Biography - Thomas Laws
THOMAS G. LAWS. Among the shrewd, successful and far-seeing young business men of this section is Mr. Thomas G. Laws, whose life of industry and usefulness and whose record for honesty and uprightness have given him a hold upon the community which all might well desire to share. He is a native-born resident of Montgomery County, Ill., his birth occurring in East Fork Township December 5, 1851, and the reputation he has enjoyed has been not only that of a wide-awake, thorough-going business man, but of an intelligent and thoroughly-posted man in all public affairs. He is engaged in merchandising in Coffeen, and is also a live-stock and grain dealer of considerable prominence.
Mr. Laws is the eldest son and second child born to William and Mary (McCaslin) Laws, both natives of Kentucky, the father born in Todd and the mother in Caldwell County. After their marriage, the parents settled in a little round-log house on sixty acres of raw land, and immediately began making improvements. They experienced all the hardships of pioneer life, and lived to see the wilderness blossom like the rose. They now have a very comfortable home, and are enjoying the accumulations of previous years. Nine children were born to their union: Sarah E., our subject, Lucinda M., Alfred W., Fielding F., Mary E., Charles L., William H., and Albert P. (deceased). All these children were reared on the old home place. The father is a Republican in his political views, takes an active part in all the laudable enterprises, and is a public-spirited citizen.
The youthful days of our subject were spent on the home place, and in addition to a common-school education he entered the Hillsboro Academy, where his education was completed. He remained under the parental roof until his marriage in April, 1873, to Miss Sarah McCurry, a native of Montgomery County, Ill. She died in 1878. leaving two sons, Clement and William, both at home at the present time. The second marriage of our subject was to Miss Nellie Wesner, a native of Fayette County, Ill. This union has been blessed by the birth of four children, two sons and two daughters: Mary, Ralph, Gladys and Vivian.
Our subject followed farming in East Fork Township for many years, and as he had been reared and trained to the duties of farm life from an early age, and understood every detail of the same, it was not to be wondered at that he was successful in that pursuit. However, he moved to Donnellson in 1880, embarked in the grain business, and remained there until 1889, when he moved to Coffeen, where he engaged in the livestock and grain business. Later, he started a general store in connection with his other business, and is doing a very successful and prosperous business. He ships to Toledo, Baltimore and many other points, and is one of the leading men of the county. He owns five buildings in Coffeen and the best business block in the village. He is widely and favorably known in the county, and fully merits the success which has attended all his enterprises. Like his father, he is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party and a useful and prominent citizen. Socially, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias.
Extracted 29 Nov 2016 by Norma Hass from 1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery and Bond Counties, Illinois, pages 135-136.
