Clay county claims a goodly number of prosperous business men who have
distinguished themselves by worthy accomplishments in a financial way, but
among them all none is more prominent or more worthy of mention in this
history of Southern Illinois than is Horatio C. Chaffin, whose principal
labors have been along educational lines, but who has been variously
connected with financial and commercial enterprises of distinctive
character.
Born in Clay county, Illinois, January 4, 1873, Horatio
C. Chaffin is the son of John and Mary E. (Claypool) Chaffin, both natives
of Ohio, the former of Scioto county and the latter of Ross county. John
Chaffin was a carpenter by trade, and he was also an experienced farmer. He
came to Illinois as a young man and when he died he had achieved a fair
measure of success, judged by the standards of his time. His demise occurred
in 1886, and he left an estate of four hundred acres of fertile Illinois
land. He was a Republican of staunch faith, and with his wife was a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church. They reared three sons, all of whom are
living at this time. John Chaffin was the son of Reuben and Sarah Chaffin,
the former born and reared in Ohio, and there he passed his life and finally
died. He at one time entered Illinois land from the government, intending to
move there, but never did so. After his death his widow came to Illinois and
died in this state. The maternal grandfather of Horatio C. Chaffin was James
Claypool, born in Ohio. His son, the uncle of the subject, is H. C.
Claypool, member of congress for the Chillicothe, Ohio, district.
Horatio Chaffin was given the advantage of a broad education, which he put
to excellent use in later years. He finished the schools of Clay county, and
after graduating from the high school of his town entered McKendree College
at Lebanon, Illinois, where he was graduated in due season with the degrees
of B. S. and LL. B. Thereafter he taught school for nine years in Clay and
St. Clair counties, and was for some time superintendent of the schools of
the city of Flora. He was editor of the Olney Republican at Olney, Illinois,
the oldest newspaper in Southern Illinois, and while acting in that capacity
demonstrated amply his fitness for work in an editorial capacity. In 1902
Mr. Chaffin established the Rinard Banking Company at Rinard, Illinois, but
he eventually sold out his interests in that organization and returned to
Flora, where he reorganized the Bank of Flora, becoming its cashier. Later,
in connection with C. McDaniel, of Rinard, he organized the Farmers and
Merchants Bank at Creal Springs, Illinois. He is also financially connected
with a grain and seed business in Flora, the name of the concern being
Borders Chancy & Company, this being one of the largest concerns of its kind
in the state of Illinois.
Mr. Chaffin is a Republican, although he
has never been a candidate for office. He rather inclined toward helping his
friends in their political struggles than to struggling for himself. He is a
Mason and a member of the Modern Woodmen. He is widely known in and about
his community, and is regarded as a particularly able young business man by
those who have watched his career thus far.
In 1899 Mr. Chaffin
married Miss Olive Miller, the daughter of Dr. L. T. Miller, for thirty
years a practicing physician in Southern Illinois. He has now retired from
active practice and is passing his declining years on a farm near
Collinsville. One son has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Chaffin.
Extracted 09 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Southern Illinois, by George W. Smith, published in 1912, volume 3, page 1253.
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