Nathaniel Carrico

Nathaniel Carrico
Portrait and Biographical Record of Macoupin County, Illinois
Biographical Publishing Company, 1891
transcribed by Linda Boorom



Portrait and Biographical Record of Macoupin County, Illinois
page 805-806

    NATHANIEL CARRICO, one of the leading citizens of Honey Point Township, may justly be classed among the most enterprising and successful farmers of Macoupin County, his fine farm bearing witness to his thrift ability and skillful management. He is now the owner of sic hundred and seventy-five acres of well-improved land, with substantial buildings and all the modern machinery in use on a model farm, and, in fact, everything condusive to the comfort and convenience of the enlightened farmer.

    A native of Illinois, Mr. Carrico was born near Kane, in that part of Greene now included in Jersey county, September 9, 1833, and is the son of Nathaniel Carrico, a Kentuckian by birth. The father of the latter, Dennis Carrico, was born in Chelsea (sic) County, Md., and was of early French ancestry. In 1633 three brothers came to America as members of Lord Baltimore's colony, and one of those was the great-great-grandfather of our subject.

    Dennis Carrico lived in his native Maryland until he attained manhood, and became a wheelwright by trade. While still young he went to Pennsylvania, where he married a Miss Clark. From the Keystone State he went to Kentucky, where he remained a few years, and his next move was to St. Louis County, Mo. At that time there were but few white people living west of the Mississippi and St. Louis was but a trading post. He resided there some years, and then came to Illinois in territorial days, and became one of the early pioneers of Greene County. He made a claim, and when the land came into the market entered it from the Goverment and first erected a set of log buildings. In those days there was quite a demand for spinning wheels, and he followed his trade a part of the time, making those useful articles, and the remainder devoting himself to farming. He finally erected a frame house on his homestead, which is still standing. His farm was located eight miles west of Kane, and there his death took place in 1851.

    Nathaniel Carrico, Sr., was but a small boy when his parents went to Missouri, and in that State he was reared. He came to Illinois when a young man and entered several tracts of Goverment land in Jersey County, and built on the tract near Kane. there he made his home the remainder of his life, which was brought to a close when scarcely past its prime, his death occurring November 7, 1833. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Brown, a native of St. Louis County, Mo., was again married, her second husband being James Cooper. She was the mother of four children by her first marriage and eight by her second union. Her father, Griffith Brown, was a Southerner, born either in South Carolina or Georgia. He married Sally Foster, and after that event came North and located in Missouri at a very early day of its settlement. The removal was made with packhorses, the family taking with them all their earthly effects. Mr. Brown improved a farm a few miles north of St. Louis, and there dwelt until death called him home.

    As we have seen, our subject is a decendant of the early pioneer stick of this State, and he grew up in his native sounty and under pioneer influences to a stalwart, self-reliant, energetic manhood. He continued to live in Jersey County until 1852, in the meantime (1850) visiting this county and entering two hundred acres of Goverment land on sections 1 and 12, Honey Point Township, and since that time has been a valued resident of this part of the county, native in developing its agriculture and a potent factor in its prosperity. In the management of his affairs he has displayed more than ordinary acument and business ability, and has gathered together a valuable property, the possession of which entitles him to a place among the most extensive landholders of the township. He has a clear, vigorous mind of his own, and exercises his right to maintain his own opinions on subjects he is interested, and thus we find him a strong supporter of the policy of the Republican party.

    In 1856 Mr. Carrico was married to Miss Jane Mitchell, a native of Brushy Mound Twonship, and a daughter of Elijah and Jane (Moore) Mitchell. After a happy wedded life of more than twenty years Mrs. Carrico died in 1879. The following are the names of the children born of that marriage: Mary Elizabeth, the wife of George W. Drake; Nacy A., deceased; Margaret J.; Nathaniel and Laura, both deceased; John G., Lula, Jessie S., deceased; George B., Martha, Nora; and Phoebe M., deceased. The union of Mr. Carrico and his present amiable wife was celebrated in 1886, and the bride on this interesting occasion was Mrs. Virginia B. (Decker) Williams. By her first marriage Mrs. Carrico became the mother of two children - Mary E. G. and Albert G. G. Three children have been born to her and Mr. Carrico, and they have been named Virginia B., Dottie and Frances A. the various members of the family are highly esteemed and are well known both in the business and social world.  

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