Harvey D. McCollum is one of the younger sons of Clay county who have
been identified with the best business interests of Louisville since they
inaugurated their business careers, and he is one of the ablest and most
progressive. of the younger class of business men. He was born in Clay
county, March 13, 1879, and is the son of James C. and Mary (Long) McCollum.
The father was also a native of Clay county, born there August 9, 1844,
while the mother was born in Wayne county on May 5, 1853. James McCollum
lived on his father's farm and attended the village schools as a boy and
until he had attained years of young manhood, when he came to Louisville and
entered into the merchandise business, with which he has been successfully
identified for years. He is a man of considerable wealth, which he
accumulated as a result of his energy and thrift, and he is now living a
retired life in Louisville. He is an ardent Democrat and has been one all
his life. He has been a leader in the business life of Louisville for a
great many years, and was connected with the most worthy and prominent
industrial and financial institutions of the city. He was one of the
organizers of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, and is now vice-president of
that institution. His father was James McCollum, a native of Kentucky, who
came to Illinois in about 1830. He became the owner of a tract of government
land, which he improved, and on which he passed the remainder of his life.
When he passed away he was looked upon as one of the wealthy farmers of his
district. His father, Alex McCollum, the great-grandfather of the subject of
this review, was one of the eight men killed at the battle of New Orleans.
The maternal grandfather of Harvey McCollum, Darling Long, was a native of
West Virginia. He came to Illinois in about 1853, settling in Clay county,
where he passed the remainder of his life.
Harvey D. McCollum was
reared in Louisville, and he passed through the schools of this city, after
which he entered the University of Illinois at Champaign, being graduated
from that institution in 1901, from the law department. In the following
year Mr. McCollum was admitted to the bar, and he conducted his first law
practice as the partner of Judge Albert M. Rose. This partnership existed
with all satisfaction to both parties until the election of Mr. Rose to the
circuit bench in 1906, at which time Mr. McCollum became the partner of John
W. Thomason, another brilliant young attorney of Louisville. For the past
two years Mr. McCollum has conducted a private practice and in that, as with
his partners, he has been particularly fortunate and successful, his
practice extending to all courts. In addition to his legal interests, Mr.
McCollum gives some time to the management of the fine farm of which he is
the owner, and which is an added source of prosperity to the already
independent young attorney. He holds considerable stock in the Farmers and
Merchants Bank, of which his honored father is vice-president, and is
connected with certain other institutions of an industrial and financial
character. He is an enthusiastic Democrat, as is his father, and is untiring
in his labors for the good of the cause. Twice he has served terms as master
in chancery, and in 1909 he was elected to the state legislature. He is
local attorney for the Baltimore & Ohio and the Illinois Central Railroad
Companies, and is justly regarded as being one of the leading legal men in
the county. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the
Modern Woodmen, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Masons and
the Knights of Pythias.
Extracted 09 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Southern Illinois, by George W. Smith, published in 1912, volume 3, pages 1258-1259.
| Fayette | Effingham | Jasper |
| Marion |
 |
Richland |
| Wayne |
Clay County ILGenWeb Copyright
Design by 