Macoupin County, Illinois - Biographical sketches, 1879 (part 12 of 15)

The first child born in the township was a son of Samuel Judy and wife, in the year 1828. The next birth was Polly Ann Smith, the daughter of Huriah Smith and wife, born February 17th, 1830.

Mrs. Nellie Smith, the wife of William Smith, was the first death, which occurred September 1st, 1828. Her daughter, Nellie, died on the 7th of September, one week after her mother.

The first marriage in Western Mound was Huriah Smith and Sally Tilly, the daughter of John Tilly of North Carolina, which was also the first in the county. They were twice married ; the first time on the 5th day of May, 1829, by William Kinkaid, a justice of the peace, of Greene county, IIlinois, and the second time, on July 6th, 1829, by A. Brownlee, a justice of the peace of this county.

The first license was issued by Tristram P. Hoxsey, county clerk, May 4th, 1829, at which time he was holding the office by appointment. There being a doubt as to the county clerk, at that time, having the authority to issue a license, on account of some irregularity, Mr. Smith obtained a second license and was remarried July 6th, 1829, as above stated, during which time the county clerk had been elected and regularly sworn into office.

The above is a correct statement of the facts, though there is an inaécuracy in the marriage records at the county seat, and a difference in opinion as to the first marriage in the county ; but Huriah Smith and Sally Tilly were unquestionably the first parties married in Macoupin county, after the county was organized.

Early Churches. - The first sermon was delivered by Rev. John McCray, a Baptist preacher, in the fall of 1829. The first church was organized in the year 1831, by Rev. John McCray, at the residence of Daniel Deadrick, in section 23. The meetings were held during the summer in groves, and in the winter at Mr. Deadrick's house. The Rev. McCray walked from Waverly, a distance of twenty miles, to conduct his meetings. " Bethel Church," which was the first erected, and the only church in the township, was built on section 3, in the year 1848, by the United Baptist denomination.

Schools - - The first school teacher was William Hamilton, who taught at the house of Mr. Hubbard. James Bates taught in a house built on section 8, in the year 1836.

Mills. - The first mill was built on Bear creek, in section 24, by Richard Smith, in the year 1834 or 735. It was a horse mill, and was the only one in the township for many years. Paschall Reeder subsequently built a tread or ox mill, but at present there is no mill in operation.

Among the names of the old settlers in the county who are now residing in this town may be mentioned Huriah Smith, a native of North Carolina, settled here in 1828; John Dews, from Yorkshire, England, came to the county in 1834; John Kerley, a native of Virginia, located in 1839 ; David Holmes, from Tennessee, settled in 1880; Adam Dams, a native of the county, settled in this township in 1836, and W. C. Edwards came in 1834.

The following are the justices of the peace 'since township organization : O. W. Lee and Elisha Dawson, elected in 1878; T. Dawson, elected in 1874; A. B. Carr and N. Flanagin, elected in 1877; C. R. Aden :

The following are the constables since township organization: A. M. Ambrose and M. H. Wilson, elected in 1873; E. Smith and A. Ambrose, elected in 1877; P. Kramer, elected in 1879.

John Dews

Wuen a man, actuated by pure motives, accomplishes something from which good is derived, he merits the approval of the hearts that love him. A person whom it is proper to praise cannot be flattered, and one who can be flattered ought not to be praised. We feel assured that, by a quiet and blameless life, he is deserving of mention in the pages of our work. He was born in the beautiful little village of Helaugh, Yorkshire, England, September 15, 1806, son of Thomas and Mary Dews.

The Dews family have lived in Yorkshire for many generations, supposed to be of French ancestry. Thomas Dews was a farmer, and educated the subject of our sketch to farm life. At the age of twenty-two Mr. Dews, upon hearing of the chances afforded a young man of energy in this new country, emigrated to America, and landed at New York in the spring of 1829. After traveling in the East for a few months, and not meeting with that success he expected, he became homesick, and as he had money enough to pay his passage across the mighty deep, he returned to his native land. In 1831 he again returned to this country with a determination to remain and succeed in life, if hard work and frugality would accomplish that end. When he landed at New York the second time he immediately went to Cincinnati. Upon his arrival at that place he found himself in debt thirty dollars to a comrade. He soon found employment in a rock quarry, at eighty-seven and a half cents per day, where he worked a short time. He then went into a brewery, where he engaged himself for three months, at ten dollars per month. At the expiration of this time he worked at a foundry about three years, working hard and saving his money with the intention of coming further west and locating. In 1834 he made a trip into this state, and after looking round for a suitable location, his choice finally centered upon Macoupin county, and in that same year he entered eighty acres of land from the government, but not having sufficient means to improve it, he returned to Cincinnati, where he followed driving stage and draying for nearly two years. In 1836 he came to Alton, where he was employed in a warehouse for about eighteen months; in the meantime he employed some parties to break and fence part of his eighty acres of land in this county. In 1837 he settled permanently in Western Mound township and began improving his farm. 'The same year he was married to Miss Sylvia Morris, of Macoupin county. They have raised a family of six children, five girls and one son, viz.: Louisa, Mary F., Elizabeth Ann, Hannah, Abiah Sophia, and William H. The girls are all married and settled in the vicinity of Chesterfield, with the exception of Mary F., whois living in Kansas. William H. is still under the paternal roof. Mr. Dews in his boyhood received little educational advantages, but in after life, from sheer necessity, he improved his education sufficiently to transact most any ordinary business. We find in Mr. Dews a man who started in life without aid, and what he has accumulated of this world's goods has been by hard work, frugality and good management. Mr. Dews has excelled as an agriculturalist, because he has always conducted his farming operations scientifically. From an eighty acres start in life, and this eighty gained by menial labor, we find him the possessor of over fourteen hundred acres of land. It is a proof of what energy and frugality will do for a young man in this country, that goes into the battle of life with a firm determination to succeed. In politics he was formerly an old line whig, but upon the formation of the republican party he identified himself with that party and continued to vote on that side; but in minor elections he generally votes for those he considers the best men. He was raised under the tenets of the Episcopal church, though never affiliating with any religious sect. After he gained his majority he always liberally supported religious and educational enterprises, believing that churches and schools form the basis of moral and intellectual development.

His father before him, John C. Holmes, was also one hundred and ten years. He emigrated with his family to the state of Tennessee, where he lived many years, and subsequently moved into Kentucky, where he died. Joseph Holmes served as a soldier against the Indians, and was at the battle of Horseshoe Bend on the Tallahoosa river, where the Indian forces were entirely annihilated. In 1828 he emigrated to Indiana, where he lived two years ; he then came into Illinois, and settled in Carlinville in 1830; he built a cabin the same year on the ground which At that time there He lived there one year, and then returned to Indiana, where he died in 1834. Mrs. Holmes, after the death of her husband, returned to Carlinville with her family, where she lived until her death in 1837. was the third child in a family of nine children.

Mound township, where Mr. Holmes has since lived and followed the life of a farmer. In 1844, January 10th, he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Hubbard, daughter of Joel Hubbard, one of the early settlers of Macoupin county. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes have raised a family of twelve children - three girls and nine boys. In politics Mr. Holmes is a democrat, and cast his first vote for General Jackson. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church.

Such is a brief sketch of one of the early pioneers of Macoupin county. He has grown with the growth of the county. Fifty years have wrought a wonderful change in the West - then a wilderness with trees and grasses indigenous to the soil overspreading the entire country ; now we have railroads, cities, villages and fruitful fields, with the promise of a future that is destined to astonish the world with its wonderful progress.

William T. Crossland

WILLIAM T. CROSSLAND Is a native of Yorkshire, England. John Crossland, his father, was also a native of the same place. He married Mary Sharp, by whom he had seven children, five boys and two girls. Three of them have survived the parents. John Crossland was a farmer by occupation. In 1854 he emigrated to America and came direct to Illinois; he stopped in Greene county, and remained there from July 12th until Christmas of the same year, when the subject of our sketch purchased a farm in Western Mound township and moved-on it. His father, two brothers and a sister accompanied him. The father remained here with his son until his death, which occurred on the 2d of June, 1865. The mother died October 26th, 1855. John Crossland was a strong, vigorous man, and he retained his strength and elasticity of mind and body until the time of his death. He was in his seventy-fourth year when he died. William T. married Elizabeth Rothery, who was also a native of Yorkshire, England. She was born in September, 1828. Her father Michael Rothery, was a gardener and ship owner. The marriage took place June 24th, 1847. Her parents died in England. Six children have been born to William T. and Elizabeth Crossland, two of whom are living, namely: Anne, wife of William Wood, and Mary Louisa, who is unmarried and is yet beneath the parental roof. The son, Michael Rothery Crossland, died when he was fourteen years of age. The others died in infancy. The subject of our sketch had good opportunities for receiving an education, as his his physical frame grew strong, healthy and vigorous, while his mind was stored with practical education that perhaps did him more good, after he came to America, than any book-learning would have done. When he came to Macoupin county he purchased 315 acres of land, to which he afterwards added forty, then again 165 acres, and now has over 500 acres of fine land, well tilled and under good improvement, and all of it is the accumulation of his own toil and good management. In politics he is republican, when it comes to the election for state or national officers. In local elections he votes for the best man, regardless of politics. Both he and his wife are members of the Episcopal church. In 1859 he returned to England to attend to some business, and after its completion came back to his adopted home, where he has since remained. In 1871 Mrs. Crossland, in company with her two daughters, paid a visit to her childhood's home in Merry Old England, and after a pleasant sojourn there of several months, they returned. Annie, the oldest daughter, was married to William Wood, who is a native of Spring Head, near Runnel, Yorkshire, England, and whose acquaintance she made while on her trip to England. The marriage took place May Ist, 1873. Three children are the fruits of this marriage. Their names are Addie May, Viola Elizabeth, and Lawrence O. They are bright, sunny children, and are pets of their grand-parents.

(nes BA)HIS township derived its name from the Hilyard family, who settled here about 1832. It is situated in the south-western part of the county, and is bounded on the north by Polk, on the west by Shipman, on the south by Bunker Hill, and on the east by Gillespie townships. It occupies town 8 north, range 8 west. The surface is a beautiful undulating prairie, and is partly drained by

First Settlers

To David Coop and family belong the honor of being the first settlers, not only in this township, but also in the county. He built his cabin on a stream near the centre of the township, and the creek is now known as Coop's creek, named so in honor of the old pioneer.* In 1817 Mr. Coop was followed by John Powell and Abram Fulk, with their families, who settled in the north-east part of the township. In 1818 Thomas Smith settled in the south-west part, near a small stream, which is known as Smith's creek. The north-west portion was first settled in 1832 by William Jolley and Richard Skaggs. In 1834 there were fifteen families, representing seventyfive persons, residing in the township, among whom were the Gray's, Pruitt's, Hilyard's, Maxwell's, Leyarley's, Jolley's, Ray's, Skaggs', Lemey's, Miller's, and Thomas'.

The old settlers were all good marksmen, and fond of hunting the deer, turkey, and prairie chicken, all of which were abundant in those days.

The inhabitants of Hilyard township from the earliest settlement to the present time have been an industrious, hospitable, intelligent, and religious people, and no violent or disrespectful deeds of any note have darkened their history. In an early day, when the prairie was covered with a heavy growth of grass, fires frequently occurred in the autumn, which in a few instances burned dwellings and did considerable damage to property. During

Churches. - The early settlers were mostly Methodists and Old School Baptists, and a church of the latter denomination was organized by John Powell as early as 1820; Rev. William Jones was their first preacher. The services were held at the different dwellings up to 1854, at which time the first church was built. The second church was organized by the Methodist Episcopal denomination at the house of William Jolley, in 1833; Rev. Meldrum became the pastor. The third was a Presbyterian Church, organized July 12th, 1851, under the pastoral charge of Rev. Platt. The fourth church organized was the Missionary Baptist, in 1851; Rev. Hopper, pastor. The United Baptist Church was organized in March, 1853; Rev. Jacob Rhoads was pastor. The first church edifice erected was in 1854 by the United Baptists, at-a cost of about $1,000. The Missionary Baptist Church was built in 1855; cost, $800. In 1856 the Presbyterians erected a church which cost $1,500. The Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1858, at a cost of $1,500. They are all still standing, and regular services are held in each of them at the present time.

The first mill was built by David Coop; it was a small, rude affair, propelled by horse-power, with a capacity of grinding eight or ten bushels a day. There were several mills of this description built during the early settlements. At present there is a steam mill operated by Welch, Brown & Co., which has a capacity of manufacturing 175 barrels of flour per day.

The following are the first lands entered in this township: Pleasant Leuray entered 80 acres on section 12, December 15th, 1830; Henry D. Rhea, 80 acres on section 12, August 20th, 1831; Benjamin F. Edwards, 80 acres on section 1, October 18th, 1831.

Below we mention a few of the older settlers of the county, now living in this township: James P. Gray, settled in 1831; William and Leonard Hilyard came in 1832; Charles Rhoads and William A. Thomas, in 1834; Calvin Reckard and John Huckelbridge, in 1835; John C. Brown and Abraham Cramp, in 1836; Job Huckelbridge, in 1838; and John O'Neil, in 1839. .

Supervisors - William N. Thomas, elected in 1871; R. Cromwell, elected in 1872, re-elected in 1873 ; Peter Coriell, elected in 1874; R. Cromwell, elected in ; - Joseph Waggoner in 1875; R. Cromwell, elected in 1876; Alex. Shultz, elected in 1877; Newell H. Brown, elected in 1878; James Hackney, elected in 1879.

The village of Plainview is situated on the line of the ©. A. & S. T. L. R. R.,in part of sections 4 and 9, of Hilyard township. Its location is on a slightly elevated tract of land, commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country; hence its name. The village was laid out in the year 1853. It contains a public school building, and one church, Presbyterian, in which regular services are held. Rey. W. R. Adams is pastor. There is a society of Methodists, who worship in the school building. The Rev. G. W. Waggoner is their pastor.

The following are the names of firms doing business at present in Plainview: General stores - Samuel Brown & Son, and Shanner and Otwell. Grocery store - Michael Brassel. Flouring Mill - Welch, Brown & Co. Blacksmith and Wagon shop - A. W. Schultz. Shoe shop - Wm. H. Bartow. Carpenter and Builder - Peter Coriell. Cooper - Edward Potter. Physicians - Dr. W. J. Easley, and Dr. T. N. Burwash. Post-master - Samuel Brown. Notary Public - N. H. Brown.

Plainville Lodge No. 461, A. F. & A. M.* was constituted October 23d, A. L. 5,866, with the following officers, Newell H. Brown, W. M.; John Tunnell, S. W.; Frank W. Stover, J. W.; James Anderson, Treasurer ; Samuel Brown, Secretary ; John A. Shanner, 8. D.; Levi R. Darby, J! D., Emanuel W. Young, Tyler.

Benjamin F. Waggoner

Mr. Wacconer comes of German ancestry. His great-grandfather, Adam Waggoner, emigrated from the vicinity of the Rhine in Germany, to America, in the year 1765. He settled in Montgomery county, Virginia, where David Waggoner, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born, raised, and married. In the year 1816 David Waggoner removed to Allen county, Kentucky, and afterward to Grayson county, where he died. Mr. Waggoner's father, William Waggoner, was born in Montgomery county, Virginia, August 4, 1798, and was about eighteen years of age when he moved with his father to Kentucky. He subsequently went to Grayson county in the same state, where in April, 1823, he married Sarah Goforth. She was of Irish descent, and was born on Duck river, in Tennessee, of which part of the state her father was an early settler. William Waggoner, in the year 1828, emigrated from Grayson county, Kentucky, to Greene county, Illinois, and settled on Link's branch, three miles south-east of Carrollton. The family were among the pioneer settlers of that part of the county.

Four or five years after their arrival Benjamin Franklin Waggoner was born, February 9, 1833. He was the fifth of a family of eleven children, consisting of six boys and five girls.

His educational advantages were limited to the subscription schools held in log school-houses, after the manner of pioneer times forty years ago. While these opportunities were necessarily narrow and limited, and he never went to school a single day after he was sixteen years of age, yet he obtained a fair English education. His father moved with the family to Macoupin county in 1851, and died in December, 1853. After his father's death he carried on farming operations in partnership with his five brothers. They bought land on time and devoted themselves to its improvement and cultivation with such energy and perseverance, that they were soon free from incumbrance. The names of his brothers were David C. Waggoner, William Waggoner, John V. Waggoner, Christopher C. Waggoner, and Joseph Waggoner. All are now deceased with the exception of Joseph, who resides at Carlinville. | David C. died of typhoid fever in 1857; Christopher died in 1858; William in 1860, leaving a wife and one child; and John V. in 1865. The three latter died of consumption, and all are buried at the old Hilyard graveyard, near the Waggoner farm in Hilyard township.

Since 1865 Mr. Waggoner has carried on farming operations by himself, and he owns 560 acres of land in Hilyard township. He was married August 29, 1855, to Mary E. Davis. Mrs. Waggoner was born near Woodburn, September 1, 1838; her father, Samuel Davis, was one of the early settlers of Bunker Hill township; her mother was Zerelda Gore, a sister to David and Michael Gore. Mr. and Mrs. Waggoner have had seven children: Alla E., William C., Edgar, John V., Mattie, Benjamin F., and Mary E. Alla E., Edgar, John V., and Benjamin F. are deceased.

He first became old enough to take an active part in political matters at the time of the Kansas-Nebraska troubles, when the question as to whether these territories should be admitted into the Union as states with free or slave constitutions, was an important one to the American people. He embraced the "popular sovereignty" doctrines of the Douglas branch of the democratic party, though in sentiment he had always opposed the further extension of slavery. When the war of the rebellion broke out, he saw the necessity of giving all sympathy possible to the Republican administration, and he has since been an active supporter of the principles of the Republican party. His failing health of late years has prevented him from undergoing the vigorous work to which he wasaccustomed in early life, and he has also on this account in the hope of finding relief, undertaken extensive travels in different years to California and the Southern states. An illustration of his farm and residence occupies the whole of another page. His unassuming tastes have inclined him to lead the quiet and retired life of a peaceful farmer, but as much as any one in Hilyard township, he deserves mention in this work as a man who combines in himself the qualities which make a good neighbor, and a useful and enterprising citizen.

Samuel Brown

Wuo has been engaged in the mercantile business at Plainview for more than a quarter of a century, is a native of North Carolina, and was born in Robeson county, of that state, November 15th, 1824. The Brown family is of Scotch origin. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch came to America before the revolutionary war, and settled in North Carolina. -His father, Peter Brown, was born and raised there, and on growing to manhood married Catharine Baker, daughter of Archibald Baker. Her grandfather was a Scotchman who settled in North Carolina at an early date. His grandfather Baker took part in the struggle of the colonies for their independence, as a soldier in the Continental army. Another of Mr. Brown's grandfathers, McCallam by name, was also a soldier in the revolutionary war. Samuel Brown was the oldest of a family of eight children, of whom four are now living. In 1826, when he was a year and a half old, his father moved to Giles county, Middle Tennessee, where the younger children were born. The family resided in Tennessee till 1839 and then emigrated to Illinois, and settled near Carrollton, in Greene county. In1844 the family came to Macoupin county, and settled in Chester. field township, north of Medora.

The elementary part of his education he obtained in the old subscription schools of Greene county. The schools of that day were of course of a very ordinary character, and little to be compared to the thorough educational facilities of the present time. Boys then could obtain a good education only under considerable difficulties. His time was principally employed in working on the farm till 1846, when, at the age of twenty-two, he entered Illinois college, at Jacksonville, in which he was a student till the spring of 1848. He subsequently taught school in Brushy Mound and Chesterfield townships. In the spring of 1849 he became a clerk in the store of Z. B. Lawson, at Chesterfield. At that time Chestertield was one of the best business points in the county, and commanded the trade of a large scope of country. He remained there two years and three months; the latter part of this time the store had passed into the possession of Miller Huskey. In August, 1851, he went to Alton, and for nearly two years was a clerk in the store of George Booth. He left Alton with the intention of entering into business at the present town of Plainview, but the opening of the store was postponed, and meanwhile he went to Carlinville, and was there employed in the store of William M. Maddox, then one of the largest mercantile establishments in the county.. He was in Carlinville from May, 1853, to January, 1854. The latter date marks the time of Mr. Brown's coming to Plainview. With David Gore and Samuel Welch as partners, he erected the building which he still occupies, and established a mercantile business which has continued to the present day. Various changes have taken place in the firm. The business was first started under the firm name of D. Gore & Co. In September, 1854, in company with R. C. Bullman he purchased the interest of Messrs. Gore and Welch, and in January, 1858, bought in turn Mr. Bullman's interest. During the late war of the rebellion his brother, Newell H. Brown, was in partnership with him, and William H. Otwell was also a member of the firm. -His brother afterward retired to go into the milling business, and Otwell remained as partner till January, 1875. Since April 1, 1877, the firm has been composed of himself and his son, Gilbert S. Brown. He is now one of the oldest merchants of Macoupin county, and has sustained a reputation for honest and fair dealing second to that of no other business man.

He was first married July 11, 1854, to Sarah Smith, a native of Swansea, England. She was living at Carlinville at the time of her marriage. Her father, Joseph Smith, was one of the early settlers of Macoupin county. She died in March, 1856. His second marriage occurred May 20, 1858, to Mary J. Brown, daughter of John J. Brown, who settled in Chesterfield township in 1832. She was born in this county. He has one child by his first marriage, Gilbert S. Brown.

In his politics he was formerly a whig, and, in 1852, cast his first vote for president for Gen. Scott. His father, although opposed to the doctrines of the early abolitionists, was an anti-slavery man in sentiment, and from early boyhood Mr. Brown himself was in sympathy with free-soil principles. Consequently, when the whig party went to pieces and the republican party came to the front he became one of the first members of the latter organization ; voted in 1856 for Fremont, the first republican candidate for president, and has been a republican ever since. Since 1854, both under republican and democratic administrations, he has been postmaster at Plainview. From the time he entered into business at Plainview he has been school treasurer of Hilyard township. He has been a member of the Presbyterian church the greater part of his life, and for twenty years a member of the session. He is a man temperate in his views on all subjects, and has commanded the respect of all who have known him, both as a business man and a private citizen.

Newell H. Brown

Was born in Giles county, Tenn., Jan. 14, 1835. His ancestors, both on his father's and mother's side, were Scotch people, who settled in North Carolina beforethe Revolutionary war. Some particulars of the history of the family in North Carolina will be found in the biographical sketch of his brother, Samuel Brown. His father was Peter Brown, and his mother's name before marriage was Catharine Barker. They were married in North Carolina, and in the year 1826 removed to Giles county, Tennessee, where they lived till 1839, and then came to Illinois and settled in Greene county near Carrollton. In 1844 the family moved to the south-west part of Chesterfield township in Macoupin county, and in 1850 to Hilyard township, half a mile west of Plainview. His father died in 1864 in Shipman township. Mr. Brown was four years old when he came to Illinois, and nine when his father became a resident of Macoupin county. The elementary part of his education he obtained in the subscription schools, and in September, 1855, he became a student in Shurtleff College at Alton. He left college in the spring of 1858, and for a couple of years afterward was employed in the store of his brother, Samuel Brown, at Plainview. He was a partner in this store from 1860 till October, 1868, when he went out of the mercantile business to become a member of the firm of Welch, Brown & Co., who have been carrying on the Plainview mill. He was married, November 13, 1862, to Miss Lizzie Otwell of Carlinville. He has six children living. He has been a member of the republican party from the time he was old enough to cast a vote. He was chosen to fill a vacancy in the office of Justice of the Peace, and held that position for two years. In the spring of 1878 he was elected a member of the Board of Supervisors from Hilyard township, and is the only republican ever elected to that office in the township. He is the youngest of three brothers living in the county, all of whom have been among our best citizens ; the oldest, Samuel Brown, is a merchant at Plainview, and the remaining brother, John Brown, resides in Shipman township. -

Is one of the pioneer settlers of Macoupin county, and settled in Hilyard township in 1831. He was born in Cabell county, Virginia, January 30th, 1798. When only about eighteen years old, in the year 1816, he married Mary Gray, also a native of Cabell county ; she was born in the year 1801, and was only fifteen years old when she was married. He lived in Virginia till 1823, and then emigrated to Illinois and settled on Lick Creek, about sixteen miles south-west of Springfield, in Sangamon county. At that time only a few settlements had been made in Sangamon county, and their neighbors on Lick Creek were mostly relatives and connections from the same part of Virginia. In 1831 he came to Macoupin county and entered eighty acres of land in section 22, of what is now Hilyard township. His father had moved to Gillespie township three or four years previously. When the Hilyards settled in township 8, range 8, there were only two other families living in the township. John M. Hilyard, his father-in law, James P. Gray, and Erred Maxwell, all came down from Sangamon county together and settled within a short distance of each other. At that time the settlements in the county were few in number, and Mr. Hilyard was obliged to go to Belleville, in St. Clair county, to miil. The early pioneers had hard work to make a living, and were obliged to get along with the bare necessities of life. The timber and prairies furnished plenty of deer and wild turkey, but bread was made from flour of the commonest description. Before he had any land under cultivation he made rails at twenty-five cents a hundred, and with what he thus earned bought corn in St. Clair county at a dollar a bushel, going all that distance after it, and using the corn-meal for bread. The wheat was trodden out from the straw by horses, and wheat flour was such a rarity that it was used on extra occasions and for making a batch of biscuits for the Sunday dinner. The first school ever held in Hilyard township was taught in a room in John M. Hilyard's house. He was a teacher, and his own children and those of his neighbors were the scholars. He was the first justice of the peace in the township, and filled that office for several different terms. He also, for two or three terms, held the office of county commissioner, as will be seen by a reference to the list of the officers of the county in a previous part of this work. He was a man of excellent business capacity and superior judgment, and one who enjoyed the confidence and respect of the people. All his life he had been connected with the democratic party, and was one of its leading members in Macoupin county. He and his wife were originally strong members of the Baptist church, but toward the close of his life he became a believer in the doctrine of universal salvation, which he maintained with great earnestness and sincerity till his death. He died December 23d, 1872, having been a resident of the county for forty-one years. When the township in which he lived came to be named, "Hilyard" was bestowed upon it in his honor. He was over six feet in height, and of well-proportioned stature. He was a great hunter, and few men could excel him in the use of a rifle, or meet in the campaign against the Indians at the time of the Winnebago outbreak. He was a man of peaceable disposition, of upright character, and undoubted honesty.

He had eleven children, of whom nine are now living. Their names are as follows: James Powell Hilyard, now a resident of Kansas; Joseph Hilyard, living in Sangamon county ; .William Hilyard, residing in section 16, Hilyard township, to whom we are indebted for this sketch of his father ; Elizabeth, now the wife of James M. Wood, living in Shelby county, Illinois; Matilda Jane, who married L. Bullman,of Hilyard township ; Leonard Hilyard, whose residence is in section 26 Hilyard township ; Virginia C., now the wife of Henry Hilt, of Montgomery county ; Samuel Hilyard, who resides on the old homestead, and Morris Hilyard, of Greenwood county, Kansas. John M. Hilyard, Jr., and James Powell, enlisted in the Mexican war together, and were in Col. Baker's regiment, of Springfield. John M. was taken sick while in camp on the Rio Grande, and died there in December, 1846.

Joseph B. Hackney

Has been a resident of Hilyard township since 1857. He is a native of the Empire State, and was born at Troy, March 20th, 1829. His father, William Hackney, was a blacksmith by trade, and while living at Troy was foreman of a foundry. His mother, Margaret Keglor, was descended from the early Dutch settlers who emigrated from Holland, and made the first settlements in New York. She was born at Albany, in 1794. The subject of this biography was the sixth of a family of nine children. | He was seven years old when his father moved with the family to Illinois, and settled at Delhi, in Jersey county. He attended school at Troy, and afterwards in Jersey county. He was only seventeen years old at the time of the breaking out of the Mexican war. In September, 1847, when} he was only a few months past eighteen, he enlisted in an independent company of horsemen raised at Upper Alton, for service in Mexico. This company was commanded by Captain Little, and left Alton in the fall of 1847, proceeded down the Mississippi to New Orleans, and from that city took passage for from Vera Cruz to Rio Freio, and was principally stationed at the latter place during their service in Mexico; and also guarded the mail between Pueblo and the city of Mexico. There was no opportunity to participate in any important battles, but the company was engaged in several skirmishes, and the irregular guerrilla warfare which was carried on at intervals occasioned losses quite as severe as those which some of the regiments experienced which took part in prominent engagements. The men had enlisted for the war, and were stationed at Rio Freio at the time peace was declared. Soon afterward the company started for home, and reached Alton in July, 1848.

The summer of his coming back from Mexico, gold was discovered in California, and the reports which came from the Pacific coast gave wonderful accounts of the abundance of the precious metal, and the ease with which a fortune could be accumulated. He was one of the first to start out the next spring for the new El Dorado. He was a member of an expedition which set out from Jerseyville in the spring of 1849, struck the plains in leaving Jerseyville. Two of the men out of the sixty who composed the train died from cholera (which that summer prevailed greatly in St. Louis), but with this exception all reached California in safety. As soon as he reached the gold regions he went to work at mining. He was favored with more than ordinary success, accumulating in about a year upwards of three thousand dollars. He was at work on the Stanislaus and Yuba rivers. He started for home in December, 1850, making the return trip by way of the Isthmus of Panama. During this expedition to California he was accompanied by his brother. He had intended to return to California, but finally concluded to settle in Illinois, and bought, in partnership with his brother, three hundred and twenty acres of land, in section 25, township 8, range 8. This, at that time, was all raw prairie, and they went to work,

1860 till 1867 he resided in Jersey county. His marriage occurred December 24, 1864, at Chicago, to Mrs. Mary Lyman. Her maiden name was Mary Hackney. She was born at Troy, New York; afterward resided at Hartford, Connecticut; and came to Illinois in 1864. In 1867 he went to farming, where he now resides. His farm consists of a hundred and | seventy-five acres. A view of his residence may be seen on another page. Mr. Hackney has five children, Frederick, Paul, Albert, Harry and Lottie. Mrs. Hackney has also a son named George Lyman, by her deceased husband. Politically Mr. Hackney is a democrat. He is known as one of the substantial, enterprising and progressive farmers of Hilyard township. He has never held public office, nor has he aspired to any other position than that of a private citizen and a plain and unassuming farmer.

Charles Sunderland

Like many of the residents of Macoupin county, Mr. Sunderland, one of the substantial farmers of Hilyard township, is a native of New Jersey, and was born in the city of Trenton, the capital of the state, on the 8th of September, 1824. His father, Samuel Sunderland, when only fifteen years old, enlisted in a company of soldiers raised for service in the war of 1812. His father was a mill-wright by trade. His mother's name was Elizabeth Hutchinson. He lived in Trenton till he was fifteen years old, going to school occasionally, but spending a considerable part of the time in fishing, for which he had astrong natural inclination ; the Delaware river which flows past Trenton afforded a good opportunity for the enjoyment of this sport. In 1839 his father emigrated with the family to Illinois, and settled a mile and a half from Jerseyville, in Jersey county. Mr. Sunderland lived in the neighborhood of Jerseyville till 1853, and then moved on the farm which he now owns in section fourteen of Hilyard township. His farm con- sists of 187 acres of land, only fifty of which were under cultivation when he moved on it. January 18th, 1855, he was married to Leah Tresler, who was born near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, June 22d, 1837. Her father, whose name was Frank Tresler, moved to St. Louis in the fall of 1843, and died there. Mr. and Mrs. Sunderland have nine children living, five boys and four girls, and two who are deceased. The names of those living are, Charles H., Mary J., William Edward, Walter J., Bessie A., George W.., Alice V., Leonora and Jennie M. He has been a democrat in politics, and always votes that ticket. His brother is the present sheriff of Macoupin county. He stands well as a good farmer and an honest man. He has had from boyhood a taste for hunting and fishing, at which he has been more than usually successful, and to which occasionally, at leisure moments, he still devotes his attention. While others have taken delight in schemes for the accumulation of money and the gratification of their wishes in other directions, Mr. Sunderland has never been so contented as when bringing down some game with his trusty gun or capturing the finny denizens of streams and rivers.

James Hackney

Tuts gentleman, the present supervisor of Hilyard township, was born in New York city, December 18th, 1824. His ancestors were old residents of the state of New York. On his father's side they were from England, and on his mother's from Holland. His father, William Hackney, was born at New Scotland, New York, and married Margaret Keglor, who belonged to one of the old Holland-Dutch families which settled at an early date along the Hudson river. She was born in the city of Albany. James Hackney was the fourth of a family of nine children. When he was about two years old his father removed from New York city to Troy, New York, where the

Delhi, in Jersey county, Illinois. He never went to school except in the state of New York. He was twelve years old when he came to Illinois. No schools were in existence in the vicinity where his father settled, and his education has been obtained mostly by his own efforts.

When the Mexican war broke out in 1846 he was in his twenty-second year. In June of the first year of the war he enlisted in the 2d Illinois regiment, commanded by Colonel Bissel. He left Alton with his regiment for New Orleans, and thence proceeded by steamer across the Gulf of Mexico to Matagorda bay. The 2d Illinois at first formed a part of the army commanded by Gen. Wool, and was afterward commanded by Gen. Taylor. It was part of the forcetwhich marched triumphantly into the city of Mexico, and took part in the battle of Buena Vista, 22d and 23d of February, 1847, and afterward stationed at Buena Vista, till his term of enlistment expired in June, 1847. He reached Illinois, on his return, about the 1st of July. He engaged in farming in Jersey county, where he lived till the spring of 1849, and then set out for California. Gold had been discovered the preceding summer. 'The news reached Illinois in the fall of 1848, and Mr. Hackney decided without hesitation to try his fortune in the new gold .region, concerning the richness of which such fabulous reports were given. The expedition of which he was a member, numbering about sixty, left Illinois in the month of April, 1849, and crossed the Missouri river at St. Joseph on the Ist of May. At that early date no well-marked road across the plains and mountains had yet been established, and the expedition pushed its way on to the Pacific as best it could. His brother, Joseph B. Hackney, was with him on this expedition. The famous gold country was reached in the month of September, 1849, and as soon as possible he went to work at mining. He was at work on the Stanislaus river the succeeding fall and winter, and at Downeyville on the Yuba river the spring and summer of 1850. He was successful; saved some money, and in December, 1850, returned to Illinois by way of the Isthmus of Panama and New Orleans, well satisfied to settle down in life, and thereafter devote his attention to the quiet pursuit of agriculture.

On the 21st of February, 1851, he married Amelia Britton, of Lee county. He had purchased » short time vrevious, in partnership with his brother, the land which comprises his present farm in section twenty-five of Hilyard township, and after his marriage moved on it, began to improve it, and has been farming there ever since. The death of his first wife occurred in January, 1868. He married Mary J. Vandeventer in July, 1870; she died in October, 1873. He has had ten children, of whom seven are now living. The oldest is William Hackney; James, the next, died in August, 1856; John is residing in McLean county; the next children are Joseph, Edward, and Stephen, Mary, who died in infancy, and Thomas, whose home is with Mr. Hackney's sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Brown, in McLean county. Amelia May and a deceased infant are children by his second marriage.

In politics Mr. Hackney has always been a democrat. He was elected a member of the Board of Supervisors from Hilyard township in the spring of 1879, and has creditably filled that office. He is an enterprising farmer, and a good citizen. His father died at Brighton in November, 1877, at the age of eighty-seven ; and his mother, who was born at Albany, New York, in 1794, is still living in Brighton township.

Charles Rhoads

Jacos Ruoaps, the grandfather of Charles Rhoads, emigrated from Pennsylvania to Kentucky shortly after the close of the Revolutionary war. He settled in Hardin county, close to the present town of Elizabethtown, and was one of the pioneer settlers of that part of Kentucky. He was then a young man and unmarried, and lived for a time in a fort near Elizabethtown, and was often called upon to engage in the pursuit of the Indians, who frequently committed depredations on the scattering white settlements. Samuel V. Rhoads, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, in the year 1791. He was raised in the county of his nativity. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was one of the Kentucky volunteers under Gen. Harrison, and took part in the battle of the Thames in Canada, at which the Indian chief, Tecumseh, was killed. He married as his first wife, Jane Pennybaker, whose father was a native of Pennsylvania. He experienced religion when twenty years of age, and became connected with the United Baptist Church. From Hardin he had removed to Grayson county, Kentucky, where he lived till 1834, and then removed to Illinois, and settled in Chesterfield township, about a mile from Rhoads Point, or as it is now called, Medora. About the time of his coming to Illinois he began preaching, and continued his ministerial labors until old age and infirmity prevented him from performing active service. He was instrumental in organizing seyeral United Baptist churches in this part of Illinois, most of the churches of that dencmination in Macoupin county having in fact been founded by him and his brother, the Rey. Jacob Rhoads.

Charles Rhoads was born in Grayson county, Kentucky, August 12th, 1819. He was consequently about fifteen years old when he came to Macoupin county. The part of Kentucky in which the family had lived was poor and thinly settled, and had no good schools. The same state of circumstances in regard to educational facilities existed in Macoupin county. The school-houses were built of logs, with an opening along the sides where a log had been left out as the only apology for a window. Mr. Rhoads lived at home till his marriage. This event occurred on the 6th of October, 1842. Mrs. Rhoads was formerly Miss Naney E. Cawood She was born in Sullivan county, Tennessee, November 19th, 1822. Her grandfather, John Cawood, was an Englishman, who on coming to America, first settled in Virginia, and afterward in North Carolina. His home in North Carolina was in the extreme north-west corner of the state. When the state lines came to be definitely established, his farm was thrown into three different states, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. He lived on this farm till within a few days of a hundred years old, when he died. Mrs. Rhoads' father, Joshua B. Cawood, was born there, and on reaching manhood, married Eleanor Haynes. He served in the war of 1812. He first was employed as a teamster in Gen. Jackson's command, and returned home. 'He then enlisted a second time as a soldier, and took part in the battle of New Orleans. He lived in Sullivan county, Tennessee ; afterward removed to McMinn county, in the Hiawatha purchase, in the same state; came to Morgan county, IIlinois, in 1837; settled in North Palmyra township in this county, in the spring of 1838; moved thence to Shipman township, south of Medora, and in 1845 to Hilyard township, where his death occurred the same fall.

After his marriage, Mr. Rhoads moved to his present location, in section six of Hilyard township, where at that time no farm had been improved. He has since been one of the substantial farmers of the township, and a man esteemed for many good qualities as a neighbor and a citizen. He owns two hundred acres of land. He was originally a member of the old whig party, and cast his first vote for President for Gen. Harrison at the exciting campaign of 1840. His father, and most of his relatives, though natives of a slave state, had been anti-slavery in their sentiments, and when the slavery agitation became prominent, and the republican party sprang into ex- istence he became a republican. He and his wife have been members of the United Baptist Church since 1842, and were among the original members of Harmony United Baptist Church, who worshiped near his residence. He was one of those mainly instrumental in erecting, in 1854, the present commodious church building. Mr. and Mrs. Rhoads have had seven children, of whom four are living. The oldest one, Jacob H. Rhoads, enlisted when eighteen years old, in the 30th Illinois regiment during the late war of the Rebellion, and served three years; he is now farming in Kansas. Sarah E., the oldest daughter, died when an infant. Carrie L., is the wife of P: G. Richard, and resides in Kansas. Margaret J., the next oldest, died in infancy. The death of Mary A., occurred on the 19th of June, 1872, at the age of twenty years and five months. E. C. Rhoads and Hettie E., who married Charles W. Jolley, are the two youngest children.

Alexander Shultz

Was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, November 14th, 1829. His father was a farmer in good circumstances, and in 1836, moved to Grantsville, Allegheny county, Maryland, twenty-five miles west of Cumberland, on the National Road, which was then the main thoroughfare of travel between the East and the West. His father owned there six hundred acres of land, and built a hotel at a cost of seven or eight thousand dollars, and also was the owner of another hotel on the same route, but the building of railroads changed the current of travel, and rendered the property unproductive. Mr. Shultz grew up to manhood in that county. August 31st, 1859, he married Eleonora Glotfelty, who was descended from an old German family who settled in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, before the Revolutionary war, and afterward moved to Allegheny county, Maryland, where Mrs. Shultz was born. After he was married Mr. Shultz went to farming for himself on rented land, and afterward purchased a farm of three hundred acres at Grantsyille. He continued to reside in Maryland through the war, and in 1866 emigrated to Illinois, landing in Shipman November 16th of that year. In 1872 he purchased the farm of 160 acres which he now owns, in section twenty of Hilyard township. He has eight children living: Joseph A.; Lydia C., now the wife of Elisha Turney; Robert Lee; Bayley; Kitty May; Alexander M.; Henry E., and Rosella. In his politics he has always been a democrat, as were all his ancestors before him. He has been one of the leading citizens of Hilyard township; for three years he was assessor of the township, and one year collector. In 1877 he represented the township on the Board of Supervisors, and in 1878 his name was prominently broughtforward as the Democratic candidate for Sheriff. The family from which Mr. Shultz is descended is of German origin. His grandfather, Jacob Shultz, came over from Germany when fourteen years of age, before the Revolutionary war. He settled in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and secured his tract of land by what was known as an old " Tomahawk Right." He was one of the old pioneer settlers, and was obliged to go to Hagerstown, Maryland - eighty miles distant - for salt and iron, which he would transport on pack-horses. Jacob Shultz was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mr. Shultz's father, Adam Shultz, was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania; he followed farming, and for forty years also carried on a tannery. His second wife (Mr. Shultz's mother) was Nancy Shockey, also born in Somerset county; her father, Abraham Shockey, served seven years in the Revolution, and after his death his widow drew a pension as long as she lived. The Shockey family was originally of French descent. The grandfather of Mrs. Shultz on her mother's side was also in the Revolutionary war; his name was Robert Compton, and he was a native of New Jersey ; he was Aid-de-Camp on General Washington's staff, and once, while carrying dispatches was captured by the British ; he was searched, but his papers, which were hid in the lining of his boots, were not discovered.

Whose death occurred June 30, 1879, was born in the county Louth, Ireland, in November, 1812, the son of Thomas O'Neil. He was raised in the same part of Ireland, and in 1836, when twenty-four years of age, emigrated to America. He landed in New York, and from there went to Reading, Pennsylvania, where he secured a position as foreman, and had charge of a gang, building the Pennsylvania and Reading railroad. He afterward had a similar situation at Catawissa, Pa., and from that place went to work on the Schuylkill canal, at Pottsville. While at work on the Catawissa railroad, he was married, in February, 1840, to Ann Klingeman, who was born near Catawissa, in Columbia county, Pa., December 11, 1820. Her ancestors were Germans. Her great-grandfather emigrated from Germany, and settled in Berks county, Pa. In June, 1852, Mr. O'Neil came west. After stopping at Peoria, he settled at Carlinville, having secured a position as foreman on the Chicago & Alton railroad, then being constructed through the county. The track was then laid from Alton to within two miles of Carlinville, and Mr. O'Neil worked on it till the road was finished, and afterward till 1860, held the position of section boss. February, 1861, he moved to section 18 Hilyard township, where he had bought 120 acres of unimproved land. This he went to work to put under cultivation. He had never farmed any before, but won the reputation of being a good farmer, and owned 260 acres of land when he died. He had nine children, yiz.: Thomas D., who died at the age of fourteen ; Mary, wife of Michael Cooney, living north of Carlinville; John O'Neil, of Independence, Pike county ; James, living in Shipman township ; Annie, wife of Patrick Dillon, of Shipman; Hugh ; Owen, who is managing the farm ; Henry, who lives in Shipman; and Stephen A. Douglas O'Neil, still living at home. Mr. O'Neil had been a democrat ever since he came to America, and always did what he could in aid of the democratic ticket. His death resulted from an accident. While getting in his buggy to drive to the town of Shipman, his horse started, he was caught in the wheel, and suffered injuries from which he died in a short time. He had all the warm sympathies and impulses which belong to the Irish character, and possessed many friends.

William B. Roberts

THE present collector of Hilyard township, is a native of Kentucky, and was born in Hardin county, in that state, February 7th, 1837. His erandfather, David Rittenhouse Roberts, was in the war of 1812. His father, William C. Roberts, was born at Norristown, Pennsylvania, and when a young man came to Kentucky, and married Mary Gilmore, daughter of David Gilmore, one of the early settlers of Hardin county. David Gilmore built a mill at the mouth of Gilmore's branch, which was the earliest mill constructed in all that part of Kentucky. Mr. Roberts' father lived on Otter creek, the boundary line between Hardin and Meade counties, and Mr. Roberts was raised in both counties. He was married February 14th, 1861, to Kitty Ann Allen, daughter of William Allen, born and raised in Hardin county. In April, 1864, he moved to this state, and went to farming in Hilyard township. In politics he has been a democrat, though his father was first a whig and afterward became a strong republican. Since 1873 he has been constable, and in 1879 was elected collector. His five children are Mary Frances, Julia Florence, Lillie May, Allen Bathurst and Hardin Alexander. He is a man who stands well in the community in which he lives.

6 west, and is bounded on the north by Honey Point township, on the west by Gillespie township, on the south by Staunton township, and on the east by Montgomery county. Some of the suyface is rolling prairie land, which is well drained by the Cahokia creek and its tributaries. Nearly two-thirds of the township is timber land. The soil is rich on the prairies, and where cultivated yields good crops of corn, wheat, oats, hay and vegetables.

Enrly Settlers. - Ephraim Powers settled near the south-east corner of the township about the year 1828, and in 1830 Thomas Kinder with his family settled on section 11, where he made an improvement. 'The first permanent settler was soon followed by others, among whom were Peter B. Karnes and family, who came in 1831; John Kinder and family, Amos Snook and family, B. L. Dorsey, John Blevins, Tolton Blevins, Lodwick Jones, Nathan Duncan, and others who aided very materially in the development of this township. The first settlers experienced great inconveniences and hardships. For many years they were forced to go to Edwardsville, a distance of thirty miles, to mill.

The first preacher was William Burg, a United Baptist, who came here about 1834, and held the first meeting at the residence of James Caulk. Mr. Burg was not an educated man, but was a faithful and devoted worker, and was loved and revered by all. Larkin Craig was also an early preacher

The first church was- built by the United Baptists, about 1840, on land owned by Thomas Kinder, in section 2. It was built of hewn logs, and was subsequently used for a school-house, and finally caught fire and was destroyed. A gentleman by the name of Arnold, was the first teacher, and taught in this house.

John Blevins built a blacksmith shop, one-half mile south-west of the town of Clyde, about 1833, where he carried on blacksmithing, and was the first in the township.

The first land entries were by John Blevins, April 22d, 1831, eighty acres in section 10; Peter Kinder, May 9, 1831, eighty acres in section 10; George A. Kinder, May 9th, 1831, eigkty acres in section 10; John Kinder, May 9th, 1831, eighty acres in section 10; Jacob and William Kinder, May 9th, 1831, eighty acres in section 14.

Prominent among the older settlers of the county, now residing in this township, are Peter B. Karnes, Nancy Snook, Larkin Craig, Nancy Keel, George Bayless, Benj. L. Dorsey, Jacob Kinder, Hugh Rice, William Anderson, Wm. Eickmeyer, E. 8. Holme, and J. M. Rhoads. L. W. Link, a farmer living on section 3, is the present Supervisor.

Supervisors. - Edward 8. Holme, elected in 1871, '72, and '73; Allen Bayless, elected in 1874; William M. Baldwin, elected in 1875; L. W. Link, elected in 1876, 77, 78, and '79, the present incumbent and chairman of the board.

Village Of Clyde

The village of Clyde, is situated in the north-east part of section 3, and is on the Indianapolis and St. Louis rail road. It was laid out by Robert J. Hornsby, proprietor, and surveyed and platted by F. H. Chapman, in the year 1854. The town is located on an elevated prairie, and has an excellent site; and at the time the railroad was built, the company desired to locate their shops at this point, but the five acres of land demanded as a consideration by the company, were refused by the proprietor, Mr. Hornsby, and the shops were located elsewhere. The town has about 100 inhabitants. There are two frame churches; Baptist, and Methodist Episcopal denomination ; there is also a frame school-house, neatly furnished.

The Clyde mill is a steam power custom mill, built by B. F. Clark, and is the first and only one in the township It has two run of stones, and is now owned and operated by Frank Holden.

The following is a list of the business houses in Clyde: Physician - Dr. J. B. Ellis. General Stores - Hutton and Doran, and Stanley Carter, also postmaster. Blacksmith Shops. - Joseph Dillon, Peter B. Karnes. Confectionery - Joseph Patton. Shoe Shop - Joseph Whitmore. Carpenter Shop - L. F. Holden.

The Post Office at Clyde is known as " Hornsby," being named in honor of the founder of the town, Dr. R. J. Hornsby, who now resides at Bunker Hill.

Lewis W. Link

L. W. Lixx was born in Greene county, Illinois, December 25, 1835. His grandfather, Christian Link, was of German descent, and was born in Maryland about the close of the revolutionary war; on growing up he emigrated to Kentucky, and at Lexington marrried Eliza Bell, a native of Tennessee. In the year 1817 he removed to Illinois and settled in Madison county. In 1818 he moved into Greene county and settled three miles south-west of Carrollton, at the head of what is still known as Link's branch. He was one of the pioneers of Greene county, and only a few families had previously located in that part of the state. He was a blacksmith by trade, and when Carrollton was laid out he sold his farm and moved into the town, where he established the first blacksmith shop in Carrollton. Mr. Link's father, John Beil Link, was a boy when he came to Illinois. He married Cascinda Pruitt, a native of Kentucky, and whose family were among the pioneer settlers of Greene county. He died in 1837, when the subject of this sketch was about two years of age. Lewis W. Link was the next to the youngest of a family of seven children. After his father's death he lived among relatives at Carrollton till fourteen, and then, till 1851, lived with an uncle near Whitehall. He came with his mother and brother to the vicinity of Scottville, in Macoupin county, in 1851, and the next year to Plainview. In 1856 the family moved to the neighborhood of Gillespie. February 3, 1856, he married Elizabeth Davis, who was born and raised near Woodburn. He was farming near Gillespie till 1865, and then bought a farm in Honey Point township. He moved to Gillespie in the fall of 1866 and engaged in the milling business, in partnership with George Francis. They purchased a mill for $10,000 and made $5,000 additional improvements. February 11, 1870, the mill burned to the ground, proving nearly a total loss. He continued in the business of buying hay, at Gillespie, till 1874, and then went to farming in Cahokia township.

His first wife died in August, 1866. September 10, 1868, he married Elizabeth Mitchell, daughter of Elisha Mitchell, one of the first settlers of Honey Point township. She died in the summer of 1870. His present wife, whom he married in August, 1872, was formerly Miss Christiana James. She was born in Kentucky, married a gentleman named Martin, and moved to Missouri, where her first husband died during the war. Mr. Link has five sons.

He is politically a democrat. In the spring of 1876 he was elected supervisor from Cahokia township, and has been re-elected to that office each year subsequently. In the spring of 1878 he was made chairman of the board, and has since discharged the important duties of that position in a creditable and efficient manner.

and comprises township 10 north, range 6 west. It is bounded on the north by Nilwood, on the west by Carlinyille, and on the south by Honey Point townships, and on the east by Montgomery county. The surface is a gently rolling prairie of rich alluvial soil, and is very productive. Fine belts of timber border along the creeks, and furnish an ample amount for those who prefer to use it as fuel, and for building purposes.

It is well drained by the Macoupin creek and its affluents, which flows south-westerly through the north-west part of the township. Cottonwood creek, and Shaw's Point Branch, are its principal tributaries.

The first settlement in the township was made by a man by the name of Shaw, who settled on section 35, in 1825, and from whom the township received its name - *" Shaw's Point.' Mr. Shaw built a small log-cabin, and improved a few acres of land, which he abandoned before any more settlements were made in the township.

Mr. John Lewis was probably the next who settled in the township. He, with his family came here in 1827. Soon after followed Job Sperry, C. K. Hutton, the Powells, Coops and Geo. W. Barnett, and others. The Yowells came about 1829, anda Mr. Fullerton settled in 1833. The Davis family settled here in the spring of 1834. Mr. Geo. W. Barnett, sen., came in 1837. He was elected Justice of the Peace when only twenty-four years of age, and held the office for fifteen years. Among the old and prominent settlers in the county who now reside in this township, are : - John J. Womack, a Kentuckian by birth, came to the county in the year 1835; W. C. Anderson, a native of Macoupin county, was born in 1830. In 1829 came James W. Yowell, a native of Kentucky, and Strawder Yowell from the same state, came the same year. E. L. Owen and L. W. Dugger, Tennesseeans ; the former came in 1835, and the latter in 1834. In 1830 R. B. Clark became a resident of the county; L. N. English in 1837 and Hardin T. Richardson in 1839.

Capt. Samuel Cummings, came with his parents and settled first in North Palmyra township near a place now known as Vancil's Point, in the year 1825. His father afterwards sold out the improvement. On the breaking out of the Black-Hawk war, Capt. Cummings, then a young man, enlisted as a private. He also bore an honorable part in the war of the late Rebellion. He has for many years been a resident of this township.

These old settlers, like all pioneers, were sober, industrious, honest and hospitable men. They raised nearly every article of food and manufaetured most of their clothing. In those days game was plenty, and many were fond of hunting the deer, turkey and prairie-chicken, which were abundant. The pioneer usually settled on the edge of the timber, for the reasons that the land adjoining timber is generally more fertile, and that the settler's home can be built with less labor from handling the heavy logs of which they are constructed, and the forest protects them from wind and storm.

The first preacher was B. F. Chastaine, and next came R. G. Allen. They both belonged to the Christian church, and preached in the only house of worship, the " Hickory Wall" church, on section 23, near the site of Bethel Chapel. There are now four churches, viz.: the Rural and Bethel, Methodist, and one Christian, and a Baptist church. The value of church property is about $10,000.

Schools - There seems to be a difference of opinion as to who taught the first school in the township; some contend that Silas Haris was the first, while others claim the honor belongs to F. McClernand. They were, however, both early teachers, as was also James Johnson, familiarly known as "Jimmy Johnson ;" all three of whom taught in the " Hickory Wall" church and school-house. At the present there are four district schools. The first teachers received $2 50 per quarter for each scholar; now they receive about $40 per month, and teach on an average eight months in a year.

Mills. - In 1840 William Nichols built a grist-mill on Macoupin creek, which was propelled by water power; he subsequently sold it, and it was changed to a steam-mill. There was prior to this a small horse-mill, built by a Mr. Powell, near the present residence of Wm. Anderson. Two others of the same kind were also built, respectively by Peter Akes and David Plain. At present there is no grist-mill, and only one saw-mill in the township, which is owned by J. Morgan, and is situated near the centre of the north part of the township.

The first land entries, as shown on the records, were: David Coop, May 4th, 1829, 80 acres in section 9; Wm. G. Coop, May 4th, 1829, 40 acres in section 17; John Yowell, July 25th, 1830, 80 acres in section 3.

Captain Samuel Cummings

mings, the father of the subject of our sketch, was a native of Virginia; he was born in the year 1763. He resided there for many years, but being fond of adventures he and a few others emigrated to Kentucky, where he met the noted Daniel Boone, and joined him as a scout, a business which he continued for three years. These scouts were employed by Boone and Tanner to keep watch of the movements of the Indians, who were very troublesome at that time. They had to be men very fleet of foot, as well as discreet. On the 15th of January, 1792, he was united in marriage to Miss Lucinda Elliotte, and then settled in Bourbon county, Kentucky, giving his attention to farming, but when necessary he led a party of scouts. Subsequently he moved to Scott county, Kentucky, where he lived for a few years; from there he emigrated to Indiana, where he lived for a time. But being favorably impressed with the reports of Illinois, he concluded to emigrate in 1821,and settled in what is now Saline county. After living there a short time, he sold out, and in the early part of October, 1822, he moved to Sangamon county and bought the improvements of a squatter, and soon entered the land. In 1825 he moved for the last time, and settled in Macoupin county, north-west section 4; township-12; range 8. His wife died November 3d, 1838, and six years later, while on a visit to his daughter, he died November 3d, 1844.

The family consisted of ten children, of whom there were eight boys and two girls; only two are now living - Samuel and his sister, Elizabeth Potis, who resides in Johnson county, Missouri, and is now at the advanced age of eighty-six years. Captain Cummings was next to the youngest child. At the outbreak of the Black Hawk war the Captain responded to the call; after peace was restored he returned to his father's farm. On the 29th of June, 1836, he was married to Miss Mary B. McCulley, daughter of John McCulley. They have had born unto them seven children, whose names we give in the order of their birth: Louisa Jane, deceased 1877; Wm. Jackson; John Thomas; Calvin M.; Richard Dallis, deceased 1874; Marinda Caroline, deceased 1869 ; Edith A.

The Captain commenced to farm his own land October, 1837, in town 12, range 8, where he remained for five years. He then bought a farm on seetion 12, which he improved and sold at a fair advance. He owned several different farms from 1844 to 1857, and therefore changed his location a number of times. In 1858 he bought 200 acresin Shaw's Point township, and rented a farm at three dollars per acre of Dr. J. W. Giifham, east of Carlinville. The financial crisis of the country at that time, together with a complete failure of crops, proved disastrous to Captain Cummings. To satisfy the demand he sacrificed all his property, except 40 acres of mostly unimproved lands, where he now lives, and which he has improved by constant and hard labor to be a pleasant home. In 1861, at the outbreak of the most gigantic rebellion of ancient or modern times, the tap of the martial drum, the call "to arms!" resounded all over the land, and the oppressions of a century was at stake; the gauge of battle was flung at the feet of the North, and thonsands of the gallant and patriotic men took it up; among those who were first to respond to the call. was Captain Cummings.

sioned Captain at Camp Butler by Gov. Richard Yates. At the battle of Shiloh he endured exposure which resulted in typhoid fever. After being home for a time on furlough with a hope of regaining his strength, he returned to the regiment, but his health was bad, and as there was no prospect that it would improve, he was compelled to resign his commission. He was scarcely able to reach his home; for a long time he was not able to do anything, but he has recovered almost beyond expectation; although not strong. but a very ambitious man, he has done considerable work, more, perhaps, than he-was really able to do. In reviewing the Captain's life we see he has had his trials, but he has kept up hope, and assisted by his most estimable wife, together with industry and perseverance, he is very comfortably fixed in his old days. He is warm-hearted and generous to a fault. While not able to leave a large fortune to his children, he will leave to them what is better - the reputation of being a loyal and honest citizen..

David Rusk

First settled in Greene county, [linois, in 1830, and remained there until 1855, when he moved to Shaw's Point, where he has improved a fine farm. He was born in 1809, in Pendleton county, South Carolina. His father came from county Antrim, Ireland, to America, in 1803. He had a family of eight children, of whom only three are now living, David being the oldest. March 5, 1837, David married Miss Elizabeth Barr. From this union they had two children. Their son James married Miss S. J. Smithson, and is now farming the place for his father. Mary Parcilla is married to Benjamin Plain, who resides on a farm near by. At the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, Mr. Rusk responded to his country's call; he was then young and strong, and could endure more, perhaps, than most young men. At the last battle his second lieutenant was shot dead by a wounded Indian, who lay concealed in the grass. The officer was the second man to Mr. Rusk's right. Mr. Rusk says of him, that he was as fine a man as ever lived. After peace was restored he returned to his home and assisted in farming until he was married. He started out in life with no capital save his own energy and self-reliance, and his success has been gained by his own efforts. He has now reached a position among the substantial farmers and respected citizens of the county. He and his wife are now well advanced in years; both are quite active, and we hope they may live a long time to enjoy the fruit of their labors, which have been for many years in one of the richest counties of the state of Illinois.

John H. Bloome

Was born March 24th, 1831, in Brunswick, Germany. His father, Christopher Bloome, was also born in Germany, and followed the occupation of a farmer. He and his family emigrated to America in the fall of 1852, arriving at St. Louis, where he remained two months. In the spring of 1853 he moved on a place belonging to T. G. Lofton, on section 32, Shaw's Point township, where he lived until his death, which occurred the next fall, at the age of sixty years. His family consisted of nine children, of whom only five are now living.

John is the eldest son. He is justly reckoned among the most thrifty and energetic farmers of Shaw's Point township. He received his early education in Germany, and emigrated to America when sixteen years of age, in December, 1847. Some weeks later he landed at New Orleans, where he worked at shoemaking until March, 1848; then he went to St. Louis, where he engaged in coopering for three years, after which he moved to Macoupin county, and worked with several farmers until the spring of 1853, when he joined his father in farming. In the spring after his father's death, he, with his sister, two brothers, and step-mother removed to a farm on, Hickory Grove. On September 25th, 1857, he was united in marriage by Father Owen to Miss Margrata Leefers, daughter of Herman Leefers.

He bought a farm on section 18, where he now resides. The farm at that time was new and not much improved. He has now about one hundred and sixty acres, with a good brick-house and other improvements. Mr. and Mrs. Bloome have had bern to them nine children, eight of whom are now living, four boys and four girls.

He is not a partisan politician, but believes in supporting the right man. He now holds the office of school director, which he fills with excellent satisfaction; he has no inclination to make himself prominent in politics, and the above office he accepts solely from an interest in education. He has the welfare of his adopted country at heart; and, like many of his countrymen, he has assisted to make the state of Illinois what we find it today. We have thus briefly sketched the outlines of Mr. Bloome's life. As already intimated, he came to this country a stranger in a strange land; but he was welcomed to the protection of American liberty. Aided by his wife, he has acquired, by industry and frugal habits, a comfortable competency. In the management of the farm he has been very successful. Among his neighbors he bears the reputation of an honorable and upright citizen.

Was born in Jersey county, Illinois, in 1846. His father came from Pennsylvania while yet a young man; he is a physician, and now one of the oldest in Jersey county. Our subject being a natural student, and of an investigating mind, gave his early attention to the loved and honored profession of his father's choice. To enlarge his field of observation, he read medicine under the direction of Drs. Duhadway and Lyon, of Jerseyville, afterward practicing with them until he located at Shaw's Point township, in 1869. Although a young man, he soon had a lucrative and extensive practice. The doctor certainly deserves the esteem in which he is held by the community as a physician. November 29th, 1875, he married Miss Jennie Masters, the daughter of John B. Masters, whose biography is also given in this history. She is a most amiable lady and an excellent housekeeper, possessing the qualities which make home attractive.

R. B. Clark

Was born May 22d, 1820, near Lexington, Ky. Samuel B. the father of the subject of this brief memoir, moved to Illinois about 1830, and finally settled on Brushy Mound Prairie, where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1841. His family consisted of six boys and two girls, all of whom are now living. R. B. Clark was the third child,.and his early life was spent on his father's farm. A log school-house, with a hole for a window, andaslab for a seat, was the style of the building where he received his early education.

His time was given him at the age of eighteen, and he immediately hired to Calvin Record for one year, at $12 per month. He gave such excellent satisfaction, that at the close of that year he was offered $15 per month to continue, which he did, for one year and a half more. He saved his money and bought eighty acres of government land. Dec. 27th, 1842, he married Miss Artamasiah Mitchell, by whom he had fifteen children, eleven of whom are now living. She died May 3d, 1870. Mr. Clark was now surrounded with a large family of small children. Oct. 13th, 1870, he married Mrs. Sarah W. Lambert. - From this union they have had two children.

Mr. Clark started life from the bottom of the ladder. He has always followed farming, and has succeeded quite well. His religious views are those held by a class known as United Baptists. He is a liberal contributor to all charitable objects, and is a social and highly moral man. He is highly esteemed by all who know him.

Charles Harrington

Is a native of Madison county, Illinois. He was born February 12th, 1842. He is the third child of, a family of eight children. His father's name was William O.; he was also a native of Illinois. His grandfather came from Alabama. Charles came to this county in 1849, and it has been his home ever since, except about four years spent in Logan county. At the breaking out of the war he enlisted in Company H, of Seventh regiment of Ilinois Volunteers, commanded by Col. John Cook; he was mustered in at Springfield, Illinois, April 25th, 1861, and was among the men from Illinois who went to fill up the Illinois quota of the three months' call. On his return he enlisted in the 32d Illinois regiment, commanded by Col. John Logan of Carlinville, Illinois; he was mustered in at Camp Butler, December 31st, 1861. He took part in all the battles the regiment participated in, except the one at Jackson; after the expiration of the war he returned home. He was married September 19th, 1875, to Mrs. Julia Lofton, widow of Thomas G. Lofton. Mr. Harrington has been a supporter of the principles of the republican party.

HIS township is situated in the extreme north part of the county, and is bounded on the north by Sangamon county, on the west by North Palmyra, on the south by South Otter, and on the east by Virden and Girard townships. It comprises township

It derived its name from " Otter Creek," which flows diagonally through the eastern portion of the township. This creek was called Otter, from the fact that large numbers of otters were found on its banks.

There is no town or village within the township, and the inhabitants are confined strictly to agricultural pursuits. The soil is rich and productive, and is well drained by Otter creek and its branches.

In the year 1829 the township was first settled by the following persons, all being heads of families: - Hugh Gibson, John Pope, John Chandler, Jesse Cox, John Stewart, and G. L. McGinnis. William C. Crump settled in 1833, and W.C. Alderson in 1834; both of whom, together with G. L. McGinnis, are still residing in the township. These families were natives of Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, and came here from Sangamon county. The men who formed the first settlement were well suited to the task. They were men of irreproachable character, fearless and industrious, and soon changed the rough, unbroken prairie into fields of waving grain. As skilled in the use of the rifle, as with implements of toil, the deer and turkey furnished them an ample supply of meat for food.

The first preacher was Father Stewart, known throughout this locality as "Uncle Johnny" Stewart. He was a local preacher of the Methodist Church.

The first church was erected about 1866, by the Methodist Episcopal denomination, and is valued at one thousand dollars. There is also a Union Church in the township.

Mills. - The first mill was built by Thomas Sprouse. It was a rudely constructed horse-power affair. The machinery consisted of a large horizontal cog-wheel, which geared into a trundle-head and the shaft to which the upper stone was attached, all of which was of home manufacture. The present milling facilities are ample.

Murder - A base and mercenary murder was committed here in the spring of 1840. Two brothers, William and Aaron Todd, of Indiana, were visiting relatives in Scott county, of this state, and when ready to return, they persuaded their cousin, a young man named Larkin Scott, to accompany them, which he consented to do. He had on his person thirty dollars in money, of which fact the Todds were aware, and for which they planned to rer and rob him. When near Elm Grove, in this township, and on what is known as " Gopher Hill," they stopped to rest, and Aaron came up. from behind and struck Scott a heavy blow on the head with a large hickory walking-stick, which felled him to the ground, and notwithstanding the piteous beggings for life by his cousin, Aaron finished his horrible deed by stabbing him several times with a large dirk. They then took his money and clothes, leaving his body nearly naked lying on the snow, where it was discovered a few weeks afterwards. A clue to the deed was obtained, and the perpetrators followed by James Clark and others, arrested, brought back, and held for trial.

The first land entered - The following are the first land entries in the township: Owen T. Merry, Nov. 10th, 1828, eighty acres in section 19; Hardin Lodsdew, Nov. 24th, 1828, eighty acres in section 19; James Mc- Ginnis, Feb: 24th, 1829, eighty acres in section 19.

Shcrroees Ttl

Be. township is situated in the more northern part of the county, ' C >) and is bounded on the north by North Otter, on the west by i" ) South Palmyra, on the south by Carlinville, and on the east by e2nS3 Nilwood township. It is geographically known as township 11 north, range 7 west. In the eastern portion and most of the southern the land is a beautiful prairie, of a deep, black soil. The north-west portion of the township is coyered with a fine growth of timber, the principal kinds beine oak, hickory, and cottonwood. Formerly the west and north-west sides, comprising about one-fourth of the township, were timber land. The principal streams are Otter creek and its tributaries. The lands adjoining this stream are heavily timbered, and thus afford an excellent opportunity for stock husbandry. The general surface is undulating, but near the creek the bluffs are quite abrupt, and the soil is mostly clay. The drainage is principally effected by Otter and Grove creeks and their tributaries. Lasting water ix found in abundance at distances varying from fifteen to thirty feet below the surface. This township, as well as its principal stream, took its name from the number of otters formerly found along the creek. A part of the village of Nilwood is within its eastern limits.

The first settler, within the present limits of South Otter township, was a man by the name of Days, who moved a log house across Otter creek, from South Palmyra township. The first new buildings were erected by Samuel and Henry Miller; the former completing his house first. Prominent among the earliest settlers of the township may be ranked the names of Henry and Samuel Miller, Irvin and Martin Pullam, Joel Bond, Alvey Graves, William Etter, Comfort Smith, Samuel Clark, David Davidson, J. Adams, T.S. Barrow, M. M. Ross, Robert and Thomas Bacon, G. D. Crawford, and others.

Rev. William Vance, a Methodist, and a Rey. Williams, a Presbyterian, preached in the school-house, on section 30, at an early day. The Baptist church, at Hickory Point, was erected in 1869, and is the only one in the township.

A saw mill, built by Henry Miller in section 30, and run by horse-power, was the first, and in fact the only one in the township. He abandoned it about the year 1850.

The first land entry was made November 8, 1831, by M. P. Pullam an- M. Witherow; it consisted of ninety-two acres in section 2. The second, con. prising forty acres, lying in section 6, was entered December 5, 1833, by Peter Lair. Another entry, comprising forty acres, situated in section 10, was made on the 26th of May, 1834, by Casper Roland.

Present Old Settlers - The present old settlers of the county, residing in this township, are : - T. G. Barrow, J. Adams, David Davidson, and M. H, Ross, all of whom settled here in the year 1830; G. D. Crawford, who came in 1832, and Robert Bacon, Thomas Bacon, and J. M. Lair, whose residences date from. the year 1837. Below we give the statistics of the township from the assessor's book for this year.

Supervisors - William H. Johnson, elected in 1871; Robert Bacon, elected in 1872, and '73 ; Moses Yowell, elected in 1874, '75, '76, and '77; Thomas Mahan, elected in 1878; Moses Yowell, elected in 1879.

AmonG the representative men of South Otter township none stand forth more conspicuously than does Robert Bacon. Although not one of the first settlers in the township, yet by great industry, coupled with sound, practical economy and excellent judgment, he has rightfully assumed a place with the largest farmers and most substantial business men of the county. As exhibiting an example worthy the emulation of all, particularly the young, we herewith present a brief sketch of Mr. Bacon's life and character, feeling as though the history of South Otter township would be incomplete without a notice of that gentleman. He is now the present nominee of the republican party for county treasurer; is a native of England, and was born in Norfolk, near the city of Norwich, on June 10th, 1825. His father, Richard Bacon, was a farmer in comfortable circumstances, and his wife's maiden name was Mary K. Sayers. Robert Bacon was the second of eight children. From the time he was old enough, he was sent to school quite regularly, and laid the foundation for tie main part of his education in England before coming to America. He . id little opportunity for attending school after coming to this country, and~ ~ h the exception of the opportunies he had in England, his education is ly the result of his own efforts. In 1835 his father emigrated with his fami:, | America; came across in a sailing vessel, the voyage occupying aboui a. mth, and reached New York June Ist, 1835. From New York they went so the city of Troy, where the family remained until the fall of 1837, and then removed to the West. Reaching St. Louis, the family came at once to Carlinville, settling there on the recommendation of Dr. Gideon Blackburn, whom his father had met in Troy. On coming to the county his father moved on Dr. Blackburn's farm, near Carlinville, and lived there one year, and then the family moved to Chesterfield township, and rented the farm now owned by Nicholas Challacombe. While living there, Mr. Bacon's father died, in August, 1839. His mother moved then, with the family, to a farm north of Cariinville, and in the spring of 1840 his mother entered forty acres of land in section 19, town 11, range 7, where she lived for some years, and where the children were raised. Her place was Mr. Bacon's home until he was twenty-four years of age. For a couple of years he worked by the month in Chesterfield township, and the remainder of the time was employed in farming at home, until his marriage, which occurred November 18, 1849, to Miss Mary A. Miller. Mrs. Bacon was born in Floyd county, Indiana, and became a resident of Macoupin county iu 1836. Her father was Henry Miller, who came to the county that year and settled on section 30, South Otter township. After Mr. Bacon was married he went to farming on his own account where he now resides, and has ever since been engaged in farming. His farm consists of 240 acres, and a view of his residence is shown elsewhere among the illustrations in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Bacon have had three children: Emily, who married George M. Killam, and is now deceased; Henry R., who died in infancy, and Anna M., wife of John C. Wiggins. Mr. Bacon began his political life as a member of the old whig party, and cast his first vote for president in 1848. He voted the whig ticket until the dissolution of that party, and when the war broke out he became a strong and earnest republican, and has remained a member of that party ever since. In 1872 he was chosen supervisor of South Otter township, and was re-elected to that position the succeeding year. He was one of the board of supervisors during the period when the trouble became most prominent regarding a levy of a tax with which to pay the indebtedness incurred by the county in building the court-house. He took a determined stand against paying anything of what he believed to be an unjust claim until the matters had been compromised on a just and equitable basis. As a member of the board, he voted against the levy of a tax in compliance with the mandamus of the United States circuit court, and was one of the seventeen who were fined one thousand dollars each for refusing to comply with the mandamus and levy a tax. In 1876 he was the republican candidate for circuit clerk, and made a race creditable to himself, receiving more votes than the majority of the ticket. In 1879 the republican convention nominated him by acclamation as their candidate for county treasurer. Mr. Bacon is a man who stands well among the citizens of the county. He is a gentleman of personal honor and integrity, and has been influential in the counsels of the republican party in Macoupin county. In conclusion, Mr. Bacon may be relied upon as a sterling business man, quiet in his demeanor, and charitable where there is any just claim. What he has is the result of hard labor, the cumulative proceeds on the earnings of a poor boy.