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HENRY TERRY. A prosperous and progressive business man of Goreville. Henry Terry is an extensive dealer in lumber, and is widely known in his official capacity of mayor of the village. He was born on a farm in Union county, Illinois, April 8, 1868, of English ancestry.

His father, the late William Terry, was born in Keighley, Yorkshire, England, where he learned the stone cutter's trade. Immigrating to the United States in 1854, he settled in Farmington, Missouri, and for a time was employed on the mill erected by William Pickles, who was destined to become his father-in-law. Poor in pocket when he landed in America, he labored industriously at various employments, and having saved some money located, in war times, on a farm in the vicinity of Carbondale, Illinois. He afterwards began farming in Union county, Illinois, on forty acres of land, and succeeded so well in his labors that he afterwards bought one hundred and twenty-two acres of land in Union county, near the Johnson county line, and still later purchased two hundred and sixty acres lying near Goreville. He was successful as an agriculturist, and resided on his farm until 1905, when he retired from active business, and lived in ease and comfort until his death, January 20, 1911. He was in truth the architect of his own fortune, having worked his way upward from a state of comparative poverty to one of affluence, being enabled ere his death to establish, or to help establish, his three sons in business, and have ample means left for his own use. He was reared as a member of the Church of England.

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William Terry married, in 1858, in Farmington, Missouri, Fanny Pickles, daughter of William Pickles, to whom reference was made above, and they became the parents of six children, as follows: William G. P., who has charge of the Telephone Company's affairs in Goreville; Henry, with whom this sketch is chiefly concerned; John U. S., an insurance man of Goreville; Mrs. Mary A. Calhoun; Mrs. Martha O. Smith; and Mrs. Frances J. Henley. Each of the sons also owns a farm.

Brought up in Union county, Henry Terry was educated in the district schools, and well trained in agricultural pursuits on the parental homestead. When twenty-one years of age he bought a small farm, and shortly after took unto himself a wife and began farming on his own account in Johnson county, near Goreville, Illinois. He continued the management of his own farm of eighty acres until 1902, and after his father retired from active pursuits managed the parental estate, which has recently been apportioned among the heirs. In 1902 Mr. Terry embarked in business in Goreville, and has since built up a large and lucrative trade as a dealer in lumber and building materials.

Since coming to Goreville he has taken great interest in promoting the public welfare, and on April 12, 1909, was elected president of the Goreville Town Board, and served so acceptably that in 1911 he was re-elected to the same position. Fraternally he is a member of Saline Lodge, No. 339, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; of Bethany Chapter, No. 623, Order of the Eastern Star; of Goreville Lodge, No. 528, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and of Goreville Lodge, No. 612, Daughters of Rebekah.

Mr. Terry married, March 12, 1891, Luella Parrish, a daughter of John and Lydia (Holly) Parrish, who were early pioneers of Johnson county, Illinois, coming here from their native state, Tennessee.