Taken from a 1901 Supplement to The (Illiopolis) State Center Record
H. P. HAMPTON & Sons Boots and Shoes, Furnishing Goods.
In the selection of boots and shoes the constant aim of the purchaser is to secure durable footwear. Durability is arrived at by first class workmanship and good quality of leather and by these alone. Appreciating these facts H. P. Hampton & Sons have collected, from among the productions of the leading manufacturers of the country, a stock of boots and shoes of established reputation and merit. There is variety in style, size, quality and price to suit every condition and purse. This concern carries, also, a carefully selected assortment of ladies and gents underwear; gloves, pants, shirts, collars. and hats and caps which are offered at prices which will stand the test of competition any place and at any time. Messrs Hampton & Sons began business in Illiopolis last October and are fast finding favor with the public because of their honest values and excellent assortment. H. P. Hampton and his sons, Eber and Callie, comprise the firm. Mr. Hampton is among the old residents of this section having been born and raised in Sangamon county about nine miles southwest of Illiopolis. He grew up on the farm and followed its labors until the call for volunteers in 1862 when he responded eagerly, joined Co. A, 73rd Ill., known as the celebrated Methodist preachers’ regiment, and served actively and fearlessly at the front, being engaged in nineteen out of twenty battles, until mustered out in 1865. He, then. returned to the farm remaining until 1869, when he embarked in business in Illiopolis. He followed mercantile pursuits until 1871, when he sold out and retired. For the two following years he was township assessor and, in 1874, moved back again to the farm where he has since resided. His sons Eber and Cailie, like their father, are well known and highly esteemed and lose no opportunity to discover popular needs. The general public will consult their interests best by giving this establishment a call. The owners are well known and honored citizens and the integrity of the methods followed are thoroughly established. These are inducements which are well considered by thinking people and are the very essence of satisfactory and shrewd buying. The death of Mrs. Mary J. (Hunter) Hampton, wife of Mr. Hampton, Sr., which took place Jan. 19, 1900, was a loss to the entire community and was the occasion of deep sorrow and intense bereavement. She was a loving wife and mother, and possessed those rare qualities of mind and heart which are so essential to true and noble womanhood,
From a Photograph of H. P. Hampton
taken in 1865