1118
PAUL D. HERRIN
is the popular and efficient incumbent of the office of cashier of the City National Bank of Herrin, and he is a scion of that family of pioneers and stanch countrymen so numerous in Williamson county, Illinois, and in whose honor the city of Herrin is named. A native of Cartersville, Illinois, he was born April 30, 1875, a son of John D. Herrin and a grandson of Oliver HArrin, whose father, David Herrin, was the recognized founder of the family in this county.
David Herrin and Isaac Herring, brothers-in-law, came into Illinois and settled at Herrin's Prairie about 1818, acquired a body of land from the vast wilderness then unsettled and belonging to the public domain, and they passed their lives raising stock and bringing into subjection their respective farms. These two respected pioneers came hither from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where was solemnized the marriage of David Herrin to Sarah Herring, February 25, 1814. The family of David and Sarah Herrin consisted of six children, as follows: Jackson; Oliver, grandfather of the subject of this sketch; Martha, who first married James Aikman and whose second husband is James Goodall, is a resident of Marion, Illinois; Betsy became the wife of Ephraim Snyder and passed away in Jackson county, Illinois; Lydia became Mrs. Newton Bradley and passed away in Williamson county; and Delila P., married George Harrison, father of David B. Harrison, who led an active and successful life in the vicinity of Herrin, where he died. David Herrin was summoned to the life eternal September 1, 1870, at the age of seventy-seven years, and his cherished and devoted wife died July 31, 1856, at the age of sixty-three years.
Oliver Herrin grew to maturity under the invigorating discipline of pioneer life and in due course of time he married Julia Spiller, a daughter of an old Tennessee family that migrated to Illinois in the early days. The children of this union were: John, the father of Paul D. Herrin, of this notice; Louisa, who married Curtis Brown and is now deceased; Henry, who migrated to the state of Washington, where he became a prominent citizen of the city of Seattle; and Charles, who lost his life in a railroad accident at Creal Springs. After the demise of Oliver Herrim his widow became the wife of a Mr. Bradley and reared a second family, comprising: Lavinia; Annie; William H., who passed away at Herrin; Emma married William Rummage and they reside at Marion, Illinois; and George M. died in 1907. Mrs. Bradley survived her husband and subsequently married William Caplinger.
John D. Herrin was born in Williamson county, Illinois, was sparingly schooled, owing to the times, and during the brief years he lived he was a country merchant. He married Miss Josie Brown, a daughter of Captain John Brown, mention of whom is made at length elsewhere in this work. John Herrin died in 1876, the father of Ruth, who is now Mrs. D. H. Harris, of Creal Springs; and Paul D., whose name forms the caption for this article. For a few years following the death of her husband Mrs. Herrin resided with Ruth and Paul on Herrin's Prairie. In the early '80s she moved to Creal Springs, where she opened up an hotel for tourists and health-seekers, thereby giving that place its first impetus toward a town. Several years later she disposed of her hotel and engaged in the general merchandise business at Creal Springs, where she is now living in retirement. She is a woman of most noble personality, possessed of shrewd judgment and splendid business ability.
Paul D. Herrin grew up under a somewhat diversified environment, as it appears, and the atmosphere of his mother's hotel and store gave him some early and practical notions of business. He received a liberal education at Creal Springs and for a few years following his mother's retirement from business he spent his summers on the farm of his grandfather, Captain Brown. When the coal field began rapid development in the
1119
vicinity of Herrin he secured a clerkship with the Elles Store Company, with which concern he remained for a period of years, at the expiration of which he engaged in the lumber business at Herrin. Four years later he was encouraged to enter into that business on a larger scale and he then organized the Stotlar-Herrin Lumber Company, one of the important lumber concerns of Williamson county today. Following several years of active connection with the company he spent a year in travel on the Pacific coast, covering it from Los Angeles to Seattle and thoroughly acquainting himself with the business methods and social life of that section of the country.
Eventually returning to Illinois, Mr. Herrin withdrew from the lumber business and, in company with others, promoted and chartered the City National Bank, June 10, 1907, which concern immediately opened offices in the corner of one of the business houses of Herrin. A movement was at once begun to erect a home for the institution and in Febrnary, 1908, the bank occupied its quarters in the new structure. The building is of buff, hydraulic pressed brick, one hundred by thirty-seven and a half feet in lateral dimensions and two stories high. It is rather massive in design. and is one of the most attractive business houses in Herrin. The capital stock of the bank is fifty thousand dollars and it is officered as follows: John Alexander, president; R. A. Karr, vice-president; Paul D. Herrin, cashier; and Walter Goodout, assistant cashier.
At Herrin, June 16, 1899, Mr. Herrin was united in marriage to Miss Ruby Stotlar, who is a daughter of William N. and Sarah (Cox) Stotlar Mr. Stotlar was a prominent and influential farmer of this community during his active career and is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Herrin have two children, Jean and Jo.
Mr. Herrin is a Master Mason, a member of the Elks and the Eagles, and he is also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.