| Other People | Frank J. Bradley | Olive Rambo Cook | Jerry Litton | | |||
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Past and Present of Livingston County Volume 2. Biographies by Major A. J. Roof. 1913 |
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Page 346-347
Among Livingston county's progressive native sons who have become deservedly successful in farming operations is R. D. Hurst, owner of an excellent property of two hundred acres lying on sections 16, 20 and 6, Cream Ridge township. His birth occurred January 20, 1862, four miles southeast of Chula, and he is a son of Joseph and Margaret (Brown) Hurst. The father came from Pennsylvania in 1837 and settled upon a farm in Livingston county, where he became very prominent and well known in agricultural and public life. He passed away in 1879, at the age of forty-nine, and is buried in the Wallace cemetery. His wife survives him and makes her home on a farm in Grundy county.
R. D. Hurst acquired his education in the district schools of Grundy county, attending during the winter months and spending his summers assisting his father. At the age of twenty he laid aside his books and remained upon the homestead for six years thereafter, purchasing at the end of that time a farm on section 16, which forms a portion of his present holdings. He has increased this by judicious purchases to its present proportions, owning two hundred acres on sections 16, 20 and 6. Upon this property he has made substantial improvements, erecting a fine residence, barns and outbuildings and installing all the necessary equipment and accessories. In addition to general farming Mr. Hurst is also extensively interested in stock-raising, keeping fine herds of cattle and hogs. He is a director in the Farmers & Merchants Bank and in all of his business interests shows a keen discrimination and sound judgment. Whatever he undertakes he carries forward to successful completion, and unfaltering industry is numbered among his most salient characteristics.
Mr. Hurst married, in Grundy county, on January 28, 1886, Miss Isabelle Wolf, a daughter of Daniel and Mahala (Kleinsmith) Wolf, the former a prominent former of that section of the state. Both have passed away and are buried in the Toll cemetery, Grundy county. Mr. and Mrs. Hurst became the parents of two children: Daniel O., who is farming on his father's property in Livingston county; and Ethel, who is a graduate of the Chula schools and who is living at home. The family hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, South.
Mr. Hurst gives his allegiance to the democratic party and has served his fellow citizens as road master and as member of the township board. In all of his business dealings he is thoroughly reliable and in matters of citizenship helpful and progressive, giving his aid and influence to many movements for the public good.