Notwithstanding the fact that the life history of the man whose name
appears above has been closed by the hand of death, his influence still
permeates the lives of those he came in contact with. His was a life of
noble deeds and consistency to the truth in all its phases.
Sidney
Breeze was born in Rome township, Jefferson county, Illinois, February 15.
1842, and he passed to his rest July 2, 1889. He was the son of Owen and
Margaret (Falkner) Breeze, the former a native of Indiana, and the latter of
Kentucky. Owen Breeze came to Illinois when a young man, with his parents,
and settled in Rome township, Jefferson county, being among the pioneers of
that district. They engaged in farming, and both died in Grand Prairie
township. They were the parents of three children. Martha Jane, who married
Henry West, is living in Irvington, Illinois; Sidney, our subject; Harriet,
who married Joseph Boles, of Jefferson county, this state.
Mr.
Breeze, our subject, attended the country schools, and the subscription
schools and lived at home until his marriage, November 26, 1863, to Maria
Stonecipher, who was born October 14, 1843, m Harrison county, Indiana, and
a daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Riley) Stonecipher, the former having been
born in Harrison county, and the latter of North Carolina. The Stoneciphers
are of German descent, and the Rileys of Irish ancestry. Jacob and Sarah
Stonecipher were the parents of six children, namely: William, a retired
farmer, living in Centralia township; Franklin died during the Civil war,
having been a member of Company H, Forty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry.
His death occurred in Tennessee. Sarah, the third child, married James
Steward, of Centralia, Illinois. Henry and Etta, the fourth and fifth
children, are twins. Henry is in the West. Etta is deceased. Marion was the
second child in order of birth.
To our subject and wife eight
children have been born, namely: Oscar L., a farmer in Jefferson county,
Illinois; Alva, a hostler for the Illinois Central Railroad, living in
Centralia, Illinois; Gilla died April 5, 1884; Julia Ann married James
Holland and is living in Centralia; Clara died June 11, 1900; Lawrence died
September 14, 1875; Albert is living in Jefferson county, Illinois, on a
farm; Zina, a farmer and clerk, is living at home.
The subject's
children were educated in the home schools. Zina not only attended the home
schools, but he also attended school at Jackson, Tennessee, in the
Southwestern Baptist University, where he made a splendid record for
scholarship. He has always remained at home with his parents. He clerked in
a most successful manner in a store at Walnut Hill, and he has been equally
successful as a farmer.
After his marriage Sidney Breeze lived in
Grand Prairie township, Jefferson county. In 1866 he moved to Rome township,
Jefferson county, Illinois. He bought a farm consisting of five hundred
acres in one body, and he was a most successful agriculturist, being known
as a man of good judgment and industrious habits. In 1905 the family moved
to Walnut Hill, where they have since resided. They still own the old
homestead. The subject was a loyal Republican, but he never aspired for
office. Both he and his estimable wife were members of the Christian church
for many years, and were always active in church work. Mr. Breeze is
remembered as a man of gentle disposition which won him hosts of friends. In
his fraternal relations he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, having belonged to this order for a period of twenty-five years,
lodge No. 710, Walnut Hill, and he took a great deal of interest in lodge
work. He was a useful man, and his good deeds and honorable life will long
be remembered by the people of Marion county.
Extracted 27 May 2019 by Norma Hass from 1909 Biographical and Reminiscent History of Richland, Clay and Marion Counties, Illinois, pages 574-575.