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 453-454; Transcribed by Margaret Rose Whitehurst
   John Jay Elder. The active business interests of Farmington are no better represented than by this gentleman, a well known grain dealer. He was born June 21, 1823, in the town of Petersburg, Columbiana County, Ohio. His father was David Elder and his mother was in her maiden days, Isabella L. Wray. The father was born in Franklin County, Pa., in 1798, and the mother in Philadelphia in 1800. John Elder his grandfather, was an American by birth, but of Scotch-Irish descent, and served as a private soldier in the War of the Revolution. He reared a family of ten children, and his two eldest sons, Abraham and John, were soldiers in the war of 1812. Grandfather Wray was an Irishman.
  David Elder moved from Columbiana County, Ohio, to Seneca County, the same State, in 1832, and operated the St. John's flour and saw-mills on the Sandusky River. He subsequently removed to Logan County in 1840 and carried on farming there until 1855, when he joined the pioneers of Warren County in this State, locating on Henderson Prairie. The remainder of his life was passed there, his death occurring in 1885. His wife departed this life in 1877 at the age of seventy-seven years. They had eight children: John Jay, Angeline, who died in infancy; Rebecca Ann, wife of William Campbell, of Canton, Ohio; Margaret Jane, wife of R. J. Lawherd, of Logan County, Ohio; William A., a resident of Alexis, Warren County; David Clark, general agent for and dealer in church and school furniture, a resident of Washington County, Iowa; Abraham Alonzo, furniture dealer at Tingley, Iowa; James who was a volunteer during the late war, serving with the Thirty-sixth Illinois Regiment, was killed on the first day of the battle of Stone River.
  Our subject began his school life in his native county. He was nine years old when his parents removed to Seneca County, and he attended the seminary at Tiffin. He was a very bright, quick scholar and at the youthful age of fifteen was qualified to teach, passed an examination and secured a certificate. Luther A. Hall, at that time school examiner, took a liking to the boy and offered him a position in his office, he being Clerk of the Common Pleas, and in February, 1839, our subject entered upon his duties as Deputy Clerk of that Court. He served until 1841, when he went to Bucyrus to take charge of the office of the Clerk of Common Pleas in Crawford County. He was there one year and was afterward engaged in Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio, as Second Teller in a bank for a short time. After that he returned to Tiffin where he had charge of a grain elevator for R. W. Shawhan. In 1843 he went to Logan County where his father then lived, and for two years attended school, as he was ambitious to improve his education.
  After his marriage in 1845 Mr. Elder located on a large farm and for two years devoted himself to the sheep business, but in that was not successful. In 1848 he went into the hardware business at Huntsville, and also bought grain in connection therewith. In 1853 he once more resumed a clerical life, becoming Deputy Clerk of Logan County, Ohio, and he was also appointed Clerk of the Supreme Court of that county. In 1854 he was elected Justice of the Peace at Bellefontaine and received his commission from Gov. William Medill. In the year 1856 he made a new departure, and coming to this State located on a farm in Spring Grove Township, Warren County. He soon abandoned farming, however, and in 1860 we hear of him as a school-teacher at Elby [Elba?] Center in Knox County. In the month of March, 1862, he came to Farmington and at once engaged with D. Fargo in the grain business. He also acted as agent for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and acted in that capacity and as a grain dealer here until 1870, when he took up his residence in Ipava, where he put up a grain house and was engaged in buying grain until 1877. Chicago then attracted his venturesome spirit, and for three years he was engaged in brokerage and the grain trade in that metropolis. In 1880 he went back to Alexis and his attention was there given to the grocery and grain business.
  In 1886 Mr. Elder once more took up his abode in Farmington. He fitted up the "Q" Elevator for the purpose of doing business with the Buckley-Pursley Company of Peoria. He handles the greater part of the grain brought to Farmington and has bought more than any other man in the town. He weighed the first lot of grain, a load of wheat, that was ever shipped over the "Q" from Farmington. He takes an active interest in all that pertains to the welfare of the village, his public spirit and liberality helping on all schemes for its improvement and he is a prominent civic, political, social, and religious factor in the community. He has served as Clerk of the Board of Farmington. In politics in early days he was a Whig and though a mere boy at the time of the nomination and election of the illustrious grandfather of our present President he bore an active part in the campaign. Since the origin of the Republican party he has been true to its principles. He is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities. He inherited his religious views from his forefathers and is a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church.
  January 14, 1845, Mr. Elder was married to Miss Eleanora C. Funk, a native of Gettysburg, Adams County, Pa., and a daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Beitler) Funk. They moved to Champaign County, Ohio, in 1828 and were pioneer farmers there. Mrs. Elder departed this life in 1886 at the age of fifty-nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Elder's pleasant wedded life was blessed to them by the birth of five children. Their son Orr Gibson married and was a telegraph operator for the Illinois Central Railroad. He died in 1880 leaving two daughters--Blanche, fourteen years old, and Ethel. Their son Manly P., married Miss Belle Grinnell. He was agent of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, at Farmington for more than twenty-one years, and was acting in that capacity at the time of his death in February 1888. He left two boys, Fred G. and Orr J. A lithographic portrait of Mr. Elder is shown on another page of the Album.

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