Dr. George A. McCormick, the only physician of Hennepin and proprietor of a drug store there, is one of the best known and most popular residents of Putnam county, and although other physicians have located in Hennepin they find that Dr. McCormick is so strongly entrenched in the affections and confidence of the public at large that they must, of necessity, seek locations elsewhere. For forty years he has made his home in this county, and with the exception of the first year has continuously resided in the town.
A native of Knox county, Indiana, he was born October 28, 1846, and is a son of Robinson and Sarah B. (Smith) McCormick, both of whom were natives of Virginia, the former born in 1804 and the latter in 1812. When a young man Robinson McCormick became a resident of Indiana, where he followed farming and stock-raising, purchasing and owning a tract of land, which he operated until his death. He attempted to join the Twenty-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, but was rejected. Later he got an appointment as wagonmaker with the same regiment, and in February, 1862, contracted a cold, which resulted in his death soon afterward. He was married twice, the mother of our subject being his second wife. He had seven children by his first wife and five by the second wife, who died during his absence in the army in 1861. Both were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church and Mr. McCormick gave his early political support to the whig party, while on its dissolution he joined the ranks of the new republican party. Of the twelve children only two are living, the sister being Mrs. Steele, of Eleanor, Indiana.
Dr. McCormick was a youth of fifteen when his mother died, and the year following, his father's death occurred. He had been reared to farm work and was familiar with no other line of activity, so about the close of the war he rented land and engaged in farming on his own account, but the inflated prices brought about by the war had collapsed and farm products brought little money. At the end of a year he had barely enough to pay his debts, and he resolved to seek his fortune elsewhere. Accordingly he came to Hennepin in September, 1866, and for a year worked on a farm, after which he found employment in a drug store in Hennepin. He served an apprenticeship, learned the business and in 1876 became proprietor of a drug store, which he has since conducted. He also owns an interest in a store in Granville, Putnam county. After three years in Bennett Medical College, of Chicago, he was graduated therefrom in 1883 and has since been practicing in Hennepin, where he has a good business. His skill and ability are widely acknowledged and have been demonstrated in the manner in which he has handled intricate cases with good results.
Dr. McCormick has been married twice. In 1871 he wedded Angenetta Simpson, who died in 1876, leaving three small children, two of whom are now living Mrs. Ida B. Shepherd and Mrs. Ira Windersheidt, both living in Hennepin. In 1877 Dr. McCormick was married to Miss Mary Fitzpatrick, a native of Hennepin, and they have one son, George A., who is a graduate of the Chicago College of Pharmacy and works in his father's store.
Dr. McCormick has always given his political support to the republican party, and for years has filled the office of village trustee. Community affairs are of deep interest to him and his co-operation can always be counted upon to further movements for the general good. He is an Odd Fellow, a Mystic Worker and Woodman and exemplifies in his life the beneficent spirit of these organizations. He has a nice home in Hennepin, together with a good business block, and has become well-to-do through the conduct of his commercial and professional interests. He is popular with a large circle of friends, being a man of genial disposition and kindly spirit, so that wherever he is known he wins friends.
Source: Past and Present of Marshall and Putnam Counties Illinois authored by John Spencer Burt and W. E. Hawthorne in 1907, page 445.
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