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File contributed to the Fulton County ILGenWeb Project
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Source: Portrait and Biographical Album of Fulton County
Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago, 1890

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The Biography of Irenus T. SCUDDER 

Pages 221-222, transcribed in full by Danni Hopkins 

[Surnames: BROWN, NEGLY, SCUDDER, TAFT] 

    
IRENUS T. SCUDDER. There is in the development of every successful life a lesson to every one; for if a man is industriously ambitious and honorable in his ambition, he will undoubtedly rise to a position of prominence, whether having the prestige of family and wealth, or the obscurity of poverty. We are led to these reflections in reviewing the life of Mr. Scudder, who is a dealer in drugs and toilet articles in Farmington. He has attained his present enviable position as a competent and popular druggist by indomitable energy and a laudable desire to reach the top round of the ladder of fortune. 
    
At present Mr. Scudder is engaged in a flourishing business, and owns in addition to his elegant store, a residence on East Street, in the northern part of the city. He is a gentleman of excellent taste and fine personal appearance, and has many warm friends in the community where he makes his home. He has engaged in his present business since September, 1889, and is doing a flourishing trade. In addition to his drug business Mr. Scudder is well posted in the management of telephone lines and fixtures, having charge of the telephone office, which is located in the back part of his large store. 
    
The birth of our subject occurred in New York State, August 8, 1851, and his parents were John T. and Sarah A. (Taft) Scudder, natives of New York. He received a good education in the common schools, and his father being a physician of considerable talent, our subject had an inherited tendency toward the study of medicine, and was thus prepared to become an excellent pharmacist. In 1881 he opened a drug-store in Farmington, and for seven years continued to do a first-class business. Selling out his interest in 1888, he worked for two years in the Nebraska Telephone Exchange. 
    
As before stated the father of our subject was an expert in the "healing art," and after settling in Prairie City, Ill., in 1853, continued to practice his chosen profession and enjoyed a large and lucrative practice. His death occurred there in August, 1867, after he had attained his forty-fifth year. The mother is still living, and is over sixty years of age. She bore her husband ten children, of whom six survive, viz.: Irenus T., our subject; Albert D., Miner R., Ida M., John L. and Clement V. 
    
A very important event in the life of our subject was his marriage, which was celebrated February 4, 1884, with Mrs. Caroline Negly, of Farmington. Mrs. Scudder is a most estimable woman, a devoted wife and a good neighbor. She was born December 26, 1846, and was the daughter of M. A. and C. Brown, both of whom are deceased. Mr. Scudder is a strong Democrat in his political opinions; socially, he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is universally conceded to be a business man of unusual ability.