Oscar J. Henderson. Many years of association with the agricultural interests of Champaign County have given Oscar J. Henderson a recognized position among the husbandmen of Homer Township, where he now has a well cultivated property of 110 acres. He has passed his entire career within the limits of the county, and is known as a skilled tiller of the soil and as a citizen who gives his aid and influence to worthy civic measures and movements, while his business record is a clean one and his success in life has been cleanly and fairly won.
Mr. Henderson was born on the home farm in Homer Township, September 1, 1872, and is a son of William and Nancy J. (Hoff) Henderson. His parents, who were natives of Montgomery County, Indiana, came to Champaign County in 1867, in which year they located on a farm in section 19, Homer Township. William Henderson was an industrious and enterprising man, who, starting life with energy and ambition as his only capital, worked out a splendid success for himself and won well deserved notice in the locality in which his home was made. His death occurred February 7, 1896, while Mrs. Henderson, a woman of many estimable qualities, survived him until March 12, 1901. In addition to his farming operations William Henderson was for several years one of the pioneer school teachers of Champaign County, being a man of superior education. He did not enter public life, but was an influence in promoting and fostering beneficial movements and had his fellow-citizens’ esteem. He and his wife were the parents of six children: Minnie, Edgar and Alice, who are all deceased; and Oscar J., Emma and Alma, who reside at home.
The district schools of Homer Township furnished Oscar J. Henderson with his elementary education, following which he attended the Homer High School for two years. When he started upon his career he adopted teaching as his vocation, but after spending two years in the schoolroom decided that farming was his particular forte and accordingly returned to the home place, which he has since been conducting with splendid success. He carries on general farming and stock raising, and the prosperity which has rewarded his efforts would seem to indicate that he is both a skilled agriculturist and a good judge of live stock. The property consists of 110 acres, and is under a high state of cultivation, with modern improvements and a good set of buildings to enhance its value. The modern home is located on Homer Rural Route No. 60. Mr. Henderson is unmarried and lives with his two sisters. He is a Republican in politics, although not actively identified with political affairs save as a voter, while his fraternal association is with the Tribe of Ben Hur and his religious membership is in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He has many friends in the community who have Watched his upward progress with much interest.
