ANTHONY PATE. Jackson County contains many valuable and highly improved farms, among which the traveler invariably pauses to notice, with interest and admiration, the fertile tract lying on sections 20 and 21, Somerset Township, and owned by the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch. The property consists of one hundred and twenty acres, upon which first-class improvements have been made, and which has also been embellished with substantial and conveniently arranged buildings.
The owner of this valuable farm is a native of Jackson County, and was born June 17, 1843. He is a son of Perleamon and Ravenna (Draper) Pate, both of whom were natives of Tennessee. The paternal ancestors were of Irish stock, and the great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. In 1841 Perleamon Pate, accompanied by his family, removed from Tennessee to Illinois, the journey being made with four horses and one yoke of cattle and a wagon. In this way the distance was traversed and the tedious journey completed.
Arriving at Jackson County, the family purchased a tract of Government land in Somerset Township and settled in the midst of surrounding woods, their home being a hewed-log house. In that early period of the settlement of the county settlers were few and hardships many, nor was the Pate family exempted from the privations of other pioneers. The father, who was a man of great energy and firmness of purpose, worked his way upward to a position of prominence in the township, and while advancing his personal interests also promoted the material welfare of the people. He died January 14, 1894, honored in his old age, and regarded as one of the representative pioneers of the county. Having met with success in his enterprises, he was well-to-do and enjoyed every comfort calculated to enhance the pleasure of living. While never an active politician, he was a loyal Democrat and one of the influential members of his party.
In the daily routine of farm work, varied by occasional attendance at the subscription schools of the township, the subject of this sketch grew to a sturdy manhood. He was united in marriage May 22, 1865, with Miss Isabel Carbaugh, who was born in Jackson County, Ill., May 28, 1844. Her parents, George and Mary (Bowlby) Carbaugh, came to Jackson County in 1838, and located in Somerset Township, of which they were early settlers, and where they continued to reside until death. Of their children the following survive: George W., a resident of St. Louis, Mo.; Philip, of Murphysboro; Mary, wife of F. M. Perry, of Carbondale, Ill.; Julia A., who married Monroe Martin and lives in Jackson County; Isabel, Mrs. Pate; Harriet, wife of Uriah Blue, of Jackson County; Martha, Mrs. Bradford Morgan, of Jackson County; Mrs. Jane Mitchell, a widow living in Jackson County; and William, who also resides in Jackson County.
Mr. and Mrs. Pate are the parents of seven living children, namely: William E.; Ravenna A., wife of J. E. Rees; Arley H., Effie M., Louisa J., Gertrude E. and Myrtle I. Mary O. and Daniel are deceased. The religious home of the family is in the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in which Mr. Pate and his estimable wife are active workers. In political belief he is a Democrat, devoted to party principles. For many years he served as Justice of the Peace.
Extracted 22 Feb 2017 by Norma Hass from 1894 Biographical Review of Jackson, Massac, Pope, and Hardin Counties, Illinois, pages 554-555.