John Gorsuch Mayer, who is living retired in Girard township, has
been identified with the agricultural interests of Macoupin county most
of the time since 1875 and is also connected with other lines of
business. He is a native of Ohio, born in Miami county, December 5,
1855, a son David and Anna (Bluffer) Mayer, both of whom were born in
Pennsylvania. He is a grandson of Christian Mayer and Samuel Huffer,
both of whom were natives of the Keystone state. David Mayer came west
with his family in 1865, the last year of the Civil war, when there was
an extensive movement of settlers from the crowded communities of the
east, and located in South Otter township, Macoupin county, Illinois. He
was a man of energy and good business ability and became the owner of a
farm of two hundred acres, continuing upon his place until his death,
which occurred in 1891. There were eight children in the family of Mr.
and Mrs. Mayer, three of whom survive: David M., of Peoria, Illinois,
who married Amanda England and is the father of two sons, William and
Fred; John G., of this review; and Mary, who is the wife of James W.
Kable, residing in Toledo, Ohio, and they have one son, David M.
At the age of ten years, John G. Mayer arrived in Macoupin county
with his parents. He received his preliminary education in the public
schools of Ohio and Macoupin county and, in 1875, began to devote his
entire time to agriculture and stock-raising. In 1880, he went to
Nebraska and engaged in farming for seven months, when he returned to
South Otter township and assumed charge of his father’s farm, also
cultivating ninety-six acres which he purchased on his own account. In
1901, after the death of his mother, he removed to Toledo. Ohio, and
became interested in a lunch room, continuing in that city for three
years. He then removed to South Bend, Indiana, and operated a restaurant
for one year, after which he returned to Girard township, Macoupin
county, Illinois, and retired from active labor. He has been successful
financially and is the owner of lands in Illinois and Kansas and is also
a stockholder of the Farmers’ Coal Mining Company.
In politics,
Mr. Mayer usually supports the republican party in national affairs but
he has independent proclivities and is governed in a large measure in
voting by the character of the candidates and the gravity of the issues
involved. He is a man of good judgment and, by contact with the world,
has gained a practical knowledge of human nature which is often of more
value than much book learning. He has demonstrated his ability as a
business man and, having acquired a competence, is now resting among the
friends of his earlier days surrounded by scenes that recall many
pleasant associations.
Extracted 17 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 537-538.
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