Biography - William Iles
William Iles, a member of an old and early settled family of Kentucky, and at present one of the most successful farmers in Douglas county, was born at Iles Mills, Bath county, Kentucky, December 31, 1844. He is the son of William Iles, a native of the same county, who was the son of Thomas Iles, born in Chester county, Pennsylvania. His grandfather Iles was a member of the old Kentucky militia and fought in many battles against the Indians in the vicinity of Bryant's Fort. The Iles have been tillers of the soil back to William Iles' great-grandfather, who was a native of England. His wife was Mary Iles. Mrs. Iles' mother was Miss June H., a daughter of William F. George, of Montgomery (now Bath) county, and was a native of Greenbrier county, Virginia.
William Iles was reared in Bath county and at his father's death, February 22, 1846, he was left an orphan at the early age of a little over a year. On account of the war, his educational advantages were limited and all the property belonging to the family was swept away. His mother died in 1884. In 1865 he came to Camargo township and bought a tract of land and resided in a log cabin on the farm on which he now lives. At the present time he owns three hundred and sixty-three acres in one tract and three hundred and forty in another.
In 1892 he was married to Miss May Hammett, a daughter of the late James R. Hammett, whose sketch is found on another page of this work. William Iles is a worthy example of a self-made man. Commencing with nothing except his own indomitable energy and courage, he has succeeded in the business world far above average the average man. He is one of the most extensive stock raisers in the county, as well as one of the most public-spirited of its citizens. For the past thirteen years he has beenn president of the Douglas County Fair Association, filling this place with rare exectutive ability, and has been connected with it in one way or another ever since its organization. He has held the office of supervisor of Camargo township several terms and was recently defeated for the same office by manipulations unworthy of the opposition. In politics he is a staunch Democrat, that kind of Democracy which Jefferson taught and which is being revived today by William J. Bryan.
Extracted by Linda Lang from the Historical and Biographical Record of Douglas County, Illinois, pages 148-149.
