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.