from their depredations. Mr. Shinn was the owner of seven hundred acres of land in Pike county at ne time and was regarded as a very prominent and influential citizen, aiding in laying strong and deep the foundation for the present prosperity and progress of this section of the state. He reared a family of thirteen children, of whom only two are now living. His death occurred in March, 1852, while his wife passed away about 1846. William Shinn was educated in the primitive schools of Pike county and his youth was largely a period of earnest toil, as he had to begin work when quite young. He assisted in the arduous task of developing his father's farm and also in the improvement of other farm property in this county. When twenty years of age he was married but continued to reside upon the farm with his father until 1850, when he crossed the plains to California, attracted by the discovery of gold in that state. For a year he remained there, making some money during that period, after which he returned home by way of the isthmus route. On again reaching Illinois he took up farming, which he followed in different localities, buying and selling different tracts of land. In 1856 he purchased the place where he now resides and here he has since lived. He to-day owns nine hundred and eighty-six acres of valuable land in Pike county and four hundred acres in Michigan and has secured all of this property through his own efforts, save a tract of thirty-nine acres which his father gave him. He therefore certainly deserves much credit for what he has accomplished and his life record proves that success is not a matter of genius but is rather the outcome of clear judgment. Experience and indefatigable energy. He has been representative of the sheep-raising industry since 1866 and has owned from six hundred to three thousand sheep since then. In fact he is not only the pioneer of this business in Pike county but is also one of its prominent representatives, being to-day the largest sheep-raiser within its borders, having at the present time five hundred head of sheep upon his farm. During the past thirty-five years he has also been extensively engaged in raising and dealing in cattle and at one time had from two hundred and fifty to three hundred head but now keeps about one hundred head upon his place. His extensive property holdings and live-stock interests make him one of the wealthy farmers of the county. In 1846 Mr. Shinn was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jane Lytle, who was born in Ross county, Ohio, in March, 1827, and came to Pike county, Illinois, in 1837, with her father, Andrew Lytle, who lived in this county, where he owned and improved eighty acres of land. Subsequently, however, he removed to Calhoun county, where his death occurred. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Shinn were born four children: Mrs. Elizabeth Gay, who is now living with her father; Albion Shinn, living near here; William D., who resides near his father; and Mame, the wife of William Cunningham, also living in the same locality. The wife and mother died December 24, 1904, and her death was the occasion of deep regret among many friends, while to her family it came as an irreparable loss. She was a woman of beautiful character, kindly, generous spirit and warmhearted charity and by her many good qualities won the love and esteem of all who knew her. Mr. Shinn is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to the New Hartford lodge, No. 424, of which he is a charter member. He joined the order at Eldara, Illinois. He belongs to the Methodist church at Summer Hill, of which his wife was also a member, and his life is actuated by high and honorable motives and lofty principles. Although he has attained wealth his path has never been strewn with the wreck of other men's fortunes, his prosperity being gained by persistent effort, capable management and careful investment. GEORGE W. SEYBOLD George W. Seybold, whose farming interests in Fairmount township cover three hundred and twenty acres of arable and productive land, was born in Fairmount township, this county, May 8, 1848, his parents being James and Olive (Gaskell) Seybold, the former a native of Illinois and