White Family History By Susan White Foster, Towanda IL, May 2007
George Clinton White was born in New York on Feb. 1, 1804, and moved with his family to Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, in 1812. He married Miss Julia Ann Noel in 1828. After their marriage, the young couple moved to Tippecanoe County, Indiana. In 1850 George C. and Julia White left Tippecanoe County, Indiana, to make their new home in McLean County, Illinois. The Whites decided to settle in Towanda Township in Section 10. They originally claimed one hundred and sixty acres of prairie land and worked over the next several years developing a prosperous farm and amassed more land. George erected a log cabin for his family on the one hundred and sixty acres. He planted corn, oats, wheat, and hay on his farm, and set about establishing a large stock-raising operation. While devoting much of his time to the development of the farm, George also found time to be active in politics and social issues. George was one of the five original founders of the First Baptist Church in Towanda. George was a strong Whig and eventual Republican. He soon became a respected member of the Towanda community. George and Julia White had thirteen children, and ten of these children lived to adulthood. The youngest son, George Washington White, was the one who inherited the original homestead. Julia died in 1865, but George C. White, the father, lived on the farm with his son until his death in 1890. On April 9, 1870, George W. White married Miss Flora Raridon of Lexington Township. The couple moved into the White's original log cabin. They lived in this cabin until 1882. At that time George W. Built a nice two-story home that is still being used by the White family today. George W. did most of the work on the house by himself, and the construction cost him around five thousand dollars.
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George W. Became a prosperous farmer rather quickly, and he expanded the farm's stock operation to include draft horses. He was able to travel to Europe twice and while there decided to purchase several Percheron and Englishshire horses to raise on the farm. From the profits on his horses and the farm, White was able to expand his land holding. He purchased a house on East Chestnut Street in Bloomington in 1896. He also purchased land in the area until he owned eleven hundred acres of farmland. After he purchased his house in Bloomington, he moved into town and left his oldest son, Warren, in charge of the original family farm. However, he soon bought Warren a farm in Section 16 of Towanda Township, and another son, John Lloyd, moved onto the family farm. George W. also bought a farm for his youngest son, Roland. When George died in 1917, the remaining acres that he owned were divided among the rest of his children, including his three daughters, Grace, Maude and Chloe. When John assumed control of the family farm he married Lottie Clark and had two sons, John Clark and George Willard. The farm was no longer dealing with the importing and breeding of foreign horses, and John concentrated on raising crops. John died in 1940 and Lottie died in 1984. John White's sons, Clark and George, both attended and graduated from Towanda High School in 1930. Clark married Ina Martha Brown in 1940 and George married Dorothy Bardwell in 1940. After serving in the U.S. Army, Clark and Ina and their two children Susan Kay White and John Clark White, Jr. moved to the family farm in 1947. The farm consisted of four hundred acres. George and his wife Dorothy lived in Bloomington with their three children Bardwell, Stephanie, and Stephen. By 1973, Clark and Ina were ready to retire from farming and Ina as principal of Towanda Grade School. At this time Clark and Ina White moved into the Village of Towanda and John and his wife Connie McClure White moved to the family farm. After George White's retirement, John also farmed George's acreage. In 1982, John Clark White, Sr. died and Ina Martha died in 1995. Upon their deaths the family farm was passed on to their children, John White and Susan White Foster. After the death of George White, his land was passed on to his children. John C. White, Jr. continues to farm the four hundred acres. John C. White, Jr. has three sons: John Clark White III, Joel White and Justin White. Susan White Foster and her husband Max have three children: Max Rundle Foster, Jr., Nathan Foster and Martha Jane Foster. At the present time, Susan White Foster and Max Foster, along with their daughter Jane, live in the farmhouse built in 1882. The farm that started with a log cabin and a dream of George C. White has become a prosperous farm operation that has lasted to see six generations.
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