History of Lee County, Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

54 HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY
property, right and liberty must look for protection. Possessing
these qualities Judge Farraud justly merits the high honor which
has been conferred upon him by his election to the circuit bench.
WARREN CONRAD DURKES.
The name of Warren Conrad Durkes is inseparably interwoven
M'ith the records of financial activity in Dixon and this part of
the state. For twelve j^ears he was cashier of the City National
Bank, is now its president and is likewise associated with a number
of other banking concerns and business enterprises. His entire
career has been characterized b}^ orderly progression and each
forward step has brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities
until he is now prominently c(_>nnected with interests and
enterprises having to do with the substantial upbuilding and
progress of this section of the state. He was born at Franklin
Grove, Illinois, May 20, 1868, and is a son of Conrad and Mary
(Jones) Diu'kes. While spending his youthful days under the
parental roof he acquired a public-school education and later
entered a business college of Chicago, from whicli he was graduated
in 1886. He then entered his father's bank at Franklin Grove in a
clerical capacity and upon its reorganization under the name of the
Franklin Grove Bank in 1889 he was made cashier. His identification
therewith brought him intimate and comprehensive knowl-
edge of every phase of the lianking business and he remained in
successful control of that institution until 1901, when he came to
Dixon and entered upon active relations with the City National
Bank as its cashier, in which capacity he served until 1913 when he
was elected president. He is still connected with the Franklin
Grove Bank as vice president and he is a director of the Fii'st
National Bank of Erie, Illinois, a director and treasurer of the
Dixon Home Telephone Company, a director of many others which
have developed telephone connections throughout this part of the
state, giving to the public excellent sei-vice, and a director of
the Dixon Loan and Building Association. Mr. Durkes recog-
nized the ])ossibilities in these directions and his cooperation has
been a feature in carrying the enterprises forward to successful
completion.
Ill 1893 Mr. Durkes was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Canterbury,
of Chicago, and they have become the parents of two