SNOWDEN B. NELSON. One of the rising young bankers of Jackson county,
Snowden B. Nelson, of Fordyce, has been connected with the financial
interests of this section for only a comparatively short time, but has
already risen to a prominent place in his chosen vocation, and as cashier of
the Farmers' Commercial Bank has demonstrated his ability in the field of
finance. Mr. Nelson is a native Illinoisan, and was born at St. David,
Fulton county, February 9, 1888, a son of D. C. and Ella (Moran) Nelson.
D. C. Nelson was born at Canton, Fulton county, Illinois, April 8, 1855,
and has been engaged in farming all of his life. He now resides at
Hillsboro, Iowa, where he is the owner of the old Mathew Creswell ranch,
which he has cut up into farms, and these he and his son now operate. In
1884 he was married to Miss Ella Moran, daughter of Richard Moran, of
Canton, a pioneer of the Prairie state, and to this union there have been
born seven children: Earl, Snowden B., Harry, Hazel, Leo, Caryl and Ralph.
The family is connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of
which several members have been active. Mr. Nelson is a Democrat, but has
taken only a good citizen's part in political matters, preferring to give
his entire time and attention to the operation of his farm, rather than to
enter the political field.
Snowden B. Nelson secured his education
in the district schools of Fulton county and the public schools of Canton,
and this was followed by three years in Westfield College, at Westfield,
Illinois. Having chosen banking as his life work, Mr. Nelson attended the
commercial department and specialized in banking, and graduated from that
institution in 1909, fully equipped to take up his work. During that same
year he became connected with the Farmers and Merchants Bank at Golden Gate,
Wayne county, Illinois, as assistant cashier, but four months later resigned
to accept a position which had been tendered him at Johnson City as
assistant cashier of the Citizens State Bank. He was called to his present
position January 4, 1911, and since that time has remained as cashier of the
Farmers Commercial Bank. This is one of the solid and substantial
institutions of this part of the state, and is a joint stock company, the
officers being: State Senator W. O. Potter, president; John E. Carr,
vice-president (Mr. Carr being also president of the State Bank of Dahlgren,
Illinois); and Mr. Nelson, cashier.
Like his father, Mr. Nelson is a
Democrat in his political views, and he has followed his father's example in
that he has not cared for public office. His activities outside of his
business have been devoted to the work of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and he is now superintendent of the Sunday-school at Fordyce, and president
of the Sand Ridge Township Sunday-school Convention. Fraternally he is
popular with the members of the Modern Woodmen of America. By his genial and
courteous manner Mr. Nelson has served to make himself a general favorite
with the depositors of the Farmers Commercial Bank and to strengthen their
friendly relations therewith, and this is bound to make them feel that they
have a personal interest in its affairs and thus establish public
confidence. If his work in the past may be taken for a criterion of the
future his success in banking will be but a matter of time.
Extracted 15 Jan 2018 by Norma Hass from 1912 A History of Southern Illinois, volume 2, pages 955-956.