This
enterprising farmer and representative citizen is a native of Marion
county, Illinois, and belongs to one of the old and highly esteemed pioneer
families of Haines township, where his parents, Thomas and Mary (Luke) Kell,
settled in an early day and bore an active and influential part in the
development and growth of the community (see sketch of William Kell).
Charles T. was born a short distance west of the village of Kell, September
18, 1854, from which date to the present time his life has been very closely
identified with Haines township, and as stated above, he now holds worthy
prestige among the leading agriculturists and public spirited men of the
section of country honored by his citizenship.
Reared in close touch
with nature in the healthful outdoor life of the farm, he early acquired a
vigorous physique and an independence of mind characteristic of the sturdy
son of the soil, and while still quite young he became familiar with the
varied duties of agriculture and learned to appreciate the honor and dignity
which belong to those who earn their bread by the sweat of the brow. At the
proper age he entered the schools of the neighborhood, which he attended at
intervals until acquiring a practical knowledge of the subjects taught, the
meanwhile assisting his father on the family homestead and contributing his
full share to its cultivation.
After remaining with his parents until
attaining his majority, Charles T. entered into partnership with his
brother, John M. Kell, by purchasing a half interest in a saw and grist mill
at Foxville, and during the ensuing ten years devoted his attention to the
manufacture of flour and lumber, meeting with encouraging success in the
enterprise and becoming widely known as a wide-awake and thoroughly
honorable and reliable business man. Disposing of his interest in the mill
at the expiration of the period indicated, he located on his present home
farm in Haines township, adjoining the town of Kell on the south, having
previously become the possessor of another tract consisting of one hundred
and twenty acres in another part of the same township, both of which places
he has brought to a high state of cultivation and otherwise improved. At the
time the railroad was constructed he sold twenty acres, which is now a part
of the village of Kell.
As a farmer, Mr. Kell easily ranks with the
most enterprising and successful men of his calling in Marion county, being
progressive in his methods and using the latest modern implements and
machinery and by judicious rotation of crops he seldom fails to realize
abundant returns from the time and labor devoted to his fields. He also pays
considerable attention to the raising of live stock, which he finds quite
profitable, and his domestic animals, including horses, mules, cattle, sheep
and hogs, are among the finest breeds obtainable, and from their sale no
small share of his liberal income is derived.
Mr. Kell has not been
sparing of his means in the matter of improvement, and the beautifying and
rendering attractive his home, the large two-story house with its many
modern conveniences, being among the most desirable country residences in
the township, while his commodious barn, outbuildings, wells, fences and
other evidences of prosperity compare favorably with the best in his part of
the country. He keeps in close touch with the advancement in agricultural
science, and fully abreast of the times in reducing the same to practical
tests, being progressive in all the term implies, and believes in the latest
and most approved methods of modern farming.
In his political faith
Mr. Kell is a Republican, and while interested in the success of his party,
he has never been a politician, much less an office seeker or aspirant for
leadership. In religion he subscribes to the Missionary Baptist creed, and
for a number of years his name has adorned the records of that church,
having held the office of deacon five years in the local congregation, to
which himself and entire family belong, besides being otherwise interested
in religious and benevolent work. He is superintendent of the Sunday school
which he attends, has long been an influential leader in this department of
religious endeavor, and with his wife has been instrumental in arousing an
interest among the young people of the neighborhood and leading not a few of
them to the higher life.
Mr. Kell was married in the year 1881 to
Rebecca C. Purdue, of Haines township, daughter of Richard and Caroline
(Harmon) Purdue, early settlers of Marion county and among the highly
respected people of their locality (see history of the Purdue family). Mr.
and Mrs. Kell have four children, the oldest of whom, a daughter by the name
of Iva May, is the wife of R. A. Jeffries, of Haines township, and the
mother of one child, Trevor Jeffries. The other children, two daughters and
one son, are still under the parental roof, their names in order of birth
being as follows: Myrtle, Ellis and Ethel. Mr. Kell has taken great interest
in the rearing and educating of his children and they in turn have responded
to his every effort in their behalf. The children all received liberal
educational advantages in the public schools and also at Ewing Baptist
College at Ewing, Ill. Ethel graduated at the age of seventeen from that
institution in instrumental music. The family is one of the best known and
most highly esteemed in the county and the name which is an old and
honorable one has long been synonymous for noble manhood and womanhood and a
high order of citizenship.
Extracted 10 Jul 2017 by Norma Hass from 1909 Biographical and Reminiscent History of Richland, Clay and Marion Counties, Illinois, pages 128-130.