Biography - GEORGE WELD HILLIARD

George Weld Hilliard, president of the First National Bank of Brighton and prominent as a capable farmer and business man, is a native of Macoupin county and during a long and active life has been remarkably successful in promoting the permanent interests of this region. Born in Brighton, November 1, 1840, he is a son of Amos Avery and Charlotte (Towne) Hilliard, both of whom were born in New Hampshire. The ancestors of the family were early residents of New England and the name has been well known in New Hampshire for many years. Amos A. Hilliard came west in 1832 and engaged in shipping pork by river to New Orleans. On one occasion he accompanied the cargo down the Mississippi and the boat struck a snag and went to the bottom, all the passengers being drowned except Mr. Hilliard and two others. He returned to New Hampshire but came hack again to Illinois in 1834, and from that time during ihe remainder of his life was identified with Brighton township, becoming the owner of a valuable farm of four hundred and twenty-five acres. He was three times married. His first marriage took place on the 30th of November, 1857, to Charlotte Towne, who was born August 4, 1802, and came with her brother Rodney to Macoupin county, Illinois, in 1833. To this union two sons were born, one of whom died at the age of four years, the other being George W. of this review. The mother of these children died August 8, 1845, and in 1846 Mr. Hilliard was married to Mrs. Harriet Towne, the widow of Joseph Boutwell Towne, a brother of his first wife. She died in October, 1872, and in the year following Mr. Hilliard was married to Mrs. A. S. Everett. He was a man of good education and of unusual enterprise and business ability, being noted as a fruit grower and also for the production of an excellent quality of vinegar and cider. He possessed unusual public spirit and his death, February 28, 1878, occasioned general regret throughout a section with which he had been actively identified for more than forty years.

George W. Hilliard received his early education in the district schools and later attended Shurtleff College of Upper Alton, being a student of that institution for three years, from 1857 to 1859 inclusive. After leaving college he took a course in the Bryant & Stratton Business College at St. Louis. After returning home he assisted his father in farm work until the close of the Civil war and then assumed the management of the home farm, which he inherited upon the death of his father. He was one of the first to devote special attention to fruit culture in Macoupin county and gained a national reputation for cider and vinegar produced upon his farm. In April, 1909, he assisted in organizing the First National Bank of Brighton and has since served as its president. He has been unusually fortunate in his investments and in addition to his interests he and his wife are the owners of six hundred and forty acres of land in Brighton township.

In 1864 Mr. Hilliard was married to Miss Celia Adelaide Chase, a daughter of Taylor H. Chase, who was a schoolmate of Amos A. Hilliard in New Hampshire and came with him to Macoupin county, Illinois. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hilliard, five of whom survive, namely: Charles Avery, who is in charge of the home farm; Stella, who is the wife of Allen A. Davison, of Morgan Park, Illinois; Leah and Frank Wyman, twins, the former of whom is at home and the latter an electrical engineer in the employ of the General Electric Company of St. Louis; and Gladys, who is at home.

In politics Mr. Hilliard adheres to the republican party but has never been an office seeker and has at various times declined to allow his name to be placed upon the ticket as a candidate for county supervisor. He is a member of Hibbard Lodge, No. 249, A. F. & A. M., and holds a demit from Alton Chapter, No. 8, R. A. M. He and his wife are identified with the Baptist church, in which he has served for many years as trustee- A few years ago he retired from active business affairs and spends about nine months of each year in St. Louis, the remainder of the year being passed amidst familiar scenes on the old family homestead. He is a man of unusual pleasing address, of unquestioned integrity and ability and has now arrived at an age when he can enjoy at ease the results of many years of activity. He has won an enviable reputation in the business and financial world and is justly honored and esteemed wherever he is known.

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 352-353.