Biography - CHARLES HENRY FILE
One of the successful business men of Bond county, who at the same time
belongs to that typically American product, the self-made man, is Charles
Henry File, a native son of the county. He is a man of varied interests,
owning a large farm in Old Ripley township; conducting a, livery barn in
Pocahontas; and being prominently identified with the development of the oil
fields. Mr. File was born in Old Ripley township, January 24, 1872, the son
of James F. File. The father was born near the same place in the year 1.848.
He was reared amid rural surroundings and spent his life on a farm. Although
only seventeen years of age at the outbreak of the Civil war, he ran away
from home to join the army, but owing to his youth was brought back and his
plans of leading a military life frustrated. Several of his brothers were in
the Union army. James F. File was married at the age of nineteen years to an
adopted daughter of Charles Pickern, Ella Pickern. Mrs. File was reared in
Pocahontas and became the mother of six children, five of whom are living at
the present time and C. H. being the eldest of the number. The father was a
loyal Democrat in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
He was identified in various ways with the many-sided life of the community.
He died in 1901, in Serento, Illinois, where he was leading a retired life,
the demise of his cherished and devoted wife occurring some years earlier.
At a very early age the problem of making his own livelihood presented
itself to Charles Henry File. At the age of nine years he began working at
various occupations, and in the meantime attended the public schools, during
the most of his educational period working for his board. He was the eldest
in a family of very modest resources and as there is no arguing with
necessity he was soon forced to that self-support which gave him the
self-reliance which has been one of the greatest factors in his success. He
has divided his time in late years between Pocahontas and Old Ripley
township, in the latter neighborhood owning an excellent farm, which he has
brought to a high state of cultivation. In Pocahontas he conducts a
well-patronized livery barn and this as well as his agricultural work is
successful. He was also interested in a creamery in Old Ripley. He is a
director in the Pocahontas Oil Company and is deeply interested in the
development of the oil resources of this section. He is, indeed, a
substantial and progressive citizen.
Mr. File was married November 4, 1907, the young woman to become his wife
being Rosana Boyer, of Old Ripley township, daughter of John Boyer, a
prominent farmer. Mr. File's father-in-law was a lieutenant in the Union
army at the time of the Civil war, and was one of five brothers who served
during the great conflict between the states, all being aligned with the
cause of the preservation of the integrity of the Union. Mr. and Mrs. File
maintain a hospitable home and possess a wide circle of friends. Mr. File
belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which order he has been
a member since his twenty-first year and in whose affairs he takes an
enthusiastic and whole-hearted interest.
Extracted 10 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from 1912 History of Southern Illinois, by George W. Smith, volume 3, pages 1490-1491.
