Macoupin County, Illinois - Biographical sketches, 1879 (part 7 of 15)

Wuo is well known as haying been a representative in the twenty-ninth General Assembly and an active member from Brighton township of the board of supervisors for several years after its first organization, has been a resident of the county since 1838. He was born in the city of Providence, Rhode Island, June 8th, 1826. His forefathers had been residents of Rhode Island for several generations, reaching back to the first settlement of the state by Roger Williams; the early members of the family belor.ged to the old Baptist stock, which was the pioneer element in founding Rhode Island. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all born and raised in the city of Providence. The name of his father was David Martin, and his mother's maiden name was Caroline Wilcox, who was also born in Providenee. She belonged to a seafaring family, and several of her connections were sea captains. Her brother was employed in the East India trade when in its most flourishing state, and was accustomed to make long voyages, sometimes being absent two or three years. The subject of this sketch was the oldest of four children. He lived in Providence till ten years of age, and while in that city, from the age of three years, he attended school regularly. 'The opportunities he there enjoyed comprised all the advantages he ever had in the way of obtaining an education. In 1835 his father embarked in the mercantile business at New Orleans, and in June, 1836, opened a store at Alton, to which place he removed his family from Providence in October of the same year.

In about three weeks after the family reached Alton, and while engaged in building a residence, his father died, leaving his wife and children almost without a protector in a strange country. His mother married as her second husband, Samuel Avis, who owned land in Brighton township, and began improving it, which circumstance was the occasion of Mr. Martin's first coming to Macoupin county. From the age of fifteen he took care of himself, and made his own living. While he was thus deprived of advantages and comforts which he might otherwise have enjoyed, it may have been that the hard lessons which he was obliged to learn in boyhood were of material assistance in forming his future character. When about twenty-one, he was clerk at Alton in the store of Lyne 8. Metcalfe, afterward representative in Congress from St. Louis. January 26th, 1848, he married Helen Moore, who was a native of the state of New Hampshire, but was living in Brighton township at the time of her marriage. In the year 1850 he settled on the farm he now owns, a mile and a half north-east of Brighton. This farm he himself improved. During five years, from 1860 to 1865, embracing the period of the war, he resided in Brighton, where he was engaged in the business of buying grain. He moved back to the farm, and has been living there ever since. He has two children, Henry F. Martin, Jr., who is now practicing medicine at Greenfield, Illinois, and John E. Martin.

1848. He took comparatively little interest in political matters till the formation of the republican party, when he became a strong and earnest republican. In 1856 he was one of a band of republicans in Macoupin county of its active men, and previous to the war was a frequent delegate to republican state conventions and other similar representative bodies. In 1869 the republicans made him their nominee for associate judge, and though the county was strongly democratic, he was defeated by only seventy votes. On the adoption of township organization, he was elected, in 1871, the first member of the board of supervisors from Brighton township. He was subsequently re-elected twice, serving in all three years. While in the board of supervisors he was a member of the court-house committee, and had an active participation in all the matters relating to the struggle between the people of the county and the holders of the bonds concerning their payment. He was strongly opposed to levying a tax to meet the bonds, and was one of the members of the board who were most active in fighting the bondholders and resisting payment until a compromise could be equitably arranged. While a member of the board, he was chairman of the finance committee and a member of the committee on claims. While temporary chairman, the first mandamus ever issued by the United States court in reference to the court-house troubles was served on Mr. Martin. It was certain that the member of the board would be fined by the court for refusing. to obey the mandamus, and he advised such a division on the motion to levy a tax as that the motion would be barely lost, and thus lessen the amount of fines to be paid by the county, each one voting in the negative being fined, and it being understood that the county would be responsible for the fines of each individual member. This plan was the means of saving to the county several thousand dollars. In 1874 he was the republican candidate for representative in the twenty-ninth General Assembly for the district embracing Macoupin and Jersey counties. He was elected, and while in the legislature on party questions and issues acted with the republicans. For fifteen consecutive years he filled the office of justice of the peace in Brighton township

He was first elected to fill a vacancy in 1856, and was subsequently re-elected three times. It has been generally remarked that he made as good a magistrate as probably could be found in any country district in the state. He possessed quick perceptive powers and considerable legal ability. He made it a point to carefully inform himself on all questions ordinarily within the scope of a justice's practice, and was unusually correct in his decisions and judgments.

Amonc the former citizens of Brighton township, whose names deserve commemoration in these pages, is Amos Avery Hilliard, who died February 28th, 1878. His ancestors were early residentsof New England. His father, whose name was Amos A. Hilliard, was born in 1770, and died at Cornish, New Hampshire, in the year 1856. Mr. Hilliard was raised on a farm, and obtained a good education in the common schools of his native town. He left Cornish at the age of twenty and went to Boston, where for two years he was employed as clerk in a hotel. From Boston he went to New York, and for a couple of years had the care of one of the Astors, who was a confirmed invalid, helpless, and in constant need of assistance. He first came West in 1832. He had acquired some capital in New York and Boston, and in partnership with a gentleman from the latter city he embarked in the pork-packing business at Alton. The firm shipped large quantities of pork to New Orleans, and Mr. Hilliard on one occasion accompanied the cargo down the Mississippi. The navigation of the river was not entirely free from danger, and on this trip the boat struck a snag and in a few minutes went to the bottom. A number of passengers were on board, all of whom were drowned excepting Mr. Hilliard and two others, who clung to one end of the boat, which remained for a short time above the water, till they were rescued from their perilous position by a passing steamer. Within a few minutes after they were picked up the boat disappeared altogether beneath the current of the river. The business of packing pork was comparatively a new industry in the West at that time, and the experiment proved financially unsuccessful. The business was discontinued, and he returned to New Hampshire.

He came back again to Illinois in the year 1834, and purchased the farm in section seventeen, of the present Brighton township, on which he resided till his death. His first marriage took place on the 30th of November, 1837, to Charlotte Towne, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Towne. The Towne family were early residents of Hopkinton, near Concord, New Hampshire, and had lived in New England for many generations. In the old Towne mansion at Hopkinton, a massive and solid structure, the marks of bullets may yet be seen, which were made while a company of soldiers were quartered in the house during the Revolutionary war. Charlotte Towne was born August 4th, 1802. She came with her brother, Rodney Towne, to Woodburn, in this county, in 1833. The land which Mr. Hilliard purchased had been entered by Stephen Griggs, but was unimproved. On obtaining possession he built a house, and vigorously began the work of putting the land under cultivation. He gradually succeeded in developing it into a fine and valuable farm, and purchased additional land, so that at the time of his death he was the owner of 425 acres. His first wife died August 8, 1845. In 1846 he married Mrs. Harriet Towne, widow of Joseph Boutwell Towne, brother to his first wife. She lived till

His natural powers of mind were of a superior order; and he was also gifted with unusual energy and excellent business capacity. His education at school was supplemented by careful reading, and his opinions on agricultural and other subjects were of more than ordinary value. He possessed, in addition, a large degree of enterprise, and beside carrying on general farming embarked at an early date in the business of growing fruit, in which he was a pioneer in Macoupin county. As early as 1845 he began sending peaches to St. Louis daily by the morning boat from Alton. At that time this was considered a bold and unusual undertaking, but it was carried out so as to be remunerative to Mr. Hilliard. In later years he quit the peachgrowing business, and directed his attention to the growing of early apples and the making of cider and vinegar. To the production of an excellent quality of vinegar and cider he gave special attention during the last.twenty years of his life, and succeeded so well that for a number of consecutive years he was awarded premiums at the state and other fairs, where these products came in competition with those of other makers. These articles have not suffered' in quality since his death, and are still made in large quantities by his son, George W. Hilliard. He took an active interest in every movement for the promotion of agriculture and horticulture. He was the first president of the Brighton township Farmers' Club, organized in January, 1872, and for many years was a leading member of the Alton Horticultural Society. About fifteen years previous to his death be began contributing to different journals, and several articles from his pen appeared in the New York Tribune, the Prairie Farmer, and Colman's Rural World on "Fruit Growing, Hedging," and other similar subjects. His constitution was strong and vigorous, and he enjoyed good health through life till within five or six years of his death. His personal characteristics may well be judged from what has already been written in this sketch. He was' publicspirited; always ready to assist every undertaking which in his opinion would benefit the community at large; charitable and benevolent; and his death was lamented by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. He was first a whig in politics, and became a republican on the formation of that party. He had two children by his first marriage, both sons, one of whom died when four years old; the other is George W. Hilliard, now one of the large and enterprising farmers of Brighton township. He was born November 1st, 1840; was married April 13, 1864, to Celia Adelaide Chase, daughter of Taylor G. Chase, a sketch of whose history appears elsewhere. He lives on the old homestead farm ; is the owner of 600 acres of land, and largely carries on the same specialties in agriculture and fruit growing in which his father was interested.

Brewer Martin

Mr. Martin, who is now farming and carrying on the dairy business at Brighton, was born in Logan county, Kentucky, August 7, 1821. His grandfather was a Virginian and a soldier in the revolutionary war. His father, John Martin, was one of the pioneer settlers of Coles county, Ilinois; he went from Illinois to Kentucky and married, as his second wife, Miss Holly Woods, who became Mr. Martin's mother. He lived in Logan county, Kentucky, till 1828, and then emigrated to Greene county, Illinois, and settled six miles east of Whitehall. He was one of the earliest settlers in that part of the state, and for a considerable time there were only two other settlements in that vicinity. There was only one house in Jerseyville at the time, and the country all the way south to Scarritt's prairie was wild and unsettled. John Martin, his father, died in the same neighborhood where he settled. The subject of this sketch was raised there, and attended the first schools which were ever started in that part of Greene county. He was married March 16, 1848, to Mrs. Martha Henderson, whose maiden name was Peter, a daughter of John Peter. She was born in Kentucky, and emigrated with her father to Illinois, and settled in Scarritt's prairie, in Madison county, in 1829. Mr Martin was farming on Lawton's prairie east of Whitehall till 1854, and then moved to section twenty, Brighton township. For the last fifteen years he has been extensively engaged in the dairy business. Both his children are deceased. Mary Frances died at the age of seven. Holly Jane married Jacob G. Stahl 'and died in 1874, when twenty-eight years old. He was an old line whig in the days of the whig and democratic parties, and in 1844 voted for Henry Clay for President. He has been a republican since the formation of that party. Mr. Martin is now one of the older settlers of Illinois, living in Macoupin county.

Asa Potter

Mr. Porter, the post-master and attorney of Brighton, is a native of the state of New York, and was born at West Niles, in Cayuga county, June 8th, 1829. His ancestors were residents of Massachusetts at an early period. His grandfather, Joseph Potter, was born in Massachusetts, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, after the close of which the family moved to the state of New York. His father, Z. Potter, was also born in Massachusetts, and was a boy when he went to New York. He married Nancy Davis, who was a native of the same state as her husband. Asa Potter was the fourth of a family of eight children, five of whom are now living. When quite young his father moved to Wyoming county, where the subject of this sketch was principally raised. His education was obtained mostly at the Aurora academy and the Springville academy, both in Erie county, New York. The first business in which he engaged was that of civil engineer ; he was employed for three years in assisting to lay out the Rochester and Genesee Valley railroad. In 1857 he left New York, and after visiting Michigan and Wisconsin he came to Brighton, in the fall of that year took charge of the Brighton school as principal. He had previously, while living in New York, been engaged several winters in teaching. With the exception of eighteen months, during which time he lived at Carrollton, he has since resided in Brighton. He was admitted to the bar in 1862, and has since been practicing his profession. His wife, whom he married in July, 1864, was formerly Miss Martha Palmer, daughter of James Palmer. Since 1872 he has been post-master at Brighton. In politics he has always been a republican, and cast hisfirst vote for president in New York, at the time of the Fremont and Buchanan campaign of 1856.

John Andrews

Wirx one exception Mr. Andrews is now the oldest settler of Brighton township. He was born in Sussex county, Virginia, January 30th, 1815. His grandfather, John Andrews, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His father, Joseph Andrews, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and married Susan Ellis, whose grandfather had emigrated to Virginia from Treland ; her father, John Ellis, was also a Revolutionary soldier. In 1817, when Mr. Andrews was in his third year, the family moved to Todd county, Kentucky, and lived there till 1830, and then emigrated to Illinois, and settled on the north-east corner of section six of Brighton township. His father entered nine hundred and sixty acres of land, part of it in Jersey county. Mr. Andrews married Martha A. Miles, daughter of Alexander Miles, July 18th, 1837. She was a native of Logan county, Kentucky.

From the time of his marriage, with the exception of five years, when, on account of ill-health, he leased out his farm and moved to the adjoining section, he has resided on his present farm. He owns four hundred acres of land. He has had five children, viz.: William P., who died in 1856 at the age of eighteen; Eliza J., wife of Thomas H. Simmons ; Hobart M., who was in the army during the war and died from diseases contracted in the service; Martha Ann, who died when two years old; and John E., who is living on the farm. Hobart M., the oldest son, enlisted in 1862 in the 122d Illinois regiment, the history of which is well-known to the people of Macoupin county. He was in several battles in Mississippi and in the last battle at Nashville; was taken sick at Mobile and removed to the hospital at New Orleans; was mustered out of service in August, 1865; was again taken sick from diseases resulting from exposure while in the service, and died in December. Mr. Andrews was originally a Whig, and voted for Hugh L. White of Tennessee, for President, in 1836. He was afterward an early member of the republican party. Both he and his wife have been members of the Methodist Church since 1834.

William Jones

SquirE JONES is now one of the old settlers of Brighton township. He first came to Macoupin county in 1833. His birthplace was Llandegley, in Wales, May 14th, 1817. His ancestors had been residents of Wales for several generations, and were among a wealthy and substantial class of farmers. His grandmother on his mother's side had been a French woman, and thus French and Welsh blood are mingled in his veins. His father was named Thomas Jones, and his mother's name before she was married was Ellen Vale.

The subject of this sketch was the oldest of seven children. He went to school in Wales till he was twelve years of age, and was then sent to London and apprenticed to the grocery business. He never had an opportunity to go to school afterwards, and for his acquirements in the way of an education he is indebted mostly to his own efforts and to the chances he had now and then of picking up knowledge. His father emigrated with the family to America in 1831, and Mrs. Jones came with him. His father first settled in Dutchess county, New York, and lived there two years ona farm. In 1833 they concluded to come farther West, and consequently came on to Illinois, arriving at Alton, June 10th, 1833. At this time the family were in very moderate circumstances, and had but a scanty portion of this world's goods. His father, indeed, had nearly as many children as dollars, for the children were six in number and the dollars only ten. The subject of this sketch from that time on lived but little at home. He was sixteen years old when he came to Illinois. He was the oldest child, and he was obliged to work, while his earnings went to the support of the family. While this life was by no means an easy one, and it deprived him of the usual opportunities for getting an education, it had its advantages It gave him habits of industry and economy, and made him accustomed to hard labor. He first came to Macoupin county in 1833, and was variously employed in Macoupin and Jersey till 1849, and in the spring of that year went to California.

The remarkable discoveries of gold on the Pacific slope had been made only a short time previously, and a strong fever broke out among the enterprising young men of Illinois and other states, each anxious to be on the ground as soon as possible and have a chance at the fabulous treasures of gold which, rumor stated, existed in the mining regions. Squire Jones caught this fever, as did many others in Macoupin county, and with H. C. Clark (now of Brighton) and William H. Loveland he fitted out a team and wagon, and joined a company bound for California, composed of fifteen wagons and drawn by ox-teams. Elan Eldred, of Carrollton, was captain of this company. Mr. Loveland, one of his partners, afterward removed to Colarado, and was the founder of Golden City. Leaving Brighton on March 27th, 1849, they were fortunate in crossing the plains and mountains without serious accident and with little delay, and arrived at their destination on the 16th of August. This party was among the first from Illinois to reach the gold regions. He worked in the mines but little, but was mostly engaged in teaming in the Yuba and Nevada districts and in northern California. He was pecuniarily successful, and when he returned to Illinois in November, 1850, he had accumulated about four thousand dollars. He decided to settle down and go to farming, and with this money purchased 160 acres of land in Brighton township, which comprises part of his present farm.

He is now known as one of the wealthiest farmers of Brighton township. He is the owner of more than one thousand acres of land, all of which lies in Brighton township, with the exception of about three hundred in Chesterfield township. About five hundred acres he farms himself. His first marriage was on the 14th of May, 1851, to Eveline Dandridge, a native of the state of Alabama. Her death occurred in 1864. He was married again in 1870 to Margaret Force, who was born at Dresden, Muskingum county, Ohio. He has four children, whose names in the order of their births are as follows: Thomas A. Jones, who is farming in Brighton township; Susan Mary, Vale Force, and William. The last three are children by his second marriage. He has long been a member of the democratic party. His father was a whig, and when Squire Jones became old enough to vote he followed in the paternal footsteps closely enough to vote for Gen. Harrison in the famous log-cabin and hard-cider campaign of 1840. The next time he voted the democratic ticket, and has been a democrat from that-day to the present.

He has not been ambitious to-hold public office, and the cultivation of his farm and the management of his own private business interests have engrossed his attention to the exclusion of any active participation in the field of politics. But for a number of years he filled the office of justice of the peace, and discharged its duties in an able, impartial, and satisfactory manner. Few men are now living in Brighton township who were residing in it when he first came to the county. He has lived to see the old order of things pass away and Macoupin county develop into a rich, prosperous, and progressive part of the state. In this progress and improvement he himself has taken a part. His farm, a couple of miles east of Brighton, is a valuable tract of land, under a good state of cultivation, and his farm residence is a handsome, convenient, and substantial structure. He met with a serious accident in 1866; he was thrown from a load of hay, and his thigh was broken. Although he has never recovered entirely from this injury he still sticks closely to the farm.

bounded on the north by Western Mound, on the east by Polk, on the south by Shipman, and on the west by Jersey county. The Macoupin creek enters the township in section 25, and flows in a north-western direction and passes out on section six. Coop's creek cmptics into it near the centre of the township, and Sugar creek near the cast line. These creeks, with their aftuents, furnish an ample supply of water for stock purposes. The banks are covered with a heavy growth of forest trees. The surface in some parts is quite broken, while the prairies are undulating, with scattering patches of timber. The soil is from three to five feet in depth, and is extremely fertile. The land is in an excellent state of cultivation, and produces abundant crops of wheat, corn and the small grains and grass. It abounds in some of the most picturesque scenery in the county. A very beautiful and romantic landscape may be seen on the farm of Nicholas Challacombe.

The first settlement of this township dates back as far as 1827, and was mostly settled by English emigrants. there came from Kentucky Abram Smith, Richard Smith, Bennett Tilly and George Nettles, and settled north of the creek, a short distance from the village of Chesterfield. In 1831, John, Henry, Samuel, Jesse, Jacob and Josiah Rhoads, six brothers, all having families, settled in the southwest portion known as Rhoads' Point, and the present site of Medora. About the same time John Loper and family settled on or near a mound in section 21, now the residence of Mr. Challacombe. Captain Thomas S. Gelder, who is now one of the leading farmers, resides on section 10, and came to the township with his father, John Gelder and family, in 1831. They are natives of Yorkshire, England.

Daniel and Thomas Morfoot and families, who were the first Englishmen that settled here ; and Josiah Collins and family, John Redick and family, and Lewis Elliott, also came about the same time.

In the year 1833, the Rey. Gideon Blackburn, W. H. Carson, G. B. Carson, John Carson and James Carson settled in the township. Rey. Gideon Blackburn located on the Macoupin, in section 21, near where the iron bridge now spans the creek. He was the founder of Blackburn University at Carlinville. W.H. Carson and his brothers settled a little south of Rey. Blackburn, on section 32, where they still reside. They emigrated from Tennessee.

Mr. P. B. Solomon, a native of Kentucky, settled in this county in 1827, and afterwards settled in this township; and is now postmaster in the village of Chesterfield.

Nicholas Challacombe, a prominent farmer and stock raiser, residing on Section 21, is a native of Devonshire, England, and settled here in 1840. His wife came here from Tennessee in 1833.

The first sermons were preached by Samuel Lair and Joseph Pierce, both Baptist ministers, and preached to the settlers north of the creek in about 1829. Jacob and John Rhoads, Baptists, preached about the same time at Rhoads' Point. Rev. Gideon Blackburn, a Presbyterian minister, preached in the settlements south of the creek in 1833-34.

In 1834 Rey. Gideon Blackburn organized the first church. It was also the first Presbyterian Church organized in this county. A house of worship was built the same year on the creek, a little north of the Blackburn place, known as the "Spring Cove Church." It was a small building constructed of poles set in the ground for the frame-work, and roofed and sided with clap-boards. The furniture consisted of puncheon benches. A little later the Baptist denomination built a log house, and furnished it in the same manner, at Rhoads' Point.

The first school was organized in the year 1834, at the "Spring Cove church." The first school-house was built in section 32, a short distance east of the present residence of W. H. Rhoads, in the year 1832. It was built of logs, with a dirt floor, and was fourteen feet square. The first teacher was a man by the name of Anderson.

Dr. Henry Rhoads was the first physician in the township. He settled at Rhoads' Point in 1831, as above stated. Dr. Coward located about 1833.

and was a small one horse cog-wheel mill, for grinding or cracking corn. In this mill Mr. Etter was afterwards brutally murdered, by one Sweeney, which was undoubtedly the first crime committed in the township. A corn-cracker, similar in construction to the one above described, was built on the Blackburn place in section 21, and also one at Rhoads' Point in section 31, by John Rhoads. A Mr. Marshall built a small mill in 1833.

In 1838, Horace Loomis, Sr., emigrating trom New York, settled on a farm of about three hundred acres, two miles east of Chesterfield, and estab. lished a cheese manufactory, which proved to be a very profitable enterprise. At his death in 1851, there were one hundred and seventy cows on his farm, and he was manufacturing a large quantity of butter and cheese for Alton and St. Louis markets. Capt. Gelder introduced the first improved blooded stock in the year 1844 - the Durhain breed of cattle - and he also introduced the imported English broad back hogs.

The following statistics are taken from the township assessor's book, for this year: Acres improved lands, 12,917, value 93,492 dols; acres unimproved lands, 9646, value 19,966 dols; total value of lands, 113,458 ; town lots 15,968 dols; horses 645, value 9138 dols; cattle 1251, value 8090 dols ; mules 61, value 1033 dols; sheep 1448, value 1260 dols; hogs 2227, value 1255 dols; carriages and wagons 250, value 2206 dols; watches and clocks 191, sewing machines 015, pianos 4, organs 32. Total value of personal property 45,372 dols.

Supervisors. - Nicholas Challacombe, elected in 1871, re-elected in 1872, reelected in 1873; Amos Goodsell, elected in 1874, and by re-election has held the office since.

The Village Of Chesterfield

Is a handsome little town, situated in the north-east part of the township, on section 2. It was laid out by Jesse Peebles and Aaron Tilly, proprietors, in the year 1836.

A log school-house was built here two years before the town was platted. The first teacher was a man by the name of Dooner. At present there is a two-story school-house, and a good graded school.

In 1864, Penn, Rogers and Padget erected a steam flouring mill, which is doing a good business. Previous to this W. B. Loomis built a steam flouring mill about two miles east of the village.

The following are the principal business houses in Chesterfield : - Groceries and Drugs - Thomas Towse, Charles Bramley ; Dry-goods and Groceries - Hall & Lee, James Birdsall; Drug-store - William B. Peebles ; Shoe-shop - Henry Stamm ; Blacksmith and Wagon Shop - William Towse ; Blacksmith - John Scutt; Flouring Mill - Bielby & Bramley ; Physicians - I. R. Lane, L. F. Corgan, C. H. Murphy; Furniture and Undertaking, Robert Oliver; Paint-shop - -John Nix ; Hotels - John Richey and Thomas Towse.

The Village Of Medora

Is located in the extreme south-west corner of the township, with a small division extending into section six of Shipman. It is on the line of the

The village was laid out by Thomas B. Rice, proprietor, and surveyed by T. R. McKee in 1859. Previous to this the settlement was known as Rhoads' Point.

Medora is at present a very thriving and enterprising village of about five or six hundred population. There is quite a grain and lumber trade established here, and the milling facilities are excellent.

Two churches, a good graded school with two departments, hotels, grocery, hardware, drug, and dry-good stores; blacksmith, shoe, carpenter and wagon repair shops; and in fact almost every kind of business is carried on in the village; there is also a good and reliable banking-house; Dr. Hunter is among the leading physicians.

The Medora Lodge of Odd Fellows was organized July 25th, 1872. The charter members were T. J. Cox, R. A. Love, William Johns, George Harlan, D. S. Ferguson and Edgar E. Barnes. First officers were - T. J. Cox, N. G.; D. 8. Ferguson, V. G.; R. A. Love, Secretary; Andrew Steed, Treasurer. Present officers - C. M. Johnson, N. G.; Andrew Steed, V. G. ; E. W. Steed, Secretary; J. A. Payne, Treasurer.

Village Of Summerville

This village was laid out by Wm. Carson, in 1852. It is located one mile north-east of Medora. Since the completion of the railroad and the building up of the town of Medora, the trade of Summerville has been diverted to that place.

* For data furnished for the writing up of this township we are particularly indebted to J. H. Williams, Capt. Thos. S. Gelder and Nicholas Challacombe, and others.

Tue ancestors of Mr. Challacombe were of Norman origin, and came over to England with William the Conqueror. For several generations preceding the birth of the subject of this sketch, they had lived in Devonshire, where his father and his grandfather were both born. His grandfather was named William Challacombe, and his father, John C. Challacombe. They followed agriculture, were the owners of their land, and were considered a family of good origin and standing. The home of the Challacombes was at Buttercombe Hall, in the parish of West Down. Barnstable was the nearest market town. The family is quite extensive in England, having representatives at Bristol and other localities, but as far as known none of its members emigrated to America prior to 1830. Nicholas Challacombe was born at Buttercombe Hall, Devonshire, June 19th, 1824. He was the youngest son, and the sixth of a family of eight children. His mother, Elizabeth Parminter, belonged to an English agricultural family. In the year 1833, his father emigrated with the family to America. They first settled at Stafford, in Genesee county, New York, in which neighborhood a considerable number of English people from Devonshire had settled. Purchasing a farm his father lived there till 1840, and then fulfilled his original intention of coming to Illinois. A number of English families, who had come over to America in the same vessel, had settled in Macoupin county, and accordingly he determined on making his home in this part of the state. He bought a farm in the south-west part of township ten, range seven, where he lived till his death, which took place in February, 1846. Mr. Challacombe's mother had died previously, in 1843.

While living in the state of New York, Mr. Challacombe attended the district schools, and after coming to Macoupin county, went to the "Old Seminary" at Carlinville, a school well known to the older residents of the county, and in which he obtained the chief part of his education. He was sixteen when the family came to Macoupin county. In 1845, the year in which he attained his majority, his father purchased for him four hundred acres of land lying in the Macoupin bottom, in sections seventeen, twenty, and twenty-one of the present Chesterfield township. Of this tract only eighty acres were under cultivation, partly covering a mound rising from the Macoupin bottom, and affording a beautiful and picturesque building site. The place is one of the oldest in Chesterfield township, and was originally settled by aman named James Loper. From the Loper family it passed into the hands of the Blackburns, and Mr. Challacombe purchased it from A. M. Blackburn, son of Dr. Gideon Blackburn. He was married on the 22d of March, 1847, by the Rey. Hugh Barr, the pastor of the Spring Cove Presbyterian Church, to Nancy Glorianna Carson. Mrs. Challacombe was born at Franklin, Tennessee. Her ancestors were Scotch. Her father, William Harvey Carson, became a resident of Macoupin county in 1833. Mr. Challacombe devoted all his energy to the improvement of his land, to which he subsequently made additions. He is now the owner of seven hundred acres, lying in one body, in sections sixteen, seventeen, twenty and twenty-one. The original cabin built by Loper, which stood on the premises when Mr. Challacombe took possession, was destroyed by fire on the night of the 14th of October, 1846. At that time his sister was keeping house for him, his marriage not then having taken place. The conflagration broke out so suddenly that the inmates of the house were compelled to seek safety from the flames without their clothing. The same fall a log house was removed from another locality to replace the structure, and was standing till 1870, when his present residence, which he began building in 1860, was completed. The mound on which stands his house comprises sixty acres.

It rises to a considerable elevation above the surrounding country, and is one of the most attractive spots for a residence to be found in the county.

He has been principally engaged in general farming. He and his wife have eight children living, and four who are deceased. In his political sympathies he was formerly a member of the Whig party, and Henry Clay, the idolized champion of the Whig organization, received his first vote for President in the exciting contest of 1844, when the Whig party went to pieces, and the Republican party, like a young giant, stepped forth in the arena of politics to do battle for freedom. Mr. Challacombe's free-soil principles led him to at once espouse the cause of the new party, and he became one of the early Republicans of Macoupin county. For the last thirty-three years he has been a member of the Spring Cove Presbyterian Church, founded by the Rey. Dr. Blackburn, and whose first house of worship stood on Mr. Challacombe's farm. The church is now at Summerville. He is known ax one of the large and progressive farmers of Chesterfield township. He has been incidentally interested in other business. For a time he was the proprietor of a steam saw mill on the Macoupin. He was interested in the organization of the Bank of Medora in the spring of 1879, and is its vice-prexident, and one of the directors. For twenty years he has been school treasurer of Chesterfield township. For the first three terms after the adoption of township organization, he was a member of the Board of Supervisors, serving during the years 1871, 1872 and 1873.

Captain Thomas S. Gelder

Was born in Yorkshire, England, March 1, 1809. His father was John Gelder, and his mother Elizabeth Shearburn, and the subject of this sketch was the second of a family of five children, of whom only two are now living - Capt. Gelder and his sister Sarah, widow of the late Judge Ambrose Wycoff, of Jersey county. In the year 1831 John Gelder emigrated with his family to America, settling in Chesterfield township on the farm now occupied by his son. He built a log-cabin, which at the time of its construction was the largest log building in the county, with the exception of the court-house. He died December 23, 1851, at the age of seyenty-three years and four days. His wife, Elizabeth, died March 24, 1847, aged sixty-one years. During their life-time they were both com municants in the Episcopal church. Capt. Gelder's father assisted in organizing the Episcopal church at Chesterfield, and was one of its wardens till he died. He was a whig in politics,and a man of many excellent traits of character.

The subject of this biography secured his early education in Yorkshire, England. He attended the common parish schools, and also a boardingschool at Whiston, near Rotheram. After leaving school he assisted his father on the farm. He concluded to emigrate to America, and landed at Baltimore July 16, 1830. Traveling through Pennsylyania, Ohio and Ixentucky, he reached Carrollton, in Greene county, in November, about a year earlier than the date at which his father reached this country. In June, 1831, he enlisted for the Black Hawk war, in Capt. Smith's company. He took part in the yarious campaigns against the Indians, and was stationed for a time at a place opposite Fort Armstrong, where he was discharged from the service at the close of the war. He received for his services a dollar a day, and had to find his own horse and accoutrements. In the fall, of his return, his father reached Carrollton with the family, and Capt, Gelder settled with them in Macoupin county. He was shortly afterward naturalized, and was the first person of foreign birth to make application for citizenship after the organization of Macoupin county.

October 1, 18536, he married Ann Quarton, daughter of Thomas and Lydia Quarton. Her parents were natives of Yorkshire, England ; came to America in 1829, and settled near Linnville, in Morgan county. By this marriage there were nine children, four of whom are deceased. Of those living, the only son, John Gelder, resides at Virden, and is one of the large and successful farmers of Macoupin county. The oldest daughter, Elizabeth Ann, is the wife of Lewis Terrel, a farmer of Jersey county. Mary Frances married Charles Lewis, a resident of this county. Sarah Ellen is the wife of F. W. Shearburn, and resides in Sangamon county. The youngest daughter, Clara, married Peter G. Randolph. a hardware merchant of Morrisonville, in Christian county. His first wife died on the 12th of December, 1855, aged forty years. His second marriage occurred May 14, 1857, to Ruth Louisa Chapin, daughter of Daniel Chapin. She was born at Newport, New Hampshire, and is a lady of more than ordinary culture and

Capt. Gelder has been one of the successful farmers of the county, and a man of high personal character and standing. In early life he was a whig; and the first vote after his naturalization was cast for Henry Clay for president. He has voted at every subsequent presidential election. On the dissolution of the whig organization he became a republican, and was one of the strong supporters of the policy of that party in opposition to the extension of slavery into the Territories, and afterwards when the Rebellion broke out, vigorously seconded the efforts of the administration to save the Union. He had the honor of voting twice for Abraham Lincoln, with whom he was on terms of personal acquaintance, and with whom he served in the Black Hawk war. During the late war of the Rebellion Macoupin county did not have a more patriotic citizen. He contributed liberally of his means, so that the wives and children of the soldiers absent in the army should be comfortably clad and fed. He was appointed agent to assist in sending provisions to the soldiers, and aided largely in collecting the supplies sent South through the department at Springfield. He came to this county with scanty means, but his native ability, honesty and integrity soon placed him on the sure road to success and independent circumstances. He has dispensed a liberal and generous hospitality, and in the earlier history of the county has entertained under his roof many men prominent in the history of the State, among whom were Stephen A. Douglas, Governor John Reynolds, Governor Thomas Carlin, and Richard Yates. He is a member of the Episcopal chureh at Chesterfield, of which he has been senior warden since his father's death. Mrs. Gelder is a Congregationalist.

William Duckels

One of the early settlers of Chesterfield township, was born at Goole, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, January 19th, 1805. In England few farmers own land, the title to which is in the hands of a comparatively few families; most of the largest farmers arc only tenants. His father, Thomas Duckels, was a tenant to the Southern family, many of the farmers under whom were quite wealthy. He obtained an ordinary business education, and worked on the farm with his father until he came to America. In September, 1830, he was married to Francis Garlick, who was born and raised in the same village as her husband. He left England on the 20th of May, 1834, to make his home in America. After a long voyage in a sailing vessel, he landed at Quebec, Canada, and from that city came directly to Morgan county, Illinois; ke remained in Morgan county only a few months, and in the month of February, 1835, he scttled in Macoupin county on section fourteen, township nine, range nine. He first entered eighty acres of land, where he built a house, and cighty acres of timber; he went to work improving a farm, which gradually he got under good cultivation. His circumstances were a little different from those of many of the early pioneers of the county. He brought with him from England, means which were considered at that time quite abundant, and has always been an energetic and successful farmer. He has resided in Chesterfield township from the time he first came to the country, and is now the owner of more than seven hundred acres of land, part of which lies in Polk, and part in Chesterfield township.

Mr. and Mrs. Duckels have been the parents of ten children ; two are deceased; the names of the eight living are as follows: Sarah Ann, now the wife of Judge T. L. Loomis, of Carlinville; William G. Duckels, who has been a resident of Polk township, and has also been in the grain business at Carlinville; Thomas Duckels, one of the enterprising farmers of Virden township ; Edward G., also is farming in Polk township; Eliza; Grace, who married Robert Carter, of Chesterfield township; Victoria, and Joseph. The oldest of these children, Sarah, was born in England; the others are all natives of this country. Mr. D. is known as one of the substantial farmers of Chesterfield township, and is a man much respected for his worth as a citizen.

Chesterfield: township contains a large number of farmers ot English birth who came to the county at an early date, and by their enterprise and energy have developed the resources of the county, and secured a comfortable competence, while they have proved themselves peaceable, law-abiding, and honest citizens. Mr. Duckels is one of the representative men of this class: When he came to this country, he gave his adherence politically to the old whig party, as best representing, as he thought, the spirit of free institutions ; he was a whig as long as that organization lasted, and when the slavery question came to be agitated, and the republican party sprang vigorously into existence, he did not hesitate to give his preference to the party that supported free-soil principles, and he has been a republican ever since. He is a gentleman of good business capacity, and has carried on farming in an intelligent and progressive manner. His farm south of the town of Chesterfield is well improved, and has a neat and attractive residence, and other substantial buildings.

Horace J. Loomis

Tue ancestors of Mr. Loomis were early residents of New England. The first of the family to settle there was Joseph Loomis, who came to Massachusetts in 1630, ten years after the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock. From him have sprung numerous descendants, scattered over various portions of the United States. Thaddeus Loomis, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, moved to the state of New York in 1804, and settled in Herkimer county. His father, Horace Loomis, was born in Massachusetts, and was a boy when the family moved to Herkimer county, where, on growing up, he married Julia Tuttle. By this marriage there were three children - Thaddeus L., William, and Horace J. Loomis. Horace J. Loomis was the youngest, and was born at Salisbury, Herkimer county, New York, May 17th, 1832. In the year 1838 his father moved with the family to Illinois, and settled on section one, township nine, range nine. Here he engaged in farming quite extensively. He was a man of progressive nature and considerable enterprise. He was the first man in the county to embark in the dairy business, and made large quantities of cheese. His energy and superior judgment and intelligence made him one of the leading men of the community. He was a liberal patron of all educational projects, and was mainly instrumental in founding the Chesterfield Seminary in 1848, At the time of its construction the building was the finest in the county devoted to educational purposes. He died in the year 1850. Horace J. Loomis was six years of age when he came to Macoupin county. He

College. September 12th, 1854, he married Alice H. Eldred, daughter of William Eldred, of Greene county. Her father emigrated from Herkimer county, New York, to Greene county in 1820. Mrs. Loomis received her education at Monticello Seminary. Since 1854 Mr. Loomis has been engaged in farming on sections one and two, Chesterfield township. He has four children living. He has filled the office of justice of the peace. He is a democrat in politics and a universalist in religion,

P. B. Solomon

Mr. SoLomon belongs to one of the oldest families in the county. He was born in Logan county, Kentucky, May 25th, 1814. The family settled in North Carolina at an early date. His grandfather, Lewis Solomon, was in the Revolutionary war. His father, Lewis Solomon, was born in Franklin county, North Carolina, and married Sarah Bowden. He moved to Kentucky in 1811; to Morgan county, Illinois, in 1825; and to North Palmyra township in this county in 1827, where the father and mother of the subject of this sketch both died. Mr. Solomon was about eleven years old when he came to this state. When they came to North Palmyra township there was no othe> house nearer than eight or ten miles to the north, twenty miles to the east, eight miles south, and twelve miles west. By reason of the wild, unsettled condition of the country there were no scbools till Mr. Solomon had grown up, and he remembers being inside of a school-house for purposes of instruction only a few days in all his life. For his acquirements in the way of an education he is indebted to his own efforts after he was grown to manhood. In the year 1834 he married Lucy Ann Fink, who died in 1844. After his marriage he entered land and went to farming in South Palmyra township. In the spring of 1845 he settled in the town of Chesterfield, where he took a contract for building the Methodist church, the first frame building in the town. He also put up a circular saw mill run by horse power, the first mill of the kind in Macoupin county, and afterward built several saw mills. For some years he was clerk in a store at Chesterfield. June Ist, 1845, he married Mary E. Good, whose death took place in 1855. About 1850 he started a store of his own at Chesterfield, which he carried on

Western Mound township in 1833. Her father, Joshua Smith, was a North Carolinian by birth, who came to the county in 1828, and was one of the earliest settlers near Chesterfield, within a few miles of which he improved several farms. Mr. Solomon was elected justice of the peace about 1846, and held the office two terms in succession. In 1862 President Lincoln appointed him post-master, but after some years he resigned. He was re-appointed in 1873, and now holds the office. For eight years he kept a hotel at Chesterfield. During the last twenty-five years he has acted on many occasions as executor and administrator, and has settled up numerous estates, and has transacted a considerable part of the legal business done at Chesterfield. He has also acted as real estate agent, and has appeared as attorney in almost every case that has been tried before justices of the peace at Chesterfield. He was first a democrat, and voted for Van Buren. Although a warm supporter of Douglas he differed from him on the question of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and was one of the first democrats in the county to cut loose from the party on that measure. To him belongs the distinction (which will reflect credit on him in after years when the histories of parties in Illinois come to be written up) of presiding at the first regularly organized meeting in Macoupin county, from which dates the formation of the republican party in the county. The meeting was composed of democrats opposed to the Kansas - Nebraska bill. He has been an active republican from that day to the present. He was enrolling officer at Chesterfield during the war. He is an old and well-known citizen, and has discharged every business trust in a manner that has reflected credit on his ability and integrity.

Wuo died in 1874, was born at Shaftesbury in Dorsetshire, England, October 3d, 1819. His father was a saddler. He learned the trade of a butcher. July 26th, 1843, he married Mary Kdwards, born at Fontmellmagna, Dorsetshire, November 12th, 1824, daughter of James Edwards. In 1848 he came w:th his family to New York in a sailing vessel, intending to settle at Dixon, Illinois, but meeting some people coming to Macoupin county, they came to Chesterfield township. He rented land two years and then bought forty acres in section twenty-two. He had barely enough money to get to Illinois, but was industrious and energetic, and became the owner of 260 acres of land. His constitution had never been very strong, and finally after an illness of nearly a year he died of consumption, March 4th, 1874. He had nine children ; Jane, who married Robert Richardson; Martha, wife of Thomas B. Richardson; Mary, twin-sister to Martha, wh» died at the age of seventeen; James E., Sarah, wife of William Robinson; Albert, Clara A., John R. and Mary Annie. Mr. Dowland was a republican in politics, a useful man, and a good citizen.

Dr. Joseph Hunter

Dr. Hunter was born in Morgan county, Virginia, September 2d, 1837. His grandfather on his father's side was an Irishman, and settled in Virginia, where Dr. Hunter's father, William Hunter, was born. On the formation of Morgan out of Berkeley county, Virginia, William Hunter was the first sheriff of the new county. The name of Dr. Hunter's mother was Nancy Cox. She was descended from a family which scttled at an early date near Hagerstown, Maryland. His uncle, Hiram Cox, learned the shoemaker's trade, emigrated to Ohio, studied inedicine by himsclf, and was made Professor in the Eclectic Medical College at Cincinnati. He was appointed state inspector to report on the purity of liquors sold in Cincinnati, and wrote a:famous letter, stating that there was not a gallon of pure liquor to be found in Hamilton county. His son, cousin to Dr. Hunter, became a prominent lawyer, and is now judge of one of the Cincinnati courts. Dr. Hunter was raised and obtained his education at Bath, in Morgan county. He began the study of medicine in Virginia under Dr. Joseph Brown, and attended medical college in Cincinnati. He came to Greenfield, Illinois, in 1858, and the same year located in the old town of Summerville, and began practicing. In the year 1860 he removed to Nokomis, in Montgomery county. August 9th, 1862, he enlisted in the 126th Illinois regiment. From Mattoon, the regiment proceeded to Altun, and thence to the seat of war. Soon after entering the service he was detailed as assistant surgeon, and served in different regiments and hospitals. He was stationed at Jackson, Tennessee, Vicksburg, Little Rock,

Arkansas, and other posts. The greater part of the time he had charge of the refugee hospital at Jackson under Gen. R. J. Oglesby's command. He received his discharge from the service by reason of disability at Little Rock, October 20th, 1863. Returning to Illinois he began practice at Fidelity, in Jersey county, where he remained till March 1, 1872, when he moved to Medora. This was immediately after the opening of the Rockford (now Chicago, Burlington & Quincy) railroad. He established a drug store, which he has carried on in connection with his practice. During part of the year 1876 he was post-master at Medora; 1872 to 1875 he was school director, and in 1874 was elected clerk of Medora. Since April, 1878, he has held the office of police magistrate. His wife, whom he married July 5th, 1859, was formerly Miss Nancy E. Eastham, daughter of Albert Eastham, one of the old settlers of Chesterfield township, and for many years justice of the peace. In politics he is a democrat, and is known as a man of enterprise and energy, and of decided convictions on all subjects.

John Richardson

Was born at Hamilton, near Selby, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, January 30th, 1820 His father died when he was two years old, and his mother married again John Birkby, who came over to Quebec and Montreal in 1831, and not liking the country, returned to England, where he received letters from Zachariah Scott, who had settled in Morgan county, Illinois, urging him to come to that county. Accordingly in May, 1882, the family sailed again from England, and settled three miles west of Jacksonville. Mr. Richardson was about twelve years old when he came to Morgan county. He married, Martha, daughter of Thomas Ronksley, on December 26th, 1842; she was born in March, 1826, at Stilly Bridge, fifteen miles from Manchester, England, and came to America in November, 1841. In 1844 he came to Chesterfield township. He now lives on section twentytwo, and owns 318 acres of land. He has always been a democrat, and voted for Van Buren for president. His eight children are Thomas B. Richardson, Mary Ann, wife of Henry Doughty ; Genevra, who married James Searles, and is now dead; William Richardson, Elizabeth Frances deceased, and Priscilla. He is an old citizen and a good farmer.

Edmund Wilson

Oxt of the the farmers of Chesterfield township, was born in Pickaway county, Obio, May 28th, 1836, His father was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and moyed to Ohio. He married Sarah E. Lewis, who was descended from a Virginia family. Her uncle was Col. Lewis, a prominent man in Virginia before the revolutionary war, who gained great notoriety by his achievements as an Indian fighter, for which service the state erected a statue in his honor, which to this day stands in the city of Richmond, as a lasting memorial to the bravery of this man, one of Virginia's true and valiant sons.

When Mr. Wilson was a small child his father removed from Pickaway county to Franklin county, Ohio, and dealt largely in horses; buying them up in the adjacent country, then taking them to eastern markets. They were generally sold in Philadelphia or Baltimore, as prices were better in these cities than in Cincinnati; they were herded, and with the aid of a few young men to lead or drive, made their way tediously, and by easy stages through the forests and over the mountains intervening between the points of starting and destination. Mr. Wilson's father died when Edmund was only 14 years of age, in Urbana, Ohio. Edmund resided in Franklin county until he was 18 years of age, and then, in 1854, he moved to Christian county, Illinois, and employed himself at farming. On January 7th, 1857, he married Louisa Bell, who was born in Garrard county, Kentucky, and moved to Christian county, Illinois, and settled where is now the town of Palmer. After his marriage Mr. Wilson went to farming for himself, being so engaged for two years, when he went to Springfield, Illinois. In 1859 he began farming again in Christian county, and was at it when the late war broke out. Being of a patriotic spirit, in July, 1861, he enlisted at Taylorville, and on the 5th of August was mustered into the service at Decatur, in company G, 41st Illinois Infantry volunteers. He reached St. Louis, August 12th, and from that city started for Bird's Point, Missouri, where after remaining some time he went to Paducah, Kentucky, and remained there until February 5th, 1862. On that day he left Paducah, and the next day he camped near Fort Henry. He took part in the famous battle which resulted in the capture of that stronghold. On the 12th of the same month the regiment was ordered to Fort Donelson, and was engaged in the battle in front of that fearfully stubborn array of breastworks, for three days and nights, commencing on the 13th. Even though fatigued, and having fought hard for nearly a week, the troops behaved nobly, and on the third day Fort Donelson's colors came down. On March 8th, the regiment was ordered back to Fort Henry, and on April 6th and 7th they participated in the battle of Shiloh. Mr. Wilson had passed through all the other battles unscathed, but his good fortune here waned. On the first day of the battle, about 5 Pp. M., a flying piece of shell struck him on the elbow, completely shattering the whole lower arm; it was amputated on the field, and he was moved to a temporary hospital at Savannah, Tennessee, twelve miles from the battle ground, where he remained until the middle of April, when he was sent to the hospital at Keokuk, Iowa. It took some time to recover, and he was honorably discharged June 14th, 1862.

Mr. Wilson then went back to Christian county, and lived there until the fall of 1863, when he bought out a grocery store at Carrollton, Greene county. When Carrollton was incorporated into a city, he was elected city marsha], and held that office for eight years. In 1875 he came to Macoupin county, and went to farming in Polk township. In the spring of 1879, he moved to his present location on section 26, in Chesterfield township. He has nine children, six boys and three girls. He has always been a republican in politics, and his first vote cast for president was in 1860, for Abraham Lincoln. His children are Nathan E., Hiram L., Francis M., Ulysses Grant, Lillie B., Edgar J., Frederick, Emma and Eva. The last two are twins. Mr. Wilson is a good citizen, and a man who in years to come, when this history comes to be read by children of future generations, will receive credit for his services in battling for his country, and in the loss of an arm, in one of the severest struggles of the entire war. He was elected justice of the peace in Polk township in 1877, but did not serve on account of his intending to leave the township. While at Carrollton he organized the firm of "Edmund Wilson & Co., independent Detectives," and transacted a large amount of detective business; arresting many criminals and traveling over a considerable portion of the country. At the present time he is a member of the Secret Service Company at Cincinnati.

Thomas Hodgson

Was born at Crowle, in Lincolnshire, England, November 25, 1826, son of John Hodgson and Mary Martindale. His grandfather, Thomas Hodgson, was of Scotch descent. He was raised on a farm in the vicinity of his birthplace. At Hull,4¢ngland, April 30, 1851, he married Elizabeth Cawood, born in 1830, five miles from Goole, in Yorkshire. In the spring of 1852 he and his wife came to America, the voyage across in a sailing vessel requiring fifty-three days. He farmed fifteen months in Oxford county, Canada, then moved to Whiteside county, Michigan, where he bought eighty acres of land, nine miles from Toledo; in 1854 he removed to Ogle county, Illinois ; and in the fall of 1859 to Chesterfield township. When he came to the county he did not have enough money to pay for the forty acres of land be bought, but was industrious and economical, and now owns two hundred and fifty-five acres and the undivided one-fifth of three hundred and twenty acres additional. He has six children living and three deceased. Those living are Mary Ann, Sarah Elizabeth, Thomas Norton, Lois, Martha and Eunice. Sarah Elizabeth is the wife of Joseph Hightchew. He attends closely to his own business affairs and takes little interest in politics. When he votes he votes for the man rather than for party. He keeps his word, meets his obligations, and is a peaceable and useful citizen.

SIORCHESTER township is bounded on the north by Gillespie, on the east by Staunton, on the south by Madison county, on the west by Bunker Hill township, and is described as town 7, range 7.

The principal streams are the Cahokia creek and the west fork of the Cahokia and its tributaries, which runs through the central part of the township from north to south; there are also other small streams in the western part of the township, which run almost due south.

The land along these streams was formerly heavily timbered, consisting of the different kinds of oak, also hickory, cottonwood, etc. Although many acres have been cut off for fencing and other purposes, there is yet considerable timber in the township, and the excellent grass growing along the streams affords an excellent opportunity for stock husbandry. The surface slopes southward.

Early Settlers - The first settler was a man by the name of Williams, who came here in the latter part of the year 1818. He was a "squatter," and it is not known that he ever owned any land in the township. He moved to Missouri about 18338, as the country was becoming too thickly settled to suit him. His near neighbor was Tallamachus Camp, who lived in what is now known as Staunton township.

The first land entries are Oct. 9th, 1820, Richard Wilhelm, 80 acres in section 24; March 11th, 1829, Charles G. Spence, 40 acres in section 11; the third entry was made by Tallamachus Camp, January 25th, 1830. It was nearly eleven years after Mr. Williams came, before he had neighbors in the township besides the Indians.

In 1829, the following settlements were made: William McKenney, on section 11; Thomas Grant, section 35; John Funderburk, located on section 23; and, in 1830, they were followed by others, among whom were, Valentine Sawyer, who settled on section 13; William Davis, on section 22 ; Abraham Smith, on section 34; and, in 1831, Daniel B. Sawyer, settled on section 10; in 1832, Thomas Hart, on section 23; in 1833, Abraham Isaacs, on section 1; in 1834, John Walker, on section 16; in 1835, Joseph Walker, on section 35, and Cleveland Walker, on section 5; in 1836, David Bentley, on section 27; and, in 1837, Pana R. Hayden, on section 4, and Wm. Purdy, on section 23. At first, the settlers were confined to the timber ; but, in time, the new comers began to push out upon the prairie.

The first settlers of this township experienced great hardships. The woods were full of wild beasts; and many times they would besiege the home of the pioneer, and often do serious damage. It is related, that, when Mr. Camp was coming home from mill, on horseback, with a bag of meal, he was overtaken by wolves; and, in jumping for him, they tore the bag with <heir teeth or claws to such an extent that he lost almost all his meal, and it was with the utmost difficulty that he protected himself and horse from a fearful death.

The first marriage took place between Daniel B. Sawyer and Miss Minerva Scroggins. The ceremony was perfurméd by John A. Funderburk, justice of the peace.

The first deaths were the two children of Tallamachus Camp, from 1824 to 1826. They were buried on the farm, which was the commencement of the first cemetery in the township. Afterwards a few other persons were buried there, making in all twelve or fourteen. It has not been used as a burial-place for many years.

The first sermon was preached at Mr. Camp's house, in 1829, by a travel ing missionary of the Baptist church. There are now in the township two Christian and one Baptist church. Peter Long organized the first Baptist church in 1836. The first church edifice erected was the Christian church, at Round Prairie, on section 32, in 1852; and the first preachers were Robert Foster and Jonathan G. Wood. 'The first Sunday-school was organized about 1870, and was held in a school-house.

The first mill was built in 1839, on section 7, by Valentine Sawyer. It was a horse-mill. Every man did his own grinding, and gave one-eighth of the grain for toll.

The first school-house was built about 1839, on south-east quarter of section 11. It was built of logs by the mutual consent and labor of the neighborhood. The first teacher was Jeremiah Wilcox. The first school trustees were Daniel B. Sawyer, Alexander Ness, and John Vincent.

In 1855 and '56 the Indianapolis and St. Louis R. R. was built, running through the north-west portion of the township, running cars in the fall of 1856 as far as Pana, and opening an avenue by which the farmers could ship their produce. A large amount of wheat and other grain, as well as live stock, are now shipped almost daily.

Assessors. - D. Sawyer, elected in 1871, and held the office until 1876; J. W. Turk, elected in 1877, and by re-election held the office up to 1879.

The Village Of Dorchester

Is situated on sections 4 and 5 in Dorchester township, and sections 32 and 33 in Gillespie township. Wineman avenue is the principal street, and is on the township line. It was called Dorchester in memory of Dorchester Heights ; the township of Dorchester took its name from the village.

Alonzo Cuttler was the original proprietor of the town, through whose efforts it received a railroad station, on the Indianapolis and St. Louis R. R. The survey was conducted by Fletcher H. Chapman in 1859. Inthe spring of 1861 was laid out what is known as P. R. Hayden's first addition, which joined the. south-east side of the town. In 1866 Hayden's second addition was added. The depot was built in the spring of 1861. The first building was a small warehouse ; the second building, and first used for a dwelling and store, was built and occupied by Wm. Whitfield in the spring of 1861, and is the house where Terteman Myer now lives. In the summer of 1860 Mr. Hayden built a side-track on the south side of the railroad, and put up a small warehouse for buying grain, and it was rented to B. F. Williamson, who occupied it until the spring of 1861, when Mr. Hayden took possession of it. The first car-load of produce was delivered by Mr. Hayden in the fall of 1860.

The Christian Church was erected in 1874. The first preacher was Rev. David Davis, ana the first Sunday-school superintendent was Jas. Masters.

A comfortable school-house was built in 1869. It contains two recitation rooms, two side\rooms (now used as clothes-rooms by the children), and Masonic Hall upon the second floor, which occupies about two-thirds of its space. The first teacher was James Ayers.

Post-master and Station Agent. - William Keas. Grain Merchant. - H. H. Beach. Hotel and Saloon - Nicholas Henrion. Drug Store- - Dr. Black. Boot and Shoe Store - Charles F. Ostermeyer. Blucksmith - Charles A. Hoffmann. Grocery Store - Tibold Schnieder.

The present preacher at the M. E. Church is Rev. Massey. The Sunday-school contains about 45 scholars. Mr. W. Scarritt is superintendent. The present preacher at the Christian Church is Rey. Groner. The Sunday-school numbers about 70 scholars. The superintendent is Snoden Simmons. ;

The town is built on high prairie. A lasting supply of water is obtained in digging from 15 to 30 feet. The buildings are all frame, except five dwelling-houses, which are of brick. The town is surrounded by a good farming community, and its people are intelligent and enterprising.

Thomas J. Luken

Tue Luken family is of German descent. The first member of the family to emigrate to America settled in Pennsylvania in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, and afterwards some of the Lukens removed to a broken region of country in Mifflin county in the same state. In the neighborhood of Mifflintown, David Luken, father of the subject of this biography, was born. He married Prudence Macklin, who was of Irish ancestors, and in 1830 moved to Cambria county, Pennsylvania, to a farm on the summit of the Allegheny mountains, where he lived till 1837 and then brought his family to Illinois. They reached Alton, April 19, 1838, and in a few months afterward bought a small farm in Madison county, about five miles south of Bunker Hill. Mr. Luken's father moved to Dorchester township in 1854, and died February 19, 1862. He had been a soldier in the war of 1812, and while living in Pennsylvania was an officer in the militia service.

'Thomas J. Luken was born in Cambria county, Pennsylvania, January 11, 1835, and consequently was about two years of age when he came to Illinois, and nineteen when he became a resident of Macoupin county. He began farming where he now lives in 1857. In the spring of 1860 he went to Colorado, where he was engaged in mining gold about one year, and then returned to Maéoupin county, and resumed farming. April 4, 1861, he married Margaret Muir, daughter of Andrew Muir. Mrs. Luken was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1840, and came to America in 1842. At the time of her marriage she was living with her grandfather, John Patrick. Of the six children of Mr. and Mrs. Luken five are living, viz: Mary P., Ida Viola, Fernando B., Jennie E., and Thomas Howard. Maggie L. was the name of the one deceased. Mr. L. owns two hundred acres of land in Dorchester township and one hundred and sixty in Honey Point township. He is known as a public-spirited man, and is one of the influential Democrats of his part of the county. He was elected in 1871 the first supervisor from Dorchester township, and served as such for three successive terms, and on being elected a fourth time resigned the position. He was a member of the Board of Supervisors during the period when the United States Courts attempted to compel a levy of a tax with which to pay the. Court-house bonds, and with other members of the Board resisted every moyement looking to the payment of that debt. He was one of the seventeen members of the Board who refused to obey the mandamus of the United States Circuit Court requiring a levy ofa tax, and in consequence were fined one thousand dollars each.

When the family came to Macoupin county in 1854 there were five children; P. H. Luken, now residing on section six ; Mary E. Luken, living on the same section; Joel B, Luken, who died in 1864; Fernando C. Luken, whose death occured in 1874, and Thomas J. Luken. He first began farming in 1857 in partnership with his brother Fernando C., who remained at home and managed the farm while Mr. Luken was in Colorado. In the fall of 1874 his brother visited St. Louis, and after his return was attacked by the small-pox. He died October 31, 1874, and the decease spread till all the members of the family, fourteen in number, were seized with it, and for several months the household were entirely shut off from the rest of the community. Three deaths in all took place; his brother, Fernando C.; his daughter, Maggie L., then only nine months old, and a man named Charles Ayers, who was employed on the farm. Mr. Luken is well known as a good citizen.

Tus gentleman was born on the Juniata river in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, October 20th, 1820. His father moved to Cambria county, Pennsy!- vania, when Mr. Luken was six or seven years of age, and to Illinois in 1837. He was seventeen years old when he came to this state. He lived with his father on a farm in Madison county till his marriage, which took place in the early part of the year 1843, to Martela Miller, born in Tennessee, and a daughter of Alexander H. Miller, who settled in Madison county, on emigrating to Illinois. After he was married he went to farming for himself, on land adjoining his father. His wife died January Ist, 1850; he afterward sold his farm, and in the fall of 1851 went to California with the purpose of trying his fortune mining gold; he was engaged in mining principally in El Dorado county, and for a short period, in Yuba county; he returned to Illinois in the spring of 1855, having been absent three years and three months; he then purchased a farm in section six, Dorchester township, where he has since resided. He had two children; one of them, Julius Shields Luken, died at the age of four years while Mr. Luken was in California ; the other, Washington Orlena Luken, enlisted in an Illinois regiment during the war of the rebellion, when seventeen years old; he never returned, and it is supposed that he met his death from some unknown and neyer discovered cause. A view of Mr. Luken's residence where he lives, together with his sister, Mary C. Luken, appears on another page. He has neyer taken an active part in politics, but has always voted the democratic ticket.

Daniel B. Sawyer

Was born in Tyrrel county, North Carolina, September 24, 1813, the fifth of a family of eight children of Josiah Sawyer and Hannah Sykes. His ancestors had been residents of North Carolina for a long period. In his eighteenth year he decided on leaving home. He started for Illinois in August, 1831, and came directly to Dorchester township, Macoupin county. Ile assisted in building a log cabin for his brother-in-law, made some rails in the winter of 1831-2, and the following spring began improving the farm on which he now resides on West prairie, in this township. At that time there were but few families living in Dorchester township, and with two exceptions Mr. Sawyer is now the oldest settler on West prairie. December 25, 1854, he married Minerva Scroggins ; she was born in Dickson county, Tennessee, 1816; and came with her mother to Madison county, Illinois, in 182%), the family first settling near Edwardsville and afterward on Silver creek. Mr, Sawyer has since been living in this township. He has had eleven children, all of whom have grown to maturity and received a careful education. John, the oldest son, graduated at Shurtleff college and afterward at the Theological seminary at Rochester; the remainder of his life was spent in the active ministry in the Baptist church; he was pastor of churches in Massachusetts and Illinois, and died in Colorado February, 1878 ; the oldest daughter, Mary J., is the wife of Frank Godfrey; Harrison Sawyer is a graduate of Shurtleff college and the Theological department connected with it; Susan died when an infant; Ellen graduated at Almira college at Greenville, and died within a year after her marriage to Alexander Sinclair; Sarah E. also graduated at Almira college, and died at the age of twenty-three; Thomas died when an infant, and Daniel Addison at the age of three years; William Taylor Sawyer died at the age of nineteen, while pursuing a course of study at Shurtleff college; the death of Frank occurred at the age of eighteen at Fort Scott, Kansas, while on a visit to Texas; Dempscy B. is the name of the youngest son. Mr. Sawyer was originally a demoerat, but from what he saw of the workings of the institution of slavery in North Carolina in his boyhood he became strongly anti-slavery in his sym_ pathies. He was an carly subscriber to Lovejoy's paper at Alton, the publication of which resulted in the murder of the editor in 1837, and never made any attempt to disguise his sentiments when opposition to slavery was much less popular than it has since become. He was an early member of the republican party, and has supported it since its organization.

Churchwell W. Wayne

Mr. Waynr's grandfather, John Wayne, was a brother to the celebrated General Mad Anthony Wayne, one of the most renowned characters of the Revolutionary war. John Wayne was born of Scotch ancestry in Pennsylvania, and like his brother was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, serving in the Continental army as an officer under Washington. He was in numerous battles, gained a marked reputation for bravery, was twice wounded, and bore a full share of the hardships and privations of that long and bloody struggle which resulted in the independence of our country. From Pennsylvania he moved to Virginia, and from the latter state to Kentucky, where he settled in Bourbon county eleven miles from the town of Paris. Mr. Wayne's father, Benjamin Franklin Wayne, was born and raised in Virginia and married Nancy Tankesly, who was a native of Ireland, and came to Richmond, Virginia, with her parents when quite small. Directly after this marriage the whole family, including both the father and grandfather of the subject of this sketch, emigrated from Virginia to Kentucky. Benjamin Franklin Wayne was a soldier in the war of 1812, and served under General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans.

Churchwell W. Wayne was the third of a family of eleven children. He was born at Stepsey's Cross Roads in Bourbon county, Kentucky, February 3, 1816. He was named by his grandfather, Churchwell Jones Washington Wayne, the first part of the name being in honor of Churchwell Jones, a comrade of his grandfather from Virginia in the Revyolytionary war, who was shot by his side in battle and died in his grandfather's arms. Mr. Wayne has since abbreviated the name to Churchell W. After improving a farm in Kentucky his father, like many of the pioneer settlers of that state, lost it through a defect of title, and after spending considerable money in litigation determined to remove to Illinois. He came in 1818, while Illinois was yet a territory, and settled in Edgar county, then a wild and thinly settled country abounding with Indians. Mr. Wayne remembers that the Indians on frequent occasions would gather into the little log school-house in which he first went to school and crowd the scholars away from the fire, much to the terror of the younger children, who were glad to run away to their homes for safety. His father had a contract for carrying the mail between Terre Haute and Decatur, and Mr. Wayne, when a boy of thirteen or fourteen, rode horseback over the route, distributing the mail at only thrce points. The country was full of Indians and wolves, and these rides (part of the distance having to be travelled at night) over uninhabited prairies and through dark sloughs were solitary and lonesome enough. The people where he was raised knew little about the improvements and inyentions further East The first school teacher, Joel Dougherty, who had made a Congress Impr-vement, fenced it with some rails, and then went to teaching school. There was some talk of the construction of a railroad, and the school teacher remarked that " he wished to gracious a railroad would come along, for he would have a chance to sell his rails." When the railroad was built Dougherty was probably surprised to find out that the cars ran on something different from oak rails. With such teachers as these it is not surprising that the sons of Western pioneers grew up without much education. When about twenty-one he went to Kentucky, and spent two years in the neighborhood where his father and grandfather had formerly lived. In 1829 he was mining lead in Wisconsin. February 25, 1840, he married Sarah J. Keller; she was born near Louisville, Kentucky ; her father, Isaac Keller, was from Virginia, and her mother from Maryland.

He became a resident of Macoupin county in 1842, and bought one hundred acres of land in Dorchester township, where he has been residing ever since. His first wife died October 12, 1870. His second marriage occurred May 15, 1872, to Mrs. Mary Beere, formerly Miss Mary Eaton. Mrs. Wayne was born in Limerick county, Ireland, April 27, 1834; she came to New York in 1851; in January, 1858, married Henry Beere, and the same year came to Macoupin county. Mrs. Wayne has eight children; William F., farming in the American Bottom in Madison county; Isaac, Silas, Vetuvia, who married John McDonald, and is now deceased; Sarah J., Mary, wife of Beverly Martin of Staunton; Jennie, wife of Jessie Sawyer, and Henrietta. The last named is by his second marriage. He has always been a democrat, and his first vote for President was cast for Jackson in 1832. It may be mentioned that his grandfather, John Wayne, removed from Kentucky to Edgar county, where he died at the remarkable age of one hundred and four; the bones of the old revolutionary soldier now repose at the head of Catfish Point, eleven miles north of Paris, where also are buried his grandmother and parents.

Dr. Charles H. Black

Tuts gentleman, who has been practicing medicine at Dorchester since November, 1873, is a native of Greenville, Bond county, Illinois, born October 20th, 1849. His father, John H. Black, was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, November 26th, 1805, and lived there till he was grown. On coming to Illinois he first lived for a short time in Bond county, and then went to St. Louis, where he resided several years, and then returned to Bond county, and lived at Greenville during the remainder of his life. He was married in Bond county, about the year 1835, to Cynthia P. White, who was born in Lincoln county, North Carolina, July 5th, 1814. Her father, John White, in 1817, the year before the admission of Illinois as a state, settled at Bethel, in Bond county, and was among the pioneer settlers of that community. Dr. Black's mother was three years old when she came to this state, and when about ten her father died. She has been accustomed to relate that in her girlhood the wolves were so bad that calves and sheep left out in the fields were unsafe from their attacks. Even in the daylight they would approach close to the house, and pursue a man without hesitation. One day, when her brother Edward, who was then quite a lad, was coming from mill after night with a sack of flour, on horseback, the wolves made a ferocious attack on him, snapping their teeth and endeavoring to jump on the horse, and at one time succeeded so nearly that he was almost dragged to the ground and made their prey. The only mill they had was a horse mill, and each man ground his grist with his own horse. Sometimes it was necessary to wait two or three days for a turn, and the family were often obliged to boil wheat for food, till the grinding could be done.

The subject of this sketch was the youngest of nine children. He was raised in Bond county, and obtained his education in the public schools of Greenville. Two of his older brothers had adopted professions. One, Henry D. Black, attended Rush college in 1862-3; enlisted in the 135th Illinois regiment, under the hundred days' call for troops during the war, and contracted diseases during his service, from which he afterward died at home. Another brother, Samuel E. Black, went out to Kansas, and engaged in the practice of law, and is now probate judge at Eldorado, in Butler county. In 1870 Dr. Black began reading medicine in the office of Dr. William A. Allen, of Greenville, and in the fall of 1871 entered the Chicago Medical College, from which institution, after attending two full courses of lectures, he graduated in the spring of 1873. Soon after his graduation he began practicing his profession at Woodburn, in this county, and November 26th, of the same year, established himself as a physician at Dorchester. He has a good professional record, and has remained at Dorchester, though several competitors have meantime located there and gone away.

Charles Foster Cox

Tuts gentleman, now a resident of Dorchester township, was born at Mt. Holly, New Jersey, October 21st, 1830. His ancestors were residents of West Jersey from the time of the first settling up of that country. It is said that three brothers by the name of Cox emigrated from Scotland to America, one of whom settled in East Jersey and another in West Jersey. Some of the early members of the family were Quakers. His grandfather, Jesse Cox, was long engaged in the mercantile business at Mt. Holly. The firm of Jesse Cox & Sons (of which his father was also a member) carried on a large store, ran a flouring and paper mill, and stood high in mercantile circles. His father, John Wood Cox, was a leading business man of Mt.

Holly. He was gifted with strong, natural executive ability, and managed business with marked success. He was engaged in the banking business, and by disposition and training was fitted for the position of a successful financier and careful capitalist. He was frequently called upon to conduct public business and act as administrator and executor of estates; he was appointed by the governor of the state as commissioner to assist in the division of counties. Although he had numerous opportunities to go into public office he always declined to leave his personal business to accept public station. He was in business in Mt. Holly from the time he was nineteen till his death, which occurred at the age of sixty-nine. Mr. Cox's mother's name was Hannah Rush. His maternal grandmother's name was Foster, a half sister to William Foster, at one time a prominent and wealthy business man of Philadelphia.

The subject of this biography was raised in Mt. Holly, where he attended school. He afterward entered Marshall College at Mercersburg, Pennsy]- vania, since removed to Lancaster. After leaving school he was farming at Cream Ridge, in Monmouth county, New Jersey. He subsequently became interested in the manufacture of the " Union Repeating Gun," and in 1856 went to New York to superintend business connected with it. Cyrus W. Field became associated also in the enterprise, and he and Mr. Cox visited Europe in its interests. A company was formed known as the American Arms Company, of which Mr. Cox was president. The gun proved a valuable weapon, and several batteries were supplied to the Union army during the recent war of the rebellion, and several to foreign governments. After his father's death Mr. Cox purchased the farm in Monmouth county, New Jersey. After the close of the war he invested in raising cotton in Mississippi and Louisiana, but the speculation did not prove particularly successful. His father at one time was interested in the banking business at Kankakee City, Illinois, and also at Madison, Wisconsin. His brother also had property in the West, to see after which as administrator Mr. Cox first came to Illinois. He became interested in the fruit business in Madison county, and, in partnership with Noah S. Hart, erected near Melville, four miles from Alton, a large fruit distillery, which has since been in successful operation, and has a capacity for manufacturing forty thousand bushels of fruit annually. The firm of Taylor & Cox now carry on this establishment and manufacture all kinds of fruit brandies. In March, 1878, he moved to his present residence, a mile and a half east of Bunker Hill, where he intends erecting machinery to evaporate fruit according to the Alden process. He was married in New York, January 16th, 1856, to Miss Lillie M. Miller, daughter of Rev. William Miller, who was a native of Nova Scotia, but was preaching in Connecticut at the time of this marriage. Her death occurred from congestion of the lungs, on the 11th of January, 1864. His second marriage was on the 5th of December, 1865, to Miss Bashie Pease of Carrollton, Montgomery county, Ohio. Her family came from Suffield, Connecticut, and settled at Dayton and Carrollton, Ohio. Mr. Cox has not been an active politician, but came from a family of old line whigs, and.he himself is inclined to support the principles and policy of the republican party, though he is conservative and independent, and inclined to vote for men who will adyance the interests of the country rather than further party ends,

HIS township is formed from the southern half of township 12, N. Range 6. The land is very fertile. It is drained by a branch of Otter creek, and a branch of the Macoupin, on the south. 3 There is very little timber found in the township, and for that reason the settlers did not come in as early as in some of the adjoining townships - with the exception of a few families in the south-west corner - who came in the year 1830 ; there names were Daniel Black, Wm. and Charles Cox, Jessie Ashlock, Mr. Mathews, Harlam Warren and Thomas Warren.

|The inerease of population was very slow previous to the year 1840. In the year 1835, John Henderson located at the Cross-roads, one and a half miles north of the present village of Girard, where he kept accommodations for travelers and stage horses, as it was on the stage line running from Springfield to Alton. The place was long known as Henderson's, and afterwards Virden's stage stand.

About 1834 Dr. Edwards and Coe Mather, laid out a town at the point of timber, partly on the same ground where the village of Girard now stands. They named the town Girard, and the town plat was never recorded ; the only improvement was a brick-kiln.

Before the railroad was in operation.the farmers would take their produce to Alton and St. Louis, selling wheat for 25 to 50 cents per bushel.

First Sermon preached, was by a traveling minister of the Methodist denomination at one of the settler's dwellings. But for a long time the residents went to North Otter township to attend religious services at private houses. John Steward and Bird England, were local preachers, also P. Lamay, of the Baptist denomination, occasionally came up and held meeting

The first mill was a horse mill, erected by Mr. Sprouse. Steam mills were soon put up at Waverly and Lick creek, also a water mill on Sugar creek. At this time people went to mill in wagons. In 1846 and '47, B. Boggess built a steam saw and grist mill, in North Otter. It was a great convenience to the people of Girard. In September, 1852, the railroad was finished from Alton to Springfield.

Village Of Girard

was laid out in the spring of 1853, and 1854, by C. H. Fink and B. Boggess. The survey was made by Nathan Savage, covering part of the same land where Edwards and Mathers contemplated a town years before. It is located on a beautiful prairie, laid out at right angles, reserving in the centre a large square, which has been set out with trees, and now adds much to the beauty, health and comfort of the village.

Thomas Lewis and John Way, made the first addition in the year of 1855 on the south side. They had a sale of lots, August 21st, 1855, selling from $20 to $60 each. The second addition was made by B. Boggess, Sept. 1st, 1866, on the north and east side of the town, and comprised about sixty acres.

The village has met with drawbacks in the shape of fires, two of which were very large. The first and largest fire, broke out atnight in a drygoods store, kept by James Burton, during the summer of 1861 ; the flames spread to the adjoining business houses, and destroyed one half of the north