J.F. Prather, president of the Williamsville Bank of J.F. Prather & Company, was born in Pike county, Ohio on January 24, 1859. His parents being John and Mary L. [Jones] Prather, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Virginia. He was brought to Sangamon county by his parents when but eight years of age and afterward attended school in Springfield. His education was largely acquired in the public schools, but he also spent two years as a student in a college at Delaware, Ohio. In the meantime his parents had removed to Williamsville in 1878 and upon his return to Sangamon county, Mr. Prather took up his abode upon his father's farm, where he has lived continuously since. A portion of this land now lies within the corporation limits of Williamsville. During the greater part of his life Mr. Prather has given much attention to stock raising, making a specialty of shorthorn cattle. His activity in this direction has resulted in bringing to him a high measure of success and at the same time has been of benefit to the community, for the man who raises good stock keeps up or advances the prices paid and thus the entire agricultural class is benefited. In 1890 he became one of the organizers of the Williamsville Bank of J.F. Prather & company, which entered upon a prosperous existence. In March, 1901, he and partners purchased the old Elkhart Bank at Elkhart, Illinois, installed their own cashier and are conducting business there under the name of J.F. Prather and Company. In 1901 he also became connected with the Illinois National Bank of Springfield as a director.

On the 19th of April, 1892, Mr. Prather was united in marriage to Mrs. Emma J. Wright, of Williamsville. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and in 1896 he was elected a member of the state board of agriculture and was re-elected in 1898, 1900, and 1902. In this connection he has charge of beef breeds of cattle. He has also been instrumental in instituting various improvements in connection with the state fair and is a member of the building committee that erected the Women's building and the Coliseum. He has always favored progress in connection with the fair, realizing its value as an impetus to more progressive effort on the party of the agricultural community and few men in the state have done as much to promote farming interests as has Mr. Prather. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias Lodge, with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Sangamon Club. [Transcribed by Debbie Quinn]

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James A Rose

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Through fifty-three years Mr. Rose has been a resident of Illinois. This covers the entire period of his life history this far. Through more than half of this time he has been a representative of the people in official service and has steadily progressed from the time when, at the age of twenty-two years, he accepted the position of county superintendent of schools to the present, when in the prime of life he is serving for a second term as secretary of state in the great commonwealth of Illinois. He has decided opinions and a forcible way of expressing them. He is not a politician, but a statesman. His study of political situations, issues and possibilities gives him a thorough understanding of the great questions involving the policy and progress of the state, and while he is not offensively partisan or bitterly aggressive, he is absolutely honest and never afraid to express his views concerning any issue before the people.

Born in Illinois on October 13, 1850, and reared in Golconda, the county seat of Pope County, he there attended the public schools and for one term he was a student of the Northern Illinois Normal University. Attracted to the profession of teaching, he entered upon his business career in the capacity of an educator in the country schools of his native county. It was early manifest that his choice of work was well made, for he governed his school wisely and well and imparted with clearness to others the knowledge that he had required. Advancement came in recognition of his ability, and after four years from the time when he became connected with the profession he was elected principal of the graded schools of Golconda. Still further advancement in this direction awaited him, for upon the Republican ticket, when only twenty-two years of age, he was elected county superintendent of schools of Pope County, discharging his duties so capably that, after four years, he was re-elected. Ere his second term was ended, however, he was petitioned by the citizens of his county to resign that office in order that he might become state's attorney for the county, which he did, receiving a very flattering endorsement from his fellow citizens – being elected without opposition. When he had concluded a second term in that office, he refused to again become a candidate.

From county to state service Mr. Rose was called in 1889, when he was appointed by Governor Fifer to the position of member of the board of trustees of the Pontiac reformatory. He had filled that office hardly one year when Governor Fifer appointed him one of the commissioners of the southern Illinois penitentiary, at Chester, and in that capacity he was retained until a change of administration in 1893. In the meantime Mr. Rose's power in political circles, his influence with the people, his fitness for leadership and his comprehensive understanding of the political situation and needs of the state were facts widely recognized, and in the spring of 1896 many of his friends and acquaintances throughout Illinois urged him to become a candidate for the office of secretary of state. Consenting, he was nominated by the Republican state convention in the spring of that year and at the polls was given seven thousand, six hundred and eleven. Four years passed and again he was chosen to the office for a second term, which will expire in January, 1905.

On the 14th of July 1874, James A Rose was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Young, of Golconda, and to them were born a son and two daughters, the daughters now being married. The family is prominent in the social circles of Springfield and Mr. Rose has a very wide acquaintance throughout the state, numbering among his friends many of the most distinguished residents of Illinois. He has for a number of years been active in campaign work, addressing the people from the platform on the momentous issues affecting the welfare of the commonwealth. These he has studied closely, viewing them from every possible standpoint , and in the campaign of 1896, perhaps, no speaker or candidate traveled greater distances or delivered more public addresses than did Mr. Rose. In his office as secretary of state he has instituted several needed reforms and improvements, discharging the duties of this responsible position in a manner to merit the commendation of the entire public. Of keen intellectual energy, possessed of rare foresight and clarity of view, he has pointed out the way to what has probably been the only practical solution of many difficult problems that have arisen in connection with the office. He believes that the world should go forward, and has done his full share to move it in this direction. [Transcribed by Debbie Quinn]