Mrs.
Mary Ann Pettengill, of Bunker
Hill, Macoupin County, is the widow of the late David E. Pettengill, whose
portrait accompanies this sketch, who was a prosperous farmer and business
man, as well as a worthy and highly esteemed citizen. She is a daughter of
George W. and Mary Ann (Workinger) Boosinger, and was born near Akron, in
Portage County, Ohio, July 3, 1823.
George W. Boosinger was a native
of Virginia, and when 12 years of age moved to Ohio in company with his
parents, settling in the Western Reserve, where he had many experiences with
the Indians and the wild animals in the dense forests, living the life of a
pioneer woodsman. He took an active part in the War of 1812. Politically he
was a member of the Whig party, taking an active part in the government of
his community. He was also interested in school and church work, and helped
to establish a number of schools and churches in the new country. Mr.
Boosinger was one of a family of four boys and six girls. John Boosinger,
the brother of George W., died in Ohio, at the age of 100 years. He at one
time drove a team for his brother George W. to Missouri, making the journey
in seven weeks. Mr. Boosinger was married to Mary Ann Workinger, who was
also a native of Virginia, and they were blessed with five children, namely:
Mrs. Mary Ann Pettengill, the subject of this article; George F., a resident
of Gillespie township; Wesley, who died in Madison County, Illinois;
Christie Ann (Rice), who died at Gillespie; and Charlotte F. (Peter), who is
a widow and resides in Oregon. George W. Boosinger died near Gillespie,
Macoupin County, in 1863, at the age of 77 years.
David E.
Pettengill was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, January 19, 1820, and was a
son of David Pettengill. The latter, also a native of New Hampshire,
followed the occupation of farming there until 1836, when he migrated to
Alton, Illinois, where he engaged in the milling business, continuing at
that occupation until his death in 1838. His father, the grandfather of
David E. Pettengill, was a Revolutionary soldier. David Pettengill was the
father of six children by his first marriage, namely: Caroline, Hannah,
Sarah, Perces, Charles and David E.
David E. Pettengill removed in
company with his parents, when about 15 years of age, to Alton, Illinois,
where he remained for three years and then removed to Bunker Hill, Macoupin
County, Illinois, where he spent the rest of his life, following
agricultural pursuits. Mr. Pettengill was a man of good business judgment
and conducted his business affairs by skilled methods, as a result of which
he became a large land-owner, owning a well tilled farm in his home
township, 320 acres in Iowa, and three-quarters of a section in Kansas. Mr.
Pettengill was a public spirited citizen and did much toward the building up
of Bunker Hill, where he located in 1839, before it was settled. A great
reader himself, he did much toward the establishing of libraries in his
city. Politically Mr. Pettengill was a Repubiican, but took only a citizen's
interest in any political affairs. In 1845 he was married to Mary Ann
Boosinger, and they were blessed with two children, namely: Charles, who was
born in 1847, and Anna Maria, who died at the age of seven years. Charles
Pettengill, the only son of our subject, was a prominent hardware merchant
of Gillespie. He died at that place in 1880, leaving a widow and two
children — Mrs. Ella Bower, a resident of Bunker Hill, Macoupin County, and
Charles, who is a resident of Memphis, Tennessee. David E. Pettengill, our
subject's late husband, died September 8, 1894.
Mrs. Mary Ann
Pettengill when 12 years of age removed with her parents from Ohio to
Missouri, where the family was established near Lexington, in 1836. There
they remained for two and a half years, then removed to Alton, Illinois,
and, after a short time, she removed with her parents to Macoupin County,
where she has since resided, having lived in her present house since 1845.
Extracted 2018 May 07 by Norma Hass from Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Macoupin County, Illinois, published in 1904, pages 242-245.
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