Biography - Michael Bartholomew
Michael D. Bartholomew, a reputable and highly intelligent farmer of Bourbon township, has been numbered among the residents of Douglas county since 1861. He and his estimable wife are among the pioneer settlers who have lived to witness the phenomenal growth and development which has placed Douglas county in the front rank as one of the most prosperous and highly cultivated portions of the great state of Illinois.
Mr. Bartholomew is a native of the state of New York. He was born in St. Lawrence county, August 21, 1825. His parents were Luman B. and Lydia (Daniels) Bartholomew. The family well and favorably known where they resided. In 1843 they emigrated to the West. Soon after reaching their new home in McHenry county, Illinois, the father died and the family were thrown upon their own resources. The subject of this sketch was then eighteen years of age. He continued to reside in McHenry county, sharing the hard toil and privations incident upon the life in a new and unsettled region, until 1847. For the next nine years Vigo county, Indiana, became his home. Here, in 1854, he was united in marriage to Sarah Durham, a native of Vigo county, and a daughter of Daniel Durham. Their marriage proved a happy and congenial one. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bartholomew are of English ancestry. The grandfathers of the subject of this sketch rendered honorable and distinguished service in the Revolutionary war; the genealogy of the family is traced back to the earliest settlers of America. Mr. and Mrs. Bartholomew have been greatly prospered in their Douglas county home. They now own over five hundred acres of fertile and well cultivated land, situated in Bourbon and Arcola townships. They are both members of the United Brethren church at Chesterville. Mr. Bartholomew has well and acceptably performed the duties of township treasurer for a period of twenty-eight years. He has been supervisor and held minor offices of trust. Of five children, two, Luman and Isaace Bartholomew, are well known and prosperous farmers of Bourbon township. One of the daughters, Miss Eliza, is a successful teacher. Two beautiful and interesting little grandhildren complete the family circle.
Extracted by Linda Lang from the Historical and Biographical Record of Douglas County, Illinois, pages 136-137.
