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TRIMBLE, NELSON (deceased). - The passing away of a good man into eternity brings into the strong light of the aftermath all his deeds which, many of them unknown during life, now spring up to make his memory sacred, and the realization that he did not live in vain very acute. The late Nelson Trimble, whose eventful life was rounded out on his farm, save when he responded bravely to his country's call during the Civil War, was a man whom to know was to love, and who left hosts of warm, personal friends to mourn his untimely taking off.
He was born in Crawford County, Ohio, July 1, 1830, being a son of John and Ivy (Parcher) Trimble. The Trimble family is noted for its loyalty, its representatives having served in the War of the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. The father of Nelson Trimble, John Trimble, spent his life in Ohio, but the former, after a boyhood and young manhood spent in his native place, came further west to Jackson County, Mo., and there embarked quite extensively in farming, thus continuing until his death in 1869. His widow survived him and some years subsequent to his death came to Springfield where, since 1893, she lived, dying November 9th, 1911. During the war Mr. Trimble served in Company B, One Hundred Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and received his honorable discharge. He was a member of the Baptist church and a Republican.
In February, 1850, occurred the marriage of Mr. Trimble with Lydia Cox, born July 31, 1831, in Crawford County, Ohio. The parents of Mrs. Trimble were farming people and lived in Crawford County all their lives. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Trimble: Byron, in the lumber business in Virginia, Minn.; Eugene S., of Springfield, is engaged in the cement business; George W., is a professor of higher mathematics in Sacramento College; Allen N., deceased; Eugene S., is married and has six sons and four daughters.
Mrs. Trimble likes nothing better than to gather her family about her, and is proud of the fact that there are twenty-eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren in their ranks. The Trimbles occupy an enviable position among the leaders in social circles and are very highly respected by all who know them. The family residence at No. 636 West Herndon Street is one of the historic places of Springfield. Not only is it one of the oldest houses in Springfield, having held four generations of the Trimbles, but it was the Squire John Connelly place. Squire Connelly was an uncle of the present George Connelly, a grocer of the city. When this house was erected there was only the Logan house between it and the Square. A party was given in it at which Abraham Lincoln was a guest, and there is an old lady in the neighborhood who has the distinction of having been another guest upon that occasion, when she had the honor of dancing with Mr. Lincoln. All these facts, with many others, Mrs. Trimble delights in relating, for her memory is excellent and she knew many of the men and women who have made Illinois history but how are now deceased. She remembers not only people, but events and conditions surrounding the days when Illinois had still to make its way to a foremost place among the great States of the Union.