GUSTIN-L Archives

From: <>
Subject: Wm C. Gustine of Fulton Co., IL
Date: Sun, 01 Nov 98 22:08:17 GMT

While at Illinois State Library we found the book "HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
OF ILLINOIS and History of FULTON COUNTY", pub Munsell Pub. Co, Chicago,
1908

p. 895-896
GUSTINE, William C.-- With the exception of eight years, three of
which were spent in the Union service during the Civil War, the activities
of William C. Gustine and those of the Bernadotte Flouring Mill went hand
in hand from the fall of 1856 until the retirement of the master miller in
1902. A business association of forty years argues stability for both man
and mill, but particularly does it reflect the faithfulness and ability of
the human side of the partnership. In the same degree that Mr. Gustine
was an important commercial factor in Bernadotte, was he also an
intelligent observer of the changes which took place in Fulton County
after his arrival there in 1838. At that time he was two years old,
having been born in Fayette County, Ohio, August 5, 1836, the oldest of
the ten children of Amos and Elizabeth (Childers) Gustine, pioneers of
both Ohio and Illinois.
Amos Gustine had a thorough knowledge of one of the most necessary
callings in the early days-carpentering-which he followed to the material
benefit of himself and the community. Settling in the fall of 1838 in the
neighborhood of Canton, he removed the following year to a place called
Tuscumbia, on Spoon River, where he established a large building business
and constructed barns and residences without number throughout that entire
section. Later he changed his headquarters to Bernadotte, where he still
pursued his occupation as a builder up to the date of his death, which
occurred in 1885. Mr. Gustine had the far-seeing judgment of the pioneer,
took a keen interest in public affairs and was especially active in
politics. At first a Whig, he adopted the principles of the Republican
party at the time of its organization in 1856, and while not an office
seeker, aided the local cause in no small degree. His wife survived him
until 1903. Of the children younger than William C., James A. served
three years in Company G, Fiftieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry; Walter A.
three years in Company J, One Hundred and Third Illinois Infantry, and now
lives at Table Grove, Fulton County; Mary Jane is the wife of Samuel
Norman, a soldier during the Civil War in the One Hundered and Fifty-first
Illinois Infantry; Hannah is the deceased wife of Samuel Norman and left
two children; Emily is deceased; Sarah A. is the wife of James Curry, of
Fremont, Neb.; John is a resident of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Marion D. is
deceased, and Susan lives with her brother, William C.
The school experience of William C. Gustine was limited to a few
months each year at the subscription schools, and as soon as his strength
and size permitted he became a wage-earner in a minor capacity in a
sawmill. His entire business life, therefore, was devoted to milling. He
was twenty years old when he went into the mill at Bernadotte, and at that
time both mill and miller were in an embryo stage, destined for many
rounds of progress ere their largest usefulness had been attained. The
mill was built about eighty years ago, and still retained the old burr
system, well adapted to leisurely times and non-critical palates. It is a
patriarch among mills, however, being one of the first erected in the
county, and its sing-song hum of industry has rarely been suspended since
its advent first swelled the local pride and furnished evidence of
manufacturing progress.
With the breaking out of the Civil War the responsibility in the mill
became of secondary importance to Mr. Gustine, and October 1, 1861, he
enlisted in company G, Fiftieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry for three
years. Mustered into service at Camp Wood, Quincy, Ill., the Fiftieth was
sent to Hannibal, Mo., then to St. Joseph, the same State, and later
taking part in the battles of Forts Henry and Donelson. At the expiration
of fifteen months of hard service Mr. Gustine was a total wreck from
rheumatism contracted during the wet season, and after spending six weeks
in a hospital in St. Louis was sent to his home on a furlough. Upon
partially regaining his health, March 9, 1865, he rejoined his regiment at
Louisville, Ky., thereafter accompanying it to Washington and to
Springfield, Ill., where his honorable discharge took place July 15, 1865.
His service was marked by zeal, courage and faithfulness, and his
recollection of the stirring times of the rebellion were among the most
treasured of his life.
In August, 1865, Mr. Gustine returned to his old positin in the
Bernadotte Mill, and from then until his retirement he was either
assistant or head miller, with the exception of three years spent in a
mill in Galesburg and two years at another place. In the meantime modern
machinery supplanted the older processes of milling, season succeeded
season, and of all the landmarks in the community none were more familiar
than the mill and the flour-covered miller. Mr. Gustine's retirement from
business robbed a stable industry of one of its most experienced and
cautious advisers, and the value and extent of his service cannot be
overestimated, considered either from the standpoint of the enterprise
with which he was connected or as regards general milling intersts in this
part of the State.
May 23, 1860, Mr. Gustine married Mary Ann Vice, who died in 1899
after filling a large place in the hearts of her family and friends. Mrs.
Gustine was a woman of intelligence and rare good sense, as well as devout
and active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of her four living
children, James E is the oldest son; Alta May is the wife of William B.
Compo, of Jetmore, Kans.; Lewis A. is a resident of Kewanee, Ill., and
Maud L. is the wife of Franklin Robertson, of Bernadotte, Ill. Although
never active politically Mr. Gustine supported the Republican party with
his vote and aided in the election of his office-seeking friends.
Socially a Mason, he was esteemed for his quiet dignity of manner, his
kindness of heart and for his many ways of contributing to the well-being
of the community.

--------------Good 'searching, Sandy & Bill

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