represent his district in the state legislature on three
different occasions. He continued to make his home in the Buckeye state
until 1852, when with his wife and eleven children he came to Illinois,
settling in Greene county. There as elsewhere Benjamin Baldwin soon
became a leader in the community, possessing the power, determination
and independence of thought and action as well as indifference to public
opinion that ever characterize the men of strength and ability. Capable
men were needed in the legislature in those terrible days before the war
and naturally Benjamin Baldwin was elected to represent his district.
The later years of his life were spent in retirement at Whitehall, in
the vicinity of which his farm was located, and there he passed away in
1866. In the management of his own affairs he had displayed the same
ability and executive skill as had marked his public service and at the
time of his demise he owned two thousand acres of land. A tactician of
more than average ability, he was a general in the Ohio militia during
his residence in that state in the '40s, there as elsewhere his
personality compelling recognition of his powers. He was one of those
who stamp their impress so strongly upon the community where they live,
that they are never forgotten; their influence being too far-reaching to
pass away with the physical man.
Very soon after their marriage
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Black removed to Macoupin county, locating on a
farm on section 17 of Shipman township, and there Mrs. Black passed away
on the 1st of September, 1899, but her husband survived until the 12th
of March, 1908, his demise occurring at the age of sixty-nine years. To
them were born two children: Charles Warren, the subject of this sketch;
and Eva A., the wife of Charles A. Andrews, of Shipman township.
Charles Warren was reared to manhood on his father’s farm and
attended the public schools in the vicinity in the acquirement of his
education. After the completion of the course he entered Brown’s
Business College at Jacksonville, where lie obtained a more practical
understanding of commercial methods. Returning home he applied himself
to the work of the farm until 1897, when he took the civil service
examination for postal clerks, and in July of the following year
received his first appointment. He was on the Big Four between St. Louis
and Indianapolis for a year, then transferred to the Chicago. Burlington
& Quincy, between St. Louis and Rock Island, where he is still serving.
After the death of his father he took possession of the old homestead,
which he has ever since been cultivating. His fields are almost entirely
devoted to cereals, but he is also an extensive fruit grower, having an
orchard of twenty acres on which he raises apples, pears and small
fruits. He is quite enthusiastic about the raising of poultry, and for
this purpose he has most excellent facilities, having one chicken house
that will accommodate eleven hundred fowls. His farm is well improved
and thoroughly modern in all of its appointments, being one of the most
attractive places in the entire community. Mr. Black is a man of unusual
versatility, his tastes being most varied. He possesses rare mechanical
skill and takes great delight in exercising it. He has always been a
great reader, being particularly fond of history and also scientific and
philosophical works and has a well selected library in which is
represented many of the best works of the master minds.
On the
12th of May, 1904, Mr. Black was married to Miss Eulalie Reno, a native
of this county and a daughter of James W. and Jane (Mitchell) Reno. Mr.
Black has been identified with the Masonic fraternity for twenty-two
years and is affiliated with the Medora Lodge. He is one of the
intellectual, broadminded men of his community, progressive in his ideas
and thorough in whatever he does, conscientious efficiency ever having
been characteristic of whatever he undertakes, and this unquestionably
is the secret of his success in his various activities.
Extracted 15 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 445-447.
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