W. E. TOLER is now serving as Deputy Sheriff of Jackson County. At this
writing, in December, 1893, he is numbered among the residents of
Carbondale, but early in the following year he expects to remove to
Murphysboro. He has the honor of being a native of Illinois, his birth
having occurred in Moscow, Union County, on the 11th of May, 1866. His
father, John W. Toler, was also born in that county, where the grandfather,
Erwin Toler, settled in an early day. The latter was a native of North
Carolina, and was a farmer by occupation. The family is of English descent.
During the Mexican War, the grandfather was a defender of the country. Later
he removed to Murphysboro.
John W. Toler was reared in this state,
and in 1875 embarked in merchandising in this place, where he continued for
some time as a dealer in groceries, meats and hardware. In 1886, he went to
Carbondale, where he is now engaged in the grocery business. He- served as
Postmaster under President Cleveland's first administration. In the late war
he joined the Thirty-first Illinois Infantry, and became Captain of Company
D. He was three times badly wounded, but continued in the service until the
close of the war, when he was honorably discharged, in the year 1865. He
participated in the Grand Review in Washington, and then returned to his
home. For two years he carried on farming and then came to Murphysboro. For
eight years he served as Deputy Sheriff under Hanks and Sams, and for a few
weeks after the death of Mr. Campbell, acted as Sheriff. He married Miss
Harriet Spiller, a native of Union County, Ill., and a daughter of William
Spiller, a well known farmer of that county. The death of Mrs. Toler
occurred in 1886. In the family were seven children, six sons and a
daughter.
W. E. Toler, whose name heads this record, is the eldest.
He was reared in this county, attended the public schools of Murphysboro,
was graduated from the high school, and in 1885 went to Carbondale, spending
one year as a student in the Southern Illinois Normal. He was then for one
year employed in the train department of the Illinois Central Railroad,
after which he was connected with the Chicago and Texas Road for three
years. In 1891, he embarked in the butchering business in Carbondale, in
which he continued until March, 1893, when his market was destroyed by fire,
and he did not rebuild. On the 8th of August, following, he was appointed
Deputy Sheriff, and has since filled the position.
On the 12th of
December, 1889, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Toler and Miss Sarah
Chapman, a native of this county. The wedding ceremony was performed in
Carbondale. Two children now grace the union, a son and a daughter, Katie
and Walter. They occupy a pleasant residence in Carbondale, which is the
property of Mr. Toler. In politics he has been a supporter of Democratic
principles since attaining his majority.
Extracted 31 Jul 2020 by Norma Hass from 1894 Portrait and Biographical Record of Randolph, Jackson, Perry, and Monroe Counties, Illinois, page 653.