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JAMES E. POWER. It is always a rare pleasure to the biographical writer to meet with pioneers of any State or county; to hear them recount thrilling experiences amid frontier surroundings and savage foes; to listen to their descriptions of the land which was, during those early years, comparatively unimproved, and which bore no resemblance to the highly cultivated fields of the present time. Such a one is Mr. Power, whose portrait on the opposite page and whose biography we herewith present to the readers of the ALBUM.

But few of the native-born citizens of Sangamon County have been more prospered in their vocations than this gentleman, who is one of the largest landowners and most extensive farmers in this section of the country. Not only has he been prospered financially, but by his uprightness and honorable dealing with all he has won an enviable reputation for probity and integrity. He was born December 1, 1824, in a log cabin on the farm he now owns in Fancy Creek Township, this county. Among the most prominent pioneers of Sangamon County, George Power, the father of our subject was numbered, and he was closely identified with both the business and political life of his adopted home. He was a native of Kentucky, and was born on the 18th of February, 1798. In the flush of a vigorous and stalwart manhood he emigrated to the wilds of this State and settled on Fancy Creek in 1821, in what is now Fancy Creek Township. He entered considerable land and purchased a large tract. The patents for the land entered were signed by President Andrew Jackson. Mr. Power's first work was to build a log cabin ere he entered upon the hard pioneer task before him of developing a farm from a state of nature. The country round about was in a very wild condition with plenty of game and the Indians were much more numerous than the white settlers, there being but few of the latter within a radius of many miles.

The father of our subject was very fortunate in all that he undertook, became one of the wealthy men of the county, and at the time of his death left a valuable estate of twenty-five hundred acres of land. He placed his farm under fine improvement, which included a substantial, roomy residence, and all necessary buildings. He was a prominent official in the Black Hawk War, serving as Second Lieutenant and held the office of Major in the militia organization many years. He was prominent as Justice of the Peace, which position he held eighteen years, and it is a fact worthy of note that Abraham Lincoln made his first plea in a lawsuit before Esq. Power. The house in which he spoke is still standing on the Power homestead. It was built in 1830, and is a frame structure containing two rooms, it being the first frame house in the country for miles around. The frame consisted of split rafters, studding also split. The interior is ceiled with walnut lumber sawed by hand with the old whip-saw. The weather-boarding was done with clapboards. Lincoln appeared before Esq. Power several other times. Mr. Power tried many cases and it is said that none of his decisions were ever reversed by a higher court. This venerable pioneer passed away August 5, 1886, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. He was well-known throughout the county, and was greatly respected for his many virtues. Politically, he was always a Democrat and stanchly adhered to his party. He was a self-made man as all that he had and all that he was, he owed to his own exertions. His only capital to begin life on which he arrived in this county, was $6 in money together with energy and sound traits of character.

The maiden name of the mother of our subject was Nancy Wilcox. She was born in Kentucky on the 13th of January, 1804, and died at a ripe old age in this county in 1884. Her marriage with George Power was productive of two sons, William D. and James E. William was in early life engaged as a farmer, but subsequently read law in Springfield and became eminent in his profession. He was Probate Judge of this county some years, and his death in 1863 closed a brilliant career.

James Power, of this sketch, was the younger of the two children born to his parents, and was reared here amid the pioneer scenes. He attended the early subscription schools, taught in a log schoolhouse with slab seats, puncheon floor, greased paper for windows and heated by fire in an old-fashioned fireplace with a chimney of sticks and clay. He early began to enter upon his life work as a farmer, and was engaged in that business in partnership with his father so long as the latter lived. He has been more than ordinarily prospered and now has seventeen hundred acres of as fine farming land as may be found in the county, all of which lies in a body and under good improvement. He has been engaged in stock-raising very extensively in the past but of late years has not paid much attention to that branch of agriculture. He is a fine business man, has good financial and executive talent is farsighted and keen in the management of his affairs, and stands among the first men in the township in regard to his skill and success in farming.

Mr. Power and Miss Laura C. Chord were married November 9, 1878. Mrs. Power is a native of Menard County, Ill., and her marriage with our subject has been blessed to them by the birth of three children, of whom the following is the record: James W., born October 16, 1879; Charles P., February 14, 1882; Araminta J., May 20, 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Power have one of the most beautiful homes in this part of the county, and a view of it will be found on another page. It is a palatial residence handsomely furnished, and the careful manner in which the household affairs are conducted by Mrs. Power adds greatly to its attractiveness. Mr. Power is a thoughtful, unassuming man whose fine traits of character have won him the confidence and esteem of all about him, and he and his good wife are numbered among the best people of the community.