James E. Barnard, whose home is on section 10, Hennepin township, was born March 25, 1868, on a farm in Granville township, where still resides his father, Charles E. Barnard, who is mentioned on another page of this work. J. C. Barnard, an attorney of Omaha, Nebraska, and a brother of our subject, went to Boston a few years ago to look up the history of the' family and secured a genealogical record, dating back to the early part of the seventeenth century.
James E. Barnard acquired his early education in the country schools and in the village schools of Granville. He also attended the state normal and university at Champaign and taught school for three years, but throughout the greater part of his life has followed the vocation of farming. In his youth he worked with his father and afterward operated his father's land until about three years ago, when he made investment in property, purchasing two hundred and twenty acres north of Granville. He has erected all of the buildings upon this place and they are modern and substantial structures, furnishing good shelter for grain and stock, while his home is an attractive frame residence. He is cutting props for coal shafts in the vicinity of Granville, getting out from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand per year. It is therefore an important branch of his business and brings him a good financial reward. This land he also uses for pasturage and he is largely engaged in stock-raising, feeding cattle on an extensive scale and expecting to increase his business in this department each year. He is a man of excellent business ability and bears a splendid reputation in commercial and agricultural circles.
On the 28th of May, 1901, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Barnard and Miss Addie K. Durley, who was born in Hennepin and attended the Iowa College at Des Moines, Iowa. She is a daughter of Preston Durley, and a granddaughter of Williamson Durley, one of the earliest settlers of the county, who in pioneer times established his home here and took an active, part in laying the foundation for the present progress and prosperity of the county. Three children grace the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Barnard: Elizabeth, Ruth and John.
In his political affiliation Mr. Barnard is a democrat, though he often votes independently. He has served as township assessor for two terms. He belongs to the Congregational church at Hennepin and takes an active interest therein and is serving as superintendent of the Sunday-school. He is interested in the material, intellectual, political and moral progress of the community and stands for advancement and improvement in all walks of life.
Source: Past and Present of Marshall and Putnam Counties Illinois authored by John Spencer Burt and W. E. Hawthorne in 1907, page 496.
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