PETER R. FAILING was born in Wayne County, N. Y., November 19, 1825, and is the eldest of three children born to Peter and Rebecca (Bullard) Failing, natives respectively of New York and Vermont, and of German and Scotch descent. At the age of seventeen, Peter Falling enlisted and served through the war of 1812 under Gen. Scott. He was a farmer, but from 1843 to 1847 was employed as track-master on the New York Central Railroad between Lyons and Syracuse, and from 1847 to 1850 was track-master on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern road between Hillsdale and Monroe, Mich. In 1847, he took possession of a farm in Hillsdale County, Mich., he had purchased in 1837, and there died in September, 1850, from injuries received on the railroad. Peter R. Failing worked on the home farm until eighteen years old, and was then employed alternately on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern road and the farm for several years. In 1851 and 1852, he graded the railroad between Elkhart and Goshen, Ind. In 1852, he moved to Michigan City, and the same year changed to La Fayette, being employed at both points by the N.A &S.R.R. In 1853, he came to White County, and acted as general superintendent of the grading of the T.L &B.R.R., between Logansport and Reynolds. In the spring of 1854, he was employed at Nauvoo, Ill., by the W. & R. Railroad Company, and in 1856 he returned to Monticello and engaged in the dry goods trade with his father-in-law, Roland Hughes. In the winter of 1859, he opened a general store on his own account, and in 1866 he opened a hotel and livery stable. During the interval between 1859 and 1866, however, he graded the T., L. & B. R. R., between Monticello and Burnettsville. In 1869, he went to St. Louis, where he was employed as foreman on the I. M. & St. L. road, and in December, 1875, came back to Monticello, and was employed on the I., B. & W. and the I. D. & C. Railways until 1880, when he again opened his hotel. February 22, 1854, he married Mary Hughes, who has borne him six children, of whom four are still living. Mr. Failing is a Freemason and a democrat.

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