There are men who early achieve success in life notwithstanding
obstacles which appear to be insurmountable to others. They are born
with an ambition which bows to no difficulty and endowed with an energy
and clear judgment that lead to certain victory. Such a man is Judge
Truman A. Snell who, although comparatively young, is now filling the
office of county judge of Macoupin county. He is a native of this
county, born on a farm seven miles east of Carlinville, September 22,
1876, a son of Guy A. and Abbie (Voorhees) Snell, both of whom were born
in Jersey county, Illinois. Of their family of seven children four
survive, namely: Hugh A., who lives at Litchfield, Illinois; Myron W.,
who is a physician, also of Litchfield; Truman A., of this review; and
Reba, the wife of H. J. White, a jeweler of Litchfield.
Guy A.
Snell, the father of the subject of this review, has from his boyhood
engaged in farming and is now living at Litchfield. He was reared in
Jersey county and in addition to farming taught school in his early
manhood. In the early ’60s he came to Macoupin county and spent several
years in Polk township, at the end of which time he removed to Honey
Point township, where he resided for forty years, becoming the owner of
seven hundred and seventy acres of good land in this county. He retired
from active labor in 1900 and has since at ease enjoyed the fruits of
many years of wisely directed application. He has now arrived at the age
of seventy-two years, his wife being five years his junior. He formerly
took an active interest in local affairs and served as supervisor of
Honey Point township, township assessor and in other offices.
Fraternally he is identified with the Elks.
The paternal
grandfather of our subject was Asa Snell, a native of Vermont. He
removed to Jersey county, Illinois, and engaged for many years in the
practice of medicine. The maiden name of his wife was Priscilla Landon
and she lived to be ninety years of age. They had a large family: Guy;
Gilbert, deceased; Mary, now of Oklahoma, who married Russell Bohannan,
now deceased, and later John Forth, now deceased; Drucilla, who married
Squire Watts, of Oklahoma; Clarissa, the wife of B. F. Calhoun, of
Jerseyville; Martha, who married Richard Waddell, of Jersey county, and
is now deceased; Ruby, the wife of Charles Perrings, of Polk township;
Silas, who is now deceased; James, also deceased; Janette, who became
the wife of Edward Lee and is now deceased; Luther, who lives at
Carlinville; Hugh, who was formerly sheriff and treasurer of Jersey
county; Katurah, who married S. Woolsey, of Auburn; and Augusta, the
wife of John Howell, of Jerseyville.
The grandfather on the
paternal side was Peter Voorhees, a native of New Jersey. He married
Maria Kirby and they became early settlers of Jersey county, Illinois.
In their family were nine children: Abbie; Charles, who lives at
Jerseyville; John, who resided at Jerseyville and is now deceased;
Sarah, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; Libbie, who married T. F. Remer
and lives in Denver, Colorado; George, who lives at Jerseyville;
Margaret, who married Dr. McAdams of Wichita, Kansas, and is deceased;
and Peter, deceased.
Truman A. Snell grew to maturity under the
favoring conditions of farm life. He attended the district schools and
Blackburn University, also becoming a student of Western Normal College
at Bushnell. Like many promising young men he engaged in teaching
school, a vocation which he followed for five years. During the latter
part of his experience as teacher he began reading law and after making
a fair start in the text-books matriculated at Washington University in
St. Louis and was graduated from the law department of that institution
in 1904 with honors and received the degree of LL.B. He was admitted to
the bar the same year and began practice at Staunton, where he still
maintains his office and his home. He showed special adaptability for
his chosen profession and soon gained a lucrative clientage. For three
terms he served as city attorney at Staunton and in November, 1910, was
elected judge of the county court of Macoupin county, a position which
he now fills.
On the 21st of September, 1904, Judge Snell was
married to Miss Emma Schmidt, a daughter of George W. and Margaret
Louise (Theuer) Schmidt. Two children have come to brighten their home,
Margaret Louise and Reba Alvena. Mrs. Snell is a native of the town of
Dorchester and her father was a native of Germany, while her mother was
born in St. Louis, Missouri. They lived at Gillespie, Illinois, for many
years, where her father engaged in the hardware business. He died in
January, 1906, at Carlinville at the age of sixty-six years, his wife
having passed away eight years previously. Their children are George W.,
Jr., of Gillespie; Frederick E., of Gillespie; William H.; Emma; and
Alvena.
Judge Snell is not identified with any religious
denomination but his wife is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran
church. He is well known in fraternal circles and holds membership in
the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically he
has from the time of casting his first vote been allied with the
democratic party. He has demonstrated his ability to cope with legal
problems and success has come as the reward of earnest endeavor,
fidelity to trust and recognized standing in his profession. In his
decisions he has demonstrated clear judgment and broadmindedness that
enables him to comprehend readily the details of a situation and
correctly to apply the principles of law. The people have confidence in
his integrity and the future is for him bright with promise, as there
are few men in Macoupin county who can claim precedence in popular
esteem over Judge Truman A. Snell.
Extracted 20 Oct 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 181-183.
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