Portrait and Biographical Album of Fulton County,
Illinois: containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of
prominent and representative citizens of the county: together with
portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States,
and governors of the state; Biographical Pub. Co., Chicago, IL; 1890;
page 766-767; Transcribed by Margaret Rose Whitehurst
Marcus L. Clifford is the son of a pioneer family of Fulton
County, and the labors that he has performed in aiding in the
development of the agriculture of Lewistown Township, where he has a
good, well-improved farm, entitles him to an honorable place among the
pioneer farmers of Illinois.
Mr. Clifford was born in Conneaut Township, Ashtabula County,
Ohio, in 1830. His father, whose given name was Amos, was a
native of New Hampshire. His father, so far as known, spent his
entire life in New England. The father of our subject was reared
and married in his native State and about 1812 emigrated to Ohio,
making the removal with teams. He became one of the early
pioneers of Conneaut Township where he bought a tract of timber
land. There were no railways or canals for many years after he
settled there, and no markets excepting the lake ports, and the people
lived chiefly on the products of their farms and on wild game, which
was plenty. Mr. Clifford kept sheep and raised flax, and the
woodland the fiber of the flax his wife used to spin and weave, and for
many years her husband and children were clothed in homespun. She
did all her cooking before the fire in the rude fireplace. Mr.
Clifford had to carry on his work with the most primitive
implements. He used the wooden mold-board plow and he cut his
grain with a sickle until a cradle was invented. He was
industrious and cleared quite a tract of land and continued to reside
in Ohio until 1837. In that year he made a new departure, coming
to Illinois, having sold his possessions in the Buckeye State. He
was accompanied by his wife and ten children and they started on their
journey with teams; when they arrived at the Ohio River they embarked
on its waters and came by the way of that, the Mississippi and Illinois
Rivers to Havana, where the little party was met by friends with teams
and were taken to this county.
After his arrival here Mr. Clifford rented land one year and
then bought a tract that was heavily timbered, on section 33, of
Lewistown Township, and built thereon a log house. He resided
there until his death June 7, 1860, and his wife also died on the home
farm December 29, 1842. Before her marriage she was Lois Fox, and
she was born in New Hampshire. Her father was Sinclair Fox and he
was also of New England birth. He removed from there to Ohio at
an early date and settled among the pioneers of Ashtabula County, where
he cleared a farm and passed his remaining days. The name of his
wife was Lois Marnville. She was born in New England and died in
Ohio. The names of the children born to the parents of our
subject are as follows: Diantha, Arvilla, Nelson, Zilpha, John
L., Pauline, Milo, Roxanna, Martin Lafayette and Mary.
Marcus Clifford was a boy of six when he came to Fulton County
with his parents, but he remembers well the incidents of the long
journey and the events of interest in the early history of the
county. He attended the pioneer schools, which were taught in the
primitive log house with plain log benches and heated by fire in the
rude fireplace. As soon as old enough he began to assist his
father on the farm and remained an inmate of the parental home until
his marriage, when he commenced life for himself and his bride on a
rented farm. He had been reared to habits of industry and in his
farming operations was quite successful. He finally bought the
old homestead upon which he had been reared, resided on it a few years
then sold and bought a farm of eighty acres and now has one hundred and
forty five acres on section 33, Lewistown Township, one and one-half
miles southwest of the city. This pleasant place has since been
his residence.
April 30, 1857, Mr. Clifford and Miss Amelia I. Wells united
their lives and fortunes in what has proved to be a happy
marriage. Mrs. Clifford is a native of Indiana and a daughter of
William and Ann Wells. Mr. and Mrs. Clifford are the parents of
four children, three of whom are deceased: Marcus L. was born
March 14, 1859, and died January 22, 1874; Charles H., born January 4,
1868, die March 4, 1887, and a babe unnamed. Their only living
child, Carrie, is married to Prof. George W. Dick and has three
children – Ross Clifford, Winnie and Meradeth. Mr. Dick is a
popular teacher in the public schools and has a cozy home in Lewistown
Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Clifford’s characters are such as to command the
respect and affection of the entire community. As members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church they are active in its every good
work. Mr. Clifford is a consistent supporter of the Republican
party.
