L I E> RAR.Y 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 
 977.355 
 M61 
 
 jywm nwwni SWTH
 
 PAST AND PRESENT 
 
 OF 
 
 MENARD COUNTY, ILLINOIS 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. R. D. MILLER 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 'A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never 
 
 achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by 
 
 remote generations." — Macaulay. 
 
 CHICAGO : 
 
 The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company 
 
 190 5
 
 Deotcateo to tbe flMoneers of 
 flDenaro Countp
 
 PREFACE 
 
 It is an intuition in man to desire to know the events of the past. It is, also, a com- 
 mendable trait in the race to desire to perpetuate their own good and praiseworth.3 acts for 
 those who come after them. Who would not wish to know the history of the first inhabi- 
 tants of this country — the Mound Builders:' But thai part of history, tl very-day routine, 
 
 the ordinary affairs of life, are the ones that we most desire to know and are the very ones 
 least likely to be preserved. A Local history — a liistory of a county, like this — is the mosl 
 difficult to write. .Matters the most likely to interest and entertain a community are the 
 hardest to write. More than twenty-five years ago, when writing a history of Menard county 
 lor a company, I learned the fact that the very matter that the people would want was the ven. 
 
 matter that the companj refused. So I began then t te down item- of interest and have 
 
 kept it up ever since, expecting that at some time tins matter would he arranged, systema- 
 tized and published. Speaking of the pas! of this country, what an interesting field opens 
 
 before us. If some supernatural power would < liable s w. to give a correcl history of the 
 
 events which have taken place just in the small territory of Menard county in all the past ages 
 who would refuse to buy it. no matter the prici ? But these things are gone to eternal 
 
 oblivion. Nothing is left hut the testi ly of a lew inanimate and dumb witnesses; yet with 
 
 what eagerness and patient toil we strive ami si-arch m the effort to decipher the obscure 
 hieroglyphics which dimly outline some of this dark past How men have sweat ami dun' and 
 toiled in the lew small mounds of earth in this county. We unearth a stone ax, flint arrow- 
 point or piece of hammered copper, and with a thrill in every nerve-fiber we grasp it with 
 the thought that no human hand had touched n till ours since it was grasped by the swarthv 
 hand of the long-departed Mound Builder. Then we wonder ami imagim concerning the 
 condition of this country at that tune: the animals that roamed these prairies and wood-; 
 the kind of people these beings were; and how main hundreds of years have rolled by since 
 they gave place t<> the "noble red man.'" We know that they must have been numerous and 
 powerful, and that the} mu-i have been organized m some wa\ o have performed the vasl 
 amount of labor that was required to erect these \a-i monuments. Then came the Indians 
 with their tribal wars and forays of murder and torture: how tin- ston would thrill with 
 interest the hearts of men to-day. If all this is true, what a debt we owe to those who will 
 come after us to leave 11 record of the events of the presenl that they may know to hi' reliably 
 true. Events, commonplace in themselves, in the lives of our fathers and grandfathers will 
 not onl\ he interesting, but they maj he of in stimable value in the years to come. Such 
 has been the writer's aim to gather up facts of local interest; of family history; id' social, 
 political and religious importance, which, in years to come, will give due credit to men for 
 the part that they performed in the work of the development of tin country, socially, civilly, 
 religiously and financially. No effort at display has been made; no effort to over-draw or 
 exaggerate; hut the plain, simple truth ha- been aimed ai in even case. Bulwer says: "One 
 
 of the mosl sub! ■ things in the world i- plain truth." Sydney Smith saj - s: "Truth is 
 
 the handmaid of justice ; freedom is its child; peace it- companion ; safety walks in its sp.ps ; 
 victory follow- in its train. It is the brightesl emanation of the gospel— if is the attribute 
 of God." And Dryden said: "We find but Eew historians who have been diligent enough in 
 their search for truth. It is their common method to take on trusi what they distribute to 
 
 the public, by which mean- a false! 1 once received becomes traditional to the public." I 
 
 have tried, in the following pages, to tell the plain, simple, unvarnished truth. 
 
 R. 1). MILLER. 
 February, 1905. 
 
 82ol3
 
 ) 
 
 CA UfyfyU / ?f^< 
 
 TJ^M
 
 HISTORICAL 
 
 h is said that when Frederick the Greal 
 ,\ < ml.l have his secretary read history to him 
 te would say: "Bring me my liar." Hut his- 
 tory, to be such, must be the statement of 
 facts, and where such is uot the ease it is ao1 
 
 listery. General history \ be gathered and 
 
 iompiled from various reliable sources, but the 
 nstoiy of event- ami occurrences of a locality, 
 is a county in Illinois, is a very different and. 
 in fart, a more difficult thing, in olden times 
 i g 1 man could wish no greater evil t<> be- 
 fall an enemy than that he were compelled In 
 write a book, for good old Job cried out m the 
 anguish of his soul. "011. that mine enenrj 
 would write a book," ami surely this should he 
 enough to gratify the enmity of a much worse 
 man than he of (Jz, especially it the hook was 
 in he a detailed history of a county in Illinois, 
 nrai-h one hundred years alter the county was 
 settled. No doubt many important events, as 
 well as the deeds of individuals, which are 
 important items in the history of this count's 
 are i ompletely Inst, but it is the aim of the 
 writer to record all such facts as have been 
 preserved, and to give nothing hut what he 
 honestly believes is authentic and Inn 1 . The 
 nliject of these pages is to record the known 
 fads in the history of tin' past so as to pre- 
 serve to those who come after us those fact-. 
 events and individuals, that will serve to in- 
 struct and influence for good those whom may 
 read them. One especial aim is to do justice 
 in ihose noble men and women who. though 
 perhaps unlearned and unrefined in the modern 
 
 sense of that term, were God's chosen agents in 
 preparing the priceless heritage that they have 
 left us in this land with its institutions and 
 civilization. The;; made possible and gave in 
 us tin- priceless boon. 
 
 Immediately after the close of the war of 
 1812, or at least as soon as the news of peace 
 was confirmed through the country, the mass 
 of the people was seized with a mania for west- 
 ern emigration, and. although the sagacious 
 editor of New York had not then given the 
 advice in young men i,, go west and grow up 
 with the country, yet thousands of both young 
 and old were seized with the fever, and as a 
 result, the "Western Territory" began to fill up 
 very rapidly from the older settled portions of 
 the country. During almost the whole of the 
 eighteenth century the name of Illinois was 
 applied to all the known region lying wesl of 
 in,' Ohio river. A- earl] a- L673 French col- 
 onies established themselves at Kaskaskia ami 
 Cahokia. Jus! one hundred year- from the 
 establishment of these colonies, the territory, of 
 
 which tbe\ were the nucleus in conjunct 
 
 with Canada, was ceded to Greal Britain. 
 Tin- wa- transferred to the United States in 
 L787. In the same year thai tin- territory was 
 acquired Congress passed a law or ordinance 
 that the territory lying west and north of the 
 Ohio river was to lie divided into not less than 
 three nor more than fi\' -late-. Congress also 
 divided the region named into Ohio. Indiana 
 and Illinois. When we remember that this 
 legislation was only a little over a hundred
 
 PAST AMi PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 years ago, we may smile a1 the short-sighted- 
 ness of our statesmen, especially when we re- 
 flecl thai the ten-iron was bounded on the north 
 by the Bril ish possessions. 
 
 Sn rapidly did this northwestern country 
 fill up, that in 1810, the Illinois territory, 
 which then included a part of Wisconsin and 
 Minnesota, contained a population of twelve 
 thousand two hundred and eighty-two. Mich- 
 igan had !»': n formed into a separate territory 
 in 1805, ami Indiana m L809. The reader 
 i- perhaps acquainted with the history of the 
 controversy with Wisconsin over the northern 
 boundary of Illinois. I f the people of Wis- 
 consin arc correct in their views of the matter, 
 then Illinois has no northern limit save that 
 firs! given to the territory, ami her area still 
 extends to the British possessions i i Canada. 
 
 Illinois, like other new territories, was at 
 fiist divided into counties covering very large 
 areas, in fact, the entire state was once "Illi- 
 nois county," but as the country became more 
 thickly settled these counties were subdivided 
 and m inan\ eases re-divided a third and fourth 
 time. Illustrative of this fact, it may be stated 
 that mI the time of the admission of Illinois 
 into the Union, it comprised only fifteen 
 counties. As the settlemenl of the state began 
 in the southern portion and extended north- 
 ward, it is not at all surprising that in more 
 than one case it would have been impossible 
 to find the northern boundary of the county, 
 unless it were considered as extending to the 
 northern line of the state. A:' an illustra- 
 tion of this subdivision of counties, it maj be 
 stated ihat the city of Chicago, or at least the 
 hind that it now stands on, was once in Fulton 
 county: whereas the nearest point of Pulton 
 comity to the city of Chicago is now one hun- 
 dred ami fifty miles on an air line. Another il- 
 lustration of this may be briefly given : If the 
 reader will turn to the map of Illinois he will 
 observe thai Crawford county is the eighth 
 county south on the state line from Chicago. 
 This county at firs! included Chicago; butwhen 
 Clark was formed it embraced Chicago; and 
 when Edgar was cul off of Chirk the "windy 
 city" was in it: and then when Vermilion was 
 formed from Edgar, Chicago fell in it: so that 
 
 ii number of Illinois counties can boast that 
 Chicago was once in their territory. 
 
 In consideration of the fact that Menard 
 county was stricken off from Sangamon, it be- 
 comes necessary to give a brief outline of the 
 latter. Ti e reader who is familiar with the 
 history of Illinois will remember that portions 
 of it were settled even before the close of the 
 eighteenth century. Prior to the formation of 
 the county of Sangamon, by act of the legisla- 
 ture, approved January 30. 1821, the territory 
 of which it was formed was included in the 
 counties of Madison and Bond. Sangamon 
 county, when first formed, included all of what 
 is now Logan, Tazewell, Mason, Menard and 
 Cass, and part of Morgan, McLean. Marshall. 
 Woodford. Putnam and Christian. Its bound- 
 ary remained thus till the year 182-4, when the 
 legislature reduced its limits. It still, how- 
 ever, extended to the Illinois river and in- 
 eluded all of Menard and parts of Christian. 
 Logan and Mason. The boundaries of Sanga- 
 mon remained unchanged till the year 1839, 
 when the legislature again subdivided it. cut- 
 ting oil' Menard. Christian and Logan. The 
 
 nan f Dane was at first given to it but later 
 
 it wiis changed to Christian. 
 
 During the session of the legislature of 
 1838-9, Menard county was stricken off from 
 Sangamon and named in honor of Colonel 
 Pierre Menard, a Frenchman who settled at 
 Kaskaskia. Illinois, in 1790. Menard was so 
 popular in his day witli the people of Illinois 
 territory that when the convention framed the 
 constitution of the state a clause was included 
 in the schedule to the constitution providing 
 that "any citizen of the United States who had 
 resided in the state for two rears might he 
 eligible to the office of lieutenant governor/ 5 
 This was done in order that Colonel Menard, 
 who had only been naturalized a year or two 
 at the time, might he made lieutenant governor, 
 under Shadraeh Bond, first governor of Illi- 
 nois after its formation into a state. As Me- 
 nard county whs named after this popular 
 Frenchman it may be interesting to the reader 
 to give a brief account id' his life. Pierre 
 Menard was horn in Quebec, Canada, in the 
 year 1767. lie remained in his native city till 
 liis nineteenth year, when his inherent spirit
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 iif adventure led him to seek his fortune in the 
 territories watered bj the Mississippi and its 
 tributaries, lie was, therefore, soon found in 
 the town of Vincennes mi the Wabash river in 
 the employ of a merchant, known as Colonel 
 \ igo. I ii the year 1 I'm he formed a partner- 
 ship with urn.' iMi Bois, a merchanl of Vin- 
 cennes, and they removed their stock in Kas- 
 ka-kia at the inniitli of the Kaskaskia river in 
 Illinois. Menard, though possessed of bui a 
 limited education, was a man of quick percep- 
 tion an.l ni almosl unerring judgment. He 
 was candid and honest, full of energy ami in- 
 dustry, ami these qualities sunn marked him as 
 a leader among the scattered population of his 
 
 adopted home. For a i iber of years he was 
 
 govemmenf agenl for the Indians, ami his 
 candor ami integrity soon won I'm- him the 
 esteem and friendship of the Indian tribes. 
 This tact secured him great advantage as a mer- 
 chanl as In' could buy their peltries for one-half 
 as much as they could be bought by the "Long- 
 knives." Hi' was a member of tin- lower house 
 ni' the legislature while Illinois was under the 
 [ndiana regime anil, from 1st'.' to 1818, he was 
 
 a mber of tin' [llinois legislative council, 
 
 being the presidenl of that body. He was 
 lii'iiii'nani governor from IS18 to is?'.', and 
 after that he declined to accepl further honors 
 ai the bands of the people. He acquired a 
 considerable fortune bui much of ii was Inst 
 through his liberality in going security for his 
 friends. He died in Tazewell county, Illinois, 
 at the good "lil age of seventy-seven years. 
 Such was tin' man I'm' whom Menard county 
 was named. 
 
 Menard count} i- near tin- center of the state 
 of Illinois ami is approximately twenty miles 
 square, li is bounded mi the north bj Sail 
 creek ; on the wesl by Cass county ; mi the soutl 
 by Sangamon, and mi the easl by Logan. Tin' 
 entire area of the county is one hundred ami 
 ninety seven thousand nine hundred ami sev- 
 enty live acres, but it is estimated that the 
 Sangamon river occupies an area of seven hun- 
 dred acres in the limit- of the county, leaving 
 an entire area of one hundred ami nine! j ever 
 thousand two hundred and seventy five acres 
 
 The Sanga n river flows through the county 
 
 from smith to north, dividing it into two al si 
 
 equal parts. A number of small streams tlnw 
 
 into the Sangi i river, and Salt creek affords 
 
 an abundance of fresh, pure water for all pur- 
 poses. The surface of the country is gently 
 undulating in the main, though for a mile or 
 two back from the river it is somewhal broken. 
 The greai portion of the land was. in its native 
 stair, prairie, being covered with a luxuriant 
 growth of nutritious grass, interspersed with a 
 countless growth of wild flowers. Groves ami 
 bodies of timber were interspersed all over the 
 entire area ni the county, being abundant, had 
 it been preserved, for all purposes of agricul- 
 ture ami manufacture. Along the Sangamon 
 river for a distance of a mile ami a half on 
 either side there was formerly heav\ timber, 
 while on Rock creek ami Indian creek are con- 
 siderable bodies also. In the eastern pari of 
 the county are Irish Grove, Bee Grove and 
 Sugar Grove, each ni which is a considerable 
 inil\ of timber. On the west side of the river 
 are Little Grove ami Clary's Grove, formerly 
 
 line hollies of llllliier. The tillllier eol n 1 1 1'isi 'S 
 
 a number of varieties of oak, elm. ash. walnut. 
 butternut, sycamore, linden or basswood, hick- 
 ory, cottonwood, black ami honey locust, pecan, 
 cherry, mulberry and maple, hard ami soft. 
 There are several suli.-h' orchards in the vicin- 
 it\ of Tallula ami Sweetwater. Near Tallula 
 Messrs. Speer, Conover, Greene ami others have 
 good orchards. Ground Sweetwater an' the 
 orchards of Mr. Smoot, Alkires ami II. .1. 
 Marbold, the la-t named having one thousand 
 five hundred trees on an area of not more than 
 eight: acres. 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 Tin' soil of this eoiinl\ i- a rich, dark loam, 
 from "iir to five feel deep. This is the pre- 
 \ ailing condii ton, bui in t he norl hern porl ion 
 of the count} i here are considerable areas « here 
 sand mounds exist, bu1 even these are surpris- 
 ingly productive of a favorable season. These 
 sand mounds produce melons and sweet-pota- 
 toi - of the liin'-i quality and in profuse abund- 
 ance. .More than ninety per cenl of the land 
 of th" county is in nihil al ii m, in grass or 
 planted in grain. 
 
 The county is abundantly supplied with the
 
 1" 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 various kinds of stock, and for many years 
 the farmers have taken great pride in trying 
 to improve their quality, anil to this end the 
 
 best breeds from all over the world have been 
 imported till the finest breeds of horses, cattle, 
 sheep and hogs may be seen on the rich pas- 
 tures or in the comfortable barns of every farm- 
 ing community. 
 
 The soil produces abundant crops of corn. 
 wheat, oats, rye. barley, millet, timothy, clover, 
 potatoes, all kinds of vines and vegetables. 
 Grapes and small fruits grow in luxuriant 
 abundance, but while the large standard fruits 
 in past year did well they are now practically 
 a failure. Peaches are winter-killed at least 
 four year- out of five, while apples and pears 
 are almost a total failure mi account of the 
 numerous fungoid and insect pests that attack 
 them in countless hordes. 
 
 Cattle, horses and hogs are raised in abund- 
 ance, while poultry produces no insignificant 
 part of the total income of the farmers. Farm- 
 ing lands are worth from one hundred to one 
 hundred and fifty dollars per acre. The farm- 
 ers are. as a rule, well-to-do, many having 
 grown rich by farming and stock-raising. We 
 have farmers whose wealth i- fast approaching 
 the million dollar mark, while estates of a 
 quarter and half-million dollars are by no means 
 rare. The last half decade has been an es- 
 pecially prosperous period to the farmers, but 
 as it is the writer's business to state facts and 
 not theories he can not say whether this i> duo 
 to the Almighty or to the administration: one 
 of the two did it. "Hoch dor Kaiser!" 
 
 MINEEAL RESOTJBCES. 
 
 [nexhaustible beds of bituminous coal of the 
 best quality underlie the eniire county and at 
 such a depth that it can be mined at a trifling 
 cost. This coal is deposited in three layers, 
 or -trata. that have been worked to some ex- 
 tent and the state geologist claims that in this 
 part of Illinois the three strata will aggregate 
 at least twenty-five feet in thickness. _\ toler- 
 ably correct idea of the wealth laid up here may 
 ne -.lined by considering the miners' estimate 
 that in every foot of the vein, in thickness. 
 
 there are twenfr) million bushels or one mil- 
 lion tons to the square mile. Now, to say 
 nothing of the twenty-live feet of strata, of 
 which we are told, let the reader contemplate 
 the wealth that i> stored up in the vein that is 
 now being worked. This vein averages six feet 
 in thickness. Tin- will give us five million 
 ton- to every square mile. This alone is a 
 source of inexhaustible wealth. A writer in 
 the London Quarterly Review said a few years 
 ago that no people can succeed in the arts of 
 Christian civilization without a supply of coal, 
 and this is undoubtedly true. When we reflect 
 that manufacturers, commerce and the general 
 enterprises of civilization can not he carried on 
 without a dynamic agent, we see that the fore- 
 going statement is not extravagant. In the 
 sultry cycle- of the carboniferous period, the 
 Almighty was laying up the crystalized sunshine 
 in the form of these dusky diamonds in this, 
 then unknown, world for coming Christianity 
 to uncover and use as an energy to ]>le>s the 
 world. The same writer, quoted above, says 
 that tin- paddle-wheels of European civiliza- 
 tion are constantly stirring up the dark waters 
 of superstition in the east and every steamer 
 that navigates those ocean- goes as a herald of 
 Christian civilization and enlightenment, and 
 thus we -ee that coal is becoming the mighty 
 agent in the uplifting of humanity. Such 
 were the -tore- of coal laid up in the bowels of 
 England, and her supply so inexhaustible, as 
 was supposed, that the expression, "carrying 
 coals to Newcastle," has long been the manner 
 of expressing the inexhaustibleness of the de- 
 posit, out present indications hid fair for it to 
 become literally true, and also that the coals 
 (.in led to Newcastle shall he from America. 
 This mighty force has slumbered for countless 
 cycles under this soil and here is untold wealth 
 tor Christian enterprise to utilize for the good 
 of man. 
 
 Stone of a good quality is also found in sev- 
 eral places hi this county that might be made a 
 source of great income. Considering all the 
 natural advantages that we possess, we conclude 
 that few localities have more or better facilities 
 for manufacturing than we. Here is the tim- 
 ber, the coal, the stone, the water, the sand and 
 the agricultural products. Look at the vast
 
 PAST A\|i PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 11 
 
 sums of monej thai go out from here even year 
 to pay for the verj things that we should make 
 and sell to others— plows, reapers, planters, 
 wagons, buggies, threshers, etc. II' our ad- 
 vantages were utilized not only would nil the 
 
 i i\ he kept in our midst bu1 other great 
 
 advantages would accrue to us. A market 
 would be created bere at home for all our 
 surplus, a demand would lie made for greater 
 quantities of coal, and this would call Tor a 
 greater number of laborers; the erection ot 
 factories would create a demand for stone, 
 brick, sand ami lime; handling tin 1 -' things 
 would make a demand for teams and laborers, 
 and last, hut not least, tin- would bring me- 
 chanics, and their families would build up the 
 
 towns and Jill up the scl is ami furnish a 
 
 market for all our surplus products. Surety 
 iiui- people will nut remain blind to this matter 
 many years longer. 
 
 The population of Menard county, according 
 to the last eensus. i- fourteen thousand three 
 hundred ami thirty-six. Petersburg, the county 
 seat, is situated on the Sangamon river, near 
 the center of the county . ami ha- a populal ion 
 of about three thousand four hundred. Two 
 railroads run through the county. Tin- Chi- 
 cago <S Alton enters the county uear the 
 northeasl corner of the count} and run- through 
 Petersburg ami leaves the enmity near the 
 southwest corner. The Chicago, Peoria & St. 
 Louis runs through the center of the county 
 from north to south. These two roads cross in 
 Petersburg. The Peoria an. I Springfield branch 
 of the Chicago & Alton run- Eor eight or ten 
 mill's just in the east edge of the county . 
 
 The first settlements of Menard count} were 
 made l>\ immigrants from Tennessee, Ken- 
 tucky. Virginia and the Carolinas, with a small 
 percent from the states farther north. These 
 immigrants were of a class of men and women 
 unsurpassed lor bravery, enterprise and de- 
 termination. In fact, we have in the pi iers 
 
 of Illinois ami other western states a wonderful 
 type of men and women. The first settlers of 
 America were of the best stock of the various 
 European countries from which they came 
 Those first emigrants from Europe to America 
 were the most liberty-loving, most conscientious, 
 brave ami determined of the lands the\ left. 
 
 These people h\ intermarriage through the laws 
 of heredity, and amalgamation have produced 
 a new and improved type of the genus homo. 
 We are no1 Engl ish or < lerman or French, but 
 we are distinctively Americans. We are a peo- 
 ple, a race, unique and distinct, adapted to the 
 condition.- and needs of this new and unique 
 country. It was the men and women of this 
 new type who made this countn what it is to- 
 day. \ ie dare to limit the achievements 
 
 of this country in the future unless intermar- 
 riage, idleness, ease ami luxury shall enervate, 
 weaken and destroy the power of the people. I 
 will relate one peculiar political incident ami 
 with this close this chapter. Menard county 
 has been Democratic in all its history, with the 
 exception that in the first years of it- existena 
 a- a county, it gave a majority to the old Whig 
 party. It was cut oil' from Sangamon ami 
 organized into a separate county in 1839. In 
 1840 William II. Harrison was the Whig 
 candidate for president, opposed h\ Martin 
 Van Buren, the Democrat candidate. Menard 
 county gave Harrison four hundred and thirty- 
 four votes and Van Buren three hundred and 
 seventy-four, hi 1844 we had a third candi- 
 date lor president for the first tune: ('lav. 
 Whig; Folk. I lernoi rat ; and Burney, Free- 
 Soil. The county gave ('lav three hundred 
 ami uinety-seven ; Polk, three hundred ami sev- 
 enty-eight; and Mr. Burner got one. In 1848 
 tin' candidates were Taylor. Democrat; Cass, 
 Whig; and Van Buren, Free-Soil. The county 
 gave Taylor six hundred ami five votes; Ca 
 four hundred and eighty-eight ; ami Van Buren 
 one. In 1852 the candidate- were Pierce, 
 Democrat : Scott, Whig; and Hale. Abolitionist. 
 The county gave Pierce six hundred and ninety- 
 eight vote-: Scott, -ix hundred and forty-four; 
 ami Hale one. The -nine old fellow, I -appose, 
 cast that one lonely Abolition vote every time. 
 This was a im discouraging beginning Eor 
 Abolitionism, Ian see what perseverance in fol- 
 lowing honest convictions will do. But "Won- 
 ders never will -ease." Aristotle -aid. "II was 
 through the fi eling of wonder that men. now 
 and at first, began to philosophize." Bui I 
 fear that no philosophy will ever solve this 
 problem. "Little Menard" went Republican in 
 the vear of grace, 1904 ' Yes, tic whole thing,
 
 1'-' PAST AND PRESENT OF MENAKD COUNTY 
 
 lock, stock and barrel, went down in the gen- hammered out of native copper, was found in a 
 
 era] crash. Was it "Teddy's" popularity or mound nine miles north of Petersburg, that 
 
 Parker's telegram, that did it? Bennett, was eight feel under ground. Several eopp"i 
 
 Lanning, Watkins, Clan ami Miller all sank arrow-points have been found in the county. 
 
 to rise no i v. These ran be seen in the collection of II. J. 
 
 Marbold. at Greenview. One kind of mound 
 thai was not uncommon is worthy of descrip- 
 tion: This was mi the bluff, four miles north 
 
 ABORIGIN lis. , t> , . ,, , 
 
 oi I etersburg. tsetore it was tampered with, 
 
 A history of Menard county would be in- '' was about sis feei high and perhaps twelve 
 
 perfect that did nol include some acconni of feet across. Some two and a half feei below 
 
 the aboriginal inhabitants, [ndeed, to very the top of the mound two skeletons were found, 
 
 many men no subjecl is more intenseh interest^ supposed to be of a male and a female, lying on 
 
 ing than this. Little can be said of the In- c ' a 3 thai had been burned almost as hard as 
 
 dian tribes of this locality, bui thai little will •' brick'. Careful examination indicated that a 
 
 be given. bu1 another and far more interesting mound, some thr ir four feel high, had been 
 
 people than the\ hum' held dominion here and buill and on top of this was formed a basin, 
 
 roamed these prairies and woods. I refer to about the proportions of a soup-dish, lined with 
 
 the "mound builders." This strange and un- clay, made into a mortar ami then thoroughly 
 
 known | pie were once as numerous here, no burned. This basin was about six feet across 
 
 doubt, as the present population, but unfortu- ; ""' eight or ten inches lower in the center than 
 
 nately they left only enough mementoes of :,t the edge. That the bodies bad been placed 
 
 their existence to arouse in lis a desire to know '" this basin, fuel piled on them and then 
 
 more of them. Even here m this county burned was clearly evidenced by the fact that 
 
 there are, or were a few \ - ears ago, abundant the upper surface of the bones were burned 
 
 evidences of the teeming thousands thai lived away, the sides charred black and the under 
 
 here. Unfortunately nearly all the monu- s ''l'' untouched by the fire. The whole skele- 
 
 ments they left were the earth- nnds they tons, except the smaller bones which were 
 
 built, at the expense of untold toil and per- burned up, showed us that this was the case, as 
 
 serverance. Many of these, by rain and storm they were found mingled with the ashes and 
 
 and tl rosive power of the plow, have been dead coals in the bottom of the basin. Several 
 
 partially or entirely obliterated, but a quarter sueri mounds as this were opened by the writer, 
 of a century ago they were plainly visible in After the body was burned three or four feel 
 many localities. Along the bluffs overlooking "' earth was added to the mound. What are 
 the Sangamon river they were to be seen in these, however, compared to the works easl of 
 greal numbers. Years ago the writer opened a Sl - l-" llls - m Illinois, where there are over two 
 number of those mounds and was amply re- hundred large mounds in the area of one town- 
 warded for his labor. In manv nothing was ship, six miles square? These mounds are all 
 found except the decayed bones of the buried large, bu1 the king of them all is Cahokia 
 dead, inn others were rich in relies. Pipes, mound. It was surveyed by Chicago parties 
 axes, spades, totems, etc.. were found in abund- several years ago and they found that it cov- 
 ance. ami I have no doubt thai \ast numbers ered eleven acres of ground ami was ninety- 
 are still hidden under the soil here thai may seven feet high, after all the past years id' 
 never be seen by man. unless by some accidenl erosion by the elements. There is perfect evi- 
 thev are unearthed. In digging a cistern, an donee that the earth was carried a distance of 
 arrow-point was found at a depth of nine feet over four miles to build it. St. Louis bears the 
 below tin' surface. A stone ax was found, in nickname of "Mound City'' from the immense 
 digging a grave, five feci down. The writer mound that once stood in the very heart of the 
 found a sand-stone ax. a half mile from Salem, city. Vast numbers of relies were obtained 
 that was embedded in the shale. A chisel. from each of these, a number of which mav be
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY L3 
 
 :en in Marbold's collection. The huge paint- and seeing this, galloped between her and the 
 
 r . called "The Piasa Bird," thai was on the Indians, when one of them firing at him sent 
 
 ,,,,,,,111 face of the cliff above Alton, one hun- a ball entirely through Ins horse. However, the 
 
 ,v,l f ee i from the base and seventy-five feet horse did nol fall and the father, spurring him 
 
 elow the top, was the work of these people, forward, reached the girl and seizing her by 
 
 'his painting was there when Marquette and the- arm, bore her back I" the whites. The 
 
 oliel wenl down the Mississippi river in 1C72, blood was spurting E i the wound in the 
 
 ml remained there, bright and clear, till 1848, horse's vitals but the faithful animal, with his 
 
 I,,.,, the cliff fell into the river. When we fast ebbing strength, bore her to safety and in 
 
 ontemplate the huge piles of earth on almosl a short time died, in the retreat the Indians 
 
 very bluff along the Mississippi, the Missouri, crossed the Sangamon river near where the 
 
 he Ohio, the Illinois and. in fact, almosl all iron bridge, south of Petersburg, is located, and 
 
 he rivers of the country, we may well wonder their pursuers, returning the same way, brought 
 
 oncerning the strange people who built them, the young lady to a settler's cabin near Salis- 
 
 'he "Ilini" Indians, as they called themselves, bury, leaving her there till she recovered. When 
 
 fho lived at the mouth of Piasa creek, when the the first settlements were made in the limits 
 
 irst white man visited this country, had no of this county the Indians had nearly all been 
 
 nore idea of who painted tins picture than we removed; a few were still in the timber on 
 
 kivc to-day. Their principal village was al- Indian creek, in the neighborhood of Indian 
 
 nosl in a stonethrow of the painting but they Point; and two old men. with about a dozen 
 
 .new nothing of its history. The pictun was of their relatives, remained for some time. 
 
 n three colors, red. yellow and black. The body These were Shickshack and Shambolee. They 
 
 vas as large as a cow. a face like a human, lived two or three years just south of the 
 
 10 rns like a deer, teeth of great size, outspread residence of the late Judge Robert Clary, on the 
 
 vin.us. like a bat, lour legs, each with four high lull overlooking the lake. They then re- 
 
 errible claws, a huge tail, wrapped three times moved to a high hill within a mile of the site 
 
 iroiind the body, and the whole body and tail of the present town of Chandlerville. Here 
 
 sovered with scale-, like a fish. It was a ter- Shickshack died at a very advanced age and 
 
 •ible looking picture. The Indian- had a was buried there, and the hill is still known as 
 
 strange and weird tradition concerning it bu1 "Shickshaek's Bill." After his death the rest 
 
 ,ve have not space to record it here. of the little hand in sadness lefl the haunts of 
 
 Of the Indians, in relation to this county. the pale-lace and were heard of no more. 
 .iit little can be said. Aboiil the time that the There being no trouble with the Indian- in 
 
 first settlers came to this county, the Indians this section after the first settlements here and 
 
 ,,.,,!,. a ra j,| ,,,, ||| ( . settlements south of here there being various forts near the frontiers, as 
 
 nid after killing a citizen or two they stole a fort Clark at Peoria and at other points. 
 
 young lady and started north with her. She there was never any need of any forts or block- 
 
 was the daughter of a Captain Whitesides and houses in tins section of the state. The trouble 
 
 the father and a company of citizens started in spoken of above, with a hand whose town was 
 
 pursuit. The Indians wen- overtaken just this ai Elkhart Grove, was the last, and perhaps 
 
 side of Elkhart Grove. There a fight occurred, the only trouble, that was ever in this im- 
 
 The young lady was on a pony, which was led mediate part of the state. Further northeast, 
 
 by an Indian, while a rope was tied around the al ^\>\ Town Timber, in McLean enuntv. and 
 
 "irl's neck and held by her captor. When the over toward Fori (dark, now Peoria, there had 
 
 fight began the Indian in the excitement drop- been considerable warfare. The Mound Build- 
 
 ped the rope and the girl Sprang oil' the pony its are gone and the Indian- are gi and the 
 
 and started to run back m the whiles. But Hie hill- and woods ami streams have no tongue to 
 
 Indian, seeing- bis prize about to escape, threw tell the story of the past. All the record we 
 
 his tomahawk at her. driving the Made into have is the chipped Hint, the polished stone-ax 
 
 the small of her back. Her father being near and the curiously wrought pipe and banner-
 
 1 1 
 
 PAST AND PKESEiSTT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 stone to tell their strange story. How we long 
 lo extort from these mute stones the story of 
 those lone gone years. Imt our appeal is un- 
 heard .'Hid the hook is sealed, only as we may 
 imagine, guess ami wonder. 
 
 EARIA 7 SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 finite a number of settlements had been made 
 in the territory of what is now Sangamon 
 county some time before any were made in the 
 hounds of what is now .Menard. The reader 
 must bear in mind that this county had no ex- 
 istence till the year 1839, hence the history 
 of the settlement ami development of the county 
 is connected with the history of Sangamon 
 county. 
 
 Although the white man had frequently vis- 
 ited the "Sangamon country," as it was called. 
 and had traveled over the beautiful prairies 
 and explored the deep woods of this locality, 
 vet we have no evidence that any one ever 
 settled in the area of the count \ prior to April, 
 1819. We have indisputable evidence that the 
 first settler of the county was John Clary, who 
 came with his family at the date above named. 
 He settled in a grove in the southwest part of 
 the county, near the present site of the tillage 
 of Tallula. This grove was ever after known 
 by tin' name of its first settler and it is to-day 
 noticed on (he maps and known and spoken of 
 far and near a- "Clary's Grove." Mr. Clary 
 settled mi the southwest quarter of section :'.-.'. 
 township is. range i : the land now- belonging 
 to the heirs of George Spears, Sr. Mr. ('. 
 Clary built what was known to the pioneers 
 as a "three-raced" camp; that is. he built three 
 walls, leaving one entire side open, as ample 
 means of ingress and egress. These walls were 
 luiilt ahouf seven feet high, then poles were 
 lanl across about three feet apart and "clap- 
 hoards" were laid on these for the roof, and as 
 nails were not to hi' hail, "weight-poles" were 
 laid on the hoards to hold them to their place. 
 
 These 1 'ds were generally four feet in length 
 
 ami from ten to fourteen inches in width. 
 They were split out of oak timber, with an 
 instrument, common in those days, called a 
 "froe." No door was laid in the camp, nor 
 
 was there any such thing as a window or door- 
 shutter or chimney connected with the struc- 
 ture. Now these are fads and we doubt not 
 that the young people of to-day are skeptical 
 mi the matter. The one side left out served 
 as door, chimney, window ami all. Just in 
 front of the open side, a huge log-heap was 
 built, which served to furnish heat in cold 
 weather and lor cooking all the year round, and 
 gave what light they needed at night. We de- 
 scribe this camp so particularly because in 
 such dwellings as this, the early settlers all 
 spent the first few years of their sojourn in 
 the new country. Mr. Clary had a family when 
 he lirsi came to the Grove, the late lamented 
 . Indue Robert Clary being six weeks "hi when 
 the family reached its wild home. The large 
 ami respected family of Clarys now living in 
 this county are all descendants of this hardy 
 pioneer. Not long after Clary located in the 
 Grove, Solomon Pratt with his family took up 
 In- res dence in a cabin, which he built on sec- 
 tion 3, township C range ;. this going near 
 Mr. Clary. During the fall of 1819 and the 
 spring of 1820 emigration came in pretty 
 rapidly, hut there being no record kept of the 
 order in which they came and the names of 
 -oine being forgotten, it is impossible to give 
 the detail correctly. About this time the 
 Armstrongs, Greens and Spears came to the 
 grove; a more detailed account of whom will 
 he given in another place. It was slated 
 above that the first settlement in the county 
 was made at Clary's Grove. This we believe 
 to lie true, hut there is great diversity of opin- 
 ion on ibis subject among the oldest citizens 
 who were alive thirty years ago. with whom 
 the writer often talked the matter over. 
 Amherry Rankin, late of Athens, in this county, 
 was of the opinion that Judge Latham was 
 the first white man to take up his abode in the 
 limits of (he county, and it is a known fact that 
 Sugar Grove, in the northeast part of the 
 county, was settled very soon after Clary's 
 Grove, if not at the very same time. From a 
 document left by Charles Montgomery, de- 
 ceased, and from statements made to the writer 
 by Alexander Meadows, we gather some very 
 important facts. These statements are fully 
 reliable, as the gentlemen named were members
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT'S 
 
 15 
 
 of the first party that settled on the east side 
 of the Sangamon river. Jacob Boyer and 
 James Meadows, who were brothers-in-law, came 
 to Sugar Grove from the American bottom, near 
 St. Louis, and located in that grove in the 
 spring of 1819. They had lived one or two 
 years on Woo, I river, in the American bottom, 
 a few miles from Alton. Meadows brought 
 with him a wagon, drawn by two horses, a 
 yoke of yearling steers, which had been broken 
 to wort when sucking calves, and some thirty 
 head of hogs. Boyer brought three horses, two 
 milk cows and perhaps a yoke of oxen. About 
 the same day that Boyer and Meadows came, the 
 lilane family, consisting of four brothers, one 
 sister, and the mother, came to the same grove. 
 This family was of Irish blood, and it was 
 from them that "Irish Grove" got its name. 
 The Blanes brought two two-horse teams and six 
 or seven yoke of oxen. Boyer and Meadows 
 erected a cabin on the south side of the grove, 
 which was occupied by Boyer, and Meadow- put 
 up a "three-faced camp" on the ground now 
 occupied by the Sugar Grove cemetery. Be- 
 fore the Blanes settled there they had camped 
 for several days in the Grove, and i'; was this 
 camping that gave the Grove the "Irish" pro- 
 lix, and this make- it probable that they were 
 camped there when Clary settled in Clary's 
 Grove. 
 
 Tin- Blanes at once took claims, erected 
 cabins and began business in earnest. These 
 were doubtless the first settlers on the east 
 side of the Sangamon river. Before giving an 
 account of the further settlemenl of Sugar 
 Grove, it may not be amiss to relate an inci- 
 dent in the early history id' tin- settlement, 
 illustrating the fact thai human nature is ever 
 the same and that even in this earl} 'lay men 
 had need of civil courts. It will be neces- 
 sary to explain that although the trouble be- 
 gan when hut few families had settled there, 
 it wa- some time before it culminated in a 
 suit at law. as there were no courts of justice 
 within reach till some time later. A- stated 
 above, Meadows brought two horses, thirty head 
 of hogs, ami two yearling calves with him to the 
 grove. Not mam' months elapsed until both of 
 the horses wore missing and the hogs had all 
 strayed awav and were lost. Not a i^reat while 
 
 after these misfortunes, one of his little oxen 
 was found dead in the woods. Diligent search 
 was made in every direction for the missing 
 stock, as they could not be replaced without 
 great trouble and expense, owing to the dis- 
 tance from any older settlement. In his anxiety 
 Mr. Meadows applied to a fortune-teller, who 
 strolled through the new settlement practicing 
 his art. as the ancient troubadour i\>^i] to stroll 
 from village to village to rehearse the deeds of 
 In- heroes. This seer told Mr. Meadows that 
 his horses were m the possession of the [ndians 
 ami that he would recover them after awhile. 
 though hut one al a time. Sure enough, the 
 horses were found in the hands of the Indians, 
 who said that they had traded for them from 
 a Frenchman. The hoi-.- v. : ;•, ,-,, jaded that 
 they were of no service and soon after died. 
 The hogs, iie was told, had gone down the 
 Sangamon river, where one-half of them had 
 been eaten by a "squatter" and the rest he would 
 recover. Meadows faithfullj followed the di- 
 rections given, found the cabin of the suspected 
 settler hut found none of the hogs. He, how- 
 ever, traded for a frying-pan from the worthy 
 citizen, the mi,' that he supposed his hogs had 
 been fried in. hut the remainder of the hogs 
 were found as had been predicted. The for- 
 tune-teller further said thai the steer had come 
 to its death at the hand- of one of M r. Meadows' 
 neighbors in the following manner: The 
 neighbor was making rails in the timber, his 
 coal lying mi a log near by, when the poor calf 
 came browsing along, and spying the coat, con- 
 cluded to make a meal of it. The laborer see- 
 ing his coal about to he -wallowed by the calf. 
 ran and struck the brute on lie loins with his 
 maul, ami the blow proved sufficient to kill it 
 on the spot. Although this was only the slaie- 
 nient of a superstitious fortune-toller, yet it 
 wa- believed strongly enough to induce Meadow* 
 to begin a suit against the accused party, which 
 was in the curls for several years, cost a vast 
 sum of money, and cause,] a feud between the 
 two families which lasted to the third or fourth 
 iteiiiTatioii. This i- spoken of as the first law- 
 suit of any importance in the county, and also 
 as illustrating a superstitious belief in fori 11110- 
 tellers. which at that lime was almost uni- 
 \ ersal.
 
 l(i 
 
 PAST \\h PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 No1 long after the settlement "J' Boyer, 
 Meadows and the Blanes, another caravan of 
 immigrants came to the Grove. John Jamison, 
 Mr. Hill and William McNabb, bis wife, son 
 and daughter, wore of that company. James 
 McNabb, son of William McNabb, above earned, 
 was a surveyor and taught the first school that 
 was ever taught in the Grove. A few years 
 later he was drowned in the Sangamon river, 
 which stream he was trying to swim, with his 
 compass tied on his head. It is said that he 
 had been drinking or he would not have made 
 the attempt. A few months after the arrival 
 of those last named, others came, among them 
 Roland Grant and family. Benjamin Wilcos 
 and Ward Benson. About the same time a Mr. 
 Pentecost tame from Kentucky, bringing a 
 family of four sons and three daughters. He 
 settled near the presenl residence of Judge 
 II. II. Marbold, near Greenview. Cavanis, for 
 whom Cavanis creek was named, also came from 
 Kentucky, about this time. The next to find 
 their wa\ to this Grove was a company from 
 Deer Creek. Ohio, composed of the Alkires and 
 William Engle, all of whom in later years per- 
 formed such an important part in the develop- 
 ment of that wealthy portion of the county. 
 No party of weary traveller- ever entered a 
 new country that was destined to exert a strong- 
 er influence on the future growth and prosper- 
 ity of a community than tin- little hand. 
 Leonard Alkire brought considerable means 
 with him and invested it largely in "claims," 
 which he entered later on. He purchased the 
 claims of Meadows. Grant, Wilcox and the 
 Blanes, which marked tin- beginning of change 
 among the settlers of this grove. Hill, who 
 was spoken of above, removed to St. J.ouis: 
 John Jennison farmed for a year or two in the 
 '■rove and then removed to Baker's Prairie, 
 three miles southeast of Peti rsburg. Meadows 
 moved to the lower end of the Grove, where 
 he bought the claim of Pentecost McNabb and 
 Wilcox also removed to Baker's Prairie, where 
 they took claims, which they entered a- soon 
 a- tlie land came into market. There they 
 reared families ami many of their descendants 
 were there for many years, hut almost all of 
 them are now gone. Not long after the ar- 
 rival of Alkire and Engle, Matthew Bracken 
 
 came to the neighborhood, bringing a large 
 family with him. and after him came Nicholas 
 Propst : then Wallace and William Sweeney, 
 Milton Reed, and Thomas and William Cald- 
 well. From this tune the' tide of immigration 
 constantly grew deeper and wider, pouring in 
 its hosts of earnest, industrious and enterpris- 
 ing men to develop this most highly favored 
 body of country, and well did they perform 
 their task. 
 
 While the settlement was being made in this 
 locality, the other portions of the county were 
 not neglected. It is a remarkable fact, how- 
 ever, thai no settler ventured out on the prairie 
 lor a number oi years hut the groves of timber 
 contained settlement and each became 
 nucleus for a community. Of the more im- 
 portant of the- ■ more will he -aid in the propel 
 place. It may he of interest to the reader to 
 Know that the first marriage in the count}', on 
 the east side of the river, was John Jennison to 
 Patsy McNabb; the second was Mr. Henman 
 to Rosina Blane; and the third was William 
 Engle to Melissa Blane. The last named 
 couple were joined in wedlock by Harry Riggin, 
 .1. P. Tiie :i -i death on tic east side of the 
 river was an infant -on of Jacob Buyer, nan 
 Henderson. The second death was Jacob Boy- 
 cr: and the third was Joseph Kinney, who 
 was thrown from a horse. He was brought 
 home alive but -0011 afterward died. Kinney 
 was buried in Sugar Grove cemetery, and soon 
 after an elm tree came up out of the grave, 
 almost from it- center, and it is now a largi . 
 wide-spreading tree; and although its roots and 
 stem have obliterated all signs of a grave yet 
 it is a verdant monument to the memort of 
 Joseph Kinney. 
 
 The first -clio.illi.ai-, built in Sugar Grove 
 was erected in 1822 by Meadows, Boyer. Wil- 
 cox, McNabb and Grant. It was about six- 
 teen feet square and was built of split logs. 
 This house was furnished on a par with all 
 the school houses in the earl] settling of the 
 country. Covered with split hoards, held in 
 place io weight-poles, the floor of puncheons. 
 or -plit logs, the seats of half of a split log. 
 with four legs, saplings, driven into auger- 
 holes bored into the round side of the log. and 
 window, if anv, was a log cut out of one
 
 PAST AN 
 
 PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 i; 
 
 side of the wall. The writing desk was a 
 puncheon placed on pins in the wall. The text- 
 
 ks were few in numl er and the teacher 
 
 made all the pens used oul of goose quills. 
 The books used were the tfeu Testament for a 
 reader, with now and thru a copy of the old 
 English Reader; Pike's or Smiley's arithmetic, 
 and Murray's or Kirkharu's grammar. The 
 teacher who could "work through the single 
 and double rule of three" was a genius whose 
 services were always in demand. (We will say 
 for the enlightenment of our school girls and 
 boys thai the single and double rule of three 
 mean! single and double proportion.) The 
 books named above, with the indispensable 
 
 Webster's spelling-1 k, were the texts that 
 
 children had in those early days. Then the 
 schools in those days were never held longer 
 than three months, in mid-winter. These 
 schools were all gotten up by private subscrip- 
 tion, for ihc young people must bear in mind 
 thai we had no free school system ai that time. 
 I speak of these things particularly that the 
 presenl generation may know the truth con- 
 cerning the privations that their parents and 
 grandparents experienecd in preparing the in- 
 heritance that they left in them. 1 speak thus 
 particularly id' the school privileges of those 
 rail\ times, thai the young people may com- 
 pare their own opportunities with those id' their 
 ancestors. None of the statements concerning 
 tin' early schools ami the helps of those times 
 are exaggerated in the least, fur the writer at- 
 tended such a school and used pari of the 
 of the books named but could noi secure all 
 m|' t la an. I f your parents accomplished w hat 
 they did with such helps, what should you do 
 with your opportunities? 
 
 James McNabb, who was drowned in the 
 Sangamon river, was the firsl teacher in Sugar 
 Grove: he was followed by Daniel McCall ; and 
 
 ho by one Mr. Templeman; then others ct i, 
 
 and the count was lost. 
 
 The firsl preaching in Sugar Grove was in 
 i !i-' i abin of Roland < rrant, by one Elder I [en- 
 derson, a preacher id' the "Nevi Light" faith, 
 as it was then termed. The New-Lights and 
 thr followers <>i' Alexander Campbell afterward 
 united, forming what was at Brsl denominated 
 "The Church of the Disciples," bui afterward 
 
 changed to "The Church of Christ," sometimes 
 called Campbellites. Of tins a more extended ac 
 I'oiint will hr given under the head of Religious 
 Denominations. When tin- settlemeni was first 
 begun at Sugar Grove, and \'<<v some time after, 
 the nearesl physician was in Springfield, then 
 a mere village, hr. Allen of that place was the 
 firsl practitioner of thr healing art that was 
 called professionally to visit the community at 
 the Grove. \"t a very greal while elapsed, 
 however, till Dr. Winn settled near Indian 
 Point, and began the practice of the profession. 
 Saving thus glanced hastily at the histon 
 of the early settlement of Sugar Grove, we 
 turn now to other localities where settlement- 
 were made in an early day. as Now Salem. 
 two and a half mile- from Petersburg, up the 
 Sangamon river; the vicinity of Indian Point: 
 and Concord, three miles north of Petersburg. 
 Tho Indian Point settlemeni includes thai of 
 Lebanon and Athens, while that of New Sa- 
 lem- is connected with Rock Creek. These, with 
 Clary's and Sugar Grove, before mentioned, 
 were the most ini|ioi'tani of thr earl;) centers 
 of civilization; indeed all tho others may he 
 regarded as off-shoots of these. Aboui tho year 
 1820 tin- settlement at Indian Point began. 
 The i'ii-i white man to take up his permanent 
 abode there was Roberl White, who settled on 
 the farm on which his grandchildren, John 
 Whii.' ami Man VanEmons nov reside, adjoin- 
 ing tin- ground "it which the Lebanon Cumber- 
 land Presbyterian church now stands. With him 
 came James William-, father of Colonel John 
 Williams, late of Springfield. Illinois, and fain- 
 consisting of iwo sons and four daughters. 
 Archibald Kincaid, Jacob Johnston and Dr. 
 Charles Winn came aboul the same time, with 
 i hose 1 1 . 1 1 1 1 . d above, and soon after John Moore 
 also settled in tins vicinity. William I'.. Short 
 was also one of the early settlers here. His 
 -mi. .lame- Short, now pas! eighty wars of 
 age, -till lives mi tin- farm that his father firsl 
 located on. These were all earnest, intelligent, 
 enterprising people, and lo their industry and 
 economy laid the foundation of the success of 
 thai community. The descendants of those 
 named above make up tho la rger pari of thi 
 
 populal i' Indian i n ek al Hi'' present I ime. 
 
 Ind.'.'d we are not surprised at this when we
 
 IS 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 reflect thai these people held in high esteem 
 
 and regard the divine injunction to "multiply 
 and replenish the earth," as is proven by the 
 fact thai dames B. Short ventured no less than 
 five times into the bonds of matrimony. But. 
 seriously, we seldom find a community in which 
 so many enterprising, industrious and success 
 I'nl men are associated together; and such a 
 large per cent consistent, Christian men. Most 
 of these men reared large families and they 
 in turn, following their fathers' footsteps, have 
 Imilt up a community, noted far and near for 
 its wealth, refinement and morality. 
 
 About the year 1820 Joseph Smith, from 
 Kentucky, and his brother-in-law William Hol- 
 land, from Ohio, came and settled in the south 
 side of the Indian Point timber. Matthew 
 Rogers, of New York, came the same year 
 and Ideated one mile northeast of the pres- 
 ent site of the town of Athens. From this 
 time on the stream of immigrants became so 
 overflowing that nothing reliable can be giv- 
 en with regard to the order of arrival. Elav- 
 ing thus sketched these three centers i f early 
 settlement — Clary's Grove, Sugar Grove and 
 Indian Point — we will now turn to the most 
 important locality, so far as early settlement 
 is concerned, in the county: New Salem. 
 This was the first town or village laid out in 
 
 the county. At a point s two and a half 
 
 miles above Petersburg, the Sangamon river 
 washes the foot of a high hill or bluff whose 
 precipitous sides and Level summit were, in 
 an early day. covered with a thick and luxuri- 
 ant growth of timber. The country back from 
 the eresi of the hill is almost perfectly level 
 for miles to the west and formerly the timber 
 grew dense and heavy for the distance of a 
 mile or more. From this point the prairie 
 stretched on westward in unbroken sanieu -- 
 for several miles. At a distance of perhaps 
 three miles up the Sangamon the little stream 
 — for it is hardly worthy of the name of a 
 crick -of 1,'ock creek mingles iis waters with 
 those of the "St. Gamn." as the Sangamon was 
 sometimes called by the early settlers. This 
 little stream, rising in the western part of the 
 county and flowing almosl due east enters the 
 Sangamon at almost a right angle. Its bor- 
 ders "ii either side were formerh covered for 
 
 a distance of a mil ■ more, north and south. 
 
 and for six miles easi ami west, with a mag- 
 nilieent growth of timber. The land north 
 and south of Rock creek is neither level or 
 hilly hut is gently undulating and the soil is 
 of the richest and most productive quality. 
 Taken altogether, there is no more attractive 
 or more productive section of country m cen- 
 tral Illinois than that around Rock creek and 
 \e\\ Salem, dust on the brow of the impos- 
 ing bluff, described above, was located the vil- 
 lage of Salem. This locality, though not so 
 at present, will in time become almost as his- 
 toric ami sacred as Mount Vernon. Although 
 Nature has not been so liberal ami profuse 
 in the gorgeousness of the scenerj bestowed 
 as in that of the Old Dominion, nor is the 
 quiet Sangamon to be compared to the ma- 
 
 jestii Pot ac, yet in many respects Salem is 
 
 as sacred to the lover of human liberty as 
 Mount Vernon in all her historic glory. Many 
 a visitor, from far away, seeks the spot where 
 President Lincoln spent the days of his early 
 manhood, where he studied law and states- 
 craft, where he wrestled, romped, raced and 
 sported with the young men of his age. ami 
 where those principles were imbibed and ma- 
 tured, which, in after years, made him the idol 
 of a great nation and inscribed his name on 
 tablets more enduring than granite, brass or 
 bronzi — the tablets of living, throbbing, lov- 
 ing, human hearts. Standing on the bluff, 
 near the site of the store where Lincoln served 
 as clerk, you may gaze on the Sangamon river 
 far below you. which in the sunshine looks 
 like a ribbon of silver, as it meanders through 
 the timber or among the hills; or you may 
 i ii in and view the hills and groves where in 
 years long, long agone, he wandered with Anna 
 Rutledge by his side and told her the story 
 of hi> love and the devotion of his "great big" 
 heart. Could these inanimate things have 
 tone ties, what stories they might tell! As you 
 stand mi the hillside, you look down upon 
 the fixer's hank where once the old watennill 
 stood. Nothing is there to remind you that 
 it ever existed save a part of the broken wall 
 of the old foundation of the mill, and farther 
 down some rotting timbers, half concealed in 
 the hank', marie the location of the dam. over
 
 PAST AND PEESENT (IF M i: \ AIM) COUNTS 
 
 L9 
 
 which tin' mad waters were wont to pour, and 
 you almost imagine that you hear, above the 
 roar of the waters the shouts of the Clary's 
 Grove boys as they and "honest Abe" engage 
 in some rude sport. 
 
 \ni a vestige is left of the once prosperous 
 village of New Salem to tell where once it 
 stood. The mill is long since gone; nothing 
 remains of the dam, save a few blackened tim- 
 bers, half buried in the soil; and where the 
 nouses once stood and the streets ran. brush 
 and briers grow in wild tangles. \<>l a single 
 Location is pointed out, except the depression 
 where the store, in which Lincoln sold goods, 
 once stood, and oul of this old cellar two trees 
 have grown— nature's monuments, rebuking the 
 ingratitude of man. Not a sign of human life 
 or labor is to be seen in half a mile. 
 
 Settlements had been made in (bis neigh- 
 bor! I several years before the laying oul of 
 
 Salem. Green had settled southwest of there, 
 while Armstrong, Potter, Jones, and others bad 
 located not far away, with Lloyd and others 
 farther up the Rock creek timber. Somewhere, 
 about 1824 to L826, John Cameron and dames 
 Rutledge erected a rude and primitive mill 
 near the site, or perhaps on the very spot, where 
 the later structure stood. A brush and stone 
 dam was constructed across the river, a breast- 
 wheel was put in and a pair of home-made 
 buhrs were set to grinding corn for the hun- 
 gry settlers. Notwithstanding tl xtreme sim- 
 plicity of this mill, it was indeed a "big thing" 
 in that early day. for mills were so scarce that 
 people came from a distance of fifty and even 
 a hundred miles in every direction to have their 
 grain ground in this null. Such was the pat- 
 ronage given tbis enterprise, that the propri- 
 etors decided to lay out a town adjoining the 
 mill property. Accordingly the surveyor, Reu- 
 ben Earrison, was employed ami on the L3th 
 da\ of October, L820, the town of Salem was 
 duly and legallj laid oul. ( See plat. I 
 
 The first improvements in the 'own were 
 made by the proprietors. John Cameron and 
 James Rutledge. Each of them began "inter- 
 nal improvements" by building an up-to-date 
 log cabin. The third building creeled was a 
 storeroom which, when completed, wa- occupied 
 b\ Samuel Hill and John MeXamar. These 
 
 were, perhaps, the first rehants 111 the coun 
 
 ty, except Harry Riggin and A. A. Rankin of 
 Athens. At the time that Salem was laid oul 
 there bad never been a postoffice in the limits 
 of what is now Menard county, the people get- 
 ting what little mail they received from Spring- 
 field, then a mere village. A postoffice was 
 at once established in Salem and Colonel Rog- 
 ers was appointed the first postmaster. II i> 
 duties, however, were not very arduous as news- 
 papers were then scarcely known in the west, 
 or in the east for thai matter, and but few- 
 persons received letters. The youth of to-day 
 can scarcely imagine how people lived in those 
 days. To illustrate this postal system it ma\ 
 he stated that while Illinois County was under 
 the government of the state of Virginia, Colonel 
 John Todd was appointed lieutenant command- 
 ant of said county, with instructions to report 
 to Governor Patrick Henry, id' Virginia, every 
 month, and although Todd lived in Kentucky 
 yet In- reports were often a month in reaching 
 ( tovernor Henry. 
 
 Hill and MeXamar wire followed in the mer- 
 cantile business by George Warburton, who soon 
 became addicted to hard drink ami ended a 
 wretched existence by suicide, throwing himself 
 in the Sangamon river. Warburton was a 
 shrewd business man. well educated, and of 
 i genial, friendly turn, so much so that he 
 had but one enemy, ami that was "John Barley- 
 corn." lie was succeeded in the store by two 
 brothers from Virginia, by the name id' Chris- 
 man. bill they remained only a short time. 
 following the "Star of empire" toward the west. 
 About tbis time W. G. Greene, from Kentucky, 
 and Dr. John Allen and his brother, both from 
 the Green Mountain stale, came to Salem. Dr. 
 Allen was a thorough Christian gentleman, and 
 stood very high in the medical profession. It 
 was through the influence of Dr. Allen that 
 the first Sunday-school, and the first temper- 
 ance societies were organized in the county. 
 The meetings of both of these were held in a 
 log cabin thai stood across the ravine (hat runs 
 just south of Salem. Dr. Allen's brother soon 
 tired of Salem ami removed to Minnesota, 
 where he became very wealthy and doubtless 
 long ago has none to his final home. The doc- 
 tor remained in Salem till it began to go mt'
 
 20 
 
 PAST AMi PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT! 
 
 decline and then removed i" Petersburg, where 
 he successfully followed li i^ profession for many 
 years, bu1 i 'e than forty years ago tie re- 
 moved where physicians are not in demand. 
 
 In the spring of LS31 Abraham Lincoln was 
 on his way to New Orleans with a flatboal load- 
 ed with pork, lard, beeswax, etc., when the 
 boat caught on the Salem mill-dam. It was 
 here that the future president performed the 
 wonderful feat of raising the sunken boat, 
 by boring an auger hole in the bottom, thus 
 letting the water out. (Till;- is an actual fact.) 
 ilr. Lincoln was very much pleased with the 
 country ami probably with the people about 
 Salem, so in tin- summer or fall of that same 
 year, on his return from New Orleans, he 
 stopped at Salem and that place became his 
 home for a number oi years. It is needless 
 I'm- us t" enter into the storj oi his life and 
 experiences here; already the world knows it 
 by heart. It was here on this now lonely hill 
 thai he sported with tho boys of the vicinity; 
 it was here that he read and pondered over 
 the dry and musty pages of Blackstone : and 
 perhaps it was here that those conceptions of 
 human liberty and human rights were con- 
 ceived, cultivated, matured and made a part 
 of his great soul. It was here too thai that 
 other event occurred, which, ii may lie. influ- 
 enced his whole after life: his first love epi- 
 sode. It was sometime near the time of the 
 Black Hawk war that Mr. Lincoln was first 
 pierced by the darts of the cruel little blind 
 god, Cupid. The "beautiful Anna Rutledge," 
 .1- she was railed, was just then ripening into 
 a lovely and perfect womanhood and Lincoln 
 felt the force, as Lytton says, of "the revolution 
 that turns all topsy-turvy — the revolution of 
 love." It has been truthfully said that: 
 
 "Love, like death. 
 Levels all ranks, and lays the shepherd's crook 
 Beside 1 he sceptre.' 3 
 
 From the low old citizens who could remember 
 these events distinctly and especially from old 
 "Ann! .lane Berry," a younger sister of Anna 
 Rutledge, I learned many facts concerning this 
 evi nt in tho life of Mr. Lincoln that are inter- 
 esting in themselves and go in establish the 
 truth of the affection between him and Miss 
 Rutledge but not of sufficient importance to 
 
 he repeated here; suffice it to -a\ that there 
 i- no doubi that if she had lived In- domestic 
 history would have been different from what 
 it was. 
 
 Anna Rutledge was not a beauty in the 
 modern sense of that word for brought up in 
 this rural district and m total ignorance of 
 tin- conventional follies of fashionable life, ac- 
 customed from early childhood to out-door ex- 
 ercise, and the rough, wild pastimes of the 
 day in which -he lived, -he was stamped with 
 a beauty entirely free from art and human 
 skill— a beauty all the result of Nature's handi- 
 work. That the young clerk was captivated is 
 net surprising. It i- not our purpose to in- 
 vade those hallowed precincts by describing 
 i heir many stroll- along the margin of the 
 river, or over the rugged bluffs m the vicinity 
 of Salem. Suffice it to say that In- affection 
 was fully reciprocated and the two were doubt- 
 less pledged in the indissoluble bonds of mutual 
 love, but in 1835 disease laid its cruel hand on 
 the young girl and m spite id' the love o 
 friends and the skill of the ablest physicians, 
 on the 25th of August, 1835. death came to 
 her relief, and as .Mr. Eerndon has said : "The 
 heart id' Lincoln was buried in the grave of 
 Anna Rutledge." He this literally true or not. 
 ..no thing i> sure, from that time a dark sha- 
 dow seemed to hang over him. from which he 
 
 never se* med to e rge. It is said by those 
 
 having the means id' knowing, that even a 
 this, whenever opportunity afforded, Lincoln 
 would wander alone to the little hillock raised 
 above her ashes, and >it for hour- pondering 
 in sadness, doubtless thinking over the happy- 
 hours spent with her at Salem. Notwithstand- 
 ing hi- tall, ungainly form, and the abundance 
 of his ever-ready humor, there was hidden in 
 In- breast a heart as tender and full of sym- 
 pathy as a woman's — a bean touched by every 
 tale of sorrow and full to overflowing with the 
 milk of human kindness. Anna Rutledge was 
 buried at Concord, three mile- north of Peters- 
 burg, and her remain- rested there during all 
 the exciting days of Mr. Lincoln's political 
 career, and through the dark and bloody times 
 of the Civil war: and after he had slept for 
 years under the monument at Springfield, Sam- 
 uel Montgomery, of Petersburg, removed her
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY vi 
 
 remains i<> Oakland cemetery, and there they people of to-day will wonder how the cooking 
 etly rest with only a granite boulder, one was done. Meals to tempi the appetite of the 
 of the transported relics of the glacial period, epicure were cooked in those days. Most house- 
 marking her grave with the simple words, cut wives were equipped with a coffee-pot, a frying- 
 deep into the solid stone, "Anna Rutledge." pan and a "flal oven," and with these the 
 
 culinary work was done. And such meals as 
 
 wen- cooked upon these three simple implements 
 
 arc unknown ai the present day. The coffee- 
 
 EARLY EXPERIENCES. |mi1 _ steaming ,,„ ., bed ,,,- livi " d CO als ,„, t ] ie 
 
 The boys and -iris of to-day ran form qo dearth, the flat-oven, mired down in coals, the 
 
 conception of the inconveniences and hardships Erying-pan, held over the blazing "fore-stick," 
 
 of the pioneers of Illinois, nor do any of us produced the corn-dodger, the fried ham (from 
 
 set a proper estimate on the worth of the men | 10 g s fattened on the mast) hissing in the pan 
 
 and women who wrought out For us the -rand . m ,| ,| h . co fE e e, with all its rich aroma retained, 
 
 inheritance that we now enjoy. I feel safe an ,| uull \ t , a mea ] that a king might desire, 
 
 in saying that no grander type of men and There is no question that the victuals cooked 
 
 « ii ever lived than those who opened up m this way and on these primitive utensils had 
 
 the west lor settlement. They were not gen- a richer flavor than any of the products of 
 
 erally educated in books— many of them being the present time, bu1 in the early days it was 
 
 unable to read or write— yet they were edu- a se rious matter to keep the Family supplied 
 
 cated in that higher and grander sense that a with bread-stuff. When Menard county was 
 
 knowledge of books will never enable one to at- fj rs ( settled the settlers were obliged to go to 
 
 tain. In rugged Nature's school they learned Edvardsville, in Madison county, for al or 
 
 not the Follies and Frailties and vices of so- flour, or make some other shift, and as no 
 called fashionable society, but they learned the wheat was raised at first, cornmeal was the 
 more sublime lessons of justice, mercy and staple. In the late summer and early fall they 
 love. In no period id' human history were men | lil( | recourse to the "gritter," as the grater was 
 more just to their fellowmen, nor was there universally called. Every tin vessel was care- 
 ever a time when professing Christian men in 1 1 \ preserved and ripped up to make this 
 
 were more true to the prof, -ion l hey hail essential article of d stic use. This piece 
 
 made. Men were religious then, not ■•for rev- f tin was punched full of holes, bent into the 
 
 enue only." hut from principle. Ministers form of a -utter and nailed to a hoard, with 
 
 preached not for the money there was in it. the rough side out. ami the ears of corn, just 
 
 hut for the glory of God and from a sense of a ft,. r hardening from the roasting-ear state, or 
 
 duty and for the -nod of their fellowman. at other times, after broiling the corn on the 
 
 ••Tin' groves were Cod's first temples," and cob till sufficiently soft, the com was -rated 
 
 from them arose the incense of true devotion, oil' in the form of al by rubbing tin- car up 
 
 and it was returned in the power of the Holy and down mi the "gritter." And 1 1 1 i ~ was no 
 
 Spirit. Men rode circuits of hundreds of miles, play, as the writer can aver from sad expert 
 
 preaching in the settlers' rude cabins or in the ence. It was a daily job, which gave notice to 
 
 groves, slept upon pallet- and lived upon the all in the immediate vicinity by its "grating" 
 
 homely Fare of the hospitable early settler and sound, that bread was on the way. And our 
 
 received no salary whatever. At first the thers knew just how to make this bread ; and 
 
 houses had no floors, except the din. tramped better or more healthful bread was never eaten 
 
 hard by many feet: the logs were cut out in by man. lint in tin- case man did. indeed, 
 
 one end of the cabin For a fireplace, with a "eat his bread by the sweat of his brow." The 
 
 chimney built id' stick- ami plastered over with writer well remembers, when a little boy, h ■- 
 
 mud — called "cat-and-clay" — was the means ing an old man from Tennessee, who had 
 
 for keeping the home warm. Cooking stoves many days digging ginsang. say that he hi 
 
 were unknown for manv Ion- vears. The young the time would soon come when he would never
 
 OB 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 more hear "the sound of a gritter, or the twang 
 nt' a sang-hoe." B\ and by water mills were 
 ljuilt on the streams, and these furnished corn- 
 meal for the people, but it was a number of 
 years before wheat was ground and flour was 
 bolted in these mills. And this brings to mind 
 a story told to the writer by Benjamin F. Ir- 
 win, of Pleasant Plains, mere than thirty years 
 ago, and it was written down in a diary at the 
 time. Mr. Irwin said the story was told to hiin 
 by the Rev. John M. Berry, the pioneer Cum- 
 berland Presbyterian preacher of this pari of 
 Illinois, and he vouched for the literal truth of 
 the entire narrative. Mr. Berry would not give 
 the names, but he knew the story was true. 
 A party owned and operated a flouring mill on 
 one of the streams in this vicinity. He was 
 a devout Christian man. honest and benevolenl 
 in all his relations to Ids Eellowmen. For 
 some time lie thought that some ore was taking 
 small amounts of flour from the chesl almost 
 every week. Being convinced of the fact, he 
 determined to watch ami see if he could not 
 trap tin' intruder. So one nighl he concealed 
 himself under the bolting-ehesl and patiently 
 awaited developments. Sure enough, it was 
 not long till a man entered the mill ami walked 
 hesitatingly to the ehest. A moment's pause 
 and tin' intruder kneeled down beside the flour 
 chesl and in a low. hut earnest, voice began 
 to pray. Astonished beyond measure at such 
 seemingly contradictory conduct, the miller pa- 
 tiently listened to the prayer. In low and 
 trembling tones he begged the Lord to forgive 
 him for what he mi- aboui to do. He told the 
 Almighty how he had tried to get work — how 
 his wife and little one- were hungering tor 
 bread. Hi- pleading prayer finished, he arose, 
 and taking a -mall amount of flour in a sacli 
 which he carried, lie started to leave the mill, 
 hut when he reached the door the miller called 
 him by name, for lie had recognized him from 
 the first, and started toward him. 'l'he in- 
 truder made i Hon to escape, as a real thief 
 
 Mould have done, hut turned and faced the 
 miller. He told the miller the conditions at his 
 home anil also -aid that he had taken small 
 amounts of flour before. The miller made him 
 go to the ehest and fill his saek. and after some 
 conversation they separated and each went to 
 
 his home. These men had hi en intimate 
 friends before tin- occurrence, each having con- 
 fidence in the honesty ami integrity of the 
 other: nor did this break their friendship, but 
 rather cemented it. The intruder and the mil- 
 ler continued to live in that neighborhood for 
 many years; the former, through industry and 
 economy, prospered in wordly things and was 
 respected and honored hv all who knew him 
 as an honest Christian citizen, nor did the 
 miller ever disclose his visitor's name, and the 
 parties to the occurrence were never named. 
 
 The people were far more sociable in those 
 days than they are at the present time. The} 
 were entirely satisfied if the} could -cure suf- 
 ficient food and he comfortabl} clothed in their 
 simple homespun attire Then the object was 
 to live and enjoy the blessings of life: now the 
 aim is i,. gel rich and live a selfish, unsocial 
 life. Often one neighbor would hitch up his 
 yoke of steers to the lumbering farm wagon — if 
 he had one if not. a sled would do. even in the 
 summer — put in some home-made, split-bottom 
 chairs lor the older women, crowd in the whole 
 family and drive several mile- to stay all night 
 and have a good time. Then the hostess, be- 
 side the eornbread and the savor} bacon, would 
 bring out the crab-apple preserves i made with 
 bone} i and the pumpkin pies, and they would 
 feasl like lords. Perhaps there was hut one 
 room, which served as kitchen, dining-room, 
 parlor and bed-chamber, hut when bed time 
 came the good housewife, not in the lea.-t con- 
 fused, proceeded to prepare for the comfortable 
 rest of all. ""Pallets"" were made on the floor 
 of quilts and buffalo robes and 1 ear skins, and 
 -non the floor was almost complete!} covered 
 w till a mass of humanity, sleeping a- sweetly as 
 if on beds of down. This picture is not in the 
 least over-drawn, lor such -ecu,'- were of con- 
 stant occurrence nor should anyone infer from 
 this that there wa- any want of refinement mi 
 the part of the people, lor purer society never 
 existed any/where than among the pioneer- of 
 this whole country. 
 
 EARLY TIM. \l.s. 
 The early settler- of Illinois — and Menard 
 county as much as any other part — were sub-
 
 PAST AMi PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 jected in an untold variety of trials and in- way of making our success possible. We are 
 conveniences. Not only the labor connected sometimes almosl ashamed al the thought of 
 with opening farms, clearing forests, erecting the want of refinemenl and rough exterior of 
 dwellings, building bridges and highways, bu1 our fathers, forgetting that it was their fore- 
 a greal variety of other annoyances were met sight and rugged philosophy that laid the solid 
 "ii every hand. We spoke in another place of foundation, deep down mi the solid bed-rock 
 the trouble in very early times of securing meal of all that we are ami hope in be, materially 
 ami Sour ami of the ever annoying "gritter," morally and intellectually. They it was who 
 as well as the want of implements and inaeliin- made possible all that we are and all that wo 
 ery with which to cultivate the soil ; the wooden expect in be. One very prolific source of trou- 
 mole-board plow, the sickle, and later the hie ami difficulty in the early pioneer,- was the 
 scythe and cradle, with which the harvests were prevalence of disease of certain types thai pre- 
 reaped. and the Sail for beating out the grain, vailed in earlv times. I will name hnt two of 
 and later the more expeditious and more scien- these: bilious and malarial lexers, the latter 
 tific method of tramping it nut with horses; taking the form of ague, as it was commonly 
 
 and then, last hut not least. Hie interesting called, or chills and fever. Sonic called this 
 
 means by which the grain was separated fr head disease the •■shakes." There was a vast 
 
 the chaff. Two stout men would catch a c - at nt of decaying vegetation, especially in 
 
 mon bed-sheet by the corners and while a third the fall of the year, and the vasi areas of un- 
 
 I 1 'ed the grain, chaff and all from an elevated drained swamps ami lagoons that bred a mias- 
 
 position, the winnowers would fan out the chaff matic poison which filled the air with lis poison- 
 
 with the sheet. After going over it three or ous breath. True, it was not so often fatal. 
 
 four times in this way, the grain would be fairly hut it was a living death — a Ion-- drawn-out 
 
 well separated from the chaff. The making of agony that left just enough of life to realize 
 
 clothing — spoken of more at length in another the bitterness of disease. One of the most ter- 
 
 place -was an annoying hut essential part of fible features of it was its universal prevalence 
 
 the household duties. In very early times in al -nine seasons of the year. Whole families 
 
 Menard county cotton was raised to con ider- would be down, so that one was not able to 
 
 able extent, while tla\ was also cultivated, and give another a drink of water, and entire com- 
 
 every family raised sheep as extensively as the munities would he in this c litlon fur weeks. 
 
 wolves would permit. All of these articles if not month-, at a tune. After it had preyed 
 were carded by hand by the w in of the fain- upon its subject I'm- a lime, the liver wmihl be- 
 lly. The ihi\ was grown in the fields, pulled come enlarged, the abdomen would assume un- 
 by hand, watered, broken, skutched ami then wonted dimensions, the whole person would 
 s l' lll > on the little wheel. The writer reiiiem- l» came bloated and a sickly sallow would per- 
 bers distinctly to-day that when he awoke in vade all the saddened feature-. In many cases, 
 the trundle bed, in the late hour- of the night, m seeming mockery, u would assume the form 
 he would (d'ten hear the swish of the cards as of "the every-other-day ager," or the "third day 
 bis widowed mother, prompted by maternal ager." ami return at its appointed time, as un- 
 love, would ply those cards— often nil the hour erringly as the planets in their course. At the 
 ol midnight — in order to clothe her fatherless appointed minute the premonitory pain.- would 
 children. Ah. little do we realize the price begin to shoot up the hack, the sallow victim 
 our parent- paid for the priceless heritage that would then begin to cape and yawn and the 
 we enjoy. We will never know the privation, rigors of the polar zone- would seize his frame 
 
 sacrifice, anxiety and toil that they endured in and then for fr i to two hour- the demon 
 
 order that we might be what we are. We boast of malaria would seem to strive to shaki each 
 
 of what we have done in the growth and devel- separate joint apart. Then came the raging 
 
 opineut of this country, forgetting what our fever, the torturing headache and at last tin 
 
 mothers and grandmothers in their home-spun disgusting -weat. as the sufferer reached onci 
 
 attire and loving simplicity, accomplished in the more, the temperate zone, between the horrid
 
 \M 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT <>F MFA'Al.'D COUNT!' 
 
 expi riences that he had jusl passed through. 
 Then the "well day" came, with its ravenous, 
 unnatural appetite, demanding al] that reason 
 or common sense would forbid. At first, before 
 the physician came with Ins pill-bags, the rem- 
 edies were "yarbs and leas." prescribed by ever] 
 one, but Inter on same "Sappington's Pills. 
 Fowler's Solution and Quinine." No mortal 
 man. who never had "the chills," can form any 
 jiim conception of its agony. Noi sick enough 
 to be abed but a few hours a! a i ime, yel filled 
 with agony, compared to which being confined 
 in bed would be a solace and relief. Some 
 poetaster, who knew the agony of the "ager," 
 has parodied "Poe's Raven" as follows: 
 
 Am] to-day, the swallows flitting 
 Round my cabin, see me sitti ng 
 Moodily within the sunshine, 
 .1 usi inside my sileni door, 
 Waiting for the "ager," seeming 
 Like a man forever dreaming : 
 Ami tlie sunlight on me si reaming 
 Throws no shadow on the floor; 
 For I am too thin and sallow 
 To make shadows on the floor- 
 Nan shadow any more. 
 
 Bui as the prairies were broken, the ponds 
 drained and the amounl ol stock increased to 
 eat out the vegetation, the ague diminished 
 until at last it left, to return no more, we trust 
 forever. 
 
 THE DEEP SNOW. 
 
 One of the mosl conspicuous chronological 
 landmarks in the histor] of Menard county, and 
 nf all central Illinois for thai mailer, is the 
 "Winter of the Deep Snow." old settlers, in 
 fixing remote dates, use this as the average 
 mother uses the birth of her children : she sa] r s. 
 "11 was the spring thai John was born," and 
 the old settler says, "11 was just after the deep 
 -new." At the old settlers' annual meetings 
 they have badges thai are worn by all who were 
 here before L830, which are inscribed "Snow 
 Bird." In the year 1830 ii rained Eot several 
 davs in succession jusl before Christmas, and 
 on Christmas day, as some say. and the day 
 after, as others put it. ii began to snow. The 
 sneu fell so rapidly thai in a fevt hours there 
 
 was a depth of six inches mi the ground, but 
 it did not cease to fall with this, bul continued 
 to fall till at the very least three feet had 
 fallen. Some claim thai there was more than 
 this, noi a few placing it at four feet, but the 
 most conservative estimate ii a1 three feel on a 
 level all over the country. After tins snow had 
 fallen there came a rain and this, freezing on 
 the snow, formed a crust that would hoar the 
 weighl of a man. After this other snow fell. 
 adding to the depth. President Sturtevant, of 
 Illinois College, who was here at the time, says 
 thai as soon as the snow had fallen ii turned 
 very cold and thai for two weeks the mercury 
 never rose higher than twelve degrees below- 
 zero. The ground was entirely covered from 
 that time till the latter part of March. The 
 settlers would break roads with ox-teams, but 
 the snow would Mow in and again they had to 
 he broken. Tins process packed the snow in 
 i he roads till it formed a veritable ridge, ami 
 these ridges remained after the -now elsewhere 
 was all gone. The writer heard one old pioneer 
 say that these ridges remained ami after the 
 -■now was gone from the prairies they looked 
 like silver threads winding across the country. 
 The -now was so deep that it covered up the 
 food that the wild animal- were accustomed 
 to suhsisl on and thousands of them perished. 
 The ernsl on the snow was strong enough to 
 bear up a man. and the wolves and other like 
 animals could travel in safety mi its surface, 
 but the deer were noi so fortunate. As they 
 run by a succession of leaps ami their hoofs 
 being hard and sharp, jusl so soon as they 
 started to run they broke through the crusl and 
 thus they lay helpless mi the snow. On this 
 aeeonni the deer were nearly all killed. I'm' the 
 dogs and wolves soon learned that as soon as 
 the (\^■(^Y started to run tiny would break 
 through and then the] were an easy prey. The 
 settlers experienced terribly hard times dur- 
 ing that winter on account of the fact that the 
 snow came so earl] that the] were caughl with 
 their crops ungathered and they were in many 
 ways unprepared for the winter. Another trou- 
 ble was the scarcity of mills in the country. 
 Many were from forty to sixty miles from the 
 nearest mill, and, of course, it was impossible In 
 go thai distance for breadstuff. As a conse-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 quenee .-ill kinds of expedients were resorted his home here, thai there was a winter of ter- 
 
 i". The inevitable "gritter" was called into rible suffering in .-ill this region on account of 
 
 constant use and lye-hominy was a standard the deep snow and the long continued cold, 
 
 article in every home. The game perished in They related thai early in the fall the snow 
 
 such numbers thai i1 was never as plentiful began to fall and there were no warm davs to 
 
 afterward. Unfortunately, the wild game was cause il to melt, but every few days fresh snows 
 
 ii"i il nh thing that perished. During this would fall, and thus it continued to grow 
 
 winter two men who resided near the south line deeper and deeper until, as they said, n wa- 
 ul' what is now Menard count} perished in the deeper than the heighl of the tallest man. As 
 snow. William Saxton started out hunting, and, a consequence, the game was nearh all starved 
 not returning, the neighbors made search I'm' or frozen to death and many of the Indians per- 
 him, luii failed to find him. The next spring ished from cold ami hunger. The early settlers 
 his body and that of Ins horses were found noticed on the tall hills in the prairies there 
 within a mile of his home. John Barnett started were vasi number of buffalo and deer bones in 
 after a wolf while the snow was falling, but he an advanced stage of decay. The Indian- ex- 
 did not return. Search was made for him. hut plained this by saying that during that winter. 
 he was not found. The next spring the body as the .-now mew deeper in the low ground and 
 of Barnett and that of hi- horse and dog were being blown off the higher ground, the game 
 found forty miles from the point from which retreated to those spots of high ground and 
 he started. It was supposed that the falling perished there from want of food and the in- 
 -Mow blinded and bewildered him, and, losing tense cold. It appears that there are periods 
 his bearings, he rushed on till his horse gave when the elements are "ou1 of joint"; times 
 "in and horse and dog and man perished to- when the influence of the planets or of sun- 
 gether. On Rock creek lived an old bachelor spots, or something else, brings about strange 
 by the name of Stout, no n lati m to any of the and disastrous effects. Such was the case "the 
 Stouts there now. however, who perished in the winter of the deep snow" the winter of 1830 
 snow-, somewhere near where Pleasanl Plains 31. The deep -now began to fall between 
 now stands. Christmas and the N"ew Year. It is a little re- 
 Pages might be written of the -tone- told markable that the "sudden change" was a1 the 
 by old pioneers of the privation and suffering of same season of the year. On the 20th day of 
 that winter. There is no doubt thai it was the December, 1836, the sudden change came. The 
 most severe winter that has ever been known weather up to this time had been mild and 
 since the country was settled. The -now at plea-ant. There had been but little -now and 
 
 three feet deep would have I r nothing re- no severe cold bail been experienced. The 
 
 markable in the east, but it was unknown to ground was frozen to the depth of three or 
 
 the people here, and, beside this, they were un- four inches. <)n thai morning, December 20th, 
 
 prepared for such conditions, and the country s • time before i n, il began to rain and 
 
 being new it is no wonder that there was great continued to ram till after noon. The rain 
 
 inconvenience and suffering. II must have came from the northeast, and between twelve 
 
 been a remarkable ti to mark a period that and ■ o'clock p. m. a very dark cloud ap- 
 
 still stands as a chronological monument, mark- peared, low down in the northeast, and as it 
 
 ing a period of time so abidingly as no1 to be came nearer a rumbling, roaring sound could 
 
 erased by years. be heard, and in a few nts a strong wind 
 
 swepl over the w I- and prairies and the cold 
 
 became al once intense. Perhaps a more sud- 
 den change was never experienced in this lati 
 
 THE SUDDEN CHANGE. tude. Chickens and geese 1 their feet ca 
 
 The Indians had a tradition, which they told in the suddenly congealed mud and water and 
 
 to the early settlers of Illinois, that many, later had to be cut oul and their feet n 
 
 many winters before the paleface came to make by thawing them out at the fire. I'.e
 
 V < . 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OE MENARD COUNTY 
 
 cerning this change, as told by men of un- 
 doubted veracity, are almost beyond belief. 
 Alexander Montgomery, of Greenview, gives 
 the following account, as told by his father, 
 who then lived where II. II. Marbold now re- 
 sides. West ni the bouse is a low piece of 
 ground which had been tilled by the rain to the 
 depth of eight or ten inches. West of this 
 slough Mr. Montgomery had a lot of calves in 
 a pen. and realizing the intensity if the cold 
 he started a- soon as the change began to feed 
 them. Pie waded across the slough, the water 
 being almost to hi? boottops, and U:<\ the calves 
 as quickly as he could, and return* d. as he said. 
 in less than twenty minutes, and when he re- 
 turned he crossed the slough on solid ice. Rev. 
 Jos ah Porter, of ( lhatham, Illinois, was at that 
 time a traveling evangelist and traveled over a 
 large territory of Illinois. He relates a cir- 
 cumstance that occurred in the vest part of 
 Douglas county, near the corner of Piatt and 
 Moultrie counties. Two men. brothers, by the 
 name of Deeds, started out to cut a bee-tree, 
 which they had found in the fall, and were 
 overtaken by the cold of this sudden change. 
 Not returning home, a search was instituted, 
 hut they were not discovered for nearly two 
 weeks, when thej were found frozen to death 
 some three miles from their home-. Andrew 
 Heredith, who was formerly a merchant, miller 
 and pork-paeker in Cincinnati, having met with 
 reverses, came to Illinois to retrieve his for- 
 tune, lit- settled in Sangamon county, about 
 three miles west of Loami, near Lick creek, and 
 called the place Millville. He bought wheal 
 and made flour, but seeing, as he thought, an 
 opi uing for great wealth, he began buying hogs 
 and driving them to the St. Louis market. His 
 first ventures were very successful, so he de- 
 cided to venture on a larger scale. So in the 
 fall of 1836 he bought up a drove of twelve or 
 fifteen hundred hogs and in December he 
 started to drive Them to St. Louis. By the 
 20th 'if December he had readied the prairie 
 of Macoupin county. He had taken with him 
 a number of wagons and teams for the purpose 
 of hauling corn to feed the hogs on the way. 
 \- -non a- tin 1 corn was fed out of a wagon 
 it was utilized in hauling those hogs which 
 wi re giving out. When the storm struck them 
 
 Mr. lien dith at once realized its severity, and 
 calling all the men to his aid they overturned 
 the wagons and replacing the beds upon them 
 they entered them and drove a- rapidly as pos- 
 sible to the nearest residence, which, fortu- 
 nately, was not far away. When they reached 
 the farmhouse their clothing was frozen solid 
 upon them and the men had their hands and 
 feet and ears frozen. Tin- hogs crowded to- 
 gether in order to keep warm, and as the cold 
 grew more severe they literally piled up in 
 piles, and as a result those in the center smoth- 
 ered and those on the outside froze to death. 
 Those that did not die outright scattered over 
 the prairies and finally perished. Mr. Heredith 
 returned home as soon as the state of the 
 weather would permit, but the loss had broken 
 his spirit and he pined away and in a year or 
 two died. 
 
 James II. Hihlreth and a young man by the 
 
 nai I Frame started to Chicago on horseback 
 
 and by the 20th of December they reached the 
 region of Hickory creek, a tributary of the 
 Iroquois river. Here tin- storm struck them. 
 They wandered about till night overtook them 
 and. seeing that they were doomed to perish, 
 they killed one of their horses and. removing 
 the entrails, they crawled into the carcass and 
 remained there till about midnight, when the 
 animal heat having been exhausted, the] came 
 "in. determined to kill the other horse and 
 utilize it in the same way. hut in their be- 
 numbed condition the knife was dropped and 
 could not be found. They stood around the 
 living horse till two or three o'clock in the 
 morning, when Frame became drowsy and 11 il- 
 dreth was unable to keep him awake and he 
 sank down and was soon beyond all human suf- 
 fering. A- soon as light came Hihlreth mount- 
 ed the remaining horse and after wandering for 
 hours reached a cabin, where the inhuman 
 wretch who inhabited it refused him aid. He 
 finally recovered, with the loss of his hands 
 and feet, and reared a family, the descendants 
 of whom now live in Logan and DeWitt coun- 
 ties. Henry and John live in Logan, and his 
 daughter Sarah. (Mrs. William Weedman) 
 lives in Farmer City. I can not leave this 
 story without stating another fact in connec- 
 tion with it. The wretch who refused Mr.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT!' 
 
 llilihvtli aid in his dire extremity was named that time of the year. Late in the afternoon 
 
 Benjamin Russ. The story of his inhuman a cloud appeared in the northwesl and came up 
 
 treatment of Hildreth being circulated in the very rapidly. It was, perhaps, between five and 
 
 settlement, the ire of the honest pioneers was six o'clock in the after >n when the storm 
 
 aroused and they gathered to deal out sum- broke. It came with a very high wind and the 
 mar) justice, but in seme way he go1 wind of rain fell in a perfeci torrent, accompanied l>\ 
 what was in store for him and fled to more a hail storm such as was never witnessed before 
 congenial climes and was seen there no move, by those who experienced it. In fact, the state- 
 Many other and equalh remarkable incidents ments made by the most reliable men in the 
 of the sudden change have been told the writer count) at the time, and in which they all agree, 
 h\ men of undoubted veracity, hut the above are almost beyond belief. The hail stones were 
 will serve to give an idea of its suddenness and large — many of them larger than a lion's egg — 
 severity. It was the opinion of many of those ami they fell in such vast quantities that they 
 who experienced this storm thai it traveled at lay to a depth of a foot at least on the level 
 a rate <>f at least seventy miles per hour. prairies. Elder William Engle, a man of un- 
 
 impeached veracity, told the writer that he and 
 
 Uncle David Propsi gathered the hail stones 
 
 HAIL STORM OF 1850. thirty-eighl days alter they fell and mad.' ice 
 
 At irregular intervals of time strange and re- water of them to drink. This is Literally true, 
 
 markable meteorological phenomena occur for as will be explained further on. Thehailsti - 
 
 "huh n le can aeeount — whether they are were so large and came with such driving force 
 
 caused bj sun-spots or planetary relation-, no from their momentum ami the force of the 
 one can tell, for some continue bui a few hours. wind that it is strange that much greater dam- 
 while others last through an entire season. age was not done. Main hogs and calves were 
 The Indians have a tradition of a winter, per- killed outright, while all the poultry which was 
 haps in the firs! half of the eighteenth century, not under shelter suffered a similar fate. The 
 which far surpassed anything known since the wild birds, rabbits and other -mall animals in 
 p. d.-l,,,. came west id' the Ohio river. It was the range id' the storm were entirely extermi- 
 nndoiilitedh confined to the west, to, if it nated. It is a fact, authenticated beyond dis- 
 had extended to the east we would have had a pute, tiiat a large amount of timber, especially 
 
 record of it by the while man. The winter whit k. was killed. The leaves and smaller 
 
 of ls:;ii-:;i was remarkable for its severity and limbs were beaten oil', the hark on the side nexl 
 
 the depth of the snow, and it has long been the storm was peeled off, and scores of trees 
 
 a chronological landmark ami old settlers count two feet and two feet si\ niches in diameter 
 
 tune from -the winter of the deep -now": an- were killed ami stood for years as silent hut 
 
 other was the awful "sudden change" on the unimpeachable witnesses of the severity of the 
 
 •.'Dili of December, ls:!li; ami .-till later the de- storm. The crops were a total wreck, being 
 
 struetive freeze on the 27th day of August, beaten into the earth. Corn, wheat, oats and 
 
 1863, which many person- now living still even grass were a total loss. A Mr. Leach, then 
 
 distinctly remember. The coin, winch was jus! living near Greenview, was a mile or two from 
 
 in good roast ing-ear. was frozen hard and all I i horseback and was cauglrf in the storm, 
 
 creation literally stunk with the rotting vegeta- ami being some distance from shelter he s i 
 
 tipn, hut the event that 1 am going to relate realized that unless he got protection in some 
 
 was confined to von narrow limits. It is the way he would a.-smedl\ perish. So. as quickly 
 
 hail storm of May the 87th, 1850. It was as possible, he dismounted and ungirthing the 
 
 confined to Menard county, being only seven .-addle he put n over In- head as a helmet, lie 
 
 miles wide and only ten or twelve miles in told the writer, thirty years ago, thai even with 
 
 length. Greenview and Sweetwater were near this protection he thought that he would as- 
 
 the center of its destructive power. The daj suredly he killed. Now and then a stone of 
 
 May 27, 1850 — had been extremelv warm for unusual size would strike the saddle with such
 
 
 PAST AN1> PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 force as to stagger him and cause him to sei 
 whole constellations of stars. The rain which 
 fell with the hail, togethei with the melting 
 hail stones, produced such a torrent of water 
 
 that thi' small streams were s< 'aging floods. 
 
 By these tin 1 hail was. in places, piled up to 
 a depth of ten and fifteen feet. Grove creek, in 
 Sugar Grove, became a raging river, piling up 
 the hail in vast heaps and m many cases cover- 
 ing n over with leaves and trash till a perfect 
 ice-house was constructed. It was from one of 
 these thai Engle and Propst, on the 4tl of July 
 — thirty-eight days after the storm — got ice 
 with which to make icewater for the people who 
 were gathered together not far awaj to cele- 
 brate the birthday of our independence. We 
 have in tins story a line illustration id' the spirit 
 of "grit, gumption and go-aheaditiveness" of 
 our ancestors. With the fields as bare as in the 
 midst of winter, the season's labor all di stroyed, 
 with the ei-ops all beaten into the ground and 
 the winter soon t" come, with biting, bitter 
 blasl — with all this they gather together to 
 spend a day in social converse, to renew ac- 
 quaintance and to cultivate the spiril of patri- 
 otic devotion to God and native land. Ah. that 
 is what has made this land what it i> to-day! 
 We boast what we have done, but we forget that 
 that class of men and women who preceded us 
 —our fathers and mothers — are the lone that 
 made this country what it i- to-day. I verily 
 believe that the world has oever known so 
 grand a race of men and women as the pioneers 
 of these western states. They come of the besl 
 stock of the world. Out of rvery nation on 
 earth, there came to this countn the most lib- 
 erty-loving, the most independent, the bravest, 
 the most self-reliant and determined people 
 ever known, and by amalgamation and training 
 they produced our fathers and mothers, who 
 drove out the wild beasts, subdued the wild 
 prairies ami forests, laid the foundations of 
 education and of moral and religious training. 
 leaving to us this glorious heritage that we pos- 
 sess. Manx of them were not educated in books, 
 or in the fashions and follies of some classes oi 
 social life, hut they had that higher and nobler 
 development of head ami heart, that titled them 
 to the plant, the germs of which, under God, 
 have grown into this, the grandest and greatesl 
 
 nation mi earth. Will we preserve what they 
 left to us? But I have gotten off the track. In 
 my imagination i can see the people at that 
 celebration. Uncle "'Bill" Engle was a promi- 
 nent figure among them. True, the crop- were 
 liinie, I and the prospect lor the coming winter 
 was a little dark, hut what g 1 would fore- 
 bodings and repinings do': I see him. with his 
 kindly face and portly form, a- he tried to 
 cheer up his disheartened neighbors and friends. 
 With words of encouragement and cheer, he 
 admonished them to look on the bright side 
 and then, with an appropriate story, the whole 
 company would he put in a good humor and. 
 forgetting their troubles, all would go "merry 
 as a marriage hell." As I spoke of "Uncle 
 Bill" telling stories, I should explain that he 
 was an expert story-teller. Like Lincoln, ho 
 had an exhaustion -tore of "yarns" and anec- 
 dotes and no one could surpass him in telling 
 them. Out of thai rasl store lie could always 
 find one just suited to the occasion, and when 
 he told a story lie entered into the spirit of it 
 as he preached — that i>. with his whole soul, 
 lie and the martyred president, Abraham Lin- 
 coln, had many a tilt at spinning yarns during 
 i he terms of court in Petersburg. I f the old 
 "Menard House" hail the power of speech it 
 could entertain for days and week-, repeating 
 
 the unnumbered "g 1 ones" that wore told 
 
 when Lincoln, Engle and other home and im- 
 ported talent spent an evening at that old-time 
 hostelry. N"ot only the evenings were passed in 
 this way. hut 1 have ii from the yen best 
 authority of the time that on one occasion at 
 least, when "Uncle Bill" had met a foeman 
 "worthy of his steel," the battle raged, with 
 varying fortune, until the rising of the sun 
 ami even then the referees were compelled to 
 declare it a -draw." Elder William Engle was 
 a very remarkable man in many respects and 
 left his impress upon all the enterprise- of this 
 count)", an impress which will last for years 
 to come. He performed a very important part 
 in the development of the resources of the 
 county; ho also aided largely in the elevation of 
 social life, and to him we owe a lasting debt 
 of gratitude for the part ho played in shaping 
 the moral and religious sentiment of tin 
 
 pie.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT 1 ! 39 
 
 MANNERS AN l> CUSTOMS. the back and sides of this were I. mil up of logs, 
 
 Hie young men and women of to-day have luak "' ;l " offse1 '" the "''" somewhal ^ke a 
 
 do conception of the mode of life among the """ l "" ba >'"" ""'"" ■ anr1 this was l """ 1 with 
 
 earh settlers of the countr 3 and when the story mud " '"' s '"""- "' " coulcl ll " had and " n " l! 
 
 is truthfully told they can scarceh believe it. as a fire P lace - The c 'ney was built of sticks, 
 
 h i- ■ object in this chapter to give a very over ffhlch ;l thlck r " :l,m - " r ll "" 1 Wii> s P read > 
 
 brief bul absolutely true account of this. We '" keep ll "'"' ''' takin * ,i,v - This u;l ~ called 
 
 feel thai the time will not be losl in doing this, ;l "''■'" , '"" 1 '''"•' <*>"""»• and wag the onh kind 
 
 as the lesson will be a valuable and instructive '" L,se ''"' a -"' : " "'"'"'■ N >' cars - The door was 
 
 one can scarceh imagine hov so great als afl ''. v cutting out logs, making an open- 
 
 a change could have taken place in the space of ■"■" "' ""' desired size ' and the shutter " ;| - 
 
 *ixt> to eighty-five vears, and when the sim " i; " ! '' "' boards l """ ri1 to crosspieces (for nails 
 
 and truthful storv is heard by our young peo- ""' l ' 1 '"" ' '' ha<l lo1 ' 8everal >' ears after the 
 
 |)le they will h.old in higher esteem their grand- '"'"' settlements WL ' re ma de), and this was 
 
 r s and grandmothers w -e those trials llung "" " Ien llin § es ' The door was fas " 
 
 and throt gh them secured the ricl ritage , '''"'' 1 '" a "' ooden lateh ' " ll "' 1 ' eau § hl '" a 
 
 thai wecnjw to-day. Ii will also lead them to "'"'"'"" ' k "" the " IM,lr ' A l,nl " " :| - l)ored 
 
 hoi higher esteem those unpolished and '" li "' door above lllr latch - and a buckskin 
 
 uncultivated people whom theA have been dis- stnng " :ls fastcnofl '" the lat, ' h and passed 
 
 |tosed to look down upon. In' nothing are the |!,l '""- h thls ll "' 1 '- s ai "' "I"'" th< r from 
 
 habits, manners and customs of the people like ''"' outs,de ;l " '"" liad '" do was "' l ulil ll "' 
 
 what they were seventy or eightv years ago. 
 
 string ami this would lifl 1 h< ■ latch mil of ihc 
 
 We an al a loss where i gin so as to give °° k ''""' ""' '' ' vv 'P en - T " lock the 
 
 the youth of the present anything like a jusi ''"'"' ; " " ■•"'" a]| thai was necessan «-as to 
 
 idea of this matter. The diet, the clothing, the l '"" ""' ""'"'■- '"' Wi "'" ''"' latch-string hung 
 
 dwellings, the social customs in fact, every- ""'""■- h ,l "' llole anyone coulcl open the door 
 
 thing has undergone a coraplet. revolution. We l> "" 1 ""' outsi,le - This g ave the a of the 
 
 spoke before of the "three-faced camp" in ex P ression " r liospitality by saying "the latch- 
 which some of the earh settlers lived, I ii '""''"■- han ^ "'"•" We describe this thus mi- 
 may be truthfully said that the dwellings in m "'' U tha1 ''"' •"""'- I I' 1 '' m:l - v understand 
 
 which the pioneers lived for a number of years iU " ex P ression: """' latch-string is out." The 
 
 were bul slightly in a, Kan,,, of these. The llil '"" mv '" ll "' ll0llge »as on a par with the 
 
 house was invariably buill oi loss, the spaces ll0USe """' A '''" llome - ma de, split-bottomed 
 
 betwe n the logs being filled with 'smaller pieces chair8; ; ' "'""'' bench '"' lw,,; a l "' llsll ' illi (in 
 
 of n I, called chinks, and then daubed over '"'"" sc) '"'"'" l,v drivin S a fork in one 
 
 with mortar made of clav. [f the floor was any- '""'"'' "' tlu ' cabin ' :|1 sh Pee1 from ll "' 
 
 thing re than the earth tramped hard and "' a11 : ""' ''"' desired l " ,| -- hl for the bed = then 
 
 - th.it was mad 'puncheons that is, logs l '" 1 ' " ni " tn '''"' ll " ;l " from this fork ' : "" 1 
 
 were split and side was smoothed off with bo&Td * |jliU ' cd acroM made ""' Pra " E the 
 
 an ax and these laid down for a floor The ' ' Hundreds of '"scaffold beds" were in 
 
 openings between these puncheons were often T , ' '"' !? c " lj ~" Ui "''~ had "" ldtchen ' 
 
 bo large thai the cats could pass in and out "" l'"' a * ,cl ? ''"' k, ?« J™™ " ''"" ""' 
 
 ,,,,. „ , ,, .... . . , simple as the furniture. A "flat-oven' or ski - 
 
 through th, an. I he top Oi lh, cabin was drawn | , 
 
 • f , , , ., let, a trying-pan, an iron poi or kettle, and co- 
 rn, after the fashion of a boy's quail trap, and ..^i,,,,,^ ., IV , , 1,11 
 
 ,a>ionall\ a cottee-pol c(ini|)li'(i'd the millil m 
 
 on the poles on top, clapboards, or, as the 
 yankees calli ,1 them shakes, were laid on, and 
 
 Ibis department of the besi fixed cabins. S 
 wen ill, n ami fur many vears later entirely un- 
 
 UrlL,|, '"l" ,,r - ,aid "" 1| "' 1 " to keep them in known, hence the cooking was done entirely on 
 1,1:1,1 For a ^replace the logs were cul oui of the fireplace. The flat-oven was sei on a bed 
 one side of the wall, six or eight feet wide, and of glowing coals, and the frugal housewife,
 
 30 
 
 AST AX D 
 
 ESEXT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 taking as much stiff dough of Indian meal as 
 she could conveniently hold in both hands, and 
 deftly tossing it from hand to hand to mold it 
 into the desired shape, tossed it into the oven, 
 patting it with her hand to the desired thick- 
 ness. About three of these "dodgers" filled the 
 oven, when the ready-heated lid was placed upon 
 the oven and the whole covered with glowing 
 coals. As soon as the bread was done it was 
 taken from the oven and placed upon a tin 
 platter and set on the health near the tire to 
 keep warm. Generally the prints of the fingers 
 id' the cook were plainly visible on every dodger. 
 In the oven from which the bread was taken 
 the ham or venison was then fried and, in the 
 fall of the year especially, the "lye-hominy," 
 made of Indian corn, was seasoned in the grease 
 tried on! of the meat. Thus the repast was 
 prepared and sweeter bread or more savory 
 meats were never eaten than were prepared on 
 those rude fireplaces. As to sweetmeat- and 
 ion feet ions, they were things entirely unknown. 
 Sugar was entirely unknown, save in sections 
 where sugar-maple abounded, hut nearly all 
 of the pioneers had an ahundanee of the linest 
 
 honey the year around, for the wild honey-1 
 
 existed in great abundance wherever there was 
 timbi ;■. Sometimes wild grapes, wild crabs and 
 berries of various kinds were preserved in 
 honey, hut these were only opened when the 
 preacher visited or on some other great occa- 
 sion. For many years alter the settlements 
 were made, wheat bread was entirely unknown, 
 from the fact that there were no mills in the 
 country which were provided with facilities for 
 "rinding the wheat or bolting the flour. In 
 all the new settlements means of preparing 
 grain for bread were matters of the very first 
 concern. As already said, most, or we might 
 say all. of the pioneers settled in the timber 
 ami at almost every cabin a large -tump or 
 block of wood sel on end was dm: or burned oul 
 into the form of a mortar, ami a "spring-pole" 
 with a heavy block of wood, in the form of a 
 pestle, was suspended above this mortar, and 
 in this the corn was pounded into meal. Bui a 
 small amount of corn was put in the mortar at 
 a time, and when this was reduced to meal, by 
 working this pestle up ami down, then another 
 small amount was put in. and so on till the re- 
 
 quired amount was ground. This laborious 
 task was to he repeated a- often as the meals 
 were to be eaten, but the process was so -low- 
 that in a large family the pestle must go almost 
 incessantly or some of them would he placed 
 on short rations. So important a matter was 
 this of breadstuff that it overshadowed all 
 others. To illustrate this we state the unde- 
 niable fact that the first "milling" done for the 
 settlement of Sugar drove was done b\ John 
 Jennison and James Meadow-. These two men 
 went in a canoe down the Sangamon to tin- 
 Illinois river and then to the Mississippi, to 
 Alton, and there got a canoe-load of breadstuff 
 and brought it to Sugar Grove, consuming 
 twenty-one days in the trip. Think of this! 
 What labors were performed and what trials 
 endured by our fathers and mothers to make 
 tin- country what it is. Can we ever pay the 
 debt of gratitude that we owe them? Even 
 after those primitive mills were built — even 
 after the Salem null was built — there was great 
 trouble over the matter nf something of which 
 to make bread. The Salem null, built by Cam- 
 eron and Rutledge, though looked upon by the 
 people as a marvel of mechanical skill and in- 
 genuity, was incapable of overcoming all of 
 these troubles. In those days the owners of 
 mills made q rule like barbers have at the pres- 
 ent tinu — that i-. that each one should take 
 his turn. Persons would take a grisl of one 
 or two bushels of corn to mill and they must 
 wait till it was ground. Reliable men of Tal- 
 lula told the writer that in the days of the old 
 hand-mill at Petersburg that thej wen! there 
 from Clary's Grovi — only eight miles — and 
 using their utmost diligence it was midnight of 
 the ninth day when they returned with their 
 grinding. It was many years before the mills 
 of the country could provide the facilities for 
 making flour, and there are people still living 
 who remember the time when the children 
 longed for Sundaj to come, not from any spirit 
 id' devotion or reverence lor the day. but be- 
 cause they thought that they would have "cake" 
 for breakfast Sunday morning. By "cake" they 
 meant simple wheat bread or biscuits. 
 
 Among the pioneers everything was, of neces- 
 sity, plain, simple and in conformity with the 
 strictest economv. This was true not onlv of
 
 PAST A.\l> PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 31 
 
 their dwellings, furniture and provisions, but 
 of their clothing as well. In the verj early, 
 early days, the men usually wore pants and 
 hunting-shirts of buckskin and caps of coon or 
 fox skin, while both men and women clothed 
 their feet in moccasins. Cotton goods were 
 thru extremely hard to get, for two reasons: 
 first, because of the great distance that they had 
 to be transported by private means; and, sec- 
 ond, because the manufacture in this country 
 was verj limited, almosl all of such goods be- 
 ing manufactured in Europe. As a result the 
 pioneer of the west found this one of the very 
 hardest demands to meet. Man\ were the ex- 
 pedients devised by them, especially by the fru- 
 gal and anxious wives and mothers, for ever 
 since the wonderful expedient of preparing an 
 entire wardrobe from fig leaves, devised quite a 
 number of years hack, woman has been verj 
 gifted in laj'ing plans and devising expedients 
 m the matter of dr< -- : but, unfortunately, for 
 her skill and industry, the countn afforded 
 nothing for the first fi w years of its occupancy 
 that could be turned to much account in this 
 direction. II cotton had been planted when 
 they first came, n could not have been much to 
 then- advantage, because of the fact that neither 
 the -nil nor the climate were adapted to its 
 cultivation and the seasons were so shorl that 
 it hail to be planted so very early for it to ma- 
 ture that it could uol be gotten in in time in 
 sufficient quantity to justify its cultivation. 
 And it was almost useless to take sheep into 
 these frontier settlements on account of the 
 number of prairie, black and gray wolves, for 
 the\ would destroy an entire thick in a single 
 
 night. Hence the | pie had to choose between 
 
 adopting expedients and going forth in •'na- 
 ture's light and airy garb," so in a vear or two 
 the settlers adopted the expedient of sowing 
 crops of hemp and flax, and this the women 
 soon learned to manufacture by hand into a 
 
 coarse bul g I and comfortable linen. Bui 
 
 these practical and observing pioneers also ap- 
 pealed tn nature in their need and tin- good 
 dame is seldom applied to in vain. In various 
 localities in central Illinois, when the country- 
 was first settled, then 1 were vast areas covered 
 with wild nettles. Sometimes there would be 
 two or three acres together, covered v ith net- 
 
 tles, growing as thick as wheat, and three and 
 lour feet high. After these were killed by the 
 frost and rotted by the elements, the\ produced 
 a lint as -iron- as flax, hut much lighter and 
 liner. This lint would bleach almost to snowy 
 whiteness and it had more the appearance of 
 silk than of cotton. Thousands of yards were 
 woven and worn h\ the pioneers. Mrs. James 
 Meadows, of Sugar Grove, actually spun and 
 wove thirty yards of this nettle cloth one sea- 
 son. But even alter the cultivation of flax ami 
 the introduction of quite a number of sheep, the 
 matter of clothing was the most formidable dif- 
 ficulty in the way. The task of raising the flax 
 or hemp, of cutting, rotting, breaking, hackling, 
 skutching, spinning and weaving it was an 
 Herculean task; or raising the sheep, protecting 
 them from the wolves, shearing them and then 
 spinning and weaving the wool into doth re- 
 quired a vast amount of labor. Then, after all 
 this, garments were to be cut and made, and 
 -ocks and stockings were to be knit by hand 
 for all the family. What a task! We wonder 
 that our mothers did not despair, and they 
 would had the fashions been then as now. but 
 a balloon frame was not Then to be covered in 
 by the skirt of the dress. Skirls were not wide 
 then as now. On a certain occasion, under tin 
 old "'blue laws" of Connecticut, a young lady 
 was hauled before the magistrate, charged with 
 jumping the brook on the Sabbath, which of- 
 fense, if -he were proven guilty, would subject 
 her to a heavy line. The o i r |" s mother came 
 into court mi the day of trial ami lest ilieil that 
 her daughter was piously on her way to church, 
 and coming to the brook, on account of the nar- 
 row ins- of her skirts, she was obliged to jump 
 or step in the water. Our young gentlemen of 
 the present, who have dressed in the very best 
 ever >ince they could remember, would he sur- 
 prised ami shocked at the scanty out in of the 
 boys of thai day. The summer wear of the boys 
 up lo teli and twelve years of age was very 
 simple ami free from any effort at display, for 
 it consisted of a long tow-linen shirt, "only 
 this and nothing more." Willi this indispensa- 
 ble ami convenient article they explored thi 
 ests. traversed the prairies, thought about the 
 o i ids ami built as many castles in the air as the 
 of more favorable times ami n
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 ventional wardrobes. In the winter they were h therefore happened that some of the family 
 supp] eil with buckskin or tow-linen pants, c- would have to wait till 
 
 "The frosl was on the pumpkin 
 
 easins or raw-hide shoes, and coats of jeans 
 
 aftei ihi'\ began to raise sheep. This scarcity . , , , ■■ n n .' .' , - 
 
 • Ami tbr todder in tin- shock 
 
 ill clothing continued tor at least two decades, 
 
 or even more. In summer time nearlj every before their feet were clad. We remember boys, 
 
 one, both male and female, went barefoot and "'"' af terward achieved both wealth and dis- 
 
 it was nothing uncommon to see young ladies tinc tion. uh " never g°< t 1 "'' 1 ' shoes till well on 
 
 of the best families (mum- grandmother, per- T " Christmas, bin they went to scl I. if there 
 
 haps, dear reader) on their way to church on " :l> an - v - ; "" 1 P la 3' ed with the othei '"'^ in 
 
 foot, carrying their shoes in their hand till their bare feet. No scene can be imagined that 
 
 mar the place of worship, when, carefully is re full of real happiness than the home of 
 
 brushing the dnsl from their feet, they donned tl "' P ioneer > wheD '" t 1 "' evening all are en- 
 
 their stockings and shoes and quietly mingled g a g' ed '" ,lu '"' work - A bright lilv burns on the 
 
 with the throng. This continued to be com- u " l( ' hearth ancl the n " l,lv flame lea P s f;,r U P 
 
 mon for nearly twenty years. After sheep could :l "' " '''" chimney, affording the only, but 
 
 be protected from the wolves the people fared 
 
 sufficient, lighl in the room. In one corner sits 
 
 better in the matter of clothing. Flannel and the fatner > busily engaged in making shoes; 
 
 linsey were wnm by the w< and children the mothcr •" her litll( ' u ' 1 "' 1 ' 1 bums a time in 
 
 ami jeans was woven for the men. Fur want low harmony with its steady whirr, while in 
 
 of other ami i, mre suitable dye-stuffs, the wool fl '"" 1 " r ll "' am P le fireplace the daughter trips 
 
 for the jeans was almosl invariably colored with """ l,lv i,; "' k ancl fortL drawing out the long 
 
 the -hunts of the walnut, beiiee the inevitable woolen threads, while the wheel, seeming to par- 
 
 "butternut" worn so extensively in the west take of ll "' general happiness, swells out its 
 
 for so many years. As a matter of course, each musical whir-r-r, which swells ami dies away 
 
 family had to do its own spinning and weaving, "' regular ami harmonious cadence; the 
 
 and for a Inn- term of years all the wool bad younger members of the household engaged in 
 
 to he carded by hand mi a little pair of cards """"' aDSOrWri g pastime, all undisturbed by a 
 
 nnt more than five by ten inches. Each family sin g le discordant ,,,,,,■. 
 
 had its spinning-wheels, little and big reel. Boots were unknown I'm- mam years and 
 
 winding-blades, warping bars, made by driving many of the old men never owned a pair in all 
 
 pins into the wall of the house on the outside at their lives while none of tl e younger ones were 
 
 some place where there was no door in the way, fortunate enough to boas! the possession of 
 
 ami their wooden loom. These wen- indis- ' ls till they reached manhood. Boys of fif- 
 
 pensable articles in almost every home, and teen t<> eighteen years of age never thought of 
 
 during the Fall of the year the merrv whirr of wearing anything on their feet except for three 
 
 the wheel and the regular "bat bat" of the loom or four months in the winter, while the nimi- 
 
 was heard to a late hour of the night. Well her who were not so fortunate as In gel them 
 
 dues the writ' r remember, when a little boy, as in winter was by no means small. Roys and 
 
 be lay in the "trundle bed'" at night, of being men often went to church without shoes or 
 
 aroused from sleep, tar on to midnight, of hear- stockings, hut what would the people of today 
 
 in- the "swish swish" of the cards as his wid- think of the minister who would propose to 
 
 owed mother by the lighl of a few coals on the come before his audience barefooted? This 
 
 hearth was carding wool to make cloth to clothe may never have occurred in Illinois, yet it did 
 
 her fatherless children. And it was truly won- in s f the older states and possibly here. 
 
 ilerl'ul lo see the patterns of colors woven in The writer was intimately acquainted when a 
 
 the dress flannels and the counterpanes of those boy with two old ministers, both of whom died 
 
 times. As a general thin- the shoes worn by ut an extren Id age long years ago, wl ften 
 
 the entire family were made at home ami mostly spoke of preaching in their younger days in 
 
 during the Ion- evenings of the fall and winter, their bare feet. They began preaching in Ten-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 33 
 
 nessee and were men of far more than ordinary of the crude and inconvenienl means of making 
 
 ability: m fact, we have heard man) sermons, a living could be given, but the above will suf- 
 
 11 finely frescoed churches, b) classical scholars fice. Amid all this the people were hajipy, eon- 
 dressed in broadcloth, which were uot worth) tented and sociable. While il is true thai there 
 "I comparison, n an) respect, with the ser- were some wicked and bad men among them, 
 
 mons preached b) these men Several times yel it is also true that there were never more 
 
 the) spoke of preaching on a certain occasion, consistent, faithful and devoted Christian peo- 
 
 wliiii they were young men. in a private cabin, pie than among the early pioneers. Societ) 
 
 the loft or ceiling _of which was \ ery iow, and was never purer, virtue never more esteemed, or 
 
 one of the preachers, being a very tall num. a honor held more sacred than among them, h 
 
 puncheon was taken up in the floor, so thai he was not then the object of every man to vet 
 
 might stand in this opening, his head thus be- rich. The social qualities were never more 
 
 ing belov the loft. This being in the summer highly cultivated than in those times. We do 
 
 time, and the region being infested with rattle- qoI mean the conventional follies and deceitful 
 
 snakes, the speaker soon fell a thrill of awful customs of later i s, but true and un- 
 
 horror convulse his frame as the thought, unvarnished social friendship. The ox-wagon 
 
 lashed acres- Ins mind thai perhaps he steed or slid would be hitched up and tl ntire 
 
 111 the midst el' these unwelcome c panions. family, from the aged grandparents to the in- 
 
 ()l course, under these circumstances, the ser- fanl in arms, and all the "intermediate grades," 
 
 " was nei painfully long. We are fully would pile into tins family coach ami they 
 
 aware of the incredulity with which the above would drive several miles perhaps t<> "stay till 
 
 and similar stories will he received by the mass bed tune" with seme neighbor, or perhaps to re- 
 
 "l the present generation, hut we write fads, main over night, and at bed time the floor of 
 
 such things as we believe are absolutely true, the one room would he covered with "pallets" 
 
 ;m 'l " r have not a shadow el' doubt el' the hi- ami all would retire, in tnodesl simplicity and 
 
 era! truth el the story related above. These true decorum. Young gentlemen ami ladies, 
 
 facts should be recorded, for none of the present these were your ancestors, who, amid all these 
 
 generation have the faintest idea of the changes trials ami with unceasing toil, subdued this 
 
 'hat have taken place- in the last seventy-five laml ami laid the broad ami solid foundation 
 
 or eight) years. 1 1' the next eighty years should for all the untold blessings, social, civil, educa- 
 
 be as productive of change as the past eighty tional ami religious, thai you tiov enjoy. We 
 
 1:111,1 the probability i^ thai u will he much are uoi "building the tombs of the prophets," 
 
 greater), who can imagine the state el' affairs bul we say, without fear of successful contra- 
 
 1,1 thai time!' The tools ami agricultural im- diction, that no grander, truer or mere noble 
 
 plements were all mi a par with the things we generation el' men ami women ever lived than 
 
 have named. The ground was broken up with a the pioneers of these western Males. They laid 
 
 one-horse wooden mold-board plow ami the the foundation of all thai wi ar -can ever 
 
 ''"'■n cultivated with a hoe ami a bull-tongue hope to I.e. ami iln- I'aei should be recorded 
 
 plow. The ground was marked oil', both ways, and be remembered in all the years to come ami 
 
 w ith a bull-tongue, ami the cum dropped by he impressed on the minds of all who are to 
 
 hand ami covered with a hoe. In plowing com. conn' after us. 
 
 the) had to go three or four times between the 
 
 rows. Wheat, oats, rye, etc., were cut by hand 
 
 with a sickle, threshed with a Hail and win- EDUCATION. 
 
 lowed b) hand. Oxen were principally used, Education is the best protector of health. 
 
 often six ami seven yoke were seen hitched to the source of the greatesl production of crops, 
 
 the plow, breaking up the prairies. They were the richest -our,,- ,,f 30 cial enjoymenl ami the 
 
 often worked singly for plowing corn and sim- cheapest defense of the nation. Enlightened 
 
 ilar work, hut space forbids further detail in nations have ever hen struggling for educa- 
 
 this direction. Score- f similar illustrations tion, Inn in the earh settling of this countrv,
 
 :;i 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MK.XAKD COUNTY 
 
 the opportunities of education were very poor 
 indeed. They were as poor in Illinois as in any 
 other pari of the whole country because the 
 people were poor, the settlements were sparse 
 and qualified teachers were noi always al hand. 
 Beside this, money was so scarce that it was 
 impossible to build suitable sehoolhouses, but 
 in the face of all this the people were deter- 
 mined that their children should not go en- 
 tirely untaught. So communities joined to- 
 gether and erected Log bouses, at central points, 
 in which to have school. For the benefil of this 
 and coming generations, lei 1 lescribe some- 
 what in detail inie (it these primitive schools 
 and I promise you that I will net overdraw 
 the picture in the least. The house was built 
 id' logs, generally unhewn, hewn puncheons 
 made the floor, and the roof was made of "clap- 
 boards," split out el' oak, laid on logs, and held 
 in their place by "weight-poles," that is. lo^s 
 laid mi the boards and propped with "knees" 
 to keep them from rolling off. In one end 'die 
 logs were cut out for a space of sis feet, in 
 which space a fireplace was constructed id' rock 
 or dirt, and a chimney was built of stick*-, plas- 
 tered over with mml. called "cat-and-clay." On 
 one side, nearly the entire length of the build- 
 ing, two logs were "halved-out," I'm- a win lew 
 and just below this, two-ineb auger-holes were 
 bored and a slab or plank was laid on them for 
 a writing-desk. At the first, greased paper 
 was fastened over this opening, in lieu of win- 
 dow glass. The scats were made of split logs, 
 
 -i' thed a little en the split side, and four 
 
 two-inch auger-holes were bored into them mi 
 
 the i- iding side and small saplings driven 
 
 into them, I'm' legs. It was very rare that more 
 than three of these legs touched the floor at 
 once There being no hacks to them and they 
 being so tall, it was a serious job lor i little 
 fellow to mount one of them : it was like a 
 tender-foot tackling a bucking broncho, ind by 
 the time the day was over the little fellow was 
 worn out with the struggle, for school, "look- 
 up" at s A. M. and "let out" at .". P. M. The 
 books used were the Testament, the English 
 Reader, or Pleasing Companion, Pike's Arith- 
 metic. Murray's or Kirkham's Grammar and 
 ilie old blue-backed spelling hook. Most be- 
 ginners were furnished a "horn-book" — a 
 
 wooden paddle with the alphabet pasted on it. 
 The aspiring teacher visited the families in a 
 given neighborhood with a subscription paper, 
 which usually began: "This article of agree- 
 ment, entered into this day between A — 
 
 B . party of the first part and the annexed 
 
 subscribers of the second part, witnesseth. The 
 said part] of the first part proposes teaching 
 a common school for the term of one quarter, 
 or 60 days, etc., etc." Then the branches to 
 be taught were named, the price, two dollars 
 per term, and other requirements on the part 
 of the patrons were named, and the deed was 
 done. It took a year for a child to learn the 
 alphabei ; they first taught the child to repeat 
 the letters by rote and to recognize them at 
 sight: then they began to spell, ah, eb, ib, oh, 
 uli. then ha. be. hi, im. lui. by. Iiut arithmetic 
 was well taught as was grammar. The games 
 and amusements were much the same then as 
 they are now. The boys knew nothing then of 
 townball, baseball or football as it is played 
 now. hut they had one game of hall which, for 
 real fun. skill and healthful exercise, was su- 
 perior to any of the ball games of the present 
 day. They called il "bull-pen." Running, 
 jumping and wrestling were sports which were 
 engaged in every noon, with a zest and earnest- 
 ness which sent the rich young blood bounding 
 through the veins, like an electric current. 
 One branch was taught with better practical 
 results than it is at the present time, notwith- 
 standing our increased facilities and advant- 
 ages. That branch is spelling. It is not be- 
 cause of any laid', of opportunities, but because 
 more pride was taken in spelling and because 
 more attention was given to it. The sessions, 
 both in the forenoon and afternoon, were 
 closed by the entire school lined up and en- 
 gaging in a spelling-lesson. On Friday after- 
 noons the school would select Iwo captains anil 
 they would cast lot for first choice and then 
 choose alternately, until all were chosen. Then 
 two came on the floor and when one missed a 
 word and the other spelled it. the defeated one 
 went to his seat and the next on bis side took 
 his place, and so on till one side was defeated. 
 In the winter season they had spelling schools 
 at night, one a week'. By these methods great 
 enthusiasm was aroused, and as a result a great
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 mam boys and girls became most excellent furniture and apparatus are essentials, but the 
 
 spellers. Among the early teachers of Menard item above all others is a teacher with eom- 
 
 county were many men of n 'an gifts and mon-sense, education and "up-to-date." We 
 
 among the last of the teachers under the old have the buildings, the apparatus, the ambition, 
 subscription plan, may Lie mentioned, with ami our children have the brains; will we give 
 honor, Minter Graham, John Tice, Clayborn them the lies! directing power? Menard was 
 Hall ami Augustus K. Riggin. (See Eistory the fourth county in the state to adopt a course 
 Mellaril enmity, pp. 252-4.) After the intro- of study— "the teachers went down into their 
 duction of our new ami admirable system of pockets and paid I'm' it." The ••State Course 
 jnililii schools, tlie work of education advanced of Study" has mm become so perfected thai 
 \er\ rapidly. The county never had a teach- the work of the whole county can he us- 
 ers' institute or county norma) till the summer tematized ami perfected in such w a \ as to have 
 <if 1878, when m enrolled about forty pupils all the schools do the same work ami do it in 
 ami continued lor a term of six weeks ami did the same way. If parents will give their 
 academic work. These six-weeks normals con- earnest co-operation in the officers ami teach- 
 tinned lor nine years, when the term was ers, no difficulty will he experienced in makim' 
 
 abridged. Every district in the county has a tie' -el I- all that we could desire them to 
 
 noat and c Portable schoolhouse, employs he. We will give a brief account of the Peters- 
 
 firsi class teachers ami continues the school burg school. After laborious ami painstaking 
 
 from seven to nine months. Le1 us look at search, we find it a settled fact that Charles li. 
 
 Mime statistics: There are in the county: Waldo, a brother-in-law of John Bennett, Esq.. 
 
 male-, under twenty-one years of age, three mentioned as one of the earbj settlers and busi- 
 
 thousand one hundred ami nineteen; females, ness men of the town, was the teacher of the 
 
 two thousand nine hundred ami twenty-four; first school in Petersburg. Tins was In is:;; 
 
 total, six thousand am! forty-three. Between ami it. was taught in a log cabin in the south 
 
 six ami twenty-one: males, two thousand two part of the town. A year or two after this, a 
 
 hundred and twenty-two; females, two thou- small frame schoolhouse was pu1 up west of 
 
 sand ami n met v-I'mi r ; total, four thousand the town, mi the brow of the hill, ncir the 
 
 three hundred ami sixteen. Number of graded "old Dr. Allen place." It stood out in the 
 
 schools, eli-M'ii ; ungraded, forty-nine: total, brush, with a winding path leading to it. In 
 
 sixty. Number of rooms used in graded tin- primitive temple of learning the youth of 
 
 scl Is. thirty-eight; rooms in ungraded the period laid the foundation ami learned 
 
 schools, forty-nine: total, eighty-seven. Total to shoot paper wads — until 1855. when the town 
 
 number of days attended, four hundred ami purchased a building from the .Masonic fra- 
 
 eleven thousand two hundred and liftv-live. ternity, which they had used as a hall, am! 
 
 Average wane- paid to male teachers, sixtv- changed it into a school! se, and in it opened 
 
 eight dollars and eighty-eight cents; to females, a free school, flinging its doors open to all. 
 
 forty-five dollars ami twenty-one cents: whole rich ami poor alike. It seems somewhat 
 
 amount paid to teacher-, i h i rt v-so\on thousand strange, hul it is absolutely true, that although 
 
 nine hundred ami five dollars ami thirty-seven the common school law was passed in L847 the 
 
 cent-. Whole amount expended for schools, first (vrv school in this place was not taught 
 
 eighty-eight tl sand eighl hundred ami sixty- till 1855. Up to this time the old subscrip- 
 
 seven dollars ami lifi\ cents. The city of tion schools were the only kind in Petersburg. 
 
 Petersburg i- now (August, L904) expending About the year 1845 or 1846 the Masons started 
 
 eighteen thousand dollars on a new high-school a school in the lower storj of their hall for the 
 
 building, with every modem appliance, con- benefit -of their children and engaged W. A. 
 
 venience and comfort, and il is to he hoped that Dickej as teacher. The attendance was not 
 
 such wi.-il nml care will he used by the peo- limited to their own children, other- being 
 
 pie in selecting a school hoard that this great admitted upon certain conditions. Thi 
 
 expenditure will not he lost. Buildings and tinued until it was bought by the town, as
 
 36 
 
 PAST AND PKESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 noticed above. After its purchase an addil 
 
 was luiilt to it. making a Large and commodious 
 school building, which answered all the needs 
 n!' the town till 1874, when the present third 
 ward school building was begun. This was 
 pushed with such energy that by February, 
 1875, it was ready for use. This is a brick 
 building, of six rooms, with modern ventila- 
 tion, heating, etc. It was built at a eosl of 
 ten thousand dollars. The first free school 
 »;i- taught by Judge J. 11. Pillsbury, in 1855 
 and L856. The following is a list of principals, 
 in regular rotation, from Pillsbury down: 
 .). 11. Pillsbury, 1855-56; John Dorsey, L856- 
 '>', : Edward Laning, 1857-58; J. H. Best, 
 1858 to 1860; A. Bixby, 1860-61; W. Taylor, 
 1861-62; Edward Laning, 1862-63; M. P. 
 Hartley, 1863-64; W. Taylor, 1864-65; C. E. 
 McDougall, 1865-66; J. A. Pinkerton and J. 
 11. Pillsbury, 1866-67; W. II. Berry, 1867-69; 
 ('. II. Crandall. 1869-70; Professor Mayfield, 
 1870-1 1 : M. C. Connelly, 1871-76; C. L. Hat- 
 field, 1876-7" : J. A. Johnson, 1877-78; M. C. 
 Connelly, 1878-79; then came Briggs, McBride, 
 Frank Hall, Mannix, Perrin, Meeker and then 
 the present principal, or rather superintendent, 
 II. E. Waits. Mr. Waits began his work here 
 lasl September and is offered as fine an oppor- 
 tunity as any man ever had to prove his ability. 
 For a number of years pas! the school has been 
 in a sad state of decline, having fallen into 
 ruts of a quarter of a century ago. We spend 
 money enough and have a patronage which, not 
 only in oumbers but also in ability, is equal to 
 any anywhere and we have a right to demand 
 the besl in our schools. We want men and 
 women of natural ability and educational train- 
 ing i lucl our schools: There is a popular 
 
 custom, found almosl everywhere, that is a 
 great detriment to our schools, and that is the 
 custom of employing "home talent." h is all 
 righi to employ home teachers, provided they 
 are as well qualified in even way as any others, 
 but we cannol afford nor can our children 
 afford to have out sel I system made a 'chari- 
 table institution." Our children have bu1 one 
 time, of a low years, to prepare for the work 
 of life. Directors and patrons should appre- 
 ciate tin- I'art and secure the besl opportuni- 
 ties for them thai can be had. The people 
 
 should exercise the greatest rare in the elec- 
 tion of school boards, as only a lew men are 
 adapted to the work that they have to do. 
 
 About 1890 or 1891 a new and modern 
 
 sel [house was built in the first ward. This 
 
 i- a brick building, with all modern appliances, 
 having seven rooms, furnace, etc. It cost alio" 
 twelve thousand dollars. A high school, with 
 primary room. library room, etc. was built some 
 years ago, at a eosl of four thousand dollars, 
 but this was torn away in the spring of 1904 
 to give place to the new high school building, 
 which will be occupied the first of January, 
 1905. This bouse cost eighteen thousand dol- 
 lars and is up to date m every feature. Be- 
 side the class-rooms, cloak-rooms, etc., it has a 
 gymnasium for hoys and one for -iris, labora- 
 tory, and in fact everything that could be de- 
 sired in a perfect school-building. Will we 
 now- have a school such as the town has a right 
 to demand? It is now "up to" the hoard ami 
 tin superintendent to decide this matter. 
 
 We have in Menard county four town- that 
 have a regular high-school course of three or 
 four years. These are Petersburg, Athens. 
 Greenview and Tallula; and several which 
 teach the high-school branches, but what we 
 need mosl is a system of township high-schools. 
 Th" combination of country schools is the 
 rational solution of the rural school question. 
 Let *our or more districts he consolidated into 
 
 one. building a large sel Ihouse m a central 
 
 place, and the problem is solved. By doing 
 ill- i I- school can be graded in such a way that 
 mm teacher will have more than half, one third 
 or one fourth a- many grades as the country 
 teacher now ha.-. In tin- way each teacher will 
 he able to care for mere than twice as many 
 pupils a- under tin' present method ami will 
 he able to do the work much better. This 
 would reduce the number of teachers, at least 
 one half, or more, and the number of rooms 
 the same, thus reducing the running expenses 
 at least one half. The matter of difficulty of 
 attendance, on account of the increased dis- 
 tance that some will he obliged to go, is the 
 chief and. in fact, almost the only argument 
 against it. hut tin- ha- been tried in many 
 places and found to he a very weak objection. 
 It is a fact that, as a rule, the pupils farthest
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT'S 17 
 
 from the schoolhouse are tardy and absent the people of the town. To this end John A. 
 
 least. Where pupils are near the school no Brahm, Isaac White, H. W. Montgomery. David 
 
 provisions are made to gel them there, while Frackelton, J. M. Robbins and B. V. Mont- 
 
 ii eases where they are a distance away pro- gomery formed a joint-stock company and 
 
 visions are made and. as a result, they attend erected a building on the hill, some half mile 
 
 regularly. This plan, instead of increasing wesl of the public square, for the purpose of 
 
 the expenses of the schools over what they are having a "- I school." The building cost 
 
 under the present system, would materially re- three thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars 
 
 duce them. Bui suppose i1 increased them and the school was opened under the m i of 
 
 twenty-five or fifty per cent, it would -till lie "The Petersburg Seminary." As seen from 
 
 :i saving to the public in general, because the the above facts, h was a private and individual 
 
 majority of parents, at this time, desire to enterprise and the rale charged was thirty-six 
 
 give their children a high-school course, at dollars per pupil, tor a term of nine months. 
 
 least, as their entire education or to prepare The first year ul' the new seminary. W. S. Ben- 
 
 tbeni for college. When we take into consul- uett and Mis- M. A. Campbell were employed 
 
 eration the amount of money spent by the ;!> teachers. The patronage was not what the 
 
 farmer-, in board and tuition, in sending their projectors had hoped for bui the} continued 
 
 children to high-school, and then reflecl that t < > conduct the institution. The second year 
 
 this can be d.me at home. b\ the proposed svs- it. M. Bone and Miss M. 1'. Rainey were the 
 
 tem, we are able to see what an immense saving teachers. Let me remark just here, parenthet- 
 
 there would be in it. Township high-schools ically, as a matter of deep interesl to all our 
 
 are coming and they are coming to stay, and [ady readers, and especially the "sehool- 
 
 the sooner we prepare for them the better off marms." thai both of these principals married 
 
 we will be. Before school boards spend any the assistants. Whether this fad led to the 
 
 more ne} in building new schoolhouses or position of assistant being much sought after 
 
 in repairing old ones, the} had better weigh bv young lady teachers or no1 we arc riol in- 
 this matter and act the pari of wisdom and formed, but there was no trouble in securing 
 e my. The time has come For the people lad\ teachers after this. This seminary wa- 
 in exercise common sense in respect to this continued for two more years and then the en- 
 question. We spend millions of dollars every terprise was abandoned. Whether the in- 
 year in this matter of education; wli.\ not creased efficienc} of the public schools was the 
 
 economize and get all the g I for our money cause of this or not we cannot say, but al any 
 
 that we can. It i- within our reach to place r;l |,. the school closed The directors sold t lie 
 
 within the grasp of ever} boy and girl of the building, which ha- ever since been used a- a 
 
 land, the means of securing an academic educa- dwelling house, and Mr-. Rachel Frackelton 
 
 lion. There are scattered all over this countn bought the ground and erected a residence 
 
 thousands of poor boys and girls who long and upon ii. This is the onh effort ever made in 
 
 hunger for an education; boys and girls who, the count} to build up a school of a higher 
 
 if the} bad the opportunity, would make their grade, except the at Indian Point. Nearly, 
 
 mark m the world; and -hall we not place this ,,r quite fifty years ago an academ} was or- 
 
 n within their reach? How many EJdisons aanized : " thai place, which was ven succcss- 
 
 and Te-ia- ami Darwin- ami Agassiz in em- f u ] f or -, number of years, lew. A. .1. Sti 
 
 bryo are stretching oul their hands to us and w .as principal of that school and it wa- well at- 
 
 pleading for the opportunit} to succeed! Shall tended and the work done would compare fa- 
 
 we not heed the call? vorabl} wiili i he work of any school, of similar 
 
 In 1870 the public schools, having run down grade, in the country, lan after a fev. yea: 
 
 or retrograded, in Petersburg, several public- went down and since that time the two r< 
 
 spirited citizens determined to provide si f the building have been occupied b} the dis- 
 
 better educational advantages for the young trict. which employe two teachei all the tunc.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 Some misfortunes have come to school build- 
 ings in Menard county in the last year but 
 they have proved blessings in the end. During 
 the winter of 1903-04 the schoolhouse at 
 Athens burned to the ground, destroying the 
 furniture and books, maps. etc. They, how- 
 ever, had a fair amount of insurance and at 
 once prepared to rebuild. The\ opened the New 
 Year, 1905. in one of the most commodious, 
 convenient and up-to-date buildings in the 
 entire county. The building burned was get- 
 ting old and was somewhal old-fashioned any 
 way, so thai getting the insurance, and adding 
 a comparatively small amount, they have a 
 new and modern building, which they would 
 have been obliged to build within a short 
 time. 
 
 Tallula added two mosl elegant rooms to 
 their already commodious building in the fall 
 of 1904. The rooms added are absolutely per- 
 fect, so far as light, ventilation and comfort 
 are concerned. It cost considerable money hut 
 it will be a paying investment in the long 
 run. 
 
 Oakford, also, felt the educational inspira- 
 tion and added two rooms to it- already com- 
 fortable schoolhouse. In fact all over the coun- 
 ty the spirit of improvement in educational 
 advantages has been fell and results are visible 
 on every hand. Petersburg, with her new 
 i ighteen thousand dollar high school building, 
 with gymnasium, laboratory, library, etc., and 
 a score of other evidences of advancement, tells 
 the trend of public feeling. Will not the peo- 
 ple arouse to a sense of then- needs and their 
 opportunities and at once begin to agitate the 
 question of township high schools or of neigh- 
 borhood high schools, it does not matter which? 
 Districts have the right under the law to com- 
 bine in any way that they please, for the good 
 of the schools, hour, six, or any number of 
 schools may combine, that ma\ see tit. under 
 the township high school law or under the 
 general school law. and the directors have the 
 right to dictate the branches that they wish 
 taught. Distance is the only argument against 
 this, and this will disappear when ii is care- 
 fully investigated and inquired into. 
 
 EARLY CHURCHES. 
 
 Notwithstanding all the toils and trials in- 
 cident to the settlement of a new country, and 
 many rough and vicious men who come into 
 them, it is a fact that the teachings of the 
 Christian religion were fell and realized in 
 the mosl remote and sparsel) settled settle- 
 ments. What a rebuke, too, is given to the 
 ministers of the present time, by the self- 
 sacrificing devotion and arduous toil of those 
 men who first planted the standard of the Cross 
 of Christ in the sparsely settled frontiers of 
 the west. Without the most remote hope of any 
 temporal remuneration, exposed to dangi r and 
 disease, subject to the severest trials and most 
 painful privations, they went out, foregoing 
 all the joys of home and the society of loved 
 ones, to be instrumental in the advancement of 
 the truth ami the salvation of men. Often the 
 pioneer preacher, with no companion but the 
 horse he rode, would start across the wide 
 prairies, with no guide but the knowledge he 
 had of the cardinal points, or perhaps a point 
 of timber scarcely visible in the dim and hazy 
 distance, and. reaching the desired settlement, 
 would present the claims of the Gospel to the 
 few assembled hearers, after the toilsome and 
 lonely day's journey: then after a night of n -i 
 in the humble cabin ami partaking of the sim- 
 ple meal, he again enters upon the journey of 
 the day. to preach again at a distant point. 
 Thus the "circuit" of hundreds of miles was 
 traveled month after month: and to these men 
 we owe the planting of churches all over the 
 land, and the hallowed influence of religion as 
 .-I i'ii and felt in society everywhere. At this 
 late day it is impossible to learn who was the 
 first minister who visited the territory now 
 embraced in Menard county. This honor is 
 claimed for at least a dozen different individu- 
 als, and three or four different denominations 
 lav claim to the honor id' beim; first to be 
 represented by a minister here. There were 
 at lea-t five denominations that were repre- 
 sented by ministers coming here in a very early 
 day. These were the Regular, Hard-Shell or 
 Calvinistic l>aptists. the Separate (now Mis- 
 sionary) Baptists; the Methodists; the New- 
 Lights, afterward called Disciples, sometimes 
 .ailed "Campbellites ;" and the Cumberland
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT'S 39 
 
 Presbyterians. We will give a very brief his- on the subjecl of temperance and man} were 
 
 tory of these separately. induced to sign a pledge of total abstinence. 
 
 Among those signing the pledge was Minter 
 
 REGl LAR II (ITISTS. , . . . 
 
 Graham, the pioneer teacher oJ the county, and 
 
 These people, generally called "Hard-Shells," ., member of the Regular Baptist church. So 
 
 have ever been anti-missionary, and generally S oon as this was known to the church, Graham 
 
 opposed I" temperance societies and opposed was promptly tried and as promptl] turned 
 
 in ministers receiving stipulated salaries, but , n ,t. Thus far the story is true to the Idler. 
 
 are a good class of citizens, candid and reliable, Bui the story, as popularly told al the time, 
 
 while their ministers arc men of good natural j s (l) t | 1( . e ffeci thai on the same day that "Uncle 
 
 ability bul a majoritj of them are uneducated. Minter" was turned out. another brother amis 
 
 Yd among them have been numbered some of | n ,,,| f or getting drunk and he too was ex- 
 
 the .ureal preachers of the world, for example, pelled. After this an old brother arose very 
 
 Charles EL Spurgeon. Being Calvinists of the solemnly, and. drawing a quarl "flask" from 
 
 most pronounced type, it is not to be wondered | 11S pocket, the bottle being aboul half full of 
 
 at that tlu'\ believe thai if God lias made it a whisky, and holding ii steadily between his 
 
 man's < 1 1 1 1 \ to preach, He will enable him to do eve and the light and inclining his head slight- 
 
 the work when the time comes without any | v |„ one s j,| r . | ie thus addressed the congrega- 
 
 previous preparation on his part. Hence they tion: "Brethering, you have turned one mem- 
 
 ii] their preaching give to the people the truth | MT ui because he would aot drink and an- 
 
 •\jiist as God gave it to them." [f this be other because he go! drunk and now I want to 
 
 true we must say, and with reverence, that He ns | c a question. It is tins; How much of 
 
 has given them some very strange messages, the critter does one have to drink in order to 
 
 Yen s i ni't<r settlements were begun here remain in full fellowship in this church?" 
 
 "Regular" Baptisl preachers made their advent \\\. are „ot advised what answer was given to 
 
 also. Some affirm very positively, that the this question but doubtless there was a i lium 
 
 Regular Baptisi church in the neighboorhood W ell denned, and understood by the ministry 
 of Salem was organized before the Baptisi if no | by the laity. This people performed a 
 church ai Clary's Grove. Grandmother Potter, ven important pari in the opening up and 
 who was a grown woman, and living within a development of this country and their in- 
 mili of Salem, says that the church was older fluence for good is still felt all over this 
 by a year or two, than that al Clary's Grove, section. Mam men and women of the denom- 
 Bul the memory of all other- is at variance ination. among the besl citizens of the coun- 
 with hers. Be this as it may. one thing is try, are living here, bul not in number? sufri- 
 true, that this denomination had a church here cieni to organize societies, bul adhering to 
 in a verj earl\ day. Other societies were per- their faith they are calmly waiting the trans- 
 haps formed in the county, bul if so, they, f er to the "•ureal congregation above." 
 with that of Salem, have long since become ex- 
 
 ,, , , ,, , ,, MISSIONARY BAPTISTS. 
 
 tiiiet. so thai at the present time there is not, we 
 
 believe, an organization in the county. Bul As before stated, the Baptists were earh in 
 
 there are a number of g I and substantia] men this Beld, bul tins denomination was very much 
 
 of thai faith, whose Christian life and char- divided, especiallj on the subjeel of foreign 
 
 acter will compare favorably with any others, and do stic missions. There wire, beside the 
 
 still living in the county. While we would ■'Hard-Shells" or Regular Baptists, the Separ- 
 
 noi say anything disrespectful or disparaging ate and United Baptists, and these were di- 
 
 of this venerable people, whom we respeel and vided into the missionary and anti-missionary 
 
 honor, yel we cannot refrain from relating an parties. The opposition to missions gradually 
 
 anecdote of them, the truth of a pari of which, declined till long since there ceased to be any 
 
 at least, is vouched for. In the palmy days of anti-mission Baptists exeepl the Hard Shells. 
 
 Salem Dr. Allen created quite an excitement No people can justh be said to be opposed to
 
 LO 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 missions who enrol] among thru' members such 
 men as the Judsons. Clary's Grove Baptist 
 church was organized on Christmas day. L824. 
 This was the first church of tin's denomination 
 organized in the county but the burden of testi- 
 mony is that Rock Creek Cumberland Presby- 
 terian church is entitled to the honor of being 
 the first religious organization of any kind in 
 the count}'. From Clary's Grove radiated an 
 influence which makes it the parent of that 
 denomination in all this section of country. 
 The early Baptisl preachers, like all the 
 evangelical preachers of that time, were earnest, 
 devoted and self-sacrificing in their labors. 
 Baker's Prairie congregation of Baptists was 
 organized in rather an early day and is still an 
 important church. A Baptist church was or- 
 ganized in Petersburg soon after the town was 
 laid out, and is still a flourishing congregation. 
 New Hope, nn Sand Ridge, is one of the old 
 Baptist churches in the county and is doing 
 well. There was at one time a church in 
 Greenview. hut it has gone down. They have 
 in the county three good brick buildings and 
 one frame. The venerable P. EL Curry, after 
 over sixty years in the ministry in this county, 
 is now preaching as a missionary in Athens 
 and we hope w 1 1| succeed in building up a 
 church in that place. The Baptists form an 
 important clement in society in this county ami 
 their influence for good is felt far and near. 
 Baptist minister,- are mentioned in other places 
 in this work, in connection with the various 
 settlements, hut as there arc some of more 
 importance than others we will mention them 
 here. Elder 1'. II. Curry is an able and good 
 man and has done more for that church than 
 any other one man in all this part of Illinois. 
 At over eighty years of age he is still at his 
 post, battling lor the right as he sees it. Rev. 
 \\ illiam Goldsby, who died many years ago, 
 grew up in this county, was converted here in 
 early life and began preaching ami spent his 
 I il'e in (he work. He was a man of limited 
 education and possessed of nothing brilliant 
 intellectually, hut Ins straightforward integrity, 
 unswerving honesty and devoted piety gave him 
 
 a wonderful power lor g 1 and while he was 
 
 not regarded as an able preacher vet in his 
 simple way he won many to the way of right- 
 
 eousness, and will doubtless have many -tar- 
 in his crown of rejoicing. The Spears, lion. 
 \Y. T. Beekman ami others were pillars in this 
 denomination and did much for the cause of 
 religion ami morals in this county, and are 
 doubtless reaping their reward. 
 
 THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 It would seem eminently proper to have 
 placed this church first in the history of 
 churches in this county for they are pre-emi- 
 nently a pioneer people. It- policy for spread- 
 ing the gospel is just exactly adapted to the 
 want- ami aeeds of new and sparselj settled 
 sections of country. The first Methodist that 
 ever settled iii [llinois was Captain Joseph 
 <>"Je. who came to the state in 1775. The first 
 Methodist preacher to come to the state was 
 Rev. Joseph Lilian!, who formed the first so- 
 ciety in the state. This class was formed m 
 the cabin of Captain Ogle, in St. Clair county, 
 hut the exact date is not given. Some time 
 late' Rev. John Clark, who had preached for 
 years in the Carolinas, that is from 1791 to 
 L796, desiring to gei away from slavery, wan- 
 dered westward and was the first to preach 
 Methodism west id' the Mississippi river, and 
 subsequently came to Illinois. Rev. Hosea 
 Riggs was the first local preacher to settle in 
 the state. The first work in the state, under 
 thi authority of conference, was in 1803, when 
 Rev. Benjamin Young was appointed mission- 
 ary to the territory of Illinois by the western 
 conference, holding its session at Mount Geri- 
 zim. Kentucky. In 1804 he reported sixty- 
 seven members in the stale. He was a man 
 of great zeal and energy. In ism; Rev. Jesse 
 Walker came to the state ami it was he who 
 held the first camp-meeting in the state. At 
 the close of 1806 there were two hundred and 
 eighteen members in the state. The western 
 conference included Tennessee. Kentucky, Ohio 
 and all the northwest. In L812 it was divided 
 and Tennessee and Illinois formed a confer- 
 ence. In 1816 thi' Missouri conference was 
 formed and Illinois was joined to it. In 1824 
 [llinois conference was formed, with Indiana 
 joined to it. In 1832 Indiana was separated 
 from it. ami Illinois formed a separate confer- 
 ence. We have mi reliable evidence as to who 
 was the first Methodist preacher in Menard
 
 PAST. WD PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 II 
 
 county Im! we do have proof thai as early as 
 L820 or L82] a class was formed a1 Athens. 
 Rev. James Stringfield was probably the first 
 Methodist preacher in the county and certainly 
 the first local preacher of that faith to settle 
 here. In L823 or L822 a circuil was laid out 
 and Rev. Isaac House was the circuit rider 
 and Rev. Simms presiding elder. The Metho- 
 dists built the lir-t house of worship that was 
 built in Mellaril county; ii was built on the 
 farm of Harry Riggin. The land was donated 
 by Mr. Riggin, to revert to him when n ceased 
 to be used for the purpose for which it was 
 given. Ii was a neat hewed log house, twenty- 
 two by thirty-six feet, and by chance it had 
 glass windows. We say by chance because it 
 
 was a] si impossible to secure glass at that 
 
 day. but Mr. Riggin had brought a lot with 
 him and dQnated enough for the church. This 
 house served the purpose till about 1839 or 
 L840, when it was sold and became a ham on 
 Mr. Riggin's farm and tin 1 proceeds were ap- 
 plied on the church built in Athens in 1810. 
 The church has been blessed in Menard county 
 with the labors of some very aide men. The 
 venerable Peter Akers, I>. I>.. was presiding 
 elder here lor some time and Peter Cartwright 
 has preached in almost every grove and way- 
 side in the county. The church has now four good 
 houses and four congregations in this county 
 at the present time. Reminiscences of Meth- 
 odist preachers rush on the mind but if the 
 
 flood gate i> :e opened there is no safe place 
 
 to land, so we will speak id' hut one more man. 
 The portly figure and smiling face of Rev. 
 Barretl rises up before us, and with the face 
 
 an interminable store of incidents rush n| 
 
 the memory. That eye, so full of humor, look's 
 
 out on the world no more; the voice, So sweet 
 ill persuasion, so dire in denunciation and so 
 convincing in argument, is long since silenl in 
 death, hul those who knew him will never for- 
 ge1 the power id' his pulpit efforts or the un- 
 rivaled point and potency of his witticism-. 
 Always and everywhere a zealous Christian 
 gentleman ami devoted minister, yel he saw the 
 ludicrous side of things and he had the gift of 
 leading others to see it also. Sometimes, 
 though not often, tins characteristic of the man 
 would manifest itself in the pulpit and when 
 
 it did the house was "brought down." Pardon 
 one illustration of the man: a stor] that is 
 absolutely true and told without exaggeration. 
 Mr. Barretl was a plain western man. used to 
 western habits and customs, lie was also 
 
 blessed with a powerful physical const nm 
 
 and. being a man of very active habits, Ins na- 
 ture demanded, and he relished most heartily. 
 good, plain, wholesome food. At one time he 
 
 was on a circuit in which ot f the preaching 
 
 points was in a settlement of New England 
 people and most of tin' members wen' Yankees. 
 Of course their manners were very unlike his, 
 ami especially in the matter of diet the;, were 
 totally unlike. In that early day sweetmeats 
 were scarce ami those Eastern people had no 
 idea of eating meat like the Westerners. They 
 lived almost entirely without meal, and the 
 inevitable pumpkin-pie was a standard part of 
 their living, especially in (he fall and winter 
 season. Brother Barrett visited almost every 
 house hut it was everywhere the sam< — the 
 pumpkin pie confronted him wherever he went. 
 At last, almost starving, he hinted very broad- 
 ly that he wanted meat, hut to no avail. Final- 
 ly on Sunday morning, at the quarterly meet- 
 ing, when the Presiding Elder was present, he 
 determined to present his case to the Lord in 
 prayer. A large audience had assembled and 
 Brother Barrett offered the opening prayer. 
 After addressing the throne of grace for a 
 time he went on: ••() Lord, we thank Thee 
 for this good land, for this productive soil and 
 for sunshine ami shower. And we pray Thee, 
 ( » Lord, if Thou canst bless under the Gospel 
 what Thou didst curse under the Law. that 
 Thou wouldsl hless the hogs. Oh, may they 
 fallen and thrive"; and do Thou send abundant 
 crops of corn thai the} ma\ he made tat. that 
 Thy servants may have meal to eat. that they 
 may grov strong i" serve Thee and do Thy 
 will, lint Oh. Lord, we pray Thee to blight 
 the pumpkin crop. Semi blasting ami mildew 
 mi even sprout and vine, for Thou knowest 
 
 we can not serve Th m the strength they 
 
 give." lie then went on, closed his prayer, 
 and the service; and we may say that Brother 
 Barretl had meal to eal after that. This story 
 is literally true. Mr. Barrett lived and con- 
 tinued to preach till some time in L878, ami
 
 12 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT? 
 
 in that year he was living in Jacksonville, and 
 went up to Grigg's Chapel, in Cass county. 
 II,. preached morning and evening and then 
 \wnt home with a friend and retired in ap- 
 parently perfect health. The next morning he 
 was found cold in death. Thus closed the life 
 of this strong, devoted, successful, btit eccentric 
 servant of God. The Methodist Episcopal 
 church lias had a great many aide, devoted and 
 faithful ministers who have labored in this 
 county and this great church i- doing it- part 
 of the work here. 
 
 il MBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN. 
 
 About the year 1800 the spiritual condition 
 of the church all over the south was von low. 
 For malice was about all there was in the 
 church, especially the Presbyterian church in 
 the south. That church, Icing Calvinistic to 
 tin' last degree, awaited the "election of grace" 
 to do the work, instead of urging men to use 
 their free agency in seeking the way of life. 
 A prominent elder of the church in that day 
 said that he sat under the ministry of an able 
 Doctor of Divinity for twenty years, ami never 
 in all that time heard him mention the agency 
 of the Holy Spirit in the work of regeneration. 
 About this time Rev. James McGready, who 
 had been preaching lor several years, was acci- 
 dentally aroused to a realization of his condi- 
 tion ami was powerfully converted to God. He 
 was a man of finished education ami of great 
 natural ability and after his conversion he 
 began t<> appeal to a dead and lifeless church. 
 The result was wonderful. A great revival 
 swept all over the south and thousands were 
 erfully converted. The church was di- 
 vided into a revival ami anti-revival party. 
 The revival part} could ma accept the West- 
 minster Confession of Faith, believing that it 
 taught the doctrine of fatality. The Calvin- 
 ists were tin- anti-revival party and they charged 
 the revivalists with being Arminian in faith, 
 lint this they most vehemently denied, claim- 
 ing to he neither Arminian nor Calvinist. 
 
 out of tin- revival the Cumberland Presby- 
 terian church was horn. They have always 
 
 clai I to occupy a clearly defined medium 
 
 ground between Calvinism ami Arminianism. 
 Their first theological publication was called 
 
 the •■Theological Medium," and it was set for 
 the defense of this position, denying every one 
 of the distinctive doctrines of each. Whoever 
 charges this church with being Calvinistic or 
 Arminian does it through ignorance or preju- 
 dice. They do not accept a -ingle one of tin 
 five points of Calvinism, a- thej teach them, 
 ami they as strongly repudiate the distinctive 
 doctrines id' Arminius. Calvin says, election 
 from eternity : Arminius says, election at death ; 
 they say, election at conversion. Calvin says, 
 salvation possible to a part, and certain to the 
 elct: Arminius says, salvation possible to all, 
 but certain to none; they say, salvation possi- 
 ble to all. and certain to the believer. This 
 church was organized on the 4th day of Feb- 
 ruary, 1810, in Tennessee. Hence it is not 
 to l.e expected that it had spread ven far. as 
 early as the lir-t settling of tin- county in 
 lsi;i and 1820, especially when we remember 
 that it had its origin a- far south as the south- 
 east part of Tennessee. It is true, however, 
 notwithstanding this fact, that ministers of this 
 denomination found their way here before the 
 church wa- fifteen years old. The first Cum- 
 berland Presbyterian minister to visit this part 
 of this state wa- the Rev. John McCutehen 
 Berrv. lie was horn in the Old Dominion 
 March 22, 1788. Hi- education was limited. 
 When twenty-two years of age he mad.- a pro- 
 fession of religion and joined the Cumberland 
 Presbyterian church, lie was a soldier in the 
 war of 1812 and participated in the battle of 
 \ew iirlean-. The Logan Presbytery licensed 
 him to preach in 1819, ami in 1822 he wa- or- 
 dained by the same body. He removed to In- 
 diana in 1820 hut returned to Tennessee for 
 ordination. Soon after his ordination he came 
 to Illinois ami settled in the limits of Menard 
 county, on Rock creek, near win re the Cum- 
 berland Presbyterian church there stands. 
 This section of the state wa- then in the bounds 
 of the Illinois Presbyter} and so remained till 
 the spring of 1829. Some years before this 
 Mr. Berry had organized the Sugar Creek 
 church, some ten mile- south of Springfield. 
 By order of the Cumberland synod (for the 
 general assembly was not yet formed) the San- 
 gamon presbytery of the Cumberland Prestry- 
 terian church was organized at Sugar creek, on
 
 PAST AND PKESENM OF MENAKD COUNTY 13 
 
 the 20th il;n of April. 1829, at the home of of drink, becoming a confirmed drunkard and 
 
 William Drennon. The ministers forming the dying an awful death. This was a blew from 
 
 presbyterj- were Revs. John M. Berry, Gilbert which the father never recovered. bu1 a deep, 
 
 Dodds, Thomas Campbell, David Foster and 'lark shadow seemed ever after to be easl over 
 
 John Porter, Mr. Berrj being moderator, and him. It appears thai while Ins sun was in the 
 
 Gilbert 1 >< >< l< Is. clerk. Mr. Berry preached the store at Salem he strove in every way thai he 
 
 opening sermon from Matthew xvi:15. The could to dissuade his son from a life of in- 
 
 elders present were Joseph Dodds, from Sugar temperance, but in vain. 1 1 1 - labors, however, 
 
 Creek church; John Hamilton, from Bethel: were not in vain, as it seems, for the council 
 
 and Samuel Berry, from Concord and Lebanon, given to the son made a lasting impression on 
 
 As Mr. Berry was the first Cumberland Pre-- Mr. Lincoln. Years after the close of the 
 
 yterian preacher in tins part of the state, it little grocery store al Salem, when Mr. Lincoln 
 
 i- due tu history and to the cause to .-ay -nine- had reached a place of eminence in the legal 
 
 thing i ■<• of him. As said before, his edit- profession, a certain grog-shop in a community 
 
 cation was limited, owing to the circumstances was having its usual had influence and a num- 
 
 -u rrounding him when he was young, but his ber of married men were neglecting their homes 
 
 natural gifts, in every respect, were far above and their wives. These wives, seeing no other 
 
 the average. He was independent in his man- way to remedy the evil, on a certain occasion 
 
 iiia of thought, gentle and kind, hut uncom- gathered together and made a raid on the vile 
 
 promising and unmerciful in In- opposition to den. demolishing the barrels, breaking up the 
 
 everything that he thought to he wrong. He decanters ami demijohns and playing havoc 
 
 was charitable in his feelings to the views of with things generally. For tin- the ladies 
 
 others hut unyielding in his convictions un- were arrested ami prosecuted, and Mr. Lincoln 
 
 til lie wa- convinced by the force of argument, volunteered his services for their defense. In 
 
 As a speaker, he was plain, solemn and unas- the midst of a most powerful argument on 
 
 suming, making no effort at rhetorical display the evils of the use of ami the traffic in intox- 
 
 or dramatii effect, but possessing a command- ieating spirits, while all the crowd in tin room 
 
 ing presence and a voice full of force ami per- were intensely interested, and many bathed in 
 
 suasive attractiveness it is not surprising that tears, the speaker turned, and pointing his 
 
 be exerted a wonderful power over men. long, bony finger toward where the venerable 
 
 Though usually full of force and logic, yet Bern happened to be standing, said: "There 
 
 at times, when warmed and inspired by his stands the man who, years ago, was instru- 
 
 theme, he arose almost to sublimity and at mental in convincing me of the evils of traf- 
 
 SUch time- hi- appeals were almost irresistible. lacking in and using anient spirits. 1 am glad 
 
 The method of his argument was of the clear- that 1 ever saw him. I am -lad thai I ever 
 
 est and rnosl incisive character, and when fully heard his testin \ mi this terrible subject." 
 
 aroused by the importance of his subject he Tin- was a higher honor than to have been 
 
 - ' i ' to '•n-r\ everything before him. His made chid magistrate of the nation. Such an 
 
 character and the estimate in which he was encomium from such a man speaks volumes in 
 
 held .-an be given besl by relating an anecdote, praise of Mr. Berry's influence for good and 
 
 or rather an incident, which occurred at an unflinching stand for what is right, 
 earlj da\ here. The reader is doubtless aware Such i- a brief sketch of this pioneer Cuni- 
 
 thal the lamented Abraham Lincoln was at berland Presbyterian preacher in this part of 
 
 nl "' i engaged in selling groceries in old Illinois. Mr. Bern died as he had lived, with 
 
 Salem. A son of Rev. Bern was, for a time, his armor on. He died in Clinton, DeW tt 
 
 ' partner of Mr. Lincoln in tin- grocery, and county. Illinois, in the winter of 1856 or L857, 
 
 d is a fact, conceded by all, that intoxicants where he had lived for a number of years. 
 
 were sold by them, a- wa- the case in all gro- His early co-laborers were equally earnest, 'I' 
 
 <it\ stores in those lime-. I'.e this a- it may. voted ami pious in their work for the Master, 
 
 the young Berry in si wa} formed the habil and Dodds, Campbell and others will ever !»•
 
 ! I 
 
 AST AM) PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 remembered with warmest gratitude by the 
 people of tin- denomination. Some of the olu 
 settlers are firm in the conviction thai Lebanon 
 congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
 church was the first religious organization in 
 the county, bul after the mosi careful inquiry 
 we arc convinced that Clary's Grove Baptist 
 church has a just right to (his honor. Lebanon 
 was organized in 1824 or 1825 and Concord a 
 year or two later. There are in tin 1 county, 
 at this writing, seven congregations of this de- 
 nomination, Eour nl' which have regular pas- 
 tors. 
 
 PRESBYTER] \N ill I Kill. 
 
 There is such an abundance of literature. 
 especially in the line of history, of this church. 
 thai it is not thought necessary in this place 
 to enter upon an extended account. In 1816. 
 or as some say. m 1814, the Rev. James Mc- 
 Gready organized the Sharon congregation id' 
 that church, in White county, [llinois. It was 
 under the preaching of this same . lames Mc- 
 Gready in 1800 thai the great revival began in 
 the smith, that swept all over that part id' the 
 I tilled Sta1i>. and out of which was born the 
 Cumberland Presbyterian church. About the 
 same time the Rev. J. F. Schenerhorn and Sam- 
 uel J. Mills visited Kaskaskia and lefl a very 
 deep impression bv their zeal and fidelity, espe- 
 cially in the family of the Governor, Xinian 
 Edwards. Ai thai time there was not a town 
 of a thousand inhabitants in Indiana. Illinois 
 or Missouri, unless it was Madison. Vincennes 
 or St. Louis. Sparse settlements were scattered 
 along the east side of Illinois as far north 
 as the Vermillion river, and on the west side 
 as far as Quiney. All north of this was a 
 wilderness, save here and there an Indian trad- 
 ing post. Peoria was Fori ('lark ami Chicago 
 was Fort Dearborn. In 1821 Rev. Gideon 
 Blackburn was in the zenith of his power as 
 a preacher of the Gospel, lie passed through 
 thi' state and held a camp-meeting a! Shoal 
 creek, in Bond county, where there was a 
 great outpouring of the Holy Spirit and many 
 were converted ami a church was organized. 
 Rev. Abraham Williamson, from Princeton. 
 New Jersey, also Rev. Orrin Catlin and Daniel 
 G. Snrague, from Andover, Massachusetts, 
 
 preached in that part of the state ami organ- 
 ized a church at Carrollton. About 1825, near 
 i he time that the town of Jacksonville was laid 
 out. Rev. John Kirch, a Scotchman, came to 
 the state and began his labors in Jacksonville. 
 Here he organized a church. He was succeed- 
 ed by Rev. Mr. Ellis, who laid the foundation 
 of Illinois College. On the 30th of January, 
 1828, Mr. Ellis organized a church in Spring- 
 field and na I it Sangamon church, after the 
 
 river and county of that name. There wen 
 nineteen went into the organization, onlj five of 
 
 wl i lived in the village of Springfield, and 
 
 these five were all women. The membership 
 was scattered over a region of twenty miles 
 around, several of them (Messrs. John and 
 John X. Moore) lived in what is now Men,-. 
 county. It is worthy of mention that I 
 church was organized in the home of Mr-. 
 Elizabeth Smith, widow of Dr. John Blair 
 Smith, a very eminent man and once presidi m 
 nf Ilampdon and Sidney College, Virginia. 
 The church of Edwardsville was also organized 
 in her house, when she lived in that place in 
 1819. Rev. John G. Bergen, of New Jer«"y, 
 was the first regular pastor of the Springfield 
 church. «)n the 20th of May. is:!-.'. Rev. John 
 Bergen organized the North Sangamon or In- 
 dian Point church, in the Cumberland Pres- 
 byterian "Meeting-House," at Lebanon, with 
 i he following as members: Elijah Scott. John 
 Stone. Andrew Moore. Samuel Moore Alex- 
 ander Harnett. David Walker. Milton Kayhurn, 
 Phoebe Moure Margarel S. Moore. Stephen 
 Stone, Ann Barnett, John X*. Moore, Mary 
 Moore. Jane Patterson, Panthy Barnett, Han- 
 nah Baxter, Jane Rayburn, Polly Walker. Ma- 
 tilda Walker. Elizabeth Walker. Jane Walker. 
 Ann Walker. John Moore, Ambers Stone, Jane 
 Scott. Lucy Stone, Polly Stotts. Catharine 
 Stone. Jane Casey. Isabella Walker. Alexander 
 Walker and William Stotts. The same day the 
 following were received mi experience: John 
 Alhn. Henry C. Rogers. Sarah C. Rogers and 
 Elizabeth Patterson. John Moore, John X. 
 Moore and Alexander Walker were chosen rul- 
 ing elders. They used the Cumberland log 
 "Meeting-House" till the Cumberlands decided 
 to build a better bouse of worship, when the 
 Presbyterians assisted in building it and occu-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 15 
 
 pied i! Iialf the time till L 844, when the) built lions in central Illinois, and in a community 
 
 a very comfortable frame church, twenty-eight of enterprising, intelligent and pious people 
 
 by thirty-sis feel in size. This house they oc- il can not but be an agenc) of great good, 
 
 cupied for seventeen years, or nil 1867, when The following persons who were communicants 
 
 the present brick church was finished and dedi- in this church, have entered the gospel minis- 
 
 cated b) Rev. John G. Bergen, D. D. Among in: John II. Moore, 1». J. Strain. John W. 
 the honored pastors and supplies who hfeveij Little, John J. Graham, W. C. McDougall and 
 
 served this church we ma) name Rev. William John Howe Moore. The last named, a young 
 
 K. Stewart, Rev. Thomas A. Spillman, Rev. man of rare piety and promise, was called 
 
 George W. McKinley. Rev. Samuel Foster, l.o bis reward before he had completed his 
 
 Rev. Alexander Ewing, Rev. John W. Little, studies preparatory to entering the active min- 
 
 Rev. Thomas Gait, Rev. William Perkins Rev. istry. 
 
 R. A. Criswell, Rev. R. A. VanPelt, Rev. Mr. rm. disciples. 
 Reese, LV\ . John Crozier, Rev. 1 ». J. Strain, This body of people, known as Disciples, 
 K<\ Barnabas Lyman, Rev. T. W. Leard and Christians, or Church of Christ, bad its origin 
 the Rev. II. B. Douglas. Mr. Douglas served in western Pennsylvania. It originated thus: 
 till L891. On the 8th of May. 1891, tlu Rev. In the year 1809 Thomas Campbell and his 
 D. G. Carson began Ins ministry here which son, Alexander Campbell, having become deep- 
 still continues. The mosl important event in ly impressed with what they regarded as the 
 the recent histon of the North Sangamon unfortunate division among professed Chris- 
 church was the erection of a Mission Chapel tian people, began an effort to bring about a 
 in the town of Athens. On the 28th of March, union of all, not intending to start a new "sect" 
 I892, the session of this church took the initial or party. These men were natives of Scotland 
 step in this important work. Going about it and having emigrated to America they settled 
 with zeal and energy, it was no great task to in Virginia. They were both regularly or- 
 build a place of worship. Athens had needed dained ministers in the Presbyterian church, 
 si Presbyterian house of worship for a Long but after coming to America they became dis- 
 ime, as there were a number of people of satisfied in regard to baptism and seme other 
 that faith who lived in the place. On the subjects of Christian doctrine and after a time 
 16th of July. 1893, the) dedicated a very neat they united with the Baptist church. It. was 
 find commodious house of worship, costing four nol long till they were regarded as unsound 
 thousand dollars. The house was dedicated on the doctrine of the operation of the Hoi) 
 free of debt, on the date given above, the serv- Spirit and the work of regeneration, by the 
 i es being conducted by the Rev. W. II. Ten- Baptists, and a great deal of disputation and 
 hallegan, D. D., of Decatur, III. Since the controversy followed. They had arrived at the 
 house was built they have kept up regular serv- conclusion that taking the Bible alone, with- 
 ices, Rev Mr. Carson preaching for them, and oul an) standard of interpretation, would unite 
 
 they have a successful Sabbath-scl I, with all all the churches. Quite a number of people, 
 
 the ether services. The North Sangamon mostly Presbyterians, went into the enterprise 
 
 church is in a prosperous condition, the Rev. with the Campbells, but soon the question of 
 
 D. G. Cars. in. who has served them as paster the i le and subject of baptism was mooted 
 
 for fourteen years, being still their beloved and and many forsook the new party but the ma- 
 trusted leader, with the following officers: jority rejected infant baptism and affusion 
 
 Robert A. Young, McKinley Jones, John II. and the body beeam le of "immersed be 
 
 Kincaid, Henry M. Moore and James S. Culver lievers," and were soon united with the Red- 
 constituting the session; the trustee- heme I! stone Baptisl Association. Soon after tin's |],,- 
 \. Kincaid, F. II. Whitney and Lee Kincaid. troubles, spoken of above, developed, and the 
 No church in central Illinois runs smoother "Disciples" became a distinct sect. Thus what. 
 and with less friction. It is located in the was intended to unite the sects resulted in 
 ver) heart of one of the finest agricultural see- adding another to the long list of sects. About
 
 h; 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 bhree years before the beginning of the move 
 by the Campbells in Pennsylvania, a Presby- 
 terian minister in Kentucky had tried to bring 
 alioul a union of all churches on the basis of 
 the Bible alone. This movement was brought 
 
 alioul and led 1>\ i Barton W. Stone, who 
 
 had been a Presbyterian minister for years. 
 Stone had collected quite a little hand together 
 ami he and the Campbells met and alter quite 
 a time spenl in controverting various points, 
 they united their forces, the two forming a 
 very considerable body of people. The follow- 
 ers of Stone were called "New Lights" and 
 those of Campbell "Disciples," but for the 
 sake of distinction many people called the one 
 party "Stonites" and the other "Campbell- 
 ites" but neither of these names was given in 
 reproach, but merely to distinguish them. It 
 i- certain that the "New Lights." as they were 
 railed here, sent preachers into this part of 
 Illinois almost as early as other denomination-. 
 As said before, Rev. House, of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church, was the first preacher in 
 this county and old Mr. Crow, the Regular or 
 "Hard Shell'" Baptist, was the next. As early 
 as 1820 or lS'.'l a New Lighl preacher by the 
 name of Henderson came to Sugar Grove, and 
 preached in the cabin of Roland Grant hut 
 there is no evidence that he ever attempted 
 lo form a society. Not long after this Barton 
 
 W. Stone himself ca ami preached a number 
 
 of times in Clary's Grove. Stone was fol- 
 lowed by Sidney Rigdon, who was then a New 
 Lighl preacher but he afterward became a 
 Morn, on ami later one of the Twelve Apostles, 
 and traveled all over Europe as a missionary 
 of that church. In the year lS-,'7 a Disciple 
 congregation was formed in Clary's Grove and 
 a few years later they luiill a log meeting- 
 house. Scmie wars later they limit a good 
 frame church in the Grove which served them 
 till the village of Tallula was laid out. See- 
 ing thai this was to !»■ the center of the com- 
 munity, they sold the frame church in the 
 Grove and ahoui the close of the Civil war they 
 erected the large ami commodious church in 
 the village, which they >iill occupy. The date 
 of the organization in the Sugar Grove is 
 not definitely known, but it is admitted by 
 all that it was at a verj early period. This 
 
 soon became a very strong and prosperous 
 body and it was for many years the largesl 
 and most wealthy congregation in the count). 
 Ii continued to hold this enviable position till 
 1861 when misfortune seemed to overtake it, 
 
 and in a short ti it was almost annihilated. 
 
 But as this story is told in another place, we 
 omit it here. This is a strong and active body 
 of people, earnestly pushing their work in every 
 direction. They have five strong churches in 
 Menard county, each active ami aggressive, 
 keeping up all the departments of their work, 
 and the general enterprises of the cause. They 
 have an aide and intelligent ministry, and as 
 a denomination are very active in the work 
 of education. 
 
 Thus we have given a brief outline of the 
 work of the various bodies of Christian people 
 in the county, from the beginning of the settle- 
 ment here, and we think that in the main it 
 is correct. Under the head of the various set- 
 tlements will he found more of the detail of 
 the work of particular congregations. We 
 wotdd have been glad to have given more of 
 the particulars of the trials and hardships en- 
 dured by the early preachers, as we believe 
 that this would have been of great value to 
 the people of to-day. When our modern kid- 
 gloved and classically educated young preachers 
 of the present time go into a congregation, 
 strong and rich, and receive a good salary and 
 a plea-ant home, they should know and realize 
 the work that was done by those hardy pio- 
 neer-, in preparing this "well-feathered nest" 
 for them. They should know that, while many 
 n( those early preachers had only the rudiments 
 of an education and had scarcely ever heard of 
 a theological seminary, they were better versed 
 in the doctrines of the Bible and could preach 
 the gospel with tenfold the power and effect 
 that is realized at the present time. Those 
 men received no salary: they endured hard- 
 ships and privations almost beyond description; 
 they suffered and toiled without pay. because 
 they had the matter at heart, and the gospel 
 was like lire shut up in their bones: and like 
 I rue •"Sons of Thunder*' they went forth and 
 laid this broad and deep foundation, on which 
 we. of the present, are called to build.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY i; 
 
 CLARY'S GROVE. now forgotten, or is remembered only as the 
 
 This settlemenl of course includes Tallula last nngering memories of a hideous nightmare. 
 
 and all that section of Menard county north of l!l " We would '"" have the reader su PP ose 
 
 Rock creek and to the Cass county line, and "' ; " "'' ""' l '" 1 " ""' Clar - vs '"' othcr of the 
 
 on north to the Sangamon river, 'it includes sub stantial citizens who had located there. As 
 
 -mm, ,,f the finest lands, both tin r and before sta ted, it was the rough element always 
 
 prairie, thai there is in the entire county. Eound m a new country and long ago left there 
 
 Ever 3 one is aware of the fad that the early for g reener fields il1 " 1 more congenial climes, 
 
 settlements were invariably made in the tun- '' l "' '"'"' s, ' llll ' mi ' 111 "' Clary's Grove has 
 
 ber. [f one wished to know where the finest '" VI ' '" M s ' I,,n " ial lf seems unnecessary to 
 
 and largest lies of timber were when the "' l "' a ' " l,ore - John Clar - V waa ll " lll,|l( '- the 
 
 white man first came, all he would be required '"^ 8ettler '" ""' territory of wha1 '8 '"■« 
 
 to do would be to ascertain where the first M, '"'' ml '"'"""' '"" " ls :lls J I dispute 
 
 settlements were made and his question would f ha1 ; sl ; " ""' rer - v """' tha1 '"' was l,,, ' ;l1 " 
 
 be answered. Tallula is the only town or vil- "'<- '" ""' Grove """''' P artiea ea '" Sll - ar 
 
 lage in this territory and th i postoffice ( "'" v " and [ndian l '""" timber - , ' larv 
 
 came 
 
 at the present time. The Jacksonville divi- '"'" Lei ssee ; ""' located '" ,l "' grove ever 
 
 sion of the Chicago & Alton railroad runs ~""''' ealled '' v llls " ; " 1 "' '" ll "' y ear ,sl!) - 
 
 through this section from nor ast I" south- "'' '""" '' three-faced rain,,, leaving one en- 
 
 west and passes almost immediately over the h re side open, in whic lived with his Eam- 
 
 spot where Clary built three-faced camp when ''- v ''"' tiiree years " The "1"'" side "'' the 
 
 he first settled there. Notwithstanding Tallula camp served ; '^ door ' window ailtl fireplace, as, 
 
 community is now the very perfection of re- '" Cold "'• alllrl '- ""A ke Pt a huge log heap 
 
 finement and wealth, the time was when it ,,,m,m - '" lmi " " r '•■ which serve,! to keep 
 
 could justly have laid claim to the other ex- 
 tra Seventy-five years ago Clary's Grove 
 
 was synonymous with all the mischief and dev 
 
 them warm, and on this fire they did their 
 cooking. After three years Clary sold his 
 claim to a Mr. Watkins and a little later Wat- 
 
 iltrj that occurred within a radius of fifty kmB S,,M "'" '" <i ""''- r S l"'"' s - wl ^proved 
 
 nnks. and the few civilize. m who had the ""' farm ' gW """''' lands and lived there 
 
 misfortune to live there among those "border "" ""' '" ' lns death ' which occurre d s e 
 
 ruffians" of that remote date say the 3 were fift een or twenty years back. Clary, after sell- 
 ashamed to tell where they were' from when m „ g , hls claim ' rem oved to Arkansas but several 
 the] went to Springfield. The settlement was 
 
 ol his children remained in I llinois and main' 
 
 made up largely of the "rag tag and 1 -tail" "' h ' s descendants are sW llvi "- in this coun 
 
 who leave the mure civilized sections for their 
 own and their country's good and seek the 
 
 ty. He was a soldier of the Ke\ oluf ionan v ar 
 and took part in mam of the fierce battles 
 
 frontier, where the] are unrestrained bv law Wlth the " red coats " "'' Km " Geor S e - l!v 
 
 and order, and again take up their line of '"''"''' a pioneer - '"' sou S h1 lhr wilds " r [lli " 
 
 march as the star of empire wends its way '""" ''""' as people erowded lllMI ' 'lose he 
 
 toward the glowing west. So it was here \.s rG "''''" the fresher scenes of Arkansas. 
 
 civilization advanced this rough element pulled Thomas Watkins was from Kentucky and 
 
 up stakes and moved to other frontier local- ^f* S" 7 °? "t "?***, """'" '" ^ ' 
 
 ;,- , • ,, , , ,. , . . . ,, lo<51. \\ lu'ii In' sold Ins claim in the grove 
 
 ities. leaving the substantial clement m full , , , 
 
 _, , lie removed io the tnnber near where the <-i t \ 
 
 possession, and thus Clary's Grove developed ,,,• ,.,.(,.,. ..,, ,. . ,, ,_ , ,, , ,, . . 
 
 1 in rereiSDurg imw stands. || c reared a lai'< r C 
 
 ]nt ' ""' '""-' "l"i'-l *** respectable familv ;]ll(l many „ r hi(J descendants ;II ,. ,,,., 
 
 aei g hborl N "' l1 "' " , " 11 '" cou ntry, and to- dents of the county at the present time. When 
 
 da 3 " 1S looked "I"" 1 as the very paradise of George Spears came to this Mai- from Ken 
 
 Menard county. The ill name given it by the tucky in 1824, he bought Watkins out as stated 
 
 lawless deed- of the "Clary's Grove boys" is above. Spears reared a large familv, somi o
 
 LAST AM) I'RKSKNT OF MLXAh'D COUNTY 
 
 whom are still living.' One son lives in Tal- 
 liil.-i. John Q. Spears; and one daughter, Mrs. 
 George ('. Spears, lives in Tallula ; and another 
 daughter, .Mrs. William T. Beekman, lives in 
 Petersburg. 
 
 Absalom Mounts came to the grove m 1820 
 or L821 and remained for a time. He built a 
 mill here; perhaps this was the first mill in 
 the county, but it was a most primitive affair 
 in pattern, dimensions and capacity. Whence 
 ho came no one seemed to know, and after 
 aw hilo he removed to Mason county and was 
 "lost in the shuffle." James White and Robert 
 Conover were brothers-in-law to George Spears 
 and came from Green county, Kentucky. 
 White -rilled here in 1820 and Conover in 
 L821. Their wives were sisters of Mr. Spears, 
 and they, having opened farms in the grove, 
 reared large families, whose descendants are 
 scattered all over tliis country. The old peo- 
 ple, of course, have been dead for many years; 
 in fact their second generation are now all 
 ^oiie. Rev. .lames and John G. White, noted 
 Cumberland Presbyterian preachers in this 
 -late years ago, were sons id' I In' pioneer .lames 
 White. Solomon Matthews, from Tennessee, 
 was another of the early immigrants of this 
 part of the country, coining in 1821 or 1822, 
 but lie was one of those transient settlers to 
 lie found in new countries, who. as game thins 
 out and becomes scarce, follow it to other 
 fields. Matthews left in a lew years, and where 
 he went, no one seems to know or care. Anoth- 
 er of the very early comers was Bannister Bond, 
 who came from Tennessee and remained for 
 over twenty years and thru sold out and re- 
 moved to Iowa. Cyrus Kirby came in 1822 
 ami located in the grove, where he became a 
 permanent citizen. He was originally from 
 Kentucky, but first settled in Madison county, 
 near Alton, somewhere about lslii or 1817. 
 lie was rather poor and. having no team to 
 plow Ins land, he took' a mattoc and actually 
 dug up two acres of prairie and planted it in 
 corn. Think of this, ye "silk-stockinged" 
 farmers, as you ride over vour broad fields in 
 your sulk} plow- ami watch with pride your 
 reapers and headers as they glide through the 
 golden grain, and remember that eighty years 
 ago, perhaps, some hard run. hut honest far- 
 
 mer like Cyrus Kirhv was toiling upon the 
 same spot to make bread for his children. 
 When Mr. Kirby died, some years ago, this 
 same memorable mattoc was sold at his sale 
 and was bought by Ins son and it is siill treas- 
 ured in the family as a relic of pioneer days. 
 Mr. Kirh\ died here inan\ years hark. EJia 
 son George tvirbj died in 1904, at the gieal 
 age of ninety-two years. Two of Cyrus Kir- 
 by's daughters still live in this county: Mis. 
 Samuel Watktns. far up in the eighties; and 
 Mrs. Lewis Watkins, now in her ninety-seventh 
 year. Mr. Kirby has a large posterity in this 
 section of country, all of whom arc well-to-do 
 and respected citizen-. Another of the early 
 comers to this grove was Solomon Speer, who 
 came in 1820, with Mr. White. He and White 
 were brothers-in-law, and he located hen', hut 
 alter a lew years he removed to Cass county, 
 where he died many years ago. Jacob and 
 Jesse Cum came out from Kentucky, where 
 most of the earl\ settlers of this section came 
 from, in IS'.M or is-.".', and took claims. Jesse 
 died where he settled main years ago. and 
 Jacob moved to Knox county, win re he died. 
 William Clary came from Tennessee in 1822 
 in' 1823 and in IS'.M sold his claim to George 
 Spears and removed to Arkansas. Andrew 
 Heard came about the same time and look a 
 claim — (he same that John Q. Spears after- 
 ward lived on — and -old n to George Spears 
 in 1824. After selling out to Spears Beard 
 -ell led on the west side of the grove, where 
 he remained several years, and then sold and 
 started to Oregon, hut died on the way mi 
 the Gulf of Mexico. Burton Lytton, also 
 from Kentucky, was an early settler, hut -old 
 in- claim to George Spears in 1824 and re- 
 moved to ('as> county. William Revis came 
 m 1822, but -old his claim to Conover in a 
 year or two and went west. Mrs. Jane Vaughn, 
 a widow huh. came aboul 1822, but in a lew 
 years sold her claim and moved to Knox coun- 
 ty. Joseph Watkins was here as early as 1820 
 or 1821, but in a short time he removed to 
 Little Grove, where he lived many year.-, and 
 died on the farm he had improved. John 
 Cum. Si-., came to the grove from Kentucky 
 in 1822 and settled on a claim, hut later he 
 removed to Knox county, where he spent the
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 in 
 
 remainder of his life. The pioneers named 
 above came in the grove prior to 182<J — the 
 year thai George Spears settled there. Sev- 
 eral had already moved awa\ before that time, 
 for the;) were of that das.- who squat in the 
 wilderness where game is plenty, and when 
 thai begins to fail they, like the Arabs, "fold 
 their tents and silently steal away." 
 
 Mr. Spears cami here from Kentucky in 
 LS2-J and, as already noted, bought the claims 
 of a number of parties whose settlement in 
 the grove has been mentioned above. 1 i is 
 father and mother came with him, far ad- 
 vanced mi years al the time, and died there 
 at a ripe old age. He bought the claims of 
 these squatters, for they were only claims, and 
 entered i he land after it came into market. 
 After coming m l^'.'l he entered and opened 
 up over three thousand acres of land and set- 
 tled bis children around him on good farms. 
 He saw the wilderness transformed until it 
 does indeed blossom as the rose. When be 
 came here the lew scattering settlers who were 
 here had to go to Springfield to vote. He built 
 i he second brick house that was erected in 
 Sangamon county, which then embraced Me- 
 nard. Cass. Mason and parts of two or more 
 
 e ties. lie lived the remainder of his days 
 
 in that house, dying only a short time ago 
 at more than eighty years of age, and the house 
 is still (1905) standing and in a good state 
 of repair, -till being occupied, 'tin- brick for 
 the house were made on the farm, the mud 
 for them heme tramped with oxen, ami the 
 finishing lumber, which was all walnut, was 
 sawed bj hand with a whipsaw. lie was an 
 earnest Christian man. belonging to the Bap- 
 tist church, and contributed, perhaps, re lib- 
 erally than am other man to the church m 
 'Pallida ami as liberal to all the general enter- 
 prises of the church. 
 
 I'll i.i- < '< \er was the lir-t man who settled 
 
 out on the prairie and. as hi- house was lour 
 mill'- from the timber, many of the people 
 thoughl that he was demented. Conover was 
 Hun New Jersey and had an idea that he 
 would always have inexhaustible pasture for 
 hi- stock on nature's blooming meadows, for 
 the earlv immigrants all thoughl that the 
 
 prairies would never he settled, at leasl for 
 mam generations. How far they missed their 
 
 guess the present -tale of the country sllOWS. 
 
 Thomas Arnold came from Tennessee in L826 
 or is-. 1 ; and, being \t'v\ poor, he lived on Mr. 
 Spears' land till able to secure a home of his 
 own. lie lived on Spears' land till able to 
 buy a piece id' his own and finally accumulated 
 a fair property. John Sewell, a brother-in- 
 law of Arnold, and William Tippeti came at 
 the same lime with Arnold and they also lived 
 on Spears' land. They were ever after spoken 
 of as honest, hard-working men and finally 
 secured comfortable homes. Samuel B. Neely 
 came from Tennessee in L828 and settled in 
 the grove. Some years later he wen! to Ma- 
 son county, where he died. Ahrahaiu Burgin 
 came from New Jersey in 1825 or 1826 and 
 was a man of considerable prominence, bui 
 after a time he went to Galesburg, where he 
 later died. Abraham B. Bell came from Ken- 
 tucky in 1826 and settled in the grove and 
 died there many years ago. John l\ inner came 
 from Virginia at the same time that Bell 
 came and located here. lie reared a family 
 and has been dead many years, hut his descend- 
 ants slid live in that vicinity. William T. 
 
 Beekman ci i from New Jersey at a some- 
 
 whal later date ami married a daughter of 
 George Spears. He was a man of line char- 
 acter and of considerable prominence in the 
 county, lie died recently iii Petersburg. 
 Other settlers, coming at a little later dale. 
 were George, Jacob ami Jesse Greene, William 
 Smedley, Samuel Colwell, Joseph Coddington, 
 Theodore Baker, Isaac N Reding and William 
 G. Greene. Mr. Greene was a native of Ken- 
 tucky, and he and his parents Ca here al 
 
 a \er\ earlv day and they settled near "Niw 
 Salem." where the old people died III the oarl\ 
 
 history of the settlement. William G. Greene 
 was oiie of the most prominent figures, in In- 
 day, in this pari of the stale, lie was an 
 intimate friend of Abraham Lincoln and at 
 one time wa- associated with him in hiisnic-s 
 at Salem, lie accumulated a large fortune 
 which he left to In- children. A fuller accounl 
 i.f him is given in another place in Ibis vol- 
 ume. From this period it is impossible to 
 trace the settlements of Ibis section, because
 
 .-,11 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT <>]•' MENARD COUNTY 
 
 of the vast tide which was in constant ebb and 
 How. 
 
 The trials and inconveniences of these set- 
 tlers were the same as in other new countries. 
 As other white people flocked to the grove 
 with undaunted courage they met the ancient 
 possessors of the soil, whether savage beasts 
 or savage men, ami despite their strongly con- 
 tested right to it, succeeded in gaining a foot- 
 hold, which has developed into the stair of 
 civilization and material wealth that we see 
 around us today. These people knew nothing 
 of railroads, had never heard of a locomotive, 
 and if anyone had prophesied the railroads. 
 telegraphs, telephones, etc., of the present, he 
 would have been put under guard as a con- 
 firmed and dangerous lunatic. Steam thresh- 
 er-, sulky plows, mowers and reapers were alike 
 unknown to these early pioneers and are in- 
 ventions that had never entered into their wild- 
 est dreams. The old sod, eary or bar-shear 
 plow, drawn by three or Four yoke of oxen, 
 was the only means known to them of subdu- 
 ing the soil. Their nearest trading point was 
 Springfield, and the stock of goods kept there 
 was limited and often the funds were not at 
 hand to pay the price. Springfield was also 
 their nearest postoffice and a letter from the 
 old home cost "two hits" or twenty-live cents, 
 and often the letter would lie in the office for 
 a month for want of the "quarter" to pay 
 the little bill, a- Uncle Sam had a way of 
 refusing credit to all alike. Milling was an- 
 other great annoyance as null- were very scarce, 
 and often the very early settlers had to go 
 twenty-five. Iil't\ or even one hundred miles for 
 Head stuff; in fact, the Athens people in an 
 earh day had to go to Si. Louis, a distance 
 id' one hundred and twenty miles, for meal 
 ami Hour. Often lor weeks. A n(\ even months 
 together thej were compelled to depend upon 
 i he mortar to pound the corn, or the "gritter," 
 as they called the grater, or upon "lye-hominy," 
 as the only substitute for bread. And then 
 the prairie fires, the prairie wolves, the deep 
 snow, ile sudden cold -nap. ami other troubles 
 "too numerous to mention" beset their way. 
 (if these trials the present generation know 
 nothing, onlj as they sit by the fire and hear 
 some grandfather or grandmother tell the storv, 
 
 and then they often think that it must he an 
 exaggerated story. But eighty-five Mai- have 
 passed ami lo! the change that has taken place. 
 Upon the face of nature these rolling years 
 have written their record and the wilderness 
 
 ha- I n transformed into a veritable Garden 
 
 of Eden. The railroad has supplanted the ox 
 Wagon; in fact, the country is a network of 
 railroads; the power of the ox and horse is 
 superseded by that of steam and electricity; 
 and brain i- now doing what brawn did in 
 their day. What a change has been brought 
 about in the last eighty-five years ! And wdtat 
 will the next eighty-five years do? Judging 
 the future by the pasl we conclude that no 
 illumination ean paint a picture too extravagant 
 to represent the changes of the coming period 
 of that length. To the pioneer- of that day 
 the achievements of today would have been as 
 chimerical as anything that Jules Verne's fer- 
 tile brain could devise. What will it be? In 
 eighty-five years we will sail through the air 
 as securely and comfortably as we now glide 
 over these prairies in the cars. We really be- 
 lieve this will he thi' ease. What a day that 
 will lie. Instead id' buggies or auto- or steam 
 or electric turnouts, we w-ill have double back- 
 action, electric-automatic repeating sky-scrap- 
 ers. The church entrance will then he down 
 the spire; and on Sunday morning the sky will 
 he full of gaily adorned turn-out:-, or turn-ups. 
 onthewa\ to church. It's funny, but ifs com- 
 ing. No more strange to us than the present 
 achievements would have been to our grand- 
 fathers. 
 
 The first practicing physician in this section 
 of eountrj was Dr. Allen, of Petersburg; and 
 Dr. Kenier was the first disciple of Aesculapius 
 to settle in Clary's Grove. When he first came 
 he was a bachelor ami he hoarded with George 
 Spears. This was in 1828 or 1829. In a 
 little while lie took unto himself a wife and 
 went to housekeeping. The conditions in those 
 days were such that people could not afford to 
 get sick and hence doctors were far less im- 
 portant personages than they are now. A man 
 who owned a mill or a blacksmith shop was a 
 bigger man than any doctor. It was generally 
 believed then that the women could do all the 
 "doctoring" needed with catnip tea and hone-
 
 PAST Wl> PRESENT OF MEXARD COUNTY :,i 
 
 set. Roberl Armstrong was the first justice of this qow venerable church was Rev. Jacob 
 
 the peace in the grove and, as we are informed, Gum, with Robert Conover as clerk of the ses- 
 
 had bul little legal knowledge. His familiar- sion. The first church 1 k was made of fools- 
 
 it\ wiili legal technicalities was limited in the cap paper and bound with pasteboard. The 
 
 extreme and his courts were the theater of early meetings of the society were held (for the 
 
 many humorous scenes as one illustration will mosl pari alternately) at the homes of George 
 
 serve to show: A ease came before him i Spears and Roberl Conover. From a period 
 
 day in which a couple of lawyers were em- a lew years alter the organization nil 1843 a 
 
 ployed. After the ease had been decided the log sehoolhouse (the one spoken of above) was 
 
 defeated lawyer gave notice that he appealed used by the society as a place of worship. Dur- 
 
 the case from his decision, when the other law- ing the year lasi mentioned the society erected 
 
 yer nudged him and whispered m his ear: a substantia] frame building, thirty by forty 
 
 "Don'i allow him to appeal." The justice drew feel in dimensions, which was used as a church 
 
 himself up with all the dignity embodied in building until 1871. This building is thought 
 
 the ponderous form <>r David Davis, and re- to have cost abotit two thousand dollars and 
 
 plied: ••There is no appeal; I allow no ap- was built under a contract with William T. 
 
 peal from tin- court, sir." Beekman, who did the principal part of the 
 
 The firsi school taught in Clary's Grove was carpenter work. After this last date the so- 
 taught h\ .lames Fletcher in a house on the ciety removed to the village el' Tallula, where 
 land of George Spears about 1825. Fletcher they erected a splendid house of worship. See 
 could net have gotten a first grade certificate further account of this tinder the head 
 at the present day, but we are infori 1 that "Churches." Rev. John M. Berry, a Cumber- 
 he could spell words of two syllables and read land Presbyterian minister who lived on Rock 
 fairl\ well by skipping the hard words. lie creek, was also one of the early preachers in 
 was tin' best, however, to be secured in those the grove. Ill bis day hut few church houses 
 lone- and the people were obliged to be -.itis- had been erected in this pari of the stale and 
 fied with him. This log temple of learning he was an itinerant in the fullesl sense of the 
 served the citizens of the grove for a number word, lint he preached everywhere and all 
 of years, in fact till it was burned down. The the time. A Christian church was organized 
 community then erected a hewed log house, in the grove in 1834 with the following mem- 
 which served them for a number of year- as hers: .John Wilson, William G. While, .lane 
 a sehoolhouse as well as a church. White, Jesse I.. Trailor, Obedience Trailer and 
 
 The first church organization in the grove Lydia A. Caldwell. Services were held in pri- 
 was Clary's Grove Baptist church, which many vate residences till 1847, when a comfortable 
 claim was the first organization of a religious little church was built on the farm of William 
 character in what is now Menard comity. Hut Smedley. In this house they worshipped until 
 some most strenuous^ denj this, affirming thai 1864, when they -old it and erected another 
 the Methodist class at Athens was prior to it. house in the village of Tallula as noticed in 
 Tin- dispute can never be settled now. The another place. The inevitable Methodist eir- 
 records show that the Clary's Grove Baptisl cuit rider used to pass this way as t i i < ■ \ go 
 church was organized on the 25th day of De- into every place with the old, old story, but 
 cember (Christmas day) 1824, the ordaining thej -cent never to have gotten a hold in anj 
 presbytery consisting of William P. Crow, pari of this entire territory. No Methodist 
 William Rollin and .lames Bradley. The con- Episcopal church bouse has ever been built 
 stituenl members were thirteen in number, or societj organized within the limits of this 
 namely: George Spears, Si-.. Mary Spear-, entire settlement so far a- we can learn. We 
 Rev. Jacob Cum. Samuel Combs, Sr.. .lane believe that of late years the "Sanctified" Meth- 
 Coml -. Ezekiel Harrison and wife. M. Hough- odists have formed a society ami buill a house 
 ton ami wife. Elijah Houghton, Roberl Con- in the village of Tallula. but we have no re- 
 over and Hannah Whits. The lir-i pastor of liable data to give concerning them.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 Tallula, a real little gem of a village, is 
 situated on the southwest side of Clary's Grove 
 on the Jacksonville division of the Chicago & 
 Alton Railroad and is surrounded by as fine 
 a section of farming country ""as lies out of 
 doors." In the latter part of 1857 the town 
 was laid out by William G. Greene, J. G. 
 Greene, Richard Yates, Theodore Baker and 
 \V. C. Spears. The name was given by the 
 last named gentleman and it is said to be an 
 Indian word meaning "dropping water," but 
 it' the existence of the town depended on the 
 meaning of the word there would never be any 
 Tallula except when it rained, for there is no 
 other water near there to "drop." Nevertheless 
 it i- a prettv name, whether it is appropriate or 
 not, and it- -mind is as musical as the country 
 around it is beautiful. The first house was 
 erected soon after the town was laid out by 
 \Y, i.. Spi ii- and was afterward owned by R. 
 B. Thrapp. The next building was put up by 
 Robert M. Ewing and so nearly at the same 
 time with Spears' that it is hard to say which 
 was really the first. The firs) store was opened 
 in January, 1858, by Thrapp & Spears, which 
 firm continued about eight months, when 
 Spears retired, and Thrapp continued to run 
 the business alone. The postofnee was estab- 
 lished there in fs:>s with F. S. Thrapp as 
 postmaster. Hugh Hicks opened the first 
 blacksmith shop in 1859. Mr. .1. 1". Wilson 
 was the first practicing physician to hang out 
 his shingle in the new village. As soon a- the 
 railroad began operation F. S. Thrapp began 
 the business of buying grain, lie bought and 
 ship'ped at first from wagons, hut later he built 
 a grain warehouse. About IS76 or is;; A. T. 
 Gaylord built an elevator at a cost of about 
 four thousand dollar- ami ran the business for 
 -ouie ti At presenl Mr. Hushman is run- 
 ning the elevator. In the pasi Thrapp. Cay- 
 lord. Bell Brothers and ('. 11. Laning & Com- 
 pany have run this business here. The tir-t 
 hotel was nm by Mrs. Brooks, hut the iir-t 
 building put up lor the purposi wa- built by 
 frank Spear- and run by him for some time 
 Mrs. Zolman at one time kept the Revere 
 House, -k V. Watheu ha- I een the veteran host 
 I'm- Tallula. Charles Greene and a man by the 
 name of I leal -md'. .i i in shafl here iii is;:; 
 
 or 181 I ami if ha- been worked almost con- 
 stantly since by one and another. This coal is 
 about two hundred feet below the surface and 
 the vein is a little over six feet thick. The tir-t 
 school taught in the village was b\ Mi-- Sarah 
 Brockman in 1859 in the distriel sehoolhouse, 
 
 which st 1 jus! outside the corporate limits. 
 
 This may seem an Irish hull, but it was termed 
 
 the village -el 1 and wa- patronized by the 
 
 children of the town. The German Reformed 
 church was afterward used as a sehoolhouse. 
 Tin present school building was erected in 
 1868-9 at a cost of from eight to ten thousand 
 dolli i-. beside three acres of land, on which it 
 stands, donated by Mr. Greene. The original 
 building contained four elegant rooms, with 
 
 closets, cloak- m etc. During the summer of 
 
 1904 two more elegant rooms — up to date in 
 every respect — were added. Tallula has always 
 striven to have the best schools in the conn! 
 and ha- often succi eded. i See tinder head 
 "Educat imi." i 
 
 Tallula was incorporated as a village under 
 the general law in 18-72 with the following as 
 the first hoard of trustees: J. F. Wilson, R. 11. 
 Bean, J. T. Bush, .1. F. Wathen and F. S. 
 Thrapp, who organized for business by electing 
 R. II. I',, an president of the board. At present 
 the population is about a thousand and the 
 the business of the town is all that could lie 
 expected of a place of its size. It ha- a num ret 
 
 of g 1 general -tore-, a bank, drug store, hotel. 
 
 lumberyard, with shops of various kinds and 
 the inevitable saloon, but in justice it may be 
 said that Tallula has had saloons hut a very- 
 small portion of the time since it began. I For 
 churches, cemetery and schools, see under their 
 appropriate head-, i 
 
 The village of "Rushaway," once a thriving 
 business place, almost equal to what Tallula is 
 now. lias "rushed away" anil is now among the 
 things that were. It wa- laid out by J. T. 
 Rush and William Workman sometime in the 
 earh fifties, but the exact date is not known. 
 The first -ton was kept by J. T. Rush and a 
 man by the name of Way. These two names 
 connected in business combined together make 
 the name 1,'u-haway. which was given to the vil- 
 lage. F. S. Thrapp had a -tore there also. A 
 postofnee was also established, with Rush as
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 postmaster. When the Chicago & Alton Rail- 
 road was limit it missed the town a mile or 
 two and on the laying out of Tallula a part of 
 the town rushed there and the resl rushed to 
 Ashland. The postoffice was removed to Tal- 
 lula and t he name ehangi d. The proprietoi - 
 of the railroad, it is said, would have run the 
 road through the village if the\ had received 
 the proper encouragement, I iit the people of 
 Rushaway, believing thai the road would be 
 obliged io go thai way. stood upon their dig- 
 nity and even refused to grant the righi of way. 
 only at the highest market price. As a conse- 
 quence, the road was located elsewhere and 
 Rushawa} was loft mil in the cold. The com- 
 
 pleti f the road sealed their doom and. 
 
 a- already stated, part of the town wont to 
 Talhila and a pari to Ashland. At presenl 
 there is nothing to show that such a town ever 
 existed. The sito is now a flourishing farm ami 
 orchard ami the passing stranger would bo 
 surprised to learn thai a thriving; village bail 
 once stood where now the "vellow harvest* 
 wave." 
 
 SUGAR GROVE. 
 
 If wo .lid not know that the Garden of Eden 
 
 was s ewhere on the eastern continent, some 
 
 one would have arisen long ago with the proofs 
 thai it must have been located somewhere in 
 the vicinity of Sugar Grove, but only two of 
 the lour rivers can bo located in tin' Grove, 
 and these are Grove creek and Pike crook, near 
 by, so this settles it. but the early comers must 
 have thought of Eden when they behold around 
 them 
 
 "Earth's unnumbered flowers 
 All turning up their gentle eyes to heaven; 
 The birds, with bright wings glancing in the 
 
 sun. 
 Pilling the air with rainbow miniatures," 
 
 and combining to restore. Ln all its loveliness, 
 "lost Eden's faded glory." No liner division 
 of country could mortal crave than is found in 
 tin- portion iif Menard emmtv. Fine rolling 
 prairie, with as rich a soil as exists anywhere. 
 with here and there a grove of timber, scattered 
 over the undulating plain like islands slumlier- 
 ing in the ocean, is no overdrawn picture of (bis 
 
 section of country, c^peeialh as the first settlers 
 -aw it. lint the band of civilization did not 
 come to mar but to adorn and under its magic 
 i h ii- virgin beauty has been enhanced un- 
 til it is. indeed, a veritable Eden. It has un- 
 proved under the sway of man. as the fields 
 of waving grain, the blooming orchards and 
 countless herds of thriving stock abundantly 
 testify. We do not speak of tin, section now 
 as a political division, lull rather as a center 
 of i arly settlement. One of the first settle- 
 ments made in Menard county was made in 
 Sugar Grove. In the year L819, the same year 
 that Clary settled in Clary's Grove, .lanes 
 Meadows settled on the easl side of Sugar 
 Grove, perhaps on the land now- owned by 
 Mr. Jones. Meadows came from Ohio and 
 ocated near Alton in the year L818, but the 
 following spring bo came to this place. ln 
 ibe spring of 1823 be sold bis claim to Leonard 
 Alkne. and removed to the west side of Sugar 
 Grove and look a claim there, on which he 
 lived till a lew years before In- death. He 
 died iii Greenview in the year 1869, at an ad- 
 vanced age. His last claim thai lie made is 
 row owned by II. II. Marbold, of Greenview. 
 lie lniilt the "t read-wheel mill" described in 
 another place. Mrs. Perry Bracken, now living 
 at an advanced age, with her son-in-law, John 
 Blanc, of Greenview, is a daughter of Mr. 
 Meadows, the only member of his family now 
 living. Jacob Boyer came to the Grove with 
 Mr. Meadows and they camped the first night 
 at a spring on the farm that was afterward 
 the home of Milem Alkire. The Sugar Grove 
 cemetery is near that spring. The next morn- 
 ing, being struck by the beauty of the sur- 
 roundings and the abundance of pure water 
 afforded by the spring, Mr. Boyer said. "This 
 is my future home," and at once staked oil' 
 his claim and settled there. Meadows settled, 
 as noticed above, on what has for many years 
 been known as "the Jack Alkire place." Boyer 
 also sold nut to Leonard Alkire in Ibe spring 
 of IS'. 1 .",. Only a few days after the settlement 
 of Boyer and Meadows, the Blanes came to 
 the Grove. The Blane family consisted of 
 four brothers. Robert, William. John and 
 George, and their mother and our sister. They 
 were from the Emerald Isle, the gem of the
 
 :.4 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 ocean, and being the first Irish to settle here, 
 and among the very first white people here, 
 it is not strange that one of these groves 
 should be called "Irish Grove." William 
 Blane died in an early day; John soon returned 
 to Ireland, where he remained about twenty- 
 five years, and then returned to the settlement; 
 Robert and the sister removed to Wisconsin, 
 leaving George and the mother on the place 
 that they originally settled. In 1823 George 
 and his mother sold their place to Leonard 
 Allure, and removed to the northwesl side of 
 the grove, where they both died. The Blanes 
 were well educated men. and George in early 
 times held many offices of trust and honor. 
 He was an old line Whig, and alter it- organ- 
 ization he joined the Republican party, in 
 which faith he lived and died. In the year 
 L820, Roland Granl came to the Grove and 
 brought with him a lot of sheep, the first of 
 these animals thai were brought to this pail 
 of the country. Grant came here from Ohio, 
 hut he was originally from Kentucky, and 
 when a. year or two later the Alkires came, 
 he sold out to them and removed to Island 
 Grove, in Sangamon county. His brother, 
 William Grant, who came with him to the 
 Grove, also sold out. to the Alkires and removed 
 with his brother. Like many other settlements 
 in the county, many of the pioneers were 
 from Virginia and Kentucky. The following 
 Kentuekians came here among the early set- 
 tlers: Leonard Alkire ami family, William 
 Engle, Lemuel Offille, the Hughes, Wesley 
 Whipp, Samuel McNabb, the l'eiitecosts, John 
 and George Stone, a man named Parsons. Mat- 
 thew Bracken, William Douglas, and perhaps 
 several others. The Alkires and William Engle 
 came here from Ohio, hm they were originally 
 from the Old Dominion, thence went to Ken- 
 tucky, and afterward to Ohio. William Engle 
 came in the spring of 1823, raised a crop and 
 then went hack and brought mil the family of 
 Leonard Alkire. (This is the statement gen- 
 erally made, but the writer is satisfied that 
 Mr. Engle came in 1822, for the testimony of 
 all is that Alkire bought the claims of Mea- 
 dows. Bover, and other-, in the spring of 
 is?:;.) Mr. Engle was a bachelor when he 
 came to Illinois but he soon after married the 
 
 daughter of Leonard Alkire. Mr. Engle he- 
 came one of the most prominent and best 
 known men in this section of the state and 
 did more for the material development and ad- 
 vancement of that part of Menard county 
 than any other man. He took an active part 
 in the organization of the county, was one of 
 the first commissioners, represented the county 
 in the state legislature and was the first mer- 
 chant in east Menard outside of Athens. Mr. 
 Engle was liberal in his views, a never-tiring 
 advocate of religion ami education, and always 
 stood as an advocate of the right. As before 
 stated, he married a daughter of Leonard Al- 
 kire and they spent their first winter in a camp 
 thai stood near where the village of Sweet- 
 water now stands. He then built a cabin 
 northwest of the village, where he lived and 
 reared his family, lie lived to a good old age, 
 respected by all. and was prominent in all the 
 affairs of that section of Illinois for more 
 than half a century, lie died in March. 1870. 
 He reared a large Family, several of the sons 
 being still living, scattered over the west. Only 
 two of the family still live in this county: 
 Mrs. William ('. Smoot, of Curtis; and Mrs. 
 William Claypole, four miles east of Green- 
 view. Mr. Engle's mother (a widow at the 
 time) came to this settlement about ten years 
 after hi']' son. She was a genuine pioneer lady, 
 large and almost as stout as a man. kind ami 
 benevolent to all. a great nurse and friend in 
 times of sickness ami distress. She passed to 
 her reward long years ago. her memory revered 
 anil honored by all who knew her. As already 
 stated. Leonard Alkire was a native of Vir- 
 ginia hut emigrated to Kentucky or was taken 
 there by his parents when very young. Arriv- 
 ing at man's estate and having taken to himself 
 a wilV. he removed to the state of Ohio, where 
 la' remained until he removed to Illinois, in 
 tin' spring of 1823. While lie resided in Ohio 
 he to a large extent followed the business of 
 buying up stock, which he drove to more east- 
 em markets, a business at that day exposing 
 one to considerable danger. On one of his trips 
 home, after having disposed of his drove of 
 stock, he traveled on horseback, having the 
 money he had received, which was nearly all 
 silver, in a pair of saddlebags on bis saddle.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 "In swimming the Ohio river," says <i local I milt the second brick house thai was erected in 
 writer, "perched mi his hands and feel <>n top the same county. Alkire's house was built 
 of the saddle, his sturdy ami trusty roadster, seventy-seven years ago, and it was still stand- 
 stemming (lie rapid current with great cour- ing a few years hack. To his sun. Milem Al- 
 age and energy, when nearing the opposite kire, and to John Engle and Jesse England, 
 shore suddenly went down, hut with a last we are indebted for mosl of the facts con- 
 desperate struggle, as if for Life, he succeeded cerning the earh history of this section of the 
 in landing his master od the solid ground, county. The writer has in his old diaries 
 
 when Mr. Alkire made the discovery that the many stories told by these men I William 
 
 saddle-bags, filled with the silver, had in some Engle, James Meadows, and other old citizens 
 
 way fallen from his horse, hut had hung to all over the county. Leonard Alkire died in 
 
 the stirrup in such a way as to greatly impede 1877. The following will shoy the energy 
 
 the efforts of tin' horse while struggling in the ami public* spirii of the man. About L828 or 
 
 water, thus imperiling not only the hard- L830, he was appointed by the commissioners 
 
 earned cash of the owner hut the HIV of both of Sangamon county, road supervisor of the 
 
 horse and tailor." Bearing so many repeated district he lived in. which was larger than the 
 
 stories of the amazing beauty ami fertility of present county of Menard. He was ordered to 
 
 the "far west," as Illinois was then called, he open a road from near the mouth of Salt creek 
 
 made a trip of inspection to the country- to Havana, on the Illinois river. A great im- 
 
 Alone and mi horseback he explored this then pediment to travel in that route in (hose days 
 
 almost unbroken wilderness. By chance his was the Crane creek" swamp, lie called to- 
 
 rouie led him to Sugar Grove. Entering il gether all the able-bodied men in that region, 
 
 u| tin' south side, he reached a point from and taking wagons, teams, axes, etc., he pro- 
 
 which the scene was viewed to advantage and ceeded to the timber, where he made rail-, 
 
 stopped to look around him. lie was so im- hauled the"m to the swamp, and laid them down 
 
 pressed with the wealth and splendor of what for a foundation for a road: then he cut large 
 
 In 1 saw, that though there alone and do one quantities of swamp grass, which grey there in 
 
 to hear he reined up his horse and shouted at abundance, ami spread this over the rails, lie 
 
 the top of his voice: "Hurrah for old Ken- next drove forked sticks astride poles, which 
 
 tueky, the garden spot id' the world!" Very were laid lengthwise across the ends of the rails 
 
 -""il he came upon the claim of .lame- Mea- to keep the water from floating the rail- away, 
 
 dows, and being so pleased with the countrj and then spread five or six inches of sand over 
 
 ami the surroundings, he soon bought the claim the grass. In this way he constructed a road 
 
 of Mr. Meadows. Me then returned h ■. sold over the swamp, which served the purpose fully, 
 
 his Ohio farm and, the following spring, he and lasted for many years without repair. 
 Came to the Grove and settled where the re- Lemuel Offille and the Hughes came anion:: 
 mainder of his life was spent. John Alkire. the early settlers about the same time .lames 
 his father, came in a few years. -101111 Alkire Hughes was a \cw Light, or a- called now, a 
 had removed from Virginia in Kentuckj in "Christian" preacher, ami one of the first of 
 an early day, during those bloody war- with this denomination in this part of the country, 
 the Indians which gave thai state the appella- although one of their founders. Barton \V. 
 ii'iu that it has ever -nice worn ami will wear Stone, had preached m the Clary's Grove set- 
 in all coming time. "The Dark and Bloody tlement a little before this. One of his sons 
 Ground," and like all the other pioneers of the Daniel T. Hughes, was one of the respected 
 time he bore an active part 111 those war-, lie preachers of this church, in this pari of the 
 died here and was buried in what is known a- state, and lived in this section iinli! his death. 
 
 the Blane graveyard. Leonard Alkire buill the some twelve or fifteen vears hack. Oi r 
 
 first brick house thai was built in the then .lame- Hughes' sons. Hugh D. Hughes, was 
 
 county of Sangamon, now Menard. As noted o f the first resident- of the village of 
 
 elsewhere, George Spears, of Clary's Grove, Sweetwater and was i of the builders of the
 
 ..I, 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MEXAKI) COUNTY 
 
 mill which was operated there so long. Offille 
 and the Eughes came here from Indiana, 
 but they were originally from Kentucky. Hugh 
 I ). Eughes married a daughter of Mr. Offille. 
 Wesley Whipp came about the time of "the 
 deep snow. - ' He married a daughter of Leon- 
 ard Alkire, died many years ago and was Laid 
 to rest in the Sugar Grove cemetery. One of 
 his sons. Leonard Whipp, one of the leading 
 lawyers of the place, now resides in Peters- 
 burg. Samuel McNabb came previous to 1824 
 and his brother-in-law came about the same 
 time. They have both been dead many long 
 years. Pentecost, and his sons, William. John 
 and George, came in 1824 or 1825. The old 
 gentleman's first name is not remembered and 
 
 he and all his sons left the neighborh I a great 
 
 many years ago. John Stone came about the 
 i ime of the "deep snow." Ee had a number of 
 sens: William, .lames. Stephen, Henry. Boyd 
 ami Oliver. A man named Parsons, a brother- 
 in-law of the Stones, came to this country with 
 them, or about that tune. He had two suns. 
 William and Joseph. The old gentleman and 
 William died many years ago. but Joseph was 
 mail carrier between Sweetwater and Green- 
 view a great many years. William Douglas 
 was here as early as 1831 or 1832, and settled 
 in Irish Grove. Matthew Bracken came in 
 1824 or 1825, and settled here bu1 afterward 
 sold ou1 to Nicholas Propsi and removed to 
 Woodford county, where he died long since. 
 A man hv the name "1 McKinney ranks among 
 the early settler- of tin- section hut we are 
 unable to learn the particulars concerning bis 
 life. With several others he was returning 
 from a horse race and they get up a race of 
 their own. in which McKinney was thrown 
 from his horse and so badlj injured that he died 
 from the effect in a short time. It is said that 
 he w-as probably the first one buried in the 
 Sweetwater cemetery and that some one stuck 
 the switch, with which he was riding when he 
 was thrown, in the center of his grave and it 
 took ront and grew and is now a huge live. 
 Am way, the tree is still pointed out. and it 
 leaves no sign of am grave having ever been 
 there. Enoch B. Smith came to this settle- 
 ment in 1S"21 and bis nephew. Josiah B. Smith, 
 in 1824. The latter was an old line Whig, ami 
 
 took a very active part in politics. Enoch B. 
 Smith settled in south end of Irish Grove and 
 his son Jordan settled in the same vicinity. 
 Enoch B. Smith died in 1841 and all his fam- 
 ily are dead, so far as we can learn. Mrs. 
 Jesse England was his daughter. Jesse Eng- 
 land settled here in 1824 and lived here his 
 entire life, dying on his old homestead in 1903, 
 having lived there for seventy-nine years. Mr. 
 England's father came from Ohio to Sanga- 
 mon county in 1819 and was the first white 
 man to settle on the east or north side of the 
 Sangamon river, and his daughter was the first 
 white woman to settle north of the Sangamon. 
 John S. Jennison was a native of the old Bay 
 State, and came to Sugar Grove in 1822 or 
 1823. lie sold his claim to Leonard Alkire 
 and moved to Baker's Prairie. His son, Luther 
 Jennison, lives on a farm near Greenview, as 
 does his daughter, Mrs. Jerman Tice, ami an- 
 other son, John Jennison, has lived for - 
 
 years in California. About the year 1825, two 
 brothers, Joseph and Samuel Powell, and 
 brothers-in-law of Leonard Alkire, came from 
 Ohio here, but were natives of the Old 
 Dominion. They reared large families here 
 and finally died, and their families scattered 
 and moved away, some going to Fulton county 
 years ago, and others going to Oregon. Nicho- 
 las Propst came here from Virginia and set- 
 tled in Sugar Grove before the winter of '"the 
 deep snow." He was of German descent and a 
 very eccentric, though a good, man. He died 
 man)' years ago. A cabinet-maker in the neigh- 
 borhood was indebted to him and not having 
 the fluids on hand to cancel the obligation, he 
 told Propst that he would make him anything 
 in the furniture line that he might need. 
 Propst told him that he did not need anything 
 in that line just at. the preseni hut that some 
 dav hi> would need a coffin and if he chose to 
 make him one he might do so. The cabinet- 
 maker went to work on the coffin and Mr. 
 Propst superintended the work and bad it com- 
 pleted to his own taste. When the coffin was 
 done there was still a small balance due to 
 Mr. Propst, so he bad him make a long bench 
 on which to lay him out when the time 
 ..line for him to "shuffle off this mortal coil.'' 
 Being thus far prepared for final dissolution,
 
 PAST A\H I'KF.SKXT OF MEXARD COUNTY 
 
 51 
 
 In: made further arrangements lor hi- last 
 resf by having a tombstone cut oul of a solid 
 limestone, with the simple inscription: "Nich- 
 olas Propst," hewn mi it. When he finally 
 died In 1 was laid away in Sugar Grove Imp ing- 
 groundj and this same stone, without any 
 other letter or mark, was set up at the head of 
 his grave and marked bis humble bed till time 
 crumbled it back to dust. Alter the coffin 
 was completed he got into it. as he said, "to 
 try it. to see how it would tit." lie afterward 
 told Rev. John Alkire that il si ared him like 
 h — 1 when he got into it. John Wright came, 
 -miie time before L830, it is believed from 
 Ohio but of this we are nut sure. lie boughl 
 out Samuel Alkire, a cousin of Leonard Al- 
 kire. who had settled here iii L82-J or 1825, 
 and he removed t<> Indiana after selling to 
 Wright. After living in the Grove fur sev- 
 eral years Wright sold out and removed to 
 Petersburg, and afterward be built the first 
 bridge over the Sangamon river at that place. 
 William Gibbs came here from Baltimore hut 
 was an Englishman by birth. He bought 
 Wright out when he removed to Petersburg. 
 Reuben D. Black came from Ohio, and after 
 living lure I'm- a time he married a daughter 
 
 of l.i ird Alkire. Black was a physician and 
 
 year- ago left here, removing to Missouri. 
 1819-1905. 
 Eighty-sis years! What an insignificant 
 point of time, when compared to the ages of 
 the world's past bistory ! Even time itself is 
 only 
 
 " a brief arc. 
 
 Out from eternity's mysterious orb, 
 
 And cast beneath the skies — : 
 
 and yet what a vast record these eighty-sij 
 years have borne with them from the world. 
 Revolutions have swept over the earth, as 
 troubled visions sweep over the breast of 
 drea a sorrow. Cities have arisen and flour- 
 ished I'm- a little season and then have perished 
 from the earth, leaving not even a trace Lo 
 mark the spot where once they stood. Nations 
 and empires have sprung into being, gathering, 
 in a few decades, the strength of centuries, 
 and then as suddenly have sunk from the world 
 forever. The changes and mighty events that 
 
 bave on urred in our own county, in a few short 
 years, are equally astounding. The coming of 
 the steamboat, the building <>f the railroad. 
 I he telegraph, the telephone, and all the won- 
 derful work of electricity are hut a few of these 
 astounding events. Eighty-six years ago when 
 • lames Meadows erected a log cabin in Sugar 
 Grove, he could not have believed that to-day 
 would present the changes that we see. even 
 if one had "•arisen from the dead" to proclaim 
 it. Where were the wild prairies and the 
 densely w led groves ami tangled dells, inhab- 
 ited only by Indians, wolves, panthers, and 
 other wild animals, are now vast fields <>( wav- 
 ing grain : and the palatial bome of the farmer, 
 with every comfort ami convenience thai tin 
 heart could wish, now- stands where the hunter's 
 
 cabin or the Indian's wigwam then sf 1. All 
 
 these changes are difficult to realize h\ am 
 hut those who have witnessed them. Think 
 for a moment of some of the trials that these 
 pioneers experienced: the difficulty, fur in- 
 stance, of securing the absolute essentials of 
 life. Sometimes a trip was made to St. Louis 
 for such supplies as salt, flour, sugar and cof- 
 fee, when the -oiiler could afford such lux- 
 uries. James Meadows made more than oik 
 i rip to that city, in a. canoe, by wa\ of the 
 Sangamon, Illinois and Mississippi rivers. 
 .lames MeXahh taught the first school in 
 
 that settlement, in a log cabin that st I mar 
 
 where Gregory Lukins lived so long, wesl of 
 Sweetwater. As his old pupils, if any of them 
 are -till alive, look hack to the days when he 
 ruled with a rod of iron, they may call to mind, 
 no doubt, the familiar lines of Goldsmith: 
 
 "Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the 
 
 way, 
 
 With bloss ing furze unprofitably gay, 
 
 There, in Ins uoisy mansion, skilled to rule. 
 The village master taught his little school; 
 A man severe he was and -tern to view : 
 1 knew him well, and every truant knew; 
 Well had the boding tremblers learned to 
 
 I race 
 'I'he day's disaster in Ins morning fai e 
 Pull well they laughed, with counterfeited 
 
 glee, 
 At all his jokes, for many a joke had he; 
 Full well the lms\ whisper circling round 
 Conveyed the dismal tidings when he fro 
 Yet he was kind, or if severe in aught,
 
 58 
 
 AST 
 
 AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 The love lie bore to learning was his fault. 
 Amazed the gazing rustics ranged around; 
 And still they gazed, and still the wonder 
 
 errew 
 
 That one small head could carry all he knew." 
 If tins teacher could be permitted to return 
 and see the state oi education now and look 
 m ,n our schoolrooms and see the help- and ad- 
 vantages that our children now enjoy, he would 
 conclude doubtless that his sleep in the -rave 
 had been much longer than it really has. 
 
 The religious history of this section is £ 
 in another^" place, but we will enter into some 
 detail, in this case, that we may not be obliged 
 to do so in other eases, as the history of the 
 trials and difficulties thai one community had 
 to inert, is similar to that of all others. 
 
 Rev. John Attire, Rev. Hughes and Rev. 
 Aimer Peeler (who after a few years removed 
 to Woodford county) were the early divines 
 of the New Light, or, as they afterward pre- 
 ferred to be called. Christian church. A con- 
 gregation of this faith was organized here in 
 quite an early day. They first worshipped in 
 a house that stood near the old horn.' of Greg- 
 ory l.ukuis and was used for both church and 
 school purposes. It was built of logs, had a 
 puncheon floor, was covered with clapboards, 
 and had a fireplace, with .tick or "cat and 
 clay/' chimney, at each end. In 1838 they 
 built a frame church, eighteen by twenty feet, 
 o„ the same site, and it. like the former, was 
 used for both church and school purposes. In 
 L848 this frame building was replaced by a 
 brick edifice on the same site. After the vil- 
 lage of Sweetwater was laid out this church 
 was converted into a dwelling, and the so. 
 erected a large and substantial brick church in 
 ,1!,. Ullage. This building still stands and is 
 upied by the congregation, seemingly in as 
 
 g 1 a state of repair as when firs! built. It 
 
 is s til] occupied by a prosperous congregation. 
 The Presbyterians have a good house of wor- 
 ship in Sweetwater and the Rev. Thomas 
 preaches regularly to them. 
 
 Sweetwater was laid out by William Engle 
 and the Alkires in the year 1853. It is located 
 ,, n sections 31 and 32, in township 1!'. range 
 
 g ] t j. Qear Sugar drove, which, before the 
 
 „ [man's ax had defaced its beauty, was one 
 
 of the prettiesl groves of timber in Illinois. 
 Engle had for some time had a store on Ins 
 farm and when the village was Laid out the Al- 
 kires opened a store there, and soon alter tins 
 Mr. Engle moved his store there too. Soon 
 after the village was laid oui a petition was 
 -em u)) asking for a postoffice at Sugar Grove. 
 Mr. Harris then represented this district in 
 congress and when he made the application hi 
 waS informed that there was a Sugar Gro 
 postoffice in the state already, and he wro 
 to this efEeel to Mr. Engle. He consulted with 
 some of the neighbors about the matter and 
 they decided that as the water of the sugar- 
 trees, which formed the grove, was sweet, thai 
 Sweetwater would be next thing to Sugar 
 Grove, and so that name was adopted. One 
 citizen informed the writer, however, that the 
 town had another name, that it was often 
 called "Chloeville." Pointed questioning drew 
 from this citizen the following statement: At 
 one time there was an old lady lived in the 
 village whose first name was Chloe, "and some 
 one, in acknowledgement." said our informant. 
 "of her general cussedness, as a burlesque, 
 railed the town after her.- William Engle 
 was the first postmaster in the place; Jacob 
 Propst, Jr., was the first blacksmith; Dr. John 
 H. Hughes was the first physician; Deal & 
 [Hughes built and operated the &rst mill. The 
 business of the town, at the present, may be 
 thus summed up: Two good general ston -. 
 a blacksmith -hop. a physician, Dr. Hill, twi 
 
 churches, and a scl [house of two rooms. The 
 
 town, we believe, has never 1 n incorporated, 
 
 bu1 the general moral sentiment is such that 
 they do not need such protection as this would 
 bring. The writer has no disposition to make 
 [ighl of sacred things, but if the story of the 
 -Soul Sleeper" troubles in thi Sweetwater 
 , ;,,.„,, CO uld be told, as a citizen once told it, 
 thi di mand for these pages would be immense, 
 bid this we will not undertake to do, and will 
 close this chapter by a brief reference to the 
 churches here. The schoolhouse was built in 
 L868 or L870, at a cost of about four thousand, 
 live hundred dollars. The Christian church 
 was built veaxs ago, at a cost of about three 
 thousand, five hundred dollars. The congre- 
 gation was a large, peaceful and prosperous
 
 PAST \\I» PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 59 
 
 one, as am in the hind, till one Elder Speer, Few old people are now living who can remem- 
 of Indiana, was called to the pastorate. Hi- bet the greal ironmaster and his deeds of enter- 
 preaching was all right for a time, for lie was a prise. Strange tales, however, could these few 
 man of far more than ordinary ability, bul tell of his "cast iron eoliers" thai could get 
 by and by lie began to preach the most material coal by machinery, of Ins eccentricity, of Ins 
 form of "soul-sleeping." It is enough to say wealth, and of bis singular superstition. As 
 that the church was rent asunder, thi greater an illustration of this latter, we arc told, thai 
 pari of the members, perhaps, endorsing the on his deathbed he declared his conviction thai 
 new doctrines, and so infatuated and insane at the end of seven years he would return to 
 did they become that they were absolutely look- the earth again. His work people showed a 
 ing for the immediate coming of Christ, singular aversion to handing his name down to 
 Some went so far as to say that the} expected posterity, as if they felt themselves the secures! 
 to go fishing with the Savior in Salt creek, guardians of bis virtue ami his fame. For Ins 
 Elder J. K. Speer would not accept a stipu- wonderful ability, Tor hi- depth of scientific 
 lated salary. "( ). no. all he wauled was a li\- research, Wilkinson deserves t,, live in the 
 ing," and the faction thai followed him oil' annals of industry and enterprise. His friend- 
 were wealthy and I'ull of zeal, and "he was skip for Boulton and Watt makes it remark- 
 clothed in purple and line linen and fared able that his name should have been passed over 
 sumptuously every day." Of course the church h\ biographers of the inventors of the steam 
 divided: the staid ami reasonable part stayed engine. Surely, "the father of the iron trade," 
 with their church, while the fanatics pulled as he has been aptly named, deserved at least 
 out. The Soul-Sleepers lutilt a neat frame a passing mention in the biography id' his 
 church in the village, al a cosl of two thousand friend James Watt. John Wilkinson was born 
 
 live hundred dollars. They lived awhile, S] r in 1728 and under circumstances which the 
 
 got all he could out ef them and left, and most superstitious people of the vicinity believed por- 
 
 of them, from the best that we can learn, tended that •'Johnny would gome da\ be a greal 
 
 drifted into infidelity. It took the Christian man." Hi- mother was in the habit of going 
 
 church year- to recover from this stroke. The every day to the market with the product- of 
 
 Methodists bought the Adventist's house, when their little farm ami on this occasion, as she 
 
 they went up. or rather when they failed to go was returning to her home, the -mi was hom 
 
 up. The Methodists were unsuccessful and in in the can. John Wilkinson was the inventor 
 
 a little while they sold the house to the Pres- of iron boats. The first on,, ever tried was built 
 
 byterians, who still own it. and have a pros- Ml his foundry and was named the -Trial." 
 
 perous congregation there, and to whom Rev. lie was also the first to use coal successfully in 
 
 Thomas preaches regularly. smelting iron. His life, like thai of Oliver 
 
 Cromwell's, was attended by a verv singular 
 circumstance. As September 3d was the dies 
 
 mirabilis in the Protector's histot >. so was Jvtlv 
 
 J')||\ \\ | i.ki \so\. . .,, ... „ ...... ,. 
 
 1 1 1 h in t in 1 h le oi \\ ilkinson. lie came in 
 
 The history ol Sugar Grove would !«• in- Staffordshire on July II. L756. lie attended 
 
 complete wnl t ,i -ketch of the W'ilkiu-oii the ••.real banquet in Paris July II. 178G. lie 
 
 family. Fred Wilkinson, of Petersburg, llli- launched the first iron boat mi July II. 1787. 
 
 nois. i- a grandson of the great ironmonger of He obtained a patent for the improvement of 
 
 England and a -mi of John Wilkinson of the steam engine July II. L799; and he closed 
 
 Menard county, who died in (ireeiniew many his eventful and useful life on the 14th of July, 
 
 years ago. John Wilkinson was intimately as- 1808. lie left a vast fortune in money ami real 
 
 sociated with James Watt, the inventor of the estate. His children, a number of them being 
 
 steam engine, and with mam of the greatest quite young, were left to the care of guardians 
 
 scientific men of his day, but he never acquired John Wilkinson, the father of Fred Wilkin- 
 
 the notoriety even in England that he deserved, -on. of Petersburg, was hut six vears of agi
 
 GO 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 when he was thus placed in the cart' of guardians 
 an, I was at once placed in school, and from that 
 time "ii till lie reached his majority he was 
 constantly in school. Being possessed of more 
 than ordinar} natural gifts of mind, it is not 
 in be wondered at that his advancement was 
 rapid and he acquired a finished education. 
 Beside being thoroughly drilled in the sciences 
 of the daw he was a thorough master of six dif- 
 ferent languages besides his mother tongue. 
 On reaching his majority he eami into posses- 
 sion e|' a vasl estate, but net being trained in 
 the intricacies of business, ail these vast in- 
 terests w re placed under the control of agents. 
 Beside this 3 r oung Wilkinson, having been 
 reared in hixnn and having acquired some 
 rather "fast"" habits, n i> net to lie wondered 
 at that lie went in to gratify his ta>ti^ for 
 pleasure. He was a great admirer of horses 
 and went into the races with all the zeal and 
 energy of hi- impetuous nature, lint we can 
 no1 leil the story here. He ventured and lost. 
 Hi- agents, doubtless, took advantage of him 
 and soon much of the estate was -enc. In dis- 
 gust, he placed the vast business under his con- 
 trol in the hand- el' othi rs and bidding fare- 
 well to his native land ami taking passage on a 
 sailing vessel, he started for the chores of 
 America to begin life anew. After a stormy 
 voyage of forty-two days, he landed at New 
 Orleans, thence up the Mississippi and Illinois 
 rivers to Beardstown, and then to Sugar Grove, 
 where he landed in is:;;. He took up his 
 abode with one of the Boyer families, who then 
 lived in the south side of Sugar Grove, near 
 where the cemetery now i-. In 1838 he was 
 united in marriage to Mis- Sarah Goble. He 
 took up land and began life in earnest, lie 
 farmed extensively, raising cattle and hogs, 
 driving hundreds of the latter to Peoria, 
 Beardstown, Springfield and other marl, - 
 \i one time he owned a half section of land 
 lying north o Sweetwater, now owned by Mr. 
 Wernsing. In the fall of 1858 he began prepa- 
 rations 1'or building the hotel ai Greenview. 
 and in the spring of L859 he removed his fam- 
 ily to t , reen\ iew . h here some \ ea rs later he 
 died. He was. in many respects, a very re- 
 markable man. II,' was an unusually intelli- 
 gent man. an enterprising citizen and a won- 
 
 derfully accommodating neighbor, lie was a 
 useful man m the community where he lived. 
 Fred Wilkinson was horn in Sugar Grove in 
 1840. From his earliest manhood he ha- oc- 
 cupied positions of importance and honor in 
 the community where he lived. When barely 
 more than a hoc he was captain of the anti- 
 horse thief company at Grei uvie'n : a little later 
 he was :-chool director there, and while he was 
 in that position two new schoolhouses were 
 built there. He was early in the field for tin.' 
 improvement of the breed of our stock and 
 brought into the neighborhood several thor- 
 oughbred horses. Later .Mr. Wilkinson was 
 elected sheriff in ls7o ami served the people 
 
 -,, faithfully that he wa- elected for a se 
 
 term to the same otliee. Hi- \\;|- elected to the 
 
 legislature in 1886 and chosen to the same 
 position again in 1890. He was collector of 
 internal revenue for seven counties of the 
 eighth district from 1887 to 1889. He was 
 also United States ganger in distilleries 
 in Pekin, Illinois, from 1893 to 1899. 
 He was married to Mi— Olive Bishop. 
 October L0, 1895. In 1880 he bought the 
 Petersburg Democrat. (But this is told in 
 another place.) Mr. Wilkinson i- one of our 
 most useful ami enterprising citizens, using 
 his influence for every enterprise that promises 
 iln advancement and welfare of the town in 
 which he is a citizen. 
 
 ATHENS. 
 
 In giving the early settlements of the county 
 it is better to give them by neighborhoods or 
 -,■11 lenient- than by precincts or other political 
 divisions, because those settlements have no 
 agreement with the artificial divisions made 
 by man. This section includes the southeast 
 part of the county, bordering on Sangamon on 
 
 - south and touching Logan on the east. Be- 
 en,' the advent of the white man it was al- 
 most equall] divided between prairie and tim- 
 ber land. The western part from the Sanga- 
 mon river for a distance of almost four miles 
 is rolling and some of it broken by ravines and 
 was originally covered with forests of the finest 
 timber. Some small streams of water meander
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 6] 
 
 through this section, the largesl of which is In- children of Robert White live on tl M farm. 
 
 dian creek, which lakes its rise in the north A venerable elm, bearing the initials "W. U.S." 
 
 border of the territory referred to and flows was still standing a fev* years back, marking 
 
 northwest toward the Sangamon river. The the corner of the Shorl claim, as he marked it 
 
 timber thai was once so abundanl is nearly all when be took the claim. This same fall, or 
 
 gone and the land is in cultivation. The Chi- possibly the following spring, that of 1820, 
 
 cago, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad runs through Joseph Smith, who was from the southern part 
 
 this portion of the county, having a depol at of Kentucky, took a claim on the south side 
 
 lie town of Allan- of the Indian Poinl timber. Smith was a 
 
 I e yeat succeeding the admission of t Hi— wagonmaker by trade and had a shop at his 
 
 n ■ into the sister! I of states immigration home and was doubtless the firsl of thai trade 
 
 began to flow steadily into the Sangamon coun- on li e easl side of the Sangamon river in this 
 
 try and during the half decade following a county. He improved the farm afterward 
 
 ".real many settlements were formed in the ov. I b\ Alfred Turner. He died main years 
 
 various parts of thai country, li is admitted ago and was buried at Indian Point. Willi, i 
 
 b\ all thai the settlemenl of Clary's Grove was Holland, a brother-in-law of Smith, came from 
 
 the firsl settlemenl in the county, bul very -non Ohio and settled at this t ii n the south side 
 
 after, if not at the ver) time of thai settlement, of the Indian Poinl timber, lie was a black- 
 others were locating in other parts of the coun- smith and. like Smith, was the firsl of his trade 
 ty. li was the unvarying custom to make these in this whole section. He was appointed by the 
 settlements in the timber and near the streams governmi nl blacksmith for the Kickapoo ln- 
 of water. And here, on the very threshold of dians at a salan of five hundred dollars a year. 
 our investigation, we are environed with diffi- Some years later he wenl in the same capacity 
 culties. To designate an) one of the early set- to Peoria, or Fort ('lark, as ii was then, and 
 tiers as being the firsl is a responsibility thai finally died in Washington, Tazewell count)'. 
 we do not desire to assume. A number came In 1820 Matthew Rogers, from Otsego county, 
 in ai so near the same time and the evidence is New York, buill a log cabin one mile north and 
 so nearly balanced thai it is impossible at this easl of the present site of the town of Athens, 
 late date to determine who has a righl to claim He did nol occupy the cabin, however, till the 
 the honor. Among the very earliest, however, spring of LS21. Four years after this, when 
 we may mention Robert While and William B. the land came into market, be entered this tract 
 Shori. who were both from Green county, Ken- together with a large amount beside. Mr. 
 tueky, and who settled in the Indian Point Rogers lived on Ibis place for many years. In 
 timber. Shorl located on the place still occu- old age, however, be removed to Athens, where 
 by his son James short, now a man of he died in L847. His life was so prominently 
 eight) years of age, and Roberl White, connected with the early settlemenl of this see- 
 where his grandson John \. While now resides, tion of country that be deserves more than a 
 These men are said to lane slaked off their passing notice. lie was a descendanl from the 
 claims and begun their improvements in the same stock with the celebrated John Rogers 
 fall of 1819. The claims they at firsl staked who was burned ai the -lake, a martyr to his 
 off and improved and afterward entered, they devotion to religious principles. He married 
 lived mi the remainder of their lives. Short Anna, daughter of Timothy and Myriam Lei 
 
 • \i'*\ in L863 and was buried in the Lebanon Morse, through wl i the family is related to 
 
 cemetery. He was, doubtless, the "mosl mar- the late Professor S. F. B. Morse, the illustri- 
 
 ried" man in the county, for no less than five ous inventor of the electric telegraph. While 
 
 nine- had he plighted lii- vows a1 the hymenial in Mew York Matthew Roger occupied a promi- 
 
 aliar. Mr. White died nearly fifty years ago nenl position in society and was ai one pun 
 
 and his remains also resl in the Lebanon ceme- colonel of militia. The family emigrated to 
 
 tery. The Short homestead is occupied by Illinois in 1818, or rather started then, bul did 
 
 James B. Short, son of William B. The grand- nol reach here until 1819. Mr. Rogers buil! a
 
 62 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 frame bam in 1825 or L826 and this is said to family of sons, several of whom died vcars ago. 
 
 be the Brst frame building erected in the state These were Daniel, Xinian. James and John, 
 
 north of the Sangamon river. Mr. Rogers while William, l>r. Thomas L. and Abraham 
 
 reared a family who performed an important lived to be old men. Some of the third genera- 
 
 parl in the future development of Menard tion still live in this vicinity. Among them 
 
 county. Henry ('. Rogers, bis eldesi son, lived we may mention Xinian 0., one of the success- 
 
 a useful and honored life and died some years ful farmers of that part of Menard county, 
 
 ago on the old homestead near Alliens. One id' The settlements thus far named were the very 
 
 his daughters was the wife el' Amberry Rankin, earliest in this part of the county. 
 
 id' Alliens, and another the wile of Harry Rig- In L820 Orimal ('lark laid claim to the tract 
 
 gin, of whom we will speak further on. Mr. of land which Athens now stands upon, bui he 
 
 Rogers established the first nursery in tins pail did not remain on it long, hut soon -old it to 
 
 of the slate, and In 1 was the lirsl postmaster Rev. John Overstreet, of whom the romantic 
 
 at Athens. When Abraham Lincoln kept the story is told in another place, (.'lark removed 
 
 postolliee al Xew Salem he used to walk across from Athens to Fancy Creek, below Williams- 
 
 the country, through the woods, to Athens to ville, and later lo Springfield, where he died 
 
 gel the mail for Salem, which he earned m his many years ago. The year L820 brought a large 
 
 pocket. number of recruits to the population of this 
 
 In the fall <d' 1819 Thomas l'nuim came section. .Martin Higgins, son-in-law of Mat- 
 
 1'roin St. Clair county and laid a claim south- ihew Rogers, spoken of above, John Moore, a 
 
 cast of where Athens now stands. After taking Mr. Terry. William Armstrong, dames Haynes 
 
 the preliminary steps necessary to secure his and John Good, all came this year. Higgins 
 
 claim he returned to his family. In the spring was from Xew York and settled what is known 
 
 of 1820 he returned and raised a crop, hut did as the William l'rii farm, but he -old it in 
 
 not remove his family here till in the fall. On a few years to Thomas Primm ami located south 
 his first trip he traded (he horse he rode to of Indian creek, where he lived and died. Moore 
 Stephen England, in payment for which En- ami Terry were both from Vermont and set- 
 gland was to build him a log cabin and make tied at Indian Point. M v was a eabinet- 
 
 for him a stipulated number of rails. The maker by trade and hail the first cabinet -hop 
 
 cabin was built and the rail- made in 1819, hut. in this county. Tern and wife were both highly 
 
 as said above, Primm did not move till the fall educated ami accomplished and found them- 
 
 of L820. selves ill al ease among their rustic neighbors, 
 
 John Primm, a brother of the above, came so they s i sold out to Martin Higgins and re- 
 in 1820. The advent of the Primm family in moved to Springfield, where lhe\ remained for 
 Illinois dates hack lo a very early day. John a few vcars and then returned to their native 
 Primm, the father of Thomas and John, above "Green Mountain state." Moore left in a \\'\\ 
 mentioned, came from Virginia lo St. Clair years ami returned no more. William Arm- 
 county in L802, and the date of the coming of strong al first settled on Indian creek, hul after 
 their mother's family runs sidi farther hack, a few years he sold out to Eli Branson and 
 
 Mrs. Primm was a daughter of Abram Stal- ved to the vicinity of what is now Oakford 
 
 lings, who came down the Ohio river in a iioat and settled there, and there he lived and died, 
 
 from Virginia and settled in the hounds of Many of his descendants are around Oakford 
 
 what is now St. Clair county in 1796. John yet. Pleasant Armstrong, a single brother. 
 
 Primm, the father of the Thomas and John lived with William and he was one of I he early 
 
 above named, ami his three brothers. William, justices of the peace of this section. Haynes 
 
 .1; 's and Thomas, were all soldiers in the and Good were both from Ohio. The former 
 
 Revolutionary war ami fought in Washington's settled on Indian creek and afterward sold to 
 
 command. Thomas Primm, who came here in Martin Higgins and moved to Texas. Good 
 
 1819, died at his home mar Athens in 1856 at went farther west and settled on the prairie 
 
 the age of seventy-four years lie had a large between the Indian creek and Oak Bridge tim-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 ber. Hi', after a few years, sold to old man died where I ln\ had settled so long before 
 
 Tin', the father of the late Judge John Tice, Their son, Jefferson Johnson, owns the old 
 
 and in company with Haynes went to Texas, borne farm and jusl in fronl of bis i lern 
 
 James Gardner also came in L820 and settled farm house ma) still be seen signs of where the 
 
 mi the farm on which old Ham Riggin lived house stood in which the famih was reared, 
 
 and died. Gardner was from Now York and Jeff Johnson is well on toward eighty years of 
 
 his aged Eather came with him. Later he weni age and still lives on the very spol where he 
 
 to Fulton county. In 182] Walter Turner was born. His brother, John Johnson, is still 
 
 came and laid a claim on the south sale of the living in the same community. 
 
 Indian Point timber, which he improved and, Williams located wesl of Johnson and farther 
 
 being a tanner by trade, be later opened a tan- down the creek and. being a tanner, he run a 
 
 yard, which be run for a number of years to lanyard in connection with his farming, lie 
 
 the greal benefit of the community. He lived reared a large family and amassed quite a large 
 
 ami died on the same farm and his youngest fortune. He died in is::; and was buried on 
 
 sun. William, imw owns it. llarn Riggin rami' the farm where he had lived. The late Colonel 
 
 thai same year, bough! a claim and engaged in John Williams was the son of James Williams 
 
 tilling the soil. His ancestors came from [re- and died here a few years ago. Colonel Wil- 
 
 land and there the name was aol Riggin, but liaras was one of the must successful financiers 
 
 O'Regan. When his ancestors came to America, in tins pari of the state. To him more than 
 
 having renounced Romanism and espoused to an) other man are we indebted for the com- 
 
 Protestantism, they changed the aame to what pletion of the railroad which connects us with 
 
 it now i- and thrv have borne it ever since. He the capital. His son George now lives on the 
 
 was often beard to express regrel that the old homestead of his father I grandfather. 
 
 change was ever made. Harry Riggin was one John \. Moore came from Kentucky as early 
 
 of the must enterprising and useful citizens in us 1823 and possibly a year earlier. Included 
 
 his time in the county. His name was often among those who came prior in 1830 we find 
 
 before the public I'm' | >< >>• 1 1 i< ms of trusl ami the names "I' John Turner, William Stanley, 
 
 honor, lie was a member of the board of com- Scott Rawlins, Jonathan Dunn, Asa Canter- 
 
 missioners lor Sangamon count) who located berry, John S. Alexander, William McDougall, 
 
 the county -eat. lie was at differeni times a Theophilas Bracken, Allen Turner, Ambern 
 
 candidate lor office, bul was defeated, hi- com- Rankin ami Fleming Hall. NTearly all of these 
 
 petitors being such men at Stephen T. Logan, were from Kentucky ami Ohio ami settled mi 
 
 Ninian Edwards and Abraham Lincoln nun Indian creek ami in the vicinity of Athens, or 
 
 who later achieved fame in a much wider field, where Athens now stands. Fleming Hall had 
 
 His long, useful and public-spirited life closed -one from Virginia to Missouri in 1828 ami 
 
 in 1874, after he had attained the ripe age in 1829 he came to Menard and pre-empted 
 
 of eighty-one years and -i\ month-. land mi which part of Athens now stands, lie 
 
 Elisha, Aimer ami .lame- Hall, brothers, lived on tin- lam! two years and thin entered 
 
 came from Ohio and settled in the vicinity of it and soon after he sold il to Aimer Hall and 
 
 Athens in 1822. Some of their descendants Mr. Catterlin. Canterberry and Alexander were 
 
 aie living in and ar nl Athens still. Philip both from Kentucky and the) settled south of 
 
 Smith, also from Ohio, came Ibis \ear ami Athens. Some of the descendants of Canter- 
 made improvements where Theophilus Turner bcrr\ are -nil in the neighborhood where he at 
 afterward lived. Smith was a blacksmith ami tir-i settled. Scotl Rawlins settled on ami im- 
 followed his trade in connection with farming, proved the farm thai W. T. Rankin owned and 
 
 In is-.':; William Johnson ami .lames William- lived on I'm- a iber of years. Rawlins was a 
 
 came from Lath county, Kentucky, ami began kind of horse doctor ami horse jockey and not 
 
 improving claim- north of Indian creek. Mr. in first-class odor with hi- neighbors. Indeed 
 
 Johnson died in 1843. His wife survived him hi- sudden accumulation of large numbers ol 
 
 a great main' years ami at an advanced age -lie horses at differeni times warranted the sus-
 
 i;i 
 
 PAST AND PKESENT OF MENAHD COUNTY 
 
 picion thai they were not always gotten by 
 legitimate humus, so that his increasing un- 
 popularity led him to dispose of his laud at an 
 early daj and he removed to an island in the 
 [llinois river near Bath, when 1 he died many 
 years in the past. MeDougall, Bracken and the 
 Rankins are dead, but have a number of repre- 
 sentatives lefl in the community. 
 
 During the years L830, 1S31 and is:;-.- but 
 few recruits were added to the population of 
 this vicinity on account of the excitement inci- 
 dent to the Black Hawk war, which occurred at 
 this time. However, in the spring of 1832 J. 
 Kennedy Kincaid. then a young man. came 
 from Bath county, Kentucky, and located in 
 the neighborhood. He was a carpenter by 
 trade and found here a very inviting field for 
 displaying his mechanical skill. He landed at 
 Beardstown, from the steamboat on which he 
 had found passage, and walked to Springfield 
 in order to husband his scanty means so as to 
 be able to buy a kit of tools at the latter town. 
 Mr. Kincaid worked ai his trade and also 
 taught school part of the time, and by dint of 
 industry and economy he soon had means 
 enough to enter a small tract of land. In the 
 fall of 1833 his I'athei'. Andrew Kincaid. came 
 nut from Kentucky on horseback to visit his 
 son and to prospect the country. He returned 
 well pleased ami in the fall of 1834 he came 
 with his family and settled on the farm where 
 his son Thomas Kincaid afterward lived and 
 died. After a long and useful career he closed 
 his life in Is;-.' ;it the ripe old age of eighty- 
 seven years. His wife lingered on the shores 
 id' time till in March, 1879, when she followed 
 the beckoning hand of her husband and died at 
 t he more ad\ anced age of ninety-one. They left a 
 large family and their sons were among the 
 most wealthy ami successful farmers in central 
 Illinois. Their grandchildren have now taken 
 the places el' their parents and grandparents 
 and are among the reliable and successful men 
 in the various callings of life, .lame- Ra ikin 
 came from Kentucky and settled here in 1S33. 
 Later on, in 1839 and 1840, perhaps, further 
 settlements were made by Jesse G-. Hurt. David 
 and James K. Hurl, .(esse Preston, Josiah 
 Francis, Thomas Hargus, William Straw- 
 bridge, Charles Robinson, R. I.. Wilson, Neal 
 
 and Archibald Johnson and others doubtless 
 whose names have passed from memory. But 
 -pace forbids us to give the detail of settlements 
 of later years, as the task would be endless. 
 These were all good and true men. as the in- 
 heritance that they worked nut and left to their 
 posterity abundantly proves. 
 
 The early pioneers knew nothing of the com- 
 forts and conveniences that we are surrounded 
 with al the present time. Naught was here 
 but the wild unbroken forest and prairie, the 
 soil rich and generous, it is true, but it was un- 
 subdued ami was still the hunting ground of 
 the red man. Without roads, without bridges 
 ami far removed from the marts of trade, the 
 incentive to agricultural pursuits was very 
 weak. Yet while confronted with all these man- 
 ifold annoyances and threatening obstacles, the 
 love of liberty for themselves and children and 
 the fond ho] f one day acquiring a com- 
 petency and owning these broad and fertile 
 fields, they bravely erected their cabins and un- 
 flinchingly entered into the long and arduous 
 battle. In many new countries there is one 
 obstacle to overcome that the people of this 
 section did not have to meet. In most new 
 countries the first settlers are a das- of roving 
 adventurers who stop for a time and then move 
 on to other scenes, hut the great element of 
 success in the first-comers to this part of Illi- 
 nois was that unyielding inflexibility of pur- 
 pose in which they set about making homes for 
 themselves and families. Though most of 
 them were men of but limited mean-, fel with 
 their determination, the aid, encouragement 
 and help of the wives and daughters, and the 
 health and buoyancy produced by their sim- 
 ple mode of life, they entered upon the task to 
 win. Al least ninety-five per cent of them 
 came to make homes and subsequent events 
 have fully proved this to be true. There are 
 many here to-day an abstract of whose title 
 is simply the patent I nan the government and 
 the deed from the father to the son. Some 
 of them hold their title direct from the gov- 
 ernment over the signature of John Quincy 
 Adams. The inconveniences and difficulties 
 endured by these pioneers were of such a char- 
 acter as would appall the heart of the bravest 
 of the present generation. Often their milling
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 
 had in be done ai points one liundred miles 
 away and the necessar\ supplies for the fam- 
 ily were <uil\ secured at a like distance. Mr. 
 l'niniu told the writer thai his father used to 
 go in St. Louis in mill, a distance of no less than 
 one hundred and twenty miles, and pari of the 
 way there was no road whatever. 
 
 The firs! postoffice established north of the 
 Sangamon was at the house of Matthew Rog- 
 ers and was known as Rogers' postoffice. The 
 exad date of its establishment is nol known, 
 Imt it was nol earlier than 1826 or 182V. The 
 mail was carried on this line on horseback from 
 Springfield to Lewiston by way of Rogers, 
 Walker's Grove and Havana and was known as 
 the Spoon river route. John Renfro was the 
 mail carrier on this route fur a number of 
 years. At thai time n took four weeks for 
 a letter to go to or from New York — two 
 months to gel an answer from there. When 
 the town of Athens was laid oul the office was 
 removed to thai place and the name changed 
 in Athens postoffice. Henry C. Rogers suc- 
 ceeded his father as postmaster and held the 
 position for inan\ years. The lirst school in 
 this vicinity was "kept" by J. A. Mendall, in 
 a cabin near the residence of Henry C. Rogers. 
 Mendall was an eastern man, finely educated 
 and a successful teacher, but he bad one draw- 
 back, thai was thai he was too fond of the 
 flowing bowl, and his occasional sprees were; 
 a greal annoyance to Ins patrons. The last 
 known of him was thai he wenl to Peoria to 
 engage in the stud] of law, and if he did not 
 
 succ I in the law he would, al least, be able to 
 
 satisfy the cravings of his appetite. Henn C. 
 Rogers was himself an early pedagogue in this 
 section and taught in the days when it was the 
 fashion for the "master" to "board around," 
 and when greased paper served in place of 
 window ulas-. Bui those days of "subscription" 
 schools and teachers "boarding around" were 
 doomed to have an end. This "new world" 
 was nol held in reserve for thousands of years 
 for mi purpose. Its soil of inexhaustible fer- 
 tility, its deep and almosl unlimited forests, 
 its unmeasured wraith of base and precious 
 metals, its untold fields of coal — all these were 
 nol hidden away here for naught, bul infinite 
 wisdom stored iliem here for modern Christian- 
 
 it} to make them the agents of enlightened civ- 
 ilization to illume and bless the world. And 
 e\ en step iii i he I me of educal ion is a pari of 
 this plan and every donor of means and even 
 teacher, in short, all wdto lend their aid or in- 
 fluence to the work of education is an agenl in 
 this work. Away back in 1856 I he Indian 
 
 Point people fell the i d of better facilities 
 
 for the education of their children and to the 
 end of bettering tin ir opportunities they nol up 
 a private subscription in order to build a bouse 
 and organize a school suited to their needs. In 
 this way three thousand dollars were raised 
 ami North Sangamon Academy was erected. 
 The building is a substantial brick of (wo sto- 
 ries and -lands |n the edge of Indian creek tim- 
 ber. Located as it is in a grove of native 
 
 forest { rees and \\ here there are 
 
 "Books iii the running brooks, sermons in 
 stones, 
 And good in everything," 
 
 one would naturally infer that the enterprise 
 would meet with merited success, for surely 
 there is no place anywhere that could surpass 
 this in the natural influences of the surround- 
 ings to contribute to thought and meditation 
 
 As till- school is spoken of elsewhere, we will 
 
 onl\ say in this connection that the school ran 
 for years as an academy to the entire satisfac- 
 tion of all concerned and did a vast amount of 
 
 g 1. A number of years ago tl ceased to he 
 
 run as an academy, hut is conducted under the 
 
 school law of the stale, having two r ns and 
 
 the school graded. 
 
 Ilarn Riggin was the lirst merchant in this 
 pari of the county. As far back as 1825 or 
 is-.'!', he opened a small sinek of goods on his 
 farm, and lie had a considerable trade. It was 
 
 a greal accomi lation to the community, as 
 
 before this store was opened the citizens were 
 obliged to go to Springfield or Beardstown lor 
 whatever in this line they mighl want. Bui as 
 the years glided by ami population increased 
 villages sprang up here and there, and mam of 
 
 Hie t rials thai tl arlier settlers experie I 
 
 became a thing of the past. When the \ illage 
 ol \i hen- wa- opened up M r. Riggin mm 
 stock of g Is to that place. 
 
 Religion wa- one of the first interests thai
 
 (ill PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 claimed the attention of the first settlers of referred to another place, where a full account 
 
 this section and the first religious society is given. 
 
 tori I was upon a voluntary basis t eel Of the town of Athens but little will be said 
 
 (lie spiritual wants of the period. As early as here as a fuller detail will i>e found in another 
 IS20 Joseph Smith ami wife, James Baynes place. The town occupies a very eligible posi- 
 ainl wife and William Holland and wife organ- tion, being surrounded by a country peculiarly 
 ized themselves into a elass of the Methodist adapted to agricultural and horticultural pur- 
 order under the leadership of Mr. Holland, suits The prairies adjacent to it are as rich 
 This was tin' first religious society in this whole as any under the sun. while near by are vast 
 -eel ion ami was the basis of the first Methodist bodies of splendid timber. Bui her wealth is 
 Episcopal church in the county. Soon after not confined to her agriculture or her horti- 
 this organization the Rev. .lames Simms took culture, hut the very earth upon which the 
 charge of its interests. The Cumberland Pres- town stands i> underlaid with vast held- of 
 byterians were in this field in a very early day. coal, a source of inexhaustible wealth, and thai 
 The first church building erected in this whole coal lie- only one hundred feet below the sur- 
 Athens territory was the Lebanon Cumberland face In the year ls:il James Stephenson. 
 
 Presbyteri thurch in the northwesl part of the county surveyor for Sangamon county, sur- 
 
 Indian crock timber. This was indeed a primi- veyed and platted the town for the owner, the 
 
 five affair. It was built of logs and the archi- Rev. John Overstreet. Tl riginal plat con- 
 
 teeture and all id' its furniture and appoint- tained about forty acres, to which four addi- 
 
 ments were rude and primitive in the extreme, tions have since been made. Two log 
 
 This I -e was put up near the close of 182-1 cabins, one for a residence and the other 
 
 or in the beginning id' L825. Having, in a few for a blacksmith shop, had been erected by 
 
 years, served its day and generation, it was re- Orimal Clark, who had laid a claim here a year 
 
 moved and a better building, one id' frame, or two previous to the laying out of the town 
 
 was put in its place, ami after some years a and from whom Overstreet purchased the orig- 
 
 verv neat and commod'ous frame church was inal town site. A small '"hand mill." operated 
 
 erected. Tl is house served all the purpose- of by horsepower, was also here at the laying-out 
 
 the congregation till the year 1866. At that of the village. About is:;-.' or is:;:; Colonel 
 
 time R. It. Miller was pastor of the church and Matthew Rogers became a citizen of the place 
 
 under his leadership they agitated the question and made the first permanent improvements, 
 
 of building a house of worship. This agitation building a large and commodious store-room, 
 
 began in 1866, hut the house was not built till which was for many years occupied by 1.. Sal- 
 
 1867. Lt is a brick building, on a stone founda- zenstein. John Overstreet purchased the rem- 
 
 tion, and the work and material are all first nant of the stock that Harry Riggin had had on 
 
 class, lt is of ample size and it stand- to-day U,< farm and > making some additions to this 
 
 as g I as when first erected, so far as the stock ' lle °P ened U P '" ""' '"""• ^^than 
 
 foundation, wall, etc., are concerned. The Dunn was the second to enter the lists as a mer- 
 
 .,.,,,,, . i ,. ,-, chant, hut his lib' in this line was -hort and he 
 nev. John Al. tserrv, the great apostle ol ( inn- 
 
 ,,,,., .' . .' , ,,,. . retired in favor of some more luckv adventurer. 
 
 lierland rresbvtenanism in central Illinois, was , . , 
 
 In the latter part ol 1832 or the beginning ol 
 
 the first preacher tor tins congregation ami he , ,.,., TT ... , , . . T , . . 
 
 is...; Harry Riggin and Amberry A. Rankin 
 
 served them several vears. Revs. Thomas -, ' ,, , , », 
 
 opened a store in tin- place and alter two vears 
 
 Campbell and Gilbert Id- served then, also. ><A<] tll( . M . st()( . k tll Ma ,. tm M Morgan . Durin g 
 
 A g the early communicants of this congre- lh( , s . ||m . year James ,, Allerj and Sl , ,„,,„, 
 
 gation were the families of Robert White. Wil- r | :11 . k - p,.,,,,,,,, merchants of the village, as did 
 
 liain B. Short, Francis Rayburn, .lames Wil- \\ ,. . m ,| Elisha Hall. In 1836 Sebastian 
 
 liam- llarn Riggin and Martin Higgins and Stone became a partner with Allen and this 
 
 many others. For the history of the Presby- linn continued for a number id' years. All the 
 
 teiian church al Indian Point the reader is c Is thai came to Athens for a number of
 
 PAST AM' PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 6 1 ) 
 
 years had to be broughi from St. Louis, a dis- Orleans market. Some two or three months 
 tance of one hundred and twenty miles, and were consumed in grinding the load, the bolt- 
 when we lake into consideration the fact that ing being done bj hand. This proved an un- 
 the mads were poor, where there were any at fortunate venture. Overstreei and David Hun 
 all. and thai the goods wciv invariably trans- never returned. They were stricken with dis- 
 ported by ox teams, it is not to lie wondered at ease ami died in the Crescent City, .lesse (i. 
 
 thai on the day that a consignmenl of o l s Hurt returned, broken in purse and in spirit. 
 
 arrived and were to he opened there was com- In an early day Jonathan Dunn buill a steam 
 
 motion anion-' "the natives." Such a day was grisl mill here ami after operating d a year or 
 
 like a da} in our time when Barnum's own and two he sold out to Strawbridge & Croft. They 
 
 only show on earth comes into town. The attached a distillery to it ami ran the two to- 
 
 bustle and noise that was seen ami heard on gether lor a time, but this has long since been 
 
 such a day betokened a bright ami glorious a thing of the past. In L856 John Overstreet, 
 
 future for the young city. Hut. alas for human a relative of the pioneer, ami Alexander Hale 
 
 prospects and calculations! Tin 1 dark tidal buill a brick steam gristmill at ai tlay of 
 
 wave of adversity and broken hopes was soon eleven thousand dollars ami began operations in 
 
 to break over the town. In 1839 Menard county 1857. It was a very tine mill and for main 
 
 was organized ami. id' course, a count\ seal was rears it did a line business. It has lone since 
 
 to he -elect,',!, ami Athens, the oldest and then ceased to he. Salzenstein, the Eebrew mer- 
 
 the largest village in the limits of the new chant, did as much for Athens, financially, per- 
 
 county, entered the lists of competition. Athens haps, as any other man. The first blacksmith 
 
 played her hand with the greatest skill, hut s h p in the village was opened in 1832 by 
 
 Petersburg won the prize and left Allien- to Charles I'. Smith. He was followed later by 
 
 weep over blighted hope- and blasted expecta- T nas Tabor ami William Brown. A pottery 
 
 tions. Though time and space are limited, we w;;s operated here in tl arlv times by John 
 
 must give, as briefly as we can, the story of the Pierson, ami it did a paying business for a 
 
 "first mill in Athens." About 1826 Elijah time. Goble & Sackel ami als le Ramse} 
 
 Estep had erected a hand mill on the presenl tried the sa business at a later dale. Tradi- 
 
 site of Petersburg. Mills were so scarce and It tion Says that there was once a COtton-gin here, 
 
 was so difficult to secure "breadstuff" that the i, nt this must have been before "the winter of 
 
 Athenians decided that they must have a mill the deep snow." as. for some reason, no cotton 
 
 and. learning that the Estep mill could he was miH ,,| nere a ft er that dale. At one time 
 
 bought, they got up a public subscription to -old Salty," as Mr. Salzenstein was called. 
 
 buy it. The subscriptions were taken for brought a bale of clothing to this place ; a num- 
 
 nioiiev or labor: the cash subscribers were to her of persons were present when it was opened 
 
 have certain privileges and the subscribers "f and in a short lime cholera broke out and a 
 
 labor were to have certain rights. The mill number of people died fr it. [t was observed 
 
 wa- bought ami in 1829 it was moved and that those who were first stricken with it were 
 
 put in running order, with John Overstreei those who were presenl when the goods were 
 
 as manager. lie was to run the mill, keep opened. 
 
 it in repair, charge a jusl ami equitable loll. The history of the churches, schools, business, 
 
 and at the expiration of four years it was etc., is to he found In another chapter. 
 
 to belong to him. There wa- some trouble 
 
 between the "cash" subscribers and the "labor" 
 
 subscribers, hut the mill "cracked the corn" 
 
 for them all alike, and at the end of four SANDRIDGE. 
 
 years the mill belonged to Overstreet. About \'<\ Sandridge we do not mean the voting pre- 
 
 the year 1834 Overstreet -round a flatboal load cincl of that name, hut the settlement thai was 
 
 of flour in this mill and. in company with made north of that of Petersburg ami west of 
 
 Jesse <;. and David Hurt, took it to the New the Sangamon river, on to the wesl line of the
 
 68 
 
 I'. VST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 county. In Petersburg we included the Little 
 Grove, running almost as far north as the vil- 
 lage of Atterberry. But it is no matter about 
 tines; we arc giving settlements and the old 
 settlers, and in doing this linos play no nan. 
 This section, like the rest of Menard county, 
 is prairie with groves of timber interspersed, 
 giving it the appearance of a giant farm, with 
 orchards planted bere and there. This sec- 
 tion is a little more rolling, perhaps, than other 
 portions of the county, with rich and pro- 
 ductive soil, save a portion in its northern part, 
 where ridges of sand prevail, giving tin' name 
 to the locality. 
 
 Few indeeil antedate the settlers who came 
 first into this locality. There is, however, 
 greater trouble in determining who was in 
 reality the very first white man to locate here 
 than in any other part of the county. "Who 
 was the first settler of Sandridge?" Who will 
 answer the question? Thirty-nine years ago 
 tin- question was propounded to the oldest "in- 
 habitants" at that time, ami the replies did not 
 agree. One said most emphatically that it was 
 Jesse Armstrong; another, just a- old and just 
 as reliable, said it was Royal Potter: and a 
 third, just as good a witness, said it was Wil- 
 liam Sampson. Now. who can settle the dis- 
 pute? It will never he settled. They were all 
 la-re in 1819. and if there is any preponderance 
 in the testimony it is in favor of Mr. Arm- 
 strong. He was from Tennessee and laid a 
 claim near where Concord churcb now stands, 
 the cabin being about a half mile almost due 
 south of the church. After a. few years he re- 
 moved to Arkansas and later to Texas, where 
 he died. William Sampson was from Ken- 
 tucky and made improvement about a mile east 
 ami a little north of Armstrong's claim. He 
 "kept batch" for awhile hut was married in 
 182:1 or L822 to Hannah Sohmick. After mak- 
 ing several improvements in Sandridge he 
 finally crossed the river to the neighborhood of 
 
 tit nview, where he died. tlis sons are all 
 
 dead, too. Potter was from Tennessee or Ken- 
 tucky anil made improvement on land that now 
 is a part of the Shipley estate. This land he 
 afterward sold to Sampson and Sampson sold 
 it to Reason Shipley. George ami Jesse Miller 
 came here in 1820 and located in the northeast 
 
 corner of this territory, near the Sangamon 
 river. The Millers kept a ferry on the river 
 and to this day it is called Miller's ferry. In 
 days gone by a town was laid out and some im- 
 provement made at this ferry, hut on the Mason 
 county side. Bannister Bond, who came front 
 Tennessee, laid a claim on land about three 
 miles due north of Petersburg, but in a short 
 time located in Clary's Grove. He was noted 
 for his powerful muscular development and 
 physical endurance. He would cut timber and 
 work it up into rails by day and then at night 
 he would carry them on his shoulder to his 
 clearing and build a fence with them. George 
 Budspeth came from Monroe county, Alabama, 
 in 1823. Elias Hohimer, Reason Shipley. 
 Jacob Short and his sons. Obadiah, .lames and 
 Harrison, came in 1824. Hohimer and Shipley 
 were from Kentucky and were permanent citi- 
 zens here from the ti they came. Short and 
 
 his -ons were from Madison county, in this state, 
 and first settled near Petersburg and then re- 
 moved to Sandridge. Jacob Short was a ranger 
 in the war of 1812 and did his country good 
 service. The year 1825 brought large numbers 
 of recruits to this part of the county. John 
 Clary, who had settled in Clary's Grove in 1819. 
 came at this date, and with him came his sons, 
 John A. and Hugh. William Armstrong and 
 his brother Pleasant. Isaac Colson, William and 
 
 .la s Rutledge, John Cameron, Charles Revis 
 
 and his sons. Isham and Alexander. Absalom 
 Mounts and his son .lames. Robert Davis, and 
 doubtless sonic others were here before the 
 dose of this year. In a former history of this 
 county it is said that George Kirby and Wil- 
 liam Watkins, known as "Fiddler Hill." were 
 settlers of this county before 1825. Now, the 
 fact is that Mr. Kirby was horn, not earlier 
 than 1810, in Madison county. Illinois, while 
 Watkins was horn in Menard county, and the 
 very first settler in the county was not here till 
 1819. George Kirby and "Fiddler Bill" Wat- 
 kins were settlers in Sandridge when they were 
 young men. hut they lacked a long way of being 
 
 ; ne the first settlers. Watkins was the first 
 
 white child horn in the county, hut that could 
 not have been earlier than 1819, and he would 
 have been quite a juvenile settler prior to 1825. 
 The Armstrongs were from Kentucky and had
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 li'l 
 
 settled "ii Imliaii creek before they went to 
 Sandridge. Colson was from the state of 
 Maine and settled in the northwest part of this 
 section. The Rutledges were originally from 
 South Carolina, but had lived for some time 
 in White county, in tins state, before coming 
 here. Cameron was a brother-in-law of Wil- 
 liam Rutledge and with him settled in the 
 southeastern part of this section. They, of 
 course, are dead, hut mam of their descend- 
 ant- are here James Pantier and Ins son, 
 David M., came here in 1826. The elder Pan- 
 tier was a Kentuckian by birth and was the 
 second male white child horn in the stale, his 
 lather having accompanied Daniel Boone in 
 In- hunting and warring with the savage red- 
 skin- in "the dark and bloody ground." He 
 settled near the site of Concord church and 
 lived there till near his death, when he went 
 to live with Ins son. Da\ id M. Pantier. lie 
 lies iii the old burying-ground on the farm that 
 belonged to Rev. A. II. Goodpasture. David 
 M. Pantier died seme fifteen or eighteen years 
 ago. Among those coming in 182? we name 
 Thomas Dowell, John and .Tames Yardley, 
 Solomon Norris, James Rt fls, George Bow- 
 man, and John Brahm, Sr. Dowell was from 
 the south, and settled on the river bottom, near 
 w here the \ illage of l >akford new stands, .lames 
 Eudspeth, Mathias Young and John P>. Colson 
 were here before the deep snow. During the fall 
 and winter after the deep -new. a large settle- 
 mem was in and around where the village of 
 Oakford new -lands. Amos Ogden, Isaac 
 White, .Matthew Lownsbern and sons. Jona- 
 than and Matthew, ami ether-, were among the 
 delegation. Nearly all the settlers mentioned 
 lefore were from the south, hut these last 
 named wen- from the northern ami eastern 
 -tale-, and they gave to the neighborhood the 
 nam.' et the "Yankei Sett lenient" to distin- 
 guish it. Passing down through the years we 
 find ili'- li-i already given, increased by the 
 
 ni - of William B. Cloe, Samuel Lownsberry, 
 
 Isaac Ogden, Bayden Thomas, John Wald- 
 ridge, John Kirby, Milieu t;. Combs, dames 
 Mini. George R. Watkins, J. L. Short, James 
 Tetter and E. < '. Stith. These were all here 
 prior to the year 1840. All of these have cross- 
 ed the dark river except Samuel Lownsberry 
 
 and Milton G. Combs, and thev are nearins 
 the crossing. 
 
 The pillage oJ Oakford was surveyed and 
 platted for the proprietors, William Oakford 
 and William Colson, h\ surveyor A. .1. Kelly, 
 in March, 1872. The town plat contains sixty 
 acres and is in the midst of a magnificent 
 agricultural district. The land on which the 
 town i- located belonged to Colson and Oak- 
 ford secured a half interest by using his influ- 
 ence getting a station there. A public sale of 
 lots wa- made mi the l Lth of April, is;-.', and 
 over two thousand dollars worth were disposed 
 of, and in a short time the work of improve- 
 ment wa- begun. The first building was called 
 the railroad store, a shanty in which was kept 
 supplies I'er the railroad hands. Soon after the 
 village was laid out William Oakford buill a 
 storeroom, and opened a stock of groceries in 
 it. In the summer of 1872 a stock of goods for 
 a general store was opened by Calvin Atter- 
 berry, who had been in business in "Bobtown." 
 In is;:: Isaac Ogden and A. G. Colson bought 
 Aiierhcrry out. In January, 1874, 1.. W. 
 Roberts bought Colson out and the firm became 
 Ogden & Roberts. In October, is;:,, the] -old 
 out to Sutton Brothers, who operated the -tore 
 three years, and then sold out to S. I.. Watkins 
 & Brother. In dune. 1873, IT. A. Bennett, •■( 
 Petersburg, opened a -lock of drugs and shelf 
 goods, in the old railroad store. This changed 
 hands several tune-, and finally, in L876, s. L. 
 Watkins bought the establishment. In the 
 spring id' 1875 Dr. .1. D. Whitney ami W. ( '. 
 Roberts opened a drug -lore. In L876 <>. J. 
 Vlaltby and John M. Walker opened a harness 
 -hop. The first dwellings were built in 1872 
 
 by Dr. .1. D. Whille\ and Charles Me\er-. 
 
 Thus the town started oul ami steadily view 
 from year to .ear. I ill it is a town of live 
 or sis hundred inhabitants and is a good busi- 
 ness point. The first marriages in the town 
 were: A. i;. Colson to Rachael Skaggs, in 
 L872, and I.. W. Roberts to Carrie C. Ogden, 
 in is;:;. Dr. .1. D. Whitley wa- the first prac- 
 ticing physician there, and Dr. .1. T. Miers, 
 now of Petersburg, also practiced for a time. 
 I >r. Bolinger pract iced medicine there for a 
 number of years, and died there two vears ago.
 
 70 
 
 PAST AND l'RFSKNT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 They had saloons in the place during almost 
 all of its history. 
 
 Oakford has noi grown much of late years 
 but is a substantial little business town, having 
 two large general stun-, carrying dn goods and 
 groceries, one owned by Oliver Maltby, who 
 has been in business in the place for over twen- 
 ty year.-. There is one grain elevator, which 
 handles a large amount of grain. Marion At- 
 terberry owns a large drug store and also keeps 
 a stock of hardware. They have also a black- 
 smith simp and a splendid little hotel. They 
 have net neglected the matter of education for 
 they have an excellent school building of four 
 rooms, fully equipped with all that a modern 
 school requires. The veteran teacher. 1. N. 
 Hartley, is at present superintending the educa- 
 tion of tin' youth of the village ami surround- 
 ing community. Some years ago the Method- 
 ist church, which Formerly stood some Eour 
 miles southwest of the town, was moved to the 
 town. During the summer of 1904 the house 
 h;i> remodeled and i.- now one of the neat ami 
 
 c Eortable houses of worship of the county. 
 
 The congregation also owns a comfortable par- 
 sonage on a lot adjoining the church. Five or 
 six year- ago the town built a good town hall. 
 at a cost of about one thousand dollars. Oak- 
 ford has a very lino farming country around it. 
 ami the trade of the town i- equal to thai of 
 any town id' the same size in central Illinois. 
 
 ROCK CREEK. 
 
 ■•Time writes no wrinkles upon the brow of 
 Old Ocean, as upon those of the fading race of 
 man." With some degree of truth, the same 
 
 might he -aid of the countl'N oil Rock Creek. 
 
 The last eighty years, it is plain to be -em. 
 has wrought as little change on the general ap- 
 pearance ..i' the country as upon any part of 
 this county. The storms and sunshine of more 
 than lour score years have flung light and shade 
 over its hills and vales since the men. whom 
 Cod made white, laid their claims and built 
 their cabins in its sheltering timber. These 
 i ,i -in- have rot led away, their weight-pole roofs 
 are gone, and the smoke is seen no more as it 
 curls from the low top of the mud-daubed stick 
 
 chimney, and the wild game i- gone forever. 
 hut the timber has been better protected than 
 
 in other localities, while the hill- and fields and 
 rippling streams have been lcs> distorted by 
 the hand of civilization than elsewhere. The 
 little stream. Rock creek, which gives its name 
 to this settlement. Hows almost east, in it- gen- 
 eral direction hut it meander- in its course. 
 dallying ami playing on its way, a- if charmed 
 h\ the beauty of the scene and loath to mingle 
 it- ivaters with the turbid, murky flow of the 
 Sangamon. The territory that we include in 
 what we term "Rock Creek" includes what is 
 known as "Wolf county." Why this name was 
 ever given to this section we cannot learn. 
 After diligent enquiry for many years, we have 
 no idea why the name was ever applied. 
 
 The first cabin ever built by a white man 
 in this settlement is said to have been put up 
 by Anmr Batterton. Amor Batterton was from 
 Kentucky and built this cabin on Rock creek 
 in L819. Some claim that he came to this 
 vicinity in the fall of 181S. and put up the 
 cabin lun that it was noi occupied till the next 
 year. No matter how this may he. it is beyond 
 dispute that he settled here in 1819. He reared 
 a large family and many of his descendants 
 are still living in this county. The same year 
 thai Batterton settled here, a man by the name 
 of Ratliff and his four sons. — James, Job, 
 William and Joshua, — .lames Fisher and George 
 Gamerel settled in the timber along the creek. 
 Jacob Miller settled at Farmer- Point in 1819. 
 Solomon Keltner and William Stephenson came 
 also in L819 or 1820 and located in the same 
 neighborhood. Rev. James Simnis and his son- 
 in-law, dames Black, also came in 1819-20, 
 and took claims. They were from Kentucky 
 and Mr. Simms told the following story, which 
 we give as he told it. and the reader ma\ set 
 his own estimate upon it: "That he was a 
 Cumberland Presbyterian minister, a greal re- 
 vivalist and a leader at the camp-meetings. He 
 established a •camp ground' soon after he came 
 in the neighborhood, which for many year- was 
 ili. scene of an annual camp-meeting, and that 
 some of the remains are still to be seen on the 
 sacred spot." This man Simms must have 
 taken an active part in temporal as well as 
 spiritual things, for he was the first repre-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 7] 
 
 sentative in the legislature from Sangamon particulars whatever. Elihu Bone died in IS56. 
 county. Bui the camp-meeting storj seems a rsaac Cogdell was a Kentuekian by birth and 
 little fishy, for qo such man was known to the came to Rock creek in 1826. He died twenty 
 historians of the early Cumberland Presbyterian years ago, on the old homestead. The father 
 church in Illinois. Absalom Matthews came of Isaac Cogdell, Joseph Cogdell, was a Baptisl 
 a l so tins year. This comprises the settlement preacher, and came to that settlemenl in LS23. 
 U p 1,1 the year 1821, when the following re- He died in 1828, his being one among the firsl 
 eruits were added to those already here: Tarl- deaths in that little settlement. Rev. John M. 
 ton Lloyd, George Miller, Marshall Duncan, Berry, a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, 
 David S. Taylor, Matthias, James and William came in 1821, and soon after organized a con- 
 I r oakum, and perhaps others whose names arc gregation of thai church, on Rock creek. He 
 forgotten. Lloyd was born in Virginia in 1784 was a man of unblemished Christian character 
 ami died in 1885,— over a hundred years old.— and of great power. He was the "apostle" of 
 he settled where he died. He said there were his church in central Illinois. He died in Clin- 
 iu,, cabins on the place when he came One ton, Illinois, sometime in the '50s. Elijah 
 of these was twelve by sixteen feel and into il Houghton came from Kentucky and settled on 
 he moved his family, in which they lived till Rock creek in 1824. His lather. Aaron Hough- 
 the nc\t summer. Two years later he built a ton, was a native of New Jersey, though oJ 
 hewxd-log house, eighteen by twenty feet; after- English stock. He was a soldier in the Revo- 
 ward this was weather-boarded and a frame ad- lutionary war. He emigrated to Kentucky. 
 
 dition built to it. This house was standing when il was, indeed, "the dark and bl ly 
 
 a short time ago, bul it wore the marks f time, ground," it being the battle-field of the south- 
 looking weather-beaten, moss-grown and near era and northern Indians, as it was later the 
 itsend. Lloyd had nothing when he came here, battle-field between the northern and southern 
 only a few household articles, — no stock or whites. Elijah Houghton was a man of con- 
 money. Soon after he came he boughl £ cow siderable prominence in the community and 
 from Shipley— probably Reason Shipley,— giv- died in 1852. A. M. Houghton, a son of 
 ing in exchange Tor it a wagon; he also bought Elijah, and who was horn in Illinois, was a very 
 
 , ther from George Greene, giving a feather prominent man in this section of the state. 
 
 bed for it. lie was a soldier in the war of Ho was known far and near a- "Hickory 
 
 L812, serving under Captain Henry West. Houghton. X an in central Illinois si I 
 
 Fourth Regiment, and was in the battle o1 New higher in public regard than he. Ih- word 
 
 Orleans. This Miller settled in the Sangamon was as good as his bond ; his judgment was good 
 
 bottom, and Duncan on what is known as Gar- on even subject; and no man- counsel was 
 
 den Prairie. Taylor boughl the place origin- soughl more than hi-, lie died - e years 
 
 all\ settled by Batterton and also the claim of ago in the same house in which be was born, 
 
 Matthews. The Yoaktims were natives of Vir- al the age of nearly seventy years. Hi- widow 
 
 ginia bul had migrated to Kentucky in an is >till living, at the home of her daughter. 
 
 early day an.] from there they came to Illinois. Mr>. John S. Hurie, within a shoii distance of 
 
 firsl stopping in Madison county, and after a the old home. Charles Houghton, a brother of 
 
 while they went to Montgomery, where they Elijah Houghton, came in 1824 and settled on 
 
 stopped a while, and then came on to Menard, the farm afterward owned bj Isaac Cogdell 
 
 Samuel Combs came from Kentucky in 1824 an. I on which Cogdell died. In the period of 
 
 and settled mi Rock creek, and two years later. 182(1 to L828. there were several additions to 
 
 in 1826, his brother. Jonas Combs, came and the settlement; Roberl Johnson, Jesse Vowell, 
 
 settled near him. The\ are both dead main Michael Davis and William Irwin came iii that 
 
 years ago, dying on the places thai they settled, time. .1. H. Smith was also an early settler 
 
 Elihu Bone came from Tennessee, in 182 f. and here. He was a son of Samuel Smith, of Rhode 
 
 boughl a claim from a man named Flvnn. on Island, who married a Rhodes, of the family ol 
 
 Bock creek. Of 'this Flvnn we could learn no Rhodes for wl i, n is -aid. Rhode Flam!
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 originally named. C. J. F. Clark may also be 
 ranked as one of bhe early settlers of this sec- 
 tion. Be \\a> one oi the first county commis- 
 sioners of Menard county and was the first 
 county judge, after the county was organized. 
 He served eight years as judge and four as 
 commissioner. He died many years ago. in 
 Cass county . 
 
 The above includes all the early settlers 
 whose names we could learn, though doubt- 
 less some were missed who deserve to lie men- 
 tioned among them, hut when we look hack 
 over a period of eighty-five years, it is not 
 strange that many of the pioneers who came to 
 tin- wilderness then and remained hut a short 
 time, or died in a few years, are forgotten by 
 the few left. We are soon forgotten. 
 
 "If you or 1 to-day should die, 
 
 The birds would sing as sweet to-morrov\ ; 
 The vernal Spring her flowers would bring, 
 
 And few would think of us with sorrow. 
 
 Yes, he is dead, would then he said; 
 
 The corn would floss, the grass yield hay. 
 The cattle low, the summer go, 
 
 And few would heed us passed away. 
 
 How soon we pass! How few, alas! 
 
 Remember those who turn to mold! 
 Whose faces fade, with autumn's shade. 
 
 Beneath the sodded churchyard cold! 
 
 Yes. it is so. We come, we go — 
 
 They hail our birth, they mourn us dead, 
 
 A day or more, the winter o'er, 
 Another takes our place instead." 
 
 It is with no intention of injustice to anyone 
 thai we quote these lines. They are beauti- 
 fully pathetic and as true as beautiful. None 
 mi— n> when we pass away hut our immediate 
 relatives and in a little time the\ forget us 
 and laugh as merrily as when we sat by their 
 side. Such is life, and such is human nature; 
 ami it is well that we can forget and that time 
 does thus heal our sorrows, or life would be- 
 come a burden that none of us could bear. 
 
 \|o-i of ill,' f 1 i-i e. liners to Rock Creek were 
 from Kentucky and Virginia, where timber and 
 running water existed in profuse abundance. 
 and the\ looked upon the timber that bordered 
 Rock creek and the Sangamon as a second 
 
 paradise. They then regarded the prairies as 
 barren wastes, lit for nothing but pasturage, 
 and tin,- was the reason that all the first set- 
 tlements wire made along tin 1 water courses, in 
 the edge of the timber. Drive wells were un- 
 known and to move out on the open prairie 
 would have been considered as great an act of 
 insanity as to attempl to cross the desert with- 
 out water. 
 
 One of the very lirst religious organiza- 
 tions formed in Menard county, was the Rock 
 (feck Cumberland Presbyterian church. It 
 was organized by the Eev. John M. Berry, 
 some claim as early as 1821 or is-.'-.', certainly 
 not later than IS-?:!. Rev. John Simms came 
 a short time prior to the organization of the 
 society and these two veteran pioneers and 
 preachers of the gospel laid out a camp-ground 
 in the timber of Bock creek and held camp 
 meetings there for many years. It was the 
 good -ceil sown in good ground that brought 
 forth the abundant harvest in after years, which 
 is still seen in the Bock Creek Cumberland 
 Presbyterian church. The church building 
 stands near where the camp-ground was lo- 
 cated. The lirst start at a place of worship 
 was the shed that was put up on the camp- 
 ground, but some time later they put up a log 
 house, which was used for a number of years 
 as a sehoolhouse and also a church. Some 
 years afterward they erected a frame church 
 of ample dimensions to nice, all their wants, 
 and this house served all their purposes till 
 some twelve or fifteen years ago whin they put 
 up the house that they how worship in. as neat 
 and comfortable a country church as can he 
 found in this or any other county in central 
 Illinois. They also have a comfortable par- 
 sonage, standing near the church. The Rev. 
 J. W. Elder is their pastor. A cemetery ad- 
 joins the church. This is beautifully located. 
 tastefully laid out and is kept with the greatest 
 care. 
 
 The lirst school in this settlement was taught 
 by a man of the name of Compton. in a little 
 log cabin on the claim of Tarleton Lloyd. Tin- 
 school was taught in is-.' I am! 1825. The fol- 
 lowing year Ira MeGlassen taught a school in 
 a cabin on the claim of Elijah Houghton, the 
 old "Hickory" Houghton place. Illustrative of
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 ,3 
 
 the schools of those clays, a story is told of an 
 occurrence that is said to have taken place in 
 this vicinity. A young man learning thai a 
 certain neighborhood was contemplating hav- 
 ing a school if they could secure a teacher, 
 visited the community and was referred to a 
 certain citizen, who, he was told, was empow- 
 ered to deal with him. 1 1 < • called on the old 
 gentleman who said they wanted a school 
 teacher, and thai he was to examine him as to 
 his qualifications. He set the young fellow to 
 reading in the Bible, in the genealogical pari 
 of Genesis where were numberless hard names 
 in pronounce. After reading a chapter or two 
 the old man stopped him with tin- remark thai 
 he thought he could teach their school. Then 
 he told the voung man to write out a cerl ifi- 
 cate of his qualification, which, when done, 
 he handed to the old man to sign. The latter 
 said to him: "You jusl sign it too with my 
 name, and 1 will make my mark as I can not 
 read nor write." This is not an unreasonable 
 sinn by any means. In Menard county not 
 fifteen pears ago, ami under our boasted free 
 school system, there was a school district in 
 which not one of the three directors could write 
 his name. 
 
 Tarleton Lloyd opened the first blacksmith 
 shop in this territory, in L822 or 1823. and did 
 this line of work for the surrounding country 
 for a number of years. Rev. Mr. Simms built 
 a mill here, of a very primitive type, in f823. 
 h was propelled by horse-power and served to 
 crack the corn for the community, and they 
 even "mashed" wheal with it and then sifted 
 
 nut the brand, s • careful housewives bolting 
 
 ii through home-made cloth, thus having a 
 semblance of wheal flour. This mill long, long 
 ago ceased to be, and the people now do their 
 milling at other points. The firsl justice of 
 the peace is supposed to have been a man by 
 
 the Qi f Syniard, who was among the early 
 
 settlers bul who lefi here in a Eew years. One 
 iif the Bones was, a1 one time, a justice of the 
 peace for this section. A- illustrative of the 
 courts of this early day. the following is told 
 at the expense of Esquire Syniard: Two of 
 the neighbors had gotten into a wrangle over 
 a debt which one owed the other and which 
 the debtor agreed to pay in hogs. In the fall, 
 
 when the hogs had grown I'al on the mast and 
 the debt was to be paid, it happened that fat 
 hogs were a good price, so the debtor sold his 
 fat hogs for cash, and delivered an old ->\\ 
 ami pigs to the creditor. To this the creditor 
 demurred, saying that he was to he paid in 
 hogs. The debtor replied thai he u;is to pay 
 in hogs, anil that he had brought the sow and 
 pigs. The creditor demurred still and a law- 
 suit was the result. It came up for trial be- 
 fore Esquire Syniard, and after very patiently 
 hearing both sides of the question, he rendered 
 judgment in favor of the creditor, deciding thai 
 in a legal sense a sow and pigs were not hogs. 
 In the year 1ST; a postoffice was established 
 here, located on the creek, near the old tsaac 
 Cogdell place, and was called the Lloyd post- 
 office, in honor of the then-living oldest citi- 
 zen. L. B. Conover was the first postmaster. 
 Politically Rock creek has always heen Demo- 
 cratic to the backbone. When the election 
 drew near John S. Hurie and Frank Duncan 
 rallied the faithful, ami on election day the 
 gathering elans wont to the polls and victory 
 was achieved. This has heen the story in all 
 the past. Even in the dark days of 190 I. the 
 prairies and woods of this section sent out its 
 undaunted mossbacks, ami when the returns 
 came in from over the land, bringing the story 
 of disaster and defeat on everv hand, word came 
 thai in spite of Parker and Plutocracy, Wolf 
 county had maintained her old lime integrity 
 
 and was tl ne green oasis in the drearj deserl 
 
 of Democratic disaster. 
 
 During the f'i\ il war !><» k i reek was loyal to 
 the core and turned out as large a number of 
 soldiers in proportion to her population as an} 
 part, of Menard county. The men of this sec- 
 i urn volunteered into the regiments in the ad- 
 joining country, which drew their chief s1 rength 
 from this counts, and among these were the 
 Fourteenth and the One Eundred ami Four- 
 teenth Regiments of Qlinois Infantry. Mo 
 
 n had better records as soldiers than the boys 
 
 from this seetion of "Little Menard." 
 
 1,'nek ( 'reek is to-da\ one of the finest sei 
 tions of farming country in the entire county. 
 By nature -ume of the -mi t in;u ihii he as rich 
 as may he found in some other localities, hut 
 taken all in all il stands in the very front
 
 ; i 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 \\ lull 1 i! has no towns or villages, nor railroads, 
 yel ii is one of the must delightful communi- 
 ties in the land. They have a coal shaft in 
 their midst, and what other parts of the county 
 do not have, they possess,- we mean stone for 
 building purposes. Their farms are produc- 
 tive and well cultivated; their homes are ele- 
 gant and comfortable; their schools are of the 
 best, and no more social or happy and pros- 
 perous people can be found in central Illinois; 
 and when the interurban electric mad is fin- 
 ished, as it will be soon, running through the 
 very heart of this community, and connecting 
 them with Springfield. Petersburg and all the 
 world, their cup of fortune and happiness will 
 be full tn overflowing. 
 
 1XD1AX CREEK. 
 
 The prairies of the west, though possessing 
 a soil equal to any in the world, and having a 
 climate unsurpassed, and being splendidly 
 watered, were yet slow to attract the early 
 emigrant, because mosl of these were from sec- 
 tions of the country abounding in timber and 
 the pioneer seemed to think that no one could 
 survive on these bare plains. When Illinois 
 began to attract the emigrant, we find him 
 
 steering his "prairie scl ter" toward the 
 
 groves of timber. In fact they really believed 
 that those prairies would uever I" 1 settled up. 
 .Tames Short told the writer that in an early 
 day. as he and his father wore looking across 
 tin- strip of prairie lying between their farm 
 and Sugar Grove, a distance of a little more 
 than two miles, the old man said: "Jimnrie, 
 there will he open range for our stock there 
 for a hundred year- to come."' In less than 
 a score of years it was a solid, unbroken sea of 
 corn. It was not till almost ever} acre of tim- 
 ber land lying adjacent to the streams had been 
 claimed that an\ one thought of venturing i at 
 on the prairie. With the utmost caution they 
 ventured out beyond the shelter of the protect- 
 ing trees, and as cabins rose up on the broad 
 plains the croakers uttered dire predictions 
 about freezing to death or being blown ava\ by 
 storms. Tin- was the case in this sett lemi m . 
 a- well a- elsewhere, and no settlements were 
 
 made beyond the timber till necessity compelled 
 the increasing population to "move on." In- 
 dian Creek settlement included as line a sec- 
 tion of country as is to he found anywhere. 
 consisting of timber along the -I reams, with 
 broad areas of the Bnest prairie. The surface 
 is iioi hilly, nor is it flat and level, hut the 
 whole surface gently undulates, more like the 
 swelling waxes of the ocean, than anything sve 
 can compare it to. It is well drained and 
 watered by Salt creek on the north, the Sanga- 
 mon on the west, and Indian creek and other 
 small streams flowing through it. Xo village 
 or town now breaks the monotonj of the scene 
 at the present time, though years ago New 
 Market, a thriving village, was located here. 
 Curtis, a way-station and postoffice on the Chi- 
 cago & Alton railroad, is in this area, hut as 
 there is hut one family there and no buildings 
 adorn it. except the one residence, a store and 
 a grain elevator, it is not entitled to the name 
 village. This settlement was first made by 
 people mo-tl\ from Kentucky, with a Ei w from 
 Virginia, to give dignity to the community. 
 From the host information that can he had. 
 .Tame- Short was the first wdiite man to settle 
 in this territory, lie located here in 1824 hut 
 in L828 he removed to Sangamon county. The 
 "Id Blue Grass state sent in the following re- 
 cruits: Solomon Taylor, Robert and .lames 
 Bracken. Andrew Trumbo, Abraham Horn- 
 hack and sons, Elijah Scott, Francis Rayburn, 
 William Brewer and son, Samuel Rogers and 
 son. Alexander Crawford. David Onstott, John 
 Pentecosl and sons. Michael Kill ion. William 
 Denton, William and .lames Estill. Coleman 
 Smoiit. Hamilton Elliott. Isaiah Bow and per- 
 haps others. Robert and .lames Bracken, 
 brothers, came in 1826-27. Solomon Taylor 
 came in 1828. Andrew Trumbo came in 1828 
 or 1829. Abraham Hornback and Ins sons. 
 John, .(esse and Andrew, came in 1826. All 
 of these are long since dead hut Andrew lived 
 until not a very great number of years ago and 
 died at a very advanced age. Francis Ray- 
 burn came in 1828 and after a great many 
 years he removed to Iowa, where he died. Wil- 
 liam Brewer and his son John came in 1827 
 "i- 1828, and both died here. Samuel Rogers 
 and his son, Joseph Rogers, came in 1S25.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 75 
 
 Alexander Crawford came in 1827, and has both living, enjoying a peaceful old age, for 
 been dead almosl or quite fifty years. David although Mr. Smoot has been entirely blind for 
 Onstotl came in L825 and erected a mill and several years he still enjoys life. When he is 
 distillery. The mill was run l>\ horse-power gone he will be universally missed and Ins 
 and a little copper still was attached. In this memory will be revered by all who knew him. 
 null the corn was cracked for meal and hominy The settlers thus Ear named were all from 
 [or the settlers, and the little still — such as the Kentucky, though many, or most of them, were 
 moon-shiners now use in Tennessee and North originally from Virginia, as Kentucky was 
 Carolina — worked n|i the surplus corn into largely settled by Virginians. From Virginia, 
 spiritus frumenti, which the citizens used only the venerable mother of presidents, the follow- 
 er the ■•chills" and snake-bite. Tins is the ing additions were made : Russel Godby, Isaac 
 extenl of the milling there, except thai later Snodgrass, Fielding Ballard. William Samp- 
 tRere was a water-mill on Indian creek, at son ami probabh a few others. Godby came 
 what is now .ailed Indian Creek hill. Onstoti in the spring of 1830 ami his lirsi winter, 
 
 was a I i thai could not he surrounded, as therefore, was that of the deep snow, and it 
 
 one old citizen expressed it. and when tin- set- east a damper (especially in the spring when 
 tlenieiit began to lill up he pulled out for it began to thaw) over the feeling with which 
 Arkansas, lie said he had waded through he had regarded the fair prairies of Illinois, as 
 h — 1 to get here and he did not propose to be compared with the red hills of "Old Virginia." 
 crowded. John Pentecost and his sons, Wil- He was the first man in all this region to ven- 
 liam, Henry and John, came in 1827. William ture out into the open prairie and he did not 
 Denton came in 1830 and died long ago, and all get far from shelter. Snodgrass and Ballard 
 of bis children are gone except George W. were brothers-in-law to Godby ami came the 
 Denton, who is still living, a citizen of Green- same season that he did. Sampson came some 
 view. Michael Kill nm came in 1830. When time before Godby, Snodgrass and Ballard, 
 Russel Godby came in 1830 ami built a cabin probably in 1826. lie lived in the community 
 out on the prairie. Killion said thai the fool till his death, which occurred in 1870. Philip 
 Virginian would freeze to death. William Harnett was an eastern man and a brother-in- 
 EstilL a brother-in-law of Killion. came in law to Godby. These four gentlemen, Godby. 
 1825 or 1826. .lames Estill, a brother of Ballard, Snodgrass ami Barnett, married sis- 
 William, came ;it the -nine time. The} are ters. John Kin- came from North Carolina 
 both long since dead. Hamilton Elliotl and in 1826. He was horn in 1 ;;.'.. ami died in 
 two sons, Richard and Madden, came in 1830. 1876, at the age of one hundred and one years 
 Richard later removed to Fulton county. lie and twenty-nine days, lie was a soldier in the 
 is described a- an enterprising man. who en- Indian wars of the south and in the war oi 
 gaged considerably in speculation. <>ui in- 1812. in winch he served under General Jack- 
 formant said that he would risk his life for -on. an. I he was a firm believer in and a greal 
 a con-kin. Afterward he went to California admirer of "Old Hickory" to the dose of Ins 
 ami amassed a large fortune. Hiram Chapin life, lie liist came to Illinois in lS'.'l and 
 and Benjamin Pay come at a very early day settled in the south part of the state, where 
 but did not remain long. Coleman Sino.it he lived until coming here. Before his death 
 
 came in 1831 and bought out <>nst.-tt. lie he and Tarleton Lloyd were tl aly living 
 
 was an intelligent, active business man. and soldiers of that war in the county. IP' was 
 acquired a handsome property. He .lie.] many buried in Rose Hill cemetery. Dedman Power 
 years ago. His son. William C. Sm lot, is one vvas an early settler hut of linn we could gather 
 of the wealthy men of Menar.l countj'. He is no particulars. William Hull' came in 1827, 
 a conscientious Christian man. gained bis hut where from no one can tell, lie is spoken 
 wealth h\ hones! means and no one envies him of a- "a hard old customer," rough, profane ami 
 in the enjoyment of it. He married a daughter a | r acquisition to an\ community, lie re- 
 nt' William Engle, of Sweetwater. They are maine.l only a few years. John Clary was an
 
 16 
 
 PAST A\D PPFSFXT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 earlj corner, for Esquire Godby says lie was 
 tending Onstotfs mill when he came in 1830. 
 This brings this settlement down to the time 
 when the tide of immigration was becoming 
 so strong that it would be impossible to secure 
 any correi r account of it. 
 
 One of the first moves made by the early 
 pioneers, after getting a shelter for the wife 
 and children, was in the direction of education 
 and religious worship. In the summer of 1830 
 John Pentecost walked three miles from his 
 homi to a cabin on the land of Samuel Rogers 
 tn teach a little school there. The next school 
 was taught by Dr. David Meeker, in an aban- 
 doned cabin on the land of Coleman Smoot. 
 The firsi regular schoolhouse built in this set- 
 tlement was on the land of Mr. Smoot and was 
 of the primitive pattern. This was built in 
 1833, and the firsi pedagogue to preside here 
 and imparl wisdom within its classic walls, 
 was Silas Alexander. In this log cabin, known 
 a- the "Smoot schoolhouse/' many of the old 
 men and women of this vicinity, when children, 
 took their first Lessons in Webster's old blue- 
 backed spelling book and in shooting paper 
 wads. We make great sport of these old 
 schools, but we are impressed to say that three 
 things were often better taught then than they 
 are in a great many of our boasted up-to-date 
 schools of to-day: we refer to spelling, arith- 
 metic and English grammar. Those old text- 
 books, -nine way or another, led the pupil to 
 understand the fundamental principles of the 
 branches of which they treated. Pike's and 
 Smiley's arithmetics and Murray's and Kirk- 
 ham's grammars left the pupil no excuse for 
 not mastering the subject, but with the ad- 
 vantages that we have now. as compared with 
 those o!' that time, our teachers and pupils 
 should do marvelous things. 
 
 The Brsl minister who preached to the peo- 
 ple of this settlemenl was the Rev. John M. 
 Berry, the greal apostle of the Cumberland 
 Presbyterian church in central Illinois. We 
 wonder what he would think and say if he 
 could rise up now and see what those snobs, 
 who an- trying to destroy the church that he 
 labored so hard for, have in view. 
 
 Tin first birth and marriage are forgotten 
 bul as everything musl have a beginning these 
 
 did have a beginning here, as the present popu- 
 lation emphatically shows. The first death is 
 supposed to be that of Fielding Ballard's 
 mother. She came here with him and being 
 very old and feeble she died the next year. The 
 first physician in the neighborhood was a Dr. 
 Walker but whence he came or whither he 
 went no one know.-, however, he remained but 
 a short time. The next was David Meeker, 
 who combined physic and school teaching as 
 the practice of medicine was not then a very 
 paying business, for people did not call a phy- 
 sician for every little ailment, and a- a result 
 
 there was less sickni no offense meant to 
 
 the medical fraternity — and fewer doctor's 
 bills. Coleman Smoot was the first justice of 
 tin- peace and Russell Godby was the second. 
 We mentioned the village of New Market in 
 another place, but we feel that it should be 
 spoken of here, because many people do no1 
 know that there was once a village here which 
 not only aspired to be the county seat of Me- 
 nard county hut actually set herself to In- tin- 
 capital — the seat of government, of the greal 
 state of Illinois. Such is the unvarnished 
 truth. It was laid out by Dr. Ballard and a 
 man by the name of Speer. Ballard put up a 
 large two-story building, intended to lie used 
 as a lmtel. but the glory of the town waned so 
 East that it was never used. A -tore was 
 opened by one Clark, who later sold out to 
 Ballard & Spier. A blacksmith shop was 
 opened by George Saunders ami William F. 
 Rogers, and the plate pul on quite a town-like 
 appearance. Then, as -aid above, she aspired 
 to lie the county seat and not only this but she 
 was actually a rival of Springfield for the state 
 capital, but alter the location of the seat of 
 justice at Petersburg, it faded into nothing- 
 ness. It became a village of the dead, rather 
 than the living; a grave for ambition; an 
 antidote for pride. The ruins of Baalbee are. 
 in ni.in\ respects, a mystery; Palmyra, at leasl 
 in vastness, surpassed even Baalbee; Athens. 
 Rome, Jerusalem, and other scenes of decay 
 appeal to our pit}" and touch our hearts, hut 
 for New Market, the mighty city of lofty as- 
 pirations, we can only, like the Hebrew cap- 
 tives of old. hang our harps upon the willows 
 and weep for fallen pride. It owed its origin
 
 PAST A\H I'KKSKNT OK MKXAKl) COl'NTY 
 
 77 
 
 to a rather wild ambition and waned to its ex- 
 tinction when fate decided adversely to its 
 hopes and wishes. 
 
 "Sweet smiling village, loveliest of the lawn. 
 
 Thy sports are fled, and all thy charms with- 
 draw 11 ; 
 
 Amidst thy bowers the tyrant's hand is seen, 
 
 And desolation saddens all thy green; 
 
 One only master grasps the whole domain. 
 
 And half a tillage stints thy smiling plain; 
 
 No more ih\ glass;; brook reflects the day, 
 
 But. choked with sedges, works its weed] way: 
 
 Along thy glades, a solitary guest— 
 
 The hollow-sounding bittern guards its nest; 
 
 Amidst thy desert-walks the lapwing Hies. 
 
 And tires thy echoes with unvaried cries. 
 
 Sunk arc thy bowers in shapeless ruin all. 
 
 Ami the Long grass o'ertops the moldering 
 wall. 
 
 And trembling, shrinking from the spoiler's 
 hand. 
 
 Far, far away thy children leave the land." 
 
 Finally when it was evidenced to them be- 
 yond a doubl that tin- town was "born to blush 
 unseen, and waste its -weetness on the desert 
 air." it was vacated, by legislative enactment, 
 and nothing now remains to point out where 
 once it stood. Where its busy inhabitants once 
 toiled, the rank corn now rustles in tin- passing 
 breeze. 
 
 GREEN-VIEW AND IRISH GROVE. 
 
 Greenview, as a precinct, is one of the 
 youngest in the county. Until some years ago 
 it was included in what is new Sugar Grove 
 precinct, with the voting place at the village ol 
 Sweetwater. The later was remote from the 
 people in the extreme northern part, and the 
 intelligent voter, from this small drawback, 
 often neglected to exercise the right of fran- 
 chise. Heme the resull was a division of Su- 
 gar Grove, or Sweetwater as it then was, and the 
 creation of a new precinct, now known as 
 Greenview. It includes almost the entire 
 northeast part of the county, it is well drained 
 b\ Salt creek and Pike creek, with other -mall 
 branches, which carry off the surface water. 
 Irish Grove lies oast of Greenview, running to 
 the I.ouan coiintv line. As an agricultural re- 
 
 gion this is not surpassed b\ an\ section of 
 country anywhere Its farmers are among tie 
 most thrifty and most wealthy in central Illi- 
 nois. The Chicago & Alton Railroad runs di- 
 agonally through Greenview precinct. Green- 
 view, the metropolis of this section, is an en- 
 terprising little town in tin' southwest part ot 
 Greenview precinct, on the Chicago & Alton 
 Railroad and will he more fully spoken of 
 further on. 
 
 i: w;l.Y SETTLEMENT. 
 
 There is no reliable proof that any white 
 man settled in the boundary of this territory 
 earlier than 1823. Eighty-one long years 
 stand between that point and the present, and 
 that period, what changes have taken place 
 not only in Menard county, hut throughout 
 the world. Ancient palace-, in whose spacious 
 halls the mightiest monarchs proudly trod. 
 now- show- "tin' ivy now- clinging to their mold- 
 ering walls." Thrones tottering, have crum- 
 bled into dust: empires have fallen, and their 
 place- blotted forever from the map of the 
 world. In our own beloved country, intestinal 
 war has raged with tornado-like fury, drench- 
 ing the soil in fraternal blood: and for a time 
 threatening the very life of tin 1 republic. Four 
 millions of beings in human form, once in 
 chains, have been made freemen. Spain's op- 
 pressive tyranny over millions of helpless peo- 
 ple has been broken forever: and revolutions 
 have shaken the civilizations of the earth to 
 the center. And in these eighty-one years the 
 territory of Greenview and Irish Grove, one of 
 the minute units that go to make up this 
 mightv country, has been transformed from i 
 wilderness, into a blooming paradise compared 
 to its original state. 
 
 In the year 1823 Ji IS Meadows settled in 
 
 the limits of this territory on the farm where 
 II. IT. Marbold now lives. II" came from 
 Ohio to Edwards county, near Alton, in 1818, 
 the vear that Illinois was admitted to the 
 I nion. The next year he removed into the 
 territory of. what is now-. Sugar Grove pre 
 
 cinct, when' he resided till lie removed to tin 
 place above mentioned. Mr. Meadows built a 
 mill on the Marbold place, which was the sei 
 ond mill erected in east Menard. Soon after 
 Mr. Meadows settled here, George Blano and
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 his mother came to the neighborhood. They, 
 like Mr. Meadows, had settled on the east side 
 of Sugar Grove, but in the spring of 1823 the\ 
 sulci out tn Leonard Alkire and removed here 
 as above stated. A large majority of the firs! 
 installment of settlers in this section were 
 "Buckeyes" and settled in Irish Grove. From 
 that state came a number of recruits, namely: 
 Joseph Lucas, George Borders, John Martin. 
 George and Peter Price, John Waldron and 
 John lianiill. Lucas "squatted" in the Grove 
 about 1825 or 1826. He was a genuine fron- 
 tiersman and onlv remained till game began 
 to grow scarce. When that occurred and the 
 Indians had gone he followed in the wake of 
 the "noble rod man" and died some years lat- 
 er in the settlement at Mackinaw. The next 
 settlor found his cabin standing, with three 
 acres of land around it cleared and fenced, 
 lie had two sons who settled in what is now 
 Logan county. Another son. Abraham, settled 
 in Irish Grove, where he lived and died. Bor- 
 ders and Martin came in 1827. George Price 
 came in 1826, and his brother, Peter Price, 
 came in 1829. They were of the regular fron- 
 tier type and followed the Indian and the 
 game as they wandered toward the setting sun. 
 William Walker boughl the claim of Peter 
 Price in 1830. John Itamill came in 1842, 
 lived there all his life, rearing a large and re- 
 spectable family, and died a number of years 
 ago. 
 
 Following close on the heels of this "Buck- 
 eye" outfit came a large delegation from "The 
 Dark and Bloody Ground." From Kentucky 
 came William Walker, his son, Joseph M. 
 Walker, and his brother-in-law, David Walker. 
 William Stotts, William Patterson, Alexander 
 Kilmer. William A. Stone. John W. Patterson 
 and Roberl Rayburn. This last named gentle- 
 man was horn in the Old Dominion, but em- 
 igrated to Kentucky when it was the hunting 
 ground of numerous tribes of hostile Indians. 
 From Kentucky he came to Illinois in 1827 
 ami settled m I rish Grove. Some of the de- 
 scendants of Mr. Rayburn are still in that sec- 
 tion of country. Robert Bayburn's wife was a 
 Logan, of the famih of Logans so celebrated in 
 the Indian wars of Kentucky. Robert Ray- 
 burn died in 1836. William Walker came to 
 
 Illinois in the fall of 1828 and stopped in Mor- 
 gan county. He spent three weeks riding over 
 the country on horseback, searching for a cab- 
 in to shelter his family in during the winter, 
 but failing, he went hack to Clark county. In- 
 diana, and wintered there. In February 1830, 
 as before stated, he came to Irish Grove and 
 boughl the claim of Peter Price. He died in 
 August, 1836, and his son. Joseph M. Walker. 
 lived and died on the farm. David Walker, a 
 brother of the wife of William Walker, and 
 who came to the settlement soon after the lat- 
 ter, bought the claim of Joseph Lucas, lived on 
 it till 1837, when he removed to Iowa and died 
 there years ago. Captain William A. Stone 
 was also born in Virginia but was taken to 
 Kentucky by his parents, when quite young, 
 whence he emigrated to Illinois in 1830. His 
 father. Moses Stone, came to the settlement at 
 the same time and was the head of a large fan ■ 
 ily. Both he and wife died the next year, 
 leaving a family of twelve children to battle 
 with the world. John W. Patterson came in 
 1830, and his brother William in 1832. Stotts 
 came in 1830, but in 1840 he removed to Iowa. 
 William Eldridge came in 1840. He came 
 from the chalky cliffs of old England; lived 
 for many years in the Grove; then removed to 
 Greenviev ; and died there a few years ago, at 
 a ripe old age. Dr. Eldridge, of Greenview, is 
 his son. This comprises all of the early set- 
 tlers of which anv knowledge is to be gained. 
 Doubtless there were other transient settlers 
 who were there for a time, but we have given an 
 account of all the permanent old settlers. The 
 winter of the deep snow, — a landmark that all 
 will recognize, — (1830-31) hut remembered bv 
 Ei w. if any. now living, was a tune that 'lid in- 
 deed try men'- soul-. The snow- began to fall 
 just before Christmas and continued till, as 
 many claim, a depth of four feet on the level 
 lay all over the land. The -round was not 
 visible any mon till after the middle of the 
 following March. Joseph Walket told the 
 write] many years ago that this snow caught 
 his father's family without meal or llour. For- 
 tunately, they had laid in a supply of meat and 
 this, with pounded corn, was all they had to 
 eat for oyer six long weeks. 'The .urn was 
 standing in the Held or in shocks anil every
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT1 7 
 
 ,| ;n , they were obliged to open a pathway to a was buiU in 1865 al a cosl of aboui three 
 
 shock of mn, in order to secure enough for thousand dollars and al thai time the congi 
 
 themselves and their limited a uni of stock, gation aumbered over one hundred. 
 
 James Meadows, who was a millwright by The first death in this section of country 
 trade. buiU a mill in L831 on whai is now tho that is remembered with any degree of certam- 
 H M Marbold place. It was of the old tv was that of Miss Mary Ann Walker, who 
 'tread-wheel'" 5 type, hut it served to "crack tin died September 8, L830. Bui doubtless there 
 corn" for the hungry natives till they could do were deaths of early pioneers before tins time, 
 better. This mill continued in operation A son of Mr. Lucas died here at an early date, 
 aboui eighi years and then became obsoleti the date can nol be definitely fixed, bul it was 
 The mill at "Now Salem" did the greater pari probably before that of Mi-. Walker's daughter, 
 of the work supplying the people with corn- Moses Stone mentioned among the early set- 
 meal during this period, however. Many of tiers in another place, died in 1831, and his 
 the settlers got their supply of bread stuff wife survived him only about two weeks. They 
 
 from Springfield for a great many years. The 
 
 left a famiU of twelve children, four of whom 
 Methodist eircuil rider and the school teacher died within a year after the death of their pa- 
 came into the settlement aboui the same time. rents. These dead were laid to rest in the Irish 
 Robert Rayburn taughi the firsi school in Irish ({rove cemetery, a regularly laid-oui plot of 
 Grove. He had been a teacher in Kentucky ground on section 24, where most of the pio- 
 before he came In Illinois. Tins was a sub- neor dead "sleep the sleep that knows no wak- 
 
 scription scl 1 and was taught in a log cabin ing." These grounds were afterward enlarged 
 
 i n the grove. Tin- was before the day of and incorporated, ami it is now neatly kept 
 
 schoolhouses and long before the day of tree mid is i f the beautiful -'Cities of the 
 
 scl Is. That old Methodisi pioneer, Peter Dead" in Menard county. The Brs1 birth in 
 
 Cartwright, is claimed by many Methodists to this section was that of George Borders bui the 
 have preached the first sermon that was ever exacl date could not he given. The first mar- 
 preached in Irish Grove, but this is evidently a riage was that of Alexander Gilmer and Miss 
 mistake for there had been services there be- Jane Walker, on the tth of November L830, 
 fere he came to Illinois True he preached at the ceremony being performed by Rev. Bur- 
 
 the cabin of Mr. St< no1 only before the gen. Thej went, immediately after marriage 
 
 building of churches bul before there were any to Kentucky, where they remained for three or 
 
 schoolhouses built. Also two Methodist itin- "our years, and then returned to the same 
 
 erants, Revs. Hargus and MeLemore, were ear- neighborhood, where they spent the remainder 
 
 Iv in the field doing the work of the Master, of their lives, and were buried in the Irish 
 
 About the vear 183] or 1832, a log scl I- Grove cemetery, near their old home. 
 
 I se wa- luiilt in the Grove, and soon after- In-. Vlorgan, of -old Sangamon Town," 
 
 ward the l!e\. John <;. Burgin, of Springfield, was the lirst disciple of Aesculapius to practice 
 
 organized the Irish Grove congregation of the medicine in this section. At that time there 
 
 Presbyterian church, ( < >. S.) in that same was not a doctor's shingle swinging to the 
 
 house. This, in time, grew into an active and breeze at everj crossroads ami every country 
 
 flourishing congregation, built a neat and sub- store as there was some wars later. Nor did 
 
 stantial brick house of worship and a parson- the people get sick then as often and ea-; as 
 
 age, and for mam years had a settled pastor they do now- ami when they did gei sick- will: 
 
 and did a great deal of good. Hut times of the malaria (' .breakbone" fever, a- they called 
 
 dearth at last came and by deaths and removals bilious fever) or the inevitable chills, they 
 
 they became so weak that the\ removed to combated it with "roots and herbs," and either 
 
 Sweetwater and that is now the center of the cured it or died without the aid of the doctor 
 
 congregation. See a further accounl of them or the burden of his hill, 
 
 in the history of the Presbyterian church in an- The Srst justice of the peace wa- John W. 
 
 other place. The brick church in the Grove Patterson, bul several vear- before hi- ap]
 
 SO 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OP MENARD COUNTY 
 
 incut there had been two 01 three such dis- 
 pensers of justice in the Sugar Grove. Polit- 
 ically this section is Republican, usually giving 
 a safe majority to that party. In the Civil war 
 this section did its duty fully, turning out a 
 large number of brave and efficient soldiers. 
 An entire company was raised in [rish Grove 
 at an early period of the war. but by some in- 
 excusable mistake the company was credited to 
 Logan county. By failing in this manner to 
 get credit Eor recruits, the precinct afterward 
 had to stand a draft — the result of pure neg- 
 lect. This draft, however, was small as the 
 quotas were Idled in advance. Samuel H. 
 Blane enlisted as a private and rose to the rank 
 of captain of Company K of the One Hundred 
 and Sixth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer In- 
 fantry. Owing to ill health he was forced to 
 resign and was succeeded by Gage S. Grit- 
 man, who was promoted to fill his place. Both, 
 of these were from Irish Grove and were the 
 onlv commissioned officers thai the Grove could 
 boast. The private soldiers were the sturdy 
 sons of the soil and they most gallantly sus- 
 tained the reputation of Illinois" soldier- on 
 many a bloody and hard-fought field. 
 
 VILLAGE OF GREENVIEW. 
 
 The town of Greenview is eligibly located in 
 as fine a section of farming lands as the birds 
 fly over. Tt is four miles from Salt creek and 
 six miles from the Sangamon river on the 
 Jacksonville branch of the Chicago & Alton 
 Railroad, in section 23, township 19, range 6 
 west of the third principal meridian. It was 
 laid out October 2, 1857, by Elder William En- 
 gle, elsewhere mentioned in this work as one 
 of the pioneers of this county and as one who 
 did more to make this section of country what 
 it is than any oilier of the obi settlers perhaps, 
 and whose influence for good in many respects 
 is still felt and will be felt for years to come. 
 The land on which the town stands was orig- 
 inally owned b\ ( 'harles L. Montgomery. The 
 name Greenvievi was given in honor of Hon. 
 William 0. Greene, a prominent and wealthy 
 citizen of Tallula, who died there some years 
 ago. The first dwelling bouse erected in 
 Greenview was put up by Robert McReynolds 
 soon after the town was laid out and in a verv 
 
 short time James Stone erected a dwelling also. 
 The first brick house was built by John Wil- 
 kinson, who was an Englishman by birth, and of 
 whom we speak more at length in another 
 place. This was a substantial and room) lions,.. 
 two stories high and, for that day, it was a fine 
 building. Tt has been for years, and is now. 
 used as a hotel. The first business house of 
 any importance was built by Robert McRey- 
 nolds and was occupied by him as a store. 
 There is a question as to whether McReynolds 
 or Emanuel Mover & Brother were tin first 
 merchants in the place. It is a question of ab- 
 solutely no moment but it serves to illustrate 
 how easy it is for a whole communit} to for- 
 get, just in a few years, matters that it would 
 seem that all would remember. The Chicago 
 & Alton Railroad was completed through here 
 in 1867, and about this time Silas Biickman 
 opened a general store here. The first hotel 
 was kept by John Wilkinson. Jacob Propst 
 opened and conducted the first blacksmith shop 
 in the place; and Drs. Davis and Calloway 
 were the first physicians to dispense quinine 
 and Fowler's solution to the denizens of the vil- 
 lage. Some years later a flouring mill was 
 built by McCormic Brothers at a cost of alH.nl 
 ten thousand dollars, [n January of 1878 this 
 mill was burned to the ground and tin town 
 has never since possessed a mill. Harvey Yea- 
 man was first to handle grain in Greenview. In 
 1868 he built an elevator on the ground now 
 occupied by the one just across the railroad 
 tracks from the depot. Yeaman run it for a 
 i inie and then sold out to Morse A Company, 
 who raised it and built a story under if. This 
 was on the principle of the Irishman's mode 
 of building a chimney: "Laying down a brick 
 and then putting some others under it." Rut 
 while it is common to build a story on a house, 
 it is a recent addition to architectural skill to 
 build a stor\ under one. Uni m irw years back 
 the obi State lion-,, at Springfield — a solid 
 stone building, — was raised and an eleven foot 
 story was put under it One or two elevators 
 have been burned in Greenview but they still 
 have two elevators there, which do an immense 
 business. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal church was organ- 
 ized in Greenview in 1858, the original organ-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MEXAUI) nil \TV 
 
 8] 
 
 ization was formed in Old KTewmarket, but 
 when thai historic town went down tlio church, 
 or rather the congregation, was moved to the 
 town of Greenview. Later they built a com- 
 fortable building there, but at present they 
 have do preaching. Sec the history of the 
 Methodist church elsewhere. 
 
 Greenview was incorporated as a village by 
 special act of the legislature and its charter 
 dated May 6, 1869. The first hoard of trus- 
 tees were C. K. Pierce, G. W. Hatch. John 
 Anderson, Fred Wilkinson and A. H. Bogar- 
 ■ lus. This was the board upon organization 
 under the charter, but as far back as March, 
 1868, the records show regular proceedings of 
 a board of trustees, which was as follows: C. 
 R. Pierce, J. \V. Guyer, John Anderson, Fred 
 Wilkinson and A. II. Bogardus. These wire 
 sworn in by II. II. Marbold. Of the first 
 hoard iiinler the charter. ( '. K. Pierce w;r 
 president, and W. S. Morse, clerk. On the 7th 
 of March. 1877, it was re-incorporated under 
 the general law of the state, under which char- 
 ter it is still run. rt now has a population of 
 about fifteen hundred and is a thriving, active 
 business town. It has one large coal shaft do- 
 ing an immense business; three first-class dry 
 -n. ids stores; five grocery stores; two hardware 
 stores; two restaurants; two butcher -hops: 
 one drug store; two jewelers : one harness shop : 
 two lumberyards; one undertaker; one fur- 
 niture store; two grain elevators; one hank: 
 one hotel; two blacksmith shops: three sa- 
 
 1 s; five churches; and two carpenter shops. 
 
 Besides these there are five resident ministers; 
 four physicians and one printing office, in 
 which "The Greenview Leader" is printed and 
 which does all kinds of job printing in the 
 besl of style. They also have a splendid pub- 
 lic square, beautifully adorned with trees; they 
 also have electric lights, and an excellent sys- 
 tem of water works. One strange feature of 
 the town is that it has no cemetery. Their 
 dead are mostly taken to Petersburg for burial. 
 There are several small cemeteries near there 
 where many of their dead repose, but most of 
 them, as above stated, are taken to Petersburg 
 for interment. There certainly should be a 
 cemetery, owned and controlled by the citi- 
 zens of the town, nothing can be needed more. 
 
 But the day is not far distant when some large- 
 hearted and philanthropic citizen will rise up 
 to supply this great nerd, and thus, imi only 
 do the community a lasting favor, hut at the 
 same time will rear a monument which will he 
 more enduring than granite, brass or bronze. 
 
 There was never any school in the village 
 proper till the year 1877. A long time back 
 (in the latiei- part of the '50s, perhaps) a 
 brick school house was built southeast of tho 
 town and here for several years they had school. 
 In 1870 they completed a brick school building 
 in the then south part of the town at a cost 
 of al out ten thousand dollars. This continued 
 lour large rooms, with halls, cloak-rooms, etc. 
 1'rofessor I). M. Harris taughi the first school 
 in this building. Some years later another 
 building was erected on the adjoining lot-. 
 containing two large ami elegant rooms, one for 
 the high school and the other for the -ram- 
 mar grade. Since the erection of the first 
 building they have hal from eight to nine 
 months school in the town every war. Tin- 
 have a regular four years" high school course, 
 with a full corps of teachers for the lower 
 grades. Professor Robert C. Eietl has been 
 principal of this school for the past five years 
 and under his efficient direction it i- accom- 
 plishing a noble work. See further account 
 under the head 'Education." 
 
 ol.I) SALEM. 
 
 "New Salem." the ancient village of .Menard 
 county, now so completely obliterated by time 
 that not ,-i vestige of ii i- loft, save a low place 
 
 in the ground w heir i he store st I in w hich 
 
 Lincoln sold goods, was once the center of 
 
 bllsllles- for a large -rope of < mill! IT. I I i~. 
 
 or was. situated on the "Heights of Abraham," 
 some hundred feet or more above the waters of 
 the raging Sangamon, and about two miles 
 south of the town of Petersburg. On the 13th 
 of October. L829, it was surveyed and laid .mi 
 by Reuben Earrison, for Rutledge and I !am 
 eron. the "u ners of the land. The first build- 
 ings were a pie of cabins, erected a- dwel- 
 lings loi' John ('; roil and James Rutledge.
 
 82 
 
 PAST AND 
 
 RESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 The first business house was erected by Samuel 
 Ihll and John McNamar fur a store, in which 
 the} soon after opened a stock of goods, prob- 
 ably the first store opened in the limits of what 
 is now Menard county. The next store was 
 opened by George Warburton, who, in a short 
 time removed to Petersburg and became cue of 
 the proprietors of thai town. Ii is said that 
 Warburton was an excellent business man, a 
 fine scholar, and without an enemy, only his 
 terrible appetite for strong drink. Afterward 
 he was found drowned in the Sangamon where 
 the water was not over six inches deep. Wheth- 
 er it was a case of suicide or not. no one ever 
 knew. He sold his store in Salem to two 
 brothers by the name of Crisman, who came 
 from Virginia. After remaining only a short 
 time ihc\ sold all their possessions and moved 
 away. A postoffiee was established at Salem 
 in 1830, ami some say this was the first in the 
 county. John McNamar was the first post- 
 master, hut after a couple of years he was suc- 
 ceeded by Abraham Lincoln, who served in that 
 capacity till he removed to Springfield. Dr. 
 Allen was the first practicing physician to set- 
 tle in Salem. He and his brother came here 
 together. Dr. Duncan was another early prac- 
 titioner in this locality. Joshua Miller was the 
 first blacksmith in the place. Edmund Greer, 
 deep learned in law, was the first magistrate to 
 deal out justice to the denizens of the infant 
 city, and when the law hnsiness ran slack lie 
 played the pedagogue to [ill in time ami was 
 i he firs! school teacher here, as well as the iir-i 
 justice of the peace. John Kelso opened the 
 first hotel, and in the hospitable walls of this 
 botel he played the host to whatever strangers 
 might pass that way. Rutledge and Cameron 
 built the firs! mill that was here and it sup- 
 plied a much-felt want to the settlers in an 
 area of at least fifty miles in every direction. 
 This is the mill over the dam of which Abraham 
 Lincoln piloted the flatboat anil, with a display 
 of tact ami ingenuity wholly astonishing to 
 those who witnessed the operation, relieved the 
 boat of water, by a new style of pump, not 
 much in use on hoard of \cs-els in that day or 
 at the present, for he bored an auger hole in 
 the bottom of the sunken boat and let the 
 water out. This is an actual fact, hut the 
 
 story has been told so often that we will not 
 tax the reader's patience by repeating it here. 
 
 Salem mill was known far and near and was 
 patronized by a very large district. It stood 
 under the bluff on which the town was located 
 and was a ven primitive affair. It is thus 
 described by a local writer of the time: "It 
 consisted of two or three log pens, anchored 
 with rocks, upon which was erected a platform, 
 where a pair of rough stones were placed, and 
 driven by a water-wheel attached to an up- 
 right shaft." It was considerably improved, 
 however, before Salem became extinct. In 
 L852 it was bought by Abraham Bale, who set 
 to work to remodel ami improve it hut before 
 he accomplished this purpose he was taken ill 
 and died. His sons, however, finished the 
 work that he had undertaken, completed it and 
 operated the mill for many years. One of 
 these sons, T. A". Bale, continued to tain it till 
 about twenty or twenty-five years ago, when it 
 was burned to the ground. No sign of any 
 part of the mill remains hut a few rotted 
 sticks, protruding from the mud and sand. 
 showing where the dam once was. Imt the river, 
 in seeming disgust, has changed its channel and 
 left the site of the dam out on dry land. On 
 the hill where the village stood there is no 
 sign to tell where it was. save the depression 
 in the ground, where the cellar id' Lincoln's 
 store was. Out of the center of this, seeming- 
 ly from one root, arises two trees, an elm and 
 a sycamore, hut, one is dead, ami the other dy- 
 ing, from the countless names that have been 
 cut in their bark. No human habitation is 
 near and it seems the dwelling place of desola- 
 tion. This i- a synopsis of the early history 
 id' Salem except the connection with it of 
 Abraham Lincoln. [Jpon this point there has 
 been so much written that we will not dwell 
 upon it here. With the statement of a few- 
 facts we will close this chapter. Mr. Lincoln 
 was horn in Kentucky. Stuve in his history of 
 Illinois says: "Abraham Lincoln was born in 
 La Rue (now Hardin) county, Kentucky, about 
 two miles south id' the village of Hodgens- 
 \ ilk-. February 12, 1809. Here his father had 
 taken up a land claim of three hundred acres, 
 rough, broken and poor, containing a fine 
 spring, known to this day as the 'Lincoln
 
 PAST A\H PEESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 spring. 5 Unable to pay for the unproductive Let him take his lone sleep, and genth rest, 
 land, the claim was abandoned and the family Wul ' aaugb.1 to disturb or awake him; 
 
 moved from place i ice, in the neighbor- W !i:'" &* *?&** shall come to gather the blest 
 
 , , . . i ,., .,,, i ' ° Abrahams bosom, t ! x \ II take mm. 
 
 hood, hemg very destitute. I liese removals, 
 
 occurring while Abraham w :is scarcely more 
 
 than an infant, have given rise to different 
 
 statements as to the exact place of his birth. 
 
 It is said that in thai pari of Kentucky no 
 
 less than four places claim the honor. Thomas 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham's father, moved to Spencer 
 
 county, Indiana, in 1816. Here he remained ""' "".-""""- "'' the ™r, ber oldest son, Wil- 
 
 i . 1 1 1830, when he removed to Illinois, and bsm > " Dllfl as '"' was called ' was , ' Ik "'- 1 " 1 
 
 settled in Macon countv, on the north fork Wlth the cnme "' murder ' S;U ' 1 to have beeD 
 
 of the Sangamon river, ten n s northwest of '•""""»"" 1 "' M ason county. All are familiar 
 
 Decatur. In 1833 he removed to Coles county, ""'' ''"' s, '""- v ' thai lias been ' thousand 
 
 where he died several vears later. There in a ,im, ' s - "' Lmeokl defeDcllI1 g u»d clearing him 
 
 When Abraham Lincoln lived a1 < > I • I Salem 
 he hoarded with John Armstrong. Some 
 years later Mr. Armstrong was killed l>\ a 
 horse and his wife was left a widow, with a 
 house full of little children. Shortly before 
 
 quiel little cemetery, known as "Gordon's grave- 
 
 of the charge, and of Mrs. Armstrong's eternal 
 
 yard," he s ps the lasl sleep. In 1869 Robert - l ' i,n "" 1 '' for tU] ~ ae1 of kindness on the pari 
 
 oi Mr. Lincoln. We feel that it is a duty to 
 give, in "The Past and Presold of Menard 
 
 T. Lincoln visited his grandfather's grave and 
 erected over it a marble slab, with suitable 
 
 inscription. So after almost fortv vears this ( '""" lv -" " bri ef sketch of this family, as they 
 
 hu le grave has m marked. As appropri- Ilved "' ' ln> '" l "" v - 
 
 ate in this place, we give a poem, written by a Mrs - Armstrong's maiden nam.- was Hannah 
 
 citizen of Coirs county, on Thomas Lincoln's J " 11 '-- sister of Fiddler and Butcher Jones, as 
 
 death, which went the rounds of the press at ,,1( ' v were nick-named. She was born in 1811. 
 
 the time and appeared in several of the lead- Wll, ' n 'I 111 '" young she was married to John 
 
 ing magazines, entitled the "Craw of the Armstrong. They lived for a time near Old 
 
 Father of Abraham Lincoln." Salem, and during thai nine Lincoln boarded 
 
 with them. After Armstrong was killed she 
 
 "In a low. sweet vale by a murmuring rill. llu '' 1 "" ;l l '" rt . v arivs " r laml lh:l1 sllr llarl 
 
 The pioneer's ashes are sleeping; bought, in Mason county. It was while liv- 
 
 Where the white marble slabs are lonely and ing there that this great trouble on account of 
 
 still. 
 In silence their vigils are keeping. 
 
 "Duff" came upon her. After -ome year- she 
 
 was married to John Wilcox, with whom she 
 
 On their sad. lonely faces are words of fame. Iivri1 happily for many vears. They removed 
 
 But none of them speak of his glorj ; to Iowa and Air. Wilcox died there. In Au- 
 
 When the pioneer died, his age and his name. „ 1M . ISIM |. «^un1 Hannah" died in Winterset, 
 
 N " ' ™' '" ^ispers the story. Tmv:l . .,„,, ,,„,. remaing „,.,.,. ,„,„„,,„ ,,, p eterg . 
 
 \ m-iIc. no inn. no,- hyacinth blows '""- Eor buria1 ' IIMl1 ,l "' writei P reached »'"■• 
 
 O'er the lonely grave where they laid him; funeral, in the Cumberland Presbyterian 
 
 \" cedar nor holly nor almond-tree grows church, in that place. She did August 31, 
 
 Near the plebeian's grave to shade him. L890. William ("Duff") died at his h - in 
 
 „ . , Ashland, Illinois. Mai 7, 1900, at the age of 
 Bright evergreens wave oxer many a grave, ,, 
 
 O'er some bow the sad weeping willow; sixty-three years. E ■ ol the Armstrong 
 
 But no willow tree l„,ws. nor evergreens wave, children are still living: A. P. Armstrong, 
 
 Where the pioneer sleeps on his pillow. Ashland, Illinois; John Armstrong, Oakford, 
 
 I llinois : Eliza Smith. Mason ( 'it v. [llino 
 
 Some are inhumed with the honors of state, i t> i , v , n i i r 
 
 .,,-,, , , ., and Koiiert Armstrong, Winterset, [owa. Mrs. 
 
 And laid lieiieiith temple- to inoldc!' : 
 
 The -ra\e of the father of Lincoln the Great, A| '" M ''""■- " ;l ~ ;l " uneducated woman, but on 
 
 Ts known bv a hillock and boulder. of the clearest-minded women the writer
 
 .86 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 met. Her gratitude to and admiration for Mr. 
 Lincoln was something sublime. 
 
 OVERSTREET. 
 
 John Overstreet. Sr., was born in Bedford 
 county, Virginia, in 1758, and served in the 
 patriot army during the seven years ol the 
 Revolutionary war. He was married to Nancy 
 Dabney, in the year L783. They had four 
 children born to them in Bedford county. 
 TIh'\ afterward removed to Cabell county, \Tesi 
 Virginia, where they lived the remainder of 
 their lives. Their son John Overstreet, who 
 was born in Bedford county, Virginia, was mar- 
 ried to Susan Roberts, in Cabell county, Wesi 
 Virginia, some time prior to the breaking out 
 of the second war with England, in 1812. He 
 volunteered in the American army (the son 
 of a Revolutionary soldier, could noi well do 
 otherwise), and leaving his young wife, he 
 went tn the front, to fight the battles of his 
 country. At thattime the Indians, taking ad- 
 vantage of the disturbed state of the country, 
 and. perhaps, incited by British emmissaries, 
 gave greai annoyance to the people of the 
 Virginias, by frequenl forays of murder, pil- 
 lage and rapine. While in the army, he hi ard 
 that his wife had been murdered by the In- 
 dians, — a c mi hi event in those times, — and 
 
 in >t a great while after lie was. himself, made a 
 prisoner by one of the savage allied tribes of tin' 
 English. Soon after his capture preparations 
 were made ti> burn him at the stake. As was 
 the custom el' the red demons, the) began to 
 prepare to subject him to all the torture that 
 their fiendish natures could invent, lie knew 
 
 i was bul death, in its most cruel form, am! 
 -,, when mie nf the "big braves" offered him 
 a foul indignity, Overstreet's blood boiled at 
 the insuli and collecting all his strength, he 
 gave the heartless brave such a crushing blow 
 that it sent him headlong into the lire that hail 
 oeen kindled to torture Overstreet. Tins act 
 nf daring bravery, in the face nf what seemed 
 certain death, so aroused the admiration of the 
 other [ndians, that he was saved from torture. 
 In' being considered too noble a brave to die 
 thus. Some lime afterward lie was sold to 
 
 another ti ibe ami by them taken to < lanada, 
 where alter a time he by some chance fell into 
 the hands nf white men. by whom he was held, 
 for two nr three years, in a kind of semi- 
 slavery, hut was finally given his full liberty. 
 Not long after this he met a woman between 
 whom am 1 himself there sprang up a mutual 
 affection and they were married. In due course 
 nf time a child was born to them, hut 1 tame 
 Fortune seemed again to frown upon him. for 
 Mum after this the child ami then the mother 
 died. Once more he found himself alone in 
 the world and for a time wandered aimlessh 
 from place to place, until at last he was seized 
 with a yearning desire to again \ i -it the scenes 
 of his earlier and happier life. So he ai onei 
 began preparations I'm - the long and weary 
 journey from Canada to Virginia. Alter many 
 hardships and dangers he at last arrived, foot- 
 sore and weary, in the vicinity of Ins former 
 home. .\ strange and impelling power led him 
 to visit once more the cabin where he had 
 lived fin- a few short nmiiths. in comfort and 
 happiness, with the wife he had loved so fondly, 
 lie came in sight of the old home; there stood 
 the same rude cabin, under the shadow of 
 the same wide-spreading trees, and from the 
 chimney that his own hands had built, the blue 
 -moke -urleil upward and his heart filled with 
 emotion, as memory carried him back to other 
 and happier days. Aimlessly ami dreamily he 
 approached the door ami rapped for entrance 
 In a moment footsteps were heard within, the 
 rude door turned mi its wooden hinges, and 
 the wife of his youth stood before him. They 
 gazed upon each other for a few moments in 
 amazed and bewildered astonishment. She had 
 heard if Ins capture h\ the Indians and his 
 death by torture. Being a woman of refine- 
 ment and beauty, she was not compelled to live 
 Inn- in widowed loneliness, but for a long time 
 she repelled the advances of a host of suitors, 
 until convinced in her own mind ol' her hus- 
 band's death, and wearying of her lonely life, 
 she at length married again. Overcome by 
 the sudden appearance of one so long supposed 
 to he dead, -he fell to the floor, in a deathlike 
 swoon, dust at this time the husband appeared 
 mi the seene and after she had sufficiently re- 
 vived, the three held a most solemn and painful
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY s; 
 
 council, ;ii which two husbands solemnly agreed der the village law bul is a place of some im- 
 
 to leave the whole matter to the decision of the portance. It is located on the old Tice Earw 
 
 wife, both men sacredly agreeing n> abide by and is surrounded by a fine farming communi- 
 
 the decision thai she would make, each one ty giving it the opportunity of becoming a 
 
 pledging his sacred honor thai if the decision place of some commercial interest. There ha- 
 
 was againsl him thai he would leave that sec- I a a store there for several years as well as 
 
 linn of eountn and never anno] them in any a postoffiee. They have an excellenl sehool- 
 way. This must have been a terrible ordeal house, in fact, one of the neatesl and mosl con- 
 for all concerned, especially for the wife, but, venieni in the country. It is heated with a 
 doubtless after a terrible struggle in her own furnace, splendidly lighted, and i> all that 
 In-cast, the smouldering tires of youthful love could he desired in every respect. For forty- 
 prevailed and she chose the long-absent husband odd years the Methodists have had a church 
 nl' her youth, and the rejected husband, dazed in thai vicinity bu1 the old frame house which 
 ami disappointed, hut true as steel to his stood some distance from where the station now 
 plighted word, hade them a sad adieu, walked stands had become until for service and three 
 out of the door ami they never heard of him or four years hark they built a neal and com- 
 after. Soon after this most romantic experi- I'ortable house in the village and now have reg- 
 ence, Mr. and Mrs. Overstreel removed, in 1819, alar seniors. During the summer of 1904 a 
 to what is now Menard enmity and settled near company sunk a coal shaft there and are lak- 
 the presenl site of the town of Athens. In ing out quantities of an excellenl quality of 
 earlier life Mr. Overstreei had learned the coal. This will tend to build up the town. The 
 trade of a millwright and the greal difficulty school already enrolls aboul seventy pupils and 
 of securing breadstuff induced him, in a year in a year from the presenl thei will have to 
 or two. to erect a horse-mill, in the town of arrange for another room. 
 Athens, in which he manufactured a passable 
 grade of Hour. Soon after this he huilt a small 
 Hail Ki.it on the Sangamon river, and loaded it 
 with Hour. Aboul 183-J or is;::, he. m com- PETERSBURG A.ND VICINITY. 
 
 I ,i,n - V with hv ' others > Jesse (; - anc1 David Mount Vernon, the ancestral home of thi 
 
 Hun. started to New Orleans with their cargo, | . ||||( , | . nf ffig ,. „ mln ._ ls dear io even Ameri . 
 
 ,| """ the Silll .- i " '" ll "' [llillois - and down can heart. His mortal remains l,e entombed 
 
 the 111, no,, and the Mississippi, to New Orleans. |||(i|v ^ |v| ,,. ( , |(1( | ,,.„.,. ,■,,„,, ,,„, S( . |(i „, sl|n . 
 
 The Vl ' lllmv P roved a successful in a linan- Ag Collimbia » B n ,. sl ;lll(1 greates t son. he is em- 
 
 cia] " ew > ^1 unfortunate i at Mr. Over- || . |]|| , ( , i| m |||( , nati<m , g mn| . v ^ ; ,_ Jogeph w; ,, 
 
 stred ,l1 "' 1 '" New Orleans in is:::,. The Hurt en , balmed ,, v his bre thern, and reverently as- 
 
 sij lied a plai e 
 
 "Among the l'i - w immortal names 
 
 That were not horn to die." 
 
 brothers started home, bul David died near 
 
 ( 'aim. at the nl h of the ( )hio river. -I, sse 
 
 (,. Hurt, the only survivor of the voyage, re- 
 turned Safely to Athens, where he lived and 
 died, .lesse (i. Hurt's wife was a niece of Mr. Iii thai portion of Menard to which this chap- 
 Overstreet. Pembroke Hall was a grandson ter is devoted is an historic spot that, nexl I" 
 of John Overstreet, his mother being a daugh- Mount Vernon, should ho cherished and held 
 tor of Mr. Overstreet. sacred as Ion- a- love of liberty ami true patri- 
 otism prevail in thi- greal Republic. We al- 
 lude to old •'Salem." mice the I ie of Abra- 
 ham Lincoln, and the writer might till page 
 ''" with incident- ami anecdotes of thai greal 
 Tice is a station on the Chicago, Peoria & St. man. which have never found their way into 
 Loins Railroad four and a half mile- southeasl print, enough to lill a small volume. But we 
 of Petersburg. It hasnever been organized mi- inflicl none of this upon the reader. Here, it
 
 88 
 
 'AST AMi IMM'.SKNT <>!•' MK.\AI!H UH'XTY 
 
 may be said. Lincoln made his start in the 
 world, ami although nothing remains of the 
 original town the spol is endeared to the peo- 
 ple of tlie county as the early home of the 
 martyred president. It serins to us that it is a 
 duty that the state, — thai the nation — owes to 
 his memory, to purchase the site of the old 
 town, appropriately care for it. as the national 
 governmeni does Eot Mounl Vernon, and we 
 doubt not that the time will come when this 
 will be done. 
 
 Petersburg and vicinity, as we use the term. 
 covers a large territory and is one of the most 
 important parts of the county, for several rea- 
 sons. The territory, as we apply the term, in- 
 cludes parts of towns 18 and 19 and ranges 6. 
 "t and 8. The Sangamon river How- through 
 its center, affording ample drainage; timber is 
 abundant : the soil is of the besl : coal exists in 
 abundance; and all that nature could have done 
 to prepare tins to he a great manufacturing 
 center has heen done. The Ja< k-.in\ .lie di- 
 visioD of the Chicago. Alton & St. Louis Rail- 
 road, and the Chicago. Peoria & St. Louis 
 Railroad cross ai the town, so that taking all 
 together, there is no more favorably situated 
 town in central Illinois. Petersburg is the 
 county seat of Menard county, and the only 
 town of any size that it can boast. The first 
 settlements made in this part of the county are 
 involved in some obscurity and authentic in- 
 formation concerning them seems almost be- 
 yond reach at the present time. Tn fact, near- 
 ly forty years ago the writer began to take 
 notes ami gather data in this direction, hut 
 ■ en ai thai comparatively early day there 
 were differences of opinion among the oldest 
 settlers, concerning important facts. That be- 
 ing the case, what may we expect at this day. 
 when eighty-five years have interposed then 
 veil between the now and then? With these 
 eighty-five years stretching between the advent 
 of tin' pale-faced pioneer and the present pe- 
 riod, it i- Qoi strange thai there should be con- 
 flicting statements, as to whom belongs the 
 rightful honor of settling Petersburg and its 
 vicinity. From long and careful investigation 
 and the most reliable sources of information 
 at hand, we are fully convinced that the Estons 
 were the first white men in this locality. Thev 
 
 were originally from North Carolina, hut early 
 in the beginning of the nineteenth century 
 they emigrated to Tenne.-see and from there 
 they came to St. ('lair county. Illinois, and lo- 
 cated in a very early day. In the spring of 
 1820-21 James Estep came to Menard, — then. 
 Sangamon county. — and made a claim near 
 or within the limits of the present city of Pe- 
 tersburg. Tie was followed in a few months by 
 his father. Elijah, and his brother, Enoch Es- 
 tep. Upon the arrival of his lather James 
 gave his claim to him and he went cast of the 
 Sangamon river and located a claim on what i- 
 since known as Laker'- Prairie. Elijah Esti p 
 built a small horse-mill which was afterward 
 embraced in the city limits, and he others 
 improved the claim by erecting on it a cabin of 
 the true pioneer type. He died in a very early 
 day and very little was remembered of him, 
 even many years ago. Enoch Estep removed to 
 Arkansas long years ago and doubtless died 
 there half a century or more in the past. James 
 Estep was a roving character. Tie soon left 
 Baker's Prairie and removed to Mason county 
 and later to Arkansas, then to Missouri and 
 finally back to Mason county, where he died in 
 1857, at the home of his son. He is described 
 as a man of considerable eccentricity, and 
 with all bis wandering around he never rented 
 a home but always bought and sold. True the 
 old saying is that "A rolling stone gathers no 
 moss," and Ah-. Estep accumulated hut very 
 little of this world's goods, dying in indigent 
 circumstances. This pioneer, supposed to be 
 the first white man to settle in the vicinity of 
 Petersburg, now sleeps in Xew Hope cemetery, 
 in Mason county, beside the partner of his life, 
 who preceded him by a few years to the land of 
 shadows. Soon after the settlement of the Es- 
 tops — probably the same year — the Watkins 
 brothers and a man by the name of Teeters 
 i ame to the neighborhood. There were Joseph, 
 Samuel, James. John and Thomas Watkins. 
 They were from Kentucky and some of them 
 came to Clary's Grove as early as 1819-20. 
 Thomas Watkins bought the claim of John 
 Clary, who was admittedly the first white set- 
 tler in Menard county. Later he sold this 
 claim to George Spears, and removed to the 
 "river timber" where he lived and died. Joseph
 
 PAST AND PKESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 89 
 
 and Samuel Watkins made claims here in 1821, 
 but James Watkins rl id not come to Illinois 
 till 1825-26. Tl - old, original Watkins* stock 
 are all dead and gone, but many of the descend- 
 ants of the family are honored citizens of the 
 county. .Jacob Short, and bis three sons, 
 Obadiah, Earrison and James, came in 1822. 
 They were from the south part of this state, 
 where they had resided for sonic time before 
 coming to this county. In 1824 the Shorts 
 removed to what is now railed Sandridge, and 
 there Jacob died in 1825 and there Harrison 
 also died a few years later. Obadiah died in 
 Xattvoo and James removed to Iowa, where he 
 died. During tin; next two or three years the 
 little community was increased by a large num- 
 ber of additions, among whom were Jesse Ba- 
 ker. Henry and William Clark, Ephraim and 
 William Wilcox, Eenry McHenry, Daniel At- 
 terberry, Andrew, Jacob and Spencer Merrill 
 and perhaps others. Jesse Baker settled on 
 Baker's Prairie, from whom it got its name. 
 
 lie i'i ved from here to Mason county about 
 
 1836 an.l located in the vicinity of Kilbourne, 
 and was afterward mentioned as cue of the pio- 
 aeers of that section. Henry and William 
 Clark, who were brothers, came here Erom Ken- 
 t ink \ and settled on the east side of the San- 
 gamon river. William died a great many years 
 ago, 'mi llcniN lived to a great old age, dying 
 at Last on tin' place where be first settled. He 
 and his wife had Lived together lor over sixty 
 years. They left a large and respected poster- 
 ity, many of whom are still residents of Me- 
 nard county, [f a in one should happen to 
 know any Clarks and wish to learn whether 
 they are related to this family, they can settle 
 the question, at least negatively, very easily; 
 if they art' not Democrats and liaptists they 
 are not this -(nek of ('larks. Ephraim and 
 William Wilcox came from Kentucky and set- 
 tled in Baker's Prairie, ami both died there 
 long \ear- ago. Ilenn Mcllmn Lived to be 
 a \er\ old man. and died in Petersburg. Dan- 
 iel AttcrWcrn came from Kentucky in an early 
 day. settled here and reared a Large family, 
 lie died soon after the (dose of the Civil war. 
 The second generation of the Atterberrys are 
 all dead: bm there are a Large number of the 
 
 third generation stil 
 
 tv tils' neie. 
 
 Andrew 
 
 Merrill and his sons. Jacob and Spencer, were 
 also from Kentucky and settled west of the 
 present site of Petersburg. The old gentleman 
 died in 1835. It is said that just a few days 
 before be died he pointed out to his son the 
 spot where he wished to be buried, and when 
 lie passed away bis sou had bis wish carried 
 out and laid him where lie desired to lie laid. 
 In 1859 the old ladj was laid by his side. 
 Thomas Edwards was one of the very early 
 coiners but he is described as a hard character 
 and soon left for wilder scenes in the wilder 
 west. Thomas K. Dowel! came m L825 or L826 
 and located in Ibis vicinity but later removed 
 to what is now Sandridge. and Lived and died 
 there. Jesse Gum. from Kentucky, noticed in 
 another place as one of the earlier settlers of 
 Clary's Grove, came to this section and his 
 -mis settled west of Petersburg. Charles Gum. 
 son of Jesse Gum, lived and died on a farm 
 west of Petersburg. His brother. John B. 
 Gum, also lived for many years northwest of 
 Petersburg, but the latter part of his life was 
 spent in Mason county. He lived near Kil- 
 bourne and was one of the largest landowners. 
 in Mason or Menard county. In addition to 
 those already mentioned, the following recruits 
 were added to the settlement before the "deep 
 snow": George Curry. Ilenn Bell and sons. 
 John Jones. Zaehariah clary. Bartley Milton. 
 John and Anno Hitter, Pollard Simmon-. Wil- 
 liam Edwards and sous. John Jennison, Bart- 
 lett Conyers, Henry and David Williams, Con- 
 rad Strader, Josiah Crawford, and others whose 
 
 names have been forgotten. G 'ge i'\]\-v\ 
 
 came from Green county. Kentucky, and set- 
 tled ' near the farm owned and occupied 
 
 for the last fort] years i>\ his son, the Rev. 1 1. 
 P. t lurry. George ( lurry died in L876. II. P. 
 Cum has been constantly engaged in preach- 
 ing the gospel in this part of Illinois for nearly 
 sixty years and is still engaged in the work 
 llcun Bell and sons were also from Kentucl 
 and settled here, opened farm- and did their 
 part in the development of the country. The 
 old gentleman died many, many year- ago, and 
 the sons have also gone to the other shore 
 
 John J s was another Kentuckian who settled 
 
 in Clary's Groi e in 182 I but a little later re- 
 moved i" the vieinih of Petersburg and finallv
 
 Ill I 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 located in Little Grove and spent the remain- 
 der of his days thru 1 . Zachariah Clary, ;i bro- 
 ther of John Clary, the pioneer, came from Ten- 
 nessee and settled in Clary's Grove in 1819, 
 but in 1825 he removed to a claim one and a 
 half miles north of Petersburg. Here lie con- 
 tinned tn live till some twenty or twenty-five 
 years ago, when he died. He was well pa-t 
 the four score station when he died. Some of 
 his sons are still alive but most of them are 
 gone in the great beyond. John and Anno Wit- 
 ter also came from Kentucky. Anno died here 
 and John went to Mason county and died there. 
 Pollard Simmons and Josiah Crawford removed 
 to Mason county also, and died then'. Conrad 
 Strader died many years ago, and his son tsham 
 who lived on the old farm adjoining the Baker's 
 Prairie Baptist chnrch, also died a few years 
 ago. This completes the list of the "Simw 
 Birds.'" or the pioneers who were here before 
 the deep snow of 1830-31. This is a chrono- 
 logical landmark that all understood. It is a 
 waymark that was never forgotten by any who 
 experienced it. When those old pioneers were 
 interrogated about it their faces would brighten 
 up anil their eves would sparkle, as they told 
 of the lime when "All the land with snow was 
 covered," and lay (as many aver) to a depth 
 of four leei or over, lor nearly three months 
 before the ground was seen. See an account 
 of thi- iii another place. Tin- five or six years 
 immediately after the deep snow brought im- 
 mense additions to the settlement. True, from 
 183] to 1833 the tide was not so strong on 
 account of the disturbance of the Black Hawk- 
 war, hut the next two years made up for if. 
 We give quite a list of these newcomer-, the 
 large majority of whom were from old Ken- 
 tucky, that land famed for blue grass, pretty 
 
 w ii. line horses and good whisky: The 
 
 Davidsons, the Taylors. William Butler. Dr. 
 John Lee. William I'. Cox, William G. Greene, 
 Thomas Epperson. William J. Hoey, the Ben- 
 netts, C G. Brook-. S. and C. Levering, A. 
 1 1. Wright, Jacob II. Laning, .lames S. Carter. 
 John McNamar, A. Humphrey, John McNeal. 
 Samuel Hill. Nathan Dresser. Charles B. Wal- 
 do, Zachariah Nance and .-mis. George 1". Miles, 
 Chester Moon, Thomas L. Harris. W. C. Daw- 
 son, Martin Morris. .Ionian Morris. J. W. 
 
 Warnsing, William Haggerty, Dr. John Allen. 
 George Warburton, Peter Lukins, the Rutledges, 
 Jonathan Colby, Roberl Carter, .1. A. Brahm, 
 .lames Goldsby, Nicholas Tice, Abraham Bale. 
 Jacob Bale. Hardin Bale and others. The 
 
 Davidsons were fr Kentucky and were among 
 
 the first merchants of Petersburg. They first 
 settled in Bond county. Illinois, and lived there 
 for years before coming to this part of the 
 state. John Taylor was the lirst nieivhant of 
 Petersburg and one of the proprietors of the 
 town, when it was organized. The Bennetts 
 came from old Virginia, the home of states- 
 men and the birthplace of presidents. There 
 were three brothers, John, William and Richard 
 E. Bennett. John came to Illinois in 1835 
 and to this place in 1836. He was one of the 
 early merchants and prominent business men 
 of the place, lie was a member of the state 
 legislature during the session of 1840-41, and 
 wa.- als ie of the directors of the old Peters- 
 burg & Toniea Railroad, now the Jacksonville 
 division of the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Bail- 
 mad, besides holding many other positions of 
 honor and trust. He died m Petersburg many 
 years ago. William Bennett came to this set- 
 tlement one year later than his brother John, 
 and died not many years after he came. Dr. 
 Richard E. Bennett came about the time that 
 his hrothers came and followed his profession 
 with marked success till the time of his death. 
 some twenty years ago. Dr. Bennett's son. 
 Theodore C. was circuit clerk for this county 
 for thirty years, and was then succeeded, for 
 four years, by his son, David R., and he might 
 have continued in the place indefinitely had 
 it not been for the Barker w reek, in 1904. < '. 
 G. Brooks was from Kentucky, came here in 
 1836 and died many rears ago. Septimus and 
 C. Levering were half-brothers and came from 
 the city of Baltimore; Septimus came in is:i; 
 and his brother came a little later. Septimus 
 died many years ago hut In- brother lived to 
 he over eighty years of age. His widow is still 
 living. Septimus has no descendants in this 
 country hut his brother reared a large family 
 who are all dead except one in Petersburg. 
 They were active and successful business men. 
 .lames S. Carter came from Virginia in 1838 
 and the same year Jacob II. Laning came from
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENABD COUNTY 
 
 9] 
 
 New Jersey, ami bis sons are among the prom- 
 inent business men of the place. John Mc- 
 Namar was a "dow d easter" but we are unable 
 to learn what stale he hailed from. Ee was 
 one of the early merchants in old Salem and 
 when that historic town went down he removed 
 to Petersburg and there embarked again in the 
 in. 'nantilr business. He died about 1870 oi- 
 ls;!. Dr. John Allen was an eat l\ merchant 
 of Salem, as well as a practitioner of medicine 
 there. Samuel Hill was from Ohio and in a 
 M'i\ early day went to Salem, where he was 
 engaged in selling goods. Later he came to 
 Petersburg and engaged in the same business 
 there until his death, which occurred many 
 pears ago. Charles I'.. Waldo ami Nathan 
 Dresser were both natives el' Connecticut hut 
 went to Virginia ami Erom there in Petersburg. 
 Waldo was the first pedagogue in the place. 
 They both went to the south pari of the state 
 many years ago. Thomas I.. Earris was also 
 a native of Connecticut and like the two men- 
 tioned above, he went to Virginia ami then 
 came to this place, lie served two terms in 
 congress with distinguished ability, Inn just 
 in the prime of his life death blighted all his 
 plans and he passed to that land of shadows, 
 from which none ever return. Zachariah 
 Nance was a soldier of the Revolutionary war 
 ami lived in Kentucky, hut in 1833 he, with 
 several -mi-, emigrated to I llinois ami located 
 on Rock creek. There the old gentleman died 
 and was buried in Farmers' Poinl cemetery. 
 Among his -on j were Thomas ami Washing- 
 ton. The latter settled on Sandridge and 
 reared a large family there but later moved to 
 Petersburg, where he died about 1886 or 1887. 
 Albert »... a son of Thomas Nance, served two 
 terms in the state legislature ami then became 
 a candidate for the state senate, hut died a few 
 days before the election. Samuel Hill, the 
 Salem merchant, married a daughter of Zacha- 
 riah Nance. These are all long since (Kail. 
 
 <; 'ge 1'. Miles was a Kentuekian by birth and 
 
 came first t" the southern pari of the state, 
 ami in 1839 he seii led in Petersburg. Martin 
 ami Jordan Morris, though of tin- same name, 
 and both blacksmiths, were in nowise related. 
 Both worked at their trade here. .Ionian Mor- 
 ris was an unstable character ami after a few 
 
 years he. in company with William Eaggerty. 
 a blacksmith who came here with him. loft for 
 other part-. .Martin Morris worked al ln> 
 trade here main year-, and then removed to 
 Savannah, Missouri, ami died there. .1. \\ . 
 W'ernsing, a German by birth, was an earlj 
 settler here and died many year.- ago. lie was 
 related to John 11. Marbold, who came to Pet- 
 ersburg later on ami remained hereabout three 
 years and then removed to Greenview, where 
 he died several years ago. at the advanced age 
 of over ninety years. Speaking of Germans 
 suggests the fact thai John Earmon Schirding 
 came here from Germany in 1847, and a year 
 later his father and mother and II. 11. Schird- 
 ing, his brother, came. They later settled jusl 
 north of tin' town of Petersburg, and h\ hard 
 work and economy thej became wealthy. John 
 Harmon Schirding died a number of years ago. 
 lie was never married. John Henry Schirding 
 lived to the -real age of ninety-eight years ami 
 seven months, ami his wife did at the age of 
 eighty-nine years and four months. They both 
 died in Petersburg, within a few weeks of each 
 other. Judge II. II. Schirding still live- here 
 he and his son Harry (Ins only child) being en- 
 gaged in hanking. George Warburton was from 
 the east ami came here m an early <la\ . lie 
 was pari owner of the tract of land on which 
 the town was located. Ee was afterward 
 drowned in the Sangamon river, it is said, 
 where tin' water was ,,nlv six inches deep. Ili- 
 was addicted to drink and it is supposed that 
 this was the cause of his death. Peter Lukins, 
 the .joint proprietor with Warburton, of the 
 land that the town is located on. and for whom 
 the town was named, came from Kentucky and 
 was the first hotelkeeper in the place, lie and 
 Warburton owned one hundred and sixty acres 
 of hind and laid out the town on it. Afterward 
 they sold out. to Taylor and King, who thus 
 became proprietors of the village. Lukins was 
 afterward found dead in his bed, the re-ull 
 of hard drink, for he also wa- too close a friend 
 of John Barleycorn. 
 
 ••.\h! Brandy, brandy, bane of life; 
 Spring id' tumult, source of strife: 
 i lould I but half lh\ curses tell. 
 The w ise would wish thee safe in In II." 
 
 The Rutledges wen- originally from Ken-
 
 92 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT <>F MENARD COUNTY 
 
 tuck} bul wont from there to South Carolina 
 and thence came in an early day to Illinois, 
 settling in White county, whence they came to 
 this count\ in L825, settling in the vicinity of 
 <)|,| Salem. William and James Rutledge and 
 John Cameron came together. William Rut- 
 ledge and Cameron wen' brothers-in-law. 
 These all died here many years ago, leaving 
 a long line nl' descendants. Jonathan Colby 
 came from New Hampshire in 1834 and settled 
 mi the farm where he died, his son G-rosvenor 
 Colby now owning it. Roberl Carter came 
 from Kentucky in L830 ami settled on the 
 farm thai Ins daughter, "Aunt" Jemima Gum. 
 lived and died on. Hi' died in 1866. The el- 
 der lirahni. father of John A. Brahm, came in 
 1852. .lames Goldsby came from Kentucky in 
 1830 and settled here, lie was the lirst sheriff 
 el' Menard county, lie was a sun of Rev. Wil- 
 liam Goldsby. a Baptist minister, who preached 
 the gospe] bere for a half century. Nicholas 
 Tice came from Virginia in 1831, locating lirst 
 in Athens, but in 1832 be bought a farm where 
 
 (he village el' Tice new stands and spent the 
 remainder of his life there. .Indue John Tice, 
 recently deceased, was bis sen. The Bales weri' 
 
 from Kentucky and Jacob Bale located near 
 the present site el' Petersburg in 1830. lie 
 was a minister ami father el' Hardin Hale, who 
 was proprietor of the Petersburg Woolen Mi II-. 
 A-bram Hale came to the vicinity in 1839 and 
 located at Salem. In lS-ln he bought a farm 
 and moved onto it. In 1852 be purchased the 
 mill site at Salem and began repairing ami 
 remodeling the eld mill but died in 1853. His 
 sens completed the repairs that he bad begun 
 and in is;:! T. Y. Hale became the solo pro- 
 prietor and conducted the mill till it ceased to 
 he. some twenty or twenty-five years ago. 
 Judge Joseph II. Pillsbury was a son of Alpha 
 Pill-bun and was a native id' \Vw Hampshire. 
 His lather died there in ls:il and in ls:',ii the 
 family came to Petersburg, when' his mother 
 died in L868. Judge Pillsbury was a promi- 
 nent man, filling some positions of trust and 
 ho ■. He died some years ago. Elijah Pot- 
 ter ei from White county, Illinois, where he 
 
 was born in 1819 or 1820. He settled Five 
 miles south of Petersburg, where he died in 
 March. 1876. Robert McNeely was an early 
 
 settler in Morgan county, and his son, Hon. 
 T. W. McNeely, early became a citizen of Pe- 
 tersburg and became one of our ablest attor- 
 neys, lie ha- represented ibis district in con- 
 gress. 
 
 This comprises the list of the early settlers 
 of tins section of the county. After the year 
 1835 the stream of immigration became so 
 ureal that ii would he impossible to give any- 
 thing like a correct account of them. True we 
 have mentioned some who came at a later date, 
 hut only a l\'\v of the more important ones. 
 while sonic prominent pioneer- were not named 
 in this list because they are spoken of in an- 
 other place or are noticed in the biographical 
 part of this work. We have used the utmost 
 care in trying to get the facts and dates cor- 
 rect hut doubtless there are mistakes. The 
 writer began almost forty years ago to gather 
 this material. For thirty-eight years a daily 
 diary has been carefully kept, and had it not 
 been lor this fact this work could never have 
 been done, even one-half as well. II' people in 
 general would take an interest in such matter-, 
 the record of the past might he kept entire. 
 
 If some of those early settler- could rise from 
 the grave and come hack to their haunts of 
 eighty years ago, their surprise would lie far 
 greater than that of Rip Van Winkle when he 
 
 awoke from his long sleep in the Catskill ne- 
 
 tains. When the white man came here eighty- 
 five years ago the forests were unbroken; the 
 prairies were yet in their pristine beauty fresh 
 from their Creator's hand, and were the abode 
 of the wolf and wild deer: the canoe of the 
 Indian glided over the waters of the "Sanga- 
 
 mo," and tin' forests eel I to his savage yell. 
 
 while the paths worn by his moecasined feet 
 served as a guiding trail to the invading pale- 
 face. The flight of years has clothed these 
 "verdant wastes" with flocks and herds, with 
 waving harvest-fields and vast forests of rust- 
 ling corn, in which great armies might find 
 secreting ambush. The Indian trail has been 
 obliterated by the railway track, and the ox- 
 team and "prairie schooner" are displaced by 
 the locomotive and the automobile. The land- 
 scape where the Indian sol his tepee and where 
 his pale-faced successor built his pole cabin 
 or his three-faced camp. is now dotted with
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 i:; 
 
 hundreds of happy homes, churches and school- 
 houses. The silence broken by the war whoop 
 and ili" death song of the savage, now echoes to 
 
 "The Laugh of children, the sofi voice 
 hi maidens and the sweet and solemn hymn 
 Of Sabbath worshippers." 
 
 The early pioneers of this section met with 
 the same trials and inconveniences that others 
 experienced, and which are described in another 
 place. Churches, schools, soi teties, etc., are de- 
 scribed in appropriate chapters, but we feel that 
 at this point a word should be said aboul one 
 particular church — The Baptist church at Ba- 
 ker's Prairie. This is one of the old congrega- 
 tions of that dei lination in the county. It 
 
 was organized in 1835. by the Rev. John Antic 
 The first place of worship, after the private 
 houses, wa< a loo house which served as a church 
 
 and sehoolhouse. it -t I about three miles 
 
 easl of Petersburg and about the same distance 
 north of where Tice is now located. Later they 
 built a frame chinch and after it became some- 
 what dilapidated tiny creeled a splendid brick 
 edifice, which the: now occupy. 
 
 The town of Petersburg, the metropolis of 
 Menard county, is beautifully situated on the 
 west bank of the Sangamon river at the cross- 
 ing of the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis, and 
 the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railways, 
 twenty-one miles north of Springfield and 
 twenty-seven miles from Jacksonville. It ex- 
 tend- back from the river on the bluffs, where 
 many beautiful residences are situated. The 
 streets are broad and lined with trees, adding 
 much to the beaut} of the place, and in sum- 
 mer protecting from the burning heat of the 
 sun. The public square is a -real ornament 
 in the town, being well supplied with forest 
 trees, and in its center stands a splendid court- 
 house, built in 1897 at a cost id' fifty thou- 
 sand dollars. The greater pari of the business, 
 a- in other Illinois towns, is around the square, 
 ami the buildings are far better than arc gen- 
 erally found in towns of its size. Speaking 
 of the streets of Petersburg brings to mind an 
 anecdote of Abraham Lincoln, that we believe 
 has never found its way into print, and as 
 if i- absolutely true, and as it illustrates the 
 kind anil benevolenl nature of the man. we 
 feel it to he a dutv to record it. here ami now. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln surveyed and platted the town but 
 it happened that, before the plat was though! 
 of a widow lady had built her a house within 
 its limits. When they came to make the sur- 
 vey they found that this house was a few feet 
 out into the projected street. It would cost 
 something to move the house, and the owner 
 was a widow; the survey was almost done and 
 it would entail both labor and expense to change 
 the whole plat; so Lincoln cut the Gordian knot 
 by making "a jog," as he called it. in the street. 
 This "joe" is in the plat, ami in the street— 
 a visible and lasting monument to the kind 
 heart of Mr. Lincoln. 
 
 Peter Lukins and (ieore'c Warnurton were 
 the original owners of the one hundred and 
 sixty acres of land that Petersburg now -lands 
 on. This tract was part <<( section II. town- 
 ship is. ranee ; west. In 1832-3 they laid 
 out the entire trad of one hundred and sixty 
 acres into blocks and (own lots and when this 
 was done they quietly sat down to wait for 
 the city to grow. This one hundred and sixty 
 acres was rather ait extensive foundation for a 
 town seventy-five years ago, and it was prob- 
 ably these ponderous proportions that retarded 
 its growth. At any rale it failed to gro^i 
 ami the proprietors, becoming disgusted, sold 
 out to llezekiah Kin." and John Taylor. These 
 gentlemen employed Abraham Lincoln, then 
 deputy surveyor of Sangamon county, to sur- 
 \e\ and replat the town, and this plat was 
 filed for record February 22, L836. The town 
 was named for Peter Lukins, one of the origi- 
 nal proprietors. The incident, or accident, 
 which led to the naming of the future ,n\ 
 Petersburg, instead of Georgetown, occurred in 
 this wise: Peter Lukins ami George Warbur- 
 ton, the original projectors of the enterprise, 
 were each very anxious to he immortalized in 
 
 history by bestow ing In- nan n the incipient 
 
 city and they became involved in a very warm 
 dispute over the question whether it should 
 he called Georgetown, for Warburton, or Peters 
 burg, I'm' Lukins. ,\t last they decided to play 
 ;i game of "old sledge," or "seven-up," then the 
 national game (instead of base or football), 
 and allow the winner to name the town. Lu- 
 kins won. and rising from his costly seat, a 
 nail-keg, he solemnly and impressively pro-
 
 94 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 nounced the word "Petersburg," and the mo- 
 mentous question was forever settled. Elijah 
 Estep doubtless built the first cabin, or build- 
 ing of any kind thai was ever built in the ter- 
 ritory of what is now Petersburg. Estep put 
 ii)) a "tread-wheel" mill here in 1826. This 
 is spoken of more fully in another place. The 
 first -tore opened in the town was by John 
 Taylor, in 1833. Not a meat while after Tay- 
 lor began business, the Davidson Brothers came 
 in with a stock of goods ami opened the sec- 
 ond store. It was only a short time after this 
 till John Bennett bought Taylor out and en- 
 gaged in a business that was destined to ho 
 his employment for a long time. Ho was for 
 many years one of the leading merchants and 
 business men of the place, lie is spoken of 
 more at length in another place. Jordan Mor- 
 ris was the lir-i blacksmith and Peter Lukins 
 looked after the soles of the people, being a 
 shoemaker. The postoffice was established here 
 hi 1834, with James Taylor as postmaster. 
 This office was then a very small affair, and 
 the whole thing could have been easily carried 
 in a man's hat. The first practicing lawyer 
 was David M. Rutledge, a brother of "'the 
 beautiful Anna Rutledge," the fiancee of Abra- 
 ham Lincoln, and who. hail she lived, would 
 have been his wife. Dr. R. E. Bennett was the 
 first resident physician. The first •■tavern" 
 was kept by Peter Lukins. It was located in 
 th( south part of town and was a very un- 
 pretentious affair but it accommodated in a 
 comfortable way those who patronized it. Aft- 
 er the primitive mill spoken of above, a nan 
 by the name of Dorrell built a combined saw 
 and grist mill, and this served the purpose 
 for the people for a great many year-. After 
 tin- a Mr. Sanford erected a very line mill at 
 a cosi of eighteen thousand dollars. After 
 operating it for several years his -en-. .1. D. 
 and E. D. Wright, took charge of it. In a nw 
 years E. D. Wright withdrew from the firm 
 ami mil Long after this J. D. Wright failed in 
 in-iih--. necessitating the -ale of the prop- 
 erty. In 1878 the property was bought by 
 E. 1. (.. nili ami I). Fischer, who ran the mill 
 for a number of years, with very Lined suc- 
 cess. Later ii went into the hands of a Mr. 
 Welch, who ran it for a time, hut after his 
 
 death it was changed into an elevator and is 
 being so run at the present time. In 1867 
 the Eagle Mills were built by Nance, Brother 
 & Company, at a cost of over twenty-four 
 
 thousand dollars. The Nances ran it about 
 eighteen months when it was bought by Philip 
 li'ainov. In connection with Thomas Barfield 
 he ran it for a time and later he was alone in 
 the enterprise. He put in rollers and the "new 
 process," and made it in every respect a very 
 fine mill. After his death his wife ran it for 
 a time. Finally, some twelve or fifteen years 
 ago, Mr. Heil'ner. of Virginia. Cass county, 
 bought the property ami is running the null 
 with great success. Aaron Hatfield built a 
 mill in the easl part id' town about the early 
 '80s and ran it for a time. Afterward Charles 
 Carman ran it for some time ami failed to 
 make it pay. Seme years ago it was dis- 
 mantled, the machinery taken out and the 
 building ha- since stood unoccupied. While on 
 the subject of nulls it is net out of place to 
 mention the fad that the first steam mill (the 
 one put tip by Taylor) was run by an engine 
 that came off a steamboat. (See the chapter 
 on "Steamboats.") Alone somewhere about 
 that time a steamboat worked its way up the 
 Sangamon a- far a- Petersburg, and landed at 
 her busy wharf, hut when starting time came 
 she could neither advance nor hack out. so 
 ilc on|\ thine t (j UJ> remain, which she did. 
 Taylor bought the machinery and put it into 
 the mill, as above stated. There are two grain 
 elevators running in Petersburg at the present 
 time. Wilms & Company operate a new ele- 
 vator, built by them some five or sis years ago 
 near the track of the Chicago, Peoria A St. 
 Louis Railroad, in the northeast part of town. 
 David Frackelton, Jr.. is running the old mill 
 in the south part of town as an elevator. Both 
 are doing a good business. 
 
 In 1901 Mr. Brass, of Virginia, Cass coun- 
 ty, erected a canning factory in the north part 
 of town and engaged in canning tomatoes, sweet 
 com and pumpkins, which at once hid fair to 
 he a success, lie induced the neighboring farm- 
 ers to engage in raising these product- and 
 the enterprise has proved a blessing to the 
 town. The farmers have realized splendidly 
 on the crops raised: employment has been fur-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 95 
 
 nishod for a °rea1 number of the people of Hamilton changed the Index to a Republican 
 
 tin town; and the owners have done well, paper the Menard County Axis was started as 
 
 Some years ago D. M. Bone and Charles Mont- a Democratic organ, with C. Clay as editor 
 
 gomen i rected a bed-spring and excelsior Eac- and publisher, tts firsl issue was dated April 
 
 tory in the easl pari of the city, which for 1"-'. L859, and it was continued by clay till 
 
 several vears proved a great success and a 1867, when it was purchased by a joinl stock 
 
 blessing to the country. Unfortunately just company. \ i t h M. I!. Friend as editor, and 
 
 as it had becomi a decided success, ii burned its name changed in the Petersburg Democrat, 
 
 down and the moneyed men of Hie town re- under which name it still continues to be 
 
 fused i" lend the accessary aid. and .me of published. Mr. Friend continued in charge 
 
 the proprietors opened the same business in of the paper till 1871, when E. T. McElwain 
 
 Springfield and the other in Lincoln, Illinois, became editor. He continued in editorial con- 
 
 and both are now large and paying factories, tro] till July 1. 1877, when he was succeeded 
 
 It is extremely unfortunate that these enter- by A. E. Mick. On duly 1. L878, Mr. Mick 
 
 prises did not receive the sympathy and en- associated with himself S. S. Knoles, and so 
 
 couragernenl of the men of means of the place, the firm continued for several years, nil Fred. 
 
 There is no town in central Illinois that has Wilkinson becan litor and after a time John 
 
 in,, re natural advantages and facilities for Onstotl was associated with him. and this con- 
 manufacture than Petersburg and aothing tinues to he the linn at the present time. The 
 would pa\ our men of means better than to Petersburg Democral has been the exponent oi 
 1 1 1 1 1 their money into such enterprises. It Democracy in Menard counts For almost fifty 
 would build up the town in population, ii would years. The last two gentlemen have, for many 
 
 afford a market for our coal, timber, sand and years, wielded the quill and snapped tl li- 
 
 produce, and furnish employment to hundreds torial scissors, in disseminating Democratic 
 
 of our citizens. It is strange that this has not doctrine to the denizens of "Little Menard." 
 
 been done long ago. The Democral is a stanch and reliable paper. 
 
 Petersburg has had a very good share of has a large circulation, and is regarded as an 
 
 newspaper enterprise, lirsl and last. The first essential in many households of the county. 
 
 newspaper was published in this place in the During the campaign of Filmore, Buchanan 
 
 fall of 1854, h\ s. B. Dugger, who called his and Fremont, in 1856, William Glenn started 
 
 paper the Petersburg Express. After running a paper called The Fillmore Bugle hut it 
 
 the paper for about a year Mr. Dugger sold closed out at the end of the campaign. In 
 
 out in Henry L. ('lav. who changed the name dune. 1868, the Menard County Republican 
 
 of the paper to the Menard Index, which was was established, with Richard Richardson as 
 
 Democratic in politics. In September, L858. editor. In aboul a year he sold out to John 
 
 Mr. ('lav sold out io llohart Hamilton, and a T. McNeely who conducted it nil 1871, when 
 
 Mr. Brooks and they changed the politics of Bennett and Zane became the proprietors. 
 
 the paper to Republican ami ran it thus till Aboui a year after this Zane was succeeded by 
 
 L863, when it was sold and re \ed from the John Frank, who soon retired and was fol- 
 
 county. Brooks remained with the paper about lowed by F. M. Bryant, who likewise remained 
 
 one year after he and Hamilton took it. and hit a short time, and Bennett was alone for 
 
 retired from it, saying that after changing a time. I-'. .1. Dubois then became a partner 
 
 the politics <d' the paper ami sending out the and assumed editorial control for a year. Early 
 
 first number a- a Republican -heel thai the m is; I the material of the Republican was 
 
 patrons came in by scores, carrying the paper. -old to John frank, who hail stalled a nevi 
 
 and would throw it down saying, "There, take paper the August preceding and called it the 
 
 your - Abolition paper." Shorth after Menard Count) Time-. II and the Republican 
 
 there val of the Index the Northwestern Bap- were then consolidated and published under 
 
 ti>t. a religious paper, was ]>~nrt\ from the In- the name of The Times. Frank now -old out 
 
 de\ office, and edited tn \1. I'. Hartley. After to F. M. Brvant, who continued the paper till
 
 96 
 
 PAST A\l> PRESENT OF MKXAIM) COUNTY 
 
 May :i. ls;s. when he sold to 6. W. Cain and 
 William Parks. Cain had been running a pa- 
 per in Tallula, and when he bought Taylor out 
 he changed the name of the paper to the Peters- 
 burg Observer, and under that name it is still 
 published. Parks sold out about 1902 to Mr. 
 Ruth, who is -till running the paper. It is a 
 clean, well edited and popular Republican pa- 
 per. Mr. Ruth also runs a paper in Athens. 
 
 We tried hard to secure full data concern- 
 ing the papers in other Menard county towns 
 but failed, as our letters of inquiry were for 
 -nine reason unanswered. Athens. Tallula and 
 Greenview have each had a weekly paper for 
 several years. The "Greenview Leader" is pub- 
 lished by James Arnold and is a spicy and up- 
 to-date paper. Mr. Arnold also runs a good 
 job office. 
 
 PETERSBURG, THE COUNTY SEAT. 
 
 The act of the legislature for the formation 
 of Menard county was passed in the session 
 of 1838-39, the new county including a large 
 part of Mason county, which was no1 sel off 
 till two years later. One of the first questions 
 agitated was that of the location of the seal 
 of justice. The contestants were New Market, 
 Huron. Miller's Ferry. Athens and Petersburg, 
 and after a short but sanguinary struggle, it was 
 decided in favor of Petersburg, and, in the 
 spring of 1839 it became the capital of the 
 county. It- competitors in the struggle for of- 
 ficial greatness, all except Athens, have long 
 since been submerged " 'neath the waves of 
 dark- oblivion" and few people now know that 
 such place, ever existed in this county. From 
 this time on Petersburg rapidly grew in popu- 
 lation and increased in importance. After the 
 formation of Mason county it was found that 
 by a stroke of good fortune, the county seat 
 had been located almost in the exact geograph- 
 ical ci nter. Fer four years after the forma- 
 tion of the county, the courts were held in 
 the stpn of Grimslei & Levering, but in 1843 
 the courthouse was erected at a cost of six 
 thousand, six hundred forty dollar-. This old 
 house, with the moss of passing years gather- 
 ing on it. stood till 1897. It was of the old 
 
 Kentucky tobacco-barn style of architecture, 
 
 and in perfect harmony with the scores of 
 courthouses built sixty-live and seventy years 
 ago. About the time that the courthouse was 
 built a jail was erected which served the pur- 
 pose till l87n. when a new one was put up 
 at a cost of twenty-two thousand dollars, a far 
 more imposing building than the courthouse. 
 The first jail cost three hundred dollars. In 
 1897 a new stone courthouse was built on the 
 site of the old one. It cost fifty thousand dol- 
 lars, hut while the old courthouse was an old 
 fashioned, weather-beaten affair, it was with sad 
 hearts that the old citizens saw it razed to the 
 ground, on account of the associations connect- 
 ed with it. Its walls had echoed to the voice 
 of Mich men as Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham 
 Lincoln and many other of the celebrities of 
 those old times, for "there were giants in those 
 days" in the truest sense of that word. This 
 i- the bistory of the county scat, as such, and 
 we now proceed to give a brief sketch of the 
 place as an organized city, under the laws of 
 the state. 
 
 Petersburg was organized as a city under 
 the laws of Illinois in 1882, and Dr. F. P. Antle 
 was elected the first mayor of the city. He 
 continued to fill this office, by re-election, till 
 1885. In April. 1885, Charles R. Collier was 
 eh •(ted the second mayor. Mr. Collier served 
 till 1887, when in April of that year James 
 Thompson was elected to that office. During 
 rhi< administration thi system of waterworks 
 was put in, Diedric Fisher being awarded the 
 contract for the tank. pump, building, etc.. 
 at seventeen thousand dollars. In April, 1889, 
 Anson Thompson was elected mayor and server, 
 till 1891, when Jesse M. Ott was elected, and 
 by re-election served till 1SH7 . During the 
 term- of L893 and 1894, the large well was 
 -link to supply water for the waterworks. It 
 is thirty feet from out to out. being twenty-five 
 feet in the clear between the walls and thirty- 
 eight feet deep. This well cost the city, all 
 told three thousand dollars. In 1892 the first 
 sanitary -ewer was pu1 in. at a total cost of 
 three thousand, live hundred dollars. In 1897 
 Ishani Catlett was elected to the office of may- 
 or, and served till 1901. In this year Anson 
 Thompson was again elected and served till
 
 PAST AMi PRESENT OE MENARD COUNT!' 
 
 L902, when Jesse M. Oti was again elected and be expended in 1905 in further improvements, 
 
 is serving at the presenl time. In the year the by erecting a hotel in keeping with the demands 
 
 city bought the Town Hall, paying for tin.' and claims of the Chautauqua, 
 
 building and lots three thousand, six hundred Petersburg has ten church houses, all of 
 
 dollars. During the fall of 1904 the large which have regular services. She has three 
 
 drainage sewer, on the north side of the square, fine school buildings, with a total of over twen- 
 
 was put in. at a cost of four thousand dollars, ty commodious rooms. Her growth has never 
 
 So that in the last fifteen years the city has been rapid, bui always steady and permanent, 
 
 expended, in much needed improvements, be- During 1903 and 1904 more than twenty resi- 
 
 side the running expenses of the town, no less deuces were erected, cost from two thousand 
 
 than thirty-one thousand, eight hundred dol- dollars to eight thousand dollars each. The 
 
 Lars. The city is in a very prosperous eondi- city government is contemplating the paving 
 
 tiou financially. In LS91 the old courthouse of the more important streets in the near fu- 
 
 was torn away and a fifty thousand dollar huihl- ture. 
 
 ing erected in its place, which is an ornament to The present city government is as follows: 
 
 the city and county. A system of electric Jesse M. Ott, mayor; aldermen, first ward. Ed. 
 
 lights was put in years ago. The w leu Goodman and McLean W'atkins; second ward. 
 
 buildings, which used to he so numerous around Gaines Greene and Otto Lenz; third ward. A. 
 
 the square, are nearly all torn away, and large, J. lih'ss and W. W. Williamson. 
 
 modern, brick buildings have been built in their 
 
 place. We have three large dry-goods stores. 
 
 four clothing stores, two jewelry stores, three OFFICERS OF MENARD COUNTY. 
 
 drug stores, three hardware stores, six grocery 
 
 , i i " SHERIFFS. 
 
 .-lores, two lurniture stores, two harness shops, 
 
 ,, l/he sheriffs oi the county have been : James 
 three restaurants, two ten-cent stores, three 
 
 . . . . Goldsbv, 1839-1844: \. A. Rankin, L844-1848; 
 meat markets, one -hoe store, two photograph 
 
 ,. ... , ,, , ... r . ' James Taylor, 1848-December, 1848 : James G. 
 
 galleries, one mill, lour blacksmith shops, two 
 
 ; , , , , ,. .... Long, 1848-1850: B. D. McAtee. L850-1852; 
 
 bakeries, lour barber -hop-. Pair mi II inerv 
 
 ■ J. B. Gum, 1852-1854; J. B. Goldsby, 1854- 
 
 Stores, Ihree hoiel- ami one luarlilc shop. lie- 
 
 , . . , ' 1858: J. M. Hurt. 1858-1860: W. C. Smoot, 
 side ilu- we have m the oroiessions : tour clen- 
 
 , , ',. , 1860-1862: J. M. Quinn, 1862-1864: J. M. 
 tists, eight phvsicians, thirteen lawvers (an 
 
 ■ , . ' , , ' , , ,. Quinn, L864-1866 ; Robert Clarv, 1868-1870; 
 unlucky number) and ten preachers. In L89 < 
 
 ,, ../o, cj i •• ™ i Fred Wilkinson. 1870-1S72; Wolf Feulner, 
 Hie (lid Nalein ( liautauiiua was organized. 
 
 ,... , , . ' 1874-1876; Fred Wilkinson, 1876-1880: M. T. 
 i he i loan I oi managers purchased a mosi beati- 
 
 .... , c i , ii, e u a Hargraves, 1880-1886; William J. Brewer, 
 
 tilul piece ol laud on ihe bank- ol the Sanga- 
 
 ... . .. , ,,,,', 1886-1890; Joseph W. Estill, 1890-189J : (I. 
 
 mon river, within a mile and a hall 01 the 
 
 . , ,. ... W. Hatch. 1894-1898; J. \. Rutledge. 1898- 
 
 CltV, and opened the institution 111 AllgUSl ol 
 
 ., ,. ., ,. L902; Edward J. Fahav. 1902-1906. 
 thai year. From the very first it seemed to 
 
 be a success. Under the direction of such men probatj judge. 
 
 as \. W". Branson, George Luthringer, II er As;l "■ Wright, from 1839 to 1846; Nathan 
 
 J. Tice and others, it could not but be a success. Dresser. 1846 to 1847; Asa I). Wright Iron 
 
 Thei have a system of waterworks on the 1S,: '" 1848, when tl ffice ceased. 
 
 ground, as fine and commodious an auditorium recorder. 
 
 as an\ similar institution in the land. A large William G. Spear-, from 1839 to is 1 1 ; Jacob 
 
 number of cottages have been erected on the 11. Laning, from 1841 to 1847; Cornelius 
 
 grounds and thousands of dollars have 1 n ex- Ronrke, from 1841 to 1849, when the "Hie, 
 
 pended in improving and beautifying the ceased. 
 
 grounds. The attendance from the very first coroner. 
 
 has been phenomenal and success has marked Martin S. Morn-, from 1839 to 1840; George 
 
 its every step. Fifteen thousand dollars will D. Adam-, from 1840 to 1842; John E. R
 
 98 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 lins, from 1842 to 1844; I va MeGlasson. from 
 isii to 1848; McLean Wood, from 1848 to 
 1850; T. 1'. Garretson, from 1850 to 1852; 
 C. Levering, from 1852 to 1853; W. T. Hutch- 
 inson, from 1853 to 1854 ; William Trent, from 
 is."> I to 1856; F. C. Davis, from 1856 to 1858; 
 .1. T. Brooks, from 1858 to iscii: ('. Levering, 
 from I860 to 1862 ; A. L. Clary, from 1864 
 to 1869; I.. Montgomery, from 1869 to 1871; 
 <;. \\. Hicks, from 1871 to 1874; .1. .1. Erwin, 
 from is; I to 1876; L. Ahronheim., from 1876 
 
 to 1877; Charles Cowan, fr 1*;; to 1880; 
 
 John Degge, from 1880 to 1882; John Baches. 
 from 1882 to L884; William D. Cowan, from 
 1884 to 1885; William I >. McAtee, from 1885 
 to 1892; A. L. Clary, from 1892 to 1904 ; Dr. 
 Wilkin, from 1904 to 1908. 
 
 SURVEYOR. 
 
 Edmund Greer, from 1839 to lsi:',: John B. 
 Cum. from 1843 to 1849; Anno Ritter, from 
 L849 to is:,:,: F. Hall, from is:,:, to 1859; I>. 
 X. Carithers, from 1859 to 1863; John B. 
 Cum. from 1863 to 1864; A. E. Mick, from 
 L864 to 1869; A. J. Kelly, from 1869 to is;:,; 
 John Th-c from Is;:, to 1879; Abe Hall, from 
 1879 to 1883; Anthony Austin, from 1883 to 
 l^s; George ( . Power, from 1888 to 1892; 
 James M. Large, from 1892 to 1S96; John 
 Tier, from 1896 to 1904; Hobart Hamilton, 
 from 1904 to 1908. 
 
 PUBLIC AHM IMSTK 4.TOR. 
 
 Lewis B. Wvnn. from 1843 to 1845; George 
 U. Miles, from 1845 to 1849; McLean Wood, 
 from 1 s4'.c till the office ceased to be, two years 
 after. 
 
 COUNTY JUDGE. 
 
 Jacob Garber, from 1849 to 1853; C. J. F. 
 Clark, from is:,:', to 1861; .1. II. Pillsbury, 
 from 1861 to 1865; M. I'.. Harrison, from 1861 
 to 1865; C. M. Robertson, from 1865 to 1869; 
 .1. II. Pillsbury, from 1869 to 1873; John Tice. 
 from is;:; to 1881 ; II. H. Hoagland, from 
 issi I,, 1898; Frank E. Blane, from 1898 to 
 1902; George B. Watkins, from 1902 to 1906. 
 
 ASSOCIATE JUSTICES. 
 
 James Mott, commissioned November 20, 
 is:,:',: .!. Reed, commissioned November '.' : '>. 
 is:,;; ; C. .1. Hutchinson, July, 1854 and \.85''i : 
 
 Robert Clary, is:,; and 1861 ; D. T. Hughes, 
 1861; R. Woldridge. 1869; II. Warnsing, 1869. 
 
 I i,l \T\ CLERKS. 
 
 Cornelius Rourke, from 1849 to 1865; Ho- 
 bart Hamilton, from lsi;:, t<> 1869; A. E. Mick. 
 1869 to is;:',: Anson Thompson, from ]s;:', to 
 1882; F. W. Eads, from 1882 to 1886; Adam 
 W. McGeachin, from 1886 to 1890; H. W. Lev- 
 ering, from 1890 to 1902; Albert W. Hartley, 
 from Chi-.' to 1906. 
 
 CIRCUIT CLERK. 
 
 .\. K. Riggin, from 1S48 to 1860; Joseph 
 Jonson, from 1860 to 1SC4; William J. Estill, 
 from 1864 n> 1872; Theodore C. Bennett, from 
 1872 to 1900; David L. Bennett, from 1900 
 t,, 1904; William F. Thompson, from 1904 
 in L908. 
 
 STATES ATTORNEY. 
 
 II. W. Masters, Iron, 1876 to 1879; Reub 
 Stevens, from 1879 to 1884; S. II. Blane from 
 issi to 1888; Charles Nusbaum, from 1888 to 
 1896; John M. Smoot, from 1896 to 1904 : T. 
 J. teep, from 1904 to 1908. 
 
 SCHOOL COMMISSIONER. 
 
 o. D. Clark, from is:,:; t,, is:,; ; .1. H. Pilfe- 
 bury, from is:,; to 1863; Edward Laning, from 
 1863 to 1865. 
 
 SUPERINTENDENT Of SCHOOLS. 
 
 Edward Booth, from 1865 to 1869; William 
 H. Berry, from 1869 to 1873; K. B. Davis, 
 from 1873 to January, is;; : R. D. Miller, 
 from January 3, is;;, to December 15, 1898; 
 George C. Power, 1898 to 1903; R 1>. Miller, 
 f rom December 1. 1903, to December 5, 1904 : 
 T. E. Cantrall, from 1904 to 1906. 
 
 ASSESSOR AND TREASURER. 
 
 John Tiro, from is:,; to 1869; .1. W. Chea- 
 ncv, from 1869 to 1871; Charles 11. Thomas. 
 from is;:, to 1881 : .1. G. Strodtman, from 
 1881 to 1886; Jasper V Rutledge, from 1886 
 to 1890; F. R Oltjcn. from 1890 to 1894 : 
 Henry Burfiend, from 1894 to 1898; Lew B. 
 Golden, from 1898 to 1899 (died in office) ; 
 J. IF McMichael, from 1899 to 1902; .1. IF 
 Clary from 1902 to 1906. 
 
 COUNTS COM MISSIONERS. 
 
 James Altig, is;; to 1880; F. W. Duncan, 
 from 1878 to 1880; Andrew Caddie, from 1879
 
 PAST AND PRESEN' 
 
 ol 
 
 MENARD COUNTY 
 
 99 
 
 to L8S2; James Altig, from 1880 to 1883; 
 Wood Greene, from 1881 to 1884; Andrew 
 Gaddie, from 1882 to 1885; 11. II. Schirding, 
 from 1883 to 1886; Wood Greene, from lss| 
 to 1887; Andrew Gaddie, from 1885 to isss; 
 II. II. Schirding, from 1886 to 1889; Emley 
 Eewett. from 1881 to 1890; Johrj C. Claypole, 
 from 1888 to 1891; II. 11. Schirding, from 
 1889 to 1892; George U. Spears, from 1890 
 to 1893; James K. McAtee, from 1891 to 1894 ; 
 II. II. Schirding, from 1892 to 1895; George 
 U. Spears, from 1893 to 1896; .hums K. Mc- 
 Atee, from 189 I to 189'i : Johrj B. Gum, from 
 1895 to 1898; George I'. Spears from 1896 
 to 1899; Kirliy S. Johnson, from 1897 to 
 
 1900; limn s. Eoughton, fr 1898 to 1901 ; 
 
 W. E. Johnson from 1899 to 1902; II. J. Mar- 
 bold, from 19DO to 1903; Elias Watkins, from 
 1901 to 1904 ; Charles B. Greene, from 1902 
 to 1905; II. J. Marbold from 1903 to 1906; 
 Frank A. King, from 190 I to 1907. 
 
 CHURCHES OE MENARD. 
 
 PRESBYTER] \\ CHURCH OF PETERSBURG. 
 
 The Presbyterian church of Petersburg, Illi- 
 nois, was organized by the Rev. Thomas Call 
 in December, 1839, in the old courthouse in 
 Petersburg. Six men and four women went 
 into the organization. Mr. Gait preached to 
 them occasionally till 1842. Their services 
 were held at first in the courthouse or in the 
 
 liall over Mr. Bennett's store, which st I 
 
 where the National Hank now stands. By the 
 spring ill' 1842 the} had Imilt a neai frame 
 church two blocks north of the northeasl cor- 
 ner of the square. This house was dedicated 
 mi the 15th of May. 1842, the sermon being 
 preached by the Rev. J. W. Little from 2 
 Corinthian.-. 6:40, II. The firs! regular supply 
 began September 1. 1846, by Rev. George Mc- 
 Kinlcx. In is:,; Rev. McKinley resigned and 
 Rev. John A. Pinkerton began his service at 
 once. Mr. Pinkerton was a man greatly beloved 
 by all. in and mil ol' the church. After a \.t\ 
 successful and efficient ministry, Mr. Pinker- 
 ton resigned in 1870. Rev. Joseph Malum be- 
 gan in attend the church, as supply, in the 
 month i'l' February, 1871. lie served onlv seven 
 
 months, when he resigned, and Rev. George 
 ('. Wood supplied the congregation until 1872. 
 In February of the year 1872 Rev. Maurice 
 Waller began his pastorate, which lasted till 
 1878. Mr. Waller was a man that was uni- 
 versally respected and loved and he did good 
 service for the church. In the year 1873 the 
 foundation of the present church edifice was 
 laid, but the building was no1 completed till 
 the year Is; I. On the 8th of November of that 
 \car the house was formally given to God. The 
 Rev. W. W. Marsha. D. D.. of Jacksonville, Illi- 
 nois, preached the dedicatory sermon from 1 
 Timothy, 3 :5. In the year 187S Mr. Waller 
 resigned and Dr. Kevins and Rev. F. M. Bald- 
 win supplied the church Mil January, 1882, 
 when Rev. A. .1. Berger became pastor ami 
 served till July, 1883. The pulpil was then 
 vacant nil in September, 1884. when Rev. T. C. 
 McFarland began his work. In 1886, during 
 the pastorate of Mr. McFarland, the lecture 
 room was built and the audience room was re- 
 frescoed in very tasteful style. In February, 
 1887, Rev. McFarland resigned, and mi the 
 call of the church, in August, 1887, Rev. Wil- 
 liam Miller began his work as pastor of the 
 church. Me served faithfully and success- 
 fully nil August, 1891, when he resigned and 
 was succeeded by Rev. W. E. Williamson. D. D. 
 Dr. Willi son served the church most ac- 
 ceptably for five years and resigned in 1896. 
 Me was succeeded, in August, 1896, by Rev. 
 T. d. Stephenson, who in turn also served 
 five war.-, resigning in August, 1901. During 
 the pastorale nf Rev. Stephenson the church 
 purchased a very desirable residence propert\ 
 within a block and a half of the church, which 
 is used as a parsonage. In August, 1901, Rev. 
 D. .1. Mitterling was called to the pastorate of 
 the church and served them till August, 1904, 
 when he resigned. 
 
 At this time i I imber. 1904 ) the church is 
 
 without a pastor, but is being supplied regularly 
 and the probability is that the sn|,|i|\ u ,|| soou 
 he the regular pastor. This is a strong and 
 wealth} church, enrolling anion"; its members 
 some "I' the lies! people of the city, and its 
 influeni e I'm' good is in he calculated. 
 
 The Presbyterians hai e a -i rong congre ;ei 
 lion, a.- is seen in the preceding history, at
 
 1(1(1 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 Alliens. To them and Indian Point the Rev. 
 It. (i. Carson has ministered for a number of 
 years. In Irish Grove, where there was for- 
 merly a strong congregation, they now have no 
 service, deaths and removals having reduced 
 the congregation till they can no! support 
 preaching. They have there a good brick edi- 
 fice, but it is net occupied. 
 
 At Sweetwater and Greenview they have com- 
 paratively new frame churches and the Rev. 
 Mr. Thomas preaches to the two charges. The 
 writer made all due effort to get full statistics 
 
 of all these ehnrehes. but tailed. In the county 
 
 this denomination has five congregations and 
 six church houses, with a good membership, 
 made up from the best class of people of the 
 county. They have flourishing Sabbath-schools 
 and keep up all of the enterprises of the work. 
 
 ROM VN CATHOLICS. 
 
 In the latter part of the year 18(52 a society 
 of the Roman Catholic faith was organized in 
 Petersburg. The first services of this denomi- 
 nation were held in the private residences of 
 Cornelius Rourke, Adam Johns and John 
 Lucas. As the meetings increased and as the 
 attendance became larger and the interest be- 
 
 ea greater, the services were held in the 
 
 schoolhouse or courtroom. In less than four 
 years their numbers had increased to such an 
 extent that a house of worship was neces- 
 sary. So the money was raised and a house 
 built in time to Ik- dedicated in the fall of 1866. 
 The house cost li\e thousand dollars ami was 
 dedicated by Rev. Father Mettinger, and at that 
 time the society numbered about fifty adults. 
 The following is a partial list of the priests 
 who have had charge of the church: Fathers 
 Quigley, Zebell, Jarnsen, Fitzgibbons, Custa, 
 Clifford (the latter at the laying of the corner- 
 stone), Mettinger (at the dedication), .laqnes. 
 ('leu-,'. Wegman, Saner. Alme. Hogan, ami 
 Father Futterer, who is now (1905) in charge. 
 The presenl priest in charge is very popular, 
 not oiil\ with the Catholics, hut with tin' 
 Protestants as well. While he is a good Cath- 
 olic in even respect, he is at the same time 
 a man of good sense ami reason. 
 
 The Catholics at Greenview have a church 
 house and occasional service, vet they have no 
 
 resident priest. At Athens they have an or- 
 ganized congregation ami are erecting a splen- 
 did church. 
 
 In Petersburg they have a first-class parson- 
 age ami a schoolhouse, making their property 
 very valuable. The Catholics of Petersburg 
 owe a ( lid >t of lasting gratitude to Cornelius 
 Rourke and Frank Luthringer for their zeal. 
 energy and perseverance in securing tins church. 
 The congregation is now strong and prosperous. 
 
 GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH. 
 
 This denomination has had a congregation 
 and house of worship in Petersburg for a great 
 many years, and. although representatives of 
 the church are found all over the county 
 wherever there are Germans, yet no other 
 church was organized in the county, we believe, 
 (ill about is;; oi- 1878, when Professor Win- 
 nckin, of the Theological Seminary of Spring- 
 field, Illinois, organized a congregation in the 
 neighborhood of Tallula, and they later elected 
 a neat hut cheap house of worship. About this 
 same tunc a large congregation of German 
 Lutherans was organized in Greenview. Not 
 long after being organized they built a very 
 neat and comfortable church at a cost of be- 
 tween three and four thousand dollars. Rev. 
 Mr. Iloniiner. now of California, served the 
 Greenview and Petersburg churches lor a 
 number of years. 
 
 In the spring of 1861 the first German 
 Lutheran church was organized in Petersburg. 
 Among the original members were Harmon 
 Scherding, John Scherding, Henry Messman, 
 Henry Fischer, J. P. Bela, J. II. Stagemann, 
 Jerry II. Stagemann, Jerry Bonties and others. 
 They at lirsl boughl a house used by Dioclrieh 
 Fischer as a carpenter shop, which they fitted 
 up for a temple of worship, and there they met 
 and held service for a time without a preacher. 
 They finally secured the services of Rev. Paul 
 Lorentzen as pastor, and purchased a parsonage 
 adjacent to the church at a total cost for both 
 
 edifices of i thousand seven hundred and fifty 
 
 dollars. In 1863 Mr. Lorentzen was succeeded 
 by Rev. Peter 1 >ahl ami later he was sui i eeded 
 by Rev. Mr. Schmidt and he by Rev. William 
 II. Schmidt, who remained pastor till his death 
 in is;-.'. Rev. Mr. Schmidt was succeeded by
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 lit! 
 
 Rev. Dubiel, whose pastorate was only of a 
 year or two's duration, when Rev. Dr. John 
 rTarminsky was railed to the pastorate. After 
 a time l«V\ . Mr. Deichmann became the pastor, 
 was succeeded by Rev. Charles Behrends and 
 he by Rev. Mr. Conrad, who served them for 
 some time. Mr. Conrad's ministry brings us 
 to somewhere in the '80s, and here perhaps we 
 miss the names of a pastor or two: when Rev. 
 Mr. Hommer was called to take charge of the 
 congregation. Rev. Eommer served them for 
 a number of years, to the satisfaction and de- 
 light of tlio entire congregation. Mr. Hom- 
 mer was a scholarly Christian gentleman, re- 
 spected by the entire community. <>n accounl 
 of Ids health he removed several years ago to 
 California. Rev. Mr. Weil was then invited to 
 take charge of the church and has served them 
 ever since, dividing his tune between (his place 
 and Greenview, but living in Petersburg. The 
 services arc all in the German language. They 
 have a flourishing Sabbath-school and a large 
 congregation. Some twelve or fifteen years 
 hack they tore away the old church house, which 
 was not large enough to meet their demands, 
 and built a splendid house, of larger size and 
 more modern in style. 
 
 There i- another branch of the German 
 Lutheran church which has a congregation in 
 Petersburg. The writer is not informed as 
 to the difference between these two branches 
 of the church. This last named congregation 
 is composed of some of the best people in 
 Petersburg and it is a strong and prosperous 
 bodj of people. They have a commodious 
 house of worship and a parsonage located on a 
 lot adjoining the church. They keep up all the 
 regular services and these are well attended. 
 
 The Lutheran chun-h is made up from the 
 besl class of Germans and they arc an earnest, 
 devoul people, devoted to their church, and 
 promptly and cheerfully respond to all the 
 demands that it makes al their hand. Their 
 services are simple and unostentatious and no 
 people are mole ready to respond to the calls 
 
 of charit y and benevolence t ban they. 
 
 EPISCOP VI. ( in mil. 
 
 Dp to Januarj . 1905, there is but one Prot- 
 estant Episcopal church in Menard county. 
 
 Through the energy and untiring zeal of Mrs. 
 Harris, relicl of the late Hon. Thomas L. Har- 
 ris, this congregation was organized more than 
 a quarter of a century ago. Soon after its 
 organization the same earnest Christian lady 
 raised funds to erect a house of worship. She 
 
 •hit led in building Trinity church, which 
 
 is a substantia] brick, of the Gothic style of 
 architecture, with line art windows ami tasle- 
 full\ frescoed. It stands on the hillside, com- 
 manding a most excellent view of the oll\ and 
 landscape across the Sangamon river. The firsl 
 rector id' Trinity was the Rev. Mr. Steel, who 
 served the church very acceptably For a time, 
 hut gave up this charge to accept one in Alton, 
 Illinois. After this they were served by differenl 
 pastors and passed through the \anet\ of ex- 
 periences that conic lo all such organizations. 
 Mis. Harris has gone lo her reward. Inn the 
 fruits of her efforts are slid being gathered. 
 The membership of Trinity church i- not large, 
 hui it embraces among its numbers representa- 
 tives of the hot people of the city. .1 llsl at this 
 
 writing they have no rector, hut as a rule they 
 keep up regular service, with the Snndav-school 
 and midweek prayer meeting. 
 
 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH l\ PETERS- 
 BURG. 
 
 Rev. George \lm\ served the Petersburg 
 chun-h in 1876-7. He was followed by Rev. 
 W. i '. Peel . i hen i he\ came in order : l,'e\ . R. 
 G. Ilohhs. Rev. J. D. Fry, then the beloved and 
 revered Chaplain \V. J. Rutledge, Rev. Peter 
 Slagel, Rev. Edwin Ward. Rev. J. Scott Carr, 
 Rev. S. II. Huber, Rev. John McPhail. Rev. A 
 Sloan. Rev. II. L. Mitchell, then in 1896 the 
 Rev. Theodore Kemp came and soon began to 
 agitate the subject of building a new church. 
 They had a fairly good bid old fashioned brick 
 church, wilh a very nice parsonage on a lol ad- 
 joining the church. Main' hallowed memories 
 clustered around this old house. Here the 
 venerable Peter Cartwrighi had preached in 
 the early days; those walls had echoed to the 
 voice of Peter Akers; from Ibis pulpit the 
 lamented Barret, Hardin Wallace, Chaplain 
 Rutledge and a host of others, now in heaven, 
 told the "old. obi -lory." Inn lhe\ needed ;i nev 
 church and Rev. Kemp, with faith, zeal and
 
 102 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT (IF MENARD COINTY 
 
 perseverance, went into the work and suc- 
 ceeded. In L898 a new and modern house was 
 erected and dedicated. It is modern in every 
 respect — an ample basement, pastor's study, a 
 lecture room, an auditorium of ample size 
 with inclined floor and all modem furnishings. 
 It is a brick building with slate roof and beau- 
 tifully fivse I. The windows are large and of 
 
 stained glass. The building cost a little over 
 seven thousand dollars and is fully out of debt. 
 Rev. Kemp remained in charge till 1900. whon 
 he was followed by the Rev. R. A. Hartrick, 
 who remained till 1903. In 1903 Rev. A. L. 
 Plowman came and remained one year. Rev 
 S. N. Wakefield is uow the active and efficient 
 pastor, with prospect of great good before him. 
 
 Oakford Methodist Episcopal congregation 
 remodeled their old church during the sum- 
 mer of 1904 and now have a house of worship 
 that would be an honor to any community, and 
 the church is out of debt. 
 
 Athens Methodist Episcopal church has a 
 neat and comfortable brick church and is in 
 prosperous eondit ion. 
 
 CUMBERLAND l'l; i:si; Vila; I \ \ CHURCH OF 
 PETERSBllai. 
 
 The history of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
 church in Petersburg is rather a brief one. 
 Back in the early '40s, must likely, the Rev. 
 A. II. Goodpasture organized a congregation 
 here and preached to it for a time, but it was 
 short lived. In the latter part of the '60s the 
 Rev. James Knoles formed an organization and 
 preached to them For a time, hut the little 
 band lost courage and for a time seemed extra ■■ . 
 till Rev. .lames White, about 1870 or 1872, col- 
 lected the scattered fragments together and for 
 awhile he preached to them, but again they lost 
 heart and for several years there was no con- 
 gregation of this people in the town. In L87o 
 Rev. R. D. Miller collected together a little 
 hand who desired to reorganize a church here 
 and formed them into a congregation. These 
 charter members were Dr. II. A. Earris, C. L. 
 Eatfield. W. I!. Edgar, C. II. Thomas, I). M. 
 Bone. T. E. Clark. Miss Anna Shepherd, Miss 
 Elizabeth Barclay and Mrs. Lucy Thomas. 
 Earris, Eatfield and Clark were elected as 
 elders and C. 11. Thomas, deacon. At first 
 
 they held their services in the German Lutheran 
 church, which at that time had no pastor. In a 
 short time they had to give that up and they 
 removed to the Baptisl church. Here, in the 
 winter of 1878-9, they had a very successful re- 
 vival and the congregation was greatly strength- 
 ened. Soon after tins they were compelled to 
 remove and went to a hall on the north side of 
 the square. In a few weeks they removed-to the 
 courthouse and for three years their Sunday- 
 school, prayer meeting and preaching services 
 were all held there. It was generally crowded 
 to overflowing. Dr. and Mrs. F. P. Vutlc 
 united with the church, while the congregation 
 worshiped in the courthouse. Mrs. Dr. Antle 
 determined to build a church house. It was a 
 gloomy prospect, hut her indomitable spirit, 
 the zeal of the membership and the help of the 
 unconverted gave them success. To Mrs. Antle 
 we owe thanks for the church, hut the writer 
 can not refrain from mentioning the material 
 and moral aid given the enterprise by the ever- 
 remembered Aaron Thompson, deceased. The 
 house was enclosed and occupied in due time, 
 but it was not fully completed till some time 
 later. Mr. Miller continued pastor of the 
 church for uearly seven years, hut having a 
 large family and the congregation still owing 
 
 something on the I se, he fell that it would 
 
 be better for him to resign and let the church 
 employ a man without a family, one who could 
 live on less salary and use the difference on 
 the church debt. The session employed Rev. 
 R. .1. Beard, a single man, but paid him more 
 
 than they had I n paying the former pastor. 
 
 Mr. Heard's pastorate continued two or three 
 years, hut the church was nol built up. He 
 was a most excellent man and a devoted Chris- 
 tian, but did not succeed here. Mr. Beard was 
 succeeded by Rev. J. W. Elder, who served the 
 church for two or three years. After him the 
 session engaged the services of Rev. J. if. 
 Johnston and his pastorate was of two or three 
 years' duration. After this the pulpit was va- 
 cant for quite awhile, but in 1893 or 1894 Rev. 
 W. T. Ferguson became pastor. He served the 
 church four years and left the congregation in a 
 better condiion thai it had been in for a num- 
 ber of years. After Mr. Ferguson left Rev. W. 
 G. Archer was called to the charge lie came
 
 PAST AXD PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT! 
 
 L03 
 
 with a flourish of trumpets and for o time it 
 seemed thai all would be well. Ha i emodeled 
 the church, put in a reading-room and intro- 
 duced many modern ideas. He left ifier threi 
 years, under a dark cloud, bu1 tin' presbytery 
 Liter exonerated him. Rev. W. T. Olmstead 
 was then called to take charge of the church. 
 lie remained for two years, faithfully perform- 
 ing his duties as pastor, but unfortunate di- 
 visions ci me and he lefl the church in a state 
 of terrible division. For some time they were 
 without a pastor. Imt finally employed the Rev. 
 M. ( '. Cockrum. He is struggling against a 
 tide that will only be overcome by the lapse of 
 years. He is an earnest, energetic pastor, striv- 
 ing to do his whole duty. 
 
 CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 0] 
 
 TALI. I I \. 
 
 We have not the full history of the organiza- 
 tion of this church, but some detail is given in 
 another place. The firsl church edifice erected 
 in the village of Tallula was the Cumberland 
 Presbyterian church, a frame, built in 1861, at 
 a cost of about three thousand dollars. Rev. 
 J. G. White, of anti-Catholic lame, was the 
 first pastor. He served the church for a time 
 and was followed by others. Many strong men 
 have been pastor of this flock, among them may 
 
 be tied James White. Dr. Pendergrass and 
 
 others. The congregation owns a parsonage 
 adjoining the church, but both buildings are 
 getting old and need repair. II has passed 
 though many vicissitudes, but still survives. At 
 present they are without a pastor. 
 
 LEBANON CI MtBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 
 
 NO. 1. 
 
 Lebanon congregation of the Cumberland 
 Presbyterian church was organized in is? I oi- 
 ls'.'"!. At first they built a log church house. 
 Inil after Mime years they built a frame build- 
 ing, which amph served their purpose till 
 1867, when under the lead of Rev. R. D. Miller 
 a splendid brick building was erected. It still 
 stands, the walls and interior as good as when 
 lirsi erected. For some years they have had 
 regular preaching but a small portion of the 
 time. At present they are without regular 
 preaching, though they maintain a flourishing 
 Sunday-school. 
 
 ROCK CREEK CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN 
 
 ten. 
 
 This is one of the oldest church organizations 
 in what is now .Menard count}'. It was organ- 
 ized by the Rev. John M. Berry, the pioneer 
 preacher of this denomination in central Illi- 
 nois. In 1821 or L822 this society was fori I. 
 
 A short time before this Rev. Berry and Rev. 
 John Simms, another pioneer Cumberland 
 Presbyterian preacher had laid off a camp- 
 ground ami held two or three camp-meetings on 
 the grounds before this society was formed. 
 This congregation, now Rock Creek church, at 
 first u^ft] the camp built by Berry and Simms 
 as a place of worship. Later on they built a 
 log "meeting house." which served their pur- 
 pose lor a number of years, after which they 
 erected a frame house, which was occupied for 
 many years. Later on another frame church 
 
 was erected, a house ■<■ modern ami more 
 
 Comfortable. This fully met all the need- id' 
 the congregation till some (en or twelve years 
 ago, when they erected, at a cost of about three 
 thousand dollars, a building modern in ever} 
 particular. It is a frame building, with base- 
 ment, healed by furnace, with a Sunday-school 
 room, opera chairs and all modern conveniences. 
 Tin' congregation also owns a neat and roomy 
 parsonage, standing near the church, with all 
 necessary conveniences. Rev. J. W. Elder is 
 their present pastor, having been there some 
 four or five years. They have a. flourishing 
 Sunday-school and preaching every Sunday at 
 eleven o'clock a. in. This church has done a 
 vast amount of good and il I- to he Imped that 
 
 her work of usefulness has hut just begun. 
 
 CONCORD el \| m i;l \ \|i PRESBYTERIAN 
 CHURCH. 
 
 This congregation was organized in IS'.'ii or 
 Is?; by Rev. John M. Berry. The ground 
 where Concord church now -lauds was for many 
 
 years occupied as a "camp-i iting" ground. 
 
 I [ere lor a long period of \ ea rs t he people used 
 in gather once a year for a camp-meeting of a 
 week or ten days. From all over the country 
 the people would come, move in and camp on 
 the grounds to engage in nothing Inn the wor- 
 ship of Cod. Every one who attended these 
 meet ings from a distance was led and lodgi '
 
 I'M PAST AND PEESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 llVl ' nl ah charge. The g I ace plished by removals, the membership was so reduced that 
 
 these meetings will never be known till the they did no1 haw preaching but a part of the 
 
 grcal day shall come. A log church was built time. Some four wars ago Rev. R. D. Miller 
 
 in the early history of the congregation, which was called as a supply, preaching half the time, 
 
 served its purpose for mam years. \',\ and by For several war- prior to this time, through 
 
 a frame building was put up, which served them the earnest effort of Mis. Emma King and 
 
 till 1864, when they erected a new one on the George Lake, a Sunday-school had been kept 
 
 same spol of ground. This h.. us,, was dedi- up, bul the attendance was n ,,t large and the 
 
 eattd "ii the 19th of February, 1865, by the work was discouraging. After a time the 
 
 l' ev - •'• C. Van Patten, assisted by Rev. Wiley Sunday-scl I began to grow ami the eongrega- 
 
 Knoles. This house was remodeled and modern- tion grew also, so that the people became en- 
 
 ized about four years ago. It is a neat, c mo- couraged, but they were discouraged by tin. 
 
 dious ami comfortable church. Rev. M. ('. fact that the church stood a hall' mile from 
 
 Cockrum, pastor of the Petersburg Cumber- the Peoria & Springfield Railroad, which had 
 
 land Presbyterian church, preaches for the Con- I ecu recently built, ami to which the village 
 
 cord peopk- alternate Sabbaths. had been removed. At first they talked of 
 
 CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GREEN- Moving the old house to the railroad, hut this 
 
 view, was not popular. Many thought that the money 
 
 Tin- congregation was originallv organized COuk1 "'" '"' raised '" l "" M ;l Qew house > 1,ut 
 
 in the Ion- since extinct village of New Market Mrs " Emma Km - i " ,,1 Mrs - I!u " started out to 
 
 and later removed to the "Knoles Schoolhouse," ' ake ""' effort ln raise the fundiJ Mrs " Km & 
 
 which was east of the town ol' Greenview. In "' "" '""' P ass and '" a ~ l ""' t tlme ra,sed over 
 
 iq,-q ,1,. , ,,, ,.,,>*; ,, , i . ti ii '' u ' thousand two hundred dollars. Work was 
 Lboo the congregation removed to the village 
 
 c p ,,,,,„. . ,1 i ti ,, i i, i :! t once begun and on the first Sunday in Mav. 
 
 oi (jreenview, and the same year lunli a house ' • 
 
 ,,!• ... ,.],,,, i,, iqiq 4i ..p n in 1904, the house was dedicated, the Rev. Dr. 
 oi worship, in im.i the Bethel congrega- 
 te ,, , ;. ,,. , .ii ill j. \- -ii i . Bushnell, of Alton. Illinois, preaching the ser- 
 
 iioii. as il was i ailed while at .New Market, was ' 
 
 mon. Xo monev was asked for on that d 
 
 aw 
 
 organized by Revs. J. R. Torrence and A. 11. 
 
 ,■ i, ,.,,,,. 'ia i- i ., ,, the entire hill being paid. It is a neat, modern 
 
 <■ [pasture. I he tormer served them as their ' 
 
 e, . , f ,,,-,.;t,, ,i i,i,. rni iii j. building, with basement, lecture-room, incli I 
 
 tirst spiritual leader. I lie church house at 
 
 c,. ,,, : „. „i j.i n j. , ii,, floor, regular pews, I'ullv carpeted all over and 
 
 trreenvieu cost one thousand two hundred dol- . ' 
 
 ,,. 1 i -i, , , i . ,, lighted with acetylene gas. The congregation 
 
 lars when lnii It. It has I n repaired more than 
 
 i ,,, + c i,. i ii ;lll d the communitv owe a lasting debt of grati- 
 
 ollce. hut the\ sorely need a Hew and luodi I'll 
 
 i ,,;i I- , rp, , .. . . tude to Mrs. King; John W. Shaver, the ef- 
 
 buildmg. Lhev own a neat and comfortable 
 
 ,...„,. , , ' , , v • • ,, , , , liiient treasurer: Dock Drake and Grant King, 
 
 parsonage on a lot adjoining the church, and 
 
 ,i i> i i- n , ,,' ■ the faithful building committee: .lame- King 
 
 the l,,\. .1. I- . Kodgers is their present pastor. 
 
 i, ,,-,, i ii ,, . , . and Abram Fulkerson, the trustees, and to the 
 
 iia\ine served them in all some eight or ten 
 
 „ , ' i. • ,, , , . ,, whole coiiiinuiiii \ for their liberal gift of 
 
 years. It is rather a strong church numerically, 
 
 i. ,i-ii ', money. Thus Rev. Miller has had charge of 
 
 keeping up the midweek prayer meeting and 
 
 c, ■,, „ t ,i„ ,„„. o -i , , ,, tbe congregations when, three of the neatest and 
 
 having one nl the best Sunday-schools m the 
 
 . „.„ rp, .,, i ii i I, , ,. best ( 'iiinbcrlaiiil Presbyterian churches in 
 
 town, lhev will probably build a new house ol 
 
 „.„,.,!,■ ; xi P . ' Menard county were built, namelv: Peters- 
 
 worship in the near future. 
 
 burg, Lebanon and Fancy Prairie. 
 CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF l'\M \ 
 
 PRAIRIE. 
 
 This church was organized by Rev. J. C. Van 
 
 Patten in 1864. Soon after the organization SECEET SOCIETIES. 
 
 they erected a neat and substantial house of Fre; niasoinw and Odd Fellowship, those 
 
 worship in the village of Fan, \ Prairie at a benevolent institutions that exert so wide an 
 
 cost of about two thousand dollars. The church influence for good, usually follow closely in 
 
 prospered for a time, but later, h\ deaths and the wake of Christianity. We know that the
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT! 
 
 105 
 
 incentives which prompt them are good, be- a large number of them are gone to the greal 
 cause ilic results achieved are so grand and lodge which never adjourns, 
 glorious Freemasonry was introduced into Bennetl Chapter, \". 19, Order of the Bast- 
 Petersburg over sixty years ago. Clinton Lodge ern Star, was organized Januan is. is; - .'. The 
 was organized under a dispensation, in October, first officers were: John Bennett, W. P.; Mrs. 
 1842. [ n due time it was chartered as Clinton tsaac While \V. M.; Mrs. James W. Judy. 
 Lodge. No. 19, A. F. & A. M. The first of- A. M.; Mrs. A. D. Wright, Treasurer; and 
 ficers were: John Bennett, Worshipful Mas- Mrs - ■ l " hn Bennett. Secretary. Every one of 
 ter; Martin S. Morn,. Senior Warden; Johr, these have gone to their Ion- home, but their 
 McXeal, Junior Warden; Jacob West, Treas- influence is still felt, nol only in the lodge, bu1 
 
 urer; John Br Iwell, Secretary; David Me- '" " l " community at large. 
 
 Murphy, Senior Deacon; and W. B. Kirk. 'I'!"' Masonic fraternity, in connection with 
 
 , i, mi ; i i i,,. i,, i .,,,,1 (1"' Harris Guards, :i militan company thai 
 
 Junior Deacon. I ins lodge has 1 1 \ < ■< i anci ' 
 
 ,,, i ii ,i r ,.,,.;,,,. was formed here in 1 1n ■ '70s, but disbanded sev- 
 
 prosperecl through all these wars, performing 
 
 its work quietlv an,] Eaithful'lv. As a matter cral J' ears '''■-"■ m 1879 = be S an the ereetion "'' an 
 
 of interest to the members of tins fraternity, °P era nouse > Wlth ;l |,Hl - , '- r ' above - :mi1 " n 
 
 wo make the following statement: Clinton the 9th day of September of that year the eor- 
 
 Lodge was named in honor of ex-Governor aerstone of the edifice was laid, with appro- 
 
 De Win Clinton, of N T ew York. To per- P riate ceremonies, under the auspices ol the 
 
 petuate his memorv and greal virtues the "'•''"' Lod g e " r Masonp l,v Mos1 Worshipful 
 
 Masonic brethren have caused to be buiH William Lavel . v ' Pas1 Grand Master "' ""' 
 
 for the ornamentation of their lodge-room a State - This ls a -I' 1 " 1 " 1 "! building ol brick, 
 
 shell monument, consisting of a collection of with a large and well arranged hall, having a 
 
 shells, arranged with genius and skill. A, the r "" ,liv sta S e and '''I'"! a Wlth a11 the P ara " 
 
 numberof ('In, ion Lodge indicates, n is one of phemalia of a first-class 
 the old lodges of the state 
 
 Ho Win Chapter, No. 1 19, Royal Arch Ma- 
 sons was organized March '.'">. iscs. with tin' the independent order of odd fellows. 
 following a- the first set of officers: Hobarl ()|l ,1,,, cm, f A.pril, is is. Salem Lodge. 
 Hamilton, M. I-:. High Priest; T. W. McNeely, \ ( , ]-_. : ; j () g y was organized under dis- 
 I".. King; .1. T. Brooks, E. Scribe; John Ben- pensation, with the following charter members: 
 nett, Captain of the Host: II. W. Montgomery, g y steplienson, C. X. Goulding, .1. II. Col- 
 Treasurer; and .1. G. Strodtmann, Secretary. !h , v _ Theodore Baker and /,. I'. Cabanis. The 
 This Chapter is strong and prosperous. ( ;,. s( ffi cers we re: John II Collier, Noble 
 
 Si. Aldemar Commandery, No. 17, Knights Gr I: I!. I-'. Stephenson, Vice Grand; /.. I'. 
 
 Templar, was organized October 27, L875, by Cabanis, Secretary; and Theodore Baker, Treas- 
 Righl Eminent Sir Hiram W. Hubbard, Grand urer. Tim lodge continued un.hr the >U>- 
 Commander of tin' State. The first officers pensation to the 11th of October, of tin' same 
 were: Eminenl Sir Hobart Hamilton, Com- year, when i1 was chartered, and for the first 
 uiander; Sir T. W. McNeely, Generalissimo; few years after iis organization il prospered 
 Sir Charles B. Thatcher, Captain General; to an almost unprecedented degree, but the 
 Sir Anson Thompson. Senior Warden; Sir Ed- ('i\il war coming on and other difficulties being 
 ward Laning, Junior Warden; Sir F. I'. Amir, m the way. it.- membership waned ami iis pros- 
 Treasurer; Sir .1. (i. Strodtmann, Recorder; pects became wr\ dark. During its firsl year 
 Sir .1. M. Sawyer, Standard Bearer; Sir .1. 'I'. if added aboul fifty members. I low discouraged 
 Brooks, Sword Bearer; Sir T. C. Bennett, the} must have been when in 1862 their mem- 
 Warder; ami Sir J. E. Dickinson, Captain of bership had fallen far below that mark. The 
 
 the Guard. These men, like those of the lodges few remaining members beci so discount 
 
 spoken of above, are scattered to and fro, while that they even contemplated a forfeiture of 
 
 above is said by those who have a right to know 
 to !«■ first-class in every respect.
 
 L06 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENAliD COl'XTY 
 
 their charter, and, as we are told, a vote was 
 actually taken to thai effect, but failed by a 
 very small margin. Hut this trial aroused tin' 
 dormant energies of the Lukewarm ami they 
 tools en new zeal anil tin 1 lodge revived to new 
 life ami power. The financial difficulties that 
 had for some time harassed them were over- 
 come ami they started again on the upward 
 course. Since that time the lodge has known 
 nothing hut prosperity. To-day it is a strong 
 ami wealthy lodge. Rebekah Degree Lodge, 
 No. 92, 1. <). 0. F., was instituted May 5, 
 1876, and reinstituted March 3, 1879, with a 
 membership id* sixteen. This lodge has passed 
 through a varied experience in the past years, 
 lint has survived all its troubles and is to-day 
 in a very prosperous condit ion. 
 
 Other organizations of secret societies are to 
 hi' found in Petersburg, hut as they are mostly 
 insurance institutions a detail of their history 
 would he uninteresting to the public. 
 
 We have not been able to secure the history 
 of all the lodges of Masons and Odd Fellows 
 in the county, though we made as diligent an 
 effort as could he made by any one. If this his- 
 tory in this respect i> imperfect it is because 
 those who alone could give the needed in- 
 formation were loo indifferent to do so. A 
 Masonic lodge was organized in Greenview un- 
 der a dispensation, May 12, 1870, and chartered 
 at the following session id' the Grand Lodge. 
 Tin- is Greenview Lodge. No. 653, A. F. & A. 
 M. The charter members were: F. E. Wilson. 
 W. II. Crites, II. K. Rule, Charles Atterberry, 
 W. S. Morse. .1. A. Rule, Aimer Engle, Jacob 
 Propst, dr.. Fred Wilkinson. M. S. Fhv. Wil- 
 liam Houston. 1>. A. Petrie, Robert Hornback, 
 Jacob Killion. John Johnson, F. A. Craig, <'. II. 
 Pierce. R. 11. Godby, A. II. Whitney and Eosea 
 Dockum. The first se1 of officers of this lodge 
 were: F. F. Wilson, Master; William ('rites. 
 Senior Warden: II. I\. Rule, Junior Warden; 
 Charles Atterberry, Treasurer: W. S. Morse, 
 Secretary ; John A. Rule, Senior Deacon; F. A. 
 Craig, Junior Deacon; ami Jacob Propst. 
 Tyler. The) own no building and therefore 
 hold their lodge in a rented hall. The lodge is 
 strong and prosperous. 
 
 At one time the I ndepem lent Order of Odd 
 
 Fellows had a lolerahlv strong lodge in Green- 
 
 view, hul for some cause it went down years 
 ago. 
 
 On November Hi. is;;. Floral Lodge, No. 
 647, I. o. (i. V., was organized under dispensa- 
 tion in the town of Athens. A charter was 
 issued from the Grand Lodge bearing the sig- 
 natures of John Lake. (I. M., and N. C. Wason, 
 G. S.. in October, 1878. The charter members 
 were: C. C. Scott. T. B. Turner. Jacob Boyd, 
 Louis Salzenstein. Charles I'.air. W. ( '. Fisk 
 and Julius Kerst. The first officers were: C. 
 C. Scott, X. 0.: T. B. Turner. V. G.; Jacob 
 Boyd, Secretary: and Louis Salzenstein. Treas- 
 urer. They meet each week and are a prosper- 
 ous lodge. 
 
 BANKS AND BANKING. 
 
 The first hank established in Menard county 
 was opened by John A. Brahm, of Petersburg, 
 and William 0. Greene, of Tallula, in 1865, 
 under the linn name of Brahm & Greene. Xo 
 more popular hank was to he found in central 
 Illinois and ii did a very prosperous business 
 for a number of years. There being hut one 
 other hank in the county for a considerable 
 time, this one received an immense patronage. 
 After a number of years Mr. Greene withdrew 
 
 and for s e time Mr. Brahm ran it alone. 
 
 Mr. Brahm built a tine stone building on the 
 west side id' the square — steel vault, burglar 
 and fireproof, time-lock, a deposit vault and 
 all the modern conveniences and improvements 
 of the day. He did a successful business Eor 
 sonic time, hut his accommodating nature and 
 sympathetic disposition, together with other in- 
 fluences, led to his failure in 1883. lie gave 
 up everything, left his luxurious home and in 
 In- old age wcni out into the world in poverty. 
 The writer can not refrain from saving here 
 that as sad a scene as he e\er witnessed in his 
 life was the burial of John A. Brahm. After 
 In- failure he and his aged wife went to Chi- 
 cago, where some of their children resided, ami 
 lived there till his death, some five years ago. 
 Lis remains were brought to Petersburg for 
 burial, and one dull, gloomy morning, about 
 nine o'clock, a little company of a dozen or so 
 people stood around the open grave, under the
 
 PAST AM) PEESENT OF MENARD COUNTS LO" 
 
 trees in Oakland cemetery, to witness the inter- every branch and is prompt and in every wa) 
 
 nii'Mi. \i> display, qo concourse of people, no reliable. 
 
 long line of carriages, but a feu silent mourn- About 1883 Charles C. Scoti opened a private 
 ei-. a brief talk, and a word of prayer, and Ins bank in the town of Athens and run a sueci — 
 body was lowered into the grave, the earth ful business (ill the close of 1885. <>n the Ls1 
 shoveled in and all was over. As we Left the daj of January, 1886. Lee Kincaid bought an 
 cemetery the thought came to the writer : What interesl in the bank and ii was run under the 
 a commentary on human life and character! name of Scott & tincaid till the close of thai 
 Here is a man who did more for Petersburg year, when Mr. Kincaid bought the interesl of 
 and Menard county than any other man ; a man Mr. Scott. Since thai time Mr. Kincaid lias 
 who accommodated and assisted move men just run the business alone, doing a general bank- 
 starting in life than any other man: a man ing business to the full satisfaction of the pub- 
 who in prosperity — while he had money — was Lie who patronize him. The bank, being located 
 honored and Looked up to ; now, when his money in a wealth)' community and where two Large 
 is gone, and Lie is brought hack to Ins old home coal shafts are located, lias a large and paying 
 to be buried, a handful gather around Ins patronage. It is full} responsible in every re- 
 grave, and even those whom he had befriended speet. 
 
 bad not time to attend the burial and qo tears In 1876 a bank was opened in Greenviev mi- 
 ni' sympathy to shej at the grave. Will not this der the firm name of Alkire & Company. The 
 ingratitude bring its return to them, or to their firm was composed of J. 1 >. Alkire. Milem 
 children? Alkire and V. Y. Alkire. It ran till the fol- 
 
 On the 19th of September, 1883. this hank lowing year, 1877, when the linn was changed 
 was organized as the "first National Hank" of to Marbold. Alkire & Company. The members 
 Petersburg, Illinois, with a capital of fifty thou- of this firm were II. II. Marbold, J. I> Alkire 
 sand dollars. Seven years later, the business of and M. M. Engle. This linn did business two 
 the concern having greatl] increased, on the years and in 1879 it again changed to Marbold 
 I'.Hli of September, 1900, the capital was in- & Company. This firm consisted of II. II. 
 creased to one hundred thousand dollars. This Marbold and M. VI. Engle and did business till 
 hank doe- all kinds of banking business and is 1883, when it was succeeded bj II. II. Marbold, 
 now more prosperous than at any time in the who has since continued the business. Thus for 
 past. Tl llieers at present are: ('. B. I. an- over twenty-one years Mr. Marbold has con- 
 ing, president; John Tice (deceased), vice- tinued this business alone. Perhaps there is 
 president; Samuel II. Rule, cashier. The di- but one hank in the county which does more 
 rectors are: John Tice (deceased), Samuel business than this. Located in the midsl of an 
 II. Blane (deceased). ('. L>. Laninu'. Charles agricultural country that is surpassed by no 
 Xiisliauni and Anson Thompson. section in or out of the stale in the production 
 
 The nc\i hank to open business in Menard of stock and grain, it would indeed be strange 
 county was opened in Petersburg the same year if the business was not a success. Mr. Mar- 
 that the First National opened. 1865. This was bold is one of the most successful farmers and 
 opened by 1!. and I). Frackelton. This is a stock-raisers in central Illinois, and beside this 
 private bank and is regarded as one among the he is equally successful in general business, 
 most reliable and responsible banks of the state, having the unlimited confidence of the entire 
 It has always commanded its full share of the community', and as a result bis banking busi- 
 business of the country around it. A number ness is a success, 
 
 of years ag ie of the firm — Robcrl Frackel- On the Lst of .Line. 1904. II. II. Schirding 
 
 ton- died and i be business was carried on by & Son opened a private bank in Petersburg, 
 the other meml er of the firm. The title is now making the third hank in the place. The -t a mi- 
 ll. S. Lrackelton & Company. The members ing of the Messrs. Schirding, financially, so- 
 of the firm are D. S., C. C. and I >. W. Frackel- ciallj and every other way, puts the success of 
 ton. This bank is doing a splendid business in this enterprise beyond a peradventure. Their
 
 108 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 business ability and financial standing are such were about in break camp, the leader of the 
 
 as to insure universal confidence. company, then in perfect health, said: "Boys. 
 
 We bave no1 been able to secure the data if I should die anywhere in this section of the 
 
 necessary to give a Pull history of banking in country, I want you to bury me on this im 
 
 Tallula. From the best thai we can learn, the spot of ground." They moved on toward the 
 
 first bank opened in thai place was thai of Wil- mouth of Salt creek, when' some work was to 
 
 son & Greene, which was opened some years ago. be done, and in a week or two this leader was 
 
 The firm consisted of Dr. Wilson, a wealthy taken sick. It was not thoughl to be serious 
 
 ami prominent citizen of thai place, ami the at the first, but lie gradually grew worse and in 
 
 late William G. Greene with whose life historv a shori time he died. His companions, remem- 
 
 all are familial'. Mr. Greene, when hut a boy, bering his request, broughl his body hack and 
 
 was in husiness in New Salem with Abraham buried it on the spot id' ground that be had 
 
 Lincoln. He died several years ago in Tallula, thus selected. This was the first grave in this 
 
 wh re hi' had lived more than hall' a century, cemetery and it may he seen in the northwest 
 
 Tin' present Tallula Hank is owned by the son corner of the grounds. This cemetery is duly 
 
 and grandson of William G. Greene, ami the incorporated; has all the necessary officers; an 
 
 title is Greene i\' Greene. It is one of the exc llent system of by-laws, and already has 
 
 strong and reliable hanks of Menard county, quite a large sinking fund laid by. They have 
 
 Located in one of the most wealthy farming a sexton, employed by the year, who lives in a 
 
 localities iii central Illinois and the linn having neat cottage on the grounds belonging to the 
 
 a wide acquaintance in adjoining counties, it cemetery. In the cottage is a room, or parlor, 
 
 is hut natural that they should receive a large which is arranged as a waiting-room for the 
 
 and profitable patronage. accom lation of mourners ami their friends 
 
 Thus it will he seen that there are no less ;i t time of funerals. The grounds are beauti- 
 
 than six hanks doing business in the county, fully kept and quite a number of beautiful and 
 
 and each one is doing a large ami lucrative costly monuments adorn the place. Such a 
 
 business. This is, to some degree, an index cemetery is an honor to any community, and 
 
 to the commercial enterprise and activity of the thought that our loved ones repose in a 
 
 the people. A county that is not more than place so lovely softens the sting of bidding them 
 
 twenty miles square and one whose people are good-bye. Many pioneers who aided in making 
 
 nearly exclusively an agricultural people who this country what it is sleep undisturbed in 
 
 can support six large banks, is one certainlv these quiet grounds. 
 possessed of remarkable resources. 
 
 OAKLAND CEMETEEY. 
 
 Oakland was organized and incorporated in 
 
 1878 under the enterprising ami efficient lead 
 
 CEMETERIES. ,,r |t. \[. Bone, now of Kansas City. Mo. It is 
 
 INDIAN POINT CEMETERY. located mile southwest of Petersburg, on 
 
 Indian Point lias one of the most beautiful a tract of land perfectly adapted to the pur- 
 and neatly kept cemeteries in central Illinois. pose, a part of the -round hem- level and a 
 Locale, I in one of the wealthiest and most ad- part formed of romantic bills, covered with a 
 vanced communities of the state and on a site growth of most beautiful forest tic-. It is 
 that nature certainlv designed as a resting governed under a most perfect system of by- 
 place for the dead, it meets every requirement linvs - regulating the most minute detail in its 
 for the purpose to which it is devoted. Before management : it was laid oil' by one of the 
 (be stream of immigration bad set int.. this mosl noted artists in Ins line in the country, 
 country and it was yel a wild, a company of be bavin- planned sonic of the finest parks and 
 government surveyors, passing through that vi- cemeteries in the large cities of the cast. It 
 (•in i t \ . chanced to camp over night on this very already has a substantial sinking fund laid 
 spot of ground. The next morning, when they h\ : it is tastefully kept and is already adorned
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY L09 
 
 l>\ a number of costly monuments. Many of other cemeteries. 
 
 our prominenl citizens repose there. There, |n>h (;| ., 1U ,_ Farmers r ,, ml . Rock Creek, 
 
 among the tenants of this "silent city," are the Qakford. Lebi i and Murray are all large 
 
 remain 
 
 s of Lincoln's fiancee, tin- "Beautiful 
 
 ; 1 tlil nieeh 
 
 located cemeteries, mil we have nol 
 
 Anna Rutledge." Several years ago her re- the data to give an extended account of any of 
 
 mains were removed from the Concord ceme- them |( jg |iu , ji|s| _ nowever> ,,, saVj m pasg . 
 
 terj by Samuel Montgomery to Oakland and in& ,,,.„ , h( , Murraj ,.,,,„,,, , rv na g some as 
 
 buried in a beautiful lol in the southwest part r|is||v monuments a8 am ,, r the county ceme- 
 
 of the ■-'■ lds - sl "' lies a P ar< lr " m a11 other terie's of the county. 
 
 graves; 1 1 n • onlv mark to tell tin* spol is a ,.,. „ ,, , , ,,, , •• 
 
 1 There arc some i>l 1 1 n • old burving-grounds 
 
 rough, gra^ granite, glacial boulder, with the , , . , ,. ' , ., 
 
 .■■■.' .. thai are verv much neglected, tor example, t in- 
 
 simple words "Ann Rutledge cut di ep m the ,,,,,', , , , i 
 
 • •lil Hornback graveyard, near Lebanon, and 
 solid rock. Twentv miles I mm her grave, as „,. ' . . , . ,, 
 
 some others. I he Slnplev graveyard, ai the 
 the hi nl Qies, rises the ninetv-thousand-dollar ,, . , ., . ,", ,-, , ,. 
 
 Shiplev schoolhouse, is one <>l the < > I < t places oi 
 shaft above the ashes of President Lincoln, hut . ,,,, , , ,. ,. 
 
 interment. I here are also a number ot lam- 
 it his words tn William II. llernilon are true. .... , ,, ., 
 
 il\ burving-grounds in the eountv, as that at 
 while his bones repose under the proud man- ,. ' . ,, , , ' , i 
 
 George Kerbv s, at Hashes and other places, 
 solemn in <>ak Ridge, his hearl rests under the , , ,', ,, ,. , , 
 
 i in the nlil Smedle\ farm, two or three miles 
 
 rough boulder in nuiei Oakland. , „ „, ,,', , , ,• 
 
 .' . inn i Invest ol I allula. is a large number ot 
 
 Oakland is destined, in lime, to he one ol the . , . . .. , n 
 
 graves in ground that is not eared tor al all. 
 
 most beautiful and popular cemeteries in the , . ,, . , , , 
 
 1 ' Last October the writer visited this neglected 
 
 eolllltv. , ..,,!,. I- 1,11 1 
 
 home ol the dead. ( rawlmg under the tangle 
 
 ATHENS CEMETERIES. „ , , . . , ■ , , . ■ 
 
 ol brush and vines, which was almost impene- 
 
 Athens has two cemeteries: the Athens ceme- ti . ;|li|| ^ )|( , |nl|]1(| .,„ .,,„.„.,„ IM . ir |, | ( . slab with 
 
 ten- and the Hall cemetery. The latter was l|n _ inscription: "Christopher Smedley; born 
 
 donated by Mr. Abram Hall, a public-spirited j >,.,-,.,,, | ». i- 25, 1738; died .Line 28, 1850." He 
 
 i "" 1 l '■'"'^ '" citizCT " r tha1 vicinity. Loth vyag |]|( , „,,,,„! r ,,,|„,. ,, r ,|,,|,,, Smedley, of Cass 
 
 " r these are wel1 k, 'I» > m] speak well for the coimty _ He was born in England and when he 
 
 community. reached manh 1 he entered the British Davj 
 
 TALLULJ CEMETERY. , |]|(| H . mi(| j]|( . ,.,,,,,,, rv f or several years. Ill 
 
 Of the incorporated cemeteries of the county, the battle fought between Commodore Rodney, 
 none are more beautiful or better kept than thai f t | M . British navy, and Commodore DeGras, of 
 of Tallula. Being in a wealthy, refined and the French navv, he losl his left leg by a can- 
 Christian community, we could expect nothing ni , n s hot and, of course, was obliged to leave 
 else. In this sacred spot repose the remains of the naw. Later he came to America, and 
 
 many of the men and women, who by their comin° to Illinois he entered the land when 
 
 foresight, industry and economy wroughl oul |, e i||,.,|. || ( . died at the °rea1 age of one hun- 
 
 the rich inheritance thai we enjoy to-day. ,| r ,.,| an ^| eleven years, six month- and three 
 
 Beautiful monuments tell where they lie, but davs. 
 
 monuments more enduring than -ramie, brass T||( , Qeglee1 f these burying places is a 
 
 '"' bronze in the living tablets of loving and WTmg ,|, ;l , should in some way lie remedied. 
 
 grateful hearts tell of their works of love. h| these ,,„„. . m ,| lieg lected graves lie the re- 
 
 SWEETTS ITER CEMETERY. niaiir- ol 801 £ OUT IllOSl worthy dead. Men 
 
 Sweetwater cemetery was improved, enlarged and women who were loved and honored while 
 
 and incorporated a number of years ago, but they lived and who performed a most impor- 
 
 the writer was unable to gel the data to give tan! pari in the development of this country, 
 
 an extended or particular account of it. It is deep in these forgotten graves, wherein a feu 
 
 a beautiful locality, is well kept and is beauti- years the plowshare will crash through the soil 
 
 Red with many costly monuments. above them and yellow harvests will be reaped
 
 1 in 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 over where they lie and be gathered in with 
 shout ami song. This shameful desecration can 
 only !«' avoided by removing the remains to a 
 cemetery where they will be protected and eared 
 for. If the descendants and friends of these 
 pioneers will no! attend to this, it should he 
 taken in hand by the authorities and dune at 
 the expense of the public. 
 
 STEAMBOATS. 
 
 The location of Menard county being so re- 
 mote from the large rivers, the roads ven poor, 
 or in most places not opened at all, and rail- 
 road transportation being then unknown, it is 
 not to be wondered at if the early settlers did 
 seriously and anxiously consider the navigation 
 of the Sangamon river. It is accessary for the 
 reader to take into consideration a number of 
 Pacts: the forests being then undisturbed, the 
 ground antrampled by thousand.- of stock, tin? 
 tlat prairies unplowed and undrained, it fol- 
 lows, of course, that tlie average amounl of 
 water flowing in our creeks and rivers was at 
 least one-third or one-half more than flows in 
 them at thi' present tune, for there being more 
 vegetation then than now and the timber be- 
 ing then undestroyed, there was a much great- 
 er rainfall than there is in later years. Also 
 tin' ground being then untrampled and loose, 
 the water from all the rain and -now sank di- 
 rectly into the earth, thus forming permanenl 
 springs which flowed the year round, feeding 
 i lie wan r courses everywhere with an abundant 
 supply. But a- it i> now the case is very dif- 
 ferent; tlie ground is trampled hard beneath 
 the hoofs nl' thousands of stock, so thai tin 
 water thai fall.- instead of sinking into the 
 ground runs off at once. A- a result id' this 
 we now have greater and mure sudden freshets 
 ami tlnn lower waters than we had in earlier 
 day-. The markets then were far away, located 
 on the navigable rivers; the roads were un- 
 opened, and owing to the natural condition of 
 the country there were man\ place- where n 
 would have been impossible in construct passa- 
 lile roads; and the >lnw ox-teams being almost 
 the sole mean- of transportation, it i- no1 in 
 he wondered at that the people wen- intensely 
 
 anxious tn find some mean- of reaching the 
 older and mure important settlements. ("ii- 
 sequenth they grasped most eagerly at the 
 scheme proposed, and would have grasped at 
 one even more chimerical than this. Beside all 
 tin-, the rivers, a- -aid above, had a much 
 greater flow of water then than they do now, 
 and the belief was then almost universal that 
 they would become practical and profitable ave- 
 nues of commerce in all the land. 
 
 Walking along the hank- of "The Raging 
 Sangamo" in the fall of the year i specialty, one 
 would hardly think thai any one would ever 
 have thought of it being a navigable stream. 
 Nor when we look at Clary's creek or Indian 
 creek we would never dream that they had 
 once driven water-mills for nine months of 
 the year, yet such is the fact. In the early 
 settlement of this country these streams carried 
 almost double the amount of water that flows 
 in them now. As early as the year 1832, Y. 
 A. Bogue, of Springfield, conceived the idea 
 nf navigating the Sangamon with a steamboat. 
 About that time some visionary poet -aid: 
 
 "And we will make our Sangamo, 
 Outshine, in verse, the river Po." 
 
 Mr. Bogue threw his whole energy into the 
 enterprise and the citizeii> of Springfield gave 
 him their nm-t hearty support. In a letter 
 to the public Mr. Bogue said, among other 
 things: "I shall deliver freighl from St. 
 Louis, at the landing on Sangamo river, oppo- 
 site the town of Springfield, for thirty-seven 
 and a half cents per hundred pounds." The 
 Springfield Journal of February 16, 1832, con- 
 tained the following paragraph: "We find the 
 following advertisemenl in the Cincinnati Ga- 
 zette nf the 19th ult. We hope such notices 
 will Minn cease to be such novelties. We seri- 
 ously believe that the Sangamo river can he 
 made a navigable stream for steamboats for 
 several months in the year. Here i- the adver- 
 tisement: 'For Sangamo River, Illinois — The 
 splendid upper-cabin steamer Talisman. .1. M. 
 Pollock, master, will leave fm- Portland, Spring- 
 field, en the Sangamo river, and all interme- 
 diate ports and landings, say Beardstown, 
 Naples, Si. Louis, Louisville, mi Thursday. 
 February 2. for freight or passage apply to
 
 PAST A\H PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 Captain Vmcenl A. Bogue, at the Broadway 
 Eotel, or to Allison Owen.'" The Talisman 
 was a vessel of one hundred and fifty tons bur- 
 then, and she landed at Portland, on the 23d 
 of March, 1832. Portland was the town on the 
 smith side of the Sangamon, situated between 
 where the bridges of the Chicago & Alien and 
 Gilman & Clinton Railroads new are. The 
 Talisman was unable to turn around, and so 
 after a time it backed down the river, aever 
 to return, for, getting as far as St. Louis by 
 the latter pari of April, that same spring, right 
 opposite that city she burned to the water's 
 edge. In an earl\ day a subscription was 
 raised among the business men of Petersburg to 
 clear the Sangamo of drifts, etc., in order to 
 render it navigable for small steamboats. In 
 tin- way li\e thousand dollars was raised, but 
 the enterprise finally failed. Aboul the 20th 
 of April. L853, a small steamboat, the Wave, 
 or Ocean Wave, commanded by Captain Mon- 
 roe, landed at Petersburg but she aever wenl 
 further up the river, aor down it. for that mat- 
 ter. Captain Monroe supposed the distance 
 from Petersburg to the mouth of the Sanga- 
 mon was about ninety miles. He was firmly 
 of the opinion that a comparatively small ex- 
 penditure would render the river a profitably 
 navigable stream. So little conception did 
 the early settlers have el' the effect el' culti- 
 vating the land, cutting out the timber, en the 
 rivers and streams that they were led into 
 this absurd opinion. The "Wave" waited for 
 a long time for a rise in the waters el' the San- 
 gamon hut the wished-for never came and 
 finally the proud conqueror el' the "raging San- 
 gamo" was forced to succumb, noi to its rag- 
 ing floods hut to its logs ami sandbars ami was 
 dismantled here, and it ^ gorgeous trimmings 
 were used to decorate the dwellings of the 
 eiii/ens ef Petersburg. Thus ended forever 
 the efforl i" navigate the Sangamon river. 
 Some old citizens, however, aver that another— 
 a third — steamboat came up the Sangamon as 
 far a- Petersburg, while others just as strongly 
 denv it. It' such a crafi ever grated ii> keel 
 over the -and- el' the Petersburg "wharf" it- 
 name was never known t<> the good people el' 
 the village or has been entirely forgotten. It 
 is true thai the citizens pent Major Hill to 
 
 Cincinnati and had a heal built expressly "for 
 Sangamon river ports." h is doubtless true 
 that the boat was huilt ami started to this 
 "port," Inn it never reached its intended des 
 tination. lint other eld citizens unequivocally 
 asserl that it made the voyage to Petersburg 
 hut it was tee large for this river and after a 
 little while it was sunk in the depths ef "The 
 raging Sangamo." They even go so far as 
 to name the buildings which wen- adorned with 
 the windows, doors, and ether parts el' the dis- 
 mantled steamer. So the Eaets in the case 
 are losl in the oblivion ef the forgotten past. 
 Se much for "Navigation." 
 
 RAILROADS. 
 
 There are three railroads that enter Menard 
 county. Two of them run almost through its 
 center, while the ether barely enters the coun- 
 ty on its eastern herder. The Jacksonville di- 
 vision of the Chicago, Alien & St. Louis runs 
 through the countj from the northeast corner 
 to near the southwest corner; and the Chicago, 
 Peoria & St. Louis runs almost centrally 
 through the county from north to south. These 
 two lines cross in Petersburg. In an early 
 day the navigation of the Sangamon river was 
 serioush considered, and some attempts made. 
 as the reader may see in another chapter, hut 
 when this was proven to he a failure another 
 scheme was proposed. That scheme was to 
 open a canal from Beardstown to Decatur, by 
 way of the Illinois and Sangamon rivers. The 
 legislature in it- session of 1834-5 aetualh 
 granted a charter to this enterprise. The nexi 
 spring a careful survey was made of the route, 
 em after I he expenditure of a vasi amount oi 
 gas and calculation and suggestion, the scheme 
 was abandoned; bu1 the popular mind was all 
 excitement on the subject of transportation. 
 So in IS52 tin' legislature granted a charter 
 to ill,' "Springfield >\ Northwestern Railway 
 Companv" to build a road from Springfield 
 to Rock Island, and the route was surveyed 
 crossing Menard county just as the Chicago, 
 Peoria & St. Louis has since been built. This 
 enterprise was pushed so far that Menard 
 eoiintv voted lil'tv thousand doll;,!'- :,, aid in
 
 L12 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 its construction. The people were so enthnsi- to mill, and of the conductor's strictness in 
 
 as tic thai the} thoughl thai it could uol fail carrying oul the time table; so strict that he 
 
 am ] the}' wenl so Ear as to colled a small per helped shell the corn. Of the lady who had 
 
 ,.,,,,1 f the money voted to pay for the survey, eleven eggs to send to markel on the train, and 
 
 But it is true that of Mr. Bacon waiting for the hen to lay the 
 
 ., . . . other ess, bu1 they do nol say thai he hurried 
 
 "The best laid schemes o nine an men , . . ' , ■ .1 u 
 
 , .. the lien. One thing is sure: that is that Mr. 
 
 Gang alt agley, , . ., , ,, 
 
 Bacon was always a gentleman. About the 
 
 and the enterprise weni up. The people of e i ose of the war the Chicago, Alton & St. Lords 
 this county, after this failure, became almost in . |(| proposea > to ta ke this Tonica road and 
 despondent, but in 1856 a new enterpr:se was ^^ j( (o Blomnington and to Godfrey. This 
 proposed which aroused them to action, and wag .,,.,.,, |llr( | . 111(] the rnai | was bnilt on the 
 their hopes revived. The scheme was the build- n|(] grade ;|S |a| . ag Delavan in Tazewell county 
 ing of a railroad from Jacksonville to Tonica, ;m(] t]|(1||( . ( . directly to Bloomington, intersect- 
 in I. a Salle COUnty, tO llltel'seet the lleune|,m ^ ^ m&in y ]w , |( ^ ^^ S()|||(1 V( ,. irs 
 
 & Streator road. Tonica is a village on the |;i j ( , r t]|(i K . 1|IS . IS city branch was built from 
 last named road, nine miles I'roin the town R odhouse tl , that city. The Jacksonville divi- 
 of La Salle. As tins road was to pass through sjnn wag (ims | ]( . (1 nl ls , ; ; 
 Petersburg the people of the county became [d , s -._, the ,.],.,,.(,.,. was g ran ted to the 
 wild with enthusiasm. The county as a cor- Springfield & Northwestern company to build 
 porate body voted one hundred thousand dol- ;| ni;((| from Springfield to Rock Island. Al'i- 
 lars' stock, and thirty thousand dollars' st.ocK er (]|js t .] yAvU , v j,. l(1 ] ;lm ,| ( , i|( | f 0T seventeen 
 was subscribed by individuals. A charter was yearSj it was rev ived by the Legislature, in 
 granted the "Petersburg & Tonica Railroad, t869, to a new company, however, allowing them 
 and the subscriptions were legalized. Hon. to construct a road on the old survey. Menard 
 Richard Yates was made president, and John ( , llin(v Vlll( ,,| ,,,,,, hundred thousand dollars 
 Bennetl and Hon. William G. Greene, both of , t(K . k ' in t his road and the town of Petersburg 
 Menard county, were made directors. Work voted fifteen thousand dollars. There was a 
 was soon begun on both extremes and a great v;lst | | ( ,. | | ttf trouble over these town bonds, as 
 amount of grading was done, but in spite oi jt Krn[ in1(i ,| |( , eour t s an d created no end of 
 the zeal of the people subscriptions ran short persona ] D ad f ee ]ing, and as the courts settled 
 and the work came to a dead stop About tins i( ^ Uv ^ l ) iUl ^ to do is to let it lie in the 
 time Mr. Yates resigned and W. G. Greene oblivion ,, r f rgetfulness. 
 was made president and Hon. \V. T. Beekman | M ,| |r | :l | h ,,. ^ aT \ f L870 work began on the 
 was made a director and superintendent ot | mi , ;1) fj avaiLa |, m it progressed very slowly, 
 the load. By almost superhuman efforts funds D urrn g the year 1871 it was completed across 
 were raised and the road was completed from \f. 1S(lll C0U nty an d a (rw miles into Menard. 
 Jacksonville to Petersburg, a distance of twen- | n ]s; ._, ||l( , carg !„,„.,,, tl , nm as f ar as from 
 ty-eigh1 miles, ami in the fall of 1861 the Havana to Petersburg. By late autumn in 
 whistle was heard for the lirst time in Peters- ls - :; tne ni;|l | was finished all the way to Can- 
 burg. Milton Moore was the lirst agenl in [v .^^ ;| distance of no less than thirteen miles 
 Petersburg and William Bacon, the very prince f roni Petersburg! Here another much needed 
 of conductors, had charge of the lirst tram. r(ig j. wag tn i c ,, n ;1 nd a fter recuperation from 
 Many were the anecdotes told of the speed ( | |r arc i uous summer's work it was at last com- 
 of this first Irani. There being one train, and pleted in 1874. It is now the Chicago, Peoria 
 the time-table requiring the round trip every & gt. Louis Railroad, with a firstclass roadbed, 
 1 wcni v-four hours, of course the train must run. number one rolling stock, and is doing a splen- 
 Fiftv-six miles in twenty four hours! Think ,n,| business. 
 
 f jt! They still tell of the train waiting for The Peoria & Springfield road was built by 
 
 a farmer to shell a "grist" of com to take the Peoria & Northern Railroad Companj and
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENAKI) COUNT!' 
 
 I L3 
 
 was completed in IS98, the first through (rain very brief paragraph left. For nearly all of 
 
 ■-11 1111 i ii Lji mi May of thai year. The right of history is the record of war and intrigue, and 
 
 wax was paid for liberally and secured with- surely these are crimes. Some one lias said: 
 
 out litigation or trouble of any kind. Tins "One murder makes a villain; millions, a hero; 
 
 road runs through the cast edge of Menard numbers sanctify the crime." II becomes now 
 
 county, nut being more than a mile from the my duty to record some of the murders com- 
 
 easl line at anv point, and only runs in the mitted in the territory of what is now Menard 
 
 county for a distance of five and a half miles, county. 
 
 There are two stations in the county, however, There lias been a large number of crimes 
 Croft and Fancy Prairie. This is one of the committed in this count} bu1 only one exeeu- 
 besl huilt and equipped roads in the state and I|nn nas ever taken place. The murder of 
 it does an immense freighi and passenger busi- ty[ rs _ VanNoy, by her husband (see account in 
 ness, especially for as shorl a line as it is. another place) was the first murder on the 
 Two or three years after it was finished ii s ,,,| ,,r m,.,,;,,,] . for it was while (Ins county- 
 was sold to the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis was sl ,n a p ar j f Sangamon county. Among 
 Railroad Company, and has since been run as tne lllnsl | ae artless crimes thai have disgraced 
 a part of that system. And it is a very i i ii- the , , , u 1 1 1 \ were the following: Watkins, shol 
 portanl part of that system, for two reasons, through Ins window while holding his infant 
 first, because it connects the important cities, ( .] n | ( | IM |, ls [ a p. Robert Carter, of Mason City, 
 Springfield and Peoria, il being sometimes murdered in Athens and sunk in an unused 
 
 called the Peoria & Springfield Short Line: and U( ,p :m ,| r lllm ,| ,,,,1, ..r,,,,.. . m ,| ,]„. Iimr ,| el - 
 
 second, because it connect- the two branches of ,,r M rs Charles Boulden, by her husband. Be- 
 
 the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railway, name- M ,| r t h ese there have been a number of kill- 
 
 l.v the mam line at Springfield, and the -lack- m „ s ln tne ,. im]1 | V . Thn r four at Athens; 
 
 sonville division at San Jose. This mad runs ,1,,.,,,, ;|| Oakford, two at Tallula, one at Cur- 
 through one of the linest agricultural sections tjs ;lll( | tnr ,. f our .,, Petersburg. 
 
 " f '•" limi ' v m 1| "' s,i '"' 0f lllln " ls and " baS In March. 1883, the hodv of a young ln.lv. 
 
 P roved """ l,r the £ reates1 ns '" a l: "'-" Miss Missouri Burns, was found, in the early 
 
 morning, lying in an unused street, with tin 
 throat cut and other evidences of a foul and 
 
 section of country that could have been given 
 In a people. Thus it is seen that Mi nard coun- 
 ty is anuiK supplied with railroad facilities , , ,,,, : i i i i , i i 
 1 i heinous murder. I he bodv had been hauled 
 
 ''"'■ li: '' sl "l '" "'' Lts Products and for the (||(i|v m g buggy ;|||(| ,| ||m|lr(| lll|( m the str|1| . K 
 
 convenience of travel, bu1 the p. e are not Eviclence |Himi ;. ( | ln ,,„,, Carpenter, a grain 
 
 yet satisfied and still clamor for more, hut dealer and promineni citizen, as the murderer. 
 
 when the interurban is built from Springfield ,. v a chang ■ X(i||11(l |hl , eage ( . ;||||1 , ,,, M( ,,, nl 
 
 to Beardstown and running th: gh Petersburg cmnty |u| . tn;|| . m(| n|i (h( , „„„,,,„„ ,, r |hl . 
 
 "'" ""'> be satisfied then? ) ., |h " rf M;||vk ]ss|> (|i( , |1|n brougW Ml a 
 
 verdict of not guilty, doe Sutton, living sis 
 miles south of Petersburg, on his way home 
 was hailed bv Charles Houlden, who inquired 
 CRIME l\ MENARD COUNTY (No. I). wh||( ,,,„ ,,,,,„, ,„ the Houlden case was. Re- 
 Edward Gibbon said: "History is little ceiving the answer, he went back to his house, 
 more than the register of the crimes, follies « lllrl1 stood some fifteen rod- from the road. 
 and misfortunes of mankind." And Washing- This was about sunset. Soon after this, scream- 
 ton Irving says: "History is but a kind of ing was heard by neighbors at the Houlden 
 Newgate calendar, a register of the crimes and home, and on their arrival there they found 
 miseries that man has inflicted on his fellow- Mrs - Houlden lying with her head hanging over 
 
 man." Take the record of cria ut of the the doorsill, her throat cut from ear to ear, 
 
 annals of the world and there would he hut a fifteen or twenty knife-stabs in her body, her
 
 Ill PAST AND PKESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 he-Hi crushed with an ax, and the bod} terribly of age. Aboui nine o'clock ai night he was 
 bruised by the bootheels of her murderer. As shol through the window with a shotgun, the 
 there was no question as to who committed the load taking effect in Ins back He lived a 
 crime, her son and daughter, aged eleven and day or two. While there was no doubi of the 
 thirteen years, having been witnesses of it, a identity of the murderer, he was never pun- 
 search was ai once begun for the murderer, ished. Through some means he was admitted 
 All thai night the search continued, but he was to bail, forfeited it and ran awav. and his se- 
 nut found till the following morning. The eurities paid the bill and he never returned to 
 murdered woman was Houklen's third wife tins pari of the country. 
 
 and he was her I' -th husband. Their mar- On the 6th of Maw 1879, Scoti Judy shot 
 
 ried life had been a scene of strife and bit- Dr. \V. I'. Cos on the streets of Petersburg 
 
 terness from the first. Houlclen claimed in the within a block of the hitter's home. Two balls 
 
 very last thai he had no recollection of the struck him, one passing through his lungs, 
 
 crime and always told the same story aboul it. causing his death in i\\ ■ three hours. Judy 
 
 lie said that lie remembered aboui going to the was tried, hut was not punished, 
 
 house after inquiring about the result of the <>n the 26th of October, 1S!U. Benjamin 
 
 Carpenter trial, sitting down ai the supper Ross, of Greenview, killed Albert Stone on the 
 
 table and beginning to drink a glass of milk, street of Greenview by shooting two load of 
 
 I in t after that all was a blank till he came to hirdshot into his body from a shotgun. This 
 
 himself, as they were hauling him to Peters- was done aboui midnighl ami Stone lived two 
 
 burg on a sled. Only three minutes before he days. Ross was never indicted for the murder, 
 
 dropped to eternity he repeated this story to his On March 7th, 1892, Jefferson Lewis killed 
 
 spiritual adviser, with all the seeming candor frank Luck, in Tallula, by shooting him with 
 
 that a man could possess, telling the story just a pistol. Lewis was sent to prison lor a short 
 
 a- he had narrated it a score of times before. term. 
 
 During the time he was iii jail and while he About tell o'clock at night, on the 18th <>( 
 
 was awaiting execution he was as mild ami July. 1894, Oscar S. Hilton killed George 
 
 tractable as a child, never showing any irrita- Hohimer at the Lenz Opera House door, almost 
 
 hdit\ or viciousness. On the scaffold he was severing his head from his body with a razor, 
 
 calm and collected and without a tremor he This was done in a fray and Eilton was cleared. 
 
 took his plac the trap and in a very lew On the 2d of April. I'.Mit). Llmer ('lark' shot 
 
 seconds he dropped to the end of the rope and Harry I.. Ball, on the public highway, with a 
 
 died without a tremor or a struggle, his neck repeating rifle, putting five halls into his body, 
 
 being broken by the fall. Charles Houlden killing him instantly. Clark was tried and 
 
 died on the gallows for the murder of his wife. cleared. 
 
 but the "conviction of the writer, after days and In February, 1900, Robert Carter of Mason 
 
 nights of association with him, in the loneliness City. Illinois, paid a visit to the town of 
 
 of his cell, is that lloulden was of unsound Athens. Menard county, and speni a number of 
 
 mind when he committed the crime and was days in drinking in company with a crowd of 
 
 of unsound mind at the time of his execution. miners and other rough fellows. About the 
 
 He was hanged in the jail in Petersburg ai last of the month he was missing and search 
 
 12:10 p. in. on May 15, 1885. was begun for him. All that could be learned 
 
 Man\ awful crimes have been committed in was thai the last seen id' him he was in com- 
 
 Meiiard county during its history, hut we have pany with a crowd of fellows in the timber 
 
 not space lo relate the particulars here. W'e southeast of the town, where they hail a keg of 
 
 will only mention a few of the most serious. beer, which they were drinking. The disap- 
 
 In is. - .; Joseph Watkins shot and killed his pearance of Carter became a question in every- 
 
 cousin, David Watkins. The latter was sit- one's mouth and all were on the lookout, (in 
 
 ting by the window in his home, holding in the 28th of March, jusf one month to a day 
 
 his lap his little girl, some two or three years after Carter was last seen, a gentleman, pass-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY LIS 
 
 ing an old abandoned well a mile and a half fifty years. One of those convicted, Frank K. 
 
 northwest of Athens, noticed thai the rails Gilcrease, got oul of prison, through pardon 
 
 that had been used in covering it were dis- or some other vvay, and nol long after he was in 
 
 placed. Ih- suspicions being aroused, he at a railroad accidenl and had both legs cul off, 
 
 once began to investigate. Suffice it to say bu1 recovered, a cripple for life. The other, 
 
 that the body of Carter was found sunk in the Thomas Scantlin, is still in prison at Chester, 
 
 well, a stone weighing eighty pounds being hut Governor Yates has commuted his sentence, 
 
 wired to his body, his overcoal and other cloth- so (hat he will he set free in a few months. 
 
 ing being all mi him. The cold water had pre- The | pie of the county have always thought 
 
 served the body perfectly, so thai there was that the sentence was ton severe, as the deed 
 
 no question as to his identification. Four men. was done in a general row and the parties had 
 
 Leslie Harvey, Richard Garrison, George Moore no intention of killing Rakestraw or. perhaps, 
 
 and .lames Dixon, were at once arrested under any one else. 
 
 the charge of murder in the first degree. It On the 7th of April, 1902, John W. Bare, a 
 
 developed at the trial that they killed him in saloonkeeper of Oakford, was shot by a pistol 
 
 the woods southeast of Athens, as they claimed, in the hands of Harry Colson, of the same 
 
 accidentally ami put his body in an abandoned place, ami instantly killed. Witnesses said 
 
 coal shaft lieai' by. A day or two after, some there seemed to he little, if any, provocation for 
 
 children playing near the shaft. Lighting news- the act. Colson is serving a sentence in prison 
 
 papers ami dropping them in the shaft, ran for the crime. 
 
 home in great terror, telling their mothers Crime is not a very entertaining theme, nor 
 
 that they saw by the light of the burning pa- is it a kind of literature to put in the hands 
 
 per- a man's body lying at the bottom of the of the young, hut in a history of this kind the 
 
 pit. The thers, thinking it to be just a wild had as well as the good should he told. Such 
 
 stsn of the frightened children, said nothing events as those related above are history ami 
 
 about it for awhile, hut something was said and will hi' often sought for in years to come. 
 
 a day or two after a search of the place was Many other killings have occurred in the 
 
 made, hut no body was found, hut the trial county in the past, hut those given above arc 
 
 disclosed that the guilty parties, hearing the the most remarkable. Ninety-five per cent id' 
 
 sion of the children, wont to the shaft at night them may he traced to the influence of strong 
 
 with a rope, drew the body out ami carried it drink, directly or indirectly. We are not going 
 
 to the old well and dumped it in. Tin' four to preach a sermon, hut just at this point it 
 
 young men were tried and convicted and are seems fitting and proper not only to enter a 
 
 now serving a long sentence in Chester prison, protest against tins awful curse, hut we can not 
 
 Scarcely four month- after this awful trag- refrain from denouncing the detestable habit 
 
 vt\y at Athens, the little town of Oakford came of carrying weapons in this civilized land in 
 
 in with a less awful sensation. <>n July 28, this age. Some boy/s, and some who are men 
 
 L900, Matthew Thomas killed George Strow in years ami avordupois, will persist in this 
 
 with a billet of wood. Thomas escaped punish- detestable habit. It is sure evidence of a gross 
 
 incut by some technicality. coward to see a great big hulk of a man with 
 
 On the 5th of March there was a dance at a a revolver in bis hip pocket or a huge knife in 
 
 private bouse in the town id' Athens. Some a belt. And some hoy- think it is the first step 
 
 rough characters were present ami had whiskey to manhood to get a pistol and get out ami 
 
 being freely used, it is not surprising that in -hoot it oil' ami yell like a wild Indian. It i< 
 
 the course of the evening a row began. Soon a invariably indicative of cowardice ami mental 
 
 fighl opened ami a shot or two were fired and weakness. Ami tin.- halm ha- led to the com- 
 
 an innocent party, who had no connection with mission of hundreds of crimes that would never 
 
 the trouble, was -hot ami killed. His name was have been committed but for this practice. 
 
 George Rakestraw. Two men were convicted I will relate the first murder in tin- count] 
 
 of liic crime ami sent to prison for a term of and close this chapter with it.
 
 in; 
 
 PAST AND ITJKSENT OF MK.NAKP COUNTY 
 
 The tirst murder committed in the territory 
 hi what is now Menard county — and, in fact, in 
 Sangamon — was committed in 1826. This was 
 thirteen years before Menard was organized. 
 A man l>\ the name of VanNoy, or, as some 
 spelled it. YayNoy, had settled on what is 
 now the Louis Campbell place, two miles north 
 .if Athens and noi far from when' the Demas- 
 cus schoolhouse now stands. IK' had built a 
 log cabin, in which he lived with In- wife and 
 a babe, some eight or ten months old. Near 
 the cabin he had built a -mall shop, in which 
 ho repaired guns ami did other little jobs. 
 On the morning of the 27th of August, 1826, 
 a neighbor, whose name is not remembered, 
 came earl) to the simp to have a gunlock re- 
 paired. Nathaniel VanNo} was in the shop, 
 but, it seems, had not yet eaten his breakfast. 
 VaiiNiiv invited the neighbor into the house 
 till he should eat his breakfast. They started 
 into the house ami when they entered the wife 
 was in the act of putting corn dough into an 
 oven on the hearth, bending over for the pur- 
 pose, when YanNoy inguired in an angry tone 
 if the meal was ready. She replied that it 
 would he ready in a few minutes. Without a 
 word Van Nov picked up a slick, or had it al- 
 ready in his hand, and struck her a blow on 
 the side. When she was struck she fell over 
 the cradle, in which the child lav. dropping the 
 dough mi the child in the fall. The neighbor 
 saw at once that she was dead and said to the 
 husband: "You have killed her." lie -aid: 
 "No. she often falls over that way." They 
 picked her up ami laid her on the bed and at 
 once -aw that -he was indeed dead. YanNoy 
 reached up to where his rifle hung in the rack 
 ami hurriedly left the house. When he first 
 took down the gun the neighbor thought that 
 Van Nov was going to shoot him in order to 
 get rid of the witness «h<> saw him kill his 
 wife. Su -nun as YanNoy had gone the neigh- 
 bor mounted hi- horse and started to give the 
 alarm. The nearest neighbors lived near In- 
 dian Point ami he rode at full speed to the 
 Williams heme, ami Mr. Jacob Williams, his 
 sister. Miss Salina Williams, a young lady some 
 eighteen years of age (she afterward married 
 Mr. Samuel Moore), i nted their horses ami 
 
 rode with all haste to the -eene n< the murder. 
 When they arrived they found the babe lying 
 in the cradle with its face ami clothing cov- 
 ered with the dough and the mother lying dead 
 mi the bed. Miss Williams cared for the child 
 and other neighbors came in and a runner was 
 sent to Springfield and the sheriff came out, 
 ami the next morning VanNoy came in and 
 gave himself up. lie stated that he could have 
 taken one of his horses ami left, hut some 
 strange fascination compelled him to linger 
 around the place where he committed the 
 awful crime. A special grand jury was at 
 once called by Judge Sawyer and a term of the 
 circuit court was called. The grand jurors 
 railed, from territory now in Menard county, 
 were .Tame- White. Robert White. John N. 
 Moore. Robert Conover ami Aaron Eoughton. 
 A hill of indictment was presented ami a pet it 
 jury was called, some of them of Menard coun- 
 ty, namely: Bowling Green, foreman. Jesse 
 Armstrong and Levi W. Gordon. The jury 
 was sworn in and the trial was begun on the 
 29th of August, only two days after the crime 
 was committed. The attorney general of the 
 state acted as prosecutor ami two Springfield 
 lawyers, .lames Adams ami Jonathan 11. Pugh, 
 defended the prisoner. A verdict of guiltj was 
 rendered on the 30th and on the same day sen- 
 tence was passed mi the prisoner ami the execu- 
 tion set for the 26th of November, 1826. The 
 execution took place at the appointed time in 
 the hollow just east of the new eapitol in 
 Springfield. The execution was public and the 
 citizens of the whole country turned out to 
 the show. It i- -aid that it was the largest 
 gathering that, up to that time, hail ever met in 
 central Illinois, it being estimated that at least 
 five thousand people witnessed the death strug- 
 gles nf the heartless wretch. Among those 
 present was Miss Williams, afterward Mr-. 
 Samuel Moore. She was a sister of Colonel 
 Williams, who. in his day, was one of the lead- 
 in" financiers of Springfield, dust before bis 
 execution the culprit sent for one Or. Addison 
 Philleo, or. as some write it. Filleo, ami wanted 
 to kimw of him if he thought a man could he 
 brought to life after being hanged. The 
 learned physician opined that if the neck was
 
 Ilr sang the entire hymn and then the cart 
 was drawn from under him. 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT? L11 
 
 not broken and the subject had not been hang- nected with thai hanging was never forgotten 
 
 ing loo long, thai there was a possibility that by those who witnessed it. <>n the scaffold the 
 
 a strong galvanic batterj might bring the pil- murderer, who was a i excellent singer, 
 
 grim back. VanNoy then told the doctor that asked permission of the sheriff to sing. Being 
 
 if lie could bring him hack to this world he granted the privilege, he si I on the platform, 
 
 would he willing to remunerate him quite lib- or cart, and sang in lull, round tones thai old 
 
 oral I \ for his trouble, or, if in case he failed in hymn, composed by Dr. Walts, the first verse 
 
 this benevolenl effort, he would generously of which is: 
 
 donate to him Ins body for dissection in the Hark from the tombs a doleful sound. 
 
 interest of science ami human advancement. My ears attend the cry; 
 
 Executions were performed at that time by Y ''J, IU "- " rl , u, ' 1 " the ground, 
 
 ........ ... ', Where \iiu must .shortly he. 
 
 placing the victim m a cart, fastening one end 
 
 of a rope to a beam and noosing the ether end 
 around the victim's neck and pulling the cart 
 from under him. The doctor advised VanNoy 
 to lean as far forward as he could at the crit- 
 ical moment and thus preserve his neck intact, \y ^l> 'piMFS |\ MEN \I'D 
 if possible. Me followed the doctor's kind 
 
 advice and hi. neck was not dislocated, but M, " ;ml '"" M,v was headquarters during the 
 
 the sheriff heard something of the arrangement Civil war for Missouri refugees. They invari- 
 
 between the two and, fearing some mishap, al- abl 3 ll,m " 1 ll " t v a refuge, bu1 a hearty 
 
 lowed the body to reman, hanging over an hour. welcome : " - Republicans a, well as Demo- 
 
 , 4-1 i , ■ i ,, i' i i crats. Hundreds, ves, thousands of Missouri- 
 
 and as a consequence the doctors battery tailed 
 
 , .it i „• i \-' v ■ illls - for every reason, were compelled to leave 
 
 to have the desired elicit and pour VanNoy s - ' 
 
 , i-ii,-,, . !• i i *. home, propertv, famih and everything else 
 
 -mil never got hack to its tenement oJ claw but .' ' 
 
 ,, I,, -ii ' j j i i l j i' i • all 'h w'ithout money or friends, seek a more 
 
 Dr. Philleo was not In lie cheated nut ol doing 
 
 , • , , , . , , genial climate. In thousands of eases men who 
 
 good m one way or another, so he began right 
 
 '. .. ' ,, , , , ,- x- ' , '., had done nothing disloyal were compelled to 
 
 there t" dissect the bod\ ol Van. Nov. luit the ... 
 
 Leave there i order to secure a living for their 
 
 families. Nhthing was doing there; life was in 
 
 danger every hour, and all the father could do 
 
 citizen- of Springfield indignantly resented any 
 such barbarity ami compelled him to seek a 
 more secluded place I'm- his scientific investiga- 
 
 notoriety did nol end here, lie removed to 
 Galena, Illinois, ami entered the editorial pro- 
 fession. When the Black Hawk war broke out 
 he went with the army as newspaper corre- 
 spondent. Ford, in his history, relates that 
 on the chase of Black Hawk by Genera] Henry, 
 •'on the third da\ out. about noon. also, the 
 
 was in leave his dear one;- in the midst ol pil- 
 lion- than the open common, nut Dr. Philleo s , . , , , . ,,,,,-, 
 
 „ , , la.ee. bushwhacking ami bloodshed ami seek a 
 
 place where he ciiuhl make enough to feed and 
 
 clothe them and -end it back to them. Main 
 
 piti fill ca-i - of this kind could I e related, hut 
 
 out of dozens I select just one case, and 1 beg 
 
 the reader', indulgence while 1 relate it just 
 
 as briefly as I can. ami I pledge the writer's 
 
 honor (hat ii is every word true, jusi a- related, 
 
 scouts ahead came suddenly upon two Indians. ,• ,, ■. , t , ■ ., . ,, 
 
 1 tor the writer has means ol knowing its truth. 
 
 and as they were attempting to esca] f A , ||a|| _ „„, „„„.,, |||an twenty . five vears 
 
 them was killed and left dead on the field. Dr. of agGj ]|;|V ,„„. ;| W]|r ;1||i| |u „ ,,,,,,. girlSj 
 
 Addison Philleo, comins shortly after scalped r i ,i , i . , i ■ ,• i 
 
 ■ • ''"i"' 1 1 hi iif I that he must emigrate or see Ins family 
 
 tbe dead Indian ami for a long time afterward 5uffer . Missouri was then under martial law 
 
 exhibited the scalp as an evidence of his valor." anc ] ,. im , I1;1M r,,, m ,| outside of his own county 
 
 We said above thai vast crowd- attended the was liable to arresl and imprisonment in a mili- 
 
 hanging of VanNoy. Among these was Miss tary prison, perhaps for a long time. He had 
 
 Williams — afterward Mrs. Samuel Moon — and to cross the entire state in order to get to t Hi— 
 
 many thousands of others. One scene con- nois. To get a pass was oul of the question
 
 118 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENAKD COUNTY 
 
 u was impossible. To Leave bis family there 
 without any friend would be heartless and 
 cruel. What should be do? He had a neigh- 
 bor who had always been kind to him, so be 
 told him the secret of his intended effort to gel 
 to Illinois. So. raising what little money he 
 could, he gave half of it to his wife, kept the 
 other half ami started on the perilous trip. 
 Ai St. Joseph he waited till the ten o'clock 
 train was just read} to -tart, then he rushed up 
 to the ticket-window in great haste and said: 
 ""Aren't you going to give me that tickel a1 
 all?" "What ticket?" the agent said. "Why. 
 that ticket to Quincy," he replied. Hurriedly 
 the agent gave him the ticket and he as hur- 
 riedly gave him the exact change, ami in a mo- 
 ment was on the opposite side of the train from 
 the depot. The night was intensely dark and 
 in consequence he was completely concealed. A 
 squad of soldiers hail none through the train. 
 requiring every passenger to show his pas>. He 
 stood on the platform till the train got under 
 
 S I headway and then he went into the ear, 
 
 but at every station of any size a squad of 
 blue-coats came into the ears, going to every 
 one and requiring each one to show his pass, 
 and if he happened to have nolle he was hustled 
 off in short order, and God only knows where 
 he finally brought up. But the subjeel of our 
 story, by some strange fortune, was never seen 
 h\ a soldier on the entire trip. Twice the train 
 was wrecked and they were belated twelve hours 
 and arrived at the Mississippi river at one 
 o'clock a. ni. The ice had beeD strong and 
 tram- had been passing over it safely, hut it 
 had become so dangerous that rigs were afraid 
 to risk it. and ferry-boats could not get through 
 the iee. so tin- only way to cross was for several 
 to club together and hire some one who knew 
 the ice to pilot them over with a lantern. Hut 
 when our friend started down to the edg ot 
 the ice to join a club ho saw, to hi- utter dis- 
 may, that the ubiquitous blue-coat was there 
 also, to demand the fatal pass. This was de- 
 spair, indeed. So he backed off into the dark, 
 to meditate ami pray. Yes, pray; for he has 
 been often heard to say that he never did pray 
 more devoutly and earnestly than then. He 
 often said that he thought if he was doing right 
 God would take care of him ■ if not. he had bet- 
 
 ter end all his troubles in the bottom of the 
 Mississippi river. So he boldly marched out 
 on the ice. In place- the water was more than 
 two inches deep on the ice: other place- he 
 could hear the water gurgle in open places in 
 the ice. and these he went around. At last he 
 landed on the lllinoi- -hot.' and dropped on his 
 knees and gave devout thanks to God. But it 
 is a remarkable fact that one of those who were 
 following a lantern broke through and was 
 with difficulty saved from being drowned. 
 
 lie wandered around, looking for work that 
 he felt able to do. hut finding nothing he en- 
 gaged to rut cord-wood. He hail not per- 
 formed one day's hard labor in year-, having 
 been engaged in school-teaching. He engaged 
 to cut wood at a dollar and a quarter per cord. 
 He bought an ax. on credit, for three dollars 
 ami engaged board at four dollars and a half 
 per week. At noon the hi— started him into 
 some old. knotty sugar trees and he went at 
 them with a will, thinking all the time of the 
 wife ami babies so far away. First hi- hands 
 blistered: then the blisters broke; then his 
 head began to ache dreadfully. Before night 
 he went to the hotel with a raging fever and 
 in a few hours he was in a wild delirium. 
 Three long weeks he lay there, expenses going 
 on and not a cent coming in. hut the Good 
 Father always provides a way. While lie was 
 
 sick - e friends learned that the stranger had 
 
 I n teaching a short system of practical arith- 
 metic, and by the time he was up they had 
 made up a school that would pay five dollars 
 per evening. In twelve evenings he had money 
 enough to pay all his hills, -end his wife ten 
 dollars, make a present of ten dollars to a Mis- 
 souri refugee there-, who was blind, and to 
 have a little change left. From there he went 
 into Mason county, taught night-school there 
 some, hut diil not succeed very well, and about 
 February loth he found himself without a 
 iint. Wishing to go to Menard county and 
 not having the dime to pay the ferriage, he 
 joined a visiting party with two wagons. Dick 
 Witt aiel George Carpenter, who were on a 
 visit to their kinsman, (reel Stith. But let 
 mi go hack a little, as I wish to tell the had as 
 well as the g 1. On Sunday evening, Decem- 
 ber 25th, L864 i many will remember that
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY II!) 
 
 Christmas Eel] on Sunday thai year), after snack to eat." The other replied thai be did 
 walking over thirty miles, thai day, he and a not wanl the old miser's grub. The nexl morn- 
 bo} from Missouri began to in to gel lodging ing the boy arose betimes and when the other 
 fur the night, bul they were invariably told came down the stairs he was met by the host, 
 thai 1 1 1 1 ■ \ would each have to pa\ a dollar and who was all smiles, and asked to lead the morn- 
 ;l half, an amounl they did ool have. So they ing^s devotions, bul this was declined. The de- 
 traveled on, trying to get cheaper rates. After votions were very brief and all were invited out 
 dark the} approached a nice looking farm- to breakfast. The bo} wenl and did ample 
 house, in which they beard the sound of an justice to the meal, bul the other linnl\ refused 
 organ and a number of voices, playing and to go. After the meal the older man tendered 
 singing Sunday-school songs. This, said the the rumpled dollar hill, which the hos! made 
 boy, i> the place; these are Christian people, a shovi of refusing, hut the traveler said a bar- 
 ter they are singing Sunday-school songs. So gain is a bargain and. laying it on the stand- 
 they called the man id' the house out and made table, bid them good morning, and the two wenl 
 then- wants known. He said they could stay, on their way. Our devoul host will appear 
 "What will you charge us?" they inquired, again in this true story. 
 "A dollar and a hall' each." was the reply. One l'>\ going in the wagon the traveler gol a< ross 
 
 of them explained the} had only a dollar and the Sangai river without paying ferriage. 
 
 thirty cents between them, and he refused to They arrived at Stith's after dark and the 
 let them stay. The} plead thai it was night stranger was going on, bul Witt and Carpenter 
 and cold, and they had walked over thirty insisted that he inusl slay: thai Stilh would 
 miles and hail had no dinner. No, that was not. take pay, no matter how much money he 
 his price and he could keep them for no less, mighl have. So, finally, hut very reluctantly, 
 Finally, the older man offered him one dollar he agreed to stay. Arising early in the inorn- 
 to allow them to sleep in the lioiise. This hr inc. he noticed that the clock on the mantle was 
 was about to refuse also, when the wile, who not running, lie asked Mr. Stith if he might 
 had been listening at the door, interposed and repair it. The reply was that it was old and 
 begged him to let them stay. "Well. I suppose the jeweler hail worked mi it time and lime 
 you can come in." he said gruffly, and led the again, "but if you think you can help it. pitch 
 way into the house. A number of young people in." So by the time breakfast was called the 
 were there, singing and playing, among them a old clock was ticking away on the shelf, having 
 red-haired lady, who presided at the organ, been boiled in ashes, rubbed up ami thoroughlv 
 After playing and singing quite a while, the put in order. (It ran without repairs for 
 dining-room door was thrown open, revealing thirty-two years after thai fixing.) On Sunday 
 a long table loaded with all the luxuries of the after this, February 19th, our stranger con- 
 land: the family and miests. all except the eluded lo attend the dedication of a church. 
 strangers, were invited out. Inn the} were left which was to take place m the neighborhood. 
 to then- own uninterrupted thoughts. After The clothes he had on were mere tatters and 
 supper and more singing the man of the bouse, rags, hut he determined lo go any way. The 
 addressing the strangers, said thai they were congregation was a ver} large one and a very 
 in the habii of having family prayers, and if finely dressed one. ||i' succeeded in finding 
 they so desired they could remain up with a very obscure corner and was observed by 
 them, or if they wished to retire they could do hut very few. After service he was invited 
 so. They chose to remain up I'm- prayers. to dinner with one of the old brethren, riding 
 They occupied a ver} | • bed, bin being in the hack of the spring-wagon, bis legs hang- 
 tired and not troubled with an over-gorged ing over the hind-gate, the minister who had 
 stomach, they slept sweetly. Before going (*• preached the dedication sermon, riding in one 
 sleep, the bo\ .-aid to Hie older man: "Why of the seats. To his surprise, when dinner was 
 did vim not tell the old skinflint that you are announced, he was invited lo the table with 
 a preacher; maybe he would have given us a the rest. B} some means, some one had learned
 
 120 
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENAKD COUNTY 
 
 that he was a preacher, and the minister in- 
 sisted on his preaching that evening, but he ex- 
 cused himself on account of the condition of 
 his clothes. The man of the house offered to 
 loan him a suit, but this In- declined. His 
 clothes were in perfect tatters, but he finally 
 consented to preach, and in that suit of clothes. 
 To his dismay a larger crowd was present than 
 in the morning. When In 1 arose in the pulpit 
 to announce the hymn many in the audience 
 dropped their heads for shame, but he went on 
 and preached the lust he could, and at the close 
 of the service he invited the anxious. A lame 
 number came and some were converted. The 
 people gathered around him. insisting that he 
 
 si Id continue the meetings, and twenty-nine 
 
 dollars were voluntarily handed to him by all 
 classes. Saving uothing else to do. he agreed 
 to continue the meetings. The women gath- 
 ered m. the next morning, sent him to town 
 for material, and by the time for service thai 
 night they had him a new and decent suit of 
 clothes in preach iii. The meetings continued 
 five weeks ami resulted in thirty-six profes- 
 sions and thirty-two additions to the church. 
 Before the meetings closed lie was employed 
 to preach to that congregation for one year, and 
 had money to send to Missouri for his family 
 ami met them in Jacksonville the night that 
 Booth murdered Lincoln. Now, the sequel to 
 tin-, regarding the man who prayed hut would 
 
 not f I the hungry: In June, following the 
 
 events just related, our stranger ami tin- la- 
 mented Rev. Hardin Wallace were invited to 
 speak at a Sunday-school picnic at Pecan 
 Grove, in Cass county. A verj large concourse 
 
 pie attended, for Brother Wallace always 
 
 drevt largi crowds. Brother Wallace and the 
 stranger were sitting in the stand, the stranger 
 en the lookout. Soon the sound of music was 
 heard ; then a banner came in sight, carried 
 by none other than the sandy-complexioned host 
 
 of the morable Christmas eve. Just behind 
 
 him was the red-headed organist, whose 
 tures tin- stranger could not forget. They both 
 certainly recognized the stranger's features, for 
 ed him furtively all the time. By and 
 by it came the time for the stranger to speak. 
 lb' in,!.!.' a very passable speech to the children; 
 then at the close he gave them a lesson in prac- 
 
 tical Christian kindness, charity and benevo- 
 lence, and in this he gave an illustration, tell- 
 ing them that not a thousand year- in tin- past, 
 nor a thousand miles from where they were 
 then assembled, two men were traveling and. 
 unfortunately, they were out of money. He 
 went .hi and told the story in all its details, 
 just as it ua-. No words can describe the looks 
 of those people during the relation of those lit- 
 tle events. They glanced at each other, they 
 grimmaeed, they ldushed and scowled. And 
 when the gentleman, the former host, was 
 called to speak — for he was on the program — 
 he made a complete failure, although usually 
 
 a g 1 speaker. Although it was in the midst 
 
 of the war and men'- passions were at hurtling 
 heat, yet all parties gave the stranger a warm 
 welcome and gave to him every assistance in 
 their power. If he should ever forget their 
 kindness or cease to love all alike of all parties, 
 he is an ingrate ami should never again ask the 
 sympathy of any man. We often talk about 
 the sociability, kindness and benevolence of the 
 southern people, ami it is true they are kind, 
 hut the people of Menard county can not he 
 surpassed by any people in any land. Menard 
 county will always live, green and fragrant, in 
 the memorv of the Missouri refugees and their 
 children, for not only Democrats, hut Repub- 
 licans as well, vied with each other in the dark 
 days of their trial, and they will never he for- 
 gotten for it. That war was a horrid thing. 
 but it leaves a green spot in memory when our 
 minds run hack to those dark days ami remem- 
 ber the kindness of those who might even have 
 been our foes. When the writer is dead and 
 gone, write on his tomb: "Befriended by 
 Menard." Tin- is the sentiment of a sincerely 
 grateful heart. 
 
 WAE OF 1812. 
 Of course, Menard -ent no soldiers to oppose 
 tin' British in the war of L812, hut as this part 
 of the state began to settle up soon after the 
 close of that struggle it would he strange if 
 none of the survivors of these troubles did not 
 -.■itlr hire, and there were a large number of 
 them who made this their home, hut they have 
 all. long since, gone where they will never more 
 hear the signal sound of strife. It is hut just
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 121 
 
 to their memory to mention them hen'. Twen- 
 ty-odd years ago the form of old Captain 
 Rodgers was laid to resl under the Leaves and 
 dowi rs of Rose Bill cemetery after he had 
 reached the age of one hundred and one years. 
 At this greal age, if the war was mentioned 
 and inquiry was made as to the trials and suf- 
 ferings of the war, the old martial fire would 
 come back to his eye and his frame would 
 straighten up and for a few moments ho was 
 almost the soldier again. But when the theme 
 was changed he lapsed into the apathy and 
 listlessness of age again. When he died he was 
 buried with the military honors that were his. 
 Tarleton Lloyd was also a soldier in this war. 
 Hi- was born somewhere ahoui the year 1784 
 and came to Illinois and settled on Rock creek 
 in 1820, among the first settlers who came. A 
 full account is given of him in another place. 
 He died iii 1885. William Estill was a soldier 
 in the war of 1812 and some tune after its 
 close he came to Illinois and settled down 
 some five miles east of Petersburg, where he 
 lived and died. His first wife was a sister of 
 Colonel John Williams, one of the wealthy men 
 el Menard county. Captains William J. and 
 Samuel and Lieutenant Isaac Estill were his 
 suns: one son. Joseph, lives in Petersburg; and 
 
 ■ daughter, Mrs. Luther Jennison, is still 
 
 In ing in the \ ieinii \ of < l reen\ iow . ■• I ' ncle 
 Billy," as he was called, was an earnest Chris- 
 tian, an elder in the ( 'umlierland Presb] terian 
 church and loved by all who knew him. He 
 lived te lie well up toward ninety years id' age 
 and quieth and peacefully passed away at the 
 home where he had lived so long. Other 
 soldiers nf this war lived and died in this 
 county, i.ut. unfortunately, we have uo1 the 
 means of knowing the facts to give in this 
 connection. It is a great mistake for people 
 to fail to put in permanent form the record of 
 the lives and history of its leading citizens. 
 We give one more name: Lewis McKay was 
 horn about the year L795 or 1796 and came 
 to Illinois a great many years ago. lie lived 
 mi Rock creek in the same neighborhood with 
 Tarleton Lloyd, some seven miles south of 
 Petersburg. He enlisted as a soldier when a 
 mere boj to serve in the second war with En- 
 gland, lie served till the close of the war and 
 
 afterward settled in Illinois, lie lived well up 
 in the eighties, was well preserved, and after 
 he had passed the fonr-seore mark was straight 
 as an Indian, his faculties well preserved, ex- 
 eept some deficiency in hearing, and was an un- 
 compromising I lemocrat to the last. I □ for- 
 tunately, we have not a connected history of 
 his experience as a soldier, lie died at the 
 home of his daughter, Mrs. Golden, in Peters- 
 burg, June th 1884. 
 
 There is hut one soldier of the war of L812 
 still living in the United States and that is 
 Hiram Kronk. of New York, now one hundred 
 and four years old. How we should revere the 
 memory of those men who. through privation 
 and suffering, fought the battles of the coun- 
 try and made possible the liberties and other 
 
 blessings that we enjoy. But one soldier of the 
 
 Mexican war still lives in this county. A short 
 time hack there were several of these veterans 
 here. Inn now the only one left is George \\ . 
 Denton, of Greenview. One soldier of the 
 Revolutionary war. old Mr. Nance, lies buried 
 in the busing-ground at Farmers Point. 
 •'They sleep their last sleep, they have fought 
 
 their last battle. 
 They can not he waked by the loud cannon's 
 
 mar." 
 
 ML XI CAN WATT 
 
 We have not space to give the entire record 
 of all the wars in which the citizens of Menard 
 county have taken a pail, for there are sev- 
 eral of them. Abraham Lincoln was captain 
 of a company which was raised in this section 
 of country for service in the Black Hawk war. 
 This company, which contained a number of 
 men from the territory of what is now Me- 
 llaril count \ . weni to i he theater of war. hut 
 was never in an engagement. All of these 
 men are dead and gone, Long ago. Had we 
 the space, we would he glad t'> give a full 
 roster of then- names. 
 
 When the war with Mexico opened, congress 
 pa— I'd an act authorizing the president to ac- 
 eepi the services of fifty thousand men and ap- 
 propriated ten million dollar- to prosecute the 
 war. Al the beginning of this war we were 
 engaged in a dispute with England about the 
 boundary of Oregon, our motto being "54, I"
 
 122 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 or fight," 1 hi t as we had one war on our hands. 
 and did ii"i then wish to gel into trouble with 
 (.iviii Britain, the boundary was agreed to at 
 the 40th parallel, north latitude When the 
 call was made for volunteers, the requisition on 
 [llinois was for "three regiments of infantry 
 or riflemen." The call of Governor Ford was 
 issued mi the 25th of May, for the organiza- 
 tion of the three regiments. At once the whole 
 state was echoing with the notes of martial 
 music and the whole land was ablaze with wild 
 military enthusiasm. The very first man to 
 enroll as a volunteer was the well known .1. J. 
 Hardin, a brave soldier — as he afterward 
 proved. In ten days thirty-five full companies 
 were raised and by the middle of June there 
 were forty companies raised, in excess of the 
 call. After these three regiments had rendez- 
 voused in Alton and had been sworn in. lion. 
 E. D. Baker, member of congress from the 
 Sangamon district, was authorized by the sec- 
 retarv of war to raise another regiment in 
 Illinois. Tin- regimenl was promptly and 
 easily raised and was composed of two com- 
 panies from Sangamon ami one company from 
 each of the following counties: Macon. Mc- 
 Lean. DeWitt, Logan, Tazewell, Edgar, Perry 
 and "Little Menard." lion. Thomas L. Harris 
 was tacitly recognized as captain of this com- 
 pany, though no election was held till some 
 time later. The regiment was taken to Jef- 
 ferson Barracks, twelve miles below St. Louis, 
 and there an election id' regimental officers was 
 held. E. L). Baker was elected colonel, former 
 Lieutenant Governor of Illinois John Moore, 
 of McLean, was chosen lieutenant-colonel, and 
 Thomas L. Harris. f Petersburg, major. The 
 Menard county company had eighty-two men. 
 Major lianas promoted making the eighty- 
 third. A. 1>. Wright was elected captain: Wil- 
 liam ('. Clary, first lieutenant: Shelton .John- 
 son, second, and Robert Scott, third lieutenant. 
 All this company, except William Phillips, who 
 returned home on furlough, and did not return, 
 and Elias Hohimer, who. at New Orleans re- 
 ceived permission to return home, the remain- 
 in"' eiffhtv-one men hoarded the brig, Mary 
 Jones, and were landed at the mouth of the 
 Rio Grande, in Texas. From here the com- 
 pany marched up the Rio Grande toward Ca- 
 
 margo. This was a terrible march, the climate 
 and food disagreeing with the men so that 
 death wrought awful havoc among them. Every 
 day's inarch was marked by a grave. On that 
 short march twenty-one men died and seven 
 were -cut home, being so diseased as to 1"' un- 
 lit for service. From Camargo they inarched 
 by land to Tampico, a distance of five hundred 
 miles. On this march seven more men died. 
 making thirty-seven from the ranks, by death 
 and disease. From Tampico the command 
 sailed to Vera Cruz by the steamship Alabama. 
 This company was in the battle of Vera Cruz 
 and did not lose a man. From there they 
 marched to Cerro Gordo, ami entered the hat- 
 tie with forty-two men. and in the battle they 
 had three men killed ami three severely wound- 
 ed. The killed were George Yocum, Al Horn- 
 hack and Lieutenant Johnson. Robert Scott, 
 John Ritchey and Cornelius Rourke were se- 
 verely wounded. Mr. Rourke lost his left leg, 
 it being shol oil' near his body. He recovered, 
 however, and lived in Petersburg for many 
 years, filling many places of honor and trust, 
 and died at an advanced age, honored and re- 
 spected by all. The command was discharged 
 soon after the battle of Cerro Gordo, their time 
 having expired, ami they reached home in the 
 fall of 1847. We can learn id' but one of 
 this company who is still living: that i- Ooorge 
 W. Denton, a resident of Greenview, in this 
 countv. 
 
 WAR OF THE REBELLION. 
 
 We are not going to write a history of the 
 Civil war, for if we had the time, space and 
 material we would not do so. because there 
 is now much more war literature in the coun- 
 try than is read. Put a History of Menard 
 County which diil not contain its war record 
 would not he a history of the county. Noth- 
 ing will he of more interest in the future than 
 a record of those four long, dark years. It is 
 a duty that we owe to the soldiers who took 
 part in this bloody struggle, to preserve the 
 leading lad-. Especially do we owe it to tin 1 
 long list of the dead, who laid down their lives 
 for their country's honor: we owe it to the
 
 PAST A\|i PKESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 123 
 
 maimed and crippled living, who were lacerat- the Sght. from Donelson they marched to 
 
 ed and tore b} shol and shell; and last, lun Fort Eenry and wenl by transporl up the 
 
 mil least, we owe it to the widows and orphans Tennessee river to Pittsburg Landing. Dp to 
 
 of our soldiers who left bome with all its en- this time the regimenl bad never "smell gun- 
 
 dearments, and whose bodies festered in the powder." but a baptism of lire, m the full 
 
 sun. and whose ashes now fallen the soil of meaning of that phrase, awaited them. Here. 
 
 the "sunny South." Menard county bad been on the 6th and 7th of April, ibis command 
 
 Democratic in polities for man. years, and in lost, in killed and wounded, fully one-half of 
 
 the presidential race between I. me.. In and those engaged. This is no mere surmise, but 
 
 Douglas, just a1 the beginning of the war, not- ls taken from the adjutant general's report. 
 
 withstanding the high esteem in which Mr. On II vening the lib thai grand charge was 
 
 Lincoln was held by all the people, Mr. Doug- made which turned the tide of battle in favor 
 
 las received a large majority of the votes in of the I nion forces. Tins splendid charge was 
 
 the county. A large majority of the people led by the Fourteenth, with Colonel Hall at 
 
 opposed the Republican party and its policy, the head of the column. General Veatch, who 
 
 ye1 when grim-visaged. war casl its shadow over •' manded the brigade to which the Four- 
 
 t h<- land ami (be (lag was fired on ai fort teenth was attached, uses the following lan- 
 
 Sumter, and the blood of American citizens guage: "Colonel Ball, of the Fourteenth llli- 
 
 ba.l been actually spilled, the spirit of patri- iois, led with his regiment that gallanl charge 
 
 otism ran high ami the pulse of all began to on M lay evening, which drove the enemy be- 
 
 beat full ami quick; ami when the question of y I our linos and closed the struggle of thai 
 
 union and disunion became the issue then the memorable clay." If any .me has any doubts 
 
 De crats and Republicans forgot their old concerning the storm of lead and iron that 
 
 differences ami quarrels, and heart to heart this command passed through on thai occasion, 
 
 and shoulder to shoulder, they resolved to sac- I'' 1 him go to Memorial Hall, m Springfield, 
 
 riliee all lor the Union. Bui we will nol lake and c i the forty-two ragged bullel boles 
 
 j • time lo tell all of the story. Illinois made m the regimental colors m thai one 
 
 raised -i\ regiments for tin' Mexican war; lor battle, and he will be convinced. Tins regi- 
 the war ..f the Rebellion .-be raised more than menl look an active and important pari in 
 one hundred and twenty. So the first regi- the battles of Corinth, Memphis and Bolivar. 
 menl raised for (he Civil war was numbered ll was also in (be siege of Vicksburg lill ils 
 tin' seventh. This regimenl was mustered in- fall on the 1 1 1 1 of July, 1864-. In the latter 
 lo service on the 25th of April. 1861. The part of 1863 the Fourteenth ami Fifteenth 
 firsl regimenl thai had Menard county men regiments- were consolidated into the "Four- 
 in it was the Fourteenth, Company I'!, of Ibis teenth and Fifteenth Illinois Veteran Brigade." 
 regiment, being raised in this county. This In 1864, while Sherman was on bis march. 
 regimenl was called int.. the stale service for General Eood made bis demonstration againsl 
 thirty days, under the "Ten Regimenl Hill." Sherman's rear, in the month of October, and 
 h rendezvoused in Jacksonville and was inns- a large number of this brigade was killed. 
 tered into the service lor thirty days on the and by far the greater pari of the remainder 
 lib of May, L861. On the '.'.Mb of the same were captured ami senl to Southern prison-, 
 month il was mustered into the service of tin' Those who escaped in Ibis disastet were mount- 
 United State- for three years by Captain ed and served as scouts during the remainder 
 Pitcher, I'. S. A. In duly. 1861, ii was or- of the march n. the sea. They were the firsl 
 dered lo Missouri, and its firsl service was the I" drive the Confederate pickets into Savan- 
 capture and par.de of a rebel force under dames uab. Georgia. In the spring of 1865 the hal- 
 S. Greene, former United Slates senator from talion organized, was discontinued, and ai 
 Missouri. This regimenl was with Fremonl Goldsboro, North Carolina, the two regiments 
 in bis campaign to Springfield. Missouri, were reformed, being filled up by recruits, and 
 The\ arrived at Fort Donelson the da: after Colonel Hall again took- command of the old
 
 124 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 Fourteenth. The regimen! was mustered oui 
 of service a1 Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on the 
 Itith of September, 1865, and reached Spring- 
 field, Illinois, on the 2d. The aggregate of 
 men belonging to the regiment, first and last, 
 was one thousand nine hundred and eighty, 
 and the number mustered out at Fort Leaven- 
 worth was four hundred and e'ghty. It was in 
 service four years and four months, and during 
 this time it marched four thousand four hun- 
 dn d and ninety miles, traveled by rail two thou- 
 sand three hundred and thirty miles, by steam- 
 i and transport four thousand four hun- 
 dred and ninety miles, making in all eleven 
 thousand six hundred and seventy miles. Its 
 officers in their order were: Colonels John 
 M. Palmer and Cyrus Hall; lieutenant colonels, 
 Amory K. Johnson and William Cam: majors, 
 Jonathan Morris and John F. Nolte. Com- 
 panv E was raised in Menard county, eight} 
 men of the count} joining it. The first cap- 
 tain was Amory K. Johnson, followed b} Fred- 
 eric Mead, of Petersburg, and he by Henry M. 
 Pedan. of Shelbyville. The first lieutenants, 
 in their order, were: Jacob M. Early, of Pe- 
 tersburg; Ethan II. Norton, also of Petersburg, 
 and Alonzo J. Gillespie, of Bloomington, Illi- 
 nois; second lieutenants. E. If. Norton and A. 
 J. Gillespie. Of this company, John L. Kin- 
 man, of Petersburg, was killed in action, at 
 Shiloh, April 6, 1862. None of this company 
 deserted and the following were discharged on 
 account of disability: John Murphy, .lames 
 YVilliite. Joseph Todd and Edwin Worth. All 
 of these statements are from the adjutant gen- 
 eral's report, and are therefore absolutely cor- 
 rect. One company — Company A — of the 
 Fourteenth and Fifteenth Brigade, or properly 
 Batallion, was also composed of Menard coun- 
 ty men. but in the eighty men of Company E, 
 of the Fourteenth, and the twenty-four of Com- 
 pany A. of the Battalion, no man is counted 
 i« ice. The historj of the Battalion is sketched 
 in that of the Fourteenth, hence it is unnec- 
 essary to repeat it hen . These men all saw 
 hard service and were true and tried soldiers. 
 This brings us to the histon of the Twenty- 
 ■ s;hth Infantry. This regimeni was organized 
 by Lieutenanl Colonel Louis II. Waters, at 
 Camp Butler, in August, 1861. On the lasi 
 
 day of January, 1862, it was taken to Paducah, 
 Kentucky, and was there assigned to Brigadier 
 General Lew Wallace's Division, in Colonel M. 
 L. Smith's Brigade. On April 6, 1862, the] 
 were in the battle of Pittsburg Landing. Be- 
 fore eighi o'clock in the morning they were 
 led into that part of the battlefield known as 
 the "Peach Orchard."" and the enemy, with 
 the design of turning the Union Hank, poured 
 a mosl galling lire upon thai part of the field. 
 Stubborn!} and doggedly these Ellinoisans held 
 their position, from eight o'clock in the morn- 
 ing Till after three in the afternoon, nor did 
 they then retire till order- came directly Iron 
 Brigadier General S. A. Hurlbut to do so. 
 On Monday, the 7th, they were hotly engaged 
 all day. till victory closed the engagement late 
 in the evening. In all this long and hotly 
 contested battle of two days, this regiment 
 never wavered, nor were its line:- ever broken 
 or driven back. During these two days the 
 regimenf lost two hundred ami thirty nine men. 
 in killed and wounded. In the -ante year, in 
 May, they were actively engaged in the siege 
 of Corinth, and from there marched to Mem- 
 phis. In the early part of October the regi- 
 ment was in the battle of Hatchie river, or 
 Matemora, where it lost ninety-seven men in 
 killed and wounded and missing. They were 
 in the siege id' Vieksburg, from the 11th of June 
 till the surrender, on the tth of July. During 
 the siege a detachmeni of aboui eight hundred 
 men from the Forty-first, Fifty-third and 
 Twenty-eighth Illinois and the Third Iowa In- 
 fantry was ordered to charge across an open 
 field, six hundred yards wide, and earn a line 
 of the enemy's works, from which twelve dark- 
 mouthed cannon frowned, and behind which 
 lav two thousand men eager for the fray. The 
 bugle sounded the advance: not a man fal- 
 tered, not a cheek blanched, lmt on. right on 
 "into the jaw- of death rode"' the eight hun- 
 dred. A- the} came the} were met by a piti- 
 less storm of rifle and minie-balls, while the 
 twelve cannon belched a constant storm of lire. 
 lead and iron, and when they reached the 
 works their whole line was swept from ever} 
 side, so thai to persisl v as annihilation. They 
 retreated to their line, leaving mon than half 
 their number dead, or wounded, on the. field.
 
 PAST AM" PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 125 
 
 Of the 1 1 in- hundred and twent} - -eigh! men of years ago. His famih still lives here: Ed, 
 
 the Twenty-eighth thai were in the charge, Golden, of the firm of Watkins & Golden, - 
 
 seventy-three were killed or wounded and six- his son. Of these twelve men from Menard 
 
 tern were taken prisoners; eighty-nine lelfl count: not one was killed or wounded and 
 
 behind, to thirty-nine who returned. In L864 none deserted. The nex! regiment containing 
 
 this regiment re-enlisted, as veterans, and after- men from this county was the Fifty-first llli- 
 
 ward was in the engagements at Spanish Fort nois Infantry. As hut few of our nun were 
 
 and Mobile. During the war this regiment had in this regiment, we give Inn a very brief 
 
 nine officers killed, nineteen wounded and two accounl of it. This regiment was organized 
 
 died of disease: privates, killed, fifty-two; d ed at Camp Douglas, Chicago, Ulinois, b\ Colonel 
 
 of wounds, thirty-four; wounded, two hundred Gilbert \\. dimming, on the 24th of Deccm- 
 
 and sixty-five; missing, seventeen; killed by ber, 1861. It- first service was at Island N"o. 
 
 accident, five; died of disease, one hundred and 1". where, on the 8th of April, 1862, it forced 
 
 thirty-nine.. Of tins regiment, F, K and C the surrender of General Macall, with four 
 
 were all, or in part, from Menard county, thousand men. Afterward it was in the battle 
 
 (' pan: F contained, in all, one hundred and of Farmington, and the siege of Corinth. At 
 
 seven men from this county. The officers were : Mis-inn Ridge, this regiment lost one-fifth <d' 
 Captains, William .1. Estill and Thomas Swear- its men thai went into action. Tins rigimei I 
 engin, both of Petersburg; first lieutenants, took part in the battles of Ivenesaw Mountain. 
 Isaac B. Estill, Thomas Swearengin and John Atlanta. Franklin, Tennessee, and other less 
 II. Ewing, all of Petersburg; second lieuten- important engagements. It was mustered out 
 ants, Thomas Swearengin and John 1!. Ewing. September 25, 1865. In company F, of this 
 There were three of this company who deserted, regiment, there were eleven men from Menard 
 There were thirty-nine men from Menard county. Of these none were officers and mine 
 county, in Company K. The officers of Cum- were killed or wounded, but two of the eleven 
 pan\ K were: Captains, William R. Roberts deserted. The Seventy-first Regiment was en- 
 and Albert J. Moses, from elsewhere: first lieu- listed for three months' service only. Com- 
 tenants, John Brewsaugh, Fred Gerternieht, pany <l. of tins regiment, was partialh raised 
 A.lber! J Moses, John B. S"ewton and Dennis in this county, thirty-seven of the men being 
 Pride, the last two from Menard: second lieu- from lure. Of the officers, only one was from 
 tenant-. John B. Newton, from Menard, and here and that was first Lieutenant James C. 
 A. .1. Moms. Company C, of the Twenty- Tice, of Petersburg. Of these none were killed 
 ■ ■ uiirh. had forty-six Menard county men in it. or wounded and only one died of disease— this 
 None of the commissioned officers of this com- was William EL Graham, from the eastern pari 
 |ian\ were from Menard. One man of this of the county. We com,' now to the Seventy- 
 company, from Menard, was killed in action; third Infantry, and we can not, more briefly 
 this was Deerwester. or pointedly give an outline of the work of 
 
 We c e now to the Thirty-eighth regimen! this regiment than by quoting the report of 
 
 of Illinois Infantry Volunteers. The history Lieutenant Colonel James 1. Davidson, as made 
 
 of this regimen! is one of constant hard work to Adjutant General FTayne. This report was 
 
 and hlooiK fighting. Only one company of dated at Springfield, Illinois. March 19, 1867. 
 
 tin- regimen! had representatives from Menard "Having no record of the regimen! with me a 
 
 county, and that was Company G, ami there histon would be impossible. The regimen! 
 
 were onlj twelve of them. Abram Golden was was organized at Camp Butler, state of llli- 
 
 a member of that company and worked up from nois, in August, 1862, and immediately be 
 
 the ranks to the position of lieutenant, and ci part of General Buell's army: fought 
 
 then was chosen captain, lie lived a number nobly at Perryville, finished under General 
 
 of years in Petersburg, engaged in the grocery Thomas at Nashville. The Seventy-third Illi- 
 
 business. lie was a quiet, unassuming man. nois Volunteer Infantry was in even battli 
 
 with a hos! of friend-, lie died here several foughl b\ the \ I'm i \ of the Cumherlam
 
 126 
 
 PAST AND PKESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 October, 1862, until the rout of General 
 Eood's ; 1 1 • 1 1 1 \ at Nashville, and the winding up 
 of the whole matter. The only report that I 
 can make, General, is thai our dead are found 
 at Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chiekamauga, 
 Mission Ridge, away in Easi Tennessee, and 
 then in the succession of battles from Chatta- 
 nooga to the fall of Atlanta. And when Sher- 
 man pushed down south, the Seventy-third re- 
 mained with General Thomas. It formed a 
 part of Opedyke's Brigade, ai Franklin, which 
 saved the day and gave him his star, and losl 
 it- last man killed in driving Hood's army 
 
 from Nashville. It has. more than once, 1 n 
 
 complimented by its general. It lost heavily 
 in Murfreesboro, Chiekamauga, Mission Ridg< 
 and Franklin. It had two majors and two 
 adjutants killed, and nearly even' officer of 
 the regiment wounded, at some time, several of 
 them several times, but as to the number 
 of killed and wounded. I know not. We left 
 the state one of the largest and returned one 
 of the smallest regiments. Eer officers and 
 men. especially her men. have never been sur- 
 passed for bravery, endurance, and devotion 
 to the country. I believe that nearly two- 
 thirds of the organization wasted away, either 
 by disease, death or battle during the three 
 years' service." Such is the simple, unosten- 
 tatious record of this devoted regiment. In 
 Company F. of this regiment, were thirty of 
 the citizens of Menard county. Of the officers 
 of tlii- company none were from this county, 
 except the first captain, George Montgomery, 
 and he served only till the 19th of December, 
 1862, when he resigned and left the command. 
 Of these three were killed in action, eight died 
 nf disease; four were severely wounded, and 
 from tin- we see that, nf this little hand that 
 went out from here, to fight the battles of 
 their country, more than one-third of the num- 
 ber "'ere left to sleep amid the flowers of the 
 southland, undisturbed by the mar of battle 
 or the clash of arms, while half the number 
 were among the dead ami wounded, when the 
 final account of the regiment was made up. 
 Their comrades in arm- "carved not a line 
 and raised not a stone, lull left them alone in 
 their glorv." From the Seventy-third to tin 1 
 Eightv-fifth, there are to be found no repre- 
 
 sentatives from "Little Menard," save now and 
 then the single name of some one who enlisted 
 among strangers. The writer spent days and 
 week- in the search for such names. m order 
 that the record might !»■ correct, a labor for 
 which he may not even lie thanked. But com- 
 pany F, of the Eighty-fifth Regiment, was 
 largely made up from here, it having no less 
 than seventy-five names on its roll of men from 
 this county. This regiment was organized by 
 Colonel Roberi S. Moore, at Peoria, on the 
 28th dav of August. 1-862. The corps to 
 
 which it was assigned was coi anded by Mc- 
 
 Cook, ami the division by General Phil Sheri- 
 dan, lis first actual experience of war was Oil 
 October 1. 1862, when it took part in the battle 
 of Champion Hill, at Perryville. Kentucky. 
 After long and hard service it was mustered 
 out June 5, 1865, at Washington, I>. C. Com- 
 pany E, of the Kighty-iifth regiment, was 
 largely made up of men from this county; its 
 company officers were all from Petersburg. Of 
 the seventy-five men in this company from this 
 county, just one-third were dead or wounded 
 before the time of service expired. Xo less 
 than ten of this company deserted. Plea-ant 
 S. Scott, who was at first captain of this com- 
 panv was promoted to the position of major. 
 served out his time and returned to Petersburg, 
 where he spent the remainder of his life, dying 
 in 1903 or 1904. We come now to the One 
 Hundred and Sixth regiment, which was or- 
 ganized on the loth of August, 1862, in Lin- 
 coln. Logan county. Illinois, by Colonel Kobert 
 B. Latham. It wa- mustered into service on 
 the 18th of 'September, of the same year. 
 While tin- regimen! was very useful and did 
 a great deal of very important service, yet it 
 -aw Imt little, if any. of the real tragedy of 
 war. Its service \\a- almost entirely confined 
 to the west, it being west of the Mississippi 
 river nearly all the time it served. The only 
 regimental officer fr this county was Lieu- 
 tenant Colonel John M. Hurt, of Athens, who 
 died at Pine Bluff. Arkansas, on the 18th of 
 November, 1864. Company K. of this regi- 
 ment, was made up in this county and con- 
 sisted of one hundred and two men. The tirst 
 captain of this company was Alonzo E. Cur- 
 rier, of Athens. He resigned .Line 15, 1863,
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS L21 
 
 and was succeeded by George Collier, of Peters- May, L863, the) were engaged m the battle of 
 burg. But onl\ eleven days after Ins appoint- Jackson, Mississippi; reached the rear of Vicks- 
 men1 Captain Collier died of disease and was burg the L8th and engaged in the siege. On 
 succeeded by Lieutenant John A. Hurt, of the lib of August, Colonel dames \Y. Judy 
 Alliens. On the 28th of .March, L865, Captain resigned, just one month alter the surrender 
 Hurl was honorably discharged, to be promoted of Vicksburg and eighteen days before he had 
 major. Lieutenant Samuel II. Blane then be- served a year. He was succeeded by Lieuten- 
 carne captain and served to the close of the ant Colonel John F. King. Samuel X. Shoup 
 war. Captain Blane entered the profession acted as colonel after May 11, 18G5. The regi - 
 of the law after be returned from the war. menl was in the engagements a1 Wyatt, Mis- 
 settled in Petersburg and enjoyed a fine prac- sissippi, Guntown, Tupelo and Harrisonvillr. 
 tice during his life. He died in L904, respected li also marched after General Price from the 
 by all. His family still reside in that place. Arkansas border to Kansas City and hack to 
 Through it singular providence, or fatality, as St. Louis. On the 3d of August, 1865, they 
 some of the members of this regiment put it, were mustered out. Company (' of this regi- 
 the\ were never permitted to slmw their prow- menl. though not credited to this county, had 
 ess on the ensanguined field, but we have no thiru men from Menard in its rank and file, 
 doubt that the motives prompting them to en- Out of the thirty four were killed in battle; 
 list were just as pure ami just as patriotic as two died of wounds ; three were severely wound- 
 those of any other command in the service, ed, two of whom died: two died in prison; 
 And we have qo doubt that if the opportunity six deserted, and thirteen died of disease. 
 hail been given them that they would have won Company F mustered fifty-sis men from Me- 
 as many laurels as any who Eought under the mini county. Captain Absalom Miller, of Me- 
 stars and stripes. As said before it was no mud: First Lieutenant Willett I'.. Taylor, of 
 fault of theii> thai they did not fight, for both Cass; ami Second Lienlenani Joseph T. Work- 
 officers and men enlisted fur the purpose of man. of Menard, were the company officers, 
 fighting. Of the regiments named there is not Two of this compan} were killed in action; 
 one of which an [llinoisan need he ashamed, three were severely wounded, two of whom 
 
 hilt there were siime that had better oppor- died: two died ill prison; twelve died of dis- 
 
 tunities to write deeds "I daring, in crimson ease: and two deserted. Company K. oJ the 
 
 letters, than others. Among the Illinois regi- One Hundred ami Fourteenth was also raised 
 
 nioni> which will live in the memory of men in this county, ninety-two of her eilizeiis be- 
 
 u e may name the gallant One Hundred and ing enrolled in it. The company officers were. 
 
 Fourteenth. This regiment was made up of nil but one, from this county. They were: 
 
 si\ companies from Sangamon county, B, C, Captains, Samuel Estill and Robert Hornback; 
 
 E, G, II ami I: two from Cass, A ami 1 > : firsl lieutenants, Lucian Terhune and Ezra 
 
 and two from Menard. L ami K . The regi- Fish; second lieutenant, Henry C. Rogge. Of 
 
 mm ni was made up in the months of .Inly and the men. Josejjh Denton was killed in action; 
 
 August, 1862, ami was mustered into service .lames Morris and John M. Hart died of 
 
 mi the 18th of September following. II was wounds; .lessc Knoles lost a leg at the knee, 
 
 at once sent to Memphis. Tennessee, where it hut recovered; four were taken prisoners — Wil- 
 
 did picket duty until the 26th of November, Nam .1. Allen. Henn Beekman, Evan McLean 
 
 when it started on the Tallahatchie campaign, and Samuel S. Knoles. Not long before this 
 
 a- a part of the First Brigade of Brigadier Gen- s. S. Knoles was lot square over the heart by 
 
 era] Lanman's Division. During the winter a minie-ball, but a bunch of letters from his 
 
 it marched to College Hill and thence to .lack- affianced bride, whom he afterward married, 
 
 son and then hack in Memphis. On March saved his life (Sec account in the sketch of 
 
 17, 1st;:!, it was transported down the river his life in another place.) Eight of the pri- 
 
 to Young's Point, ami afterward went into vales died of disease: David F. Estill, Loirs 
 
 camp at Duckport, Louisiana, (in tin 1 lih of P. Moore. William .1. Denton, George W. Pow-
 
 128 
 
 PAST AMI PKF.SKNT <>!•' MEXAPD COUNTY 
 
 ell, Isaac 1-'. Estill, William Johnson, Earnion 
 Meyer, Joseph Oswold, Isaac Snodgrass, Rhodes 
 Snodgrass, John VV. Trumbo, Walter Taylor, 
 Arthur Thomas and John Yelkin. Eight of 
 the privates, full of chivalry and patriotism, 
 took French leave and deserted. Menard had 
 one hundred and seventy-eighl men in this 
 regiment of brave men. Many of them sleep 
 on the hillsides of the smith: and many more 
 have passed, since the war, to the other - 
 while the remainder are enjoying the liberties 
 that they fought so bravely for, having been 
 i ngaged so long in i he art- of peace as to 
 have almosl forgotten those dark experiences 
 in the field. The < me 1 1 undred and Pi fteenl li 
 Illinois Infantry will now claim a brief notice, 
 a- a number of men from Menard served in it. 
 If there were none from this county in the 
 regimenl we would be tempted to speak of it. 
 as no record of Illinois soldiers is complete 
 that does ii"i tell something of the daring deeds 
 of tins faithful body of men. This regiment 
 was ordered into the Held from Camp Butler, 
 Illinois, en October 4. 1862, having been mus- 
 tered in the 13th of September the same year. 
 Its first active service in the Held was when 
 it was ordered to Franklin. Tennessee, in March, 
 1863, but the mortality in the regiment from 
 exposure, hard marching and bad diet had 
 been fearful. Up to the date just given over 
 two hundred had died or been permanently dis- 
 abled — they died by scores After driving 
 General Bragg's army across the Tennessee 
 river on the 24th of June, 1863, they had a 
 respite from battle till the 19th of September. 
 On thai day they engaged in the bloody con- 
 did of Chickamauga and that and the follow- 
 in- day were days never to be forgotten. On 
 the 20th more than half of the brigade, to 
 which this regiment was attached, were cut 
 down en the field but they held their ground 
 without wavering. This regiment took part 
 in the battles of Chattanooga, Mission Ridge 
 and innumerable skirmishes. In the campaign 
 around Chattanooga the regimenl lost two hun- 
 dred and thirty-five men and ten officers. Aft- 
 er this it fought at Dalton. Reseca, Atlanta 
 and other points and was finally in the pur- 
 suit of Bood from NTashville. On the 11th of 
 June, 1S65. it was mustered out of service 
 
 and reached Camp Butler, Illinois, on the 23d 
 of June, in that year. The officers of com- 
 pany K weiv as follows: Captains, James 
 Steele and Alonzo Pierce, ooth of Menard, and 
 Philip Riley, of Springfield : first lieutenants, 
 Sylvester M. Bailey, of Salisbury, Philip Riley 
 and Samuel Alexander, of .Menard: second lieu- 
 tenant. Philip Riley. Of this company two 
 were killed in action, three died in prison, six 
 died of disease and sis deserted. 
 
 Tin One Hundred and Thirty-third Illinois 
 Volunteer Infantry was mustered into the one 
 hundred days' service on the 31st of May. 1864 
 It guarded prisoners during its t me of service. 
 Company I of this regiment had twenty-three 
 Menard county nun in its ranks. Ethan A. 
 Norton, of Petersburg, was first lieutenant in 
 tin- company; the remainder of the twenty- 
 three were in the ranks. As they were never 
 in an engagement, none of them were killed. 
 of course, and nunc died from sickness, but 
 all returned home when discharged from the 
 service. 
 
 The < tne Hundred and Fifty-second Illino's 
 Infantry was mustered in for one year's service, 
 on the 18th of February, 1S65. They were 
 ordered to Tullahoma, Tennessee, and went by 
 way of Nashville, and reported to Major Gen- 
 era] Miroy ("V dnt\ February 28, 1865. They 
 were discharged at Memphis. Tennessee, on the 
 11th of September, 1865. Company A, of this 
 regiment, was raised partly in Menard county. 
 Two men from this county were chosen to office 
 in the company: Merritt Hurst, first lieuten- 
 ant; and James W Barger, second lieutenant. 
 
 None were killed, wounded or taken pris r, 
 
 the only reduction being from disease and de- 
 sertion. Four died of disease and three de- 
 serted. 
 
 This closes the record of the part taken in 
 the infantry service by men from this coun- 
 ty, but the cavalry had several representatives 
 from the county, a record of which we will 
 new give as briefly as we can. The Tenth 
 Cavalry Regiment was the only one which had 
 any considerable number of men from here 
 on its muster roll. The Tenth Cavalry was 
 organized at Camp Butler on the 25th of 
 November, 1861, and on the 15th of the fol- 
 lowing May Dudley Wickersham was appointed
 
 L>AST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 129 
 
 its colonel, i hi the 20th of December, 1861, a veteran and served till the close of the war. 
 
 ii was ordered to Quincy, Illinois, and on the He served most of the time, while in action, 
 
 [3th of the following March it was sen! to as Mo. 1 or No. 2; thai is, he either placed 
 
 Benton Barracks, Missouri. From this time the cartridge in the mouth of the gun, or 
 
 on till ir was mustered out, tins regimenl saw rammed u home. Alhertson was in a cumber 
 
 h arc l service. Ii was made up of a fine loi of battles, his batter) being charged more than 
 
 of men, who were read) and anxious for the once, and main of the men cuf down at the 
 
 fray, it was finally mustered oul of the serv- guns. Mr. Albertson lived here man) years 
 
 ice at San Antonio, Texas, on the 22d of No- after tin close of the war an honored citizen, 
 
 vember, 1865, and was ordered to Springfield, It is believed that he wenl wesl and is, perhaps, 
 
 Illinois, for pa\ and final discharge. None of dead. 
 
 the reo-imental officers were from this county. It is impossible to give a reliable list of the 
 
 Two companies of this command were made men who belonged to this county and enlisted 
 
 up. at Nasi partially, in this county; these in commands that were credited to other places, 
 
 were companies A and E. 'Flier.' wire, in all. We made a thorough search, spending many 
 
 thirty-four Menard count) men in Compan) days in the efforl to gel every name, bul we 
 
 A, two of whom were officer — Captain Chris- fear thai the list is imperfect. Charles E. 
 
 topher II. Anderson, of Sweetwater, and Sec- McDougal was captain of company E in the 
 
 I Lieutenanl Samuel F. Russell, of Athens. Sixty-firs! Infantry. He enlisted in Greene 
 
 \mie of Compan) A were killed in battle, county. James C. Tice, of this county, was 
 though Samuel Montgomery died of wounds firsi lieutenant in Company (I. of the Seventy- 
 received in action. Seven died of disease, iirst Infantry. Below we give a tabular view 
 
 Companv E mustered >i\t\~e\ m from of the enlistments, officers, deaths from vari- 
 
 Menard county, one of them being an officer; ous causes, the wounded, deserters, etc., from 
 
 this was Samuel Garber, of Petersburg, he this county. Had we the space we would be 
 
 being a First lieutenant. X if these were bu1 too glad to give the deaths, dale, place, 
 
 killed hi action, though Simon I'. Sampson cause, etc., of every soldier from Menard 
 
 died of wounds received in fight, and only county. 
 
 four died of disease. From some strange cause, s , MMun u| . „ u , BKC0RD ,,,, M1 . ;NU;|1 , ,,, Nn . 
 which will never he known, the proportion of 
 
 deserters was excessively large, there being no _ ., ^ 
 
 less than ten out of tin sixty-seven who did not _T _ -5 ^ '— £ 
 
 "Fight and run away. _[ = = IT - 
 
 To live to liuli! another day," ?, td ^ Pn fl P 
 
 Bul they ran away before they had foughl a 1 Itk Reg., Co. E... 80 1 
 
 single battle. L4th & Loth, Co. A . 2 I 
 
 'Fins brings us to the artillery, and onl) 28th Reg., Co. F.. . .10', 9 3 .. 9 3 
 
 three nun from Menard county were in this 28th Reg., Co. K... 39 1 1 ', I .. 
 
 departmenl of the service, so far as we can 28th Reg., Co. C... 46 1 .. .. 2 1 
 
 Fain, and as the adjutant general's reporf 28th Reg., Co. D... 24 
 
 shows James Ward, of Athens, Menard coun- 38th Reg., Co. G.. . . 1'.' 2 
 
 ty, was mustered in as an unassigned recruit, olsl Reg., Co. I'. . . . 11 1 2 
 
 into the First Artillery, on the 20th of March, 71s\ Reg., Co. G B"t 1 
 
 L864. Edward F. Bingley, of Petersburg, en- 73d Reg., Co. F 30 :'> .. 1 s .. 
 
 listed, as a recruit, in Battery B, of (he Sec- 106th lee.. Co. K..102 
 
 ond Artillery, on the 8th of March. L864, 85th Reg., Co E.... 75 3 
 
 ami was mustered out on the 15th of July, lllili Reg.. Co. C... 30 I 
 
 L865. Allen Albertson. of Petersburg, enlist- L14th Reg., Co. F.. . 56 2 
 
 ed in Battery K. of the Second Artillery, on L14th Reg., Co. K.. 92 1 
 
 the 22d of Januarv, 1862. He re-enlisted as 115th Reg., Co. K . . 13 
 
 
 
 •,'n 
 
 
 6 
 
 ii 
 
 in 
 
 in 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 :: 
 
 ] 
 
 12 
 
 •) 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 1 ! 
 
 s 
 
 
 •"> 
 
 6 
 
 5
 
 L30 past am» pkesent of menaed county 
 
 ,- The total of the deaths of officers and nun. 
 
 _ y ; — from all causes, one hundred and eighty-four. 
 
 2 — -f = o S. A great many have died since their return 
 
 J ;£ g .i 7. home so that veterans of the Civil war are 
 
 x jC -^ — — — rapidly passing away and it will not be long 
 
 -,.,.,-, i, ,1 05 till tin- children will look with wonder and 
 
 1 ■>■>! 1 Jtteg., \jQ. i... . . io 
 
 |V)| I |> rii q q y y_g ( .. awe upon the feeble veteran thai still lingers, 
 
 ,q.j q q y 39 1 T waiting foi taps to sound his discharge from 
 
 loth Cav., Co. K.... 66 1 . . .. 4 10 
 
 :arthlv service. The record of the names of 
 
 ■) 
 
 7<l 
 
 Vrtil Bat l\ 1 a " "'"' servea " m ^ K ' t' 11 "' "' , '"' nation's peril 
 
 ., 1 , r ji i> . p 1 should be preserved, that the coming genera- 
 
 , , . j| 1. t i- , tions may know who n was, at their country's 
 
 call, went forth to preserve the liberties of 
 the land. The report of the adjutant general 
 Total privates... 980 29 K 38 111 50 is out of prin t and is very hard to get, and 
 
 Total officers 31 2 5 .. 3 
 
 it will soon be gone, and then the names of 
 
 Other privates 7:S 3 .. .. 9 .. many wor thy soldiers will be forgotten forever. 
 
 — — — — — — We only regret that we did not have the space 
 
 Total 1,081 34 ■-'•i 38 129 50 to record everv name.
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL 
 
 LEE KIXCATD. Red with coal mining interests and is president 
 
 . ,, iii of 1 1 1 c ■ Athens Mining Company. In 1892 he 
 
 Among the mosl progressive, capable and • ' 
 
 assumed charge of its business as general man- 
 
 mceessful citizens of Menard county is I 
 I\ i iu;i ill. who is engaged in the banking busi 
 
 ager, secretary and treasurer and continued to 
 
 1,1 -,' i i ji i serve m these capacities imnl Ikiiii. when he 
 
 ness in Athens and also has other investments ' 
 
 i , i .I- •,, ,|-, ,i , ■ was circled in the presidency, lie is likewise 
 
 which ne is controlling with an alnhi\ thai is . . 
 
 i- , i ,| -, ., , ,,' , ,- interested in mining in Mexico, being the presi- 
 
 indicated m the prosperity thai attends Ins ° » ' 
 
 ... i, i ; , ■ , i ,i dent of the Horseshoe Exploration & Mining 
 
 errorts. lie is also intimately associated with } 
 
 ,i -ii I-.- i i-i- r m i Company, which is capitalized fur one million 
 
 the social and political hie ol Menard count] ' ' 
 
 dollars. He has extensive realty possessions 
 
 and the history of this portion of Hie stall 
 would be incomplete withotil the record of hit 
 career. 
 
 Mr. Kiinaid was bom near Athens on the ;tl 
 
 and he manages his line farm of several hun- 
 dred acres lying ahoiit two miles north of 
 Athens, lie also owns the home farm on which 
 
 i ,- i iotn i ■ c mi !•■ his "rand father. Andrew Knicanl. settled in 
 
 mI February, 1859, and is a son ol I nomas kni- 
 
 1834, and he has four hundred acres of land in 
 
 Menard county, one hundred and thirty acres 
 in Richland county, Illinois, and six hundred 
 
 caid, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this 
 volume. In taking up the personal history of 
 
 Lee Kim-aid we present to our readers the life 
 
 • ,. i i mi and fort\ acres in Texas, lie is Ihc president 
 
 record ol one whose place in Menard county is f 
 
 ■ i i i , i i- of the Farmers Grain Dealers Association ol 
 
 acknowledged to be among Ms foremost citizens. 
 
 ii- ii,- i - ,i 1 1: Illinois, which is growing very rapidly, and 
 
 His early education was acquired m the public ' 
 
 schools and al the age of fifteen years he en- 
 
 I'riiiu iss'.i until 189-1 he was a member of the 
 ir f Kiiicaid & Scott, dealers m drugs and 
 
 icred the university at Champaign, where h 
 
 ■ , i ( ' i- , ii ,i jewelry, while from 1889 until 1892 he was 
 
 remained a -indent tor two years, lie then re- ■' 
 
 i . ,i i c ii i financially interested in a general mercantile 
 
 turned to the home farm, where he continued - 
 
 .•i , ■ , , ,. iii enterprise under I he firm nan f T. B. Turner 
 
 until twenty-eigni years ol age, when be became ' 
 
 ,• ' -, ' n- - , ' , ., , |- & t' pany. A h In miih controlling extensive 
 
 the owner ol a hall interest in the banking ' 
 
 i ,- a ,, n ,-■ -i \- , i pi ' and iniporian! business interests. Mr. Kincaid 
 
 business ol Scott & Kmcaul. \oi long alter- ' 
 
 ward he became sole proprietor of the Athens 
 Bank, which he has since conducted, making his 
 
 has yet found time to devote to the public wel- 
 fare and is interested in everything pertaining 
 
 a most reliable institution m which he has a '" municipal progress and the substantia] up- 
 large and growing banking business. building of his county. Three tunc- his fellow 
 Mr. Kincaid is a man of resourceful ability townsmen have chosen him to the office of 
 
 and has extended bis efforts int any other mayor of Athens, which position he has capably 
 
 lines of activity. He is now prominently identi- Idled with credit and honor to himself and sat
 
 i:;i 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENABD COUNTY 
 
 isfaction to his constituents, tie has also been 
 elected presidenl of the board of education for 
 four terms and for three terms additional lie 
 seined as one of its members. Aside from this 
 he has been equally loyal to the welfare of his 
 communis, putting forth strong and effective 
 effort in behalf of the general g 1. 
 
 On the 20th of February, L883, Mr. Kincaid 
 was united in marriage to Miss Sue 1!. Culver, 
 and unto them were born five children, three 
 sons and two daughters, namely: Elizabeth L., 
 Arthur T., Alice, Horner and Herbert, the last 
 two being twins. In social circles the family 
 occupy an enviable and prominent position and 
 their own pleasant home is justly noted for its 
 gracious hospitality and good cheer. 
 
 Mr. Kincaid is well known in fraternal cir- 
 cles, being a thirty-second degree Mason and a 
 past eminent commander of St. Aldemar eom- 
 mandery, No. 47, K. T. He was chosen to the 
 office when he had been identified with the com- 
 mandery for less than two years. He is also a 
 member of Mahommed Temple of the Mystic 
 Shrine at Peoria and is an honored and val- 
 ued representative of the Independent Order of 
 Odd Fellows and past chancellor of Social 
 lodge, No. 424, K. P. Politically he is an en- 
 thusiastic Eepublican, being a firm believer in 
 the principles of the party, for he thinks that 
 
 its platform contains the best elements of g 1 
 
 government. He is a student of the questions 
 and issues of the day and is a conscientious 
 worker in behalf of his party, while his at- 
 tractive personality and power of argumenl 
 have made him one of the most capable sup- 
 porters <>!' Republicanism in his county. His 
 opinions carry weight in the councils of his 
 party and in 1902 he was one of the leaders of 
 the faction that successfully favored the selec- 
 tion of Hopkins for United States senator. Mr. 
 Kincaid was by his many friends chosen chair- 
 man of that mi' rahle Menard county con- 
 vention. In 1899 he was appointed by Gov- 
 ernor Yates a member of the state mining 
 hoard, a position which he creditably fills. He 
 is a man of firm integrity, just in his relations 
 with his fellow men. honorable in all business 
 Iran-actions and commands the respect of even 
 those who differ from him politically. So im- 
 portant a part has he taken in the work of 
 
 public progress along many lines in Menard 
 county that he may well he called without in- 
 vidious distinction one of the foremost citizens 
 of central Illinois. 
 
 II. I'. MOULTON, M. I>. 
 
 Dr. H. 1'. Moulton, of Petersburg, whose 
 practice is very extensive, showing that his skill 
 has won him the confidence of the public, was 
 born in Maquoketa, Iowa, on the 7th of Decem- 
 ber, 1873. He is a son of Thomas J. and 
 Lovina (Coleman) Moulton. the former a na- 
 tive of New York and the latter of Ontario. 
 His paternal grandfather. Thomas J. Moulton, 
 Sr., died when his son and namesake was only 
 two years of age and the grandmother after- 
 ward removed to Iowa in the "40s, locating in 
 Jackson county among its earlier frontier set- 
 tlers. There the father of the Doctor was 
 reared to the occupation of farming amid the 
 scenes and environments of pioneer life and 
 after attaining his majority be continued on the 
 old family homestead, where he carried on 
 genera] farming interests with success. Ai 
 length his labors brought to him a handsome 
 competence with which he retired from busi- 
 ness life in t898 and has since made his home 
 in Maquoketa, the county seat, in the enjoy- 
 ment of a well earned rest. He is recognized 
 as a man of superior judgment and high moral 
 character and is accorded a foremost position 
 among Jackson county's most public-spirited 
 and worthy citizens. He possessed strong na- 
 tive' talent and intellectual force, combined 
 with breadth of mental vision, and his influence 
 has been a potent factor for good in his com- 
 munity. 
 
 Dr. Moulton, the third in order of birth in a 
 family of six children, acquired his preliminary 
 education in the public schools of Jackson 
 county and afterward entered the University 
 of Iowa, as a student in the medical depart- 
 ment, where he spent two years. He next 
 matriculated in the Chicago Homeopathic 
 Medical College, from which institution he was 
 graduated with the class of 1899, and follow- 
 ing the completion of his course there he came 
 to Petersburg, where he located for practice
 
 DR. H. P. MOULTON.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY L37 
 
 opening an office on the wesl side of court- ing in the legislature and constitutional con- 
 
 .,■ square. Almosl Erom the beginning a vention of Missouri and was a candidate for 
 
 profitable patronage has beeri accorded him. for congress a1 the time of liis death, which oc- 
 
 he soon demonstrated bis ability to successfully curred March 2d, 1847, when be was forty-one 
 
 cope with the intricate problems which continu- years of age. Hi- mother was A.gnes C. 
 
 alh confront the physician in his diagnosis and Mitchell, born in Tennessee, May L3, L805. 
 
 treatment of disease. He has high regard for Eer Eather, Captain Thomas Mitchell, removed 
 
 il thus of the profession and has won the to Missouri in 1814, when it was a territory, 
 
 resped and good will of his professional and the family lived Cor three years, in Coles 
 brethren as well as of the general public. He Fort because of the hostility of the Indians, 
 makes a specialty of the- treatment of diseases || r r four brothers were the lirsl white men 
 of women and children, having devoted much to ferry across the Osage river. Daniel Boone 
 time to those studies while in college. He is was. for some linn', an inmate of that fort and 
 an up-to-date physician, keeping well posted ,|j r d m that vicinity. Mrs. Miller died in 1886, 
 on the latest discoveries known to the science a1 the age of eighty-one years. 
 h\ his perusal of the latest medical works and The subject of tin- sketch received his early 
 he has a fine library, lie is a member of the education in the subscription schools in north- 
 Central Illinois Homeopathic Medical Society. Wl , s( Missouri, being reared within four miles of 
 On the L8th of March, 1902, Dr. Moulton St. Joseph, Missouri. At the age of sixteen he 
 was united in marriage to Miss Mary Catherine entered Chapel Hill College, taking the full 
 Ereigh, daughter of E. M. and Helen (Pyatt) classical course bui lacked one year of com- 
 Kreigh, of Springfield, Illinois, ami theirs is pleting it. lie then began the study of medi- 
 
 one of the pleasant and hospitable I ics of c ine, but after eighteen months of hard study 
 
 Petersburg. Tin 1 Doctor has one brother and abandoned n and read law and was admitted 
 one sister, both of whom are graduates oi the t( , the bar, but never practiced bui very little. 
 Iowa University, and the Eormer, Mark Moul- \] r Miller united with the Cumberland Pres- 
 ton, is now practicing law in Storm Lake. Iowa, byterian church in L85S. In ixtil he was or- 
 Dr. Moulton was a member of the National dained a minister <>( that church and has 
 Guard at Maquoketa when they were called out preached constantly ever since. At one linn 1 
 during the Spanish -American war and lie ^ wag rtni j thai he said the ceremony lor one- 
 gained considerable hospital experience at Des third of the people married in Menard county. 
 Moines. Iowa, lie belongs to the Masonic fra- g e nas attended more funerals than an\ other 
 ternity, in which he has attained the Knighl m;|]| p errja ps in this pari of the slate lie 
 Templar degree, and is now a member ol St. taughl school sixteen years ami has been in 
 Aldemar comma iiderv. No. 17, ol Petersburg. ;1 || ( ., lU n( v superintendent id' schools in Menard 
 
 lie is also a member id' the Modem \\ Imen ,.,,imtv for twenty-three years, twenty-two years 
 
 camp and the Odd Fallows lodge, and m the conse cutivelv. Menard county, was the fifth 
 
 latter has filled all the chair- and is now past ,. lllmM IM ||„. H:lh . ,,, adopl a "( 'ourse of Study" 
 
 grand. His courteous, genial manner, a- well . lll( | this was written and published by Mr. 
 
 as his professional skill, has made him popular, Miller, lie organized the Cumberland Pres- 
 
 and he is justly classed with the representative byterian church in Petersburg and buill the 
 
 citizens of Petersburg. house of worship for them ami served as their 
 
 pastor for over six years. Hi' built the church 
 house at Lebanon and also the new Cumberland 
 
 Presbvterian church in Fancy Prairie. These 
 
 |,M)|!KKT DON l.KAYKY Mil. DIM;. . , ,. , , , , , R . 
 
 are three ol the he-t church edifices in the 
 
 Roberl D. Miller was born February 3, L838, county. Mr. Miller is now (1904) pastor of 
 
 in Pettis county, Missouri, near where the city the church in Fancy Prairie. 
 
 .if Sedalia now stands. IDs father. William A. Mr. Miller was married 1,1 Mi- Charlotte A. 
 
 Miller, was a politician of some notoriety, serv- Riche, December 24, 185(>, in Buchanan county.
 
 138 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OE MENARD COUNTY 
 
 Missouri. To them have been born seven 
 children, five of whom are still living: Sarah 
 M., wife of Ed. ('. Drake, now of Council 
 Bluffs, Iowa, was born December 6, L857, and 
 married November 27, 1883. Man A., born 
 August 15, 1863, is still ai home, teaching 
 school. Emma E. (Jube), born Januar} 25, 
 
 1867, was married to Harmon .1. Marbold, Ji 
 
 ■•I. 1891. in Ouray. Colorado. Gwrge Mitchell, 
 huh January 11, 1869, was killed by the ears 
 March 26. 1879. Leyria A., born February 2, 
 1873, was married to Dillon L. Ross, attorney 
 at law, October 3, 1894. They live in Council 
 Bluffs, Iowa. E. Pauline, born September 8, 
 181 I. was married to Professor Frank T. Chap- 
 man. December 26. 1899. He is instrumental 
 ami she vocal teacher of music in Pacific Uni- 
 ireiiv. Forest Grove, < Iregon. Robert I). F., 
 born March 12, 1879, died October 28, 1884. 
 There are fourteen grandchildren living and 
 one dead. 
 
 Mr. Miller has spenl his life trying, in an 
 humble way. to assisl the young in the line of 
 education, both intellectual and moral, lie 
 has been an ordained minister for over fort} 
 years and his salary has not averaged over 
 two hundred and fifty dollars a year. At sixty- 
 sis years of age. he is hale and hearty and can 
 do as much work as at an] pel iod of life. Mrs. 
 Miller is enjoying reasonably good health, and 
 they hope to live to celebrate their golden wed- 
 ding. 
 
 SAMUEL STONE KNOLES. 
 
 The ancestry of Mr. Knoles were English 
 people. He traces the history of the family 
 back to Richard Knolles of Northamptonshire 
 ami Norwich, England. He bad a son Henry 
 Knolles, who was the father of Edward 
 Knolles. The latter'- -on. Daniel Knoles. came 
 to America with Lord Delaware and settled 
 in Sussex county, Delaware. Daniel Knoles 
 had a son Edmund Knoles. and lie had a son 
 .Tame-, who was the father of Richard Knoles. 
 The last named was the father of dames Knoles, 
 and he the father of Prettyman Knoles. whose 
 -on A-a Knoles was the father of Samuel Stone 
 Knolr-. the subjeci of this sketch. 
 
 Asa Knoles was born in Gibson county, In- 
 diana, November 18, 1818, and was the son 
 of Prettyman and Patsy (Greer) Knoles. lie 
 wa- educated in tin- common schools of the 
 country. In 1846 ho removed from Indiana to 
 Illinois and settled in Menard county, where 
 he continued to reside up to the time of his 
 death, which occurred November 17. 1863. 
 Asa Knoles was a Democrat, his lirst vote being 
 casl for Andrew Jackson and his last for 
 Stephen A. Douglas. He wa- associated witli 
 no secret society ; his religious views were lib- 
 eral: and he lived ami died a member of the 
 Cumberland Presbyterian church. He was 
 joined in marriage to Dorcas Stone, of Gibson 
 county, Indiana, in June. 1838. She was the 
 daughter of Thomas Stone, a nephew of 
 Thomas Stone, who represented Maryland in 
 congress in L776 and signed the Declaration 
 of Independence. The children of Asa Knoles 
 were Samuel S., of San Diego, California: John 
 I... of San Bernardino, California; Jacob J.. 
 oi Bartlesville, Indian Territory; Martin A*., 
 of Linden, Oklahoma: Prettyman M., of Green- 
 view, Illinois: Thomas S.. of Los Angeles. 
 ( ialifornia : Eli A., of Green\ iew, [llinois 
 Sarah E., deceased; Louisa Stone, of Ontario. 
 California: and Jane ami Elizabeth, who died 
 in infancy. Dorcas Knoles died in August, 
 1857, and Asa Knoles subsequently married 
 Nancy Montgomery, a daughter of William 
 Montgomery, who was a prominent citizen of 
 
 Gibson c< ty. Indiana, ami a representative 
 
 in the legislature of that state. To this union 
 were horn four daughters: Martha Ellen, 
 Margaret Dona-. Anninda and Areinda. 
 
 Samuel Stone Knoles wa- born in Gibson 
 county, Indiana. March 20, 1840, and is the 
 son of A-a and Dorcas ( Stone I Knoles. His 
 father being a fanner and stock-raiser. Samuel 
 enjoyed no better advantages for an educa- 
 tion than the common country schools until 
 when a young man he wenl one year to Bethel 
 College at McLemoresville, Tennessee, taking a 
 course in Latin, German ami rhetoric. 11 is 
 experience, habits and tastes in youth were 
 those of the ordinary farm lad in Menard 
 county. He early developed a taste for the 
 law and politics. His lirst business after leav- 
 ing school was to teach school in order to en-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OP MENARD COUNTY 
 
 139 
 
 able 1 1 1 in to acquire a better education prepara- 
 tory to the study of his chosen profession. 
 
 In 1SG1, when the war cloud bung over the 
 country, he was reading law in the office of 
 General John A. McClernand and Judge X. M. 
 Broadwell in Springfield. Illinois. On August 
 
 I. 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company 
 K. One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois 
 Volunteer Infantry and was mustered out 
 August 10, 1S0.3. He was first duty sergeant 
 in his company. Besides main skirmishes he 
 was in the battle of Jackson, Mississippi, May 
 
 II. 1863, and at the siege of Vicksburg, and 
 was in the great charges against thai strong- 
 hold Max L9 and 22, L863. After the fall of 
 Vicksburg he was in the siege and battle of 
 Jackson from July 10 in July 16, L863. Pie 
 was in the expedition which left Memphis, 
 Tennessee, June l. 1864, under General Sturgis, 
 which was disastrously defeated at Briees 
 Crossroads, or Guntown, Mississippi, June 10. 
 1864. In this battle Mr. Knoles was severely 
 wounded, left on the field and beet a pris- 
 oner .if war. lb- was -hot through the upper 
 portion of tin 1 right lung ami seriously injured 
 li\ tin concussion of a minie-ball over i lie heart. 
 This deadly missile was prevented from pene- 
 trating the heart by a bundle of Letters from 
 }|i" Grace [sabelle Terhune, who afterward 
 became his wife and the mother of his chil- 
 dren. He was in prison nine months at Mo- 
 bile. Alabama, Andersonville, Georgia, and 
 Florence. South Carolina. lie was sent to the 
 Union line- at Wilmington, North Carolina. 
 March I. 1865. 
 
 Ai the close of the war Mr. Knoles resinned 
 the study of law under lion. T. W. McNeely, 
 of Petersburg, and was admitted to the liar in 
 1869. In November after his return from 
 the army he was elected assessor and treasurer 
 el' Menard county, defeating the late Captain 
 S. H. Blane by a small majority. In 1861 he 
 defeated In- cousin Jesse Knoles for the same 
 office by a majority of two hundred votes. In 
 L870 he was elected to the house of representa- 
 tives of Illinois from the district composed of 
 Cass and Menard counties, defeating Hon. 
 William T. Beekman by a majority of over 
 seven hundred votes, lie also served as states 
 
 attorney for Menard county and city attorney 
 for Petersburg. 
 
 Mr. Knoles was married to Miss Grace Isa- 
 I >elle Terhune, December 27, 1865. She was a 
 daughter of William Terhune of Menard coun- 
 ty. To this union three children were born, 
 namely: Carrie L. Hoyt, of Foster, Cali- 
 fornia: lv Erne K. Fouche. of Petersburg, 
 Illinois; and Fred T.. of San Francisco, Cali- 
 fornia. They are all married, and there are 
 eleven grandchildren. Mr-. Knoles died Ma] 
 •."I. is;-.', and her remains repose in Lose Hill 
 cemetery. In November, L872, Mr. Knoles re- 
 moved to Chanute, Kansas, when' he met and 
 married Miss Lois Barrett, a daughter of Wil- 
 liam I ). Barrett, of Wooster, < >hio, and a sister 
 of Dr. Joseph Barrett, who was a surgeon in 
 the Tueiit \-third Ohio Regiment during the 
 Civil war. the only regiment m the history of 
 the country that ever furnished two presidents 
 
 Hayes and McKinley. To this union were 
 horn two son- and one daughter: Asa 11. . of 
 San Diego, California; William D., of San 
 Francisco, California; and Mila M. Schulen- 
 burg, of San Francisco. Kadi of them now 
 ha- a son. 
 
 Mr. Knoles i- now- located at San Diego, 
 California, and is engaged in the practice of 
 law. He is also United Slates commissioner 
 for the southern district of California. He 
 was reared a Cumberland Presbyterian, hut is 
 broad and liberal in his religious views, hold- 
 ing that that which a person conscientiously 
 believes and practices is the true religion for 
 that person. lie belongs to the Masons. Hie 
 Eastern Star and the Grand Army of the Re- 
 public. I n polit ics he i- a I lemocrat. his lir-t 
 vote being cast for lion. T. W. McNeely for the 
 constitutional convention of 1870. His first 
 vote for president was a white bean for General 
 George B. McClellart in Andersonville prison. 
 
 (II MILKS II. LOCKHART. 
 Charles II. Lockhart, who is interested in 
 general fanning in township lit. was born 
 in Menard county, on the 12th of October. 
 1868, his parents being John II. ami Mary 
 (McDonald) Lockhart. The father was born
 
 I in 
 
 AST A\h PEESENT <>l 
 
 MENAED COUNTY 
 
 in Kentucky, October 26, 1821, and after ar- 
 riving at years of maturity was married in that 
 state tn Miss McDonald, whose birth had there 
 occurred in July, 1827. In 1851 they came 
 to Illinois and for sixteen years John II. Lock- 
 hart was engaged in farming in Menard county, 
 mi land which he purchased and improved. 
 Subsequently he removed to Scotland county. 
 Missouri, where in 1861 lie purchased one hun- 
 dred and fifty acres of timber land. There 
 he litiilt him a home and resided There until his 
 death, which occurred in 1894. A number of 
 years previous to that time he had been called 
 upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died 
 in November, 1880. They were both church 
 members the former identified with the Baptist 
 denomination and the latter with the Christian 
 church. In their family were eight children, 
 who are vet living: Mrs. Henrietta Knowles, 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Dunlap, Airs. Alary MeEey- 
 nolds, William, Mrs. Malinda Mitchell. Thomas 
 E., George I.', and Charles II. 
 
 'The last named was reared upon the old home 
 farm in Menard county and throughout his 
 entire life he has carried on agricultural pur- 
 suits. After attaining his majority he resided 
 in St. Joseph, Missouri, for a year, but later 
 returned to the old homestead farm in this 
 county. He lived with his wife's parents for 
 one year, during which time he engaged in 
 farming on the William Claypool place. Sub- 
 sequently he rented a part of the old home- 
 stead belonging to his father-in-law and has 
 been farming here continuously since. 
 
 On the loth of September, 1890, Mr. Lock- 
 hart was united in marriage to Aliss Emma J. 
 Tackelson, who was horn January 31. 1871, 
 and is a daughter of Tier and Emma (Jenson) 
 Tackelson, both of whom were natives of Nor- 
 way, the former burn January 20, 1820, and the 
 latter on the 13th of August, 1827. They 
 were married in Norway and in L853 they came 
 to the United States, settling in Springfield, 
 Illinois, where they remained for about a year. 
 
 The} then re ved to Indian Point, Menard 
 
 county, and in 1858 when Air. Tackelson had 
 saved a sufficient stun of money as the result of 
 bis work as a carpenter and bouse builder he 
 purchased eighty acres of land. Subsequently 
 he bought two additional tract- of eighth ai res 
 
 each, which he improved, transforming his land 
 into a productive and valuable farm and in 
 addition to this at the time of his death he 
 was also the owner of ten aires at Irish Grove 
 and one hundred and sixty acres in Nebraska. 
 He departed this life April 15, L904, and his 
 wife died March 10, 1897. They were the 
 
 parents of twelve children, of wl i four are 
 
 now living: Tack, born Augusl 13, 1851, in 
 Norway; Augusta, born May 12, 1854; John 
 II.. born February 26, 1869; and Emma J.. 
 born January ill , 181 1. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart has 
 been blessed with two children: Ralph, born 
 May 15, 1895; and Howard W., October 17, 
 1899. Interested in the cause of education Air. 
 Lockhart desires that bis children shall have 
 good opportunities in that direction. For the 
 past six years he has been a member of the 
 school board of his district and is still serving 
 in that capacity. He and his wife attended the 
 Presbyterian church, of which Mrs. Lockhart 
 is a member, and in his political \iew- Air. 
 Lockhart is a Republican. The greater part 
 of his life has been passed in Menard county 
 where he has a wide acquaintance ami enjoys 
 the favorable regard of many friends. 
 
 CAPTAIN SAMUEL HABEISON BLANE. 
 
 Captain S. II. Llano was a uative of Menard 
 county, horn January 17, 1840. His parents 
 were George and Mary (Alkire) Blane, who re- 
 sided upon a farm near Greenview. George 
 Blane, with bis three brothers, came from Ire- 
 land and located at what is known as Irish 
 Grove aboul the year 1830. Hit the old family 
 homestead in the vicinity of Greenview Samuel 
 II. Blane was reared to manhood and the dis- 
 trict schools provided him his early educa- 
 tional privileges, which were supplemented by 
 study in the North Sangamon Academy. He 
 wa- hut twenty-one years of age when the 
 country became involved in civil war. Tn the 
 meantime he had taken up the study of law. 
 but on August 15, 1862, he enlisted as a pri- 
 vate in Company A. One Hundred and Sixth 
 Illinois Volunteer Infantry: on June 26, 1863, 
 he was promoted to second lieutenant of Com- 
 oanv K : on March 30, 1864, he was again pro-
 
 S**73?2*vSS^^
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY L43 
 
 moted i" Rrsl lieutenant; on Ma) L9, L865, he Estill Post, G. A. K., of Petersburg, and in 
 
 was promoted to captain of said company, and line of hi> profession was connected with the 
 
 he was mustered out July 1".'. L865. Bar Association of Menard county. When 
 
 When his military service was ended Captain twenty years of age he became a member of the 
 
 Blane resin I his interrupted stud) of law, Christian church and continued his active and 
 
 which he pursued as opportunity afforded until helpful identification therewith up to the time 
 
 he was admitted to the bar, on January 9, of his death, which occurred on the 17th of 
 
 1874. Almosl immediately he secured a good June, L904. Resolutions of respeel were passed 
 
 clientage, which constantly grew in extent, by Clinton lodge, b) the bar and county officials 
 
 connecting him with much of the important lit- of Menard county and b) the church with 
 
 igation tried in the courts of bis district. His winch he was so long connected. His funeral 
 
 mind was analytical anil logical and be pre- services were held al his late home on the Sun- 
 
 sented bis case in ill.' clear lighl of cogent day succeeding his demise. His entire life was 
 
 reasoning. The Petersburg Observer said of permeated l>\ his religious I'aith and his pastor 
 
 him: "Thai he never persuaded a man into at the funeral services said: "His religious 
 
 litigation when he did nol see the justice of convictions were deep, unfaltering and abiding; 
 
 his claims to such an extent thai he should n<> one ever questioned the sincerity or reality 
 
 win. He seemed to care less for fees than in- of his Christian character. He believed and he 
 
 dividual or neighborhood harmony, In Ins lived by his belief ; and ye1 his tolerance toward 
 
 decisions he was nol only deliberate, bul care- all opinions ami shades of honesl belief 
 
 fully weighed justice, lie hail mi use for mis- transcended all bounds of creed ami won I'm' 
 
 representation ami deception fur the purpose of him the confidence and love id people oi widely 
 
 gaining a point. What he sought was the truth divergenl standards of thought. IN- humil- 
 
 aml mi ihis he luiilt the foundations fur the itv was profound, and yet it was of that noble 
 
 man) importanl trials in which lie was en- type that served i" exalt him in the eyes of all 
 
 gaged. He was always fair In the opposing who ever knew him. Self-assertion had no pari 
 
 side in litigation ami thus made friends of in his mental make-up ; but a serene self-knowl- 
 
 the men againsi whom he obtained verdicts." edge, dignity and caln ss of purpose, as native 
 
 Captain Blane remained an active member of to him as the air he breathed, secured for him 
 the bar up to the time of bis demise and for the respect of all with whom he had dealings, 
 some years was associated in practice with his and gave him an influence far beyond the con- 
 son Frank E. Blane, and the firm maintained lines of Ins immediate sphere of life. Of bis 
 a foremosl place in the ranks of the legal fra- loyalty as a friend, bis public-spiritedness as 
 ternity, their clientage heme of a distinctively a citizen, his nobility, devotion and unselfish- 
 representative character. l n 1884 Captain ness as a husband and lather, as his grandeur 
 Blane was elected state's attorney of Menard as a man. it would lake a volume to -peak. 
 county, having the distinction of being the Well mighl it lie said thai we have bad lew 
 
 only member of hi- political part) to hold the sucl n as he. ami his life and met ) will 
 
 office in this county. be a lasting benediction upon all who knew 
 
 On i he Ith el' January, 1866, occurred the him." 
 
 marriage of Captain Blane ami Miss Mar) J. 
 
 sp.ar. and as the years passed five children 
 
 were added '" ""' household, ily: Frank ,,,. ANKU \ P . ELD RIDGE, M. D. 
 
 I-... Mr-. Nora A. Brahm, Mrs. [ona 1.. shep- 
 herd and Mr-. Myrtli Whipp, all of whom are Dr. F. I'. Eldridge. well known as a capable 
 now living; ami Eva Maria, who died in 1872, phvsician and surgeon of Greenview ami 
 at the age of two and a half years. also interested in business affairs in the count) 
 Captain Blane was prominent in Masonry, a- a dealer in coal, was born in Menard county, 
 being a valued representative of Clinton lodge, September 18. 1853. Hi- father, William 
 No. in. A 1". A A. M. He also belonged i" Eldridge, was a native of England, whence he
 
 144 
 
 PAST AND -PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 was brought to America by bis parents when 
 three years of age, the family home being es- 
 tablished in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1S40 he 
 made his way westward, settling in Menard 
 county, which was then largely a frontier dis- 
 trict, bearing little resemblance to this highly 
 improved portion of the state. He turned his 
 attention to farming about six miles east of 
 
 Greenview and continued to make his li e 
 
 upon that place until 1890, when he removed 
 to Greenview, where his death occurred May 
 6, 1902, when he was seventy-six years of age 
 His widow -till survives him and now makes 
 her home with her son Dr. Eldridge at the age 
 of -e\ mi \ -m'\ en years. 
 
 Dr. Eldridge acquired his preliminary edu- 
 cation in the common schools of Ins native 
 county and bis more specifically literary in- 
 struction was obtained in Lincoln University, 
 where In' spent three years as a student. Hav- 
 ing formed tin' determination to make the 
 practice of medicine his life work he then 
 matriculated in Lush Medical College, where he 
 was graduated with the class of 1878. Locat- 
 ing- for practice in Greenview, he remained 
 here for six months and subsequently removed 
 to Kilbourne, Illinois, where lie spent seven 
 years. On the expiration of that period, how- 
 ever, he returned to Greenview, where lie has 
 since made his home and a large and important 
 patronage has been extended him. He is now 
 examining physician lor several insurance com- 
 panies, lie carries all of his own drugs and 
 by constanl reading and study lie keeps in 
 touch with the progress of the medical fra- 
 ternity, lie belongs to the Brainard District 
 Medical Society, the Menard County Medical 
 Society and the State Medical Society, and in 
 the practice of his profession lie displays care- 
 ful preparation and conscientious service in the 
 performance of hi- professional duties. Dr. 
 Eldridge has considerable valuable property, in- 
 cluding a farm of one hundred and seventy- 
 five acre- which lie rents, also town realty, is 
 one of the five owners of a coal mine which is 
 being developed under the name of the Green- 
 view Coal & Mining Company, and he also 
 owns five hundred acre- of cotton land in St. 
 Francis valley in eastern Arkansas, which he 
 purchased in 100" and which is very fertile. 
 
 I udding fair to become a very valuable prop- 
 erty. 
 
 On the 31st of July, 1879, Dr. Eldridge was 
 married to Miss Emma Whitney, a daughter of 
 Alonzo Whitney, of Indian Point. They have 
 five children: "William Roy, who died Febru- 
 ary 28, 1902, at the age of twenty-two years; 
 Lucia, who was horn June 21, L882, and died 
 May 28. 1900; Homer, who was born August 
 28, 1884, and is at home: Arstella, who was 
 lorn December 25. 1886; and Earl, horn 
 August 3, L896. Dr. and Mrs. Eldridge hold 
 membership in the . Cumberland Presbyterian 
 church and he i- a Knight Templar Mason, 
 belonging to the lodge, chapter and command- 
 ery. lie is also connected with the Modern 
 Woodmen of America and in fraternal circ i 
 has the warm regard which is extended him 
 socially and professionally. 
 
 HON. BOMEB J. TICE. 
 
 Homer Jenison Tice, an agriculturist living 
 within ten miles of his birthplace, was horn 
 February 5. 1862, in Athens, Menard county. 
 His entire life lias been devoted to agricultural 
 pursuits and a review of his career I. rings to 
 mind the remark of George Washington that 
 ■■Agriculture is the most useful as well as the 
 
 -i honorable calling of man.'" That Mr. 
 
 Tice has enjoyed the fullesl confidence and re- 
 spect of his fellow citizen- is indicated by the 
 fact that he has three times been elected to 
 represent bis district in the state legislature 
 and on other occasions, both by appointment 
 and .'lection, he has been called to positions of 
 public trust. 
 
 Mr. Tice is a son of Jerman and Mary (Jeni- 
 son) Tice. whose sketch appears on another 
 page of this volume. Ppon the home farm he 
 was reared, developing a love for agricultural 
 life that has been one of the strong elements 
 in his character. A sincere attachment for na-- 
 lure in all its phases lias led him to continue in 
 the walk of life in which his early youth was 
 passed and his farm represents one of the most 
 attractive features of the landscape with its well 
 tilled fields, modem buildings and good equip- 
 ments. He is progressive in all of his methods,
 
 EOMEB .1. TICK.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT! l 17 
 
 also extremely practical, and while quick to He was a delegate to the National ('urn Con- 
 adopl in« methods his judgment is rarely at gress held in Chicago for the purpose of de- 
 fault in determining their usefulness as re- vising plans [or introducing com products as 
 sultant factors in making his labor a success, food in the different countries of Europe, and 
 His present home is near Greenview, within ten as a delegate represented Illinois in the Trust 
 miles of his birthplace, and Ins entire life lias Conference, composed of delegates from every 
 been passed in this c lity. state in the Union, held in Chicago in Septem- 
 
 Another salient element in the character of her, 1899, for the purpose of considering and 
 
 Mr. Tice is his love of books. Fr ivhood discussing the problem of trusts, both the above 
 
 his I ks have been his constant c panions delegateships being h\ appointment of the chief 
 
 and he claims as his best friends some of the executive of the slate. In Masonry Mr. Tice 
 
 master minds in literature. Hi- interest in po- lias attained high rank, belonging to the blue 
 
 litical questions is that of the public-spirited lodge, chapter, commandery, consistory and 
 
 citizen who recognizes the obligation as well shrine, and of the first named he is a past 
 
 a- the privilege thai c es with the right of master. He also affiliates with the Cumberland 
 
 franchise, lb' lias made a close and thorough Presbyterian church. 
 
 study of the many issues which divide the two On the -Md (if May, 1883, Mr. Tice was 
 
 great parties and has been unfaltering in Ins married to Miss C. M. Emilie Warnsing. They 
 
 advocacy of Republican principles, while at the have two suns living: Evert Homer ami Kail 
 
 same time earnesth opposing an\ misrule in Jcrman, and have l<>si one son, Herman Warn- 
 
 municipal or state affairs and the modern meth- sing. Mi-. Tice stands as a representative of 
 
 ods t iften piaeticed h\ the politician who our best ty] I' American manh I. lb' is 
 
 places self-aggrandizement before the general widely ami favorably known throughout the 
 
 o I. Three times he has been the candidate community, his abilitj well fitting him fur 
 
 nf his party for tin 1 general assembly and rep- leadership in political, husine>s ami social lit''. 
 
 resented his district in the house in the thirty- In political thought and action he has always 
 
 seventh, thirty-eighth ami forty-third legisla- been independent, carrying ou1 his honest views 
 
 tive sessions of Illinois, where he became recog- without fear or favor, lb' commands the re- 
 
 uized as an able ami active working member, speet, confidence ami good will of men promi- 
 
 concerned largely with constructive legislation, neni in the stain, but in Ins home community 
 
 lie was appointed a member of the Illinois where he is host known he has the love ami un- 
 
 aml Michigan canal hoard by Governor John qualified esteem of those with whom he i- con 
 
 R. Tanner. He has a wide acquaintance among stantly associated, and who have broadesl 
 
 the leaders m politics in Illinois ami no one knowledge of his personal worth. 
 
 receives re favorable regard. Ho managed 
 
 the campaign of Lawrence V. Sherman for gov- . 
 
 or ■ in the spring of L90J ami made many 
 
 warm Eriends by his manly course. While doing .lo|l\ II. IvINCAID. 
 
 everything possible for his candidate he did John II. Kincaid, who carries on general 
 
 not antagonize party leaders. The same year farming ami is also engaged in the breeding 
 
 he was elected by the Republican state conven- ;m ,| raising of line horses, was born July !h 
 
 lion a- a member of the state central commit- is is. on the old family homestead where he 
 
 tee at large, ami was chairman of the commit- now re-ides. Ins father being John ivennedj 
 
 no which framed the primary election la\\> of [vincaid, who is represented on another page oi 
 
 Illinois. tin- volume. Our subject supplemented Ins 
 
 In community interests Mr. Tice also fig- educational privileges by study in the North 
 
 ures prominently and is the champion of many Sangamon Academy, which is located about a 
 
 measures that have proven of marked value, quarter of a mile west of his present home He 
 
 II.- is a member of the hoard of trustees id' the continued upon the old home-lead farm with 
 
 old Salem Chautauqua of Petersburg, Illinois, his parent- until twenty-eight years of age.
 
 1 IS 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 when he was married and went to a home of 
 his own. removing to a farm near Irish Grove, 
 when' he continued his residence Eor seven 
 years. On the expiration of that period he 
 bought the old. home place, built a new resi- 
 dence thereon, also a good ham and. in fact, 
 has added many other modern structures and 
 equipments, so that the farm is supplied with 
 all of the accessories found upon a model farm 
 of the twentieth century. He is engaged in the 
 raising of standard bred trotting horses and has 
 bred the following: Twillmo, with a record 
 of 2:17% : Rodney Corbitt, 2:291 j ; Frances 
 Corbitt, 2:29; Carol Almar, 2:30; and Lina 
 Prue, 2:19; and he also owns Guy Corbitt, No. 
 11726. He held a sale of thirty-two head of 
 his fine horses on the Nth of September, 1904. 
 
 On the 20th of February, L878, Mr. Kincaid 
 was married to Miss Ella Culver, a daughter 
 of John and Elizabeth Culver, who were natives 
 of Menard county and are now deceased. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Kincaid have two children: James 
 Earle, born October 9, L880; and John Ken- 
 nedy, born December 29, 1885. 
 
 Mr. Kincaid was made a Mason at Green- 
 view, July 4. 1871, and still affiliates with the 
 blue lodge at that place, and with the chapter 
 and eommandery at Petersburg and the con- 
 sistory and Mystic Shrine at Peoria. In his 
 life he exemplifies the tenets and teachings of 
 the order, conforming his relations with his 
 fellow men to the principles of the craft. In 
 polities he is a Republican but has always re- 
 fused office. Himself and family are mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian church and he has for 
 a number of years been a ruling elder. Mr. 
 Kincaid is now comfortably situated on a very 
 fine farm of six hundred acres, well improved, 
 and his property is the visible evidence of his 
 life of enterprise, diligence and perseverance. 
 
 DAVID S. FRACKELTON. 
 
 Few men are more prominent or more widely 
 
 known in tl nterprising city of Petersburg 
 
 than David S. Frackelton. He has been an 
 important factor in business circles and his 
 popularity is well deserved, as in him are em- 
 braced the characteristics of an unbending in- 
 
 tegrity, unabating energy and industry that 
 never lags. Se is public-spirited and thor- 
 oughly interested in whatever tends to pro- 
 mote the moral, intellectual and material wel- 
 fare of Menard county. He has for almost 
 forty years stood at the head of a leading 
 hanking institution of the county and his ca- 
 reer is notable from the fact that without 
 any special advantages to aid him in early man- 
 hood he has steadily progressed, winning his 
 way to the foremosl position among the suc- 
 eessfu] business men of his county and at the 
 same time gaining an untarnished name. 
 
 Mr. Prackelton was born in Dromore 
 County Down, Ireland, on the 14th of Feb- 
 ruary. 1827. His father. William Frackelton, 
 was a native of the same locality and there 
 wedded Elizabeth Waddell. He died when his 
 son David was but six years of age. The lad 
 remained a resident of his native land until 
 1843, when with a brother he came to the 
 taw world, crossing the Atlantic on a sailing 
 vessel, which was thirty-five days in making the 
 New York harbor after leaving the European 
 port. Four years later his mother came to 
 America. Mr. Frackelton. of this review, went 
 to Ireland for her. but the letter stating' that 
 he would be there was lost in the mail and 
 ere he reached his destination she started 
 for New York and when he arrived he was 
 greeted with the new- that his mother had 
 already sailed to America. He hurried back 
 and found her with friends in New York and 
 afterward brought her and his sister to Menard 
 count v. Mrs. Frackelton was a member of the 
 Presbyterian church, strict in her religious 
 faith and living a life of absolute conformity 
 with her belief. Her father bad been a min- 
 ister of the Presbyterian church in Dromore. 
 Ireland, for more than thirty years. Mrs. 
 Frackelton continued a resident of Menard 
 county until her death, which occurred in 1872, 
 when she was eighty-four years of age. 
 
 Lauding in America Mr. Frackelton and 
 his brother remained in New York only a few 
 days anil then made their way to Illinois, and 
 going "lit about eight miles from Springfield 
 they established a subscription school in which 
 Mr. Frackelton taught for six months, while 
 his brother continued teaching for nine months.
 
 Jj J^ £L-<LjC^Ct, 
 
 crr^-
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 i:.l 
 
 At the end of the half year the subjecl of tins 
 review was offered a situation 1 > \ W. M. Cow- 
 gill and came to Petersburg in 1844 to be- 
 come a clerk in a general store, receiving fifty 
 dollars per year in addition to his board and 
 washing. Ee occupied that position for two 
 years and Ins -alary was increased to one hun- 
 dred and fifty dollars per year. IL- business 
 aptitude and capability being Eully demon- 
 strated in that time, In' was thru admitted to 
 a partnership tinder the firm style of William 
 M. Cowgill & Company and this relation was 
 maintained for eleven years. His brother 
 Robert also became a partner at the same time 
 and when they severed their business relations 
 with Mr. Cowgill they continued merchandising 
 togi ther under the style of R. & 1). Frackelton, 
 continuing to conducl their enterprise until 
 1874. In connection with that business they 
 began banking in L865. Robert Frackelton 
 died in is; | verj suddenly and I >a\ id S. 
 Frackelton was thru alone in business fur about 
 two years. On the expiration of that period he 
 admitted his son Charles to a partnership and 
 
 the firm aa was changed to D. S. Frackelton 
 
 & Company, the mercantile enterprise being 
 conducted with success until 1899, when they 
 disposed of the store in order to give their en- 
 tire attention to the banking business. In 
 1898 his son David became a partner in the 
 hank. The Frackelton Bank was organized in 
 1865 and has had a continuous and prosperous 
 existence for fort; years. The present hank 
 building was erected in 1889 and is a model 
 structure, splendidly equipped. A general 
 banking business is carried on and Erom the 
 beginning the firm has enjoyed a prosperous ca- 
 reer as representatives of the financial inter- 
 ests of Petersburg, conducting their business 
 along -air. conservative and yet progressive 
 lines. Mr. Frackelton owns both city and coun- 
 try property, including a valuable farm of 
 three hundred ami twenty aires. 
 
 On the loth of March, 1856, occurred the 
 marriage of Mr. Frackelton and Miss Louise 
 Chandler, a daughter of Br. Charles Chandler, 
 a native of Connecticut. Her parents were 
 married in the east and in 1830 located at what 
 is now f'handlerville. Illinois, the town beinjj 
 nai I in honor of her father. Both are now 
 
 deceased ami Mrs. Frackelton has also passed 
 away, her death occurring in December, 1885. 
 Unto Mr. ami Mrs. Frackelton were horn 
 three sons and three daughters ami five of the 
 number are now living. Charles, who married 
 Iona O. Antic, a daughter of Dr. Anile, of 
 Petersburg, is a representative citizen of the 
 
 ni\ engaged with Ins father ami brother 
 
 in the banking business and also secretary of the 
 Rosehill cemetery, lie is one of the elders 
 of the Presbyterian church, is a Republican in 
 politics and has served as city treasurer ami 
 for several terms was a member of the school 
 board, lie u ields a wide influence in pub! ie 
 affairs, his course being characterized by un- 
 faltering loyalty to the general good ami his 
 efforts in behalf of his city have been far-reach- 
 ing ami beneficial. Robert Frackelton, the 
 second sun. is engaged in the manufacture of 
 printing presses in connection with his uncle 
 as a stockholder in the Chandler & Price Com 
 pany, of Cleveland, Ohio, lie is secretary and 
 treasurer of the company, which is conducting 
 an extensive business, lie, too, is a Republi- 
 can, stanch in Ins advocacy of the party prin- 
 ciples and is deacon in the Calvary Presby- 
 terian church al Cleveland. Clara ami Louise 
 are at home with their father. David, the 
 voungesl son. is connected with In- father ami 
 brother in the banking husiness and is man- 
 ager of the Charter Oak elevator. In 1901 
 he married Caroline Roberts, of Jacksonville, 
 Illinois, -mil they have one daughter, Mary 
 Louise. Like the others of the I": 1 1 1 1 1 1 \ he is an 
 earnest Republican ami his religious faith is 
 that of the Presbyterian church. Both Robert 
 ami David Frackelton are graduates of the 
 Illinois College ai Jacksonville, ami Louise 
 completed a course in the Jacksonville Female 
 Academy of that city. 
 
 David S. Frackelton has always been a cham- 
 pion of Republican principles, yet has never 
 sought or desired office, lie is now the oldest 
 living member of the Presbyterian church of 
 Petersburg ami through long years served as 
 one of its ciders. In business affairs he is en 
 ergetic, prompt and notably reliable. Tireless 
 energy, keen perception, honesty of purpose, a 
 genius for devising and executing the right 
 thing at the right lime joined to every day com-
 
 1-V. 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 iiKni sense are the chief characteristics of the 
 man. He has been watchful of all the details 
 of hi* business and of all indications pointing 
 toward prosperity ami from the beginning ho 
 had an abiding faith in the ultimate success of 
 In- enterprise. He has gained wraith, yet it 
 has not been alone the goal I'm' which he was 
 striving, I'm- ho belongs to that class of repre- 
 sentative American citizen.- who promote the 
 genera] prosperity while advancing individual 
 interests. 
 
 THOMAs C. HILL, M. D. 
 
 Dr. Thomas C. Hill, a physician ami sur- 
 geon living upon one of the line farms of 
 Menard county, was born in Middletown, Illi- 
 nois. October 14, 1864, ami is a son of Dr. 
 Green Hill, who for many years was one of the 
 most prominent physicians ami honored citi- 
 zens of this portion of Illinois. Ho was born 
 near Franklin, Tennessee, on the 1st of July. 
 1813, and was a representative of an old south- 
 ern family of distinction, his paternal ances- 
 tors having resided in North Carolina, while 
 his maternal ancestors were residents of Vir- 
 ginia. The late Hon. Benjamin Hill belonged 
 to a branch of this family. 
 
 Dr. Green Hill supplemented his early edu- 
 cational privileges by study in Franklin Acade- 
 my, which he entered when sixteen years of 
 age. At that time tin 1 institution was under 
 the presidency of Bishop .lames II. Otey, of 
 Civil war fame. After a year Dr. Hill entered 
 upon the study of medicine in Nashville and 
 when he had completed a course in the Tran- 
 sylvania College of that city by graduation he 
 entered upon the practice of his profession al 
 his old home. He was then hut twenty-two 
 years of age and he spent two years in the vi- 
 cinity id' Franklin, Tennessee, after which he 
 removed to Columbus, Mississippi, where he 
 was located for ten years and in connection 
 with the practice of medicine ami surgery he 
 conducted a drugstore there. In March, 1850, 
 he arrived in Elkhart, Logan county, Illinois. 
 lmt in 1852 he removed to Middletown where his 
 remaining days were passed in the active prac- 
 tice of his profession, his labors being of the ut- 
 
 most benefit to his fellow men. At the time 
 of his death he was the oldest practicing phy- 
 sician in Logan county. When he took up his 
 abode within the borders of the county there 
 were trw physician- there ami his practice 
 necessitated long journeys often in inclement 
 weather, lie would frequently see wolves and 
 other wild animals while crossing the prairies. 
 Xo bridge spanned Salt creek ami main times 
 he had to swim that stream in order to pay a 
 visit to a patient, lie was frequently away 
 from home two or three days at a time, making 
 his calls on the sick, and he had mam long, 
 tiresome rides in the saddle, hut he never hesi- 
 tated in the performance of any professional 
 duty and his devotion to these who needed his 
 services made him the loved family physician 
 in many a household. Money was very scarce 
 with the early settlers in those days and. in 
 fact, almost the only coins or specie which the 
 Doctor saw during the first year or two of his 
 residence in Logan county was what he brought 
 with him from Tennessee, I'm- he usually re- 
 ceived pay for his professional services in 
 corn. Through a lone' career he maintained 
 an enviable reputation as a skillful and suc- 
 cessful physician and as an intelligent, honor- 
 able ami upright citizen. Reading and inves- 
 tigation kept him thoroughly informed con- 
 cerning the advance made in the medical fra- 
 ternity ami while he was never quick to dis- 
 card the old and time-tried methods of practice 
 he was always ready to adopt new ideas and 
 improvements that would aid him in his pro- 
 fessional work'. 
 
 Soon after arriving in Logan county Dr. 
 Hill in 1836 entered seven hundred ami twen- 
 ty acres of land in Hurlbul township, and also 
 purchased twenty acres of timber land. Tie 
 made a trip to tins state on horseback in about 
 ten days, bringing the money with which he 
 paid for his land in his saddle bags. The en- 
 tire section cost him hut one dollar and twenty- 
 five cents per acre and he paid three dollars per 
 acre for having the land broken, ox teams be- 
 ing used in doing the plowing. The Doctor 
 retained possession of his land until he return- 
 ed to Illinois in 1850, when he sold it for 
 seven dollars pier acre. For many years he had 
 a pleasant home in Middletown and a farm of 
 
 , r:\wh; s±y>w^^
 
 \ 
 
 dk. green hill. 
 
 
 -#»•' 
 
 ■•„..,■•■•■• .o,.v.'.v;.-^/..:->--^v.,.-:-:-/v.-. ,.•«>■•".-* 
 
 •?V.y VV/ VtSN vV **' /»
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENAKD COUNTY 
 
 155 
 
 one hundred and twenty acres in the township. 
 In the early days of his residence in Illinois 
 the family lived in a log cabin and wolves 
 occasioned them much trouble. Those animals 
 would crawl under the house and the children 
 would punch them with pokers through the 
 cracks in the floor so as to drive them away. 
 I leer were very plentiful ami venison was a 
 common dish upon the family table. 
 
 In his political affiliation Dr. Hill was an 
 anient ami life-long Democrat. Fraternally 
 he was connected with the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows and he was long a (.insistent 
 member of the Christian church of Broadwell. 
 Speaking of his church relationship Elder T. 
 T. Holton, his pastor, said: 
 
 "During his residence at Columbus, Missis- 
 sippi, he acted as one of the elders of the con- 
 gregation. There being no congregation at 
 Middletown, his membership was with the 
 church at Broadwell. Dr. Hill kept in touch 
 with all the .great, work of the brotherhood. 
 Flo contributed regularly and liberally, not only 
 to the home church, hut to our missionary en- 
 terprises. Upon his desk could always lie found 
 Presh copies of our best papers, and he was well 
 read in the early history of the Disciples. He 
 had many strong points in his character, and 
 was one of the most entertaining and compan- 
 ionable men I have ever known. Had he 
 achii ved nothing else, the rearing ami educa- 
 tion of such a nohle family of sons would he 
 an honorable distinction." 
 
 Dr. Hill was married three times. In 1834 
 he wedded Miss Martha Ann Kirkpatrick, and 
 they became the parents of two daughters, 
 Mary and Sarah. The latter died at the age 
 of sixteen years and the former married John 
 Brandon, of Franklin, Tennessee. She ami 
 her husband are now deceased, leaving six- 
 children. Mr-. Hill died in Mississippi, ami 
 Dr. Hill was afterward married in that state 
 to Sarah Van Meiddleworth, of Auburn. New 
 York, who 'li'd in Logan county in 1858, leav- 
 ing two daughters. Catherine, now the wife of 
 Lewis Varney, a lawyer of Saratoga Springs, 
 New York; ami Ella, who married C. < '. Baker, 
 of Austin. Texas. For his third wife Dr. Hill 
 chose Miss Martha R. Caldwell, of Logan 
 county, and they became the parent- of five 
 
 sons: Green F... who is living in Girard, Illi- 
 nois: T. C. of Fancy Prairie; John II.. of 
 Mechanicsburg, Illinois; Harry ('.. of S'treator, 
 [llinois; ami Talbert I-'.. of Athens. Minois. 
 The son- have followed in the footsteps of their 
 father in many respects. They have endeav- 
 ored to exeni|ilif\ in their lives his teachings 
 concerning the development of an upright 
 character and they have also all become physi- 
 cians and are now successfully engaged in prac- 
 tice in the various communities in which they 
 reside. In September, L897, all of the sons met 
 together with their mother in family re-union 
 in Middletown. and the occasion was a most en- 
 joyable one. 
 
 Dr. T. C. Hill, of Fancy Prairie, attended 
 the public schools of Middletown and later 
 entered upon tin' study of medicine under the 
 direction of his father, while subsequently he 
 attended lectures at Bush Medical College of 
 Chicago, entering that institution in 1SS6. 
 lie was graduated with the class of 1888 and 
 then located for practice in Fancy Prairie. 
 where he remained for about a year, when he 
 removed to Sweetwater. Illinois, spending 
 nearly fifteen years in active and successful 
 professional services there. But at length fail- 
 ing health compelled him to seek a n led rest 
 
 and he spent the winter of 1903 in Los Angeles, 
 California. After returning to Illinois he lo- 
 cated upon his farm in township IS in order 
 to still continue a quiet life and to give his 
 sons the advantage of farm life. 
 
 Dr. Hill was married on the Ith of Septem- 
 ber, 1888, I" Mi- Mollie Hall, the youngest 
 daughter of James F. and Mary (Pearce) 
 Hall. He has purchased the interest of the 
 heirs in the old Hall farm property and this is 
 now his home. He has between four and five 
 hundred acres of valuable land. Unto Dr. and 
 Mrs. Hill have been horn three children: 
 Thurman R., who was horn July 1'?. 1889; 
 Thomas G., who was born October 12, L891 ; 
 and Mary P., born August 25, 1898. Dr. Hill 
 is a Democrat in his political affiliation and 
 fraternally has been identified with Greenvieu 
 lodge, No. 653, A. F. & A. M.. for five years. 
 
 For eight years he has 1 ii a member of the 
 
 Christian church at Sweetwater. Hlinois. and 
 hi- life, like that of his father, has been guided
 
 15G 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT'S 
 
 by honorable motives and uprighl principles. 
 He has a wide and favorable acquaintance in 
 his section of the state and 00 history of this 
 portion of Illinois would be complete without 
 mention of the Hill family. 
 
 II. II. MARBOLD. 
 
 II. II. Marbold. a prominenl representative 
 of the business interests of Greenviev and 
 Menard county, has made consecutive advance- 
 niriii 111 an active career, wherein success has 
 been won through methods winch neither seek 
 or require disguise, Watchful of opportunity, 
 he has made good use of the advantages which 
 are common to all, and by his unfaltering 
 diligence and careful investment has gained 
 gratifying prosperity. As a banker and live- 
 stock dealer he is well known and to the lat- 
 ter industry lias devoted his energies since his 
 boyhood days. 
 
 Mr. Marbold was horn in Badbergen, the pro- 
 vince of Hanover. Germany, April 21, L83S, 
 his parents being John 11. and Maria E. 
 (Sherhorn) Marbold, both of whom were mi- 
 ne- of Hanover, the former born May 7. 1800, 
 while the birth of the latter occurred on the 2d 
 of February, 1809. Hi- name was John H. 
 Wemsing, but he was adopted by his aunt, Mrs. 
 Catherine (Adlheit) Marbold, the provision 
 being named thai he was to assume her name. 
 He was married on the 3d of November, 1829. 
 to Marie E. Sherhorn, and they became the pa- 
 rents of six children, of whom two are mm 
 living. The mother departed this life in Sep- 
 tember, 1843, and the other mbers of the 
 
 family came to America in 1847. landing at 
 New Orleans on the 1 ? 1 1 1 of November. In 
 ls|i; J. \\. VVernsing, an own brother of J. II. 
 Marbold, went with his wife to Germany to 
 visil Mr. Marbold, who had a fine farm in the 
 province of Hanover. After discussing with 
 his brother the possibilities and opportunities 
 of the two countries Mr. Marbold decided to 
 sell hi^ farm in Germany and come to America, 
 which he did in IS47. After a short time spenl 
 in New Orleans, they made their wa\ to Peters- 
 burg, Menard county, where they arrived on the 
 
 (it h of I lee, ■nicer. 1847. The\ remained in 
 
 Petersburg for aboul three years, after which 
 the father purchased two hundred acres of 
 
 land near the village of Greenview, and the 
 family settled thereon. Since that time the 
 property has constituted the Marbold home- 
 stead. 
 
 II. II. Marbold acquired a good literary ed- 
 ucation and also received good training in busi- 
 ness methods under the direction of his father, 
 who furnished him means with which to en- 
 able him to trade in cattle when quite young. 
 lie has since successfully followed the business 
 and by careful purchases and judicious sales 
 has added annually to his income. As he found 
 opportunity he also added to his landed posses- 
 sions which now aggregate four thousand acres, 
 upon which he grazes and Eeeds a large num- 
 ber of cattle each year. The extent of his op- 
 erations in this direction have made him one 
 of the leading stock dealers of central Illinois. 
 
 A man of resourceful husiness activity he 
 has also extended his efforts into other lines 
 and as a hanker is also widely known. In 1876 
 he erected a large two-story brick building in 
 the village of Greenview, at a cos! of twelve 
 thousand dollars, in which was Established a 
 hank, conducted under the linn name of Mar- 
 hold, Alkire & Company. The relationship was 
 maintained until 1879, when Mr. Alkire with- 
 drew. M. M. Engle, who was the silenl partner 
 of the firm, continued with Mr. Marbold until 
 iss:!. when lii\ too, disposed of his interests, 
 leaving Mr. Marbold as sole proprietor of what 
 is recognized as one of the most reliable and 
 trustworthy financial concerns of tin- part of 
 the county. He has followed a safe, con- 
 servative policy and yet one in which progress 
 has kept him abreast with the spirit of the 
 times m husiness affairs. In 1890 lie acquired 
 one hundred share- of the capital -lock- of the 
 hirst National Bank of Petersburg and 111 Maw 
 1891, secured twenty more, while later an ad- 
 ditional purchase 1 le him the holder id' two 
 
 hundred and Eorty shares altogether. I-ong 
 business experience ami careful consideration 
 of possibilities and trade conditions have en- 
 abled him to so conduct his affairs as rarely, if 
 ever, to make a mistake in matters of luisiness 
 judgment, and the straightforward policy to 
 which he ha- ever closely adhered proves what
 
 Ji 
 
 MRS.KKMARBOLD
 
 ^. y'h j^aa^^&a^
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS tfi] 
 
 man} are inclined to dispute, thai prosperity nesota, however, she was taken ill and a sum- 
 
 ainl an honorable name may be won siranlta- mons broughi her husband and children to her 
 
 neously. bedside. She passed awa} September L5, 1903. 
 
 On the 28th of June, I860, Mr. Marbold was Her friends cherish her memory, for she was 
 united in marriage to Miss Margarei Eackman, one of the most beloved women of Menard 
 who was born near [Jefleln, in the province of county, possessing the traits of character which 
 Hanover, Germany, January II. 1840, and endeared her to .-ill with whom she came in 
 came tn America in 1857. Thej were married contact. She presided over her attractive home 
 n Beardstown, [llinois, and became the parents with gracious and cordial hospitality, and her 
 of six children, three of whom are living. Those kindly spirit was manifesl in her tactful treat- 
 deceased are Dora, who was born July 24, 1871, menl of all. Elmwood, the beautiful family 
 ami died February 26, is;;-. Henry II.. who home, was the center of her universe, ami all 
 was born April ii. is; I. ami died February 1!'. fell better who came within the radius of its 
 L877; ami a babe, who died in infancy. The cheering influence. The funeral services 
 living an> Anna M., the wife of Henry Wern- were held in the German Lutheran church 
 sing, born Augusl '.'1. 1861; II. J., born April ami intermenl made at Rose Hill. Many 
 L7, 1865; ami Benjamin !•'.. born December ami beautiful were tin' floral tokens of 
 11. is;;. In L870 Mi'. Marbold returned to love ami respect seen aboui the bier, and 
 his native country with his father, bis wife the church was inadequate for the large con- 
 and two of their children, Imt they were block- course of people who thus attested their love 
 adod mi account ol' the German ami French ami friendship. Many from neighboring towns 
 war ami had to return bv way of Holland to and more remote plans were in attendance; 
 Grimsby, England, thence to Liverpool and hers was the largest funeral ever hold in 
 on to Now York city. In 1896 Mr. Marbold Greenview. 
 
 again crossed the water, this time being aecom- The three surviving children occupy homes 
 
 panied by his wife ami bis sister. Mrs. Annie which were given them by their father, those 
 
 Engle, ami his son Benjamin, who had just of II. .1. Marbold ami Mrs. Wernsing being 
 
 graduated from (he military school at Worees- i ng the finest resiliences of this part of the 
 
 icr. Massachusetts. While in the fatherland he slate, while Benjamin F. resides ai the old 
 
 found and purchased an old desk that hail been home once occupied by his lister \li>. VVern- 
 
 in the Marbold family for almost two hundred -inn. The presenl elegant 1 ie of Mr-. 
 
 years and bad it -hipped to his home in Menard Wernsing would grace the boulevards of am of 
 
 county. It is a very large piece of furniture the fines! and largesl cities of either America 
 
 -a desk and I kcase combined^made from or Europe. It is built entirely of stone with 
 
 oak and veneered with black walnut finely I'm- great broad verandas mi three >ules ami the 
 ished inside and out. It contain- mainly interior finishing is thoroughly in keeping with 
 secrei drawers, containing some of the laws the outside, h is without doubt the finest 
 made li\ Napoleon, which the people were or- residence in central Illinois and there is nolh- 
 dered to destroy after the French emperor was ing to compare with it in Menard county, 
 banished. Vlr, Marbold has been a student of the con- 
 Mr. Marbold is a man of strong d stic ditions of the county and its possibilities ami 
 
 tastes, and hi- devotion to his family has ever his suppori can always he counted upon in 
 
 I n one of his salient characteristics. The relation to measures which have for their ob- 
 
 death of his wife therefore came as a particu- ject the general welfare. In fact, statistics 
 
 larlv tolliii"' blow to the family. On the 24th -how thai the Marlmbl familv have done more 
 
 of August, L903, Mrs. Marbold, accompanied toward the developmeni ami improvemenl of 
 
 bv her daughter, Mrs. Wernsing, started for Menard county than any other family here 
 
 the north on a \i-il and pleasure trip. She living. Mr. Marbold came to tin- e>>iinlr\ a-. 
 
 was not in good health at the tune, hut no an American citizen and lias the strongest at- 
 
 . i hi rii' was fell. While \i-itine. in Duluth. Min- l.-u limeiil for ihe country and her institutions.
 
 1G2 
 
 PAST AND PRKSKXT OF MENARD t'Or.NTY 
 
 His political allegiance is given the Demo- 
 cratic party, and lie is a firm believer in the 
 principle of free trade, having given thought- 
 ful and earnest consideration to the question, 
 his opinions being fostered by study at home 
 and also of conditions abroad. 
 
 In the summer of 1904 Mr. Marbold gave a 
 trad of eight acres of land to be used as a 
 cemetery for Greenview and at this writing, in 
 iSTovember, 1904, he is erecting a memorial 
 gate in memory of his wife. It is built of 
 pre-sed brick and Bedford stone and granite. 
 the memorial inscription to be upon the gran- 
 ite. This beautiful city of the dead is a 
 splendid tribute to the memory of one whose 
 life was devoted so largely to promoting the 
 comfort and happiness of those around her and 
 whose many acts of kindness cause her mem- 
 ory to remain as a beneficent influence with all 
 who knew her. 
 
 Mr. Marbold has been liberal in his contribu- 
 tions to moral and educational enterprises, and 
 the churches and schools of his neighborhood 
 have found in him a warm friend. Menard 
 county owes much to his progressive spirit 
 and too much can not be said in his praise. 
 for he has been indeed the advance agent of 
 prosperity to the community at large and it 
 is with the greatest pleasure that we present 
 the history of himself and family to the read- 
 ers of this volume, knowing that therein the 
 younger generation will find a worthy exam- 
 ple to pattern after. He is a man of unabating 
 energy, of unfaltering honest] and industry 
 that never flags, whether in connection with 
 public affairs or private interests, and without 
 invidious distinction may well be termed one 
 of the foremost men of Menard county. 
 
 ANDREW C. -IUHL. 
 
 The German element in our American citi- 
 zenship is an important one. The Teutonic 
 race has taken an active part in the civiliza- 
 tion of the world and the sons of the father- 
 land who have come to America have been quick 
 to adapt themselves to the conditions of the 
 new world and to take advantage of business 
 openings here afforded. Mr. Juhl, possessing 
 
 many of the sterling characteristics of his Ger- 
 man ancestry, has become a well known repre- 
 sentative citizen of Menard county. He re- 
 sides in range 8, township 18, where he car- 
 ries on general agricultural pursuits, his birth 
 occurring January 29, 1852, in Schleswig- 
 llolstein. which province was then a part of 
 Denmark. His parents were Hans and Mary 
 t Smith) Juhl. and the father was a farmer 
 by occupation. He being the eldest in a family 
 of eleven children inherited his father's prop- 
 erty in accordance with the laws of succession 
 and thus became the owner of seven tuns of 
 land, amounting to from one hundred and 
 twenty to one hundred and fifty acres, 
 according to American measure. He has 
 one sister who is yet living in Sehleswig- 
 Holstein upon a farm and who is the wife of 
 John Winter. Hans Juhl carried on agricul- 
 tural pursuits in his native country throughout 
 his entire life and died in the year 1891, when 
 seventy-seven years of age. In his family were 
 twelve children, of whom Andrew C. is the 
 third in order of birth. The record is as fol- 
 lows: Matt, who resides in Webster City, 
 Iowa, having large farming interests in that 
 part of the state; Hannah, who is the wife of 
 Pete Miller, a resident of Fort Dodge, Iowa; 
 Andrew ( '.. of this review; Peter, who is en- 
 gaged in the practice of veterinary surgery in 
 New York city; Christina, who married An- 
 drew Smith, but both are now deceased; Mag- 
 dalena. who married Luther Smith and resides 
 in Denmark: Mary, who is the wife of Pete 
 Orup, also living in Denmark; Hans C, who 
 is a retired farmer residing in Omaha. Ne- 
 braska: dames, who lives in township 18. Me- 
 nard county; Christopher, who makes his home 
 in the same township; Louisa and Mary, both 
 of whom are married and reside in Denmark. 
 This is a remarkable record for longevity, there 
 being but one death in this large family of 
 children. The mother is also yet living in 
 Denmark and is now seventy-four years of 
 age, her birth having occurred in 1830. 
 
 Andrew C. Juhl acquired his education in 
 the public schools of Denmark and has always 
 followed farming. He came to America in 
 1873 when about twenty-one years of age, for 
 he bad beard favorable reports concerning busi-
 
 K 
 
 3 
 
 K 
 
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 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COl vn 
 
 L65 
 
 ness opportunities in the new world and thought 
 that he might acquire a competence more 
 rapidly in this country. Accordingly he 
 crossed the Atlantic and beginning work as a 
 farm hand, he was employed in this way three 
 years. On the expiration of that period he 
 thought hi> capital was sufficient to justify 
 him in carrying on farming on his own ac- 
 r.imii and therefore he rented a tract of land, 
 beginning its further development and culti- 
 vation. He continued to rent land for about 
 six years then with the money he had acquired 
 through In- own labors he mad. his first pur- 
 chase of land in 1884. Since that time he has 
 ad. led at interval? to his property and he now 
 owns live hundred and twenty acres worth 
 eighty dollars per acre. He raises grain. 
 horses and hogs, hut gives no attention to cat- 
 tle, for he did not find them profitable. He 
 | K is made all of the improvements upon his 
 farm and now has one of the best properties 
 in the agricultural districts of Menard county. 
 Everything about his place is kept in excellent 
 condition and the farm is the visible evidence 
 of his life of carefully directed labor, for he 
 came to America empty-handed and all that 
 he ha- achieved is the reward of his persistent 
 effort and diligence. , 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Juhl was married to Miss 
 Louisa Baker, who is of German birth and who 
 prior to her marriage resided in Sand Ridge, 
 Menard county. Six children have been born 
 unto them: Hall, who resides at home: Wal- 
 ter, now deceased, who married Alice Smith 
 and since his death his widow has made her 
 home with her father. S. M. Smith: Ollie, who 
 married Walter Watkins and is living in town- 
 ship 18, Menard county: Hattie, who is the 
 wife of William .1. Houghton: Emma, who re- 
 sides upon the home farm at the age of fif- 
 teen years; and Elsie, who is twelve years of 
 age and completes the family. 
 
 Mr. Juhl is a Republican in his political 
 belief and has been called to serve in several 
 local offices, acting as school trustee, as school 
 director and as road commissioner. Ho be- 
 longs to the Lutheran church, while his wife 
 is a member of the Methodist church. Both 
 are worthy of tin- esteem in which they are so 
 uniformly held and they certainly deserve re- 
 
 presentation in this volume. Mr. .lulil has not 
 been disappointed in America, its advantages 
 and its prospects and has never bad occasion 
 to regrel Ins determination to establish his 
 home in the new world, for here be has pros- 
 
 b\ and is now one 
 
 pered as the years have gone 
 
 of the substantial farmers of Ins locality. 
 
 EORACE A. WOOD. 
 Eorace A. Wood, now Living retired in 
 Petersburg, was until recently engaged in the 
 nursery business. He was bom on the 30th 
 of dune. 1842, in Cattaraugus county. New 
 York, a son of Solomon and Ann (Shewman) 
 Wood. The father was bom in the Empire 
 state in 1812 and was of English lineage, 
 while his wife was of German descent. The 
 paternal grandfather ** our subject was a 
 militia man in New York at an early day and 
 when the country became involved in the 
 second war with England he enlisted in its 
 defense ami served throughout the period of 
 hostilities. Solomon W 1 was reared to man- 
 hood in the state of his nativity and throughout 
 Ins business career followed the occupation of 
 farming. His birth had occurred in Putnam 
 county, New York, but be removed from that 
 section of the state to the western part, settling 
 near Ithaca ami later he took up his abode in 
 Cattaraugus county, where he became a land- 
 owner and carried on agricultural pursuits. 
 He married Mis.- Ann Shew man. who was of 
 German lineage, born in New Jersey in the 
 year i si I. Ii was soon after their marriage 
 that they removed to western New York, tak- 
 ing up their abode near Olean, whicb was the 
 starting place Eor the western emigrants, the 
 travelers securing their outfits there and pro- 
 ceeding from (bat point down the Allegheny 
 river. Solomon Wood died in 1890 at about 
 the age of eighty-five years, and his wife passed 
 awa y three \ ea rs previously when about the 
 5am e age. In their family were live children. 
 of whom Horace A. was the fourth in order of 
 birth. Abraham, the eldest, spent his entire 
 life in New York. Harriet, deceased, was the 
 wife of Sylvester Gray, who lived in the state 
 of New York, where Mrs. Gray spent her entire
 
 166 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 life. She had three sons and three daughters. 
 
 Halsey, wl wns the old family homestead 
 
 in western New York, married Sarah Maybe 
 and they have one daughter and an adopted 
 son. Jennie, the youngest of the family, be- 
 came the wife of Montiville White, and both 
 are now deceased. They resided in the Empire 
 state and had one son and three daughters. 
 
 Horace A. Wood began his education in the 
 district schools of his native state and after- 
 ward continued Ids studies in an academy in 
 Rushford, New York. Later he attended a 
 private school and subsequently went to Pough- 
 keepsie, where he entered Eastman's Business 
 College, completing his education by gradua- 
 tion from that institution. On putting aside 
 
 In.- text-1 ks In' began traveling for a nursery 
 
 company, liis territory being principally Illi- 
 nnis. Later he embarked in (he nursery busi- 
 ness in Menard county on his own account and 
 grew nursery stock I'm- seven years. He then 
 dealt in nursery stock fur a number <>f years 
 and was at one time connected with a business 
 of manufacturing bed springs and mattreses, 
 following thai pursuit for about thirteen 
 months. He owns sevent}' acres of land ad- 
 joining the corporation limits of Petersburg. 
 In Menard counts and ibis part of the state 
 was known as an enterprising and reliable 
 business man. and whatever success he achieved 
 i- ilue entirely to bis own labors, for be started 
 out in life on bis own account witli limited 
 capital. 
 
 In 1869 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. 
 Wood ami Miss Lizzie Miles, a daughter of 
 James Miles, whose biography appears else- 
 where in this volume, and unto them were born 
 three children, two sons and a daughter: Flor- 
 ence, bom in 1874, is now the wife of Dr. 
 George spears, who is engaged in the practice 
 of dentistry in Petersburg; Beulah, born in 
 L881, i- a graduate of the Petersburg high 
 school and has spent two years as a student 
 in the State I niversity of Illinois and is now 
 teaching in Menard county. Harlington, bom 
 in INS}. i s a ig a graduate of the Petersburg 
 schools and was a student in the State Uni- 
 versity, where be pursued the study of law. 
 He is now teaching school, but will continue 
 his law st udies in 1905. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Wood bold membership 
 in the Christian church and then children are 
 also identified therewith, lie gave bis political 
 suppoii tn the Republican party until 1896, 
 in which year be voted lor William Jennings 
 Bryan, but be has again became connected 
 with the Republican party ami he is enabled to 
 suppoii bis position by intelligent argument 
 because be keeps well informed upon the cptes- 
 tions atul issues id' the day. lie began life as 
 a pom- boy. but bis financial valuation i> now 
 creditable. His life ha- been one of activity 
 and usefulness and has been characterized by 
 the most unswerving integrity and honor in 
 all his business transactions and in his varied 
 relations with bis fellow men. 
 
 THOMPSON WAEE McNEEUY. 
 
 Thompson Ware MeNeely was burn in Jack- 
 sonville, Illinois. October 5, 1835. His father, 
 Roberl T. MeNeely, and bis mother. Ann 
 Maria (Ware) MeNeely. were natives of Ken- 
 tucky but were married in Jacksonville, Illi- 
 nois September 11. 1834. The mother died 
 in Jacksonville, duly 25, 1839, and our sub- 
 ject then came to live with relatives in Menard 
 county, where he has resided ever since. His 
 father came to Petersburg in L842 and en- 
 gaged in mercantile business, residing there 
 until ids death December 17, 1886. 
 
 Aider coming to Menard county. Mr. Me- 
 Neely spent a number of years on a farm and 
 then entered his father's store as a clerk. After 
 one \ear at Jubilee College near Peoria, Illi- 
 nois, he entered Lombard University ai Gales- 
 burg in 1852, from which he was graduated in 
 dune. 1856, with the degree of A. lb. and the 
 same college conferred upon him the degree 
 of A. M. in 1859. Mr. MeNeely began the 
 study of law in July. 1856, and in the follow- 
 ing October he went south and taught school 
 in a private family mi a plantation near Wood- 
 \ille. Mississippi, for some months, studying 
 law at the same time. Returning to Peters- 
 burg he was admitted to the bar in August, 
 1857, where he has since then been in the 
 active practice of law. In November, 1858, 
 he entered the law department of the Univer-
 
 sSa pw 
 
 v ^r 
 
 " RBOLD.
 
 PAST AMI PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 IG9 
 
 sitj of Louisville, Kentucky, from which he 
 was graduated in the following March with the 
 degree of LL. I!. 
 
 In November, 1861, Mr. McXeel} was elected 
 as a delegate to the constitutional convention 
 of Illinois from Menard and Cass counties, in 
 which body he served as a member. In 1868 
 he was elected on the Democratic ticket as a 
 member of congress from the ninth congres- 
 sional district of Illinois, composed of the 
 counties of Menard, ('as-. Mason, Fulton, Mc- 
 Donough, Schuyler, Brown and Pike, and was 
 re-elected from the same district in 1870, serv- 
 ing from March I. 1869, to March I. L873. He 
 was appointed by the Democratic state conven- 
 tion of Illinois and served as a delegate 
 to the Democratic national convention 
 which was held in Baltimore in 1872. In 
 
 1878-9 he served as chairai; I' the stale 
 
 Democratic central committee of Illinois. In 
 L892 he was elected and served as one of the 
 presidential electors for Illinois, voting for Mr. 
 Cleveland. In 1896 he was again nominated 
 as a presidential elector by the Democratic 
 state convention but was defeated as were all 
 others on the ticket, lie has always supported 
 and voted the Democratic ticket, taking an 
 acl ive interesl i n every campaign. 
 
 On November 27, 1872, Mr. McNeely was 
 married to Miss M. II. Dirickson, daughter of 
 Colonel I.. I.. Dirickson, id' Berlin, Maryland. 
 They have one child. Bettie, the wife of Nelson 
 II. Greene, id' Tallula, Illinois. In religion 
 Mr. McNeely is an Episcopalian and is an of- 
 Si er hi the local church. He i.- a Mason and 
 has served as master of hi- lodge; high pries! 
 of his chapter: and eminent commander id' his 
 connnandiTv. lie is a Scottish Rite Mason, 
 and lias received the thirty-second degree of 
 that Masonic order, lie i> also a Knight of 
 Pvthias, a Modern Woodman and an Elk. 
 
 RE1 \ll.\i;i> ONKEN. 
 
 Among the citizens that Germany has fur- 
 nished to the new world i- numbered Eteinhard 
 Onken, who has main of i he -id I in- character- 
 istics that have always been notable among 
 the German people — the energy, capability and 
 
 strong purpose, lie was born January 11. 
 L846, his parents being Herman and Mary 
 (Gerdes) Onken, who were also natives of the 
 
 fatherland. The former died I lece er 2 i . 
 
 1865, and the latter in February, I860. 
 
 lieinhard Onken spent the days of his boy- 
 hood and youth in his native land, attended 
 school in accordance with its laws and after- 
 ward, still in conformity with the rules that 
 govern German citizenship, he entered the 
 arm)-, serving from November 1, 1867, until 
 the 5th of September, 1871. A war broke out 
 in 1870 and on the lib day of August of that 
 year he went with his command to the French 
 line. On the 16th of the same month he par- 
 ticipated in the battle of Marslatour, the en- 
 gagement lasting from morning until eight 
 o'clock at night, while the loss on each side 
 was over twenty-five thousand. The next en- 
 gagement in which Mr. Onken participated was 
 that of Gravelotte, the fighting beginning at 
 noon and continuing until night. He was in 
 seven pitched battles altogether, serving with 
 the cavalry forces. 
 
 Not lone after bis release from military ser- 
 vice Mr. Onken determined to establish his 
 home in America and arrived in Menard county 
 on the 1st of April. 1872. Here he was em- 
 ployed by the month as a farm band until 1880, 
 when he rented the Alkire farm near Sweet- 
 water for a year. He afterward rented the 11. 
 II. Marbold farm until 1888, when with the 
 money- that he had saved from his earnings 
 and through bis economy he became the owner 
 of a farm of bis own. In fact he had pur- 
 chased this iii 1886, bul did not take up his 
 abode thereon until 1888. Since thai time he 
 has continually and successfully engaged in 
 general farming and in the raising and feed- 
 ing of stock and has line farm animals upon 
 his place, dealing only in high grades of cattle 
 and horses. He came to this countn empty- 
 handed, hut has steadih worked his way up- 
 ward and i- to-day. the owner of two hundred 
 and seventy acres of fine land, splendidly im- 
 proved with good buildings and equipped with 
 all the accessories of a model farm of i he i wen- 
 tieth century. 
 
 Mr. •>nken was married to Miss Amelia 
 Mever. a daughter of Herman II. and Doroth]
 
 170 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 (Hackman) Meyer, both of whom were born 
 in Germany. Mr. Meyer also came to this 
 country in very limited financial circumstances, 
 but through his energy anil activity and by 
 reason of Ins honorable conduct In 1 became 
 a representative citizen of Menard county. He 
 was born February Hi, 1.826, and died April 
 27, L902. His wile was Worn on the 7th of 
 March, 1834. The year 1*:,| witnessed their 
 arrival in America and for about a year they 
 remained in St. Louis, where Mr. .Meyer was 
 employed in a brickyard and in driving teams. 
 He came lo .Menard county in 1855 and tor some 
 lime worked by the month in the employ of 
 Mr. Marbold, and by his economy and indus- 
 try he saved sufficient means to .enable him to 
 purchase two hundred acres of wild land near 
 Salt creek, lie then pu1 forth every effort 
 toward the improvement of this place that it 
 might become a productive tract. Later he was 
 enabled to purchase two hundred acres near by 
 and also improved this. 
 
 The home of Mr. and Mrs. Onken has been 
 blessed with four children:, two having died 
 in infancy. Those living are: Herman E., 
 born May 26, 1881; and Margaret Maria, born 
 Vu"'tist. 7, 1887. The parents are members of 
 the Lutheran church and Mr. Onken has lor 
 twelve years been a member of the school hoard 
 in his district in which capacity he doe- every- 
 thing in his power to promote the cause of edu- 
 cation. In politics he has always been a 
 stanch Democrat and in his citizenship has 
 been noted for his loyalty to America and her 
 best institutions. 
 
 11. E. WILKINS, M. D. 
 
 Among the members of the medical frater- 
 nity practicing in Petersburg who deserve 
 special mention because of their capability and 
 consequent success is Dr. IT. E. Wilkin-, to 
 whom i- accorded a gratifying patronage in 
 recognition of Ins careful preparation and his 
 skill which arises therefrom. He has spent his 
 entire life in this state, his birth having oc- 
 curred in Greenville. Bond county, on the 21st 
 of July 1865. His parents, Dr. D. and Maria 
 M. 'Gwvn) Wilkins, are natives of Laporte. 
 
 Indiana. In L857 the father removed to Illi- 
 nois, settling in Greenville, Bond county, where 
 he has since engaged in practice, although he 
 js now largely living retired, being seventy- 
 nine years of age. He and his wife celebrated 
 their golden wedding, May 11, 1904, and the 
 festivities were participated in by many friends, 
 for they are among the best known and most 
 highly esteemed citizens of Bond county. At 
 the time of the Civil war Dr. D. Wilkins offered 
 his services to the government, enlisting 
 in the One Hundred and Thirtieth Illi- 
 nois Infantry, under Colonel John B. 
 Beed. He served almost from the be- 
 ginning of hostilities until the latter part 
 of 1865, and after his return home he acquired 
 a very extensive practice, which brought to 
 him a good financial return. From the time 
 of the establishment of the hoard of pension 
 examiners he served as one of its members, act- 
 ing in that capacity until he resigned on ac- 
 count of advanced age, at which time he was 
 succeeded by his son. Dr. David B. Wilkins. 
 The father is a prominent and valued mem- 
 ber of the Grand Army of the Republic and is 
 also identified with the Masonic fraternity. 
 
 Dr. H. E. Wilkins began his education in 
 the primary school of Greenville and there 
 continued his studies until. he had completed 
 the high school course, being graduated with 
 the class of 1886. Whether inherited tendencies 
 or environment shaped his course it is impos- 
 sible to determine, but at all events he resolved 
 to make the practice of medicine his life work 
 and to this end entered the Missouri Medical 
 College of St. Louis. Missouri, where he spenl 
 three and a half years in study and was then 
 obliged to put aside his text-hooks because of 
 failing health. His case was diagnosed as 
 tuberculosis and it was arranged that he should 
 spend six months in Kansas, six months in 
 Colorado and six months in the mountains. 
 hut at the end of the first six months he was so 
 improved that he returned to Greenville. 
 
 There Dr. Wilkin- was married, on the 24th 
 of December, 1890, to Mi- Mar] K. Ilahich. a 
 daughter id' Joseph 11. Ilabioh.a representative 
 farmer of Bond county. They lost two chil- 
 dren that were horn unto them: Daisy Ruth, 
 who died at the age of two years; and Madie
 
 &3?/UaJLi^
 
 PAST .VXD PEESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 i;:i 
 
 Jewell, who died at the age of six and a hall' 
 years. On the 25th "I' September, 1904, a son 
 was born, to whom they have given the name 
 df James Eabich Wilkins. 
 
 After his marriage Dr. Wilkins returned Id 
 Geneva, Eansas, where he had previously 
 practiced, and again taking 141 his professional 
 duties, he continued a member of the medical 
 fraternity of that place lor tun and a half 
 years. <>n tin 1 expiration of that period he 
 pursued a course of study in the College of 
 Plvysicians and Surgeons of Keokuk, towa, and 
 was graduated on tin- 7th id' March, 1S93. In 
 addition to the regular work he pursued a 
 special course on diseases of women and chil- 
 dren, for which he received a special diploma. 
 and in his practice he has been very successful 
 •along those lino- 
 Following his graduation he returned to 
 
 Bond county and look up the practice of 1 li- 
 
 < 1 no five miles easl of the old homestead, \\ In re 
 he remained until 1895, when he removed to. 
 So ron to. Bond county, settling fifteen miles norl h 
 of tin' old home. When he had practiced in 
 that locality for nine years he came to Peters- 
 burg and succeeded Dr. •'. C. Fisher in the 
 conduel of a practice which under his guidance 
 has grown in both volume and importance. 
 lie belongs to the Bond County Medical So- 
 ciety and also to the Menard County Medical 
 Sociel 5 . 
 
 Dr. Wilkins is a member of the Masonic 
 fraternity and i- serving as senior deacon of his 
 lodge, lie also belongs to the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen 
 of America, the Mutual Protective League and 
 was one of the leader- and promoters in estab- 
 lishing a camp of the Sons of Veterans in 
 Petersburg. Ilis political support is given the 
 Republican party and he was its choice for 
 the position of coroner in 1904. Both he and 
 his wife an- consistenl members mid very ac- 
 tive ami cihoicnt workers in the Cumberland 
 Presbyterian church of Petersburg, in which 
 be i- now serving as a ruling elder and also as 
 clerk of the sessions. His life has been actu- 
 ated by high and worthy principles and mo- 
 tives, as is indicated by bis strict conformity 
 to the ethic- of the profession, his honorable 
 relations with his fellowmen and his advocacy 
 
 ol ; 1 1 1 \ cause which has for its olijeet the real 
 betterment and improvement of the community. 
 
 JOSEPH (Ol.soX. 
 
 Joseph Colson was born June 39, 1860, on 
 the farm in Menard county now occupied by 
 August Winkleman. lie 1.- a son of Samuel 
 and Maria (Watkins) Colson, early residents 
 of Illinois, the father living in this state at 
 the time of the memorable deep snow — an 
 event which has become historical in the annals 
 of the state. In the family were six children, 
 of whom five arc living: Charles, who resides 
 near Oakford, married Julia Brown and they 
 have seven living children; Calvin W.. who re- 
 sides upon his father's farm, wedded Ollie Eden 
 and they have three children, two daughters 
 and a son: Joseph is the third in order of 
 birth; Annie is the wife of David Stitch, a 
 farmer residing at North Atterberry, ami they 
 have two -on- ami two daughters: Jennie, a 
 twin sister of Annie, is the wife of Theodore 
 Dohrer. who is in the government service at 
 Arkansas City. Kansas, and they have three 
 Miib. including twins: one child. Mac. died on 
 the home farm at the age of eighteen years 
 and w as buried in ( taklaml cemeter] . 
 
 Joseph Colson pursued his education in what 
 was called the Sampson school. It was seated 
 with long benches and there' was a large stove 
 which would take in a stick three of four feet 
 in length. It was difficult to maintain dis- 
 cipline in those .lay-, schools being noted for 
 their unruly character, nor did the pupils al- 
 ways tread "a flowery path of knowledge." On 
 
 the 1 i' farm Mr. Colson received instructions 
 
 us to the best methods of planting and harvest- 
 ing crops and raising stock. He has always 
 engaged in farming and lie lirst began busi- 
 ness on his own account on the A. Winkleman 
 farm, which was then owned by his father. 
 There he lived lor a \ ear. 
 
 As a companion and helpmate on life's jour- 
 ne\ Mr. Colson chose Miss Martha Bell, the 
 wedding hem-- celebrated December 34. 1S70. 
 Her parents were Austin and Elizabeth 
 1 Arnold) Bell, and the Bells wen' among the 
 early settlers of Little Grove. P>o|b her father
 
 i; i 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 and mother were born at Walnut Ridge, Me- 
 llaril county. After his marriage Mr. Colson 
 engaged in farming south of Oakford for a year 
 and later lived for one year about a quarter 
 id' a mile from that place. He afterward re- 
 moved tn the William Lewis farm, upon which 
 In' lived I'm- live years and then settled on the 
 Walter Lynn place, now known as the Walker 
 farm. There he lived I'm- three years, ai the 
 end id' which time he removed to his present 
 farm, taking up his abode in a little house 
 which stood in the old orchard. There he lived 
 for three or four years, all. r which he returned 
 to the Walker place and again made it his 
 home for four years. Ee afterward returned 
 io Ins present farm, occupying the same old 
 house, and later ho took up his abode on his 
 father's "Id homestead. Ho has been fairly 
 successful, always carrying on general farm- 
 ing, and he i;- now operating two hundred and 
 fort] acres of land on the old home place and 
 rents one hundred ami twenty-five acres. He 
 has lived a life of industry and energy and 
 whatever success he has achieved has resulted 
 therefrom. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Colson have been horn 
 seven children and the family circle remains 
 unbroken by the hand of death. These are 
 Nora Ellen, who was born November 38, 1880; 
 Matt 11.. horn October 12, 1882; Annie, born 
 May I. 1884; Elizabeth, born March 24, L888; 
 Myrtle, born March 1. L889; Edith, horn No- 
 vember 28, 1890, and now attending school in 
 Mterberry; and Samuel, born September 9, 
 L896. The children have been provided with 
 good common-school advantages and all belong 
 to the Methodisl church in Atterberry. In his 
 political views Mr. Colson is a Democrat and is 
 now serving a- central committeeman, taking 
 an active interesl in the party, its progress and 
 success. 
 
 \l i,l STUS F. HEARD. 
 
 Augustus F. Heard, who has long I n identi- 
 fied wiih tlie farming interests of Menard 
 county, ha- been a witness of America's prog- 
 ress and improvemeni for more than three- 
 quarters of a century. He was horn at Xew 
 
 Boston, Merrimack county, New Hampshire, 
 
 mi the '.'"itli of August, 1827, In- parents 
 being Andrew and Rachel (Marshall) Heard, 
 who were also natives of the old Granite state. 
 Mr. Beard is descended from Scotch-Irish an- 
 cestry, the family being founded in America 
 i\ three brothers, Andrew. Joseph and Archi- 
 bald Heard, who came from Coleraine, County 
 Londonderry, Ireland. Archibald landed in 
 Virginia in 1764 and two years later Andrew 
 ami Joseph crossed the Atlantic to Boston, 
 Massachusetts, but never -aw the other brother 
 after coming to this country. Andrew Heard, 
 wdio was our subject's great-grandfather, was 
 horn in County Antrim. Ireland, in 1710. and 
 in hi- native land married Lvdia lioanllv. who 
 was related to the famih of Commodore Porter 
 and was visited by him while his fleet was at 
 Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Her father was 
 an English officer in the American Revolution. 
 while her -on William fought against him as a 
 member of the Colonial army. On coming to 
 the new world Andrew Beard brought with him 
 hi- family, tin- -mi William being then fifteen 
 years of age. From Boston the family pro- 
 ceeded north into Xew Hampshire and stopped 
 over night at Bedford, that state. During the 
 night their landlady gave birth to twin girls 
 and the following morning William was invited 
 in to see them. As he was leaving the mother 
 -aid -he would give him one of them am! 
 strange to relate he married one of them in 
 later years. She bore the name of Jane Hums 
 and was closely related to the noted Scotch poet 
 Robert Burns. They were married on the -.'nth 
 of March. 1790. William Heard was horn in 
 Coleraine, Ireland. October 20, 1751, and was 
 the eldest son of Andrew Heard, who was a 
 blacksmith by occupation. In .lunc 1775, 
 while working on a building on his father's 
 farm, in Xew Boston, William received the 
 news thai the British had landed in Boston 
 ami with the consent of Ins parents he immedi- 
 ately repaired to ( 'barf stown I" take up arm- in 
 defense of his adopted country. His mother's 
 la-i words t" him as he was leaving home wi n 
 "(io. -mi. and light for your country, and if the 
 enemy ever see your hack never let me -ee vout 
 face again." IH 1 participated in the battle 
 of Bunker Hill and was one of the forty to
 
 &^cu ?h. ( U^-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS i;; 
 
 volunteer i 'ing mimic cattle across a neck passed awaj March 31, L861. \'>\ the second 
 
 of land under a raking tire from the enemy union there were two children: Augustus !•'.. 
 
 in order to prevent their capture. The Revo- of this review ; and Ann Elizabeth, who died 
 
 tutionary war records of New Hampshire men- in infancy. 
 
 tion thai after the battle the governmenl al- Augustus I-'. Beard is indebted to the scl is 
 
 lowed him four shillings for repairs on his of Newport, Mew Hampshire, for the educa- 
 musket. Investigation has shown thai al the tional privileges he enjoyed in youth. His 
 storming of the heights he shattered his ,41m training a1 farm labor was also ample, for al 
 stock over the head of a British soldier who an earlj age he began assisting Ins father in 
 had stabbed him in the Jan' with his bayonet, the development of the fields. Alter attain- 
 ln L771 Mr. Beard received an ensign's com- ing man's estate he followed the occupation to 
 mission and was one of the scouts that coin- which he had been reared and became Ihe 
 meneed the attack on the enemy al Bennington, owner of seventy-five acres of land In New 
 h was here thai General Stark on entering Hampshire, which he afterward sold prior to 
 the fight uttered the historic words, "We con- Ins removal to the Mississippi valley. During 
 quer to-daj or Molly Stark will be a widow." the Civil war he enlisted at Newporl as a mu- 
 Although in several engagements Mr. Beard sician in the Sixteenth New Hampshire Volun- 
 was oever wounded except as before mentioned teer Infantry hut was 30011 discharged on ac- 
 ainl at the close of his service returned home eounl of illness. He came to Menard county, 
 with an honorable military record. Uthougb Illinois, in 1862, and here he resumed farm- 
 entitled to a pension he oobly refused it. I i < ■ ing operations on a trad of land west of 
 followed farming and blacksmithing and con- Petersburg. lie purchased his lirst land here 
 
 tinued to make his home in New Hampshire in 1892 and is now the owner of a g 1 farm 
 
 throughoul the remainder of his life. His of three hundred and lil'u aires, which he 
 
 death occurred January 2, 1832, and his wife has placed under a high state of cultivation, 
 
 died February 9, L830. adding I" it main modern equipments and im- 
 
 Andrew Beard, the son of William and the provements. 
 
 father of our subject, was horn January 30, Ai Sunapee, New Hampshire, November 6, 
 
 L791, and was a life-long resident of New 1851, Mr. Beard was united in marriage to 
 
 Hampshire. He also devoted his energies to Miss Nyrha Hurd, a daughter of Hiram and 
 
 farming and blacksmithing, working at his Esther (Patten) Hurd. Her father was horn 
 
 trade when the smith had to make his own mi Newport, New Hampshire, dune :;. L800, 
 
 nails and do all work bj hand. He lived an and was of English lineage, and her mother. 
 
 active, useful and honorable life and became who was horn in Deering, thai state, Decem- 
 
 Ihe owner of a good farm in his native state. her 22, 1804, was also of English descent. Mrs. 
 
 lie taught school for a time and was a mein- Beard was horn June 8, IS33, and pursued her 
 
 ber of the New Hampshire legislature. In education in New Hampshire. Her father 
 
 1816 he married Elizabeth Cochran, a daughter came to Illinois in 1854, journeying h\ rail to 
 
 of Deacon Cochran, and to them were horn two Springfield and thence coming to Petersburg 
 
 children, John and Margret. John married L-\ stage. He purchased kind here and at the 
 
 Emily Marshall, of Unity, New Hampshire, time of his death was the owner of between 
 
 to whom were born two sons. George and Clar- si\ and seven hundred acre-. He prospered 
 
 eiice. Margrel married Hiram Angell and they in his undertakings in the wesl and develo 
 
 had one child, Emily. For her second husband an excellenl farm, which made him one of the 
 
 she married John Gilmore, Imt both Mr. and substantial agriculturists of his community. 
 
 Mrs. Gilmore are now deceased. Mrs. Eliza- He died Ma\ 26, 1886, and if he had lived 
 
 beth Beard died January II. 1826, and her -yen days longer he would have attained the 
 
 husband subsequently married Rachel Marshall age of eighty-six years. His wife died Febru- 
 
 and removed to Newport. New- Hampshire, arv 14, 1892, at the age of eighty-seven < 
 
 Her death occurred March 30, 1860, and he Cnto Mr. and Mrs. Heard have been
 
 178 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 two sons, both of whom are living. Hiram, 
 who is now forty-eight years of age, married 
 Miss Lillie Simons, and they reside two miles 
 southwest of Petersburg. They have one son, 
 
 Li who is now twenty-one years of age. 
 
 Irvin H.. forty-four years of age, married 
 Etlic Lewis, ami they reside a quarter of a 
 mile west of Petersburg. Their children are 
 three in number: Mabel, eleven years of age; 
 Willis, aged eight: and Marshall, six years old. 
 In in H. Beard obtained a first grade cer- 
 tificate and taught school in De Witt county, 
 was also a teacher for several years in the 
 country schools of Menard county and later 
 engaged in teaching in the city schools of this 
 county. His attention, however, is now given 
 to agricultural pursuits. 
 
 Since age conferred upon him the right of 
 franchise Mr. Beard has supported the Demo- 
 cratic party. He and his wife are members 
 of the Christian church and are a well known 
 old couple of this portion of the state. Al- 
 though Mr. Beard has advanced far on life's 
 journey, in spirit and interests he seems yet 
 in his prime, still superintending his business 
 affairs and taking an active interest in all that 
 pertains to the progress, improvement and up- 
 building of this locality. In all the relations 
 of life he has been honorable and upright and 
 he is now spending his declining years in peace 
 and quiet, enjoying the confidence and friend- 
 ship of many with whom he has been asso- 
 ciated. 
 
 WILLIAM W. STONE. 
 
 li i- always of interest to examine into the 
 history of a self-made man and note the quali- 
 ties in his character that have brought him suc- 
 cess. William W. Stone deserves to be ranked 
 among this class and alter many years active 
 identification with agricultural interests he is 
 now living a retired life in Greenview. lie 
 was born at Irish Grove. Menard county, on 
 the 7th day of May. 1833, representing one of 
 the old pioneer families of this state. His 
 parents were Ambrose Lee and Catherine 
 (Walker) Stone, the former a native of Vir- 
 ginia and the latter of Kentucky. The father 
 
 came to Menard county in 1828, easting in his 
 lot among the frontier settlers, and here he 
 turned bis attention to farming, which he car- 
 ried on continuously until his death, which oc- 
 curred on the 27th of May. 1865. He had 
 long survived his wife, who had passed away in 
 1S43. 
 
 William W. Stone acquired bis early educa- 
 tion in the public schools and afterward spent 
 six months as a student in Iowa. His training 
 at farm labor was not meager for in his youth 
 he was instructed in the best methods of cul- 
 tivating the fields and caring for the stock. 
 To his father he gave the benefit of his service 
 until he was about thirty years of age, after 
 which be engaged in farming for himself, ear- 
 ning on agricultural pursuits uninterruptedly 
 until about fifteen years ago. when he put aside 
 the more arduous cares of an active business 
 life and removed to Greenview. He still, how- 
 ever, owns the farm which his father entered 
 from the government on coming to Illinois 
 more than six decades ago. Tin- is a good prop- 
 erty well improved and he also has some real es- 
 tate in Greenview. That he has prospered in 
 his undertakings is due to his careful manage- 
 ment, persistency of purpose and laudable 
 ambition and he is now the owner of realty in- 
 terests that return to him a good income and 
 enable him to enjoy a well merited rest. 
 
 Mr. Stone has been twice married. In Sep- 
 tember. 1863, he was united in marriage to Miss 
 Sarah Francis Harding, a native of Ken- 
 tucky, and they became the parents of three 
 children: Charles, who is conducting a drug 
 store in Greenview; Kittie J., the wife of 
 Dwiaht Smith, also of Greenview: and Emma 
 F.. the widow ..f Aamn Hatfield. Mrs. Stone 
 departed this life in 1876 and in 1878 Mr. 
 Stone was again married, bis second union be- 
 ing with Eliza J. Stone, a native of Illinois, 
 who died in 1880. 
 
 Mr. Stone has spent his entire life in Me- 
 nard county, covering a period of seventy-one 
 wars, and lias therefore been a witness of the 
 greater pari of its growth and development. 
 In his boyhood days there was much land that 
 was still uncultivated and the homes of the 
 settlers were very primitive as compared with 
 the tine residences which are now seen through-
 
 
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 X 
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 WWPI'.f^
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 is] 
 
 out Menard county. He assisted materially in 
 the substantial upbuilding of this portion of 
 the state especially along agricultural lines, 
 and lias ever manifested a keen interest in the 
 general work of improvement. 
 
 BERTON W. HOLE. M. D. 
 Dr. Berton \V. Hole, who is engaged m prac- 
 tice in Tallula. where his ability has found 
 recognition in a large and growing patronage, 
 was horn in Mason county near Havana, Illi- 
 nois, October 11. 1870, his parents being Wil- 
 liam II. and Rebecca Susan (Dieffenbaeher) 
 Hole. The father was of English lineage, 
 while the mother was of German descent. His 
 birth occurred near Salem in Washington coun- 
 ty, Indiana, and his father was a native of 
 Ohio. The paternal great-grandfather, Daniel 
 Hole, came from England to America ami was 
 I lie founder of the family in the new world. 
 At the time of the Civil war William H. Hole 
 espoused the cause of the Union and enlisted 
 in the Eighty-Fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. 
 He served under Sherman, participated in the 
 battles of Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, 
 Mission Ridge, Buzzard's Roost, Ringgold. 
 Kenesaw, Resaca, Atlanta, the march to the 
 sea and the Carolina campaign, after which he 
 participated in the grand review at Washing- 
 ton, D. ('. lb' was a bravo ami loyal soldi. a-, 
 doing his full duty as a defender of the I'nion 
 cause and he is now an honored member ot 
 the Grand Army of the Republic. Ee still 
 resides near Mason City in Mason county. He 
 has always followed farming and now owns a 
 good tract of land in that locality. He lost 
 his first wife in Eavana, Illinois, in 1877, and 
 has since married again. Ee has one brother 
 and one sister Living: Thomas A., who is a 
 retired farmer residing in Havana: and Mrs. 
 Maria Lafton. also living in Havana. Berton 
 W. Hole is the second in a family of three 
 children, but Edgar, the eldest, died at the 
 age of eighteen months. His sister, Garnet, is 
 the wife of W. S. Chestnut, who is a farmer 
 but resides in the town. They have two chil- 
 dren, a son and daughter. 
 
 Berton W. Hole was educated in the coun- 
 trv schools and at the high school of Havana, 
 
 in which he was graduated in the class ol 
 1889. He then entered the medical depart- 
 ment of the Northwestern University, where 
 he completed a course by graduation in 1892, 
 the degree of Medical Doctor being then con- 
 ferred upon him. Having thus qualified for 
 practice he opened an office in Virginia. Illi- 
 nois, in the summer of 1892. but remained there 
 only until September of that year, when he 
 came to Tallula and entered into partnership 
 with Dr. C. M. Robertson. This relation was 
 maintained until ls97, when Dr. Robertson 
 retired and Dr. Hole has since been alone in 
 business, enjoying a large and lucrative prac- 
 tice. He is very careful in the diagnosis of 
 a case, is seldom at fault in his judgment, and 
 in his practice has displayed a thorough knowl- 
 edge of the science of medicine with correct 
 application of its principles to the needs of 
 suffering humanity. He belongs to the Me- 
 nard County Medical Society, to the Sangamon 
 County Medical Society, the Brainard District 
 Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical So- 
 ciety and the American Medical Association, 
 and through the interchange of thought and ex- 
 perience in these organizations he keeps in 
 touch with the advancement which is being 
 continually made by the medical fraternity, 
 lie has further prepared for his professional 
 duties by post-graduate work in the Post-Grad- 
 uate Medical College of Chicago, which he at- 
 tended m L899. Ee is now secretary of the 
 pension hoard of Petersburg, Illinois, and he 
 has a large general practice in Tallula and 
 the surrounding district. 
 
 In June, 1894, Dr. Hole was united in mar- 
 riage to Miss Sarah I. Robertson, a daughter 
 of Dr. C. M. Robertson. She acquired her 
 early education in Tallula and afterward at- 
 tended the Female Seminary at Jacksonville, 
 Illinois. Both the Doctor and Mrs. Hole are 
 members of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
 church and they are prominent socially, the 
 cordial hospitality of the best homes of this 
 part of the county being freely extended to 
 them. In his political views the Doctor is a 
 stalwari Republican, ever supporting the party 
 since attaining his majority and although he 
 has never sought office he keeps well informed 
 on the questions and issues of the day. Ee has
 
 182 
 
 PAST ,\\|i PRESENT 
 
 MENARD COUNTY 
 
 been a school director and he is a member of 
 the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic fra- 
 ternities, ilif latter ai Pleasanl Plains. He was 
 made a Mason at thai place in April, L903. 
 In a profession where advancement depends 
 solely upon individual merit he has steadily 
 worked his way upward and in the enjoyment 
 of a large practice is now daily demonstrating 
 his ability to successfully solve the intricate 
 problems which continually meet the physician. 
 
 HARMON .1. MARBOLD. 
 
 Harmon John Marbold was born in Green- 
 view, [llinois, on the 17th of April, 1865, and 
 is a son of Henry Harmon and Margaret 
 (Hackman) Marbold, who were both born 
 in Germany but came to America when quite 
 young and were married in this country. Ex- 
 tended mention is made of the family on an- 
 other page of this volume. The earl} I 
 
 Harmon J. Marbold was thai of the average 
 farmer boy, spending his summers on the farm 
 and attending the common schools in winter 
 until fifteen years of age. He then entered 
 the Wesleyan University at Bloomington, Illi- 
 nois, where he spent three years. Soon after 
 this he took a six months' course in a business 
 college at Lexington, Kentucky. Later he 
 spent a year in Bremen. Germany, under the 
 instruct ion of a private tutor. 
 
 From boyhood Mr. Marbold lias been a lover 
 ami admirer of horses, especially of trotting 
 horses, ami early began training the horses on 
 the farm in this admired accomplishment. 
 Later lie became a driver of no mean ability, 
 having driven on the same track with Bud 
 Doble, Ed Goers and other noted dr vers, 
 rears ago lie opened the trotting stable 
 on the Marbold stock farm at Greenview. Illi- 
 nois ami subsequently Grand Baron became the 
 h ad of n stable of well bred trotting horses. 
 Grand Baron, whose breeding is of the ven 
 best, had a record of '.':1'.' 1 ( . In the summer 
 of 1898 he was on the grand circuit pitted 
 againsl The Monk. Dare Devil and others, and 
 ai Glens Falls, \Yw York, the} were to trot 
 for a on rsi ol two thousand dol lars. Two days 
 before the race was to come off. while exercis- 
 
 ing, Grand Baron fell dead on the track from 
 heart disease. Mr. Marbold had been offered 
 twelve thousand dollars for him a ff\\ days 
 before he died. Mr. Marbold -till raises trot- 
 ting horses and trains bu1 doe- no! follow 
 the races. lie is extensively engaged in farm- 
 ing ami stock-raising, operating a farm of over 
 seven hundred acres. His home i- one of the 
 most beautiful place- in central Illinois and 
 is finished in the latest and most approved 
 style. 
 
 On the 24th of dune. L891, Mr. Marbold was 
 united in marriage to Miss Emma E. Miller. 
 the third daughter of R. D. and C. A. Miller. 
 of Petersburg, Illinois. They were married 
 in Ouray. Colorado, and to them have been 
 horn the following children: Margarel Ann. 
 born March 22, 1892; Pauline Miller, born 
 March 26, ism ; Anna Marie, who was horn 
 October 17. 1896, and died May 8, 1891 : Char- 
 lotte Riche, horn October 17, 1898; and Helen 
 Agnes, horn November 1".'. 1899>. 
 
 Mr. Marbold was elected a member of the 
 hoard of supervisors of Menard county m 1900 
 ami re-elected to the same office in 1903. He 
 is an active ami successful business man. ener- 
 getic and public spirited, and honorable in all 
 his dealings with men. He is modest and un- 
 assuming in manner, hut firm and self-assi rt- 
 ing when necessary. Hi- character i> besl seen 
 in the family circle, where he exhibits the traits 
 of a faithful husband ami lather, lie i- highly 
 respected in the community where he has lived 
 all his life, having a host of friends and hut 
 few enemies. 
 
 C. I'. M« DOUGALL, D. D. S. 
 
 Dr. ('. D. McDougall, engaged in the prac- 
 tice of dentistry in Petersburg, was horn in 
 Oneida county. \Cw York. January 25, 1869. 
 lie is descended from Scotch ancestry and is 
 a representative of one of the old families of 
 i he Empire state. His grandfather, John Mc- 
 Dougall, resided there ami Isaac ami Hannah 
 (Jones) McDougall, parents of Dr. McDougall, 
 were natives of Oneida county In the year 
 L873 the\ removed to Petersburg, where they 
 have since resided, and for the pas! few years
 
 Wx4f
 
 PAST AND PKESENT OF MENABD COUNTY 
 
 185 
 
 the father has lived retired from business 
 cares. 
 
 In the I'amih were nine children, of whom 
 Dr. MeDougall is the youngest. Three of the 
 number are now deceased. The Doctor was 
 < > 1 1 1 \ about four years of age at the time of the 
 remova] of the family from New York to Illi- 
 nois and in the public schools of Petersburg 
 he his literary education, completing 
 
 his course by graduation from the high school 
 with the class of 1890. He afterward engaged 
 in teaching si hool for two years, bul regarding 
 this merely as an initial step to other profes- 
 sional labors, he matriculated in the Chicago 
 College of Denial Surgery, where he completed 
 the regular course and was graduated in L895. 
 Returning to Petersburg he opened an office 
 mi the wesl side of the square, where he re- 
 mained for four years and then removed to 
 his present suite of rooms on the south side 
 of the square. His office is well equipped with 
 the latest improved appliances known to the 
 science of dentistry and in his practice he rnani- 
 
 i- tin- two qualities which arc absolutely 
 essentia] to success — mechanical ingenuity and 
 thorough understanding of the principles of 
 dentisl ry. 
 
 On the 29th of October, L896, in Petersburg, 
 Dr. MeDougall was married to Miss Bertha 
 Hutcherson, a daughter of William and Emma 
 Hutcherson. Her father died a number of 
 years ago, bui her mother is still living. Mrs. 
 MeDougall was educated rn the Petersburg 
 high school, completing her course in the same 
 class of which her husband was a member, and 
 then both took up the work of teaching, which 
 she followed until her marriage. She was a 
 lady of natural refinement and culture, as well 
 as intellectual force, which endeared her to a 
 large circle of friends, and caused her loss to 
 be deeply felt, when on the 16th of September, 
 1897, she was called from this life. She left 
 nne daughter, Bertha Galie, hum September 11. 
 1897. 
 
 Dr. MeDougall is a prominenl Mason, hav- 
 ing attained the Knight Templar degree of 
 the York rite, the thirty-second degree el* the 
 Scottish rite, and i- also a member of the 
 Mystic Shrine, lie is an active member of 
 the High School Alumni As-ocialion of Peters- 
 
 burg ami also id' the Alumni Association of 
 the Chicago Dental College, which meets each 
 year in Chicago. His attention is largely de- 
 voted to his professional duties, and laudable 
 ambition, thorough collegiate preparation and 
 earnest devotion to his chosen calling have 
 secured to him gratifying success and consec- 
 utive advancement. 
 
 \l.o\Xo I.. STUEGIS. 
 
 Uonzo L. Sturgis, a representative farmer 
 of township 11*. was born in Caldwell county. 
 Missouri. November I". 1856, but in early boy- 
 hood days was trough! to Menard county by 
 his parents, Daniel ami Sarah (Brooks) Stur- 
 gis. The father was a native of Pennsylvania 
 
 ami in early life re ved to the west. After 
 
 residing for some time in Missouri he brought 
 his family to Menard county in the fall of 
 1861 and continued in active business here as 
 a farmer and stock-raiser until called to his 
 final rest in the year 1875. His we low still 
 survives him ami is now Living in Greenview, 
 having passed the seventieth mile-stone on life's 
 journey on the 9th of May. 1904. In their 
 famih were five children: Alonzo I..: Eliza- 
 beth, tin' wife of John ii n Pierce, of this county : 
 William lb. who is married and resides in 
 Menard county; Nancy .1.. who died Ma\ 30. 
 1838; and Susan, the wife of Morris Stone, of 
 this county. The parents were members of 
 I lie Cumberland Presbyterian church ami were 
 people of genuine worth ami of the highesl 
 respectabilit) . 
 
 The boyhood daj'S of A lollZo I.. Sturgis Were 
 
 (piieth passed in Menard county, there being 
 no event of special importance. He w oil, d 
 
 in the fields upon the h I farm and acquired 
 
 his education in the public schools. Under his 
 father's direction be learned the besl methods 
 of earing for the stock and of cultivating his 
 crop- and aider bis father'- death he continued 
 
 upon the old h stead place with his mother 
 
 until twenty-four years of age. at which time 
 
 be was married and wen' to a I of his 
 
 o\\ n. I le resided 111 G feoll\ ieW for one \ e;|r 
 
 and on the ."itb of November, 1882, removed 
 i-i l rish < I-rove on the old Sturgis homestead
 
 1SG 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 Subsequently lie took up his abode upon the 
 home farm and since the first of March, 1896, 
 has there carried on general agricultural pur- 
 suits and the raising of stock. For thirty-two 
 years he operated a threshing machine each 
 season, but during the pasl two year- has not 
 engaged in that business. 
 
 On the 24th of December, 1880, Mr. Sturgis 
 was united in marriage to Miss Mary M. Cleve- 
 land, a daughter of William II. and Hannah 
 II. (Trumbo) Cleveland. Her father was born 
 August 13, 1838, m New York, and after his 
 removal to the west established his home in 
 Menard county, Illinois, where he carried on 
 agricultural pursuits for a number of Mar-. 
 After the inauguration of the Civil war. 
 aroused by a spirit of patriotism, he offered his 
 services to the Union and on the 11th of Sep- 
 ti ruber, L861, became a member of ( lompany E. 
 Twenty-seventh Illinois Infantry. He was 
 wounded at the battle of Belmont, Missouri, 
 in November, 1861. The regiment received its 
 first baptism of Bre under General McClernand, 
 forming the right wing of the attacking force, 
 and inspired by its brave colonel it drove 
 against the enemy in the midst of a perfect 
 hail of bullets and canister. Mr. Cleveland was 
 honorably discharged February IS. 1862, but 
 he re-enlisted as a member of Com pan I , 
 Twenty-eighth Volunteer Infantry at Peters- 
 burg, June 18. 1864. Later he was with Com- 
 pany C, there having been a consolidation ef- 
 fected on the 27th of dune 1864. He then 
 served with Company C until mustered out aft- 
 er the close of the war. on the loth of March, 
 1866. at Brownsville. Texas. He arrived at 
 Camp Butler Al.-iy 13, 1866, and was there 
 paid off. He is now living at Guthrie Center, 
 Guthrie county, Iowa. During the interval be- 
 tween his first and second periods in military 
 service he lost liis wife, who died July 19, 1863, 
 and he afterward married again and is now 
 living with his second wife in Iowa. The chil- 
 dren of the first marriage arc Alonzo, who was 
 born August 4, 1861, and died November 21, 
 1884 ; and Mrs. Sturgis. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Sturgis are the parents of 
 
 four children: Lawrence E., who was born 
 
 May 6. 1882, and is at home; Holland E., who 
 
 orn < »• tober 2, 1884, and died on the 22d 
 
 "t \.i\eiiiliec. following: Linn L.. born April 
 L8, 1886; and Raymond S., horn July 14, 1889. 
 In his political views Mr. Sturgis is a stal- 
 wart Republican, unfaltering in his advocacy 
 of the party, and he is now serving as one of 
 the school director- and also as road commis- 
 sioner of his township. He is a member of 
 .Myrtle lodge, No. 470, I. 0. 0. F., at Middle- 
 town, has tilled all of its chairs and has been 
 a delegate to the state bulge. His wife is con- 
 nected with the Rebekah degree, the woman's 
 auxiliary of the Odd Fellows society, has held 
 all of the offices therein and she. too, has been 
 a delegate to the state lodge. Mr. Sti rgU be- 
 longs to the Modem Woodman camp, No. 178, 
 of Greenview; the Farmers Mutual Protect] 
 Association, No. "207. at Greenview, and both 
 he and his wife are members of the Court of 
 Honor, connected with Pleasant Valley lodge, 
 \o. 59, at Middletown. They have many warm 
 friends in fraternal circles and are held in 
 high esteem throughout the county where Mr. 
 Sturgis has spent almost his entire life, while 
 Mrs. Sturgis has In en a life-long resident of 
 this portion of the state. 
 
 ANDREW GADDIE. 
 
 Andrew Caddie is a self-made man. whose 
 life history can not fail to prove of interest, 
 as it indicates what may be accomplished 
 through strong and determined purpose, guided 
 by honorable effort. Long a resident of Me- 
 nard county, lie i- now largely living retired 
 from active business 'are-, although he is yet 
 
 to sot stent engaged in buying cud shipping 
 
 stock-. In community interests he has been an 
 active factor and the trust which his fellow 
 townsmen have in him has been indicated by 
 In- election on various occasions to county 
 offices. 
 
 Mr. Gaddie was born on the Orkney islands 
 of Scotland, on the 31st of May, 1837, and 
 when but thirteen years of age he went to sea 
 with his maternal uncle, David Spence as a 
 cabin boy. He followed the sea until nini tei n 
 years of age, after which he returned home and 
 attended school for two years. On the eve- 
 ration of that period be came to the United
 
 H 
 
 B 
 
 w 
 
 g 
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 D 
 
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 r 

 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 189 
 
 States in company with Ins sister Jane, cross- 
 in- the Atlantic in 1859, and since tb ti time 
 he li.-is continuously made his home in Menard 
 county— one oJ its respected and worthy citi- 
 ens, co-operating in many measures for the 
 general good. He filed his paper, indicating 
 his intention of becoming an American citizen, 
 August 23, L862. A few days before this he 
 had manifested his Loyalty to the governmenl 
 li\ joining the Union Army, enlisting on the 
 1 ill, of August, 1862. as a private under Cap- 
 tain John A. Eurt, of Company K. One Hun- 
 dred and Sixth Illinois Infantry. He partici- 
 pated in the siege of Vicksburg, the capture 
 of Eittle Rock, Arkansas, and other engage- 
 ments and was discharged at Little Rock. Oc- 
 tober 1 1, 1864, after more than two years of 
 active service, on account of disability. In 
 the meantime he had been detailed as a re- 
 cruiting officer under Captain Christie with of- 
 fices at Atlanta, [llinois, and lie thus sent many 
 soldiers to the front. 
 
 After his discharge Andrew Gaddie returned 
 to Menard county and in 1st;; he purchased 
 a farm of two hundred acres in township 18, 
 range 5 west. He then turned his attention 
 to the production of the cereals best adapted 
 to soil and climate ami also to the raising of 
 live stock. He purchased Ins farm of Robert 
 A. Creswell, el' McLean county. September 23.. 
 18ii7. and as he found opportunity lie added 
 to his possessions until he now owns three hun- 
 dred and twenty-sis acres of very rich and 
 arable land, which for many years returned 
 to him good harvests and now yields him a 
 sratifving financial income. In 1891, bow- 
 ever, lie put aside the active work of the Selds 
 and retired to private life, removing to Green- 
 view, where he purchased a home, which lie has 
 since occupied, lb 1 lias continuously engaged 
 in shipping stock since 1866 and follows this 
 pursuit to some extent at the present time. 
 In addition to his home farm he has two hun- 
 dred and much acres of land two miles north 
 of Greenview and cue hundred and sixty acres 
 adjoining the corporate limits of the city en 
 the west, together with five acres of timber land 
 in [rish Grove, lie also owns the home that 
 he now occupies, together with four lots there 
 and acre-- the si red he has a nice cottage sit- 
 
 uated on two lots, lie also has a nice house 
 and lot north of town and when be first took up 
 his abode in the city be formed a partnership 
 wuli G. G. Spear, now deceased, in the con- 
 duct of a grocery ami meat market, but not 
 meeting with the success that he anticipated in 
 this venture he sold out October 1, 1893. He 
 has new retired from all business interests, 
 save that to seme extent he yet buys and ships 
 stock. 
 
 Mr. Gaddie ha- been called to several public 
 offices by bis fellow townsmen who recognize 
 his ability and trustworthiness. He was first 
 elected county commissioner in 1876, was re- 
 elected in 1870 and 1882 and again in 1885, 
 serving in all through twelve consecutive years 
 upon the county board. He was also a mem- 
 ber of the school hoard for twenty-one years 
 and was president of the town hoard of Green- 
 view for one year. He has ever exercised his 
 official prerogatives in support of the measures 
 which he deemed would prove of greatest ben- 
 efit to the majority and bis interest in the 
 welfare of bis county is deep and sincere. 
 
 On the 20th of November, L866, Mr. Gaddie 
 was married to Mis- Sarah Keene, a daughter 
 of Thomas and Martha (Warner) Keene. of 
 Vlenard county. Unto them have been horn 
 eight children: John T., born February 17. 
 180S. is residing upon the old homestead: Cora 
 Nellie, horn November 8, 1869, is the wife of 
 George A. Stevens and resides across the street 
 from her father: Katie Gertrude, horn January 
 ■.';. is;-.', is tin- wife of Frank Montgomery, 
 now living on her father's farm north of Green- 
 
 iew : Charles II.. born January 
 
 1873. re- 
 
 sides upon tbe old home place; Mary Emma. 
 horn March I I. L876, is tbe wife of Seymour 
 Sanders, of Greenview; Jessie Arlamise. horn 
 January 26. 1878, is the wife of Ernest Tripp, 
 a hardware merchant of Greenview; Mattie 
 Ann. horn December 5, 1880, is the wife of 
 Elijah G. Spears, of Greenview; Elsie Marga- 
 ret, horn August 31, 1882, is the wife of 
 Charles Ramsey, and they reside with Mr. 
 Gaddie. Mrs. Gaddie, who was horn October 
 8, 1848, died April 22. 1887. and on the 13th 
 of August, 1889, Mr. Caddie was again mar- 
 ried, his second union being with Eliza A. Con-
 
 190 
 
 PAST AN' I) PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 ant, of Menard county, who was bora November 
 10, 1842, and died September 26. 1901. 
 
 Mr. Gaddie attends the Presbyterian church 
 and is a member of Hursl Post, G. A. R. His 
 political allegiance has long been given to the 
 Democracy. He certainh deserves the praise 
 thai is accorded the term of the self-made man. 
 for he never inherited a ceni nor does he owe 
 i single cent, yel he is the possessor of exten- 
 sivi ami valuable property interests, all of 
 which have been acquired through his unfalter- 
 ing enterprise, capable management and jndi- 
 - invest mi nt. 
 
 K1RBY S. JOHNSON. 
 
 Kirby S. Johnson, who for twenty-two years 
 has been a resident of Menard county, wheri 
 he lias been very successful in the conduct of 
 general farming and stock-raising interests, 
 now makes his home in township 19, range 5 
 west, near Middletown, Illinois. He was born 
 in Fleming county, Kentucky, on the 23d of 
 October, 1860, and is a sun of John S. and 
 Luellen i Bradley | Johnson, who were also 
 natives of Kentucky, the Eather born November 
 12, 1817. and the mother on the 25th of De- 
 cember, 1818. John S. Johnson spent his boy- 
 hood days with his parents on the old family 
 homestead in Kentucky and after his father's 
 
 death he began the operation of the old h e, 
 
 comprising three hundred acres of rich land, 
 which he placed under a high state of culti- 
 vation. He was also extensively engaged in 
 the raising of mules and hogs and found thai 
 a profitable source of income. His corn crops 
 were anion-' the largest produced in this section 
 of the state. He bought mules and hogs for 
 the markets of West Virginia and North and 
 South Carolina, and drove his stock to those 
 states, there being no railroads at that time 
 to furnish shipping facilities. He made two 
 trips each year, walking the entire distance. 
 Ai the time of the I livil war he became a meni- 
 
 ■ of the southern army and remai 1 in the 
 
 service until the close of host ilities. In 1844 
 he married Luellen Bradley ami they became 
 the parents of five children, lour sons and a 
 daughter, bu1 two died in childhood. The 
 
 three now living are: Elizabeth, the wife 
 
 .lame- Shrout, a resident of Missouri; George 
 T.. who married Miss Josii Jackson and is 
 now living in Kentucky, and Kirby S. The 
 father long figured prominently in business 
 life and public circles in his part of Ken- 
 tucky, and there he died on the 1st of April, 
 1901. respected by all who knew him. His 
 wife had passed away July 1. 1894. 
 
 Kirby S'. Johnson remained with his parents 
 during the period of his youth and obtained his 
 education in the public schools of Kentucky. 
 In 188-?. however, he hade adieu to parents and 
 friend- and started out in life on his own ac- 
 count, coming to Menard county. Qlino 
 where he secured employment with Thomas 
 Kincaid as a farm hand, being thus engagi d 
 for eighteen months. He then married the 
 daughter of his employer, Mis- Harriet Kin- 
 caid. the marriage taking place on the 14th of 
 January. 188.". Her father was born in Bath 
 county. Kentucky. October 15, 18-??. and mar- 
 ried Miss Lucinda Patterson, whose birth oc- 
 curred in Hardin county, Ohio. They beeami 
 representative and prominent farming people 
 of Menard county, where they spent their re- 
 maining days. Mrs. Kincaid died April 14, 
 1872, and Mr. Kincaid's death occurred Feb- 
 ruary 7, 1900. They were the parents of seven 
 children, three sons and four daughters, but 
 the firs! two died in infancy. The five now 
 living are Lee, a resident of Athens, who was 
 born February 7, 1857, and married Miss 
 Susan P.. Culver; Mrs. Johnson, born Decem- 
 ber 31, 1861 ; Louie J., who was horn August 
 16, 1864, and is the wife of Harry P. Jones, 
 who resides near Athens; Lucy P.. who was 
 born October 30, 1867, and is the wife of 0". 
 J. Hale, of Jacksonville, Illinois; and Annie 
 S., who was horn May 9, 1871, and is the wife 
 of Isaac Jones, who resides near Ellston, 
 Iowa. 
 
 The home of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson has i een 
 blessed with five children, all sons: Harry 
 I)., horn July IT. 188(1; Thomas K.. horn Au- 
 o-usl I. 1889; Hugh P.. horn November 8. 
 1892; Vincent K, hern May 29, 1896: and 
 Geor.cre T... bom March 26. 1900. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Johnson 
 removed to Jackson county, Missouri, when 
 be carried on farming for a vear, and they
 
 mi;, and mrs. k. s. .joiinsox.
 
 PAST \\l> PEESENT OF MENAED COUNT! 
 
 193 
 
 then returned to Menard county, where, in 
 Ism;, he began the operation of one hundred 
 and twenty-sis acres of land. Ee afterward 
 purchased this property and he now lias two 
 hundred and sixty acres, on which he carries 
 mi genera] farming with good success. II*' has 
 also been well known in connection with stock- 
 raising. At one time he was extensively en- 
 gaged for ten years in the raising of fine horses 
 
 DC 
 
 for driving and for the track, and he had a 
 track upon his farm for training. He devel- 
 oped some good racing stock and raised and 
 sold many good roadsters. <»n the 8th of June, 
 L899, he held a public sale and disposed of all 
 the fine bred horses which he had at thai time. 
 He had during thai period several fine stal- 
 lions, which he kepi For breeding purposes: In 
 more receni years he has given his attention to 
 draft horses, and at the present writing, in the 
 fail of 1904, he lias upon his farm twenty head 
 of horses, ninety head of cattle, two hundred 
 hogs and fifty sheep. He is regarded as one 
 of the leading stockraisers of this part of the 
 country, and lias handled many fine animal.-'. 
 Mr. Johnson is a member of the Masonic 
 fraternity. His political allegiance is given 
 
 the De cracy and he has served for three 
 
 years as county commissioner, but is not an 
 aspirant for office and has declined to become 
 a candidate for other official positions. He 
 has been school director, however, for twelve 
 years and the cause of education finds in him 
 a warm and helpful friend. He and his wife 
 attend the Presbyterian church. In his busi- 
 ness career he has steadily worked his way up- 
 ward, overcoming all difficulties and obstacles 
 in bis path and he now occupies an enviable 
 position amen-' men of affluence in Menard 
 
 ennui v. 
 
 JEFF JOHNSON. 
 Jeff Johnson is one of the best known citi- 
 zens of Menard county, few having longer re- 
 sided in (his part of the state. Tie is. indeed. 
 an honored and respected pioneer settler and be 
 receives the veneration and esteem which should 
 ever be accorded those of advanced years whose 
 lives have been worthily passed. He resides in 
 
 Athens precinct and the old homestead farm 
 was also his birthplace. He was hum October 
 :;. 1828, his parents being William and Cynthia 
 (Williams) Johnson, both of whom were na- 
 ties of Bath county, Kentucky. The father was 
 born January 8, 1801, and was reared in the 
 county of his nativity. After arriving ai 
 years of maturity he married Miss Cynthia Wil- 
 liams and immediately afterward they started 
 for Illinois, arriving in this state in the fall of 
 IS'.':!. They were among the first permanent 
 settlers of Menard county. Mr. Johnson se- 
 cured a claim, entering the land from the gov- 
 ernment, and built a cabin, which was at the 
 bead of Indian creek, his farm being included 
 within the borders of our subject's property. 
 lie continued to reside here until his death, 
 which occurred about 1843. He was noted for 
 his honor in all business transactions and in 
 every relation of life, and he was a man of 
 quiet and refined habits, unassuming in dis- 
 position and yet whose genuine worth caused 
 him to enjoy the regard and confidence of all 
 with whom lie was associated, lie never sought 
 public office, in fact, always refused all oilers 
 made him for political preferment. He en- 
 joyed more the even tenor of farm life and do- 
 mestic quiet and happiness, lie reared a fam- 
 ily id' seven children, of whom only two are 
 now living: Jeff and John, residents of 
 
 Menard county. Those deceased were: Mrs. 
 
 Hannah Bracken : Melinda, wife of Edward L. 
 Sweeney: Joseph; and Elijah, who was killed 
 bv the Indians in California in 1853. 
 
 Jeff Johnson, whose name introduces this 
 record, pursued his education in an old log 
 school house in Menard county, with a punch- 
 eon floor, shih benches ami an immense lire- 
 place and other primitive furnishings. Little 
 was taught beyond reading, writing and arith- 
 mei ic, hut experii n< e and obsen at ion ha\ e 
 added greatly to his knowledge and he has kept 
 
 in t :h with the progress of the world through 
 
 reading. Aiter leaving school he began farm- 
 in-- on the old home place and throughout the 
 greater part of his life he has carried on agri- 
 cultural pursuits and stock-raising. He was n 
 breeder and buyer of hogs and cattle and made 
 a specialty of raising what was known as short- 
 horn Christmas cattle. As there were no ship-
 
 194 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 ping facilities in Menard county at that time 
 he drove his cattle to St. Louis to market. At 
 the time of the Civil war he traded extensively 
 in unties and horses and making judicious pur- 
 chases In' was also able to make profitable sales. 
 His business lias been carried on successfully 
 and what he has acquired has come to him as 
 the direct result of bis enterprise, careful labor 
 and management and his keen business fore- 
 sight. He now owns four hundred and fifty- 
 five acres of land in this county and a section 
 in Kansas. 
 
 On the 30th of December, L858, Mr. John- 
 son was united in marriage to Miss Mary 
 Riley, who was born in Piqua, Miami county,' 
 Ohio, September 21, 1836. Her parents were 
 Nathan I'ratt and Bethany (Jackson) Riley, 
 tin former a native of Middletovra, Connecti- 
 cut, and tlie latter of Findlay, Ohio. When she 
 was eight years old the family came west and 
 settled in Logan county, Illinois, but two years 
 later removed to Beloit, Wisconsin, where they 
 spent eight years. Ai tin- end of that time they 
 returned to Ohio, where Mrs. Riley died. Sub- 
 sequently the father again came to Illinois and 
 died at the home of our subject in 1898, at the 
 age of eighty-eighl years. In his family were 
 ten children, of whom four are still living. 
 Mr. and Mr-. Johnson have one daughter, 
 Anna, whose birth occurred on the old home- 
 stead in 1867 and who is now- the wife ol* E. 0. 
 King, a prominent attorney of Lincoln. Illi- 
 nois. They have three children. Mrs. John- 
 son is a member of tlie Presbyterian church. 
 
 Mr. Johnson has been many times solicited 
 tn become a candidate for office hut has steadily 
 refused, preferring to devote his energies to 
 his business a Hairs and his leisure time to the 
 enjoyment of the pleasures of home. He has 
 always given a stanch support to the Repub- 
 lican party, however, since it- organization. 
 He has contributed his full share to the ma- 
 terial progress and upbuilding of the county 
 and In 1 takes a just pride in what has been ac- 
 complished. His memory forms a connecting 
 link between the primitive pas! with its pioneer 
 conditions and enviroments ami the progressivi 
 present with its modern civilization and 
 splendid improvements. He can relate from me- 
 mory manv incidents concerning the early 
 
 days and of later development and is consid- 
 ered authority on all subjects relating to the 
 pioneer history of Menard county, where for 
 seventy-sis years he has made his home, residing 
 continuously upon one farm. 
 
 FRANK E. BLANE. 
 
 Frank E. Blane. a son of Captain S. H. 
 Blane, was horn near Oreenview, this county, 
 October Hi. L866. He obtained his elementary 
 education in the public school of Menard 
 county and was graduated front the high school 
 of Petersburg in 1884. lie attended Eureka 
 College at Eureka, Illinois, two years and sub- 
 sequently matriculated in Knox College, at 
 Galesburg, Illinois, where he graduated with 
 the class of 1888. At Knox College he was a 
 member of Delta Chapter of the Phi Helta 
 Thota Fraternity. He entered upon the study 
 of law with his father as preceptor and on the 
 17th day of January. 1891. was licensed to 
 practice law. lie at once became a partner of 
 his father under the firm name of Blane it 
 Blane. This connection continued until the 
 junior partner was elected county judge in I he 
 fall of 1898. He served on the bench until 
 June, 1902, when, owing to his father's ill 
 health, he resigned hi- official position to again 
 
 b& o his father's partner in the law business, 
 
 this relationship continuing until the death of 
 Captain Blane. 
 
 Frank E. Blane was twice elected city attor- 
 ney of Petersburg, in 1891 and 1893. He is a 
 member of the Christian church at Peters- 
 burg and an active Mason, being a member of 
 Clinton lodge, No. 19. A. F. ,\: A. M.; Hewitt 
 chapter. No. 119, If. A. M. ; St. Aldemar cotn- 
 mandery, No. [",, K. T. : and Mohammed Tem- 
 ple of the Mystic Shrine. 
 
 \IAluN G. EURD. 
 
 For main years actixeh engaged in Earm- 
 ing in Menard county and at an early day 
 identified with the educational developmeni of 
 his district, Allium G. Hurd is now- living a re- 
 tired life, enjoying the fruits of Irs former
 
 m 
 
 ^Z^^^f
 
 PAST AMi PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 L97 
 
 toil. Ee was bora in Sunapee, Sullivan county, 
 \i w Hampshire, on the 13th of March, L838, 
 In- parents being Hiram and Esther i Patten) 
 Hurd. The llunl 1'amih is of English lineage 
 and was established in Massachusetts in early 
 colonial days by Peter Hurd, the great-great- 
 grandfather of our subject, who soil led in Now 
 Hampshire near the present site of Concord. 
 There he carried on agricultural pursuits. He 
 was accompanied on the voyage by two brothers, 
 one of whom established his home in Connecti- 
 cut, while the other went south to Virginia. 
 Peter Hurd became the owner of land in the 
 Old Granite state and there he resided until 
 called to bis final rest. He was also accom- 
 panied to America by the great-grandfather of 
 our subject, who likewise made bis home in 
 \rw Hampshire and there reared his family. 
 The grandfather was a soldier of the Revolu- 
 tionary war and participated in many of the 
 battles that occurred in the eastern section of 
 the country. Hiram Hurd, horn and reared in 
 V ,\ Hampshire, also carried on agricultural 
 pursuits. He wedded Miss Esther Patten, who 
 was of Scotch-Irish descent. Her father was 
 also one of the heroi s of the Revolutionary war, 
 -ci \ in- as a private, and he likewise represented 
 one of the oldest American families. Hiram 
 
 Hurd was one of a fi 1\ of lour sons and 
 
 three daughters, all of whom are now deceased. 
 He had a brother, John A. Hurd, who came 
 to lllinoi- iii 1838 and settled in Beardstown, 
 where he owned land and reared a family of one 
 son and two daughters. The son died while 
 serving his country in the Ci\ il war. One of 
 the daughters, Mrs. Celania C. Dickerson, now 
 resides in Jacksonville, Florida. 
 
 Hiram Hurd remained m New Hampshire 
 until after his marriage and the birth of several 
 children. He came to Illinois in 1854, bring- 
 ing with him one son and one daughter, having 
 losl five children during their residence in the 
 
 Old Granite state, all of wl i died in early 
 
 life save [rvin, who was nineteen years of age 
 at the time of his demise. M r. 1 1 urd setl led 
 
 upon the farm where his son Al G. now 
 
 resides and he became one of the enterprising 
 
 and prosperous farmer- of this c tty, adding 
 
 to his landed possessions from time to time un- 
 til he had acquired aboui eight hundred acre-. 
 
 lie had secured one hundred and sixty-eighl 
 acres before his arrival here, locating this with 
 a laud warrant given his brother John A., who 
 served as a soldier. Mr. Hurd continued to re- 
 side in Menard county for many years and was 
 respected as a worth] pioneer and upright citi- 
 zen. His birth had occurred in L800 and he 
 was therefore eighty-si.\ years of age at the 
 
 til if hi- death in 1886. Ill- H if' 1 passed 
 
 away in 1891 and her remains were interred by 
 his side in Oakridge cemetery. Both were con- 
 sistent and faithful members of the Christian 
 church and Mr. Hurd had given stalwart polit- 
 ical support to the 1 >einoerac\ . 
 
 Almon 0. Hurd began his education in the 
 schools of \eu I lamp-hire and continued his 
 studies at Indian Point, Illinois. lie left 
 school, however, at the age of sixteen years and 
 afterward devoted his entire attention to farm 
 labor, lie had assisted in the cultivation and 
 improvement of the old homestead in the state 
 of Ins nativity and after coming to the west he 
 aided in the arduous task of developing a new 
 farm, lie began agricultural pursuits on Ins 
 own account on the farm where he yet resides, 
 and as a companion and helpmate for life's 
 journc\ he chose Miss Mary J. Miles. a daugh- 
 ter of dames Miles. Shi' was educated in the 
 common schools and in 1861 -lie gave her hand 
 in marriage to Mr. Hurd. The} became the 
 parents of two children: Harvey A., who was 
 born J 1 1 1 \ 1 I. 1869, was educated m Peters- 
 burg and became a traveling salesman for the 
 firm of Thomas & Clarke, cracker manufactur- 
 er- of Peoria, Illinois, lie rose very rapidly in 
 business, bu1 in the midst of a very successful 
 , nicer he was taken ill and died on the '.'1st 
 of August, 1901, at the age of thirty-two years, 
 his remains being interred in Oakridge ceme- 
 tery, lona ().. who was horn February 13, 
 is; I. is the wife of 1 1 a rd v I'etorson and they 
 reside with her father. They had one -on. 
 Myron Hah', who was bora November 1. 1902. 
 
 In early maul I Mr. Hurd engaged in 
 
 teaching school at Little Grove and Brush Col- 
 lege, al.-o at Tice and at Little Brick, hut the 
 greater part of his time and attention have 
 been devoted to agricultural pursuits upon the 
 old homestead, on which he has now- lived con- 
 tinuously since 1854. He ha- promote,] mod-
 
 L98 
 
 PAST AM) l'KKSHXT <>F MHXAIil) COUNTY 
 
 em impro.vements here, carrying forward the 
 work of progress until he has a splendidly de- 
 veloped farm property, and in his business deal- 
 ings he i- always just, fair and accurate. His 
 political allegiance is given to the Democratic 
 party. He belongs to the Odd Fellows soci- 
 ety and his wife is identified with the Eebekah 
 degree, while both are members of the Christian 
 church and take a helpful interest in the various 
 church activities. A half century has passed 
 since Mr. Hurd arrived in this county and its 
 remarkable changes are familiar to him, for 
 he lias witnessed its development from pioneer 
 conditions to a -rate of advanced civilization 
 and improvement. 
 
 WILLIAM (iOFF. 
 
 William Goff, who is now living retired, was 
 once engaged extensively in stock-dealing in 
 Menard county and he is now residing in town- 
 ship 18 upon a fine farm of two hundred 
 and eighty-five acres, his attractive home be- 
 ing surrounded by beautiful shade and fruii 
 trees of his own planting. 1 1 < - has traveled 
 far on life's journey and in the evening of life 
 he receives the veneration and respect which 
 should ever be accorded one of advanced years, 
 whose career has been actuated by upright prin- 
 ciples and honorable conduct. He was born in 
 Green county, Kentucky, August 19, 1822, the 
 second son of William and Amy (Trent) Goff. 
 His parents were also natives of Kentucky, and 
 in 1825 they came northward to Menard coun- 
 ty. Illinois, remaining for a short time in 
 Clary'- Grove, after which they removed to a 
 farm five miles southeast of the present site 
 of Petersburg. Not long afterward the father 
 died and the mother, who was a splendid type 
 of the noble pioneer women, not only cared for 
 her Eat herless children but also succei ded in 
 retaining possession of the claim, improving it 
 and laying by some money. Tn the family 
 were seven children. 
 
 William Goff spent his youth and early man- 
 
 I I amid conditions which are always found 
 
 in a frontier district. Mis educational privi- 
 leges were extremely meager and he earned 
 his first money when twelve vears of age bv 
 
 riding horses, tramping out wheat. The sum 
 thus gained he invested in a pig, thus enter- 
 ing upon his first business transact ions. He 
 sold this at a profit and as he found oppor- 
 tunity from time to time he purchased other 
 stock until he had quite a herd of young cattle. 
 He was a successful trader and he continued to 
 thus engage in stock-dealing until about thirty 
 vears of age, when, thinking it time that In- 
 own property, lie entered forty acres of land 
 from the government in Mason county. Illi- 
 nois. < »n the expiration of two years he sold 
 the tract there and purchased eighty acres in 
 Sugar Grove precinct of Menard county, trad- 
 ing a horse in part payment for this land and 
 giving also sixty-five dollars in cash. He then 
 cut logs, which he hauled to a little sawmill 
 and had them converted into lumber, with 
 which to build his first house. This pion i i 
 structure, which is fourteen by sixteen feet, is 
 still standing and is one of the landmarks of 
 the neighborhood. Wh< n he moved into the 
 little home lie had but lifn cents in money and 
 an ox team. He had incurred indebtedness in 
 order to complete the house, but he possess d 
 a resolute spirit and strong determination and 
 his unfaltering courage and willingness to work 
 
 have I n the means that have enabled him 
 
 to overcome all difficulties and obstacles in 
 his path and work his way steadily upward to 
 success. He had been installed in his new 
 home for only a brief period when he broke 
 forty acres of prairie land for Air. Brasfield 
 at two dollars per acre and with this amount 
 he paid for the building of his house. 
 
 On the 54th of October. 1844, Mr. Goff was 
 united in marriage to Miss Man 1). Westfall, 
 who was born in Pennsylvania, October 10, 
 L824. Her parents removed to Des Moines 
 county. Iowa, in 1838. Mr. and Mrs. Goff re- 
 sided upon a farm in Sugar Grove precinct 
 ami as opportunity offered he purchased more 
 land until he had one hundred and sixty acres 
 This he mortgaged for one thousand dollar 
 and used the money to buy stock. He often 
 had as high as seventy-five head of fai cattle 
 at one time. These he purchased for aboul 
 twenty-six dollar- per bead and sold them for 
 one bundnd and six dollars per head, thus 
 realizing a good profit on bis investment. He
 
 MR. AM) MRS. WILLIAM GOFF.
 
 WILLIAM GOFF L\H FAMILY
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 203 
 
 also -"lil mules enough at one time to buy fifty 
 head of cattle. On another occasion he bought 
 ten old sows for ten dollars each and after let- 
 ting 1 1 1 < - 1 1 1 run in a lot fur six weeks he fat- 
 tened them and sold them for twenty-five dol- 
 lars each. He continued to feed cattle and. hogs 
 Eor ten war- and lias had some very line stock, 
 his besl cattle weighing as high as sixteen and 
 seventeen hundred pounds. He has always 
 made money in the stuck business, for being 
 an excellent judge of stock he was enabled to 
 make judicious purchases and profitable sales. 
 In I860 lie bought fifty head of cattle for 
 fourteen dollars per head and after feeding 
 them -"M them for forty-five dollars per head. 
 receiving payment in gold at a time when that 
 currencj was at a premium. These he bought 
 in Kiin\ county and drove them to Menard 
 county. On another occasion he purchased a 
 herd of cattle fur which he paid fifty dollars 
 
 per head and after f ling them he received 
 
 one hundred and twenty-five dollars per head. 
 He also I ght a yoke of oxen for sixtj dol- 
 lar-, which he afterward sold for two hundred 
 dollars. Mr. Goff became very widely known 
 as a \er\ extensive and prosperous stock-raiser 
 and dealer, and his business was carried on 
 along progressive and profitable lines for a 
 iiiimlier of years, or until 1889, when he sold 
 his stock I" his son Fred and since that time 
 he has practically been living a retired life, 
 he ami his wife occupying their fine home in 
 Sugar Grove precinct, which is surrounded by 
 -hade and fruit trees "I' his own planting, lie 
 here has two hundred and eighty-five acres of 
 rich and valuable land, which is the visible 
 evidence of his life of thrifl and industry. 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Goff were born ten chil- 
 dren, and the group picture here represented 
 -hows four generations of the family, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Goff being the great-grandparents. 
 
 While business cares have largely occupied 
 hi* time and attention Mr. Coir has also found 
 opportunity to devote to public interests, lie 
 served a- road commissioner for one wear and 
 was school director for fifteen or twenty years. 
 In politics he is a stanch Democrat, belies ing 
 firmly in the principles of Democracy, and both 
 he and his wife are members of the Baptisl 
 church and have long taken an active and help- 
 
 ful part in its work, contributing to n- sup- 
 port ami doing all in their power to promote 
 its progress. <>no of the venerable citizens of 
 Mcnanl county, Mr. (loir is honored as a pa- 
 triarch id' this community and it is with pleas- 
 ure i hat we present to our readers the record 
 of his career. 
 
 JOHN W. DONALDSON. 
 
 Among the younger and yel enterprising ami 
 successful farmers of Menard county John \V. 
 Donaldson is numbered. He was horn August 
 9, 1876, and is a son of Walker Richard and 
 Rebecca (Sewers) Donaldson. His father was 
 horn in Bath county. Kentucky, duly 16, 1824, 
 and was a son of Alexander and Sarah (Power) 
 Donaldson, who came to Menard county in 
 1850, settling on a farm on Salt creek. Their 
 family numbered twelve children. W. Richard 
 Donaldson, after arriving at man's estate, had 
 
 come io Menard county six iths before the 
 
 arrival of his parents. In 1852 he made an 
 overland trip to California with a large Hock 
 of sheep, starting in the month of February 
 and arriving in the Sacramento valley in Oc- 
 tober of that year, for four years he remained 
 on the Pacific coast employed in various ways 
 and upon his return to Illinois he engaged in 
 
 the live-stock business, bee ing an extensive 
 
 dealer, widely known iii this connection in 
 Illinois and Missouri. About 1867, however, 
 he concentrated hi- energies upon the develop- 
 ment and improvement of his land and upon 
 his farm lie spent his remaining days. During 
 and after the war. however, he made many 
 trip- into Missouri, which at that lime was 
 in a very unsettled condition and he bought 
 and brought to this state many droves of cattle, 
 which he sold to farmers. His life was often 
 endangered by bushwhackers, hut he possessed 
 gieai courage and persevered in his business 
 career. He ultimately became the owner of 
 land in both Missouri and Illinois, lie had 
 manifested his loyalty l<> the government at the 
 time of the Mexican war by enlisting as a sol- 
 dier of Company G, Third Kentucky Volun- 
 teer Infantry, serving under General Scott 
 and participating in all of the engagements
 
 201 
 
 •AST AMi PRESENT OF MEXARD (OIXTY 
 
 from tin- coast to the ancient city of the Monte- 
 zumas. He died in his sixty-eighth year after 
 about a year's illness and was survived by his 
 « fe and Eour sons, who resided on the home- 
 d farm containing five hundred acres of 
 valuable hind. A local paper in speaking of 
 Mr. Donaldson, said: "He was the soul of 
 
 honor. His word was a- g 1 as In- bond. 
 
 and while be would resent an injury or defend 
 a friend « itli a rengeance thai was terrible to 
 opponents, there was no better-hearted., whole- 
 souled citizen than 'Dick' Donaldson. Politi- 
 cally he was of the General Jackson type. He 
 sought no office, but no Democrat in this county 
 lias been a candidate for or elected to an office 
 until his recenl illness that does not owe him 
 a drill mi grat it ude. In all political contests 
 the warmer the battle, there, in the thickest of 
 the fight, Hick Donaldson was sure to be, as 
 can be attested by many citizens of tin"' pres- 
 en1 dav. There are few who have no! their 
 faults. He may have had his. but they were 
 -.1 overshadowed by generous and more noble 
 nans of character that they were made insig- 
 nificant. All who knew him can truthfully 
 -.i that Walker R. Donaldson was an honorable 
 citizen, a good neighbor, a true friend, and 
 a kind husband and father." 
 
 John W. Donaldson was reared under the pa- 
 rental roof upon the old homestead farm, which 
 is -till his place of residence. He attended the 
 public si ml was instructed in lessons 
 
 of industry and economy on the old homestead. 
 11,. early learned tb< j best method- of produc- 
 ing good crops and caring for the stock and 
 throughoui his business career has engaged in 
 genera] farming and stock-raising. II" both 
 buys and feeds stock for the market and in 
 i m. , 1904, he shipped three carload- of cattle 
 and two carloads of hogs to the Chicago mar- 
 ket. 
 
 On the 26th of October, L898, Mr. Donald- 
 son was married to Ruth Armeling, a daughter 
 of John II. and Caroline M. ( Pugh) Armeling, 
 the former born in Badbergen, Ham- 1 r, I b 
 many. Maid. ■.». 1841, and the latter in Nan- 
 I. erne county. Pennsylvania. March 
 18, 1841. In his early childhood days the 
 father was broughl to America and h .- first 
 lessons in walking were received on the deck of 
 
 the ship on which the voyage was made. With 
 his parent- he came to Ma-oii county. Illinois, 
 where he has made bis home up to the pres- 
 ent time, following the occupation of farming 
 throughoui the period of his manhood. He 
 has been prominent ami influential in i om- 
 munity affairs, has served as a member of the 
 
 -. I i hoard, gives bis polil ii al support to 
 
 the Democracy and religiously is identified 
 with the Methodist church. In his family are 
 eight children, five of whom have been school 
 i-. Deluding Mrs. Donaldson. She holds 
 membership in the MethodisI church and in 
 hi- political views Mr. Donaldson is a I 
 erat. He has worked earnestly and persistently 
 - no attaining adult age and is a worthy rep- 
 ie of the honored pioneer fam- 
 ilies of the county and is also classed with the 
 successful agriculturists. 
 
 JiMIX K. K1XCAID. 
 
 John Kennedy Kineaid. one of the most in- 
 fluential factors in the moral developmenl of 
 \|. : nl county, and one whose business record 
 wa- alike creditable and worthy of emula 
 n sided for a half century in this part o 
 state and wa- respected and honored wherever 
 no n. A native of Kentucky, he wa- horn in 
 Bath county, dune 30, 1808, ami was the eldesl 
 in the family of eleven children born unto 'n- 
 drcw and Anna I". (Caldwell) Kineaid. His 
 grandfather, Archibald I!. Kineaid, was a na- 
 tive of [reland and in early life came to the 
 new world, locating in Virginia, where 
 sided until 1780. lb- then removed with his 
 family to Bath county. Kentucky. His son. 
 Andrew Kineaid. was at that time four years 
 agi The latter remained upon his father's 
 farm until 1807, when he was united in mar- 
 
 ag to W iss Anna I'. Caldwell and established 
 a home of hi- own. In 1834 be removed to Illi- 
 Dois, locating in township is. Menard county. 
 on land purchased from Ellis Branson. After 
 a lone. ii-,. ful and honorabli i ari ei he dii 
 1872 at tin' age of eighty --e\ en years. 
 
 John Kennedy Kineaid -pen! the days of his 
 bovhood and youth in the state of bis nativity. 
 pursued hi- education there and came to Illi-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 205 
 
 nois two years previous to the removal of the meritorious work b} forming a Sunday-school 
 
 other members of the family, arriving in this for the colored people. He was always deeph 
 
 state in 1832. He made his way up the Illi- interested in the colored race and did much for 
 
 nois river to Beardstown and walked from then the improvemenl of those who lived in his 
 
 i" Springfield. S afterward he removed to community. He rejoiced in the honor of bc- 
 
 Menard count} and devoted his time and ener- ing personally acquainted with the greal 
 
 gies to various pursuits, following carpentering, emancipator, Abraham Lincoln, and his work 
 
 farming and school-teaching up to the time of in behalf of the black race was attended with 
 
 his marriage. He afterward gave his attention g I results. He was a frequenl and generous 
 
 exclusively to agricultural pursuits and placed contributor to the work of the board of freed- 
 
 his land under a very high state of cultivation, men. On coming to [llinois lie joined the 
 
 Viewed from a financial standpoint, he was en- North Sangamon Presbyterian church, jusi two 
 
 tirely a self-made man, for when he arrived in years after its organization, and on the 5th of 
 
 Illinois he had a capital of only fifty dollars. June. is:;;, lie was chosen ruling elder, which 
 
 As the years advanced and his financial re- office lie filled with marked fidelity and ureal 
 
 sources increased he invested in land and he- ability for almosl fifty years. He was active in 
 
 came tin 1 owner of a valuable farming prop- the various departments of church work, was 
 
 erty, in the development and cultivation of the teacher of the Bible class in the Sunday- 
 
 which he acquired prosperity. He labored per- school for al s1 half a century and labored noi 
 
 sistently, hi- efforts directed b} sound judg- only for his local church, but also supported the 
 
 incut and strong purpose, and he became rec- various branches of church work, being a lib- 
 
 ognized as one of the mosl successful, promi- era! contributor to home and foreign missions. 
 
 nenl and influential citizens of Menard county. The cause of education received hi- heart} en- 
 
 ln March, 1836, Mr. Kineaid was united in dorsemeni and he did much I'm' the local 
 
 marriage to Miss Vienna Williams, a daughter schools. He was one of the principal founders 
 
 of James Williams, and I'm- more than a half of the North Sangamon Academy, which for 
 
 century they traveled life's journey together, many years afforded the besi preparatory prepa- 
 
 sharing with each other its joy;- and sorrows, ration for college in the county. Reform, 
 
 it- adversity and prosperity. They became the progress and improvement might be termed the 
 
 parents of fourteen children, bul only five are keynote of his character. He departed this life 
 
 now living. Mr. Kineaid was mosl devoted to February 16, 1887, and his wife, who \\a< horn 
 
 his I'aniiK and In- pleasure was nol in the ac- Ma} I. 1817, passed away March '.'!>. 1888. 
 
 cumulation of wealth, bul in bestowing upon Theirs was a mosl congenial married relation 
 
 his wile and children the comforts that money and they were no1 long separated in death. 
 
 could secure. Me was also mosl generous in Some one who knew Mr. Kineaid long and well 
 
 his support of the church anil kindred move- -aid: "In hint the union of business and 
 
 ments, and the poor and need} found in him a Christian life was mosl beautifully portrayed 
 
 "arm and liberal friend. lie was sixteen vcars and lived, lie improved his opportunities for 
 
 of age when his parents united with the Presbv- material advancement, vei was never neglectful 
 
 terian church ami at the same time broughl all of his duties to his fellow men or his Creator, 
 
 of their children under the holy ordinance of and he left behind him an example which is an 
 
 baptism. The impressive ceren \ was never inspiration to all who knew him." 
 
 forgotten by John K. Kineaid and it was no1 
 
 before he made public profession of In- 
 
 faith in religion, remaining to the close of Ins 
 
 tie a ni.i-i earnesl Christian, whose faith was 
 
 s 
 
 IT W. SPEARS, D. D. S. 
 
 proven by his work-. Almost immediately after Dr. G. W. Spear.-, engaged in the prai tice of 
 
 uniting with the church he ami a young com- dentistn in Petersburg, was born in Tallula, 
 
 panion organized a Sunday-scl I. which net Menard county, May 1. 1869, a son of <;. C. 
 
 in his father's home, and later the} did a mosl and Elizabeth Spears, the former born in Ken-
 
 206 
 
 PAST AXD PEESENT OF MENARD COTJNTY 
 
 lucky on the 18th of April. 1822, while the lat- 
 in'- birth occurred in Menard county. In thi ir 
 family were nine children, of whom 0. W. 
 Spears is the seventh in order of birth. 
 
 Beared under the parental roof. Dr. Spears 
 devoted the greater part of his boyhood to the 
 acquirement of a good education in the public 
 schools of his native town, and "hen he had 
 mastered the more specifically literary branches 
 of knowledge he entered upon the mastery of 
 the principles of dentistry, matriculating in 
 the Chicago Dental College, where he completed 
 the regular course and was graduated on the 
 1st of May, I! 1 "'.'. Immediately afterward he 
 came to Petersburg. He did not have long to 
 wait for patients and his business ha- grown 
 continually, so that he now has a large and 
 gratifying practice. He is familiar with the 
 latest methods known to the science, has his 
 office equipped with the latest improved dental 
 appliances, and his skill in performing the 
 mechanical work connected with the profession 
 has secured him a very desirahle patronage, 
 which indicate- that he has found favor with 
 the public. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1902, Dr. Spears was 
 united in marriage to Miss Florence Wood, of 
 Petersburg, a daughter of H. A. Wood, one of 
 the old settlers and prominent residents of 
 Menard county. The Doctor and his wife are 
 niemher.- of the Christian church, have many 
 friends and occupy an enviable position in social 
 circles here. Fraternally he is connected with 
 the Knights of Pythias lodge, and in the line 
 of his profession he is a memher of the Alumni 
 Association of the Chicago Dental College and 
 also helongs to the Illinois State Dental Soci- 
 etv. He is a Republican in politics, hut caxes 
 nothing for public office. 
 
 OTTO F. LENZ. 
 
 Few men are more prominent or more widely 
 known in the enterprising city of Petersburg 
 
 than Ott<» Ferdinand Lenz, who has been an 
 important factor in business circles here, being 
 connected with a number of industrial and 
 commercial enterprises which have direct and 
 important hearing upon the commercial activ- 
 
 ity and consequent progress and prosperity of 
 his city. In his life work he displays many 
 of the sterling characteristics of the German 
 people from whom he came. lie was horn in 
 Arnswalde, in the province of Brandenburg, 
 Germany, on the 4th of January. 1S62. His 
 paternal grandfather. William Lenz. was also 
 a native of that locality and was a carpenter 
 and builder. There he reared his family, in- 
 cluding William Lenz. Jr., the father of our 
 subject. He. too, became connected with build- 
 ing operations and was thus engaged through- 
 out the entire period of his business career. 
 He married Henrietta Martin, also a native of 
 the province of Brandenburg. 
 
 Otto F. Lenz is indebted to the public school 
 system of Germany for the educational privi- 
 leges he enjoyed and remained under the pa- 
 rental roof until eighteen years of age. wh n 
 he resolved to try his fortune in the new world. 
 Accordingly, in 1880. he came to the United 
 States, making his way direct to Petersburg, 
 Illinois, where he has since made his home, 
 and in his business career he has steadily pro- 
 gressed, making his energy and enterprise a 
 commercial possihility, manifest in the suc- 
 cessful control of various enter] irises. For four 
 years he was engaged in coal mining and in 
 1S85 he began learning the bottling business, 
 with which he has since been connected. In 
 the spring of 188G he established a plant of 
 his own. developing the business now know o 
 as the Petersburg Bottling Works. Here he 
 manufactures and bottles pure and high grade 
 carbonated beverages, using none hut distilled 
 water, and the superior quality of tin- product 
 brings a ready sale on the market. Mr. L 
 is also the proprietor of the Edmunds Mineral 
 and Sulpho Hygeia Springs, the waters of 
 which are famous on account of their medicinal 
 qualities as shown under careful chemical anal- 
 ysis. These springs are located across the river 
 from Petersburg. The bottling business is new- 
 very extensive, his plant being fitted up with 
 the latest improved machinery and facilities in 
 that line, and his trade is constantly growing. 
 Mr. Lenz has not limited bis efforts, however. 
 to this line of commercial activity, hut ha- '"en 
 the promoter of other husiness interests and is 
 now the rice president of the Petersburg Coal
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OP MENARD COUNTY 
 
 •MIM 
 
 Alining Company and a director in the Virginia 
 fanning Conipain. <>!' 1'etersburg. Ho forms 
 his plans readily, is determined in their exe- 
 cution ami his keen foresight makes his judg- 
 ment of value in trade transactions. 
 
 On the 36th of April, 1S89. Mr. Lenz was 
 united in marriage to Miss Minnie Speulda, of 
 Springfield, Illinois, a daughter of William 
 Speulda, who was for a number of years suc- 
 cessfully engaged in the jewelry business in 
 the capita] city, where he died during the early 
 girlhood of his daughter Minnie. Unto Mr. 
 and Mrs. Lenz have been born five children, 
 two sons and three daughters: Carl. Ilattie, 
 Bertha, Paul and Marie. 
 
 For almost a quarter of a century a resi- 
 dent of Menanl county. Air. Lenz has figure;! 
 in public affairs. lie is public-spirited and in 
 connection with the city government has pro- 
 moted public measures of lasting benefit. He 
 has never had occasion to regret his determina- 
 tion to become an American citizen for in this 
 country, where the road of opportunity is open 
 to all, he has no1 only developed a profitable 
 business bul has also gained many warm and 
 valued friendships. 
 
 JOHN E. WHITE. 
 
 John E. While, now living in Athens pre- 
 cini i. opened his eyes to the light of day on the 
 old homestead farm in a log cabin, his birth 
 occurring October L5, 1851. Although the 
 farm was then largely unimproved ii is now a 
 well developed trad of land, the fields being 
 rich and arable and returning to the owner 
 a golden tribute for the care and labor he be- 
 stow - upon them. 
 
 The parents of Mr. While were R. F. and 
 Rachel E. (Eoach) White, the former born 
 February 27, L819, in Laclede county, near St. 
 
 I. -■ Missouri. With his father, Robert 
 
 White, he came from his native state to Illi- 
 nois aboul L823, the family home being estab- 
 lished ai Kickapoo, near Lincoln, where Robert 
 White secured a tract of wild land and carried 
 on farming for a short time. lie afterward re- 
 moved to within a quarter of a mile of the 
 home farm of John E. While and there he 
 
 carried on general agricultural pursuits and 
 stock-raising until his death, being one of the 
 early prominent settlers of this section of the 
 state. As a pioneer he took helpful part in 
 laying the foundation for present progress and 
 prosperity, assisting materially in reclaiming 
 the wild land for the purposes of civilization. 
 R. V. White was reared on the old family home- 
 stead and assisted in the farm work, so thai he 
 gained practical knowledge of the labor inci- 
 dent to the improvement of the fields. He 
 was also active in many public affairs, con- 
 tributing to general progress, being one of 
 i he first trustees of the Indian Point school, his 
 associate being Mr. Canby, a well known and 
 highK honored old settler of Menard county. 
 As a companion and helpmate for life's jour- 
 ney R. V. White married Miss Rachel E. Eoach, 
 who was born near Nashville, Tennessee, on the 
 88th of February, 1824. They traveled life's 
 journey together for many years, sharing with 
 each other its joys and sorrows, adversity and 
 prosperit} and upon the old homestead farm 
 imw occupied by their son John E. they reared 
 i heir family. The death of R. F. White oc- 
 curred December 7, 1893, when he was seventy- 
 five years of age. and his wife passed away on 
 the L9th of February, L894, at the age of sev- 
 enl\ years. The county thus lost two of its 
 well known pioneer residents, people whose 
 worth was widely acknowledged. 
 
 John E. White pursued his education in the 
 
 Indian Point sel I and then and now known 
 
 as the North Sangamon A.cademy. Later he at- 
 tended Lincoln University ami when he had 
 acquired a good education he put aside his text- 
 books and returned l<> the ho farm, where he 
 
 has continuously carried igricultural pur- 
 suits with the except i f ime year, when he 
 
 farmed near Irish Grove. lb' has been very 
 practical as well as progressive in bis methods. 
 
 The field devoted i year to a certain kind of 
 
 crop has the next year been used for the raising 
 of a different cereal ami thus the land ha- been 
 kept in rich condition. The latest improved 
 machinery has been used in carrying on the 
 work of the farm and all modern equipments 
 and accessories are Eound upon the White home- 
 stead. 
 
 Air. White married Miss Emma Jane Derrv.
 
 a i o 
 
 PAST AMI I'KKSKVl 
 
 OJ 
 
 MENARD COUNTY 
 
 .1 daughter 'it' James Madison and Martha i Pol- 
 lock) Derry, both of whom are now residents 
 of Petersburg. This marriage has been blessed 
 with three children: Letta K.. who was born 
 February 20, 1886, and died August 25, 1888; 
 Edith B., who was born July 8, L889; and Rob- 
 erl F.. born November I. 1897. The two 
 younger children are yet at borne. 
 
 Mr. White is a trustee of the Lebanon ceme- 
 tery and is an elder of the Lebanon Cumberland 
 Presbyterian church, to which hi- wife also 
 belongs. He affiliates with the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows at Athens and he gives 
 his political support to the Democratic party, 
 as have his ancestors. He has uever sought or 
 desired office, leading a quiet life in this re- 
 spect, but in business he lias always been found 
 energetic and diligent, laboring earnestly to 
 secure a comfortable competence that will en- 
 able him in |'i'ii\ ide liis family with all of the 
 necessities and mam' of the luxuries of life. 
 
 HENRY S. HOUGHTON. 
 
 Henry S. Houghton is capably conducting 
 important business interests and also carrying 
 on agricultural pursuits in township 19, range 
 ; west. He is a aative son of Menard county, 
 horn on the loth of September, 1861. his pa- 
 rents being S. M. and Cherry (Lemar) Hough- 
 ton, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. 
 The father, who was born December 1. 1810, 
 
 was brought to Illinois in his early boyh I 
 
 ,i - and worked at farming in his youth, as- 
 _ mi he arduous task of di veloping m \\ 
 hind. His boyhood was largely a period of 
 i arnesl toil. I le helped to support the family 
 and later, when he found opportunity, he 
 bought land at Little Grove and afterward pur- 
 chased the tract of land upon which his son, 
 Henry S.. now resides. This he improved, 
 transforming it into a cultivable tract, which 
 yielded to him good harvests. He owned three 
 hundred and ninety-six acres at the time of his 
 demise, ha \ ing almost t he ent i re amount tmdi r 
 cultivation. He raised and fed many cattle 
 and hogs for the market. He led a very busy 
 and useful life, while in all his business trans- 
 actions hi- dealings were characterized by the 
 
 strictesl integrity. He was tin owner of the 
 first spring wagon in Menard county and ever 
 manifested a progressive spirit, which prompted 
 him to use the latest improved machinery and 
 to adopt new ideas that would prove of prac- 
 tical benefit. His death occurred on the loth 
 of January, 1889, while his wife, who was horn 
 on the 18th of February, 1818, survived him 
 for more than fifteen years, passing away 
 March 30, 1904 They were married in Sanga- 
 mon county, Illinois, and they became the pa- 
 rents of ten children: John and Harriet, who 
 died in infancy : Eliza and Catherine, also di - 
 ceased; Anna, wdio died at thi age of eight 
 years; Emma, the wife of John Waring; Wal- 
 ter, who is married and resides in Bradley, 
 Illinois: Mary Ellen, who is married and makes 
 her home in Missouri; Henry S : and Elvira. 
 wlm is the wife of B. II. Hutcherson and re- 
 sides in Petersburg. 
 
 At the usual age Henry S. Houghton en- 
 tered the public school- and when not engaged 
 with the duties of the school room he performed 
 
 such labor upon the h ■ farm as his age and 
 
 strength would permit. He continued to reside 
 on the old homestead until his marriage, when 
 lie began working for himself and later he tools 
 
 charge of tl Id home property, being at that 
 
 time aboul twenty-five years of age. He has 
 sine carried on general farming and stock- 
 raising and annually feeds and ships to the 
 market about two carloads of cattle and two 
 hundred bead of hoes. He owns as line a 
 
 tei I' Xortnan three-year-old colts as can 
 
 he found in Menard county, bred hy Gaines 
 Green, lie bought out the interesl oi 'he other 
 heirs in the old home place ami now owns 
 three hundred and seventy-six acres of land, 
 which is very valuable ami productive. He 
 administered his father's estate, acting without 
 a bond and in August, 1904, was discharged 
 from that office, having settL d no the business. 
 IIn father trusted him entirely with the prop- 
 erty- valued at twenty thousand dollar-. II 
 has alwavs been progressive in his farm work 
 and he introduced the first corn cutter and 
 binder in the northern part of the county. In 
 addition in hi- farming int. rests he is the 
 superintendent of the Sand Ridge Pole & Line 
 Telephone Company. In connection with C.
 
 MRS. s. M. EOUGHTON. 
 
 S. M. EOUGHTOX. 
 
 MRS. IT. S. EOUGHTOX.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MEXAI.'D COUNTY 
 
 213 
 
 W. Shipley and W. D. Masters he organized 
 the company and Mr. Houghton built the lines 
 and pushed the work to successful completion. 
 He is also inspector and collector for the Cen- 
 tra] Union Telephone Company in the Sand 
 Ridge district and lie is the secretary of the 
 Concord Cemetery Association. 
 
 Mr. Houghton was married February 1">. 
 1882, to Miss Emma Rutledge, a daughter of 
 James M. and Margaret (Harris) Rutledge, 
 the former a native of Tennessee and the latter 
 a native of Kentucky, born on (he 8th of Octo- 
 ber, 1821. They were married in Sangamon 
 county, Illinois. Air. Rutledge had come to 
 Menard county with his parents when a mere 
 lad. the family home being established about 
 four miles north of Petersburg. There be con- 
 tinued to reside until twenty-six years of age, 
 when bo was married and began farming for 
 himself. He also engaged in stock-raising. He 
 carried the chain for Abraham Lincoln when 
 he was making the surveys in Ibis part of the 
 state and worked with him many days. On 
 one of bis trips to St. Louis with Abraham 
 Lincoln and bis uncle John Rutledge they saw 
 a white man whipping a negro and Mr. Lin- 
 coln remarked that if he had the power be 
 would put a stop to that, little thinking that 
 some day it would be within bis power to 
 loosen tbc bonds that fettered three million 
 slave people. While driving hogs from his 
 home to the Dcardstown market on one oc- 
 casion Mr. Rutledge, then but a boy. was chased 
 by wolves, bul he succeeded in driving the ani- 
 mals away and returned to bis home in safety. 
 For many years be carried on genera] farming, 
 but about six years prior to his death be left 
 the farm ami removed to Petersburg, where 
 he lived retired until called to bis final rest. 
 Unto him and his wife were born fourteen 
 children, seven sons and seven daughters, of 
 whom six are now living: Mary, the wife of 
 John Moore, a resident of Petersburg; James 
 B., who is married and resides in Missouri; 
 Harriet, who is the wife of Andrew Park: 
 Catherine, the wife of John Clary: Mr-;. 
 Houghton : and Harvey, who is married and 
 resides in Springfield. The home of Air. and 
 Mrs. Houghton has been blessed with one son 
 and three daughters: Charles E.. who mar- 
 
 ried Airs. Daisy Dowell; Celestine M., Kiltie 
 C. and Ruth F., all at home. 
 
 A stanch Republican in bis political views, 
 Mr. Houghton has served for one term as coun- 
 ty commissioner, filling that office for a term 
 beginning in 1898. He has been chairman of 
 the county hoard for I wo years and be has been 
 school director and trustee for twelve years, 
 while at the present time he is one of tin* di- 
 rectors of the old Salem Chautauqua. He be- 
 longs to the Petersburg Driving Club, is a 
 member of Clinton lodge, No. 19, A. F. & 
 A. M.. of Petersburg, and is a charter member 
 of the Court of Honor there. He and his 
 family bold membership in the Christian 
 church and he is a most liberal and public- 
 spirited man. He possesses the qualities of a 
 successful business man and a desirable so- 
 cial companion, and among bis more strongly 
 marked characteristics is his unswerving fideli- 
 ty to duty. I lis private interests must always 
 give way to the public good, and thus be has 
 become honored and esteemed by all who have 
 the pleasure of his acquaintance or who have 
 met him in a business way. 
 
 ALEXANDER DONALDSON. 
 
 Alexander Donaldson, a representative of one 
 of the old and valued families of Menard coun- 
 ty, was horn in Ibis county, on the 18th of 
 April, 1871, his parents being Walker Richard 
 and Rebecca (Sowers) Donaldson. The father 
 was a native' of Bath county, Kentucky, horn 
 on the 16th of July. 1824, and died on the 10th 
 of January, 1802. The mother, who was born 
 in Ohio, died February 10. 1898, at the age of 
 fifty-seven years, seven months and eight days. 
 R. W. Donaldson came to Menard county when 
 twenty-one years of age and was married hero 
 by R. D. Miller. Here he successfully carried 
 on agricultural pursuits for many years and 
 reared bis family upon the home farm. 
 
 Alexander Donaldson spent the days of his 
 boyhood and youth in the usual manner of 
 farmer lads of the present day period. He has 
 resided continuously upon the old homestead, 
 where he now carries on general farming and 
 stock-raising and in bis work he manifests
 
 •.'1 1 
 
 PAST WD PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 good business ability, careful management and 
 unfaltering purpose. 
 
 On the 14th of February, 1899, occurred the 
 marriage of Mr. Donaldson and Miss Lizzie 
 Allison. Her parents, James and Ann (Mont- 
 gomery i Allison, were natives of Ireland, the 
 former born in September, is:;:,, and the lat- 
 ter in May of the same year. The} ca to 
 
 the United States in 1858, Locating in Delaware. 
 where the] resided for some time. In 1864 
 1 1 1 . \ arrived in Petersburg, Illinois, and re- 
 mained residents of Menard county until 1902. 
 Mr. Allison carrying on the occupation of farm- 
 In 1902, however, he removed to Logan 
 county, where lie now makes his home. He 
 had visited America when fifteen years of age, 
 but had afterward returned to Ireland, and sub- 
 sequent to his marriage again came to the 
 United States, belies ing that he would have bet- 
 ter busim ss opportunities in the new world. In 
 this hope he was not mistaken, for he found 
 the opportunities he sought and by diligence 
 and persisted energy he lias worked his way 
 steadily upward from a humble financial posi- 
 tion to one of affluence. Unto him and his wife 
 were born -even children: Martha. .James. Wil- 
 liam. Elizabeth, Sarah, John and Alexander. 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson has been horn 
 a daughter, Dorothy F.. who-,, birth occurred 
 
 September 18, I! - 
 
 Mr. Donaldson, whoso worth and ability are 
 
 recognized h.\ his fellow townsmen, has I n 
 
 called to serve as school director, having occu- 
 pied the position for two years. He rotes with 
 the Democracy and is interested in the growth 
 and upbuilding of the party, keeping well in- 
 
 for d on the questions and issues of the day. 
 
 Hi- wife is a member of the Cumberland Pres- 
 terian church and they are respected young 
 people of the community, having many warm 
 friend- in Menard countv. 
 
 JUDGE MILTON B. HARRISON. 
 
 Judge Milton B. Harrison, who died No- 
 vember 24. 1904. was our of the mosl distin- 
 guished lawyers that has ever practiced at the 
 Menard county bar. No political preferment 
 or mere place ran ever add to the power or in- 
 
 crease the bonor which belongs to a true and 
 educated lawyer. It is well known that the 
 peace and prosperity of every community, in 
 fact, of the nation, depend- upon a v\ ise inter- 
 pretation as well as upon a judicious Eraming 
 of the law. A well known jurist of Illinois 
 said, "In the American state the greal and 
 good lawyer must always be prominent, for he 
 
 is one of the fori es that control - itj 
 
 Judge Harrison ranked with the distinguished 
 representatives of the Menard county bar and 
 always stood as a safe conservator of the rights 
 and liberties of the people. He was the de- 
 fender of popular interests, the champion of 
 freedom regulated by law and the firm sup- 
 porter of good government. .Moreover, he was 
 one of the native pioneer sons ol Menard coun- 
 ty, Illinois, and it is therefore with signal 
 consistency that we present the record of his 
 career. His was a life of marked fidelity to 
 duty, of exceptional ability and comprehensive 
 understanding of the principles of jurispru- 
 dence. He stood as the arbitrater of justice, 
 was impartial, of well balanced intellect, was 
 thoroughly familiar with the law. possessed an 
 analytical mind and also a self-control that en- 
 abled him to lose his individuality, his personal 
 feelings, his prejudice and his peculiarities of 
 disposition in the dignity, impartiality and 
 equity of the office to winch life, property, right 
 and liberty must look for protection. 
 
 Milton Bryant Harrison was born June ". 
 1824, on the old family homestead now owned 
 1,\ Harry Houghton, south of the city of Peters- 
 burg. He was a son of Ezekiel Brian Harri- 
 son, a minister, who was born in Virginia, 
 Julv 19, 1786. The mother, who bore the 
 maiden name of Ann .lames Bell, was born in 
 the same state, .Line 14, ITU - .'. His paternal 
 grandparents were Ezekiel II. and Mary 
 (Brian) Harrison, also natives of Virginia. 
 His parents were married in Rockingham coun- 
 tv I,] the < H 1 1 Dominion and removed with their 
 family in 1823 to Menard county. They had 
 ten children, of whom Mrs. Enoch Megredy 
 i- now the only surviving member. 
 
 Judge Harrison began his education in a log 
 schoolhouse at Old Salem. The little "temple 
 of learning" had slab -cats upon wooden pegs, 
 oil paper taking the place of window glass,
 
 <zZ?tJL Mv.^/u^U^> 
 
 tZfcfa-^Tnt
 
 
 p*f fci^
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 219 
 
 and il" room was heated by an immense fire- burg and later was with C. L. Carman, who 
 
 place. The teacher was Menter Graham. Eis was succeeded by his brother, K. G. I'. Harri- 
 
 i md teacher was Th as J. Nance, who held son. Tin- partnership lasted for two years, 
 
 ~u.-i\ in .-in upper room in the residence of when Judge Harrison purchased his brother's 
 
 James Goldsby and Judge Harrison was then interest. He was again with J. V. Harrison 
 
 seven years of age. Eis third teacher was S. from 18G5 until IS69. and was with M. F. 
 
 Skaggs and the school was held in a vacant M from 18159 until is;:;, under the firm 
 
 .,. ,,,, Goldsby's farm. Be afterward con- name of Harrison & Moore. For some time 
 
 tinued his studies in a r n in the residence he was thus associated with mercantile inter- 
 
 of Jesse Maltby, the teacher being Miss Bonney. ests and displayed excellent business ability and 
 
 The next school which he attended was taught executive force. He was also called to public 
 
 in a vacant hous the farm of his brother, duties, being made deputy collector of internal 
 
 John Harrison, the teacher being Miss Emily revenue of the ninth congressional district of 
 
 Chandler, who was also his first Sunday-school Illinois under \Y. G. Green. On the 20th of 
 
 i ier. \-ain he became a student under January, lsi;i. he was appointed collector of 
 
 Menter Graham at the Hardshell Baptist internal revenue by Abraham Lincoln, which 
 
 church, followed by study under Lewis 1'.. office he filled until failing health compelled 
 
 Wynne. At the age of nine years In attended him to resign. During a pari of that time he 
 
 the Farmers Point school, the building having made an enrollment for Menard county ol 
 
 been erected by his father, E. B. Harrison, the persons subject to draft and was himself 
 
 Jesse Maltby and James B. Goldsby, Si-, and enrolled in both Menard and Fulton counties, 
 
 others. His subsequent teachers were J. F. L was his earnest desire to go to the front 
 
 Ham-on. John Goklsby and II. Lightfoot. iii defense of the [Tiion and the old flag, but 
 
 Later he attended school in Petersburg, where his health would not permit. Ee, however, 
 
 he received instruction from F. Met arty and was a most patriotic and loyal-spirited, man and 
 
 C. B. Waldo. Ee was also a student undtr did everything in his power at home to pro- 
 
 W. C. Pierce at Lick Creek in Sangamon mote the progress of the war and secure the 
 
 county and il was in thai locality Dear I. i triumph of the Union arms. 
 
 that he taught his first school in 1S46. While Judge Harrison finally decided to try fann- 
 
 a student in early boyhood he studied his spell- ing in order that the outd ■ exercise might 
 
 ing at nijit by the lighl of the pine knot-, prove beneficial to his health, which had be- 
 t'or there were too many others in the family c greatly impaired during the close con- 
 sitting around the tallow candle for the finemenl in the sheriff's office. For several 
 younger members of the household to get near years he followed agricultural pursuits west 
 the light While teaching school he studied of Springfield and in L8S3 he removed with 
 law at uight ju-t to know n and profitably his family to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in 
 employed hi- tune, while keeping up his habit the hope of being benefited physically, lor Ins 
 of remaining home evenings while other voung health was -till in a precarious condition 
 men played games "out." Later he conducted After thirteen months among the moimtains 
 a lanyard ami a brickyard on land west of his anil springs , n that pail of the country he re- 
 home, lie afterward turned Ins attention to turned with Ins family to the farm, when- they 
 the bakery business in 184' in Petersburg in resided for a few months and then established 
 
 connection with t; -ge Davidson ami eon- hi- home in Petersburg in order that he might 
 
 ducted tin- until the fall of 1848, when he educate In- daughters in the city. There he 
 
 -eM out. Iii the spring of 1849, when twenty- resided up to the time of his death, which 
 
 five years of age, lie entered into partnership occurred on Thanksgiving evening at 8:20, 
 
 witli .1. F. Harrison, with whom he remained November 24, 1904. Thus passed away a man 
 
 for a vear, after which he engaged in teaching of unimpeachable character. Hi- life was a 
 
 school. From 1853 until 1855 he was again record of I sty. justice, patience, urbanity 
 
 with .1. I-'. Harrison a- a merchant of peters- ami industry.
 
 220 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OE MENARD COUNTY 
 
 Judge Harrison's political support was ever 
 given to the Republican party. In 1846, when 
 twenty-two rears of ape. he cast his first vote 
 for Abraham Lincoln, then a candidate for 
 congress. He had been acquainted with Lin- 
 coln at Old Salem when the martyred presi- 
 dent there worked in a mill, to which Judge 
 Harrison would often carry corn on horseback 
 to lie ground. He again voted for Lincoln in 
 L860, when he became candidate for the presi- 
 dency. 
 
 Judge Harrison was married to Mrs. Mel- 
 drum Sutton, nee Hunter, on New Year's eve 
 at Jacksonville Centenary church just at the 
 close of a watch meeting in 1870. Her death 
 occurred October '.'. 1899, and thus he survived 
 her for five years. She had been a fittingcom- 
 panion of her husband, possessing a bright. 
 sunny disposition, combined with a quiet, mod- 
 est demeanor. She was educated in Jackson- 
 ville Academy. She was a kind and loving 
 wife and mother and had a host of warm 
 friends. Her interests centered in her home, 
 which was justly celebrated for its hospital- 
 ity, and because of her many good traits of 
 character she was beloved by all who knew her. 
 Unto Judge ami Mrs. Harrison were born two 
 children. M. II. Belle is now the wife "I' Bar- 
 ton S. Osborn, who resides on a farm four 
 miles south of Petersburg, and they have two 
 children. George Harrison and Ernest Bar- 
 ton. Miss Frances Harrison, the younger 
 daughter, is also a resident of Menard county. 
 
 Judge Harrison became a member of the 
 Methodist church when fourteen years of age, 
 a society being formed at his home, and lived 
 a consistent Christian life, being an earnest 
 worker in behalf of the cause of religion and 
 of education. In fact, he stood as the cham- 
 pion of every measure which he believed would 
 contribute to the general good. The beautiful 
 new Methodist church west of the square is a 
 fitting monument to his untiring efforts in 
 the work for his Master. In private life he 
 was distinguished by all that marked the true 
 gentleman. His was a noble character, one 
 that subordinated personal ambition to public 
 good and sought rather the benefit of others 
 than the aggrandizement of self. In Menard 
 county, where he spent almost his entire life. 
 
 he was numbered among the most honored citi- 
 zens and received the highest regard and esteem 
 of people of all classes. It was his earnest 
 wish — often expressed — that his accounts might 
 be settled for both this world and the next 
 and that he might owe no man anything when 
 he died. Justice and rigid permeated his en- 
 tire career. He was a kind, loving and indul- 
 gent husband and father and his splendid qual- 
 ities so endeared him to those with whom he 
 came in contact that at his death Menard 
 county mourned the loss of one of its most 
 honored and representative citizens. 
 
 ARCHIE S. KIN (AID. 
 Aie] lie S'. Kincaid, whose fine modern resi- 
 dence stands in the midst of a well-improved 
 tract of land constituting one of the fine farms 
 of township 18, is a representative of the 
 younger generation of agriculturists who are 
 proving to what a high state of development 
 tin' land of Menard county can be brought 
 through modern farming methods. A native 
 of this county, he was horn February 24, 1877, 
 and is a son of John A. and Etta G. (Simp- 
 son) Kincaid. who are also natives of Menard 
 county, the father born March 24, 1845, and 
 the mother April S. 1845. In his youth John 
 A. Kincaid assisted his father in breaking the 
 prairie land with ox teams and otherwise as- 
 sisted in the arduous task of developing a new 
 farm. He was hut twelve year- of age when 
 the schoolhouse at Indian Point was built, and 
 he hauled the water that was used in mixing 
 tin' mortar. He was about twenty year- of 
 age when he went to Iowa, where he became 
 connected with the cattle industry, agisting in 
 driving cattle from that state to Illinois. He 
 was thus engaged for two years. The cattle 
 thus brought to Menard county were fed by 
 his father and others and afterward sold in the 
 city markets. Hi- father was extensively en- 
 gaged in feeding both cattle and hogs, having 
 from one hundred and fifty to two hundred head 
 of cattle each year. John A. Kincaid remained 
 at home until twenty-five or twenty-six years 
 of age, when he began farming for himself. 
 and for many years he figured as mie of the
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MFXAh'D COUNTY 
 
 221 
 
 more progressive and successful agriculturists 
 of this county. At the age of twenty-eight 
 years he married Miss Etta G. Simpson, and 
 they began their domestic life on his farm. 
 He continued to carry on the work of the 
 farm until 1895, when, in order to educate 
 his children, lie removed to Champaign, where 
 he lived until 1902, when he took up his abode 
 in Springfield, where he is now living a re- 
 tired life. In 1S97 he met with the misfor- 
 tune of losing his right hand in a planer, 
 being engaged in the planing-mill business in 
 Champaign at that time. After the accident 
 he sold his planing-mill and removed I" 
 Springfield, where he is now enjoying a well- 
 merited rest from further labor. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. John A. Kineaid have 
 been born eight children, four sons and four 
 daughters: Charles H., who was born May 
 8, 1875. and is now living in Arkansas; Archie 
 S. ; Laura, who was born October 20. 1879, 
 and is living at home with her parents: Prank 
 P... who was born September 10. 1880. and 
 who has recently returned from the Philip- 
 pines, having served as a member of Troop A, 
 Fifteenth United States Cavalry; Hugh s. 
 who was born October 23, 1882, and is living 
 in Colorado; Edna M., born Augusl 23, 1885, 
 Maud, born June 12, 1888, and Pearl, bom 
 May 9, 1891, all at home. 
 
 \ivhie S. Kineaid was provided with liberal 
 educational privileges. After attending the 
 public schools at Indian Point lie attended the 
 high school at Champaign. Illinois, from 
 which he was graduated, and then entered the 
 Stilts University there, in which institution 
 his education was completed, well qualifying 
 him for the conduct of bis business interests 
 and the discbarge of life's practical and re- 
 sponsible duties. He was always interested in 
 athletics, and while attending the high school 
 was a member of the football team and als > 
 of the Athletic Association. The Champaign 
 was the champion high school team of the 
 state and Mr. Kineaid won several medals in 
 athletic meets. 
 
 After completing his education Mr. Kin- 
 eaid purchased his brother's interest in some 
 live stock and farm implements, which he had 
 owned conjointly with Jack Flanigan, with 
 
 whom our subject remained in partnership for 
 a year. Their business relationship was then 
 dissolved and Mr. Kimaid has since been in 
 business alone, raising cattle, hogs and horses. 
 lie is also extensively engaged in the raising 
 of grain and sells from two in three thousand 
 bushels of corn and from ten to fifteen hun- 
 dred bushels of oats i aeh year. Ee lias just 
 completed a commodious modern residence 
 upon his farm, which was built after plans 
 which he drew and which is one of the most at- 
 tractive homes of his part of the emmtv. 
 
 Mr. Kineaid married Miss Edella Mellinger, 
 a daughter of William ('. and Jennie (Wig- 
 gins) Mellinger. Her father, horn December 
 8, 1848, is still living, but her mother died 
 August 25, 1888. Both were natives of Sanga- 
 mon county and Mr. Mellinger was educated in 
 the public schools there and remained at home 
 with his parents until twenty-two years of age. 
 after which he began farming on his own ac- 
 count, and has continued in this business clown 
 to the present time, now operating two hun- 
 dred acres of land in Menard county. He 
 has also engaged in the raising of hogs and 
 cattle and has a good property, which his la- 
 bors have made a profitable investment. Unto 
 him and his wife were born four children: 
 Idella, born October 5, 1880; Clarence, born 
 January 17. 1883: Annie, born August 29, 
 1885; and Florence. August 21. 1887. After 
 losing his first wife Mr. Mellinger married 
 Mrs. Anna P. Cantrall. ami the\ have one son, 
 Sherman S., born December 1 1. L891. 
 
 Mr. ami Mrs. Kineaid are well known in 
 social circles, having many friends, ami they 
 enjoy the unqualified regard of all who know 
 them. Tn politics Mr. Kineaid is a Republican 
 and in public matters be is interested. f~\>r- 
 cially where they have direct bearing upon the 
 county and if- welfare. 
 
 WALTER S. TAYLOR. M. D. 
 
 Dr. Walter Sherwood Taylor, who is engaged 
 in the general practice of medicine and surgery 
 ; n Tallula. was born on the 8th of July, 1873, 
 in the town of Milo. Bureau county. Illinois. 
 He is a son of Dr. William L. and Emma IT.
 
 PAST WD PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 (Jenks) Taylor. The Taylor family is of Dr. Taylor is a stalwart Republican, sup- 
 
 Scotch-Irish origin and Dr. William L. Taylor porting the party since age gave to him the 
 
 was born in Kentucky, where he .-pent the days right of franchise. Fraternally he is connected 
 
 of his boyhood and youth. Preparing for the with the Modern Woodmen of America and the 
 
 practice of medicine, he afterward engaged in Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order 
 
 professional duties for some nine, bul subse- of odd Fellows, ami both lie and In- wife are 
 
 quently engaged in the real-estate business. Me members of the Christian church. lie may 
 
 died in Si. I. em.-. Missouri, in 1876. well be termed one el' the leading citizens of 
 
 Dr. Walter S. Taylor, baving acquired a good his community because of the active and help- 
 
 literan education, entered upon preparation for ful support which lie gives lei- the promotion of 
 
 the practice of dicine as a student in Barnes educational, material and moral interests of 
 
 Mr, heal College of St. Louis, Missouri. lie Tallula. 
 was graduated with the class of 1899 and 
 opened an office at Curran, Illinois, nut after a 
 short tune went to Buffalo, this stale Subse- 
 quently he removed to Denver, Colorado, for JOHN A. RIDGE. 
 the henelit of hi- own health, and on the ex- Jolin A. Ridge, who is meeting with fair suc- 
 piration of that period he returned to Tallula. cess m In- farming labors in Menard county, 
 where he lived lor a short time prior to the was horn in Scott county, Indiana. March 6, 
 period of his residence in the west. Upon again 1860, his parents being Samuel A. and Mary 
 coming to Tallula he purchased property and he (Kenney) Ridge. The father was horn in tn- 
 now lias a good practice in the town and sur- diana, October 9, 1830, and came to Menard 
 rounding countrv. lie is a member of the Me- county in 1870, bringing with him two dry- 
 nard Countv Medical Socieh ami the Illinois goods boxes, containing the household effects, 
 State Medical Society. In addition to his col- and one hundred dollars in money. He worked 
 legiate work he enjoyed the benefit of a year's by the day and month for eight years a- a farm 
 hospital experience and he entered upon the hand in the employ of Colonel John Williams 
 practice of medicine and surgery well equipped ami other-. At the end of that time he rented 
 for the arduous duties which devolve upon the land ami then carried on farming for him- 
 physician. The public recognizes In- capa- self for eighteen years, during a part of 
 bilitv ami accords him a liberal patronage. which time hi- only son. John A. Ridge, 
 
 On the 7th id' dune. 1899, Dr. Taylor was worked with him. ami later he went to live 
 
 united m marriage to Miss Lillian Jack, a with bis son and there he was railed to his 
 
 daughter of Benjamin ami Sarah C. .lark, who final rest May 1. 1904, the funeral services 
 
 removed from New Jersey to the west, settling being conducted by the Rev. R. D. Miller. 
 
 in Illinois. Her father is now deceased, but who has officiated at all such occasions for 
 
 Hi,, mother still survives ami make- her home the family. Hi- wife passed away on the 
 
 with her children. Mrs. Taylor was horn in gSth of May. 1890. in their family were four 
 
 Buffalo. Sangamon county, Illinois, ami at the children, two sons and two daughters, but John 
 
 usual age entered tin' public schools, wherein A. is the only one now living. Susanna B. 
 
 she advanced step by step through successive died March 6, Is;'.*: Lena died duly '.Mi. 1881, 
 
 grades until she had completed the high -el i ,-in,l an infant son on the '.'lih of January, 
 
 work'. She afterward engaged in teaching for 1870. 
 
 three years and was then married. She has John A. Ridge spent the first ten years of his 
 three brothers and three sisters, Ida. Dora, Car- life In the state of bis nativit} and then ae- 
 rie. John. Benjamin and Edwin, all of whom companied In- parents on their emigration to 
 are vet living. The home of Dr. and Mrs. Tav- the new world. Hi- youth was a period of 
 lor ha- been blessed with two children: Mar- earnest and unremitting labor in which he bad 
 jorie. born August in. 1900; ami James Sber- few advantages. His education, however, was 
 wood, born Januarv •">". 1904. acquired in the public schools. After arriving
 
 SAMUEL A. RIDGE. 
 
 MRS. SAMUEL A. RIDGE. 
 
 JOHN A. RIDGE AND FAMILY 
 
 E. C. EEED. 
 
 MRS. E. C. REED.
 
 I'AST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTI 
 
 at vears of maturity he was married to Miss were bora to them: Ephraim and Samuel, 
 
 Mary E. Reed, a daughter of Ephraim t '. and twins, bora February 1. L896, both died in in- 
 
 Ann Elizabeth (Gibbs) Reed. Eer father fancy; Mar) K.. bora April 28, L899, also 
 
 came to Menard county from Kentucky in 1834 died in infancy : John E., bora dime •.".'. L901, 
 
 with his mother and her family of children, his is the only one living. 
 
 father being at that time in the Mexican war. Not long after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
 
 Ephraim Heed was bom in Kentucky, October Ridge removed to their present home. They 
 
 ■_\s, 1830, and when sixteen years of age he have a line brick house surrounded by -hade 
 
 began work as a farm hand. When twenty- and fruit trees and everything al t the place 
 
 one years of age he commenced farming on his is in excellent condition. Mr. Ridge is one 
 own account on what has now long been known of the largest stock feeders in the county and 
 as the old Hoed homestead. lie has added to (luring the recent strike at the stock yards in 
 his original purchase from time to time until Chicago he shipped a carload of hogs to that 
 he is now one of the extensive farm owners of market. He now has on hand about two hun- 
 the county, having seven hundred acres of dred and titty head of hogs, which he is feed- 
 arable land on which many improve nts have m o- for the market. He owns in Menard coun- 
 
 been made. There are five houses upon this ty two hundred and forty acres of as fine laud 
 
 tract, all in good condition. There are also as can be found in central Illinois and it is 
 
 a number of substantial barns and other mod- well known that there is no richer agricultural 
 
 era equipments. On the 17th of November, district in all the country than thai of Menard 
 
 L853, lie was married to Miss Ann Elizabeth county. He is very progressive in his business 
 
 Gibbs, a daughter of William ami Margaret and lie owes his success entirely to Ins own 
 
 Gibbs and with her parents -In' came to Illi- labors, lie started out without assistance and 
 
 ii.ii- from Maryland in 1839. Her birth oc- has received no aid from any one, lad has 
 
 curred in the latter state, May 31, 1827. The worked on persistently and energetically and 
 
 journey westward was made with team and is now the owner of valuable farming property, 
 
 they were six weeks upon the way. Mr. and Mr. Ridge is a member of Floral lodge. No. 
 
 Mrs. Heed have two living children : Mary E., hi I, I. ( ). O. F., at Athens, and the Modern 
 
 bora in September, 1858; and Edward ('..who W Imen camp at Sweetwater, lie is iden- 
 
 was horn in December, I860, and is now living titled with the Republican party, politically, 
 
 in Menard count v. Those deceased are Eliza- and keeps well informed on the questions ami 
 
 belli .lane. Katie Ann. wife of (Ins Jones, and issues of the day. lie belongs to the I'resby- 
 
 ;ui infant unnamed. Mr. and Mrs. Weed are terian church, while his wife is a member of 
 
 members of the Presbyterian church, contrib- the Christian church and both are widely ami 
 
 ate generously to its support and lake an active favorably known in Menard county. 
 inten st in it- work. For nine years or more 
 
 he has been a member of the school hoard and 
 
 the cause of education finds ill 1 1 1 ii i a warm 
 
 , . , , ..... i t> vi- EL1AS WATKINS. 
 friend. In politics be is a stanch Republican, 
 
 believing firmly in the principles of the party. Elias Watkins, whose fanning interests claim 
 lie ranks today as one of the most prosperous \ ]t< time and energies and return to him a good 
 men of the county and he enjoys in high meas- annual income, was horn September 29, 1870, 
 ure the respeci ami good will of his fellow his parents being Samuel and Mary (Wool- 
 citizens, because he has always been found re- ridge) Watkins. He was the fourth in order of 
 liable in all business transactions, never taking birth in a family of eight children, four <=ons 
 advantage of the necessities of his fellow men and four daughters, lie began his education 
 in any business affair. at Little Grove and was afterward graduated 
 The wedding ccriinoin of Mr. and Mrs. in the Tallulu high school with the class of 
 Ridge was performed b\ Rev. R. I). Miller on 1891, completing the course on the 29th of May. 
 the 24th of February, 1891, and four children of that vear lie has alwavs engaged in farm-
 
 .,.,,; 
 
 PAST AXJ) PRESENT OF MENARD CO! VIA 
 
 ing. having assisted in the work on the "Id fam- 
 ily homestead in his early boyhood days. He 
 began Farming on his own account in connec- 
 tion with In- brother, Evan G. Watkins, upon 
 their father's place at Little Grove, and there 
 he remained for two years. In the fall of 1903 
 he located on his present farm, which consists 
 of two hundred and twenty acres belonging to 
 his father, lie owns an adjoining eighty a< res 
 and is a very progressive agriculturist. 
 
 As a companion and helpmate on life's jour- 
 ney Mr. Watkins chose Irene Louise Fischer, 
 the wedding being celebrated November L3, 
 L895. Her parents were John G. and Berta 
 1 1. (Wright) Fischer. Her father was a native 
 of Germanv and came to America in 1853 when 
 nineteen years of age, settling at Petersburg. 
 lie had been educated in his native country and 
 after his arrival in the new world lie conducted 
 the first drug store at Petersburg, an establish- 
 ment which lias had a continuous existence, it 
 being now the property of George F. Luth- 
 ringer. He married Berta D. Wright and they 
 became the parent- of eight children, all of 
 whom are living, three son- and five daughters, 
 namely: Dora, the wile of Dr. .1. B. Vance, 
 a practicing physician of Springfield, Illinois; 
 Ella, the wife of E. B. Lyons, who is principal 
 of Brown's Business College at Danville. Illi- 
 nois: Catherine, the wife of Dr. Paul Newcom- 
 er, a physician and surgeon living m Denver, 
 t !olorado; Irene Louise: John D. a ranchman 
 living at Landers. Wyoming, where he has spent 
 five years; George W., who i- engaged in the 
 telephone business; Francis B., who is at Gil- 
 
 lett, Wyoming, where he has been connected 
 
 With the sheep Midlist l'\ \ a 11(1 Ltllel I'... llle W i I'c 
 
 of William Swift, a mechanic of Petersburg, 
 b\ whom -he ha- one son. Mrs. Watkins is a 
 graduate of the high school of Petersburg of 
 the class of 1894, and the following year she 
 was married. 
 
 Our subject and his wife have a wide and 
 favorable acquaintance in Menard county, where 
 they have always resided and the circle of their 
 friends i- constantly growing. In his political 
 views he is a Democrat and in November, 
 l!uii. w;i- elected county commissioner by 
 a majority of four hundred ami twentj 
 and at the present writing, in November, 
 
 1904, is a candidate for re-election. lie and 
 Ins wife belong to the Episcopal church in Pe- 
 tersburg and he is prominent in Masonry, being 
 made a Mason at Petersburg in November, 
 1899, and now holding membership in Clinton 
 lodge, No. 19, A. V. & A. M. : DeWitl chapter. 
 R. A. M.: and St. Aldemar Commandery, K 
 T., all of Petersburg. His wife is also connect- 
 ed with the Order of the Eastern Star and in 
 his daily- life he exemplifies the beneficent spirit 
 of tin' craft, which has made tin- the strongest 
 fraternal organization of the entire world, lie 
 is also venerable council of Atterberry camp, 
 Xo. 11554, M. W. A. 
 
 THOMAS KIM AID. 
 
 Tl tas Kincaid, one of the honored earlj 
 
 settlers of Menard county, was born in Lath 
 county, K« iituckv. October 15, 1822, and was 
 of Irish ancestry. His paternal grandfather, 
 Archibald R. Kincaid, was lorn in Ireland and 
 on emigrating to America settled near Carlisle, 
 Pennsylvania. There he was married to Miss 
 Townsley and he continued to reside in the 
 Cumberland valley of Pennsylvania until 1T95, 
 when with his family id' ten children he re- 
 moved to Lath county, Kentucky. 
 
 Andrew Kim-aid. the father of our subject, 
 was at that time four years of age. lie re- 
 mained upon hi- father'- farm until hi- mar- 
 riage in 1807, Mi- Ann I'. Caldwell, a native 
 of Lath county, Kentucky, becoming his wife. 
 She was horn in l?x; and remained a resident 
 of Kentucky until mam vears after her mar- 
 riage. In l^'O Andrew Kincaid came with his 
 family to Illinois, settling in township is. 
 Menard county, on land which la- purchased of 
 Ellis Branson. His family then numbered nine 
 children. Imt one died soon after the removal 
 t,, Hlinois. After a long, useful and honorable 
 career, Andrew Kincaid passed away in 1872 
 at i lie advam ed age of eighty-sis vears. 
 
 In is:; I Thomas Kincaid accompanied his 
 parents on their removal to Illinois. The fam- 
 iL home wa- established on a farm at I ndian 
 Poinl and there he spent his boyhood days, 
 earlv becoming familiar with the arduous task 
 of developing a new farm. As the years passed
 
 
 s/&£ 

 
 PAST \M> I'KKSKXT ol' MFAAIM) COUNTY 229 
 
 he became an influential and prosperous farmer Hill, the two battles of Nashville, Frank- 
 
 of Menard county, extensively engaged in agri- lin, Resaca, Tunnell Hill, Buzzard's Roosi 
 
 cultural pursuits, and by reason of his keen and Dalton. Jusl after the battle of 
 
 business abilitv he amassed a considerable for- Chickamauga there was an order senl to 
 
 tune previous to bis retirement from active his captain to have the regimen! fall in 
 
 business life, which was uecessitated by failing line and a call was issued for a volunteer to 
 
 health. go back to Bridgeport, Tennessee, a distance of 
 
 In early manh I Mr. KLineaid married Miss twenty-five miles, for the pay rolls, which were 
 
 Lucinda Patterson, the wedding being cele- in the desk of the company. Mo member of the 
 
 brated October 18, L849. The lady was born regi m volunteered and the officers would aot 
 
 in Hardin county, Ohio, and died April 13, detail a man. Mr. Roberts then asked the eap- 
 
 1874. In their family were seven children, of tain whal the call had been made for. and when 
 
 whom two died in infancy. Those living are told he offered to go if they would furnish him 
 
 Mrs. Ilaitie Johnson, the wife of Kirby S. a horse, lie started thai day and al aighl he 
 
 Johnson, who is represented on another page was on top of the mountain. Seeing a cabin, he 
 
 of this volume; Louie, the wile of Harry I!. made his way in n and found thai n contained 
 
 Jones; Lucy, the wife of I. J. Hale, of Jack- an old couple, man and wife, who were Union 
 
 sonville, Illinois; Anna, the wife of Isaac Jones, | pie. lie gave them his rations and asked 
 
 of Aspen, Colorado; and Lee, whose sketch ap- them to prepare supper for him. lie then 
 
 pear- elsewhere iii this work. started ill search of food lor his horse. The old 
 
 man senl him a mile and a half to gel corn am! 
 (old nun that the rebel cavalry were in thai 
 locality each day ami to he on the lookout. 
 OEOEGE C. ROBEETS. While Mr. R >rts was on one side of the corn- 
 George C. Roberts, who is filling the position crib five rebel cavalry men were on the other 
 of postmaster ai Greenview and is also engaged side, and while they were getting then- corn he 
 in dealing in harness ;m d saddlery there, was made his escape by crawling through the grass on 
 horn in Athens. Illinois, February '■'>. 1858, his his hands and knees for a distance of two huii- 
 parents being dames T. and Alvira (Hartwell) dred yards. However, be returned to the cabin 
 Roberts. The rather was horn November 28, in safety and there partook of his supper, which 
 IS32, in Winchester, Virginia, and lost his was prepared of cold coon, hardtack and cof- 
 father when hm five vears of age. When a fee. The old couple offered him a bed at uight, 
 
 youth of ten years he became a resident but he preferred to sleep in the w Is and the 
 
 of Alliens. Illinois, where he attended school ne\i morning he started again on Ins journey, 
 
 for about five years and ai the age of fifteen lie reached the looi of the mountain al twelve 
 
 he was taken to the Mexican war as a bugler o'clock and at Sequasiaville he saw a general 
 
 by In- uncle, J. B. Backenstos. After seven and other officers al a cabin door. The general 
 
 months' service he was sent home with two of- hailed him and asked him where he was going, 
 
 ficers, Captain Bradford ami Lieutenant Bar- and on replying to the question he was rc- 
 
 rett. Mr. Roberts did not return to the scene quested to show his pass, lie was there delayed 
 
 of conflict, hut soon afterward began learning over a day ami a half until the general found 
 
 the blacksmith's trade, in which he became an out where he had come from and such informa- 
 
 exeellenl workman, following thai pursuit coii- tion concerning the road, for thej were on their 
 
 tinuously until the country became involved in way to the camp which Mr. Roberts had lefl 
 
 civil war. (in the nth of August, 1862, he en- and had been misdirected. General Longstreel 
 
 listed as a member of Company K. One Hun- and his men were just across the river, ami 
 
 dred and Fifteenth Illinois Infantry, and par- when Mr. Roberts rode along the mountain side 
 
 ticipated in a number of very important en- he laid to keep his horse between the rebel 
 
 gagements, including the battle- of Lookout troop- and himself. His horse was ghoi once, 
 
 Mountain. Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Spring Imt he continued on Ids way. lie traveled the
 
 230 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 remainder of that day and at night arrived tatter of Illinois, but both are now deceased. 
 
 at Bridgeport, where he camped with seven Unto Mr. I Mrs. Roberts have I n born 
 
 invalid Union men. The next morning he over- nine children: Etta May. born March 13, 
 hauled the desk, procured the papers that were 1882, died April 2, 1891 ; Pearl E. and Earl E., 
 wa nted an. I he also found the company's flag, twins, born July 19, 1884, died on the 13th and 
 which he put in his knapsack. Be then started 16th of August, L885, respectively; Hersehel, 
 i«i return to camp, slept in the woods that night born April 11. L885, is m partnership with his 
 and the next day about three o'clock reached Ins father m the harness business; Harry F.. born 
 destination. He was discharged as a drum August -.'it. L887, is at home; Pern, horn De- 
 major and the flag which he brought back was eember 21, L891, James 'I'., born March 30, 
 giventohim and is still in his possession. He L893, Dorothy Marie, horn January 14. 1899, 
 was honoral.lv discharged dune 11. 1865, at and Ann Louise, born April 2, 1902, are all at 
 Camp Marker. Tennessee, following the close home. 
 
 of hostilities, and then returned to Athens, Illi- Mr. and Mi'-. Roberts hold membership in 
 rmis. where he again engaged in blacksmithing. the Christian church and are deeply interested 
 lie followed that pursuit there until December, in all that pertains to the moral as well as the 
 isi;s. when he came to Greenview and estab- material development of their county. Fra- 
 lishecl a blacksmith shop, which he conducted ternally Mr. Roberts is connected with the 
 successfully until failing health caused him to Modern Woodmen camp, N'o. L78; with Green- 
 retire fromthe business in 1 ss I . In early man- view lodge, No. 653, A. V. & A. M. ; and also 
 hood he ha, I married Miss Ahira llartwell. who the Fraternal I. Me Reserve, lie has spent Ins 
 was horn in Vigo county, Indiana, July 21, entire life in this part of the stale and has be- 
 1834. The\ had three children: Maria Ann. come a substantia] business man of Greenview, 
 ,,,,„ ,|,,. wife of I. II. l'rimin. of Mason City, his success being largely >\w \<< the fact that 
 [llinois; Marcie E., who married Thomas he has continuously engaged in the business 
 Brewer, and died February 22, 1898; and in which as a young tradesman he embarked, 
 George C. The parents are members of the gaining a comprehensive knowledge thereof, 
 Christian church and they reside at Greenview, winch has resulted in excellent workmanship 
 where they have many warm friends. and secured a liberal patronage. 
 
 George ( '. Roberts was educated in the schools 
 of Greenview and at the age of sixteen years 
 
 began teaming the harness-maker's trade, which - 
 he followed as an employe until 1881. In thai 
 
 vear he began business for himself, a few doors A. W. Hartley, who for fourteen years has 
 
 north id' his present location, and he has since been connected with tl dice of county clerk, 
 
 conducted harness and saddlery making, seeur- twelve years as deputy an. I two years as su- 
 ing a good patronage, which makes his business perior officer, was horn in Rock ('reek precincl 
 profitable. In December, L900, he was ap- of Menard county, on the 20th of June, 1854. 
 pointed postmaster of Greenview and dis- He comes of English lineage and represents 
 charged the duties of that office in connection an old English family that was established in 
 with Ins commercial interests, lie has like- America prior to the Revolutionary war. His 
 wise been a member of the town board and the grandfather, Eli Hartley, was horn in Adair 
 school board, ami in his political affiliation he county, Kentucky, on the 29th of July. 1799, 
 is a stanch Republican, never failing to exer- and in early manhood was united in marriage 
 , i se i,,. right of franchise in support of the men ,,, Miss Nancy Hamilton, a daughter of James 
 and measures of that party. Hamilton, of Kentucky. After the birth of two 
 On the 10th of March, 1881, Mr. Roberts was of then- children they removed to Illinois. 
 united in marriage to Miss Hattie E. Cleveland, settling in Brown county, where two other 
 a daughter of Charles and Ann Wood clew- children were added to the family. The mother 
 land, the former a native of Vermonl and the died soon afterward upon the homo farm. 
 
 e
 
 MR. AND MRS. A. W. HARTLEY.
 
 PAST Wl> PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT! 233 
 
 which was situated near Clayton, Illinois. At of the county clerk in the fall of 
 
 ;i later date the grandfather removed to Garden 1890 and his services were so acceptable thai 
 
 Prairie, Menard county, where he established he. was conl unci in thai position until li)02, 
 
 his home in L850, there residing until his when he was elected county clerk, in which ca- 
 
 death, which occurred on the 13th of December, pacity ho is now serving. 
 
 L870. Ee was prominenl and influential in On the 25th of June, 1891, Mr. Hartley was 
 
 public affairs .-mil he served for fourteen years, married to Miss Margarel A. Bone, a native of 
 
 from 1825 until 1839, as justice of (ho peace Menard county and ;i daughter of I-:. !.. B< 
 
 for Brown county. He was a man of unbiased The\ now have one son. Paul Bone. Mr. 
 judgment and Ins decisions were never reversed Hartlej is a member of tin' Masonic lodge ami 
 in the higher courts. !!<■ ranked high in the also of the Modern Woodmen camp at Peters- 
 estimation of Ins follow townsmen ami ho was burg. He is a representative of an honored 
 particularly capable in office, having a logical pioneer family ami because of tins and also by 
 and analytical mind. Had he confined his at- reason of Ins personal worth lie deserves rep- 
 tention exclusivelv to the law lie would an- resentation in this volume, 
 doubtedly have attained notable success. 
 
 Nathan Hartley, the father of A. W. Hart- 
 ley, was horn in Kentucky, hut was reared in 
 
 Brown county, Illinois. He married Artemisia CHARLES T. ROGERS. 
 
 Duncan, a native of Menard county, and they The old Rogers homestead in Menard county 
 
 began their domestic life upon the farm on was the birthplace of Charles T. Rogers, his 
 
 which their son, A. W. Hartley, was horn, natal da\ being Jane 16, 1867. lie i- a son of 
 
 For mam- vears the father carried on agricul- S. 'I', and Melinda (Trumbo) Rogers, who were 
 
 uiral pursuits there with good success, con- also natives of this county, a fart which indi- 
 
 tinuing his farming operations up to the time rates thai both the Rogers and Trumbo families 
 
 of bis death, which occurred on the 23d of Oc- were established in this part of the state in 
 
 tober, 1903. The homestead place is located earh pioneer days. The paternal grandfather 
 
 about seven miles south of Petersburg and is came from Kentucky to Illinois ami aided in 
 
 still iii possession of the family. Mr. Hartley laying the foundation for the presenl develop- 
 
 was a public-spirited man. interested in the es- menl and progress of the county. S. 'I. Rogers 
 
 tablishment of the county and it- further im- has followed tin occupati f farming as a life 
 
 provement ami ho filled a number of township work and both hi' and Ins wife are -nil residing 
 
 positions in a capable and acceptable manner, on the old homestead. 
 
 In the fauiih were five sous and three daugh- In I he district schools Charles T. Rogers ac- 
 tor-, and four -mis and one daughter are now quired In- education and when twenty year.- 
 In in-, at this writing in the fall of 1004. of age he began farming upon the place where 
 
 \. \\ . Hartley, the eldesl of the family, ac- he now resides, having here two hundred acres 
 quired his elementary education in the district of land, winch is rich and productive. He has 
 schools and by reading and observation has ad- since erected a good residence and other build- 
 ded largely to his knowledge. He engaged in ings upon his place and. in fact, has made 
 teaching school in early manhood. bu1 regard- all of the modern improvements thai are there 
 ing this niereU a- an initiatory step for further seen. His land i- under a high state of cultiva- 
 professional labor, For it was his desire to be- tion and the well tilled fields return to him 
 come a member of the bar and in the fall of rich harvests, lie is also quite extensively en- 
 1885 he began reading law in the office and -aged in the raising and breeding of short- 
 under the direction of T. \V. McNeely. He horn cattle, line road horses ami registered 
 continued his studies until May, 1888, when Duroc Jersey hogs, and as a stock-raiser he has 
 he successfully passed an examination for ad- met with excellent success. Ins annual sale-; of 
 mission to the bar. He then entered the cattle, horses and hogs bringing to him a good 
 countv building a- deput\ clerk m the office financial return upon his investments.
 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 On the 23d of August, 1887, occurred the 
 marriage of Charles T. Rogers and Miss Mat- 
 tie E. Estill, a daughter of Joseph and Mary 
 Estill, the former a native of Menard county 
 and the latter of Indiana. They are still re- 
 siding in tin- county, their home being about 
 a mile south of the Charles T. Rogers farm. 
 1'nto our subject and his wife has been born 
 an interesting little son, Thomas E., whosi 
 birth occurred September 6. 1893. Mrs. Rogers 
 is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
 church, of Petersburg, and like her husband 
 has many friends in her native county. Mr. 
 Rogers belongs to Roland lodge, No. 69, K. P., 
 and is also Identified with the Modern Woodmen 
 of America. He is serving as a member of the 
 school board ireseni time and in matter 
 
 of citizenship is never remiss, but gives his 
 earnest co-operation to the support of all meas- 
 ures that he believes will promote general 
 progress and improvement. He has a wide 
 acquaintance in the county where his entire life 
 has been passed ami where he has so directed his 
 efforts as to win the good will and trust of his 
 fellow men. 
 
 AUGUSTUS KERB RIGGIN. 
 
 Augustus Kerr Riggin, deceased, was 
 
 the most s ssful farmers and stock-raisers, 
 
 ,i- svell as one oi the most prominent citizens of 
 bis community, his home being five miles east 
 
 Peters ■ rg. He was the third child horn in 
 Menard count) and his natal day was April 23, 
 L822. Hi- father, Ham Riggin, was a native 
 of Tennessee, born September 2, 1793, and was 
 of Irish descent. Coming to Illinois in 1817, 
 rst located in the American bottom and 
 then with bis brother settled in Madison count] 
 at a place called Troy, they being the principal 
 parties in laying out the town. There they 
 irked in merchandising, but were unsuc- 
 I in that business. < >n the 2d of March, 
 LS20, Ham Riggin was united in marriage to 
 Miss Miriam Lee Rogers, a native of \<u 
 York ami a descendant of John Rogers, who 
 suffered martyrdom for religious principles. 
 Her father. Matthew Rogers, was from Con- 
 
 necticut and removed from that state to New 
 York. He married Miriam Lee Morse, who was 
 connected with the Morse family, of whom 
 Professor S. F. B. Morse was a distinguished 
 member. In t818 Matthew Rogers came to 
 Illinois and settled near Athens, where he 
 built a frame barn, which was the first frame 
 building erected north of the Sangamon river. 
 The Rogers family are connected with the Lees 
 of Virginia, of whom General Roberl E. Lei 
 was the most noted. During his residence in 
 Menard county Harry Riggin followed the oc- 
 cupation of a farmer and possessed the con- 
 fidence and esteem of the community. On sev- 
 eral occasions he was a candidate for public 
 favors, but was defeated, which was uot sur- 
 prising, as his opponents were generally such 
 prominent men as Logan, Edwards and Lin- 
 coln, lie and hi- wife were members of the 
 Cumberland Presbyterian church and lived to 
 ,i g 1 old age. The family has been distin- 
 guished for longevity, some even living to the 
 agi of one hundred years. Harry Riggin had 
 children, lout- of whom reached years of 
 maturity, namely: Mary Ann. wife of Clai- 
 borne Hall, of Athens; Augustus Kerr: Eliza 
 Maria: and Arminda Priscilla, wife of Me- 
 Kinley Jones, of Athens. 
 
 Augustus Kerr Riggin was reared amid 
 pioneer scenes and could relate many interest- 
 ing incidents of frontier life in this region. 
 As hi> parents were great friend- of education 
 and progress, they gave their children every 
 
 - 1 advantage that the} could and "Gus" 
 
 was earh qualified lor teaching, which profes- 
 sion he followed for several war-, lie at- 
 tended McKendrec College and completed his 
 education at Illinois College in Jacksonville, 
 whore he numbered anion- In- classmates Gen- 
 eral Lippincott and John L. Stocking. After 
 teaching school for several years he studied law 
 in the office of Major Ham-, of Petersburg, and 
 was admitted to the bar, hut never practiced his 
 profession. He served two term- a- circuit 
 clerk and on hi- retirement from office in 1860 
 turned In- attention to farming, which occu- 
 pation he followed up to within the la-t year or 
 two of lii- life, when his sons relieved him 
 of the manag ml of the farm. He gave con- 
 siderable attention to stock-raising, making a
 
 /L ^TT
 
 yrZ/tsi^j , <^f, /u'qo^-z^
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 specialtj of shorthorn cattle, and found that tire estate, reserving onlj a small competence 
 
 iranch of his business verj profitable. for himself thai he believed would supply him 
 
 On the 26tb of November, is; I. Mr. EUggin witb all that he mighi need for the remainder 
 married Miss Mary ('. Deal, who was born six of his life, expressing the desire thai if any- 
 miles wesl of Bloomington, in McLean county, thing was Left ii should be divided equally 
 [llinois, April 12, 1850, and was a daughter among his children at his death, 
 of Samuel ('. Deal, whose sketch appears else- On the 2ls1 of October, 1837, Mr. Deal mar- 
 where in this volume. Onto Mr. and Mrs. Rig- ried Miss Priscilla Brown, who was born in 
 gin svere born three children. Harry, born Augusta county, Virginia, in 1817, ami was a 
 October 9, L876; Augustus K.. born October o, daughter of Rev. John Brown, the eldest son 
 LS78; and Samuel Chesterfield, born January of a German nobleman. After visiting the new 
 5, 1881. They are novi carrying on the home world and seeing the destitution thai prevailed, 
 farm. The eldesl son was married November he returned to Germany and informed his fa- 
 29 1899, to Irene Walker and lives a quarter ther thai he had decided to become a minister, 
 of a mile north of the old homestead. Although his father told him if lie did this he 
 
 In politics Mr. Riggin was a stanch De - would lie disinherited, d did not change him 
 
 i ral and he always took a very active and prom- from In- purpose, and all he received from his 
 
 in, Mit pari in political affairs, mi private citizen father's estate was a library valued at two thou- 
 
 of this county contributing more of his lime sand dollars. He was the first German Re- 
 
 and nmiie\ to the cause of his party than he formed preacher in (he United States and could 
 
 .lid. Socially he was a Mason, and at his death, preach in seven languages, being highly edu- 
 
 ulneli occurred July '.'i. 1903, he was laid to cated. 
 
 resl with Masonic honors. He was a man high- [Into Mr. ami Mrs. Deal were born nine chil- 
 ly honored and respected by all who knew him dren: John B., now living upon a farm in 
 ami when he passed aua\ the community real- Jefferson, Greene county, Iowa, has thirteen 
 
 ized that it had lost one of its most valued and children, and with tl xception of two all 
 
 useful citizens. ^\l rs. Riggin died January 10, are married and in good health. Samuel A. is 
 
 1905, leaving many friend- as well as her im- living near Danvers, Illinois. Mr-. Elizabeth 
 
 mediate family to mourn her loss. E. Elkins makes her home mar her brother 
 
 Samuel. Newton died m childhood. Mrs. 
 
 Man ('. Riggin is represented on another page 
 
 SAMUEL C. DEAL. ,,|- this volume. Jane died in infancy. Mrs. 
 
 Samuel ('. Deal, deceased, was born in S. Addie Wright is living west of Bloomington, 
 
 Waynesboro, Rockingham county, Virginia, on [llinois. Emma resides on the old homestead, 
 
 the 28th of October, 1815, and -pent Ins early Mrs. Virginia E. II. Staubus is living in l>r\ 
 
 life in that -tate. In the fall of 1849 he came Grove township, McLean county. The daugh- 
 
 to Illinois and settled in Dry Grove township, ters married well-to-do farmers and all are 
 
 McLean county, about five and a half miles widows at the present time with the exception 
 
 \\e-i el' Bloomington, within a mile anil a half of Emma. 
 
 of the farm on which he died. There he en- Mr. Deal wa- a ruling elder in the Cumber- 
 gaged in genera] farming and stock-raising for land Presbyterian church for fifty-four years 
 fifty-two years and was a \er\ successful busi- and took a ven active pari in church work', lie 
 in-- man. accumulating one thousand acres of was noted for Ins affable disposition, excellenl 
 land, (if excellent business ability and exec- tact and his kindly spirit, and enjoyed the 
 ntive force, he carried forward to successful highesl regard of neighbors and friends, being 
 completion whatever he undertook ami before frequently called upon to aid in settling dif- 
 ln- demise hi' decided to divide his property Scidties because of hi- uniform fairness ami 
 among his children rather than leave it to the spiral of justice, lie was exceedingly kind to 
 court to divide. Accordingly, he called his the poor ami generous in his contributions to 
 children to the home and disposed of the en- the needy. His life was indeed actuated In
 
 240 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 worthy Christian spirit. In Ins political faith 
 Vfr. Dea] was an ardent Democrat and was fre- 
 quently called upon to accept public office. Al- 
 though he was never an aspirant for political 
 preferment, he took great interest in politics 
 and consented to serve as county assessor, as 
 road commissioner, as supervisor and in other 
 positions of public trust. He died on the 25th 
 of January, 1903, having long survived his 
 wife, who passed away June 5, 1875. She was 
 a lady of very sweet disposition, whose religious 
 faith and principles were raanifesl in her daily 
 lift and she was greatly beloved by her family. 
 She and her brotl ers anil sisters were devoted 
 to their parents and were especially helpful to 
 their mother during their father's absence on 
 ministerial duties. He was a pioneer preacher 
 of the west, having fourteen congregations un- 
 der In- charge at one time. Hi- -on- were all 
 s nt to college, the mother being able to care 
 for the family affairs and superintend tie' busi- 
 m-.- interests in a capable manner during her 
 husband's absence. 
 
 LAWRENCE I.. LOOBY. 
 
 Lawrence 1.. I.oohy. whose farming interests 
 are valuable and have been developed through 
 his energy and perseverance, was horn in county 
 Tipperary, Ireland, on the 29th of May. is ID. 
 
 hi- birthplace being in the parish of Kilf le. 
 
 Hi- parent- were John and Winifred (Hanlej > 
 
 I by. and the former died in 1855, while the 
 
 latter died in 1 s C, 1 1 . so that Lawrence L. Loobj 
 was left an orphan at the age of sixteen years. 
 Two years later he became a resident of Amer- 
 ica, landing in Boston, Massachusetts, where he 
 resided for about five years, working at the 
 currier's trade. He then sought a home in the 
 west, coming to Menard county, where he 
 worked by the month as a farm hand for about 
 two years, lie was then employed by the Onion 
 Pacific Railroad Company from 1SG8 until the 
 mad wa- completed in L869. He worked along 
 the line from Omaha to Greenview and Point 
 Rocks and also from Menard county to Cali- 
 fornia. He was afterward employed in the line 
 of his trade in San Francisco, spending about 
 eleven month- in California, after which he 
 
 returned to Menard county. Later he went to 
 Chicago and served on the police force of that 
 city under Captain Michael Hiekey, Superin- 
 tendent Kennedy being in charge at that time. 
 while Mayor Odell wa- mayor of the city, lie 
 served on (he force for two years ami two 
 month-, lb' afterward worked in the stock- 
 yards for a year in the employ of John Bren- 
 noc L alter which he returned to Menard county 
 and secured employment as a farm hand. 
 
 On the l-i of Januarys 1880, Mr. Looby was 
 united in marriage to Mi-- Lizzie Lover, a 
 daughter of Charles ami Mary (Humphrey) 
 Boycr. Her father was horn in England and 
 was the son of John Hover, the owner of a large 
 
 estate in that country. Mr. 1 b\ now has in 
 
 his possession the probate of the will of Rol erl 
 Boyer, deceased, father id' Charles Boyer, dated 
 November 23, 1803, and executed by John 
 Wills. Mr. Looby also ha- parchment deeds 
 showing the transfer of land in England to 
 his wife'- father and his brother John, the deed 
 bearing date of August 1. 1765. Charles Boyer 
 came t<> America prior to November 1. 1839, 
 and settled in Sangamon county, for at that 
 date he received from the United State- a pat- 
 ent lor three hundred and twenty acre- of land 
 in that county. He afterward added to his 
 property and at his death he left three hundred 
 and fifty-nine acre- of highly improved land, 
 which is now in possession of Mr. I.oohy and 
 constitutes the home farm of the family. Ili- 
 wile wa- a native of New York. Both were 
 members of the Presbyterian church and in his 
 political views he was a Republican. Mrs. 
 Boyer died at the age of sixty-three years. Rev. 
 R. |). Miller conducting the funeral services, 
 while Mr. Boyer died October 11. is;.s. and 
 thus passed away two of the honored pionei r 
 citizens of central Illinois. 
 
 1'nto Mr. and Mrs. Charles Boyer were horn 
 three children: Frank. Lizzie and John. The 
 home of Mr. and Mrs. Looby ha- been blessed 
 with six children: John E., who was horn De- 
 eember 19, 1880, and died in infancy; Mamie, 
 who was horn December 19, 1881, and is now 
 acting as her father'- housekeeper; Hittie, who 
 wa- born in 1882 and died in infancy; Winnie, 
 who was born in 1884 and died in childhood; 
 Charles, who was horn January 27, 1886, and is
 
 PAST AND PKESENT OF MENARD COUNTY -.Ml 
 
 living at home with his father; and William December 23, 1853. al Port Kennedy, I' s) 
 
 11.. whose birth occurred August 1. 1891, and vania. He is a son of John 'I'. ami Jane 
 who is also upon the home farm. The wife and (Hutchison) Smith, who came from the north 
 mother died December 17, 1900, al the age <>i of Ireland in the new world. Mi- grandparents 
 fortv-seven years, and her death was deeph were natives of Scotland, whence they removed 
 regretted by main friends. She was a con- in the Emerald isle, where the father ami 
 sistenl member of the Presbyterian church ami mother id' our subjecl w re reared. The grand- 
 was ever devoted to the welfare and happiness parents died in Ireland. John T. Smith was 
 of her husband and children. born January ii. 1821, and his wife's birth oe- 
 Since his marriage Mr. Loobv has been en- eurred aboul the same time. They wen' mar- 
 gaged m general farming ami stock-raising ami ried in their native country and later crossed 
 has worked earnestl) ami persistently to ac- the Atlantic to the United States, settling at 
 cumulate a comfortable competence, lie is mm Pori Kennedy, where (he mother died when her 
 the owner of a valuable property and his land son Samuel was only two years old. passing 
 is well improved, having Icon placed b) him away in 1855, her remains being interred in the 
 tinder a high state of cultivation. He is a First Presbyterian cemetery a1 thai place. \oi 
 member id' the Catholic church ami in his po- long afterward the father came with his family 
 litical views is a Democrat, Inn has had neither to Illinois, arriving in Menard count) in 1856. 
 time nor inclination in seek public office, pre- Ere leaving the east, however, he had married 
 ferring to give his attention to his business again, having on the 27th of June, 1855, wedded 
 affairs, in which he has met with creditable Miss Margaret McMullen. Throughout his en- 
 success, lie is the owner of many valuable and tin life John T. Smith followed the occupation 
 interesting old heirlooms. In addition to the id' farming. About 1860 he purchased land, 
 papers mentioned above, he has in his possession buying fifty-nine acres of the farm upon which 
 a diamond setting for twenty-four diamonds his son Samuel now resides. To this In 1 after- 
 surrounding a case containing a lock of hair ward added, for he prospered in his undertak- 
 cut from his father-in-law's head. This set- ing ami became one of the substantial farm- 
 ting was made one hundred and twenty years ers of the county. In the earl) daysof the Re- 
 ago. lie also has a solid gold bracelet set with publican part) he gave to it Ins support, but 
 diamonds that was worn by his wife's grand- after the Emancipation Proclamation was writ- 
 mother and likewise a pair of her slippers. An- ten he became a Democrat ami continued to 
 other of his possessions is a solid gold -mil!' affiliate with that party until his death. A 
 box thai was used by his wife's father and stanch advocate of Protestantism, he held mem- 
 grandfather, and also his parents, and is now bership with the Orangemen and with the 
 one hundred and lil'n years old. A solid silver American Protestant Association, ami he he- 
 howl, which has been handed down as an heir- longed to the Presbyterian church, lie died 
 loom, bears the date of December 6, 1703. lie May 26, 1891. thus passing away when about 
 likewise ha- parchments which are deeds ami -e\eni\ vears of age. lie had three children 
 land grants dating back a- tar as 1500 and by Ins first marriage. William, the eldest, born 
 which transfer the title of lauds in England to December 9, 1847, died August 17, 1849. John 
 the Boyer family. W., born April II. 1850, is living in Weather- 
 Ford, Parker county, Texas, lie was married 
 in thai ,-taie and follows farming there. Ih 
 wcnl to Texas in 1879 and he now has a farm 
 SAMUEL \l. SMITB of four hundred acres, which he own- indi- 
 Samuel M. Smith, who for forty years has re- virtually, and seven hundred acres which he 
 -ided on In- farm in Petersburg precinct, and owns in partnership. Samuel M. is the third 
 whose landed possessions have been acquired of the family. B) the father"- second marriage 
 almost entirel) through his own efforts, his per- there were four children, all of whom died in 
 severance and indefatigable industry, was horn infancy with (he exception of Leah .lane, who
 
 2 1 2 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENABD COUNTY 
 
 married David Dowell, \\ I wns and operates 
 
 a farm near Atterberry. They have three 
 daughters and a son. 
 
 Samuel M. Smith was reared to the occupa- 
 tion of farming and pursued his education in 
 the Little Grove school. In his youth he was 
 trained to the duties and labors of the farm 
 and gained practical knowledge of the besl 
 methods of conducting farm work — tilling the 
 soil ami raising stock. He lias carried on gen- 
 era] agricultural pursuits on his own account 
 since 1879, and his landed possessions, covering 
 two hundred and ninety acres, have been ac- 
 quired entirely through Id- own efforts save 
 that his father gave him eighty-six acres ■<( 
 land. It is all in Petersburg precinct. He 
 raises grain and also stock and feeds both cat- 
 tle ami hogs. 
 
 On the 6th of March. 1879, Mr. Smith was 
 united in marriage to Miss Sophia J. Kirby, 
 who was horn Augusi 26, 1858, a daughter of 
 Elias and Letitia ( Lonsberrj ) Kirby, who came 
 originally from Pennsylvania and are now liv- 
 ing near Atterberry, Illinois. Her father has 
 passed the age of seventy years, while her 
 mother is now sixty-live years of age. The} 
 are the parents of twelve children: Sophia .1.. 
 wife of our subject ; Josephine, who died in in- 
 fancy : A. J., who married [sabel Valentine and 
 resides at Conway Springs, Sumner county, 
 Kansas; Christina, wife of .1. ('. Atterberry, of 
 Atterberry; Eben K.. who married Ollie Pan- 
 tier and lives near Atterberry : Prank, who mar- 
 ried Mary Goldsby and resides in Athens: 
 George, who died in infancy: Arvilla. who lives 
 with her parent-: Lyman 1... who died in in- 
 fancy: Clarence, who is also with 1 ii^ parent- : 
 Dora, wife of James Greenhaughl, living near 
 Oakford; and Scott, who married Etta Grif- 
 fith and live- near Petersburg. 
 
 Airs. Smith was reared in Menard county 
 and. like her husband, she attended a subscrip- 
 tion school. Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith haw 
 witnessed much of the development and growth 
 of Menard count;,- and are numbered anion"' the 
 worth} and respected early settlers. Unto Mr. 
 and Mrs. Smith have been born eight children: 
 Ira A., horn December 5, 1879, married Ida M. 
 1-hmael and they have two children. They re- 
 side in Cass countv, Illinois, five miles west of 
 
 Atterberry, where Ira follow- farming. Samuel 
 E., horn May 7, 1881. died October 6, 1887. 
 Alice Leah, horn OctobeT 24, 1882, became the 
 wife of Walter Juhl, who died February 9. 
 1903, and she now resides with her father. Em- 
 ery J., horn .May ;. 1884, Jesse K., horn Feb- 
 ruary 11. 1888, John T.. horn October 26, 
 L890, Goldie E., horn October 20, 1894, are all 
 at home. One child, hr.rn October :'>. 1896, died 
 on the 2d of November following, unnamed. 
 and was buried in Oakland cemetery. Mrs. 
 Smith is a member of the Predestinarian Bap- 
 tist church. In his political view- Mr. Smith is 
 a 1 leiiiocrat and has served a- school director for 
 twelve vears. taking an active interest in the 
 schools ami doing everything in his power to 
 increase their proficiency. Mattel- of public 
 progress and improvement claim hi- attention 
 and receive hi- co-operation, lie has led a 
 quiet, useful and honorable life, devoted to his 
 farming interests, whereby he has provided a 
 comfortable home for his family. 
 
 .IK KM AX TICE. 
 
 Jerman Tice, deceased, was a life-lone resi- 
 dent of Menard county and a- an agriculturisl 
 was prominently identified with its growth and 
 development, lie was born near Athens on the 
 27th of November, L831, and was a son of 
 Jacob and Jane Tice. who were natives of 
 Maryland and Virginia, respectively. Hi.- pa- 
 ternal grandparents came to this country from 
 Germany. Jerman Tice was reared in much 
 thi' usual manner of farmer boys in a frontier 
 settlement and his education was acquired in 
 tli,. earh schools of this county. Purine his 
 boyhood and youth he assisted In- father in 
 the labors of the home farm and at times 
 worked by the day or month for neighboring 
 farmers. Throughout life he followed agricul- 
 tural pursuits and in April. L869, purchased 
 a farm near Greenview, where he continued to 
 make his home until called to his final rest 
 on the 23d of October, 1895. In connection 
 with general farming he also engaged in the 
 raising and feeding of stock. 
 
 Mr. Tice was married November 30, 1856, to 
 Mis- Man Jenison. who was horn near Peters-
 
 JERMAN TICE.
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MEXAED COUNTY 245 
 
 burg, Menard county, September 18, 1834, and 1855. tie had heard favorable reports concern- 
 was descended from Scotch ancestors, who on ing the business opportunities of the new 
 crossing the Atlantic settled in New England, world and hoping thai he might benefii his 
 Her parents were Rev. John and Martha (Mc- financial condition he crossed the Atlantic and 
 Nabb) Jenison. Her father was born in Mas- established Ins home in Zanesville, Ohio, where 
 sachusetts and al the age of nmc years ac- I"' followed Ins trade for a year. He next lo- 
 companied his parents on their removal to eated in Springfield, Illinois. Inn after a few 
 New York. From that state he came to Llli- months removed to Jacksonville, Illinois, where 
 nois at an early day, locating in Menard county, he remained for a year. He thou came to 
 where he followed farming and also engaged Petersburg, on the 7th of September, 1857, 
 in preaching, being a minister of the Cumber- and established a jewelry store, which he con- 
 land Presbyterian church. For some tunc he ducted for fourteen years, following the busi- 
 served as justice of the peace and died January ness until failing health caused his retirement. 
 30, 1852, honored and respected by all who He has since traveled extensively and has prac- 
 kne-w him. In Ins family were eight children, tically regained Ins health, besides deriving 
 Mi. Tice was on,, of a family of eleven chil- much pleasure and gaining much useful and 
 dren, and to him and his wile was horn a interesting information from Ins trawls. He 
 -mi. then- onh child. Homer .1.. who is rep- is no« living retired m an elegant residenci 
 resented elsewhere in tins volume. on the elevation south of Court Square. 
 
 Politically Mr. Tice was identified with the On Jul) 28, 1879, at Elkhorn, Wisconsin, 
 
 Republican party, bul never eared for the lion- Mr. Meyer was united in marriage to Miss 
 
 ors or emoluments of public office, preferring Mar.) E. G :her, b) Rev. S. C. Thomas. Thej 
 
 the quiet of private life. At one time he allil- lost their onh, daughter, Elsie, and their only 
 
 iated with the Independent Order of odd Fel- living child is Fred \V. Meyer. The hope that 
 
 lows and was a man highly respected and es- lecl Mr - Meyer to seek a home in America has 
 
 teemed by all with whom he came in contact been more than realized for he here found the 
 
 ether in business or social life. business opportunities he sought and by improv- 
 ing business conditions he won for himself a 
 place among the substantial residents of his 
 adopted city. His personal characteristics, too, 
 
 WILLIAM MEj EB. are such as have gained him warm friends and 
 
 William Meyer, whose intense and well di- strong regard, and in Petersburg and Menard 
 
 reetcd activity caused his business career to count} he is highly esteemed, 
 
 prove so successful that he is m>w enabled to Fred W. Meyer, the onlj child, was born in 
 
 live retired and yel enjoy many of the com- Petersburg, July 23, 1880, and at the usual age 
 
 forts ami luxuries thai go to make life worth entered the public schools, wherein he advanced 
 
 living, was born in Hanover, Germany, Oc- through successive grades until he had complet- 
 
 tober 1*. is:;:;. His father, also a native of ed the high school course by graduation with 
 
 Hanover, was an architect and was a very sue- the cla^s of 1898. lie then entered Notre 
 
 eessful man of Ins day and locality. Vlr. Meyer Da University, at Notre Dame. Indiana, as 
 
 ha- nephews in Germany who an' now exten- a student in the law department, and was grad- 
 
 siveh engaged in the manufacture of fancy uated from that institution in 1902. In the 
 
 2 Is, conducting a rerj profitable enterprise, fall of the -aim' year he was admitted to the 
 
 After leaving school William Meyer began bar and entered ti] active practice in Peters- 
 learning the trade t,( a watchmaker ami jew- burg. Already he has secured a g I clientage, 
 
 eler and later he went to Switzerland to per- ami his thorough preparation, laudable ambi- 
 
 fect himself in that work among a people who tion ami unfaltering energy speak well for a 
 
 are the acknowledged leaders of the world along successful future as a representative of the legal 
 
 those line-. When twenty-one years of age fraternity of his native city. Mr. Meyer was 
 
 he came to America, landing at New York in married m January, 1904, to Mi>s Lynn
 
 -.Me, 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MEXABD COUNTY 
 
 Greene, a native of Menard county and a 
 daughter "J' Gaines Greene, of an old family 
 of thai name. The young people are popular 
 in Petersburg, where the hospitality of the 
 besi homes is cordially extended them. 
 
 GEOEGE B. WELSH. 
 
 There is no history in this volume which 
 illustrates more clearly the fact that success 
 may be won through perseverance and honor- 
 able effort than does the record of George 
 Baxter Welsh, who is indeed a self-made man. 
 having worked his wa} upward from a hum- 
 ble financial position to one of affluence. Al- 
 ii gb he is now the owner of an excellent 
 
 farm of four hundred and fifty acres in Tallula 
 and Petersburg precincts, he came to this 
 county without capital and was first employed 
 as a farm hand. 
 
 A native of Scotland. Mr. Welsh was born 
 in Dundee. April 1, 1838, his parents being 
 John and Joanna (Baxter) Welsh. When the 
 old established church of Scotland was divided 
 because of difference of opinion among its 
 membership, Mr. and Mrs. John Welsh with- 
 drew from the old organization and became 
 members of whal was known as the Free church, 
 and their sou George was one of the first pupils 
 in the schools established by the new denomina- 
 tion. For long generations the ancestors of the 
 famih had resided in Scotland The grand- 
 father of our subject was a farmer there, hut 
 the lather became a grain merchant, lie mar- 
 ried Miss Baxter, whose i pie were largely 
 
 engaged in manufacturing; making a specialty 
 ,if sail cloth and bagging. Her father, how- 
 ever, lived retired from business lor many- 
 years. Her cousin, David Baxter, was a mem- 
 ber of parliament. Mr-. Joanna Welsh died 
 in Scotland, after which her husband mar- 
 ried Mr-. Elizabeth Bruce, a widow. 
 and crossed the Atlantic to America with 
 Ins family, settling on a 'farm near 
 Toronto, Canada, in 1839. lie had five 
 children, for many years he carried on agri- 
 cultural pursuits there and at his death, which 
 occurred in 1896, Ins remains were interred in 
 a cemeterv north of Toronto. 
 
 George B. Welsh is the eldest of his father's 
 family. Eliza, the second child, married An- 
 drew Miller, who resides at Thornhills, Camilla, 
 not far from Toronto. John is married ami re- 
 sides at l.istoll. in Upper Canada. James mar- 
 ried ami resided in Stockton, California. He 
 served as mayor of that city and was presi- 
 dent of the First National Bank there. He 
 learned the miller's trade in New York and 
 went to the west a poor hoy. but at the time 
 of his death he had amassed a fortune of al- 
 most a million dollars, lie died July '.'li. 1904, 
 leaving a wife and three daughters. William 
 resides at the old home at Thornhills, Canada. 
 
 George B. Welsh -pent the first eleven years 
 of his life iii his native country ami then ac- 
 companied In- father to Canada, after which 
 he had no opportunity to attend school. His 
 youth was largely a period of unremitting toil 
 and lie labored persistently ami earnestly to 
 ■■ret a stall in the hiisiness world. He came 
 to Illinois in 1863 and the first year worked 
 as a farm hand for twenty-five dollars per 
 month. lie afterward operated rented land 
 for about eight or ten years, and then, his 
 labor, economy and careful management having 
 brought to him some capital, he purchased a 
 tract of land m Little Grove. To his original 
 purchase of three hundred acre- he has since 
 added two hundred acres, so that he is now 
 one of the extensive landowners of the county, 
 his possessions being valuable, because of the 
 many improvements he has placed upon his 
 farm and the high state of cultivation under 
 which he has placed his fields. 
 
 In 1860 Mr. Welsh married Miss Catherine 
 Miller, a daughter of Nathan Miller, who be- 
 longed to an old Pennsylvania-Dutch family 
 and came from the Keystone state to Illinois 
 in the fall of L863, bringing with him his two 
 children. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Welsh 
 are as follow- : John, who lives in Cass county. 
 [llinois, married Lillie Wilson, of Menard 
 county, and they have three daughters. Joanna 
 i- i In' wife of Robert Wood, who resides on a 
 farm four mile- east of Petersburg, and they 
 have two sons and a daughter. Geines G., 
 who is living south of Petersburg and is a 
 member of the Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellow, married Elizabeth Held and they have
 
 Y 
 
 >n^
 
 PAST AND PKESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 25] 
 
 twi> sons and a daughter. George, who was riage they became the parents of seven children, 
 a miller, lives with his uncle James in C'ali- six sons and a daughter, all of whom are nov 
 lorn ia. Eerbert. a graduate of the high school deceased with the exception of two. On the 
 of Tallula and of the Springfield Business 3d of April, 1851, the father started for Ore- 
 College, is now at home. Christina and May gon, accompanied by his sons. The} traveled 
 are also at home and the latter, after gradu- with three ox-teams, and on the <th of Mm 
 ating from the Tallula high school, taught for left Omaha. They did not see a house from 
 two years. Minnie attended the high school that time until they reached Oregon, and they 
 of Tallula and later entered the Illinois Worn- experienced the usual hardships and trials in- 
 an's College, at Jacksonville, Illinois, where cidenl to crossing the plains at that early day. 
 she is studying piano and voice culture. Mrs. tin the 5th of November, 1851, they reached 
 Welsh is a member of the Christian church at the Cascade mountains and making their way 
 Tallula. to which all of her children belong to the mines of California, Joseph Williams 
 save John and George. The family occupies there engaged in mining fur about two years, 
 an enviable position in social circles and the when he was murdered by the Indians, in May. 
 Welsh household is a hospitable one. LS53. His wife had died in Illinois, December 
 Politically Mr. Welsh is a Republican, eon- to, is is. ere In- emigration to the Pacific 
 versant with the questions and issues of the coast. Only two of the family are now living 
 day, but never an aspirant for office. II" is —William 11. and Newton A. The latter, born 
 a member of the Masonic fraternity, having October 17, 1845, now resides at Green view. 
 
 n made a Mason in Clinton Lodge, No. 1!'. n, was married October 17, 1875, to Miss Mary 
 
 A. I'. & A. M.. at Petersburg, more than ,• r ,, x :nu \ t ] H . v had nine children, seven of 
 
 thirty years ago. He lias always been true to w hom are living. 
 
 its teachings, exemplifying in his daily life the William B. Williams was not ye1 eight years 
 
 beneficent spirit of the craft. ,, r .,„,, when |„, M . IF ,,,| „ lt |, his lather for 
 
 California, but celebrated his birthday on the 
 way. lie remained in Oregon until 1853, when 
 
 he returned with his five brothers to the home 
 
 WILLIAM B. WILLIAMS. . . . , T . ,.,.„ 
 
 ol then- uncle. John Williams, and soon alter- 
 
 William II. Williams, whose loyalty to his ward went to live with their aunt. Mrs. Cyn- 
 country has never wavered and whose interest thia Johnson. The return journey had been 
 in her welfare has uever abated since he wore made bv win of the isthmus of Panama, thence 
 the blue uniform and fought for the preserva- by sailing vessel to New Orleans and up the 
 tion of the Union in the Civil war. is a well Mississippi and Illinois rivers to Beardstown, 
 known residei i of township 18, where he carries thence across the country to Menard county. 
 on general farming ami stock-raising. He was Mr. William- of this review continued to live 
 horn in this county. May 29, 1843, and is a with his aunt until after the outbreak of the 
 son of Joseph and llulilah (Francis) William.-. Civil war. when he enlisted as a member of 
 The lather was horn in Kentucky. Aprii •">, Company K . One Hundred and Sixth Illinois 
 L812, and in 1823 became a resident of Menard Infantry. Ili- company was composed of Me- 
 county. In early manhood he engaged in farm- mini county men and the regiment went into 
 ing, but at the age of twenty-four years turned camp at Lincoln. Illinois. August 15, 1862, be- 
 lli- attention to general merchandising at De- ing mustered into the United States servic i 
 
 catur, Illinois. After five years' connection the 18th of September. On the 7th of that 
 
 with commercial pursuits he resumed farming month they moved to Columbus, Kentucky, and 
 
 and continued in that vocation until he started on the Hub to Jackson, Tennessee. On the 
 
 for the Pacific coast. In the meantime he had 6th of December occurred the firsi death in 
 
 married Miss Huldah Francis, who was horn the regimen! — that of E. Rankin, of Company 
 
 in Hartford. Connecticut, May 10, 1812, and C. During an engagement Sergeant Henry 
 
 in 1829 came to this count)-. By their mar- Fox, of Company II. climbed up the timbers
 
 PAST A\H PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 of the bridge and crossed that structure under until 1894, when he took up his abode on his 
 
 the lire of the whole rebel force, oil his wa\ farm in township 19, where he lived until 
 
 tn Jackson for re-enforcements, and although March, 1902. Then selling his property he 
 
 this was a must perilous undertaking he ac- removed to Valparaiso, Indiana, in order to 
 
 complished it in safety. Later the regiment afford his daughters better educational privi- 
 
 vvas sent further north to guard railroad sta- leges, returning thence to the place where he 
 
 tions. The prisoners paroled by General For- aow resides. 
 
 rest were sent to Benton Barracks and ex- On the 1st of November, L870, Mr. Williams 
 
 changed in the later summer of 1863. 'The 1ml- was married to Miss Anna M. Whitney, a 
 
 ance of the regiment was ordered to Bolivar, daughter of Alonzo II. and Mary A. (Eancaid) 
 
 Tennessee, iii March, 1864, and about the 31st Whitney, who came to Menard county in the 
 
 of Ma\ moved on to Vicksburg. While en route early '30s. Her father, who was horn April 
 
 the boat which was transporting the troops was 16, 1816, and died November 9, 1871, spent 
 
 fired upon at close range off Island 63 by sex- the greater part of his life in this count} 7 . He 
 
 era! companies of Rebel infantry and two can- owned and operated a farm and also worked 
 
 nun. and Captain Beizely's sen was killed at at Ins trade of carpentering, being one of the 
 
 the first lire, while a few others were also killed industrious, energetic men of his community. 
 
 ami about twenty-five wounded. After serving Associated with Mi 1 . Thatcher he built the Pres- 
 
 iii the trenches at Vicksburg a lew weeks the byterian church at North Sangamon. Ili- 
 
 One Hundred ami Sixth Illinois was sent Eorty wife, who was born January 26, 1818, died 
 
 miles up the Yazoo river to repel a Rebel force November II. 1891. They were the parent- 
 
 and. returning by forced inarches, was harassed of eight children, of whom four are now liv- 
 
 by the enemy; while under the scorching sum- ing: Mrs. Williams, born December 4, 1S48; 
 
 mer sun many of the soldiers were prostrated Dewey I... who was horn September 29, 1851, 
 
 by the heat. The regiment lost more men on and is now married ami living in Kansas; 
 
 that trip than from any other cause during its Emma E., who was horn January 24, 1856, 
 
 term of service. The One Hundred and Sixth ami is the wife of Dr. !•'. I'. Eldredge; and 
 
 served in the line of battle at Vicksburg until Frank lb. who was born December 28, 1860, 
 
 alter its surrender ami was then ordered to and is living in this county. 
 
 Helena. Arkansas, and took part in the advance The hoi >f Mr. and Mrs. Williams has been 
 
 on I. nile Rock, participating in its capture, blessed with seven children : Mary H., who was 
 
 It was in the battle of Clarendon, Duvalls Bluff, hom August 5, 1871, and died May .">. 1872; 
 
 Pine Bluff, Benton, Hot Springs, Lewisburg, W. II.. who was horn July 15, is;:;, ami was 
 
 St. Charles. Dardanelles and Brownsville and married to Maud Turner. August 24, 1898; 
 
 performed its lull share in crushing out the Grace, who was horn April 1, 1875; Luemma, 
 
 rebellion. Its members suffered many priva- who was born April Hi, is;;, and was married 
 
 tions and hardships, marching through swamps August Hi. 1899, to John Cloud, of Indiana; 
 
 and bayous, fighting and foraging, and its Arthur, who was horn March 27, L880, and 
 
 historj -hows a long list of casualties. Mr. died July 24, 1887; Cynthia, who was horn 
 
 Williams was always most faithful to his duties September •.';. 1883; and Paul. win. was horn 
 
 and returned home with a most creditable mil- June 2, 1887, ami died July 29, 1887. 
 
 itar\ record. Mr. Williams is a valued member of Pollock 
 
 Alter the war Mr. Williams engaged in buy- Post, No. 200, C. A. P.. of Athens, and niain- 
 
 ing and shipping slock and in 1869 he pur- tains pleasant relations with his old army com- 
 
 chased a farm at Middletown, Logan county, rades in this way. lie is also prominent in 
 
 Illinois, where he resided until 1896. lie then Masonry, belonging to Greenview lodge, No. 
 
 disposed of that property and purchased a farm d.V',. A. V. & A. M.; DeWitl Chapter, No. 119. 
 
 in Missouri, where he lived for two years, after P. A. M.; and St. Aldemar Commandery, No. 
 
 which he returned to Indian Point ami settled 17, K.T. He has been a member of the school 
 
 on the old Williams farm, where he remained board of his district for fifteen years and the
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OP MENABD COUNTY 253 
 
 cause of education finds in him an efEective hundred and sixty acres of land. When he had 
 champion. He strongly endorses the principles followed farming there for a brief period he 
 of the Republican party and is never remiss sold Ins property and returned to Menard coun- 
 in citizenship, while all the duties of public ty, where he purchased two hundred acres. 
 and private life he discharges with equal fixiel- Since thai time he has added seven hundred 
 hv. acres, so thai he is now one of the mosl exten- 
 sive landowners of the county, his possessions 
 aggregating nine hundred acres of very rich 
 and producl ive land. I o addil ion to general 
 GEOEGE I". SPEAES. farming he raises stock and feeds cattle. His 
 George I . Spears, who is engaged in general business interests have been carefully conduct- 
 farming in Tallnla township, was born April ed, Ins transactions being guided by sound 
 4, 1844, aboul three miles east of Tallula, in judgment, and although he is now numbered 
 Clary's Grove, his parents being W. <!. and among the prosperous Fanners of the county, 
 Eliza (Myers) Spears, both of whom were na- ii is all due to his carefully directed and 
 fives of Kentucky. 'The family was established straightforward dealings. 
 
 in America al an early period in the coloniza- In December, 18(>6, Mr. Spear- was united in 
 tion of the new world, the great-grandfather of marriage to Miss Frances Green, a daughter 
 our Mil'joci being a1 one time a resident of of J. <L Green, who was one of the early set- 
 Virginia, whence he removed westward to Ken- tiers of this pari of the stall', having arrived 
 tuckv. The grandfather was a farmer and n 1824, when lew pioneers had established 
 slave owner of the Blue Grass stale. W. <>. home- in this locality and when much of the 
 Spears removed from Kentucky to Illinois in land still remained in Ms primitive condition. 
 1829, settling three miles east of Tallnla in He settled south of the old town of Salem and 
 Clary's Grove, where he followed the occupa- there reared his family. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 
 tion of farming. Unto him and his wife were Spears have I n born seven children: Jesse 
 
 born four children, a son and three daughters, married Margarel J. Stout and resides in Pe- 
 George U. being the second of the family. His tersburg. They have one daughter, Ada. who 
 sisters are Ellen, Kate and Rebecca Jennie, is eleven year- of age. Carrie, who was edu- 
 Klleii married S. II. Bergen and i- now a cated in the schools id' Tallnla and in the. lack- 
 widow residing in Guthrie, Oklahoma. She sonville Female Seminary, is at home, \\il- 
 has three sons, one of whom is a druggist, while |j :m i <;.. who spenl one year as a studenl in 
 another is a traveling salesman, representing a Eureka College, at Eureka, Illinois, ami one 
 St. Louis house. Kale married John Frank, term in Brown's Business College at Spring- 
 editor of a paper of Jacksonville, Florida, field, is now farming on his own account and 
 They have one son, who is engaged in the news- resides with Ins parents. Lena is a graduate 
 paper business. Rebecca Jennie is the widow of the Woman's Methodisl College, at Jackson- 
 of W. J. Huggins ami resides in Guthrie, Okla- ville. Quincy M., who attended the Tallnla 
 
 homa. high sel I ami alter Ins graduation spent a 
 
 lii the country scl I- Mr. Spears began his year m the Illinois College, at Jacksonville, i> 
 
 education, which he continued in t he schools of farming lor himself on eightv acres of his 
 
 Tallnla. lie put aside his text-books when own ami als his father'- place. Grace B. 
 
 nineteen years of age ami began farming for was educated in the Tallnla high school ami in 
 himself on hi- mother's land easl of Tallula. the Woman'- College at Jacksonville. Sarah 
 Alter remaining there lor two years he -pent a E., also a graduate of the Tallnla high school 
 year south of Tallnla and afterward boughl a ami a studenl in the Woman's College al Jack- 
 homestead of two hundred and eighteen acres, sonville. completes the family, 
 which he cultivated for two \ ears. Later he sold Mr. Spear- endorses the principli - of Democ- 
 ont and wont to Warren county, Illinois set- racy and was elected to the office of county com- 
 tling near Greenbush. where he purchased one missioner for three terms, lie proved a mosl
 
 \'.M 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 capable official and his energies were exerted 
 for the besl interest of the county, which prof- 
 ited by what he did. He is a man whom to 
 know is in respect and honor, and he receives 
 the admiration of bis fellow men for what he 
 has accomplished and their respect because of 
 the straightforward methods by which he has 
 won his prosperity. 
 
 HENRY C. LEVEEING. 
 Benry C. Levering was born on the Lst of 
 January, 1849, his parents being Cave and 
 ( latherine I Von Felden i Li vering. His mother 
 was hum in Germany and came with her pa- 
 rents. George and Margaret Yon Felden, to 
 America al an early age. His father was born 
 in Baltimore, Maryland, and when a young 
 man came to Illinois and after spending sev- 
 eral years in Springfield tool; up his residence 
 in Petersburg, entering the employ of A. 1'. 
 Wright and afterward engaging in business 
 for himself. He was married to Miss Yon 
 Felden in Petersburg and to them were born 
 eleven children, nine surviving in maturity. 
 eight of whom an still living: Mrs. Robert 
 Carver, Aaron, Thomas. Mrs. Lester Redmon, 
 Cave, Charles, Harvey M. and Margaret. Har- 
 \ r \ M. Levering, the youngest son, lias been 
 actively identified with the political life of 
 the county, having heen elected by large ma- 
 jorities to fill the office of county i lerk for three 
 successive terms, and is at the present time 
 holding the position of master in chancery. 
 Henn C. Levering was married in Peters- 
 burg, November 6, 1872, to Julia Chatterton, 
 the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Miles) 
 Chatterton. she was born in Springfield 
 February 15, 1855. Her mother was reared in 
 Menard county where her parents, George U. 
 and Jam Miles, settled at an early day, com- 
 ing from Kentucky. Mr. Levering entered 
 mercantile life as a grocer and was very suc- 
 , i --inl in that line. He was associated in a 
 partnership with Martin Nlcolai, which rela- 
 tion was continued for some time, when the 
 firm of Harms, Levering, Nicolai & Company 
 was formed. This was succeeded by Harms. 
 Levering & Clary, and after the retirement of 
 
 Mr. Clary became Harms & Levering. In 1890 
 they erected the present brick business block 
 at thi southwest corner of court house square, 
 one hundred and twenty-four by one hundred 
 and two feet. The building was constructed 
 for departments- groceries, dry goods, clothing 
 and uotions — and had a stock and facilities 
 for the conduct of a general mercantile busi- 
 ness second to none in this part of the state. 
 Mr. Levering was very active in the develop- 
 ment of this business, which was conducted 
 alone- modern lines of progress, and he insti- 
 tuted fair and honorable methods which would 
 hear the closest scrutiny. He was also inter- 
 ested quite extensively in stock-raising and 
 continued in both lines up to the time of Ins 
 death, which occurred on the 3rd day of July, 
 L903, the community thereby losing a ver 
 prominent and influential citizen whose value 
 was widely recognized. His name had long 
 figured in connection with mercantile interests 
 hen- and always stood as a synonym of honor- 
 able dealing and progressive effort. He was 
 a Mason ami a life-long Democrat, but always 
 held patriotism above politics. He was a man 
 of unblemished character, tireless energy and 
 unbounded industry. 
 
 He is succeeded in business by his two sons, 
 his only children, Paul and Harry C. The 
 firm of Harm- & Levering was discontinued, 
 the young men retaining the clothing and gro- 
 cery departments under the name of Levering 
 Brothers. They are of good business ability, 
 alert, energetic, quickly recognizing possibili- 
 ties, finding in cadi transition stage of theit 
 business career opportunity for further ad- 
 vancement ami bid fair to sustain the repu- 
 tation their father made as an honorable man 
 and a useful citizen. 
 
 ANDREW PARK. 
 
 Andrew Park, who since March, 1877, has 
 resided upon his farm on sections 3 and 10, 
 township IS, where he owns and operates one 
 hundred and fifty-five acres of land, was born 
 in Paisley, Scotland. July 22, 1846, his parents 
 being James and Rebecca (Purdon) Park. 
 who were also natives of the land of the heath-
 
 MR. AND MRS. II. C. LEVERING
 
 PAST A\H 
 
 RESENT <»!•' MENABD COUNTY 
 
 257 
 
 er. The father's and mother's people came 
 from the lowlands of Scotland and lie was a 
 farmer by occupation. The Park family were 
 landowners there but going security for a man 
 lost their property. Both the parents of our 
 subject wore members of (lie Presbyterian 
 church of Scotland. Leaving his native coun- 
 try in 1862, James Park crossed the Atlantic 
 to America and made his way westward to 
 Petersburg. IN- brothers, Matthew and Thom- 
 as Park, had come to Illinois many years be- 
 Eore and had entered land from the govern- 
 ment when much id' it was still unclaimed. 
 An aunt. Annie Barclay, emigrating from Scot- 
 land to Virginia, afterward came to Illinois 
 and purchased the farm whereon Andrew Park 
 imw resides, be having bought the land from 
 her. Another aunt. Mr-. Margaret Shepard, 
 came from Scotland t>> Illinois at the time of 
 the arrival of Thomas and Matthew Park. 
 All are now deceased. 
 
 Ill the family of James and Rebecca Park- 
 were nine children, seven daughters and two 
 -nil-, a- follows: Isabella married Christopher 
 Pose and thev resided in Scotland, hut both 
 are now deceased. Their sou Christopher is 
 now a resident of Antelope county. Nebraska. 
 Elizabeth is the deceased wife of William Wil- 
 son, a resident of Scotland, and they had four 
 children. Rebecca died in infancy. Rebecca 
 married William Kinlov and i- now a widow. 
 residing two and a half mile- northeast of 
 Petersburg. Annie married Anthony Clark, 
 a resident of llement. Piatt county. Illinois, 
 ami they have three children. Andrew is the 
 sixth of the family. Margaret is the widow 
 ■ if George W. Eollis, resides in the Petersburg 
 precinct ami ha- nine children. Amies is the 
 iv lie of llarr\ Boughton, living five miles 
 south of Petersburg, and they have six chil- 
 dren, .lame- died at the age nf twenty-four 
 years. 
 
 In the public schools of Scotland Andrew 
 Park- acquired Ins education, ami wink' still 
 living in that country he began earning his 
 <>wn living by working as a farm hand, re- 
 ceiving thirty dollars in compensation for six 
 months service. Coming to the United States 
 in 1862 hi' ha- found in the freedom and ap- 
 preciation id' this great western country, with 
 
 its livelier competition and advancement more 
 quickly secured, the business opportunities he 
 sought and is toda\ one 'if the substantial fann- 
 er- "f his adopted county. He was employed 
 
 on his father'- farm for a time and also 
 worked for others and then when his labor 
 had made possible the purchase of a tract 
 nf land, he began farming for himself upon 
 the place which has been his home since March, 
 ls;i. lie ha- here niie hundred and fifty-five 
 
 aire- of g I laud and he also owns fifty acres 
 
 near the Brush schoolhouse, and because of 
 the careful cultivation bestowed upon In- fields 
 the farm has become very productive and 
 therefore profitable. 
 
 (hi the 19th ..I' August, 1885, Mr. Park was 
 married to Mi-s Harriet Rutledge, a daughter 
 ill McCraiK and Margaret (Harris) Rutledge, 
 the former a native of Kentucky and the lat- 
 ter of Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Park have 
 two children, both of whom are living, .lames 
 H.. horn August 2, 1887; and Stella P.. horn 
 June 17, 1892. Both are students in the pub- 
 lic schools. 
 
 Mr. Parks views on I be temperance ques- 
 tiun are indicated by the support which he 
 gives to the Prohibition party. He belongs 
 lo the ( ' u i uher lam I lTeshx lena n church and 
 his influence is always a factor in behalf of 
 law and order, justice, truth and right. lie 
 has led a very busy life. and. realizing that 
 labor is the kasis of all honorable success, 
 he has worked mi persistently year after year 
 and is now m possession of a comfortable com 
 petence as the result of his earnest toil. 
 
 JOHN II. BEHEENS. 
 
 John II. Behrens, who is extensively and 
 successfully engaged in the raising of stock 
 ami in general farming in Greenview town- 
 ship, was born mi the sih of February, 1865, 
 in Menard county, and is of German lineage. 
 His parents, Henrj and Mary (Hildebrand) 
 Behrens, were both natives of Germany. The 
 father, leaving thai country, sailed for New 
 Orleans ami thence proceeded up the Missis- 
 sippi river to St. Louis. Missouri, while his 
 wife, on coining to America, made her way
 
 258 
 
 PAST AXI> PRESENT OF MENARD mi'XTY 
 
 by water to Havana, Illinois. The] wen 
 married in this state and in order to provide 
 for his family Henry Behrens carried on agri- 
 cultural pursuits. Hi worked hard and his 
 careful inanagemenl enabled him to acquire a 
 handsome competence. As his financial re- 
 sources increased he made judicious investments 
 in real estate and became the owner of ex- 
 tensive landed possessions, having seven hun- 
 dred and twenty acres at the time of his death. 
 which occurred in February, IS82. He had 
 survived his wife for about three years, her 
 deatb having occurred in February, L879. 
 They were the parents of rive children, two 
 
 .-on- and tlii- laughters, of whom two sons 
 
 ami a daughter arc now living, namely: John 
 II.: William: ami Mary, the wife of J. Wohler. 
 
 of Menard nty. An uncle .if Mr. Behrens 
 
 of this review is still living. He i- John 
 Hildebrand, of Grundy county. Missouri, and 
 on tin- 12th uf Au-ust. 1904, celebrated the 
 seventieth anniversary of his birth. On that 
 "ii a party was held in his honor, at 
 
 M r. Hi lin n- of this re\ iew was pn sent. 
 i mi the old homestead farm John II. Beh- 
 
 - spent the days of his boyb 1 and youth 
 
 and eat ame familiar with the duties and 
 labors that fall to the lol agriculturist. 
 
 attaining his majority he has carried 
 on tin same pursuit and is now well known 
 as a - eessful stock-raiser and eedi c He 
 has about one hundred and fifty head of cattle 
 e at this writing, in the fall of 
 1904, together with ten head uf horses and 
 mules and about one hundred and twenty head 
 id' hogs. He ha- recenth shipped sixty-five 
 head to the Chicago market. His landed pos- 
 sess - iprise five hundred and live acres 
 
 and because uf his property and his business 
 capacity and enterprise he deserves to he 
 ranked among the leading and substantia] 
 agriculturists of Menard county. 
 
 (>n the •.'■.'.! of November, 1887, Mr. Behrens 
 niteil in marriage to Miss Lizzie Stroker. 
 a daughter nf Garret and Julia (Miller) Strok- 
 er, in whose family were four daughters ami 
 a -mi. all of whom are living in this county 
 witb one exception: Lizzie, horn June 20, 
 1862, is now Mrs. Behrens; Anna, born Feb- 
 ruary S. IS64. married William Behrens, a 
 
 brother of John EL Behrens; Mary was born 
 March 8, 1867; Mr-. Amelia Koester, born 
 December 11. 1869, is living in Nebraska; 
 Henry, born December 25, 1871, makes his 
 home with his eldest sister. Lnto Mr. and 
 Mi-. Behrens have been horn four children: 
 George, born September 13, 1888; Edward. 
 horn December 28, 1889; Franklin, horn Oc- 
 toiier 14, 1891; ami Oscar, horn July 9, 1S99. 
 The children have been reared upon the old 
 home farm upon which their father spent his 
 boyhood day- and where he has always carried 
 on hi- business interests. 
 
 Both -Mr. ami Mrs. Behrens are consistent 
 and loyal members of the German Lutheran 
 church, contributing generously to its support. 
 In his political views he is a stanch Republi- 
 can, keeping well informed on the questions 
 and issues of the day and thus being able to 
 support hi- position by intelligent argument. 
 For the past twelve years be has been a school 
 director and he is now road commissioner, 
 a position which he has held at different times 
 until his incumbency covers nine ami a half 
 years. In the discharge of his duties he has 
 evei "in prompt and faithful and all who 
 know him recognize in him a man who is re- 
 liable and trustworthy in - 3S, loyal in 
 citizenship and devoted to Ids family ami 
 friends 
 
 J. W. WERNSING. 
 
 J. W. Werasing, one of tin- prominent pio- 
 neer merchants of Menard cmnty win-" enter- 
 prising spirit ami business foresight largely 
 advanced commercial conditions in Petersburg. 
 wa- a native of Hanover, Germany. He ac- 
 quired his education there and remained in the 
 fatherland until 1828. when he determined to 
 come to America. Reports from the new world 
 presented a story of business conditions and 
 possibilities that attracted him. and thinking 
 that he might win more rapid advancement 
 in a country with livelier competition where 
 results were more quickly secured, he came to 
 to the United State- ami located in Springfield, 
 Illinois, where he entered the employ of John 
 Tavlor. who then had charge of the land office.
 
 MRS. M.L FISHER
 
 PAST AM' PBESEXT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 263 
 
 Later tie formed a partnership with James Tay- 
 lor, a sod of his employer, for the establishmenl 
 of a dry-goods store at Petersburg, and they 
 opened their stock of goods in a wooden build- 
 ing in whal was known as the old town, this 
 
 being oi E the pioneer mercantile enterprises 
 
 of the place. Prosperity attended the efforts 
 of the new firm, the business keeping pace with 
 the growth of the town and the settlement of 
 the surrounding district, and later the}' erected 
 a brick store building now occupied by the First 
 National Bank and the store adjoining it on 
 r lie north side. For a number of years Mr. 
 Wernsing was actively connected with the con- 
 duct of this business. 
 
 In public affairs Mv. Wernsing was also prom- 
 inent and bis efforts contributed to the general 
 upbuilding and improvement of his city and 
 county. He had been a resident of Illinois for 
 onl\ a few rears when he enlisted for service 
 in the Black I lawk war, going to the scene of 
 hostilities under command of Colonel Merri- 
 inan and serving until the Indian uprising was 
 
 quelled. He was ai one ti circuil clerk for 
 
 a term, and his influence was always given on 
 the side of improvement and progress, and 
 ed a potent elemenl in the substantial up- 
 building of Petersburg. 
 
 On the 8th of May, 1845, Mr. Wernsing was 
 united in marriage to Miss Minerva L. Smith, 
 and his death occurred May 10, 1858, but lie 
 
 - vel remembered by many of the pioneer set- 
 tlers n| Menard county as a man and citizen 
 "i sterling worth. His wife, now Mrs. Fisher, 
 
 - if the oldest living settlers of Menard 
 
 c ty, having located here with her parents in 
 
 tS30, when a young girl of eight years. They 
 came from I ndiana, but her father and mot her 
 were originally from Kentucky. After losing 
 her firs! husband Mrs. Wernsing was again 
 married, becoming the wife of Dedrich Fisher, 
 
 mi 1861. Their married life covered al I a 
 
 third of a century, Mr. Fisher passing away 
 on the 12th of April. 1894. Airs. Fisher is 
 iHiu in her eighty-fourth year. She has prop- 
 erty in Menard county and also in San Diego 
 county, California, and for the past thirteen 
 years has made her home in the latter place, 
 hut during that time has made twenty-two trips 
 to Menard county, ami at this writing is m>\\ 
 
 visiting relatives here. The memory of few, 
 if any, of the residents of tins locality dales 
 hack to a mere remote period in the historj 
 of Menard county, and she has intimate knowl- 
 edge of the events which have melded its pol- 
 icy, promoted its growth and shaped its annals. 
 She occupies a foremost place in the regard 
 and warm esteem of a very large circle of 
 friends in Menard countv. 
 
 II. M. LEVEEING. 
 
 H. M. Levering, master in chancery of Me- 
 nard county, was born in Petersburg, December 
 13, 1867, and through much of his active busi- 
 ness career has been connected with the pub- 
 lic servici — a fait which indicates his reliability 
 ami efficiency. Ili> father. Cave Levering, was 
 a native of Baltimore, Maryland, ami was unit- 
 ed in marriage to Miss Catherine \mi Felden, 
 a native of Germany. * in his removal to Illi- 
 nois he located in Springfield, where he re- 
 mained for a few vears. and thence came to 
 Petersburg, where he turned his attention to 
 merchandising, in which field of business activ- 
 ity he continued until within a lew- years of 
 his death, when he retired to enjoy the fruits 
 of his former toil. 
 
 The eighth in order of birth in a family of 
 nine children, 11. M. Levering was educated 
 in the public schools of Petersburg and then 
 entered his brol her's store as a salesman, being 
 thus employed for eighl years, tin the expira- 
 tion of thai period, m 1889, he was elected 
 county clerk and was twice re-elected, thus serv- 
 ing lor three consecutive terms, (in his retire- 
 ment from that office he was appointed master 
 in chancery, in which capacity he is now dis- 
 charging his duties in a most capable and com- 
 mendable manner. Me regards a public office 
 as a public trust and brings to the discharge 
 of bis duties the same enterprising spirit ami 
 keen discernment winch be manifested when 
 controlling private business interests. 
 
 In August, 1889, Mr. Levering was married 
 to Miss Celia Combs, a native of Menard coun- 
 ty and a daughter of Amos Combs. She died 
 danuaiw 25, 1895, and her death was deeply 
 regretted by main friends to whom she had
 
 >64 
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 be te endeared through tier man] g I traits 
 
 of heart ami mind. She left two children, 
 Leigh and Warren. In L896 Mr. Levering was 
 again married, Ins second union being with 
 Miss Nellie ('. Eutcherson, a native of Menard 
 county and a daughter of William T. Eutcher- 
 son, who died III the 'Sits. There is line Sun 
 
 of this marriage, William. 
 
 Mr. Levering is prominent in Masonic circles, 
 belonging to both the lodge and chapter. Ee 
 also holds membership relations with the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of 
 Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and 
 the Knights of the Maccabees. He has a wide 
 acquaintance in the county where his entire 
 life has been passed and where he has so direct- 
 ed his energies as to gain recognition as a 
 leading and representative citizen, owing to his 
 devotion to the public g I and his co-opera- 
 tive support of all measures which he deems 
 will promote the welfare and substantial up- 
 building of city and county. 
 
 GEORGE NEWELL VAX KM AN. 
 
 George Newell Van Eman is the owner of a 
 good tract of land in Athens precinct and 
 to the development and improvement of his 
 farm he is devoting his energies with the re- 
 sult that he now has a productive tract, con- 
 stituting one of the best farming properties of 
 his locality. He was horn in Eollidays Grove, 
 West Virginia, on the 9th of July, L855, his 
 parents being W. W. and Hlla/.anna Van Eman. 
 The father was a native of Burgettstown, 
 Washington county. Pennsylvania, and the 
 mother's birth occurred in the same county 
 near the village of Cross Creek. Virginia. W. 
 W. Van Eman devoted his early life to farm- 
 ing and teaching school, following the edu- 
 cational profession for twelve years, lie then 
 turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. 
 renting a tract of land and subsequently he 
 and his brother purchased a farm. At a later 
 date he bought his brother's interest and sub- 
 sequently he sold the entire place and removed 
 to a farm near Farmer City, Illinois, where he 
 also bought land, taking up his abode there 
 in 1879. for about nine vears he continued 
 
 tin' cultivation and improvement of that place 
 
 and 111 isss he sold out and became the owner 
 of a tract of land near Champaign. There lie 
 spent two vears. after which he bought a farm 
 near Webster City. Iowa. He bought and sold 
 twice while 111 that district and he now owns 
 a line farm near Esterville, Emmet county. 
 Iowa, upon which he is residing. He carries 
 on general agricultural pursuits and is also a 
 stock-raiser, breeding shorthorn cattle. His 
 farm work has been carefully conducted and 
 basing his success upon earnesi labor he has 
 worked persistently to acquire a good ami prof- 
 itable property, lie has found in his wife a 
 faithful companion and helpmate on life's jour- 
 ney, she having carefully managed the house- 
 hold affairs, while he has conducted his farm- 
 ing interests. Onto them were horn seven 
 children, of whom five, three s, ms and two 
 daughters, are now living. 
 
 George Newell Van Eman, the eldest of the 
 family, is indebted to the public school system 
 of western Pennsylvania for the educational 
 privileges which he enjoyed In his youth. When 
 In' had mastered the branches of learning usu- 
 allv taught in the public schools be began fann- 
 ing with his father at Fanner City, Illinois. 
 He afterward spent seven vears in DeWitt and 
 Piatt counties as a renter and then returned 
 to Menard county, locating upon his present 
 farm, a part of which was left to his wife, 
 while the remainder he purchased. They now 
 have one hundred and fifty-two acres and the 
 greater part of the land is under a high -fate 
 of cultivation, for Mr. Van Eman has contin- 
 ued the further work id' development and im- 
 provement until it is now an excellent farm. 
 supplied with all modern accessories ami equip- 
 ments. 
 
 On the loth of October. L885, Mr. Van 
 Emarj was united in marriage to Miss Man 
 E. White, the ceremony being performed 1>\ 
 Rev I!. D. Miller. The lady was born and 
 reared in Menard coiintv and attended school 
 at Indian Point unlil eighteen vears of age. 
 after which she was a student at Lincoln Uni- 
 versity in Lincoln, Illinois, for a time. After 
 completing her education she engaged in leach- 
 ing until within a short time of her marriage. 
 She is a daughter of I.'. F. White who was
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENARD COI'NTY 265 
 
 born in St. Clair county, Illinois. but was ham Nusbaum, his son and the father of our 
 
 only a few months old when brought to Me- subject, was also born. The latter came to 
 
 nard county, thus becoming one of the pio- A rica in early manh I and located in Cin- 
 
 aeer settlers of this region. Ee was married einnati, Ohio, where he was afterward joined 
 mar Jacksonville in Morgan county, Illinois, by his father and the other members of the 
 to Miss Rachel Roach, a native of Tennessee, family, and there the grandfather continued 
 and to them were born seven children, of to make Ins home until called from this life, 
 whom three reached years of maturity, one Abraham Nusbauin, however, removed from 
 of these being John E. White, who is repre- Ohio to Petersburg about LS50 and established 
 sented elsewhere in this volume. The father a mercantile enterprise which he continued to 
 was a Democral in politics and was an influ- conduct until 1874, being very successful in 
 ential and honored citizen of his community, the work. He was married to Mi>s Sarah Sal- 
 Mr. and Mrs. Van Kman have one son. Frank zenstein and they became the parents of two 
 White, who was born December 18, 1S86, and sons. 
 
 is now assisting Ins father in the operation of Charles Nusbaum, the younger son. was a 
 
 the home farm. public school -indent and after his graduation 
 
 I" his political views Mr. Van Kman is a m,m the high scl I he continued his studies 
 
 Republican, unfaltering in his advocacy of the m the Illinois College at Jacksonville. In 
 
 party and its principles, lie and his family | S ;:i | ie completed a c 'se there by gradua- 
 
 are members of the Lebanon Cumberland Pros- ,„,,, . m ,| w ,(i, g | literary knowledge to serve 
 
 hyterian church, the house of worship standing as the basis of his professional learning he 
 
 near their home upon land given for that pur- matriculated m the law departmenl of the 
 
 pose by Mr-. Van Eman's grandfather. Their University of Michigan, where he was grad- 
 
 influence is ever on the side of right, order ua t e d with the class of L881. Two wars later 
 
 and progress and m all of his business deal- |„. entered upon active practice in Petersburg, 
 
 ings as well as in private life Mr. Van Eman wne re he has since remai I. long maintaining 
 
 is jus1 and fair, so that his name has become a foremost position in the ranks of (he legal 
 
 a synonym lor integrity in all trade transac- fraternity in Menard county. From L888 
 
 tions. until L896 he served as states attorney. The 
 
 zeal with which he ha- devoted hi- energies to 
 his profession, the careful regard evinced for 
 
 the interests of his clients, and an assidu- 
 
 CHAELES \1 SIlAI M. . , , ., 
 
 mis and unrelaxing attention to all the details 
 
 The true measure of success i.s determined of his eases, have brought him a large husi- 
 by what one has accomplished, and. as taken ness and made him very successful in its con- 
 in contradistinction to the old adage that a duet. Hi- arguments have elicited warm com- 
 prophet i- never without honor save in his mendation not only from his associates at the 
 own country, there is particular interest at- bar hut also from the bench. In addition to 
 taching to the career of Charles Nusbaum, his law practice he is interested in financial 
 since he i- a native son of the place where circles of the citv. having succeeded his father 
 he ha- passed lii- active life and so directed as a director of the First National Hank of 
 his abilities and efforts as to gain recognition Petersburg. lie is also one of the directors 
 as one of the representative citizens of Menard id' the Lanning Harris Coal & Grain Company, 
 county. He is engaged in the practice of law of Kansas City. 
 
 ami ha- won for himself an enviable position < hi the 25th of October, is 1 .):!. Mr. Nusbaum 
 
 in the ranks of the legal fraternity. was united in marriage to Miss Clara Steam. 
 
 Born in Petersburg, on the L3th of January, a native of Lincoln, Illinois, and a daughter 
 
 1860, Mr. Nusbaum is of German Lineage. His id' Samuel and Jeanette (Rosenberger) Steam, 
 
 grandfather. Bombard Nusbaum. was a native They have one son, Carl. Fraternally Mr. 
 
 of Bavaria, Germany, in which country Abra- Nusbaum is a Mason and a Kniarht of Pythias
 
 866 
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 ami is in full sympathy with the beneficent 
 teachings of those orders. Ee was made a 
 Mason in June, 1903, in the Petersburg Lodge. 
 He owns a nice residence on the Hillside, and 
 tie ami his wife arc popular ami have many 
 friends in Menard county, while their own at- 
 tractive home is Doted Eor its warm-hearted 
 hospitality. 
 
 JOHN Q. SPEAES. 
 
 John i>. Spears, who has prospered as an 
 agriculturist ami is now practically living re- 
 tired, was born on the 8th id' November, 1828, 
 and is today one of the revered patriarchs of 
 his community, having passed the seventy-sixth 
 milestone on life'- journey. His parents were 
 George and Maria W. (Blankenship) Spears, 
 honored pioneer settlers id' Menard county. 
 His paternal grandparents were George and 
 Mary (Neely) Spears, residents of Kentucky, 
 who wore identified with the pioneer develop- 
 ment of that stale. A -ketch of the grand- 
 mother will he found on another page of this 
 volume. 
 
 George Spears, dr.. was born in Green coun- 
 ty, Kentucky, March 9, 1805, and was reared 
 amid the wild scene- of frontier life upon his 
 father's farm. He acquired a good common- 
 school education, was early trained to habits of 
 industry and economy, ami in 1824, when nine- 
 teen years of age, he accompanied his parents 
 on their removal to Illinois, the family home 
 being established at Clary's Grove in Menard 
 county. The grandfather died April 10, 1838. 
 at the age of seventy-four years, while his wife 
 passed away January ?<;. 1852, at the very ad- 
 vanced age of ninety years, five months and 
 twenty-seven days. He had taken a helpful 
 pari in the early improvement and upbuilding 
 of the county and is classed among the worthy 
 pioneers whose efforts are still very beneficial 
 in the presenl condition of progress and pros- 
 perity in tin- part of the state. George Spears, 
 Jr., attained his majority in Menard county, 
 became identified with its agricultural interests 
 and prospered in his undertakings, making ju- 
 dicious investments in property until he was 
 the owner of two thousand acres of land. He 
 
 did much for the county along the lines of 
 agricultural development and improvement. 
 In 1829 he burned the brick and erected a 
 residence which is still standing, it being the 
 second brick house within the territory now 
 embraced in the counties of Sangamon, Menard, 
 Cass. Mason and Logan. His wife died June 
 23, 1878, and he passed away August 27, 1891. 
 They were the parents of five children: Mary 
 ( .. the wife of William T. Beekman; William 
 X.. deceased: John Q. ; Henry C, who has also 
 passed away: and Elizabeth F., who married 
 < leorge C. Spears. 
 
 John Q. Spears wa- born on the old family- 
 homestead in Menard county and is indebted 
 to the common schools of that period for the 
 early educational privileges he enjoyed. The 
 first school building at which he attended was 
 an old log structure with slab seat-, greased 
 paper windows ami a large fireplace. He be- 
 gan his studies when only four years of age. 
 The first day he received a whipping, three or 
 four mi the second day and six on the third 
 day because he could not say his alphabet. 
 The path of learning, therefore, was not a flow- 
 ery one to him in hi- early day. Experience 
 and observation have added largely to his knowl- 
 edge and in this manner a- well a- through his 
 training in the schoolroom he managed to ac- 
 quire a good business education. 
 
 Mr. Spear- has always followed farming ami 
 has kept abreast with the progress of the tim< -. 
 
 as primitive machinery ha- I n replaced by 
 
 that of modern manufacture and a- the crude 
 methods of early days have given way before 
 the present manner of cultivating the -oil and 
 caring for the crops. At one time he was the 
 owner of eleven hundred and seventy-sis acres 
 of land in Menard county, constituting a very 
 valuable property, and he also owned land else- 
 where until his property interests aggregated 
 twenty-six hundred acre-, lie afterward gave 
 to hi- sons one hundred ami sixty acres of good 
 land and he still retains possession of thru 
 hundred and twent] acre-. Other business in- 
 terests have likewise claimed the time and at- 
 tention of Mr. Spears. For six years he was 
 
 engaged m the dry-g 1- and lumber business 
 
 in Tallula. being forced into the business on 
 account of loaning monev to a partv who could
 
 MI!. AND M RS. .l<>|| \ Q. SPEARS.
 
 PAST AMi PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 269 
 
 a,, i pay. Mi' also carried on a dry-goods and sons of Menard county, his memory forms a 
 u-rocen trade a1 Roodhouse for the same Length connecting link between the primitive pasl and 
 of nun', and on disposing of thai tie was en- progressive present. He is familiar with the 
 waged in the grocer} business at Tallula for historj of the count} during its pioneer epoch 
 two years and a half. Thus Ins efforts have and has watched it emerge from frontier con- 
 been directed into various fields of activity and ditions to take its place with the leading coun- 
 his sound judgment and untiring industry have ties of this great commonwealth. He has ever 
 been resultant factors in bringing him very manifested a pride in what has been accom- 
 oratifying success. plished and has borne his full share in the 
 
 Mr. Spears has been married twice. <>n the work of public improvement in his locality. 
 
 2d of May, L854. he wedded Susan J. Merrill, Although seventy-sis years of age be is still 
 
 a daughter of Jacob Merrill. She died De- hale and hearty and possesses a most wonder- 
 
 eember II. 1873, leaving three children: Wil- fid memory and genial nature — one whom it is 
 
 1 j ;l in BL the eldest, born dune 20, 1859, now a greal pleasure to meet and converse with as 
 
 resides in Petersburg ; James J., born February he has a fund of most interesting stones of 
 
 •.';. 1861, i- living in Tallula; and (diaries f!., pioneer days when Abraham Lincoln was one 
 
 born Juh 6, 1869, makes In- home upon the of the boys in this county. His wife is also 
 
 farm which was once occupied by his father, a most pleasant and estimable lad\ and their 
 
 For In- second wife Mr. Spears chose Martha home is noted for its hospitality. 
 I,'. Turner, a daughter of John I., and Mary 
 illawkes) Turner, of Mason county. She was 
 born October 16, is:;;, and then- marriage was 
 
 celebrated December 2. 1875. MARY N T EELY. 
 
 Mr. Spears cast his firsl presidential vote for Mary Neely was born the fourth of a famih 
 
 Winfield Scott, giving his political allegiance f ten children, horn to William and Margaret 
 
 to the Whig party until its dissolution, when he (Patterson) Neely, near the French Broad 
 
 joined the ranks of the Republican party, with River, in the state of South Carolina, on the 
 
 which he continues to affiliate. The election 20tli dav of August, 1761. Her parents were 
 
 of 1904 fell upon his birthday and he has f \ l - l> \ ) .,,,,] Welsh extraction. At what dale 
 
 voted at fifty-six elections, having never been the} eame to America is not known, or whether 
 
 ill upon a Single election dav Hi- wife is a the\ „,.,-,. |„, rn j D South Carolina. Neither is 
 
 member of the Baptist church. In March. M ma terial to the subject of this sketch. Mar\ 
 
 1854, he became a member of tic [ndependeni seemed to lie a great favorite of her father's, 
 
 Order of Odd Fellows, and was made a Mason | 1U| m thai ear ]^ { \. n schools were scarce, and 
 
 on the 11th of the following April at Peters- books were few. ami nothing like system was 
 
 burg, on the site of the new school building, attempted in what few schools there were in 
 
 He now belongs to Clinton lodge, No. 1!*. A. F. the rural districts; and owing to circumstances 
 
 & A. M.: I'e Witt chapter. No. 119, I,'. A. ,],.,, followed, six week- was all the schooling 
 
 M. : and to St. Aldemar commandery. K. T., of she ever had. Her earl} days were spent, as 
 
 Petersburg. ll, llS( , f most of those hardy pioneers, in card- 
 
 Among other interesting relics Mr. Spears ing and spinning wool and lla\. ami assisting 
 
 has a w leu l,o\ engraved in imitation of a the men in their endeavor to make a living 
 
 German Bible, made aboul 1782, near Detroit, for the family. Sic was just past her eight- 
 Michigan, by a man who was then a prisoner eenth birthda} when her lather became rest- 
 among the Indian-. lie also has a pine of less, mi account of the Indian- being driven 
 the door of the bouse at Rock} Hill, three hack, and concluded to emigrate to the terri- 
 mili- north of Princeton. New Jersey, where tory (then belonging to North Carolina), now 
 Washington wrote his farewell address; ami a -tale of Tennessee. Moving a family at that 
 piece of the root of a tree from Washington's time and in that direction was a hazardous un- 
 home at Mt. Vernon. One of the oldest native dertaking. So her father, with -i\ other pio-
 
 270 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 aeers, se1 about making preparations to move 
 their household effects, he choosing a large 
 poplar tree in which the country abounded, and 
 dug out for himself a canoe, the dimensions 
 of which were fifty-sis Eeel long, three feet 
 wide and three feel deep, the largest of the 
 fleel made from a single tree; bui there were 
 some of larger dimensions, but made from two 
 I rei 3. When it was completed he added four 
 inches to the depth by nailing on -trips, into 
 which, after launching, he placed seven grind- 
 stones for ballast. After selling his landed 
 possessions for thirty thousand dollars in Con- 
 tinental money, he loaded his household goods 
 into this ca ■. I. ; , \ ing the balance of the fam- 
 ily t" come l>\ land, bringing with thi m nim ty- 
 six head of cattle and some forty head of 
 horses, to what is now Neely's I!, nd. in the 
 Cumberland river, some ten or twelve miles 
 east of the present siti of Nasln ille, Tenm ssi e. 
 the Bend taking its name from him. Taking 
 
 Mary with him, with tl ther pari of the 
 
 fleet he embarked on their perilous enterprise 
 down that crooked stream to its junction with 
 the Ti urn ssee : then down the T aness ■•■ to near- 
 ly opposite Nashville, near the Mussel shoals, 
 then across the country, stopping where the citv 
 of Nashville now stands, where they found 
 an unfinished pole cabin, but the} were afraid 
 to remain on account of the many signs of 
 Indian-, but journeyed on in a shorl tune, to 
 the presenl site of the village of Goodlettsville, 
 somi two mill - north of the junction of the 
 Louisville and Nashville railroad, and its Hen- 
 derson branch, and there built a fori, the re- 
 mains of which were -till visible in 1873, and I 
 li are to this day. Eere some twentv 
 families gathered for mutual protection, num- 
 between thirty and for+.y men able to 
 bear aims. William Neely Mian- to have been 
 the leader, as his counsels were sought in even 
 enterprise. Weh put his stoi k. both Horses 
 and cattle, down in the bend of the river for 
 the put ios o getting food, being protected to 
 
 - extent from marauding hand- of Indians. 
 
 111 ol the greai need- to all civilized nations 
 is salt, and to their greai delight the} discov- 
 ered a small spring on the bank of the river 
 from which they could supply that demand. 
 although it is so strongly impregnated with 
 
 sulphur that it- u-e new for the manufacture 
 of salt would not be thought of for a moment; 
 Ian to those sturdy pioneers it was a God-si nd. 
 The stock required no feed except what they 
 could gel from the cane brakes and pea vine: 
 inn ii"i so with the people, although bear, 
 and turkeys were abundant. The greai danger 
 was in hunting them, but a brave man. such 
 a- composed that little hand of Spartans, will 
 brave any danger to appease the hunger of 
 hi- wife and little ones. In this manner did 
 the} live, some guarding while others felled 
 the greai giants of the Eorests. The following 
 summer they had to live mi meat and vege- 
 tables, as their little stock of flour and meal 
 was long ago exhausted. But from the maples 
 that were abundant in the bend from which 
 they could supply themselves with sugar and 
 molasses, with plenty of meat and vegetables. 
 which grew luxuriantly, the} managed to keep 
 soul and body together until roasting ears gri w : 
 but when the corn became hard a new difficulty 
 presented itself — they had some corn, hut no 
 mill to grind it: but a- necessit} is the mother 
 of invention, they soon made a mortar in which 
 they pounded it, taking the finest for bread. 
 
 while they made hominy of tl arser. It 
 
 svas .li i In- period the incident occurred which 
 ged the whole course of young Mary's life. 
 About thirty of the men were at the spring, 
 aboul two and one-half mile- from the fort. 
 making salt and clearing oil' ground Eor i ulti- 
 \ alien the next year, thinking all were com- 
 paratively safe, as no sign of Indian- had 
 noticed for quite awhile. On Friday evening 
 Mary concluded to go with some of the men to 
 the spring; having the chills at the time, she 
 thought the water would be beneficial to her. 
 taking some of the sof tesl corn with her to grate 
 !'ir .i Ime cake for her father's supper. \ 
 two hours Ik fere sunset her father told the 
 men all to go to the fort, and he and Mary 
 would stay there alone. Some of the men pro- 
 tested, saying it was dangerous to leave him 
 ami Mary thus exposed; bui he being a man 
 without fear thought there was no danger, and 
 persisted in remaining. Seeing expostulations 
 and persuasion was of no avail, the men went to 
 
 the fell. V> - T Were the men Ollt of fight 
 
 than three Indians that had been lurking in
 
 PAST AND I'RF.SEXT OF MEXARD COIX'TY 271 
 
 the cane, whose eagle eyes saw thai his gun pulsive to her uoble nature thai death would 
 
 was some little distance from him, sprang upon have been far preferable. For three weeks after 
 
 him before he could reach his gun, and cleft her father was killed she could not shed a tear, 
 
 his head open with their savage tomahawk, She often said afterward thai she felt thai 
 
 while Man stood, thoughtless of her own safety, she would give the world if she could cry, bul 
 
 hallooing to him to run for his gun; bu1 when her poor heart was too full. All thai long and 
 
 tin- murderous tomahawk had done its work, weary march, when unperceived by the Indians, 
 
 she fainted, and when consciousness returned, she would make marks on the trees to guide 
 
 two [ndians had her one by each arm. dragging those who might pursue, or as a guide to her if 
 
 her more dead than alive, to their canoe, which she should make her escape, but, poor child, 
 
 was concealed in the cane. She could have their vigilanl eye was ever on her. Day after 
 
 secreted herself easily where she might have day, and night alter night, did she watch, wail 
 
 remained safe until the men returned from the and hope for deliverance, but, alas! Hope 
 
 fori Inn! she had presence of mind to have done would spring up to be dashed to the ground. 
 
 so. Inn heroine as she was. to see that dear Even the stars through the long watches of the 
 
 father struck down in the vigor of his man- night, seemed to mock her in her misery. One 
 
 hood, was too much for her | r young heart day. while brooding over her desolation, the 
 
 to hear. Through her long life afterward, she tear- began to lill her eyes, and when she could 
 
 would refer to thai as the saddesl day of her weep, whal a relief to her poor heart, which she 
 
 whole life. Poor child — who would doubf this, continued to do Tor many days. Finally. 
 
 a girl nineteen years of age, full of hope in of the savages said, "What make- you cry so?" 
 
 anticipation of a bright future, seeing her She replied. "You killed my father." As if to 
 
 father's life blood flowing from his dear head; pacify her grief he said, "If I had known ii was 
 
 then, as if thai was not enough to satisfy their your father, I would not have killed him," 
 
 savage brutality, to tear from thai head the which seemed to her savage mockery. Day 
 
 scalp, more savage than a hyena. Think of after day did she perform the work assigned 
 
 this, you thai wen horn in the lap of luxury, her, bul not willingly. They kept her hands 
 
 surrounded by friends and all the blessing that hound as a precaution againsl her attempting 
 
 civilization brings, what our grandfathers and to escape, binding her in the evening and taking 
 
 grandmothers had to endure, those that first off the thongs in the morning, when her services 
 
 tried to make a permanent settlemenl in Ken- were wanted. A favorite pastime with them in 
 
 i ii«k' \ and Tennessee, yea, we may add, from the evening was to gel out the -alps they 
 
 the Atlantic to beyond the greal Father of taken, to dry them in front of the fire. Whal 
 
 Waters, even to the Pacific ocean After the must have been her feelings, to see those demons 
 
 murdering of Mary's father, they made haste take her father's scalp and hold it up before 
 
 to net away. They crossed over the river to her eyes, pretending to be drying it. and as 
 
 the north and traveled for three days due north though thai was nol enough, would trim off 
 
 before they came to the balance of their hand: the corners and cast them at her feet, when 
 
 and when they reached their savage comrades she would colled together, make a hole in the 
 
 Mary fully expected they would murder and ground with her hands, and bury them, which 
 
 scalp her. hut to her astonishment, they did she did with her hand- crossed and bound in 
 
 not. Then she concluded she was spared for fronl of her. Her captors did no1 cease their 
 
 future torture, well knowing their savage na- vigilanl watch over her for a long time, bul 
 
 tiire. The Indian- held a council, ami finally after they had reached the vicinity of the 
 
 gave her the choice of becoming the wife of a Mammoth cave, in Kentucky, they became less 
 
 young buck, or a. servant to the child', and she watchful, ami allowed her to sleep unbound, 
 
 chose the servant's place. Little did she think One night, while encamped under ; i beech tree 
 
 when she made the choice, that it would he re- into which a grape vine hail climbed, she 
 
 spected, but the idea of becoming the wife of watched her opportunity, when her enemies 
 
 the brute wdio murdered her father wa- -.> re- were asleep, clunked up and secreted herself
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 among its branches, remaining there until 
 morning, when search was made for her. bu1 
 she nowhere could be found. She becoming 
 aware that they would doI leave the camp with- 
 out making a more thorough search and would 
 remain there longer than -lie could remain in 
 the tree, answered their call and came down, 
 to their great delight, for they had found by 
 this time that she was too valuable a servant 
 to give ii]i. When she was captured she had a 
 lew needles which she well knew how to use. 
 and did what sewing they required. 
 
 By this time winter had come, and in a short 
 time the smallpox made its appearance, when 
 the whole hand was stricken with that dread- 
 ful disease, except an old squaw. Mary was 
 brokeu nut all over her body, and swelled to 
 such an extent that she had to stand en her 
 hand.- and knees, which were the only spots 
 thai were not covered with sores. She was 
 Mind for four days, and to add to her misery, 
 she was without clothing of any kind except a 
 cotton garment, and a blanket; and all the fire 
 she had was a small stick, the end of which 
 was set on lire, and by steadily pushing it 
 againsl a large log kept herself from freezing, 
 as there weic none to wait on her, ami if the 
 Indians had not been similarly afflicted she 
 would have gotten hut little care. While she 
 was thus afflicted, their scanty supply of meat 
 gave out. and they were reduced to the painful 
 necessity of drinking bears' oil. of which the 
 Indians seemed to always carry a supply, but 
 
 of which she coukl not partake, as her st ach 
 
 rebelled. When the pox began sloughing off 
 the oh] squaw made her an ointment of the 
 leaves of the prickly pear, and hears' oil. and 
 gave her to anoint her face and hands, which 
 effectually prevented them from leaving scars. 
 When the Indians recovered thej soon procured 
 meat enough to satisfy their immediate wants. 
 ami thai i- all the Indian seems to care for. 
 It was now- -priii" of the year, ami the\ set 
 off north, hunting ami skulking in the brush 
 I'm- white men who. at times, had to depend on 
 game for their supply of food. Sometimes the 
 Indians would be entirely out of anything to 
 eat and would resort to the hears' oil, which 
 
 | r Mary could nol drink. On one occasion 
 
 tie\ were without food for ten days, and all 
 
 the poor girl had to eat during that time was a 
 piece of white oak hark that she pealed with her 
 knife, which she hail carried with her since her 
 capture. On the tenth day, aboul ten o'clock, 
 they killed a hear, bill were afraid to remain 
 Ion- in that locality, mi they cut out such parts 
 as lhe\ desired, and Mary cut out about a 
 pound of the fat alone the loin, and devoured 
 raw. which, of course, came near costing her 
 her life; hut the old squaw made herself useful 
 in her case, gave her some tea made of herbs, 
 and she soon was relieved. There is one -nod 
 trait in the character of the Indians — they will 
 divide whatever they have to eat even with their 
 prisoners. At a subsequent time they killed a 
 quail and divided it into fourteen parts, not 
 omitting to divide the entrails. On another 
 occasion they killed a large blacksnake on which 
 they feasted. That summer seemed to he hard 
 mi them. They were passing through the In- 
 diana territory, and theirs was a small band, 
 only fourteen, including their captive. Three 
 or four of that number were squaws, and they 
 were in constant dread of the whites. They 
 camped at the French Licks for some days, 
 while there, and in sore distress for something 
 to eat. An eruption occurred just after dark 
 about a quarter of a mile northeast of their 
 camp. A great flash of light seemed to burst 
 from the ground, accompanied by a loud re- 
 port, which shook the earth for quite a dis- 
 tance which greatly excited the Indians. The 
 bucks all went to ascertain the cause. When 
 they started the\ gave strict order.- that no 
 noise was to lie made at the camp, hut they 
 had not been gone a great while when a deer 
 that had probably been frightened by the ex- 
 plosion, or the Indians, came running in the 
 direction of the camp, and halted within a 
 lew feet of the camp. Notwithstanding the 
 positive orders of the old chief, his old squaw 
 pointed to Mary and to the gun, when she 
 raised the gun and killed the deer in its tracks. 
 The Indians supposing the white- had attacked 
 them, came running back to ascertain the cause 
 of the disturbance. They were told that it was 
 Mary who had fired the gun and killed the 
 '\rrr. On the instant the old chief raised his 
 tomahawk to brain her for daring to disobey 
 him. when the old squaw caughl his arm and
 
 MB. AND MRS. GEORGE SPEARS.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 2 1 • J 
 
 pointed to the deer, when his wrath immediately 
 subsided, and he appeared greatly delighted. 
 The following day the Indians revisited the 
 locality where the great light bursl up from the 
 ground, the nighl previous, and brought back 
 many specimens which they supposed was lead 
 ore, but when 1 1 h ■ \ failed to melt il with all the 
 appliances they possessed, they pronounced it 
 money. Specimens of silver have been Pound 
 there occasionally ever since, and no doubt there 
 is a deposil of silver ore in thai vicinity, to 
 what extent i- not known. 
 
 The Indians now commenced their march to 
 i In' north, keeping as close to the Wabash river 
 as possible. The next winter found them in 
 northern Indiana. Here they siill'cred much 
 from the cold of the long winter that followed. 
 Think of it, you that have warm houses, and 
 comfortable clothing, of spending a winter in 
 northern Indiana nut of doors with no shelter 
 but the starry heavens, no clothing but a thin 
 cotton garment and a blanket. It was during 
 that winter that an incident occurred that 
 caused quite an unusual stir i >ng the In- 
 dian-. They bad gotten so far away with their 
 captive, that they were comparatively careless 
 with her. supposed she never could get away 
 from them, and they had ceased to keep such 
 a close watch on her. So. one night she lay 
 down after a bard day's work, rolled herself 
 up in her blanket, and was soon oblivious to 
 her surroundings. During the night it began 
 to snow, and by daylight there had more than 
 a foot in depth fallen. When the Indians got 
 tip no Mary was to be seen. They made search 
 for her in all directions, without success. 
 Finally, abandoning the hope of ever finding 
 her, one of the Indians threw- a pole hack in 
 tlii' snow, which fell with considerable weigh! 
 on her. as she lay then' all unconscious of her 
 surroundings. The sudden shock awoke her. 
 and with a spring she was on her feet in an in- 
 stant, to the amazement and delight of the 
 Indians. When -he awoke -he was m a profuse 
 perspiration. After the first exclamation of joy 
 at her discovery, their brutal instincts returned, 
 and they compelled her to cut and carry twenty 
 poles to burn before they would allow Iter to 
 come to the fire to warm. 
 
 Finallv. warm weather returned, wdien the 
 
 hand went out on foraging expeditions, coming 
 in bringing many scalps with them, and some 
 horses. After a time the horses strayed away, 
 and all hands, including Mary, were sent or 
 weni i,, hunt for them. Mary and the chief's 
 son's wife went in company. Mary had a ris- 
 ing on the bottom of her foot, caused by a 
 bruise which made her quite lame. Conse- 
 quently, she could not walk as fast as her com- 
 panion. The little s.piaw asked her why she 
 did not walk faster, when she replied sic could 
 not on account of the sore on her foot, to which 
 the squaw made reply, "Let me see it," and 
 when she held her fool up for inspection the 
 little savage hit it with a large club she was 
 carrying, which rendered her foot so painful 
 that she was compelled to go to camp, where 
 Mary laid in her complaint to the old squaw, 
 and when her husband came in she told of the 
 treatment Mary had received, whom the chief 
 called into his presence, and she corroborated 
 tin 1 story of the old squaw, and exhibited her 
 
 loot. This enraged tl Id chief and be called 
 
 up the young squaw, and administered to her 
 such a beating as Mary had never witnessed 
 before; in fact, until she was sorry and pleaded 
 for the young brute. Although her treatment 
 by the Indians was brutal in the extreme, yet 
 she was of -n. h a tender and sympathetic dis- 
 po-ition i hat she rebelled at unnecessary pun- 
 ishment. 
 
 The next move the Indians made was toward 
 tin' east. In their iourneyings they came to a 
 British trading post, presided over by a British 
 officer, where the Indians halted and bought 
 some trinkets of the officers, the officers taking 
 mi exchange human scalps, among which was 
 Marx's own father's. She tried to get him to 
 buy her id' the Indians, to which he replied, 
 saying he would buy no more live scalps, when 
 all the indignation that her young heart was 
 capable of mustering arose, and she commenced 
 to taunt hin with his nefarious business, which 
 so aroused his ire thai he threatened to cleave 
 her head from her shoulders, which she dared 
 him to do. In that house, strung on a wire, 
 she saw infants' scalps, the hair on which was 
 not more than an inch lone-. What think, 
 kind reader, of a government that will resort 
 io -in h nefarious measures, murdering women
 
 276 
 
 ['AST A.Mi PRESENT OE MEXAh'D COUNTY 
 
 and children? h may be said thai the gov- 
 ernment did aot do that; but they did by their 
 savage tools. Here was a man. a British sub- 
 ject, an officer of its army, and in its pay, 
 stationed there for the purpose of inciting the 
 Indians to murder: not only so, but to buy the 
 scalps of infants and their mothers, that they 
 had butchered. No wonder the British gov- 
 ernment will not allow these things published in 
 their history of the war of the Revolution. It 
 is a disgrace that will never be effaced from its 
 history. X> other civilized government on 
 earth has ever resorted to such measures. No 
 wonder the brave hearts of the Irish people 
 rebel at their tyrrany. The heart turns sick at 
 the contemplation of such deeds of infamy, and 
 turning from the dark deeds, we are about to 
 enter a brighter chapter. 
 
 They were now nearing Detroit. Michigan, 
 and camped just outside of the stockade, where 
 the French showed Man every kindness: in 
 fact, it was their business to buy or steal pris- 
 oners from the Indian-. In her ease, the 
 Frenchman who undertook to get her away 
 took a plan which he was sure would succeed. 
 That is, he tried the effects of fire water; so 
 he broughl them a quart of whisky, of which 
 they all partook ven Ereely, except the old 
 chief, who remained sober to watch, as is the 
 Indian custom. The Frenchman remained 
 talking with the Indians until near sunset; 
 then he informed the old chief that his wife 
 would want the cup to put milk in to feed the 
 baby, during the night, well knowing he would 
 order .Man to return it to its owner. The chief 
 turned to her and hade her take the cup home, 
 when she pretended to refuse (as she was sick 
 with the chills at the time,) she well knowing 
 that he would repeat the order, which he did 
 with a threat of splitting her head open with 
 the tomahawk if she refused: when she arose, 
 going to their treasure bos (as she carried the 
 keys,) unlocking it with the intention of get- 
 ting .1 pair ol silver -hoe buckles that belonged 
 to her. lmt was unable, in her excitement to get 
 but one: and afraid of delay, left the keys in 
 the lock, not wishing to take anything belong- 
 ing to them. Imagine, if you can. the joy 
 that was welling up in her heart, mingled with 
 fear, that after two Ion- years of most cruel 
 
 imprisonment she was now about to he free; 
 but that some move made, a word spoken, 
 might dash all her hopes to the ground. Site 
 thought of home, of friends, although she knew 
 she was separated from them by hundreds of 
 mile-: lmt she hoped to yet be spared to sec 
 them. Tin' terrible uncertainty of her escape 
 being successful, seconds seemed to her hour.-. 
 She. when prudence dictated to her to tarry no 
 longer, took the cup and hastened as fast as 
 -be could to her destination. The lady to 
 whom she was sent was standing in her yard 
 when she arrived, told her to throw the cup 
 over the fence, and go with her brother, who 
 was waiting to accompany her, which she did 
 The brother taking off his own coat and hat 
 bade her put them on and he tied a handker- 
 chief around his head, as was the custom of 
 many of the French. When they arrived at 
 tic gate of the stockade, it was nearly dark. 
 and the gates closed. Her guide made the 
 usual request to be admitted, when the guard 
 answered, "Who comes there?" ""A friend to 
 the Icing." was hi- response; lmt turning to her. 
 in a low whisper, - dd, "A friend to our country 
 at present." They were admitted and Mary 
 was taken to her friend's mother's, who at first 
 concealed her in the cellar. The nexl day the 
 whole town was aroused, and a vigilant search 
 made, which was unsuccessful. Going to the 
 lady where -be returned the cup to inquire 
 she said the girl came to the gate and threw 
 tin- cup in the yard, and wen! off a- if -be wa- 
 niad. After making thorough search outside 
 of the stockade, they inquired of the guards at 
 the gate, w ho -aid no woman had passed through 
 the gate on the evening before, but two. men 
 had. which completely put them off their scent. 
 After a few days they ceased their search for 
 i lie i nee heme. Alary was kept in the cellar for 
 .i lew days; then the old French lady moved 
 her up stairs and gave her some sewing to do, 
 and she remained there unmolested for about 
 three weeks, until one day, unthoughtedly, she 
 stood up in front of the window to shake the 
 wrinkles out of a shirt she had just finished. 
 Just opposite a tailor had a shop and saw her. 
 and in a few days he go! drunk and told the 
 Indians, and they came and demanded to search 
 for her. which could not he denied, as the post
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 V ; ; 
 
 was in the hands of the British, and they had 
 their garrison to enforce their orders, and w 1 1 \ 
 should they not let their friends (the Indians) 
 search, if need be help them, capture women 
 and children, well knowing in many cases the 
 Indians would scalp their victims and burn 
 them at the stake. Shame I Shame! on a na- 
 tion that would resort to such methods to gain 
 .i victory. But thanks to our greal Creator 
 they were mil permitted to carry oul their 
 hellish designs in enslaving a people that had 
 tasted of liberty although thrice baptized in 
 
 bJ !. The great watchword to them was 
 
 "Liberty or death." 
 
 So thorough was their search for Mary, the 
 old Frenchman put her in his money vault. 
 
 built in the wall of the house, where she si I 
 
 on thousands of gold and silver, so afraid she 
 dared no1 breathe, even, she was afraid the 
 beating of her heart would attract their atten- 
 tion. So cautious was her friend in concealing 
 her that he had whitewashed the door so it would 
 appear as the wall of the house; but had to 
 leave the keyhole open to furnish air. Oh, 
 what think you, kind reader, musl have been 
 her feelings after braving all the dangers she 
 had passed through, and when she had unex- 
 pectedly found friends, to be thus basely be- 
 trayed, each moment expecting to be discovered, 
 when a move of the fool or a Loud breath would 
 betray her hiding place and surely cos! her her 
 life; when within touch of those savage brutes 
 she could hear threats thai they would burn 
 her alive if they ever go! hold of her again. 
 Bu1 thank,- to an overruling Providence, they 
 were noi permitted to find her. and she lived 
 many years afterward, to relate these tales to 
 her children, grandchildren and her great- 
 great-grandchildren. Finally, the tndians gave 
 up i he search and she remained with her 
 friends for some weeks. Bui such was the 
 constant dread of the enemy thai her friends 
 «ere compelled to send her oul to an island, 
 about nine miles from the shore, which was the 
 first time in over two years she could breathe 
 easily. There she found about ninety who had 
 
 I n prisoners like herself, waiting a vessel to 
 
 take them away. Finally, a vessel landed, and 
 1 1 1 1 ' % were bidden to come aboard, which invita- 
 i ion did noi lie, d to be repeated When all 
 
 was ready. they set sail for the east; bul mind 
 you, they were yet in the hands of the British 
 government, and prisoners of war. How does 
 thai sound— prisoners of war. Bui such was 
 tin' lad. When they gol out on Lake Erie 
 they encountered a severe gale, which became 
 so severe they were liable to go to the bottom 
 every minute. The passengers and crew were 
 ordered below, and every wave sweeping the 
 deck. The hatch.- battened down, and every- 
 body seasick, nearly. Mary tried it for awhile 
 and she concluded she would rather lake (he 
 chances of being washed overboard than he 
 cooped up in that intolerable stench; so when 
 the hatches were raised to admit air she ran 
 up the stairway and refused to go down again. 
 The captain seeing her pluck, caught her by 
 the hand and with the other caughl a ring 
 around the mast, and in thai way they were 
 able lo stay on deck until the storm had passed. 
 Finally, they landed, when they obtained a row- 
 boat to take them to Niagara Falls, which they 
 were unacquainted with, and came near going 
 over. Being rescued, they disembarked ami 
 walked down to Lake Ontario, where they em- 
 barked lor Lake Champlain, and where they ar- 
 rived in illle course of I inie. I lore ;i new di f- 
 licultv lo Mary arose,— the first intimation thai 
 
 die was a prisoner of the British govern] t, 
 
 and where she found an officer ready to take 
 their paroles. She and two oilier girls and an 
 
 old man had set oul al i lo go south ; the 
 
 colonel ( for thai w a- Ins rank ) ordered them 
 to hall, hut Mary urged them on. savin- they 
 were no soldiers, and would sign no parole; 
 
 but II ffieer was persistent, telling them he 
 
 would not permit i hem to go unless they signed 
 ii. Finally, after he had followed them a lil- 
 tle way, Mary turned to him and said : "If 
 \ou follow ik lo thai bend in the road. I will 
 cm a switch, and these two girls and I will 
 give you such a switching a- you never ex- 
 perii need in your Ii ('■." 1 le persist ing in his 
 efforts to gel them to'sign, and they refusing, 
 Mary told him she could QOt be a soldier, hut 
 -he could run bullets. "Now," -aid she. when 
 ahnosi lo the turn in the road, "you dare go 
 around that turn so as to be oul of sighl of your 
 soldiers, and we will whip you -o you can noi 
 walk hack." and she stepped to the side of the
 
 2 ; 8 
 
 PAST AND PWKSEXT OF MKXARD COUNTY 
 
 road and began to cut the switch, when lie 
 hesitated and finally stopped, when the general 
 mounted a slump and hallooed for the girls 
 who had backed out the colonel, when Mary 
 remarked: "Cheer up, girls, the general is not 
 against us"; and the colonel left them without 
 further molestation, to pursue their journey. 
 I'.\ this time winter had set in. but the feeling 
 of being tree and on their road home filled 
 Mary with new hope. Who can imagine what 
 her thoughts were, hundreds of miles away 
 from her kindred, nol knowing that one of them 
 was alive, and they having no intelligence 
 from her. not knowing whether she was dead 
 or alive. 
 
 Afoot, without money, except a U'\v dollars. 
 and in a country where prisoners were con- 
 tinually passing and the people unable to do 
 much for them, she struggled on until she 
 reached Philadelphia, where she got in com- 
 pany with a family by the name of Riddle. 
 thai were going to Virginia, and she engaged 
 to go with them: that is, they agreed to let 
 her go if she would pay her own way, and 
 help them drive the stock, to which she readily 
 consented, and she made herself useful, as the 
 sequel will prove; for when they got to the 
 Susquehanna river, there was an old leaky skiff 
 there, and she asked permission to ferry her- 
 self across, of the ferryman, to which he readily 
 consented, not thinking she could manage a 
 boat, but when he saw how soon she was on 
 the other side of the river, he was undeceived. 
 The family all got across, and all their stock 
 except an unruly cow, which they could not get 
 into the boat. Mary told the ferry man if he 
 would take her across she would bring the cow 
 over. Seeing her exploit with the skiff, he con- 
 sented to do so; when she landed she caught 
 the cow by the nose with one hand and by the 
 horn with the other, ami held her until they 
 reached the other shore. Young ladies, how 
 many of you of the present day could or would 
 do that? Not many, I fancy. The family 
 with which she journeyed finally reached their 
 destination in Virginia, in midwinter. Here 
 Mary stopped with a family by the name of 
 Spears, where she was employed ; i > m domestic. 
 \i>\\ she was away from the tear of molesta- 
 tion of Indians, anil for the first time in nearly 
 
 three years she had enjoyed the luxury of sleep- 
 ing in a bed. All this lime she had a faithful 
 brother who had not ceased his inquiry for 
 her. although tin- mosl of the family had given 
 her up as dead. 1 >uring her absence her mother 
 had been killed by the Indians, also some of 
 her brothers. This faithful brother mounted 
 his horse, rode through Kentucky and into 
 Virginia, looking and inquiring of emigrants, 
 when he fell in company with a man who -aw 
 her hold the cow in the ferryboat while crossing 
 the Susquehanna river, which he related and 
 farther stated that she was left handed, which 
 clue, slight as it was. gave her brother hope, 
 ami he kept on his journey, inquiring of ever; 
 one that he hoped to gain any information 
 from, finally, he stopped on Sabbath to feed 
 his horse, dust as the farmer had given the 
 horse his Iced, the brother inquired if he knew 
 of an\ one who had been a prisoner with the 
 Indians, lie said yes, there was a girl at the 
 chl man Spears', that had come there last 
 winter, ami after a further description of her. 
 he mounted his horse without giving him time 
 to eat. and put out in see if it was his long 
 lost sister. When he arrived she had gone to 
 ■ hureh, and he sat and conversed with the old 
 man. who satisfied him that it was none other 
 than his sister. Finally the old man Spears 
 saw his daughter, wife and Mary coming down 
 the lane, and he said to Neely : "There comes 
 three women down the lane; is cither of those 
 your sister?" lie looked a moment, and re- 
 plied. "Yes, the line in the middle is." When 
 the women came in. Mary passed by him. and 
 threw her bonnet and shawl on the bed, when 
 he raised his head to observe her. With an 
 exclamation of delight she sprang into his arms, 
 exclaiming: "Mybrother! Mybrother!" <>h' 
 what a delightful reunion, dear reader. Can 
 ymi imagine, then, the intelligence from home. 
 mother dead, two brothers, also, butchered by 
 the inhuman and relentless savages. Ilmne 
 broken up and the remnant of the family had 
 lo flee for their lives. Hut after three lone 
 years, midst dangers such as fall to the lot of 
 ven few, indeed, she was permitted to behold 
 the face of a deal- brother. Truly, it was hap- 
 piness, mingled with sorrow. Tn a few days 
 she and her brother set out on one horse for
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 279 
 
 Carpenter's Station, in Lincoln county, Ken- 
 tucky (now Casey) where they arrived in due 
 time, and where she me1 an older sister, and 
 the remnant of the family; buj further progress 
 toward their borne in Tennessee was hazardous 
 in the extreme. In fact. Indians were all 
 around the fort; so that it was dangerous to 
 Manure ouf of sight of the fortification where 
 they remained for a long time. After a time 
 Mary's older sister married a man by the nam' 
 dl' Spears, \\ i i • > was a son of the Spears she 
 stopped with in Virginia. Two of the Carpen- 
 ters were, also, sons-in-law of the old man 
 Spears. The Spears and Carpenters lived 
 there for many years before the Indians were 
 driven back so that farming could l>c done 
 with am degree of safet}'. After a few- years 
 some of Mary's brothers ventured back to Ten- 
 nessee to find everything destroyed, sleek driven 
 eil' ami utter desolation prevailing in their once 
 prosperous neighborhood ; but the Indians had 
 
 also 1 n driven hack from their immediate 
 
 vicinity, but in close enough proximity that. 
 like a pack of sleuth hounds, they en u Id pounce 
 upon isolated ami unsuspecting settlers, which 
 became so annoying that a general and con- 
 certed raid was made on them, and they were 
 driven hack to western Tennessee, a tier which 
 the settlers lived in comparative safety. 
 
 On the 24th day of February, 1785, Man- 
 was united in marriage to George Spears. 
 shortly after which she and her husband moved 
 to Green county, Kentucky, and lived in the 
 outside house of the settlement for four years. 
 Many times did the) have to flee to the fort 
 (Grey's) and twice to Carpenter's, sixty miles 
 away. Many an Indian was made to bite the 
 dust by an unerring rifle in the hands of a 
 
 N'eelv. As o if Mary's brothers told the 
 
 writer, he had killed six of the rascals, but 
 that had not compensated him Eor the friends 
 they had killed. This brother (Samuel) was 
 with his mother when she was killed, he only 
 nineteen years of age; but he had the satisfac- 
 tion of killing their chief, who, he supposed, 
 killed his mother. On another occasion he 
 killed five while they were crossing the Ten- 
 nessee river. He would shoot the one paddling 
 the canoe, and by the time another would get 
 the paddle ami gel the canoe straightened on 
 
 its course, he would shoot thai one, ami si 
 
 inilil he killed five out til' eight that started 
 
 across. The old ma u, in relat ing I be circum- 
 stance mam years a Tier, said if the river had 
 been wide enough be would have gotten them 
 all. This brother remained in Neely's Bend 
 and lived to a good old age, surrounded by a 
 large family of children. He and his com- 
 panion now lie hiiried near the old homestead. 
 His wile was a Watkins, a sister of the late 
 Samuel Watkins, founder of the Watkins Insti- 
 tute. Nashville. Tennessee. Mrs. Spears, see- 
 inn' the great need of a physician in the earl) 
 settling of Kentucky, ami having gained a con- 
 siderable knowledge of the Indians how 
 to treat the prevailing diseases of the country, 
 now turned her attention to the study of medi- 
 cine, more particular^ the treatment of white 
 swelling, or hip disease, and chronic sores, in 
 which she was very successful. Such became 
 her fame that her practice extended for many 
 miles, hundreds of eases coming to her house, 
 until at times it was converted into a veritable 
 hospital. For fifty years she treated white 
 swelling, with success in every ease, never fail- 
 ing in a single instance, while the medical fra- 
 ternity were pronouncing it incurable. Still, 
 they called her a quack, little up-starts that had 
 M. I l. attached to their names, would sneer at 
 t he idea of a woman knowing about the sciences 
 But she cared about as much for their abuse as 
 a good general would if an enemy was to fire 
 tow wads at his army out of a popgun. Rut 
 as lime went on sm-h men as Dr. Dudley, of 
 Kentucky, McDowell ami Merriman of St. 
 Louis, ami mam other eminent physicians 
 acknowledged her ability particularly in the 
 treatment of white swelling or hip disease, 
 chronic -ores. ami. in fact, almost every disease 
 that the human family was subject to, and sent 
 her man) eases, in the treatment of which she 
 was \er\ successful. She never despaired of 
 effecting a cure in the worst cases that presented 
 themselves ami was successful in a remarkable 
 degree; in fact, a failure in her case was a 
 rare exception in which she took great delight, 
 not in the fact that she could and did cure 
 cases that were pronounced incurable, hut from 
 a consciousness that -he was doing a duty that 
 wa- incumbent upon her: neither did she exult
 
 280 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENAED COUNTl 
 
 ii the fact thai she was in possession of knowl- 
 edge thai others were not, as no one was 
 
 i v willing to impart knowledge than 
 
 she. and ofttinus would she say, dur- 
 ing the latter pari of her life, that she 
 would be glad to communicate all the knowl- 
 edge she had acquired if any one was willing 
 to learn. But it seemed as if those near her 
 acted as though they fell she would always be 
 with them, as two or three generations had 
 come and gone during her life, and yet she re- 
 mained, and hut few would be willing if they 
 had the knowledge, to undergo the hardships 
 that she did for the compensation that she re- 
 ceived, which did not amount to a decenl board 
 bill. I have in mind a sen of Mr. Mumford, 
 who laid ou1 the town which bore his name in 
 Kentucky, who had the misfortune to be 
 
 thrown f a carl on which was a hogshead 
 
 of tobacco, and falling under the wheel had his 
 Leg broken, or, rather two and one-fourth inches 
 of both bones crushed and broken through. 
 Mr. Mumford being a man of mean.-, senl and 
 had four of the must noted surgeons of the 
 -tale to visit his sen. whose unanimous opinion 
 was, the leg must be ampntated; but the hey 
 was fifteen years old, and Let them Icnow he had 
 something to say. lie said: "Send for Mrs. 
 Spears; if she says cut it off, so be it: 1 will 
 never consent unless she says so." So his 
 father posted a bov after her, thirty-five miles. 
 and she returned with him the same evening; 
 and the must noted surgeon, who had come 
 ninel \ miles, stayed to see, as he expressed it. 
 what an old woman would do with a ease like 
 that. Well, he had the pleasure of seeing what 
 she would do with it. This was in April, and 
 -lir -aid tu him: ""Von come hack in October, 
 ami 1 will show you thai leg sound ami well." 
 "Well. Madam," -aid he. "in fouT days leg and 
 bov will both he under the ground." "Never 
 fear," was her laconic reply. And sure enough, 
 in October following he drove ninety miles; to 
 his utter astonishment found tin 1 hoy sound 
 and well, and further, -aid n wa- the greatest 
 fcal in surgery that had ever been performed, 
 Me! reported i1 a- such to the medical journals 
 -i thai day. These facts I obtained from a 
 \ ounger broth r in is; ::. who i- w tiling to mal e 
 affidavii in over\ word. The brother lived tu 
 
 lie sixty-five years eld. Manv other ease- as 
 remarkable could he recited and verified by 
 indubitable evidence, hut we deem it unneces- 
 sary, as. if all the g I deeds "I' this remark- 
 able woman were written, fchej would till a large 
 volume, Jer it seemed her whole business in 
 life was to do good to others. If she had 
 charged as other physicians did for their servi- 
 ces, she could have keen twice a millionaire. 
 
 hut her whole life seemed spent in d s good 
 
 to others ami without compensation. Never 
 wa- it too cold, or tin 1 weather toe stormy for 
 her tn go to tin; relief of suffering. Her hus- 
 band had served a shorl time during the Revolu 
 tionary war. when he was only sixteen war- 
 old. When the Indians had been driven out 
 of that pari of Kentucky, ami were giving the 
 government a Lined ileal of trouble in Indiana 
 territory, General Harrison called on Governor 
 
 Shelby for troops. .Mr. Spear- raised a i i- 
 
 pany, and went as its lieutenant, and continued 
 in the service until their services were no longer 
 needed, and from the close of the war of 
 1812-15 they were permitted to live in peace 
 and by their own fireside. She continued tn 
 live in Green county, Kentucky, until Augusl 
 10th. 1824, when they sold their possessions 
 and moved tn Sangamon county (now Men- 
 ard). Illinois, which at that time was wild and 
 sparseh settled, where the Indians still re- 
 mained, hut no1 in their immediate vicinity. 
 But they came every fall i'< hunt, but were 
 friendly. Blackhawk did stir of a fuss in 1833 
 Mr. Lincoln raised a company in which Mrs. 
 Spears' youngesl and only living sen wa- or- 
 derly sergeant, bul their services were nol 
 
 needed, a- I reneral Scott, with suffieienl I r - 
 
 of the regular army, had preceded them, and 
 compelled Blackhawk tn sue for peace, when 
 kc ami his tribe were moved beyond the \! 
 sippi river. Mrs. Spears, at this period, was 
 getting well advanced in life, being seventy- 
 two \ear- old: bul considering the hardships 
 she underwent in early life, was still as vigor- 
 ous as mosl ladie- ai forty. The country being 
 new . physicians were scarce, so -he continued to 
 \i-ii those who needed her assistance, and her 
 patients came from Missouri, Iowa ami from 
 all over the state of Illinois, with white swell- 
 ings ami chronii sores of all descriptions, and
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 281 
 
 none went awa\ in a worse condition than the} thai must be the last time the\ should ever be- 
 
 ea In fact, in m\ recollection she cured hold each other's rare in this world -they held 
 
 ihcin in every instance, and i1 was nol a few each other's ham!- in silence, then cadi turned, 
 
 isolated cases she treated, bul of the worsl 1"' to go to his home, and she to her home in 
 
 type, and jusl such cases as physicians had Illinois, where she arrived in two weeks. Peo- 
 
 failed on. Although, as stated, she had no pie came by the score to greel her on her sale 
 
 advantages of an early education, she was a arrival, and for relief from their various ills. 
 
 ] reader, and employed a great deal of her Although she long since had passed the allotted 
 
 time in reading useful and instructive books, time for man to live; had arrived at that ex- 
 
 init neglecting the greatesl of all books, the treme age when the boch and mind fail; al- 
 
 Bible. Her husband died on the 16th day of though her physical strength was gradually 
 
 April, L838, after they had walked together wearing away, her mind seemed as clear as a 
 
 for more than fifty years. One by one her person of thirty. 
 
 children died, until she was lefl with her oldest A1 the risk of being ridiculed, 1 must be 
 
 daughter and her youngest son. In 1843. she, permitted to relate an incident that I witnessed. 
 
 with a nephew and his wife and her little In about the year 1836, while the greal war 
 
 grandson, visited her only brother, who -till presidenl was a residenl and postmaster al 
 
 lived in Neely's Bend, whom she had noi seen Salem. Illinois, he became very fond of Mrs. 
 
 for thirtj years. Although eighty-two vears of Spear-' c pany, and seemed never in tire of 
 
 age, she would nut conseni to go in am other hearing her relate her experience while prisoner 
 
 manner than in a farm wagon, which she had with the Indians, and would often walk over to 
 
 lilted up with a mess box and camp equipage, her home on Saturday evening, and remain 
 
 camping oul each night, as she contended imt until Monday ■inn.:. The last visit he made 
 
 a change of diet would lie injurious to a person her before removing to Springfield, when he 
 
 of her age. \\ hen she arrived at the old home- went oul of her door, she followed him into the 
 
 stead, which she had nol seen for more than yard, lie turned about and said: "Grandma, 
 
 thirty years, she drove to the front gate and I am going to Springfield; maybe I'll never see 
 
 hall d. Her brother coming to see w hai was von again :" while he took her hand between his 
 
 wanted, asked if she could remain there over long, lean hands, said. "Good-bye God bless 
 niehi. Without wailing to reply, her brother you," and she returned his salutation b> saying, 
 said: "I- il possible that is old Mary Spears." "Good-bye, Abram. God bless you." when both 
 and the scene thai followed cannol be described ; stood for a momenl while the tears trickled 
 to see those old people clasped in each other's down their cheeks Finally, a- their hearts 
 arms, and crying for joy; bul their hearts were could bear no more, they both relaxed their 
 ioo full to niter a word. She remained with grasp, he turning to go, walking oil' ai a brisk 
 him for a month, when thev parted to unci no pace, while she seemed transfixed to the spol 
 more on this earth, bul with a hope in the for a moment. In a short lime she turned to 
 near future, of meeting on the other shore, the writer, and -aid: "That i- a very smart 
 where thej will meel to pari no more, and voungman; I would nol be surprised if he was 
 where father ami mother, brothers and sisters president of the Qnited States some ,\.f 
 thai had been so cruelh snatched away from Mam years after this the writer was telling 
 them in this life b\ the cruel hand of the savage Mr. Lincoln, in the presence of his brother-in- 
 will he there to greel them, where no fear of law ami a few other-, of the remark on Un- 
 tile tomahawk or i he -ealpiiej. kni fe \\ ill ever I casion of his last \i-it. He sal for menl 
 
 iw, for God, the everlasting Father and His in sileni contemplation, then remarked: "S 
 
 Son -had reign. Hut t heir part inn was sad to wa- a prett) g I gnessi r. wa- -he not?" I That 
 
 contemplate; one had passed four -core years, wa- while he wa- a candidate) ; and he further 
 
 the oilier Hearing the seventy-eighth mile post, -aid -he was the most remarkable woman he 
 
 and with the full knowledge thai in a few- shorl had i ver -ecu. 
 
 years the_i would meet again ; but still to know Mrs. Spears was ver\ methodical in her
 
 282 
 
 [•AST VXD PRESENT OF MENAED COl NT1 
 
 habits. She abhorred the use of calome] and 
 quinine, contending thai both were not only 
 useless, but injurious. Y<ty little medicine 
 would she prescrib ■ use, contending that na- 
 ture was its best remedy. She was a member 
 of the Baptist church for nearly seventy-five 
 years. Her deportment was always that of a 
 true Christian. While charitable to others, she 
 was firm in the right, as she understood what 
 was right. As long as she lived her whole 
 desire seemed to be to do good to others. Dur- 
 ing the latter years of her life she would weave 
 and sew just as though she was compelled to do 
 so to gain a livelihood, which very much an- 
 noyed her son, he thinking the community 
 would look upon it as neglect, and got a young 
 minister whom she thought a great deal of, to 
 talk to her and try and induce her to give up 
 trying in do anything. As he afterward re- 
 marked, lie Mum found he was giving advice 
 on a subject he knew hut little about, as she 
 replied to him: "My brother, 1 knew 1 don't 
 have to work, but I do it for my own good." 
 Said she, "1 have seen many old people who 
 ceased to take exercise and as a consequence, 
 they could iioi ea1 loud which would strengthen 
 the body, and the mind, as a consequence, would 
 become inactive and weak: and 1 don't want 
 to gel into that condition, for if it is the will 
 of (hid. when my mind fails I would like to 
 go, as I have no desire to live after my mind 
 has lost its power to contemplate the goodness 
 and mere;) of that God who has preserved and 
 watched over me through the vicissitudes anil 
 rarjdng changes of a long life." 
 
 A lew years after she moved to Illinois, she 
 
 had brought from Kentucky two of her old 
 slaves, children, a hoy and a girl. It would 
 he more proper to say two of a family she had 
 been the slave of. for she truly made a slave 
 of herself for her colored people. The girl 
 lived with her until near the close of her life, 
 when she left her ami wen! to Springfield. The 
 hoy remained with her during her life; in fact, 
 remained in the family until his death. 
 
 Mrs. Spears lived until the 26th day of Janu- 
 ary. 1852, retaining her intellect to within one 
 hour of her demise, fully realizing that her 
 time had come. At her death she was ninety 
 years, five months and twenty-six days old. It 
 
 was the pn\ i lege of the w i iter to assist in 
 nursing her in her last illness, and I have never 
 seen am one that bore their affliction with more 
 patience or who seemed in have more judgment 
 in directing her attendants how to attend her 
 wants with the leasi trouble. She gave direc- 
 tions how she wanted to he buried, ami exai led 
 a promise of her granddaughter's husband 
 (who was a carpenter) that he would make her 
 coffin of walnut lumber (as she wanted some- 
 thing that would last), all of which was carried 
 out to the letter, and she was buried in the 
 family cemetery in the midst of the farm she 
 had lived on so lone, by the side of her 1ms- 
 haml. and surrounded by a daughter, grand- 
 children and many other friends, and many 
 have joined her company since, in the great 
 Beyond. She has left to us an example of what 
 perseverance wall do, even under the most 
 trying disadvantages. Hers was truly a school 
 of adversity, hut prompted by the highest mo- 
 tives, she was able to attain to a position among 
 the people of her extended acquaintance that 
 any one might envy and strive to emulate. 
 
 When Mr. and Mrs. Spears came to [llinois 
 in October, 1824, there was no church organiza- 
 tion in Centra] Illinois. She and her husband, 
 two daughters, a son-in-law and eight other 
 pioneers organized the Clary's Grove Baptist 
 church on December 25th, IS'.' t, at their resi- 
 dence (a log cabin), which is believed to be 
 the firs! church organization in Central Illi- 
 nois. Their meetings were held at their resi- 
 dence ami her daughters', for a number of 
 rears until they buiH a very commodious brick 
 dwelling which served their purpose much bet- 
 ter: hut after a time her companion having 
 died and her youngesi son and wife, with 
 whom she made her home having united with 
 the church, they concluded to build a hewed log 
 house to serve as a schoolhouse and also a mi i t- 
 ing house, which answered the purpose for a 
 time, it being twenty by thirty feet in dimen- 
 sions; hut as time went by emigrants were con- 
 tinually arriving. Her son had built a sawmill, 
 one of the very necessary things in a new 
 country, and concluded thai their place of meet- 
 isg was too small to meet the requirements of 
 the rapidly growing congregation. With the 
 help of his son-in-law. who was a carpenter,
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 55bo 
 
 and a small contribution from a few others, tnent, near Bowling Green, Kentucky. Their 
 he built a very commodious house of worship, daughter was living with the Shakers in L879, 
 for thai early day, thirty by forty feet, a sub- al which nine she was over eight\ years of age. 
 stantial frame, in which the congregation wor- 
 shipped until death ended her long and useful 
 
 life. Although hum- since dead, yet her in- 
 fluence siill lives, and how hum i1 will con- GEORGE < '. REED, 
 tinue Eternity alone can tell. Bistory does George ('. Reed, proprietor of a grocery and 
 
 uot give us the example of many of the pioneer m ea1 markel at Greenview, as a raber of 
 
 women of the west that is more interesting t| 1( > i; rill of R I Brothers, was born in Me- 
 
 ihan this noble and remarkable woman, of her aar d county, April 9, I860, and is a s £ 
 
 early privations, her great trials during her \\ \\ p. Reed, who is represented elsewhere 
 
 imprisonmenl with the [ndians, her escape and j M ihi- work. In the public schools of the 
 
 struggle to gei home and amongst friends. We county George C. Reed acquired his education 
 
 of the present generation have but little con- ;m ,| m the usual manner of farmer lads he was 
 
 ception of the trials our parents and grand- reared, remaining a1 home until twenty-one 
 
 parents endured, to bequeath to us our civil and years of age, when he started ou1 in lif i his 
 
 religious liberties. To read it, n sounds like wn account. Be worked as a farm hand for 
 liotion. hut to hear it as it fell from their lips. | wo years and then rented land and began farm- 
 we must feel, although it is strange, yet how ing on his own account. After two years, how- 
 true! ever, he removed to Greenview, where he turned 
 grandparents of george spears. his attention to the livery business, conduct- 
 William Neely, dale of birth not known: ; n g | MS barn for aboui nine 3'ears. Be then 
 killed by Indians October, 1780. sold oul and bought eight acres of land in Pike 
 Margaret Patterson (Neely), wife of William county, Illinois, ami once more resumed Earm- 
 \eel\ ; born May 25th, 1737. Bis wife was j n „-, but after a war he returned to Green- 
 killed about two years later; 1782. view, where he established a livery ham. of 
 children. which he was proprietor for a year, lie then 
 Joan Neely, born Friday, duly 7th, 1755; traded In- farm for a stock of hardware in 
 married Jacob Spears; died near Carpenter's Keokuk. Iowa, ami went to that city, hut 
 Station, Lincoln county, Kentucky. after two months lie brought his stock of mer- 
 Elizaheth Neely, hem March 8th, L757. chandise to Greenview, where thirty days later 
 Isaac Neely. horn March 24th, 1759; was he sold if. He was next a partner in the gen- 
 killed by Indians at Neely's Gap, near Carpen- era! mercantile firm of Hatch. Alkire A Reed, 
 ter's Station. Lincoln county, Kentucky. with which he was associated for a year and 
 Mary Neely. horn August 20th, 1761. Sub- a half, when he -old out and established his 
 ject of this sketch, present -ion' in connection with hi- brother, 
 Martha Neely, born April 25th, 1764. W. M. Reed. Under the firm style of Reed 
 William Neely, born December 12th. 1766. Brothers they are conducting a grocery and 
 Samuel Neely, born May ".nth. 1769. This meat market and have a -ood trade, which they 
 son was present at the killing of his ther, easily retain because of their honorable deal- 
 ami killed the head Indian, who was very large, ings and earnest desire to please their patrons, 
 measuring some three feet from shoulder to On the 23d id' August, 1891, Mr. Reed was 
 shoulder, lie died on the uhl home-iead. in united in marriage to Mi-- Marj M. Fahay, 
 Neely's Bend, Tennessee. a daughter of dames and Mary Fahay. now of 
 Margaret Neely, born December 20th, 1772. Petersburg. They have two children. Edith 
 John Neely, born May 16th, 1774. May, horn May 15, 1894, and Ruth I,'.. bom 
 Jane Neely, born December 31st, 1776. Mar- dune 25, 1895. In his political affiliation Mr. 
 ried Thomas Buchanan, and joined 1 he shakers Reed is a Democral and he has served on the 
 with her husband, and ved to their settle- town hoard for two terms. Fraternally he is
 
 38-1 
 
 past ami present of mkxakd COUNT'S 
 
 connected with Loyalt\ lodge. No. 181, K. P. 
 Id' lias a wide acquaintanc i in the county which 
 has always been Ins home and the fact that 
 many of the stanchesl friends are numbered 
 among those who have known him from his 
 boyhood days is an indication thai his career 
 has 1 n worth} of public confidence and es- 
 teem. 
 
 JESSE M. OTT. 
 
 Jesse M. Ott, who for many years has Inch 
 one of the forceful and honored factors in 
 business circles in Petersburg and one whose 
 influence has not been a minor elemenl in 
 public affairs, has attained prominence through 
 the inherent force of his character and exercise 
 of his native talent and the utilization of sur- 
 rounding opportunities. He has won notable 
 success in business, yei n is not this alone thai 
 entitles him to rank as one of the foremost 
 men of his day in Menard county. His con- 
 nection with the public interests of his city has 
 been far-reaching and beneficial for he lias aid- 
 ed m shaping the municipal policy and in pro- 
 moting the social, educational and political de- 
 velopment of this portion of the state. His 
 patriotic citizenship and his interest in com- 
 munity affairs has taken tangible form in his 
 zealous labors for the improvement- instituted 
 through aldermanic measures. He is now 
 serving for the fourth term as mayor of Peters- 
 burg, having been elected for a fourth time 
 in 1903. 
 
 Air. ott was horn in Petersburg township. 
 Menard county, on the 29th of March. 1855, 
 and i- a son of Nimrod Ott, a native of Louis- 
 ville, Kentucky. The family is of German lin- 
 neage and the grandfather was born in Ger- 
 many. 'The founder of the family in America 
 was the great-grand father of Mr. Ott, who on 
 rossing the Atlantic established his home in 
 Kentucky at the time General Boone was mak- 
 ing his explorations in that state. Mr. ott 
 there carried on fanning in pioneer times and 
 the grandfather, who also became a farmer. 
 spent his entire life in the Blue Grass state. 
 Nimrod Ott and his brothers, however, removed 
 to Indiana, locating in Harrison county, where 
 some branches of the familv are -till found. 
 
 Nimrod Ott was a blacksmith b\ trade and in 
 1849 he removed from Indiana to Illinois, lo- 
 cating on a farm five miles west of Petersburg, 
 where he engaged in farming, having a val- 
 uable tract of land there of two hundred and 
 fifty acres, upon which he made his home until 
 1868, when he sold thai property and took up 
 his abode in the county seat in order that he 
 might afford his children better educational 
 opportunities. His death occurred in Peters- 
 burg in 1895. He married Miss Perlina Gum, 
 also a native id* Kentucky, and Lhey had • ight 
 children. 
 
 Jesse M. Ott, the youngest, acquired his 
 education in the public schools of Petersburg 
 and after putting aside his text-books engaged 
 in clerking in a drug store for two year-. He 
 then turned his attention to teaching in the 
 public schools, which profession he followed 
 for seven years and the periods of vacation dur- 
 ing that time were devoted to employment in 
 a drug store. In 1883 he entered the insur- 
 ance field, in which he has since continued and 
 has built up an extensive clientage, repn 
 niL! a large number of the leading insurance 
 companies of the country. In 1885 he also 
 extended the held of his labor by becoming 
 connected with the coal trade and has since 
 conducted business along this dual line. 
 
 Air. ott has been particularly prominent in 
 community affairs in Petersburg and is a rec- 
 ognized leader in the ranks of the Democratic 
 party. Whether in or mn of office he has la- 
 bored earnestly and effectively for the promo- 
 tion of the general welfare, lie was elected 
 police magist raie and held the office for • ighl 
 years, when in 189] he was chosen mayor of 
 the city b} popular suffrage. He served at that 
 time by re-election for three consecutive terms 
 and retired from office as he had entered it. 
 with the confidence and good will of all con- 
 cerned. Again hi' was chosen mayor in 1903 
 and i> now holding the position. His previous 
 service was a guarantee of the busini ss-like and 
 progressive administration and in the substan- 
 tial improvement and progress of Petersburg 
 are seen many evidences of the co-operation and 
 active suppori of Air. Ott. 
 
 On the 18th nf August, is;;, occurred the 
 marriage of Mr. Ott and Miss Emma (raw-
 
 Ml; WD MRS. MMI.'oP OTT
 
 l'\STAND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 289 
 
 ford, who was bom in Menard county, was a 
 daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Crawford, 
 and died on the L6th of August, L89S. They 
 bad four children: Lester !'>.. who is now 
 bookkeeper in the First National Hank, of Pet- 
 ersburg; Lyman E., a resident of Minnesota; 
 Nona P., who is qow in the office with her 
 father; and Jessie A., deceased. < In the LOth 
 of October, L899, Mr. Ott was again married, 
 
 his sec I union being with Miss Emma Wol- 
 
 dridge, also a native of Menard county, whose 
 parents, Richard and A. M. Woldridge, are 
 now residing in Petersburg. They have one 
 child. Marion A. 
 
 Mr. Ott has passed through all of the chairs 
 of the Knights of Pythias lodge and is also a 
 member of the Modern Woodmen camp at Pe- 
 tersburg. Tic owns a fine residence in this city 
 ami also valuable real estate on the south side 
 of the public square and farm property in 
 Menard comity. Entering upon his business 
 career without friends or advantageous circum- 
 stances to aid him he has placed his dependence 
 upon indefatigable energy and labor, which are 
 the sure and safe foundation of all prosperity 
 and to-day he is accounted one of the sub- 
 stantia] as well as one el' the most influential 
 and representative men of Petersburg. 
 
 FRANK A. KING. 
 
 Frank A. Bang, who follows farming near 
 Oakford, was hum upon his present place Feb- 
 ruary 24, 1867. lie is a son of Marshall .1. 
 ami Eliza E. (Caldwell) Kin--, who are rep- 
 resented elsewhere in this volume. At the 
 usual age he began his education b) attend- 
 ing the Oakford graded school, which he at- 
 tended until about twenty-one years of age. 
 It had been arranged that he was in pursue a 
 college course, hut his lather thought that he 
 had better return to the farm and lie gave 
 up his cherished plan. He now owns the old 
 family homestead, comprising two hundred 
 and eighty acre-, and in all of his farm work- 
 lie has displayed a comprehensive, practical 
 spirit which has been a resultant factor in 
 bringing him a good financial return. 
 
 Mr. King was married to Miss Amelia E. 
 Schoneweis, September 26, L889. Her parent-. 
 
 Chris ami Sophia Schoneweis. are residents of 
 Meiiard county. Both were born in Germany 
 
 and came in America m childh I. The) were 
 
 married here and as the years have gone by 
 her father ha- acquired considerable property. 
 In recent years he has retired from farming, 
 tin' income from his property being sufficient 
 to supph him with all of the necessities and 
 many n( the comforts of life. He is a Re- 
 publican in politics ami is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church, tn which hi- wile 
 also belonged. She died December 9, 1902. 
 
 In December, 1890, Mr. King removed to 
 Missouri and secured a farm near Ethel, Ma- 
 con county, alone the Santa Fe Railroad. 
 There he remained until 1893 when he re- 
 turned to 1 llinois ami took up his abode mi 
 the J. M. Johnston farm east of Atterbery, 
 there residing I'm- a year. (»u the expiration 
 of that period he purchased the old family 
 homestead in 1895 and has continued to make 
 it his place nf residence -nice that time. He 
 has placed many improvements thereon and 
 ha- added tn the original purchase another 
 eight) acres, so that he has two hundred and 
 eight) acres in one body. This land is well 
 cultivated and the fields yield golden harvests 
 in return for the care and labor he bestows 
 
 upon them. The buildings are kept in g 1 
 
 repair and an air <>i' neatness ami thrift per- 
 vades the place. Unto Mr. and Mrs. King 
 have been born six children: Elsie S.. born 
 June 2, 1891 : Marshall ('.. burn duly 28, 1893; 
 Irving E., born dune I i. L896 : Esther M.. 
 born March 21, 1899; Carl I'.. December 27, 
 1901 : and Norma M., born October 12, 190 I. 
 The three older children are attending school 
 in Oakford. 
 
 Mr. King is a Republican in his political 
 views and is the present county commissioner 
 for a three years' term. He belongs to the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. n( which his wife 
 i- also a member, and the) take an active 
 interest in the church work, Mr. Kin- serving 
 at the present time as one of its trustees, lie 
 also belongs to the Modern Woodman camp 
 and tn the Independent Order of Good Tem- 
 plars and his affiliation therewith indicates his 
 position in regard in the liquor traffic. He is 
 interested in all thai tends tn uplift humanit)
 
 290 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 ;mil tn improve conditions of Life for his Eel- 
 k>\\ men and his example in this respect is 
 certainly \\ >-l 1 worthy of emulation. 
 
 PETES I'. GROSBOLL. 
 
 Peter I'. Grosboll, a representative and pros- 
 perous agriculturist of Menard county, resides 
 upon a farm which has become historic from 
 the I'aet that it was upon this place, in an 
 old frame building that Abraham Lincoln 
 tried hi- first lawsuit. Mr. Grosboll is a na- 
 tive of Denmark, his birth having occurred in 
 North Schleswig (new a part of Germany) 
 en the 3d (if November, 1855. His father was 
 a dairy farmer ami stock-raiser ami owned a 
 
 g I trad nf land in his native country, where 
 
 lie spent his entire life. lie married Magrady 
 Rosenbaum, also a native of North Schleswig, 
 and. like her husband, she spent her entire 
 life in that country. The father was twice 
 married and had nine children l>\ the first 
 union and five h\ the second. Three sons nf 
 the lirs! marriage are now living in the United 
 States: Jep 1'. Grosboll, who came to Amer 
 ica in 1872, when nineteen years nf age, and 
 i> now living in Menard county; Peter I'.: 
 and Martin, who crossed the Atlantic at the 
 age of eighteen years and is also a resident 
 of Menard county. 
 
 Peter P. Grosboll acquired his education 
 
 in the land of bis nativity, attending scl 1 
 
 between the ages of six and sixteen years, and 
 the following year, is;.",, he came to the new 
 world, making his way direct to Petersburg. 
 lie began to work by the month as a farm 
 hand and was employed in that way for two 
 or three years, al tin' end of which time he 
 had gotten enough mone] ahead to enable him 
 to rem a farm and begin agricultural pursuits 
 on his own account. Later, when his industry 
 and economy had brought to him sufficient 
 capital, he purchased two hundred acres of 
 land, west of where he now resides, known 
 as the old I [atfield farm, and after conduct- 
 ing it for a time he sold thai properly and 
 bought two hundred and eighty acre- of rich 
 land in township IS. range 7, on which ho is 
 now living, lie i- a stock-raiser and cattle- 
 
 feeder and he has hied man\ line animals. 
 lie always has high grades of stock upon his 
 place and his farm is splendidly improved 
 with modern equipments. His business has 
 grown to extensive and profitable proportions 
 and iie is now classed with the well-to-do citi- 
 zens of Menard county. 
 
 It was upon his farm, in an old house which 
 has since been torn down, that Abraham Lin- 
 coln pleaded his first law suit. The suit grey 
 out of Mime trouble over a woman's misfor- 
 tune. Lincoln was surveying at the time upon 
 the place and the woman's friend- asked him 
 to plead the case and lie did so. A lawyer 
 from Beardstown was mi the defense and re- 
 garded Lincoln as an opponent whom he could 
 readily conquer. Lincoln, in his opening ad- 
 dress to the jury, pointed to the man and said. 
 ""I will compare him to a white dress which 
 can he soiled hut made white again," and then. 
 pointing to the woman, he said, "She is like 
 a glass bottle, which, crushed against a stone, 
 is ruined forever." Lincoln won the suit. 
 Ann Rutledge was buried upon this farm but 
 her remains were afterward interred in the 
 cemeten al Petersburg. 
 
 i)n the 3d of August, L880, Mr. Grosboll 
 married Christina Lvjar, a native of Denmark, 
 whom he wedded while on a visit to his native 
 country. They had been schoolmates in youth. 
 Unto them have been born five children: 
 Anna M., born .May L6, 1881, was educated 
 in I he district schools and was married De- 
 cember 15, inn;;, to Harry Shirding. The\ 
 reside in Petersburg and lie has large farm- 
 ing interests near the city. Ella It., horn July 
 •.'J. 1883, was also educated in the public 
 schools and i^ at home with her parents. 
 Matha Marie, born February 2. 1885, was grad- 
 uated at the high school of Petersburg in 
 1903. Henry Cyrus, born January 5, L887, 
 attended the district schools and is now assist- 
 ing his father in the cultivation of the home 
 farm. Paul Harry, born May 23, 1891, is 
 si ill a public school si uilent. 
 
 In 1888 Mr. Grosboll and his family re- 
 turned to Germany on a visit, but because 
 he had refused to serve in the German army, 
 or rather preferred leaving thai country for- 
 ever than Income a soldier, he was notified bv
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MKNARD C< >F NTY 
 
 '.",'1 
 
 the government officials upon his return that 
 he must leave the country within twenty-four 
 hours. Being now a naturalized American 
 citizen, he appealed to the American legation 
 and Uncle Sam took up the case with the 
 result that within a few hours he received 
 notification thai the German government re- 
 called the order and he could remain until 
 the following January. He still lias in his 
 possession the letters from the American lega- 
 tion ami his passport. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Grosboll are members of the 
 Lutheran church. Since becoming an Amer- 
 ican citizen he has given Itis political sup- 
 port to the Republican party, and for nine 
 years he has served as a school director. ITis 
 1 usiness can er has been oni of steady progres- 
 sion. [Toping thai lie might improve his finan- 
 cial condition in the new world with its su- 
 perior business opportunities, he came in the 
 United States, and his native energy, strong 
 purpose and laudable ambition have enabled 
 him tn gain a fair measure of success, while 
 his example proves conclusively that prosperit] 
 ma\ be wnn through persistent labor, direi ted 
 U the valuable quality of common sense. 
 
 JOHN E. POND. 
 John E. Pond, a represental ive of the agri- 
 cultural interests of Green viev township for 
 many years, was born in Menard county, Au- 
 gust I. 1851, and is therefore b) birth as well 
 as training and preference a western man, 
 possessing the spirit of enterprise and progress 
 which have been so cha raeterist ic of t he mid- 
 dle west. His father was David B. Pond and 
 his paternal grandfather was Rev. Billioue 
 Pond, whose birth occurred at Plymouth, Con- 
 necticut, June 26, L781. He was married Octo- 
 ber 11. L801, at Camden, Oneida county, New 
 York, in Miss Rhoda Orton, and for his sec- 
 ond wife he chose Mrs. Melissa Moore. In 
 earl] li Ee he determined to devote his energies 
 and talent- to the work- of the ministry and 
 was ordained in the Presbyterian church at 
 Camden, \ew Fork. In is:;; he removed to 
 llliiini-. settling eight miles west of Spring- 
 field. Ik- ministerial labors were mosth in 
 
 connection with the Bible and Tract Societies 
 ami he did much good as a pioneer preacher 
 in the promotion of the mural development of 
 central Illinois, lie lived to the advanced 
 
 age of ninety-three years, five iths and 
 
 twelve days, passing awa\ December 8, is; I. 
 
 David B. Pond, the father of John E. Pond, 
 was born July 5, L822, in Camden, New York, 
 and accompanied his parents to Illinois when 
 fifteen years of age. He acquired a common- 
 school education, remained under the parental 
 roof and assisted in the work of the home 
 rami until his marriage, which was celebrated 
 on the 25th of March, 1845, Miss Susan A. 
 "Moore becoming his wife. Throughout his 
 entire business career he carried on general 
 farming and stock-raising in Sangamon and 
 Menaril counties and he died in Lbs Angeles, 
 California, I leeember 31, 1892. He had taken 
 an active ami helpful interest in community 
 affairs, his labors proving effective in pro- 
 moting the genera] welfare. For main years 
 
 he was a member of I hi scl I board and t he 
 
 cause of education found in him a warm friend. 
 \ n act ive member of the Presb\ terian church, 
 he served as one of it- elders for twenty years. 
 His political allegiance was given to the Re- 
 publican party. Unto him and his wife were 
 horn two children: Tryphenia and John E. 
 The former, born August '<■ L849, was married 
 November 25, is; I. to ( 'ornolins l.\ man. ami 
 is now- living in Dayton, Washington. After 
 losing his first wife. David B. Pond wedded 
 Man E. Watson, who is now living in Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 No special event of importance occurred to 
 vary the routine of farm life for John E. Pond 
 
 in his youth. I [e worked in the fields w he i 
 
 engaged with the duties of the schoolroom and 
 remained at home until twenty-three years of 
 age, when he was married. He wedded Miss 
 Alice Buchanan, a daughter of James C. and 
 Louisa (Obourn) Buchanan. Her father was 
 hom at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, March 20, 
 I s:; I . ami w a- married at Warrens\ ille, Lycom 
 ing county, Pennsylvania, August 1, is.')?, to 
 Louisa Obourn, whose birth occurred in 1835, 
 and who was a daughter of Thomas Obourn. 
 Her mother bore the maiden name n( \li-- 
 Reeder and. like her husband, was a native
 
 292 PAST AND PKESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 of Pennsylvania. At the time of the Civil June 2, L811. Ee was twice married and by 
 
 war James C. Buchanan responded to the his first wife, Elizabeth, be bad two sons: 
 
 country's call for aid, enlisting in June, ism. Amos, who was born March 25, 1836, and died 
 
 as a member of Company (', Eighth Pennsyl- July 25, 1842; and Augustus, who was hum 
 
 \ an ia Volunteer Cavalry. The regimenl was November 5, is;;;, and died about 1884. The 
 
 assigned to the Army of the Potomac and while mother died March 12, 1839. For his second 
 
 in this service be died in October, 1863, ai wife Wesley Ball chose Miss Xancy Ferguson, 
 
 Washington, I >. ( '.. and his remains were in- who was born in Kentucky, February 9, 1821, 
 
 (cried in Arlington cemetery. His widow sur- ami they became the parents of the following 
 
 vived him for a number of years and passed named: Charles W., who was born June 26, 
 
 away March 16, 1877. Thej bad two children, 1842, and is now living in St. Clair. Missouri: 
 
 Mrs. Pond, who was horn September 27, 1855; Bethena J., who was horn July 24, 1845, and 
 
 and Mrs. Clara Pond, born October 23, 1857. died March 20, 1870; John T.; Amanda L., 
 
 The I ie of Mr. and Mrs. John E. Pond who was horn June 19, 1853, and died Sep- 
 
 has been blessed with three children: N'ellie tember 'i. is;;-. Ann E., who was born March 
 
 E., Mabel S. and Clara I.. At the ti E their 16, 1856, ami is now the wife of Dr. C. F. 
 
 marriage they came to Menard county and Mr. Whitney, of Washington, 1». C. ; Thomas II.. 
 
 Pond began farming on the place where he now who was horn December 25, 1857, and is now 
 
 lives, the land having been given to him by Ins living in Scranton, Iowa; and Laura F., whose 
 
 father. He has since successfully carried on birth occurred July 26, 1860, and who is now 
 
 general farming and stock-raising and he has the wife of .1. 11. Piper, of Mount Zion, Tlli- 
 
 a well improved property and raises high nois. Her father, mi leaving his old home in 
 
 grades of stock, which annually find a ready Virginia, made bis way westward to Indiana, 
 
 sale upon the market. In all of his business mid locating at South Bend was employed by 
 
 undertakings he is reliable ami he carries for- the Studebakers of that city. He hauled wheat 
 
 ward to successful completion whatever he he- lei the Chicago market before the city was in- 
 
 gins. His business affairs claim much of his at- corporated and he lived in the middle west 
 
 tention ami yet he ha- found opportunity to aid when it was a great frontier region in which 
 
 in the promotion of public enterprises, with- the work of improvement and progress seemed 
 
 holding his support from no vemeni which scarcely begun. On leaving Indiana hecameto 
 
 he believes will contribute to the general good. Menard county at an early epoch in its devel- 
 
 lle served as clerk of the school hoard for opment, when the land was all wild prairie 
 
 twenty-one years, which included seven eon- or was covered with dense timber. From Pekin. 
 
 secutive terms and in his political views be Illinois, be hauled the lumber with which to 
 
 i- a stanch Republican, lb and bis wife and huild his fi rs t bouse and amid frontier en- 
 
 their children arc members of the Presbyterian vironments he began bis life here, sharing 
 
 church and he has served as one of its deacons, with other early settlers in the hardships. 
 
 The Pond household is noted for its warm- trials and privations which fall to the lot of the 
 
 hearted hospitality and the members of the pioneer. He was one of the founders of the 
 
 family receive tin' respect and confidence id' county ami he took an active part in promot- 
 
 all with whom they have been associated. ing (he legal status of the community as well 
 
 as in advancing ils material improvement 
 
 through bis agricultural interests. His death 
 
 occurred on the 26th of November, 1893, and 
 
 JOHN 'I. HALL. his second wife, surviving him for about eleven 
 
 John T. Hall, owner of a good farm in years, passed away on the 23d of January, 
 
 township 19, range 5 west, was horn August 1904. 
 
 '-'I. 1851, in Menard county and is a repre- John T. Hall has spent his entire life in 
 
 sentative of one of the old pioneer families. Menard county, and his education was acquired 
 
 Hi- father. Wesley Hall, wa- born in Virginia, in the public schools, such as were found at
 
 MRS. NANCY MALI..
 
 PAST AM) l'lJKSKXT OF MKNAKl) COUNTY 
 
 295 
 
 that day. Farm work largely occupied his at- 
 tention during the period of his youth, for he 
 
 assisted in the cultivation of the old home place. 
 remaining on his father's farm until twenty- 
 i i^ht years of age. when he was united in mar- 
 riage on the 30th of December, lsso. to Miss 
 Lottie E. Norton, daughter el' Curtis J. and 
 Mary E. (Wiley) Norton, the former born in 
 the state of Nct York, April 24, 1831, while 
 the latter was born in Wells. Pennsylvania, 
 September 5, 1836. They Mere married in the 
 Empire state and came to Menard county 
 about 1863. For fourteen years, or until 
 March, 1877, they resided in Logan enmity, 
 just across the line from Menard county, where 
 Mr. Norton carried on general farming. He 
 afterward removed to Larned, Kansas, where 
 In' now makes his home. Unto Mr. ami Mrs. 
 Norton were hern eleven children, of whom 
 nine are living: Mrs. Hall, whose birth oc- 
 curred April ; . 1857; William .1.. who was 
 born November 1'.'. 1859, ami is now living in 
 Ottawa, Kansas; John T.. who was hum Octo- 
 ber 1. 1863, and i- a civil engineer, residing in 
 the city of Mexico; Curtis H.. who was born 
 September 1"?. 1865, and resides in Larned; 
 Henry II.. whose birth occurred February 19, 
 1868. and who is also a resident of Larned; 
 Grace I,., who was born May 13, is;-.', and is 
 living in Larned; Mary A., who was born May 
 ::. L874, and was married June 5, 1901, 1" 
 William Tomlinson and i- living in Ottawa, 
 Kansas; George F.. who was born March 22, 
 1876, and wa- married September 15, 1001. 
 his home being now in Colorado City, Colo- 
 rado; and Lucy 1. who was born duly 26, 
 1878, ami resides in Larned. The members of 
 the family now deceased are Franklin T... the 
 third child, who was born November II. 1861, 
 and died August 7, 1865; and Charles G., the 
 seventh child, who was born March '.'I. 1870, 
 and died I Ictobi r 2, 1895. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hall have one child. Mary R.. 
 horn December 1. issn. They reside upon n 
 good farm in township 10. Mr. Hall purchas- 
 ing .al tin- time of his marriage sixty-eight 
 acres of land, In which he has since added a 
 ien acre tract. He now carries on general ag- 
 ricultural pursuits ami stock-raising and has 
 well tilled fields ami high grades of horses. 
 
 cattle and hogs, in his business he is energeti 
 and persevering ami what he possesses has been 
 gained through his earnest labors. Both he 
 and his wife are members of the Presbyterian 
 church ami his political allegiance is given hi 
 the Republican party. 
 
 THOMAS SCOTT. 
 
 Thomas Scott, who i< engaged in the livery 
 business in Greenview, was born in Canada on 
 the 19th of May, 1867, his parents being Wil- 
 liam ami Margaret (Smith) Scott. The fa- 
 ther was a native of Canada and the mother 
 of Scotland and when si\ years of age -In 1 was 
 broughl lo America by her parents, the voy- 
 age covering >i\ weeks ami four days in a 
 sailing vessel. William Scott is a farmer by 
 occupation ami has spent his entire life ill 
 ( 'anada, where he is still living at the ago 
 of sixty-eighl years, while his wife died Jul} 
 31, 1904. 
 
 In the country schools of ('anada Thomas 
 Scotl was educated ami he remained at home 
 until twenty-two years of age, during which 
 time hi' gained practical and intimate knowl- 
 edge of farming methods through the assist- 
 ance which hi' rendered to his father. After 
 attaining his majority he started mil in life 
 mi his own account, lie worked by the month 
 in connection with race horses until he came 
 
 to Greenview and in 1898 he entered tl m- 
 
 ploy of II. .!. Marbold, having charge of his 
 noted racer, Grand Baron, nun' 1900. He 
 then entered the services of Lewis Pierson, 
 with whom lie continued for a year, when he 
 purchased a livery barn, formerly owned by 
 Reed & McDonald. This he has since conduct- 
 ed and now has -i good patronage. Earnestly 
 desiring to please his customers he has pros- 
 pered in the business, owing to his straight- 
 forward dealing and because of the excellenl 
 accommodations which he can afford the pub- 
 lic In the line of hue carriages and good 
 horses. 
 
 ()n the 9th of December, 1896, Mr. Scot! 
 wa- united in marriage to Miss Bessie Palmer, 
 a daughter of Montgomery and Belle Palmer, 
 who were natives of [llinois and are now resi-
 
 396 
 
 PAST AND PBESKNT <>|- MI-NARD COUNTY 
 
 dents of [owa. Mrs. Seotl is a memh r of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Scot! 
 
 is leeted with Loyalty lodge, No. 181, K. 
 
 P. In his political views he is a Democrat, 
 but he never seeks nor desires office, for he 
 wishes i" devote his entire time and energies 
 to his business affairs. 
 
 DAVID NEK I'. 
 One of the most attractive farm residences 
 of Menard county is the home of David Neff, 
 situated on section 9, township 18. It was 
 erected at a cost of three thousand dollars, 
 contains twelve room-, is built in modern 
 style of architecture and is supplied with the 
 at< -t conveniences. Around the house are 
 
 -i walks, and shade trees dol the well kept 
 
 lawn. Altogether the home presents a most 
 pleasing appearance and within an air of com- 
 fort and of hospitality abounds. 
 
 Mr. Neff, a native of Rockingham county, 
 Virginia, was bom Augusl 25, 1852, his pa- 
 rents being Martin and Eelena (Bowers) 
 Neff, both of whom were natives of the Old 
 Dominion. The Neff famih is of German lin- 
 eage and was established in America at an 
 early day. Martin Neff, born in 1814, turned 
 his attention to farming on attaining man's 
 estate and in 1854 he removed westward to 
 Illinois, settling in Petersburg township, where 
 he purchased land. His farm of two hundred 
 , c - soon gavi ■ ■ idence of his careful super- 
 ision and cultivation, and yielded to him goo : 
 He reached the advanced age of 
 eighty-sis years ere his earthly pilgrimage was 
 ended, and Ins wife died in 1874. They were 
 the parents of three sons and three daughters: 
 John, who nsides two and one-half miles 
 easl of Petersburg, in Indian Creek township; 
 Hannah J., who died when about forty-five 
 years of age; Barbara, who married John 
 Gerdes. and now lives with her brother John, 
 while her husband lives in the Soldiers' Home in 
 Quincy, Illinois: David : William II.. who mar- 
 ried Susa Jackson and since her death has niar- 
 " : and Lydia V.. who resides with hi r 
 uncle, John Tice, in Petersburg. 
 
 David Neff was less than two years of age 
 when brought by his parents to Illinois and 
 
 he was educated in the schools of the old town 
 of Salem. Ee has always been a farmer. He 
 was reared to this occupation and has made 
 it his life work. Ee firs! farmed south and 
 wesl ol Petersburg, and he was enabled to 
 purchase his land by hewiny wood, lie made 
 his last purchase in 1899 and he now owns two 
 hundred and eight} acres of rich land, all of 
 which he has placed under a high state of cul- 
 tivation, so thai it i- now a well developed 
 property, llr has also added substantia] build- 
 ings, including his fine residence, and the pi u 
 is a monument to his thrift and enterprise. 
 
 On October 16, 1879, Mr. Neff was married 
 in Petersburg to Margaret V. Park, a daughter 
 Vlatthew and Ellen (Vonfelden) Parle. 
 Her father came from Paisley, Scotland, to 
 America in early manhood and. settlii 
 Menard county, In- purchased land and began 
 the development of the farm upon which Mr. 
 Neff now resides. Mrs. Parle was a native of 
 Germany and came with her parents to the 
 United States at the age of fourte n years, 
 the lamih home being esta ■ I in Mason 
 county, Illinois. Mr. Park died April 1. 1873, 
 and his wife's death occurred December 9, 
 L880. They were well known people of this 
 locality and enjoyed the warm regard of many 
 friend-. 
 
 Mrs. Neff acquired her education in the 
 public schools "I' Petersburg and remained at 
 
 h up to tin' time of her marriage. Five 
 
 children have keen born unto our subject and 
 his wife: Ellen H.. born December 29, 1881. 
 attended the district schools, continued her 
 studies in Petersburg and has engaged in teach- 
 ing for two terms. Mariin Luther, born June 
 23, 1884, was educated in the district schools 
 and the graded schools of Petersburg and lived 
 for a time in Argentine, a suburb of Kansas 
 City, Missouri, but is now at home assisting 
 bis father on the farm. Edna E.. born No- 
 vember n. 1 SST. is now- in her second year in 
 the high school of Petersburg. Matthew- Park. 
 born May 16, 1893. and Annie C. born Au- 
 gusl 1 I. 1896, are attending school. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Neff hold membership in the 
 Methodist church at Petersburg and he votes 
 with the Republican party. Both are well 
 known in the countv seat and the surrounding
 
 V 
 
 i 
 
 c 
 
 V- 
 
 _^mM 
 
 
 Lv 
 
 
 
 
 
 \ y^Ni 
 
 h_ ^^v j e> . 
 
 
 B/ - Jj ' 
 
 ^^L. ^| 
 
 DAVID N T EFF AND I'A.M II. V.
 
 AST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT! 
 
 299 
 
 districl and receive the favorable regard and 
 good wishes of many friends. Early realizing 
 thai perseverance will overcome all obstacles 
 and that earnesl and diligent labor will gain 
 advancement in the business world, Mr. Nell' 
 through those means has steadily worked bis 
 way upward until he is now one of the more 
 prosperous agriculturists of bis community. 
 
 R. B. GODBEY. 
 
 R. 11. Godbey, who is the owner of sis hun- 
 dred acres of the rich farming land of Menard 
 county, and whose business capacity lias been 
 demonstrated in his successful control of Ids 
 agricultural interests, was born in Rush county, 
 [ndiana, January II. 1830. His parents, Rus- 
 sell and Elizabeth (Brown) Godbey, were na- 
 tives of Virginia and in 1829 Left that state for 
 Illinois, but stopped during the winter in In- 
 diana, where the birth of our subject occurred. 
 In the spring they continued on their way and 
 Iim ated a mile south and a mile and a qua: ter 
 wesl of where R. B. Godbey now resides. The 
 father bluiH a log house upon a tract of land 
 of one hundred and sixty acres, which he en- 
 tered Erom the government, and began the 
 improvement of a farm, transforming the "wild 
 prairie into richly productive Selds. He after- 
 ward added to Ins property and at the time of 
 Ids death »;i? the owner of two hundred acres 
 of valuable land. He took an active pari in 
 the pioneer development of this pari of the 
 state and aided in laying broad and deep the 
 foundation for the presenl progress and pros- 
 peril \ of the county. I le located here « In n 
 this was a pioneer districl and he not only 
 assisted materially in the upbuilding of the 
 county, but was also acquainted with many of 
 the prominent men of the time. He was a 
 warm personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, 
 who at one time surveyed a piece of land for 
 Mr. Godbey and the latter paid Lincoln for his 
 work with two dressed deer skins, which Lin- 
 coln took to Aunt Hannah Armstrong, who 
 sewed them upon his pants to protect him 
 while he was going through the brush. Mr. 
 Godbey died December 25, L888, a1 the age 
 of eightv-eighl years, his birth having occurred 
 
 November 2, 1800. IN- wife, who was horn 
 February 15, I <99, died in 185 I. 
 
 R. I'.. Godbey pursued his education in the 
 subscription schools, which be attended for 
 about three months each year, and he also 
 spenl one winter in Jubilee College, in Peoria 
 county. Illinois, lie performed the strenuous 
 labor incident to the development of a new 
 farm and remained upon his father's place un- 
 til twenty-three years of age, when he removed 
 to bis present home in township 19, range 6 
 west. Here he broke the prairie and after 
 placing his land under the plow he planted 
 his crops and in due time gathered good har- 
 vests, lie erected all of the buildings now 
 
 upon Ins place, his I ie being built in 186-1, 
 
 and lie has always kepi everything in good re- 
 pair, conducting his farm work alone pro- 
 gressive lines. In connection with the cultiva 
 tion of grain be has also engaged in the rais- 
 ing of stock, principally feeding cattle, but in 
 recent years he has largely lefl the active work 
 of the farm to his sons. His lauded possessions 
 cover six hundred acres, the greater part of 
 w hull lies iii one body. 
 
 On the 20th of March, 1854, Mr. Godbey 
 was united in marriage to .Miss Susan Mont- 
 gomery 7 , a daughter of Charles L. and Eliza 
 Montgomery, who came to this county from 
 Virginia about 1821. Her father engaged in 
 farming and died here about eighteen years 
 ago. IN- wife, long surviving him, died about 
 three years ago, al the advanced age of eighty- 
 sis years. Hnto Mr. and Mrs. Godbey have been 
 born nine children : Eliza Elizabeth, born Au- 
 gust 19, 1855, is the wife of Clavin Crawford, 
 in.u of San Bernardino, California; Charles 
 R., hern in 1857, died in infancy ; Edward Ev- 
 eret, horn in 1859, reside- near his father: 
 Harry II.. born January 12, 1862, died in 
 June, 1902; George, born in 1864, is living 
 upon the home farm: Emma and John died in 
 infancy: Bertha died ai the age of three years; 
 and E\ a, horn Api 1 1 26, 1 81 I . is i he w i I'e of 
 John I low 1 1 e \ . a farmer of this count j . 
 
 Since [S70 Mr. Godbey has been a member 
 of the Masonic lodge of Greenview, and in his 
 life he exemplifies the beneficenl spirit of the 
 era ft. His wi le i- a member of i he ( ihristian 
 church. Politically a Democrat, he keep- well
 
 300 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 informed on the questions and issues of the 
 
 da] . but has never 1 a an office seeker. I te 
 
 served, however, for twentj years as a mem- 
 ber of the school board. Eis interest lias een- 
 tered along lines of public activity which con- 
 serve the general good and his co-operation 
 has 1 1< > i been wit hheld from any movemenl 
 which he believes will contribute to general 
 progress and impro^ ement. 
 
 JOHN W. TEEHUNE. 
 
 John W. Terhune, an enterprising farmer 
 and business man and one of the worthy and 
 valued citizens of Menard county, whose in- 
 fluence is ever on the side of right and prog- 
 ress, was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, 
 near Flemingsburg, January 20, 1853, his par- 
 ents being James and Ann Elizabeth (Harri- 
 son) Terhune, who were also natives of Ken- 
 tucky. The father, a farmer by occupation, 
 rami' to Menard county in 1853, locating at 
 Petersburg, but after a short time he removed 
 to Indian Point and subsequently purchased 
 land near Curtis. There he began fanning 
 and stock-raising and continued to reside near 
 Curtis until his death, which occurred in No- 
 vember, 1884, when he was fifty-six year- of 
 age. while his wife died in May. 1886, at the 
 age of fifty-five years. 
 
 John W. Terhune acquired his education 
 
 in the common scl Is of Menard county and 
 
 remained under the parental roof unt il twenty- 
 four years of age, when he removed to the 
 farm on which he now resides. II was pur- 
 chased for him and his wife by her father 
 shortly after their marriage. Tn 1885 Mr. 
 Terhune added to it a trad of eighty-eight 
 acres and has since bought other property 
 until now Ins landed possessions aggregate four 
 hundred and Forty acres of rich and arable 
 land, upon which he has placed many improve- 
 ments. Ee has tiled the liclds. erected sub- 
 stantia] buildings and now has an excellent 
 farm which, in its neat and thrift} appearance, 
 indicate the careful supervision of a progres- 
 sive owner. Ee also aided in organizing the 
 telephone company and was its president two 
 vears. 
 
 On the 86th of March. L8<9, Mr. Terhune 
 was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Smoot. 
 a daughter of W. ( '. and ( latherine ( Engle I 
 Smoot. Both Mr. and Mrs. Terhune are earn- 
 est and consistent Christian people and take 
 a \ cr\ acl Lve and helpful part in church work. 
 For a number of years he has been and is now 
 an elder in the Presbyterian church at Sweet- 
 water, Illinois, is superintendent of the Sun- 
 
 day-scl I and for twenty-two consecutive 
 
 years was a Sunday-scl I teacher. His wife 
 
 is superintendent of the Sunday-school of the 
 Christian church and has been for ten years. 
 Mr. Terhune has also been a leader of the 
 choir and has taken a most helpful part in vari- 
 ous lines of the church activities. For seven 
 generations, with one exception, his family have 
 been represented in the church eldership. He 
 has been vice president of the Sunday-school 
 Association of Menard count] for a number of 
 years and lias attended many Sunday-school 
 conventions, taking a most active interest in the 
 I raining of the young, realizing its importance 
 as a preparation for after life. In politics 
 Mr. Terhune is a Republican and has served 
 as president of the board of school (rustic- for 
 a number of vears. He has always taught 
 temperance by both precepl and example and 
 has favored every movement which has for its 
 object the betterment of humanity, while his 
 labors ami influence have proven no unimpor- 
 tant factors in advancing the moral standard of 
 his community. 
 
 EDOAP S. CHEANEY. 
 
 Edgar S. Cheaney is accorded a position in 
 the front rank' of the leading and represents 
 tive business men of Petersburg, his native 
 city, where his birth occurred on the 13th of 
 
 November, 1S58. At the usual age I ntered 
 
 the public schools, where be pursued his stud- 
 ies until thirteen years of age, when he en 
 tered upon his business career as an employe in 
 the lumberyard of Colonel ('. I ». Rourke, re- 
 maining there for three years. 'Mi the expira- 
 tion of that period lie embarked in the gro- 
 eon business mi his own account and for five 
 years conducted his store, meeting with sis-
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 30E 
 
 r <;i 1 success in the undertaking. He then sold 
 his store and again became connected with the 
 lumber trade, going upon the road as a i ravel- 
 in., salesman. Ele > ontinued in the business in 
 thai capacity for twenty-two years and gained 
 a wide and favorable acquaintance with lum- 
 ber dealers in the territory through which he 
 traveled. He confined Ins business most!} to 
 central Illinois and was a mosi successful sales- 
 man, annually securing a large amount of 
 busim ss. 
 
 About lss; Mr. Cheaney joined bis father, 
 .1. YV. ( Iheaney, in the establishment of a lum- 
 ber business at Petersburg under the linn name 
 nf E. S. Cheanej .\ Company, his father tak- 
 ing charge of the local yard, while our sub- 
 ject continued upon the mad. He sunn secured 
 a large and reliable class of patrons, making 
 the business profitable and extensive. The fa- 
 ther died Fehruan 21, 1902, al which dine 
 I-;, s. Cheane] purchased bis interest in the 
 lusiriess and has since been sole proprietor, lb 1 
 left the road January 1. 1904, and lias since 
 given bis attention to the management of the 
 iusiness from the headquarters in Petersburg. 
 The yard is one hundred and twenty-five by 
 Mi,,, hundred ami fifty-two feet and the busi- 
 ness is constant^ increasing. At Athens "Mr. 
 Cheanej bought out the lumberyard of T. A. 
 Swearingen & Company, in February, L904, 
 and is conducting that in connection with the 
 Petersburg business. lb. ha- i omprehensive 
 and accurate know ledge el' the lumber trade. 
 is familiar with the various binds of wood and 
 their value as a building material as well as a 
 marketable commodity, and be is now classed 
 wiili tin. nmst successful business men of Me- 
 nard county. 
 
 In July, lsss. Mr. Cheaney was united in 
 marriage in Mis-; Mary S. Miller, of Pekin, Illi- 
 nois, a daughter <<( P. .1. Miller, nov, of Athens. 
 'Tin- marriage has been blessed « ith five chil- 
 dren: Edgar, now deceased; Caroline, Her- 
 bert II.. .hum- YV. and Francis. 
 
 Mr. Cheaney belongs to the Independent 
 Order of Odd bellows, the Knights of Pythias 
 fraternity and Hie Hoo Hoo, a national or- 
 ganization of lumbermen. He has a wide ac- 
 quaintance in central Illinois and wherever he 
 lias gone he has mad., friends by reason of Ids 
 
 unfailing courtesy, his deference for the opin- 
 ion- of others, his social nature and bis gonial 
 disposition. Throughout the greater part of 
 hi> life be has In. en connected with the lum- 
 ber trade ami his recognition of a commercial 
 possibility leading to sneeess has been supple- 
 mented by straightforward dealing thai has 
 gained him the confidence ami the patronage 
 id' mam with whom he has come in contact. 
 
 JOSEPH A. SMEDLEY. 
 
 Joseph A. Smedley was bom May ".'. 1850, 
 on section 21, township is, adjoining the one 
 on which he now- lives. II is present placi . 
 
 comprising ■ hundred and twenty aero, was 
 
 traded in the earh days lor a shotgun, an en- 
 tire section being given in exchange lor (be 
 firearm. Cultivation, however, carried on by 
 former generations of the famih and by our 
 subject have wrought a wonderful transforma- 
 tion in the appearand' and value of the land, 
 which is now worth one hundred dollars per 
 acre. 
 
 The Smedley family is of English Mm r i 
 and the ancestrj of Joseph A. Smedley can : e 
 traced back to Christopher Smedley. the great- 
 grandfather, who was senl to sea by his ilder 
 brothers, who were angry with him. lie lived 
 to the advanced age of one hundred and eleven 
 
 years ami six ths. Becoming a residenl 
 
 of America, he was married in Pennsylvania 
 and afterward removed to Kentucky. I !e bad 
 three son,-, including Thomas Smedley, the 
 grandfather of our subject, who. with bis 
 brother William, went to Si. Louis. Missouri, 
 al an early day and later came lo what is now 
 Menard comity. Illinois, then a pari of Sanga- 
 mon county. He settled al Clary's Grove and 
 there reared his family. He had five sons and 
 five daughters, three of whom were born in 
 Kentucky, while the others were born on the 
 old family homestead in this county. He pur- 
 chased one hundred and sixty acres of land on 
 section 20, township IS. ami was the firsl man 
 lo settle upon the prairie adjoining where 
 Joseph A. Smedley uovi resides. He look an 
 active ami helpful part in reclaiming the wild 
 land for tin' uses of the white man and assisted
 
 :au; 
 
 PAST \\H PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 materially in the earl} development of the 
 county — a work which has since been carried 
 forward by the family in later generations. 
 Thomas Smedley bad ten children, as follows: 
 Sarah married Spencer Merrill and they reside 
 in Little Grove. William is the second of the 
 family. Richard, who lived in Menard eountj 
 on the farm which is im« owned by Mrs. 
 Marthena Gum, was a soldier of the One Hun- 
 dred and Fourteenth Illinois Volunteer In- 
 fantry and died in the service, [rene, de- 
 ceased, was the wife of John X. Osborne and 
 lived in Jacksonville. Eliza became the wife 
 of Barton Osborne and they resided on the 
 old Smedley homestead, bu1 both are now de- 
 ceased. lU' was a member of the One Hundred 
 and Fourteenth Illinois Infantry in the Civil 
 war. John, who was a member of the Four- 
 teenth Illinois Volunteer [nfantry, was a quar- 
 termaster sergeant and served throughout the 
 war. He was under Grant at Shiloh and Vicks- 
 burg. He was educated for the ministry, en- 
 gaged in teaching for a number of years and is 
 now living in Cass county, Illinois. Thomas, 
 who resides in Bloomington, this state, was also 
 a member of the Fourteenth Illinois Regiment, 
 was the regimental fifer and. being captured, 
 was confined in Andersonville prison. Han- 
 nah, deceased, was the wife of David Bell, a 
 resident of Dakota. He was an orderly in the 
 One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois In- 
 fantry and was with Sherman on the cele- 
 brated march from Atlanta to the sea. Chris- 
 topher, who was orderly sergeant in the same 
 regimenl and likewise marched with Sher- 
 man's Army to the oast, is now living in 
 Pittsburg, Kansas. Catheiine married Anson 
 Ferguson, whoso military service was with the 
 same regiment, and who went to the sea under 
 Sherman, lie was wounded in the head, but 
 recovered from this, although he was after- 
 ward killed by a mule. 
 
 William Smedley, the father of Joseph A. 
 Smedley, was horn in Kentucky, hut in his 
 youth accompanied Ins father on his removal 
 to Menard county, where he spent his remain- 
 ing days. lie was reared among the wild 
 scenes id' pioneer life and assisted in the ardu- 
 ous task of developing a new farm. He fol- 
 lowed agricultural pursuits throughout his en- 
 
 tire lite and was known as an energetic, capable 
 business man. who carefully controlled his 
 farming interests. Hi- early political support 
 was given the Whig party anil on its dissolu- 
 tion he joined the ranks of the new Repub- 
 lican party, with which he continued to affiliate 
 until his death, lie held membership in the 
 Christian church. His wife bore the maiden 
 name of Martha llurd and the} became the 
 parent.- of seven children: Christina, who died 
 hi the age oi eight years; Joseph A., of this 
 review; John Thomas, who died at Coldwalcr, 
 Florida, where he was following the occupation 
 of farming; Edwin, who was a machinist and 
 died at his home in Jacksonville, Illinois; 
 Martha, who married a Mr. Allen, but both 
 died of yellow fever about 1889; Nancy, who 
 died m infancy; and Hamden Jewett, who 
 owns and operates a farm near Athens. 
 
 Joseph A. Smedley was reared in his fa- 
 ther's home and pursued his education in a 
 private school at Petersburg. He was named 
 to habits of industry mi the home farm, assist- 
 ing in its further development and cultivation 
 until twenty-one years of age when he began 
 farming for himself. lie make- a specialty 
 of bee culture, lie was married October ;. 
 is;:,, to Henrietta Godwin, a daughter of John 
 and Mary Ann (Truitt) Godwin, who tesided 
 in Missouri, where Mr-. Smedley was reared 
 and educated. The father was horn m Vir- 
 ginia, and the mother tn Baltimore, 
 Maryland, where they were married. Tn.y 
 came west about 1853 and settled in Mont- 
 gomery county, Missouri, where Mr. God- 
 win entered a large tract of land and was & 
 -lave holder. Mrs. Smedley has two brothers 
 and two sisters living, three of whom are resi- 
 dents of Missouri, while one lives in Colorado. 
 Four children have been horn unto Mr. and 
 Mrs. Snieille\ : Charles Frederick, who was 
 horn September 1. 1876, married Adriane Mas- 
 line and resides in Jacksonville, Florida: 
 Arthur E., who was born October 5, 1878, 
 married Daisy Gum and i- now a student in 
 the Chicago Veterinary School, hut owns prop- 
 erty in Menard county, where he makes his 
 home: Barn I,'., born August II. 1S82, mar- 
 ried Clara Acre, and now resides upon the old 
 homestead, hut expects to remove to a him
 
 PAST \\l> PEESENT OF MENARD COUNT! 7 
 
 307 
 
 near Athens in the spring of L905; Marshall 
 A., born July 20, L8S5, was educated in Peters- 
 burg and is now a1 liome. 
 
 Mr. Sinedley iii'-i roted with the Republi- 
 can pa i'i \ . 'mi lias sin< e su pported i he ca i i 
 dates of the Democratic and People's parties, 
 and i- independenl in support of the political 
 measures which he deems will bring the greai 
 est good i" the greatest number. Both he and 
 bis wife are members of the Christian church 
 and take a helpful pari in its work. Having 
 always lived in ibis county, Mr. Smedlej has. 
 a wide acquaintance within its borders and re- 
 ceives favorable regard and friendship from 
 the majority of those with whom he has been 
 broughl in contact, either through business " 
 5oi ial relal ions. 
 
 WILLIAM ENSLEY 
 
 William Ensley, whose farming interests arc 
 
 represented by a g I trad of land in the 
 
 vicinity of Atterberry, was born June 12, 1828, 
 in Pickaway county, Ohio, his parents being 
 Christopher and Elizabeth (Gold) Ensley, both 
 natives of Pennsylvania, the father being of 
 I luti h lineage, n bile the mother was of English 
 di scent. I;.jno\ ing to < Ihio, they settled in 
 Pickawai county in L828, their home being 
 along the canal between Circleville and Colum- 
 bus. The father sei ured a i ract of land on the 
 Scioto river bottom and there began the de- 
 velopmenl of a farm. The work of improve- 
 ment mid progress had been earned on for 
 so brief a time that many primitive conditions 
 yet existed. Be afterward came to Illinois, 
 settling in Babylon, Fulton county, where bis 
 death occurred in 1845. His wife, long sur- 
 \ i\ ing him, died ai the he of her son Wil- 
 liam, about a half a mile easl of atterberry, in 
 1872. 
 
 William Ensley, on pursuing his education, 
 was a student in a little log schoolhouse, but his 
 opportunity even there was limited as Ids 
 services were needed upon the home farm. At 
 il e age of twelve he began work for others, be- 
 ing employed as a farm hand for five years at 
 eighl dollars per month. The last summer 
 which he -pi m m Ohio he dropped broom corn 
 
 li\ hand o\ er a t racl of one hundred and fifl i 
 acre-. Subsequently ho came to Fulton county, 
 Illinois, and established his heme near the dam 
 across Spoon river, the town being called 
 Babvlon. Then' he worked for one man for 
 live years at eighl dollars per mont h. 
 
 On the 25th of January, 1855. M r. Ensle\ 
 was married to Miss Chloe Helen Aylesworth, 
 a daughter of Philip and Chine i ( foodell i 
 
 Aylesworth, the for r a native of Providence, 
 
 Rhode Maud, born April 20, L797, and the 
 latter el* New York. The mother dud during 
 the infancy of her daughter. There were two 
 sons and two daughters in the family: Philip 
 S., who died in 1849 ai Petersburg, Illinois : 
 Charles, whose death occurred in 1835 al Mere- 
 dosia, Illinois, when he was two war- of age: 
 Annie M. : and < Hiloe II. The former married 
 John II. Roland, « ho resided ai < irand Island. 
 Nebraska, and died in March. 1904. They had 
 i In. e children, two sons and a daughter, and 
 the sons are married, one now living ai lla-i- 
 ings. Nebraska, and the ether at Lincoln, that 
 ~iaie. Mr. Aylesworth, the father of Mrs. 
 Ensley, removed from Rhode Islam! to Penn- 
 sylvania when sixteen wars of age and had 
 come to Illinois in 1822 and here he Eormed the 
 
 acquaintance of < Ihloe < 1 Ie]l, who had bi en 
 
 broughl to this state during her childhood by 
 her parents. They were married in Sangamon 
 countv and Mr. Aylesworth operated a ferry at 
 Meredosia, Illinois, for seven years, while sub- 
 sequeni to his marriage he removed to Menard 
 county, lie was an old time surveyor and in 
 this connection he assisted materially in the 
 early development of the state, laying out the 
 t,iu n- of Beardstov n and Meredosia. He also 
 sum '. mI and laid ou1 the slate read from 
 Meredosia to Quinc) b> way of Camp Point. 
 
 At the last na d place he camped out and 
 
 called il ( amp Poinl and this name ha- been 
 retained dew n to i be present. I n 1835 he es- 
 tablished his honu in Full !ount} . 1 eing the 
 
 first while -eii Icr in Lei tow oship, living o 
 an old i ndian farm calL d Potato Hollow. He 
 
 there entered ten quarter sei i - of land and 
 
 mi- ai one time the wealthiest man in the 
 county. He no1 onh carried on farming pur- 
 suits on an extcns.ve scale, but also owned 
 a mill which he rented. He entered mosl of
 
 
 PAST ANH PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 the land east of Atterberry and in course of 
 Time became the owner of thousands of acres. 
 Ai om time be was the owner of the land on 
 which the cit; of Jacksonville now stands. Be 
 was also prominent and influential in public 
 affairs, held the office of justice of the peace 
 for a time, was sheriff of Morgan county, and 
 he named the town of Babylon in Pulton coun- 
 ty. 1\\- efforts were of marked benefit to the 
 state in its development and substantial im- 
 proi i mi ni. He n as a member of the Masonic 
 fraternity and was familiarly known as Unci 
 Phil. His death occurred at the home of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Nathaniel Aylesworth, near Ellis- 
 ville. December 22, 1883. Ii was largely 
 through his persona] influence that congress 
 passed the pre-emption laws. 
 
 Willaim Ensley purchased his first land of 
 his wife's father and afterward bought his pres- 
 • in farm from John Stitch. As his financial 
 resources have increased he lias added to his 
 pro] erty from time to time until he is now the 
 owner of sis hundred acres, which he has ac- 
 quired entirely through his own efforts, save 
 a tract of eighty acres that was inherited by his 
 wife. Hi has lived upon his present farm 
 since 1856 and has wrought a great change in 
 it- appearance because of the improvements he 
 has made and the high state of cultivation un- 
 der which lie has placed his fields. 
 
 Mr-. Ensley, who was born duly S, 1837, in 
 Fulton county, ha- become the mother of eight 
 children, but the eldest, Luella, died in infancy. 
 Those still living are Henry Elmer, born Au- 
 gust 8, 1864; Harvey Lee, born December It. 
 L870; and N T ettie Alice, born March 11. 1884. 
 The elder -on married Hartie Barr and they 
 reside at Waverly, Morgan county. Illinois. 
 where he i- engaged in business as a strain 
 dealer. They have Three children, one -on and 
 two daughters and they are members of the 
 Methodisl church. Harvey Lee, residing on a 
 farm near Atterberry, married Jessie Thorne 
 and they have one child — a daughter. 
 
 Mr. Ensley gives his political allegiano to 
 
 i lie I lei raci and has served as roadmaster, 
 
 hut lias never been very active as a politician, 
 preferring to devote his time and energ es to 
 fairs, u 1 1 ii-l i he has capably con- 
 ducted. Ilo ■- seldom a1 t'aull in matters of 
 
 ousiness judgment and his energy has proven 
 a vcn effective factor in winning success. His 
 !'ii has indeed I een a busy and useful on and 
 
 at all times it has been characterized bj b r- 
 
 able purpose, so that he receives the good will 
 and respect of those with whom he has been 
 associated. 
 
 GEORGE W. HATCH. 
 
 George \V. Hatch, figuring prominently in 
 usiness circles of Greenview, his bus i -- 
 activity contributing to the general prosperity 
 as well as his individual success, is now secre- 
 tary and general manager of the Greenview 
 Coal A Mining Company, as superintendent 
 and manager of the Middletown Coal Com- 
 pany at Middletown, Illinois, and is the Si l 
 
 member of the tirm of Hatch. Jones & Ber- 
 gen, genera] merchants of Greenview. A na- 
 tive son of Menard county, he was horn a 
 mile and a half north of the city in which 
 e yet makes his home, on the loth of October, 
 1861, his parents being George W. and Amanda 
 M. i Martini Hatch. His parental grand- 
 father, who was a sea captain, followed the 
 sea for many years and was at length lost 
 M sea. 
 
 George W. Hatch, Sr., the father of our 
 subject, wa- a native of New Jersey and was 
 twiii' married, his first wife 1 > « ■ i 1 1 l^ Mary 
 Brewer. Their wedding was celebrated March 
 10. 1846, and to them were born three -on-. 
 namely: William X.. a resident of Oakland. 
 Pottawattamie county. Iowa, where he is en- 
 gaged in farming and stock-raising and own- 
 over five hundred aire- of land; John B.. who 
 died September •">. L869; and Thomas X.. who 
 died August 23, 1858. The mother of these 
 children died March : <". 1855, and the father 
 was married August 25, 1855, to Amanda M. 
 Martin, who was born in Illinois. Septeml i r 3, 
 1833, and was a daughter of John and High- 
 land (Ferguson) Martin. Her parents were 
 both natives of Kentucky and at an early day 
 removed from that state to [llinois, settling 
 at Baker's Prairie, where the father carried on 
 farming and stock-raising. The mother and 
 four of her children died within two weeks. 
 One daughter, Mr-. Alexander Rhoades, is -till
 
 MR. AND MRS. G. W. HATCH. JR.
 
 MR. AND Mils. (J. W. HATCH. SR.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 313 
 
 living, her home being al Springerton, Illi- 
 nois. By his second marriage George W. 
 Hatch, Sr., had five children, our subjecl being 
 the nnh son. The daughters were Margaret 
 A., who was born June 26, 1856, and married 
 C. H. Denton, of Athens, Illinois; Mary H., 
 who was born October 1. 1857, and is now the 
 wife of J. R. Arnold, of Greenview; Emma J.. 
 who was born November 26, 1859, and died 
 August 30, 1871 : and Laura E., who was born 
 April I. 1863, and died April 30, 1879. 
 
 In carh boyhood day- George W. Hatch, 
 Sr. came to Menard county and in his youth he 
 worked by the month as a farm hand. He 
 afterward entered land from the government 
 and devoted his energies t<> its cultivation and 
 improvement until 1868, when he retired from 
 agricultural life and removed to Greenview, 
 entering the linn of Hatch A Arnheim, general 
 merchants, lie also conducted a lumber yard 
 and milling business and erected many of the 
 first houses of the city. His business interests 
 thus extended t<> mam lines and proved bene- 
 ficial to the community by advancing the com- 
 mercial and industrial prosperity which is the 
 basis of all progress and substantia] upbuilding. 
 In is;.", he sold his varied business interests, 
 save his mill, which lie conducted until his 
 death. He passed away May 25, 1ST!, at the 
 age of forty-seven years ami nine months. His 
 widow long survived him and her death re- 
 sulted from a fall on the 17th of August, 1903, 
 when she was seventy-one years of age. 
 
 George W. Hatch was a public school student 
 in Greenview ami in 1880 he entered the 
 Northern Indiana Normal College at Val- 
 paraiso, Indiana, leaving that institution en 
 tin' day that James A. Garfield was nominated 
 for tin- presidency. He then returned in Men- 
 ard county ami in June. 1880, lie engaged in 
 the livery business, hut after nine months he 
 snld out and took a three months 5 trip to the 
 west, visiting Denver and Leadville, Colorado. 
 On the expiration of thai period he retraced his 
 steps eastward as far a- [owa and on the 3rd 
 ef July, 1881, he returned to Menard county. 
 About that time he assisted in the organization 
 of the first coal company formed here and in 
 November of the same year he embarked in 
 the furniture and undertaking business, which 
 
 he carried on for al i three years. < )n the 
 
 23rd of December, L884, however, he removed 
 to a farm and was successfully and continuously 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits I'm- sis year . 
 or until November, 1891, when he returned to 
 Orcein iew. Eere he began handling horses 
 and in 1892 he became actively associated with 
 commercial interests as a dealer in hardware 
 and implements under the firm style of Hatch 
 & Propst. A man of resourceful busines ■ 
 ability, resdily recognizing and improving op- 
 portunity, he has been associated with many 
 lines of endeavor that have proved of practical 
 value and benefit to the city and al the same 
 time have advanced his indn ideal prospi city. 
 1 1 < buill the firsl opera house of ( Ireem iew at 
 a cost of eight thousand dollars, but the build- 
 ing was afterward destroyed by fire. He has 
 been identified with the development of the 
 coal interests of this pari of the state and in 
 L886 he became a stockholder in the Menard 
 Coal ( lompany, of Greem iew, Illinois, of which 
 he is now the secretary and manager, [n 189 I 
 he sold his interest in the hardware store to his 
 partner and became an insurance and real 
 estate agent. 
 
 For a time Mr. Hatch put aside his more 
 active business duties in order to perform 
 public service, for which he had been chosen 
 by the votes of his fellow townsmen. In 1894 
 he was elected sheriff of Menard county upon 
 the Republican ticket, although this i- a 
 strong Democratic county, receiving a majority 
 of one hundred and forty-nine. Later he 
 was nominated for the office of county clerk. 
 was defeated >\ one hundred ami twenty-six 
 votes. In 1900 he was a candidate before the 
 Republican convention for the nomination for 
 representative. After retiring from the office 
 of county sheriff he look charge of the business 
 of the coal company and he entered thi' firm 
 of Hatch. Flkie & Hood, on the 8th of March, 
 Isle.'. After a year, however, this partnership 
 was dissolved and Mr. Hatch became flu- senior 
 member of the presenl mercantile linn of 
 Hatch. Jones & Bergen, lie is a man of keen 
 business discernment ami unfaltering enter- 
 prise and carries forward to successful comple- 
 tion whatever hi- undertakes. Moreover, his 
 husiness methods have been such a- never seek
 
 .-1 1 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT "V MENARD COUNTY 
 
 nor require disguise and lie lias made for him- 
 
 ,.!i 1 irabli name in trade eir< i s. 
 
 on the 12th of October, L8S2, Mr. 1 1 . 1 1 > h 
 seas married to Mi— Eleanor Frances Reed, a 
 daughter of \Y. \V. P. Reed, and they have 
 three children: Claude Wallace, who was borii 
 November 9, L883, is now married and is in 
 charge of bis father's inter* sts in the store ; 
 Forest Leslie, born January L9, L889, and 
 Mildred, born January L5, L891, an a1 
 with their parents. The wife and children are 
 members of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
 church and Mr. Hatch holds membership in 
 the Christian church. He has pleasanl fra- 
 ternal relations, being a valued representative 
 of Clinton lodge, V>. 189, A. F. & A. M., of 
 Petersburg; Loyalty Lodge, Xo. 183, 1\. P., 
 
 and the Modern W Iman camp. His name 
 
 is a synon activity, industry and integ- 
 
 rity in business life and he stands to-day as 
 
 one of the successful and es I men of 
 
 Menard count\ . 
 
 WILLIAM T. KINCAID. 
 William T. Kincaid, a representative of the 
 farming interests in Menard county, who has 
 the respect of the business community In 
 .if his faithful adherence to the rules which 
 em honorable trade relations, was iorn 
 August 30. 1849, mi iln farm in Sweetwater 
 precinct, where he now makes In- home. He is 
 a -mi of \V. C. ami Louisa ( Hale | K incaid, 
 both <'t' whom are nativi - of Bath county . Ken- 
 tucky. Tin' father, win. was born Mover « c 
 
 :;. 1815, came 1" tllinois in early nianh 1. - t- 
 
 in Menanl count) upon tin' old home- 
 farm in Is:; |. Hi- father, Andrew Kin- 
 caid, was a native "I' Cumberland county, Penn- 
 sylvania, ami became a resident of Bath enmity. 
 Kentucky, in Km:.. In the latter state In- was 
 united in marriage in Miss Ann I'. Caldwell. 
 .a- born m Bath county and was a daugh- 
 ter of William ami Elizabeth ( Kennedy) ( al l- 
 well. She was present al the stirring scenes 
 of the jr. at camp meeting at Cam Ridgi 
 Bourbon county, Kentucky, in 1802 — an evem 
 which has become historic in the annals of thai 
 stale and of that locality. On tile 13th of 
 
 August, 1807, she gave her hand in mar] 
 in Mr. Kincaid ami the\ were a most devoted 
 and earnest Christian couple. Though always 
 living upright lives and singular!) conscien- 
 tious, probably from lack of suitable o 
 i unity. Mrs. Kincaid did not profess er re- 
 ligious faith until 1824. when with her lms- 
 band she united with tli ■ New Concord Pres- 
 byterian church of Nicholas county. Ken- 
 tucky, under the ministry of Dewey Whitney. 
 Soon afterward they changed their membership 
 
 lh.il church t.. the church in S 
 field, Bath county, Kentucky, wheiv they re- 
 sided until 183 1. In that year the} came to 
 Menard county, Illinois, settling at I 
 Point, and on the 13th of .luiie. 1835, 
 were received into the membership of the 
 North Sangamon Presbyterian church by the 
 session then constituting Elder John X. Moore 
 and Rev. Alex Ewing as moderator-. From 
 that in. forward they took a most active and 
 helpful, a- well a- beneficial, interest in the 
 moral i i pment of this part of the - 
 Thi \ closeh follow,., I all the commandmi Mi- 
 ami ordinances of the church, Living blan i 
 lives, -" that their menior} i- yet enshrined in 
 tlm liearts of those who knew them, and their 
 example remains a- a source of inspiration and 
 .n. on ragement to those with wh ) were 
 
 associated. Andrew Kincaid, full of years and 
 
 ion"!-. " .. - o his fidelity to upright prin- 
 ciples, passed away August 6, 1872, at the 
 age ..I' eighty-seven years, seven month- and 
 twenty-five days, ami on the 20th of March, 
 IS1 9, In- w Mow died at the age of uinety-one 
 years, seven months and twelve days. They 
 were tlm par, ait- of eleven children, three of 
 whom died prior t,, the mother'- demise, and 
 the remaining eight were present at her 
 
 nil. nil. Shi' had sixty grandchildren, of 
 whom thirty-eight were Living at the tin . oi 
 her death. tift\ great-grandchildren, of whom 
 forty-four were living, ami sixteen of her 
 grandchildren were married. Her imnn 
 descendants at the time of her demise were 
 on,, hundred and thirty-nine in number, of 
 whom thirty-one had passed away, one hun- 
 dred and eight are still living. Mr-. Kincaid 
 
 essed with \ igorous physical am! 
 powers and possessed many sterling traits of
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 315 
 
 character. She was a most eamesl Christian self to those who knew him that uniform regret 
 
 woman, an. I the poor, needy an. I distressed was felt throughout tin- pari of tin coimtj 
 
 found in her a helpful and sympathetic friend, "hen lie was called to his final rest, for aboul 
 
 She was most generous and hospitable and her a year, however, he was in poor health and for 
 
 tender consideration for others was one of her two months prior to his death was confined to 
 
 most salient characteristics. An immense eon- Ins i te. The funeral services were held at 
 
 course of people came to pay their last tribute the North Sanga n church, Rev. I 1 . J. strain 
 
 of respect to her memory an. I her good deeds an. I Rev. .1. M. Homey officiating, alt. a- which 
 
 M ill [iv e after her, so that she is yel spoken of his remains were interred in Indian Point cem- 
 
 with tender reverence and deep love b\ those etery. The intermenl of Mrs. Ivincaid was 
 
 „l l( , | sn ,, u J,,.,. also in the Indian Point cemetery. They were 
 
 W r. Kincaid, the father of our subject, was the parents of five children : Robert Hale, who 
 
 one of tit.' early settlers of Menard county, re- was born February, lit. 1*1 1, ami died Decem- 
 
 siding here continuously from ls:;i up to the ber 30, 1872; Eliza Ann, who was born Novem- 
 
 time of his death. He settled upon the farm her 10, LS42, and died in Springfield, I Mm. as. 
 
 which is miw occupied l>\ his son W. T. Kin- September 26, 1901; Andrew Todd, who was 
 
 caid, entering the land from the government, bom March 9, IS44, and is now living near 
 
 and .air subjeel now has in Ins possession the Farmer City, DeWitt county; William T., the 
 
 deeds of tin- land signed by John Q. Adams I' 'th of the family; Elizabeth ]>.. who was 
 
 and An.livw Jackson, regarding them as .-her- born October in. 1857, and is living in Chi- 
 
 ishcd mementos of pioneer times. With char- cago. 
 
 acteristic energv Mr. Kin. aid earn.'. I mi agri- \\ . T. Km. -aid. whose name introduces this 
 
 cultural pursuits and in addition t.> th.' tilling record, was educated in the district schools at 
 
 of the snil he raised stock, uiaking a specialty Indian Point. Tin- is conducted largely on the 
 
 of cattle for show, lie usually raised the short- order of a high school and i- a very excellenl 
 
 horn breed ami he received first prize at tho educational institution. After putting aside 
 
 second stair fair that was ever held in Sanga- his text-books, his time and energies were de- 
 
 miiii county. In early manhood he wedded voted t" farm work on the old homestead. He 
 
 Mis- Louisa Hale, who was born November '.'■. married Miss Alice Belle Pursell, who was born 
 
 1821, and was also one .if the early settlers of in Sangamon county, Illinois, in what is now 
 
 Menard coimtv, coming at the time of th.- ar- called Farmingdale, her natal day being May 
 
 rival .if William Johnson. She made her way i. ism;. Her parents were William ami Eliza- 
 
 from Kentucky mi horseback. W. •'. Kincaid hrth (Van Patton) Pursell, the former born in 
 
 passed away at Indian Point, February 1, 1S82, rreland, January 3, 1820, ami the latter in 
 
 at the age of sixty-six vears, three months and Ww Jersey. March 26, 1825. They became 
 
 four days, and his wife died at eleven o'clock residents of Sangamon count} i ut 1833. Mr. 
 
 in the evening of November '''>. 1894, at the Pursell had been brought t.> America by his 
 
 age oi seventy-three years. II.' had four broth- parents whin he was but two years old, the 
 
 ers ami three sisters, all of whom attended his family home being established in Canada, and 
 
 funeral. There had not been a death in the h e resided there nine years, when the family 
 
 family I'm- forty years up to aboul that time, removed in Sangamon county, Illinois. II.' 
 
 hut his father and mother died a few years was one of the firsl settlers of that portion of 
 
 before him. Mr. Kim-aid had been connected the state, locating there before Springfield had 
 
 with th.' Presbyterian church I'm- more than sprung mi" existence, lb' and !iis wife were 
 
 £ort\ vears and was an earnest Christian man. married in 1836 ami fur a long period they re- 
 
 _, nm-oii- I., his friends, liberal t.> those in sided mi the old homestead farm in Sanga- 
 
 need, and in his home a kind-hearted ami de- county. They were the parents of thir- 
 
 voted husband and father. No man m the i hil.lren: Robert Henry, who died about 
 
 eiumtv ha- been more deeply missed by neigh- 1844; Mary Aim. who died in the same year; 
 
 bors and friend- and he had so endeared him- Albert Male, who died in is;:',; Carrie Lyman
 
 316 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 who is living at Pleasanl Plains, Sangamon 
 connty; Laura Etta, a resident of Ashland, 
 Cass county, Illinois; Mrs. Baneaid; Jennie 
 Adeline, who died in 1844; Charles William, 
 who i> living in Moravia, Iowa: John Cush- 
 man, who died in 1873; Harriet Louisa, who 
 resides at Junction, Arizona; Robert Ramse>, 
 who is living at Farmingdale, Illinois: Frances 
 Elizabeth, also at Farmingdale; and Jessie 
 Tryphena, at home. 
 
 The home of 'Sir. and Mrs. Kim-aid has been 
 blessed with two children: Alice May. born 
 Ma) 31, L883; and Todd Pursell, born May 4. 
 L8S7. The parents and their children are 
 members of the Indian Point Presbyterian 
 church, and politically Mr. Kincaid is a Repub- 
 lican, having supported that party since lie 
 cast his first presidential ballot lie is a 
 worthy representative of an honored pioneer 
 family and therefore is entitled to mention in 
 this volume. Moreover, his personal charac- 
 teristics have < Mended him to the g 1 will 
 
 and trust of those with whom he has been asso- 
 ciated. He is unassuming in manner, yet alert 
 ami enti a in his business affairs and 
 
 keeping in touch with modern progress and 
 along all lines that indicate the world's ad- 
 vancement. Having spent hi- entire life in 
 Menard county, he is well known to many of 
 its citizen- and the circle of In- friends is 
 
 JAMES D. WHITLEY, M. I'.. I'. R. M. S. 
 
 Dr. .1; in - I). Whhle\ . gi neral medical 
 practitioner ami author, whose writings are of 
 \ alue to the profi •- on and whose 
 labors as physician and surgeon have been so 
 successful as to rank him with the ablest repre- 
 sentatives of the profession in Petersburg and 
 central Illinois, was born in Halifax, York- 
 shire. England, on the 28th of February, 184 I. 
 His lather. Eli Whitley, also a native of Hali- 
 fax, came to America in 1846 and established 
 his home in New York city. He was a pattern- 
 maker by trade and for many years was con- 
 nected, in that capacity, with the Novelty Iron 
 Works of New York. His wife died during the 
 
 great cholera epidemic in this country, in 1849. 
 In the family were three children. 
 
 Dr. Whitley started out in life on his ow-n 
 account when only twelve years of age, without 
 money or influential friends, and that his 
 career has been characterized by steady pro- 
 gression and success is due to the exercise of his 
 native ability, his unremitting diligence and 
 laudable ambition, which has prompted him 
 to find in each transition stage of his career 
 opportunity for further advancement. In his 
 youth he was employed at farm labor in Logan 
 county. Illinois, hut desiring to enter profes- 
 sional life, he commenced the study of medii 
 in 1861 under Dr. Samuel Sai-geant, a practic- 
 ing physician of Lincoln. Illinois. The follow- 
 ing year, however, his studies were interrupted 
 by his enlistment in the Union army. He 
 joined the One Hundred and Sixth Illinois 
 Regiment, Colonel R. B. Latham commanding, 
 on the 12th of August, 1862. He was mus- 
 ten d in at Lincoln. Illinois, as a drummer bo 
 being then hut eighteen years of age, and went 
 first to Kentucky. He served in Missouri and 
 Tennessee and was also at Little Rock, Arkan- 
 sas. A considerable portion of the time was 
 given to -guarding railroads. He was presenl 
 at the fall of Vicksburg and saw varied service 
 during the three year- of his military experi- 
 ence. When the regimenl steward, a few 
 months after bis enlistment, was taken ill. Dr. 
 Whitley was appointed to that position and later 
 was placed on detached service in the general 
 hospital at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in the capa- 
 city of chief clerk. S - ntly he was given 
 charge of th -r\ and was finally made 
 
 acting assistanl surgeon, in charge of the guard 
 house and detached fores, so serving until 
 August. 1865, when the war having ended he 
 was honorably discharged. 
 
 Dr. Whitley's hospital service, while with the 
 army, proved an excellent training school for 
 his professional career, bringing to him much 
 valuable, practical experience. Upon his re- 
 turn home he resumed the study of medicine 
 ami in the winter of L865-6 he pursued a course 
 of lectures in Rush Medical College. Later he 
 came to Petersburg, Menard county, where he 
 opened an office, hut soon removed to Robin- 
 son's Mills, where he was appointed postmaster.
 
 lilt. .1. I). WIMTLHY
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 319 
 
 Subsequently he established his home al Oak- born Januan '.'I. 1891; and hangdon, born 
 
 ford, building the first residence there in 1872. June 18, 1896. 
 
 I!.' named the town in honor of William Oak- Fraternalh Dr. Whitlej is a Knighl Templar 
 
 f,, nl. of the Oakford-Fahnstocls Company, Mason, belonging to St. Aldemar commandery 
 
 wholesale grocers of Peoria, Illinois. He met al Petersburg, and he is also identified with 
 
 with fair success in his practice in the little the Odd Fellows 1 the Knights of Pythias 
 
 village which lir established and in 1873 he lodges, in both of which he lias filled all the 
 returned to Rush Medical College, where he chairs, and he is nou surgeon of the Fourth 
 was graduated in February, L874. Returning Regimeni of the uniform rank of the Knights 
 then to Oakford, he continued in practice there of Pythias. He is also local surgeon for the 
 until July, 1879, when he again came to Peters- Chicago & Alton Railroad, examining surgeon 
 burg, where he has since remained, and in the for the Travelers Accident Company since L885 
 broader field which the county seal affords, and examiner for several old line life insurance 
 he has so directed his labors that they have companies. For several years he was post- 
 proved el' great value to his fellow men. while master a1 Oakford, the postoffice at Robinson's 
 the profession acknowledges his ability, which Mills being discontinued after the town of Oak- 
 is based upon thorough and conscientious prep- ford was started, lie was a member of the 
 aration and unfaltering devotion to the re- board of education at Petersburg for fifteen 
 sponsible duties which devolve upon the phy- consecutive years, lie is one of Menard coun- 
 sician. tv's leading and prominent citizens, popular 
 Dr. Whitlej has continually added to his with his brethren of the fraternities to which 
 knowledge bi stud) and investigation and also he belongs and exerting a moving and bene- 
 through the interchange of thought and experi- Rcial influence in behalf of public progress 
 cnee among the members of the profession who and improvement, as well as along professional 
 are allied with various medical societies. Since lines. It is with extreme pleasure that we \<rr- 
 L878 he has been a member of the American sent this sketch of his career to the readers of 
 Medical Association and he also belongs 1" the this volume For we realize and justly too, that 
 
 Illinois State Medical Society. He is a charter it is unto sue! n thai the presenl prosperity 
 
 member of the Brainard District Medical So- of Menard county is due 
 
 eiety. of which he was the president in 1881; 
 
 belongs to the American Microscopical Society 
 
 ,.,,,,. . . ' Z. A. TIloM PSON. 
 and i- a lollou nl the Royal Microscopical oo- 
 
 ,ii'M ,,r London, lie is likewise a member of /- A. Thompson, who through the recogni- 
 
 the Illinois Army and \aw Medical Associa- ' and utilization of commercial possibil- 
 
 iion. was pension examiner and has been health 'ties afforded in Petersburg, has advanced iron, 
 
 oilier of Petersburg -nice 1885. lie Medical humble surroundings to a position among the 
 
 writings include: Observations During an prosperous business men oi the city, is i„« 
 
 Epidemic of Cerebro-Spinal-Meningitis in 1874; ; !mber " r 1| "' llrm "'' Thompson, Rosen- 
 
 ,, , ,. ,,, • , • -,, i> , m j i liahl & C panv, proprietors oi a large de- 
 
 Repori ol trichinosis with Posl Mortem and 
 
 ... , , ,. ,„. ,,,,. , , iiariineni store Petersburg is Ins native city, 
 
 Microscopical Appearance nl tissues Kllected 
 
 ..,,,_, ,.-.,, his birth having here occurred December '.', . 
 
 with the Parasites, and Asiatic Cholera. ,,. ,. , , ,.,, 
 
 I s . i s . ID- father, Aaron thompson, is repre- 
 
 Dr - Wl,i,l,, > has been married four times. sente d on another page in this volume. 
 
 firsl "> I860, sec I in is;:;, third in 1890, Having obtained his earl) education in the 
 
 and fourth in 1904. It was on the 8th of |lU |,| l( . se h ols, Mr. Thompson of this review 
 
 September, L904, thai he was united in mar- continued his studies in the Illinois College of 
 
 riage to Miss Libbie Rourke, a native of Menard Jacksonville, where he pcquired his more 
 
 county and a daughter of Colonel Cornelius speeificalh literarv education. Soon after leav- 
 
 Rourke, who was oi f the pioneers of this ing thai institution he entered the held of mer- 
 
 countv. The Doctor has two sons: .lame-, cantile endeavor and in 1886 he became a mem-
 
 320 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COl'Vn 
 
 ber of the fir E Thompson, Rosendah] & Com- 
 pany, proprietors of a large department store 
 m Petersburg. The building, seventy by one 
 hundred feet, is two stories in height and is 
 situated at the northwesl corner of the square. 
 It is well stocked with an extensive and care- 
 fully selected stock of general goods, carefully 
 chosen with regard to the varied taste of the 
 patrons, and the linn, by reason of their hon- 
 orable dealing, their unfailing courtesy and 
 their eaniesi desire to please their customers, 
 have secured a Large and growing patronage. 
 
 On the 24th of November, 1886, Mr. Thomp- 
 son was married to Vliss Nettie Watkins, a 
 daughter id* Samuel Watkins, a representative 
 of one of the early pioneer Families of Me- 
 nard county. The children of this marriage 
 are three daughters and a son: Lillian. Sam- 
 uel, Marie and Louise. Mr. Thompson, hav- 
 ing been made a Mason at Chandlerville, Illi- 
 nois, in 1881, has advanced to the Knight 
 Templar degree, holding membership in St. 
 Aldemar commandery. lie is also connected 
 with the Knights of Pythias fraternity and the 
 Modern Woodmen camp, and has hearty sym- 
 pathy with their principles of brotherhood, 
 benevolence and mutual helpfulness. Both he 
 and his wile are consistent members of the 
 • dnisiian church, contributing generously to 
 its support and taking an active part in its 
 work-, and jn the social circles of the city they 
 are prominent and w ideh know n. 
 
 MRS. REBECCA FINLEY. 
 
 Mrs. Rebecca Finley, now residing upon a 
 farm in Petersburg precinct, Menard county, 
 was horn in Scotland. December 23, 1842, a 
 daughter of .lames and Rebecca ( Purdon) 
 Park, also natives of the land ol' the heather. 
 She spent her early girlhood days in Scotland, 
 where she resided until L863, when at the age 
 of twenty years she became a resident of Peters- 
 burg, Menard county. She was married in 
 Scotland to William Finley on Tuesday 7 , dune 
 2, 186'!. and the following Saturday they sailed 
 for the United Stales, being nine weeks upon 
 the water and a week longer in reaching Spring- 
 field. Illinois. 
 
 Mr. Finley, who was horn in is:;;, was a life- 
 long farmer, carrying on agricultural pursuits 
 both in Scotland and in this country, lie pur- 
 chased a farm of one hundred and seventy-five 
 acres near Petersburg, upon which his widow 
 now resides and which has become recognized 
 as the old Finley homestead. Throughout his 
 remaining days he carried on agricultural pur- 
 suits, placing his land under a high slate of 
 cultivation and making its fields to return to 
 him good harvests as a reward for his care 
 anil labor. Be continued to reside in Menard 
 county until his death, which occurred April 
 14. 1899, when he was sixty-two years of age. 
 His loss was deeply felt by many friends as well 
 as his immediate family, for in his life he had 
 displayed many sterling trait- of character. 
 Business men enjoyed entering into trade 
 transactions with him because he was straight- 
 forward and reliable, lie could he counted 
 upon tor active assistance in citizenship when 
 the matter lor consideration was one which 
 tended to promote general welfare of the com- 
 munity. In his family he was a devoted 
 husband and father and he displayed in his 
 life many of the sterling characteristics of the 
 Scotch people. 
 
 Into .Mr. anil Mrs. Finley were horn six 
 children, namely: Rebecca, horn July I. 1864, 
 dad November 30, 1865. John, horn Septem- 
 ber I'.'. 1865, died the same day. Elizabeth M.. 
 born December 24, 1867, was married January 
 2 I. 1889, to John Park, a fanner of Menard 
 county, and of the seven children born to them 
 four are .-till living. Annie 1!.. born February 
 •.'•J. 1869, was married January 20, 1891, to 
 R. (■. Williamson, a son of James Williamson, 
 who was born in Scotland and yet resides in 
 that country. R. ('. Williamson now carries 
 mi the home farm for Mr-. Finley. To him 
 and his wife were born foui children: -James, 
 who died ill infancy: Rebecca Amies, who was 
 
 1 i February i'>. IS94, and is now the only 
 
 one li\ ing ; ( lharles, who died at the age of eighl 
 months: and Lillian, who died in infancy. 
 .fames P.. the second son of Mrs. Finley, was 
 born October 25, 1871, ami now resides near 
 Tiee. Illinois. lie was married March 20, 
 1895, to Flora Bell and they have two chil- 
 dren. William and (Veil. Agnes J., horn
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT'S 
 
 32] 
 
 March ■.':;. is; |. was married March ;. ism. 
 to Henry Faith and died October 22, L896. 
 During her long residence in Menard county, 
 to which she came a- a bride, Mrs. Finley lias 
 gained the good will ami esteem of many 
 friends and well deserves representation in this 
 \ olume as line of i he pioneer sel t lers. 
 
 MARSHALL J. KING. 
 For over half a centun this gentleman was 
 identified with the interests of Menard county 
 ami was accounted one of its valued citizens. 
 He was born in Virginia, November 28, 1815, 
 and "a- "I' Scotch, Irish, Dutch ami English 
 descent, his parents being Daniel and Lucy 
 (Smith) King. Iii 1817, when onh two years 
 old, he was taken by them in Kentucky, the 
 family home being established in the vicinity 
 of Maysville. There he was reared upon a 
 farm and became a teamster and also worked 
 on the river i" some extent, in is p.' he came 
 to Illinois with his parent-, who died in tins 
 -tale ami were buried in Shipley graveyard, 
 .Menard county, the father passing awa\ at a 
 very advanced age. 
 
 Marshall J. King engaged in agricultt ral 
 pursuits in tin- county. After residing foi 
 twenty years in Sandridge, he located near 
 Oakford. lie purchased, cleared and improved 
 three differenl "arm-, all being covered with 
 a dense growth of timber ai the time they came 
 into hi- possession. In IS62 he bought the old 
 homestead, on which hi- -mi frank A. now 
 resides, lie prospered in his farming opera- 
 tions ami at the time of hi- death owned a 
 valuable farm id' two hundred acres a short 
 distance south of the village of < )ak ford. 1 ' is 
 life was characterized by untiring energy and 
 perseverance ami his labors proved of value a 
 reclaiming this part of the -tat" lor the pur- 
 poses of civilization. In lss'.i he relinquished 
 the active duties of farm life ami removed to 
 Petersburg, purchasing a comfortable home on 
 North First street, where his declining days 
 were spent. On the -.".nh of December, 1836, 
 Mr. King married Rachel Brown, who died a 
 few years later, leaving one child. Mrs. Minerva 
 E. Shipley, who died October 9, L899. lie was 
 
 again married October .';. 1844, his second 
 union being with Eliza P. Caldwell, who was 
 a representative of a Pennsylvania Dutch fam- 
 ily, llir father. Alexander Caldwell, came to 
 Menard county, Illinois, and located near ('oil- 
 cord church, where he and his wife made their 
 home until death. Both were earnest and con- 
 sistent members of the Methodisl Episcopal 
 church and he was a Democrat in politics. 
 Their daughter Mrs. King died April 20, 1880, 
 ami was laid to rest in Oakford cemetery. She 
 was the mother id' (en children, of whom four 
 arc now living, nanieP : Henry D.. of Men- 
 dosia. Morgan county. Illinois; Melissa, wife 
 of .1. I». Lounsberry, Taylor M. and Frank A., 
 all three residents of Menard county. For Ins 
 third w ifc Mr. King wedded Man A. Pell, the 
 marriage being celebrated December 6, P s s:;. 
 She survives him. 
 
 Mr. King died on (be 18th of October, 1899, 
 and his remains were interred in Oakford cem- 
 etery, lie was a progressive and successful 
 farmer and upright citizen, being held in high 
 esteem in the community where he had so long 
 made hi- home. 
 
 ALEXANDEB IP STONE. 
 Alexander 1 1. Stone is the o\\ tier of a line 
 farm in township 19. 1 1 is home i - surrounded 
 c, beautiful maple trie- and fruit live- are 
 also seen there. Flowers likewise adorn the 
 lawn and there are main evidences oi comfort 
 ami prosperity. Mr. Stone was born JuPj 28, 
 ps;;s. in Menard county, his parents being 
 Ambrose P. and Catherine (Walker) Stone, 
 in whose family were six children : Boone 
 David died July I. is:, l. ai the age of twenty- 
 i hree years ; William W. is now li i ing in Green- 
 view; -lane E. died in November, 1SSS: .lames 
 \. died July id isns ; Man A. is living iii Mis- 
 souri : and Alexander I !. i- the other member 
 of the family. 
 
 \ [< zander 1 1. Stone remained with his par- 
 i ,u- in the days of his boyhood and youth and 
 pursued hi- education iii the subscription and 
 public school- of Menard county. He was 
 taught to realize the value of industry and 
 hon, -t\ in the acl ive affairs of life and these 
 qualities have keen numbered among hi- stcr-
 
 322 
 
 PAST A.ND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 ling characteristics throughoul the period of 
 Ins manhood. He now successfully carries on 
 general agricultural pursuits and is the owner 
 iif an excellent trad of land of two hundred 
 and fifteen acres. When lie took possession 
 thereof it was all open prairie but he has 
 plowed and planted the land, developing rich 
 fields, and has also set ou1 Eruit and shade 
 trees until at the present time his home is 
 surrounded by tall and stateh maples and line 
 fruit trees. There are also flower beds in bis 
 yard and the attractive surroundings of the 
 place indicate the refined and cultured taste 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Stone. 
 
 Mr. Stone remained with his parents until 
 his marriage, which was celebrated on the 22d 
 of September, 1864, Miss Minerva Hincaid be- 
 coming his wife. Her father, William C. Hin- 
 caid. was born February 16, 1813, and died 
 December 24, 1895. His wife, who here the 
 maiden nam.' oi Berilla V Hill, was burn 
 Februan 2, 1821, and died July 5, 1899. They 
 removed from Kentucky to Illinois in 1854, 
 and purchased eighty acres of improved land 
 at twelve dollars per acre. Mr. Hincaid also 
 bought twenty-five acres of timber land, from 
 which he afterward cleared the trees. His 
 business was general farming and stock-raising 
 and he carried on agricultural pursuits upon 
 his old homestead farm until the 1st of Novem- 
 ber, 1889, when he and his wife Left their old 
 home and went to live with their daughter, 
 Mrs. Stone, with whom the\ remained until 
 called to their final rest. Both were members 
 of the Presbyterian church and were widely- 
 known as devoted Christian people. Mr. Hin- 
 caid served a- township treasurer for a num- 
 ber of years anil gave Ins political allegiance 
 to the Republican party. Unto him and Ins 
 wife were born three children, of whom Mr-. 
 Sn.in- i- the eldest. By her marriage she has 
 become the mother of two children, a son ami 
 daughter: Lee C. and Hattie li. The latter is 
 at home with her parents. The former, horn 
 March, 23, 1868, was married February 1'.'. 
 1895, i" Alpha Johnson ami they have Iwo 
 children, Carroll 1... born November 19, 1S95; 
 and Alpha M.. born October 24, 1901. 
 
 After his marriage Mr Stone settled upon 
 his present farm, in 1st; I. and ha- since re- 
 
 sided there, lie -■ r d a- 3cl I director for 
 
 fifteen years, the cause of education finding in 
 him a warm friend, lie votes with the Repub- 
 lican party and. like every true American citi- 
 zen should do. gives In- earnest support to the 
 political issues which he advocates. He and bis 
 wife are members of the Presbyterian church 
 and their many excellent trail- .if character 
 have won them the warm regard of all with 
 whom they have been associated in both busi- 
 ness and social life. 
 
 GEORGE A. WAKING. 
 
 George Addison Waring, formerly identified 
 with commercial pursuits in Petershurg, bul 
 for a number of years a representative of the 
 agricultural interests of Menard county, lives 
 
 upon what was originally the Thompson farm. 
 two and a half mile- northwest of the county 
 seat. He i- a native son of Menard county, 
 born on the 12th of October, 1856, his parents 
 being George G. and Elizabeth (Clark) War- 
 ing, who are represented elsewhere in tins vol- 
 ume. 
 
 George A. Waring attended the country 
 schools until 1ST4. when he entered the State 
 University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and in 
 L8T5 he attended the Springfield Business 
 College, from which he was graduated the fol- 
 lowing spring. Returning to his native county, 
 lie engaged in merchandising em hi- own ac- 
 count at Chandlerville, Illinois, in 1ST6. there 
 remaining until 1881, when be removed to 
 Petershurg, where la- was connected with mer- 
 chandising until la- took up his abode upon the 
 Thompson farm. Being situated ahont two and 
 a half miles from Petershurg, the comforts 
 and conveniences of city life arc easily obtain- 
 able, while those of tin 1 farm are being daily 
 enjoyed. Mr. Waring has placed the land un- 
 der a high state of cultivation and is pro- 
 gressive as Mill a- practical in his methods 
 of farming, so that his labors are attended 
 with excellent results. Tin- farm consists of 
 two hundred acn -. 
 
 on the 23d of October, 1878, Mr. Waring 
 married Mi-- Elizabeth A. Thompson, a 
 daughter of Aaron and Amanda Thompson,
 
 MRS. G. A. WARING.
 
 G. A. WARING.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY ::■.'; 
 
 a sketch of whom appears on another page of in New Jersey, and after putting aside Iris 
 
 this volume. Ber earl] education was ac- text-1 ks he began farm work in thai state. 
 
 quired in the districl schools and later she at- Believing, however, thai lie mighl have better 
 
 tended the Women's College al Jacksonville, business opportunities in the middle west, he 
 
 after which she taughi the Barclaj school for came to illinois in 1856, locating in Fanci 
 
 six years. She also received a good musical Prairie, Menard count}', where he rented a trad 
 
 education. Possessing considerable literary of land and continued its cultivation for aboul 
 
 ability, she has written many able articles for three years. <>n the exjiiration of thai period 
 
 ihi [oca] papers, which have received favorable with the money thai he had gained through 
 
 eommeni here and elsewhere. Mr. and Mrs. bis industry and econ y be purchased eight} 
 
 Waring have an adopted daughter, Bernice acres of land and began improving it. erecting 
 
 Marie, who was born in Cumberland, Guernse} thereon a good house and other buildings. He 
 
 county, Ohio, November 15, 1901. afterward boughi eighty acres additional and 
 
 Politically Mr. Waring has always been a subsequently secured forty-three acres more and 
 
 Democrat, bni never an aspiranf for office, in now own- one hundred and twenty acre- of ven 
 
 December, IS76, he was made a Mason in fine and productive land, his farm jdelding to 
 
 Chandlerville lodge, NTo. 724, at Chandler- him a good financial return. Year by year be 
 
 ville, Illinois, and now holds membership in performed the work of plowing, planting and 
 
 Clinton lodge, No. L9, A. F. & A. M.. of Pe- harvesting as one of the energetic and suceess- 
 
 tersburg, Qlinois. lie has also attained the ful agriculturists id' his community, Inn in 
 
 Knight Templar degree of the York rite, be- 1889, having acquired a comfortable compe- 
 
 longing t" Si. Aldemar commandery, No. 47. fence, he retired from the work of the fields and 
 
 of Petersburg, illinois, and the thirty-second removed to Athens, where he purchased Ins 
 
 degree of the Seoitisli rite, belonging n> the preseiri residence — ;t fine large home, h is 
 
 Peoria consiston and to the Mystii shrine. fitting thai lie should spend the evening of bis 
 
 \i present he is serving as junior warden in life here, surrounded by many of the e foils 
 
 the c mandery and lias held other offices in and luxuries that go to make life worth the 
 
 i he blue lodge. living. 
 
 At 1 he t line of t he ('nil war M r. < '< rahani 
 
 proved his loyalh to his adopted country by 
 
 GEORGE W. GRAHAM. enlisting in 1862 as a member of Captain 
 
 After many years' active connection with Burnap*s c pany — Company !■'. of the First 
 
 agricultural interests, George W. Graham is [Uinois Cavalry, lie was in Missouri and 
 
 novi living retired and his rest is well merited. Arkansas during the greater pari of the time. 
 
 for he worked persistently and indefatigably in participated in one engagemeni in the latter 
 
 former years, thereby gaining the competence state, biri in Julv, LS62. he was honorabh dis- 
 
 that now- enables him to put aside further busi- charged at St. Louis, and then returned to ins 
 
 ne-- cares, lie is a native son of Ireland, hi- ] r . 
 
 birth having occurred in County Westmeath | M April, 1865, Mr. Graham was united in 
 on the 28th of November, is:;-.'. His parents, marriage to Mi-- \Iargare1 Susan Young, a 
 Mathew and Ann (White) Graham, were also daughter of William P. Young, one of the earl) 
 natives of thai country, of Scotch descent, and ami honored pioneer settlers of tin- county. 
 on emigrating to America In 1851 settled in Her death occurred February La, 1903, and 
 New Jersey, where the father carried on farm- was greath deplored b\ mam friends, who 
 ing until bis death, which occurred in 1855. esteemed her for her excellent qualities of 
 when he was sixty-five years of age. Hi- wife hearl ami mind. She held membership in the 
 survived him for aboul five years, passing away North Sangamon Presbyterian church, of 
 in I860. which Mr. Graham is also a member, lie he- 
 Mr. Graham, of tin- review, pursued his longs to Pollock Post, No. I. (.'. A. II. . and lias 
 studios in the schools of hi- native e itrv and I n a member id' the school board and also
 
 328 
 
 PAST AND PRESEXT OF MKXAIJh COl'XTY 
 
 school trustee. Eis co-operation has always 
 been counted upon to promote measures for the 
 substantia] upbuilding and improvements of 
 the community, with which be has now been 
 identified for almost a half century and where 
 he lias so directed his labors as to win success 
 
 and also gain the g 1 will and trust of his 
 
 fellow men. 
 
 CORNELIUS T. BEEKMAN. 
 Cornelius T. Beekman, who is filling the posi- 
 tion of postmaster of Petersburg for the second 
 term, was born in Menard county, April 13, 
 1854, ami is a representative of one of its old 
 and honored pioneer families. His ancestors 
 in the paternal Line resided in New York, his 
 great-grandfather, Samuel Beekman, and his 
 grandfather, Cornelius T. Beekman, having 
 both been natives of the Empire state. William 
 T. Beekman, the father, was born in Somerville, 
 Xew Jersey, February 23, 1815, and in 1837, 
 when about twenty-two years of age, he came to 
 Menard county, settling in Clary's Grove dis- 
 trict. That was the period of early develop- 
 ment, when the county was just emerging from 
 frontier conditions and taking on the improve- 
 ments of an advanced civilization. Much yet 
 remained to be done in that direction and .Mr. 
 Beekman bore his full share in the work of 
 public improvement. He settled upon land 
 which he secured from the government and 
 which is still in possession of the family. It 
 was then wild and uncultivated, but he at once 
 began to transform it into tillable fields and in 
 due course of time garnered rich harvests there. 
 He remained upon the old homestead until 
 L861, when lie became interested in the con- 
 struct ion of the old Petersburg & Tonica Rail- 
 road, now a part of the Chicago & Alton systi m. 
 After its completion he was made its superin- 
 tendent, which position he filled for fourteen 
 years and was thus actively associated with the 
 era of early railroad building and operation 
 in Illinois. He also became one of the owners 
 of the Home Woolen Mills, of Jacksonville, 
 which were destroyed by fire in 1871, and he 
 then returned to the old homestead and de- 
 voted his attention to agricultural pursuits un- 
 
 til 1896. In that year he established his home 
 in Petersburg, where he lived in honorable re- 
 tirement from further labor until his death, 
 which occurred August II. 1899. lie had long 
 figured prominently in public affairs in Menard 
 county, both by reason of his activity in busi- 
 uess and also because of his influence and labor 
 in political circles. He twite represented his 
 district in the state legislature and by giving 
 careful consideration to each question which 
 came up for settlement and by stalwart support 
 of the bills in which he believed, he left the 
 impress of his individuality for good upon the 
 legislation enacted 'lining those sessions, lie 
 was indeed a public-spirited man and in his 
 death Menard county lost one of its valued 
 and worthy citizens. In early manhood he 
 married Miss Mary C. Spears, who was born in 
 Clary's Grove, Menard county, and the records 
 go to show that she was the first white female 
 child born in the county. In the family were 
 ten children, live sons and five daughters. 
 
 Cornelius T. Beekman. the sixth in order of 
 birth, ^as educated in the district schools and 
 in Knox College, of Galesburg, Illinois, and 
 Shurtletf College, at Alton, Illinois. He spent 
 two years in the former institution. Of the lat- 
 ter his father was a trustee for many years and 
 held a life membership. On completing his 
 education Mr. Beekman returned to the old 
 homestead farm ami devoted a number of years 
 to farm work. He also engaged in dealing m 
 stock from is;;) until 1886, alter which be 
 turned his attention to school teaching, fol- 
 lowing that profession for seven years, gain- 
 ing a creditable reputation as a successful edu- 
 cator, whose schools were noticeable for good 
 discipline and satisfactory mental progress. In 
 1893 he was appointed a member of the recep- 
 tion committee in the Illinois building at the 
 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. 
 where he speni the summer. He afterward en- 
 gaged in bookkeeping in the agricultural im- 
 plement store of William L. Wilms, ami in 
 L891 he was appointed postmaster, while in 
 1902 he was re-appointed to that office bj 
 President Roosevelt, lie is therefore serving 
 for his second term ami the citizens of Peters- 
 burg liinl him an obliging, courteous official, 
 prompt ami faithful in tie dis< barge of his
 
 PAST AXIi PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 339 
 
 duties and the administration of the affairs 
 of the office. 
 
 On the 22d of April, 1880, Mr. Beekman 
 was married to Miss Lula Kuechler, of Spring-. 
 field, Illinois, a daughter of Dr. ('. I-'. Kuechler, 
 a native of Germany. They were tin- first 
 couple married in the Cumberland Presbyterian 
 church "i' Petersburg, Rev. R. I). Miller, the 
 writer of this history, officiating. Miss Beek- 
 tnan's parents were also tin 1 iir-i couple married 
 in the old Baptist church, which stood mi the 
 southwest corner of Adams ami Seventh streets, 
 Dr. Bailej officiating. The children of Mi- ami 
 Mrs. Beekman arc: Carl ().. at home; Main 
 E., wild is assistant in the postoffice; Ferdinand 
 K.. Meta Louise ami William T., also under 
 tin- parental roof. 
 
 Mr. Beekman is a member of the Knights 
 of Pythias fraternity. His interest in his 
 native count) is manifest b} his active co- 
 operation in many move nts for the general 
 
 S 1. yet he is content to do his duty as a 
 
 private citizen. Many who have long known 
 him prize his friendship, which indicate- Ins 
 life to have ever been honorable and upright. 
 
 HENRY GLEASON. 
 Henry Gleason is one el' Illinois' native muis, 
 progressive and enterprising and manifesting 
 in his business career the elements that lead 
 to success, lie is accounted one of the substan- 
 tial farmers of township 19, where he ha- m>w 
 lived for thirty-nine years. He was born near 
 Alton, 1 Ilium-. An-iist 25, is:, I. and is a -mi 
 id' Patrick and Mary (Smith) Gleason. The 
 father, who was horn in County Clare. Ireland, 
 in IMS. died January I. 1903, ai the age of 
 eighty-four years. II,. had come to America 
 about fifty-five years ago and carried on farm- 
 ing in New York ami later removed to the 
 
 west, settling lir-i U] a farm near Alton. 
 
 forty years ago he came to Menard county and 
 
 for almosl thr lei ad. - remained upon what 
 
 became known as the old Gleason homestead. 
 lie then removed to Lincoln, Illinois, where 
 he continued to reside until hi- demise. His 
 widow still occupies the home there. They 
 wi re married February 17, is Is. in Lansing- 
 
 burg, New York, Mr. Gleason being then twenty- 
 sis years of age, while his wife was twenty-eight 
 years of age. Their living children are: 
 Thomas, who resides in Pekin, Illinois; Henry, 
 ot this review : ami Mrs. .lame- Coady, of Mid- 
 dletown, Illinois. One son, Michael, was killed 
 about twelve years ago in an accident in the 
 old Frorer shaft at Lincoln ami his funeral 
 wa- held Mm .".. 1892, at St. Joseph's church. 
 Father Mulgrew officiating, and the interment 
 was in Hoh Cross cemetery. Mrs. Bridget 
 Ryan, another member of the family, died Au- 
 gust 30, L903, while Mi- Mary Gleason died 
 April 13, 1903. 
 
 Henry Gleason was broughl by his parents to 
 Menard county and reared upon the old home 
 farm here He is indebted to the public- 
 school system of the state for the educational 
 privileges which he enjoyed ami which fitted 
 him lor life's practical duties. He lived with 
 his parent- until twenty-two years of age ami 
 gained intimate knowledge of farm work dur- 
 ing that time, lie then began farming on his 
 own account, renting a tract of land adjoining 
 the old home place. Here he has since lived 
 and he now own- ninety-seven acres of land 
 which is well improved, lie carries mi general 
 farming and stock-raising ami he has a line 
 home which he erected. In the rear of this 
 stand large and commodious outbuildings for 
 the shelter of grain and stock. The home is 
 surrounded by line shade trees and there are 
 al-o main other tree- which he has planted. 
 Everything aboul the placi is neat ami at- 
 tractive in appearance and indicates the careful 
 supervision of an enterprising owner. 
 
 On the -.'1-t of December, 1876, Mr. Gleason 
 was married to Eliza .1. Wark. Her father. 
 Stephen Wark. was horn in Ireland, duly 12, 
 L825, and was fifteen years id' age when he 
 came in the I'niied Siate-. establishing his 
 home in Indiana. lie was married Jul} ."id. 
 1840, in Patsey J. Knowles and at an early 
 da\ they came to Menard county, where Mr. 
 Wark entered land from the government, secur- 
 ing two hundred and forty acres, which he im- 
 proved ami made In- farm up to the time of his 
 death. When the Civil war was in progress, 
 however, he put aside all business and personal 
 considerations in order to aid bis country and
 
 '•'II 
 
 ,.■11 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 enlisted for three y< ars' ser\ ice in the Onion 
 army. At the end of thai time lie was honor- 
 ably discharged, but he returned home with im- 
 paired health and never recovered his former 
 strength. Be was active in support of all meas 
 ares for the general good and for three yen-- he 
 served on the school board as a director. His 
 political allegiance was given to the Democ- 
 racy. His death occurred February 9, is;-.', 
 and his wife passed away on the 23d of March, 
 L883. They were the parents of the following 
 children, who are now living : Lueilla E., who 
 resides upon the old home farm; Joseph, of 
 Menard county : Jesse K.. also on the home 
 farm; Marion, who is now living in Barton 
 county, Missouri; Mrs. Gleason; and Mrs. Em- 
 ily ( ). Perry, of < tklahoma. 
 
 The home of Mr. and Mrs. Gleason has been 
 blessed with two children: [da E., who was 
 born September 19, LS1 1, and is now the wife 
 of Michael Dorgan; and Rosa M.. who was born 
 June 16, L892. Mr. and Mrs. Gleason have a 
 wide acquaintance in Menard county, where 
 they have so long resided, and their many ster- 
 ling traits of character have made them popu- 
 lar with a large circle of friends. 
 
 (VIMS J. VIi DOEL. 
 \m mam years after the landing of the Pil- 
 grims our subject's ancestors were obliged to 
 flee from England ecu account of political trou- 
 ble and in company with twenty or more fam- 
 ilies sought an asylum with the people oi the 
 Massachusetts colony, settling in the- wilderness 
 the Indian- wore far more numerous 
 than the white men. In the party were four 
 brothers by the name of Varnum, two by the 
 name of Coburn. two by the nan £ East- 
 man and two others by the name of McDoel. 
 These men settled in Massachusetts, reared 
 large families, and from them descended the 
 large line of the people of those names who 
 are scattered all over the continent from Maine 
 to California. Three or four generations of 
 thorn had been reared before the Revolutionary 
 war. Our subject's ancestors took an active 
 part in subduing the rod men of the forest. 
 Two Yarniiins wore killed by the Indians while 
 exploring the Connecticut river, and Alexander 
 
 ami George McDoel were killed at the battle 
 of Plattsburg during the war of 1812. There 
 were both Varnums and MeDoels in the battle 
 of Hunker Hill, and bore a prominent part 
 in the engagement which led to Burgoyne's 
 surrender at Saratoga. The Varnums owned 
 land across the river from Lowell. Massachu- 
 setts, and also owned the fishery ai the falls 
 of the Merrimack. Hack in the eighteenth en- 
 turv Robert McDoel was married to Mercy Var- 
 num, thus uniting the descendants of the fam- 
 ilies of two of the men who had fled to Amer- 
 ica together four generations previously. Rob- 
 ert McDoel was born in Massachusetts and his 
 wife in New Hampshire. Unto this couple was 
 horn a son, in November, 1798, to whom they 
 gave the name of Varnum McDoel. He was a 
 first cousin of General Stark, of Revolutionary 
 fame. In 1824 Varnum McDoel married Eliz- 
 abeth Jay, at Dryden, Tompkins county, New 
 York. She was horn near Goshen, Orange 
 county, that state, in 1800. and was a daughter 
 of Captain Joshua day. a second cousin of the 
 
 dip] ai John .lav. win. signed the treaty of 
 
 peace between America and England. Mrs. 
 McDoel was a descendant of the Hollanders 
 who settled New York. 
 
 ( lyrus day McDoel. of tins review, was born 
 in Chemung county, New York, April in. 1829, 
 and i- a -mi of Varnum and Elizabeth (Jay I 
 McDoel. In L856 he removed to northwestern 
 Missouri and settled in iSTodaway county, hut 
 remained there only two years, when he came 
 to Illinois and located at Aiterberry, Menard 
 county. On the 18th of March, 1859, he was 
 joined in marriage to Caroline Robertson, who 
 was horn in New York. April 23, IS-.':',. 
 
 Mr. McDoel is a man of keen judgment, 
 shrewd business foresight and industry and 
 he has acquired a comfortable fortune, own- 
 ing a large farm in the neighborhood of Atter- 
 berry and ether lands. Several years ago he 
 purchased a line residence in Petersburg and 
 retired from the farm, living in town in ease 
 and comfort. By his ballot be supports the 
 men and measures of the Democratic party. 
 and in religious belief is a Methodist. Ik- and 
 his wife are in good health for people of their 
 age and enjoy the fruits of their former toil.
 
 MR- AND MRS. C. J. McDOEL
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MKX.YRD COUNTY 
 
 ::;;;; 
 
 No couple stand higher in the community than 
 they. 
 
 GEOEGE IT. WINTEEBAUEB. 
 
 George II. Winterbauer, classed with the 
 practical and progressive farmers of Fancy 
 Prairie township, was born in Menard county, 
 November L3, 1864, and as the family name 
 indicates is of German lineage. His father, 
 Adam Winterbauer, was born in Germany, De- 
 
 cember 1 1. L832, and came to A rica aboul 
 
 fifty-four years ago, landing at New Orleans, 
 where lie was quarantined for a time, because 
 of a cholera epidemic. Proceeding northward 
 to St. Louis, he soon afterward secured em- 
 ployment in Belleville, Illinois, at the black- 
 smith's trade, which he had learned in the fa- 
 therland. Subsequently he removed to Spring- 
 field and theme went to Petersburg, Menard 
 county. He also worked at his trade in Athens 
 and Greenview and he had a blacksmith shop 
 at the Pour Corners, cast of Alliens. Later 
 he purchased twenty acres of land near Fane] 
 Prairie, afterward added twenty-two acre- and 
 built thereon a shop and house. As he found 
 opportunity he made other purchases, securing 
 at times different tracts of twenty-eight, thirty, 
 forty, eight] and then another forty acres, 
 making in all two hundred and sixty acres of 
 line farming land, a part of which was wild 
 prairie when it came into his possession, hut 
 his labors transformed it into productive fields, 
 which bore rich harvests. lie gained his start 
 by working at the forge, hut as his financial 
 resources increased he was enabled to purchase 
 more land and he gave his attention more and 
 more io agricultural pursuits and became a 
 prosperous farmer. 
 
 It was after his arrival in Illinois thai Mr. 
 Winterbauer was married, the lady of he- choice 
 being Miss Mary Cundiff, who was horn in 
 Montgomery county, Illinois. Augusl '.'I. is:',!). 
 Twelve children were born unto them, of whom 
 eight died in youth, while two sons and two 
 daughters are yel living. Susie M.. the eldest, 
 is the wife of George W. Duncan, a resident 
 of Freeport. Kansas. George H. is the second. 
 Mary C. is the wife of Edgar Mott, formerly 
 
 of Freeport, Kansas, who owns three rundred 
 and twenty acres id' land in that slate, while 
 111 Athens he has a house and lot, and he makes 
 his home in Fancy Prairie, where he owns 
 residence property. Philip ('. married Miss 
 Catherine McMahon and is living in Menard 
 county. 
 
 To the public-school system of his native 
 county George II. Winterbauer is indebted for 
 the educational privileges which he enjoyed in 
 his youth. lie attended school in the winter 
 months and in the summer season assisted in 
 the work of the home farm. When twenty-three 
 years id' age he was married and began farm- 
 ing on his own account. On the 3d of April, 
 1888, he wedded Bridge! Coady, a daughter of 
 Peter and Catherine (Turner) Coady. Her fa- 
 ther was born in Ireland and at the age of 
 eighteen years came to this country, landing 
 at New York city. lie worked in New Jersey 
 for a time and then came to Illinois. After be- 
 ing employed by others for a brief period, he 
 began farming for himself on land which he 
 purchased in Menard county and he bought at 
 dilferent time.- until he had three hundred and 
 twenty acres, all in one body. He broke and 
 improved the greater part of this himself. 
 There are two houses upon thai farm and they 
 are occupied by two id' his sons, while Mr. 
 Coady ami his wife are residing in Athens, he 
 living a retired life. They also own six other 
 houses in Athens, which they rent, and Mix 
 Coady has three hundred and twenty acres of 
 land in Kansas, on which one of his sons is liv- 
 ing. Unto him and his wife were horn fifteen 
 children, and four sons and four daughters are 
 yet living: .lames, who married Anna Gleason 
 and resides in Logan county; Mary Ann. ilia 
 wife of Alex Gigoux, of Kansas; Mrs. Winter- 
 bauer: John, who married Emma Bellmay and 
 resides in Kansas; Michael, who married Mary 
 Murray and lives on the old homestead; Anna. 
 twin sister id' Michael and the wife ,>( Ben- 
 jamin W'allsi nil L . of Menard county; Peter, 
 who married Margaret Gleason and is living mi 
 the old homestead; and Katie, who is the wife 
 of James Coughlin, of Sangamon county. 
 
 Mr. Winterbauer, at the time of his marriage, 
 began farming mi one hundred and sixty acres 
 of land and for many years (here carried on
 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 gem nil farming and stock-raising \\ ith good 
 .i h , ess. Hi' now tias forty acres of Land in 
 liis home place, and, his old home having been 
 destroyed by fire, March '.'. LS92, he has built 
 a nice modern residence, which he now occupies. 
 He 11I-" has one hundred and sixty acres of land 
 in Kansas, which brings to him a good rental. 
 The home of Mr. and Mrs. Winterbauer has 
 been bh ssed with seven children : John P., 
 born Jul} LS, L8S9; Andrew A., hum Decem- 
 ber 11. L891; Maggie, who was born March 5, 
 iv.n. .-in,! died on the 11th of the same month; 
 George II.. born April 17.. 1895; Adam, born 
 September 16, I89"t ; Katie F., born F( bruary 
 11. 1900; and William I... horn August 5, 1902. 
 hi his fraternal relations Mr. Winterbauer is 
 
 a Modern W Iman, belonging to Main camp, 
 
 So. •"<'. , •.' I. of which he is a charter member. He 
 rotes with the Democrat and gives unfaltering 
 supporl to ii- principles. At this writing, in 
 the fall of 1904, he is serving as clerk of the 
 school board. Se is a worthy citizen of his 
 native county. In his business he is reliable 
 and in other relations of life manifests man' 
 commendable traits, so thai his friendship is 
 valued, and in the regard of his fellow men he 
 holds an enviable position. 
 
 GEORGE R. BLAIN. 
 
 Georgi Ii'. Blain, interested in general farm- 
 ing and successfully conducting his business 
 -. was born on the old family homestead 
 in Menard i mum . February 8, 1861. I h 
 son of William and Ann (McCrudden) Blain, 
 both of whom are natives of Ireland, whence 
 the) emigrated to Canada, and about a half 
 century ago they took up their abode in Menard 
 count)', where the) spent their remaining days. 
 In their famih were four children, two sons 
 and two daughters, William J., a resident of 
 this count}'; Annie, who died at the agi of 
 twenty years; George R.; and Matilda J., the 
 wife nl Frank Denton, a resident of Conway, 
 Throughout his business career the la- 
 ther carried on his agricultural pursuits and 
 was classed with the respected and substantial 
 farmers of Menard county, enjoying the warm 
 friendship and high regard of many. He died 
 
 October 19, 1902, and his wife, surviving him 
 almost a year, passed awa) on the 13th of Octo- 
 ber, 1903. 
 
 I "mler i ne parental roof I lei irge R. Bla i □ was 
 reared and his boyhood days were passed in the 
 usual manner of farmer lads of that peril 
 He attended the public schools during the ses- 
 sions and in the periods oi vacation he assisted 
 in the work of the farm, thus gaining a prac- 
 tical knowledge of the business which he iias 
 made his life work. II" continued to assist his 
 father until after he had attained his majority 
 and later they were associated in business to- 
 gether until the father'- death. He still resides 
 upon the old homestead and is now farming 
 two hundred and twenty acres of land. His 
 fields are well tilled, yielding to him rich har- 
 vests, and he is also engaged in the rais ug o 
 cattle, hogs and horses for the market. This 
 branch of his business is likewise profitable 
 
 and he now secures a g 1 financial return each 
 
 year for his untiring and well managed labors. 
 
 On the 20th of August, 1902, Mr. Blain was 
 united in marriage to Miss Susie Graham, a 
 daughter of Robert and Sarah (Goodpasture) 
 Graham, both of whom are still living in Me- 
 nard county. The father was born in Ireland 
 in 1821 and in early life came to the United 
 states. In Lllinois he was married to Miss 
 Goodpasture, whosi birth neeiirred in this state 
 in 1840. For a Long period he engaged in ag- 
 ricultural pursuits, but during the past four 
 vears he has lived retired in the enjoymenl of 
 bis former toil. Tut" Mr. and Mrs. Graham 
 have been born sis children, but three of the 
 number died in early childhood, and the others 
 are Lizzie, qow the wile nl' James Burrus, who 
 is living mar Greenview, Menard county; Mol- 
 lis, a resident "1 Athens, this county; and Mrs. 
 Blain. who b) her marriage ha- become tin 
 mother of "lie daughter. Erma, horn on the 
 27th of -Inly. 1903. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Blain air members of the 
 Cumberland Presbyterian church and are in- 
 terested in its work and in the moral develop- 
 ment of the community. In fait, their influ- 
 ence is ever mi the side "I' right, justice, reform 
 and progress. In hi- political views Mr. Blain 
 is a Republican, having always supported tin:' 
 party since casting hi- first presidential bal-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT! 335 
 
 lot, lint lir never seeks or desires office, pre- when hostilities were over and the stars and 
 Eerring to concentrate his energies upon liis stripes were Boating triumphantly over whal 
 business affairs, which, being capably con- had been the capital of the Southern Con- 
 ducted, are new bringing to him desirable pros- federaey, be received an honorable discharge 
 perity. on the 3d of August, L865. To the defenders 
 
 of the Union the country owes a debi of grati- 
 tude which can never be paid, and the name of 
 Mr. Beekman is upon the roll of honored dead 
 
 JOHN T. BEEKMAN. „-|, ,„],, creditable records as soldiers of the 
 
 John T. Beekman, now deceased, was for Civil war. 
 
 many years .1 respected and worthy citizen of The war over, Mr. Beekman returned to his 
 
 Menard county and was also an honored vet- home. He was married on the 7th of February, 
 
 eran of the Civil war. He possessed many ster- 1m;;. to Miss Sarah C. Coll. v. a daughter of 
 
 ling traits of character that gained him the Jonathan and Lydia (Ingalls) Colby. She was 
 
 - I will and confidence of those with whom the third in order of birth in then- family of 
 
 he was associated and his memory 1- yel held sis children: William Davis, who lives in Gi a 
 dear by those who knew him. eseo, Henry county, Illinois; Mar; P., who re- 
 Mr. Beelanan was born at Clary's Grove, sides in Petersburg township; Mrs. Beekn 
 Menard county, on the 88th of March, 1843, a Henry Herriek, who resides upon a farm bor- 
 son of William T. and Man (Spears) Beek- dering Rock creek; Lydia Maria, who married 
 man. The father was a native of N T e« Jersey II. P. Rucker and resides in Boston, Massa- 
 and was of German descent, while the Spears chusetts; and George Grovenor, who is re- 
 family was of English lineage and formerly siding upon the old borne farm. Mrs. Bee! 
 
 lived in Virginia. The maternal grandmother man was educated in the county scl Is, in 
 
 oi Mr. Beekman was in her maidenhood Eliza- Petersburg and at Indian Point, having good 
 
 beth Todd. William T. Beekman removed educational privileges. By her marriage she 
 
 |V Nl '" Jersey to Illinois in L836, settling at ;ame the mother of lour children: Lucy 
 
 Clan'- Grove, where he purchased land and Maria is the wife of Thomas M. Robertson, and 
 
 be gan t'" 1 developmenl of a farm. Later he they reside with her mother. They have three 
 
 removed to Petersburg, subsequently again en- children— Harris M., eleven years of a<*e; 
 
 gaged in farming, and still later he took up Ins Arthur B., aged eighl Mar-: and John T.. who 
 
 abode in Petersburg, where he continued to re- died in infancy. Flora Bell, Mrs. Beekman's 
 
 side lnr r " m }' ears - —ml daughter, died in infancy. Francis ln- 
 
 ln his parents' home John T. Beekman spent -alls also died in infancy. .1. Colby Beekman 
 
 tll( ' da J s " r nis boyhood and youth, and his married Kate ]-;. Golden and resides uj a 
 
 preliminary education, acquired in the public farm north of his mother's I te. 
 
 scl k " ;l " su PPie Qted by study in Jack- Mr. Beekman was a charter member ,,r the 
 
 sonville College, lie was bu1 nineteen years Enights of Pythias fraternity and maintained 
 
 " r a g e " l "'"- prompted by a spirit of patriot- pleasanl relations with his old army comrades 
 
 • |M ' '"' offered In- services to the governmenl through bis membership in the Grand Army 
 
 111 defense of the Union, enlisting in the One of the Republic, being one f the founders of 
 
 Hundred and Fourteenth Minois [nfantry as the ,,,,-t at Tallula. Hi- political views wen 
 
 ;l sergeant, lie wenl through the war without in accord with the principles of the Republican 
 
 ;l wound, although he participated in a num- party, to which he gave an unfaltering supporl 
 
 ber of important engagements and was often in and he belonged to the Baptisl church,of which 
 
 the thickesl of the gght. lie was in the bat- In- wido-n is also a member. After his return 
 
 tie- of Vicksburg, Wyatts, Pocahontas, Tupelo, from the war he continuously followed farm 
 
 Oldtown Creel. Waterford, Blue Creek, Nash- ing until In- death, which occurred July in. 
 
 ville and the siege of Mobile. He never fal- L888, hi- remains being interred a1 Rosehill 
 
 tered in the performance of any duty, and cemetery. He had ever been found trustworthy
 
 336 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OE MENARD COUNT"? 
 
 in his business transactions and Ins farming 
 interests were carried on systematically ami 
 carefully, so that he became the possessor of a 
 good and well improved property. His friends 
 found him faithful, his enmity knew him a- a 
 loyal citizen, hut his best traits were reserved 
 for his home and Family, and In- wife and chil- 
 dren found in him a devoted husband and 
 father. 
 
 W. A. MUDD, M. D. 
 
 l)r. \V. A. Mudd, whose careful and con- 
 scientious preparation for the practice of medi- 
 cine has enabled him to perform most valu- 
 able service in behalf of his fellow men in 
 the line of his profession, is now practicing 
 in Athens. He was born near Greensburg, 
 Green county, Kentucky, January 1!'. 1847, and 
 is a son of Dr. Henrj 1.. and Arabella Simpson 
 (Cass) Mudd, who were also natives of Ken- 
 tucky, the former horn in Lebanon, February 
 11. 1809, and the latter in Winchester, Clark 
 county, Kentucky, on the 7th of April, 1816. 
 The father was a graduate of Transylvania 
 University of Lexington, Kentucky, with the 
 .das- of 1832, and was a classmate of Profes- 
 sor L. 1'. Yandell, Sr. Following the comple- 
 tion of his course of study he practiced medi- 
 cine in Kentucky lor many years, hut at length 
 mired from active connection with his pro- 
 fession in Louisville in 1870. Hi- death oc- 
 curred in the state of his nativity. July 30, 
 1880. and his wife passed away at the home 
 of her son. Dr. Mudd. in Athens, Illinois. 
 March 1. 1889. Dr. Henry Mudd was a school- 
 mate ami cousin of Abraham Lincoln ami the 
 strong friendship which sprang up between 
 them in their boyhood days continued through- 
 out their after life. During the period of the 
 Civil war President Lincoln offered to Dr. 
 Mudd anything that he desired, hut the hit- 
 ler's icph was that all he wished was to lie 
 Left at home and his property protected,, and 
 this was done. 
 
 Dr. W. A. Mudd acquired his early education 
 in private schools in Lebanon, Kentucky, after- 
 ward attended the Tales Seminary of that city 
 in 1862, and in 1862 and 1863 was in Geth- 
 
 semane, Kentucky, where he was located at the 
 time Bragg's army marched through. In 
 1865-6 he was at St. Mary's and he afterward 
 attended the high school at Louisville, Ken- 
 tucky, and the Hollingsworth & Johnston Com- 
 mercial College, pursuing his studies there m 
 the night sessions. During the daytime he at- 
 tended led ure- in the university at Louisville 
 and war- graduated in medicine on the 1-t of 
 March. 1870. He afterward received practi- 
 cal training in the City Hospital, having been 
 elected interne in 1869. He was married on 
 the 21st of September, L870, to Miss Mary 
 Virginia Merrell, a native of Lexington, Ken- 
 tucky, and she passed with him through all the 
 vicissitudes which usually attend a young phy- 
 sician. They located at New Haven. Ken- 
 tucky, where he was engaged in practice until 
 August. 1872, when they came to Illinois, es- 
 tablishing their home at Buffalo Hart. Sanga- 
 mon county. 
 
 (in the 30th of March. 1875, Dr. Mudd re- 
 moved from that place to Woodstock. McHenry 
 county, where he resided until 1877, when he 
 went to Greenview, Menard county, locating 
 there on the 7th of November. He continued 
 a member of the medical profession of that 
 city until the 2d of April, 1883, when he came 
 to Athens, win re he has now been located for 
 twenty-one years and throughout this period 
 has maintained an enviable position in the 
 foremost ranks of the representatives of the 
 medical fraternity in Menard county. He is 
 a member of the County Medical Society, the 
 Brainard District Medical Society, the State 
 Medical Societ} mid the American Medical 
 Association and has been the president of the 
 second named. Through the interchange of 
 thought and experience in the conventions of 
 these organizations he has added largely to 
 his knowledge and reading and investigation 
 have also promoted his efficiency so that he 
 has kept in touch with modern thought con- 
 cerning medical prael ice. 
 
 In 1884 Dr. Mudd was called upon to mourn 
 the loss of In- first wife, who died on the 13th 
 of August that year, at the age of thirty-two, 
 leaving one son. William W.. who was horn 
 in Buffalo Hart. Illinois. April 0. 1814. On 
 the 7th of May, 1891, Dr. Mudd was again
 
 ' 1/ '/
 
 PAST AM) I'KKSENT OF MLWAKD COUNTS 
 
 339 
 
 married, his second union being with Mary 
 A. Daily, of Kentucky, born November 28, 
 L866 Their children are Lawrence A., who 
 died July 21, 1895, at the age of eleven 
 months; Carrie V.. who was born November 
 ;. I mi."., and died February 1!). 1896; Zepha 
 Eloise, born April L9, L897; Opha Josephine, 
 bom J une 29, 1 900 ; and I [enry Leo, boi n 
 .lime ii. 1903. The parents are members of 
 the church of the H0I3 Family at Athens. 
 For man) years tie 1 Doctor labored hard to 
 secure a Catholic church at this place ami con- 
 tributed liberally to the erection of the house 
 "I' worship, lie has served as treasurer ami 
 trustee of the church since May, L903. In 
 politics he is a Democrat, hut has always re- 
 in-''! public office, though he consented i<> 
 .serve as alderman Eot several years. While 
 interested in public affairs ami co-operating in 
 so far as possible in support of movements for 
 the genera] good, Dr. Mudd finds that the 
 greater part of his time and at tent inn is 
 claimed by his practice, which is of an exten- 
 sive and important character and his work in 
 behalf of his fellowmen has made his services 
 in the world of great value. 
 
 JOHN E. MUNDY. 
 
 In taking up the personal history of John 
 E. Mundy we presenl to our leaders the life 
 record of a prosperous, intelligent and enter- 
 prising farmer of township 19. He was born 
 in Xcw Jersey, duly 13, 1851, bul for more than 
 a half century has resided in Illinois and is 
 thoroughly interested in the middle west, its 
 progress and improvement. His parent- were 
 Isaac ami Calherine Mundy, who came to this 
 state about fifty-three pears ago, locating in 
 Tazewell county, where the father carried on 
 general fanning and stock-raising through- 
 out his remaining days. Ee died in 1866, 
 respected by all who knew him. In his family 
 were eight children: E. !?., who was born 
 July 12, 1836, and is living in Lincoln. Illi- 
 nois ; Asenatb T.. who was bom November 8, 
 1838, and died in 1901: Sarah J., who was 
 born June 2s. 1840, and is the wife of R. Hill, 
 of Oregon: dames W., who was born November 
 
 I. L842, and is a resident of Lincoln. [Uinois; 
 Martha .1.. who was bom December lie L843, 
 and became the w ife of 1 taniel ( 'ompton, hut 
 died in 1 SDH : .lend ma. w 1 11 1 was horn November 
 Is. L846, and is the wife of Dr. Maston, of 
 Elkhart, Illinois: Mary E., who was horn 
 April I. ls|s. and is the wife of Joseph Worth, 
 nf St. Louis, Missouri; and John E., who com- 
 pletes the family. 
 
 I luring his infancy John E. Mundy was 
 broughl to Illinois by his parents and at the 
 age of eight years he went to live with his 
 
 eldest sister, with wh he remained for about 
 
 five or sis years, lie afterward made his home 
 with Mr. Lyman, an arrangement being entered 
 upon whereby he was to receive three months' 
 schooling and his hoard and clothing in com- 
 pensation for Ins services upon the farm, lie 
 continued with Mr. Lyman for about five years 
 and then began working by the month as a 
 farm hand, being thus employed until he rented 
 a trail of land, lie continued to operate a 
 farm, which lie leased until about five years 
 ago. 
 
 In I ss 1 Mr. Mundy was united in marriage 
 to Miss Rebecca F. Walker, a daughter id' 
 Joseph ami Sarah (Mundy) Walker. Her fa- 
 ther was born in Adair county*, Kentucky, No- 
 vember 7, L818, and in 1830 became a resident 
 of frish Grove, Menard county, where In re- 
 sided continuously until his death. A man 
 of sterling honesty ami upright character, he 
 commanded the respect of all with whom he 
 
 ca ill contact. In his boyhood days he joined 
 
 the Presbyterian church in Kentucky and re- 
 man mil a consistent member throughout the 
 entire period of his earthly career, exempli- 
 fying in his life tin 1 nobler virtues which are 
 inculcated by Christianity. In his home there 
 reigned a spirit of quiel contentmeni and hos- 
 pitality. Me was faithful in the performance of 
 all 1- duties, whether of citizenship, of business 
 lit' or in I he home circle. 1 n early manhood 
 he wedded Miss Sarah A. Mundy, who was horn 
 August 13, IS-. 1 :',. The wedding ceremony was 
 performed at Middletown by Squire Colby 
 Knapp, on the 30th of April. 1846, ami they 
 traveled life's journey happily together for 
 about fourteen years, when on the 24th of 
 April. L860, Mrs. Walker was called to her
 
 340 
 
 AST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 final home. Like her husband, she had shared 
 in the high regard of many Eriends who es- 
 teemed her highly for her many exeelli n1 traits 
 of heari and mind. Mr. Walker, long surviving 
 his wife, passed awa\ al his home in [rish 
 Grove, August 6, 1899, al the age of eighty 
 years and nine months, and the funeral serv- 
 ices held in the Presbyterian church at Irish 
 Grove were conducted by Rev. ('. E. Kalb. In 
 spite of inclement weather, the church was 
 filled by a large number of relatives and friends, 
 who thus testified their respect to the deceased 
 and their sympathy for the bereaved family. 
 Thus passed awaj one of the honored pioneer 
 
 residents of the comity and one whose mei y 
 
 will long be enshrined in the hearts of those 
 who knew him. In the Walker family were five 
 daughters and one son. Marietta, born Augusl 
 25. 1847, i- now the wife of Dr. S. T. Hurst, 
 of Greenview, Illinois. Alice, born April 26, 
 1849, is now tho wife of George T. Gibbs, and 
 resides on the old Walker homestead. Rebecca 
 I-'., born < October 27, 1851, is the w ife of our 
 subject. Henry W., born November '■). 1854, 
 died A|n il 19, is:.:,. A, bin II.. born March ii. 
 1856, is the youngest living member of the 
 family. Our child died in infancy . 
 
 Mr. ami Mrs. Mundy have a lino farm of 
 eight} acres, on which is a now residence which 
 was erecti cl only two years ago. I I is surround- 
 ed with fine shade and fruit trees and the home 
 i- ,iii raci ive in appearance ami gives f< idem e 
 of tho careful supervision of Mr. Mundy. Ho 
 is a member of the Baptisl church at Lincoln, 
 ami his wife i- a consistenl member of the 
 Presbyterian church. In politics ho is inde- 
 pendent, voting for principle rather than party. 
 lb- has led a diligent life, characterized by 
 honorable dealing, ami ho well merits the pros- 
 perity thai lie is now cnjo\ ing. 
 
 WALLACE WASHINGTON POSEY REED. 
 
 Many evi ats familiar in W. W. P. Reed be- 
 cause "f bis long residence in Menard county 
 arc to other citizens of this state merely mat- 
 ters of history. Ho has witnessed the greater 
 pan nf the development ami upbuilding "I 
 this localitv, for he casl in his |oi here in early 
 
 pioneer days, lie was born in DuBois county, 
 Indiana, December 20, L823, and is tin- second 
 in a family of twelve children, born unto [saa 
 ami Winnie Morgan (Spears) Reed. Hi- pa- 
 rents were natives of Kentucky, hut at an early 
 period in the developrnenl of Indiana became 
 residents of thai stale. 
 
 W. W. I'. R I was reared ami educated in 
 
 Indiana, spending his boyhood days there amid 
 the environments of pioneer life. Imt at the 
 age of twenty-three years lie came to Menard 
 county, thus entering upon an independent busi- 
 ness career. He received no pecuniary assist- 
 ance, hut ho possessed strong courage ami res- 
 olute purpose ami upon tin- as a foundation 
 lie has built the superstructure of his success. 
 He first ocean working for F. D. Powers and 
 afterward he returned to Indiana, whore he 
 was employed as superintendent of a gang of 
 men working mi the Evansville & Terre Haute 
 Railroad. There ho continued for three years 
 ami as the result of his industry and economy 
 he accumulated the capital that enabled him 
 to purchase forty acres of land. He then re- 
 turned to Menard county and invested his 
 money in a tract which proved the nucleus o! 
 extensive farming in ton sts. 
 
 On the 24th of January, 1856, Mr. Reed was 
 united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Lanter- 
 inan. who was born Mav IV. 1836, and unto 
 them were born four children: Winnie, whoso 
 birth occurred December is. 1856; Charles 11.. 
 lorn Juno 3, 1S58 ; A. J., bom March 30, 
 1860; ami Charlotte T.. born Augusl 25, 1862. 
 Tic wife ami mother died at the birth of her 
 voungesi child ami on the 10th of September. 
 1863, Mr. Reed was again married, his second 
 :n o: being with Mrs. Elizabeth Wilcox, who 
 was born August 15, 1835, and is a daughter of 
 George and Man Curry. There are three chil- 
 dren by this marriage: Eleanor Francos, born 
 July 15, 1864; (hoi-, <"'.. April 0. 1866; and 
 Wallace M., Angus! 25, 1875. 
 
 At the time of his first marriage Mr. "Reed 
 was engaged in general farming ami is now 
 the owner of a good tract of land well im- 
 proved, which he has acquired through his 
 ,.un labor-, lie worked bard ami persistently, 
 however, to gain this and he certainly deserves 
 much credit for what be has accomplished. In
 
 Ml!. AND MRS. \\. \V. P. REED.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTI 343 
 
 Indiana his father lived on whai is known as tion of their hopes. Returning to Bath county, 
 thi' Polk patch, once the home of Abraham there were four children born to them during 
 Lincoln. At an early day Mr. Reed drove Mr. their residence there and subsequently l\\<\ 
 Lincoln three different times from Springfield established their home on the Fleming county 
 to Petersburg to hold court. He hauled lumber side of the Licking river, where three children 
 to build the first railroad in Springfield and in were born unto them. In the fall of L826 they 
 many other ways lias been identified with the removed In Sangamon county, Illinois, becom- 
 early beginning of central Illinois, iis devel- ing pioneer residents of (ho state, 
 opment and progress. He was elected and Carlisle II. Canterbury, the father of Charles 
 served a.- judge of the Indian Creek precinct F. Canterbury, was born December 5, 1814, in 
 for sixteen years and liis father was one of the Bath county, Kentucky, and at the age of 
 firsl election judges id' Menard county. Fra- twelve years was brought by his parents to this 
 ternally Mr. Reed is a member of Greenview state. After reaching adult age he was mar- 
 lodge, Mo. 653, A. I' 1 . & A.M. He has passed ried on the 11th of August, 1836, to Miss Emily 
 
 the eighty-firsl milestm n lite'- journey and Morgan, who "was born in Sangamon county 
 
 Looking hack over the past he recalls vividly They had thirteen children, four of whom died 
 
 the conditions which existed in Menard county when less than six years of age. Of the other 
 
 at the time of his arrival here. Hi- mind nine, Asa married Margaret England, who lives 
 
 hears the picture of a largely unsettled dis- m Ford county. Illinois; Sarah married Wil- 
 
 triet. the homes being widely scattered, for liam Fuquay and also resides in Ford county; 
 
 much of the land was still unimproved. lie William M., \vl nlisted in August, 1861, for 
 
 bore a helpful part in the agricultural devel- three years' service in the Union Army as a 
 
 opment of the count) and in his business deal- member of Company F, Twenty-eighth ln- 
 
 ings was found reliable and trustworthy, while fantry, was taken ill > i after he left Camp 
 
 in all life's relations he gained the respect of Butler and died at Camp Holt. Kentucky. No- 
 
 his fellow men by hi.- genuine worth. vember 7, 1861; Ruth A. is the wife of William 
 
 II. II. Holland; Oliver P. resides in Sangamon 
 county; Charles F. is the next younger; New- 
 ton C. resides neai 1 Petersburg; Lincoln (I. re- 
 
 CHARLES F. CANTERBURY. <j,|,. s in Buffalo, Wyoming; and Laura 
 
 Charles F. Canterbury, a well known and E. is the wife of John Evans, a resident of 
 
 worthy representative of agricultural interests Victor. Colorado. 
 
 in Menard county, was horn within the borders Charles F. Canterbury is indebted to the 
 of this county, August 6, L858, and is a son id' district-school system of Menard county for 
 Carlisle II. and Emily (Morgan) Canterbury, the early educational privileges winch he en- 
 llis paternal grandfather, Asa Canterbury, was joyed. Subsequently he attended Hie Spring- 
 born in England, March ;. 1788, and lost his Held Business College, and after his return to 
 lather in early boyhood. His mother afterward the home farm he assisted his father in ils cul- 
 removed to Bath county. Kentucky, where he tivation until iwentv-nne years of age, when he 
 was reared and there he was married to Miss assumed the entire management. Me then con- 
 Pegg\ llornhack. who was horn February (i. tinned the worlc of general farming upon the 
 1791, and resided in Fleming county. Ken- old home place until 1899, when lie went to 
 tucky, on the opposite side of Licking river Los Angeles. California, lie afterward spent 
 from Hath county. As there was parental op- one year in Buffalo, Wyoming, where he was 
 
 position to their marriage, the \ ig couple engaged in the sheep business. Me purchased 
 
 made their way to Aberdeen, Ohio, and there ; , fiock of three thousand head of sleep and on 
 
 their wedding was celebrated. As no license selling out after two years he had over four 
 
 was required in (thin at that time, a marriage thousand head. In the first year he had also 
 
 could he solemnized o n short notice .-mil many sold fourteen hundred head and in the second 
 
 runaway couple- there secured the consul a- war live hundred and fourteen, clearing from
 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 these sales in the two years a sum of six thou- 
 sand, four hundred and seventy-nine dollars 
 and fifty-six cents. After disposing of his 
 sheep Mr. Canterbury returned to Athens and 
 is now conducting his farm, which is pleasantly 
 located two and a hall miles southeast of the 
 town, it comprises two hundred and twenty 
 acres of very rich ami productive land, consti- 
 tuting one of the best improved farms in the 
 nty. Everything about the place is neal 
 and thrifty in appearance and indicates the 
 careful supervision of a practical and progres 
 ive owner. He also owns a valuable residence 
 propi rty in Buffalo, Wyoming. 
 
 i in the 18th of December, ISS4, Mr. Canter- 
 bury was married to Miss Anna Primm, a 
 daughter of Carlin and Maria (Hurt) Primm. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Canterbury have i ie the par- 
 ents of sis children: Maud, who dud in ! ss i 
 at the age "i two years: Carl, who was born in 
 Dei imber, 1887, and died in 1888 at the agi 
 of eight months: Lura May, born December 
 :>. I-"".', and is at home; Ruth Mildred, who 
 was born August '.'1. 1891 : Margaret, who was 
 horn dnnr 19, 1901; and Charles I'.. born May 
 8, 1904. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Canterbury give thi 
 a ance to evi ry movement which tends to pro- 
 te the moral development of their com- 
 munity. II.' i- a member of the i tiristian 
 church, while his wife holds membership in the 
 VIethodist Episcopal church. He i> a Repub- 
 lican, ha- served a- a member of the school 
 ioard and is identified with Social lodge, 
 \". I'.' I. 1\. 1'. In his business career he has 
 manifested strong purpose and laudable ambi- 
 tion and careful tnanagi tnent, and tn reason of 
 -.■ qualities ho has gradually worked In- way 
 upward to a posit ii m of affluence. 
 
 I. (His PIERSOIS 
 
 Louis Pierson, win. i- engaged in the sale of 
 wines and liquors in Greenview, was born in 
 Sweden, December 13, 1854, his parents being 
 Peter and Sophia Pierson. The father i> still 
 living in Sweden and mi the 10th of March, 
 1904, passed the eighty-fourth milestone on 
 
 In.'- journey. Throughout his business career 
 he ha- I. een engaged in the construction of 
 thatch roofs in the summer seasons and in the 
 winter months he has made baskets for holding 
 grain at the time the seed i- being sown. He 
 lost his wife when -he wa- forty-eight years of 
 age. They were the parents of four children, 
 two -..n- ami two daughters, all of whom are 
 living with the exception of the elder daugh- 
 ter, who died at the age of live years. 
 
 Lotus Pierson wa- reared in Ins native coun- 
 try and attended its public schools, but his 
 educational privileges were limn.. I. as it was 
 necessary that he provide for his own support 
 from an early age, and whatever success he has 
 achieved through hi- business career has come 
 a- the direct result of hi- labor and dill _ 
 II. wa- thirty-two years of age when he cam.' to 
 Menard county, arriving on the 17th o VI 
 l»;. He began working for Andrew Gaddie, 
 by whom he was employed for four months and 
 thirteen dai -. after which hi entered th 
 ploy of the Chicago & Alton Railroad * om 
 pany. He I egan work at the coal shaf I ! 
 l.er 15, 1887, and continued in that line of 
 business until May 5, 1896, when he made ar- 
 rangement to go into business on his own ac- 
 count and on the loth of June op -aloon 
 in Athens. There he remained until the 28tl 
 of June, 1898, when he .am. to Greei 
 where he has sinci conducted a saloon wit! 
 stantly growing succi --. 
 
 in, the 12th of Si pt< mber, L899, Mr. P 
 son was united in marriage to Miss Mar] W. 
 Pierson, a .laughter of David and Julia (Lun- 
 delins i Pierson, I oth of whom were natn so 
 Swed. ii. the former horn December 31, IS 13, 
 and the latter November 10, IS 12. They were 
 man ie,| in Sweden and are now living in Me- 
 nard county, where the father i- engagei 
 farming ami stock-raising. They hold mem- 
 bership in the Swedish Lutheran church. In 
 their family are five children, a son and four 
 daughters, of whom only two are now- living: 
 Mrs. Louis Pierson, Lorn March 25, is;:.; and 
 I; i (... horn January 31, 1879, and now a 
 resident of Menard county. Our subject and 
 his wife have three children: Earl 1... horn 
 July 13, 1900; Harold T.. horn February 18, 
 L902 : and Conrad J., horn Februarv 15, 1904.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT 01 
 
 [ENAKD CO! MY 
 
 ::i: 
 
 All have been baptized in the Swedish Lutheran 
 ■huivh. 
 
 Mr. Pierson became a charter member of the 
 Knights of Pythias lodge at Athens on the 6th 
 of April, L893. In politics he is independent, 
 rating for the man whom he thinks best quali- 
 fied for office. Since coming to tins county he 
 has steadily progressed in Ins business career 
 and he has manifested the diligence and per- 
 severance so characteristic of people of his 
 n.-ii ionalil v. 
 
 F.I.I.IAII .1. ARMSTRONG. 
 
 Elijah J. Armstrong, whose valuable prop- 
 erty of six hundred and eighty-five acres is 
 the visible evidence of his life of thrift, labor 
 and enterprise, was born Jul] 18, 1841, in Jas- 
 per county, Missouri, near the city of Carthage, 
 his parents being Ryal and Allie (Jones) Arm- 
 strong. The father was of Scotch-Irish and the 
 mother of Welsh lineage. ID was a farmeT of 
 Tennessee, from which state he removed to 
 Kentucky, and in 1828 came to Menard county, 
 Illinois, when n was a pioneer district, prior to 
 the winter of the deep snow, memorable in the 
 histoi v of this state. He lived lirst near Lit- 
 tle Grove and afterward neat- Concord church. 
 In April, 1840, he removed to Jasper county, 
 Missouri, where he purchased a farm, becom- 
 ing the owner of a large trad of land. Later 
 he sold thai propert] with the intention of re- 
 turning to Illinois, Imt became ill and died 
 before carrying out this plan. IDs widow re- 
 turned to Menard county aliout 1847, bringing 
 with her her eight children. She then pur- 
 chased a small farm, now owned by Henry 
 Shirding and upon this place she reared her 
 family. John, the eldest, was a farmer, but in 
 his later life lived retired in Council Bluffs, 
 Iowa, where his death occurred. lie left a 
 widow and seven children. Eliza is the widow 
 of Isaac M. Watkins and lives with her daugh- 
 ter Mrs. Joseph Bailey. Emeline is the third 
 of the family. Bowling 0. died in childhood. 
 Nancy Ann became the wife of Henry Ott and 
 they removed to the west. Robert L. married 
 a Miss Jenkins, who died in Texas, while his 
 death occurred near Guthrie, Oklahoma. Tin \ 
 
 had seven children, tour boys and three girls. 
 Elijah J. was the seventh of the family. Mary 
 J. became the w tfe of Nelson R. Wat bins, of 
 San Marcial, JSfevi Mexico, a miner and pros- 
 pector. They have three sons and three daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 Elijah J. Armstrong pursued a c >n- 
 
 school education in Menard county and began 
 bis business life by working on a farm by the 
 month, mm ing from fifteen to eighteen dol- 
 lars a month for his service. It was Ins ambi- 
 tion to become a landowner and he lirst pur- 
 chased forty acres of swamp land, borrowing 
 the money from William Watkins, heller known 
 as "Fiddler Bill Watkins."' Air. Armstrong 
 then began farming in the spring of 1860. On 
 the 20th of September of the same year he was 
 married, thus gaining a companion and help- 
 mate for life's journey, lie wedded Susannah 
 Watkins, a daughter of Samuel Watkins. a 
 representative of one id' the oldest, best known 
 and most prominent families id' this part of 
 the -tate. The young couple began their do- 
 mestic life upon «a farm and here they con- 
 tinued to live, laboring earnesth together, and 
 as the years passel they prospered. Their 
 lirst home was a log cabin, with a stick chim- 
 ney daubed with clay, and clay was placed in 
 the chink- between the logs. There was just 
 one door and lour windows and the house wa> 
 covered with clapboards. Later Mr. Armstrong 
 envied another house, which is still standing 
 north of his present residence. The second 
 dwelling was a frame structure, sixteen h\ 
 eighteen feet, hut it in turn was replaced by a 
 more commodious ami modern residence. He 
 has also made other substantial improvements 
 and has added to hi- original farm from time 
 lo time until his landed possessions now aggre 
 gate six hundred and eighty-five acres. This is 
 indicative of a life of earnest toil, strong pur- 
 pose and laudable ambition. In former years 
 he worked early and late and in due course of 
 time his labors were rewarded, lie has raised 
 grain and fed cattle and the products of his 
 farm have brought to him a <mod income. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong were horn 
 nine children: » Matilda, who died at the age 
 of eighteen months: Samuel, who died when 
 about twenty-one years of age; Marv, who died
 
 346 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 in infancy; Ryal, who married Martha Skaggs, 
 
 by « h be bas five children, and is a farmer, 
 
 grain buyer and dealer in implements, living 
 in Oakford; Kitty, who died at the age of fif- 
 teen years : John, who died ai the age of twenty- 
 two years; George, who is a farmer residing 
 on the old borne place and who married Elsie 
 Davis, by whom he has a little daughter; 
 Joseph, who resides upon his father's farm, a 
 hall' mile cast of the old homo, and who mar- 
 ried Maude Maltby, by whom he has throe chil- 
 dren; and William ('.. who married Fannie 
 Boeker and lives upon his father's farm, a 
 half mile east of the homestead. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong has always been a Democrat, 
 supporting the nun and measure- of the party. 
 yet never seeking or desiring office. He be- 
 longs to the Cumberland Presbyterian church 
 and his wife was also a member of that church. 
 Her death occurred December 13, 1898, and 
 her remains were interred m Concord ceme- 
 tery. Many friends as well as her immediate 
 family mourn her loss. Mr. Armstrong has a 
 wide acquaintance in Menard county, where al- 
 most his entire life lias been passed and his 
 i lose adherence to the rules which govern in- 
 dustry and strict unswerving integrity have 
 made him not onl\ a successful, hut also highly 
 respected business man. 
 
 GEORGE C. SPEARS. 
 
 George ('. Spears, who. in his business ami 
 official life has ever been found a man of honor, 
 worthy the trust and confidence of those with 
 whom he has I een associated ami w ho is now 
 living a retired life in Tallula, was horn in 
 Green county. Kentucky, April is. L822, his 
 parents being Jacob and Letitia (Ewing) 
 Spears. The paternal grandfather, Jaeob 
 Spears. Sr., was horn in Virginia, February ?. 
 1757. His -on. Jacob Spears, was born in 
 Lincoln county, Kentucky. January IT. 1785, 
 and was married in that county on the 26th 
 of December. 1816, to Miss Letitia Ewing, who 
 was horn in Frankfort county. Kentucky. June 
 13, L799, a daughter of Baker Ewing, who 
 
 c lucted the first land office at Frankfort. 
 
 In the year 1844, .lac, I, Spears removed with 
 
 In- family to Missouri, purchasing land Ln 
 Lafayette county, where he carried on agricul- 
 tural pursuits for a number of years, lie 
 then retired to private life and spent a part of 
 
 his time in the h e of his son George C and 
 
 I he remainder of the time with his other chil- 
 dren in Missouri. Thus he lived for fifteen 
 years, hut died at the home of his son George, 
 January -I. 1865. His wife, surviving him 
 about ten years, died in Missouri, April 26, 
 1875. lie was a Whig in his political views, 
 hut never held nor desired public office. His 
 wife held membership in the Christian church. 
 In their family were five children, all of whom 
 reached mature years, hut only two are now 
 living, the sister being now the widow of 
 Augustus Keller, she resides with her daugh- 
 ters in Kansas City, Missouri, ami in Higgins- 
 ville. Missouri. 
 
 George <'. Spears began his education in a 
 log schoolhouse, which stood in the midst of 
 the forest in Green county. The teacher be- 
 lieved in the old adage. "Spare the rod and 
 spoil the child." and there were no rule- against 
 corpora] punishment in those day-. Mr. Spears 
 receiving his full share of such. His educa- 
 tional privileges were somewhat limited for in 
 his youth he largely assisted his father in the 
 operation of the home farm, remaining upon 
 tic old homestead tip to the time of his mar- 
 riage, with the exception of the period which he 
 spent in the army. He enlisted in Lafayette 
 county, Missouri. .7 tine (i. 1846, as a member 
 of the First Missouri Mounted Volunteers 
 under Colonel A. W. Donipbon. one of the 
 grandest men that ever crossed the plains. He 
 was mustered in at Fort Leavenworth and with 
 his command traveled across the plains to Santa 
 l'e. New Mexico, whence the troops were or- 
 dered to Chihuahua, Mexico. A battle oc- 
 curred at Sacramento and Mr. Spears after- 
 ward went witli his regiment to join General 
 Taylor's force- at Walnut Springs. He was 
 later at Satila ami participated in the battle 
 of Buena Vista, after which the regiment was 
 ordered home, proceeding to the hanks of the 
 Rio Grande river ami thence by boat to New 
 Orleans, where Mr. Spears was honorably dis- 
 charged. .June 26, 1848, arriving home on the 
 1th of July, after which lie resumed work on
 
 GEOKGE C. SPEAKS.
 
 MRS. GEORGE C. SPEARS.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 35] 
 
 his father's Farm. Ee is now one of the five 
 surviving members of his company which wenl 
 to the front one hundred and fourteen strong 
 and returned with ninety-two members. Four 
 are now living in Missouri. 
 
 Mr. Spears continued to assist in the cultiva- 
 tion of the home farm up to the time of his 
 marriage, which occurred December 20, 1849, 
 in Clary's Grove, Menard county, Illinois, Miss 
 Elizabeth V. Spears becoming his wife. She 
 was born in Menard county two miles northeast 
 of Tallula, January 31, 1834. Her father. 
 George Spears, was horn in Civon county. Ken- 
 tucky, March 1!). 1805, within two miles of the 
 home of our subject. He married Maria 
 Blenkenship, who was horn in Rockingham 
 county. Virginia, December 15, 1802, their 
 marriage being celebrated in Green count). 
 Kentucky. August 19, L824. They emigrated 
 to Illinois before the lands were on 
 market and settled upon the farm where 
 occurred the birth of Mrs. Spears, wife 
 of our subject. Her lather was a very 
 extensive landowner, having more than 
 twenty-one hundred acre- and he divided fifteen 
 hundred acres among his children. Upon the 
 homestead place 1 he remained until his death 
 and was then buried there, passing away August 
 22, 1892, while his wife's death occurred on 
 the 23d of June, 1878. Mary NTeeley, whose 
 sketch is given on another page of this volume. 
 was the grandmother of Mrs. George C. Spears, 
 while Mrs. Spears' mother was a cousin of ex- 
 Vice President Stephenson. Her father was a 
 Whig in his political view- and was a mem- 
 ber of the Baptist church. Mr-. George C. 
 Spears belonged to a family of live children, 
 all of whom reached adult age, while three are 
 yet living, her brother being John Q. Spears. 
 wdio is represented elsewhere in this work, while 
 her sister is Mrs. William T. Beekman. also 
 mentioned in this volume. 
 
 follow m- hi- marriage George < '. Spears 
 began farming upon the land given him by 
 his father-in-law -a tiact of three hundred 
 and twenty acres in Tallula town-hip. He 
 continued to reside there for some years and 
 he followed farming until 1894, placing his 
 farm tinder a very high state of cultivation 
 and making many excellent improvements 
 
 thereon. He was always progressive and prac- 
 tical in his methods and in his farming opera- 
 tion- met with very gratifying success. At 
 length when seventy-two years of age he de- 
 termined to put aside further business cares 
 and, retiring to private life, he established his 
 home in Tallula. where he now resides. He 
 sold his first property after improving it. He 
 had made a part id' the rails used in fencing 
 and he added many modern equipments After 
 disposing of the properly he bought one hun- 
 dred acres elsewhere ill Tallula township and 
 he also has one hundred and eighty-four acres 
 in an adjoining township, while his home in 
 Tallula is a good residence property. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Spears have been horn 
 eight children, oi whom six are living: William 
 B., born September 17, L850, married Emma X. 
 l'urkapile, and they reside upon a farm in 
 Franklin county. Kansas. They have two 
 -on-.' .1. Glen, horn January 24, L882, and 
 Richard D./born October 1, 1886. Maria 1... 
 horn March 11. 1853, is the wife of ('. W. 
 
 Green, of Homevi I. Kansas, ami they have 
 
 three living children, John Q.. Katie V. and 
 Beulah W. Man A., horn June 1.'.. L857, 
 died May 27, 1859. R. Yates, born October 
 30, 1859, married Mary V. Washburn, of 
 Marshall. Missouri, and lives upon a farm in 
 Tallula township. Henrietta <\. born Febru- 
 ary 15, 1st;:!, is the wife of Charles A. Reding 
 who is now in the revenue office at l'ekin. 
 Illinois, and they have one son, Ralph S. John 
 R., horn February L7, 1865, died Jul) 28 ; 1866. 
 George W.. horn May I. L869, is now a prac- 
 ticing dentist of Petersburg and married Flor- 
 ence Wood. Pauline B., born October 30, L870, 
 is the wife of Evens J. Watkins, a farmer re- 
 siding in Little Grove. Menard county, and 
 they have one son Robert I'.. 
 
 In hi- political views Mr. Spears was orig- 
 inalh a Whig, casting his first presidential 
 vote for Henry Clay and since the organiza- 
 
 i of the Republican party he has been one 
 
 of n- stanch champions. He became a mem- 
 ber of the Masonic fraternity in Petersburg 
 about 1865 and belongs to Clinton lodge, No. 
 19, A. I-'. & A. M.. ami also to the Royal Arch 
 chapter. for main vears he ha- been a • !• 
 voted and faithful member of the Baptist
 
 352 
 
 PAST AMi PRESENT OF MENAB.D COUNTY 
 
 church and is now serving as one of the church 
 trustees. Ee is a hale, hearty old gentleman, 
 notwithstanding his eighty-two war-, possesses 
 a genial, jovial nature and has a remarkably 
 fine voice. In years pasi his voice was most 
 wonderfully distinct and clear and he could 
 make himself heard for a distance of a quarter 
 of a mile. Alts. Spears, too, has many at- 
 tractive qualities, is a pleasing and entertain- 
 ing lady of sunny disposition. She united 
 with the Clary's Grove Baptisi church when 
 she was fifteen years old and has remained a 
 faithful and earnest worker both in church and 
 Sabbath-school, being a teacher for the pasi 
 forty years. Their home is noted for its gen- 
 erous hospitality, and they are held in highest 
 esteem by a host of warm friends throughout 
 Alenanl county. 
 
 THOMAS WILLIAMS. 
 
 Thomas Williams, new operating a g 1 
 
 farm of two hundred acres in Tallula township. 
 which belongs to Mr-. Sophia Golder, and on 
 which lie has now lived for twenty-two years. 
 was born October 30, 1846, in Laurel county. 
 near Lexington, Kentucky, his parents being 
 Campbell and Mary (Box) Williams. The 
 father's people were from Tennessee, while the 
 mother was a representative of an old North 
 Carolina family that was established in Laurel 
 county, Kentucky, at an early date. Campbell 
 Williams also removed to that county in early 
 lit',, ami became a farmer there. He was of 
 English lineage, while his wife was of G< rman 
 descent, and for a long period they remained 
 residents of Laurel county, being representative 
 farming people of their community. Their 
 family numbered five children, of whom 
 
 Tl as i- the eldest. The other- are: Sarah. 
 
 who married a Mr. Watts and resides in Laurel 
 county, Kentucky; Eliza, the deceased wife of 
 Wallace Sasser; Elijah, who married Cassie 
 Jones and died in Laurel county, Kentucky, 
 where hi- widow i- still living: and Annie, who 
 died at the age of three years. 
 
 Thomas Williams pursued his education in 
 the district schools in the county of his na- 
 tivity and remained a resident of Kentucky 
 
 until twenty-three year- of age, when iu 1869 
 he came to Illinois, settling at Pleasant Plain.-, 
 in Sangamon county. There he secured em- 
 ployment as a farm hand, working for Scott 
 (arson for six years. lie was then married 
 and began fanning on hi- own account on a 
 tract of rented land, it being the George B. 
 Welsh farm, mar Tallula, in Menard county. 
 This was in about 187"! and he continued to 
 rent for a number of year- and then with the 
 capital he had acquired through his industry 
 and perseverance he purchased one hundred 
 and seven acres of hind, which he afterward 
 -old. For twenty-two years he has occupied the 
 farm where he now resides. With character- 
 istic energy he began cultivating the fields and 
 
 now harvests g 1 crops as a reward for the 
 
 care and labor which he bestows upon the land. 
 He also raises stock and has been quite su< cess- 
 ful in both departments of his farm work. 
 
 In fs;; Air. Williams was married to Miss 
 Jennie Smith, a representative of an old Ohio 
 family, her people coming to Illinois about 
 L870. Her father purchased land in Pleasant 
 Plains. Sangamon count}', and there -he re- 
 mained up to the time of her marriage. The 
 home of Air. and Airs. Williams has been 
 blessed with four children: Stella, who was 
 educated at the State Normal school and is m»w 
 engaged in teaching at the Bone school, making 
 her home with her parent-: Oracle, who was 
 educated in the Union school and at Pleasant 
 Plains and is now a successful teacher, having 
 charge of Mongrel school; Thomas EL, who 
 died .Line 26, 1904, at tin' age of nineteen 
 years; and Oma, who is now a -indent in school. 
 Air. William- endorse- the Republican prin- 
 ciple-, but was subsequently a Democrat. His 
 study of the questions and issues of the day. 
 however, led hini to transfer his allegiance and 
 he has ever been fearless in his conviction- and 
 independent in his political views. He was 
 reared in the faith of the Baptist church and 
 his wife i- a member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. He belongs to the Independent 
 Order of Odd bellows and in his life is true to 
 its teachings, exemplifying in his relation with 
 his fellow men the beneficent spiril of the craft, 
 lie is a self-made man and deserve- -real credit 
 for what he ha- achieved, for he started oui in
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 353 
 
 life for himself empty-handed and has worked until 1873 and during the two succeeding years 
 
 earnestly, overcoming all difficulties and ob- be devoted his attention to teaching school. 
 
 stacles in his path hy hi- unlahi'i'in- deter- On the 3d of August, 1876, Mr. Gibbs was 
 
 ii i mat H ui and todaj he is the possessor of a very married to Mis- Alice • I. Walker, a daughter or 
 
 desirable farm property. Joseph M. and Sarah (Mundy) Walker, tier 
 
 father was bom in Adair county, Kentucky, 
 
 November 7, 1818, and in I*:!" became a resi- 
 
 denl of Irish Grove, Menard county, where he 
 GEORGE T. GIBBS. n , s|l|( , ( l unti] hig death , |( , was ^ stj 
 
 George T. Gibbs, who for twenty-four years honorable man and in his boyhood days, in 
 lias been a member of the school hoard in his Kentucky, he joined the Presbyterian church, 
 district and who is a stanch champion of the of which he remained a faithful member, 
 cause of education, is classed with the repre- Throughout his entire life he lived at peace 
 sentative citizens of Menard county, where he with his fellow men. trying to do right by all, 
 is now engaged in general farming ami stock- ami his sterling worth commanded the respeel 
 raising, lie has made his home in Illinois of those with whom he was associated, either 
 from his oai'h boyhood days, but was horn near through business or social relations, lie mar- 
 Baltimore, Maryland, on the 13th of April, ried Sarah A. Mundy, who was horn Augusl 
 L849. IN- parents, William ,1. ami Sarah 13, 1823, the wedding being celebrated at Mid- 
 (Cramer) Gibbs, were natives of Maryland, the dletown, April 30, is Hi. Her death occurred 
 former horn m 1808 and the latter in 1811. April '.'I. 1860, ami Mr. Walker died at his 
 The father was a weaver b\ trade and followed home in Irish Grove on the (ifh of August, 
 that pursuit throughoui his entire life. Both 1899, at the advanced age of eighty years ami 
 he ami hi- wife were devoted members of the nine months. His was one id' the largest 
 Methodist Episcopal church, uniting therewith fumials ever held in that community, the Pres- 
 under the ministry of Bishop John II. Vincent, byterian church, in which the services were 
 Mr. Gibbs died December 3, 1883, ami his conducted, being taxed to its utmost capacity, 
 wife's death occurred February 19, 1884. They notwithstanding the weather was impropitious. 
 were the ]iareui- of seven children, two son- Both Mr. and Mrs. Walker enjoyed the love 
 ami five daughters: William II.. horn August ami esteem of all who knew them and their 
 1'.'. 1835, ami now living in Jackson, ^Missis- memory remained as a blessed benediction to 
 si|i]n : Mi--. Isabella Haines, a residenl of Kan- their many friends. The} were the parents of 
 -a-: Mrs. Susan Myers, who resides in Oregon, five daughters and one son: Marietta, who was 
 Illinois; Mr-. Rachel Eldridge, who died in born August 25, 1847, ami is the wife of In. 
 May, 1900; Josephine, who died in October, S. T. Hurst, of Greenview; Alice, horn April 
 1903; George T.; and Mr-. Ella Myers, who is 26, 1849, wife of our subject; Rebecca !•' . horn 
 now living in Washington, D. ( '. October 27, 1851, the wife of John E. Mundy, 
 
 George T. Gibbs spent the first seven years a resilient tanner of Menard county: Henry 
 
 of his life in the state of his nativity and then W., \\ ho was horn November 3, 185 I, ami died 
 
 accompanied his parents on their re val to April 19, 1855; Addie B., born March G, IS56; 
 
 I llinois, the journey being made by wagon, after and one child that died in infancy. 
 
 the primitive manner of travel of that time. The marriage of Mr. ami Mrs. Gibbs has 
 
 The\ were -even weeks in making the trip, but been blessed with nine daughters and son: 
 
 at length reached their destination Mount Addie M., wife of Roberl Burns, of this county ; 
 Morris. Illinois — „ n |],<- 1st of November, 1856. Grant I... at home: Ella F.. who is the wife of 
 Mr. Gibbs entered the public schools there ami James Snyder, a resident of Middletown, llli- 
 continued his studies in that way until seven- nois; Sadie A.. Linnie, Marietta K.. Josie, Car- 
 teen years of age, after which he spenl two rie C. and Minnie E., all at home: and one thai 
 years in the Rock River Seminary, at Mount died in infancy. 
 Morris. IK' afterward worked as a farm haml After his marriage Mr. Gibbs engaged in
 
 35 I 
 
 PAST AMI PKESENT OF MENAED COUNT"? 
 
 teaching school for two years and then began 
 farming. He and his family arc living in the 
 same house in which his wife was born. He 
 carries on general agricultural pursuits and 
 stock-raising and carefully conducts his busi- 
 ness interests, so that both branches of 
 his business are proving profitable. He 
 is interested in public affairs and has 
 advocated many progressive measures. He 
 now belongs to the Court of, Honor and the 
 Modern Woodmen camp and both he and his 
 wife are members of the Presbyterian church 
 and are deeply interested in its growth and the 
 extension of its influence. Mr. (lilies lias served 
 as school director for twenty-four years, filling 
 
 that position at the preseni ti and with the 
 
 exception of the youngest two, his children are 
 all graduates of the public schools. The family 
 is one highly respected in the county. 
 
 WILLIAM I». KNOWLES. 
 
 William D. Knowles, numbered among the 
 honored pioneers of Menard county, was I'm- 
 many years actively engaged in farming pur- 
 suits, but is now living retired. He has passed 
 the eighty-third mile-stone on life's journey 
 and his lias been a. useful and honorable ca- 
 reer. He has never sought, to become promi- 
 nent in public life, but as a business man and 
 citizen has always been worthy of the respect 
 of those with whom be has been associated 
 and bis life record may therefore be well taken 
 as an example. 
 
 Mr. Knowles was born in GibsoD county, 
 Indiana. October •?:>. ISvM. Ins parents being 
 Elijah am! Margaret (Woods) Knowles. The 
 father, who was born in Georgia,, was of Eng- 
 lish lineage, while the mother, whose birth 
 occurred in Tennessee, was of German descent. 
 They were married in Gibson county, In- 
 diana, where the father followed the occupation 
 of farming until the spring of L837, when he 
 sought a borne in Illinois, settling at Blue. Grass 
 Point, in what was then Sangamon county. 
 In the winter of 1841 he removed to New Mar- 
 ket, Menard county, where be continued lo 
 reside until 1853, when he took up bis abode 
 in Texas. After fifteen years he established 
 
 his heme in Butler county. Missouri, where he 
 died on the 13th of September, 1867, when 
 seventy-seven years of age. his birth having 
 occurred April 22, 1790. His wife, who was 
 horn March 1, 1797, died on the 11th of Sep- 
 tember, 1839, when but forty-two years of age. 
 William D. Knowles bad but limited oppor- 
 tunities to secure an education, but experience, 
 observation and reading in later life have added 
 greatly to his knowledge. He accompanied his 
 parents on their removal to Illinois and was 
 here reared amid the wild scenes of frontier 
 life. lie early became familiar with the ar- 
 duous task of developing a new farm and he 
 continued to assist his father in his agricul- 
 tural pursuits until twenty-three years of age, 
 when he began farming on his own account 
 on land belonging to his father. He built a 
 log cabin and in that primitive dwelling started 
 out in life for himself. After three years he 
 purchased land on the prairie and again built 
 a log house and a log barn. This was in 184" 
 ami for twenty-eight years he resided upon 
 that place, transforming the wild land into 
 richly productive fields, which returned to him 
 good harvests. On the expiration of that 
 period, however, he bought a farm near New 
 Market, where be resided until 1899, when he 
 took up his abode at his present place of resi- 
 dence. That he has prospered in his under- 
 takings is indicated by the fact that he is now 
 the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of 
 line farm land and also some valuable town 
 realty. He has made careful investments of 
 his capital, which was acquired through earnest 
 purpose, diligence and unfaltering labor and 
 now he has a handsome competence that en- 
 ables him to live retired in the enjoyment of a 
 rest that he has truly earned. 
 
 On the 5th of October. 1843, Mr. Knowles 
 was united in marriage to Mis> Harriet Chap- 
 man, of Scott county, Indiana. They traveled 
 life's journey together for little more than 
 five years, when on the Kith of March. 1849, 
 at the age of thirty years. Mrs. Knowles was 
 called to her linal rest. They bad two chil- 
 dren: .lames II.. of Springfield; and Marga- 
 ret M.. wile of William P.. Butler, of Oakland. 
 Iowa. Mr. Knowles ha.- been married again 
 and has reared four children. In addition to
 
 W. I). OTOWLES.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 :;:,; 
 
 those mentioned, Sarah Elizabeth, bom De- 
 cember is, is:,;, died July 3, 1902, while 
 \li>< i- the wife of William B. Rogers, of Mon- 
 tana. 
 
 Mr. Knowles has been a consistent member 
 of the Cumberland Presbyterian church since 
 the spring of L843, joining the firsl church of 
 thai denomination organized in the county. 
 There were thirty charter members, but he 
 is the only one now living. He was made a 
 ruling elder of the church and has taken a 
 pen active and helpful pari in its work, doing 
 ever; thing in bis power to extend its influence 
 and promote its growth. He has close and inti- 
 mate knowledge of the history of Menard 
 county and its development and can relate 
 many interesting experiences of pioneer 
 life in this part of the state. In 1843 
 he drove with three yoke of oxen to 
 Chicago, taking a load of wheat to the 
 market there. He forded the Illinois river at 
 Ottawa when the water did not reach to the 
 wagon bed. He brought back groceries and 
 salt. The latter commodity sold for five dol- 
 lars per barrel and he had purchased it in Chi- 
 cago at one dollar and fifty cents per barrel, 
 so that he made good profit on his investment. 
 Twenty-one days were required in makina the 
 trip, which can imu be covered in a few hours. 
 Mr. Knowles has taken a deep interest in what 
 has been accomplished as civilization ha- re- 
 placed the eondil ions of pioneer li fe and at 
 all times has favored progress ami improve- 
 ment, bearing his full share in the work- of 
 lit izenship. 
 
 W 
 
 AM E. JOHN sow 
 
 William E. Johnson 1- living 1 ne of the 
 
 finest farms of Menard county, owned by his 
 father, the property comprising three hundred 
 ami forty acres of very rich and arable land ..1. 
 range 5, township is. and its splendid appear- 
 ance indicates the careful supervision of a pro- 
 gressive and practical farmer. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was horn in this county, May 
 11, 1850, a son of John and Harriet (Jenison 1 
 Johnson. He was reared in the usual manner 
 of farmer lads and acquired a common-school 
 
 education. When not engaged \\ ith the duties 
 of the schoolroom he gave his attention to work 
 
 upon the home farm and assisted his father un- 
 til twenty years of age, after which he spent 
 about a year m DeWitt county, Illinois, where 
 he worked \>\ the month upon a farm. On the 
 expiration of that period be retur I home, re- 
 maining in this county until the spring of 
 1880, when he went to Kansas, where he was 
 engaged in stock-raising, handling both cattle 
 and sheep. lie remained in Kansas until 1892, 
 when he again returned to the old homestead, 
 on which fie has since engaged in general farm- 
 ing and stock-raising; For the pasl five years 
 he has made a specialty of seed corn. Reid's 
 yellow dent variety. He has won numerous 
 prizes at the Illinois State Pair with his prod- 
 uct, in competition with the leading com grow- 
 ers of the Mississippi valley and received a gold 
 medal as sweepstakes prize from the Illinois 
 commission at the St. Louis exposition in 1904 
 for the best one hundred ears of vellow corn 
 grown in Illinois. 
 
 On the 1 hh of September, 1882, Mr. John- 
 son was married to Miss Mary Ann Graham, a 
 daughter of lloun ('. Graham, whose history is 
 given at length on another page of this vol- 
 ume. She was horn June 23, 1858, and by her 
 marriage has become the mother of three chil- 
 dren, all yet under the parental roof, namely: 
 Mildred, horn August 10, 1883; Addie, horn 
 June ;. 1885; and Minnie, horn August 26, 
 1881 
 
 Mr. Johnson is a member of Kincaid Lodge, 
 No. 338, A. P. & A. M.. of Eincaid, Kansas; 
 Petersburg Chapter, No. 1 19, P. A. M. ; am! 
 
 St. Aldemar (' mandery, No. 1;. K. T.. id' 
 
 Petersburg. Tie is also affiliated with the An- 
 cient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic 
 Shrine, ai Peoria, and he belongs to the Mod- 
 ern Woodmen camp, al Athens, and the Ancient 
 Order of United Workmen, al Kinoaid. Kansas. 
 His wife ami daughters are members of the 
 North Sangamon Presbyterian church ami the 
 family is one of prominence in the community, 
 having many warm friends in Menard county. 
 Mr. Johnson served as county commissioner for 
 three years and while in Kansas was a member 
 of the school hoard for eight years, while at the 
 present time he is serving on the school board
 
 358 
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 of his district. He lias been a stalwart Re- 
 publican since age conferred upon him the 
 right ill' franchise, and is most enthusiastic in 
 support of the principles of the party. 11 is at- 
 tention, however, is mainly given to his farm- 
 ing interests. 
 
 ANSON THOMPSON. 
 
 Anson Thompson, a member of the firm ol 
 Thompson, Rosendahl & Company, proprietors 
 of a large department store of Petersburg, is 
 now manager of the grocery and provision sec- 
 tion of their business and has contributed in 
 no small degree to the success of the enterprise 
 and In tlir establishmenl of its well merited 
 reputation for honesty ami fair dealing. A 
 native of Illinois, he was born in Ashland, 
 Cass county, on the 6th of November, L843, and 
 is a sun of .lames II. and Sarah (Brown) 
 Thompson, both of whom were natives of N"ew 
 Jersey, in which state the grandfather, Anson 
 Thompson, was also born. The father made 
 
 his way westward to Sangi ) county, Illinois. 
 
 in 1836, but soon afterward took. up his abode 
 in the Pleasant Plains district of Cass county, 
 there making his home tor a long period. lie 
 had served an apprenticeship to the trade of 
 carpentering in Philadelphia and he was en- 
 gaged in building operations in Cass county un- 
 til 1849, when he removed to Menard county 
 and engaged in agricultural pursuits. Here 
 he spent lus remaining days, his death occur- 
 ring in March. L878. In business he was reli- 
 able and trustworthy, and the success he 
 achieved was attributable entirely to his own 
 efforts and careful management. In public af- 
 fairs he was also prominent and influential and 
 he was a warm personal friend and stanch sup- 
 porter of Mr. Miller. 
 
 Anson Thompson, the second in order of 
 birth in a family of nine children, was only 
 about sis years of age when brought by his 
 parents to Menard county, and in the public 
 schools here he acquired his education. He re- 
 mained at home until 1866 and then engaged in 
 clerking in the store of John A. Braham. In 
 later years he entered a shoe store, established by 
 Mr. Braham. who appointed Mi'- Thompson its 
 
 manager, and he continued to conduct the 
 business until November, 1873, when he was 
 elected county clerk. In is;; he was re-elected 
 and at the end of Ins second term he retired 
 from the office as he bad entered it — with the 
 
 conlidence and good will of the public. He was 
 
 ever prompt and faithful in the discharge of his 
 duties, regarding a public office as a public 
 trust — and Mr. Thompson has never been 
 known to betray a trust in the slightest degree. 
 
 In December. 1882, he started northward, 
 traveling through the Dakotas and spending 
 about -,\ year in that section of the country, en- 
 gaged in real-estate dealing, in which he met 
 with fair success. In 1884 he returned to 
 Petersburg, where he entered the grocery busi- 
 ness in connection with .1. I ). Wright, under the 
 firm name of Wright & Thompson. After a 
 \ear be joined Z. A. Thompson and Reak Rosen- 
 dahl under the linn style of Thompson, Rosen- 
 dahl & Company, which business relation con- 
 tinue;- to the present time. For ten years our 
 
 subject hail charge of the dry-g Is department 
 
 and then assumed the management of the gro- 
 cery ami provision department. His capable 
 management, progressive business methods and 
 earnest efforts to please bis patrons have been 
 
 among the st salient features in the success 
 
 of the linn, and in Petersburg Mr. Thompson 
 is acknowledged an enterprising, reliable mer- 
 chant, of good ability and executive force. 
 
 On the 2d of December, L890, was celebrated 
 the marriage of Anson Thompson and Mrs. 
 I. aura Drake, of Menard county, a daughter of 
 William Langford. They now have one daugh- 
 ter. Helen Thompson. In his fraternal rela- 
 tions Mi. Thompson is a Mason, exemplifying 
 in his life the beneficent spirit of the craft. He 
 has been prominent and influential in public 
 affairs, and his counsel is sought in local po- 
 litical circles. He is a stanch advocate of 
 Democratic principles and has twice been 
 elected to the office of mayor, serving in 1889- 
 90 and again in 1902-3. He was president of 
 the school board in 1901, and is the cham- 
 pion of many measures which have resulted 
 beneficially to his city. His re-election to the 
 mayoralty was indicative of the confidence 
 which he won during his first term and he gave
 
 PAST AMi PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 359 
 
 i" the cii\ a practical businesslike administra- 
 tion, characterized by needed reforms and im- 
 pro\ ements. 
 
 WALTER W. YOUNG. 
 
 Walter W. Young, who resides near Athens 
 in Alliens precinct, carries on general farming 
 and i> one of the representative business men 
 in Ins community. He was born in Kane 
 county, Illinois. November LO, 1846. His fa- 
 ther, Francis Young, was a native of Paris, 
 France, but was reared in Canada, and later 
 married Rachel Lindsay, of the state of New 
 York, lie followed farming in early manhood 
 and in the '30s emigrated westward to Illinois, 
 
 establishing his home in Kane e itv. w here he 
 
 also carried on agricultural pursuits. Later 
 he settled in DeKalb county, Illinois, where h<. 
 remained until aboul 1878, when he took up 
 his abode in Dawson county, Nebraska. There 
 he spent his remaining days, passing away in 
 August, 1903, ai the very advanced age id' one 
 hundred and two years and four months. His 
 widow still survives him and is now living in 
 Dawson county at the age of ninety-three years, 
 making her home with a son there. TIh\ were 
 the parents of eighi children, all of whom are 
 yet living: Mary, who i> a widow and resides 
 in DeKalb, Illinois; I,'. !•'., who follows farm- 
 ing in Dawson county, Nebraska; Mrs. Kale 
 Kearney, who resides at Junction, Nebraska, 
 and is a widow : Elizabeth, who is a widow and 
 lives a1 Gothenburg, Dawson county, Nebraska; 
 Annie, who makes her home in the same coun- 
 ty; Walter \\ . ; I. A., who is living on a ranch 
 in Nebraska: and Jennie, a resident id' Dawson 
 county. All have been married with the ex- 
 ception of I. A. Young. 
 
 Waller W. Young was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of Illinois and early became familiar 
 w 1 1 1 i the duties an d labors thai fall to the lot 
 of the agriculturist. He assisted in (he farm 
 work until after the inauguration of (lie Civil 
 war. when he joined the army, remaining a1 
 the front until after the cessation of hostilities. 
 He was hut a young boy when he joined the 
 CTnion troops as a private, hut he was always 
 faithful to his duty and after a time was made 
 a bugler of his regiment. TTe participated in 
 
 all the engagements with the Ann) of the Po- 
 tomac and on one occasion was slightly injured. 
 
 W hen 1 1 i ^ military sen ice was over M r. 
 Young became a railroad contractor and was 
 thus engaged in business until 1875, when he 
 located on his present farm in Menard county. 
 It was on the 27th of Ma\ of thai year that he 
 was joined in wedlock to Miss Rose A. Primm 
 a daughter of Abraham Primm, of this county. 
 Mrs. Young was horn on the farm where she 
 still makes her home, her natal day being 
 March L5, L853. Her father. A. S. Primm, 
 was horn m St. Clair county, Illinois, and his 
 wile was a native of Wyandot county, Ohio. 
 lie came to Menard county in 1819, settling 
 at Athens, where he engaged in farming for 
 many years. 'His father had entered from tin 
 government the land upon which Mr. and .Mrs. 
 Young are now living and they have in their 
 possession the old land warrants signed by 
 John Quinc} Adams, then president of the 
 United States. 
 
 A. S. Primm continued to carry on agricul- 
 tural pursuits upon this farm until his life's 
 labors were ended in death on the 22d of Octo- 
 ber, 1892. His wife also died on the old home- 
 stead, departing this life in tss'.i. Their chil- 
 dren were as follows: Mary A., the eldest, 
 horn in 1846, is now the wile id' Henry ('line 
 and they reside two and a half miles from 
 Athens, owning a line farm which is located 
 over the Sangamon county border. They have 
 one daughter and two sons, namely: William 
 A., who married Jennie Flagg, of a very promi- 
 nent family of Sangan county; Allen Cline, 
 
 who is living at home; and Jennie, the wife of 
 Young Caldwell, a cousin of Men Caldwell, ex- 
 congressman from Sangamon county. Their 
 home is near Williamsville, Illinois. Melissa 
 Primm, the second sister of Mrs. Young, is the 
 wife of M. T. Hargrave, who for more lhan a 
 quarter of a century has been a druggisl of 
 Allien- and is one of the most prominent husi- 
 ness men of his pari of the county. He is also 
 active in public life and served as sheriff of 
 Menard county for si\ years. Unto him and 
 his wife have been horn Iwo children, hut Killie 
 Mae died at the age of eleven years. The living 
 daughter is Minnie, wife of Fred W. Avers, 
 who resides in Alliens, and they have three
 
 360 
 
 PAST AXJ) PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 children: West, who is now five years of age; 
 Mary, four years old; and Hargrove, two years 
 old. Minnie Ephraim, another sister of Mrs. 
 Young, was born January '.'. 1851, and died 
 .human 8, 1890. She was married to A. P. 
 West, of Logan county, who became a merchant 
 and banker, conducting business in Los An- 
 geles, California, and in l'ana. [llinois, for fif- 
 teen years. He died January 6, 1904. Lillian 
 Primm, the youngesl sister of Mrs. Young, was 
 born April 1!'. 1855, and became the wife of 
 W. M. Estell, who was admitted to the bar. 
 lie did not practice, however, but became a mer- 
 ehant ami subsequently be established the first 
 electric light plant at Athens. He owned a 
 very beautiful home near Springfield, where bis 
 death occurred October 26, I'm:;. Unto him 
 and his wife were born two -mis: Primm and 
 Harry, both now living. 
 
 The home of Mr. and Mrs. Young has been 
 blessed with three children, but Grace, who was 
 born August 26, is;;, died in infancy; lone, 
 bora January 30, 1884, was married in 1903, 
 td Arthur Jensen, and they now reside with 
 her parents; flene, born April 1. 1893, is at 
 home. 
 
 Mi-. Young is very prominent and influential 
 in public affairs and his fellow townsmen, rec- 
 ognizing his worth and ability, have frequently 
 called him t" public office. He served as 
 justice of the peace al Athens for four years. 
 was a member of the city council for six years 
 and has been road commissioner for thn e yi ars. 
 The duties of these positions he discharged in 
 .1 mosl capable and able manner, showing that 
 the trust reposed in him was well placed. He 
 is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belong- 
 ing to blue lodge, chapter and commander^ of 
 Petersburg, and he attends the Presbyterian 
 church. He is now practically living retired 
 after a long and active connection with agricul- 
 tural interests, having in the meantime ac- 
 quired a competence thai now enables liim to 
 put aside business cares and resl in the enjo;.- 
 ineiit of the fruits of his former toil. He is 
 widely and favorably known throughout this 
 county, his abilities well fitting him for lead- 
 ership in political, business and social life. 
 The terms progress and patriotism might be 
 considered the keynote of bis character, for 
 
 throughout his career he has labored lor the 
 improvement of every line of business or pub- 
 lic interest, with which he has been associated 
 and at all times has been actuated by a fidelity 
 to his counts ami her welfare. 
 
 JOHN R. LUKINS. 
 
 After many years' connection with agricul- 
 tural interests John R. Lukins is now enjoying 
 a wid! earned rest, living retired in Greenview. 
 So active and honorable was he in his business 
 career and so reliable in all life's relations thai 
 In- is justly accounted one of the representa- 
 tive men of tin- section of the state and is 
 therefore deserving of mention in this volume. 
 
 He was horn in Menard county. April 29, 
 1837, and i- a -on of Gregory ami Elizabeth 
 (Kilter) Lukins. Hi- father, who was born 
 in Kentucky. May '?4. 1811, died on the 
 11th of January, 1892. lie arrived in Illinois 
 about 1830, and was married here in October, 
 1834, to Mi-- Elizabeth Ritter, who was born in 
 Kentucky. November '24. 1903, and died 
 August 11. 1854. The young couple began 
 their domestic life upon a farm of eighty acres, 
 which Mr. Lukins had entered from the gov- 
 ernment. Later he purchased forty acres ad- 
 ditional and subsequently sold the one hundred 
 ami twenty acre tract for eight hundred dol- 
 lars, lb' then purchased one hundred and 
 sixty acres id' land where the Chicago & Alton 
 Railroad depot now stands and lived upon that 
 farm for eight or ten years. He disposed of 
 the property in the spring of 1848 for two 
 thousand dollars, at which time he removed to 
 Sugar Grove and bought two hundred and 
 sixty-three acres of land at seven dollars per 
 acre, continuing the further development and 
 cultivation of that place until I860, when he 
 bought ten acre- id' T. D. Hughes, formerly 
 tin- old Christian church property. He after- 
 ward bought twenty acres on the west of a .Mr. 
 Brown, next purchased twenty-one and a half 
 acres on the southeast and later twenty acres 
 on the northeast of his ten acre tract. He 
 afterward bought ten acres additional and later 
 four and a half acres, so that the different pur- 
 i bases aggregated sixty-six acres of land. Upon
 
 MR. AND MRS. JOHN K. LUKINS.
 
 GREGOBY LUKINS. 
 
 STEPHENSON EOLLAND. 
 
 MRS. STEPHENSON HOLLAND.
 
 PAST WD PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 365 
 
 this Eariu he carried on general agricultural heavily in killed and wounded. Lieutenant- 
 pursuits and as opportunity afforded he added Colonel Kilpatrick was among the killed and 
 uiore from time to time to his place until it Major U. ('. Gillan was badly wounded in the 
 
 comprised two hundred and twenty-six acres at lefl -I Idcr and his horse was shot from under 
 
 the time of his death. He also owned four lots him. Adjutant J. B. Meade was mortally 
 
 in Topeka, Mason county. His life was wounded and Ins horse was also killed. On 
 
 crowned with a fair measure of success gained the morning of the 7th of April the Twentv- 
 
 through his persistent purpose, indefatigable eighth Illinois Regiment held a position on 
 
 energj and honorable dealing. His religious the rigid of the line and was hoth encased 
 
 views were in harmom with the teachings of until the battle closed with victory for the 
 
 the Methodist church and he contributed gen- Union troops. Mr. Luteins was wounded in 
 
 eroush to its support. LTnto him and his wife this battle but remained with his regimen! until 
 
 were born two sons, bu1 the elder, Thomas •'.. after the battle of Vicksburg, when he was senl 
 
 born May 26, IS35, died March 29, 1892. home on account of illness. As soon as he had 
 
 John R. Lukins. the only surviving member sufficient h recovered be joined his regi m at 
 
 of the family, spent his boyhood days in the Natchez and continued with his command until 
 
 usual manner of farm lads, remaining on the Ids three years' term of service bad expired, 
 
 old family homestead until twenty-four years doing his full duty as a valiant soldier, 
 
 of age, when bis patriotic spirit was aroused by ^ '"' n the war was ended Mr. Lukins turned 
 
 the attempt of the south to overthrow the his attention to agricultural pursuits, begin- 
 
 Union and he offered his services in its defense. mn - farming for himself on eighty acres of 
 
 On the 1st of August, 1861, he enlisted in Com- 'and that belonged to bis father. Later he 
 
 pany A, of the Twenty-eighth Illinois Regi- became owner of that tract ami he continued 
 
 no in for three years service and was honorably to successfully conduct bis farming interests 
 
 discharged Augusl 26, 1864, being mustered until having acquired a handsome competence 
 
 "in at Natchez, Mississippi. The first battle he retired to private life and established his 
 
 in which he participated was at Pittsburg ' c ni Greenview. In Ins business career he 
 
 Landing, or the battle of Shiloh, on the 6tb of vvas energetic and progressive and whatever he 
 
 April. L862. There a brigade was sent out in undertook he carried forward to successful 
 
 order to determine the position of the enemy, completion. 
 
 Genera] Hurlbut's division was |nn M line ami On the 6th of February, 1896, Mr. Lukins 
 moved toward the enemy's forces. The night was united in marriage to Miss Julia A. Hol- 
 wa- very .lark ami the roads very muddy. After land, who was born in Menard county, March 
 some heaw firing, which, however, lasted but a 23, 1853, and was a daughter of Stephenson 
 short time, the rebels fell back and the Twenty- and Frances (Pace) Holland, both of whom 
 eighth Illinois Regiment was called out by the were natives of Kentucky, the former bom De- 
 long roll and marched a mile to the front, being cember 24, IS13, and the latter February ' ; . 
 assigned to a position on the left of the line in 1818. They married January 21, 1849, in 
 ;l peach orchard. The enemy immediately at- Menard county, where for many vears Mr. 
 tacked, but was repulsed at heaw loss, the Holland carried on agricultural pursuits. At 
 regiment holding its position under great odds the time of his death he left one hundred and 
 from eighl o'clock in the morning until three t\vcnt\ acre- of fine farming land and twenty- 
 o'clock in the aften a. At nine o'clock in five acres of timber land, a part of which he 
 
 the morning General Grant and his staff rode bad entered from the government at a dollar 
 
 up and the Twenty-eighth was ordered to hold and a quarter per acre. He was one f the 
 
 its position at all hazards, which it did until honored pioneer settlers of this count v. tnkiiu: 
 
 ordered hack lo General A. S. Hurlbut, who up In- residence here when the work of im- 
 
 U;| - Ml command of the old fighting Fourth provement ami progress seemed scarceh begun 
 
 Division. In tin- conflict the regiment of and a- the vears advanced be bore his 
 
 which Mr. Lukins was a member lost very share in the upbuilding of the county, especially
 
 366 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 along agricultural lines. Both he and his 
 nil, are members of the Cumberland Presby- 
 terian church and. rearing their children in 
 thai faith, had the satisfaction to si e all of 
 them become tneml ers of thai denomination. 
 Mr. Holland passed away March I. L875, and 
 hi? wife died Jul\ 31, 1899. Ihey were the 
 parents of seven children: Martha L.. horn 
 November I. 1849, was the wife of George Sny- 
 der, and died May 13, L886; May F... born 
 April 12, L851, i- the wife of William Mitchell, 
 a resideni of Sangamon count}', lllinms: Mrs. 
 Lukins i- the third id' the family; Eliza .1.. 
 
 born October K. 1S54, died Octi r 11. 1874; 
 
 Ellen F., born Augusl 11. 1856, i- the wife of 
 I.. K. Goff, who is represented mi another pagi 
 of this work; Louisa A., horn June 27, 1858, 
 is the wife of 1!. Belt, who is living in Missouri : 
 Edward A., horn October 25, 1860, is proprietor 
 of a hospital at Houston, Texas, and in his 
 practice there is making a specialty of the treat- 
 ment nf the diseases of the eye. oar. nose and 
 throat. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mi-. Lukins hold membership 
 in the Cumberland Presbyterian church at 
 Greenview and he belongs to M. Hursl Post, 
 No. 647, G. A. E.. in that city. Politically he 
 is a stanch Republican, having supported the 
 party since casting his tir-t presidential vote 
 for Abraham Lincoln. He also voted for 
 Richard Yates for governor and has never 
 faltered in his allegiance to the party and its 
 principles. In all matters of citizenship he 
 is as true and loyal to-day t" his country and 
 her best interests a- he was when lie followed 
 the "Id flag upon the battle-fields id' the -Mini 
 
 JAMES (» McKEE. 
 Kentucky has furnished a large number of 
 citizens to Menard county, whose value in com- 
 munity affairs is widelj acknowledged, and to 
 this class belongs James 0. McKee, whose birth 
 occurred in Fleming county, Kentucky, on the 
 17th of March, 1859, his parents being Hiram 
 and Sarah (Ledford) McKee, who were also na- 
 tives of Fleming county, Kentucky. There the 
 father was reared and upon one farm remained 
 for man\ war-. Both he and his wife died in 
 
 the enmity of their nativity, his death occurring 
 in August, 1882, while she passed awaj Feb- 
 ruary 28, L861. His political support was given 
 to the 1 >emoi rai 3 . 
 
 James 0. McKee was reared under the pa- 
 rental roof, remaining at home until eighteen 
 years of age, during which time lie acquired 
 his education in the public schools there. He 
 then left Kentucky and on tin 28th of Octo- 
 ber, 1877, lie arrived in Menard county, Illi- 
 nois, where lie began farming. His attention 
 ha- since been given to agricultural pursuits 
 and with the exception of two years, passed in 
 Labette county, Kansas, he has remained con- 
 tinuously in this part of the state. His busi- 
 ness career ha- been attended with a gratifying 
 measure of prosperity, all due to his own capa- 
 ble business discernment and unfalteriug en- 
 terprise. 
 
 On the 31st of July. 1881, Mr. McKee was 
 married to Miss Belle McGary. a daughter of 
 Jacob and Martha Jane (Pierce) McGary, the 
 former horn in Pennsylvania and the latter in 
 Fleming county. Kentucky. The father was 
 married twice, his first union being with 
 Sarah Adams, by whom lie had seven chil- 
 dren. His second wile was Martha J. Pierce. 
 and there were live children by that marriage — 
 Mr-. KcKee; dame- Edward; Anna E.. who is 
 called hide: and two that died in infancy. Mrs. 
 McKee was educated in the district schools 
 Menard county, pursuing her studies in a lit- 
 tle schoolhouse about a mile from her home. 
 After putting aside her textbooks -lie remained 
 with her parents until the time of her marriage, 
 when she went to her husband's home, over 
 which -he ha- since presided with gracious hos- 
 pitality. Unto Mr. and Mrs. McKee have been 
 born three children: Leslie, horn May 27, 
 1882; Laura Edith, horn July 24, 1886; and 
 Pearl, born November 1. 1889. The second 
 daughter, who was born while her parents were 
 residents of Labette county. Kansas, is now 
 secretary of the Lebanon Cumberland Presby- 
 terian Sunday-school. The other children were 
 horn on the home farm, where the family still 
 n side. 
 
 Politically a Democrat. Mr. McKee has firm 
 faith in the principles of the party. He and 
 his family are member- of the Lebanon Cum-
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENAED COUNTS 3Ci 
 
 berland Presbyterian church and lie belongs ing through his earnest labor and economy the 
 to Greenviev Lodge, No. 653, A. F. & A. M.., capita] thai enabled him to purchase a small 
 and Greenvicw Camp, No. 178, M. W. A Bis farm. From time to time he has added to 
 life has been one of continuous activit)', in this property until he now has extensive pos- 
 whieh he has been accorded due recognition of sessions. He has continuously followed farm- 
 labor, and i"d;i\ he i- numbered among the sub- ing and has also fed many cattle and hogs. He 
 -i;intial citizens of his county. His interests has stall-fed seven hundred cattle in three years 
 arc thoroughly identified with those of the for the Chicago market. His business intei 
 northwest, and at all times he is ready to lend ests are conducted in a most practical way. and 
 Ins aid and co-operation to an} movement cal- Ids sound judgment, keen foresight and nnfal- 
 culated to benefit this section of the country tering energy have been the strong features in 
 or advance its wonderful development. his prosperity. 
 
 On the 7th of March, is;!). Mr. Kdwards 
 
 was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Trent, 
 
 a daughter of Henry and Harriet (Clemons) 
 
 JAMES M. EDWAEDS. Trent, both natives of Kentucky, the Eormer 
 
 James M. Edwards is classed with the lead- born January 1. 1799, and the latter February 
 
 ing men of Menard county, and Ins history '■"'• 1812. By Ins first marriage Mr. Trent had 
 
 is -ne deserving of high commendation. Well live children, hut only one is now living. By 
 
 maj n prove as a source of inspiration to «,th- his second marriage there were twelve children, 
 
 ers for En arl) boyhood he has been de- " r whom live are living, three sons I two 
 
 pmdent upon In- ..wii labors for a livelihood, daughters. Mr. Trent died June I. 1883, at 
 Moreover he sustains an unassailable reputa- the age of eighty-four years, live months and 
 linn in business circles and m Menard county three days, while his wile passed away April 
 In.- name has come to he a synonym for hon- 1- 1893, at the age of eighty-one .wars. ne 
 orable dealing. In public affairs he is also month ami seventeen days. Both died in Mer- 
 prominent and as a county official he has rem cer county, Missouri, where Mr. Trent had lad- 
 dered to his fellow men valuable service. lowed the occupation of farming and stock- 
 Mr. Kdwards was horn in Pennsylvania, De- raisin-. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Edwards 
 cember •?:.. 1853, and was a son of John W. has been blessed with five children: Mar) E., 
 and Loretta (McCabe) Kdwards. the former born December 1, 1879 ; William, February 21, 
 a native of Philadelphia ami the latter of 1885; Harry M., November 28, 1891; Cecelia 
 Maryland. The lather was a cabinet-maker M., February 5, 1897; and Beatrice M.. dan- 
 ami carpenter, and devoted his attention to ni "' v '•• l !l1 "- 
 
 those trade- during his active business life. Because of his capability and deep in- 
 ln the family were six children, but dames terest in his country and her substantial prog- 
 M. Edwards is the onrj one now living. When ress Mr. Edwards has been selected for pub- 
 only three or four years of age he was hound lie office. He is now serving Ins eleventh year 
 mil to Edmund Otto, of Pennsylvania, with as mad commissioner and has been three times 
 whom he lived until eight or nine years of elected to that office on the Republican ticket, 
 age, when he loft Mr. Otto ami began earning Twice, when he had an opponent in the field, 
 his own living, working in Pennsylvania and he polled nearh even vote and at the other 
 in Maryland. After a time he learned the election the opposition party named no candi- 
 sawyer's trade and operated a sawmill for five date. When he entered the office there were 
 or -i\ years. I. aim- he came to tin' middle only two -tod bridges in the county and now 
 west, arriving in Menard county on the 17th there are ten. lie favors substantial progress 
 nf April. 1875. 1'p to the time of his mar- and permanent improvement and heartily en- 
 riage he worked as a farm hand and then rent- dor-,- everj measure which he believes will 
 ed land and began farming for himself. As prove of practical benefit to the county. For 
 =onn as possible he became a landowner, gain- -even years he has served as a member of
 
 aos 
 
 PAST AND PBESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 the school I -d and his present ti rm will 
 
 , ver two more years. His public record is 
 above reproach, his service being actuated by 
 t] le utinosl devotion to the county and its wel- 
 fare, in private life he is equally reliable and 
 his fairness in all business transactions is in- 
 dicated b) the fact thai although he has rented 
 land Eor man} years he has never had a dis- 
 pute over the matter. Thoroughly reliable, he 
 commands the confidence and resped of all by 
 his unfaltering allegiance to whatever dut\ de- 
 volves n| on him, and his example i- indi ed 
 well worthy of emulation, for it proves that 
 success and an honored name may be won 
 simultaneously. 
 
 EDWAED SHIPP. 
 
 1 1,,,. ,,r the best known men of Pi tersburg 
 i- Edward Shipp, who has been connected with 
 the circus For many years and has traveled the 
 world over. He was horn in Petersburg, Au- 
 gust 26, 1864, and is a son of Role and l'arthena 
 Jane (Mcllenry) Ship]., the former born in 
 Kentucky, in 1828, and the Latter in this county 
 in 1831. The father made Earming his life 
 occupation, was a Democrat in politics and a 
 
 minenl Mason. He died in August, 1871. 
 
 The inothi r was twice married her first hus- 
 band hem- a Mr. l.amkin. By the second 
 union there were nine children, of whom only 
 three are now living— our subject and two 
 daughters: Alice Ann. wife of .1. ('. Buckley, 
 ;l retired farmer of Petersburg ; and Laura, 
 wife of Thomas 1'. Keep, who is now serving as 
 Mate- attorney and resides in Petersburg. 
 
 During his boyhood Edward Shipp attended 
 the public schools of this county and for one 
 summer worked in the foundry at Petersburg. 
 In 1882 lie joined In- half-brother, Harry Lam- 
 kin, who was then with the Cooper & Jackson 
 circus showing in Petersburg. Two years pre- 
 vious to this time Mi-. Lamkin put the first 
 vaudeville show upon the road and our subject 
 went with him as doorkeeper, but they were 
 only out a few weeks a- that venture proved un- 
 successful as that line of attraction was then 
 too new for the public. On the 19th of Sep- 
 tember, 1882, Mr. Lamkin secured a position 
 
 for our subjeel as bass di ummer in the ban 
 with Cooper & Jackson circus, which was a 
 wagon load show and traveled south through 
 Arkansas and Texas. That winter they crossed 
 the Rio Grande and traveled b\ train through 
 Mexico and wen. the tir-t to take an elephant 
 into that country. This animal caused so much 
 excitement among the natives that the troops 
 had to lie called out to keep them away from 
 the animals. Returning to Laredo, Texas, tl,i 
 company traveled by wagon through thai state 
 and came north a- far a- Indian Territory 
 hut were not allowed to exhibit there. While 
 in Kansas in the spring of 1883, the circus at- 
 tracted many Indians in war paint, cow-hoys 
 and a tough element generally. 
 
 In I leienil er, 1883, Mr. Lamkin built 
 the present ring ham in Petersburg 
 and that winter taughl our subject to 
 ride. The same old mechanical arrange- 
 ment which he used is >till to he found 
 in the barn and has been used in teaching a 
 great main prominent bare-back riders, in- 
 cluding tin' l.owande Brothers, Cecil and Alex. 
 
 and also Oscar,' who have become fai is the 
 
 world over. Here other noted riders, acrobats 
 and aerialists have also learned the business. 
 It would iie impossible to give the names of 
 all tic prominent performers who have either 
 learned or improved their acts under the guid- 
 ance of Mi-. Shipp. 
 
 In the spring of 1884 he went Upon the road 
 with the oldest showman in the world — P. A. 
 Older, who was Formerly a partner of 1'. T. 
 Bamum and who afterward sold In- circus to 
 that gentleman. George J. Crane, who is now 
 a prominent insurance man of Omaha, was 
 then a partner of Mr. Older and furnished the 
 money to carry on the business. On the 6th 
 of January, 1885, Mr. Shipp -ailed with the 
 Gardner, Lamkin & Donovan's Great American 
 
 circus fr New Orleans to Smith America and 
 
 landed lirst at Colon. Isthmus of Panama, work 
 ,,n the canal being then in progress. Tho\ 
 remained there eight weeks and then proceeded 
 to Kingston, Jamaica, where tlu-\ -pent two 
 weeks, after which they went to Cienfuegos, 
 Cuba, for two week-. Tln-\ next \ i-iteil San- 
 tiago ami Mi-. Shipp well remembers how 
 Min-ii Castle looked. There tin- company was
 
 I-:i)\VAI.'l> sill IT.
 
 MIJS. KIiWAKD SH1PP.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 373 
 
 disbanded and lie sailed Cor New York, arriv- 
 ing there in the middle of March, LS85. Thai 
 season he was with the Frank A. Robbins' cir- 
 cus, and in the fall of L885 again started for 
 South America with the circus thai he was with 
 the previous winter. They visited Georgetown, 
 British Guiana, where lhe\ spenl two wicks. 
 from there wenl in Port of Spain. Trinidad, 
 ami up Lake Maracaibo in the ('it\ of Maracai- 
 bo in northern Venezuela, where the} gave a 
 performance mi Christinas day, which Mr. 
 
 Sllipp saill was the hottest < I ;l \ lie e\er CXplT'i- 
 
 eiiceil. They nexl went in Carthagenia, which is 
 nne ui' the nhlest cities ill Smith America and is 
 surrounded by walls, ami from there the] pro- 
 ceeded to the Island ('uara-mi and mi In Colon 
 nil the Isthmus, where they gave a special per- 
 formance a1 the home of Ferdinand he Lesseps, 
 the French engineer who was theu the prime 
 mover in the construction of the canal. There 
 Mr. I.amkiii was taken ill with vellnw fever and 
 alter I'mir davs' sickness died in February, 
 188G, being buried in the noted cemetery at 
 Monkey II ill. Becoming scared and disheart- 
 ened the company then sailed lor New York. 
 
 Mr, sliipp was nexl with Gardner ami Nick 
 Roberts, of old llumptv Dumpty fame, and in 
 the capacity of hare-hack rider went wiih their 
 
 circus to Nova Scotii a sailing vessel from 
 
 Yarmouth, stopping ai the coasl towns along 
 the way, mam of which places had never had 
 a circus before. They wenl as far north as 
 Sidney, Cape Breton^ then t" Charlottestown, 
 Prince Edwards Island and hack in New Bruns- 
 wick ami down through Maine touring t he New 
 England -tales ami spending three weeks at 
 Park Square, Boston. The following fall they 
 again went to South America and Mr. Shipp 
 rode tiie horses owned by Mr. Lamkin's widow'. 
 They gave performances all through I he West 
 I ndia Islands ami at the city of Panama be con- 
 tracted the yellow fever bul having witnessed 
 main - cases before he was able in treat it suc- 
 cessfully, though he was ill ai the Grand Cen- 
 tral lintel I'm' five weeks, at the end of which 
 
 time he rejoined the circus. While at Colon 
 
 i hey w ere nnt died thai a rebellion was al i to 
 
 break oul ami they jusl escaped before the town 
 was burned, returning In New York In March. 
 1887. That year Mr. Shipp was with two dif- 
 
 ferent shows, one being the Huffman circus. 
 Returning in Petersburg in the fall of 1887, 
 
 he opened his winler cil'CUS, which lie ha.- con- 
 ducted e\ IT -Mice Willi I he e\cep| loll ol I \\ , , 
 
 winters -pent m Mexico. In the spring of 
 1888 he joined Ringling Brothers at Baraboo, 
 Wisconsin, ami toured the western slates by 
 w agon. I [e rode with AI Ringling. I □ I he 
 fall he returned home. 
 
 i in the 21st nf February, LS89, at Philadel- 
 phia. Mr. Shipp married Miss Julia Lowande, 
 win* was born in thai city', December '.'ii. 1871, 
 ami is a daughter nf Alexander and Virginia 
 (Guering) Lowande, the former a native nf 
 Boston and the latter of the Island of Jamaica, 
 where they were married. Her lather was an 
 old circus man ami became quite wealthy, own- 
 ing a la rue circus in Brazil, lie was a personal 
 friend of I torn Pedro i he former emperor ,of 
 that country, lie died ai Port-au-Prince, Cuba, 
 in 1882. ami was buried there, while his wiles 
 death occurred in Petersburg, Illinois. August 
 23, 1903, and -he was laid to rc-| in Rose Hill 
 cemetery. She alwav- accompanied her daugh- 
 ter on her travels up In the lime of the killer's 
 marriage. Mrs. Shipp has two brothers who 
 are now bare-back rulers with our subject's cir- 
 cus. When only seven vears old she was also 
 taught In ride by her I'ai her and with her 
 parents -he appeared before the public until her 
 father's death, when her mother retired, bul the 
 daughter has continued to ride up to the pres- 
 ent tunc. In 188-1 she came to Petersburg to 
 \ isil her half-sister Mrs. Lamkin, who was the 
 widow ol' our subject's half-brother and ii was 
 thus that the voung people became acquainted. 
 For two seasons they were together with Mr. 
 Lamkin's circus, hut in 1886 Mrs. Shipp 
 loured the eastern states with John O'Brien's 
 circus. The following three seasons sin- was 
 wiih Adam Forepaugh and after her marriage 
 joined Ringling Brothers, remaining with them 
 during the season of 1890 and was next with 
 Van Amburgh. touring the uorthwesl a- a 
 wagon show. In November, 1891, they wenl by 
 rail in the city of Mexico, joining Orrin Broth- 
 ers circus. 
 
 on the lih of December, 1891, at Vera 
 Cruz. Mr. Shipp broke his leu while riding in 
 a jockey act. and a few days later, the leg
 
 :;; i 
 
 l'AST AND l'l.'KSKNT <>F MFXAh'D COUNTY 
 
 being put in a plaster cast by a Mexican phy- 
 sician, he started for the city of Mexico, but 
 as lie was forced to ride in the baggage car 
 the rough jolting broke the cast and also the 
 leg in several places. He could feel the bones 
 cutting through the flesh and the pain was 
 terrible during the entire trip. The winter 
 had passed before he recovered, during which 
 time he remained in the city of Mexico. The 
 following season he again signed with Orrin 
 Brothers and toured the entire republic, show- 
 ing in all the large cities. They took the first 
 train going over ill'' road between the city of 
 Mexico and Oaxaca. In March, 1893, Mr. 
 Shipp returned to the United States and joined 
 the F. J. Taylor circus but the first day out, 
 at Malvern, Iowa, he fell and broke his leg 
 again in the same place, thus ending his career 
 as a bare-back rider forever. He also Inst both 
 of his ring horses by death about the same 
 time. Hi- wife continued with the circus 
 throughout the season and rode one of the com- 
 pany's horses. The following winter was spent 
 in Petersburg and in the sprint;- of 1894 they 
 joined the Wood Brothers circus. During the 
 great railroad strike in Chicago that season, 
 the strikers would raise the side walls of the 
 tent and enter without paying. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Shipp were with the Royal English circus and 
 Water Carnival in Chicago and in the fall went 
 to Milwaukee with a similar show. After the 
 winter spent in Petersburg they joined Ring- 
 ling Brothers in the spring of 1895 at Tatter- 
 sail's in Chicago, returning home in the fall. 
 Their daughter, Virginia Jane, was born April 
 19, 1896, and that season Mrs. Shipp remained 
 at home for the first time in her life, but Mr. 
 
 Shipp joined W 1 Brothers. The following 
 
 fall he returned home and again opened his 
 winter circus. In 189 1 ; they joined Ringling 
 Brothers, Mr. Shipp going as assistant eques- 
 trian director under Al Ringling, and lie has 
 remained with them ever since in the same 
 capacity. In 1898 he was with the Robinson 
 reus, which was virtually Ringling Brothers 
 property, being leased by them during the sea- 
 son of L898. In 1902 he was with Ringling 
 Brothers and the following two seasons was 
 with Foivpauuli & Sells Brothers, with which 
 show In- will remain during the season of i! m "> 
 
 as equestrian director. This is the seventh 
 
 annual tour of his own circus, known as Shipp's 
 Indoor circus, which gives performances in the 
 theaters of the large cities and is composed of 
 first class performers. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Shipp is a Demo- 
 crat and in his fraternal relations he is a Ma- 
 son, having joined the order about five years 
 ago and holding membership in Clinton lodge, 
 No. 19, A. F. & A. M., of Petersburg. He is 
 also a member of the Benevolent Protective 
 Order of Elks at Fort Huron. Michigan, and 
 the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Wood- 
 men of America. Mrs. Shipp is a lady of cul- 
 ture and refinement and one would hardly 
 recognize her in the tinsel and glare of the 
 anna as she appears in her thrilling hare-back 
 riding as the same modest, retiring wife and 
 mother in the home. Notwithstanding her ex- 
 tensive travels and the excitement of appearing 
 before the applauding public she loves the quiet 
 life of her little home in Petersburg and she 
 and her husband have many friends here, be- 
 ing held in the highest regard not only by the 
 citizens of Petersburg but by the people of 
 Menard county in general. This has been the 
 winter home of a great many people of recog- 
 nized prominence in the circus profession and 
 this is largely due to the popularity of Mr. 
 Shipp. Possibly no one in the business has a 
 wider acquaintance or warmer friends than he. 
 He is a man of shrewd, keen judgment and is 
 cool and collected while handling performances, 
 but he always has a friendly smile and a kind 
 word for all. It is a uoticeable fact that his 
 presence in the arena is an encouragemen 
 performers and should they happen to make 
 a mistake in their daring feats or an unsuccess- 
 ful attempt in the act, bis kindly smile and 
 word of cheer seems to imbue them with a de-ire 
 to excel and hence his wonderful success. 
 
 J. C. SHORT. 
 
 one of the valuable farming properties for 
 which. Menard county is noted is in possession 
 of J. C. Short, the most enterprising agricul- 
 turist and one whose success is well desi 
 for in him are embraced the characteristics of
 
 PAST A\h PRESENT t>l-' MENARD COUNTY 
 
 an unabating energy, inflexible integrity and 
 strong purpose. He is, moreover, one of the 
 oldest native sons of this part of the state, 
 his birth having occurred May 17, 1824, upon 
 the farm where he now resides. He is a sun 
 of William B. and Tabitha (Manner) Short, 
 both of whom arc natives of Kentucky. The 
 father -prut his early life in thai state, was 
 reared to the occupation of farming and al- 
 ways followed that pursuit as a Life work. He 
 left Kentucky in order to become a resident 
 of Illinois, settling in St. Clan- county, where 
 he remained for a year and a half and then 
 removed in 1819 to a farm now occupied by 
 his son J. C. Short. Upon this place he lived 
 until his death and when he was called away 
 it bore little resemblance to the tract of land 
 which came into his possession. His farm was 
 at first a wild and unimproved region, hardly 
 a furrow having been turned when it came 
 into his possession, but soon the track of the 
 shining plow was seen across the fields and in 
 due course of tune the planting of the seed 
 was followed h\ the gathering of rich harvests. 
 Mr. Short was a man of more than average 
 education I'm' his day and because of ids in- 
 tellectual force and his high character worth 
 lie exerted strong influence in his community, 
 which was always given in behalf of justice, 
 truth and improvement. He was numbered 
 among the mure highly respected of the old 
 settlers id' Menard county ami his death, which 
 occurred in 1865, was the occasion of wide- 
 spread ami deep regret in this parr of the 
 state. Hi' married Miss Tabitha Manner and 
 the} became the parents id' four sons and three 
 daughters, all of whom are deceased with the 
 exception of .1. c. short and his brother Wil- 
 liam IV. who is now- living at the age of 
 
 eighty-five years in the enjoyment of g 1 
 
 health, making hi- home upon a farm in Mason 
 county, Illinois. 
 
 In the early district schools of Menard coun- 
 ts d. ( . Short obtained ins education and when 
 he had put aside his textbooks he continued 
 
 U] thi' farm with his father until he hail 
 
 reached tin- age of twenty-six years, lie then 
 made preparation for having a home of his 
 own and was married on the 27th of Decem- 
 ber, 1849, to Mi-- Eliza Wilcox, who was born 
 
 October 11. L817. The young couple removed 
 to Mason county, where Mi-. Short carried on 
 general farming for fourteen or fifteen years. 
 
 The\ then returned to Menard county and 
 purchased tl hi Short homestead, upon which 
 
 he yet resides. He is one of the honored plo- 
 
 neer residents of the county and is a great 
 friend of Jeff Johnson, another venerable citi- 
 zi n of this part of the state. Tlicv were school- 
 mates and playmates in youth and as they 
 grew up became partner- in manj business 
 enterprises, buying stock in the north which 
 they drove to this county. In hu>iness as well 
 as in social life then- relations have continued 
 mutually pleasant and agreeable and few men 
 are better informed concerning pioneer his- 
 tory in tin- part of the state than Mr. Short 
 and Mr. Johnson. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Short became the parents of 
 three children, hut none are now living. John 
 ('.. who was horn in 1851, died in 1853, and 
 one -i.ii died in infancy. The daughter, Marj 
 Clarinda, horn August ".''.'. L852, married Josepn 
 Kincaid and removed to California, where she 
 died January It). 1900. She had three chil- 
 dren, two sons. Harry E. and I). Roy, and a 
 daughter, Ruth Eliza. The sons are now iden- 
 tified with the mining industry of the west and 
 the daughter is visiting Mr. Short, having come 
 from California at his request, he desiring 
 that she should make her home with him in 
 his declining years, for in 1900 In- lost his 
 wife who, on the 18th "i' 1 1 1 tober of that year 
 was called to her final rest. They had long 
 traveled life's journey together wdh marked 
 devotion to each other and a most congenial 
 companionship existed between them. 
 
 Mi-. Short has frequently hen solicited to 
 accept public office by his fellow townsmen who 
 have recognized his worth and ability, hut ho 
 has always declined to serve, preferring to do 
 his dutv as a private citizen. Although he has 
 readied the eightieth milestone on life's jour- 
 ney he is still a hale and hearty old man. 
 Old ace need not suggest a- a matter of course 
 helplessness or want of occupation. Mr. Short 
 is still deeply interested in affairs concerning 
 his county and it- \\ el fare and throughout tin 
 long years of his manhood has endorsed every 
 measure which he has believed would contrib-
 
 .1, ll 
 
 AST AND PRESENT <>!•" MENARD COUNTY 
 
 ute to genera] progress and improvement. His 
 business affairs have been capably managed 
 ami he now owns a fine farm, although at a 
 recent date he suffered the less of his large 
 barn and cribs through fire. He still, however, 
 has a valuable property and it is the visible 
 evidence of his life of thrift and energy. 
 
 THOMAS P. REEP 
 
 Thomas P. Reep is actively connected with 
 ;i profession which has important bearing upon 
 the progress and stable prosperity of any sec- 
 tion or community and one which has long 
 been considered as conserving the public wel- 
 fare bv furthering the ends of justice and 
 maintaining individual rights. In the practice 
 of law in Petersburg he has demonstrated his 
 ability to rope with intricate problems of juris- 
 prudence and ii'iw has a large clientage 
 
 He was horn in Little Grove precinct. 
 Menard county, on the 3d of October, 1870, 
 and is a son of Eli ami Annie Reck (Dowell) 
 Reep, tlic former a native id' New Albany, In- 
 diana, and the latter of Little Grove precinct. 
 His paternal grandfather, Philip Reep, was a 
 native of North Carolina. The family is of 
 Holland lineage and was founded in America 
 by William Reep. the great-grandfather of 
 Thomas P. Reep. who crossed the Atlantic in 
 a sailing vessel and established his home in 
 North Carolina in colonial days. Tie settled 
 in what i- now Lincoln county and the town 
 of Reepsville was named in honor of the fami- 
 ly. Representatives of the name fought for 
 the independence of the nation in the Revolu- 
 tionary war, and loyalty in citizenship has ever 
 Im'i n "tie n( tin- salient charai t< rist ics of the 
 family. Leaving the south, Philip Reep re- 
 moved to Indiana during the pioneer epoch in 
 the history of that state and followed the oc- 
 cupation of farmina then' until his life'- la- 
 bors were ended in death. 
 
 Eli loop, father of our subject, came to 
 Menard count\ when seventeen years of age 
 and followed farming in Little Grove precinct. 
 lie devoted his energies to the tilling of the 
 soil until after the inauguration of the Civil 
 war. when he put aside the plow and shoul- 
 
 dered the musket. The blood of Revolutionary 
 sires flowed in his veins, and he resolved to 
 strike a blow in defense of the Union which 
 his ancestors had aided in establishing. It 
 w a- iii 1 862 that lie joined ( .iin|>an\ K. < Ine 
 Hundred and Sixth Illinois Infantry, with 
 which lie served until the close of the war. 
 when he was honorably discharged and re- 
 turned home with a creditable military record 
 He had done his full duty as a soldier upon a 
 number id' southern battle-fields and was un- 
 faltering in his allegiance to the old flag. 
 After his return to Petersburg he was married 
 to Miss Annie Reek Dowell and is still living 
 in Little Grove precinct, where I'm- many years 
 he has successfully carried on agricultural pur- 
 suits. He has been active and influential in 
 public affairs, ami his fellow citizens havi 
 chosen him for the office of county assessor and 
 treasurer, the duties of which were discharged 
 by him with promptness and fidelity. 
 
 Upon the home farm Thomas 1'. Keep spent 
 the days of his boyhood and youth, working in 
 the fields through the months of summer and 
 thus gaining practical knowledge of the va- 
 rious departments of agricultural life. He at- 
 tended the public schools, ami when he had 
 mastered the branches therein taught he en- 
 tered the Northern Indiana Normal College at 
 Valparaiso. Indiana, where he pursued the 
 teachers' course. Subsequently he returned to 
 Menard county, where he engaged in teaching 
 for one term and for two terms in Mason 
 county. He then returned to Valparaiso, 
 where he completed the scientific course, being 
 graduated with the class of 1890. Again com- 
 ing to Menard county, he resumed teaching, 
 and his leisure hours were devoted to the study 
 of law. He completed his law studies in the 
 office of Hon. Edward Lanning, and in 1895 
 was admitted to the bar. He continued teach- 
 ing, however, lor three years, and was a capa- 
 ble educator, imparting readily and coneiseh 
 i,, others the knowledge that he had acquired. 
 On the expiration of that period he opened a 
 law office in Petersburg, in dune. 1898, and has 
 since practiced, with constantly growing suc- 
 cess, lie ha- ii<>« a large and gratifying client- 
 age, which connects him with much of the im- 
 portant litigation tried in the court- of his
 
 THOMAS P. KEEP.
 
 PAST AM" PRKSKVI' OF MKNAKIi COl NTY ,:■■ 
 
 district, and m In- practice lie is noted for more land and al the time of his death was the 
 
 thorough and systematic preparation while owner of two hundred and twenty acres. Wheu 
 
 hi> presentation of his cause is lucid, his rea- it came into his possession ii was wild prairie, 
 
 son clear and cogent. He was city attorney for but his efforts transformed it into a ven rich 
 
 one term and was elected state's attorney of and valuable tract. His tirsl house was built 
 
 his county by the largest majority ever given from logs, which he hewed in the forest, and 
 
 in any candidate on the Republican ticket. He H was in that pioneer cabin thai Truman C. 
 
 has also 1 a president of the board of educa- Pond was born. In ante-bellum davs Samuel 
 
 linn and withholds his support from uo move- S. Pond was a stanch abolit is1 and his home 
 
 ment which tends to advance the material, in- "a- a stati the famous underground rail- 
 
 tellectual and moral progress id' the countv. road, whereby many negroes were assisted on 
 
 In May, 1895, Mr. Keep was united in mar- their way 'thward to freedom. lie voted 
 
 riage to Miss I. aura Shipp, id' Menard county, with the Win- part) until the organization of 
 
 a daughter el' Rolla Shipp, one el' the early the new Republican party, when he joined its 
 
 and prominent residents of the county. There rank.- and became a most earnest supporter <<( 
 
 las been hern in them three children: Alice Lincoln and Hamlin. From the time of his 
 
 May. Anna Ruth ami Philip 'I'.. Inn they lost re val in the west until within -i\ vcars prior 
 
 heir second daughter. Mr. Reep belongs to the to his death, he continued in lead a strenuous 
 
 Knights of Pythias fraternity. In a profes- bin upon the farm, working earnestly and per- 
 
 -I'ni where advancement depends upon nidi- sistently in the acquirement >i\' a comfortable 
 
 vidua! merit he has worked hi- way upward, competence, lie hold membership in the Pres- 
 
 eloping In- native powers, and through his byterian church ami took an active pari in its 
 
 close application and earnest purpose raining work, served as one <>f its elders and did evorv- 
 
 a desirable position a- a strong and forceful thing in bis power to promote the growth ami 
 
 ai tor in legal circles. extend i he influence of hi.- church, lie died ai 
 
 Sail Lake City. Utah, .lime 9, 1904. His first 
 
 wife passed away November 2, is:.;;. Their 
 
 children were: Adeline, who was born June 
 
 TROIAX C POXD. L2; l838> :]lhl is „ ow clec .eased; Charles H, who 
 
 Truman ( '. I' I. who has a wide and favor- w:| ~ born September ii. 1840, ami died August 
 
 able acquaintance in Menard county, was one '•'■ 1843: Truman < '. ; Henry K.. who was 
 
 of the honored veterans of the Civil war and in born Ji an 2, IS45, and died November I. 
 
 matiei- id' citizenship is equally loyal at the 1878 ; Jasper X., who was born March 28, 1847, 
 
 resent day. His birth occurred in this county, :| ml died February 2(S, 18-18; Frances ami 
 
 October ii. L842, his parents being Samuel S. Franklin, twins, who were born June i. 1852, 
 
 and Emily (Dufer) Pond. The father was and died in infancy: ami another child that 
 
 born in Oneida county, New York, August 9, 'bed in infancy. After losing bis first wife 
 
 1816, ami ihe mother was a native <>f the same Mr. Pond was again married, his second union 
 
 locality They were married in the Empire being with Hester Darrell, and they became 
 
 state in is:;; and soon afterward started for the parents of seven children, 1ml onlv two are 
 
 Illinois in c pany with his parents, ii being now living: Mrs. Hettie Christiansen, who re- 
 
 the desire of Samuel S. Pond to make a home sides at Duncan, Mississippi; and Samuel S. 
 
 for himself in the new west. He located in who is now living at Salt Lake City, Utah. 
 
 Menard county and his father entered land In taking up the personal history of Truman 
 
 from the government and gave to him eighty C. Pond we present to our reader- the life 
 
 acres on which he and his bride began their record of one who is widely and favorablv 
 
 domestic life. He applied himself with great known in Menard county, where he has Ions: 
 
 diligence to the development of his property made his home. He was not yet nineteen years 
 
 and subsequently, when Ins labors had brought of age when on the l-i of August, 1861, he 
 
 to him a good financial return, he purchased enlisted at Petersburg in defense of the Union
 
 380 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENABD COUNT1 
 
 as a member of Company A, Twenty-eighth 
 Illinois [nfantry. He was discharged Septem- 
 ber !. 1862, on account of disability, having 
 been wounded in the battle of Shiloh, On Fri- 
 day, April I. 1862, the enemy sent out a bri- 
 gade t" test the position of the Union troops. 
 General Hurlbut's division was then put In 
 line and moved forward to meel the advancing 
 rebel column. The night was dark and the 
 roads were muddy, but there occurred some 
 heavy firing for a short time, after which the 
 rebels fell hark. The Twenty-eighth Illinois 
 Regiment moved out to the division for a mile 
 and a half and then returned to camp. Early 
 on Sunday morning on the 6th of April, the 
 regiment was called out by the long roll and 
 marched a mile to the front, where it was 
 assigned to a position on the left of the line 
 in a peach orchard. The enemy immediately 
 fired upon this regiment, but was repulsed with 
 heavy loss. The Twenty-eighth held its posi- 
 tion under great odds from eight o'clock in 
 the uiorning until three o'clock in the after- 
 
 i n. When the battle hail been on lor an 
 
 hour General Grant and his stall' rode up and 
 instructed the Twenty-eighth to hold its posi- 
 tion at all hazzards. This it did until ordered 
 hack by General Eurlbut, who commanded tin 
 old fighting Fourth Division. The regiment 
 lost heavily in killed ami wounded, Lieutenant 
 Colonel Kilpatrick being among the killed, 
 while Major I'.. C. Gillam was badly wounded 
 in the left shoulder ami his horse was killed. 
 Adjutant J. B. Meade was mortalh wounded in 
 that conflict ami In- horse was shot from un- 
 der him. Mr. Pond was struck by a minnie 
 hall ami buck shot pierced his left hand and 
 wrist, lie was also wounded in the left shoul- 
 der, where the ball still remains, lie lay on 
 cornsaeks on a transport in Tennessee river 
 for about three week's ami was then taken up 
 the Mississippi river to Quincy, Illinois, where 
 he remained in the hospital until September, 
 ami because of his injuries he was honorably 
 discharged and returned home. For three years 
 thereafter In 1 was a ureal sufferer as his wounds 
 diil not heal. Ai length, however, he recov- 
 ered his health and turned his attention to 
 agricult ural pursuits. 
 
 On the 8th of February, 1866, Mr. Pond was 
 
 united in marriage to Miss Catherine J., a 
 
 daughter of .lames and Sarah ( Ilornbaek) 
 Killion. Her parents were both natives of 
 Kentucky ami came to Illinois with their re- 
 spective parents. Her lather, who was born 
 in 1820, died in L888, and his wife, whose 
 birth occurred in 1822, died October 31, L901. 
 In his boyhood days lie accompanied his pa- 
 rent- to Illinois ami afterward entered govern- 
 ment land, breaking the wild prairie and fell- 
 ing the timber with which he luiilt a log house. 
 It was in that pioneer cabin that Mrs. Pond 
 was horn. It continued the family residence 
 lor some time, luit was afterward replaced by 
 a substantial frame residence, m which Mr. 
 Killion spent his remaining days. He suffered 
 many of the hardships and trials incident to 
 pioneer life. Imt as the years passed prosperity 
 crowned his efforts and at the time of his death 
 lie was the owner of three hundred and forty 
 acres of valuable land, from which In 1 derived 
 
 a g 1 income. Both he and his wife were 
 
 active ami consistent members of the Cumber- 
 land Presbyterian church, in which he served 
 as deacon for many years. In their family 
 were fen children, of whom five are now liv- 
 ing: Eobert H., who was horn August '.'I. 
 is 1 1. and is married ami resides in Oklahoma; 
 Mrs. Pond, born December 2, is pi: Maria, who 
 was born October 26, 1851, ami is the wife 
 of E. 1'. Denton, of Iowa: Thomas W., who 
 was horn February 5;. L853, ami is now mar- 
 ried and resides in Menard county: and Amery 
 K.. who was horn April -.'1. L862, and is mar- 
 ried ami li\ es in ( (klahoma. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Pond turned his at- 
 tention to general farming and trading in stock. 
 lie made many trips to Missouri to buy cattle, 
 which he drove overland to Menard county 
 and here fattened for the market. lie con- 
 tinued in active farming operations until 1881, 
 when he turned his attention to the butcher- 
 ing business and the shipping of stock, in 
 which he now continues, making Greenview his 
 headquarters. His business interests have 
 reached extensive and profitable proportions, 
 making him one id' the leading representatives 
 of the stock industry in Menard county. 
 
 t'nto Mr. and Mrs. Pond have been horn 
 seven children: Francis X.. who was born
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 381 
 
 November 6, 1866; Theron Ellis, who was born He pursued bis education in the Barclay school 
 
 August '.'I. 1872, and died January I, LS73; and Petersburg high school, and when he had 
 
 ' 1' in ■ \ E., who was born January 24, 1874, and completed the course he engaged in teaching, 
 
 is now married and resides in Menard county; first in country schools and afterward in IV- 
 
 Bertha K.. who was born March 28, 1875, and tersburg, being identified with its educational 
 
 is married and lives in Utah; Henry 1... who interests for a year. 
 
 was born November I. 1877, and is now at- \t the end of thai time Mr. Miles was mar- 
 tending law school at Champaign, Illinois; r ied, March 1. 1882, to -Miss Nellie Purkapile, 
 
 Jennie E., who was born February 18, L885, a daughter of Ji s Purkapile. Mrs. Miles 
 
 and died on the 7th of August, following; and came into possession of the farm on which 
 
 Phyllis M.. who was born December 27, 1894, they now reside and they still have the original 
 
 and died February 6, 1895. deed to tins land, signed b) John Adams. Her 
 
 Mr. Pond has been quite active and million- grandfather, John Purkapile, obtained the land 
 tial in public affairs ami his influence has ever from the government ami at his death his estate 
 been exerted in behalf of public progress ami W as divided among his children ami a part of 
 improvement. He has served as presidenl of j t was inherited bj the father of Mrs. Miles 
 the town hoard for aboul thirteen years, and a nd m turn came into her possession. Tin- 
 was filling that position when the waterworks p m ,| just across the road was formerly the prop- 
 system was installed, he giving personal super- er ty of Judge Harrison, who was born upon 
 vision t«> thiii work in large measure, lie has (- ne place. The name Purkapile is of German 
 served a- secretarj of the hoard of education lineage and the famih were Pennsylvania Ger- 
 for two or three terms and endorses every move- marj people connected with the Keystone state 
 inriii which he believes will contribute to the in a very early period in its development. John 
 general good, while already his efforts alone Purkapile married Marj Ellen Boyer and died 
 many lino- have proved beneficial to his town October I. 1846, a1 the age of sixty-five years, 
 ami county. Fraternally he is connected with f our months ami sixteen days. The graud- 
 the odd Fellows Society, has passed through mother of Mrs. Miles reached the very advanced 
 all the chairs of the local lodge and has been :v _, f , ( \ ,,f ninety-three years. James Purkapile, 
 a delegate to the grand lodge. He also belongs ii„. father of ^\lrs. Miles, was horn in Green 
 io the Grand Arm\ of the Republic, has filled county, Kentucky, September 7, I si'.', ami was 
 all the offices of the post ami has been a dele- first married March is. is:;:;, to Polly Goldsby, 
 -ate to the state encampment. His activity a native of Illinois, who died October 28, 1835. 
 along many lines touching general progress ami The children of that union arc deceased. Eliz- 
 improvemeni have made him a representative abeth, horn September ID. 1834, died Ma) '.'1. 
 ami valued citizen of Menanl county ami he ^836. On I he 5th of September, 1836, Mr. 
 ha- contributed in no unimportant measure to Purkapile married Jcnctte Nance, who was also 
 the substantia] improvement and to the com- a native of Illinois, and died November 2, 1858. 
 mercial, intellectual ami material development There were ten children by this marriage: 
 of this part of the state. Elizabeth, born September \'-K 1834, died on the 
 
 ■.'1st id' May, 1.836, in her third year. 
 
 William R. was born July -.':',. 1837. Nelson 
 
 JAMES S. MILES. was bom September is. 1839. Sarah Jane 
 
 James S. Mile-, a son of .lames and Anna was horn .human 17, 1ST.'. John, horn May 
 
 Mill'.-, who are residents of Petersburg and are .">. 1844, was a soldier of the One Hundred 
 
 mentioned elsewhere in this volume, was the and Fourteenth Illinois Infantry and was 
 
 fourth in a family id' five children and was wounded hut recovered and is now living at. 
 
 born January 16, 1859, upon the farm where Waggoner, Montgomery county. Illinois, where 
 
 bis father inm resides. There he was reared, he is filling the position of postmaster. Eton, 
 
 No event of special importance occurred to vary born August 23, 1847, died while in the serv- 
 
 the routine of farm life for him in his youth. ice of hi- country during the ('nil war. Mari-
 
 S2 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 . born June 2, 1819, died January, 23, LS50. 
 Charles, bora Jul} 22, L853, is now living in 
 \i yada, Missouri. Emma, bora July 25, 1856, 
 is ill, (vifi nf W. 1'.. Spears and resides in 
 Homewood, Kansas. Annette, born November 
 1. 1858, married Thomas Rutledge and i 
 November 24, 1887. For bis third wife Mr. 
 Purkapile married Mrs. Catherine I Boughton) 
 Nance, who was also bora in G-reeu county. 
 Kentucky, ( Ictober 14. 1817, and died March 
 •.".'. 1892. The only child by this union was 
 Nellie, who was bora December 25, 1860, and 
 i- now the wife of Mr. Miles. Mr. Purkapile 
 lived upon the farm now occupied by our sub- 
 ject and Ids wife and there died on the 19th 
 of January, 1878. On coming to Illinois Mrs. 
 Miles' maternal grandparents located on Rock 
 creek. 
 
 Mrs. Miles acquired her education in the 
 common schools at Walnui Ridge. l'.\ her 
 marriage she became the mother of three chil- 
 dren but the eldesi died in infancy. James 
 s.. born June 5, 1888, is now attending school 
 at Petersburg, being in the second year in 
 the high scl I. Anna Catherine, the young- 
 est, was bora J une 5, 1902. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Miles hold membership 
 in the Christian church and lie votes with the 
 Republican party. He carries on general 
 farming, now owning over three hundred and 
 thirty-two acres, and is also engaged in feed- 
 ing and shipping cattle. He has been quite 
 prosperous in his business affairs and most of 
 his success has been attained through hard 
 labor. Hi- property is now valuable, giving 
 evidence of his careful supervision in the many 
 modem improvements he has placed upon it. 
 
 J. X. HALL. 
 
 J. X. Hall, deceased, was a won-- n pn - 
 sentative of one of the old and prominent fam- 
 ilies of Menard county. He was bora in Law- 
 n in e county, Ohio. June 10, 1816. and was 
 the fourth in order of birth in a family of 
 ourteen children, whose parents were Elisha 
 and Xanc\ (Overstreet) Hall. In is-.'; they 
 broughl their family to Illinois and located 
 in Menard county when I his part of the state 
 was still comprised within the boundaries of 
 
 - gamon county. Here the father died on 
 the 22d ot Septi mbe] . L83S, a1 the age o Ety- 
 loiir years, while his wife, surviving him a 
 number of years, passed awa\ May 1, 1862 
 
 - . n-as bora in Bedford coxvnty, Virginia, 
 m 1793. Both were members of the Metho- 
 dist church and she exerted great influi 
 
 as a preacher and was looked upon almosi 
 as a saint. Throughout their residence in this 
 state they lived upon the farm now occupied 
 by their granddaughters Delia and Ella Hall 
 and winch comprises five hundred acres of the 
 rich land id' this part of Illinois. 
 
 J. X. Hall spent the firsl ele\en yeai 
 his life in < )hio and then accompanied his pa- 
 rents on their removal to Illinois, so thai he 
 was reared in Menard county, spending his 
 youth here amid the wild scenes of frontier 
 life and sharing with the family in all the 
 hardships and trials that fall to the lot of 
 those who establish homes in a frontier dis- 
 trict. His education was mainly acquired in 
 a log schoolhouse of a very primitive charac- 
 ter, bui he was a rapid scholar and became a 
 line penman. 
 
 When he had reached adult aye Mr. Hal] 
 was married to Miss Sarah Parker, of Menard 
 county, the wedding being celebrated April 17, 
 1842. She was bora in Rush county, Indiana. 
 November I. 1824, and was a daughter of 
 Solomon Parker, who was ne of the pioneers 
 of Menard county, locating on Rock creek at 
 an early day. Mrs. Hall was related to the 
 McCartvs, a wealthy and influential family of 
 Mason county, Illinois. 
 
 Politically Mr. Hall was a Dei :rat and 
 
 was regarded as one of the ardent supporters 
 of the i ' r i r t \ in his locality, having filled all 
 of the local offices. He kept well informed 
 on the questions and issues of the day and was 
 thus enabled to give intelligi nt reason for his 
 political faith. Hi- business career was com- 
 mendable, for he placed his dependence upon 
 the substantial qualities oi energy and unfal- 
 tering diligence, and upon that foundation he 
 builded his success. A- the years passed his 
 capital steadily increased and he became on 
 of the prosperous farmer- of his community. 
 He was greatly attached to his home and fam- 
 ily. In 1890 he was called upon to mourn the
 
 .1. X. HALL.
 
 MHS. .1. X. HALL
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 381 
 
 loss lit' his wife, who passed away on the LOth Indiana and then loeated in Gibson City, E 11 i— 
 of March of thai year, while he survived her nois, Inn subsequently removed to Champaign, 
 until October 35, L902. His genuine worth, this state, where she owns property. Nanc} 
 business reliability, loyalty in citizenship and Jane, born April 9, 1855, was married Feb- 
 Sdelity in friendship so endeared him to friends ruary 19, 1880, to Miles Rankin, who is en- 
 and neighbors that bis death was the occasion gaged in farming and stock-raising six miles 
 of deep and widespread regrel in his com- south of Gibson City, Illinois, and they have 
 munity. four children, Edna, Arthur, ('laud and Cora. 
 In the family of J. \. Hall and wife were • l " lm '••• ll,,ni Februan 20, LS57, was married 
 fourteen children, all of whom are living with March VI. 18S7, to Lulu C. Henne and the} 
 the exception of one. Thomas J., born April have five children, Walter, Leo, Pembroke, 
 i;. isi;:. resides on a farm near Earlham, William and Justin. For a few years after 
 [owa. He was married February 19. L863, to their marriage the} resided on the Walnul Hill 
 Olivia Brown, of Menard county, and they have farni Ml Sangamon county and then removed 
 two children living, Ella and Sarah, both of to Granl county, Nebraska, where John L. 
 whom are married. Anna E., born August 10, served as county superintendent of schools for 
 isi I. was married on the same day as her •> time. Al lUr l ' 1 " 1 " r thirteen years the 
 brother to James Brown, now a retired farmer drouth drove bun back to Illinois and after 
 of Earlham. Iowa, and the} have six children, spending five years in Menard count} be re- 
 Milen, Charles. Jennie, Clara, Etta and Leona, moved In Brown county, tins state, purchasing 
 all married. Abraham, born April I. 1846, land near Mi. Sterling, where he now resides, 
 is a farmer and cattle dealer el' Miles City, Samuel I'... born Januan 9, L859. was mar- 
 Montana, where be also served as government "ed to Ella Gray in November, 1881, in Sum- 
 land agenl under President Cleveland. He ner county, Kansas, where be was engaged in 
 married .Mamie Lisk, id' that place, and they teaching music I'm- a number nf years. Later 
 have four children. William E., born Ma} is. he purchased a Large irad of land in Ness 
 Is is, was lirst married November 9, 1876, to county, thai stale, where he died November 
 Addie Johnson, of Menard county, who died 25, 1887, leaving a daughter, Sadie, who is 
 only two months after their marriage. Later new Mrs. Southern. Ada A., born February 
 he married Annie Scbleuinl.ach and they have 3, 1861, was married January 31, 1881, in 
 two children, Ella Ma} ami Ruby. He for- Petersburg to Thomas Primm and located on 
 inerly lived in Ford county, Illinois, where he a farm six miles east of Alliens, where Mr. 
 
 was engaged in farming, but later, after grad- Prin lied alter a long illness November I. 
 
 uating from a medical college of Chicago, be 1882. She was again married September 24, 
 engaged in the practice id' medicine in Waco. L884, to Arthur Taylor and settled mi a farm 
 Texas, for seven years. Finally becoming tired near Mt. Sterling, Illinois. She is now liv- 
 id' thai profession he returned to agricultural ing at Catlett, Virginia. Delia A., born May 
 pursuits and is toda} the owner of over four- !>. 1863. was educated in the schools of Athens 
 
 teen hundred acres of land near Waco, and is living on the old I lestead, where she 
 
 Charles A., horn November I. 1849, is now has spent her entire life with the exception of 
 
 a prosperous farmer of Worth county, Missouri. one year passed in Kansas and Nebraska. She 
 
 He was married Jul} 28, 1871, to Lizzie Good- acted as postmistress of Athens during Presi- 
 
 al, and they have two children, Effie and Nellie, denl Cleveland's second administration. James 
 
 both of whom married. The former i- now V. born Lehman 20, 1865, -pent two years 
 
 the widow of William Sim> and is successfully in Kansas and then lived lor five years upon 
 
 engaged in buying and shipping poultr} near a farm in this count} given him by bis father. 
 
 (Irani City, Missouri. Emily E., horn August At the end of that time hi' sold out ami went 
 
 26, 1853, was married Januan 13, 1876. to to southern Texas, where be purchased rice 
 
 Peter Want/, by whom she bad two children, land and is to-dav doing a prosperous busi- 
 
 Roy and Verna. Lor one year -he lived in nc--. lie was married in Kansas, March VI,
 
 388 
 
 PAST AXD PBESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 1886, to Lilly Kreider, and they have two 
 living children, Lena and Willie, while another 
 sun. Herman, died November 11, 1904, at the 
 age of twelve years. Robert L., hern February 
 •.'■.'. 1867, was married December 30, 1897, to 
 Gertrude McDougalh of Menard county, and 
 fur some years they lived en the old home 
 place, hut in the summer el' 1904 removed I': 
 Missouri, where they purchased a farm. Thev 
 have one child, Carroll, aged six years. Ella 
 M., horn May 16. 1869, lives on the old Inane- 
 stead with her sister Delia. She, too, was a 
 student in the schools el' Athens ami in 1S93 
 she attended the normal school in Abingdon, 
 Illinois. Subsequently sin entered the Wesley- 
 an Conservatory in 1895, in which institution 
 she studied both vocal ami instrumental music. 
 After leaving tin- conservatory she returned 
 home ami remained with her father up to 
 the time of his death, assisting him in busi- 
 ness ami in the supervision el' the farming in- 
 terests. The sisters new control the property. 
 Both are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church ami are popular with many friends. 
 The Hall family has always figured prominent- 
 ly in business ami social circles since the grand- 
 father came to the county many years ago ami 
 the homestead property is a very desirable one. 
 comprising five hundred acres of rich ami ara- 
 ble land and in its control the sisters display 
 marked husinoss enterprise and capability. 
 
 ALE-EET G. \ T ANCE. 
 
 Allien (.. Nance, who started upon In- busi- 
 ness career with Ins farm of one hundred acres 
 and -in." that time through capable maii- 
 agi mm ni and carefully directed investment has 
 become the owner of nine hundred and sixty- 
 -i\ acres of valuable hind, was born March 17, 
 IS42, on a farm eighl miles wesi of Peters- 
 burg jus! within the count} line. His parents 
 were Thomas J. and Catherine 1 1, i Houghton) 
 Nance, the latter a daughter of Charles Hough- 
 ton. Thomas J. Nance was in early life a 
 residenl of Kentucky ami came of French an- 
 es1 r\ . The famih resided in the north of 
 France for many generations and representa- 
 tives of the name w enl w ith William the I on- 
 
 queror when he made his invasion into England 
 and claimed n as a Norman possession. It 
 was several centuries later before the family 
 was established in America, arriving in Vir- 
 ginia about 1630. Thomas .1. Nance, with his 
 parents, removed from Virginia to Kentucky 
 and later came to Illinois, where he died July 
 22, 1842, at the comparatively early age of 
 thirty years. He had purchased land and he 
 began the development of a farm in this local- 
 ity and the farm upon which our subjeel now 
 resides was once the property of his grand- 
 father Nance. The father was the owner of 
 live hundred acres of land at the time of his 
 death and in order to settle the estate t\\.. 
 hundred acres of this was sold, lie was quiti 
 prominent in political circles and was the Dem- 
 ocratic nominee for -late senator at the time 
 of his death, which occurred in the summer, 
 while the election was held in the succeeding 
 fall, lie had twn.' been a candidate for tin 
 office, hut had been defe tted h\ John Bennetl 
 mi account of a temperance speech which he 
 made alinm that time at Salem and which 
 won him the opposition of all those who wen 
 opposed tn temperance. However, popular 
 opinion had set again in his favor and he was 
 elected in the state legislature. Later he be- 
 came a candidate for the senate and he would 
 undoubtedly have i e a eh i ti d had he lived. 
 After his death his cousin Louis Wynne was 
 nominated in his place and was elected. He 
 served as state senator for one term and died 
 in tin District of Columbia. 
 
 in the family of Thomas J. and Catherine 
 I >. Nance were four children, of whom Alberl 
 (,. i s the youngest. Elizabeth married Clin- 
 ton Wynne and resided on the old home farm 
 ue-i of Petersburg, where she died March 1 1. 
 1866. She had two children, one of whom is 
 now living— Mrs. 0. B. Carter, of Los Angeles, 
 California. Harriet B. became the wife of 
 Philemon Struble and at her death, which oc- 
 curred in January, 1873, she left two children. 
 Benjamin Nance, who was the second member 
 of the family, died in infancy Juh .. 1839. 
 
 Alberl 6. Nance, the youngest of his father's 
 family, began his early education in the com- 
 mon schools near his home and later continued 
 his studies in the Indian Point school, which
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENABD COUNTY 389 
 
 was tlic best institution of learning in the - i >\, president of the First National Bank, 
 county at thai time. Ee was a student there Lie is prominenl in financial circles there and 
 in LS59-60, ami when sixteen years of age lie is also the owner of town and country prop- 
 lefi home, starting out in life for himself, erty. lie has one son, to whom the name of 
 Siiu-r that time he has been dependent almost Albert Nance has been given. Catherine is 
 entirely upon his own resources and his career the wife of George Warnsing and they reside 
 crowned with success has been most creditable upon a farm near Greenview. They have two 
 because it lias ever been in conformity with children, Laura Mane and Hermina. Ear- 
 th e strict ethics of business honor. riett B., deceased, was the wife of Harrj Shird- 
 
 ln October, 186'6, occurred the marriage of ing, who is connected with the Bank of Peters- 
 Mr. Nance and Miss Laura Isabel Osburn, a burg, and they had one daughter, Hattie Shird- 
 daughter of Enos and Sarah (Casselman) Os- ing, who is now eleven years of age. Horace 
 burn. Eer father was a native of Virginia and Greeley married Sudia Purkpile and resides 
 was of Scotch-Irish lineage, while the Cas- upon the old family homestead with his pa- 
 selmans arc of German descent. Ee came to rents. Louise, the youngest, of the family, is 
 Illinois about L83J and was therefore one of a student in Eureka College at Eureka, Illinois, 
 the pioneer residents of the state, taking an Although Mr. N T ance was reared in the faith 
 active and helpful pan in its early develop- of the Democratic party he is a stanch advo- 
 mi'iit. At the time of his marriage Mr. Nance cate of Republican principles and is a recog- 
 took his bride to his farm and has since labored nixed leader in the ranks of his party. Ee 
 persistently and wiseh in the development of served in the state legislature in 1874-75 and 
 his business interests. As his financial re- he has always been found as the champion of 
 sources increased he has added to his property every political movement which has for its 
 from time to tune, making judicious invest- object the greatest good to the greatest num- 
 ments until he now owns nine hundred and her. Be and his wife are members of the 
 sixty-sis acre- of rich land. Ee inherited one Christian church and are people of the highest 
 hundred acres, so that he has personally ac- respectability. Ee has been and is distinc- 
 quired over eight hundred acres. Ee bought tively a man of affairs who has wielded a 
 one forty-acre tract at ten dollars per acre, for wide influence and Ins championship of man} 
 another he gave ten dollars pen- acre and the measures lias been the influencing force thai 
 remainder of his land was bought at prices has secured the support that has led to the 
 ranging from ten to sixty-five dollars per acre, success of many public movements in his lo- 
 h is all new worth one hundred dollars per cality. 
 acre, so that it is a wt\ valuable property. 
 Mr. Naiier has engaged extensively in stock- 
 raising, making a specialty of the breeding of 
 
 shorthorn cattle and of horses. Ee does not McKTNLEY JONES, 
 
 rent his land, liin gives Ins persona] supervision McXinle} Jones, who for many years was 
 
 to iis cultivation and improvement and keeps identified with farming interests in Menard 
 
 the entire farm in excellent condition, the county, is now living retired, a period of resl 
 
 fields being richly cultivated, while good grades being vouchsafed to him in reward for his 
 
 of stock are seen in his pastures. earnest and honorable labors in former years. 
 
 [Tnto Mr. and Mrs. Nance have been horn Ee was hern in Ohio county, West Virginia, 
 
 six children: Came B. is new the wife of en the 19th of August, L827, his parents being 
 
 Charles G Iwin, a resident of Clinton. Okla- Isaac and Sarah (Brown) Jones. The father 
 
 homa, where he is engaged in the grain fcracte. was horn in Virginia and was carried in his 
 
 They have one son and one daughter, Albert mother's arms on horseback to Vincennes, Indi- 
 
 Nance and Georgie. Thomas J. Nance, the ana. where the family was located during the 
 
 second member of the family, married Alice war of 1812. While yet a lad and orphan, Isaac 
 
 Curry and resides in Clinton, Oklahoma, where Jones weni to Louisville, Kentucky, where he
 
 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT"} 
 
 learned the hatter's trade and was there locat- 
 ed when the first steamboal went down the 
 Ohio river. He afterward removed to Vir- 
 ginia, where he resided upon a farm and subse- 
 quently he took up his abode in the state of 
 New York, where he resided until called to 
 his final rest. He died March 3, IS79, at the 
 
 I'j' of eighty-one years, his birth having oc- 
 curred February 15, 1798, and his wife died 
 in Virginia, April 17, 1S66, her birth having 
 occurred September 9, L805. 
 
 McKinlej June-, the second in order of birtn 
 in a family of ten children, pursued his earlj 
 education m a log building in Wesl Virginia, 
 the school b ■ _ ducted on the sul - i ption 
 plan, lie afterward attended an acadenn al 
 West Alexander. Pennsylvania, and when twen- 
 ty years of age he began teaching school, which 
 profession he followed in both Pennsylvania 
 and Virginia ere his removal to the west. In 
 LS49 he came to Illinois, establishing his home 
 in Peoria, and for a year he engaged in teach- 
 ing near that city. He afterward accepted a 
 clerical position in connection with a lumber 
 business, serving in that capacity for two vears. 
 In 1852 he eanii to Menard county, where he 
 taughl school for hair months and then re- 
 turned to Peoria county, where he was engaged 
 in farming until 1869. In the latter year he 
 
 _ a came to Menard county and followed 
 farming here upon a tract of land eight miles 
 north of Athens. In 1S7G he removed to a 
 farm near Sweetwater, where he resided con- 
 tinuously until 1894, when he took up 
 abode i n Athi ns, w here he has since Lived re- 
 tired. As a farmer he was diligent, enter- 
 prising and progressive, carrying on his work 
 along modern lines and as the years passed by 
 he was enabled to add annually to his income. 
 
 On the ">th of December, LS54, Mr. Jones 
 was united in marriage to Miss Arminda Pris- 
 c ilia Riggin, a daughter of Harry and Marian 
 B. (Rogers) Riggin, both representatives of 
 early families of the county. The father went 
 from Tennessee to St. Louis in an early day 
 and was tin re engaged in teaching school. 
 Subsequently he removed to Troy, Madison 
 county. Illinois, and came to Menard county 
 about L819. Mrs. Riggin was a resident of 
 New York prior to the time when she located 
 
 in Illinois. Both parents are now deceased. 
 M r. Riggin, h ho was born Si er 2, 1793 
 passed awa\ March 23, 1875; and his wife, who 
 ivas iorn \ _ ust ;. 1794, died April 25, 1 88 
 They lived in Menard county during the period 
 oi its early piom er de\ elopmenl and Mr. Rig- 
 gin conduct d a store in Athens, ol firsl 
 
 commercial enterprises of this part of the state. 
 In payment for goods sold he accepted a note 
 which was to be paid in deer skins al the com- 
 al price and tin- note is now in posses- 
 sion of Mr. Jones. Mrs. Jones was horn duly 
 
 26, 1825, on the farm which her father had 
 n ered from the government, and by her mar- 
 riage became the mother of five chili 
 Harry Riggin, who was born November s . LS55, 
 and now resides two mile- north of Athens; 
 Isaac, who was born March 31, L85S, and re- 
 sides in Iowa: Augustus Kerr, who was horn 
 January 24, 1859, and is now residing upoi 
 the home farm: Sarah Miriam, who was born 
 February 19, 1862, and is the wife of Dr. 
 Edward St. Northcott, of Portland, Maine, med- 
 ical director of the Mutual Life Insurance 
 Company; and Josiah, who was bom February 
 
 27, 1864, and i- mot a practicing physician 
 in the state of Washington. All of the chil- 
 dren were born in Peoria county . 
 
 The parents are members of the Presbyterian 
 church and are among the most highlj es- 
 teemed citizens of Menard county, where they 
 have so long resided. Mr. done- has led a moal 
 honorable and useful life and his activity in 
 business has been crowned with success that 
 now enables him to live retired. His strong 
 native intelligence has prompted him to keep 
 well informed on all the questions and issues 
 of the da} and he ye1 manifests an active and 
 public-spirited interesl in the affairs of his com- 
 munity, state and nation. 
 
 ELI REEP 
 
 Eli Reep, who carries on general farming 
 on section s . township 18, was born in Harri- 
 son county, Indiana, near Cory don, January 21, 
 1840. At one time that place was the capital 
 of Indiana. Hi- parents were Philip and Dc-
 
 MR. AMi \n;s. EL] REEP
 
 P \ST AND PRESENT l I' MENARD COUNTY 393 
 
 lilah (Evilsizor) Keep. The father was of Ger- the peiiod of the Civil war and mbsequentlj 
 man lineage and his ancestors were colonial went to Atchison county, Missouri, where In- 
 settlers of the aew world, establishing their carried on agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Sum- 
 home in X . irt 1 1 Carolina when this countn was mers died leaving four children. Eli i> the 
 
 still one of the possessions oi Greal Britain, sec I of the family. Martha died at the age 
 
 Representatives of the uame, however, fought of sixteen years. Philip, the sun of the sec- 
 
 for the independence of the nation in the Rev- ond marriage, is married and follows fanning 
 
 olutionarj war and carried the scars of their m Jasper county, Illinois, near Newton, 
 
 wonnds down to the grave. Eli Reep was educated in the country schools 
 
 Philip Reep was born in Lincoln county, of Indiana and also pursued his studies Dear 
 
 \ . mi i i Carolina, in L813. He was married to New Salisbury in Little Grove, Menard county, 
 
 Miss Delilah Evilsizor, who was descended Illinois. His training at farm labor was nut 
 
 From an old Virginia family. Her father meager for as soon as old enough to handle the 
 
 became one of the firsl settlers of Indiana, liv- plow he began work" in the fields and when 
 
 ing in that state when it formed a pari of the nineteen years of age he began farming for 
 
 \ i • 1-1 1 1 w i '-i territory, when the whipping posi himself in Little Grove, Menard county. In 
 
 was an institution of punishment and when 18G0 he began raising and feeding cattle and 
 
 slaves were .-till held by the settlers. He mar- followed that pursuit until the time of Ins en- 
 
 r 1. 1 1 a Miss Wise, who also belonged to one of listmenl for service in the Civil war. Jlis pa- 
 
 the prominent Virginia families and the fam- triotic spirit being aroused by the continued 
 
 ily furnished a governor to that state. YVil- attempt of the south to overthrow the Union. 
 
 ham Evilsizor, a brother of -Mr-. Reep, became he enlisted in August, 1862, as a member of 
 
 a resident of Bushnell. McDonough count)", 111- Company K. of the One Hundred and Sixth 
 
 inois, where he lived lor a number of years Volunteer Infantry under Colonel Latham, of 
 
 and afterward removed to Iowa, being a resi- Logan county, and Lieutenant Colonel Camp- 
 
 ■ l< in of West Point. Warren county, that state, bell. The regiment was attached to the Six- 
 
 when last heard from. One of her sisters, teentli Army Corps commanded by General 
 
 Mrs. .lane Fife, is still a resident of Harrison Hurlburt and the first battle in which the regi- 
 
 county, Indiana. Another brother, David Evil- ment participated was on the Tennessee river, 
 
 sizor, removed to Missouri. George W. Evil- Later the troops did dut\ at Vicksburg and 
 
 sizor was a soldier in an Indiana regiment dur- along the Yazoo river, and aided in holding 
 
 ing tin- ('i\il war ami served lor three years, hack Johnston's forces. Subsequently they 
 
 talcing part in il ngagements with the Army went to Helena. Arkansas, ami took part in a 
 
 of the Cumberland, fight at Clarendon on the White river in that 
 
 Philip Reep removed from North Caroline to state. After defeating the rebels at that point 
 what i~ now Harrison county, Indiana, al an the Union troops moved on to Little Rock ami 
 early epoch in its development. He journeyed succeeded in driving Price from that rebel 
 westward on foot in company with several wtit- stronghold after engaging in a cavaln fighl 
 panions, who traveled in the same way. He there. Mr. Reep was mustered out at Tim 
 was then hut twenty-one years of age, and he Bluff, Arkansas, in August. 1865, for hostil- 
 wa- led to leave North Carolina because he had ities hail ceased ami the war had been brought 
 to patrol the slaves al night. Establishing his to a successful close. He now receives a pen- 
 home in what was then the far west, he turned sion in recognition of his services. He was al- 
 io- attention to farming aid continued to c. irry ways a faithful and loyal soldier, unfaltering 
 
 on agricultural pursuits throughout his re in- in the performance of his duty, whether it 
 
 ing days. He was twice married ami had three called him into the thickest of the fight or sta 
 
 children by the first wife and one son by the tioned him on the lonely picket line. 
 
 second wife, namely: Man became the wife On the l-i of January, 1867, Mr. Reep »,i- 
 
 of John Summer-, who came to Illinois in united in marriage to Mi-- Anna 11. Dowell, 
 
 1857, afterward removed to Nebraska during a daughter of Thomas V. Howell. Sr.. who was
 
 394 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENARD C01 \TY 
 
 one of the early settlers of Illinois, and Ins u| a good farm of one hundred and sixty 
 
 children, the brothers and sister of Mrs. acres, well kept, neatness and thrift character- 
 Reep, are as follows: Samuel EL, who is mar- izing it in every department. In business he 
 ried and owns much town property', Ins home is energetic, alert and enterprising, and he de- 
 being near Miami in Indian Territory; Wil- serves much credii for what he bas accom- 
 liam I., who is a miner and fruit farmer re- plished. 
 siding at Grant's Pass, Oregon; and Mrs. Mar- 
 tha A. Montgomery, who is living in Peters- — - 
 burg. CJnto Mr. and Mrs. Reep have been 
 
 burn eleven children: Frank died in infancy. JAMES T. FOSTER. 
 Nannie B. married Walter Gum, a dealer in .lame- 'I'. Foster is one of the best known 
 line horses in Chicago, and they have one son, citizens of Menard county, acquainted with 
 I'm \ Eli. Thomas P., who practices law in early events which form its pioneer history, 
 Petersburg, married Laura Shipp and lias two as well as with the business, intellectual and 
 children. Martha Ann is the wife of Charles mural development, which comprise its annals 
 E. Clarke and has two children. Her husband in later days. He was born in Marion county, 
 is a railroad man. now managing a read at Indiana, near the city of Indianapolis. July 
 Tine Bluffs, Arkansas, and has a large farm 25, 1836. His parents, Augustin E. and Per- 
 at Warren sburg, Missouri. Mary Luella is the, melia (Wright) foster, were natives of Ken- 
 widow of Lour Golden, by whom she had two tucky, in which state they remained fur a 
 children, A. Louis and Sophia Marie, and is few years after their marriage and then re- 
 new at home \\iili her parents. Eli married moved to Indiana. It i- believed that the Fos- 
 Regina Capinos and is a lumberman residing ter family is of Scotch lineage, and it is defi- 
 in Canute, Oklahoma. Edward I., married nitely known that they were early colonists of 
 Mrs. Dr. Phillips and is a barber of Gerry, ok- Virginia and Maryland. Augustin E. Foster 
 lahnnia. Alice Maud is the wife of Charles was a farmer by occupation ami in the fall of 
 E. Batterton, a graduate pharmacist who is 1843 be removed with his family from Indiana 
 conducting a drug store in Chicago, and they to Sangamon county, Illinois, settling near 
 have one child. Homer S. was accidentally Curran, and about ten miles from the city 
 - 1 u it December 13, 1902, and died when nine- of Springfield, where his sen .lames was 
 teen vears of age. Ethel Cauble is at home reared. The country was new and unimproved 
 with her parents. One child died in infancy, ami wild game of all kinds was abundant, in- 
 Mr. Reep gives an earnest support to the eluding deer, turkeys, prairie chickens, quails, 
 Republican party ami Ins personal popularity brants and dinks. There were also many coons 
 and the confidence reposed m him is indicated and opossums, wolves and foxes. Mr. Fos- 
 by the facf that he was elected in a Democratic ter of tin- review often saw the mule trains 
 county to the office of countv treasurer, in upon the track id' what is now the Wabash 
 which position he rendered capable and efficienl Railroad ami he heard the first steam cars come 
 service during bis two years' term, lie has in mi that road, lie was in Springfield tie 
 also been a school director and road supervisor day the first train of cars came in over the 
 and the public interest may "ell be intrusted read of the Chicago & Alton in 1853, and there 
 in his care, for he is as loyal in citizenship was great excitement in the city. In April, 
 in days of peace as when be followed the old 1867, he came te Greenview, to which placi 
 flag mi southern battle-fields. For thirty-two mi Saturday, about the middle of Juno, that 
 rears be has been a member of the Masonic year, the railroad was completed. The citizens 
 fraternity ami is true to iis teachings ami ten- of Greenview bad promised the workmen if 
 ets, being in full sympathy with the principles they would complete the line to the village on 
 of the craft. His wife is a member of the that day they should have all the beer they 
 Christian church and he was formerly identi- could drink. The la-i rail- were laid about 
 lied with the Baptist church. Their home is six o'clock in the afternoon and that evening a
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 395 
 
 "jollification" was held and then was great 1861 lie removed to (Jrcenview, where lie con- 
 exeitemeni in Greenview. tinned to work al the mason's trade for two 
 The old Foster homestead was the place for years, after which lie engaged in clerking in 
 religious meetings in those early days for a hardware store for ten years. He next be- 
 there was no church near and the famil) en- gan buying grain, in which business he con- 
 tertained the pioneer ministers, including such tinued for six years, and then resumed work 
 men as Peter Cartwright, Peter Akers, John ;l1 the mason's trade. When he arrived in 
 S. Barger, A. Bradshaw, Wingate Newman, Green view, in the spring of 1867, there were 
 Benjamin Newman, I. S. Kimber- -all of sa- only fifteen dwellings here, one hotel, one dry- 
 cred memory, now gon< to their reward. In goods store, one grocer) store, a drug store, 
 
 those earh days James T. Foster and his broth- a harness shop and ■ church—the Cumber- 
 
 ers would often sit up late and shell corn, land Presbyterian, of which the Rev. R. D. 
 
 and each would load a sack full upon a horse Miller was pastor. All who were heads of 
 
 the next morning and thus proceed to mill, families have died or moved awa\ and only 
 
 The mills were then operated by horse or water three of those who were children a1 that time 
 
 power, and they would wait all day for their remain, n ly: Mrs. Rose Estill, Mrs. P. J. 
 
 grisl in be ground. Occasionally they would Pahnquist and Charles Wilkinson. 
 
 hitch the yoke of oxen to the wagon and make At the time of the Civil war Mr. Foster was 
 
 the trip in that way. and after their return drafted in 186J and paid a substitute to go 
 
 their mother would bake a fine pot E com in his place. He was elected justice of the 
 
 in a skillet mi the hearth in front of the fire peace tor Greenview precincl in the fall of 
 
 ami a fine joint of moat or a chicken was 1880, to lill ou1 the unexpired term of D. T. 
 
 cooked on the crane over the big fire in the Hughes, and after a year was re-elected in the 
 
 old fashioned fireplace, and all were happy and fall of 1881, for a term of lour years. In ih.it 
 
 contented. James T. Foster attended the com- ti man; noted lawsuits wore tried before him 
 
 inon schools, wherein were taught spelling, and prominent lawyers of lliis and other coun- 
 
 reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, gram- ties appeared before him to plead their suils. 
 
 mar and United States history. He finished his In polities he has always been a Republican 
 
 course when about seventeen vears of age and where state ami national issues are involved 
 
 then gave hi- entire attention to his farm l>nt at municipal ami count) elections lie has 
 
 work. lie made a hand plowing corn when always voted independently of part) ins. lie 
 
 hut eight years of age. It was about thai time cast In- first presidential vote for Abraham l.in- 
 
 that he null' three miles to join a temperance coin and voted for the ureal war governor, 
 
 society and took- a pledge thai he has kept Richard Yates. He has voted at every election 
 
 inviolate to this day, never using tobacco or since the town was incorporated, save one in 
 
 liquor in any form nor let profanity pass his the spring of 1902, whei account ■>( his 
 
 lip.-, lie followed the occupation of farming crippled condition he could not go to the polls. 
 
 for a number of years after attaining his ma- having falle i the sidewalk on the loth of 
 
 jority. After his marriage he engaged in agri- February, 1902, and sustained injuries which 
 
 cultural pursuits in Sangamon county until have caused him to go upon crutches contin- 
 
 April, 1863, when he removed to Menard conn- ually since, lie has voted for every president 
 
 ty and lived upon the farm now- owned by since Lincoln with the exception of Cleveland. 
 
 Bane) Brothers. After two years he removed In the spring "i I8f>5 Mr. Foster became a 
 
 to Middletown, Logan county, there remaining member of the Independent tinier of Odd Fel- 
 
 from the spring of LS65 until the spring of low-, filled all the chairs of the local lodge and 
 
 L867. The first year he rode the Middletown remained a member for mam vears. II" was 
 
 circuit as an assistant Methodisl preacher, then reared in the faith of the Methodist church. 
 
 taught school for nine months and worked at which he joined in the fall of 1850, remaining 
 
 the mason's trade for three months, also plas- one of it- mbers until L886, when the church 
 
 tering ami laying brick. In the spring of of Greenview was disbanded and he took- his
 
 
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 church letter to the First Presbyterian church 
 of Greenview, of which he and his wife are 
 now members. He is serving as superintendent 
 of the Sunday-sehoo] and is an ardent church 
 worker, but not a strict sectarian, believing 
 in the union of churches and reciprocal rela- 
 tions between all churches and that if the heart 
 and the purposes of life are no1 right there is 
 nothing in the name. 
 
 On the 10th <>l April. 1856, Mr. Foster was 
 married, in .Mason county, to Miss Martha E. 
 Smith, a daughter of James II and Martha 
 ('. (Davis) Smith, natives of Indiana. The 
 family had previously lived in Kentucky, and 
 the grandfather of Mrs. Foster came from Ire- 
 land to the United States. His father was an 
 English lord. Mr. and Mrs. Foster lost two 
 children in infancy and reared six. of whom 
 three have since died, namely: Mrs. Martha 
 Bell Leppert, Mrs. Etta P. Olds and Adda May 
 Foster. Those living are Thomas Leroy. 
 Maggie E.. and Mrs. Sarah E. Gunston, of 
 Middletown, Illinois. The son was married 
 September '.'. 1903, to Miss Minnie Reeves, of 
 Petersburg, and took his bride to his parents' 
 
 home, w here they still live. 
 
 Mr. Foster can recall nian\ interesting events 
 concerning local and state history. He went 
 to Chatham. Illinois, to sec the Mexican sol- 
 diers when they were camped there in 1845, 
 on their way to St. Louis, where they wen 
 to take boats for Mexico. He was present at 
 the great political rally in Springfield, Illinois, 
 August 8, 1860, when Lincoln attempted to 
 -peak bu1 his auditors crowded around him so 
 closely that they broke down the wooden plat- 
 form on which he was standing. He was also 
 presenl at the funeral of the lamented Lincoln. 
 seeing him twice while he was lying in state. 
 Me was in the long procession and was but a 
 low feet away from Bishop Simpson when he 
 preached the funeral. He often saw Lincoln 
 in In.- early life and had a lone- talk with him 
 after In- election and before lie -tailed for 
 Washington. Mr. Foster wap also well ac- 
 quainted with Lincoln's law partner. W. II. 
 Herndon. He first saw Springfield in the fall 
 of 1843, when the city was I nit a small village. 
 He could starl from home and drive to Spring- 
 held, passing the comer of only two farms and 
 
 driving in almost a straight line across the 
 prairies, where in place- the grass was as high 
 as a man's head. lie can remember when 
 prairie lire- would break out and all the 
 people would fighl them, even the women, ar- 
 raying themselves in woolen garments, assist- 
 ing. Tlie\ would first plow around the ignited 
 tract and then hack lire, and at time- the 
 names were so widespread that it seemed as 
 if the whole world was on lire. 
 
 Mr. Foster is now in his sixty-ninth year, 
 his wife in her sixty-eighth year, lie has long 
 been a resident of central Illinois and no his- 
 tory of this county would be complete without 
 the record of his life so widely and Eavorablj 
 is lie known and so active has hi' been in ad- 
 vancing local progress in his community. 
 
 JOHN F. WTLLSON. 
 
 John F. Willson, who is now practically liv- 
 ing a retired life 111 Tallula save for the super- 
 vision which he gives hi- property interests, 
 was formerly an active factor in banking cir- 
 cles and his business career is such as any 
 man might be proud to possess, for he has 
 mounted step by step from a humble financial 
 position to one of affluence, never making an 
 engagement that he has nol filled nor incurring 
 an obligation that he has not met. He has the 
 respeel and confidence of the business com- 
 munity and the good will of all with whom lie 
 has been associated in cot ereial transactions. 
 
 Mr. Willson was born January 4, 1830, in 
 that part id' Sangamon county, which after- 
 ward became Menard county. He is a son of 
 George W. and Millej | Row) Willson. The 
 father was of Scotch-Irish and German lineage 
 and was horn in Deckertown, Xew Jersey, 
 September 26, 1794. His father was one of a 
 family of twelve sons, eleven of whom settled 
 in the territory of Ohio at a very early epoch 
 in it- development. George W. Willson. the 
 father of our subject, was reared in North 
 Carolina and after arriving at years of ma- 
 turity migrated to Kentucky, where he wedded 
 Miss Millev Row, who-,- birth occurred near 
 Petersburg, Aiiginia. August 5, 1802, and who
 
 J. F. WTLLSOK
 
 MRS. .1. F. WILLSON.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 101 
 
 accompanied her parents on their removal to enlisting in the One Hundred and Fourteenth 
 Garrard county, Kentucky, where she was mar- Illinois [nfantrj as assistanl regimental sur- 
 ged. Mr. Willson was a journeyman shoe- geon. He was stationed at La Grange, Ten- 
 maker and arrived in Kentucky aboui 1816. tiessee, and there received orders from General 
 Following his marriage he removed to Wash- Granl to join the regiment at Vicksburg. In 
 ii-idii. Indiana, and in L826 settled in what August. 18G3, lie lefl the arnn and returned 
 is dow Menard county, Illinois. He purchased to Menard county. He then abandoned the 
 
 a claim of Solomon Pruitt, who was one of the practice of dicine and established a grocerj 
 
 soldiers of the Black Hawk war. and made his and hardware store. He likewise acted as post- 
 home upon thai place throughoul the remainder master of Tallula for a number of years. In 
 of In- life. There were three children in the his commercial career he was ever watchful of 
 family at the time of the removal to this slate the indications pointing to success, made the 
 the mother carrying the youngesi child on must of his opportunities and as the years ad- 
 horseback. After arriving in Illinois the father vanced gained very creditable and gratifying 
 devoted his energies to farming and improved prosperity. Eventually he developed his busi- 
 a good trad of land. Here he reared his ness into a banking establishment in 1877, fol- 
 I'amilv (>!' ten children, five sons and five daugh- lowing the death of Ins partner, William Green, 
 ters. Two of the sisters are yet living, Mrs. and later he disposed of the hank to the firm 
 Mary Wilhite, a resident of Jacksonville, Illi- of Scott, Green & Suns. In the meantime he 
 
 nois. and Mrs. Elizabeth Curt, who resides in had made extensive i judicious investments 
 
 \ losha, Kansas. The members of the family m property and he still superintends his farm- 
 in order id' birth are: Rachel, Mrs. Margarel ing interests, having seven hundred acres of 
 Combs; William K.: James K.. who married valuable land in Menard and Cass counties, 
 and removed to Kansas, where Ids death oc- He was the second man to use tiling in the 
 
 curred; John F.; Mrs. Wilhite; Mrs. Sarah community and he has been st progressive in 
 
 Smedlev; Henry ('.. who married and died in his farming methods, putting Eorth every efforl 
 
 Springfield, Illinois, after serving his country to improve his land and make it highly produc- 
 
 in the One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois tive. He is a man of resourceful business 
 
 Volunteer Infantry, being captured at Gun- ability, enterprising and with keen discrimina- 
 
 town, Mississippi, after which he was sent to lion, ami in the control of his varied interests 
 
 Andersonville prison, where he lost Ins health; he has manifested strong purpose and marked 
 
 George Milton, who was likewise a member of sagacity, as well as unfaltering diligence, 
 
 the same regimenl and died in camp at Mem- On the I'.'th of January, I860, occurred the 
 
 phis. Tennessee; and Mrs. Elizabeth Curt, marriage of Mr. Willson and Miss Sarah M. 
 
 The father was a Whig in politics ami one of Cruni. a daughter of James and Christina 
 
 the first commissioners of Menard county. (Ream) ('rum. She was horn in ('ass county. 
 
 John F. Willson acquired his early educa- Illinois, near Virginia, September 9, 1838. 
 
 lion at Winchester as a student in an academy Her lather was one of the earl) settlers of 
 
 in Scott county, Illinois. His collegiate course Cass c tt\ and prior to thai time resided in 
 
 was pursued in Jacksonville, this state, and then Indiana, while her mother was from Ohio, in 
 wishing to enter upon the practice of medicine which stale had lived the paternal and mater- 
 he began reading under a physician of Spring- mil grandparents of Mrs. Willson. The Cruni 
 field, Illinois, while later he attended lectures family was established in Cass count\ prior to 
 in Cincinnati. Ohio, ami was thus qualified for the deep -now. which is one of the memorable 
 the calling. He entered upon the practice of events in the earh history of Illinois. Her 
 medicine in 1858 in the vicinity of Tallula father was a farmer ami continued to follow 
 and there devoted his energies to ministering thai occupation throughoul his active business 
 to the sick until after the outbreak of the Civil career, winch continued up to the time of his 
 war. when his patriotic spirit was aroused and death, although he passed awa\ in 1899 at 
 h,. responded to the call of the government, the verj advanced age of ninety-three years.
 
 111-.' 
 
 AST AND PEESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 I!,. w ife died in 18' 8 al the age of sixty-three 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs W illson have been born 
 seven children: James 0., who is vice-presi- 
 dent of the People's Bank at Bloomington, Elli- 
 qois, and married Ollie Whitmer; Frank G., 
 who died in Winfield, Kansas; Mrs. Clara B. 
 Shasted, whose husband is a practicing physi- 
 cian of Pittsfield, Illinois, and a graduate of 
 
 , Philadelphia Medical College; Howard 'I'.. 
 who married Myra Henderson, of Virden, Illi- 
 nois, and is a linguisl and has also studied coca! 
 music, his wife acting as his accompanist, and 
 i- now singing in grand opera in Germany : 
 Charles C, who is assistanl cashier in the Bank- 
 . rs' National Bank of Chicago, and who has 
 been admitted to the bar; a daughter who died 
 in infancy; and Royal A., who is now pursuing 
 a. classical course in the Northwestern Qniver- 
 sitv at Evanston. All of the members of the 
 i.i s 1 1 1 1 \ have been proi ided with excellent edu- 
 cational privileges and are well qualified to 
 ,„•(• u|,\ responsible positions in business life. 
 It has taken an aggregate of thirty years for 
 Mr. Willson to give hi- six children collegiate 
 educations. 
 
 The parents hold membership in the Chris- 
 1 1 ; 1 1 1 rlinr, I. and in his political views Mr. Will- 
 son was originally a Whig, hut upon the organ- 
 ization of the Republican party ho joined its 
 ranks anil has since been one id' its stalwart 
 advocati -. Hi- has bei n an active, useful and 
 bonorable career and throughout his entire 
 be has resided in Menard county, while 
 ;;- the Mats have advanced he lias improved 
 his business opportunities until the goal of 
 success has been reached and he is now enabled 
 
 to rest in The i'iijo\ hi of the fruits of bis 
 
 former toil. 
 
 LEWIS WATKINS. 
 
 Lewis Watkins, now deceased, was among 
 the early settlers of Menard county and though 
 
 many year- : me and gone since he passed 
 
 aua\ , he i membered by pioneer resi- 
 
 dents of the county as one who was active in 
 business, reliable and trustworthy at all times. 
 His widow is now the oldest resident of Me- 
 
 nard count\ and this history would be incom- 
 plete were then failure to make mention of 
 this worthy couple. Mr. Watkins was born 
 on the 7th of February, 1810, in New Albany, 
 Indiana. The great middle west was then 
 largely an unclaimed and unimproved district 
 and he opened his eyes to the lighl of day 
 in a pioneer home. His parents were James 
 and Stenia (Swearens) Watkins. Kentucky 
 people, who had gone to Indiana a1 a very early 
 epoch in its development. .lames Watkins 
 came to Illinois in 1827, prior to the time of 
 tin- (loop -now. which has become an historic 
 event in the annals of this state. This oc- 
 curred in the winter of 1830-3] and for months 
 the snow- lay to a great depth over all thi 
 country side so that it made it impossible Eoi 
 the settlers to leave their homes. James Wat- 
 kins settled in Menard county, where he took 
 up land from the government and he man 
 in- home at Bobtown, where he owned a mill. 
 lie ha.l descended in the maternal line Eron 
 the McClure family of Kentucky. Through 
 out his business career he carried on fanning. 
 being anion- tin curly tillers of the soil in 
 tin- portion of the state. He died at a very 
 early age. 
 
 Mr. Watkins was the eldest in a family of 
 five sons and three daughters. He came to 
 Illinois in early life and here remained until 
 his death, following the occupation of farm- 
 ing. He aided in turning the first furrow upou 
 mam a field and after plowing his land he 
 planted In- -ee.l and in due course of time 
 
 reaped g I harvests. In Ins work be was quite 
 
 successful ami at the time of liis death he 
 owned three hundred and forty acre- of rich 
 land. 
 
 In 182*1 he was united in marriage to Miss 
 Lucinda Kirby. a daughter of Cyrus and ivittie 
 R. (Greene) Kirby, the latter a daughter of 
 George Greene. The Kirbys came from Bowl- 
 ing Green, Kentucky, to Illinois when Mrs. 
 Watkins was only six months old, arriving in 
 1809. They made their way to Edwardsville, 
 Madison county. Illinois, and later located on 
 Shoal creek, leaving their first location becati- ■■ 
 of a fear of the Indian-, who were very nu- 
 merous in that locality and did not always 
 manifest a friendly spirit. Afterward they
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT"} 103 
 
 came to Menard county, arriving here in 1821. broughl lier knowledge of the world's ;i« In .-i ti*-»-— 
 
 ai a time when there were only two families inent. She can relate man\ interesting inci- 
 
 iii this locality. One of these was the Eamil} dents concerning the methods of living in the 
 
 of William Clary. Mr. K i il ■ \ entered a tract early days and events winch occurred in pio- 
 
 of land from the government and at once be- neer times. She made all of the clothing u d 
 
 gan the difficull work of transforming the by the family from wool raised on the farm, 
 
 wild prairie into productive fields. The Fam- The} also raised cotton to mix with the wool, 
 
 ily lived in true pioneer style, experiencing At that period in her life there was no town 
 
 many hardships and privations, bul at die in Menard count} and the settlers had to Lie 
 
 same time enjoying some pleasures which are lime distances to market. It was necessan 
 
 net known at the preseni day. The Greene that one should go in Y'andalia to secure a 
 
 family was originally from Tennessee, bui the marriage license. There was al that time a 
 
 representatives of the name, who firs! came Mrs. Rachel Clary, the widow of Spencer Clary, 
 
 te Illinois, made their way to this state irom who had two suitors, one Banister l'> I ani 
 
 Kentucky settling in Madison county near Ed- the other Albert Hunter. On a eertaii 
 
 wardsville. Greene county was named in lion- sion Bond went to Vandalia on horseback to 
 or of John Greene, who died in Springfield, net a license to wed Mrs. Clary. < >n the re- 
 while serving his districl as a member of the turn trip he met Mr. Hunter going on fool for 
 state legislature. Mrs. Watkins' grandfather the same purpose. Bond told Hunter that he 
 Greene was a Revolutionary soldier, who served had the license, whereupon Hunter remarked, 
 throughout the war for independence and also ••'Thai beats the eternal," but he quietly gave 
 took pari in some of the Indian wars. Mrs. way before the more successful suitor. Mrs. 
 Watkins was the eldest of a family of nini Watkins is now the oldest person living in 
 
 children and she and the youngest are the Old} this county. She lias I n a widow since 1858 
 
 one- now living. Betse} lived to an advanced and she has continuoush resided upon the old 
 age, bul has now passed away. George, who home where she and her husband lived in 
 was married and had a family, died in March, their early married life. She has one hundred 
 1904. Sophia was the wife of Samuel Wat- acre- of land here, and her son, Jesse K. Wat- 
 kins. Polly was the wife of John close, kills, together with his family, live with her. 
 \ane\ was the wife of Chris Atterbern aud He has five children, all living, namely: John 
 the\ had five children. Rhoda married John I'... who married Miss Ella Stith and lives near 
 Brown. Jesse died unmarried at (he age of Oakford; Thompson M.. at home: George, who 
 thirty-sis years. Tillie, the youngest, is the i- living in Petershurg; Lulu Oilman, who 
 wife of Samuel Watkins. ami has five children, resides in Atterberry; and Wood-on <;.. who 
 
 Mrs. Lucinda Watkins has forty-five grand- is located at Chandlerville. 
 children, over one hundred great-grandchildren 
 and several great-great-grandchildren. The 
 youngesi grandchild is at least twenty-two years 
 
 of age, and tl Idesl is fifty-five years of age, RUSSELL WATKINS 
 
 having been born in 1849. A photograph has The subject of this sketch is the son of Mc- 
 
 just been taken of five generations of the Earn- Clane and Hannah E. Watkins. His father 
 
 ily and the youngesi in the group is nineteen was born December 28, L82G, three miles 
 
 years of age. Mrs. Watkins has lived upon southwest of Petersburg, Illinois, his parents 
 
 her preseni farm for seventy-seven years, occu- being Thomas and Mary (Greene) Watkins. 
 
 pying the preseni house for sixty-two years, who came to tin.- stale from Green niv. 
 
 Shi' had lew privileges and advantages in youth, Kentucky. When McClane Watkins was seven 
 
 attending school perhaps only si\ weeks, but years of age be was attacked with fever and 
 
 -he has been a witness of remarkable changes the attending physician gave dim mercury in 
 
 in Menard county and Illinois and. in fact, the form of calomel, which produced salivation 
 
 throughout the country, and the years have that so effected him that bis entire svstem was
 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 ■ ii and he wa • a lielpless cripple Eor Life. 
 He was never able to walk but his vital or- 
 gans and brain were not affected. In many 
 respects lie was a man of wonderful gifts. He 
 seemed, by intuition, to know all aboul horses 
 and cattle. His business ability was of the 
 \it\ besl and in spite of his crippled condi- 
 tion he amassed quite a fortune. He was never 
 mil of the state of Illinois; was never on a 
 steamboat or the cars. In fad he never rode 
 in any conveyance but a farm wagon or the 
 little wagon that was made especially for him, 
 and was never more than one hundred miles 
 from the place where he was born. In 1859 
 he was united in marriage to Hannah Ellen 
 Jones, who was born March 23, L838, and died 
 October 13, 1866. He died June 6, 1902, at 
 the age of seventy-five years, five months and 
 eight days. 
 
 Russell Watkins was born near Petersburg, 
 July 29, I860, and has one sister, Mary, who 
 was born May 1. 1866, and is now the wife of 
 Edward Miller, residing in Petersburg. Rus- 
 sell Watkins has never married. He nun- a 
 large farm three miles southwest of Petersburg 
 and is engaged in farming and stock-raising, 
 in both of which he is very successful. He 
 is a plain, unassuming man. attends strictly 
 to his own affairs, and is a shrewd and success- 
 ful man in all that he undertakes. He stands 
 very high among his neighbors as a man of 
 honestv and integrity. 
 
 X. W. BRANSON. 
 
 X. W. Branson, secretary of tin' state heard 
 of law examiners of Illinois and prominent in 
 legal and political circles, is a native of Jack- 
 sonville. Hi.- father, William Branson, was 
 born in North Carolina ami his mother, whose 
 maiden name was Jane Cooledge, was a native 
 of Kentucky. They were married in the latter 
 state ami almost immediately removed to Jack- 
 sonville, Illinois, where Mr. Branson continued 
 to reside until his death, n ing a factor in the 
 business life of that city a- a furniture dealer. 
 In hi- political views he was a Republican, in- 
 terested in the work of the party and doing 
 Inn- in his powc to | iromote M - growth 
 
 and insure it- success, lie exercised consid- 
 erable influence in poli ical affairs, in- opinions 
 carrying weigh! in the council- of the party 
 and ai one time lie efficiently served as mayor 
 of Jacksonville. Both he and his wife have 
 passed away. In his fraternal relations he 
 was an <)t\t\ Fellow and he belonged to the 
 Presbyterian church. 
 
 X. \Y. Branson, the eldest of a family of 
 five children ami the only one now living, 
 began In- education in a subscription school 
 and afterward attended the high school of 
 which Newton Bateman was teacher. Later he 
 continued In- studies in the Illinois College 
 ami was graduated on the completion of the 
 classical course. Desiring- to miter upon the 
 practice of law. he studied with David A. 
 Smith, a well known attorney of that day. ami. 
 having mastered many of the principle- of 
 jurisprudence, successfully passed tin- examin- 
 ation required lor admission to the bar. 
 
 Mr. Branson chose Petersburg as the -.cue 
 of his professional labors and coming to this 
 city entered Upon the practice of his chosen 
 profession. He has since resided here, enjoy- 
 ing a large > lientage, which has been accorded 
 him in recognition of his comprehensive under- 
 standing of the law. his close application, his 
 fidelity to the interests of his clients and his 
 strict regard for the high ethics of the pro- 
 fession, lie has been connected with much of 
 the important litigation tried in the courts of 
 In- district, lie belongs to tin- Illinois State 
 Bar Association ami he own- a very valuable 
 law library with the contents of which he is 
 largely familiar. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Branson has al- 
 ways teen a Republican since age conferred upon 
 him the right of franchise and his labors in 
 behalf of the board have won public recog- 
 nition as to their value and importance. He 
 ha- twice been a member of the state Republi- 
 can centra] committee, was once a delegate to 
 the national Republican convention ami was 
 twice an alternate to the national conventions 
 of hi- party. He also served as presidential 
 elector and was register in bankruptcy under 
 i lie bankruptcy law of 1867. being appointed 
 to the position by Chief Justice Chase. He 
 held tin' office during tin 1 time that the law
 
 V W. BRANSON.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 107 
 
 was in force, having jurisdiction over .-ill of law examiners upon its creation in L897. He 
 southern Qlinois, including sixty counties, with is yei connected with the board and is now 
 offices for several years in Springfield. He serving as it- secretary ami treasurer. He is 
 was twice elected a member of the state Legis- vice-president ami director of the Old Salem 
 lature ami served for three sessions. While Chautauqua Association ami is a member of 
 serving in the twenty-eighth general assembly the Masonic fraternity, having been made a 
 he was chairman of the committee on state in- Mason m Jacksonville. Illinois He now be- 
 titutions ami a member of the c nittees on longs to Clinton lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Peters- 
 judiciary ami state penitentiaries. During the burg. 
 
 twenty-ninth general assembly Nairn's was Mr. Branson was married to Mi>s Fannie 
 speaker of the house ami the legislature was Regnier, of Menard county, ami they have two 
 Democratic. During thai term Mr. Branson children: Edward R., who is telegraph editor 
 served also mi the judiciary ami penitentiary of the Springfield Journal; ami Ella R., who 
 committees ami some others. There were (wo resides with her parents. Notwithstanding his 
 sessions called for the twenty-eighth general as- extremely active life he is a man of remark- 
 sembly, a special one being convened fur the able vitality, actively connected with important 
 purpose of revising the law-. Other political ami extensive legal ami political interests. Hi' 
 honors have been conferred upon Mr. Branson, has a statesman's grasp of affairs ami in mat- 
 He was master commissioner of the United ters of deep political concern he lias always 
 States courts in Springfield ami Chicago for a kept well informed, exerting strong influence 
 number of wars ami during thai period he in support of (ho measures and movements 
 had control of the legal departments of sev- which he has deemed would prove of value in 
 eral railroad receiverships. Several mails promoting the welfare of state ami nation. 
 were sold under decrees of I nited States courts 
 during that period ami Ins operations in this 
 
 connection involved millions of dollars and 
 
 , , , , .... ,, | FREEMAN 0. R, BAKER. 
 imfny legal technicalities. tiis course, liow- 
 
 ever, was ever sustained by the United States Freeman 0. R. Baker, a member of the Me- 
 appellate ami supreme courts. He was the nard county bar, practicing in Petersburg, was 
 representative of the courl during the time of born in Salisbury, Illinois. January 26, L875, 
 these railroad receiverships and was thus con- his parents being 0. II. ami Polly Ann (Dun- 
 uected with thousands of legal points, on which ran) Baker. His paternal grandfather was 
 he gave expert legal opinions, Ins decisions al- John Baker, of Ohio, and the maternal grand- 
 ways being sustained by those higher in author- father was William Duncan, a native of Facil- 
 ity. The federal courts would foreclose the re- tucky. Both were farmers ami were prominent 
 ceivership of the railroads ami Mr. Branson in their day ami locality. 0. R. Baker was 
 would then have in charge the sale of the roads also a fanner by occupation, ami was a man 
 in order To satisfy the creditors. During Ins of influence in his community, lie took an 
 
 ter £ office there was an unusual amount of active ami helpful interest in public affairs, 
 
 this business to he transacted ami bis cour-e aided iii shaping the public policy along pro- 
 awakened uniform commendation because of ils gressive line-, ami twice served as county treas- 
 justice. urer id' Sangamon county, Illinois. 
 
 Aside from bis more specifically political fie,. man <). R. Baker pursued his education 
 
 dull.- Mr. Branson has done much in behalf in the public schools of bis native town and 
 
 of the public service, occupying position- of in L893 began teaching school at Sugar Point, 
 
 trust and responsibility wherein he has ever in Menard county, lie followed that profes- 
 
 been found faithful to bis duty. He was a sioii lor aboul seven years and durinu the last 
 
 trustee of the Illinois institution for the blind three years was principal of the first ward 
 
 for eighteen years and he was appointed by the school in Petersburg, lie gained an excellent 
 
 supreme court a member of the state board of reputation as an educator, In- service giving
 
 108 
 
 PAST AND 
 
 ESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 general satisfaction, but desiring to become a 
 member of the bar he devoted his leisure time 
 to the study of law and was admitted to prac- 
 tice in 1900, after successfully passing an exam- 
 ination before the supreme court. The follow- 
 ing year he was elected city attorney of Peters- 
 burg, and in October, L901, he was appointed 
 master in chancery of Menard count] by the 
 circuit court. Hi- mind is analytical and in 
 the preparation of his eases lie i- careful and 
 painstaking, so that he presents Ins cause be- 
 fore the court in a clear, concise, logical man- 
 ner. 
 
 Politically a Democrat, Mr. Baker lakes an 
 active interest in the work of the party and 
 has contributed to its local success by his ef- 
 forts fur its growth. He regards the duties of 
 citizenship as abundantly worthy of Ins best 
 efforts and has been the champion of many 
 measures which have proven of value to city 
 ami county. Fraternally he is connected with 
 the Knights el' Pythias lodge of Petersburg, in 
 which he lias tilled all the chairs ami he was 
 one el' the charter members of the Modern 
 Woodmen camp, of which he served as the 
 first venerable counsel. 
 
 In Springfield, Illinois, on the 1st of June. 
 1898, Mr. Baker was married to Miss Lura M. 
 l'rinnn. of Athens, Illinois, ami unto them 
 have been born two children, Corlin Primm 
 and Margery Baker. The parents are widely 
 and favorably known socially, and their circle 
 of friends, like hi- practice, is constantly grow- 
 i n u r . 
 
 FRANK A. TERHUNE. 
 Frank A. Terhune is numbered among Me- 
 nard county's native son-, his birth having oc- 
 curred .Inn.' in. L869, on tl hi family home- 
 stead, where lie now resides and where he owns 
 and operates three hundred ami forty acres 
 of rich and valuable land. II.' i- a son of 
 
 .1.- s ainl Ann Elizabeth (Harrison) Terhune. 
 
 who were natives of Kentucky. The father was 
 a farmer h\ occupation ami in 1853 left his 
 native state for Menard county. Qlinois. He 
 located firsl at Petersburg, but soon afterward 
 re ved to Indian Point ami subsequently pur- 
 
 chased land near Curtis, where he began Farm- 
 ing ami stock-raising. He made his home in 
 that locality until his death, which occurred 
 .lime 15, 1887, when he wa- fifty-six years 
 of age, w lii I > In- w He died April 6, 1885, al 
 the age of fifty-five years. 
 
 \o event of special importance occurred to 
 vary the routine of farm life for Frank A. 
 Terhune in Ins youth. He was educated in 
 the Curtis school and has always lived upon 
 the eld family homestead. His father died 
 when the son was hut eighteen years of age 
 ami he at once took charge of the farm in 
 partnership with his brother C. L. Terhune. 
 He has since conducted the home place with 
 good result ami m connection with the rais- 
 ing of the cereal- best adapted to the soil and 
 climate he is also successfully engaged in the 
 breeding of Hereford cattle ami Poland China 
 hogs. He now owns three hundred and forty 
 acre- of land, all of which he cultivates. He 
 ha- improved one hundred ami eighty acres of 
 this ami has placed his farm in excellent con- 
 dition, keeping the buildings ami fences in 
 
 g 1 repair and utilizing the latest improved 
 
 machinery in the cultivation of his crops. 
 
 <)n the Kith of December, 1891, occurred 
 the marriage of Frank A. Terhune and ?tli-s 
 flora E. Spear, a daughter of U. (4. Spear. 
 She was horn August '.'. 1871, and is a graduate 
 of the Creeiiuew high school. Her father 
 carried on general farming and stock-raising on 
 section 20, town-hip in. He wa- horn in 
 Vermont, October 6. L836, and wa- the third 
 in a family id' seven children born unto Elisha 
 and Lucretia (Walker) Spear, who came to 
 this siate in the fall of 1838, ami were there- 
 fore early settlers of the county. George Spear 
 was then hut two year- of age and upon the 
 old family homestead he was reared and has 
 resided thereon throughout his entire life. 
 
 In hi- youth he aided in the arduous task 
 of developing a new farm and in later years 
 he has carried on agricultural pursuits along 
 i he most progressive lines, using the latest im- 
 proved machinery and equipping his place with 
 modern accessories. 
 
 On the nth of October. 1870, George Spear 
 was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Daw- 
 son, who was horn in Indiana, in October.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MKNALMi COUNTY 
 
 409 
 
 1S41. They became the parents of three chil- 
 dren: Flora, who was born Augusi 2, LS71 ; 
 Elva, born .human 26, 1873; and Elisha G., 
 born Januarj 28, 1876. After his marriage 
 the father continued farming on the old home 
 place and is now the owner of a valuable trad 
 of land of five hundred and forty acres. He 
 has been very successful in his chosen life work 
 and because of his unremitting diligence is 
 now the possessor of a very line property. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Terhune have been born 
 two children: Francis Lee, born duly 13, 
 L901; and Marshal) Henry, whose birth oc- 
 curred April 11, 1904. The parents are devot- 
 ed members and active workers of the Presby- 
 terian church of Greenview, in which Mr. Ter- 
 hune i- serving as one of the elders. His busi- 
 ness interests are extensive and claim much of 
 his time and attention, yet he lias found op- 
 portunity to assist in the church work and 
 to promote man] enterprises for the general 
 good. He realizes thai the development of 
 character is all thai really counts in the world 
 and while he has won success he has also made 
 tor himself an honorable name by reason of 
 his straightforward methods and his justice to 
 all in business transactions. 
 
 MISS ELVA G. SPEAE 
 
 Miss Elva G. Spear, one of the propert} 
 holders of township 18, was horn January 26, 
 1873, and is a daughter of G. G. Spear and 
 a sister of Mrs. Frank A. Terhune. She has 
 made her home wiih Mrs. Terhune since March, 
 1898, and she owns one hundred and eighty 
 acres id' land which is managed by Mr. Ter- 
 hune. she is a graduate of the Greenview 
 high school and spends her winters in the south 
 or in Colorado. 
 
 JONATHAN COLBY. 
 
 Jonathan Colby, deceased, during the period 
 between the pioneer epoch in the history id' 
 Menard county and the latter part of the nine- 
 teenth century, so utilized his opportunities 
 ainl the husiness conditions of this pari of 
 
 the state thai he earned a place among its ex- 
 tensive landowners and substantial citizens, 
 and, moreover, he always maintained an hon- 
 orable reputation and an unspotted record For 
 husiness integrity. He was born in Hopkin- 
 ton, New Hampshire, seven mil,- from Con- 
 cord, March 10, 1808, and was a son of Tim- 
 othy and Lydia ( Herrick | Colby, the former 
 a native of New Hampshire and the latter of 
 Massachusetts, both representing old families 
 of New England. Timothy Colby was a farmer 
 and lumberman of the east and in addition to 
 the tilling of the soil operated a lumber mill. 
 
 e online;, through the careful conduct of his 
 business interests, a well-to-do man of his lo- 
 cality. In addition to his other interests he 
 furnished shipmasts for the shipwrights of 
 Portsmouth. His last days were spent at the 
 old homestead m I he Granite stale and both 
 he and his wife died when about ninety years 
 of age. 
 
 Jonathan Colbj began hi.- education in a 
 district school and also attended a select school 
 of I lopkinton, and w hen he attained his ma- 
 jority he went to Boston, where he engaged as 
 a clerk in a mercantile -tore He afterward 
 removed to western New York, when lie was 
 about iwciu \ -five years of age, but did not tan j 
 long in the Empire state. Starting westward, 
 he made hi- wa\ to ( Ihicago by canal and the 
 Great Lakes, and thence proceeded to Salem, 
 Illinois, where he purchased land in what is 
 now Petersburg township, the purchase price 
 being a dollar and a qua rter per acre. Abra- 
 ham Lincoln was at that time postmaster of 
 Salem. A friend from the east brought five 
 Idler- fin- Mr. Colby to Illinois, hut stopping 
 in Chicago he sent the letters on by mail. Mr. 
 Lincoln, putting the letters in his big hat. 
 went out to collect from Mr. Colby the price 
 of postagi — twenty-five cent- apiece, or a dol- 
 lar and a quarter for all — which at that time 
 was the price of an acre of land. Today the 
 land sells lor one hundred and forty dollars 
 per acre, while the postage on that amount of 
 mail would he ten cents. Arriving in this 
 county in is:! I. Mr. Colby turned his atten- 
 tion to fanning and as the years passed by he 
 prospered, lie invested his earnings, above 
 what was needed for the expense- of the home
 
 Ill) 
 
 PAST AMi 
 
 ESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 and farm. 111 more land and eventually became 
 the owner of twelve or fourteen hundred acres, 
 which gradually increased in value, owing to 
 tin' cultivation he bestowed upon it and a rise 
 ci asequenl upon the increased population. Ee 
 was "i f the Yyell-to-do men of Menard coun- 
 ty, and In- success was attributable to Ins own 
 efforts. 
 
 Mr. Colby was married in L837 to Miss 
 Lydia Lngals, a native of Connecticut and a 
 daughter of Ephriam and Lucy [ngals, of Pom- 
 fret, Connecticut, who died in thai state, their 
 children afterward coming wesi to Cass county, 
 [llinois. It was in this neighborhood that Mrs. 
 Colby met her future husband. I " lit i > Mr. and 
 Mrs. Colby were born six children: William 
 1)., a resident of Henry county, [llinois; Mrs. 
 Man I-'. Dixon, of Menard county; Sarah S.. 
 the widofl of John Beekman, of Menard coun- 
 ty; Eenry II.. who is living at Rock ( Irei k, 
 Menard county; Mr-. Maria 1.. Rueker, of Bos- 
 ton, Massachusetts; Grosvenor G., a resideni of 
 Petersburg township. The father died in the 
 i'all of 18S5 and the mother's death occurred 
 in the fall of 1858. They were both members 
 of the Congregational church and Mr. Colby 
 was a Wliig in his political views, until the 
 dissolution of the party, when lie joined the 
 rank- id' the new Republican party. He was 
 never an office seeker, hut was interested in 
 public progress and improvement and was the 
 champion of many progressive measures, lie 
 enjoyed in large measure the respect, confi- 
 dence and admiration of his fellow men, be- 
 cause of his success and the straightforward 
 manner in which it was gained, and from 
 pioneer time- to hi- death he was classed with 
 the valued citizens of bis community. 
 
 .KHIN II. CLARY. 
 
 Meminl county figures as one of the mosl 
 attractive, progressive ami prosperous divisions 
 of the -taie of [llinois, justly claiming a high 
 order of citizenship and a spirit of enterprise 
 which i- certain to conserve consecutive devel- 
 opmeni and marked advancement in the ma- 
 terial upbuilding of the section. The county 
 
 has been and is signalh favored in the class 
 of men who have controlled its affairs in official 
 rapacity, and in this connection the subject 
 
 of tin- review demands representation a- >. 
 
 who has served the county faithfully and well 
 n positions of distinct trust ami responsibility, 
 lie is now serving as county treasurer and as 
 an official as well as private citizen he enjoys 
 tin- esteem and confidence of his fellow men. 
 
 Mr. Clary was horn in township 19, range '. . 
 Menard county, three miles northwest of Pet- 
 ersburg, September 15, 1855. Hi- father, 
 Hugh Clary, whose birth occurred nbout two 
 and three-quarter miles northwest of Petersburg 
 in the year 1831, is a representative of one 
 of the old and prominent pioneer families 
 of this part of the state. The grandfather, 
 John Clary, settled in the grove which was 
 named in his honor. Clary's (J rove, in 1819, 
 and took an active and helpful part in laying 
 the foundation for the present upbuilding and 
 progress of Menard county. He aided in re- 
 claiming the district for the uses of civiliza- 
 tion and for many years was actively identi- 
 fied with agricultural interests here. Hugh 
 Clary was reared amid the wild scenes and en- 
 vironments of ;;iotiei r life and after arriving 
 at years of maturity he established lus home 
 in township 1!'. range ;. There he resided for 
 a number of year-, actively engaged m the till- 
 ing of the -oil and in hi- business career he 
 was ever found reliable and trustworthy. He 
 was a man whom to know was to respect ami 
 honor, because of In- fidelity to manly and 
 upright principles. He married Miss Louisa 
 Traylor, also a native of Menard county, and 
 he died at the home of his son, -T. II. Clary 
 in the year 1896, while his wife is still living 
 with her children. There were nine children 
 in their family. 
 
 J. II. Clary, the second of the family, was 
 educated in the district schools and no event 
 oi special importance occurred to vary the rou- 
 tine of farm life for him in his boyhood and 
 youth. lie worked in the fields when not en- 
 gaged with the duties of the schoolroom and 
 in 1881 he began farming on Ids own account. 
 locating four and a half miles northwest of 
 Petersburg, where he remained for a few 
 years, lie then sold that property and bought
 
 J. II. CLARY.
 
 MRS. J. II. (LAKY.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MEXARD COUNTY Ho 
 
 another farm, of which he retained possession acquaintance of Mis.- tlannah Eailer and the} 
 
 for some time, but a1 Length tie disposed of that were married. The lad} was born in the bLey- 
 
 and spent one year in Iowa. In 1888 he re- stone state. After his marriage Mr. Pestel 
 
 turned to Menard count} and purchased Ins followed carpentering in the easl for a time 
 
 presenl farm of one hundred and twenty-two and later he removed to Springfield, Illinois, 
 
 and a half acres, which is situated aboul three where he worked a1 Ins trade for aboul a year, 
 
 and a half miles northwest of Petersburg on He then rented a small farm and engaged in 
 
 section 34, township L9, range 7. There he the tilling of the soil in connection with his 
 
 has since conducted agricultural interests with carpenter work. Subsequently, however, he 
 
 good success and Ins land is valuable and pro- removed to Athens, where he was employed in 
 
 ductive, annually yielding to him good harvests a tan yard for about a year. Later he bought 
 
 in return for the careful supervision which thirty-six acres of land adjoining Athens, lie 
 
 ,,. gives to the farm work. was actively identified with early progress and 
 
 On the 2d of March. 1881, Mr. Clary was Lmprovemeni in this portion of the stale, con- 
 married to Miss Catherine S. Rutledge, a na- tributing through his building operations to 
 five of Menard county and a daughter of J. the substantial development of Menard county. 
 M. Rutledge. Mr. and Mrs. Clary have be- He was an early settler and reliable business 
 c-ome the parents of two children : Alberta A., man and all who knew him respected him. 
 now deceased ; and Edith E. The parents hold Aboul 1852 there was a cholera epidemic at 
 membership in the Cumberland Presbyterian Athens and he and his wife assisted materially 
 church and Mr. Clary gives Ins political alle- in Hie care of the sick. There were many 
 giance to tin- Democratic party. He has served death- from thai disease ami many people were 
 for two terms as district clerk ami in 1902 he afraid to nurse the sick for fear of contract- 
 was elected to the office of county treasurer, ing the cholera, Imt Mr. ami Mrs. Pestel, with 
 winch position he is now capably tilling. His marked unselfishness and heroic sacrifice, did 
 husiness career has been marked by steady pro- what they could for their neighbors and Eriends. 
 gression and characterized by the success which They lost one of their sons from cholera. 
 always follow- persisted labor and yet he has After living upon their farm near Allien- for 
 found time to devote to the general g I. he- four years Mr. Pestel lost his wife and becom- 
 ing recognized as a public-spirited citizen. ing despondeni on account of his great be- 
 reavement, he left home and was never heard 
 
 from again. It was in February, 1856, that 
 
 M r-. Pestel was called to her final rest. The} 
 
 JOHN II. PESTEL. „,.,.,, || ir parents of five children, two sons and 
 
 John 11. Pestel is now living retired in Oak- thl '"' daughters: Louis C, who died in in- 
 
 Eord and well does he merit the ,v-t which has f ancy; John II.; Emeline, who married dames 
 
 come to him, tor in former years he Lived a Hal] i »'" 1 is now l,vm - near Athens; Man. 
 
 i active business life, devoting his atten- « lied '" "fancy; and Annie, the wife oi 
 
 tion at differenl times to agricultural pursuits Charles Buchanan, who resides near Spring- 
 
 and merchandising. He was born August 1, fteld. 
 
 L845, in Menard county, on the family home- John II. Pestel, when eleven years of age, 
 
 ,-tead. between Athens and Springfield. His went to live with D. J. Hichinson in the vicin- 
 
 father, John Pestel, was born in Germany, at- ity of Petersburg and remained with him for 
 
 tended school in that country and in accord- nine years. He then began working by the 
 
 ance with the laws of his native land also month for George Lvirby in the year 1865, and 
 
 served his time in the German army. When he continued in thai employ until 1873. Soon 
 
 about twenty-six year- of age he hade allien after his marriage he removed to a far I 
 
 io friend- ami native land and -ailed for Amer- one hundred acres and began the development 
 
 ica. landing in New York, whence he made his of his land, transforming it into highly culti- 
 
 wav to Pennsvlvania. There he formed the vated fields. He continued to carry on gen-
 
 I L6 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT"! 
 
 eral agricultural pursuits until 1892, when lie 
 rented his farm and purchased the Samuel 
 Watkins drug store in Oakford. He was thus 
 identified with mercantile interests until 1895, 
 when iic -"Id the drug business to M. t >. Atter- 
 berry. He was then retired for a time, but 
 later again took up business life Since his 
 second marriage, however, he has lived retired 
 in the enjoyment of a comfortable competence, 
 which he lias w.ui through persistenl and hon- 
 orable effort. 
 
 (in the 5th of December, 1872, Mr. Pestel 
 was married i" -Mi-- Nancy J. Atterberry, a 
 daughter id' Christopher and Nancy (Kirby) 
 Atterberry. There were no children by this 
 marriage. On the 9th of December, 1S9G. Mr. 
 Pestel was again married, his second union be- 
 ing with Mr-. Tillie Kendall, a daughter of 
 Morris and Sophia (Atterberry) Lownsberry. 
 Her father was born in Menard county where 
 the town el' Oakford new stands and her moth- 
 er's birth occurred near the town of Atterberry. 
 The} \\i-ir the parents of eight children, five 
 sons ami three daughters, namely: Mrs. Pes- 
 tel; J. C. who is married and lives near Oak- 
 ford : ('. W., who is married and resides in the 
 same locality: Addie and Curtis, twins, who 
 died m childhood ; one who died in infancy: 
 Collie, who is married and resides on the old 
 homestead; and Freddie, who died in child- 
 hood. The lather of Mrs. Pestel was reared as 
 a farmer lad. attending school until the time 
 of his marriage, when he purchased a farm 
 and began it- further cultivation and develop- 
 ment. He al-o engaged in stock-raising and as 
 his financial resources increased he extended 
 the boundaries of his property until he had 
 about four hundred acres of line farming land. 
 He has been a prosperous buyer and feeder of 
 cattle and hogs, selling many carload- of stock 
 in his day. At the present time he is living 
 retired Erom further labor, having turned his 
 farm over to his three sons, wdio are now ope- 
 rating ii. lb ha- I" on influential and active 
 in public affairs, ha- served as a member of 
 
 the -i I I board lor ten or fifteen years and 
 
 has given earnesl support to main public meas- 
 ures thai have henelited his locality. He votes 
 with the Democracy and lie has been a faithful 
 church member for eighteen years, taking a 
 
 very active and helpful part in the work id' the 
 Methodist Episcopal church at Oakford until 
 failing health caused him to Leave these duties 
 
 to others. 
 
 Mr. l'estel has been solicited to accept pub- 
 lic office, hut has always refused, save when he 
 served a- mayor of Oakford and as a member of 
 the town board several limes. Prompt and 
 faithful as a public official, he rendered in his 
 town capable service by the manner in which 
 he discharged hi- duties. He belongs to the 
 Modern Woodmen camp and is a member of the 
 Baptist church, while his wife belongs to 
 Methodist Episcopal church. They are both 
 highly esteemed people of Menard county, en- 
 joying the friendship and favorable regard of 
 many with whom they have been associated 
 ami m its history they well deserve mention. 
 The life record of Mr. l'estel proves the value 
 of activity and honesty in a business career 
 and his example is in main respects worthy of 
 emulation. 
 
 EDWARD EVERT CLAYPOOL. 
 
 Edward Everi Claypool, who. as the mosl ex- 
 tensive -lii|.|" i' of horses and mules in Menard 
 county, is an important factor in it- busim - 
 circles, was horn duly 19, L865, upon the farm 
 . lion IS. township 19, ranee 5, upon which 
 In- father. William Claypool. now- resides. The 
 latter was born mar Athens, March 11. 1831, 
 which indicates that the family was connected 
 with the county in its pioneer epoch. The 
 grandparents of our subject were Fevi and 
 Melinda (Rollins) Claypool, the former a na- 
 tive of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. 
 They were married in Kentucky, whence they 
 removed to Ohio, and in 1837 they came to 
 Menard county, Illinois, settling on a farm two 
 miles south of Athens, which Fevi Claypool en- 
 tered from the government. There he carried 
 on agricultural pursuits until his death, which 
 occurred February •?. 1867, while his birth oc- 
 curred February 10. 170:;. His wife, who was 
 born May 8, lsol. died February 16, 1892, at 
 the very advanced age of ninety-one years. 
 
 William Claypool was educated in the sub- 
 scription schools, for the public-School system
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 n; 
 
 had not thru I n established. Upon the home 
 
 farm, amid the environment of the frontier, 
 he was reared and after attaining his majority 
 he chose as a life work the occupation with 
 which he had become familiar in hi* youth. 
 lie has for mam years successfully engaged in 
 general farming and stock-raising and during 
 the period of the Civil war he bought and sold 
 - for the government, making purchases 
 throughout this section of the country. Ui<r 
 the war he returned to the farm upon which he 
 iii.u resides and he has placed all of the im- 
 provements upon it, for when he took posses- 
 sion n was a trad of raw prairie. Be now has 
 five hundred and sixty acres of as highly cul- 
 tivated hind as can be found in the county, and 
 that his farm is one of the mosl productive, 
 and therefore one of the most valuable, is due 
 entirely to his own labors, guided by sound 
 business judgment and experience. He has al- 
 ways raised very high grades of horses and 
 cattle and now lias a fine herd of Aberdeen 
 Anvils cattle of about fifty head. 
 
 On The 30th of September, 1863, William 
 Claypool was married to Miss Elizabeth Engle, 
 a daughter of William Engle, a native of Vir- 
 ginia. Mrs. Claypool was horn in Ohio and 
 with her parents came to Menard county in 
 1823, the family home being established in 
 Sugar Grove, where the father engaged in farm- 
 and stock-raising. He also conducted the 
 Brst store in that part of the county, its loca- 
 tion being on the present site of Sweetwater, 
 Illinois. He was horn April 1, 1800, and died 
 STo ember 8, 1870, while his wife, who bore 
 the maiden name of Elizabeth Alkire, and was 
 
 born April 37, 1808, died March 30th, I! 
 
 She was a member of the < Ihristian church. 
 
 Edward Evi rl < la\ pool, son of William and 
 Elizabeth Claypool, pursued his more spe- 
 cifically literary education in Greenview and 
 afterward attended Brown's Business College 
 of . Jacksonville, lie then returned to the farm 
 and has since conducted a general stock busi- 
 ness, buying and selling horses, mules and cat- 
 tle, hui making a specialty of the first. He 
 ships a carload of horses and nudes each week 
 and employs three men in buying horses. His 
 business has reached extensive proportions and 
 is profitable, his sales annually returning to 
 
 him a good income. He ships to St. Louis and 
 Chicago, but finds the former citj the best mar- 
 ket for mules, a larger number of mules being 
 sold there annually than in any other market of 
 the world. He liasa barn that will contain one 
 hundred and twenty bead of horses and mules, 
 and his other equipments on his farm arc in 
 keeping with that fine structure. He also has 
 from one to two carloads of Aberdeen ^.ngus 
 cattle upon his farm all the time. In l*!" 1 he 
 erected a nice residence on the farm, which he 
 novi occupies. 
 
 On the 33d of duly. L899, Mr. Claypool mar- 
 ried Miss Emma Simmons, a daughter of A. P. 
 and .Nancy (Staekhouse) Simmons, who re- 
 moved from England to Canada in early life, 
 living there when the country was so wild that 
 i Lev bail to continually watch their wheat crops 
 to keep them from being destroyed by the deer 
 and had to build pitfalls for the bears, so nu- 
 merous and troublesome were they. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Simmons removed to Bloomington, Illi- 
 nois, a1 the time the Chicago & Alton Railroad 
 was being built and he acted as superintendent 
 of construction. He afterward removed to 
 Dwight, where he conducted a large black 
 smith -lop and wagon factory. He was run 
 over ami killed h\ a train on January ]. L902, 
 when sevent}'-three year- ol age, and his widow 
 is still living in Dwight. Mrs. Claypool is a 
 graduate of the high school of Dwight and 
 taught school in and near that place for twelve 
 >. i ars. 
 
 In bis political affiliation Mr. Claypool is 
 ,i Democrat and for two terms he served on the 
 school hoard, but has never sought office as his 
 business affairs have fully occupied his time 
 llh i mi the development of bis busim ss he lias 
 found ample incentive for the exi rcise of his 
 power- and the employment of his best efforts. 
 He affiliates with the Christian church of 
 
 I , ri ell\ iew . 
 
 i II U.LF.s CANTRALL. 
 
 The name of Cantrall is inseparably asso- 
 ciated with the history of central Illinois and 
 the town of Cantrall in Sangamon county was 
 named in honor of Levi Cantrall. grandfather
 
 IIS 
 
 LAST A X I > PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 "i Charles Cantrall. From an early period in 
 the nineteenth century representatives of the 
 name have taken an active ami helpful pari in 
 the upbuilding and improvement of this part 
 of the stair and the work id' progress is still 
 being carried forward by Charles (anti-all in 
 Menard county. Ee makes his home in town- 
 ship is and i- accounted one of the substan- 
 tia] agriculturists of liis community'. 
 
 His grandfather, Levi Cantrall, was born in 
 Virginia, October 1. 1787, and was married 
 November 30, L809, to Mis- Fanny England, 
 who was born October '.'. 1792. They became 
 the parents of thirteen children. On leaving 
 the old Dominion, Levi Cantrall took up liis 
 abode in Ohio and subsequently came to llli- 
 nois, arriving on tin- present site of Springfield 
 December I. L819. Later he entered land north 
 of tin- town of Cantrall and began tin- develop- 
 ment of a farm in that locality, being the orig- 
 inal owner of his tract, after the Indians had 
 left for hunting grounds farther west. Hetook 
 a helpful interest in the work of early develop- 
 ment, was one of the valued pioneer residents 
 
 of Sanga :ounty, and the town of Cantrall 
 
 is jn-tl\ considered a monument to liis enter- 
 prising labors in behalf of that district. He 
 died in the year 1862, while hi- wife passed 
 away in 1835. 
 
 Their -on. McDonald Cantrall, lather of our 
 subject, was born in Sangamon county, April 
 <;. is:;:;, and died September 15, is;-.'. Re was 
 reared amid pioneer environments and he re- 
 mained at home, assisting in the improvement 
 of his father'- farm up to tin- time id' his mar- 
 riage, which occurred in Sangamon county, 
 Miss Narcissa Hedrick becoming his wife. She 
 wa- bom in Sangamon county, April 15, 1834, 
 and is a daughter of Jonathan ami Julia ( Hol- 
 land) Hedrick, the former horn March 29, 
 1799, and the latter February S, 1803. They 
 were married November 1. is-.';, ami became 
 the parent- of three -on- and three daughters. 
 Mr. Hedrick died September 10, 1883, and his 
 wife November 29, 1890. Their daughter, Mrs. 
 Narcissa Cantrall, is now living with her -on 
 Charles < lantrall, her onlj child. 
 
 At the t mi'' of their marriage Mr. and Mi'-. 
 McDonald Cantrall began their dome-tie life 
 upon a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of 
 
 land ami later he purchased fortj acres, and 
 subsequently one hundred and twenty-eight 
 aires, so that, within the boundaries of Ins farm 
 wa- comprised a tract of three hundred and 
 twenty-eight acres. He raised ami led stock 
 and found a good market for them, thus add- 
 ing materially to his income. A part of bis 
 land was wild prairie when it came into his 
 possession, hut he placed it under the plow and 
 made substantial modern improvements, erect- 
 ing good buildings, planting -had.- ami fruit 
 trees and continuing the work there along pro- 
 gressive line- until at the time of bis death 
 his property was very valuable, forming one 
 of the attractive features of the landscape. 
 He left a line home surrounded by all modern 
 improvements and his property was the visible 
 proof of his career of enterprise and useful- 
 ness. In connection with general farming he 
 had raised as line cattle and hogs a.- were to he 
 found in the county. 
 
 Charles Cantrall was reared under the pa- 
 rental roof and obtained his education in the 
 public schools of Menard county. Hi- lather 
 instructed him in farm labor and they worked 
 together until the father's death, at which time 
 Charles Cantrall. then eighteen years of age, 
 took charge of the farm and has since con- 
 ducted tin- Inisincss. giving his attention to the 
 further development and cultivation of his 
 land. In ls;:> he am! his mother bought a 
 hundred acres of land additional and subse- 
 quenth he -old one hundred and twenty acres 
 and also bought two hundred and forty acres. 
 At the present time he i- farming eighl hun- 
 dred and twenty acre- of land. dp to three 
 years ago he fed. shipped and sold cattle and 
 hogs, hui since then he has merely superin- 
 tended the cultivation of the land, without en- 
 gaging in stock-raising or dealing. He is one 
 of the directors of the Fancy Prairie Grain & 
 Coal Company and. having served four years, 
 has been re-elected. 
 
 On the 16th of May, 1888, Charles Cantrall 
 was married to Miss Anna F. Council, a daugh- 
 ter of John H. and Edna ( Lake) Council, both 
 natives of Sangamon county. The father, horn 
 May 19, 1823, died Lehman 26, 1904. His 
 wife, horn dune 7, 1831, is now living with her 
 son. John William Council, on the old home-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 419 
 
 stead. They were the parents of four sons there and entered the tract from the govern- 
 
 and a daughter, who are ye1 living: James II.. ment. He hewed the logs used in the con- 
 
 who was born January 24, L859, married Miss struetion of the firsl house of Athens, after the 
 
 Julia Cantrall and is living in Logan county; town was laid oul in LS32. At the time when 
 
 Charles !•'.. born August 5, L861, married Miss Mr. Hall and Benjamin and John Wiseman 
 
 Gussie J sand resides in Springfield; George were laying off the school sections into small 
 
 R., born September 3, 1863, married Miss Mary lots for sale, Abraham Lincoln acted as their 
 
 c. Carpenter, and makes his home in Logan surveyor and Mr. Hall would often relate how 
 
 county; John W., twin brother of George, mar- the tall, athletic form of the future presidenl 
 
 ried Annie Kendall and is a resident of Sanga- would be seen passing silently through the 
 
 in. >ii county. The other member of the family deep ponds which the others were glad to avoid, 
 
 is Mrs. Cantrall, who by her marriage lias be- Fleming Hall was united in marriage to Miss 
 
 come the mother of three children: John Susannah Tire a native of Pennsylvania, and 
 
 Harry, born May I. L8S9; McDonald, February l ' 1 "' many years remained a respected and 
 
 -.'. 1897; and Edna V. November 25, 1902. worthy pioneer settler of Menard county, his 
 
 Mr. Cantrall lias served as a school director name being inseparably interwoven with the 
 
 for aboul ten years. He is prominenl in Ma- early developmenl of this pari .>l' the state, 
 
 sonry, belonging to Van Meter lodge, \... 762, He died January 1. L891, in bis ninety-seventh 
 
 A. F. & A. M., of Cantrall, Illinois; DeWitl year. Up to his last brief illness he retained 
 
 chapter, No. L19, I.'. A. M.; and St. Aldemar his remarkable health and had full possession of 
 
 con mdery, X... 17, K. T.. both of Peters- bis faculties until the clay of Ins death. 
 
 burg. Both he and bis wife arc members of Fhlni Hall, who came with bis parents to 
 the Eastern Star lodge and bis wife and mother Menard county in 1829 and assisted in the early 
 are members of the Christian church, to the agricultural developmenl of this pari of the 
 supporl of which he contributes. Theirs is a slate, was also well known as an active and in- 
 commodious and attractive country residence, fluential factor here. He married Miss Eliza- 
 
 where cordial and warm-hearted hospitality beth Frown and resided upon tl Id homestead 
 
 al.. .iin.ls. and in social circles they are promi- until his death, which occurred September 2 1. 
 
 n. 'lit and influential. Mr. Cantrall stands as L882. He was oi E the most successful 
 
 a high type of the progressive business man of farmers of the county and in addition was one 
 
 modern times, keeping in touch with the rapid of the mosl learned botanists of the state. His 
 
 advance that has boon made along agricultural collection of well arranged and classified plant-. 
 
 lines in recenl years. including over ten thousand species, was prob- 
 ably not excelled by any other in the wesl at 
 that time. Unto M r. and M rs. Hall were born 
 three children : Una M.. the eldest, is the wife 
 
 ELIHU HALF. of |(| . n, ,„,.,,,] Boone, of Chandlerville, llli- 
 
 Fhlin Hall, now deceased, whose memory is riois. Julian IF. born May 22, 1875, is a grad- 
 
 cherished by his many friends of Menard coun- uate of Eureka College, of Eureka, Illinois, 
 
 ty win. knew ami honored him, was a son of with the class of L896. He afterward entered 
 
 Fleming Hall and a grandson of Thomas R. the Columbia Law Scl I of New i'orl city 
 
 and Catherine (Thomas) Hall. Fleming Hall and was graduated from thai institution with 
 
 was born in Patrick county, Virginia, in 1794, the class of 1900, after which he returned to 
 
 and in L828, aboul eleven years after his mar- Menanl county and took charge of the home 
 
 riage, he emigrated westward to Missouri, where farm. He was married October 2, 1902, to 
 
 he was engaged in teaching school for a year. Miss Lillis Watson, a daughter of L. F. ami 
 
 On the expirati £ that period they ci ' 1.. Drucilla (Purviance) Watson. Hubert R. 
 
 Illinois ami pre-empted the land upon which Hall, the youngesl of the family, born Septem- 
 
 the town of Allien- has since been built. He ber 24, 1877, is a graduate of Eureka College 
 
 remained for two years on the quarter section of the class of 1891 and of the Columbia Law
 
 l-.'o 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 School of New i r ork with the class of 1904, 
 and ;ii the presenl time is practicing his chosen 
 profession in Springfield. 
 
 CHARLES I'. GUM. 
 
 Charles I>. Gum, who is now serving as 
 county commissioner and township trustee, is 
 an active factor in community interests, rec- 
 ognized as a prominent and influential citizen 
 of Menard county, where his entire life ha 
 been passed and where he is still engaged in 
 general farming, owning and operating three 
 hundred and -i\t\ acres of land in Tall u 1 1 
 precinct. He was born on this (arm October 
 5, 1855, and in the paternal line comes of Ger- 
 man ancestry. The family was established in 
 America at an early epoch in the history i £ 
 
 tl w world and the grandfather of our =ub- 
 
 ji ct was a resident of Kentucky. 
 
 The father, Thomas D. Gum, was born in 
 Kentucky and when a small boy was brought by 
 his parents to Menard county, Illinois, where 
 lie was reared amid frontier conditions ami en- 
 vironments. His birth occurred December II. 
 1813. Tie married Jemima Carter, a daughter 
 nf Robert Carter, who came to Illinois in too 
 fall of 1830. settling a1 Clary's Grove. His 
 daughter, Mrs. Gum, was born September 26, 
 1816. Thomas Gum was a farmer and fol- 
 lowed thai occupation throughout his entire 
 life, thus providins for bis family. He was 
 a Democrat in politics. lie died [STovember 
 IS. 1859, when his son Charles was but four 
 years of age, ami Mr-. Gum departed this life 
 April 11. 1900, having I'm' more than fortv 
 n'lir- survived her husband. She was a con 
 -i-ti nt member of the Baptisl church ami both 
 h ere laid to resl in Rose Hill cemetery. In 
 their famih wen the following children: M. 
 D.. who died Augusl 17, 1871 ; Jesse, who dii ' 
 in in fancy, in ISM; Leander, who \\ as 
 March 13, 1841. and died June 7, 1S42 ; Rob( rl 
 G., who was lmrn June 9, 1843, and died No- 
 vember 27, 1871: Margaret, who was born 
 March 26, 1S46, and died December 17, 1841 ; 
 C, who was born March 22, 1847, and 
 died June 9, 1898; George, who married Belle 
 Miller and lives in Kilbourne, Mason county, 
 
 Illinois; William, of Tallula, who married 
 Marinda Elmore, afterward wedded Adeline 
 Bawn ami for his third wife chose Emma 
 I omas; and ( lharles D. 
 
 In taking up the personal history of Charles 
 D. Gum we present to our readers the life rec- 
 ord of one who is widely and favorably known 
 in Menard county, lie was educated in the 
 
 districl scl 1- and has always resided iipon 
 
 the farm on which he was born, and here he 
 has so directed his energies as to meet with 
 gratifying success. He has never been off the 
 place for more than a month at a time, al- 
 though he has visited New Mexico and other 
 parts of the country. He owns the old home- 
 stead place, comprising three hundred and - 
 acres of rich and arable land, and is one of the 
 more progressive fanner- of his locality. He 
 uses the latesl improved machinery in the culti- 
 vation of the fields and the gathering of the 
 crops, and neatness characterizes all di 
 ments of the farm. 
 
 On the 22d of April. 1883, Mr. Gum was 
 united in marriage to Miss \nna M. Deppe, 
 a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Deppe, who 
 esidi d in Sand Ridge, bu! are now dece 
 For fifteen years Mr. and Mrs. Gum traveled 
 life's journey happily toe-ether, and then the 
 was i ailed to her final rest, her death oc- 
 curring on the 20th of March. 1898, while her 
 remain- were interred in Rose Hill cemetery. 
 Five children had been bom unto them, all of 
 whom are living namely: Mary D., who wa- 
 born April is. [885; Lottie B., born July 9, 
 i--; : Estelb A„ born March 18, 1889; Edna 
 M.. lorn March ■?<;. 1891 : and Goldie P.. born 
 March !3, 1893. Mrs. Gum was a member of 
 tin German Methodisi church and was a most 
 estimable lady, who won the friendship of 
 many with whom she was brought in contact. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Gum ha- alv.i 
 been a Democrat and is a recognized leader in 
 ile ranks of his party in Menard county. He 
 I as served as road commissioner for ten wears 
 and is now township trustee, having been elect- 
 , d for a term of three vears, and his service in 
 this oilier altogether covers seventeen wears. 
 In 1902 he was elected county commissioner to 
 serve for three years, so he is the present in- 
 cumbent in thai office. His official duties have
 
 
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 C. D. GUM AND CHILDREN.
 
 MRS. C. D. GUM. 
 
 MRS. LKXAII CARTER. 
 
 MRS. JEMIMA GUM. 
 
 FRED DEPPE.
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENABD COUNTS 125 
 
 ever been discharged with marked promptness fanning. He married Susan M. Gardner and 
 
 and fidelity, bis devotion to the best interests thej became the parents of five children, but 
 
 of the community being one of bis most strong- Alice died when two and a half years of age; 
 
 ly i narked characteristics. He has always lived John died in infancy ; and Marj Harper died al 
 
 upon the old Gum homestead, and the fad thai the age of sis years. Those living are Joseph 
 
 many of his warmest friends are those who •>• and Susan II.. the latter living with her 
 
 have known him from boyhood is an indication mother. In early life the Eather taught school 
 
 that his has 1 n a straightforward life and and read law in the office of Gus Riggin, the 
 
 useful career. circuit clerk, in 1854. The following year he 
 
 taught the first free school in Petersburg and 
 
 was elected school commissioner thai year. He 
 
 JOSEPH B I'll. I. sill RY. i « » < > t< an active and prominent pari in public 
 
 The strong, forceful and commendable ele- affairs and was elected county judge in IS61, 
 
 ments in the life record of Joseph B. Pillsburj having I n admitted to the bar in 1856. In 
 
 are close application in business, earnest and L851 he was appointed master in chancery and 
 
 honorable purpose and indefatigable energy, served in thai office until elected county judge, 
 
 lie was born December 24, 1866, in Petersburg, He was re-elected to the kilter position in is;:;. 
 
 his parents being Joseph II. and Susan M. In 1877 he bought a farm four miles north- 
 
 (Gardner) Pillsbury, tin 1 for r a Dative id' west of Petersburg, bul never lived upon that 
 
 \i \\ Hampshire and the latter of Sangamon place, continuing to make his home in Peters- 
 county, Illinois. Joseph II. Pillsbury was born burg until his death, mi the 29th of November, 
 \iiljim 3, 1830, a son of Alpha and Margarel 1899. 
 
 (Caverno) Pillsbury. He lost his father in Joseph I'.. Pillsbury was educated in the 
 
 \en Hampshire, his death occurring in June schools of Petersburg and in Illinois College, 
 
 or. Inly. 1831, when he was but thirty-one years which he entered in the fall of 1884, attending 
 
 of age. Joseph II. Pillsbury had a brother, that institution through two winters, lie was 
 
 George Pillsbury, who was born December 6, also a student in the Imsiness college al Jack- 
 
 1826, ami died January 22, 1851, in Menard sonville, and in June, 1886, he returned home. 
 
 county, Illinois, his remains being interred at In the following year he began farming on his 
 
 Farmers Point. When Joseph II. Pillsbury present farm of one hundred acres, which he 
 
 was less than two years of age his mother's afterward purchased, and has since bought an 
 
 house was destroyed In' lire and she went to additional tract of eighty acre-, so that he now 
 
 Dover, New Hampshire, to work in the tailor has a valuable farm id' one hundred and eighty 
 
 shop of Peter Coushion. In the summer of acres. He has been engaged in general agri- 
 
 L836 she went by stage from that place to Provi- cultural pursuits, raising both grain and slock. 
 
 dence, Rhode Island, thence bj water to New and has met with a fair measure of success in 
 
 York, on to Philadelphia by rail, by canal to his undertakings, having now a well improved 
 
 Pittsburg and thence down the Ohio and up tract of land, which yields to him golden har- 
 
 the Mississippi rivers to St. Louis, Missouri, vests in return for the care and labor which he 
 
 and up the Illinois river to Beardstown, coming bestows upon the fields. 
 
 from that point across the country to New On the 15th of October, 1890, Mr. Pills- 
 Saleni. Menard county. h\ wagon. Her brother bury was united in marriage to Miss Emma 
 had come to this state in 1835 with Jonathan Cooper, a daughter of Howard A. and Ann 
 Colby and here lie worked and afterward (Bennettl Cooper. Her father was horn and 
 boughl land. Mrs. Pillshurj joined her brother reared in the city of St. Louis and her mother 
 the following year and a few years later married was a native of Petersburg, Illinois The Coop- 
 James Goldsby, the firsi sheriff of Menard ers were of Irish descent, while the Bennetts 
 county. were of Scotch-Irish lineage. Howard II. 
 
 Joseph Tl. Pillsbury was reared in Menard Cooper became a practicing physician and was 
 
 county and here followed the occupation of an :ir] „ x surgeon at the time of the Civil war.
 
 IV ii 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 After the cessation of hostilities he settled in 
 Booneville, Missouri, where he practiced for a 
 number oi years and then removed to Ver- 
 sailles, Missouri, where he remained for a year 
 and a half. He afterward took up his abode 
 upon a farm south of Versailles and at a Later 
 date settled at Colecamp, where he remained 
 for a short period. His next place of residence 
 was Ashland, Illinois, where he spent a year 
 and a half. Hi- wife died March 3, 1876, in 
 Petersburg, Illinois, where she had been taken 
 for medical treatment, and Dr. Cooper after- 
 ward sold out and removed to Versailles, Mis- 
 souri, going from thai place to Rockville, Bates 
 county, Missouri, in 1883. He spenl his re- 
 maining days in Kockville, passing away in 
 L901, and his remains were interred in the 
 eemeterj of Versailles. He was the owner of 
 property at that point. There were four chil- 
 dren in that family, namely: Mrs. Pillsbury; 
 Thomas, a miner of Joplin, Missouri, who is 
 married and has three children; Howard, a 
 sheep raiser, who makes Ins home at Freehand, 
 Wyoming, but spends much time near Caspar, 
 Wyoming; and Annie, who died at the age ol 
 three month-. Mrs. Pillsbury was born in Ver- 
 sailles, Missouri, February 1, 1870, and pur- 
 sued her education in the schools of Rockville 
 and Versailles, completing a high school course 
 in the former city. She afterward engaged in 
 teaching school for one term and then earn, to 
 Petersburg, Menard county, to make her home 
 with Mrs. Thomas Bennetl and Mrs. B. Wright. 
 I!\ her marriage she has become the mother of 
 three children: Lyman Adair, horn August 
 :;. 1891 : Ross Caverno, born March 26, iS96; 
 and George Bennett, who was born July 'J. 
 1897, and died December 1. 1903, his remains 
 being interred in Rosehill cemeterv easi of 
 Petersburg. 
 
 The parents are Presbyterians in relij 
 belief ami Mr. Pillsbury usually give- his po- 
 litical support to the I temocracy, hut at times 
 votes lor Republican candidates, a- lie does no1 
 consider himself bound by party tie-. He ha? 
 never been an aspirant for office, however, pre- 
 ferring to concentrate his energies upon his 
 business affairs and now, in i onnection with 
 general farming, he is feeding some cattle. His 
 entire life i passed in Menard county 
 
 ami his career has been honorable and straight- 
 forward, as is indicated by the fact that many 
 of his wannest friends are those who have 
 known him from hi? youth to the present. 
 
 HENRY J. EICHENAUER. 
 Henry J. Eichenauer, who for many years 
 has been connected with farming interests in 
 Menard county, is the owner of three hundred 
 and twenty acres of tin.- land in townships L8 
 and ll'. His farm is well improved with mod- 
 ern equipments, the pleasant residence being 
 surrounded by fine trees and a well kept hwn. 
 In the rear stand good hams and other neces- 
 sary outbuildings, and these in turn are sur- 
 rounded by well kept fields and pastures, the 
 latter containing a high grade of stoek and. 
 taken altogether, his is one of the hut farm- o 
 the county. Mr. Eichenauer is now building a 
 line modern residence in Petersburg at a cost 
 of live thousand dollars and will occupy the 
 same by tie- 5th of March. 1905. 
 
 As his name indicates, .Mr. Eichenauer is 
 o German lineage. He was born in the father- 
 land, August 32, 1854, his parents being John 
 and Mary (Bernhard) Eichenauer, both of 
 whom were native- of the same country, whence 
 they came to America in 1860, sailing from the 
 German port to N.w Orleans. The father was 
 a wagon-maker by trade and while in New 
 Orleans he was forced into the rebel army, ten 
 soldiers riding tip to his home on horseback and 
 taking him to the Confederate camp. II.- was 
 kepi there until the surrender of the city. He 
 afterward worked at his trade for the govern- 
 ment and in 1865, on tin- tir-t boat that went 
 up the river to St. Louis, ho made his way to 
 that city. Subsequently he wen! to Beards- 
 town, Illinois, wh.-re he engaged in farming, 
 there purchasing a tract of land which he con- 
 tinued t" cultivate until 1892, when he sold 
 that property ami removed to Lath. Mason 
 county, where he i- still engaged in farming. 
 although la- ha- reached the age of eighty years. 
 his birth having occurred in 1824. His wife, 
 who was horn May 15, 1827, died January 24, 
 1903. 
 
 Henry J. Eichenauer pursued his education 
 in the German Lutheran schools of New Or-
 
 PAST AND PKESENT OF MENAKD CO! VIA 
 
 iv; 
 
 leans and of Beardstown, Illinois, and in his 
 youth was trained to habits of industry and 
 economy upon the homo farm, gaining prac- 
 tical knowledge of all the duties and labors that 
 fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He con- 
 tinued to assist his father until about twenty- 
 five years of age, when be rented a farm in Cass 
 county, Illinois, whereon he lived tor three 
 years. In 1883 he removed to Menard county, 
 where he again rented land for two years and 
 then with the capital that he had saved with 
 in- earnings he made investment in property, 
 becoming the owner of three hundred and eight 
 acres a quarter of a mile from Oakford, Illi- 
 nois. There he followed farming with suc- 
 cess until 1889, when he sold that property and 
 bought two hundred and forty acres where he 
 oovi lives. To this he has since added an 
 eighty-acre tract and has developed the entire 
 place into a splendid farm property. In con- 
 nection with the raising of grain he has always 
 engaged in the raising of nudes and horses. 
 
 king a specialt} of saddle and trotting 
 
 horses, lie also raises shorthorn cattle and his 
 
 business lias 1 n so carefully conducted that 
 
 it lias become quite profitable and he is now 
 one of the substantial citizens of his com- 
 munity. On the 5th of July, 1904, the train 
 en which he was riding was blown from the 
 track 1>\ a cyclone and Mr. Eichenauer barely 
 esi aped with his life. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Eichenauer occurred on 
 the 22d "l' February, 1880, the lady of his 
 choice being Mi— Miehal Eickey, a daughter 
 of Joseph and Man Ann (Armstrong) Eickey, 
 the latter a daughter el' Jack and Hannah Arm- 
 strong, at whose home Abraham Lincoln was 
 frequently entertained. Joseph Eickey was 
 born in Tennessee and became one of the 
 pioneer residents of ('ass county. Illinois, which 
 was the birthplace of In- wife. Both are now 
 deeea-ed. Inn for many year- thej were num- 
 bered among the respected and worth] eitizens 
 of their locality and assisted materially in its 
 early development. Unto Mr. ami Mrs. Eichen- 
 auer have been born four children: Charles 
 H.. horn August 8, L881, in Cass county; Anna 
 Marie, horn in Menard county, June '.'I. 1884 : 
 Helena Edith, born in Menard county, March 
 22, 1886; and George Herbert, born en the old 
 
 homestead, December 30, L891. Mr. Eichen- 
 auer is a member of the German Lutheran 
 church at Petersburg, while In- wife belongs to 
 the Cumberland Presbyterian church there. 
 for several terms he has served a- a member ol 
 the school board and his interest in public 
 measures bas been manifest b] tangible support 
 of all movements, which he believes will ben- 
 efit tin' county, lie has been found reliable in 
 his business life and trustworthy in friendship 
 ami because of In- excellent traits of character 
 receives the warm regard of many with whom 
 he has been associated. 
 
 JAMES CYKTJS COl (UMAX. 
 
 James Cyrus Couchman is the owner of good 
 farming interests in Menard county, his home 
 being on section :!. Tallula township. He was 
 horn Feliruaiw 1. 1851, in Morgan county. Illi- 
 nois, his parent- being E. Et. and Sophia (Hen- 
 derson i Couchman, the latter a daughter of 
 
 I ). (i. Eenderson, who re ved from Ohio to 
 
 Illinois, settling in Morgan county, when Mrs. 
 Couchman was born. E. li. Couchman was a 
 native of Bourbon county, Kentucky, horn De- 
 cember '.'I. 1819, and was a son of B. F. Couch- 
 man. The grandfather of our subject was a 
 farmer and slave owner and spent much of 
 Ins life in the south. E. 1!. Couchman came 
 to Illinois in 1825 and in is-.'; his father 
 came to this slate ami entered land from the 
 government, comprising the farm upon which 
 the insane asylum at Jacksonville, Illinois, was 
 built. He afterward returned to Kentucky, 
 lull again came to Illinois, this time accom- 
 panied by his family. lie purchased lam 
 where the town of Arcadia has been built ami 
 Upon that place he lived and died, being one 
 .,!' ih,' representative early farmers of his lo- 
 cality. In his family were five -on- and three 
 daughters: B. F.. William. George, Caleb, 
 • lames. Mrs. Ellen Knox. Mr-. Elizabeth Leaf, 
 who resides in Normal, and Mahala. 
 
 Iv K. Couchman was a young man when he 
 first came to Illinois. He was reared in this 
 state and in early life became familiar with 
 the difficult task of reclaiming wild land for 
 purposes of cultivation. He assisted his father,
 
 4 58 
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENABD COUNTY 
 
 however, in developing Iris fields and ;_; ; 1 1 1 1 < < 1 
 
 practical knowledge of the best methods of 
 carrying mi farming. In the year 1851 he 
 came to Menard county ami purchased one 
 hundred and twenty acres of land from Jon- 
 athan Masterson. He afterward purchased all 
 of the land on which the town of Rushawaj 
 was built, but later sold that property and 
 bought two hundred and ninety-six acres on 
 a part of which hi- sou James now res d 
 He lias since carried <>n agricultural pursuits 
 it: this part of the state and hi' now owns 
 eighty acres where he lives and fort} ai res lying 
 to the northwest in Menard county. He also 
 owns and farms land m ('as- county and i- 
 reeognized a- one of the prosperous agricultur- 
 ists of hi- community who has capably con- 
 trolled his business affairs so that they now 
 return to him a good income. In his family 
 were four children: Margaret married Silas 
 Ratliff and they had two daughters, one of 
 whom, Lizzie, is now Mrs. Van Winkle and re- 
 sides south of Tallula. David Couchman mar- 
 ried Sarah Senter ami was the owner of a 
 farm in Menard county, but Loth are now de- 
 ceased; William married Lizzie Sent r. and 
 he is deceased, but bis widow resides in Spo- 
 kane, Washington. 
 
 James Cyrus Couchman, whose name tonus 
 the caption nf this re\iew. was brought in Me- 
 nard county when less than a year old ami was 
 reared "ii the old family homestead, no event 
 of special importance occurring to vary the 
 routine of farm life for him in his youth. He 
 was educated in the countr} schools and -pen' 
 one term in the Illinois College at Jackson- 
 ville, hut put aside his text I '•.- at the agi 
 
 of nineteen years ami began farming lor him- 
 self upon Irs present place. Later he went 
 to Missouri, settling in Harrison county, hut 
 his business ventures there did not prove prof- 
 itable ami he returned to Menard county. 
 Here he rented a farm for a year and since 
 that time has resided upon his present place 
 
 On the 2d of January, 1895, Mr. Couchman 
 was married to Miss Lizzie Ray, a daughter 
 of Samuel and Rebecca Ray, of Ashland, Cass 
 county. Illinois. She was horn in Morgan 
 county, east of Jacksonville, on the 5th of 
 January, 1871. and attended the schools of 
 
 Asl land, of which she is a graduate. Mr. 
 Couchman belongs to the Knights of Pythias 
 fraternity ami the [ndependent Order of Odd 
 Fellow-. lie gives his political support to the 
 Republican party and in matters of citizenship 
 is deeply interested, manifesting public-spirited 
 and loyal devotion to every movement which 
 he believes will promote the general good. 
 
 FEED WILLIAM AYEES. 
 
 Fred William Ayres who makes his home 
 in Athens, is interested in farming pursuits 
 and is an extensive stock-raiser and shipper, 
 making- a specialty of shorthorn cattle. He 
 was horn in Athens, November 13, 1876, his 
 parent- Icing William and Mary (Depew) 
 Ayres, the former a native of Menard county 
 and the latter of Mason county. The father 
 began life as a farmer and stock-raiser upon 
 the old home farm in Menard county, just a 
 mile west of Athens. Tin re he carried on farm 
 work for many year- and now- is living re- 
 tired upon the old homestead, enjoying the 
 rest which he has earned and richly desi 
 for he worked persistently and diligently in 
 former years and brought to hear in his chosen 
 vocation sound judgment and executive ability. 
 In all of his business transactions he has ever 
 Li en found wortliv of tlie public trust and he 
 therefore enjoys the esteem of the business 
 community. Lor a quarter of a century he 
 served as a school director and otherwise took 
 an active ami helpful part in community^ af- 
 fairs, lie married Mary Depew and they be- 
 came the parents of four children: Josi 
 who died in infancy ; Etta, who died about fif- 
 tcen vear- ago; Lou. who i- the wife of Dr. 
 (In aney. resident of Petersburg; and Fred W. 
 After the mother's death the father married 
 again, i i- second union I cine with Emma Mal- 
 by, with whom In- i- now- living- on the old 
 eoni farm. 
 
 Lied \\". Ayres is indebted to the public 
 school system o!' Athens for the early educa- 
 tional privileges In- enjoyed and he advanced 
 i here step by step until he had mastered the 
 branches taught in the high school. He was 
 also a -Huh nt in the Gem City Business Col-
 
 F. W. A.YRES.
 
 PAST WD PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 lege al Quincy, [llinois, fi which institution 
 
 he was graduated with the class of 1897. On 
 Leaving college he returned to Athens and en- 
 tered the bank as a bookkeeper, occupying that 
 position for three years, after which he engaged 
 in farming in Menard county and be is today 
 one of the leading young agriculturists of the 
 state. In addition to the raising of cereals he 
 is al--" engaged in the raising of pure blooded 
 stock, making a specialty of breeding Scotch 
 shorthorn cattle, and he is now an extensive 
 shipper of fine thoroughbred cattle to all parts 
 of the United States. 
 
 WTiile connected with the banking interests 
 of Athens Mr. Ayres was married to Miss Min- 
 nie Rosalyn Hargrave, a daughter of M. T. 
 and Melissa Hargrave, both of whom were earl] 
 residents of Athens, when' the father figured 
 prominently in commercial circles for a quar- 
 ter of a century, conducting a drug store there. 
 In the maternal line Mrs. Ayres is descended 
 from the l'riniin family, being a granddaughter 
 of Abram S. Primm, who was a scion of a 
 wealthy family that settled in Menard county 
 before Athens was founded. He was born in 
 St. Clair county, Illinois, December 25, 1812, 
 and accompanied bis parents on their removal 
 io this county in October, 1820. Here he re- 
 sided until his death and he was married on 
 the 19th of .lime. 1839, to Lucinda C. Hall, by 
 whom he had four children who are yet living, 
 namely: Mrs. Man A. ('line. Mrs. Lizzie M. 
 Hargrave. Mrs. Rose Young and Mrs. Lillie 
 S. Estil. Another daughter, Mrs. A. P. West. 
 died a few months before the death of her 
 father and her husband is now living in Cali- 
 fornia. Three years before the death of Ai.ram 
 Primm he and bis wife celebrated their fiftieth 
 marriage anniversary, dust six weeks later Mrs. 
 Primm died, and after that "Uncle Abe." as 
 lie was known to every one in the community, 
 gradually grew weaker and for several months 
 prior to his demise was unable to leave his 
 home. His sorrow over the loss of bis loved 
 companion undoubtedly led to bis death. He 
 came of an illustrious family and the Missouri 
 Republican, hearing date August 23, 1885, pub- 
 lishes the following account of his ancestors: 
 '"The Primm family is entitled to a coat-of- 
 arms on both sides of the house. They are de- 
 
 scended from Alexander De La Pryme, a gen- 
 tleman of the town of Ypres. who was granted 
 a patent of gentility by the Roman pontiff for 
 meritorious services under Philip of Alsace in 
 the second crusade. The family having em- 
 braced the Reformed religion (bey were forced 
 to leave the continent by Cardinal Richelieu aft- 
 er the revocation of the edict of Nantes and they 
 settled in England. Alexander De La Pryme 
 removed to the Isle of Man in 1725 and his sec- 
 and son, John, emigrated to America, settling 
 in Virginia in 1750. In deference to the preju- 
 dice existing against French names the De La 
 was dropped and the latter part of the surname 
 was changed to the present form of Primm. 
 The eldest son of the emigrator, John Primm, 
 was a colonel in the Revolutionary war and in 
 1802 lie removed westward with bis family. His 
 eldest child was Peter Primm, the father of 
 the late Judge Wilson Primm. He married 
 Marie Angelique La Rous D'Esneval. Her 
 father was one of four brothers of the name 
 of I. a Rous D'Esneval, three of whom fled 
 from France during the reign of terror in 1 793. 
 
 A portrait of one of these is in possessii E 
 
 the family, lie was a colonel in the bodyguard 
 of Louis XIV and was guillotined. Another 
 went to San Domingo during' one of the insur- 
 reetions of the slaves. Two brothers came to 
 Canada, where one remained, while the other 
 one went to St. Louis and was there married 
 to Helene, daughter of .lean Sallivrl (called 
 Lajoie) and Maria Rosa De Vialpardo, a lady 
 of Spanish birth. The Primm coat of anus is 
 a poinard and cross quarterly crest — a cross. 
 The motto is "Animose certavW (lie has 
 ion-lit courageously ) . 
 
 Thomas Primm, the father of Abram Primm, 
 was a sun nf John Primm mentioned above. 
 He was a native of Virginia and was married 
 in lsi>; to Elizabeth Stallings in St. Clair 
 county, Illinois, whence they removed to Me- 
 nard county in L820. He was one of seven- 
 teen children and died in the rear L856. 
 
 Mrs. Fred W. Ayres, granddaughter of Abram 
 Primm, was born in Athens and lias spent her 
 
 entire life liel'e with tile e\cepliii|i of -l\ < ea r- 
 
 passed in Petersburg while her father was serv- 
 ing as sheriff there. She completed her edu- 
 cation in the high school of Alliens and after
 
 L32 
 
 PAST AND l'UKSKXT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 putting aside her text books she remained at 
 home with her parents until the 4th of Jan- 
 uary, 1897, when she gave her hand in mar- 
 riage to -Mr. Ayres. Their union has been 
 blessed with three children: William West. 
 born August 24, 1899; Man. born August 12, 
 L901 ; and Thomas Hargrave, born November 
 Lo, 1903. 
 
 in his political views Mr. Ayres is a stanch 
 Democrat, thus following in the political foot- 
 steps of his father and his grandfather, ile 
 is, however, fearless in his advocacy of any 
 measure which he deems to be for the general 
 good. He is overseer of the poor but has little 
 political ambition. Prominent in Masonry, he 
 belongs to Clinton Lodge, A. F. & A. M.. of 
 Cantrall, Illinois, and Dewitt chapter, R. A. 
 M., of Petersburg. 11 is wife is of the Pres- 
 byterian faith. They have a beautiful modern 
 residence in Athens, celebrated for its hospi- 
 tality ami their circle of friends is almost co- 
 extensive with their circle of acquaintances. 
 
 ROBERT A. YOUNG. 
 
 Robert A. Young, now residing on sect urn 
 \'K township 18, range -V was for many years 
 actively engaged in general farming and stock- 
 raising, but is now practically living retired. 
 and well does he deserve his rest, as his has been 
 a busy and useful career, lie is also numbered 
 among the honored veterans of the Civil war 
 who valiantly foughl for the Union cause upon 
 many southern battlefields. He still retains an 
 active interest in affairs of county, state and 
 nation, and in Menard county has been the 
 champion of many measures which have re- 
 sulted beneficially for the community. 
 
 Mr. Young was born in Bath county. Ken- 
 tucky. November '.':'•. 1829, his parents being 
 William P. and Margaret (Young) Young, the 
 former born in Kentucky and the latter in 
 Virginia. They came to Menard county from 
 Kentucky. November 8. 1836. In their fam- 
 ily were five children, two sons and three- 
 da lighters, but only two are now living — Robert 
 A. and Mrs. A. M. Ifamil. who reside in Lin- 
 i old. Illinois. 
 
 When only six years of age Robert A. Young 
 accompanied his parents to Illinois. Menard 
 
 county was then all wild prairie or timber land 
 and the work of reclaiming it for the purposes 
 of civilization bad scarcely been begun. Great 
 changes have since occurred as the pioneers 
 have claimed the land and transformed it into 
 productive fields, building in their midst at- 
 tractive and substantial homes and founding 
 cities and villages, in which all modern im- 
 provements and facilities may be found. Mr. 
 Young attended the public schools and assisted 
 m the work of the home farm, pursuing his 
 studies through the winter months and aiding 
 in the labor of the fields through the summer 
 season. 
 
 Having arrived at man's estate he was mar- 
 ried to Cassandra Claypool, a daughter of Levi 
 ami Barbara Claypool. hut Mr-. Young died a 
 year after her marriage, and on the 30th of 
 November, 1871, Mr. Young was again married, 
 his second union being with Ann E. Kincaid, 
 a daughter of J. K. and Vienna (Williams) 
 Kincaid. Her father, a farmer by occupation. 
 was horn in Bath county. Kentucky. June 30, 
 l^i is. and became one of the pioneer settlers 
 of Menanl county. In early life he served an 
 apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, after 
 which he worked for twelve dollars per month 
 in order to obtain money that would enable 
 him to attend school. In this manner he ac- 
 quired a good education. He came to Illinois 
 in 1832 and followed carpentering for two 
 years, after which he purchased land and 
 turned his attention to farming. lie was mar- 
 ried April 24, 1836, to Vienna Williams, who 
 was born in Bath county, Kentucky. March I. 
 1817, and then gave his attention to agricul- 
 tural pursuits. He improved more than six 
 hundred and seventy acres of land in Menard 
 county and he owned -even hundred acres of 
 land in Iowa. Missouri and Kansas. He was 
 \cr\ successful and his prosperity was well de- 
 served, as it was gained through honorable 
 methods and close application. Both he and 
 his wife were consistent members and active 
 workers in the Presbyterian church for many 
 years and they gained the unqualified confi- 
 dence and esteem of all with whom they were 
 associated. In their family were fourteen chil- 
 dren. 
 
 The home of Mr. and Mrs. Young has been
 
 I'AST AND PRESENT OF MEXAPD COUNTY 
 
 433 
 
 blessed with two sm> and two daughters: Mary 
 M.. who is the wife of Dr. Barber, of Boulder, 
 i lolorado : Will II.. a1 home ; James K.. who 
 married Kate Hopkins, ami is Living on the 
 old homestead; ami Margaret E., who is acting 
 as ber father's housekeeper. Mrs. Young, the 
 mother of these children, died December 8, 
 L903. An obituary published at. that time 
 said: "Seldom is a home, church or community 
 called ii[ '" sustain so greal a loss as was oc- 
 casioned by the death of Mrs. Young. In the 
 home she was a true wife ami devoted mother, 
 ami it was her delighl to dispense genuine, 
 loving hospitality. In her quiet, unobtrusive 
 wa\ she went ahont doing good wherever sick- 
 ness, sorrow or need called her. In this min- 
 istr] of mere} she contracted the disease - 
 pneumonia — which in a few days resulted 
 fatally, for nearly half a century she was a 
 member of the North Sangamon Presbyterian 
 church, was a most earnest, active member of 
 the Ladies' Missionary Society and was inter- 
 ested in everything that tended to promote 
 Christ's cause. Many characterized her as the 
 best woman the} ever knew and this estimate 
 was not the language of compliment, hut id' 
 sober judgment. Her memory and influence 
 are a precious heritage." 
 
 Mr. Young, in early manhood, manifested 
 his loyalty to the government bj enlisting at 
 Athens. Illinois. August 1 I. 1st;-.', as a member 
 of Company K. One Hundred and Sixth Illi- 
 nois [nfantry, and after almost three years of 
 active service was mustered out at Pine Bluff, 
 Arkansas. .Inly 12, 1865. He arrived at (.'amp 
 Butler, Springfield, July 24, 1865, and was 
 there paid off. His company was composed of 
 Menard county men and the regiment went into 
 camp at Lincoln. Illinois, August 1">. L862, 
 being mustered into the United States service 
 on the 18th of September. On the 7th of that 
 month they moved to Columbus, Kentucky, 
 and on the loth to .lack-on. Tennessee. On the 
 6th of December occurred the first death in the 
 regiment — that of E. Rankin, of Company C. 
 At the Obion river fight Sergeant Henry Fox. 
 of Company It. climbed up the timbers of the 
 bridge and crossed that structure under the 
 fire of the whole rebel force, on his way to 
 Jackson for re-enforcements, and although this 
 
 was a most perilous undertaking he accom- 
 plished it in safety. Eater the regiment was 
 sent further north to guard railroad stations. 
 The prisoners paroled by General Forrest were 
 sent to Benton Barracks and exchanged m the 
 summer of 1863. The balance id' the regi- 
 ment was ordered to Bolivar, Tennessee, in 
 
 March, isiii, and al i the :;ist of May moved 
 
 on to Yicksburg. While en route the boat 
 which was transporting the troop- was tired 
 upon at close range oil' Island 63 by several 
 companies of rebel infantry and two cannon, 
 and Captain Beizely's son was killed at the first 
 lire, while a few others were also killed and 
 about twenty-tive wounded. After serving in 
 the trenches at Vieksburg a few weeks, the One 
 Hundred and Sixth Illinois was sent forty 
 milis up tin' Yazoo river to repel a rebel force 
 and. returning by forced inarches, was harassed 
 In the enemy, while under the scorching sum- 
 mer sun many soldiers were prostrated by the 
 
 beat. d'he regiment lost more n on that 
 
 trip than from any other cause during its 
 term of service. The One Hundred and Sixth 
 served in the line of battle at Vicksburg until 
 after its surrender and was then ordered to 
 Helena. Arkansas, and look part in the advance 
 on Little Rock, participating in its capture. 
 It was in the battles of Clarendon. Duvalls 
 Bluff, Pine Bluff, Benton, Hot Springs, Lewis- 
 burg, St. Charles, Dardanelles, and Browns- 
 ville and performed its full share in crushing 
 out the rebellion. It- members suffered many 
 privations and hardships, inarching through 
 swamps and bayous, lighting and foraging, and 
 its history shows a long list of casualties. Mr. 
 Young was always most faithful to his duties 
 ami returned home with a most creditable mil- 
 itary record. 
 
 Since the war Mr. Young has been identi- 
 fied with farming and was also engaged in 
 breeding and raising Shropshire sheep and line 
 cattle and lions, for many years he was active 
 in the operation of his farm, hut has now 
 turned it over to his sons, while he is living 
 a retired life, enjoying a well earned rest, lie 
 has been prominent and helpful in church 
 work for many years and is an elder in the 
 North Sangamon Presbyterian church. He is 
 president of tin Indian Point Cemetery Asso-
 
 i:;i 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENABD COUNTY 
 
 eiation and for sixteeD years he has been a 
 member of the school board. His political al- 
 legiance has been given the Republican party 
 simv he casl his ballot Eor John C. Fremont 
 in 1856, and since that time he lias never 
 wavered in his allegiance to the party. In 
 1852 lie voted Eor John 1*. Hale Eor president. 
 lie belongs to Pollock Post. No. 200, G. A. E., 
 at Athens, and in all mailers of citizenship 
 he has been loyal, lain, ring Eor the best inter- 
 ests of the community. His has been a useful, 
 active and honorable career, and his record is 
 indeed worthy of emulation. 
 
 ISAAC N. REDING. 
 
 Isaac N. Eeding, now deceased, was borp 
 January 23, 1808, in W Iford county, Ken- 
 tucky, and was the eldest son iii a family of 
 four children, whose parents were E. W. and 
 Catherine (Conover) Eeding. The father was 
 a native of Pennsylvania and in early life emi- 
 grated west i" Kentucky, where he was mar- 
 ried to Catherine Conover, a .laughter of Major 
 Conover, who won his title by active service in 
 the Revolutionary war. Mr. Reding spent the 
 first fourteen years of his life in the state of 
 his nativity and in 1822 came to Illinois with 
 his parents, the family home being established 
 at Jersey Prairie. He obtained a good com- 
 mon-school education and his training at farm 
 labor was not meager Eor at an early age he 
 began to assist in the development and im- 
 provement of the home farm. His youth in 
 Illinois was passed amid pioneer environments 
 and he helped his father in the arduous task 
 of developing a new farm. His entire life 
 was devoted to agricultural pursuits and as 
 the years passed he found good opportunity 
 to invest in property and became the owner 
 of extensive landed interests, lie gave to eaell 
 of his children a farm prior to his demise and 
 still retained possession of two hundred acres 
 of land adjoining the town. His widow yet 
 owns a home where he settled in 1852. In all 
 of his farm work he was practical and energetic 
 and he carried forward to successful comple- 
 tion whatever he undertook, brooking no obsta- 
 
 cles that could I vercome by determination, 
 
 persistent and honorable effort. 
 
 Mr. Reding was married twice. On, the 28th 
 of February, 1828, he wedded Miss Mary Ann 
 Hoagland, and they became the parents of nine 
 children, live sons and four daughters, of whom 
 three are still living, namely: Mrs. Martha 
 Whitenack, who reside.- in Edinburg, Illinois: 
 Eli W., who is married and makes his home in 
 Tallula; and Mrs. Catherine Kenner, who re- 
 sides about four miles easl of Tallula. After 
 losing his first wife Mr. Eeding was again mar- 
 ried, August 20, 1851, his second union being 
 with ("'harry J. Houghton, a daughter id' 
 Elijah and Catherine (Merrel) Houghton, who 
 were Kentucky people and came to Illinois 
 at an early day. They settled at Eock Creek 
 and there Mrs. "Reding was horn on the 26tb 
 of November, 1824 — the autumn following the 
 arrival of her parents in this state. Six chil- 
 dren were born of the second marriage: Emma 
 M. became the wife of Ephraim Green, who is 
 now deceased. She resides in Tallula and has 
 one daughter. Martha -lane, who is al home. 
 Andrew I", married Ida Ragan and resides near 
 Virginia in Cass county. The\ have one 
 daughter. Hazel. Mary J. is at home. An- 
 nette O. is the wife of J. W. McNaught, who 
 resides near Thawville in Iroquois county, 
 Illinois, and they have six children: Pansy 
 E., Pearl. Key. Euby, Sadie and Edna. Char- 
 ley A., wdio is employed in the government of- 
 fice at Pekin, Illinois, in a clerical capacity, 
 married Henrietta Spears, and they have one 
 son, Ealph. Sarah H. is the wife of Samuel 
 X. Dew ees. a resident of Tallula. and they have 
 three children: Charley P.. Helen A. and 
 Edith M. 
 
 When Isaac X. Reding attained his majority 
 he became a stanch supporter of Whig princi- 
 ples and upon the dissolution of that party 
 I,,, joined the Republican ranks and continued 
 to follow Republican banners until called to 
 his final rest. He was almost uniformly called 
 Uncle Ike throughout I he community, a term 
 which indented a deep feeling of friendly re- 
 gard for him. He belonged to the Christian 
 church, of which lie became a member in 1830, 
 and his entire life was actuated by an honora- 
 ble purpose and kindly spirit. He exercised
 
 ISAAC X. REDING.
 
 MRS. ISAAC N. REDING.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 139 
 
 charity in bis opinions of Ins fellow men, was primitive. The bedstead was practically a 
 generous in his assistance to those in need and swinging bunk, which could be turned up and 
 .■it all times was straightforward and honor- attached to the wall in the day time. The 
 able in his dealings. He died on the anniver- house was I, mil of logs, had nothing save the 
 sin of his birth, January 23, 1882, and his re- ground floor and then was one door and win- 
 mains wore interred in Greenwood cemetery dow, while the chimney was made of sticks and 
 west of 'Pallida. During the long years he clay. Tims amid pioneer surroundings Mr. 
 |, ;1 , 1 been a residenl of Menard county he wit- and Mrs. Goff started out for ili.an-.-Kr-. labor- 
 aessed Ms developmeni from a frontier region ing earnestly and untiringly to gain a good 
 and was .-hissed with the honored pioneers of start in life. A.- soon as possible, Mr. Coir 
 t[j e locality. purchased eighty acres of wild prairie land and 
 
 as the years passed la 1 prospered in his un- 
 
 - — dertakings. Subsequently ho was enabled to 
 
 replace the primitive dwelling by a comfort- 
 
 LEONARD K. GOFF. .,1,1,. Erame lvsl ,| ( . llrl , ||,. has led a von busy, 
 
 1.. ard K. Goff, who is engaged in farming useful and active life and his career has com- 
 
 an.l threshing in township L9, range 5, is a nianded the respeel ami good will of all with 
 
 representative of a pioneer family of Menard vvhom be has been associated. Although now 
 
 county, an. I throughout his entire business ea- well advanced in years, ho still superintends his 
 
 reer ho has been identified with agricultural farming interests and ho has added from time 
 
 interests in tins portion of the state. His tu time to his original farm until he now owns 
 
 birth occurred in Menard county, Juno s. L856, two hundred and eighty-five acres of very rich 
 
 his parents being William and Mary (Westfall ) and arable land, which annually returns to him 
 
 Goff. The Eather, who was eighty-two years a good income. He has also Loon prominenl 
 
 of ago on the 1 9th of August. L904, came to in community affairs ami has filled the posi- 
 
 lllinois iron, Kentucky when lour years of tion of road commissioner, while for many 
 
 age ami has been a resident of Menard county years ho was school director. His political al- 
 
 for seventy-eighi years. IN- father died when legiance is given the Democracy ami both ho 
 
 he wa> a small boy ami ho lived at home with ami Ins wife are consistent ami faithful mem- 
 
 his mother until ho attained Ins majority. He bers of the Baptist church. In their family 
 
 then began farming on hi- own account with were eight children, five sons and three daugh- 
 
 v-ery limited capital, having one yoke of oxen, tors: Theodore L., who was born November 
 
 a horse and a cow, the entir. nit being uot 20, 1848, and is now living in Nodaway coun- 
 
 worth more than seventy-five or eighty dollars, ty, Missouri; Commodore 1'.. who was horn 
 but he possessed courage and resolute spirit and August 20, is:,ii ami is now living in 
 he determined to gain a comfortable living and Colby, Kansas; Louisa, who was horn 
 a good farm property if they could ho acquired July 11. is.".:;, ami is the wife of Robert Can- 
 through persisted ami honorable effort. On troll, of Menard county; Leonard K., of this 
 the -.Mill ..I' October, 1844, ho secured a com- review; Frederick Y\\. who was horn December 
 panion ami helpmate for life's journey by 30, 1858, and resides upon the old homestead 
 his marriage to Mi- Mary Westfall, who was farm: Mum M.. who was born February '.'I. 
 born in New York ami wa- eighty years of L860, and resides near Loveland, Colorado; Mrs. 
 age on the 10th of October, L904. She came Emma Frye, who was Worn A.ugus1 25, 1864, 
 to Illinois when twelve years of age, making the ami resides ai Springfield, Illinois; Mrs. Ella 
 trip down the Ohio river on a raft to a poini in McNeal, a twin sister of Emma, now residing ai 
 Indiana ami thence traveling across the coun- Campbell's Hill. Illinois, 
 try to Illinois. The young couple began their On the old home farm Leonard K. (loll' was 
 domestic life in true pioneer style. When they horn ami reared, working I'm- his father until 
 started housekeeping they had a dry-goods box about twenty years of age. He gained practical 
 for a table and their other furniture was equally experience of the labors of field ami meadow
 
 no 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENABD COUNTY 
 
 and when not engaged with the farm work he 
 devoted his time and attention to mastering the 
 branches of learning taught in the public 
 schools. After Leaving home he worked by the 
 month for a short time in .Menard count) - and 
 subsequently he went to Missouri, where he 
 engaged in farming on his own account for a 
 year. He then returned to Menard county. 
 where he also operated a rented farm for a 
 year. On the expiration of that period lie was 
 married and accompanied by his bride he trav- 
 eled by wagon to Nodaway county. Missouri. 
 where he lived for four years, engaged in farm- 
 ing and sheep-raising. Not being able to buy 
 land there he had to go to Kansas in order to 
 get land for grazing purposes, for he had one 
 hundred and eighty-five head of sheep. As the 
 ranch there was owned by others and he was de- 
 nied the privilege of pasturing his sheep there- 
 on, he bought cattle and later he traded his 
 cattle for eighty acres of land. Afterward, 
 however, he traded this land for sheep, which 
 he finally sold to Jefferson Johnson and re- 
 turned to Menard county. On again reaching 
 this county he rented a farm, upon which he 
 lived for seven years, or until the time of the 
 death of his mother-in-law. He is now farm- 
 in- one hundred and fifteen acres of his fa- 
 ther's farm and for the past seven years he has 
 also engaged in threshing. His business in- 
 terests are well conducted and he is widely 
 known as a man of enterprise and of careful 
 management. 
 
 on the 1st of August, L878, Leonard l\. Goff 
 was united in marriage to Ellen F. Holland, a 
 daughter of Stephenson and Frances T. (Pace) 
 Holland, both of whom were natives of Ken- 
 tucky, tin' former born December 24, 1813, and 
 the latter February 6, 1818. They came to Me- 
 nard county about 1846, Mrs. Holland making 
 the journey on horseback from Kentucky. The 
 first work which Mr. Holland did in this 
 county was farm labor, for which he received 
 sis dollars per month. He afterward mar- 
 ried and began housekeeping with limited 
 
 eans. He soon arranged, however, for the 
 purchase of one hundred and twenty acres of 
 land from the government and later he sold 
 this property and bought another tract of one 
 hundred and twenty acres, upon which he spent 
 
 his remaining days, successfully carrying on 
 general farming and stock-raising until his 
 life's labors were ended in death on the 4th 
 of March. L 8 7 -!j . Mrs. Holland long survived 
 him and died July 31, 1899. Both were mem- 
 bers of the Cumberland Presbyterian church 
 at Irish Grove and were people of the highest 
 respectability. During her long residence in 
 Menard county, Mrs. Holland endeared herself 
 to many friends by whom she wa- lovingly and 
 familiarly called Aunt Frankie. When she 
 passed away one who knew her well wrote of 
 her: "Thus has ended another life which has 
 
 mostly n siient in assisting in developing 
 
 the great state of her adoption — Illinois. She 
 has witnessed many changes, both in the de- 
 velopment of the resources of Illinois and in 
 the building up of society around her. She 
 will be missed, not only by her children, but 
 also by a large circle of old and true friend-. 
 Her life acts will stand as an everlasting mon- 
 ument to her memory and her example is 
 worthy of imitation, not only by her children. 
 but also by all those who came under its in- 
 fluence. May her mantle fall upon her daugh- 
 ters and the far-away son be comforted by the 
 thought that his dear old mother is at rest." 
 Mr. and Mrs. Holland were the parents of seven 
 children: Martha 1... who wa- horn November 
 1. 1849, and dud May 19, 1886; Mr>. Mary E. 
 Mitchell, who was born April 12, 1851, and 
 now resides in Morgan county. Illinois; Mrs. 
 Julia Lukins, wdio was born March 23, 1853, 
 and resides in Greenview; Eliza J., who was 
 born November 17. 1854, and died No- 
 vember 11. L874; Ellen F., who was 
 horn Augusl 18, 1856; Mrs. Louisa A. Belt, 
 who was horn June 21. 1858, and makes her 
 home in Bates county. Missouri; and Dr. Ed- 
 ward A. Holland, who was born October 25, 
 18fio. and is now living in Houston. Texas, 
 whore he is engaged in practice as a special- 
 ist in the treatment of diseases of the eye. ear 
 and throat. He is a self-made man and is the 
 owner of a hospital in Houston. In his pro- 
 fessional labors he is greatly assisted by his 
 wife, who wa- formerly a trained nurse of 
 \e\v York city. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Goff has 
 blessed with three children : Mrs. I.otta F.
 
 \ST \\ |i PRESENT OF M K\ UiD COUNT!' 
 
 1 
 
 Paine, who was born December 2G, 1880, and is 
 living on a Linn in Menard count} ; Edwin C, 
 who was bom September 25, LSS-1, and assists 
 his father in the home farm ; and Gilbert I-'.., 
 w ho was born t tctober 13, L891, and is also at 
 home. The parents are earnesl Christian peo- 
 ple, Mr. (.oil holding membership with the 
 -i church and Ins wife with the Cumber- 
 land Presbyterian church, and socially he is 
 identified with the Court of Honor and the 
 Modern Woodmen of America, while politically 
 he is a stanch Democrat. He has a wide ac- 
 quaintance in Menard county, where the greater 
 part of his life has been passed and he enjoys 
 the confidence of the entire business com- 
 munity. 
 
 CLEMENT W. SHIPLEY. 
 
 Clement W. Shiple} figures prominently in 
 business circles in Menard county, being an 
 extensive stock dealer and also the promoter 
 of man} enterprisi - n hich have had direi I 
 bearing upon the material upbuilding and com- 
 mercial progress of this part of the state. He 
 was born Ma} 6, IS6 I. in this count} . his par- 
 ents being Henr} B. and Minerva E. (King) 
 Shiplev, both of whom were natives ol Ken- 
 tucky. The father, however, was onl} sis 
 months old when brought b} his parents to 
 Illinois and the mother was a little maiden o( 
 nine summers when she came with her father 
 to Illinois, her mother having previousl} died. 
 Henr} B. Shiple} lived with his parents until 
 he had attained man'- estate and during that 
 period he was trained to the work of field and 
 adow . becoming fami lia r n ith ever} duty 
 that Tails to the lot of the agriculturist. On 
 leaving homo he went to California with Wil- 
 liam 1"». William- and others, making the trip 
 overland with os teams, h was a long and 
 arduous journe} across the plain-, taking six 
 months, but he at length reached his destina- 
 tion in safet} and spenl five years on the Pa- 
 i iii, coast. He (hen returned to Menard 
 county, luu in the meantime both of his par- 
 ents had diod. He was called home to settle 
 up the estate and when this was accomplished 
 hi began farming and stock-raising on his own 
 
 account. He farmed about eight hundred acres 
 of land ami also conducted an extensive busi- 
 ih -- as a stock-dealer. He traded largel} in 
 both land and live stock and was one of the 
 representative business men of his locality, 
 possessing keen foresight, executive ability and 
 indefatigable energy. Later he removed to 
 Petersburg, where he conducted a Hour mill 
 and also gave his attention to the supervision 
 of hi- property, which he rented. His time 
 was thus occupied until his death, which oi 
 , urred on the 30th of May, 1892, R< v. W. T. 
 Ferguson conducting the funeral services. His 
 wife died at the home of Rev. J. M. Johnston, 
 October 9, IS99, and again Rev. Ferguson had 
 charge of the funeral sen ices. Moth Mr. and 
 Mis. Shiple} had a wide acquaintance in Me- 
 nard i ounty, \\ here the} had lived Erom earl} 
 childhood and their excellent trails of heart 
 and mind had endeared them to many 
 friends. The} became the parents of four 
 children, three sons and a daughter: Wil- 
 liam, who died in infancy; Zennetta F., 
 who i- the wife of Rev. James \. Johnston 
 ami is now living in Petersburg; (dement W. 
 OI tin- iv\ lew ; and Dillard 11.. who died at the 
 age of thirteen } ears. 
 
 In the usual manner of Earmer lads Clement 
 W. Shiple} spent the days of Ins bo} hood per 
 forming the did ies of the schoolroom, enjo} 
 the pleasures of the playground and when no1 
 occupied b} his lessons assisting in the work of 
 the fields. After attending the public schools 
 hi continued his studio- in the old Presbyterian 
 College at Lincoln, I llinois, and afterward en- 
 tered the business < ollege at Jaskson\ ille. The 
 o, , up. -u ion to which he was reared he has al- 
 ways mad,' his life work and -iii, , the agi o 
 twenty-two years he has earned on farming Eoi 
 himself. In addition to the cultivation «( the 
 Holds he has engaged extensiveh in buying, 
 feeding and shipping stock, purchasing live 
 stock in Missouri and Iowa and alter fattening 
 them making shipments to the cit} mar' 
 About 1892 lie rented his farm for four years, 
 i ben after residing in Petersburg, where he ws 
 engaged in the manufacture of hour as pro 
 prietoi of the City mills. He then sold his 
 milling business in 1896, after which he re- 
 turned to the farm, where he has resided con-
 
 i r.' 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 tinuously since. His landed possessions are ex- 
 tensive, comprising seven hundred and sixty- 
 nine and a half acres of fine farming land. He 
 ba- ;n the present time one hundred and twenty- 
 three head of fa1 cattle and aboul one hundred 
 and seventy-five head of othercattle. On hisplace 
 are one thousand head of hogs and seventy head 
 of horses and mules. His farm is splendidly 
 equipped with modern improvements and in 
 both the raising of grain and of stock he is 
 meel ing n ith gratifying success. In addition 
 to the home property he is half owner in four 
 hundred acres of land in Cass county, Illinois, 
 and he owns a brick residence in Petersburg. 
 
 Mr. Shipley is a man of resourceful business 
 ability, alert and enterprising and has extended 
 his efforts to many other fields of business 
 activity. He is financially interested as a 
 stockholder in the Firs! National Hank of 
 Petersburg, is a stockholder in the Virginia 
 Canning Company at Petersburg and also in 
 the Petersburg Marble Works and is a stock- 
 holder and treasurer of the Sand Ridge Tele- 
 phone Pole & Line Company, having nearly one 
 hundred subscribers. Ii will thus be seen thai 
 bis activity has been called forth along many 
 lines contributing to industrial and commercial 
 prosperity and Ins name is regarded as a re- 
 liable one in trade circles and of much value 
 on commercial paper. 
 
 On the 23d of June, 1885, Mr. Shipley was 
 united in marriage to Miss Evelyn Nance, 
 who is a daughter of Franklin C. and Eliza 
 (Houghton) Nance. Her Eather, who was born 
 in Kentucky in 1S28, died in May, L898, while 
 her mother passed awa\ in April, L868. Later 
 in thai year Mr. Nance was again married, his 
 second anion being with Miss .lane Stitch. By 
 his firs! marriage he had four children: Sevig- 
 iiin. Hardin W.. Laura A. and Mrs. Shipley. 
 K\ the second marriage there were eleven 
 children : Caroline II. . J. Frank \\ .. Fannie 
 K.. Edna J., Mary, Effie I... Harry W.. Florence 
 S.. Glenn i '.. < reneva and Louise J. 
 
 Mir. and Mrs. Shipley had nine children: 
 Aha [., who is a member of a sorority and 
 is a junior in music in the University of Illi- 
 nois; Henn E., Pearl E.j Ernes! R., Clem- 
 i hi ( ).. « ho died ;ii the age of eleven months 
 
 and twenty-seven days; Caleb Glenn, Hah 
 Donald, Evelyn [vol, who died at the age 
 of two years and five months: ami Claremont 
 Wayne, who died at the age of eighteen months. 
 In his political views Mr. Shipley is a stanch 
 and earnest Democrat, but though he has been 
 solicited to accept public office he has always 
 refused to become a holder of any position of 
 public preferment save in connection with 
 the schools of his locality. He is now a mem- 
 ber of the school board of his distrii t and has 
 I n its president for many year,-. He is prom- 
 inent in Masonry, belonging to Clinton lodge, 
 No. 19, A. F. & A. M.. of Petersburg and De- 
 Witt chapter. No. 11!'. K. A. M., and St. Aide- 
 mar Commandery, No. IF K. T. Keen and 
 clear-headed, always busy, careful and con- 
 servative in financial matter-, moving slowly 
 but surely in every transaction, he has few 
 superiors in the steady progress which invari- 
 ably reaches the objective point. The story of 
 
 his achievement should inspire ad young men 
 who read it with a truer estimate of the value 
 and surer reward- of character. 
 
 WILLIAM R. GRIMSLEY. 
 
 William R. Grimsley, who is engaged in 
 general farming and the breeding of horses, 
 bi ing one of the successful men in this line of 
 business in Menard county, was born in Bath 
 county, Kentucky, August 1. 1845, bis parents 
 'man- Nimrod G. and Frances (Moreland) 
 Grimsley, the latter also a native of Kentucky. 
 The father was born in Virginia, August 30, 
 L813, and came to Menard count] March 17, 
 L865. lie purchased land and began farming 
 and stock-raising, and for a number of years 
 was numbered among the well-to-do and re- 
 spected agriculturists of this pari of the state. 
 In his family were six children, live sons and 
 a daughter: Elmore G., John G., William R., 
 Samuel. Nelson ami Elizabeth D. All are mar- 
 ried with the e\. ept am id' Samuel and all an' 
 living in the county with the exception of 
 Nelson, who makes his home in Seattle, Wash- 
 ington. Elizabeth married Ephraim Tropst. 
 of this county. 
 
 Reared ami educated in bis native state.
 
 MR. AND MRS. W. R. GRIMSLEY.
 
 AST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 i 15 
 
 William R. Grimsley came to [llinois in early 
 manhood and throughout his entire business 
 career has carried on general farming and 
 stock-raising. Ee was a1 lir-i employed as a 
 farm hand by the month and in 1869, at the 
 time of his marriage, he rented a farm upon 
 winch he lived for four years. He afterward 
 rented another farm for eighl years and then 
 purchased the tract of land upon which he is 
 imu living, consisting of three hundred and 
 fifteen acres. He carries on general farming 
 ,-md he is a member of the Greenview Horse 
 Club Company, of which ho has been a director 
 for ten years, lie is also a member of Ha' 
 Sweetwater Horse Company and he owns an 
 imported pedigreed Percherori stallion. St. 
 Paehen, which is registered. He also has Satin- 
 wood, a standard-bred and registered pedigreed 
 animal, a half-brother to Nutwood. He has 
 always hved the highest grade horses and has 
 Keen the owner of some very line specimens 
 
 Of the noble -teed. lie also own- a QUml el' of 
 
 I lr:l ,l of line cattle, making a specialty of short- 
 horns of the besl grade. He has three hundred 
 ami fourteen acre- of \er\ valuable and pro- 
 ductive land in his farm ami he deserve-, -real 
 credit I'm- what he has accomplished as his 
 possessions have been acquired entirely through 
 his laborious and well directed efforts. 
 
 o n ti„. i hi, of January, 1869, Mr. Grims- 
 le\ was united in marriage to Mi-- Elizabeth 
 Kiiinniell. and they became the parents of three 
 children. Edward, horn July 31, 1870, is 
 now living in Iowa. Clara, horn April 25, 
 1876, was married December 22, 1897, to W. 
 T. Deatherage, and they have four children. 
 
 Maj !•'... A s, Hallen 1'. ami Ruth. Alma 
 
 horn October 13, 1878, is at home with her 
 father. The wife and mother died November 
 1. L887, at the age of forty-one years. 
 
 Politically Mi-. Grimslej is a Republican, 
 and keeping well informed on the questions 
 
 ami i — lie- of the day. is able to support his 
 
 position by intelligenl argument. He ha- been 
 a member of the school hoard for nineteen 
 years, and believes in the employment of good 
 
 teacher- ami the utilization of e\en practical 
 method that will benefit the school-. He is 
 what the world call- a self-made man. for de- 
 
 pending upon In.- own resources, he ha.-, by 
 honorable methods, risen from a humbli finan- 
 cial position to one of affluence. 
 
 DANIEL HI Kill.. 
 
 Daniel Hi eh I. an honored veteran of the Civil 
 war who is equally loyal to his country in limes 
 of peace, and who i- classed with the repre- 
 sentative farmer- of Menard county, was horn 
 in Berks county, Pennsylvania, in 1834. He is 
 a son of Henry ('. and Hannah i Lease) Diehl, 
 who were likewise uatives of 1 >< ■ rk - county, 
 Pennsylvania. The father's birth occurred in 
 February, 1809. lie was a son of John Adolpb 
 Diehl. a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
 ami a grandson of Nicholas Diehl, a native of 
 Gernianj". The last named came to America 
 in colonial days and settled in Philadelphia. 
 In his native country he had learned the bail- 
 er's trade and after living in Philadelphia for a 
 tune he opened the first baker; ever conducted 
 in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he remained 
 until his life'- labors were ended in death. 
 When the country became involved in war with 
 England lie espoused the cause of the colonists 
 ami fought for the independence of the nation. 
 Hi- -on John Ailolph Diehl was a hotel keeper 
 ami became proprietor of the lllack Horse 
 tavern near Philadelphia. At a later date he 
 removed to ()|e\ Valley in the same county, 
 where he carried on general farming until his 
 death, which occurred when he was sixty-five 
 \ ears of age. 
 
 Henry C. Diehl, the father of our subject, 
 -pent the lir-i eight years of In- life in Phila- 
 delphia and afterward resided upon his father's 
 farm until he had attained In- majority. n<- 
 became a farmer in Berks county, Pennsyl- 
 vania, but on the 1 -I of April. Is l">, he left thi 
 Keystone slate for Ohio. Tin- was about the 
 i nni' of the historic tire in Pittsburg, Penns) l- 
 vania. lie stopped Eor a time at Johnstown 
 and finally arrived in Pickaway county. Ohio, 
 with fifty cents in hi- pocket. It wa- difficult 
 for him to obtain employment and he gladly 
 accepted am work that would yield him an 
 honest living. Subsequently he engaged in 
 farming there until April. 1851, when he again
 
 1-lli 
 
 PAST AXD PEESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 sought a Lome in a frontier district, this time 
 working his way to Illinois. On the 18th of 
 Apri] of that year he located in Cartwrighl 
 township, Sangamon county, where he carried 
 "ii farming for several years. Jn 1858 he 
 bought a farm of forty acres ami later lie pur- 
 chased eighty-nine acres of land on the Sanga- 
 mon river in Menard county. Upon the Latter 
 farm he resided until lsii4. when he sold his 
 property in this count} anil purchased twenty 
 acres of land in Gardner township, Sangamon 
 county. There he continued to reside until 
 
 g;hty-three years of age, when he returned to 
 Vt uard county ami died at the home of his son- 
 in-law Tilmon Hornbuckle in July, 1893. In 
 
 • political affiliation in early life he was a 
 Whig ami afterward became a Republican, giv- 
 ing loyal support to Lincoln. He held member- 
 ship in the United Brethern church ami his 
 life was ever honorable ami upright, his wile. 
 who bore the maiden name of Hannah Lease, 
 was horn in Berks county, Pennsylvania, ami 
 her father was likewise a native of thai state, 
 but her grandfather, was of German birth ami 
 one the founder .of the family in the new 
 
 world. He. too. was • of the heroes of the 
 
 Revolution. Mrs. Hannah Diehl died in De- 
 cember, 1883, at the age of seventy-eight year-. 
 at the home of her daughter Mrs. Tilmon 
 I [ornbuckle in Menard county. 
 
 The} were the oar. nts of seven children : 
 John, who is living a! Reading, Pennsylvania: 
 I atherine, the wife of David Bartgis, of Cow- 
 ley county, Kansas; Daniel ; Harrison, who died 
 Mai 5, 1854; Charles, who is living in Lewis- 
 burg, Kansas; Cinley. a resident of Spring- 
 . ami Mary E., who is the wife of Tilmon 
 Eornbuckle, of Menard county. 
 
 Daniel Diehl spent his early life in Berks 
 county, Pennsylvania, remaining there until 
 ten years of age, ami between the years 1845 
 and 1851 he resided upon In- father'- farm in 
 Pickawai county, Ohio. In the latter year he 
 journeyed with the l'amih by boat to Beards- 
 town, Illinois, and he resided between Ashland 
 Pleasant Plain- in this state until 1854, 
 when lie went to Springfield. Prior to this nine 
 la had engaged in agricultural pursuits, hut on 
 removing to S hi followed the black- 
 smith's trade. At the ti f the Civil war 
 
 Mr. Diehl manifested hi- loyalty to the Onion 
 cause b\ active service in the army. He en- 
 listed in October, 1861, as a member of the 
 First Batalli f Yates Sharpshooters, after- 
 ward Company ('. of the Sixty-fourth Illinois 
 Infantry, lie was mustered into service at 
 Camp Butler as a corporal and proceeded with 
 his company to Quincy, Hlinois, and afterward 
 to New Madrid, where he took part in a battle. 
 IP nexi engaged in the battle of Island No. 10. 
 ami later bis and another company brought 
 three thousand prisoners to (amp Butler. Mr. 
 Diehl's regiment was subsequently sent to 
 Pittburg Landing, Tennessee, and he took' part 
 in the siege of Corinth and in a number of 
 skirmishes. He was also at Iuka with Eose- 
 erans and fought under t : eral in the 
 
 battle of Corinth, October 3 ami I. 1862. His 
 regiment remained there in camp until 1863, 
 doing guard duty and was stationed to pro- 
 tect the iiar "I Sherman's army from the rebels 
 at Pulaski. Tennessee. In January, 1864, Mr. 
 Diehl veteranized and after a furlough of thirty 
 'la\- he rejoined his regiment, which was re- 
 ganized at Ottawa. Illinois. He and his 
 
 trades were dispatched to Decatur, Alabama. 
 
 i' join Sherman and they did some gallant 
 service in the battles of Resaca, Ringgold, 
 Dallas. Buzzard's Eoost, Peachtree I 
 l\ein-aw Mountain and Atlanta. In Septem- 
 ber. 1863, Mr. Diehl was detached a- regi- 
 mental blacksmith and served in that capacity 
 until after the fall of Atlanta, when he was 
 transferred to the supply train of the First 
 Division of the Seventeenth Army Corps and 
 went with Sherman on hi- famous march to 
 tl ' sea. He was next transferred to the First 
 Brigade of the First Division of the Seven- 
 teenth Arni\ Corp- and with this command 
 proceeded to Bi an i"i i. South I aroihia. He 
 fought iii the first engagement at Orangeburg. 
 South Carolina, and for four day- and four 
 nights was in water from three to four feet 
 deep. He fougW at Goldsboro and after the 
 surrender of Lee and Johnston he went to 
 Washington, where he took part in the grand 
 review, the most celebrated military pageant 
 ever seen on the western hemisphere. He was 
 mustered out at Louisville. July 11, 1865, and 
 with a i creditable military record returned
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 i 11 
 
 to his home, having been honorably discharged 
 in Chicago. 
 
 Following his return home Daniel Diehl re- 
 sumed blacksmithing and for many year- was 
 well known as the village blacksmith of Salis- 
 bury. There he carried on business with suc- 
 cess for .-i long period, bu.1 now he is living a 
 [■ctired life in the enjoymeni of a comfortable 
 competence, which was gained through earnest 
 labor. He was a skilled workman and because 
 of the able service which he gave his patrons 
 he secured a large trade that made his business 
 profitable. 
 
 Mr. Dieb] was married on the 22d of June, 
 L869, to Miss Eliza J. Stone, a native of Gard 
 err township and a daughter of B. 1 •. Stone, 
 a native of Kentucky. They are the parents 
 of five children : Oraette is the wife of F. 
 Cutlet', by whom she has three living children, 
 Robert, Floy and Lome, and they live in Brad- 
 fordton Sangamon county. John II. married 
 Nellie Mae Wood and lives in Athens. Allie 
 D. is the wife of Charles Brown, also a resident 
 of Athens. Katie L. married William C. Buer- 
 ketl am] has one daughter, Valera. They make 
 their Imnie in Salisbury. Viola M. completes 
 the family. 
 
 Mrs. Diehl is a consisti nt member of the 
 Christian church at Salisbury and Mr. Diehl 
 i- independent in both his religious and po- 
 litical views. While living in Sangamon 
 count \ he served for twelve years as constable 
 as an accommodation to the people "i his lo- 
 cality, for the office paid small compensation. 
 ][i- has been an active ami useful career and 
 a- a soldier and citizen he has made an honor- 
 able record. 
 
 .mux s. in Kit:. 
 
 Tin- subject of this sketch was born Maj 
 II. 1854, and i- a -mi of Josiall and \am\ 
 Barker t 1 fawthorn i 1 1 urie. The father was 
 born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, mi the Loth 
 day of December, 1812, ami came to [llinois 
 in April. 1843, settling in the eastern part of 
 Cass e, unity, mar the Menard county line, lie 
 was joined in marriage to Mi-- Nancy Barker 
 Hawthorn mi the 6th of August, 1846, near 
 Newmanville. Illinois. She wa- born in Green 
 
 county, Kentucky, nine miles from Greens- 
 burg, June 11. L 824, and came with her parents 
 to [llinois in September, 1835. Onto Josiah 
 llurie ami wile wen- born the following chil- 
 dren: George Curtis, horn June 3, 1841. died 
 September 3, 1848; Frances Catherine, born 
 March 1. 1849, wa- married February II. L869, 
 and married a second time duly 22, 1881 ; Alice 
 Emily, horn August V'.'. L851, was married 
 September 1. L868, and died March 14, 1873; 
 John Solomon, born May II. L854, was mar- 
 ried October 22, 1878; Mary Melissa, born 
 October 4. 1856, was married September L2, 
 1876, and a second tune November 24, 1897; 
 Emmet Josiah. horn December 9, 1860, died 
 March 8, 1888; Ida Belle, horn November 17, 
 L863, was married October 2, 1887, and died 
 November 3, 1896. The father of this fam- 
 ily died Februarj ). 1901, bui the mother i> 
 still living, in December, 190 i. 
 
 John Solomon 1 1 uric was married October 
 22, 1878, to Miss Ann Maria Eoughton, mi 
 Rock creek. She is the only daughter and the 
 only living child of Andrew M. Houghton, who 
 was hum mi Rock creek on the 12th el' October, 
 1826, ami was married to M i^-s Barbara Ann 
 Renshaw mi the 9th of April, 1856. She was 
 hum in Richland, Sangamon county. Illinois, 
 September 18, 1829, and became the mothet of 
 iwo children, uameh, : Ann Maria, now Mrs. 
 llurie: and Wiley I'., who was hum June 6th, 
 1861, and died October I. 1864. Andrew M. 
 Houghton died January 2, 1891, in a house 
 located within one hundred feet of the cabin in 
 w huh he was born. X" better man ever lived 
 in Menard county. He was a man of mosl ex- 
 cellent judgment en almosi every subject and 
 no man in this section of the country was coun- 
 seled more than he. When any of his neighbors 
 were iii trouble or were perplexed over any mat- 
 ter of any kind thej were almost sure to go 
 to "Uncle Hickory," a- he was almosl uni- 
 versally called. No man could he more missed 
 from a neighborhood than was "Hickory" 
 I [oughton, ami .-ill 1 gh he ha- been dead four- 
 ten years his name i- still a household word 
 in this section of the country. IN- is truly 
 a blessed memory. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. llurie have four children: 
 Andrew Knimeit. hem November 16, L879;
 
 A 18 
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 Earl J., born April 10, 1882; Wiley Linn, born 
 March 17, L885; and John Frank, born Sep- 
 tember 3, 1891. Andrew E. Hurie was mar- 
 ried to Miss Elizabeth Ellen Stent on the 10th 
 of October, 1900. 
 
 John S. Hnrie is extensively engaged in 
 farming and stock-raising and makes a decided 
 sneer-- of it. Heownsafarm of fourteen hundred 
 and thirty-sis acres of as good land as there is 
 in centra] Illinois. Upon the property is a rock 
 quarry in operation and he has recently sunk 
 a coal shaft, which will, when fully developed, 
 be a source of ceaseless income. Taken upon 
 the whole, Mr. Hurie is one of the best and 
 most enterprising citizens of the country. In 
 politics he is a Democrat of the old mossback 
 type, always found with his party and in the 
 forefront of the fight, but in this direction he 
 could not influence his eldest son, who has 
 followed in the steps of his grandfather, who 
 was a stanch Republican, and young "Hickory" 
 is as strong in the faith as his grandfather ever 
 was. 
 
 AARON THOMPSON. 
 
 Aaron Thompson, deceased, was born in 
 Cape Ma\ county, New Jersey, on the 28th 
 day of January. 1810. Be was among the 
 most active, upright and highly respected citi- 
 zens of Menard county, who achieved succi — 
 by their indomitable energies rather than by 
 am outside aid. His record is that of many 
 others of the self-made, self-reliant moo. prom- 
 inent in the historj of this county, and his ca- 
 reer has been marked with the experiences com- 
 mon to that class referred to. His parents, 
 Anson Thompson and Elizabeth (Eldredge) 
 Thompson, died when lie was a small child 
 He was denied the privilege of attending 
 school as much as he desired, but his was an 
 energy thai was not easily thwarted by ob- 
 stacles and li\ dint of his own perseverance he 
 succeeded in gaining a good education, an ed- 
 ucation that was equal to, or even surpassed 
 that of mam a college student of to-day, be- 
 sides hi- -lure of genera] information and 
 ioi k learning, lie was a g 1 penman and ex- 
 perl mathematician and was versed with a most 
 
 wonderful geographical knowledge. At an earh 
 
 age he learned to earn his own livelil 1 and 
 
 m 1837 he hade his native state adieu and cam" 
 
 to Illinois. He first located in Sangai 
 
 county, where he- taught school and clerked in 
 a store. In 1848 he removed to Menard county 
 and settled on a farm about two and one-half 
 miles northwest of Petersburg, where he was 
 actively engaged in farming for over forty 
 years. Then he removed to Petersburg to 
 spend his declining days, but not in idlem ss. 
 He busied himself looking after his farm in- 
 terests, and other business affairs with which 
 he was connected. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was married September 21, 
 1848. to Miss Sarah J. Carson, wdio died in 
 1854. Two children of this union are living. 
 On April 18. 1865, Mr. Thompson was united 
 in marriage with Mrs. Amanda (Flinn) 
 O'Bannon. She was the daughter of Zadoc 
 W. and Elizabeth (Hill) Flinn, who removed 
 from Kentucky to Illinois in 1820, settling in 
 Morgan comity, where Mrs. Thompson was 
 born September 3, 1827. Mr. and Mrs. Flinn 
 were the parents of fourteen children, ten 
 daughters and four sons. This was one of the 
 most prominent and highly respected families 
 of Morgan county and, at Mr. Flinn's death he 
 left a vast estate. 
 
 Aaron Thompson and his wife, Mrs. Amanda 
 Thompson, were the parents of six children, of 
 whom there are now living: Aaron Edwin: 
 Zadoc Anson ; Elizabeth A., wife of C. A. War- 
 ing, of Petersburg; Man Helen, the wile of 
 Dr. E. A. Bleuler, of Carlinville, Illinois; 
 Lulu J., the wife of (,. II. Codington, of Chi- 
 cago. One daughter, S. Kathryn. wife of Ear- 
 rison Robinson, of Prentice, Illinois, died on 
 the 16th of June. 1889. Fannie EL, now Mrs. 
 
 J. D. O Ipasture, i- the daughter of Mr-. 
 
 Thompson, by her first husband. George W. 
 O'Bannon, who died in 1s:, i. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was a life-long Democrat. 
 His first vote was cast for Andrew Jackson. 
 He was a man of pronounced character. He 
 had clear and definite ideas on all matters and 
 expressed his opinion freely, hut not offensivi ty, 
 and everyone knew where he stood on every 
 subject. By his active and industrious life he 
 accumulated a competency and died November
 
 AAEON THOMPSON.
 
 
 
 /^ WF*%> 
 
 
 '■ i 
 
 
 
 ^1 
 
 MRS. AAEON THOMPSON.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 153 
 
 m. L899, surrounded by those comforts thai the aev farm which made the life of everj 
 
 are ever the resuli of honesty, industry and frontier agriculturist a strenuous one. When 
 
 economy. Bis second wife died February 16, onlj five and a half years old he plowed with 
 
 Igor one of the old time plows, then in general use 
 
 Throughoul his entire life he carried on the 
 
 work of tilling the soil and remained upon the 
 
 homestead until his death, which occurred Sop- 
 
 ELMEB P. HORNBACK. tember 6, 1899. Be was married, February 29, 
 
 One of the aative sons of Menard county, L850, to Miss Catherine Rogers, a daughter <>l 
 
 Elmer P. Eornback, was born May 19,1871, on Samuel and Rebecca Rogers, of Menard county. 
 
 the farm where he now lives and represents On the 10th of February, L867, her death oe- 
 
 ;i prominent family of this pari of the state, curred, and November 7, L867, Captain Horn- 
 
 whose high reputation he lias full) sustained back was married I" Margarel J. McGilora, a 
 
 l>\ Ins straightforward business career. His very worthy lady, by wh he has four 
 
 parents were Captain Roberl and Margaret children. The mother died December 17, 1886. 
 Hornback. His paternal great-grandfather, Captain Hornback proved his loyalty to his 
 Abraham Eornback, was a aative of Virginia, country during the Civil war b\ active service 
 a- was bis maternal great-grandfather, Roberl on the field, enlisting on the Itli of August, 
 Bracken, and both were soldiers under General 1862, as a private of Companj K. One Hun- 
 George Washington, in the Revolutionar} war. dred and Fourteenth Illinois Infantry, under 
 John Hornback, the grandfather of Elmer P. Colonel Judy. The rendezvous oi the company 
 Hornback, was Worn in Bourbon county, Ken- was at Camp Butler, Springfield, and the regi- 
 
 tucky, Februar] 3, 1798, and in 1818, he mar- ment s i afterward proceeded to Memphis, 
 
 ried Abigail Bracken, s aative of Bath county, Tennessee, remaining in the vicinity of that 
 Kentucky, and a daughter of Robert and Eliza- city until April I. 1863, skirmishing, guarding 
 beth (Mappen) Bracken. In 1825 they re- railroads and scouting. A1 the expiration of 
 moved to Illinois, reaching Menard county on thai tune order was received to join the forces 
 the 22d of October. Here Mr. Hornback pur- under General Grant at Grand Gulf, Missis- 
 chased three hundred and twenty acres of land, sippi, proceeding from that point under Gen- 
 at the usual government price and with char- oral Johnston. The One Hundred and Fourth 
 acteristic energy he began transforming the with several other regiments, came upon the 
 raw tract into cultivable property, uiaking sub- rebels at Raymond, on the Hub of April and in 
 stantial improvements, and through bis Earm- the engagemenl that followed the Confederates 
 in" interests aiding materially in the early were driven from their position. The Union 
 pioneer development of this pan of the state, soldiers Eollowed their retreat and again a con- 
 He continued to engage in general farming ftiet occurred at Jackson, Mississippi, a pitched 
 here until his death, which occurred December battle resulting in the forcing of the enemy 
 2 ; 1857. lie bad shared in many of the fron- f r0 m their fortifications and the capture of the 
 tier experiences incidenl to reclaiming this c ity. On the 16th the battle of Champion Hills 
 district for the uses of civilization, and in 1832 occurred, Mr. Hornback, with his regiment, 
 he bad served in the Black Hawk war. in com- participating, and later he aided in besieging 
 
 pany with Abraham Lincoln with wl i he the city of Vicksburg, until it- capitula i, 
 
 was intimately acquainted. Mr. Lincoln was after a defense of two months, in which the 
 
 the captain of this companj and Mr. Horn- cannon were seldom silent. The aexl movi oi 
 
 back the lieutenant. the One Hundred and Fourteenth was in the 
 
 Robert Hornback was bom in Menard advance to Jackson, where the two weeks' siege 
 
 county, on the old family homestead. Novem- was followed by the surrender of the city, 
 
 ber, II. 1828, being the eldest of a large fam- Captain Hornback being among the first to 
 
 iiy. He was reared amid pioneer environment enter it, on the 16th of July, 1863. I 
 
 and assisted in the arduous task of developing month of October, following, thai he was pro
 
 154 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COl VI V 
 
 in. a. il from orderly sergeant to captain and 
 while in Memphis lie was appointed provost 
 marshal of the city, but not wishing to leave 
 bis regimenl he remained with his command. 
 Following various encounters with the troops 
 uinlcr General Forrest, in the spring oJ 1864, 
 the One Eundred and Fourteenth Illinois took 
 part in the battle of Guntown, Mississippi, 
 June 10, 1864, and Captain Hornback lost one 
 half of bis men and was himself wounded, but 
 a month later, n hi a the n gimenl again met 
 the same troops, the latter were badly defeated. 
 In August this regiment was transferred to the 
 department of the Mississippi and pursued 
 Price ini" Mississippi and Arkansas, taking 
 part in the battle near Kansas City, in October. 
 After Price was forced to leave Missouri Cap- 
 tain Hornback joined General Thompson at 
 Nashville, and participated in the battle re- 
 sulting in the defeat of Hood. With his regi- 
 ment be also took part in the siege and capture 
 of Mobile, and then gladly returned home, I 
 war having ended, with victory perched upon 
 the Union banners. A loyal and intrepid sol- 
 dier, an honorable gentleman, reliable in busi- 
 ness and trustworthy in all life's relation-, the 
 memorj of Captain Hornback is revered and 
 cherished by all who knew him. 
 
 In the common schools Elmer P. Hornback 
 acquired bis early education, which was sup- 
 plemented by study in the high school of 
 Greenview and a course in the Springfield 
 Business Colleg of Springfield, Illinois. He 
 then returned home and at the age -I' seven- 
 teen years began farming mi hi- own account, 
 since which time he ha- continually carried on 
 general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. 
 He now .i\mi> the home place of two hundred 
 acre- and a ten acre tract of line timber three 
 miles south. lie is classed with the intelligent, 
 enterprising and prosperous farmers of his 
 native county and hi- business career is char- 
 ed by straightforward dealing. 
 
 On the 20th of December, L899, Llmer P. 
 Hornback was united in marriage to Miss 
 Maude Helstern, a daughter of George and 
 ( larissa Helstern, the for r a native of Ger- 
 many and the latter of Illinois. They became 
 earh settlers of Menard county, and the father 
 is new living a retired life in Petersburg- one 
 
 of the worthy pioneer residents of the county. 
 ill- wife died March is. 1903. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hornback have two children: Robert 11.. born 
 November 25, 1901, and Margaret, born KTo- 
 vembi r '.':;. 1903. 
 
 The parents are members of the Cumberland 
 I resbyterian church of Greenview and Mr. 
 Hornback holds membership relations with the 
 Masonic lodge at Greenview and the chapter 
 ami commandery at Petersburg. He is also 
 identified with the Modem Woodmen of 
 America and he gives In- political alleg 
 ti the Republican party. He seems to have in- 
 herited his father's patriotic spirit, for he mani- 
 fests a mosl commendable interest in measures 
 for the welfare of the county, state and nation, 
 and gives hearty co-operation to all move- 
 ments instituted for the material, intellectual 
 and moral welfare of his eommunitv. 
 
 JOE D. WILLIAMS. 
 
 Joi D. Williams, who i- carrying on farm- 
 ing and stock-raising in township 18. rang 
 4. was horn in Middletown, Logan county, 
 LUinois, July Li. 1866, his parents being Ed- 
 win J. and Rose (King) William?. His father, 
 who was horn in Decatur. Illinois. July 8, 1838, 
 .lied on the 8th of March, L882, while hi-- wife, 
 who wa- born in Ohio. -March 20, 1842, is still 
 living. Edwin J. Williams lived with hi- par- 
 ents in Menard county. Illinois, until twelve 
 years of age, when his mother died and he 
 afterward lived with an aunt. Mrs. Cynthia 
 Johnson, for about a year. His father then 
 took him t< > California, making the overland 
 trip with ox team-. There were three wagons 
 in the train and they were also accompanied 
 by Mr. Williams' five younger brothers. They 
 -tailed on the 1-t of April. 1851, and it took 
 nine month- to make the trip. One man out of 
 the train wa- killed by the Indians while they 
 were traveling through Kansas. Mr. William-' 
 father was captain of the train and he took 
 with him sixteen yoke oi oxen and - ven head 
 of horses. After reaching California he fat- 
 tened tlic oxen and Mild them as beef cattle 
 for one dollar per pound. He then began to 
 -.arch for gold and was in the mines for two
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT!' 
 
 l.v, 
 
 years, al the end of winch time he was mur- 
 dered by the Rogue River Indians on Rogue 
 river in California. Edwin J. Williams with 
 Iris five brothers then started homeward, going 
 b\ waj of Panama on a sailing vessel, across 
 the isthmus on mules and thence on a sailing 
 vessel i" New Orleans, up the Mississippi river 
 in St. Louis and on the Illinois river to Beards- 
 town, whence they made their waj across the 
 country to Menard county. Edwin Williams 
 then lived with his aunt, Mrs. Johnson, until 
 about twenty-five years of age. During thai 
 tunc he attended school as opportunity offered 
 and he also did general rami work, breaking 
 the wild prairie and cultivating the fields. At 
 the age of twenty-five years lie started oul in 
 life Tor himself, purchasing a trad of lana 
 near Middletown and residing in the village 
 while operating Ins farm, lie was married on 
 the Sth of August, 1865, to Mis,- Rose Eing 
 and the} became the parents of three children: 
 Joe D., Ed-win F., who was horn August 26, 
 1868, and is now married and living in the 
 Panhandle of Texas; and Matilda J., who was 
 horn Augusl 21, 1873, and is the wife of Louis 
 Held. aLo residing in the Panhandle. 
 
 After his marriage Edwin Williams con- 
 tinued to reside in .Middletown until the spring 
 of is;:;, when he -old his Earn: there and pur- 
 chased on,- hundred and seven acres of land 
 south of Irish Grove. Removing to the new 
 property be continued its cultivation until the 
 spring of 1876, when he sold that farm and 
 went to Maryville, Missouri, where he carried 
 on general agricultural pursuits ami stock- 
 raising, lie also engaged in the lumber busi- 
 ness, continuing in that line of trade mn d the 
 spring of L880, when on account of ill health 
 he disjioseil of his lumberyard and returnecMo 
 Menard county, locating at Athens, where he 
 spent his remaining days. When two years had 
 passed, however, he was called to his final rest. 
 lie was a member of the old school Presbyter- 
 ian church and lived an upright, consistent 
 Christian life, being straightforward in all his 
 hiisiness transactions and faithful to every 
 duty. His wife still survives him and now 
 makes her home with her children. 
 
 Joe D. William-- -pent hi- boyhood days 
 under the parental roof. He wa- for two years 
 
 a student in the Mum school and afterward 
 attended a graded school m Maryville, Mis- 
 -ouri. for four years, lie also -pent two years 
 
 a- a student in Athens and later conn id hi- 
 
 Studies at Maple Grove, where he attended 
 school during the winter months. He was thus 
 equipped by good educational privileges for the 
 practical duties of life and reading and obser- 
 vation in later year- have also added to his 
 knowledge, while experience has taught him 
 main lessons. After his father'- death, which 
 occurred when the son was fifteen years of age, 
 he assisted his mother in improving and culti- 
 vating one hundred ami ninety-one aires id' 
 land neai' Fancy Prairie ami when he had at- 
 tained his majority he went to Kama-, where 
 he -pent eight months herding cattle in that 
 state ami in the Indian Territory. Later with 
 his two horse- and cooking outfit he weiii over- 
 land to Nebraska, ami traveling through the 
 northern part of Missouri heal length reached 
 Illinois. I luring tin.- time he slepl upon the 
 ground and did his own cooking. After his 
 return he worked with his mother at farming 
 and stock-raising and in July, 1891, purchased 
 one hundred ami ninety-one acres of land ad- 
 joining his mother's far n the north. Since 
 
 then they ha\c operated the two farms as one 
 property, Mr. Williams having the active man- 
 agement of the place. They have about fifty- 
 head of shorthorn cattle and aboul one hundred 
 ami Eorty-five hogs. They also have twenty- 
 three head of a good grade of horses on the 
 place and an imported Percheron stallion, 
 Clovis. Asa farmer and stock-raiser Mr. Wil- 
 liams is meeting with a very gratifying measure 
 of success and he i- one of t he stockholders oi 
 the Fancy Prairie drain <S < !oal < iompany. 
 
 tin the 19th of December, 1895, was cele- 
 brated the marriage of Mr. Williams and Miss 
 Mabel J. < louncil, a daughter of Robert and 
 Ellen (Cresse) Council. Her father, who was 
 
 horn in Sangam lounty, Illinois, in LS30, 
 
 died in 1881, while his wife, who wa- horn Aug- 
 int ll. 1844, is still living. They were married 
 in 1862 and became the parents of eighl 
 children, six of whom survive: John \\ .. who 
 i- married and resides in Menard county; Mrs. 
 William.-; Lillie. who is the wife of Will Clmc. 
 a re-idem of Sangamon county: Lula C, the
 
 I. Mi 
 
 PAST AM) PRESET 
 
 O 
 
 MENARD COUNTY 
 
 wife of Edward Lake, of Menard count] ; 
 Robert C. and Frank, who are living on 
 the old family homestead. The father 
 spent his entire Life in Menard and Sanga- 
 mon counties engaged in the business of 
 feeding and raising stock and cultivating his 
 fields. II' 1 possessed excellenl business ability 
 and executive force and managed In- affairs 
 
 so ably that at the ti E his death he left a 
 
 valuable farm comprising four hundred and 
 eight; acre- of line prairie Land well improved. 
 (in the place is a nice residence and substantial 
 barns ami outbuildings, while shade and fruit 
 trees add to the value as well as \<> the attrac- 
 tive appearance of the place. Mr. Council was 
 a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
 and his name was a synonym for honorable 
 dealing in all life's relation-. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Williams was 
 blessed with three children: Ellen, hern De- 
 cember 30, ls'.i; : Ed, horn November 9, 1900; 
 and Roberl C, born September 28, 1903. Both 
 Mr. and Mi-. William- have a wide circle of 
 friends in the county and their pleasant heme 
 is noted for its generous hospitality. They favor 
 the Cumberland Presbyteria] church, although 
 thev are not members of any religious denom- 
 ination. In his political views Mr. Williams is 
 a Republican and. while he keep.- well informed 
 on the ipiestions and issue- of the day as every 
 true American citizen should do. he has neither 
 time nor inclination to seek public office, pre- 
 ferring to give his undivided attention to his 
 business affairs, in which lie is meeting with 
 signal success. 
 
 JES'SE F. OHM. 
 
 Jesse f. Gum, who throughoirt his business 
 career followed farming, winning both success 
 and an honorable name, was horn upon a farm 
 mar Talula, Menard county. November 29, 
 Is:; I. hi- parents being Jesse and Mary (Dills) 
 i.iiin. both natives of Kentucky, whence they 
 
 iv \ed to Illinois al an early epoch in the 
 
 development and improvement of the county. 
 I i si ttled upon a tract of wild land, the 
 father becoming the owner of a tract of twelve 
 hundred acres, which at his death was divided 
 
 i ig his children. Indian- were still found 
 
 in this part of the state at the time of Mr. 
 Gum's arrival, and every evidence of pioneei 
 existence was seen. The land was largely un- 
 cultivated ami the farm implements were 
 crude, but stout hearts and willing hands over- 
 came the difficulties of frontier life, and the 
 
 labor- of the pi er opened up a distru i 
 
 which is now one of the 'nest agricultural sec- 
 tions of this great state. Unto Jesse and Mary 
 (Dills) Gum were horn twelve children hut 
 only one i- living, Lydia Bell, a resident of 
 Iowa. After losing his first wife tin. father 
 married Grace Flynn. One -on. Charley Cum. 
 was a soldier in the "Mexican war and all' r 
 being wounded was honorably discharged. 
 
 Jesse F. Gum was educated in the public 
 schools and was reared upon his father's farm. 
 early assisting in the Labors of plowing, plant- 
 ing and harvesting, mi that he soon gained 
 practical knowledge of the business which 
 he determined to make his life work. He 
 began farming en hi- own account after at- 
 taining his majority and always followed that 
 pursuit. He was very successful, seldom, if 
 ever, making a mistake in matters of business 
 judgment and his careful control of his farm- 
 ing interests, hi- energy ami diligence wen for 
 him a very desirable measure of prosperity. 
 As bis financial resources increased he invest- 
 ed in land and at his death was the owner of a 
 fine farm of three hundred and thirty-three 
 acre-, which has -nice been divided among his 
 children. 
 
 On February 11. 1858, Mr. Gum was married 
 to Mis- Martheiia Ott, who was born July 24, 
 1839, in Harrison county. Indiana, a daughter 
 of Ximroil and Pearline (Gum) Ott. and who 
 were also natives of Earrison county, Indiana, 
 and came to Illinois in 1852, settling in Me- 
 nard county. Both have now passed away. 
 They were farming people ami lived a quiet. 
 retiring life. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gum were 
 hem tin' following: Evaline, who died in in- 
 fancy: Man A.gnes, who died at the age of 
 three vears; John Calvin, a resident of Peters- 
 burg, who married Cera Hell and has six chil- 
 dren ; Willie R, who residi - on the heme farm 
 and married Elizabeth Davis, by whom he has 
 sis children: Etta, who married John Ailshie,
 
 JESSE V. GUM.
 
 MRS. MAI.'TIIFAW GUM.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 161 
 
 a carpenter of Pittsburg, Kansas, ami lias two 
 children; Lucinda, who married Samuel Green- 
 wald, a farmer li\ ing near Curtis, I Uinois, and 
 has one child : Martha Anna, who was married 
 September 29, 1903, to Oliver A. Carman, 
 a carpenter and contractor of Petersburg; 
 Charles and Preston, who died in infancy. 
 
 In Ins political views Mr. Gum was a Dem- 
 ocral bul bad qo aspirations for public office, 
 pri ferring to devote his time and attention 
 in his business affairs, in which he mel with 
 signal success. He died October LS, issi. his 
 remains being interred in Grove Hill cemetery. 
 He was a member of the Baptist church, while 
 his wife belongs to the Christian church. His 
 interest in all matters pertaining to the mate- 
 rial upbuilding and the intellectual and moral 
 aih ancement of the community was deep and 
 sincere, and while he never attempted to be 
 a leader in public movements, he gave his 
 heart] co-operation and approval to many 
 measures for the public good. His salient qual- 
 ities were such as won him high regard and 
 warm friendships and thus his memory is cher- 
 ished imi only by his immediate famih but also 
 li\ many who knew him throughou! Menard 
 counts . 
 
 .loiIN JOHNSON. 
 
 .Inlin Johnson, who lias now traveled far on 
 life's journey, is one of the honored and vener- 
 able citizens of Menard count} and, moreover, 
 In is especially entitled to mention in this 
 volume because he is numbered annum' the 
 native sons. Few indeed of her residents have 
 longer resided within its borders and he has 
 been a witness of almost its entire development 
 -nice the first permanent settlement was made 
 by white people. He can relate many interest- 
 ing incidents of the early days and, moreover, 
 la has taken just pride in what has been ac- 
 complished as the work of improvemenl and 
 ci\ ilizatinn has been carried forward. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was born September 5, 1825, 
 upon the old family homestead in this county, 
 his parents being William and Cynthia (Wil- 
 liams) Johnson. Thev were both natives of 
 
 Bath county, Kentucky, and arrived in Menard 
 count] in October, L823, the father securing 
 ;, government claim of one hundred and sixty 
 acre-;, on winch he built him a Log cabin sixteen 
 feet square. He also entered eight] acres of 
 timber land from the government and with 
 characteristic energ] began to clear and de- 
 velop his farm, living in true pioneer style. He 
 lel'i aboui lour hundred acres of land at the 
 time of his death, having acquired a good com- 
 petence through his well directed energy. Unto 
 him and his wife were horn seven children. \mt 
 all are now deceased, with the exception of 
 John of this review, and Jefferson, who was 
 horn October 3, 1828, and is now living on the 
 old family homestead. The father died in Sep 
 tember, 1843, and the mother, long surviving 
 him, passed away May 7, 1887. 
 
 John Johnson was born in the little log 
 cabin which was the pioneer home of the fam- 
 ily. Later that building was replaced by a 
 larger house, which, however, was also con- 
 structed of logs, lie was reared amid the wild 
 scenes and environments of Frontier life and 
 assisted in the arduous task of developing new* 
 land and transforming the fields into produc- 
 tive tracts. His entire life has been devoted to 
 genera] farming and stock-raising and as the 
 years advanced he kept pace with the progress 
 thai was made along agricultural lines. His 
 scythe was replaced by the mowing machine 
 and other i lern farm implements were se- 
 cured, so thai Ins labor was greatly facilitated. 
 
 i In the 1st of December, 18 16, Mr. Johnson 
 was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Jenni- 
 son, who died on the L2th of October, 1855, 
 leaving two children: Adelaide, who became 
 the wife of William E. Hall and died soon 
 after her marriage; and William E., who re- 
 sides upon his father's farm. For his second 
 wife John Johnson wedded Elizabeth Gaines, 
 a daughter of Joseph and Eliza (Meteer) 
 tonne-, both of whom are natives of Kentucky. 
 This marriage occurred March I. L859, and 
 was blessed with four children: Cora, who 
 was horn January 18, L860, is now the wife 
 of Frank Whitney, of this county: lona. who 
 was horn September 12, L862, is the wife of J. 
 E. Culver, of Menard county; Joseph, horn 
 September 19. 1865, married Nellie Clark and
 
 462 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENARD eol'NTY 
 
 is now living in Athens; Ella, born July 14, 
 L869 ; is the wife of Henry V. Council, a resi- 
 dent of Logan county, Illinois. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are now living with 
 their daughter, Mrs. Whitney, and both are 
 enjoying good health. He retains his strength 
 to a remarkable degree and each day walks 
 about four or five miles. They have seen many 
 changes in Menard county and Mr. Johnson 
 has a fund of interesting reminiscences con- 
 cerning the early days. Ee saw the first rail- 
 road liuilt in the county, strap rails being used, 
 while the motive power was furnished l>> mules. 
 The Wabash Line now runs upon the old grade 
 into Springfield. Mr. Johnson drove hogs to 
 the market at St. Louis when sixteen years of 
 age and was two weeks in making the trip, 
 owing to the condition of the roads on which 
 the snow was found in some places, while in 
 other places the mud was very deep. Mis pay 
 for the work was fifty rout- per day and his 
 labor began ere daybreak. He would breakfast 
 while it was yet dark and his supper was taken 
 alter night had fallen. The houses at that 
 time were often twelve miles apart. There were 
 fifteen hundred hogs in the drove and fifteen 
 men and boys wore employed to drive them. 
 After this trip he took a drove of hogs to 
 Beardstown over the prairie and through the 
 timber. During the period of the Civil war. 
 in connection with his brother Jefferson and 
 ( olonel William-, he purchased mules, which 
 h, sold to the government. They continued 
 in the business of buying and selling stock for 
 more than fifteen years, dealing in cattle, hogs 
 and mules. They had sixteen hundred acres of 
 land on which they fed their stock and their 
 sales brought to them a good financial return. 
 Mr. Johnson still owns three hundred and 
 forty-three acres of line farming land and ten 
 acre- of timber land in the county. He also 
 has three hundred and twenty acres in Linn 
 county. Eansas, eighty mile- south of Kansas 
 City. His has been a prosperous career, owing 
 his i lose application and unfaltering labor 
 and while hi- life has heen quietlv passed he 
 has yet displayed many sterling traits of char- 
 acter which have won him the confidence of the 
 business community and the respect of all 
 with whom he has been associated. His polit- 
 
 ical allegiance is given to the Republican party 
 and for twenty years he has served as a school 
 director, bui otherwise has held no public 
 office. Hi' was made a Mason in Petersburg 
 in L859 and afterward became a charter mem- 
 ber of Greenview lodge No. 653, A.F. & A.M.. 
 with which he is now affiliated. Xo history of 
 Menard county would be complete without 
 record of its venerable citizen, who for almost 
 eighty years has resided within its borders. 
 What to many people are matters of history 
 are to him events .d' personal knowledge or 
 experience and he has many vivid mental pic- 
 tures of pioneer conditions in Menard county. 
 as well a- of it- later da\ progress and pros- 
 perity. 
 
 ROBERT CLARY PAXTIER. 
 
 James Pantier, the grandfather of the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, was born in Boone"s Fort 
 at Boonesboro, Kentucky. February 7, 1779, 
 and he continued to live at the fort until fif- 
 teen years of age. He was married in the 
 state of Ohio to Miss Susanna Murphy. In 
 1815 he came to Illinois and in 1S3U settled 
 in what is now Menard county, three miles 
 north of Petersburg. There he entered the 
 land on which the subject of this sketch now 
 lives. He was a very eccentric man. though 
 a good Christian, and a ruling elder in the 
 Concord Cumberland Presbyterian church. He 
 was a "Faith Doctor."" as people termed it. and 
 many remarkable stories are told of his won- 
 derful power. Hundreds of intelligent people 
 full] believed that by simply laying his hands 
 on tin' subject he could stop the flow of blood 
 from a wound, cure a malignant cancer, kill 
 the poison of a snake or a mad-dog bite, in 
 short, heal any disease lie lived and died a 
 respected ami honored citizen, passing away on 
 the 19th of January, 1859, when nearly eighty 
 years of age. 
 
 David M. Pantier. the father of our subject, 
 was born in Hamilton county, Ohio. October 
 17. 1808, and came to Illinois in 1815, settling 
 in Menard count] in 1826. Tn March. 1829, 
 be was joined in marriage to Miss Eliza W. 
 Armstrong, wbo was born April 25, 1812, and
 
 I 1 . VST AMi PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 k;:; 
 
 died in August, 1848. To them were born 
 seven children, of whom Robert C. is aexl to 
 iln youngesl and with the exception of him all 
 are now deceased. David M. Pantier was 
 again married in 1849, his second union be- 
 ing with 3Irs. Maria Harms, a widow whose 
 maiden name was Butchies. To them were 
 born four children, of whom two died in in- 
 fancy and two are still living, namely : Marion 
 Pantier, of Petersburg, I Llinois; and Minerva 
 Colson, of Nebraska. David M. Pantier died 
 October 13, 1889, lacking four days of being 
 eighty-one years old. 
 
 Robert Clan Pantier was born March Y, 
 is ii. in Menard county, and bis early life was 
 that of the average country boy, working on 
 the farm in summer and attending school three 
 or lour months in winter. On the 13th of 
 April. L863, he, in company with others, 
 started arm- the country to California, and 
 having horse teams they reached there in the 
 early fall. While in California he was em- 
 ployed as a general hand on a stock ranch 
 and remained in thai state until 1865, arriv- 
 ing heme on the Ls1 of December, of that year. 
 on the 30th of December, I860, Mr. Pantier 
 was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Jane 
 Traylor, who was born in Menard county, 
 March 25, L842, and is a daughter of Eenry 
 and Elizabeth (Robinson) Traylor. Of this 
 union were hem three -ens and one daughter, 
 namely: David Earri, born December 6, 
 isr,; ; William A., hem July 23, 1869; Marion 
 Edward, hem May 12, 1872; and Ollie L., hern 
 Dceember 28, 1874. The second sen. William 
 \.. i- married and lives on a rami near bis 
 father. The daughter, Ollie I... was married 
 in December, t890, to Eben Kirby and lives 
 on a farm in an adjoining neighborhood. 
 
 Mr. Pantier is an intelligent successful far- 
 mer and stock-raiser. He is a ruling elder in 
 the Concord congregation of the Cumberland 
 
 Presbyterian church, as he has I n for a 
 
 number of years. I £ he is like his father he 
 will be a blessing to any community where be 
 may dwell. While David M Pantier was net 
 a member of any church no man in this sec- 
 tion of the country hi, re more of the practical 
 fruits of Christianity than he. lie and hi? 
 wife. ••Aunt Maria/ 5 a- every one called her. 
 
 were en a constant mission of mercy a- Long 
 as they lived. The poor, the needy, the sick, 
 the orphan and widow were their especial 
 wards, and unostentatious^ and quietly they 
 did their work. In the great day of accounl 
 a greal host will rise ii|i to testify to their 
 humble and quiet deeds of love. 
 
 GEORGE KIRBY, si;. 
 George Kirby was the sen of Cyrus Kirby, 
 who was a native of Kentucky. In the year 
 L809 Cyrus Kirby emigrated from Kentucky to 
 the territory of Illinois, and settled in Madi- 
 gon county, (in the 20th of December, in the 
 year of 1812, George Kirby was horn, in Madi- 
 son county, Illinois. In the year 1820, when 
 the subject of this sketch was eight years eld. 
 Cyrus Kirby removed from Madison county to 
 Clary's Grove in Menard county and settled 
 
 there. Seme years later George Kirov I ght 
 
 land in Sand Ridge, Menard county, and set- 
 tled there and continued to live there till the 
 time of In- death. On the --'.""I of October. 
 1834, Mr. Kirby was joined in marriage to Miss 
 Dorcas Atterberry, who was horn April 22, 
 L816. To this union were born eight children: 
 John Kirby, born September 8, 1835: Daniel, 
 horn December 20. ISHii; Xaney. hern August 
 31, 1838 ; Samuel, born March 5, L841; William 
 born December 31, L842; Matilda, bo 
 June '.".i. is 1 1 : Mary -lane, hem October 11. 
 
 L846; G -ge Kirby, dr.. hem September •-';. 
 
 1849. 
 
 George Kirby was a splendid specimen of 
 that grand das- of men. sturdy, honest and 
 enterprising, who by then' honesty, intelligence. 
 devotion and industry made possible the rich 
 inheritance that their posterity enjoj today. 
 I iVar thai we can not properly appreciate the 
 w , ,i Is of the men and women who carved out 
 this rich legacy for us. No nobler hand of men 
 and women eveT lived in any land than those 
 who opened up (his country and started it 
 on the way to success. George Kirby was a 
 man of sterling integrity and unwavering hon- 
 esty, ever ready to lend bis aid in any good 
 and righteous cause. He was net a member 
 of any church, hut he respected good men. rev-
 
 h;i 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT <>K MENARD COUNTY 
 
 erenced God, and his influence was always on 
 the side of right living and mora] rectitude. 
 Mi-. Kirbj lived within two miles of his life- 
 long friend, S. I '. Masters, for over fifty-three 
 years. There was only twenty-three days dif- 
 ference in the date of their birth, and only 
 twenty-three days difference in the death. Mr. 
 Kii'hv was one of the promineni factors in 
 the development of this pari of Illinois. \o 
 man was ever turned hungry from his door, 
 and every good and benevolent enterprise found 
 in 1 1 1 1 1 1 an ardenl and libera] supporter. 
 
 llf lefl one sister still living at the advanced 
 age of ninety-six years, Mrs. Lucinda Watkins. 
 Another sister, Mrs. Matilda Watkins, is still 
 living at the age of seventy-nine years. These 
 sisters are the eldesl and youngesi of their 
 family. Mr. Kit-by died at aboul ninety-two 
 years of age. At the graves of these grand 
 pioneers we stand with uncovered beads, with 
 gratitude contemplate the monument they erect- 
 ed lo themselves in the development of this 
 fair land, in which we see on everj hand the 
 impress of their genius, intelligence, industry 
 
 and loVe. 
 
 JolIX E. BEASFJ ELD. 
 
 John E. Brasfield, who throughout his entire 
 life has followed farming and stock-raising, 
 was born in Menard county, March 10, 1879. 
 His father. Thomas H. Brasfield, was a native 
 of Madison county. Kentucky, born on the Kb 
 of December, 1829. During his boyhood days 
 he remained at home and through the winter 
 
 nihs attended school, while in the summer 
 
 seasons be assisted in the work of the fields. 
 
 After leaving sel I he engaged in farming 
 
 with his father uiiiil twenty-live years of age. 
 He had accompanied his parents to Illinois in 
 1834, the famih home being established near 
 Athens in Menard county and he continued 
 under the parental roof until 1854. His father 
 hail purchased land patents whereby he secured 
 three hundred ami twenty acres of land and 
 upon a part of this land Thomas II. Brasfield 
 began farming and stock-raising for himself, 
 devoting the greater part of his attention, how- 
 ever, to the latter pursuit, fie generally fed a 
 
 carload of cattle each winter, also many ho_;s, 
 ami likewise raised horses enough to do his own 
 farm work, lie built a comfortable ami com- 
 
 dious home after burning the tall prairie 
 
 grass from a patch of land sufficient to enable 
 
 I tn have a clear -pace mi which to pile 
 
 his lumber. That pioneer home is still stand- 
 ing and is one of the landmarks in the neigh- 
 borhood, li is surrounded with line maple. 
 ash and dm trees that were planted by Mr. Bras- 
 field, and he also set out a catalpa grove ami 
 a black walnut grove, lie made his farm one 
 of the 1 i 1 1 1 ■> i developed and improved [daces of 
 his locality and successfully carried mi general 
 agricultural pursuits for many years, lie acted 
 a a school trustee lor twenty years and was a 
 school director at the time of his death. Pub- 
 lic interests that had for their object the wel- 
 fare and progress of his community received bis 
 earnesl endorsement and hearty co-operation 
 
 and be was know n as £ the prominent and 
 
 influential residents id' Menard county. He 
 married Mis> Cynthia M. Camp, who was born 
 in Pulton county, Illinois, March 3, 1848. The 
 marriage was celebrated September I'd. 1876, 
 and after traveling life's journey together for 
 about twenty-lour years Thomas Brasfield was 
 called to his final rest on the 31st of December, 
 1900. His widow is still living and makes her 
 home in Eureka, Illinois. They were the par- 
 ents of lonr children: John E., of this review ; 
 llenn II.. who died in boyhood; Laura C, 
 who is now living in Eureka, Illinois, with her 
 mother; and Bryanf L., also with his mother. 
 John E. Brasfield acquired bis early educa- 
 tion in tin: public schools ami afterward sup- 
 plemented his preliminary knowledge by study 
 in the Springfield Business College. He worked 
 with his father upon the old home farm until 
 the bitter's death and then took charge of the 
 property, which he managed for three years, 
 ,"t the end of which lime he began farming on 
 his own account. He has also carried on stock- 
 raising and he has now several head of reeis- 
 tered cattle. He also raises high grade horses 
 and by improving his stock and thereby ad- 
 vancing prices he has added to the prosperity of 
 the entire community. He operates two hun- 
 dred and forlv acres of land, niosl of which is 
 used for pasturage purposes, and in addition to
 
 ME. AND MRS. T. H. BRASFIELD.
 
 PAST A\l> PEESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 ii.; 
 
 this he owns <> te hundred and fifty acres, which 
 he rents. 
 
 On the 2d "I' September, 1903, Mi'. Brasfield 
 was married to Miss Aurelia Davis, a daughter 
 of George I-'. ami Lizzie 1 ». ( l.a\ man i I >avis. 
 Eer lather was horn 111 Sangamon county, 111- 
 inois, August -.'1. isis. an. I the mother m 
 Botetourl county, Virginia, October f9, L855. 
 The] n<>w reside near Auburn, in Sangamon 
 county, Illinois. During his boyhood lie lived 
 .-ii home ami worked with his lather, aiding in 
 the labors of the fields all through the summer 
 months, while in the winter seasons he acquired 
 In- education in the public schools, lie has al- 
 ways carried on farming and stock-raising suae 
 attaining adult age ami is an enterprising and 
 progressive fanner of his community, lie be- 
 longs t" the Modern W Imen of America ami 
 
 both he and his wife held membership in the 
 
 Court of Honor. He was rried October L3, 
 
 L881, to Miss l.izzio D. Layman, and they be- 
 came the parents of three children : M rs. Bras- 
 field, who was born November 3, L882, in Au- 
 burn township, Sangamon county, Illinois; 
 Eugh, who was horn March 7, 18S7, and died 
 January 23, L904; and Gerald, born September 
 1 1. L898. Both Mr. ami Mrs. Brasfield hold 
 membership in the Christian church and he 
 gives his political support to the Republican 
 party, lie is a young man. possessing the en- 
 terprising spirit which has dominated the west 
 and been an important factor in its substantial 
 upbuilding, lie has already achieved credit- 
 able prosperity, which will doubtless increase 
 for him as the years go by. 
 
 SAMUEL LOWNSBERY. 
 
 Samuel Lownshory is a representative pio- 
 neer settler of Menard county and has taken 
 an interested and helpful part in the upbuild- 
 ing of this portion of the state. He was born 
 in Chemung county, New York, March 1. 1825, 
 In- parents being Jonathan and Mary (.Lines) 
 Lownshery. The father was a native of the 
 Empire state and the mother was horn in 
 Pennsylvania, hut their marriage was cele- 
 brated hi New York. It was in the year L832 
 that Jonathan Lownsherv hnnighi hi- family 
 
 io Illinois, establishing In- home in Cass 
 count) - , where he lived for six month- and 
 then removed to the presenl site of the village 
 of Oakford. lie entered one hundred ami 
 twenty acre- of land from the government and 
 ai once began breaking the wild prairie, for 
 not a furrow' had been turned or an improve- 
 ment made upon his place. lie huill a log 
 cabin ami in true pioneer style the family be- 
 gan life there, hut in later year- when In- labor 
 had brought him some capital he miih a 
 modern farm residence. Some of his children. 
 however, were born in the little frontier home. 
 To his original purchase ho liist added a trad 
 of eighty acres and subsequently lie bough! 
 sixty acres of timber land on the river bottom. 
 As the years passed he placed his farm under 
 a very high state of cultivation and also added 
 
 many i lern improvements. At length he 
 
 was enabled to replace Ins second house with 
 a brick residence and thus he earned forward 
 the work of progress in keeping with modern 
 ideas of agriculture, lie split rails ami fenced 
 his farm in the earl\ days and he used primi- 
 tive machinery in cultivating the soil and harv- 
 esting the crops, Imi a,- time passed the crude 
 farm implements were replaced Io those winch 
 more modern inventive genius had given to 
 the world. There were very few people living 
 here at I he | line of t he arrival of the I .ow n-- 
 bery family, the homes being widely scattered 
 over the prairies, (lame of various kinds, in- 
 cluding deer, was plentiful. Many turkeys and 
 duck- were shot lo the early settlers and there 
 were also wolves in this part of the slate. 
 James W'ai kins, an uncle of our subject, owned 
 a mill on Clary's ('reck, in which he ground 
 corn and later -lame- Robinson built a more 
 extensive mill, in which both corn and wheal 
 were ground. Samuel Lownsben has turned 
 the crank for bolting Hour in this mill many 
 a time and he also assisted his father in the 
 general work of farming ami stock-raising, 
 Jonathan Lownsbery carrying on agricultural 
 
 pursuits until al i twenty years prior to his 
 
 death, when he turned his farm, comprising iwo 
 hundred and twenty acre-, ovi r to the care of his 
 sons and they continued in the business, while 
 he spent hi- remaining days in honorable re 
 tirenieiii from further labor. He continued to
 
 168 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENARD COl \TY 
 
 reside, however, upon the old homestead, where 
 lit passed away in the eighty-second year of 
 hi? age. Eis wife also died in Menard county. 
 B I i were consistenl and faithful members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church and were num- 
 bered among the worthy pioneer | pie. Mr. 
 
 Lownsber\ served as a member of the school 
 board for many years and his co-operation was 
 given to all work or concerted actions I 
 he believed would prove of value for the sub- 
 stantial improvement of his adopted county. 
 Unto him and Ins wife were born twelve chil- 
 dren, but only four are now living: Margaret, 
 who is the widow of Leander Brown, and is 
 now living near Oakford at the age of eighty- 
 four wars: Samuel, of this review: Maurice, 
 who married Mrs. Sophia Atterberry and is a< n 
 living in Menard county, where both were born; 
 and Lettie, who is the wife of Elias Eirby. 
 They, too. are natives of Menard count} and 
 -i ill reside within it- bordi re. 
 
 Samuel Lownsben was a youth of onh sev- 
 en years when brought by his parents to Me- 
 nard county and upon the old family home- 
 stead he was reared, assisting his father in 
 ih, farm work until twenty-four years of age. 
 He performed the various duties incident to 
 the cultivation and development of the farm 
 and to the ear.' of the family. He hauled 
 the grisi to the mill on sleds, for there were 
 few wagons at that time. Frequently he would 
 earn the -rain to Mount- mill on ('ran. crei 
 ami in L836 when eleven years of age he went 
 to Aurora upon a sled drawn by four yoke of 
 oxen, driving across the country for a dis- 
 tance of one hundred and sixty miles. He 
 then -pent the summer in driving ox team- and 
 breaking prairies and he received in payment 
 for bis labor a cook stove, which was made 
 ;it the foundry in Aurora and for which bis 
 brother-in-law, Mr. McDoel, paid him forty 
 dollars. Mr. Lownsbery's father went to Auro- 
 ra for him with a two horse wagon and on 
 the return trip carried the stove. It was the 
 firs! one brought into the neighborhood. After 
 In- marriage in LS49 Mr. Lownsbery built a 
 log ca 'in. of which he took possession in 1850, 
 making it his home for about ten years. He 
 then moved into a frame house and in 1874 
 he built a fine home, which he yet occupies. 
 
 He possessed the first sewing machine which 
 was brought into the neighborhood and also 
 the iir-t coal-oil lamp. lie witnessed the in- 
 troduction of many devices that arc now con- 
 sidered necessities, hut which the pioneer set- 
 tlers were accustomed to do without. H 
 -en greal changes in farming methods, owing 
 
 to the improved machinery which has I n put 
 
 upon the market ami at all time- he kept toui h 
 with the advance that was made, for In- pos- 
 sesses a practical ami progressive spirit and 
 ras readj to adopt anything that would facili- 
 tate his farm work and render his labors more 
 effective in his attempt to gain a comfortable 
 competence. 
 
 Mr. Lownsbery has been married three times, 
 lie first wedded Susan Overstreei ami tin 
 came the parents of six children, but four 
 died in infancy. One daughter. Ellen, be- 
 
 - of Hamilton Lute- and 
 when aboui fori ; fears of age. Lor his second 
 Mr. Lownsbery chose Miss Margarei Over- 
 street, a sister of his first wife, and they be- 
 came the parent- of three children, but only 
 one is now living: William A., who has been 
 married twice and now resides with his 1. 
 
 operating ll Id homestead farm. For his 
 
 third wife Samuel Lownsbery chose Eli: 
 Holland, who died twenty-five year- ago. 
 
 Mr. Lownsbery, although in bis eightieth 
 ■i ar. has enjoyed excellent health and has re- 
 tained bis mental and physical faculties large- 
 ly unimpaired. Nature is kind to those who 
 oppose not her laws, and Mr. Lownsberi 
 lead an upright, honorable life, taking care of 
 bis health and making the best use poss >le 
 of his talent- and opportunities. Through care- 
 ful management and unfaltering perseverance 
 he has acquired a comfortable competence that 
 now- enables him to live retired. For forty- 
 live years he has been a consistent, faithful and 
 member of the Methodisl Episcopal 
 church and he has led a strictly temperate life, 
 never using intoxicants. In politics he has 
 been a stalwart Republican and he has helped 
 to elect nine presidents. Born ere the first 
 quarter of the nineteenth century had drawn 
 to a close, he has been connected with the era 
 of wonderful progress and improvement in 
 America, has seen the building of railroad-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT" OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 169 
 
 throughout the country, the establishment of 
 i. Legraph and telephone lines, the introduction 
 of 1 1 1 ; 1 1 1 x wonderful inventions, which have rev- 
 olutionized trade and commerce as well as all 
 lines of industrial activity and at all times 
 hi has fell a just and commendable pride in 
 what bas been accomplished. His labors have 
 In en concentrated upon lii- farm work in Me- 
 nard county ami ii|niii In- limit's nf citizenship 
 ami though be lias led a quiel ami unassuming 
 lil',' it is niir which is well worthy of emula- 
 tion because of hi- fidelity i" honorable prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 WILLIAM J. BLA1N. 
 
 I n taking up the persona] bistort nf William 
 .1 Blairi wi present to our rradcrs the life 
 record of one who i:- well known in Menard 
 county, where the greater pari nf Ins life has 
 been passed, bis attention being given to agri- 
 cultural pursuits, lie ha- lived in this county 
 lor almosl a half century and is therefore 
 largely familiar with its history as it lias 
 
 emerged from pi :r conditions In lake its 
 
 place with the leading counties nf this greal 
 
 i- nonwealth. Ee was born tn Mum n a I. 
 
 Canada, on the 3d of December, 1857, ami is 
 nf Irish lineage. Ili> father. William Blain, 
 Mas In, rn at Warren Point, Ireland, on the 
 :iii nf July, 1829, and after hi- emigration tn 
 the new world he was married in Canada in 
 Ann Mc( Irudden, also a nai Ive •<( the Emerald 
 L-le. Removing In Illinois after the birth of 
 their -mi William ihr\ established their borne 
 
 in Mellaril county . w here the fal her -in , i -- 
 
 fully carried mi agricultural pursuits through- 
 out his remaining daj s. 
 
 In his youth William .1. Blain was trained 
 in farm work, assisting in the labors nf the 
 liehls a- SOOD as old enough In reach the plow 
 handles, lie has seen great changes in the 
 methods nf farming, the old crude implements 
 nf fur r days being replaced 'e splendidly im- 
 proved machinery ami upou h - I le place 
 
 are seen many evidences of this progress. He 
 attended the public schools and when noi en 
 gaged with the duties of the schoolroom as- 
 sisted in the work of the farm, lie continued 
 
 farming in partnership with his father and 
 brother George R. until the death of his father. 
 lie Imili a new residence for bimseli in 190] 
 and he ami hi- family therefore have a mod- 
 ern and attractive home. He operates one 
 hundred and nine.ty-seven aires of rich land in 
 Mellaril county', which because of its produc- 
 tiveness and the care and labor he bestows 
 upon it annnalh returns to him good harvests. 
 lii: also has one hundred and -i\i\ acres in 
 Arkansas. Diligence and enterprise have al- 
 ways been uumbered among his salient char- 
 acteristics and have been strong factors in his 
 success. 
 
 Asa companion and helpmate for life's jour- 
 ney Mr. Blain chose Miss Anna Belle McCrud- 
 ileii. and their marriage was celebrated January 
 L7, 1894. The lady is a daughter of Robert 
 and Sarah (Renney) MeCrudden, the former 
 a native of Ireland and the kilter of Canada. 
 In early manhood her father crossed the At- 
 lantic to the new world and in Canada he fol- 
 lowed the trade •<( si making, which he had 
 
 learned in his native country. He has made 
 thai pursuil his business throughout his en- 
 tire life together with the sale of shoes, and 
 he has had close and intimate knowledge of 
 the shoe trade, so thai he has been enabled 
 by his well directed efforl to conduct a suc- 
 cessful business. He now makes his I e 
 
 with one of his sons, his wife having departed 
 this life in 1879. In their famih were six 
 children: Samuel J., who is now living in 
 Montreal : Matilda, w ho became the w ife of 
 William Bell and died June 21-, 1901 : Roberi 
 .1.. a resilient of Canada; William, who died 
 in infancy ; M rs. Blain ; ami < leorgia M.. who 
 i, sides in < 'anada and is caring for the chil- 
 dren of her deceased sister. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Blain has been born a 
 daughter, Estella G., whose birth occurred 
 May 24, 1895. They have an attractive and 
 pleasanl home, where the spirit of hospitality 
 reigns supreme and to them is extended a 
 hearty welcome in many of the besi homes of 
 this pari <>f the county. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Blain alien, I the Cumberland Presbyterian 
 church ami lie gives his political allegiance to 
 the Republican party, lie is now serving as 
 a school director and has been a member of
 
 •im 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 the board for the past nine years, acting as 
 it- clerk throughout the entire period. He is 
 
 interested in all thai pertain- to general prog- 
 ress and improve at here and takes a spe- 
 cial pride in what has been accomplished in 
 Menard county, where almost his entire life 
 has been passed and where he lias so directed 
 In- efforts as to win success and at the same 
 time pain the confidence and good will of all 
 with whom he has been associated. 
 
 ZAREL C. SPEARS. 
 
 Zarel C. Spears, now deceased, was well 
 known as a representative of agricultural in- 
 terests in this county. His birth occurred in 
 Green county. Kentucky, June 12, 1818, the 
 family home being in the vicinity of Greens 
 burg. His parents were John and Rebecca 
 (Conover) Spears. His ancestors came from 
 Germany to the new world. There were three 
 orphan boys of the name who crossed the At- 
 lantic from the fatherland to the United States. 
 one settling in' Virginia and one in South Caro- 
 lina. It is from the Virginia branch of the 
 family that Zarel C. Spears was descended. 
 He remained a resident of his native state 
 until ahom 1821 or 1828, when he came with 
 lii- mother and her five children to [llinois, 
 the father having previously died in Kentucky. 
 June ■"•. 1823. The family home was estab- 
 lished in Menard county at Clary's Grove, 
 where Mrs. Spears purchased land and reared 
 her family upon a farm. She was a worthy 
 pioneer woman, devoted to the welfare of her 
 children and her memory is yet revered by 
 those who knew her. She died June It). 1868, 
 at the advanced age of seventy-nine years and 
 her remain- were interred in Greenwood ceme- 
 tery. She was very positive in her convictions. 
 a woman of strong force of character and yet 
 one whose sterling trait- endeared her to all. 
 
 Zarel C. Spears was reared to the occupa- 
 tion of farming and was educated in the coun- 
 try schools. He became the owner of a tract 
 of land of about five hundred acres and for 
 many years carried on general agricultural 
 pursuits on his own account, placing his fields 
 under a high state •>( cultivation, so that tie'. 
 
 returned to him good harvests and lie thus 
 annually gained a substantial income. In bis 
 later years, however, he removed to the town 
 of Tallula and spent his last days in honora il 
 retirement from labor. His land was divided 
 among his children, while his widow still has 
 two hundred and twenty-two acres. 
 
 On the 15th of January, 1837, Mr. Spears 
 was united in marriage to -Miss Mary H. Berry 
 and they lived together happily as man and 
 wife for fifty-seven years. Her father. Rev. 
 John M. Berry, was one of the early rum!" r- 
 land Presbyterian ministers of central Hlinois 
 and organized nearly all of the churches of 
 that denomination in his part of the state. 
 He arrived in Illinois in 1822 from Indiana 
 and previous to his residence in the Hoosier 
 state he had lived in Kentucky. He contin- 
 ued in the active work of the ministry up to 
 the time of his demise, which occurred when 
 he was sixty-nine years of age. His wife 
 readied the advanced age of seventy-nine years. 
 Their influence was ever a power for good in 
 the community and they left the impress of 
 their individuality upon the moral upbuild- 
 ing of the state. Mr. and Mr-. Spears bi 
 tlie parents of eight children; Theodore died 
 at the age of thirteen years. Amanda married 
 Christopher Smedley and lives in Pittsburg, 
 Kansas. William Ewing married Susan Eos- 
 tetter ami resides in Franklin county. Kansas, 
 with their family of five children. He was a 
 soldier of the One Hundred and Fourteenth 
 Regiment of Illinois Volunteers and for a time 
 was incarcerated in Andersonville prison. 
 George IT. became a member of Company F. 
 Twenty-eighth Regiment of Illinois Volun- 
 teers and was never heard of after the battle of 
 Jackson, so it is supposed that he was killed in 
 the engagement. Henry Clay died in infancy. 
 Anna E. died in her fourteenth year. Henry 
 EL married Kitty Harry and they became resi- 
 dents of California, where his death occurred 
 in April, 1 903, leai ing his widow- and one child. 
 Charles T. married Cordelia Sharon and died 
 in April, 1899. His widow resides in Lincoln. 
 Illinois, and has three children. 
 
 The death of Mr. Spears occurred January 
 17, 1894, when he had reached the' age of sev- 
 entv-flve vears ami seven months. His remains
 
 ZAEEL C. SPEAES.
 
 MRS. MARY H. SPEARS.
 
 PAST AND 
 
 1SENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 i;;» 
 
 were interred in Greenwood cemetery and his 
 death was deeply deplored l>\ many friends. 
 In Ins political views be was a Whig until the 
 dissolution of the party, when lie joined the 
 ranks of thi new Republican party. Throughout 
 almosl his entire life he had followed farming 
 in Menard county and was a respected man. 
 loyal in citizenship and true to all the rela- 
 i ions and dm ies of life. His widow is a mem- 
 ber of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, 
 to which she bas belonged for sixty-seven Mars. 
 For twenty-nine years she resided upon the 
 farm and she now has a good income from the 
 rental of the land, while she lives in a large, 
 
 c modious residence in Tallula. She, too, 
 
 bas long I n a residenl of Menard county, 
 
 . -in Hied by those with whom she has bi en 
 assoi iated, and her example of < 'hristian 
 fidelity is well worthy of emulation. 
 
 ENRY C. GEAHAM. 
 
 The productiveness of Menard county as a 
 
 place of residence is indicated by the fact that 
 many of the native sons have remained within 
 its borders, enjoying the advantages and privi- 
 leges here afforded. To this class belongs 
 Eenry C. Graham, who was born in this coun- 
 ty Ma\ 8, L833, a son of Peter and Mary Ann 
 (Alters) Graham. The father was born in 
 \ew York city, October '.".'. L801, and there 
 resided until twenty-three years of age, when 
 hi went to New I (rleans. Ee -pent about three 
 years in the Crescent City, working at the car- 
 penter's trade and a ho upon steamboats plying 
 on the Mississippi river between New Orleans 
 and St. Louis. In 1829 he came to Illinois. 
 locating first at Jacksonville, where he re- 
 mained for eighteen months and in 1831 he 
 established his h e in Athens. Menard coun- 
 ty, where he remained continuously until his 
 death, covering sixty-two years — a period ex- 
 ceeding the average life of the majority of 
 mankind. With the pioneer development and 
 progress of the county he was actively asso- 
 ciated and he aided in laying broad and deep 
 the foundation for its present progress. In 
 1832 he was united in marriage at Jacksonville 
 to ^\I is~ Mary Ann Akers, and 1 1 h \ became the 
 
 parents of eleven children, seven of whom are 
 yet living, as follows: Mrs. Ursula Hurt, of 
 Omaha, Nebraska; Mrs. Harriet Cantrall, of 
 llliopolis. Illinois: llenn i '. ; Mrs. Ellen Can- 
 trail; Mrs. Emma Cantrall: Mrs. Eliza 
 Swingle; and E. N. Graham, of Athens. The 
 father lived to see his youngest child reach 
 the period of middle life and all had married 
 and had families growing up around them. 
 At an earl) age he united w ith the Methodist 
 Episcopal church and always lived an honor- 
 able, upright, Christian life, faithful in his 
 devotions, true in his convictions, manifesting 
 a Godly spirit by Ins conversation and his daily 
 conduct. His home in the early days was the 
 reception place of the venerable Peter Cart- 
 wright and other pioneer ministers of Illinois 
 and there the neighbors gathered to hear the 
 preaching of the word in its simplicity Here 
 also the prayer meetings were held and the fam- 
 ily altar was erected and maintained. Mr. 
 Graham's was a trnh remarkable life. He was 
 horn in the year that Thomas Jefferson was 
 elected president of the United States and a 
 year prior to the admission of Illinois into the 
 Union. He was eight years of age at the time 
 that the first steamboat, called Fulton's folly, 
 made its way up the Hudson river. He was 
 old enough to vote the year prior to the ope- 
 ration of the first railroad train in America 
 and he had passed the period of middle life 
 when telegraphy was brought into use. He 
 
 had ci lown to old age when the Atlantic 
 
 cable was laid and he arrived in Illinois be- 
 fore the city of Chicago was incorporated. 
 Illinois presented the appearance of one great 
 prairie, on wdiich only here and there was -ecu 
 a timber tract or the settlement of the white 
 man. lie lived to see the stage coach sup- 
 planted by the vestibuled train and to wit- 
 ness the remarkable progress that has I □ 
 
 brought about in this age of wonderful inven- 
 tion. He retained his physical and mental 
 faculties to a remarkable degree, even in his 
 last years. In July. 1891, his aged companion. 
 with whom he had so long traveled life's jour- 
 ney, was called from his side and on the 30th 
 of September of the following year he passed 
 away at the very advanced age of ninety years, 
 elei en months a ml eighl da\ s.
 
 176 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT! 
 
 Reared under tlie parental roof amid the re- 
 fining influences of a good home, Henry C. 
 Graham spent bis boyhood and youth with his 
 parents and worked at the carpenter's trade 
 with his father until twenty-four years of age. 
 lie then turned his attention to agricultural 
 pursuits "ii his own account and has since 
 been engaged in farming and stock-raising, 
 making a specialty of the raising of bogs and 
 cattle In his business rations he is asso- 
 ciated at the present writing with his son 
 Joseph s. and they have five hundred and sixt} 
 ai res of as line land as can be found in Menard 
 county and there is no richer tract in all 
 America than i- to be seen in central Illinois. 
 The farm is splendidly improvi d. there being 
 seventeen miles of tiling upon it. together with 
 istantial buildings, modern machinery and 
 all the equipments found upon the model farm 
 of the twentieth century. From the time that 
 he started out in life on Ins own account 
 Mr. Graham has met with prosperity and yet 
 there is no secret about his success, as it has 
 ,een won through persistent labor, carefully 
 directed by sound business judgment. 
 
 On the 6th of January, 1S56, occurred the 
 marriage of Mr. Graham and Miss Fanny 1.. 
 Cantrall, a daughter of Levi and Ann I Patter- 
 son) Cantrall. Her fathet was bom in Bote- 
 tourt county. Virginia, October 1. 1787, and 
 in 1789 was taken by In- parents to Kentucky, 
 the family home being established in that part 
 of Mercer county which afterward became Bath 
 county. He was there married November 30, 
 1809, i- Miss Fanny England, ami they had 
 one child horn in Kentucky. In 1 si 1 they re- 
 moved to Madison county, Ohio, where live 
 children were added to the household and sub- 
 sequently they took up their abode in Madison 
 county, [llinois. It was in October, 1819, that 
 Mr. Cantrall reached this state and on the 4th 
 of December of the same year he settled upon 
 a tract of land now included within the corpo- 
 ration limit- of tin- city of Cantrall and reach- 
 ing to the north -id.> of the river in what is 
 now Fancy Creek township, lie began build- 
 ing his cabin on the 8th of December, ami soon 
 had hi- family installed in their new home. 
 Seven of the thirteen children born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cantrall are natives of Sangamon coun- 
 
 ty and in that county the wife and mother 
 died September 10, L835. Mr. Cantrall en- 
 tered the land from the government upon which 
 the village of Cantrall now stands and for 
 many years was successfully engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits. He also assisted materially 
 in the development of Sangamon and Menard 
 counties and in the conduel •>( his business af- 
 fairs won a high degree of success. Prior to 
 his death be became an extensive landowner 
 and civ bis demise he divided his property 
 among his children, lie passed awaj Febru- 
 ai y 22, I860, while In- sei "id \\ ife, who b 
 the maiden name of Ann Patterson, was horn 
 m Kentucky, September do. 1803, ami died 
 September 26, L889. she was one of the char- 
 ter members of the North Sangamon Presby- 
 terian church. There were two children by this 
 marriage, Mrs. Graham and Joseph S., who is 
 married and resides in Springfield. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Graham have been horn 
 children, three daughh rs and two suns. 
 Mary Annie, horn June 23, 1858, was man 
 September 11. 1882, to William E. Johnson, 
 whose birth occurred January 6, 1857. Their 
 children are Mildred, horn August 1". 1883, 
 Addie. born dune ;. 1885, and Minnie, born 
 Augusl 26, 1887. Mr. Johnson and his fam- 
 ily resided upon a farm near Athens. William 
 H. Graham, the second member of the family. 
 war- born August 11. 1862, and was married 
 January in. 1884, to Anna I.. Clark, who died 
 January 11. 1889, leaving one child. Edith 
 L., who was born November '.'. 1884, and was 
 married September 23, 1904, to A. 1 >. Van 
 Meter, a resident of Fancy Creek township. 
 Sangamon county. Owen C. another child 
 of this union, was born dune 12, 1888, and 
 died hi October of that year. For his second 
 wife William 11. Crahani chose Phoebe Hard- 
 man, their marriage being celebrated May 9, 
 1895, and their children are W. Harold, horn 
 May 23, 1896; Paul 11.. born Ma\ 9, 1898; 
 and Helen. Mr. Graham, who is a farmer and 
 stock-raiser, reside- in Chatham. Illinois. Ar- 
 aminta Graham, hern October 13, 1868, was 
 married May :!. 1893, to Harry Fulton, who 
 was born December 2, 1867, and is a resident 
 fanner of Menard county. They have two chil- 
 dren : Fannie 1... born August Id. 1895, and
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 m 
 
 a son bom in L901. Joseph S. Graham, born 
 March 26, L871, married Lillian N. Prinnn, 
 January 6, L895, and resides upon a farm near 
 Athens. Their children are Henry P., born 
 November 25, 1896; Arnold, born in April, 
 L898; and Wayne, born in April, 1904. Carrie 
 Graham, born August 5, 1878, was married 
 July 13, 1898, to Webster II. Van Meter, a 
 fanner and stock-raiser residing aear Alliens. 
 and they have two children: Joseph, born 
 in August, 1899; and Marguerite, born in Aug- 
 ust. 1902. 
 
 Mr. Graham gives a stalwarl support to the 
 Republican party and lias firm faith in its 
 principles. Both he and his wife are members 
 of the Methodist church of \thens and are 
 people of the highest respectability, enjoying 
 the warm regard of many friends. Although 
 n. hi more than sevi nt\ -one years of age, he -nil 
 n mains an active factor in business affairs 
 ami retains a keen interest in everything con- 
 cerning his county and her welfare. Such a 
 career of activity should put to shame many 
 a man of less resolute spirit and determina- 
 tion who, grown tired of the struggles of busi- 
 ness life, would relegate to others the burdens 
 that he should bear. Mr. Graham has ever 
 been energetic and diligent in his work and 
 the success which he now enjoys is certainly 
 well merited. 
 
 JASPEE NEWTON RUTLEDGE. 
 
 Jasper Newton Rutledge is no» living retired 
 ii Petersburg, but in former years was actively 
 identified with agricultural pursuit- and his 
 enterprise and untiring labor brought to him 
 the capital thai now enables him to enjoy a 
 well earned rest. He was born in Menard 
 county about four miles north of Petersburg 
 on the '.'Cili of March, 1837, his parents being 
 William ami Susanna (Cameron) Rutledge. 
 lie was an own cousin of Ann Rutledge, who 
 was Abraham Lincoln's first love. Ilis parents 
 were natives of North Carolina ami were mar- 
 ried in Kentucky, whence thej came to Me- 
 nard county, Illinois, about 1820. Here the 
 father secured a tract of land ami engaged in 
 farming for many years, but in February, 1856, 
 
 -I'M In- property anil afterward lived retired 
 
 until hi- death, lie was if the honored 
 
 pioneer settlers of this section of the statu, 
 having journeyed by wagon from Kentucky ami 
 taken up his abode in central Illinois when 
 this was a wild ami unsettled district. He 
 bore In- full share in the work of reclaiming 
 the county for tin 1 uses of civilization and in 
 laying the foundation fm- iis present prog- 
 ress and prosperity, lie died in IS6J when 
 about seventy-four years of age, In- birth hav- 
 ing occurred in 1790, and In- wife, who was 
 born in 1792, passed away in L885 ai the ad- 
 vanced age of ninety-t hree years. 
 
 .la-pei' N. Rutledge, reared upon (he old 
 home farm in Menard county, acquired his 
 education in the subscription schools, hut his 
 advantages in that direction were somewhat 
 meager, owing to the condition of the school 
 system at that time and ai-o because hi- serv- 
 ices were needed upon the home farm. He 
 was the thirteenth child and the youngest in 
 his father's family and he assisted in the work 
 of the home farm until 1856. During the two 
 succeeding years he was engaged in teaming 
 between Springfield and Petersburg, after which 
 he returned to the farm and has -nice made 
 it his home. For many years his lime and 
 energies were devoted untiringly to Hie work 
 of plowing, planting ami harvesting. lie 
 raised good crops, kept in touch with the ad- 
 vanced methods of agriculture and earned on 
 his work along progressive Inn- thai resulted 
 in bringing to him a handsome competence. 
 He was al-o engaged in the livery business Eor 
 three years, biit in recent years he ha- put 
 aside the active duties of a business career and 
 i- now enjoying the fruits of In- former tod. 
 
 On tli,. luih of June. 1856, Mr. Rutledge 
 was united in marriage to Mi-- Martha -T. 
 Clary, a daughter of Robert and Arrena (El- 
 more) Clary, both of whom were natives of 
 Illinois. Her father was prominent ami in- 
 fluential in public affairs and his fellow towns 
 men. recognizing his worth and ability, called 
 Pim to serve in the position of sheriff and 
 eountv commissioner. Il< was married Sep- 
 tember '.'i. 1838, to Arrena Elmore, who died 
 October 15, is II. and on the 22d of .lime, 
 1843, he wedded Marl .lane ('o\. who died
 
 178 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 November 5, 1876. Eis death occurred Oc- 
 tober L3, L878 
 
 The home of Mr. and Mrs. Rutledge was 
 blessed with five children : "William Robert, 
 who was born February 12, 1859, and died 
 September 13, 1802; Edward Newton, who 
 -. as born August 14, 1861. and died February 
 ■.M. L863; Mar} s.. who was horn August 2, 
 L863, and is the wife of Charles L. Terhune; 
 Charles Thomas, who was born September 2, 
 1868. and died November 2, 1869; and Anna 
 J., who was born November 22, L871, and is 
 the wife of Pearl Thompson. 
 
 I e parents are consistent members of the 
 Cumberland Presbyterian church and Mr. Rut- 
 edge exercises bis righi of franchise in sup- 
 port of the men and measures of the Democ- 
 racy. Upon the party ticket he has 1 n railed 
 
 to public office, having been elected county 
 treasurer in Deeembi r. L886, while on the 19th 
 o November, L898, he was chosen for the po- 
 sition oi county sheriff. Il< dis< barged his 
 public duties with the same promptness and 
 fidelity that characterized his business affairs 
 and his private interests. Fraternally he - 
 connected with the Knights of Pythias lodge 
 at Petersburg and in the county where his 
 entire life has been passed he has a wide and 
 favorable acquaintance, winning the warm re- 
 gard of many by reason of his reliability in 
 all life's relations 
 
 MRS. SARAH F. HITCHCOCK. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah F. Hitchcock is one of the es- 
 
 ,< residents of \i bens, » h< re she lias 
 
 many friends. She was born in this place 
 
 April 29, L839, her parents being John \V. and 
 
 Mary i I. ais) Little. Her father was born 
 
 in Northampton. Massachusetts, and was edu- 
 cated for the Presbyterian ministery in a theo- 
 og i al seminar} of that state. Her mother's 
 birth occurred in Whately, Massachusetts, and 
 she was educated at a female seminary at Am- 
 herst, Massachusetts. Mr. Little becan i< 
 
 of the pioneer preachers of his denomination 
 in the middle west. He made his way to Illi- 
 nois b} tram and steamboat in 1837, reaching 
 Menard county after a journey that covered six 
 
 weeks. He then engaged in preaching here, 
 having a fifty mile circuit and though his 
 labor entailed many hardships he never fal- 
 tered in his work of carrying the gospel mes- 
 sage into the pioneer homes. More than once 
 in the middle of winter alter a long cold ride 
 on horseback he found his congregation con- 
 sisted of but one person. He died June 2, 
 L842, and his memor} is yet enshrined by thosi 
 who knew him, while his example has borne 
 fruit in many upright lives. In early manhood 
 
 he had married Mar} I. s, a daughter o 
 
 J. C. Loomis, of Massai busetts, who was on his 
 way to the Hnited States when he met the 1;, 
 who afterward became bis wife. His business 
 was thai of a carpenter and contractor. Tin 
 old home of Mr-. Hitchcock's great-grand- 
 parents is now occupied by her uncle, Calvin 
 Loomis. Mr.-. Little, who was horn January 
 o. 1814, died December 35, 1895, in Nebraska, 
 but her remains were brought back to Menard 
 county, for interment. J. W. Little, a brother 
 of Mrs. Hitchcock, is now a resident farmer 
 of Madison, Nebraska. Her uncle, Thomas 
 Little, wa- at one time a neighbor of Abraham 
 Lincoln, residing on South Fifth street in 
 Springfield, Illinois. 
 
 Mrs. Hitchcock wa- reared in Athens and 
 pursued her education in the schools of this 
 piano ami also at the North Sangamon Acad- 
 emy, ami one year at a seminary in Whately, 
 Massachusetts. After leaving that institution 
 she engaged in teaching school in Athens, fol- 
 lowing that profession at a time when the 
 primitive schoolhouse contained only slab seats 
 and a slab desk resting on pegs driven into the 
 wall. She taught for two years in Menard 
 county. For many years she kept boarders and 
 in this wa\ she named the money that enabled 
 
 her to become the | i sso: o considerable 
 
 valuable real estate. v! e - now the owner of 
 two amv- of land in Athens, on which are 
 
 thn i i ses w bii h she rents but when the land 
 
 came into her possession it was entirely unim- 
 proved. 
 
 Mrs. Hitchcock has been twice married. On 
 the 21st of July, 1857, she gave her hand in 
 
 marriage to Thomas C. Orr, and the} beea 
 
 the parents of seven children: Mary E., who 
 was horn Julv 16, 1858, and died in December,
 
 MRS. SARAB F. HITCHCOCK 
 
 Miss MARY I.uoMls. 
 
 MRS. \l \KY i LOOMIS) LITTLE.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 isi 
 
 l:nil ; John T.. a resident farmer of Oklahoma ; 
 I ordelia, who was born August 5, 1862, and 
 was successfully engaged in teaching in Me- 
 nard county at the time of her death, Septem- 
 ber ;. 1 ssi ; AlU'i't A., who was born October 
 Hi. 1864, and is hots a minister of the Presby- 
 terian church at Salida. Colorado; Nellie F., 
 who engaged in teaching in the public schools 
 of Nebraska for eighteen years and is now the 
 wile of Benjamin Clark, a farmer of David 
 City, that state: and Charles C. and Harry E., 
 both of whom died in infancy. Mrs. Orr was 
 again married duly L6, 1888, her second union 
 being with Isaac B. Hitchcock. 
 
 Mrs. Hitchcock is a member of the Presby- 
 terian church and has led a consistent Christ- 
 ian life, doing good to all and exemplifying 
 daily her religious belief. In 1888 she went to 
 Salma. Indiana Territory, where she taught for 
 
 two war- in il rphans' home and school, a 
 
 Methodist institution, then under the superin- 
 tendency of Rev. Thompson. She was forced to 
 give up that work on account of failing health 
 and then returned to Menard county. She lias 
 shown excellent business ability and through 
 her capable management she has become the 
 possessor of valuable anil desirable property. 
 She has in her possession as valued heirlooms a 
 copy of the constitution of the state of Mass- 
 achusetts and also of the United States which 
 was published in 1805. 
 
 JAMES E. CULVER. 
 
 .lames E. Culver, interested in general farm- 
 ing, is now operating three hundred and forty 
 ai res of valuable land in township is. He was 
 born in Menard county. July 15, I860, his 
 parents being John S. and Elizabeth (Bras- 
 field ) Culver. Reared under the parental roof, 
 
 at the usual age he entered the public scl Is 
 
 and at a later dale he attended o business col- 
 lege in Jacksonville. Illinois, so that he was 
 well equipped by mental training Eor the re- 
 sponsible and active duties that ciime in a 
 business career. In the periods of vacation 
 he assisted in the work of the home farm and 
 throughout his entire life he has followed the 
 occupation to which he was reared. He has 
 
 placed his fields under a high state of culti- 
 vation and in addition to the production oi 
 the cereals best adapted to soil and climate 
 he has been engaged in the raising and feed- 
 ing of cattle and hogs. He now has forty head 
 of cattle and about one hundred head of hogs 
 upon his place together with thirty head of 
 j I horses. He is now farming three hun- 
 dred and forty acre- of as fine land as can 
 
 be found in Menard c n\ and his home is 
 
 a commodious and beautiful residence surround- 
 ed by splendid shade trees, which he has plant- 
 ed. He has tiled the land and. in fact, has 
 made all of the modern improvements upon 
 n and now has an excellent property in keep- 
 ing with the idea- of a model farm of the 
 twentieth century. 
 
 tin the 1 Hh of February, 1883, Mr. Culver 
 was united in marriage to Alis- [ona Johnson, 
 a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Gaines) 
 John-on, who are mentioned at Length on an- 
 other page of this work, her father being one 
 of the representative agriculturists of Menard 
 county. Unto Mr. and Airs. Culver have been 
 born six children, two sons and four daughters, 
 and the family circle yet remains unbroken 
 by the hand of death, the children being vet 
 under the parental roof. Their names and 
 dates of birth are a- follows: Harry AY.. May 
 3 1884; Mattie A.. Ala\ L0, lS8 r i : Edna E., 
 May 21, 1889; Clara E., September 24, 1893; 
 Margaret X.. October 3, 1896; and Florence 
 I.. December 5, 1899. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Culver are members of 
 the Presbyterian church at Indian Point. They 
 take an active and helpful interesl in its work, 
 are generous contributors to ii- support and 
 as a church officer Air. Culver is well known. 
 He was one of the deacons for twelve years 
 ami at the present time is serving as one of the 
 
 church elder-. lie has heeii a member of ihe 
 (Idd Fellows society and in all life's relations 
 he has faithfully performed each duty ami won 
 
 the respect and good will of his fellow- men. 
 
 In politics he i- a stanch Republican, out while 
 unfaltering in his allegiance to the part} and 
 its principles he has never sought office and 
 
 though asked to beci • a candidate for county 
 
 commissioner he declined, lie prefi i - to con- 
 centrate his efforts and energies on his busi-
 
 1:82 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MEXARD COUNTY 
 
 ness affairs and his fine farm is to-day a monu- 
 i i i • ■ i « t to his well directed and honorable labor. 
 
 WILLIAM BLAIX. 
 
 William Blain, now deceased, was for many 
 ears a worthy citizen of Menard county. He 
 took up his abode here almost a half century 
 ago and while he never sought public prom- 
 inence in office be was always known for his 
 reliability in citizenship, his trustworthiness 
 in business life and his fidelity in friendship. 
 He was born at Warren Point, Ireland, on the 
 3d of July, 1829, and in early life went to 
 Canada, where he remained until after his mar- 
 riage. It was on the 10th of September, 1856, 
 that be was joined in wedlock to Miss Ann Me- 
 Crudden, who was also a native of Ireland, her 
 birth having there occurred in L820. They 
 began their domestic life in Montreal, Can- 
 ada, where they continued ti> reside until about 
 forty-five or fifty years ago, when believing 
 that be might have better business opportu- 
 nities in the United States with its livelier 
 competition and therefore quicker returns loi 
 ' apable labor, M r. Blain resolved to come to 
 Lllinois. He made his way to Menard county 
 and never had occasion to regret his determina- 
 tion to establish Ins home here for be pros- 
 pered in his undertaking in this part of the 
 country. Securing a trad of eighty acres of 
 land he at once began its cultivation and im- 
 provement and in course of ti his harvests 
 
 ought to him a sufficient capital to enable 
 him to make other purchases. Thus from time 
 t" time he added to his property until he 
 ■.line the owner of about four hundred and 
 sixft ai re- of land. For a number of years 
 he was iii partnership with his two son-. Wil- 
 liam and George, and this business relation was 
 continued with mutual pleasure, harmony and 
 profit until the death of the father, lie be- 
 came known as one of the leading and enter- 
 prising agriculturists of bis communitj and 
 that he lei] a life of diligence was indicated 
 by the fine appearance of hi- farm, which be 
 placed under a high state of cultivation. lie 
 also engaged in stock-raising and had upon 
 his place high grades of cattle, horses and hogs. 
 
 but" -Mr. and Mrs. Blain were born four 
 children, two sons and two daughters: Wil- 
 liam .1.. who i- a resident farmer of Menard 
 county and is mentioned elsewhere in this vol- 
 ume: Annie, who filed at the age of twenty 
 years; George R., whose sketch is also given 
 in this work: and Matilda ,1.. who is the wife 
 of Frank Denton, of Conway, Iowa. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Blain attended the Cumberland 
 Presbyterian church and his political views 
 were in accord with the principles of the Re- 
 publican party, lie gave earnest co-operation 
 to all movements which he believed would con- 
 trinute to the general welfare, hut preferred 
 to do his duty to bis county as a private 
 citizen rather than a public official. He dis- 
 played in hi- life many excellent traits of heart 
 and mind am! In- good qualities endeared him 
 to those with whom he was associated. All 
 who knew him respected him and the circle 
 of hi- friend- wa- extensive, lie was called 
 to hi- final rest October 19, 1902, and after 
 the funeral services, which were conducted at 
 his home by the Rev. J. F. Rogers, the remains 
 were taken to Rose Bill cemetery at Petersburg 
 for interment. His wife died October 13, 1903, 
 and was then laid to rest by bis side. They 
 have long traveled life's journey together, 
 sharing with each other it- joys and sorrows, 
 its adversity and prosperity, hike her hus- 
 band she had the warm regard of many with 
 whom she was associated and in their death 
 the counts lost two of it- representative pionei r 
 i ■ i ii-. 
 
 JAMES F. SPEER. 
 
 James I. Speer, who has traveled for many 
 miles along life's journey, hut is still actively 
 engaged in farming on section 36, Tallula 
 township. Menard county, was born in Greet 
 county, Kentucky, near Campbellsville, dune 
 VI. 1827. IF- parent- were .lames and Eliza- 
 beth (Grant) Speer, both of whom were natives 
 of Kentucky. The Speer famiU i- of Irish 
 origin and the paternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject emigrated from the Emerald Isle to the 
 new world, establishing his home in Kentucky, 
 where he conducted a plantation, but never
 
 PAST AND PEESEXT OF MENAED COUNTY 
 
 183 
 
 owned slaves. The maternal grandfather was 
 of Irish and Scotch lineage. Members of the 
 1 1 rant family were slave owners of Kentucky 
 and Eli Grant, an uncle of Mr. Speer, unci' 
 traded a horse for a Little negro boy. 
 
 During bis early youth James I". Speer was 
 called upon to mourn the loss of both of his 
 
 parents and be was afterward I id out to a 
 
 farmer, whom be was to serve between the ages 
 of six and twenty-one years and on attaining 
 his majority was to receive a horse. Ee had 
 very little opportunity for attending school, 
 bul he speni one month as a student ai Camp- 
 bellsville. With tins exception bis education 
 was acquired entirely in one oi the old time 
 log schoolhouses common at that day in his 
 ocality. He came to Illinois on borseback in 
 1848, traveling alone all of the distance save 
 when he had company on one day's journey. 
 |i required nun' days for him to reach his 
 destination, which was Menard county. Here 
 le settled on land that his father had owned 
 at the time of his death. He had one brother, 
 Samuel, who also owned an interest in this 
 farm, but sold it to James F. Spier. Our sub- 
 ject now owns a little over three hitndred 
 acres of land, upon which he resides and his 
 -ens also live on this place and perform the 
 active work of the farm. lie formerly had 
 over lour hundred acres. 
 
 On the Mth of September, L857, occurred 
 the marriage of Mr. Speer and Miss Malissa 
 Williamson, a daughter of William and Amer- 
 ica (Brooks) Williamson, who were Kentucky 
 people who settled on land prior to the arrival 
 of Mr. Speer. Eleven children were born unto 
 our subject and his wife, of whom five are 
 living, while six have passed away. America 
 E., who was horn November 27, 1858, died 
 January 4. 1860. Lewis ('.. who was born 
 \la\ 5, I860, died May L7, 1865. Mar) M.. 
 who was born November 11. 1861, married 
 Romeo Bracken, making his home in Cass 
 county, Illinois, near Newmansville. Thej 
 had one child, Pearl, who died at the age of 
 one year, and Mrs. Bracken now resides with 
 n father. Julia I., horn September 28, 1863, 
 died January 12, 1864. George W., horn Oc- 
 tober IS. 18(54. married Nancy Wilhite, by 
 whom he had five children, all living and they 
 
 reside upon hi,- lather's farm. Mfalissa 11.. 
 horn June ;;. L867, died December 1. L871. 
 Margaret J., born Ma\ L5, L869, died Novem- 
 ber •.'■"'. L871. Serepta I., born June 22, L872, 
 is the wife of Price Shafer and tiny reside 
 upon one of her lather's farms in Menard eoun- 
 l\. The\ had four children, three of whom 
 are living. James I-'., horn February 1. LSI I. 
 married Nellie Stitch, and they reside upon 
 In- father'- land. Effie J., born August 6, 
 
 L875, died on the '.Sill of August, of the s; 
 
 3 ea r. 1 >ora M.. born J une 8, 1877, is at home. 
 The wife ami mother died December 3, L884. 
 
 Mr. Speer i- a De crat, supporting the 
 
 part} -une casting his lirsi presidential ballot 
 for Franklin Pierce. Both he and his wife 
 were members of the Christian church. It was 
 his desire in early life to enter military service 
 in the Mexican war. hut he had been bound 
 out and bad no opportunity of going to the 
 front. His grandfathers and one of his great- 
 grandfathers were soldiers of the Eevolution- 
 ary war and thus the blood of a patriotic an- 
 cestry flowed in his veins. When be came to 
 Illinois he purchased land and at once began 
 the development of a farm, for not a furrow 
 
 bad I n turned or an improvement made upon 
 
 the place, when it came into his possession, 
 save that a log cabin bad been built. He has 
 worked persistently and earnestly in reclaiming 
 hi- land for the purpose- of civilization and 
 has developed an excellent farm property. His 
 hie has I n in harmony with his religious pro- 
 fessions and he has ever commanded the re- 
 
 spect and g 1 will of i hose w ith w 1 i he 
 
 has been associated. 
 
 CHAELES I.. TEEHUNE. 
 
 Charles Lemuel Terhune, a native son of 
 Menard county, wa- born near Curtis, on the 
 2d of February, L861, and throughout the pe- 
 riod of hi- manhood ha- been identified with 
 agricultural and stock-raising interests in this 
 pori urn of the -tate. He is a son of James 
 and Ann Elizabeth (Harrison) Terhune. who 
 were natives of Kentucky. In 1853 the father 
 became a resident of Menard county, estab- 
 lishing bis home at Petersburg, but after a
 
 IM 
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MEXARD COUNTS 
 
 brief residence there lie took up his abode at 
 Indian Poini and subsequently purchased land 
 near Curtis. It was upon the last mentioned 
 farm that Charles L. Terhune was born. 
 Throughout bis entire life the father carried 
 on agricultural pursuit- and devoted his en- 
 ergies to the further development and improve- 
 ment of lus farm near Curtis until his death, 
 which occurred dune 15, 1887, when he was 
 fifty-six years of age. His wife died April 6, 
 1885, at the age of fifty-five years. 
 
 In the Smoot district school Charles L. Ter- 
 hune acquired a knowledge of the common 
 branches of English [earning and was therefore 
 qualified for the discharge of life's practical 
 duties. His farm training received under his 
 father's direction fitted him for the work to 
 which he lias given his energies through his 
 entire life and in which he is now meeting 
 with well merited prosperity. At the age of 
 twent\-tw<> years he rented a farm for a year 
 and then became a land owner, making pur- 
 chase of une hundred acres, upon which he 
 yet resides. He has erected here a good house 
 and substantial barn and. in fact, all id' the 
 improvements upon the place stand as monu- 
 ments to bis thrift and enterprise. In his work 
 he prospered and as his financial resources in- 
 creased he added to his property until lie now 
 has two hundred acre- of well improved land 
 In connection with the tilling of the -oil be 
 i- engaged in the breeding of fine trotting 
 horses, having the Tin Plate and Kennish 
 breed of horses. He also raises white face 
 cattle and Berkshire hogs and he has none but 
 high grade animals upon his place. 
 
 On the 16th of February, 1886, Mr. Ter- 
 hune was united in marriage to Mi— Marj S. 
 Rutledge, a daughter of J. X. Rutledge, who 
 is mentioned on another page of this volume. 
 '1 heir union has been blessed with three chil- 
 dren: Robert E., born February 12, 1887; 
 Mabel Anna, lion, September 6, L892;and Paul 
 Rutledge, born November 9, L891 . 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Terhune arc consistent Chris- 
 tian people, the former holding membership in 
 the Presbyterian church and the latter in the 
 Cumberland Presbyterian church and their in- 
 fluence i- ever on the side of right, progress, 
 reform ami justice. Air. Terhune fraternally 
 
 is connected with the Court of Honor, while 
 his political allegiance is given to the Repub- 
 lican party, lie ha- served as a member of 
 the school hoard for six years. He is a prac- 
 tical business man and brings to the discharge 
 of his official duties the same element of strong 
 common sense and business-like perception that 
 are manifest in the control of his private in- 
 terests. 
 
 WILLIAM P. I1KXDERS0X. 
 
 William P. Henderson, a representative agri- 
 culturist living in Lallula township, was born 
 September 27, 1833, in Morgan county, Illi- 
 nois, near the city of Jacksonville. His parents, 
 Aaron and Sarah (Bowles) Henderson, were 
 natives of West Virginia, where they spent the 
 days of their childhood and youth. The father 
 was a farmer by occupation, and after he bad 
 attained adult age he and bis brother ran a 
 flatboat on the Ohio river to New Orleans. In 
 the summer of 1830 Aaron Henderson arrived 
 in Morgan county, Illinois. This section of 
 the state was then largely wild ami unimproved, 
 much of the land being still in possession of the 
 government, and Mr. Henderson entered a 
 claim about nine miles northwest of Jackson- 
 ville. He afterward purchased an additional 
 tract of forty acres, so that hi- farm comprised 
 two hundred ami ten acres, which be owned up 
 to the time of his death in 1844. He was one 
 of the valued early settlers of the community, 
 contributing in indefatigable manner to the 
 substantia] upbuilding and improvement of bis 
 section of the state. At his death his remains 
 weTe interred in Arcadia cemetery and many 
 friend- deeply deplored bis loss. In the family 
 were seven children, two sons and five daugh- 
 ters. William P. being the third in order of 
 birth. Mary Ann. the eldest, became the wife 
 of John Smith and they went to California 
 during th mo-! prosperous epoch in the history 
 of that state. They became the parents of 
 twelve children, and three of their sons are 
 now holding county offices, one being county 
 sheriff, a second county clerk, while the third 
 is county commissioner of Mendocino county, 
 California. Roth Mr. and Mr-. Smith arc yet
 
 W. P. HENDERSON.
 
 MIIS. W. P. HENDERSON.
 
 PAST \\|i l'i;i-:si-:.\T OF MF.XAKH COUNTY 
 
 189 
 
 Living. Eliza .lane the second member of the 
 Henderson family, married John Bridgeman 
 and lived on Indian creek, in Morgan county, 
 near Kernsville, but both she and her husband 
 are now deceased. They had two children, of 
 whom one is living and is now county commis- 
 sioner of Cass county. Virginia Henderson, 
 the fourth member of the family, is the wife of 
 James Bridgeman, who died at Memphis, Ten- 
 nessee, while serving his country as a corporal 
 in the < me 1 1 undred and Firs! Volunteer I n- 
 fantry during the Civil war. His widow ye1 
 resides on the old homestead farm in Morgan 
 county and she has three children, two sons 
 and a daughter. James A. Henderson mar- 
 ried and made his home in Arenzville in Cass 
 county. Flis widow still resides in thai vil- 
 lage. Lueinda Henderson became the wife oi 
 Andrew Osmun and they reside upon a farm 
 in Cherokee county. Kansas. They have four 
 children, two sons and two daughters. Emma 
 Henderson died in childhood and the mother 
 passed away at the very advanced age of ninety- 
 three years. 
 
 William P. I [enderson is indebted to the nub- 
 ile school system of Illinois for the educational 
 advantages which he enjoyed, lie has always 
 followed farming and for a time he also en- 
 gaged in carpentering, knowing enough con- 
 cerning the builder's art to erect an ordinary- 
 building. Be made the clapboards with which 
 he covered his firs! house and he also buili a 
 house for his mother, which he covered with 
 shingles thai he made by hand. He lirsl began 
 earning his own living by working by the 
 month as a farm hand in the home neighbor- 
 fa I and he afterward farmed for his ther 
 
 up to tin' time when he was twenty years of age, 
 when he rented a part of her land and con- 
 tinued to thus engage in agricultural pursuits 
 until twenty-six years of age. At thai time he 
 was married on the 1st of September, L859, 
 the lady of his choice being Miss Mary Ann Mc- 
 Fillin. a native of Morgan county, Illinois, and 
 a daughter of .lame- and Mary Ann | Haines) 
 McFillin. Her father was born, reared and 
 married in Ireland, and on coming to America 
 m 1833 he was accompanied by his Brsl wile 
 and two sons, Michael and Bernard. He set- 
 tled in Pennsylvania hut after the death of 
 
 his wife removed to Morgan county, Illinois, 
 where he was again married, his second union 
 being with Miss Mary Ann Haines, by whom 
 lie had two children: Mrs. Henderson; and a 
 son who died iii infancy. For his third wife 
 he married Mrs. Mary I Fatten i Henderson and 
 to them were horn four children, lie was a 
 distiller and engaged in the manufacture of 
 whiskey in Jacksonville, lie died at the age 
 of eighty-one years. 
 
 In the fall of 1861 Mr. Henderson ami his 
 wife removed to Menard county, where he lias 
 
 since carried on agricultural pursuits with g 1 
 
 sncce>s. being classed with the capable business 
 men and energetic agriculturists of his com- 
 munity. He has one hundred ami fifty-four 
 acres of land and in connection with I he culti- 
 vation of his fields he has always raised con- 
 siderable stock, making a specialty of cattle. 
 lie now ha> sixty head of cattle upon his place, 
 many of which are being fed for the market. 
 He also has one hundred shoal.-. Hi- farm 
 is kepi in good condition and his stock-raising 
 interests add materially to his animal income. 
 
 The home of Mr. and Mrs. Henderson was 
 blessed with seven children : Elizabeth Ade- 
 line, horn dune 13, I860, married .lame- Stiltz. 
 ami they reside in Cass county. They had 
 seven children of whom on.- is deceased. James 
 A., horn in Morgan county, Illinois, March 
 28, 1860, is now living in Menard county. 
 where he follows farming. He is a member of 
 the Knights of Pythias fraternity. He mar- 
 ried l.ida Hewitt, and they lane three children, 
 two sons ami a daughter. Reeia F>clle. born 
 September 18, 1863, is now teaching in a gov- 
 
 crnnient Indian school it shorl distt i from 
 
 Fori Defiance, Arizona, tier school, however, 
 being aero-- the border in New Mexico. She 
 was educated after attending lie public school- 
 in the Jacksonville Business College at Jack- 
 sonville, Illinois, ami she began the work of 
 teaching in October, 1903. < harles ^ ., born 
 I >ecember 10, L865, was a studenl in the high 
 
 -el I al Tiilhda through 'Hie winter and is 
 
 now engaged in farming on hi- own account, 
 making his home with his parents, lie. too. 
 belongs to he Knights of Pythias fraternity. 
 Mary E., born April '.'1. 1867, married Reuben 
 Hewitt, now deceased. Mrs. Hewitt resides in
 
 90 
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 Ashland, Illinois, where she is engaged in dress- 
 making. Laura E.. born December 1?. 1871, 
 is the wife of Luther Noddingham, a resident 
 farmer of Sangamon county, living near Pleas- 
 ant Plains. They had five children, of whom 
 two are deceased. Emma K.. the youngest 
 member of the Henderson family, was bora 
 September 13. 1873, and was educated in the 
 home schools. 
 
 Mr. Henderson exercises his right of fran- 
 chise in support of the men and measures of 
 the Democratic party. He was road commis- 
 sioner, has been judge of elections and lias been 
 a school director for fifteen years. The duties 
 of all these positions he has discharged in 
 prompt and capable manner tor in all mat- 
 ters of citizenship he is faithful and loyal. 
 His entire lite has been spenl in central Illi- 
 nois and for more than a third of a century he 
 has lived in Menard county, where he has 
 worked earnestly and persistently in order to 
 gain a good home for his family and as the 
 years have passed his labors have been crowned 
 with a fail- measure of success. 
 
 JAMES T. SENTER. 
 
 James T. Senter, an honored veteran of the 
 Civil war. has always been loyal to duties of 
 as he displayed when on southern battle-fields 
 to hi- country and her welfare in days of peace 
 as be displayed when mi southern battlefields 
 he follow, d the old flag, lie was horn in San- 
 gamon county. Illinois. December L9, 1841, his 
 parents being James and Mercy (Cole) Senter, 
 both of whom were natives of North Carolina, 
 where they spenl the days of their childhood 
 and youth and then married. The father was 
 t>orn Deci mbi r 13, 1800, and bis wife'- birth 
 
 -red on the 14th of April of the same year. 
 
 The} came to Sangamon county at a very early 
 epoch in its history and with the material and 
 moral developmenl of central Illinois Eev. 
 James Senter was close!} associated. lb' fol- 
 lowed farming in order to provide lor his fam- 
 ily, bui he also preached the gospel as a cir- 
 cuit minister, traveling from plaee to place in 
 order to proclaim the -glad tidings of crreal 
 
 joy." A- a pioneer preacher he suffered many 
 hardships and privations incident to the long 
 rides across the new country. The Bible which 
 he used in his ministry is now in possession 
 of his son James T. and is undoubtedly about 
 one hundred and twenty-five years old. He 
 contributed m many ways to the improvement 
 and upbuilding of the county, as well as to it- 
 moral progress. He aided m laying out the 
 streets in Springfield when the site of the cap- 
 ital city was an almost unbroken prairie, hav- 
 ing only a (rw houses. His death occurred 
 September T. 1845, hut his memory is still 
 cherished by those who knew him and remains 
 as a blessed benediction to his family and 
 friends. He had eleven children: Aaron, 
 who was born January 34, 1820, and died in 
 January, 183? : one that died in infancy: Jane, 
 who was horn October 29, 1822, and became 
 the wife of Mr. Owen and after his death 
 married William Trenory, who is now living 
 neai' Petersburg; William S., who was born 
 April 16, 1825, and died January 3. 1861 : 
 Mary Ann. who was horn February 14. 1828, 
 ami .lied December 1. 1878; Rebecca C, who 
 was bom February 14. 1829, and was married 
 in July. 1849, to Robert Green, while her sec- 
 ond husband is Louis Van Tassell, with whom 
 -lie i- now living in California; Joseph H. 
 who was born March 1. Js>ol. ami is now de- 
 ceased; Sarah E., who was horn March 1!'. 
 1834, and died April 14. 1861: Enoch J., who 
 was horn September 26, 1836, and married 
 Lucinda Holland, their home being in Cali- 
 fornia : Louisa, \\ ho was horn I >. • . mber 19. 
 1838, ami is the wife of John Kirhy. a resi- 
 dent of Menard county: and James T.. of this 
 
 l'e\ lew. 
 
 Working on the home farm and attending 
 the public schools, thus the days of boyhood 
 and youth passed for James T. Senter until be 
 was nineteen years of age, when an important 
 event in his life occurred. The country had 
 become involved in civil war over the attempt 
 of the -onth to withdraw from the Union and 
 Mr. Senter joined the northern army, becom- 
 ing a member of Company K. Eighty-fifth Illi- 
 nois Infantry. The blood of patriotic ances- 
 tors flowed in his veins. Hi- great-grandfather 
 had been om of the heroes of the Revolution.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 r.M 
 
 His father bad served in the war of 1812 and 
 In- brother William had been a soldier in the 
 Mexican war. Now he espoused the cause of 
 his country and went to the front in defense 
 ,,!' the Union. He served until wounded, when 
 ,,u aei "inn of bis disability he returned home. 
 He enlisted al Petersburg, July 17, 1862, ami 
 was discharged July 19, 1864. Immediately 
 after the formation of the regiment the troops 
 wciv ordered to the front before they really 
 knew what dress parade meant and they opened 
 the battle of Perryville by making the bayo- 
 net charge at three o'clock in the morning. 
 After the battle the regiment followed Bragg, 
 who was retreating, proceeding beyond Nash- 
 ville, Tennessee, and on to Mill creek, where 
 the regiment was attached to General Sheri- 
 dan's division. They were in the battle at 
 Stone River for one day and participated in 
 the engagement at Chiekamauga, where Mr. 
 Senior was wounded in the Left foot. He was 
 also wounded in the right thigh at the battle 
 of Peach Tree Creek in Georgia. He lay in 
 the held hospital ai Nashville, Tennessee, for 
 about a month and also at Jeffersonville, Indi- 
 ana, for about two months. In addition to 
 the battles mentioned he participated in the 
 engagements at Missionary Ridge, Ringgold 
 and Kome. After hem- wounded he was sent 
 home on a furlough and was discharged through 
 order of President Lincoln as a special favor 
 to W. G. Green. 
 
 lie was the only man in this locality that 
 took advantage of the Law that enabled ex-sol- 
 diers to attend school after reaching the age 
 Limit, but, desirous of acquiring a good edu- 
 cation, he continued hi- studies and is now a 
 well informed man. having added largely to 
 his knowledge through reading and observation 
 in later years. Throughout his business career 
 he has earned on general agricultural pursuits 
 and for thirty-five years he has keen a feeder. 
 buyer and shipper of stock. In 1875 he re- 
 moved his family to Hot Springs, Arkansas, 
 where he opened a hotel, which he conducted 
 for a year, lie was also proprietor of a feed 
 
 -lol'e 111 the SOUth for some tillle. having ".one 
 
 I! that part of the country because of ill health 
 and hoping to he benefited by the change. < hi 
 Ids return to Menard countv, however, he re- 
 
 sumed agricultural pursuits and almost his en- 
 tire life has keen devoted to general farming. 
 
 On ike 18th of March, 1869, Mr. Senter 
 was united in marriage to Miss Mary .lane 
 Kirkv. a daughter of George and Dorcas (At- 
 ter berry) Kirby. Her father, who was horn 
 in Illinois. December 20, 1812, died March 
 15, 1904, while her mother, who was horn 
 April 22, 1816, died on the 23d of March. 
 1893. Her father had been reared to farm 
 labor and continued at home with his parents 
 up to the time of his marriage, when he began 
 farming on his own account. He was always 
 a lover of line horses and engaged to consid- 
 erable extent in breeding line stock, lie was 
 
 classed Willi the e\tcllsl\e landowner- and 
 
 prosperous men of his county, having about 
 thirteen hundred acres of land in his farm. 
 km,, him and his wife were horn eight chil- 
 dren: John. Daniel, Nancy. Samuel. William, 
 Matilda. Mary .lane and George T. 
 
 Mr. and Mr-. Senter also had eight chil- 
 dren, km tke eldest did in infancy. Nora 
 M. is tin' wife of Charles Five, of Menard 
 county; Etta Ik is the wife of Charles Name, 
 also of Menard county; Merc;; J. died in child- 
 hood ; dames G., John Harvey and Lorena M. 
 are at home; and Inez I', died at the age of 
 nine years. 
 
 Politicalh Mr. Senter is a Democrat, un- 
 faltering in his loyalty to the party and its 
 principles. He has served on tke school board 
 for seven or eight years, hut otherwise has not 
 soughl or desired public office, preferring to 
 give In.- time ami attention to his business pur- 
 suits, lie and his wife arc members of ike 
 Baptist church and are interested in its growth 
 and upbuilding. In all his pn\ale and publii 
 relation- Mr. Senter has given his influence for 
 soiaal progress ami for I he elevation and wel- 
 fare of mankind. 
 
 COLONEL C. H. M« DONALD. 
 
 Charles II. McDonald, a popular and well 
 known citizen of Greenview, who a- an auction 
 eer is conducting a ven extensive ami gratify- 
 ing business, was born in Menard county about 
 :i mile nori beast of < Ireem ic« on the 1st of
 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 May, I860. IN- parents were William P. and 
 Martha (Hornback) McDonald, the former a 
 native of Kentucky and the latter of Illinois. 
 The father served his country as a soldier in 
 the Mexican war and after coming to Illinois 
 in L849 he burned his attention to farming, 
 which he carried on with fair success until 
 L862, when again he responded to Ins country's 
 call for military aid. enlisting as a member of 
 Company K. One Eundred and Fourteenth 
 Illinois Infantry. After nine months of active 
 service he was honorably discharged on accounl 
 of illness and then returned to his farm, where- 
 on he made his home until his death, which oc- 
 curred duly IT. 1879, when lie was fifty-five 
 years of age. He had lived a quiet ami un- 
 eventful, yet useful and honorable, life and 
 those who knew him respected him for hi^ ster- 
 ling worth. His wife had died when their son 
 t harles was but two years of age. 
 
 Charles H. McDonald pursued hi- education 
 in the country schools in the eastern pan "I' 
 Menard county. He was left an orphan when 
 fourteen years of age by his father's death, 
 after which he worked by the month a- a 
 farm hand until twenty-two years of age. Sub- 
 sequently he rented the farm which hi- father 
 once owned and continued to reside thereon 
 until 1895, when he removed to Greenview 
 and started in business as an auctioneer. In 
 the spring of 189? he also became connected 
 with mercantile interests of the city a- pro- 
 prietor of a furniture -tore, hut after three 
 year- he sold his stock. In 1901 he engaged in 
 the livery business, but after .1 year disposed 
 of his interest ill that in order to give his en- 
 tire attention to his auctioneer business, which 
 in the meantime had grown to extensive propor- 
 tions, lie now ha- a ven Liberal patronage, 
 crying sales in Menard, Sangamon, Mason, 
 Logan and Tazewell counties. He is verj suc- 
 cessful ai this business, having the ability to 
 bring the owner and prospective purchaser to- 
 gether in a manner that is profitable to 
 He is well known among the auctioneers of the 
 state and is now the vice-president of the Illi- 
 nois \ni 1 ioneers Associal ion. 
 
 On the 3d of February, 1887, Mr. McDonald 
 was united in marriage to Mi-- Ji nine \llison, 
 a daughter of dame- Allison, of Menard coun- 
 
 ty. Tho\ became the parents of one daughter, 
 Nellie A., who was bom February 1. L888, and 
 i-now attending school at Dixon, Illinois. Mr-. 
 Jennie .McDonald died on tin- 5th of duly. 
 1893, and on the 12th of .lune. 1896, Mr. Mc- 
 Donald was again married, his sec I union 
 
 being with Artie Bracken, a daughter of 
 Thomas Bracken, of Indian (reck. Menard 
 
 county. They ha\ le -on. Jack II.. born 
 
 January 25, 1897. 
 
 The family are members of the Cumberland 
 Presbyterian chinch and in his political views 
 Mi-. McDonald i- a Democrat, lie served as 
 town trustee for four years and has rilled other 
 local positions, including that of constable, and 
 for five years he was assessor of In- town. Fra- 
 ternally he is connected with Greenview lodge, 
 No. 123, 1. 0. 0. F. In public office, in husi- 
 ness and in private life he is at all time- found 
 worthv of the tru-t reposed in him and the good 
 will extended to him ami he has gained a large 
 circle of warm friends, who esteem him highly. 
 
 MRS. MARY d. STRADER. 
 
 Mr-. Mary J. Strader i- one of Menard coun- 
 ty's native daughters, her birth In ring oc- 
 curred March 21, tsde. Her father. Benjamin 
 Yardley, was horn in South Carolina. Decem- 
 ber 1">. 1 796, Inn -pent hi- carl;-, life in Ken- 
 tucky and afterward engaged in fare 1 
 He was married on the Is! March, 1821, t 1 
 Mi-- Mary Earnest, whose birth occurred in 
 North Carolina. February 0. 1800, but who 
 also reared in Kentucky. They began their 
 - 1 -tic life in that state, residing there until 
 their removal to Illinois. On settling in Me- 
 nard county they took up their abode upon the 
 farm where their daughter Mary was hon 
 Mr. Yardley carried on the work of tilling the 
 -oil and raising stock. He aided in the early 
 development of the county and was known as 
 a worthy pioneer settler. He was noted for 
 his honesty and his desire for peace and 
 will toward all men and equal justice to all. 
 and he was familiarly known a- "110110-1 Ben." 
 lie died on the 20th of Octobi r, 1856, a. el his 
 wife, surviving him ten years, passed away in 
 December, 1866. They were tin. parents of
 
 Mi;. AXD MRS. I. P. STKADER. 

 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY L95 
 
 eight children whose aames and dates of bivtli commissioner must acceptably. He died upon 
 
 were as follows: Elizabeth, October s. LS32 : the old home Farm February 22, L899, his 
 
 Thomas, Juh 21, 1824; Susan, December 20, death being deeply regretted l>\ the mam who 
 
 1825; James, December 11. 1827; John, Juh knew him. 
 
 3, 1830; Rebecca, March 9, 1833; Mary J., Unto Mr. and Mrs. Strader were born eight 
 
 March 21, 1836; and Hannah, August 2, 1838. children: Clara, born November 16, 1855, 
 
 All are now deceased with the exception of died April I. 1857. Emma, born December 
 
 Mrs. Strader; Susan, who is living in Tice; ;. 1857, was married January 27, 1876, to Wil- 
 
 and Hannah, who also resides in thai place. Mam A. Clark, a farmer of Menard county, and 
 
 Mary J. Yardley acquired her education in they have six children, Robert, Bertha, Effie, 
 
 the public schools near her father's home and Delia, Clinton and Ray. Luella Frances, born 
 
 was carefully (rained in the household duties January 19, 1860, was married October 16, 
 
 by her mother, so that when she was married 1878, to Charles Crawford, and after his death 
 
 she was well qualified to take charge of her own wedded Azel Terry. By the first union there 
 
 I,,, me. On the '.'sili of December, 1854, she were three children: Edna, who was married 
 
 became the wife of Isham P. Strader, who in October, 1898, to Benjamin Derry and they 
 
 was horn in Green county, Kentucky, June 26, have one child living, Thelma; and Verna and 
 
 1828, but was only two years old when brought [va, both a1 home. Mr. and Mrs. Terry are 
 
 to Meiianl county by his parents, John C. and now living in Bedford, Taylor county. Iowa. 
 
 Elizabeth (Minor) Strader. His father was John \V., horn July 16, 1862, died September 
 
 born in North Carolina. August 28, 1796, and 11. 1866. Alice, horn March 12, 1865, was 
 
 died September 9, is;-.', while his mother was married October II. 1885, to Clark Hunter 
 
 born Februan 24, 1791, and died November Ivnoles, now a resident of Taylor county, Iowa. 
 
 12, 1873. They were married in Kentucky and they have five children, Leta, Ruba, Carol. 
 
 October 5, 1815, and were numbered among the Blanch and Victor. Mary Elizabeth, bom No- 
 
 earliesl settlers of this county, having located vember 14, 1867, was married February 3, 
 
 here before the winter of the "deep snow." 1892, to Eli M. GofE, a resident of Gentry 
 
 Here John ('. Strader entered a tract of gov- count v. Missouri, and they have two children, 
 
 eminent land and developed a farm, lie was a Gladys ami Cecil. Laura Ellen, horn April i. 
 
 soldier of the Black Hawk war. 1870, died Januarj 31, L876. Charles Ed- 
 
 Isham I'. Strader made farming In.- life oc- ward, horn February 8, 1s;:>. now manages the 
 
 cupation ami carefully operated his land so home farm for his mother, lie was married 
 
 that the fields were made to return to him January 11, 1900. to Minnie Ma\ Overstreet, 
 
 o 1 harvests and as his crops found a ready who was horn near Little Rock, Arkansas, 
 
 sale en the markel he added anniialU to his April 7, 1878, and the\ have one child. Maud 
 
 income and became the owner of about two Esther, born October \'K 1900. Mr-. Strader 
 
 hundred acres of land. He was interested in i< a member of the Baptist church and a lad\ 
 
 citizenship to the extent of keeping well in- nf many excellent traits of character and of 
 
 formed on all the questions and issues of the heart and mind. She has always lived in Mc- 
 
 day. In early manhood he gave his political nard county and has gained many friends by 
 
 allegiance to the Whig party, which he contin- her kindly spirit and consideration for others. 
 Lied lo supporl ill loyal manner until his death, 
 lie was converted at the age <>f thirty years 
 and became a member of the Baker Prairie 
 
 Baptist church, remaining true to his profes- ' lu|IX WILLIAM KENYON. 
 
 sions throughout life and manifesting a kindly John William Kenyon came to the middle 
 
 ami considerate spirit, an unfaltering honesty "est from New England, bringing with him the 
 
 in business and loyalty to friend- and family, enterprise and business sagacity characteristic 
 Hi took an active interest in the cause of cd- of the people of that section of the country and 
 
 ucation and served as school director and road of lii- English ancestors, and to these qualities
 
 496 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 he has added the progressive spirit which has 
 ever been dominant in the upbuilding and de- 
 velopment d!' the Mississippi valley. He has, 
 therefore, prospered in his business career and 
 is now one of the most successful fanners of 
 Menard county. 
 
 He was bom in Connecticut, March 12, is is. 
 ili- parents being Eli and Sarah (Armitage) 
 Kenyon, both of whom were natives of En- 
 gland. The father spent his youth in that 
 
 c itr\ and was there reared and married and 
 
 two children were born unto them ere they left 
 the mother country for the new world. Eli 
 kenyon was about thirty years of age al the 
 tune of the emigration and locating in Con- 
 necticut he became connected with his brother 
 in the conduct of woolen mills iu Woodstock, 
 Windham county. There he spent his remain- 
 ing days, passing away in 1874 at the age of 
 fifty-seven years, ami his wife survived him 
 until 1900. She also died in Connecticut. 
 They wire the parents of live children: Mary, 
 now deceased; Marshall, living in Connecticut; 
 Nancy ami Angie, living in Connecticut; and 
 John \Y.. of this review. Marshall Kenyon left 
 home ai tin' age of eighteen years and enlisted 
 in the Union army, serving throughout the 
 war. He was twice wounded, first at the bat- 
 tle of Antietam ami afterward at Mission 
 Ridge, lie was with the Eleventh Connecticut 
 Infantry and when the war was over received 
 an honorable discharge at Washington, I >. ('.. 
 ami returned to his home in Connecticut. 
 
 John W. Kenyon obtained his education in 
 the schools of his native state and when his 
 course was completed he resolved to seek a 
 home in the west, believing that he might en- 
 103 better hnsiness opportunities in this great 
 and growing section of the country. Accord- 
 ingly, he made his way to Willianisville. illi- 
 nois, when eighteerj years of age, and in the 
 west he began Earming, remaining in that lo- 
 cality for five years, lie was married in 1 s; 1 
 I. Si. Louis, Missouri, to Clara M. Primm, of 
 Menard county, a daughter of Daniel and 
 Elizabeth (Tice) Primm, both representatives 
 of old families of Menard county. Her father 
 was a son of Thomas and Elizabeth Primm and 
 was born Januarj 3, 1817, in Madison county, 
 Illinois, while his death occurred October 24. 
 
 1864, in -Menard county. He was married 
 .lime 1. 1843, to Elizabeth Tice. daughter of 
 Jacob ami Jane (Hall) Tice. They became the 
 parents of ten children: James 1).. who was 
 horn Januarj 22, 1845; Dulcina, who was horn 
 June 11. 1852, and married John X. ('line; 
 Thomas R., horn .lime 14, 1854: Clara M.. 
 wife of our subject, horn August 8, 1856; Vio- 
 let L.. horn February 8, 1860; and Nlnian 0., 
 horn January 21, 1861. Another daughter of 
 the family. Susan J., died when about sixteen 
 years of age ami three children died in in- 
 fancy. When young Daniel Primm had very 
 little property, hut he died a wealthy man. hav- 
 ing worked earnestly and persistently in former 
 years, and as his capita] increased he made 
 judicial investments in real estate, thus becom- 
 ing the owner of valuable property. His fa- 
 ther entered from the government the land 
 upon which which Mr. and Mrs. Kenyon now 
 reside. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Kenyon 
 settled in Menard county upon the farm which 
 is now tin.' homestead property and he has de- 
 veloped one of the best trad- of land in the 
 county, his labors resulting in making it ver] 
 attractive. The home is a beautiful and com- 
 modious residence, situated in the midst of well 
 kept grounds, and everything about the place 
 indicates the careful supervision of the pro- 
 gressive owner. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kenyon 
 have been born eight children: Thomas W., 
 who was born in November, ls7'2. is now super- 
 intendent of a coal mine: Gilbert L., born in 
 ! s i I. is married and has one child; Clara, bom 
 in is;;, was married and at her death left one 
 son, Kenyon Fouche ; Estelle,born in 1881, and 
 Eli, horn in 1884, are at home; John, horn in 
 1886, died in 1881 : Joe. horn in 1889, and 
 Hope, born in 1897, are also with their par- 
 ents. 
 
 Mr. Kenyon votes with the Republican party, 
 having embraced its principles a- soon as age 
 gave him the righl of franchise. His father 
 was al-o a Republican and his wife's people 
 were of 1 he same political faith. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Kenyon have a wide acquaintance in this 
 county and enjoy the regard of all with whom 
 ihe\ have been associated. In business affairs 
 Mr. Kenyon is found trustworthy, betraying
 
 PAST AND PEESEXT OF MENARD COUNTY in; 
 
 no confidence reposed in him and carefully and began farming on lus own account on land 
 meeting everj obligation thai devolves upon which be entered Erom the government. Not a 
 him. As a citizen he favors progressive meth- furrow had been turned or an improvement 
 ods and while successfully conducting his busi- made upon the place, but with characteristic 
 uess affairs he is every ready to aid in the energy he began transforming the raw tract 
 promotion of an} public cause for the general into cultivated fields and in due course of time 
 good. gathered abundant harvests. He experienced 
 
 all the hardships and difficulties of pioneer life, 
 laii he bravely mel these and as (he years 
 passed overcame all difficulties and obstacles in 
 hi- path, lie witnessed the \\ lerful trans- 
 
 .1 AMi:s I'. SPEER, .1 
 
 James I'. Speer, Jr., better known as frank formation of Menard county from a wild re- 
 
 Speer, was born in Menard county, on the 4th gion to a thickly settled district, supplied with 
 
 o February, 1874, and is a son of .lames F. : 'll conveniences ami comforts known in I- 
 
 Speer, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this era civilization. When his labors had brought 
 
 volume. During In- boyhood ami youth he at- to him a comfortable competence he pu1 aside 
 
 tended the Codington school in Tallula town- further business cares ami spent his lasl days 
 
 ship and assisted his father in the work of the in honorable retirement from labor. His fel- 
 
 hoiue farm. In 1899 he began rent mil; land of low townsmen, recognizing lus worth and abil- 
 
 his father in Tallula township and now op- ity, called him to public office ami he served as 
 
 erates one hundred and sixty acres, which is county commissioner For two terms or more. 
 
 highly cultivated. lie is a progressive farmer His early political support was given to the 
 
 and is meeting with g 1 success in Ins chosen Win- pari), but in 1860 he joined the rank- of 
 
 oci upation. the new Republican party ami continued one of 
 
 on the 19th of April. 1899, Mr. Speer was its stanch advocates until his death, which oc- 
 
 united in marriage to Miss Nellie Stitch, who curred on the 1th of .March. 1879. His wife 
 
 was born in Sandridge township, this county, long survived him and departed this life in 
 
 Ma; 16, 1874, and is a daughter of Thomas and 1894. Both were consistent members of the 
 
 Rebecca (Smith) Stitch, also natives of Menard Christian church for many years. Mrs. Mont- 
 
 . mi nt \ ami now residents of Tallula. There gomery's father came to Menard county in 
 
 were only two children in the Stitch family. 1826 ami entered land south of Greenview. 
 
 Mrs. Speer's sister being Julia, wife of Edgar There he developed a good farm, breaking the 
 
 Dobbs, of Tallula. By his ballot Mr. Speer is wild prairie and cutting (he timber. He bore 
 
 a supporter of (he Democratic party ami he is a helpful part iii reclaiming the wild region 
 
 a member of the Christian church. he- the purpose of civilization and his name 
 
 should he emlurine.lv inscribed on (he list of 
 
 Menard county's honored pioneers. Unto Mr. 
 
 and Mrs. Montgomery were horn ten children, 
 
 ALEXANDER MONTGOMERY. who are ,,„„ living and al] are residents „ r 
 
 Alexander Montgomery, who carries on farm- Menard ami Mason counties, Illinois, with the 
 
 ing and stock-raising in Menard county, is one exception of one daughter, who resides in Mis- 
 
 of the native -on- of this county, horn October sissippi. 
 
 16, is:;:;. ]|i s parents resided here ai an earlj Alexander Montgomery was reared amid 
 
 period in the development of tin- part of the frontier environments and retains vivid menial 
 
 state. He is a -on of Charles L. and Eliza pictures of conditions thai existed in this por- 
 
 (Bracken I Montgomery, the former a native tion of the state during his boyhood days ere 
 
 of Virginia ami the latter of Kentucky. His mam) of the modern improvements were in- 
 
 father arrived in Menard county, Illinois, in traduced. Me continued to live with his par- 
 
 1820, when a young hoy ami was employed in ents until twenty-three war- of age, when he 
 
 various ways until 1830, when he was married started out in life on his own account. He was
 
 I'.IX 
 
 'AST AMi PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 reared to the occupation of farming and ha* 
 always made that pursuil his life work. How- 
 ever, at the presenl time he is Largeh living 
 retired, having through his earnest labor and 
 careful management in former 3'ears gained a 
 competence sufficient to supply him with all the 
 necessities and many of the comforts and lux- 
 uries of li IV. 
 
 VIr. Montgomery is a member of the Green- 
 \n'\\ lodge, No. 653, A. F. & A. M., with winch 
 he lias been identified for a quarter of a century 
 ami for seventeen years he has been treasurer 
 of tin' lodge. His paternal grandfather was 
 also a Mason, having become a member of the 
 order at Covent Garden, London, England, 
 from which he was demitted April 21, 1771, 
 upon his emigration to the new world. Cross- 
 ing the Atlantic to Virginia, lie was made 
 grand master of the grand lodge of that state 
 October 28, 1789. In his political views Mi'. 
 Montgomery is a stanch Republican, having 
 firm faith in the principles of the party, ami 
 he now has in his possession a badge winch was 
 worn by his father in Springfield on the 8th 
 of August, 1860. On it is inscribed: 
 
 For president. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, of 1 Uinois. 
 For vice-president, 
 
 Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine. 
 
 M \ ( lountrj . 'tis of thee, 
 Sweet land of liberty. 
 
 Of thee I sing. 
 Lonu' may our land he bright 
 With freedom's lml\ light, 
 Protect us hv thy might, 
 
 Great God. our King. 
 
 SAMUEL WATKINS. 
 
 Samuel Watkins is one of the native sons of 
 Menard county, his birth having occurred Jan- 
 uary -.'(i. 1842. on the farm which he now 
 occupies. On the paternal side he is of Scotch 
 ami Welsh descent and his grandfather was 
 the youngesl in a family of twenty-one chil- 
 dren, lie is a son of Joseph and Nancy 
 
 (Green) Watkins. At a very early day Joseph 
 Watkins accompanied his father on his removal 
 from Kentucky to Illinois, bis mother having 
 died when he was young, and the family locat- 
 ed on Shoal creek in Clinton county. There 
 Joseph Watkins married \anc\ Green and in 
 the '20s they ca to Menard county, the jour- 
 ney being made in a two-wheel cart which he 
 had made himself, and which was drawn l>\ 
 a yoke of oxen. A log cabin was buili in Little 
 Grove and com was planted but the squirrels 
 ate up the Srst crop. Mr. Watkins was badly 
 handicapped during his early residence here 
 from 1 he fact that he had forgotten to firing 
 his nun with him and was thus unable to secure 
 the wild game which was the principal meal 
 of the early settlers. Hi' continued to reside 
 in Menard county until called to his final rest, 
 his death occurring when he was al t sixty- 
 five years of age. In politics he was a Demo- 
 crat. His wife was also a member of an old 
 Kentucky family. The} became the parents of 
 eleven children, of whom Samuel is the young- 
 est, while with the exception of two all have 
 passed away. William, the eldest, married 
 Sarah Armstrong and made his home three 
 miles north of Petersburg, where he reared his 
 family. His widow now lives in Sand Eidge 
 precinct. Beverly, who married Elizabeth 
 Armstrong, is deceased, while his widow lives 
 in Cass county, [llinois. Sally became the wife 
 of Gaines Green and lived in Tallula but both 
 are now deceased. Hannah married William 
 Nance and they resided in Sand Ridge precinct, 
 hut both have now passed away. Alvin married 
 \aiic\ roller, who survives him ami resides 
 south of Petersburg. Elias married Eliza Mc- 
 Manaway ami they resided in Mason county, 
 his widow being still a resident of Kilbourne. 
 Ann became the wife of Daniel Atterberry am! 
 they resided west of the town of Atterberry, 
 hut both have passed away, leaving a large 
 family. Maria is the wife of Samuel Colston. 
 a resident of Petersburg. Thomas died of 
 typhoid fever at the age of twenty-one years. 
 Mary died in early girlhood. Samuel com- 
 pletes the family. 
 
 In the Little Grove school Samuel Watkins 
 acquired his education ami was thus prepared 
 for life's practical duties. He was reared to
 
 SAMUEL \\ ATKINS.
 
 MRS. SAMUEL WATK1NS.
 
 PAST A\n I'KKSKNT <>]•' MENARD COUNTY 503 
 
 farm work upon the old family homesl 1 and have three children; Evans married Pauline 
 
 has always bandied stock. After arriving at Spears and they, with their one son, reside in 
 
 years of maturity he wedded Miss Mary Weed- Petersburg precinct; Elias married [rene 
 
 ridge, a daughter of David and Margaret Fisher and is living near Atterberry : Walter. 
 
 (Hawthorne) Woodridge, who came from Reed who resides in precind ', in Menard county, 
 
 county, Kentucky, to Illinois, in 1830. settling married Ollie Juhl; Edgar married May Onken 
 
 mi a farm in Menard county three miles from and is living in precind 7; Eattie married 
 
 the present hoi E our subject. Mr. Watkins Chris ('. Juhl and thej reside on the old David 
 
 new owns this place and also the old Watkins Wbodridge farm with their one child; Nona is 
 homestead. On coming to this county Mr. the wife of Ira Abbott, who is connected with 
 Wbodridge was a poor man, bui through energy, the electric lighl system of Petersburg, 
 perseverance and industry he became well oft'. Both Mr. and Mrs. Watkins hold member- 
 lli- political support was given the Democratic ships in the Christian churcb and Mr. Watkins 
 party. lie died in August, 1857, ami his wife is a member id' the Masonic fraternity, with 
 passed away in October of the same year. They which his sen. Elias, is also identified, the lat- 
 were the parents of seven children, four sens ter having attained the Knight Templar degree 
 ami three daughters. Robert, who married and el' the York rite. The father was made a Ma- 
 removed te Oklahoma, died in that territory, son in 1886 at Petersburg and is still connected 
 leaving one child. John married and resided with tin' lodge at that place. He gives Ins pe- 
 rn Illinois for a time, hut twenty years ago litical allegiance to the De cracy. lie is lo- 
 
 removed to Missouri, where his death occurred, day one id' the most extensive landowners of 
 
 Richard married a daughter of Henry lhek.nl' Menard county. His siiecess is creditable and 
 
 Cass county, Illinois, ami they make then- home yet investigation into his life record shows thai 
 
 in Petersburg; .Iaeks.ni Heath wedded Mary his prosperity has been won entirely through 
 
 Vaughn and they new reside near Fayo in indefatigable effort, capable management and 
 
 Oklahoma. ZVI rs. Watkins is the fifth of the unfaltering perseverance. His life has been 
 
 family. Martha is the wife el' Willis Boulware open to his fellow citizens and no suspicion of 
 
 ami they reside in Clark county, Missouri. evil has ever been attached to it. It has been 
 
 Mr. Watkins. the subject of tin- sketch, he- clean in every way and his influence has always 
 
 gan farming in 1863 in Mason county, Illinois, been for what is honest, for everything that 
 
 ami there carried on agricultural pursuits for is elevating to the public, lor everything that 
 
 two years. In 1865 he removed to his father's conserves the interests of the county, for every- 
 
 old farm, which he began te cultivate and im- thing that is sound in business, for everything 
 
 prove. He purchased the interest of some of ih.it is true and everything thai is right. 
 the heirs in the eld homestead and has been 
 adding to hi- landed possessions continuous!) 
 
 -nice until his property holdings now aggregate 
 
 , ., . ',', JOHN Tllo.MAS GADDIE. 
 over three thousand acres, lie bought some 
 
 of this land alieui L868 at sis dollars per acre John Tl as Gaddie, who is carrying on 
 
 It was then wild and uncultivated, hut is now a general farming in Sugar Grove township, is 
 
 highly improved property, being supplied with numbered among the native sons of Menard 
 
 modern equipments, while the fields arc under county, his birth having occurred mi the eld 
 
 cultivation and yield a splendid financial re- family I 'stead February 17, 1868. lie is a 
 
 turn. -mi id' Andrew ami Sarah (Keane) Caddie. 
 Cute Mr. and Mr-. Watkins have been horn His father was born mi the Orkney Island.-, of 
 eighl children: Nettie is the wife of X. A. Scotland, May 31, 1837, and when but seven- 
 Thompson, who resides near Petersburg and teen years of age wenl to sea with his maternal 
 by whom she ha- four children: Elizabeth is uncle David Spence as a cabin boy. lie fol- 
 the wife ,,( Elijah Purvines, a residenl nf lowed the sea until nineteen years of ace and 
 Pleasant Plains. Sang! in county, and they subsequenl to his return home was a studenl for
 
 •ill I 
 
 PAST A\l> PKESENT OF MENAKD COUNTY 
 
 two years. On attaining his majority he emi- 
 grated to America, accompanied by his sister 
 Jane, and has since been a resident of Menard 
 county, lie had resided in the United State 
 for three years, when, espousing the Union 
 cause, hi' enlisted August 14, 186"^. as a mem- 
 ber of Company K. One Hundred and Sixth 
 Illinois tnfantry. lie participated in the siege 
 nf Vicksburg ami the capture of Little Rock, 
 together with other important engagements, 
 ami because of disability was honorably dis- 
 charged, October II. L864. Purchasing a farm 
 in Menard county in 1867, he has carried on 
 general farming with good success until 1891 
 anil since that lime he has lived retired in 
 Greenview, luit still owns valuable farm land 
 in this county. He has been prominent ami 
 influential in public affairs, serving for twelve 
 years upon the board of county commissioners. 
 for twenty-ime years as a member of the school 
 board and Eor one year as president of the town 
 hoard of Greenview. He was married Novem- 
 ber 28, 1866, to Sarah Keane. a daughter of 
 Thomas and Martha (Warner) Keane, of Me- 
 nard countj", ami they became the parents of 
 eight children. The wife and mother died 
 April 22, 1887, and on the 13tb of August, 
 1889, Andrew Gaddie wedded Eliza A. Conant, 
 of Menard county, who was horn November I". 
 L842, ami died September 26, l'.xil. Further 
 mention is made nf Andrew Gaddie on another 
 page of tin- work. 
 
 John T. Gaddie was reared upon his father's 
 farm, spending the days of his boyhood and 
 youth in the usual manner of farmer lad-. 
 When his attention was not occupied with the 
 duties of the schoolroom he aided in the work 
 nf tilling the -oil. lie continued to reside upon 
 the iild homestead farm up to the time <<( his 
 marriage, when he began farming ami stock- 
 raising nil his OWn account. lie spent six 
 
 years on a trad <>f lain! nf two hundred am! 
 -i\i\ acre- mi Salt creek, near Green- 
 view, where he engaged in the raising and 
 f< eding nf rattle ami hogs. In the spring nf 
 L899, however, he returned to the old Gaddie 
 homestead ami has since conducted agricul- 
 tural pursuits there, having rented two hun- 
 dred acres oJ £ I land. I [ere he cull ivates the 
 
 ceri als best adapted to soil ami climate and lie 
 
 also raises cattle and horses, lie likewise gives 
 some at lent urn in the raising of hogs and now 
 has about one hundred and twenty-five head 
 upon his farm. 
 
 On the 21si nf January, 1890, Mi-. Gaddie 
 was united in marriage to Miss Lucinda Cox. 
 Iler father, William 1'. Cox, was a native of 
 Mason county, Kentucky, born .lime 24, 1815, 
 and lived at home until about seventeen years 
 of age, during which time he learned the shoe- 
 maker's trade. lie afterward worked at his 
 trade in Kentucky until L835, when he came 
 to Illinois, settling in Menard county. Here 
 he continued to engage in shoemaking to some 
 extent and he also followed farming, purchas- 
 ing a tract of land of about one hundred and 
 sixty acres. Subsequently he was appointed 
 superintendent of the county farm and acted 
 in that capacity for about live years, on the 
 expiration of which period he removed to 
 Petersburg, where he lived retired up to the 
 time of his death, which occurred October 11. 
 1897. Mr. Cox was a member of the Masonic 
 fraternity at Petersburg, while the mother of 
 Mis. (iaddie belonged to the Baptist church. 
 He was three times married. By his first wife, 
 Elizabeth, he had one child that died in infancy 
 and the mother soon afterward departed this 
 life Later he wedded Mary Brahm and their 
 only child also died in early life Following 
 
 the death of his second wife Mr. COS wedded 
 
 Mrs. Sarena Potter, who was horn in Menard 
 county, August 26, is.",:',, and is now living with 
 her children. There were two sons and three 
 daitghters of this marriage: John H., who was 
 loin March 29, 1863, and is now superin- 
 tendent of the county farm of Menard county; 
 Mary E., who was horn August 9, 1865, ami is 
 the wile ,,r Joseph Sturgis, of Menard eounh : 
 Martha A., who was horn September is. 1867, 
 and married .lames S. Short, and after his 
 death oceanic the wife of William Puckett, a 
 resident of Petersburg; Mrs. Gaddie; and 
 Charles ('.. who died in his boyhood. Mrs. 
 Cox, the mother of Mrs. Gaddie, was twice 
 married, her first husband being Edward Pot- 
 ter, by whom she had two sons. Eddie and 
 Douglas, but the former died in 1853. Doug- 
 las, horn October 8. 1855, married Mary Sams 
 and unto them were horn nine children, but
 
 PAST Wl' PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 505 
 
 tlirv lust their fourth child, Edward C. The entire two years he would be liable for tnili- 
 
 others are Rosa I'... Alice L., Maggie M.. Annie tary duty, 30 was married and again crossed the 
 
 D. ; Edgar, Ruth E., John 11. and Rubie M. Atlantic to the new world. 
 
 The home of Mr. and Mrs. Gaddie has been h was in May, 1878, thai Mr. Grosbol] wed- 
 
 blessed with seven children: William Andrew, ded Miss rana Mary Frank, a daughter oJ 
 
 bom November 17, 1890; Pansy M.. born An- Hans and Elizabeth S. Frank, who were Ei 
 
 gust 8, L892; Sarah S.j born Angus! I. L894; ing people of Schleswig. They had three ehil- 
 
 Charles R., born February 6, 1896; Thurlow, dren, of whom Mrs. Grosbol] was the second, 
 
 bora November VI. 1898; Earl, bora September Catherine, the eldest, became the wife of Eans 
 
 21. L900; and l.vlr. born December VI. L902. Vannel, who is a wealthy farmer residing in 
 
 Five of the children are now in school. Schleswig. Nels Hanson Frank, the youngest, 
 
 Mr. Gaddie has been a member of the school was married in 1879, to Gene Grosboll, a cousin 
 
 board and he is interested in all thai pertains of our subject. They reside on the Frank 
 
 to the substantia] improvemenl and upbuilding homestead and have seven children, who are all 
 
 of his county. He belongs to the Modern under the parental roof. Mrs. Grosboll was 
 
 Woodmen camp a1 Sweetwater and also to the educated in Schleswig, attended school there 
 
 ( , reen\ lew Horse Rangers, while his political for eleven years and remained at home up to 
 
 supporl 1- given to the Democracy, lli- entire the time of her marriage in 1S78, save when 
 
 life has been passed in Menard county, where she vvas in Copenhagen for a war. where she 
 
 he has worked persistently and energetically tools a special course in housekeeping. Unto 
 
 in order to acquire a competence. In this he Mr. and Mrs. Grosboll have been born four 
 
 has succeeded and is novi a representative agri- children: Powell J., born September 28, L879, 
 
 culturist of his community. was graduated from Lincoln University at Lin- 
 coln. Illinois, with the degree of Bachelor of 
 
 Arts and had the honor id' winning the gold 
 
 lal for oratory. Me is a Mason, belonging 
 
 to the lodge at Petersburg. For two year- he 
 
 •"'- 1 ' ''■ GROSBOLL. I,. IS | I(>( . M en gaged in teaching and is now the 
 
 Jep 1'. Grosboll, who follows farming in the principal of the Third ward -eln.nl m Peters 
 
 vicinity of Petersburg, was hem September ;. burg. John B. Grosboll, horn July W. 1881, 
 
 1853, in Schleswig, and is a si I' Powell J. was l " 1 ' '""' vri "' principal at Edelstein ami is 
 
 and Annie \| . (Rosenbom) Grosboll, natives ^'( """ connected with the schools of Atterberry. 
 
 Schleswig, which was then a province of Den- ll( '- l ""- ls ■' graduate of the Lincoln I'ni- 
 
 mark. but m 186-1 this district, through the lor- versify, in which he won the degree of Bacheloi 
 
 tunes of war, passed into possession of Germany of Science, lie was editor and manager of 
 
 and on thai account the Grosboll family, not the scl I journal and he i also a member o 
 
 desiring to become German citizens, emigrated ll "' Masonic lodge al Petersburg. Harmon S., 
 
 to America, leaving Denmark in April. 1872. born October 9, 1883, is a graduate of tin 
 
 They had resided upon a farm in Schleswig, Petersburg high school, spent one term in the 
 
 and the subject of this review attended scl I Northwestern University at Evanston ami is 
 
 in his native province until the emigration t w teaching m the Brush school near home 
 
 the new world: lie had pursued the regular He completed a lour .wars' course in three 
 
 course and had also studied the German years while m Petersburg. Annie Eli abeth. 
 
 language. It was hi- intention when he firsl born October I'.'. L885, completed the comn 
 
 came to America to remain lor onh five years school c 'se, bul did nol have the opportunity 
 
 and to become an American citizen, after of going away to scl I because of her mother's 
 
 which he would return to Schleswig and thus death, which occurred December 16. L900,when 
 
 he exempt from army service, lie went hack she was forty-six years, three a hs and twen- 
 
 at the end of five years and remained tor only ty-two clays. Her remains were interred in 
 
 two years, bul found that if he stayed for the Oakland cemetery. Since the mother's deatlj
 
 30(3 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 the daughter has had charge of the household 
 
 rs. 
 Mr. Grosboll's business career has been 
 marked b\ stead] progress. When he Eirsl i ame 
 
 to Menard i d j be began working arm 
 
 hand, being employed b] the month. The 
 
 i one of his eountrj men that he -n» after 
 
 arriving in the United States was his brother, 
 
 joined him I na ing year. Wlien J. 
 
 P. Grosboll returned to America with 
 
 ie began agricultural pursuits on the farm 
 owned bv Henry Shirding, known as the Hat- 
 lid,] farm. There he lived for twelvi 
 and during thai entire period he never had am 
 lease or any papers, the contract between them 
 ag mereh an oral one. During his third 
 vear a sastrous Eire occurred on the 4th of 
 August, L883, and he losi nearlv everything he 
 
 had. including his household g Is. When he 
 
 ervii wed Mr. Shirding the next morning 
 the first question thai was asked him was, "Is 
 one hurl ':" Mr. Grosboll replied in the 
 egativi and Mr. Shirding then said : "Then it 
 is all right. We will soon pui up a new house." 
 lie continued upon the farm until the spring 
 LS92. when he removed to the tract of land 
 which he had purchased in 1883, known a- the 
 old David Pantier farm. He purchased one 
 hundred and seventy-five acres at thai time 
 and one hundred and ten acres since, making 
 two hundred and eighty-five acres in all. He 
 has since tiled and cleared the farm, has placed 
 it under a high state of cultivation and in con- 
 nection with the raising of cereals host adapted 
 to this part of the country he has engaged in 
 feeding cattle for the market. 
 
 In his political \ ii ws Mr. Grosboll has i 
 a Republican and has givi □ his ballot to the 
 part} since iecon ag a naturalized Amen, an 
 :en. He was reared in the Lutheran faith 
 and i- in >\\ a member of the Cumberland Pres- 
 church. The children, too, belong to the 
 Cumberland Presbyterian church. Fraternally 
 Mr. Grosboll is conm i ted w ith ( Linton lodge, 
 No. 19, A. 1'. & A. M., ai Petersburg. In 1888 
 lie returned to his native land with his family. 
 remaining four month- abroad, during which 
 time he visited German] and England and re- 
 newed many of the acquaintances of his - 
 h 1 da; - s nai rovince. He has m 
 
 had oi , as to .reg - determinat ion to 
 
 seek a home in the United States, for here he 
 Iras found the business opportunities that he 
 sought and w hich have made him a prospi rous 
 man and in addition has enjoyed the I 
 an,l freedom of this greal and growing coun- 
 trv. 
 
 io||\ p. BLANE 
 
 John P. Blane is accounts the lead- 
 
 _ citizens of Greenview, activelj connected 
 with its business and public affairs. Hi 
 now president of the school board and in the 
 line of commercial activity lent of the 
 
 Greenview Coal & Mining Company. Ho also 
 
 - Earming interests in Menard county and 
 in the control of his business displays keen 
 discernment, sagacity and unfaltering enter- 
 prise — qualities which always insure a fair 
 measure of suci i ss. 
 
 Mr. Blane was born July ".'•">. 1845, upon the 
 farm where he now resides, his parents 
 George and Mary (Alkire) Blane. The fam- 
 ily is of Irish lineage and the father, who was 
 born in County Down. Inland, came to Amer- 
 ica in 1818, locating at what is now known as 
 Irish Grove. He and other men of his national- 
 ity on settling in Menard countv worked in 
 
 th< w Is and thus the grove obtained its nam,'. 
 
 Prom the government George Blane entered 
 the land which now constitutes the farm upon 
 which his son John P. Blane resides. He pros- 
 lure,! in his agricultural pursuits and the 
 boundaries of his homi plao ivere extended 
 until they surrounded six hundred and forty 
 
 acres o rii and. At one ti wned alto- 
 
 ■ twelve hundred acres and was justly ac- 
 counted one of the representative and sw 
 I ul agriculturists of his community. He car- 
 ried forward his farm work along progressive 
 lines and transformed the wild prairie into 
 u ts which annually returned to 
 him golden harvests. He also found o] pi 
 mt\ to aid in th promol ion of public interests 
 and he served as justice of the peace for many 
 vears, his decisions being characterized by the 
 utmost fairness and impartiality. He died 
 upon the old homestead farm January 10
 
 GEORGE I'.I.AXK. 
 
 MK's, GEORGE BLANK. 
 
 MRS. 0. P. BRACKEN 
 
 0. P. BRACKEN. 
 
 MRS. J. P. I'.I.AXK.
 
 PAST AM' PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT 1 ! 509 
 
 L864, al the age of sixty-five years and his loss Mr. and Mrs. Blane are consistent members 
 was deepl] regretted throughout the entire oi the Christian church of Greenview and an 
 community, because of the important and help- worthy people who receive the friendship of 
 t'ul part which he had played in business and many, while the hospitality of a large majority 
 public life. His wife survived him for aboul of the best homes in the locality is extended to 
 ten years and died April 15, 1874, ai the age them. Mr. Blane has served on the school 
 of seventy-five years. In their family were ten hoard fur twenty years and is now its presi- 
 children: Edward., who died a1 the age of dent, the cause of education finding in him a 
 twenty years; Arminda and Maria, botb de- warm and helpful friend, and he has pul forth 
 ceased; (i. W., a resideni farmer of Arkansas; effective service in behalf of the public school 
 A. P., who is now justice of the peace ii' Green- system of the city. Ee belongs to Loyalty 
 view: Samuel II.. who was one of the leading lodge, \<> 627. \. F. A A. M., ami to the Anti- 
 attorneys of Menard county, bid is now de- Horse Thief Association, called the Greenview 
 ceased; John I'., of this review; Mary E. and Rangers Association, of which he is the vice 
 Melissa II.. twins, the former now in Blunt, president, lb 1 exercises his righl of franch - 
 Smith Dakota, and the other in Menard conn- in support of the men and measures of the 
 iv : and \Y. !■'.. of Iowa. Republican party and he stands to-da\ as on 
 John I'. Blane acquired his education in the of the representative citizens of Greenview, a 
 public schools and in Eureka College and was man strong in his business capacity, in his 
 thus well qualified for life's practical duties, successful accomplishment, in hi- honor and 
 (in putting aside his text-books he took charge his good name. 
 of the home farm for his father had passed 
 away and his brother was with the Cnion army. 
 
 In September, 1867, he hnilt his presenl home (i|| f „g _ ni |. S()X 
 
 iin took up hi- almde there. lb' ha- been a 
 
 feeder of cattle in connection with (he raising Charles 1'. Corson, carrying mi general agri- 
 
 f -rain and is a member of the banners cultural pursuits near Tallula. was born on the 
 
 Elevator Company. When the Greenview Coal L6th of November, 1861, in Tallula precinct, 
 
 a Mining Company was organized he was made Menard county, his parent- being Reuben and 
 
 it- presidenl and in control of it- business in- Rachel M. (Nottingham) Corson. In their 
 
 terests he ha- -hewn marked capability and family were Five children, all of wh me yel 
 
 discernment. He possesses -iron- purpose and living: Hannah, the wile of Randolph Allen, 
 
 gradually he has advanced in hi- business ca- a Methodisl minister residing in Waterloo, 
 
 rerr until he now occupies an enviable position Iowa, by w horn -he has three children ; Edward 
 
 as a representative of agricultural and indus- I-:., who married Eva Murphy, of Knox county, 
 
 trial interests in Menard county. Missouri, In whom lie has two children, and 
 
 ii,, ii„ 7th of February, !>-<'•;. Mr. Blane follows farming at Roosevelt, Kiowa county, 
 
 was united m marriage to Mi- Man A. Brack- Oklahoma; Bertha, at home: and Nathan, win 
 
 en. a daughter of 0. P. and Nancy i Men, low- 1 married Essie Correll, and is a resideni farmer 
 
 Bracken, early settlers of Ibis county. Her of Sangamon county, 
 father is now deceased, bul her mother make- Charles I'. Corson is indebted to the public- 
 
 ber home with Mrs. Blane. Unto our subjeet school system of the count} for tl arly edu- 
 
 and bis wife have I a bora -i\ children: eational privileges which he enjoyed ami later 
 
 Emma, who dud in infancy; Ella, the wife of he -pent six i iths a- a student in the Wes- 
 
 Dr. L. J. <i Ison, <■( Springfield. Illinois: leyan University at I'd nington, Illinois. He 
 
 Carrie, the w ife ,.f \..I. Propst. of Greenview ; began farming at an earl} age upon his father's 
 
 p. !■;.. w ho ; - a practicing physician of Green- farm in Tallula township and continued th 
 
 , i, » and i- represented elsewhere in this vol- up to the time of hi- marriage in 1889. He 
 
 nine: Imv Mabel, who died when aboul eigh- acquired eighty acres of land in section 
 
 teen sear- of age: and Edna, at home. Tallula precinct, a- hi- lir-t real e-tate and he
 
 510 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 lived one year on the Nottingham homestead in 
 Sangamon county. The uexl land winch he 
 purchased was one hundred and sixtj acres, 
 formerly the property of John Uriel, in sec- 
 tion '.'l. Tallula precinct. In his farming 
 methods he has ever been progressive and the 
 success he has achieved is due to his close ap- 
 plication and unfaltering diligence. 
 
 On the •.'Tlli of March, 1889, Mr. Corson was 
 married to Miss Amelia Frogley, q daughter of 
 Israel and Susan (MeArdel) Frogley. Be] 
 lather was a native of England, bom July 25, 
 1820, and came to America when but twenty 
 years "I' age. He had lived in Oxfordshire, 
 England, and mi crossing the Atlantic be set- 
 tled in the slate iif New York, where he resided 
 for a number of years. In 1856 he came to 
 Illinois and located in Menard county in L862, 
 establishing his home aboul two miles south- 
 wesl of Tallula. Bis death occurred March 20, 
 1895, after many years of active connection 
 with agricultural interests in this part of the 
 state. Be was in limited financial circum- 
 stances when he reached Illinois, but lv\ hones! ; . 
 industry and economy he gained prosperity and 
 at the time of bis death was the owner of four 
 hundred acres of valuable land. His political 
 allegiance was given to the Repiiblican party. 
 Though lie was not a member of any church 
 he was a firm believer in the * Jhristian religion 
 and in bis life exemplified the Golden Rule. 
 Ili- wife passed away September 1. 1904. In 
 their family were the following named: John, 
 a butcher, is married, lives in Colorado and lias 
 three children: Israel, a farmer and stock- 
 dealer of Chetopa, Kansas, married Nellie 
 Mickle, and they have two -mis; George died 
 in November, 1901: William died in infancy; 
 Elizabeth died in April. 1894; Amelia is the 
 mi \i nl i he family : and Mary, the \ oungesl . 
 resides in Tallula. 
 
 Amelia Frogley was horn Ma\ 1, 1864, pur- 
 sued her education in the common schools and 
 in the Athenaeum, at Jacksonville, Illinois, and 
 remained ai home until she gave her band in 
 marriage to Air. Corson. By ihi- union there 
 arc three children: George F., who was horn 
 October K>. 1897, and is now attending school 
 in Tallula: one. who died unnamed ai birth; 
 and Man B.. who was born .lul\ 13, 1902. 
 
 M r. i orson is a Prohibitionist, supporting 
 thai part\ by his ballot. His influence is ever 
 found mi the side of temperance ami justice 
 and progress and his labors have been of ben- 
 efit in hi- fellow men in tlii- way. His entire 
 attention in business life has been given t" agri- 
 cultural interests ami in this way he has pro- 
 \ ided a good home lor bis family. 
 
 JAMES R. GRAHAM. 
 
 • lames R. Graham, the owner of five hundred 
 and scvcut\ acres of rich farming land in Illi- 
 nois, two hundred and forty acres being com- 
 prised within his home farm on section 35, 
 Sugar drove precinct, township is. and one 
 hundred and sixty-four acre- mi section 3, 
 township is. Sugar Grove precinct, was born in 
 County Westmeath, Ireland. October •".. 1842, 
 bis parents being William and Ann Graham. 
 The father came to the new world in April, 
 is:, i. settling in New Jersey, but bis death oc- 
 curred in July of the same year. His wife 
 died iii Ireland in 1844. He left a family con- 
 sist ing id' two sons ami three daughters. Those 
 now living are .lames If.: John ('.. a resident 
 of Logan county: Mrs. Annie Haines. ,,f Me- 
 nard county: and Airs. Lucy Downes, a resident 
 of Iowa. 
 
 • lames R. Graham was a little lad of eight 
 years when brought by his father to the new 
 world and at his father's death he was bound 
 mil tc lir. Jacob Fisler for a term of eleven 
 vears. beginning in 1851. II is sister Annie was 
 bound out at tin- same time for a term of eight 
 year-. The\ found in the Doctor a good friend 
 and Mr. Graham remained with him until 
 March, 1867, when believing that be would 
 have better opportunities for business advance- 
 ment in the middle wc-t he came t,i Menard 
 county, arriving on the i.ub of that month. 
 He joined his brother John ('. in a partnership, 
 which was continued for twelve years. In the 
 fall of isi;; they purchased one hundred and 
 twenty acre- of land and in 187" they bought 
 forty acres. Later James It. Graham purchased 
 In- brother's interest in August, 1879. still 
 living with In- brother until October l'<. 1879, 
 when be Settled upon his present farm. He ha-
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF M ENARD COl \ 'I A 
 
 5] I 
 
 made but two moves since his marriage and lie 
 now has a valuable farming property in this 
 
 county, and also g I [and in Logan county. 
 
 Hi- i- engaged in general farming and stock 
 raising and his well tilled fields yield to him 
 
 o I harvests, while in his pastures are seen 
 
 good grades of horses, cattle and hogs. 
 
 On the 7th of June, L866, Mr. Graham was 
 married to Amanda Corson, a daughtei of Wil- 
 liam and Jane Corson, both natives of New 
 Jersey. The father, who was a glassblower. 
 u;i- born Augusl L6, 1820, and died October 
 15, 1873, while the iher. wln> was horn Octo- 
 ber 22, 1822, i- still living m New Jersey. 
 They wen- tin- parents of four daughters, who 
 an- still Living: Mrs. Graham, who was born in 
 Glassboro, New Jersey, Ma} 15, L846; Mrs. 
 Anna Johnson, of Camden, New Jersey, with 
 
 wl i the mother makes her I te; Mrs. Eamp- 
 
 ton, of Millville, New Jersey ; and Mrs. Comer. 
 of Sheffield, Pennsylvania. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 Graham have been born eighl children: Wil- 
 liam ('.. born April 2 I. 1S68 ; Anna M., Octo- 
 ber L8, 1870; Mar; I-'., i >ctober 1. 1876 : Mat- 
 tie .1.. Augusl 19, 1879; Fred J., November 
 25, 1881; Ella A., February 21, L884; Eoward 
 I-'., .lime 6. 1888; and Ruth Amy, April 14, 
 is'.in. The family circle yet remains unbroken 
 by the hand of death. The parent- are mem- 
 bers of the Mi i liodisl church and in Ins polit- 
 ical views Mr. Graham is a Democrat. 
 
 Many changes have oc< urred since he arrived 
 in the county, especially in the manner of Liv- 
 ing and the methods of farming, as well as in 
 the genera] developmenl of the county. Mr. 
 Graham was the first man thai blanketed a 
 horse while n was standing, he adopting this 
 method while his horse stood during the church 
 
 services that he attended ai the Cn rland 
 
 Presbterian church ai Irish Grove. The first 
 funeral which he attended in this county was 
 thai of Ahieri Stone, in September, 1868. AI 
 thai tune there were no spring wagons in use 
 n the surrounding country, onh Lumber wag- 
 ons, and the body was taken to the grave in 
 one of these ami interred in the home burying 
 ground near the timber. Sixteen year- later 
 \lhert Stone's uncle John was buried, ami in 
 the funeral procession of over a third of a mile 
 in length tin-re were only seen three lumber 
 
 wagons, the | pie having spring wagons, car- 
 riages and buggies, while the remains were car- 
 ried to the grave in a hearse. All this shows 
 how rapidly the work of progress and improve- 
 
 meiii was earned mi. Ai ihe time of his ar- 
 rival in the county Mr. Graham had a capital 
 of only three hundred dollars, but making ju- 
 dicious investment of his funds and carefully 
 husbanding his resources as the year- have gone 
 iiv. he is now in good circumstances. 
 
 RICHARD BATTERTOK 
 
 i .hi nil I Llinois has always been the plai i of 
 residence of Richard Batterton, who i- now 
 living upon a farm in Rock (reek precinct, not 
 far from the site of Petersburg. He was born 
 in Sangamon county, July 19, 1836, and is 
 a - f William and Eliza (Gaines) Batter- 
 ton, natives of Virginia and of Irish descent, 
 who. on Leaving the old Dominion, removed to 
 Kentucky an.l after residing in that state for 
 a time came to Illinois, establishing their home 
 in Sangamon county. The father was a farmer 
 and stock-raiser, and always followed that pur- 
 suit in order to provide for his family. He 
 died in 1892 at the advanced age of eighty- 
 eight years, and his wife, who was ten years 
 Ins junior, died in 1902 at the age of eighty- 
 eighl \ear-. Both continued residents of 
 Sangamon county up to the time of their de- 
 mise and were classed with its representative 
 pioneer settlers who took a helpful part in its 
 early development. Richard Batterton i- the 
 second in order of birth in a family of ten 
 children, all of whom Lived to be grown. The 
 other- an- Madison, who makes his home mar 
 Salisbury, [llinois; Robert, who served with his 
 brother Madison in the Civil war and died some 
 rears later from the effects of exposure while 
 in the army : Amy . now the w ife of John Wells, 
 a resident of At lama. M issouri : M ildred, the 
 wife of Daniel IVIham. of Salisbury, [llinois; 
 Maria, the wife of T. ( . Miller, who livi - m a: 
 Salisbury; Henry Clay, who makes his homi 
 on e mile wesi of our subject in Menard county : 
 Sarah, wife of Charles Parker, a resident of 
 Cartwright town-hip. Sangamon county, Mi-
 
 5 1 2 
 
 PAST AM) PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 - : Charlotta, w ife of ( 'arl Akers, who lives 
 
 i Salisbury : and William, who died in L902. 
 
 Rii hard Batterton pursued his preliminary 
 education in a Log selioolhouse in his aative 
 ounty and later he continued his studies in the 
 schools of Salisbury. Be was trained to habits 
 of industry and economy upon the home farm 
 and was taught the best methods of cultivating 
 
 the fields. Alter putting aside his text-1 '- 
 
 he continued to assist his father in the farm 
 work, but later took a trip to the Rocky moun- 
 tain-. Ee visited Denver when it was but 
 a small place ami could have bought any lot m 
 i he city at that tunc for ten dollars. II is t rip 
 to the wesl convinced him, however, that he 
 preferred central Illinois as a place of resi- 
 dence and alter his return to tin- state he 
 resumed farming, which he has since earned 
 on. lie engaged in agricultural pursuits at 
 Salisbury for three years prior to Ins marriage, 
 being associated in this business with his brother 
 Madison and together they kepi bachelor's hall. 
 
 Richard Batterton was united in marriage 
 to Mis- Permillia Ann Miller, who was horn 
 April LS, 1830, in Menard countv, the onh 
 child of William II. ami Eliza (Jackman) Mil- 
 ler, who came to Menard county during the 
 early girlhood of Mrs. Batterton. The mother 
 died when her daughter was quite young. Our 
 subject and his wife were married April b, 
 1862, and unto them have been horn five sons, 
 who are -till living and all of whom are now 
 grown, the eldesl ileum thirty-seven years of age 
 and the youngest twenty-two. These are Adam. 
 Murry, Elijah, Charlie and Homer. Murry, 
 Elijah and Charlie arc all married and Murry 
 resides in Petersburg, Elijah in Athens and 
 Charlie in Chicago. Mr. and Mr-. Batterton 
 also lost three children in early youth. 
 
 Mr. Batterton yet follows general agricul- 
 tural pursuits ami stock-raising and is one of 
 the extensive landowners in Menard countv, 
 ni: five hundred and li ft} acres of rich land. 
 which he has transformed into a splendid farm. 
 
 equipped with all i lern conveniences. He 
 
 has a beautiful home in the mid-i of well kept 
 grounds and in the rear id' this dwelling are 
 substantia] barns ami outbuildings for the shel- 
 ter id' grain and stock. These in turn are 
 surrounded bv well tilled fields ami there is 
 
 ever} evidence of tin- supervision of a careful 
 ami progressive ow ner. M r. Batterton has ■> 
 ways been a siamh Republican, save that be 
 vofed once for I lorace ( ; reeley and t n ice for 
 Bryan. Hi- wife belongs to the Baptist church, 
 hut his preference is for the Christian church. 
 
 He has served as scl I director in his district 
 
 lor a number of years and the cause of edu- 
 cation finds in him a warm friend, he putting 
 forth even effort in his power to advance the 
 cause oft he schools and promote I heir etlicienc\ . 
 
 Tl ccupation to which he was reared he has 
 
 made his life work and because of his per- 
 sistency of purpose in following one pursuit. 
 added to his untiring -industry ami sound busi- 
 ness judgment, he has won the success that 
 make- him a substantial farmer. Moreover, he 
 enjoys the respect of his fellow men because his 
 life has been in conformity to upright business 
 ethics and he has been ever true to his duty in 
 the various relations in which he has been 
 
 placed. 
 
 GEORGE G. WARING. 
 
 George G. Waring, an honored and highl] 
 esteemed citizen of Menard county residing 
 mar Atterberry, was horn in Dutchess coun- 
 ty. New York, on the Loth of July. 1815, 
 
 a - E Charles and Abigail Hone- Waring. 
 
 When onl\ two years old he removed with his 
 parents to Rochester, thai state. Being left 
 an orphan when quite young he was reared by 
 In- grandparents and in early life learned the 
 cooper's trade, following thai pursuit in Roch 
 ester and after his removal to Chillicothe, Ross 
 county. Ohio, in 1834. Be started in life with- 
 out any means whatever and never had any 
 financial aid or assistance. In speaking of his 
 early career he says that he can now look back 
 and wonder how- he ever got through to his pn -- 
 
 cut age with n ie to look after him or to be 
 
 interested in his welfare since he was twelve 
 years old. 
 
 I n LS51 M r. Waring came to III inois, mak ing 
 the journey by wagon from his old home in 
 Ohio. lie settled in Menard county on the 
 farm where he now resides. This property was 
 only partially improved when it came into his
 
 GEORGE «.. WAKING.
 
 MRS GEORGE G. W MM S'C
 
 PAST A\h PRESENT OF MEJS \l.'l> CO! \ n 
 
 5 1 i 
 
 possession, bu1 he a1 once turned his attention 
 to its further development and cull ivation and 
 converted it into a good farm. As the years 
 passed he kept adding to his propertj from 
 time to time unti] he now owns about four 
 hundred acres of valuable farming land. 
 
 In L831 Mr. Waring married Miss Elizabeth 
 ('lark, who wa- Imrn in Ohio, February 15. 
 LS16, and died January 31, L880. They be- 
 came the parents of the follow ing children : 
 John II.. a resident of Leavenworth, Kansas; 
 William C, of Springfield, Illinois; Lambert 
 1 1.. of Chester, Nebraska; Mary A., qow Mrs. 
 i leorge < lodington, of Tallula, Illinois ; Sarah 
 !■:.. deceased wife of George Struble, of Mem- 
 phis, Missouri; I lelilah, widow of Jul in Coding 
 ton, of -Vulnini. Nebraska; Caroline E., wife 
 
 George Earding, of Menard county: George 
 A., who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume; 
 and Charles W., of San Francisco, California. 
 
 Although now eighty-nine rears of age Mr. 
 
 Waring is still halo ami hearty. He has a g I 
 
 education, is a man of unusualh good habits 
 and disposition and possesses a good memory. 
 Ee well remembers witnessing Sam Patch's 
 lasl leap into the Niagara Falls in November. 
 1829. P>\ In- ballot hi' supports the men and 
 measures of the Democratic party, but has 
 never cared for political honors. Ee is widely 
 and favorably known throughout the county 
 and is bold in the highesl regard. 
 
 WILLIAM COHEE. 
 William Cohee was born in England, .Mar. I 
 l ;. 1800. He had one sister, Sarah, and three 
 
 half-brothers, Richard Bishop, John G len 
 
 and Levi Loo. 
 
 William Cohee was married in Delaware, 
 October L5, 1821, and his wife died Oc- 
 tober 20, L822, when their daughter, Man 
 \ini. was but five days old. She married 
 Mam Madison about the year 1844. Mr. 
 Cohee afterward married Miss Nancj Slaugh 
 ter, ai Dover, Delaware, OctobeT L2, L824. 
 she was of Welsh descent. Of this union 
 ten children were born: Rachel, horn in 
 Delaware, Uigusl 25, 1827, 'hod when niK 
 a low month- old; Sarah was Lorn in Dela 
 ware, September 3, 1830; Lydia, horn in 
 
 Pennsylvania, Ma\ I. 1832, became the wifi 
 of William Tl las, of Menard county, Illi- 
 nois, and resides in < >al< Eord; W . T., born in 
 Pennsylvania, Februan L3, L834, and novi liv- 
 ing in Crowell, Nebraska, married Miss Mario 
 Mall. March 16, L866; C. A., born in Ohio, 
 Octobers, 1838, and novi in Beemer, Nebraska, 
 married Miss Minerva Cannon, a native of 
 Illinois; Elizabeth, born in Indiana, October 
 1-1, 1840, became the wife of Calvin McKee, 
 who died June 20, L878, and after his death 
 married C. P. Elliott and now resides in Oak- 
 ford; Louisa, horn in Indiana, March ■">. 1842, 
 died February 19, 1866; John, horn in Illi- 
 nois. February 20, 1845, died October 5, 1< S ">1 ; 
 II. C, born in Illinois. Augusl 1. is is. and 
 now living near Oakford, was married March 
 1 l. 1878, to Miss Bettie Brown, a native of 
 Illinois; and Ann. now living in Norfolk, Ne- 
 braska, was horn in Illinois Ma\ 5, 1851, and 
 was married October 18, 1868, to W. A. King, 
 a native of Illinois, who died October I t, 1903. 
 
 William Cohee was a miller by trade and 
 worked in a mill to some extenl after coming 
 to Menard county, in 1842, being employed at 
 Robinson's mill on Clary creek. He routed 
 land of Samuel Watkins for throe years and 
 then bought land in Sandridge precinct, Me- 
 nard county, living thereon until his death. 
 March 17, 1852. He and his second wife were 
 both buried on the farm. After his death his 
 widow married John Dart and onl\ lived until 
 February 19, 1867. 
 
 William t'ohee bought land, built a log 
 cabin in which to shelter bis family and then 
 began breaki ng t he w ild prairie t hat he m 
 plant his crop. He cut his timber for the 
 house, made rails for fencing his place and used 
 oxen in plowing. \- i i passed Ins fields be- 
 gan to yield golden grain and his farm tool 
 on the appearance of a highly cultivated tract 
 of land. Lea\ ing Menard count \ he wool lo 
 Missouri, where he -pent a year, but on the ex- 
 piration oi thai period he returned to this 
 locality and re-in | genera] agricultural pur- 
 suits, and in connei i ion u ith the t tiling of the 
 soil he engaged in the raising of cattle, hogs 
 and horses. Ho continued at this until his 
 death. He was a very busy, useful, active 
 man. and at the i ime of his deal h he mi ned
 
 .MS 
 
 PAST AMi PRESENT OF MENARD COl'XTl' 
 
 umdred acres of laud on « iiicli u as 
 a comfortable home, surrounded by fruil and 
 shade trees of his own planting. He also 
 did his mm butchering and after killing 
 his hogs would drive with a load of meal to 
 Beardstown market, sel] il al two and a half 
 .cut- per pound dressed, and upon his return 
 In would bring a load of merchandise from that 
 place to the men al Peti rsburg. Ai his death his 
 remains were interred upon the old farm near 
 his home on a site, which he had selected as h s 
 l.-i-i resting place, and when his wife was called 
 from this life her remains were laid b\ his side. 
 They were greath respected by all their neigh- 
 
 and many friends. Mr. Cohee gave his 
 political allegiance to the Whig party. 
 
 1 1 < ii i \ ( !. ( 'ohee « as born in Menard county, 
 Illinois, Aii-ust 1. 1848, and worked on the 
 farm with his step-father until fourteen years 
 oJ age. I le attended school through the winter 
 months when his assistance was no1 needed in 
 the fields. In the early days he frequently 
 engaged in hunting, shooting geese, ducks and 
 turkeys, which he shipped to Springfield and 
 Peoria. This proved quite a profitable source 
 
 □ ration, his sales at times amounting 
 
 to as much as sixty dollars in a single month. 
 He shot as mam as eighty ducks in a day. 
 After his father's death he went to live with 
 ('. J. McDole, working for In- board during the 
 winter months with the privilege of attending 
 school. He Mas thus employed until sixteen 
 years of age, after which he worked for E. 
 Lownsbery at a salan of sixteen dollars per 
 
 nth. Later he was employed by Richard 
 
 i laines al thirtj dollars per month. He nexl 
 lived with Mr. Brown through the winter and 
 in the following spring began working for Mr. 
 Lownsben al twenty-six dollars per month. 
 The last man for whom he worked by the 
 month was David W. Brown and later he began 
 operal ing W r. Brow n's farm on shares. Sub- 
 sequently lie bough! the interesi of some of the 
 other heirs in the old homestead plate and is 
 new operating about two hundred acres of the 
 rich land. He raises the cereals which thrive 
 besl in this soil and he also has ah. put five acres 
 of land planted to small fruits, including 
 strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. 
 On the i hli of Man h, 1878, Mr. Cohee was 
 
 married to M i-- Betl ie Brow n. a i la i _' ; m er of 
 Leander J. and Margarel (Lownsbery) Brown. 
 Iler father, who was born in Chemung county, 
 New Ynrk. was also a farmer and stock-raiser 
 and engaged in the breeding of fine horses. 
 He came to the wesl with his parents and re- 
 ma un'il al home up to the t imc of his marri; 
 ii, 183G to Miss Betse} Lownsbery, who died 
 
 -in month- later. On the 22d of October, 
 1837, he was joined in wedlock to Miss Mar- 
 garet Lownsbery, who was also a native of 
 Chemung county. New York. Mr. Brown built 
 a log house and began farming for himself. 
 Subsequently he purchased the interest of bis 
 brothers and sisters in the old homestead fa 
 and was known for mum years as a prosperous 
 agriculturisl of the community, having two 
 hundred and forty acres of valuable land at 
 
 the ti f his death. He remained a residenl 
 
 of tin- county for aboul thirty-four years, hav- 
 ing arrived in 1832, while his death here oc- 
 curred on the l'.'th of February, L866. His 
 willow yet survives and now lives with her 
 daughter, Mrs. Cohee. Mr. Brown was a Demo- 
 crat in polities and was a man of most hon- 
 orable ami uprighl principles, who espoused 
 the cause of Christianity and in his life ex- 
 emplified its faith. He won the love of not only 
 his tin mediate family, but of his neighbors and 
 friends and his genuine worth was recognized 
 by all who knew him. By his second marriage 
 he had ten children, of whom three are now 
 living, the sisters of Mrs. ('ohee being Sophia, 
 who is the widow of William Burton and re- 
 sides in Oakford, Menard county; and Julia, 
 the wife of Charles Colson, who resides near 
 Oakford. 
 
 The linine of Mr. ami Mrs ( lohei has beeij 
 
 essed with tune children: Nancy E., bom 
 January 13, 1879; William C, bom November 
 i. 1880; one that was born in l s >:; and died 
 in earh infancy; Robert S v who was born June 
 23, 1885, and died November VI. 1887; Elias 
 ('.. born September 5, 1887; Maggie E., horn 
 October II. 1SS9; Leander J., born April 19, 
 1892; Anna J., born June 4. 1895, and diet 
 December 16, 1899; and Bessie, who was born 
 .lanuan L0, 1899, and died on the 11th of Feb- 
 ruary, following. 
 
 I dm C. Cohee exercised his right of fran-
 
 PAST \\!> PRESENT OF ML\Ai;i> COl VIA 
 
 519 
 
 chise hi support ul the men and measu res oJ 
 
 the Democracy and during the greater part 
 
 of the i him for the pasl i hirty years lie lias 
 
 served as a member of tin school board. He 
 
 ever soughl or desired publii office, liow- 
 
 i- he lias preferred i" concentrate liis 
 
 energies upon bis business affairs and through 
 
 i onduel of bis farming interests he 
 
 has me one ol the substant ial agriculturists 
 
 of tin h in n liicii in- cnl ire li fe lias been 
 
 sed. 
 
 WILLIAM II. HOI GHTON. 
 Will ian II Ho ghton is the owner of tout 
 hundred acre- of land in Tallula precinct that 
 i- rich and productive and bis undivided at- 
 oi i - given to farm work with the resuli 
 that a gratifying measure of success lias at- 
 tended his efforts. He is one of Menard coun- 
 i j 's native sons, his birth having occurred in 
 Petersburg on the 20th of September, 1849. 
 iL- lather. William C. Houghton, was born 
 in Kentucky. July 1">. 1814, and was of Eng- 
 lish lineage. The paternal grandfather, Charles 
 Houghton, who was born in England, became 
 one of the earl] n sidents of Menard county, 
 arriving here with his I'amih aboul 1821. He 
 
 established his h e on Keek creek and here 
 
 followed farming. On reaching manhood Wil- 
 liam C. Houghton was married in this county 
 to Miss Julia Ann Maltby, who was born in 
 York, I ebruar\ 5, 1818, and came to 
 Menard county aboul 1821 with her parents, 
 Jesse and Sa Ivia i Hollej i Maltby, w ho were 
 also natives of the Empire state, the former 
 
 -n March 27, 1784, and the latter March 31, 
 
 1791. The Maltby Eamih lir-i settled in the 
 Sangamon river bottom, but after n siding there 
 for several \ ears took up then- abode upon the 
 Farm jus! across the road from where our sub- 
 jeei new lives. There Mr. Maltb - ) died a oul 
 L859, at the age of seventy-five years, and 
 In- wife passed awa\ February ', . 1846, when 
 fifty-five years old. After his marriage 
 William ('. Houghton Located on the old home- 
 stead new occupied by our subjeel and resided 
 there until his death, which occurred in 1893. 
 He was a faithful member of the Christian 
 church and a prominent Republican, holding 
 
 inosi "i tin county offices. Hi- w idov is now 
 vim- with our subject, w ho is t lie onlj sur 
 vivor of t heir seven children. 
 
 Rean d under t he parental rent. William 1 1. 
 Houghton acquired bis education ai the Farm- 
 ers Point district school in Menard county ami 
 when In- attention was net occupied by his 
 text-hooks In- time was largeh devoted to the 
 work of tilling the soil en the old family home- 
 stead, lie has always ca rrii d on fa rm i ng i <d 
 i In- place and in conned ion with I lie raising 
 of grain he has made a specialty of the rais- 
 ing el stock, including draft and road horses. 
 He is thoroughly familiar with the b 
 mis of cultivating the soil and improving the 
 "fades of -tuck and in both branches oi his 
 business i- meeting with gratifying and cred- 
 itable success. Hi- farm comprises four hun- 
 dred acre- of land, much of which is under a 
 high state of cultivation and gives evidence 
 of his careful supervision and progressive 
 methods. 
 
 On the 26th of October, 1876, at the home 
 of the bride's mother, two miles north of Pe- 
 ti rsbuz'g, occurred the marriage of William II. 
 Houghton and Miss Agnes Park. Her parents 
 were .lames and Rebecca (Purdon) Park, who 
 were horn, reared and married in Scotland and 
 continued to make their home in that country 
 until after the birth of all of their children. 
 In 1863 they brought their family to America 
 and settled near Petersburg in Menard county, 
 where the father at first rented land. Inn after- 
 ward bought a farm which he continued t - 
 
 rate up to the tune of his death in is; 3. 1 1 is 
 wife long survived him and passed away in 
 1S93. They were Presbyterians in religious 
 belief and he was a Republican in politics, but 
 always refused public office. In their family 
 wen nine children, of whom five are still liv- 
 ing, namely : Rel t, now the widow of Wil- 
 liam Finlev and a resident of Menard county : 
 Anna, wife of Ant! y Clark, of Bement, Illi- 
 nois: Andrew, who lives two miles north of 
 Petersburg; Margaret, widow of George Hollis 
 and a resident of Menard county; and ^gnes, 
 w i fe of our subject. 
 
 Sis children have 1 n horn unto Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. Houghton: Kate Ann. born March 26, 
 1878, was married December 30, 1897, to Al-
 
 520 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 \m Miller, who travels Eor a hardware firm 
 and makes his home in Centralia, Illinois; 
 James William, born November 21, 1880, was 
 married October 11. 1902, to Hattie Juhl, a 
 daughter oi Andrew Juhl, and resides on the 
 first farm easl of his father's home, the land 
 belonging to his father; Frank Leslie, born 
 March 7, L882, was married January ;. L904, 
 to Gail Campbell, a daughter of .Film Cam]. 
 bell, and is now living in Sangamon county 
 near Pleasant Plains, where he follows the 
 occupation of farming in connection with his 
 father-in-law; Charles, born November ., 1883, 
 is attending school at Farmer- Point; Mary 
 Yerneena. horn August 23, 1887, has complet- 
 ed the common school course in the home dis- 
 trict and is now a student in Millikin Uni- 
 versity at Decatur, Illinois; and Helen, born 
 February 8, 1895, is attending the district 
 -t hool near her father's home. 
 
 Mr. Houghton exercises his right of Eran- 
 , hi-,- m support of the men am! measures of 
 the Republican party and keeps well informed 
 on the questions and issues of the day. He has 
 served as highway commissioner and as school 
 
 director. He doe- belong to any church, 
 
 but attends the services of the Cumberland 
 Presbyterian church. His entire life has been 
 passed in the vicinity of Petersburg and he 
 has a wide acquaintance in the count} seat 
 and throughout the surrounding district where 
 In- genuine worth has won recognition in the 
 high regard that is uniformly extended him 
 i\ In- iii.-iin friends. 
 
 L. F. BLANE, D. D. S. 
 
 Dr. L. E. Blane, one of the successful 
 dentists of Menard county, having a large and 
 grow i Qg prai tice in < . ivcn\ ievi . w as born in 
 this count} . on the Llth oi March, IS78, his 
 parent-- being John P. and Mary A. (Bracken) 
 Blane. Dr. Blane began hi- education in the 
 public schools of Greenview and completed the 
 high school course by graduation with the i lass 
 of 1S96. lie afterward entered the Highland 
 Military Academy at Worcester, Massachu- 
 setts, where he was graduated in 1891 and then, 
 mining upon the prai I Ice of dentisl i 
 
 a life work, he entered the dental department 
 of the Northwestern University, ivhere he com- 
 pleted a full course by graduation m the class 
 ,,f 1900. 
 
 He located at once lor practice in Green- 
 riew, where he has continuously remained and 
 the business ha.- constant!} grown until it has 
 reached large and profitable proportions. He 
 ha- an office well supplied with the latest im- 
 proved equipments known to dentistry ami he 
 likewise possesses the mechanical skill and 
 financial ability which are so necessary to suc- 
 cess in his profession. Ho has suffered some 
 reverses, Eor on the 22d of June, 1900, his 
 office was wrecked by a cyclone, and on the 
 30th of November, 1901, a disastrous tin- oc- 
 curred, burning all of his supplies, nut with 
 characteristic energy he ha- persevered and he 
 is to-day recognized a- one of the most capable 
 dentists of Menard county. 
 
 On the 23d of October, 1901, was celebrated 
 the marriage of Dr. Blane ami Mi-- tiara A. 
 Propst, a daughter of F. A. and Amanda 
 ( Kincaid ) Propst. who were early settlers of 
 this county. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Blane has 
 been horn one -on. John P.. Jr. The parents 
 arc members of the Christian church ami Mr. 
 Blane is also identified with the Masonic fra- 
 ternity, belonging to both the blue lodge and 
 chapter. Tie is likewise a member of Loyalty 
 lodge, No. 181, K. P.. and Greenview lodge, 
 \,,. i •.■:;. [. (i. o. F. Hi- political allegiam - 
 is givert io the Republican party ami as every 
 i rue American citizen should do he keeps well 
 informed on the issues of the day and gives 
 firm allegiance to the principle- which he be- 
 lieves contain the best element- of good gOI - 
 eminent, hut he has never sought o.- desired 
 office, preferring to concentrate his energies 
 upon his profession, in which he has already 
 gained for himself an enviable name and won 
 creditable sua i --. 
 
 \. R. TERRY 
 
 one of the more active and enterprising 
 business men in Menard county is A. R. Terry, 
 w p., i- now sui cessfully controlling an exti n ■ 
 sive lumber business, thus contributing to the
 
 I 
 
 IM,\ L. !•:. I'.l.W K
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 523 
 
 commercial upbuilding of the community as the sale of lumber. He makes a specialty of 
 "'•II as in his individual prosperity. His en- hardwood lumber and is also extensively en- 
 tire life has been passed in Menard county, gaged in furnishing the timbers used by rail- 
 where he was born on the 3d of Februarys 1863, roads and coal mining companies. II is trade 
 the family home being situated on township L8, has become extensive and therefore profitable 
 range 6. He is a representative of an old and makes heavy demands upon his time. 
 Virginia family thai was established in the Old On the Lltli of December, 1901, Mr. Tern 
 Dominion when ii formed a pari of the colonial was united in marriage to Miss Man Rood, a 
 possessions of Greai Britain. The grandfather, native of Kansas, whose parents, James P. and 
 mas Terry, who was born in Virginia, re- Helen Rood, came to Illinois in L8S8. Phi 
 
 ved in Kentucky and there speni his re- mother is now living in Kendall county, but 
 
 maining days. He was a blacksmith by trade the father is deceased. Mr. anil Mrs. Terry 
 
 but during the greater pari of his life he gave have one daughter, Zeffa Eloise. They have a 
 
 bis attention to the raising of tobacco. He pleasant home, noted for its generous and at- 
 
 hail an extensive plantation and carried i tractive hospitality, and they occupy an en- 
 
 ij business in the production of thai nun- viable position in social circles where intelli- 
 modity. gence and true worth are received as the pass- 
 James 1.. Terry, father of A. R. Terry, was ports into good society. In his fraternal rela- 
 also born in Virginia, bui when very young tions Mr. Terry is connected with the capable 
 was taken to Kentucky and in early manhood and prosperous business men of the county, 
 came to Hlinois, locating lirsl in Mason coun- and his advancement is largely due i" his rec- 
 ty, where he made his home until L856, when ognition and improvement of business oppor- 
 hc came to Hlinois, settling near the present tunities. There is no deplorable lack of en- 
 town of Tice! He secured a trad of land there ergy or perseverance in his make-up; on the 
 and engaged in farming, devoting his entire contrary those qualities are numbered amonj 
 time and attention to agricultural pursuits his salieni characteristics and have made his 
 throughout his active business career. He mar- business career one of signal success, 
 ried Mary A. Scott, a native of ibis state, and 
 they became the parents of seven children, of 
 whom A. R. Terry was the sixth in order of 
 
 birth. The father died in October, L881, and w - ''■ CHEANEY, M. D. 
 his wife is still living. Dr. \Y. J. Cheaney, general medical practi- 
 ln taking up the personal history of A. R. tioner of Petersburg, now serving as county 
 Terry we present to our readers the record of physician of Menard county, was born Oetobet 
 one who is widely and favorably known in Me- 18, 1870, in the city which is still his home, 
 nan! county by reason of the fact thai his his parents being James \V. and Sarah C. 
 entire life has been passed here and also be- (Houghton) Cheaney, the former born near 
 cause his business interests have been of an Lexington. Kentucky, and the latter in Me- 
 importanl character. At the usual age he en- nard county, Hlinois. The paternal grand- 
 tered the district schools, and through the pe- father removed front New England to Ken- 
 riod of vacation he was trained to the work lucky at an early day and there reared his 
 of the farm. He still continues on the old family. His son James remained at home un- 
 homestead and has always carried on general til eighteen years of age. when he wenl to 
 farming and stock-raising, meeting with good Louisville, Kentucky, where he learned the car- 
 success, lb- fields are well tilled and promise penter's trade, after which he removed to St. 
 rich harvests and in his pastures and feed lots Louis, Missouri, where he followed thai pur- 
 arc seen good grades of stock In addition to suil for some time. Subsequently he came to 
 agricultural pursuits he has extended his la- Petersburg, where he carried on carpentering 
 bors int" another field of activity, being now and building fur a number of years, being thus 
 connected with the operation of a sawmill and actively associated with the industrial interests
 
 52 1 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 and vt it ii i lir impro\ emenl of the city. In 18" '.' 
 lie was chosen b} his i < ■ I U >\\ townsmen to the 
 office of county treasurer, in which he served for 
 two years, and upon his retirement from that 
 
 i he vveni upon the road as a i raveling 
 
 salesman. He was \<r\ sm cessful in thai wort 
 and was therefore enabled to command a large 
 salary. He continued upon the road until 
 
 1890, when he turned his attention to the ! - 
 
 her business, admitting his son Ed to a part- 
 nership under the firm uame of E. S. Cheaney 
 iV Company, and the lumberyard is -till con- 
 ducted by the son. M r. < heane} was a lead- 
 ing con! ractor a ml builder of bis i ime and took 
 an active part in the improvement of the city, 
 lie possessed keen foresight, business enterprise 
 and sound judgment and in trade circles and 
 i social life commanded the respect and good 
 u ill of all with whom he came in contact. I l.e 
 died February 21, 1901, and bis wife is yei 
 living. 
 
 I >r. ( IheaneA . the youngesl of their t hree chil- 
 dren, began ins education at the usual age in 
 the primary schools of Petersburg and passed 
 successively through the differenl grades un- 
 til he had completed the high school course. 
 Desiring to divert his energies into a field call- 
 ing Eor intellectual acti\ it} and offering good 
 opportunities for success, he took up the study 
 of medicine and surgen in the office and un- 
 der the direction of Dr. Whitley, of Peters- 
 burg, who is -till -i successful practicing phy- 
 sician of tin- city and who is represented else- 
 where in this volume. Dr. Whitley remained 
 as In- preceptor for four years and he then 
 entered tin Rush Medical College, where he 
 completed the full course, being graduated in 
 March, 1892. Dr. Cheaney, having won the 
 I loctor "l Medicine degree, then returned to 
 Petersburg, whore he has since engaged in the 
 
 ueral prai t ii e of medicine and surgery with 
 
 . ellenl success, his labors for the alle\ iation 
 of suffering being attended, in the large ma- 
 jority of eases, with the desired result. He is 
 a member of the Menard County Medical So- 
 t\ ami the Illinois State Medical Society, 
 and also belongs to the Alumni Association of 
 Rush Medical College. 
 
 Dr. i 'In anc} was married, Januan 26, 1894, 
 i, Miss Luella Avres. of Athens, Illinois, a 
 
 daughter of \V. I!. A\ res, who is a 
 farmer of Menard count; . Thei] • hildren arc 
 Donald \\re-. Harold and William James 
 The parents have a wide and favorable acquain- 
 tance in this county, and Dr. < heane} is prom 
 ineni in Masonry, having attained the Knight 
 'I emplar degree. He is also a member of the 
 Knights "!' Pythias lodge of Petersburg. The 
 interest id' the community tending toward pub- 
 lic advancement and improvement receive bis 
 heart} endorsement and active co-operation, 
 and in no duty of citizenship is In 1 i 
 His attention, however, i> most largely concen- 
 trated upon Ins professional duties and in a 
 calling where advancement depends entirely 
 upon imln nlual merit, lie has ga ined for him- 
 self an excellent name. 
 
 JOHN D. LOWNSBERY. 
 
 John I ». Lownsbery, who is extensively and 
 successfully engaged in the raising of stoi k, 
 was born Apia! 17. L851, in Oakford, Illinois, 
 ami represents one of the eld families of this 
 state, hi- paternal grandfather having come 
 to Illinois in company with his four sons and 
 two daughters. This number included Mat- 
 thew Lownsbery, the father of our subject, 
 wlie was bom 111 New York. After arriving 
 a! years el' maturity he wedded Nancy Over- 
 street, who represented an eld West Virginia 
 family. This worthy couple became the pa- 
 rents of eight children, nameh : Mary wedded 
 James Hudspeth and the} resided at Concord, 
 
 Illinois, and afterward in Miss -i. Both are 
 
 new deceased, however, and the} left live chil- 
 dren. John I '. is the seconi I i □ order of birth. 
 Christopher married Mollie Caldwell and is 
 a farmer residing near Holyoke, Colorado. 
 They have five children. Mewton married Etta 
 Utig, b} n horn lie ha- three children and he 
 carries en Earming in Sandridge precinct. 
 Lcander died at the age of four years. Morris 
 died ai the age of two years. One died in 
 infanc} . Mattie died at the age of ten years. 
 
 John 1». Lownsbery acquired his education 
 in tin common schools of Oakford and through- 
 out In- em ire life he has carried on gi at ral 
 farming and stock-raising, gaining practical
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COl \TY 
 
 knowledge of the business in liis early Ijoyhood longs to the Methodisl church and his daugh- 
 
 days through the assistance which he rendered tor and son arc mbers of the Cumberland 
 
 his father, tie firsl began farming on his Presbyterian church. Ee has me1 with a fair 
 own accouul on a tract of land east of Oak- measure of success such as comes in return 
 ford thai belonged to his father and be after- for earnest and well defined labor. Mis en- 
 ward purchased the interest of the other heirs tire life has been passed in Oakford town- 
 in thai property. He there bad eighty-three ship anil he is known as a reliable and sub- 
 acres which be subsequently sold and bought stantial citizen, 
 one hundred and fifty-five acres five miles wesl 
 of Petersburg thai is mm the property of 
 Samuel Watkins. Upon thai farm he lived for 
 
 twenty-two years, making it a well developed J AM Jin aiii.i-.>. 
 
 property, bill be sold in 1903 and purchased James Miles was born in While county, L 11 i— 
 
 hundred and sixty acres known as the nois, on the 25th of November, 1822, and is 
 
 Elijah Armstrong farm, which is pleasantly a son of George Uriah and .lane (McCoy) 
 
 and conveniently located a mile and a half Miles. Mis lather was born March 20, 1796, 
 
 southwest of Oakford. tie has the farm near- in St. Mary county, Maryland, and on coming 
 
 ly all cleared ami bis fields arc highly culti- to Illinois in 1815 he settled in While coun- 
 
 \ated. the golden harvests being annually gar- ty, where he was married on the LStli of No- 
 
 uered as the result of his labors. He also raises vember, 1821, to Mi«> .lane McCoy. She was 
 
 stock, making a specialty of cattle and hogs born in Greenbrier t ii\. Wes1 Virginia, No- 
 
 and through thi- means adds materially to vember 11, 1796. In November, IS25, George 
 
 his income. I . Miles removed to Sangamon county', llli- 
 
 ()u the 26th of December, 1872, Mr. I. owns- nois, and settled on a farm sis miles north 
 iery was married to Miss Melissa M. King, a of Springfield, when- he engaged in fanning 
 daughter of Marshall and Eliza (Caldwell) and stock-raising for a number of years. He 
 King. Her lather was a native of Maysville, often drove stock to Chicago, that being his 
 Kentucky, and the Caldwells were from Ohio, nearesl market, tin one of these trips to ('hi- 
 ll came to Illinois when he was bill twenty- cago, he was offered eighty acres of land in 
 live years of age and was interested in farming the swamp there for a horse, thai tract being 
 pursuits in Menard county. His daughter Me- now in the very heart of the business pari of 
 lissa was born in Oakford, November 13, 1853, the city. His wife died December 15, 1850, 
 and pursued her education in the school- there, and he passed awav at the home of his son 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lownsbery have been born .lame- near Petersburg on the I'hli of March. 
 
 three children. Hardin A., horn September 1.882, lacking Ia\ of being eighty-six vears 
 
 In. L873, married Lillie Johnson, a re-idem of of age. 
 
 Macon county, Missouri, living near Ethel. Having removed with his parents to Sanga- 
 
 He i- a farmer and stock-raiser, owning a a I , , county, Ji s Miles lived in that county 
 
 tract of land and they have two children, Or- IIIHl | j„. was grown, and later removed to 
 
 ville -I. and Harold. Etta married John Hoi- Menard county, wlier the 5th of January, 
 
 lis, a farmer residing aboul two and a half [845, he was joined in marriage to Miss A i 
 
 mile- northeasl of Aiterberry, and they had Smith, who was born in the state of Nen York, 
 
 three children. Earway, five years of age; Paul December 3, is-.':',. To this union were horn 
 
 H-, deceased; and Louise, now hut a pear old s j s children, i ely: Mrs. Mary .lane llurd: 
 
 Marshall M. Lownsbery, born January 2, 1888, Mrs. Lizzie \. W I: a son who died in in 
 
 is attending the high scl I at Oakford and re- fancy: George Uriah, Jr., .lain.- s.. who 
 
 sides with hi- parents. married Nellie Purkapile; and Mr-. Kane A. 
 
 Mr. Lownsbery is a Republican in In- polit- Gray. Mr-, llurd ha- one living daughter, 
 
 ical mows, having given stanch support 1<> the Mrs. lona A. Peterson, who-, two year old son. 
 
 party since attaining hi- majority. Me he- Myron hale, i- Mr. Miles' only great-grand
 
 526 
 
 PAST \\H PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 child. Mrs. Wood has two daughters and one 
 son, and James S. Miles has a son and daugh- 
 ter, these constituting the grandchildren of oui 
 subject. 
 
 .1. is M lies continues to reside on the old 
 
 homestead one mile from Petersburg, where he 
 has tived for forty-eighi wars. Ee and his 
 wife, at the ages of eighty-two and eighty-one 
 years respectively, arc both hale and hearty, and 
 in a few months the} will have traveled the 
 road of life together for sixtj years. An in- 
 dustrious and temperate life has borne its fruit 
 in a healthy and happy old age for both of 
 them. Having acquired a competency in ear- 
 lier life, they arc spending a quiei and serene 
 old age, enjoying the love and gratitude of 
 their children and the respecl and confidence 
 of all who know them. 
 
 JOSEPH II. MYERS. 
 
 Joseph II. Myers i- one of the active factors 
 in busim ss circles in Menard county, where 
 he has extensive farming and stock-raising in- 
 terests, and is also engaged in the grain trade 
 as proprietor of an elevator a1 Croft and in 
 merchandising as owner of a store there. He 
 was born in Wayne county, Indiana. October 
 "M. L850. Hi- father, Henry Myers, born in 
 Is-. 1 ;, removed from Indiana to Menard count\ 
 in the spring of 1851, and here died of 
 cholera in Angus! of the same year. His wife, 
 whose maiden name was Rosa C. Murray, ami 
 who was born November 12, 1830, remained 
 in this county until 1863 and then man ii (1 
 again, becoming the wife of J. W. C. Cray. 
 of Piatt county. Minois, where -lie still maki - 
 her ho 
 
 The father of OUT subject died when the 
 
 -mi was bul ten i dh- old, and be then be- 
 
 ci a member of the household of bis ma- 
 ternal grandparents, .lame- and Margarel 
 i Dow i Murray, with whom he lived until 
 twenty-four years oi age, enjoying the ad- 
 vantages usually afforded farmer lads of the 
 id. lie was married February 16, 1875, to 
 Miss Martha A. Steel, a daughter of David 
 mil R ( bei i a Steel. Her lather, who was born 
 mbcr 22. 1815, died July 'J. 1876. He 
 
 was a native of Pern county, Pennsylvania, 
 a- was his wife, who was born June 2, 1818, 
 and dud Augusl L3, 1884. In 1865 they be- 
 came residents of Menard county, where they 
 spent their remaining day-. In their family 
 were the follow ing children : Jacob D., born 
 December 5, 1841, is now living in Newark, 
 ohin. Sarah I''... born April 29. 1st:;, died 
 Manh in. 1878. Margarel J., born November 
 7. 1844, died January ~. 1898. John Jones, 
 born June 12, 1846, i- living in Barton county, 
 Missouri. Isaac ('.. horn June 26, 1848, died 
 March 25, 1852. William A.. Lorn July 15, 
 L850, died in 1902 in Missouri. Martha A., 
 born March 24, 1852, is the wile of our sub- 
 ject. Hester A., born November 1. 1855, died 
 in February. 1888. Joseph C, born Augusi 
 27. 1857, i- living in tin- -talc R. Emma, 
 born February '!',. 1859, married GeoTgi Stev- 
 ens and died February 5, 1887. dame- H., 
 born June 22. I860, died Augusl 1. 1868. Of 
 this family all died in Illinois with tie excep- 
 tion of Isaac ('.. wbo died in Pennsylvania, 
 ami one who died iii Nebraska. 
 
 Into Mr-, and Mrs. Myers have been born 
 -even children: Rosa M., who was born De- 
 cember 31, is;:,, and died February 16, 1876; 
 J. Homer, born May 10. 1881 ; Floyd C, who 
 was bom April 26, 1883, and died April Kb 
 1889 ; Clarence I-"... bom December 26, 1884 : 
 Benjamin Curtis, born November II. 1888; 
 Manic Foy, born July 26, 1891; and Nina 
 Violet, born July 30, 1895. J. Homer Myers 
 was married February IS. L903, to Miss Effie 
 L. Patter-on. a daughter of Leland and Emma 
 Patter-on. of Mason county, Illinois, ami to 
 them was born a son, Joseph Tatter-on. on the 
 13th of January. 1904. 
 
 "iter In- marriage Joseph H. Myers super- 
 intended bis grandfather's farming and stoek- 
 raising interests for a time, anil in the fall of 
 1883 he purchased bis presenl farm, to which 
 he removed tin following February. He built 
 a line house and two barns, ha- made many 
 other substantial modern improvements, and as 
 his financial resources have increased has ex- 
 tended the boundaries of his farm until be 
 now owns six hundred and ninety acres of fine 
 land, all under a high state of cultivation. As 
 before mentioned, he i- also the owner of an
 
 MR. AND MRS. J. II. MYERS.
 
 M R. AND MRS. HENRY MYERS.
 
 PAST AND PEESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 53] 
 
 elevator and store al Croft, having been en- stock for Pun years and is now actively en- 
 gaged in the operation of the elevator in con- gaged in the breeding of coach horses. He is 
 
 m, , 1 1. .11 with the grain trade for four years, interested in il wnership of a fine stallion, 
 
 while for three years he has conducted the Amandus, N'o. 1282. Ii is standard bred and 
 
 store. For thirty years he likewise raised and '• of the best Oldenburg German coach stock, 
 
 fed cattle and horses on quite an extensive Mr. Armstrong has conducted a successful busi- 
 
 scale, Inn in the fall of 1903 he practically Q ess as an agriculturisl and stock-raiser and 
 
 retired from the stock business and now de- '- now one of the representative farmers of 
 
 votes In- attention principally to the cultiva- the community in which he has so long mad.' 
 
 n. hi of his land and to the -ram trade. He is his home, conducting his business affairs so 
 
 active and enterprising, reliable and energetic, ;l ^ '" um success and also gain an enviable 
 
 and Ins business affairs have I n earned for- reputation for reliability. His wife died in 
 
 ward to success. His possessions indicate thi Menard county, December 28, 1898. They 
 
 force of industry in the active affairs of life, Kryr the parents of nine children, six sons 
 
 and his life record should well serve as a source and three daughters: Matilda, who died in 
 
 of encouragemenl and inspiration to others. infancy: Samuel 11.. who died a1 the age of 
 
 In bis political allegiance Mr. Myers is a twenty years ; Mary, who died in infancy ; Ryal, 
 
 Democrat, and for twelve or fifteen war- he nl this review; John I)., who died at the ag< 
 
 has been a member of the school board. His " r twenty-two years; Catherine R., who was 
 
 wife is a member of the Cumberland Presbyte- fifteen years of age at the time of her demise; 
 
 nan church and both enjoy the warm regard of George K.. who married Miss Elsie Davis, and 
 
 manv with whom they have come in contact. '• livm - "" the (.Id homestead; James S., who 
 
 wedded Miss Mamie Maltby and resides near 
 
 the old homestead; and Will ('.. who married 
 
 Fannie Boeker and i- living on a pan of the 
 RYAL ARMSTRONG. ,,|,| | 10 p i ace . \| „ Armstrong is well I i 
 
 Dependent upon his own resources and busi- because of bis advocacy of measures for the 
 
 ness ability from early manhood Ryal Arm- general g I and has promoted social, intel- 
 
 strohg has steadily worked bis way upward lectual and moral interests as well as business 
 
 and i- to-day the owner of a valuable farming activity in his neighbor] I. lb has served 
 
 property 7 near Oakford. Many of the repre- as a member of the school hoard for about 
 
 sentative business men of Menard county are twenty years, gives his political support to the 
 
 numbered among its native son- and to this Democracy and is a member of the < 
 
 class Ryal Armstrong belongs. His birth oc- Presbyterian church. 
 
 eurred September t3, 1867, on the farm where Ai the age of nineteen years Ryal Armstrong 
 
 lived his parents, Elijah J. and Susanna (Wat- started ou1 in lit i his own account. Before 
 
 ins) Armstrong. The father was born in Jas- this nme he bad worked upon the I farm 
 
 per county, Missouri, July is. isil. while the ami had pursued his education in the publi 
 
 mother's birth occurred in Menard county, [Hi- schools. On leaving b he engaged in teach- 
 
 nois. December 11. 18-40. They were married Lng for two years. Later he was employed at 
 
 in December, I860. Elijah .r. Armstrong bad farm labor on the old I stead and then was 
 
 been reared on the old family homestead and married and began farming tor himself. He 
 
 lived with his mother until her second mar- has -nice followed that vocation and in addi- 
 
 riage, when he began earning his own living | to the cultivation of the held- he has en 
 
 by working as a farm hand and was thus em- gaged in fattening and shipping stocl to thi 
 
 ployed until has marriage, when he started to Chicago markets, sending from two to five car 
 
 farm on bis own account, lie removed to bis loads of cattle per year and as many or more 
 
 farm in 186] and thereon he engaged in the hogs. He is also at thi presenl time agent for 
 
 cultivation of the fields and in the raising of the Turner-Hudnut Company, grain dealers in 
 
 sioek. lie has been feeding and shipping Pekin, Illinois.
 
 532 
 
 PAST VXD PRESENT OF MEXARD COUXT^ 
 
 M r. Ann as married to Miss Martha 
 
 A. Skaggs, a daughter of i ';. rn» and Martha 
 (Ogclen) Skaggs. lli'i' father, who was born 
 
 I a— county, I Hindis. Mm 5, L847, died May 
 L9, 1892. Hi- wife, who was born in Me] 
 county. Illinois, i LS48, iassi d awaj in 181 2. 
 Mr. Skaggs had remained with hi- - in 
 
 his boyhood days and was a public-school stu- 
 dent, but later he began working at the car- 
 penter's trade and was employed as a builder 
 up t" within five years of his death. He also 
 was a drover, buying and shipping cattle, hogs 
 and - 11 made extensive shipments to 
 
 I . cago and also senl considerable stock to tin.' 
 Peoria market. His headquarters were at 11a- 
 \ana. Illinois, but he bought stork all along 
 line (if the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis 
 Railroad. Hi- influence in public affairs was 
 s real and In- ore » ere of \ alue in In- com- 
 munuity. lie served a- justice of the pe; 
 i Oakford for a number of years and lie 
 a member of the New Hope Baptist church. 
 il - political \ iews were in accord with the 
 
 pi'iui iples oi tin Dei < acy. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong i- a member of tin- town 
 board and at tins writing, in the tad oi L904, 
 - serving a- township -eland treasurer. He 
 igs to the Knights of Pythias lodge at Kil- 
 
 ■ii. Illinois, and he votes w j r 1 1 the Democ- 
 racy. Hi- Life is i am respects i semplary 
 
 and he has ever supported those inti - deh 
 are calculated to uplift and benefit humanity, 
 while his own high moral worth is deserving 
 of the highest commendation. In his business 
 he has pen ed in the pursuit of a persistent 
 purpose and has gained a mosl satisfactory re- 
 ward. He is always courteous and affable and 
 those who knew him personally have for him 
 warm regard. 
 
 JAMES J. C \K\F.Y. 
 
 es J. Ca of a valuable 
 
 hundred and ten acres and the land 
 
 and arable, yielding go< ests. \ 
 
 i son of Mi be was born in 
 
 his present homo neig the 22d 
 
 i. is.",;, and is a son of James and 
 i (Bang) i ioth of whom were 
 
 natives of Ireland. The former came to the 
 United State- in L845, attracted by the busi- 
 m -- possibilh ies oJ the ne\* land and settled 
 in the state of Vermont, where he followed 
 farming. He remaim d or five years 
 
 and then came to Illinois, locating in Sanga- 
 
 mo unty, where he purchased a tract of 
 
 land and developed a g I farm. In 184? he 
 
 arrived in Menard county, settling upon the 
 farm winch is now in possession of his son 
 
 Ja mes and t here he com inued I ga ge in 
 
 the tilling of the soil with g I success 
 
 - death which occurred in 1S96. He lost his 
 first wife in 1851 ami was afterward again 
 married. In his family were thirteen children, 
 but only thre.- are now living: James J., John 
 and Mary. The brother John was a soldier 
 For thirteen year-. He enlisted first foi - 
 ice in the Civil war as a member oi the I aion 
 army when nineteen year- of age and fought 
 for the preservation of the Union during the 
 four long rears of thai sanguinary struggle. 
 During that time he participated in the battles 
 of Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Bull's Run. li 
 was never wounded although often in the thick- 
 si of the fighl and came out of the army str< 
 and well. He received an honorable discharge 
 
 an the volunteer service in Washington, D. 
 < . and then entered the regular service, en- 
 tig three times. 1 1 ;- know n thai he ser 
 for thirteen years, but -nice that time no news 
 has been reci ived from him. 
 
 ■ lame- . I. Carney was reared in Menard coun- 
 i iii the usual manner oi farm lads oi his 
 day and locality. He attended the public 
 
 - !- and when not occupied with the duties 
 
 oi the schoolroom he assisted in the farm work. 
 lb has long been numbered among the tillers 
 oi the -oil and the stock-raisers of his native 
 county and his lifi - ieen passed upon the 
 farm homestead which comprise- two hun- 
 rei and ten acres oi as rich fa rming land, as 
 ..in he found in Illinois. There is no better 
 farming districi throughout the length and 
 breadth of this country than Illinois furnishes. 
 
 Mr. Carney, seeking a companion and help- 
 mate for life's journey, was united in marri.i. 
 to Miss Ellen Cronin in 1880 and afterward 
 brought his bride to the old homi stead. She is 
 daughter of Patrick and Bridget (Sullivan)
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD CO! N'T\' 
 
 i ronin, both of whom were aatives of [reland. eph's College, completing the classical co 
 
 In ;i family of five children she lias >ml\ one by graduation. Immediately afterward he b 
 
 rather now living. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cat up the stucL ol philosophy in Le Grande Sem- 
 
 iic\ have been born eleven children : Catherine, inary, in Montreal. Canada, and completed a 
 
 Mary, John, Martha, Amur. Nellie, one thai course of five and a half years In gradual o 
 
 died in infanev. Jamie. N'ina, Alcina and Joyce, with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. 
 
 The eldest daughter is now lii' 1 wife of Wil- [laving been ordained t" the priesthood, lie 
 
 [jam Mudd, a son of Dr. Mudd of Athens, and spent five years in Si. Gertrude's parish, at 
 
 il,,., reside in thai plan'. Grantforks. and was afterward transferred to 
 
 Mi-. Carnev exercises liis right of franchise Picrson. Bond county, where be erected a 
 
 in support of the men and measures of the bouse of worship, serving as pastor of tin 
 
 I emocracy, and he and Ins famih are mem- church there lor about three months. Be was 
 
 bers of the Catholic church at Athens. They then sent to the Catholic University of ^meri- 
 
 reside upon the farm near thai poinl and Mr. ca and after a two years' course m dogmatic 
 
 ( .- 1 r i m ■ \ has in hi> possession a deed to this theology and canon law. he received In- degree. 
 
 land which was signed by Martin Van Buren He next took charge of St. Mary's parish, at 
 
 on the 1st of Ni.m'HiInt. 1839. Since the old Washington, I >. ('.. serving there for a year 
 
 no stead lias come into his possession he has during the absence of the regular pastor, aftei 
 
 devoted hi- labor toward cultivating and fur- which lie went to Europe. Following a see- 
 
 iher developing the land and every indication ond trip to Europe Cardinal Gibbons offered 
 
 of dern progress is to be seen upon this him a parish in Washington, I >. ('.. bul the 
 
 place, showing thai In- labors have been at- bishop refused to transfer him on accounl of 
 
 tended with cood results. In- connection with the diocese of Alton. Illi- 
 nois, ami he had to obtain permission from 
 Bishop Ryan before he could he released. lb 
 
 was then -cut to Petersburg, where lie arrived 
 
 REV. WILLIAM FUTTERER. ,„, , hl . l6tn of October. 1897, and since that 
 
 Rev. William Futterer. pastor of St. Peter's time he has taken an interest in everything 
 
 Catholic church a1 Petersburg, was born in Mat- pertaining to the upbuilding and progress of 
 
 toon, Coles county, Illinois. In- parents being the town a- well a- the advancement of his 
 
 Charles and Mary (Zeller) Futterer, who emi- church. 
 
 grated to America from Baden. Germany, in Prior to l si;s the spiritual needs of the 
 
 Isl'.i and settled m Coles county upon a farm. Catholics of this locality were met by the church 
 
 which tin' father cultivated lor ?o time and iii Springfield, and by priests who occasionally 
 
 then removed to Matl i. where he engaged visited Petersburg. On the Ith id' May, 1868, 
 
 i' tlv grocery business. He followed thai pur- the firsl resident pastor took chargi tin Re 1 
 
 until some time in the '70s, when be re- William Cluse, the present dear genera 
 tired from active business life. lie was a the Belleville diocese. He was succeeded by 
 cooper by trade but gave hi- attention to other father Theodore Wegmann, in 1872, and lie in 
 business interests in the now world, and ac- turn by Rev. August J. Saner in 1873. Then 
 red a substantial competence. In In- fam- came Bernard W. Ahne in L877. followed by 
 ily were two children, the elder being Lena. Owen O'Hare, and in 1879 Father M. Hogan 
 the widow of ||,'iir\ Ritter ami a residenl ol' became pastor, lie died January I'.'. 188-t, 
 Mattooii. She has five children. ami by requesl In- remains were taken to Mil- 
 Rev. Futterer acquired hi- early education waukee, Wisconsin, for burial. William J. 
 
 i" the parochial and publii -el I- of Man Mm-scher, his successor, remained 1ml a shun 
 
 completing the high school course. He then time, after which lie built a church in \shland, 
 
 worked at cigar manufacturing for a year, when Cass county, ami was folk. we. I In Petersburg, 
 
 deciding to equip himself for tin- work of in 1884, by Rev. B. Haase, who through the 
 
 tbe priesthood he entered Teutopolis St. Jos- careful handling of thi church finances ami
 
 PAST \\l> PRESENT OF UEXARD COUNTY 
 
 his untiring efforts, succeeded in discharging ing the later years of liis life lie engaged in 
 a large church indebtedness in a shorl time buying and selling cattle and liogs. He also 
 and at the end of his pastorate lefl a handsome raised tnany and fed others for the Chicago 
 surplus in the treasury. Father John McGraw market. He was known as a man of honor in 
 nexl had charge of the parish during the ab- all business transactions, never taking advan- 
 sence of Rev. Haase in Europe and until the tage of the necessities of any one in a business 
 present pastor arrived. Under the direction affair. Thus bis name became a synonym for 
 of Father Futterer the work of the church has integrity and his honesty as well as his pros- 
 been promoted along various lines and attend- perity won for him the confidence and respect 
 '■'I with good results, and he has won the re- of all with whom he was associated. While 
 sped and confidence of many people of other I 1 '' was in California in its earl} mining days 
 churches as well as of his own parishioners. his health became somewhal impaired through 
 
 exposure there and lie never recovered his old 
 
 strength, although for many years he continued 
 
 an active factor in agricultural circles. He 
 
 JOHN \Y. SHAVER. was united in marriage in early manhood when 
 
 ej,, ,., ,,„,, , . , ,i i - ii " n ;l Vlsil ln Virginia in 1854, to Miss .lane 
 
 success comes not to the man who nllv waits, 
 
 i, M , , , ,i, , ;i „ e 4.1 i i .i i Ross, of Augusta county, Virginia, a daughter 
 'mi to cue toilers <>l the world, thov who are 
 
 ,,,.,,,,, , , , i ,-v ' „, ., . ef William ami Elizabeth (Reese) Ross. They 
 
 pel sistent, energel ic and diligent. To ibis 
 
 , i, .. i i , , , rvr oi i i i became ibe parents of three children: John 
 
 class belongs John \\ . Shaver and to-day he is . 
 
 ,i ,. ii, . \\ .. Lizzie, who was born September S, 1857, 
 
 tlie eu ner oi extensive landed interests. ba\ ing ' 
 
 ,,:., i,,,,, i„ ii,, ,, ', and i- aovi deceased; and Mary, who was born 
 
 nine hundred and seventy-two acres m Menard 
 
 ii , ' , October 6, 1861, and has also passed away. 
 
 county, lie was born in Sangamon count} at 
 
 ,i i i t i iTi I, ',,- i , ,' - Mr. Shaver emitinned to reside in Menard 
 
 ii id twelve Mile House, March 18, 1856, 
 
 i ■ . , i U--11- n , ,, county until bis death, which occurred Augusl 
 In- parents beyag \\ illiam ami .lane < Ross) 
 
 <i ii- ,• ,i , . ,, 10, 1870, and his remains were interred in the 
 
 onaver. His lather was born m the eastern 
 
 i' !■■ ■ ■ ii i ,.. , , n ,- , ■ Fancy ('reek cemetery, 
 pari oi \ irgima. March 13, 1818, and lived in 
 
 his native state until thirty-five years of age. Jobn W> Snaver "" fl s brought to Menard 
 when he we,,i to Ohio, where he remained ''""" n "'"'" tliree "''"" "' '''■-'' •""' "'''"" ''''"" 
 for several years. In 1850 he made Ins way cated '" ''"' I"' 1 ' 1 "' s, ' ,l "" ls - When nof oc- 
 westward to California and spent about eight ''"I 1 "' 1 with ]u " tcst - book s he worked upon the 
 months in mining i„ the Golden state, meet- farm '"" l ul "'" twelve v, '"' s of a § e "' as en " 
 ing with very gratifying success during thai ablerl "' ,1 " :IS "" lrl ' a> ;lln I|: "" 1 "I"" 1 the 
 period. Tins gave him his first early start in I' 1 '"''' "'' assiste<3 materially in harvest rime 
 life, bin in later years he prospered through ' n " L '" fact - became familiar in all depart- 
 bis farming interests. He returned to Illinois raents ol ' ""' farra labor - Afl '' r llis Other's 
 and after spending a short time in Springfield death '"' mana g ec1 the ll " 11 "' P lacG '"" 1 - su P er " 
 he purchased the Twelve Mile lions,-' and intendin g l1l( ' business interests for bis mother 
 farmed in Sangamon county, making his home l "' has alwa J s devoted his energies to agricul- 
 
 niere for four years. At the end of that I tural I" 11 """- "d has made a success of his 
 
 be sold the propert\ and bough! a farm in town- l3usiness b 3 reason of his close application and 
 
 ship IS north, range I west. Menard county. earnesi Purpose, guided by sound judgment. 
 
 He resided tber lor a long period and was For ;l [m ° l' ,,| ' i '" 1 , "' has engaged in feeding 
 
 recognized as one of the leading and enter- anfl shipping stock. For eight years aider Ins 
 prising business men of tins part of the stale. father's death be continued to operate the old 
 acquiring the greater part of his property in homestead, but later he sold his farm imple- 
 Menard county through bis farming and stock- limits and for the past eleven years he has 
 raising interests. During the period of the engaged in buying, feeding and shipping stock, 
 Civil war he made a speciality of buying horses handling most of the stock senl to the city mar- 
 aud mules, selling again at good profit. Dur- kets from Fancy Prairie. He now has on
 
 P M 
 
 / 
 
 W 
 
 / 
 
 WILLIAM SHAVER.
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNT"* 
 
 537 
 
 hand one hundred and eight head of cattle and 
 about one hundred and fifty head of bogs and 
 the rattle arc now all ready Eor shipment. 
 
 On the 13th of October. L880, Mr. Shave- 
 was united in marriage to Miss Jannette G. 
 Jones, a daughter of David G. and Matilda A. 
 Jones. Her mother was twice married, her 
 maiden name being Cline, while at the time of 
 her marriage to Mr. Jones she was Mrs. Lynch, 
 a widow. Mr. Jones was born December 12, 
 1818, in Louisa county, Virginia, and when 
 thirteen years of age removed to Ross county : , 
 Ohio, where he was reared to manhood. On 
 the 38th of March, 1841, he wedded Miss Sarah 
 Gooding, hj whom he had five children and in 
 April, 1855, he removed to Logan county, 
 Illinois, where he continued to make his home 
 until his death. Eis lirsi wife died May 23, 
 1861, and he afterward wedded Mrs. Matilda 
 Lynch. By their marriage there were two 
 daughters, Jannette G., born July 1, 1863; and 
 Augusta, born Februarj 8, 1866. Mr. Jones 
 carried on fanning and stock-raising for many 
 years and was a representative and reliable 
 business man of his community. Unto John 
 W. and Jannette (Jones) Shaver was born one 
 child, Lilly M., whose birth occurred August 
 9, 3 881, and who is now the wife of Bayless L. 
 Barber, who resides at Cant rail. Illinois. On 
 the 9th of January. 1889, Mr. Shaver was 
 again married, his second union being with 
 Nannie E. Gillespie, a daughter of .lames N. 
 and Mary E. (Tyley) Gillespie, both of whom 
 were natives of Virginia and spent their entire 
 lives there. They became the parents of nine 
 children, all of whom arc yet living, namely: 
 Elizabeth E., who is married and resides in 
 Texas; Mary J., who is married and makes her 
 home in this state; Mrs. Shaver; Men his D., 
 who is married and resides in Illinois; Lutie 
 P., who is married and lives in Iowa; Lucy A.. 
 who is married and makes her home ai Fancy 
 Prairie, Menard county: Edgar D. and William 
 D., both of whom are married and live in 
 Texas; and Frank, also a resident of Texas. 
 The father of these children was a farmer and 
 carpenter and while carrying on agricultural 
 pursuits he also engaged in stock-raising. His 
 religious faith was that of the Methodist church, 
 in which he held membership. He died Janu- 
 
 ary ii, L894, and his wife passed away February 
 20, L885. ]'<\ the second marriage of Mr. 
 Shaver four children have been bom : Jane, 
 
 bom i ictolier -.'I. L889 ; .Mary E., born O i i] 
 
 24, L891 ; Willie I,'.. born June L5, L894 : and 
 Helen Pauline, born August 30, L903. 
 
 Mr. Shaver, who is a Democrat in politics, 
 never sought or desired public office, prefer] a 
 to devote Ins attention lo business affairs. He 
 
 has. however, served as school director for 
 about twenty-seven years and the cause of edu- 
 cation finds in him a warm friend, lie be- 
 longs to Tarn I \ lodge. No. 203, A. F. & A. M., 
 having been made a Mason about twenty years 
 ago, and throughout this time he has exempli- 
 fied in his life the beneficent and helpful spirit 
 of the craft. He attends to some extent and 
 supports the Presbyterian church, of which his 
 wife is a member. His is one of the fine farms 
 of the county, he owning nine hundred and 
 seventy-two acres id' valuable land within the 
 borders of Menard county and one hundred 
 and sixty acres m Logan county. He has upon 
 his [dace the finest walnut grove in the state of 
 Illinois. Modern equipments and accessories 
 there indicate his progressive spirit and also 
 the success that has attended his efforts and he 
 stands to-day among the reliable buiness men, 
 respected and admired for what he has ac- 
 complished and also for the honorable methods 
 that he has followed in winning his prosperity. 
 
 RICHARD GATES SPEARS. 
 
 Richard Gates Spears, engaged in the ope- 
 rating of two hundred and seventy-five acres 
 of land, on which he carries on general farm- 
 ing and stock-raising, was born October 30, 
 1869, a son of G. C. and Elizabeth Frances 
 Spears, who are represented elsewhere in this 
 volume. He was reared on the old homestead 
 about a mile and a half northwesi of Tallula, 
 and he pursued his education in the district 
 schools and in Tallula. In the months of va 
 cation he assisted his father in the operation 
 "t' the home farm and after he had finished 
 education he began farming on his own 
 account upon his grandfather's farm, northeast 
 of Tallula. When his father removed to his
 
 '- 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 preseiil farm Richard G. Spears also took up 
 his abode upon the farm which is now bis 
 borne and conducted the place until Ins father 
 removed to the town. 
 
 A1m.ui thai nine Richard (I. Spears was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Y. Washburn, a daughter 
 of George 0. and Ann Elizabeth (Burns) Wash- 
 burn, the former a native of Vermont and the 
 latter of Virginia, while both were of English 
 and Scotch descent. Mr. Washburn was a 
 farmer and school teacher. Ee removed to 
 Saline county, Missouri, and not only beeame 
 active and prominent in connection with its 
 educational and agricultural interests, but also 
 became a recognized leader in public thought 
 and action and at one time served as county 
 judge of Saline enmity. He was born March 
 19, 1827, and is still living in Marshall. Mis- 
 souri, at the advanced age of seventy-seven 
 years, while his wife was horn December 3, 
 1827, and also yei survives. Their daughter 
 Mrs. Spears was horn in Saline county. Mis- 
 souri, and is the fourth in a family of six 
 children, the others being as follows: William, 
 a farmer living near Blackburn, Missouri, mar- 
 ried Flora Strader and lias four son-. Eliza- 
 beth is the wife of Dr. Joseph W. Campbell, 
 formerly of Neodosha, Kansas, and is now liv- 
 ing with her father. Rev. <i. L. Washburn is 
 pastor of the Presbyterian church in Washing- 
 ton, Missouri, and married Miss Mary Barron. 
 by whom he has two sons. He was educated 
 at home i.\ a governess and in a Presbyterian 
 school, and was married November 1. 1894. 
 Albert L.. living on a farm near Blackburn, 
 Missouri, married Miss Mattie Owens and has 
 
 thr laughter- and one son. Laura Burns 
 
 Washburn is at home in Marshall, Missouri. 
 
 Sue-,' In- marriage Mr. Spears has contin- 
 uously engaged in farming ami stock-raising 
 and operates two hundred and seventy-five acres 
 ,,f land, whii h lie ha- placed under a high state 
 ,.f cultivation. He also raise- and sells st nc k 
 and both branches of his business are proving 
 profitable. Mr. and Mr-. Spears have no chil- 
 dren of their own hut have adopted a pretty 
 litil girl of six years, Bertha Grady, who is 
 now attending school. He is a Republican, bui 
 aside from exercising his right of franchise 
 taki'S little interest in polities, lie belongs to 
 
 tin' Baptist church, while his wife is a mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian church, and in the < i- 
 
 munity where they reside the} have made many 
 warm friends through the possession of sterling 
 traits of character. He has never divided his 
 business energies over many lines, but has con- 
 centrate,! bis efforts in one field of activity with 
 the result that he has prospered and is now 
 classed with the substantial agriculturists of 
 the community. 
 
 I! I ( 'HARD B. RUTH. 
 
 Richard B. Ruth, publisher and proprietor 
 of the Petersburg Observer and also owner of 
 two other paper-, making three out of the five 
 papers published in Menard county, lias 
 throughout his entire business career been con- 
 neeted with journalistic interests, working his 
 way upward by consecutive stages from the 
 humblest position in the office to that of editor 
 and owner. Born in Mason City, Mason coun- 
 ty. Illinois. August 1'.'. 1867, he is a son of 
 Frank B. Ruth, who was horn in Doylestown, 
 Pennsylvania, November 2, 1831, of Pennsyl- 
 vania-German parentage, and married Margaret 
 R. Bell, a daughter of dames C. and Ellen Bell. 
 Mrs. Ruth, now living at Aurora. Illinois, was 
 horn October I. 1843, at Bell's Mills, Ohio— 
 a small town named in honor of the brothers. 
 Peter, Dawson, .lames and Joseph Bell, who 
 in the early days of Ohio were the leading 
 business men of that little business center. 
 The name of the place has since been changed 
 to Beach City. 
 
 At the usual age Richard B. Ruth began 
 in- education in the schools of Mason City. 
 where he continued his studies until sixteen 
 years of age and then put aside his text-books 
 in order to learn the printer's trade and assist 
 in the -upport of his widowed mother, one 
 brother and five sisters. He entered the office 
 of the Mason City Independent as as appren- 
 tice, in August, 1883, and worked at his trade 
 for three years there. In the spring of 1888 
 he entered upon hi.- first independent newspaper 
 venture, becoming the publisher of the Mason 
 County Record, the only Republican news- 
 paper in the eastern part of Mason county.
 
 PAST A\H PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 539 
 
 This be continued until August, 1890, when 
 it was consolidated with the Mason Cit] In- 
 dependent under the firm name of Ruth & 
 Roach. Thus seven years after entering the 
 newspaper field Mr. Ruth became one of the 
 proprietors of the paper on which he had 
 served his apprenticeship. 1 1 < ■ continued tins 
 connection for twenty months, when he sold 
 nut in his partner, S. 11. Roach, and in April. 
 1892, be purchased the Mason City Banner, 
 continuing its publication until November 1, 
 L902, when he sold the paper and plant to 
 Warren Mil lev, its present owner. 
 
 Removing to Petersburg, November 1"'. 
 1902, he look possession of the Petersburg 
 Observer, the onlj Republican paper in Menard 
 county, and has -mho been identified with jour- 
 nalism in this county as its editor and pro- 
 prietor. He has since extended the field of 
 his labor.- by becoming the owner of the Ath- 
 ens Free-Press and the Tallula Record, three 
 ot the five Menard countj papers, and through 
 the columns of these journals he lias contrib- 
 i in substantial measure to man} measures 
 and movements of benefit to the general pub- 
 lic, using his influence to further every good 
 cause. His offices are well equipped and he 
 keep- abreasl with modern progress in the 
 newspaper field. 
 
 (in the -.',] of October, 1886, at Peoria, Mr. 
 Ruth was married to Miss Julia Ann Woll, 
 a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Woll. 
 of San Jose, Illinois. They have two sons, 
 Harrison Harreld Ruth, horn June IT 1888 
 
 tin 1 week iii which Benjamin Harrison re- 
 ceived tile no initial ion for president from the 
 Republican national convention, hence In.- firs! 
 name. It was in the same week that the father 
 brought out the first issue of his first news- 
 paper and hence the name of Harreld was 
 also given to the little son. The second son, 
 Thomas M. Ruth, was horn November ".'. L899 
 'riii' parents are members ot the First Presby- 
 terian churcdi id' Petersburg and Mr. Ruth be- 
 ongs to Wil fred lodge, No. 2 L3, K. 1'.. of 
 Mason City, which he joined in November, 
 ISif.'. lie has alwa\- -upported the Republi- 
 can party and ha- as a private citizen exerted 
 a strong influence in its behalf in central Illi- 
 nois. In 1904 In wa- appointed by Governor 
 
 Richard Yates press representative of the llli- 
 nois commission of the Louisiana Purchase 
 Exposition in St. Louis. Strong and com 
 mendable purpose ami unfaltering diligence 
 as shown through the anahzation of hi> char- 
 acter and life work, have keen the salient fea- 
 tures in the success he has achieved. With- 
 out advantageous circumstances or inheritance 
 to assist him. he has steadih advanced in 
 those walk- of life demanding intellectuality, 
 business ability and fidelity, and today com- 
 mands the respect and esteem not only of his 
 immediate community, hut of all who know 
 him throughout the state. 
 
 WILLIAM WATKINS. 
 William Watkins. now deceased, was one of 
 the most progressive farmers of Menard coun- 
 ty, quick to adopt new methods and utilize now 
 improvements in carrying on Ins chosen life 
 work, lie was horn m Lnilr Grove, Septem- 
 ber 15, 1821, and at the time of bis death, 
 which occurred duly 9, 1882, was the eldest 
 native son of the county. Hi- parents were 
 Joseph ami Nancy (Greene) Watkins, who 
 had established their home here when this re- 
 gion was being first opened up to the ink . i 
 of civilization. He was reared under the pa- 
 rental roof ami attended school for only a 
 short time, his educational privileges being 
 extremely limited. Hi- training at farm 
 labor, however, was nol meager, for as soon 
 as old enough to handle the plow be 
 began work in the fields and -non becami 
 familiar with the various duties which con- 
 -i it ute the life work of i he agriculturist. 1 1" 
 began farming mi bis own account on a i ract 
 of eighty acres of land, constituting a park 
 of the farm now occupied by his family. 
 This hail been given him by his father. He 
 was married in 1846 to Mi— Sarah Armstrong, 
 a daughter of II ugh and Frances i < ! reene i 
 Armstrong, who wen- early residents of tin 
 county. Her father wa.- a half-brother of 
 Bowling Greene, with whom Abraham Lincoln 
 at one time boarded and who was one of the 
 first white settlers to locate in Menard coun- 
 ty. Mrs. Watkins was born November 2d, 
 1S2T at the Armstrong home about three miles
 
 540 
 
 PAST A.ND PRESENT 01 MENAED COUNTY 
 
 south of Petersburg, this property being now 
 owned by G. W. Welch and occupied by Gaines 
 Welch. She pursued her education in an old 
 schoolhouse which stood on the east side 
 a little stream that ran past her father's 
 place She was trained to the duties of the 
 household and had good practical ideas of 
 housekeeping when she went as a bride to her 
 husband's home. They became the parents of 
 fifteen children: Elizabeth, who married Will 
 Covington, a farmer living in Oklahoma, by 
 whom she has five children; Caroline, the wife 
 of John Armstrong, a grain hover and dealer 
 in agricultural implements at Oakford, by whom 
 has three daughters; Elijah, who died when 
 two years of age: Kate, the wife of Elijah 
 Thomas, a resident farmer living in Oakford, 
 by whom she has two sons; Laura, the wife of 
 Thomas Stith, a farmer residing a mile east 
 of the Watkins farm, by whom she has one 
 daughter: Charlie, living on the old home 
 place ; Mollie, the wife of George K. Ray, who 
 is farming east of the Watkins property; 
 George, who married Etta Shurtz. by whom he 
 has one daughter and is a farmer living on the 
 Watkins homestead: Hugh, a farmer of Oak- 
 ford, who married Annie Mettling and has one 
 daughter : Etta, who married E. C. Stith, a 
 farmer, a half mile west of the Watkins home, 
 by whom she has four children; Willie, who 
 died when but two years of age; and four chil- 
 dren who died unnamed. 
 
 Throughout his entire life William Watkins 
 carried on general farming and as his financial 
 resources increased he made judicious invest- 
 ments in property and became the owner of a 
 valuable tract of land of four hundred acres, 
 which since his death has been divided among 
 his children. He always raised stock and fed 
 the first steer thai was ever fed on the Sand- 
 lle also had the first sausage mill in 
 this locality and as pioneer conditions gave 
 way before the improvement and advancement 
 of civilization he was always among the lir-i 
 take up with new ideas and methods which 
 
 ed to 1 f practical value. He always 
 
 used horses in fanning his land, although many 
 
 of his di ■ had os teams in the early 
 
 days. Bis wife had the first sewing machine 
 
 ised on the Sandridge, but prior 
 
 to that time she had used a spinning wheel, 
 spinning the yarn and weaving the cloth to 
 make the family garments. This old w I 
 an heirloom of pioneer times, was destroyed 
 when the house was burned. They also had 
 the first lamp used in this part of the county, 
 it superseding the old tallow candle-. Mr. 
 Watkins ever led the advance in progress and 
 his prosperity was well merited for he was 
 ever honorable and straightforward in his deal- 
 ings. He died July 9, 1S82, and his remains 
 were interred in the Petersburg cemetery. 
 Thus passed away one of the most honored, 
 respected and worthy pioneer residents of the 
 county, but he is yet held in loving remem- 
 brance by those who knew him. His widow 
 still resides upon the old homestead and 
 throughout the county she has a wide circle of 
 friends. 
 
 ELISHA G. SPEAE. 
 
 Elisha G. Spear, who is engaged in the livery 
 business in Greenview, and is serving as alder- 
 man of the city, was horn in Menard county. 
 January 28, 1876. He is a representative of 
 "lie of the old pioneer families of this part of 
 the state. His father. George Spear, a farmer 
 and stock-raiser who lived on section 20, town- 
 ship 19, was horn in Vermont, October 6. 1S36. 
 and was the third in a family of seven children 
 horn unto Elisha and Lucretia (Walker) Spear. 
 wdio came to this state in the fall of 1S38, and 
 were therefore early settlers of the county. 
 George Spear was then but two years of ago 
 and upon the' old family homestead he was 
 reared and has resided thereon throughout his 
 entire life. In his youth he aided in the ardu- 
 ous task of developing a new farm and in later 
 
 ears lie has carried on agricultural pursuits 
 along tin- must progressive lines, using tin" 1 
 latesl improved machinery and equipping his 
 
 ilai e with modern accessories. 
 
 On the 6th of October, 1870, George Spear 
 was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Daw- 
 son, who was horn in Indiana, in Ocb 
 1841. They became the parents of three chil- 
 dren: Flora, who was born August 2. 1871 
 Elsa, born January ?f». IS??!: and Elisha G.
 
 PAST A\H PKESENT OF VIENAKD COUNTY 
 
 5 1 1 
 
 After his marriage the father continued farm- 
 ing mi the old home place and was the owner 
 of a valuable trad of land of five hundred and 
 ten acres. Ee was ver] successful in ln> chosen 
 Life work and because of his unremitting dili- 
 gence became the possessor of a very fine prop- 
 erty. He died April 21, L900, and the mother 
 passed away January 28, L881 . 
 
 Elisha G. Spear began his education in the 
 districl schools of Menard county and after- 
 ward continued his education in Greenview. 
 (in putting aside his text-books he returned to 
 the home farm, bul in 1898 took up his abode 
 in Greenview, where he turned ins attention 
 to the butchering business. A year later, how- 
 ever, he sold his meat market and began buying 
 and selling horses. He is also conducting a 
 Liver} stable and both branches of his business 
 are proving remunerative. He is an enterpris- 
 ing young business man. reliable in his methods, 
 and his efforts to please his patrons haw se- 
 cured to him a growing business. 
 
 On the Loth of March, L898, Mr. Spear was 
 united in marriage to Miss Martha A. Caddie. 
 a daughter of Andrew Caddie. They have 
 three children: Harold E., Elisha G. and 
 Howard F. Mrs. Spear is a member of the 
 Presbyterian church and Like her husband is 
 widely and favorabhj known in Greenview. 
 Mr. Spear is a stanch Democral in his political 
 dews and is now serving as a member of the 
 city council, where he is giving practical dem- 
 onstration of his interest in the welfare and 
 substantia] improvement of the city by his sup- 
 port of every aldermanic measure which he be- 
 lieves will contribute to the general welfare. 
 
 AI.VIX WAT KINS. 
 
 Alvin Watkins, now deceased, was a fanner 
 of Menard county, whose Life was upright and 
 hi norable and won him the respect and confi- 
 rm ni of his fellow men. He was born in this 
 county, February IT. 1829, when it was still 
 a frontier region, the work of improvement 
 and progress being scarcely begun. His pa- 
 rents were Joseph and Nancy (Greene) Wat- 
 kins, the latter a daughter of George Greene. 
 Joseph Watkins settled in Little Grove, Me- 
 
 nard county, at a very earl) day. coming to 
 this state from Green count] . LsLentuclo . He 
 was the ow aer of land in Lit! le Grove thai is 
 in ■ w iii possession of Samuel \\ atki us. 
 
 Reared under the parental roof Ah in Wat- 
 kins attended the districl schools and earl) 
 
 beca familiar with farm labor in all of its 
 
 ill partments. He engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits throughout Ins entire life and began 
 farming on his own account in Little Grove. 
 There he resided up to the tune of his mar- 
 riage, which occurred March 22, 1853, Miss 
 Nancy Potter becoming his wife. Her parents 
 were Elijah and Elizabeth (Greene) I "otter. 
 Her father was horn in White county. Illinois, 
 Lehman 24, 1813, and when a little lad of 
 only two or three years was brought to M< uard 
 county, In- parents settling in 1816 upon what 
 L» now the Ivies farm. II is wife was a sister 
 of W. G. Greene and the home farm upon 
 which Airs. Watkins resides was the old home- 
 stead of William Greene. Bowling Greene, 
 with whom Abraham Lincoln at one time hoard- 
 ed, was Mrs. Watkins' step-grandfather. He 
 was anion- the oldest settlers of the county. 
 The Greene family was established in this part 
 of the state at a very early period in its de- 
 velopment and they were among the most prom- 
 inent and prosperous people of the locality. 
 Her grandfather entered a large amount of 
 land and her father was the owner of nearly 
 one thousand acres at the time of his death. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Potter had three children: 
 Nancy, horn in this county. December 20, 
 1834; Louisa, who was horn dune 11, 1837, 
 and is the widow of Greene 1'urvines. now 
 living in Pleasant Plains, Sangamon county, 
 with her three children: Joseph W. Potter, who 
 did before he had completed his first year. 
 Mrs. Watkins pursued her education in the 
 district and select schools and remained in 
 her parents' home until her marriage. 
 
 Onto Mr. and Mrs. Watkins were horn eight 
 children: Mary E. became the wife of Byron 
 P. Henderson and is now a widow living in 
 Petersburg. She has three children living. 
 Gaines, who resides on the home farm, wedded 
 Emma Swartz and they have eight children 
 living and have lost. one. He conducts the 
 old homestead property covering six hundred
 
 2 
 
 PAST \NH PEESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 res. Alice A. married Thomas Armstrong 
 and both an- now deceased. Tin-} left six 
 children, one of whom has passed away. Min- 
 erva Jane is the wile of W. ('. Roe, a resident 
 of Nevada. Missouri, and they have two chil- 
 dren. Joseph Elijah died at the age of nine- 
 teen years. John Brahm married Myra Hodg- 
 son, a resident of Fort Madison, Iowa, and 
 they have tour children. Beverly Seott, now 
 deceased, married Bolletta Metzker in Alabama 
 and his widow resides in Mobile, that state. 
 Greeneberry died at the age of thirteen years. 
 
 Mr. Watkins followed farming in order to 
 provide for his family, but in 1871 his death 
 occurred. He was a Democrat in his political 
 views and he lived a quiet, uneventful but use- 
 ful and honorable life, so that he left to his 
 family an untarnished name. Mrs. Watkins 
 was left, with the care of eight children when 
 the youngesl was only eight months old. She 
 always kept the family together and provided 
 her children with excellent educational privi- 
 leges. Alice and Mary were students at Beth- 
 any, Pennsylvania, ami Minerva at Jackson- 
 ville, Illinois, while Brahm was a. student in 
 Eureka ('..lie-eat Eureka, Illinois. Mr-. Wat- 
 kins has certainly done a mother's full part 
 by her children, counting no sacrifice too great 
 on her part if it would enhance the happiness 
 or promote the welfare of her children, and 
 she has lived to see them become useful and 
 respected members of society. Like her all 
 hold membership in the Christian church and 
 the highest .-teem is given them by their 
 friends and neighbors. Mrs. Watkins is one 
 of the older native citizens of Menard county 
 and its history is familiar to her through the 
 peri... I of three score years and ten. so that 
 she can relate many interesting incidents con- 
 ci rning the development of the county and 
 ts which have marked its progress. 
 
 JONATHAN C. LLOYD. 
 
 J. nathan < '. Lloyd has for fi.fi y-one years 
 been a resident of Menard county and his name 
 should therefore be enduringly inscribed upon 
 the recur. I- concerning the piom er setl lers of 
 this portion of th< state. He has been an in- 
 
 -le.l witness of what has been accomplish, 
 as thi years have gone by and has borne his 
 
 full share in the work of general devel 
 
 and progress along substantial lines. His birth 
 irred in thi village of Waynesville, Warren 
 county, Ohio, his parents being John and 
 Martha i < h ne) Lloyd, both of whom were na- 
 tives of Burlington county. New Jersey. They 
 were married about eighty years ago in the 
 state of their nativity and about ten years aft 
 ward removed to Ohio. The father had bi 
 previously married, his first wife having been 
 a Miss Doran, of New Jersey. There v. 
 two sons by that union: Thomas, who died in 
 the early '50s; and Franklin, who served for 
 three years in the Union army during the Civil 
 war and died soon after his return home from 
 heart trouble. He left a widow and three son-. 
 but his willow has since died. For his second 
 wife John Lloyd chose Martha Civile, a daugh- 
 ter of Job Clyne, and they became the parents 
 of four sons and three daughter-: Benjamin 
 F.. who died in December. 1850; Mrs. Sarah J. 
 Met 'ay. a resident of Nebraska; Martha E., 
 who died in I-": Anna M., the widow of Dr. 
 N. H. Martin and a resident of the state of 
 Washington; Jonathan ('.. of this review: Mrs. 
 Mary L. Young, a resideni of Man-field. Illi- 
 nois: and Alfred 1L, who died December -. 
 1903. In early life the mother was a mem 
 of the Society of Friends or Quaker-, but after- 
 ward became identified with the Methodist 
 church. 
 
 In his boyhood days Jonathan C. Lloyd at- 
 tended the public schools as opportunity afford- 
 ed, but his educational and other advanta 
 were somewhat meager, owing to the frontier 
 conditions amid which he was reared. He 
 came from Ohio with bis parents in 1853 and 
 lived upon his father's farm until after the in- 
 auguration of the Civil war. when, prompted 
 by a spirit of patriotism, he enlisted on the 
 9th of Ugust, 1862, as a defender of the 
 Union, becoming a member of the Seventy- 
 third Illinois Infantry, which was known as 
 the Methodist ministers' regiment, there being 
 twenty-six ministers of that denomination who 
 responded to the roll call. Colonel J. F. Jaqu. - 
 was in command and the regiment went from 
 Springfield to Louisville. Kentucky, and with
 
 PAST AM' PRESENT OF MENARD CO! \TY 
 
 other troops proceeded to Cincinnati, Ohio, to 
 guard that city. Later an order came to return 
 to Louisville ami afterward the regiment par- 
 ticipated in tlic battle of Perryville, Kentucky, 
 thence went to Nashville, Tennessee, and was in 
 the battle of Murfreesboro and at Stone River. 
 Thousands of lives were lost in the last named 
 engagement and there were main wounded 
 Mr. Lloyd was in all of these engagements, 
 also in the battle of Chickamauga and in many 
 skirmishes. Ee was wounded in a skirmish 
 near Resaca, Georgia, and was taken to the 
 hospital at Nashville, where he remained for 
 three months before lie was able to rejoin his 
 command. He afterward took part in the 
 battle of Franklin. Tennessee, and on the loth 
 and 16th of December, 1864, was engaged in 
 hard fighting in and around Nashville. His 
 
 regi m was in eighteen battles and skirmishes 
 
 altogether during the terms of his service and 
 he n '- continuous!} with his command save for 
 the three months when disability compelled 
 him to remain in the hospital. He was hon- 
 orably discharged at ('amp Butler, near 
 Springfield, Illinois, dime 12, 1865, having 
 done his full duty as a soldier, after which he 
 returned to Menard county. 
 
 Mr. Lloyd has since been engaged in general 
 Earming and stock-raising, devoting his entire 
 life to the pursuit to which he was reared. He 
 makes his home in township 10. where he has 
 one hundred and seventy acres of land and his 
 labors have been discerningly directed to the 
 further improvement and development of his 
 farm, which is now a very excellent property. 
 
 On the 22d of January, 1879, Mr. Lloyd 
 was married I" Miss Elizabeth A. Austill, a 
 daughter of Solomon and Margaret (Botkinl 
 Austill. in whose family were nine children: 
 Rebecca, born in 1852; John W„ who was 
 born in L854, and died in infancy: Solomon, 
 who was horn in 18.111 and died in childhood: 
 Mrs. Lloyd, horn March 11. L858; Benjamin 
 F., who was born December 1'.'. 1859, and died 
 May -'i. L900 ; Sarah A., born November 1 !. 
 1861 : Mary A., horn October 11. 1864 ; <■ 
 H., who was I'"''! July 15, 1865, ami died in 
 September, L896; and Margaret A., born Au- 
 gust 25. 1868. The parents lane also passed 
 awav. the father's death having occurred S'ep- 
 
 tember 1 I. 1897, while bis w ifc da d May ■">! . 
 L898. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd have five living chil 
 die : Frank A., born October 2, L879; Charles 
 L., hem on the L6th of April, LS81 ; Margaret 
 P., horn February 9, L883; John A., who was 
 born \la\ 1 6, 1 886 : and Florem n I., who 
 horn November L5, L889, and completes the 
 family. The parents are members of the Pres- 
 byterian church ami arc earnest Christian peo 
 pie, deeph and actively interested in various 
 departments of the church work. In his po 
 litical allegiance Mr. Lloyd i- a stanch Repub- 
 lican and lias served a- school director four- 
 teen years, the cause of education finding in 
 li i in a warm friend. lie is true to all duties 
 of citizenship, being as loyal to his country 
 and her welfare in tune- of peace as he was 
 when in the blue uniform id' the I'nion he 
 followed tin 1 old flag upon southern battle- 
 fields. 
 
 JAMES WILLIAM CHEANEY. 
 
 James W. Cheaney, deceased, was one of 
 the representative ami honored men of Menard 
 county, connected with many lines id' activ- 
 ity ami enthusing his progressive spirit into 
 the measures which have resulted greatly to 
 the benefit of town and county. In political, 
 business and social circles he bore an unassail- 
 able reputation in the community where he 
 made his home, and his death was therefore 
 the occasion of deep and sua ere regret among 
 his many friends. 
 
 Mr. Cheaney became a resident of Menard 
 county in 1855. His birth occurred in Flem- 
 ing county, Kentucky, February i. L830, his 
 parents being Edward and Sarah t Neal i I a 
 ney. The father was a farmer and miller, fol- 
 lowing the two pursuits in Kentucky. The son 
 was reared in hi- native slate ami educated 
 
 in (he public -el Is. A tier la\ tng aside his 
 
 text -hook- he worked on the farm for a time. 
 He seemed to have imbibed his lather'- knowl- 
 edge of carpentn ami was a natural mechanic 
 ami builder. Having become tired of farm 
 work, one day while plowing he took the har- 
 ness oil' the horse and returning to the hoxise
 
 54 I 
 
 PAST AND lT.'KSKNT <)F \IK\AK1> < olNTY 
 
 In told il"' family that he could stand it no 
 ager, as 11 was too slow for him there. He 
 therj went to Frankfort, Kentucky, where he 
 hired ou1 to a carpenter at full pay as a jour- 
 niaii. his employer never knowing that he 
 was not an expert carpenter, so skillful was 
 In in handling tools. After a short time spent 
 .-il thai place he went to Louisville, Kentucky, 
 where he remained two or three years, and 
 later speni sometime in Fori Smith, Arkansas, 
 but while there ins health failed. In 1855 he 
 came to Petersburg, Illinois, and as a contrac- 
 tor and builder formed a partnership with 
 Messrs. Quinn and Anderson. They wore asso- 
 ciated in business for about seven year- or until 
 1862, when Mr. Cheaney turned his attention 
 to the lumber trade, in which lie continued un- 
 til elected to public office. As a lumber mer- 
 chant lie was a member of the firm of Cheaney 
 & Tiee and later Cheaney & llatlield, and 
 upon his withdrawal from the business he sold 
 bis interesl to Ewing Clark. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Cheanej was elected county 
 treasurer and assessor for a term of four years 
 and proved a capable official, discharging the 
 duties in a prompt and efficient manner. On 
 the expiration of his term he retired from office 
 as he had entered it — with the confidence and 
 regard of all. He then went upon the road as 
 a traveling salesman for the Chicago Lumber 
 i ompanj and represented us interests in that 
 way for twenty years. His genial manner, cor- 
 dial disposition, unfailing courtesy and thor- 
 ough understanding of the business made him 
 popular with the many patrons whom he se- 
 CUred for the house, and Ins capability as a 
 salesman made him a trusted and valued em- 
 ploye of the Chicago Lumber Company. About 
 L894 he again engaged in the lumber business 
 -il In- own account in Petersburg in partner- 
 ship with his son Ed under the style of E. S. 
 Cheaney & Company, and in this enterprise he 
 continued up to the time of his death. 
 
 Mr. Cheaney was married February I, 1858, 
 at the old homestead on Rock creek, to Miss 
 3i ah Catherine Houghton, who was horn in 
 Menard county, November 11. 1836. Her 
 father. Elijah Eoughton, removed from Ken- 
 fuck, in Menard county about 1821 and pur- 
 chased a tract of land. He married Catherine 
 
 Merrill, also from Kentucky, and both wen 
 members of old New Jersey families. Mrs. 
 Cheaney's grandfather, Aaron Houghton, was 
 a soldier of the Eevolutionary war and other 
 members of the family served in the Black 
 Hawk war. .Mrs. Cheaney is the youngest in 
 a family of eight children, six of whom were 
 born of the father's first marriage. Unto our 
 subject and his wife were born two sons and 
 a daughter. Edgar S., horn in 1858, married 
 Mi-- Maggie Miller and is engaged in the lum- 
 ber business in Petersburg. Mary Belle, horn 
 in 1860, is the wife of John C. Pyatt, of Jack- 
 sonville, Illinois. Dr. Willam J. Cheaney, horn 
 in 1870, married Lula Ayres, of Athens, and 
 they have three children. Mrs. Cheaney be- 
 longs to the Christian church, is identified with 
 its societies and is also a member of several 
 ladies' clubs. 
 
 Mr. Cheaney was called to his final rest on 
 the 53d of February, 1002, at the age of sev- 
 enty-two years and nineteen days. In his po- 
 litical views he was a stanch Democrat and 
 was ever active in the party, doing all in his 
 power to promote its growth and insure its 
 success. He belonged to Clinton lodge. No. 
 19, A. F. & A. M., also to Salem lodge, No. 
 123, I. (). 0. F., and his funeral services were 
 held under the auspices of the latter organiza- 
 tion. He was likewise a member of the Illinois 
 Lumber Dealers' Association. 
 
 The following is a part of the obituary no- 
 tice read by Elder Groves at the time of his 
 death : 
 
 ''For forty-seven years he has been intimately 
 associated with the growth and welfare of this 
 city, as one of its most intelligent, business 
 men and public spirited citizens. He was ex- 
 act and scrupulous in all of his business deal- 
 ings : his word or promise in any transaction 
 was taken without any hesitation. In bis view 
 the highest citizenship was comprehended in 
 the morality, enterprise and integrity of the 
 people. His style was simple and easy; be 
 employed not many words, but such as had a 
 well understood meaning and were direcl to 
 the point. 
 
 '"Brother Cheaney was by education, instinct 
 and from choice a gentleman; he was well in- 
 formed on topics of public concern, and had
 
 I'AST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTS 
 
 g I 
 
 tin- rare faculty of expressing his views with 
 the logic of directness. I think when we come 
 to a projier estimate of his character and seek 
 after the secrel of bis sympathy and affection 
 we shall find it in the richness and integrity 
 of Ins moral nature, in that sincerity, that 
 transparent honesty, that truthfulness which 
 laid the' basis for everything of goodness to 
 which we do honor today. Ee lived in peace 
 with his neighbors and enjoyed their friend- 
 ship. He never gave up his old-time hospital- 
 ity; his home was free to his friends and even 
 the stranger found a welcome there. He was 
 always genial in his manner, pure in purpose 
 and clear in his opinions. 
 
 •'Brother Cheanej was a public spirited man 
 and the monuments to his enterprise will sur- 
 vive for wars. His gifts to public and reli- 
 gious institutions were frequenl and generous. 
 Hi ■ gave to the churches, to the poor, to public 
 and individual enterprises. He was as unos- 
 tentatious in ins beneficences as he was in 
 person and manners. He was possessed of 
 many if not all the attributes of a Christian, 
 but was not a member of any church; yet. 
 there was a living faith that made him fear 
 no evil in the silent valley. He believed that 
 -.inn. guardian angel would stand by the broken 
 column through death's dark night and raise 
 him up in the eternal morning. 
 
 "No man lias left a better record for honor, 
 integrity and uprightness. He was a kind and 
 obliging neighbor ami a devoted father and 
 husband. Those who have keen his associates 
 for many years say they have ever found him 
 a considerate, kind ami helpful neighbor and 
 friend, careful of their needs in health or sick- 
 ness. Companionship with such a man is a 
 benediction. 
 
 '•There are left to mourn his depart ure the 
 devoted companion of his earthly pilgrimage, 
 two son-, one daughter, eleven grandchildren 
 ami a hosl of friends." 
 
 CORNELIUS JANSSEN. 
 
 Cornelius Janssen, whose name has been 
 anglicized so that he is known as C. S. John- 
 sen in Menanl county, was bom in Stroek- 
 
 hokl, Germany, on the 24th of October, L854. 
 
 He is to-day i oi the leading business men 
 
 of Menanl county, having valuable farming in- 
 terests and at, the same time conducting coal 
 inuiing operations with excellent success. His 
 parents. Frink F. ami Jantze (Junje) Jans- 
 sen, came to America in L865 and landed at 
 \,« ~i ork city on the 8th of November of that 
 year, after which they made their way to Pc- 
 tersburg, Illinois, which was then the terminus 
 of the Chicago & Alton Railroad. In Menard 
 county the father turned his attention to farm- 
 ing ami here reared his family. 
 
 Cornelius Janssen was a youth of eleven 
 years when his parents crossed the Atlantic, 
 lie is truly a self-made man. for at the early 
 age of seven years he began earning his own 
 living and was employed until eleven years of 
 age at herding cows for his board. He re- 
 ceived only rye bread and milk that had been 
 skimmed. The bread was broken into a bowl 
 and milk poured over it. and handed him out 
 of the door of the house In that country the 
 cows are not housed until late in November, at 
 which time the weather was often very cold. 
 .Mr. Janssen would frequently force a cow to 
 rise from the ground where it had been lying 
 and lie would then stand on the spot which 
 had thus keen warmed in order to warm his 
 bare feet, for he had no shoes at. that time. 
 After coming to America Mr. Janssen earned 
 Ins lirst money by carrying water for the men 
 at work on the Chicago & Alton Railroad. 
 Later he worked for the Old North Shaft Com- 
 pany, in which C. B. Fanning was a partner, 
 and during five years of the sixteen years that 
 he followed thai business he had a contract to 
 ilo all the driving for the company. In tins 
 way he gained an intimate and practical knowl- 
 edge of mining. On leaving the employ of that 
 company he removed to his present place of 
 residence, lie owned property in Petersburg, 
 which he traded with Mr. Shipp for the home 
 where he now lives, having here one hundred 
 ami forty acres of good farming land, worth 
 one hundred and fifty dollars per acre. He has 
 placed his fields under a. very high stale of cul- 
 tivation and annually harvests good crops. IF' 
 also has tine stock upon his place, the sale of 
 which brings to him a good financial return.
 
 .-, 1 1 , 
 
 PAST Wl» PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 II,. liki wise has other business interests, having 
 in L902 sunk a coal shaft, called the Janssen 
 \ a coal shaft, from which he sells on an 
 rage of aboul sis hundred inns of coal per 
 month. Ee and his sons superintend and work 
 the mine, Mr. Janssen being a practical miner, 
 having a stale license, such as is required by 
 all managers oi mining property. His son Har- 
 maii has passed the state inspection examina- 
 tion for hoisting engineers, his license being 
 issued at Springfield, June 17, 1904. Mr. 
 Janssen received from J. EL Meyers the money 
 that enabled him to sink his coal shaft and that 
 gentleman also furnished him with all funds 
 necessary to continue the business, and Mr. 
 Janssen gratefully acknowledges his indebted- 
 ness to Mr. Meyers and his deep feeling of 
 gratitude to him. 
 
 On the 17th of October, 1874, occurred the 
 marriage of M;r. Janssen and Miss Helkelina 
 Junker, a daughter of Roelf C. and 
 Ahrends (Von Mark) Junker, both of 
 whom were natives of Germany, whence 
 came to America in July, 1871. 
 The mother died of smallpox nine 
 months after her arrival here. Mr. Junker 
 died in Dawson county. Nebraska, in 1898. 
 Mrs. Janssen was born at Groswolderfeld. Han- 
 over, Germany, December 10, 1853, and by her 
 marriage has become the mother of eleven chil- 
 dren, all sons : Theodore, aged twenty-six year.-, 
 is the eldest; Harman, twenty-four years of 
 agi . 'i,n ing passed the examination of the state 
 board as a mining engineer, is taking charge of 
 the mining interests of the firm of Janssen & 
 Sons; Jerry is nineteen years of age, Willie six- 
 teen years, Cornelius fourteen years and Luther 
 twelve years of age. The other members of the 
 family are deceased. The parents hold mem- 
 lership in the German Lutheran church ami 
 arc prominent and influential people in their 
 community. In his political views Mr. Jans- 
 sen is a stalwarl Republican, but has never had 
 ton, or inclination to seek office, preferring bo 
 give bis entire attention to his business affairs, 
 which are capably conducted. He certainly de- 
 ■ credil for what he has accom- 
 rted out in life with no as- 
 sistam ag< of seven years, and all 
 
 1 as dnce d and enjoyed has 
 
 been obtained through his perseverance and un- 
 tiring labors. He is now one of the substantial 
 citizens of Menard county and well deserves 
 representation in this volume. 
 
 JOHN A. PETRIE. 
 
 Hon. John A. Petrie, formerly representative 
 from his district to the Illinois general assem- 
 bly and now engaged in the insurance and real- 
 estate business in Greenview. was bom near 
 Mount Carmel, Fleming county, Kentucky, 
 February 8, 1856. His father, David A. Petrie, 
 was bom December 21, 1829, near Newport, 
 Herkimer county. New York, and his father 
 was of German and his mother of Irish descent. 
 He went to Fleming county, Kentucky, in 1854, 
 and was there engaged in farming and dairying. 
 He married Hannah C. Lewellin, April 30, 
 1855. She was born in Fleming county, Ken- 
 tucky. March 54, 1835. and was a descendant 
 of John Hart, one of the signers of the Decla- 
 ration of Independence. Leaving Kentucky, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Petrie removed to Illinois, reach- 
 ing Petersburg, Menard county. February 8, 
 1865. They lived on a farm for three years 
 and in March. 1868, removed to Greenview, 
 where the family has since resided, the father 
 being engaged in the lumber business and con- 
 tracting. Unto him and his wife have been 
 horn the following named: John A.; Clarence 
 A., who was born April 21, 1859, and died Jan- 
 uary 3. 1904; Frank H., born June 25, 1861; 
 Lucy G. Hamil, born May 4, 1863 ; Lydia A. 
 Moore, March 21, 1867 ; Phebe A., who was 
 born April 20, 1869, and died September 8, 
 1870; Charles A., who was born December 28. 
 1871, and died July 18, 1872; and Claude, 
 horn September 22, 1873. 
 
 At the usual age John A. Petrie entered the 
 Greenview schools, where he remained as a 
 student until June. 1S72. He became a mem- 
 ber of the freshman class of Lincoln University 
 in September, is;.",, and after a year left 
 school to engage in business with his father 
 in Greenview. This was in the summer of 
 isM. He never returned to school but has al- 
 wa.vs been a student and a great reader and
 
 PAST A.Xh PEESENT OF MENARD C01 NTT 
 
 5 I 7 
 
 keeps posted on the affairs of the day, taking 
 an active part in all that pertains to the prog- 
 ress and welfare of Ins town and state. Al- 
 though born on a farm and there remaining 
 until twelve years of age, he was not interested 
 in farm life and always longed for a business 
 or professional life, and up to the time he was 
 twenty years of age he entertained the idea of 
 studying law and in later years has man] nines 
 expressed the regrel thai he did no1 do so. 
 After coming to Greenview he attended school 
 in the winter seasons and worked on a farm 
 in the summers of 1S69 and 1870. In 1871 he 
 worked with his father and from July, 1872, 
 until September, 1873, he clerked in the hard- 
 ware store of W. S. Morse & Company, receiv- 
 ing a salary of twenty-live dollars per month 
 and thus earning the money which paid his 
 tuition in Lincoln University the following 
 \ear. After leaving school he engaged in busi- 
 ness with his lather under the firm name of 
 I). A. Petrie & Son, in 1874. and continued in 
 the business until January, 1877, when they 
 consolidated their hardware business with that 
 of Frank Frorer, of Lincoln, Illinois, which was 
 then being conducted under the name of Leigh- 
 ton & Company, by E. F. Leighton. The busi- 
 ness was consolidated under the name of Pet- 
 rie & Company. This firm handled grain of all 
 kinds in connection with their hardware and 
 farm machinery and did a large business, which 
 they sold out in 1884 to A. E. Stewart. In 
 1880 John A. Petrie assisted in organizing the 
 Greenview Coal Company and was its first 
 secretary. He was a member of the board of 
 directors for several years, was president of 
 the company for one term and afterward was 
 general superintendent, resigning in 1883, and 
 selling his interest in 1885 to E. F. Crane, of 
 Mount. Sterling. Illinois. In 1886, with several 
 citizens of Greenview, he helped to organize 
 the Menard Coal Company, which began sink- 
 ing the second shaft in Greenview, June 28, 
 1886. He entered the employ of this company 
 as clerk in 1886, was appointed sales agent in 
 18S7, was elected secretary about 1890 and had 
 the active management of the company until 
 January, 1899. ITe is still a director of the 
 company. In the meantime the Greenview 
 Coal Company and the Menard Coal Company 
 
 were consolidated in 1893, under the name of 
 Menard Coal Company, and this was reorgan- 
 ized, in October, 1895, as the Greenview Coal 
 & Mining Company. In March, 1899, Mr. 
 Petrie opened an insurance and real estate of- 
 fice, and is now engaged in that business, en- 
 joying a very satisfactory patronage, being ever 
 mindful of the best interests of his patrons. 
 
 Mr. Petrie has ever worked for the best in- 
 terests of Greenview and never fails to speak 
 a erood word for her business men nor try to 
 promote their welfare as opportunity offers. He 
 has always been closely connected with the 
 business affairs of the village and has been a 
 most earnest, champion of its system of public 
 education. He was elected school director 
 when twenty-two years of age and has been 
 connected with the school hoard, either as mem- 
 ber or president, for the pasi nine years. He 
 has served several times as trustee of the vil- 
 lage, and for the last five years has been village 
 clerk — elected three times without opposition. 
 
 Politically a Democrat, as was bis father. 
 Mr. Petrie, from the time he attained bis ma- 
 jority, has taken an active part in politics and 
 has been solicited many times by his friends 
 to run for office. About two weeks before the 
 primaries were held in 1896 he announced 
 himself as a candidate for assessor and trea 
 urer. lie went into the county convention with 
 the largesl number id' delegates and the larg- 
 est popular vote, but, there being two other 
 candidates— J. II. Clary and Henry Burfiend 
 — the contest was i lose, and after seventy-three 
 ballots wen taken Mr. Clary withdrew from the 
 convention and the nomination of Mr. Petri" 
 was conceded, but three of the Oakford dele- 
 gation failed to follow their instructions and 
 voted for Burfiend, who was nominated hv a 
 half vote. The dissatisfaction caused by the 
 action of the convention resulted in the defeat 
 of a, part of the ticket, and had it not been for 
 the personal work of Mr. Petrie among bis 
 friend- Mr. Burfiend, who was only elected b] 
 a. small majority, would have been defeated. 
 Mr. Petrie next entered the political field in 
 1900, when he became a candidate for member 
 of the forty-second general assembly againsl 
 Hon. 4'. YV. McXeelv. whom he defeated in 
 the counu convention, ami. with the assistance
 
 .-, IN 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 ill Logan and .\lasmi counties, in the senatorial 
 convention held at Havana, Illinois. The can- 
 didate from Cass withdrawing, Mr. Pet- 
 no and Hon. John C. Young, of Ma- 
 son, were nominated for the legislature 
 and Lawrence 1!. Stringer, of Logan, for 
 the senate. The thirty-second senatorial dis- 
 triet was then composed of Logan, Mason, Cass 
 and Menard counties. Mr. Petrie was elected 
 liv a large majority, and in January, 1901, en- 
 tered upon his duties. His record in the forty- 
 second general assembly was a clean, honest, 
 business record, where he was ever on the alert, 
 looking after the best interests of his constitu- 
 ents, working for g I and working and vot- 
 ing against all vicious and unworthy measures, 
 lie was appointed on the following committees: 
 fish and game, insurance, mines and mining, 
 public charities, and roads and bridges. By 
 his courteous treatment and gentlemanly bear- 
 ing he made many friends among Republican 
 as well as Democratic members. During this 
 session of the legislature the gerrymander of 
 the state changed Mr. Petrie's district from 
 the thirty-second to the thirtieth and made a 
 strong Democratic district, composed of Schuy- 
 ler, Brown, Tazewell, Cass, Mason and Menard, 
 and Tazewell having a holdover senator and 
 every county a candidate for representative, the 
 fight for preferment in the forty-third general 
 assembly became a lively and interesting con- 
 test. Mr. Petrie was again a candidate and 
 received the endorsement of his county without 
 opposition, and after a hotly contested fight in 
 the senatorial convention was renominated and 
 again elected to represent his district. In the 
 forty-third assembly hi' became an art ive worker 
 and was appointed on tho committees on rules, 
 insurance, minis and mining, roads and bridges, 
 revenue, appropriations, education, horticul- 
 ture, and public buildings and grounds. 
 Though he never made a speech in the house, 
 In- work in tin' committee rooms and his watch- 
 fulness mi the floor of the house gave him a 
 prestige among the members which surpassed 
 any influence many speeches could have gained, 
 and mi leaving Springfield, at the close of the 
 urn. il was the wish of many members that 
 he would again be returned from his district. 
 Mr. I'ci nc belongs to Greenview Lodge, No. 
 
 653, A. P. & A. M., and lias always been one of 
 
 its most, active and influential members. He 
 has filled till the various stations and served 
 the lodge as master several times. He is a 
 member of De Witt Chapter. No. 119, R. A. M.. 
 and St. Aldemar Commandery, No. 47. K. T.. 
 and has the distinction of having been elected 
 eminent commander of the commandery the 
 next year after being made a Sir Knight. He 
 is also a charter member of tin- Modern Wood- 
 men of America, belonging to Tree Camp. No. 
 178, of Greenview, and the Fraternal Reserve 
 Life Association, No. 48, of Greenview. 
 
 On the 10th of February, 1876, Mr. Petrie 
 was married to Miss Samantha Pierce, who was 
 born September 21, 1856. a daughter of Hon. 
 Hiram L. Pierce, of Logan county, Illinois, 
 now of Indian Territory. The wedding cere- 
 mony was performed at Lincoln, Illinois, by 
 Rev. L. P. Crawford, of the Presbyterian 
 church. They became the parents of two chil- 
 dren: Nina Edith, born November 13, 1876; 
 and Mabel Eva. born January 14, 1879. The 
 former, a graduate of the Greenview high 
 school of the class of 1894. was assistant in the 
 postoffice here and then spent a year in Grand 
 Rapids, Michigan, pursuing a course in kinder- 
 garten work, and for five years prior to 1905 
 she had charge of the primary department of 
 the Greenview schools, and for three years had 
 charge of the kindergarten at Old Salem Chau- 
 tauqua. Mabel Eva, a graduate of the Green- 
 view high school of the class of 1895, was a 
 teacher of a country school in the winter of 
 1899-1900 and until January. 1901, when she 
 resigned. She was married August •>. 
 1901. to Alonzo W. Larison. of Lin- 
 coln. Illinois, where they reside. They have 
 a son. Donald Alonzo, born October 6. 1902. 
 Mrs. Petrie, the mother, died in September, 
 L883, and her remains were interred in Rose 
 Hill cemetery, near Petersburg, Illinois. She 
 was an earnest, devoted Christian, was an active 
 worker in the church, a lady of fine social qual- 
 ities, and was loved and mourned by all who 
 knew Iter. On the 13th of November, 1881, 
 Mr. Petrie married Emily Florence Alkire, 
 daughter of John H. Alkire. of Sweetwater, 
 Illinois. Unto them was born a son. Loyal 
 John Petrie. November 22. 1889. Mrs. petrie
 
 PAST AND 
 
 RESENT OF MENARD COUNTY 
 
 549 
 
 is a laily of sterling qualities, an advocate of 
 the true and right, a disbeliever in the shams 
 and an avowed enemy to the evils in life, and 
 especially to the abuses and frivolities of the 
 social world. She loves her family, and the 
 Loyalty of her son and his rapid progress in 
 his school life and the honors he has won are 
 especially due to her untiring oversight of his 
 life and work. 
 
 Mr. Fetric is a member of the Cumberland 
 Presbyterian church, of which body he has 
 been an elder and officer for several years. He 
 is a regular attendanl at the services of the 
 
 Sunday-school ami church and has taught a 
 rlass for many years, very seldom failing to be 
 present. His wife and three children are also 
 members of the same church. He is strong in 
 Ins convictions of righl and wrong, but liberal 
 in his views and never infringes on the rights 
 of others. Devoted to Ins family, attached to 
 his friends, charitable to his enemies, lie be- 
 lieves in giving every man a fair show in the 
 world. Perhaps no one man in the town has 
 done more to help his fellow men or tried more 
 earnestly to make their burden- less than John 
 A. Petrie.
 
 INDEX 
 
 HISTORICAL 
 
 Introductory ~ 
 
 ikure 9 
 
 Mineral Resources 10 
 
 V' ■ gines 12 
 
 Early Settlements - • 14 
 
 Earl; 1 .xi'i'i iences '.'I 
 
 Trials 22 
 
 The I )eep Snow ] 
 
 The Sudden Change 
 
 11. nl Storm oi L860 27 
 
 ■l . ners and Customs 
 
 ition 33 
 
 i 1:ut ches 38 
 
 Clary's * trove 17 
 
 Sugar i trove 
 
 John Wilkinson i9 
 
 Athens 60 
 
 Sandi idge 6 i 
 
 Rock Creek 70 
 
 [ndian Ci eek 74 
 
 Greenview and Irish Grove 7? 
 
 Old Salem SI 
 
 Ovei street 86 
 
 Tice 87 
 
 Petersbui g and Y'i< initj 
 
 Petersburg, The County Seal ... 96 
 
 1 iffii ers oi VIenard ( ■ >unty 97 
 
 Churches of W enard 99 
 
 S< crel s< icieties , I I 
 
 Banks and Banking 106 
 
 ' i ■ i i ei ies L08 
 
 Steamboats L10 
 
 Railroads m 
 
 Crinn \ie\ rd Count 3 113 
 
 \\ ar I inn s in Menard 117 
 
 War of 1812 L2G 
 
 Mexican War 121 
 
 War .'i tin K. b< llion 122 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL 
 
 Armstrong, Elijah .1 346 
 
 Armstrong, Ryal 
 
 Ayr... F. W 128 
 
 Baker. F. O. R 
 
 Batterton, Richard 511 
 
 Augustus I 1 74 
 
 Be< I. in. .ii. C. 1 328 
 
 Beekman, John T 
 
 ■I-. IMin II 257 
 
 B ' ge K 134 
 
 Blair William 182 
 
 . William J 16« 
 
 I . Frank E I'M 
 
 John I' 
 
 Dr. L. E 520 
 
 Blane, dpi. S. II 140 
 
 in, N. W i"i 
 
 : eld, John F. 401 
 
 ■ rbury, C. F 343 
 
 rail, Charles 117 
 
 ■ v. James J 532 
 
 ■ ney, E. S 300 
 
 i i ney, James W 543 
 
 ey, Di William J 533 
 
 Clary, J. H 110 
 
 1 ioI, Edward E 116 
 
 e, William 517 
 
 Colby, Jonathan 109 
 
 Colson, Joseph I , : 
 
 ' in, Charles P 509 
 
 Couchman, J. C i 
 
 Culver, James E 18] 
 
 Di il, Samuel C 239 
 
 I In-Ill. Daniel it., 
 
 Donaldson, Alexander 213 
 
 Dot tldson, John W 203 
 
 Edwards, J. M 367 
 
 Fichenauer, Henry J 426 
 
 I bulge. Dr. F. P US 
 
 Ensley, William 307 
 
 Finley, .Mr- Rebecca 320 
 
 ister, J. T ■ ■■■ 
 
 Frackelton, David S 148 
 
 Futterer, Rev, William >33 
 
 Gaddie. \iil ... 186 
 
 Gaddie, J. Thomas 503 
 
 Gibbs, George I ; i3 
 
 Gleason. Henry 329 
 
 Godbey, R. B "'■■ 
 
 Goff, I .. K 139 
 
 William 198 
 
 i ,i aliatn, I i. W 327 
 
 Graham, Henrj C 175 
 
 Graham, James R 510 
 
 Grimsley, William R 142 
 
 Grosboll, Jep P 505 
 
 Peti P 
 
 Cum. C. D 420 
 
 i Sum, Jesse V 156 
 
 Hall, Elihu 419 
 
 Hall. John T 192 
 
 Hall, J. X 382 
 
 Harrison, M. II 214 
 
 Hartley A. W 130 
 
 Hatch, G. W !0£ 
 
 ll,.i,li rson, W I' i.i 
 
 Hill, Dr. T. C 152 
 
 Hit, hcock, Mrs. S. I i , - 
 
 Hoi. Hi. Berton \\ 181 
 
 Hornback, Elmer P 453 
 
 Houghton. II. S 210 
 
 Houghton, William II 51S 
 
 Hur.l, A. G l'.M 
 
 Hurie. John S 417 
 
 Janssen, Cornelius 545 
 
 Johnson, Jeff 193 
 
 Johnson, John I'll 
 
 Johnson, Kirby S 190 
 
 Johnson. William E 357 
 
 Jones. McKinl.y 389 
 
 1 \n,lre\v C 162 
 
 Kelly, ,11. John W 195 
 
 Kincaid, A. S 220 
 
 Km, ail. J 11 117 
 
 Kincaid, John K 204 
 
 Kincaid, Lee 
 
 Kincaid, Thomas 326 
 
 Kincaid, W. T 314 
 
 King, I''. A 889 
 
 Marshall J 32] 
 
 Kirby, George, Si !•,:: 
 
 Knoles, S. S 138 
 
 Knowles, W. I > ;54 
 
 I.enz. Otto F 206 
 
 Levering, Henry C 254 
 
 Levering, II. M 3 c'.;j 
 
 Lloyd, J. C 542 
 
 Lockhart, C. IT 1 
 
 Looby, I.. L 21" 
 
 Lownsbery, John I) 524 
 
 Lownsbery. Samuel 407 
 
 Lukins, John R 
 
 tfcDoel, 1 J 
 
 M, ,1,1. C. II 40] 
 
 McDougall, I>r. C. D 1 
 
 Mi K, 1 I mi, - M 366 
 
 McNeely, T. W L61 
 
 Mail. ,,1,1. II. II [51 
 
 M.ulii.1,1. II. J 182 
 
 M, \ , 1 . William 145 
 
 Miles, I anus 
 
 Miles. James S 1 
 
 Miller, Rev. R. I) 
 
 Montgomery, Alexander 19' 
 
 Moulton, Iir. II. P 134 
 
 Ma, I, I, Dr. W. A 
 
 Mun.ly, J. E 
 
 Myers, J. II 536 
 
 Nance, Albert C 
 
 Neely, Mary 269 
 
 Neff. David 296 
 
 \usl.iiiiii. Charles 265
 
 552 
 
 PAST AND PRESENT nV MENAED ( 01 NTl 
 
 IN D EX — Concluded. 
 
 Onken, Reinhard 169 
 
 Ott, Jesse M 
 
 ■ :. R. C 
 
 ' .. Andrew !54 
 
 Pestel, John II 415 
 
 Fohn A 546 
 
 344 
 
 Pillsbury, 1. B 425 
 
 J. E 291 
 
 Pond, T. C 
 
 g, Isaac N (34 
 
 S i ge C 283 
 
 Reed, VV. W. P 340 
 
 Eli 390 
 
 Thomas P 
 
 n A 222 
 
 Riggin; A. K 234 
 
 Roberts, George C 
 
 Rogers. C. T . 
 
 Ruth. K. B 
 
 Rutledge, J. N 477 
 
 rhomas 295 
 
 Senter, James T 490 
 
 ■ . J. W i34 
 
 Shiplc I ei \V 441 
 
 Shipp, Edward 
 
 . J. C 
 
 - ed ey, J. A 
 
 h, Samuel M 241 
 
 5] i . Elisha G 
 
 . Miss Eh I 
 
 G. C 
 
 5pi rs, G. U 
 
 Spears, I >r. G. W. . . 
 
 -. John Q 
 
 s, Richard G. . 
 
 i40 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 205 
 
 266 
 
 537 
 
 rs, Zarel C 170 
 
 r, J. F 
 
 - eer, J. F., Jr 
 
 A. II 
 
 . \V. W 
 
 Li r, Mrs. .Mary J . 
 
 .: -. A. L 
 
 182 
 (97 
 
 : 
 17s 
 492 
 
 l 35 
 
 Taylor, Dr. W. S 22] 
 
 Terhune, C. L <-.-: 
 
 Terhune, Frank A (OS 
 
 Terhune. John \Y 300 
 
 Terry, A. R 520 
 
 Thompson, Aaron (48 
 
 Thompson, Anson !58 
 
 Thompson. Z. A. 319 
 
 Tice, Homer J 144 
 
 Tice, Jerman 242 
 
 Van Enian. George X 64 
 
 Waring. I ;. A % 
 
 Waring. G. G 512 
 
 Watkins. Alviu 541 
 
 Watkins. Elias 
 
 Watkins. Lew is 4fe2 
 
 Watkins. Russell 403 
 
 Watkins. Samuel 
 
 Watkins. William 539 
 
 Welsh. G. B 246 
 
 Wernsing, J. W 
 
 White. John E 209 
 
 Whitley. Dr. James D 316 
 
 Wilkms. Dr. H. E 170 
 
 Williams, )o<- D 454 
 
 Williams, Thomas 352 
 
 Williams. W. II 251 
 
 Willson. J. F 396 
 
 Winterbauer, Gi II 333 
 
 Wood, H. A 1 
 
 Young, Robert A (32 
 
 Young. W. W 359