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DR. ANDREW F. HAMMER, of Taylorville, who is engaged in the practice of the medical profession, was born
in the city which is now his home, December 7, 1849. His paternal grandfather, Frederick Hammer, was a native of
Kentucky, and was a blacksmith and farmer by trade. Having emigrated to Illinois
in an early day, he served in the Black Hawk War. Locating in Christian
County, he here carried on
agricultural pursuits for a number of years, and his death occurred on his farm two and a half miles from Taylorville, at the age of seventy-three years. He was laid to rest in the Stonington
Cemetery. The maternal grandfather
of our subject, who bore the name of Josiah Langley, was also a native of Kentucky,
and he too was a farmer. He died at his home, three miles west of Taylorville,
at the age of fifty-five years.
The parents of our subject,
Addison W. and Rebecca Adeline (Langley) Hammer, were both
natives of Kentucky. The father was a blacksmith by trade, but after emigrating to Illinois
became a tiller of the soil. He came to this State in 1827, locating with his parents in Sangamon County. In 1837 the family removed to the eastern part of Christian
County, and lived near the
present site of Moweaqua until 1847. In the mean time Mr. Hammer learned the blacksmith's trade from his father,
and then removed to Taylorville, where, in connection
with his brother Lucian, he carried on business along that line for some years. He now resides in Custer, Sangamon County, and is at present serving as Postmaster of that place. His wife,
who was a member of the Christian
Church, died in the fall of 1865, and in 1868
Mr. Hammer married Miss Millie Woods, who was also born and reared in Kentucky.
He is a member of the Universalist
Church, and is a highly-respected
man.
The Doctor is one of a family of eight
children, numbering five sons and three daughters, of whom the daughters and two sons are now living. They are
Andrew F.; Hugh L.; Margaret, wife of Isaac B. Jordan, a lawyer of Kingman County, Kan.; Laura B., wife of T. H. Johnson, of Taylorville;
and Lura M., wife of John S. Neal, of Springfield, Ill.
We now take up the personal history of
the Doctor, who was reared in this city and vicinity and acquired his early education in the Taylorville
public schools. He remained at home with his parents until twenty-seven years of age and aided in the labors of
the farm. With a desire to make the practice of medicine his life work, he entered upon a medical course in the
Hahnemann Medical College, of
Chicago,
from which institution he was graduated in 1877. He then located in Custer, formerly known as Berry,
and opening an office began practice. For fifteen years he remained in that place, receiving a liberal share of
the public patronage. He then determined to return to his native city, and in 1892 took up his residence in Taylorville, where he has since made his home.
On the 14th of June, 1878, the Doctor
was united in marriage with Mrs. Alice A. Allen, widow of John W. Allen, and a daughter of John S. and Mary J.
(Bell)
Dickerson. Two children grace their union: Stella P. and Lena
J. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Christian Church, and, socially,
he is connected with Mound Lodge No. 122, A. F. & A. M., and Berry Lodge No. 26, I. O. O. F. He also belongs to
the Modern Woodmen of America.
He owns two hundred and forty acres of land half a mile from Clarksdale,
and his wife has a forty -acre tract near Berry.
They also have a residence property in Berry.
In politics, the Doctor is a Republican
and a strong Protectionist. Although he has
made his home in Taylorville but a short time,
he is already building up a good trade, and his skill and ability merit a liberal patronage. He is a pleasant,
genial gentleman and is highly esteemed for his sterling worth.
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