HON. LEWIS F. PLATER attorney-at-law of Elizabethtown, Ill., is a son of
James L Plater, who was from the District of Columbia, came to Illinois in
1843, and subsequently removed to Maryland.
When he first came to Illinois, he engaged in general merchandising at
Centralia, Marion County, at which time goods had to be hauled from St.
Louis, a distance of sixty miles.
James L. Plater had a good education, which he secured mainly by his own
efforts and application. He was married to Anna Stull, who is still living
at the advanced age of eighty-nine years.
When he came to Illinois, he was a poor man, but being a good business man,
he ws successful in the accumulation of property. Misfortune, however,
attended him, for his store was destroyed by fire, together with most of his
goods, upon which there was no insurance.
He then removed to Union County, Ill., bought a farm near Western Saratoga,
and followed farming successfully until his death. His widow is living in
Colorado with a son, W.W. Plater. By the marriage of James L. Plater and
Anna Stull there were born ten children, viz: John S., a farmer in Kansas;
one who died in infancy; Henry, who lived in Union County, Ill., until 1886,
and died in Kansas about 1890, a farmer; James L., a druggist in Rocky
Comfort, McDonald County, Mo.; William, a farmer of Carbondale, Ill.; Thomas
J., a merchant of Watkins, Mo.; Lewis F.; Anna, wife of J.F. Casper,of
Ozark, Ill., Charles W., of Murphysborough, Ill.; and Joseph S., a farmer
living near Vienna, Ill. Lewis F. Plater, the seventh child, was born in
Jefferson County, Ill., December 17, 1847. He was reared upon the farm, and
educated in the subscription schools, kept in the log schoolhouse of the
times. His early education was therefore limited, but as he had a great
desire for books and learning, he largely supplemented the education of his
boyhood, and became a well-informed youth. He used every means within his
reach to earn money, such as taking tan-bark to town and selling it, and
then using the money to buy books with, poring over them by the light of the
fireplace or by the "grease dip" lamp far into the night. He was always
anxious to attend public speaking, and would walk bare-footed for miles to
hear a public address. By these means, his hard study at night and his
attendance upon oratorical displays, he acquired considerable knowledge of
books and of the world. In 1863 he started out in life for himself. From the
County Superintendent, of Education in Union County, who was his friend, he
secured a third-grade certificate to teach school, and taught at Smith's
Mills, Union County, a term of six months, at $20 per month. With the money
thus obtained, he bought books and attended school, thus further storing his
mind with knowledge. He attended McKendree College, at Lebanon, St. Clair
County, Ill., two years, and in the summer of 1864, the crops being large
and help scarce on account of the war, he worked in the harvest fields at
good wages, $3 per day, and during Sundays and holidays at $4 per day, thus
earning aout $100 with which to complete his course of study. He then went
to St. Louis, MO., where he remained some time, and the next summer began
reading law at home. At the same time he raised about six acres of sugar
cane, and made about $300 out of the crop. He read law about five years,
studying not only Blackstone's Commentaries, but also the best textbooks in
law that he could find. He then taught school in Goreville, Johnson County,
two years, in Williamson County two years, and In Marion one year, reading
law as he had time and opportunity. Our subject began reading law in the
summer of 1866, with Judge Crawford as his preceptor, at Jonesboro, Union
County, Ill., and continued with him three years. He was admitted to the Bar
in January 1870 at Mount Vernon. Judge Breese presiding, and commenced the
active practice of his profession April 28, 1871, at Elizabethtown, where he
soon established a reputation as a thorough lawyer, and where his opinion
soon became acknowledged as of great weight and value. He thus became a
successful lawyer and acquired an extensive clientage. In 1873 a law was
passed creating the office of county attorney, and Mr. Plater was the first
appointed to that office in Hardin county. He retained the position until
the election of W.S. Morris. In 1874 he was elected to the Lower House of
the Legislature, and represented his constituents to their satisfaction and
with credit to himself. In April, 1875, he was elected State's Attorney, and
served in that positon until 1880, and was an efficient officer. He is now
one of the most prominent and able attorneys in southern Illinois, and in
very important cases is usually called in as counsel. He has also served in
many parts of the State in the preparation of important papers. Politically,
Mr. Plater is a Democrat. He is also a Mason, a Knight of Pythias and an Odd
Fellow. he was married June 18, 1873 to Miss Ange B. Steele, a native of
Hardin County. Mr. Plater, it will have seen by the above brief narrative of
some of the events of his life, is a self-made man in the truest sense of
the term, and his success in life is wholly due to his perseverance and
application to study when he was young, and to his duties and profession as
a man. [1898. The Biographical Review of Johnson, Massac, Pope and Hardin
Counties, Illinois, Chicago, Biograhical Publishing Co. 610]
Submitted by Wanda (Patton) Reed
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