DAVID SOWERS, farmer and blacksmith, Jonesboro, was born in Davison County, N. C., October 11, 1820. He was educated in the common schools of his native county, which were very limited in his day. When a young man, he was apprenticed to the blacksmith trade with Mike Lefler, and worked at the same until November, 1845, when he went to Little Rock, Ark., and in the spring of the next year came to Union County, Ill., where he engaged in farming and working at his trade for about two years. In 1849, he married and removed to Jonesboro, where he has since remained. He was married, September 23, 1849, to Miss Mary Cruse, who was born in Jonesboro April 1, 1829, where she has always resided. She is a daughter of Peter and Sophia (Hess) Cruse, who were among the early settlers of Union County. Mr. and Mrs. Sowers have been blessed with four children — Walter W., born September 19, 1850, and died October 16, 1850; Mary Ann, born December 10, 1851; Sarah Jane, born October 20, 1853; and James C., born August 25, 1856; Sarah Jane is married to John W. Grear, editor of the Murfreesboro Independent. They have two children — Charles D. and Frederick. Mary A. was educated at the Jackson Female College, and at the Normal University at Carbondale, Ill., of which she is a graduate and at present a teacher. James E. is foreman of the Murfreesboro Independent. Mr. and Mrs. Sowers are connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is the owner of eighty-seven acres of land in the corporation of Jonesboro. In politics, he is a Republican.
Extracted 02 Apr 2017 by Norma Hass from 1883 History of Alexander, Union, and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part V, page 114.
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| Alexander | Pulaski |
