Biography - A Sawyer
A. A. K. SAWYER, a prominent citizen and able business man, successfully ran a general store in Hillsboro, Ill., for over twenty years. He has now retired from active mercantile life and devotes his entire time to general farming and stock-raising. His beautiful home is located about one-half mile east of the city proper. The fine and commodious residence which adorns the handsome and well-kept grounds is one of the most attractive in Montgomery County.
Mr. Sawyer was born in Boston, his natal day being August 8, 1833. Amos Sawyer, the father of our subject, conducted a bakery in the city so famous for its brown bread. But the charms of the West were more potent than those of the Hub of the Universe, as Boston has been frequently designated by its ardent admirers, and in the fall of 1842, Mr. Sawyer left his Eastern home, and determined to win success upon the Western prairies. He expected to endure some hardships incident to pioneer life, but he intended to enjoy all the comforts within his reach; a log cabin was not to his liking, and after his arrival in Hillsboro he had a house built in Boston, and shipped from there to New Orleans, thence by river to St. Louis, from which city it was transported by teams to its final destination upon the prairies of Illinois. The journeyings of this house and its subsequent erection in Hillsboro, were long a theme of interest in the then sparsely settled country. The cozy home sheltered a happy family. Mrs. Sawyer (formerly a Miss Kendall, of Massachusetts) appreciated the advantages she had enjoyed, and devoted much time to her children. They were five in number. The eldest of them was A. A. K., the subject of this sketch; then came Sarah C., who married the well-known physician, Isaac W. Fink, M. D; Doctor Amos; Juliet, the wife of Jesse K. Phillips; and the last, a little one who died.
A. A. K., who had attended school in Boston, finished his studies in the Hillsboro Academy. At eighteen years of age he found employment in St. Louis, clerking in the first wholesale grocery house established on Second Street. In this position he remained two years, then became bill-lading clerk on the levee. The business of Chicago attracted him thither in 1860. In the Garden City he transacted a stock and grain business. Two years later Mr. Sawyer went to Pana, Ill., and from there returned to Hillsboro, where he profitably engaged in general merchandising many years.
Our subject was married October 7, 1858, to Miss Sarah Ellen Brewer, the daughter of Judge Brewer, one of the early pioneers of Crawford County, Ill. Mrs. Sawyer was born October 1, 1836. This estimable lady became the mother of five children; the eldest, a promising little lad, died at the age of six years; Amos and Edgar reside in Hillsboro; the daughter Nellie and the youngest son Hurbert are still with their parents.
Our subject is the possessor of a nice property, owning a store building and several dwelling houses, all in Hillsboro. His outside property consists of five valuable farms, ranging in extent from eighty to three hundred acres in size. This land, all under cultivation, comprises a total of one thousand and seventy-five acres. Our subject gives his personal attention to all of the farms, and is not only a general agriculturist, but is also one of the largest stock-raisers of the county. Busy as is Mr. Sawyer's life he yet finds time to engage in many public and social duties. He is a Mason, member of Mt. Moriah Lodge No. 51, Hillsboro. Politics occupy but little of Mr. Sawyer's time, he is an Independent and votes according to his judgment.
Extracted 12 Jan 2017 by Norma Hass from 1892 Portrait and Biographical Record of Montgomery and Bond Counties, Illinois, pages 466-467.
