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LAKE, JOHN SPENCER, a well known farmer of Clear Lake Township, Sangamon County, and a veteran of the Civil War, belongs to a family that is one of the oldest in the region. He is a native of Sangamon County, born in that portion which later became a part of Menard County, January 9, 1840, a son of Bayliss and Eliza (Glasscock) Lake, natives of Virginia, the latter of Loudoun County. The father was born in 1798 and the mother in 1810, and they came to Illinois about 1827. They secured land and engaged in farming, becoming important factors in the life of the community where they located.
Mr. Lake was educated in the district schools of Clear Lake Township and early learned the principles of farming, which occupation he still follows. He has been very successful in farming and stock raising and has made many improvements on his estate, being the owner of 240 acres of fine farm land. In 1870 he erected a fine ten-room house, in front of which is a fine lawn and handsome trees. He is regarded as an industrious and substantial farmer and stands well in the community.
In August, 1862, Mr. Lake enlisted in Company G, One Hundred Fourteenth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in which he served two years and a half. He participated in two battles at Vicksburg, and two at Jackson, Miss., and was wounded at Brights Cross Roads, spent four months in a hospital, was taken prisoner, and was exchanged at Coliova, Ala. He came home on a furlough and was discharged at Springfield, in January 1865, having won an honorable record. He belongs to a local post of the G.A.R.
Mr. Lake was married in Fancy Creek Township, Sangamon County, in 1868, to Mary Charlotte Britton, born near Williamsville, Sangamon County, in 1847, daughter of Stephen England and Jane (McClelland) Britton, natives of Sangamon County. Children as follows have been born of this union: Dora E., born November 24, 1871, died January 27, 1896, the wife of George Wiggins; James Arthur, born November 1, 1873, died May 29, 1898; Edith M., born February 18, 1881, married, September 7, 1909, Louis P. Fisher, who was born near Saybrook, Ill., and they have one child, Allen Lake Fisher, born August 30, 1910. Mrs. Wiggins had two children, one of whom survives her. They were: Roy Wiggins, born August 10, 1892, who survives, and George Arthur Wiggins, born January 5, 1896, died June 24, 1896. Mr. Lake is a member of the Christian Church and in politics has always been a Republican.