Bureau County, Illinois - Chapter 3: Early Settlement of the County, 1906

Chapter 3: Early Settlement of the County

Bureau county was named in honor of Pierre de Beuro, a half-breed trader, who was the first man to establish a trading post within the present limits of Bureau county. This post was located near where Bureau Creek empties into the Illinois river. This post was established about the time Illinois was admitted into the Union. The next trading post was also managed by a halfbreed known as Bulbona. His cabin was located about two miles south of Wyanet on what is known as the David Jones farm. This post was established in the early twenties and its site was picturesque, being situated upon a high bluff overlooking a large stretch of country. On this point near the cabin was erected a tall flag pole from which floated the "stars and stripes."

Bulbona bought furs from the Indians and disposed of them in Peoria, where he in turn purchased gaudy trinkets, which the Indians were very anxious to possess, and exchanged them for more furs. Thus at this early time Bulbona was enabled to carry on a profitable business. The writer was at this historic place a few years ago and found the old cellar of the cabin and the depression where the flagstaff stood plainly visible. If the history of this old landmark could be obtained no doubt many thrilling tales could be told, for here the Indians congregated to hold their dances and to partake of the "fire water" that was furnished them by Bulbona, but a true and correct account of those wild and frenzied scenes will never be written, for the foot of civilization now presses the soil where the red man trod, and in the place of the war-whoop and the chase we find the beautiful homes and the waving fields of the present generation. As near as we can ascertain the first real permanent white settler of this county was Henry Thomas, who settled near the Thomas Vaughn place, north of Wyanet, in 1828. John Di.xon, Reason B. Hale and John and Justice Ament with their families came the same year.

whom many of our citizens well remember, passed through this county in company with John Dixon, his brother-in-law, in 1827. They took through a drove of cattle from Springfield to Galena for the lead mines markets. Bradsby, in his history of this county, tells the story as he received it from Mr. Alexander Boyd, who was a familiar form on the streets of Princeton until his decease in 1902. The story is substantially as follows : It was then an unoccupied wilderness from Peoria to Galena, and their only guide was a wagon track made a few days before by a party going from Galena to Peoria. It is thought that this was the first wagon that ever tracked the prairies of this county. From Peoria to Galena not a white man was to be seen. Indian villages and wigwams were the only signs of human existence to be seen during the entire journey. This was a long and tedious trip; the streams were crossed by swimming the cattle and horses; but at last they reached the lead mines and disposed of their cattle, receiving most of their pay in silver. On the return trip their food became exhausted. That with the treachery of the Indians made it a most trying experience. The silver that Boyd received for his cattle was put into a sack and tied upon the packhorse. When the party reached the river, where Dixon is now located, they tried to make arrangements with the Indians to take them across in their canoes; they easily made an agreement with them, but when they were ready to go the Indians with whom the agreement was made could not be found. While waiting to obtain means of crossing, one of the bucks jumped upon the back of the horse carrying the silver and went whooping down the river. The reader can imagine that our old pioneer, Charles S. Boyd, did not have at that time any very great admiration for the daring feat of this dusky athlete. But every cloud is said to have a silver lining; so this case was no exception, for in a short time the young brave returned with both pony and money and no loss was sustained. At last the Indians took the men across in canoes and the horses were made to swim the river. This is only one of the many, many almost tragic experiences of that early time. Mr. John Dixon was at that time a resident of Peoria and was county judge and circuit clerk; he also worked at his trade as tailor. He was so impressed with the beauties of the country over which they passed on this trip that he at once resigned his offices and came to Boj-d's Grove in Milo township and started improvements. This was in the fall of 1827, and it is a question whether he or Henry Thomas was the first actual settler. Ho remained at Boyd's Grove until 18.30, when he sold out his improvements to Charles S. Boyd and removed to Dixon and purchased the Ogee ferry, which for years afterwards was known as "Dixon's Ferry." He became a very prominent factor in all the important movements of his time. The present beautiful city of Dixon that lies on both sides of Eock river was named in honor of this grand old man. He had at one time a plenty of this world's goods, but through the kindness of his great heart he lent the use of his name to trusted friends and through their failures and unworthiness he became poor and died in poverty in 1S76. Thus ended the eventful life of one of Bureau county's early, if not the earliest, settlers. He died ripe in' years and his memory is cherished by a truly grateful people.

John Dixon, Charles S. Boyd and Oliver Kellogg were three brothers-in-law from whom the cities of Dixon, Boyd's Grove and Kellngg's Grove received their names, which will probably be handed down through the generations yet to be. The history of Charles S. Boyd's early experiences in this county deserve more than a passing notice. Charles S. Boyd and Elizabeth Dixon were married in the city of New York in June, 1814. Illinois at that time was a vast and practically an unknown stretch of country, extending from the Ohio river on the south to Canada on the north. Notwithstanding this and realizing that great liardships and privations were before them, Mr. Boyd and John Dixon started on April 13, 1820, with two ox teams to make the journey to a settlement that had started where the city of Springfield now stands. They were seevnty-two days on the way, arriving at their destination on June 24, 1820. Their journey was a long and fatiguing one. At Pittsburg they bought a flatboat for sixty-five dollars and putting their teams and all on board floated down the Ohio river to Shawneetown. where the boat was sold for five dollars, and they again moved across the prairies with their ox teams until they reached the location for which they sought. Mr. Boyd remained in Springfield about ten years. He dug the first well and built the first brick chimney in that city. His house stood near where the capitol now stands. Mr. Boyd's partner in business was William S. Hamilton, a son of the lamented Alexander Hamilton, who lost his life in a duel with Aaron Burr. Mr. Hamilton had in his possession the silver-mounted pistols which his father used in that tragic scene. The pistols were very heavily mounted with silver and were left in the care of Mr. Boyd when in 1830 he came to this county. Boyd's Grove was at that time an important station on the state road, between Peoria and Galena. Over this road fourhorse coaches made the trip three times each week. A relay of horses was kept at the Grove and it was there that stages met at night and transferred baggage and passengers, and here, with straw strewn upon the floor for a bed, the travelers would rest until early morning, when they would again resume their journev. In the winter of 1832, on the night of February 18, Mr. Boyd's house with nearly all of its contents was burned. The snow was two feet deep and the temperature was at the zero point when this family was driven from their home with scanty clothing to protect them from the elements. Among the few articles saved were two feather-beds, which proved to be a great blessing, as they saved the bare-footed children from becoming terribly frozen. No immediate relief could be had as the nearest neighbor was more than twenty miles away. Fortunately the smokehouse was left and in it had been stored some hams and bacon, so into this crude room, twelve by sixteen feet, the family was sheltered until a temporary camp was prepared. This camp was near the cabin where Shabbona, the white man's friend, with his plurality of wives and several children, lived. Mr. Boyd's daughter, Mrs. Dr. Paddock, who now lives in Princeton, although a child at that time, has a vivid remembrance of those distressing days. She informs us that through the kindness of this old chief their family was supplied with nearly all of the meat that was used by them for the rest of the winter. Shabbona's skill as a marksman was remarkable, and it was a delight to him to teach the j-oung braves and also the white children how to use the gun. Mrs. Paddock also informs us that she spent many happy hours in those childhood days in playing and shooting at a mark with the young Indians. Shabbona alwavs rewarded the best marksman with a silver quarter.

In the spring of this year (1832) rumors began to be circulated that there was to be an Indian raid, headed by Blackhawk, but many of the settlers were slow to believe it, as they thought Blackhawk with his tribe was beyond the Mississippi. Shabbona, realizino- the danger, advised sending the old men, women and children to the forts for safety. Accordingly Mr. Boyd took his wife and younger children to Fort Clark, at Peoria, but he and the larger boys stayed upon the farm and put in a crop, taking their guns into the fields with them, as they were liable to be attacked at any moment. They also slept during the summer in the brush patches near the caliin, not deeming it prudent to remain in it during the night. One morning when tlie boys were sitting upon a bench cleaning their guns, they heard the click of a ritle and looking up they saw an Indian running from a small patch of hazel brush near by. What the result might have been had not the Indian's gun missed fire, no one can tell. One night during this summer a small party of men arrived at the Grove with dispatches from Dixon to Fort Clark. The men, being anxious to return, as the Indians were in close proximity to Dixon, wlien (hoy left, they prevailed on Mr. Boyd to allow one of his boys to carry the papers on to Fort Clark. His son Alexander volunteered to carry the orders. Accordingly, in the early twilight of the morning, after being cautioned by his father to keep on the high ]U'airie and ride as fast as his liorse could go, he started on this perilous journey of fortv miles, which he safely made in six hours. On arriving at the fort he hitched his horse outside the stockn ndu and presented himself at tlie gate, requesting to see the oflSeer in command. The orderly conducted him to headquarters, where he delivered his messages. He was kindly received and highly commended for his bravery. After scanning him closely - he was in his shirtsleeves, bare-footed and wore a hat minus half the brim - the officer ordered him to be taken to the commissary department for a new suit. The order was obeyed and the young hero appeared in a new outfit, perfect from hat to boots, .\fter this transformation lie was allowed to visit his mother and the younger children, who had been taken as before mentioned to the fort as a place of safely, and the next day returned home.

After living at the Grove twelve years, Mr. (loyd in 1S12 moved to Princeton, where he lived until his death in ISSl. in his eighty-ninth year, and so closed the long and eventful life of this early pioneer. A num who had lived to see more progress in his own life time, than all the generations that had preceded him. He was eleven years old when Fulton demonstrated to the world that steam navigation was possible; he was thirtysix years old before any ]iractical railroading was introduced; he was nearly fifty when the first public test of telegraphy was made; he lived to see the hand sickle, which had been in use for ages, give place to the mammoth reaper; the post-boy to the postal-ear; but we forbear to enumerate - they are gone and gone forever, and the rumble of the stage-coach and the crack of driver's whip are hushed in the silence of forgetfulness.

The pistols referred to as belonging to the son of .Vlexander Hamilton were given to Mr. Boyd for safe keeping: on the fated night when the house was burned these pistols were destroyed and the silver upon them was melted, also sonie silver coins. After the fire had spent its fury and the ashes became cool, the silver from the pistols and coins ivas gathered and E. S. Philips, of Springfield, Hlinois, made it into .spoons and ^Irs. Dr. Paddock of this city now has them for table use.

In 18-39 John and Justin Anient came to the county and settled at Red Oak Grove, which is located in the northeast corner of Walnut township, where they lived until after the Blackhawk war. These two brothers eame from Kentuclcy and were important factors in the scenes of those early times. After a few years' stay at Red Oak John sold his claim and moved upon what is now known as the Butt's farm, just north of Princeton, where he lived until his death.

Abram Stratton was one of the pioneers of 1829. His experience was one well calculated to try men's souls. As early as 18fi.") he was counted as the oldest settler in Bureau county. He was bom and reared in Ulster county. New York, and at the age of twenly-four started on foot to brave the hardships and trials incident to a trip to the far west, as Hlinois at that time was considered to U' the limits of the then present and probable future civilization. But not daunted by obstacles, not dismayed by hardships, not frightened at danger, this brave soul pressed on toward the setting sun ; sleeping or awake, he was most of the time surrounded by a primeval solitude. If there is anything that will thrill one's nerves and depress one's spirits it is to feel that he is absolutely alone, so that a cry for help will be answered only by the echo of his own voice. Most of the way from Detroit he followed an Indian trail. The mail at that time was carried by post-boys, and they passed over the route from Chicago to Detroit only a few times during the year. But despite all these heart-soi-e experiences, he steadily kept his pace westward and at last the beautiful prairies of Illinois gladdened his vision, and after walking over much of her undeveloped lands he finally drove the stakes of his future home on West Bureau, in this county. After spending the winter in Peoria he started back to New York, being guided only by a pocket compass. He remained but a short time at his old home, where he purchased some farming tools for himself and some of his neighbors, and shipped them by boat as far as the St. Joseph river in Michigan, at which place he arrived soon after on foot. It was late in the fall, the weather was cold and stormy, the lake boats had ceased running for the season, yet nothing daunted, he hired two Frenchmen to take him and his boxes of freight around the head of the lake in a dugout canoe, to Chicago, distant one hundred and twenty miles. The trip was a most trying one, the roughness of the lake compelling them at times to unload their goods and wait for the waves to subside, but at last after nine days of toil and exposure they arrived at Fort Dearborn. After a short rest Mr. Stratton hired a man to take his bo.xes to Plainfield, about thirty miles southwest of Chicago, where he bought a pair of oxen and built a sled, loaded on his goods and again started on his journey. The weather was extremely cold, the snow deep, no visible road, his only guide being points of timber that lay across his route. In this entangling maze he still pressed on until he arrived at a trading house on the Illinois river. Here he was directed to cross at a point just above Hennepin island, and then to follow^ up stream on the ice until he came to some blazed trees, where he would find a road which had been cut out by the settlers a few weeks before. But to his great disapiiointuient he found the ice too thin in places, to hold up the oxen and sled, so he was obliged to leave the river and cut a road through the timber. This was a slow way of making progress, and during this time he lost his bearings and wandered about trying to find his way to the residence of Elijah Epperson, a little northwest of where Princeton now stands. The snow in places was so deep that it had to be shoveled awav before the oxen could get through it. At last night settled down over them and both man and team were in an exhausted condition, so much so that further progress could not be made and about where the John H. Bryant house now stands lie pitched his camp. After shoveling away the snow for the cattle and sled he felled a dry tree and taking his flint and tinder he started a lire, and there in that zero weather, under the open sky, while the oxen were browsing on twigs of fallen trees Abram Stratton slept the sleep of the bold pioneer. On the following morning he found his way to Mr. Epperson's cabin and the day following he reached his claim on West Bureau, having spent two weeks on the journey from Plainfield. Matson, in his "Eeminiscences of Bureau County," says that "Mr. Stratton kept this yoke of oxen and sled, with them he frequently went to church or visiting, and with them he tied from the countj at the commencement of the Black Hawk war. In the fall of 1831 Mr. Stratton married Misa Sarah Boggs, their wedding being the second one celebrated within the limits of Bureau county.'' Mr. Stratton continued to live on his farm until his death, which occurred in 1877. And sc passed from earth another heroic soul, who had spent a long and strenuous life in blazing the way that has led up to our advanced civilization. Sylvester Brigham was born in New Hampshire in 1807. He was the oldest of a large family of children, who were taught, as all of the youth of that sturdy generation were, that life, and especially success in life, meant industry, economy, and self reliance. With these ideas firmly fixed in his mind, coupled with the wonderful stories of the productiveness of the great West, Mr. Brigham became restless under the restrictions in that sterile country and said to his father that he could not be content to settle down until he had seen the much talked of prairies of Illinois. Accordingly, in 1839, at twenty-two years of age, he, with a young man by the name of Sherley, took their departure for this undeveloped and to them unknown country. They came to Detroit by boat and from there, with their rifles for companions and laiapsacks for their supplies, they resumed their journey on foot, traveling through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and part of Iowa, and acording to Mr. Brigham's own account, for six weeks they saw no white man except themselves, mingling only with the Indians and sleeping on the ground wherever night overtook them. On this trip they passed through what is now Bureau county, which was then an almost unbroken waste, although Mr. Henry Thomas was living in West Bureau, and at his house they made a short stay and finally located claims near there. After remaining a few weeks to do some work upon their claims, they returned to New Hampshire, where Sherley remained. Mr. Brigham's father had remarked to the family, before his son's return, that when Sylvester "got back home he would be satisfied to stay there" : but, "No,'' he said to his father. "I can not remain here. It ivill take something better than you have in New Hampshire to hold me." So the following spring, 1830, he again started for the AVest, this time bringing James Forristale with him. They came down the Ohio river and up the ilississippi and Illinois to Peoria on the first steamboat that ever came that far up the Illinois. Instead of taking the claims they had located the fall before, Mr. Brigham made a new claim on what is now known as the Hensel farm in Dover, on section 23. He also entered the present Joseph Brigham farm for his father, who was expecting to come west in the near future. Mr. Brigham remained on this claim during the years of 1830 and 1831, improved his land and raised a small crop. During the winter of 1830 he lived alone in his cabin among the Indians, who were his daily visitors. In 1832 he again returned to New Hampshire to assist his father's family in moving to Illinois, arriving at. Hennepin in October, where they remained two years on account of the Indian troubles. Mr. Sylvester Brigham was here all through the Black Hawk war, stood beside Mr. Phillips, his cousin, when shot by the Indians, and narrowly escaped the same fate himself. His life was a strenuous one while braving these early dangers. He lived upon the land he entered until 1853, when he sold and removed to Kansas, where he died in 1872. James Forristall, Mr. Brigham's companion on his second trip, entered land near the main part of Bureau, where he lived until his death. Thus ended the career of two men whose youth and vigor was spent in the development of this new civilization, which robbed nature of her bewitching charms and gave us in its stead the hum of industry and the luxuries of the present time.

James Coddington was another early settler of Bureau county, coming here in 1831. He was a native of Maryland, born in 1798. The Indian troubles being in an unsettled condition and the future outlook being somewhat cloudy, he deemed it prudent to wait developments; accordingly he went back to his native state and did not return until 1833, when he settled in Dover township on section 27, where he lived until his death, in 1876. Mr. Coddington reared a large and highly respected family, which is a richer legacy than coffers of gold or acres of land.

John Deeper, father of H. B. Deeper, now living in this county, was born in Pennsylvania in 178(i. His father moved to Georgia when he was a lad. where he grew to manhood, married, and moved to Tennessee in 1808. Not being in sympathy with the institution of slavery, he disposed of his property in Tennessee and moved to Illinois territory in 1816. He arrived in Madison county, which then comprised more than one- third of Illinois territory, on April 5, having been fortyfive (lays on the journey, a distance that can now be ciixcred in less than one-half of a single day. ill the fall of this year he settled in Bond county.

remaining there until 1823, when he moved to what is now Morgan county, near where Jacksonville now stands. Jacksonville was laid out in 1825. The central part of the state at that time was rapidly tilling up with settlers, so much so that Mr. Leeper thought l)est to again move farther north, so in the fall of 1831 he moved his family to Putnam county and settled about three zniles northeast of the present town of Hennepin, and made claim to 2, -500 acres of land. During the Black Ilawk war he built a stockade around his house to protect his family from the Indians, while three of his sons enlisted to help carry on the war. In 1833 Mr. Leeper sold his land and moved into Bureau county and bought an unfinished saw mill which was located on Bureau creek about one and one-half miles northwest of Bureau Junction. In 183.5 a large amount of land was entered in close proximity to this mill, and after finishing the saw mill he added machinery for a grist mill, also for carding wool and turning wood. Mr. H. B. Leeper informs us ihat this mill had all of the then modern improvements and that it carded the wool, sawed the lumber, and ground the grain for many miles around. The mill burned in 1838 and was never replaced on such a large and perfect scale as before, although there was a small mill there for many years after. Jlr. Leeper died in 183.") and was buried in Oakland cemetery, bis body being the second interred there. Mr. Leeper was a man full of energy,- push and enthusiasm, always ready to take hold of any good work that was calculated to better the condition of his community or the world at large. He was optimistic in his thoughts, a friend of the church and school, and stoixl for everything that goes to make up good and pure citizenship. He was elected to the legislature in 1827 from Morgan county; was also county judge; but his home was his castle and there he loved to work and plan, not only for his own inmiediate family, but for the good of all with whom he came in contact. Mr. H. B. Leeper, one of his sous, now lives in Princeton at the ripe old age of 8."). He was elected sherilf of Putnam county in ISfiO.

Cyrus Langworthy was one of the well remembered men of the early days of this county. He was a man of great physical strength, and having courage to match it, he was well fitted for the many places of trust which he was called upon to fill. He came to this county in 1834, was elected sheriff in 1838. and again in 1810, being the first man elected to that office in Bureau county. In 1812 he was sent to the legislature from this district. Mr. Langworthy served in the war of 1812, entering the army at nineteen years of age. Some time after he had retired to private life, there was a change in the politics of the county and the previous party's record was investigated. A committee was appointed aiul the records examined. Among the number who had to pass "under the was Cyrus Langworthy. After going carefully over his accounts and settlements with tlie county, the committee reported that Bureau county owed Cyrus Langworthy thirty-seven cents, which of course brought great satisfaction to him and liis friends, for it proved that he had not only managed public att'airs with ability but with scrupulous integrity. Mrs. J. C. Taylor, a daughter of his, resides in Princeton at the present time.

In 182y Warren Sherley made a claim at Heaton's Point. This was the first claim in that vicinity. Eli and Elijah Suiith were among the early settlers. They came here in 1831 on their wedding trip. The two brothers married sisters and started from Massachusetts for their future home in Illinois. Dr. Chamberlain accompanied them. Instead of coming into Princeton in a Pullman car, they selected an ox team express and when near their journey's end the express sidetracked and was stuck fast in the mud. It was night and they were looking for Forristall's cabin. After working at the mired down wagon for a time they gave up the eliort and started on their journey again. I)r. Chamberlain having the only horse in the party, took Mrs. Eli Smith on horseback behind him, while Mr. Elijah Smith and wife rode on the backs of the oxen. At last it became so dark that they were obliged to camp for the night, cutting brush for a bed. Their camp was near the present site of Maiden. After sleeping upon their beds of boughs with the Ijroad canopy of heaven for their shelter, they awoke and found themselves surrounded by the seemingly endless waste of grass and flowers as far as the eye could reach, }-cs, far be3'ond the ken of human vision lay the trackless prairies of Bureau county. No sign of civilization met their anxious gaze, but, nothing daunted, they again mounted their steeds and pressed on and finally reached Forristall's in the early twilight.

Mr. Eli Smith, father of Henry Smith, settled about two and one-half miles north of Princeton, where Henry Smith was born and now lives, and lived there until his death, in 1871, a period of forty years. During the Black Hawk war he was obliged to leave his claun for two years. Mr. Eli Smith and his brother Elijah built a double log cabin, in which they lived for some years. Reader, pause and reflect. Can you realize the fortitude, the courage, the indomitable will that it takes to pass through such scenes as this? There are two classes of individuals for which the writer has supreme admiration. One is the pioneer who came here and endured the hardships and privations of frontier life thai they might make a home for themselves and their children, and in so doing subdue the country for coming generations to enjoy. The other is for those who in the hour of their country's peril bade adieu to home, kindred, and friends and went forth to do and to die, if need be, that their country might live. So when Decoration or Old Settlers' Day comes around and we are asked to contribute a small amount for the defraying of expenses, may we, who today are en- joying the benefits of what their toil, struggles, and privations vouchsafed to us, with a heart of thankfulness give of our time and our means the amount necessary to peri3ctuate the sacred memory of those heroes of war and of peace.

Providence Colony

A colony was formed in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1836 for the purpose of settling in Illinois. There were seventy-two stockholders in the colony, who owned from one to sixteen shares, and each share was to draw eighty acres of land, making the whole amount 17,000 acres. A committee of seven was appointed to select and enter the land. The following were the committee selected: Com. Morris, Colonel C. Oakley, Asa Barney, L. Scott. Edward Bailey, S. G. Wilson, and Caleb Gushing. This committee, after thoroughly investigating the unimproved sections of the state, finally selected township 16, range 8, which is now Indiantown, in Bureau county, for the location of the colony. Most of the land in this township was then vacant. After entering the land the committee laid off a town and named it Providence. Two of the men remained until fall and built a large frame building out of the colony funds, and into this colony house the families moved when they arrived in the spring of 1837. In March, 1837, the Providence colony, nmnbering about forty persons, took a sailing vessel at Providence, Rhode Island, and started for Illinois. The passage to New Y'ork was cold and stormy, so much so that the safety of the boat and passengers was for some time in doubt, but they arrived in New York without serious accident. After spending one day in New Y'"oi-k they crossed over to the New Jersey side and then proceeded on their way by canal luivigation at the rate of about two and a half miles an hour. The canal, owing to rains and melting snow, was in a poor state of repair and transportation was much impeded, but they at last reached Pittsburg and took a boat to Cincinnati, and from there to St. Louis, and from St. Louis to Hennepin on a flat-boat, reaching the last named place on May 7, 1837. The next day they hired ox teams to take them to Providence, the place that they in the future were to call home; but it looked like anything but home to those tired women and children on the night of the eighth of May, 1837, just as the sun was sinking down into the western ether, when they arrived in sight of the unfinished colony house that had been prepared for them.

The spring was backward and the prairie had all been burned over and it was lilaek and gloomy. The women acknowledged that they were homesick, but the men, having less regard for truth, denied it, but they were. Their former home was nestled by the murmuring waters of New England, and as they cast a glance in that direction it seemed a long, long distance away. The house which they all went into was in an unfinished condition; it was before the days of stoves and one firej)lace was all they had. They cooked, they ate, they slept in this one building until some houses could be erected. Much could be said of the individuals belonging to that colony. They were a company of energetic and enterprising men who did their full share in the development of Bureau county.

Caleb Cushing and Alfred Anthony both lived to be over eighty years of age. Asa Barney was one of the leaders of the colony. He rode on horseback, being guided by a pocket compass, to Galesburg, in 1836, and entered the land for the colony. Of all {hat number of men, women, and children that moved into the Providence settlement in 1836, just sixty-nine years ago, but one lives to tell the story, and that is C. E. Barney, son of Asa Barney.

In the early ''30s the Mercers arrived in what is now Bureau county. This family traces its line of ancestry back to Scotland. They early settled in Virginia, where, during the Revolutionary war, they did valiant service in the cause of the colonies. Some of the family were very near to Washington in the trying period of colonial days. They were also members of the Continental Congress. After the close of the war, some branches of the family settled in Ohio and were extensively engaged in business ; but in 1833 William Mercer, father of Drs. Joe and William Mercer, of Princeton, Illinois, started for the west. Going down the Ohio and up the Mississippi rivers, he reached St. Louis, where he was stricken with cholera, and was without medical aid except the services of his son Wilham, then a lad of but eighteen years.

The natural alnlity of the boy and his devotion to his father restored him to health and strength, and he moved on and came to Bureau county, where he lived the remainder of his life. His descendants are quite nimierous and have filled many places of trust.

Mrs. Jennie M. Bude, to whom we are indebted for this sketch, Mrs. Rachel M. Hamlin, of Princeton, Illinois, and Prof. Joseph A. Mercer, of Peoria, Illinois, are the remaining descendants of Dr. William Mercer, the lad whose thoughtful care saved his father's life.