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GEORGE A. HICKMAN. When a man has chosen one of the professions as his life work he must be prepared to make many sacrifices and to always hold his own interests in abeyance to the demands of his chosen occupation. Legal practitioners have always found this to be true, and it is especially so when a lawyer has been selected to fill a position of trust in his community, for, leaving all thought of self aside, he must give of his time, his strength and his talent in the interests of his fellow-citizens, his labors often being reimbursed only with a sense of duty well done. George A. Hickman, state's attorney at Benton, Illinois, is one of the conscientious young officials of that town, and as a member of the legal firm of Hickman & Hickman has an extensive practice. Mr. Hickman was born in Benton, Franklin county, Illinois, May 3, 1876, and is a son of Zachary and Julia (Johnson) Hickman.

Snowden Hickman, the paternal grandfather of George A. Hickman, was born in North Carolina and as a young man moved to Tennessee, where the remainder of his life was spent in agricultural pursuits. His son Zachary was born to Wilson county, Tennessee, and came to Illinois in 1860, settling in Saline county, from whence he enlisted in the Civil war as a surgeon. He continued in the Union service until the close of the war and then returned to Saline county, where he married Miss Julia Johnson, who was born in Wisconsin, daughter of Mark Johnson, a native of New York, who moved to Wisconsin in young manhood and spent the remainder of his life in Milwaukee county. After his marriage Zachary Hickman moved to Franklin county, where he is today the oldest practicing physician, as well as the owner of a fine farm.

George A. Hickman was educated in the Benton public and high schools, and studied law in the offices of Hart & Spiller, being admitted to the bar in 1897. He succeeded to the practice of his former employers, who moved from Benton, and in 1909 entered into partnership with his brother, the firm style being Hickman & Hickman. This firm has handled some of the most prominent cases tried here in recent years, and have won a reputation that extends far beyond the limits of their city. George A. Hickman has always been a stalwart supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and has worked hard and faithfully in the interests of that organization. In 1908 his loyalty to his party was rewarded by his nomination to the office of state's attorney, and he was elected to that office in the ensuing election that fall by a handsome majority. In addition to his official duties, in the discharge of which he has demonstrated marked ability, and his work in his private practice Mr. Hickman finds time to look after his farm, a finely-cultivated tract in Franklin county, where he raises pure bred horses and fancy poultry. He is very popular in the social circles of Benton, and belongs to the B. P. 0. E. and the M. W. A., of which latter organization he was consul for three years. Mr. Hickman has never married.