William C. Kimball, of the firm of Austin, Brown & Kimball, dealers in hardware, lumber, furniture and undertaking, Ashmore; has been a resident of Ashmore since 1867; he was born in Cambridge, Guernsey Co., Ohio, June 14, 1838; was educated at the Cambridge Union Schools, and, in 1857, began teaching school; he continued in that profession in Ohio till March, 1863, when he enlisted in Co. H, 122d O. V. I., and served in the 6th Army Corps in the Army of the Potomac until Jan. 1, 1864; he was then detailed as a clerk in the office of the Provost Marshal General of Ohio, at Columbus, and served in that capacity till the close of the war; he was mustered out July 1, 1865. After the war, he came to Illinois and taught school one winter in Monticello, Madison Co.; in March, 1867, he took charge of the public schools in Ashmore, and remained in charge most of the time until the spring of 1876. In 1875, he became a partner in the firm of Austin, Brown & Kimball. Mr. Kimball was Village Clerk from April, 1875, to April, 1878, and has been School Director for the past three years. He was married April 10, 1860, to Miss Lizzie Speers, of Guernsey Co., Ohio; she died March 16, 1866. Mr. Kimball was married again Sept. 20, 1868, to Miss Rowena A. Graham, of Ashmore; she died Sept. 30, 1877, leaving three children – Clarence O. L., Mary C. and Gertie R.
