My Genealogy Hound

HENRY R. WINTHROP, who resides on section 36, Tamaroa Precinct, Perry County, was born on the 30th of August, 1852, in the community which is still his home. His father, Charles Edward Roger Winthrop, was born in Stamford, Conn., October 8, 1816, and there acquired his education. When a young man he was employed in a drug store, but not liking that work he engaged with an engineering corps in the state of Michigan, and also upon the route of the Erie Railroad. At length he determined to turn his face westward and seek a home in the Mississippi Valley. He located in Paradise Prairie, Perry County, in the winter of 1839, and here resided for nearly half a century. He was known throughout the county, and left a record which entitles his memory to the highest respect and regard of his fellow-citizens. When he first came to the county he lived in a log cabin. He purchased eighty acres of land, and at once began plowing and planting it. In the course of time it was made to yield him abundant harvests, and his farm became one of the best in the neighborhood. He extended its boundaries from time to time until he became one of the extensive land owners of the county, as well as one of its prominent and influential citizens.

Mr. Winthrop began his official career in 1852, being appointed by the County Court as Drainage Commissioner, in which position he served until December 4, 1854. During this time he sold the large tracts of land in Perry County, designated as swamp lands, under which sale the school debt of over $4,000 was paid. He next served as School Commissioner of Perry County, and in 1861 was elected County Judge, in which capacity he served four years. During that time the County Jail was erected, and the Cairo Short Line Railroad was completed and put in operation, as was also the Chester & Tamaroa Railroad. Mr. Winthrop was also Township Treasurer for over twenty-five years. He was appointed administrator of various estates, and in all public duties was ever found faithful and true. In politics he was a stalwart Republican, and socially was a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows’ societies, in which he held every office. He was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, and died in that faith June 26, 1888.

On the 24th of February, 1842, Mr. Winthrop was united in marriage with Miss Delilah Lipe, daughter of Jonas and Esther Lipe. They became the parents of nine children, three of whom are yet living. John S., the eldest, who was born October 21, 1844, in Tamaroa Precinct, was reared on the old homestead. He attended school and aided in the labors of the farm until twenty-four years of age, when his father gave him his start in life by buying him a farm of eighty acres. To this he has added until he now owns five hundred and fifty-six acres, being one of the largest land owners of the county. He now makes a specialty of sheep-raising. He was married October 22, 1868, to Mary A., daughter of Isaac Padrick, a farmer of Tamaroa Precinct. They have nine children: Charles O., who married Maggie E., daughter of John A. Gee, a farmer of Tamaroa Precinct; Effie M., wife of Solomon T. Walker, a farmer of Du Quoin Precinct; John C., Elsie E., Katie L., Ellen G., Gracie V., Zella P. and Ilah B. The father of this family is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and in politics is a Republican. He and his wife are members of the Missionary Baptist Church.

Henry R. Winthrop, whose name heads this sketch, is the second of the family, and the sister, Susan R., is the wife of William D. Eaton, a school teacher residing in Tamaroa Precinct. Our subject was reared upon the old homestead, and acquired his education in the common schools. At the age of twenty-five he received from his father seventy-five acres of land with which to begin life on his own account. As his financial resources increased, he made other purchases, until he now has three hundred and sixty acres—a valuable and productive tract. He is successfully carrying on general farming and stock-raising.

On the 18th of October, 1876, was celebrated the marriage of H. R. Winthrop and Martha Hutson, daughter of Chamberlain Hutson, a farmer of Tamaroa precinct. Five children grace this union, Carrie E., Dempsey, Hanlan H., Elsie E. and Sylva L. They also lost two children, Daphne B. and Stella M. Mr. Winthrop is a man of domestic tastes and habits and does not seek official honors. He votes with the Republican party. Those who know him esteem him highly, for he is a man of sterling worth and strict integrity—a worthy representative of one of the honored pioneer families of the county.

The family of which our subject is an honored representative has been identified with the history of this country from a very early period, and has furnished many distinguished men, both in civic and military life. The line of descent is as follows: Adam, Adam, Adam, John (Governor of Massachusetts), John (Governor of Connecticut), Wait Still (who was Chief Justice of Massachusetts), John, John S., Francis B., John S., Charles E. R., and Henry R., of this sketch. Adam Winthrop was lord of the manor of Groton, Suffolk, England, and his grandson, John, was the first Governor of Massachusetts. The next in direct descent was John Winthrop, who was the first Governor of Connecticut, and who founded New London.

In that city the family lived until shortly before the Revolutionary War, when Francis B. came to New York. He married Alice Marston, and their eldest son was John S., our subject’s grandfather. The latter chose as his wife Harriet Rogers, and at his demise left four sons, Henry R., John S., Charles and Francis B. (deceased.) Of his daughters only one now survives, Susan. A younger brother of Francis B. removed to Boston after the Revolution, and from him the Winthrops of that city are descended. William, a younger brother of our subject’s grandfather, went back to New London, where some of his children still reside. Francis B., another brother, settled in New Haven, and at his death left two sons, Theodore, who was killed in the late war; and Colonel William Winthrop, U. S. A. Thomas Charles, the youngest brother of Grandfather Winthrop, lived in New York and had a large family of children, among whom was Major-General Frederick Winthrop, who was killed at Five Forks. Still another branch of the family in New York is descended from another brother of Francis B., of Revolutionary times, who married a Miss Stuyvesant.