The gentleman of whom we write is a native of Gloucestershire, England, and is a son of Richard and Mary (Redwood) Bennett. His ancestors were farmers for many generations, and the Bennett family occupied a certain farm for nine hundred and ninety-nine years. The rental was one shilling per year, and, wonderful to relate, it was collected during all those years with great regularity. Upon the occasion of a visit made to the ancestral home in 1887, Mr. Bennett found the old landmarks blotted out, the estate having passed back into the hands of its original owners. The father of our subject was a moneyed man, who labored at the occupation in which the family had so long been engaged. He was the father of thirteen children, the subject of this sketch being the youngest.

The latter had no opportunity to attend school, other than the Sunday-school, and was not able to read or write until nineteen years of age. A young lady was conducting his correspondence for him. At a fair the young man met another young lady, who wrote him a strong love letter. This he was obliged to take to his sweetheart to read, and she then and there gave him the “mitten.” Being thus left without an amanuensis, young Bennett set valiantly to work to learn those things which had been neglected in his youth. He had left his home at the age of thirteen years because his father objected to the use of tobacco. The elder Bennett having declared that the son should not use the vile weed in his presence, the lad thought the matter over, and not willing to give up that which he enjoyed, nor to deceive his father, determined to try the world alone. When he left the parental roof he had twenty-five cents in his pocket, and he now declares that being thrown upon his own resources was the making of him, as he was taught self reliance and learned to push his way as he would not otherwise have done.

Going into Wales, young Bennett sought and found work, remaining there until he was nineteen years old. During this time he helped to make the rails that were used in the New York Central Railroad. From Wales he went to Canada, where he sojourned a few months ere making his way to Pittsburg, Pa. There he sought employment in the iron business, but a strike being in progress and the cholera also making havoc in the city, he was compelled to abandon his idea of locating there. Going to Cincinnati, he found cholera raging in that city also, and therefore returned to Canada, where he remained until 1855. He then came to Peoria, where he has since resided. He has occupied his present place of business twenty-seven years. He was engaged in the harness business about fifteen years, after which he took up undertaking. He has been a successful financier, and now owns property on several streets.

In Canada, on May 6, 1850, Mr. Bennett was united in marriage with Miss Ann, daughter of Robert Bye. She bore him six children, four of whom are living. They are: Mrs. Wolgamott, of this city; Charles, a railroad man, whose home is in Denver, Colo.; Mrs. Kent, of this city; and Mrs. Wilton, whose husband is with her father in business. After a happy wedded life of more than twenty years, the devoted wife and mother was called hence. In the fall of 1871 Mr. Bennett contracted a second matrimonial alliance, his bride being Mrs. Mary J. Brown, widow of Orrin Brown. She had borne the maiden name of Perkins and is a native of New Hampshire. She is a notable housewife, and excellent neighbor, and worthy of respect in every relation in life.

Mr. Bennett cast his first vote in the United States in 1860, for Abraham Lincoln, and has ever since been true to the Republican party. The personal popularity of the man is shown in the fact that he was the only man elected on the Republican ticket in 1884, when he became Coroner, and that in 1888 he was re-elected, and is the present incumbent. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and Druids. He is a member of the Peoria Consistory, having attained the thirty-second degree in masonry.

Pages 479-480