CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT 
 FUND GIVEN IN 1 89 1 BY 
 
 HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE 
 
Cornell University Library 
 
 Stark countv and j s pioneers. By Mrs. E 
 
 olin 
 
 3 1924 028 806 037 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028806037 
 
STARK COUNTY 
 
 AND ITS 
 
 riOTsTEERS. 
 
 BY MRS. E. H. SHALLEJ^BERQER. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE, ILL.: 
 
 B.'W- SEATOX, PEAIKIE CHIEF OPFICE, BOOK AND JOB PKIKTEE, 
 
 < t I . I 
 
TO 
 
 THE PIONEER FAMILIES OF STAUK COTJNTV 
 
 THIS LITTLE VOLUME 
 
 IS APPECTIOXATELY INSCBLBED BY 
 
 THE ATJTHOE, > 
 
 ^HOPING IT MAY SOMETIMES PEOVE TO THEM A PLEASANT 
 
 EEMINDEE OF THE 
 
 "STLiVES AND THE FEIENDS THAT AEE GONE. 
 
TABLE or CONTENTS. 
 
 Introduction 17 
 
 PARTI. CIIA P TER I. 
 
 A. Retrospective, Glance, Inchiding the various Voyages of discov- 
 ery by means of ichich a knoivledge of this land teas convey- 
 ed to the Old World, and Emigration induced to drift hither- 
 ward — Geological Changes — Carboniferous Period — Forma- 
 tion of our Coal Measures — Character of our Resident In- 
 dians, Black Hawk'' s Incursion, &c -.21 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Our First Settlers — Isaac B. Essex — Various groups of Settlers 
 at Osceola, Wyoming, Lafayette, West Jersey, and Valley 
 Township. The Circumstances that Environed them, Anec- 
 dotes, &c. — First Marriage, Birth and Death, in ichat is now 
 ■Stark County. — When and how the first Homes tcere built. 
 — Character of the Early Settlers — the Impression they have 
 left upon our county , , ; , 28 
 
 CHA P TER III. 
 
 27ie Fm^mation of Stark County. — Its first Election, Organi- 
 zation, &c. — Political Struggles and Maneuvers of the Early 
 Settlers. — Institution of Courts. — Natural Advantages— Ge- 
 ography, Climate, and General Healthfulness of the New 
 County. — Its Groves and Roads 42 
 
CHA P TER I V. 
 
 Public Mhterprises— Religious, Educhtionul, Benevolent, Mili- 
 tary and Business ...63. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Fauna and Flora, by T. M. Shallenberger 123. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ■Our Toions — Toulon, Wijoming, Lafayette, Bradford, Castle- 
 ton, Duncan. — Tlieir Past History and Present Pros- 
 perity 136; 
 
 PART II.— P ERSO XA L S KE T CHE ,S . 
 
 General Samuel Thomas and Family ...197 
 
 Rev. R. C. Dunn and Family 202 
 
 Col. William H. Henderson 208- 
 
 Rev. Samuel G. Wright 217 
 
 The Hall Family 228 
 
 Turnbull and Oliver Families 246 
 
 The Scotch Settlementat Elmira 251 
 
 The Sturms Family 2'\.i- 
 
 Jfr. Henry Seeley ." 256 
 
 Jlr. Thomas ]nnn 259 
 
 TheEmerys 261 
 
 J/y. .lames Buswell 263 
 
 The Butler Family , 26& 
 
 Gen. Thomas J. Henderson 273 
 
 Tlie MoClennahan Family 284 
 
 The Essex Family 286. 
 
 Conclusion 288 
 
 . APPENDIX. 
 
 Abstract of Vote ; 293 
 
 S'okUers' Record-, &c 3*05 
 
IKTEODUCTIOX. 
 
 We are aware that there exists a large class of readers who al- 
 ways ignore a preface or introduction ; for them these opening 
 pages can have no interest. But, to those who think they can 
 read any work with more pleasure, arid criticise it more justly, 
 after learniifg somewhat farther of its history and aims than can 
 be gathered from a glance at its table of contents, we would say, 
 this little volume was commenced at the suggestion of old settlers 
 of Stark county, and has been carried forwsa-d to comjjletion by 
 their assistance and encouragement. 
 
 It is no offspring of elegant leisure, nursed into being to dispel 
 the ennui born of idleness ; but on the contrary, it has been con- 
 ceived and shapen into its present prox^ortions, in the midst of a 
 ceaseless round of cares, and penned amidst the bustle and con- 
 fusion of a life, that so far, has hardly known a holiday ; and 
 perhaps tlie only special fitness the writer had for the work, was 
 a sincere love for the subjects under consideration. For, but 
 dimly remembering the far-a-way land across the sea, from ^^•hence 
 our parents came, our life since childhood has been identified with 
 that of Stark county ; and now " when the almond tree flourishes 
 * * * and those that look out of the windows be darkened," 
 we are bound to the spot by all the tender ties that bind a daughter, 
 wife and mother to the shrine of home, and the graves of kin- 
 dred ; and, it is with pleasure we reflect, that, although in future 
 years the promise of milder skies, of fairer scenes, or richer mines, 
 may tempt our children's feet far from these quiet haunts, yet 
 shall bonds subtile as strong, bind their hearts to this, 
 the place of their birth, and forbid them to forget till 
 their latest breath, their early home among these prairias. 
 2 
 
18 IKTK0DI7CTI0N. 
 
 Therefore, to compile these items of local interest has 
 been for ua a labor of love. We have shrunk from calling the 
 result, distinctively, " A History of Stark County," for the reason 
 that there is much between these covers that hardly deserves to be 
 digniiied by the name of history. Indeed, so short has been our 
 span of life as a county,, and so few events, properly historical, 
 have transpired among us, that a few brief sentences would con- 
 tain all that the world at large would care to know of us, or our 
 
 ■ doings. But this past is our own, and as such we accept it, and 
 
 ■ as citizens may well review its results with pride and pleasure. 
 So, to aid memorj'^ when she falters, and to preserve for our child- 
 ren these pictures of by-gone days, this book will combine with 
 history and statistics, reminiscence, anecdote, and biography, 
 hoping thus to put within reach of every Stark county man, a 
 
 "knowledge of the religious, educational and business interests of 
 <the county, giving him opportunity to compare the past with the 
 present, and note the changes years have wrought. 
 
 That ail this has been but imperfectly accomplished is more 
 than likely ; that some localities, and some families should have 
 |been more fully represented upon these pages is most true, and no 
 one deplores such omission half as much st? the author ; but let the 
 responsibility rest where it belongs. At the outset of this under- 
 taking, np pains were spared to interest all paris of the county, 
 and all old settlers. Appeals were made through the papers for 
 information, and cooperation in the work ; asking either through 
 the means of a personal interview or by letter, for all items of 
 general or family interest, suitable for publication. That some 
 promptly responded and aided in furnishing the requisite material, 
 while others manifested a strange, we had almost said, a con- 
 temptuous indifference, cannot be denied. Scores of letters have 
 been written, and many journeys made to elicit desired informa- 
 tion, and even those means have not always been attended with 
 ■success. So now, if any one finds the facts he or, she has furnished, 
 ignored or perverted, A\e shoulder the blame ; but let those who 
 liave been so persistently reticent in the past, " hereafter hold 
 their peace." It is their fault, not ours, if we have failed to learn 
 all we should have said for any section of our county, or for any 
 individual within its bounds. I 
 
 Gathering history from its original sources— the lips of living 
 men— is a widely different operation from comparing and transcrib- 
 ing written records that have been sifted carefully, perhaps for 
 .centuries. 
 
 By the former method, you assuredly catch inore of individual- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 ity and the spirit of circumstances ; but accuracy and precision 
 are not so easily reached. The best memories differ in the tenac- 
 ity with which they hold the particulars of past events ; some 
 seizing upon one sort of detail, and some another ; hence, often 
 rises an honest difference of opinion. 
 
 For about two and a half years we have been patiently glean- 
 ing facts and figures relative to this work, from every available 
 source, only when nothing better could be found, falling back up- 
 on our own recollections. We now offer the result to Stark county 
 readers, asking, not charity exactly, but to be judged in a spirit 
 of fairness. Of the value of the second part of our work, the jus- 
 tice of the personal sketches, no doubt very different opinions will 
 obtain ; this is anticipated, expected. 
 
 To write biography well, under any circumstances, critics say, 
 is a rare and delicate art, and few are those who successfully 
 pursue it. But to write sketches of living persons, many of M'hom 
 are still active members of our community, all of whom have 
 been but recently so, and not offend the taste, or contradict the 
 opinion of any, would be a miracle, and we do not inhabit a 
 "miracle land." 
 
 The friction wrought by contending sects, parties, and business 
 interests has not yet subsided, and in some cases the readers of 
 these pages will stand in the position of excited combatants to- 
 wards the subjects thereof, instead of regarding them with the 
 same composure with which they read the memoirs of strangers. 
 
 As we have had no share in all this din and strife, but have 
 be^n merely a looker on from the quiet of our own hearth-stone, 
 we have said our say unbiased by such considerations. We have 
 intended to speak of all, the best we could truthfully, ajid no 
 more ! Shakspeare said , 
 
 " TVie evil thatnien do, lives after them ; 
 The good is oft interredicifh their bones." 
 
 Now we dare to reverse this rule so far as we are able ; we can 
 think of no benefit that could result from publishing the faults 
 and foibles of our pioneers, even if we were cognizant of them ; 
 but whatever they have done toward advancing any of the mul- 
 titudinous interests of our growing community, we are glad to 
 record in this volume devoted to their deeds. 
 
 The political record of such as were prominent in politics, we 
 expect each reader to judge from his own standpoint ; we have 
 endeavored to give the facts as they appear to us, without fear 
 or favor, not hazarding opinions often, or allowing our individual 
 
20 INTEODUCTION. 
 
 preferences to unduly color the narratives ; nevertheless, we have 
 sketched them, as artists say, with a " free hand," indulging in 
 detail and anecdote, when such were at our command, although, 
 in so doing, we are aware we are opening a wider door to criti- 
 cism. We could give bloodless skeletons, built up of names and 
 dates, so correct that nobody could quarrel with them ; but we 
 prefer whenever practicable, to offer instead, portraits of life size 
 and color, and leave our readers to discuss the details, only asking' 
 them to believe that wherever in the progress of this work we 
 have ventured a stricture, it was because we thought it was de- 
 manded ; and where we have offered a tribute, it was because we 
 felt it was deserved. Not a line or word has been paid or bar- 
 gained for. We leave the matter of remuneration with, a gen- 
 erous public, confident it will not allow us to suffer loss by the 
 publication of " Stabk County and its Pioni;ers." 
 
STABK COUKTY 
 
 AND ITS PIONEERS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A retrospective Olanoe, including the various Voyages of Discovery, 
 by means of which a knowledge of this land was conveyed to the 
 Old World, and emigration indKced to drift hitherward — Geolo- 
 gical Changes— Carboniferous Period — Formation of dur Coal 
 Measures — Character of the resident Indians — Black Hawk's 
 
 I Incursions, &c. 
 
 In one very important sense, at least, Stark county had no exis- 
 tence prior to tlie Act of tlie General Assembly of Illinois, ap- 
 proved March 2, 1839, creating such a county. But this phase of 
 political life had " its antecedents,-" as we sometimes say ; and it 
 may be worth while to consider them'|br a short time, as we 
 know that ages previous to that epoch, our prairies basked in the 
 sunlight, our groves towered in primeval beauty, and our rivers 
 rolled with fuller, broader streams than they do to-day. Once, 
 these .lands formed part of "Old Putnam," aptly styled "the 
 mother of counties," and then, this region was known in Metho- 
 distic annals, as "Peoria Mission^" 
 
 Going back to 1825, we lose old Putnam in a gigantic county 
 called Pike, stretching over all the state north and west of the 
 Illinois river, in which Chicago* formed a village on Lake Michi- 
 gan, of about a dozen houses, and sixty inhabitants, and Peoria a 
 small settlement on the west bank of the Illinois river, also in 
 
 * Ford's History of Putnam and Marshall Counties. 
 
22 STARK COUNTY 
 
 Pike county, while a few workmen had clustered around the lead 
 mines of Galena. But a road through the unbroken wilderness, 
 eastward or southward, M'as not made until late in this year (1825) 
 when " Kellogg's trail " pointed the devious way from Peoria to 
 Galena. Not a white man's habitation, not a bridge or ferry 
 was to be seen along its entire route; indeed, northern Illinois 
 was still the hunting ground of the Winnebagoes and Pottawato- 
 mies. However, the honey bee, and "white man'sfoot" in blossom, 
 had already whispered to the rednian of the coming stranger; 
 and "the white canoes with pinions" were pushing their way 
 toward western waters. Thus, events which might seem to have 
 but a remote, had really a marked significance in shaping our fu- 
 ture history. 
 
 Still following up the stream of Time for a brief space, we come 
 to 1818, when Illinois was admitted into the great sisterhood of 
 states. Two or three years previous to this, " The Military Boun- 
 ty Land Tract" had been surveyed by order of the government, 
 and the greater pari? of it subsequently appropriated in bounties 
 to soldiers of the regular army, in service during the last war with 
 Great Britain, thus complicating titles to millions of acres of val- 
 uable land, to the great vexation of settler and dealer for time to 
 come. But, sweeping past all these dates, ere a section had been 
 measured, or a corner stone put down, or a tree " blazed " through- 
 out all this wide domain ; ere the nineteenth or the eighteenth 
 century had dawned upon our world — in 1680 the gallant LaSalle, 
 with his Italian Lieutenant Tonti, and a Franciscan Friar, Father 
 Hennepin, as historian of the expedition, had parted with their 
 steady oars the tranquil waters of the Illinois, built Fort St. Louis 
 on Buffalo Bock, near Ottawa, and on, or near Peoria lake, say 
 some authorities, another fort which, in memory of his many mis- 
 fortunes and disappointments, he called Oere C<zur. (Broken 
 heart.*) The details of these operations are already obscured by 
 the mists of years — the diary of Father Hennepin being the only 
 record of then^ known to exist. From this, it seems that Henne- 
 pin was left to make his way to the Mississippi, (which he spells 
 Meschaasipi,) and Tonti tok^look after the forts on the Illinois, 
 while IiaSalle started on foot and alone to return to the French 
 settlements in Canada, a distance of not less than twelve hundred 
 miles. Returning the following spring, (1681) he found Jais forts 
 deserted, probably through fear of Indians ; but nothing daunted, 
 commenced his search for Tonti, who throughout all the vicissi- 
 tudes of his wonderful career, seems to have been a brave and 
 
 * Bancroft. 
 
AND ITS PIONEKRS. 28 
 
 faithful follower of LaSalle. They met at Mackanae in the pres- 
 ent state of Michigan, and immediately began their enterprises 
 anew, appearing upon the Illinois with a large company of nativas. 
 and Frenchmen. 
 
 Now who can say these events have no interest, no meaning for 
 us ? When the soldier adventurer and priest at last made their way 
 back to the land of their fathers, what tales they told of the won- 
 drous beauty and fertility of the "Illinois country" and of the 
 ^rude but friendly aborigines, for friendly as a rule they undoubt- 
 edly were then, sending their chiefs out to meet their white breth- - 
 ren, smoking the pipe of peace with them, and offering thein 
 corn and venison. What wonder then that two years later, say 
 1G83, we find LaSalle again leading out a colony from France des- 
 tined for the valley of the Mississippi. Bub owing to misunder- 
 standings between himself and his naval commander, perhaps 
 to the obstinacy of the latter, they failed to find the mouth of the 
 great river, and finally landed at Matagorda bay in Texas. Here, 
 after enduring the most appalling sufferings, he was basely mur- 
 dered by two of his own men while again trying to make his way 
 to the homes of his coiuitrymen in the north. The- world knows 
 little of his achievements or of the countries- he visited sav| from 
 the brief record of Hennepin, "an ambitious and (Unscrupulous 
 pi-iest." Yet has he left to us his name forever associated with 
 deeds of dauntless heroism, and must always be considered as the 
 father of colonization in this great central valley of the west.* As 
 we still trace back link by link the chain of discoveries that open- 
 ed up this land to a knowledge of the civilized world, and made 
 possible the scenes of thrift and prosperity that surround us, we 
 find Marquette sailed down the Mississippi as far as the mouth of 
 the Arkansas in 1673, and on his return, entered the Illinois, which 
 then for the first time, reflected the face of a white man. And in? 
 all the years that have since glided by, we may well query if that 
 river has borne upon its bosom a better man than the saintly, the 
 pure minded, the heroic Marquette!* "My companion," said 
 the good father, referring to Joliet, "is an envoy of the king of^ 
 Prance, but I am a simple minister of Christ." His death was 
 singular, and a fitting close to his holy life. While paasing up 
 ■ lake Michigan with his boatmen, he landed at the mouth of the- 
 stream that now bears his name: retiring a short distance into the- 
 woods he reared a rude^ltar, and kneeling beside it yielded up his 
 spirit, in the act of prayer ! Ther& are those who can sneer at this 
 man as a " fanatic," or a " misanthrope." But his self-sacrificing 
 
 *Bancroft'B History of United States. 
 
24 STAKK COUNTY 
 
 devotion to his mission, to what seemed to him duty, rises to the 
 height of sublimity,, and entitles him to the reverence of man- 
 kind. Again we are indebted to a Catholic father, (Claude Al- 
 louez) for tidings of this land, as far back as 1665, at which date 
 he was a successful missionary to the Indians of the north-west, 
 and was the first white man who ever heard of our prairies,, which 
 he says he did on the shores of lake Michigan from a tribe of In- 
 dians from this neighborhood, known as the Illini, and Nicolas 
 Perrot and party were the first who ever set foot upon them. Al- 
 though one hundred and thirty years before, viz. in 1541, De Soto, 
 the brave but unfortunate Spaniard had stood upon the banks of the 
 Mississippi and found but a grave where he had thought to con- 
 quer an empire. 
 
 "In September, 1534, about twenty years after Columbus, moor- 
 ed his caravels on the shores of the New World, Cabeza de Vaca, 
 and his comrades crossed the great river as far north as the Tennes- 
 see: indisputably the first men from the Old World who ever 
 looked into its turbid waters, thereafter to become, a vast thor- 
 oughfare of commerce and civilization. One can hardly take in 
 this hasty glimpse of events long past, without reflecting how 
 closely the history of any land is bound up with the history of its 
 lakes and rivers, its navigable waters ; they are the natural inlets 
 and outlets of wealth, of society, of civilization. Our fine rail- 
 roads are now relieving us from utter dependence upon our water 
 courses, but in the early settlement of this county what could have 
 compensated us for the loss of the Illinois riV|er. It was, so to 
 speak, our sole port of entry, our source of supply, our base of op- 
 erations for everything pertaining to the settlement of the Spoon 
 river country. All our first settlers made their way here from the 
 river, and nearij^ all, it would seem from Peoria, by the routes 
 now known d^l^ Slackwater and Princeville routes. But this is 
 a 'digression, ^M'd these are all but as things of yesterday, when 
 compared with certain other events that had occurred, having as 
 important a bearing Upon our present comfort and prosperity, as 
 aught of later date could possibly have. We allude of course to 
 geological changes, and would fain carry the reader back for a 
 brief moment through these " eons of ages." Back, back, through 
 drift and glacial epochs, through Eocene, Miocene and Pliocene 
 periods, all of which have left their records strewn around us 
 in imperishable and unmistakable characters. But we pause not 
 now, to describe or decipher them, till we reach what is known 
 among scientific men as the " Carboniferous period," when our 
 earth was enveloped in a humid atniosjjhere and subjected to a 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 25 
 
 more than tropic heat. This we are told was the era, first of in- 
 land sea.s, which were gradually changed by the rains into fresh 
 water lakes, and these in the course of centuries were by natural 
 causes transformed into spreading marshes from whence sprang 
 the gigantic ferns and club mosses, growing to the dimensions of 
 our forest trees. Being bituminous in their nature, and absorbing 
 vast quantities of carbon from the highly charged atmosphere, 
 they became of course highly combustible, and by various upheav- 
 als and subsidences, alternately exposed and submerged, subjec- 
 ted to influences, the nature of which, we can only decide by their 
 results, they became in this region the famous " coal measures of 
 Illinois," so necessary to the material comfort and wealth of our 
 present and prospective millions ! Probably not more than a mile 
 from where these lines are penned (by a glowing coal fire during 
 the winter of 1874 and 1875) once spread several of these mighty 
 basins, with their rank growth of vegetation, and to-day bridging 
 the ages with their lives, creep low "-at our feet, the dwarf ferns, 
 rushes, and swamp grasses that bear indisputable marks of descent 
 from the giants of the Carboniferous age."* In view of all these 
 wonders science is so quietly unfolding to our vision, can we 
 do less than bow our heads in reverence before that Almighty 
 Power, (call it what you will) nature, or nature's God, that "has 
 fashioned the earth and given the seas their bounds," out of chaos 
 and barrenness brought order and fertility and teeming life ; rais- 
 ed the mountains, spread the valleys, and made our entire land 
 what it is to-day, an Eden of beauty, a fitting abode for a great 
 and free people. 
 
 It would of course be expected that in a work of this kind some- 
 thing would be said of the former owners, or at least occupiers 
 ®f the soil, more especially as they and their barbarous deeds are 
 staple articles with most writers of Ibcal history or legends, in 
 this western country. And there is often something rather fascin- 
 ating in this field, for a touch of wild romance or thrilling adven- 
 ture attaches itself always to Indian traditions. But we shall be 
 compelled to leave these in the hands of Mr. Longfellow, who it 
 is imagined had a more remarkable class of aborigines to deal 
 with, for from what we can glean, either from spoken or written 
 authority, very little of interest is to be found in the annals of the 
 Pottawatomies. Mr. Clifibrd's statement is " that the whole ca- 
 "boodle of them were on one occasion frightened out of their wits, 
 and contemplated abandoning their village on Indian creek, by 
 the report of an old blunderbuss in the Essex settlement," in 1832 
 
 * These quotations are from Prof. Agassiz's Sketches. 
 
26 STARK COUNTY 
 
 or 1833. By this time they had learned something of the power 
 of the white man, and knew they Iield their position only on his 
 sufferance, therefore their fears took the alarm at any indication 
 of hostility. Between the two races, then standing face to face, 
 there was doubtless a mutual antipathy, often a mutual dread. 
 Our pioneers report those they found here, as a dirty, shiftless set^ 
 the men of the tribe eking out a precarious living by hunting and 
 fishing, while the wornen broke the sod, built the " poney fences," 
 and raised paltry crops of corn. They were given to begging^ 
 most importunately, if not to' stealing from their white neighbors ; 
 their villages or encampments, of which there were several with- 
 in our present county limits, formed rendezvous, especially on 
 Sundays, for the idle and vicious, wherje horse trading and liquor 
 drinking went on, much as in later days at a Gipsy camp. So 
 destitute of any element of poetry or romance were the last days 
 of the red man in this region, and their trails, their corn pits, and 
 the graves of their dead Avere the legacies they left us when they 
 took up their enforced march west of the Mississippi about 1835-6. 
 We know there is an impression in some quarters that the Sacs 
 under their famous chief Black Hawk, penetrated into this vicin- 
 ity, during those frantic death struggles of their nation, which 
 were finally terminated by the battle or massacre of Bad Axe, in 
 1832. Indeed a writer in our late "Atlas of Stark County " lo- 
 cates the camp of the old warrior in Goshen township, but this 
 idea is contradicted by an authoritative history which distinctly 
 states " his village was on a point of land between the Mississippi 
 and Bock rivers near their junction," and as the government had 
 caused some lands in that vicinity to be surveyed and sold, and 
 white settlers had moved upon them, he committed some outrages 
 and uttered threats against whom he conceived to be the invaders of 
 his rights ; but was frightened into peace by th e arrival on the scene , 
 of Gen. Gaines with an overwhelming force of volunteers, in 1831. 
 Indeed, he had retired west of the Mississippi, when the forces- 
 reached Hock Island. But again in 1832, influenced by the coun- 
 sel of a Winnebago chief, who had a village on Rock river, he 
 made his last desperate raid into Illinois, keeping however, along 
 the Rock river country, little war parties, making savage incur- 
 sions across what is now the northern portion of Henry and Bu- 
 reau, counties, sending panic far and wide through old Putnam, 
 but never in -any more direct way invading our limits. But it 
 was an era of excit^nent. Many settlers Eilong the frontiers of 
 northern Illinois,* in dread of the untold horrors of savage war- 
 
 * Ford's History of Putnam and Marshall Counties. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 27 
 
 fare, fled from their lands and homes, some of them never to re- 
 turn. It was at this crisis that volunteers from Spoon river ren- 
 dezvoused at Hennepin, as related by Mr. Clifford, under the direc- 
 tion of the gallant Col. Strawn in " Bonaparte hat and laced coat," 
 and it is said no less than fifteen hundred men reported themselves 
 for service at that point. But though the fear was genuine, it was 
 to some extent unfounded, and soon after the massacre on Indian 
 creek of Fox river, about ten miles above Ottawa, (alluded to in 
 our sketch of Col. Henderson) Black Hawk and his train of 
 starving followers, were tracked to the heights of the Wisconsin 
 where they stood at bay, and suffered a disastrous defeat. Unable 
 longer to resist, the old chief retreated in haste to the Mississippi, 
 which he attempted to cross. But before he could accomplish this, 
 however, his band was almost annihilated, and himself a prisoner. 
 So were the settlements henceforth delivered from all fear of In- 
 dian invasions. In these scenes of bloodshed, the Pottawato- 
 mies took lio part, although it is supposed that the Sacs expected 
 their cooperation when they made their last desperate venture in 
 Illinois. Here we leave the red man, to meet the fate decreed him 
 by a relentless destiny, and as is common in our world turn from 
 the setting, to hail the rising sun. 
 
28 STARK COUNTY 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Oar First Settlers— Isaac B. JEssex— Various Groups of Settlers at 
 Osceola, Wyoming, Lafayette, West Jersey, and Valley Town- 
 ship. — The Ovroumstances that Environed them — Anscdotes — ' 
 Mrst Marriage, Birth and Death in what is now Stark County. 
 — Where and how the first Houses were built — Character of our 
 Early Settlers — The Impression they have left upon our County. 
 
 In the latter part of April, 1829, a solitary, heavily laden wagon 
 might have been seen slowly , wending its way from the hospita- 
 ble home of Mr. French, at Prince's grove, about half a mile 
 north-west of the present town of Princeville, toward Spoon riy;er, 
 probably crossing that stream at a point since known as Board- 
 man's ford, or, as others think;- neat the seat of Cox's mill, 
 and moving on toward section fifteen in what has since 
 been known as Essex township. The weather was warm 
 and balmy considering the season. The prairie burnt over by the 
 Indians in the fall was already green with sprouting grass. Ac- 
 companying this vehicle were, as it might seem a guArd of good 
 men, .and true; "neighbors" they called themselves, although 
 they must have lived many miles apart, some of them thirty or 
 forty from the scene of their present friendly labors, having come 
 from LaSalle prairie, from Chillicothe and Peoria. They were 
 neither hunters or warriors, they feared no enemy, and sought 
 not the " spoils of war." It was a peaceable expedition, and its 
 leader was the occupant of the wagon, Isaac B. Essex, then in the 
 strength of his manhood, and with him came his young wife and 
 infant children to found a home in the wilderness. The " Neigh- 
 bors " were Daniel Prince, Stephen French, Simon Reed, Frank 
 Thomas, and two Baptist ministers, Elders Silliman and Allen. 
 The former of these two was the father of our much respected 
 townsman, Minott Silliman, Esq., the first treasurer of Stark 
 county. It is possible there may have been one or two more 
 in the company, but if so, Mr. Essex fails to recall their 
 names after the lapse of so many years. And these men had 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 29 
 
 come so far to raise a cabin ! Mr. Essex had been out and made 
 his claim in 1828, and in the fall of that year cut the logs and split 
 the clap-boards for his house, probal^ly all of which were on the 
 north-east quarter of section fifteen. They now proceeded to haul 
 them together and get them in shape on the proposed building 
 site. They all camped in the woods the first night, but toward 
 sundown of the second day, the cabin was raised, the roof on, and 
 as Mr. Essex graphically says " we cut a log out and moved in." 
 
 This was emphatically The Pioneer Cabin, the first home, of 
 civilized man within the present limits of Stark county. Hence 
 we have given it special mention, not that it differed materially 
 either in the style or circumstances of its construction Jrom its 
 successors, but rather that it might serve as a sample of scores 
 that soon' nestled in the sheltered nooks for miles around. Jt was 
 of course rough, and bare of all ornament, we might almost say 
 of all convenience, but still it was a home, the fountain-head 
 of those elevating influences, that are of priceless value to human- 
 ity. Then Mr. Essex was a natural pioneer, "to the manor 
 born," and his wife, if we may judge by subsequent develop- 
 ments, was not wanting in spirit, in that sort of spirit, properly 
 called pluck, a quality that always commanded a premium in 
 frontier settlements. They were contented and knew how to 
 make themselves confortable in their new abode. The rich prai- 
 rie sod was soon broken, and they raised a good crop of corn, po- 
 tatoes, and beans the first year, without a fence. Game of All 
 kinds was abundant. Deer and turkeys supplied them with 
 meat. From the river they got fine fish, often pike weighing- 
 twenty or thirty pounds, and fully four feet long. Occasionally 
 they made a visit to Mr. French's family, their nearest white 
 neighbpr, a distance of seven miles. The Indians were much 
 nearer, and were not bad neighbors when sober. A remark, we 
 opine, that might apply to many people not red skinned. 
 
 The second cabin within our present county limits, was built by 
 John B. Dodge, in the autumn of 1829, on section fourteen, Essex 
 township. Of this we know no particulars. Dodge left this part 
 of the country many years since, dying probably in the new state 
 of Texas. The third was built and occupied by Benjamin Smith, 
 in March, 1830, on the same section with his son-in-law. Dodge. 
 These three cabins, all in Essex township, constituted the only 
 habitations of white men within our present county limits prior 
 to 1831.* This year William D. Grant made an improvement 
 
 * For this and many other facts in this chapter, we arc indebted to' General Henderson's "Ad- 
 dress to the old Settlers," given in 1865. 
 
30 STAEK COUNT V 
 
 Where Judge Holgate now resides, and John E. Owings had mov- 
 ed into the settlement, and occupied the cabin built by John B. 
 Dodge. There were in 1831 the following named settlers in what 
 is now Stark county, viz: Isaac B. Essex, Thomas Essex, jun., 
 Thomas Essex, sen., Benjamin Smith, Greenleaf Smith, Sewel 
 Smith, William P. Smith, John B. Dodge, David Cooper, Wil- 
 liam D. Grant, John C. Owings, Harris W. Miner, David Greg- 
 ory, and Sylvanus More. 
 
 At an election held in August 1834, there were in six townships 
 of Stark county, then included in " Old Putnam," thirty-three 
 votes polled, and as the election was a very important one, prob- 
 ably every voter was out. Reference to the poll book of that elec- 
 tion, shows that since 1831 the following additional inhabitants 
 had settled in the territory referred to, viz: Jason Hopkins, 
 Jesse W. Ifeath, John P. Hays, Pardon B. Dodge, James Hol- 
 gate, A. Baker, John Megill, James McClennahan, Robert Mc- 
 Clennahan, Elijah McClennahan, sen., Elijah McClennahan, jun., 
 Ellas Love, John Love, Hugh Montgomery, T. Leeks, Thomas 
 Winn, Charles Pierce, Hugh White, Peter Miner, Lewis Sturms, 
 James Morrow, and Minott Silliman. 
 
 At an election held in August, 1836, there were in the six town- 
 ships before referred to, fifty-four votes polled, and from the names 
 recorded upon the poll book, the following persons seem to have 
 settled within their limits, say from January first, 1834, to January 
 first, 1 836, viz : General Samuel Thomas, Captain Heilry Butler, 
 S. G. Worley, Henry Seeley, Henry Sturms, Mathias Sturms, W. 
 E. Buckiiigham, William Mahany, Jarville Chaflfee, Joseph New- 
 ton, Adam Day, Israel Seeley, Simeon Ellis, Peter S. Shaver, 
 Dexter Wall, Ira Ward, Cyril Ward, Samuel Love, Ilenry Sweet, 
 Asher W. Smith, Lewis Perry, Adam Perry, Luther Townsend, 
 Samuel Butler, Eiiphalet Elsworth, Daiiiel Dobbins, Christopher 
 Sammis, Lemuel Dorrance, Richard Dorrance, Henry Breese, 
 Hugh Frail. ■ ■ 
 
 In 1865, seven of the last list were known to be dead, wljile 
 only ten then resided in our county. The last decade has doubtless 
 thinned their ranks afresh, and now in 1875 but a very small 
 number of our old settlers still linger with us. The indifferent 
 reader must pardon! this perhaps, wearisome array of names ; they 
 can easily be ignored by those who take no interest in them, but 
 these are our pioneers, and we should cherish their memory as 
 such. Of many of them we have but little to record, save their 
 names, so difficult is it, even now, to arrive at the true story of 
 their quiet lives ; doubtless could we do so, they might teach us 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 31 
 
 many valuable lessons,, for is not biography, history teaching by 
 •example? ,At any rate we who enjoy in so large a degree the 
 fruits of their labors and sacrifices, could not deny their names a 
 place in the history of Stark county. Of course as years roll on, 
 and settlers multiply, we do not design to record all transient peo- 
 ple, mere adventurers, "here to-day and gone to-morrow." But 
 of those who came early and brought their families, and have 
 dwelt among us, helping to mould our county and make it what 
 it is, we would not willingly omit one from these pages. 
 
 In December, 1835, a number of resolute men had pushed their 
 way from Peoria, to what has since been called Osceola Grove. 
 Among them were Mr. James Buswell, Isaac Spencer, Thomas 
 Watts, Giles C. Dana; Peter Pratt, and Dr. Pratt. They came out 
 under the auspices of Maj. Robert Moore, who had obtained a map 
 of the lands in township fourteen north, range six east, designa- 
 ting the patent and unentered lands ; and he now encouraged 
 emigration hither, with a view to building up a town, which he 
 had surveyed and called Osceola. Major Moore was an intelligent 
 active, business man, ever ready to take advantage of circumstan- 
 ces, and fond of adventure. He subsequently went to Oregon 
 with one of the first parties that ever crossed the mountains, 
 whither his family, followed him some years after, with the ex- 
 ception of his youngest son, Robert Moore, Esq., who is at this 
 date a resident of Toulon. But at the time of which this narrative 
 treats. Major Moore owned a ferry that crossed the river at Peoria, 
 and to this he gave his personal supervision, and as emigrants 
 crossed, which they did frequently, he would take the opportuni- 
 ty to recommend the Osceola country to them. In this way prob- 
 ably originated the company he led there in 1885. Quoting Clif- 
 ford's history in regard to this enterj)rise. "The parties above 
 named were all from Vermont — which Saxe says is a good state 
 to come from but a poor one to go to — except Moore, who was 
 ' . from one of the southern states, and Day who was from Massa- 
 chusetts. When, these persons reached the Grove there was no 
 one living there except Henry Seeley, *vho then had a cabin near 
 where he lives now, and Lewis Sturms. A portion of the party 
 stopped the first night at Sturms', and were hosi^itably entertain- 
 ed. It was a dark, dreary, rainy night ; they all slept on the 
 floor in the small cabin, and from the day's fatigue, having come 
 on foot from Prince's Grove, they soon fell asleep to be disturbed 
 soon after by a loud hallooing outside, occasioned by the arrival 
 of the Sturms family proper, the number of whom our informant 
 was unable to state, further than they filled the little cabin 
 
82 STARX COUNTY 
 
 'chuck full ;' they were made up of men, women and children, 
 wet, worn, fatigued, and hungry. Our informant says one of the 
 women came on horsehaek with twins in her arms, and in a sorry 
 plight from having been 'pitched off' her horse in sloughs and 
 gullies concealed by the darkness of the night. Some of the par- 
 ty were taken over to Seeley's while the remainder filled the floor. 
 The next day the balance of the Peoria party came in from Boyd's 
 Grove, having lost their reckonings and strayed out of their direc- 
 tion. The whole party then moved west for the purpose of sur- 
 veying and making their claims. For one week they camped out 
 in the sever^t weather of the month of December, that week be-, 
 ing the coldegt^ of any during the whole season. The provisions 
 which they had brought with them from Peoria were exhausted, , 
 and nothing was now left them to sustain life, except corn- they 
 had brought to feed their horses during the excursion. For the 
 last day or two they subsisted entirely upon nubbins of corn burn- 
 ed by the fire, which culinary operation was performed in the 
 morning, each one taking a few burnt nubbins of corn in their 
 pockets for dinner. At night they varied this luxury by burning 
 the corn, pounding it up, and making 'coffee' of it." Clifford fur- 
 ther states that the parties named moved upon their claims in 
 May, 1836. This is certainly a slight mistake as regards some of 
 them. They probably built cabins as soon as that, or sooner, but 
 some of the families referred to, did not arrive in the settlement 
 till later in the summer, or in the fall. There is no doubt, how- 
 ever, that during some portion of that year many new names 
 must be added to our list of pioneers. In June canie William 
 Hall and wife, Robert Hall and their sister Mary, now Mrs. Has- 
 ard of Neponset, and occupied for a short time the cabin owned 
 by Mr. Buswell, who was still with his family in Peoria. With 
 the Halls came the Vandyke brothers, Archie and Charles, the 
 former bringing his wife with him, and IMr. BradyFowler wt(0 
 had been their companion up the river, soon followed them to the 
 Grove. Myrtle G. Brace, Esq., (father of our present county 
 treasurer,) E. S. Brodhead, and a large family by the name of 
 Davis, the latter from the then frontier land of Tennessee, all lo- 
 ca.ted in this neighborhood about the same time. The Sturms 
 family had some of them reached Seeley's Point in 1834, and de- 
 tachments continued to arrive from time to time, making claims 
 near the south part of Osceola Grove, till they had a settlement 
 of their own. They were regular frontier's men, every one 
 " mighty hunters :" of tall stature, combining strength and activ- 
 ity in an unusual degree. Wearing an Indian garb of fringed 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. '^t 
 
 biicksMiis, their feet encased in moccasins, with bowie IcniR^atiS- 
 the belt and rifle on- the shoulder ; no wonder many a new coi^sfr- 
 started from them in affright, supposing they had encounterwl 
 genuine " scalpers." But these men were I>y no means as sa,\ragj!? 
 as they seemed, but had hearts to which friend or stranger uev«- 
 appealed in vain, ^^ery many old settlers yet remember thy.":^- 
 got their first slice of meat from a Sturms' pork barrel, their fin« 
 meal of corn (.)r potatoes from their fields. And as early as IS?:* 
 they had horses, cows, and hogs to sell, and in this way al(k-vf 
 others not so well provided. While these events were trsMSs- 
 piring in one part of Our territory, to the west and south-\'n;^'.< 
 were added names since become familiar. The Dunbars, Hoelgit-- 
 sons, Lakes, Chatfiekls, Himmermans, Trickles, iloffitts, Shwfe.,. 
 and Dunns. Also Jacob Smith, Nehemiah Wyeoff, ^^". W. Wt/?;,— 
 ster, the Barnetts, the Eckleys, and the Emerys. Col. I-Iert<ftr- 
 son also settled about one mile south of Toulon in 1836, brin.szus'p:; 
 jjis large i'amily of sons, who together with himself filled so Xm-'sp.- 
 a place in our political and social history in subsequent .years., 'llyr- 
 this fime the McClennahans and William ]Maliane5" had impiTsvi?— 
 ments about two miles south of Toulon. Wesley IMiner haM st: 
 cabin where the old Indian village had been, near the preseMt 
 site of Toulon, upon the premise-; now owned by- Mrs. I'lrf— 
 lett. Harris Miner had a cabin at a grove three or four iiailes. 
 north-west of Toulon, and Praker had settled at the point of tfia— 
 her near the present site of Lafayette. .Judge Holgate had setth'tS 
 Vhere he now lives, upon the improvement started by Wif— 
 liam D. Grant, Lemuel Dorrance further up Spoon ri\-!:-n, 
 above Holgate's. General S. Thomas was at Wyoming. A rnxi^zi 
 came with him by tlie name of AVilliam Godley. George Pai-fefix- 
 and Thomas Bradfin-d came in about 1835-G, and settled on .Ja^-6: 
 creek, in Toulon township. There were some other iniprffve- 
 ments prior to 1836. Harris W. Miner, (usually called Wesfe-r 
 Miner) who stopped for a time at Prince's Grove, as did many «<" 
 our first settlers, made his first improvement within our prestf?!' , 
 county, at a point of timber a little north-east of AVyoming; m. 
 1832 or 1833 ; it is said that he broke the first acre of land iWid; 
 built the first cabin in Toulon township, this being on the ©H- 
 bertson homestead, just north of the town ; also that his marriajj;);- 
 ^\-ith IMiss Nancy Gross ^^■as the first marriage solemnized betweecti 
 white people in this region ; the ceremony was performed Gt-^ 
 Hiram M. Curry, Esq., then living near Peoria. The second lUKr— 
 riage was that of Nero W. Mounts, to the widow Slartindale', &;'■ 
 1832, and this time there was a resident .Justice of the Peace t*-.' 
 
34 STABK COUNTY 
 
 officiate, Benjamin Smith, Esq., wlio witii Jolin C. Owings was 
 elected in August, 1831. We regret we ca,n give our readers no 
 particulars of these interesting events ; doubtless there was much 
 that would strike us as unique in the costumes, and style of the 
 affairs generally, but as it had not then become customary to 
 make these details matters of newspaper notoriety, they are lost 
 in the mists of years. However, in February, 1831, there was a 
 wedding at the house of Mr. James Holgate, of which we can 
 .still learn something. This was between a gentleman by the 
 name of McClure and a sister of Mrs. Holgate, Miss Marsh. The 
 guests were, Mr. and Mrs. Sylvanus Moore, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Oreenleaf Smith, Mr. and Mrs. John Dodge, Mr. and Mrs. Sam'l 
 Seeley and Jesse Heath. Whether Squire Smith or some wan- 
 'dering preacher performed the ceremony, Mr. Holgate did not 
 inform us, but said he had in 1834, but a cabin sixteen feet square, 
 ;and well filled with the usual comforts of pioneer life. They took 
 the door frpm its hinges to add to the table, and as the weather 
 was mild for the season, the men stood outside while the feast 
 ■was spread. Then "bee gums" were brought in and puncheons 
 laid on them for seats, and they had an excellent dinner, no 
 scarcity of anything but rooin. The repast over, the men had 
 .^gain to retire to the " sky parlor " until the table could be clear- 
 ed and the door restored to its j)lace, when they all managed to 
 get inside and had a gay time. But the toilets must be left to the 
 imagination of the reader. 
 
 The first child born in the county was a son of Isaac B. Essex, 
 in 1829. The first death was that of a little child of David Greg- 
 ory's, who lived for a time with Sylvanus Moore, near where Mr. 
 Joseph Cox now resides. 
 
 Let us glance for a few minutes at the circumstances that envi- 
 Toned these settlers even forty years ago. These marriage licenses 
 inust be obtained at Hennepin, the county seat of old Putnam ; 
 and to get them a man n:iight have to " face floods or flames," for 
 as the town is on the opposite side of the river from us, with a low 
 *t)ottom' intervening, subject to overflow, and by a sudden change 
 in the weather to freeze more or less, sometimes rendering it im- 
 passable either for team or boats, men were often reduced to 
 straits as ludieous as trying, probably thinking less however of 
 -their own perU than of the anxiety and suspense of the group 
 around some dear fireside who were racking their brains to ac- 
 count for the unexpected delay. Thus one man tell us he had to 
 mvge his horse to ~its utmost speed to escape the sweeping prairie 
 ire, another had to pay the ferryman double and treat him be- 
 
AND ITS PIONEEES. 35 
 
 aides, before he got his courage up to the point of daring the ice 
 current that was rolling between him and the object of his heart's 
 desire. Finally, lover and preacher were landed, and once more 
 on their way to the place where the ceremony was to be perform- 
 ed. But a new obstacle presented itself. The east fork of Spoon 
 river was over its banks, and great ragged blocks of ice threaten- 
 ed madly any one who braved their fury, but, the would be mar- 
 ried man plunged in, and he and his horse were soon clambering 
 up the opposite bank thoroughly wet and benumbed with cold. 
 But now the preacher declined to take his chances, and the pros, 
 pect did not brighten at all. But after a hurried consultation at 
 the house of the bride elect, it was decided to call in a neighbor 
 who had lately been made a Justice of the Peace by the suifrages 
 of his countrymen, and have him proceed to tie the nuptial knot. 
 The officer was in a painful state of mind ; the possibility of such 
 services being required of him had perhaps never been consider- 
 ed. But he was not the man to fail his friends in an emergency, 
 so putting a copy of the statutes for such cases made and provid- 
 ed, under his arm, he set out resolutely to do his duty. But the 
 novel situation was too much for his nerves ; he would have pre- 
 ferred facing Indians. Standing^before the young couple he seem- 
 ed smitten with palsy, or shaken by a sudden ague. His teeth 
 chattered, his knees knocked together, and great beads of sweat 
 stood on his brow, making altogether such a picture of suffiering, 
 that pity absorbed every other emotion in the observers. It was 
 with difficulty he uttered the words prescribed by law, few as 
 they are ; but he did utter them, and to good purpose, for they 
 have bound two willing hearts these foi'ty years, and have not 
 been annulled -by divorce, which is more than can be said for 
 naany fashionable ceremonies since those days. But marriage was 
 by no means the only business that involved the performance of 
 long journeys, and hair breadth escapes. 
 
 To pre-empt their land they must go to Galena, Quincy, or at a 
 later period to Dixon. With no roads, no bridges, no places of 
 shelter, nothing to direct their course save the sun or wind, (which 
 latter would sometimes sadly deceive them by an unnoticed 
 change,) and sometimes an Indian trail ; these, were reliable 
 guides wherever they existed, and were followed with perfect 
 confidence by the true backwoodsman. Then think of the near- 
 est market being Galena or Chicago, and no railroads ! Wheat 
 was hauled all these weary miles to be sold at fifty cents a bushel, 
 or less. The farmers usually -forming little companies for the trip 
 as the road was infested at times with a sort of banditti that made 
 
36 STABK COUNTY 
 
 it unsafe for a man to travel alone ; then they bivouaced in com- 
 pany, trying no doubt to have some fun to compensate for the 
 fatigues and exposure of such jaunts. Many are the tales told us 
 of these times ; every old settler has his stock of them ; we shall 
 venture to record one only, as told by Robert Hall of Osceola. 
 He, in company with his brother William, W. W. WinsJow, and 
 Robert Coultass, the latter a stout Englishman living in Bureau 
 county, undertook to drive a large drove of hogs to Galena, in 
 the depth of winter. Winslow and the Halls started with theirs 
 from Osceola Grove, Coultass was to join them with ^lis, near 
 where SheffiBld now stands, which he did, and they got along 
 slowly of course, but without any serious difficulty until they 
 struck the great prairie beyond the Edwards river, which was 
 then a stretch of sixteen miles without a halting place. By this 
 time provisions were growing i^carce, and they dispatched Wil- 
 liam Hall ahead with the wagon to obtain some, and have them 
 in readiness at their next camping spot beyond the prairie^ But 
 hardly had he left them, till the wind changed, and soon blew a 
 gale directly in their teeth ; a driving snow filled the air and al- 
 most blinded them, and the hogs most positively refused to face 
 the storm. And these were no pen bred hogs ; but huge animals 
 that had fattened in the woods, they If new the use of legs, and 
 could travel almost equal to horses. So the drovers had hard 
 work to prevent a general stampede back to the settlement they 
 had left. To advance a step was utterly impossible. As they 
 were on the open prairie, without fire, food or shelter, a " coun- 
 cil of war" was called, and it was decided that there were but 
 two horns to the dilemma, they must either perish there or follow 
 the hogs home again. But just at this juncture the Peoria and 
 Galena stage, drawn by four stout horses, came dashing along 
 cutting a path through the snow, and for some reason known only 
 to themselves, the hogs took after the stage, fairly pursuing it for 
 miles, s(iuealing furiously, and running at a rate that almost kept 
 them abreast of the horses, to the great relief of the drovers who 
 therel)y soon reached a shelter for the night, and voted " all's well 
 that end-; well." In the course of time they arrived at Galena 
 with their drove, and made arrangements for doing their own 
 slaughtering as was then common. Some man furnished them 
 yard, board and fire, and all conveniences for the work, and in re- 
 turn took the rough fat. So on the whole it turned out a fortu- 
 nate venture for those days. 
 
 Of course, at first no groceries, or dry goods, or household com- 
 forts of any kind could be obtained nearer than these distant mar- 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 37 
 
 kets ; not even flour nearer than the Illinois river, for many 
 years ; and in the autumn of 1838, the river being too low for nav- 
 igation to Peoria, all stores had to be hauled up from St. Louis, 
 which of course made them very expensive, far too much so, for 
 the meagre purses of our pioneers, and great were the privations 
 endured by the aged and invalids among them. At this time in 
 the Osceola settlement, they had to grind wheat or buckwheat in 
 a coffee mill for bread, or grate corn on a huge grater put down 
 in a tub as we now put our washboards. One cofftee mill and one 
 corn grater had to do service for a whole neighborhood, making 
 daily rounds from house to house. Many still living can testify 
 how tender fingers often bled over that cruel grater. But men 
 must eat,- and women must work then as noW, and although every 
 substitute for bread was tried, it seems as if nothing else could fill 
 its place, and meal must be had at any price. Great was the re- 
 joicing when an Irishman by the name of Cook set up a large 
 hand mill at Mr. Winslow's place, and ground for the scfttlers at 
 so much per quart. Of course, near the same state of things ob- 
 tained in all the neighboring settlements. Attempts had beeji 
 made to build mills on Spoon river, but they proved a poor depen- 
 dence. Harmon Leek built one not far from th-e bridge on the 
 Toulon and Wyoming road, as early as 1833 or 1834. It had one 
 run of stone, and there was a saw mill attached to it. They cut 
 the logs and sawed them to order. The dam was made of brush, 
 hay and gravel, and the whole thing was poorly constructed. In 
 the winter of 183o or 1836, Minott Silliman rented the entire con- 
 cern for the coming year for thirty dollars. But the high waters 
 of the opening spring swept dam and mill away, to the dead 
 loss of Silliman, of the thirty dollars paid in advance, and an 
 equal amount of prospective profits. If sickness came in those 
 days no physician could be obtained nearer than Peoria, and if 
 death, then a minister must come from that point, if the bereaved 
 would listen to the words of religious consolation, or see the sol- 
 emn rites they had been accustomed to, performed above their 
 dead. Well we recall a funeral in the woods, perhaps in July or 
 August of 1837. A little girl had died, a coffin was made by Mr. 
 Calvin Winslow, from a packing box, as boards could not be ob- 
 tained of course, and the tiny thing was conveyed to her grave 
 by loving hands. The children dropped flowers upon the coffin 
 lid, a few voices sung the hymn beginning 
 
 " The morninq flowers display their sweets, 
 And gay their silken leaves unfold.'''' 
 
38 STARK COUNTY 
 
 And we left her to sleep on the hill side — ^no tolling bell, no 
 hearse with nodding plumes, none to say " Earth to earth, dust 
 to dust, ashes to ashes." 
 
 " No Healer, Gilead's balm to shed 
 With priestly power, was there ; 
 No hallowed Up above the dead ' 
 To lift the voice of prayer.''^ 
 
 We trust our readers will pardon this little digression ; we 
 must sometimes illustrate the spirit and practices of those days, by 
 incidents drawn from memory when nothing better is afforded us, 
 
 A good deal has been said in regard to the first improve- 
 ments being all made in the timjber, as if it implied any lack of 
 judgment on the part of the men who made them. It certainly 
 was not strange that people who had always lived in the shelter 
 of gtoves, should select such sites for their new homes. To many 
 of them prairies were untried experiments, and it was a prevail- 
 ing opinion that timber would soon become very scarce, a feai^ 
 without foundation, as events have proved. So the settler laid 
 his first claim on a timber quarter, knowing when the state of 
 his exchequer permitted, there would be plenty of prairie land to 
 buy if not to enter. Then these cabins were many of them poor 
 half finished affairs, and protection from the driving storms was 
 very desirable ; the timber also sheltered stock till such times as 
 sheds and out buildings could be erected. That the time soon 
 came when intelligent enterprising farmers saw their interest lay 
 in improving prairie farms, and ceased clearing fields, when there 
 were boundless acres presenting no obstacle to the most perfect 
 cultivation, argues nothing against the policy of sheltering for a 
 time in the woods. Forty years, yes even thirty years ago, scarce 
 anything could have been seen through this portion of the state, in 
 the way of a human habitation, save these log cabins. Probably 
 the first frame building in the county was a small store room, oc- 
 cupied by Whitney Smith at Wyoming, and not long after, there 
 was a small room or two, built at Lafayette, and usetl as shops 
 or stores. About this time a frame barn was raised by Dex- 
 ter Wall on his old homestead near the mill. The writer remem- 
 bers seeing it before it was inclosed, and still recollects with what 
 interest it was visited by many. As soon as it was sufficiently 
 finished to -furnish protection from the weather, it was used for 
 church purposes, and considered a very desirable place by the 
 church goers of those days. But though so recently these log 
 
AND ITS PIONEEES. , 39 
 
 houses were all that we had, so entirely have they disappeared 
 before the march of improvement, that but few, if any are inhab- 
 ited to-day. Many of the children growing up now, have never 
 seen one, and can hardly imagine how their fathers and mothers, 
 lived happily and contentedly amidst such rude .surroundings ; 
 but that they did so live during the best years of their life, many 
 can still attest. Of course, the character of those early homes 
 differed with the character of the occupants, just as our more ex- 
 pensive homes do to-day. There were then, as now, the thrifty 
 and the unthrifty, the tidy and the untidy, the cultivated and the 
 uncultivated, and these differences contrived to impress them- 
 selves, even upon a log cabin. The very first ones, were much 
 alike in general construction, being usually one'lower room with 
 a loft ; a puncheon floor, a door of rough clap-boards, with a 
 wooden latch, and the traditional string always supposed to l)e 
 out. There was the large Are place built of stones, or sticks plas- 
 tered with mud, a mud hearth, a huge skillet, in which the 
 family baking was done by means of placing hot embers under 
 and .over ; and perhaps a tea-kettle of coffee pot ; and in the cor- 
 ners farthest from the fire, bedsteads, made by boring holes in the 
 logs and inserting poles which were fastened to short posts at the 
 foot. These frames were then covered withe clap-boards or 
 "shakes," and you were ready to "njake up your bed" if you 
 were fortunate enough to have such "a luxury ; if not, then you 
 could throw some clean straw upon it, or if in the autumn, gath- 
 er fresh leaves, throw on them a quilt or buffalo robe and it would 
 do for a new comer. A rough table made from the remains of 
 packing boxes, or something of that kind, a few benches or stools 
 and a shelf for the table ware, and you have the interior and fur- 
 niture of a pioneer cabin. Some of them had a log sawed out to 
 admit the light, and the aperture was closed by a curtain at night. 
 Few of the very first had any glass for windows ; some were con- 
 structed without the aid of nails, though hardly without the 
 sound of a hammer. "Weight-poles" were used in such cases, 
 to hold the roofs on, and wooden pegs where we should use nails. 
 But the better class of settlers soon found means to impro-^e upon 
 this state of affairs. The southerner built himself a double cabin 
 with an open space between, such as he- had been accustomed to 
 in the warmer land from whence he came. This open space be- 
 ing roofed in, made a plea.sant dining room in summer, and in 
 winter the seed corn hung from the rafters, and it served as a 
 store house for things generally. Each room of this establish- 
 ment had its open fire, the one used as a kitchen, perhaps sported 
 
'M> STABK COUNTY 
 
 3S, *' crane " from which dangled the cooking utens'ls ; the other 
 '«w«s the best room, but both contained beds, as the demands upon 
 fine hospitality of these pioneers, were almost unceasing ; and as 
 ajxufflther expressed it, though there was already a guest for every 
 j^aneheon in the floor, the stranger was sure of a welcome, and 
 jfmJSiTa would be made for him by the log fire. Soon story-and- 
 as-i-alf cabins began to tower aloft, and then a lean-to and porch 
 aasiitleaverycomfortablerjsidence, if a roughoa?. Peoplecoming 
 Jrism neighboring states contrived to bring sash and glass for 
 Twiffidows, and perhaps a bedstead and a couple of chairs were 
 tste-sFed in the great wagon somewhere, and adorned the front 
 -WBBm, after they got to housekeeping. Then the taste of the 
 H^rifty housewife would be called into requisition to cover up 
 "sipJiatever was unsightly, and make the most of every vestige of 
 «ffiiK'Afort that circumstances permitted. Perhaps a shelf support- 
 i^by pegs driven in the wall, held the little stock of glass and 
 (sjassckery ware that had survived the vicissitudes of the emigra- 
 Wssn.-, froTki this she would hang a curtain, and behind it set or 
 fetjag, sill the rougher cooking utensils. The vinegar barrel stood 
 Sm«ne corner, for your pioneer housekeeper must make her own 
 ^Kegar as well as her own soap and candles ; this she also cur- 
 'ft»lme«I, and the top made a passable stand. Then if she was for- 
 a&ma±e enough to possess a small table to/ stand under her window, 
 S-^ira-s surprising to see how soon a few books and a vase or glass 
 «*f flowers made their way to it. The bedstead was adorned with 
 s**-*' tester " and curtains ; sometimes made of the snowy sheets 
 IjTwnght so carefully from former homes, but more frequently of 
 •il&Tk rich prints or chintz, either of which gave an air of comfort 
 *» ihe bed and secured privacy to the occupant. Give a woman 
 *>r tact, hammc']- and nails, needles and thread, and plenty of cal- 
 3£j>, and tliere is no end to the transformation she will accomplish, 
 oJiM an old settler as he stepped into his garnished cabin, as 
 jgfza-udly as if Jit had been a tapestried chamber in some ancestral 
 saarjsion of Europe. 
 
 The dwellers in these houses were a heterogeneous group ; 
 iik»y- had come from the north and from the south, from 
 %hvf- east and (I had almost said the west,) to clasp hands 
 >»>a aese prairies. From the Atlantic coast, from New England 
 issMiies ; from the green mountains of Vermont ; from the beauti- 
 Jiffil " Valley of , Wyoming ;" from " Old Luzerne ;'" from the sun- 
 i«y vales of the south, from Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee; 
 fnrm the border-land of Ohio and Intliana. Others had crossed 
 iihs- .sea. John Bull, with his sturdy English nature, and all his 
 
AND ITS PIONEEES.^ 41 
 
 national prejudices rife within liim ; albeit tempered now by a 
 growing love of free institutions and a dawning sense of the great- 
 ness of his adopted country. The Scotchman too, wrapped in his 
 .shepherd's plaid, self-reliant, self-contained, and self-denying, 
 meeting all hardships cheerfully, striding steadily forward to- 
 ward future wealth and distinction. And last but not least, the 
 Irishman, witli his ready wit, and rollicking love of fun, throw- . 
 ing as it were, the bright lights on a picture otherwise too sombre 
 to be perfect. Here tl>en, if anywhere on earth was a chance for 
 ■diversity of character, and diverse, they certainly were, but still, 
 usually the utmost good will prevailed. There were no doubt, 
 some wolfthless and many rough specimens among them, yet ta- 
 ken as a body it may be averred understandingly and unhesitat- 
 ingly, that Stark county may well be proud of her pioneers. Proba- 
 bly at the date of their settlement, not one. of them all, could have 
 been called a rich man. They were mostly j'oung, and had come 
 west in hope of winning ii competence, and they carried the ele- 
 ments of success within. They conformed to circumstances, and 
 must often have presented a rough exterior, but they were not 
 ignorant boors, or lazy louts, or unprincipled adventurers such as 
 we read of in the settlement of the newer states. Had they been, 
 our county would never have risen to its present proud position, 
 Jtbr with communities as individuals, 
 
 " Just as the tivig is bent, the tree's inclined." 
 
 Their courage, and industry, enterprise and culture, may be in- 
 ferred from the work they accomplished, and the fami- 
 lies they bequeathed to their country. For among the newer 
 names that now attach themselves to our recoi'ds and reflect cred- 
 it upon the land they inhabit, the sons of the pioneers still deserve 
 honorable mention. They have represented their countryrrien 
 in legislative halls, led them on hard fought battle fields, and 
 many of them freely gave their lives for the honor of the old 
 flag ; and henceforth we can but wreath their graves with fresh 
 garlands, as an assurance that we are not ungrateful. And what 
 shall be said of the daughters of the pioneers ? What more could 
 be said than that they were worthy to be the wives and sisters of 
 these men ! Their mission has been fulfilled for the most part 
 within the quiet precincts of home, but doubt it not, they have 
 had their share in moulding the present generation ; in giving 
 tone to society and color to events. 
 
 " Who roots the cradle, moves the world." 
 
42 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Formatian of Stark County — Its First Election, Organization^ 
 &c. Political Struggles and Maneuvers of the Early Settlers. — 
 Institution of Courts. — Natural Advantages — Geography, Cli- 
 mate and general healthftilness of the New County.— Its Groves- 
 and Roads. 
 
 As the people of the Spoon river country had early felt the great 
 inconvenience of attending court and transacting .their public 
 business at Hennepin, movements for a new county had been in- 
 augurated before Bureau was erected. At the same session of the 
 legislature in 1836-7, when the act creating the latter was passed,, 
 an act " for the formation of the county of Coffee " was approv- 
 ed. Now as Colonel William Henderson was from his first 
 settlement here, prominent in local politics, and known to be an 
 enthusiastic admirer of the Tennessee hero General Coffee, with 
 or under whom he had done military service, it is highly probable 
 that this, as well as subsequent acts for the same purpose were se- 
 cured through his instrumentality. The new county was to be- 
 eighteen miles square, comprising nine full townships. Six to be 
 taken from Putnam, two from Knox and one from Henry. Ben- 
 jamin Mitchell, Richard N. Cullom of Tazewell, and Samuel 
 Hackletbn of Fulton, were the commissioners to select the site 
 for the county seat, which, if located on ground not already laid 
 out as a town, should be called Ripley. This act, however, was 
 not to take effect, unless a majority of the voters in Knox and 
 Henry counties, at an election on the tenth day of April, 1837, 
 should sanction it. Putnam Avas allowed no voice in these pro- 
 ceedings, and the project failed on the vote ; so " Coffee County " 
 was no more, although it had already appeared on several maps 
 of that day. A more vigorous attempt was made during 1838, 
 continuing through a great part of the year. Much feeling was 
 excited by this contest as is usual in local questions. Both parties 
 in the struggle had weighty arguments to wield. Those wishing 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 43 
 
 to make the Illinois river a boundary on the east, urging the in- 
 creased taxation that must result to the residents in a small coun- 
 ty. The other side urging the convenience of a county seat near 
 at hand. So the question of a new county was made the leading 
 issue in the canvass for another representative from the Spoon 
 river country. As early as February, 1838, a meeting was held at' 
 the house of James Holgate, near Wyoming, when, it was " Re- 
 solved, to petition the next legislature for a new county, and to 
 protest against the Illinois river as a boundary on the east," and 
 " to nominate Colonel William H. Henderson, in order to the suc- 
 cess of their plans." After adjournment, a meeting of the disaffec- 
 ted minority, some fifteen or twenty, was held and resolutions 
 passed " to accept the Illinois river as a boundary on the east, 
 and to put Thomas S. Elston, Esq., of Bureau- in nomination for 
 the legislature." Mr. Elston, however, dpes-Hot appear to have 
 become a candidate. Others were nominated in different parts of 
 Putnam and Bureau ; but only the names of Colonel Henderson, 
 Ammon Moon, B. M. Hays of Hennepin, and Andrews Burns of 
 Magnolia, were conspicuous in the canvass. In an address to the 
 electors of the district, published in the nearest papers. Colonel 
 Henderson stated that " he should lay down as a basis for his ac- 
 tion, two lines, to-wit : the lines dividing ranges eight and nine, 
 east of the fourth principal meridian, and another which had ref- 
 erence to the formation of Marshall county." He was elected by 
 a plurality of nearly a hundred over his competitors, receiving 
 the almost unanimous vote of Spoon river, Lacon, and Lafayette 
 precincts. Notice for a petition for a new county was again adver- 
 tised according to law, in October, 1838, and on the sixteenth of 
 January, 1839, Colonel Henderson presented this petition from 
 citizens of Putnam, Henry, and Knox counties, praying the for- 
 mation of a new county, which was referred to the proper com- 
 mittee. In due time a bill was reported " for an act to establish 
 the county of Stark," which was twice read, and referred to a se- 
 lect committee, who returned it with several amendments, which 
 were adopted by a close vote. This bill was unsatisfactory to cer- 
 tain local interes;ts, and was lost upon the final reading ; as also 
 the next day, upon a reconsideration of the vote. On the 20th 
 of February the committee on counties presented the same object 
 in a different shape, under the title of " an act to dispose of the 
 territory west of the Illinois river in the county of Putnam, and 
 for other purposes." This passed the house with some difficulty, 
 and was amended by the senate, the title being changed to, "an 
 act for the formation of the county of Stark, and other purposes." 
 
44 STABK COUNTY 
 
 The amendments were concurred in by the house, and the coun- 
 cil of revision approved the act, March second, 1839. Thus after 
 so much trouble we were to be recognized as "Stark county." 
 tjTo whose taste this name was due, is sometimes a matter of curi- 
 osity among our people, many thinking it the choice of our rep- 
 resentative, who had formerly suggested " Coffee." There is no 
 means of ascertaining this to a certainty now, and it is really a 
 matter of small importance, but the writer is well convinced that 
 the name was a politic concession on the part of Colonel Hender- 
 son to the wishes of his constituents from Vermont, many of 
 whom lived about Osceola Grove, and who also urged Benning- 
 ton as a suitable name for the county seat. But in this last, were 
 overruled by the Henderson influence which succeeded in nam- 
 ing our town not in honor of a French seaport as many have im- 
 agined, but in memory of a mere village in Tennessee. At the 
 time of its formation our county contained near one thousand in- 
 habitants, over two hundred of whom were voters, by a rather 
 liberal construction of the statute law, to which- many were then 
 inclined. Its boundaries were designated as they now exist ; six 
 townships being taken from Putnam, two from Knox, pKovided 
 in the latter case, the majority of voters in the two townships 
 should give their consent, which they appear to have done. 
 
 An election for county oflftcers was ordered held at the house of 
 Elijah McClennahan, sen., and the county commissioners, when 
 elected were instructed to demand of the treasurer of Putnam, a 
 sixth part of $9,870, received by him under the internal revenue 
 act. "The county seat when located should be called Toulon. " 
 Provision \ras not made for the selection of its site however, till 
 the spring of 1840, when the legislature passed- an act to that ef- 
 fect, appointing commissioners to make the location, who chose 
 the present site, where not a house then stood." So says Mr. 
 Henry A. Ford, formerly of Lacon, Marshall county, Illinois, 
 from whose valuable little work on local history, the facts in the 
 foregoing part of this chapter have been gathered. But the last 
 sentence quoted is not quite correct, as Minott Silliman the origi- 
 nal owner of the land, built a cabin here, as early as March, 25th, 
 1835, which together with the land he sold to John Miller, who 
 occupied both at the time the town was located, and deeded to the 
 county the original site on the condition it should .))e made the 
 " shire town " or county seat. The vote, by virture of which, the 
 two townships from Knox became incorporated in Stark county, 
 was taken at an election held at the house of Henry McClennahan 
 in township thirteen north, and five ,east, now Goshen, on the 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 45 
 
 third Monday of March, 1839, he having given notice as required 
 by law. The first election occurred as ordered, at the house of 
 Elijah McClennahan, sen., on the first Monday of April, 1839, 
 and resulted in the election of the following board of ofiicers : 
 
 County commissioners, Jonathan Hodgeson, Calvin Winslow 
 and Stephen Trickle. County commissioners' clerk, Oliver Whita- 
 ker ; sheriff, Augustus A. Dunn ; treasurer, Minott Silliman ; pro- 
 bate justice, William Ogle ; surveyor, John W. Agard. These coun- 
 ty commissioners being declared duly elected, met at the same place 
 on the -1th day of the same month, and in pursuance of the act, 
 proceeded to formally organize the county, institute courts, &c. 
 
 But it must not be supposed that all this work was accomplish- 
 ed, and the machinery of our little commonwealth set in motion 
 without some friction, and consequent heat. Among those two 
 hundred voters was ample room for differences of opinion, and 
 although party lines were not strictly drawn here, yet local inter- 
 ests were sufficiently antagonistic to make a lively contest. And 
 we shall venture to turn aside here from the narration of histori- 
 cal or recorded events, to give place to a. few incidents of those 
 days that throw light upon graver events, and help the reader to 
 appreciate the temper of the times. The first relates to the post 
 ■ office department, the doings of which seems to have awakened 
 the first animosity among our pioneers. In 1833-4 th^re was a 
 weekly mail route established from Springfield via Peoria to Ga- 
 lena. This route ran along the bluff's of the Illinois river, above 
 Peoria up to Hennepin, to Dixon, and on to Galena. Upon this 
 the early settlers were entirely dependent for their mail matter. 
 There was some sort of an office, or "hole in the bluff "just below 
 the present town of Northampton in Peoria county, and a man by 
 the name of Hicks was postmaster. In 1833 a post office was es- 
 tablished in the Essex settlement, and Isaac B. Essex was appoin- 
 ted the first postmaster within the present limits of Stark county. 
 The mail was carried on the volunteer system, the settlers taking 
 turns at carrying it once a week from the office under the bluff". 
 It was usually carried in a meal bag, and could have been in the 
 crown of a man's hat. "Galena Miner" (as Mr. Harris Miner 
 was often called) generally carried it on foot. The office at this 
 time was an old boot box, set up on pins driven into the wall, high 
 and dry, and above the reach of children in the cabin of Mr. Es- 
 sex. ■ In 1^33 only two newspapers were taken in the countj', one 
 by ]Mr. Essex, the other by ilr. Benj. Smith. At this date two 
 weeks were required to get a paper from Springfield, and a pro- 
 portionally longer time to get intelligence from Washington or 
 
46 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 the East. From all these facts it might reasonably be deduced 
 that this office in a boot box was a very unimportant affair, rather 
 a small bone of contention for men a,nd women to quarrel about, 
 not half as well worth the penny as the, present establishment at 
 Toulon, so often the subject of dispute in later years. But we shall 
 see that the pbssessioh of that " boot box " was deemed a matter of 
 consequence by the pioneers', and its removal to Wyoming served 
 todividethecurrentsof feelingformanyyears. In 1834Gen. Thom- 
 as came to Wyoming,' bringing with him a large family of sons 
 and daughters "and sons-in-law, besides several other men, among 
 them William Godley who accompanied him in some capacity. 
 All at once Wyoming" began to assume importance, and aspired to 
 the post. office. The Osceola settlers too, favored the change, al- 
 ways choosing to cast their lot with Wyoming. Accordingly a 
 petition was gotten up, and William Godley was the fortunate ap- 
 pointee of government. Mr. Holgate accompanied Mr.' Godley to 
 Essex's to receive possession of the books and papers, mail matter 
 and appurtenances of the office generally, and to convey them to 
 Wyoming. He soon noticed indications of a coming storm in the 
 countenance and conduct of Mrs. Essex. She was washing when 
 they entered, and for a while continued her occupation with a vim 
 that astonished her visitors, rubbing and scrubbing almost fu- 
 riously, then she deliberately turned from her tub, wiped her arms 
 and hands, sat down, and gave them her opinion of men who 
 would steal a post office, in terms which those gentlemen can never 
 forget. Later in the day a neighbor coming in and observing she 
 was excited, inquired the cause, when she made the apt, but petu- 
 lent play upon their names, Mr. Clifford has recorded, saying : 
 " God Almighty and Hellsgate had come and taken away their 
 post office." Surely enough to upset any woman, and coming on 
 washday at that ! At this distance we can but smile at this affair, 
 but it ijiade no small stir among the early settlers ; no small strife 
 among settlements. As the Wyoming or "spoon river' men" as 
 they were called, were mostly Pennsylvanians, so the- Essex men 
 were principally from Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. 
 So here was a mimic " war of sections " inaugurated. The Osceola 
 settlement, though at first composed of Yankees, had soon quite a 
 large foreign element, and for some reason, all sympathised with 
 the spoon river men, the extremes seemed combining to defeat the 
 means. But the Essex men were many and bold. " Down with 
 the Pennamites " was their war cry ; ' ' they shall never bear rule, or 
 hold oiiice, in the new county about to be organized," was a pub- 
 lished threat. But the Pennamites took counsel with their neigh- 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 47 
 
 bors the Yankees at Osceola, and the Englishmen and the Scotch- 
 men, and the result was a well laid p],an that caJrried all before it, af- 
 ter this fashion. At Osceola dwelt Oliver Whitaker, and with him 
 E. S. Brodhead, his brother-in-law. Not tar from them James 
 Moore, a son of the gentleman who had first lead emigration thi- 
 therward, and this James Moore, was a shrewd and wary politician, 
 knew the best moves on the chess board every time. Fully com- 
 prehending the position of things about him, he made a visit to 
 the house of Mr. "Whitaker in March, 1839, and addressing himself 
 more especially to Mr. Brodhead, related how a little knot of men 
 "at the hub of this wheel," were combined to run the whole thing 
 at the coming election, referring to the " Henderson men "as they 
 were called, consisting of many large families and their allies. 
 Among these were the McClennahans, the Perrys, the Essexs, 
 the Smiths ; and among these, it was whispered, the offices in the 
 new county were to be distributed. But, continued Mr. Moore 
 to Mr. Brodhead, you get a good horse and " we will make the 
 circumference of these spokes- " and teach these chaps at the hub, 
 a trick worth two of theirs." Now the reader must bear in mind 
 that there was quite an infusion of foreigners already in the coun- 
 ty and it was an open question whether they were entitled to vote 
 under the statute then in force. The democrats generally constru- 
 ing it strictly, and so forbidding them. The whigs, inclined to 
 favor the new corpers and thus enhance their own power, usually 
 allowed all residents of the required age, to vote unchallenged. 
 And as it was very desirable in the opinion of Mr. Moore and Mr. 
 Brodhead that this latter policy should prevail in the pending- 
 election,' their first care was to arrange for judges of electi ons men 
 know to be favorable to foreigners voting. Thus they started 
 out on their canvass, and as their course was obstructed by 
 few fences or other improvements, they struck a "bee line" 
 for the house of Mr. Ruloff Parish, near the northern boundary of 
 Goshen township ; leaving him in what they considered a very 
 hopeful state of mind, they proceeded in the direction of "Uncle 
 Conrad Emery's," on section 32, also in Goshen township. This 
 gentleman had been determined on, as having the proper qualifica- 
 tions for one of the judges pf elections; so the case was laid before 
 him, and his duty, we suppose, made plain. His sons were called 
 in council during the evening, and a fuller jirogramme decided on. 
 The next morning our canvassers rode with an escort of Emery's, 
 to Lafayette ; and, as in those days the advent of a stranger with 
 news of an interesting nature to communicate, brought the neigh- 
 bors together quickly as a fire-bell now-a-days. The Hodgesons 
 
48 STARK COUNTY 
 
 and Dunbars, the Hurds and Jacksons, indeed all the magnates 
 of the town soon convened, and now our politicians had an audi- 
 ence worthy of their powers, and did some of their best talking. 
 Decreeing to Jonathan Hodgeson, ^^•ith the approval of all present, 
 the position of County Commissioner, they went on their way re- 
 joicing. 
 
 Their next point was in what was called Massillon, now Jersey 
 township, where lived the Eekleys, and Dunns, and Websters, 
 and Wykoffs, and Trickles. There they were equally successful ; 
 pledging the vote of other sL'ttlementstoMr. Dunn for sheriff, and 
 Mr. Trickle for another commissioner, they rode forward to Wy- 
 oming where Mr. Brodhead felt especially at home, and found no 
 difficulty in completing his plans, wliere it was arranged that Mr. 
 Agard should be a candidate for surveyor, and Jesse Heath for 
 treasurer on the first Monday in April. Touching at all the set- 
 tlements along the road, they made the desired impression, and 
 on their return to Osceola Grove, "a mass meeting" of a couple of 
 dozen men was called, and it was decided tlie Osceola delegation 
 should support William Parks for moderator, Calvin Winslow for 
 the third commissioner and James Buswell for the second judge 
 of election ; who the third should be was a matter of indifference 
 to them ; but the lot fell on Moses Boardman,a man who satisfied 
 all parties. Oliver Whitaker was nominated for the clerkship, Mi- 
 nott Silliman fpr Treasurer, and Dr. Hall for coroner, and the 
 "monster meeting " adjourned. 
 
 The next work in hand was to make this delegation as large as 
 possible, and to inspire it with the proper " esprit de corps." No 
 one was allowed to be idle. Teams were to be "doubled," wagons 
 braced, and everyone furnished a free ride to the place of election ; 
 the ladies were appealed to, and jnduced to manufacture a flag for 
 the occasion. What matters it, that bed linen brought from 
 across the sea must serve for bunting, a blue silk handkerchief be 
 transformed into azure stars, and a pair of genuine English cav- 
 alry pants, supply the scarlet? It was a new combination and 
 entirely successful, the result being a grand United States' flag, 
 that seemed to inspire the men with all sorts of patriotic fervors ! 
 The eventful morning dawned gloriously, the Osceola men were 
 early astir, four horse teams were in motion, the musicians, of 
 which there were several among the foreigners, took their instru- 
 ments of music, and thus, band playing, and flag flying, they took 
 their departure for the first election, and as the old men say now, 
 as they shake their heads, " we shall never see the like again." 
 They proceed southward by way of Vandyke's and Wall's towards 
 
AXD ITS PIONEERS. 49 
 
 Wyoming, joined by fresh clatachmsnts of men at every settle- 
 ment; on horseback, in wagons, And on foot they came, until by 
 the time they reached the polling place, they were quite ah army 
 in numbers; so much so, that a tall, lank McClennahan named 
 James, viewing their approach from his perch on the horseblock, 
 exclaimed, " where in God's name did all these men come from ?" 
 " These men," remembering the old saying, " he Isjughs best, who 
 laughs last," had quietly driven into the grove near by and dis- 
 posed of their wagons, paraphernalia, whiskey jugs and all, and 
 now moved quietly upon the enemy, resolved to wait for any de- 
 monstration until the results of the election should be made j^nown. 
 They found Col. Henderson, the recognized leader of the opposi- 
 tion, seated upon a fence, calmly surveying the gathering hosts. 
 Soon he stepped upon the horse block, and as was his duty, read 
 the act, by authority of which they were convened, said the time 
 had arrived for them to proceed to business, and concluded by 
 nominating Dr. Richards, who was a brother-in-law of Mr. 
 McClennahan, for moderator, or chairman " upon the present oc- 
 casion." The ayes and noes were called for, and, unmistakably 
 " the noes had it." Then the name of William Parks was put 
 forward, but so great was the confusion of voices it was impossi- 
 ble to tell with what result ; but some genius made himself heard 
 above the din, and said " all in favor of Parks come on this side 
 of the fence," and the majority climbed the fence. So the first 
 point in the game of "extremes" was won! And they stoodi 
 Mr. Parks, who was tall and straight as a flag staff, upon the fence 
 and cheered him till the woods rang. 
 
 The judges being chosen accordingtoi)rogramme, clerks (Whit- 
 ney Smith, and John Finley) selected, the convention went to 
 work in earnest, with the results, as shown in the first board of 
 county officers. As soon as the election of those men was declar- 
 ed, their friends cominenced the most extravagant demonstrations 
 of rejoicing. They went to the grove, found their -wagons and 
 horses, and probably their whiskey ju^'s all safe, and quafHng a 
 little additional spirit, they returned hilarious enough to the 
 crowd still hanging labout MeClennahan's. He>-o they took out 
 their instruments of music and flung their flag to the breeze,, driv- 
 ing up and down the road in the most exultant fashion. In the first 
 ilush of victory they surely forgot to be matcnanimous toward 
 the disappointed. But now after thirty-i ve channeful years have 
 swept by, and heads are white and bowed tluu ihen carried the 
 honors of early manhood, perha;>ri . kj , .'oudi.,-, there are those 
 who remember with a twinge ox , i '-..- the .! ter reflection of 
 
50 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 Colonel Henderson, uttered in the moment of defeat: "I made 
 the d— d little county, and this is my reward." In view of all 
 that he had accomplished for us, they freely say, we were ungrate- 
 ful. But they did not reason thus that niglit, in 1839, but loading- 
 up every straggler they could find, commenced a sort of triumph- , 
 al march to\\-ard AN'yoming, drawing up at the store of Whitney 
 Smith ; as many of the crowd had eaten nothing since early morn- 
 ing, and it was now night, Mrs. Smith sent all tlie eatables the 
 house contained, to feed the hungry, and j\lr. Smith, as was the 
 fashion in those days,. brought out a demijohn of whiskey to re- 
 lieve th» thirsty ; while this was going the rounds, one man pur- 
 posely gave the team a severe cut with the driver's whip, and it 
 set off at a furious pace, carrying, as was intended, the whiskey 
 all toward Osceola. But one of the party who had just sense 
 enough left to realisie that this was a poor return for tlie kindness 
 shown them, at last brought the cavalcade to a halt, and insisted 
 that the demijohn be sent back to Wyoming. It was soon ex- 
 l)lained that the whole thing was a joke, perpetrated by a relative 
 Of Mr. Smith, so the conscientious nian was appeased, and the 
 procession moved forward. Stopping at Mr. Holgate's, and at Mr. 
 Dorrance's, they played some lively strains and were rewarded by 
 something more to eat, and a good many found it convenient to 
 crawl into the wagons for the very good reason that they could no 
 longer sit on their horses. And those who heard the Osceolans 
 returning toward morning, " found their sweet notes jangled and 
 out of tune," and men usually clear headed, were sadly muddled 
 next day ; in fact the entire delegation seemed considerably de- 
 moralized by this first dip into Stark county politics. Then there 
 were several instances of men astray ; the morning light fOiind 
 Wyoming men at Osceola, and Osceola mSn at Wyoming. One 
 of the latter had bought a pair of " bran new store pants " at 
 Hennepin for the occasion, but in the " melee " of the frolic, had 
 lost almost every button off them ; and, writes a correspondent, 
 " the way he was tied and pinned together when he reached horn? 
 next day, was marvelous to behold." How the opposition, " the 
 knot of men at the hub " behaved themselves, history sayeth not, 
 but it ■ is to be hoped, in more dignified fashion than the men at 
 "the extremes." 
 
 The first election for justice of the peace, is said to have turned 
 upon something of the same local issues, the opposing candi- 
 dates being, respectively a Wyoming man and an Essex man. At 
 this date there were but two voting places in the county-, one be- 
 ing the Essex school house," the other the Osceola~scfiobl house. 
 
AND ITS PIOXEERS. 51 
 
 The Wyoming and Spoon river men went to the Essex settle- 
 ment, but found the oppD3ltion out in strong force, probably out- 
 numbering themselves, so to carry their point they resorted to a 
 bit of strategy worthy of the politician of later times— more 
 shrewd than honorable certainly. They began to examine the 
 «all and notices for the election, and pronounced them' insufficient 
 to secure a legal election ; and implying or expressing regret at the 
 disappointment, left without casting a vote, and their unsuspect- 
 ing opponents did the same thing. Returning to Wyoming they 
 got into W£^-ons and drove with all speed to the Osceola school 
 house, where they arrived about an hour before the polls closed ; 
 and upon making oath that they had not voted that day upon the 
 issue involved, they )vere allowed to do so, and the Wj-oming 
 man was declared justice of the peace of Stark county, to the 
 great joy of his friends, and equally great chagrin of his enemies. 
 
 Ill recording these reminiscences of the olden time, we are re- 
 minded of the different spiriif that animated contending j)arties 
 then, and now. There was grea!t excitement over these first elec- 
 tions, but little rausor or maligMty; Everything was cai^ried 
 forward in a spirit of fun or adventure. Politics was a game at 
 which they liked to try their hands now and then, local issues, 
 usually being the stakes for \v'hich they played. Every man went 
 in on his merits or his mettle, never on his purse ; it 'was reserv- 
 ed for politicians of later days to make votes a merchantable com- 
 modity, until, to the shame of this decade be it spoken, when a 
 candidate is proposed for the suffrages of a community, the ques- 
 tion oftenest asked, is not, whether he be a man of ability and in- 
 tegrity, who will fill the place with credit to himself and profit to 
 the country ; but, can he stand the canvass ? Well may the true 
 patriot bow his head as he contemplates the results such practi- 
 ces have already brought, and the ruin to which they will ulti- 
 mately lead. He can read the tale to the sad " finis," in the 
 downfall of all other republics that have" done likewise. But this 
 is a digression from the narrative of events, for which, j)erhaps, we 
 ought to beg the reader's pardon. 
 
 Never, perhaps, in the history of the .United States has party 
 feeling, genuine enthusiasm, run higher than in 1840; many 
 writers thinking that the canvass, resulting in the election of 
 General Harrison, was the most exciting our nation has ever un- 
 clergone. And our little county, although then in its infanpy 
 and so far removed from the great centers of action, yet felt the 
 force of the wave, and went wild over " Tippecanoe." It was the 
 first time among us that whigs and democrats had really shown 
 
52 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 their colors and measured their strength. It has been sageVy 
 said that " the enthusiasm of the masses is more readily excit- 
 ed by the most unmeaning symbol, than by the enunciation of 
 the grandest principle," and this canvass illustrated the truth of 
 the saying. Coons, log cabins, and hard cider, were everywhere, 
 and men usually the most impassive and sedate committed the 
 wildest excesses. 
 
 The whigs had an able and dauntless leader in Colonel Hender- 
 son, and enjoyed this time a complete triumph over the Van 
 Buren men, who, however, showed a strong front, under the direc- 
 tion of such men as Gen. Thomas, Jas. Holgate, Jonathan Hodge- 
 son, B. M. .Jackson ; and also some others, who since those days 
 have seen fit to change their colors. But, we do not propose on 
 these pages to discuss to any extent, recent political movements 
 or changes ; probably no one could do this, and not be charged 
 with bias one way or the other. Forty years hence, when clearer 
 light shall be thrown on the record of events now current, some 
 abler pen may be found to do them justice. To the reader who 
 may be curious to know what the policy of Stark county has 
 been through the stirring years of civil strife, or the peaceful 
 years of a wonderful prosperity we will say, consult our supple- 
 mentary tables ; there you can read the record " in figures that 
 cannot lie," of her resources and expenditures, the endorsement 
 she has given men and measures ; while her patriotism is attest- 
 ed by the hosts she sent forth to do battle for the old flag. We 
 prefer to talk of the " long ago," and to preserve so far as may 
 be, the annals of our early existence as an organized community. 
 Thus, from these first elections we shall pass to notice the courts 
 that were immediately instituted. The place of holding them 
 was fixed by the county commissioners, at the house of Colonel 
 Henderson, about one mile south of the present site of Toulon. 
 This was probably as near the center of the county as any accom- 
 modations for such purposes could be found, and they were hold- 
 en there until March, 1842, when, (the county seat having been lo- 
 cated in May, 1841) they were transferred to the house of Benja- 
 min Turner in Toulon, where they continued to be holden until 
 the court house was com]»leted^ which was January, 1843. 
 
 The first session of the circuit court was held in October, 1839, 
 by Judge Thomas Ford, a man thoroughly respected by all 
 classes of community, both for the evenhanded justice he dis- 
 pensed from the bench, and the stainless integrity that ever char- 
 acterized him as a politician. John W. Henderson, though not 
 yet having attained his majority, acted as clerk for this term of 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 53 
 
 ■court, and the grand jury was domposed of the following individ- 
 uals: Luther Driscoll, foreman; Asa Currier, Henry Seeley, 
 Samuel Love, Samuel Seeley, John Finley, William Porter, Sum- 
 ner Shaw, John Hester, David Simmerman, Nathaniel Swariz, 
 Adam Day, Adam Perry, James McClennahan, William W. 
 Drummond. 
 
 The first petit jury, also selected by the county commissioners, 
 consisted of the following persons : George Eckley, Jacob Smith, 
 Washington Colwell, Calvin Powell, Elijah Els worth, Daniel 
 Hodgeson, Jeremiah Bennet, Robert Shaw, Nicholas Sturms, 
 Isaac Spencer, James Buswell, Horace Vail, Samuel Harris, Hen- 
 ry McClennahan, Minott Silliman, Nehemiah Meri-it, Christo- 
 pher Sammis, Thomas Timmins, Thomas S. Clark, Washington 
 Trickle, Josiah MofHtt, Milton Richards, William Brown and 
 David Cooper. 
 
 General Thomas J. Henderson, in an address before referred to, 
 says : " I can hardly remember where these juries met, but think 
 one of them at least occupied a log crib or stable belonging to my 
 father ; however, I do well recall that the first lessons in juris- 
 prudence which I received, were taken in a board loft, looking 
 down through the cracks, upon that most dignified and august 
 tribunal, the first circuit court of Stark county !" 
 
 By the provisions of the" constitution of 1818, the legislature on 
 Joint ballot appointed the judges of the superior and inferior 
 courts. The supreme court consisted of one chief justice and his 
 associates, and the legislature had the powei- to appoint as many 
 judges of inferior courts, as in their opinion, the needs of the state 
 demanded. All these judges held their office during good behav- 
 ior, and had the power to appoint clerks for their respective courts. 
 Thus, Judge Ford held his place by virtue of legislative appoint- 
 ment, the judiciary not being elective till 1848, when the consti- 
 tution of our state was changed. He was also appointed one of the 
 judges of the supreme court in Tebruary, 1841, and resigned the 
 position in August, 1842, in consequence of his becoming a candi- 
 date for governor of the state, to which office he was elected. 
 " The ninth judicial circuit," included Stark county aftet Feb- 
 ruary 13th, 1841 ; at that date it was added to the circuit and 
 took the place of Henry county, which had been previously part 
 of this, but was now set off to the sixth judicial circuit. The " old 
 ninth" after 1841, consisted of Peoria, Marshall, Putnam, LaSalle, 
 Kendall, Kane, DeKalb, Ogle, Bureau and Stark ; itself quite a 
 domain, over which the judges and lawyers were compelled to 
 travel by carriage or on horseback, armed to the teeth, and pre- 
 
54 STARK COUNTY 
 
 pared for every emergency, meeting in their rounds with adven- 
 tures enough , to fill a volume of anecdote illustrative of those 
 days. After the resignation of Judge Ford, John Dean Caton 
 was appointed in his stead, on the twentieth day of August, 1842, 
 and continued to hold the office until the adoption of the consti- 
 tution of 1848. During this period, however, Judge Young once 
 presided here, viz, at the May term of 1843. He was a man of 
 marked ability and varied acquirements, and of manners so cour- 
 teous and fascinating withal, that to meet him once was to re- 
 member him ever, ^e was clerk of the house of representatives 
 and commissioner of the general land office. He never came this 
 way again, and it is said his sun set at midday, his brilliant life 
 ending sadly enough in an asylum for the insane. During the ad- 
 ministration of Caton, there was quite a strife over the appoint- 
 ment of circuit clerk — the aspirants being John W. Henderson, 
 whig, and Oliver Whitaker, democrat. Caton being a democrat, 
 appointed Mr. Whitaker, who held the office under this apppint- 
 ment until a change of law made it elective, when he was again 
 chosen by the people, and served every term till November, 
 1852, when he was defeated by Jefferson Winn. Judge Koerner 
 was the successor of Judge Caton, and the last judge who presid- 
 ed here prior to the constitutional change of 1848. The first elect- 
 ed to the ninth circuit, was Judge T. L. Dickey. Another change 
 placed Stark in the tenth circuit. Judge Kellogg presiding — 
 Judge Wead having been elected, but did not serve. In 1853 we 
 were ranked with the sixteenth judicial circuit, and Judge On- 
 slow Peters of Peoria, was called to the bench. Next Gale, also 
 of Peoria, who resigned without serving. Since which time we 
 have had in the order named : Powell, Merriman, Williamson, 
 Puterbaugh,'and Cochrane; all from the Peoria bar. 
 
 In the earlier years of Stark county's existence, the terms of 
 court, as might be expected, were very brief as compared with 
 the present ; often only a day pr two, and never for many years, 
 exceeding one week. Then the advent of the " circuit lawyer " 
 was looked for as confidently as the circuit preaSier, and some 
 names deservedly honored in the tribunals of our state adorned 
 the roll. Among these, we recall Knowlton, Purple, Peters and 
 Manning. At the date of the present writing, it may be said ju- 
 dicial proceedings have kept pace with the increase in population 
 and wealth — the term extending to three weeks, semi-annually, 
 and still cases left over. The business is now done almost entire- 
 ly by the resident bar. Of this M. Shallenberger is the senior 
 member, having resided and practiced law in Stark and adjoin- 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 55 
 
 ing counties since 1847. Miles A. Fuller, a man of near the same 
 age, has been a resident of the county since its formation, but on- 
 ly a practitioner of law for thirteen years. Mr. Fuller was for 
 many years county clerk, has represented us iu the legislature, 
 and the constitutional convention of 1869. James PI. Miller, the 
 present county attorney, though he has practiced but a few years, 
 has won considerable reputation as an attorney. W. W. Wright, 
 our present county judge, is also an attorney and counselor at law. 
 These gentlemen all reside at the county seat. At Bradford is 
 M^-. B. F. Thompson, formerly a representative from this district, 
 and a popular captain in the one hundred and twelfth regiment 
 of Illinois volunteers ; also Mr. J. Bush. At Wyoming, Fargo, 
 Decker and Thomas constitiite the legal fraternity, and at Tou- 
 lon, among the young aspirants for distinction in this line are F. 
 A. Prout and Creighton Wright. 
 
 As we were for a long time included in the ninth judicial cir- 
 cuit, so we are now in the ninth congressional district, though 
 but recently in the fifth. The Stark county men who have repre- 
 sented thei-r district in the state legislature, may be briefly enu- 
 merated in the order of their service, thus : 1840^-Colonel W. H. 
 Henderson. 1842 — The member not from Stark. 1844— Barnabas 
 M. Jackson. 1846 — General Samuel Thomas. 1848— John W. 
 Henderson. 1850 — No rqember from Stark. 1852— No member 
 from Stark. 1854 — Thomas J. Henderson. 1850 — M. Shallenber- 
 ger. 1858— Myrtle G. Brace. 1800— Theodore F. Hurd. 1802- 
 James Holgate. 1804- R. C. Dunn. 1866— Sylvester F. Otman. 
 1868— Bradford F. Thompson. 1870— Miles A. Fuller. 1872— 
 Cyrus BocoL'k. 1874 — A. G. Hammond. 
 
 Stark county also sent Thomas J. Henderson to the state sen- 
 ate in 1850, and as has been stated in another connection, ]Miles 
 A. Fuller to the constitutional convention in 1869. It has never 
 yet been permitted a representative to congress or a circuit Judge ; 
 Peoria" county, to which it is joined, verifying the adage, "the 
 big fish will eat up the little ones." 
 
 As our county is now supposed to be fully organized and equij)- 
 ped for its future course, we may glance for a moment at its sur- 
 roundings and natural advantages ; and t-laf'se are the real advan- 
 tages that make progress easy or possible fSvvlth these hi our favor, 
 improvement is but a question of time and brain ; but with na- 
 ture against us, life is an almost hopeless warfare, as many on the 
 plains of Kansas and Nebraska can testifj'. No skill or fore- 
 thought of man can ward off the results of droughts or hot winds. 
 
56 STARK COUNTY 
 
 or fortify their farms against the inroads of hordes of grasshop- 
 pers. But with such enemies the settlers in Stark county never 
 had to contend. They found a fertile soil, refreshing shade, pure 
 water, and a healthful, although variable climate, waiting to re- 
 ceive them. But more of these tilings hereafter. It is easy and 
 common, and in one sense correct, to describe our area by saying 
 it consists of eight townships, each six miles square ; that the 
 names of these townships are respectively, Elmira, Osceola, 
 Goshen, Toulon, Penn, West Jersey, Essex, and Valley. This, 
 however, conveys but a vague idea to friends in eastern states or 
 in foreign countries, to whom our jargon about townships, base, 
 and meridian lines, our thirteen and fourteen north, of range five 
 and six east, &c., &e., is as unintelligible as a foreign tongue. 
 Let such then, obtain a map of Illinois, and they will And us fav- 
 orably situated, considerably north of the middle of our state, 
 having for neighbors, or boundaries, as you please, Henry, Bu- 
 reau, Marshall, Peoria and Knox counties ; all possessing the same 
 general characteristics of soil and climate, the same thriving pop- 
 ulation as ourselves. Then let our friends imagine, if they can, a 
 beautiful expanse of undulating surface, more than one hundred 
 and eighty thousand acres of arable land, dotted here and there 
 with stately groves of native trees, while far and wide on every 
 hand, in 1840, spread the pathless seas of grass begemnaed with - 
 flowers ; but in 1875, behold instead, the nodding grain and wav- 
 ing corn in countless fields, proclaiming " our farmers are prin- 
 ces," and presenting to the eye of the observer ever varying 
 forms of beauty, and during summer and autumn every varying 
 hue of color, from russet brown to freshest green. As further 
 authority on this point, we quote again from Clifford's " History 
 of Stark County." 
 
 " The ideas once entertained of our prairies were widely variant 
 from their true character. Instead of their being low, marshy 
 swamps, they are high, rolling, arable meadows, and present to 
 man the most beautiful aspect of finished nature ; the perfection 
 of the creation of the material world, the prairie with open bo- 
 som invites the husbandman to draw from it endless supplies of 
 nourishment with the least possible labor. Without any percep- 
 tible imijoverishment, its bounteous richness seems adequate to 
 the wants of a Mhoie world of appetitive beings. Centuries upon 
 centuries must have been required to perfect the work of drifting 
 . from the northern and eastern part of the continent the elements 
 which enter into the composition of our Illinois soil. The rich- 
 ness of a continent has been drained and deposited upon the coal 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 57 
 
 bearing rocks of the west, by the " drift agency," to the depth of 
 sometimes several hundred feet, in such a manner as to produce 
 the best conceivable agricultural regions. The productive wealth 
 of our prairie soil would seem inexhaustible for centuries to 
 come ; if the surface should become weak and poor, agricultural 
 chemists and geologists inform us that we may strengthen and 
 renew it by throwing up the subsoil, land continue thus to renew 
 it until we reach down to the coal bearing rock ; of course there 
 will have to be great improvements in subsoil plows to raise the 
 soil from any such depth, and until something of the kind is in- 
 vented it might be advisable for farmers to preserve the surface 
 as long as practicable by rotation of crops and invigorating agen- 
 cies. This vast deposit of drifted materials has been spread over 
 the surface in a manner to challenge our admiration of the perfec- 
 tion with which the work has been accomplished ; so even and 
 just have been its distribution and so well designed the plan for 
 its preservation, we can find no other spot on the face of the globe 
 that rivals or approaches it. It was not laid ujDon the mountain 
 side to be washed away to the ocean, but spread in gentle undula- 
 tion over an even surface, sufficiently sloping to escape inundation ; 
 and for centuries it has fattened on itself by consuming its own 
 productions. Such in a word is the fertility and durability of the 
 prairie soil of lliinois and of Stark county. Illinois has been 
 called the garden of the west ; may we not say in addition that 
 Little Stark is the garden of Illinois? Dr. Kirtland, of Ohio, 
 says : ' The state of Illinois with its prairies, groves, lakes, flora 
 and soil, is a most perfect garden of itself, on a scale so unlimited 
 and in a style so inirnitable that all attempts of man at changing 
 or improving, look like puerile efforts at marring the beauties 
 furnished him at the hand of the Creator.' For those whose 
 spirits are pure, who love the works of nature in their expanded 
 beauty, no scene can more excite their admiration, or more de- 
 light their senses than a view of a western pi-airie at spring tide, 
 when in its native and wild loveliness, it bloomed and blushed in 
 the beauty of maiden innocence. Every day did it array itself in 
 fresh garlands of flowers, so that the eye never wearied through its 
 unchangeable appearance, but continually dwelt upon its ever 
 varying beauties with swelling emotions of delight "and intensi- 
 ^ed admiration. Daily new blooming floM'ers bespangled the 
 green lawn, ever presenting to man an infinite variety of forms 
 of loveliness. Such in short, was the western prairies, of which 
 human language limps an ineffectual description." And at the 
 present date, groves the husbandman has planted and nursed. 
 
58 STARK COUNTY 
 
 must exceed in number those of native growth, to say nothing of 
 orchards and fruit bearing trees. 
 
 So the old notion that this county would some day suffer for 
 lack of timber is forever exploded. Yet this was a real fear in 
 the minds of many during the first settlement. 
 
 So intelligent a pioneer as Benjamin Smith, is said to have left 
 his first location at Praker's Grove, " because there was not tim- 
 ber enough there to support schools and churches." 
 
 Of course, our systems of railroads, opening up to us the pine 
 forests of the north for building and fencing purposes, convenien- 
 ces that hardly came within the pioneer's ken, have rendered us 
 nearly independent of native lumber, while exhaustless coal beds 
 put the question of fuel forever at rest. Nevertheless, we cannot 
 spare our native groves ; if we are not compelled to saw them in- 
 to boards orburn them in order. to-be comfortable, we can, afford 
 to preserve them that they may subserve our interests as they 
 were designed to do, in more subtile but not less important direc- 
 tions, in securing desirable. atmospheric changes, and ;protecting 
 the earth's surface from suffering too rapid an evaporation of mois- 
 ture. 
 
 It has been the fashion of some writers to speak disparagingly 
 of our trees. " We have nothing worthy to be called majestic 
 trees," says one. Well ; another has said " all things are compar- 
 ative," and perhaps with the pines of California, those giants of 
 the Pacific slopes, or with that historic tree on the banks of the 
 Indus, beneath whose protecting arms we read, Alexander shel- 
 tered an army, ours may not compare, but they are useful, and 
 great, and grand, for all that. 
 
 And when at the call of spring the tender leaves and 
 sprouting grass come forth, and wild plum and crab apple don 
 their perfumed robes of pink and white, with hawthorn, dog- 
 wood, and red bud following in their train each M'ith a wealth of 
 bud and blossoms ; while anemones, buttercups and violets gem 
 the earth beneath our feet, we need hardly sigh for pleasanter re- 
 sorts or more imposing trees — for above all these spring time beau- 
 ties, tower the oaks and maples, the walnuts, hickories and elms, 
 that make up the mass of our woods. 
 
 And it can be decided by reference to the maps, that our terri- 
 tory is well watered, although we can claim no navigable rivers 
 or great water power for manufacturing and milling purposes. 
 Spoon river, did at an early day furnish many available mill 
 seats, and would probably still be turned to greater account in 
 that way, had not experience taught our settlers that steam pow- 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. ' 5^ 
 
 er is a surer dependence here, and cheaper in tlie end. This, 
 stream rises north of our lines, in the form of two branch- 
 es or " forks," one taking its rise in Henry, the other in Bureau 
 county. The east fork traverses Osceola, the west, Elmira town- 
 ship uniting their waters a little above Modena, in Toulon town- 
 ship — which place has long been known as the seat of Fuller's 
 mill. It continues its course through Toulon and Essex townships- 
 and receives the tribute of Indian creek before passing into Peo- 
 ria county, and that of Walnut creek soon after, the latter trav- 
 ersing most of Goshen and West Jersey townships. Valley has. 
 Camping creek and Mud Run. Besides, we have Jack creek and 
 Jug Run, Cooper's Defeat and Fitch creek ; not a very euphonious, 
 nomenclature surely ! 
 
 But it would probably be difficult to change it at this day. 
 These names were doubtless suggested to our pioneers by current 
 circumstances ; what the circumstances were it is now hard to de- 
 termine. The name Spoon river, has been a riddle to many. 
 But, as this stream was known and settled near its mouth long^ 
 before its windings had been traced through these parts, it is fair 
 to infer that it was named in the neighborhood of Havana. 
 
 The Indians called it " Maquon " or Feather river, and it is ta 
 be regretted their nomenclature was not adopted, in this as in 
 many other instances. Walnut creek, doubtless takes its name 
 from Walnut Grove, in which, or near which it rises ; and as its 
 course lies through a fine growth of this timber, the name seems 
 appropriate, as was also that of Indian creek when first seen by 
 white men — many Indian villages being located along its bank.s, 
 relics of which remainecj till quite recently. 
 
 Camping Run and Camping Grove, were really famous camp- 
 ing places for teamsters and movers along the old Peoria and Ga- 
 lena stage route. 
 
 Mud Run and Jug Run are suggestive of nothing pleasant to 
 a correct taste, while the legends concerning Jack creek and 
 " Cooper's Defeat " are so contradictory that one is at a loss what 
 to accept, or whether to reject them all, as unworthy of notice. 
 But whatever we may think of the names, the streams are invalu- 
 able to us, furnishing supplies of water for the flocks and herds of 
 the farnaer, marking their courses by lines of increased verdure 
 and fertility. Many of these are truly beautiful and romantic, 
 sometimes running between high overhanging bluffs, adorned 
 with trees and vines in profusion, and again at another part of 
 their course reaching the open jDrairie, dance in the uninterrupted 
 sunlight. 
 
60 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 / 
 
 These streams are none of them so rapid in their currents as 
 " those that traverse rogky or mountainous regions ; yet few, if 
 any, are slow enough to allow of standing water, unless when the 
 extreme heats^ of autumn have so reduced their volume, as to 
 make them a succession of dreary pools. This, however, seldom 
 happens; when it does, the dwellers near by have to fortify them- 
 selves against ague or malarial fevers. These diseases used at 
 times to prevail to a great extent, when the surface of the soil was 
 first broken and a rank vegetation was everywhere to decay. In 
 1838 they swept over the -country with epidemic force, and a 
 large proportion of the population was prostrated. But few, if any 
 deaths occurred, however, from these complaints. In 1840, sick- 
 ness assumed a much more serious type, dysentery in its worst 
 form prevailing in some of the settlements, and typhoid fever in 
 others. Both were attended with great fatality. In 1846 fev^ 
 and ague, perhaps, made its last general onslaught on the settlers 
 of Stark. At this date one firm of pioneer physicians claim to 
 have had fifteen hundred cases of this kind under treatment, and 
 to have used in one season over eighty ounces of quinine! for 
 which unheard of prices had to be paid, as at times even the Chi- 
 cago market was exhausted, so great was the demand throughout 
 the state. There exists now in the minds of many, what we can 
 but call a prejudice against this remedy, for a more careful inves- 
 tigation of the demand of the human system under given condi- 
 tions, and a more thorough study of the history of malarious 
 countries will convince the most sceptical, that such regions could 
 never be populated without the aid of quinine or its equivalent, 
 PeruviEin bark. 
 
 But danger from malaria is pretty much a thing of the past ; 
 our M. D's have long held it under control, and dread it no more 
 than an outbreak of measles or whooping cough, which latter 
 ailments, some consider necessary to the perfection of the race. 
 And our county has been singularly free from more serious, epi- 
 demics for many years. Small pox, cholera, scarlet fever and 
 diptheria have all made their appearance at some time in our his- 
 torv, but only in sporadic cases, never assuming the. proportions of 
 epidemics. And although sickness and death are here, as every- 
 where, they may often be attributed to an ignorance of, or disobe- 
 dience to the laws of health, and seldom to the influence of climate, 
 which tliough subject to the extremes of heat and cold, may 
 yet be considered in the main, healthy and invigorating. 
 
 We shall now conclude this third chapter on Stark county by a 
 few comments on its groves and roads. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 61 
 
 These groves were all marked places ; in the early settlement of 
 the county their names were familiar to western men while the 
 prairies were yet terra incognito. 
 
 The first roads struck from point to point of timber as directly 
 as possible ; and for this, many good reasons could be given. The 
 first public traveled highway (made by white men) in Stark 
 county, was a state road from Knoxville to Galena ; it crossed 
 Walnut creek and struck the present western line of our county 
 near the south-west corner of Goshen township. Then it made 
 for the timber south of the present site of Toulon, near the old resi- 
 dence of Elijah McClennahan, sen., the place so famous as a po- 
 litical rendezvous, now owned by Benjamin Turner, Esq.; thence 
 to the grove'near Holgate's, thence to Boyd's grove, "to Dixon, &c., 
 &c. Many a man still living can recall how in the years long 
 past, when bewildered on the pathless prairie, perhaps half blind- 
 ed by the driving storm, he strained his eyies to catch in the dim 
 distance the outline of some grove — the only beacon to guide his 
 steps ; and perhaps his only hope of food or shelter lay in finding 
 the cabin nestled within its bosom. Such men can tell you how 
 the lines of travel came to converge at these points of timber. 
 Indian trails, and there were many of them crossing our county, 
 were of great assistance to the first settlers. They were narrow, 
 sunken roads, sometimes almost trenches worn by the feet of the 
 savages and their ponies always going in single file ; they led as 
 directly from point to point as the nature of the ground permitted , 
 the routes being wisely chosen, and the water courses easily ford- 
 ed on these trails, and your genuine pioneer trusted them implic- 
 itly. 
 
 But the traveler through our woods or prairies no longer needs 
 their guidance, nor has he to consult the sun or stars, or carry a 
 pocket compass by which to steer his course. Our present sys- 
 tem of highways is perhaps as good as could be devised. They 
 intersect every nook, and corner of our territory, and a large 
 amount of time and money are spent annually to keep them in 
 repair. But this is a hard country in which to secure good roads 
 for all seasons. Ours cannot be surpassed sometimes. Level and 
 smooth, almost as a race course, they seem perfectly adapted for 
 light carriages and invite fast driving as few other roads do. But 
 see them again, especially in the early spring, and to use a cur- 
 rent i^hrase," the bottom seems to have fallen out," they are almost 
 or altogether impassable on account of mud ; and such mud ; only 
 the rich alluvial deposit of the drift region can furnish such ; and 
 while these qualities of the soil are the basis of our prosperity. 
 
<ba STARK COUNTY 
 
 this condition of our roads is an unmitigated nuisance, and one 
 not easily abated in a county so scantily supplied with stone or 
 .gravel. 
 
 But we Avill hope the future may develop some genius who will 
 either invent or discover material to make solid roads across our 
 prairies ; this fortunate individual would not only amass wealih 
 for himself, but would properly be deemed a public benefactor. 
 
AXD ITS PIOXEEES. 63 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Public Enterprises — JReliffious, Educational , Benevolent, Military 
 and Business. 
 
 Of the public enterprises of our citizens, perhaps the religious 
 are of the first importance, as shapiiag in a great degree the morals 
 of community. And to them. Stark county has ever given a lib- 
 eral support, although it has always embraced within its limits a 
 strong infusion of Avhat may be termed sceptical or rationalistic 
 sentiment, as the best informed ministers of whatever faith will 
 readily admit. Still, not a neighborhood now, but has its church 
 organizations, and hardly one but has its comfortable house or 
 houses of worship. 
 
 It has been the aim of the writer to gather the leading facts of 
 all these bodies ; but with the means at hand it has only seemed 
 possible to attain a partial success, and this principally confined 
 to town churches. Prom the country few reports have come in ; 
 and while this is much regretted, we can but proceed to record 
 such facts as we have been able to gather from reliable sources ; 
 these mainly refer to the earliest organizations in the county. 
 
 Rev. Wm. C. Cummings writes : " In 1835 I was appointed by 
 Bishop Roberts from the Illinois conference of the M. E. church 
 to (what was then) Peoria mission. It extended over a large terri- 
 tory — nearly all embraced now, in Peoria and Kewanee districts, 
 being parts of the following named counties, viz : Peoria, Fulton, 
 Knox, Stark and Marshall. I preached at Father Fraker's, whose 
 name is of precious memory in the churches, and rode from there 
 over the ground where Toidon and Lafayette now stand, though 
 they probably had not then been thought of. Not far from the 
 present site of Toulon, lived Adam Perry whom I appointed class 
 leader of a small society in the Essex settlement, and where we 
 held a quarterly meeting in 1835, at which W. B. Mack and 
 Stephen R. Beggs were present. My next appointment in Stark 
 (probably in 1836) was at- the house of Gen. Samuel Thomas at 
 
64 STARK COUNTY 
 
 Wyoming, where I organized a society that so far as I knoM% has 
 been kept up to the present day. I then went to Dexter Wall's 
 and formed a class of which I made William Hall leader." From 
 memoranda furnished us by those who took part in these move- 
 ments, we can still decide who constituted these pioneer classes. 
 The one of 1835, of which Adam Perry was leader for a short time 
 and afterwards Rev. J. W. Agard, had for members Gen. Samuel 
 Thomas and wife, .James Holgate and wife, J. W. Agard and 
 wife, George Sparr, Adam Day, Mrs. Perry, Elizabeth Essex and 
 Ann Carney ; possibly some others not remembered. The class 
 at Dexter Wall's, formed in 183G, consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Hol- 
 gate (doubtless transferred from the class in Essex because more 
 convenient of access) Mr. and Mrs. Phenix, Mrs. Wall, her sister 
 Mrs. Asher Smith, Miss Mary Hall, and Mrs. William Hall ; Mr. 
 Hall being the leader for ten years. 
 
 , Mr. Cummings was undoubtedly the first preacher of Christian- 
 ity that ever had stated appointments through this part of the coun- 
 try, although a Mr. Heath, a Methodist from St. Louis (father of 
 Jesse Heath, one of our first merchants and teachers) preached a 
 time or two when on a visit to his son, about the time Mr. Cum- 
 mings commenced his labors here. 
 
 Two Baptist ministers— Elders Silliman and Chenoweth — were 
 also early on the ground ; and Zadoc Hall and Leander C. Walker 
 were indefatigable in their endeavors to advance the interests of 
 the M. E. church among the early settlers. 
 
 The first camp meeting ever holden in this county was in 1840 
 at Wyoming, on or near the very ground recently purchased by 
 the church for a permanent possession ; the same spring furnish- 
 ing water for the thirsty multitudes, that supplied the monster 
 meeting of 1870. Newton G. Berryman (referred to by a corres- 
 pondent as " a sweet spirited Kentuckian,") was the presiding el- 
 der in 1840. Indeed, many of the old settlers still hold the mem- 
 ory of this man in reverence. He was assisted at the meeting by 
 the two " preachers in charge " — Enos Thompson and Wilson Pit- 
 ner — the latter being the man who on this occasion asserted he 
 " was going to put the devil out of Wyoming, and make him stay 
 put." 
 
 The second camp meeting was near iSafayette ; probably in Fra- 
 ker's grove, in 1842, A. E. Phelps, P. E. The third again at ^Vy- • 
 oming, John Morey, P. E. Hector J. Humphrey, preacher in 
 charge ; the'latter gentleman becoming during the late war a chap- 
 lain in the federal army. So much for the introduction of Metho- 
 dism in Stark county. 
 
AND ITS PIONEEES. 65 
 
 The Mormons figured quite conspicuously in our early liistory ; 
 say from 1840 to 1846 or 1847 ; Mormon elders and apostles peram- 
 bulated every nook and corner of our territory, and in every 
 school housg and dwelling where they were allowed access, 
 un vailed the mysteries of their creed and told the strange story of 
 the lost tribes, as found on the golden plates revealed to the pro- 
 , phet Joseph ! Nor were they wanting in success, but. found con- 
 verts in quarters where it was least expected ; some of them sell- 
 ing all that they had and following the fortunes of the " saints." 
 These were most numerous in the southern and western parts of 
 our county, their influence being distinctly felt at the county seat. 
 But Walnut creek is referred to in the journal of S. G. Wright, as 
 being " the very heart of the Mormon settlement." Their elders 
 waxed bold, and opeMy baptized their converts with new and 
 strange ceremonies, challenging the best preachers of other faiths 
 to open discussion of their differences. One of these debates, at 
 least, was held in the old court house, but ended rather ignomin- 
 iously for the Mormons, their champions failing to meet their 
 agreements. It may be remarked in passing, that the man who had 
 the contract' for building the old court house, was known as 
 " Deacon Mott," in deference to his position in the Mormon 
 church. However, the tragic death of Joseph Smi|;h and the vio- 
 lent expulsion of the " saints " from their temple and shrines at 
 Nauvoo, transferred their base of operations so far west,, that we 
 have only read of them and their strange doings of late years, as 
 of the habits of a foreign people. It is a source of satisfaction to 
 many to know that the "powers that be" haVe decided that if 
 they continue to reside within the territory of the United States, 
 thei/ must obey the laws thereof, and cease outraging the moral 
 sense of humanity. And as their famous leader and acknow- 
 ledged head, Brigham Young, is supposed to be near unto death, 
 it is highly probable that fresh mutations and dissensions await 
 this wonderful community, the origin and growth of which fur- 
 nishes as strange a problem for the student of history as the sway 
 of Mahomet. 
 
 Next in the order of time was a regular Baptist church, organ- 
 ized in the house of Elder Jonathan Miner, June 15th, 1837, gen- 
 erally now recalled as the " old Fahrenheit church," though why so 
 named, tradition sayeth not. This gentleman, himself a minister 
 of the faith he professed, was a native of New London, Connecti- 
 cut, from which place he removed in 1837, locating in to\vnship 
 13 north, range 5 east, then Knox county. , Here he convened a 
 council, of which Rev. Edwin Qtis, of Wethersfleld, was a mem- 
 
66 STARK COUNTY 
 
 ber, and a church was duly formed according to Baptist usages, 
 Avhich continued to hold regular meeiSngs at his house as long as 
 he lived, or up to 18-14, and afterwards at the house of his widow, 
 Eunice Miner. This was on the direct road from Toulon to Lafay- 
 ette, about midway between the two places ; and it was finally 
 thought best to hold the regular meetings of the church at Lafay- 
 ette, and here Mrs. Miner built a house to serve as a place of 
 worship, and the church occupied the building for the first time 
 on the first Sabbath in April, 1850. 
 
 Previous to ]8'14, Elder Miner had appointments at Fralier's 
 grove, Wethersfleid, Franklin, (that is on Spoon river near what 
 Avas known as Wall's school house) and at Rochester; and at 
 naost, if not all of these points churches were fi^nded at an early 
 day. 
 
 The next " regular Baptist church " ^^^as at Toulon. Of tjiis we 
 shall spealv more fully when treating of the town. But at quite 
 as early a date there must have been a body of believers organized 
 on Spoon river, perhaps in or near the Sturms settlement, known 
 as " Freewill Baptist." Of these we have no particulars. And, not 
 far from there another variety, familiarly called " Hard shell," had 
 their headquarters. But these never seemed to take deejD root in 
 prairie soil, and the few specimens left us appear fossilized, and 
 remind one of the production of a by-gone age. 
 
 The first Presbyterian church in the county, was planted at Os- 
 ceola, June 8th, 1839. The record states that " John Davis, a reg- 
 ularly ordained Elder from Providence church, Tennessee, pre- 
 sided, and received into fellowship Polly Davis his wife, Marga- 
 ret, Frances and Bosanna Davis his daughters, also Helen Bry- 
 dOn, Thomas Oliver and Margaret his wife, Robert TurnbuU and 
 Margaret his wife, John TurnbuU and Margaret his wife, Calvin 
 Winslow and Betsey his wife, ^Yilliam Parks and Agnes his wife, 
 Mary Wiseman, Sarah Spencer, Hannah Pike, Hannah Fuller, 
 Margaret Moore, and Adam Oliver, all on certificate." 
 
 We doubt if any other religious organization within our borders 
 sprang into life with such an array of names as this ; and we here 
 mean no play upon the frequeiit recurrence of the name Margaret, 
 although that is singular; but whether considered pumerically, 
 or as to character and standing, it was a strong church for the 
 time when it was formed ; and it was no child's play, but a solemn 
 compact of mature men and women to make their influence felt 
 for good in forming the opinions and habits of this new county. 
 And the record farther says that "William Parks, who had 
 been an ordained Elder in Virginia, w'as duly elected with John 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 67 
 
 Davis, ruling Elders in this cliurch ; that they declared their accep- 
 tance of the office, and covenanted to discharge the duties thereof, 
 according to the rules laid down in The Confession of Faith and 
 Book of Discipline of the Presbj'terian church in the United 
 States." William Parks was also elected clerk of session. Octo- 
 ber 27th, 1839, Liberty Stone and Julia his wife were baptised 
 and received into the communion of the church, and November^ 
 1841, Betsey Oliver, Charlotte Oliver, Eliza Parks and Rebecca 
 Currier were added to the number. Thus did this " church in the 
 wilderness " continue to draw to itself elements of strength, until 
 its membership numbered more than forty persons. 
 
 They seem never to have had a resident pastor. The names of 
 R. B. Dobbins and W. J. Frazer appear as moderators in some of 
 the first entries ; later, E. Scudder High seems to have presided 
 at their business meetings, and conducted the services on the 
 Sabbath. But none of these gentlemen ever resided in our 
 county for any length of time. Mr. Frazer was from Knox^'ille, 
 a man of good ability, and well informed ; he was an unrelenting 
 opponent of abolitionism, which he "smote hip and thigh," on 
 many inemorable occasions. I-Ie must have met with some sup- 
 port amqng his hearers, yet his sentiments could. not fail of of- 
 fending many of those who constituted this old church. 
 
 Rev. E. Scudder High resided in or near Tiskilwa, was of bach- 
 elor proclivities, and maiiy amusing reminiscences of him are still 
 preserved among the old settlers. Coming a ^long distance to 
 minister to them, he naturally made long visits, and preached 
 long sermons. One benevolent old gentleman, at another point in 
 the county, was so moved by the evident weariness and discom- 
 fort of the little folks on these occasions, that he provided himself 
 with a large pan of "doughnuts,", which he passed roundabout 
 noon to the great relief of the hungry children, and apparently 
 without in the least attracting the attention of the reverend 
 speaker, or breaking the thread of his discourse. 
 
 Mr. Vail, a minister from Wethersfield, and long time a mis- 
 sionary to the western Indians, labored at Osceola as early as the 
 winter of 1837. His first appointments were at the house of Wil- 
 liam Hall, and afterwards at the school house on the state road, 
 where this church was organized ; but as the name of Vail does 
 not appear on the records, he evidently was not employed hy 
 them, although they must have formed part of his congregation 
 for years. He was probably supported in part, by " The Home 
 Missionary Society," and was a Congregationalist, while this 
 Osceola church was " true blue Presbyterian." These differences, 
 
68 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 were just making themselves felt here in those days, and later, 
 cut quite a figure in religious circles. However this body con- 
 tinued to flourish for some years, to hold its " sessions " and was 
 regularly represented in Presbytery and Synod up to 1850. This 
 was one of the points where Rev. S. G. Wright labored during 
 the first part of his ministrations in Stark county. But owing- 
 principally to changes of residence among its members the organ- 
 iz.ation has of late years disbanded. Death, too, claimed his owii 
 among them as elsewhere. The funeral of Mr. John Davis, their 
 first elder, took place in less than a year after the formation of the 
 church, August, 1840, and was one of the first, if not the first fun- 
 eral of an adult witnessed in the infant settlement. The Scotch 
 element withdrew to form a church more peculiarly their own, 
 on the prairie west of the river, and others have been transferred 
 to the church at Toulon. Thus has the old body been disintegr?,- 
 ted by natural causes, and not ceased to exist because her found- 
 ers forgot their trust or 'forsook their colors ; most of them have 
 long since "joined the hosts across the flood." 
 
 The Congregational church at Toulon was probably the second 
 or third organized by that denomination in our county ; but is 
 the oldest now in existence. There was a small body of this sort 
 near our south county line, when S. G. Wright resided there, 
 whose formation, doubtless antedates this at Toulon ; and about 
 the same date we find mention of one at Lafayette, say 1841 or 
 1842. But of these we have been able to learn little more than the 
 fact of their existence, and as " their candlesticks have been long 
 since removed out of their places," perchance their history will 
 forever remain unwritten. 
 
 The first " Cliristian church," was also near the south county 
 line, in the Pratz neighborhood, under the pastoral care of Eev. 
 Milton King, the same who subsequently helped form churches 
 of that faith in Toulon and Lafayette. These are pretty much all 
 the facts we have been able to gather regarding the pioneer 
 churches of our county exclusive of the towns. Of those that 
 have sprung up at a later date, we have to record a few items, rel- 
 ative to the churches in Elmira, furnished us by Rev. J. M. Hen- 
 derson, pastor of the United Presbyterian church of that place. 
 He states: "this organization, (the United Presbyterian) was first 
 organized June 15th, 1850, by Rev. N. C. Weede, then of Marshall 
 county, with a membership of eighteen persons, mostly drawn 
 from the ' Old School Presbyterian ' congregation in the neigh- 
 borhood." Here we understand reference is made to the mother 
 church at Osceola, 'of which we haye given an account. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 69 
 
 t 
 
 This church was originally known as " The Associate Reform- 
 ed Congregation of Osceola," changed in 1852 from Osceola to El- 
 mira to correspond with the name of the nearest post office. And 
 the Associate, and Associate Reform churches, of the United 
 States being formally united in May, 1858, the congregation be- 
 came by that union "The United Presbyterian congregation of 
 Elmira," by which name it is still recognized. Prom its forma- 
 tion till 1857 it was under the pastoral care of Rev. N. C. Weede. 
 Prom April, 1857, till September, 1865, Rev. John M. Graham, 
 formerly of New York, took charget)f its spiritual interests, and 
 was succeeded by Rev. J. H. Montgomery until 1873, since 
 which date Rev. J. M. Henderson, formerly of Monmouth, has 
 been its pastor. The membership never has been very large, al- 
 though a steady increase is noticeable. Whole number enrolled 
 thus far is two hundred and six, present strength, seventy. 
 
 In the spring of 1864 a considerable number left this congrega- 
 tion to constitute the " Knox Church of Elmira," which is in 
 connection with the Canada Presbyterian church. Much interest 
 attaches to this Knox church, partly because its communicants 
 are mainly Scotch Highlanders, or Gaelic people, and services 
 have usually been performed in the Gaelic tongue. We are sorry 
 we can give our readers so little information concerning it. The 
 United Presbyterian church, as her pastor states, is " Presbyter- 
 ian in polity, Calvinistic in doctrine, restricted, though not close 
 in communion, uses exclusively the Psalms of scripture in wor- 
 ship, is opposed to all secret societies, especially Free Masonry, 
 has always been strongly opposed to slavery, and is in general 
 disposed to • be decidedly radical in some things, and decidedly 
 conservative in others." 
 
 The most encouraging thing in the present condition of the 
 congregation is " that it is greatly blessed with peace." In com- 
 mon with the Knox church it is largely composed of Scotch peo- 
 ple; although there has always been some of native stock enroll- 
 ed upon its books, yet the names of Turnbull, Oliver and Murray 
 recur the most frequently. 
 
7,0 STAKK COUNT Y 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 As with all these topics we design to begin at the beginning, if 
 ■we can find it, an account of the educational interests of Stark 
 county must go back for a starting point to the old log school 
 house in the Essex settlement ; and as Mr. Clifford gives quite a 
 circumstantial and correct account of this structure, and its first 
 inmates, we shall reproduce it in his own words : 
 
 "As early as 1833, the neighborhood organized a school district, 
 and in November of that year, Greenleaf Smith, Sylvanus Moore 
 and Benjamin Smith were elected trustees of schools for town- 
 ship 12 north and 6 east. The following season they commenced 
 the erection of a school house, and on the 4th day of July, 1834, 
 was raised the first school house in Stark county. It was built in 
 the timber not far from where Josiah Mofiitt lives. It was a log 
 huilding ; the writing desks were boards laid upon pegs or pins 
 let into the logs by auger holes ; the roof was made of clapboards ; 
 not what were called clapboards^in the east, they were strips split 
 about four feet long and six or eight inches wide ; these were se- 
 cured on poles stretching from end to end of the cabin ; the chim- 
 ney was formed toy a crib built up at the end, topped out with 
 mud and sticks ; the fire place was made of clay packed in by a 
 primitive process ; the floor was of puncheons, and probably not 
 a nail was used in constructing the entire building. It rained on 
 the day of raising for the last time that year until the snow fell 
 in the early part of winter. Adam Perry taught the first school 
 in that edifice, and it is supposed that that was the first school 
 taught in the county. Jesse Heath, a man of very fair education^ - 
 taught there afterwards ; he was from St. Louis, a ' good fellow ' 
 out of school, but a rigid disciplinarian within ; he seemed to re- 
 gard the scholars as blockheads and dolts, because they were so 
 backward ; he frightened one of the boys so much that the little 
 fellow staid at home two weeks in bed, feigning sickness to avoid 
 going to school. Heath was, as one Of his scholars says, ' a good 
 enough sort of a fellow,' but as a school master was terrible to 
 contemplate. A school was something new, and children in 
 those days were probably instructed to believe that the teacher 
 was something short of a god, and had unlimited power over the 
 persons of the pupils. Teachers in those days were ' looked up 
 to' as superior, and were consulted in all matters of law, physic, 
 and religion ; they were supposed to know most everything. The 
 opposite extreme now prevails to some extent, and they have 
 come to be regarded by parents and pupils something like men- 
 
AND ITS PIOKTEEES. 7l 
 
 ials, so that insubordination and a want of proper respect on tlie 
 part of cliildren have now become a just cause of comiilaint. 
 Mrs. Chatfleld, now the wife of Mr. Benjamin Hillard of Goshen, 
 was also one of the first teachers in that school." 
 
 Following this extract are a number of items furnished us 
 through the courtesy of our present superintendent of schools,— 
 Mr. Alonzo Abbotl^drawn from ofiflcial records in his posession. 
 We have tried to arrange them somewhat in the order of their 
 dates, and think they show satisfactorily the increase in our edu- 
 cational advantages. 
 
 By a special act of the legislature, in force March 1st, 1833, Isaac 
 B. Essex was authorized to sell the 16th section in township 12-6, 
 and was appointed commissioner of the school fund in that town- 
 ship. 
 
 The school section was sold February 4th, 1834, for $96$. 70, the 
 purchase money that remained unpaid drawing twelve per cent, 
 interest. 
 
 The first election of school trustees within the limits of what is 
 now known as Stark county, of which I find any record, was held 
 at the house of Mr. Essex, February 3rd, 1834. Sylvanus Moore, 
 Greenleaf Smith and Benjamin Smith were elected trustees. 
 
 An election was held at the school house in township 12-6, No- 
 vember 14th, 1835, at which eleven votes were cast, and Moses 
 Boardman was unanimously elected school commissioner of that 
 township. 
 
 The following is a copy of the bill of Mr. Essex for his services 
 as commissioner of the school fund : 
 
 Going to Hennepin to get bond approved by county com- 
 missioner, two days at 50 cents per day . . . $1 00 
 Bill of expenses at Hennepin, . . .... 
 
 Two days surveying 16th section, at 75 cents per day, . . 
 
 One-half quire of paper, 
 
 February 4th, one day selling 16th section, . . . . 
 One day detained at Hennepin, loaning money, . . . 
 April 3, one day detained from labor by loaning money, 
 
 $6 m 
 
 (Copy of receipt) March 15th, 1835. 
 
 Received of Isaac B. Essex, fifty-five dollars and fifty cents, in 
 full for teaching a school three months in town 12 N. 6 E., which 
 school ended this day. Adam Pekry. 
 
 1 
 
 m 
 
 1 
 
 50 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 75 
 
 1 
 
 00 
 
 1 
 
 00 
 
72 STARK COUNTY 
 
 Eeceived of Isaac B. Essex the sum of thirteen dollars in full 
 for teaching school three months in town 12 N. 6 E., which ended 
 on the 7th instant. 
 
 July, 8th, 1835. Sabbina Chatpield. 
 
 Received of Isaac B. Essex six dollars and thirty-one and a 
 fourth cents in full for teaching a school six weeks and two days 
 in Townl2.N. 6 E. 
 
 November 3rd, 1835. Mary Lake. 
 
 June 30th, 1840, an election was held at the school house in town- 
 ship 12-6, when twenty-three votes were cast in favor of organiz- 
 ing for school purposes, and none against. 
 
 No reports are on file showing the number of scholars in 12-6 
 previous to 1841 ; in that year the number is stated at 239. The 
 number of schools is not given. 
 
 GOSHEN. 
 
 At a special term of the county commissioner's court, April 
 6th, 1839, Luther DriscoU, C. H. Miner and Samuel Parish were 
 appointed school trustees of township 13-5. 
 
 Goshen was incorporated for school purposes by vote of the 
 township. ' 
 
 October 14th; 1840 — Poll book of election returned to James 
 Holgate, school commissioner. 
 
 September 5th, 1845 — A petition signed by seventy-five legal vo- 
 ters was presented to the school commissioner asking for the sale of 
 the school lands of township 13-6. 
 
 In 1841 the number of scholars in Goshen was reported at two 
 hundred and thirty. There were three school districts. 
 
 In' 1849 there were seven districts and five hundred and nine- 
 teen children. 
 
 ELMIEA. 
 
 At an election held at the house of Robert Moore in Osceola pre- 
 cinct, Putnam county, on the 10th day of January, 1838, the vote 
 was unanimous in favor of incorporating township 14-6 for school 
 purposes. Ten votes were cast. 
 
 Robert Moore, Mathias Sturms, Robert Hall, Thomas Watts, 
 M. G. Brace and James Buswell were elected school trustees. No 
 report was made as to the number of schools in the township. In 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 73 
 
 1845 a petition was presented to the school commissioner, James 
 B. Lewis, signed by forty-nine legal voters, asking that the school 
 lands of that township be sold. 
 
 The number of legal voters in Elmira township at that time 
 was between sixty and seventy. 
 
 The, number of scholars reported in 1,841, was one hundred and 
 forty-eight, under twenty-one years of age. * 
 
 WEST JERSEY. 
 
 April 5th, 1842. An election was held at the house of Philan- 
 der Arnold, township 12-5, for the purpose of voting for or 
 against incorporating for school purposes. Twenty-two votes 
 were cast for, and none against incorporation. 
 
 In 1845, one hundred and six children and two districts were re- 
 ported. 
 
 September 16th, 1845, petition for the sale of school lands pre- 
 sented to William B. Lewis, school commissioner. 
 
 OSCEOLA. 
 
 October 4th, 1847. Twenty-one children and one school district 
 reported from Osceola. 
 
 October 23rd, 1849. Sixty-four children and two school districts 
 reported from Osceola. Riley Chamberlain, treasurer. 
 
 January 22nd, 18-50, petition for the sale of the 16th section, 
 township 14-7, presented to S. G. Wright, school commissioner. 
 Petition signed by forty legal voters. Fifty white male inhabit- 
 ants in the township. 
 
 The jSrst election of school trustees in township 14r-7 was held at 
 the house of John Shawls, May 17th, 1845. Fourteen votes were 
 cast. Liberty Stone, Isaac W. Searle and Zebulon Avery were 
 elected school trustees. ' 
 
 TOULON. 
 
 At the December term, 1843, of the county commissioner's 
 court, John Henderson, E. Gill andOren Maxfleld were appointed 
 trustees of school lands in township 13-6. 
 
 December 30th, 1843, the trustees above named call an election 
 at the court house in Toulon when twenty-six votes were cast in 
 
74 ' STARK COUXTY 
 
 favor of organizing the townshiji for school purposes, none- 
 against. ' 
 
 At the same time Thomas Hall, Oren Maxfleld, William H. 
 Henderson, Caleb P. Flint and Elisha Gill were elected trustees of 
 schools. 
 
 In 1844 there were one hundred and forty-one white children,, 
 and forty-eight legal voters in Toulon township. 
 
 To Janaes B. Lewis, sch&ol eornmissioner, Stark county, Illinois t 
 — Sir; — The number of scholars under the age of twenty years in 
 township 13 N. range 6 E. in said county is two hundred. There- 
 are two school houses in said township built at the public expense. 
 The amount voted to be raised in said township is two hundred 
 and fifty dollars, for the year 1847. 
 
 Oliver Whitaker, Treasurer. 
 
 September 15th, 1851, the school lands of Toulon township- 
 were advertised for sale by S. G. Wright, school commissioner. 
 James Holgate was school commissioner of Stark county in. 
 
 1840 and held the office till 1843, when he was succeeded by Charles 
 H. Miner. 
 
 In 1845, James B. Lewis was elected school commissioner. In 
 1850 Bev. Samuel G. Wright was. elected and continued in office 
 until 1865. 
 
 Rev. R. C. Dunn was elected in the fall of 1855. 
 
 N. P. Atkins was elected in 1861, and in the latter part of 1864 
 or the beginning of 1865, Rev. John W. Agard was appointed to 
 fill the vacancy caused by the death of N. P. Atkins. 
 
 In 1865 B. G. Hall was elected county Superintendent and con- 
 tinued in office eight years. , ' 
 
 In 1841 three townships reported to the school commissioner. 
 Essex reported 239 person:^ under twenty-one years of age ; 
 Goshen 230, and Elmira 148 ; making a total in the county in 
 
 1841 of 617. 
 
 In 1843, four townships reported. Elmira reported 174 persons 
 under twenty -one years of age; Goshen, 255; Toulon, 141; 
 Essex, 230 ; making a total in the county in 1848 of 800. 
 
 VALLEY. 
 
 First election of school trustees, July 17, 1847, at the house of 
 David Rouse. Five votes cast. David Rouse, Wm. Cummings 
 and Z. G. Bliss elected trustees. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 75 
 
 . In 1847, forty-one children and nine families, reported from Val- 
 ley. 
 
 In 1849, twenty-six children were reported. 
 
 In 1851, a petition was presented to S. G. Wright, School Com- 
 missioner, asking for the sale of the school section. The petition 
 had 23 signers. There were 27 voters in the township at that time. 
 
 In 1853 there were 105 children and two school districts report- 
 ed. 
 
 PENN. 
 
 The first election of school trustees of which I find any record, 
 was in 1846 at the house of Lemuel S. Dorrance. Henry Breese, Nc- 
 hemiah Merritt and John Todd were elected. Twenty-two votes 
 cast. 
 
 Petition askiiig for the sale of school land, signed by 33 legal 
 voters, presented to Wm. B. Lewis in 1849. 
 
 Forty white inhabitants in Penn in 1849, according to the certifi- 
 cate on the back of the petition. 
 
 The first report from Penn of the number of children in that 
 township on record was in 1847, when 114 were reported under 21 
 years of age. In 1847 there were 387 children and 9 school districts. 
 
 The following is an extract from the clerk's books showing the 
 ad valorem tax for 1850, in each district : 
 
 Union District, IGG 24 
 
 District numbier 2, 13-5, 85 26 
 
 Centre 12-5, 50 68 
 
 Wyoming, 500 00 
 
 District number 2, 14-7, . . . . , . . 57 83 
 
 3, 14r-6, 100 00 
 
 " 1; 14-7, 45 10 
 
 " north 14-6, 300 00 
 
 number 2, 14-6, 63 54 
 
 " " 1, 12-7, 500 00 
 
 " " 2, 12-7, 300 00 
 
 Middle District, 13-6, 62 98 
 
 District number 3, 13-7, . . . , . . . 145 96 
 
 " " 2, 13-7, 45 12 
 
 » " 5, 12-6, 44 49 
 
 $2367 12 
 S. G. Weight, School Commissioner. 
 
76 STARK COUNTY 
 
 In 1853, S. G. Wright reported that the Eclectic series of 
 Readers was in use in most of the schools. Colburn's Intellectual 
 and Adams' Written Arithmetics, Butler's Grammar, Mitch- 
 ell's Geography. Clark's Grammar had of late been recommend- 
 ed. 
 
 September 24, 1847, H. D. Palmer made a donation to the county 
 of eighty dollars ' to be divided between the diiferent townships ' 
 and loaned as part of the township school funds. 
 
 Report of Rev. S. G. Wright, School Commissioner, of the con- 
 dition of common schools for Stark county for the years 1851 
 and 1852, to David L. Gregg, Secretary of State and ex-officio 
 Superintendent of Common Schools. 
 
 1851. 1862. 
 Number of schools in the county, .... 24 29 
 Number of schools taught by males, ... 23 
 
 Number of schools taught by females ... 5 6 
 
 Number in which males and females are employed, 
 
 Number in whitih both are employed different times, 18 20 
 
 Number of children taught, 947 1072 
 
 Number of white persons under 21 years, . 1866 2433 
 Average number "of ''mohths'schoblstaught, . . 6 6 J 
 
 Quantity of unsold school lands, acres, . . 679 
 
 Number organized (Jistricts and parts of districts . 28* 84 
 
 Number of school houses, 23 29 
 
 Number of district libraries, . . . . .0 
 
 Average monthly pay of male, winter tei:m, $13 25t $16 11 
 Average monthly pay, female, winter term, . 11 15 10 43 
 Amount raised by ad valorem tax for schools, 2367 12 1540 33 
 Total amount of township funds, . . 9779 64 12062 88 
 
 In 1845, five townships reported. Goshen reported 278 persons 
 under twenty-one years of age ; Toulon, 209; Essex, 282; Elmira, 
 178; West Jersey, 106; making a total in the county in 1845, of 
 1053. 
 
 In 1847, all the townships reported. 
 
 Share school 
 money. 
 
 Goshen reported 430 persons under 21 years, . . . $58 17 
 
 Toulon, 200, 27 06 
 
 Essex, 281, 88 01 
 
 Elmira, 179, 24 21 
 
 'p And board, f About seven parts. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 
 
 7T 
 
 Share school 
 money. 
 
 West Jersey, 237, 32 o& 
 
 Valley, 41, 5 54 
 
 Penn, 114, 15 42 
 
 Osceola, 21 , . . . 2 §4 
 
 Total ill the county in 1847, 1503 $204 31 
 
 Am't srhool 
 money. 
 
 March 3rd, 1875, Toulon reported 1340 persons under 21, $1020 20 
 
 Valley, 556, 423 30 
 
 Essex, 709, 539 80 
 
 West Jersey, 600 456 80 
 
 Goshen, 470, 492 59 
 
 Penn, 620, . . . 472 03 
 
 Osceola, 750, . . . . ' 571 00 
 
 Elmira, 518, 394 37 
 
 Total number in county, 5740. Total amount of money, $48701 13 
 The year ending September 30th, 1874. 
 
 Xo. unik-r :il. No. dieitrirts. No, of schools Xo. jii'tsscliool. Xo. teaclici"s. 
 
 A'alley, . . 556 9 9 70 19 
 
 Essex, . . 709 10 i;i 891 21 
 
 Wost Jersey, 600 i;! U S(> 26 
 
 Goshen, . . 647 10 10 lOl) 26 
 
 Toulon, . . 1340 13 1;! 100} 29 
 
 I'onn, . . 620 9 9 75 22 
 
 Osooohl, . . 750 9 8 67 12 
 
 Elmira, . . 518 7 7 51 - 18 
 
 Total, . 5710 80 80 639 168 
 
 Xi>. scliool houses. Totnl nmomit i-e- Total amount Toiiehers' wn^rts. 
 ' iH'ived in year, jwud f.tr soliool. highest, lowest. 
 
 Valley ... 9 S4341 37 $3454 11 S50 $25 
 
 Essex, . . .10 7894 37 7092 11 95 25 
 
 West Jersey, . . 9 4349 93 3353 48 50 25 
 
 G«shen, ... 8 5488 49 5316 65 100 25 
 
 Toulon, . . .18 19736 or^ 18405 70 111 25 
 
 Penn, . . ^ . 9 3945 12 3445 16 55 28 
 
 Osceola, . . . '8 6565 13 5350 16 75 25 
 
 Elmira, ... 7 4357 93 3091 57 50 30 
 
 Total, . . 78 $56678 79 $49508 94. 
 
/S ■ STARK COUNTY 
 
 This shows the total amount received for the support of schools ■ 
 in the county from August 31st, 1873 to September 1st, 1874. 
 
 Reports to the county superintendent for the year ending Sep- 
 tember 30th, 1875, show the number of persons under t\tenty-one 
 years of age, residing in the county, to be 6192. 
 
 Between the ages of six and twenty-one years, 4213. 
 
 The whole number of school districts, 79. 
 
 The average number of months that schools were sustained, 8. 
 
 The whole number of pupils enrolled, 8520. 
 
 Total number of teachers employed, 169. 
 
 Total number of school-houses in the county, 81. 
 
 Whole number of volumes in district libraries, 576. 
 
 Total amount received for the support of schools, S55226 41. 
 
 Total amount paid out for schools, S43830 47. 
 
 The townships have school-funds amounting to $12587 OS. 
 
 Highest wages paid any male teacher per month. Sill 00. 
 
 Highest wages paid any female teacher per month, $60 00. 
 
 In continuation of this topic, it is but just to add to the infor- 
 mation derived from these official statements, that at the present 
 time our schools enjoy the services of a very efficient corps of 
 teachers. The standard of scholarship having been generally ad- 
 vanced as educational interests have prospered. Of those hold- 
 ing state certificates, who are or have been very recently employ- 
 ed in our schools, are Mr. B. G. Hall, late county superintendent ; 
 Mr. Frank IMathews, principal of the Touloa high school ; S. S. 
 \Vood and W. B. Sandham, principals ,of the north and south 
 "Wyoming schools ; Mr. Livingston of Lafayette and Mr. James 
 W. Smith of the Lombard School. And there may be others of 
 •equal standing, of whose qualifications we have not been inform- 
 ed. But we have at least five graded schools, and four first-class 
 school houses in Stark. The house at Lafayette is past its best 
 end will probably soon give place to a new one. 
 
 But while remembering our present educators and our present 
 advantages, ^ve would not forget those who served us well in the 
 clays gone by. Twenty years ago Mr. and Mrs. Atkins taught a 
 school for advanced pupils in the " old seminary " at Toulon, 
 and many men and women now. holding good positions in social 
 and business circles throughout our county, owe them much for 
 the culture so carefully bestowed. This couple although worthy, 
 could not be called fortunate in life, and they both died while 
 comparatively young. Mrs. Atkins in New England, Mr. At- 
 kins at Toulon ; and we are glad to know that there is a move- 
 
AXD ITS PIOXEERS. 79 
 
 ment on foot among his former pui^ils to erect a monument to his 
 memory, in the Toulon Cemetery. 
 
 But there are few who still i-emember that before the seminary 
 was built, and before the Atkins came to our county, that Miss 
 Booth, Miss Boyce and Miss Goodel, taught large and popular 
 schools at Toulon, perhaps embi-aeing in the curriculum of study 
 a wider range than is admitted in any of our graded schools at 
 the present date. These were eastern ladies. " Yankee school 
 marms " some called them in derision, but no prejudice could ob- 
 scure merits so conspicuous, or defeat effort so earnest and well di- 
 rected. They did their work, and "made their mai-k," which 
 can be distinctly traced through a quarter of a century. 
 
 And in recalling our past educational history, the names of S. 
 G. "WMght and B. C. Dunn must ever come to mind. The former 
 frora his first residence here in 1841, alwaj's interested himself i^i 
 procuring competent teachers, and boarded many of them in his 
 own family at rates to suit the pitiably small salaries their labor 
 commanded in those days. He was elected school commissioner 
 In 1850, and h«lcl the office for five years. During this term he 
 convened the first "teachers' institute" ever convened in our 
 county, and introduced a regular system of visiting and reporting 
 schools, with good result. 
 
 Mr. Wright leaving the county in 1855, Mr. Dunn was chosen as 
 his successor in office, and took up the work with his customary 
 energy — perfecting the plan of our institutes, often presiding at 
 their sessions, taking part in their exercises, and drawing to them 
 whatever talent he could invite from adjoining counties. 
 
 When a member of the house of representatives, in 1864, lie 
 found opportunity to advance his favorite educational projects. 
 We clip from an old file of " Stark County News " the following : 
 
 " The Member from Stark. — Mr. Bateman, state superinten- 
 dent of public instruction has an excellent article in the ' Teach- 
 er ' for March, on the subject of common schools and the amend- 
 ed school law, in*fhich we find one of our townsmen mentioned 
 in no equivocal or uncertain terms of praise. He says : ' Both 
 coiiimittees on education were wisely constituted. That of the 
 house of representatives was presided over with signal ability 
 and tact by Hon. Richard C. Dunn, of Stark county^ to whose lib- 
 eral views, practical knowledge, and unceasing industry and vigi- 
 lance we are largely indebted for the success in the house, not only 
 of the amendatory school act, but of other important measures.' 
 This well deserved compliment is from a high sourcej and the 
 
80 I STAEK COUN'jrY 
 
 people of Stark have reason to be pi-oiid of it. The school law 
 was greatly in need of repair." 
 
 But when taking into consideration the present status of our 
 principal schools, as given somewhat in detail in connection with 
 the history of our towns, we have perhaps devoted space enough 
 to the general view of this interest, all important as it is. And if 
 Stark county has done well in the past, may we not hope that 
 with increasing wealth and facilities it may do better in the future, 
 and by' a wise and enlightened policy, not only place a good ed- 
 ucation within reach of every child within our bounds, but by 
 employing teachers of superior attainments win for our county 
 a proud fame in the educational annals of our state. 
 
 BENEVOLENT ENTERPRISES. 
 
 To the cries of the unfortunate, whether near or far, the peo- 
 ple of Stark have always lent sympathizing ears, and held forth 
 for their relief generous hands. 
 
 So in the winter of 1860-61, when appeals from the Kansas suf- 
 ferers reached us, every neighborhood was alert to aid according 
 to their means, those whom adverse circumstances had so sadly 
 smitten. We cannot go into the particulars of gathering grain 
 and vegetables, money and clothes, but that all these were sent, 
 is a matter of history. 
 
 Jonathan Hodgeson, one of our first county commissioners, 
 then a resident of Kansas, came on to ask aid, doubtless, feeling 
 sure he should receive it among the people he had known here — 
 and he did not go away empty handed. We will give one extract 
 from the "Stark County News " of that date, relative to the ef- 
 fort :— . \ 
 
 KANSAS BELIEF. 
 
 Many persons in this county who donated money to the Kansas 
 Relief Qommittees, were apprehensive that it would not reach its 
 destination, or would be appropriated for other uses. To quiet 
 such apprehensions we give place to the following letter acknowl- 
 edging the receipt of money Sent from this county : 
 
 Atchison, Kastsas, Feb. 25, 1861. 
 Mr. John Finley, Toulon, Stark eo., Ill : 
 
 Dbak Sir : — We received and have used, this day, towards 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 81 
 
 paying freight on relief goods, your opportune draft of $115.60, 
 for whicli we have reason to express the sincere and heartfelt 
 thanlts and*gratitude of the many thousands dependent upon us 
 for food, clothing and seed. We have this day loaded about 150 
 teams, mostly for southern Kansas, with supplies. Sincerely 
 grateful for your kindness and sympathy, I liave the honor to re- 
 main, Yours truly, 
 
 S. C. Po^fKEOY, 
 
 Chairman Kansas Relief Committee. 
 
 And tlie great Chicago flre of 1871 is still fresh in the minds of 
 our citizens. How, as the sickening record of w;res fkvastafed in the 
 heart of a populous city, flashed over the telegraphic wires, and news 
 of thousands upon thousands rendered homeless and penniless by 
 the disaster, was borne in upon the mind, tlie people flocked to 
 the depots and stations, loading cars with everything the needy 
 could require so far as they would go ; food and clothing, beds 
 and bedding, necessaries and delicacies freely given, a spontane- 
 ous outpouring of an almost universal sympatliy. 
 
 And during the cruel years of the war, the local papers were 
 crammed with notices -of " Soldiers' Aid Societies," "Sanitary 
 Fairs," and " Festivals for the benefit of soldiers' widows and or- 
 phans." 
 
 By tliese means large sums of money were raised to supply the 
 sick and wounded with such comforts and delicacies as their situ- 
 ation demanded, and to relieve in some degree the bereaved and 
 stricken ones from the pressure of immediate want. 
 
 Plere again our Avoraen found a field of usefulness peculiarly 
 suited to their powers, and nobly did they exert themselves in 
 behalf of tlie sufferers pn the field or in the hosi)ital. 
 
 Scarcely an issue of our county paper during these trying times 
 but contained thank oflferings from soldiers to friends at Iiome 
 for some unexpected but welc(mie remembrance. Lint and 
 bandages, choice v>'ines and nourishing tood, cooling fruits and 
 cheering flowers, found their way to the front and to the cots of 
 the soldiers, with surprising rapidity. 
 
 And later, when the people in the more western states have suf- 
 fered severely from grasshopper swarjns, and " hot winds" anni- 
 hilating their crops, and crippling all their business energies, 
 not a season passes but large quantities of grain and seeds, and 
 young fruit trees, not to mention supplies of food and clothes for 
 immediate use, are shipped from this county to these less favor- 
 ed regions. This is by no means always the result of public 
 
 6 
 
82 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 charity, but is often done quietly by private partieSj inspired by 
 the purest impulses of philanthropy. 
 
 Then, the ciiildren of the poor freedinen are not entirely over- 
 loolied. Benevolent ladies in various localities, collect large 
 boxes of comfortable clotliing, and in the fall when the weather 
 renders such particularly desirable, send them to points A^iiere 
 they know they can be distributed advantageously to the suffer- 
 ing blacks. 
 
 We speak of these tilings, although some may pronounce them 
 unworthy of mention, because we consider them creditable to 
 our humanity ; in fact, these are the kind of missionary enterprises 
 we enjoy rather than spending money to send theologians to dis- 
 pute the teachings of Coniucius or the Brahmins. 
 
 Of her own poor, " Molly Stark " has not been unmindful ; 
 almost from her organization has she looked kindly after their 
 comfort. 
 
 The first county poor house was located a little north-east of 
 Toulon, on what was long familiarly known as "Adam Perry's 
 place;" indeed, the house was but the old residence enlarged, and 
 adapted in various ways to its new duties. But this being deem- 
 ed insufficient to meet the demands liable to be made by the in- 
 crease of paupers as the county grew in years and numbers, it was 
 decided in 1868 to buy a larger farm, farther from town, and to 
 erect upon it a good, substantial and commodious poor house. 
 Accordingly a tract of land described as the north-east quarter of 
 section 12, in township 12 north, range 5 east, in Stark county, 
 was purchased from Mr. Davis Lowman, at a cost of about $8,000, 
 and early in the following year preparations for building began— 
 the committee in charge being C. M. S. Lyons, J. H. Quinn, and 
 H. Shivvers. 
 
 The old buildings were sold, the old farm platted and sold in 
 small lots, and the contract for the new building let to William 
 Caverly for .the sum of $16,000. 
 
 This was considered by some an unnecessary expense, consider- 
 ing the small number of our paupers, and the project met with 
 some opposition and a good deal of ridicule. 
 
 At one meeting of the supervisors in 1869, it was ordered that a 
 " landscape gardener be employed to beautify the grounds of this 
 establishment," which was understood to be a lampoon for a cer- 
 tain gentleman who had ciommented severely through the press 
 upon what he conceived to be a too lavish expenditure of the 
 public funds. 
 
 Judging from the reports of the supervisors from year to year, 
 
AXD ITS PIONEERS. 83 
 
 the management of this institution has been generally satisfacto- 
 ry—all concurring in giving special commendation to the matron 
 thereof. But ^^-hen we read that in 1876 our paupers, babies and 
 all, only nuhiber ten, we conclude they could be provided for 
 suitably in a smaller, cheaper building, and the surplus money 
 turned to better uses. 
 
 MILITAEY. 
 
 Going back into the shades of the past to find the origin of our 
 military spirit, we shall reproduce for the amusement o:Cour read- 
 ers, Mr. Clifford's account of the first war like preparations among 
 the Spoon river men : 
 
 "The 'B^ack Hawk War,' as the little hostile flourish with a 
 few disaffected Indians on Rock Eiver, is called, naturally awak- 
 ened a military spirit in the neighborhood of the disturbances, 
 and before this ' grim visaged ' creature ' had smoothed his 
 wrinkled front ' and northern Illinois had subsided into a ' weak 
 piping time of peace,' what is now known as Stark county, was 
 put upon a war footing. A military comj)any was organized in 
 Spoon river precinct. As nigh as- we can ascertain at this remote 
 period of time, this company numbered in ' rank and file,' twen- 
 ty to twenty-five members, mostly officers. Their arms (shooting- 
 irons) consisted of rifles, blunderbusses, muskets, shot guns, &c., 
 of all makes, styles, finish, and conditions — some of them with- 
 out lock, cock, stock or barrel. Their uniform was not sucfi as is 
 now required in the regular army of the United States service, 
 but the ordinary dress of frontiersmen, colors variegated by the 
 patches only. As our information, which is rathej; vague upon 
 this point tells us, James MeClennahan was captain ; Peter Min- 
 er, lieutenant. As we understand, this company was enrolled, 
 and consisted of all able bodied men, liable to military duty in 
 the Spoon river district. In 1833, or spring of 1534, (our researches 
 do not carry us back of that time) the company was called out for 
 drill (training) near Wyoming. Some twelve or fifteen persons 
 responded to the roll call. Nothing of interest occurred at this 
 training as we can learn ; our informant who was present says it 
 was a 'dry affair,' by which we miderstand him to mean that 
 there was so little interest taken in military tactics, it was con- 
 sidered a ' bore.' There was the following summer a battalion 
 muster at Boyd's Grove, at which time there was an inspection. 
 Part of the Spoon river company, moved by a love of adventure 
 
84 STAHK COUNTY 
 
 or the fear of court martials and fines, attended. The command- 
 ing officer formed his battalion in line for inspection, and dis- 
 mounting his ' Avar horse,' commenced his inspection at the head 
 of a column ; his orderly sergeant, clerk, or whatever he was, at- 
 tended him with pencil and paper to take minutes for such subse- 
 quent proceedings as might be required by law against those who 
 were not ' armed and equipped as the law directs.' The question 
 generally asked a soldier who was not armed was, ' have you any 
 gun at home, sir ?' Where he answered in the aifirmative, he ^ 
 was then asked 'why didn't you bring it?' If no good reason 
 was given, the clerk was told to ' mark him down and have him 
 lined.' In due progress of inspection they came to 'Weezner' 
 Leek, who talked through his nose. Officer. — ' Have you a gun 
 at home?' Weezner, (through his nose.) — 'Yes,- got a kind of 
 one.' Officer. — 'How far will it kill an Indian?' Weezner. — 
 'Don't know, never tried it.' Officer. — 'What kind of a gun is 
 it?' Weezner, (by way of his nasal conduit) — 'Stock's broke— 
 hain't no ramrod — half tjie lock is lost.' Officer — ' Is that the best 
 you've got?' Weezner. — ' Yes, that's all the gun I've got.' Offi- 
 cer. — ' Haven't some of your folks a gun ; couldn't you havfe bor- 
 rowed one?' Weezner. — 'Yes, 'spose I could if I'd tried.' Offi- 
 cer. — ' AVell, I guess I'll have to fine you.' Weezner, ("through his 
 nosej — 'Fine an' be d — d.' 
 
 "The next movement of troops was a general muster at Henne- 
 pin. The Spoon river company ' mustered the following officers 
 and privates : — John Dodge, Captain ; Peter Miner, first lieuten- 
 ant, and Sylvanus Moore, private ; tliree all told. Colonel Strawn 
 was in command of the regiment. When the Spoon river com- 
 pany was called. Captain Dodge and his lieutenant, Miner, form- 
 ed private Moore in a line — one deep. Colonel Stra^vu seeing so 
 small a representation of the Spoon river militia present, reques- 
 ted Captain Dodge to fall into the ranks of the other companies 
 with his two men. Dodge had no idea of being degraded from 
 the rank of captain of the valorous and formidable Spoon river 
 company to a simple private- in the rag-tag and bob-tail of any 
 other company upon the grounds ; not he. Fresh laurels and vic- 
 torious wreaths were not to be so ruthlessly and ignobly torn 
 from his broXv ; he was Captain of the Spoon river company of 
 the Illinois militia, and as such he gave Colonel Strav.'u to under- 
 stand at the start, that he. Captain Dodge, v>-onId be d— d if he 
 would do anything of the kind, requested by him. Colonel Strawn ; 
 he'd see him in h — 11 first. He would command his own compa- 
 ny. Colonel Strawn had to yield. Captain Dodge then formed 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 85 
 
 his company in the streets of HenneiDin, Lieut. Miner assisting, 
 and private Moore was formed in a long line. The orders, eyes 
 right ! dress! attention! were executed by the Spoon river compa- 
 TiY) (Sylvanus Moore) in a style worthy of that crack company. 
 Gaptain Dodge now addressed liis command in a lengthy speech. 
 He complimented them (Miner and Moore) for their fine and sol- 
 dierlike appearance, for mustering so strong ; (two);' he spoke of 
 the merciless savages. Black Hawk in particular ; how easily they 
 had been ' wiped out ' if the Spoon river company had only been 
 detailed for that service ; how that distinguished chief had sub- 
 sided at the very apprehension that the Spoon river men would 
 soon be on his trail. He defied the roar of the British lion; the 
 paw x)f the Russian bear; all the old ^vorld; just one 'sCreech' 
 of the American Eagle through the Spoon river company would 
 put the whole caboodle of 'em to flight. Spoon river was patri- 
 otic, Spoon river was brave. Spoon river was the ' strong arm ' of 
 government, and so long as the Spoon river company was in the 
 field, our country was safe and its institutions secure ; it would go 
 forth conquering and to conquer. Captain Dodge's speech was a 
 spontaneous effort ; it was inspired and inspiriting ; he had 
 brought the inspiration from Moulton, on 'Spoon river, in a jug. 
 There was no reporter present, so the above, speech is but tradi- 
 tionary. We regret that it has not been preserved in its original | 
 purity, as no language at our command can do it justice. He 
 spoke very loud, so that his voice could be heard distinctly along 
 the whole line of his company. After this address, of which we 
 have given a very brief synopsis, he had his company go through 
 some of the most startling and brilliant military evolutions. The 
 Zouave tactics were not then known, but they had a style of their 
 own, a Spoon river style, that would astonish even the Zouaves 
 themselves. During the whole muster, this valiant company 
 marched in order, and as a distinct and distinguished company. 
 After the general muster was over at the parade grounds. Captain 
 Dodge marched his men to the edge of the' city of Hennepin and 
 halted. He then made them another speech ; he rallied them on 
 their courage ; he told them what he was about to do ; he was go- 
 ing to take the city of Henneisin by a grand couj) de guerre, (we 
 have put his words into military language, as we design our his- 
 tory to be somewhat classical,) his wor'ds were : ' We are strong 
 enough to surround and take Hennepin, and I'll be d — d if we 
 don't do it.' He said he would divide his company into four pla- 
 toons ; one of which should enter the city from the north, anoth- 
 er from the south, the third from the east, and the fourth from the 
 
86 STARK COUISTTY 
 
 west. He was not going to destroy it, but was gping to talce it 
 home for a plaything for his children. The next that is seen of 
 his men they had formed a junction at a grocery where they im- 
 bibed freely of patriotism, drawn out of a barrel labelled 'whis- 
 key,' whence they returned to Spoon river, iDerforming some of 
 the movements that the 'wide awakes' incorporated into their 
 drill last summer, (1860) called the 'rail-fence movement.' 
 
 " Some time after this, Captain Dodge was on his way to Henne - 
 pin, w^hen he met a constable on his way to Spoon.river to collect 
 military fines incurred by those who'had failed to attend the mus- 
 ter at Hennepin. Cax^tain Dodge asked his business, and upon 
 being informed of the nature of his constabulary visit, the cap- 
 tain told him he had better put right back home and never show 
 his head on WjDoon river ; that the Spoon river men were a desper- 
 ate set of fellows when aroused, and that if they once got their 
 hands on him it would be the last of him ; they wovild certainly 
 kill him. The constable turned his horse's head towards home, 
 took a straight shoot for Hennepin, impressed with the idea that 
 by his prompt retreat he'had saved his valuable life. Neither he ' 
 nor any other person ever ventured to collect those military fines." 
 Now, although we suspect there is more humor than history in 
 the foregoing extract, it has facts for its outline, and as a whole 
 .furnishes a characteristic picture of the rough side of frontier life. 
 The men mentioned were all bona fide settlers in this region at 
 the date implied, and "Captain Dodge," was wont to conduct 
 himself very much as he is represented to have done at Henne- 
 pin. 
 
 He was one of the feAV really " hard cases " who made their 
 home here in those days. He was an inveterate Aori-e racer and a 
 hard drinker, determined to carry his points at all risks. If he 
 could not win the stakes by fair means, he icould by foid, and 
 many are the tales told of his recklessness, which culminated at 
 last in murder, at the city of Rock Island. 
 
 A horse race for heavy stakes was advertised to come off near 
 that place, and Dodge had a swift mare which he was training 
 for the occasion. He went, sure of his customary success, but de- 
 spite the most frantic efforts to defeat his competitors, he was 
 foiled— a rawboned Kentuckian pocketed the purse of gold. 
 
 Next morning, as the stranger was standing on the porcih of a 
 
 hotel, Dodge came up leading his mare, and assailing him with 
 
 • abusive epithets freely mingled with oaths^ demanded that the 
 
 race should be renewed, swearing that the decision and awards 
 
 were unfair, saying, " look at my mare ; you know she is a better 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 87 
 
 animal than yours," &c., &c. ; " any horseman will say so. Now, 
 I ask once more will you consent to try this over to-day?" The 
 Kentuckian turned on his heel with a muttered negative on his 
 lips, which was never uttered, for instantly a report from a x^istol 
 was heard through the house, and the winner of yesterday's race 
 was a corpse. Dodge sprang upon the liack of his vaunted mare 
 and tried her speed as he had never tried it on the race course. 
 Before the people around the dead man realized the position of 
 affairs, he was swimming the Mississippi, and was soon dashing 
 across the state of Iowa, distancingall pursuers. Years afterwards, 
 his wife's family learned that he was living amidst the wilds of 
 Texas still unwhipped of justice ; but, not caring after so long a 
 time to re-open wounds, that had partly healed at least, they 
 paid no heed to the intelligence. Such was the sad career of 
 " Captain Dodge," whether yet closed, or how, is not ours to re- 
 cord ; his end is wrapped in obscurity, or left to imagination. 
 
 But the time came when "levying contributions of war " was 
 no joke in the Spoon river country ; and the raising of volunteer 
 companies became a liusiness so serious, that even its memory 
 throws a shadow of sadness over most Stark county homes to- 
 day. We refer of course to the outbreak of our civil war in 1801, 
 when the cannon turned on Fort Sumpter jarred every liearthstone 
 in our land, and when the President's calls foi- 7-"),()fl0, 500,000 
 300,000 men," in quick succession reverberated across the conti- 
 nent, making the stoutest hearts almost hush tlieir throbbings, 
 and demanding in response partings and heart breakings, such as 
 .we hope never to witness again. Kobly did " ifolly Stark " 
 stand the shock, and sent off her bravest and c'earest to defend 
 the old Hag : and how best tg preserve a record of those days, 
 that shall show to our descendants what sire did and what she 
 suffered, has been the subject of much anxious consideration. 
 
 We append to this work~as complete a list as we could obtain, 
 of Stark'county soldiers, with a brief official record. But this is 
 insufficient to give any idea of the spirit that animated all classes 
 of society and the efforts that were put forth, and the sacrifices 
 made, ere these men " went forth to do, or die." 
 
 It is true there were at first painful differences of opinion, and 
 a few determined spirits, here and there, who opposed the " vig- 
 orous prosecution of the war ;" and this only added to the diffi- 
 culties of the situation. People felt there was danger of collisions 
 here at home, that would result in bloodshed — such as we read of 
 in many parts of the country. And, although the union senti- 
 ment was overwhelming, as the military record and popular vote 
 
88 STARK COUNTY 
 
 abundantly prove, yet there was a feeling of gloom and insecuri- 
 ty in the minds of many ; and when the news of reverses to our 
 arms at the battle of Bull run, and at Harper's Ferry reached us, 
 some anxiously inquired, " what shall the end of these things 
 he ?" The best that can be written now, seems tame in compari- 
 son with the real history of this great struggle as it was recorded 
 by the actors and sufferers, in the form of letters, or communica- 
 tions to contemporary papers, as the years of the war unfolded 
 themselves. As flies of theso papers then current, have been 
 kindly placed at our disposal by their publishers, we shall draw 
 from them at some length articles pertaining to the getting up of 
 Stark county companies, and letters, showing the conduct of our 
 men on the march and in the field ; believing we can in this way 
 best serve the interests of our readers, and jjreserve much that is 
 valuable in our local annals. 
 
 The first extract'relative to the "Elmira Rifles," organized in 
 the spring of 1861, sers^es to show not only how this company was 
 called into existence, but to illustrate the spirit that prevailed 
 throughout the county and led to the rapid formation of the " La- 
 fayette Eifles," and other companies and " squads " from time to 
 time, the particulars of which can now hardly be gathered ; at 
 least many of them have eluded our diligence. 
 
 ELMIRA RIFLES. 
 
 Tlie Officers of the Company — The Men — HMorjj of the Organiza- 
 tion of the Co)iipany — The Call — The lieaponse — The Departure 
 — /;; camp — Pergonal Sketches, &c. 
 
 Comj[issio>:ed Officers. — Captain, Charles Stuart; 1st Lieu- 
 tenant, Stephen M. Hill ; 2d Lieutenant Alex, ilurchison. 
 
 KoN-coMJ[issujXED OFFICERS. — 1st Orderly Sergeant, John S. 
 Pashly ; 2d Orderly Sergeant, Wm. Jackson ; 3d Orderly Ser- 
 geant, John H. Hunter ; 4th Orderly Sergeant, James G. Board- 
 man ; 1st Corporal, .James Jackson ; 2d Corporal, James Mon- 
 tooth ; 3d Corporal, C'harles H. Brace ; 4th Corporal, Robert A. 
 TurnbuU. 
 
 Privates.— Joseph, Blanchard, D. W. Aldrich, Joseph C. 
 Meigs, J. G. Duncan, Alfred S. Hemmant, James Cinnamon, 
 Isaac Bannister, Henry F. Davidson, A. Vinson, John Bourke, 
 William H. Fiemming, John O. Spalding, Mason Jordan, Adam 
 
AjStd its pioneers. 89 
 
 FjU, Thomas Tnriibull, .George P. Richer, Robert T. Scott, Sam- 
 uel Montooth, Comfort Morgan, L. C. l>rawyer, Henry C. Hall, 
 Aaron T. Currier, John Q. Adams, Walter Clark, Chas. W. Lesan, 
 Oeorge Crowden, William Douglas jr., Henry Burrows, George 
 Dugan, F. P. Bloom, George Sharrer, John Blackburn, Charles 
 Blackwell, Alonzo Luce, George W. Ryerson, Chester P. Harsh, 
 William Ingalls, John Douglass, John G. Lamper, Daniel J. 
 Moon, Joseph W. Pask, William A. Cade, John McLanay, Louis 
 Williams, John Webber, John L. Kennedy, James Huckings,J. 
 O. Ives, Isaac Kinyon, Henry C. Shull, De Forest Chamberlain, 
 James Merrill, Owen Carlin, Thomas Robinson, William N. Nel- 
 son, Thomas Renick, A. W. Wemper, J. A. Case, David Allen, 
 Edward Erwin, J. IM. Lamper, Frank A. Crowder, John Thorn- 
 ton, E. W. Goodsel, Thopias Robison, Philip Galley, Isaiah Bates, 
 William Johnson, James L. Atherton, George Miller, George 
 Stone, Springer Galley, Marvin Spencer, George Hutchinson J. , 
 Drewry, AViUiam Newcomer, George Greenfield. 
 
 DauMJEED Out. — James Yuly, John Wood, John Sherry, Der- 
 rington Good, John Maher. 
 
 Captain Charles Stuart, not Stewart, as generally spelled, is 
 from the Green Mountains of Averment, a pre-eminently fit place 
 for breeding military commanders. The climate healthy, bracing 
 and vigorous ; the landscape bold, rough, mountainous and sub- 
 lime, make the best cradle for incipient heroes ; besides the moral 
 ■tone of the people gives them strength and force of character quitfe 
 as necessary as hardy constitutions in the field. Men got in sickly 
 swamps of ague shaking parents, nursed on malarious effluvia, 
 and reared in moral and mental ignoj'auce, may mope through 
 the world half asleep, and may have bile enoifgh to be venomous 
 enemies, but never to be great militarj- commanders. Nature al- 
 ways imparts to animal beings and vegetable life its local charac- 
 ter. Bold, rugged, dashing, sublime scenery favors the growth 
 of bold, dashing, sublime men, and vice versa. Men whose boy- 
 hood and youth have been passed in -mountain scenery, come up- 
 on the field of life with strong, hardy constitutions and invigora- 
 ted intellects— sound mind in sound bodies. Vermont is fam- 
 ous for good horses and stalwart men. Though Stuart is not one 
 of the Vermont " six footers," yet the material for such a man 
 is compressed -and refined into his organization of five feet six. 
 
 Captain Stuart is not the birth of the present war excitement ; 
 he long ago showed a talent for military command, a strong pen- 
 chant for a soldier's life, even in the most piping times of peace. 
 Everything pertaining to the camp or field in history, or in the 
 
90 STARK COUNTY 
 
 commotions of the okl world was always seized upon by him as 
 the choicest reading or news. Over a ye.ir ago he had so infused 
 his military ardor into the quiet, orderly and unexcitable Scotch 
 settlement of Elmira as to set on foot the organization of a rifle- 
 company, and in ilay, 1S60, the company \\-as organized under 
 the old militia law. Stuai-t was elected captain by unanimous 
 vote of the company. Stephen W. Hill at the same time was 
 elected 1st. Lieutenant, and Alexander Murchison, jr., 2d Lieuten- 
 ant. He found in the settlement just the material for his com- 
 pany ; the Scotch in tiieir characters are not dissimilar to the 
 Vermont mountaineers. The company advanced as far as they 
 could, but were unable to obtain arms from the state, probably for 
 the very good reason that the state hadn't any. 
 
 So matters remained until the bombardment of Sumpter. No 
 sooner had the ne^^•s reached Elmira, than- Stuart set about filling 
 up his company to tender them as volunteers. With his officers 
 and part of the old company as a nucleus, he drummed' for re- 
 cruits in different parts of the county ; he found no difficulty, on- 
 ly that most ^\'anted to enlist as officers if he and his fellows 
 would throw up their old commissions. His company was filled 
 and tendered to the government, but was not accepted, though he 
 spared no effort to get them in, and the company was disbanded 
 and the brave volunteers reluctantly gave up all hope of getting 
 into service. 
 
 Afterwards a special town meeting was called which ^^•as at- 
 tended by the people. The tax paj'ers of Elmira township 
 turned out generally ; unlike the board of supervisors they didn't 
 stop to find out impediments in the way of being patriotic, but 
 with unanimity and hearty zeal they voted a tax upon themselves 
 of $700, for the purpose of uniforming volunteers ; and responsi- 
 ble individuals on the spot subscribed over S1980 for the support 
 of families of volunteers in service — near twice the amount appro- 
 - priated by the whole of Stark county for the- same purjjose. In- 
 dividuals, sound and prompt, subscribed as high as .S20tf each. A 
 new company was reorganized under the a:mended militia laws. 
 Captain Stuart and the comrpissioned officers of the old Rifles 
 joined it, and unsolicited, threw up their commissions, but upon 
 a new election they were all re-elected to their former rank, and 
 the company reported to headquarters. The members were scat- 
 "tered over considerable territory, and could not well begottogeth- 
 er for drill oftener than once a week. Seeing no immediate pros- 
 pect of being called into service they went about their ordinary 
 pursuits, putting in crops, making brick or whatever else 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 91 
 
 they would have done if the country was at peace. What fol- 
 lowed is best related by a correspondent of the Chicago Tribune 
 of the 18th, ^^'hich we copy : 
 
 "The Chica;go Tribune of the 8th inst., announced the fact that 
 the Elmira Rifles, Captain Stuart's company, had been accepted,, 
 and were required to be in Springfield on Thursday the 13th inst. 
 Of course such intelligence created no small stir in our midst, and 
 not only the company, but the whole community were thrown 
 into some degree of consternation. 
 
 "And what seemed to add to the difficulties in the way of being- 
 snatched ofi" so suddenly, was the fact that Captain Stuart, who is 
 a minute man, always so active, energetic and indomitable, was 
 at the time in the east, and no one here knew very ^^'ell where. 
 In removing this difficulty, the other officers deserve much praise 
 for the promptitude with which they acted. Lieutenant Hill 
 took the lead, as was fitting he should, and Lieutenant Murchi- 
 son worked up to all just expectations, and all seemed determined 
 to let no obstructions prevent them from coming up and resyjond- 
 ing to the demand. On ilonday, the 10th, a very large meeting, 
 consisting of the volunteers and citizens of the townships of Elmi- 
 ra and Osceola, was held to make some arrangements for the de- 
 parture of the volunteers. At this meeting difficulties seemed to 
 increase by a dispatch arriving from the Adjutant General fromt 
 Springfield, stating that none would be received enlisting for a 
 shorter term than three years. At that time the company's roll 
 contained 59 names, and in two days after this, between 80 and 90 
 started en route, for the service of their country. At the meeting- 
 on Monday, a committee was appointed to canvass the adjoining- 
 county, which committee reported at an adjourned meeting held 
 on Tuesday evening, that between 100 and 200 men had pledged 
 their sacred honor and their every means for the support of the 
 families of volunteers during their absence. At this meeting^ 
 also arrangements were made for the departure of the soldiers on 
 Wednesday, at 12 m. The ladies, who are always so ready to 
 work, w*ere busily employedr and prepared and set a most excel- 
 lent and sumptuous dinner before the volunteers, and some 1200 
 citizens. In the village of Osceola, the volunteers were 
 met by two military companies — a horse company, command- 
 ed by Captain Palmer Blanchard, and a foot company by 
 Captain Merrill. Three martial bands were in attendance — 
 Dalrymple's band with our volunteers, and the other com- 
 panies each had a band. The whole multitude assembled on the- 
 ■ west side of the church, and after prayer, we had a spirited, pat- 
 
92 STARK COUNTY 
 
 Tiotic stirring farewell address from George Clifford, Esq., of Tou- 
 lon. The departing volunteers and other military companies 
 present, were then marched into the church, where four tables, 
 the whole length of the building, were groaning under the ))ur- 
 den of good things which they supported ; but though these were 
 so temptingly displayed, prepared with so much care by the will- 
 ing hands of the kind hearted ladies, yet the soldiers seemed to 
 have little desire to partake of the food ; their hearts seemed to 
 be so enlarged that the stomach had no room left in which to per- 
 form its functions. It is a good thing to know that soldiers have 
 hearts. After partaking of the dinner inside of the church, and 
 the great multitude outside, the order was issued to fall into pro- 
 cession and march to Kewanee, the placp of embarking on the 
 cars for Chicago. The whole was under the direction of the mar- 
 shal of the day, Captain Mark Blanchard, of Osceola, assisted by 
 George Gray, Esq. The procession consisted of between one and 
 two hundred conveyances of various kinds. A number of four- 
 horse vehicles were loaded to their utmost capacity. Arriving at 
 Kewanee, and being Idndly received by the citizens of that place, 
 the volunteers were marched up in front of the Kewanee House, 
 M-here a few i)arting words were addressed to them by Rev. J. 
 M. Graham of Elmh-a, and Rsv. Mr. R. C. Dann of Toulon. 
 Captain P. Blanchard of Bureau county, proposed that a collec- 
 tion be taken up for a little jDOcket money to bestow upon the vol- 
 unteers. This being done, it amounted to something short of 
 $100. It is proper here to say that every mark of kindness and 
 respect were shown by the citizens of Kewanee to the company 
 about to leave, and to their many ff lends who 'attended them 
 to this point. Supper was furnished to the company, and all 
 others so far as was known l)y the writer, were pressed by vari- 
 ous persons to take tea at different places. The multitude which 
 assembled in front of the Kewanee House at the time the words 
 of farewell were being addressed to the soldiers, has been vari- 
 ously estimated at from 2,000 to 4,000. All we Jtnow about it is, 
 that it was an immense crowed ; and all seemed to enter into the 
 spirit of tlte occasion, and feel that it was an occasion of impor- 
 tance, such as never before was witnessed by most of those 
 present. 
 
 " We read here with a degree of mortification that the Elmira Ri- 
 fles, citizens of our county, bound to us by every tie of citizenship, 
 going forth from ' Molly Stark ' to flght our battles, tearing them- 
 selves from homa and friends, many probably never to return to 
 us, were compelled to accept an escort from strangers from a for- 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 93 
 
 eign county. As much painful feeling exists upon the part of our 
 lillmira and Osceola friends because the Home Guards from IJou- 
 lon did not do this duty, we have this apology to offer for them : 
 First, that the sudden departure of the Elmira Rifles was not gen- 
 erally known to them, as it was expected they were not to leave 
 before Friday, the Chicago Tribune announcing they were to re- 
 port themselves at Springfield on the loth, and not the 13th as 
 stated in the above correspondence. Second, and principally, be- 
 cause the treatment received by them at the hands of the board 
 of supervisors was such as to dishearten and discourage the 
 Guards to such a degree that it was impossible to rally\ them for 
 any purpose. The just blame should rest on those who produced 
 that state of feeling, and not upon the community here, except 
 that portion of them who would gladly break up all volunteer 
 companies and freeze out the life blood of patriotism in our coun- 
 ty ; men who discourage the formation of volunteer companies. 
 We can assure our Elmira and Osceola friends that in spite of of- 
 ficials we shall do our duty hereafter. Right here we have an an- 
 ecdote which ought to be saved to history. On the second day of 
 the meeting of the board of supervisors when ' our member ' of 
 the board had moved a reconsideration of the vote §ippropriating 
 six dollars to each volunteer for uniforming purposes, and the 
 matter was engaging discussion before the board, one said he 
 thought the volunteers could drill without uniforms, and was op- 
 posed to giving them the first cent before called into service, and 
 another had drilled many years in Ohio at his own cost. A pious, 
 devout member of the Elmira Rifles, was in town bidding adieu 
 to his friends. He is a prominent member or Mr. Dunn's church, 
 and a very quiet unexcitable man — J. B. are hjs initials. He was 
 at dinner with the family of the orderly of the Home Guards. 
 Now said sei-geant can, good naturedly, and we think not very 
 wickedly, do a good business at swearing ; in fact he is rather vol- 
 uble in the emission of some naughty words which church goers 
 call swearing. .J. B. saying to him that the board of supervisors 
 had reconsidered their vote and he was afraid they were going to 
 defeat the volunteers, he clinched his indignation against the 
 board as follows : ' Mr. W., you know I can't swear ; I wish you 
 would go down and attend to those sujjervisors.' W. replied, ' I 
 don't believe I can do the subject justice, but I'll go down town 
 
 and see if I can't get T , who can swear them toh — 1 and gone.' 
 
 "To return to the Rifles. Captain Stuart has a Avife and two 
 children. He is a farmer and well respected in the community 
 where he lives. He is in stature of medium size and put together 
 
•84 STABK COUNTY 
 
 for acti9n rather than bulk. He is quick of perception, being of 
 quick temperament, and will at a glance decide the best position 
 for his command, and will as quick execute his movements. A ' 
 man of quick perceptions is as necessary upon the battle field as a 
 man of courage, providing he does not lose self-control by too 
 great an excitability. He is a man of warm heart, and will en- 
 dear his company to him. We predict a brilliant career for Cap- 
 tain Stuart. The responsibi^lity of a commander is great; the 
 wives, families, friends and people of Stark county have commit- 
 ted to Captain Stuart the gravest responsibility, the lives, the hon- 
 or of their husbands, fathers, brothers and sons, and the good, 
 fame of the county itself, and we shall hold him to a faithful ac- 
 count of his Stuart (Steward) ship. 
 
 " First Lieutenant, Stephen M. Hill, is not unlike Stuart in his 
 make and 'git up.' He leaves at home a family— a wife, and we 
 believe eight children. He is highly esteeiTied at home, and we 
 have no doubt he -will fill his post with honor and credit to him- 
 self, his company and county. He is a native of the state of 
 New Yoi'k as we are informed. 
 
 " Second Lieutenant, Alexander Murchison, jr., is a young, un- 
 .married man ; by birth a Scotchman, but in America one of the 
 warmest friends of the constitution, the union, and the free insti- 
 tutions of our country. 
 
 " First Orderly Sergeant, John S. Pashley, evidently put up for 
 the very purpose of being an orderly sergeant of just such a com- 
 pany as the Elmira Rifles. > He is a young man, married how- 
 ever, of the highest order of natural qualifications for an official 
 position in the army. He will come out raised in rank. His 
 jTianners are agreeable and he is bound to have warm friends. 
 
 " Second Orderly Sergeant, William Jackson isa young, unmar- 
 Tied man, eminently qualified for his post. He is a Ssotchman, 
 too. 
 
 "Third Orderly Sergeant, J. H. Hunter is a married man, and 
 leaves a wife and several children. He is very highly spoken of. 
 
 " Fourth Orderly Sergeant, Jas. G. Boardman is a young man, 
 brother to Dr. Boardman, so well and favorably known in Stark 
 •county. He has been a medical student and just come home from 
 his second course of lectures. He is said to be everj- way worthy, 
 and will make an excellent officer. 
 
 " First Corporal, James Jackson is a young Scotchman, brother 
 •of William Jackson. Everj' way worthy. 
 
 " Second Corporal, Jg^^mes Montooth is every inch a man. We 
 would caution the enemy not to get in striking distance of ' Jim.' 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 95 
 
 He's pluck to the back bone ; he's game to the last. If you don't 
 belieN'e it, ask that volunteer who stayed in CJhicago drunk and 
 didn't go down to the camp to be sworn in. Jim met him in the 
 street and just took him out of his shirt and brought the shirt 
 back to camp. 
 
 " Third Corporal, Charles H. Brace is a young man, son of Myr- 
 tle G. Brace, Esq., of Ehnira. ' Charlie ' will give a good account 
 of himself. 
 
 " Fourth Corporal, Robert A. Turnbull is a young man, a ne- 
 phew of ' Uncle John,' which is a sufficient guaranty that he is all 
 right. 
 
 "Had we space and time it would atford us pleasure to speak 
 more at length of all the officers and privates. We do say that 
 the officers seem to be exactlj' qualified for their respective posts, 
 and that they have been placed in their positions with a single 
 view to their qualifications. The privates include some of the 
 best men of our countj-, and we are not surprised to notice that 
 the company ranks the best in the service of the state, best in- or- 
 derly, sober materials for a company. Chicago papers and people 
 so regard them, and justly, too. 
 
 " We have been permitted to peruse a large number of letters 
 received from our volunteers in camp. Some of them we would 
 like to publish at length, as tliey contain matters of interest and 
 are written in a style of epistolary elegance and simplicity that 
 would"do credit to the best of letter writers. We give below ex- 
 tracts from letters written by one of the privates to his wife in El- 
 mira, and not designed for publication. We give the dates as a 
 kind of journal of the camp. 
 
 " June 13th. — * * * We are praised greatly for the extra fine 
 appearance of our men. We are told repeatedly by Chicago men 
 that .our company is worth more than the entire Zouave reig- 
 ment for hard work or effective service. * * * We feel like 
 loving every man of them we have seen yet, for they are as kind 
 as they can be. * * * How long we will be here is of course a 
 mystery. Some say' we will not stay here more than two weeks, 
 but we do not know anything about it. * "^ * Captain Stuart's 
 fan:i'y are here, and will stay while the company remain in 
 Chicago. 
 
 " June 14th. — We started to-day from the city to the camp, six 
 miles below the city. Arrived all right after a warm march. 
 
96 STARK COUNTY 
 
 through the sand. * « * We have a very pleasant camp in- 
 deed. ' 
 
 June IGth.— * * * To-day for the first time, I took my ra- 
 tions in camp. I came down this morning ; my furlough. having 
 expired, I was obliged to report. I have been on furlough since 
 the company came into camp. * * ' Our company was sworn 
 in yesterday, but as I was not here, I did not get sworn in ; but 
 should I not take the oath at all I am bound by all that is sacred 
 to my duty, and by the help of your prayers and my own I hope 
 to be able to do my duty with honor to myself, my dearly belov- 
 ed wife arid child, and all dear friends and relations left behind. 
 We are the model for the regiment, and all strive to do their best 
 to merit the esteem of everybody in the world, and Elmira in 
 particular. Everybody speaks highly of us, and say our boys do 
 their duty ' tip top.' Yesterday, when our boys were sworn in, 
 John Sherry, his brother, and a man from Kewanee, refused to 
 take the oath. They were dealt with as follows : Our boys were ■ 
 not at liberty to catch them, but the Zouave boys caught John and 
 held him until our boys were at liberty, when they concluded to 
 part with him in good style, and rather than see the poor devil 
 walk so far they proposed to provide him with a conveyance. A 
 rail was found, whereupon they invited the gentleman to mount, 
 and mount he did, ^\'ith their assistance, and they gave him a 
 huge ride, which privilege they enjoj'ed hugely, and after strip- 
 ping the uniform from him and pulling him around awhile, let 
 him go. His brother deserted in the city, or rather got drunk 
 and we left him lying in an alley. We saved his shirt, however ; 
 James jMontooth met him in the street and stripped it off him. 
 -■' •"• * We expect hourly to be ordered to Quiney. 
 
 "June 16th. — AVe had a fine supper and well cooked. Our young 
 friend Lamper does our cooking, and ^^•e do his guard duty. We 
 had meat, dried apples, coffee, bread andcake. Our meat so far 
 has been fresh, and the cake ^\'as some that Mr. Blanchard 
 brought from home. Since the order was issued to allow no one 
 to leave the camp, one guard allowed a captain to cross and ■was 
 arrested immediately and placed under guard. * * ^ Since I 
 began this we assembled for prayers. Lieutenant Plill read a 
 chapter and made an excellent prayer ; every man in the compa- 
 ny on their knees Avith head uncovered. It was a solemn sight 
 to see the feeling manifested by our men, brave, good, and true. 
 . God bless them. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 97 
 
 " June 17th.— Tell tte Elniira folks that every man in camp did 
 really suffer from cold last night. It was awful cold. Order of 
 the day: r, A. M., reveille; 5], roll call; G, breakfast ; K.], turn 
 out guard; 9, guard mount ; 9] toll, company drill ; 12, dinner; 
 0, supper ; '.)!,, tattoo to quarters ; 10, taps, lights out and all quiet. 
 Here we have a gresit deal of excitement and enjoy ourselves 
 hugely. The boys of our mess, except Dr. Lamper, my good 
 friend, and myself, are out playing round the camp, but ^ye feel- 
 ing it our duty to devote our leisure moments to our dear vvives, 
 are in our tents writing to you. 
 
 ".June 17th. — You must excuse me if I do not write long letters, 
 as our duties are vfery arduous at jr^^sent while getting ready to 
 march. We will more than likely move on Thursday or Friday 
 of this week ; where, God only knows, and I would not care if I 
 had my watch and some money." 
 
 ■ This organization, which became after they were mustered into 
 service, company B, 19th regiment. United States volunteers, was 
 the first to leave our county for the defence of the union ; and the 
 next we think was the " Lafayette Rifles," knf)wn after enlist- 
 ment as company B, 87th regiment United States volunteers. 
 
 The first named were s^v'orn into the service of the United 
 States, in June, 1861 ; the second in August of the same year. 
 
 "Tlie Lafayette Rifles" were commanded by Captain Charles 
 Dickinson, a man who A\-ould perhaps bear " lionizing " as Ti\ell as 
 Captain Stuart of the'Elmira company, but i)enfaecl in the cooler 
 atmosphere of 1870 such gushing tributes would appear over- 
 \vrought. So, we leave Captain Dickinson to be praised by his 
 honorable record, and that of his company. They rendezvoused 
 near Chicago, a.t a place named Camp AVebb, in honor of their 
 Colonel. 
 
 They were at Vicksburg from the 11th of .June, 18G2, till the sur- 
 render, July 4th, 1803. TJien went to Yazoo City, Irad a skirmish 
 there, then to New Orleans, and Brownville, in at the capture of 
 the latter. This about concluded their first term 4)f service, and 
 they were permitted to come home on " veteran furlough " and to 
 vote for President Lincoln, but with ranks sadly thinned by the 
 risks of battle and the diseases incident to camp life. During the 
 summer of 1865 they were on garrison duty nearly all the time, 
 along the Mississippi river, were present at the surrender of Mo- 
 bile, and helped storm the works at Fort Blakely. Y'et Captain 
 Dickinson says their regiment was more famous for marching than 
 fighting. During the first two years of their service they marched 
 
 7 
 
S8 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 over 7.")00 miles after Price and otlier rebel leaders. As an amus- 
 ing incident in the midst of many painful ones, he recalls, hov/'as 
 they were approaching Brownville \\'ith all possible circumspec- 
 tion, expecting to have a hard fight and perhaps to capture a large 
 amount of cotton, they were met by a IMexicau general and staff, 
 well mounted, and richly caparisoned, who congratulated them 
 upon their arrival, and bade them welcome to the town, which 
 they afterwards found emptied of men and cotton to their great 
 disappointment and chagrin. 
 
 Three companies of the 112th, one to the 47th regiment, and 
 squads to many others were early in the service, until in 1864, 
 when Mr. Fuller was sent to Springfield to examine the records, 
 and found us represented in no less than thirty regiments, inclu- 
 ding infantry, cavalry and artillery service. 
 
 Of the " three months men," included mostly in the 139th regi- 
 ment, we can give but little account. For one reason, although 
 more than a full company as to numbers, was raised in Stark, 
 they did not unite as sucli, but squads went to Henry and Bureau 
 county regiments. 
 
 - Mr. Kaysbier and Rev. A. J. "Wright labored hard to recruit 
 and unite these men that they might serve under their own ofii- 
 cers, but were only partially successful. 
 
 The 139th did garrison duty for a time at Cairo, and saw some- 
 thing of more active service in Missouri, guarding bridges and 
 cutting off supplies designed for the enemy, thus letting veterans 
 go to the front. Xot having had a surfeit of such scenes, our 
 "hundred days men" probably count the period passed in the 
 employ of " Uncle Sam," as furnishing as many iileasant and 
 amusing reminiscences as any three months of their i^ast life. 
 They were mostly enlisted in May, 1864, sworn into the service 
 the month following and lay in camp at Peoria till after the 4th of 
 July, and then liiustered out October 28th. So their term of ser- 
 vice WAn through the warm autumn months, when out door life, 
 of itself, was no hardshi]!. 
 
 Yet after all these men had left, making a grand total of over 
 eight hundred volunteers from our small county, it was claimed 
 that there was still a deficit in our quota of something over one 
 hundred and fifty. And as by 1864 and 1865 all the horrors of the 
 battle field, the prison pens and hospitals were fully understood, 
 it was almost impossible to induce further volunteering ; and then 
 the dreaded " cZ/^a/^ " must swoop down upon us, carrying men 
 off, whether they would or no. 
 
 There were some whose ijatriotism was equal to this emergen- 
 
AND ITS PIONEEKS. 99 
 
 cy who .argued it Avas a neces.sary mc asure, let it come ! and, if 
 the lot fell on them they were ready to go ; and some we know 
 who thus did go, willingly, yet drafted. 
 
 But this temper was not common. Compulsory obedience is 
 so repugnant to the American mind, that submission to military 
 rule was never very heartfelt or graceful — especially among west- 
 ern men. They were willing to be soldiers usually, but they wan- 
 ted to be volunteers — there was an odium attached to the idea of 
 being drafted. Therefore, the most strenuous exertions were 
 made to avoid the necessity of a draft. Funds were raised in all 
 or nearly all the townships of our county, by self-imposed taxes, 
 in order to hire recruits and pay bounties to volunteers. Yet a 
 few were, after all, caughtbythe " drafting machine," as theboys 
 called it, and had to pay as high as a thousand dollars apiece for 
 " substitutes." In order to know how many men were justly 
 subject to draft from this county, Mr. Miles Fuller was dispatched 
 to Springfield to examine the muster rolls in the office of the Ad- 
 jutant General, in the fall of 1864, and on his return made the fol- 
 lowing report to the board of supe rvisors : 
 
 To the Board of Supervisors of Stark County : 
 
 The undersigned, having at the solicitation of persons interest- 
 ed therein, visited Springfield for the purpose of ascertaining the 
 quota of Stark County in the coming draft, and also to ascertain 
 whether any mistakes have been made in the credits for men from 
 this county who have volunteered into the military service of the 
 United States, would make the following report : 
 
 The whole number of men required to fill all calls to the 
 
 present time is 964 
 
 Whole number of credits up to October 1st, 1863, was . 689 
 From October 1st, 1868, to September, 1864, is . . . 121 
 
 Total credits 810 
 
 Total deficit of county, 154 
 
 Of this number there is due from the several sub-districts of 
 this county as follows : 
 
 Sub-district 72, Essex and Toulon, 34 
 
 " 73, Elmira and Osceola, 36 
 
 " 74^ Valley and Penn, . 5a 
 
 " 75, Goshen and West Jersey, .... 31 
 
100 STARK COUNTY 
 
 The undersigned would further report the credits allowed up to 
 October 1st, 1863, are distributed among the different regiments 
 of this state, as fqjlows, to- wit : 
 
 12th Regiment Illinois Infaivtry, 1 ; 16th, 1 ; 17th, 2 ; 19th, 107 ; 
 33d, 19; 37th, r)8; 38th, 1 ; 4Gth, 6 ; 47th, 81 ; r,ist, 10 ; 56th, 2; 
 57th, 5 ; 64th,' 1 ; 6oth 39 ; 67th, 1 ; 83d, 1 ; 86th, 22 ; 93d, 9 ; 112th, 
 268; 124th, 4; 127th, 5; Fusileers, 1 ; 3d, Cavalry, 6 ; 9th, 16; 
 11th, 2 ; 13th, 1 ; 14th, 2 ; 1st Artillery, 4 ; 2d, 9 ; Missouri regi- 
 ments, 5 — 685. 
 
 Credits allowed from October 1st, 18(53, to July 1st, 1864, one 
 hundred and twenty-one men. I was unable in my brief stay to 
 ascertain in ^v•hat regiments these last named have enlisted. 
 
 About one hundred men, (estimated) residents 'of this county, 
 have enlisted in different regiments and have been credited to oth- 
 er counties. This has resulted from several causes : Sometimes 
 from carelessness on the part of the men enlisting in not giving 
 their residence, and perhaps on the part of recruiting officers, who 
 were desirous, to obtain credits for their own counties, and some- 
 times from misrepresentation on the part of the men enlisting in 
 order to obtain the local bounties offered by other counties. 
 
 I was informed by Adjutant General Fuller that in every case 
 the men were credited to the counties where they actually resid- 
 ed at the time of their enlistment whenever that could be ascer- 
 tained ; and from such examinations as I was able to make while 
 there, I am satisfied that his statement is correct, and that no pains 
 have been spared by him to do justice to every county. 
 
 For instance, I was acquainted with several men in the 72d and 
 •55th regiments in which we have no credits, and on an examina- 
 tion of the muster rolls of said regiments I found Bobert Holmes, 
 Scepter Harding, Darsie Heath, Jacob Galley and Jasper Morris 
 reported from Chicago, and jMiles AveVy from Cook county, and 
 Lester Coggs^vell, Joseph C'. Hiner and George W. Eckley from 
 Bushnell, McDonough county, and George Witter, without any 
 residence given. So of other regiments. Our men have enlisted 
 and are credited to other counties in consequence of the errors of 
 the muster roll. 
 
 My thanks are due to General Fuller, and to Hon. Newton 
 Bateman of the Provost Marshal's office, who extended to me ev- 
 ery courtesy and gave me all the assistance in their power. 
 
 I would recommend to the board that some time during the 
 coming winter, when the present press of business at the Adjut- 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 101 
 
 t 
 
 ant General's office shall be past, that an agent be sent to exam- 
 ine the records and get the names of all persons who have enlist- 
 ed from this countj-, the date of their enlistment, their conipany 
 and regiment, &c. And that the same may be made a matter of 
 record in this county. Let the brave men who have gone to the 
 rescue of our country be remembered. Let a roll of honor be 
 kept. All of which is respectfully submitted. 
 
 Miles A. Fuller. 
 
 This report of Mr. Fuller besides showing the exact position of 
 the county \vith regard to the quota of troops, shows another fact 
 we wish to impress upon the reader's mind, ^-iz : the difficulty of 
 making a full and correct list of all Stark county soldiers. 
 
 EECRUITS. 
 
 We copy the following from the Stark County News of about 
 the same date : 
 
 On Sunday last, 23 men went down to Peoria from this (Tou- 
 lon) township to^ enlist, twenty of whom we learn were accepted 
 and mustered in. They received $500 apiece local bounty, which 
 is about the top of the market, from present appearances. 
 
 In this matter of raising bounties, our monied men and some 
 who are not noted for wealth, have done nobly. They have paid 
 in some cases as high as $150, and some who have subscribed thus 
 liberally have worked with unceasing vigilance in an enterprise 
 which at first we considered as visionary and hopeless as a voyage 
 to the moon. Thus the township is doubtless out of the draft 
 with a large feather in her cap. 
 
 West Jersey has voted a bounty tax, and we believe will let 
 the matter rest at tliat ; then when the draft comes on issue bonds 
 to the drafted m^en. 
 
 Penn made a contract with some firni to furnish her twelve 
 m.en at $390 apiece and supposed the whole thing was settled, but 
 the agents have returned the money, we are told, being unable to 
 procure them. 
 
 Later.— Mr. Blair who has just returned from Peoria, informs 
 us that an agent is there from Penn, who has succeeded in procu- 
 ring men for that township. West Jersey had better use her 
 money to procure recruits, as substitutes can hardly be obtained 
 at any price after the draft. But it is "their own funeral." 
 
102 STABK COUNTY 
 
 We shall next introduce several very interesting letters regard- 
 ing the history of the 112th regiment. We regret we have so lit- 
 tle to offer concerning the 47th, in which Stark was well represent 
 ted, but, it is not our province to make history and none relative 
 to this command has been furnished us, so we must content our- 
 selves with the report of the Adjutant General. 
 
 News from the One Hundred and Twa\ftli — They Participated in 
 the Battle of Resaca, Georgia. — The Casualties of Company F. 
 
 " The telegraph has already brought the news that the gallant 
 112th was in the terrific battle of the 14th and loth of May, at 
 Eesaca, Georgia, and that Colonel Henderson is among the woun- 
 ded. We are happy, however, at being able to inform our readers 
 that his wound, though painful, is not dangerous. We are per- 
 m^itted to extract the following from a letter from the Colonel to 
 his brother, James A. Henderson, of this place, dated on the field, 
 May 15th : 
 
 "I was wounded in the fight of yesterday — shot through the 
 right thigh with a minnie ball ; fortunately no bones were broken, 
 as I think ; but the surgeons have, as yet, made iio examination 
 of the wound, and therefore the wound cannot, in my opinion, be 
 regarded as dangerous. The ball made, however, an ugly hole 
 through my thigh, and I am suffering much pain from it. This 
 morning my leg is so very sore I cannot move it without intense 
 pain. 
 
 " The fighting yesterday was very severe ; the position we occu- 
 pied at the time I was wounded, was a fearful one. We charged 
 the enemy, drove him from his first line of rifle pits, pursued un- 
 til we reached the crest of a bold hill previously cleared by the 
 . rebels, and within about fifty yards in front of a second line of 
 fortifications, when the e^^iemy opened upon us With grape and 
 canister, with schrapnel and musketry, and the air was hissing 
 hot with deadly missiles. 
 
 "So far as I am now informed, our loss was eight killed and thir- 
 ty-five wounded. Captain Wright had his arm broken just below 
 the shoulder, and it was amputated last night. Levi Silliman 
 was wounded in right arm slightly. John Rhodes was wounded 
 in right wrist and the ball grazed his left arm. Henry C. Hall 
 had his left shoulder and arm taken off by a shell. George Stone 
 was shot in the mouth, severely. William T. Essex was wound- 
 ed by a ball passing through his left big toe. Thomas Shore, 
 
AXD ITS nOXEERS. 10.3 
 
 Henry C. ^\ckley and John Haskins were sligtly wounded. 
 These are all in company F. Seeley Thur.-,ton and Cyrus Snare, 
 of company E, are wounded, but I think not ilangerourily. Com- 
 pany B had none killed or wounded, excei.t Lieutenant B. F. 
 Thompson, acting adjutant, \sho was slightly A\'ounded in his 
 foot. I have no room for other names to-day. Xo otlier officers 
 were wounded, except Captain Wright, Lieutenant Thompson, 
 and myself. 
 
 " The battle is still going on to-day, and while I am writing, the 
 -teady roar of artillerj- is heard all around me. How indifferent 
 men become to .scenes of f)lood and danger. I am surrounded 
 with wounded and dying — can hardly see a man but has the blood 
 of battle upon him, and yet, in my own condition, bloody and 
 wounded myself, lying Iiere in this dense woods, with a blanket 
 and a little straw upon the ground for a bed, a shelter (dog tent) 
 for a covering, how calivdy I look upon it all." 
 
 S;!ir;e writing the abovr-, Mr. Ilenflerson rofeivf-d a di-patch 
 fro:n the Colonel and Captain, stating that their wounds are doing 
 well, and that they will be home soon. Xot'iing was said in this 
 of any furtbrn- casualties. 
 
 We have also been pennitted to read a letter from I>!vi ,Silli- 
 man, of the same date, v.Titten as he said, by proxy, to his^ fa- 
 ther. He gives nothing additional to the above. Ib^ regards H. 
 C. Hall's wound as dangerous. ?ilr. Hail is tlif^ last recruit we 
 sent dow'ji while acting as recruiting agent for this county. He 
 lived at Osceola." 
 
 Froi'ii fill' lirpiilij-flurfLWrinij Corpf; — LHfersffOina Member of (he 
 One IfiiiKh'eil and Tire/flh llVuioi!^. 
 
 Camp of tiik 112x11 RKontKXT TiiijTxoi.s Vot,. Txfaxtiiv, i 
 Xeapv Kingston, X. C, ^Iakc/ji bi'i'ji, ]x(i.'). / 
 To I lie Julilor of Ihe (Jhieiu/o Krenhif/ Journal : 
 
 Thinking that some of your patrons \v'ould like to hear from 
 the 112th Illinois, and having a few leisure moments, I thought 
 that I would write these few lines. We have seen some of the 
 confederacy. 
 
 Up to the first of February, 1805, \w had traveled over six 
 thousand miles, through the following states: Ohio, Indiana, 
 Kentucky, Tennes.see, Georgia and Virginia, touching ^Maryland. 
 I have not my memorandum at hand to show the exact number 
 of miles in each state, or the number marched on foot, but it is a 
 little over .S,0()0. We have been in twenty-six general en- 
 
104 STARK COUNTY 
 
 gagements, and one hundred and ten skirmislie.s with the enemy, 
 and with one or two exception.s we have been vii-torious. On the 
 first of February ^\•e were at Alexandria, Virginia ; on the fourth 
 we left that place and arrived at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, on 
 the following Wednesday ; since that time we haveHDeen on the 
 march most of the time. Our first skirmish was in approaching 
 Fort Anderson. The brigades of^IIenderson and Moore, of the 
 23d army corps, were in the advance. After skirmishing all day, 
 we (that is the skirmishers of the 112th) lay within four hundred 
 yards of the fort. Before -daylight the next morning, we co]n- 
 menced creeping towards the fort, and soon found that it was 
 nearly evacuated, when we went forward with a yell of delight. 
 Captain Colcord, of the 112th Illinois, was the first officer in the 
 fort, and tfie skirmishers of our regiment were the first men in it. 
 There were about fifty rebels that had not got out that were cap- 
 tured. But no rest here. We pushed on and came up with the 
 rebels at night on Town creek, a small creek near the field of the 
 revolutionary battle of Old Town, which I think was fouglit be- 
 tween Greene and Cornwallis. Marks are still there— the old fort, 
 and also one gun, a piece of artillery about three feet long, and 
 weighing about one hundred and fifty pounds. After fighting 
 the rebels pretty hard nearly all day, they were compelled to fall 
 back, with a loss of over three hundred prisoners, besides the 
 killed and wounded, and two pieces of artillery. We did not 
 come up with them again until we got to Wilmington, North 
 Carolina. Here they did not stop, but gave up the i^laCe, leaving 
 a large number of our prisoners that were not able to move. Here 
 we remained until the titlv of March, when we started for this 
 place. 
 
 We have had om of the hardest marches that we have ever 
 traveled, it being about one hundred miles, through swamps and 
 wading creeks. All of the way we have marched from twelve to 
 twenty miles per day ; but ^^'e have come through ail right. Y\"e 
 are now in the third brigadier, third division, and twenty-third 
 corps, commanded by Brigade General T. J. Henderson, form- 
 erly of the 112th Illinois— an officer in whom the men put the ut- 
 most confidence. He has been abused at home by the Tribune 
 and some of its friends, but not by any who have seen him in the 
 field. Th-ere is where a man has to show just what he is. 
 
 A SoIjDIEK. 
 
AND ITrf riO>'KEJlS. 105 
 
 The one hundred and tu-flflli in llrr/inia. — J/f aboiii the Beal- 
 men/. — A)i Interesting Letter from our omi Correspondent. — 
 Ctinlx'r ainoni) the Boys. 
 
 "EditokNew.-^ :— Upon going over to the " National " the oth- 
 er day to pick my teeth after dinner (.; o'cloelv p. ni., Washingtoji 
 dinner hour) \vho .should I discover in the crowd of army ofHcers, 
 who there " most do congregate," but the gallant Colonel Hen- 
 derson, Acting Brigadier General of the 3d Brigade, 3d Division, 
 23d Army Corps, and it was not long before I was surrounded by 
 a cordon of officers of the old 112th Illinois. S6 unexpected, un- 
 heralded as its arrival in the dei^artinent was, for the once it 
 seemed lika a vision in a dream, and I was carried back to little 
 Molly Stark, to the fall of 1862, when Toulon had a little touch of 
 military fever and experience, as the boys were quartered there 
 for drill and awaiting orders. As soon as I could disengage the 
 Colonel from Governor Yates, I found out what it all meant. Scho- 
 fleld's brave corps was here or hereabouts. (If this is contraband 
 news I offend ignorantly, and I shan't give the enemy any kind 
 of information as to its prospective movements, because if for no 
 other reason, I hav'nt the slightest idea myself.) The 112th was at 
 Alexandria^ on the " sacred soil " of Virginia, and Ctolonel Hen- 
 derson had been, ordered to join his brigade here, and had come 
 on for. that purpose. I observed that he received a very warm 
 welcome back to his command, all of whom, officers and men, 
 seemed very much attached to him. All speak in high terms of 
 him, both as a gentleman and an officer. Colonel Plenderson has 
 the strongest kind of recommendations for his promotion to a 
 BrigadiershiiJ, a position he has long been tilling, but I apprehend 
 his modesty alone will prevent it, as sucli promotions seem to de- 
 pend upon assurance and dogged perserverance, a kind of brazen 
 audacity, which the colonel is wanting in. The officers and men 
 iis far as I could learn, were anxious for his promotion. 
 
 " Here comes Eldridge with a mail bag under his arm — you 
 would not mistake him ; the service does not seem to have used 
 him up ' muchly.' He is brigade post master, and did you ever 
 reflect what valuable loads of love and friendship he daily comes 
 laden with to camp, and what records of heart throbs and hopes, 
 and fears and anxieties and loves he daily takes to the post office, 
 which at the end reaches the dear ones at home? Ah, here is 
 Captain Armstrong of Company P., tough and hardy, and good 
 natured. There was always something good in the captain's 
 countenance, an' expression of honesty and sincerity and truthful- 
 
106 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 ness, and his army exp3:-ienc?3 have only s?rvo.l to bring out and. 
 clearly define that expres^ioii. I see Bushrod ahead of me — I 
 can't mistake his gait, but still there is a peculiar agility in his. 
 motion now. I am told he has just received his commission as 
 1st lieutenant of company F, and that probably accounts for his^ 
 unusual sprightliness. The fact is, Tapp feels well, and he de- 
 serves to. I am glad of his promotion ; he is a good soldier I am 
 told. He looks in the best of health and vigor. But I am getting- 
 a little ahead of my story, and mixing up Washington and Alex- 
 andria. 
 
 " We, Fuller, Farrar and myself, were honored with an invi- 
 tation to visit the regiment, which ^ve did not hesitate a bit to ac- 
 cept. Having satisfied the provost marshalof Washington that 
 we were not spies or bounty jumpers, or disloyal subjects, and 
 having subscribed an oath of allegiance which his clerk said we 
 might, take when we got out of doors, we obtained a pass to go tO' 
 Alexandria and return, ' on business ' the pass said. Alex;andria 
 is not right acros-; the river from AS'ashington, as many suppose, 
 but it is down and across about eight miles, more or less. We 
 talked of skating down, but it leing Sunday and having no 
 skates, and my companions being no skaters, we thought best to 
 take the cars, which we did. For thirty cents each we had the 
 imvilege of standhig up to Alexandria. Of course, our passes 
 were riyeti by a fierce looking fello\v \^"ith a sharp bayonet. We 
 were soon in the city where the immortal Ellsworth fell at the be- 
 ginning of the WAT, as he was descending with a rebel flag from 
 the Mansion House. The tragedy is fresh in all our minds. We 
 get track of the 112th l)oys, and are told it was that quiet, well 
 behaved regiment down by the river. The citizens speak thus of 
 it as in contrast M'ith many others that had been quartered there 
 during the war. The truth is, that those men who went volun- 
 tarily into the service from motives of patriotism, differ widely 
 from substitutes, bounty jumpers and unwilling conscripts. The 
 western regiments raised in the days of patriotic love of country 
 and hatred of rebels, are the true soldiers of the republic, and 
 none are truer than the 112th boys. We meet the colonel, acting 
 brigadier, and staff officers on their way to brigade headquarters, 
 and were warmly greeted by them. Thomas Milchrist, adjutant, 
 or something of that kind, I don't know, what now, went back 
 with us to show us the way to the quarters. Aha ! there comes a 
 familiar countenance, on an officer's horse — ' as sure as shootin,' 
 it is Charley McComsey, the hardiest, heartiest looking fellow yet, 
 a hearty shake of the hand, and on we go to the 112th. And here 
 
AXD ITS PIONEERS. 107 
 
 we find the boys of company P and E, snugly stowed away and 
 piled up in the second story of the barracks, and in the loft, not a 
 sickly looking soldier among them. A general hand-shaking en- 
 sued. Some had got so fat that I could hardly recognize them. 
 William Ely was on hand, the most changed of all, but still with 
 his inevitable ' watch to trade.' William has improved amazing- 
 ly in all outward appearance. Here we find captain Otman, also 
 looking well, and yet I thought I could discern a shadow of sor- 
 row upon his countenance for the great bereavement he has sus- 
 tained in the loss of his wife, one of the noblest of Ijer sex. I 
 thought of bygone days when the captain held the scales of jus- 
 tice in his hands in ' Old Stark, while now he was wielding the 
 sword of justice in the service of his country. The captain is ev- 
 idently loved by all his men, and I believe he well deserves it. 
 
 " Here is Henry Perry, the very identical Henry. I believe he 
 is orderly sergeant of company F. Ah ! here is B. F. Thompson 
 of company B, the oracle of the regiment, and one of the writing^ 
 mediums of it from Stark. I forget just what he is, but he is an 
 officer of some kind, and a 'bully' good fellow. Captain Arm- 
 strong and Lieutenant Tapp, seem as happy as mortals can be, 
 and more so than I would suppose men would feel with such tei- 
 rible reminiscences as they must have of the past, and such scenes 
 as theyi have before them yet. But they are true philosophers. 
 Our stay at the barracks was but a moment. I must go and see 
 company B, who are aristocratically quartered in a building by 
 themselves. 'Brad' leads the way. We see here many familiar 
 faces from and about Bradford, and some we don't see. There 
 were many good fellows at Camp Lyon, Peoria, that we did not 
 find here. Many whose lives w^ere equally promising and as YuU 
 of hope as those who remain. They no longer answer at roll call 
 — God bless them— their rnemory is cherished by many mourning 
 friends. Here a roll call of the casualties of company B, was 
 shown me, kept neatly in a diary of one of the Bradford boys. I 
 could see an unmistakable look of sadness when he showed this 
 record of casualties. I took out my pencil and copied their 
 names in shorthand, which may account for some of its inaccur- 
 acies. A thought here struck me that nothing which your paper 
 could contain, would be more interesting to your readers than a 
 view of the Stark county companies with their casualties. To read 
 over these names will recall to your readers many interesting 
 reminiscences, and will be good for reflection. 
 
 " I am indebted to the officers of the respective companies for the 
 facilities afforded me to obtain the statistics I hastily compiled 
 
lOS STARK COUXTV 
 
 from their book^i and otherwise, and which I send yf)u as a part 
 of this hasty sketch. I think many inaccuracies will he found in 
 them, though I endeavored to copy them as well as I could for 
 the hurry I wa3\in. 
 
 " To give your readers some idea of the service done by the 
 112th, I would say that they have been in twenty-five general en- 
 gagements, one hundred and ten skirmishes ; have traveled 1565 
 miles on foot, 2500 miles on horse back, 1564 miles on the cars, and 
 774 miles on steamboat, making a total of six thousand four hun- 
 tlred and three miles. 
 
 " The regiment arrived at iClexahdria on th 2oth of January." 
 
 ' DUE REGIMENT. 
 
 " The 112th Illinois, in which more of the hopes and fears of 
 the people of Stark county have been centered than in any other 
 single regiment, has been mustered out at last, and' the men have 
 returned home, except such as will return no more. The regi- 
 ment has seen more service, done more hard marching and hard 
 .fighting, than almost any other of which we have any knowl- 
 edge. The history of this regiment, Avritten out in detail, by a 
 competent hand, would be a very readable book for the friends of 
 the regiment in Stark and Henry counties. Who A^'ill undertake 
 the enterprise ■?" — Stark County Neirs. 
 
 As can be seen liy the figures, our contribution to this regiment 
 was three companies, but they were the props of many homes. 
 
 In this centennial year, 1876, Stark county has but one organ- 
 ized military company, that known as " The Elmira Zouaves," 
 a few men, principally those who had seen service in the 19th 
 regiment Illinois volunteer infantry, have rendezvoused for drill 
 and parade on special occasions ever since the close of the late 
 war. AVearirig the gay uniform of the Zouaves, and practicing 
 their somewhat unique exercises, they havcalways attracted a 
 good deal of attention, and have finally organized under the state 
 militia law ; and reporting themselves at head quarters, the 
 state has supplied them arms, and they now meet regularly for 
 drill at the county seat. 
 
 They are a sort of public pet at present, being the only candi- 
 dates for, or recipients of military honors in the county. The cit- 
 izens of Elmira and Toulon townships have recently presented 
 them with a fine banner, and other tokens of approval. 
 
AND ITS PIONEEKS. 109 
 
 BUSINESS ENTERPRISES. 
 
 Of all the business interests or enterprises of Stark county, agri- 
 culture — farming — in some of its branches, and stock raising, 
 must be considered of the first importance. But to give anything 
 beyond a general idea of their progress and magnitude is out of 
 our power in a work of this kind. 
 
 A history in detail of the fanning and fruit growing operations 
 of the last thirty or forty years, together with their results, and 
 an account of the implements and appliances used by our first 
 farmers, compared with those employed no-\\', would form a small 
 volume, and contain much amusing as well as useful matter for 
 farmers. 
 
 It would seeni our agricultural society might develop some- 
 thing of this kind, which would be valuable for future reference ; 
 we ought to profit by the mistakes as well as the successes of the 
 past. 
 
 But those of our readers who are curious about statistics and 
 exact statements we must refer to our brief table of agricultural 
 reports. We' can only say here in general terms that the various 
 branches of tillage, fruit and wool gathering, stock raising, &c., 
 all receive a large share of attention and prosper accordingly. 
 
 Fruit is cultivated with varying success, the trees being of rap- 
 id growth but subject to many diseases, — insects being their most 
 dangerous enemies. Some years, however, the fruit crop is enor- 
 mous. Grapes seldom fail,' except when injurecl by a very severe 
 winter. 
 
 Small grains do not make so full a requital for the. labor be- 
 stowed as in some other localities, consequently our farmers are 
 depending more and more on the " hog and corn crop," and sel- 
 dom are they disappointed. The fattening of beeves for market 
 is considered a paying investment, also sheep raising, and the 
 breeding of fine varieties of blooded stock and horses. 
 
 As a dealer in and importer of fine stock, Mr. Davis Lowmau 
 of the Green Lawn farms in Toulon township, has probably been 
 
IIU STARK COUNTY 
 
 most conspicuous. He Jiaving dealt extensively in the " Short- 
 horns," importing at one time direct from Scotland, for his own 
 farms a herd of unquestionable pedigree. Tiring however of the 
 labor and responsibility this business imposes, he sold out at the 
 great cattle sales in Galesburg, April, 1876, his entire herd, consis- 
 ting of sixty-seven choice animal^, many of which brought their 
 owner over a thousand dollars apiece, all going\up pretty well in- 
 to the hundreds— making a total of $20,824. ItissaidMr. W. Scott 
 of Wyoming who bought several of Mr. Lowman's famous herd, 
 is going into this business on a large scale, and among the promi- 
 nent exhibitors at our agricultural fairs of fine blooded animals 
 may be named Mr. Thomas Dugan, Mr. Joseph Cox, and Mr. 
 John Hepperly. 
 
 The Turnbull and Oliver families in Elmira township, can nev- 
 er quite forsake their hereditary occupation of shepherds, and 
 haye done much to keep up an interest in wool-growing, al- 
 though some of them, at least, have of late been more widely 
 known as stock dealers. And Mr. Isaac Newman of West Jer- 
 sey township, has gone very extensively into raising of shfeep, 
 both for wool and mutton. . 
 
 AGKICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
 
 There has been such a general interest felt in this enterprise, 
 and so many, not only of our farmers but business men of every 
 grade connected with it, that it is no easy matter to decide to 
 whom it is mainly indebted for its present prosperity. The old 
 records state " That at a meeting held in Toulon on the 29th day 
 of October, A. D. 1853, for the purpose of forming an agricultural 
 society, the house was called to order fey appointing David Mc- 
 Cance secretary, and Hugh Rhodes chairman, and the utility of 
 such*^ society was set forth in a neat little speech by Captain 
 Butler." 
 
 "On motion, it was resolved that each individual, in order 
 to become a member of this society, shall pay the sum of one 
 dollar, whereupon the following gentlemen came forward, gave 
 their names and pledged each one dollar ;" 
 
 Henry Butler, senior, John B. Atherton, William W. Wright, 
 senior, Hugh Rhodes, Benjamin Turner, Thomas J. Henderson, 
 Jacob Jamison, B. F. Boughn, S. M. Curtis, Bushrod Tapp, Jo- 
 seph Cox and William Chamberlain. General Thomas was ap- 
 pointed President ; Captain Butler, Wm. W. Wright, Jacob Ja- 
 mison and David McCance were appointed a committee to draft a 
 
AXD ITS nONEBRS. Ill 
 
 •constitution, wliTeh instrument wv.s adojited by the society at its 
 next meeting in November, 1853. 
 
 Tlie first officers elected under tlie constitution were H. Riiodes 
 President ; Martin Sliallenberger and Jacob Jamison, Yice Presi- 
 dents ; David McCance recording. Captain Butler corresijonding 
 secretaries, and Jolin R. Atlierton, treasurer. The first annual 
 report of finances shows a total of $120.20 received, SlOo.To paid 
 out by tlie treasurer, leaving a balance in his hands of 15.45, 
 cheating himself to tlie amount of $1, contrary to present prac- 
 tice. The first annual fair was to be hplden in September, 1854, at 
 Toulon. 
 
 Some still remember tliat first fair in 1854, when the stock was 
 ciuartered in Mr. Whitaker's yard, and exhibited on the public 
 square, while the products of the dairy, kitchen, and loom, were 
 disposed of within the old court house, the table containing a few 
 fancy articles which a gentleman lifted up, one by one, that they 
 might be seen by the assemblage. Such will involuntarily draw 
 a icontrast between those small beginnings and the present exhibi- 
 tions of the society with its fine grounds, ample accommodations 
 and abundant resources. But in one respect, at least, this little 
 fair of 1854 was a prototype of all its successors, viz : disappoint- 
 ed competitors for premiums felt at liberty to vent their chagrin 
 on or at the judges of the various departments, whom they 
 > though had been instrumental in wounding their vanity. 
 
 The writer recalls that she was unfortunately a judge of dairy 
 products on this occasion, and being concerned in awarding the 
 first premium ever awarded in Stark county for butter, to Mrs. 
 Ann Hartley, was soundly berated before leaving the house by 
 another competitor, who informed the judges one and all, " that 
 they couldn't know good butter when they saw it ;" but they 
 still think they did. 
 
 This society has continued to hold fairs annually since its or- 
 ganization, with the exception of the year 1862, when owing to 
 the disturbed state of the country, and the great pressure both for 
 men and money brought upon the county by the war, it was 
 deemed best to suspend all proceedings of the society until called 
 together by the President. After eight months suspension, the 
 society was convened again in April, 1863, and the ninth annual 
 fair was holden in September of that year. 
 
 Stark county people have had great reason to be proud of the 
 continued success of this society. Other counties larger and rich- 
 er than our own, have sustained agricultui-al fairs for a few 
 years witli great spirit, but through recklessness or mismanage- 
 
112 STARK COUNTY • 
 
 ment of some kind, many societies have become bankrupt and 
 .sunken into obscurity. Credit is due to those who have husband- 
 ed the finances of ours to sujh gao'l purpose, and to those who 
 have firmly resisted the pressure brought to bear upon them to 
 allow our fairs to degenerate into horse races. Such proceedings 
 being against the moral sense of t'ne better class of the community, 
 always end in embarrassment and ruin, however they may swell 
 the receipts for a time. 
 
 Among the earlier president-; of the society Ave notice, after 
 General Thomas, Hugh Rhodes, Jacob Jamison, Isaac .Spen- 
 cei-, Charles Myers, William W. Wright and James Holgate. Se- 
 cretaries.— D. McCance, G. A. Clifford, 01i^■er Whitaker, W. H. 
 Butler. Its treasurers were for many years :Mr. Whitaker and 
 Mr. Davis Lowman. Among its early friends and supporters are 
 many whose names do not appear on the official board, although 
 they were always at work on committees or elsewhere. Among 
 these are Liberty Stone, John Lackey, Benjamin Boughn Jeda- 
 than Hopkins, B. ]M. Jackson, Mark Blanchard, Hopkins Shiv- 
 vers, James ]M. Rogers, Edward Trickle, Washington Trickle, 
 Nathan Snare, Peter Past, E. L. Emery, William Collins, and 
 others eiiually deserving of mention. Of the later doings of the 
 society we. have, no records at command, .but know that it has 
 been guided along a career of singular usefulness and prosperity, - 
 and now is able to offer its thousands in the way of premiums to 
 encourage the uselul arts and industries of our people. We find 
 for the fair of 1S7-5, the amount divided among the various classes 
 as follows : Horses, $71:^ ; cattle, $0G7 ; farm and xlairy, .$271 ; 
 fancy department, §253 : machinery, 233.50 ; sheep, 190. 50 ; hogs, 
 $174 ; poultry, S99.50. 
 
 In a county like this, agriculture in some of its branches must 
 always be the chief pursuit of the people. The favorable condi- 
 tions of the atmosphere, and the inexhaustible resources of the 
 soil combining to make it the surest if not the shortest road to 
 wealth. In the terse and homely phrase " hog and hominy," we 
 find the staples of our trade ; out of these our luxuriesmust spring, 
 if they spring at all. Manufactories are remunerative only 
 where large water power is available or where a surplus popula- 
 tion greatly cheapens human labor, neither of which conditions 
 are met here. Common saw and grist-^mills were tried by many 
 at an early day, but with indifferent success, although before 
 the era of railroads the settlers were dependent upon them to a 
 great extent. Leek's mill was propably the pioneer, built on Spoon 
 river, not far from the bridge on the road from Toulon to Wyom- 
 
AND ITS PIOXEERS. 113 
 
 ing, the same site Mr. C'.ifforcl refers to, as afterwards owned by 
 Mr. Minott 8illiman. Sylvuniis More tried one higher up tlie 
 river. Dorrance one below the east and west forlcs ( now Ful- 
 ler's mill. ) Gen. Thomas and Enoch Cox exi)eriniented in this 
 line on Spoon ri\-er. Andrew Dray tried Indian Greek, Parker 
 and Bradford, .Jack Creek, while Amsey Newman had a 
 lathe -turned by water power on Cooper's Defeat, near by Asher 
 Smith's, and the latter gentleman had a tannery not far from this 
 place. All these experiments were made as eax^ly as 1845 or ear- 
 lier, perhaps a few as early as 1835. Amsey Newman continued 
 to make sale of a good many split bottom chairs and spinning- 
 wheels to the new comers, but the mill owners found our water 
 courses but poorly suited to their purposes ; they would amuse 
 themselves at one season of the year, by rising so rapidly as to 
 suddenly carry dams and other essentials to the regions of the un- 
 known, and at another time the diminished current barely served 
 to keep the sluggish wheel in motion, \^-hile the impatient farm- 
 ers camped around, waiting for a grist, till the days grew to 
 weeks, and wife and children at home living on baked potatoes 
 or whatever other substitute for bread their scanty larders furnish- 
 ed. So no wonder that water mills in Stark county came to be re- 
 garded as failures. As early as 1836 a battery was established by 
 the Dunbars at Lafayette, and sustained for some time with com- 
 mendable determination, but it finally succumbed to " hard 
 times." And a few years later, at the same place a joint stock 
 company was formed for the p)urpose of erecting a carding and 
 woolen mill. The latter was a complete failure, never even get- 
 ting into operation, if we are correctly informed. The former was 
 soon abandoned as unremunerative. Old settlers will recall the 
 weather beaten skeleton of this building as it stood for years by 
 the road side, a monument of disappointed endeavor. Anotlier 
 pioneer, carding mill was owned at one time by Washington 
 yrickle and Charles Yocum. This was located on Walnut creek 
 in West Jersey township, then generally known as " Massillon 
 Precinct." 
 
 It must have driven quite a thriving trade at an early day 
 when the women of our county spun and wove most of the cloth- 
 ing the men wore, as well as their own. 
 
 We remember, when not only large loads of " rolls " from this 
 establishment used to pass' through Toulon ; but . occasionally a 
 runaway slave, picked up probably at "Nigger Point" and 
 snugly stowed away among the packages of wool, was carried on 
 his way toward Canada and freedom, via Osceola and Providence. 
 8 
 
11-1 STARK COUNTY 
 
 But times have chtinged witli us since 1816. The carding mill 
 has gone to decay, the people no longer wear home-spun, and 
 not a slave sighs beneath the stars and stripes. 
 
 The most extensive and best directed investment in the direc- 
 tion of a manufactory in Stark county, was made by Mr. John 
 Culbertson in 18(j5, when he erected the Toulon flouring and 
 woolen mills. And probably had Mr. Culbertson lived to support 
 this enterprise by his large capital and uncommon business abili- 
 ties, he would have sucl^eeded in wringing success from the grasp 
 of adverse circumstances, and we in Toulon should have reaped 
 the benefits of a flourishing manufacturing establishment giving 
 ■employment to many hands, quickening the pulses of. business 
 life generally. But unfortunately for public as well as private in- 
 terests, a sudden death cut short his career, and closed his enter- 
 prises in 1869 ; since which time his heirs and executors have 
 found this large and substantial structure, filled with colnplicated 
 and expensive machinery, but as an "elephant on their hands," 
 and have this year, 1876, sold" the mills with good house and lands 
 adjoining to Messrs. StauflTer and Headley for a small fraction of 
 the original cost. These gentlemen have an extensive if not an 
 expensive experiment to try, and public spirited men will watch 
 it with interest and wish them an abundant success. 
 
 Cheese factories would seem to be such natural outgrowths of 
 agricultural and stock raising communities, that one might con- 
 clude at once they would take root and prove " perpetuals " here. 
 But the laws of trade are capricious, or at least seem so to the 
 uninitiated; and we apprehend the stockholders of the Toulon 
 cheese factory are too well infoi'med, to count on golden harvests 
 for a year or two — they may corhe and they may not. But the direc- 
 tors have built a plain and suitable structure, and furnished it with 
 all the appliances modem science demands for the making and 
 keeping of good cheese, employed a skilled overseer, and now 
 "propose to fight it out on that line " till it does-pay. » 
 
 We are told it has so far more than met their expectations, dis- 
 posing of 4,000 pounds of milk per day during the first year of its 
 existence, and one or more other tanks are already to be added in 
 order to accommodate its new patrons. The cheese is of fine 
 quality, competing favorably in the home market with the best 
 brands ever imported here, and is winning a name in the trade- 
 known as " Molly Stark." 
 
 This surely is an enterprise our farmers cannot afl'ord to let 
 droop, making as it does a ready market for milk, otherwise of 
 but little value during the warm weather, as the manufacture and 
 
AK^D ITS PIONEERS. 115 
 
 shipment of butter is attended with much labor and less reward. 
 Second in importance only to our agricyltural interests, must be 
 considered 
 
 SPOON EIVEE COAL, AND ITS MINING. 
 
 We shall introduce here an extract from an official report of 
 Professor Wilbur, an eminent geologist, on the extent and value 
 of Spoon river coal, much of which lies within our county lines, 
 as the report conveys more full and pointed information upon 
 this subject than we have been able to And in as small space else- 
 where. He says: " We have applied the name of Spoon river 
 to the coal and also to the field or basin containing it, because the 
 river, with its tributaries, is co-extensive with it, and in its low- 
 er portions cuts through the middle member of the coal series. 
 
 " The average thickness of this coal is four feet six inches, and 
 is divided into three portions or branches. '^ 
 
 " The upper layeror branch is a very compact, black, brittle 
 and brilliant coal, eighteen to twenty-two inches in thickness. 
 This is uniform, and free from all impurities, and upon this por- 
 tion depends the reputation of what is called the ' Wyoming coal. ' 
 It is highly bituminous, yielding a large per cent, of gas, for 
 which it would take precedence in any'western market. It would 
 yield eighty gallons of crude oil per ton of coal. So rich in hydro- 
 carbon or bitumen is it, that a local deposit of fine slate overlay- 
 ing it, at Princeville, has become cannel coal, and has been profit- 
 ably distilled into oil. 
 
 " This layer alone, contains more oil than the combined pro- 
 ducts of all the oil wells and springs of the United States and 
 Canada, and will probably be resorted to for supplies, when these 
 sources have failed. The fortunate position of the Spoon river 
 coal field gives us occasion to make a few remarks as regards its 
 future value. It is situated near the Mississippi river, whose coal 
 trade in barges northward will soon equal its lumber trade south- 
 ward ; distributing these mining products at the depots of 15,000 
 miles of shore, on either side. It is bounded on the north by the 
 Silliman district, which occupies 17,000 square miles of northern 
 Illinois, all of Wisconsin and Minnesota, and northern Iowa. 
 This vast erea. is entirely void of coal, depending solely upon 
 transportation from the nearest coal deposits, j 
 
 "The limit of workable coal may be safely put at 80 miles 
 iiorth-west and south-east, 30 miles north-east and south-west, 
 giving an area of 2,400 square miles ; and there are two veins of 
 
IIG STAKK COUNTY 
 
 coal, having a combined thickness of nine feet. To measure the 
 amount in tons, we must take one cubic yard, for evei-y ton as a 
 measuring unit. 
 
 "A stratum of coal three feet thick, would therefore give a cubic 
 yard or ton for every square yard of surface. Hence an acre of 
 three foot coal would contain 4,840 tons ; but we have a combined 
 thickness of nine feet ; an acre therefore, in this coal field must 
 contain 14,520 tons." 
 
 " The aggregate of tons contained in the coal field whose limit 
 we have assumed as eighty by thirty miles is, 22,302,720,000 
 tons ! ! Now if we distribute 1,000 tons per day, it will require 
 75,000 years to exhaust the supply, allowing 300 working days 
 per year." 
 
 If these conclusions be correct, and we see no reason to ques- 
 tion them, the subject of fuel for the Spoon river country, need 
 not be a matter of anxiety. Yet it was, to the first settlers, who 
 few, if any of them dreamed of the wealth that slumbered be- 
 neath the "rough lands" they viewed with such indifference, 
 they burned wood exclusively for years, and much was thus con- 
 sumed that might have been used for better purposes. 
 
 Probably the very first coal in Stark county, was dug about 1855 ; 
 this was along Jack" creek and Jug run ; also on section 23, Tou- 
 lon township, by William and David Howard. About the same 
 time or soon after, there was some mining done on section 25, by 
 John Robinson and Richard Howarth, the latter best known 
 among his neighbors by the sobriquet of " Shanty Dick." 
 
 " And coal was found ' cropping out ' on the old Beckworth 
 property on Spoon river, and also in the timber then belonging to 
 Mr. Culbertson near Indian creelc ; but the latter is the small or 
 two feet vein, classed as number seven, by the state geologists." 
 
 So writes Mr. James Fraser, well known in Stark county for 
 years jjast, as a scientific and practical miner, to whom we are in- 
 debted for the facts relative to the development and growth of , 
 this enterprise among us. He is an Englishman by birth and ed- 
 ucation, came here in 1857 fresh from the collieries of New Castle, 
 and together Vv'ith a fellow countryman, Thomas Tunsall, leased 
 part of section 14 from Elisha Dixon. The coal trade here was 
 still in its infancy, but they opened a mine and worked it system- 
 atically, and by cleaning their coal of sulphur and slack made it 
 more marketable, and better adapted for cooking purposes, which 
 advantages soon brought it into more general use. 
 
 In the spring of 1858 they bought part of section 23 and work- 
 ed that, -and sold about 1,000 tons that year. Mr. Fraser thinks 
 
AXD ITS PIOyEERS. 117 
 
 that represents at least one-fourth of the coal business for tiie 
 county in 1858, and would put the amount now for one year, at 
 2o,Wn or 30,01)0 tons, not including the "Wyoming shaft, which 
 probaJjly furnishes as much more ; but as A\'e shall speak of that 
 more fully in connection with the town, we shall trace its history 
 no farther here. Thomas Tunsall one of the pioneers in this 
 branch of trade, died in 1865, and is buried in the Toulon 
 cemetery. 
 
 Every township in Stark is well supplied with coal, and in all, 
 mines have been worked to a greater or less extent. Our coal 
 business has been subject to but few fluctuations. Through the 
 Avinter it regularly affords work for large numl^ers of laborers, at 
 profitable rates. Our dealers have suffered from no "strikes" 
 such as have spread panic through the eastern states, and we have 
 needed no " Molly Maguires " to regulate our prices ; the natural 
 laws of supply and demand have been heeded, the rights of aU 
 parties, in the midn regarded, hence there have been no collisions, 
 and it is to be hoped our capitalists may be as wise for the future. 
 
 Our supply of stone is limited, the eastern part of the county 
 being best supplied with this useful commodity. In the vicinity 
 of Bradford the traveler is occasionally surprised by the vision of 
 a stone house, and it is said that the station in Valley, known as 
 Wady Petra, received its oriental name, on account of an unex- 
 pected discovery of rock by its late owner Rev. Philander Chase ; 
 the term signifying in our tongue, a " rocky valley " or valley of 
 rock. 
 
 KAIL ROADS. 
 
 For maiiy years Stark county suffered for want of railroad fa- 
 cilities, not only as a matter of convenience to the traveling pub- 
 lic, but because the rich products of her fields and mines were 
 seeking outlet, and thus, Kewanee and Galva, both Henry coun- 
 ty towns, reaped large profits from a trade that should have enliv- 
 ened our own streets, and brought prosperity to our own business 
 howses. 
 
 As early as 1850, enterprising -men were at work to change this 
 state of affairs and secure for us home markets by means of rail- 
 ways. A road over the present line of the Peoria & Rock Is- 
 land, was first talked of, and prominent men from the two cities 
 made many journeys across the intervening country, with this 
 project in view. But it failed. 
 
 The next effort was to build " The Air Line Road," across 
 
118 STARK COUNTY 
 
 our state, connecting the Illinois with tlie Mississippi river, and 
 touching at the principal towns in our county — Wyoming, Tou- 
 lon and Lafayette, all of which could be easily reached it was 
 thought. Great interest was taken in this movement, and a 
 large amount of stock was subscribed. 
 
 In 1854 the county voted bonds to aid the enterprise to the 
 amount of $50,000. The same year the route was surveyed, and 
 in the following year the supervisors granted the bonds voted by 
 the people. In September, 1855, the " breaking ground " was cel- 
 ebrated at Toulon by a public dinner on the square, and appropriate 
 speeches. Great enthusiasm prevailed and a good jjortion of the 
 vast assemblage afterwards adjourned to the prairie east of town 
 to see the first shovelful of earth thrown up on the much de- ■ 
 sired road. 
 
 But all this ended in blank disappointment, as, after grading 
 the road in sections from river to river, the company in charge 
 was found to be irresponsible and no iron or " rolling stock " Avas 
 ever obtained. 
 
 Our next hope seemed to be in a new " Peoria and Rock Island 
 Railway Company" which, was incorpora?ted March 7th, 1867. 
 
 They proceeded to buy the right of way from the " air- 
 line," and new subscriptions and bonds were voted to them. 
 These bonds were granted on certain conditions, one of which 
 was that the road should run within one-half mile of the centres 
 of Toulon, Wyoming and Lafayette. These conditions were nev- 
 er all complied with, but the new company built and equipped 
 the road, and the bonds are all being paid. The first train of 
 cars on the Peoria and Rock Island railroad, reached Toulon in 
 June, 1871. 
 
 This was but a construction train, bjit it was a sure harbinger of 
 better things, and the citizens must be rather demonstrative in 
 their rejoicing. So another fine dinner was improvised, and not 
 only residents, but all the officers and employees of the road 
 were bidden to the feast. Tables were set in the grove, near 
 Judge Ogle's, and all "went merry as a marriage bell" — the 
 " paddies " wishing they " could get to Toulon for the first time, 
 often." 
 
 The company that secured us this great advantage was consti- 
 tuted of the following named gentlemen : 
 
 OFFICERS. 
 
 William R. Hamilton, President ; P. M. Blair, Vice President ; 
 H. N. Wheeler, Treasurer ; C. P. James, Secretary. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 119 
 
 EXECUTIVE committi;e. 
 William R. Hamilton, William H. Cmger and R. R. Cable. 
 
 FIRST BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 
 
 William R. Hamilton, William H. Cruger, H. T. Baldwin and 
 Valentine Dewein, of Peoria ; Patrick M. Blair, Toulon ; William 
 L. Wiley, Galva ; O. E. Page and Amos Gould, Cambridge, and 
 Ransom R. Cable, of Rock Island. 
 
 With regard to the country through which this road runs, the 
 committee appointed to investigate, report thus : 
 
 " The line of the Peoria and Rock Island railway passes central- 
 ly through the counties of Peoria, Stark, Henrj' and Rock Island, 
 and through tlie north-east corner of Knox county ; and at least 
 one-third of the four first named counties 'will be tributary to 
 it. This region of country is unsurpassed by any portion of the 
 United States, for fertility and productiveness. 
 
 " There is almost no waste land along the entire line of this 
 road. The streams are only fringed with timber, and the ricli 
 undulations of magnificent prairie, all under imjjrovement, and 
 teeming with population and wealth, extend in every direction, 
 far as the eye can reach." 
 
 Add to these agricultural resources the products of the vast coal 
 ]neasures along its route, and we may well conclude that if the 
 Peoria and Rock Island railwaj' does not, or has not paid a good 
 per centage to stockholders, we must look for the reason else- 
 where. 
 
 But the Peoria and Rock Island P.,ailway, is not the only one 
 Stark county is interested in. Over on the east side is what was 
 called the " Dixon, Peoriaand Hannibal road." This road was in 
 running order some time prior to the completion of the P. & R. 
 I. R. R. and was secured in great measure, by the almost super- 
 human efforts of !Qr. Alfred Castle. It is now recognized as the 
 " Buda branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy road," by 
 which it is controlled. It traverses three of our townships, Es- 
 sex, where it strikes the town of Wyoming, Penn, and Osceola. 
 The other road accommodates Valley, Essex, Toulon and Goshen, 
 leaving but two without railroad facilities,' and very probably a 
 few more years will see new lines devised, connecting other 
 points, whose routes will lie through West Jersey and Elmira. 
 
120 STAEK COUXTY 
 
 IN.VENTKJXS AXIJ IXVEXTOKS. 
 
 Although stark county i,s small in area, among its citizens arc 
 those wjjo have produced some of the best and most widely used 
 inventions of the day. And in- particular we \\'ould rcfyr to 
 James Armstrong, jr., of Elmira, who has done much, for a man 
 of his age to lessen the fatigue and labor of the tillers of the soil. 
 To those who now use the "Armstrong" or "Keystone" corn 
 planter, with its adaptations so perfect in every respect, as to be 
 considered by many incapable of improvement, it will be inter- 
 esting to know that the first of these machines was invented, 
 built and used by Mr. Arinstrong in the year 18(io, when only a 
 boy of fourteen yea#s. True the planter of that date was some- 
 what cumbersome and rough, but in it were embodied the main 
 features of the present machine, viz : perfect regulation of the 
 depth of planting and the visible throwing drop by which the 
 seed is forcibly and with positive certainty, deposited in the earth 
 in view of the operator. With this planter, built with the few 
 tools he was able to gather together, the sky over head for the " 
 roof of his shop, and the side of a corn crib for its wall ; in that 
 year he planted 80 acres on his father's farm. The yield of corn 
 was the largest produced to that date. This was the first check 
 row planter ever used on the place, and no other planters than 
 those of his own invention have ever since been used' on it. In 
 1862, the United States Patent office granted him his first patent 
 on his invention. The neighboring farmers hearing of his ma- 
 they chine began to want the planter that threw ouiPthe corn so as 
 could see it when planting. He made as many as he was able. 
 In 1863 he took his machine to the trial of agricultural imple- 
 ments, held by the state agricultural society at Decatur, Illinois, 
 where it was well received. In 1864, the government granted 
 him another patent for improvements. In 1865 at the Illinois 
 State Fair held at Chicago, his planter received tlie society's "re- 
 commendation for superior qualities." But living as he was, 
 about ten miles from railroads, and having to get his castings 
 from railroad towns, and part of his work done here and part 
 done there, and there being occasioned so much hauling of mate- 
 rial, and extra labor, it was impossible to supply all demands for 
 his ni.i.'hln.^', whijh as they bacmie kaoiva, werjthe more called 
 for. 
 
 It was whilst his planter was being exhibited at the Iowa state 
 fair in 1866, that it was noticed by Mr. Thomas A. Gait, then of 
 the firm of Gait & Tracy, Sterling, Illinois — now the excellent 
 
AND ITri PIONEEKS. 121 
 
 president of the Keystone Manufacturing Company. Communi- 
 cations were entered into Ijy the above named gentleman and 
 Mr. Armstrong, and arrangements made whereJjy they under- 
 toolc the building of the " Armstrong," now more widely known 
 as the '' Keystone Corn Planier." In the spring of 1S(>7 they 
 built and sold fifty planters, but so rapid and increasing has been 
 the demand tliat although they had five thousand ready for the 
 spring of ]f-i7o, and had the caj)acity for turning out fifty machines 
 per day, the company were unable to sujiply all orders. It is be- 
 lieved tlie f<pring of 1876 will see more than twenty-five thousand 
 of these machines in the hands of the farmers. They are shipped 
 from the factory in car loads, and their sales extend from the 
 Atlantic to the Pacific. Besides the above patents the govern- 
 ment has granted to Mr. Arm:!.trong several other valuable ones 
 on his planter, among the last of which is for a gravitating 
 " cut off," considered by farmers and experts tlie most ing'enious 
 and perfect device for preventing tlie cutting of corn ever inven- 
 ted. 
 
 Besides his planter, lie is the inventor of the Armstrong Pa- 
 tent riding corn, cultivator, with its laterally and vertically ad- 
 justable guard, of which he built as majiy as t\s-o hundred in one 
 spring at Elmira ; but the demand becoming too great, the Sand- 
 wich manufacturing company of Sandwich, Illinois, took hold of 
 it and built bj' the thousand. It has of late been built by the 
 Eureka manufacturing company of Bock Falls, Illinois. In com- 
 pany with his brother George, he also perfected a gang plow — 
 each plow adjustable to any required depth, with patent rolling 
 colters which are adjustable, so as to raise and lower whilst tlie 
 plow is in motion. 
 
 A goodly number of these have been used by our farmers, and 
 all of them with success. He also built a powerful ^^'ind-)llill of 
 his own invention cajjable of running a circular saw, emery grin- 
 der, drill, lathe, -&c. 
 
 A few years ago, when there Was a furor for steamers for "cook- 
 ing feed," he tried his hand at that kind of invention, and suc- 
 ceeded in producing one that worked to perfection, and on a 
 principle different from any known to him. But not wishing to 
 continue in that line of invention he did not jiursue it further. 
 
 Being equally at home at the blacksmith's forge, the carpen- 
 ter's bench, or with the painter's brush — his machines which 
 have been exhibited annually at our county fairs for the last 12 
 years — many of them constructed and finished wholly by him- 
 self—have been admired for their symmetrical proportions and 
 
122 STARK COUNTY 
 
 the artistic skill and finish which they exhibited, no less than for 
 perfect adaptation to the purposes for which they are intended. 
 He possesses in large measure originality of conception— the fa- 
 culty of discovering means to accomplish a desired result, and of 
 bringing into practical shape, With his own hands, whatever me- 
 chanical combination his fertile mind works out. He is known 
 to our farmers as a kind, accommodating and unpretending youngs 
 man, and has the respect, confidence, and esteem of all our citi- 
 zens. 
 
 We regret to add that this noble young inventor has passed 
 from earth since the foregoing account was penned. He fell 
 a victim to lung disease, probably induced by the fatigues and 
 exposures of -the harvest of 1875. ' 
 
 His early demise will be deplored by all who knew the rare 
 and noble qualities of his nature. Yet, he lived to impress in- 
 delibly the name of Armstrong upon the manufacturing and agri- 
 cultural in'terests of Illinois. Few will accomplish as much,, 
 though they live to bow beneath a weight of years. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 123 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE FAUNA OP STAKK COUNTY. 
 
 This chapter for want of proper materials must be very defec- 
 tive. No one has ever deemed it their duty to study the various 
 forms of animal' life in our county, as a county. And the works 
 that have been written covering this section of the state include 
 such an area as to make them uncertain guides for our smaller 
 limits. Such a change has taken place in the fauna of Illinois and 
 especially of Stark county since its settlement as to almost require 
 two catalogues. 
 
 The buffalo which once roamed over the prairies, are gone for- 
 ever, and left nothing but their bleaching bones which can be still 
 found in heaps along Spoon river, where in sheltered places whole 
 herds had gathered and perished in some great storm. 
 
 With or before the buffalo went the beaver (Castor Americanus). 
 The beautiful American elk ( Cervus Canadensis, ) the badger 
 (Taxidea Americana,) the black bear (Ursus Americanus,) the 
 panther and the black wolf. 
 
 Some animals once quite common have become very rare. As the 
 grey fox (Vulpes Virginianus,) the catamount (Lynx Canadensis,) 
 and the wild cat, (Lynx Rufus) .■■ The otter (Lutra Canadensis) has 
 almost entirely disappeared, though some fine specimens were 
 captured as'late as 1875. The grey wolf (Canis Occidentalis) is but 
 seldom seen any more. We so much regret that the game laws 
 were not at an earlier day extended to protect the beautiful Vir- 
 ginia deer (Cervus Virginianus) before it was totall.^^ exterminated. 
 Now, not a park in the county is to be found in which to preserve 
 this beauty of the forest and prairie. 
 
 Of the animals now found in Stark, but little can be said but to 
 give a catalogue of the best known. Many of them are fast dis- 
 appearing and ere long will be passed from us as are the deer, 
 the beaver, and the bison. 
 
121 STAE,K COUXTY 
 
 The racoon (Procyon Lotor,) opossum (Didelphys A^irginlana,) 
 mink (Putorius "\^ison,) musk rat ( Fiber Zibethic-us, ) pole cat 
 (Mephirtis ]\Iephitica, ) the small brown Aveasel (Putorius Cicog- 
 nani or Fuscus,) the common weasel (P. Noveboracensis,) wood 
 chuck or JMaryland marmot (Arctomys Monax,) prairie mole (Sca- 
 lops Argentatus,) common shrew mole (S. Aquaticus,) meadow 
 mouse (Arvicola Riparia,) jumping mouse (Jaculus Hudsonius,) 
 and the deer mouse (Hesperomys Leucopus,) the hare (Lepus Syl- 
 vaticus.) Of squirrels we have the well known Avestern fox squir- 
 rel (Sciurus Ludovicianus,) the grey timber squirrel (S. Carolinen- 
 sis,) the children's favorite chipmunk (Tamias Striatus,) tlie large 
 grey prairie squirrel (Spermophilus Franklini,) the striped and 
 spotted prairie squirrel (S. Tridecem-lineatus,) and the beautiful 
 flying squirrel (Pteromys Volucella.) Two bats are quite com- 
 mon, the dark brown bat {Nycticejus Noveboracencis,) and the red- 
 dish bat (N. Lasiurus). This list of quadrupeds might be length- 
 ened much to include those small animals that are occasionally 
 found strayed here. But we have already stretched the catalogue 
 beyond the reader's patience. 
 
 Of the birds of Stark county we know even less than of mam- 
 mials. Many are no longer to be found which were once numer- 
 ous. Many migratory species come only at long intervals and for 
 but a short time. We wonder that some one has not turned a 
 special attention to the birds of our vicinity. No more beautiftil 
 ornaments can be found for parlor or drawing-room than the well 
 preserved specimens of oUr feathered friends. Why have not 
 some of our high scliools turned their attention in this direction ? 
 Abortive attempts at teaching Zoology are being made all the 
 time without a single specimsn of the animal kingdom in the 
 study -room except a few mammalia of the genus Homo, and they 
 not always pleasant subjects to study, when with a little care and 
 a small outlay of money a fine collection might adorn our school 
 rooms and add to the interest of the study a hundred fold. 
 
 A collection of birds' eggs I think is not to be found in the coun- 
 ty. And yet they make a beautiful ornament and are easy of ac- 
 cess and require but little care. The collection of them will create 
 a lively interest in the study of birds and their habits. And now 
 this has become quite fashionable and quite lucrative, which are 
 probably greater inducements to most people than any we could 
 suggest. 
 
 We think tire following list as nearly correct as can be made 
 with the amount of available information we have on this sub- 
 ject: 
 
AXD ITS PIOSTEEES. 125 
 
 Eaptores. ^Golden eagle (Aquila Canadensis or Chrysfetos,) 
 now no longei' seen here and always rare; the bald eagle (Haliaj- 
 tus Leiicocephalus,) once quite common, now very scarce, no long- 
 er breeds here but strays from the heavy timber on the Illinois ; 
 Among hawks we have several species, some but sekhjm seen and 
 others very common. Fish hawk (Pandion Carolinensis,) the 
 pigeon hawlc (Falco Columbarius) sparrow hawk (F. Sparverius,) 
 Cooper's hawk ( Accipiter Cooperij) sharp shinned hawk ( Accipiter 
 Fuscus,) redtailedhawk (Buteo Borealis) the red shouldered hawk 
 (B. Lineatus,) the swallow tailed hawk (Nanclerus Fureatus,) and 
 the marsh hawk (Circus Hudsonicus). The turkey buzzard (Ca- 
 thartes Aura) has alniost if not quite disappeared. Qf the family 
 of owls we have several all seldom seen, because of their nocturn- 
 al habits. The best known is the mottled screech owl {Scops Asio,) 
 and the rarest is the snowy owl (Nyctea Nivea) . A very fine speci- 
 men of which is in the possession of Mr. S. K. Conover of Toulon. 
 The other owls are the great horned owl (Bubo Virginianus,) the 
 long-eared owl (Otus Wilsonianus,) the short-eared owl (Bra- 
 cliyotus Cassinii,) and the barred owl (Syrnium Nebulosum.) 
 
 Scansores. — There are but few of this order in our county. At an 
 early day the Carolina parrot (Conurus Carolinensis) A^-as often 
 seen but has now entirely deserted us. The yelloAN- billed and 
 black billed cuckoos (Coccygus Americanus and C. Erythrophthal- 
 mus) are occasionally seen. But the best know of our climlDers 
 are the woodpeskers. The pileated wood pecker (HylotomusPi- 
 leatus,) the hairy wood pecker (Piscus Yillosus,) the downy wood 
 pecker (P. Pubescens,) yellow-bellied wood pecker (Sphyrapicns 
 Varius,) the red-bellied wood pecker (Centurus Carolinus,) the 
 red headed wood pecker (Melanerpes erytliroceijhaliis) and tlie 
 golden-winged wood pecker (Colaptes Auratus). 
 
 Insessores or Perchers. This order of birds in fiur county as in 
 all temperate regions is by far the most numerous and includes 
 nearly all those which are attractive either in plumage or in song . 
 The ruby throated humming bird with its exquisite plumage is 
 at the head of the list. This is the humming bird which is al- 
 ways a delight to the children and is the only one found in Illi- 
 nois. It is known to naturalists as Trochilus Colubris. In the 
 swift family we have but one species, the chimney s wall oav (Chae- 
 tura Pelasgia,) easily known from the other swallows by its very 
 long wings and forked tail. Of the whippoorwill family \ve have 
 two representatives, the whippoorwill proper ( Antrostomus Vocif- 
 erus,) whose well known note is familiar to all, and the night 
 hawk (Chordeiles Popetue,) by m.any supposed to be identical 
 
126 STARK COUNT V 
 
 with the whippoorwill but in fact a clistinrt genus. The beltfed 
 king flsher (Ceryle Alcyon,') so well known to the school boy is 
 the only member of this beautiful family among us. At the head 
 of the fly Gathers is the tyrant fly catcher (Tyrannus Carolinensis,)' 
 better known by its more familiar names of king bird or bee 
 bird. In the same family we have the crested fly catcher (Myiar- 
 chus Crinitus,) the pewee (Sayornis Fucus.) Of the sub-order of 
 Oscines or true singers we have the following: the common robin 
 (Turdus Mjgratorius,) the wood thrush (T. Mustelinus,) Wilson's 
 thrush (T.' Fuscescens,) the wood pewee (Cantopus Virens,) the 
 blue bird (Sialia Sialis,) the ruby crowned wren (Regulus Calendu^ 
 la,) golden crested wren (R. Satrapa,) Tit lark (Anthus Ludovici- 
 anus,) black-and-white creeper (Mniotilta Varia,) blue yellow 
 backed warbler (Parula Americana,) prothonotary warbler (Pro- 
 tonotaria Citrea,) Maryland yellow throat (Geothlypis Trichas,) 
 Kentucky warbler (Oporornis Formosus,) yellow breasted chat 
 (Icteria Viridis,) worm-eating warbler (Helmitherus Vermivor- 
 us,) blue winged yellow warbler (Helminthophaga Pinua,) Ten- 
 nessee warbler (H. Peregrina,) golden crowned thrush or oven 
 bird (Seiurus Aurocapillus). Of the genus Dendroica there is 
 the black throated green warbler (D. Virens,) and eight others: 
 (D. Blackburnise, S. Castanea, D. Pinus, D. Discolor, D. Striata, D. 
 Estiva, D. Corona ta, and D. Palmarum.) Hooded warbler (My- 
 iodioctesMitratus,) red start (Setophaga Ruticella,) scarlet tanager 
 (Pyranga Rubra ;) Summer red bird (P. iBstiva.) 
 
 Swallow family.— Earn swallow (Hirundo Horreorum,) white 
 bellied swallow (H. Bieolor,) bank swallow (Cotyle Riparia,) 
 Cliff Swallow (Hirundo Lunifrons). Purple martin (Progne 
 Purpurea. Wax Wing family. — The cedar bird (Ampelis Ce- 
 drorum). Shrike family.— Great Northern shrike or butcher 
 bird [Collyrio borealis,] red-eyed fly catcher [Vireo Olivaceus,]" 
 white-eyed fly catcher [V. Noveboracensis] blue headed fly catch- 
 er [V. Solitarius,! yellow throated fly catcher [V. Flavifrons]. 
 Mocking bird family.— Cat bird [Mimus Carolinensis,] brown 
 thrush [Harporhynchus Rufus,] house wren [Troglodytes J3don,] 
 winter wren [T. Hyemalis] . Creeper family. — American Creeper 
 [Certhia Americana,] white bellied nuthatch [Sitta Carolinen- 
 sis.] Titmouse family.— Tufted titmouse [Lophophanes Bieolor,] 
 black cap titmouse or chickadee [Parus Atricapillus] . Skylark 
 family. — This family is but poorly represented here. Only one 
 .species and it bears no comparison with the lark of Europe. The 
 only species is -the common skylark of the prairies [Eremophila 
 Cornuta]. The Finch family.— The purple finch [Carpodacus Pur- 
 
AND ITS PIOXEEES. 127 
 
 pureus,] the yellow bird [Chrysomitris Tristis,] the lark finch 
 [ChondestesGrammaca,] the snow bunting [Plectrophanes Nival- 
 is,] Smith's bunting [P. Pictus] these last two only appear in win- 
 ter. The Savannah sparrow [Passerculus Savanna,] the black 
 snow bird [Junco Hyemalis,] field sparrow [SpizellaPusilla,] the 
 chipping, sparrow [S.Socialis,] the tree sparrow [SpizellaMontico- 
 la,] the song sparrow [Melospiza Melodia,] the swamp sparrow 
 [M. Palustris,] the fox-colored sparrow [Passei-ella Iliaca,] black 
 throated bunting [Euspiza Americana,] rose breasted grosbeak 
 [Guiraca Ludoviciana,] Indigo bird (Cyanospiza Cyanea,). the 
 ground robin [Pipilo Erythrophthalmus]. Black bird family. — 
 The cow bird [Melothrus Pecoris,] the red-winged or swamp 
 blackbird [Agelaius phceniceus,] the meadow lark [Sturnella Mag- 
 na] . We have two beautiful Orioles that are favorites with all 
 because of their rich and brilliant colors and their familiarity with 
 man. The orchard oriole [Icterus Spurius,] the Baltimore oriole 
 I. Baltimore,] the rusty black bird [Scolecophagus Ferruginous,] 
 the crow black-bird or purple grakle [Quiscalus ^''ersicolorj . 
 Crow family. — Common Crow [Corvus Americanus,] and blue- 
 jay (Cyanura cristata). Rasores. This order contains but few 
 genera or species in our county, but those that are found are of 
 great importance and very valuable. Furnishing as they do 
 so many delicacies for our tables. The vi'ild turkey (Meleagris 
 Gallopavo,) the finest of all our game birds, has entirely disap- 
 peared and was the only one of its family ever among us. 
 
 The Dove family— the wild or passenger pigeon (Ectopistes Mi- 
 gra,toria) still visits us in large numbers, but not in those im- 
 mense flocks as in an early day. Acres of forest were often so 
 filled at night with these birds, that the breaking of boughs and 
 the flying of pigeons made a roar that could be heard for miles, 
 and the shot of the sportsman's gun could not be heard at a disr 
 tance of ten feet. The Carolina dove, (Zenaidura Carolinensis) 
 commonly called the turtle dove, still fills the woods _ ^vith its 
 plaintive tone. 
 
 Grouse family — the best known of this injportant family is the 
 prairie chicken, (Cupidonia Cupido) which, if not very cai-efuUy 
 protected, must, 'ere long, follow the wild turkey, never to re- 
 turn. The ruffed grouse, (Bonasa Umbellus) wrongfully called a 
 pheasant, has of late made its appearance in out midst. It is quite 
 fond of cultivated fields, and, if properly jprotected and encour- 
 aged until it gets firmly settled, will make a fine addition to our 
 game birds, and fill the place of the prairie chicken, which is slow- 
 ly but surely deserting the prairies it once loved so well. 
 
128 STARK COUXTY 
 
 Partridge family— here we find another fine bird, the quail, 
 (Ortyx A''irginianus) doomed to destruction, its fate being only a 
 question of tim?, and a short one. 
 
 Grallatores or wadars— this order, be?a-.i-je of tlieir shyness and 
 solitary liabits, are proba'oly less known than any other. 
 Many of those mentioned in our list once frequented our marshes, 
 ponds, and streams ; but cultivation has drained their favorite 
 haunts, and the whooping crane long ago gave place to the whoop- 
 ing plow boy. Only a few of tiie smaller and more bold species 
 are now seen. / 
 
 Crane family — the whooping crane, (Grus Amaricanus) always 
 rare, is now never seen. The sand hill or brown crane still 
 'make a short call on their journeys north and south, known to 
 naturalists as " G. Canadensis." 
 
 Heron family — Great blue heron or crane (Ardea Herodias), 
 least bittern (Ardetta Exilis), the green heron (Butorides Vires- 
 cens), night heron (Nyctiardea Gardeni), American bittern (Bota^ 
 ui'us Lentiginosus). 
 
 Ibis family — it has been claimed that the wood ibis has been 
 seen in our county, but it is very doubtful ; called a Iso Tantalus -Locu- 
 lator. The glossy ibis (Ibis Ordii) is also very rare. 
 
 Plover family — golden plover (Charadrius Virginicus), the kill- 
 deer plover (^gialitis Voeiferus), king or semipalmated plover 
 {M. Semipalrhatus). 
 
 Phalaropo family — Wilson's phalarope (Phalaropus Wilsonii), 
 red phalaropp (P. Fulicarius). 
 
 Snipe family — Wilson's snipe (Gallinago Wilsonii), gray or red 
 breasted snipe (Macrorhamphus Griseus), the greater long beak 
 (M."Scolopaceus), the jack snipe (Tringa Maculata), the least sand- 
 piper (T. Wilsonii), semipalmated sand piper (EreunetesPetrificar 
 tus), the, Willet (Symphemia Semipalmata), the tell-tale (Gam- 
 betta Melanoleuca), the yellow legs (G. Flavipes), the solitary sand 
 piper ( Ehyacophilus Solitarius) , the spotted sand piper (Tringoides 
 Macularius), the field plover (Actiturus Bartramius), long billed 
 curlew {Numenius Longirostris), t^e comnion rail (Rallus Virgin- 
 ian^us), the clapijer rail or mud hen (K. Crepitans), the Coot (Ful- 
 ica Americana). 
 
 Natores or swimmers — this order of birds, which frequent our 
 forests and streams, or did before our county was so thickly set- 
 tled, are nearly, if not quite, all birds of passage. And many 
 that once visited us during their annual journeys, now pass us to 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 129 
 
 find move secure resting places. Every j^ear tliey become more 
 and more scarce. 
 
 In the duck; family we once had tlie trumpeter swan (Cygnus 
 Buccinator), the American swan (Cygnus Amcricanus), the \s'hite- 
 fronted goose (Bernicla C'anadensis), tlie mallard or G-reen Head 
 (Anas Boschas), the pintail or sprigtail (Daflla Acuta), the green 
 winged teal (Nettion C'arolinensis), the blue winged teal (Quer- 
 quedula Discors), the spoonbill or shoveller (Spatula Clypeata), the 
 gadwell (Chaulelasmus Streperus), the baldpate or American wid- 
 geon (Mareca Americana), the summer or wood duck (Aix Spon- 
 sa), the big black-head or scaup duck (Fulix Marila), the ring neck- 
 ed duck (Fulix Collaris), the red head (Aythya Americana), the 
 canvas-back (A. Vallisneria), the butter ball or dipper (Bucephala 
 Albeolal, the sheldrake, goosander, or fish cluck (Mergus Ameri- 
 canus), the red breasted merganser (M. Serrator), the hooded 
 merganser (Lophodytes cucculatusl. 
 
 Pelican family — of this singular family we never had but one 
 species, and that is gone. The rough-billed pelican (Pelicanus 
 Erythrorhynclius \ 
 
 Cormorant family — the double crested cormorant (Graculus Dilo- 
 phus). 
 
 Gull family — the herring or silvery gull (Larus Argentatus), 
 Wilson's tern (Sterna Wilsonii). 
 
 Diver family — the great northern diver or loon (Colymbus Tor- 
 quatus). 
 
 This closes our list of the ornithology of our county, imperfect 
 as it must be. 
 
 Reptiles. Of this class we will say but few words. The num- 
 ber of species is very small and of equally small importance. They 
 have changed less than any of the preceding classes. In fact, ex- 
 cept the poisonous snakes all the species nearly are now to be 
 found that ever were. The rattle snakes, of which we have two 
 kinds', the banded rattle snake (Crotalus Durissus) and the prairie 
 rattle snake (Crotalophorus Tergeminus), are fast disappearing, 
 owing to the incessant warfare man has waged against them. 
 The copperhead (Agkistrodon Contortrix) was always rare, and is 
 totally extinct. Among the harmless snakes are the common gar- 
 ter snake (Eutsenia Sirtalis), the water snake (NerodiaSipedon), 
 the bull snake (Pituophis melanoleucus), the milk snake (Ophi- 
 bolus Eximius) very scarce, the black snake (Bascanion Constric- 
 tor), and the blue racer. ■ 
 
 Lizards are very scarce, and most of those known as lizards are 
 not truly such. 
 9 
 
130 STAKK COUNTY 
 
 Among the turtles are found the Trachemys Elegans, the map 
 turtle or Graptemys Geographica, Chrysemys Picta, Thyroster- 
 num Pennsylvanicum, the snapping turtle (Chelydra Serpentin-a), 
 and the soft shelled turtle (Aspidouectes Spinifer). 
 
 Batrachia or naked reptiles are few, and though loathsome to 
 sight and touch, are all perfectly harmless. The toad (Bufo- 
 Americana), the bull frog (Rana Catesbiana), the leopard frog 
 (RanaHalecina), tree toad (Hyla Versicolor), with some tailed ba- 
 trachia not worth mentioning are all. 
 
 The fish of our county being of but small value and little impor- 
 tance, we pass them by to speak of the insects. Not to give a 
 catalogue, for that is impossible, but to urge upon each and all 
 the study of this branch of natural history, and the collection of 
 specimens. There can be nothing more wonderful or interesting 
 than the changes in insect life. And what makes it superior to 
 the other branches of natural history, is the ease with which spec- 
 imens are gathered and cared for. And continual interest is 
 awakened as new forms and new species are brought to light. 
 The writer of this chapter has discovered no less that 3000 dis- 
 tinct species on forty acres of ground adjoining Toulon. Many of 
 the night flying moths are perfectly gorgeous and totally un- 
 known to nearly every one. 
 
 The Pale Empress of the Night [Attacus Luna] is very common, , 
 we have found nine in one hollow tree. This moth measures five 
 inches across, and is a pale green, with a transparent quarter moon, 
 on each upper wing. The Cecropia moth [Attacus Cecropia] is al- 
 so beautiful, large, and common. We will mention a few of the 
 finest of our moths and butterflies. In taking care of specimens, 
 all direct rays of the sun should be kept from all the specimens, 
 and the night flying insects should be kept in the dark, or they^ 
 will lose their brilliant colors and fade. The asterias butterfly 
 [Papilio Asterias], the turnus butterfly [P. Turnus], common yel- 
 low butterfly [Colias Philodice] , the white butterfly [Pieris ©lera. 
 cea], misippus butterfly [Limenitis Misippus], arthemis butterfly 
 [L. Arthemis], Archippus butterfly [Danais Erippus], the idalia 
 butterfly [Argynnis Idalia], the nicippe butterfly [Papilio Nicip- 
 pe] , andromachi butterfly [Papilio Andromacha] , the forked but- 
 terfly [Vanessa Furcillata], the Camberwell beauty [Papilio Antio, 
 pa], tortoise shell butterfly [Papilio Urticaj], American comma 
 butterfly [Grapta Comma], the thistle butterfly [Pyrameis Cardui]. 
 The foregoing are among the larger and more attractive of our 
 butterflies. Below we mention a few of the more handsome of 
 our niDths. Attacus Luna, the five spotted sphinx [Sphinx, 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 131 
 
 ■Quinqueraaeulatus], the Carolina sphinx [S. Carolina] the satelli- 
 tia hawk moth [Philampelus Satellitia], the blind smerinthus 
 [SmerinthusExcoecata], sesia [Sesia Thysbe] the beautiful deiopeia 
 Deiopeia Bella], the promethea moth [Attacus PrometheaJ, the 
 polyphemus moth [A. Polypheinus] , regal walnut moth [Cerato- 
 campa RegalisJ , six inch across. The genus Catocala comprises the 
 common wood moth, all alike on the upper wing, but the four 
 species differ in urfder wings, one being red and black, one white 
 and black, one yellow and black and the other black. We will 
 close this chapter by once more calling the reader's attention to the 
 importance of a careful study of our insects. The great damage 
 done by these little creatures forces upon us very strongly a sense 
 of how important it is to know all we can of them. We don't 
 mean simply catching and sticking pins in them, but a careful 
 study of their habits and food, also their benefit and injury to man- 
 If our agricultural society offers premiums on collections of insects, 
 let it be only for narried specimens, to be accomjpanied by an essay 
 that will be of practical value. 
 
 FLORA OF STARK COUNTY. 
 
 To give anything like an adequate idea of this subject upon 
 these pages is almost impossible. For, in the first place the bot- 
 any of this region has been but imperfectly investigated, and en- 
 tirely satisfactory infoi'mation cannot be gained from any work 
 yet published, although of these "Wood's Manual " is no doubt 
 the most valuable to the western student. 
 
 And the most indefatigable collector of specimens in our county 
 to-day, can give but a faint impression of the flora that once deck- 
 ed our prairies with a thousand hues, before the plowshare had 
 scarred the green sod, or the hand of man made remunerative 
 what was once only beautiful. 
 
 It would seem that few if any in all the length and breadth of 
 Illinois have thought of saving a spot of prairie,' untouched of 
 cultivation, to show what wild luxuriance once spread over all 
 the " Garden State." And in the parks and squares of our towns 
 and cities, few seem to have thought of beautifying them with 
 native trees and flowers, yet these only need to be planted and 
 left to themselves to far excede in beauty, the sickly exotics pin- 
 ing-for home. Our gardens even are occupied by foreigners, only 
 nursed into blooming in a strange land by ceaseless skill and care, 
 while our o-^n exquisite lady slipper, and delicate dicentra are 
 consigned to neglect and oblivion. When our prairies were yet 
 
132 STAKK COUNTY 
 
 unbroken and " woods in their wild beauty dressed," they con- 
 tained hundreds of rare flora] gems, many of which are gone for- 
 ever, and more are hastening from us, slirinliing from the rough 
 treatment they receive. Time was, when admired by the Indian 
 maiden, the queen of the prairie declced herself in pearly dew 
 drops, and the moccasin flower swelled with pride as the tawney 
 mother fitted it to the foot of her first-born. But the one has left 
 us to return no more, and the other seeks to hide itself in deep- 
 est, loneliest woods. Following these remarks will be 
 found a list of a few of our best known wild flowers, giving 
 their common and botanical names. Any green house or garden 
 might be proud of such an array of treasures, yet we doubt if 
 half of them can be found in all the county under cultivation. 
 
 The spring beauty, [Claytonia Caroliniana] which scarcely waits 
 for the snow to melt, so eager is it to welcome the children, its 
 only friends. Closely following it is the Blood Boot, [Sanguinaria 
 Canadensis,] and the several varieties of Liverwort, [Hepatica 
 Triloba] varying from purple to blue, pink and white. The Blue 
 Bell, [Mertensia Virginica,] left too, to be the joy of childhood; 
 to us, still a fairy wand bringing again the time when we were 
 young, and life was fair. And then our violets, so beautiful in 
 song and story, b,ut despised and down-trodden in reality. We 
 still have the Yellchv Violet, which the first breath of spring 
 " calls from the last year's leaves below." This botanists call [Vi- 
 ola Pubescens,] the Larkspur leaved Violet [V. Delphinifolia,] and 
 the common blue Violet ; sometimes the Forget-me-not of lovers 
 and poets. But the Violfet like its sentiment, modesty, is lamen- 
 tably out of fashion, and we perhaps ought to beg pardon from 
 progressive people for wasting words upon it here. 
 
 The Marsh Marigold, [Caltha; Palustris,] the Columbine, [Aqu- 
 ilegia Canadensis] and the wild Bell flower, [Campanula Ameri- 
 cana) are very common in our woods. And there you see 
 
 " The larkspur , plant of ancient name 
 Advance his haughty ensign high.'''' 
 
 And 
 
 " The coi-eopsis, cheerful as the smile 
 
 That brightens on the cheek of youth, and sheds 
 
 A gladness o'er the aged." 
 
 We have several wild phlox, the P. Glaberrima, P. Pilosa, P> 
 
AST) ITS PIOXEEItS. 133 
 
 Eeptans and P. Maculata; the last being our wild s^^'eet Wil- 
 liam. The others are now scarce or extinct in the county. The 
 painted cup or Indian pink (Castilleia Coccinea), Indian turnip' 
 (ArissemaTriphyllum). Not a more curious or beautiful foliage 
 plant can be found than this ; yet how little appreciated. The 
 yellow lady's slipper (Cypripedium Pubescens), the small white 
 lady's slipper (C. Candidum), and the superb purple lady's slip- 
 per (C. Spectabile). The gorgeous queen of the prairie (Spir^a 
 Lobata) with its magnificent cluster of peach-blossom tinted 
 flowers rising six feet above the prairie — 'now probably extinct in 
 Stark. The curious yet beautiful spider wort (Tradescantia Vir- 
 ginica), the Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra CucuUaria). The two 
 beautiful wild balsams or touch-me-nots (Impatiens Fulva and 
 I. Pallida) are real gems and still common in rich damp woods 
 and shady places. The adder's tongues or dogtooth violets are 
 worthy of a place in our garden. We have two varieties well 
 known to every child who wanders along our wooded streams in 
 the spring. The white and yellow adders' tongues (Erythronium 
 Albidum, and E. Americana). Of lilies we have three kinds, 
 the American Turks-cap lily (Lilium Superbum), the wild Or- 
 ange red lily (Lilium Philadelphicum) and the lily of the valley 
 (Convallaria Multiflora). This last is scarce and probably impor- 
 ted in some manner. Of water lilies we once had four handsome 
 varieties. The sweet scented white water lily (Nymphsea Odora- 
 ta) is still to be found in the ponds south-east of Bradford. The 
 N. Tuberosa, a pure white lily is now extinct in the county ; 
 while the N. Alba, also white, is to be met with but rarely. The 
 fourth is a yellow water lily, much inferior to the others (Kuphar 
 Advena). The common May apple (Podophyllum Peltatum) 
 and the arrow head (Sagittaria Variabilis). 
 
 'We have also culvers root (Veronica Virginica), two varieties 
 of lobelia and about twenty varieties of asters. Many of them in 
 their wild state> inferior, but capable of much improvement by 
 pjroper cultivation. The dandelion (Taraxacum Dens-Leonis) now 
 so common everywhere was first brought to Stark county by John 
 Culbertson, and the first in the county grew on the east side of 
 the public square, at Toulon, where Mr. Cu$)ertson had emptied 
 the straw in which his queensware was packed. The Hibiscus 
 Africanus was imported by Dr. Thomas Hall, and from his gar- 
 den has spread into nearly every lane in the county. Of anemo- 
 nes we have three kinds, the wood A. (A. Nemorosa), the A. Vir- 
 ginica and A. Pennsylvanica. 
 
 The early butter cup (Ranunculus Fascicularis), the creeping 
 
134 » STABK COUXTY 
 
 buttercup (R. Repens), the callirrhoe triangulata, with its showy 
 crimson or purple flowers. The wood sorrel (Oxalis Acetosella), 
 the spotted cranes-bill (Geranium Maculatum), the butter-and- 
 eggs (Antirrhinum. Linaria), now a very common flower, but im- 
 ported from Europe ; red root (Ceanothus Americanus); wild sen- 
 na (Cassia Marilandica), a large bright yellow flower, growing in 
 marshy places; spiked loosestrife (Lythrum Salicaria); cat-tail 
 flag (Typha Latifolia); large blue flag (Iris Versicolor); purple 
 night shade or birth root (Trillium Erectum); wild squills (Scilla 
 Praseri), well known by its long loose receme of pale blue flow- 
 ers ; the golden rod (Solidago), there are many varieties of this 
 fewer; the cowslip or shooting star (Dodecatheon Meadia), white 
 and yellow varieties of this may be found. 
 
 We close this list of flowers not because it is the end, but to 
 mention a few of our leading ornamental vines growing wild.~ 
 
 First comes the delicate clematis (C. Virginica). 
 
 " To later summer'' 8 fragrant breath 
 Clemati'i^ feathery garlands dance 
 And graceful tliere lier fillets weaves.'''' 
 
 Then comes the bitter sweet (Celastras Scandens); the trumpet 
 creeper (Tecoma Radicans) is beoomhig very scarce wild, but is 
 fast gaining favor under cultivation ; the wild balsam apple or 
 wild cucumber (Echinocystis Lobata) and the yellow honey suckle 
 (Lonicera Flava). 
 
 Our trees are too well known to need mention here, and the fact 
 that native trees are better adapted for shade and ornament than 
 imported ones is fast gaining ground. And we hope ere long to 
 see grand old oakes, maples, and lindens taking the place of half 
 dead stunted evergreens. 
 
 Our wild fruits are all natives except the red raspberry (Rubus 
 Strigosus) which first started near a road leading south from Tou- 
 lon, toward Josiah Moffitt's, on the farm of Solomon Wilkinson, 
 from seed left by a company of movers who camped there one 
 night, when the Mnd belonged to Ira Ward, jr. 
 
 Among the medicinal plants found in our county, not already 
 mentioned among the flowers, are : 
 
 Iris tuberosa ; wormwood (Artemesia Vulgaris) ; horse mint 
 (Monarda Punctata) ; speedwell (Veronica Officinalis) ; James- 
 town weed (Datura Stramonium); boneset (Eupatorium Perfolia- 
 tum) ; Valerian Officinalis ; Asarabacca, scarce ; barberry 
 (Berberis Canadensis) ; Soloman's seal (Polygonatnm Biflorum, 
 
AND ITS PIONEKES. 135 
 
 and P, Giganteum) ; yellow water clock (Rumex Aifrea) ; garlic 
 (Allium Canadensis) ; penny royal (Hedeoma Pulegioides) ; hops 
 (Humulus Lupulus) ; horehouiid (Marrubium Vulgare) ; bur- 
 dock (Lappa Major) ; catnip (Nepeta cataria) ; bugle weed (Lyco- 
 pus Virginieus) ; and gentian (Gentiana Peranuantha). 
 
136 STAKK COUNTY 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Our Toions. — Toulon — Wyoming — Lafayette — Bradford — Castleion 
 — Duncan — Their Past History and Present Prosperity. 
 
 Mr. Ford, in his little work on Putnam and adjoining counties, 
 gives the following statement : " Stark obtained its full share of 
 towns during the speculating mania of 1836-7. 
 
 " Wyoming was the first laid off, in May 1836, Osceola was 
 situated on a large piece of ground eleven miles north of Wyom- 
 ing, with a fine ' Washington square ' in the centre. It was sur- 
 veyed July 7th, 1886, for Robert Moore, James C. Armstrong, 
 Thomas J. Hurd, D. C. Enos and Edward Dickenson, proprietors. 
 
 " MouLTON, three miles west of Wyoming, was laid off in Au- 
 gust, 1836', by Robert Schuyler, Russell H. Nevins, William 
 Couch, Abijah Fisher, and David Lee. 
 
 " Massillon was situated seven miles nearly due south of the 
 present town of Toulon, not far from the southern boundary of 
 the county. Its projector and proprietor was Mr. Stephen Trickle. 
 Date of survey, April, 1837. 
 
 " Lafay-ette, on the western borders of the county, was laid 
 out in July, 1836. Of this list, Lafayette and Wyoming are the 
 only survivors ; Osceola town plat was vacated by legislative en- 
 actment in February, 1855; and as we believe never had a house 
 upon it. Moulton and Massillon are no more." 
 
 But of those towns that have survived the changes of thirty or 
 forty years, and proved their right to live by taking on of late a 
 more vigorous growth, we propose to give a somewhat extended 
 notice. 
 
AND ITS PIOXEfenS. 137 
 
 TOULON. 
 
 An act of the legisUiture of the state of Illinois, to locate the 
 •county seat of Stark coimty, was ])assed February 27th, 1841. 
 
 It was also enacted that John Dawson, Peter Van Bergen and 
 William F. Elkin, all of the county of Sangamon, l>e the commis- 
 .sioners to io.cate said town. And on the 17th day of May, 1841, 
 the above irientioned commissioners ^net at the house of Colonel 
 William H. Henderson, and took an oath to faithfully discharge 
 the duties of their office, viz : to fairly consider the prospects and 
 interests of all parts of the county and to locate the county%eat 
 as near the geographical centre thereof, as the nature of the land 
 and other relevant circumstances permitted. After ^lue consider- 
 ation of all claims and interests, as presented to them, they 
 proceeded to locate said county seat on ninety rods (90 rods) square 
 of land, owned and afterwards deeded to the county by John 
 Miller and his wife Charlotte Miller, being part of the south- 
 west quarter of section 19, in township 13 north, range 6 east of 
 the 4th principal meridian, now Toulon township. The name of 
 our town was also decided on at the time of its location, no doubt 
 through the influence of Colonel Henderson. 
 
 When Mr. Miller donated to the county this ninety rods 
 of choice land, on condition it should be made the shire town or 
 county seat, he reserved on the south and west sides thereof cer- 
 tain squares to be sold for his own benefit, also the privilege of 
 removing all standing timber on the town plot, unless it should 
 be afterwards purchased of him. And there vi-ei-e on, or near, 
 our public square a number of fine native oaks, and other trees 
 growing for years after the location and platting of the town, and 
 some of our more sensible and public spirited citizens made stren- 
 uous efforts to induce our county commissioners to pui-chase these 
 trees and preserve them as a ^public benefit as well as an adorn- 
 ment to oiir square and streets. But, unfortunately they were 
 unsuccessful, and were compelled to see them chopped down and 
 applied to " base uses." And although later efforts have done 
 much to protect and beautify our square, yet another centennial 
 period must elapse ere such giant oaks as were then sacrificed can 
 by any means be induced to spread their sheltering arms above 
 our descendants. It has been said " whoever plants a tree is a 
 public benefactor ;" we almost think whoever cuts one down, ex- 
 cept when they stand in the waj^ of necessary ipiprovements 
 ought to be set down as an enemy to the interests of his race, par- 
 ticularly in a region naturally as nearly treeless as ours. 
 
138 STARK COUNTY, 
 
 The first sale of lots in Toulon, took place on the 14th and loth 
 days of September, 1841 — and when lately looking over the list of 
 the one hundred and twenty -two purchasers we felt tempted to" 
 Insert the whole roll, of names just as they stand on the old re- 
 cord. They would make a good representation of our early set- 
 tlers. But when we reflect that but few eyes will ever meet these 
 pages that would see in them anything but names, we forbear ; al- • 
 though to the few, the uttertmce of each would call up a once fa- 
 miliar figure from the recesses of the shadowy past, and with 
 most would come briglit memories of pioneer days " when we 
 WQire young and life was fair,*' and to these visions are often link- 
 ed recollections of " little deeds of kindness," gleams of the friend- 
 liness of yore! But enough of this, we are surely revealing the 
 fact that we stand on life's hill top and the fairer scenes are all be- 
 hind. ' 
 
 To proceed with the business of these first sales, we are struck 
 with the small amount paid for lots that have since brought much 
 larger sums. The old home of Mr. Turner, north of Dr. Cham- 
 berlain's drug store, and west of the square, was originally pur- 
 chased for §4-').00, while lot one, in block fourteen, (the site of the 
 1st Baptist Church) considered to be very choice was bought by a 
 Knox county man, Z. Cooley, for $70.75. Mr. Theodore F. Hurd 
 has the honor of investing the largest sum in any one lot at the 
 first sales, he having paid S75, for lot six, in block nine. Very 
 many went for $10 or $20 apiece, that are now worth hundreds, if 
 not thousands. 
 
 The second sale of lots was ordered to take place April 2d, 1849. 
 There were but thirty-two lots sold on this occasion, the highest 
 price, |6u, being paid by Simon Heller for lot G, in block 5, the 
 present residence of Rev. R. L. McCord. 
 
 Owing as we suppose to the munificence of the County Com- 
 missioners, a number of lots were reserved at the date of these 
 general sales, for church and school purposes, and lot 10, in block 
 three, at the corner of Vine and Washington streets, was set 
 apart distinctively for " a female seminary." And the county ac- 
 cordingly erected the building that still occupies that site, and 
 for a time attempts were made to sustain a seminary, modifying 
 the regulations so as to admit both sexes. But it was soon dis- 
 covered nothing of this kind could supersede the public schools in 
 a town of small size, and application was made to the legislature 
 for an act legalizing the sale of this property to the' school trus- 
 tees "to be thereafter used for common school purposes — which act 
 passed February, 1867. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 130 
 
 There seem to have been three diffei'ent acts of incorporation 
 endorsed by the town of Tonlon. The tirst, under some general 
 provisions, took place'in October, 1857, the vote standing thirty- 
 four against two. The first board of officers were Oliver Whita- 
 ker, Miles A. Fuller, William Lowman, Isaac C. Eeed; E. L. 
 Emery, president. This Board decided what should be the cor- 
 porate limits of said town, passed the usual code of ordinances ; 
 but the provisions under which they worked do not seem to have 
 met the wishes of the citizens, generally, for in 1857 a special 
 charter was obtained and new regulations entered into. Then af- 
 ter the change in the state constitution in 1870, they again revised 
 their organization making it comply with the general incorpora- 
 tion law, enacted at that time. 
 
 The town consisted at first of sixteen blocks, or fifteen besides 
 the court house square, but has received several large additions, 
 Whitaker and Henderson's, lying north and east of original plat, 
 through which runs the line of the Peoria and Rock Island 
 Railway, and two larga additions by Mr. Culbertson, known 
 respectively as Culbertson's'eastern and western additions to the 
 town of Toulon. These additions far exceed in space the original 
 site, donated by Mr. Miller, and are most of them, under good im- 
 provement. Mr. Rhodes has also surveyed off some good build- 
 ing lots in the grove to the south-west, and Mr. Turner is propri- 
 etor of the inviting sites that lie to the south and south-east. But 
 the latter gentLeman has always declined to sever his broad acres 
 into small suburban building lots. 
 
 The first Court House, a plain wooden structure built to meet 
 present wants, was completed in 1842, and served many impor- 
 tant purposes for the county and town, not only as a seat of jus- 
 tice, but sometimes as church and school house too. The old jail 
 was built a year or so later,' perhaps, in 18-44, by Ira Ward, jr. ; 
 a man from Knox county by the name of Hammond, doing the 
 mason work. This, still serves to hold rather insecurely, however. 
 Stark county criminals, and it can hardly be said that its accom- 
 modations or management, reflect any great credit upon the 
 county officials who control this matter. The present court house 
 is .a substantial and well proportioned brick edifice, with airy and 
 convenient offices on the first floor. Standing rs it does on a 
 square shaded by a fine growth of young trees, it is a pleasant 
 and comely picture for the eye to rest upon ; one for which a 
 good many of our citizens would be willing to fight valiantly 
 should its possession ever be seriously disputed— as some see fit 
 to predict. It was erected in 1856 at a cost to the county of $12,000^ 
 
140 STAEK COUXTV 
 
 The first school in Toulon, was taught by Mis.s Elizabeth Bus- 
 well of Osceola, in an upper room of the old court house, in 1843. 
 Miss Susan Gill, who afterwards became the first wife of Stephen 
 W. Eastman, also taught a select school in the same or an adjoin- 
 ing room. Miss Booth also conducted a good school here before 
 any school house was built, in a room belonging to Mr. Boyal 
 Arnold, on the premises now owned by Mrs. Emily Culbertson, 
 directly west of Mr. Whitaker's residence. And W. W. Drum- 
 mond one in his own house. 
 
 The first school house built in the place, was the "old brick" 
 near the western line of the town, facing Jefferson street. This 
 was a one story affair, built under a contract with Ira Ward, jr., 
 at an expense to the new district, it is said, of $600. Brick was 
 burned specially for this edifice by W. B. Sweet, and the lumber 
 had to be hauled from the Illinois river. 
 
 T. J. Henderson was the first teacher who occupied the build- 
 ing, and Miss Booth followed him during the summer of 1849. 
 Miss Boyce had an independent school in Masonic Hall when 
 that stood near the M. E. Church, facing Henderson street, and 
 N. F. Atkins and wife were the first teachers in the seminary. 
 They occupied it under contract, or permission from the supervi-. 
 sors. , 
 
 But as has been remarked, these schools although good! of their 
 kind, and certainly possessing some advantages over the common 
 schools, could not be made self-supporting. So measures were ta- 
 ken to secure the seminary for the use of the district schools, as 
 before stated, the grammar and high school departments occupy- 
 ing it for about twenty years, and thus with the " old brick " for 
 the primary department, the wants of the people were met for a 
 time. But in 1860 two new frame buildings were erected in the 
 northern and eastern borders of the town, to accommodate the 
 growing numbers of primary scholars in those divisiolis. This 
 arrangement sufficed until the beginning of the present decade, 
 when the project of a new and improved school house, large 
 enough to accommodate all grades under one roof and one princi- 
 pal, began to claim attention. 
 
 It required some time and patient labor on the part of our 
 school board to settle all the details of this transaction satisfacto- 
 rily to the people in the various sections of the town. 
 
 Attempts were made to locate the proposed building by vote of 
 the citizens, but this was found impracticable, and after much 
 consideration the board decided to purchase the lots now occupied 
 by the structure, from Mrs. S. A. Dunn. 
 
AND ITS PIONl^EES. 141 
 
 The contract for building was talcen by Hiram PI. Pierce of Pe- 
 oria ; ground was broken in June 1874, and the structure finished 
 ready for occupation the February following. 
 
 It as built of brick, is two stories high. Main building 66x57, 
 with an addition in the rear 35x21. Both stories have halls 11 
 feet wide, running lengthwise of the building, the lower story an 
 additional hall 10 feet wide, running from main front elitrance 
 and joining the other hall. 
 
 There are three rooms below, 32x26, each, four rooms above, one 
 for .grammar school 32x26, the same dimensions for high school 
 room. Recitation and Library rooms, each 26x16. All these 
 rooms have attached to them suitable cloak rooms. The height 
 of the lower story is 14 feet, the upper, 14J. The whole height of 
 building from ground to ridge, 50 feet. Surmounted by a cupola 
 27 feet high, making a total of 77 feet. The building is warmed 
 by two of Lotyc's hot air furnaces. The furniture is mostly new, 
 manufactured by the Sterling school furniture company and is 
 giving good satisfaction. This house will comfortably seat three 
 hundred pupils, and requires the services of five or six teachers. 
 The cost of building, including grounds, furniture, out buildings, 
 with et ceteras, was about $20,000. 
 
 This expense was met by a district tax, levied by the voters of 
 the district. 
 
 The teachers who presided over the various departments dur- 
 ing the year closing in June, 1876, were as follows : 
 
 Mr. Frank Mathews, principal ; Mr. Manning Hall, in the 
 grammar school ; Miss Sarah Berfleld, in the intermediate ; and 
 Misses Pauline Shallenberger and Kate Keffer, in the primary de- 
 partments. 
 
 The board of directors for the same year, were Mr. Benjamin 
 Turner, Dr. Bacmeister and Mr. John Berfleld. The two former 
 associated with Captain Brown were the board under whose di- 
 rection, the fine school house described, was planned and comple- 
 ted for tise. . 
 
 Toulon cannot compete of late years in the line of expensive 
 building with her sister town Wyoming, which latter claims on 
 good authority to have invested $292,529 in building since the 
 completion of their first railroad, some six years ago. 
 
 We suppose it is possible for a town to over build, as well as 
 under build, for the general good ; we may at least claim that 
 Toulon has not committed the former mistake. 
 
 The residents of this town are wont to reflect that their capital- 
 ists, are not as public spirited as they might be, or they could 
 
142 STARK COUNTY" 
 
 show churches and hotels befitting the county seat, and reflecting 
 credit upon the taste and liberality of its inhabitants. But in an 
 age and land so prone to extravagant expenditure, perchance such 
 prudence should be commended. 
 
 - Had Mr. Culbertson lived to dispose of the large estate he had 
 acquired, Toulon would have doubtless reaped an enduring ad- 
 vantage. It was a favorite remark of his that " he had made his 
 money in Stark County and he intended to spend it here." Many 
 plans for improving the town, were rife in his active mind during 
 the closing years of his life. The grist and woolen mills were his 
 first attempt in this direction, and while he never expected to 
 reap great profits himself from this investment, he did hope to 
 make these mills a public benefit, and link his name with home 
 enterprises and industries. 
 
 But as it is, if our churches and businesB houses are as a rule 
 plain and unpretending, they are owned by the parties occupying 
 them, and are not encumbered with mortgages. 
 
 The brick block occupied by B. C. Follett, is fully up to the 
 times, as is the banking house of Sam'l Burge & Co., and a still 
 larger block is now being erected, the lower story to be the store 
 of Nowlan and Rhodes, the upper to be built by the town for a 
 public hall. 
 
 And if our growth as a town has been slow compared with 
 some others, it has been healthy and permanent. There has be«n 
 no going backward, no mushroom or gourd like excrescences 
 springing up in a night to be blighted on the morrow, to the ruin 
 and ^mortification of their projectors. Even the opening of the 
 long desired railroad brought with it no mad speculation, such as 
 was rife in other places. The Toulonites rejoiced at the music of 
 the whistle, but they rejoiced soberly and with discretion ; thus 
 month by month and year by year, business has increased as the 
 facilities for it have multiplied, and this centennial year would 
 make a highly creditable showing, could we^ command the exact 
 figures which we cannot, therefore must contfent ourselves with 
 the estimate made for us, at an expense of considerable time and 
 trouble, of the business of 1874, although that was hardly an av- 
 erage business year in the west. 
 
 The character of Toulon society, has somehow, generally har- 
 monized with this steady flow of events. We have fn no sense 
 been a " fast people." But our habits have more resembled those 
 of the older eastern towns. A few people of culture easily gave 
 tone to the social life of the place, when this life was in its infan- 
 cy, and perhaps it is not too much to say, it has never lost this 
 
AND ITS PIOXEEES. 143 
 
 bent, as may be seen by the fine literary societies that have usual- 
 ly flourished here, some of which would have done no discjredit 
 to the taste and acquirements of large cities. 
 
 SOCIETIES.— MASONIC. 
 
 The first of the secret benevolent societies, organized in Toulon, 
 was "Toulon Lodge" Number 93, A. F. & A. M., which was 
 chartered October 20th, 1850. 
 
 The first recorded meeting of the Masonic fraternity was on the 
 25th of March, 1850, being a meeting held to consider tlie project 
 of organizing a lodge. The names upon the charter are : Oren 
 Maxfleld, William Rose, W. W. Drummond, Ellison Annis, 
 Captain Henry Butler, William A Eeed, and General Samuel 
 Thomas. From these the Grand Master C. G. Y. Taylor, appoin- 
 ted W. W. Drummond, W. M.; William "Rose, S. W., and Oren 
 Maxfleld, J. W-. 
 
 On the 19th of November, 1850, tlie lodge held its first election 
 ■vWth the following result : William F. Thomas, Treasurer ; T. J. 
 Henderson, Secretary ; William A. Reed, S. D.; General Samuel 
 Thoinas, J. D.; Simon S. Heller, S. S.; Thomas J. Wright, J. S.; 
 C. F. White, Tyler. 
 
 This lodge has always been prosperous and harmonious. For 
 many years it was the only lodge between Peoria and Cambridge, 
 and is the parent of all the lodges in the County. From it was 
 formed Stark lodge, Number 601, at Lafaj'ette, in 1865 ; Wyoming 
 lodge. Number 479, in 1866, and Bradford lodge number 514 in the 
 same year. 
 
 At the present writing, Toulon lodge numbers sixty-four resi- 
 dent members, with the following officers : George A. Lowraan, 
 W. M.; T. M. Shalienberger, S. W.; Levi Silliman, J. W.; Benja- 
 ' min Turner, Treasurer ; David Tinlin, Secretary ; George White, 
 S. D.; James Dexter, .J. D.; Samuel Thomas, Tyler. 
 
 The total number of those who have been connected with the 
 lodge in the past twenty-five years is one hundred and seventy- 
 six. Of this number, as far as known, but sixteen ai-e dead, four 
 of whom lost their lives in the late, war. 
 
 The following named persons have filled the " Master's " chair 
 and rank as such in the order named : W. W. Drummond, Wil- 
 liam B. Smith, Alexander Moncrief, Thomas J. Henderson, 
 James A. Henderson, Elisha Greenfield. George Bradley, Martin 
 Shallenbeger and G. A. Lowman. 
 
144 STARK COUXTT 
 
 The lodge owns " Masonic Hall " and the ground upon which 
 it stands ; is out of debt and has a healthy treasury. 
 
 ODD FELTjOWS. * 
 
 On the 8th day of November, 1851, Stark lodge, number 96, 1. 
 O. O. P., was organized at Toulon, by the officers and brothers of 
 Marshall lodge, number 03, at Henry, Illinois, under a charter 
 from the grand lodge of the state of Illinois, dated Oct(3ber 17th, 
 1851. 
 
 The charter members were Amos P. Gill, Alexander Mon- 
 crief, Oliver Whitaker, Thomas J. Wright, and William Clark. 
 
 The lodge continued to increase in numbers and did nmch good 
 in the "way of relief to the members and their families up to the 
 time of the breaking out of the war in 1861, when by an order of 
 the grand lodge in 1862, this lodge was suspended. 
 
 It remained suspended unti,l April, 1866, at which time it 
 was resuscitated and ever since has done good work. The lodge 
 has always been progressive and enterprising, and in the summer 
 . of 1875 erected on© of the finest lodge rooms in the county, over 
 the bank of Sam'l Burge & Co., at an expense, with furniture of 
 two "thousand two hundred dollars. At this present date, (May, 
 1876) the lodge numbers sixty-four members, and increasing very 
 fast. The first officers of this lodge were Alexander, Moncrief, 
 N. G.; Amos P. Gill, V. G.; Thomas J. Wright, T., and Oliver 
 Whitaker, R. 8. 
 
 The present, a876) William W. Rhodes, N. G.; William Low- 
 man, V. G.; William Chamberlain, T.; Stacy Cowperthwait, R. 
 S.; Olive.- Whitaker, P. S.; John M. Brown, D. G. M.; Daniel 
 S. Hewitt, G. R. 
 
 EASTERN STAK. 
 
 On the 17th day of February, 1871, Toulon Chapter, number 63 
 of the Eastern Star,' was organized by Mr. Thomson. This or- 
 ganization has not flourished as it should have done, and as it no 
 doubt will do. At present it numbers fifty-four members, enough 
 to make it a perfect success was the proper spirit infused in the 
 fifty -four. 
 
 The first officers were William Lowman, W. P.; Mrs. E. Low- 
 man, W. M.; Mrs. R. A. Turner, A. M.; Charles Myers, Secreta- 
 ry ; Mrs. S. Guyre, Treasurer; Mrs. M. Myers, Conductress, and 
 Mrs. A. Thomas, A. C. 
 
A:^sr) ITS pioxEERS. 145 
 
 The present officers are James K. P. Lowman, W. P.; Mrs. R. 
 A. Turner, W. M.; Mrs. G. S. Lawrence, A. M.; Mr. George 
 Bradley, Secretary ; Miss S. H. Turner, Treasurer ; Mrs. A. 
 Thomas, Conductress, and Mrs. S. KeflFer, A. C. 
 
 TEMPERANCE.— WASHINGTON lANS. 
 
 The Toulonites first organized for work in the direction of tlie 
 temperance reformation, on the Washingtonian plan. This was 
 as early as 1845. 
 
 SONS OF TEMPERANCE. 
 
 The second temperance society organized in Toulon, was a divi- 
 sion of the Sons of Temperance. Composed as it was entirely of 
 men, and nearly all of them men of ability, it flourislied as no 
 other temperance organization ever did in the county. They were 
 at the formation of the order nearly all middle aged men, yet in 
 the lapse of 28 years there has been but one death among the char- 
 ter members (Ira Ward, sen.) The back sliding has been rather 
 more marked. Probably no charter ever granted in the county to 
 any order bore names of as many men of note' as did tliis one 
 granted in February, 1848. These are John^W. Henderson, Mar- 
 tin Shallenberger, Benjamin Turner, Patrick M. Blair, Thomas 
 J. Henderson, Ira Ward, senior, Wheeler B. Sweet, Oliver Whit- 
 aker, W. W. Drummond, Simon S. Heller, John A. Williams, 
 Ira Ward jr., and Samuel G. Butler. 
 
 Nearly all these names will be familiar to our politicians, as al- 
 most every office from W. W. Drummond as constable, to T. J. 
 Henderson, member of congress, within the gift of the people has 
 been filled by them. The state senate, legislature, constitutional 
 convention, judge, circuit clerk, sheriff, county treasurer, county 
 clerk, and perhaps others that do not occur to us now. Under the 
 guidance of such men as these the Sons of Temperance flui-ished 
 and had a wide spread and much felt influence. They built the 
 building now known as " Masonic Hall," just north of the M. 
 E. church, from which place it was moved when purchased by 
 the Masons. This was, at the time of building, quite a hall for 
 Toulon. One by one these men left the town, or the lodge at least, 
 and it passed into history. 
 
 GOOD TEMPLARS. 
 
 From the decease of the " old Sons of Temperance," until 1863, 
 Toulon remained without any temperance society. In October of 
 10 
 
146 STARK COUNTY. 
 
 this year ^vas instituted Arthur lodge, number 454, Independent 
 order of Good Templars. Charter members, A. C. Price, William 
 Xiowman, S. S. Kaysbier, John D. Walker, M. A. Puller, Samuel 
 Burge, Charles Myers, Amos P. Gill, Patrick Nowlau, Mary P. 
 JSTowlan, "Dell Whitaker, Mary E. Beatty, Mrs. M. A. Myers, 
 iind Mrs. E. S. Fuller. 
 
 This society so long as it remained under the control of such 
 persons as the names here recorded, did an excellent work and 
 flourished and grew. But here was the cause of its death also. 
 Not enough care was exeicised in choice of members, and it was 
 very soon evident that the "young folks" were going to " run 
 the machine." 
 
 Several attempts have been made to organize for a thorough 
 temperance work in Toulon. Some of these budded and promis- 
 •ed fair, but none seemed able to withstand the elements with 
 which they had to contend. Much good was accomplished by 
 these societies, but they seemed to lack the vigor necessary to 
 give them permanence. To supply this defect it was determined 
 ±0 try once more a secret society ; so on the 17th day of March,^ 
 .1875, Toulon division number 8, S. O. T. was organized with the 
 following officers : Levi Silliman, W. P.; Oliver Whitaker, P. 
 W. P.; Mrs. Mary Merriraan, W. A.; Oliver White, F. S.; Frank 
 :Eastman, B. S.; H. Y. God/rey, T. 
 
 This lodge has certainly grown very rapidly, and at the present 
 "writing (August 22nd, 1876) has a membership of one hundred 
 and thirty. It is still in its infancy, yet it has accomplished 
 great results, and much is to be hoped for in the future. 
 
 The present officers are Orlando Brace, W. P.; Robert H. Price, 
 P. W. P.; Miss Bell Godfrey, AV. A.; Miss Ida Ryder, F. S.; 
 Manning Hall, R. S.; H. Y. Godfrey, T. 
 
 TOULON CHUKCHES. 
 
 The great hierarchy devised and established by the Wesleys 
 and their co-workers in England, about the middle of the last 
 century, and a few years later in America, by authority of which 
 missionaries still go forth ''to the uttermost parts of the earth," is 
 so diverse in its nature and operations from the little isolated bo- 
 dies of believers we are wont to designate pioneer churches, that it 
 is difiicult to fairly compare their respective workings, or the 
 legitimate results thereof. 
 
 That master organizer, John Wesley, designed to develop a 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 147 
 
 great central power that should be to the most distant "society," 
 or otecure "class" what the heart is to the human anatomy, send- 
 ing life and activity to the farthest extremity. And a hundred 
 years of trial have but proved the wisdom of his plan for utiliz- 
 ing all sorts of material, and planting on the outskirts of civiliza- 
 tion living centres of influence, wherever the intrepid itinerant 
 could force his way or man or woman be found to lead a class. 
 
 To the peculiar strength of this ^organization, then, we may 
 mainly attribute the fact that the Methodist is nearly always the 
 pioneer church ; although the Roman Catholic is often close upon 
 its heels, or even leads the way, as their plans for missionary 
 work are somewhat similar. But the elements in any communi- 
 ty that attract these two classes of laborers are as distinct as their 
 creeds ; therefore their fields of labor seldom or never conflict. 
 But it is evidently. one thing to sustain a "societj'" thus backed up 
 by a central power, which, with outstretching arms protects and 
 fosters its numerous oflsprings, and quite another, to sustain in a 
 new country, a religious body independent of all assistance, or 
 with the occasional assistance of some friendly society. 
 
 Thus as early as 1835, twelve years before the first attempt to 
 found a resident churcii was made, Bishop Morris sent a mission- 
 ary with head quarters at Peoria, to traverse the length and 
 breadth of our present county, and finding a lodgement in the 
 house of Adam Perry who then lived on what constituted our 
 first "Poor Farm," he made arrangements with him to gather to- 
 gether and lead a class, to meet in the Essex settlement some sev- 
 en or eight miles away. 
 
 And, although Mr. Perry became one of the first trophies of 
 Mormonism' in this vicinity, yet a stauncher man was found to 
 lead the class, and Methodism has had an organized life among us 
 from that date. But it could not have been self-sustaining for 
 inany years judging' from the official records. The first quarterly 
 meeting at which this neighborhood was represented in the "Pe- 
 oria circuit," the collections amounted to $5,25 and were disbursed 
 in the following manner : 
 
 , John Brown, C. P., $3.39 quarterage ; S. W. D. Chase, P. E., 36 
 ■cents quarterage, and 75 cents traveling expenses ; wine for sacra- 
 ment, 75 cents ; making the total $5.25. 
 
 At this time, the names of John W. Agard and David Bris- 
 tol appear as circuit stewards, and Calvin Powell as local preacher. 
 
 The first "c^lass" formed nearer here than the Essex school 
 house, we infer from the records, was one l^d by Caleb P. Flint, 
 
148 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 and probably met in his cabin about half a mile south Of Toulon 
 on property now belonging to Mr. Turner. 
 
 At the date of this entry which is for the year ending Septem- 
 ber, 1841, a great advance had been made in the matter of reven- 
 ue for the "Wyoming circuit," of which we then formed part, as 
 the funds amounted to $213.07, which were distributed as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 S. R. Beggs, 8142.75 quarterage and $1.87 traveling^expenses ; 
 George Whitman, $59.32 quarterage and 50 cents traveling ex-r 
 penses ; N. G. Berryman, $16.13 quarterage and $1.75 traveling 
 expenses ; wine for sacrament, 75 cents ; making a total of $213.07. 
 
 There was also $11.50 raised for the relief of the poor, this year ; 
 who they were is not recorded, but a.s "Flint's class" only reports 
 25 cents as their contribution at the quarterly meeting at Wall's 
 school house, this locality could not claim much honor in this, 
 perhaps initiative benevolent effort. But the reader must bear in 
 mind, our town was yet but a name, the scattered settlements 
 around offording but small congregations, and smaller contribu- 
 tions ; for many in those days, had all they could do to supply 
 their families with the comforts absolutely necessary to life. 
 However, Methodist preaching was sustained regularly at Mr. 
 Flint's cabin for a year or more, but in the fall or 1842, the servi- 
 ces were transferred to the house of John Prior, which then stood 
 on one of the lots since owned by M. Shallenberger. This struc- 
 ture, which was of hewn logs, and but partly finished, never hav- 
 ing the loft more than half floored, was very serviceable to the 
 first comers here, serving them alternately as church and school 
 house. 
 
 Mr. Prior was a chairmaker by trade, and not addicted to lux- 
 ury ; all the furniture of his dwelling was of the most primitive 
 sort. 
 
 The fireplace was rough and large, into which good sized logs 
 could be thrown when occasion required ; a pole, the dimensions 
 of a common hand spiker served as poker, or lever, and an old saw 
 inverted, played shovel. Then as a pointed illustration of the 
 proverb, " shoemakers' wives always go barefoot," there never 
 was a whole chair seen in this establishment. A* number of 
 frames with shingles laid on them accommodated the adult listr 
 eners, while a turning lathe in the corner, afforded perching pla- 
 ces for the little folks. Thus the people gathered, the men wear- 
 ing patches without shame, and the girls in sunbonnets, and coarse 
 shoes, or the little ones without any, and listened to the Powells 
 and Blakes, the Wilkinsons and Boyers of old ; but what our 
 
AXD ITS PIONEERS. 149 
 
 I 
 
 inemoi-y still retains of those meetings with peculiar pleasure, is, 
 tlie rich full tenor of Calel) Flint, which when wedded to some of 
 Wesley^5 glowing lines, bore all hearts aloft and made a sanctua- 
 ry of the rough dwelling where we met. 
 
 " Brother Prior," too, was wont to sing with the spirit, if not 
 Avith the understanding, and we recall an occasion, after fashion, 
 or more thorough culture, had rendered the congregation a little 
 fastidious as to its musicj and a "Brother Woollaseroft" led well, 
 both the circuit and singing, this "Brother Prior" was cantering 
 on, a measure or so in advance of his leader, despite his earnest 
 gestures to arrest his course. When human nature could endure 
 no more, Mr. Woollaseroft said in his most decided tortes "Breth- 
 ren we- will commence that verse again, and not so fast, brother 
 Prior." Not before 1846 does it appear on the records, that a 
 quarterly, or official meeting, was holden at Toulon. Then Mr. 
 Beatty had api^eared on the scene and the Toulon class was rising 
 into prominence. As we did not have access to this book of re- 
 cords when we wrote on the churches of the county generally, 
 we feel tempted to insert here the names of those present in an 
 official capacity at this first meeting in our town. 
 
 A. E. Phelps, Presiding Elder ; John G. Whiteomb, Preacher 
 in charge ; George C. Holmes, Circuit Preacher ; W. C. Cum- 
 mings, B. A. P. 
 
 Local preachers : John Cummings, Jonas J. Hedstrom, Jona- 
 than Hodgeson, Charles Bostwick, P. J. Anshutz. 
 
 Exhorters : A. Oziah, David Essex, Wesley Blake. 
 
 Class Leaders :. Isaac Thomas, William Hall, Samuel Hair 
 stead, J. Hazen, I. Berry ; Secretary, William M. Pratt. 
 ^ Stewards : Williani Hall, J. H. Wilbur, C. Yocum, I. Berry. 
 
 At this meeting the project of building , a "meeting house at 
 Lafayette" seems to have been publicly broached for the first 
 time, and two names that have since been painfully connected, 
 'are associated on the building committee, Wilbur and Anshutz. 
 Indeed they are so often coupled, in these- early religious move- 
 ments as to strike the reader strangely, if he knows aught of the 
 tragedy of 1866. 
 
 In 1854, the M. E. Church at Toulon was built. The society 
 also own a comfortable parsonage with pleasant grounds attached. 
 It is not, so easy io arrive at the exact number who have been, 
 sooner or later, connected with this church, or to record the suc- 
 cession of pastors its itinerant system has given it, during the 
 past twenty or thirty years. But it has probably had as large a 
 membefship as any denomination in the town. Its pews are 
 
150 STAEK COUXTY 
 
 well filled on all occasions of public worship, and a large and in^ 
 teresting sabbath school is sustained with commendable spirit. 
 In the sabbath school work Mr. Davis Lowman of this church 
 has been for years a devoted and successful laborer, not only in 
 Toulon, but at various points in the county and state, wherever 
 there was work to be done. 
 
 CONGKEGATIONAL CHUECH AT TOULON. 
 
 Some one has aptly remarked that in the beginning, this church 
 was decidedly a " Rhodes church." But in the fact that its for- 
 tunes for a while seemed to be bound up with the fortunes of one 
 family, it was in no wise singular. Such has, in a greater or less 
 degree, been the history of nearly all these early organizations. , 
 
 In accordance with a previous notice, given to a faithful few at 
 the cabin of Hugh Khodes, Eev. L. H. Parker and S. G. Wright 
 met with a few brethren at the court house, in Toulon, Novem- 
 ber, 1846, and duly organized a Congregational church, adopting 
 a confession of faith covenant, the charter members being 
 Jonathan Rhodes and Hannah his wife, Hugh Rhodes and his 
 wife Julia, Giles C. Dana and his wife Mary, Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Rhodes, S. Eliza Rhodes and Franklin Rhodes. 
 
 March 13th, 1847, this little church met at the house of Hugh 
 Rhodes, where most of the members must have felt quite at home, 
 and the following additional persons were received into its com- 
 inunion: Robert Nickolson and wife, John Pollock, and Mrs. 
 Jane Bradley, from Presbyterian church iji Ireland, also Orrin 
 Rhodes and wife, Mrs. Matilda Hall, and Miss Eliza Hall ; and 
 S. G. Wright, who still resided in the southern part of West 
 Jersey township, was chosen pastor. "• 
 
 May 16th, 1847, it was decided to ask admission for this church 
 to the " Central Association," and Hugh Rhodes was chosen to 
 represent it before that body. 
 
 August 24th, 1849, the first effort was made toward a church 
 building. A committee consisting of Hugh Rhodes, James Flint 
 and Charles F. White, was appointed to confer with the M. E. 
 church as to co-operating in building ; but the plan did not find 
 favor in their eyes, so it was decided that each congregation'' 
 should build themselves a house of worship, as fast as the funds 
 could possibly be raised for that purpose. The result was, the two 
 plain but comfortable edifices that have so long stood side by side 
 on Henderson street. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 15f 
 
 In 1850, the trustees were instructed to give tlieir votes as "trus- 
 tees of tlie iirst ortliodox Congregational church of Toulon," and 
 to give their notes to the treasurer of the Church building com- 
 mittee for the sum of $?00. 
 
 In 1848, Rev. S. G. "Wright became a citizen of Toulon, and de- 
 voted himself more fully to the upbuilding of this little commun- 
 ity, having been led to choose this place for the scene of his la- 
 bors, as he naively remarks in his journal, because of the three- 
 places under consideration, he thought "Toulon was the least re- 
 ligious, and yet italways gave him a good congregation." From tlie 
 dateof his location here, the matter of building a church was agitated 
 but it was at the expense of no small self-denial, and continu- 
 ous efforts, that the project was finally brought so near comple- 
 tion, and when in March, 1852, the congregation met in it, all un- 
 finished though it was, there was great rejoicing and congratula- 
 tion. And although we Toulonites can claim but little beauty for 
 any of our church edifices, not as much perhaps as circumstances 
 would justify in 1876, yet our congregations have set an example 
 in this fast age that may teach a good lesson, whether to individ- 
 uals or communities, viz : build within your means ! 
 
 Among other items, we find in looking over the records of this 
 church, that the fashion of "Donation Parties" was inaugurated 
 here January 1st, 1853, and the committee of arrangements were 
 Mrs. N. Butler, Mrs. Dr. Hall and Mrs. C. Ij. Eastman . New Year's 
 day was for many yeai-s always de\'oted by the membership of 
 this church, to visiting their pastor — a pleasant custom, and we re- 
 gret the practice seems falling into disuse. 
 
 Tlie policy of this organization has always been to take advance 
 ground in all matters of moral reform ; upon the slavery and 
 temperance questions it was especially radical under the guid- 
 ance of its first pastor. Applicants for membership were ques- 
 tioned as closely as to their opinions on these suljjects, as upon 
 their faith in holy writ. As an official decree they proclaimed i» 
 1S54, "We deem American slavery wholly unjustifiable, and at 
 war with the plainest precepts of the New Testament ; therefore, 
 we feel bound to set ourselves in all practical ways against it, and 
 are resolved, first, we will not knowingly allow any slaveholder 
 or apologist for slavery, to occupy our pulpit or dispense to us 
 the sacraments. Secondly, we will sustain no society, or public 
 print that we believe sanctions or apologizes for American slav- 
 ery." Of late years, these sentiments have become popular, but 
 it cost something to avow them in 1854, and something more in 
 
l.ji: STAKK COUNTY 
 
 1844, when ,but two anti-slavery votes were castin the county, and 
 one of them by Rev. S. G. Wright ! 
 
 The determination of this body to have a voice in j)ublic mat- 
 ters, and make its influence felt at the ballot box, has called out 
 much criticism from some quarters,, its enemies declaring it more 
 a political than a religious organization, and denouncing political 
 preaching as a curse to any country. 
 
 It comes not within the scope of our duties as a simple chroni- 
 cler of events, to determine, even were we competent to do so, 
 the wisdom or folly of either side in this controversy. 
 
 Still, we think no one who has carefully studied the current of 
 human events, will deny that when strongholds of error or vice 
 are to be subdued, some one must be found to lead the assault, to 
 make the breach, regardless of ridicule, odium or reproach. 
 
 So have the greatest reforms ever grown jfrom small and ob- 
 scure beginnings, but usually at the expense of martyrdom, lite- 
 ral, or otherwise, but still martyrdom — names execrated by one 
 generation, to be canonized by the next. 
 
 Thus, when " The Liberty Party" with James G. Birney as its 
 standard bearer, first threw its colors to the breeze in taking as its 
 motto " Liberty to the captive, and the bursting of prison doors 
 to them that are bound," it wag a laughing stock and by-word 
 in the land, its few adherents were mobbed and insulted without 
 mercy, whenever they attempted to proclaim their views. 
 
 Whigs and democrats combined to call this the " women's and 
 preacher's party," and we do not call it a misnomer, but give the 
 women and the preachers credit, if credit is the word, for sowing 
 the seed, often in ignominy and tears, that in the course of the 
 next generation bore as its ripened fruit, the Emancipation Pro- 
 clamation of Abraham Lincoln ! 
 
 And, as a lover of our kind, we can hardly suppress the wish 
 that the same forces may combine with equal firmness and fideli- 
 ty to banish yet other wrongs from our land. And whenever 
 they are ready to march upon the redoubts of intemperance, we 
 heartily wish them a victory, whether the Congregational church, 
 or some other organization leads. 
 
 It cannot be disputed that this church, despite the poverty and 
 struggles that marked it^ early life, has long held a leading posi- 
 tion among the churches of our town ; and this is due, not so much 
 to the number of its members, as to their character ; their influ- 
 ence is plainly discernible in our social life ; and to the musical 
 taste and culture of some of the older members of its choir, must 
 be attributed the proficiency that has been made in the "Divine 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 159 
 
 art" among the young people of late years. More than three 
 hundred persons have at one time or another held membership in 
 this church, its present and averagestrengthfor a number of years 
 being about one hundred and fifty or sixty. In 1863, they raised 
 with ditSculty three hundred and fifty dollars for the sui^port of 
 their pastor. During the administration of Rev. R. C. Dunn, 
 whfch began in January, 1855, the largest amount paid was six 
 hundred dollars, while the present incumbent receives one thou- 
 sand'dollars per annum. 
 
 During its thirty years of organized life, this church has had 
 but three pastors, and the time has l^een divided not very une- 
 qually among them, Rev. S. G. Wright ofiiciating the first ten 
 years, Rev. R. C. Dunn the next twelve, or thereabouts, and the 
 Rev. R. L. McCord must be in the ninth year of his service. Of 
 the two foriner gentlemen, further notice will be found in the 
 second part of this work, and of the last it may be remarked, he 
 is just making his history. Some future historian, must trace his 
 foot prints among the men and measures of this decade. An au- 
 thority we reverence, says : 
 
 "Aleasiire not the tcork till the day in out, 
 And then bring on your gauges. '' 
 
 A large sabbath school is also sustained, in connection with 
 this church. ' 
 
 THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH AT TOULON. 
 I 
 
 This church was organized May 13th, 184S, at the house of Ste- 
 phen W. Eastman, not two years after the Congregational had 
 sprung into existence in the family of Hugh Rhodes. 
 
 This started with eleven members while the other had but 
 nine. 
 
 The record says : "The following named persons resolved them- 
 selves into a church conference, calling Elder Elisha Gill to the 
 chair and appointing William M. Miner, clerk." Then followed 
 the names. Elder Elisha Gill, Elder James M. ■Stickney, Ozias 
 Winter, Henry T. Ives, Abigail Gill, Cynthia Stickney, Helen 
 Winter, Hannah Parrish, Susan M. Eastman, Mrs. H. T. Ives, 
 and Mrs. Sarah A. Chamberlain. 
 
 They resolved to adopt the covenant and confession of faith as 
 found in the minutes of the Illinois River Association, for 1845. 
 And, as the " recognition " of an ecclesiastical council seems to be 
 
154 STARK COUNTY 
 
 necessary to constitute a " regular Baptist church," such council 
 was convened in the town of Toulon, June 2-jth, 1848, and the in- 
 fant church was duly recognized, and proceeded on its way, waf- 
 ted by prayers, and freighted with hopes ! And for a time all 
 went well, many were gathered within its fold ; among others Mr. 
 John Culbertson, who was while he lived, its generous patron and 
 supporter. 
 
 Perhaps no church in our county, surely none in our town, ever 
 conducted series of revival meetings that attracted such general 
 attention, and were attended with such surprising results as 
 this. 
 
 We learn from the records, that on October 21st, 1851, Elder 
 Barry, from Little Falls, New York, was first introduced to the 
 church by Elder Gross, its pastor. And Moody and Sankey with 
 all the eclat derived from their European tour, can hardly monop- 
 olize public attention more completely in the large cities they vis- 
 it, than did Elder Barry and his preaching, the attention of our 
 little town in 1851. 
 
 As the result of this meeting, about thirty persons, all of ma- 
 ture age and high standing, were immersed and received into the 
 communion of the church, at one time, besides many more who 
 followed soon after the meeting had formally closed. 
 
 The devout clerk records, that he reckons a richer treat was ne- 
 ver enjqj-ed by American christians ! 
 
 And again in 1853, the church held meetings at the old court 
 house every day from December 30th, until January, 29th, 1854, 
 on which day fourteen more were immersed, and in all twenty- 
 one received. Thus this church waxed rich and strong, and 
 seemed to be favored by Heaven, above all her cotemporaries. 
 She built the substantial brick edifice just south of the court 
 house square, and inscribed it as the "First Baptist Church of 
 Toulon, erected A. D. 1854." 
 
 These were the palmy days of her life wherein she rejoiced, but 
 storms were gathering, although the cloud at present seemed "no 
 bigger than a man's hand . " Thereafter her history was to bea sort of' 
 travesty on the " decline and fall of the Roman Empire." Abu- 
 ses of power on the one hand, and fierce resistance on the other, 
 charges and counter charges, conflicts of opinion, expulsions for 
 heresy, impeachment and excommunication of one leader, only 
 to efl'dct a change, not a redress of grievances, until after a bitter 
 experience with another so-called revivalist. Elder S. A. Estee, , 
 February, 1868, it was finally " resolved, that whereas, the trou- 
 bles and difficulties existing in the first Baptist Church at Toulon 
 
AND ITS PIOXEEES. 155 
 
 have reached so great a magnitude, that we can see no way of set- 
 tling them so we can live in peace, and advance the cause of 
 Christ, therefore, resolved, that all the members of this church 
 who subscribe to this resolution, have the privilege of asking for 
 letters of dismission, and that the same be granted by the 
 church." 
 
 Here now was revolution and secession all in a n^itshell ; and a 
 fiercer than political contest was waged by a few determined spir- 
 its to prevent the dissolution of the old church ; but the majority 
 triumphed and the vote to disband was cast February 29th, 1868. 
 And "all the property of the first Church, was to be surrendered to 
 a committee, to be held for the benefit of another Baptist church 
 hereafter to be organized." This majority then adjourned " to 
 meet in Mr. Hiram Willett's store building the next Sunday mor- 
 ning at 10} o'clock." 
 
 The pastors of this body since 1848, down to the division in 1868, 
 were, named in the order of time. Elders J. M. Stickney, A. Gross 
 C. Brinkerhoflf, iMyron H. Xegus, William Leggett, A. J. Wright, 
 E. P. Barker, Dodge and S. A. Estee. 
 
 But Mr. Culbertson had made a deed of the church property, 
 only so long as it remained in possession of the first Baptistchurch 
 at Toulon, and in the event of that body ceasing to exist, the 
 church building would revert to his heirs. Therefore, tile most 
 strenuous efforts were put forth by a few to sustain an organiza- 
 tion that should comply with the conditions necessary to hold 
 the property. 
 
 They still continued to meet in the old church, and although 
 but a handful, proceeded to engage Rev. Brimhall as a pastor, 
 and in August, 1868, elected as trustees, John Culbertson, Owen 
 Thomas, Jacob Wagner, and Harlan Pierce. But like its great 
 prototypes of antiquity, this church failed to learn wisdom from 
 the lessons of bitter experience, and as late as October 8th, 1870, 
 their ranks were again thinned by trials and expulsions for here- 
 sy, alias difierences of opinion. 
 
 Among those from whom tlie "hand of fellowship was with- 
 drawn " on this occasion, was Mrs. ilartha Pierce, than whom a 
 more intelligent, devout, christian lady could not be found in our 
 community. 
 
 But she had come to believe the. scriptures as taught by the 
 "Second Adventists," and although she had stood by this Bap- 
 tist Church during its darkest hours, and unflinchingly sustained 
 it by her means and influence, she was now an outcast from its 
 doors, and went, henceforth to meet with the little body of kin- 
 
156 STARK COUNTY 
 
 dred faith, who for a time lield religious services in Gebhart's 
 Hall. 
 
 These people, although too few in numbers and poor in circum- 
 stances to maintain an organization in the presence of so many 
 strong opposing influences, are still not to be overlooked in writ- 
 ing up the church history of our town, for they are assuredly ma- 
 king an impression upon the currents of religious thought. 
 
 But to return to the annals of the first Baptist church we find it 
 reduced to about half a dozen members, and asking Elder Stick- 
 ney to again. minister to its spiritual wants, as he had done at the 
 beginning. This for a time he did, but the real leader of this lit- 
 tle flock is the Elder's wife, Mrs. Cynthia Stickney. One of the 
 original members of this church, which really drew its life from 
 her father's family and her own, she has shared its fortunes with 
 unswerving fidelity ; shrinking from no labor, however toilsome 
 or distasteful, sparing no expense, whatever the personal sacrifice, 
 she to-day sustains the remnant by her own indomitable will. 
 
 While we cannot share her convictions, or believe that "the 
 hand of the Lord " is discernible in the record we have been tra- 
 cing, we can stand in the outer court, in this era of apostasy and 
 materialism, and admire a faith and courage so sublime, qualities 
 that in the by gone ages would have made their possessor a saint 
 or martyr, or perhaps both. But, a prophet is still without hon- 
 or among his own ; and this lady walks humbly amongst us, 
 claiming little, and perchance receiving less. 
 
 The old building underwent thorough repairs last summer 
 through this woman's liberality, and is at this date, one of the 
 pleasantest places of worship in Toulon, Elder L. D. Gowan of 
 Galva occupying its pulpit every alternate Sabbath, and is usual- 
 ly met by a good congregation ; a sabbath school and prayer n\eet- 
 ing are also regularly sustained, so there is no immediate pros- 
 pect of the property reverting to the Culbertson heirs. 
 
 Since its organization this church has had upon its records near 
 three hundred names, and for a number of years its general 
 strength seems to have been over one hundred. 
 
 THE SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH OF TOULON. 
 
 This church, which was organized by the disaffected members 
 of the first Baptist church, dates its existence from March 4th, 
 1868, and is still in its youth ; although not claiming the same in- 
 terest that attaches to pioneer churches, yet the circumstances of 
 its formation beingsomewhatpeculiar, we give a summary of them 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 157 
 
 as drawn from its records, together with the names of those 
 prominent in tlie movement at the beginning. These are : Hiram 
 WiUett, Abram Bowers, 8. "W. Eastman, A. F. Stickney,L. Geer, 
 L. Clark, O. Dyer, J. Ives, H. Y. ,, Godfrey, Benjamin Packer, 
 Mrs. Packer, Mrs. C. Bowers, Mrs. M. Eastman, Mrs. C. Lyon, 
 Misses M. Henry, Eliza Eastman, Celestia Eastman, Lettie Bow- 
 ers, and Martha Bowers. 
 
 "A council was called in the Congregational church, to take in- 
 to consideration the propriety of recognizing as a regular Baptist 
 church, certain brethren and sisters, formerly belonging to the 
 first Baptist church of Toulon, said brethren and sisters having 
 organized themselves into a regular Baptist church." 
 
 "Council called to order by Elder A. J. Wright, of Saxon ; on 
 motion. Elder K. W. Benton of Kewanee acted as moderator, 
 and A. J. Wright, also as clerk. The resolution of said Baptist 
 church, in calling the council was then read, and the names of the 
 churches invited to send delegates, were called, and the following 
 responded through their delegates: Osceola, E. L. Moore, and 
 
 brother ; Neponset, Elder E. L. Moore and brothers Lewis and 
 
 Eobb; Kewanee, K. W. Benton and brother C. B. Miner; Saxon, 
 Elder A. J. Wright and brothers James Dexter and Frank Wil- 
 liamson ; Wyoming, Elder J. M. Stickney and brother O. C. 
 Walker." 
 
 This council convened on the morning of the 18th of March, 
 1868. In the afternoon of the same day, at the same place, the 
 minutes of the " first church," pertaining to the withdrawal of 
 said brethren and sisters, were read by the clerk of the first 
 church. 
 
 " On motion, resolved. That the council now go into private ses. 
 sion, in order to consider the subject of " recognition." 
 
 " Next, resolved, That the church be requested, through their 
 delegates, to give a statement of their reasons for withdrawing 
 from the first church." A clear and satisfactory statement was 
 made by parties cognizant of the facts from the beginning, and 
 the consequence was, a motion was made and carried to recognize 
 these brethren and sisters as constituting a regular Baptist 
 church. 
 
 This motion was freely discussed. Their confession of faith 
 and covenant, scrutinized, and protests considered, after which it 
 was decided by the council to make their vote unanimous in fav- 
 or of recognition. The next month they began the work of erec- 
 ting a new church building, reported the sum of $2,025 on sub- 
 ,scription, and elected as trustees, Benjamin Packer, Julius Ives, 
 
158 STAEK COUXTV 
 
 Stephen W. Eastman, Hugh Y. Godfrey and Luther Geer ; and 
 voted to constitute them also their buildingcommittee. Mr. Pack- 
 er afterwards offered "specifications," drawn up by W. P. Caver- 
 ly, architect, which they decided to adopt, the building to cost 
 when completed, $2,372. 
 
 This structure was completed during the summer of 1868, and 
 although small, is well planned and neatly finished, and has a 
 very pleasant location at the crossing of Main and Olive streets. 
 Elder "VV. A. Welsher, their first pastor, was an able man and 
 popular preacher, but probably being ambitious of a larger field 
 of labor he left, regretted by all, after about two years of serv- 
 ice here. He since resided for some years at Cambridge, from 
 which place he removed to Belvidere, to take charge of a large 
 and flourishing congregation. Since Welsher, their pastors have 
 been successively. Elders Gowan, Negus and Hart. Attempts 
 have been set on foot of late to reunite these two churches again 
 in one ; much can be said in favor of such a proposition, but so 
 far, the obstacles seem insurmountable, and no real progress has 
 been made toward such a conclusion. 
 
 Probably the generation that took part in the conflict of 1868, 
 must pass from the scene of action, ere all the old wounds will 
 heal. But we can hardly forbear to note in passing, that this bo- 
 dy in two years after its formation, gave proof of its legitimate 
 descent, by Mlthdrawing fellowship from Mr. Hiram Willett, be- 
 cause " he could no longer conscienl 'ously maintain and endorse 
 the articles of faith as interpreted by the church." Is there, or is 
 there not, a suggestion of that famous Procrustean bedstead of 
 Attica, in such creeds ? 
 
 There is no whisper of immorality against this man, no. charge 
 of duty neglected ; on tlie contrary, he was, until this change of 
 opinion, a pillar of the church. But he comes to believe "that 
 the second coming of Christ is near at hand, that the weight of 
 evidence in the Scriptures represents the dead in an uncon- 
 scious state until the resurrection ; also, that in the judgment day 
 the wicked shall be destroyed with an everlasting destruction, 
 but the righteous be received into life eternal." Consequently 
 he is a heretic, judged by Baptist standards, or the standards of 
 many other orthodox churches. And this may be all right ; we 
 but record it, as a scrap of church history for 1870. But were we 
 ambitious of such distinction as was won by " mother Ann," or 
 Barbara Heck, or by many another leader of the opposite sex, we 
 would ask no better material out of which to mould a progressive 
 religious organization, than that which has been condemned by 
 
AND ITS nONEERS. 1,59 
 
 these two Bapti.-it churches, as heretical in the last twenty-five or 
 thirty years. ^ 
 
 CHEISTIAN C'HUKCH OF TOrLOJs^ 
 
 The Christian church, often opprobriously styled " Campbell- 
 ite," was organized in Toulon, at the old court house, as their re- 
 cords say, "The second Lord's day in July ,^ 1849," with Milton P. 
 Ki^ as pastor, and eight members^only four of these beijig resi- 
 dents of Toulon. They were David McCance and wife, Edward 
 Wilson and wife, Elijah McClennahan and wife, Henry Sweet 
 and James Bates ; the four first mentioned being residents here, 
 the others coming, some of them, many miles to attend the 
 meeting. 
 
 , But this little organization supplied by devotion and zeal what 
 it lacked of men and money, arid it grew apace. Men of talent, 
 mighty in the scriptures, came from afar to aid their struggling 
 brethren, and as they presented the truths of scripture in a man- 
 ner fundamentally unlike the so called orthodox churches, they 
 supplied, in those days at least, a new sensation, and were pro- 
 portionally successful, making frequent inroads on the neighbor- 
 ing congregations, and many flocked to be " baptized for remis- 
 sion of sins," as in the olden times. 
 
 In 1855 they succeeded in erecting a substantial brick edifice on 
 Washington street, and have for the most jaart ever since support- 
 ed a resident pastor. Although not so strong now as formerly, the 
 trouble must be looked for within, as in the daj-s when outside, 
 opposition was the strongest they gained their greatest strength. 
 Their house of worship and grounds are worth from $4,000 to 
 $5,000, and their records show that more than four hundred per- 
 sons have at one time or another been gathered within their fold. 
 During many years their membership averaged one hundred 
 reaching sometimes one hundred and twenty-five. The present 
 strength, however, is probably between seventy and eighty. 
 
 Their pastors named in the order of their service are Milton P. 
 King, Dr. Lucas, Charles Berry, Hiimphery, Aton, James Darsie, 
 Beekman, Lloyd and Ames. Of these, if we may hazard an opin- 
 ion without offence, the most remarkable were Rev. J. C. Berry 
 and Rev. James Darsie. These men were both past middle life 
 when they came to Toulon, both had been educated Baptists, and 
 had taken their present stand after mature deliberation, and at no 
 little personal sacrifice, as we learn is also true of the present in- 
 cumbent. They were both men of profound biblical research, 
 
160 STARK COUNTY 
 
 and Mr. Darsie was a fluent speaker. Being chosen by the vari- 
 ous churches, of our town to deliver an address upon the death of 
 Lincoln, he displayed a power of thought and command of lan- 
 guage that astonished those who without knowing his ability had 
 been wont to sneer at him as a " Campbellite preacher." Right 
 here, with the reader's permission, we will close our notice of 
 the Toulon Churches with an anecdote of this man. He was of 
 Scotch blood, warm and impetuous by nature, but cool and self- 
 controlled by habit, and made it a point of conscience to asigid 
 all political matters in his sabbath day discourses ; nevertheless 
 he was at heart an ardent patriot, and believed in preserving the 
 union at any cost, but this was not quite the temper of all his 
 hearers. At one time the news came of the death of one of our 
 " brave boys in blue," on the ramparts at Franklin. This young 
 man was a member of Mr. Darsie's church, and of course it de- 
 volved on him to preach the funeral discourse. A large audience 
 gathered, and breathless silence pervaded the house. Those who 
 scanned the minister's face closely, noticed evidence of unwonted 
 excitement ; there was a flush on his cheek and a light in his eye 
 not often there, and when he opened the solemn services of the 
 hour, his teeth seemed set more firmly than common. He com- 
 menced his sermon, the text we do not now recall, but that is a 
 matter of indifference, as we think he sopn forgot it himself. But 
 as he warmed with his subject, and at the recollection of all this 
 attempt at secession had cost our land, he poured out such a tor- 
 rent of invective against those in the north who apologized for the 
 course of the south, or threw any obstacles in the way of a vigor- 
 ous prosecution of the war, as probably they had never heard be- 
 fore. It caused many in his congregation to tremble, and their 
 hair almost to stand on end, so unexpected and vi olent were his 
 denunciations, while those against whom_ his bolts were suppos- 
 ed to be hurled were kept silent listeners by the proprieties of so 
 sad an occasion, and the presence of the sorrow stricken family. 
 
 Those were days of fierce excitement, and even in our quiet 
 village many felt as if walking daily on a powder magazine that 
 a careless spark might explode at any time ; so it was with anx- 
 ious hearts that people left the Christian church that Sunday after- 
 noon. 
 
 But after a night's sleep had cooled the fevered brain of the 
 preacher, he sought those whom he had reason to know would be 
 offended at his course, and said in effect, " I don't like political 
 preaching, and never intended to do any of it. These are my sen- 
 timents, but that was not the place to promulgate them, but I 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 161 
 
 could n't help it— 7 couldn't help it. All I have to say further is 
 don't ask me to preach any more soldier's funerals, or I won't be 
 responsible for the consequences." And after all, the young man 
 supposed killed, came home again, surprised enough to learn what 
 an excitement his funeral had created. 
 
 JOURNALISM. 
 
 In the winter of 185i5-6, John G. Hewitt^ — son of DaA'id Hewitt, 
 who is still among us — conceived the idea of a newspaper in Tou- 
 lon. He had been known in the place only as a dentist, but was 
 supposed to have had connection with the newspaper press some- 
 where, and in some capacity. He named the project to a few of ' 
 the "leading" men ; and it met their hearty approval, as such 
 prppositions always do in a small town. So a subscription paper 
 was started, and about $300 raised, which was given as a "bonus" 
 to start the proposed paper. 
 
 With this, Mr. Hewitt went down to Pekin, in this state, and 
 made an arrangement with John Smith of that place, to remove 
 his old office to Toulon. And an " old office " it was. The press 
 was one of the first — probably about the third one in Illinois. 
 The type were completely worn Out, being just fit for what is 
 called in the classic phrase of printers, the " hell-box." The job 
 type were scanty and worn out ; and altogether the office about 
 worthless. But a co-partnership was formed under the name of 
 Smith & Hewitt, the office, such as it was, came on and was set up 
 in what had been the circuit clerk's office of the old court house ; 
 and on the first' day of January, 1856, the first number of the 
 " Prairie Advocate " made its appearance. The print was sim- 
 ply intolerable, and it is not too much to say that the paper was a 
 disappointment to publishers and patrons. But it struggled 
 along, and the next summer the old reading matter type were 
 thrown out and replaced by new. This helped its appearance 
 somewhat, and at least made it possible to read it. 
 
 The struggle for life of the Advocate, in the first year of its ex- 
 istence need not be recorded, even if the details could now be 
 known. Suffice it to say that of course the paper did not pay. 
 Mr. Smith who was a man of some means, had already seen serv- 
 ice enough in a printing office to cure him of that ambition which 
 would pursue the printing business for fun when it was sinking 
 his means, and he decided to get out. 
 
 But right at this point we must introduce a third character, ^ 
 who, although he had nothing to do with the paper, began here 
 11 
 
162 STARK COUNTY 
 
 a course Y^hich has had much to do with Stark county and Illinois 
 journalism. 
 
 Oliver White, then a young man, was teaching school in Tou- 
 lon, but was an extensive correspondent of the Advocate, under 
 various assumed names, and being an intimate friend of Hewitt 
 spent much of his leisure at the offiee. He began to set type for 
 amusement, as well as to write, and before the summer was end- 
 ed had made considerable progress as a compositer. It is due 
 this individual to state that this natural dropping in among pa- 
 pers and type was after all no accident. He had besieged his fa- 
 ther, during all the years of boyhood to find him a situation in a 
 printing oflBce, to learn the business. This, his father had re- 
 garded as a boy's whim and gave it little consideration. But 
 now, the boy's whim must give color to the man's life ; for after 
 learning another trade and attaining his majority, he was to en- 
 ter upon his chosen vocation, with everything to learn ; when un- 
 der favoring circumstances he should have been a master Instead 
 of an apprentice. Overtures were made to him that summer to 
 drop everything else and enter regularly upon the business of. 
 journalism, then and there ; but he had already learned enough 
 to know that the Prairie Advocate office was not the proiper school, 
 and in the latter part of that summer he made an engagement on 
 the Henry County Dial, then edited by the late General Howe, 
 and printed by B. B. Chambers, one of the finest printers then-in 
 the state. 
 
 Mr. Smith sold out his interest in, the Advocate to Mr. Hewitt, 
 and bought him a farm, and the latter pursued the business with 
 a lone hand. But this did not last long. In the following winter 
 a better business prospect was developed in Princeton, and Mr. 
 Hewitt decided to seize upon it if he could dispose of the Advo- 
 cate. He opened negotiations with Mr. White who was then edi- 
 ting the Dial for another party. General Howe having retired, but 
 did not effect a sale. He sold, however, in the spring of 1857, to 
 Rev. R. C. Dunn, and it was then that the paper took the name of 
 the Stark County News. But Mr. Dunn found a very unproduc- 
 tive and not too congenial field of labor, and after a few months 
 he sold out the materials of the office to Henderson and Whita- 
 ker. These gentlemen bought with a hope merely that they ; 
 might be able to rent or otherwise let it to some one who would 
 keep the paper running, but without any thought of entering 
 the newspaper field, or even of speculation. The publication was 
 then continued by Dr. S. S.Kaysbier, who had already gained 
 
AN^D ITS PIONEERS. 163 
 
 some knowledge of the business during Mr. Dunn's administra- 
 tion. 
 
 The publication was thus continued with some degree of regu- 
 larity, but with no financial success, until the winter of 1860-61, 
 when it was abandoned, and for months the office stood idle. 
 
 In the fall of 1861, Mr. W. H. Butler of Wyoming, was induced 
 to take the office and start a paper. He was known to be a man 
 of means and ability ; and of so much personal popularity that it 
 was supposed the community would rally around him, and give 
 him a hearty support. 'He called his paper the Stark County Un- 
 ion, and aimed to keep out of the political caldron. Of course he 
 printed it well and conducted it with dignity ; but suffice it to say 
 it did not pay ; and after a few months' effort to place it on a pay- 
 ing basis, he abandoned the attempt and refunded the money to 
 all advance subscribers. 
 
 Again the office lay for months idle ; but in the spring of 1863, 
 Dr. S. S. Kaysbier decided to try the experiment of a very small 
 cheap paper. Accordingly he went in and commenced to issue a 
 little sheet, four columns to the page— again under the name of 
 the Stark County News. 
 
 It is a notable fact that this little paper paid its way, for the 
 first time that a paper had ever paid in Toulon. This continued 
 until the first of January, 1864, when a co-partnership having 
 been formed with Oliver White, the paper was enlarged to six 
 columns size. It is a matter of history that in the first number 
 of this enlarged paper, the name of Abraham Lincoln was run up 
 for a second term ; and Mr. White wrote ^a brief editorial ou the 
 subject, which was the first public mention of Mr^ Lincoln for a 
 second term, in the whole country. The paragraph \vas taken up 
 and hawked about, from Maine to California — being commented on 
 sometimes of course with a sneer, and sometimes as a suggestion 
 worthy of consideration. But the name stood there at the« head 
 of the editorial column, until Lincoln was re-elected. 
 
 In the summer of 1861:, Mr. Kaysbier retired Jrom the business 
 and the publication was continued by Mr. White alone. The pa- 
 per was now on a paying basis, and the publisher applied all 
 available means to building up the office in materials. New type 
 was bought from time to time ; and in the course of two years a 
 very good country office for those days was the result. But in the 
 spring of 1866, Mr. White decided to advocate the nomination of 
 Hon. E. C. Ingersoll for congress, rather than that of General T. 
 J. Henderson who was the choice of many leading republicans, 
 and was moreover half owner of the press Mr. White used. We 
 
164 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 do not wish to allude to this controversy further than to merely 
 show its effect upon our newspaper history. 
 
 Very naturally General Henderson objected to furnish his op- 
 ponents witli weapons wherewith to assail himself, and thus Mr. 
 White was compelled to procure another press by means of which 
 to advocate the IngersoU interests. This he did very promptly, 
 the paper not suspending an issue. Upon reporting this change of 
 base to the proprietors of the first press, and requesting to know 
 where he should store the same, Mr. Wliite was ordered to store 
 it in a very^warm country, with a very sliorfc name, but being 
 somewhat in doubt as to the exact locality of that place he com- 
 promised matters by throwing the type in the " hell box," and all 
 the wooden furniture out of a second story windosv ! So senseless 
 are political animosities. 
 
 In the fall of 1868, Mr. White sold a half interest in his ofiice to 
 Mr. Joseph Smethurst and in the following spring the other half 
 to Mr. Edwin Butler. A fevy months later Mr. Butler bought out 
 Smethurst and assumed entire control of " The Stark County 
 News," which has since jogged along without many romantic 
 episodes to mark its history. It is still in 1876, under the direction 
 of Mr. Butler, and as it has been for the greater part of the time, 
 the sole organ of the dominant party in our growing and prosper- 
 ous county, it is presumable that it has paid well ; at any rate the 
 editor recently made the characteristic remark, ithat "its career 
 had been satisfactory to him whether it had pleased any one else 
 or not." 
 
 During the exciting campaign of 1860, the,democrats of Stark 
 county, organized a "Douglas Club," and decided that the best 
 way to advocate the claims of their candidates was to start a cam- 
 paign paper, which was accordingly done, the first number of 
 the Stark County Democrat appearing in July, 1860, with M. 
 ShaUenberger as editor. 
 
 Perhaps it is not too much to say that the editorial department 
 of this little sheet was well sustained, and in its columns were 
 found many able communications from the leading writers of the 
 county who endorsed its political faith. It was printed by Mr. 
 Bassett, at Kewanee, and closed its brief life with the defeat of 
 Douglas in 1860. 
 
 In August, 1867, about the same class of gentlemen determined 
 to start and sustain if possible a permanent democratic paper 
 within Stark county. Arrangements were made to purchase an 
 office, that is press, type, &c., from Mr. John Smith, now of 
 Princeton, the same John Smith who had supplied the antiqua- 
 
AND ITS J'lOXEERS. 105 
 
 ted concern with ^\'hich Mr. Hewitt had commenced worlc in 
 1855. Benjamin Turner, M. Shall enberger, Patriclc Nowlan, 
 James Nowlan and Branson Lowman became responsil^le to Mr. 
 Smith for payment for said press. Seth Roclcwell, a young prin- 
 ter took charge of the publication of this paper, wliich was to be 
 called after its predecessor " The Starli County Democrat," and M. 
 Shallenberger took control of the editorial department for a year. 
 This paper seems to have secured a good circulation and met the 
 wishes of its patrons, but Mr. Rockwell faliled to keep his engage- 
 ment with Mr. Smith, and the securities took the press off his 
 hands, and in August, 1868, sold to Benjamin W. Seaton, an ex- 
 perienced printer; M. Shallenberger continuing to edit conjointly 
 with the new publisher ior another year, at which time Mr. Sea- 
 ton took entire control, and changed the name of the paper to that 
 of " The Prairie Chief." At this time he enlarged the paper, and 
 added much to the resources of the office, his management being 
 considered eminently successful considering time, place and op- 
 portunities. But early in the year 1872, finding a larger and 
 more inviting field of effort in Henry county, he sold his Toulon 
 office to Henry M. Hall, M'ho continued to publish a democratic 
 paper here from April, 1872, till .January, 1876, when he conclud- 
 ed to remove to the state of Iowa, where he now publishes " The 
 Red Oak New Era," devoted for the present to " Tilden and re- 
 form." So Stark county democrats are again without a local pa- 
 per devoted to the dissemination of their principles. 
 
 ^ The new sensation in Stark county journalism that marks this 
 centennial year, is the advent of a tiny tri-weekly, called " Molly 
 Stark," from the office of O. White, at Toulon. It is yet too soon 
 in the history of this enterprise to judge of its ultimate success. 
 But this we can say, it is commanding a good share of attention, 
 and deserves more than it receives. Mr. White's idea of issuing 
 a, small sheet often, filled, not with "Chicago hash," or "patent 
 insides," but with the pith of the latest intelligence, and para- 
 graphs of local importance, meets the approbation of many minds. 
 And this, with his well known taste in selection, makes " Molly 
 Stark " like a newsy letter, very enjoyable to people generally. A^ 
 an advertising medium, it is also important to business men, and 
 needs only more liberal patronage to secure it as a permanent ad- 
 vantage to many interests. 
 
 However, the editor's political prescience that led him to set 
 the lamented Lincoln at the head of his columns in 1864, seems to 
 have forsaken him in 1876, as we noticed " Molly Stark " led off 
 
166 STARK COUNTY 
 
 with Blaine as a figure head, but has, ere many months elapsed, 
 changed at tlie bidding of party to Hayes and Wheeler. 
 
 We append a short summary of the business done in Toulon 
 during the year 1874. 
 
 BANKING. 
 
 Total deposits, $1,547,240 19 
 
 Exchange sold, 746,831 66 
 
 Notes and bills discounted 588,651 96 
 
 Total, $2,882,723 81 
 
 MERCHANDISE. 
 
 Sales of merchandise, . $189,324 40 
 
 " Hardware and agricultural implements, . . 26,300 00 
 
 " Lumber, 25,763 95 
 
 " Furniture, 9,000 00 
 
 " Watches and jewelry, 5,000 00 
 
 " Millinery and dressmaking, .... 7,20870 
 
 " Drugs and medicines, 19,000 00 
 
 " Building, 51,675 00 
 
 " Mechanics and manufactures, . . . 88,690 96 
 
 " Miscellaneous 16,400 00 
 
 Total, $268,363 01 
 
 There were shipped from the station at Toulon during the year 
 , 1874, 200 cars of corn, 145 cars of hogs,' 107 cars of oats, 68 cars of 
 cattle, 30 cars of rye, 10 cars of wheat, 5 cars of household goods, 
 2 cars of brick, 2 cars of hay, 1 car of flour, 1 car of mules, 1 car , 
 of horses, and one car of sheep. Of merchandise, butter, eggs, 
 hides, &c., there were shipped 251,700 pounds. 
 
 During the same year there were received 151 cars of lumber, 8 
 cars of hogs, 9 cars of salt, 1 car of nails, 5 cars of cattle, 2 cars of 
 stone, 4 cars of lime, 11 ears of brick, 1 car of sewer pipe and 
 1,507,059 pounds of merchandise. The passenger business for the 
 same time was $4,492.80. 
 
 The Toulon cheese manufacturing company was organized De- 
 cember 22d, 1874, with a capital of $5,000. The manufacture of 
 cheese was commenced May 10th, 1875, and closed for the winter, 
 October 23rd of the same year. During this first season there 
 
AND ITS PJ[ONEEES. 167 
 
 were 420,616 pounds of milk purchased. Prom this 41,800 pounds 
 of cheese was manufactured, and proved to be excellent in quali- 
 ty and flavor, and a ready market was found for all that could be 
 made. The milk and labor cost the company $4,850.74. The fac- 
 tory is one of the best arranged in this part of the state. Its 
 ground dimensions are 40x60 feet, with an engine room additional. 
 The second story, which is of the same size as the ground floor is 
 used entirely for drying. There are at present two vats, each of a 
 capacity of 5,000 pounds of milk, and with all the latest improve- 
 ments in machinery, the factory, is perfectly equipped for its work. 
 The season of 1876, at this present writing is just opened, but 
 shows an increase of more than double the first season in receipts 
 of milk. The total cost of the structure and machinery was $3,500. 
 
 , WYOMING. 
 
 Among our towns, Wyoming is entitled to the claim of priority 
 in order of time ; being founded by General Thomas, May, 1836, it 
 antedates Toulon by four years, Lafayette by less than one. 
 
 For a long time it had little but a name. In a communication 
 to " The Lacon Herald " in 1888, it is spoken of as having upon 
 its site "one second hand log smoke house" which served the 
 double purpose of store and post of&ce. Nevertheless its name 
 appears upon several maps of that time, and it was a prominent 
 candidate for the county seat. It is said that some speculators in- 
 terested in the sale of lots, had circulars struck off and circulated 
 in the eastern states, in which this town was represented in 1837, 
 at the head of navigation on Spoon river, with fine warehouses 
 towering aloft and boats lying at the wharf which negroes were 
 loading and unloading, giving the appearence of a busy commer- 
 cial mart. This may be but a story, still it serves to illustrate 
 the speculating mania of those days ; which disease has not yet 
 ceased to afflict mankind, but only traveled a few degrees farther 
 west. 
 
 A gentleman who had been somewhat victimized by such false 
 reports, in 1838 revenged himself by perpetrating the following 
 rhymes : 
 
 " Osceola's but a name, a staked out town at best, 
 Which.,fUke the Indian warrior's fame, has sunk to endless rest. 
 Wyominff's still an emptier sound, with scarce a ivooden peg, 
 . Save that my old friend Barrett* has, to serve him as a leg .'" 
 
 * A one legged shoemaker who resided .it "Wyoming at an early day. 
 
168 STAKK COUXTY 
 
 The town of Osceola will never be hsard of again, except as. a* 
 reminiscence; but as to Wyoming* the dreams of her founders 
 have only been slow of navigation. If the last few j'ears have 
 not brought navigable water and laded steamers, they have 
 brought the steam engine and its groaning, creaking train of pass- 
 enger and freight cars, bringing business and consequent growth 
 and prosperity in its wake. The community wliich so long ex- 
 isted as a mere hamlet or village, sprang at the shrill cry of the 
 steam whistle into a thriving town, garrisoned with a full and ef- 
 ficient corps of enterprising business men, who know no such 
 word as failure. , ' 
 
 For the opening of the Dixon, Peoria' and Hannibal railway, 
 now known as the Buda branch of the Chicago, Burlington and 
 Quincy railway, they are mainly indebted to the untiring and 
 long unrequited labors of Dr. Alfred Castle. 
 
 The completion of the Peoria and Bock Island railway in 1871, 
 doubled their facilities for business, and this together with their 
 immense coal treasures opens an alluring prospect for the future. 
 
 Wyoming in 1874, claims a population of thirteen hundred or 
 more, and is incoriDorated under the "general law," having a 
 president and board of trustees, &c. There is nothing peculiar in 
 the character of this board only as they are supposed to represent 
 the public sentiment of the town by constituting themselves an 
 anti-license board, ^ so far as the sale of spirituous liquors is con- 
 cerned — and this is true whatever sentiment the individuals mem- 
 bers thereof may entertain on the vexed questions of Jhe liquor 
 traffic. Public sentiment is so strongly opposed to it,' that there 
 seems no danger of its being legalized for many years to come at 
 any rate. 
 
 Every argument has been adduced, every device resorted to, 
 every effort made by the votaries of Bacchus, and those quasi 
 temperance folks \vho talk about " regulating the evil," to change 
 this legislation, but in vain. Wyoming does not propose to "bene- 
 fit her trade " by making drunkards of her sons, or raise a revenue 
 by imposing fines upon them, but is so far as her government can 
 make her so a strictly temperance town. This state of things has . 
 obtained for ten or twelve years, or ever since the " woman's 
 - raid," an episode which though condemned by some, has certain- 
 ly resulted in good to the community at large. And while good 
 citizens concur in deploring mobs at all times, if the iron of a 
 great wrong is allowed to burn into the very flesh of any class or 
 l)arty however small or helpless, and legal redress is persistently 
 
AXD ITS PIONEERS. ' 169 
 
 denied, we may expect slicIi outbreaks. Let our rulers learn 
 wisdom ; tliere is an end to liuman endurance— even woman's 
 sometimes fails, and then she seeks to avenge her fearful wounds 
 by frantic violence and unwomanly deeds. 
 
 But Wyoming is determined there shall be no future necessity 
 for such action, and pursues the wise policy of choosing for her' 
 municipal officers her best men, irrespective of party ijolitics. 
 And the business done, the improvements made, the economy ob- 
 served, the quiet and good order that usually prevail, as well as 
 the evenness of the receipts and expenditures at the close of each 
 fiscal year, all testify to the soundness of her policy. 
 
 Before turning to other matters, it may be Avell to record the 
 names of the present town board — not for the idle compliment of 
 naming them in this connection, but because it is the constant 
 aim of the writer to give names prominent in any entei-prise or 
 proceedings alluded to, in order to give a sort of individuality to 
 these pages and add to their interest and value in after years, if 
 not at the date of publication. 
 
 President and board of trustees of the town of Wyoming 1S75 : 
 President, S. F. Otman ; Trustees, C^. W. Scott, J. H. Klocke, C. 
 P. McCorkle, D. H. Stone, A. D. Wolfe; Clerk, W. PI. Butler ; 
 Attorney, J. E. Decker ; Reporter, E. I-I. Phelps. Other town 
 officials: A. G. Hammond, Treasurer; Isaac Thomas, Magis- 
 trate ; Harvey Pettit, Constable. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 In this regard Wyoming has done well. Of the five denomina- 
 tions represented here, four of them have respectable church edi- 
 flcqg, the fifth (United Brethren), although weak as regards num- 
 bers, has recently purchased a school house and are repairing and 
 refitting it, and will doubtless make it a good house of worship. 
 The others will be briefly noticed in the order of their organiza- 
 tion, whicii of course brings the Metliodist to the front, as it en- 
 joys the honor of being throughout our land the pioneer church. 
 Writes a correspondent : " There is an air of antiquity about it, 
 that does not pertain to any other, as it had an existence before 
 the, town or county was thought of as to iiame. Beyond, in the 
 twilight of our history, when ' the groves were God's temples,' 
 the itinerant preachers of this faith ' held forth in this part of 
 the moral vinyard.' My recollection goes back to 1835, — forty 
 years ago, when their services were held in the log school house 
 near Mr. Josiah Moffltt's farm, there being then no meeting house 
 
170 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 in Wyoming, and extends to some who occupied their pulpit* in 
 the olden time and who would have graced any pulpit in the- 
 land, men like Phelps, Berryman and Morey, and the uneducated 
 eccentric, but gifted Pitner, whose oratory, rude though it was, is 
 seldom surpassed by the more polished and hackneyed phrase of 
 later days." 
 
 During its early struggles here, this denomination owed much 
 > to the hospitality and liberality of General Thomas and family, 
 but has long been on an independent footing, owns its church 
 building and parsonage, and pays its $1,000.00 per annum for the 
 preaching of the gospel. It claims about eighty members, and 
 ninety attendant upon its sabbath school instructions. 
 
 ST. LUKE'S PROTESTA>'T EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 ' An examination of the archives of the St. Luke's church in 
 Wyoming, shows that the first service of the church was held by 
 the Rev. Richard Radley of Jubilee, at the residence of Captain 
 Henry Butler, commencing in the fall of 1848, and continuing; 
 monthly until March, 1851, when Mr. Radley left the diocese for 
 that of west New York, and was succeeded by the Rev. Philan- 
 der Chase, who held service in the public school house until the 
 present church was erected. In September, 1851, the parish was 
 organized, the instrument of organization as follows: 
 
 " We, whose names are hereunto affixed, deeply sensible of the 
 truth of the christian religion, and earnestly desirous of promo- 
 ting its holy influence in our hearts, and those of our families and 
 neighbors, do hereby associate ourselves under the name of St. 
 Luke's Parish, in communion with the Protestant Episcopal 
 church in the United States, and diocese of Illinois, the authoiity 
 of whose constitution and canons we do hereby recognize, and to 
 whose liturgy and mode of worship we proijiise conformity." 
 
 "Dated, Wyoming, September 2nd, 1855. Signed by H. A, 
 Hoist, Henry Butler, Chai-les S. Payne, L. S. Milliken, Thomas 
 B. Whiffen and W. B. McDonald." ' 
 
 The parish was admitted into union with the diocese, October 
 18th, 1855. In May, 1857, the church building was begun, and the 
 first service was held in it on February 28th, 1858. It was conse- 
 crated at the visitation of the Right Reverend, the Bishop of the 
 diocese (Bishop Chase) in August following. 
 
 * Pulpit is doubtless used here for the sake of euphony, as at the date referred to there was 
 no pretension to a pulpit in the county. These ]-everend speakers probably stood behindchaii-s 
 "while addressing their audiences. , 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 171 
 
 The Reverend Philander Chase having removed to Jubilee, the 
 parish was left without a rector, and services were sustained by 
 lay readers until October 2d, 1869, when Reverend Thomas N. 
 Benedict was settled over the parish. The reverend gentleman 
 having resigned August 2d, 1873, September following the pres- 
 ent rector (Reverend F. H. Potts) assumed the charge. 
 , The present condition of the parish can be gathered from the 
 last report of the rector, which enumerates its strength as follows : 
 
 Number of communicants, 24 
 
 Children in Sunday school, . 44 
 
 Families, 38 
 
 Whole number of souls, 135 
 
 The recent rapid improvement and growth of Wyoming in an- 
 other direction rendered the old site~an inconvenient one for the 
 accommodation of the congregation, consequently in February, 
 1874, the church was removed from its former location to the pre- 
 sent more central and pleastint one on Galena avenue, upon ground 
 donated to the parish by one of its members. Dr. Alfred Castle. 
 ' At the same time the church was remodeled and otherwise very 
 much improved, at very near the cost of a new one, and rendered 
 churchly in all its arrangements. 
 
 But no truthful history of St. Luke's church can ever be writ- 
 ten without an acknowledgment of the liberal gifts and gratuit- 
 ous services long rendered by Rev. Philander Chase. 
 
 BAPTIST CHUKCH. 
 
 The history of the Baptist church in Wyoming is somewhat in- 
 teresting, considering its numerical weakness, and its poverty at 
 the start, the obstacles it had to contend with through its career, 
 and its present comparative prosperous condition, with its new 
 church, and neat and tasteful interior decorations, convenient ap- 
 pointments and accommodations, its increased membership, its 
 flourishing sabbath school, and the influence it is exerting in the 
 community. 
 
 At the time of its organization, which was in August, 1867, 
 there were only IS persons who presented themselves as members, 
 and ten of these were elderly women, and only three men, 
 who represented so small an amount of capital that it was 
 thought advisable by one of the elders who took a prominent 
 part in the services connected with the organization of the socie- 
 
172 STAEK COUNTY , 
 
 \ 
 
 ty, that it be deferred to some future time, until they would be- 
 come stronger in numbers, richer in purse, and more able to cis- 
 sume the burdens and responsibilities incident to the formation 
 and support of a Baptist church. The elder referred to, who then 
 represented a wealthy and stylish Baptist church in a city not far 
 distant, with perhaps the best of motives, was so earnest in his 
 ■opposition that it gave offence to the poor but pious and humble 
 members of the society there present, and after a discussipn pro 
 and con it \yas determined to proceed with the organization ; and 
 the sequel proves that it was not only a wise decision, but that 
 small beginnings sometimes result in prosperous endings, that ' ' the 
 race isnotalwaysto theswiftnorthebattletothestrong." Thesoci- 
 ety met, by perm issjon, in the Methodistchurch, for the Baptists had 
 none of their own, and a prominent and tolerant Methodist preach- 
 er, who graced the assemblage, in the course of the exercises ad- 
 ded great interest to the proceedings by offering up a fervent and 
 eloquent prayer for the success of the church, organized under 
 such unfavorable circumstances. Providentially, an elder of the 
 Baptist church, comprehending the situation, gratuitously offered 
 his ministerial services for a year, at the expiration of which he 
 Avas engaged for a second year at a meager salary, and thus the so- 
 ciety struggled on in its devious course for years until other and 
 wealthier members were added to the little flock, who would no 
 more live without a house to worship in than one to domicile in, 
 when it was determined to build a church. Men of executive 
 ability took hold of the enterprise ; the liberal contributions of 
 some of the members, or all of them in fact when circumstances 
 are considered, show what earnest men and women were enga- 
 ged in the work ; and, aided by contributions from other quarters 
 in July, 1872, the house was finished and on the 10th of the sanie 
 month dedicated for public worship. On the day of its dedica- 
 tion every dollar of its indebtedness was either paid or pledged 
 for— some $1,400— Dr. Evarts, of Chicago, Mr. Harris of the C, 
 B. & Q. R. B., and others from abroad taking part in the proceed- 
 ings upon the occasion — and contributing liberally towards liqui- 
 dating the indebtedness of the church, so that it might start upon 
 its career of usefulness, unincumbered. 
 
 Since that time the house has been struck twice by lightning 
 and saved from burning by the exertions of the citizens. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 173 
 
 CONGEEGATIONAL t'HUECir. 
 
 It is no disparagement to tiie others to assert (at least none is 
 meant) tliat this is the most popular church organization in the 
 town, and for various reasons ; prominent among these, is the 
 ability, intellectual and otherwise, of its pastor — Mr. Walters — 
 who is a genial, companionable gentleman, tolerant towards oth- 
 er christian sects, and withal a devoted christian himself, manag- 
 ing the church with singularly good judgment, not only relig- 
 iously but socially. He is comparatively a new resident, being a 
 native of Derbyshire, England, from which place he came with 
 his family some five years since, locating directly in Wyoming. 
 He immediately commenced business as a jeweller, a calling he 
 had long since adopted, although laboring to some extent from 
 the pulpit at the same time. Being a man of extensive reading, 
 quick observation, and a most faithful student, he soon made his 
 presence felt for good in the community, and became a favorite 
 with church-goers particularly, and not one of them all would 
 withhold this passing tribute in connection with Wyoming chur- 
 ches. February 18tli, 1873, a meeting was called at the residence 
 of Dr. Copestalie, " to consider the propriety of organizing a Con- 
 gregational church in Wyoming." After electing Mr. John 
 Hawks, chairman, and J. F. Eockhold, secretary, they resolved to 
 carry out their plan of organization, which was completed April 
 2d, 1873, at the house of the chairman. 
 
 The' original members were fourteen in number, and consisted 
 of tlie following named persons : — John Eockhold, Prudence 
 Eockhold, John C. Copestake, Sarah C. Copestake, John Hawks, 
 Augusta Hawks, Henry F. Turner, Charlotte Turner, James Buck- 
 ley, Susannah Buckley, Ann Wrigley, Mary C. Scott, William 
 Walters, Mary Ann Walters. 
 
 In the two years passed since the organization, the mem- 
 bership has grown from fourteen to forty-eight or fifty, and they 
 have built certainly the finest church edifice in the county, both 
 as to interior arrangement and external appearance and adorn- 
 ment. It is usually called " gothic " as to style of architecture but 
 as to whether it is strictly so or not, critics differ, though all con- 
 cede it is a durable and graceful structure, and reflects credit on 
 the designer, Mr. John Hawks. It is handsomely frescoed by 
 Frank Dirkson of Peoria, and the windows of stained glass, are 
 of the latest style and admired by all. This marks a new era in 
 church building in our county, and it is devoutly to be hoped 
 
174 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 that similar ones in other localities may soon displace the unsight- 
 ly structures that offend the eye of taste. 
 
 Authoritatively, this church is known as the " Congregational 
 Church of Christ " at "NVyoming, Stark county, Illinois. 
 
 " The government is vested in the body of Christian believers 
 Avho compose it, whose majority vote is final. It is amenable to 
 no other ecclesiastical authority." Trustees: John C. Copestake, 
 John Wrigley, H. F. Turner, John Hawks and George Kerns. 
 
 There seems to be but one cause of regret with regard to this 
 enterprise, viz : that the edifice was not placed upon higher 
 ground, a more commanding situation ; of which it is so well 
 worthy, and should have been procured at almost any cost. Wy- 
 oming seems inclined to mistakes of this nature, the south side 
 school house not making the impression it would if placed more 
 favorably. But perhaps the critic should remember hills are rai- 
 ther scarce in that region. 
 
 SCHOOLS. 
 
 • 
 
 Neither in the matter of schools, is Wyoming willing to be one 
 jot behind her neighboring towns. There is no recent improve- 
 ment more manifestly due to the liberality of her citizens than 
 that of their present school buildings. The advent of the rail- 
 road and consequent influx of population, rendered more schodl 
 room necessary, and notwithstanding the heavy burdens already 
 imposed upon the people they determined to submit to greater, 
 rather than do any longer without good educational facilities. 
 While individual enterprise was investing capital upon a large 
 scale to advance the material prosperity of the town, the idea ob- 
 tained that it was right, while taking these initiatory steps, tx) 
 foster such institutions as should promote the moral and intellec- 
 tual welfare also. The result is manifest in the churches and 
 schools of which Wyoming is justly proud. The school houses ■ 
 are located quite conveniently for the accommodation of the pu- 
 pils — one on the "north side," the other on the "south side," rep- 
 resenting the two wings or divisions of the town. 
 
 The former occupies high ground and is a fine brick structure, 
 imposing in appearance, commanding a view of the country. Its ' 
 architectural merits are highly spoken of, the credit being due no 
 doubt in great measure to the genius of Mr. Hawks, who contin- 
 ues whenever occasion offers to ornament the town with his fine 
 architectural conceptions. The main building is 34x66 feet, with 
 a wing 35x12. It is arranged for seating 216 pupils, and the plans 
 
AXD ITS PIOXEEES. 175 
 
 for heating and ventilating- are said to be excellent. The work is 
 Avell done, and the cost including furniture and fixtures is some- 
 thing over ten thousand dollars. This school opened September, 
 1874, with a very capable teacher, Prof. S. S. Wood as principal, 
 Miss R. Ward, assistant, and a roll of 80 scholars, but this num- 
 ber increasing to 120 in November, Miss Carrie Butler -was em- 
 ployed to take charge of the intermediate department. The south 
 side school house though not so showj' as the other, (principally 
 because it is not so conspicuously located) is nevertheless pleas- 
 antly situated facing the public square, which has recently been 
 ornamented with evergreens, and other native trees. It is also 
 built of brick, is a tasteful and convenient structure, furnishing 
 accommodations for 232 scholars. The amount of space enclosed 
 does not differ many feet from the north side house, but the in- 
 ternal arrangement is somewhat different. It has high ceilings, 
 good ventilation, cloak rooms, halls, and indeed all modern appli- 
 ances for comfort. And the gentlemen who superintended its 
 erection, are entitled to a meed of praise from all interested, that 
 they completed this work in so substantial and satisfactory a 
 manner, and at so small a cost — as it is estimated, furniture inclu- 
 ded, to have cost less than $8,000. This institution opened its 
 first year with Mr. William Nowlan as principal, and if any rea- 
 der of these pages is not familiar with that gentleman's record as 
 a teacher, let him but enquire of the boys and girls who have 
 been going to school, almost anywhere in Stark county for the 
 last six or eight years ; it will not take them long to agree on a 
 verdict. Mr. Nowlan was ably assisted bj' Miss Stone, and Miss 
 Eule in the primary department. At present Mr. W. R. Sandham, 
 another teacher with an enviable reputation, presides over the 
 destinies of the "south side" school, with IMr. W. W. Hammond 
 in the grammar, Miss Butler in the intermediate, and Miss Walk- 
 er in the primary department. 
 
 No pains or expense are s]Dared to make these institutions wor- 
 thy of patronage, and there is no reasonable doubt that j)upils 
 of average capacity can obtain ther^n an education sufficient 
 for all practical purposes; and Ave may say free of expense to 
 them. 
 
17G STARK COUXTY 
 
 NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 "The Bradford Chronicle" had some circulation in and about 
 Wyoming in 1872. This was an "east side paper," but Wyoming- 
 was bent upon having a journal of her own to support and ad- • 
 vance her interests. So in this year (1872) IMr. E. H. Phelps was 
 induced by the business men of the place to locate an office here. 
 This he did, and uniting the interests both of Bradford and Wy- 
 oming by consolidating the "Chronicle" with the "Post" under 
 the name of "Post and Chronicle." This was Wyoming's first 
 newspaper. 
 
 In a short time it changed its name to the "Wyoming Post," 
 under which title it is still published. The first number of this 
 paper was issued August 9th, 1872, with eighty actual subscri- 
 bers. 
 
 This was a five column quarto sheet devoted to the advocacy of 
 republican principles. For one year and a half it had " patentin- 
 sides," but is now printed entirely at hoine, with a steadily in- 
 creasing patronage and a circulation "grown to 850 ;" so says our 
 informant. 
 
 But this question of the , circulation of newspapers appears to 
 be one upon -w^ich but few agree and we shall put but few figures 
 upon record touching this point, lest we be convicted of error. 
 But that the Wyoming Post is a success, financially and other- 
 wise, is beyond dispute. And that the man who could contrive 
 to bui^d up such an interest in so short a time, and from such 
 small beginnings, must possess a rather unusual combination of 
 tact, talent, and executive ability, must be conceded by all not 
 blinded by personal piques or political prejudices. Mr. Phelps is 
 an indefatigable worker and must be " a power " in any com- 
 munity. 
 
 On the other hand such characters are always positive, and 
 sometimes rash, and as they move with celerity are liable to "get 
 up a breeze" at times, but are usually willing to abide the conse- 
 quences of their own acts, and repair the damages as far as possible. 
 
 Within the last year another claimant for popular favor has ap- 
 peared in Wyoming — a well printed sheet bearing the title of 
 "The Stark County Bee." This busy journal iS' issued under the 
 immediate auspices of M. M. Monteith, and bids fair to be one of 
 the leading papers of the county. It is understood to be republi- 
 can in politics, yet independent. Preferring rather to be the ex- 
 ponent and promoter of local interests than to make, politics a 
 hobby. 
 
AND ITS PIOXEERf=. 177 
 
 ^v^'o^tING lodge, a. f. & a. ^r. 
 
 Previous to tlio year I8O0, though tliere were several "^Master 
 Masons" among her population, Wyoming had no organized bo- 
 dy of " Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons." Those of her citi- 
 zens who had previous to that date passed tlirough tlie ordeal of 
 the "sublime degree," conferred togetlier for the purpose of tak- 
 ing the initiatory steps to form a lodge of ilasons, but as no one 
 among them considered himself sufficiently ported to assume tlie 
 responsil)ilities of tlie "master's place," this desideratum was not 
 supplied until tlie return of the Rev. J. W. Agard to his former 
 home, as a permanent resifient. At this juncture steps were ta- 
 ken to organize a lodge of Masons, and Messrs. J. W. Agard, 
 Henry A. Hoist, Isaac Thomas, W. P. Thomas, T. W. Bloomer, 
 S. K. Conover, G. W. Scott, .J. H. Oox, master masons, and Sam- 
 uel Wrigley and Henry M. Rogers, entered apprentice masons, 
 advanced the necessary funds required and made application to 
 the proper authorities to consummate its organization. 
 
 By permission of the then Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of 
 Masons, of the state of Illinois, to whom application had been' 
 made by the above named citizens, the initial meeting of Wyo- 
 ming Lodge was held, February 28th, A. D. 1866, or in the techni- 
 cal language of tlie secretary's record :— 
 
 "The worshipful master, wardens and brethren of Wyoming 
 " Lodge, U, D., met in regular communication at Masonic Hall 
 " on Wednesday, February 28th, 7 o'clock p. m., A. D. 1866, A. 
 " L. 5866, and opened," &c. 
 
 John W. Agard acted as master by appointment; W. F. 
 Thomas, S. W.; G. W. Scott, J. W.; H. A. Hoist, Secretary pro 
 tem; S. K. Conover, S. D. pro tern; Thomas W. Bloomer, J. D. 
 pro tem; William N. Brown, Tyler pro tem. At this meeting 
 the secretary's record informs us that " Isaac Thomas was appoin- 
 ted Treasurer ; Henry A. Hoist, Secretray ; S. K. Conover, S. D. ; 
 Thomas W. Bloomer, J. D.; J. H. Cox, Tyler," to fill those offi- 
 ces permanently. 
 
 Such are the details of the history and formation of the first 
 lodge of Masons convened at Wyoming. And thus it continued 
 with only eight members at the commencement, until its proba- 
 tionary time, "under dispensation," expired, when it was grant- 
 12 
 
178 STARK COUNTY 
 
 eel a charter, and received its name and number, in rotation, as 
 Wyoming Lodge, number 479, A. F. and A. M. 
 
 The charter of tliis lodge bears date the tliird day of October, 
 ■"A. D. 1868, A. L. 5866," and contains the signatures of H. P. H. 
 Bromwell, Grand Master ; J. R. Gorin, Deputy Grand Master ; 
 N. W. Huntley, 8. G. W.; Charles Fisher, J. G. W.; attested by 
 JE. G. Reynolds, Grand Secretary. 
 
 It was granted, as the document reads, " at the petition of J. 
 " W. Agard, G. W. Scott,. Henry A. Hoist, S. K. tonover, Thom- 
 *'as W. Bloomer, J. H. Cox, Henry M. Rogers, John Wrigley, 
 "Simon Cox, Isaac Thomas," who were its charter members. 
 
 At a special communication November 14th, A. D. 1866, the 
 iirst meeting under the charter, the record informs us that " W. 
 "P. Master, Br. Thos. J. Henderson being present, consecrated 
 " Wyoming Lodge, number 479, assisted by Br. William Low- 
 " man as Marshal, and instituted the following brethren as ofii- 
 "cers of Wyoming Lodge number 479: J. W. Agard, Master; 
 " George W. Scott, S. W.; Henry M. Rogers, J. W.; John Wrig- 
 " ley, Treasurer ; Henry A. Hoist, Secretary ; S. K. Conover, S. 
 *'D.; Thomas W. Bloomer, J. D.; J. H. Cox, Tyler." 
 
 The lodge, organized under a charter, has continued to prosper 
 from that time to the present, and from its eight members at the 
 start has increased to a membership of about eighty. It held its 
 meetings in the first place over the .old drug store of H. A. Hoist, 
 afterward over the store of Esq. Thomas, and subsequently, in 
 the hall over the "Boston" store ; changes made necessary on ac- 
 count of its increasing membership, and continued to be held at 
 the latter place until those apartmeiTts became too small and in- 
 convenient, when it removed to its present quarters, on the cor- 
 ner of Seventh and William streets, in a building erected for the 
 purpose of a Masonic Hall, by Rev. J. W. Agard. J. W. Agard 
 continued master of the lodge from 1866 to 1872, and F. W. Bloom- 
 er from that date to the present, 1876. 
 
 The officers of the lodge for the present year, 1876, are T. W. 
 Bloomer, W. M.; Selden Miner, S. W.; M. P. Meeker, J. W.; 
 John Wrigley, Treasurer ; W. H. Butler, Secretary ; John Ellis, 
 S. D.; Jerry Cox, J. D.; Isaac Thomas and Alonzo Motfitt, Stew- 
 ards ; E. C. Wayman, Chaplain ; P. H. Smith, Tyler. . 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 179 
 
 We are indBbted to Mr. W. H. Butler for the above items as 
 regards the A. F. & A. Masons, without whose kindness the 
 secret societies of Wyoming must have passed almost unnoticed. 
 
 KOYAL AECH MASONS. 
 
 Our information is very meager as regards this order. 
 
 It is the only lodge of this degree in the county ; was chai-tered 
 October 9th, 1868, as " Wyoming Chapter nuttiber 133, R. A. Ma- 
 sons." ^ 
 
 The charter members were J. W. Agard, William Lowman of 
 Toulon, William Eagleston, George W. Scott, Samuel Wrigley, 
 Thomas W. Bloomer, John Ellis, Henry M. Rogers, James M. 
 Rogers, and J. Harvey Cox. The present strength (September, 
 1876) of this lodge is forty-six active members. 
 
 EASTERN STAR. 
 
 On the 29th of May, 1862, a family of the Eastern Star was or- 
 ganized at the house of J. W. Agard, styled "Wyoming Family 
 Eastern Star," number 134. The first members were J. W. Ag- 
 ard, H. A. Hoist, S. K. Conover, George W. Scott, J. M. Rogers, 
 John Wrigley, Mrs. Margaret Conover, Mrs. Mary C. Scott, Mrs. 
 Martha Agard, Mrs. Ann Wrigley, Mrs. Harriet Rogers and Miss 
 Rebecca Butler. The order was well sustained, and continued to 
 increase in numbers and influence until February 18th, 1871, 
 when by general consent of the members it was superseded by 
 "Wyoming Chapter, No. 52, of the Eastern Star.^' The present 
 strength of the lodge is eighty-two resident members. But three 
 deaths have occurred in the order since its organization, viz : Mrs. 
 Martha Agard, Mr. H. M. Hoist, and Mrs. Harriet Ticknor. To 
 the objects common to all lodges of this order the Wyoming 
 Chapter has added that of cultivation of a literary taste, and the 
 exercises of this character have become a very marked and inter- 
 esting feature of its meetings. Great credit is due to very many 
 members of this order for the great success it has attained but es- 
 pecially to Mr. J. W. Agard, who has been its worthy patron since 
 its organization, and to Mrs. Sarah Otman, who for three years 
 served as Worthy Matron. To their interest and indefatigable 
 labors much of the prosperity of Wyoming Chapter is due. 
 
180 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 Wyoming Lodge number 244, 1. O. O. F., was organized on 
 October lotli, 1857, in Wyoming, Stark county, state of Illinois, 
 with the following charter members : Henry A. Hoist, W. B. 
 Armstrong, John Hawks, C. W. Brown, U. M. Whiffen and 
 Isaacs. Tidd. 
 
 I 
 
 This order prospered until October, 1803, the members being 
 called away by the late war, they surrendered up their charter. 
 The lodge was again reinstated by the following members : Hen- 
 ry A. Hoist, Thbmas W. Bloomer, John Hawks, Chas. S. Payne, 
 JohA C. Wright and C. W. Brown, on February 6th, 1871, with 
 the following as officers for the term : H. A- Hoist, N. G.; Thom- 
 as W. Bloomer, V. G.; John Hawks, B. S. ; C. W. Brown, 
 Treasurer. Total membership, at this time, nine. At the close 
 of the year of 1871, total membership twenty-three ; at the close 
 of the year of 1872, total membership forty-eight ; at the close of 
 the year 1873, total membership forty-eight ; at the close of the 
 year 1874, total membership flfty-eight ; at the close of the year 
 1875, total membership fifty-nine ; at the close of term, June, 1876, 
 total membership sixty-one, with the following officers for the 
 current term : 
 
 H. J. Cosgrove, N. G.; Elisha Clark, V. G.; S. B. Fargo, E. S.; 
 William Lyons, P. S.; J. M. Cox, Treasurer ; C. F. Hamilton, re- 
 presentative to Grand Lodge. They have a very fine hall, one of 
 the best in the county, 22x60. The order is in flourishing condi- 
 tion, their rent is paid in advance for seven years, with money at 
 interest, and the utmost harmony prevails. Their regular nights, 
 of meeting are Tuesday evening of each week. 
 
 WYOMING ENCAMPMENT, NUMBER 174. 
 
 The first and only Encampment in Stark county at the present 
 , time, was organized and instituted March 24th, 1876, by P. C. P., 
 N. C. Nason. Charter members: J. M. Brown, C. F. Hamil-: 
 ton, J. M. Cox, T. B. Wall, D. S. Hewitt, H. J. Cosgrove, J. D.' 
 Woods, I. P. Carpenter, J. L. Moffitt, Dennis Guyre, and John 
 Hawks. 
 
 ' Officers for present term, commencing July 1st, 1876, are H. J. 
 Cosgrove, C. P.;' J. D. Woods, S. W.; John Hawks, H. P.; T. B. 
 
AXD ITS PIONEERS. 181 
 
 Wall, Scribe ; J. M. Cox, Treasurer ; Peter Lane, J. W. Total 
 number of membej-s, seventeen. 
 
 After what we know of the churches and schools of Wyoming, 
 one would expect to find the people, as a rule social and intelli- 
 gent if not religious. And^t is said that this is eminently true ; 
 that there is a hearty co-operation and commingling of all classes 
 of society in social relations and simple pleasures, somewhat at 
 variance perhaps with conventional rules, but entirely consonant 
 with the spirit of republican institutions. Then tliey are earn- 
 estly cultivating a love of letters and fine literature by sustaining 
 a literary society with this especial end in view. 
 
 The fine arts, music and painting, also have their votaries in 
 this busy community ; great attention being given to cultivating 
 these tastes among the youth, almost every household having its 
 piano or organ. Yet the complaint is here, as elsewhere, that 
 church music does not reach as high a standard as it should. It 
 is much to be regretted that this beautiful and important branch 
 of christian worship does not receive the attention it deserves in 
 many parts of our music loving land. As Wyoming, in common 
 with other parts of the county is still in the active stage of life, 
 intent on making money, building up business enterprises, &c., 
 not having had time to accumulate a surplus of wealth to devote 
 to luxuries and recreations, such things are still to a great degree 
 undeveloped. Still there are two good public halls, "Central" 
 and "Union," both of which enjoy good patronage, besides a 
 Masonic and Odd Fellow's hall, " manifesting an admirable esprit 
 cle corps." But after all "the chief end of man " seems to be 
 business, in this region,' and we pass to notice the 
 
 COAL TRADE. 
 
 Second to the agricultural interests only, as to its commercial 
 and economic value, and as a source of wealth to this place and 
 the surrounding country, is that of coal mining and the coal trade, 
 which though yet in its infancy, as it were, probably contributes 
 more to the growth and prosperity of Wyoming than that of any 
 other interest, with the exception mentioned. The supplies of 
 coal being inexhaustible, and of a superior qualitj'', the demand 
 steadily upon the increase, both for the local supply and for ship- 
 ping, one can hardly estimate its intrinsic value in connection 
 "With the future of Wyoming. From the fact that there is a mo- 
 
182 STARK COUNTY 
 
 tive power, though lying dormant, commensurate with an unlim- 
 ited and inexhaustible supply of fuel, with the^equisites of cheap 
 living, favorable- location, and easy transportation, an inviting 
 field is presented to capitalists to engage in extensive xand varied 
 manufacture at this point. 
 
 V 
 
 It would be interesting to give an extended and detailed ac- 
 count of the coal business as it has been developed from year to 
 year from the commencement, giving an exhibit of its'* annual in- 
 crease, but as the miners themselves have kept no particular re- 
 cord of it, and can give no very reliable information upon the 
 subject, the speculations of a novice would hardly be satisfactory. 
 The immediate locality of the coal trade, however, is fast filling 
 up with a mining population, and as to numbers will soon be a 
 town of itself, containing its average of intelligence, morals, in- 
 dustry and thrift as a community, while its numerical strength is 
 becoming an object of interest and of competition as to its con- 
 nection with our trade, and of speculation as a balance of power 
 in the settlement of important questions. 
 
 THE LATI-IEOP COAL MIISTING COMPA^■ Y 
 
 is the most extensive institution of the kind in this vicinity ; em- 
 ploys a heavier force of men than any other, or probably all oth- 
 ers combined, and of course has invested in the business a very 
 large capital. It has under its control, either by purchase or 
 lease, eight hundred acres of the choicest coal land in the neigh- 
 borhood, the securing of which, exclusively by sagacious, enter- . 
 ■prising and wealthy business men, may' give one an idea of its 
 present value and of its future importance in a commercial point 
 of view. This company does not interfere with the local trade to 
 any considerable amount, but only as an accommodation occa- 
 sionally, when there is a deficiency in the latter, but confines its 
 business principally to shii^ping and supplying the rail road with 
 coal. The "shaft" and machinerj^, in all their appointments 
 and arrangements, above and below, are No. 1. For safety and 
 the comfort of the miners, it has its "escape shaft" and the best 
 of facilities in its steam engines, iron tracks, cars, its system of 
 drains, hoisting, and pumping apparatus, screens, chutes, etc., for 
 carrying on the business in a complete and economical manner, 
 and preparing the coal for commerce. The works below are laid 
 out scientifically by a practical surveyor, and order and system 
 prevail. Connected with these works are a large boarding house 
 
AND ITS PIONEKES. 183 
 
 and a number of tenement houses, which are added to from time . 
 to time, and already the "shaft" neighborhood, distinct from 
 any other, is beginning to assume the proportions of a respecta- 
 ble village, resulting in a corresponding increase in the value of 
 real estate on the "north side." 
 
 The capacity of this company at the present time, or rather of 
 its works at Wyoming, for they have several others, is three hun- 
 dred and fifty tons of coal per day, if the demand should be to 
 that extent ; its working force the past winter was fifty men per 
 day, upon an average ; and the shipment for 1874, including sup- 
 plies to rail roadj5, amounted in round numbers to 600,000 bushels 
 of coal. 
 
 Connected with this enterprise is 1?he "company's' store" on the 
 north side, an individual affair however, where most of the em- 
 ployes do their trading, and its proprietor is said to have a 
 " mighty good thing " in securing the patronage of this institu- 
 tion. 
 
 PRIVATE SHAFTS AND BANKS. 
 
 The local trade in the article of coal is almost entirely confined 
 to those shafts and banks owned and operated by private individ- 
 uals. There are seven of them now in operation. Together 
 they employ a considerable force of men, and in the busy season, 
 as the miner is always a liberal trader and flusli with cash, an im- 
 petus is given to business not witnessed at any other time. Portions 
 of both Marshall and Peoria counties are tributary to these banks 
 for their supplies of fuel — 3t trade which is extending in area and 
 increasing annually, doubtless by reason of the good quality of 
 the article obtainable here, and the facilities for meeting any de- 
 mand. Though it is like "carrying coals to New Castle," ship- 
 ments have also frequently been made to Peoria and 1-Ienry coun- 
 ties, from these mines, or .those generallj' confined to the local 
 trade, facts which may substantiate our estimate of the quality of 
 Wyoming coal, and that the eflfect the trade will have upon this 
 as a business point ultimately is not merely speculative. 
 
 As to the business of the private shafts and banks an estimate 
 has been made by several of the miners of the aggregate amount 
 of coal mined and sold by them^ for the seven months of the coal 
 season of 1874 and 1875, which lias been averaged at 7,000 bushels 
 
184 STARK COUXTY 
 
 per week, or 28,000 i)er inonth^, aggregating 196,000 bushels for the 
 season of seven months. From these data, added to the 600,000 
 bushels shipped and supplied by the Lathrop coal mining compa- 
 ny, one can see at a glance tlie extent of tlie coal trade at this 
 point, for a given time, and obtain some idea perhaps what it will 
 be, averaging its increase as past experience and facts have devel- 
 oped it, when all these coal shafts and banks, with others added 
 to them as the demand increases, will be worked to their full ca- 
 pacity, the effect of which in time also may certainly if not satis- 
 factorily demonstrate the problem so many are trying to cipher 
 out as to which locality will hold the preponderance of population.' 
 
 It has been deemed best to give the general business of the 
 towns in a tabular or statisicai form, as comprising the most ex- 
 plicit information in the least space. The year 1874 has been 
 chosen, although rather an unfortunate year for many kinds of 
 business, but as the returns of the current year are not yet com- 
 plete, therefore are not available, as a basis of calculation, it is 
 probable that 1874, well answered the practical end in view, viz : 
 to furnish a standard of comparison for past and future years. 
 
 PBINCIPAL BUSINESS OF WYOMIXG FOB THE YEAR 1874. 
 
 It is to be regreted that there are some serious omissions in the 
 following statement, but as all the reports are acts of courtesy on 
 the part of the gentlemen making them, the historian has no 
 power to compel such service in behalf of a public interest. 
 
 EAIL EOADS. — C. B & i 
 
 Amount collected on freight received, . . . $12,373 11 
 " " forwarded, .... 10,432 2.5 
 
 Tickets sold, , 3_171 65 
 
 Telegraph and express receipts, ... . 977 66 
 
 " T 
 
 '^Y'^^' $26,954 67 
 
AKD ITS PIONEERS. 185 
 PEORIA ct ROCK ISLAND. 
 
 Amount collected on freight received, . . . §3,672 58 
 
 " " forwarded, . ^, . . 6,679 02 
 
 " Ticket account, 0^443 91 
 
 " United States express account, . . . . 813 92 
 
 " Telegrapliic receipts, 182 40 
 
 Total, $17,791 83 
 
 BANKINCi. 
 
 Business of Scott & Wrigley and A. B. Miner & Co. 
 
 Total amoTnit of deposits, $2,209,469 00 
 
 " Notes and bills discounted, . . . 027,419 00 
 
 " Exchange sold, 1,491,825 00 
 
 Total, $4,628,713 00 
 
 REAL ESTATE. 
 
 Sold by Scott & Wrigley, $72,425 00 
 
 Loans upon by Scott & Wrigley, 65,700 00 
 
 Total, $138,125 00 
 
 GENERAL BUSINESS. 
 
 Sales of merchandise, $180,600 00 
 
 " Hardware and agricultural implements, . . 65,000 00 
 
 " Lumber, lath, shingles, etc., ./ . . . 58,468 00 
 
 " Furniture, 7,650 00 
 
 " Watches and jewelry, . . . ■'. . . 6,500 00 
 
 " Millinery and dress-making, .... 8,065 00 
 
 " Drugs and medicines, 20,890 00 
 
 " Building, 56,995 00 
 
 " Mechanics and manufacturing, . . . '35,160 00 
 
 " Miscellaneous, 22,062 00 
 
 Total, . . . '. $461,390 00 
 
186 STAEK COUIvTY 
 
 COAL. 
 
 Lathrop coal mining company, bushels, . . . 600 OOO 
 
 Local coal trade for seven months, bushels, . . . 196, 000 
 
 GBAIX. 
 
 Shipped by J. M.Leet& Co., bushels, . . . 250 000 
 
 C. S. Payne and Dexter Wall, not reported. 
 
 MILLIKG. 
 
 C. S. Payne, three run of stone ; Dexter Wall, three run of 
 stone, and a saw rriill attached ; Snedeker and Oziah, three run of 
 stone. / 
 
 The above firms represent a capital in the milling business of 
 $50,000 as an investment, but an accurate report of the business 
 cannot be obtained. 
 
 As a further evidence of the business of Wyoming, it may be 
 Stated on good authority that during the past six years her citi- 
 zens have invested in buildings alone the sum of $292,529. The 
 items to prove the correctness of this aggregate are before us as 
 we write. 
 
 LAFAYETTE. 
 
 This town was laid out by William Dnnbar, in July, 1836, 
 about three months after Wyoming had been planned by General 
 Thomas. At first it consisted of ten blocks, but subsequently re- 
 ceived an addition from Jonathan Hodgeson. 
 
 Micheal Fraker was the first white settler in this neighborhood. 
 He removed from some point in Fulton county, prior to the set- 
 tlement of this, and took up his abode at a grove on what is now 
 the Knox county line, which has ever since borne his name. For 
 a time he domiciled with his family in a wigwam, although how 
 large his family was at that time we have not the means of know- 
 ing, but sooner or later this venerable old man is said to have re- 
 joiced in the paternity of no less than twenty-six children. He 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 187 
 
 and his were devout Methodists, and his memory is still esteem- 
 ed precious by the old settlers of that creed. However a man by 
 the name of Jesse C. Ware built the first house within the town 
 limits, and also a small store on the site occupied by Mr. Lynd. 
 But Theodore Hurd and Barnabas M. Jackson were the princi- 
 pal business meii of this place. Beginning as early as 1838, they 
 sold goods side by side for a long series of years, rivals, yet 
 friends ; even selling goods for one another when occasion requir- 
 ed, with a friendship undisturbed even by political differences. 
 They drove a thriving trade in 1838-9, drawing patronage from 
 all the country round, prices were good and business brisk. Then 
 reverses come to the state at large, the products of the soil hardly 
 paid the farmer for hauling them to market ; the heaviest pork 
 would not command more than $1.50 per hundred weight, or the 
 best cow more than eight dollars. Under such circumstances the 
 credit system crept in, but they seldom lost anything ultimately 
 by trusting the pioneers ; they were almost invariably honest men 
 and expected to pay for everything they bought. The " fast " hab- 
 its and expensive indulgences of the present time were unknown. 
 
 Ira Eeed also set up business in Lafayette in 1838, in a little 
 8x10 room on a borrowed capital of $20.00, but being a good shoe- 
 maker he stuck to his lasts till they brought him some forty or 
 fifty thousand. 
 
 The first school house here was built of hard lumber, sawed at 
 Leek's mill, near Centreville, and occupied the site of the present 
 improved structure. 
 
 The first church, or house of worship of any kind, was a small 
 frame, built and controlled by Mrs. Eunice Miner, to which allu- 
 sion is made in another part of this work. There have been sev- 
 eral later and better ones, but as we have failed to elicit any par- 
 ticulars concerning them, or the present status of the town, we 
 must content ourselves with recording these reminiscences kind- 
 ly furnished us by an old settler. Here was the first attempt to 
 establish a manufactory in our county, being one of felt hats, made 
 by Dunbar and sons, as early as 1888. They are said to have made a 
 good article, and sold them readily, until- the stringency of mon- 
 ey matters in following years, crushed their enterprise. 
 
 ' A joint stock company, also, some years ia,ter, started a carding 
 
188 STARK COUXTY 
 
 mill and woolen factory, but this proved abortive and was aband- 
 oned after bringing heavy losses on those most interested. 
 
 Lafayette has indulged in ambitious dreams if not schemes, 
 looking to the possession of the county seat. At one time an ef- 
 fort was actually made to secure its removal to this village on the 
 •extreme western boundary of our county. This was through the 
 instrumentality of Mr. B. M. Jackson, when that gentleman was 
 in the legislature. The law upon this county seat question was 
 •different then, and had not the secret been betrayed, an act might 
 have made the proposed change, before any effort had been put 
 forth to defeat it. 
 
 For many years Lafayette grew but slowly if at all, but awak- 
 ened to new life at the coming of the rail road, she now evident- 
 ly does a good shipping trade in farming produce, hogs, stock, 
 Ac, and her streets often bespeak to the observer a brisk local 
 trade. This much we can read from the car window, as the train 
 pauses at her depot ; and this is all the information of which we 
 have the advantage. 
 
 BRADFOKD. 
 
 Bradford is the "youngest born" of our Stark county towns. 
 It is true there is Duncan, Lombardville and Castleton, laid out 
 still more recently, but they have hardly yet arisen to the digni- 
 ty of towns, but are stations along the line of the Chicago, Bur- ' 
 lihgton and Quincy railway, and all do considerable shipping 
 Irade. 
 
 Bradford was laid out by Benj. C. Sewell, July 18th, 1863. It 
 was incorporated under special charter 1869 ; reorganized as a vil- 
 lage, under the general law in 1873. Territory, one mile square, 
 •and its population at present date, is something over Ave hundred 
 persons. It is also on the line of the Dixon, Peoria and Hanni- 
 bal rail road, as it was first called, now usually styled the Buda 
 branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railway. It is fine- 
 ly located on very high ground, overlooking fertile farms for 
 miles in all dir^eclions, and drawing rich subsidies from the same, 
 "while far to the eastward Boyd's grove skirts the horizon. Ap- 
 proaching the town from the west, the view is quite imposing, 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 189> 
 
 crossing the railroad cut over a fine bridge, the train dashing 
 through beneath, the traveler sees crowning the high hill before 
 him a busy village, with ample streets, commodious and well fill- 
 ed business houses on either side, and all the bustle and stir of ac- 
 tive business life. It is a well established fact that neighborhoods 
 as well as individuals, take on during the period of their growth,, 
 certain well defined characteristics ; that of Bradford may be said 
 to be an all pervading hearty liberality, pertaining alike to imat- 
 ters of opinion, and every day affairs <of business and courtesy. 
 Jt is true there is nothing so good in this world that it cannot be- 
 abused, and perhaps even this sentiment sometimes manifests it- 
 self in a sort of rollicking dissipation, not commendable, but it is 
 certainly capable of many noble developments, and it has eom& 
 to be pretty generally understood that nothing "little" or mean 
 can long withstand the social atmosphere of Bradford. Their 
 public generosity reveals itself in churches and schools, benevo- 
 lent societies, &c., all of which flourish finely, considering the size- 
 of the town. The four denominations established here, are:. 
 Methodist, Baptist, Universalist and Catholic. 
 
 The Methodist church is now in course of construction, and is 
 estimated to cost $3,500, when completed, and will be capable of 
 seating two hundred persons. The Baptist church is. the most 
 tasteful structure in the town and was built in 1870, at an expense: 
 of five thousand dollars ; it also seats comfortably about two hun- 
 dred persons. This body was organized in 1869, with only eight 
 members, and it is a noble commentary not only on the exertions- 
 and sacrifices of- the few, but upon the public spirit of the citizens 
 generally, that the following -year this graceful little church was. 
 erected and dedicated to the worship of God. The membership- 
 has advanced to thirty, and they have a fiourishing union sabbath 
 school of over one hundred names, employing as their superinten- 
 dent Mr. William F. Patt, and as a pastor. Rev. S. D. Fulton. 
 
 The Universalists also own a chapel that will accommodate one 
 hundred and fifty persons. This denomination has always been a, 
 leading one in Bradford, many of its first citizens (first as to set- 
 tlement and social standing both) having inclined to the views of 
 this denomination. They have a resident pastor, Rev. Alvin Ab- 
 bott, and also have at times enjoyed the pastorial services of other 
 able men, as Mr. Barnes and Jlr. T. H. Tabor. They also main- 
 
190 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 tain a sabbath school of about flfty-flve attendance, under tlie su- 
 pervision of Mr. Alonzo B. Abbott. 
 
 The Catholics are building here the first church of their own in ■ 
 Stark county ; it will be quite large, estimated to seat four hundred 
 persons, and will cost six thousand dollars. 
 
 SCHOOLS. 
 
 The people of Bradford cannot boast of grand and expensive 
 school edifices. Their school house is a substantial, two story 
 wooden building, pleasantly situated upon a large and beautiful 
 lot (1|' acres), and convenient to all the pupils in the district. It 
 is contemplated to build a " wing " to it next year, as it is already 
 too small to accommodate the number of pupils in the district. 
 "While they do not boast of the quality of their school building, 
 they do think that they may justly feel proud of their schools. 
 Mr. J. W. Smith, the principal, is fairly entitled to be called one 
 -of the most successful educators in the county, and says a resi- 
 dent: "In Miss M. L.Smith, we think we know that we have 
 the best primary teacher in the county." " Our directors believe 
 it is impossible to make thorough scholars out of pupils who have 
 not received proper training and instruction in the primary, that 
 there the foundation is laid upon which they may build their fu- 
 ture intellectual edifice, and that it is highly important that" the 
 foundation contains no imperfections." They will employ none 
 hut the Very best teachers, as well in the primary as in the high- 
 er departments. They pay their primary teacher sixty dollars 
 per month, and will not emi^loy a teacher who is not worth the 
 money. Pretty sensible conclusion ! 
 
 , The present directors are : W. F. Patt, M. Bevier and B. P. 
 Thompson. 
 
 Average attendance of pui^ils, September, 1875, was one hun- 
 dred. TotaL number attending, one hundred and twenty-eight. • 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 191 
 
 LODGES. 
 
 On the 3d day of August, 1866, James B. Doyle, Bradford F. 
 Thompson, Harmon Phenix, Samuel A. Davidson, Charles B. 
 Foster, George W. Longmire and William H. Doyle obtained a 
 dispensation for a Masonic Lodge. 
 
 On the first day of October, 1867, the lodge received its charter 
 as Bradford Lodge number 514, A. F. & A. Masons. The officers 
 of the lodge for the first year were James B. Doyle, W. M.; Brad- 
 ford F. Thompson, S. W.; Harmon Phenix, J. W.; George W. 
 Longmire, Treasurer ; Samuel A. Davidson, Secretary ; William 
 H. Doyle, S. D.; Charles B. Foster, J. D. 
 
 The masters of the lodge have been James B. Doyle, Bradford 
 F. Thompson, Harmon Phenix and Alonzo B. Abbott. 
 
 The present membership (October, 1875) is about sixty. Last 
 year the lodge moved into its new hall, in the brick building of 
 Messrs. W. F. Patt & Co. The lodge expended $1000 for new fur- 
 niture, and it is safe to say that no better lodge room can be found 
 in the state of Illinois, in any town of less than. one thousand in- 
 habitants. The officers for 1876 are H. Phenix, W. M.; W. H. 
 Hall, S. W.; A. S. Thompson, J. W.; W. P. Dator, T.; A. B. 
 Abbott, Secretary; B. F. Thompson, S. D.; D. F. Fate, J. D.; 
 George Couhing, T. 
 
 ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 Bradford Lodge, number 571, I. O. O. F., was constituted June 
 4th, 1875. 
 
 Charter members : Joshua Prouty, A. M. Mutchimore, W. A. 
 Holman, W. H. Hall, A. J. Sturm, Edmund Ewing, Cyrus Bo- 
 icock, H. J. Cosgrove, J. D. Woods. Present membership (Au- 
 gust 14, 1875,) 20. 
 
 The enterprise of the place is further represented by fourteen 
 stores, embracing all the departments of trade : — Dry goods and 
 general merchandise, hardware and agricultural implements, 
 
192 STARK COUXTY 
 
 drugs and mediciiips, millinery, clothing, furniture, books notions, 
 jewelry, &c. 
 
 Manufactures and other business :— AVagons, gang and sulky 
 plows, boots and shoes, brooms and barrels, harness and saddlery,, 
 artificial stone, bank, two hotels, paint shops, blacksmith shops, 
 barber shops, meat and vegetable market, hay press, lumber 
 yard, carpenters' sliops, grain elevators, public hall, restaurants, 
 &c. Amounts invested in these several departments not reported. 
 However, the assessed valuation on real estate in Bradford for 
 1875, is $106,990; personal property, §41,880; making a total of 
 $148,870. 
 
 RAII. ROAD BUSINESS. 
 
 Freight shipped from, this station for the year ending March 
 31st, 1875 : — 296,446 pounds of way frieght ; 728 cars of grain, . 
 114 cars of stock, 1 ear of hay, making a total of 843 cars of grain, 
 'hay and stock ; amount of freight, $25,478.55. Of freights re- 
 ceived, express and passenger receipts, no reports. 
 
 Of the newer and smaller villages that are naturally springing 
 up as our county grows in wealth and population, but little need 
 be said. Their history is yet to be made. . Lombard ville, Dun- 
 can, Castleton and Wady Petra, are railway stations, convenient 
 points of shipping for the productive country that surrounds 
 them. All do quite a business in giain, stock and lumber, the 
 details of which we would gladly give could we but command 
 them. 
 
 The last mentioned has now a rival, Avithin a mile or so, to be 
 called Stark, and although this is a good name, two villages can 
 hardly both flourish, even within the rich precincts of Val- 
 ley. 
 
 West Jersey and Slackwater are older, but lack railroad facili- 
 ties up to this date, though we believe a " narrow gauge" road is 
 now talked of, that will strike these points. The former is how- ' 
 ever, aiv important point for the farmers of the township, as it 
 supports a good general store, churches and schools, and shops of 
 all kinds for the accommodation of the agriculturist. 
 
AXD ITS PIOXEERS. 193 
 
 COXCLrSIOX OF PARTI. 
 
 This flnishps the general history of our county and its towns, 
 so fur as we have been able to learn it, and we can but conclude, as 
 we began, by regretting that in some directions the record is so 
 meager. We feel that a chapter on our judicial and political his- 
 tory would malie a fittin,^;' close for this part of our work. But it 
 is simply impossible for us to make suoh an addition now. It 
 would require an outlay of time, and a careful research we are un- 
 able to de%'ote to it under existing circumstances. 
 
 Had we known a man who could write a political history of the 
 last twenty-five years, unbiased by party feeling, we might have 
 been tempted to implore his assistance in behalf of a public inter- 
 est. 
 
 But where should v/c look for the individual? Every one 
 intelligent enough to undertake such a task, has been fully com- 
 mitted to one side or the other, on all the great points at issue be- 
 tween the parties during that eventful epoch. 
 
 So perhaps the facts and figures of our appendix are after all the 
 safest guides as to the views of our citizens, and for local purpos- 
 es the best history. 
 
 However, many pleasant and amusing reminiscences of the 
 great campaigns in which our politicians have participated, and 
 the great campaigners who have honored our county witli their 
 visits, might be gathered, that would reflect unpleasantly upon 
 no one. We shall merely recall two that richly deserve to be- 
 come historic, if for no other reason, than that they are associated 
 with the names of Lincoln and Douglas, and the exciting canvass of 
 1858. Our little county has been wont to grow demonstrative up- 
 on such occasions. When Yates, Oglesby, Richardson, or the In- 
 gersoUs, or other greater or lesser lights in the political firma' 
 ment, visited us as representatives of great principles, they have 
 been greeted with an enthusiasm and heard with an appreciation 
 that we are vain enough to believe was not common, even for 
 them. 
 
 But in 1858 this feeling, call it what you please, patriotism, or 
 hero worship, was roused to the fullest extent, and a perfect ova- 
 tion was extended to both of these gentlemen at- the county seat. 
 It was desired by many that a joint discussion should be arranged 
 so that our people could see their great champions meet face to 
 face and measure arms. But it seemed prior engagements defeat- 
 ed that plan, and if our memory serves us correctly, Douglas ar- 
 rived one day in advance of Lincoln. The Virginia House was, 
 13 
 
194 STABK COUNTY 
 
 as it often has been, republican lieadquarters, while the brick ho- 
 tel, then kept by B. A. Hall, performed the same office for the de- 
 mocracy. It was chilly November weather, a cold penetrating 
 rain fell continually, but nothing seemed to dampen the ardor of 
 the people. 
 
 In the early morning deputations on horseback, consisting of 
 ladies as well as gentlemen, were astir, others followed in carria- 
 ges, and some equally ■enthusiastic, trudged on foot to the point 
 designated for the meeting, some half mile outside the town lim- 
 its. Now the manner in which these two great men conducted 
 themselves on these occasions was so characteristic of each, and so 
 totally different one from the other, that at the risk of appearing 
 trivial we shall give th^ dfetails as we witnessed them, or as they 
 were given us by eye and ear witnesses. 
 
 Amidst scenes like these, Douglas was perfectly at home— 
 " master of the situation," and enjoyed the applause of the inulti- 
 tude ; or counterfeited enjoyment so well as to answer the pur- 
 pose of gratifying his admirers. Then, he knew the real value of 
 such demonstrations in affecting public sentiment, as well as did 
 the first Napoleon, and. probably few men ever lived who better 
 knew the popular heart than Stephen A. Douglas. 
 
 So when he made his appearance on our streets at the head of 
 an imposing procession, he was riding with head uncovered in an 
 open carriage, and waving smiling responses to the vociferous 
 cheering that greeted his progress. He was accompanied by 
 Lieutenant Governor Payne of Ohio, and other gentlemen whose 
 names we do not now recall. Fortunately, the rain abated for a 
 time as the carriage drew up before Hall's Hotel, and the dense 
 crowd that packed the street, kept silent as Mr. Shallenberger ut- 
 tered a few words of greeting and welcome in behalf of the resi- 
 dent democracy of Stark county. To this, Douglas responded 
 briefly but gracefully and passed into the parlor to meet the lar 
 dies who had assembled there, to all of whom he spoke some 
 pleasant word, kissed the little children, and held them on his 
 knees and told them stories of his own little boys. When dinner 
 was announced the same careful politeness marked his demeanor, 
 and all tired and exhausted as he must have been, so near the 
 close of this hard canvass, nothing that was intended to be com- 
 plimentary to him, escajjcd his notice. Even the fine vegetables 
 and floral garniture of the tables, which Dr. Hall had the honor 
 of furnishing, received due attention, which had the effect of ma- 
 king that gentleman supremely happy as he quietly ate his din- 
 ner beside a veritable United States senator. At two P. M., the 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. . 195 
 
 crowd collected on the east side of the court house, against the 
 wall of which a high platform had been erected for the speaker, 
 and here they stood for hours despite the cold rain, and listened to 
 that voice few of them ever heard again. He was hoarse from 
 much speaking, but as he warmed with his subjects his voice re- 
 gained something of its wonted power. 
 
 And here on the stand his inborn courtesy found another op- 
 portunity to reveal itself. 
 
 As the rain came faster and faster, some gentleman stepped up 
 to shield the speaker, but he motioned him back^ saying, "not 
 while so many ladies are standing uncovered to listen." 
 
 These are all little things, but they mark the man and we know 
 we but record the simple truth when we say the impression he 
 made upon his entertainers at Toulon, was eminently a pleasant 
 one. 
 
 Ah address from Lieutenant Governor Payne in the evening 
 closed that eventful day. 
 
 The next dawned and it was still raining, but Lincoln was 
 coming, so who regarded the rain ? not Stark county people sure- 
 ly, for they poured in from every township by scores and hun- 
 dreds, and the delegations rendezvousecl on the open prairie, on 
 the Kewanee road near where Mr. N. J Smith and Mr. Robert 
 McKeighan noiv reside. 
 
 It is claimed by many that this was the finest procession ever 
 witnessed in our county ; when the head of the column reached 
 the Virginia House, the rear was just wheeling into line opposite 
 Mr. Smith's. They formed in a hollow square on the prairie un- 
 der the direction of the Chief Marshal, Mr. Whitaker, and await- 
 ed the coming of their hero ; he had given orders to wait until 
 he signaled them to cheer, and when tlje signal came tlie cheers 
 were so sudden and so deafening that the horses fairly crouched 
 to the ground in mortal terror and then sprang up in such an af- 
 fright that for a time, one's personal safety absorbed attention. 
 But order being restored the various delegations paid their re- 
 spects to Mr. Lincoln, and the ladies on horseback, decorated with 
 state badges, rode up ; the one represehting Illinois was provided 
 with a wreath of leaves and flowers^ with which it is presumed 
 she meant to crown or encircle the man they delighted to honor, 
 but Mr. Lincoln very quietly said, " wear it yourself dear, they 
 become you better than me." 
 
 He declined any formal greeting at the hotel, but with an ex- 
 pression of intense weariness on his face sought the solitude of his 
 own room till dinner. 
 
19G STARK COUNTY 
 
 Of the merits of the two speeches, we say nothing ; ®f course 
 the widest diversity of opinion prevailed. But it has ever been a 
 source of satisfaction that these two distinguished statesmen vis- 
 ited our county and enjoyed such receptions. 
 
 Two years later, wlien the fierce clash of opinion brought four 
 tickets into the i^residential canvass. Stark county rallied for Lin- 
 coln or Douglas, with a fervor it hardly could have felt for men 
 it had never known. In this contest MrT Douglas was defeated, 
 Mr. Lincoln elected to cope with the terrible vengeance of the 
 slave power. 
 
 And no citizen of Stark who was old enough to take cognizance 
 of facts, can everforgetthe day whenthetelegraphicwiresbrought 
 us the terrible tidings that " Lincoln was assassinated." .But 
 why dwell upon those sad days ; they are still fresh in the minds 
 of our people, and form part of our nation's annals. 
 
 Therefore we leave them, to talk for a while of our friends and 
 neighbors, the Pioneers of Stark County. 
 
AXD ITS PIO^'EEES. 1!)7 
 
 PART SECOND. 
 
 PERSONAL SKETCHES. 
 
 GENERAL SAMt'EL THOilAS AXB FAMILY. 
 
 Among the pioneers of Stark county, certainly General Thom- 
 as deserves honorable mention ; not only for what he has <;loue 
 as an enterprising public spirited citizen, but for what he has 
 been and still is, even at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. 
 
 He was born in the state of Connecticut, February 2d, 1787, re- 
 moved to the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, at the age of twen- 
 ty, and married Miss Marcia Pettebone of Kingston, Pennsylvan- 
 ia, May 10th, 1807. 
 
 He served his country as captain of artillery, during the war of 
 1812, and while thus engaged an incident occurred, which has 
 been used by some to cast a stigma upon his military record — i. e., 
 the shooting of James Bird at Erie. 
 
 The facts are that Bird, who entered the service as a member of 
 Captain Thomas' Company, was a wild frolicsome fellow, "spree- 
 ing" at every opportunity, and when intoxicated, was almost be- 
 yond control. On one occasion, when thus excited by liquor, he 
 committed a grave offence, that demanded punishment ; the col- 
 onel of the regiment, (not the captain of his company) gave him 
 his choice of two things, viz : either to undergo trial Iby "court 
 martial," or enlist in the marine service. He chose the latter. 
 Perry was then equipping for immediate action, the marine depart- 
 ment wanted men, and as the discipline was much more severe 
 than among the land forces, it was difficult to obtain volunteers. 
 
198 STARK COUNTY 
 
 Bird fought bravely on the lakes, and was promoted j:o a minor 
 office, something like " sergeant of the guard." But in the fall of 
 1813, while Perry's fleet still lay at Erie, he took his squad of men 
 off duty, got drunk and all deserted. They were followed, arres- 
 ted and brought back, and Bird, as the ringleader, was sentenced 
 as a deserter and shot. Captain Thomas had returned home soon 
 after Perry's victory, and was at home when this sad affair oc- 
 curred, and under any circumstances could have had no voice in 
 the proceedings, as Bird was not under his command at the time. 
 Then, who cannot see that strong drink was responsible for the- 
 death of this brave young soldier, and not the officers whose du- 
 ty it was to enforce necessary discipline. 
 
 That the subject of this brief notice was not deemed bjamewor- 
 thy, either in this or any other regard, by those cognizant of the 
 facts of his career, is proven by the Governor of Pennsylvania, 
 afterwards (in 1828) confirming him Brigadier General of the 2nd 
 Brigade, 8th division. State militia, comprising the counties of 
 Northumberland, Union, Columbia, Luzerne, Susquehanna and 
 Wayne. This commission he held at the time of his emigration 
 to Illinois. He was also twice elected to represent his country- 
 men in the legislature of Pennsylvania, and seems to have filled 
 this position to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. 
 
 But satisfied that "The Star of Empire" would westward take 
 its way, he bade adieu to the beautiful valley that had been the- 
 scene of his early strugglei^ and triumphs, and resolutely set for- 
 ward to found another Wyoming among the then untrodden prai- 
 ries of Illinois. 
 
 After a toilsome over-land journey of forty-two days' duration,, 
 camping out nights and conscientiously resting on Sundays, he- 
 arrived at the house of Sylvanus Moore, his brother-in-law, on 
 Spoon river, (where Wyoming now stands) October, 1834. He 
 purchased Moore's claim, entered the land at Quincy, June, 1835, 
 and commenced farming and merchandising. In the spring of 
 1836, laid out the present town of Wyoming. 
 
 With him came his wife and several children. His eldest son,, 
 William F., (lately deceased at Wyoming) then a youth of seven- 
 teen; his daughter, Ruth Anne, then 15 years of age, in May, 
 1836, was married to Giles C.^Dana, of Peoria, where she died of 
 typhoid fever, eight weeks afterwards ; James M. , then a lad of 
 twelve, has resided most of his life in' Wyoming, prominent in 
 business circles, as a dealer in and manufacturer of agricultural 
 , implements, &c. He married, December 25th, 1847, Miss Ellea 
 White, also of Peoria. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 199 
 
 At the time of the emigration liither, four daughters wei-e al- 
 ready married and presiding over homes of their own. Of these 
 but two lived to share for any length of time, the vicissitudes of 
 western life. Martha P., who was married March 1st, 1834, to J. 
 W. Agard, a native of Tioga county. New York, from which 
 place they removed, (as lie writes) "by Erie canal to BuflFalo, 
 thence to Detroit by steamer, thence by United States mud 
 scows to Cliicago, arriving at Wyoming September 25th, 1836." 
 
 Here Mr. Agard opened a farm where part of the town no^r 
 stands, and resided there until 1845; he entered the "itinerant 
 work" in connection with the M. E. Cliurch, and for some years 
 he held a prominent place in the conferences of that body. But 
 being a man of quiet and studious habits, an independent think- 
 er, and holding political opinions withal, somewhat at variance 
 with many of his brethren, he preferred to withdraw from the 
 more engrossing duties of his vocation, to the quiet of his former 
 home at Wyoining, where he might devote himself more fully to 
 the care of his wife, who had long been an invalid from lung 
 disease, and to which she finally succumbed, September 2d, 1870, 
 regretted by all who knew her, and among whom the memory of 
 her fragile form, and gentle virtues will long linger as a living- 
 reality. 
 
 Mary Anne, fourth daughter of General Thomas, a gifted and 
 beautiful woman, was married early in life to Whitney Smith a 
 native of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, with whom she lived many 
 years at Wyoming. But the union proving an unhappy one, a 
 separation was effected, and she was afterwards married to E. 8. 
 Brodhead, another Stark county pioneer, widely known and high- 
 ly esteemed by his friends, for his genial manners and ready fund 
 of wit and humor. This gen>tleman died in Toulon, 1878, 
 and the lady under consideration is now married for the third 
 time to Mr. Chase, a man distin§;uished in political circles, and in 
 the newspaper world of New York. 
 
 Mrs. Thomas, wife of the general, closed her long and eventful 
 life, at the old homestead in Wyoming, .July 21st, 18G5. She suf- 
 fered a protracted and painful illness, falling a victim to consump- 
 tion, a scourge, that has proven fatal to many of her descendants. 
 She was a lady who fought life's battles with a quiet courage no 
 hardships could subdue, yet wore her honors meekly. Her home 
 was ever the abode of a refined yet generous hospitality which 
 must have often been taxed to the utmost during the first settle- 
 ment of the country, but no one recalls an instance whei-e her 
 kindness failed. The pioneer preachers of her faith were especial- 
 
200 STAiiK cou>-Tr 
 
 ly indebted to lier for the comforts of ii home, when engaged in 
 the wearing knd arduous duties of their calling. 
 
 But we return to the central figure of this group (whom it will be 
 remembered we left on his ne\\'ly entered land in 1835) that we 
 may briefly review his course during the forty years he has lived 
 among us. Politically the General has been an unswerving ad- 
 herent of democracy — the democracy of Jackson and Douglas. 
 Never seeking office, or condescending to the arts of the demi- 
 gogue, or making his opinions offensive to those who differ from 
 him, still he has been a tower of strength to his party. Having 
 been a voter since 1808, he mu^t remember the election of Jeffer- 
 son and Burr — doubtless voted for Madison and Clinton, for Mon- 
 roe, Jackson, and Van Buren, besides a host of later if not lesser 
 lights. Few indeed live to exercise this great right of freemen , 
 the elective franchise, through such a term of years, and he stands 
 before us to-day erect and venerable, without the shadow 6f a 
 vice to darken his age, his faculties (with the single exception of 
 the sense of hearing), all in full play, a remarkable instance of the 
 poet's idea of " a green old age." 
 
 In 1846, he represented this district in the legislature, the only 
 time so far as known to the writer he has ever accepted an oflflce 
 in this' state, having devoted his attention to the quiet but lucra- 
 tive pursuits of agriculture slxk^ trade. In faith, a Methodist, he 
 was with his wife a member of the first " class " ever organized 
 in the county, (which met in the log school house in the Essex set- 
 tlement, often referred to on these pages), and the first organized 
 in Wyoming met regularly at his house, where " circuit preach- 
 ing" was also heard for years. In the fall of 1837, he donated 
 one and a half acres of land for a parsonage, which was built by 
 George Sparr the following year. In 1856, he also gave land, 
 whereon to place the Methodist Episcopal church, which was 
 built and dedicated the same yet^r. The latter service being per- 
 formed by Rev. J. W. Flowers, of Rock Island. 
 
 At a very early day General Thomas bequeathed to the public, 
 grounds for the burial of the dead, which constitute the Wyom- 
 ing cemetery still in use. ThuS has he continued to testify from 
 time to time his devotion to public interests, and the highest good 
 of his fellow men. Wyoming is peculiarly the offspring of his 
 enterprise and forecast. Founded and named by him in honor of 
 his eastern home, he has always shared its fortunes with unwav- 
 ering fidelity. While for many years the tide of prosperity ebb- 
 ed, and otlun-s lost faith and sought better localities for business, 
 he swerved not, but continued to invest his means in farms, mills, 
 
AXD ITS J^JOXEEES. 201 
 
 manufactures, anything tliat would aid in securing the future im- 
 portance of the town. And it can but l>e a source of satisfaction 
 to all right minded people, that he has lived to see his hopes real- 
 ized to a large degree. 
 
 To see two railroads, bring commerce and wealth to its doors, 
 depots, warehouses, mills, &e., all the elements of financial suc- 
 cess springing up around him : a coal trade opened, second only 
 in value to the agricultural products of the region it supplies. 
 And now he naturally feels, at theage of eighty-eight, his life work 
 is nearly done. For one who reared a large family to maturi- 
 ty, he will leave comparatively few descendants. Four grand- 
 sons, however, survive to transmit his name to future generations, 
 while among the descendants of his eldest daughter, Mrs. Den- 
 nis, in California, it is reported there is a great-great-grandchild ; 
 known to the writer, however, are but two grand-daughters, Mrs. 
 Marcia White of Castleton, and Mrs. Louisa IMcKenzie of Gales- 
 burg. 
 
 Many loved ones he has followed to the grave, indeed ; he and 
 his faithful friend and son-in-law, Rev. J. AV. Agard, remain 
 sole remnants of two kindred groups, still inhabiting the old 
 home near Spcion river, endeared by the associations of more than 
 forty years — the general calmly awaiting the summons, "come 
 up higher," for 
 
 " The curtain half lifted reveals to his sight 
 The windoics that look on the kingdom of light, 
 That border the river of death:'''' 
 
 KEY. E. C. DUXN AND FAMII^W 
 
 Dr. Charles C. Dunn, was a native of England, but emigrated 
 to America in early manhood, and settled in Augusta, Georgia, 
 where he was married to Miss Rel^ecca Moore, and where their 
 five children — Colum)iia A., (Mrs. Tillson), Augustus A., Rich- 
 ard C, William E., and Caroline E., (Mrs. O. H. Smith) were 
 born. 
 
 Mrs. Rebecca Dunn was of Puritan descent, though born and 
 reared at the south, and when after a few years of married life, 
 she found herself a widow, with her five small children depend- 
 ent in a great measure upqn her efforts for support, and looking to 
 her for guidance and control, she courageously took up her bur- 
 
202 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 den, and from that time, lived a life of self-sacrifice and devotion 
 to her family. 
 
 In the summer of 1831, she removed the family to Cincinnati, 
 to join an only brother, Augustus Moore, Esq. , who" had preced- 
 ed them a year or two, and who ever showed himself a true broth- 
 er in all her difficulties . 
 
 Their aim in coming north was to remove their families from 
 the influence of slavery, under which they felt it would be impos- 
 sible to rear them properly . 
 
 In Cincinnati they resided on a farm near the city, belonging: 
 to Mr. Moore, which was alsq the summer residence of his fami- 
 ly. Here the children enjoyed some advantages of education and 
 society, and attended the second Presbyterian church, under the 
 pastorate of the late Dr. Lyman Beecher, with which church sev- 
 eral of them united. But the growing boys needed more room. 
 Such an opening the fair prairies seemed to offer, and in the spring 
 of 1836, Augustus, then only eighteen, came into township 12, 5, 
 then a part of Knox, but now West Jersey township, in Stark 
 county Illinois, and entered a hundred acres of land, three miles 
 south of the village, which then consisted of two or three log cab- 
 ins, and the family used often, laughingly to remark, that they 
 resided three miles from nowhere. 
 
 After arranging for the erection of a log cabin, he returned for 
 the family, which arrived in September of the same year, moving 
 from Cincinnati with all their effects, in two covered wagons. 
 
 The hardships and privations of a pioneer life, at that early 
 period were formidable, even when there was the strong arm of 
 manhood to combat them; what must they have been to this 
 family of women and boys ? Mrs. Dunn's resolution and cour- 
 age in this, entitles her to rank as a pioneer woman of Stark 
 county, and shows her a worthy daughter of our patron 
 saint, MoUie Stark of revolutionary memory, Alas ! there 
 are no Washingtons now to recognize and reward such merits. 
 Each of the family went to work with a will, at whatever they 
 had strength or ability to perform. One of the daughters taught 
 school, taking her pay of f 1.50 per week, in such articles as her 
 patrons could spare and the family could use— stocking yarn and 
 flannel, meat, flour and dried fruit, the latter article brought all 
 the way from their former residences in Ohio or New Jersey, and 
 brought out only on special occasion— any and everything except 
 money ; while the younger daughter turned her attention to the 
 outer adornment of the heads of the mothers, bleaching and re- 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 20a 
 
 trimming their paper bonnets and occasionally swimming her- 
 horse across the swollen river, in her millinery excursions. 
 
 The brothers commenced improving their land, but 'with the in- 
 experience of boys, and the lack of any remunerative market, 
 they succeeded in doing a vast amount of hard work, which nev- 
 er brought them the looked for return. Says one of them : "Our 
 ten years of farm life was a failure !" Not so when the crop pro- 
 duced ripened out, in after years, into men, hardened by toil, and 
 schooled in poverty and self reliance to accomplish such results,, 
 in shaping and moulding society in its formatiye state, laying- 
 broad and deep the foundations of intelligence, temperance, libei-- 
 ty and religion. " Those who are to help the perplexed and toil- 
 ing men of their times, must iirst go down into the conflict them- 
 selves." 
 
 Augustus married young, and on the organization of the coun- 
 ty in 1839, was elected the first sheriff, though lacking a few days 
 of his majority at the time of the election. Subsequently he- 
 studied medicine, and settled in Cambridge, Henry county, where- 
 he took an active part in public and social life, and met with 
 marked successed in his profession. 
 
 At the commencement of the rebellion he enlisted and was 
 elected captain of companj^ D, 112th regiment of Illinois volun- 
 teers. He had a portion of his left fiand shot off in a skirmish at 
 Kelley's Ford, Tennessee ; was afterwards in the battle of Frank- 
 lin, struck in the forehead by a fragment of a shell, breaking the- 
 frontal bone, which wound resulted in his death four years after- 
 wards, on the 2nd day of March, 1869, aged fifty-one. 
 
 He had removed to Chicago at the close of the war, but his re- 
 mains were interred at Cambridge, which had long been his place- 
 of residence. Thus closed the life of one of our brave and loyal 
 soldiers, and a noble generous man. 
 
 Richard Chapman, was about sixteen at the time of their re- 
 moval to this county. His early educational advantages had been 
 slight and desultory. A|; first we find him in a little school in 
 Augusta, Georgia, taught by his mother, to eke out their scanty 
 support. 
 
 He early developed that love for work which marked all his fu- 
 ture course, and which was the secret of his success. 
 
 After acquiring some of the rudiments of learning, we find him 
 imparting them to their house servants ; often, for the sake of se- 
 crecy, as it was a penal offence, going under the house, which 
 was southern fashion, set on stilts ; and this he looked back upon 
 as one of the proudest acts of his life, even when he had taken dt 
 
204 STAEK COUXTY 
 
 prominent part in educational matters, both in the county and 
 state. In Cincinnati lie attended a few terms in log school houses, 
 but with little promise of his future scholarship ; but he enjoyed 
 the pleasures of boy life, roaming the woods, hunting, trapping 
 and swimming, while his zeal for work developed into a passion„ 
 for gardening, which remained with him through life. Indeed 
 his love for the beautiful, both in nature and art, was always a 
 .source of exquisite pleasure, while disorder and lack of harmony 
 were' sources of torture. 
 
 After the removal to Illinois, his days were full of hard ^^'ork, 
 but the evening spelling schools and debating societies which he 
 assiduously attended, gave him the elementaiy drill in language 
 and its use, in which he became a critical scholar, and with the 
 few books to which he had access, were all his advantages, until 
 1840, when he spent a year at the academy at Galesburg, working 
 for his board and tuition. 
 
 This was followed by a year or two of farm work, during which 
 every leisure moment was devoted to study, and when a new 
 frame house was to take the place of the log cabin, rising before 
 light in the long days of summer, to dig the cellar, and after 
 light proceeding to the harvest field, and doing his day's work. 
 
 In the summer of 1843, he entered college, working his way 
 through, with but little assistance from friends, and often walk- 
 ing across the bleak jjrairies to visit his home. 
 
 In 1847, he was one of the three which formed the second class 
 graduated by Knox College, and in 1850 received the degree of 
 miaster of arts. 
 
 It was on the 10th of May, 1847, that Mrs. Rebecca Dunn, hav- 
 ing removed to Galesburg that she might make a home for those 
 of her children who were studying there, passed to her rest, leav- 
 ing a memory ever cherished by her family with the most sa- 
 cred reverence and affection. 
 
 For several years, after closing his college course, Mr. Dunn 
 traveled and taught, and. in the routine of the school room ac- 
 quired that practical knowledge of educational matters of which 
 Stark county subsequently reaped the advantage. Oct. 31, 1850, 
 after an acquaintance of a year in the school room, he was united 
 in marriage with Miss Sarah A. Marvin, who shared his fortunes 
 end his cares through the remainder of his life. 
 
 Mr. Dunn had decided on the profession of law, and had made 
 considerable progress in his preparation, when his attention was 
 called to his duty to engage in the ministry, and laying aside his 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 205 
 
 ambitions and aspirations in that direction, he gave himself to 
 his Master's service in a whole souled consecration. 
 
 Untempted by dazzling openings which were presented, even 
 after he had commenced his studies in the Union Theological 
 Seminary of New York, which he entered three weeks after his 
 marriage, and relinguishing' all his anticipations of a homfe for 
 three years, he lived over again the self-denials and struggles of 
 'his college life. 
 
 His ministerial life opened with a pleasant j'ear of labor in 
 western New York, but with several urgent openings for labor at 
 the east, his heart longed for the west. It had been the center of 
 all his hopes and plans, and thither he resolutely turned his face. 
 
 After filling the pulpit of the Congregational church of Peoria 
 for three months, there followed a period too painful to be recalled, 
 only as it gave a coloring to all his future life, and furnishes a key 
 to explain what has been misunderstood by many. A period of 
 candidature; in which for months every door of labor, however 
 humble was closed against him, his way wholly hedged up, and 
 his beloved west rejecting him. This produced serious doubts as 
 to his call to the ministry, a morbid sensitiveness as to the accep- 
 tability of his labors, and an unwavering determination never to 
 be placed in such straits again ; and while thejre Viras no drawing 
 back on his part from the service of the church, it led to a more 
 full consecration of all his talents in the service of his Master, in 
 whatever way he might be used ; looking directly to the leadings 
 of Providence for work and wages, and doing with his might, 
 what his hands found to do. 
 
 It was at this juncture, that the Rev. S. G. Wright, of Toulon, 
 who had been his pastor in the earlier times, and ever after a 
 warm friend, decided to leave his charge for a year, and take an 
 agency from the Illinois Home Missionary Society, and transfer- 
 red his field of labor to Mr. Dunn, and in January, 1855, he again 
 became a citizen of Stark county. 
 
 While his position as pastor of a church made large drafts upon 
 his time and strength, both in pulpit preparations and pastoral 
 visiting, being most of the time the only minister of that denom- 
 ination in the county, his field extended over its whole area, and 
 he generally had at least- one .out post, at which he had regular 
 appointments. , """ 
 
 The inhabitants, either in settlement or immigration, were but 
 very few of Congregational preferences,' and the church has al- 
 ways taken radical grounds in all matters of reform , yet steady 
 progress marked its growth, and at the close of the twelve years 
 
206 STARK COUNTV 
 
 <labors, he felt that he could congratulate them on their prosperity. 
 But he never forgot that he was a man, a citizen and a neigh- 
 'bor. In his own words: " I felt that I was not only a member of 
 the Congregational church, and its pastor, but a member of the 
 community, and interested in all its interests, in schools, in trees, 
 in public works, in literary matters, in moral enterprises, in rail 
 roads, in all things." " My heart, and time, and purse have been 
 •drawn out for every object of charity or of public enterprise ;" he 
 •could truly record — " I have spoken to the public in various forms 
 and addresses several thousands of times. I have canvassed the 
 ■county for schools, for temperanee, and for the country. I have 
 •gone to all parts, attending funerals and weddings, picnics, con- 
 ventions and meetings of every sort." 
 
 Mr. Wright was commissioner of schools when he passed his 
 "work over to Mr. Dunn, and after acting as deputy for him until 
 the close of the term, he was elected his successor, which office he 
 held for three terms, six years, doing a vast amount of labor, vis- 
 iting schools by day and lecturing in the evenings, examining 
 teachers, giving counsel to teachers anc^ school officers, making 
 "Out reports, <fec., con amore, the conpensation never exceeding 
 :$200, per annum, and' often less. 
 
 He was also trustee of the town corporation, and president of 
 ■the board two years. His wide acquaintance in the county led to 
 his nomination and election to the assembly for the 36th district, 
 -comprising the counties of Peoria and Stark for the session of 
 1865. There he was chairman of the committee on education, and 
 on the special committee to visit Champaign, with a view to the 
 location of the Industrial University. 
 
 In October, 1866, Governor Ogl'esby tendered him a commission 
 as trustee of the hospital for the insane, the duties of which he 
 faithfully performed until his death. The same year the republi- 
 can party in the county were a unit in striving foir his nomination 
 to the state senate, and about the same time Senator Yates, in be- 
 half of the collector of the port of New Orleans, tendered him the 
 position of deputy collector of the same port, with a salary of 
 $3,000 and perquisites, which he declined. 
 
 After a pastorate of twelve years, Mr. Dunn, feeling that a 
 change would benefit the church, he resigned the charge, not with- 
 out a severe struggle, so firmly had his heart entwined itself with 
 his life's work, for this was his only regular pastorate. 
 
 After a few months of secular work, receiving a pressing call 
 from the Congregational church of Oneida, Knox county, he 
 spent a year of delightful and successful labor with them, recoiv- 
 
AND ITS PIOXEERS. 207 
 
 ing all the encouragement and affection which a minister could 
 ask, and there, in the prime of his usefulness and success, " with 
 his harness on," as he had ardently desired, he was called to re- 
 ceive his crown. 
 
 " Let all the ends thou aims at 
 
 Be thy Country'' s, God's and Truth's." 
 
 A short but severe attack of spinal menengitis, lasting but a 
 few days, terminated in his death. May 24th, 1868, and in the for- 
 ty-seventh year of his age. 
 
 His health began to fail towards the close of his college course, 
 but during the second year in the seminary, entirely gave way, 
 and from that time he never saw a well day, or passed a night of 
 quiet restful sleep. This will seem impossible to those who have' 
 witnessed the amount of work he performed, or listened to the 
 pleasantries in which he so often indulged. 
 
 Another drawback was his meager and unreliable income, 
 which always kept him straightened and in debt, with heavy 
 interest, and yet so averse was he to alluding to his needs, so 
 promptly were his obligations met, and so.liberally did he respond 
 to all calls upon his purse, that most supposed that his means 
 were ample, and few dreamed of the Spartan self-denial and rigid 
 economy he was obliged to practice in his expenses. 
 
 His especial gift was in attracting the young, in whom he took 
 the warmest interest, laboring in every way for their improve- 
 ment. The sabbath school was his especial delight. 
 
 The following spring, his family, wishing that their dear de- 
 parted ones might sleep side by side, removed his reniains to the 
 cemetery in Toulon, and this his third and last coming to Stark 
 county was not to work, but to rest, in hope of a glorious resur- 
 rection. 
 
238 STARK cou:s'TY 
 
 C;)LOXEL AVILLIAM H. HEXDERSOX. 
 
 This gentleman was born oa the banks of Dick's river, in the- 
 county of Garrard, and state of Kentucky, on tlie IGth of Novem- 
 ber, 1793. 
 
 We can learn but little of his antecedents, of his early educa- 
 tion or history. His parents seem to have led the eventful, ad- 
 venturous lives, common to the frontier in those perilous times, 
 dying at a good old age, however, at the house of their son, in 
 Brownsville, Tennessee. 
 
 When this son was born, Kentucky was an almost unbroken 
 wilderness, and the opportunities for acquiring an education, 
 must have been very limited. Yet, he found means to make 
 himself proficient in mathematics and surveying, following the 
 latter as a business during many of the earlier years of his life, 
 and it was said he seldom met his superior as a practical surveyor. 
 
 When only nineteen years of age he enlisted in Colonel Rich- 
 ard M. Johnson's regiment of "mounted riflemen," and served 
 with this regiment during the war of 1812. 
 
 He participated with his regiment in the battle of the Thames, 
 Canada West, under the command of William H. Harrison, Octo- 
 ber 5th, 1813. Soon after his return from this campaign, he re- 
 moved to Dover, Stewart county, Tennessee, and was there mar- 
 ried to Miss Lucinda Wimberly on the 11th of January, 1816. 
 
 During his residence here, he served the county as sheriff; in 
 April, 1823, removed to the western district of Tennessee, but 
 lately the dwelling place of savages, and settled near the present 
 town of Brownsville, Haywood county. Here amidst all the 
 hardships that environ the pioneer in a strange and almost unin- 
 habited region, he was doomed to bury his young and lovely 
 Avife. 
 
 But his was not a nature to yield to discouragements or losses 
 of any sort. Like the oak he could bend without breaking. 
 , His force of character and versatile acquirements were sure to 
 constitute him a leader in any new settlement, and we soon find 
 him busy here, surveying and platting the town of Brownsville? 
 and then building one of the first houses within its newly defined 
 limits. He was the first "registrar of deeds" in Haywood county, 
 besides holding several minor offices, and acting as " real estate 
 agent" for several extensive landholders in his vicinity. 
 
 Although after his emigration to Illinois, Colonel Henderson. 
 
AXD ITS PIOXEERS. i!Otf 
 
 became an active opponent to political abolitionism, and to tbe 
 ends and aims of the old "liberty party," as many of the early 
 settlers here have (H-wision to remember, yet his sons confident-- 
 ly assert, that iu his earlier life, and when living in a slave state, 
 "he was utterly opposed to human slavery. " And that, although 
 possessed of ample means for a resident in a new country, he 
 steadily refused to own a slave, and even when one was tendered, 
 as payment for debt, preferred to suffer a heavy pecuniary loss:' 
 rather than do violence to his convictions of right. They also 
 state, " that at one time, when the people of Tennessee were about 
 to elect delegates to-a convention to r&vise the constitution of the 
 state. Colonel Henderson prepared a circular, addressed to the 
 people of his district, announcing himself , as a candidate for dele- 
 gate with the purpose of securing the incorporation of a provi- - 
 sion " for the gradual emancipation of the slaves of Tennessee."' 
 A policy then urged by Plenry Clay of Kentucky, of whom the 
 subject of this notice was an ardent admirer and supporter ; and 
 finally, he was induced to leave the south, and seek a home in- a 
 free state, mainly that he might remove his sons from the demor- - 
 alizing influences of slavery and rear them in a community where - 
 labor was not held to be degrading." 
 
 By those who remember the thunderbolts of denunciation this-; 
 gentleman was wont to hurl, when roused by opposition or heat- - 
 ed by controversy, at the heads of the unfortunate "abolitionists"' 
 of old, we know the foregoing statements will be received with; 
 distrust. 
 
 But coming from the source they did, as a faithful chronicler 
 we could not refuse them due consideration, and would further- 
 more add that his apparently contradictory course upon this 
 poiirt, after he became a citizen of Illinois, is exj)lainecl by the- 
 fact that he had a sort of prescience,^ that the unwise agitation of: 
 the slavery question in the free states, would eventuate in civil 
 war, and endanger the Union, which he loved better than life it- 
 self. The candid reader could not be unwilling to give him tli& 
 benefit of these explanations. ^ 
 
 He lived and died an uncompromising whig; was elected to 
 the senate of Tennessee in 1835, served during the winter of 183.> 
 -36 ; was personally and politically opposed to Andrew .Jackson 
 and his policy ; yet he was capable of breaking even party trana— 
 mels at times and exhibiting great independence in action, as th&' 
 following incident will show. lie lived in the congressional dis- 
 trict represented by David Crockett, who fell at the battle of 
 Port Alamo, in the war between Texas and Mexico. And al- 
 14 
 
210 STARK COUNTY 
 
 though Crockett was a whig, and Fitzgerald, his opponent, a 
 democrat, yet Colonel Henderson regarding Crockett as an unsuit- 
 able man for congress, took the stump in favor of Fitzgerald, and 
 largely aided in defeating Crockett in his first candidacy for con-, 
 gross. 
 
 In the spring of 1836, on his return from the state capital, he re- 
 signed his seat in the senate, in order to carry out his long cher- 
 ished plan of removal to Illinois. This, however, was not the 
 first attempt he had made in that direction. 
 
 Five years before, or in 1831, having some twenty thousand 
 dollars at his disposal he had determined to invest it in Illinois 
 lands, and for that purpose went to Chicago to be present at the 
 opening sales, at the newly established land office— Chicago be- 
 ing then but an Indian trading post. But the sales were deferred 
 and he was compelled to postpone his venture until a later period. 
 He did not return, however, until he had selected a plac^ for his 
 future home, on Indian creek of Pox river, some fifteen miles 
 north of Ottawa, in what is now LaSalle county. As soon as he 
 returned to Tennessee, he engaged in active measures for sending 
 forward his little colony, mostly comprised of relatives, to the 
 new home he had selected. 
 
 Accordingly in the spring of 1832, his aged father and mother, 
 two of his brothers, one with a family, and two of his wife's 
 brothers with their families, his oldest son John W., and a hired 
 irtan by the name of Robert Norris, wentforward and commenced 
 improving the claims. The colonel had intended to move his 
 family in the autumn of 1833, but after visiting the neighbor- 
 hood to complete his arrangements, while on his way back to 
 Tennessee, having reached St. Louis, he received the painful in- 
 telligence of "the Indian creek massacre," the killing of Robert 
 Norris and the dispersion of his relatives. This must have been 
 a heavy blow to his adventurous spirit, and for a time all his 
 jjlans were thwarted. 
 
 The various relatives made their way back to Tennessee, save 
 one brother of the Colonel, John H.Henderson, who on account 
 of his deep rooted hostility to slavery refused to return, but went 
 into central Illinois, and settled on the Sangamon river, where he 
 lived for some years, and then went back to Indian creek to pass 
 the remnant of his days. Soon after the massacre. Colonel Hen- 
 derson urged this brother to return and hold possession of the 
 claims, but the bloody deaths of his neighbors, then so fresh in 
 his mind, naturally made him shrink from doing so. 
 
 This was a great disappointinent to the colonel, who concluded 
 
AND ITS PIOXEERS. 211 
 
 to put tiie funds destined for speculation in and improvement of 
 western lands, into a large steam saw and grist mill, which 
 proved a most disastrous invest]nent, as after the terras of sale 
 were nearly agreed upon, it was entirely consumed by fire. 
 
 After this, he again visited the scene of his former colony in 
 LaSalle county, only to find his claims occupied by strangers who 
 refused to surrender them, although upon some he had already 
 expended considerable sums of money. But i^ossession was tru- 
 ly in those cases " nine points of the law," and the colonel seems 
 to have concluded to surrender whatever rights he had in that 
 vicinity rather than to attempt to regain them, under such cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 One would think that even a man fertile in resources as this 
 man was, would by this time have felt himself completely baf- 
 fled in his attempts to establish himself in Illinois, but at Henne- 
 pin, in Putnam county, where he rested for a day or two, he met 
 with an old man by the name of Leek, who was among the first 
 settlers on Indian creek of Spoon river. 
 
 There surely could not have been anything alluring in the name 
 to Colonel Henderson, but he purchased the land owned by Leek 
 and immediately commenced preparations for moving his family 
 from Tennessee. They arrived at their farm July 2d, 1836. 
 
 , At that time, as T. J. Henderson remembers, there were about 
 ten familes living on Indian creek, above the old town of Moul- 
 ton, near which the Wards resided ; and Moulton consisted of one 
 building — the Sammis store ! On the south and west side of the 
 creek wereSteiAen G.Worley, Elijah MsClennahan, senior, Wil- 
 liam Mahany, William Bowen, and Harris W. Miner. On 'the 
 north and east side, were Colonel Henderson, Adam Perry, Wil- 
 liam >Ogle who then lived in Lewis Perry's cabin, Minott Silli- 
 naan and Ephraim Barrett ; the latter living in a cabin owned by 
 John Culbertson just north of the present town of Toulon. 
 
 As will be known by all who have read the preceding pages of 
 this book, these settlements and contiguous ones were still in "Old 
 Putnam, the mother of counties," and the people had to go to 
 Hennepin, more than forty miles distant, over uncertain roads to 
 jfttend court and transact all sorts of county business. 
 
 These pioneers were not slow in recognizing in Colonel Hender- 
 son a leading spirit, which might aid in bringing £^bout a better 
 state of things, and he was sent as an unofficial representative to 
 "Vandalia in the winter of 1836-37, to procure if possible suitable 
 legislation in regard to the establishment of new counties. 
 ' He was a member ot the last legislature that met in Vandalia, 
 
212 STARK COUNTY 
 
 in 1838-39, and also of the first that met in Springfield in 1840-41. 
 In 1842 he was a candidate on the whig ticket for Lieutenant Gov- 
 ernor, Joseph Duncan being a candidate for Governor on the same 
 ticket, tie made a thorough canvass of the state from Cairo to 
 CJhicago, and although he was defeated in the contest, (the whigs 
 being greatly in the minority at the time) yet wherever he ad- 
 dressed the people, he established the reputation of an able polit- 
 ical debater. Stephen A. Douglas, who had heard the ablest po- 
 litical speakers in the United States, both on the "stump" and in 
 the halls of congress, did not hesitate to pay Colonel Henderson a 
 marked compliment in this regard. 
 
 But the labors he performed during these years, in behalf of 
 public interests, form a part of the general history of our county, 
 and as such will be found more in detail in a former part of this 
 volume, and however remunerative such labors may be, in one 
 sense, esiaecially if crowned with success, to men of a certain 
 mould,, yet from a monetary point of view they were certainly 
 far from profitable ; at that time, the country was really too poor 
 to suitably reward its servants, and the pilfering, swindling and 
 chicanery, by means of which every pretender to politics now- 
 a-days fills his own pockets attheexpenseof his constituents or of 
 the public funds, had not yet come in vogue, and at any rate 
 could not but have been abhorrent to the soul of such a man as 
 Colonel Henderson. He could berate a man soundly, abuse him 
 if you please, in a time of excifement, but it could never occur to 
 him to fawn on his supporters, and pick their pockets meanwhile. 
 Thus it came to pass, he grew poorer instead of richer as the- 
 years went by, and we infer that he was not a good practical far- 
 mer, that the crops were turned over to the care of "the boys," 
 who probably found something more congenial to their tastes, a 
 good share of the time, and these were the days When corn went 
 begging for ten cents per bushel, and pork for .'^2 i)er hundred 
 weight ! Then, the demands of this growing family of the rude 
 '■ home on the hillside," were neither few nor sinall. Seven hun- 
 gry boys daily surrounded his table, which, indeed seldom lacked 
 the presence of guests beside. As heretofore stated, one of their 
 rooms was offered at the organization of Stark county, for the use ' 
 of the court and the transaction of county business, county com- 
 missioners' court, &c. 
 
 At such times Colonel and Mrs. Henderson often provided food 
 and beds forjudges, lawyers, officers, jurors and witnesses, some- 
 times amounting to scores of persons entertained at a time, and 
 all without thinking of a charge. Without exaggeration these 
 
AXD ITH noXEEiiS. 213 
 
 were "hardtimes" for many settlers, but hardest for the over- 
 tasked Avives and mothers, who were trying to make one dollar 
 do the work of fiA-e, and to iiractice unwearying hospitality, at a 
 fearful outlay of vital force. 
 
 In ]84r), Colonel Henderson took the state census of S1;ark coun- 
 ty, and poverty compelled him to accomplish the work on foot; 
 the meager compensation he received for this service, he devoted 
 to the purchase of a horse to make out a team with which to 
 anove his family to Iowa, and there in November of that year he 
 went, settling in Johnson county, near Iowa city, hoping to give 
 his sons better educational advantages than they had hitherto en- 
 joyed ; but in the spring of 1846, he was compelled to move fur- 
 ther into the country, and after many hand to hand struggles ^^•ith 
 poverty and hardship, he finally secured and improved a large 
 farm in the northern part of Johnson county, twenty miles from 
 Iowa city, and eight or nine from Cedar Rapids. This fine tract 
 of land he afterwards sold for $10,000, but unmindful of his form- 
 er bitter experience withinill property made a similar investment 
 with similar results. 
 
 In 1850, Colonel Henderson was again dra\\'n into the political 
 arena, was a whig candidate for congress. "But (writes one who 
 had good opportunity of knowing the facts) "h'e was defeated, as 
 the democracy was then dominant in Iowa, but succeeded in re- 
 ducing their majority, and paved the way for a whig victory at 
 the next election." In 1852, he was a candidate for presidential 
 elector, on the whig ticket, but shared the general rout o£ the 
 party that year, when ii i^ractically ceased to exist. This was his 
 last venture on the suffrages of the people ; not even politically 
 could he be called a fortunate man, j^et he certainly better deserv- 
 ed success than thousands who achieve it. 
 
 If in conclusion of this narrative we might venture to weigh 
 for a moment the ingredients that went to make up the character 
 we have been contemplating, we should place on one side the 
 'strong i^rejudices, that found vent in stronger expressions, that 
 sometimes wounded as they flowed ; the fiery vehemence, we 
 often associate with southern blood, a general impetuositj^ and 
 recklessness of danger, probably engendered, or at least fostered 
 by the adventurous life he had led. To offset these, we should 
 have a large brain and unselfish heart, manifesting themselves in 
 an enlightened zeal for the public good, whether that public con- 
 .sisted for the time being of a large and intelligent community, or 
 of a struggling settlement on the frontier. Though not a classi- 
 cal scholar, he was possessed of a vast fund of general informa- 
 
214 STARK COUNTY 
 
 tioii, and grasped with a master's hand the political issues of his 
 time. He lived to see the war cloud he had dreaded, lower upon 
 his beloved country, to see his own sons, urged by their convic- 
 tions of duty and fealty to the old flag, go to carry fire and sword 
 to the very spot where they were born, and he deplored, all this 
 with a bitterness characteristic of his passionate nature. One 
 can hardly repress a sigh of regret that the brave old man could 
 not have lived to see the termination of hostilities, and the bind- 
 ing up of the nation's wounds. But it was otherwise ordained by 
 that Power before which we must all bow, the strong as well as 
 the weak. 
 
 On the 27th of January, 1864, while the reverberations of can- 
 on were still jarring every hearthstone in our land, it was said of 
 him as it will be one of these days, of every man, he died. Calm- 
 ly, fearlessly he met his last enemy, realizing the situation, but 
 shrinking not. With him in that solemn hour were his wife, his 
 guiding star through so many dark scenes of the past, and his 
 five sons ; the other two, Thomas and Webster, being in the army,> 
 their names were among the last words his lips ever uttered. 
 Let us hope "Afterlife's fitful fever he sleeps well." Now it is 
 meet we should as it were, roll back the scroll of years, that we 
 may review very briefly the life and character of Mrs. Sarah M. 
 Henderson, for more than forty years the wife of the principal fig- 
 ure in this group, and mother to five sons to whose lives we shall 
 turn the reader's attention on a subsequent page. 
 
 This lady was a native of Sampson county, North Carolina, 
 was'born September 15th, 1804, being at this date, 1875, 71 years 
 of age ; her maiden name was Howard. When she was yet 
 a child her parents removed with their family to middle Tennes- 
 see, but after several minor changes they finally settled in Hay- 
 wood county, west Tennessee, where she was married November 
 6th, 1823. This county was notorganizedtillthe following- spring, 
 and in ]March 1824, its first election took place. From the out- 
 lines of her life furnished u^, we infer that Mrs. Henderson was 
 by birth and education a pioneer, always on the frontier. Those 
 who understand the full significance of that fact, will not be sur- 
 prised to learn that this lady was not " educated " in the usual 
 sense of that word. She was taught to read and write, and that ' 
 was about all the mental culture permitted her until some years 
 after her marriage. But she was possessed of good natural abili- 
 ties, strong common sense, combined with niany womanly graces 
 and great purity of character. And to her, quite as much na 
 to their father, do her children owe whatever of mental or phy- 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 215 
 
 sical vigor they possess. From her youth she has lived a devoted 
 christian ; a member of the Methodist church for more tlian half a 
 century, a self-constituted, self-sustaining missionary, wherever 
 she went she carried the emblems of her faith, and with her wo- 
 man's hands planted its standards wherever her lot was cast. Her 
 devotion has been marked by a beautiful consistency, through all 
 the vicissitudes of her long life, the best proof of which is the 
 reverence she has inspired in the hearts of her children. And 
 now, as the shadows lengthen, and the feebleness of age creeps 
 on, she fears no evil, she knows for her " at eventide there shall 
 be light ;" with much of the quiet firmness, the cheerful fortitude 
 that marked her earlier years, she accepts whatever life brings. 
 And really, her age is crowned with blessings and honors, ,a ricli 
 reward for all the sacrifices and labors of the past. 
 
 Her home has been for many years at Marshalltown, Iowa, with 
 her son Henry C'., where she will jDrobably remain until summon- 
 ed to join "the loved ones gone before." 
 
 Colonel, Henderson had three children by his first wife, Mary 
 Anne, John and William P. Mary Anne, who died in 1834, 
 was married and left one child wlio still survives, and lives 
 in or near Brownsville, Tennessee, so long the home of the flen- 
 dersons. 
 
 John W., was for many years a prominent citizen of Stark coun- 
 ty, and held important positions while here, mention of which 
 has been jnade in the body of this work. 
 
 His first wife was Miss Mary Perry, a member of a pioneer 
 family frequently alluded t<i in these pages. She died young and 
 her remains rest in the Toulon cemetery. This bereavement left 
 Mr. Henderson, as his father had been left, witli three motherless 
 children. He was afterwards married to Elizabeth, (laughter of 
 Captain Butler, of Wyoming, Stark county, and removed to Ce- 
 dar Rapids, Iowa, where he still resides, and has proven himself, 
 as here, a good citizen and successful business man. 
 
 William P. is a farmer, and resides at present Jn Green county, 
 Iowa. By his second marriage, Colonel Henderson had one daugh- 
 ter and five sons — the daughter dying in infancy. The sons, 
 mentioned in the order of their ages, are Thomas J., Henry C, 
 Stephen H.,' Daniel W., and James A. 
 
 Of these, Thomas J. remained for a long time a resident of our 
 county after his father's emigration to Iowa, holding many im- 
 portant trusts both as citizen and soldier ; on this account we shall 
 accord him a fuller notice on subsequent pages. 
 
 Henry C. is a lawyer, residing at Marshalltown, Iowa. He \^'as 
 
.216 STARK COUXTY 
 
 a clerk in the treasury department at Washington, from 1849 to 
 1852. In 1850, he married Miss lanthe Fuller, of Elmira, Stark 
 founty, by whom he has a large family. In 1853, he went to 
 E.oek Island, Illinois, and practiced law for three years, then re- 
 moved to his present location. He was elected to the state senate 
 of Iowa, in 1863, and in 1864, was a presidential elector on the re- 
 publican ticket, voting for Lincoln and Johnson. This gentle- 
 man seems to have inherited much of his father as a political 
 . speaker and leader, but of late has devoted himself exclusively to 
 the practice of his profession. 
 
 Stephen II. read law in Bock Island, Illinois, and entered up- 
 on the practice ; but soon abandoned the bar for the pulpit, be- 
 coming a Methodist itinerant. In 1862, however, he left the pul- 
 l)it for the army, was chosen captain of company A, 24th regi- 
 ment Iowa infantry, and was afterwards colonel of 44th regiment, 
 Iowa infantry. He was with Grant at the siege of Vickbsurg, 
 participated in the battles of Port Gibson and Champion Hills, 
 'besides many minor engagements around Vicksburg. At the 
 close of the Avar he returned to his clerical duties, and has been 
 for several years, a presiding elder in the Methodist church, noted 
 for the force and finish of his oratory and his devotion to his 
 work. 
 
 Daniel W. was a lieutenant in the 22d Iowa infantry, 
 xinder the command of Colonel, afterwards Governor Stone. He 
 also Was with Grant at Vicksburg, and participated in the battle 
 •of Port Gibson, where he was seriously wounded ; served in Mis- 
 T^issippi, Louisiana and Texas mostly ; is now a respected citizen 
 and successful farmer of Green county, Iowa. 
 
 James A . Nvas admitted to the practice of law from his broth- 
 er's office in Toulon, Illinois ; was at one time master in chancery 
 of Stark county, and here enlisted in company K, 47th regiment 
 of Illinois volunteers. He was promoted to a lieutenantcy, but 
 on account of poor health could not serve. This gentleman has 
 been twice married to ladies well known here ; first to Miss Bur- 
 dell Turner, of Hennepin, grand-daugfiter of Captain Butler, sec- 
 ond to Miss Prank Dewey of Toulon. Since the war he has re- 
 sided in Iowa, at Marshalltown, and at Jefferson, Grefen county, 
 and devoted himself to the practice of his profession. 
 
 Although most of this group have given the strength of their 
 
 manhood to Iowa, yet as boys they belonged to us. Here their 
 
 characters were formed, and it is their voluntary statement that 
 
 whate\er is valuable therein, they attribute in a large degree to 
 
 .the influences that surrounded them in those early years passed 
 
AXD ITS PIONEEES. 217 
 
 in stark ; that their memories still fondly turn to that cabin- 
 home on the hill just south of Toulon, and recall witli pleasure 
 the scenes and friends of those days. In return we may say "the 
 Henderson boys," will never be forgotten wliile an old settler re- 
 mains on Indian creeli of >Spoon ri\-er. 
 
 KEV. 8A>[UEri G. AVRIC^HT. 
 
 Rev. S. G. Wright was emphatically a pioneer i>reacher, and 
 seems to have been eminently fitted both by nature and education 
 for the arduous work. he had undertaken; and as many of the 
 best years of his life were given to Stark county in the various 
 roles of preacher, pastor, lecturer, seliool commissioner, and cit- 
 izen, in all of which he was conspicuous, a few pages of this vol- 
 ume are justly hiis due. 
 
 He sprung from a family remarkable for their unswerving faith 
 in Christianity, therefore was by nature religious ; was one of five 
 brothers, all of \viioni had at one time devoted themselves to 
 preparation for the ministry. Two finally concluded duty point- 
 ed them to other fields of labor. 
 
 iMr. John Wright took charge of the home farm and his aged 
 parents, in Fulton county, while a y(junger brother became our 
 neighbor, Captain "William Wright, and fell mortally wounded 
 while leading his men upon the battle field of Resaca. Of the 
 three others, B. N. died many years since while pastor of the 
 Congregational church at Belvidere. Asliur more recently passed 
 away, having spent most of his life as a missionary to tlie Indians 
 on the reservations in Kew York. Thus the subject of this sketch 
 remjiins the sole survivor, and is still Avith unabated zeal pursuing 
 his calling in the frontier state of Kansas. 
 
 Four sisters still remain— Mrs. George W. Dewey, and Mrs. 
 Dianthia Shinn, of Toulon ; Mrs. l)r. Curtis of Canton, Illinois, 
 and Mrs. Otis Curtis, of Wisconsin. 
 
 As their father, Mr. Royal Wright, emigrated to Csinton, Ful- 
 ton county, as early as 1832. they have all been fully initiated 
 into the mysteries of pioneer life. 
 
 Samuel G. was born at Hanover, New Hampshire, December, 
 380!) ; married in 1832, to Miss Eliza M. Page, a relative of Har- 
 lan Page, so well known throughout the New England churches. 
 
218 STARK COU^'TY. 
 
 Soon after this marriage the ;^oung coujjle emigrated to Fulton 
 county, Illinois, where ]Mr. Wright proposed to commence farm- 
 ing, but changing his mind, resolved to go to Lane's theological 
 seminary, in order to prepare himself for the ministry. Thither 
 his young wife accompanied him, aiding his exertions by her 
 cheering presence, until failing health compelled her return to the 
 friends in Pulton county, where she died of consumption in 1839, 
 leaving two children, btit one of whom now survives, Mr. Edward 
 P. Wright, of Osceola. After this sad bereavement, Mr. Wright 
 again returned to Cincinnati to complete his course of study, ' 
 which he seems to have done in 1840, as in that year he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Minerva Hart of Farniington. 
 
 He was commissioned by the Home 3Iissionary Society and 
 commenced labor in Stark county.in 1841, His first hoine among 
 us was in West Jersey township, in those.days familiarly known 
 as the Webster settlement or " Xigger Point. " But he seems to 
 have had the whole county for his parish, besides many outlying 
 districts where he occasionally labored. From his journal it may 
 be gathered that for the first few years he had regular appoint- 
 ments at the following named places : Walnut creek (at different 
 paints), Victoria, Henderson, Wetherspeld, Lafayette, Wyoming, 
 Osceola, Wall's school house, jMoultmi, and later at Toulon, and 
 contiguous points, many meetings being held at private houses ; 
 prominent among those mentioned in this vicinity are Mr. Hugh 
 Rhodes' and Mr. Nicholson's, and' this was all beside the home 
 work. 
 
 In 1842, he preached one hundred and seventy sermons, and 
 traveled 21G3, miles. In 1S43, he preached two hundred sermons 
 and rode 2,')j3 miles, administered the sacrament nine times, 
 received seventeen into fellowship with the church. In 1844, he 
 preached one hundred and eighty-one sermons, and traveled 3,103 
 miles. 
 
 This he characterizes as "a barren, barren year, frought with 
 many discouragements " Still he continued to labor even more 
 abundantly, and outside of this strictly ministerial work, he lec- 
 tured frequently upon reforms and scientific subjects, giving 
 temperance and anti-slavery addresses without number, also as- 
 tromical lectures, broaching among other things the then new 
 " Nebular theory " of creation, hoping thus as he says, " to open 
 the eyes of the understanding, that men might be "induced to lis- 
 ten to God's word by a consideration of his works." Who can 
 measure the influence of such a man in moulding public senti- 
 ment in the then new and plastic condition of our community? 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 219 
 
 And this work was performed at the cost of personal discomfort 
 and self-denial, both to himself and family, that would appal peo- 
 ple now-a-days. As to salaries, he says : " The Home Missionary 
 ■ Society helped in some cases to raise them to $400 per annum, but 
 this was only for a favored few. My salary for the first twelve ^ 
 years of my missionary life averaged about $300 per year." No 
 wonder his wife writes, " we did not live but only eiidured in 
 those days." 
 
 " Mr. Wright bore a great deal of what we may now call perse- 
 cution and unmerited obloquy for his devotion to anti-slavery 
 principles, being rather the standard bearer of the old " liberty 
 party" inthis county. He never shrank from the odium incur- 
 red, for his own sake, but rather rejoiced that he was deemed 
 worthy to suffer for the oppressed ; but when it interfered with his 
 usefulness as a minister of Christ, and thinned his congregations, 
 then came many a painful struggle, as to where lay the path of 
 duty, and many a heartfelt prayer for Divine direction. Then his 
 interest for the temperance reformation and against the prevalent 
 practice of "timber hooking" made him some enemies. Men 
 did not broolv reproof then, any better than now and he could 
 not let wrong doing go unreproved ; so there was a time when 
 many railed at him, but he swerved not,, remembering probably, 
 " woe unto thee when all men speak well of thee." 
 
 " But in no way can we so well bring before our readers a correct 
 idea of this life of labor and self-sacrifice as a series of extracts 
 from his diary, entitled, "A journal of missionary work in 
 Stark county," commencing Decenjber, 1841, and running for- 
 ward over the next seven or eight years. 
 
 " First entry, December 24th, 1841. " Started for "Walnut creek, 
 there had been a great rain, the cree]^ was swimming ; Richard 
 and William Dunn were with me ; had much difficulty in cross- 
 ing the branch above Trickle's mill ; had to break ice for near an 
 hour, and to go round by Fraker's grove, in order to^ get to the 
 bridge below Centreville ; preached at Mr. Foster's Friday e^'e- 
 ning, &c., &c. 
 
 "January 17th, 1842 — Last Tuesday gav6 another astronomical 
 lecture at Rochester ; it was very muddy, yet the house was well 
 filled, mostly _with men, who gave close attention. Thursday, 
 went to Princeville ; very few came out to hear the temperance 
 lecture, and only four signed the pledge ; on my way back, found 
 Spoon river over its banks for a quarter of a mile or more, and the 
 ice too thick to break ; went back to Rochester and there made 
 out to cross the river. Saturday evening, gave an astronomical lee- 
 
220 STARK COUNTY 
 
 ture to a full house at Lafaj-ette ; Sunday morning preached, and 
 in the evening lectured on temperance; twenty -four signed the 
 pledge, in all sixty-two at this place. 
 
 "January 31st, 1842— Find I have attended evening meetings 
 for ten successive nights ; feel the need of rest to keep health ; 
 can't bear everything, though I should love to hold meetings sev- 
 en times a week, while I live. February 7th ; came into collision 
 with Mormons on Walnut creek. 
 
 "April 18th— Went to Kuoxville to attend the debate between 
 Kinney and Frazer, also to obtain a teacher, -which I effected. 
 
 " May 2nd— Went to Lafayette to hear Mr. Harris expose Mor- 
 monism ; rehearsed his lecture to my people at Mr. Webster's. 
 Last week preached but twice ; ploughed the rest of my field, and 
 sowed four and a half bushels of oats. 
 
 "May 9th— Went for the first time to Osceola ; preached in the 
 morning to a large and attentive audience; in the evening deliv- 
 ered a temperance lecture, following Captain Butler. 
 
 " May 23rd — Preached at .James McClennahan's, in the heart of 
 the Mormon settlement ; hope good was done. 
 
 "June 6th — Formed a sabbath school; borrowed forty -nine 
 volumes from the Qaceola school. 
 
 "August 1st — Meeting of the association; circumstances rath- 
 er disheartening; hurry of harvest, heavy rains, &c.; cold and 
 damp in the barn where we met,, as it A\'as not all enclosed. 
 
 "August 22nd — Worked at getting stone for a well, and har- 
 vesting my oats ; preached twice on Sabbath. 
 
 " There is a great effort to destroy the influence of this church 
 by reporting that we are abolitionists, and have formed lines for 
 helping runaways, hence are as bad as horse thieves. 
 
 " Many are highly prejudiced against us, and Avhat the end will 
 be, the Lord only knows, ^^'e are conscientiously engaged in do- 
 ing to others as we would that they should do unto us ; and if 
 this will injure the cause of Christ in the long run, Ave are deceiv- 
 ed. True, it is very unpopular, and many that would otherwise 
 attend the preached word and sabbath school, stay away. Lord 
 give us the wisdom of serpents and the harmlessness of doves. 
 Some of the church are also offended ; Lord restore them. 
 
 "September 14th — Went to Henderson and Galesburg ; made 
 arrangements for a meeting at Lafayette ; at Knoxville was hin- 
 dered all the next day endeavoring to get relief for five colored 
 persons who were that day imprisoned because they could not 
 produce full evidence that they were free. • 
 
 "October 3rd — Went to Walnui creek ; found very many sick, 
 
AND ITS PIONEEKS. 221 
 
 bilious faver prevailing; many also are sick in our neighborhood 
 with whom I have spent much time last week. 
 
 "November 18th— Last week I went to Galesburg to attend the 
 association ; no minister present but myself. Preached four suc- 
 cessive days, and. was detained two days longer by the severity of 
 the weather. How soon I can return I know not, as the snow is 
 badly drifted and the wind yet high and cold. 
 
 "November 30th — Went to Farmington to attend the sitting of 
 presbytery ; detained there two days ; then -went to Ellis ville and 
 preached to a few hearers, twenty-five or thirty, from a popula- 
 tion of one hundred and fifty. How has the gold become dross ? 
 Two years ago it was said all Ellis-<dlle was converted. From El- 
 lisville went to Swan creek. The country is fast filling up ; where 
 six years ago everything was in a state of nature as far as the eye 
 could see, now farms are seen in all directions, and many little 
 towns are springing up. Preached five times at Swan creek. 
 
 "December 24th— Attended the first meeting for mutual im- 
 provement at Knoxville ; also the other association, indeed had a 
 prominent part in it, but was compelled to tear myself away as 
 mj"^ house and family needed my attention, for it is very cold and 
 our house has neither doors nor floors. -' 
 
 "I have spent all the week at hard work, and we have just got 
 the lower floor laid, the doors in, and the upper floor battened a 
 little. 
 
 "January 4th, 1843 — Early on Monday morning a daughter was 
 born to us, and, as it was the day of fasting and prayer for the 
 conversion of the world, ih the afternoon I preached a sermon. 
 
 "January 23d— Preached at Toulon on the Sabbath, in the court 
 house which had just been received from the builders by the 
 county commissioners. There was no flre in the house and it was 
 a chilly day ; still there were perhaps sixty in attendance, and I 
 left another appointment in four weeks. 
 
 "February Gth— Last Week had much severe cold weather ; had 
 to be at home most of the week; read "Home's Introduction," 
 &c. On Friday another fugitive from slavery came along, mak- 
 ing twenty-one that have passed through this settlement on their 
 way to Canada. To-day it is extremely cold, the ink freezes in 
 my pen as I try to write beside the stove. 
 
 "February 20th— Did not go to Toulon, am almost sick from 
 cold, my horse is lame and it is too cold to hold meeting in the 
 court house without flre. 
 
 "May 22d, 1843— Last week was at home most of the time ; 
 planted potatoes, corn, &c., visited families ; hope some good ^^'as 
 
222 STAEK COUlSfT-? 
 
 done. Saturday, went to the Emery settlement, but found so 
 strong an antipathy against abolitionists that but few would hear 
 me preach, so I went on, and on Sabba^th morning preached at 
 Toulon to a large congregation ; most of the seats filled. Report 
 said the Mormons meant to encounter me here and draw me into 
 a debate, but all passed off quietly. 
 
 "May 20th — The grand jury found a bill against me, and my El- 
 der, W. W. Webster, for harboring runaway slaves! Some ex- 
 citement exists, but hope good will result. Many sympathize 
 with us and with the oppressed, who had seldom thought on the 
 subject before ; and these wicked laws "to be hated need but to 
 be seen." Rev. Owen Lovejoy, of Princeton is also indicted. 
 We have not yet been taken by the sheriff, but probably shall be 
 soon. 
 
 "October 23rd, 1843— Sabbath at Toulon ; m'any Mormons came 
 expecting a champion to attack me ; there were a number of their 
 elders present ; I fully expected an attack, but they did hot see 
 fit to make one, probably waiting to get a big gun for the assault. 
 
 " August 14th. — Last week worked three days at harvesting. 
 Much sickness around. Our election took place, and I believe 
 there were eleven liberty votes cast in the county ; last year there 
 were but two ! 
 
 "November 20th, 1843 — Last week had the house plastered ; had 
 to attend mason myself, &c., &c. For five weeks have been to 
 work almost constantly about home, trying if possible to get the 
 house comfortable to winter in. It has been almost insupportable, 
 especially for the children. Never, since 1 began to labor in the 
 ministry have I had, until now, a house with more than one room 
 in it, which has had to answer for kitchen, parlor, bed-room, clos- 
 et, &e. My sermons have all been pi-epared in the midst of the 
 confusion of cooking, care of children, and compan'y ! Now by 
 the blessing of God, I have a room for retirement and study. 
 
 "December 13th — Last week worked at getting wood ; got agood 
 supply for the winter ; preached five times ; rode seventy-five 
 miles, went to Knoxville to give information to the committee 
 on home missions ; got horse shod and wagon repaired. 
 
 " May 20th, 1844— Heard there was to be an informal meeting of 
 presbytery at Knoxville, and went, returning the next day in the 
 rain. Sabbath rainy, but preached twice ; we have more rain 
 than ever before ; creeks are all full, bridges gone, the earth per- 
 fectly saturated with water, sickness beginning to prevail, lung 
 fevers especially. 
 
 "May 24th— Last week court sat ; no complaints against "Nigger 
 
AXD ITS riON^EEKS. 223 
 
 stealers" this time; court held but one day. Tuesday went to 
 Mr. Rhodes' aiid to Lafaj^ette to make arrangements ior a con- 
 vention and debate on Friday. Friday, went to Toulon to attend 
 the convention ; AV. J. Fraser and Esq. Kinney debated ,with 
 James H. Dickey and O. P. Lovejoy, upon the principles and 
 practices of the liberty party. The debate held from 2 P. M., till 
 5, and from 7 till 8 A. My No decision was taken either by 
 judges or vote; but we think the negative established nothing. 
 It rained hard all night and in the morning creeks were almost 
 impassable. In crossing a little branch between Mr. Silliman's 
 and Hugh Rhodes' the water was so deep that my wagon uncoup- 
 led, and the hind parts floated off, and I went out with the fore 
 wheels, well wet. 
 
 "June 10th, 1844 — Last week started with wife and two daught- 
 ers for Knoxville, Galesburg, ^'ictoria, &c. Wednesday evening 
 at Knoxville, a most dreadful storm of wind, hail, rain and light- 
 ning, broke over us ; several houses were unroofed and one new 
 two story house was upset and dashed to fragments. In it were a 
 mother and three children; one child dangerously hurt. The 
 storm raged from Galesburg to Spoon river, how much farther we 
 know not. It seemed for many minutes impossible that the house 
 in which we were could withstand its force. Mr. Cole was absent 
 and no man present but myself. There seemed but a step be- 
 tween us all and death. God alone could understand our feelings. 
 The lightning was almost constant, and in many places seemed to 
 be running all over tj^e ground ; persons riding in wagons saw the 
 wheels apparently encircled with fire. This occurred on the 5th of 
 June, 1844. Streams are all swimming, bridges gone, roads dread- 
 ful, still raining. 
 
 "June 24th — Went to Knoxville as a witness for Rev. Mr. Cross, 
 in the case of the People vs. Cross for harboring slaves ; at length 
 a nolle jwosequl was entered and I returned home. On Friday, 
 went to Farmington to' attend a convention for organizing a gen- 
 eral association for the state. The constitution was changed in 
 divers places, and the confession of faith slightl.y altered; strong- 
 resolutions passed on the subject of slavery. 
 
 "July 2nd, 1844 — Last week went to Lafayette and Toulon to, 
 hear the candidates for congress speak. After Mr. Cross,, the lib- 
 erty candidate had spoken. Colonel W. H. Henderson delivered 
 himself of a speech against abolitionists in general, and minis- 
 ters in particular. At Toulon also, he expressed the same senti- 
 ments, only was more personal. He warned the people against 
 all sorts of abolitionists, said ' they would destroy the country ; 
 
224 ST A UK COUXTV 
 
 slavery was a great curse, but God would remove it without Iiu- 
 raan instrumentality. Warned all not to hear abolition .preach- 
 ers ; he would not hear one preach, sing or pray ! neither should 
 his children go to our sabbath school ; warned the children not to 
 believe what such preachers said ; he would say to the gentleman 
 whom he had in his eye, we don't want him, he can go back to 
 the east where he came from ; I never heard him, and never will. 
 If he comes here let him talk to empty seats,' &c. 
 
 "August 12th— Last week went to election; brought down the 
 bibles from Lafayette ; stacked my oats ; went to see Mrs. Nich- 
 olson, (who is dying of cancer); marked the bibles ; prepared two 
 sermons ; on Sabbath preached twice, and rode sixty-five miles 
 during the week. 
 
 "September 23rd — Last week worked at home most of the time ; 
 threshed my oats, dug my potatoes, waited on the sick ; my wife 
 has fever and ague. 
 
 "September 30th— Was at home the former pai^t of the week 
 reading, <fec. Thursday went to visit Mrs. McClennahan and Mr. 
 Rhodes. Friday attended to business for the bible society at Tou- 
 lon ; got medicine for my wife of Dr. Hall ; went home and ad- 
 ministered it. Saturday went to Lafayette and preached prepara- 
 tory lecture. 
 
 "July 8th, 184o— Monday, attended an adjourned discussion of 
 anti-slavery principles at Toulon. I regret to be obliged to enter 
 this field, others ought to do it ; but if th^ will not, shall I be 
 silent? Would it please God? Would conscience leave me at 
 ease ? I pray God to guide me in this matter, and if I misappre- 
 hend my duty, may I know it. 
 
 "January 24th, 1846 — Last M'eek made arrangements for a preach- 
 ing field, which will be Stark county only. Gave^ lecture on cap- 
 ital punishment at,Toulon ; went to Walnut grove and preached 
 on Wednesday evening, and on Monday evening a temperance 
 lecture ; thence to Galesburg to attend examinations. 
 
 "February 2d, 1846— Went to Lafayette ; found a Methodist 
 meeting which had continued for nineteen days with good suc- 
 *cess ; a spirit of union seemed to prevail. I was invited to j)reach, 
 _ which I did ; then went to Toulon and Wyoming to arrange ap- 
 pointments ; I am met by a good degree of cordiality, that shows 
 prejudice has greatly abated. Sabbath at Toulon ; the prospect is 
 flattering as compared with former times. 
 
 "February 9th, 1846— Last week went to Galesburg to attend the 
 
AND ITS PIOXEERS. 2a> 
 
 installation of brother Kellogg;* was unexpectedly called to give- 
 the charge to the people. After preaching \\'c> had a conference of 
 brethren in reference to uniting our presbytery and central asso- 
 ciation in a sort of convention, so there should be one and not t\\'() 
 bodies. 
 
 "June 2Gth — Left the association contrary to their vote, to fill 
 appointments on the Sabbath. Preached at Toulon to a full house, 
 from the text, " no weapon formed against thee shall prosper." 
 At Wyoming from the same. Next clay spent with Dr. Castle 
 reading "Spooner's work " 
 
 "Tuesday, wentto Galesburg to attend the commc;ncement exer- 
 cises of Knox College. They were quite flattering to the institu- 
 tion. Mr. Blanchard, however, so far forgot the spirit of the age, 
 and of the west, as to appear in a "toga," and to wear his hat, 
 &c., &c., while giving his inaugural address. 
 
 "August 25th — Had a longinterview with Captain Butler. The 
 captain is something of a Unitarian, but likes Walker's book on 
 the philosophy of the plan of salvation pretty well, but thinks 
 Walker fails to recognize one fact, viz : " penalty precedes protec- 
 tion." If he could see the fallacy of this, his theory would be 
 sapped. 
 
 ' 'August 31 — Last week wrote a letter covering two sheets, to Cap- 
 tain Butler, trying to expose the fallacy of his dogma, "penalty 
 precedes protection ;" also attended upon sick neighbors consid- 
 erably. 
 
 "On Saturday, preached another funeral sermon.. Sundaymom- 
 ing preached from 1st Corinthians, xv, 24-28, showing that the 
 mediatorial key is given up at the resurrection, and that after- 
 wards there can be no restoration to happiness or favor. P. M., 
 found the sickness still increasing about Moulton ; but few out in 
 consequence. Just at the close of services, word came that wife 
 was sick,' so I returned immediately ; shall visit here again as 
 soon as wife's health permits ; she has a fever but hope nothing 
 serious. 
 
 "Wednesday, September 15th— Was called to attend afuneralat 
 the residence of Mr, Buswell, of a little boy who had suffered 
 greatly from stricture of the bowels. The family are deeply afflic- 
 ted.' Saturday I had an attack of fever myself ; was better on 
 Sunday, so I preached twice, but have beei,i very weak ever since. 
 
 "September 26th— Tried to gain a little strength by cutting corn ; 
 am some better, went to Victoria.- Came home on Monday ; 
 
 * First PiT-siilent of Knox College ; bui this mnst liavc been his installation as Pastor of the 
 First Church of Galesburg. 
 
 15 
 
226 STARK OOUXTY 
 
 found Edward had been taken sick all alone at honae ; wife and 
 daughters were with me; wifehardlyable to sit up; thought riding 
 might benefit her ; Edward had a high fever which held him till 
 Wednesday morning ; came on again on Thursday morning with 
 great violence. The girls too have both suffered similar attacks, 
 though not so severe. We have had work hands all week finish- 
 ing off the chambers, so all week^ could do no more than wait on 
 the sick and help wife about the house. 
 
 "Saturday expected to deliver a preparatory lecture at the court 
 house in Toulon, but found sickness had been so severe there, that 
 hardly any of the brethren could attend ; postponed it for four 
 weeks. The health of my family is improving. The amount of 
 -sickness is unparalleled, although not very fatal. 
 
 "October 17th, 1846— Started for synod at Belvidere ; took M'ife 
 .an,d daughters to Ilenry, to stay with brother Pendleton's wife, 
 while he and I go to synod in company. < As we went north, found 
 sickness even more severe than at home. Absent 12 days ; fami- 
 ly still suffering from intermittent fever ; Edward on his bed, and 
 the little girls unable to ride. 
 
 "Saturday, October 24th — Still find much to do at home on ac- 
 count of sickness in my family and among the neighbors. Have 
 been all this morningfeedingand picking cornforMr. A. A.Dunn, 
 who is confined to his bed. This is the third time I have been to 
 help him this week. 
 
 " I have studied none and spent but little time in private devo- 
 tions of late, but trust I have been in the path of duty, neverthe- 
 less. 
 
 "November 6th, 1846 — Had a good meeting at brother Hugh 
 Hhodes', persons from different parts of the county. They agreed 
 it was best that I should remain and proceed to organize a Con- 
 gregational church in Toulon the last Sabbath of the month. 
 
 "Decsmberlst — On SabbathBro. Parker was with me at Toulon 
 and we organized a church of nine members. It was a solemn 
 time. The house was full and I hope a good iinpression Avas 
 made. 
 
 "January 5th, 1847— Went to attend the ordination of brother 
 Blanchard at Knoxville ; very muddy bad roads. Arriving at 
 home on Friday evening, found two fugitives from slavery had 
 been along, with only "Christmas papers." Messrs. Smith and 
 Gordon of Parmington pursued, got out a search warrant for two 
 stolen horses and two colored men who were supposed to have 
 stolen them. Neither horses or men were described except that 
 one man called himself " Major." They searched our premises 
 
AXD ITS PIONEERS. 227 
 
 in vain, liowever, for the birds had flown, having got a wink from 
 friends at Farmington that they were pursued. Several consta- 
 bles and others followed them to Osceola, but before they reached 
 there, the fugitives were safely out ofi the county. 
 
 "October 13tli, 1847 — Last week attended themeeting of the as- 
 sociation at Groveland ; it was a pleasant and profitable time ; we 
 have now 11 ministers and 18 churches— more than Knox Presby- 
 tery ever had. 
 
 "October 28th, 1817 — Monday, returned to Toulon, bought 62- 
 acres of land. Had my horse shod by Ford, who said he would 
 take nothing but preaching for his work. He is doubtless a wick- 
 ed m'an, but I must visit in his family and try to do them good. 
 
 "November 25th, 1847 — Visited Mr. McWilliams and was invi- 
 ted to preach at his house. Same evening married Miss Eliza 
 Bhodes and C. M. S. Lyons. 
 
 "December 6th — Came round by Toulon, and found aletter and 
 box of goods for us from Sharon friends, &c. 
 
 "March 27th, 1848— This week occupied pretty much in remov- 
 ing to Toulon and fixing things there." > 
 
 Hereafter for ten years Mr. Wright's life was more closely iden- 
 tified with the interests of the Congregational church at Toulon , 
 which he built up from the little handful that nietinMr. Rhodes' 
 cabin in November, 1846, into a large and flourishing church, 
 with a comfortable building of their own and which continues 
 unto this day. 
 
 Shall we ask pardon of the Stark county reader for introducing 
 - so many extracts from this journal ; or rather express regret 
 that we can give no more? Not on account of their intrinsic 
 worth, of themselves considered, but on account of the memories 
 they awaken and the light thrown onythe "long ago." Such sim- ■ 
 pie allusions to matters then current, come to us now, with their 
 far off dates, like echoes from a land we shall see no more. 
 
 From the same source we could draw pictures of funerals and 
 weddings, death bed scenes or joyous gatherings, at the very 
 mention of which, to the aged among us, recollections would 
 come trooping up, like an unnumbered host. But in a work like 
 this, we dare not enter on such a field. The extracts we have 
 made are such as relate principally to the material or "outer life" 
 of the writer, or show something of the spirit and temper of the 
 times and men of which he writes. They show, too, very nearly 
 what the lives of other earnest pioneer preachers were 30 or 40 
 years ago. 
 
 Of his "inner life," of thought and emotion, and more properly 
 
228 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 professional duties, where he had made record, we have quoted 
 nothing. For this, perhaps we owe him an apology, as it may- 
 seem to place him unfairly before our readers. 
 
 Since leaving us, !Mr. Wright has ministered to many churches; 
 for a time he was pastor of the Congregational church at Lyndon, 
 in this state ; afterwards he held the same relation toward the 
 churches of Galva and Neponset; but he has now for several years 
 been residing at Burlington, Kansas — still a missionary, still a 
 worker, and will be while life lasts. 
 
 Surely his denomination has few, if any, more capable or faith- 
 ful servants than the subject of our sketch. 
 
 HALL FAMILV. 
 
 Their Ancestors — Incidents of their Emigration and First Settlement 
 in Illinois. 
 
 The Halls of whom I write, are directly descended from 
 Thomas Hall and Sarah his wife, nee Cokayne, of Hulland, Der- 
 byshire, England. There, they once formed a large and vigorous 
 family, brothers and sisters a dozen in number, living to pass the 
 meridian of life an unbroken band. 
 
 "Mansel Park," the old English homestead, is still enshrined 
 in the memory of the farthest wanderer of them all. 
 
 At different times during tiie years 1836, 1837, and 1838, nine of 
 these brothers and sisters crossed the sea, and settled in M'hat is 
 now, Stark countj', Illinois. 
 
 The first installment was Robert and his sister Mary, William 
 and his wife Anne. Next came Laugley, by the way of New Or- 
 leans, that he might at less expense bring with him a few fine 
 sheep and dogs with wliich to begin life in this new world. He 
 suffered shipwreck off the Florida coast, but after being reduced 
 to great straits of hunger and fatigue was in common with his 
 shipmates rescued, and he finally arrived at the Osceola settle- 
 ment. Then in 1837, came Thomas, with his wife and four chil- 
 dren, bringing also with him his aged father, Elizabeth (Mrs. 
 Harvey), her husband and five children. Some inonths later 
 
AXD ITS PIONEEllS. 229 
 
 John, George and Fanny, accompanied by Miss Sarah Ligo, wlio 
 shortly afterwards became Mrs. Langley Hall. 
 
 After about twenty years residence here, John, Langley and 
 Oeorge, lured by promises of a nlore desirable climate, again took 
 up the line of inarch westward, and settled upon the farther slope 
 of the Rocky mountains, where thej- still reside. 
 
 Mary became the wife of Mr. Orrin Hasard of Neponset, Bureau 
 county, Illinois ; and Fanny, the youngest of the family, married 
 Hon. Joseph Harris of Boyd's grove, in the same county. Mrs. 
 Harvey and William rest beside their father in the family burial 
 ground at Osceola, while their mother sleeps beneath the sea. At 
 this writing, in 187G, Thomas and Robert and the widow of Wil- 
 liam, alone remain to Stark county of those who were adult at the 
 date of the first emigration. 
 
 Their father was a plain sturdy Englishman, of tall stature and 
 rugged features ; in faith, a Methodist, and cotemporary with John 
 Wesley and Aclam Clark ; in politics a radical, making no pre- 
 tension to aristocratic tastes or descent, he was yet a man of 
 strong common sense and strict integrity. But in their mother's 
 veins ran gentler blood. Her progenitors had come from Norman- 
 dy with the "conqueror;" some old writers say were allied to 
 him, but however that may be, they carried his banners on the 
 hloodj' field of Hastings, and were rewarded for their valor by 
 princely gifts of land and honors^ They seem to have been ever 
 an eminently loyal race, always fighting for or with their king. 
 It is not necessary here, to follow their footsteps through the 
 pages of English history, from the conquest to the protectorate, 
 although it could be easily done. At Turney and Turwyne, at 
 Naseby and Shrewsbury, at Leith and Edinburgh, wherever 
 hard blovfs were to be given and taken, the Cokaynes were con- 
 spicuous. 
 
 A great-grandson of the man knighted at the taking of the 
 latter cities, was Sir Aston Cokain, or Ashton Cokayne. The 
 orthography of these old names varies at diffterent dates and in 
 different places. This gentleman was born at or near Ashbourne 
 in Derbyshire, in 1608, and was known among writers of his day 
 as a " wit and dramatist," and although he may have reflected 
 some lustre upon his ancient lineage by his talents and acquire- 
 ments, he seems to have been a boon companion of other celebrat- 
 ed wits and courtiers of Charles II's time, and to have squander- 
 ed or encumbered the fine estates he had inherited, many of which 
 passed out of the family in his life time, or immediately subse- 
 quent to his death. But as the Cokaynes had continued, so far as 
 
230 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 we can learn, Romanists in faith, as Avell as loyal to a fault, it can 
 be readily conceived they had suffered severely during Crom- 
 well's protectorate and its antecedent struggles ; so probably, the 
 improvidence of Sir Aston did but give another blow to the al- 
 ready falling fortunes of his house. 
 
 For generations their principal seat in Derbyshire had been in 
 the vicinity of Ashbourne, and the church at that place still con- 
 tains many interesting memorials of them. Grim old knights 
 and stately ladies repose in a sort of gloomy granduer upon their 
 marble tombs, whose quaint and curious records reveal the 
 strange story of their lives to their latest descendants. 
 
 A portrait of Lady Dorathea Cokayne by Holbein, now in pos- 
 session of Dr. John Cokayne Copestake of Wyoming, Stark coun- 
 ty, Illinois, is probably the only relic of the ancient magnificence 
 of the Cokaynes that has ever crossed the Atlantic. 
 
 This picture possesses a peculiar interest for any one who loves 
 to peer into the shadowy past, not only for its family associations 
 but as an art treasure. Tiiose versed in the history of art are 
 aware that prior to the reign of Henry VIII, no portraits of any 
 note had been painted in England. During the reign of that dis- 
 solute but generous monarch, letters and art took fresh roQt in 
 his dominions. Erasmus visited the English court, and being 
 a friend and countryman of the celebrated painter Holbein, 
 invited him to come too. He came and was introduced at court 
 by Sir Thomas More, and at once became "the rage " among the 
 nobles and aristocracy of tlie land. Holbshi reigned like a king 
 in his own realm, while he continued to amass great wealth, but 
 death put an end to his triumphs, A. D. 1554. 
 
 These facts furnish a clue to the date of the portrait, and togeth- 
 er with the style of costume, and other co-relative incidents, es- 
 tablish beyond doubt that the original of this picture was the 
 wife of the Sir Thomas knighted at Edinburgh in 1544, and who 
 died in 1593. But in 1780, or thereabout, the male line of this 
 old family became extinct, two sisters only being heir to the tra- 
 ditions of the Cokaynes of Derbyshire! These sisters became in 
 course of time, Mrs. Earp and Mrs. Hall. Thus the old name 
 was extinct, or preserved only as a prefix among their descend- 
 ants, and it is curious to observe that few of them have failed to 
 pay this sly tribute to pride of blood, even in the midst of a re- 
 publicanism that professes to sneer at such distinctions. 
 
 The marriage between Thomas Hall and Sarah Cokayne, occur- 
 red probably in 1797. In 1837 this aged couple set sail for Ameri- 
 ca, in company with the family of Dr. Thomas Hall, and their 
 
AND ITS FIONBEllS. 231 
 
 eldest daughter, Mrs. Ilsrvey. But the weary sea voyage of over 
 six, weeks duration was too much for the already failing healtli of 
 Mrs. Hall, who sunk from exhaustion induced by excessive sea 
 sickness, a few days before the vessel reached the harbor of New 
 York. The recollections of that sad funeral can never fade from 
 the memories of those who witnessed it, even in their early child- 
 hood, or the aged husband's last tribute to the virtues of his wife, 
 wrung from his breaking heart as she was carried past him on tlae 
 ship-deck, all shrouded in sail-cloth and weighted preparatory to 
 her burial beneath the sea. These were his words: "Farewell 
 thou best of women." The solemn rites of the English church 
 were performed over one who had always loved them well. The 
 body was then reverently lowered to the surface of tlie waves 
 which silently closed over it and told no tales of sorrow. The re- 
 mainder of this group of emigrants with smitten liearts i:)ursued 
 their journey toward a land of strangers. 
 
 Passing up the lovely Hudson, its banks clothe<l in all the 
 freshness of early summer, they came to Albany, thence to Buffalo 
 by the Erie canal, then by steam to Cleveland, from Cleveland to 
 Portsmouth by Ohio canal, again to Carlo and St. Louis by so call- 
 ed steamboats, but which were hardly more than a caricature of 
 the boats that have since plied our western waters. Our travel- 
 ers left St. Louis on the "Swift Sure (?)" on Friday morning, and 
 did not reach Peoria until Tuesday night. They passed Alton on 
 Sunday morning, as people were going to church, and on Monday 
 morning ^vere still just above the city tied to a tree ! as through 
 some defect in her engine the Swift Sure could not stem the cur- 
 rent, and there was danger of her being drifted back during the 
 night. So much for the pleasures of traveling in 1837. But Pe- 
 oria was Anally reached on the night of July 4th, and the emi- 
 grants learned something, new to them, of the confusion and dis- 
 order following a celebration of independence day. Several days 
 passed ere teams could be secured and drivers sober enough to 
 manage them, to convey the two families and their effects to Wy- 
 oming, their ultimate goal being Osceola grove. Peoria was then 
 but a hamlet on the lake. A half built hotel on the corner of 
 Main and Water streets, kept by Garrett, afforded shelter to stran- 
 gers. On the evening of July the 8th, the two families, and 
 Thomas Hall, sen., arrived at the house of General Thomas at 
 Wyoming, and had seen but one log hut since leaving Peoria. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 9th, the doctor hired a horse of 
 General Thomas, ,and made his way to " Vandyke's ford," there 
 received fresh directions by means of which he found his brother 
 
232 STARK COUKTY 
 
 William'.s cal)in in due time. Soon an ox team en 1 big wagon 
 were on tlieir way to Wyoming, and after sunr'ry experiences, 
 novel as trying, to tlie occupants of tlie big wagon, home was at 
 last reached, and brothers and sisters, parted weary months be- 
 fore in England, were now re-united in Illinois. But the congrat- 
 ulations of what would otherwise have been such a happy meet- 
 ing, were drowned in tears at mention of their honored mother 
 TN'hom they could no longer even hope to see again on earth. | 
 
 We must now go back m the order of time some eighteen 
 months, or to February, 1836, when the first installment of this 
 family sailed for the new world, and, as might be expected, met 
 even greater obstacles and privations in the course of their journey 
 than were encountered by the second group, to whicli we have 
 briefly alluded, as at this period of history every subsequent 
 j'ear rendered emigration easier and pleasanter ; some one has 
 said- " a winter passage of the Atlantic is but a short cut to a wat- 
 ery grave," and too often it proves so, even in these days of im- 
 proved navigation. 
 
 Let those who can, imagine its horrors in 1836, before the inven- 
 tion of ocean steamers, and when the financial ruin that had overta- 
 ken this family, compelled them to content themselves with cheap 
 accommodations on a sailing vessel. Head winds and rough seas 
 made their voyage unusually tedious, and when in mid ocean, 
 they encountered icebergs that threatened certain destruction. 
 But after over seven weeks buffeting with the waves,they anchored 
 in the harbor of New York. Mrs. William Hall had an uncle in 
 OPcnnsylvania, who made a quiet resting place for them, but after 
 recruiting for a little while, they resumed their journey westward, 
 crossing the mountains by a " horse railway," a means of transit 
 that had new terrors for the women, at least. At Pittsburg they 
 took a boat down the Ohio. They had reason to fear they had 
 been exposed to small pox, and soon discovered that two of their 
 party, (Robert and Mary) had fallen victims to this terrible mala- 
 dy. This was a sad trial to these strangers in a strange land ; they 
 feared to have their condition known lest they should be summar- 
 ily set ashore and abandoned to their fate. So they nursed their 
 sick as quietly as possible, asking aid from no one, until the boat 
 exploded one of her cylinders, scalding two engineers to death, 
 a,nd filling every nook and corner with hot steam ; then the sick 
 were snatched from their bei'ths and hurried on deck, not know- 
 ing what shape death would meet them. But so great was the ex- 
 citement on board, that although the faces of the sufferers were 
 then a mass of eruption, no one seemed to notice them, 'and they 
 
AXD ITS PIONEERS. 2:^3 
 
 'Crept back to their beds without experiencing any serious results 
 from their fright and exposure, liy tlie time they readied St. 
 Louis they were able to pass muster without attracthig attention, 
 and arrived in Peoria early in the month of .Tune, ls3i;, all in pas- 
 sable health. On the boats they had made the acquaintance of 
 Archibald and Charlie A'andyke and Brady Fowler. These men 
 were all in search of homes in the west ; so a common interest 
 made them friends. When the Halls left England they all look- 
 ed toward Jacksonville as. a i^laee of residence, but for some rea- 
 son changed their minds. While at Peoria they met with those who 
 recommended the ( )sceola region highly. ^Nlajor Moore, Watts and 
 Spencer had just completed- the original survey. Messrs. Buswell 
 and Winslpw had been to the grove, made claims, built cabins, 
 and then returned for a time to Peoria. Under directions from 
 Moore, the Hall and Vandyke brothers started early in June to 
 walk across the pathless prairies that then stretched from IMount 
 Hawley to Wyoming. After resting at Wyoming for a short 
 time, as did nearly all whojourneyed this way in those days, and 
 being refreshed by a good Jiieal, they proceeded toward the grove. 
 Here they found several families encamped, some sheltering in 
 , cabins half built. Among these were Mr. ^"\'illiam Parks ; he had 
 moved from Virginia Mith his teams, had a huge boat-shaped 
 wagon, drawn by four stout horses, «ne of which he rode, postil- 
 lion fashion, when on the road. He also owned a "carry-all" that 
 cut quite a figure in the social life of that neighborhood for many 
 .years. ^ 
 
 The Plal] brothers hired this man, lijs big wagon and team to 
 return with them to Peoria after the women and goods, the latter 
 only amounting to fourteen large boxes. 
 
 Since the men had left Peoria a drove of cattle had passed 
 through, and Anne and Mary each bought a cow. So now they 
 loaded up — women and goods in the wagon, Mr. Parks on his 
 horse, and the men on foot to drive the stock. 
 
 They provided themselves with bread and cheese for refresh- 
 ment at noon, fully expecting to enjoy supper and bed at the 
 house of General Thomas, at Wyoming. The wagon was cover- 
 ed, and so fully loaded that the women had to sit in a constrain- 
 ed and uncomfortaJjie position, and would often have preferred to 
 have walked for a time, but as the grass was nearly to tlieir waists 
 and they had an English horror of snakes, this was a poor relief. 
 
 The day wore slowly away ; they were all verj- weary, the 
 horses often floundering in treacherous sloughs, the wagon rock- 
 ing like a ship at sea, while the driver hallooed to his team in a 
 
23 1 ^ STARK COUNTY 
 
 manner that startled, almost frightened those unaccustomed tosuc] 
 sights and sounds, but still no Wyoming dawned upon their anx 
 ious eyes. At length night came on, the team was exhausted, th 
 driver confessed himself lost, and there was no alternative but t 
 wait the dawning of another day upon the open prairie. Th 
 liorses ate eagerly of the grass around them, the women crep 
 faint and hungry under the shelter of the wagon cover, and th 
 men threw themselves upon the ground beneath. They weri 
 all too excited to sleep much ; the women's minds were bus; 
 thinking of the homes and friends they had left, contrasting th^ 
 comfort of that life \^ith the hardships of this, for although the; 
 had braced their minds to meet bravely whatever befell, yet thi 
 was a performance not thought of when the programme wa 
 made out. y 
 
 When ]Mrs. William Hall had in her English home revealed t( 
 her mother her plan, to be married shortly, and two weeks there 
 after to set out for America, the good woman exclaimed "Oh 
 Anne, you are going to suck down sorrow by the spoonful." Tha 
 night on the prairie, and many a night after\Vards her daughte 
 remeinbered those words, and perchance thought them prophetic 
 When they suspended their journey the lightning was playinj 
 about the horizon, and by midnight a storm broke upon then 
 such as they had! never con(!eived of, and such as is rarely wit 
 nessed here, of late years. But morning came at last, the rail 
 had ceased, and they started again for AVyoming, or any othe 
 point where food and shelter could be obtained, and about tei 
 o'clock A. 31., the cabin of General Thomas was reached. 
 
 Refreshed by a good breakfast and a brief rest, the emigranti 
 again started forward, only to rene\^' the experiences of the previ 
 ous day with new complications. They first made for Mr. Jame 
 Holgate's place, and there got directions fer Heeley's Point, pret 
 ty well to the east of the grove. By this route they hoped t( 
 reach the unoccupied cabin of 3Ir. Buswell, of which they wen 
 to take possession until they could build one. But Spoon rive 
 ■ must be crossed by a deep and dangerous ford, where the chance: 
 were very good that the whole load would capsize down thi 
 steep bank into the water, and by the time this difficulty was dis 
 posed of, the shades of evening were again closing round them. 
 
 William Hall, who it will be remembered had been over thi: 
 route but lately, to make his claim, now proposed to leave thi 
 party and make his way on foot directly to the cabin, kindl 
 a fire to guide the rest, and have some food in readiness whei 
 they arrived. He was spurred on to this course, more especiall; 
 
AND ITS PIONEBES. 235 
 
 as his young wife was already aalirig under the combined strain of 
 fatigue and excitement, and he feared if rest and refresliment 
 could not soon be procured she would be seriously ill. He suc- 
 ceeded in carrying out his part of the contract without much diffi- 
 culty, and by nightfall a bright Are was blazing on the rude 
 hearth of the cabin. But no wagon put in an appearance, and 
 the solitary watcher looked and listened in vain for any sight or 
 sound of the wanderers. In fact they were far to the north-east 
 of the grove, near where the town of Osceola was afterwards laid 
 out — the team floundering hopelessly among the big sloughs, and 
 the driver again pretty well confused as to the points of the com- 
 pass. For miles the women had been driving the cows ; Robert 
 aiding the di-iver and keeping a sharp lookout for signals from 
 William, or for game that would add to the repast if they reach- 
 ed the cabin fire. 
 
 Mrs. Hall had been slowly growing worse, an,d finally crawled 
 back into the crowded wagon, in blank despair. Robert had been 
 discharging' his gun and blowing his bugle, in the vain hope of 
 makirvg somebody hear; but the dull and distant echoes were 
 their only response. 
 
 At last Mary's quiet courage began to give way, and she turned 
 to the bewildered Mr. Parks, and said " for goodness sake take us 
 somewhere; another night out now will kill Anne."' " If there is 
 nowhere to go to, how can I take you ?" curiously enough enquir- 
 ed the poor maji. 
 
 Soon after things had reached this crisis, somebody noted a 
 glimmer near the western horizon ; at first they feared it was but 
 a star, but as they gradually drew nearer, concluded, not that it 
 was "a light in the window for thee," for well they knew the 
 home they sought had no windows, but a light issuing from the 
 open door of a cabin. Robert again blew a blast upon his bugle 
 horn, which was answered by a sliot from the cabin. So they 
 made their way through the dense wood, over hills and through 
 hollows, over fallen logs and swampy sloughs, and finally, about 
 eleven o'clock P. M., drew up at the cabin door. 
 
 A bed was soon made for the sick woman, and they carried her 
 in, gave her tea and wine, composed themselves to rest with 
 thankful hearts after their long and perilous journey of nearly 
 five months duration. And this was the stja-nge coming home, 
 the first "house warming " of the Halls in Illinois, and occurred 
 on Friday, June 26th, 1836. Mr. Parks went a mile or more to 
 reach his own home. 
 
 Mrs. Hall slept but little if any that night, and as she was rest- 
 
236 STARK COUNTY 
 
 less and anxious to see what the surrouudhigs were, as soon as day 
 dawned she arose, partially dressed, and quietly sli^jped out. As 
 may be imagined all that met her eye was a wild unVn-oken soli- 
 tude, nothing save the rude hut, that bore the impress of hdman 
 hands, or tliat showed a human foot had ever approached the spot. 
 The grass and weeds were tall as herself, and a heavy dew hung 
 oa them, glittering in the downing light like frost work. Wheth- 
 er overcome by conflicting emotions or by increasing weakness, 
 she knows not, but she swooned and fell. When the men arose 
 they were distressed to find her lying in an unconscious state be- 
 side the cabin wall. Again they carried her to her resting place 
 in the corner, administered the best restoratives their circumstan- 
 ces permitted, and hung over her with anxious hearts. She soon 
 rallied and begged them not to be alarmed ; she said " it was only 
 weakness induced by fatigue." It was Saturday now, and know- 
 ing that the Sturms at Seeley's Point had horses to sell, Robert 
 went to buy a team, which he did, getting Dick and Queen, two 
 horses deservedly famous in the annals of the family for twenty 
 years thereafter. 
 
 But Mrs. Hall grew worse instead of better, and during the sec- 
 ond (Saturday) night, was quite delirious, raving so pitiously Of 
 past scenes, that the courage of all faltered, and on Sunday morn- 
 ing her husband was a)30ut starting back to Peoria, only fifty 
 miles away, for a physician. 
 
 .Just then Mr. Parks rode up to enquire after the welfare of the 
 new comers, especially the one he had left so sick. They told 
 him their fears ; he said what he could to allay them and advised 
 them not to go to Peoria yet. " He would fetch jSfancy (his wife) 
 who had a good deal of experience among sick folks." Andsoon 
 the good woman came, and then and there began a series of min- 
 istrations to the sick and sufftering for which she has long been 
 held in grateful remembrance. 
 
 Her knowledge of simple remedies, her words of encourage- 
 ment and kind attentions in times of affliction, were a real boon 
 to the infant settlement. This kind old lady yet lives, having en- 
 tered her ninety-third year, and an honored old age is hers. 
 
 " Her children have risen up to call her blessed," and though 
 her flesh is subject to many infirmities, yet is her spirit tranquil, 
 and her faith looks steadfastly towards that brighter country, 
 "where the inhabitants never say, I am sick." 
 
 But to resume our story. Mrs. Hall soon recovered under good 
 and careful nursing, and jjreparations for building themselves a 
 house went rapidly forward. First of course trees must be felled 
 
AND ITS PrONKKKS. ■ 2;!7 
 
 Cor the los's, find this was awkwiird work for the Ilalls, as proba- 
 bly neither of them had ever swung an axe helbre, at least not 
 such an axe as is used by the Aineriean baekwoodsnian to sueli 
 advantaHv. I Uit they worked witli a will and whacked away at 
 the trees all round, until by thc^ time they were ready to fall tiiey 
 were literally whittled olf to a point. 
 
 This style of M'ork could be seen as long as the ^st cabin stood 
 and was the butt of numl)t'rless jok(>s among- the neighbors touch- 
 ing the cai)abilities of Englishmen as wood choi)i)ers ! 
 
 Jiut the logs answered a good purpose, nevertheless ; a story- 
 and-half, houses was raised, a sawpit M'as dug in which a large two 
 handli^l saw could be worked, and thus they made their own 
 boards; the tools weri^ unpacked and as William had some practi- 
 cal knowledge of their use, they soon had floors and battened 
 doors, and windows with glass in them, which advantages ^\•ere 
 almost enough to make them "take airs" over their neighbors, in 
 those times. This house became a sort of headquarters for all in- 
 coming detachments, and if its half floored loft was sometimes 
 so crowded with beds and their occupants, that some hickless 
 wight occa-sionally made a sudden descent to the next floor, he 
 was pretty sure to find a bed ready to catch him there, so no seri- 
 ous results followed, only some slight re-adjustment to secure safe- 
 ty the balance of the night. 
 
 Here tlu; weary " itinerant " always found a home, and the pi- 
 ous of every name a welcome. Within its walls were assembled 
 some of the first congregations that ever met for religious ^^•or- 
 ship in the settlement. Often and again, ha\-e roof and rafters 
 rang with the grand old hymns learned across the sea. "Den- 
 mark" and "Coronatiim," "Old jrundred"and "Silver Street," 
 were "the familiar paths their souls oft trod towards Ood." 
 
 The clear, full treble of the sisters chorded well with the deep 
 bass of William's voice and the tones of liis great viol, making 
 harmony that would have befitted better surroundings. 
 
 In recalling this groui), Sir. Cummings, the lirst missionary 
 but lately said, " They were right loyal Methodists of the true 
 W'esleyan type." jVnditwas William Hall wholed the first class, 
 formed at Wall's by this missionary (to which reference is made 
 in another place] seven miles from his home, with an unbridged 
 river intervening, and never missed an appointment in ten yt'ars I 
 
 But the cabin long since gave place to a more modern and com- 
 modius structure, and the once familiar name of Willlaiii IhiJI 
 lives there no more save in memory, or on sculptured marble. ^V 
 son ^\•ho bore it, gave his life for his country in 1S(I2, expiring in a 
 
238 STARK COUNTY 
 
 Memphis hospital ; liis father wlio went to close his eyes and 
 bring his remains liome for interment, contracted tlie same army- 
 fever and soon followed his boy to the grave. But that first home 
 in the grove has never been abandoned. The bereaved wife and 
 mother still fondly clings to the spot, which for forty years has 
 Ijeen hallowed by the presence of all that home means to faithful 
 hearts. 
 
 And though the death angel comes again and again, she weei^s, 
 but her faith falters not. And now at the age of seventy, still 
 keeps " watch and ward" from her windows over the graves of 
 her departed, patiently waiting, "only waiting" for permission to 
 join them again in the realms of the blest. 
 
 And to her memory which still reflects as in a clear mirror, all 
 Ihe events of her earlier life, the reader is indebted for the princi- 
 pal part of this narrative. 
 
 So closes the story of William and Anne Hall. 
 
 Robert, after helping the people in the timber get astart, like a 
 sensible man, built his house on the prairie. 
 
 For a time he had for neighbors his sister, Mrs. Harvey, to the 
 west of him and his brother Langley to the |east. But they 
 have both gone long since, one, to " that bourne from whence no 
 traveler returns," the other to the Pacific coast, but Bobert 
 still lives where he settled forty years ago, and so quietly and un- 
 obtrusively has he worked and saved, that people seem almost 
 surprised to realize the fact that he is comparatively a rich man, 
 able to build a fine house and pay for it, and is actually verging 
 ■on luxury in his old age. 
 
 In 1840, he married Miss Harriet Marsh, a sister of Mrs. James 
 Holgate, a lady of superior mental endowments, and by' her has 
 had a large family of sons and daughters. 
 
 Edgar, their eldest son, fills a soldier's grave, he having died in 
 the service of the United States, at White Station, near Memphis, 
 in 1863. After forty years Americanizing, Robert Hall still shows 
 immistakably the stock from whence he sprung. Of all the sons, 
 he is most like their father. 
 
 When young he manifested the English love of field sports to- 
 gether with the kindred passion for fine horses and dogs, but in 
 later years his nationality reveals itself in an increasing love of 
 retirement and dislike of ostentations and shams ; for himself he 
 asks nothing beyond a quiet corner by his own fireside, and the 
 companionship of a few old friends. Then he can recall with evi- 
 dent gusto, the adventures of his yonth, the deer and wolf hunts 
 of yore. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 239 
 
 This land which he entered at Dixon in 1836, is the north-east 
 quarter of section 2, Ehnira township. Bo'bert is a shrewd ob- 
 server, a thrifty manager, and \vithal kindly of heart. Delight- 
 ing to oblige a frieiid when occasion offers, but M'ith characteristic 
 caution never letting "his left hand know what his right hand 
 doeth." The plenty that crowns his age is but meet reward of 
 his laborious and self denying youth. 
 
 Several members of this Hall family have manifested a marv- 
 ■elous attachment for, and power over the brute creation. Perhaps 
 this is more especially true of the three brothers now in Oregon. ■ 
 
 Through the long and wearisome journey hither in 1836 or 1837, 
 they brought with them the long wooled Leicestershire sheep, the 
 first ever brought into this portion of the state, probably the first 
 in any part of the western country ; also some fine dogs, among 
 which were greyhounds, shepherd dogs and setters. 
 
 John, the eldest brother who has always remained an incorrig- 
 ible old bachelor, lavished upon these canine pets all the tender- 
 ness men ordinarily reserve for their own kind. While en route 
 for Illinois, he had, as an especial companion, a noble greyhound 
 named Grasper, " unmatched for courage, breath or speed." 
 "While on the canal they fell in with some sporting characters 
 ■who offered an almost fabulous sum for this "dog, three or per- 
 haps five hundred dollars. John listened to the proposal, much 
 as other men would listen to a proposition to dispose of wife or 
 children for pecuniary considerations ! and spurned them accord- 
 ingly. 
 
 Not very long after their arrival here, unfortunately for Grasp- 
 er, the fourth of July was to be celebrated bj' a " general hunt," 
 and the faithful creature ran till he dropped dead by the way, 
 probably sinking from the excessive heat to which he was unac- 
 customed. Somebody was sordid enough to ask his bereaved 
 master if he did not now regret refusing the round hundreds of- 
 fered on the journey ? 
 
 But he promptly responded "No ! I now know the worst ; had 
 I sold him I should always have been afraid he was neglected 
 or ill treated." George, the youngest brother was even more re- 
 markable for his knowledge of and power over animals, even the 
 most ferocious. Said a careful observer of men and things, 
 "George Hall is not one whit behind Van Amburg as a beast tam- 
 er, and could create as great a furor if he turned his attention to 
 making public displays of his power." 
 
 Langley and his sons have turned this gift to account mostly in 
 the management of horses that others fail to manage, for which. 
 
2i0 STARK COUNTY ^ 
 
 they are famous wherever known. Bat as these men have long- 
 since ceased to be citizens of Starli: county, we pass them by with 
 the mere allusion to this curious characteristic. 
 
 And perhaps it is well we can do so, for Langley's humor, his- " 
 clear iiisight of nature, his quaint though subtle philosophy are 
 certainly indescribable bj' any process known to this writer. He 
 was for many years a successful practitioner of medicine, but of 
 late gives his time principally to the beautifying of his Oregon 
 homestead, which he has enriched by the presence of many 
 choice shrubs and trees brought from Europe, which his acquain- 
 tance with the climate and conditions of the two countries, ena- 
 bled him to select with pretty good prospect of successful culture. 
 
 This brings us, almost reluctantly, to consider the last figure in 
 this group, Thomas, so long and familiarly known as " old Br. 
 Hall.'''' For when a father's life is weighed, it is a deli-cate task 
 for a daughter's hand to adjust the scales. 
 
 But, as it would be unfair to omit him in a record of Stark coun- 
 ty pioneers, and unkind to slight him in his own family, we shall 
 try to do our duty, and give the facts as they appear to us, trust- 
 ing that if to others they seem colored by a daughter's partiality, 
 an indulgent public will forgive the fault. 
 
 Thomas Hall was'born (as were all his father's family) at Han- 
 sel Park, near Hulland in Derbyshire. He first saw the light 
 March 12th, 1805, making him at this present writing, in the 71st 
 year of his age. Being in his childhood of rather feeble health, 
 he was excused from manual labor in a great degree, and allowed 
 to indulge his studious turn of mind "to the top of his bent." 
 
 Indeed, while hewasyet quiteyoung,itwasdecidedtogivehirna 
 thorough education and professional training, in the direction of 
 medicine and surgery. So he was kept steadily at school after he 
 had reached his eighth year, first at the village school of Hulland, 
 where he acquired the rudiment of an education ; from there at 
 the age of ten, he was transferred to a sort of grammar school at 
 Weston- Under- Wood; from there to Brailsford for the study of 
 French and Latin; at fourteen he went for two years to a finishing 
 school at Quarndon, and at sixteen was "entered as an apprentice" 
 (this being the law of the land) to Dr. Coleman of Wolverhamp- 
 ton for five years. 
 
 Having now attained his majority, "he went to walk the hos- 
 pital at Guys," and during the next two years in London, enjoy- 
 ed the instruction of many eminent men, Avhose names have since 
 become historical, especially in the archives of medical science. 
 
 A few of these we may record as possessing a modicum of inter- 
 
AND ITS I'lOXEEllS. 211 
 
 e'^t for the professional reader, should any such honor these puf^-es 
 Avith a. perusal. "On Materia Medica and Therapentics" the lec- 
 turer was Thomas Addison, M. D., on " The Principles and Prac- 
 tice of Physic," John Armstrong. On the diploma granted to 
 Thomas Hall, by " The Royal College of Surgeons " in 1828 are 
 the signatures of Sir Astlej' Cooper and "plain John Abernethy." 
 
 In ISod, Rush Medical C'ollege conferred on Thomas Hall, in 
 view of the high testimonials he had brought with him from his 
 native land, and his long e.xperience in western practice, an "hon- 
 orary degree," constituting him " Doctor of Medicine,-" " done at 
 Chicago, Illinois, February 7th, 1850." 
 
 Thus, it may be seen the doctor holds in his hands the best cre- 
 dentials of both lands; but perhaps no man ever lived who val- 
 ued such honors lei3S, or cared less for distinction of any kind. 
 When he came to Illinois in 1837, he brought with him! not only 
 a thorough acquaintance with his profession, but the prestige of 
 nearly ten years successful practice at home ; to these advantages 
 may be added an abounding vitality, giving powers of endurance 
 far beyond the average of men. 
 
 Then he brought with him a library of choice medical works 
 and surgical instruments of the most approved pattei-n then known , 
 to meet every emergenej^ 
 
 Coming thus equipped, to a new and growing state, what oppor- 
 tunities for professional distiliction and ultimate wealth loomed 
 up before him, had he been gifted with even ordinary ambition. 
 But this he had not. He built him a cabin and settled down in 
 the obscurity of Osceola Grove; and although the finest lands 
 could still beheld by pre-emption, and afterwards came into mar- 
 ket and were sold at $1 .25 per acre, yet he never bought one, al- 
 though from the date of his settlement he had a large practice, 
 soon kept four or iive horses and rode almost constantly., 
 
 In 1840, when sickness here assumed a very fatal type, dysente- 
 ry and typhoid fevers prevailing to a frightful extent, he rode on 
 horseback for nine successive weeks, eighty miles one day and fif- 
 ty-six the other, alternately. In 1840, he and his partner Dr. 
 Chamberlain treated fifteen hundred cases of fever and ague or 
 kindred diseases, using in their practice that season 80 ounces of 
 quinine or its equivalent, in the shape of the extract of Peruvian 
 bark. 
 
 When advised by his family or friends in those days to collect 
 his dues and invest them in something for future resource, he 
 would turn away with a smile saying, "Don't bother me about 
 such trifles, I am laying up treasures in Heaven !" 
 16 
 
2-i2 STARK COUNTY 
 
 But ^diile thus indifferent to pecuniary rewards, lie was by no 
 means insensi'ble to the approval, or gratitude of his patients. 
 No man ever more highly appreciated the beaming smile or mois- 
 tened eye, that must sometimes reveal, especially to a physician, 
 emotion too deep for utterance, or treasured in a warmer heart 
 the memory of grateful words and generous deeds ! One of his 
 favorite quotations shows this bent. 
 
 " The little rose that laughs upon its at em. 
 One of the sweets loith which the gardens teem, 
 In value soars above an eastern gem 
 When tendered as the token of esteem.'''' 
 
 Indeed it would seem these sentiments ciuefly inspired him du- 
 ruing many years of active professional life ; for rather than dis- 
 appoint the sick whom he knew would be watching anxiously 
 for his coming, he encountered all sorts of personal perils and dis- 
 comforts — braved all dangers, butfetting with the fierce storm at 
 midnight on the snow-covered pathless prairie, swimming swol- 
 len rivers, sometimes with the thermometer so low that he was 
 encased in an inflexible armor of ice, five minutes after he had 
 emerged from the flood. 
 
 For some of the most desperate of these exploits he rather seems 
 to enjoy saying, "I never received a cent." 
 
 Of late years, when to our view death seemed hovering very 
 near him, he would refer to a little incident that occurred long 
 ago, in his native land, but wliich has no doubt colored more or 
 less his whole life. When, as he i-elates, having wonhisdiploma, 
 he was about leaving home to begin life and practice for himself, 
 his mother followed liim to the gate, and laying her hand loving- 
 ly on his shoulder said, "Tom, do your duty by all, btit especially 
 remember the poor ;" and he would add " I am notafraid to meet 
 my mother, for she knows I have done as shetold me." 
 
 But we must not particularize, or this sketch, which was inten- 
 ded should be brief, will grow into a volume. 
 
 Dr. Hall was married May 14th, 1820, to Miss IMatilda Mani- 
 fold of Findern, Derbyshire, England. 
 
 This lady was our mother, and we have lost her all too lately to 
 discuss with any appearance of impartiality (if that was desira- 
 ble) her life and character. Her memory is enshrined lu the 
 hearts of her friends ; we leave it with them alone, knowing this 
 would be her desire could she be consulted ; for few ever shrank 
 more instinctively from public gaze than she. Her inner life was 
 
AND ITS PIONKERS. 243 
 
 a sealed casket, n^t many hatt the privileg's of unlocking. L?t a 
 reverential silence veil its treasures still ! 
 
 Her children can never estimate their indebtedness to her, not 
 only for the mere fact of existence, which sometimes in this un- 
 certain worldis ratheraquestionableboon, or for the mother's love 
 she gave them all; but, for that "well of English undefiled," 
 which her conversation always supplied, and for even a tithe of 
 the mental acuteness and physical vigor she possessed. She left 
 lis August 8th, 1874, in the seventy-second year of her age, yet, as 
 another truly said "she died as the young die," with all her facul- 
 ties in full play, as if with, her, it was yet life's,morning ! The 
 children of this marriage are in the order of their ages. 1st, Eli- 
 za, the writer of this little volume ; 2nd, Harriet M., wife of P. 
 M. Blair, Esq.; 3d, Mary S., who rests beside her mother ;, 4th, 
 Henry M. Hall, present editor and proprietor of -' The Eed Oak 
 New Era ;" 5th, Dr. Waltej Thomas Hall, successor to his father's 
 home and honors ; 6th, Louisa, wife of Mr. John C. Emery, now 
 of Ottumwa, Iowa ; 7th, James Knox Hall, at present folio wing his 
 trade, that of a printer, at Cambridge, Illinois. 
 
 We mfty remark in passing, that of these children, the first fpur 
 were born'in England, prior to the emigration, the three remain- 
 ing ones being native lUinoisans. Mrs. Emery was the first child 
 ever born in the town of Toulon, to which place the family re- 
 moved soon after the site was surveyed, and have resided within 
 its limits since July Gth, 1842. 
 
 As we write that date, memory reproduces with wonderful 
 fidelity, the picture of that summer morning, so long ago. We 
 had been up since dawn, marking with charcoal the logs in our 
 big cabin, preparatory to taking them out of their places, and 
 loading them on the wagons, which would soon be waiting for 
 them. By six o'clock the family had breakfasted, the teams were 
 arriving, and the bustle of moving began in earnest. Think of it 
 eader, not only the contents of the house and all the appurtenan- 
 ces of a large family to be packed and loaded, but the house itself 
 to be taken down and preparerl for a journey to Toulon ! We can 
 see the teams, many of them consisting of four horses, as they 
 drew up around the scene of our labors. They had come from 
 Spoon river, from Wethcrsfleld, from Lafayette and Walnut creek, 
 "to help the doctor move." 
 
 We could give you the names of the drivers — true pioneers ev- 
 ery one of them, not a laggard among them all ; but our readers 
 would not know tliem, for they have nearly all talten a longer 
 journey since that time, from which they never returned. But fin- 
 
2i4 STAEK COUXTY , 
 
 ally the last load started, even Peter Miner's laugh was lost in 
 the lengthening distance, and silence settled upon the hill, where 
 for five years there had been a busy happy home, ringing with 
 the voices of children, and the patter of little feet. But we look- 
 ed our farewells to the spot, and not without tears set our faces in 
 another direction. 
 
 We were soon on the open prairie, and towards evening reach- 
 ed our destination, the house of Mr. Benjamin Turner, who in 
 those days kept a sort of hotel for the accommodation of the pub- 
 lic. The cabin had undergone a second " raising," the roof was 
 partly onand we could say and feel wehad already a home in Tou- 
 lon. But that first home long since passed into disuse ; and its 
 successor, with its old fashioned belongings, and quaint surround"- 
 ings, endeared by long years of association, hallowed by so ma- 
 ny christenings, weddings and funerals, has at length been torn 
 assunder and lost its identity. True, a better househasbeen rear- 
 ed upon its ruins, and this is an age of progress. Yet for some of 
 us the old house had charms we can never transfer to the new ! 
 But wherefore dwell on these things. The old doctor looks calm- 
 ly on, and accepts the inevitable like a true philosopher. He has 
 a home in the house of his son, jokes with his gray-haired bpys 
 and girls, and laughs with his twenty-one grand-children, sings, 
 
 " No foot of land do I possess, 
 No cottage in the ivildemess, 
 A poor wayfaring man,'''' 
 
 in a tone that shows he does not grieve over the situation a bit. 
 His wonderful memory, which he still retains unimpaired, is of 
 more value to him than a garnished palace would be. It is 
 crowded with all things fair, like the Poet's 
 
 magic'AIj ism:. 
 
 " Therein a Magical Isle vp the ricer of Time 
 
 Where the softest of airs are playing ; 
 
 There's a cloudless sky, and a tropical cliiiis , 
 
 And a song as sweet as a vesper chime 
 
 And the Junes, with the roses are staying. 
 
 '■^Andthe naniepf this Isle is Long Ago, 
 
 And we bury our treasures there ; 
 
 There are brows of beauty and bosoms of snow — 
 
AND ITS PIONEEUS. 245 
 
 There, are hmps of dusf—hd ire loved them so! 
 There are trinkets, and tresses of hair. 
 
 "There are fragments of song, that nobody sings, 
 And apart of an iiifanV s jorayer ; 
 There''s a lute unswepf, and a harp vithovt strings, 
 There are broken bows, and pieces of rings. 
 And the garments she used to irear. 
 
 "■There are kajids that are wared, when the fairy shore 
 By the mirage is lifted in air; 
 And we sometimes hear, through the turbulent roar 
 iSweet voices ice heard in the days gone before. 
 When the wind down the river is fair ! 
 
 "Oh ! remembered for aye be the blessed Isle 
 All the day of life, till night — 
 When the evening comes toith ifs beautiful smile 
 And our eyes are closing to slumber aivhile. 
 May that Greenwood of sold be in sight." 
 
 Thijs our father grows old — not without his weaknesses and in- 
 firmities, but gently and kindly as a child, and can he but go to 
 his grave, followed by the respect of his neighbors, and the bless- 
 ings of the poor, his heart will be fully satisfied, and trust God 
 for the rest. 
 
 Then, he says, the old settlersof Stark county thatsurvive him, 
 may write his epitaph. 
 
246 STABK COUNTY 
 
 TUENBULL AND OJLIVEE FAMILIES. 
 
 Soon after we had coucliided to sheaf these gleanings of local 
 history into a volume for publication, we paid a visit to this most 
 interesting neighborhood, with the intention of interviewing 
 John Turpbull, sen., if possible, as he stands in the relation of 
 patriarch to the clans of " Bonnie Scots " who till the broad acres 
 stretching over almost a township. And if he had delibei'ately 
 "sat for his picture" he could not have taken a better position 
 than he occupied that blustering October morning, 1874. 
 
 He had evidently just come in from looking after something 
 on the farm, had taken his seat before a wide old-fashioned fire- 
 place in which a cheerful fire was burning. His hat or plaid, had 
 not yet been laid aside, the latter enveloped his broad shoulders 
 in those easy folds that none but a Scotchman can fashion. By his 
 side and at his feet crouched two beautiful shepherd dogs, which 
 sprang up all alert at the entrance of a stanger, but a word from 
 their master subdued th'em, and as he rose and turned toward us 
 a face fresh and florid yet, after the battles of near seventy win- 
 ters, and ej'es beaming with intelligence not unmixed with hu- 
 mor, we pronounced him a representative Scotchman from " top 
 to toe." 
 
 Quickly recognising the daughter of an old friend he greeted us 
 ^cordially, and gratified us highly by giving in substance the fol- 
 lowing account of their emigration to America and subsequent ex- 
 periences. 
 
 ■\Ve believe these families, the Turnbulls and Olivers, of which 
 particular mention will be made in this sketch, were of " Low- 
 land " birth and lineage, although for sometime previous to their 
 emigration, had dwelt in the "Highlands," following the occu- 
 pation of shepherds. 
 
 The Turnbulls were from Roxburghshire, on the southern bor- - 
 der of Scotland. And our informant sailed for America with his 
 aged mother, his wife, and her father's family, June 17th, 1837; ar- 
 riving at Ciuebec after six weeks at sea, journeyed up the St. 
 
AND Its riOXEKES. 247 
 
 Lawrence, then across the country to Niagara Falls, thence to 
 Buffalo, found the only passenger boat at the wharf under arrest, 
 so got on board an old schooner bound for Chicago. So slow was 
 their progress that the packet, released from durance two weeks 
 after they left port, passed them on the route. While wandering- 
 among the flats of lake St. Clair, the officers used to cut the huge 
 canes or reeds wiih which they abounded, and used them for 
 sounding rods, to determine the depth of water, which in some 
 places was so shallow as to make navigation both difficult and 
 dangerous. Sometimes as their sluggish craft crept by a low isl- 
 and, the men would wade ashore in quest of discoveries, and 
 once they found a few potatoes growing and some vines, like 
 nothing they had ever seen before, bearing gigantic fruit of which 
 they longed to taste, their curiosity naturally being excited touch- 
 ing everything American. 
 
 As there was no- sign of human habitation on the island, and 
 their fare upon the schooner was very poor, the honest Scotchmen 
 thought it could be no mortal sin to help themseh-es. So iu ad- 
 dition to a few new potato?.-;, each man carried under iiis plaid an 
 immense green pumpkin. Arriving with their booty on the declc 
 of the boat, the emigrants quickly collected to try the flavor of 
 the new fruit. 
 
 The scene must have been intensely ariiusing to tiie boat crew 
 who watched it out of the corners of their eyes and laughed most 
 provokingly at the disappointment and- disgust expressed Ijy tlie 
 emigrants at the upshot of their morning's atU-enture. 
 
 When at length Chicago was reached, they found it a low sandy 
 flat, witli here and there a cheap dwelling or \\'arehouse, and 
 thought the Americans must be very short of land on which to 
 build towns, when they would attempt to make one on such a 
 place as that. Prom Chicago they soon made their way to .Joliet 
 drawn thither by the tidings of a canal in process of construction, 
 which would pretty certainly afford work for the men, of which 
 they were sorely in need, for by this time their slender resources 
 were about exhausted. 
 
 At Joliet they found two ^'acant cabins ; the neighbors told them 
 to " move right in," which they thankfully did. Everybody was 
 kind to them, one man lent them a scythe which enabled them to 
 cut the prairie grass growing so luxuriantly about them. This 
 gave them clean beds, and with it they fllled tJie crevices in their 
 half-finished huts. Soon each family bought a cow from a drover 
 who passed that way, and as they must be kept tied to a stake to 
 
218 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 jircvent them straying hopelessly, the £fe,-jh cut I a/ wa.s indis- 
 IDensible. 
 
 Of course these people were looking for land to enter, every- 
 body was in those days, and they fell in with a Kentuckian 
 named Parker, who had a patent on the quarter afterwards own- 
 ed by Myrtle (i. Tirac.e, on the state road ; but the man supposed 
 his land lay near Wyoming, and so agreed with ]Mr. Turnl:)ull to 
 meet him there ; " thought they could probably strike a trade." 
 
 Parker left Jolict on horseback, Mr. Turnbull on foot, to make 
 their way over a trackless expanse of snow, and with but a very 
 indefinite idea of where they were to meet, but it was to.be some- 
 where in the neighborhood of Wyoming. 
 
 This journey v.-as undertaken January 1st, 1838. Occasionally 
 Mr. Turnbull could catch glimpses of the horseman as he rode 
 over some high ridge in the distance, and this was all he had to 
 guide his steps, save a general idea of the points of the compass. 
 After this lonely, tiresome tramjj of sixty or seventy weary miles, 
 he found himself at the house of General Thomas, but only to 
 learn that the land he was in quest of lay some ten or twelve 
 miles to the north-west, the Kentuckian being mistaken as to its 
 locality. 
 
 Pie must then retrace his steps. PTpon reaching Mr. Holgate's, 
 hunger and fatigue compelled him to seek rest and food, and such 
 comforts were never denied a stranger there, and besides Mr. Hol- 
 gate had learned by some means that Parker had gone to the Os- 
 ceola settlement, so Mr. Turnbull was again upon his trail, and 
 found him ere nightfall at the cabin of Mr. William Parks, then 
 in Osceola grove, as old settlers will remember, not far from 
 where- the first school house in the township was built, on the 
 road to Spoon river bridge. 
 
 While resting by the wide flre-plaee built of rough stones in the 
 jambs of which a recess had been constructed, capable of holding 
 a few common books, curiosity prompted the traveler to withdraw 
 one from its place, that he might see what kind of books the peo- 
 ple rs.id in this strange country, still h3 was woadsrhig all the 
 time if it was not a piece of impertinence to do so without per- 
 mission. Eut what was his surprise, his delight even, upon find- 
 ing he held in his hands a well worn copy of Burns ! Strong 
 though he was, and capable of bearing all things without mur- 
 muring, still he could not refrain from tears as his eye traced the 
 familiar Scottish lines, and he thought how far,/ar away he Avas 
 from his native hills, from the "Banks and braes o' Bonnie 
 Uoon," yet the i)oetry of Burns was here before him! for 
 
AiS'D ITS PIOXEEIl.S. 249 
 
 " 77(« trifle irnrJd it it:i emfhrr 
 And Uh throne the heart of man.'''' 
 
 Mr. Turnbull did not Ijiiy the title of the Kentuckian, after all 
 his trouble, having a dread of patents, and complications of which 
 lie heard many sad reports ; but sliortly after purchased from tlie 
 Lyle brothers^ John and Thomas, forty acres in Osceola grove, 
 Avith a cabin thereon, with the understanding that if the Oliver 
 family saw lit to come on, the Lyles should sell them forty acres 
 more. * 
 
 He then trudged leisurely back to Joliet, got liis wife and An- 
 drew Oliver, rigged out ^n ox sled, to which thej- yoked a couple 
 of half-broken steers, and about the middle of February started 
 for Dorr's, whose house stood near where the town of Providence 
 now is. The weather continued to grow colder, the wind to blow 
 more and more fiercely, and glad were the wanderers to find shel- 
 ter for the night, with the hospitable family referred to. In tlie 
 morning the sun came up flanked by " dogs " on either side, the 
 snow crunched and S(iueaked under the feet witli the peculiar 
 sound, every backwoodsman knows as indicative of extreme 
 cold, the thermometer indicated some t\\'enty degrees below zero. 
 Mrs. Dorr clearly comprehending the suffering and danger that 
 must attend a journey that day, kindly urged them to remain un- 
 til the storm abated, saying "she would board them very cheap- 
 ly." But they had no money to pay Ijoard bills he they ever so 
 small, and the inborn pride of their race, forbade their " being be- 
 holden " to any one, so there was but tjie other alternative to 
 jmsh ahead. 
 
 Mrs. Dorr was standing in her cabin door silently watchiiig the 
 preparations for departure going forward ; but when all was ready, 
 plaids folded tightly, Scotch caps tied firmly, sled drawn round 
 to the door, steers awaiting the word of command to start, she ex- 
 claimed with tears in her eyes, "men go if you will but for God's 
 .sake leave this woman with me; she will surely perish in thecold 
 to-day. It shall cost you nothing, and when the weather moder- 
 ates you can return for her." But >[rs. Turnbull preferred at all 
 hazards to share the fate of her husband and brother. We fancy 
 such pluck would be hard to freeze ; at any rate, despite all obsta- 
 cles they arrived intact at Seeley's point before bedtime, stiff and 
 ■hungry doubtless, but such ills were curable by a good fire and 
 supper, which were quickly at their disposal, and thty retired to 
 jest with grateful hearts. 
 
 The next morning was still very cold, but they had a sheltered 
 
250 STABK COUNTY 
 
 route through the woods by the old road that formerly led by the 
 house of Calvin Winslow in the timber, south of William, Hall's 
 place, which they passed about noon, February 14th, 1838. Soon 
 after they reached home, as they called the cabin of the Lyle 
 brothers a little farther on. 
 
 They promptly paid for the first forty acres, which contained 
 the cabin, but as by arrangement the Lyles were to remain with 
 them until they could obtain possession of the Dukes farm, which 
 they had bought, ancj the rest of the Oliver family coming from 
 Joliet, the four families consisting of eight Lyles and thirteen 
 Turnbulls and Olivers, contrived to live till spring opened, in one 
 room, and that one 16x18 feet. That they succeeded in doing this 
 harmoniously^ so that the survi«/ors can now look back through 
 the mists of nearly forty years, and make merry over the experi- 
 ences of that first winter in Osceola, is creditable to all cbncerned. 
 
 Several of that original twenty-one, have passed to their Fa- 
 ther's house above, " where the many mansions are," and others 
 have so heartily obeyed a scriptural injunction recorded in Genesis,, 
 first chapter and twenty-eighth verse, that their posterity can be 
 counted by scores, if not by hundreds. But we must recur for 
 a few moments to the life that opened up before those pioneers in 
 1838 — a life so full of hardships and privations that it would ai^pall 
 the hardiest adventurer now-a-days. 
 
 The money, veritable gold and silver, so carefully hoarded to- 
 buy a home, was now expended. They had among them eighty 
 acres of timber land, a cabin, and but little else. They had neith- 
 er vegetables, .meat nor bread, except corn which had to stand in 
 lieu of all these. For -weeks they split rails all day long, with no- 
 food save boiled corn, which they carried with them in a tin pail, 
 and for drink they broke the ice of a little stream and dipped up 
 the water from beneath. At night the old black cow supplied 
 them milk to eat with their corn, eaid this was their best meal,. 
 for as Mr. Turnbull says, they then had time to eat all they want- 
 ed, a luxury they did not allow themselves at morning or noon, 
 for as he quietly remarked "it took a man so long to eat corn 
 enough to satisfy his appetite," and they must work ; that they 
 retained health and strength to do so on such fare, is probably 
 owing to the fact that from childhood they had be^n accustomed 
 to a coarse or plain diet. Military men recognize this as one rea- 
 son why the Scotch niake the best camijaigners in the world, they 
 say while soldiers addicted to the pleasures of the table, pine 
 away and die, under selge or on protracted marches, the hardy 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. " 2ol 
 
 Scot with his bag of oat meal and canteen of water, thrives and is 
 contented. 
 
 But our Scotclirnen had not even the oat meal, and corn and 
 cold water did not make such a nutritious compound. 
 
 But spring, though delaying long as is her wont with us, came 
 at last, and seeds were sown in hope, and summer gave them of 
 her abundance, and they were thankful. 
 
 In the fall they bought a hog from the Sturms, and when a 
 rasher of bacon was added to their hominy, thought themselves 
 well off. Such was the humble beginning of the famous 
 
 SCOTCH SETTLEMENT IN ELMIEA TOAVNSHIP. 
 
 It was soon a magnet that drew many an emigrant from " the 
 land o' cakes " to try his fortunes on the prairies, but it can hard- 
 ly be supposed any met with quite the hardships that faced the 
 first com 213. Their neighborhood has always been remarkable 
 for its thrift and independence in thought and action, for its sim- 
 ple old-fashioned morality and religious observances, and latter- 
 ly for its wealth, culture and liberality. 
 
 We hoped to lay before our readers exact facts and figures, sta- 
 tistics to prove what these people have accomplished in less than 
 forty years, but among those so sensitive with regard to what 
 might be called " blowing their own trumijet," these are very 
 difficult to obtain, thus we have to unwillingly betake ourselves 
 to generalities. But although there has been from the first a num- 
 _ber of American families located among them, yet the history of 
 Elmira township is really the history of these Scotch people. To 
 them mainly belong its farms, its schools and its churches. In 
 our general history of the religious organizations of Stark county, 
 it will be seen that the TurnbuU and Oliver families formed an 
 important element in the first Presbyterian church formed here 
 which was at Osceola grove, in 1839. After their removal to their 
 prairie farms west of Spoon river, this organization gradually 
 fell into decay, but in their new location sprang up in the course 
 of a few years four churches, all having convenient houses of wor- 
 ship. These are the Methodist Episcopal, .(which is probably 
 supported by Americans) Cumberland Presbyterian, United Pres- 
 byterian, and Knox church, all of Elmira. If we are correctly 
 informed, the last three are principally Scotch. And althougli 
 one can hardly believe the old feud between highlanders and low- 
 landers to have'^ crossed the Atlantic and established itself on our 
 levels, yet the difference in the names on these church rolls is no- 
 
•2')2 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 ticeably curious, and would indicate that the currents of feeling 
 .still choose separate channels. In the United Presbyterian, _you 
 find the " ]3orderers " the lowland names. Here are the Turn- 
 bulls, the Olivers, the Hurrays, the Grieves and the Armstrongs 
 over and over again. But turn to Knox church and you get 
 names with the highland ring, McDonald, McRae, Murchison, 
 Finlayson and McLennan. And this is said to be the only place 
 in the United States where religious worship is conducted in the 
 Gaelic language. 
 
 Here they still sing the Psalms of David as their fathers sang 
 them among their native hills, and listen to services of three or 
 four hours duration, without growing weary. 
 
 In the early history of our county the politics of this settle- 
 ment was decidedly anti-abolition. Frazer, a Presbyterian min- 
 ister of pro-slavery proclivities, from Knox county, used to 
 preach among the Scotch a good deal, and many thought he gave 
 them this bias ; however that might be they early ranked as 
 whigs, and "Henderson men," which meant about the sam6 
 thing in the phraseology of those days. But our supplementary 
 tables will show they have been wont to roll up big republican 
 majorities of late years, supporting Lincoln, and the emancipa- 
 tion proclamation en masse. They seem always to have had a lik- 
 ing for the name of Henderson, which liking has been transmit- 
 ted from generation to. generation, with the name — supporting 
 T.' .1. Henderson in 1864-66 as enthusiastically as in 1839 or 1§40, 
 they had his father. This political faith seems to have been shar- 
 ed hy their native born neighbors, as the names of Myrtle G. 
 Brace and numerous members of the Fuller family, are usually 
 seen side by side with that of John Turnbull in the political pro- 
 ceedings of by-gone years. 
 
 And when their patriotism had to be tried by the terrible ordeal 
 of battle, they did not shrink from duty ; witness the fine array of 
 names in our soldier's record, credited to Elmira township. We 
 know we are unprepared to do justice to this quiet nook, and to 
 the strong characters that compose the bulk of its citizens. If 
 through imperfect knowledge we have erred in statement, we beg 
 I)ardon in advance, and will only add in conclusion, that a stran- 
 ger visiting our county, will nowhere within its limits, find a 
 warmer welcome, or gain more favorable impressions of its re- 
 sources than in this Scotch settlement in Elmira township. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 
 
 THE STt'KMS. 
 
 This is a very large family. Tiie writer had no convenient 
 ineans of ascertaining how many of this name inhabited, and 
 still do inhabit Stark county. One branch of this genealogical tree 
 seems to have taken root on LaSalle Prairie, Peoria county, at 
 an early day. From there (we think) came Lewis Sturms, am- 
 ong the first names mentioned in our annals, but whq must have 
 left again after a few years. 
 
 In September, 1834, came Matthias Sturms, or as he was famil- 
 iarly called "Uncle Tias;" with him, from the stateof Ohio came 
 his wife and ten children, one son-in-law, Kirkpatrick, and one 
 daughter-in-law, the wife of my informant, Henry Sturms. 
 
 Of these children of Matthias, we can record but little, save 
 their names. The sons as we recall them, were Henry, Nicholas, 
 Samuel, Matthias and Simon. His daughters became Mrs. Kirk- 
 patrick and Mrs. Peter Pratt. 
 
 Henry married a Miss Osborne, whose family also became resi- 
 dents of the Sturms settlement, and her father was noted among- 
 the first settlers as a successful bee hunter. 
 
 We have elsewhere had occasion to speak of the characteristics 
 of this Sturms family ; their very numbers rendered them of im- 
 portance in a new county, and as we remember them in their 
 prime; they were all stalwart, active men, of rough exterior but 
 kind at heart. 
 
 At the date of our visit to Hfenry, now an old man, we found 
 him greatly chaijged. He is in straightened circumstances, and 
 this misfortune is heightened by the loss of sight. Confinement 
 to the house in consequence of his blindness, has robbed him of 
 his early vigor, and he seemed sadly depressed in spirits, assert- 
 ing that "he knew nothing that could be of use to anyone." But 
 as we strove to divert his thoughts from the sad realities of the 
 present, to recollections of the past "when he was as well off as 
 his neighbors," memory seemed to awake once more, and he dis- 
 coursed freely of the "good old times." 
 
251 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 He spoke of the encampment of Indians at Walnut grove much 
 as Mr. Seeley had done ; thought "he and his wife had seen five 
 hundred pass Jlieir door in a single day ; they were not afraid, 
 had been used to Indians in Ohio, and these P6ttawatomies were 
 friendly to the whites.'" He told us of hunting adventures with- 
 out end, thinlcs he has killed deer at all hours from sundown to 
 to sunrise, averaging, at a good season of the year, thirty a week. 
 " He Jinew their licks," and climbing a tree convenient to them, 
 waited their approach and shot them from his perch. "He would 
 then tie them to the tail of his horse with ropes carried for the 
 purpose, and haul them home." 
 
 Has dragged in three at a time in this way. To the youthful 
 reader, this may sound like a very improbable tale ; our horses 
 would certainly object to such proceedings. But the Sturms were 
 not the only men who brought their game home in this fashion, 
 as plenty of witnesses yet living can testify. They say it requir- 
 ed the knack of an experienced hunter todo it successfully, "there 
 was a great deal in knowing just how to tie them on." Henry 
 Sturms further said that one Sunday morning some thirty years 
 ago, as he and a cousin were walking along the bluffs of Spoon ri- 
 ver, he spied in the water a slightly wounded buck ; he immedi- 
 ately sprang upon his back, jumping from an elevation of about 
 ten feet, and seizing the animal by the horns " ducked him " till 
 he was exhausted and breathless, falling an easy prey on the 
 bank. 
 
 They considered it "ba^ luck" to carry Are arms on Sunday, and 
 on this occasion had in their possession no weapon larger than a 
 pen knife, so proceeded with great care and deliberation to dis- 
 patch the poor beast with that ; and finally the two men dragged 
 him home (but a short distance) in triumph. 
 
 These anecdotes will suffice to show something of the life they 
 lived, and the metal of which they were made. 
 
 This man is among those who think the undergrowth or thick- 
 ets witli which our woods now abound are of quite recent growth. 
 He is sure all in the vicinity of Osceola grove, have sprung up 
 since his time. Grapes, plums and crab-apples, he says were ve- 
 ry scarce when he first saw the Spoon river county, but wild 
 strawberries were abundant. 
 
 It is curious that upon a matter so. simple as this, different 
 
 opinions should exist, some old settlers protesting that when they 
 
 first saw. these groves they were entirely clear of undergrowth, 
 
 others, as confidently asserting the opposite state of facts. 
 
 Mr. Sturms remembers that in his early hunting excursions he 
 
AND ITS PIONEERf. 255 
 
 .frequently eanie upon the remains of buffalo, thinks they had 
 once rans'ed throujih these parts in hirj;e lierds, but liad perished 
 during- "the winter of tlie deep snow," an era we can not date 
 just now, but it occurred some ten or twelve yt'ars before the set- 
 tlement of the ypoon river country. 
 
 Our informant recalls several valleys containing acres of laud 
 literally covered with the bones of these animals ; one of these 
 lying' between his own place and that of My. 8earles, in Osceola 
 townshii). He described particularly the peculiar construction of 
 the ehoulder bones, which produce the distincti\-e hump of this 
 species of buffalo, and we conclude he must have gathered his 
 facts from the observation of the remains, as it is not supposable 
 he ever consulted books for such information. 
 
 He concludes the buffalo sheltered from the fierceness of the 
 storm iu these narrow wooded valleys, but the snow which fell to 
 « depth of four feet on the level prairie, would drift up those gor- 
 ges and down the hills, and actually bury them alive, and as the 
 intense cold soon crusted it over, there would be no escape from 
 starvation. That the deer perished in a similar manner, about 
 the same time, is a fact well established, and in this connection it 
 may not be inappropriate to remark that elk bones were also 
 found by the early settlers. Dr. Hall reniembers a huge skeleton 
 of this animal that lay on the high prairie towards Providence, 
 and served as a "land mark" for years — its bones glittering in 
 the sunlight, could be seen for miles. So Mr. Sturms' theories are 
 not without collateral support. 
 
 Besides tlie large family of Matthias, senior, there was another 
 Henry Sturms, brother of the former, whose children for the 
 most part are residents of Stark county. Of this family we have 
 even less knowledge. Peter, a local preacher of the ^Methodist 
 faith, and a well to do farmer lives not far from Bi-adford in a lo- 
 cality Ivuown by the suggestive, but not euphoniousappellation of 
 "Hell street." Possibly his philanthropy led him there, that he 
 might beseech of his neighbors to choose better ways. In conclu- 
 sion we may say of these families, that although they have never 
 been prominent in politices or claimed "high places in the syna- 
 gogues," yet they have been by no :neans wanting in religious 
 fervor. 
 
 The cabin of "Uncle Tias" was one of the first meeting places 
 of the ^Methodist fraternity, and the Sturms' scliool house was re- 
 markable for displays of "the power" and enthusiasm generally, 
 that would astonish the most ardent advocate of camp meeting 
 excitement, now-a-days. 
 
2.")0 STAEK COUXTV 
 
 But the present genenition, the Sturms of to-day, is quite anoth- 
 er being to the Sturms of forty years ago. They are losing'thechar- 
 acteristics of backwoodsinen, or frontiersmen, and growing just, 
 like their neighbors. 
 
 In fact, public schools, equal rights, and Paris fashions are fast 
 obliterating all differences among our western people, reducing 
 them to a dead level, or as near that as nature permits. This 
 may be right and best, but after all, we rather enjoy contemplat- 
 ing the diversities in the genus homo, and can hardly see how so- 
 ciety would be the gainer by making people all ju.'^t alike, if that 
 were possible. 
 
 SEELEY. 
 
 Soon after we had entered on the task of collecting materials 
 for this work we had opportunity for a conversation with Mr. 
 Henry Seeley at Bradford, and gathered therefrom the following 
 reminiscences of early days in that part of the county : 
 
 Mr. Seeley was born in Ontario county, New York, in 1805, and 
 so has already measured out his "three score years and ten," but 
 at the date of this interview, was still hale and vigorous, in full 
 possession of all his mental faculties. He has evidently enjoyed 
 few educational advantages, but has naturally quick perceptions, 
 and strong practical sense — a man of nerve and resolution, well 
 adapted to pioneer life*- 
 
 When he was but eleven years of age his father removed from 
 Ontario, New York, to Vermillion county, Indiana ; here in the 
 "Hoosier State" he grew to manhood, and married in 1831. In 
 1832, this young couple removed to Peoria county, Illinois, and 
 in 1831, to what has ever since been known as "Seeley's Point," a 
 beautiful grove, two and one-half miles from the present town of 
 Bradford. By this, it will be seen that this man was among our 
 very first settlers. G-eneral Thomas had not yet reached Wyom- 
 ing, or Major IMoore, Osceola. Not a settlement had yet been 
 made at what we now call Kewanee, or Wethersfield, or Provi- 
 dence ! Boyd, at his grove, eight miles east of Bradford was one 
 of the nearest neighbors, and the old bachelor Grant, had a little 
 liut on what has long been the Holgate farm, Penn township. 
 One cabin near the present village of Wyanet, was the only habi- 
 tation between "Seeley's Point" and the Winnebago Swamps. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 2'u 
 
 It was in the spring of 18.'34 tliat Mr. Seeley built liis cabin and 
 establisiied himself at the "Point." During the summers of 1834 
 and 1835, many adventurous travelers made their way here, look- 
 ing for homes in this fertile region, and Mr. and Mrs. Seeloy exer- 
 cised with no sparing ha*id the rough but generous hospitality of 
 thosp times. lie says twenty persons at one time have found 
 food and shelter in the. single rooin he owned and occupied. 
 
 A portion of the tribe of Indians known as Pottawaton)ies still 
 wintered regularly at Walnut gro\-e ; with these Mr. Seeloy gene- 
 rally continued to sustain friendly relations, and traded quite ex- 
 tensively with them at times ; he understood their language and 
 could speak it fluently when in practice. Daring the latter part 
 of 1835, when he was absent from home, attending to business in 
 Peoria, an Indian came to his cabin, having with him a large 
 bark bag or sack, which he wanted filled with shelled corn, offer- 
 ing therefor, a fifty cent silver piece — less than half its value at 
 that time. Mr. Seeley's father was the only man about the house, 
 and being old and feeble, naturally shrank from having any al- 
 tercation with the savage, so he promptly complied with the de- 
 mand, and the purchaser rode away on his pony, doubtless well 
 pleased with his success. 
 
 Not many days had passed until he again presented himself at 
 the cabin door, with a similar bag and a similar piece of money. 
 This time Mr. Seeley was at home, and not having the fear of In- 
 dians before his mind, said as plainly as he could that "unless 
 PottawatojTiie produced a bigger coin, viz : $1, he should not have 
 the corn." He mounted his pony empty handed this time, and 
 rode away very sullenly. The incident would sometimes recur 
 to the settler's mind, for well he knew the Indian would never 
 forget him, or the affront, until in some way the account was 
 balanced. 
 
 And it came about in this way. In the winter of 1830-37, when 
 no work was going forward, Mr. Seeley proposed to a new neigh- 
 bor (a Sturms) to ride with him over to Walnut grove and see 
 what the Indians were doing. 
 
 Not far away (probably at Bulbona grove) there was a French 
 trading post, where powder and whiskey, and such like adjuncts 
 of civilization could be obtained, and as Mr. Seeley and his friend 
 approached the grove it was evident the Indians had plenty of 
 both. A truly hideous chorus of whoops and yells saluted their 
 ears, interspersed at intervals v\'ith the sharp report of firearms. 
 But the men were well mounted and carried trusty rifles, so noth- 
 ing daunted they rode forward toward the scene of excitement, 
 17 
 
258 STABK cquxTY 
 
 and found as is usual among Indians on such " sprees," only one 
 sober man in the whole encampment ; it would seem the redman 
 is this much wiser than his "white brothers," they always keep 
 one sober to look after the safety of the rest ! On this occasion, 
 the squaws were busy hiding arms and4veapons of all sorts, lest 
 their drunken masters should do themselves or others serious in- 
 jury. Soon a group of desperate looking savages approached our 
 horsemen, bearing among them a small keg or cask of liquor, 
 veritable "fire-water," from which they drank by turns, without 
 stint or measure. They first invited Sturms to partake, which he 
 thought best to do very sparingly, the keg was raised to Seeley's 
 saddle bow, who was preparing to follow the example of his 
 friend, when, quick as the lightning's flash, an Indian sprang to 
 his side, arid snatching the precious keg, exclaimed in his own 
 dialect, "mean wliite man, mean white man, he no have whiskey." 
 Mr. Seeley, although startled for a moment, did not fail to recog- 
 nize in the excited creature before him, the baffled trader in corn. 
 
 The coveted keg was swiftly borne into a neighboring thicket, 
 followed by the howling savages. Mr. Seeley rode away, feeling 
 satisfied that the fued was considered settled. 
 
 This gentleman also tells many characteristic tales of the time 
 when he "hauled his crop to Chicago," and then sold his wheatat 
 fifty cents per bushel, and other things in proportion. Mr. Wil- 
 liam Moore, another old settler was often h^g_ companion on these 
 trips. 
 
 This Moore was what in common parlanceiscalled "close Jisted," 
 and the amusing dilemmas into which this niggardliness some- 
 times led him, and his companions, furnish themes for many 
 hearty laughs, even a^ter the lapse of years. But as it is not so 
 much fun as facts we are after, we merely record, on one of these 
 expeditions that they tradsd their wheat for salt, a commodity so 
 essential to the pioneer, yet sometimes difficult to obtain. This 
 salt they sold for |8 per barrel, on Spoon river, "Elijah McClenna- 
 han paying ten bushels of as good winter wheat as he ever saw, 
 for one barrel of salt ! " Frontiersman as Seeley was, and unused to 
 the modern luxuries of "laid out roads," bridges, and guide posts, 
 he knew how to steer his course by the sun, through the day ; by 
 the stars through the night; and seldom lest "his bearings." 
 But sometimes sun and stars would fail him, and when the snow 
 lay deep over the trackless waste -filling even the Indian trails? to 
 the level, he would become bewildered. 
 
 On one of these occasions when returning from the land office 
 at Dixon (we believe,) he was relieved from suspensf by blunder- 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 2r59 
 
 ing on the solitary cabin, referred to, near the present site of Wy- 
 smet. Hastily dismounting, he enquired of a woman who an- 
 swered his summons at the door, "for the way to the head waters 
 of Spoon river." The woman looked embarrassed for a moment, 
 "did not think she could direct him there," but said, "from a rise 
 of ground not far off he could see 'Seeley's Point' which she sup- 
 posed might be in that region Somewhere." He did not say he 
 was "the dweller at the point," but mounting his weary horse 
 struck out again across the prairie and soon gaining the ridge 
 now known as Bunker's hill, was cheered by a glimpse of his 
 own grove. There he has lived more than forty years, years too 
 every one of them rich in results ; lived to see 
 
 "27je ivilderness rejoice and blossotn as the rose," 
 
 liis old hunting grounds transformed into fruitful fields — markets 
 brought to his doors, all the evidences of wealth and cultivation 
 occupying the waste places of old ; such have been the experien- 
 ces common to Stark county pioneers. 
 
 Mr. Seeley had a father and brother or brothers, also citizens of 
 Stark county, from its organization. We often meet with their 
 names in studying the old records, but have no further particulars 
 of their lives to record. 
 
 And the subject of this little notice, has paid the debt of nature 
 since this work has been in progress. 
 
 Very suddenly, we learn, he was called away ! Thus they go, 
 these old men, these faces once so familiar ! 
 
 Soon another generation will possess the land and not an old 
 settler be left to tell, the story of the past — then shall these simple 
 mementos of our ffithers acquire a value"they possess not now. 
 
 THOMAS WINN. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Winn is another man who made his home here as 
 early as the spring of 1834, being then a married man, and the 
 father of four sons, all of whom lived to be citizens of Stark coun- 
 ty, one of them, Jefferson, serving the county acceptably for a 
 term of years in the capacity of circuit clerk. 
 
 Mr. Winn was born in Virginia in 1801 ; his wife whose maiden 
 name was IV^ary Anne Johnson, in 1798. 
 
200 \ STARK COUNTY 
 
 They were married in Switzerland-county, Indiana, 1823. The 
 winter of 1831 they spent at Fort Clarlc, now Peoria, and during 
 the two following years, farmed, land near Mossville, on the Ill- 
 inois river. His removal to Putnam county was brought about 
 in the following manner : 
 
 AVhile residing at Mossville he made the acquaintance of a 
 Captain Jack, an eccentric English soldier, who after distinguish- 
 ing himself to some extent in the campaigns against Napoleon, 
 concluded to bring his family to this new country, and betake 
 himself to more peaceful pursuits. This man hired Mr. Winn 
 and his two yoke of oxen, and another man by the name of Can- 
 on, with a four-horse team, to take his family and effects from 
 Mossville to Knoxyille. They went by the way of Parmington, 
 were three days making the journey, and had to camp out at 
 night. At Knoxville they found Williami P. Smith, from the 
 Essex settlement, then a young man, but well taught in the lore 
 of the woods and prairies ; he was on horseback, and said he could 
 pilot the teamsters back by a shorter route ; said "he could strike 
 a bee line to Spoon river," which he did — they fording thiit 
 stream near the present site of Rochester, reaching the Essex set- ' 
 tlement in good time on the second day. Here they were kindly 
 entertained by the Smiths, and Mr. Winn was so pleased with the 
 locality, as to decide upon making it his future home. So in 
 April, 1884, he purchased sixty or seventy acres of land near the 
 farm of Mr. Josiah Moffltt, which included the site of the "old 
 log fort," built it would seem but to commemorate the "Indian 
 S3are" of 1832. For a short time his family lived within the 
 "picketed" enclosure, but he subsequently put the logs to better 
 use by splitting them into rails. Mr. andMrs. Winn are now 
 growing feeble with age, but their memory of past events is good ; 
 they corroborate, in every particular, Mr. Clifford's account of the 
 building of our first school house, and say they think Adam Per- 
 ry suggested and planned the enterprise. Mr. Winn was at its 
 "raising;" says the neighbors came together early on the 4th of 
 July, 1834, with their ox teams and axes, cut and hauled the logs 
 from the woods around them, and some engaged in splitifing 
 clapboards. By two o'clock P. M. they had it waist high, and a 
 very heavy rain coming up, they arranged their clapboards the 
 l)est they could for shelter, and crawled in and " ate their fourth , 
 of July dinner, without toasts,," but had a jolly good time, never| 
 to be forgotten by any of them. 
 
 Mr. Winn remembers the time when the Indians cultivated 
 their corn fields -on Spoon river, just above Cox's mill, near the 
 
AND ITS PIOJs'EERS. ;i(51 
 
 it 
 
 mouth of Camping creek ; also has seen the remains of their 
 " council house " in their old village near Mr. Mofflt's farm ; the 
 outlines could be distinctly traced and the centre pole \\-as still 
 standing ; has also found the wooden troughs in which they en- 
 closed their dead, sometimes hanging in trees. 
 
 ' thje; emerys. 
 
 The Emerys are of German extractidn, all of that name in this 
 country, having probably sprung from two brothers who emigra- 
 ted to the eastern states prior to the revolutionary war. Their de- 
 scendants spell their patronymic somewhat differently, as Emry, 
 Emery, Emory, but the resemblance is sufficient to suggest a com- 
 mon origin. 
 
 Our informant thinks the posterity of one of these eriiigrants 
 may yet be found principally in New England, spelling their 
 name with an o, while the other Conrad, gradually made his way 
 from eastern to westerii Pennsylvania, living for a time in Miflin 
 and Mercer counties, about the beginning of the present century, 
 and spelling his name always Emery. 
 
 These people, at least the western branch of the family, after 
 being for several generations American born, still show traces of 
 Teutonic blood. They are of the large athletic German type, fair 
 haired, fresh complexioned, and of phlegmatic temperament. 
 We fancy a little excitable irritable Emery would be a wonder in 
 this land. 
 
 So far as we know them, the men were and are thrifty, success- 
 ful farmers, while here and there a love of art, particularly of 
 music, crops out, suggestive of the " German's Fatherland." 
 
 The Conrad who was the immediate progenitor of our Stark 
 county Emerys, removed from Mercer county, Pennsylvania, to 
 ■Ohio, in 1817, and from there to Knox county, Illinois, in 1835, 
 his farm being in one of the townships drawn from Knox at the 
 formation of this county, his first home being on what is now 
 known as the south-west of north-west of section thirty-two, 
 Ooshen township, forming part of the present property of John 
 Emery, Esq., the youngest son of the familj'. 
 
 At the date of this settlement, August 8th, 1835, Conrad Emery 
 and Sarah his wife, were the parents of eleven children, several 
 
262 STARK COUXTY 
 
 of whom were already married ; there still remained at home 
 three sons and two daughters. 
 
 Of the two daughters, Mary married a man by the name of 
 Swab, and Sarah, Elijah McClennahan, for many years a resident 
 of Iowa, but still remembered by all our old settlers. 
 
 Joseph an industrious and exemplary man, settled on the east 
 half of north-west quarter, of section fivje. West Jersey township. 
 He died suddenly, away from home, in 1856, leaving besides a 
 widow and children, a large circle of acquaintances to mourn the 
 loss of a good neighbor and friend. 
 
 But probably Jacob is the most remarkable member of this 
 group. Born in Miflin county, Pennsylvania, January 16th, 1803, 
 he has already passed the bounds usually alloted to man. We 
 may safely conclude that in his youth he shared no better educa- 
 tional advantages than were common to the children of the work- 
 ing men at that early day, perhaps never in his life having more 
 than a winter's schooling. But the absence of mental culture has 
 in his case been partly counterbalanced by native mental power, 
 and financial ^abilities of no common order. He, too, located in 
 1835, in what is now Goshen township, north-west quarter of sec- 
 tion thirty-two, and despite his large family, long and frequent 
 sickness, and frightful doctor's bills, was soon known among his 
 neighbors as "forehanded." 
 
 In 1840-41, while most of our farmers were still struggling with 
 debts and incumbrances, hehad cleared his land and was building 
 a fine barn, one of the first really good ones ever built in Stark 
 county, and in 1849, completed his elegant and commodious farm 
 house. He did not Midas like, transmute all he touched into 
 gold, although he must have handled a good deal of that in the 
 days of " specie payment," but by a similar necromancy it seem- 
 ed that all the land he looked upon became his own, until more 
 than a thousand acres owned his sway— not inherited or patented* 
 but earned by the hard hand of toil in the space of fourteen 
 years ! 
 
 And prosperity did not unduly elate him ; he remained an un- 
 assuming plain man, enjoying good fortune sensibly ; relaxing 
 somewhat the toilsome habits of earlier years, he read and 
 traveled, studied men and things, bestowing uppn his younger 
 children the cultivation that circumstances had denied the older 
 ones. In youth he was a zealous Methodist, in middle age a class 
 leader, but of late years has embraced the spiritualistic philosophy 
 with all its intangible theories. This is not the place to discuss 
 the pros and cons of these widely divergent faiths, or to conject- 
 
AND ITS riONEKES. 2G3 
 
 ure why it is so many start on life's sea with one set of opinions 
 nailed to the mast, and drift to the opposite extreme before the 
 voyage is done. But that these changes are going on in our little 
 world, as surely as in the greater one of which we form a part, is 
 indisputable. 
 
 Human nature is everywhere an unsolved mystery, and few 
 men in this community scan its depths with a more kind and yet 
 careful scrutiny, than Jacob Emery. 
 
 The irreij^erent may sneer, the thoughtless laugh at his conclu- 
 sions, but he pities and forgives ! There is no room in all his 
 great heart for malice or sectarian bitterness, but a broad philan- 
 thropy, a just toleration, a gentle charity, make there an abiding- 
 place. Looking fearlessly into a future, he wisely makes the 
 most of the present life, gathers about him congenial spirits, 
 whether " in the body or out of the body " seems immaterial, for 
 to his consciousness it is literally true, that 
 
 " T?Le veil of flesh that hid 
 
 Is softly drawn aside, 
 More clearly lie beholds them now 
 
 Than, those iclio never died." 
 
 #'•> 
 
 .lA^tF.S EUSWELIj. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was, born at Peacham, in Caledonia 
 bounty, Vermont, August 7th, 1793, and was the son of Nicholas 
 and Elizabeth Buswell, nee Chamberlain. On his mother's side, 
 he was also descended from the Mellens, a name noted in the ear- 
 ly annals of New England, as was that of Chamberlain. The 
 place of his birth was, at that time, a comparatively new country, 
 having a few years previously been settled by emigrants from the 
 more southerly portion of the New England states. Strong, ro- 
 bust and hardy, they penetrated the wilderness of the north, and 
 made themselves homes. 
 
 Such even now would be considered a perilousA.mdertaking, but 
 like their native hills, these men were firm and steadfast, and 
 overcame all obstacles. 
 
 Reared in such a country, where to enjoy life was to bend all 
 the faculties bodily and mental to secure such result, it is no won- 
 
26i STAl'vK COUNTY 
 
 dor that we find Mr. Buswell capiiblo of breaking away from the 
 parent nest, and with a few associates of simihir mould, seeking 
 a home in the far west, wliieh, at that time might M'ell l)e called 
 "an unknown region." 
 
 Thus we find him leaving his native home in 1832, unaccompa- 
 nied by his family ; he came to Illinois, visited several portions 
 of the state, and finally settled for the time being at Peoria. 
 
 Returning to ^'ormont in the autumn of ISJW, the following 
 year he bade it farewell forever, and with his family settled in 
 Peoria, where he resided until 1837. Having in the meantime 
 selected a site for a home in Osceola., he removed there during the 
 summer of that year, where he continued tp reside until the date 
 of his death in 1874. 
 
 The education he had received on his native hills, peculiarly 
 qualified him to overcome the hardships and vicissitudes that 
 awaited him in his new horne, and right manfully did he wage 
 the battle of life and secure to himself and family a peaceful re- 
 treat, where in his declining years, together with the honored 
 partner of his joys and sorrows, he might retire in peace to enjoy 
 the fruit of years of toil. 
 
 In early life he received an academic education, thorough, for 
 that day, which laid a good foundation for future study. Ever 
 fond of books, reading wan with him a daily exercise, even dur- 
 ing the years of active life. He kept himself well informed on 
 all matters of religion and politics, and measurably of science. 
 Possessed of a strong and equally poised mind, he was capable of 
 grasping and comprehending almost any subject that claimed his 
 attention. And, he was an independent thinker. His opinions 
 were his own, and he cared not whether others endorsed themi or 
 not. He never proselyted, it was enough that his own mincjL:^ 
 was convinced. ' .'1 
 
 In religion, he was liberal, conservative, if you please, but al- 
 ways reverential. A strong sense of rigtit was one of the noblest 
 traits of his character, and against this, negro slavery clashed 
 sorely. 
 
 Therefore, hebecameearly inlife its unrelenting foe. Here, there 
 was no conservatism, but he "carried the war into Africa" and 
 fought it to the end. And happily lived to see the curse removed ; 
 — 1863 brought a proud triumph to the band of heroes, who for 
 more than forty years, had "bearded the lion in his den," had 
 fought against all odds, hoped against all hope, endured misrep- 
 I'esentation and persecution, and harder than all. 
 
AXD ITS PIONEERS. 3«1 
 
 '■'■T/iffmil and hh><inr/ holt of sroni.'' 
 
 Probably no man more heartily rejoiced in the final triumpli of 
 right, and abolishment of slavery, than the siihjfc-t of this me- 
 moir." 
 
 Then he was the most unassuming' of men ; although an ardent 
 politician, never seeking distinction or preferment for himself, 
 consenting to a^t as "justice of the peace" merely to accommo- 
 date his neighbors, among whom he was almost an oracle on all 
 neighborhood matters, his wise decisions settling many disputes 
 that might otherwise have been fanned into destructive flames. 
 
 Thus he pursued "the even tenor of his way," until the -lA day 
 of August, 1S74, Iiaving entered the eighty -first year of his age, 
 he died as calmly and peacefully as he had lived. 
 
 Thus far, this sketch is but slightly altered from one that ap- 
 peared in the local papers, at the time of Mr. Buswell's death, 
 and is probably as full and concise an accouiit yOf the principal 
 events of his life as we can obtain. And yet we feel it is too mea- 
 ger for one who filled so large a place, for sti long a time in tliep'O- 
 litical life of our county. 
 
 Xo mention is made of the large family of gifted sons and 
 daughtei-s who are his rich legacy to the land of his adoption, and 
 only a passing allusion to the heroic woman, who for more that 
 fifty years cheerfully shared all the vici:-situdes of his lot, who hy 
 her uobFe presence could dignify the humlile:?t liome, as she 
 would have graced the the proudest mansion ; yet, in the minds 
 of the old settlers, these recollections are inseparably associated 
 with the name of Buswell. Some can yet recall the "cabin in the 
 grove," when fiither, mother and ten children gathered around its 
 rough but hospitable lioard, and there A\as alw ays room and wel- 
 come for the stranger tc o. 
 
 Thaj; group has long since scattered. Three went before their 
 Mher to the "undiscovered country," falling while the rich prom- 
 ^ ises of youth hung thick about them, others remain to perpetu- 
 ate his name and virtues, andperchance furnish themes "whereby 
 some future hist(irian may seek to garnish the fame of "little 
 Stark." - 
 
266 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 THE r.UTLER FAMILY. 
 
 In sketching persons or landscapes, it is obviously easier to 
 make a striking picture if the lines are broken or irregular ; here 
 a depression, there an exaltation, or elevation; the more abrupt 
 the contrast, the better for scenic effect. Thus, the painter choos- 
 es for his canvass the towering mountain, the beetling crag, or 
 rushing cataract ; anything rather than the gentle undulations of 
 fertile grounds, watered only by placid streams. But, does it 
 then follow that the crag and torrent are of more value to human- 
 ity than the productive plain with its fertilizing currents ? If 
 not, then in the group of sketches here introduced, if the reader 
 finds, nothing sensational, no traces of erratic genius, no wonder- 
 ful developments of precocious learning or piety, resulting in pre- 
 mature death ; no "stranded wrecks" to give variety to the scene 
 or pathos to the narrative ; but, lives in the main, well ordered, 
 rounded to a beautiful completeness, devoted to quiet pursuits, 
 and the i^ractice of domestic vii-tues, let him not therefore prar- 
 nounce thein wholly uninteresting. 
 
 Captain Henry Butler and Rebecca his wife, were born in New 
 Haven, Connecticut, before the close of the last century, and 
 were both of good New England stock. 
 
 Justus Butler, father of the captain, was a famous hotel keeper 
 of that city. Throughout the region from whence Yale Oollpge- 
 draws its students, and New Haven its maritime and commercial . 
 importance, he reigned in his day, as "prince of landlords." . 
 
 Mrs. Butler sprang from a race of printers. The first of her 
 lineage in this country, was one Samuel Green, printer, at Cam- 
 bridge, Ma-ssachusetts. Prebably from his press, and under his 
 supervision was issued the first edition of the sacred scriptures in 
 the Indian tongue. Next in order came his son Ham uel Green,, 
 bred to his father's trade, as we believe. 
 
 Third, Timothy Green of New London, public printer to the 
 state of Connecticut. Fourth, Samuel Green, editor of " The 
 Connecticut Journal," files of which are still preserved in the 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 267 
 
 farnily in Illinois. Fifth, Mrs. Rebecca Butler, a Stark county- 
 pioneer, who together with her husband and eight children emi- 
 grated hither in 1835 ; and, as seemed befitting such a pedigree, 
 her twin boys, Samuel G. and William H. Butler, were early ini- 
 tiated into the ndysteries of the printer's guild. 
 
 It would seem that Captain , then Mr. Butler, also essayed to 
 follow in the footsteps of his father for a time, and won an envia- 
 ^ ble reputation as "mine host," for in the earlier part of his mar- 
 ried life he received an invitation from the then Mayor of Bich- 
 mond Virginia, to take charge of the "Union Hotel," a new house 
 just built in that city, and which was to admit of no superior at 
 the South. What the exact date of the removal from New Hav- 
 en to Richmond was, we have no means of knowing, but con- 
 clude it was prior to 1824 as during this year, Lafayette paid his 
 last visit to our shores, and was a guest " at the Union." How- 
 ever, the subject of this sketch undertook the task of keeping a 
 first class hotel, whether it paid or not ; he had a reputation to 
 sustain, and was not to be outdone in the richness of his furnish- 
 ing, the costliness of the interior decorations of his house, or the 
 luxury of its cuisine. But as is often the case, such elegance was 
 not remunerative financially. And it is probable the landlord of 
 "The Union," quitted Richmond no richer for the expensive ex- 
 periment. Still he had had a varied experience, a rare opportun- 
 ity to form acquaintance with many of the leading men of his 
 times (and "there were giants in those days") which was of itself 
 an education of the most desirable sort, and no doubt helped to 
 make him what he afterwards remained, a most agreeable enter- 
 tainer ; presiding over his own home and at his own table with 
 an easy dignity ; dispensing therefrom an abounding hospitality. 
 
 After leaving the hotel, Mr. Butler turned his attention to ship- 
 ping and commercial matters generally, for which he had a deci- 
 ded predilection, always declaring, that, but for his mother's ap- 
 peals he should have "followed the sea" from his youth. 
 
 Being so congenial to his tastes, he had contrived to acquire 
 considerable nautical knowledge, both theoretical and practical, 
 and continued to turn it to account in his occupations during the 
 remainder of his stay in Richmond, and afterwards in New 
 York, to which city he subsequently removed with his family. 
 In this business he won his title of "captain," by which he was so 
 well known to the early settlers of Stark county ; sometimes ac- 
 ting as supercargo, sometimes chartering vessels on his own ac- 
 count, making trips to various ports, and once, on a .return voy- 
 
268 STARK t'OUXTY 
 
 age fi^om Liverpool, succeeded in bringing a wreclied vessel into 
 port. 
 
 He continued thus occupied, either "upon ship or shore" for 
 some years, at a business to which he was devotedly attached, 
 and, but for his emigration to Illinois, would probably have con- 
 tinued in it to the end of his days. 
 
 But by this time, his older sons had gro\vn to manhood, and 
 one of them at least had purchased lands in the " military tract," 
 just then becoming a fashionable siDeculation Avith eastern capit- 
 alists. 
 
 This investment was naturally made the subject of conversa- 
 tion at the family table and fireside. All sorts of opinions were 
 rife regarding the prospects of this then unpeopled region, but 
 the prevailing one just then was that Illinois was an earthly par- 
 adise, both as regards beauty of scenery and salubritj- of climate ; 
 and that it contained in the singular fertility of its soil, the ele- 
 ments of wealth in a larger degree than any other place in the 
 known world. 
 
 Current newspaper articles and " Peck's Gazetteer of Illinois," 
 yere purchased and read with avidity, and of course helped fos- 
 ter these opinions ; and finally a Mr. Bogardus, one of Peoria's 
 pioneer lawyers returned to New York, and visiting the Butlers, 
 took care by his glowing accounts of the west, to stimulate any 
 latent desire they might have to emigrate in that direction. 
 
 They had also another acquintance already here, Ellas K.Kane, 
 a member of the convention which formed the first constitution 
 of our state ; and very probably his letters helped confirm the 
 impressions already made. However this may have been, it 
 came to pass that Captain Butler left New York in June, 1835, 
 with a view to locating somewhere in the neighborhood of Peo- 
 ria, at which place he arrived in due time, but finally pushed his 
 way to Wyoming, then having only "a name to live," at which 
 point he immediately set about preparing a shelter for his fami- 
 ly, they following him in the fall, by the lakes to Chicago, and 
 from thence by teams to the "Spoon river country." 
 
 One of them but recently remarked that l;ie has " always regar- 
 ded this emigration more as a romantic adventure, than anything 
 else ; if indeed it did not deserve to be ranked as a foolhardy un- 
 dertaking." 
 
 Leaving as they did a competence and cotnfortable quarters in 
 the city, with pleasant surroundings arid congenial associations, 
 was certainly a strange freak on the part of those who had about 
 as much comprehension of western life and the means of making 
 
AXD ITS PrONEERS. 269 
 
 a living here, as the retreating aborigines had of the advantages 
 of civilization. But if the change could not be sanctioned by 
 sound judgment, all affected by it, had some of the characteristics 
 essential to such an undertaking, viz : pluck, a love of adventure, 
 and a philosophical determination to accept, without complain- 
 ing, the situation, with whatever it might bring. Thus equipped 
 they embarked in high spirits, Mrs. Butler, three sons and five 
 daughter:^ from Xew York, and when arriving at Buffalo, went on 
 board the old brig, "Queen Charlotte," which had been a war 
 vessel, and one of Perry's captures. The voyage across the lakes 
 was an eventful one, as most voyages were in those days, being 
 ample time during their progress far events to transpire. 
 , The Butlers were four weeks between Buffalo and Chicago. 
 While on lake Erie, in the morning twilight, a steamer struck 
 the old brig, carrying away her "bowsprit" and "cut- water;" 
 compelling them to remain at Detroit for repairs. Then they 
 were aground just a week upon the flats of St. Clair, and detained 
 again at the mouth of St. Clair river, and had, as they say, "a 
 stormy old time" on lake Huron. But after all, as they were 
 naturally good sailoi's, the journey Avas pronounced "hugely en- 
 joyable," and they will very probably laugh to the end of their 
 lives, at recollections of incidents on board the "Queen Charlotte." 
 Thus, "to the end of the chapter," whatever was hardest to en- 
 dure was most laughed at, until they declared themselves "at 
 home" in the hewed "double-log house" on the prairie, near 
 Wyoming. 
 
 General Thomas, Whitney Smith, and Samuel Seeley had cab- 
 ins skirting the timber, but "the captain was the pioneer builder 
 out on the prairie." Of course all professed to be delighted with 
 the location, but no words can give an idea of its extreme loneli- 
 ness to eyes accustomed to the solid blocks of a great commercial 
 city. 
 
 There \\'as then no other house in the direction of the traveled 
 road to Peoria, till you reached "Mount Hawley," which skirted 
 the Illinois river timber ; and eastward, none between them and 
 Camping grove. Still the beautiful unobstructed view across an 
 undulating sea of verdure, flecked here and there with brilliant 
 flowers, was worthy an artist's pencil. 
 
 And the boys and girls lived merrily, and the "old folks" at 
 least contentedly, amid their novel surroundings ; and in the 
 course of time the log house was superseded by asubstantial brick 
 structure, still referred toas the "Butlerhomestead." AndAvhata 
 large place that homestead filled, not only in the regard of the 
 
270 STARK COUNTY 
 
 various family groups of which it was so long the common cen- 
 tre, but in the social life of the neighborhood, how many 
 ^'grancl times" and "good times" at Captain Butler's, could yet be 
 recounted by those who will never more seesuch times anywhere! 
 
 But ere we give vent to the reflections that here come surging 
 at meniory's beck, it is meet we complete the sketch of Captain 
 and Mrs. Butler, for in our gallery of portraits of Stark county 
 pioneers, they are surely entitled to full length pictures. 
 
 Many of the characteristics of the former, may be inferred from 
 what has already been said, and after he became one of us, it was 
 in the domestic and social circle he was best known and apprecia- 
 ted. The superintendence of his farm occupied his time, and he 
 neither sought or cared for political distinction. Still he had bis 
 own opinions and defended them warmly, could make a stump 
 _ speech (in behalf of 'others always) when occasion demanded it, 
 was an "old line whig," and of course Henry Clay was his mod- 
 el of a statesman. A personal acquaintance in earlier life had 
 but served to enhance his admiration of this man. 
 
 In faith, he was ever an Episcopalian, an atlherent ef Bishop 
 Chase, who frequently visited him at Wyoming, sometimes per- 
 ' forming service at his house. 
 
 Indeed if we mistake not, St. Luke's church was formed there, 
 as it was cherished and supported for many years mainly by this 
 family. 
 
 Said one who knew him well, "it was a debatable question 
 which he thought the most of, the Episcopal church religiously, 
 or the whig party politically, as embodiments of all that was per- 
 fect, humanly speaking, of their peculiar principles." 
 
 He was frequently called upon to preside at political meetings, 
 which he did with considerable parliamentary ability, and to 
 make after dinner speeches on festive occasions. He was promi- 
 nent in the " Washingtonian movement" at an early day, and. 
 made many warm appeals in behalf of reform ; was an active 
 member of the iirst agricultural society, and a charter member of 
 the first masonic lodge in our county. 
 
 It is simple justice to say he was a kind neighbor and good cit- 
 izen. That he was a good hater too, when stung by wrong or in- 
 gratitude, is very likely ; such positive characters usually are ; that 
 he had other taults or foibles is more than probable, as they are 
 the dross of our common humanity. But as the miner when he 
 strikes a rich lead of gold, gathers his treasure, paying small heed 
 to the refuse that may attach itself to it, so we, when there is so 
 much fine gold, care not to measure the alloy. We love to recall 
 
AXD ITS PIOXEERS. 271, 
 
 Captain Butler as the whole-souled, genial gentleman he was, as 
 our father's friend, and our own, and hope we may leave a pleas- 
 ant, as it will be truthful, impression of him upon our reader's 
 mind. 
 
 His last days were clouded by chronic ailings, but his mind re- 
 mained clear, anfl he enjoyed his books and friends to the last. 
 He went peacefully to his rest, August 2nd, 1864, aged seventy- 
 five years. 
 
 Mrs. Butler survived her husband but little over one year. 
 And her character was precisely of the kind hinted at in the in- 
 troduction to these sketches ; if you attempt to analyze it you lose 
 the effect ; its beautiful completeness was its greatest charm. She 
 was emphatically " a keeper at home," quiet and undemonstrat- 
 ive everywhere, but it was the repose of conscious strength, not 
 an expression of weakness. 
 
 Her numerous family as they grew to years of understanding 
 fully recognized the fact that she was "the power behind the 
 throne." No^that this power was obtrusive or offensive, but she 
 knew how to touch the hidden springs, to draw "the silken 
 cords," that move and guide imperceptibly. And, as a result 
 could, in her later years look down the long line of sons and 
 daughters, and with a satisfaction but rarely accorded to mothers, 
 say, "not one has disappointed me." Her religious life was i^i 
 harmony with all other developments of character, a quiet stream 
 but deep; her childreii best knew its force. They say, "from our 
 earliest childhood she taught us the priceless value of Christianity 
 as a source of happiness, both in this life and that which is to 
 come."- Heartily believing what she taught,' she went cheerfully 
 to her reward, after enduring a long and painful illness. She 
 passed away November 30th, 1865 ; and the old home was deso- 
 late ! 
 
 In our world it must be, that night follows day, and clouds the 
 sunslrine, and by the same law it would seem, after christenings 
 and marriages, and merry makings, come funerals and tears, and 
 "the sad drapery of woe." Such is human life, and it must be 
 the part of wisdom to accept calmly the inevitable. 
 
 To the present generation, the children of Captain and Mrs. But- 
 ler, we wish brieiiy to advert. Not because we can tell the peo- 
 ple of Stark county, anything specially new or sensational with 
 regard to those who have for the most part dwelt so long among 
 us ; but because they deserve to stand here as elsewhere, a unit- 
 ed family. Their names in the order of their ages are, Lucy, 
 George, Samuel and Henry, Rebecca, Mary, Charles, Abby, Eliz- 
 
272 STARK COUNTY 
 
 abeth, Albert, Virginia and Henrietta. Just a round dozen; of 
 these, Abby died in infancy, but up to the date of this present 
 writing, S?ptember, 1876, the eleven form a band unbroken 
 through the vic'issitudes of so many changeful years. 
 
 Lucy and her widowed sister, (Mrs. Thomas) still make a home 
 at WyoiBing, as does also their brother Henry, all too M'ell known 
 to our readers to require more than a mention, to call them viv- 
 idly to mind, and so sensitive to anything like notoriety, as to 
 nin.ke a more aulaeioiis p3n than ours jjause and withhold the- 
 tribute it longs to pay. 
 
 Samuel has for some years resided in Fremont county, Iowa. 
 Rebecca is the wife of Hon. Oaks Turner, of Hennepin, Illinois. 
 Elizabeth the wife of John W. Henderson, Esq., now of Cedar 
 Rapids, Iowa, but early and long a Stark county man. 
 
 Albert, the youngest brother, spent his youth at Wyoming, and 
 here married Miss Kate Atherton, daughter of .1. R. Atherton, 
 Esq., hut some years since, returned to his old home in Xew 
 York city, where he entered into business and has since remained. 
 
 Virginia, a beautiful woman, the family pet and favorite, was 
 by an accident in her childhood, deprived of her hearing, but was 
 fortunate enough to become a pupil of the Gallaudets, distinguish- 
 ed as being the first successful educators of deaf mutes. And, so 
 •well did she profit by the opportunities afforded her that among 
 her familiar friends her affliction is hardly noticed, so completely 
 have her eyes and fingers learned to do double duty. Since the 
 death of her parents, Virginia has made her home with her 
 youngest sister, Mrs. General Henderson of Princeton, Illinois. 
 
 Two brothers, George and Charles, have never left their eastern 
 homes. The former was for many years a sort of Lord Chancel- 
 lor in A. T. Stewart's great mercantile establishment; that is, he 
 carried the seals and ,the keys of this merchant jDrince, who we 
 are informed was by marriage connected with the Butlers. 
 
 Charles, the last to be noticed of this kindred group, we learn is 
 a member of a large and prominent law firm in New York, of 
 which Evarts, so distinguished for his defence of H. W. Beecher, 
 is the leader. Thus it can be comprehended that these children, 
 
 " Whose voices mingled us they prayed 
 Around one parenV s Imee,^'' 
 
 in by-gone days, are rioiv widely scattered and diversely occupied. 
 Still they occasionally meet and enjoy a re-imi oh, and though all 
 are remarkably well preserved, none of them can any longer be 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 273 
 
 called yOLiny. As one of their number sai<l of their last re-union, 
 " what a jolly set of old folks we were, all of us gray headed, and 
 Avearing glasses, but all well and apparently happy, and as full of 
 life and fun as twenty years ago." Not many families can make 
 such a record, for be it remembered the youngest of this group is 
 well up in the forties, and the eldest — well we will 'not make a 
 guess, for nothing in her manner or appearance would indicate 
 she was over fifty. 
 
 The children of these people, the grand-children of Captaip and 
 Mrs. Butler, we are not prepared to number, but they would 
 make a goodly showing if we could. Indeed, applying to this 
 family one of Darwin's fundamental laws, " the survival of the 
 fittest;," one may safely predict the Butler bipod will make itself 
 known through generations yet unborn — when this page and the 
 hand that traced it, will be among the forgotten things of a shad- 
 owy past. 
 
 GENERAL THOMAS J. HENDERSON. 
 
 "The Spoon river country" or Stark county, have nurtured and 
 developed few men, if any, who have enlisted so large a share of 
 public attention and afl"ection, for so long a time as the subject of 
 this notice. Therefore, we hope to gratify a majority of our read- 
 ers by considering, even imperfectly for a short time, his several 
 roles of citizen, politician and soldier, in all of which he has been 
 conspicuous. 
 
 Thomas J. Henderson was born near the town of Brownsville, 
 Hay ward county, Tennessee, on the 20th day of November, 1824, 
 consequently is now almost fifty-two years of age. But as he 
 walks the halls of congress, this centennial year of the republic, 
 any observer would pronounce him many years younger. His 
 form is still erect, his hair of raven blackness ; in his beard only, 
 a few silver threads show the touch of time. 
 
 When he was twelve years old his j)arents removed fi'om Ten- 
 nessee to Illinois, settling directly in what was then Putnam 
 county, about one mile south of the present town of Toulon. 
 Previous to this change, Thomas had received the elements of an 
 education at an academy in his native town, and subsequently 
 enjoyed only such advantages as could be reaped in the rude log 
 18 
 
^274 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 school houses that graced the frontier settlements, with the single 
 exception of one term in the Iowa University, after his father re- 
 moved to the state of Iowa, in the autumn of 184.j. In 1849, he 
 was married to Plenrietta, youngest daughter of Captain Butler 
 of Wyoming. 
 
 General Henderson often expresses regret that the circumstan- 
 ces of his youth did not permit him more thorough mental train- 
 ing, but his friends recall with pride the fact, that he has never 
 yet been foiuid unequal to any position he has been called upon 
 to fill, or compared unfavorably with the distinguisJied men 
 among whom he has served. The drill imposed upon himself, 
 when, while yet in his teens, he assayed to become a teacher, was 
 doubtless serviceable to him, in familiarizing him with the 
 groundwork of learning, and imparting to him that self-reliance 
 and self-control, so essential to success in life. 
 
 Thus, while still a mere boy, he taught at Centerville in Knox 
 •county, at Cold Brook in Warren county, at the Finley school 
 house in West Jersey township in Stark county, and afterwards 
 ■at the " Prior cabin" and " old brick " in Toulon. 
 
 It must have been during the winter of 1844 and 1845, that his 
 -elder brother, John W. Henderson, engaged to take charge of a 
 school in the "Prior cabin," which school was composed, not on- 
 ly of most of the children, but all the young folks of the neigh- 
 borhood. And it is a matter of amusing reminiscence to those 
 who were young folks then, to recall the uproarious fun that went 
 forward, despite the earnest efforts of J. W. to preserve order and 
 secure attention to study. But when T. J. walked into the school 
 room to complete the unexpired term for his brother, how quiet- 
 ly they yielded to his sway and how naturally order seemed to 
 grow out of chaos under his calm direction. 
 
 These schools were regarded merely as stepping stones over 
 which he must pass to the attainment of what he most desired, 
 -viz : the study of law, and a thorough training for that profession. 
 In easy "chit-chat " with familiar friends. General Henderson is 
 ■still wont to resent the opprobrium of being called an " office 
 seeker" and laughingly says, "no amount of flattery could lead 
 him to conclude that he was ever cut out for a soldier, but he did 
 at one time hope to make himself a good lawyer." However, as 
 he thinks, his way to professional distinction has been hedged up 
 toy many and peculiar obstacles. In other words his ends have 
 been &~haped by a destiny too strong for his control. 
 
 In the first place he was poor, and must in some way earn his 
 daily bread. His many personal friends realized this fact, and 
 
AND ITS PXOXEERS. 275 
 
 seeing in him capabilities for something better than the drudgery 
 of the school room, urged hira to accept an office, hoping thereby 
 to aid him in acquiring a professioij. 
 
 What young man would not be flattered by such manifestations 
 of preference? He was grateful for their suffrages, and accepted 
 the result, but at the same time regretted that pecuniary consid- 
 erations compelled him to do so, rather than pursue his studies, 
 tinder these circumstances he was elected "county commission- 
 ers' clerk" in 1847, and re-elected in 1849, after the office was 
 changed to clerk of the county court. This he held till 1853, 
 when he entered 'upon the practice of his profession, being also 
 master in chancery for Stark county. But he had given good 
 satisfaction in the positions already filled, and was growing in 
 favor with his party, which had in reserve fresh honors for him. 
 So in 1854, he was elected to the state legislature from Peoria 
 and Stark counties, and his record as a legislator, only served to 
 raise him higher and higher in the esteem of his constituents. 
 Accordingly, in 1856, he was elected to the state senate from the 
 eounties of Stark, Knox, Warren, Mercer, Henry and Rock Isl- 
 and, and served for foui* years. 
 
 Mr. Henderson, we believe, was the junior member of that bo- 
 dy during his incumbency, being then but thirty-two years of age, 
 and he served with such men as N. B. Judd, B. C. Cook, W. C. 
 Ooudy, and others of like ilk ; and in this field earned the reputa- 
 tion of being an able debater and skillful parliamentarian, and it 
 was generally conceded that " he did the state some service " in 
 the discussion of important questions, bearing on public interests. 
 Still there are those who seek to brand this man as " a chronic of- 
 fice seeker," and assert that he has almost forced himself upon 
 his party as a candidate, on different occasions, even referring to 
 this very election to the senate as a bit of successful strategy on 
 his part ; so, in the interests of truth and justice, as we have the 
 fact? at hand, we shall give them, believing that after the lapse of 
 so many years it may be interesting to Btark county readers 
 to review them, and that they show this charge to be without 
 foundation, at least in 1856. 
 
 The republican county convention met in Toulon that year, to 
 select delegates to the senatorial convention to be h olden at Ke- 
 wanee. It was organized by selecting Mr. Henderson as its pres- 
 ident. In the coui-se of proceedings before the convention, Mr. 
 €alvin Eastman proposed by a resolution, that the delegates they 
 should choose, be instructed to vote at Kewanee for Mr. Hender- 
 son, and use all honorable means to secure his nomination. Mr. 
 
'276 STARK COUNTY 
 
 Henderson at once responded, in substance, "that if the propo- 
 sition was intended as a compliment, he g-ratefully accepted it as 
 such, but plead his poverty and long cherished desire toenter mort 
 earnestly upon the duties of his profession ; said he had but jusi 
 closed a term of service in the house of representatives, at an ex- 
 pense to himself, and he should absolutely decline a nominatioi] 
 to the senate, if that were tendered him." And although it is s 
 matter of fact that can be placed beyond dispute, that he could 
 have been nominated at Kewanee had he desired it, he steadfastly 
 adhered to his resolution and declined, saying " he must look tc 
 the practiceof his profession, as a support for himself andfamily." 
 
 Judge Pleasants of Rock Island county, very unexpectedly 
 to himself, received the nomination just as the convention hastily 
 adjourned to take the departing train. Mr. Pleasants, however, 
 remained to attend a political meeting, and upon a realization ol 
 his nomination, the thought suggested itself that he was not elig- 
 ible to the office, from the fact that he had not lived in the state 
 the length of time required by law. 
 
 An examination of the constitution in^the office of Judge Howe 
 confirmed his suspicions, and he then published a card stating 
 this fact, and, as he had been president of the convention that so 
 unexpectedly nominated him, he exercised the prerogative of re- 
 questing the same delegates to* meet at Monmouth, in Warren 
 county, and nominate another candidate. The .time being-short, 
 only part of the delegates reached Monmouth ; they agreed on 
 Mr. H. C. Harding of that place, he being in fact the only regu- 
 lar candidate before the Kewanee convention. There being how- 
 ever, strong opposition to Mr. Harding, which had manifested it- 
 self in Kewanee also, the delegates present got into a row, those 
 opposed to him, declaring that no suflicient notice of the meeting 
 had been given, and that even if there had been, the power ol 
 the delegates was exhausted, when the first convention met, nom- 
 inated a candidate, and adjourned sine die! A compromise was 
 finally agreed upon and a new convention called to meet in 
 Galesburg, when, greatly to his surprise, Mr. Henderson was 
 nominated. 
 
 The fact that he was not present either in this or the preceding 
 convention, would indicate that he was not courting the nomina- 
 tion. In reference to it he thus expressed himself in a letter to, a 
 friend. After speaking of the reasons that influenced him to pre- 
 fer professional to political life, he said, " I think my old friends, 
 uncle Johny TurnbuU and Honorable Myrtle G. Brace are respon- 
 sible for my nomination, and I could not decline, as it would no1 
 
AND ITS PIONEEK.S. 277 
 
 do to call a fourth convention, so I really inust accept the situa- 
 tion." And in this spirit he entered the c"-iivass which resulted 
 in his election to the state senate, inaSoG. But General Hender- 
 son has had his defeats as well as his triumphs in political strife, 
 and some brief allusion to both, mugt justly form part of this nar- 
 rative. Of the former the most notable as well as the most pain- 
 ful, because of the misunderstandings, and misrepresentations to 
 which it ^'ave rise, was in connection with the "Lovejoy cam- 
 paign" in'l862 • 
 
 But to understand the circumstances that led to that nomina- 
 tion and its results, we must in some measure recall the history of 
 those dfiys. i 
 
 Gei;ieral Plenderson had, from boyhood, carried the banners and 
 subscribed to the principles of the old whig party, and had. held 
 oflice by its suffrages, still a careful observation of the political 
 horoscope, had made him from the birth of the new party, an ar- 
 dent republican. 
 
 But the time soon came, when it was evident the preservation 
 of the federal union, and the fulfillment of our destinies as a na- 
 tion, must depend upon the cruel arbitrament of war. Then it 
 was suggested to his mind, and to others notless patriotic and de- 
 serving of mention, that parties with their bickerings and divi- 
 sions, should be laid aside, in order that the friends of the union, 
 by a closer affiliatiou, should present an undivided front to its 
 foes. Such a policy seemed to be dictated alike by patriotism, 
 and common sense. 
 
 Accordingly, at the outbreak of hostilities, a mass meeting of 
 the citizens of Stark county was held at the county seat, and this 
 agreement to forswear party for country, was enthusiastically rat- 
 ified, both by democrats and republicans. General Henderson 
 addressed this meeting with more than his usual fervor, urging 
 unity of sentiment and action at the north, as necessary to the 
 pj-eservation of the government, and declaring that whatever 
 o|;hers might do, he should adhere to the agreement— which he 
 did, with undeviating consistency, redeeming every pledge he 
 gave— but unfortunately, others took a different course, and out of 
 tiieir want of fidelity, grew difficulties and complications not an- 
 ticipated, when the agreement was made. 
 
 However, next in the order of events. General Henderson and 
 Benjamin F. Williams, the latter a rising young lawyer of dem- 
 ocratic proclivities, by official arrangement, addressed the peo- 
 ple of each school district, upon the great topics of the day, and 
 it is a matter of fact that there was, throughout the county, a 
 
278 STARK COUNTY 
 
 general acquiescence in the sentiments uttered by these two men; 
 and of history, that their efforts contributed in a great degree to 
 the splendid volunteer contribution of Stark county, to the war. 
 Mr. Henderson had been named in connection with a nomina- 
 tion for congress, prior to these events, and had received a com- 
 plimentary vote from the convention that nominated Judge' Kel- 
 logg in 1860. So when many personal and political friends in 
 Stark and Henry counties, desired him to be a candidate in 1862, 
 he consented, with the proviso, that he must be noifiinated as "a 
 union candidate." But all this was prior to his enlistment in the 
 army. After that, he resigned all thought of political preferment, 
 at least until his term of service should expire, and gave his 
 friends to understand, that he w'as going to the front with his 
 regiment, and should not consent to anything that would inter- 
 fere Avith his duties there. Now we are aware while we pen 
 these lines, how easy it will be for the malignant to brand them 
 with falsehood, but our equanimity will not be disturbed there- 
 by, for "we know whereof we affirm," and truth never fears in- 
 vestigation. 
 
 And it is true that he was the nominee of the convention that 
 met in Princeton, October, 1862 ; a convention composed of repub- 
 licans and democrats, both favoring a union ticket, and it is true 
 that this contest ended in his defeat, and the election of Mr. Love- 
 joy to congress from the fifth district. 
 
 About this time the Emancipation Proclamation was under dis- 
 cussion, much bitterness was evinced, old party animosities and 
 enthusiasms were awakened, and many forgot their recent prom- 
 ises to forego all for the sake of country. So through the weak- 
 ness of friends and the malice of foes. General Henderson was 
 placed in a false light before the conwnunity — as were many good 
 men who supported him ; as indeed, were all patriotic democrats 
 at thai? time. Of all his opponents, though the most interestedj 
 Mr.Lovejoy was the most fair and dispassionate ; even during the 
 heat of the canvass alluding to him courteously, and speaking in 
 commendation of his services in the field. He also met General 
 Henderson with friendly greetings after his return from the war,, 
 and finally wrote a letter to a prominent citizen of Stark county, 
 requesting that the fact that Henderson had been a candidate for 
 office in opposition to him, should not be used to the detriment of 
 that gentleman in the future. Such a man was Owen Lovejoy. 
 Yet so unreasoning is political hatred, that time was, when this 
 man could hardly be heard in Stark county, without apprehension 
 of a mob. 
 
AND ITS PIONEEES. 279 
 
 I 
 
 Another of the defeats of General Henderson, was in the con- 
 test for the nomination to congress, with Mr. E. C. Ingersoll, in 
 1870, but as this struggle involved little beside political strategy^ 
 and that of a most contemptible sort, we conclude failure was a 
 greater compliment than success, and so, in the light of its remo- 
 ter consequences, the friends of General Henderson have come to> 
 regard this matter. But, ere we leave this political redord we 
 must turn the other side of the picture again to the reader's gaz& 
 for a moment, for in 1871, we find President Grant appointed 
 General Henderson United States Collector of internal revenue,, 
 for the fifth collection district of Illinois. This office he held for 
 two years, during which time he collected nine millions of dollars 
 for the government. In 1868, he was chosen one of the presiden- 
 tial electors for the state at large, and in 1874, a member of the 
 44th congress of the United States, for a term of two years, (the ' 
 active duties of which term have not expired,) completing thirty 
 years of public life for General Henderson, and we learn from the- 
 -papers that a recent republican convention convened in Geneseo, 
 has nominated him by acclamation, for re-election in 1876, froni' 
 the sixth congressional district. Thus it would seem his old time 
 popularity has not forsaken him. 
 
 We believe this to be a true but bare outline of his career as a 
 politician up to this present time, and we now wish to review his 
 record as a soldier, beginning with the enlistment in September, 
 1862, and continuing until the cessation of hostilities in 1865. It 
 was well known to his familiar friends, that his convietions of 
 duty urged him into the service, at the first outbreak of the war, 
 biit important business affecting others' interests beside his own, 
 for a time demanded his attention here ; "as soon as that could be 
 arranged, he began his preparations to leave his family and carry 
 out his purpose of volunteering— not, as wq believe, having the 
 least idea of serving as. colonel of a regiment. But as he was re- 
 cruiting a company, his aspirations may have reached a captain- 
 cy ; however, hardly had he started in this work, when he was 
 elected by the proposed officers, colonel of a proposed regiment, 
 which became in course of time known as the 112th regiment of 
 Illinois infantry. That he shrank from the responsibilities 
 this rank entailed, and plead his ignorance of military matters, 
 and his inexperience on the field, there is indisputable evidence, 
 even when Governor Yates was proffering him the appointment, 
 but when elected to the position, he accepted it, and took com- 
 mand of his regiment when it was mustered into service Septem- 
 
280 STAllK COUNTY 
 
 ber 22nd, 1892, and remained vvitli it till the close of the war. lie 
 .served in the campaigns of Georgia and Tennessee In 1864, \s-as 
 severely wounded at the battle of Resaea, May 14th, 18G4, was fa- 
 vored with a short respite in consequence, and upon his return to 
 the field the following July, the 3d brigade, 3()th division, 23d ar- 
 my corps was orgaiiized, and placed under his command, and so 
 continued until the close of the war. 
 
 We here insert a copy of General flenderson's commission, part- 
 ly because, of some unjust criticisms, or rather mendacious re- 
 marks, in reference thereto, but principally because it is our pur- 
 pose that the statement of a fact in this connection shall be veri- 
 fied by official evidence of its truthfulness : 
 
 [official.] 
 
 "To all who shall see these presents, Greeting : — Know ye, that 
 " I do hereby confer on Thomas J. Hendekson, of the Unitetl 
 "States Volunteers in the service of the United States, by and 
 " with the advice and consent of the Senate, the rank of Briga- 
 " dier General, by Brevet, in said service, to rank as such from' 
 " the thirtieth day of November, in the year of our Lord, one 
 " thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, for gallant and merit- 
 " orious service during tlie late campaigns in Georgia and Ten- 
 " nessee, and especially at the battle of Franklin, Tennessee. 
 "(Signed) by the President, Andrew Johnson. 
 
 " Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 
 " Recorded Volume four, page thirteenth. Adjutant General's of- 
 " flee, April 6th, 1865." 
 
 Having continued in -the service until the close of the war. 
 General Henderson was ordered to take command of his regiment 
 and conduct it home, which he did during the summer of 1865, 
 but before leaving the brigade he was the recipient of the follow- 
 ing tribute, v/hich speaks for itself: 
 
 "TKIUL'TE to GENEIIAIJ HENDERSON. 
 
 "At a meeting of the officers of the 17th regiment of Massachu- 
 setts infantry volunteers, of which Lieutenant Colonel Henry 
 Splaine, ^v'as chosen President, and Adjutant J. W. Stuart, Secre- 
 tary, the following resolutions expressive of the feelings of the 
 regiment, on parting with Brevet Brigadier General Thomas J. 
 Henderson, commanding 3d brigade, 3d division, 23d army corps, 
 were unanimously adopted : 
 
AXD ITS MOXEERS. 281 
 
 "Resolved, That in taking this metliod of bidding- farewell to 
 our general, ^\•e are actuated solely by a desire to ^ay something 
 more than could well be said' verbally, for it is sometimes eml^ar- 
 rassing to tell a man to his face what you think of him. Likes 
 and dislikes of men formed by soldiers in the field are always 
 based upon a shrewd estimate of character. 
 
 " Officers who are defended on their ' straps ' alone, for the title 
 of gentleman, seldom deceive even the least observant, into re- 
 *ipect for aught but their military rank ; while those on whom 
 nature has set her insignia of rank, are respected and loved by all, 
 and it is on the shoulders of such men that the ' star' derives ad- 
 ditional lustre from the character of the wearer, and exacts uni- 
 versal, homage. Nature and the government co-operated admira- 
 bly in making a general of Thomas J. Henderson ; for a finer 
 combination of the officer and gentleman, it lias not been our for- 
 tune to be associated with, in three' and a half years service in the 
 field. Although rejoicing that our country no longer needs his 
 services, we part from him in sorrow, and beg to assure him that' 
 we shall carry the remembrance of his manly virtues, the digni- 
 fied urbanity of his deportment, and the unmistakable evidences 
 of his military talent, to our eastern home, and when in years to 
 come, we speak of Sherman and Schofieid, the name of Hender- 
 son cannot be forgotten. 
 
 " Resolved, That a copj- of these resolutions, signed by the of- 
 ficers present, be sent to the general, and that the proceedings 
 of the meeting be sent for publication to the Raleigh Standard. 
 June 11), 1865. - 
 
 (Signed)v PIexky Splaixe, Lieutenant Colonel, 
 
 "And all the officers of the regiment, Greensboro, North Caro- 
 lina." 
 
 The unfounded and virulent 'Attacks made upon the military 
 standing of Goncral Henderson, during the contest with Liger- 
 soll in 1870, called forth many letters from his companions in 
 arms, of which the following from Major General Cox is a sam- 
 ple, and we shall give but the one in conclusion of this part of our 
 sketch : 
 
 " DEPAETJSrEXT OF THE IXTEBIOR. ] 
 
 " Washington, D. C, July 5th, 1870. i 
 "Mv Dear Majok:— Yours of the 29th ultimo is received^ 
 and in reply I am happy to say that there can be but one opinion 
 iimon-' all those who served ^^•ith our friend, T. J. Henderson. A 
 
282 STARK COUNTY 
 
 braver, more intelligent, or conscientious officer of his grade was- 
 Jiot to be found in the army. He distinguished himself wherev- 
 er he served, and the patriotism and disinterestedness of his ser- 
 vice was such as to endear him to all his commanding officers. 
 There is no officer in Illinois, concerning whom disparaging criti- 
 cism could have less foundation, or be more surprising to any 
 who were intimate with the career and the history of her soldiers 
 during the war. Always hopeful, always prompt, always coura- 
 geous, a most loyal subordinate, and a most able and devoted 
 leader, General Henderson's reputation ought to be dear, not our 
 ly to his comrades, but to the people of the state and the country. 
 "In haste, very truly yours, J. D. Cox. 
 
 "Major T. T. Dow, Davenport, Iowa." 
 
 Shortly after his return from the south. General Henderson con- 
 cluded to leave Stark county, and remove to Princeton, Bureau 
 county, thinking the latter afforded a better held for the practice 
 of his profession, to which he was anxious to return. 
 
 A congenial partnership was formed with Mr. Joseph L. Tay- 
 lor of Princeton, which continued until General Henderson en- 
 tered upon the duties of the collector's office, in 1871 ; at the close 
 of his two years' service in this department, he entered into 
 partnership with ]Mr. Harvey M. Trimble, with whom he is still 
 associated in professional business. 
 
 Perhaps it may not be out of place, even in this local publica^ 
 tion to venture on a short summary of the characteristics of a 
 man \\'ho for so many years belonged to Stark county, and has 
 stood thus prominently before the people for more than a quarter 
 of a century. Whence the secret. of his wondrous popularity? 
 For that he has enjoyed, and still enjoys a wondrous pojoularity^ 
 it would be folly to deny. 
 
 His warmest admirers' have never claimed for him any tran- 
 scendent mental gifts, and yet they have never had to blush for 
 him, M'hen standing beside the ablest men of our day. He is 
 not so much the great orator, as the graceful, persuasive speaker, 
 and surely in this direction he has manifested uncommon versa- 
 tility of talent. " Stumping it " through the country as he has 
 done, the cliosen leader of many a political campaign, holding- 
 fbrth perhaps in every school house in the county, responding to 
 patriotic appeals, discussing topics of education and agriculture, 
 making impromptu efforts on festive occasions and at social gath- 
 erings, his war speeches at home and " at the front," professional 
 pleadings, and debates in the halls of legislation, together implj^ 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 285 
 
 a capijicity for work, ami a ready tat't not cojiimon among our ]3uV)- 
 lic men. 
 
 His more important public addresses during times of excite- 
 ment always commanded respectful attention for the candor and 
 truthfulness that pervaded them. Especially is lie courteous ta 
 an opponent, according to all the right to thinlc and act for them- 
 selves, sustaining his own position, or combatting an adversary 
 by reason and argument, I'ather than by passion and invective. 
 After what has been published of the war record of General Hen- 
 derson, perhaps it may seem superfluous to speak farther of his 
 patriotism, or of his self-sacrificing devotion to duty. But being- 
 of southern blood and tJirth, and probablj- at the commencement 
 of hostilities, somewhat tinctured with southern prejudices, he^ 
 must have comprehended at a glance, and felt as few otlier men 
 would feel, the trying positions into M'hich a participation in this 
 unnatural war must inevitably force him. 
 
 But as a loyal citizen of the United States, the path of duty 
 seemed plain, and he resolved to wallt therein, thougJi it led him 
 to carry fire and sword to the land of his fathers, the haunts of 
 his boyhood. 
 
 And strange as it may seem, luindreds know it to ))e true, that 
 the first time his regiment A\'as drawn up in line of battle, was on 
 the banks of Diclis' river, within musket shot of the house where- 
 in his father was born, while all around were • the homes of his 
 kinsmen. Then he was, during his stay in this region, often 
 strangely, J)erhaps painfully im})ressed considering the nature of 
 his visit, by noticing a i"esemblance (real or fancied) in persons 
 whom he met, to various members of his father's family, and in 
 turn was often mistaken himself for two other officers, to whom 
 he must have borne a singular likeness, and he could not doubt 
 but in the veins of many of these people ran blood in some way 
 kindred to his own. 
 
 Therefore he must have experienced a sense of relief when the 
 exigencies of the service called him to other localities. This reg- 
 iment, the 112th Illinois volunteers, always stood well in the es- 
 timation of other commands; it was, often denominated "the 
 model regiment," undoubtedly the good sense and firmness of it& 
 officers saved it from marauding as many others did, when upon 
 southern soil, and held it to the legitimate work of civilized war- 
 fare — if there can be such a thing. 
 
 To tell Stark county readers that the integrity of the charapter 
 under consideration has stood unquestioned through so many 
 years of public life, political and military, is but asserting what is- 
 
284 STAB-K COUNTY 
 
 too well Understood to require utterance. Yet, in these 'day.s of 
 unearthing political corruption, and the fallintf of so many pub- 
 lic men from their high estates, by reason of their " sharp practi- 
 ■ces," to call their proceedings by no harsher name, it is pleasant 
 to know there is here and there a man who has never betrayed a 
 trust, broken a pledge or forgotten a friend, however humble that 
 'friend may have been. 
 
 To dwell upon such lives does\is good ; it helps our faith in hu- 
 manity, and heals any tendency to misanthrophy tliat may have 
 been , stealing over us, in view of the terrible exposures with 
 which the press has teemed of late. 
 
 Does or does not the character we are considering, come up to 
 this standard ? Let those who know him best decide. We have 
 tried to set him before our readers as he really is, a brave and 
 generous man, a patriotic citizen, a good soldier, an upright poli- 
 tician, a pleasant and impressive, speaker ; and yet other men 
 have combined all these advantages, and not won the warm re- 
 gard that has crowned General Henderson with hoiior. Whence 
 then, the secret of this power ? We ask again : idoes it not lie in 
 his unvarying courtesy, or kindliness, call it which you will, 
 which never by any inischance forgets to do a kindness to the 
 humblest as well as to the most distinguished of his acquaintan- 
 ces ? But with one of his own characteristic remarks we shall 
 close this sketch. When a friend was congratulating him upon 
 his late election to congress, he replied : "In connection with the 
 matter, one thought will always awaken regret, I shall not rep- 
 resent Little Stark." 
 
 THE M'C'LEXNAirAX FA^iIILY. 
 
 Among our iirst settlers in point of time, and second to but few 
 in numbers or importance, the McClennahans merit a fuller no- 
 tice on these pages than it is in our power to give thenu 
 
 They belonged to that resolute class of men known so properly 
 as pioneers ; that is,-4hose who go first and remove obstructions 
 from the path, so that others may the more easily follow after. 
 And the present generation, who sit in the shade of thetreesthey 
 planted and eat of the fruit thereof; who till the broad acres and 
 reap the rich harvests their fathers' enterprise won for them 
 
AXD ITS PIONEERS. 28rt 
 
 should at least remember with something akin to gratitude, the 
 men who rifle in hand penetrated the wilderness, blazed the first 
 trees, turned the first furrows, and by the strong hand held sava- 
 ges and wild beasts at bay. 
 
 Major McClennahan, as he wai^ usually called (though by what 
 authority we are not advised), made his way from the old Domin- 
 ion, tarrying for a -time in Kentucky, reaching this region prior 
 to the Black Hawk war. He had a family of ten sons and daugh- 
 ters, all of whom came with him or followed soon after, and thus 
 became citizens of Stark county. 
 
 This is but little over forty years ago, and yet if we are correct- 
 ly informed, not one of this original group is left within our bor- 
 ders. From a lady of the third generation, a grand-daughter of 
 the major's, we thankfully gather the few facts attainable, with 
 regard to the settlement here and their subsequent fate. 
 
 They sought the protection of a fort for the women and chil- 
 dren of the family, during the excitement caused by Black Hawk's 
 raids in the spring of 1832. Whether the fort was the one built 
 near the present home of Josiah Moffltt, spoken of by Mr. Winn 
 and many other old settlers, or whether they fled farther south to- 
 ward Peoria or Springfield, as many did, we are not informed. 
 But the men of the family soon returned, held and improved 
 their claims, lying along' Indian and Walnut creeks, and prepared 
 for a permanent settlement. 
 
 Henry, eldest son of the major did not come west until 1834, 
 when the Indian diificulties were settled ; after passing a few 
 months in a cabin built by Peter Miner, at or near the present 
 town of Wyoming, he entered land in what is now Goshen town- 
 ship, on Walnut creek, the Indians then being his only neiglibors. 
 The other children of Major McClennahan, all of whom will be 
 well remembered by old settlers, were, named in the order of 
 their ages, Mrs. Jane Barnett, (wife of Ephraim Barnett) Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Richards, Mrs. Ann Worley, Mrs. Sarah Holden,. 
 .lames, Robert and Elijah McClennahan, Mrs. Maria Colwell, 
 and Mrs. Jemima Drummond. The last named lady has attrac- 
 ted a large share of attention and sympathy among our people, 
 on account of her singular and painful domestic history. She, 
 still lives at Oquawka, Illinois. Henry died at his home in Go- 
 shen township, near twenty years ago. Ephraim Barnett and his 
 wife long, since emigrated to Oregon where they have since both 
 died. 
 
 Robert and James, and if we mistake not. Dr. and Mrs. Rich- 
 ards, embraced the views of the Mormon preachers who visited 
 
28G STABK COUNTY 
 
 this region during the infancy of tlieir sect, and went, first to 
 Nauvoo, and afterwards followed the fortunes of the saints to 
 Salt Lake, from whence the brothers at least, have gone " to the 
 other side," to test the realities of their faith. 
 
 Elijah, the youngest brother still survives, and is a citizen of 
 the state of Iowa. He was a member of the first Christian church v 
 of Toulon, has been twice married, his first wife being a Stark 
 ■county woman, a daughter of Conrad Emery. Ey both wives he 
 has had large families, so that in the aggregate, his descendants 
 are very numerous, some twenty-five children still survive as we 
 are informed. So the name of McClennahan is not likely soon to- 
 fade away from among men, although Stark county has lost its 
 hold upon it in great measure. The name indicates an Irish ori- 
 gin, but how long transplanted to our shores no one seems to 
 know. The fandily were whigs in the old time, and adherents of 
 Colonel W. H. Henderson, and the old frame structure, so long 
 the major's homestead, was famous as a political rendezvous, in 
 the early history of Stark county. In faith, the majority of the 
 family embraced the views of Alexander Campbell, during the 
 ■early days of that so-called "reformation," and so far as known to 
 the writer, the present generation generally endorse those views of 
 the sacred scriptures. 
 
 THE ESSEX FAMILY. 
 
 Isaac B. Essex being the first white man who made a home up- 
 on our soil, has already been mentioned, and the circumstances 
 of his coming noted. Still, as he was but the forerunner of a 
 large group of kinsmen who speedily followed him hither, we 
 feel it is proper to advert to the family in this connection, and 
 give some additional facts concerning them. 
 
 Thomas Essex, senior, was born January 13th, 1771, in the "old 
 Dominion," and Elizabeth his wife in 1773, reaching back liirther 
 into the last century than any lives we have yet recorded, both of 
 them ante dating the Independence of the United States. 
 
 We regret our information is so meager concerning their early- 
 life. They were married in the /fetate of Virginia (we suppose), 
 on EavSter Sunday, 1791, and livecl, together almost sixty-two 
 yearSj both of them dying in 1853, at tfie house of their son-in- 
 
AND ITS PIOXEERS. 287 
 
 law, David Cooper, oo section ten, Essex township. Mrs. Essex 
 "was a devout christian woman, died very suddenly January 26th, 
 and Mr. Essex slowly and painfullv, from cancer in the face. May 
 15th. 
 
 To these parents were born eleven children, two of whom died 
 in infancy, the remaining nine living to a good old age in the en- 
 joyment of unusual health. 
 
 In 1832, this fatlier and mother followed their son, Isaac B., in- 
 to what has since been called, in their honor the Essex settle- 
 ment ; now Essex township. With them came four sons, and 
 one daughter and her husband ; a man well remembered by the 
 pioneers — David Cooper. 
 
 Other sons must soon have followed, as at least six have been 
 at one time or other residents here. Of these the eldest surviv- 
 ing, is Isaac B., who states that he has reached the seventy-sixth 
 year of his life, as he was born in January, 1800. He now resides 
 at Dongola, Union county, Illinois, and if we can judge from the 
 interesting letter he writes, is enjoying "a green old age." The 
 two brothers older than himself have passed away ; those young- 
 er are all living so far as he knows, biit "scattered far and wide." 
 David is in California, William near Henderson in Knox county, 
 Thomas in Peoria county, while Joseph, John, and Mrs. Cooper 
 still remain within the confines of little Stark. These men ap- 
 pear, from what we can learn of them, to have been good order 
 loving citizens, democrats in politics ; Methodists in faith, their 
 parents were prominent in all matters pertaining to that church 
 at a very early day. 
 
 Isaac B., however, we conclude, was known as a "Henderson 
 man," prior to the formation of Stark county, and as very proba- 
 ble his brothers were also, as at that time, local matters, more 
 than party feelings divided the people. This gentleman is now 
 a Baptist by religious profession, and a republican in politics, if 
 we are correctly informed. 
 
 Since the foregoing notice was penned, Joseph Essex has left 
 us forever. He was stricken by paralysis, in the early part of 
 this centennial year, and never recovered from the shock. His 
 grand-daughter, Mrs. Sarah Reynolds, in an obituary notice, re- 
 calls the facts to mind, that he was one of the first to move into 
 the newly laid out town of Toulon, where he made hia home for 
 19 years, and had the pioneer blacksmith's shop in that place. 
 
 He was twice married and leaves a widow and eight children. 
 His second wife was a Miss Sarah Grass, a name well remember- 
 ed among the old settlers. 
 
28S STARK OOtTNTV 
 
 CONCLUJ^IOX TO PART SECOND. 
 
 In concluding these sketches and reminiscences of Stark eoim- 
 ty pioneers, we have not forgotten a group of names in, and 
 around our village of Toulon, of which no particular mention has 
 been made. Some of these were county men long before they 
 were Toulon men. Of this class are Minott Silliman, Oliver 
 Whitaker, William Ogle, John Fiuley, Calvin M. and Stephen 
 W. Eastmans; and Joseph Perry and William Mahany lately 
 deceased ; the last named gentleman being one of the very first 
 settlers on Indian creek, of Spoon river. Now we sincerely wish 
 it might be permitted us to put on record a fortunate lineor word, 
 even, that in the years to come, should serve to awaken some 
 pleasant memory of these old friends, when they perchance shall 
 all "be gathered to their fathers," that we might add some tiny 
 sprig or leaflet of our own, to the wreath of evergreen remem- 
 brance, that should encircle their names, here, where, their life 
 work has been done. 
 
 But how shall we hope to do this ? We might tell our read- 
 ers of the time and place of their birth, of the stock from which 
 they sprung, of the date of their emigration hither, &c., &c. But 
 behold, are not these things all told on the pages of our Stark 
 county Atlas? and, as our work can hope for jio wider circulation, 
 it seems unnecessary to repeat such particulars upon these pages. 
 
 And although such facts have a value of their own, and for ma- 
 ny reason should be matters of record, yet how unsatisfactory 
 they often are in calling to mind the image of a friend. 
 
 Their very literalness and naked truthfulness sometimes jar up- 
 on the ear and shock our sensibilities. One reminiscence of a 
 characteristic remark or tin:ely deed of kindness, will often more 
 effectually and more pleasantly recall the individual to mind than 
 all these dry bones of liistory. heaped together. 
 
 The recollection that " when I was a stranger they took me in, 
 sick and they visited me, in want and they ministered to my ne- 
 cessities," is the J>est biography one can claim. And yet, we can 
 
AXn IT« PIONEERS. 289~ 
 
 hardly commit tlicse things to the printed page ; but we are led to 
 believe that somewhere in the realms of 5)rovidence a "book of re- 
 membrance " is kept, where such deeds are unerringly placed to 
 the credit side of human accounts, and there we feel sure some of 
 the names we have barely mentioned have a full record. But, to 
 speak more iiarticidarly of [Poulon matters. In the beginning of 
 the year 1870 it was our good fortune to hear Dr. Chamberlain 
 make one of his characteristic responses to a toast given at an an- 
 niversary supper in Toulon. The sentiment led toward reminis- 
 cence, and for a short time it seemed the flood gates of memory 
 were lifted and the current flowed forth full and deep, and spar- 
 kled as it ran. ^Nlany things were said which will not soon be 
 forgotten by those \Ahoso recollection encircles those days. But 
 when he said (in substance) " that there were but four men left in 
 Toulon then (three beside himself) that were men when he came 
 here in,]845," we thought for a moment he must be mistaken, but 
 due consideration established the fact that ]Mr. Whitaker, Mr. Tur- 
 ner, Dr. Chamberlain and Dr. Hall are all that remain to us of the 
 residents of our town who had attained to manhood thirty-one years 
 ago. Of Dr. Hall sufficient has been said in the sketch of his fam- 
 ily. Of Dr. Chamberlain very much might be written of interest 
 to his many q,cquaintances, but as his excessive modesty has prob- 
 ably prevented him from favoring us with any facts upon which 
 to base a sketch, we reluctantly leave him with this passing notice. 
 
 lih: and ^Irs. Turner, together with the parents of Mrs. Turner, 
 IMr. and Mrs. jNEcWilliams, moved into Toulon in October, 1841, 
 and built the first house here after tlie town was located — Mr. 
 John ]Miller, the former o^\-ner of the land, being the only resi- 
 dent up to the time of ]SIr. Turner's settlement. ]Mr. Turner has 
 resided here continuously during this thirty-live years, and has ev- 
 er taken an active part in all town affkirs. He has been recog- 
 nized as an unflinching democrat through all the ups and downs 
 his party has known during this long period, and supports Tilden 
 in 1870 as enthusiastically as he did Van Buren in 1830, and so 
 carefully has he read the newspapers, and studied the politics of 
 the country during that time, as to have made himself a sort of 
 living encyclopedia of political stastistics and general information. 
 He has held many local positions of trust and importance. Was 
 chosen county treasurer in 1819, and again in 1851, and has more 
 recently filled the same otHce for another term as deputy for Mr. 
 Brady Fowler. He was also virtually our first recorder, B. M. 
 Jackson making him his deputy for that office in 1839. 
 19 
 
290 STARK COUNTY 
 
 But Mr. Turner is best known as- a veteran post master, having 
 been appointed to that position before the close of Tyler's admin- 
 istration, and continued in it through the terras of Polk and Pierce, 
 and again under Buchanan, reaching into Lincoln's term for a 
 short time, but was then superseded by Mr. Whitaker, only to be 
 recalled under Andrew Johnson, making something more than 
 sixteen years he has presided over the destinies of the Toulon 
 post office. Of iate he has interested himself in educational mat- 
 ters, having been for years an active member of our school board, 
 and although a difference of opinion may prevail with regard to 
 the wisdon of his course at some times, as is always the case res- 
 pecting public service of whatever kind, yet it must be admitted 
 that Mr. Turner has ideas of his own which he has consistently 
 maintained, and which embrace a strict economy in the expendi- 
 ture of the public funds, and the development and employment 
 of home talent in the schools, whenever that is available. 
 
 Pie is a native of Kent county, in the State of Delaware, where 
 his ancestors have abided for generations, but has resided so long 
 at the west, as to become fully imbued with its spirit. Mr. Tur- 
 ner is a natural " teetotaller," never that he is aware of having 
 tasted ardent spirits in his life ; he understands making friends, 
 and the rarer art of keeping them, so has no lack of these in his 
 old age. But in the midst of plenty, and with pleasant surround- 
 ings, descends the western slope more leisurely than the average 
 of men. 
 
 Oliver Whitaker, the last of our pioneers in county or tovv;n 
 that we shall make mention of in this connection, was born as 
 our oracle, the Atlas declares, April 12th, 1807, near Owego, Tio- 
 ga county. New York. His maternal ancestors were from Hol- 
 land, his paternal of New England lineage. 
 
 And it further correctly states that at the time of the massacre 
 at Wyoming, his grandmother and several of her childreainclu- 
 ding his mother, were carried captive by the Indians into Cana- 
 da; his grandfather's life being saved by his absence from 
 home at the time this transpired. No tidings reached him from 
 his lost family for four long years, when peace being declared, 
 they were allowed to return, and lived again at Wysox, in the 
 beautiful valley of the Susquehanna. Mr. Whitaker's mother 
 followed her sons to Illinois, in 1850, having then attained her 
 eightieth year. 
 
 She passed the evening of her life in their society, and went 
 calmly to her rest in 1852. His father, however, had died when 
 Oliver was but a.boy of twelve— in 1819, and after\\-ards as he 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 291 
 
 gratefully expresses it, he was indebted for a father's care and 
 counsel to his half brother, Hewes White, his mother's son by a 
 former marriage. 
 
 This gentleman and his exemplary wife will be well remem- 
 bered by many of our readers, as they were residents of Stark 
 county for near forty years, and two-thirds of that time of Tou- 
 lon. ■ Mr. Whitaker is certainly rather remarkable for the fideli- 
 ty with which he treasures the recollection of "favors past." 
 Things soon forgotten by the average man. His mother and his 
 brother were alike in humble circumstances, and many of his 
 youthful days must have passed in labors uncongenial to his 
 taste, and he enjoyed but few educational advantages ; the best he 
 says were derived from his position as clerk and accountant in a 
 village store ; there he acquired the ready penmanship, and busi- 
 ness capacity that aided in making him the first clerk of Stark 
 county, and keeping him in similar positions, so long that the 
 disaffected began to " wonder if Whitaker thought he had a di- 
 vine right to eletkships." 
 
 In 1835 he married Catharine Brodhead, and two years later, 
 emigrated to what is now Stark county, and commenced farm- 
 ing on the north-west quarter, section eleven, Elmira township. 
 But his appointment to the oflSce of circuit clerk in 1843, induced 
 him to give up farming and remove to the county seat, where he 
 has ever since resided. Eight of his family of nine children are 
 natives of Stark, but as with one exception, they are all working 
 out their destiny much as recorded in the prior sketch, before al- 
 luded to, we will not repeat the details. 
 
 But one, we had almost said the fairest and dearest, has faded 
 away. In that quaint old town of San Antonio, she A^ithered 
 like a "crushed rose," (her meet emblem) pining for " one whifif 
 of our northern breezes," and one more look at her dear northern 
 home. Thus died Mrs. Henry, once Delphine Whitater, third 
 daughter of Mr. and :Mrs. Oliver Whitaker, December 19th, 1875. 
 She was a Toulon girl, born and bred, lovely in person, attrac- 
 tive in manners, and possessing a voice of j-are power and sweet- 
 ness, which, carefully cultivated as it was, made her a charming 
 vocalist. 
 
 Loved by all who knew her, she was in ipusical circles, special- 
 ly admired. She went out from among us singing, full of life 
 and animation. She was returned to us by the hand of aflfection, 
 but silent, cold and dead. Now her last wish is gratified, sh& 
 sleeps with her kindred, where the wild flowers of her native 
 
292 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 state may bloom above her grave, and the bi'eezes that she loved, 
 visit her tmrestrained. ' 
 
 — Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker still remain active members of society. 
 Mr. Whitaker has been an odd-fellow ever since the establish- 
 ment of the order in Stark, and always a consistent temperance 
 man. His interest in schemes for the public good, seems to in- 
 crease with every added year. At the organization of the coun- 
 ty, and for many years after, he ranked as a democrat, but in th^ 
 great defection from that party of 185G, he crossed the line and 
 has ever since been a decided republican. 
 
 Of his faith, religiously speaking, perhaps it were better to say 
 nothing, especially where nothing is surely known. Weconclude 
 however, that the rationalistic views of his elder brother, colored 
 his opinions to some extent. But he has ever set the valuable 
 example of treating all the institutions of Christianity Avith pro- 
 found respect, and we are inclined to endorse Pope's sentiment, 
 "He can't be wrong, whose life is in the right." 
 
 But we are glad that Stark county people are not dependent on 
 our poor attempts alone for their impressions of these old settlers. 
 They are all known more or less generally, and our readers 
 can judge for themselves of the justice of the portraiture. 
 
 We see the imperfections in our work perhaps as clearly as any 
 of our critics, only we known better than they, the circumstan- 
 ces that have produced some of them at least. 
 
 Of many of these characters we should have written more ful- 
 ly, but, they are our friends and neighbors, we may shake hand* 
 with them any day, and do not wish to place ourselves where 
 we may be even suspected of flattery— any more than charged ' 
 with injustice. And though striking lessons might be drawn 
 from some of them, teaching the young the value of noble aims 
 and steady purposes in life, we forbear, and close the record!: 
 here. Only adding that if it is among the possibilities of the fu- 
 ture, tliat another edition of this work should ever be called for, 
 we trust an assured patronage may justify us in embellishing it 
 with good steel engravings of the faces of our pioneers. 
 
AND ITS PIONEEKS. 
 
 293 
 
 APPE NPIX 
 
 ELECTION RETURNS FOR STARK COUNTY. 
 
 August 5, 1839. 
 
 County commissi oners. 
 
 Calvin Winslow, w 120 
 
 Jonathan Hod^eson, d...224 
 
 William Ogle, d 116 
 
 Calvin Powell, w 10 
 
 Stephen Trickle, d 114 
 
 County clerk. 
 
 Oliver Whitaker, d 98 
 
 Adam Perry, w 31 
 
 RohertMcClennahan, w.. 85 
 
 County treasurer. 
 
 Minott Silliman, d 150 
 
 Enoch Cox, w 71 
 
 County surveyor, 
 
 Joseph C. Avery 72 
 
 J. W. Agard, d 2 
 
 Charles H. Miner, w 73 
 
 Carson Berfleld ,d 76 
 
 Probate judge. 
 
 John Miller, d 169 
 
 Augustus Richards, w... 37 
 
 Hecorrler. , 
 
 Jesse Heath, d 109 
 
 B. M. Jackson, d 114 
 
 August 3, 1840. 
 
 County commissioner. 
 
 William Ogle, d 184 
 
 Stephen Trickle, d 104 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 John Finley, d 166 
 
 Samuel Butler, w...- 130 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 Adam Day, d 178 
 
 Moses Boardman, d 24 
 
 James Holgate, d 29 
 
 B. Essex, d 4 
 
 Representative. 
 
 Elisha Swan, d 163 
 
 W. H. Henderson, w 139 
 
 November 2, 1840. 
 
 President, 
 
 W. H. Harrison, w 187 
 
 Martin VanBuren, d 154 
 
 April 19, 1841. 
 
 Countv seat. 
 
 For location 202 
 
 Against location 65 
 
 August 2, 1841. 
 
 Congress. 
 
 James H. Ralston, d 146 
 
 John T. Stuart, w 130 
 
 County commissioner. ^ 
 
 Brady Fowler, d 138 
 
 W. W. Webster, w 124 
 
 Calvin Winslow, w 6 
 
 School commissioner. 
 
 Samuel Camp, d 73 
 
 Benjamin Turner, d 65 
 
 Charles H. Miner, w 122 
 
294 
 
 STABK COUNTY 
 
 August 1, 1842. 
 
 Oovernor. 
 
 Thomas Ford, d 189 
 
 Joseph Duncan, w .152 
 
 lieutenant-governor. 
 
 John Moore, d 183 
 
 W. H. Henderson, w 133 
 
 state senator. 
 
 Wm. H.Thompson, d...l73 
 Charles Ballance, w 154 
 
 Representative. 
 
 B. M. Jackson, d 188 
 
 Henry Breese, w 155 
 
 Cyrus Langworthy 119 
 
 Constitutional convention. 
 
 For convention 288 
 
 Against convention 27 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 John Finley, d 220 
 
 Lewis Perry, w 105 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 Adam Day, d 180 
 
 Liberty Stone, w 106 
 
 County commissioner. 
 
 Jonathan Hodgeson, d...l40 
 Scattering 2 
 
 October 31, 1842. 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 .John Finley, d 86 
 
 J. K.McClennalian, w... 4 
 
 August 7, 1843. 
 
 Congress. 
 
 J. p. Hoge, d 166 
 
 Cyrus Walker, w 180 
 
 Matthew Chambers, 13 
 
 School commissioner. 
 
 Charles H. Miner, w 176 
 
 Wm. F. Thomas, d 155 
 
 Probate justice. 
 
 Jonatlian Hodgeson, d...l64 
 Thomas Hall, d 139 
 
 County commissioner. 
 
 Lemuel S. Dorrance, W..187 
 Joseph Palmer, d 170 
 
 County clei'k. 
 
 Oliver Whitaker, d 185 
 
 Jesse Heath, d 165 
 
 Becorder. 
 
 J. W. Henderson, w 195 
 
 Benjamin Turner, d 161 
 
 Treasiirer. 
 
 MinottSilliman, d 302 
 
 Sylvester Schofleld 6 
 
 Surveyor. 
 
 Carson Berfleld,d 258 
 
 Charles H. Miner, w 33 
 
 August 5, 1844. 
 
 Congress. 
 
 Joseph P. Hoge, d 215 
 
 Martin B. Sweet, w 178 
 
 John Crass, a 33 
 
 County commissioner. 
 
 Joseph Palmer, d 200 
 
 Harry Hays, w 189 
 
 Hugh Rhodes, a.. 27 
 
 Representative, Bureau, Peoria and Stark. 
 
 B. M. Jackson, d 226 
 
 C. H. Miner, w 144 
 
 W. W. Webster, a 31 
 
 Bureau and Stark. 
 
 Benj. L. Smith, d 203 
 
 Harvey Hadley, w 173 
 
 Lazarus Reeves, a 6 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 John W. Henderson, W..201 
 
 John Finley, d 198 
 
 W. W. Winslow, a 29 
 
 Cproner, 
 
 John Miller, d .- 193 
 
 M. S. Hubbard, w 183 
 
 Liberty Stone, a 28 
 
 November 4, 1844. 
 
 President. 
 
 J. K.Polk, d 206 
 
 Henry Clay, w 187 
 
 Jas. G. Birney,' a 83 
 
 August 4, 1845. 
 
 County commissioner. 
 
 Jefferson Trickle, d 145 
 
 W. W. Webster, a 28 
 
 School commissioner. 
 
 James B. Lewis, d 172 
 
 C. M. Garfield, d 29 
 
 Hugh Rhodes, a 17 
 
 August 3, 1846. 
 
 Governor. 
 
 Augustus C. French, d...217 
 Thos. M. Kilpatrick, W..205 
 Richard Eelte, a 59 
 
 Heutrgovernor. 
 
 J.B.Wells, d 218 
 
 N. G. Wilcox, w 204 
 
 Abraiii Smith, a 59 
 
 Conarress. 
 
 Thomas J. Turner, d......220 
 
 James Knox, w 207 
 
 Wait Talcott, a ; 57 
 
AND ITS PIONEEES. 
 
 295 
 
 Senator. 
 
 JPeter Sweet, (1 2l4 
 
 L. B. Knowlton. w 390 
 
 Moses Pettingill, g. 58 
 
 Representiitive, l^ireaii, Peoria ami Stark. 
 
 Thomas Epperson, d 210 
 
 E. E. Thompson, w 207 
 
 Albert G. Portef, a 58 
 
 Bftrean and Stark. 
 
 Samuel Thosnas, d....' 184 
 
 Theodore F. Hurd, w 227 
 
 Augustus A. Dunn, a 60 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 J. W. Henderson, w 264 
 
 Benjamin Turner, d 173 
 
 Henry J. Rhodes, a 32 
 
 Commissioner. 
 
 James Holgate, d 222 
 
 Myrtle G. Brace, y 207 
 
 Giles C. Dana, a 50 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 Philip Anschutcs, d 217 
 
 E. M. Garfield, d 192 
 
 Liberty Stone, a 62 
 
 April, 1847. 
 
 , Delegates to coiiHtitutional convention. 
 
 B. M. Jackson, d 154 
 
 George H. Shaw, 11 
 
 Henry D. Palmer, 92 
 
 Hugh Rhodes, a 23 
 
 August 2, 1847. 
 
 County cmnmiHSioner. 
 
 Thomas Lvle, d 213 
 
 H. R. Halsey, w 200 
 
 W. W. Webster, a 19 
 
 t'minty clerk. 
 
 T. J. Henderson, w 231 
 
 .Jas. B. Lewis, d 212 
 
 Recorder. 
 
 Sam'l G. Butler, w 223 
 
 John Berfield, d 203 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 MinottSilliman,d 223 
 
 John Miller, d 173 
 
 Joseph Blanchard, a 49 
 
 Probate jndg;e. 
 
 S. W. Eastman, d 182 
 
 Thomas Hall, d 138 
 
 Harvey J. Rhodes, a 49 
 
 Surveyor. 
 
 Carson Berfield, d 316 
 
 Wm. Buswell, a 40 
 
 School commissioner. 
 
 James B. Lewis, d ^i8 
 
 Samuel G. Wright, a 87 
 
 March G, 1848. 
 
 Xew constitutiun. 
 
 For 233 
 
 Against 84 
 
 Article on colored persons. 
 
 For 148 
 
 Against 135 
 
 Two mill tax. 
 
 For 250 
 
 Against 54 
 
 August 7, 1848. 
 
 Governor. 
 
 Augustus C. French, d...246 
 
 J. L. D. Morrison, w 36 
 
 Charles V. Dyer, a 57 
 
 Lieutenant-governor. 
 
 Wm. MeMurtry, d 243 
 
 Pierre Menard 36 
 
 Henry H. Snow 56 
 
 Si.'cretary of state. 
 
 Horace C. Coriey,d 241 
 
 L. C. Payne Freer 55 
 
 -Lavi Davi.s 31 
 
 Auditor. 
 
 Benj. E. Vail 54 
 
 Milton Carpenter, d 243 
 
 Enoch Moore 81 
 
 '""'.Joseph B. Wells, d 224 
 
 E. D. Baker, w 22(i 
 
 Joseph Call, f. w 39 
 
 State senator. , 
 
 R. H. Spicer, d 229 
 
 John Denny, w 216 
 
 .Joseph Jackman, f. s 37 
 
 Heprescntalive. 
 
 Lemuel Andrews, d 216 
 
 Wm. Bailey, w 223 
 
 Harvey J. Rhodes, a 40 
 
 County commisKioner. 
 
 Theo. 1^. Hurd, m- 239 
 
 Milton Atherton, d 211 
 
 W. W.Webster, a 34 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 .John Finley, d 231 
 
 C. M. S. Lyon, w...' 225 
 
 Giles C. Dana, a 24 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 Wm. Chamberlain,' w... 220 
 
 .John A. AVilliams, d 186 
 
 Liberty Stone, a 35 
 
296 
 
 STARK COUNTY 
 
 September 4, 1848. 
 
 Supremo judge. 
 
 John D. Caton, d 200 
 
 Jesse B. Thomas, w 55 
 
 Clerk ot supremo coiirt. 
 
 Lorenzo Leland, w 206 
 
 John M. Mitchell, d 14 
 
 Judge of circuit court. 
 
 Benj. F. Fridley, d 133 
 
 Theoplius L. Dickey, W..130 
 Onslow Peters, d 10 
 
 states attorney. 
 
 Burton 0. Cook, d 179 
 
 Edward S. Holbrook, d.. 38 
 
 Circuit clerk. 
 
 Oliver Whitaker, d 199 
 
 Jefferson Winn , d 49 
 
 N. W. Rhodes, w 12 
 
 November?, 1848. 
 
 President. 
 
 Taylor, w 214 
 
 Cass,d 174 
 
 Van Buren, f. s 84 
 
 December 23-, 1848. 
 
 Ilepresentative. 
 
 John Henderson, w •»218 
 
 Barnabas. Jackson, d 130 
 
 April 14, 1849. 
 
 Probate justice, to till vacaucy. 
 
 Harvey J. Rhodes, a 105 
 
 Philip J. Anschutes, d... 19 
 Jonathan Hodgeson, d... 45 
 
 Adding township li-d. ' 
 
 For 172 
 
 Against 7 
 
 Adding SJ^ of 14-5. 
 
 For : 154 
 
 Against 10 
 
 November 6, 1849. 
 
 County judge. 
 
 James Holgate, d 266 
 
 Harvey J. Rhodes, a 127 
 
 Additional justice. 
 
 .James B. Lewis, d 231 
 
 William Ogle, d 238 
 
 Herrick R. Halsey, W...189 
 Henry Breese, m* 157 
 
 (!'ounty clerk. 
 
 T. .J. Henderson, w 245 
 
 Edward K. Wilson, d...l78 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Benj. Turner, d 2)9 
 
 Saniuel G. Butler, w 194 
 
 Surveyor. 
 
 Carson Berfleld, d 325 
 
 James Egbert, d 25 
 
 School commissioner; 
 
 Samuel G. Wright, a 199 
 
 M. Shallenberger, d 189 
 
 Township organization. 
 
 For 163. 
 
 Against 163 
 
 January 14, 1850. 
 
 Circuit judge. 
 
 Onslow Peters, d 193 
 
 William Kellogg, w 131 
 
 states attorney. 
 
 Aaron Tyler, jr 1-56 
 
 Lewis W. Ross 115 
 
 Harmon G. Reynolds.... 46 
 John T. Lindsay 3 
 
 November 5, 1850. 
 
 Statp treasurer. • 
 
 John Moore 160 
 
 Ebenezer Fuller 23 
 
 Congress. 
 
 Thompson Campbell 157 
 
 Martin P. Sweet 123 
 
 Represeiltative. 
 
 James M.Allan, w 122 
 
 W. W. Drummond, d....l37 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 Wm.F. Thomas, d. ...... .142 
 
 Stephen G. Worley, W...129 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 Minott Silliman, d 166 
 
 Hiram Nance, w 100 
 
 November 4. 1851. 
 
 Bank law. 
 
 For .172 
 
 Against 118 
 
 state senator. 
 
 Samuel Webster, w 161 
 
 Reuben H. Spicer, d 154 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Benj. Turner, d 264 
 
 6 others 13 
 
 Surveyor. 
 
 Carson Berfleld, d 256 
 
 8 others ., 11 
 
 Scliool commissioner. 
 
 Sam'l G. Wright, a 152 
 
 T. J. Henderspn, w 26 
 
 G. A. Clifford, w 30 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 
 
 297 
 
 November 2, 1852. 
 
 Pierce, d 350 
 
 Scott, w 336 
 
 Hale, f. s 82 
 
 Ciuvrrnor. 
 
 .Joel A. Mattison, d 357 
 
 Edwin B. Webb, w 838 
 
 D. A. Kaowlton, f. s 73 
 
 Lieutenant-gdvenior. 
 
 Gustavus Koerner, d 356 
 
 Jas. L. D. Morrison, W..338 
 Philo Carpenter, f . s 73 
 
 Secrctiiry of state. 
 
 Alexander Starne, d.' 356 
 
 Buckner S. Morris, W....337 
 Erastus Wright, f . s 72 
 
 An4itor. 
 
 - Thos. II. Campbell, d....356 
 Charles Betts, w -339 
 
 E. J. Smith,f. s 71 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 John Moore, d 357 
 
 Francis Arenz, w 343 
 
 Moses Pettingill, f. s..... 53 
 
 Stiite senate. 
 
 Benj. Graham, d 358 
 
 Samuel Webster, w 337 
 
 Geo. A. Clifford, f. s 64 
 
 Lcgialatiire. 
 
 Wm. Marshall, jr, d 358 
 
 James M. Allan, w 384 
 
 'Lewis W. Ross, d 361 
 
 James Knox, w 338 
 
 L. W. Curtis, f.s 71 
 
 Judge of cii"Ciiit court. 
 
 H. M. Wead, d .'.862 
 
 H. O. Merriman, w 318 
 
 Elisha N. Powell, w 59 
 
 states attorney. 
 
 E. G. .Johnson, d 418 
 
 Geo. W. Stipp, w 340 
 
 Slierifr, 
 
 Clinton Fuller, w 359 
 
 .John Berfleld, d ' 856 
 
 Joseph. Blanchard, f. s... 49 
 
 Circuit clerli. 
 
 Milton Eckley, w 269 
 
 / Jefferson Winn, d 298 
 
 Oliver Whitaker, i 192 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 Ebenezer Fuller, d 330 
 
 David McCance, d 369 
 
 Amos Ilodgeson , d 52 
 
 A,s<iociatp jurlge of probate court. 
 
 JohnF. Thompson, d....355 
 Herrick li. Halsey, w ...834 
 Harvey J. Rhode's, a 65 
 
 March 14, 1853. 
 
 Circuit Judge. 
 
 Onslow Peters, d 175 
 
 Elihu N. Powell, w 45 
 
 Jonathan K. Cooper, w. 69 
 
 August 18, 1853. 
 
 Railroad subscriptioji. 
 
 For 584 
 
 Against 141 
 
 November 8, 1858. 
 
 County .iudge. 
 
 James HLolgate, d 237 
 
 Herrick R. Halsey, W...236 
 Harvey J. Rhodes, a 9 
 
 County clerk. 
 
 "Milton AVarren, d 24() 
 
 Miles A. Fuller, w 268 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Benj. Turner, d 24(> 
 
 Davis Lowman, w 255 
 
 Surveyar. 
 
 Sylvester F. Otman, d...264 
 James Perry, w 237 
 
 School commissioner. 
 
 S, G. Wright, a 21S 
 
 Lucius E. Miner, w 119 
 
 April 4, 1854. 
 
 To^v^^hi.l^ organization. 
 
 For 389 
 
 Against 104 
 
 November, 18.54. 
 
 Congress. 
 
 William MeMurtry, d...213 
 James Knox, w 390 
 
 Senate. 
 
 John Moore, d 2,33 
 
 James Miller, w 272 
 
 Kepresentative. 
 
 Henry Grove, w 347 
 
 T. J. Heiiderson, w .395 
 
 Wra. S. Moss, d 182 
 
 Alexander Moncrief, d..237 
 
 Sherijr. 
 
 David MeCance, d 24S 
 
 Joseph Blanchard, w 327 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 MinottSilliman, d 251 
 
 Luther S. Milliken, W...34S 
 
298 
 
 STARK COUXTY 
 
 June 4, 1855. 
 
 Act to suppress intemperance. 
 
 For 428 
 
 Against 359 
 
 Supreme Judge. 
 
 John Dean Caton, cl, 749 
 
 E. S. Lelaud, w 29 
 
 Clerk of supreme court. 
 
 Lorenzo Leland, w 425 
 
 Circuit judge. 
 
 Onslow Peters, d ..421 
 
 Elihu N. Powell, w 334 
 
 November 6, 1855. 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Davis Lowman, w 237 
 
 Mathew B. Parks, d 136 
 
 Surveyor. 
 
 Sylvester F. Otman, f. s.285 
 James C. Egbert, d 63 
 
 School commissioner. 
 
 R. C. Dunn, a 381 
 
 C. M. S. Lyon, w 67 
 
 April 1, 1856. 
 
 Circuit judge. 
 
 .Jacob Gale, d 372 
 
 Scattering 98 
 
 November 4, 1850. 
 
 President. 
 
 Buchanan, d 353 
 
 Fremont, r 718 
 
 Filmore, Am 152 
 
 Governor. 
 
 Wm. A. Richardson, d...352 
 
 Wm. H. Bissell, r 747 
 
 Buckner S. Morris, Am. 128 
 
 Lieutenant-governor. 
 
 R. J. Hamilton, d 350 
 
 John Wood, r 749 
 
 Parmenas Bond, Am 128 
 
 Secretary of state. 
 
 Wm. H. Snyder, d 357 
 
 OziasM. Hatch, r 744 
 
 Wm. H. Young, Am 128 
 
 Auditor. 
 
 Samuel K. Casey, d 350 
 
 Jesse K. Dubois, r ....744 
 
 :State treasurer. 
 
 John More, d 357 
 
 James Miller, r 870 
 
 Superintendent of ptiblic institution. 
 
 J. *H. 8. Mathews, d 355 
 
 Wm. H. Powell, r 744 
 
 Ezra Jenkins, Am 128 
 
 Congress. 
 
 James W. Davidson, d..46S 
 Wm. Kellogg, r 757 
 
 state senate. 
 
 John Dickson, d 436- 
 
 T.J. Henderson, r 767 
 
 Representative. 
 
 Wm. S. Moss, d 339' 
 
 M. Shallenberger, d 458 
 
 .John T. Lindsay, r 747 
 
 Calvin L. Eastman, r 726- 
 
 Circuit judge, 
 
 Elihu N. Powell, r 786 
 
 Amos Merriman, d 80 
 
 states attorney. 
 
 ^ Joseph W. Parker, d 466 
 
 Alexander McCoy, r 760' 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 William Lowman, d 588 
 
 Henry Breese, r 615 
 
 f'ount.v clerk. 
 
 Jefferson Winn, r 807 
 
 Milton Dwire, d 406 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 Benj. Hilliard 742 
 
 John R. Atherton, r 472 
 
 Constitutional convention. 
 
 For 1008 
 
 Against 133: 
 
 November 3, 1857. 
 
 County judge. 
 
 James Holgate, d 264 
 
 JohnPinley, r 396 
 
 C. W. Young, Am 78 
 
 County clerk. 
 
 Warham Mordoff, d 190- 
 
 Miles A. Jfuller, r 479 
 
 Jas. G. Armstrong Am.. 72 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 William Lowman, d 275 
 
 Davis Lowman, r 370 
 
 Nathan Snare, Am 97 
 
 S<;hool commissioner. 
 
 R. C. Dunn, r 424 
 
 James Ferguson, Am.... 74 
 Charles Myers, d 229 
 
 Surveytu-. 
 
 Sylvester F. Otman, r...404 
 
 John H. Anthony, d 238 
 
 B. F. Puller, Am 94 
 
 November 2, 1858. 
 
 state treasurer. 
 
 James Miller, r 93.5 
 
 Wm. F. Fondey, d .589 
 
 John Dougherty, d 2 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 
 
 299 
 
 Superintendent public instruction. 
 
 Newton Bateman, r 933 
 
 Augustus C. French, d...688 
 John Reynolds, d 2 
 
 Congress. 
 
 Wm. Kellogg, r 929 
 
 James W. Davidson, d...584 
 Jacob Gale, d 8 
 
 Representatives. 
 
 Thomas C. Moore, r 930 
 
 Myrtle Gr. Brace, r 930 
 
 Jacob Jamison, d 585 
 
 Ebon C. Ingersoll, d 583 
 
 Mathew McEeynolds, d. 6 
 Wash. Corrington, d 4 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 Oliver P. Emery, r 543' 
 
 Mark Blanchard, d 511 
 
 Benj. F. Fuller, i 468 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 Benj. L. Hllliard, r 930 
 
 Henry M. Hall, d 588 
 
 November 1, 1859. 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Wm. Lowman, d 445 
 
 Hugh Rhodes, r .....466 
 
 Surveyor. 
 
 8.F. Otman, r 485 
 
 J. H. Anthony, d 425 
 
 Scliool commissioner. 
 
 R. C. Dunn,r; 511 
 
 Wm. H. Butler, d 401 
 
 November 6, 1860. 
 
 Constitutional convention. 
 
 For 1481 
 
 Against 59 
 
 President. 
 
 Lincoln, r 1164 
 
 Douglas, d 6.59 
 
 Bell 23 
 
 Governor. ' 
 
 James C. Allen, d 671 
 
 Richard Yates, r 1167 
 
 Wm. Brown 8 
 
 Lieutenant-governor. 
 
 Lewis W. Ross, d 673 
 
 F. A. Hoffman, r 1164 
 
 H.C.Blackburn:. 8 
 
 Secretary state. 
 
 Geo. H. Campbell, d.... 673 
 Ozias M. Hatch, r 1172 
 
 Auditor. 
 
 Bernard Artzen, d 673 
 
 Jesse K. Dubbis. r 1172 
 
 state treasurer. 
 
 Hugh Maher, d 673 
 
 Wm. Butler, r 1172 
 
 Superintendent public institution. 
 
 Edward R. Roe, d 673: 
 
 Newton Bateman, r......ll72 
 
 ;resB 
 
 B. G. Ingersoll, d 672 
 
 Wm. Kellogg, r 1174 
 
 state senate. 
 
 Albert C. Mason, d 673- 
 
 Thos. J. Pickett, r 1172 
 
 Eepresentative, 
 
 John T. Lindsay, d 669 
 
 Jacob Jamison, d 671 
 
 E. S. Johnson, r 1172 
 
 Theodore Hurd, r 117S 
 
 states attorney. 
 
 Henry B. Hopkins, d... 674 
 Alexander McCoy, r....ll70 
 
 Circuit clerk. 
 
 Theo. A. Foreman, d... 698 
 P. M. Blair, r.. 1128 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 Ephraim Markley. d... 710 
 Elisha Greenfield, r 1123 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 Henry M. Hall, d 680 
 
 Jerome B. Thomas, r...ll60' 
 
 June 3, 1861. 
 
 Circuit jiirlge. 
 
 Elihu N. Powell, r 21» 
 
 Amos L. Merriman, d.. Ill 
 
 Clerk of supreme court. 
 
 Lorenzo Leiand, r 180 
 
 David L. Hough, d 141 
 
 November 5, 1861. 
 
 Bank law, specie basis. 
 
 For 7 
 
 Against 566 
 
 Delegiite to constitutional convention. 
 
 Thos. J. Henderson, r.. 476 
 
 .Julius Manning, d 153 
 
 Norman Purple, d 73 
 
 County judge. 
 
 David McCance, d 534 
 
 John Finley, r 19- 
 
 County clerk. 
 
 Miles A. Fuller, r. 525 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 William Lowman, d.... 546- 
 
 School couimissioner. 
 
 Charles Myers, d 260 
 
 N. F. Atkins, r 814 
 
800 
 
 STARK COUNTY 
 
 Mirveyor. 
 
 William Nowlaii, d 505 
 
 James C. Egbert, r 53 
 
 June 17, 1862. 
 
 Jfew constitution. 
 
 For 485 
 
 Against 993 
 
 Article on bank, &c.. 
 
 For 529 
 
 Against 916 
 
 Section one, Negroes, 
 
 For 715 
 
 Against 693 
 
 ^Section two, Negroes. 
 
 For 1382 
 
 Against 39 
 
 S ection three, Negroes. 
 
 For 1072 
 
 Against 237 
 
 •Congressional apportionment. 
 
 P'or 482 
 
 Against 955 
 
 November 4, 1862. 
 
 .state treasurer. 
 
 Wm. Butler, r 801 
 
 Alexander Starne, d 566 
 
 Superintendent public instruction. 
 
 Newton Bateman, r 801 
 
 John P. Brooks, d 665 
 
 Congress at large. 
 
 E. C. Ingersoll, r 815 
 
 James C. Allen, d 544 
 
 C ongi'css. 
 
 Owen Lovejoy, r 564 
 
 T. J. Henderson, u 763 
 
 Benj. Graham, d 28 
 
 ,State senate. 
 
 Mark Bangs, r 794 
 
 John T. Lindsay, d > 564 
 
 Representatives. 
 
 Enoch Emery, r 777 
 
 Calvin l]. Eastman, r... 796 
 
 Wm. W. O'Brien, d 545 
 
 James Holgate, d 590 
 
 .Slieriff. 
 
 B. Frank Fuller, r 703 
 
 Thos. W. Ross, d 650 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 Jeffrey A. Cooley, r 743 
 
 Theo. Bacmeister, d.... 682 
 
 November 3, 1863. 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 C. M.S. Lyon, r 695 
 
 B. J. Dikenson, d 206 
 
 Sux'veyoi". 
 
 Henry Oliver, r 693 
 
 John H. Anthony, d..,. 208 
 
 School comniissiuner. 
 
 N. F.Atkins, r 697 
 
 ' Robert S. Barr, d... 210 
 
 November 17, 1863,- 
 
 Circuit judge. 
 
 M. Shallenberger, d...... 443 
 
 M. Williamson, r 887 
 
 November 8, 1864. 
 
 President. 
 
 Geo. B. McClellan, d... 613 
 A. Lincoln, r., 1174 
 
 Goveniur. 
 
 James C. Robinson, d.. 614 
 R. J. Oglesby, r 1174 
 
 Lieutenant-governor. 
 
 S. Corning Judd, d 614 
 
 Wm. Bross, r 1173 
 
 Socj-etary htate. 
 
 Wm. A. Turney, d 614 
 
 Sharon Tyndale, r 1174 
 
 Auditor. 
 
 John Hise, d 614 
 
 O. H. Miner, r 1174 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Alexander Starne, d 614 
 
 J. H. Beveridge, r 1174 
 
 Superintendent pul^lic instruction. 
 
 John P. Brooks, d 614 
 
 Newton Bateman, r 1174 
 
 Congress at large. 
 
 James C. Allen, d 614 
 
 Samuel W. Moulton, r..H74. 
 
 Congress. 
 
 James S. Eckles, d 613 
 
 E. C. Ingersoll, r ,.1174 
 
 Kepresentative. 
 
 Wm. Rounseville, d 613 
 
 Jacob Jamison, di 612 
 
 Alex. McCoy, r 1173 
 
 R. C. Dunn, r 1170 
 
 states attorney. 
 
 Geo. E. Ford, d 611 
 
 Chas. P. Taggart, r 1174 
 
 SheriiT. 
 
 James Nowlan, d 614 
 
 John M. Brown, r 1169 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 
 
 301 
 
 Circuit clerk. ' 
 
 Chair. Myers, d 609 
 
 P.M. Blair, r 1179 
 
 Ourniter, 
 
 H. M.Hall, d G14 
 
 John F. Rhodes, r 1170 
 
 May 7, 1864. 
 
 Congr("-s. 
 
 E. C. IngersoU, r 871 
 
 Hezekiah M. Wead, d.. 40-5 
 
 June 6, 1864. 
 
 Supreme judge. 
 
 Chas. B. LawrencJe, r... iSH 
 Scattering 14 
 
 November 7, 1865. 
 
 Cuunty juclge. 
 
 Hugh Rhodes, r 358 
 
 Cuniitv clerk. 
 
 M. A. Fuller, r 363 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 B. J. Dickinson, r 366 
 
 Superintendent schools. 
 
 B. G. HaH, r 360 
 
 Suvvevor. 
 
 Edwin Butler, r 370 
 
 November 0. 1866. 
 
 ^•^la^e treasurer. 
 
 Geo. W. Smith, r 1293 
 
 Jesse J. Philips, d 585 
 
 Superintendent public instruction. 
 
 Newton Bateman, r 1294 
 
 J. M. Grebs,d 585 
 
 tlitngress at large. 
 
 John A. Logan, r 1292 
 
 T. L. Dickey, d 585 
 
 Congrciss. 
 
 E. C. IngersoU, r 1280 
 
 Silas Ramsey, d...., 585 
 
 state senate. 
 
 G. L. Fort, r 1292 
 
 W. E;Cook, d 585 
 
 Representative. 
 
 ' S. F. Otman, r 1289 
 
 Thos.C. Moore, r 1291 
 
 Wm. T. Dowdall, d 584 
 
 J. M.Rogers, d 585 
 
 Sherifl. 
 
 Jesse Likens, r 1277 
 
 Cyrus N. Anthony, d... 590 
 
 Corom-i-. 
 
 John Finley, r 1292 
 
 David Fast, jr., d 579 
 
 June 3, 1867. 
 
 clerk of ^ul'll■t■me court. 
 
 W. M. Taylor, r 575 
 
 S. J. McPadden, d 8- 
 
 Circuit .iiidge. 
 
 S. D. Puterbaugh, r 437 
 
 H. 31. Wead, d 20» 
 
 .7. K. Cooper, i 21 
 
 November 5, 1807. 
 
 Keeping up stock. 
 
 For 605 
 
 / Against 401 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 R. J. Dickinson, r 765- 
 
 Patrick Nowlan, d 327 
 
 Surveyor. 
 
 Edwin Butler, r..... 658 
 
 John H. Anthony, d.... 328. 
 
 November 3, 1868. 
 
 Presiilent. 
 
 Seymour, d 705 
 
 Grant, r 1394 
 
 Cuvernor. 
 
 John R. Eden, d 719' 
 
 John M. Palmer, r 1381 
 
 Lieutenant-governor. 
 
 Wm. H. VanEpps, d... 717 
 .John Dougherty, r 1381 
 
 Secretary tjf state. 
 
 G. Van Horebeke, d.... 713 
 Edward Rummel, r 1384 
 
 Auditor. 
 
 John R. Shannon, d 716 
 
 Chas; E. Lippincott, r ..1377 
 
 state treasui'er. 
 
 Jesse J. Phillips, d 716 
 
 Erastus N. Bates, r 1382 
 
 Attijiiii-y-genera). 
 
 Robt. E. Williams, d... 716 
 Wash. Bushnell, r 1381 
 
 Penite^ntiarv coramiasioners. 
 
 J. W. Connet, d 716 
 
 W. M. Garrard, d 716 
 
 Calneh Zarley, d 716 
 
 Andrew Shuman, r 1382 
 
 John Reid, r 1382 
 
 Robert E. Logan, r 1383 
 
302 
 
 STAEK COUNTY 
 
 Oongress at lari^-c. 
 
 W. W. O'Brien, cl 715 
 
 John A. Logan, r 1382 
 
 OongresB. 
 
 John N. Niglas, d 717 
 
 E. C. Ingersoll,r 1351 
 
 Samuel Dorr, t 3 
 
 Board of Rqualization. 
 
 William French, cl 715 
 
 ElaH. Clapp, r 1380 
 
 ^Constitutional convention. 
 
 For...... 582 
 
 Against 664 
 
 states attorney. 
 
 J. W. Cochran, d 720 
 
 Chai^ P. Taggart, r...,../1361 
 
 IBepreaentative. 
 
 Patrick Nowlan, d 738 
 
 Henry Truitt, d 731 
 
 B. F. Thompson, r 1352 
 
 W. E.Phelps, r 1360 
 
 <!lircuit clerk. 
 
 \Vm. Lowman, d 768 
 
 John M. Brown, r 1302 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 C. P. Jackson, d 726 
 
 S. M. Adams, r 1365 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 Wm Bradley, d 716 
 
 Thomas Hall, r 137G 
 
 Novejnber 2, 1869. 
 
 Constitutional convention. 
 
 Henry N. Wells, r, 703 
 
 M. A. Fuller, r 723 
 
 Henry Grove, d ''60 
 
 jNI. Shallenberger, d 274 
 
 County judge. 
 
 Hugh Rhodes, r 699 
 
 James Snare, i 273 
 
 County clerk. 
 
 "Oliver Whitaker, r 737 
 
 Thos. J. Wright, d 234 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 K. J. Dickinson, r.. ..;... 706 
 Benj. A. Newton, i 254 
 
 'Superintendent scIuxiIk. 
 
 B. G. Hall, r 081 
 
 John W. Agard, d 280 
 
 Surveyor. 
 
 Edwin Butler, r 702 
 
 J. H. Anthony, d 268 
 
 July 2, 1870. 
 
 New conatitutjon. 
 
 For 609^ 
 
 Against 65 
 
 November 8, 1870. 
 
 State treasurer. 
 
 E. N. Bates, r 768 
 
 Chas. Ridgly, d 494 
 
 R. J. Hammond, t S 
 
 Penitentiary comini.-isioners. 
 
 Elmer Washburn, r 767 
 
 Casper Butz, r 767 
 
 Frank T. Sherman, d... 494 
 
 Thomas Redman, d 493 
 
 J. F. Simson, t 3 
 
 .Joseph Smith, t 3 
 
 Superintendent of public instruction. 
 
 Carl Peinse, d 495 
 
 Newton Bateman, r 762 
 
 D. Wilkins, t 3 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 S. M. Adams, r 665 
 
 E.B. Lyon,'d..' 581 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 P. P. Johnson, r 490 
 
 James Culbertson, i 406 
 
 Madison Winn, d 348 
 
 ^ state s-'nate. 
 
 Lucien H. Kerr, r 691 
 
 Mark Bangs, r 766 
 
 J. W. Cochran, d 514 
 
 W. E. Cook, d 494 
 
 Lucien E. Kerr, error... 49 
 
 Representative. 
 
 M. A. Puller, r 759 
 
 James M. Rogers, d..,.. 496 
 
 Congress at lai-ge. 
 
 John A. Logan, r 763 
 
 Wm. B. Anderson, d... 495 
 J. W. Nicholson , t 3 
 
 Cong-ress. 
 
 E. C. Ingersoll, r 547 
 
 B. N. Stevens, d 586 
 
 F. B. Ives,t ; 63 
 
 November 7, 1871. 
 
 Ccngres'f at larjje. 
 
 Jolin L. Beveridge, r.... 640 
 Samuel 8. Hays, d 343 
 
 Surveyor. 
 
 Edv in Butler, r 615 
 
 John Anthony, d 351 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 
 
 303 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 R. J. Dickinson, r 489 
 
 Geo. Nicholas, cl 486 
 
 Alex. Hepperly, i 5 
 
 November 5, 1872. 
 
 Presitlent. 
 
 Grant, r 1218 
 
 Greeley, 1. r 606 
 
 C'Connor, d 6 
 
 Governor. 
 
 R. J. Oglesby, r 1217 
 
 Gustavus Koerner, 1. r.. 665 
 Sidney Brfeese, d 5 
 
 Lieutenant-governor. 
 
 J. L. Beveridge, r 1221 
 
 Charles Black, 1. d 663 
 
 S.B.Allen 6 
 
 B. S.Storrs, d 5 
 
 'Secrctai-y of state. 
 
 Geo. H. Harlow, r 1218 
 
 Edward Rummel, 1. r.. 664 
 
 J. W. Wallace 7 
 
 Ethan Sutton, d 5 
 
 Auditor. 
 
 C. E. Llppencott, r 1192 
 
 Daniel O'Harra, 1. d 670 
 
 O. E. Burch 6 
 
 C. H. Weitman, d 3 
 
 state treasurer. 
 
 Edward Rutz, r 1220 
 
 C. H. Lanphier, 1 664 
 
 Geo. Dietrich 7 
 
 Henry West, d 4 
 
 Attorney-general. 
 
 Jas K. Edsall, r 1219 
 
 John V. Eustace, 1. d... 663 
 
 John O. Robinson 7 
 
 Geo. A. Meach, d 4 
 
 Board of eq.ualization. 
 
 Rufus W. Miles, r 1222 
 
 Sam'lP. Marshall, 1. d.. 669 
 
 Clerk of supreme court. 
 
 Cairo D. Trimble, r 1223 
 
 Eli Smith, 1 664 
 
 J. K. Malburn, d 5 
 
 Congress. 
 
 N.E.Worthington,l.r.. 677 
 
 Granville Barrere, r 1210 
 
 J. H. Nicholas, d 4 
 
 state senate. 
 
 L. B. Whiting, r 1213 
 
 Milo Kendall, 1 668 
 
 Representative. ' , 
 
 Cyrus Bocoek, r 1864 
 
 .Joab R. Mulvane, r.... 1834V 
 M. R. Dewey, 1. r 1946^- 
 
 Circuit clerli. 
 
 J. M. Brown, r 1144 
 
 H. J. Cosgrove, 1. r 697 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 S. M. Adams, r 1138 
 
 E. B. Lyon, 1. d 746 
 
 States attorney. 
 
 J. H. Miller, r 1156 
 
 P. M.Blair, 1. r 697 
 
 Coroner. 
 
 p. p. Johnson, r 1165 
 
 W. T. Hall, 1. r... 662 
 
 James Culbertson,i 43 
 
 June 3, 1873. 
 
 Circuit .judge. 
 
 Henry B. Hopkins, r.... 420 
 J. W. Cochran, a.m.d.... 273 
 Henry W. Wells, i 76 
 
 Supreme judge. 
 
 C. B. Lawrence, r 470 
 
 A. M. Craig, a.m.d 299 
 
 November 4, 1873. 
 
 County judge. 
 
 W. W.Wright, r 762 
 
 D. Lowman, a.in.r 688 
 
 County cleric. - 
 
 Dq,vid Walker, r -.. 787 
 
 J. Armstrong, a.m.r 659 
 
 Coiiuty treasurer. 
 
 Orlando Brace, r 733 
 
 G.W.Nicholas, a.m.d... 709 
 
 County superintendent schools. 
 
 Alonzo Abbot, r 786 
 
 E. H.Phelps, a.m 635 
 
 November 3, 1874. 
 
 state treasurer. 
 
 T. S. Ridgway, r 779 
 
 David Gore, a.m.d 571 
 
 state superintendent schools. 
 
 Wm. B. Powell r 795 
 
 8. M. Etter, a.m.r 653 
 
 Cungross. 
 
 R. H. Whiting, r 711 
 
 L. P. Ross, a.'m.cL 630 
 
 state senate. 
 
 L. D. Whiting, r 773 
 
 J. Benedict, a.m 574 
 
 Kepresentative. 
 
 A. G. Hammond, r 1298 
 
'80i 
 
 STARK COUXTY 
 
 Jonas H. Moore, r 987 
 
 Davis Lowman, a.m.r... 907 
 J. J. Herron,a.ni.cl 816 
 
 Sheriff. 
 
 S. M. Adams, r 863 
 
 A. A. Gingrich, a.m. d... 481 
 
 Coroiipr. 
 
 W. H. Butler, r 801 
 
 S. Grimshaw, a.m.r 540 
 
 November 2, 1875. 
 
 County h'Gasiirer. 
 
 Orlando Brace, r 493; 
 
 W. K. Fuller, I. r 4o7 
 
 County surveyor. 
 
 ' Edwin Butler, r 501 
 
 .lohn H.Ogle, 1. d 437 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL VOTE. 
 
 1840. 
 
 Harrison, w 187 
 
 Van Buren, d 154 
 
 1844. 
 
 Polk,d 206 
 
 Clay,w 187 
 
 Birney, a 33 
 
 1848. 
 
 Taylor, w 214 
 
 CasSjd 174 
 
 Van Buren, f.s 84 
 
 , - 1852. 
 
 Pierce, d 350 
 
 Scott, w 336 
 
 Hale, f. s 82 
 
 1856. 
 
 Buchanan, d 353 
 
 Fremont, r 71S 
 
 Fillmore, Am 152 
 
 1860. 
 
 Lincoln, r 1164 
 
 Douglas, d 659 
 
 Breckinridge, d 1 
 
 Bell, Am 23 
 
 1864. 
 
 Lincoln, r 1174 
 
 McClellan,d 613 
 
 1868. , 
 
 Grant, r 1394 
 
 Seymour, d 705 
 
 1872. 
 
 Grant, r 1218 
 
 Greeley, 1 006 
 
AND ITS nOXEEliS. SOS-' 
 
 SOLBIEBS' I^ECOHD. 
 
 SEYEXTII INFANTRY. 
 
 COMPANY 15. 
 
 Captain — T-Tugh J. C'opgrovc, Stark county, enlisted IMarch 7, 1865. 
 First Ijieutenant — George H. Martin, Toulon, March 7, '65. 
 Sergeant — An(ire\v Nelson, Goshen, February, '06. Isaiah V. 
 
 Bates, Toulon, February, '05. ' 
 
 Corporal — Alexander Headley, Toulon, February, '05. Henry 
 
 Stautfer, Toulon, February, '65. 
 
 Privates — Enlisted February 1805 — .Jacob Bogard, OUverBoggSr 
 Patrick Philben (deserted), Henry H. Witcher, William Zumwalt, 
 Penn; "Willis Burgess, Henry H. Ballentine, Silas Chappel, Thos. 
 Dawson, .John Dawson, Henry Duckworth, John L. Foulk, Wm. 
 W. Isenbei'g, .James Ij. Jarman, George H. Martin (promoted), 
 John Otto, Franklin Pratt, John Rouse, Henry Rouse, Mason 
 iStauffer, William Shipley, Edward H. Trickle, Toulon ; Thomas 
 H. Crowe, John Garvin, John Martin (died at Louisville, June 
 21, 1865), Timothy Ratcliff, Stephen Timmons, Jotham K. Tay- 
 lor (promoted), David White, Benjamin Witter, Jasper Graves, 
 Essex. 
 
 FOURTEENTH RE-ORGANISED. 
 
 Company C— Privates— Enlisted February, 1866— Michael Ca- 
 sey, Thomas Doyle (deserted), James Maloney (deserted), Frank 
 Williamson, Goshen. Co. E. — Thos. J.Marshall (deserted), John 
 Norris (deserted), Gcshen. Company G. — Livingston Sharrach, 
 "West Jersey. Company H. — Corporal Samuel A. Patten, Goshen. 
 
 20 
 
800 STAKK C'OtTXTY 
 
 NINETEENTH INFANTRY. 
 co:mpaxv u. 
 
 t'aptain— Clias. Stewart, O.scoola, enlisted July 30, 1861. Resigned 
 July 15, ISH'I. Alexandei- Murcliison, jr., Elinira. Promoted 
 July 15, 18G2. 
 JFirst Eieiitenant— Stephen W. Hill, Elmira, July .30, 1801. Re- 
 signed November 29, 1801. A. 'xander :Murchison, jr., Elmira, 
 November 30, LSfil. Promored. William Jackson, Elmira, 
 July 16, 1862. 
 Second Eieutenant— Alex. Murcliison, jr., Elmira, July 30, 1861. 
 Promoted. \Vm. Jackson, Elmira, November 30, 1861. Pro- 
 moted. John H. Hunter, Elmira, July 1.5, 18(i2. Died January 
 9, 1863. John T. '■ hornton, Elmira, January 9, 1«63. 
 First Sergeant— Joh; S. Pashley, Elmira, June, 1861. Promoted. 
 Sergeants^William .iai^kson, Elmira, June 17,186]. Promoted. 
 John H. Flunter, p]lniira, June 17, '61. Promoted. James G. 
 Boardman, Elmira, June 17, '61. James IMontooth, Modena, 
 June 17, '61. Discharged for disability, 3Iarch 13, '62. 
 Corporals — James Jackson, Elmira, June, '61. Promoted. Killed 
 near Dalton, Ga., Pel). 23, 'p-1. Charles H. Brace, Elmira, June, 
 '61. Promoted. Disttharged for disability. Robert A. Turn- 
 bull, Elmira, June, '61. Promoted. Joseph Blanchard, Elmi- 
 ra, June, '61. Reduced. John G. Lamper, Stark comity, June, 
 '61. Discharged for disability. Thomas Robinson, Elmira, 
 June, '61. Promoted; discharged Feb. '63; wounded. John T. 
 Thornton, Elmira, June, '61. Promoted. George B. Hutchin- 
 son, Osceola, June, '61. Discharged Nov. '62; disability. 
 jMLusicians — Isaiah V. Bates, Toulon, June, '61. Isaac M.Spencer, 
 
 Osceola, June, '61. 
 AVagoner — John Douglass, Stark county, June, '61. 
 
 Privates — Enlisted June, 1861 — James Atherton, John Q. Ad- 
 ams (promoted), I>avid W. Aldrich (discharged), David Allen, 
 Frederick P. Bloom, .John Bonrk (dishonorably discharged), 
 Charles Blackwell (wounded; died at Chattanooga October 14th, 
 '63), Henry Burrows, (died at Louisville, April 9, '62), Lemuel D. 
 Bullis, (discharged March, '63), Walter Clark, (transferrel to Ve- 
 teran Reserve Corps), James Ciimamon (promoted), Julius A. 
 Case, William A. Cade, DaF.uest Chamberlain (promoted), Leon- 
 ard C. Dravvyer, Henry Drury, Chester P. Harsh, (corporal, died 
 at Murfreesborough, .'Lpril 11, '63), William Ingles, (died at Nash- 
 ville, October 31, '62j, Edward M. Jordan, (sergeant, died at 
 Chattanooga, October 5, '63), John L. Kennedy, (promoted), Rob- 
 ert T. Scott, Thomas TurnbuU, (dischargedfor wounds', Henry B. 
 Worth, (pr*moted), Elmira. John Blackburn, (discharged for 
 disability), Geo. Dugan, (discharged for wounds), Philip S. Galley, 
 (transferred to V. R. C., January 25, '64), Springer Galley, (pro- 
 moted;, William .Johnson, Wm. H. Newcomer, (discharged for dis- 
 ability), George H. Stone, Toulon. Isaac Banister, (discharged 
 for disability), Plenry F. Davison, (discharged), Osceola. Aaron 
 T. Courier, (discharged for disability), Owen Carlin, (died at Nash- 
 ville, Oct. 31, '62), Francis Crowden, Geo. Crowden, (discharged for 
 disability), Jason G. Duncan, (do;, AVilliam Douglas, Edward 
 
AND ITS PIONEEEH. 307 
 
 Ervin, (wounded at Dalton, Ga., February, '(>!), Adam G. Fell, 
 (discharged to re-enlist), William H. Fleiuming, (discharged for 
 disability), Charles Greenfield (wounded and discharged), lieuben 
 Gardiner (discharged, disability), Wesley Hall, James Hnckins, 
 Alfred S. Huririent (disability), Ernold Kempion, Isaac Kenyon, 
 (killed at Stone River) Alonzo Luce, Charles N. Leason, (killed at 
 Stone Biver, December 31, '62), John M. Lamper, James Merril, 
 Samuel Montooth, Joseph C. Meigs, Daniel J. Moon, Comfort 
 Morgan, Columbus IMorgan, (died at Murfreesboro, January 7,' 
 '03 ; wounds), Cornelius Morgan, (died at Pilot Knob, Missouri,, 
 September 15, '(il,) George Miller, John McSherry, William N. 
 Nelson, Joseph N. Park, George N. Ryerson, (killed at Stone riv- 
 er, January 2, '63), George P. Richer, (ireorge T. Sharrer, (wound- 
 ed at Stone river, December 31, '62), Ileni-y C. ShuU, (discharged 
 July 8, '()2), John O. Spaulding, Elijah N.'Terwilliger (Comjjanjr 
 D), Albert Terwilliger (Cojaipany 1).), Amos Vinson (V. R. C.), 
 Lewis W^illiams, John Webber, Edwin ]). Way, (discharged for 
 disahility, July, '62), James O. Imes (killed at Stone River, Dec. 
 31, 'G2i, Stark County. 
 
 Recruits — Urban Coon, August, '01, Lewis Corsan, June, '61, 
 (discharged for disability, Seitteiiiher, '61), Asa Clark, September,, 
 '(il, (discharged to re-enlist), George Comstock, July, '61, (died at 
 Louisville, October, 2!), '61 1, l^eonard D. Henderson, June, '61, 
 Willard Jordan, November, '61, (killed at Chiekamauga, Septem- 
 ber 20, '63), Madison Linsley, June, '(51, (missing), Joseph M. Leo,- 
 ,cox, September, '62, (^'■. B. ('.), John IMfConchie, September, '62, 
 James G. Turnbull, September, '{)2, (transferred H. Q. 14tli A. C. ) 
 Stark County. Adrian Coon, August, '(il, i deserted), Frank Hor- 
 rigan, June,' '61, (killed at Pulaski, Tennessee, May 2, '02), Wil- 
 liam Imes, October, '61, (killed at Reynold's Station, August 27, 
 '62), John Imes, June, '61, Martin Imes (i)romo:ed), Elmira. Ro- 
 bert Fell, September, '(i2, (discharged to re-enlist^ Thomas W. 
 Oziah, July, '(il, (transferred to H. Q. 14tli A. C), Fred H. Whit- 
 aker, June, '61, Toulon. David Jackson, September, '62, (trans- 
 ferred tall. Q. llth A. C.i, Osceola. 
 
 COMPANY' C— KECEUITS. ^ 
 
 James Atherton, Elmira, .June, '61, (discharged for disability), 
 Wesley Hall, Stark County, June, '01, (veteranized), John Mc- 
 Sherry, Stark county, June, '61. 
 
 (;():(irA\Y d.— keckuits. 
 
 Elijah W. Terwilliger, Albert Terwilliger (desertec), Stark 
 county, June, '61. 
 
 TWENTIETH INFANTRY. 
 
 SriiSTITX-TES AND DRAFTED 5IEX. 
 
 Co. B.— Wm. Border, Zelotas Kendall, Goshen, Sei)t., 30, 'Ok 
 Co. D. — William Keeper, (drafted) Toalon, Calvin Vulgamot, 
 (drafted) Essex, September, '04. Co. E. — James Farrell, Jan., 
 '05, Philip Graves, Edward Quish. Essex, October, '64, Finley C. 
 McClellan, Elmira, September, '(i4, IT 
 
 Herman Shrader, Valley, 
 
-308 STAllK COUiS'TY 
 
 V 
 September, '64. Go. F.— Thomas Graves, Es-^x, September, ""''*. 
 Co. I.— Michael Fliiiii, Toulon, January, '05, Wiiliam H. Little, 
 (draftad) West Jersey, September, '04. 
 
 THIRTY-THIRD INFANTRY. 
 
 COMI'AXr B. 
 
 ■Regimental Band — Charles Green, Georg'e A. Lo\vman, Toulon, 
 
 August, '61. 
 Captain— C. Judson Gill, January 23, '63. Resigned September 
 
 23, '63. Nelson G. Gill, Toulon, September 23, '63. 
 First Lieutenant — C. Judson Gill, Toulon, September, '61. Pro- 
 moted. Nelson G. Gill, Toulon, January, '63. Promoted. 
 Second Lieutenant— Nelson G. Gill, Toulon, September, '62. Pro- 
 moted. Newton G. B. Brown, Wyoming, Augusit, '65. Vete- 
 ranized and promoted to 1st lieutenimt. 
 First Sergeant — Nelson G. Gill, Toulon, August, '61. 
 Corpo/al— Walter T. Hall, Toulon, August, '61. Promoted. 
 
 Priviites — Enlisted August 20, '61 — Jesse Armstrong, William 
 Biggs (veteranized), George Dewey, Gporge Pezler, Charles Green, 
 (transferred to band), Murray Hotchkiss, (died at St. Louis, Dec. 
 :20, '61), Edward H. Ingraham, (veteranized), Charles S. Johnson, 
 (died at Iranton, Mo., February 6, '63), George Lowman (transfer- 
 red to band), William J. R. Mayo, (veteranized), Andrew McKee 
 (died at Poe.ihontas, Ark., May 3, '6'^), Charles Shinn (veteraniz- 
 ed), Toulon. Lewis Thomas {discharged for disability, December, 
 '62), Newton G. B. Brown (veteranized), Wyoming. Daaiel Don- 
 ovan (veteranized), Harrison W. Ellis, Penn. 
 
 Recruits — Caivin Butler, Februarv21, '65, Otis T. Dyer, Toulon, 
 T'ebruary 10, '6'>, Levi T. Ellis, Penn, March 30, '65, Walter A. 
 Fell, Elmira, February 11, '64, (see 124th Illinois,) Flugh Y. God- 
 frey, Toulon, February 21, '65, Alvin Galley, Toulon, March 2!), 
 "'64, (see 124th Iliiaois), Charles C. Hotchkiss, Toulon, February 
 21, '65, Tiwmas W Rule, Elmira, February 11, '64, (see 124th Illi- 
 nois), Sanroi-d Strowbriclge, Elmira, January 28, '65, (supposed 
 ' died April 10, '(So, of wounds), John H. Stiekney, Toulon, Februa- 
 ry 10, '65, A;^,lr3^v T irnbull, Elmira, February 11, '04, (see 124 
 Illinois). 
 Company K. — John Peterson, Wyoming, December 9, '61, (vet- 
 ' eranized), Adam Rush, Wyoming, December 9, '61, (discharged 
 -for disability). 
 
 TH IRT Y-SE VENTH IN F ANTR Y. 
 
 ^ergeant-INIaj or— Fayette Lacey, Goshen, August 19, '65, (reduced 
 to ranks of Co. B. 
 
 F^COjrPANY B. 
 
 'Captain— Charles V. Dickinson, Goshen, August 19, '61. 
 
 .ZFirst-Lieutenant—t!assimir P. Jackson, Goshen, August 19, '01. 
 Resigned July 9, '62. Francis A. Jones, Goshen, July 9, '62. 
 Luman P. Himes, Goshen. Vc'teranized and promoted First- 
 Lieutenant. 
 
Second Lieutenant— 'Fraii'.'is A. Jonos, Gojlion, August 19, 'Gl. 
 
 Promoted. David L. Ash, Jiilv 9, '(i2. 
 ijergeants— IJavid L. Ash, Goshe'n, August 19, 'i;i. Promoted to 
 Second-Iyieuteiiant. Williajn X. Perrv, Goshen, August 19, '61. 
 Died at St. Louis, December 1, '01. l^'ayette Lacey, Goshen, 
 - August 19, ''01. Promoted SergeanY-Major. 
 
 "Corporals— Oliver H. Risdon, Goshen, April 19, '01. Sergeant, 
 transferred to corps d'Af., September ^17, '(;;;. Thomos J. Mc- 
 Daniel, Goshen, August 19, '01 Sergeant, died at Cassvillo, 
 Mo-i June 9, '62. Luman P. Hinies, Gorihen, August 19, '61. 
 Veteranized. Chilioa B. Kedfleld, Goshen, August 19, '61. 
 Died at Cassville, Mo., June 9, '62. Joshua S. Dudley, Goshen, 
 August 19, '61. James S.Lundv, Goshen, August 19, "'61. John 
 A. Perry, Toulon, August 19, '01. Died atOtterville, Mo., Jan- 
 uary 13, '62. Wni. Nicholson, Toulon, August 19, '62. Died £^.t 
 St. Louis, Novem ber 2(>, '61 . 
 Musician— George Ransom, (xoshen, August 19, '01. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted August, 18(il— John Anderson, (veteranized ) , 
 Aaron S. Anshuta, Andre* Anderson, (discharged for wouiidsi, 
 William VV. Atkins, David Anshutz, .(veteranized), Alva W.- 
 Brown, William H: Barney, (veteranized), William W. Bryan, 
 (kiWed at Prairie Grovo, Arkansas, December 7, '62i, Joseph Bar- 
 low, (died at New Orleans, iLiy 6, 'C-1), John Charleson, Lucius 
 Church, (discharged February 14, '62), William H. Craig, Wil- 
 liam T. Dickinson, Eldridge 13. Driscoil, fdicd at New Orleans, 
 September 5, '63', Michaei M. Emery, John A. Eddy, Martin 
 Pitch, Matthew T. Godfrey, idied at Brow,iisviUe, Texas), Cliarles 
 F. Hirnes, (veteranized), Norman Ives, Cdiseharged for wounds), 
 Moses S. Jones, (veteranized, and discharged for disability), Geo. 
 W. Kirby, (veteranized), Daniel Kiem, Julius Kelsey, (veteraniz- 
 ed), Anthony Kennard, (veteranized), Alvin Kiem, Dennis Lee, 
 (discharged for wounds], Thomas B. Lake, (veteranized), James 
 F;. Lee, (killed at Pea Ridge, Arkansas, March 7, '02), Chauncey R, 
 Miner, Benjamin H. Morgan, (died at Springfield, Mo., Novem- 
 ber 26, '62), Ira Newton, (veteranized), William J. Noran, David 
 Nowlan, William M. Pilgrim, Edward Perkins, Robert C. Reed, 
 (died at Otteryille, Mo.,, October 23, '61), John Reed, George W. 
 ilouse,, (First U. S. Artillery), John Sackrisson, Henry Sijje, 
 Henry W. Wilbur, Martini Wilcox, (veteranized), Gcshen. Hen- 
 J-y B. Dexter, (veteranized), Elmira. Luther Fitch, Thomas 
 Hughes, West Jersey. Cummings Force, Hartford J. Ro we, (vet- 
 ■eranized), Samuel W. Young, (veteranized), Toulon. 
 
 Recruits— .Joseph H. Newton, February 6,'6o, David W. Snyder, 
 April 24 , '64, Goshen. ^ .^ .. 
 
 FORTY-SECOND INFANTRY. 
 
 Co. B.— Henry Royle, Osceola, Sept3mber20, '64. Co.D.— Jo'iii 
 W. Shoemaker, Stark county, (killed at Marietta, Georgia, June 
 15, '64, Frank Horn, Janass Hall and Robert Miller, Osceola, Sep- 
 tember, Sf\ '6t. Co. F.— Amos Hodges, Samuel P. Hankins, 
 West Jersey, Septembar 30, '01, Cyreniis D3wsy, Case D. Dubois, 
 
310 ' STARK COUXTY 
 
 Vallev, September 30, '64. Co. K.— Silas Avery, OsceoIa,,Sepfem- 
 ber 3ti, 'G4, Morckvai Bevier, Osceola, September 30, '64, Joseph G„ 
 Fowler, Osceola, September 30, '64, (died Dec. 21, '64, wounds),.. 
 Springer Galley, i substitute), Thomss W. Oziah, (subst^itute), 
 Toulon, September, 14, '6i. 
 
 FORTY-SEVENTH IXFAXTRY. 
 
 CI.O.IPAXi' A. 
 
 Second-Lieutenant— Charles S. Blood, L.Twn Ridge, June 17,' '62. 
 
 Sergeants— Charles S. Blood, I^awn Ridge, August 16, 62. Pro- 
 moted 2d Lieutenant. 
 Privates— Benj. Ament, Stark county, August 16, '61, Benj. F. 
 
 Ellis, Wyoming, August 16, '61, (veteranized, transferredtoCo. C.,, 
 
 47th consolidated. 
 
 .'(iJIPAXY^T). 
 
 Privates— Enlisted August, 1.S61— Xathaniel Childs, (died in 
 Stark county, Illinois, Feliruary 10 '64), William Crow, Perry 
 Kent, (died at .JefTerson City, Mo., November 16, '61), John Mc- 
 Kinnon, Wm. AV. Stewart, idischai'ged for disabilityi, Camp 
 Grove. Albert G. Con ley, (discharged for disability), Alva W. 
 Sturdevant, (discharged for disability), Osceola. Robert David- 
 son, (proinotedi, Starlt county. Wm. B. Kiger, (discharged for 
 disabilityj, Roberts. Martin, Allen H. Spellman, (died at Young's- 
 Point, La., July !), '63 >, Abraham Vand^sen, (died at St. Louis, 
 October 2-J, '(Si'), Bradford. James Richart, (deserted), Fuller's- 
 Mill. 
 
 C03IPANY II. 
 
 Privates — James Drummond, Camp Grove, September, 1, '61. 
 °roMi'A>;Y K. 
 
 Captains — .Tacob Jamison, Toulon, August, '61. "Resigned March: 
 26, '62. David DeWolf, Essex, March, '62. John M. Brown,. 
 Wyoming, September '62. 
 
 First-Lieutenant — David DeWolf, Essex, August, '61 . Promoted. 
 James A. Henderson, Toulon, not mustered. Resigned as 2(1 
 Lieutenant, June 16, 62. John M. Brown, Wyoming, June,- 
 '62. Promoted. William H. Denchfield, Wyoming, October, 
 1862. 
 
 Second Lieutenant — Wm. H. Denchfield, Wyoming, March, '&!.. 
 Promoted. John Hawks, Wyoming, October, '62. Resigned' 
 April '64. 
 
 First-Sergeants— J. M. Brown, Wyoming, September, '61. Pro- 
 moted 1st Ijieutenant. 
 
 Sergeants— Philip A. Templeton, Toulon, September, '61. Dis- 
 charged for disability. Wm. H. Denchfield, Wyoming, Sep- 
 tember '61. Promoted 2d Lieutenant. Charles Butler, Wyo- 
 ming, September, '61. Elisha Dixon, Wyoming, September, 
 '61. Promoted 1st Sergeant. 
 
 Corporals — Adam Torrence, Toulon, September, '61. Killed at 
 Vicksburg, May 22, '63. Charles D. Paul, Toulon, September,. 
 '61. Died at Rienzi, Mississippi, August, '62. Joseph W., Tarn- 
 
AN'D ITS PIONEERS. 311 
 
 Ison, Toulon, September, 'Gl. Died sit Toulon, Illinois, aiarch 
 29, '62. Henry Dixon, Essex, September, '01. Sergeant, dis- 
 charged for wounds. D. \V. ]_)!ivis, Essex, September, '61. 
 Promoted. Henry Hixon," Essex, September, '61. Veteraniz- 
 . ed. Charles Edmunds, Wyoming, September, '61. 
 rWagoner— .John H. Waller", Wyoming, September, 'Gl. Dis- 
 charged. 
 
 Privates — Enlisted September, 1861— .James Alderman, (dis- 
 charged , Hiram Boardnian, i killed at luka. Miss., Septenjber 19, 
 'G2), Allen t'liaft'ee. Miles Cohvell, (promoted), Ross Colwell, John 
 G. Whit€, (discharged lor disability), Essex. Henry Allen, (pro- 
 moted), John Barler, Joel Dixon, William Dixon, Carson W. 
 Drummond, (died at .Jefferson City, Mo., January 6, '62), William 
 Dailey, Jasper Dolesnn, Samuel Eby, Idled in Stark county, Illi- 
 nois, Septenit)er 11, '(>;!), Geo. W. Ellis, (died at Jefferson City, 
 Mo., November 28, '61), AndrewEutzler, Jacob Hutchinson, (died 
 at St, Louis, October 27, 'G2), Daniel Howard, (sergeant, died at 
 Memphis, .June 25, '62; wounds), SylvesterSylcott, (veteranized), 
 Edward Somers, (discharged for wounds). Barton Thurston, Wy- 
 oming. Benj. IJlackburn, (deserted), Thomas Cross, (deserted), 
 George A. Clifford, (discharged for disability), Amos Cornish, 
 (discharged for disability), Oliver Crowder,. William Cross, (dis- 
 charged as corporal, March 11, '63, to enlist in Mississippi ;^iarine 
 Brigade), Rober Garner, (discharged for .wounds), James W. Jar- 
 nagin, (died at Alexandria, La., INIay 31, '64), James Kinkade, 
 (veteranized), George H. Martin, David Oziah, (vfAeranized), .Jes- 
 se West, fdied at Jefferson City, Mo., l^ebruary 26, '62), Toulon. 
 AVillson Bbggs, (veteranized), Charles Goodrich, (veteranized), 
 Penn. Lew'is Egbert, Theodore W. McDaniel, (discharged for 
 disability), Joseph Witter, West Jersey. Daniel Fast, (died at 
 St. Louis, July 12, '62), John Hum, Slackwater. Daniel iMcCra- 
 dy. Valley. .James T. Marshall, (died at JeilTerson City, Mo., Oc- 
 tober 27, '61), Bradford. 
 
 Recruits— Secratus Drummond, Wyoming, August, '6-1, [see Co. 
 B., 47th consolidated], John D. Eby, Wyoming, December 7, '61, 
 [discharged for wounds], George Hachtel, [see Co. B. 47 consol- 
 idated], Oscar G. Hixon, Valley, February 11, '64, [see Co. B. 47 
 consolidated], Charles S. Hitchcock, Modena, October 21, '61, [dis- 
 charged], John Hawks, Wyoming, December 7, '61, [promoted 
 to sergeant and 2d lieutenant], William .Jamison, Toulon, [died at 
 Miliken's Bend, July, 19, '63], Robert Lambert, Toulon, Decem- 
 ber 7, '61, [left in the' field with veterans], Thomas Nichols, Wyo- 
 ming, October 21, '61, [discharged for disability], Robert Pyles, 
 Toulon, December 7, [left in the field with veterans] , George F. 
 Pyles, Toulon, December 7, '61, [discharged for disability], John 
 E. Thrall, Toulon, December 7, '61, [discharged for wounds], Rob- 
 ert L. Wright, Wyoming, December 7, '61, [deserted]. 
 
312 STARK COrXTY 
 
 FORTY-SEVENTH CONSOLIDATED. 
 
 COMPANY A. 
 
 Becruits— Ric'iard Lynch, Toulon, November 18, '03, [from 
 108th lUinoisJ, James B. Riley, Stark county, March 31, 'Go, [from 
 108th Illinuis. 
 
 C05;PANY B. 
 
 (Japtain— Henry Wlar, WyoTTiiTTr, October 11, 'M. 
 First-Lieutenant— Wm. Boggd, x^onn, October 11, 'G4. 
 Corporals— Henry "VVla.r, Wyoming, October 22, '04. Promoted t» 
 
 tJaptain. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted February, 1864— Wilson Boggs, [promoted 
 1st lieutenant], Charles Goodrich, George W. Waldon, Penn. J. 
 Bates, [promoted], Secratys Dmmmond, Sylvester Sylcott, Jacob 
 Wiar, ;.Iicliael Wiar, Wyoming. George Hachtel, James Kin- 
 kade, jjavid Oziah, Toulon. Oscar G. Hixon, Valley. Henry 
 Ilixon, Essex. 
 
 coj:?-vxt c. 
 Corporal— Benjamin F. Ellis, Wyoming, February 22, '64. Was; 
 
 prisoner. 
 
 n,- t'H imt COMl'AXY E. 
 
 Sergeant— Philip C. Scott, Toulon, February 21, 'Go. 
 Corporal— Bernard Hogaih, West Jersey. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted February, 18()0— Charles Byrne, [deserted],. 
 Thomas Bvrne, [desertedl, .John Keely, [desei-ted]' Goshen- 
 William Conklin, [deserted], Charles Hall, [deserted]. West Jer- 
 sey. James Farrell, [deserted], Toulon. Bobt. Keusle'r, [desert- 
 ed], Essex. 
 
 COMPANY n.'i 
 
 Privates— Enlisted March, 1865— George Edwards, [dlishonora- 
 bly discharged I, John Hartley, [deserted], Daniel Hogaia, [desert- 
 ed'), Charles McBride, [deserted], William Welch, [deserted],. 
 West Jersey. 
 
 COaiPANY I. 
 
 Privates — Enlisted JMarch, 1865— John Burns, Abram Londeu- 
 burgh, Theodore VanDyke, Elmira. Daniel Ballard, Goshen. 
 
 OOMPAJjY K. 
 
 Sergeant — Albert Papenoe, Elmira, March 6, '65. Died at Dem- 
 
 opolis, Ala., July 5, 'G5. 
 Corporals — Alexander Davis, Elmira, March 6, '65. Alexander 
 Sames, West Jersey, March 3, '65. George W. Sailer, West Jer- 
 sey, March 3, '65. 
 Wagoner— Robert Lambert, Essex, March 3, '05. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted March, 1865 — David Biddleman, [died at 
 Demopolis, Alabama, June, 15, 'Go], Thomas J. Fuller, Stephen 
 H. Jackson, Enoch Noble, Simon Watson, Hasleb W. Wilson,. 
 Elmira. Thomas Fryman, Samuel A. Glassford, Samuel S. Glass- 
 ford, [died atSelma, Ala., August 15, 1865], Robert Sames, West 
 .Jersey.' John W. Morrison, Essex. 
 
 Unassigned recruits— Joseph A. O. Donnell, Elmira, December 
 2, '04, [rejected by Board |. 
 
AXn ITS PIONEERS. Oi;j 
 
 FIFTY-FIRST IXFAXTRY. 
 
 Artjutiints—Cyrus A. Anthnny, V/ost Jereev, January '24 '65 
 Promoted to captain, Co. 15. ^ , ■>■ 
 
 Quarter-master Sergeant— t'yrus A. Anthony, West Jersey. Pro- 
 irioted 1st lieutenant Co. (i. 
 
 <'()M1'AXY 1!. 
 
 Captain— Cyrus A. Anthony, West Jersey, Augusts, '(i.l. 
 
 eilMI'AXV 1.1. 
 
 First Lieutenant- Cyrus A. Anthony, M'est .Tersey, June 27 '01 
 Promoted Adjutant. 
 
 CO.MI'.VXY II. 
 
 Priyates— ]']nlisted January, 1802— I;Iugh Donnely, ElisoMi Eli, 
 I veteranized, promoted!, Eriek From, [yeteranized, promoted], 
 James Kmneman, James Kennedy, Joseph Pew, Idischargedl 
 Solomon R. Shockley, David Simmerman, Paul Ward, [veteran- 
 ized, prisoner ot war], West.Jersey. Thomas Imes, [veteranized! 
 Anthony Sturm, [veteranized, proraoted[, PJcasant Green. Cv- 
 us Jacobs, [yeteranized, proraotedj, Bradford. Charles W. Xow- 
 ton, [pnjinoted], Wyonung-. ' 
 
 ('(131 PAN Y K. 
 
 Privates— Cynis A. Anthony, West Jersev, November, ir,, '01, 
 [veteranized, promoted ({uarter-master sergeant. 
 
 FIFTY-FIFTH INFANTRY. 
 
 <'(l3rP,\XY (1. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted October, 1801— L. S. Ctoggswell,, [veteraniz- 
 
 se\-. 
 
 F IFT Y-S E^^ENTH ILLINOI S. 
 
 (■(i.lll'AXYl'. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted September, 1801- Thomas J. Blake, [yetor- 
 anized[, .James Kelly, [veteranizedj, Joseph Manning, [killed at 
 Hhiloli, April 0, '02|. 
 
 Ccilll'ANY K. 
 
 Privates — Enlisted September, '01 — Thos. C. Nichols, James 
 Nichols, Osceola, [discharged [. 
 
 SIXTY-FIFTH. 
 
 COMPANY A. 
 
 Privates — Enlisted March, 1862 — James K. Allan, [yeteranized 
 in Co. H.], Wyoming. Joseph Bogard, Ezekiel Bogard, [veter- 
 anized in Co. H.], Asa Greenfield, Robert H. Hitchcock, [veter- 
 anized in Co. H.], Stark county. Bethuel Greenfield, [veteraniz- 
 •ed in Co. H.J, Sylvester Greenfield, [veteranized in Co. H.], Mo- 
 dena. 
 
 31 
 
814 STARK COUNTY 
 
 Cf i:\IPANY D. 
 
 Privates—Enlisted March, 1862— Fin:ey McLellan, [deserted], 
 Elmira. Wm. W. Updike, Daniel P. White, [veteranized Co. II. V 
 West .lersev. 
 
 COJIPAXY G. 
 
 Corporal— John B,icher, Osceola, March, '02, V. E. C, Septem- 
 ber 80, '64. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted April, 1862— Wm. H. Ausman, [musician], 
 .James F. Ausman, .Joseph Richer, [veteranized in Co. B., consol- 
 idated], Osceola. George Maxfield, [discharged for disability], 
 Toulon. 
 
 COMPANY I. \ 
 
 First-Lieutenant— Geo. II. Brown, Modeua, June 26, '64. Not 
 
 mustered. 
 Second- Lieutenant — Geo-. H. Brown, Modena, April 1, '68. Pro- 
 moted. 
 Sergeant — Geo. II. I5^o^^'n, Modena, February 12, '02. Promoted 
 
 2d lieutenant. 
 Corporal— James K. Oziah, Modena, February 12, '62. 
 
 Privates — Enlisted March, 1862 — Stephen S' Burnham, [desert- 
 ed], Robt. Ilennessy, [discharged for' disability], Fred K. Ket- 
 zenberger, [discharged for disability], Wyoming. Isaac Bannis- 
 ter, [V.R.C^ April 1, '65], Chauncey Gardner, OsroHuckins [vet- 
 eranized], Henry C. Hall, [discharged for disability], Francis M. 
 Steves, W. W. Weaver, [died in Georgia, June 1-5, '64; wounds], 
 Osceola. Alfred Cornish, [deserted], Arthur R. Olds, [discharged 
 for disability]^, Wm. vShirts, [discharged for disability], Toulon; 
 James Dairy mple, Freeinan B. Davison, [veteranized], Harmon 
 Hochstrasser, James C. Po^vell, Sam'l C. Sharrer, [discharged for 
 <iisability] , Robert W. Wood, [deserted] , Modena. Alexander C. 
 Lord, Elmira. 
 
 Recruits — Enlisted August, 1862 — Benjamin Blackburn,, [de- 
 serted], John Whitcher, Wyoming. Geo. W. Pate, (deserted), 
 Toulon. Harvey L. Way, [discharged], Osceola. 
 Unassigned recruit— Peter Nelson, Osceola, May, '64. 
 
 SIXTY-FIFTH CONSOLIDATED. 
 
 COJIPAN'Y B. 
 
 Sergeant — David L. .Tones. 
 Corporal— Joseph W. Richer, Osceola. 
 Private — Enlisted March, 1865— David Woodard. 
 
 COMPANY F. 
 
 Fifst-Lieutenant^EIzner Sage, Essex, June 29, '65. 
 Corporals- Frank L. Yale, Lafayette, March 28, '64. Luther Gra- 
 ham, Toulon, November 21, '63. 
 
 Privates— Wm. A. Brown, December, '63, Martin Hickman, 
 April, '63, Wm. J. Hamilton, February, '63, Morris C.Lampson, 
 December '03, Jacob W. McDaniel, March '64, Thomas Patterson 
 December '62, George W. Pate, December '62, Toulon. George 
 A. Brown, July '63, Melvin Gage, February, '64, Ira F. Haydeh 
 February '63, Osceola. Zach. T. Brown, January '65, Goshen' 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 315 
 
 James L. Fox, March 'Go, Adam Rush, March, 'G4, George Rush, 
 James M. Tacket, March, '(i-t, Elisha E. Taylor, March, '64, An- 
 son Tanner, March, '64, Stephen Talbot, April, '64, Wyoming. 
 Andrew Jackson, Marcli, '64, Lafayette. Wm. J. Lamper, 
 March, 'G4, Bradford. Solomon Leighton, March, 'G8, Isaac Luce, 
 March, 'GS, Penn. John Lee, March, '63, Essex. Baily C. Ogden, 
 March, 'G4, West Jersey. 
 
 COJU'AXY H. 
 
 Privates— James K. jVlIon, AVyoming. Joseph Bogard, Robert 
 II. Hitchcock, Stark. Bethuel Oreenfleld, Modena. Daniel P. 
 
 White, West Jersey. 
 
 C03IPAKY I. 
 
 First Lieutenant — Geo. H. Brown, Modena. 
 
 •CSHtPANY K. 
 
 Privates— Freeman R. Davison, Modena. Ozro C. Huckins, 
 Osceola. 
 
 SIXTY-NINTH.— THREE MONTHS. 
 COMPANY D. 
 
 Corporals — Enlisted June, '62 — Jedediah Luce, George W.Smith, 
 Matthew Rounds, Lafayette. .James Adams, West Jersey. 
 Privates — Enlisted June, 1862- MosesM. Adams, Robert Boyd, 
 William H. Davidson, William Foster, RansonD. Foster, Wilson^ 
 Rounds, Lorenzo K. W^iley, West Jersey. Edward Brown, Tou- 
 lon. William Bowden, Lucius Church, Algernon Fitch, Michael 
 Gillespie, V/m. Hamilton, Benjamin F. Lewis, Henry B. Lewis, 
 <jeorge W. ilcDaniels, Edwin B. Pomroy, Edward Perry, John 
 W. Bounds, Jasper Smith, Wm. F. Wheeler, Theron Waller, La- 
 fayette. Michael Hum, David Ilimes, Slackwater. Isaac M. 
 Witter, Essex. 
 
 Recruits — Enlisted June, 1862 — George Pate, [deserted], Toulon. 
 Frederick Russel, [deserted], Lafayette. 
 
 SE^'ENTY-SECOND. 
 
 COMPANY A. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted August, ISG*^- Miles Avery, [deserted], Ja- 
 cob Galley, [promoted, was prisoner], Scepta T. BLarding, [killed 
 at Vicksburg, ]May 22, '63], James I). Heath, [promoted], JRobert 
 Holmes, Toulon. ' 
 
 EIGHTY-SIXTH. 
 
 COMPANY E. I 
 
 Captixin — Geo. A. Smith, Valley, July 15, 'C4. 
 
 First-Lieutenant^GeorgeA. Smith, Valley June, 15, 1863. Pro- 
 moted. 
 
 tSecond-Lieutenants- George A. Smith, Valley, June 11, '63. Pro- 
 moted. Henry Foreman, Valley, June 12, '65. Not mustered. 
 
 Sergeants— Geo. A. Smith, Valley, August 13, '62. Promoted 2d 
 lieutenant, &c. 
 
816 STARK COUXTY 
 
 Privates— Enlisted Aug^ust, '(>2— Wni. Cooper, [died at Nash- 
 ville, Tennessee, January 13, 'G3J, Joseph Carter, Wm. Dawson, 
 i discharged I, Plarvey Foreman, i promoted], Alonzo Goodale, 
 Idischarged], John A. Job, [promoted], Andrew Nehlig, [died of 
 wounds, March 20, 'GoJ, Wm. F. Speers, [promoted], James S. 
 Schank, [died at Xashville, February 22, '63], Louis Woodward, 
 Eli Wilson, [discharged], Valley. Benton Carrington, [discharg- 
 ed for wounds], Thomas Reader, James W. Reagan, [discharged], 
 Tighlman S. Reagan, Jacob Scleigh, Penn. 
 
 Recruits— Enlisted February, 1861— James C.Hall, [transferred 
 to Co. E., 34th), John R. Waldron, [transferred to Co. E., 34thj, 
 Penn. 
 
 CilJri'ANY II. 
 
 Musicians — Cyrus A. Fox, Valley, August 7, '62. 
 
 Privates— Alexander R. Hepp'erly, Stark, August 6, 1862 [pro- 
 moted. 
 
 Recruits — John .Jenkeson, Valley, died of wounds, ^Nlarcli 20, 
 
 i&(;.-j. ' ' 
 
 XIXETY-THIRD. 
 
 Colonel — Xicholas C. Buswell, Osceola, November, 2-"), '63. Not 
 
 mustered. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel— Nicholas C. Buswell, Osceola, October, 13 '62. 
 
 Pro.moted. 
 
 COJIPAXV'II. / 
 
 Privates — Enlisted iuxVugust, 1862 — Thomas G-oodwin, [died at 
 Rome, Ga., October, 25, '64, wounds], George Gardner, [killed at 
 Vicksburg, ISLny 22, '63j, William C. Hall, [died at Memphis, Jan- 
 uary 17, '631, Edgar Hall, [died at Memphis, March 5, '63], John 
 Hellener, [died at Vicksburg, September 9, '63,] Matthew Lan- 
 den, [promoted], Seth E. Stoughton, Fred, Wclagter, Nathan 
 Thorn, [promoted], IMorgan L. Weaver, [died at home, Novem- 
 ber, 21, '63], Osceola. 
 
 ONE HUNDRED AND TWELFTH INFANTRY. 
 
 Colonel— Thos J. Henderson, Toulon, September 22, '62. Promo- 
 ted Brevet Brigadier General, November 30, '64. 
 Adjutants— Bradford F. Thompson, Bradford, November 2o, '63. 
 
 Promoted captain of Co. B. 
 Surgeons— Luther K. 31111 iken, Wyoming, starch 22, '63. 
 First Assistant-Surgeon— Luther S. Milliken, AVyoming, Septem- 
 ber 15, '62. Promoted. 
 
 I '( OIPAXY B. 
 
 Captains— James B. Doyle, Bradford, September, '62. Resigned 
 March, '63. Jonathan C. Dickinson, Penn, Mareh,''62. Killed 
 September, '63. John Gudgell, Osceola, September, '63. Hon- 
 orably discharged. Bradford F. Thompson, Bradford, Septem- 
 ber, '65. 
 
 First-Lieutenants— Jonathan C. Dickinson, Penn, September, '62 
 Promoted. John Gudgell, Osceola, March, '63. Promoted! 
 
AXD ITS nOXEERS. ftlV 
 
 Bradfoi-d F. Thompson, Bradford, September, 'G3. Promoted 
 Adjutant. William H. Doyle, Osceola, Xoveniber, 'G3. 
 Second-Lifeutenants— John Gudgell, Osceola, September, '(12. 
 Promoted. Bradford P. Thompson, Bradford, March, 'GS. 
 Promoted. Charles B. Foster, Bradford, .June, '65. 
 First Sergeant— Bradford F. Thompson, Bradford, August, '02. 
 
 Promoted. 
 Sergeants— Enlisted August, 18G2— Chas. B. Foster, Bradford. 
 Commissioned 2d lieutenant, but not mustered. William H. 
 Doyle, Bradford. Promoted. John PI. Bunnel, Pemi. Died 
 at Nashville, August 12, '64 ; wounds. Willard B. Foster, 
 Bradford. 
 Corporals— Enlisted August, 18G2— Eli C. Jones, Osceola. Ser- 
 geant, died at Marietta, Ga., August 19, '64 ; wounds. George 
 W. Reed, Osceola. Promoted. Nicholas Plill, Osceola. Pri- 
 vate. Augustus G. Thompson, Osceola. Promoted. Edward 
 J. Rilej', Osceola. Paroled prisoner. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted August, 18()2— Robert Alexander, [died at 
 Kuoxville, Tenn., May 16, '64; wounds], Orlin Bevier, [corpor- 
 al, died in Andersonville, July, '64], Charles H. Barber, |died at 
 Marietta, Ga., September, '64; wounds], Geo. 3^>:irber, (discharg- 
 ed for disability]. Andrew J. Erode, [V. R. C, May IS, 'G4], Isaac 
 N. Dalrymple, [was taken prisoner], Thos. E. Delany, Uriah 
 Dunn, [discharged for disability], Spencer Elston, |died' at Lex- 
 ington, Ky., December, '62, Enoch W. Foster, [^discharged for 
 disabilityl, Morris Fowler, John P. Freeman, [was prisoner], 
 Wm. D. Freeman, [was prisoner], .Joseph Flemming, Pliram P. 
 Geer, [discharged for disability], Henry S. Hayden, [musician], 
 James Hare, [discharged for' disability], .John Hall, T. Louis 
 Hinke, [promoted], Peter Jones, | V. R. C., iu '64], George .Jen- 
 nings, John R. Jones, [promoted], William H. Johnson, [was 
 prisoner], Levi W. Jones, James A. Long, [promoted], Francis 
 J. Leggett [prisoner of war], Wm. C. Lopeman, George Ludluni, 
 [died at Annapolis, Md., December, '64], Horace Morrison, [pris- 
 oner of Wiir, never returned], Plenry McKibbons [discharged 
 for disability], John McLaughlin, [wagoner], I-Cber S. Osborn [V. 
 R. C, in '64], Lewip Osborn, John Olenburg, [promoted], Irwin 
 Oxenberger, .Jacob H. Perkey, Ira Porter, Janaes Partidge, [dis- 
 charged for disability], Clark N. Sturtevant, [discharged for in- 
 sanity], Alva W. Sturtevant, Henry Stacy, [was prisoner], Na- 
 than D. Steward, [dischfTrged for disability], Isaac Sturm, [V. R. 
 C. in '64], Cyrus Sturm, [died at Nashville, February, '6") ; 
 wounds], John Sturm, George W. Stone, [deserted], Charles R. 
 Thompson, Joseph Taylor, John AVallace, William P. Wilson, 
 [died at Lexington, Ky., December 1.3, '621, Osceola. Charles N. 
 Crook, [promoted], Jarnes A. Goodrich. Washington Garside, Ed- 
 win Holmes, [was prisoner], William Handley, Charles H. Han- 
 dley, Charles Leighton, John C. Leighton, Elias Miller, [killed at 
 Franklin, Tenn., November 30, '64], Orman N. Miller, Hiram P. 
 Mallory, [promoted, waspriso^nerj, Samuel Redding, DennisSpill- 
 man, Penn, Ephraim Gledding, (deserted), Daniel Ivorre, (was 
 prisoner), Elmira. 
 Recruits — .Joseph H. Baldwin, [deserted], George A. Brown, 
 
318 STARK COUNTY 
 
 (65th Illinois], Melvin Gage, January, '65, [Goth 1111, Ira F. Hay- 
 den, Pebruarv, '64, [65th 111., was prisoner], Osceola. William J. 
 Lamper, Bradford, March, '64, [65th Inf.], John Lee, Essex, May 
 11, '65, [65th Inf.], Isaac Luce, Penn, May 13, '05, Solomon Leigh- 
 ton, Penn, May 13, '65, [65th Inf.] 
 
 COMPANY D. 
 
 Sergeants— Sanford L. Ives, Goshen, July, '62. V. E. C, Janua- 
 ry, '65. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted August, 1862— Lemuel F. Mathews, [dis- 
 charged for wounds], Whitfield D. Mathews, West Jersey. Hi- 
 ram Newton, Goshen. 
 
 Recruits— Stephen Talbot, Wyoming, April, '04, [transferred tO' 
 65th 111. 
 
 COMPANY E. 
 
 Captain— Sylvester Otman, Wyoming, September, '62. 
 First-Lieutenant — Cramner W. Brown, Wyoming, September, 
 
 1862. , 
 Second-Lieutenants — Elmer A. Sage, Essex, September, '62. 65th 
 
 111. Hai-ry Graves, Essex, June, '65. 
 First Sergeant^Henry J. Otman, Essex, August^ '62. Discharg- 
 ed for disability. 
 Sergeants — Enlisted August, '62 — Henry Graves, Essex. Com- 
 missioned as 2d lieutenant, but not mustered. Solomon Dixon, 
 Valley. Died at Richmond, Va., March, '64, while a prisoper. 
 John E. Charrett, Penn. Discharged to accept a com mission in 
 1st U. S. H. A. C, March, '04. Charles B. Hitchcock, Essex. 
 Killed at Utoy Creek, Ga., August, '64. 
 Corporals — Enlisted August, 1862 — Timothy Bailey, Essex. Re- 
 duced to ranks at his own request. John B. 'Pettit, Essex. 
 .Sergeant, discharged for disability. William G. Wilkinson, 
 P^n. Died at Lexington, Ky., November, '62. iPeter M. 
 Swords, Valley. Promoted. Carey G. Colburn, Essex. Wm. 
 W. McMillen, Essex. Died in And'ersonville, IMay, '64 ; No. of 
 . grave, 1337. James B. Blaekmore, Essex. David Fast, Essex. 
 
 Discharged fot disability. ^ 
 
 YVagoner — John D. Martin, Essex, August, '62. Discharged for 
 disability. 
 
 Privates — Enlisted August, 1862 — Michael Alderman, [discharg- 
 ed for disability], James D. Bloomer, [promoted], Sidney D; But- 
 ler, [promoted I, Gershome Burnett, William B. Barr, [died in 
 Andersonville, April, '64], William Cassett, [deserted], John 
 Cole, [died in Andersonville, April, '64], Elijah Cox, Joel Cox, 
 Douglas N. Crone, [promoted], Thomas Cohvell, [died at Lexing- 
 ton, Ky., January, '68], William F. Carter, Newton Dollson, Chas. 
 B. Davis, [died in Andersonville, September, 64], Wallace W. 
 Emanuel, Whittield Evans, [supposed to have died in prison], 
 Wiliiani Ellis, [discharged for disability], Andrew Pautz, [pro- 
 moted], Jonath^ia Graves, Henry A. Greenewald^ [deserted], Ste- 
 phen W. Green, [was a prisoner], Medora Hoover, [died at Lex- 
 ington, Ky., April, '63j, William Herridge, [died July, '63; acci- 
 dental wounds], Lewis Hiback, [deserted], Nathan H. Hull, Mi- 
 chael Hire, [promoted], David Kerns, [was prisoner], William H. 
 
AND ITS PIOXEF.P..S. 319 
 
 Morgan, Rile Maranville, [wounded], George W. Micliolas, [was 
 prisoner], John Oldaker, [promoted |, Frank Pross, [deserted], 
 Wm. E. L. Smith, [died at Lexington, Ky., November, '62], John 
 Sigel, Michael Springer, [died in Andersonville, June, 'G4], John 
 T). Swain, [died at Richmond, Va., March, '64], Henry Soper, P. 
 31. Trapp, Ananias Timmons, [promoted], Josiah F. Umbaugh, 
 Ancil H. Woodcock, Russel White, [died at Lexington, Ky., De- 
 cember, '62], Essex. Alfred B. Armstrong, [discharged for disa- 
 bility], John Harvey, [discharged for disability], Toulon. David 
 Barrett, [died at Lexington, Ky., February, '63], Janies E. Bush, 
 Absalom J. Cooper, William Colwfill, [discharged], John Dawson, 
 David Dawson, James Elston, [died in Andersonville, June, '64], 
 Noah Fautz, [died in Andersonville, April, '64], Shephard 
 Green, Eugene Hart, Charles Hall, [promoted], David S. 
 Miller, [promoted], Curwine McCoy, John McCoy, [discharged 
 for disability], George B. Marlat, [prisoner of war, supposed to 
 have died], Simon Ray, [died atRichmond,Va., April, '64], James 
 Ray, [died at Richmond, Va., March, '64,] William Ray, [died 
 at Baltimore, June, '64, James W. Batcliff, [died "at Lexington, 
 Ky., January, '63], Joseph Sparks, David Wandling, [died at 
 Knoxville, Tenn., November, '63; wounds]. Valley. Jerry H. 
 Bailey, [discharged for disability], William Holgate, Calvin B. 
 Laskell, William J. Morgan, Cyrus C. Snare, [promoted], James 
 Strinburg, Sylvester H. Stofer, [discharged for wounds], Thadde- 
 us Thurston, [discharged for wounds], Penn. Chiuies W.Hart, 
 [was taken prisoner], Goshen. Charles W. Phenix, OsceoJa. 
 
 Recruits— Enlisted March, 1864— James Ij. Fox, '(S.jtli ill.), 
 Adajn Rush, (65th 111.), George Rush, (Oot!-, Ill.i, Jacob Stoves, 
 Francis M. SoUers, (died at Springfield, 111., June, '(i4i, James M. 
 Tacket, (G.'itii 111.), Anson Tanner, (6oth 111.', V, yoniing. Morris 
 '<i. Liimpson, iC'>tu 111.), Touli.n. ' 
 
 C'(IMI'.\XY F. 
 
 Captains— William W. Wright, Gcwlien, September, '62. Died 
 June, '64. .James G. Armstrong, Toulon, June, '64. 
 
 First-Tjieutenant— Jackson Ijiavrence, West Jersey, Scjitember, 
 '(i2. Resigned. Robt. E. Westfall, Penn, March, '63. Died 
 June, '63. Jan>es G. Armstrong, Toulon, June, '63. Promo- 
 ted. Bushrod Tapp, Toulon, June, '64. 
 
 Second-Lieutenari,^Robert E. Westfall, Penn, Septeml)er, '62. 
 Promoted. James G. Armstrong, Toulon, March, '03. Promo- 
 ted. George C. Maxfleld, Toulon, June, 63. Resigned. Hen- 
 rv B. Perry, Toulon, June, '65. Not mustered. 
 
 First Sergeant—James G. Armstrong, Toulon, August, '02. Pro- 
 moted. 
 
 Sergeants— Enlisted August, '62— George C. Maxfield, Toulon. 
 Promoted 2d lieutenant. Edwin Butler, Toulon. Was prison- 
 er. William P. Finley, Essex. Killed at Knoxville, Tenn., 
 November, '63. Bushrod Tapp, Toulon. Promoted first-lieu- 
 tenant. 
 
 €;orporals— Enlisted August, '62— -John H. Lane, Essex. Ser- 
 geant, killed at Utoy Creek, Georgia, August, '04. William 
 Rounds, Goshen. Henry B. Perry, West .Jersey. Istsergeant, 
 and 2d lieutenant. William C. Bell, West .Jersey. Killed at 
 
320 ■ STAllX COUXTY 
 
 Knoxgville, Tenn., Isoveniber, '6:^. Anilrew (i. Pike, Penn. 
 Hergeant, kiilocl at Utoy Creek, Ga., August, H'A. Levi Killi- 
 man, Goshen, afilton Tricljle, Essex. John V. Ilhodes, Go- 
 shen. Sergeant, discharged for \\'()unds. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted August, '()2 — S. M. PI. Adams, (promoted), 
 John L. Adams, (died at Lexington, Ky., December, '62', Henry 
 V. Ackley,. George Boyd, William Boyd, William H.Barton, (dis- 
 charged lor wounds), Elman Bunhill,' (died at Knoxsville, Tenn.,, 
 January, '64,; wounds), William Beiderbeck, William 21. C'reigh- 
 tori, (died at Lexington, Ky., February, '63i, Darius Demont, (V. 
 11.' C., September, '63), ^^'illiam H. Eli, (promoted), Ileiiry Gar- 
 ner, (discharged for disability), James 11. Gelvin, (promoterl) 
 Daniel Hazelton, (deserted), Andrew Kammerer, (promoted), Is- 
 aac Messinger, (died at Marietta, Ga., S('))tember, '6-i), Josiah INIi- 
 nor, Robert Makings, Theodore IilcPaniels, Thomas Proctor, 
 (discharged for disability), Jacob Stauffer, Ira Hcranton, George 
 G.Stone, (promoted), Thomas T. White, (drowned June, '63 1, 
 David Webster, John W. Whitten, (killed at Atlanta, (ra., Au- 
 gust, '64), West Jersey. William P. Ballentine, (promoted), Mil- 
 ton ITeadley, Austin C. Himes, William Himes, James Hughes, 
 John Kendall, (killed at Knoxville, Tenn., ISTovember, '68), Job. 
 G. Mahappy, Hiram G. Parrish, Jacob Vulgamoth, (promoted), 
 Curtis Wright, Goshen. Alfred P. Ballentine, John W. Curf- 
 man, (died in Franklin Tenn., December, '61 ; wounds), James E. 
 Pinley, (promoted), Essex. John Black, Bobert M. Denuey, 
 (promoted, killed at Utoy Creek, Ga., August, '64), Geo. Eli, (Y. 
 U. C, September, '63), Samuel M. Eldridge, William T. Essex, 
 (died at Springfield, 111., September, 'G4i, Olaus Forss, (killed at 
 Knoxville. Tenn., November, '63), George Graeii, James P. 
 Headley, H. B. Johnson, (V. B. C, April, '74), Timothy Kenne- 
 dy, George iMill'er, (died at Lexington^ Ky., November, '62), J(^ 
 remiab D. Isladden, (died at Knoxville, tenn., December, '63), 
 George ^\^ Oziah, (died at Lexington, Ky., March, '63), William 
 B. Price, I discharged for disability), (xeorge AV. Rhodes, (killed 
 at Utoy Creek, Ga., .Vugns^, '64),'George"Rockwell, Robert G. 
 Stowe, (discharged for (i;sai>ility), William A. Stowe, (discharged 
 for dlsaiiiiitv), IMilton Stevens, (deserted), Preslev Terrel, David 
 Tinlin, (V. E. C, 3Iai-ch, 'Coi, Benj. F. Todd, William Vulga- 
 moth, Toulon. James W. Davidson, (diseharsjed for disability), 
 John D. Essex, James Essex, (killed at Utoy Creek, Ga., August, 
 '64), YN^illiara H. Harris, Anderson Ilartv, ijiromotedi, Jesse Li- 
 kens, (V. R. ('., Septenaber, '03), James 'McSharry, John F. Ni-- 
 gus, (died at Cincinnati, Ghio, October, '62), Zarah II. Newton, 
 (was prisoner), Penn. Ephraim AV. Smith, ( )seeola. 
 
 Recruits—Joseph II. Burwick, Patrick Flinn, (21st Ohio Infan- 
 try), Luther Graham November, '63, (6.jth Illinois), Henrv C. 
 Hall, February, '64, (died at Chattanooga, Jlav, '64; wounds), J. 
 H. Harkins, (21st Ohio Infantry), William J. Hamilton, (65th Ill- 
 inois I, Martin Hickman, (6.jth Illinois), Peter C. Johnson, Aug- 
 ust, '62, Owen Leek, (died at Ijexington, Kv., April, '63), J. W. 
 McDaniels, :March, '64, ^65th Illinois), Charles McComsev, Aug- 
 ust, '62, Geo. W. Pate, December, '(53, (6.")th Illinois), Thomas 
 Patterson, December, '63, (6.3th Illinois), William T. Shores, P. 
 
AND ITS PlOIsEEK.S. 321 
 
 A. Stone, August, '(ii, Je&se B. Taylor, August, '02, Aaron Ridle, 
 August, '62, {supposed killed November, '63), Henry J. Stone, 
 
 nimg. 
 
 ('l.>3[rANY G. 
 
 Corporals— Edward P. Wright, Stark county, August, '62. Pro- 
 moted. ' 
 
 -Privates—Enlisted August, 1862— .Joseph Berrv, Charles Kezer, 
 (V. R. C, October, '68s O-eorge Melbourne, Louis E. Morton, 
 (discharged for disability), John A. Tarble, Lafayette. 
 
 Recruits— Enlisted March, '64 -William A. Brown, (6oth Ill- 
 inois), Toulon. Andrew Jackson, (6oth Illinois), Myron AVaters, 
 (discharged tor disability), Frank L. Yale,,i65th Illinois], Lafay- 
 ette. 
 
 C0,1!!',\NY I-I. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted August, '62— Charles McComsey, (Co. F.), 
 Aaron Rid!e, iCo. F.), H. S. Stone, Co. F.), Frank A.' Stone. (Co. 
 F.), Jesse B. Taylor, (Co. F.i, Carlo,^ B. Tliorp, (Co. P.), Olof N. 
 Youngguist, (Co. F.) 
 
 Unassigned Recruits— .John Bevier, (died at Camp Butler, Illi- 
 nois, November, '64l, Lafayette. Ciba A. Dunlap, (discharged), 
 Bradford. Noah Hidlebaugh, March, '65, John C. Gingerieh, 
 (drafted, missing since December, '64), Essex. Jonas Johnson, 
 (rejected), West .Jersey. Volney xVrnold, March, '6o, Toulon. 
 
 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 ('OMPA?,'r A. 
 
 Corporals — Asa Bunton, Elmira, August, '62. Promoted. 
 
 Privates — Enlisted August, '62 — Daniel S. Adams, Frank Hud- 
 son, '(promoted), Levi Leek, (Invalid C^orps), Fred M. Leacroft, 
 Asa Smith, (promoted, died at Fort Gaines, April 19, '65), El- 
 mira. 
 
 COMI'AXy F. 
 
 Sergeants — George S. Green, Elmira, August, '62. 
 
 Corporals — Samuel M. Likes, Elmira, August, '62. Died at Yick*- 
 
 burg, September, '64. "> 
 
 Privates — Enlisted August, '62 — Nathaniel Co^pper, (died May, 
 '6.'}; wounds;, Alexander V\'ier, (died at Memphis, September, 
 '63), EJmira. Sylvester Sweet, Osceola. 
 
 Recruits — Waiter A. Fell, (33d), Thos. Murray, Februarv, '64, 
 Thomas VV. Rule, (38d), Andrew TurnbuU, (33dj, Elmira. Alv- 
 in Galley, (33d), Toulon. 
 
 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVENTH. 
 
 COJIPANY B. 
 
 Privates — Enlisted August, 1862 — Abram Bevier, (deserted), 
 Robt. J. Dickinson, (discharged), William H. Giwitts) (V. R. C, 
 -January, '651, Uriah Giwitts, (deserted), George Kinter, (desert- 
 ed), Lafayette. 
 
•iSZ STARK COUNTY 
 
 OXE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-NINTH— 3 months. 
 Principal Musician — )S. V. R. Bates, Toulon. 
 
 COMPANY A. 
 
 Corporals— Otis P. Dyer, Toulon, May, '04. 
 
 C03IPAXY H. 
 
 Corporals— James Swank, West Jersey, May, 'G4. 
 
 OO.Ml'AXY H, 
 
 Second-Lieutenant — Ansel J. Wrigrht, Toulon, June, '64. 
 Sergeants— Enlisted ^^May, '04- Gorham P. Blood, George Dugan, 
 
 Toulon. 
 Corporals— Enlisted May, '61— O. P. Crowell, N. W. Dewey, W. 
 O. Johnson, Toulon. 
 —Musician— S. V. R. Bates, Toulon, May, '64. Promoted princi- 
 pal musician. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted May, 1864— Samuel Burge, Wm. J. Barnett, 
 Thos. W. Cade, Geo. W. Dewey, Joseph Flansburg, Adam Gard- 
 ner, D. C. Lyon, Oren Maxfleld, jr., Elisha Mosher, William H. 
 Newcomer, Harrison Newton, Joseph H.Newton, Ruben Rounds, 
 Harvey J. Remington, John S. Roof, Charles D. Sharrer, (dis- 
 charged to re-enlist), Theodore Vandyke, Wm. W. Wright, An- 
 drew .1. Whitaker, Benj. .1. Whitcher, Benj. Witter, Isaac M. 
 Witter, Toulon. George Potter, Lafayette. 
 
 Recruits — Enlisted May, 1864 — Abram H. Loudenburgh, (from 
 Co. I.), Wm. Searl, (from Co. I.), Toulon. 
 
 ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-EIGHT— 1 year. ' 
 
 CJMPANY I. 
 
 Sergeants — INIoses B. Robinson, Lafayette, February, '65. 
 Corporals — I<]d\vin B. Pomeroy, West .Jersey, February, '05. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted February, '65 — Wm. D'. Cundiff, (promoted), 
 Charles Hester, Luman Himes, Lafayette. 
 
 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-ONE— 1 ykar. 
 Sergeant- Major — Fayette Lacey, Lafayette. 
 
 C(3>IPAXY. A. 
 
 Privates — Lafayette Schamp, Penn, February, '65. 
 
 I COMPANY E. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted February, 1865 — W. H. Boyer, Wyoming. 
 Allen Gingrich, (died at Nashville, March, '65), Slackwater. C. 
 W. Phenix, (promoted). Pleasant Green. 
 
 COMPANY I. 
 
 Captain — Casimer P. Jackson, Lafayette, February, '65. 
 
 First-Lieutenants — James Montooth, February" '65, Elmira. 
 Resigned June, '05. Andrew Galbraith, .July, '65, Toulon. 
 
 Second-Lieutenant«— Andrew Galbraith, February, '65, George 
 Fezler, July, '65, Toulon. Not mustered. 
 
 First Sergeant— Fayette Lacy, Lafayette, Feb., '65. Promoted 
 Sergeant-Maj or . 
 
 -Sergeants — Enlisted February, 'Go— Geo. Dugan, Toulon. Promo- 
 ted. Geo. R. Fezler, Toulon. Promoted 2d lieutenant. Geo. 
 
AND ITS PIONEERS. 323 
 
 W. McDaniels, Lafayette. Promoted. Samuel Keys, Toulon. 
 Corporals,— Enlisted February, 'G5— Rufus S. Jones, Lafayette. 
 
 Promoted. Samuel Dixon, Wyoming. Died atMichigan Citv, 
 
 Indiana, May, 'Go. Thomas Homer, Toulon. James F. 
 
 Thompson, Lafayette. John S. Boof, Toulon. Herod Mur- 
 
 iian, Toulon. 
 Musicians — Enlisted February, '0-";— Thomas S. Craig, Goshen. 
 
 Chas. W. Orr, Toulon. 
 Wagoner — Jonathan Bounds, Goshen, February, '65. 
 
 Privates — Enlisted February, 1865— Atkinson Coe, Austin De- 
 Wolf, Joseph Dixon, Andrpw Galbraith, (promoted), Edward A. 
 Johnson, Samuel K. Lowman, John H. Moncrief, (died at Dal- 
 ton, Ga., March, '65), Bethuel Pierson, Seth F. and Daniel Bock- 
 well, Henry W. Thomas, David Woodard, Toulon. David 
 Crumb, Geo. W. Gilson, (killed at Bushnell, 111., '65, in attempt 
 to jump bounty), Orson Grant, Leonidas Jones, Elias B.Lewis, 
 (deserted), Ira I. McConnell, Samuel Masters, (promoted), Ed. A. 
 Perry, Goshen. Casimere, Jackson, (promoted), Lafayette. Jas. 
 Montooth, (promoted), Elmira. 
 
 THIBD CAVALBY. 
 
 COJII'ANY A. 
 
 Privates — Enlisted August, 1861 — James H. Chaddock, ("promo- 
 ted), Samuel A. Highlands, (deserted), .John W. Highlands, (pro- 
 moted, died at Memphis), Stark county. 
 
 Becruits — Enlisted February, 1864— Samuel H. Aten, (Co. C, 
 M consolidated cavalry), William P. Burns, (Co. C, Bdcon.cav.), 
 Harrison Burkhart, Bobert Garner, Co. C, 3d con. cav.), .John 
 Green, (Co. C, 3d con. cav.), John King, (died at Port Hudson, 
 Louisiana), June, Oi, Theodore W. McDaniel, Ge6rge P. Pyle, 
 (Co. C, 3d con. cav.), John Simmerman, (Co. C, 3d con. cav.), 
 Henrj' Simmerman, Co. C, 3d con. cav.). West Jersey. George 
 Eoardman, (discharged for disability), Hugh B. Creighton, (dis- 
 charged for promotion), Stark county. Albert P. Finley, Ton- 
 Ion. 
 
 THIBD (CONSOLIDATED) CAVALBY. 
 
 flljn'AXY 0. 
 
 Privates— Samuel Aten, William Burns, Bobert A. Garner, J. 
 Green, (deserted), Theodore W. McDaHiel, George F. Pyle, (de- 
 serted), Henry Simmerman, .John Simmerman, West Jersey. 
 
 (.'(IJIPANV K. 
 
 Privates— Andrew J. Walker, Elmira, March, '60. 
 SECOND ABTILLEBY. 
 
 ,B COMPANY A. 
 
 Corporal— Harvey Pierce, Wyoming, May, '61. Veteranized 
 and promoted. 
 
321 STAEK COUXTV 
 
 Privates— Enlisted July, 'Gl— Clemens B. Dcfenclener, (died at 
 New Orleans, February,' 'G4, Thomas J. Ellis, (veteranized), Wy- 
 oming. 
 
 Recruits— Enlisted September, 1862— Alva W. Brown, Lafay- 
 ette. John Cox, (died at Syracuse, Dec, 65), Is. H. Hull* Chas. 
 Thomas, Wyoming. Samuel Eagon, Emanuel Kissel, West Jer- 
 sev. David N. Hiifner, Charles N. Hull, Osceola. Wm. Beers, 
 Calvin Rockwell, Hugh Stockner, Marshall and Warren Winn, 
 Lorenzo K. Wiley, Toulon. Morris Ayres, (died in service), .Jo- 
 seph, G. Bloomer, (died in service!, Stephen Carney, Albert Eag- 
 on, John Hull, John R. Strattou, Stark county. 
 
 NIXTH CAVALRY. 
 
 Company h. 
 
 Recruits— Enlisted January, v '64— Thomas Flanagan, Christo- 
 pher Flanagan, John Stokes, John C. Shaw, Patrick Smith, Tou- 
 lon. Henrj^Lewis, (died a prisoner at Charleston, S. C), Samuei- 
 R. Lewis, (disserted), Lafayette. 
 
 C'l^ll'A'XY K. 
 
 Captains— J. O. H. Spinney, Bradford, May, '05. Veteranized. 
 First-Lieutenant— J. O. H. Spinney, Bradford, September, '6-J. 
 
 Promoted. 
 Sergeants — Enlisted vSeptember, T,]- John Jamison, Bradford. 
 Veteranized and deserted. Francis 31. Lamper, Osceola. Dis- 
 charged. 
 
 Privates— Enlisted October, 'Gl— Fowler Bryant, E. W. Curtis, 
 (veteranized), Frank U. Doyle, (discharged), Thomas A.. Foster, 
 Wesley F. Foster, (veteranized and promoted), .John S. Hayden, 
 (i'eteranizediind promoted), Christopher Handley, Wm. S. Luce, 
 Isaac Moon, James, M. Stanley, (veteranized and promoted), .J. 
 O. H. Spinney, ^(veteranized'), James Sherlock' (veteranized), 
 Bradford. Francis Griswold, (promoted, died at Memphis, July, 
 '62), Herman D. Sturm, Oscenla. 
 
 Recruits— Henry ]McKibbon, (promoted), March 2S, '6-1, Brad- 
 ford. 
 
 Unassigned Recruits — Martin Sliay, I'enn, March 31, '65. 
 
 MISCELLAIsEOUS OEGAXIZATIOXS. 
 
 11th Illinois Volunteer \ Infantry. — Company C, Heniy Speers, 
 recruited February, '65. Transferred to 46th Illinois. 
 
 12th Illinois. — Company H, Thomas Carrol, Providence, enlisted 
 August, '61, discharged August, '62, for Avounds. 
 
 16th Illinois. — Companj- A., George W. Leighton, Penn, recruited 
 February, '64. Company G., Lemuel G. Marsh, Penn, Reuben 
 Crook, enlisted May, '61, veteranized in Companj' A. 
 
 17th Illinois. — Company D., Thomas B. Bonar and David W.Sny- 
 der of Lafayette, enlisted jMay, '61.* 
 
 18th Illinois. — Company F., Charles McGlaughlin and John Mad- 
 den of Essex, enlisted March 10th, '65, and deserted March '65 
 
AND ITS PIOXEERS. 325 
 
 John P. Smith, Uoshen, enlisted Febnmrv 2o, '65. George W. 
 Bowers of Lafayette, March, 'ei."). 
 24th Illinois.— Jerome B. Thomas of Wyoming, enlisted at Ke- 
 \\-anee and commissioned as First-^lssistant Surgeon, March .'3, 
 186,1'. 
 28th Illinois.— Company E., James C. Hall and John Walrtron 
 enlisted February, '64, both from Pemi. Company F., Edress 
 M. Conklin, October, '64, (substitute). C'(jmpauy K., James ^I. 
 Peden, Toulon, September, '61 . George A. Armstrong, Elmira, 
 and Jeremiah Fei-guson, Lafayette, enlisted, March, '65. 
 
 34th Illinois.— Company E., James Hall and John v^'aldron of 
 Peun, (see 28th nil. 
 
 ;5.sth lUinois.^Company F., ou listed August, '61, John M. Cole, 
 Thomas C. Davis, (taken prisoner), Peter Lane, (discharged for 
 disability), all from West Jersey. 
 
 4Uth Illinois. — Company (>., Hugh D. Keffer, Toulon, enlisted at 
 IMcLeansboro, July, '61. Promoted captain, April, '65. Com- 
 pany 1)., John Timmons, Essex, recruited March, '65, deserted 
 June, '65, (see 93d Illinois). 
 
 41st Illinois. — Com.pany D., James D. Anderson, Lafayette, enlis- 
 ted July, 'Gl. Veteranized, in ^'■eteran Battalion, Company A., 
 as corporal, January, '64. 
 
 49th Illinois. — Company B., John L. Lee, Lafayette, recruited Ap- 
 ril, '65. Comx)any K., Wm. C. Grant, Elmira, recruited March 
 '6o. 
 
 50th Illinois. — Unassigned Recruit. Johnliyan, Penn, February, 
 '65. 
 
 r)3d Illinois. — Company A., Francis Bradlej', December, '64, (sub- 
 stitute, never joined the company). Company C, James W. 
 Albro, Osceola, October, '64, (never joined. the company), James 
 Lee, Penn, December, '64, (never joined company). Company 
 E., Wm. Oziah, Penn, December, '64, (substitute). 
 
 CCth Illinois. — Edward Keffer, Toulon, enlisted at McLeansboro, 
 February, '6:i, and commissioned 2d lieutenant. Promoted cap- 
 tain, October, '62. Killed by fall of a tree, December, '0:3, in 
 Ala. Osuland C. Griswold, Toulon, enlisted at McLeansboro, 
 as sergeant, November, '6 1 . Promoted 2d lieutenant, October, 
 '62. Kesigned, May, '64. 
 
 57th Illinois.— Company H. Wm. P. Clifford, enlisted at Roches- 
 ter, October, '(il, deserted June, 'ii2. 
 
 58th Illinois.— Company D., Rudolph Shippman, Essex, promo- 
 ted, discharged for disability. Company E., Isaac Dudley, 
 Edward Deffleg, (desertedi, March, '65, both from Elmira. 
 Company I., Franklin Maxey, corporal, and James C. ]Maxcy, 
 both enlisted from Elmira, afarch, '65. Unassigned, John Ry- 
 an, Penn, February, 'o5. 
 
 G4th Illinois.— Company C, Stephen Babb, Osceola, recruited, 
 February, '62. 
 
 66th Illinois.— Company F., Charles Atherton, Lafayette, October, 
 '61 (transferred Invalid corps), Andrew Hamilton, Lafayette, 
 recruited February, '64. Unassigned, Daniel Holmes, Lafay- 
 ette, recruited February, '61. 
 
826 STARK COUNTY 
 
 83d Illinois.— Company K., Wm. H. Ilarrls, August, '62, dis- 
 charged for disability. 
 
 !l06th Illinois. — Company G., Benjamin AVilliams, Toulon, com- 
 missioned captain September, '02, died in service. Company 
 H., James w. Berry, Toulon, enlisted as corporal August, '02, 
 Lincoln. Promoted to 1st lieutenant. 
 
 108th Illinois. — Company C, Eichard Lynch, Toulon, recruited 
 November, '63, (see 47th Illinois). Company 1)., James Riley, 
 recruited, March, '65, (see 47th Illinois). 
 
 113th Illinois. — Company K., Milton A. Coffenbury, Bradford, 
 recruited November, '63. 
 
 114th Illinois. — John C. Copes take, West Jersey, commissioned 
 1st assistant surgeon, October, '64. 
 
 132d Illiiiois.— 3 months— Co. G., C. Hotchkiss, Toulon, and Bar- 
 ney M. Jackson, Lafayette ; both enlisted Agril, '64. 
 
 -155th Illinois. — 1 year — Co. I., enlisted February, '6.5, Wm. Cross, 
 Wyoming, Oliver P. White, West Jersey, Patrick McGuyre, 
 Edward O'Brien, (drowned in Stone River, January, '65.) 
 
 4th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry. — Company D., William Douglas, 
 Essex, January, '61, (see 12th cavalry). Company A., Joseph 
 E. McKinstrey, corporal, (see 12th "cavalry). Company K., 
 William Crooks, Essex, recruited October, '62, promoted Ser- 
 geant- Major. 
 
 7th Cavalry. — l-nassigned recruits, enlisted from Penn, March, '65, 
 Charles Butcher, (died at Camp Butler), and William Butcher. 
 
 11th Cavalry. — Company C, Andrew C'aldwell, Slackwater, re- 
 cruited December, '63, deserted July, '61. Company M., Wm. 
 A. Glaze, West Jersey, recruited March, '6.o. Unassigned, 
 Baxter 31. Mahany, Toulon, recruited February, '65, (died at 
 Camp Butler). 
 
 12th Cavalry.— Joseph Johnson, Toulon, November, '64, 'William 
 Douglas, Essex, (see 4th cavalry), Joseph E. McKinstrey, cor- 
 poral, (see 4th cavalry). 
 
 14th Cvaalry. — Company A., DeWitt C. Reece, West Jersey, No- 
 vember, '62. Company M., Isaac Dennis, West Jersey, October, 
 '6 , discharged for disability. 
 
 1st Artillery.— Battery D., Lewis W. Jones, Wyoming, corporal, 
 discharged. 
 
 2d U. S. Veteran Volunteers. — Company A., Alvah M. Brown, 
 Penn, enlisted February, '65. 
 
 4th U. S. Veteran Volunteers.— Company B., Geo. Carter, West 
 .1 ersey, enlisted February, '65. 
 
 1st U. S. Army Corps.— Company 5, Thomas Higgins, Elmira, 
 enlisted March, '65. 
 
 4th U. S. Regular Infantry.— Adam Fell, died at Anapolis Maw- 
 land. Robert Fell and Asa Clark, all of Elmira. 
 
 16th U. S. Regular Infantry.— Reuben Shockley, James Sehemer- 
 horn, Creighton Swain, James McGee. 
 
 1st U. S. Artillery.— George Rouse, Goshen. 
 
 121st, New York.- Company A., Peter Nicholson, Toulon. 
 
 21st Ohio.— Patrick Plj^nn and John H. Harkins of Toulon. 
 
 7th Mo. Volunteer Infantry.— Company I.', enlisted at St. Loui'^ 
 Mo., June, '61, mustered out Jiuie, '64, sergeants Robert Robb 
 
AND ITS PIONEEllS. 
 
 327 
 
 and Isaac Harris of Toulon, privates James Sliivvers of Essex 
 and Tliomas Perry of Toulon. 
 
 10th Mo., Volunteer Infantry.— Company C, A. X. Harris, Go- 
 slieii. 
 
 11th Mo., Volunteer Cavalry. -Company K., A. X. Harris, Go- 
 shen, enlisted as 2d lieutenant and promoted to captain. 
 
 Mississippi Marine Brigade.— William Cross of Toulon. 
 
 Marine Artillery. — lohn James Campbell, died in service, Samuel 
 Dyer, died at Roanoke, Andrew Galbraith, John ITotchkiss, 
 Charles Maxfield, Henry Marehant, Jeptha Mosher, Carleton 
 Rhodes, died at Newbern, N. C, Warren Winn, Oliver White, 
 Isaac vvhittaker, Marshall Winn of Toulon. Dennis Clark, J as. 
 w. Dexter, Marian Godfrey, James Hall, John Labarr, John H. 
 Parks. 
 
 37th Illinois, Company B.— By mistake the followinglistof names 
 were omitted in' the list of this regiment: Emery S. Buffum, 
 John W. Buflfum, Kelson Grant, K. G. Hilliard, George H. 
 Hurd, William H. Hurd, Daniel Lundy and Samuel Lamoin, 
 all enlisted from Goshen. 
 
 CENSUS RETURNS. 
 
 TOWNSHIPS. 
 
 18-i() 
 
 if 
 
 IS.JO 
 
 1855 
 
 1855 
 
 3 
 
 1853 
 
 1800 
 
 1860 
 
 T 
 
 1860 
 
 g 
 
 1865 
 
 1865 
 
 1865 
 
 
 g 
 
 1870 
 
 1870 
 
 T 
 
 1870. 
 
 g 
 
 
 
 305 
 36C 
 275 
 430 
 466 
 227 
 
 356 
 2013 
 
 281 
 304 
 243 
 379 
 
 38S 
 175 
 407 
 408 
 2585 
 
 586 
 670 
 518 
 809 
 854 
 402 
 
 ■895 
 764 
 
 6498 
 
 8037 
 
 ■907 
 
 1000 
 
 964 
 
 099 
 
 1783 
 
 1033 
 
 876 
 
 1198 
 
 1160 
 
 9004 
 
 537 
 554 
 578 
 980 
 649 
 Oil 
 002 
 051 
 5162 
 
 627 
 544 
 407 
 962 
 015 
 624 
 519 
 568 
 4726 
 
 1064 
 1008 
 1045 
 1942 
 1264 
 1135 
 1121 
 1219 
 9888 
 
 1148 
 
 891 
 
 972 
 
 1842 
 
 1123 
 
 845 
 
 1431 
 
 1223 
 
 9475 
 
 130 
 217 
 149 
 218 
 147 
 210 
 107 
 92 
 1276 
 
 1278 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pei)n 
 
 
 
 1121 
 
 
 
 a? 7 
 
 
 
 
 1270 
 
 Valley 
 
 
 
 loci 
 
 ■RSSOX 
 
 
 
 1538 
 
 
 
 
 Stark County 
 
 1570 
 
 3710 
 
 10751 
 
 In 1870 the nationality of our foreign population ^vaa as follows : Britisli, 308 ; Canadian, 107 ; 
 Irisli, 359; Scotch, 147; German, 1'>S ; Scandinavian, 178 ; French, 0. 
 
 The population of onr towns as follows : Toulon, 904 ; "Wyontlng, G40 ; Lafayette, 284 ; Bead- 
 foM, 280. In 1855, Towlon had 355, and Lafayette 300. 
 

 
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