JOHN M. LOCKRIDGE, farmer and stock raiser, post office Auburn, Illinois, was born in Montgomery county, Kentucky, on the 18th day of January, 1814; son of John and Margie (Killough) Lockridge, who were natives of Kentucky, of Scotch and Irish descent. They were married in Montgomery county. There was a family of nine children, five sons and four daughters, eight of whom lived to manhood and womanhood. In 1826, his parents emigrated to Owen county, Indiana, where he purchased a farm and remained until 1838, when he came to Sangamon county. Previous to bringing his family, he and the subject of this sketch came out, purchased three hundred acres of land, and built a log cabin on Lick creek, where he remained until the year 1850. Meeting with some financial embarrassments, he concluded to go to California to retrieve his losses, but while on the way, died, and never arrived at his destination. His mother died in 1866, a sincere Christian, and was loved and respected by all who knew her. The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm and received a common school education. In 1840, he married Miss Jane Nuckolls, a daughter of James and Jane Nuckolls, who were early settlers of the county; she as born in Madison county, Illinois, in October, 1819. By this marriage there were seven children, five of whom are living, John W., James M., Andrew H., Robert H., and Charles; two daughters, Martha J. and Margaret, died in childhood. In 1854, he commenced on his present home, with no capital but good strong arms and a strong will, and by good management and hard work, has accumulated a fine property and home, and is one of the large and well-to-do farmers of the county. He owns four hundred and forty-five acres of land, valued at $85 per acre, all of which is under a high state of cultivation, and the premium farm of the township. He raised one hundred and fifty acres of corn, which will average forty bushels per acre; ninety acres of wheat, fifteen bushels per acre; owns seventy-five head of hogs and one hundred head of steers. Mr. L. has held the office of supervisor of the township for several years, and also held other local offices of trust. In politics, he was an old line Whig until the time of the organization of the Republican party, joining that, and has officiated with it since. Mr. Lockridge has been identified with the county over forty years, and has lived to see the wild prairies of Illinois, from their virgin soil to one of the best cultivated and richest counties in the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Lockridge are members of the Presbyterian Church.