Iroquois County, Illinois - Biographical sketches, 1880 (part 1 of 20)

Biographical sketches

Experience Lehigh, whose portrait appears in this work, was born in Genesee county, New York, November 28, 1801. Her father, William Guild, emigrated from Vermont to that county, and married Abigail Streetor. Miss Streetor was born in Connecticut. Her second husband, Eusebius Fargo, was also a Vermonter. He had lived some years in Canada before their marriage. In 1814 they emigrated to West Virginia. Reaching the Alleghany river at Olean, they procured two skiffs, which he lashed together, and in them the family descended the river to Wheeling, where they embarked in a keel-boat to the Kanawa river, and settled on its banks. Farming was his occupation in New York, and he pursued the same calling here. Like many others, they depended upon their daily labor for their daily bread. The family was large, and Experience, as soon as of suitable age, earned her livelihood away from home, and in November, four days before she was sixteen, married Abram Lehigh. Mr. Lehigh was born in Vermont ; had lived most of his early life in Canada, and was called a Canadian. He was a hard-working, industrious man, and well liked by his neighbors. From 1817 to 1829 they toiled on the banks of that river to make the hard soil yield more than a living for themselves and little flock of six children, and it became necessary to secure a home of their own. Gathering together their small possessions, with a team of three horses and a large wagon, they started for the Wabash in the fall of 1829. At this time her half-brothers and sisters were : Viletty, who married William Hall, now a resident of Onarga ; Irene ; Henrietta ; La Halt, now living in Kentucky ; Adelia, wife of T. A. Norvell, of Gil man ; Amanda; Luna; John; Nancy; Lucinda, wife of Nelson Skeels, of Montana; and Abigail; all of whom, with her father and mother, were left behind. William Guild Lehigh, their eldest child, named for her father, was eleven years old; Mary was nine; John, seven; Irene Maria, four; Alvira, two; and Benjamin, the baby, five months. The journey across the states of Ohio and Indiana was accomplished in a month, including a few days' stopping on the route, on account of the sickness of Mrs. Lehigh. Perrysville was their destination. There they lived five years, and two children, Nancy and Lucinda, were added to the family. Mr. Lehigh being a man of feeble health, more than the usual duties of a wife devolved upon her. The burden of their anxiety and effort was the home for which they left Virginia to secure, and in the fall of 1834 he made a selection of land on Spring creek, and moved here in the following winter. In the spring of 1836 Mr. Lehigh died, leaving the subject of this sketch a widow, with eight children, the eldest eighteen years old, and the youngest, Frederick Abram, born August 14, 1835, eight months. This was the time of trouble which brought out the noble qualities of this woman, and developed her ability to manage business and succeed where many men would have failed. They were possessed of 194 acres of timber, and a claim on 120 acres of prairie, a team of oxen, the usual household goods and farming implements of new settlers in a wild country. A living was to be secured by their own effort, the prairie land paid for, and the children educated. To these responsible duties she gave her energies. William and John did the work of men ; broke up the prairie, raised the crops, and under her direction, attended to the out-door farm duties ; while she, with the girls, kept the cabin in order, spun and wove the cloth for the family's clothing, and exercised the controlling influence over the whole household. William, being the eldest son, was his mother's main assistant till he married. After this John took the place made vacant by that event. She found a way to give the children educational advantages equal to those of any of her neighbors, and when the elder ones were married, the remainder of the family moved to Middleport for that purpose. After three years she returned to the farm. While in Middleport, Benjamin, then twenty-one years old, went with a large company of men overland to California.. He returned after an absence of about a year, and died in a few days - March 21, 1851. Now her farm help was her youngest son, Frederick, about sixteen years old. About this time the farm was divided with John, he taking one-half and she retaining the other. A part .of the timber was sold, and the remainder divided among the children, she sharing equally with them. In 1856 she bought a house and lot in Onarga, where she lived till the fall of 1857, and then returned to the farm. She was liberal and generous with her children, and bore patiently any sacrifice for their benefit, and in return was honored and Ipved by them. For many years before there was a physician in the settlement she kept the common medical remedies in her house, and quite well knew their use, and in sickness was a most excellent nurse, as her neighbors could testify. She always lent a helping hand to those in distress when it was in her power to do so. This woman, born and bred in the humbler walks of life, where hard labor and great care was her lot, showed traits of character superior to many whose advantages were much better. The rearing of a large family in a new county, where the nearest mill was thirty miles, the only market eighty-five, no doctor nearer than twenty miles, and all the inconveniences of pioneer life surrounding her, was the situation she was placed in ; but she never shrank from her plain duty - never pined about her condition, but with true philosophical resignation made the most she could with life, and in being cheerful and happy made others so. She lived to see all her living children settled in life: William G., with his family, in Iowa; Mary, the wife of Samuel H. Harper ; John, on one-half the old farm ; Irene Maria, the wife of Forest Lindsey ; Lucinda, the wife of M. H. Messer, and Frederick A., on the home farm with her. After a life of industry and constant effort, she died March 28, 1860, mourned by all who knew her.

Father Joseph Elzeard Michaud, Catholic priest, Watseka, was born in St. Andrew, province of Quebec, Kamouraska county, Canada, June 20, 1831. He received his principal education at the Quebec Seminary, graduating in 1851. He was ordained priest in 1855, and was first stationed as vicar, at Riviere du Loup, Temiscouata county, Canada. In 1857 he was parish-priest at Notre Dame du Portage ; in 1858, parishpriest at St. Anne des Monts ; in 1861, parish-priest at Notre Dame du Mont Carmel. He was sick for two years. In 1864 he was parishpriest at St. Onesime. In 1872 he was sent to the United States for the French Canadians at Lawrence, Mass. In 1874 he was employed by the Canadian government for four years to return his compatriots to Canada, and at the same time he was parish-priest of Windsor Mills. In 1879 he came to Watseka, and here he has been engaged in building churches at Watseka, Sheldon and Hoopeston.

Hon. Franklin Blades, circuit judge, Watseka, is perhaps one of the best known and most highly respected men of Iroquois county. He was born in the old Hoosier State, in Rush county, Indiana, November 29, 1830, and is the son of James and Mary (Harcourt) Blades. His father was a country physician, who died when the subject of this sketch was in the sixteenth year of his age, leaving him with an imperfect common-school education, and with only good parental training for an inheritance. Soon after his father's death he was taken into the employment of Dr. James Ford, a learned physician, at Wabash, Indiana, with whom he remained until the fall of 1849, meanwhile studying the science of medicine with him. He attended medical lectures at the Indiana Central Medical College in 1849 and 1850. In 1851 he was taken under the patronage of the late William Fowler, M.D., in the little hamlet of Concord, Iroquois county, Illinois, and was by him put into active practice. A part of his professional education was had at Rush Medical College, of Chicago, from which institution he graduated in February, 1852. The young physician now changed his place of residence to the shire town of Iroquois county, then known as Middleport, now as Watseka, where he lias since resided, witnessing time's mutations in that community, the coming, the going, the growing up and the passing away ; always a trusted, honored member of the society of that quiet little village. With a view to increasing his skill in the healing art, after graduating he attended clinical lectures in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he also matriculated both in the University of Pennsylvania and Jefferson Medical College. But Dr. Blades' tastes were not met in a country physician's life, accordingly he entered the office of George B. Joiner, Esq., in 1855. as a law student, and began the practice of law three years later, having been admitted to the bar. As a practitioner he was always successful. Being a fluent, merry speaker, his addresses to juries were almost irresistible, and with all his mind took strong hold upon principles of law, lifting him to the front rank in the profession. As far back as 1864, Wilson S. Kay, a very able lawyer, of the Iroquois county bar, became his law partner, and the firm of Blades & Kay was not dissolved an til the senior member was transferred from the bar to the bench. During those long years there existed between the two men a professional and personal confidence that is rarely seen. Since his admission to the bar, Judge Blades has had but little of strictly private life, in one capacity or another, much of the time filling some responsible office. In 1856, and for two years afterward, he edited the Iroquois " Republican," and he has been heard to say that no work was more congenial to him. The republican party was then in its infancy, the editor was in the lusty strength of early manhood, and the moving events of those hot years lent zeal to his crisp and pungent talent, and the products of his pen went flying through the republican press of the country. In 1856 the republican convention, held at Joliet, for the legislative district composed of Will, Du Page, Kankakee and Iroqnois counties, nominated him for member of the state legislature. He was elected, and again in 1861. In 1862 he was commissioned by Gov. Yates surgeon of the 76th reg. 111. Inf., and went to the front, doing service at the siege and fall of Yicksburg, and elsewhere in the southwest. At Jackson, Mississippi, then occupied by the rebel Gen. Johnson, he was violently attacked with dysentery, from which he did not recover in eighteen months, and was forced to resign in the spring of 1864. For months his health was so precarious that his death would not have occasioned surprise. In 1864 he was chosen a Lincoln elector, but infirm health prevented his taking a part in the canvass. In 1868 he was a candidate for congress, being defeated by Gen. J. H. Moore in the nomination convention. In 1869 he was appointed assessor of internal revenue by President Grant, and held the office four years. In 1877 he was elected one of the judges of the eleventh judicial district, and at the recent election was again chosen for a term of six years. Judge Blades is a man of strong CQnvictions, of the utmost candor, and a lover of books. He possesses the natural and acquired qualifications to sit in judgment between men, and between the people and individuals. He is one who will hold the scales of justice with steady hand, and as one who, unmoved by passion or prejudice, will bring experience and learning to bear in joining law with equity. Judge Blades was married in 1854 to Miss Jennie King, of Illinois, and by this union they have three children.

Edward Matthews, biographical writer, Papineau, emigrated from Kingston county, Canada, to Iroquois county, Illinois, in 1864. He was born in the former place August 20, 1839. His parents were Adam and Harriet (David) Matthews, and with them he spent his youth, engaged in the duties of the farm and attending school. In the latter pursuit, though his advantages were quite limited, he yet, by an extensive general reading, obtained a good practical education, which to one with sound judgment and a quick perception of the realities of life is equivalent to that usually obtained in the best high schools and colleges. In December, 1861, he married Miss Mary Knox, a native of Canada. He then engaged in farming for himself. In 1864, his wife dying, he came on a trip to Illinois, and after a stay of a few months, liking the country, he decided to make this his future home. Accordingly, in the spring of 1865, of he arranged with an insurance company of Freeport to act as their agent for the counties of Kankakee and Iroquois. and in this business he contined until October 31, 1866. At the date last named he married Mrs. Maria Jones, widow of Mr. Henry Jones, whose portrait appears in this work, and daughter of Thomas Sammons, Esq., one of the early sheriffs of Iroquois county. She was born in Montgomery county, New York, February 10, 1833, and came with her parents to this county in 1836 or 1837. After the marriage of Mr. Matthews to Mrs. Jones he engaged in farming and stock-raising, which business he followed until the death of his wife, which sad event occurred March 4, 1876. Mrs. Matthews was one of the truly great and noble women, and her loss was to him the severest affliction of his life. He has one child : Maxwell Adam, born September, 1873. After the death of his wife Mr. Matthews rented his farm to others, and engaged in more congenial business. He is engaged at present as indicated at the head of this article, and with what success the readers of the townships of Papineau, Beaver and Martinton will be able to judge. Suffice it to say that to Mr. Matthews the editors of this work acknowledge their obligations for the very complete and painstaking manner in which the work has been done.

Isaac Amerman, real estate and collection agent, Onarga. In the seventeenth century three brothers named Amerman came from Holland with the early Dutch colonists and settled at New Amsterdam. The maternal ancestors of the subject of this sketch were descended from John Alden, who -came over in the Mayflower. His mother, Charlotte Peck Knapp, was a native of Martha's Vineyard. Mr. Amerman was born in New York city, February 23, 1822. When seven years old he went to live with an elder brother in Montgomery (now

'Fulton) county, New York. He attended the Johnstown Academy until fourteen, when he returned to the city and was apprenticed to the harness maker's trade. After serving four years at this he went into the wholesale grocery business as a clerk, which he followed until his marriage with Margaret B. Conklin, March 23, 184.3. At this time he formed a partnership with Francis Hobbs - firm of Hobbs & Amerman - in the wholesale butter trade. After three years he engaged alone in the harness business, and a few years subsequently was employed as a clerk in the office of Morton & Bremner, manufacturers of spring balances and steel ornaments. In 1855, quitting this last situation, which he had held six years, he emigrated west and settled in St. Joseph, Ber-

. rien county, Michigan. His residence of three years there was spent in running a saw-mill and in an unsuccessful attempt to clear a farm out of the forest, in both which occupations he met with several accidents, narrowly escaping fat#l injuries. His strength not being equal to such muscular employments, in 1858 he removed to Onarga, in this county, and located on a farm six miles southeast of the village. In 1865 he opened the "Amerman Collection Agency" in Onarga. The business transacted by this agency has made it widely known, and Mr. Amerman's promptness and skill in the discharge of all his duties have been rewarded with the confidence of the public. He has been justice of the peace since January, 1866, notary public ten years, tax collector seven or eight years, secretary of the agricultural society the first ten years after its organization, and was several years secretary of the Iroquois County Bible Society and of the Onarga Auxiliary Bible Society. Since 1861 he has been in communion with the Presbyterian church, and for several years a member of the Masonic and Good Templar lodges of Onarga. In politics he was first a whig, but on the disappearance of that party joined the republicans. His family has numbered eleven children, six sons and five daughters : William C., Erneline S., Margaret A., Peter, Albert M., Eichard M. (dead), Charlotte M., Helen D., Francis G., Philip M. and Charles (dead). William enlisted in Co. D, 113th 111. Vol., in August, 1862. He was severely wounded in the head at Arkansas Post. Mr. Amerman was a captain

John B. Robinson, president of Grand Prairie Seminary, Commercial College, and Conservatory of Music, Onarga, was the youngest child of Adin and Jane (Anderson) Robinson, and was born at Osceola, Warren county, Ohio, April 11, 1834. His parents were of Scotch descent; his father was born in Maryland in 1787, and his mother in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1792. They moved to Clark county, Ohio, and settled on a farm near New Carlisle when he was four years old.' At the age of twenty he prepared for college at the new Carlisle Academy, and entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, in the sophomore class, early in 1858; graduated from both the classical and biblical schools in 1860. This was an eventful year in his personal history. He was licensed to preach ; became principal of the Mount AVashington Seminary, near Cincinnati, and celebrated his marriage with Miss Emily A. Morris, daughter of Judge David H. Morris, of Miami county, Ohio. Her mother's name was Elizabeth Reyburn. In 1865 he was elected president of Willoughby College, then in the bounds of the Erie conference. In 1869 he accepted the like position in Fort Wayne College, Indiana. In 1871 he was called to the presidency of the New Hampshire Conference Seminary and Female College, Tilton, New Hampshire, and in 1877 became president of Grand Prairie Seminary, Commercial College, and Conservatory of Music, at Onarga, Illinois. During his residence in New England he was a member of the New Hampshire Lecture Bureau, and traveled and lectured extensively in that state, and in Yermont and Massachusetts. He continues to lecture on scientific and educational subjects in connection with his labors as an instructor. In 1875 he published " Infidelity Answered"; in 1876, "Vines of Eschol," and the same year, " Erneline ; or, Home, Sweet Home," a poem. On the same day, in the year 1879, two universities, the Indiana Asbury and the Illinois Wesleyan, conferred on him the degree of doctor of divinity. Dr. Robinson's father was an authorized minister in the Baptist church, and was distinguished for his piety and benevolence. The doctor has a family of five beautiful daughters. Since he reached man's estate his pen and voice have found constant employment in aiding to direct public opinion on religions, political, and other general questions, as well as to encourage a love for the finer and nobler qualities which bless and adorn the lives of humanity.

Lucas Emory Pearce, physician and surgeon, Onarga, was born in Champaign county, Ohio, March 31, 1835. He was the second son of Harvey C. and Beulah (Barritt) Pearce. His father was a farmer, and he spent his early days at the plow. He received his literary education at Delaware College, Ohio. From the age of sixteen to twenty-four he taught school ; meanwhile spending his leisure in private medical reading. He celebrated his nuptials with Elizabeth Frances McCollum, May 20, 1858. In 1862 he entered Starling Medical College, Columbus, but did not finish his course before beginning practice. A short time was spent in his profession in Ohio, when he located in Benton county, Indiana, where he resided three years. After this he removed his family back to Champaign county, continuing to reside there and practice until 1876. In 1868-9 he attended lectures again at Starling Medical College, graduating February 26, 1869. He united with the M. E. church at fifteen ; was superintendent of Sabbath schools in his native county many years ; was made a life member of the missionary society, and a local preacher, and regularly ordained a local deacon. In 1876 he removed and settled in Onarga, this county, where he has built up a very large practice, which is constantly increasing. He has an interesting family of four children : Frank, Mary, Harvey and Sadie. The doctor's grandfather, Thomas Pearce, was a soldier under Washington, and, as such, shared in the glory which crowned the American arms at Yorktown. He served also in the war of 1812. His mother's father, Abner Barritt, was a captain of the revolution, and fought at Bunker Hill and other places. He was a pioneer settler in Champaign county, Ohio, where he formed the acquaintance of the celebrated Indian chief, Tecumseh, who used to visit him frequently.

Andrew C. Rankin, physician and surgeon, Loda, is the son of Rev. John Rankin, a Presbyterian minister of note, and was born in Ripley, Ohio, June 22, 1828. He received a part of his literary education at Ripley College, of which his father was at the time president, and finished his course of study at Felicity, Ohio. In 1848 he began studying medicine under Dr. A. Dunlap, of Ripley, and was with him three years. He next attended two courses of lectures at Starling Medical College, Columbus, Ohio, and graduated in March, 1852. He located in Ross county, Ohio, one year, and then went to Atlanta, Logan county, Illinois, where he practiced till 1856. From there he removed to Lawrence, Kansas, spending two years in the border war, accompanying John Brown, and serving in the double capacity of soldier and surgeon. In the latter part of 1858 he returned to Illinois, and settled at Loda. In 1862 he entered the army as assistant surgeon of the 88th 111. Yols. He resigned after one year and reentered the army as surgeon, and had charge of several hospitals. The principal of these was the United States general hospital at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, which had some fifteen hundred beds and required about fifteen assistants. He served about four years in the army and then returned to Loda and resumed his practice. On October 1, 1852, he married Susan Houser, who was born in Ohio, December 25, 1830. There are two children by this union: Ellen, wife of W. H. Gopp, of Loda, and Louie Q., wife of Edwin Slocum, of the same place. Dr. Rankin has held offices of trust and responsibility, and given satisfaction to the people. He is well known both for his integrity as a man and his skill as a physician and surgeon. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and a republican in politics. His father, now about ninety years old, has spent an active and useful life in the ministry. He still preaches occasionally. He was pastor of one church forty-five years, and wrote the call for the first anti-slavery meeting held in America. A portrait of Dr. Rankin appears in this work.

Winslow Woods, retired, Onarga, was born in Barnard, Windsor county, Yermont, March 30, 1799. He was the third son of Paul and Mary (Winslow) Woods. His ancestors were English. The Winslows he can trace back as far as 1530, Gov. Winslow, of Plymouth Colony, of whom he is a lineal descendant, being a member of this family. His grandfather, Jonathan Woods, settled in New Braintree, Massachusetts. The farm which he improved has never passed out of the family, and is the only one in the township which was never mortgaged. His uncle, John Woods, was an orderly sergeant in the revolutionary war, and singularly enough refused further promotion or to receive a pension. He wintered at Yalley Forge. Mr. Woods was county surveyor of Windsor county from 1822 to 1834, when poor health obliged him to quit his farm, and he left the state. He had been constable, collector and special sheriff', the latter an office in which the incumbent was empowered to do business anywhere in the state. He now located at Tolland county, Connecticut, where he resided twenty years, engaged in manufacturing. On September 17, 1853, he arrived in Iroquois county, and settled on a farm of 320 acres in Stockland township. In the spring of 1860 he removed to Onarga, where he has continued to live until the present time. With his residence here he began the business of claim attorney, which he still carries on to some extent. He has held the office of supervisor, and for thirteen years held one or more of the following offices: justice of the peace, notary public and police magistrate. He has done a large business as guardian, and has had as many as twenty orphan children under his charge at one time. He is now eighty-one years of age. His portrait appears in this work. On March 10, 1824, he and Lydia Newton were united in marriage. She died February 14, 1869, and is buried in the cemetery at Onarga.

There were two sons by this marriage: Henry C., born April 20, 1829, and Lucius P., born March 12, 1831. They were both liberally educated, and served in the army with distinction. The latter was thoroughly educated in this country for the practice of medicine and surgery, and after a few years devoted to his profession he went to Europe, spending a year in some of the best medical schools, and in the hospitals on the continent. On the breaking out of the late civil war he was commissioned surgeon of the 5th N". Y. Cav., and by successive promotions rose to prominence in the medical branch of the service. He was surgeon of the cavalry corps field hospital ; surgeon-in-chief, first brigade, third division, cavalry corps; surgeon-in-chief, third division, cavalry corps, and after he was mustered out, January 3, 1865, served at headquarters, third division, same corps, under contract, as acting staff surgeon from that date to March 3. He was in eighty-seven battles ; was greatly distinguished as a surgeon and highly respected as a man, and died at Winsted, Connecticut, Ma}7 30, 1865. The resolutions of the officers of his old regiment, passed after his death, declare that "he added to rare professional skill the most untiring industry," and that "to the refinement of a gentleman he added social andfchristian virtues rarely equaled." The other son, Henry C., enlisted at the outbreak of the war as a private in the 1st 111. Cav., and was captured with Mulligan's force at Lexington, Missouri, in 1861. Subsequently he was a captain in the llth 111. Cav., Col. R. Q-. Ingersoll ; was promoted to major, and commanded the regiment after the capture of his colonel. He served on the Atlanta campaign in the engineer corps, and was discharged after the fall of that city. He superintended work on a portion of the railroad bridge across the Mississippi at Burlington, and across the Missouri at Omaha, and afterward followed the same business farther west. He died suddenly at Kansas City of heart disease and pneumonia, March 3, 1879. His remains are interred at Onarga.

John H. Atwood, Principal of Onarga Commercial College, Onarga, was the youngest son of Charles Rice and Martha Chandler (Sherman) Atwood, and was born in Barre, Worcester county, Massachusetts, November 24, 1838. In the spring of 1839 his father emigrated with his family to Illinois, settling on Rock river, between Dixon and Sterling, where he preempted a claim. Here he was attacked with typhoid fever, and died August 14. His mother, being left alone with three children, suffered many privations ; after much sickness in the family, and losing her personal property by fraud, she returned in destitute circumstances to her father's, in Massachusetts. The subject of this sketch remained with his grandfather until he was nine years old, when he went to live with his uncle. He worked on the farm summers and went to the district school winters till he was fourteen, when he began to manage for himself. His first step was to get a place where he could work for his board and attend a high "school. He averaged six months each year, and at the age of seventeen began teaching. Being advised by friends of the advantage of having a trade, he learned dentistry, but having no taste for the business abandoned it, and again started to school determined to get a liberal education. With an unfaltering purpose he adhered to this resolution eleven years, going to school and teaching by turns, and working on the farm, or in the palm-leaf shop during vacations ; privately pursuing his studies with zeal when out of school. He took a regular course of study at both Colton's Commercial College, Springfield, Massachusetts, and at the Massachusetts State Normal School, at Westfield, and in the latter penmanship. The devotion with which he pursued this favorite object led him to decline an offer of partnership with his instructor, with a guaranteed income of $1,200 a year. In 1865 he came west for his health, taught school five months, and bought a farm near El Paso. He was married at that place March 29, 1866, to Martha Jane Parkhurst. They have four children. The next fall, being tendered the principalship of the west side graded school in El Paso, he accepted it, and a little while after sold his farm. Teaching there two years, he moved then, in the fall of 1868, to Onarga, to take the same position in the graded school in that place. He filled that post till 1S70, and was then employed one year as teacher in Grand Prairie Seminary. The next year he was appointed principal of the commercial depart1 ment. Before entering upon this new field of instruction, he prepared himself with a special course of study in Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College. Two years later he took another course at Dyhrenfurth's. Prof. Atwood has conducted this school with acknowledged success. For completeness, thoroughness and practical value, the course which is here provided has no superior anywhere. The professor is known to be a man of untiring energy, and the private care and attention which he gives to individual students, and the special interest he imparts to all the work, and displays for the success of his classes, with every other advantage of the course, have given the Onarga Commercial College a growing and substantial reputation.

Samuel H. Harper, farmer, Onarga, was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, March 20, 1814. He was the fourth child in a family of six children. In 1817 his parents, Samuel and Marj^ (McCoy) Harper, moved and settled near Columbus, in Franklin county, Ohio. He received such an education as was afforded by the district schools of that day. In the fall of 1837 he and they, together with several others (twenty-one altogether), emigrated to this county, and arrived on Middle Spring creek, in the present township of Onarga, where they settled October 2, 1837. This arrival, including the few who had previously come, was the foundation of a pioneer community which, for social and religious character, is not often equaled. The only survivors of the party are Mr. Harper, Diana Harper, Thomas M. Pangborn and wife, Ransom B. Pangborn, Cynthia Lowe (wife of Hiram Lowe), Almira Root and Nelson Skeels. Mr. Harper married Miss Mary Lehigh, April 16, 1839. She was the daughter of Experience Lehigh, whose portrait is given in this book, and was born in Mason county, West Virginia, May 22, 1820. Her parents settled and lived in Vermilion county, Indiana, several years before coming here. They have had ten children, eight of whom are living: Harriet L. (dead), George W., Alexander, John (dead), Alvira, Harriet Experience, Florence Ella, Margaret J., Eva and Eddy. John enlisted in Co. D, 113th 111. Vol., August 15, 1862. He fought at the battle of Arkansas Post ; was acting quartermaster sergeant of a colored regiment, and in September, 1864, was captured near La Grange, Tennessee, and no tidings of him have ever reached his family. Alexander served a term of three years also in the same regiment. Mr. Harper has been a trustee of Grand Prairie Seminary since it was built. He and his wife have been members of the Methodist church about forty years, and Mr. Harper has been steward and trustee most of the time since. His father was a soldier of 1812. Mr. Harper is one of the substantial and respected citizens of Onarga township.

Thomas M. Pangborn, farmer, Onarga, oldest child of John and Miranda (Miller) Pangborn, was born in Keene, Essex county, New York, June 1, 1806. His progenitors were early English settlers in this country. Several of his ancestors were enrolled as yeomen soldiery in the revolution. Each, his father and his mother, had an uncle confined by the British in some of the Wallabout prison-ships (these were the Stromboli, Scorpion, Hunter, Falmouth, Scheldt, and Clyde), sisters to the Old Jersey, truly and graphically denominated by outraged humanity and public judgment, " The Hell." In 1816 Judge Pangborn's father emigrated with his family to Franklin county, Ohio, where they made or cleared two farms. On March 15, 1832, the subject of this sketch was married to Miss Jane Harper, a sister to our much esteemed fellow-citizen, Samuel H. Harper. They have had six children - two sons, who died in infancy, and the four daughters following: Triphenia, who was born November 4, 1834, married to Elkanah Doolittle, and died July 22, 1868; Emily, born December 21, 1838 ; Mary Ann, born April 19, 1841, wife of Charles Haven ; and

Miranda, born November 19, 1.84-3, wife of Elkanah Doolittle. Mr. Pangborn was one of the party who settled on Middle Spring Creek October 2, 1837, from Franklin county, Ohio, a further account of which may be found in the sketch of S. H. Harper. He entered 240 acres on Sec. 30, T. 26, R. 14. In 1853 he was elected associate judge of Iroquois count}', and held that office till 1857. From the adoption of the free-school system he was trustee nineteen years in succession. He has beeji a member of the M. E. church forty-one years, and Mrs. Pangborn forty-three years. He was a class-leader in the church from 1843 to 1879. Mr. Pangborn was one of the prominent early settlers of this county. The good name and reputation which he enjoys, as a man and a citizen, is due more to his exemplary life and perfect Christian character than to any other influence. Judge Pangborn has a portrait in this work.

Rev. James P. Forsythe, preacher, Onarga, was the youngest child of John and Ruth (McKnight) Forsythe, and was born in Shippensburg, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1830. His father was a Scotchman. His mother died when he was twelve years old. While a youth he worked on his father's farm and attended the common schools. He next went to the academy at Worthington, where he obtained a good English education. At the age of nineteen he was converted, and united with the M. E. church at Cumberland City, Maryland. Since that time he has sustained almost constant official relation to the church. On February 9, 1854, he and Rosanna Mechling were united in marriage at Worthington, Armstrong county, Pennsylvania. They immediately settled in Viriton county, Ohio, and, after a residence of two years there, moved to Illinois City, Rock Island county, in this state. Here he engaged some in farming and school-teaching ; and in 1857 was licensed to preach. In 1863 he entered the traveling connection in the Central Illinois Conference. Beginning with that year he filled the following appointments successively : Round Grove, two years ; Chatsworth, two years ; Watseka, one year ; Loda, two years ; Watseka, one year ; and in the fall of 1871 was appointed by the conference financial agent of Grand Prairie Seminary. He has lived in Onarga since the last date. In 1878 he became pastor of the Methodist church at Clifton, and fills that pulpit at the present time. Mr. Forsythe's ministry has been successful in the building up of the church and the increasing of the membership of each charge where he has labored. When he undertook the control of the financial interests of the seminary the endowment was coming due, and he has managed its collection with practical success. He properly ranks with men of strong con vie- tions and stable belief. He preaches the truth as he understands it ; assails and exposes sin with the sword of the spirit; and to the bruised heart he brings the glad tidings and soothing influences of the Saviour's love. He is especially direct and practical in his enforcement of the truth and in his invitations to the erring. He is held in high esteem by his brethren, and his standing with the conference, as a man and minister, is in the highest degree favorable to his reputation. They have had two children : Emma Jane, born February 13, 1856 ; died August 26, 1857 ; and Dora A., born February 6, 18bO. Miss Forsythe is a member of the senior class of Grand Prairie Seminary, which graduates the present year. She belongs to the Methodist church, and is active and efficient in Sunday-school work.

Luther T. Clark, Onarga, was born in Manchester, Dearborn county, Indiana. June 18, 1830. His father was a merchant, and he was reared behind the counter. He enjoyed such advantages for education as were common in that day. At the age of eighteen he settled in Marshall county, Illinois, where he entered 208 acres of government land, on section 3, in Saratoga township. He afterward sold this land to Thomas Jemieson, and then bought a quarter-section on the other side of the county line, - S.W. J, Sec. 34, Milo township, in Bureau county. While living in this county he was married, at Versailles, Indiana, to Miss Mary E. King. She was born in Kingfield, Maine, and was a descendant of the first governor of that state, Rufus King. She died December 18, 1854, and was buried in the cemetery at Henry, Illinois. They had one daughter, Alice E., born July 24, 1854, and died December 29, 1873. She is buried in the cemetery at Onarga. In the fall of 1853 Mr. Clark settled in Henry, and engaged in the grain business one year. In the spring of 1855 he removed to Ash Grove, Iroquois county, and settled on the old Nunamaker farm, now owned and occupied by Squire Wesley Harvey. That fall his father's family came from Indiana to this county, and the next spring his father came with a stock of goods. They went into partnership, which continued about one year. He then moved out on the prairie on a new farm, now the John Bond estate. He speculated largely in land, and farmed during his residence in Ash Grove township. He was supervisor two years, beginning with 1858. In the fall of 1860 he was elected sheriff of Iroquois county, on the republican ticket, and held that office two years. The court-house was destroyed by fire, and the prisoner, Davis, burned to death, during his term. He hung the second man executed in the county - McDonald, alias McLaughlin. His crime was the killing of his brother-in-law at Ashkum. In 1862 he settled on his farm at Onarga. He was mar- ried to Miss Melvina Hall, May 1, 1856. She was born in Mason county, Virginia, December 10, 1833. Their children are : Charles A., born August 23, 1857; William A., September 15, 1858; Emma E., March 16, 1860 ; Albert F., April 10, 1868. Charles A. is an energetic and industrious farmer, and resides on the old homestead, which he has recently purchased. He was married in the fall of 1878 to Miss Mattie Wheeler, of Onarga. William A. is now in Colorado. Emma E. graduates in the Latin scientific course of Grand Prairie Seminary June 10 of this year, and has also taken the German course. She is a young lady whose beautiful life and personal accomplishments impart sunshine and gladness to her home and friends. Mr. Clark was assessor of Onarga township for a number of years. From the time he settled on his farm south of Onarga, until recently, he was principally engaged in raising fine stock and in fruit growing. In the spring of 1875, in company with Lee C. Brown, he went to France for the Onarga Importing Company and brought over nine Percheron stallions. In the fall he purchased town property and removed to the village. He has belonged to the order of Freemasonry about fifteen years. He was formerly a whig, and when the republican party was organized joined it, and has ever been a consistent adherent to its principles. Mr. Clark is a respected and valuable citizen.

Moses Haynes Messer, surveyor and civil engineer, Onarga, "was born January 29, 1829, in Methuen, Massachusetts. He is the fourth child of Matthew and Ruth (Haynes) MeSser, who reared ten children, nine of whom are living. His father was born January 1, 1800, and his mother March 14, 1798. They were married in May, 1822. The Messers and Hayneses are an ancient stock. In about 1665 an old man and eight sons settled in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and tradition says the father returned to Germany on business, and was never heard from after that time. In a few years the sons moved up the Merrimac to the east part of Methuen, and bought land and made homes near each other. The house, built of wood, in which the subject of this sketch was born, was erected in 1725, and was one hundred and twenty-three years old when replaced by another in 1848 ; the deed of the farm from Abial Messer to his son Richard bears date 1725. Joseph and John Haynes, from England, arrived at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1633. The latter was governor of the colony in 1635 ; in 1636 he settled in Connecticut, and was the first governor there. From the date of his arrival till 1654, when he died, he was governor of that colony alternate years. He was one of the six commissioners who drew up the first written constitution of any colony in America, which embodies the main points of all the state constitutions. Joseph settled in Newburyport, and a few years later in Haverhill. Matthew Messer was a hat manufacturer over forty years. Moses worked in his father's shop till he was twenty -one, attending the district school each winter up to the age of sixteen ; then walked three miles to a private school taught by Moses and Nancy Burbank. This was attended three successive winters with a neighbor boy, S. G. Sargent. Neither was once late or absent during the whole time. Afterward he went to Pembroke Academy, New Hampshire, one term, and after he was twenty-one spent nearly two years at New Hampton Institute in the same state. In 1852 he was admitted to a private civil engineering class at Providence, Rhode Island, under the tuition of William A. Norton, and went with him to New Haven, Connecticut, the next fall, when the civil engineering school was commenced at Yale College. He remained there two terms. In 1853 he was engaged in the city engineer's office in Boston, then in western Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, and in 1854 again in Massachusetts. He arrived in Chicago June 1, 1855, and was employed first by the Illinois Central Railroad Company, and afterward by Thomas and Henry Perry, of Kankakee city, to do surveying. In October, 1855, he settled in Onarga on government land. He held the office of county surveyor from 1859 to 1865 ; was justice of the peace from 1856 to 1868 ; United States internal revenue assessor for three years from 1862, and school director from 1862 to 1871. Mr. Messer was united in marriage with Lucinda Lehigh, daughter of Experience Lehigh, whose portrait appears in this work. January 29, 1858. The issue of this union has been three living children: Clarence Edgar, Augusta and Angie, and a son and daughter dead. He entertains progressive views on all political questions ; was once a republican, but more recently has been a prohibitionist, and is liberal in his religious opinions. His inclinations have always been for philosophy and the natural sciences. He walked five miles to spend, for a Comstock's Natural Philosophy, about the first half-dollar that he ever owned. He read that through twice by himself, and then pursued the study several terms in school. He is fond of controversy, but debates for information ; he has decided convictions, and is frank and fearless in the expression of them.

Samuel Mason Ayres, retired, Beech Hill, Mason county, West Virginia, son of Samuel and Lydia T. (Carey) Ayres, was born January 25, 1808. When he was two years old his parents moved to Chatauqua county, New York. He was living beside Lake Chatauqua at the time of Perry's victory on Lake Erie, and remembers the cannonading and the excitement on shore. A Capt. Bird and some of the other neighbors were killed in the engagement. In the spring of 1822 his father removed his family to Mason county, West Virginia. Young Ayres was trained in a knowledge of farm life, and attended the common schools of the day. When he was twenty-one his father died, leaving to his care his widowed mother and four younger sisters. In 1834 he came to Iroquois county to view the country, and in 1836 permanently settled here. An episode in Mr. Ayres' life shows that the course of true love never runs smooth. When children at school, he and Melinda Long betrothed themselves, and seven or eight years were beguiled away under the happy influence of those young and tender affections which" make life a dreamland, and give everything renewed beauty, and a single presence magic power. Ayres was poor, but her people were rich, and of course opposed the union. In the spring of 1832 an elopement to the west was planned. Though love may laugh at locksmiths, and display admirable skill and resources on extraordinary occasions, it cannot be expected every time to overcome war, pestilence and high water. The consummation of their plans was first prevented by the great freshets of that year; then came the Blackhawk war, and later in the season the cholera. Having been foiled in the first great enterprise of their lives, when Ayres was thinking of coming west, they mutually agreed to annul the sacred contract. January 22, 1835, he and Elizabeth Grice were married. His first love afterward became the wife of Joseph Holden. The latter died not long after, and she went home to her father's to lead a widowhood of fifteen years. In course of time seven children had come to Ayres. His wife died April 15, 1854, and her dying request was that he should marry her whom he had first loved. He obeyed this injunction, probably without regret, March 22, 1855. She died October 23, 1873, and he celebrated his third marriage with her sister, Maria L. Long, October 27, 1874. His children all died young, except a daughter, who grew up and married. She is now dead; three children survive her. In 1851 Mr. Ayres sold his farm on Spring Creek to Seely Hetfield, and went to Middleport and engaged in merchandising. In 1853 he was elected an associate justice of Iroquois county. In 1856 he returned to West Virginia to live; but in 1863, having been three times overrun by each the federal and rebel armies, and suffered much, he sold his farm and moved back to this county, where he owned much land. In 1868 he again returned to his old neighborhood in Virginia. He makes yearly visits to Iroquois county, to meet his numerous friends and look after his large landed interest here. He owns about 2,200 acres, valued at $45,000.

upon the farm until the spring of 1875, when he moved with his parents to Onarga. The latter returned in the fall, and January 1, 1876, he was apprenticed to J. B. Lowe, of the " Onarga Review," to learn the printing trade. He was an employe of the " Review " office until April 1, 1880, when he became its editor and proprietor. Mr. Gilbert is a young man-of steady and industrious habits. He has been a faithful worker in the " Review " office, and has labored hard to merit the position which he now holds. He begins his career as editor with the confidence and good wishes of the whole community.

George Franklin Page, the director of the Conservatory of Music at Onarga, whose portrait will be found in this work, was born August 21, 1854, in Peabody, Massachusetts, being the third of four brothers. His father, Andrew J. Page, was a native of Deerfield, New Hampshire. He is a man of great integrity and industry, but has suffered financially from two sweeping conflagrations, from which, however, he is now recovering by plying his habits of industry in his later home in Philadelphia. His mother's name before marriage was Elizabeth N. Stevens. She was born in Augusta, Maine. She was a lady of much culture and intelligence, which were utilized first in the schoolroom, and more especially later in the family circle. She was a devoted mother; and, after assisting her family to maturity, she died, 1870, aged fifty-three. Professor Page's paternal ancestry was English and his maternal, French. Both of these families, in their European homes, possessed large fortunes, reaching the figures of the millionaire ; but, owing to the difficulty of transferring titles to persons in the colonies of the new world, the American heirs never realized upon those fortunes. Ecclesiastically his father's ancestors, far back, were Baptists; his mother's as uniformly Methodists. Prof. Page, when but one year old, was seriously afflicted with a fever, the effect of which made him an intense sufferer for fourteen years. At about one and one-half years the disease began to make such inroads that life was despaired of, and for days, weeks and years death was inevitable. Indeed the pitying world unanimously resolved that death would be a mercy to the sufferer. In these hopeless circumstances his parents maintained hopes, and especially his mother clung to him as only a mother will and can, through the darkest days. Several surgical operations were performed with but little success. Thus time passed to young Page, debarred from the cheerful prospects of a life which others of the same age entering were about to enjoy. His fourteenth year found no relief, but the boy himself had ambition as well as determination. He visited a distinguished surgeon in Lowell, Massachusetts, for advice. The reply, after examination, imported that but one chance in a hundred promised his survival in the dangerous operation which might relieve. Young Page calmly resolved that the risk was better than a life of oblivion, and accepted that hundredth chance. The result of the operation was a fair and almost unexpected restoration of health, and as a consequence the boy was restored to the same channels of hope as others. In these days of seclusion he studied 'music for a recreation, but developed great aptitude for and enthusiasm in it. While he made some proficiency in literary studies, yet music was the inspiration. Occasional!}', at seventeen, he appeared in public concerts. He had so far progressed at eighteen that he gave a concert in his own city, Woonsocket. From sixteen to nineteen he had musical instruction from the most eminent teachers of the eastern cities. At nineteen he went to Leipsic, Germany, where still greater musical advantages were acquired. This city is the well-known book market of the world, the depositories of libraries and of literature. Its music is correspondingly matured. Here it becomes one of the great centers for foreigners as well as Germans to obtain the best educational facilities. Its conservatory is one of the oldest in Europe, founded in the first part of the present century by the renowned masters, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Becker, etc. Here, with the best masters, he qualified himself for the profession. He made great proficiency as a primo virtuoso, having, among others, as instructor, the renowned piano teacher, Prof. Theodore Coecious. Upon Prof. Page's return from Europe he located at Woonsocket, Rhode Island, appearing in many concerts ; in the meantime he was elected as supervisor of music in the public schools of the city. At the end of the first year he gave a concert, in which five hundred of the public-school pupils participated. In this experience he was particularly successful in the rare skill of training younger pupils rapidly on the true basis of the art and science of music. This position he successfully filled for two years, until called west, July 1, 1878. Prof. Page was married at Albion, Rhode Island, to Miss Hattie J. Marble, a native of that state, and a graduate of the State Normal School. On the same day he received notice of his election as director of the Onarga Conservatory. Prof. J. B. Robinson, D.D., president of Grand Prairie Seminary and Commercial College, had seen what a broad field was in this part of the state for a musical enterprise, and knew well that everything depended upon the director. While over forty candidates were presented for the position, Prof. Page was finally selected. The conservatory, in nucleus, had hitherto been a mere musical department of the seminary, but the new plan was to develop, extend and enlarge it, in its own edifice as a coordinate school with the seminary and commercial college, which had before success- ively taken prominence. Accordingly a new departure was taken, the building prepared, and announcements made to the public. Prof. Page brought in a supply of new pianos, music, etc., and the necessary outfit for the enterprise. The first year's result was a happy surprise to friends and strangers. The enrollment and progress were such as to convince all that the conservatory was safely founded and widely patronized. At the beginning of the second year it was evident that additional accommodations must be had for the increasing growth of the conservatory. A large edifice was secured and new instruments added. Thus it may be noted that Prof. Page has taken hold of this conservatory with enthusiasm, and advanced it to a high degree of excellence. He is still pursuing his duties in a long engagement with the conservatory at Onarga.

The following is contributed by J. W. Mac Loud : Eli S. Ricker, student, Onarga, is the son of Bradford W. and Catherine (Harmon) Backer, and was born at Brownfield, Oxford county, Maine, September 29, 1843. His father was born September 17, 1803, and died April 25, 1864. His mother was born August 30, 1802, and died March 9, 1875. There is a tradition that her ancestors came over in the Mayflower ; but whether this be true or not, it is true that they settled in America in very early times. At an early date in our country's history two brothers by the name of Ricker came from England, separated, and the one from whom the subject of this sketch has descended settled in Massachusetts, and afterward removed to the province of Maine. His father was twice married. By his first wife was born one son, William Ricker, now living in Nebraska. His mother was also twrice married. The name of her first husband was Dennis Marr, a member of the Marr family of Scotland. He died in 1831. By this marriage were born two daughters: Narcissa and Sarah Abigail ; the former died young, the latter is the wife of John G. Thorn, and lives at Galesburg, Illinois. Her second marriage was to Bradford W. Ricker in the summer of 1842. Their children were Eli Seavey and Mary Ann. The latter is the wife of Clinton Boyd, and lives in Ohio. In March, 1855, the Ricker family came west and settled near Oneida', Knox county, Illinois. Mr. Ricker's father was a man of good business talent, extensive information, a lover of education, and in politics a Jackson democrat. Mr. Ricker was reared a farmer, and followed that calling until 1875. He early took a deep interest in politics, and at the age of sixteen began writing occasional articles for the country press, a practice which he has ever since continued. For education he had the advantages of the district school, which he attended in winter, helping his father on the farm in sum- tner. The absorbing desire of his life was to become a scholar. In the summer of 1862 he was preparing to enter Lombard University at Galesburg, when the call came for 300,000 men. He immediately decided to leave all and go to the defense of his country. He enlisted, August 4, 1862, in Co. I, 102d 111. Vol., for three years. He was mustered into United States service at camp of organization, Knoxville, Knox county, Illinois, September 2, 1862. Soon after this his regiment proceeded to the seat of war at Louisville, Kentucky. He served on the Atlanta campaign in the 20th corps, commanded by Gen. Hooker. He fought at Resaca, and was one of the storming force, consisting of the first brigade, third division, twentieth army corps, that in the face of its deadly tire captured a four-gun battery of twelve-pounders, close to the enemy's intrenchments, and fought desperately from noon till ten o'clock at night, in a successful effort to hold their position and retain their prize. He fought at Peach Tree creek, which was an open battle, and a disastrous repulse to the rebels. This was the first of the three great battles around Atlanta. The city fell September 2, when was ended the campaign of a hundred days, during which the soldiers were seldom from under fire, or out of the sound of musketry or cannon. He then went on the march to the sea. He did duty as one of Sherman's "bummers" upon the campaign of the Carolinas, and in this service, as a forager, was engaged in numerous small fights. He terminated his active military life on the grand review of Sherman's army in the capital of the nation, May 24, 1865. He was mustered out at Washington, June 6, and disbanded at Camp Fry, Chicago, June 15. After the war he worked a year and a half for C. C. Hougton, of Henry county, Illinois, without understanding as to pay, and upon settlement was allowed $5 per month more than he charged. In the spring of 186T, by the aid of his friend and patron, C. C. Hougton, he began broomcorn-raising. July 3, 1867, he was married to Mary M. Smith, daughter -of William H. and Mary L. (Chaftee) Smith. They have five children, two sons and three daughters: Albion H., born April 11, 1868 ; Mary C., November 29, 1869 ; Sarah E., November 19, 1871 ; Leslie D., July 30, 1873, and Jessie L, September 4, 1879. In February, 1869, Mr. Kicker settled on the N. W. \ of Sec. 9, T. 24, R. 14, then Loda, now Pigeon Grove township, Iroquois county, where he continued the raising of broorncorn. Over-production of broorncorn in 1870 broke down the market. Heavy rains during the harvest so damaged his brush that he suffered reverses, which after five years of determined effort he was not able to overcome. During this time he was kindly assisted by Goodell and Warren, of Loda. He was commissioned justice of the peace in 1872, and again in 1873. He was early and actively engaged in the farmers' movement, and was secretary of several of their organizations. In the fall of 1875 he came to Onarga and commenced a course in the commercial college, in which he graduated in two terms. Since then he has given one year to studies in the literary department of Grand Prairie Seminary, designing to finish the course. In the summer of 1875 Mr. and Mrs. Ricker united with the Methodist church. In politics he is a republican. For over a year Mr. Ricker has been in the employ of the publishers of this work.

William H. Shannon, farmer, Papineau, is a native of Kingston, Canada, and was born May 20, 1844. In 1856 he, with his parents, Mr. William and Cintha (Metzler) Shannon, came to Illinois, and settled in Papineau township, Iroquois county. They have, since coming to this county, been engaged in farming and stock-raising. On February 6, 1865, the subject of this sketch enlisted in the 150th Ill.Yol., and on account of disability was discharged June 16, 1865. On March 11, 1868, he married Miss Sarah E. Jones, daughter of Henry Jones, Papineau's first permanent settler. He now has five children: Cora May, John H., George W., Mina J. and Philip. His brother, John M., was a member of Waterhouse's battery, and died at Shiloh on the morning of the day of that memorable battle. When Mr. Shannon came to this county it was very sparsely settled. He has seen its great growth and prosperity - its golden fields of grain in place of wild prairie.

Perry Darst, dentist, Sheldon, was born in Iroquois county, Illinois, on August 9, 1851, and lived on the old farm where he was born, with his father (his mother died when he was about three years old), engaged in farming, stock-raising and attending school. At about the age of twenty his father died. Soon after this sad event in his life he left the old home and engaged in farming as a renter, but not finding that suited to his mind he turned his attention to study for some profession, and has finally decided on dentistry, which he is now studying in the dental rooms at Sheldon, Iroquois county, Illinois. His father, Mr. Hiram Darst, was born in West Virginia on January 4, 1828. At about the age of fifteen years he came to Iroquois county, and so became one of the early pioneers, settling in what is now Papineau township when it was an unsettled wilderness, when deer and other wild animals were about the only occupants of the boundless prairies. His nearest market for many years was Chicago, where he sold corn for twenty-five cents per bushel, after hauling about seventy miles with a team, fording rivers and streams, no bridges being then built. He kept the pioneer store in the township. On September 5, 1850, he married Miss Mary Jones, a native of Ohio. She died July 11, 1855, being a victim of the terrible cholera epidemic of 1855.

Again he married on ^November 5, 1857, this time to Miss Amanda Lawhead, of this county. She died January 24, 1868, and for his third wife he married Mrs. Abbie E. Warren, who still survives him; and on May 2, 1872, he died, leaving, besides his wife, five children, as follows: Perry, the subject of this sketch, Benjamin F., Andrew H., Artinsa and Eva E. Being one of the excellent men, his death was greatly mourned by his family and friends.

James P. Martin, Martinton, deceased. The subject of this sketch was one of the early settlers of Iroquois county, and a pioneer in that part which afterward acquired his name (Martinton township). He was born January 17, 1829, in Orange county, Vermont, and but little of the surroundings of his early life are known. - In September, 1849, he emigrated to the state of Ohio, and in 1851 removed to Will county, Illinois, where he resided until April, 1855, when he permanently located in Iroquois county, residing in the locality above stated. It was mainly through his eiforts that a thrifty and enterprising community settled in the vicinity where he resided. For many years he represented his township in the board of supervisors, and secured the unlimited confidence of his neighbors, which he always retained and never betrayed. In his political faith he was a republican. In 1864 he was elected sheriff of Iroquois county, which office he held for two years. He discharged the duties of his office with honor to himself, and with credit to the party that elected him. When the war of the rebellion broke out in 1861, Mr. Martin gave his efforts to raise a company for the 25th 111. This company was raised mainly by his efforts, he himself enlisted in it, and was elected first-lieutenant, in which capacity he served about eighteen months, and acquired the respect and confidence of his men and superior officers. Becoming prostrate with camp diarrhosa, from which he never recovered, and which finally terminated in his death, he was compelled to resign his position in the army and return to his home. When but partially recovered he again began recruiting for the army, and through his efforts, more than any other reason, Iroquois county boasts of having furnished her quota of troops by volunteers, and was saved from the enforcement of the draft. He was eminently an active and useful member of society, and in his death, which occurred October 19, 1869, the community lost a worthy and valued citizen. Besides many friends, he left to mourn his loss a wife and family. Mrs. Martin still resides on the old farm, and has devoted her time to managing her property and educating and caring for her children, in both of which she has displayed much more ability than many men placed under similar responsibilities.

descended from a family who probably trace their genealogy back farther than any of the citizens of Iroquois county. He has in his possession a complete genealogy of the family. The following quotation is taken from the opening chapter of that work, which shows the origin of the name : " Walter Le Yentre came to England at the Conquest, 1066, in the train of his cousin-germ an, Earl of Warren, and at the Survey, 1080, was made lord of the Saxon village of Burnham, county of Norfolk, and of many other manors. From this manor he took his surname, De Burnham, and became the ancestor of the numerous family of that name." Mr. Burnham is a native of Orange county, Vermont, where he was born February 21, 1828. He received a good education and remained at his native place until the age of twenty-one. He then came west, and first stopped at Chicago for a time. From there he concluded to go to California, but he had left home with but $35 in money, and was in no condition financially to make the trip. However, he succeeded in finding a part}' who would help him through and trust him to pay the amount after their arrival in California. They had got as far as the Missouri river when the gentleman with whom he was going concluded to return to the east. This left Mr. Burnham to make new arrangements, which he did with another party upon similar terms. A short time after their arrival he made enough to pay the debt honorably. He remained in California and Oregon about two years, mining, prospecting and dealing in cattle. He arrived at his old home again, in Vermont, in January of 1853. His intentions were to have gone back to California, but, getting married, changed his plans very materially. He was married November 2, 1853, to Miss Martha Martin, she also being a native of Vermont. In 1864 Mr. Burnham came west and located in Martinton township, where he remained a resident until the spring of 1880, when he removed to Watseka, Illinois, leaving the farm to be conducted by his two sons. His old farm in Martinton township, which is something over 200 acres, is well known as one of the finest and best improved, and supplied with the finest buildings, of any farm in that part of the county. He has also given some attention to the raising of fine cattle. In political affairs he has been an active republican, though never an office seeker. Now he and Mrs. Burnham are enjoying the fruits of the harder labor of younger days.

The late Dr. William A. Babcock, of Onarga, Illinois, was born in 1818, in the town of North Stonington, Connecticut. He was of the original New England stock, being a direct descendant of one of three brothers Babcock, who emigrated from old England at an early day in the history of our country. Having enjoyed the usual advantages of a New England education, he went south in his early manhood, and spent some time in teaching. About 1840 he returned north, and devoted himself to the study of medicine, and in 1845 he graduated at the University of New York, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 1846 he married Miss Harriet Coats, of North Stonington, and commenced the practice of his profession in Salem, Connecticut, where he remained for some three years. He then located at the town of Lyme, at the mouth of the Connecticut river, where he continued the laborious and successful practice of his profession in town and country, and over the rugged hills of New London county for some eight years. In January, 1857, a company was organized in New London county with the view of emigrating to Illinois and settling upon the lands of the great Illinois Central railway, then just completed. Dr. Babcock becoming identified with this enterprise, purchased lands in what became known as the Connecticut settlement, also in the vicinity of the then small village of Onarga, where he finally settled with his family. For a time he devoted some attention to farming, but his skill as a physician was too well known among his old neighbors for him to be allowed to retire from his profession. He soon became known, far and near, as an eminently safe, reliable and successful physician, and he found himself again engaged in an extensive practice on the broad prairies of Illinois. As a man and as a physician Dr. Babcock had some marked traits of character. In the practice of his profession he was what may be called eminently philosophical in distinction from what is termed empyrical. He relied largely on nature and the vital powers to do their share in the work of healing and restoration. The constitution and habits of the patient were carefully studied. If the patient needed rest, or a change of diet or of habits or of climate, more than dosing with medicine, the doctor did not hesitate to tell him so. In his professional visits in an intelligent family, his frank, open and candid manner at once gained confidence, and forbade the suspicion that he could in any contingency resort to the arts and practices of the quack and the charlatan. If nothing could be done for a patient the doctor was the last man to deceive friends with false hopes, or to take advantage of the painful occasion by the practice of well-known arts for the promotion of his own personal emolument. This was all in perfect harmony with his known honesty and integrity of purpose, and with his outspoken contempt for all pretense, sham and quackery in every form, and more especially in the line of his own chosen profession. Dr. Babcock continued in the successful practice of his profession at Onarga and in the surrounding country, until our great civil war came on. Of his career during the war we know of no one more competent to speak than Judge Blades, of Watseka, Illinois. The judge was at that time a doctor by profession, and was in a position to form a correct opinion of the surgeon and the man. The following discriminating and appreciative article was written by Judge Blades, on the occasion of the death of Dr. Babcock, and was published at the time in the Watseka " Republican." Without consulting the judge the writer takes the liberty of inserting it here as a fitting conclusion to this memorial. It may be well, however, first to remark that Dr. Babcock entered the army as assistant-surgeon of the 76th 111., the first regiment of the state to be enrolled under the call for 600,000 men. He followed the varying fortunes of the war through several of the southern states, and was present at many sieges and battles. It was his high privilege to share in the closing campaign of the war, the investment of Mobile, and the war's closing battle - the storming of Fort Blakely. At the close of the war he was with the army at Galveston, where, in August, 1865, the army was disbanded, 'and Dr. Babcock returned to Onarga after a service of more than three years. He was promoted from the position of assistant-surgeon to that of surgeon of the 76th, and finally to that of division-surgeon, having many surgeons and their assistants under him. The following is the article by Judge Blades:

"This county, and especially the community of Onarga, has met with a serious loss in the death of Dr. William A. Babcock, who died at his residence in the village of Onarga, on the 7th instant. It had been my good fortune to know the doctor intimately for many years, and I am sure no one can testify with greater heartiness than myself to the excellent qualities and virtues of the man, and also to his eminent professional attainments. We were both, and at the same time, on the medical staff of the 76th 111. Vol. Inf. in the great war of the rebellion ; and for many months we occupied the same tent and ate at the same board. I came to know him with great intimacy, and had opportunities to observe him under circumstances well calculated to develop various and subtle phases of character, as also to test his professional courage and resources. I found him to be a man of strong convictions on every subject to which he professed to have given attention : earnest, plain and emphatic in giving expression to his opinions, and thoroughly upright in all that he did. He had a moral contempt for all subterfuge, shallowness and sham. He was well learned in his profession, having graduated in the University of New York, in 1845, in the days when the illustrious Valentine Mott was the glory and pride of American surgeons. His powers of shrewd and patient observation, together with his long professional experience, had imparted a solidity to his judgment and an acuteness to his intuitions that gave great value to his professional advice. Withal, he was modest, even diffident, and rarely, except when brought into contact with ignorance or insolence, would the great decision and courage of the man be exhibited. During my service with him in the army I have sometimes been amused at the cluinfounded astonishment of some one who had presumed upon the retiring and reticent demeanor of the doctor, at the sudden and sometimes terrible energy he displayed. He was a man of high patriotism. He went into the army out of a strong desire to bear a part in the great struggle for the preservation and redemption of his country ; and he entered that department of the service where, above all other places, he could be most useful. And that he was greatly useful none can know so well as those who served with him in the army, many of whom, including myself, will gratefully remember, to the end of life, the devotion and professional skill he displayed when they were lying at death's door. I have been long satisfied that it was his original and cour- ageous treatment which saved me from a grave under the breastworks of Vicksburg. . I lament that this tribute I pay him is so inadequate and so feebly expressed ; but I could not refrain from saying something. I could not bear that the dear old friend I had known so long should be covered up in the ground without some expression of my admiration for the man, and of my sorrow that he has departed, to be with us no more. FRANKLIN BLADES."

We would add that, at the conclusion- of the war, Dr. Babcock returned to his beautiful home iu Onarga, where he resumed the practice of his profession, and in which he continued until the time of his death. He died April 7, 1875, of paralysis, aged fifty-seven years and seven months, leaving a faithful and devoted wife and an estimable daughter to mourn his loss. In the death of Dr. Babcock the poor and afflicted lost a kind and sympathizing friend, the town of Onarga and the count}- of Iroquois an eminent physician and surgeon, and the country a faithful, patriotic and distinguished citizen.

Execution Of John M'Donnell

On September 27, 1861, John McDonnell killed his brother-in-law, James Hare, in the store of Smith & Chapin, in Ashkum in this county, by striking him three times with a rod of iron, which he had procured from the blacksmith shop of Peter Kelly, and he was arrested and committed to jail. At the following November term of the circuit court he was indicted for murder, and arraigned for trial before the following jury : Joel Brandenburg, Oscar Kinney, O. W. Dean, James Cauvins, George Pineo, G. G. Newland, William S. Gould, J. H. Bishop, James Egbert, Putnam Gaffield, William Alderman and John Snyder ; Judge C. R. Starr presiding. The trial commenced December 5, 1861, and occupied that and the next day, and on the 6th a verdict of "guilty " was returned, and on the 21st McDonnell was sentenced to be hanged on Friday, January 14, 1862. C. H. Wood, Esq., was attorney for the state, and Fletcher & Kinney for the defense. The attorneys for the defense deeming some <Tf the proceedings irregular, procured a reprieve for their client until February 7, to give them time to obtain a supersedeas from the supreme court, but failing in that, McDonnell was hanged February 7, 1862, Sheriff Luther T. Clark officiating at the execution. McDonnell, previous to his execution, made a confession in which he admitted the deed, but denied that he intended to kill Hare, but only intended to disable him, they having had much difficulty on account of Hare's interfering with his domestic relations. In this confession he stated that his name was not McDonnell, but Pat. McLaughlin, and that he was born in Donegal county, Ireland, in 1827, and came to this country in 1849, and a few years after married Bridget Hughes, by whom he had three children, and that she and the children were still living. He further stated that he killed a man by the name of Huey McKeever, at Philadelphia, in a difficulty, and for which he had to run away, and after residing at Pittsburgh, New Orleans, St. Louis and other places, he came to Chicago, where he married Eliza Hare, and then moved to this co'unty.

The execution took place in the grand jury room of the court-house at Middleport. The scaffold was composed of four posts with crosspieces at top, on which was laid a piece of timber 6x4 inches, and eight feet long, with blocks and pulleys at the end, through which the rope passed by which, with a weight of 290 pounds, he was to be suspended. At forty minutes past eleven the culprit, attended by Father Theodore Van de Poel, of L'Erable, in this county, who had administered to him the last rites of the Catholic church. Sheriff Clark, Thomas Vennum, circuit clerk, Drs. McNeill, Harwood, Secrest and Hewins, and several others, entered the room. After prayer the black cap and noose were adjusted, and the rope suspending the weight, at one minute past twelve, was cut by the sheriff. At nine minutes after his heart ceased to beat and he was pronounced to be dead by the physicians in attendance, and in thirty minutes he was cut down. His body was given in charge of Father Yan de Poel, and taken to L'Erable for burial.

KXECUTION OF FRANCIS MARION HARPER ALIAS JOHNSON, FOR THE MURDER OF D. W. NELSON, DECEMBER 22, 1865. THE MURDER COMMITTED ON THE NIGHT OF NOVEMBER 2, 1865. Harper was born in Morgan county, Indiana, in 1843. In 1864 he joined the 70th reg. Ind. Vol., but soon after deserted and came to Effingham, in this state, to Mrhich place his father, Henry Harper, and his mother and their family had removed. He soon after stole a horse from a Mr. Wilson, near that place, and took it to another part of the country and sold it. He then went to Gilman, in this county, and was employed by Mr. Maxson, who after some time discharged him. He then returned home and remained there six weeks, and then went to Kankakee city and became acquainted with a young man by the name of D. W. Nelson, who was from Muncie, Indiana, and engaged in making and selling stencil plates. Nelson had received a remittance of $15 from his father, and foolishly exhibited the express package in which he had received it, in such a manner as to induce Harper to believe it contained $1,500. In order to obtain this, after having procured a revolver, he induced Nelson to go with him to Gilman, on the night of November 2, 1865. After getting off the train at that place Harper invited Nelson to go down the road with him to the house of a friend, as he said, where he would introduce him to some lemale friends. When they had gone down the track about 100 rods Harper made a remark about the coolness of the evening, and falling behind a step, drew his revolver and shot Nelson in the back of the head. The shot did not kill him; a struggle ensued and Harper choked his victim to death, robbed him of his money (which was but little), knife, a gold ring, watch and chain, and the box in which he carried his stencil materials. He then placed the body on the track for the purpose of having it mangled by the next train, went to Onarga, staid there until morning, got breakfast, had his coat mended (which had been torn in the struggle) by Mr. Wand, a tailor of that place, and soon after took a freight train for Kankakee. In the morning the body of the murdered man was found, with his name on his clothing. The fact was telegraphed along the road, was read by the operator at Clifton, and when the train arrived there it was discovered that a passenger had a hand box on which were the initials, "D. W. N.," and he was returned to Oilman and proved to be the murderer of Nelson. He was arrested, and an examination had and Sheriff James P. Martin sent for, who arrived in the evening and took him into custody. While waiting for the train three attempts were made by a mob to hang Plarper, but he was rescued by the sheriff alone, and who took him to the Kankakee jail. This proves what a determined officer, who regards his oatJi, can sometimes do in the face of a cowardly mob.

At the November term of the circuit court of Iroquois county he was indicted. He was arraigned for trial before the court, Judge C. R. Starr presiding, William T. Ament for the state, and Chester Kinney and C. F. McNeill for the defense. The following persons composed the jury which tried the case : Tilden Graham, George Wright, James Romine, Ripley F. Young, Stephen Jessup, Martin Cottrill, George Miller, James McClintock, Isaac Peniston, Milton Gooding, Jacob Cain and Justus Smith. November 30 the jury returned a verdict of "guilty," and on December 1, Harper was sentenced by the court to be hanged on December 22, 1865, between the hours of ten and four o'clock. He was brought from the Kankakee jail b}~ Sheriff Sherman, on Thursday, the 21st, and placed in the custody of Sheriff James P. Martin, who had erected an inclosure 16x18 feet, and fourteen feet high, on the ground where the court-house now stands, and in which the scaffold for Harper's execution was erected. It was in form like that used for the execution of McDonnell, and the weight used was 325 pounds of lead and shot. At eight minutes past eleven the noose was adjusted and the rope cut, and in sixteen minutes he was found to be dead. His bodv was taken in charge bv A. G. Smith, editor of the

Part Ii

The writer of this sketch desires the reader to bear in mind that the limits of this work, the want of time and press of business of the writer, will not permit an extended and complete history of the localities allotted to him, and he can therefore furnish only a chronological skeleton which must be filled up by the imagination of the reader, or by some writer who may follow hereafter, and who may have more leisure and a broader field in which to display a talent for such work.

The town of Middleport, as at present organized, embraces the territory covered by town 27 north, range 12 west of the 2d principal meridian ; and the town of Belmont covers town 26 north, range 12 west of the 2d principal meridian, Iroquois county, Illinois.

The general geological features of these towns vary but little from that of the county elsewhere noted in this work, and to which the reader is referred. The Iroquois river enters the town of Middleport from the east, at the northeast corner of section 25, and leaves it near the northwest corner of section 30, meandering tortuously through the town. Sugar creek enters the town of Belmont from the south, near the southwest corner of section 32, and after pursuing a serpentine course through that town, forms a junction with the Iroquois river, near southwest corner of the E.-| of N.E. £ of Sec. 31, T. 27 N., R. 12 W.. and southwest corner of the plat of the village of Middleport. There are broad belts, principally of oak timber, along these streams, and the northern part of the town of Middleport is interspersed with groves. The soil of Belmont is good, and so also the southern and eastern portions of Middleport, but the northern and western portions not of first quality. Both towns are entirely embraced in the glacial channel, or valley, elsewhere noticed, filled with the glacial drift, rest- ing upon the Niagara limestone formation, and therefore not underlaid with coal, but with that which is much more valuable, pure water,, which can be obtained through artesian wells any where in these towns.

The first white settlers of this locality found the timber and groves clear of undergrowth, set with grass and presenting a park-like appearance. The prairies and timber abounded in game, and the streams were well stocked with fish.

That this locality was a favorite resort of the aborigines of the country we have evidence, the most ancient of which is that left by the "Mound Builders." There is an Indian mound about thirty feet in diameter on the Ezekiel Hutchinson Farm, and near the N.E. corner of the KW. i S.W. i of Sec. 31, T. 27 N., E. 12 W., and in the orchard on said farm. There is also a mound of about the same dimension on the S.E. \ N.W. \ of Sec. 20, T. 26 K, R. 12 W., now owned by William Pentzer, and on the west side of Sugar creek and near "Woodland. These mounds, with those found on John Lane's farm, near Milford,.and also one or two on the state line, south and near the Iroquois river, and the large number strung along the east bank of the Iroquois river, between Plato and the mouth of Pike creek, as noted in the general history of the county, are all the mounds, so far as the writer has been able to learn, that are found in the county. There is an Indian bury ing-ground on the nor.th bluff of the Iroquois river and near a large spring, in the N.E. \ of Sec. 29, T. 27 N., E. 12 W., now owned by the writer, and about one mile north of Watseka. This was also the site of a Pottawatomie village, within the recollection of the "oldest inhabitant." Many stone implements and arrow-heads have been found on the site of this village, and about the mounds mentioned ; a fine specimen of a hatchet being now in the possession of Mr. H. O. Yan Meter, who resides east of the river, near Plato. Indian burying-grounds always indicate the sites of Indian villages, as it has been the Indian custom to locate them at their villages. Their maize patches, or "squaw-fields," were also located at their villages. That it may be the better understood what constituted an Indian village, at least in this locality, we here give a description of them as furnished by Col. Gurdon S. Hubbard, in which he says: "The villages were none of them permanent, and were moved from place to place to suit the convenience of the inhabitants. Sometimes a village would not exist in the same location more than a year, when the Indians would move the wigwams and all to another point, the wigwams being built of poles set in a circular form, meeting in a common center at the top, and being covered with skins could be almost as easily moved as a large military tent."

As there has been some controversy as to whether or not Sugar creek and Spring creek had Indian names, the writer has interviewed both Col. Hubbard and Mr. Noel Le Yasseur upon that point, and both concur in the statement that neither of those streams had an Indian name. But. on the contrary, M. B. Beaubien, of Silver lake, Kansas, chief of the Pottawatomies, in answer to an inquiry made by Col. M. H. Peters, of the " Iroquois County Times," upon this point, writes him that : " Sugar creek, in Pottawatomie, is Cis-paw-co-to-con," and that " Sepa is river or creek." Yet, it may be that the chief intended only by this to give the translation or rendering of the English name into the Pottawatomie tongue, as it would be very strange if Hubbard and Yasseur should both be in error on this point, after their long residence among the Indians on these streams. It is therefore probable that none of the streams in this locality had Indian names, except the Iroquois river, the name "Iroquois" being derived from the Indians of that name, and who frequently raided this locality, as will be seen by reference to another part of this work.

First Exploration

It is not known by whom this locality was first explored. A copy, now in the hands of Mr. M. H. Messer, of Onarga, in this county, of a part of a map made in 1684, from records and maps kept by La Salle and others, of the country they had explored, shows the Iroquois river correctly delineated as far south as Watseka, where the turn is made from the east. In answer to an inquiry made by the writer of Col. Hubbard, he says that he has no knowledge, from Indian tradition or otherwise, that any white man visited or located in this region before he came; but he thinks it very likely, as when the French controlled the fur trade of the West, Chabarre and others had trading-posts all over this country. On the point between Woodland and Sugar creek, on N.E. \ of Sec. 29, T. 26 K, R. 12 W., is evidence of an ancient clearing and habitation, and of which the oldest " settler " can tell us nothing, and near by, from the site occupied by the creamery owned by Hon. Samuel Williams, a sugar tree was removed, which was found to have been hacked or cut with an ax by some one, as evidenced by the growths covering the cut, about 100 years ago. An ounce ball was also taken from a tree cut near the mouth of Spring creek, last fall, by employes of Mr. Henry A. Butzow, our county clerk, covered by the growths of a century. These traces may possibly have been left by Indians, but it is more probable that they are evidences of occupation by whites.