Jacob Karraker was born in Union county, Illinois, September 30, 1822,
and died at his home in Dongola, Illinois, March 12, 1910. His parents were
North Carolina Germans. His father, Daniel Karraker, was born in Cabarrus
county, North Carolina, February 8, 1793, and his mother, Rachel Blackwelder
Karraker, in Rowan county, October 1, 1794. They were married May 19, 1818,
and left North Carolina on July 28th of the same year and located in what
was then a wilderness three miles east of the present location of Dongola,
Illinois. Daniel Karraker was a man of strong moral and religious
convictions, and his standard was ahead of the time in which he lived.
Jacob Karraker, the subject of this sketch, was born on the farm on which
his father settled when he came to Illinois. In October, 1848, he made
profession of religion and joined the Bethany Baptist church. In 1851 he was
made a licensed preacher and in 1855 he was ordained as a minister of the
Gospel, from which time he continued active in the ministry. He was
essentially a pioneer in his field. At a time when the temperance movement
was not popular, he advised total abstinence from intoxicants and set the
example himself. He was largely instrumental in the organization of many new
churches in Southern Illinois. He preached to his churches, served as
pastor, officiated at marriages and conducted funerals without charge and
often without compensation. He was a man of strong conviction and fixed
purpose, a great force for the moral and religious uplift of the people
among whom he labored.
On December 8, 1842, Jacob Karraker was married to Miss Mary Peeler, whose
parents were Christian Peeler and Rachel Brown Peeler, Tennesseans who
migrated to Union county, Illinois, in 1827. The following were their
children: Rachel was married first to Barnabus Penrod and after his death to
Mr. W. Martin Keller, a retired farmer living near Dongola, Illinois. Anna
M. is deceased. Malinda married Mr. S. W. 0. Head, and both husband and wife
are now deceased. William Wilford was for twenty-seven years a teacher in
the public schools of Union county, Illinois, and is now living on his farm
near Dongola, Illinois. His wife was Miss Sarah Ellen Richardson. David W.
was county superintendent of schools from 1877 to 1880, state's attorney
from 1880 to 1888, state senator from 1888 to 1892, an officer and director
of a number of banks in Southern Illinois and an attorney at law. He lives
at Jonesboro, Illinois. His wife was Miss Cora Harreld. Lucinda J. is
deceased. Henry W. is moderator of the Clear Creek Baptist Association and
active in the Baptist Ministry, Dongola, Illinois. His wife was Miss Ina
Davis. Julius F. is deceased. His wife was Miss Mary Keller. Jacob Calvin is
deceased. His wife was Miss Nannie Keller. Mary Ellen married Dr. George W.
Ausbrooks, a practicing physician of Dongola, Illinois.
Extracted 13 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from 1912 A History of Southern Illinois, volume 3, pages 1191-1192.
| Jackson | Williamson | |
| MO |
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Johnson |
| Alexander | Pulaski |
