JENKINS, William Merideth and Mary Bainbridge – William was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, March 23, 1814. He came to Illinois in 1837 and settled near Kickapoo. He came to El Paso in 1856 and built El Paso's first store building, the materials being the first bill-of-goods shipped by freight over the new Peoria & Oquawka Railroad into El Paso. William moved here in early 1857, and lived above the store. He was appointed postmaster on March 21, 1857, our first. He married in El Paso in 1862. There were two children, David H. and Frederick M. He served as a Notary in 1859, possibly earlier, and as Mayor in 1881. Except for Chlopicki's restaurant, all El Paso business in 1856 was at the Jenkins' Brothers Store. It stood at Cherry and Front Streets, where the Rebbec Garage is in 1953. The family moved to San Bernardino, California in 1884, where he died.

JETER, James M. – Came from Roanoke County, Virginia in 1853 and settled on the N 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of Section 9, living almost in the center of this section.

JOHNSON, Andrew and Mary Gibson – Andrew was born December 10, 1827 in Hanover, Germany. He came from Germany in 1852 to Woodford County, and thereafter settled as farmer and stock raiser on the W 1/2 of Section 31 in southwestern Panola Twp. Nine children were born to Andrew and Mary, George Johnson being one of them. He is an ancestor of Cecil Johnson of Panola. Andrew was a Lutheran and a Democrat.

JOHNSON, Jabez – Came from Indiana in 1854 and settled on Section 3 on a small farm, north of the railroad in W 1/2 of Section 3. He was born December 21, 1834 and died at Secor January 22, 1883.

JOHNSON, Reuben – Came from Ohio in 1859 and settled on a small bit of farmland at the edge of Secor village.

JOHNSTON, Smith and Mary Campbell (wife) – Smith Johnston was the brother-in-law of George H. Campbell, and for a time leased the Campbell House from him and operated it. He was host on January 12, 1869, when the young lecturer, Samuel L. Clemens, was a guest, and wrote one of his now published "Love Letters" to his beloved "Libby" from within its walls. Campbell and Johnston operated a tailor shop on the east side in the 1880's. Smith Johnston was born in 1825, died in 1906 and is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery.

JONES, Charles Sr. and (1) Esther, (Died: 4-1-1812, Plymouth Mass.), (2) Elizabeth (Died: 5-22-62 at Kappa), (3) Adaline (Died: 7-19-67 at Kappa) – Charles Jones, Sr. was born in Massachusetts in 1785. He died in Kappa 7-27-74. Charles and Elizabeth (Nichols) came to Illinois by canal and Ohio and Illinois River in 1834 and in 1835 built the first house in Tremont, Illinois. They were the parents of Cushing and Charles Jr. and William, all in Kappa area as young men in 1853.

Charles moved to the Kappa area in 1853 when the I. C. R. R. came through, on land he had patented in June of 1850 on the supposition that the railroad would be built, making it valuable. This was in Section 32. He added the "Jones Addition" to Kappa on November 27, 1855 at a date great growth was expected of it.

JONES, Charles Jr. and Mary C. – Also lived in Kappa at an early date, buying land there in 1858.

JONES, Cushing and Charlotte Brooks (1830-1915) – Cushing was born December 5, 1824 in Plymouth County, Massachusetts; died in 1909 in El Paso. He is buried in Kappa Cemetery. He came with his father, Charles Jones, and Elizabeth to Tremont via canal and Ohio River in 1834, where Charles Jones built the first home in Tremont. Cushing (who married Miss Brooks of Pekin on April 6, 1848) and his parents came to the Kappa area when the I. C. R. R.

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