Magill, Henry

Born: 1832-XX-XX Middlebury, Vermont

Died: 1883-02-25 Clinton, Illinois

Flourished: DeWitt County, Illinois

Henry Magill was railroad builder, businessman, merchant, and stock dealer. Magill resided on the family farm in his native Vermont until 1841, when his parents moved the family to Malone County, New York, where Henry's father operated a textile mill and general store. In 1851, Magill moved with his family to Michigan City, Indiana, where he joined his father and brothers in grading and tilling the Michigan Central Railroad from Michigan City to Chicago. Magill and his family moved to Bloomington, Illinois, in February 1853, where he joined his father and brothers in building portions of the Chicago & Alton Railroad and the Illinois Central Railroad. Magill also managed a large general store in Bloomington. In 1854, Magill moved to Clinton, Illinois, where he and his brothers opened a general store. He was also a partner in Magill, Denton and Company, which built a portion of Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad, and Mason, Magill, Denton & Company, which constructed part of the Minneapolis & St. Paul Railroad. In 1858, Henry and his brothers expanded into dealing stocks. In February 1859, he married Melissa (Malissa) F. Bowren, with whom he had three children. In 1860, Henry owned personal property valued at $30,000 and had a personal estate of $5,000.

The Biographical Record of DeWitt County, Illinois (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1901), 16-21; Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965, 10 February 1859, Clark County (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2016); U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Clinton, DeWitt County, IL, 78; The Weekly Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL), 9 February 1883, 10:6; Gravestone, Woodlawn Cemetery, Clinton, IL.