his second wife Mrs. Mary Elizabeth (Jackson) Hall, who was born August 14, 1838, a daughter of Arthur Jackson, one of the early settlers of Vermillion County. Mrs. Lamb was first married to James R. Hall, who was a member of Company A, One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Illinois Infantry, in the war of the Rebellion. He left at his death a family of five children who are yet living, their names being -- John C. F. Hall, Bertha Hall, Allen W. Hall, Josephine Hall and Effie Hall. Arthur Jackson, the father of Mrs. Lamb, was a native of North Carolina, born in 1814, and when four years old was taken by his father, Corben Jackson, to Wayne County, Indiana, where he grew to manhood, and was there married to Miss Ellen Cook, who was born in Union County, Indiana, in 1816. To this union eight children were born, four of whom grew to maturity -- Alonzo, the eldest, was a soldier in Company E, Twenty-fifth Illinois Infantry, and was killed at the hard fought battle of Chickamauga in 1863; the second child, Mary Elizabeth, is the wife of our subject; Edgar, the third child, was the first man to volunteer in defense of the Union from the township in which he lived, and was killed at the battle of Mission Ridge; Theodore Jackson, though but a boy, entered the service of his country, and later was a member of the Seventy-third Indiana Infantry. He died at home April 1, 1862, from disease contracted in the army. Mr. Jackson was a carpenter and builder, and a superior workman. In 1846 he came with his family to Vermillion County, and built a saw-mill on the Little Vermillion River on Horse Shoe Bend, one of the most beautiful locations in the county. He operated the mill until 1851 when he removed to Georgetown, Vermillion County, Illinois, and later he settled in Wabash County, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying February 10, 1873, in his fifty-ninth year. His wife died of cholera July 29, 1855, and after her death Mr. Jackson was twice married. He was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church for thirty years. He was a upright and honorable citizen and was highly esteemed for his many excellent characteristics.
WILLIAM F. KERNS, an enterprising agriculturist of Vermillion County, engaged in farming and stock-raising on section 11. Helt Township, is a representative of one of the early pioneer families of the county. He was born in Helt Township, May 2, 1839, a son of William and Agnes (Skidmore) Kerns. The father was a native of Kentucky, and came to Vermillion County in 1825. The maternal grandfather of our subject, whose name was John Skidmore, settled in the county as early as 1818. William F. was reared on his father's homestead to the avocation of a farmer, which he has made his life work. He received his education in the common-schools of his neighborhood, and at Bloomingdale Academy, and subsequently engaged in teaching school which he followed during the winter terms for seven years, teaching three years in the same school district at Spring Hill. During the late war he was a member of Company I, Forty-third Indiana Infantry, serving his country for fifteen months. He was married November 6, 1864, to Miss Catherine Saxton, a daughter of Benjamin Saxton, who was among the early settlers of Helt township. Five of the seven children born to them are yet living, their names being as follows -- Leila A., DeWitt C., Eva G., Mervin E. and Gordon. Mr. Kerns is classed among the prosperous citizens, being the owner of 246 acres of valuable land, which he has acquired
by industry and good management. In politics he is a staunch Republican. He has served many years as justice of the peace and notary public, and in 1886 was elected county commissioner, and in all these public trusts he has served with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOSEPH WESLEY REEDER, a representative of one of the early pioneer families of Vermillion County, resides on the homestead on section 28, Clinton Township, where he was born August 26, 1845. The history of the family in this county dates back to the year 1822, when Joseph Reeder, the grandfather of our subject, with his family, came from the State of Ohio, and settled in the forest on section 21 of Clinton Township, and commenced the work of improving eighty acres of wild land. He was born in Pennsylvania, his wife, Eleanor (Stockton) Reeder, being a native of the same State. Both died at an advanced age in Clinton township. Their children in order of their birth are as follows: John, Nelson, James, Joseph, Amos and Ellen, all of whom married and settled in Vermillion County. All died in Clinton Township except Joseph, who died in Illinois, and John, who died in Iowa. The grandfather was a prosperous man, and became the owner of over 400 acres of land, which during his life he divided among his children. Nelson Reeder, his second son, was the father of our subject. He was a native of Ohio, born January 10, 1816, and was but four years of age when brought to Vermillion County. When a young man he married a Miss Elizabeth Round, a lady of German ancestry. To them were born six children -- Mrs. Sarah Clark, of Vermillion Township; Mrs. Martha Dewey, of Clinton Township; Silas died aged seventeen years; Ellen died aged sixteen years; Joseph Wesley, and Hiram who died aged twenty-five years. The mother died in 1848, and the father was married a second time to Mrs. Mary (Luellen) Wyatt, who made a good mother for his children. To this union three children were born -- Frank L., of Clinton Township; James M., also living in Clinton Township, and Mrs. Mary Belle Blunk, of Danville, Illinois. By her first marriage Mrs. Nelson Reeder had one child, John Wyatt, who was a soldier in Company I, Fourteenth Indiana Infantry, and died on Cheat Mountain, and was brought home for burial. The father of our subject died in the spring of 1880, leaving an estate of about 600 acres. As a citizen he was loyal and public-spirited, a generous and kind hearted neighbor, and an affectionate husband and father. In politics he was an ardent Republican. His widow still survives, and makes her home with her son Frank and her daughter Mrs. Blunk. Joseph Wesley Reeder, whose name heads this sketch, has always lived on the old homestead where he was born, except the time spent in the service of his country during the war of the Rebellion. While in his seventeenth year, July 10, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, Seventy-first Indiana Infantry. He participated in the battle of Richmond, Kentucky, and was one of the men who escaped capture that day. In 1863 the regiment was reorganized, and recruited at Indianapolis, taking the field as the Sixth Indiana Cavalry. The winter following it was under General Burnside at Knoxville and vicinity, and was part of the cavalry force under General Sherman at the Atlanta campaign, although Mr. Reeder was on duty as