History of Lee County, Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

16 HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY
will and respect of all who know him. He is a charter member of
Dixon Post, No. 299, G. A. E., and thus maintains pleasant relations
with his old anny comrades. Since 1856 he has been a member of
the Masonic fraternity and in his life exemplifies its beneficent
spirit. He cast his first presidential vote for Fremont in 1856 and
has continuously supported the republican party since that time.
His early connection with mercantile interests and his later identification
with the conunercial and agricultural life of Illinois have
made him well known as a citizen here. More than six decades
have passed since he first arrived in this state and his memory
today forms a connecting- link between the primitive past and the
progressive present. Throughout his entire life he has been
actuated by a spirit of loyalty that has ever been as pronoimced in
days of peace as when he followed the old flag on the battlefields
of the south.
HON. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DOWNING.
Hon. Benjamin Franklin Downing, conducting a real-estate,
loan and insurance business at Dixon, with a clientage that makes
his interests extensive and important, has in the midst of his
business affairs also found time for ]uiblie office, in which connection
he has made an equally creditable record. Dixon claims him
as a n;*tive sou, his birth here occurring in 1880. His father,
Colonel O. J. Downing, is a well known citizen and, ambitious for
his son, provided him with liberal educational opportunities, his
high-school course being supplemented by study in the University
of Wisconsin. In 1899 he entered business circles of Dixon in con-
nection with mercantile interests and for eleven years was active
as a representative of commercial affairs here, conducting one of
the leading stores of the city. In 1910, however, he sold out. In
1912 he established a real-estate, loan and insurance business,
since which time he has largely handled western lands, making
extensive sales. He has thoroughly informed himself concerning
property values in the sections of the country in which he operates
and he is equally well known as a representative of some of the
strongest insurance companies of the country. He likewise places
loans and his clientage in each department of his business is large
and gratifying.