Close
application and energy have constituted the basic elements in the
success of Samuel W. David, who is well known in Carlinville through his
operations in the real estate and insurance field. His worth as a
business man and citizen is widely acknowledged in this city where for
twenty-seven years he has made his home. He was born in Jersey county,
Illinois, near Brighton, November 16, 1849, and is a representative of
an old family of Welsh descent. Owen David, born in the little
rock-ribbed country of Wales, settled at Duck Creek in Delaware in the
latter part of the seventeenth or the early part of the eighteenth
century. One of his sons was Enoch David, who was married four times,
his fourth wife being Elizabeth Harrison, the daughter of John Harrison,
who was a cousin of William Henry Harrison, president of the United
States. Enoch David died in November, 1793, and was laid to rest at
Woodbridgetown, Pennsylvania, where twenty-one years before had been
interred the remains of his wife Elizabeth, who died April 13, 1772. His
children were: Sarah, born May 28, 1765; Daniel George Whitfield,
February 10, 1768; and Owen, February 16, 1772.
Of this family
Daniel George Whitfield David was the grandfather of Samuel W. David, of
this review. He settled near Smithfield, Pennsylvania, where he followed
the occupation of farming. He married Elizabeth Wells on the 29th of
December, 1789, in Pennsylvania, and both passed away in that state, the
latter June 20, 1823, and the former May 8, 1861, at the advanced age of
ninetythree years. They had a large family of thirteen children, namely:
Rebecca, born October 25, 1790; Enoch, October 14, 1792; Rachael, March
14, 1794; Penelope, April 11, 1796; William, March 3, 1798; Ebenezer,
April 15, 1800; Jesse, February 22, 1802; Naomi, February 20, 1804;
Isaac G., February 10, 1806; Samuel W., October 4, 1807; Maria. February
9, 1810; Bennoe, April 3, 1812, and Joseph M., April 22, 1816.
Jesse David, the seventh in order of birth in
this family, was always a farmer and in 1835 came to Illinois, settling
in Jersey county, southwest of Brighton. There he took up government
land and in 1850 removed to the vicinity of Bunker Hill, where he passed
away April 11, 1852. His family was reared in that locality and there
resided until 1864. In early manhood he had wedded Barbara Pentzer. Both
were natives of Pennsylvania and Mrs. David was a daughter of George
Pentzer, a Pennsylvania farmer, who was of German descent. Her death
occurred in Lincoln, Illinois, August 29, 1879, Both Mr. and Mrs. Jesse
David were consistent Christian people, holding membership in the
Presbyterian church. In their family were the following children: Ashbel
G., who died in Carlinville in December, 1910; Jacob P., of Clay county,
Illinois; George O., who during the Civil war was lost on the boat
called The Queen of the West; Jane, the widow of Charles Winans, now of
Lincoln, Illinois; Lewis D., of Cameron, Missouri; William I., who
passed away in early manhood; and Samuel W., of this review.
The
last named was reared on his father’s farm about two miles east of
Bunker Hill and in his youthful days attended successively the district
schools, the Bunker Hill Academy and the high school of Lincoln,
Illinois, from which he was graduated. He then took a trip through the
west, spending two years, after which he returned to Lincoln, where he
learned the tinner’s trade, which he followed for a number of years.
Subsequently he engaged in the hardware business on his own account at
Sullivan, Illinois, for two years, and then returned to Lincoln and
clerked in the hardware store in which he had learned his trade. His
next removal took him to South Dakota and he spent two years near Blunt,
where he took up government land. His residence in Carlinville dates
from 1884, when he formed a partnership with his brother, A. G. David,
for the publication of the Carlinville Democrat. For seventeen years
they conducted the paper with great success and then sold out to the
present proprietors. Since that time Samuel W. David has engaged in the
real-estate and insurance business and has secured a large clientage by
his straightforward business methods and unfaltering persistency of
purpose.
Mr. David married Miss Hannah C. Fruit, of Bunker Hill,
a daughter of Franklin and Elizabeth Fruit. She was born at Jefferson
City, Missouri, May 31, 1849. Her parents removed from Missouri and
settled near Bunker Hill, Illinois, where both died when well advanced
in years. They were the parents of four children, Eliza, Sarah, Hannah
and Benjamin. Mr. and Mrs. David became the parents of five children,
namely: Frank E., a printer of Chicago, who married Cora Adams; Jesse
G., an engineer operating in Chicago; Alice, at home; Roy, a twin
brother of Alice, who died in infancy; and Ralph, residing in
California. The mother of these children died in Carlinville, October 7,
1894, in the faith of the Baptist church, of which she was a devoted
member.
Mr. David belongs to the Presbyterian church and also to
Mount Nebo Lodge, No. 76, A. F. & A. M., and Macoupin Chapter, No. 87,
R. A. M., of both of which he is secretary. Politically he is a
republican but has never been an office seeker, preferring to
concentrate his energies upon his business affairs and the obligations
which good citizenship and social relations impose.
Extracted 14 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 338-342.
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