Mr. Barton was born in Ohio, April 10,1820, to Vincent and Mary Barton, who died here in 1834, and left a family of four boys—Simeon, William C. H., Lemuel T. and John. The latter died in Arizona.

The subject of this biographical review was but five years of age when he came with his parents to this county. He grew to manhood here, and in 1847 went out in the world, wishing to see more of the country and to better his financial condition if possible. He started on the long and tedious journey across the desert plains and mountains to the western coast, accompanied by Conrad Bourland and Henry Aiken, both Peoria boys, and they fitted out an ox-team and wagon together, and started out on the trip by the way of St. Joseph, Mo., where the last house was seen. They struck the Platte River near Ft. Kearney and they followed that stream to Ft. Laramie. They passed Laramie Peak and crossed a part of the Black Hills, and crossed the Rocky Mountains at South Pass. They went along the coast to Smoke River and stopped at what was then Ft. Vancouver, on the Columbia River, for a short time and then proceeded to the mouth of that stream and built a mill, which was for the purpose of manufacturing lumber. At about that time gold was discovered in California and the rush in that direction left them without men to operate the mill. So our subject and his comrades followed suit, and in the winter of 1848-49 went to California and worked in the mines. They subsequently returned to Oregon and bought a sawmill for $15,000. which they managed successfully for a short time and then sold out at an advance, and shortly after, in 1852, returned to Illinois by the way of Mexico and the Gulf, New York and Chicago.

Mr. Barton staid there until the opening of the war, and in the meantime was married to Miss Mary, daughter of William McCown, who had come to this county from near Johnstown, Pa. After the birth of three children, Mr. and Mrs. Barton started westward with their family, going by the way of Panama, to San Francisco, and from there to Portland, Ore. They staid in that city some months and then returned to this State by the same route. Our subject then took possession of the place where he now lives, which he bought of his father-in-law. His farm is pleasantly located on the Pekin road about five miles from the court house, and here he has a lovely home, located on the side of the hill overlooking the valley of the Illinois, where his land lies. His homestead comprises seventy-one acres and he has three hundred and twenty acres besides in Livingston County, which is among the finest farming land in the world. He and his sons do quite a large business in stock-raising, and have now about one hundred head of cattle of choice breeds in the place. They take quite an interest in horses, and have some very fine specimens of the Belgium and Henry Clay stock on hand.

The death of six of their eight children has shadowed the otherwise happy wedded life of our subject and his wife. Their son, William J., died at the age of twenty-three. He was a young man of great promise and was well educated, having been graduated at Cole's College, Peoria. John and Ollie died in childhood; Frank, Elmira and Cole also died when quite young. They have but two sons now living, both of whom are fine young men of great activity and business enterprise. Joseph, the eldest, received the benefits of a liberal education, and is a very energetic young man. Miner, the other son, is a graduate of the Peoria Business College.

As we have seen, Mr. Barton has been a resident of this county these many years. He has witnessed almost its entire growth and has been an able assistant in bringing about the great change that makes it one of the leading counties of the State. He has a vivid remembrance of the early days of the settlement of this part of Illinois and of the primitive manners and customs of the people. The children wore buckskin breeches in the winter and in the summer a shirt of linsey woolsey completed their costume. He can remember the day when money was a scarce article, with no surplus in the treasury, and instead of specie and greenbacks as mediums of exchange, most any commodity was used; coon skins taking the place of silver, beeswax of gold, and deer or buckskin of greenbacks. When he was a boy there were no schools. The State did not give him any education whatever, but later subscription schools were established. Mr. Barton is a strong Republican in his political views and his two boys follow in his footsteps in that line. Our subject's honorable and useful life has not only been productive of prosperity for himself, but has won him a high place in the estimation of the entire community.