Douglas Killebrew

Correction -- Stephen A. Douglas is not my great uncle. He is my grandfather. My father should be shown as Roland D. (Douglas) Killebrew.

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My grandfather, Stephan A. Douglas Killebrew, married Emma Hagen on November 17, 1895 at Beardstown (Morgan County). Illinois. They were married for 65 years -- residing at/on Farmers Ridge, Nebo, Illinois as a farming couple on land deeded to them by my great-grandfather -- Culver Killebrew. My brother (LaVon) and I remember our grandfather as a quiet, kind, temperate man who appeared many times to be in deep thought. Never once did we hear him raise his voice in anger. Although religious, he was not known to be deeply religious -- rather, one who was very close to nature. Most vividly, we remember our walks through the woods surrounding his farm -- picking berries in the fields, riding one of his horses with him holding the reins, and trips into Nebo aboard his horse drawn wagon. He was never in a rush -- in fact, he resisted change -- innovations -- perhaps fearing that progress would draw him aways from the farm life he loved so dearly. Electricity was not installed on his farm until the late 1940's. He and Emma raised 7 children. My grandmother was a hard-working, energetic, God-fearing farm wife, always the first up in the morning and the last to bed at night. The delight of my childhood was to smell her homemade bread baking in the large, wood-burning oven set against the West wall of her farm kitchen. These are precious memoies -- Ray Killebrew (grandson of Doug and Emma Killebfrew) -- 2015