Prominently identified with the industrial and civic affairs of Marion
county is the subject of this sketch who is one of the leading farmers of
this locality, residing on a beautiful farmstead in Meacham township, which
he has improved.
Samuel Puffer was born in Effingham county,
Illinois, June 11, 1848, the son of John Puffer, a native of Maury county,
Tennessee. He married Martha J. Gray, in Illinois. He was the son of Samuel
Puffer, a native of the New England states, who came to Tennessee in an
early day. About 1833 he came to Marion county, Illinois, and settled near
Kinmundy. His father came later and lived with him until the latter's death.
His wife died in Tennessee. He married a Miss Eagan. His second wife was a
Miss Caldwell. He had two sons and a daughter by his first wife and two
daughters by his second marriage. The subject's father located in Effingham
county, Illinois, about 1836, taking up government land on Fulfer creek,
where he lived until about 1857, when he went to Collins county, Texas,
where he secured eighty acres of land and in 1862 he went to Bates county,
Missouri, where he owned a farm of one hundred and twenty acres. He died
there in 1862, having been preceded to the other world by his wife in 1851.
He married a second time, this wife being Lovina Newman, who died in Texas.
He again married, his third wife being a Miss Degraftenread, of Texas. There
were two children by his second wife, one dying when small. John, who grew
to maturity, lived in Missouri, and went to Colorado in 1890.
The
subject of this sketch came to Marion county, Illinois, in 1862, and located
near Kinmundy, where he lived until 1878 when he bought a farm of one
hundred acres in Meacham township, section 7, where he has since lived. He
made all the improvements on his farm, which is considered equal in every
way to any in the county, and he has a beautiful, well furnished and
comfortable home.
On February 12, 1872, the subject was united in
marriage with Sarah Eagan, of Kinmundy township, the daughter of Isaac and
Athlina Tulley, the former of Tennessee where his youth was spent. They were
pioneers of Marion county, first settling at Salem, later at Kinmundy. He
was the owner of a large tract of land, part of which is the present site of
Kinmundy. He died in 1874 and his wife passed away in 1888. They were the
parents of eight children, of whom four are living at this writing, namely:
John, who resides in Kinmundy township; Sarah, the subject's wife; Ras, of
Salem, Illinois; Harriett, widow of James Hayworth, of Kinmundy. Two
children have been born to the subject and wife, namely: Myrtle, the wife of
Charles E. Wenck, who lives east of Farina, Illinois; Mae, who was married
June 24, 1903, to Mark Boyd, of Meacham township, and who is the mother of
one son, Richard F. Mark Boyd lives with the subject and assists him in
managing the place. Mr. Puffer has lived on his present place since 1878. He
carries on general farming in such a manner as to gain a comfortable living
from year to year and lay by a competency for his old age. His farm is well
improved and he raises not only good crops of various kinds, but also
excellent horses, hogs and cattle. He has held some of the township offices,
and is a loyal Democrat. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian
church. He deserved a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished.
Having started in life a poor boy, he has, by hard work, achieved success.
Extracted 11 Jul 2017 by Norma Hass from 1909 Biographical and Reminiscent History of Richland, Clay and Marion Counties, Illinois, pages 389-390.