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Robert R. Ward
Funeral For Robert R Ward To Be Held Tuesday Afternoon

Services Will Be Held at Home on North McLeansboro Street, With Rev.
Samuel E. Fisher of Normal, Ill., and Rev W. G. Johnston, Local Pastor,
Officiating

Funeral services for Robert R. Ward, president of the Benton State Bank,
will be held Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock from the home on North
McLeansboro street.  Interment will be in the Masonic and Odd Fellows
cemetery.

The funeral services will be conducted by Rev. Samuel E. Fisher, of
Normal, Ill., and Rev. W. G. Johnston, pastor of the First Christian
church.

Mr. Ward lost his life Saturday as a result of a thirty-foot fall from a
silo at his dairy farm, two miles east of the city, his death coming as
one of the greatest shocks the people of Benton, and Franklin county,
have suffered in many years.

Mr. Ward attained his fiftieth year on the ninth day of last August,
being born in Benton at the present site of the Arley E. Martin home on
East Main street, on August 9, 1879.  He was the oldest son of the late
William R. and Imogene Snyder Ward, who came from pioneer families of
this county.

The great-grandparents of Mr. Ward, Abel and Polly Ann Ward, were both
born in South Carolina.  Their son, John, the grandfather of Robert R.
was born in St Clair county, and came to Franklin county with his
parents at the age of six.

In his time John Ward became a prominent merchant and mill man, building
the first roller mill in this county.  He died in 1902 at the age of 78.

William R Ward, father of the local banker, was born on a farm five
miles north of Benton, and after completing the work in the grammar
schools here attended the State University at Bloomington, Ind. On his
return he went into the store with his father, a general store known as
John Ward & Co.  Later a partnership was formed with Captain Carroll
Moore, and this continued until 1875 when they established the first
bank in Franklin county, known as the Exchange Bank of Ward & Moore.

The business continued under this name until 1893 when Mr. Moore's
health began to fail. He died in 1905 after years of suffering.  In 1898
the bank was incorporated as the Benton State Bank with William R. Ward
as its president, and this position he held until his death.  He was a
Demo rat in politics and was appointed a trustee of the Southern
Illinois Normal by Governor Altgeld.  He was an early and prominent
Mason and a consistent member of the First Christian church of this city
which he helped to establish.

Robert R. Ward, son of this illustrious pioneer, graduated from the
Benton Township High School with the class of 1898.  There were eleven
graduates in the class and three marriages resulted from the _ _ _
intances and association of school days. Mr. and Mrs. Ward made up one
of these couples, another is Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Fitzgerrell, of Benton,
and the third is Mr. and Mrs. Ed Webster, of Harrisburg.  The other
members were Mrs. Charley Blair of Buckner; William Foulk, of Benton;
Charley Rose, deceased; Clyde Chenault; and Mrs. Carl Burkhart,
deceased.

In the fall of 1898 Mr. Ward entered the University of Illinois and
graduated in 1903 with the degrees of A.B. and L.I.B.  He was admitted
to the bar in 1904, although he never practiced law due to the necessity
of taking up his father's work.  In this year he was made vice president
in the bank which his father had established and which he was destined
to see grow into one of the strongest financial institutions in this
section of the state.

In 1919 Mr. Ward succeeded to the presidency of the bank when the late
Capt. Carroll Moore resigned, and he held that position until death.

He gained much prominence in the banking circles of Illinois, being
elected president of the Illinois Bankers Association in 1918, and
succeeding the following year to a place on the board of directors of
the American Banking Association, a national organization.

In 1914 he was elected a member of the board of trustees of the
University of Illinois, and some three years ago was named by Governor
Len Small to a similar position to succeed Fred
_ _ _ _ of Centralia, who resigned to accept federal judgeship.

He has always taken a keen interest in the state university, and has
helped in a financial way many from this county to gain a higher
education.

It was well known that he was making plans to attend the annual Illini
homecoming next week and was to have been joined by his brother, George
Ward of Washington, D.C., who was on his way to Benton when he learned
of the fatal accident to his brother.

Mr. Ward's mother, who passed on in April 1927, was also of pioneer
stock, being a daughter of the late Solomon Snyder, who was an early
settler in Six Mile Township.  She always took a pride in keeping
newspaper clippings and other articles of an historical nature and in a
scrap book of hers found yesterday at the Ward home was found old press
notices that contained a great store of facts concerning early Franklin
county history.

Among these were a number of clippings that dealt with her son's life at
home and his work at the Illinois University.  One of these told of
Robert R. being a member of a special party of Illinois students who
were taken by President  _ S. Draper, at that time head of the
University of Illinois, on a European trip during the summer vacation. 
Mr. Ward was a personal friend of the son of President Draper.

Another story told of the election of a manager for the varsity football
squad of 1901 in which Mr. Ward was the winner by a great majority of
the student votes.

In 1906 he was united in marriage with Miss Terzie Kirkpatrick, daughter
of the late R. D. Kirkpatrick, who was one of the most prominent men of
the state, being a former member of the state legislature and an
influential Republican leader.

Three sons and three daughters were born to this marriage: William W;
Russell D; Leroy Albert; Martha, Susan Esther and Mary.  These with the
wife and one brother, George, survive.

Mr. Ward was prominent in the Masonic orders.  He was a member of the
Benton Lodge A.F. & A.M., of the W. R. Ward Chapter, the Knights
Templar, the Consistary and the Shrine.

He was a member of the First Christian Church and had been a heavy
contributor to the support of this and other churches in the city.

He had always taken a great interest in the civic affairs of the city
and he had given liberally of his wealth and his time to work that would
bring new industries and grater prosperity to the people of Benton and
Franklin county.

His views were always sought on matters of public or civic nature and
his opinions were always found to be as solid as the rock upon which he
built his personal fortunes.

(It was believed by many people in Franklin County, that rather than an
accident, Mr. Ward's death was a suicide, resulting from the Bank Crash
of the 1930s.)

Della Warren The Register-News, Mt. Vernon, IL, Sat. 6 May 1972 issue DELLA GIFFORD BETHALTO Mrs. Della GIFFORD, 76, of Bethalto, died at 2:30 p.m. yesterday at Alton Memorial Hospital. Mrs. GIFFORD was born in Franklin couny (sic) on Dec. 3, 1895, the daughter of C.F. and Mary Jane (BARNFIELD) WARREN. She was married to Amos GIFFORD, in Benton, on Dec. 4, 1915. She was a member of the Webb Prairie Baptist church. Funeral services will be held Monday at Myers Chapel at 3 p.m. with the Rev. C.J. KETTERMAN (should be KETTEMAN) officiating. Burial will be in Liberty cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral chapel after 5 p.m. Sunday. Mrs. GIFFORD is survived by her husband, Amos; one daughter, Mrs. Arla POWERS (should be POWELL), Bethalto; a sister, Mrs. Birdie ODLE, Mt. Vernon; two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Mrs Charlie Cambell - mother Ella Webb

Death Calls Mrs. Campbell Funeral Set for 2 O'clock Wednesday At Frisco Mrs. Charlie Campbell died at the home of her mother, Mrs. Ella Webb, in Valier, this morning after an illness of several weeks. Funeral services will be at the Missionary Baptist Church in Frisco Wednesday afternoon at 2 o'clock followed by interment in the Ridge cemetery. Mrs. Campbell had been strangely affected for some time and for the past few weeks had been at Valier, where she had been under the care of her brother, Dr. M. A. Webb. During this time, it is understood, she had been taken to St Louis at different intervals where specialists had found the disease a baffling one. According to reports ------- here today, it was finally ------ that she was a victim of ------ of sleeping sickness. She frequently had sleeping spells that would last for many hours, but when she went to sleep about 10 o'clock last Friday night, she never woke and passed on at 5 o'clock this morning. Mrs. Campbell had been residing in Peoria for a number of years, where her husband had employment with the Keystone Company. She was the mother of one daughter, about 16 years of age. She was the daughter of Mrs. Ella Webb and the late Marion Webb, who for a number of years conducted a large general store ant Frisco, in the northeast part of this county. The family is one of the oldest and widely known of this county. She was about thirty-four years of age.

Claude Harold Webb Claude Harold WEBB 24 July 2000 Messenger-Inquirer LOUISVILLE -- Claude Harold Webb, 75, of Louisville died Saturday, July 22, 2000, at Audubon Hospital in Louisville. He was born in McRoberts and farmed in Ohio County. He was retired from the Navy and the Air National Guard and was one of two survivors of the destruction of the U.S.S. Princetown during World War II. He was a member of F & AM Lodge 675 and Maple Grove Baptist Church. Survivors include his wife, Betty Stivers-Webb; a son, Claude Eugene Webb; a daughter, Marsha Nelson; three stepdaughters, Dianne Reece, Betsy Noel and Susie Hillard; 13 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; a brother, Kenneth R. Webb; and a sister, Eunice Hurst. Services are at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Resthaven Funeral Home in Louisville with burial in Resthaven Memorial Park. Visitation is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home. Donald Lee Webb

Evan Fitzgerald Webb

Frances Elizabeth Webb Smith

Rev H H Wallace

John Williams

John Sidney Webb J. SIDNEY WEBB OF EWING DIES; RITES AT BENTON John Sidney (Sid) WEBB, 87, a prominent farmer of Ewing, died Wednesday afernoon in Franklin County Hospital in Benton. Mt. WEBB was a member of a pioneer family which settled near Ewing community in 1812 and the area became known as the Webb's Hill community. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday at the Mitchell Funeral Home in Benton with the Rev. Donald G. CARLTON officiating. Burial will be in the Phillips cemetery near Ewing. The body will lie in state at the Mitchell funeral Home where friends may call after 4:00 p.m. today. Mr. WEBB was born July 29, 1878, at Ewing, the son of Aaron and Annie (MANNEN) WEBB. On April 17, 1900, he was married to Florence Gertrude FISHER who survives. He is also survived by a son, Albert W. WEBB of Ewing; a daughter, Mrs. Sam M. HUNTER of Carbondale; a brother, Grover C. WEBB of Ewing; a sister, Mrs. John ULRICH of Downers Grove, Ill.; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Julia Webb Clark

Obituary For the second time in two weeks the angel of death has visited the home of W. T. Clark, and son and mother yielded unto him. Juliann Web was born in Webb's Prairie, Franklin County on March 1, 1826, to Lazarus and Nancy Webb, the youngest and last of the family of sixteen children. On the 8th day of November 1840, she was united in marriage to Isaac Clark and moved to their home near Macedonia, where she resided for seventy-two years. To this union was born one son and one daughter. W. T., the son passed away two weeks ago and the daughter, Mrs. Nancy Phillips, is left to mourn her double loss. On Sept 6, 1912, Mrs. Clark was stricken with paralysis and at five o'clock, Sept. 7, her feeble body surrendered without a struggle. She leaves to mourn their loss, one daughter, one daughter-in-law, ten grandchildren, thirty five great grandchildren, three great great grandchildren and a host of friends. Mrs. Webb was a member of Webb's Prairie Primitive Baptist church. After the funeral, which was conducted at the home by G. A Phelps of Macedonia, the body was laid to rest by the side of the husband and son in Middle Fork cemetery, to await the morn of resurrection.

Leis M Webb

Mrs Lizzie Spegal (sister of John W Williams)

Marion A Webb

Mary Artimissa Webb Page Mary Artimissa Webb, was born February 24, 1843, in what is known as Webb Prairie, she departed this life April 21, 1924 at the home of her son, Ewing N Page of Macedonia, aged 81 years, 1 month and 25 days. She was married to Henry Page Jul3, 1861, to this union nine children were born, namely: Augustus L. Page of McLeansboro; Willie M Page of St Louis, MO; Ida J. Kelley of Paragould, Ark; Clara E Robertson of McLeansboro; Mont C Page of McLeansboro; Hardenia E Finn of St Louis, Mo; and Oscar Page who died in infancy. (Only names seven & Ewing N.) She professed faith in Christ in the year of 1871 and united with the Missionary Baptist church at Belle Rive, in the year of 1882, she was baptized by Elder J. A. Dulaney. In the year of 1886, she moved her membership to Ten Mile church in which she remained a faithful member until death. She leaves to mourn her departure eight children and a number of relatives and friends, also two brothers and two sisters. Funeral services conducted by Elder John B. Maulding at Ten Mile Tuesday, April 22, 1924 Interment at Ten M

M N Webb

Mrs S B Page (nee Nancy Webb)

Solomon M Webb

Thomas Webb

Vernie Eleanor Webb

Polly Ann White widow of Daniel Ward Polly Ann White was born in McLeansboro, Ill, June 6, 1850 and departed this life December 22, 1927, at the age of 77 years, six months and fifteen days. She was untied in marriage to Daniel Ward December 24, 1865, and had she lived another two days langer she would have been married 62 years. To this union were born eleven children, four of whom preceded the mother in death. The seven children who with her heart broken husband are left to mourn are: Mrs. Morgan Brown, Peoria, Ill; Mrs A. P. Lillie, Chicago; Mrs. Seburn L Neal, Frisvco, Ill; Alfred Ward, Spring Garden; Mrs. Abe Dungy, Mrs. Ernest Lovan and Emery Ward of Benton. There are also twenty-three grand children and a great host of near relatives and friends left to mourn her departure. Mrs. Ward untied with Liberty Baptist church in the year 1866 and had remained true to Christ and her church throughout her long and useful life. A loved one from us is gone, A voice we loved is still, A place is vacant in our home Which never can be filled. Card of Thanks We wish to thank all the friends and neighbors who so kindly helped us during the bereavement caused by the death of our dear wife and mother and especially do we wish to thank those from Benton who so freely offered their services at the funeral. Daniel Ward and children.