Harvey Allison is one of the prominent land owners and agriculturists in the vicinity of Homer, where he has spent the best part of his active career. Mr. Allison knows farming from A to Z and his capabilities have been developed by long and thorough experience.
He was born in Vermilion County, Illinois, January 16, 1870, a son of James A. and Willmoth (Dunnivan) Allison. His father was born in Indiana and died at Homer July 10, 1899. The mother is a native of Vermilion County and is still living on the old home farm. The parents removed to Champaign County in 1889. They had only two children, the older being Nora, who died January 28, 1892.
Mr. Harvey Allison has always lived at home, prepared for life by an education in the common schools, and gradually took over the management of the farm and he now owns and operates 500 acres on a systematic plan of efficiency. He has been successful in spite of several serious setbacks as a result of fire. His home was burned in 1903 and in 1913 there was another destructive fire which destroyed his barns and silos. Mr. Allison has named his farm Piety Knob, and as such it is one of the valuable and picturesque parts of the landscape around Homer. He does general farming and considerable stock raising. The only important interruption to his steady career as a farmer was two years spent in the Klondike gold regions of Alaska. That was in 1902-03 and he represented a Chicago concern in the development of Placer mines.
Mr. Allison is a Democrat and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married Miss Alta Russell, a native of Vermilion County.