William M. West
SOURCE: "Portrait and Biographical Album of Champaign County, Illinois," Chapman Brothers, Chicago, 1887
SURNAMES: LODGE, HIGGINS, WEST
WILLIAM M. WEST, the leading dry-goods merchant of Rantoul, is a native of the Buckeye State, and was born near the city of Cleveland, Sept. 8, 1845. His father, Munns WEST, a native of Ireland, emigrated to America when a young man twenty-one years old. He had some knowledge of mercantile pursuits, having served three years as a clerk in his native country, but after becoming an American citizen changed his occupation somewhat, becoming a dealer in real estate and engaged in agriculture, of which he made a success.
The mother of our subject, formerly Miss Mary A. HIGGINS, was a native of Euclid, a suburban town of Cuyahoga County, about ten miles from Cleveland. After marriage the young people located on a tract of land near the city limits, where they continued to reside a number of years. In 1854, the elder West, deciding to join the tide of emigration setting toward the Prairie State went first to Rockford, Ill., and thence to this county. Under the impression that farm life would suit him best he purchased 320 acres in Harwood Township, of which he remained in possession until after the outbreak of the late war, and in 1863 abandoned farming and took up his residence in Rantoul. Not long afterward he purchased a stock of goods, and from that time until 1866 engaged in general merchandising. In the fall of the year last named he formed a partnership with M. E. Wandell, but a year later they dissolved, and Mr. West, purchasing the interest of his partner, carried on the business alone until selling out to C. W. Gulick. Later he engaged in brokerage, and in 1872 retired altogether from business. He departed this life at his home in Rantoul, on the 10th of May, 1881, in the sixty-second year of his age. The mother had died in 1865, while they were living on the farm. Of their eight children, but four are living, and our subject is the eldest of the family.
William West was a boy of eleven when his parents became residents of this county. He assisted his father on the farm, and after finishing his primary studies entered Eastman Commercial College, where he took a thorough course, and became a book-keeper. After his father established the store in Rantoul, William became his trusted clerk, and in January, 1875, purchased the business. Two years later he took V. C. Lennox in as a partner, and they continued together four years, at the expiration of which time the stock was divided, Mr. West taking the dry-goods and Mr. Lennox the groceries, since which time each has conducted business alone.
In addition to his stock and store in Rantoul, besides a handsome residence, Mr. West has a good farm near the town limits, where he makes a specialty of breeding Percheron horses. He embarked in this enterprise in 1882, and has now sixty as fine animals of this description as will be found in this section. In 1881-82 he invested considerably in Kansas and Nebraska lands, and altogether has a prospect of living comfortably in his old age.
The lady who has presided over the home of our subject for a period of nearly twenty years was formerly Miss L. E. DODGE, a native of Union County, Ohio, and who became his wife in the spring of 1869. She is the daughter of J. K. DODGE, formerly of this county, but now a resident of Kansas. The five children born of this union are Munns, Charles E., William O., Ray D. and Jessie May. The family residence is pleasantly located, and is evidently the home of refinement and cultivation. Mr. West has taken an active interest in the welfare of his fellow-citizens, serving as School Trustee and as a member of the Town Board for several terms. He was elected Justice of the Peace in 1883, and served acceptably for two terms. Mr. and Mrs. W. are identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are among its most devoted and consistent members. Socially, Mr. West is a valued member of the K. of P.