Springfield-Greene
County LibraryL. G. FATH. Integrity, intelligence and system are characteristics which will advance the interests of any man and will tend to the prosperity to which all aspire. Such are some of the traits of the gentleman whose name is mentioned above, and who is one of the prominent justices of the peace of Greene County, Mo. He is a product of this State, born at Perryville, November 20, 1846, and the son of Leonard Fath, who was a -native of Alsace Lorraine. The elder Fath came to America in 1837, and being a blacksmith, followed that trade for years. Later he became a large landholder and a wealthy citizen. He was married in Perry County, Mo., to Miss Ellen Bergman, daughter of George Bergman, who was a native of Hanover, Germany, but who came to America where he became a prosperous farmer of Perry County, Mo. To Mr. and Mrs. Fath were born three children: John, now circuit clerk of Montgomery County, Ill.; Ellen, the wife of Dr. A. Keen, of Bollinger County, Mo., and L. G. our subject. The The mother died in the year: 1846, and about one year later the father married Miss Barbara Long, who bore him six children, as follows: Henry, Flora, Louisa, Thomas, Oscar and Velita. Mr. Fath moved to Montgomery County, Ill., in 1864, and there he invested largely in land and prospered. On this farm was passed the remainder of his days, his death occurring when he was about seventy-four years of age. He was a prominent citizen and a man universally respected. For many years he was a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church, and socially he was a prominent Mason. L. G. Fath, subject of this sketch and son of the above received but a limited education in the schools of Missouri, for his schooling was cut short when he was in his thirteenth year. He is almost entirely, self-educated, and being observing and possessed of much perseverance he is as well, if not better educated than the average man. He first became familiar with the duties of farm life and later learned the black-smith's trade which he carried on for many years. When twenty-one years of age he was united in marriage to Miss Laura A., daughter of John L. and Harriett (Lattimer) Marshall, natives of Columbus, Ohio. One living child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fath, Leo M. In 1864 Mr. Fath moved with his father to Montgomery County, Ill., where he worked at his trade and on his father's farm. He became a Democrat in politics and when twenty-six years of age, or in 1876, he was elected sheriff of Montgomery County and held that position two terms, to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. During that time he was thrown into intimate association with such men as John M. Palmer, John R. Rinika, Judge Thornton, Judge Jesse J. Phillips and other eminent men, and by means of these associations he gained a large amount of practical legal knowledge. He then read law and in 1886 came to Springfield, where be worked as a blacksmith in the Frisco railroad shops for three years. In 1890 he was elected justice of the peace and has since discharged the duties incumbent upon that position to the general satisfaction of the public, which is well attested by the amount of business that he does. Socially Mr. Fath is a -Knight of Pythias. He is a man who has gained his wide range of information in the practical walks of life. He has an unlimited fund of good common sense and is quick to arrive at correct conclusions. He is a great student and a wide reader of books and newspapers, keeping well-posted on the current events of the day.
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