Samuel Sanner

As printed in 1879

S. P. SANNER.

Among the enterprising and successful farmers of Bunker Hill township is S. P. Sanner. He is a native of the state, and was born in Madison county, February 25th, 1836. He is descended from a family of German origin. His great-grandfather on his father’s side emigrated from Germany, and settled in Pennsylvania while that state was still subject to British rule. When the war of the Revolution broke out, and the colonies entered into their long and arduous struggle for independence, his ancestors were not unmindful of the duty they owed to their adopted country, and his grand father enlisted and served in the army under Washington. His grandfather married a young lady named Hanna, to the various branches of which family m the West Mr. Sanner is in consequence related.

His father, Samuel Sanner, was born near the town of Northumberland, m Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1803. He learned the trade of a saddler. He married Barbara Paul, who was born in Preston county, Virginia, in the year 1810. Her father moved from Virginia to Pennsylvania. This marriage took place April 27th, 1827. Mr. Sanner’s father worked at his trade at Northumberland, Pennsylvania, till his health became poor, when he removed to the West and purchased a farm in Madison county, eight miles south of Bunker Hill, where he lived till 1867, and then removed to Shelby county, Illinois, where both he and his wife are now living, spending the closing years of a long and well-spent life. They celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage in April, 1877.

The birthplace of Samuel Paul Sanner, the subject of this sketch, was on his father’s farm in Madison county, eight miles from Bunker Hill. He grew up in that vicinity with such opportunities for education as were common among the settlers of the West forty years ago. On the 8th of April, 1860, he married Margaret Calvin. Mrs. Sanner is also a native of Madison county, and was born ten miles south-east of Bunker Hill, November 13th, 1837; She is descended also from a Pennsylvania family. Her father, Philip 8. Calvin, was born in Mercer county of that state, and when a young man emigrated to Indiana, and in Lawrenceburg married Jane Clarke. She was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and had two brothers who had been in the service during the war of 1812. One of them was surgeon of the United States frigate Guerriere, and was lost by the sinking of the vessel and was never heard from afterward. Another brother was one of j the pioneer emigrants to Illinois, died in this state, and was buried on the j banks of the Kaskaskia river. Philip S. Calvin settled in Bureau county, Illinois, in 1835; lived there till 1837, and then came to Madison county, where he died in 1867. Mrs. Sanner’s mother is still living in Madison, county, at the age of eighty-two years.

They resided in Madison county two years after their marriage. Mr.

> Sanner and his wife moved to Macoupin county, and on the 11th of March, 1862, settled on a tract of land consisting of one hundred and ten acres, which composed part of their present farm, in section 6 of township 7, range 8. At that time an old shanty, the only apology for shelter which the place offered, occupied a position just east of his present residence; the mud was knee-deep, and altogether their new home presented an uninviting and uni sightly appearance, and gave little promiseof comfort or future development I into the fine and valuable farm which the visitor to the spot may now see. Mr. Sanner’s success is an illustration of what may be accomplished by intelligent farming, hard work, and untiring energy. His industry soon en- I able him to get his farm into a better condition, and his example proves that the farmer on the prairies of Illinois can not only make a living out of the soil, but can reach a position where he will be in comfortable and inde- pendent circumstances. His farm has increased in size from one hundred

1 and ten to four hundred and twenty acres, and is situated in the corner of

Bunker Hill, Hilyard and Brighton townships, part lying in each township.

He has been engaged in general farming, and is a man of good business ability. From his father he inherited a taste for mechanical employments,

I and his natural genius in this direction has been of great service to him in

I carrying on the farm and keeping in repair the necessary agricultural im-

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

Mr. and Mrs. Sanner have been the parents of eight children, whose names in the order of their ages are as follows: Jesse Frank, Anna Belle,

Lucy, Sophia, Samuel Clarke, Nellie, Harry, and Jacob Otto. All are living, with the exception of Samuel Clarke, whose death occurred September 8th, 1870.

He has taken an active interest in public affairs, such as should engage the attention of every intelligent and enterprising citizen, but has had no active participation in politics. His time has been taken up in the management of his farm and his own business affairs; he has, nevertheless, always been a republican. He was a boy when the agitation first began in regard to the slavery question; and when party lines came to be closely drawn on this subject, and the bitter fight ensued between slavery and free-soil principles, he had no hesitation in connecting himself with the republican party, whose principles he has supported from that day to the present. Personally Mr. Banner belongs to that class of men who make a country rich and prosper rous. He believes in carrying modern notions into the business of farming, and in taking advantage of every valuable improvement and invention. This progressive spirit, coupled with a wise economy and sound business judgment, produces men who become the most valuable citizens, who do the most toward the upbuilding and improving of a country, and who are fore most in every enterprise intended to advance the material interests of the community. At the head of this sketch appear the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Sanner. The reader will also observe a full-page illustration of their residence and farm, with the improvements which they expect to make within a short time.

As printed in History of Macoupin County, Illinois (1879). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.