WilIiam Cowper Brann was born in HurnboIdt Township, Coles County, Illinois, January 4, 1855. He was not raised in the home of his parents, though his fathcr, Rev. Noble Brann, survived him, and is still living. His mother having died when he was two and a half years old, he was within the next six months placed in the care of Mr Hawkins, a Coles County farmer, with whom he lived about ten years. As to his childhood experiences on the Hawkins farm nothing is now known. They were probably such as are common to children raised in the country. Of Mr. Hawkins he always spoke kindIy, referring to...