Biography - WILLIAM HEATON
William
Heaton is one of the old landmarks of the county. For over half a century he
has been an active and successful man of affairs, and at the age of
eighty-three is still attending to business. He was born in Greene county,
Pennsylvania, July 24, 1817, and is a son of Samuel and Margaret (Rose)
Heaton, who were also born in Greene county, Pennsylvania. His grandfather,
John Rose, and President McKinley's grandmother were cousins. William Heaton
(grandfather) was a native of New Jersey, born September 16, 1764, and
fought under Andrew Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. His wife Abigail,
was born August 28, 1767. John Rose, his maternal grandfather, was an early
settler near Clarksville, Greene county, Pennsylvania, and owned a
distillery, and in the words of Mr. Heaton was a great inventor, as he could
draw five kinds of liquor out of the same barrel, and neither he nor any of
his sons were ever known to be drunk either. He and his five sons were also
opposed to drinking; in that early day there were no organization known as
the Prohibition party, but principally Democrats and Whigs. William Heaton's
father grew quite wealthy for that day, but lost it by going on other
people's bonds. He removed to New Washington, Ohio, where he died. His
mother died in Greene county.
William Heaton received a moderate education in his younger days and worked
hard on the farm. In 1838 he married Mary Hedge, a daughter of Jacob Hedge,
of Greene county. Jacob Hedge was a good citizen, a good farmer, but never
had opportunities to sit in the state Legislature. William Heaton's wife
died in 1886. To them were born seven children. His second and present wife
is a most agreeable companion for him in his old age. She is a cousin of his
first wife. Mr. Heaton has been a very successful trader and has probably
bought and sold more land than any man in the county. For several years he
kept a land office at Des Moines, Iowa, and paid twelve thousand dollars out
of his own pocket toward the removal of the state capital from Iowa City to
Des Moines. He laid the foundation for the Adair County Bank at Greenfield,
Iowa, which is now owned and managed by his son, D. D. Heaton. He is now
passing the sunset of life near the Pleasant Ridge church, in North Newman
township, where he still enjoys life, and appreciates a good story as well
as he ever did. While in Iowa he was a political disciple of James B. Weaver
and E. H. Gelette, serving as delegate to conventions and in other ways
adding strength to the cause. He hopes to live to vote for William J. Bryan
this fall. In the neighborhood in which he resides he is something of a
political freak, as nearly everybody around him believes most devotedly in
an honest dollar and the constitution.
Extracted 09 Jun 2019 by Norma Hass from the Historical and Biographical Record of Douglas County, Illinois, published in 1900, pages 197-198.
