Biography - Baxter Haynes
BAXTER HAYNES, M. D. This gentleman is a pioneer physician of Montgomery County, and resides on section 20, township 7, range 2, Fillmore Township. He located here in 1874, when few indications of the present prosperity were apparent, and has since been closely identified with the growth and development of the county. By his skill and success in his chosen work, he has won an excellent reputation as a physician, and the good-will of the citizens. He was originally from Barren County, Ky., born December 20, 1827, the eleventh child and seventh son of twelve children born to Rev. William and Anna (Henley) Haynes, natives, respectively, of North and South Carolina. The paternal grandfather, John Haynes, was a native of England, but his wife, Mary Slice, was born in Germany. The maternal grandfather, Timothy Henley, was a native of the green isle of Erin.
The parents of our subject were married in Barren County, Ky., and there remained until the fall of 1829, when they came to Illinois, settling in Morgan County. There the father followed the occupation of a farmer, and was also a minister in the Baptist Church. He died in May, 1830, when forty-six years of age. The mother passed away in Morgan County when seventy-eight years of age. Their family consisted of seven sons and five daughters, all of whom lived to be fifty years old, except one, who died when fourteen years of age. Our subject was but two years of age when he was brought to Illinois by his parents, and his first educational advantages were received in the district schools of Morgan County. He remained under the parental roof until seventeen years of age, and then, in 1844, went to the Lone Star State, where he spent the winter.
Returning to his home, our subject remained there until June, 1846, when he enlisted in Company G, First- Illinois Infantry, for service in the Mexican War, under Capt. W. J. Wyatt. He served one year, being discharged in 1847, and again returned to Morgan County, Ill. In 1848, he crossed the plains with an ox-team, but later returned to Morgan County, where he was married on the 4th of January, 1849, to Miss Susan Bull, who died March 3, 1863. Five children were born to this union, as follows: Dr. Moses, of Fayette, Ill.; Jane, wife of Clark Nichols, of East Fork Township; Anna, wife of William J. Lynn, of Fillmore; Elizabeth, wife of P. H. Smith, of East Fork Township; and William, of Fillmore Township. Our subject's second marriage occurred on the 20th of January, 1864, his bride being Miss Margaret J. Brown. Four daughters and a son have blessed this union: Farie B. (deceased) was the wife of William Overeem; Hiram S. died in 1866, in infancy; Caroline S. is the wife of John L. Smithdeed, of Fillmore Township; Effie May married Stephen J. Jett, of Bond County; and Delia A. completes the family circle.
In 1819, the original of this notice located on a farm in Macoupin County, Hi., remaining there for two years, and then located in Sugar Creek Grove of the same county, where he was engaged in farming. In 1852, he removed to Morgan County, located on a farm, and after residing on the same until 1856 removed to Dallas County. Tex. There he commenced practicing medicine, remaining there until the following spring, when he located in Bates County, Mo. In connection with his practice, he was engaged in farming, and followed both until August of the same year. From there he removed to Kansas and settled in Bourbon County, where he practiced for two months. Thence he returned to Macoupin County, Ill., where he practiced medicine until 1862.
Being filled with a patriotic desire to serve his country's cause. Dr. Haynes enlisted under the Stars and Stripes, January 15, 1862, and raised a company of one hundred and three men, which became Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-second Illinois Infantry. He served as Captain for one year and eight months, and was injured at Parker's Cross Roads in December, 1862. His wife died about this time, and on account of that bereavement, and his injuries, he resigned in April, 1863. Later, he located in Zanesville, Montgomery County, Ill., and was actively engaged in his practice for a time. Next, he located at Donnellson, in the same county. After remaining there two years, he located on a farm four miles east of that place, and continued his practice for eight years. He then disposed of that property, and removed nine miles east of Donnellson. Ten years later he returned to Donnellson, where he remained three years, and then settled on his present property in 1887.
Since 1864, Dr. Haynes has been engaged in the active practice of his profession, and is one of the most popular physicians of the county. His practice extended twenty-five miles in every direction and he was well known over a wide scope of territory. He began the study of medicine when twenty-eight years of age in Rush Medical College, Chicago, and remained there during 1864-65. In 1879 and 1880 he attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons in St. Louis, graduating in the latter year. He is a member of the Montgomery County Medical Society, and the District Medical Society of Central Illinois, also the State Medical Society. Socially, he is a member of Fillmore Lodge No. 270, F. & A. M., and is one of the most respected and esteemed residents of the county. Although he is a self-made, self-educated man, he has met with success in all his occupations, and is the owner of three hundred and sixty -four and one-half acres of land in Fillmore Township. When starting out for himself, he worked by the month or day, and with the money thus earned he bought two calves. Later, he traded these for a horse, and in that manner he made his start in life.
Extracted 10 Jan 2017 by Norma Hass from 1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery and Bond Counties, Illinois, pages 286-288.
