HISTORY 
 
 AND 
 
 REMINISCENCES 
 
 Old Settlers' Union 
 of Princevilie 
 and Vicinity 
 
 J^EGORDS OF 
 
 1906 
 1907 
 1908 
 1909 
 1910 
 
 VOLLME I
 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
 
 977.352 
 
 Oflh 
 V. 1 
 
 :ilinois Historical Sixrvey
 
 ■-,/■,; ^■■•— »Wx 

 
 tIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITy Of ILLINOId 
 
 URBANA
 
 The Founder of Princeville 
 1797-1887
 
 HISTORY 
 
 AND 
 
 REMINISCENCES 
 
 FROM THB RECORDS OF 
 
 OLD SETTLERS' UNION 
 
 OF PRINCEVILLE 
 
 AND VICINITY 
 
 Material comprised in 
 
 Reports of Committees on History and Reminiscences 
 
 for years 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910 
 
 Published under the auspices of 
 
 Old Settlers' Union of Princeville and Vicinity 
 
 August. 1912 
 
 S. S. SLANE 
 PETER AUTEN 
 
 Publishing Committee
 
 ^-r<].? 
 
 X f1 C 
 
 V. 
 
 THE OLD SETTLERS' UNION OF PRINCEVILLE 
 
 AND VICINITY. 
 
 Organized August 22, 1906, and first picnic held 
 September 19, of same year, in "Log Cabin Grove" of 
 Charles F. Cutter, who had been prime mover in the 
 organization. 
 
 Object, ''To perpetuate the memories of pioneer 
 days, foster a reverence for our forefathers, and 
 encourage the spirit of fellowship and hospitality." 
 
 Annual picnic and reunion last Thursday in August, 
 unless changed by Executive Committee. 
 
 Eligible to membership : Any person 21 years of 
 age, having resided within the State of Illinois one 
 year; dues, $1.00 per year. 
 
 Townships included : Princeville, Akron, Millbrook, 
 Jubilee, Hallock and Radnor in Peoria County; Essex, 
 Valley and West Jersey in Stark County; Truro in 
 Knox County; and La Prairie in Marshall County. 
 
 Committees on History and Reminiscences : 
 
 1906 : S. S. Slane, Mrs. J. E. Merritt, Edward Auten. 
 
 1907 : Edward Auten, Hannah G. Ilutchins, F. B. Blan- 
 chard. 
 
 1908 : Edward Auten, Rose C. Armstrong, H. J. Chees- 
 man. 
 
 1909 : Edward Auten, L. L. Stewart, W. H. Adams. 
 
 1910 : S. S. Slane, W. H. Adams.
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 This book is a reproduction, with a few corrections 
 and additions, of the various sketches as transmitted by 
 the respective Committees to the Union each year, and 
 the sketches are given here in the same order as trans- 
 mitted to the Union, the year of writing being indi- 
 cated on each sketch. 
 
 Each of the Eeminiscence Committees has realized 
 that the families named in its sketches are but a few 
 taken from among the many families worthy the pen 
 of a historian ; and the Publishing Committee likewise 
 realizes that this booklet contains but a part of the 
 families that should be noted. The Committee there- 
 fore hopes that the publication of this volume will be 
 an incentive to the writing of additional family 
 sketches, and bespeaks the preparation of such sketches 
 by families interested, for future Reminiscence Com- 
 mittees, which may in due time be published in another 
 volume similar to this one. 
 
 Besides the copies of this booklet subscribed in 
 advance of publication, the committee has a limited 
 number of copies still on hand for sale at cost : 35 cents 
 per copy postpaid; 30 cents, carriage not prepaid.
 
 DANIEL PRINCE. 
 By Mrs. J. E. Merritt, 1906. 
 
 As near as we have been able to learn, Daniel Prince 
 of Indiana was the first white man to settle at the 
 Grove. He came to this locality in 1821 and started his 
 home on the South side of the grove, on the land now 
 belonging to Mr. S. S. Slane. His cabin was built after 
 the style of Mr. Cutter's, save that it had no glass 
 windows, no upper story, and had a hole in the side 
 for a door. 
 
 Here Mr. Prince lived for many years among the 
 w41d men of the forest with no companion save his 
 faithful Thomas, concerning whom many interesting 
 anecdotes are related. He early made friends with the 
 red men, and when the Black Hawk War broke out in 
 1832, unlike the other early settlers he did not go into 
 the Fort at Peoria, but remained on his farm and was 
 unmolested. 
 
 About the year 1833, becoming tired of his lonely 
 existence, he married Miss Betty Morrow, aunt to our 
 well known fellow citizen, Mr. Hugh Morrow. To them 
 were born three children. 
 
 For several years Mr. Prince and his wife remained 
 here improving their home farm. But as others moved 
 in and the neighborhood began to assume a more civi- 
 lized aspect, a restless longing for the pioneer life he 
 so loved, impelled him in 1839 to move to Southwestern 
 Missouri, a country which at that time was the wild, 
 unimproved West. And here I am sorry to say, we lose 
 track of him, none of his descendants having lived in 
 this part of the country for any length of time. One 
 of his sons, I am told, visited with his relatives, the 
 Morrow's, a few years ago. 
 
 Many interesting and amusing stories are told by 
 the old settlers who were acquainted with this eccentric, 
 but benevolent man. Hospitality was the first law of
 
 6 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 his life. Soon after settling here he began to raise a 
 nursery. When he set out his own orchard, he planted 
 a row of trees all along the South and West sides of his 
 farm which were free for all. Travelers were invited 
 to help themselves. All from far and near were wel- 
 come to the apples as long as they lasted. The first 
 apple sauce the writer ever remembers of eating, was 
 made from apples growm on these trees. It was mighty 
 nice, too. 
 
 At one time before he had any white neighbors, 
 Mr. Prince was bitten by a rattle snake. There w^as 
 no one to do anything for him. He rapidly grew worse. 
 The thought of dying alone where prowling w^olves 
 would come in and devour his body, leaving nothing to 
 tell the story of his tragic fate, was not a pleasant one. 
 He determined, while strength was still left him to do 
 so, to climb up on the roof of his cabin, out of the reach 
 of wolves and where some chance explorer or friendly 
 Indian seeing his body w^ould give him a decent burial. 
 After climbing on top of the cabin, he found that 
 elevating his foot relieved his pain. Thus he remained 
 until some passing Indians, seeing their white friend 
 in this peculiar position, stopped to make inquiries. On 
 learning the facts they took him down, applied the 
 remedies they used for snake bites and Mr. Prince soon 
 recovered. 
 
 Mr. Prince raised large numbers of cattle and hogs 
 on his farm. One day, at a time when he had about 
 100 yoke of oxen, a gentleman stopped at the cabin 
 and wished to buy four yoke. Mr. Prince replied that 
 he had none to sell. ''I will give $500.00 for four yoke 
 of oxen." "I told you I had none to sell," returned 
 Mr. Prince, and the man was compelled to look else- 
 where for cattle. Soon after Mr. Prince learned that 
 a family in the neighborhood was short of provision. 
 He immediately selected a good beef from his herd, 
 butchered it and bountifully supplied the suffering 
 family with food. It was his habit, say his early asso- 
 ciates, to supply the poor in the vicinity with beef and 
 pork. An old settler who was personally acquainted
 
 DANIEL PRINCE 7 
 
 with, and a near neighbor of Daniel Prince, told me 
 that he was as kind and good a neighbor as one could 
 wish for, and that no man in early days had done more 
 for the people of this place than did he. 
 
 While making no profession of religion himself, 
 Mr. Prince always allowed his wife to throw out the 
 latch string to any minister who came along, and open 
 their cabin for religious services. Not long since I 
 heard an account of one of these early meetings held 
 at the Prince home. The house w^as at that time a 
 double log with entry, a large fire place in one end, 
 a bed in the other. In the open space at the foot of the 
 bed, stood the preacher, the congregation occupying 
 the remaining space between bed and fire. 
 
 In the midst of the discourse when the minister had 
 waxed eloquent, the cloth drapery over the door was 
 pushed aside and Mr. Prince, who had been detained 
 looking after his stock which he never neglected, 
 entered, clad in buckskin clothes, quietly warmed him- 
 self by the fire, for it was cold, then gently rose up, 
 went to the bed, turned the covers back and jumped 
 in, buckskins and all, and covered himself up. The 
 minister, unheeding the interruption, w^ent on with his 
 sermon. When he had closed the meeting the neighbors 
 returned to their homes, glad to have had the privilege 
 of listening to a gospel sermon, and thanking Mr. Prince 
 for his hospitality, if he did think he could enjoy the 
 sermon better resting in bed. Much more of interest 
 might be told concerning this kind and brave man for 
 whom our grove, village and township have been 
 named, but enough has been said to prove that the 
 founder of the early settlement here was no mean 
 character, but one who justly deserves our profound 
 respect and one who should be held in grateful remem- 
 brance by all our younger citizens as well as the early 
 settlers.
 
 8 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 STEPHEN FRENCH AND FA^illLY. 
 Bv Mrs. J. E. Merritt, 1906. 
 
 The first man to move his family to Prince's Grove 
 was Stephen French, v^^ho came here from Fort Clark 
 in 1828 and settled on the land known as the Onias 
 Bliss farm, now owned by Emanuel Keller. He built a 
 cabin near where the Onias Bliss frame house now 
 stands. AYhen Stephen was away the wife Anna and 
 her little ones had for company wild Indians, wild 
 woods, wild wolves and wild cats. The original cabin 
 built by Mr. French stood until recent years and is, I 
 suppose, well remembered by many present. 
 
 Mr. French and his wife, like Mr. Prince, loved 
 pioneering, their son Mr. Dimmick French, being the 
 first white child bom in Peoria County. They had no 
 pronounced religious views but were hospitable to all 
 denominations alike. They were very kind hearted. 
 Mrs. French doing much in ministering to the sick, 
 and nursing wherever suffering among the early settlers 
 called her. At one time there was much sickness in 
 their neighborhood. Often when the dav's work was 
 done, she and Stephen would take their two little ones 
 and go to the sick neighbor's where she would spend 
 the night in caring for the sick one, her husband in 
 looking after the children. Mrs. French has often told 
 me stories of their early davs here. At one time she 
 invited the Indian women in the Grove to take supper 
 with her. She set her table as if for white guests. 
 When the red women were seated they looked in aston- 
 ishment at the knives and forks and then at each other. 
 Then they picked them up and minutely examined the 
 strange instruments. Laying them again carefully in 
 their places, the squaws fell to eating just like monkeys. 
 
 Many nights when Mr. French was away on busi- 
 ness she would look out and see the j^ellow glaring eyes 
 of the wolves prowling around the cabin. And they 
 were not prairie coyotes either, but tremendous black
 
 STEPHEN FRENCH AND FAMILY 9 
 
 and gray wolves. You may be certain that Mistress 
 Anna did not let the children out of doors on these 
 occasions. She had no strong clapboard doors fastened 
 with chain and padlock, as Mr. Cutter has, but. 
 depended for safety in barricading the door of her 
 cabin where ordinarily only a quilt hung, with what- 
 ever available means she had, and in keeping a bright 
 fire constantly roaring in the huge fire-place. 
 
 In this little cabin several of the French children 
 were born, IMirandus, born March 9, 1832, being the 
 first white child native at Prince's Grove. There were 
 eleven children in all, but in 1848 some serious disease 
 developed among them and in a few Aveeks five promis- 
 ing children were laid to rest, some of them being 
 already grown. The family have proven very short 
 lived as a rule. Several of them died in their twenty- 
 eighth year. 
 
 Captain John French was the youngest boy of the 
 family. He enlisted in the early days of the Civil War, 
 and was in Sherman's famous March from Atlanta to 
 the Sea. He fought in the very last struggles on Cape 
 Fear River, where in March, 1865, a cruel bullet ended 
 his young and promising life. This seems especially 
 sad as this battle in which he lost his life was fought 
 after the surrender of Lee and after the war was vir- 
 tually ended. He died not knowing that the cause for 
 which he gave his life was alreadj^ successful, that 
 liberty, union and peace Avere triumphant. To remember 
 Captain French is to remember one of Princeville's 
 most promising and energetic young men. 
 
 In the year 1857 Mr. French bought a home in the 
 Village of Princeville and they moved from the little 
 cabin where they had experienced so many sorrows and 
 joys, to the new home where he and his wife spent the 
 remainder of their days. 
 
 None of the original members of the family are how 
 living, the name having become extinct. Of the grand- 
 children six are living. There are sixteen great-grand- 
 children and two great great-grandchildren. Mr. French 
 was one of the first magistrates elected in this place,
 
 10 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 and filled offices of trust many times, and we feel that 
 both Stephen and Anna French filled their places in 
 life well and honorably. 
 
 (Mr. J. Z. Slane says that John French was killed 
 before Lee's surrender. He was mortally wounded on 
 March 16, 1865, and died early next morning. Lee 
 surrendered April 9, 1865.) 
 
 THE WILLIAM P. BLANCHARD FAMILY. 
 By Mrs. J. E. Merritt, 1906. 
 
 The next family that I am to write up is that of 
 William P. and Mary Blanchard. They did not settle 
 immediately at the Grove, but so near that it might be 
 termed in the suburbs. In the early thirties Mr. 
 Blanchard, finding his large family in need of a larger 
 scope for expansion, made an exploring expedition to 
 the West and North of where he was then living in 
 Lawrence County, Illinois, to which place they had 
 come from Kentucky in their early married life. On 
 this trip he visited Prince's Grove and vicinity. He 
 ventured prairie-ward, selecting a quarter-section of 
 land two miles west of the Prince farm, which he 
 afterward bought. To his mind there were already 
 about as many settlers here as the grove would supply 
 with fuel, little dreaming that the whole country con- 
 tained but a few feet below the surface, good coal 
 sufficient to supply fuel for all who would ever live in 
 it for generations to come. In 1835 he with his two 
 oldest boys, John and Marshal, started for the place 
 destined to be their future home. But the winter was 
 a very severe one. They were delayed on their way and 
 did not reach their destination until March, 1836. They 
 went into camp near the place now owned by Mr. 
 Wash. Mott and began industriously to prepare for 
 the family. Mr. Prince, ever ready to accommodate 
 new comers, rented them some land for wheat, corn, 
 potatoes and other vegetables. They endured many
 
 THE WILLIAM P. BLANCHARD FAMILY 11 
 
 hardships, at one time being reduced to a diet of bran 
 bread, owing to the difficulty of getting grain ground. 
 But "Stick to it" was their motto and finally logs were 
 ready for building, rails for fencing, the vegetables 
 w^ere growing nicely, and Mr. Blanchard with the boys 
 turned his face Southward to fetch Polly and the 
 babies. As rapidly as possible he closed up his business 
 at home, took leave of old friends of long and pleasant 
 associations, who were assembled to see them off, and 
 again turned to the North. The sight of this caravan 
 of pilgrims bound for a new country would be an 
 interesting one today. The train was lead by a huge 
 Virginia schooner drawn by five yoke of oxen, John 
 driving. If that old Virginia wagon were here to-day 
 it would be a curiosity equal to the log cabin. It was 
 made of strong, heavy timber, so braced and fastened 
 together that it could scarce break if rolled down a 
 mountain side. The end gates were high, with sides 
 sloping toward the center; on each side of the bed was 
 a box for tools or other articles that might be needed 
 by the way; at the back was a large feed box. The 
 wagon was painted blue and covered with 25 yards of 
 linen spun and woven by Mrs. Blanchard and her 
 daughters. In this wagon was stored food to supply 
 the family for several months, two spinning wheels, a 
 large quantity of wool for carding, household goods of 
 various sorts, and Mrs. Blanchard and the small chil- 
 dren. Next came Mr. Blanchard driving the hogs and 
 sheep, assisted by three of the boys ; and in the rear 
 came the young ladies of the family mounted on horses, 
 driving the cattle and loose horses. If this caravan 
 should pass through the streets of our village to-day, 
 it would create more excitement than a procession of 
 automobiles. 
 
 In this order they slowly advanced until on June 16, 
 1836, they arrived at the camping ground. The first 
 work after arriving was to unload the Virginia 
 schooner, set it on blocks and convert it into a sleeping 
 room for six of the boys. It took the whole family to 
 lift it off the running gear. An old settler told me the
 
 12 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 other day that same old Virginia schooner was the one 
 which took Daniel Prince and his family to Missouri. 
 
 The work of making the new home was vigorously 
 pushed b}^ the father and boys, and soon music different 
 from that of the birds in the tree-tops was heard in 
 the camp, — that of the busy spinning wheels, — for cloth 
 must be made for clothing for the entire family. And 
 if the young ladies wanted silk or fine Jackonette, or 
 any other finery for dresses, they must first make home 
 made cloth to exchange for the other. We must not 
 get an idea that our early pioneer girls had no love of 
 finery or the privilege of dressing nicely if they wished. 
 Almost every family gave their girls the privilege, after 
 the household had been supplied, of making cloth to 
 exchange for store goods, an opportunity which most 
 of them quickly improved. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard's familj^ were happy be- 
 cause they were busy. For four months they remained 
 in camp in White Oak. By that time a cabin of hewed 
 logs 16 X 16 feet had been built on the prairie land. 
 In October they struck camp and moved into the log 
 cabin. How this family of father, mother and eleven 
 children, four of them grown, managed to live in this 
 little cabin is hard to tell. But you may be sure the 
 family were all safely housed at night with the latch 
 string always out for any belated traveler, and there 
 were many such who were fearfully afraid of the 
 wolves, especially the Eastern people, unused to these 
 howling creatures. None were ever turned away, but 
 every one was made welcome to a good comforter and 
 a bed by the great log fire place, an invitation gladly 
 accepted by many a weary traveler. 
 
 In this little log cabin a little girl was born May 24, 
 1837, less than a year after Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard 
 had settled in Peoria County. Two other children were 
 born later, making fourteen in all. There are four of 
 these children still living. Of the descendants of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Blanchard there are living to-day, four chil- 
 dren, thirty-four grand-children, one hundred twenty- 
 seven great-grandchildren and thirty-one great great-
 
 THE WILLIAM P. BLANCHARD FAMILY 13 
 
 grandchildren, two hundred in all, scattered all over 
 the United States, and some even as far away as India. 
 
 Mr. Blanchard was one of the first men elected to 
 the office of magistrate in this township. Although 
 coming from a slave state and a slave owner's family, 
 he was an old line Whig, and a staunch abolitionist, 
 taking his stand with the Republican party when that 
 party was organized. He and his wife were active 
 Christians and as soon as they were able to do so, 
 opened their doors for religious services, large congre- 
 gations from far and near often assembling in their 
 home to hear the gospel preached. All who wished to 
 remain for afternoon services were invited to do so and 
 were freely fed and made as comfortable as possible. 
 In the early fifties a family reunion was held on the 
 home farm. The fourteen children were all present, 
 the youngest being about four years old. Not once had 
 death entered their circle. In all there were about 
 fifty present. It was a day of gladness and feasting. 
 Soon after one of the boys went AVest in search of 
 gold, followed a year later by a younger brother. They 
 never returned. One found a grave at Olympia, Wash- 
 ington, the other at Astoria, Oregon. 
 
 In the fall of 1855 Mr. Blanchard bought a home 
 in the Village of Princeville and moved his family 
 there. Here he and his Avife lived until they exceeded 
 their golden wedding anniversary by three years. In 
 1868 Mrs. Blanchard died suddenly, followed a year 
 later by her husband who died after a protracted 
 illness, — and two more of Princeville 's pioneer settlers 
 had gone to their long rest. 
 
 All honor to the brave and noble men and women 
 who were not afraid to brave the dangers, endure the 
 hardships, deny themselves the comforts and associa- 
 tions of their early homes, that we, their descendants, 
 might have a broader scope, greater opportunities and 
 more freedom in a better country.
 
 14 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 THE SLOAN FAMILY. 
 
 By S. S. Slane, 1906. 
 
 Jerome Sloan, son of John K. and Maria Sloan, was 
 born in Sloansville, New York, January 15, 1813. Mr. 
 Sloan's parents with their entire family left New York 
 for Peoria County in the fall of 1837, arriving at Peoria 
 in December of that year, having come by teams all of 
 the way. They stopped near Farmington until the 
 spring of 1839, when they moved to Princeville. They 
 occupied a cabin North of the Village on land owned 
 by a Mr. Riggs, until the spring of 1840, when they 
 removed to the farm now occupied by Mr. Sloan. Soon 
 after the father died. The family at that time con- 
 sisted of the mother, five sons and one daughter. The 
 eldest son, Ralph, was a noted artist of his time, being 
 a painter of portraits and landscapes. He died many 
 years since. Joseph lost his life through an accident 
 Avhile yet a j^oung man, Henry dying more recently. 
 Augustus D. went over-land to California at an early 
 date, dying a few years since in the village here. Emily, 
 the only daughter, married Nelson Burnham, of Farm- 
 ington, Fulton County, Illinois, who died last winter 
 in the city of Peoria. 
 
 Mr. Jerome Sloan married Miss Charlotte Barnes in 
 1860. To them were born eleven children, nine sons 
 and two daughters. He has passed through the hard- 
 ships and privations of pioneer life, and has by industry 
 and economy accumulated sufficient of this world's 
 goods to enable him to pass the remainder of his daj^s 
 in comfort and ease. While he has never been con- 
 nected with any of the religious associations of this 
 community, he has very decided views of his own on 
 these matters. Mr. Sloan at this time is in the enjoy- 
 ment of most excellent health, being able to walk to and 
 from the village from his home without any assistance, 
 which at his age of ninety-three years is quite remark- 
 able.
 
 THE MORROW FAMILY 15 
 
 THE MORROW FAMILY. 
 
 By S. S. Slane, 1906. 
 
 Hugh Morrow was born on Section 7 in Akron 
 Township, on April 14, 1832. In the year 1838 his par- 
 ents removed to Section 20 of Akron Township, where 
 he has lived ever since, a period of 68 years. Mr. Mor- 
 row's parents, Thomas Morrow and Eleanor Morrow, 
 came from Park County, Indiana, to Peoria County, 
 Illinois, in the early part of the year 1832 and settled 
 on Section 7, Akron Township. With Mr. Thomas Mor- 
 row came his parents, John Morrow, Sr., and Jane 
 Morrow; also four brothers and two sisters, James, 
 John Jr., William, Josiah, Elizabeth, who became the 
 wife of Daniel Prince, the pioneer settler of this place, 
 for whom the Township, the Village and the Grove were 
 named, and Jane, the wife of Samuel R. White, an early 
 settler of Princeville Township. John Morrow, Sr., 
 owned and improved a part of the farm recently sold 
 by Mr. Charles Taylor, South of the Village. He died 
 soon after and was buried in the old Cemetery South 
 of the Village of Princeville, long since abandoned. 
 Mrs. Jane Morrow and son Jolin in company with Mr. 
 Prince and family, moved from this vicinity to the 
 State of Missouri in the fall of 1839, where they have 
 long since been numbered with the dead. Mr. Josiah 
 Morrow moved to Iowa in 1840, having improved a part 
 of the estate owned at this time by the heirs of the 
 late Austin Bouton. Mr. Morrow died January 5, 1899, 
 at the age of eighty. Mr. James Morrow improved the 
 farm now owned by Mr. Elijah Tracy and others, a 
 part being included in the village corporation. He sold 
 out and moved to Washington County, Iowa, in the 
 year 1854, where he died well advanced in age, and 
 respected by all who knew him. Mr. William Morrow 
 improved the farm now owned by Frank Debord, which 
 he sold in 1872, moving to Andrew County, Missouri, 
 where he died. Mr. Thomas Morrow, father of Hugh
 
 16 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 Morrow, died in 1848, leaving his wife and a family of 
 ten children, eight sons and two daughters. 
 
 Mr. Hugh Morrow has the distinction of being the 
 first white child born in Akron Township, also of 
 having lived a greater number of years on the same 
 section than any other resident of the ToA^Tiship. Hugh 
 Morrow (son of Thomas Morrow), Samuel Morro>\' (son 
 of William Morrow^ and William and Mary Ann White 
 (son and daughter of Mrs. Jane Morrow White), are the 
 only representatives of this large family now living in 
 this vicinity. 
 
 THE JOHN SMITH FAMILY OF NORTHWEST 
 
 PRINCEVILLE. 
 
 By Miss Mary J. Smith, 1906. 
 
 Miss Jane Payne was born August 16, 1825, near 
 Hillsville, Carroll county, Virginia. When about six- 
 teen years of age she came West to Illinois and settled 
 on Section 7 in Princeville ToA\Tiship, where she re- 
 sided until the fall of 1890, then becoming a resident 
 of the Village of Princeville. 
 
 Her parents, Walter and Rachel Payne, had come 
 up from North Carolina and settled in that part of Vir- 
 ginia when it was a new country, and wild turkey, deer 
 and black bear inhabited the Blue Ridge Movmtains, 
 near which they lived. Grand father Payne was a gun- 
 smith by trade ; he also did blacksmith work, both of 
 which trades were very useful to the community in 
 those days when almost everything in those lines was 
 wrought out by hand. Pie was also a great hunter and 
 loved to tell of his hunting adventures, how straight he 
 could shoot, and of hoAv much game he killed with the 
 first pound of powder he ever had bought for him : 
 sixty wild turkeys, tAVO deer and one bear. Grand- 
 mother Payne also could handle a gun. One day a 
 large blue winged hawk was after lier chickens and she
 
 THE JOHN SMITH FAMILY OF NORTHWEST PRINCEVILLE 17 
 
 took down grandfather's gun and went after the hawk 
 and shot it. 
 
 In those days the pioneer women were not nervous, 
 they were equal to any emergency. They could kill a 
 snake, shoot a hawk or kill a bear, like Betsey Bobbitt 
 did. Iler brother. Uncle Abram Cooley, had come 
 West to Illinois, and had gone back to Virginia to settle 
 up an estate, and told what a fine country this was, and 
 gave such a glowing account of this rich black prairie 
 soil, that Uncle Ben Cooley said that he didn't believe 
 the Almighty ever made such a difference in countries 
 as he described. 
 
 Anyway Grandfather and Grandmother decided to 
 become pioneers once more, and cast their lot in the 
 Sucker State this time, and in September, 1842, in com- 
 pany with other friends and relatives to the number of 
 twenty-seven, they started "West" in prairie schooners. 
 Of that goodly number they have ''gathered homeward 
 one by one," until Mrs. Smith now is the only one left 
 to ford the Kiver. 
 
 They were six weeks on the road, traveling by day 
 and camping out nights, sleeping in the wagons or 
 under a tent cloth. Sometimes if it rained the w^omen 
 and children were sheltered in the homes, which in 
 those days were very hospitably inclined. 
 
 In those days the opportunities for receiving an edu- 
 cation were very different from now. J\Iiss Jane had 
 an opportunity to go to Rochester and live with a kind 
 lady and go to school, but fidelity to her mother who 
 was in feeble health, caused her to decide otherwise and 
 miss the opportunity. Surely the promise has been 
 verified in her case, for the Lord hath said, "Honor thy 
 father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon 
 the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." 
 
 Her husband, John Smith, was born in Rutherglen, 
 Lanarksliire, Scotland, December 14, 1822. He re- 
 moved with his parents to Glasgow when between three 
 and four years of age, and was educated at Mr. Mc- 
 Ewen's school in the Barony parish, receiving many
 
 18 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 prizes from the principal, the Rev. McFarland, minister 
 in the High Church of Glasgow. 
 
 After leaving school he spent a few years as clerk 
 in a book store, where he acquired a taste for reading 
 which lasted through life. He also worked for a short 
 time in a factory as dresser. He came to America in 
 1841, and settled in Princeville Township in 1844 as a 
 farmer, where he resided until his death, the 27th of 
 May, 1890. 
 
 It was here he met his "Bonnie Jean" of w^hom he 
 sung in the Scottish melody so quaintly sweet. In the 
 flowery month of May he was married to Miss Jane 
 Payne hy the side of the log cabin home, under two 
 great spreading oak trees. May 18, 1848. Rev. Robt. 
 Breese, whose narrow home is now in the Princeville 
 cemetery where the weeping willow waves, spoke the 
 mystic words that united their lives until death did 
 them part. To them were born eight children : Isa- 
 bella. Rachel, John, "Walter, Mary J., Margaret A., 
 \Yilliam W., and Lizzie S. 
 
 For more than sixteen years, his children and grand- 
 children have missed his fatherly counsel, but the com- 
 panion who journeyed by his side for forty-two years, 
 has missed him most. And as the boatman, with his 
 noiseless oars, comes to row us one by one over the re- 
 sistless tide, we trust that only the ripples may come 
 and go, as she crosses the bar that separates her from 
 that great company of loved ones who have already 
 crossed the tide, and hear the Welcome Home.* 
 
 Grandfather Smith was born at Rutherglen, near 
 Glasgow, Scotland, about the year 1789, and died at his 
 home near Princeville, 111., March 27, 1852, aged 63 
 years. His name was John, that being the name of the 
 oldest son in each family for more than two hundred 
 years previously. Grandmother Smith, whose maiden 
 name was Margaret White, died in Scotland leaving 
 four small children. Afterward he married Bethia 
 
 * 
 
 Mrs. Jane Payne-Smith died January 30, 1912.
 
 THE JOHN SMITH FAMILY OF NORTHWEST PRINCEVILLE 19 
 
 Eura, who was born at Rutherglen also, in 1798, and 
 died at her home near Princeville, October 24, 1876, 
 aged 78 years. 
 
 They emigrated to America in the fall of 1842, and 
 landed at New Orleans after being nine weeks on the 
 ocean voyage. A fearful hurricane off the Gulf of 
 Mexico drove the vessel back 300 miles and prolonged 
 the voyage. They thought, for a time, the vessel with 
 all on board would find a watery grave, but a kind 
 Providence spared their lives and they reached their 
 destination, America. They stayed in New Orleans a 
 short time and then came to St. Louis, Mo., with their 
 family consisting of the following children : Margaret, 
 Isabella, Robert, Jannet, Archj Jiald and David. After 
 remaining in St. Louis about two years, they came to 
 Princeville Township in the spring of 1844. The oldest 
 son, John, who had come to America about a year pre- 
 viously, came from Canada to visit them soon after 
 their arrival. It was to be with him as well as to better 
 their condition that the family had come to America. 
 
 Grandfather Smith enlisted in the Peninsular w^ar 
 when quite a young man (war between England and 
 France and their allied powers, the Duke of Wellington 
 and Napoleon Bonaparte commanding the respective 
 sides). He was in the army about nine years, and his 
 time expired about three weeks before the battle of 
 Waterloo. He was wounded in battle, once lying on 
 the battle-field three or four days before he could get 
 away, and saw the hardships of army life. At times 
 they were so reduced in rations as to be glad to get the 
 corn that was fed to the horses. 
 
 Grandfather was a man of deeply pious and re- 
 ligious temperament, and administered to the spiritual 
 needs of many of the early settlers far and near. He 
 was in the habit of gathering his family around him 
 night and morning for family worship, and died, as he 
 had lived, trusting in the living God. 
 
 Grandmother Smith was a strong woman physically. 
 She washed in the early days to help along, and walked 
 and carried one of her grandchildren from Peoria to
 
 20 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 their home in Princeville Township, a distance of 27 
 miles. She was the mother of eight children, five of 
 whom died in Scotland. She also was a woman with 
 strong convictions of right, and the winter's earliest 
 recollection of her was of seeing her seated at a table 
 near a window, knitting, with her open Bible before 
 her, sometimes reading aloud from the word of God. 
 Coming here as they did in the early days, they knew 
 the hardships and privations of pioneer life, but by per- 
 severing industry accumulated a comfortable amount 
 of this world's goods and blazed the way for their pos- 
 terity. They are entitled to our reverence and sin- 
 cerest gratitude and respect. 
 
 THE SLANE FA]\IILY. 
 By Edward Auten, 1906. 
 
 Benjamin Slane was born in Chester, Frederic 
 County, Virginia, in 1798. He married Delilah Cheshire, 
 of Hampshire County, in 1824. She was an excellent 
 woman, and the mother of six children, viz. : Benja- 
 min F. (commonly called Frank), John Z., Elizabeth 
 A., Delilah J., Samuel S. and James T. Slane. 
 
 In that same Virginia community were tw^o other 
 families, those of Jonathan Nixon and William Nixon, 
 forming with Mr, Slane 's family a little group bound 
 together by ties of relationship (even though Jonathan 
 and William Nixon were not related) and common good 
 will and interests. 
 
 In 1830 Mr. Slane moved his family, then consisting 
 of three children, John, Frank and Elizabeth, to Ohio, 
 where the Nixons had already preceded him. But be- 
 fore leaving Virginia he had decided to come event- 
 ually to Fort Clark, now Peoria, and in 1831 he, to- 
 gether with the Nixons, made their way to the Ohio 
 River at Marietta, where they procured a "keel" boat, 
 flat and square, and shaped like a box car, and floated 
 on it to Cincinnati. Here they abandoned the keel boat
 
 THE SLANE FAMILY 21 
 
 and changed to the steamboat "Don Juan," a tub of a 
 boat with a big name. The children and women were 
 much awed by the noise and racket, the excitement of 
 changing at night, the profanity of the boat's crew, 
 the first they had heard, and the haste to be off to the 
 next stop, Louisville. Changing boats again here, they 
 reached St. Louis in good time. From St. Louis to 
 Fort Clark they had as traveling companions eighteen 
 big burley Indians, wearing blankets and provided 
 with big iron kettles. These were the first Indians any 
 of the party had ever seen, and of them the women and 
 children were very much afraid. 
 
 There were no stoves in those davs, and so on the 
 deck of the boat a place was provided to build a fire 
 and cook the meals. The Indians were always the first 
 to cook breakfast which consisted of a big kettle of 
 corn meal into which they threw chunks of meat, the 
 whole giving off an odor anything but savory to a white 
 man. 
 
 The steamer proceeded slowly up the Illinois River, 
 stopping now and then at 'Svoodyards" along the 
 banks to lay in a supply of wood — the only fuel known 
 at that time. 
 
 On November 4th, 1831, a beautiful autumn day, 
 they landed at Fort Clark, and as they clambered up 
 the bank ''there probably was never a more homesick 
 band of women and children than this one," and prob- 
 ably a few of the men were at least slightly affected. 
 Quarters were procured in a double log cabin and all 
 went there. William Nixon got a separate cabin soon, 
 but Jonathan and Mr. Slane lived there with their fam- 
 ilies until the next summer, and a "cold, dirty, thank- 
 less cabin it was, but as good as the average." It was 
 situated on the river side of Water street and not more 
 than a stone's throw from the present City Depot, and 
 diagonally opposite the Indian headquarters. They 
 lived in Peoria for two years; Mr. Slane and a Mr. 
 Craig cut and salted hogs for one Martin in the winter 
 of 1832-33.
 
 23 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 Mr. Slane moved in March, 1833, to Section 27 in 
 Richwoods Township, where he had built a cabin the 
 winter before. Two years later he sold his claim to 
 Smith Frye for $200.00, moving in April of 1835 to 
 Rosefield to a new claim on the Ejioxville road, then 
 barely passable. 
 
 Big Hollow was so steep they locked the wheels to- 
 gether, and all got out and walked, Mrs, Slane carrying 
 the present President of our Old Settlers' Union in her 
 arms, he being then a babe of less than a year old. 
 They passed through the Village of Kickapoo, com- 
 prising one house and one log stable, of which John 
 Coyle, a brother of Mrs. Asa Beall, was sole proprietor. 
 
 Mrs. Slane, in the prime of life, when most needed 
 by her children, died at the age of 39 in 1839, and her 
 death was a great affliction to Mr. Slane. He never 
 married again, but with a sad heart and a resolute will 
 entered upon the difficult duties of raising and educat- 
 ing in these pioneer times his children, a task most men 
 would have shrunk from, but he did not. Elizabeth 
 Nixon, wife of Jonathan, neighbor to Mr. Slane at this 
 time and afterwards when they moved to Princeville, 
 became almost a second mother to his children, v/ho 
 even now bear in grateful memory her care of them at 
 that time. 
 
 William Nixon, who had moved to Tazewell from 
 Peoria, crossed the river once more and lived in Rose- 
 field several years, then went back to Tazewell again, 
 and still later settled down at Elmwood where he ran 
 the first hotel. He died there in 1858. 
 
 In 1840 Mr. Slane and Jonathan Nixon moved to 
 Princeville. Mr. Slane purchased Block 20 of Mr. 
 Stevens and moved into a log cabin standing in the cen- 
 ter of it. The first year in Princeville was very hard — 
 "So hard I often think it would do the young people of 
 the present generation good to live as we did for just 
 one month." 
 
 In 1845, brothers Frank and John started a 
 lime kiln in the southeast corner of Section 24, Prince- 
 ville Township, about sixty rods west of the east section
 
 THE SLAXE FAMILY 23 
 
 line. This was the only lime kiln for miles around and 
 drew trade from points as distant as AVeathersfield, 
 Galva, Rochester, Brimfield, Lawn Ridge and Chilli- 
 eothe. They chopped and split the wood in the winter 
 themselves and in the summer burat the lime, occasion- 
 ally having to hire an extra man to quarry stone. They 
 continued in this business for nine years. Shortly after 
 they quit, lime began to be shipped in, so that their 
 business would have been gone from them had they 
 continued. 
 
 In 1846 Mr. Benjamin Slane purchased an acre 
 tract east of his log cabin, in Akron, and built a frame 
 house, where he moved. Later he bought the acre 
 north of it, extending to the north section line. This is 
 in the vicinity of the present Hitchcock pond. These 
 two acres he occupied as his homestead until November 
 22, 1865, when he moved to the southeast quarter of 
 Section 23, where Mr. Thos. Slane now lives. Here 
 Mr. Slane lived until his death on April 29, 1875. At 
 one time he knew every man in the county. He never 
 sought office, but the people, having faith in his in- 
 tegrity, kept him justice of the peace for twelve years, 
 and supervisor six years. He made a good justice. He 
 carefully considered the cases he had to decide, and as 
 near as we can learn, not one of his decisions has been 
 reversed by the higher courts. He always advised 
 litigants to settle, and every three out of five cases pre- 
 sented to him were settled before trial. He aided in 
 the promotion of educational interests, and has been a 
 school official. He aided in public improvements, when 
 a benefit to the town. When he arrived at Fort Clark 
 he had just one picayune in his pocket. By his own 
 personal efforts he soon acquired money enough to pur- 
 chase land. His life was a busy and eventful one. He 
 was ever a friend to the cause of humanity, freedom of 
 thought and speech, charitable to all, with malice to- 
 wards none; ever loving the right, because of its jus- 
 tice; ever hating wrong because of his knowledge of its 
 pernicious influences on the destinies of mankind.
 
 24 HISTORY AXD REMINISCENCES 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Nixon died at Red Oak, Iowa, April 
 20, 1884, and her remains were brought to Cambridge, 
 Illinois, and interred in the cemeterj^ at that place by 
 the side of her husband, Jonathan Nixon. She left one 
 child, Mrs. M. H. Hewitt, with whom she lived at the 
 time of her death. Mr. Hewitt was a lawyer, first at 
 Toulon, then at Cambridge, and later he moved to Red 
 Oak, Iowa, where he was elected Circuit Judge. 
 
 Of the children of Mr. Slane, Benjamin F. died 
 eleven years ago, the father of six children, viz. : Ida, 
 now dead nine years, Odillon, Oliver. Edgar, Elgie and 
 Mina. 
 
 Samuel S. and Elizabeth A. Slane have never mar- 
 ried. 
 
 Delilah J. in 1854 married William E. Root. They 
 moved to Nebraska, residing at present at Fairbury, 
 that state. 
 
 James T. married Margaret Green in September, 
 1860. To them was born one daughter, Eva. 
 
 John Z. Slane enlisted on August 9, 1862, in Capt. 
 French's company, Co. K. Eighty-sixth Illinois Volun- 
 teer Infantry, and served until the close of the war. 
 He did hospital duty twice and in the spring of 1864 
 was sent home for a few months to recover from severe 
 illness contracted from exposure near Knoxville, Tenn. 
 In March, 1867, he was married to Mary Patton, a niece 
 of Dr. R. F. Henry, and to them were born four chil- 
 dren, Wilber P., Elzada V., and two w^ho died in in- 
 fanc3^ 
 
 Unlike many families, the children of Benjamin 
 Slane have not scattered. Save for the one daughter 
 now residing in Nebraska, all of them have remained 
 in this community, without exception honest and up- 
 right in business, deserving success and obtaining it, 
 and respected by all who know them.
 
 WILLIAM C. STEVEN'S, THE FOUiVDER OF PRIxXCEVILEE 25 
 
 WILLIAM C. STEVENS, THE FOUNDER OP 
 
 PRINCEVILLE. 
 
 By Mrs. Mary E. Moody and Mrs. Hannah G. Ilutchins, 
 
 1907. 
 
 Perhaps it will be interesting to the members of 
 our organization to know somewhat of the early life 
 and history of the founder of our little village as going 
 to show how the training of the boy shapes the char- 
 acter of the man. William Chase Stevens was born at 
 Plainfield, N. IL, in May, 1797. There on a rocky New 
 England farm in sight of the perpetually snow clad 
 Mt. Croyden, he passed the first seven years of his life. 
 Gifted with a remarkably retentive memory he often 
 told his children of incidents that occurred in those 
 early and trying days, for New Hampshire at that time 
 was but a new and sparsely settled state. Among 
 others, one extremely cold and snowy winter when 
 the snow had lain for weeks five feet deep on the level, 
 the roads were impassable and the wild deer and birds 
 almost exterminated by the cold ; as the snow began to 
 melt off toward spring, the big, gray, half-starved 
 w^olves came down from the mountains in packs, de- 
 vouring in their ravenous hunger all domestic animals 
 that were not well housed. 
 
 One sunny day at this time, his father turned out 
 their one cow to stand for the first time in many weeks 
 in the sunshine on the south side of the barn where the 
 snow had been cleared off for a small space. On com- 
 ing to the house for a bucket of water (they had to 
 melt snow for all water for stock as well as for them- 
 selves) a pack of wolves came after the cow, and she 
 ran bellowing toward the house, but the wolves got her, 
 five springing on her at one time, killing and de- 
 vouring her before their eyes, though the old Hint lock 
 did good service in the process. 
 
 The faithful dog had fallen a pre}^ long since, while 
 the father with dog and gun was trying to protect his 
 sheep from the voracious wolves. Mr. Stevens remem-
 
 26 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 bered hearing his mother exclaim as the cow went 
 down, "Oh, what will my poor children do now," as 
 the cow had contributed largely to their support dur- 
 ing that terrible winter. This is only one of many in- 
 cidents in the life of that sturdy New England boy. 
 
 In 1804 that irreparable loss (especially to a boy) 
 came to him — his father died of pneumonia after an 
 illness of only four days, leaving a widow with six 
 young children on a rocky farm not wholly paid for. 
 The widow (who some of you might be interested to 
 know was a cousin of Bishop Philander Chase, founder 
 of Jubilee College, and also of Kenyon College, Ohio,) 
 finding it impossible to finish paying for the farm and 
 raise her children, sold it, paid all debts and moved 
 onto a much smaller farm in Cornish near the Con- 
 necticut River. Here, by the most economical man- 
 agement and incessant industry of all the family, they 
 wrung from that little, hard New England farm, not 
 only a good living, but means to give her family good 
 school and church privileges and also to help others 
 when needed, though the latter was always at great 
 sacrifice. Thus was the boy's sturdy character being 
 formed as well as his sturdy physique. 
 
 He went to district school winters, studying at home 
 evenings and reciting to his older sisters, keeping them 
 diligently studying as one of them said, to answer his 
 many questions. At the age of 12 years he entered 
 Meriden Academy, attending winters and working on 
 his mother's farm in summer. During the winter he 
 stayed at the home of his mother's cousin. Judge Short, 
 paying his board by taking care of the horse and cow 
 and cutting the wood for three, sometimes four fires, all 
 the time studying evenings. 
 
 Thus in four years he finished his academy course 
 with honor and returned to work on the farm. But he 
 was uneasy, he wanted to go to college and his mother 
 needed him at home. The occasional peep into his 
 cousin's law books and library proved an inspiration 
 to him and he longed to know more. There was so
 
 WILLIAM C. STEVENS, THE FOUNDER OF PRINCEVILLE 27 
 
 mneh to learn that he felt he could not content himself 
 working: from sunrise to sunset on the farm. 
 
 Gradually the mother learned of his ambition and 
 said, ''Well, William, I guess your sisters and I will 
 have to buckle in and send you to college and you can 
 still help in summer in haying, Elizabeth has her cer- 
 tificate and can teach school now — I will make the but- 
 ter and cheese and help your other sisters in the spin- 
 ning and weaving — we must manage some way to send 
 you to college." His reply was, "Oh, mother! I don't 
 want you to send me — if I could only have my time I 
 can do all the rest and help in haying too" — and he did. 
 So the boy of seventeen, thirsting for knowledge, full 
 of pluck and energy, hating idleness, taught school be- 
 cause he could earn more money that way and have 
 more time for study and besides read law in the sum- 
 mer with his cousin, Judge Short. But he did not for- 
 get to redeem his promise to his mother of helping her 
 in haying, by hiring a good man to work in his place, 
 with her consent. 
 
 It was an inflexible law with this good mother that 
 everyone should keep his word, no matter at what sac- 
 rifice. The promise made or word given must not be 
 broken. This was another lesson in life early and per- 
 sistently taught by that mother and adhered to by her 
 son through a long life. 
 
 ,By such self-sacrificing and persevering industry his 
 course of study was completed and he had managed 
 also to read a good deal of law. He was sent on a long 
 horseback journey to Western New York to settle an 
 estate and this done he taught for some time in Penn- 
 sylvania. In 1823 he turned his face southward where 
 it was rumored were great opportunities for young men. 
 He taught for a time in Virginia and later was ad- 
 mitted to the bar at Richmond, and afterwards in 
 North Carolina. Finding the bar at Richmond well 
 filled with distinguished legal lights and ambitious 
 young southern politicians, he thought best for a young 
 man who had his own fortune to make, to leave the 
 charming circle where ease and refinement abounded
 
 28 HISTORY AND REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 and where he had been treated with all kindness and 
 courtesy. So he located at Amelia Court House, estab- 
 lishing there a good practice which soon extended to the 
 adjoining counties. 
 
 In 1827 he married a cultured young southern lady 
 of Quaker parentage and after a time removed to Ashe- 
 ville, N. C, where he became preceptor of a flourishing 
 academy, doing, as he said, some of the best work of 
 his life as an instructor of youth — work that he could 
 look back upon in after years with great gratification — 
 work that proved to be of far-reaching and lasting 
 benefit in that community. After spending several 
 pleasant and profitable years at Asheville, and having 
 now a young family, he became convinced that it was 
 not right to bring up his children in a slave-holding 
 community. He was a man of strong convictions and 
 under any and every circumstance or condition, he 
 lived up to those convictions. He was convinced that 
 slavery was wrong in itself and that its influence on 
 the white people was not for their improvement, there- 
 fore he would have none of it. With many induce- 
 ments to remain in the South, easy life, good position, 
 his love of the kindly, refined and hospitable people, his 
 decision was unalterable : his children should not be 
 brought up in contact with human slavery. So, not- 
 withstanding the entreaties of friends, the home was 
 disposed of and loading their necessary belongings into 
 a two-horse, oil-cloth covered wagon, he with his brave 
 wife and three little children started on their long 
 journey to Illinois in February, 1834. 
 
 Hearing much about this time of the beauty and 
 productiveness of this new state, of its broad and fer- 
 til prairies all cleared and waiting for the plow, he 
 had corresponded with his unmarried brother, Amos, 
 then teaching in Louisiana, who like himself had heard 
 of the fame of the Illinois prairies and responded to 
 the call. It was arranged that Amos should precede 
 AVilliam to Illinois, select a location and have ready on 
 their arrival as comfortable a house as possible.
 
 WILLIAM C. STEVENS, THE FOUNDER 01- PRINCEVILLE 29 
 
 He came up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, 
 thence by horseback to Peoria, as the brothers had 
 agreed to make that their postoffice address and meet- 
 ing place. He found Peoria a hamlet of three or four 
 families and no idle men that could be hired as help" 
 or guide. A Mr. Ewalt who had come into Peoria with 
 an ox team from French Grove, acted as guide and 
 gave advice as to the necessary proceedings for the 
 erection of a cabin. 
 
 Amos located at the forks of the Kickapoo, the tract 
 of land selected having both prairie and some good tim- 
 ber. Preparations for building proceeded without de- 
 lay. Alone, he cut down trees and trimmed and snaked 
 up hill with his one horse the logs for the cabin, lying 
 at night on the ground, his horse picketed near, and 
 faithful dog his only companions. 
 
 On the night of the third day during a fearful thun- 
 derstorm, his horse Avas killed by lightning, and Amos 
 not returning to Peoria on Tuesday of the next week, as 
 he intended, Mr. Charles Kettelle rode out the sixteen 
 miles to see if harm had befallen him. Amos Stevens said 
 there was never a more welcome sight to the ship- 
 wrecked mariner, than that friend as he came around 
 the bend of the creek just at the going down of the 
 sun. He had worked there eight days without seeing 
 a human being, his slumbers disturbed at night by the 
 howling of wolves, being obliged to keep fires burning 
 to scare them away. With some help from ]\[r. Ket- 
 telle and the nearest neighbor, who lived nine miles 
 away, the cabin was at last up, with chimney of mud 
 and sticks at one end and openings for door and win- 
 dows, no floor as yet. 
 
 This first home of Mr. Stevens was at the forks of 
 the Kickapoo sixteen miles from Peoria and two or 
 three miles nearly south from the present site of Jubi- 
 lee College. To this crude, unfinished cabin he brought 
 his family after a weary journey of more than three 
 months, and here in this wild, unsettled new country 
 they began their new life, a life of unknown hardships, 
 privations and dangers.
 
 30 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 They straightway set about making the cabin more 
 comfortable, but before it was completed, a hard rain 
 coming on in the night showed them how unreliable 
 was a roof through which you could count the stars, 
 and openings for door and windows without either, 
 and walls of logs with no plaster between. It was 
 difftcult to provide comfortable food with no cow, no 
 chickens or eggs, no vegetables and no fruit, save a 
 few wild strawberries which seemed like manna from 
 heaven. Soon other settlers began to come in — the first 
 one, David Combs, a bachelor, who proved a good neigh- 
 bor. Soon after came James Harrison with wife and two 
 little boys, John and Robert. Comforts were added 
 to the primitive home as fast as possible, Mr. Stevens 
 one day bringing home a new cupboard, and in it an 
 old hen and her thirteen newly hatched chickens, which 
 after much persuasion and many tempting offers he 
 succeeded in buying He rode long distances at differ- 
 ent times to purchase a cow that his family might be 
 supplied with milk and butter, luxuries that were im- 
 possible to procure at any price. Crops were coming 
 on finely and giving promise of a good yield, and things 
 generally looked more encouraging, when everything 
 was changed by the death of his wife. 
 
 The pioneer life of this heroic wife and mother 
 ended amid these strange and rude home surroundings, 
 far from relatives and friends and the home of her girl- 
 hood where she had lived a life of ease and luxury. 
 Her eyes had greeted the face of but one woman since 
 her arrival, that of Mrs. James Harrison. During the 
 sad weeks that foUoAved, Mr. Stevens was confined 
 closely caring for his very sick children and before they 
 were wholly well, he fell sick himself. 
 
 At this time came what he always thought the Prov- 
 idential visit of Mr. Benjamin Slane and wife, the 
 father and mother of our President, who had just set- 
 tled a mile or two down the creek. Having heard of 
 the sick, motherless children, they came to see if they 
 could render any assistance. Finding Mr. Stevens 
 prostrated with a high fever, wholly unable to sit up,
 
 WILLIAM C. STEVENS, THE FOUNDER OF PRINCEVILLE 31 
 
 they immediately set to work to make them more com- 
 fortable. Quickly as possible they killed and cooked 
 a chicken for broth for the sick man, carefully showing 
 the little six-year-old Mary how to dress and cut up a 
 chicken, also showing her how to make and bake bis- 
 cuit, thinking that the father might be a long time sick 
 with no one more competent to cook. Mr. Slane hast- 
 ened out to care for the horses and to start David 
 Combs to Peoria for the doctor. That was a visit of 
 mercy gratefully remembered. 
 
 As to Mr. Stevens' first impressions of the site of 
 our village, we will quote his own words from a news- 
 paper interview published in the Peoria Journal in De- 
 cember, 1884. He said: ^^n the fall of 18 34 I was 
 driving along through this part of the "cOUlitry with a 
 view of selecting a future home. About a mile west 
 of this place, on a clear, beautiful day, I was driving 
 my team slowly, looking here and there at the land- 
 scape. 
 
 ' ' IVhon my eye fell upon this present site of Prince- 
 ville, I said to myself, 'What a beautiful site' — situ- 
 ated as it was between two belts of timber, and ad- 
 mirably adapted to the needs of the early settlers. 
 They will come here and want to build a town, will 
 need stores, shops, meeting-houses, etc. 
 
 ''The determination to own it took possession of 
 me. Upon inquiry I was informed by Squire French 
 that Governor Duncan had the title of it. I looked up 
 Governor Duncan who lived at Jacksonville and pur- 
 chased his right and interest in the property, in 1836. 
 The south boundary of this quarter-section is now 
 known here as Canton street, and as I wanted to lay out 
 a town extending farther south, I tried to find the 
 owners of that also, to buy it. After some difficulty I 
 found them at Carthage and Rushville in this state. 
 They had only a nominal title and refused to part with 
 it unless I would make them partners in the enterprise. 
 This I consented to do. Their names do not appear as 
 owners in the town site but they were interested. On 
 April 4, 1837, we laid out the town. Phillips was county
 
 32 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 surveyor at the time and his deputy, George W. Mc- 
 Fadden did the Avork. When I came I found here 
 Daniel Prince, after whom the groves nearby were 
 called. He had been here many years among the In- 
 dians and was an old frontiersman.^ 
 
 There was at that time quite a settlement in and 
 around the two groves. Stephen French had settled 
 there some time before ; there were a number of ^lor- 
 rows from Indiana, Mrs. Jane Morrow and her four 
 sons, two with families, Thomas, James, William and 
 John. Her daughter Bettie had married Daniel Prince. 
 Doctor Watters and a widowed sister of Mrs. Jane 
 Morrow, were all settled on their owm farms, building 
 in the edge of the timber. Mrs. Jane Morrow lived in 
 a large hewed double log house with a porch the whole 
 length of the house. This house was the palace of the 
 neighborhood. There preaching was held, for these 
 Morrows were godly people and had already organized 
 a church, had preaching occasionally and soon hired a 
 Mr. Babbitt to preach for them, Avho lived in a little 
 cabin north of the grove where George I. McGinnis, Sr., 
 lived later. Previous to this, in 1835, Mr. Stevens was 
 again married to a lady from Massachusetts who was 
 keeping school in Bureau County, and had removed 
 his family from the Kickapoo cabin to Prince's Grove. 
 
 Not long after this, realizing that the education of 
 the children was being neglected, a few fathers came 
 together, talked the matter over, and built the log 
 school house. At first it was merely a wall of logs with 
 roof and openings for door and windows, and a dirt 
 floor. The seats were of puncheons with two holes in 
 the ends and sticks stuck in for legs (Miss Esther Stod- 
 dard taught the summer school, a short term attended 
 onl}^ by the very little children, as the older boys and 
 girls could not be spared during the summer — the for- 
 mer must Avork in the fields and the girls, too, when 
 not preparing wool, carding, spinning and weaving). 
 The first winter there were over thirty scholars, many 
 nearly grown. Some came three or four miles, start- 
 ing before daylight to get there before school was
 
 WILLIAM C. STEVENS, THE FOUNDER OF PKINCEVILLE 33 
 
 called. This school house was used as a church from 
 the first for all denominations, making appointments 
 so that they should not interfere. It was also the vot- 
 ing place at elections and for a number of years filled 
 an important place in the community. Many of our 
 prominent citizens whose education was mostly or 
 wholly obtained there, have passed away. 
 
 Before this was built, Mrs. Morrow, Mr. Stevens 
 and some others opened their cabins for religious serv- 
 ices whenever a preacher could be secured. Mr. 
 Stevens' home was a well known stopping place for 
 preachers of all creeds, and if one could be induced to 
 stay over two nights, he would get on his horse and 
 ride around notifying people there would be preaching 
 at his house tonight, asking all to come. 
 
 Hospitality was a virtue always practiced by the 
 generous-hearted pioneers and Mr. Stevens was no ex- 
 ception. The poor man moving through the country 
 with a tired wife and family of children was fed, 
 warmed and sheltered, even if it meant great personal 
 discomfort. He always held that hospitality depend- 
 ing on a person's convenience was not worthy the 
 name. Some notables were among the wayfarers. Gov- 
 ernor Duncan often stayed over night in the cabin. 
 Bishop Chase made the home his headquarters when 
 in the vicinity. 
 
 One evening just after sunset, five men on horse- 
 back rode up and one said, "We have been in the sad- 
 dle since early morning and are cold, tired and hungry. 
 We were told that we would get accommodations if we 
 got to your place." He replied, "It is only a little 
 cabin," but took the oldest of the men into the house 
 and told his wife about the other four. After the old 
 man got off his overcoat and turned to the blazing fire- 
 place, she took the first good look at him and he at 
 her. There was mutual and joyful recognition. It 
 was Father Dickey with whom she had boarded when 
 teaching school in Bureau County before her marriage. 
 His traveling companions were surprised to find the old
 
 34 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 man Avith a cup of coffee and a doughnut, talking most 
 sociably "vvith the pleased looking lady of the house. 
 
 These men were returning from an important 
 church meeting at Lewisto\ATi : Father Dickey, the 
 venerable minister, his son Lyle Dickey (later Judge 
 Dickey of Ottawa), Elder Eli Smith, John Bryant 
 (brother of William Cullen Bryant, the poet), and 
 Owen Love joy, all of Bureau County. 
 
 Four of the men slept in two beds, the mother and 
 children in one bed and trundle bed, while Owen Love- 
 joy and Mr. Stevens lay on a buffalo robe before the 
 fire. After an early breakfast they were started on 
 their way rejoicing, each man with a carefully done up 
 lunch in his overcoat pocket. 
 
 It was not an uncommon thing in those days for Mr. 
 Stevens to go twelve, twenty, thirty or forty miles to 
 mill — go with oxen and get mired down, have to carry 
 the grist across the slough on his back, get the oxen 
 and wagon out the best way he could, load up and go 
 on. Nature furnished plenty of wild fruits, berries of 
 all kinds, plums and crab apples, but our pioneer had 
 to give two bushels of good wheat for one gallon of 
 molasses for the children to eat on bread and pancakes. 
 When wheat was 25 cents a bushel, it took a bushel of 
 wheat to pay the postage on a letter. For hundreds of 
 bushels of good wheat hauled to Peoria he got but 30 
 cents per bushel — later hauling wheat to Chicago and 
 getting 50 cents, bringing back lumber, laths and all 
 supplies. For corn in the ear they got 7 cents — almost 
 no market for potatoes. 
 
 Soon after locating in Princeville Mr. Stevens set 
 out an orchard and began preparations for building his 
 frame house. The heavy timbers for the frame of this 
 were hewed in the timber and the siding was sawed 
 from the black walnut logs, hauled by oxen to Prince's 
 mill on Spoon River. The flooring was also sawed 
 from ash and oak logs at the same mill. The family 
 moved into the house in 1839 and lived there for two 
 years before it was plastered. Part of the materials 
 for plastering were brought from Chicago, but as Mr.
 
 VVILUAM C. STE\^NS, THE FOUNDER OF PRIXCEVILLE 35 
 
 Cobiirn wanted to get his hotel in shape for business, 
 Mr. Stevens let him have it. The next supply went to 
 complete plastering the church. As Mrs. Stevens said, 
 it would help more people that way. 
 
 From the first a liberal plan was pursued to induce 
 those who would make desirable citizens to locate here, 
 offering a lot of their ow^n selection to build on to the 
 first storekeeper; also to artisans of any kind. The 
 first store was kept by a young man, Elisha Morrow. 
 He not only got the lot, but Mr. Stevens cut and hauled 
 for siding black walnut logs to Prince's sawmill on 
 Spoon River. The water was too low to run the saw 
 except a little while mornings. - As w^as customary in 
 those days all the men in the neighborhood were asked 
 to come to the raising, and the dinner on this occasion, 
 a good and bountiful one, was furnished by Mr. Stevens. 
 He neglected, however, to pass around the demijohn, 
 which was a very unusual and unpopular omission on 
 such an occasion. He substituted for this hot coffee. 
 The store completed, some boards supported by the 
 sugar barrel at one end and the salt barrel at the other, 
 did service as a counter. There was not a very large 
 assortment of dry goods, though quite enough for the 
 place and time. Nails, coffee, molasses, a little tea and 
 sugar, files for the prairie plow^, powder and shot and 
 tobacco, were the principal articles needed in those 
 days, as every woman spun, wove and made the cloth- 
 ing for her own family. Young Morrow kept store 
 about four years, but trade w^as not rushing enough to 
 suit him. He came a beardless boy of seventeen with 
 a capital of less than $200.00 and went away four years 
 later with $2,000.00. He was afterwards senator from 
 Wisconsin and worth half a million dollars. 
 
 Ebenezer Russell, the first blacksmith, got a lot on 
 which to erect his shop ; a lot was given to William 
 Coburn on wiiich he built and kept a hotel. Lots were 
 given to the Presbyterian, Methodist and Christian 
 churches, the stone school house and others. 
 
 The brick oven built in Mr, Stevens' new frame 
 house, proved a neighborhood convenience as well as a
 
 3ft HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 family comfort. Such savory, steaming, appetizing 
 odors as used to come from that brick oven when Mrs. 
 Stevens had her semi-weekly baking days ! It was a 
 combination of everything tempting to the palate. It 
 furnished opportunity for baking for extra occasions 
 to many neighbors, and Mrs. Greenfield and Mrs. East- 
 man, daughters of Stephen French, baked their wed- 
 ding cakes in that capacious oven. 
 
 While active in securing home comforts and im- 
 provements, Mr. Stevens looked beyond the home and 
 saw much to be done for the community and especially 
 for the children. They must have schools — he had not 
 forgotten the hunger for an education of his own boy- 
 hood, and later his activity in securing the means for 
 building the first Princeville Academy was an expres- 
 sion of his interest in the education of youth. He be- 
 lieved that the church and the school should go hand 
 in hand in the upbuilding of a community, and was 
 always ready to contribute liberally for this purpose. 
 He was always interested in the progress and pros- 
 perity of the people and especially desired that the 
 ruling influences should be along intellectual and moral 
 lines. 
 
 Patriotism was one of the cardinal principles of his 
 own life and faithfully instilled into the minds of his 
 children. He made it a part of his religion and when 
 the supreme test of loyalty to country came, three of 
 his sons responded "Here am I," serving in the Union 
 army with credit and one laid down his life for the 
 cause in the assault on Vicksburg May 22, 1863. 
 
 Of his seven children but two are now living; one 
 daughter, Maria Foster, died in early womanhood. 
 There are twenty-three grandchildren, forty-four great 
 grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren, sev- 
 enty-five in all. 
 
 It is due that what a man does well should be re- 
 membered to his credit. This is simple justice. May 
 whatever of good was accomplished by this conscien- 
 tious and faithful pioneer live long for the benefit of 
 this community.
 
 WILLIAM C. STRV'ENS, THE FOUNDER OF PRINCEVILLE 37 
 
 A LETTER WRITTEN BY WM. C. STEVENS. 
 
 (Showing his careful English, and characteristic 
 use of long words.) 
 
 Princeville, Nov. 18/53. 
 Miss M. Cutler 
 
 Dear Madam 
 
 Your very kind & unexpected letter 
 to Mrs. S. was duly reed pr last mail. As you antici- 
 pated, it found her too much pressed with business to 
 allow her a leisurable opportunity of answering you as 
 promptly as she desires, and as she thinks you deserve. 
 Agreeably, too, to your own suggestion, I therefore un- 
 dertake the very agreeable office of responding to your 
 very agreeable communication. 
 
 Add to the multiplicity of more than imaginary 
 cares, or mere fancied duties, taxing the still assiduous 
 attention of wife her health is perhaps not as good 
 now as when you was last with us ; at all events, she 
 is now utterly unable to perform as much hard work 
 as she was then in the habit of performing. Our 
 daughter M. for the last 18 months, therefore, has had 
 to relieve her mother of most the heavier work of the 
 family, and w^hich I am happy to say she had dis- 
 patched with very approveable resolution. Meanwhile, 
 little Hannah, as I call her, has been kept pretty con- 
 stantly at school. & is making gratifying progress in 
 every branch of learning thus far taken in hand. 
 Through this fall season the children have all been at- 
 tending two evenings every week a very good & effi- 
 cient Singing-school — they are in hopes of enjoying the 
 privilege still on through the winter. The girls take 
 lessons of the same teacher upon a melodion, which I 
 have purchased for them. And although they have 
 made as yet no advance towards a graceful skill in this 
 pleasing Art, yet we think they already afford us some 
 earnest of ultimate success.
 
 38 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 With regard to Wm. whether he has been the happy 
 subject of a Saving Change, or not, we can hardly sat- 
 isfactorily determine. We cherish some hopes — we in- 
 dulge many fears. 
 
 There are noticeable among and around us very 
 reconcileable material Improvements. In this respect 
 we ourselves have measureably participated with our 
 neighbours. During the past year our village has sus- 
 tained & enjoyed the advantages of, two very satisfac- 
 tory & constant schools — The Select or private, taught 
 by a Miss Rogers sister of Elizabeth; the district, by a 
 young gent, from 0. Schools in neighbourhoods 
 around, seem rather to have deteriorated than ad- 
 vanced — competent teachers are not now as numerous 
 as when you was here. Should you return you have 
 not signified whether it would be your desire to teach — 
 We take it for granted, however, that you would not 
 utterly decline this most useful vocation. Assuredly 
 such services are much needed all around us. Others, 
 incomparably less competent than yourself, readily find 
 employment at good wages. It is true in this, as well 
 as in other business, empiricks are sometimes best 
 patronised. 
 
 Your proposition to Mrs. S. of returning to 111. and 
 making a home with us, rec d her favourable consid- 
 eration, with the readily expressed hopes that on the 
 one hand you would find it quite as comfortable and 
 satisfactory as formerly, & on the other, she did not 
 see but what you would have it in your power easily 
 & satisfactorily to reciprocate the favor. 
 
 Should you intend coming right on this fall, please 
 lose no time in advising us, & letting us know whether 
 you want a school during the ensuing winter. 
 
 I have not time to write more — only to tender our 
 cordial respects and that of family — wife in particu- 
 lar to you and yours. 
 
 from your obt Servt 
 
 Wm. C. Stevens.
 
 WILLIAM C. STEVENS, THE FOUNDER OF PRINCEVILLE 39 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF WM. C. STEVENS. 
 
 Peoria Journal, Dee. 1, 1884. 
 From Scrap-book of Mrs. Esther R. Auten, 
 
 Early Reminiscences of the Founder of the Town — The 
 Origin of the Name — Facts of General Interest. 
 
 Princeville, 111., December 1, 1884. — While strolling 
 about this pleasant little town, viewing its busy streets 
 and comfortable residences, it was the fortune of the 
 Journal reporter to meet William C. Stevens, a promi- 
 nent citizen and really the founder of the town. He 
 was to Princeville what Romulus was to Rome or Queen 
 Dido to Carthage. He is now a man considerably past 
 four score years ; yet he walks with a firm step, pos- 
 sesses a remarkable memory — especially in regard to 
 names and dates, and is familiar with every detail of 
 the earliest history of Princeville. When asked the 
 origin of its euphonious name, and something about its 
 first settlement, he replied : * * * * (The part 
 omitted is largely quoted a few pages back in the 
 sketch written by Mrs. Moody and Mrs. Hutchins.) 
 * * * * "I also went into business, keeping a gen- 
 eral stock, and William Coburn started soon afterward. 
 He soon got himself a farm a mile east of town, and be- 
 came a permanent settler. His family still lives here, but 
 he volunteered to go into the war at the age of 60 and 
 joined Davidson's Peoria Battery. He died with small- 
 pox in the latter part of 1863 at New Orleans. He was 
 the second postmaster here, Stephen French being the 
 first. I had to do most of the business of the office during 
 Mr. French's term, and part of it for Mr. Coburn, as 
 he was living on his farm and could not attend to it. 
 I next became postmaster and performed the duties of 
 the office for sixteen years, and in 1866 resigned vol- 
 imtarily, feeling that I had done my part, and realiz- 
 ing that financially it was always an injury to me. 
 
 "The first teacher of w^inter school we ever had 
 was Theodore F. Hurd, who subsequently became the
 
 40 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 representative from this district and Stark. He was 
 then living at Lafayette, 111. After him, Solomon S. 
 Cornwell taught the school. He now lives about four 
 miles west of Princeville and owns a farm of 800 acres. 
 He is the father of Charlie Cornwell, a young lawyer 
 of Peoria. An academy was built here in 1857 — the 
 building now known as Fuller's store. It was 24x36 
 and two stories, and considered a good building for 
 those days. It ran successfully until silenced by the 
 war. The ablest teachers Princeville ever saw were 
 employed, boys being fitted for college in several in- 
 stances. This was the first academy built in the coun- 
 ty. I personally obtained every dollar of the money 
 to build it with, by subscription, giving between two 
 and three hundred dollars myself, besides furnishing 
 the lots. The academy cost $1,600,00 in those cheap 
 times, and $207.00 only remained due to the lumber 
 firm of Anderson & Proctor, in Peoria, when the last 
 nail was driven. This I became personally responsi- 
 ble for, asking that I might be notified six months be- 
 fore they wanted it. Nine years afterward I asked for 
 the bill, which had then amounted to about $400.00, 
 and paid it. Many have wondered that this place was 
 not named Stevensville, and I'll tell you why it was 
 not. I read in the scriptures that the worldling calls 
 his lands after his own name, so I made up my mind 
 not to do so. I wanted first a new name under the 
 sun — one never heard of before ; second, a name that 
 would look well on paper; third, one that was easily 
 spoken ; and, fourth, one that would be connected with 
 pleasant and agreeable associations. In the name of 
 Princeville I fancied I had all of these qualifications, 
 and consequently chose it above all others. Some 
 other time I will tell you more of early days in this 
 neck of the woods. You can't guess my age, so I'll tell 
 you that I am nearer eighty-eight than eighty-seven, 
 and feel very bright for a man so old."
 
 THE MOODY FAMILY 41 
 
 THE MOODY FAMILY. 
 By Miss Rie Henry, 1907. 
 
 Ira Moody was born in Sandisfield, Mass., October 
 18, 1795. His father, a sailor, died when on one of his 
 voyages, leaving a wife and three children. Ira and 
 his mother lived with his uncle, his mother's brother, 
 a Presbyterian minister. Ira was in his fifth year and 
 as he grew old enough to work, was employed on a 
 farm near Sandisfield. When 21, or a few years after, 
 he walked from Massachusetts to Ohio, in search of a 
 better opportunity for making a start in life. Satisfy- 
 ing himself of the advantages of Ohio as a farming 
 country, he returned to I\Iassachusetts for his mother. 
 He bought a tract of land in the forest, cleared it and 
 became the possessor of a good farm of 100 acres. 
 
 In 1823 he was married to Ann Maria Reaves, a 
 native of New Jersey. They remained in Ohio until 
 1839, when he brought his family to Illinois, traveling 
 w^ith horses and two wagons. Seven children were 
 born in Ohio, Oliver, Amy, Henry, Ira, Julia, Talley- 
 rand and Reaves. 
 
 They w^ere not alone in their journey, for now and 
 then a new wagon would be added to the train till 
 there became a long line of them. When they reached 
 the eastern part of Illinois the creeks were very wide, 
 veritable swamps, and the only way to cross them was 
 to hitch one team behind the other. The line was so 
 long that when the first team had reached the farther 
 side the last one was only starting. After a journey 
 of five weeks they reached Peoria County where they 
 located on Section 4, Princeville Township. He broke 
 and improved eighty acres of land and remained there 
 till his death in 1882, being 87 years old. 
 
 His wife died in 1861. She was known as a splen- 
 did nurse and would go anywhere when called upon 
 to care for the sick. In these days we wonder how 
 one with a large family, as every one had then, could
 
 42 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 think of losing one moment of her own time to help 
 others, when we remember that besides the regular 
 housework she spun and wove all the cloth needed for 
 clothing and bedding. 
 
 Ira Moody was not a large man, of medium height 
 and build but with a strong constitution and good 
 health of which he was careful. He was temperate in 
 all things; would rise at an early hour, work hard all 
 day and in the evening enjoyed taking his chair out 
 on the la^^Ti where it was cool; but however warm the 
 evening, he never neglected to add another garment, 
 usually a jacket. He preferred to walk rather than 
 ride if he wished to go to town or to a neighbor's, and 
 he had a system in walking. He would say, ''Never 
 go from side to side of the road to find a smooth path, 
 it takes time and strength, but walk straight ahead 
 over rough places and through mud and water if neces- 
 sary. " He was a good marksman, could shoot a prai- 
 rie chicken on the wing with a rifle when 70 years old. 
 He took an active part in educational affairs, holding 
 some of the school offices, and was to\^mship treasurer 
 for some years. 
 
 He was the father of ten children, those before men- 
 tioned and Mary (Mattie), Charlotte and Nathan. 
 The last two died in childhood and were buried in 
 Princeville cemetery. Oliver, a prominent citizen of 
 Princeville and vicinity, and often in public offices, 
 afterwards lived in Chicago. His wife, still living, was 
 Mary Stevens, and they had ten children. Sarah died 
 in childhood, and Ella, wife of Dr. T. E. Alyea, died 
 some fifteen years ago. The others, well known to 
 many here, are Mrs. Fannie Tucker, Mrs. Julia Klinck, 
 Oliver, Henry, John, Melville, Mrs. Maude Quinu and 
 Miss Vinnie. 
 
 Oliver Moody's brothers, Henry, Ira and Keaves, 
 better known as ''Cap," were among those who went 
 west in search of gold in 1847-51 with ox teams, their 
 trip covering a period of three months. Henry and 
 Ira married in the west, and there are some children
 
 THE MOODY FAMILY 43 
 
 of each living in the west. Reaves died in the gold 
 country, a bachelor, while still young. 
 
 Amy married William Davis and died rather young, 
 leaving five children. Her youngest son, Henry Davis, 
 was raised by his Uncle Tall, and was here on a visit 
 from Nebraska last winter. The other Davis children 
 were Mrs. Lois Camp (now deceased), Mrs. Charlotte 
 Cottrill of Missouri, and Theodore and George of Kan- 
 sas. 
 
 Mary (or Mattie) went to Oregon to visit Henry 
 and Ira, and while there met and married a Mr. Wm. 
 H. James. 
 
 Julia (Mrs. John Henry) lives in Princeville, and 
 her children are Albert in Houston, Texas, Bruce on 
 the home place. Miss Rie, Mrs. Blanche Sheelor of 
 Galesburg, Miss Julia, Sherman T. of Monica, and Mrs. 
 Sadie Cornish, besides three, Emily, Carlisle and Mabel, 
 who died when young. 
 
 Talleyrand or "Tall" has the distinction of having 
 lived on the same section longer than any other man 
 in Princeville Township, sixty-seven years. His chil- 
 dren are Mrs. Miranda Graves of Duncan, Mrs. Anna 
 White and Miss Stella. 
 
 Tall and Julia, Mrs. John Henry, are the only mem- 
 bers of the original family surviving. 
 
 TWO LETTERS. 
 
 One from Ethan Moody (father of Ira Moody) 
 written to his wife before embarking on his last sea 
 voyage ; and the other from Silas Jones, breaking to 
 Mrs. Moody the news of her husband's death. 
 
 New London, Nov. 16th, 1799. 
 Dear M'am : 
 
 I avail myself of the opportunity of writing to you 
 to let you know that I am in good health and spirits, 
 hoping that you are all enjoying the same blessing, and 
 that I like the business as well as I expected. We 
 arrived in this harbor Saturday evening, having been 
 a week from Middletown. The captain, second mate 
 and all the hands are as agreeable companions as I
 
 44 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 could wish. (Here something referring to the first 
 mate seems to have been written and then scratched 
 out.) None escaped being dam'd by him, but we expect 
 when his brother comes on board there will be an alter- 
 ation. He is hated by all the ship's crew. We expect 
 to sail the last of the week in company' with the new 
 ship Yankee of Middletown of sixteen six-pounders 
 and several other vessels, as there is near twenty sail 
 about ready for sea. In the sound we met Mr. Deming, 
 he having made a good and short voyage. 
 
 Nov. 20. This day Mr. Eobbins arrived and informs 
 me that you are well which gave me joy. I am as 
 hearty as I wish to be and my old heels haven't 
 troubled me at all. I live verv well, have tea or coffee 
 twice a day if we have a mind for it, besides oysters 
 and clams. We shall sail by Saturday I expect and 
 perhaps by a Friday. This day seven vessels sailed 
 for the West Indies. The ship Yankee will not be 
 ready so soon as we are. Abijah Woodhouse is as big 
 a scoundrel as ever lived. We had twenty-four gallons 
 of rum put on board at Middletown for vessel's use 
 and he has given most part away with what he has 
 drinkt. but the owners are determined to have the 
 second mate take his place. His name is Ebenezer 
 Butler of Rocky Hill, as good a fellow as ever lived. 
 The Captain did not come around with us. He is a nice 
 man. I have sent an almanac bv Bobbins. The reason 
 that Eemington did not come was the ill usage he 
 received from Woodhouse. You need not entertain 
 fears concerning my treatment, for I have no doubt 
 but that I shall be used well, and as for my return I 
 must leave to that kind providence who is the pro- 
 tector of all mankind. 
 
 My compliments to all friends and I conclude sub- 
 scribing myself 
 
 Your affectionate husband, 
 
 Ethan Moody.
 
 THE MOODY FAMILY 45 
 
 Baltimore, March 22nd, 1800. 
 Dear Madam : 
 
 I am very sorry that I have to inform you of the 
 death of your affectionate husband. He took passage 
 with me on board the Schooner Swan, at St. Thomas 
 bound to Turks Islands, and from there to Boston, but 
 after we arrived in Turks Islands he was taken down 
 very sick with a putrid fever. The 17th day of Feb- 
 ruary we sailed from Turks Islands for Boston and 
 then I thought he was in fair way for recovery. But 
 after we got at sea he began to get worse and three 
 days after we sailed he expired, which being the 20th 
 day of February at five in the morning. I had his body 
 buried in as decent a way as I could after I had read 
 prayers over him. In his sickness we paid the best 
 attention to him we could. Dear madam, I am very 
 sorry for your loss, but I hope you will bear it with 
 Christian fortitude and consider that we have got a 
 great Being that rules over us that will never take us 
 hence without he thinks it is right and then we must 
 obey his summons. Dear madam, I hope you will not 
 take it too hard but consider Mr. Moody is clear of a 
 troublesome world and I make no doubt but he is much 
 happier than he was here, for I never saw anything in 
 him but what was upright and steady, and think he 
 cannot be miserable hereafter. I hope this example 
 of God's providence will put us all in mind that in a 
 short time we must follow your affectionate husband. 
 I and all my crew expected to have had to follow 
 Mr. Moody when our vessel w^as sinking, but Providence 
 ordered it so that we got relief at the last moment by a 
 vessel taking us off. So I remain, dear madam, with 
 respect and esteem. 
 
 Your friend and obedient servant, 
 
 Silas Jones.
 
 46 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 4 
 
 t 
 
 WILLIAM HOUSTON AND FAMILY 
 By Henry C. Houston, 1907. 
 
 Among the names entitled to recognition as Prince- 
 ville pioneers are those of William Houston and his 
 wife Sarah (Chase) Houston, who left New Hampshire 
 the latter part of September, 1843, arriving in Prince- 
 ville on Thanksgiving day of that year. This journey 
 of nearly 1500 miles, as the roads were then laid out, 
 was made with team and covered wagon, requiring 
 fifty-seven days to make the trip. The late Mr. and 
 Mrs. Simon P. Chase were their traveling companions. 
 Compare this journey, the time occupied, and discom- 
 forts, with the present day ''Twentieth Century Lim- 
 ited" with its parlor, dining and sleeping car accom- 
 modations, which now spans this distance in a trifle 
 over one day. William Houston w^as great grandson of 
 Rev. Robert Houston, who emigrated to this country 
 from Londonderry, Ireland, as pastor of a colony 
 chartered by the King of England. This colony located 
 upon a land grant from the King, which gave them a 
 tract twelve miles square, somewhere on the East shore 
 of the Connecticut River in what is now the State of 
 New Hampshire. 
 
 Mr. Houston was born in Temple, N. H., February, 
 1815, being the ninth child of John and Ann Houston. 
 At the age of 16 he started out into the world to earn 
 his owTi living. For a few years he worked on a farm; 
 later he worked in the stone quarries, getting out 
 material for foundations of the great cotton mills of 
 Lowell. Reports of the opportunities which the then 
 far West offered to young men of limited means, led 
 to a decision to emigrate to the Prairie State. On 
 September 25th, 1842, he was united in marriage with 
 Sarah Chase (she being a niece of the late Wm. C. 
 Stevens) and a few days later they started on the 
 journey Westward to the land that was to be their 
 future home.
 
 SIMON P. CHASE AND FAMII.Y 47 
 
 Three years after coming to Illinois they bought 
 the farm on which the Akron town house stands, which 
 they improved and which was their home for over fifty 
 years, the home in which both died. ]\[rs. Houston 
 died May, 1899, her husband following her in Decem- 
 ber, 1901. Their bodies now rest from their labors in 
 the beautiful cemetery Northwest of our Village. To 
 them were born three sons, Henry C. residing half a 
 mile from the old homestead ; William A. living near 
 Allerton, Iowa; and Charles S. who was born and has 
 spent his life thus far on the home farm. During the 
 early years they experienced the usual hardships, 
 privations and the practice of rigid economy incident 
 to those times. Theirs was the experience of the 
 average early settler, — nothing striking or of public 
 interest. It was their effort to meet and discharge 
 the daily duties or heroically to meet the disappoint- 
 ments and trials of pioneer life. Their hearts and 
 homes were ever open to the belated traveler, and their 
 sympathy and services were promptly and heartily 
 given to any fellow pioneer in sorrow or distress. They 
 were a part of that grand army whose strength of head, 
 heart and hand was given to develop the territory now 
 included in this association. 
 
 SIMON P. CHASE AND FAMILY. 
 By Mrs. S. C. Eldred, 1907. 
 
 The first paternal ancestor of Simon P. Chase in 
 America, was Aquila Chase, who wdth his brother 
 Thomas emigrated from Chesham, England in 1639 (a 
 brother William coming nine years prior), settling first 
 at Hampton, Mass., later removing to Newbury and 
 Sutton ; great-grandsons migrating to the Connecticut 
 River settled on a tract of new land and laid out the 
 town of Cornish, N. H. 
 
 The lineal descent of this branch of the family in 
 America is as follows: Aquila (1), Moses (2), Daniel
 
 48 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 (3), Samuel (4), Samuel (5), Peter (6), Peter (7), 
 Simon Peter (8) (the ancestry of Mrs. Sarah Chase 
 Houston being the same). Simon P. (8) Chase was the 
 son of Peter (7) Chase and Martha Stevens, his wife; 
 he was born in Cornish, N. H., January 28th, 1812 ; was 
 married at Orange, N. H., April 1st, 1838, to Miss Ann 
 Houston, daughter of John Houston and Ann Moore, 
 his wife, of Temple, N. H. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Chase and little daughter Martha in 
 company with Mr. and Mrs. William Houston removed 
 to Illinois in 1842 and shortly after bought land two 
 and one-half miles East of Princeville and built a cabin 
 home. 
 
 Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Chase, 
 two daughters and a son ; the daughters are Mrs. 
 Martha A. Harbaugh of Red Oak, Iowa, and Mrs. Sarah 
 C. Eldred of Roseville, Illinois; the son, Mr. Philander 
 H. Chase, a well known citizen of this community, re- 
 sided during his life on the farm where he was born ; 
 he died March 5, 1899. Mr. Simon Chase passed from 
 this earthlife January 9, 1870, and his wife five years 
 later, all of whom were laid to rest in the Princeville 
 Cemetery. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Chase early united with the Presby- 
 terian Church of Princeville, which at that time wor- 
 shipped in the old log school house ; they helped accord- 
 ing to their ability in the building of the first, and also 
 of the present church edifice, and joined heartily in 
 the rejoicings on the completion and dedication of 
 each. They were faithful in church attendance, and 
 devoted to the interests of Christ's kingdom during 
 life; Mr. Chase being elected to the office of Ruling 
 Elder ''ever used said office well." Mrs. Chase, who 
 possessed a good voice for singing and had received 
 training under the best teachers of New England in 
 that day in harmony and sight-reading, used her voice 
 in the service of song in the church, and taught the 
 young people, sometimes meeting them in the ''Singing 
 School" held in the Morrow school house and some- 
 times in her home. A few years later a musical society
 
 THE COKNWELL FAMILY 49 
 
 was formed and "Sings" or in modern phrase 
 "Miisicales" were held in the homes of music-loving 
 families, which were a source of culture as well as 
 social pleasure to the young people. 
 
 In 1852 Mr. Chase bought a piece of land near by 
 on which was a more commodious house ; into this the 
 family moved from the cabin home, and in the vacated 
 cabin the first public school in District No. 5, Akron 
 Township, was held in the winter of 1852-3, Miss Sarah 
 Farwell being the teacher. 
 
 The privations and difficulties incident to pioneer 
 life of that day, such as failure of crops, prairie fires, 
 bad roads, distance from markets, lack of legal cur- 
 rency or coin (most of the marketing being in the form 
 of barter, a farmer with his produce might supply his 
 family with sugar and shoes, but found it a poor 
 medium with which to pay taxes or postage on let- 
 ters) ; all these Mr. Chase encountered with manful 
 courage and patience, saying in facing them, "Well, 
 well, it will be better by and by." 
 
 Those early settlers saw many rewards for their 
 privations and arduous toil, in the advancement and 
 development of the country ; and may we not say they, 
 under God's guiding hand, helped to "Make the wilder- 
 ness and solitary place glad for them, and the desert 
 to blossom as the rose, and to rejoice with joy and 
 singing." 
 
 THE CORNWELL FAMILY. 
 By Wm. E. Elliott, 1907. 
 
 Solomon S. Cornwell was born in Duchess County, 
 New York, July 8, 1808. His father, Job Cornwell, was 
 a native of the same county, and was son of Jonathan 
 Cornwell, also of Duchess County, and a grandson of 
 Lot Cornwell, who was a soldier in the Revolution. The 
 father of Lot Cornwell came from England as an officer
 
 50 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 in the English army; but in the beginning of the 
 struggle between the colonists and the mother-country, 
 he left the British Armv and cast in his lot with the 
 colonists and fought with them for their freedom. After 
 the war he settled in Duchess County. 
 
 Mr. Cornwell obtained his education in the district 
 schools and in a Quaker school at Mechanicsville, 
 Duchess County. After leaving school he chose the 
 profession of teaching and was engaged at it about 
 twelve years in Duchess County, and after that taught 
 in Long Island, and for three years was principal of the 
 schools where he was stationed. In 1837 he went to 
 Monroe Countv, New York. 
 
 In 1838 he came to Illinois, traveling by boat to 
 Cleveland, Ohio, and by canal to the Ohio River to 
 take a boat; but as there were none going down the 
 river at that time, he hired a skiff. After proceeding 
 a short distance, however, he decided he could make 
 better progress on foot, so he walked to the next land- 
 ing and waited there four days for a boat, and as one 
 did not come he secured a seat on a stage to Indiana, 
 and finally made his way to Springfield, this state. 
 He then shouldered his bundle of clothes and made a 
 trip to the Mississippi River, and back to Farmington 
 in search of a school. All this trip was made on foot. 
 At Farmington he was referred to Princeville. Here 
 he was engaged to teach, which he did in a log school- 
 house (the one southeast of present Rock Island depot) 
 with the most primitive furnishings. He found it hard 
 work as there were among the pupils several large boys 
 who could neither read nor w^rite. He toiled faithfully 
 and made a success of his teaching. 
 
 One story that he told, in after years, will interest 
 one of the participants who is here to-day. One of the 
 younger Stevens boys was untractable, when Mr. Corn- 
 well ''chucked" him into a barrel that was standing 
 in the log school house. The boy made no disturbance 
 there. After school Mr. Cornwell forgot all about him 
 and was about to lock the door, and all the other 
 scholars were gone, when Mary Stevens rushed at him
 
 THE BELFORD FAMILY 51 
 
 like a bear, and said, ''No you don't lock my brother 
 in there." Going back they found the little fellow 
 fast asleep in the barrel. 
 
 From Princeville Mr. Cornwell went to Fairview, 
 Fulton County, and was engaged in teaching in the 
 academy as its principal and occupied that position 
 for three years. 
 
 Mr. Cornwell first settled in Princeville Township 
 on the Northwest quarter of Section 16, where his 
 oldest son was born January 14, 1844. That year he 
 built a house and settled on the Southwest quarter of 
 Section 21, which ever after was his home until, in 
 1872-73, the large house was built on Section 28. He 
 drew the lumber for his first house from EUisville, 
 Fulton County, forty miles away, with an ox team. 
 
 Mr. Cornwell returned to New York and on May 
 24, 1842, was married to Miss Emily Munson, a native 
 of Connecticut. To them were born four children : 
 William H. or "Hughes"; Charles A., for many years 
 one of the useful attorneys of Peoria; Julia C. (Mrs. 
 W. E. Elliott) ; and Adaline D. (Mrs. Hugh Crawford) ; 
 of whom only Julia (Mrs. Elliott) survives. 
 
 Mr. Cornwell platted the Village of Monica on a 
 part of his farm, and it was called "Cornwell" for a 
 time ; but later was changed to Monica, because of 
 confusion in the mail with another town of a similar 
 name. His ideals were for a town without liquor, and 
 he inserted a clause in his deeds designed to effectually 
 keep it out. Mr. Cornwell died Oct. 4, 1893, and Mrs. 
 Cornwell on Feb. 3, 1895. Both are buried in the 
 Princeville Cemetery. 
 
 THE BELFORD FAMILY. 
 By George Belford, 1907. 
 
 Margium Belford, the subject of this sketch, was 
 born June 6, 1794, in Hampshire County, Virginia. He 
 resided there with his parents until eighteen years of
 
 52 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 age when he enlisted in the war of 1812. After the 
 war he settled near Columbus, Ohio. He w^as married 
 in Ohio and later moved to Peoria, Illinois, with his 
 wife and two small daughters in 1829. Soon after 
 reaching Peoria death entered his family and he was 
 called upon to give up his wife and one little girl. 
 The other daughter grew to womanhood and married 
 Abraham Frye of Richwoods. Mr. Frye died about 
 twelve years ago, and his wife followed him to the 
 ''Great Beyond" about six years later. 
 
 In 1832 Mr. Belford enlisted in the Black Hawk 
 War which was then threatening our people. After 
 this war he w^as married to Miss Sarah Orr of Rich- 
 woods in 1836. By his second wife he had four chil- 
 dren, namely : AVilliam, residing on the old homestead ; 
 Mrs. Kate Carroll of Ransom, Kansas ; Frank of 
 Monica ; and George of Princeville. He resided near 
 Brimfield for some time and finally in 1848 he entered, 
 at a dollar and a quarter per acre, from the govern- 
 ment, an eighty acre farm three miles north of Brim- 
 field. This is still in the family name, with no trans- 
 fers except from the other children to William, the 
 present owner. The farm has been his home for fifty- 
 nine years. 
 
 It seems wonderful at this time to think of the 
 changes that have taken place. The writer remembers 
 well, when a little boy, going one or two hundred yards 
 from the little sod house, with a dog along for com- 
 pany, and seeing several "buffalo wallow^s." Here the 
 bleached bones indicated where the American bisons, 
 possibly twenty or thirty years before, had got stuck 
 in the mud, or been wounded, and died. The skele- 
 tons were undisturbed. Prairie fires had often gone 
 over them — and speaking of prairie fires reminds us of 
 times when a whole township would not sleep. The 
 whole prairie from the Belford farm, which was in the 
 Southeast corner of Millbrook Township, and two miles 
 South of it, off to the Northwest — past where Laura 
 now is, and clear to Rochester — was sometimes a roar- 
 ing fire, burning off in a night. This was hard on
 
 THE BELFORD FAMILY 53 
 
 fences. Back-firing was often resorted to, to save a 
 house or a field of corn. Then speaking of the pri- 
 vations of the period, the writer is reminded of the 
 winter nights shelling corn by hand. Mother had a 
 piece of tin pimched full of holes, rounded and tacked 
 onto a slab of wood, over the rough side of which she 
 would draw an ear of corn until two or three rows were 
 shelled out. Then the little fellows took the cobs and 
 finished the shelling, mother always keeping them busy. 
 Quite a few bushels would be shelled in an evening 
 and after a few evenings there would be a load for 
 father to take to Peoria. When the first hand sheller 
 came, it was a bonanza, and no one dreamed then of 
 the modern sheller w^hicli the writer of this sketch 
 has been propelling with a steam traction engine for 
 twenty years past ; not to speak of the horse power 
 sheller which was in use for twenty years before that. 
 On the same rough tin hand sheller or ''grater" the 
 new corn at this time of the year, used to be ground or 
 grated into soft meal for mush. 
 
 Father Belford was a typical frontiersman, not 
 educated as the present day goes, but rough and ready 
 and always at home to the traveler. The house always 
 had plenty of room for strangers or movers going 
 across the country, although there was only one room 
 in it. It made no difference if a blizzard kept a large 
 family and horses on their hospitality for a week. No 
 one in those days sent visitors or strangers to the 
 hotel ; neither did they send strangers to the livery 
 barn, as horses were one time driven as far as Gales- 
 burg for the accommodation of some of these strangers. 
 
 Father Belford was accidentally killed by a horse 
 falling on him on July 6, 1870. His wife lived quietlj- 
 on at the old home for a number of years, but finally 
 on June 8, 1878, she closed her eyes into the sleep 
 which has no waking. Mr. and Mrs. Belford are both 
 buried in the Princeville Cemetery Northwest of town.
 
 54 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 REV. ROBERT FINLEY BREESE AND FAMILY. 
 
 FIRST PASTOR OF THE PRINCEVILLE 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 By Charles Forrest Cutter, 1907. 
 
 The name of the Rev. Robert Breese first appears 
 on the Minutes of Session, March 26, 1843, at, or about 
 which time he entered on his labors in this church. 
 He had as his particular charge the Church of Prince- 
 ville and Rochester, between which he divided his time. 
 In this field he continued to labor until the time of his 
 death, which occurred September 2, 1851. This, so far 
 as is known, was his first and only field of labor. He 
 was in regular connection with the Presbytery of 
 Peoria and in good repute with his Ministerial 
 Brethren. During his ministry here he resided a part 
 of his time in this village (Princeville), and part of 
 the time in Rochester, where he died. His remains, as 
 also those of his wife, repose in the Princeville Ceme- 
 tery. A good head-stone of Italian marble marks their 
 resting place. They sleep in Jesus. 
 
 ''The graves of all his saints be jblest." ''They rest 
 from their labors, and their works do follow them." 
 
 Mr. Breese was a man sound in the faith, zealous 
 for the truth and faithful in his ministr3\ He has left 
 behind him an enduring memorial. 
 
 Mrs. Breese, a woman highly respected and valued 
 for her many ladylike and Christian qualities, devoted 
 much of her time to the noble cause of Christian educa- 
 tion in which work she was largely successful. The 
 comparative high grade of education in this neighbor- 
 hood is clearly traceable to her zealous and self denying 
 labors. There are many who will rise up and call her 
 blessed. She was a pupil of Misses Lyon and Grant at 
 Ipswich, Mass., and seems to have caught much of their 
 genial and high-toned spirit. Mr. Breese was a grad- 
 uate of South Hanover College, Ind., and of the Alleg.
 
 REV. ROBERT FINLEY BREESE AND FAMILY 55 
 
 Theological Seminary. He possessed a respectable 
 library and is known to have expended much labor 
 upon his sermons. A specimen of his sermons is pre- 
 served in the appendix to the ''Session" Register of 
 the Princeville Presbyterian Church. Their home in 
 Princeville was the house now occupied by Willard 
 Bennett and family, which is still sometimes called the 
 Breese property. 
 
 Mrs. Hannah Cutter Breese was born August 2, 
 1807, in the Cutter home of Pelham, N. H., and was 
 both a first pupil and later a preceptress in the famous 
 Ipswich Academy. In 1840, in the prime of life, with 
 a good education and much experience in teaching, she 
 came to Illinois, taught in Macomb (where in 18-41 she 
 and her home missionary beloved were married), 
 taught on in Rushville, in Princeville, 1843 or '44 
 (where her youngest brother. Dr. Charles Cutter of 
 Harvard College and the Massachusetts Hospital, Bos- 
 ton, had settled), and, about 1846, she began the well 
 known Seminary twelve miles west of here in old 
 Rochester. 
 
 Hannah Cutter's ability showed itself so early, when 
 thirteen, that one incredulous teacher declared an 
 essay my aunt handed in in verse to be a theft. She 
 answered by putting in his desk, the next morning 
 before school, an acrostic on his name that opened not 
 only his eyes but also those of her family and friends. 
 
 Thirty-five years ago one of her biographers wrote 
 thus: ''Of sterling worth and masculine energy, of 
 uncommon literary attainments, many a noble woman 
 owes her strength of character to Mrs. Breese 's teach- 
 ing and training." Men and women still live who 
 remember their home being moved to Rochester that 
 they might be trained in the Breese Seminary. 
 
 Mrs. Breese survived her husband less than a year, 
 till April 25, 1852. The children were David, a Union 
 soldier, starved in a Texas prison ; Joanna, 1847-49 ; 
 and a pair of twin boys, Ambrose and Robert Finley, 
 the last named still living in this state.
 
 56 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 If, as Socrates said, "It is better to write on the 
 hearts of living men than on the skins of dead sheep," 
 then this pioneer couple in their too short lives of 
 evangelistic work and Christian education are worthy 
 examples for youth to-day. 
 
 Note 1. Mr. Breese was licensed by the Presbytery 
 of Madison June 27, 1838. 
 
 Note 2. During his last hours Mr. Breese was par- 
 tially deranged ; but at lucid moments he expressed his 
 full and unshaken confidence in God's covenant mercy. 
 
 Note 3. Mrs. Breese. during her last illness, gave 
 very decisive and satisfactory evidence of Christian 
 faith and hope. It may well be said of her ''To live 
 was Christ, to die was gain." 
 
 Her diary gives many signal proofs of her close 
 self-inspection and of her devotion to her chosen work. 
 
 She has left specimens of poetry which evince no 
 small degree of literary taste and genius. 
 
 Note 4. The "Massachusetts Teacher" of 185— 
 contains an extended biography of Mrs. Breese. under 
 the title, "The Ardent Scholar and Benevolent 
 Teacher." 
 
 KEY. ROBERT CAMERON, AND DAUGHTER, 
 MISS AGNES CAMERON. 
 
 By Louis Auten, 1907. 
 
 Reverend Cameron has said that it was through the 
 direction of Divine Providence that he came to this 
 community, and no one who has been acquainted with 
 him and the good he has done here thinks differently. 
 
 It was in the hopes of regaining his health, and pro- 
 longing his life, and to place his daughters in the fam- 
 ily of their oldest brother Peter, who lived at Henry, 
 Illinois, that Robert Cameron came to America from 
 near Glasgow, Scotland, in 1842, with his two daugh- 
 ters Agnes and Annie. The daughter Annie was mar-
 
 REV. ROBERT CAMERON AND DAUGHTER 57 
 
 ried soon after coming to America, so the father and 
 one daughter lived alone with each other until his 
 death. 
 
 They made their home in New Jersey for nine and 
 one-half years when they came to this community, 
 going from New York to Buffalo by canal, and from 
 Buffalo to Chicago by lake steamer, the whole trip 
 taking about two weeks. The family had engaged 
 passage on the steamer "James Griffith," but a break 
 in a canal lock delayed them so they missed their boat, 
 and on that very trip the "James Griffith" was burned 
 and all the passengers lost. Mr. Cameron saw in this 
 delay another instance of the intervention of the Divine 
 Providence in which he had so much faith. The father 
 and daughter intended to make their home at Racine, 
 Wisconsin, but came to this community first to see an 
 old friend, Mr. Buchanan, who lived Northw^est of here, 
 and as Mr. Cameron saw great need of his services 
 here, they stayed and made this their home. Their 
 first Princeville home was with Alexander Buchanan 
 and family in a little frame building that stood where 
 Mrs. Shane's house now is. They lived there for only 
 a short time, after which they made their home with 
 different ones of his parishioners. 
 
 For a year and a half Mr. Cameron assisted Eev. 
 Breese in his charge, but on the death of the pastor, 
 the charge was given to Rev. Cameron. He preached 
 his first sermon in Princeville on his birthday, Julj^ 7, 
 1852, and preached three times every Sunday, almost 
 until the time of his death. He founded a church at 
 West Princeville, and walked over there every Sunday 
 afternoon and then walked back to preach his evening 
 sermon here. His Princeville church was a small frame 
 building that stood where Cheesman's store now is. 
 He conducted the first Thanksgiving service ever held 
 in Princeville, and contrary to the expectations of 
 some of his friends who advised him not to undertake 
 it, the church was crowded. 
 
 Though Mr. Cameron's object in coming to America 
 was partly to be in the home of his eldest son, he was
 
 58 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 never able to accomplish this, as the son was drowned 
 on a log raft in the Illinois River about the time the 
 family came to America, and it was six years before 
 they could find out what had become of him, or if he 
 were still living. Many of the older people still speak 
 of Reverend Cameron. They remember him as a small 
 white haired, frail man, old beyond his years, feebly 
 walking to his scattered charges, and preaching at 
 times when he was so exhausted that he could not 
 stand. He worked beyond all human endurance and 
 died an old man at the age of sixty-seven. 
 
 Agnes Cameron, or as she was known to all her 
 acquaintances, "Auntie Cameron," has lived alone 
 since her father's death thirty-three years ago, and is 
 now at the age of eighty-three, keeping house for her- 
 self ; waited on to some extent by kind neighbors, but 
 more than repaying all that is done for her, by the 
 warmth of the love which she bestows on her friends. 
 
 THE DEBORD FAMILY. 
 By Louis Auten, 1907. 
 
 Believing that a new country offered greater possi- 
 bilities for a young man of twenty-one, than his o^vn, 
 Reuben R. Debord left Kentucky in the fall of 1839 for 
 Princeville where an old friend of his, John Miller, 
 had established his home. Mr, Debord traveled this 
 distance on horseback and alone, and on his arrival at 
 Mr. Miller's he owned less than a dollar in money, and 
 no property except his horse and the clothes he wore. 
 He made his home with Mr. Miller, who lived in a cabin 
 one mile north and about four and a half miles west 
 of Princeville, worked for his board, and broke some 
 land for himself. At a large religious meeting con- 
 ducted by Bishop Chase in the grove (Princeville) at 
 the cabin school house, he met Miss Julia Ann Hall, 
 to whom he was married in 1843.
 
 the; debord family 59 
 
 Miss Hall was also a pioneer, having come to Prince- 
 ville in the winter of 1840, with her mother and brothers 
 and sisters. Her oldest brother, Warren, who had been 
 head of the household for several years, came to Prince- 
 ville in 1837, and deciding to make this his home, he 
 had a wagon made, and sent one of his neighbors. 
 Reeves Sherman, back to Ohio to bring the family. 
 The wagon was loaded with bedding, a table, one or 
 two chairs, and the head and foot pieces of a bedstead, 
 and the family started in January for Illinois. There 
 were ten in the company, of whom three were quite 
 young, so the older ones had to walk. Julia was four- 
 teen years of age, but young as she was, she walked 
 practically all the way from Ohio to Illinois. They 
 traveled every day, but always timed their progress so 
 that they never had to spend a night in the open, but 
 always slept at some house or hotel. They took food 
 with them, and on their arrival at their stopping places 
 they prepared their meal in the kitchen, and made up a 
 large bed with their own bedding, on the floor. There 
 were no bridges at that time, and the rivers presented 
 difficulties, but the movers were usually able to cross 
 on flat-boats or ferries, though at times they had to 
 unload their wagon and swim the horses over, and take 
 their bedding and furniture in canoes. They arrived 
 at Princeville in March, tired but in good spirits, and 
 made their home in a cabin which stood where Sam 
 Morrow now lives. The next year they moved to 
 Shiloh, or, as it is known today, the Belltree neighbor- 
 hood, where Julia lived until her marriage. 
 
 Mr. Debord and Miss Hall were married at her home 
 in Shiloh by Squire Tucker. They kept house in the 
 same cabin with George I. McGinnis about a mile and 
 a half north of Princeville, until Mr. Debord built for 
 himself. They had eleven children, all of whom are 
 living, and six of them still reside in this vicinity. 
 Mrs. Debord says with commendable pride, "I have 
 eleven children and they are all living; they have 
 always had enough to eat, they have all gone to school, 
 and I haven't one to spare." This is certainly a re-
 
 60 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 markable record, and it speaks well for the ability of 
 these pioneer parents who were able to do for so large 
 a family. We of a younger generation wonder how 
 our forefathers managed to make a living, and how 
 our grandmothers were able to do all the housework, 
 without our modern conveniences. But Mrs. Debord 
 says: ''Yes, we were busy then, but we didn't have 
 as much to do as the women do now. A one room cabin 
 was not hard to keep clean, and it was no task at all 
 to dust the furniture. We had to make our own 
 clothes, but each garment lasted us several years, and 
 there was not much washing and ironing." Mr. Debord 
 was a farmer and stock raiser all his life. He was a 
 good judge of stock and of land, careful of his expendi- 
 tures and investments, and moderate in his manner of 
 living. This was the secret of the success of the family, 
 they were contented and satisfied with what they had, 
 and so what they had was enough ; and who will doubt 
 but what they were as happy as any family that stayed 
 in its more comfortable Eastern home? 
 
 The children are as follows, in the order of their 
 birth : William H., Charles W., Henry A., Emily now 
 Mrs. George Gladfelter, Frank, A. Burke, George Fred- 
 erick, Mary now Mrs. Hurd, Ella M. now Mrs. Elroy 
 Wear, Hattie, and Clara now Mrs. Sanford. Six of 
 these are still living in this vicinity, three are in Mis- 
 souri, one in Iowa, and one in California. All married 
 except Hattie who lives with her mother and is still 
 single. Of those residing near here, the three men 
 Henry, Frank and Burke, are engaged in farming and 
 stock raising. 
 
 Reuben R. Debord died in 1891 at the age of 
 seventy-three, but his wife is still living — loved and 
 respected by her eleven children, thirty-three grand- 
 children and thirteen great-grandchildren. Her days 
 of activity perhaps are passed, but not her days of 
 usefulness, for as long as she lives she will be a help 
 and an inspiration to all who know her.
 
 FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION AT PRIXCEVILLE IN 1844 61 
 
 FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION AT 
 PRINCEVILLE IN 1844. 
 
 Princeville Telephone, July 2, 1885. 
 
 Written by Mrs. Esther R. Auten. 
 
 This celebration was an impromptu affair, the first 
 we have any account of, and no preparation whatever 
 was made for it till that very morning. We will first 
 name the people who lived here then and describe the 
 town. AVm. C. Stevens, Benjamin Slane, Ashford 
 Nixon, Ebenezer Russell, Dr. Charles Cutter, Hiel 
 Bouton, Geo. McMillen, Sam'l Alexander, Seth Fulton, 
 and a few others were its sole inhabitants. The 
 Blanchard's, Auten 's and Bliss's w^ere here then, but 
 lived a few miles in the country. The Henry's, Mr. 
 Owens and George Hitchcock were not here as yet. 
 Mr. Stevens lived where he always did, north of the 
 public square. Mr. Russell lived where the American 
 House now stands. Dr. Cutter lived in a little red house 
 in the Hitchcock block. 'Squire Slane lived down South 
 of where the flouring mill stood. Hiel Bouton is the 
 only citizen now living who remains on the same old 
 place. North of the Stevens block. 
 
 All the children in the town and surrounding coun- 
 try went to school in a log cabin that stood in the edge 
 of the grove South and West of Daniel Hitchcock's 
 residence. When Mrs. Olive Cutter was teacher, there 
 were seventy scholars to pack away in it. Belle Russell 
 and Kate Clussman used to take classes out in the grove 
 and hear them recite under booths manufactured of 
 hickory, elm and oak boughs and saplings. Solomon 
 Cornwell was teacher at one time, and some large bad 
 boys, who had run two or three teachers off, commenced 
 their performances. One day he jerked one of them 
 up before the fire place, and said to him: "By the 
 gods, I'll throw you on that fire if you don't behave 
 yourself." The fellow was so thoroughly scared he
 
 63 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 never gave any more trouble. The boys used to climb 
 tall, slim trees and bend them over for a swing. One 
 day they got hold of a stiff one. The boys slipped off, 
 and John McGinnis was thrown off in the air, landed 
 on a log, and came off with a broken thigh. 
 
 On this glorious Fourth the sun rose without a 
 cloud. People were astir early, as the men were going 
 to Peoria to a celebration there, and to hear a distin- 
 guished speaker whose name we failed to learn. At 
 about 7 :30 a. m. the four horse teams began to come in, 
 and in a few minutes some six or eight wagons were 
 loaded and started off for Peoria. The women and 
 children collected at the four corners North of Hitch- 
 cock's Hall to see them off, and as the procession rode 
 away and the good-byes were said, some one said : 
 ''Why can't we have a celebration?" A consultation 
 was held immediately and the matter was soon decided. 
 Everyone promised to bring something for dinner, and 
 Mrs. Russell's large kitchen was selected as the place 
 to dine. Mrs. Sloan and Mrs. Wm. Coburn were sent 
 for a mile East of town, where they were neighbors, 
 to come and help celebrate. Children were sent West 
 of town to pick raspberries. 
 
 For a flag. Dr. Cutter, who was the only man left 
 in town, and the children manufactured one with 
 neither stripes nor stars, and nailed it to a fence post 
 near Russell's house. 
 
 The supplies began to come in at about one o'clock, 
 and dinner was served at two. There were ten or 
 twelve grown persons and about twenty-five children 
 present. The Doctor made a speech of congratulation 
 after dinner, and it was found that there were some 
 sixteen or eighteen varieties of food provided, and 
 enough was left to feed another company as large. The 
 afternoon was spent in having a social good time, and 
 instead of a day of loneliness, as might have been ex- 
 pected, it proved one that never has been forgotten by 
 those who participated in its pleasures.
 
 LETTER FROM MRS. SARAH B. ANDREWS 63 
 
 LETTER FROM MRS. SARAH B. ANDREWS. 
 
 Hanford, Calif., Sept. 8, 1908. 
 
 To the Old Settlers Association of Princeville, 
 Greetings : 
 
 Having been invited by a member of your associa- 
 tion to write something of a reminiscent nature for this 
 meeting, I comply in the hope that the genuine love in 
 my heart for Princeville and Princevillians may atone, 
 in some measure, for the uninteresting manner in which 
 it may be written. 
 
 Born and reared within three miles of Princeville 
 and living there all my life, except the three years 
 spent in California, is it any wonder there is not and 
 never can be any other spot half so dear? My first 
 recollection of Princeville is going there one time with 
 my father and mother to attend a funeral. Aunt Susan 
 Debolt's mother's. I think I must have been five or six 
 years old at that time. I remember a very large and 
 crooked tree standing very near the road, about where 
 Lute Blanchard now lives, and bending so far over the 
 road, I thought it would surely fall upon us. I wonder 
 if anj" of the others remember that tree. It stood a 
 number of vears after that. 
 
 Also I remember of attending school in the old 
 stone school-house when Mrs. Dr. Cutter taught and 
 of the "scraps" we little girls used to have with Charlie 
 Cutter who was an inveterate tease ; also of attending 
 church in the same stone school-house. Later mem- 
 ories of the dear old Academy days with Prof. Stone 
 and wife, Prof. Means and others at the helm are still 
 cherished, and I think many of the Old Settlers will 
 never forget the old Methodist Church when in the 
 early Sixties so many of our best young men responded 
 so nobly to our country's call to arms; and then, too, 
 who of us could forget the sad, sad days which followed 
 when from the old Christian Church we paid our last
 
 64 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 tribute of respect and honor to Capt. French, Charlie 
 Stevens, Charlie Alter and others. 
 
 Ah, those days were fraught with memories, never 
 to be forgotten, and although a good many decades 
 have passed since then they are ever fresh in our 
 memories, and will go with us thro life and help to 
 forge the chain which binds us so indissoluably to- 
 gether. I have so often wished the Old Settlers Picnic 
 Association might have been formed before w^e left for 
 California's sunny clime, but as it was not, we still 
 rejoice with you in the happiness which comes to you 
 through this medium and, in spirit, extend the "glad 
 hand" to each member of the Association. I see in the 
 last Telephone you have lost one member since your 
 last meeting; perhaps many more, I do not know of. 
 I speak of Maud Charles Hull for whom many of u« 
 cherish very tender memories. 
 
 Last winter a year ago, while in Spokane, Wash., I 
 had the pleasure of meeting with Morris Smith and his 
 good wife Emma and also Mr. Simpson. We talked 
 much of Princeville friends and of how we could enjoy 
 the Old Settlers Picnic. Also met young Dr. Hutchins, 
 Hannah Stevens Hutchins' son, and he read me his 
 mother's letter telling of the picnic as she was there. 
 These meetings with old friends in strange lands are 
 like the perfume of sweetest floAvers. The "Illinois 
 Contingency" in Hanford number 26 and are all well 
 and apparently happy. The oldest one, Grandma 
 Blanchard, who is almost 83, seems to be renewing her 
 youth, but often speaks longingly of the old home. 
 
 With best wishes for a pleasant time Sept. 17th, I 
 remain, 
 
 Sarah B. Andrews.
 
 THE CHRISTIAN MILLER FAMILY 65 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN MILLER FAMILY. 
 By Louis Auten, 1908. 
 
 One of the largest families that ever made their 
 home in this neighborhood was the Miller family. 
 Christian Miller, born in Hamburg, Germany, came to 
 America when he was 16 years of age, and settled at 
 Hamptonsville, N. C. He was married to Araminta 
 Whitehead, of Irish descent. They made their home 
 in North Carolina for many years, and there were born 
 ten children. Katherine and Mary, who remained in 
 North Carolina ; and John, Daniel, James, Barbara, 
 Henry, Christian, Araminta, and Lydia, who moved 
 with their parents to Kentucky. Barbara was married 
 to a Mr. Brown, and remained in Kentucky, but the 
 rest of the family moved after 8 years to Illinois, stop- 
 ping a short time in Indiana. It was in the fall of 1837 
 that the Millers, 13 of them, reached Princeville town- 
 ship. They made the trip in two covered wagons, each 
 drawn by four horses. Besides their horses they 
 brought chickens from Kentucky, and eight milk cows, 
 and it is related that when crossing the Illinois River 
 on the ferry at Lacon one of the cows that had horns 
 forced a "mooley" cow off the ferry into the river, 
 but to the relief of the family she swam about a mile 
 and a half and landed safely far down the river. 
 
 Having left Kentucky to get land that was more open 
 for farming, but wanting plenty of water, and timber 
 sufficient for fencing, the family selected a site about 
 six miles northwest of Princeville for their home. As 
 they arrived late in the fall, they immediately built a 
 log cabin, on the farm that is at present owned by S. 
 A. Walkington, but which was until lately occupied 
 by Edgar Miller. They built fences, plowed the prai- 
 rie, and laid the foimdation for a future that would 
 be free from want. The first winter must have been a 
 hard one, because they could not have brought many 
 supplies with them, but the prairie furnished plenty of
 
 66 HISTORY AND REMIXISCENCES 
 
 food for stock, and quail and deer were plentiful. In 
 fact, for several years, the family ate no meat except 
 game they killed. The head of the family was a tan- 
 ner by trade, probably having practiced it in Germany, 
 and dressed all the deer hides, making clothes for his 
 children, and having leather to sell besides. One win- 
 ter three of the boys made fence rails in White Oak, 
 walking six miles and back to their work every day. 
 They made 2000 rails in the winter and were paid with 
 rails, and provisions that had been hauled from Chi- 
 cago. For years there was no fruit in this part of the 
 country, and what w^as introduced at first was not of 
 good quality. 
 
 In the meantime the children were marrying, and 
 raising families of their own on adjoining farms, which 
 they pre-empted and got from the government at $1.25 
 per acre. John, the oldest son, was married in North 
 Carolina and his three oldest children, Jacob L., Wil- 
 liam Logan, and Sally Ann, were born in Carolina. 
 After he came to Illinois other children were born, as 
 follows : Katherine, Cloe, Samuel, Mary, Hester and 
 Thomas. There are now living, 35 grand children of 
 this John Miller, and a great many more great grand- 
 children, though none of them are now in this neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 Daniel Miller had two daughters, and there are now 
 14 grandchildren of his. James had two sons who are 
 still living. John H., of Palmyra, Iowa, who adressed 
 the old settlers at the last picnic, James of Des Moines, 
 and a daughter Harriet who died a few years ago. 
 There are living eight grandchildren and fifteen great 
 grandchildren of James Miller. 
 
 Henry Miller was married in Cambridge to Miss 
 Lucinda Mills, who is also one of our old settlers, hav- 
 ing come to Illinois probably in 1829, though she did 
 not come to this vicinity until after she was married. 
 To them were born thirteen children, four of whom 
 died in infancy, but there are still living Nancy Fast. 
 James, Araminta Springer, Dan, Charles, John. Jacob, 
 Bell Stubbs and Steve. Mrs. Lucinda Miller is still
 
 THE CHRISTIAN MILLER FAMILY 67 
 
 living, and is the proud mother of nine, grandmother of 
 seventeen, and great grandmother of fourteen. To 
 Christian Miller, Jr., were born Amanda, (Mrs. Bates), 
 who lives at Normal, 111., Edgar, who lives at Wyoming, 
 111., and Albert of Albion, Iowa. There are four grand- 
 children. 
 
 The only child of Christian Miller, Sr., who is still liv- 
 ing is Araminta Shaw. She has eight children, one 
 of them Mrs. Nancy Westerfield, who lives near Dun- 
 can, 111. There are about 20 grandchildren. 
 
 The youngest member of this generation, Lydia Bliss, 
 had eight children, of whom Mrs. Anna Newlin lives in 
 Lovington, 111., and Mrs. Clarissa Kellogg lives in Peo- 
 ria, 111., and several of the others in Iowa. Thus it will 
 be seen that Christian Miller, Sr., had ten children 
 one of whom, Mrs. Araminta Shaw, is still living in 
 Kansas, 53 grandchildren Avho grew up, probably about 
 90 great grandchildren and certainly over a hundred 
 great great grandchildren w^ho are now living. 
 
 The restlessness and boldness which made the great 
 grandparents move to America, which made them move 
 with their family from North Carolina to Kentucky, 
 and later to Illinois, has made the younger members 
 move still farther west, so that the family has large 
 representations in Iowa, Missouri, California, Wash- 
 ington, and Oregon. The only ones that are left in 
 this vicinity are Daniel, Jacob, John, who has four 
 children, Mrs. Bell Stubbs, and Mrs. Araminta Springer, 
 all children of Henry Miller, and their cousin Edgar 
 Miller, child of Christian Miller, Jr., and who lives near 
 Wyoming and has two children. 
 
 There are buried in the Princeville Cemetery, Chris- 
 tian Miller, Sr., his wife, and four of their children ; 
 Christian, Henry, James and Lydia. And so, while 
 there is this great family cherishing memories of their 
 childhood homes in Princeville township, the old set- 
 tlers of Princeville cherish memories of those who had 
 such a large part in the settling of this township.
 
 68 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 THE MOTT FAMILY. 
 By W. W. Mott and Louis Auten, 1908. 
 
 One of the few families that were in this community 
 when the village was laid out by Mr. Stevens, was that 
 of Mr. Oscar Fitzalen Mott. He was born in Erie 
 County, New York, in 1806, and was married at the age 
 of about 20 years to Deidamia Bump. He was a doctor 
 by profession, located in Boston, Erie Co., N. Y., and 
 built up such a large practice that he could not meet all 
 the demands upon his time and strength. As he wished 
 to get away from his work, and as he was naturally of 
 an adventuresome nature, he started in 1837 with his 
 wife and his two boys, Richard F. (age 8) and William 
 Washington (age 7) for the new West. 
 
 They reached Princeville in the fall of 1837, and for 
 some years made their home in a double log cabin 
 belonging to Daniel Prince, and situated in the ravine 
 Southwest of town, not far South of where the Higbee 
 coal mine is now. This cabin was built for a mill, and 
 in one-half of it were the mill stones and the power 
 wheel, but as Mr. W. W. Mott remembers it, the mill 
 was never used while they lived there. They kept a few 
 pigs and a cow or two, which sheltered themselves in 
 the mill part of the cabin. In this cabin were born 
 two boys, Oscar and Eugene, both of them dying in 
 infancy. 
 
 The father practiced at his profession as there was 
 occasion, but most of his work was charity work ; he 
 took what pay his patients were willing to give. He 
 was an ''herb doctor," and was quite successful in the 
 treatment of the commoner diseases of his time, most 
 of which were known as "chills and fever." There 
 were other doctors not very far away, so he was not 
 kept busy at his practice, but spent the most of his 
 time "working out." As this left the boys without 
 much to do, Washington rented a few acres of ground
 
 THE MOTT FAMILY 69 
 
 and farmed for liimself. His older brother was not 
 strong and did not do much heavy work. 
 
 After a few years residence in the donble log cabin, 
 the family moved to about a mile and a half South of 
 the present center of the village. Then in a year or 
 two more they bought 15 acres of land a mile South 
 and a few rods East from the present Postoffice corner. 
 
 In the meantime, a daughter, Josephine, was born 
 in 1847. She grew up to womanhood, and is well 
 remembered by many of those present. She often came 
 to town horseback, with butter and eggs, and always 
 went to the Seventh Day Adventist services w^hich were 
 held at the Santee residence (the old Merritt Home- 
 stead) just North of town, on Saturday afternoons. 
 In the 50 's, while Josephine was still a little girl, the 
 oldest son, Richard, went to California, and made his 
 home there until his death in 1876. This left only 
 the two parents and the two children at home, and the 
 death of the father in 1863 and of the mother in 1875, 
 left only the brother and sister, Washington and Jose- 
 phine. Both were unmarried, and together they kept 
 up their farm, four miles Southeast of town, until the 
 death of Josephine, which occurred in the fall of 1902, 
 a very short time after she had been married. 
 
 William Washington Mott has always been indus- 
 trious and careful, has been able to provide for his 
 needs, and content to do without luxuries. He has been 
 successful at farming and at bee culture, and has raised 
 some fruit for market. After the death of his sister 
 he lived alone at his farm for three years, but in 1905, 
 oppressed by loneliness and old age, he rented his farm 
 and moved to town, and now for the last three years he 
 has made his home in a little cottage not many rods 
 from the site of the double log cabin which was his 
 first Illinois home. 
 
 His life has been subject to many of the hardships 
 of pioneer times, yet, at the age of 78 years, he walks 
 up town nearly every day to talk over old times with 
 his old friends, or to tell his younger friends of those 
 times that now seem so far distant ; of the times when
 
 70 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 the Indians though no longer a menace were still a 
 dreaded memory; when wheat was threshed by driving 
 horses over it and was fanned only by the wind, and 
 was hauled in Avagons to Chicago and exchanged for 
 lumber and supplies which were hauled back by 
 wagon; when the best of land could be bought for 
 $300.00 per quarter section ; when tiling was unknown, 
 and much of our best land was wet the whole year 
 round ; when all travel was by horseback, and when it 
 cost 25 cents to send a letter to New York. Life was 
 crude in those days — to us now it would seem unbear- 
 able — but men were men, and women were women, and 
 with their courage and energy and moral uprightness 
 they have laid the foundation for this great Middle 
 West of which the whole country is so proud. 
 
 THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY. 
 By Mrs. Rose C. Armstrong. 
 
 In the early part of the 19th century, May 6, 1819, 
 were united in marriage, one James Armstrong, son 
 of James and Margaret Armstrong, and Miss Mary 
 McCoy. They were the parents of six sons and three 
 daughters, namely; Joseph, born April 17, 1820; James. 
 Dec. 17, 1821 ; William. Sept. 8, 1823 ; Margaret, Sept. 
 19, 1825; Eliza, Dec. 17, 1827; Mary, Jan. 30, 1830; 
 John, Feb. 15, 1832; Martin, Dec. 18, 1834; Ebenezer. 
 June 22, 1836. 
 
 They bought a farm and by hard work and economy 
 had it nearly paid for when Mr. Armstrong was fatally 
 injured by a tree falling upon him and died May 22, 
 1837, leaving the wife and mother to provide for the 
 family, the youngest a babe of eleven months. Two 
 sons had preceded him. The business affairs were 
 placed in the hands of a relative who took six or seven 
 years to settle the estate and then took the farm for 
 his pay; thus leaving the family in very reduced cir-
 
 THIC ARMSTRONG FAMILY 71 
 
 cumstances. All had to work and help along as soon 
 as they were able. 
 
 Joseph, the oldest son, was married to Martha 
 McNeal March 10, 1841, and moved to Ohio County, 
 W. Va., where he worked in a mill for his uncle, three 
 years, receiving only his flour to use as compensation, 
 the wife supplying the rest of the living by the pro- 
 ceeds from her cow, garden and chickens. Then feeling 
 competent to run a mill he hired to a wealthy widow, a 
 Mrs. Kruger, who owned a mill, and ran it for her nine 
 years, receiving the flour for family use, a hog to 
 butcher each year and a share of the bran, shorts, etc., 
 with which Mrs. Armstrong fed her cows, pigs, and 
 chickens, continuing to be the main support of the 
 family while Joseph's wages remained in the hands of 
 Mrs. Kruger. When he had been there seven years 
 the lady owed him $970.00. She gave him a check on 
 the bank for $1000.00 and let him come West on condi- 
 tion that he buy a farm and then come back and stay 
 with her two years longer which he did. He came from 
 that mill to Peoria County in 1853, partly by railroad. 
 The rails were 2V2 inch wagon tire, spiked on sills and 
 laid on ties, and spiked or keyed down so the track 
 could not spread. Trains went slowly and were, per- 
 haps, as safe as trains are now. 
 
 He bought the farm where the rest of his life was 
 spent from Geo. Bestor, but could not find him when 
 ready to pay, so left his money with James Sutherland 
 of French Grove, who made the purchase for him. The 
 Sutherland's, Yates' and McCoy's came from Wash- 
 ington County, Pennsylvania, and Ohio County, Vir- 
 ginia, and were old acquaintances. He had intended 
 going to Iowa to buy but they persuaded him to buy 
 here. 
 
 In those days there was a four horse stage run from 
 Peoria to Knoxville. On this he came from Peoria to 
 Brimfield and returned the same way. On the stage a 
 man from California showed him an eight cornered 
 $50.00 gold piece. Quite a curiosity.
 
 73 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 In the month of February, 1855, John Armstrong 
 came from Washington County, Pennsylvania, with 
 four horses, making all the trip on horseback. The 
 mother with the rest of the family, excepting Joseph 
 and James, came from Wheeling by boat. There was 
 much ice running in the river and they had to tie up 
 nights. John reached here first. At a hotel he was 
 given a bed in which a typhoid patient had died, and 
 was coming down with the fever when he met the rest 
 with a team and wagon in Peoria. They managed to 
 take him as far as Brimfield where he lay sick at a hotel 
 for a long time, his mother staying to care for him 
 while the rest went on three miles farther where they 
 rented a place. When John was able to be moved they 
 went home, but Mrs. Armstrong had contracted the 
 disease and died three days later, April 29, 1855, and 
 was laid to rest in the French Grove Cemetery. 
 
 During that summer Joseph had a small 1% story 
 house built on his place and the family moved in in 
 September before the house was finished. A month 
 later Joseph came with his own family, having sent 
 goods to Peoria by boat and moved the family in a 
 wagon. They all lived in this small house that winter. 
 
 In the spring of '56 the rest moved to the Lem Camp 
 farm, leaving Joseph and his family in their own home. 
 They lived on the Camp farm three years, John and 
 Ebenezer running the farm, Margaret keeping house, 
 while Eliza and Mary became a couple of the pioneer 
 school teachers of Peoria County, teaching some years 
 in the vicinity of Brimfield and in Princeville Town- 
 ship. While not busy with the farm work John and 
 Ebenezer worked at the carpenter trade. With the 
 help of a Mr. Anderson, they built a house where Mr. 
 Abe Miller now lives and moved into it, living there 
 three years. They built the house on the West half 
 of Joseph's quarter, the mason work being done by 
 John Stubbs. 
 
 Into this house they moved, having the use of some- 
 thing over an acre of ground for a garden. Here they 
 made their home for many years, going forth one by one
 
 THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY 73 
 
 till only Margaret and the waif she had given a home 
 to since she was a baby five months old, were left and 
 three years ago last April they moved to Monica that 
 they might be near enough to a church to attend 
 services. 
 
 Speaking of the early days when this family came 
 to Illinois, Joseph, or Squire Armstrong, as he was gen- 
 erally called, said the prairie South and West of his 
 house was pretty much open and that towards Prince- 
 ville was only about half fenced. They were obliged to 
 burn the grass about the house in fear of prairie fires. 
 There were Oliver Moody, B. Hare and James Debord 
 on the road and Bob Garrison about the middle of Mill- 
 brook. He, Garrison, came very poor but there was 
 plenty of pasture and by raising stock he became very 
 wealthy. The Carter's each had a quarter worth about 
 $600.00. 
 
 The fences were mostly posts driven in the ground 
 with a wooden drop hammer on which were nailed 
 three poles. Timber was hard to get and he had to 
 haul his first nine miles. Peoria and Oak Hill were the 
 markets in those days. 
 
 The first school in the White's Grove district was a 
 little board shanty on the farm where Henry DeBord 
 now lives. There was no church nearer than French 
 Grove. Later there was one at Princeville. After the 
 second school house was built, there were meetings 
 there sometimes. The present school house is the third 
 one. 
 
 As Mrs. Jos. Armstrong began so she continued and 
 because of her thrift and economy the income from 
 farm products was largely left to use in buying more 
 land and improving the same. She died March 3, 1877, 
 at the age of 59 years. After her death her daughters 
 nobly filled her place. 
 
 Squire Armstrong took an active interest in town- 
 ship affairs and held the office of supervisor for 18 years 
 and that of Justice of the Peace for 24 years. He 
 was a great lover of peace, and having seen the folly 
 of litigation in his mother's home, he would settle dif-
 
 74 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 ficulties when possible without allowing them to come 
 to trial. While not bound to any church he early 
 learned to love his Bible and always stood ready to help 
 any righteous cause both financially and by his influ- 
 ence. He lived to the ripe age of nearly 83 years and 
 died January 9, 1903, esteemed and beloved by all who 
 knew him. 
 
 There were eleven children, four sons and seven 
 daughters. One son died in infancy. Mary married 
 Allen McMillen and lived near Wichita, Kansas, and 
 died last November. Joseph died June 7, 1879. James 
 married Katie Parnell and lives near Bondville, Cham- 
 paign County, Illinois. Lucretia, wife of James Parrish, 
 lives near Shenandoah, Iowa. Isabella, first wife of 
 Jas. Parrish, died Aug. 11, 1886. Ellen, wife of Jackson 
 Leaverton, lives at White's Grove. William married 
 Rose C. Haller, died March 2, 1904. Rosalie lives in 
 Shenandoah, Iowa. Martha, wife of John Squire, lives 
 near Monica, and Jennie, wife of Chas. Blank, lives 
 near Coin, Iowa. There are 39 grandchildren and 20 
 great-grandchildren. 
 
 James Armstrong, the second son of James and 
 Mary McCoy Armstrong, did not settle in Illinois but 
 went farther West where he was lost track of for 21 
 years. Then he was discovered by the late Hugh Roney, 
 his great resemblance to Squire Armstrong making 
 Mr. Roney stop and question him. He started a foundry 
 in Maryville, Mo., which his second son William still 
 runs. He died several years ago. There are three 
 daughters living. 
 
 Eliza married Sanford M. Whittington, May 22, 
 1857, who owned the farm now owned by Henry 
 DeBord. He later sold this and after living in Prince- 
 ville and vicinity a while, they moved to Blandinsville, 
 111., where she died July 5, 1878. She was the mother 
 of six daughters, four of whom survived her. Mary, 
 now Mrs. Will Schaad of Merna, Neb., Sarah, now Mrs. 
 Fred DeBord of Maitland, Mo., Clara, wife of Ben Mil- 
 ler of Broken Bow, Neb., and Ida, wife of Henry Sim- 
 mons, of this place.
 
 THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY 75 
 
 John Armstrong married Louisa Walliker July 4, 
 1863, and lived on a farm near Spoon River, which was 
 a wedding present to his wife by her father. After 
 living here some years, they moved to a farm five miles 
 East of Maryville, Mo., where they still live with their 
 oldest son and daughter who are unmarried, and three 
 small grandchildren. One son is a widower and one 
 son and three daughters are dead. 
 
 Ebenezer taught school a number of years, was in 
 the 86th regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and 
 served in the Civil War. He married Martha Walliker 
 Oct. 30, 1866. Bought a farm with the money saved 
 from his army pay and built a house on it with the 
 money his wife received as a wedding present from 
 her father. This is the farm now owned by John Squire 
 where Robt. Ellison lives. John's farm was just West 
 of it. He later became a Baptist minister and preached 
 several years at White's Grove and Kickapoo. They 
 sold the farm and in February, 1886, moved to a farm 
 near Larned, Kansas, and later to Hutchinson, Kansas. 
 He continued to i)reach as long as his health would 
 permit. He died Jan. 30, 1903, leaving his wife and six 
 sons and three daughters. Three sons and one daugh- 
 ter are married. 
 
 During the time of the Civil War, when merchandise 
 sold at fabulous prices, Margaret, better known as 
 *'Aunt Pegg3%" and Mary conceived the idea of raising 
 flax and preparing it for cloth themselves, which they 
 did, spun and wove it. For years after this they carded 
 and spun avooI and wove it into blankets and wove rag 
 carpets, till they were known all over the Northern 
 part of Peoria County and beyond its limits. They 
 gave some time every day to the reading of Scripture 
 and singing of hymns, and were faithful workers in 
 church and Sunday school. Two more earnest, whole- 
 some, God fearing women than they, it would be hard 
 to find. Always giving liberally of all their substance, 
 their wealth is that which is laid up in heaven. 
 
 Mary became a member of the Monica Woman's 
 Christian Temperance Union when it was organized and
 
 76 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 was an effective worker there till she moved away. 
 AVhen in the vigor of their womanhood no call for help 
 in time of sorrow or sickness was ever unheeded and 
 this was kept up as long as they were able to go. 
 
 On March 6, 1896, Mary married "Wm. Mann of near 
 Beatrice, Neb. They were each 66 j^ears old. They 
 lived together happily for ten years when he was called 
 hence. A few years previously they had moved into 
 Beatrice where she still lives, a blessing to the commun- 
 ity, still giving of her substance as faithfully as of 
 yore, and enjoying, in a greater measure than most do, 
 a simple trust in and nearness to the Heavenly Father 
 and His Divine Son. Surely the world is better because 
 Margaret and Mary Armstrong have lived in it. Aunt 
 Peggy is now 83, Aunt Mary 78 and Uncle John 76 
 years old. ''The fear of the Lord prolongeth days." 
 (Prov. 10:27.) 
 
 THE LAWRENCE McKOWN FAMILY. 
 By Mrs. Eliza Bouton and H. J. Cheesman, 1908. 
 
 Lawrence McKown and his wife, Cynthia White 
 McKown, first came to Princeville about 1830, but on 
 account of homesickness, soon returned to Rockville, 
 Indiana, whence they had come. In 1833, their daugh- 
 ter Eliza then being two years old, they returned to 
 Princeville and brought with them Mrs. McKown 's 
 parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hugh White, who settled in 
 Northwest Princeville. The McKown 's, after staying a 
 little while in Northwest Princeville, built their first 
 cabin in one of the ravines just East of the Jubilee 
 road, near the present ''Santa Fe Arch." This is the 
 first home that their daughter Eliza remembers. Hugh 
 McKown was born here in 1835. Next they built a 
 small cabin on the land of James Morrow, near the 
 "Hitchcock Pond." In this second home Levi McKown 
 was born in 1838. This house, south of the "Hitchcock
 
 THE LAWRENCE MC KOWN FAMILY 77 
 
 Pond" ravine, was built and the McKown's were living 
 in it some years before the Slane family built near them, 
 and before the school house was erected on the site 
 where later stood Hitchcock & Voris' mill. Although 
 living close to school, Mrs. Eliza Bouton says the 
 "Hitchcock Pond" ravine was often so full of water 
 that it was "pretty tough walking and wading to get 
 to school." It was a "subscription" school, and her 
 father paid tuition for the privilege of sending his chil- 
 dren. The first teacher was Miss Esther Stoddard and 
 the second was another Miss Stoddard, sister of the 
 first. Next was Mr. Solomon Cornwell, remembered 
 by his pupils because of his severity. This log school 
 house, just Southeast of where the Rock Island depot 
 now stands, was very small and when the scholars 
 all stood up to spell they reached around the four sides 
 of the room. 
 
 Mrs. Bouton 's first recollection of the present site 
 of Princeville was that people used to come up from 
 Jubilee way to pick blackberries and hazelnuts where 
 the town now stands. 
 
 In 1840, Mr. McKown and family moved to Missouri. 
 Here he lost his wife in 1842, and he brought the chil- 
 dren back to Illinois. His moving disposition took him 
 away again, this time to Texas, where he stayed, leav- 
 ing the children here to grow up with their cousins, the 
 Whites and the Morrows. He returned once about 
 1875, and again a few months before his death at the 
 home of his daughter, Mrs. Bouton, in 1891. 
 
 Eliza McKown was married to Alanson Bouton on 
 Jan. 5, 1854. Mr. Bouton died July 3, 1868, and their 
 only child. Miss Minnie, still lives at home with her 
 mother. 
 
 Amanda McKown married Isaac Crowe and now 
 lives in Toulon, 111. ; her children are : Wm. Crowe of 
 Iowa, Mrs. Ella Moss of Jubilee and Mrs. Jennie Smith 
 of Toulon. 
 
 Hugh McKown married Lizzie Bouton on March 29, 
 1864, and died April 8, 1874. Their children are Mrs.
 
 78 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 Lena Miller; Emma (deceased) ; Alanson B., living in 
 Iowa; Mrs. Lois Beall and Mrs. Stella Graves. 
 
 Levi McKown married Jane German, and they now 
 live at Elmwood, 111. Their children are : Mrs. Allie 
 Carter, William, Lewis, Albert, Bessie, Frank, Edith 
 and Eldon. 
 
 Mary McKown married Hiram Bronson. both of 
 them now dead ; a daughter, Mrs. Clara Archibald, is 
 living in Iowa, and a son, Mark, went to the Philippines 
 some years ago and has not been heard from. 
 
 Cynthia McKown married Malchiah Mendell and 
 she is still living in Kansas, although now critically ill. 
 She has six children : Mrs. Mary Gadberry of Russell. 
 Kan. ; Mrs. Ida Bowman of Moran, Kan. ; Luther A. of 
 Gorham, Kan. ; Elza H. of Russell, Kan. ; Mrs. Arzella 
 C. Howard of Ft. Scott, Kan., and Iva L. of Russell, 
 Kan. (Mrs. Mendell died April 18, 1911, and was 
 buried in the Russell cemetery.) 
 
 Mrs. Bouton is probably the oldest original settler 
 now in this locality. She remembers the building of 
 the first school house, the coming of the Slane family 
 from Kickapoo, also the coming of the Blanchards, the 
 coming of Mr. Stevens, the building of the first Morrow 
 store, the staking out of the original village in 1837, the 
 building of the first Presbyterian Church, where Chees- 
 man Bros.' store now stands, and has been familiar 
 with practically all of Princeville 's history. She also 
 remembers the starting of the cemetery out on the 
 Northwest hill, and can tell of the burials in the South 
 woods for a few years before that. There were many 
 hardships during these early years that the people of 
 to-day know nothing about ; but along with the hard- 
 ships there were many pleasant happenings. Best of 
 all was the old spirit of hospitality and ever readiness 
 to help friends.
 
 PRINCEVIIvLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 79 
 
 PRINCEVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
 SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY. 
 
 Account as Published in Princeville Telephone Aug. 19, 
 
 1909. 
 
 Seventy-fifth Anniversary — Presbj^terian Church Cele- 
 brates Mile-stone in Its History — Two Day's 
 Program Greatly Enjoyed by All Present. 
 
 As announced and planned for months past, the 
 Presbyterian Church of Princeville, celebrated on Sun- 
 day and Monday of this week the seventy-fifth anni- 
 versary of its organization as '* Prince's Grove Church" 
 in 1834. Nearly 500 programs and announcements had 
 been mailed to as many present and former members 
 of the church. Large audiences attended all of the 
 services on Sunday as well as the afternoon meeting, 
 supper on the law^n, and organ recital on Monday. 
 
 Rev. Wiles' sermon Sunday morning was an his- 
 torical sketch of the church which is printed in full 
 below. In the evening Rev. Brown, the M. E. church 
 joining in Union services, gave a sermon on Joshua 
 4:6, "What mean ye by these stones?" In the Sunday 
 School, reminiscent talks were given on the first start- 
 ing of the Sunday School, and the earliest superintend- 
 ents and teachers, as well as the more recent ones. 
 
 The choir Sunday morning was reinforced by a num- 
 ber of old time singers of the church. In the evening, 
 a chorus rendered Schnecker's setting of the 97th Psalm 
 as a Cantata, preceding Rev. Brown's address. 
 
 The Monday afternoon session was perhaps the one 
 most enjoyed by the old members, and the most helpful 
 to the younger ones. After listening to a few letters 
 from former pastors and friends at a distance, those 
 present spoke in an informal way about the early times, 
 giving their recollections about the old building, the 
 first pastors, and the leading members. There were 
 exhibited at this and the other meetings the first session
 
 80 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 book of the church, sermons by Revs. Cameron and 
 Cunningham, a pulpit Bible, presented to the church 
 in 1849, some boards from the first frame church build- 
 ing, and a picture of the wife of the first pastor. The 
 fact was brought out at this meeting that the church is 
 older than the village ; and that before there were 
 public schools here the church took a very active part 
 in education. 
 
 It was inspiring for the young members to hear at 
 first hand of the greater reverence of those earl.y times ; 
 of the loyalty and generosity of the members; and of 
 the intense devotion of the pastors. 
 
 For the supper and social on the lawn, a more ideal 
 day could not have been hit upon, and the happy spirit 
 of the large number in attendance was in harmony with 
 the ideal weather conditions. The large tables were 
 seated to their capacity four times in succession, about 
 280 being served. 
 
 Monday evening's recital was a rare treat in a 
 musical way. Miss Edith Campbell of Peoria rendering 
 among other selections, Schubert's Serenade, the Pil- 
 grim's Chorus, and an arrangement of the Hallelujah 
 Chorus. Mrs. Chas. Whitney, Soprano, and Mr. How- 
 ard Kellogg, Tenor, both of Peoria, rendered several 
 solos and duets. Miss Campbell's mastery of the organ 
 was especially enjoyed by her Princeville friends. 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF PRINCEVILLE 
 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 Written for the Occasion of Seventy-fifth Anniversary, 
 Aug. 15-16, 1909, by Rev. Max Wiles. 
 
 It is my purpose to try to sketch the history of this 
 church since its organization. I can, of course, men- 
 tion but single incidents in each succeeding period, for 
 to go into anything of detail one could write volumes. 
 The church has retained an unbroken historv since its
 
 PRINCEVII.LE PRESBYTERIAX CHURCH 81 
 
 beginning. Early members have come and gone but 
 the work abides. Like the Children of Israel when they 
 carried with them the Ark and the tables of stone, so 
 each succeeding generation has preserved the records 
 of the deeds of the fathers. As this anniversary service 
 proceeds on into tomorrow, the aged veterans of the 
 pioneer days can supply much of the detail which of 
 necessity is lacking here. 
 
 Let us together open the book of time and turn the 
 pages back to seventy-five years ago. In the first ses- 
 sion book of the church on page one under the heading 
 "Prince's Grove, August 16, 1834," we have the record 
 of the first meeting of the church. I will read the 
 account as there recorded : 
 
 ''Agreeably to a request made by a number of pro- 
 fessors of religion of the Presbyterian church in this 
 settlement, the Rev. Robert Stewart met them ; and 
 after sermon by Rev. Theron Baldwin, the following 
 individuals came forward and presented testimonials 
 of their good standing as church members, and were 
 voluntarily formed into a church, to be known by the 
 name of "Prince's Grove Presbyterian Church." The 
 names of those who united with the church were : 
 Jonathan E. Garrison, Hugh White, James Morrow, 
 Thomas Morrow, Samuel R. AVhite, John F. Garrison, 
 Mary A. Garrison, Elinor Morrow, Jane Morrow, 
 Elizabeth A. Morrow% Jane White, Mary A. Peet, 
 Elizabeth Prince, Mary White, ]\Iartha Morrow, John 
 Miller, and Dosha Miller — seventeen in all. As far as 
 we are able to discover, none of these charter members 
 survive. 
 
 The present generation will find it hard to even 
 imagine the scene of this early organization. This 
 meeting was no doubt held in a log school house, sit- 
 uated some place East of the Rock Island railroad 
 crossing. 
 
 The Black Hawk war of 1832 had closed and while 
 the Indians were leaving, the settlers were arriving. 
 These broad acres now covered with crops of grain, 
 were then covered with prairie grass, blue-stem, rosin
 
 82 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 weed, red root and sumac. The timber was skirted 
 with patches of hazel brush, blackberry and gooseberry 
 bushes. Frequently herds of deer could be seen in the 
 edge of the hills. Along Spoon river, where we now 
 go fishing in safety, except for the mosquitoes, there 
 were herds of deer numbering one hundred fifty, also 
 wildcats, IjTQxes, numbers of prairie wolves, coyotes 
 and big gray timber wolves. 
 
 Log houses were few in number and with some 
 exceptions widely separated. These settlers built their 
 homes in the timber on some small clearing near the 
 creek. The markets were then Peoria, Lacon, Chilli- 
 cothe and Chicago. Trips were made to these different 
 places with ox teams, hauling wheat to exchange for 
 lumber, salt and clothing. Such was something of the 
 environments surrounding these early church men. 
 
 At the conclusion of this first meeting the church 
 extended an invitation to the Kev. Calvin W. Babbitt 
 to take charge of the work as stated supply. Rev. Mr. 
 Babbitt accepted and served the church a little more 
 than one year. The record speaks well of his minis- 
 terial fidelity. 
 
 The next minister was the Rev. George G. Gill, who 
 supplied the pulpit, preaching every third Sabbath. 
 During this pastorite, the Rev. Mr. Hill of the M. E. 
 church supplied the pulpit on several occasions. 
 
 In the year 1843 the Rev. Robert Breese became 
 pastor and supplied the field of Rochester and Prince- 
 ville, residing a part of the time in Princeville and the 
 remainder in Rochester. Mr. Breese 's labors covered 
 the period between 1843 and 1851. In 1844 the first 
 frame structure was built on the site now occupied by 
 Cheesman Bros.' store. 
 
 Thomas Morrow, Erastus Peet and Samuel R. 
 White, besides others, each hauled a load of lumber 
 from Chicago, some of them with ox teams. This was 
 Rev. Mr. Breese 's first and only pastorate. He fell 
 asleep in 1851 and lies buried in our village cemetery. 
 His grave is marked by a headstone of Italian marble 
 on which is the inscription, "The graves of all His
 
 PRINCEVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 83 
 
 Saints be blest." ''They rest from their labors and 
 their works do follow them." 
 
 It is fitting to speak at this point of the material 
 help given in building this first church by Mr. Wm. C. 
 Stevens, the founder of Princeville. He gave the lot 
 with a clear title and no reservations. He gave liberally 
 and generously of time and money. He gave plaster 
 material that had been hauled from Chicago for his 
 own house and then lived in his own house three years 
 without plastering; this that the church might be made 
 comfortable the sooner. His teams went to Chicago 
 twice and he furnished the lumber that they brought 
 back. When money was hard to collect he helped fur- 
 nish it at a sacrifice and waited until it could be paid 
 back. It was his heart's desire to see a good church 
 established in the community and he entered into the 
 work heart and soul. 
 
 After the death of Mr. Breese, the Rev. Robert 
 Cameron was called, who labored most diligently on 
 the field until 1857, when he likewise was called away 
 by death. Robert Cameron was the father of Auntie 
 Cameron who has reached the ripe age of 84 years and 
 is patiently waiting her summons home. Rev. Robert 
 Cameron was much beloved and very highly esteemed 
 by the church and by his ministerial brethren. He 
 frequently contributed able papers to the religious 
 periodicals published in his day. He died happily in 
 the Lord after a faithful ministry covering a period of 
 nearly forty years. His grave is also with us, marked 
 by a headstone of white marble erected by the church 
 to his memory. The church has one of his sermons on 
 file. It was delivered possibly during the year 1855 ; 
 the text is Matthew 5:8, ''Blessed are the pure in 
 heart, for they shall see God." 
 
 Following Mr. Cameron the Rev. George Cairns and 
 Rev. J. M. Stone as stated supply, each had a part in 
 caring for the flock, during the time the church was 
 without a regular pastor. 
 
 This brings us down to the time of the out-break of 
 the Civil War. I find on record that the church met
 
 84 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 together during these troublesome times and by a 
 unanimous voice expressed their loyalty to the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 In 1863 Rev. William Cunningham, after serving 
 one year as chaplain in the army, came to Illinois and 
 preached at Prospect church (now known as Dunlap) 
 during the summer. In October he was invited to take 
 charge of the Princeville church, which invitation he 
 accepted, serving the church until 1870. During the 
 first part of his ministry he also taught in the Academy ; 
 later he severed his connection with the Academy and 
 give all his time and talents to his ministerial duties. 
 In the winter of 1865-6 the church passed through a 
 season of reviving and quickening. A large number 
 confessed their faith in Christ and united with the 
 church. As a result of this ingathering, plans were laid 
 for the erection of the second church building. These 
 plans they were able to carry out and the main audi- 
 torium of this building in which we are gathered was 
 built and dedicated. The women of the church were 
 not lacking in this pioneer spirit. Through their efforts 
 they were able to contribute $1000.00 to the building 
 fund. 
 
 These were notable years. A revival, a new^ house 
 of worship, a regularly installed pastor and his salary 
 increased $200.00. Just here an event takes place in 
 the history of the church which cast a cloud over the 
 noonday splendor of its future. It was in the year 1867, 
 the pastor was married to the beautiful and accom- 
 plished Miss Laura Aldrich. Much was hoped from 
 this union. But Providence had other ways and plans. 
 In two months after their wedding she was buried in 
 the village cemetery, the victim of a sad accident. The 
 pastor, under this heavy blow, felt that he could no 
 longer carry on the work and so requested the church 
 and Presbytery to unite with him, dissolving the re- 
 lation. 
 
 In 1871, the Rev. Arthur Rose was called, who 
 served the church until 1877. Many present this morn- 
 ing can follow the history here, and for lack of time
 
 PRINCEVIU.E PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 85 
 
 it will be necessary to note only special events. The 
 church had to contend against a shifting population 
 which caused the attendance and membership to rise 
 and fall in point of numbers. The rise in the value of 
 land in Illinois and the inviting openings in the West 
 was the cause of this unrest. 
 
 In 1881, Rev. Samuel R. Belville was called to the 
 pastorate and served the church until 1886. During 
 this period the benevolences of the church were carried 
 out systematically, all the boards of the church being 
 remembered with gifts. The work of the Sunday school 
 began to be pushed ahead with greater vigor. 
 
 Rev. Chas. M. Taylor came into the pastorate in 
 1887 and carried on the work until 1896. During the 
 years 1894 and 1895 the church reached its highest 
 mark in point of membership and benevolences. The 
 membership numbered 210 and the Sunday school 238. 
 (All will understand that the church keeps revising its 
 roll and only the names on the active list are counted 
 here.) 
 
 Succeeding Mr. Taylor the Rev. D. A. K. Preston 
 served the church for one year as stated supply. 
 
 This brings us to the pastorate of Rev. Chas. T. 
 Phillips, whose services cover the period from 1897 
 to 1903. During this time a large number were added 
 to the church upon confession of faith. Dr. Robert F. 
 Henry, w^ho had served the church as ruling Elder for 
 over 40 years, passed away. Dr. Henry often rep- 
 resented the Peoria Presbytery at Synod and had the 
 honor of being sent to the General Assembly on two 
 different occasions. At his death he was teacher of 
 the famous ''infant class." The story of this notable 
 class has been told all over the nation. Fourteen there 
 were whose ages aggregated more than 1000 years. 
 Rev. Mr. Phillips speaks of the inspiration it gave him 
 to see those gray heads reverently bent over the sacred 
 page, every word of which to them was God-breathed. 
 This brief sketch closes with the faithful service ren- 
 dered by Rev. Amos A. Randall and the beginning of 
 the present pastorate, 1908.
 
 86 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 I could not begin to speak of the industry, the self 
 sacrifice, the consecration of these early days. In 
 God's great Book of Life it is all recorded. 
 
 The church early adopted the plan of Rotary Elder- 
 ship. This gave a number of different laymen the op- 
 portunity to serve. The oldest elder in point of years 
 and also of service is Elder Geo. Eowcliffe, who took 
 his office in 1870. Mr. Lemuel Auten was a colleague of 
 Mr. Rowcliffe's. (Mr. Auten has since taken his church 
 letter to our sister denomination at Monica.) Elijah 
 Tracy and Byron H. "Wear also served in the office of 
 eldership for a number of years. G. W. Rowcliffe has 
 been honored by being re-elected to this office a num- 
 ber of times. John M. Yates, who comes from an illus- 
 trious family of church goers, is serving his first term 
 on the Board. C. J. Cheesman, w^ho is a colleague of 
 Mr. Yates, also holds the office of superintendent of 
 Sunday school. This is his specialty, having been in 
 this work as leader since 1889. The Board of Trustees 
 composed of Mr. Peter Auten, Bruce Henry and G. 
 W. Rowcliffe come in for their share of praise. They 
 are contempling larger things in the way of improve- 
 ments and building. 
 
 The church treasurer is Mr. Henry J. Cheesman, 
 whose exemplary care of the church funds deserves 
 great praise. In his honesty and fidelity he is a man 
 after our own heart. 
 
 POINTS OF LOCAL INTEREST 
 
 We have five members who are well past four score 
 years : Miss Agnes Cameron, Mrs. Eliza Barr, Martin 
 Luther Bingham, Mrs. Jane Smith and Mr. J. T. Albert- 
 son. All these will soon join the church triumphant. 
 
 Tradition tells us that Mr. Hugh Morrow and Mrs. 
 Eliza Bouton were two of the children present with 
 their parents in that famous meeting in 1834. 
 
 The one to whom the honor is ascribed of being the 
 oldest member in point of church membership is Mrs. 
 Hugh Morrow, she having joined in 1854 and remain-
 
 PRINCEVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 87 
 
 ing in constant communion of the church for fifty-five 
 years. 
 
 Mr, Edward Auten and his brother, Lemuel, united 
 six months after Mrs. Morrow. The beloved Mrs. Dr. 
 Henry was also a member of this class. Mrs. Henry 
 joined the church above within the last year. 
 
 Many more things might be mentioned and will be 
 told as we go on through the services of this day and 
 tomorrow. 
 
 God has verified His promise to His church. Through 
 summer's heat and winter's cold He has kept this vine 
 alive. Though dry and parched it became at times, 
 he watered it with the dews of Divine Grace and again 
 it has sprung into new life. And now, after seventy- 
 five years of growth, its protecting branches cover a 
 multitude. With peace within and without our bor- 
 ders, this church stands as a center of radiating blessed- 
 ness, cheering, sweetening, purifying and saving the 
 souls of men. 
 
 The last year witnessed the largest number gathered 
 into the church in any single year. In benevolences 
 this last year we stand second only to the banner year. 
 
 Firmly believing in the worthiness of this church 
 and of the community's present-day need of it, I sum- 
 mon all to a new consecration. As has been so well 
 said by a wise Educator, "The iron of the fathers is in 
 us," let that iron brace us for the new day and the new 
 duties. The beauty of the fathers is in us, too. Let 
 that beauty make us loving and winsome. Our mission 
 is not yet accomplished. Here the church stands beau- 
 tiful for situation, the choicest building site in the vil- 
 lage. May we be a joy to the entire community. It 
 can be truly said that prayers rise continually like 
 sweet incense to the very throne of God in behalf of 
 this place. 
 
 Think of the heavenly scenes witnessed at this altar. 
 Innocent babes in their parents' arms receiving the 
 Sacrament of Baptism ; children, youths and older ones 
 reverently taking upon themselves the vows of mem- 
 bership, and gathering at the table of their Lord. And
 
 88 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 then how often and especially within the last year, 
 when the cloud of sorrow concealed the brightness of 
 the sun, have we gathered within these sacred walls to 
 be comforted by the service in which the last sacred 
 rites were administered to those whom we love. 
 
 My friends, this church, this place, has grown to 
 become a part of us, our interest, our work, our very 
 life. May it be that our adorable Master may always 
 find this church answering the deepest yearnings of His 
 Heart as we go on in His name changing darkness into 
 light and sin into Salvation. 
 
 HISTORY OF PRINCEVILLE M. E. CHURCH. 
 
 Princeville Telephone, Sept. 30, 1909. 
 AVritten by Milton Wilson. 
 
 Rev. N. J. Brown has just put out a booklet among 
 his people and the friends of the church in which is 
 contained a concise historical sketch of the Princeville 
 M. E. church from early times, written by Mr. Milton 
 Wilson of Princeville. We think this sketch worthy to 
 be reproduced in our columns, with some additions, 
 which space did not permit to be produced in the book- 
 let. 
 
 In attempting to write a history of the M. E. church 
 of Princeville, the writer is confronted with the fact 
 that there are no records to w^hich reference can be 
 made, no memorandum or data as a helper, consequent- 
 ly has to depend wholly upon tradition prior to the 
 autumn of 1848, for material for such histor3^ 
 
 About the year 1836 there came from the State of 
 New York to this place, Rev. John Hill, a local minis- 
 ter of the M. E. church. Soon after his arrival, he and 
 his rather numerous family of sons and daughters set- 
 tled on land now owned in part by Stephen Hoag. 
 ''Father Hill," as he was familiarly called, was a very 
 conscientious and faithful man, highly esteemed by all
 
 HISTORY OF PRINCEVILLE M. E. CHURCH 89 
 
 who knew him. He soon began to gather in at his humble 
 home the ''lost sheep" — immigrants who had formerly 
 been members of the M. E. church at places of their 
 nativity and were now scattered over a sparsely settled 
 country with no previous opportunity of returning to 
 the "fold." Services were rather infrequent and in- 
 formal. In due time they became regularly organized 
 and became a part of a six weeks' circuit, supplied by 
 a regular minister. Services were held first in Aunt 
 Jane Morrow's log cabin, and then for a number of 
 years in a small log school house, situated about thirty 
 rods southeast of the present site of the C. R. I. & P. 
 depot, where they continued to worship for a number 
 of yeai*s. In the year 1846 the stone building now 
 occupied by the Misses Margaret and Arilla Riel was 
 erected for school purposes. The Board of Directors 
 very generously tendered its use to all religious de- 
 nominations, including the M. E. church, for religious 
 services when not needed for school purposes. 
 
 At this time the circuit had narrowed to a four 
 weeks' itinerary, including Kickapoo, Brimfield, Roch- 
 ester, now Elmore, and Princeville. The ministers who 
 served under Conference appointment prior to the fall 
 of 1848, were Rev. Messrs. Pitner, Whitman, Gumming, 
 Hill, Beggs, Applebee, Grundy and Gaddis. The lay- 
 men at that time and for a few subsequent years who 
 were the most active and faithful workers, have all en- 
 tered into rest. They were : Messrs. Martin, Russell, 
 Ayling, McMillen, Hare and Hoag. 
 
 At the Annual Conference held in the fall of 1848, 
 two young, unmarried ministers were appointed to the 
 circuit, both of whom very wisely secured "help meets" 
 during the year. Under their ministrations the church 
 prospered in every respect. Its numerical strength 
 largely increased by the inflow of immigration. In the 
 early "fifties" the junior preacher under appointment, 
 known as the "bachelor preacher," well educated and 
 able in discourse, attracted attention by a certain eccen- 
 tricity. He seemed to have such intense concentration 
 of thought while preaching as to be oblivious to sur-
 
 90 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 rouudings. Also he seemed to possess an unlimited 
 supply of handkerchiefs and to have a mania for their 
 use. Beginning his sermon he would soon produce a 
 handkerchief from a pocket and lay it on the desk. 
 After a little another would make its appearance. Then 
 another and another, until from four to six handker- 
 chiefs would be in sight, no two alike in style or color. 
 It was a query among the young people, to whom this 
 was very funny, where he found room on his person for 
 such a consignment of linen. 
 
 In the spring of 1853 the class decided they would 
 have a house of worship of their own. Building was 
 begim on Lots 1 and 2, Block 16, now owned by Mrs. 
 M. J. Adams, but the structure was not completed until 
 the following year owing to scarcity of money. The 
 writer does not remember that there was any formal 
 dedication service at its opening. From this date there 
 was a gradual growth in church interests, with lapses 
 at intervals, of spiritual life. During one of these lat- 
 ter a Quarterly Meeting day arrived. It was late in 
 the autumn and the weather was chilly. The time was 
 Saturday afternoon. About twenty persons were pres- 
 ent, and as the Presiding Elder, a nervous man. came in 
 he glanced at the fireless stove. As he walked up the 
 aisle he took note of the accumulated dirt and dust in 
 nook and corner. Presently an aged sister secured a 
 broom and began sweeping. The Elder looked quickly 
 from where he was sitting and said, ''Don't, sister. 
 Never sweep the room after the table is set. ' ' The good 
 old lady, greatly abashed, set the broom back in its rest- 
 ing place and sat down. The Elder then picked up a 
 heavy shawl w^hich he usually wore in cold weather, 
 and drawing it around his thin shoulders with the top 
 reaching to the crown of his head, took his place be- 
 hind the pulpit and throwing his head back, eyes closed 
 and arms folded, began singing, ''Come, Thou Fount 
 of every blessing." The whole scene was so amusing 
 that religious sentiment, for the time, was barred. 
 
 August, 1858, is remembered as the "great revival 
 year." A Camp Meeting was held in the grove on tlie
 
 HISTORY OF PRINCEVILLE M. E. CHURCH 91 
 
 farm of Jacob Hoag, and the meeting was one of great 
 spiritual power. The number of conversions was large. 
 But anxiety was not absent during that meeting. Late 
 in the afternoon, on Sunday, information came to the 
 ministers that some disorderly fellows from a distant 
 neighborhood were coming in the evening to create a 
 disturbance and ''break up the meeting." The minis- 
 ters at once entered into consultation as to necessary 
 steps taken for protection as well as defense. About 
 this time two or three young men of the immediate 
 neighborhood went around to where the ministers were 
 in consultation and said to them that they were not pro- 
 fessed christians, but believed in defending religious 
 assemblages in their rights, and for them to have no 
 further thought or anxiety about the matter, as they 
 were fully organized to take care of the "Spoon River 
 gang" if they made any attempt to disturb the meet- 
 ing. This was soon communicated to the "gang" when 
 they very wisely decided that "discretion is the better 
 part of valor" and hastily left the grounds. 
 
 AnotlTer incident : A' young fellow came into the 
 evening service and took a seat on the side of the aisle 
 assigned to the ladies. Presiding Elder Richard Haney 
 immediately went back and said to him kindly that 
 perhaps he was unaware of the custom of the church, 
 that the males sit on one side of the aisle and the fe- 
 males on the opposite side, and asked him kindly if he 
 would please be seated on the men's side. He looked 
 up defiantly in the face of the elder and replied, "I 
 guess not." "I guess you will," said the elder, and 
 quickly grabbing his coat collar with his left hand and 
 with his right getting a very convenient grip on his 
 trousers, lifted him bodily across the aisle, setting him 
 down, not very tenderly, with the remark, "Now sit 
 here and behave yourself, or fare worse." He did, 
 never stirring from his enforced place of seating dur- 
 ing the entire service, only occasionally glancing in the 
 direction of the athletic preacher. 
 
 Just before the closing of the meeting the local offi- 
 ciary said they felt that the church had been so greatly
 
 92 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 blessed spiritually, in accessions and in membership, 
 that Princeville was able to support a pastor alone and 
 at the Annual Conference a few weeks later Princeville 
 became an independent charge. Rev. ]Millsap being the 
 first appointed pastor. The church under the new ar- 
 rangements began and continued to prosper along all 
 lines until the beginning of the War of the Rebellion. 
 And notwithstanding the cloud of gloom and sorrow 
 that hung over the church during those trying years of 
 the war, there seemed to be no abatement in spiritual 
 feeling or church interests, though depleted in its male 
 members and outside attendance at its services by rea- 
 son of so many having volunteered and gone to the 
 front. There were very few homes not represented in 
 the service by a husband, father, son or brother. In 
 1861 and 1862, Rev. Ahab Keller was the preacher in 
 charge. He was knoT^ni as the "fighting parson." 
 With him, at that time, no sermon was complete and 
 well rounded out that was lacking in patriotic utter- 
 ances. 
 
 After the close of the war and the return of the sol- 
 diers, the church took a new life and increased interest 
 in its advancement and work, the outside attendance 
 at the services being greatly increased. These condi- 
 tions continued to grow and increase until the spring 
 of 1868, when the question of building a new and larger 
 church edifice began to be agitated, there not being 
 room enough in the old building for the increased mem- 
 bership and the increasing numbers in church attend- 
 ance. The matter soon took form and the preliminary 
 work began. It was completed and formally dedicated 
 in the month of September, the same year, by Rev. L. B. 
 Kent, Presiding Elder of Peoria District. Thus after 
 twenty years in occupancy of the first church building, 
 they became occupants of the new structure. The 
 building is now knowai as the "old Academy." For an 
 even twenty years this building continued to be occu- 
 pied as a house of worship. During all these j^ears 
 peace and harmony generally prevailed within the 
 sacred walls. One sad thought lingers in memory — of
 
 HISTORY OF PRINCEVILLE M. E. CHURCH 93 
 
 the scores who worshiped at its altar and attended upon 
 its services who have passed to the other shore. But in 
 nearly every case the passing was a triumphant one. 
 
 In the year 1889 the present church edifice was 
 erected and formally dedicated on Sunday, September 
 15th, of the same year. 
 
 Since that date the history and progress of the 
 church ought to be fresh in the memory of its members 
 as well as all who attend the services. If, however, a 
 continued history of the church is desired, this closing 
 is a good beginning for a more youthful and capable 
 successor. A list of the regularly appointed ministers 
 by the Annual Conference is herewith given, covering 
 a period of sixty-one years, with the closing Confer- 
 ence year. It w411 be observed that there have been 
 thirty-six distinct ministers who served the church dur- 
 ing this time, in length of service from one to five years. 
 Only once has a minister returned to the charge under 
 a second appointment, this one being Rev. J. S. Millsap, 
 in 1881. 
 
 1848, B. C. Swartz, T. F. Royal ; 1849, W. C. Cum- 
 min gs. J. W. Stogdell ; 1850, John Luccock, Dodge ; 
 
 1851, U. J. Giddings, J. B. Craig; 1852, U. J. Giddings, 
 
 Reack; 1853. N. H. Gregg, C. B. Crouch; 1854-55, 
 
 P. F. Rhodes; 1856-57, J. B. Mills; 1858-59, J. S. Mill- 
 sap; 1860-61, Ahab Keller; 1862-63, W. J. Beck; 1864, 
 G. W. Brown; 3865-66, S. B. Smith; 1867-68, John 
 Cavett; 1869, M. Spurlock ; 1870, G. W. Havermale ; 
 1871-72, E. Wasmuth; 1873-74. J. Collins; 1875-76, W. 
 B. Carithers; 1877, W. D. H. Young; 1878-80, Stephen 
 Brink; 1881, J. S. Millsap; 1882, M. V. B. White; 1883- 
 84, H. M. Laney; 1885-87, F. W. Merrill; 1888-92, Alex 
 Smith; 1893-95, R. B. Seaman; 1896, J. D. Smith; 1897- 
 98, J. E. Conner; 1899-1900, John Rogers; 1901-04, R. 
 L. Vivian ; 1905, L. F. Cullom ; 1906-08, N. J. Brown.
 
 94 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 TRACES OF EARLY INDIAN LIFE AT ROCHES- 
 TER, PEORIA AND KNOX COUNTIES, 
 
 ILLINOIS. 
 
 By W. H. Adams, 1909. 
 
 Evidently the primeval race of men who once in- 
 habited Millbrook Township and have long since van- 
 ished, like the early white settlers looked upon the high 
 prairies as the play-ground of the winter's blizzard and 
 summer's tornado, and therefore sought the protec- 
 tion of the bluffs and hills along Spoon River and its 
 confluents as a site for their villages and dwelling 
 places. The quantity of the ancient earthworks, and 
 other tumuli, would indicate the presence of a con- 
 siderable population at one time, or perhaps, more 
 properly expressed, a population extending over a long 
 period of time. 
 
 The kitchen middens on the west bank of Walnut 
 Creek, near its confluence with Spoon River, on the 
 farm of E. L. Grohs, indicate that a considerable village 
 existed there for a long period of time. Intermingled 
 with the soil that would naturally accumulate about 
 the home of the savage, is the refuse from their feasts. 
 This consists of the bones of the deer, opossum, raccoon, 
 land snails, fresh water shells in great abundance, and 
 of the species most common at the present time ; also, 
 of implements of the chase, etc., as spearheads, lances, 
 knives, arrow points made, from chert, hornstone and 
 other forms of quartz, stone axes, celts, gorgets, dis- 
 coidal stones, stone hammers, shreds of pottery, etc. 
 Nowhere in this great mass of material is there any evi- 
 dence that this primitive people came in contact with 
 the Aryan race. Undoubtedly this was a place of con- 
 siderable importance. Miss Sumner, Miss Emma Cum- 
 ming and Mr. Jay Walsh and others prominently iden- 
 tified with the educational affairs of Knox County, have 
 been able to trace an ancient Indian trail to this place 
 from well defined village sites in Knox County.
 
 TRACES OF EARLY INDIAN LIFE 95 
 
 There is an ossuary or burial mound some eighty 
 rods southwest of this village that contained the skele- 
 tons of thirty or more individuals that had been piled 
 up somewhat like the chopper cords up his wood, with 
 this difference : the long fellows were placed at the 
 bottom of the pile and the short ones on top, and over 
 the whole was erected a considerable mound of earth 
 that was thoroughly rammed or packed. 
 
 On what is now the village park of Rochester was 
 once the playground where the plumed braves, when 
 not engaged in the chase or lifting scalps, were wont 
 to engage in the pastime of playing Chunkee and other 
 games of like character germane to savage life — per- 
 haps with the same enthusiasm that is so prominent a 
 characteristic of the foot and baseball players of the 
 present day. 
 
 On land owned by the Biederbeck family is a series 
 of round and long mounds of considerable magnitude, 
 very similar to those so common in the State of Wis- 
 consin. One of this group is in the form of a Grecian 
 cross. The skeletons in the more ancient graves af- 
 ford but a faint trace of chalk. This would indicate a 
 very remote interment, perhaps many thousands of 
 years ago. 
 
 Here and there the little flint chips that are scat- 
 tered over the surface of a slope or knoll, swept by the 
 west and north winds, is the monument that marks the 
 site of the ancient arrow-maker's workshop. There is 
 a strong probability that the vocation of fashioning the 
 various forms of chipped implements was one of the 
 warm summer time. Here beneath the wide spreading 
 branches of some great oak, the arrow maker would 
 pursue his calling, undisturbed by the noxious insects 
 so prevalent on the low lands or near the water courses. 
 Those little flint chips are not only the monuments that 
 mark the site of an attalier, but tell us in language that 
 can not be misunderstood, that the contemporaries of 
 the arrow-makers were a commercial people and car- 
 ried the crude material in boats from distant places.
 
 96 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 That those people had some sort of a religion or 
 worship is evident from the fact that just over the line 
 in Knox County, on a well prepared earthen altar, four 
 men and one woman were burned, so that the bones 
 were charred, and the soil was impreg:nated to a con- 
 siderable depth with the oleaginous matter. In an ex- 
 cavation beneath this altar were the skeletons of two 
 men. What dire calamity had overtaken those people, 
 that five of their number in the morning of young man 
 and womanhood should be immolated on a fierv altar 
 to propitiate an offended deity ? It was certainly a re- 
 ligion as unreasoning as the creed of the bigoted 
 fanatics, as cruel as starvation, as merciless as the hate 
 of the wanton scorned. 
 
 The question is often asked where did those primi- 
 tive peoples come from. Some argue that they are the 
 descendants of the ten and a half lost tribes of Israel, 
 that came to America by the way of Behring Strait. 
 The law of supply and demand of food cuts this theory 
 out. Others advanced the theory that they came to 
 America by the way of the Pacific Ocean, This is pos- 
 sible. Able archaeologists take the position that they 
 originated in America. Or in other words that the 
 human family originated in more than one place. It 
 is just as easy to believe that if man is a creature of evo- 
 lution he had several starting points, as to believe he 
 had but one. 
 
 In 1812 Congress passed an act creating a military 
 bounty land district between the Mississippi and Illinois 
 Rivers in the Territory of Illinois, for the benefit of the 
 soldiers engaged in the war with Great Britain. In 
 1816 Amos Wheeler ran the Fourth Principal Meridian 
 west of Peoria County, and the Standard Parallel be- 
 tween Townships Eight and Nine North. The first rec- 
 ord we have of the presence of w^hite men in the north 
 and northwestern parts of Peoria County is the pres- 
 ence of the men who were engaged in survey of the 
 public land in 1817. 
 
 The Townships of Millbrook, Bri infield, Elmwood 
 and Trivoli were surveyed and subdivided by James D.
 
 TRACES 01' EARI^Y INDIAN UFE 97 
 
 Thomas in 1817. Trivoli was partly re-surveyed by 
 Isaac L. Baker in 1853. The Townships of Prineeville, 
 Jubilee, Kosefield, Logan, Timber, HoUis, Limestone, 
 Richwoods and Ilallock were surveyed by Thomas 
 Joj^es in 1817. The Townships of Akron, Radnor, Kiek- 
 apoo and Peoria were surveyed by Thomas Willis in 
 1817. Townships of Medina, Chillicothe and Rome 
 were surveyed by Jeremiah Rice in 1817. 
 
 To John Dantz, private in Bliss' 11th, belongs the 
 honor of first taking title to land in Millbrook Town- 
 ship, to whom was patented the Southwest quarter of 
 Section Thirty-three, on the first day of January, 1818, 
 warrant 9661. The second tract was the Southwest 
 quarter of Section Nine to Daniel Whittain, Feb. 9th, 
 1818. 
 
 The first tract of land in Prineeville Township was 
 the Southwest quarter of Section Twenty-nine. It 
 was patented to John Cady, father and heir of Adair 
 Cady, Oct. 6, 1817. There were forty-five quarter sec- 
 tions of land in Prineeville Township patented to sol- 
 diers or their lieirs, that were engaged in the last war 
 with Great Britain. 
 
 The following communication was received from 
 the War Department in answer to a request for in- 
 formation as to wdiat tribes of Indians occupied this 
 section of the country in the early part of the last 
 century. 
 
 War Department, Washington, Jul.y 17, 1909. 
 Mr. W. II. Adams, 
 
 Laura, Peoria Co., 111. 
 
 Nothing has been of record in this department to 
 show that a military escort was furnished for the pro- 
 tection of Surveyors engaged. It appears from cor- 
 respondence on file that tlie Surveyors were harrased 
 by Indians belonging to the Sac, Fox or Winnebago 
 tribes. 
 
 It also appeal^ from the records that Fort Clarke, 
 Illinois, was erected in 1813 on the present site of Peo- 
 ria as a protection against the Peoria Indians.
 
 98 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF THE STEWART FAMILY. 
 By Layton L. Stewart, 1909. 
 
 The Stewart family came to Illinois from Philadel- 
 phia, Pa. Thomas and James in 1852 and Joseph in 
 1859. Thomas and James left the East on the 1st of 
 April of that year and after a journey of two weeks, 
 from Philadelphia to Pittsburg by railroad and stage 
 coach, then dowTi the Ohio to the Mississippi and up the 
 Illinois to Peoria, and out to Trivoli Township by stage 
 coach, where they arrived on the 14th of April. The 
 next day they all went sleigh-riding, so it seems there 
 were late springs in those days as well as now. 
 
 Thomas and James settled in Jubilee in 1857, Jo- 
 seph in 1859. The Rowcliffe and Moss families were the 
 only neighbors in this part of the Township at that time 
 except Bishop Chase, who had founded Jubilee College 
 several years before, about the time that Prineeville 
 was first settled. 
 
 There were many earlier settlers in the county, but 
 it was, in comparison to the present time, a wild coun- 
 try around Jubilee. It was no uncommon sound to 
 hear the wolves howling around the house at night and 
 see herds of deer feeding on the fall grain on winter 
 mornings. 
 
 The children of the early days are the old settlers 
 now. The older generation is rapidly passing. May we 
 fill their places as faithfully as they performed their 
 parts in the making of our favored countrj'.
 
 PIONEERS OF MII.I,BROOK TOWNSHIP 99 
 
 PIONEERS OF MILLBROOK TOWNSHIP. 
 By. W. II. Adams, 1910. 
 
 The early settlers of Millbrook Township came to 
 Illinois that they might obtain homes for themselves 
 and a heritage for their children. They were a peo- 
 ple who respected and revered the Sabbath as a day 
 free from toil, and one of religious worship, of high 
 moral character and business probity, they promoted 
 education by building school houses, and advanced re- 
 ligion by erecting churches. Around the hearthstone 
 of their humble log cabins, the wayfarer, though a 
 stranger, was hospitably entertained. They were home- 
 builders in the broadest and best sense that term can 
 imply. 
 
 In the fall of 1834, William Metcalf built a log 
 cabin on the East half of the Southeast quarter of sec- 
 tion nine. In May or June, 1835, John Sutherland 
 moved his family from Peoria to French Grove, where 
 he resided until his death in 1846. 
 
 In the month of October, 1835, John Smith, Sr., 
 John Smith, Jr., and Theragood Smith and families, 
 accompanied by John White (who afterwards became 
 a prominent citizen of the township), and another 
 young man landed on the site of the Village of Roches- 
 ter; and they immediately proceeded to make per- 
 manent improvements on the lands that they had en- 
 tered at the Land Office at Quincy the preceding year. 
 The next year Charles Yoeum and John Carter settled 
 in the township. Elias Wycoff, Sr., and his two young 
 sons came in 1838. John McCune and Alexander 
 McDonnell settled on Scotland Prairie about 1830 or '37 
 (if I have not mixed dates). 
 
 Subjoined is a sketch of Col. Clark W. Stanton, 
 one of the most prominent and conspicuous characters 
 that has ever appeared in the business arena of the 
 Township, by his son, Erastus Stanton, of Scaudia, 
 Kansas.
 
 100 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 COL. CLARK W. STAXTOX. 
 By Erastus Stanton, 1910. 
 
 The pioneer of Eochester, Clark W. Stanton, was 
 born in Steuben Conntj^, in the State of Xew York, in 
 1800. The country was wild and new and while he 
 was 3'et a small boy, the war of 1812 came on and he 
 ])eing the oldest child, with his mother was compelled to 
 face all the hardships of frontier life, with the added 
 horrors of British and Indian dangers, as his father 
 and his father's brother were on the border or in Can- 
 ada repelling the enemy. The privations and suffering 
 of the family were great. There was not much farming 
 yet in the country, and Avhat flour there was was most- 
 ly gathered up for the use of the army. I remember 
 his telling of often seeing his mother sifting wheat bran 
 to get something to make bread. But when peace 
 came their fortunes were much improved, and having 
 a desire to learn the carpenter's trade, he was ap- 
 prenticed to a good workman and mill-wright with 
 whom he remained for several years. 
 
 In those days, it being so soon after the war. mil- 
 itary exercise took the place that base ball does now, 
 and the young man in time became so proficient that 
 he was advanced to the rank of captain and after- 
 ward Colonel, although I do not remember of hearing 
 that he took part in any actual warfare. 
 
 At the age of twenty-five he and Amy Barnes were 
 married, and they removed to Rochester, Xew York, 
 where there were better opportunities for work, and 
 remained there for several years, getting ready for the 
 inevitable west. 
 
 In 1833 or 34, they took shipping in a sailing vessel 
 for Chicago, a little heard of and almost unknown vil- 
 lage on the lower end of Lake Michigan, going around 
 by the Straits of Mackinaw, and in due time arriving 
 at Chicago, where they do not seem to have tarried 
 long, for in 1834 or so he assisted in the building of the
 
 COL. CLARK W, STANTON 101 
 
 Court House at Peoria, and if I am not mistaken, was 
 the contractor for building: the same — all the time 
 looking for a stream and location where he could fulfill 
 the dream of his heart and build a mill. 
 
 And he found Spoon River and the beautiful loca- 
 tion where Rochester reposes in romantic beauty. He 
 at once built a log cabin which stood directly in the rear 
 of what is or was the Wilkins store, for just over 
 the bank there, was a beautiful spring, clear, cold and 
 sparkling. The first thing to do was to build a saw 
 mill, dig a mill race and dam the river. He gathered 
 around a crew of stout, gallant young fellows, those 
 remaining now remembered, being John "White and 
 Robert Armstrong. I can remember names of several 
 others, but the sound of their names would mean noth- 
 ing nor convey any idea. This was in 1836. 
 
 They were a happy company ; long years afterwards 
 T have heard my mother speak kindly of those "boys" 
 as she called them, and when in after life they used to 
 meet me, they spoke so good of my father and mother 
 that I still cherish their memory. 
 
 Supplies of most kinds were brought by wagon, but 
 game was good and plenty, and some of the men were 
 expert with the rifle. Deer, wild turkeys, prairie chick- 
 ens and other game were no luxury ; in the winter es- 
 pecially many deer were killed and brought home and 
 thrown upon the cabin roof until it would be completely 
 covered. The river furnished an abundance of fish, 
 also. 
 
 The work went steadily on ; material was handy, 
 the level land in front of the mill site being covered 
 with forest, mostly oak, as was also the whole of the 
 land that afterward became the town site. The saw 
 mill soon went up and a deep ditch was dug where the 
 race was to be, with the correct idea that when the 
 dam was built and the water turned in, it would soon 
 wash out a sufficient mill race through the loose soil. 
 The building of the dam took some time, but being com- 
 pleted, the chug-chug of the saw soon woke the echoes 
 along the lonely Spoon.
 
 102 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 The next problem was the building of a grist mill. 
 There never having been much money, the remainder 
 was getting painfully low and it takes money to build 
 mills, but to Clark Stanton a little matter like that was 
 of no consequence. The saw mill going night and day 
 was making something, and he needed no master build- 
 er; also, he found a man of money who loaned him 
 Fifteen Hundred Dollars, which was quite a sum for 
 those days. I do not remember this man's name al- 
 though I used to know^ it very well, because of my 
 mother's worrying so much about the debt and about 
 what might happen. I came to look upon the kindly 
 old man who came around once a year to collect his in- 
 terest, as a horrible ogre who was liable to gather 
 us all up and take us to jail any minute ; and to add 
 
 to my terror, I once heard my father say, ''Mr. 
 
 will soon be here and I must have his money ready, 
 or Hell will be to pay," but my fears were groundless. 
 The mill went up. the country filled with people who 
 laid the foundation of the great Illinois of today. 
 
 About the year 1844 my father's younger brother 
 Russel Stanton came to Rochester from the East. He 
 was a different man in many ways : a very good and 
 extremely pious man, but so visionary. He was vio- 
 lently opposed to slavery, and in conjunction with some 
 fellow conspirators, organized a line for the purpose 
 of assisting colored people to Canada. I know he had 
 one fellow worker named Webster at a place called 
 "Nigger Point" near West Jersey, and another named 
 Boyd, up that way somewhere ; together they concoct- 
 ed a scheme to ruin the South financially, and thus 
 release the bondmen. It was no less than the manufac- 
 ture of molasses and sugar on so large a scale as to run 
 out the southern planters. There was nothing known 
 of sorghum in those days. The sweetness was to be 
 from the corn stalks crushed in the same manner as 
 sorghum now is. So Uncle Russel built the mill all 
 right and it was surely a good one. My father tried 
 to argue him out of his freakish notions, but unsuc- 
 cessfully. Anyway the corn field and the mill finally
 
 COL. CLARK W. STANTON 103 
 
 got in conjiinction, but I am not sure that any molasses 
 ■was the result, for at that time of my life I absorbed 
 a great deal of molasses and if there had been any 
 abundant quantity, I surely would have noticed it. 
 Anywaj^, the South survived that blow. 
 
 In 1846 my old grandfather also named Clark Stan- 
 ton, accompanied by his fourth wife and a grandson, 
 made a visit to Illinois, and the East part of the red 
 house was arranged for their use. He was very talka- 
 tive, as is common to the aged, and told me many tales 
 of war and also of the revolution which he had heard 
 from his mother and other older persons. They stayed 
 only about a year, she pining for children back in York 
 State. Grandfather said his ancestors first landed at 
 Saybrook, in Connecticut. 
 
 The mill was kept going night and day when there 
 was water to run it. Good wheat was raised there then 
 and teams were busy hauling flour to Peoria and goods 
 back for the merchants, but my father's health began 
 to fail. The dam was a constant trouble, the banks 
 were soft alluvial soil, and the material was mostly 
 willow brush, quickly rotting and needing constant 
 repair, floods sometimes washing the whole out and the 
 exposure and work in the cold water warned him to 
 quit. 
 
 He rented the mill, and in 1849, a feeble man, he 
 started to California by w^ay of New Orleans. Arriv- 
 ing at Chagres he crossed the Isthmus some way and 
 at Panama took passage on the English sailing vessel, 
 •'The Twin Sisters," it being Ilobson's choice. The 
 ship was crowded, old and leaky and not fitted with 
 stores and provisions nor sufficient water, and com- 
 manded by a drunken captain. The water soon gave 
 out and the passengers rigged up a condenser to boil 
 sea water and run the steam through a pipe enveloped 
 in cold water. Each passenger was rationed a pint 
 of water a day. After baffling winds and long delay 
 they reached Acapulco in Mexico and procured water, 
 but the food was nothing but sea biscuit, dry, hard and 
 wormy. After a crowded, suffering voyage they made
 
 104 HISTORY AND RlEMINISCENCES 
 
 the port of San Diego, and almost all of the passengers 
 abandoned the ship and made their way the best they 
 could to Sacramento, which was the outfitting point 
 to the mines. Here my father found a freighter who 
 wished to sell out and return home, whose oxen and 
 wagon he bought and loaded with provisions and start- 
 ed for the mines. Here he sold his load to such advan- 
 tage that he continued in the business for some time, 
 and then tried mining with some success. 
 
 But old Spoon River was calling all the time and he 
 took a sudden notion to go home, and no sooner said 
 than done. Well do I remember the cold winter night 
 when the door flew open and he was among us, looking 
 hale and well. Oh, but there was a happy time in the 
 old Red House that night. 
 
 His good health was only apparent, however, so he 
 resolved that his only chance was to return to Cal- 
 ifornia. He wished to close his business and go back 
 for good and all, but he sank rapidly and died still a 
 comparatively young man at the age of 51 years. My 
 mother was five years younger than he and survived for 
 that time and died at the same age. 
 
 My father was of poor pioneers and had very little 
 book education, but my mother was born and raised in 
 the Genesee valley of forehanded parents and was well 
 educated for that time. She said her father strongly 
 objected to her marrying that ''wandering blade of 
 poverty," but I suppose that only hurried matters as 
 is usual in such cases. 
 
 Of the five children, Irena, the oldest, was lately 
 buried at Rochester, where she came with her parents 
 when a little girl, the greater part of a century before, 
 as also Malvina, two years younger, who is buried 
 at Galva, 111. ; Franklin, buried at Shenandoah, Iowa. 
 The still living are Chloe of Galesburg, 111., and the 
 writer, of Scandia, Kansas. This closes a labor of love 
 and I am glad to cast even so poor a wreath upon the 
 graves of my dear parents.
 
 GEORGE w. scorr 105 
 
 GEORGE W. SCOTT. 
 By Odillon B. Slane, 1910. 
 
 About four years before General Samuel Thomas 
 platted and laid out the Village of Wyoming, and the 
 same year that bullets for the Black Hawk War were 
 moulded in the Slane cabin at Ft. Clark, Peoria, there 
 was born in the State of New York a man whose fu- 
 ture life and character as a pioneer was destined to 
 become closely interwoven with the early history of 
 Peoria and Stark Counties. 
 
 George Washington Scott was born July 21, 1832 
 at Fredonia, Chautauqua County, New York. His par- 
 ents were of Scotch-English origin. His father, Eph- 
 raim Scott, Jr., was an engineer, and died in 1839 at 
 Sydney, Ohio. His grandfather. Captain Ephraim 
 Scott, a soldier of 1812, commanded a company at 
 Buffalo when that post was burned. His mother, Lydia 
 Sherman, was a daughter of Reuben Sherman, a soldier 
 of the Revolution, and a cousin of Roger Sherman, one 
 of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Mr. 
 Scott has now in his possession two commissions : "En- 
 sign in 1802" and "Captain in 1806," issued to his 
 grandfather by Caleb Strong, governor of Massachu- 
 setts. He is a direct descendant from Isaac Allerton, 
 who landed at Plymouth in 1620, which fact gives him 
 a membership in the "Society of the Mayflower." 
 George W. Scott is also a member of the "Sons of the 
 American Revolution." 
 
 The subject of our sketch, with his mother, moved 
 to Peoria County, Illinois, in 1853, purchased land at 
 $5.00 per acre and engaged in agriculture. He and 
 his mother lived together on Section 3, Princevillo 
 To^\^^ship, till her death in 1857. Both parents are 
 buried in the Princeville Cemetery. 
 
 His marriage to Mary C. Cox took place December 
 23, 1858. She was a daughter of Enoch Cox, a native 
 of Virginia, and one of the pioneer settlers of Stark 
 County, Illinois.
 
 106 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 In 1862 the subject of our sketch moved to Wyo- 
 ming, Illinois, and engaged in the mercantile business. 
 In 1870 he established the banking house of Scott & 
 "Wrigley, which firm is now classed among the leading 
 banking houses in the state. That he has been a friend 
 of the church and school, is evidenced by his services 
 on the Board of Education for thirteen years. His life 
 has been a busy and eventful one. He has witnessed 
 great changes in the settlement of the great northwest, 
 especially in Central Illinois. 
 
 Ever a friend to the cause of humanity — to the 
 moral uplift of society, such characters as his have from 
 pioneer times hewn the paths of progress through the 
 eventful periods of our country's history. 
 
 THE STOWELL FAMILY OF LAWN RIDGE 
 By Calvin Stowell, 1910. 
 
 To the Officers and Members of the Old Settlers Union 
 of Princeville and Vicinity, 
 
 Greeting : 
 
 We have been repeatedly asked to furnish a sketch 
 of our father's life in connection with his pioneer days 
 in the early settlement of Illinois. We feel it to be 
 a delicate matter to write of the life of one, or portion 
 of the life of one, as close by the ties of nature, as father 
 and son; but we realize that those of my father's gener- 
 ation, and a large proportion of those of the generation 
 immediately following, have passed over the ''Dark 
 River," and so far as I can remember, there is no one 
 now living that could testify in regard to the facts con- 
 nected Avith our final move to Illinois in 1843, aside 
 from the writer. 
 
 Of the incidents connected with his first trip to Illi- 
 nois on his exploring expedition in 1836, we can only 
 give them from memory as we have heard talked over 
 again and again at the fireside in our childhood days,
 
 THE STOWELL FAMILY OF LAWN RIDGE 107 
 
 and often repeated in our maturer years. So imder 
 existing conditions, we should feel ourselves unworthy 
 of the father that begot us. and the mother that bore us, 
 if we should refuse to give any facts in regard to those 
 pioneer years of hardship and heroic endeavor and 
 endurance that would add anything to the history 
 of the early settlers of Illinois, whose lives are now 
 numbered upon the records of the heroic deeds of 
 the past. 
 
 In the spring of 1836, when my father, Ebenezer 
 Stowell. was twenty-nine years of age, he with his first 
 cousin, Roswell Nurse, and his son, Isaiah Nurse, a 
 young man just at his majority, packed their grips 
 with such things only as were absolutely necessary for 
 health and comfort on the road, and, with one rifle as 
 their only weapon, which they carried turn about, 
 started from Bambridge, Chenango County, New York, 
 for the much talked of ''Land of Promise," the young 
 state of Illinois. 
 
 Their plan was to make the trip on foot and to make 
 any side explorations in going as might be deemed 
 best. Just the route which they took, we are not able 
 to give, further than this, that they explored quite thor- 
 oughly much of the country along the Wabash River 
 in Indiana, and then struck across to Peoria, Illinois, 
 which was then little more than a village. From there, 
 they went up the River to Chillicothe, a town of a 
 few houses along the river bank. Here they met Jacob 
 Booth, whom they had known in York State, who had 
 preceded them by a length of time unknown to us. We 
 have also heard them speak of meeting J. H. McKean, 
 now a resident of Wyoming, Illinois, well past his 
 four-score and ten years. But they had little time for 
 visiting; time was precious and they were there on 
 business. 
 
 Leaving Chillicothe, they went to Northampton, 
 where Reuben Hamlin had a tavern. Here they estab- 
 lished headquarters w^hile exploring the country. They 
 finally located timber-land upon what has since been 
 called Blue Ridge, and prairie along the south line
 
 108 HISTORY AND RE-MIXISCEXCES 
 
 of Marshall County, where Lawn Ridge now stands. 
 They then took up their line of march for the nearest 
 land office, Quincy, Illinois, one hundred and sixt}'' 
 miles distant. 
 
 Having made their entries, and secured their pat- 
 ents, they returned to Hamlin's, which they made their 
 stopping place while they built a small but comfortable 
 log house on the exact spot where Isaiah Nurse subse- 
 quently built a good substantial home, now o^vned by 
 H. H. Nurse, and occupied by his son. Game was 
 plentiful in those days and in their walks back and 
 forth to Hamlin's, they often picked up a turkey with 
 their trusty rifle that added materially to their bill 
 of fare. 
 
 It was now getting well along in the fall. The ob- 
 ject of their summer's tramp accomplished, it was ar- 
 ranged that Isaiah Nurse should remain and keep house 
 while Roswell Nurse and my father should return to 
 the East for their families. So again the two men 
 started on their tramp for Chicago, with a view of ex- 
 pediting their trip home, by taking a schooner to Buf- 
 falo, New York. 
 
 It was now getting late in the fall, and they were 
 beset with high and adverse winds and bad storms, 
 often compelled to lie under the lee of some island for 
 days before they could proceed. Three weeks were 
 consumed in the trip from Chicago to Buffalo, New 
 York. Here again they took up their line of march 
 for their homes in Chenango County, about the center 
 of the state on the south line, — their long tramp fin- 
 ished, and the work they set out to do fully accom- 
 plished. 
 
 It was upon his return from Illinois that I first 
 met my father, my arrival having anticipated his by 
 a few weeks. While we have no very distinct recollec- 
 tion of the occasion, we think it fairly to be presumed 
 that we met him with the grace and dignity becoming 
 
 one of our age and experience. And here closes the 
 
 first chapter of the record.
 
 THE STOVVELL FAMILY OF LAWN RIDGE 109 
 
 The spring following their return to New York 
 State, Roswell Nurse moved w4th his family to their 
 possessions in Illinois. My father being a mechanic 
 with plenty of work in the East, and no assurance of 
 any in his line in the West, deferred moving his family 
 until 1843, when, with a good team of mares attached 
 to a wagon with the box set upon springs, our family, 
 then five in number, started on the long road to our 
 future home, which we reached in three and one-half 
 weeks. A young man by the name of John Champlin 
 went through with us, driving a horse and buggy of 
 Dr. Ashed Wilmot's, who moved to Illinois the same 
 spring. Doctor's old Charley horse and sulky were 
 know^n on the road for many years as the Doctor made 
 his professional visits. 
 
 Our journey was made without incident or accident 
 worthy of note, but the broad prairies, as hour after 
 hour we drove over them without seeing a sign of 
 human habitation, were in strong contrast with the 
 same country two and three decades later. Our heavy 
 goods father had draw^n to Olean Point in the late 
 winter before, when they were rafted down to the Ohio 
 River in charge of Uncle Lyman Robinson, who came 
 around by water the same spring, arriving at our des- 
 tination some weeks ahead of us. 
 
 The next day after our arrival, the goods were 
 stored, the family found shelter amongst the neighbors, 
 and father was in quest of a saw mill which he found 
 on the Senachwine Creek, about two miles above North- 
 ampton. Being a mill-wright, he soon had it in order, 
 and was sawing lumber for a house, while Champlin 
 with the team and wagon w^as drawing it to the place 
 designated for a building. In just two weeks from the 
 time of reaching our journey's end, we were under our 
 own roof, and gathered as a family in our owti hab- 
 itation. Crude and unfinished though it was, it was 
 home, and life in our new environment was begun, in 
 what was then called the ''Little Blue Ridge Settle- 
 ment. ' '
 
 110 HISTORY AN'D REMINISCENCES 
 
 Of this little pioneer settlement much that would 
 be of interest could be said, but that would take us 
 beyond the scope of this paper. That those first years 
 in Illinois were both primitive in matters of dress and 
 very plain in matters of living, goes without saying, 
 and had it not been for kind-hearted, industrious 
 Grandma Will who preceded us to Illinois by a few 
 years, and announced that she had planted garden for 
 all of the newcomers, we might have truly said that our 
 living was both plain in quality and scrimped in quan- 
 tity ; for what little cash came into the treasury in those 
 early years, father depended upon his trade. 
 
 Being a Yankee, he considered a barn indispensa- 
 ble, and the second year put up a good framed barn, 
 enclosed with hardwood lumber of his own sawing. 
 The example seemed contagious, and numerous other 
 jobs of the same kind were soon given him. In addi- 
 tion to this, he got several jobs in building over and re- 
 pairing both flouring mills and saw mills, one near 
 Princeton, one on Crow Creek where he took the ague 
 which stayed by him for many months, and was alto- 
 gether more than he bargained for. He also did work 
 on the old Evans flouring mill, which many of the old 
 settlers wdll remember, located upon the Kickapoo 
 Creek in Peoria County. 
 
 Clothing was among the important items to be pro- 
 vided for, and a flock of sheep was among the first 
 things to be looked after, the care and preservation 
 of which in those early days of dogs and wolves was 
 no small item. The wool from their backs was spun 
 into yarn and w^oven into cloth by my mother's deft 
 hands, and by her cut and made into garments for the 
 whole family. From her loom also came many a bolt of 
 cloth for the neighbors, with all of whom, comfort 
 counted for everything, and mere style for less than 
 nothing. The loose woolen shirt, the jeans pants, vest 
 and wampus was the style for the men and boys; and, 
 for the women, the plain calico dress in summer, and 
 the woolen dress for winter, were the order of the day. 
 
 The year 1840 is approximately that of the building
 
 THE STOWELL FAMILY OF LAWN RIDGE 111 
 
 of the little brick school-house from which we and 
 many others graduated. It was also the church from 
 which the circuit rider held forth once in four weeks. 
 
 Feeling the need of more religious services in the 
 community, Dr. A. Wilmot, Nathaniel Smith and father, 
 with their wives, organized a Congregational Church 
 — not as a rival, but as a helper — in maintaining re- 
 ligious services with all that can be implied in it. Owen 
 Lovejoy of Princeton, who afterwards became famous 
 in the nation's councils, was at the head of the Council 
 of Organization. This church worked harmoniously 
 with the Methodist people and for the general good 
 of all, until in the process of settlement a few years 
 later, service w^as moved to Lawm Ridge where the 
 church still stands, and has the honor of being the 
 parent from which the Congregational Churches of 
 Stark. Edelstein and Speer have sprung. 
 
 It was not our design in writing this paper to give 
 a biography of our father's life, only a few incidents 
 in connection w^ith his pioneer days, which with his 
 optimistic views of life, were most thoroughly identified 
 with those of his neighbors in upholding all that mor- 
 ally, socially and financially was for the best interest 
 of all concerned ; and we realize that we are drawing 
 out this paper to great length, still do not see just where 
 to stop. 
 
 There is one thing more due primarily to my fath- 
 er's fore-sight w^hich has become an universal blessing. 
 It was early noted in the old settlement that there 
 was but one spring of absolutely living water in the 
 settlement. Knowing that the land Avas for sale and 
 that it was liable to be closed to the public, father ap- 
 proached the owner with the proposition to segregate 
 the spring from the balance of the tract, and sell it for 
 the benefit of the public. Having got consent of the 
 owner to do so. Uncle Erastus and Lucas Root joined 
 hands with him in putting up the cash. The land con- 
 necting the spring with the public highway was bought 
 and deeded to the public forever, and it became a ver- 
 itable "Jacob's Well." There have been times of drouth
 
 113 HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES 
 
 when it seems that both man and beast would have 
 perished without it. 
 
 Amongst the sad events of that early day was the 
 death by lightning of my Uncle Nathan Stowell, who 
 with my father and brother was making hay on the 
 prairie, about three miles from home. The three were 
 standing together not a yard from each other when 
 a bolt of lightning struck Nathan dead. My brother 
 Orson was also struck and blistered from head to foot, 
 a spot on his arm burned to the bone, and a wound 
 inflicted on his head from which blood flowed freely; 
 while, strange to say, father did not lose consciousness 
 for a moment, was not even knocked down. This Uncle 
 with a younger brother who died from the effects of an 
 accident the following winter were the first two burials 
 in Blue Ridge Cemetery. My father died in the year 
 1880 in his 73rd year; my mother in 1889 in her 81st 
 year. 
 
 We feel that we cannot close this sketch without a 
 word in a general way for the old neighbors of pioneer 
 days with whom we were closely associated for many 
 years. Fraternity and reciprocity were characteristic 
 of them as a whole ; not that they always saw ' ' eye 
 to eye," for they were all human; but in no case did 
 their petty differences withhold the helping hand in 
 the day of affliction, and be it said to their credit that 
 such a thing as a law suit was never known within our 
 recollection of more than sixty-five years. 
 
 In looking back over the record of those in and 
 around the old settlement as early as 1846, we can 
 count the graves of at least twelve fathers and mothers 
 who rest side by side in the little settlement cemetery. 
 
 Within a half mile of our old home. Ave wooed and 
 wed the faithful wife who has walked bv our side 
 for forty-six years. Here our first child was born. 
 Here, when the curtain falls, we expect to be our final 
 resting place amongst the old neighbors, kindred and 
 friends we knew so long and well. 
 
 Sincerely, CALVIN STOWELL, 
 
 402 E. Henry Street, Savannah, Ga.
 
 THE MCGINNIS FAMILY 113 
 
 THE MeGINNlS FAMILY. 
 By Geo. I. McGinnis, 1910. 
 
 George I. McGinnis, son of James and Temperance 
 McGinnis, was born in Granger County, Tenn., Sept. 15, 
 1802. At the age of about nine years he moved with his 
 parents to Ohio, settling near Cincinnati. After re- 
 maining there a few years, he moved to Park County, 
 Indiana, where on January 1, 1829, he was united in 
 marriage to Sarah J. Montgomery, daughter of John 
 and Elizabeth Montgomery. She was born in Russell 
 County, Virginia, Sept. 20, 1812. When about nine 
 years of age she had moved with her parents to Ken- 
 tucky. After remaining there a few years, they moved 
 to the East side of Indiana, thence to Park County, 
 Indiana. 
 
 The newly married couple, first remaining in Park 
 County about five years after their marriage, then 
 moved to Peoria County, Illinois. They settled about 
 a mile and a quarter northeast of where the Village 
 of Princeville now stands, on the South half of the 
 Southwest quarter of Section Seven, in what is now 
 Akron Township. 
 
 Here they remained about three years, when they 
 moved onto the North half of said quarter section, 
 which they made their permanent home. They were 
 the parents of twelve children, in order as follows : 
 Susan, deceased ; Sarah Ann, died in Indiana ; John 
 deceased ; Nancy, deceased ; James, Mary, Elizabeth ; 
 Temperance, deceased ; Jane ; William, deceased ; 
 George, and Charles, deceased. Temperance was the 
 first person buried in the Princeville Cemetery. She 
 died on the evening of Sept. 14, 1844. The next day, 
 the 15th, the now venerable John Z. Slane dug the 
 grave. He was a lad then seventeen years of age. 
 The funeral was preached by the Rev. Breese in the 
 grove Southeast of the old log schoolhouse, there being 
 no church building in the village at that time. Her
 
 INDEX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Andrews, Mrs. Sarah B., Letter 63 
 
 Armstrong Family 70 
 
 Belford Family 51 
 
 Blanchard, William P., Family 10 
 
 Bliss, Henry, Family 114 
 
 Breese, Rev. Robt. Finley, and Family 54 
 
 Cameron, Rev. Robt., and daughter Miss Agnes 56 
 
 Chase, Simon P., and Family 47 
 
 Cornwell Family 49 
 
 Debord Family 58 
 
 Early Indian Life at Rochester • 94 
 
 Fourth of July Celebration, Princeville, 1844 61 
 
 French, Stephen 8 
 
 Houston, William, and Family 46 
 
 McGinnis Family 113 
 
 McKown, Lawrence, Family 76 
 
 M. E. Church, History of 88 
 
 Miller, Christian, Family 65 
 
 Moody Family 41 
 
 Moody, Ethan, Letters 43 
 
 Morrow Family 15 
 
 Mott Family 68 
 
 Presbyterian Church, Historical Sketch of 80 
 
 Presbyterian Church, Seventy-fifth Anniversary 79 
 
 Pioneers of Millbrook Township 99 
 
 Prince, Daniel 5 
 
 Rochester, Early Indian Life at 61 
 
 Scott, Geo. W., of Wyoming 105 
 
 Slane Family 20 
 
 Sloan Family 14 
 
 Smith, John, Family, of Northwest Princeville 16 
 
 Stanton, Col. Clark W 100 
 
 Stevens, Wm. C, the Founder of Princeville 25 
 
 Stevens, Wm. C, Letter written by him 37 
 
 Stevens, Wm. C, Reminiscences 39 
 
 Stewart Family • 98 
 
 Stowell Family of Lawn Ridge 106
 
 EDW. HINE & CO. 
 
 PRINTERS, 
 
 PEORIA, ILL.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 Sy AND REMIN.SCEn'cES, FROM THE RECO 
 
 3 0112 025392645