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By Jerry L. Ginther
Family History Discovered While Looking Through a Magazine
Not many years ago, while browsing the Internet looking through agricultural magazines, I unexpectedly came across some family history. Actually, I was searching for an idea, food for thought that I might expand on for an article I could write for a paper or magazine. There were plenty of farms and farmers on both sides of our family, so why wouldn't there be some aspect of the industry I could relate to, possibly more than one. Well, that isn't the general topic that stopped my search almost at its inception. In a very old magazine I spotted an advertisement that immediately started me on another venture, one with a more specific focus.
Wait a minute! Here was an article mentioning a last name I knew very well, my own. Further investigation revealed other significant points of interest. The first name of the person of interest was initials only C. E.. Those were the initials of my dear, old Granddaddy. The initials I knew, but wasn't familiar with the title preceding his name, Colonel, C.E. Ginther of Edinburg, IL. At that point I knew I had found some family history. This was actually my Granddad because that was in fact his home address. So, you might say It doesn't take much to pull this hound off a warm track, but from my perspective this was a much hotter trail. It provided me with insight into my family history from fully a century ago.
This particular magazine article was printed in, or about, 1921, in The American Swine Herd Magazine. As near as I can pin it down the magazine went out of publication by 1925. As the title suggests, it was dedicated to hog raising and marketing. I found many advertisements of C. E. Ginther's within several of the issues. The ads were for registered Poland China pigs, bred gilts, boars and sows. One mentioned that he had 80 sows and gilts bred for that particular season. Also, in the publications were ads for his auctioneering business. From those ads, which included his picture, I learned that "Colonel" was a title for that business, as it was in his case. It was not a military rank.
Charles Elmer (C.E.) and my Grandmother, Ida May, were also yearly exhibitors at the Illinois State Fair. In 1921, Grandpa had both the Grand Champion and the Junior Grand Champion boar in the show ring. That no doubt encouraged the hog sales and promoted his auctioneering business.
Both grandparents died in 1953. I was 7 years old then, so, of course I enjoy finding and reading such family history. In this case it was quite by accident that I stumbled upon these articles and while I knew some of the information they provided, some of it I did not know. It seems that the remaining family had quit talking about most of it. The magazine, of course, gave only a glimpse of the past. A more in depth study came through genealogical work, a time consuming, but rewarding endeavor. My wife and I trudged through many cemeteries and courthouses in search of dates, birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and other related documents. Those included property deeds.
One of my older brothers used to show me the farms that had been in the family in previous years. Most of those he would describe as160 acres farms. I would learn later that 160 was so common because Illinois was laid out in sections consisting of 640 acres. A section could be easily divided into four 160-acre farms and that is the way most of the land was sold. However, it was not uncommon for a family to buy a complete section or more that one section.
A large swath of the heartland of Illinois was granted to the Illinois Central Railroad by the government, which the railroad sold off to encourage the settling of the western frontier. This was the intent of the grant. The IC and other railroads played a major role in the development of the state. This in turn generated revenue for their transportation services. I have found Illinois to have an amazing growth history as well as personal family history.
By Jerry L. Ginther
Bio: Jerry Ginther grew up in Sullivan, IL with a few brief departures over the years. He served two years in the U.S. Army, 1966-68, and was employed by the Illinois Central Railroad as a telegraph operator and train dispatcher for nearly twenty-five years. He and his wife reside in Texas. Email Jerry at JG@JerryGinther.com
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