E. George Randle, who for thirty years was engaged in the general
merchandise business in Shipman, but is now living retired, is one of
the oldest settlers in Macoupin county. His birth occurred in Todd
county, Kentucky, on the 2d of April, 1828, and he is a son of John H.
and Sarah H. (Arnold) Randle, the father a native of North Carolina and
the mother of Virginia. They migrated to Illinois in 1830, first
locating in Edwardsville, which at that time was only a fort, the
Indians still being hostile in this vicinity. Subsequently they settled
in Macoupin county, the father entering two hundred acres of government
land that he cultivated until his death. In the family of Mr. and Mrs.
John H. Randle there were four sons and two daughters, the son E. George
being the eldest. All of them are living with the exception of two.
As he was still a small lad when the* family settled in this county,
E. George Randle acquired his education in a little log schoolhouse with
slab benches and puncheon floor in Shipman township. While engaged in
the mastery of the common branches he was becoming acquainted with the
simpler principles of agriculture under the direction of his father. His
early years were not particularly different from those of other pioneer
farmer lads of that period, much of his time being taken up in the work
on the fields and care of the stock. The family as a whole shared in all
of the hardships and privations that devolve upon those who form the
advance guard of civilization in any new country. E. George Randle
remained under the parental roof assisting in the cultivation of the
home farm until 1856, when he came to Shipman and opened a general
merchandise store. Commercial enterprises continued to engage his
attention for thirty years, proving so lucrative that at the expiration
of that period he disposed of his business and has since been living
retired.
It was in Christian county, Illinois, in 1858, that Mr.
Randle and Miss Roxie Ann Warren were united in marriage. Mrs. Randle,
who passed away in 1873, was a native of the state of New York. She
migrated from her native state to Illinois when a child with her
parents, who settled in Macoupin county, where the father followed
agricultural pursuits. To Mr. and Mrs. Randle were born two sons and two
daughters, namely: Abigail, who is deceased; Charles, who is a resident
of Pana, Illinois; Harriet, the wife of Prentice Cutler, now living in
Oregon; and G. Warren, of Grove City, Illinois. In 1875 Mr. Randle was
again married to Miss Frances McClaren, a native of Pennsylvania but a
resident of Shipman. When still in her girlhood she came to Illinois
with her parents, who settled on a farm in this county where they spent
their latter years. Two children, a son and a daughter, born of this
marriage are living: John and Florence, both of whom are at home.
The family affiliates with the Methodist Episcopal church, in which
the parents have long held membership, and politically Mr. Randle is a
republican. A man of clear judgment and business ability, he acquired in
his early life the means to enable him to enjoy his latter years in well
earned ease and comfort.
Extracted 15 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 399-400.
Macoupin County ILGenWeb Copyright
Design by
Templates in Time
This page was last updated
07/01/2022