Livingston County, Illinois - Chapter 25: Township History, 1909 (part 1 of 5)

Bailroad Day

INDIVIDUAL SKETCHES OF THE SEVERAL TOWNSHIPS IN LIVINGSTON COUNTY - FIRST SETTLERS WITH INCIDENTS OF LOCAL HISTORY - SKETCHES OF VILLAGES - LOCAL CHURCH AND SCHOOL HISTORY - EARLY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES AND BUSINESS MEN - REMINISCENCES OF UNDERGROUND BAILROAD DAY.

The following chapter presents an individual history of each of the thirty townships comprised within the limits of Livingston County, the same being arranged in alphabetical order as to names of townships with a view to convenience for purpose of reference. In it will be found much of interest in connection with general State and local history.

northwest; Rooks creek comes In from the south and forms a junction with the Vermilion near the center; Scattering Point creek flows from the southeast and empties into the Vermilion; Mud creek flows through the northeastern part, emptying into the Vermilion in Newtown Township. Nearly all the settlers who located here during the '30s, were from Ohlo. Fully one-half of the township was timber land, but in some localities the trees have been cut down and the land is now under cultivation. The Wabash road crosses the township from northwest to southeast, cutting off about six sections from the northeast corner. The township in 1869, by a vote of 90 to 9 against, voted for the issuing of bonds to ald in building the road. The meaning of the word after which the township is named, is friendship or good-will.

Three Ohioans - Thomas N. Reynolds, Samuel 'K. Reynolds and Elmer Breckenridge left their native state in 1833, and were the first to make a permanent settlement in this township. A few years later, the wife of one of the Reynolds died, and her remains were laid to rest in a cofin made from a walnut log cut from the timber. Breckenridge lived here until 1842, when he removed farther west. Thomas Prindle arrived in 1834 from the Buckeye state. Besides tilling a small tract of land, he was also a blacksmith. He died in 1845. Six more

/ Ohioans arrived In the spring of 1835 - Corneljus W. Reynolds, elle Asno Joseph Reynolds, Stephen Reyno (brothers), William Springer and Thomas Campbell. Cornelius W. Reynolds was a physician. Soon after the county was organized (in 1837) he moved to Pontiac, and when the postoffice was established he was appointed postmaster. He also conducted a small store, the record of the county commissioners' court showing under date of July 11, 1838, that he was granted a license to keep a store for one year upon payment of $5. In 1837, he was a candidate for county surveyor but was defeated by Simeon S. Mead. In 1839, he was elected recorder and

1887, the election being held at the home of Andrew McMillan, in Rooks Creek Township, to serve until the next regular election In August, 1838. In December, 1837, Mr. Rey- nolds having failed to receive his commission as sheriff, the court appointed him collector of taxes. At the October term, 1839, of court, he presented his settlement with the county treasurer, and presented a receipt for $68.71. He was again a candidate for sheriff in 1838, but was defeated by Nicholas Hefner.

John W. Reynolds built a grist-mill after his arrival. It was a primitive affair, being nothing more than a corn cracker. It was well patronized by the neighborhood. In 1840 he was appointed school commissioner by the county commissioners' court, and qualified under a bond of $12,000. He was one of the first justices of the peace in the voting pre cinct, and married the first couple in the township - Isaac Painter and Nancy Springer.

In 1836, Henry Morris, Thomas Arman, and their brother-in-law, William Reynolds, arrived from Indiana. The former settled on section 17. He was a Whig and a member of the United Brethren church. He preached in the cabins in the neighborhood each Sunday until his death, September 11, 1843. Reynolds went to Oregon in a few years and finally located in Iowa. Arman remained in the settlement until his death.

Samuel Boyer arrived the same year from Pennsylvania, bringing his farming implements by boat down the Ohio, up the Mississippi, and thence up the Illinois to Hennepin. He was a very religious man, and services were held at his cabin for many years. In 1841, he wat elected school commissioner, and re-elected In 1843. He died November 2, 1852.

The settlement was increased in 1837 by the arrival of Thomas Louderback and Uriah Springer, and their families, The former located on what is now called Scattering Point, and the latter on South Point. Both were natives of Ohio, although Mr. Louderback had lived in Vermilion County, this state, six years before coming here. All of his family are dead but one, Levi Louderback, the surviving son, Is still a resident of the township. He is 76 years of age and has lived in the township continuously for 71 years. The elder Louderback died in 1854,

Uriah Springer was elected county commissioner in 1838, the other commissioners being Albert Moore and William Popejoy. In draw- Ing for seats, Mr. Springer, who was absent, drew the three years' term, Moon for two years, and Popejoy for one year. This court had more bills to pay than its predecessor. Among them was one to Henry Weed for "$4.121%4 for paper, sand and ink, used by him as circuit clerk up to this time." Just how much of it was for sand, the bill fails to mention. He was also elected associate justice of the county. He erected a flouring mill, but it did not prove successful.

Walter Cornell located here in 1839. He was a native of Rhode Island. He worked a short time on the Illinois and Michigan canal as engineer before he came here. .In 1853, he was elected treasurer and collector of the county, and re-elected in 1855, and afterward elected school commissioner. He was elected supervisor in 1864, and held the office of township assessor for eleven years. The town of Cornell was laid out and named by him In 1871, and he was the first postmaster.

Moses and Hiram Allen settled in the township in 1837, being natives of Ohio. The former held the office of supervisor for five terms, 1859 to 1863.

Amos Edwards landed here on September 9, 1839, with a lumber wagon and two horses, by which means he transported his family and household goods from the state of New York, He was elected county surveyor in 1844, serring four years, and reelected for a second term. At the next election, the candidate would not or could not qualify, and he was called upon to fill the office made vacant. He east his first Presidential vote for Andrew Jackson. He was the first postmaster in the township, losing his political scalp in 1861. In the early days he taught school in his home, re ceiving as compensation 50 cents per day.

Philip Nigh set foot on Amity soll in 1840, and took up a tract of land in section 28. Nigh Chapel and a cemetery are located near the old homestead. Besides holding various township offices, he officiated as postmaster at Rooks Creek. Himself and wife were prominently connected with the Methodist Protestant church. He uniformly voted the Republican ticket. .

Charles Earp located here in 1842. He was a native of England, but came to America with his parents in early childhood. He died October 7, 1873.

were members of that sect, although, unlike Brigham Young, they were utterly opposed to polygamy. He was elected one of the county court justices in 1849. The county court under the new constitution was organized December 31 of this year. At this time first appeared the constitutional clause in the oath of office: "I do solemnly swear that 1 have not fought a duel, nor sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel, the probable issue of which might have been the death of either party, nor been a second to elther party, nor in any way aided or assisted in such duel, nor been knowingly the bearer of such challenge since the adoption of this constitution, nor will be engaged in such duel during my continuance in office." Mr. Bradley died December 30, 1862. His son, Joseph, is still a resident of the township.

John Mitchell was the first Norwegian to locate in the township, arriving with his wife in 1853. He first took up a claim of forty acres, The third year he was taken sick, not being able to work for two years, and was obliged to sell everything he had to pay his doctor bill. When he died, February 9, 1896, he owned nearly 1,000 acres, all under cultivation. Mr. Mitchell for many years was called "The Norwegian King," a name given by his generosity to his fellow countrymen, many of whom settled in adjoining townships in later years.

Nathan Springer settled here in 1851, coming from Vermillion County, this state, where he had lived for twenty years. A year later he moved to Long Point township, locating on section 25.

"Thomas Gregory and wife arrived in the fall of 1855. Both were natives of England and came to this townshlp the same year they landed in America. Mr. Gregory was a Protestant Methodist minister and labored as such for over thirty years. He was in the Union army eleven months as a member of Co. C. 129th Illinols Infantry, organized in this county, and was discharged on account of disability incurred while serving as a cook in the hospital.

Calvin Blue first came to this township in 1848, although he did not make it his home until later. He served in the Civil War under command of General Thomas, He was school director of the township nine years and constable eighteen years. John Lucas came here in 1855, Among those who located here in 1856 were William P. Davis, Morris Foley, James H. Hayes, William McVay, and Presley Lucas. Reuben

The first schoo] bouse was erected in 1840 on section 16. The logs for the building were cut and hewn from the timber by the settlers, and the building put together by them on the mutual assistance plan. The first teacher in this "academy" was Miss Elizabeth Miller. It was a subscription schoo] of three months, and the tuition was $1.50 per term. The branches taught were reading, writing and arithmetic. The teacher's salary was $2.00 per week, and it is said she was required to make goose-quill pens for her scholars.

Village Of Cornell

Cornell is situated in Amity Township. The Vermilion river runs nearly half a mile within the center of the town. The village owes its name to the founder, Walter B. Cornell. Upon the completion of the Chicago and Paducah railroad, now known as the Streator branch of the Wabash, he laid out the plat of the town on June 15, 1871, and named It Cornell. Two days later, William D. Blake, his neighbor on the south, platted an adjoining section of his farm and named it Amity. The strife for supremacy was carried on for several years, but the only evidence of the conflict now remaining is two beautiful parks - North park, on the original site of Cornell, and South park In Amity. At one time, lots In Cornell were worth more on the market than in either of its neighbors, Pontiac or Streator. The village was incorporated in 1873, and the question of licensing saloons came up before the people and has been the main point at issne at the village elections ever since with varying results. The first board of trustees were Henry Cornell, Joseph Rucker, George Bradley, John Withrow, James Pond and Jason Curtis. The population of the village is estimated at 600. It Is connected with the local and long distance telephone line, and is well provided with lighting, having ten are lights and 250 incandescent lights. The village has some cement sidewalks and about ten miles of board walks. The churches are the Methodist, a frame bullding, with a seating capacity of 300, The Baptists have a neat frame church building, costing $1,600, the Catholic church is also a frame structure. The Odd Fellows, Modern Wood- men, Court of Honor, Daughters of Rebekah, Grand Army of the Republic, and Woman's Relief Corps have flourishing lodges. The Odd Fellows erected a two-story brick building in 1907, the lower floor being used for a store and the upper floor for lodge purposes. major portion of the business houses in the village are built of brick. A coal mine, operated by the Phoenix Mining Company, is located one mile north of the village. The village school has three departments, and its graduates pass the eighth grade county examination. The Cornell Journal, a weekly newspaper, is published by A. E. Tiffany. Three elevators handle the grain.

Avoca is known as Township 27, north range 6, east of the third principal meridian. The township is about one-fifth timber to four-fifths prairie, It is bounded on the north by Owego, on the east by Pleasant Ridge, on the south by Indian Grove, on the west by Eppards Point. This and Indian Grove Township composed one election precinct until 1853, when they were separated. The name Avoca was given the township by Nicholas Hefner, and means "the meeting of the waters," the two branches of the Vermilion river uniting in this township.

The first permanent settler in this township was Isaac Jordan, who came with his wife from Brown County, this state, in December, 1830, There were but two other families in the county - that of Martin Darnall, who had located in Belle Prairie Township, some ten miles to the southwest, a few weeks previous and Frederick Rook, who located in Rooks Creek Township, west of Pontiac, Mr. Jordan's wife was the first white woman in the township.

Four families settled here in the following spring: William Popejoy, John Hanneman, Uriah Blue and Abner Johnson. On May 5, 1832, William McDowell and family, consisting of his wife and six children, John, Woodford, James, Hiram, Joseph and Mrs. Joel Tucker, arrived from Indiana. The McDowells at once proceeded to erect their cabin. Their principal tool used in its construction was an axe. They brought with them a few panes of glass for a window, and in this particular they bad the advantage of their neighbors. The boards which furnished the material for the door and window casing were purchased of the Kickapoo Indians, then located at Oliver's Grove, who had hewn them out for some purpose of their own, but were induced to part with them for a small supply of ammunition.

In the latter part of May of this year occurred the outbreaking of the Black Hawk War, and the entire settlement took their departure for their former homes, returning later in the fall.

When the MeDowells first came here they brought with them some young cattle belonging to a friend in Indiana and which they proposed to "break to work" with them. After they had become well "broken," they were returned to their owner. Jordan remained but a few years, returning to Brown County. Hanneman died in the fall of 1832. This was one of the first deaths in the county, as well as the first to occur in this township. His coffin was made of timber split out of a walnut tree, and hewed as smooth as possible with an axe.

In the fall of 1832 Charles Brooks and John Wright and the latter's sister, Mary, arrived from Indiana. On July 1, the following year, a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, being the first white child born in the township.

In 1833 the settlement was increased by the arrival of Isaac Burgit, M. B. Miller and Platt Thorn from New York state and Elijah Thompson and family from Indiana. Miller and Thorn remained but a few years when they removed to Ottawa. Thompson settled on what, after the lands were surveyed, turned out to be a school section. He sold out his improvements and removed to Kankakee. His daughter, Ann, was married September, 1833 to Harvey Rounsaville, William McDowell, who had been elected a justice of the peace a few weeks before, performing the ceremony. This was the first marriage in the township and Mr. McDowell's first official act in tying matrimonial knots.

The first sermon preached in Avoca Township was at the McDowell cabin in the spring of 1833, by Rev. James Eckels. The first religious society was organized the following fall in the same cabin by Father Royal, one of the pioneer Methodist ministers of the state. It was a kind of mission, and was embraced in the old preacher's circuit, which extended from the Tlinois river east to the state line, and from Ottawa to the Mackinaw river.

Col, George Johnson came here from Ohio in 1835, He had served in the war of 1812, though not as a colonel, which title was more . honorary than otherwise. He died in 1859. Nathan Popejoy and James Blake settled here the following year and Isaac Wilson in 1887. The first case to be tried by a jury in the court house, then only a log cabin, was a suit wherein Mr. Wilson was the plaintiff and Nathan Popejoy the defendant. Mr. Wilson and Popejoy were members of the first grand jury. This year (1837) the county was organized and William Popejoy was elected one of the members of the county commissioner's court. In 1839 Isaac Burgit was elected the first coroner.

In 1840, Joseph C. Morrison, Asa DeMoss and James DeMoss came with their families. The latter DeMoss was a carpenter and helped to erect the first mill in Pontiac, and also assisted in building the first court house.

This same year the first postoffice was established, and was called Avoca. Nicholas Hefner was the first postmaster. The office was where the village of Avoca was afterward loeated and was on the mail route between Ottawa and Danville. The office was discontinued in 1864.

William Wilson moved here in 1844 and James Glennin and John Ridinger came in 1846. The three Tanner brothers - James, Robert and John - arrived the following year, and located on the north half of section 17, on farms adjoining each other. Ridinger moved to Saunemin Township in 1848.

Minor Rogers and Thomas G. McDowell, settled on claims in 1848. The latter was a younger brother of William McDowell. He located on the prairie, about a half mile from the timber, which was the first actual settlement made outside of the timber.

The McDowells, Isaac, Oliver, William, Nelson and Mary, and their mother settled in the fall of 1850. Isaac McDowell had prior to this spent the winter of 1845-46 in teaching school here. In 1854 he engaged in the dry goods business in Pontiac and years later he returned to the farm. He moved to Fairbury in 1864.

only physician in this locality, his practice extending to the extreme east and southern portions of the county. He later removed to Fairbury. Both are now dead.

During the '50s the township was rapldly being settled, some locating in the timber along the river, others on the prairie. Joel Tucker came here in 1851; James K. Robinson in 1852; Thomas N. Smith, Isaac Umphenour, M. M. Pearson, Eli Pearson and John Shaw in 1853; John M. Zook and John Bodley in 1854; R. B. Foster, Thomas Winslow, George Weider, and Robert Spafford. in 1855; William Fugate, Aaron Shaw, Aaron Weider, John Brownson, G. B. Brownson, J. J. Trullinger, J. F. Adams in 1856; Bernhard Strobel, A. P. Champlin, Daniel Street in 1857; Squire Linscott and Willlam Smith in 1859.

The first church in the township was completed in 1857. The church building was 32x- 50 feet, 16 feet high between the floor and celling, lathed, plastered, and originally painted white, black walnut seats and pulpit. The lumber for the main part of the church was taken from the oak and walnut trees growing on the banks of the Vermilion river in the township. They were cut and hauled to the steam mill of McDowell Brothers in Avoca (in its palmy days), and sawed into lumber suitable for the erection of the church. The house was enclosed by Alexander Harbison (the first settler in Sullivan Township) In 1856, and in 1857 it was completed by G. B. and J. M. Brownson of Fairbury. The church was named by Mrs. Sarah McDowell, who was the first settler in the township, she and her husband, William McDowell, having settled near the site of the structure in 1832. Their remains are quietly resting in the Avoca cemetery. Mrs. McDowell, though entirely blind for twenty years, was one of the active workers In planning and helping, with her means at hand, to erect and complete the church of her choice. She being the oldest settler, person and church member, hence it was left to her to name, and she very appropriately named it the "Pioneer Methodist Episcopal Church." It was dedicated by the Rev. Zeddick Hall, then presiding elder of the Methodist Church, on August 2, 1857. The trustees were John McDowell, Samuel G. Crull, Smith D. Hinman, James Tanner and Woodford G. McDowell. Rev. Watson was the presiding elder and Rev. John W. Stubbles the

In the winter after this edifice was completed, revival meetings were held by the pastor, Rey. John Stubbles, and were continued for several weeks. At this meeting those religiously inclined became nervous and were afflicted with the "jerks." Some would dance and throw their arms forward and back with lightning speed; others would work their arms as steady as a plece of machinery and with as much precision; some would move their heads back and forth in quick succession; others would sit down and keep their feet shuffling on the floor; others would jump up and down for an hour at a time, without the least appearance of fatigue, yelling "Glory! glory!" And what seemed strange, they all concurred in the one idea of being happy and perfectly free from exhaustion. While the revival was in progress, the church was filled nightly to its capacity, many coming for miles to witness this strange phenomena. Many of the "jerkers" refrained from work for weeks after the revival closed, being unable to perform manual labor. Dr. Darius Johnson, of Pontiac, who treated some of the patients afterward, pronounced the disease as chorea or St. Vitus' dance. Several weeks after the rivival closed, Rev. Stubbles went to Pontiac, and put his horse in J. W. Remick's barn, where eight or ten of the "jerkers'" were, when the enthusiastic boys started for the corncrib to bring the animal some food. They reached the crib, going "through all maneuvers imaginable. One would seize an ear of corn, and the next instant it would be flying several feet from him; another would attempt the same thing with a similar result. All were bobbing, and twitching, and humping, and throwing their arms, legs, necks, and heads in all manner of shapes. Corn was scattered all around the crib, but finally the whole party succeeded in securing enough to feed the animal. These "jerkers" were in complete possession of their senses, at the same time having no control over the muscular action of their bodies and limbs. It was months before those so afllicted were restored to their natural condition.

The first store in Avoca was kept by Woodford and James McDowell in 1854. The same year McDowell built a steam saw mill, to which was attached one run of stones for grinding corn, but the main business of the mill was sawing. Most of the lumber for the houses of the earlier settlers was obtained at this mill. It was moved to Fairbury, Neb., in 1869.

The first bridge in the township was built over the south branch of the Vermilion River in 1844. The lumber was all hewed out of the neighboring forest, and it was a substantial structure.

The village of Avoca was laid out in 1854, by W. G. McDowell, who owned the land upon which it was located. The store in the village had been doing business for several months prior to this time. After the village of Fairbury (three miles south) was laid out in 1857, the little hamlet ceased to grow, and many of the houses were torn down and removed to that place. There is not a mark standing to note where the village once stood.

The first school was taught by Samuel Breese in the fall of 1835. The school house was a cabin, 16x18 feet, with a large wood fire place. The building was paid for by Mrs. William Mce- Dowell, (whose husband had died in 1834), Nathan Popejoy and James Blake.

James F. Adams started a brick kiln soon after his arrival in 1856. This was the first kiln of brick ever burned in the county. The Pearsons - Martin and Eli - were the first me chanics in the line of wagon making and blacksmithing. The latter was assessor of the township for a number of years.

Lyman Burgit was the first school treasurer, but died soon after his appointment, and James McDowell was elected to succeed him, and held the office for twenty-seven years, until his removal to Fairbury. There was but one school district in the township, and the school fund consisted of what was termed the "College and Academy Fund," from which this township drew annually about $30. The first board of trustees were: Isaac Burgit, Nicholas Hefner and W. G. McDowell.

The first physician to practice in this section was Dr. John Davis, of Pontiac, who had the distinction of being the first physician to locate in the county,

The only representative of the legal fraternity in the township was W. G. McDowell. In 1859 he was elected county judge. In 1844 he was appointed collector of revenues. At that time, there was a premium of $1.00 on wolf scalps. Mr. McDowell is quoted as saying that

"he collected almost the entire revenue that year in county orders and wolf scalps, not getting money enough to pay his own percentage on collecting it."

The Avoca cemetery was laid out in 1832. Susan Phillips was the first person to be buried there, the interment taking place in 1833. William McDowell and wife, the pioneers, are also buried there. The Popejoy cemetery was laid out later.

The Republicans of the township met at the school house on the evening of August 24, 1858, and organized the Avoca Republican Club. T. G. McDowell presided at the meeting. The following were elected officers: President, Aaron Weider; vice-president, J. Barr; secretary, W. G. McDowell. J. L. Crull, Martin Pearson, R. B. Foster, M. Weider and T. H. O'Neal were elected members of the township committee. At the county convention held later at Pontiac Aaron Weider, S. G. Crull, J. C. Dever, William Virgin, R. B. Foster and S. P. Wallace were selected as delegates from this township to attend the assembly convention to be held at Ottawa.

There are three church edifices in the township, all wooden structures, being erected by the Methodist denomination. One is located in the village of McDowell, the other at Lodemia, and the third on the east bank of the Vermilion, onehalf mile north and a short distance east of where the village of Avoca once stood. The cemetery adjoins the church on the west.

The first supervisor of the township was Gideon Hutchinson. Isaac R. Clark was the first town clerk. The first settlers were from Ohio, Indiana and New York. mans settled here in the early '60s. Prior to township organization, Avoca was largely Democratic, there being but seven Whig votes. In recent years, the township has gone Republican by a large plurality.

The Wabash railroad runs through this township from the northwest to the southeast. The road when it was built in 1872 was known as the Fairbury, Pontiac and Northwestern railroad. At the election held in 1869 this township by a unanimous vote (65) voted bonds to the amount of $10,000 toward the construction of the road.

Village Of Mcdowell

Pontiac. It was laid out as a village in 1873 by W. G. McDowell, who owned the land and gave it its name. John Cottrell was the first postmaster. Benjamin Walton opened the first store, and later R. B. Phillips ran a store. John Leonard is now the village merchant as well as postmaster, A fine Methodist church is located here. The school house is one-half mile west of the village. There is an elevator, owned by the farmers in that locality, of which Charles Cottrell is manager. The village has about 100 population.

Village Of Lodemia

Is situated on the Wabash rairoad, midway between Pontiac and Fairbury. Has a small depot. There is a Methodist church and parsonage a few rods to the northeast. A postoffice was established in 1877. It was discontinued in 1891. Farmers in this locality now receive their mail on rural routes from Fairbury and Pontiac. There is an elevator here owned by Fairbury parties.

Belle Prairie is known as township 25 north, range 6, east of the third principal meridian. It is one of the three small townships of the county. It is bounded on the north by Indian Grove, on the east by Fayette, and on the south and west by Ford and McLean counties. This township was set off from Indian Grove at the time of township organization, and from that time until 1869, it embraced Fayette township within its limits. The township has neither a railroad nor a post office. The mail is de livered by carrier on the rural route from Fairbury. It was given its name by R. B. Harrington, at a meeting held at the school house on February 8th, 1858. William Brooks suggested the name of Douglas, but a majority favored the name of Belle Prairie.

Valentine Martin Darnall has the distinction of belng the first permanent settler in Livingston County. He was born in Virginia, in March, 1798, and was the son of James and Massey (Martin) Darnall, natives of that state. When a mere child, his parents removed In Kentucky and settled.in Boone County, one and one-quarter miles from Boonesboro, where lranlel Boone, the pioneer, built a fort over a century ago. Mr. Darnall was reared on a farm and was educated in the common schools of those days, which afforded very limited facilities for obtaining an education. With his family, wife and four children, he left Kentucky In 1830, first arriving in the settlement above Pleasant Plain, on the Mackinaw, in McLean County, making the journey overland in a wagon with the old-fashioned scooped bed, which had a wonderful capacity for carrying household goods. This wagon was drawn by four horses, which were frequently inadequate to haul it through the deep mud caused by the rains at that season of the year. He had three brothers-In-law living at Pleasant Plain, and after a few days' visit, he left his wagon and family with them while he came over to Belle Prairie Township on a prospecting tour. After deciding upon his location, he returned to his family and borrowed a wagon to avoid unload- Ing, and with some grain he drove to a mill near Springfield. He was gone two weeks, the miller taking his time to grind the grain. He returned to the settlement on October 29th, and the following day he started and Janded on the spot in this county which he had previously selected, and "pitched his tent," on section 4, Belle Prairie Township, where there was an abundance of timber. Mr. Darnall at once set about to cut down trees to erect his cabin, his only tool belng an axe. The Jogs he cut eight feet long. The trees were cut down in the day time and at night he dressed them down into boards. The cabin was erected in one day, relatlves from Macklnaw coming over and assisting him. The cabin has long since crumbled away. A month after his arrival came the big snow, an extended notice of which is given elsewhere. The following year (1831) of four horses he had when he settled here, three of them died with milk sickness, and he used oxen for some time afterward. In 1832, dur- Ing the Black Hawk war (an account of which is elsewhere given), with his family he took refuge with his relatives In a fort on the Mackinaw, in McLean County, returning after the excitement had subsided. Mr. Darnall was honored with being elected the first supervisor of this township, which office he held for several years. He also held various offices of trust. He was one of the first jurors in the county, when court was held in the log cabin in Pontiac, and the jury were obliged to sit on logs in the open air. The wedding of Mr. and Mrs, Darnall's daughter, Mary, to Williamson Spence, was the first marriage in the county, the ceremony taking place In the log cabin on June 4th, 1837, and was performed by Rev. John Darnall, an uncle of the bride. On September 19th. 1839, another daughter, Alvira, was married to Benjamin Hieronymus. This was the second marriage in the county. Mr. Darnall was twice married, the first time in 1817, to Miss Rachel Steers. She died at the old homestead in September, 1872. In 1880 he married Mrs. Frances Cummings, who died at Hutchinson, Kan., while on a visit, on May 29, 1883. Mr. Darnall's first Presidential vote was cast for Andrew Jackson, and he remained a Hickory Democrat all through his life. A tract of 160 acres of government land, which he entered shortly after his arrival in the county, was still in bis possession at the time of his death (1886). and the title which was vested in him by the government remained just as it was written at that time.

The second settler in the county was Williamson Spence, mentioned above, who came here in 1831. His father, Malachi Spence, had located in Indian Grove Township, the same year. The first house in which he lived was 16x18 feet in dimensions, constructed of roughly hewed logs, with a plank floor, and his first purchase from the government was 80 acres of government land. His marriage to Miss Mary Darnall occurred in 1837. Both are now dead. A most remarkable event is that their five children are still living. Courtenay Ann, born in 1889, is the wife of Elhanan Fitzgerald and lives in Fairbury; Amanda, born in 1841, is the wife of Theodore A. Bentley and lives in Centralia, Mo.; Martin M., born in 1844, resides on the old Martin Darnall homestead; Mary E. born in 1847, is the wife of D, C. Avery, of Pontiac; Marquis D., born in 1856, lives at Roanoke, Va.

In 1834, Jeremiah Travis, James Cooper and Hugh Steers arrived with their families, each locating on section 5. Travis and Cooper came here from Overton County, Tennessee. Their mode of transportation was by wagon drawn by oxen, which made their travel necessarily slow.

Steers came from Boone County, Kentucky. It is said that Travis was the first white man to strike a fire on the west side of Indian Grove timber. He was a chair and spinning wheel maker by trade. During the early years in the new settlement, he was the first blacksmith. He died on the old homestead in 1871. Steers was a cooper by trade and made the first whisky barrel in the county. Cooper devoted his time in farming. Steers died October 26, 1852, while on a visit to his former home in Kentucky, and his remains were buried near where those of his parents and Daniel Boone repose. He was a leading and prominent member of the Baptist church and assisted in the organization of this church in this county. Cooper served on the first jury after the organization of this county, and held many offices of trust. He died in 1871, and was buried in the cemetery bearing his name, near the old homestead. His daughter, Margaret, born in 1835, was the first birth in this township. She never married, and died in Wichita, Kan., in the fall of 1901.

The family of Spencer Kates were the only arrivals in 1835. He was the first justice of the peace, receiving his commission in 1840, while this township was yet a part of Indian Grove precinct. He removed to the state of Oregon in 1865.

Benjamin Hieronymus came here in the spring of 1839 from Logan County, this state, where his parents had settled in 1828. On September 19th of the same year he was married to Miss Alvira Darnall, this being the second marriage in the county. Soon thereafter he engaged in teaming to Chicago, which he followed for nearly twenty-five years. He died on the old homestead December 31, 1885.

Charles Jones and son, Thomas A., came here in 1843 from Forrest Township, where they had settled in 1837. They lived here until 1861, when they removed to the village of Fairbury. They were natives of New Jersey.

Decatur Veatch and wife located here in 1846. He was born in Harrison County, Indiana, and came to Illinois with his parents in 1834, they locating in McLean County. Mr. Veatch built the first sawmill in Indian Grove Township. It is said he was the first Abolitionist in the county. He died June 3, 1873. His widow is living in Fairbury.

David S. Crum settled on section 17 in 1853, coming from Franklin County, Ohio. He Is still living. He served five terms as supervisor, was justice of the peace for twelve years, and school treasurer for many years. He is a member of the Methodist church, and was one of the principal members instrumental in building Fairview Chapel, which is located on his farm. While in no sense a politician, he ls a strict partisan of the Republican party.

Benjamin Walton came here in 1854 from Pennsylvania. Instead of locating in the timber, as had the previous settlers, he settled on the open prairie, having purchased his claim from a man named DeBoard. Mr. Walton was one of the first men in the county to advocate a stock law, and resolutions on the subject offered by him at the first county fair at Pontiac went the rounds of the press and circulated extensively over the Western states. Another enterprise of his was the putting up of stone corners to each section of land in the township. He made the move. and after encountering considerable opposition, succeeded In carrying his point, and today every section of land in this township has stones, weighing not less than 200 pounds, at each corner. He afterward moved to Fairbury, where he operated a flouring mill. He now lives in California.

Richard Smith came here the same year. He served two years as township collector. Jesse Hanna and son, Richard, and Allen Fitzgerald and sons, Elhanan and James, arrived in 1855. The Hannas came here from Woodford County, this state, and the Fitzgeralds from Boone County, Kentucky.

William Brooks came here in 1854 from Atlanta, this state. He was among the passengers on the first through train on the Chicago & Alton railroad after its completion from Chicago to Alton. For over fifty years he has kept a daily record of the weather and of principal events which have happened in the southern part of this county, and in many instances, by referring to his record, has settled disputes. Several years ago he abandoned the farm, and with his wife is now living in Fairbury.

George Worrick came here in 1857 from Washburn, Woodford County, this state, having located there three years previous. He dropped dead on the streets of Pontiac in 1882.

Others who arrived in the '50s were James and John Kirby, Samuel Hayes, John and Michael Morris, B. F. Fitch, Aaron Becker, P. O. Abbey, Gottlieb Brucker and the Sticklers.

The foregoing names comprise nearly all of the early settlers in this township of whom we have been able to obtain any definite information, and these settled In and around the small body of timber at the head of the grove.

There is but one church in the township - Methodist - and it is known as Fairview Chapel. It is a frame structure, erected in 1865, at a cost of $1,500, and was dedicated on its completion by Presiding Elder Rhodes. Be fore this church was built services were held in the cabins. Rev. John Darnall, Rev. David Sharpless and Rey. John Miller were among the early preachers.

The first school house was built in 1858, the contract for the same being let to Benjamin Walton. He hauled the material from Pontiac, and got his pay by collecting a sufficient amount to bring down his quota to a fair proportion with that of his neighbors.

This township is on the east side of the county, Round Grove being situated on the north and Sullivan on the south, Before the act of township organization was adopted in 1857, the township was a part of Round Grove precinct, and the inhabitants, not very many in those days, went there to vote. The township organization went into effect in 1858. The east fork of the Mazon river runs north through sections 2, 11 and 16. The township is quite rolling, numerous sloughs being located here and there in an early day, but these have all been drained and the vast prairie is now all under cultivation.

William Broughton, after whom the township was named, took up his residence here on May 1, 1852, coming from Medina County, Ohio. In his younger days he had followed the life of a sailor on the lakes. He was the first supervisor, which office he held for a number of years, and was also assessor for a long period. He took an active interest in politics, and in early life identified himself with the Republican party, and remained a firm adherent until his death, which occurred September 29, 1884. James Broughton (father of William) and sons, Samuel and James, arrived' in 1854, They were joined shortly afterward by John Conway and William Day.

Bernard O'Neill came in 1855. After working two years as a farm hand, he purchased a 160-acre tract in section 1. He was a native of Ireland. In his youth he was ardent in his desires for liberty, and signed petitions for Catholic emancipation, and served as an O'Connellite for a number of years. He served as school director of the township for more than thirty years.

Warren Webster arrived in 1856 from Ohio, a few months after his marriage. He followed farming the first two years, and later gave his attention to stock raising. He wasparticularly active in the establishment and maintenance of schools, and served as director for a number of years. Nelson Clapp and Smith Clapp settled here the same year.

Jonathan Sarvis and James Blair located on claims in 1857. The former was from Pennsylvania and settled in the southwest part of the township on swamp land purchased from the government at $2.50 per acre. He seryed the township as supervisor for several terms. Blair moved away in 1860. James E. Morris arrived in 1858. He is a member of the Baptist church, and was among the first to preach the Gospel in the neighborhood. He has held the office of assessor and school director. In politics, he is a Republican. Amos Hertz came here in the spring of 1859. His wife taught the first school is district 8. Both are members of the Congregational church. Isaac Persels also came here in 1859, locating on section 3. He served as road commissioner and township treasurer. He moved to Gardner in 1877. W. E. Baker settled here in 1860. It is said that he used the first riding plow brought to this county. This was in the summer of 1862. It was a crude affair, and it was several weeks before it could be fixed so he could operate it. Mr. Baker and Frank Whipple, of Union Township, purchased the first reaper in this locality,. and cut most of the growing grain in Brough-- ton and Union. Mr. Baker afterward moved to Saunemin Township, from there to Dwight, and later moved to Fairbury, where he served seyeral years as street commissioner, and was elected supervisor, He was postmaster under Cleveland's administration. He was elected county treasurer in 1890, and moved with his family to Pontiac, where he now resides. At present he is special city collector of special assessments.

The first school house was built in the Broughton neighborhood, and the first election for town officers was also held there. The next school house was built on the Sarvis farm, followed with one later on the Clover farm, There are now nine good school buildings in the township.

In 1874, the Catholics erected a frame church in the southwest corner of section 3, on the O'Neil farm. The Congregationalists erected a church later, on section 6.

About one-third of the present population of the township is Irish. For several years the township went Democratic, but in recent years the Republicans seem to have been more or less successful. The census in 1870 showed 823 inhabitants.

Village Of Emington

Emington is an incorporated village in Broughton Township, has a population of 250 inhabitants, and commands the trade of a fertile region, making it an excellent market. It was laid out and platted from the farm of William Marvin. The village is situated on the main line of the Wabash railroad. It has good school and church accommodations. St. Mary's church is a frame building, with a seating capacity of 150. The Congregational church has a seating capacity of 300, The village has three dry goods and grocery stores, two dealers in hardware and farm machinery, drug store, meat market, two grain elevators, lumber yard, two confectionery stores, blacksmith shops, and a hotel. The lodges represented are the Modern Woodmen, Royal Neighbors, Mutual Ald, Knights of the Globe, and Good Templars. October 16, 1893, an accident occurred in the village by the explosion of dynamite in which five men lost their lives, and several were injured. Eyer Brothers, of Dwight, were engaged in digging a deep well. Several people bad congregated around the well to witness the progress being made, when a package of dynamite exploded. Those killed were Chris Byer, Daniel Byer (a brother), Fred Eyer (a cousin), James Cornwall and C. E. Fowler.

Charlotte lies in the eastern tier of townships, and is described as town 27, range 8. Until 1864 it was included in Pleasant Ridge Township. When the latter petitioned the board of supervisors for a separation L. W. Dart, one of the early settlers, was given the honor of naming the new township, which he called Charlotte - the name, it is said, of a girl he courted in Vermont in his younger days. The township is all prairie, except a few sections of timber on the north, bordering a branch of the Vermilion river, which flows toward the west The groves on the river are Burr Oak, Eagle and Crab Apple, all of which are small. The name Burr Oak is applied in consequence of the timber being of that species; Crab Apple because of these bushes being scattered through the grove; Eagle from the fact that eagles built their nests and reared their young long after the people settled here. The north half of the township was termed swamp land in an early day, but since the river has been dredged, It has been settled upon and the land ranks among the best. A branch of the Illinois Central railroad from Kankakee to Bloomington, runs north and south through the center of the township. The village of Charlotte is located on sections 10 and 15. Several substantial bridges have recently been erected over the Vermilion river, Politically the township is about equally divided between the Democrats and Republicans. There are many Germans and Irish in the township, who located here in recent years.

Patrick Monahan, Jobn Monahan, Owen Murtaugh and John Martin were the first settlers, locating here in the spring of 1858. Patrick and John Monahan were brothers, although the latter at that time was unmarried. They were born in County Meath, Ireland, and left their native home in 1855, first locating in Grundy County. They came here overland with an ox team. Their first home on the prairie was a rude affair, made of posts and poles: on which lumber was placed loose for a roof. They experienced all the privations of the early settlers. The Monahans farmed the land together and raised stock until the marriage of John in October, 1863, when each farmed for himself. The latter erected a house on section 21 in 1864, and the following March it was destroyed by a cyclone. Patrick in after years erected one of the finest residences in the township. Both are now dead, each having been the possessor of hundreds of acres of land. Mr, Murtaugh was also a native of Ireland. He came to Illinois at the age of 26 years and firsv located on a farm in Lee County, afterward moving to Marshall County. He then spent eighteen months in California, finally locating here. He related that soon after his arrival he went to Pontiac after some lumber. He started home with about 800 feet of lumber, but owing to the poor roads was obliged to throw about half of the load off when half way home, where he arrived on horseback with only a few boards,. finding that an empty wagon was a load of itself through the swamps. The family camped out a few weeks until he could erect a cabin. He moved to Chatsworth in 1890. Martin enlisted in the army and after the close of the war he went to Kansas. L. W. Dart arrived in 1860, He was a native of Vermont, but for several years previous to his arrival here had engaged in farming in Woodford County, this state. He was fairly well-todo when he first landed there, but it seems that he was a poor manager and lost several thousand dollars, which had been inherited by his wife, and came here penniless. He passed the first winter on the prairie in a sod house. The family were in dire poverty, having scarcely anything to live on. One of the nelghbors gave her a sack of corn, and she took it on a horse to Avoca to get it ground, and on the way she fell off the horse, with the ague, which was quite prevalent in those days, and she laid on the ground for hours before some one came along to assist her. Dart had a lawsuit with the county for sixteen years for some imaginary title to land in this township, but lost his case in the courts. He had a few blacksmith's tools, built a shop, but did not work steady at his trade. He moved to Indian Territory in 1876. William Hefner and Elias Brown came the same year, remained until 1870, when they left the settlement. John G. Bruns came the same spring. Thomas Cunnington arrived in the spring of 1861, having spent several years previous in Tazewell County. Among others who arrived in the '60s were John G. Allen, Jonathen Edwards, John Gingerich, Owen Finnegan, William Hallam, Thomas S. Harry, James Chadwick, George W. Blackwell, James Entwistle, Lawrence Farrell, M. Walrich, William Hercules, Rolf Beckman, Michael Fitzmaurice, David Alfred, Joseph Askew, James Bryden, James Greenwood, John Brickley, John Becker, H. M. Larned, John Stranigan, Andrew Satthoff, Thomas Cotton, Frank Cole, Justin Hall. The first birth in the township was a daughter born unto Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Monahan, October 8, 1859. There being no church of their religious faith (Catholic) in the neighborhood, Mr. Monahan went with an ox team to Morris, a distance of fifty miles, to have her baptized.

The first death was a boy named Bain, who broke through the ice while skating on the Vermilion river in the winter of 1860 and was drowned. The first school house were built In 1861, in the Dart and Monahan neighborhoods. The first public road was laid out by Patrick Monahan. It ran north and south past his residence, and at the present time is the principal thoroughfare from Cullom to Chatsworth, The first supervisor was Thomas Cotton.

Village Of Charlotte

Charlotte is on a branch of the Illinois Central road. The village is located midway between Chatsworth and Cullom. It has not grown to any great extent in recent years. There ls a general store conducted by Sterrenberg & Son, a blacksmith shop and two elevators. It has about a population of fifty.

At the time of township organization this township was named Oliver's Grove, in honor of Franklin C. Oliver, the first settler, and enr braced the town of Forrest and the fractional town of Germanville, In 1860, upon a petition to the board of supervisors, the name was changed to Chatsworth by William H. Jones, who was a member of the board. In 1861, the board of supervisors set off Forrest, and it beeame a separate and distinct township, and at the September meeting of supervisors in 1867 Germanville petitioned for separation and was set off as a distinct town. The only natural timber in Chatsworth Township is Oliver's Grove, in the southern part. The south half of the township was quite wet, many large ponds and sloughs being located there. It has only been in recent years that these have been drained by means of a large dredge ditch, which was constructed by the land owners at no small cost. The old Indian trail in the south part of the township. that marked the dividing line between the Kickapoo and Pottawatamie tribes, was plainly visible for years after settlement was made, but it has long since been obliterated, Politically, the township is Democratic. Two railroads run through the township, the Toledo, Peoria and Western, running east and west, and the Illinois Central, running north and south.

The first person to locate here permanently was Franklin Oliver, who came with his family in the spring of 1832, from Bordentown, New Jersey, and settled in the stretch of timber which still bears his name. At that time a tribe of Kickapoo Indians was located In the grove. During the Black Hawk War, the Kickapoos took no part, and Mr. Oliver and his family remained in the settlement. (See Indian History). By profession Mr. Oliver was a civil engineer and surveyor, and followed that occupation at the breaking out of the war of 1812. He enlisted in the service as soon as war was proclaimed, and served through it with distinction. He was one of the first county surveyors of this county, and selected and surveyed all the swamp land in the county. His home was on the line of the Danville and Ottawa mail Toute, and many of the travelers who went to the land office at Danville took their meals and remained over night in this log cabin. He became the owner of 4,000 acres of choice lands in this and adjoining counties, but never actual- ly engaged in farming. In his later days he was more or less engaged in lawsuits, and a major portion of his estate was spent in litigation. He was married three times, his last wife being Miss Amaretta Smith, whose father settled at an early day on what is now known as Smith's Mound, in Sunbury Township. Ann Oliver, a sister of Franklin Oliver, was one of the first teachers in Owego Township. She was buried at Pontiac, where she distinguished herself during the cholera epidemic of 1848 by taking care of the afflicted ones, who all recovered, but she herself was taken with the dread disease and her life was thus offered a sacrifice to others. Franklin Oliver died September 19, 1881, aged 95 years, 5 months and 11 days.

So far as we have been able to ascertain, Mr. Oliver and his family were the only settlers In this locality for over twenty years. The nearest settlement was in Indian Grove and Belle Prairie townships, twelve miles toward the west. In 1855, Addison Holmes and Romanzo Miller made their appearance. Holmes was from Indiana. He remained for several years and then removed to Champaign County, this state. Miller was from Vermont. He later removed to Iowa. The settlement was increased in 1856 by the arrival of John P. Hart, David Stewart and John Snyder. Hart was from Vermont and Stewart and Snyder from New York. Job H. Megquier, George S. Megquier, Truman Brockway and William H. Jones came in 1857. The following year Brockway built the first house, a two-story frame building, in the village of Chatsworth, of which he and Charles Brooks used the lower floor for a general store - the first store in the village - the second story being used as a residence. Job Megquier also moved to the village that year, his being the second family. Jones was the first supervisor after the name of the township was changed from Oliver's Grove to Chatsworth. Peter Van Wier was the first German to locate here, arriving in 1858, He afterward moved to Charlotte Township. Matthew H. Hall came In 1859. In 1865 he moyed to Chatsworth and engaged in the grocery business with Charles Brooks, and in 1879 Mr, Hall formed a partnership with A. M. Crane, and they carried on a hardware and grocery business.

The first town meeting was held at the home of Franklin Oliver, on April 6, 1858, when James Meredith was elected supervisor. W. H. 'Jones was elected supervisor at the elections held in 1859 and 1860. Jones was also the first justice of the peace. The first school meeting was held on April 12, 1858, at the home of John Snyder, when Franklin Oliver, Job Megquier and Franklin Foot were elected trustees, and William H. Jones elected school treasurer. The first school was taught in the summer of 1858 by Miss Jennie Adams.

Village Of Chatsworth

It was not until two years after the Toledo, Peoria and Western railroad passed through the six northern sections of the township, from west to east, that the village of Chatsworth was laid out. On June 8, 1859, Zeno Secor and Cornelia Gilman of New York state, who owned section 3, caused 160 acres to be surveyed from the south half of the northwest quarter, and the north half of the southwest quarter, the work being performed by Nelson Buck, county surveyor. Forty-four blocks were laid out. The land was entered in 1853 by Solomon Sturges who, in 1857 disposed of it to William H. Osborn, and the latter to Secor and Gilman, Within the past few years, owners of the lots have discovered a flaw in their title to the same. It appears that Cornelia Z. Gilman was married at that time, but her husband did not join in the deeds of conveyance.

The first store building was erected in 1869 by Truman Brockway and Charles Brooks, and they conducted a grocery store, The latter was the first postmaster. C. W. Drake erected the first hotel. Samuel D. Patton was the first blacksmith. The first school house was built in 1858, being also the first one in the township. The present school building was erected in 1870, although several additions have been built to it. Charles D. Brooks erected the first elevator. It was destroyed by fire in 1866. Others were bullt later by Samuel Crumpton, Haberkorn and Mette and JosephRumbold. A mill for grinding corn was built by William Williams in 1877.

Among the early merchants were J. G. True, jeweler; J. T. Bullard, in the lumber business; E. A. Bangs and H. M. Bangs, druggists; Hall & Crane, hardware; J. L. Delong, grocer; W. H. Hall, furniture; Robert and Lantry, hardware; Peter Shroyer, coal merchant; John Timm, first a meat market, afterward in the lumber business; William H. Wakelin, grocery; Justin H. Wyman, drygoods; John Walter, general merchandise; Albert M. Hall, photographer; Louis Sorg, tailor; Fred Felker, furniture; Brockway and McKee, grocers; Henry Wrede, boots and shoes; John Young, general merchandise; Robert Rumbold, insurance; Conrad Heppe, bakery ; William Cowling, hotel; Samuel D. Webster, stock and grain; William Altman, drygoods; A. Grendling, harness shop; C. Gunther, harness shop; E. A. Jackson, hardware; L. T. Larned, grain dealer; Louis Meister, shoe maker; M. Reising, grocer. The early blacksmiths were S. D. Patton, W. Buller, George Beckman, C. R. Beckman, A. Orr, L. C. Speicher and Charles Sieberts. The wagon makers were L. C. Speicher, H. Barth, Frank Fowler, Carl Stephens, A. Van Alstyne. Among the carpenters were M. Free, P. Hoffman, Theodore Klover, W. A. Linton. John O'Neil, E. B. Roberts. Among the early physicians were Drs. D. W. Hunt, W. C. Byington, Charles True and F. H. Bostock. The early postmasters were Charles Brooks, N. C. Kenyon and W. W. Sears. Among the first lawyers were S. T, Fosdick, R. R. Wallace and George Torrance. Fosdick was elected state senator from this district in 1876, and re-elected in 1878. Mr. Wallace was elected county judge in 1878 and held the office for nineteen years. Mr. Torrance was elected to the senate in 1880 and held the office four terms. The senatorial district at that time was composed of Ford and Livingston counties. Judge Wallace now resides in Pontiac, while Fosdick and Torrance are both dead. Thomas S. Curran, and W. W. Sears were among the first justices of the peace. The first banks were owned by C. A. Wilson and Company, and E. A. Bangs and Company, At present there are two banks - the Commercial Bank, of which G. W. McCabe is president, and the Bank of Chatsworth, of which Stephen Herr is president.

pose of manufacturing sugar from beets. It proved unsuccessful on account of the scarcity of water. The factory was in operation for about five years, when the machinery was taken out and moved to Freeport. The promoters lost in the neighborhood of $75,000 in the venture.

The first newspaper was published by O. J. and L. W. Dimmick in 1873 and called the Palladium. Those who have since been proprietors are George Torrance, C. B. Holmes and R. MSpurgeon. The name was later changed to the Plaindealer. The present proprietor is James A. Smith, The Times was started in 1905, by the Times Publishing Company. E. E. Megquier is its editor.

Chatsworth Lodge, No. 539, A. F. & A. M. was chartered October 1, 1867; Chatsworth Lodge, No. 339, I. O. O. F. on October 9, 1866; Livingston Encampment, I. O, O. F. May 31, 1871. Among other secret organizations are the Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen and Court of Honor.

The first religious society organized in the village was the Methodist church in 1859, by Rev. M. Dewey, with forty members. The charge at that time included Forrest, Five-Mile Grove, Pleasant Ridge, Oliver's Grove and Bethel, with Rev. J. W. Flowers as presiding elder. In 1874 the members erected a church at a cost of $2,500. In'1871, the Baptists erected a building at a cost of $3,600. The first Catholie church was erected in 1864, and dedicated on March 17 of that year by Rev. Thomas Roy, president of St. Viateur's college, It was built under the pastorate of Rev. John A. Fanning, and cost about $4,000. A Presbyterian church was built soon after the village was laid out, but there is no membership at present. Since that time, the Catholics, Methodists and Baptists have either built new structures or repaired the old ones. The present Catholic church is an elegant brick structure, with a parochial school and rectory. The total cost of the buildings exceed $30,000. The German Evangelical church has in recent years erected a fine edifice. The German Lutherans also have a church for worship.

cursionists to Niagara Falls broke through a burned-out culvert three miles east of Chatsworth. Seventy-seven were killed outright and four died later from injuries received. Two of those killed were residents of this county - E. C. Adams of Blackstone and Mrs. Daniel Duckett of Forrest.

The village now contains a population of about 2,000 inhabitants. Nearly all of the mercantile houses are built of brick, and every line of buslness is well represented. The main throughfare is paved with brick and cement walks are found in the residence district, One of the largest industries is the drain tile and brick factory of George J. Walter, which gives steady employment to twenty men. Mr. Walter is also proprietor of the electric light plant. A well-organized fire department, with a volunteer company, has done good service in protecting the town from disastrous fires. The village has recently sunk a deep well, and erected a new tower. The park is located in the center of the town and is used as a place for various public meetings.

Like all the prairie land, this township was not settled for more than twenty years after settlements had been made in the groves of timber and along the water courses in the county. Immigration came in quite rapidly during 1855, and the growth and improvement of the country continued steady after that period. The first two seasons we had fair crops, and after that for several years we suffered greatly on account of the great rainfall and the "hard times" which followed, anda great many who had purchased their farms upon credit were compelled to give them up. When the Civil War began, the enlistments were so numerous that help could hardly be obtained, and a considerable amount of land that had been cultivated remained vacant and unoccupied for some time, as prices of grain were so low there was no particular object in raising it.

The year 1854 was a memorable one In the history of this township, for with it came some of the most prominent men who have resided here. It was in this year that John Conant emigrated from Rochester, N. Y., accompanied by George T, and Henry F. Conant. John Conant settled on the northeast quarter of sec tion 8, which is conceded to be the first permanent settlement in the township, outside of the village of Dwight. He took an active part in the establishing of schools and assisting in all public enterprises pertaining to the prosperity of the township and village. He was the first postmaster at Dwight and first justice of the peace. He died February 4, 1860, on the old homestead. His wife received from the Contennial Exposition at Philadelphia of 1876 a certificate of award for a hat of June grass made by her.

It was in this year, too, that Major C. Me- Dowell came from Hollidaysburg, Pa: He had resided in that city for some time, where he had successfully carried on the banking business. He purchased several thousand acres of land in this vicinity, and became one of our most prominent and active citizens. He was a man of large heart and generous nature. When the country was visited with that ever memorable snow storm, which blocked up the traffic on the railroad between the village of Dwight and Odell, some hundred and fifty passengers were brought to the village for shelter and sustenance. Provisions were low at the time and the town was composed of only a few buildings. There was the station house. John Campbell had a small eating house, Mr. West had a small hut. There was a small house where Dr. Hagerty's family lived, a small boarding house for railroad hands, and a grocery shanty with two families living in it, These composed the town of Dwight. Major McDowell promptly despatched his team to the town and took a number of the ladies into his house, where he entertained them, and made them comfortable dur- Ing the terrible storm. The town was fast running out of provisions and famine stared them In the face; but the storm abating a little, word was sent to Morris, and the good people of that town sent two sleigh loads of provisions to the aid of the people.

James McIlduf? came the next year from Cassville, Pa., and located on the northwest quarter of section 18. He remained on the farm until 1866, when he moved to the village of Dwight. He served as postmaster three years, police mag- {strate thirteen years, and also held the offices of school director, justice of the peace and town clerk. Nelson Cornell located on section 8. William Morris settled on what was afterward known as the Barton farm. James C. Spencer began improvements on his farm of 1,200 acres, which adjoined the village of Dwight on the north, It was on this farm that the Prince of Wales made his headquarters for a few days in 1860, George Z. Flagler and Egbert Clarkson came the same year (1855). Flagler worked one year on the Spencer farm, then turned his attention to the carpenter's trade, the first house he erected being a little shanty, 16x24 feet, occupied by himself and wife and another family. The following year, he erected a better one. In 1856, he and William Clarkson went out three miles in the country and dug up some young basswood trees, which they brought to town on their backs and planted, these being the first trees planted in Dwight. Mr. Flagler helped to organize the village, and aided materially in its growth and building, assisting in the erection of most of the older buildings in the village. He also helped to build the first Presbyterian and Methodist churches. He afterward engaged in the lumber business. Henry A. Gardiner commenced improvements the same year on his 1,000 acres of land east of the village. After spending some time on his farm, he was called to a position on the Huldson River rairoad. Later he was chief engineer of the Michigan Central railroad. His son, Richard, afterward lived on the original homestead. Joseph Shrimpton located here about the same time. J. C. Hetzel worked one year on a farm, and afterward at his trade, that of a mason and plasterer. Later he embarked in business. In 1856, Leander Morgan arrived from Connecticut. At that time there was not a tree to be seen in the township and no other indications that it would ever be a point worthy of any special interest. He was one of the first to assist in the establishment of educational and religious institutions. He helped to build the churches and sustain the societies, contributed of his means to the erec tion of school houses, and encouraged the set tlement of the county. He was a Whig in early manhood, but upon the abandonment of the old party endorsed the principles of the Republicans. C. Roadnight settled north of the village in 1857. He was a man of means and of fine education, although not well versed in tilling the soil. For a number of years he was general agent of the Chicago and Alton railroad. F. Rattenbury settled on a farm the same year. S. T. K. Prime arrived in 1858. He purchased

320 acres of land, built a house and commenced farming, knowing nothing practically of the work. He toiled on, struggling for ten years against low prices and poor crops. During all this time he devoted his leisure moments to reading and study, and was never so happy as when writing short sketches for the press. In 1873, when the Granger movement spread over the Northwest, he took an active part in the work in Illinois. No other county in the state was so thoroughly organized or produced greater practical results from the movement than Livingston County. The celebrated platform of the Farmers' and Peoples' Anti-Monopoly party was the joint work of Mr. Prime and W. B. Fyfe of Pontiac. Tens of thousands of copies of the platform were circulated all over the Northwest, the principles adopted, and county and state officers elected in consequence. Mr. Prime later turned his attention to editorial work. 'For many years he contributed articles of practical value to the Chicago Tribune upon the tariff question and upon matters connected with agrlculture. In 1878 he commenced a special department in the Tribune of reporting daily, from March until October, the condition of the crops in the Northwest. He afterward established a crop bureau, supplying private individuals and grain and commission merchants all over the county, with full and reliable crop information in the United States. Every county in the state, from Ohio to the northwest was thoroughly organized. He had from three to five correspondents employed in each county, and twelve clerks aided him in this work. Later he was a contributor to the New York Journal of Commerce, the St. Paul Farmer and the Rochester (N. Y.) American Rural Home. He also compiled and edited a book of 800 pages on "Model Farms and Their Methods,' A. G. Potter came here the same year and rented a farm of David Mc- Williams. Benjamin Chester came in 1858. He was originally from Connecticut, and until his death in 1868 was one of the substantial men of the neighborhood. His son William died the following year (1869) leaving his estate to an only sister, Miss Hannah Chester. The above is a partial list of the early settlers.

VILLAGE oF DWIGHT. The iron road and the iron horse of George Stephenson were destined to alter not only the face of the country, but also its social position and material wealth, It was during these times that James C. Spencer, now of Wisconsin, and T. C. Meyer, formerly of New York, drove through this county surveying the present railroad from Chicago to St. Louis. For seven days they had to camp out in this immediate neighborhood, and during the journey Mr. Spencer had his legs so severely frosted that at one time it was feared amputation would be necessary. But their efforts were ultimately crowned with success and, in the summer of 1854, the first engine passed over the road. The winter was one easily rememberd on account of its intense cold and protracted length. A great storm burst over the country and snow fell till it covered the land two feet deep; the thermometer for a period of six weeks averaged from 25 to 30 degrees below freezing point, and the few residents in this locality felt the bitter weather in all its severity. The trains were snowed in for several weeks and the passengers were furnished food by the settlers. It became necessary to smash up the car seats to keep fires burning in the cars. It was during this great storm that quite a large delegation of Ilinois legislators had been on a visit to Joliet to inspect the site for the removal of the state penitentiary from Alton, and when returning were blockaded by snow about three miles southwest of Dwight for several days, and were finally taken to the farm house of Major C. McDowell, and from there to Morris in sleighs, reaching Springfield via La Salle, Bloomington and Decatur, and for six weeks no trains were run from Bloomington to Joliet. Many farmers in the surrounding neighborhood lost their cattle, and thus they were cramped and hindered at the very commencement of their pioneer life. The snow was on the ground till May when the farmers went to planting corn; but by this time other families were moving into the settlement, and it soon became evident that a village was about to be formed here. At this period, the prairie was infested more or less with wolves. and when the settler looked out of his door in the clear bright morning light, he could often see large herds of deer pasturing not far from his little homestead. The locality now known as the town of Dwight was then a precinct, and it was not till the 21st day of January, 1854, that the plats were laid out and the town began to grow. ; elevation of a telegraph pole with an inverted tin pail nailed on the top. This served as a fandmark and a guide to surveyors engaged In surveying the Chicago Mississippi railroad, (now the C. & A. road). When the first few houses were built here, the neighboring farmers and residents styled the incipient village "Western New York;" but that name was soon destined to pass out of sight and give place to a better one. We have never been able to ascertain why tbe town was not named after its founder and original proprietor of the land, R. P. Morgan, Jr., unless it was that Mr. Morgan was too modest and too generous to name it after himself, Henry Dwight, Jr., of New York, was a brother engineer of R. P. Morgan. He came out West and embarked and lost his then large fortune in the construction of the railroad. He was a man of enterprise and great public spirit, and it was in his honor and to commemorate his deeds that R. P. Morgan gave his name to the town in which we live. It was on the 6th of August, 1853, that Mr. Morgan deeded the right of way to the Chicago and Mississippi Railroad Company through the present site of Dwight, and other lands; reserving by covenant that "should he lay off the former tract, the present site of the town, into town lots, to make safe and suitable crossings whereever the line of said road intersects the streets that may be laid out on said road." And in consideration of the right of way granted, the company covenanted to "erect and keep up station houses and other necessary depot buildings." where they now stand, on the northeast quarter of section nine, town thirty, north, range seven, east of third principal meridian. In the fall of 1858, Mr. Morgan caused the original town plat to be surveyed, and on the 30th of January, 1854, formally dedicated and recorded it in the following words; "To be known as the town of Dwight, and the streets and alleys described on the plat are hereby donated to the public."

In 1853, a man named Morris erected the first house in the village. It was a frame building, 16x24 feet, one and one-half stories high, and was built originally for a supply depot for the railroad hands. Augustus West erected the tirst residence in June, 1854. West was employed in "wooding up" the engines on the Chicago and Alton road, when it stopped here, At that time the village consisted of two small 'shanties and a water tank. One of these shan- ties had been occupied by a man named Stevens, who butchered for the men working on the railroad, and the other by James Morgan, who boarded them. In September, 1854, John Campbell built a temporary building just south of the present depot, as a railroad dining station, The trains stopped there for dinner and supper. It was purchased the following year by Hiram Cornell, who conducted a hotel in it for some time.

Early in March, 1855, David McWilliams began the erection of a building for a store, 20x- 2 feet, two stories high. A few loads of lumber were hauled on the vacant lot (opposite the Methodist church on Mazon avenue), but it seemed so far away from the depot that he was prevailed upon to change his location to the place where his bank building now stands. His first sale was a shilling lawn dress. The store served as a place of worship and a shelter for the new comers. Those in business in 1858 were David McWilliams and Henry Eldredge, grocers; C. H: and H. T. Newell, hardware; S. Hoke, furniture; E. B. Coleman, harness; John C. Spencer, flour, feed and provisions; E. Chilcott and Simon Lutz, blacksmiths; Joseph Rockwell, wagon maker; Dr. J. H. Hagerty, drugs; E. Jones, hotel; E. Vosburg and S. Hoke, painters; L. Armstrong, wheelwright. Among those who soon afterward engaged in business or professions were Dr. J. B. Baker, drugs; A. E. Gould, general merchandise; J. @ Hetzel, drygoods; G. M. Hahn, proprietor Dwight flouring mill; H. A. Kenyon, book store; W. S. Sims, sumber and coal; H. E. Siegert, miller; Hugh Thompson, grain merchant; J. M. Baker, grocer; William Estes, hardware; F. W. Ford, bakery; C. Koehnlein, furniture; John Leach, harness; J. C. Lewis, jeweler; E. Merrill, merchant; Alexander McKay, harness; O. W. Pollard and Company, merchants; S. W. Strong, insurance agent; W. L. Rabe, physician; G. A. Seymour, druggist; Zopher Tuttle, hanker; Philip Weicker, bakery. `

Previous to the spring of 1855, the only actual settlers in the village were August West, John Routzong, Simon Lutz, James Morgan, Thomas Wilson, E. C. Stevens and James Harrison and their families. During the same year, Hiram Cornell, William Clarkson, George Z. Flagler, Jeremiah Travis, W. H. Ketcham, Isaac H. Baker, S. L. Ramsey, James Smith, Northrup Riggs, B. Losee and Dr. J. H. Hagerty arrived.

The latter was a physician. In 1859 he was elected school commissioner. Among those to arrive within the next three years were: Charles H. Crandall, Isaac C, Mott, L. C. Pearre, J. F. Schumm, Homer Kenyon, Henry Eldridge, Joseph Rockwell. Rockwell made the first wagon in the village,

A large stone mill was built in 1859, the funds being subscribed by the citizens, and originally cost about $16,000. The first grain warehouse was built by John C. Spencer in 1857. The first postmaster was John Conant, receiving his appointment in 1855. He turned the office over to David McWilliams when the latter opened his store. The first birth in the township was a child of Thomas Wilson, the station agent, in 1854. It died a few months later. The second death was the wife of Alexander Gourley. The first marriage was that of Elon G. Ragan and Miss Maria West, on February 19, 1856. The first birth in the village was a child born unto Mr. and Mrs. Northrup Riggs. The first school house was built in the fall of 1855 at a cost of $275 and served three years as a school house, church and public hall. It was 16x24 feet, and stood about fifteen rods east of the residence of David McWilliams. In after years it was part of Col. J. B. Parsons' residence. The school directors were David McWilliams, Jeremiah Travis and Nelson Cornell. In 1857 it was found necessary to build a larger school building. All agreed that the house must be built, but the location cost many heated discussions. At the election, the "east side" party gained the day by three votes. A person going from the main part of town to the site of the new house was obliged to wade through slough grass as high as a man's head. In 1864 an addition was made to the building. It was 26x28 feet and cost $1,500. In 1870 the two story brick on the west side was erected at a cost of about $5,000. Notwithstanding the fact that it seated 150 pupils, the board of directors was obliged to rent a room in the Methodist church which served as a school room for one primary grade up to the fall of 1886, when the Presbyterian church was secured. Some ten years ago, a large brick schoo] house was erected on the east side of the village, used for the higher branches. The first teacher was Miss Sarah Snyder, who taught six years. Among the early teachers were Mrs. Edwin Lathrop, Clara Collister, Amerila Crowell, L. P. Wilmot, ©. S.

Glenn, D. S. Eylar, O. F. Pearre, O. S. Wescott, Miss Bennett, Miss Crist, Miss Hattle Newell, Mrs, F. J. Ketcham, Miss Jessie Wright, Miss Mary J. Paul, Mrs. C. M. Baker was the first woman elected on the board of education. The first graduation exercises were held in 1880, the graduates being Miss Alice Eldridge and Charles Fallis.

The first appointment for a religious meeting in Dwight was in the house of Nelson Cornell. It was just before the great snow storm in 1855. A few people gathered, but no preacher put in an appearance. Those who attended meeting at that time did so either at the log school house on Mazon creek or at Eber Stevens' barn. The first public religious services were held in a building afterwards occupied by J. J. Core, on lot 17, block 6. It was used before the building was finished, and thirty-seven persons attended the first Sunday school service on May 15, 1855. Among those whose names we can now ascertain were David McWilliams, N. E. Lyman, Simeon Lutz, John Routzong, Mr. and Mrs. John Conant, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Cutler, Henry Conant, Henry and George Cutler, Miss Meltina Earl, Jeremiah Travis, Augustus West, Ashley Bentley and Robert Thompson and family. The first sermon actually preached was over David McWilliams' store, on the second Sunday in June, 1855, by the Rev, A. D. Fields, of the Methodist Episcopal church. His circult, known the "Mazon circuit," embraced all that tract of country south of the Illinois river, and extending from Morris to Avoca Township. The society was organized with six members, viz: Simeon Lutz, John Routzong, Isaac Baker, Isabella Baker, David McWilliams and Jeremiah Travis. John Routzong was appointed leader of the class. The Rev. Mr. Field preached a few times during the summer, and at the next meeting of the conference, two ministers were appointed to the Mazon circuit, and Dwight became one of the regular preaching places. From this time forward there was preaching every alternate Sunday in the school house, then just built. In 1862, the society was struck off from the Mazon circuit, and Rey. C. W. Pollard appointed to the charges of Dwight, Odell and Pontiac. The society erected their first building in 1858; it was dedicated in July of that year by the Rev. Dr. Kidder, of Evanston. About 1862-63, the society had so increased in numbers as to necessitate the enlargement of their building, and it was lengthened twenty feet. For nine years they worshipped in this building, when their present elegant church was erected at a cost of $16,000, under the pastorate of Rev. E. D. Hall, and dedicated in October, 1867, by Rey. Dr. Eddy, then of Chicago. It is a handsomely finished edifice, is capable of seat- Ing about 500 persons, and the society numbers 260 members, The Sunday school of this society was organized at an early period, and is in a flourishing condition. David McWilliams was the first superintendent, a position he held for thirteen years in succession.

The Presbyterian church society was organized in Dwight in 1856, the next year after the Methodist. The original members were three males and five females, and their first place of worship was the school house, in which they continued to hold their meetings until the next year, when the church now occupied by the Danish Methodists was erected on lots donated by James C. Spencer and R. P. Morgan. This was the first church built in Dwight, and cost originally $2,620. The pulpit was filled by various ministers irregularly, until 1869, when Rev. L. F. Walker was called to the charge. In the fall of 1871, he was succeeded by Rev. W. L. Lloyd, who filled the pulpit until 1873, The elders of the church were Hugh Thompson, Robert Thompson, James George, James Paul and John C. George. The property was sold by the association to the Danish Methodist society.

The next society organized was the Congregational, December 1, 1865, The first sermon was preached in this faith by Rev. J. A. Montgomery, a student from the Congregational Semlnary of Chicago. The meetings were held in Gerson's hall. On the 12th of January, 1866, a "council of delegates' from the neighboring churches was convened, and invited to give advice regarding the permanent organization of a church, and eleven persons identified themselves with the congregation. In 1867 an effort was made to build a church, the lots procured, and the building commenced. In January, 1868, their present elegant church was dedicated, free from debt. The total cost of the building, grounds, etc., was $5,425. Rev. J. A, Montgomery was pastor from the first organization of the church until 1873, when he accepted a call to Morris, and the pulpit was afterwards filled by Rev. W. C. Rogers and several others, with

The Baptists made the next effort, but have not, from some cause or other, flourished as some of the other denominations haye done. The German Lutheran church was built in 1867, and cost $1,400; has about fifty members, and a flourishing Sunday school. The German Evangelical Association, or Albright Methodists, have 2 handsome little frame church edifice, 22x30 feet, which cost about $1,500. The Danish Lutherans haye a pretty little frame church, built a few years ago, which has a large and fiourishing membership. There is also a Roman Catholie church in the village, with a membership of about fifty families. Their church is a neat and tasty little building, put up at a cost of about $1,500.

The first bank was established by J. G. Strong in 1866. It suspended in 1884. David' Mc- Williams and Zopher Tuttle each afterward engaged in the banking business. There are at the present time two banks in the village, The first newspaper was established May 5, 1868, by Charles Palmer, called the Dwight Star. Isaac G. Mott was the first supervisor and first chairman of that body, W. H. Ketcham the first collector, and Barum Losee the first constable. The latter was killed in 1872 by a runaway team while sitting in front of McWilliams and Judd's bank.

The early members of the bar were: L. G. Pearre, J. G. Strong, Fred B. Hargreaves, R. S. McelIlduff, Joseph I. Dunlop, W. H. Bradbury, Lewis Kenyon and F. E. Peck.

Oaklawn cemetery was laid out in 1877. The remains of Samuel V. Vickery were brought from Kansas and buried, his body being the first interred there. In 1879, sixty bodies were removed from the old cemetery to Oaklawn. This cemetery is, without doubt, the finest in the county. It is located two miles west of the village. When the cemetery was divided into lots and plats, several thousand trees were set out. These bave since grown to large proportions. The late L. E. Keeley in his will left $10,000 toward its improvement. The Catholic cemetery is located one and one-half miles south of the village.

A census was taken of the village in 1870. This report possesses some interest, as it indicates the size to which the village had attained, the number of buildings and inhabitants. It Is as follows: Number of inhabitants, 1,044; dwellings, 212; families, 120; white males, 537; white females, 501; colored males, 4; colored females, 2; males foreign born, 109; females, foreign born, 75; number attending school, 225; number that cannot read, 11; number that cannot write, 37; number of electors 243. According to the census of 1900, the population of the village had increased to 2,015.

During the winter of 1883, eleven deaths resulted from the scarlet fever scourge. Miss Laura Thompson, a graduate of the high school, Miss Nellie Gallup, and four of the family of T. J. Johnson were of the number. The Methodists held a memorial service in memory of the scholars of that church who died as a result of the epidemic.

The village has been visited with several destructive fires, occurring on March 24, 1869, December 9, 1869, June 8, 1879, August, 1882, and October 10, 1891.

From 1869 to 1881, there were on an average of ten saloons in the village. Since 1881, with the exception of the years 1905-06. saloons have been voted out.

The repair shops and the round house of the western division (Peoria branch) of the Chicago and Alton road are located here. Within the past five years several blocks of the principal thoroughfares have been paved with brick, and many miles of cement sidewalks have been laid. This village is noted as being the parent home of the Keeley Institute. Two weekly newspapers - the Star and Herald and the Sun - are published here. The Livingston Hotel is the finest building of its kind in the county. It was -erected by the proprietors of the Keeley Institute. Nearly all of the business houses are built of brick. The principal manufacturing industry is the Spencer hay-press factory plant, which employs several people. One of the finest residences in the county is that of John R. Oughton, surrounded by a park in which are twenty deer.

'50s, after the Chicago and Alton road passed through, that it increased much in population. The township is timbered on the west, and three ereeks (Hickory, Rooks and Turtle), flow through it, all finding an outlet In the Vermilion river. The township is known as town 27, range 5, and lies directly south of Pontiac, Yates Township, in McLean County, joining it on the south. The township received its name in 1857 from a Mr. Eppard, who was one of the first settlers. The county farm is located in this township.

Along about 1835, Joel Anderson and son Joel, John Pennels, and four other families - Eppard, Tuttle, Hayes and Suttle - squatted In the southern part of the township. The four latter disposed of their claims in after years and removed to other parts. Joel Anderson located on section 29. where he lived until his death in the 50s. In 1850, the families of Eli Myer and Alvin Potter located here. Myer was born in Maryland, but from 1831 until his arrival here had engaged in farming in Licking County, Ohio. He had a Mexican land grant of 160 acres, and took up a claim on section 29. His family consisted of himself, wife and seven children. He at once erected a log cabin, 14x16. Before the township was organized, he was elected one of the associated judges. He was the first supervisor, first school treasurer and clerk after the township was organized. He was elected to the legislature in 1844. He was a member of the Baptist church and contributed largely of his means for the maintenance of the + society. He also left a bequest for the purpose of putting up a church edifice at Ocoya, a sum equal to one-fourth its cost, and which was used as he designed. He taught the first school organized in the township. He died December 30, 1868, the owner of 478 acres. This he willed to his children, the home place of 320 acres being divided among his three youngest sons. His children all remained in the township, several of whom have since passed away. When Alvin Potter arrived with his wife and eleven children they first sought refuge in the little log cabin occupied by Joel Anderson until he could build a shelter for his family on his claim on section 28. The first few years the family . had " hard sledding." By perseverance and hard toil, in after years his sons each secured large tracts of land. Sylvester Potter now resides on the old homestead. In 1851 John