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Below is a family biography included in The Portrait and Biographical Record of Randolph, Jackson, Perry and Monroe Counties, Illinois published by Biographical Publishing Co. in 1894.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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COL. W. T. INGRAM, an old and highly respected citizen of Jackson County, who is engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Murphysboro, and is President of the Board of Pension Examiners, has long been connected with the interests of this community, and has ever been prominent in the advancement of those interests which are calculated to promote the general welfare. The Doctor was born November 8, 1830, in Greenville, Ky. His father, James Ingram, was born near Culpeper Court House, Va., in 1808, and the grandfather, Isaac Ingram, was also there born and reared. He became an early settler of Kentucky, and was a large planter, cultivating an extensive tobacco farm on the Green River. His death occurred in 1862. The family was originally of English origin, the great-grandfather, Benjamin Ingram, having come to this country from Leeds, England.

The Doctor’s father was reared in Kentucky, and in 1850 emigrated to Jefferson County, Ill., where he carried on farming until his death, in 1855. He married Nancy Reno, a native of Culpeper Court House, and a daughter of John Reno, who was born in Virginia and in 1810 emigrated to Kentucky. He was a pioneer school teacher of that state, and followed his chosen profession until eighty-five years of age. He died in Greenville, Ky., at the age of ninety-five. His parents were natives of Paris, France, and in that country the name was spelled Renault, but after coming to America the present mode was adopted. Mrs. Ingram died June 11, 1877, at the age of sixty-eight. She was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

In the family were five sons and three daughters. John W., who enlisted in Company H, Eightieth Illinois Infantry, was wounded at Perryville, and received his discharge at Nashville in 1863. He was a physician and died near Benton, Ill., in 1874. Isaac A., who was Second Lieutenant of Company F, was wounded at Shiloh in April, 1862, and died in June. The Doctor brought his remains home and he was laid to rest near Centralia. Edward W. is now a practicing physician of Mt. Erie, Ill.; W. S. is a farmer living near Ashley, Ill.; Mrs. Martha Cameron resides in Ashley.

Col. W. T. Ingram is the eldest. He was reared on a farm in Kentucky, attended the common schools, and for two years was a student in Greenville Academy. He afterwards entered a drug store and began the study of medicine under Dr. Yost, of Greenville. In 1850, he entered the University of Kentucky and pursued a course of study in the department of medicine. In the spring of 1852, he went by boat to St. Louis, thence in a four-horse stage to Vandalia, the capital of the state, where he taught school for six months. He then engaged for a time in medical practice in Xenia, Ill., after which he went to Johnsonville. His next place of residence was at Webb’s Prairie, in Franklin County, where he continued practice until the war. On the 25th of July, 1861, our subject joined Company F, Fortieth Illinois Infantry, and became First Lieutenant. He was always at the front, and after the battle of Shiloh was made Captain. He participated in the engagements at Tallahoochie and Holly Springs, and in 1863 resigned his commission on account of sickness. Returning to Benton, Ill., he there remained until the spring of 1864, when he aided in raising the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Illinois Infantry, and was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel by Governor Yates. He took his men to Columbus, thence to St. Louis, and bore a part in the raid after Price in the fall of 1864. He was mustered out at Springfield, October 22, and in December, 1864, entered the Secret Service, doing duty along the Mississippi until June, 1865. He was also Provost Marshal in Franklin County, Ill., until the close of the war.

When his public service was over, Dr. Ingram located in DeSoto, where he engaged in the practice of medicine until 1876, since which time he has been numbered among the medical practitioners of Murphysboro. While in Wayne County, in 1865-66, he took his last course of lectures in Louisville and was graduated with the degree of M.D. He has been very successful in practice, and his skill and ability have won for him a good business.

Dr. Ingram was married in Kentucky to Miss Susan Vaught, a native of that state, and they became the parents of four children: M. Frances, wife of George W. Hill, ex-Senator, and a leading attorney of Murphysboro; William E., conductor on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad; Robert E., conductor on the Houston & Texas Central, and a resident of Houston; and Mrs. Ollie B. Landerville, who died in 1890. In Wayne County, Dr. Ingram wedded Mary A. (Moore) Rinard, who was born in Salineville, Columbiana County, Ohio, and is a daughter of John Moore. In 1853, her father removed to Wayne County, Ill., where he owned a large farm of eighteen hundred acres, all entered in one body. His death occurred in December, 1869. His wife, a native of Ohio, now makes her home with the Doctor and his wife, at the age of eighty-five. Mrs. Ingram was educated in Earlham College, of Richmond, Ind., and the Cleveland Episcopal College, and is a cultured and refined lady.

The Doctor has served as Alderman of the First Ward of Murphysboro, holding the office when the water works and electric lights were put in. He was a member of the Board of Education for three years and served as its President. From 1885 until 1889, he was a member of the Board of Pension Examiners, and in 1893 was re-appointed by President Cleveland. He is surgeon for the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute Railroad, is a member of the National Association of Railway Surgeons and of the Southern Illinois Medical Association. He also belongs to the Odd Fellows’ society, the Knights of Honor, and Worthen Post No. 128, G. A. R. He is also Medical Examiner for about ten insurance companies. In religious belief he is a Methodist, serves as Trustee and Steward of the church, and was the Chairman of the building committee. In 1877, he established the Industrial Tribune, a Greenback paper, which he published until 1880, when he sold out. The Doctor’s life has been a successful one financially, and an upright, honorable career has won him the esteem of all.

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This family biography is one of 679 biographies included in The Portrait and Biographical Record of Randolph, Jackson, Perry and Monroe Counties, Illinois published in 1894.  View the complete description here: The Portrait and Biographical Record of Randolph, Jackson, Perry and Monroe Counties, Illinois

View additional Jackson County, Illinois family biographies here: Jackson County, Illinois Biographies

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