McLean County, Illinois - The whole text, 1879 (part 17 of 42)

James Moon, a son-in-law of Gregory, owns and occupies the Houseman farm of 900 acres, adjoining the Gregory farm. He is also engaged in raising and feeding cattle largely. William Alspaugh, another son-in-law, has also a stock-farm adjoining- Senator David Davis owns a fine, well-watered, rolling farm out on the prairie, three miles from the Mackinaw, in Sections 14, 15, 23, 26 and 27, embracing 1,540 acres. Buck Creek runs through it, and numerous springs supply water to the herds. The farm carries 230 head of cattle, most of which are being grain-fed. The farm lies in that part of the township which is highest and most rolling, shedding toward the Mackinaw on the south, and north, toward Rook's Creek ; 200 acres are under the plow, 200 acres in meadow and about 1,100 in pasture. There are no hedges on the place, but it is all fenced with a five-board and cap fence. Some open draining has been done, and tile are now being put in where needed. Hugh Hynman, a man of large experience in cattle-feeding is Superintendent of the farm, and looks well after the interests of the Senator, who does not himself (we may be pardoned for saying) either hold the plow or drive. There is a neat and comfortable two-story house and a nice, well painted barnr 36x50 feet, and sheds for the storage of all the implements and farm-tools used on the farm.

Boies & Breese, while largely engaged in other branches of business, farm 900 acres of land, raising corn and feeding stock. They feed from 75 to 100 head each year and a large number of hogs. They are both men of iron constitution and large capacity for business and endurance.

H. E. Sieberns, who, through nearly the whole history of Gridley, has been engaged in trade in the village, owns in this and the adjoining township several hundred acres of land, which is being successfully managed, with satisfactory results.

Jacob Hoobler has for twelve years been engaged in raising and feeding sheep on his farm. He keeps several hundred head of middle-wooled sheep, and has been very successful in the undertaking.

Michael Vineyard, James Tarman, Joseph Yeagley and George Kemp have large farms devoted to grain-raising, and Jesse Stretch, Samuel Ogden, and the Coons have each fine cattle-farms. By the year 1860, the lands in this township had pretty generally been brought into cultivation. Very little fencing was done except on the older farms. Hedges came into general cultivation. At first, wheat-raising was the general business, but this soon was abandoned, and corn is now the staple crop.

Those living in the southern part of the township trade at Lexington, on the Chicago & Alton Railroad, or at Kappa, on the Illinois Central ; in the northern part, principally at G-ridley or at El Paso. The coal supply for the northern part of the county comes from the Vermilion or from Mapleton, no coal having been raised at Gridley. Several attempts to reach coal have been made, but without success.

Township organization was effected in 1858, but the township records have been so shockingly kept, or rather have not been kept at all, that there is nothing to show who have been township officers for the first twelve years of its existence. Taylor Loving was first Supervisor - one of the oldest residents - after whom there was an endeavor made to name the township at the time of its organization. There followed him as representatives on the Board of Supervisors, George W. Cox, James McNaughr, C. K. Drum, H. F. Freed, F. D. Callsen, T. W. Lock, John Slown and M. F. Vineyard. The names of H. F. Freed, F. D. Callsen and D. L. Hoover appear in the list of Clerks. As Assessors, Joseph Houseman, J. T. Tarman, A. W. Skinner and T. W. Lock. As Collectors, C. W. Ballinger, Joseph Wetherby, John Socks, L. G. Russell, H. G. Mc- Cord, A. W. Shepard. There are no records of any election prior to 1873.

The soldier record of Gridley is a noble one. At that time there were 162 voters in the township, and the record shows 137 enlistments. All the regiments that were raised in the county, and the separate companies raised in the neighborhood, had representatives from Gridley. The zeal and activity with which her citizens responded to the several calls for troops was unsurpassed in the county. All through the trying ordeal for the preservation of the integrity of the government against organized treason, her citizens carried the banners of their country to the final triumph.

Gridley Village

The village - or town, as it is legally known - of Gridley, the only village in the township, is eight miles from Chenoa, on the Chicago & Alton Railroad, and six from El Paso, on the Illinois Central, on the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw Railroad.

Early in 1856, it was known that the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad would locate a station in this vicinity, and Mr. G. W. Kent, who had for years been in the employ of Geo. Ashael Gridley in assisting purchasers of Illinois Central Railroad lands to locate their purchases on the boundless prairies which stretched from a few miles south of La Salle to Bloomington, thought that he saw a lively speculation in buying the section of land which the station would stand on, and build a town. The financial crash ot 1857 partially relieved the mind of Mr. Kent from these oppressive day-dreams of wealthy accumulations. Taking Thomas Carlisle into partnership, they purchased the entire Section 4 of Township 26, Range 3, and proceeded to lay out their town. The first thing which worried the new landed proprietors was a proper name for their town. The worthy names " Kent " and " Carlisle " had been pre-empted by other towns in the State. Carlisle wanted to call it " Gardner," for his old friend, the then Governor of Massachusetts; but it was learned that that goodly name had recently been given by the late Henry A. Gardner, then a civil engineer on the Chicago & Mississippi Railroad, to- a place on that road. They then decided on giving the place the name it bears, in honor of their long-time employer. The town plat embraces all of the east half of the southwest quarter and the west half of the southeast quarter of the section, 160 acres, the streets running at right angles by points of compass. The right of way for the railroad and its side tracks was given, and an open spot on either side, aggregating eleven acres, was left open to public travel and convenience, but not legally " dedicated to the public " by the deeds of these proprietors. This vacant land, a few years later, became the cause of long and expensive litigation, of which more hereafter. There were thirty-eight blocks besides the grounds mentioned.

The first passenger-train passed through here February 28, 1857. The next month, the first lot was sold to James T. Acklin, and, a little later, the proprietors built a small house and blacksmith-shop south of the railroad, where Mrs. Listen now resides. The first dwelling-house was built the same year by Charles Cochrane, which is now occupied by J. C. Boies. The first store was built this year for J. M. Mitchell, on the corner just north of the depot, and is still occupied by him for that purpose. Mr. M. is the pioneer merchant, having been the first to bring a stock of goods into the town, is a gentleman of quiet habits, a descendant of the French Huguenots, and retains many traits of character common to those heroes. These, as were the other buildings put up at this time, were built by S. J. Lock, a gentleman then recently from Boston, seeking a home and work in this new field. He still resides in Gridley, though he has wandered some in other places, and still wields the hammer and shoves the jack-plane. About the same time, and during the season of 1857, were built the houses of Philo Sleezer, Mr. Whitney, Mr. Wilbur and Mr. Preston. Mr. Lock, soon after this, " took to the country," and his mechanical skill was kept fully employed, summer and win- Mr, putting up the small farmhouses which were needed by the unprecedented influx of farmers for the next two or three years.

The first depot-building, put up this year, also has a " history." For some time after the Peoria end of this railroad was built, there was no railroad bridge. Passengers came out of Peoria on foot or by Parmely's buses across the bridge, and took the cars at this end of the bridge. The depot was built at that place for the convenience of passengers. When the railroad bridge was made, there was no further use for the building there, so it was taken down and removed to Gridley. It was placed in a mudhole east of the present building, and enjoyed all the privileges and immunities of a depot until the tornado of May 13, 1858, sent it kiting. The corner of the building hit against the north rail with such force that it was bent out of parallel several inches, and, for a year, trains ran around it on the switch. The rail has since been straightened, however, and trains can now run regularly.

Messrs. Carlisle & Kent, in July of this year, transferred their entire interest in the town and in Section 4 to Gen. Gridley, and he remains the owner of a considerable number of the lots. Mr. Kent moved his family here in the spring of 1858, into a house which was near enough completed by the time of the tornado to get the full benefit of whatever wind could reach it.

The first schoolhouse was built in 1859, by private contributions of Messrs. Mitchell, Cochrane, Manning, Kent and Young, and cost $105. For some reason not now fully understood, the citizens living in Gridley Station could not get public funds for building, although, after the building was up, they could get the teachers' wages, and Charles Cochrane, who came here as Station Agent, was put into the school as teacher. He was a young man of good education, superior to many who got "'stificates" in those days. Born in New Hampshire and educated there, he had taught in Kentucky, and at Mount Hope, in this county. The first school had sixteen scholars.

Mr. Cochrane also kept the first lumber-yard. Lumber came from Chicago via Chenoa for some years, and principally via Gilman, as the railroad company now is in closer business relation with the Illinois Central than with the Chicago & Alton.

The first hotel was built in 1859 or 1860, by C. K. Drum. Gen. Gridley donated two lots and $200 toward it, on condition that Drum should put up a house worth $1,000. The " Gridley House " actually cost several hundred dollars more than was stipulated.

The first commercial venture engaged in to make Gridley a " shipping point" was the cutting and baling of several hundred tons of prairie-hay. It proved reasonably successful. The grain trade has been, since 1859, the principal commercial business of Gridley. During the earlier years, it was principally wheat. There were no warehouses to hold the grain for shipment, and the grain was shoveled directly into the cars, that is, all that did not scatter on the ground. This was a wasteful method, and men began putting up small buildings to hold a carload or two. When the load was procured for the car and a car could be secured for the load, the grain was carried out in baskets or wheelbarrows. Wheat gradually disappeared as a shipping commodity, and corn became king. Great, long lines of cribs stretched out all around the depot-grounds to hold the hundreds of thousands of bushels that annually seek a market here. The men who have engaged in this business here, and have annually held the market price up to a point where they could command as much grain as is bought at any point on the line of this railroad are the men who have really conserved the prosperity of this place. A short notice of these men is appropriate.

James M. Mitchell commenced the purchase of wheat and country produce in 1858, soon after opening his store here, in fact as soon as there was any to buy. He bought for Boies & Van Vleet, a grain firm then doing business in El Paso. G. W. Kent, in 1859 and 1860, engaged in the business, and during the latter year built the first grainhouse in town. It was 16x24 feet, and answered the purpose very well in those times. George A. Coburn built a warehouse the following year, and Mr. Mitchell continued buying for John Dehner, of Pontiac and Chenoa.

In 1862, Silas E. Brooks commenced to buy corn here for a Boston firm. The ruling price was 10 cents. They allowed him to buy all he could for 12? cents, he to make his commission out of that, and they to furnish him lumber for cribs. He employed Kent to buy for him on a commission, and the two continued buying as long as they could get it for 10 cents. The corn remained here until 1864-65, and sold for an average price of $1,03 per bushel. It seems that some others than "bloated bondholders " made something in those days.

William H. Boies, who had been in the grain trade in El Paso for a few years, to which place he had come from Livingston County, N. Y., was appointed station agent here at this time, and commenced in a small way the business which has grown on his hands until he is now one of the heaviest shippers on the line of this road. He rented the Coburn Warehouse to begin with, and his business soon outgrew that. In 1866> he built his present large steam elevator, which has a capacity of 20,000 bushels. In 1869, he formed a partnership with Richard Breese, an Englishman who had for twelve years been largely engaged in stock farming and feeding. A little incident shows the transmutations of things in this changeful country : One of this firm recalls how he bought 400 bushels of corn in 1862 of N. J. Pillsbury, now a Judge of the Appellate Court in this State, for 10 cents a bushel. It seemed to be a big job for the future Judge, for it took him nearly all summer to draw it in with a yoke of steers.

F. D. Callsen, at present Justice of the Peace and insurance agent, was engaged, during several years, in buying grain. This does not claim to be a complete list, but gives the names of those who have been instrumental in making the Gridley market one of the very best in the county, and aggregating shipments of from a quarter to half a million bushels per year.

One of the " seven wonders " of Gridley is the wind-mill built in 1874 by Mr. Martin, of Peoria, for the Franzen Bros. It is patterned after the old Dutch mills that for ages have pumped the waters and ground the grist of the industrious race which have made the sea to blossom like the rose. It is octagonal in shape for about 18 feet in height, 32 feet in diameter on the ground, tapering up to about 26 feet at the top of this first story, which is surrounded by a platform 8 feet wide, upon which the " engineer" operates the machinery which shifts the wings to the breeze, there being no fan-tail, as there is on our common American wind-mills, to throw the wings to windward. Above this, the building is conical, running up to a sugar-loaf top. This section is shingled. Above this are attached the huge wings, four in number, 33 feet long and 8 feet wide, made of strong timber frame, covered with high boards and sail-cloth. Within the wonder increases. The huge timbers, so placed as to give great strength to withstand the terrible strain which would rack and tear in pieces any ordinary frame in a moment, give to the unpractical eye the impression of a chaos of heavy beams, braces, posts, girths, girders, sills, in endless number. You dodge and twist around among them and wonder how or where the architects of this structure expected to have the grists placed or the stones run. In the second story are three runs of stones, smut-mill, etc., and all the machinery usually found in any well-regulated gristmill, in the amount of space that in most mills is allotted to the stone and a few old boxes for customers to sit on and warm themselves. In an L are the bolts, meal-bins, etc. All the shafting, gearing, etc., are of wood, with a few trifling exceptions. By an ingenious device, the " governor," which is used on all steam-engines to regulate the escape of steam, is made to raise or lower the upper millstone, according as the motion of the mill is slow or fast.

The proprietors find the wind of late years so uncertain that they are now putting in a thirty-horse-power upright engine so as to be able to about double the working capacity of the mill.

The town of Gridley was incorporated under the general incorporation act in 1869. The first election resulted in the choice of H. E. Sieberns, President ; W. H. Boiesr

George Jewett, D. Sloan and S. L. Martin, Trustees ; M. C. Prescott, Treasurer. These men put the machinery in motion and adopted such ordinances as were found necessary to do the business of the town. In 1870, the Board elected consisted of W. H. Boies, President; H. E. Sieberns, George Jewett, S. Archer, H. Drum, and M. C. Prescott, Treasurer. 1872, George Jewett President ; W. H. Boies, S.' C. McConnell, B. P. Van Dolah, and J. E. Jewett, Clerk. 1873, W. H. Boies, George Jewett, W. C. Mack and F. D. Callsen. 1875, H. Drum, President ; J. D. Webster, Clerk ; W. C. Mack, H. A. Piatt and V. Meininger. 1876, F. D. Callsen, President; J. D. Webster, Clerk ; Joseph Gilmore, E. P. Gibbons, Richard Breese, Trustees; D. L. Hoover, Treasurer. 1877, J. D. Webster, President; J. A. Taylor, Clerk; R. Breese, H. A. Piatt, C. H. Newhauser, Trustees; D. L. Hoover, Treasurer. 1878, George Frank, President; R. Breese. C. H. Newhauser, E. Lugeanbeal ; J. A. Taylor, Clerk ; D. L. Hoover, Treasurer, 1879, George Frank, President ; W. H. Ruckle, Clerk ; E. Lugeanbeal, Isaac Sheets and Ham. Franzen, Trustees ; D. L. Hoover, Treasurer.

J. M. Mitchell was appointed the first Postmaster, and continued in office until the administration of Andrew Johnson, when he was removed and Upton Coomes was appointed. In 1869, Mitchell was re-appointed and has served ever since.

The gentlemen who have in turn served as agents at the depot are Charles Cochrane, G. W. Kent, H. H. Soper, S. E. Brooks, W. H. Boies, E. C. Shearer, W. G. Messier and George A. Parmely, who is agent at present ; baggage- master, Thomas Liston ; trackmaster, William Lynch ; engineer, Joseph Hoffman.

Among the earlier business men of Gridley, who has quietly but energetically attended to his business in such a manner as to make a success of it, is Mr. H. E. Sieberns, who, in 1863, put up a building and stocked it with a complete stock of goods, on the corner east of the post office corner. He has been universally successful in his engagements and has acquired a competency.

The first child born in the village of Gridley was Willie Sleezer, who arrived at his majority in September, 1878, and feels almost as though he had " grown-up with the country."

Maj. Houghton is one of the characters who, a few years since, was well known along this road as a resident of Gridley. He frequently passed back and forth on the trains, selling his photograph, and interesting the passengers with his bright and intelligent conversation. He was less than four feet in height and well-proportioned, with fine head and interesting features. He was just large enough to look out of the car windows by standing on tip-toe, carried a gold-headed cane and dressed the style of a gentleman of leisure. For several years, he has been traveling with a Lilliputian troupe, of which he is the chief attraction.

The schoolhouse is not, perhaps, as attractive, nor is it as expensive, as many more ambitious villages can show, but the school itself is a good one. Under the charge of B. F: Howard, the pupils are being attended to properly, and are acquiring a thoroughly good and useful education. Pupils enrolled, 120 ; daily average attendance, 103. Miss Luella Barnum is assistant, having charge of the younger scholars. The course of study embraces all rudimentary studies and algebra, botany, pbysiology, philosophy, physical geography. The school continues nine months of twenty-two days.

The present business men and firms are : Dry goods and groceries, J. M. Mitchell (twenty-two years), H. E. Sieberns (fifteen years), W. C. Mack, George A. Frank, Bloomenshine & Seidel, Philip Klein ; drugs and notions, D. L. Hoover ; books, news and notions, G. W. Kent; boots and shoes, Chris. Overbach, E. G. Alvord; grain, Boies & Breese, C. P. Ayers, W. C. Mack, John Smithers ; hardware and tin, J). L. Myers; restaurant, Isaac Sheets ; millinery, etc., Misses Boies, Misses Slown & Roberts, Mrs. J. C. Houghton ; wagon and carriage makers, C. H. Newhauser, E. Lugeanbeal, John Laufer; livery, M. C. Drum; grist-mill, H. Franzen & Bro. ; butcher, M. Barry; harness-maker, G. Inthurm ; furniture and undertaking, Gilmore & Slown, August Strathman ; lumber, etc., Sloan & Gilmore ; physicians, L. C. McConnell, J. A. Taylor, Dr. Kruze.

The first preaching in the village was by Elder Branch, the Baptist clergyman of El Paso. His services were usually held in Mitchell's store, but he had no regular appointments here. Next in point of time, Rev. S. W. Cobb, a Congregational minister, preached for some time every fourth week, in the station-house. The edifice was not, in all respects, as comfortable to go to sleep in during preaching as are some churches of the present day, with cushioned pews and all the " modern improvements ;" nor, perhaps, were the words of the devout men of God so sensational as to call for publication in the daily papers, nor for telegraphing all over the country, but the common people heard them gladly. In 1862, Rev. J. A. Johnson, Congregationalist, of El Paso, commenced preaching regularly in the schoolhouse, and in June, the Church of that name was regularly organized according to the custom and canon of that denomination by a council called for that purpose, with eight members. Mr. Johnson continued Pastor until January, 1863, when Rev. G. M. Conville succeeded him, remaining until April, 1864. Rev. B. C. Church, filled the pastoral relation for four years, during which time eight joined the Church. Rev. J. A. Palmer next served the Church, four years, receiving eleven members. Rev. W. E. Cattin succeeded him for two years, who, in turn, was succeeded by Rev. H. G. Pendleton, who is now filling the pulpit, alternating his labors here with the church in Nebraska Township. During each winter of his service here, protracted efforts have been maintained, resulting in bringing into the Church forty- two additional members. A flourishing Sabbath school, under the superintendency of Mr. J. M. Mitchell, has an enrolled membership of 120. The church-edifice, 36x40, was built in 1866 by Tarman & Ruckle; contractors, at a cost of about $2,000, and dedicated to the worship of God the same year. The patient and laborious pastoral work of Mr. Pendleton, is fully appreciated by the people of his own charge and the community.

The German Mennonites, who have settled in such numbers in the vicinity of Gridley are, in many respects, a peculiar people. Some of their peculiarities might well be followed by those who are to the manor born. Politically and socially, they are non-resistant and take no part in the affairs of State, never voting or seeming to care who runs the ship of State or the town-meetings. They carry their religion into every affair and business of life. If a brother gets into debt and honestly cannot pay, the brethren contribute to liquidate ; but if able to pay and will not, he is cast out as unworthy. They will not go to law, but settle all disputes within their own organization.

In 1874, they decided to build a church, but their religious tenets require them to build on a firm foundation. Before a blow was struck, every dollar of the money was collected ; after which a contract was let and the work rapidly done. They have erected thirty sheds, with doors to them, for their teams, as most of them come from their farms in the surrounding country, and every team is carefully housed before its owner commences his religious services.

The church-edifice is 30x40, with an L 16x40, and cost $1,200. Near the church they erected a dining-hall and kitchen, where a meal is served each Sunday, their services continuing during the day. Members take turns in providing the necessary food. They practice baptism by immersion. They hold, almost literally, to the doctrine '* If a man take away thy coat," etc., for they do not permit their members to prosecute a thief, or even to follow one to recover stolen property. They seem as near free from the vices of the day as any class of people known in this vicinity.

The Christian Church was built in 1866; is 36x40. There is also a Church of the same denomination in the southern part of the township, in the vicinity of Mr. Gregory's.

The M. E. Church was built in 1871 and 1872. It is 36x50, with a tower in the center of the front 10 feet square, running up to a spire 80 feet in height.

The number of churches would indicate a probable rivalry and strife that is nowhere noticeable in reality. The petty rivalries and bickerings which are so common in small towns seem to be here entirely wanting, and peace and good-will seem to reign everywhere. Business seems to be reasonably prosperous, and every one appears to have the general good at heart.

At the time the village of Gridley was platted and recorded, there were left two open pieces or parcels of ground between the railroad and the platted blocks, which, by general consent, became public. The original proprietors apparently intended them for general use in transacting the business of the town. There was no attempt to sell or lease them, and as soon as the place became of any importance, business men began to put up offices, elevators and corn-cribs on them. The proprietors, in furnishing their plats for record, did not dedicate them to the public, and, as far as the record went, they appeared to be the private property of the proprietor.

In July, 1875, Gen. Gridley caused the plat of the town to be resurveyed and replatted. Among other changes, he caused the land marked depot ground, south of the railroad track, then used by various parties for storage of grain, to be laid off into lots thirty feet wide, and proposed to sell them at a price which would have made the operation a pretty good speculation. The railroad company procured an injunction in the United States Court, restraining him from selling these lots. This injunction was dissolved, however, and Gridley commenced suits in ejectments against all parties, including the railroad company, occupying any part of the land in question. The cases were tried in McLean County and resulted in favor of the defendants. On an appeal to the Supreme Court, the decision of the lower court was sustained, and the occupants remain in undisputed possession of the land.

This litigation caused the parties much perplexity and no little expense, and was the cause of much ill-feeling against Gen. Gridley. He was said to be " rich," and to have no respect for the rights of poor men ; that he wanted to shut up the town and ruin those who were engaged in trade, and remarks that were continually made were far from complimentary. The fact probably was, that there was sufficient of legal show for the claim he set up to render it probable that the courts, on a full hearing, would give give him a verdict, and very few men would decide to give away thirty or forty good business lots if there was a chance of selling them. Gen. Gridley is probably no exception to the general rule of landed proprietors.

Dan vers is located in the northwestern corner of McLean County. It includes all of Town 24 nortb, Range 1 west of the Third Principal Meridian, and one and onehalf miles from the south side of Town 25 north, in the same range, and consequently contains forty-five square miles. It is bounded on the north by Woodford County, on the east by White Oak and Dry Grove Townships, on the south by Allin Township, and on the west by Tazewell County. It is well supplied with timber. Stout's Grove, which lies farthest to the southeast, is the most important. The timber extends south, on the west side, to near the middle of Section 19 ; from this point, irregularly east to within two and one-half miles of the east line of the township ; thence north and slightly west to near the north line ; thence along the northern part may be found some little timber. Thus it will be seen that all the northwestern part of the township is timbered land. Of course, this is not a solid body of timber, for there are farms in here, many of which have been cleared from these woods. Still may be seen the cabin built of logs and surrounded by a few small fields, while the forest approaches suggestingly near. But these are only relics of bygone days, the more comfortable frame furnishing a desirable home for the successful farmer. The south and eastern part of the township is prairie, the northern part of which is quite rolling, but the southern part is only slightly so. These prairie lands are rich and productive, yielding an abundance of corn, oats, potatoes, etc. There are portions of the timbered land that are broken and not very fertile, while other parts yield fair crops of wheat, rye, oats, corn and other products. Cattle and hogs are extensively raised throughout the township.

Danvers is crossed by the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railroad, which enters the township near the middle of the east side of Section 24. From this point, the road bears northwest until it reaches the middle of Section 1 6 ; thence it follows close to the half-section line to the West side of the township.

Sugar Creek rises near the southwestern corner of Section 1, and flows south and west through Sections 12, 13 and 14; thence more southerly through Sections 22, 21, 28, 32 and 33. Rock Creek is a small stream which flows north from the northern part of the township.

So large a body of timber as is found here very' naturally attracted early settlers. They soon settled all along the south and east sides of Stout's Grove, the families coming in so rapidly as to make it almost impossible to trace the early settlement. The first family -was Ephraim Stout's. They were from Tennessee. They came in the fall of 1825, or about that time. They stopped on the southeast corner of the Grove, afterward given their name. The first house, it is said, that they ever built is standing yet. It was a log house, put up of good hewn logs, and afterward weather-boarded on the outside and plastered on the inside. It is said to be in a good state of preservation yet. The place is now owned by Mr. Chastine Mitchell. Ephraim Stout was a large man of commanding presence. His early education had been neglected, so that he could not be said to .have much book knowledge ; but his practical knowledge of the world was extensive, and his ability to judge the qualities of men almost complete. He and all those immediately connected with him were Friends. This man had a son named Ephraim, who was married and came to the Grove with his father. They lived at the Grove a long time, and then moved farther west, finally settling in Oregon. There were four sons and several daughters. David Stout, a brother to Ephraim, came the next year. In the same year, Robert Drain settled on the east side of Stout's Grove. Soon after him, and probably in the same year, James Wilson came from Kentucky. In 1827, Matthew Robb, Robert McClure and Peyton Mitchell came to the settlement at Stout's Grove. These all remained in this country and became prominent persons in its history. Robert McClure is commonly called " Colonel " on account of his service and position in the Black Hawk war. Matthew Robb was a prominent man, and was one of the first owners of the village of Danvers. Mitchell and McClure came from Kentucky. The former settled in Sangamon County, this State, in 1818. His sons, now living on the south side of the Grove, remember Springfield when there was only one house in it. Peyton Mitchell was a minister. He belonged to the Cumberland Presbyterians. He preached the first sermon ever preached in Funk's Grove. .Jonathan Hodge came in the fall of 1826 and made some improvements, and then went back to Sangamon County after his family. They arrived in the spring of 1827. Jonathan Hodge was born in North Carolina in 1789, of German parents. He came to Barren County, Ky., when a boy, and stayed there until after his marriage. He moved to Sangamon County, 111., in 1821. From Sangamon he came to Stout's Grove, where he reared his family of four sons and three daughters. Two brothers, William F. and U. S. Hodge, now live in the village of Danvers, and, as they have been in the township fifty-two years, they are looked upon as the old settlers of the place, and their stories of " ye olden time " are listened to with delight by many of the more modern folk. Jonathan Hodge was one of those men who enjoy themselves most perfectly in the woods chasing game. While yet in Sangamon County, he indulged his passion for hunting to a considerable extent. He was often associated with the old Indian chief Shaubena, or 'Shabbona, who was well known in all this country, at that time. On one occasion, when in company with a Mr. Cantrell, Mr. Hodge and his companion fell in with a panther. They watched her until she went into a hollow log that lay upon the ground. Then they closed the opening and caught her. It proved to be a female with a number of young ones. They took the young ones home and kept them for some time, but when the wild disposition began to manifest itself they were killed for fear of mischief. During the operations with the female, the male made his appearance, but was gone again before the hunters' rifle could be turned upon him.

Jonathan Berry came to the settlement, at Stout's Grove, at an early period in ita history, but, after remaining awhile, went off and joined the Mormons. Among the

Conger family, Joseph Snodgrass, Simeon Henshaw and Joshua Hobson. These came from different places and settled at different times in the township, but they all came comparatively early, and were among the best citizens of the settlement.

The old State road, passing through here, was a matter of considerable importance. On it, in the western part of the township, Mr. Alvin Goodenough kept "The Wayside Inn." Mr. Groodenough kept his house for a long time on this public thoroughfare, but was finally compelled to give it up, as the advance of civilization furnished more convenient modes of travel than that of the old-time stage-coach. The railroad now carries the traveler through, without any stopping in the country. The German, the Yankee and the Southern man find comfortable homes here, and all seem prosperous and contented.

Educational

This settlement, .like all others begun more than fifty years ago in McLean County, had many difficulties to overcome before any perceptible progress could be made in educational institutions. The first efforts at instruction of any kind that can be traced at present, were very simple lessons in rudimentary knowledge given at the residences of the early settlers, and among the " Quakers," as these people are commonly known. The first schoolhouse was built before there were any regular schools. It was made of round and split logs, and was near the center of Stout's Grove. Part of two logs was hewn away, and afforded light. In cold weather, this aperture was covered with paper. The huge log fire served to enliven the dull routine of schoolhours, while the uncushioned puncheon formed the only settee for both master and pupil.

Archibald Johnson was the first teacher. He taught a subscription school, and " boarded round." The time of this school is not certainly known, but it is thought to have been in the winter of 1832-33. He was a preacher, and was quite prominent in the first meetings held at the Grove by the Cumberland Presbyterians. His price per scholar, fur a term of three months, was $2. He was a good teacher, so far as we can learn ; but there is a little incident told in regard to this first teacher which illustrates the sensitive feelings of early pioneer life. A young man, hearing of the school at the Grove, and desiring to improve his knowledge of books, made application for admission. Arrangements were made, and he was admitted. The young man had come from a distance, and his apparel savored of more cultured society than did the ordinary " homespun" of the average schoolboy. But this made no great stir until, upon a certain occasion, he applied to the master for a copy. The masters always " set" copies in those days, and this was no unusual request. But the muse had possession, and in a fit of poetical

The application was too apparent. The young man left school. The neighborhood considered it a great slur upon the young gentleman's character, and the event was remembered and handed down as a neighborhood sensation, thus illustrating the sacredness with which the teacher's position was held.

Lyman Porter was the second teacher, and was regarded as an excellent gentleman and successful teacher. He remained many years. The third teacher was Hosey

Stout. He soon went off to Nauvoo and joined Joseph Smith's Mormon band. After the trouble at Nauvoo and the death of Smith, Stout went to Utah. He became one of the twelve Apostles under Brigham Young. He has continued in Mormonism, participating in all their peculiarities, and is said to be still living with several wives.

Matthew Robb was the first School Treasurer. He was also the first Justice of the Peace, the first Representative from this section, and one of the first Commissioners in Tazewell County.

At present the schools have multiplied, and stand as well, perhaps, as any in the county. There is a large population of Germans in this township, and they use the German language very extensively. This requires the teaching of German, and it is done mainly in the public schools. Teachers are employed, so far as practicable, who can speak both English and German ; then they have regular classes in German and English. Where the neighborhood is composed mostly of Americans, the majority do not favor the employment of a German teacher, as a matter of course. This leads to the formation of private schools for the benefit of those who must learn the German language. There have been a few of these, mostly in the neighborhood of the German Church, on the south of Stout's Grove.

Number of children under twenty-one years, 793; number of children between six and twenty-one years, 652 ; number of scholars enrolled, 445 ; number of schoolhouses, 14. Amount paid teachers, $3,188.37 ; total expenditures, $4,314.96. Estimated value of school property, $5,600. Highest wages paid per month, $75.

Religion

We are not aware of the manner in which the neighbors of this township regard its inhabitants, but judging from the number and kinds of church people, we should regard them as second to none in the proportion which church-members bear to the entire population. The Friends, the Mormons, the Cumberland Presbyterians, the United Brethren, the Methodist Episcopal, the Congregational, the Christians, the Baptists and the Mennonites are all represented. There are, probably, members of other churches, but we did not learn of any other organizations.

The first to hold meetings of any kind were the Friends. They held them in the cabin belonging to Ephraim Stout. But the Friends moved away, so that there is no trace of them now. There was a Mr. Walker, a Methodist preacher who preached very early, but no society was formed at that time. The first to organize and keep up regular meetings were the Cumberland Presbyterians. Peyton Mitchell was a minister of this church ; and when he came here in 1827, he, with some others, soon began meeting. Thomas McClure, an Elder in this Church, and father of Robert McClure, the Colonel, came to the settlement in 1 828. The McClures, Hodges, and Mitchells were prominent in this Church. It was not long until camp-meeting was held in the grove, near the Stout's Grove Cemetery. There were a number of preachers who gave their aid to this effort. Among these may be mentioned Gilbert Dodds, Thomas Campbell and John Berry, a few times present; Milton Bird, who afterward distinguished himself in the ministry ; James Davis and James McDowell. John Berry is said to have organized the first regularly organized band of Christians here. Mr. Walker also assisted on the camp-ground. William Brown was also among the early ministers.

There was a kind of Sabbath school organized as early as 1828. It was little more than a Bible-class, which met at different houses and spent a portion of the Sabbath day in reading the Scriptures. After the building of the schoolhouse, all societies held meetings in it, each one quitting as it was able to build a church for itself. Then the Sabbath school was taken to the schoolhouse, and continued there until churches were built, and then each church would have its own school.

The first church-edifice was erected by the Cumberland Presbyterians, about 1834 or 1835, near the residence of Henry McClure. It was a neat frame building and was used a long time as a house of worship. It was afterward moved to Danvers and put to other uses. When the society moved from the first old church to Danvers, it left a number of its members a long way from church. Preaching was held among them on the south side of the grove and caused a considerable increase in the membership. They were sufficiently strong to erect a new church. This was done in 1873. The house was located on the north side of Section 19. It is an elegant country church, 36x48 feet. The cost of building was $2,300. It will probably seat 500 persons. The present membership is about sixty. The first preacher was William Harris. The present Pastor is J. H. Millholland. There is also a cemetery in connection with this Church.

The Methodists were early here. Their first man was probably the Rev. Mr. Walker. Zadoc Hall was preaching in the Grove as early as 1834. In December of this year, three brothers, Jeremiah S. Hall, Israel W. Hall and William E. Hall, came in. They were no relation to the preacher, Zadoc Hall, but were Methodists, and in the house of Israel W. Hall meeting was held until the building of the Methodist Church in the village of Danvers. There is a society of Methodists who hold meetings at present in the brick schoolhouse, north part of the Grove.

The United Brethren had meetings in that first log schoolhouse, built near the center of Stout's Grove. John Dunham the missionary, who preached all over this country during the first years of its settlement, was their first minister. We understand that the society never became sufficiently strong to build a church. Messrs. Shoup and Levick are among the most prominent members at present. They hold meetings in the schoolhouse northwest of the village of Danvers.

In 1850, the Baptists formed a society in the northern part of the township. Augustus Cram was their first minister after the organization of the society. Previously, the Rev. Mr. Bly preached for them, and, for awhile, the Rev. Mr. Sherman. The organization finally worked farther south, until they built a church in Danvers in 1874.

The Christians began their work very early. Mr. Peeler was the leader in forming the society. They have a neat country church one and one-half miles northwest of Danvers.

There are two German Churches in the township, with a large membership to each. They hold services in the German language and speak in German, generally. They are sometimes called the Ormish Church, but do not claim that name themselves. In fact, we understand that there is no church that calls itself Ormish. They all claim to be Mennonites, and these believe and practice the doctrine and precepts of Menno Simon. One of these churches is three miles north of Danvers, the other is two and one-half miles southwest from the same place. The Church north is the older. There were members of the Mennonite Church in the vicinity of the present church before the organization here, but they belonged to an organization already established in Woodford County. The first of the Mennonites to settle in the township were Peter Conner and two brothers of the name of Strupher, John and Valentine. The Strupher brothers are the oldest now living. The first house of worship was built in 1851. It was one mile north of the present edifice. It was 28x36 feet and cost about $500. This building soon became too small for the large congregation, and a new one was built in 1873. This is the largest structure of the kind in the township, being forty feet wide and sixty feet long. It cost $3,100. The first minister was Joseph Stuckey. He is still the man in charge, assisted by John Stelhey. There are at present about four hundred adult members. These generally follow farming. They come from Pennsylvania and Europe. But a few are mechanics and some tradesmen. The church southwest of Danvers was built about sixteen years ago. Prominent among the first members were Christian and Jacob Naffziger. Their first minister was Michael Kistler. He remained only two years. After him came Christian Gingerig. He has been here fourteen years. Their church edifice is 30x36 feet. It cost about $2,000. The number of communicants is 125.

As is well known, the Mennonites are followers of Menno Simon, who lived in Germany about the time of Martin Luther. They remained in Germany until about one hundred and seventy years ago, when they emigrated largely to Russia. They there received liberty to practice their doctrine of " non-resistance." They were not compelled to enter the army until 1870, when laws were enacted requiring all young men to spend a number of years in the army. The Mennonites were given ten years in which to reconcile themselves to their fate or to emigrate. Large numbers began to flock to this country, and no season has passed without bringing colonies of them to our shores. Preparations were making for a large immigration to this country in the summer of 1879, but the plague, or black death, or epidemic, of what name no matter, which has been raging within Russian borders, has put a damper upon them. They cannot get away and would not be permitted to land at our harbors, in all probability, should they reach them. They are a worthy class of citizens, and it is to be hoped that they may be able to find in American institutions a protection of their rights, and in American soil a fertility surpassing any that they have previously enjoyed, and yielding the necessary elements of a quiet and prosperous home.

The Rock Creek Fair Association

This Association originated as a farmers' club about ten years ago. John A. Ewins and Peter H. Vance, two public-spirited, energetic farmers, took the lead in its formation. Meetings were held semi-monthly. At first they met only to discuss the best methods of raising crops, tilling the soil, rotating crops, etc. ; presently the ladies became interested, and the company was enlivened by female wit and loveliness; the affairs of the kitchen were discussed, and everything pertaining to the farmer's home received a share of attention. When the fall of the year arrived, the men brought specimens of their crops ; the results of any particular plan were there laid before the club. When products began to be brought, the meetings began to assume immense proportions at once. All could show something. Thus a regular grange was formed without any assistance from national or State granges ; and they have held out well.

No political tricksters have been able to capture them, or use the association for political purposes. Five years ago, they organized themselves into a regular Fair Association, with the title above. They started with fifty shares of stock ; each share was valued at $5. Since that time the Association has met with such marked success that a share is now worth from $20 to $25 ; the number has not been increased. Their grounds are located five miles north of Danvers on Section 25, Town 25, Kange 1 west. The use of this lot was donated by John A. Ewins to the Association for fifteen years. They have a light board fence inclosing the premises, good wells of water - three dug last fall - a large commodious amphitheater, a floral hall, stalls for horses and cattle, pens for pigs and all the belongings of a thoroughly organized and successful fair. The fourth annual session of this Association was held at their grounds on the 25th, 26th and 27th of September, 1878. There were not less than three thousand persons in attendance. The receipts were sufficient to pay all the premiums and leave a large balance in the treasury. From this balance they paid for repairs and a number of improvements, and then had more than $200 left. The officers of this Association for the year 1879 are: P. H. Vance, President; John A. Ewins, Vice President; J. J. Yoder, Treasurer; and John S. Popple, Secretary. The Advisory Committee for 1878 were John F. Carlock, Joseph Wilson and Jonathan Sharp. They publish an annual catalogue of premiums from which we learn the following : The preamble to their Constitution and By-laws, declares that the citizens of Rock Creek and vicinity organize for the purpose of stimulating agriculture, horticulture and the improvement of different kinds of stock, and for the mutual benefit of all classes of society. The Constitution provides for the name and officers given above. It also defines the duties of officers, and provides for their annual election by ballot. The by-laws refer to details of management during the annual sessions. Ten classes were organized for premium-lists. Class A included horses and mules ; Class B, cattle ; Class C, swine and sheep ; Class D, farm products ; Class E, textile fabrics ; Class F, preserved and canned fruits ; Class Gr, bread and cakes ; Class H, horticulture; Class I, poultry; Class K, manufactured articles. In the private premium-list, there were offered for premiums for the best looking baby, the best lady rider of fifty years old, and for the best male equestrianism, those competing to be over sixty years old.

War Record And Politics

Danvers Township furnished at least three men for the Black Hawk war. Levi Danly helped to bury the Hall family, that were so cruelly murdered by the Indians. Benjamin Conger was also true to the call for men. Robert McClure was Colonel, and his deeds are, no doubt, kept in the records of that summer's campaign. Jonathan Hodge was not among the troops, but was on the scene of action long enough to be surrounded by a band of Indians, led by the notorious Simon Girty. This was at the house of John L. Ament, where one man was killed at the door and the others dared not show themselves.

There were a uumber of persons in the Mexican war from this side of the county ; but of those who went from the present limits of Danvers Township, it is hard to make a list - John Armstrong and Andrew Hodge being the only persons whose names we learned. In the late war, Danvers furnished her share of men to preserve the Union. Clayton Levick died from disease contracted in the army. William Shoup was shot at

Fort Donelson. George Spainhowert was wounded, and died from the effects after along time. He was said to be the man who shot Stonewall Jackson. Warner Blue died in the hospital. George Fif'er and a Mr. Wilson were shot and killed. Dr. Pierce, a surgeon in the army, died of disease. It will thus be seen that many sacred lives were offered on the country's altar. Long may their memories live in the hearts of a grateful people, and the fourth war, that shall call on the ready citizens of Danvers, occur only when peace can no more be had by honorable means, and liberty is harassed by the blood-hounds of despotism.

In political matters, Danvers has usually stood Republican. In all questions of State or national importance, the Republicans have a comparatively large majority. Occasionally, party lines are manifested in township elections, but usually they are not so rigidly drawn in local affairs. In the Presidential election of 1856, the Democrats carried the precinct. Mr. Stephenson also carried the township in 1878.

The old State roads were matters of considerable importance in the early history of our State. They were the only public thoroughfares. The road through Bloomington to Peoria, from Champaign County, was traveled long before there was a railroad in the United States. Now the railroad passes directly along the line of the old highway, through the township. Then, the stage-coach made occasional visits to the few inns on the way; now, the engine, with its train of rumbling cars, darts past a score of villages every few hours. Another very early road leads from the village of Danvers, along the south side of Stout's Grove. It does not follow lines, but is adapted to the face of the country. It passes near the old house first erected by Ephraim Stout. It also passes two churches and one schoolhouse within the limits of Danvers Township. The section lines are not generally authorized roads. There is not a section line -extending east and west that has any considerable length of road upon it. There is a road extending east and west, through the center of the second tier of sections from the south. From the State road north, there are several roads, but they nearly all pass through the center of the sections. There are several, just a mile apart, extending through the center, instead of on the section line. From the road south of Stout's Orove, others lead south. These are all, so far as we were able to discover, in good condition ; and though the timber causes roads to be laid out very irregularly, it does not render them undesirable.

It was from Danvers that the petition to call an election for the adoption of the township system first started. Ira Abbott was the man who originated the movement. A petition had been before the Commissioners' Court before, but the measure failed to carry until the election held according to the prayer of Mr. Abbott's petition. The first election after the adoption of this system, held April 6, 1858, resulted as follows: James Alison, Supervisor; W. F. Hodge, Town Clerk; George W. Danly, Assessor; Thomas McClure, Collector ; John W. Barnett, Overseer of the Poor ; Ira^Jiowell, Joseph Fry and Caleb Johnson, Commissioners of Highways ; John C. Haybarger and Henry I. Deal, Justices of the Peace; Philip W. Roadcap and John H. Swindle, Constables. The officers for 1878, were as follows, being elected on the 2d day of April:

John A^JEwins, Supervisor; Louis Bourguin, Collector; Isaac Plank, Assessor; Moses Hastings, Town Clerk; J. J. Yoder, Commissioner of Highways.

Village Of Danvers

This village is pleasantly located on the Indianapolis, Bloomington & Western Railroad, about ten miles west of Bloomington. It is situated on the prairie between Dry Grove and Stout's Grove. The surface of the country in its immediate vicinity, is sufficiently rolling, requiring no draining, and makes what is apparently a healthy location. Long before a railroad was built in Illinois, this little village was a regular station, but it was on the stage-route from Bloomington to Pekin and Peoria. The town was surveyed by Elbert C. Dickason. The certificate of the surveyor is dated January 15, 1836. A plat of the village was filed with the County Commissioners, and approved by them, March 7, 1836. The original survey included a rectangular land from the northwest corner of Section 23, 72 rods wide and 96 rods long, being longest from north to south. It was 4 blocks wide and 5 long, with a public square in the center. The village was owned by Israel W. Hall and Matthew Robb. They ordered the surveying and filed the plat. The place was then called Concord. But during the remainder of the year nothing was done to build up the village. Since that timer two additions have been laid off. The first of these was the McClure Addition. It included five blocks on the east side of the original village. This addition is located in Section 24. Peter Folsom was the Surveyor. His certificate is dated December 12, 1851. Charles J. McClure was the owner. Plat was filed and approved by the Commissioners, December 23, 1851. It is known as C. J. McClure's Addition to the village of Concord. The second addition was made by Otis Hall and Andrew_Vance, a plat of which was filed with the County Board, June 10, 1869. This was located on the west side of the original village. It is called simply Second Addition, and includes a row of five blocks.

It will thus be seen that the village of Danvers (formerly Concord) is one of the oldest in McLean County. Bloomington had scarcely been in existence a decade when Danvers was born, and, although it has not grown so rapidly as many of its more favored sisters, it has had a steady increase during the past ten years. Its location in the midst of a prosperous farming community, will necessarily cause it to continue to grow and prosper as long as these interests remain. Its healthful location with good school and church privileges, will always make it a desirable place of residence for retired farmers and others.

The first building erected after the village was surveyed was put up in 1837 by Nicholas Conger, but he never lived in the house. The proprietors of the village never lived within its limits. The first actual residents were J. G. Reyburn and family. They had been among the earliest settlers of Walnut Grove, in Woodford County. In the spring of 1837, they moved to Stout's Grove, and remained there one year. Then they came to the village of Concord, which makes the date of first settlement 1838. Mr. Reyburn kept a grocery store at the time. Afterward, he added other articles to his line of goods, making a general country store. Soon after Mr. Reyburn, Asa R. Rankin came in. Then came Hodge & Yance with a dry goods store and a general country trade. Although Concord was on the old stage-route, there was no post office established here until about ten years after the first settlement. The people went to Wilkesborough for their mail. The first mill was a saw-mill, and was put up and owned by Hobson & Havens. They ran it for some time, and then it passed into other hands. This was the first of the kind in the township. There had been a horse-mill for grinding corn, at an early date, on the farm of Ephraim Stout, near Sugar Creek. John Guthrie ran the first blacksmith-shop in the village. The first in the township was on the farm of Robert McClure, and was operated by a Mr. Burt. Mr. Reyburn's was the first regular store in the township, but there had been a few goods kept before this by Thomas Drain. Concord continued to grow for ten or twelve years, until it became a village of considerable trade. But after that time, for more than half a score of years, it was almost lifeless. Mr. Ira Abbott, the present Postmaster and oldest business man in town, came here in 1854. At that time, T. J. Bunn, now of Bloomington, and Kaufman, of Pekin, were in business here : but there was a long time after this that Mr. Abbott kept the only store in the village. From 1854 to 1862, there were not more than three houses built.

The first post office was established here in 1848 or 1849, but it was called Stout's Grove Post Office. Israel W. Hall was the first Postmaster. The village was called Concord until 1861. Ira-Abbott was appointed P. M. in 1861, and immediately got up a petition to have the names changed. A meeting of the citizens was held at Mr. Abbott's store. It was first decided to call the place Sumner, but there was a post office of that name already in the State. It was then agreed to name it Danvers, out of regard for Israel W. Hall, who came from near Danvers, Mass. These are the only two places in the United States of this name.

Since the beginning of war times, Danvers has had a fair growth for a country village. It has always operated under its special charter, until recently, when it was incorporated under the general laws of the State. The incorporation takes in one mile square. There are, at present, four general stores, kept by Ira Abbott, C. C. Rowi-11 & Co., Randolph & Hougham, NafFziger & Crist ; four groceries^C. R. Stuckey, Jacob Yoder, George Bunn, who also "keeps a loan office, M. Sebastion, who also adds boots and shoes to his line of trade ; Popple Bros, keep hardware and farming implements ; D. H. Parkhurst keeps a drug store. The lumber-yard is owned by S. W. Baker. The staff" of life may be obtained from Wheeler & Fansom, at their large flouring-mill - at least, the necessary ingredients may be had there. William Naffziger will accommodate the traveling public at his hotel on the corner. Miss Williams will adorn the young ladies so that " catching beaux " will be no difficulty and prepare married women to keep their husbands at home, if they will patronize her millinery-shop. Meat-shop is kept by Edward Bunn.

The first school-building was erected in 1852. Who taught the first school in it we were unable to learn. In 1864, a new house was built. This has continued until the present. It is a two-story frame, and though somewhat worse for the wear of fifteen years, furnishes comfortable apartments for their excellent schools. Two teachers are employed. The Principal, John P. Yoder, has had charge for a number of years, and enjoys a deserved popularity.

Although Danvers was forty-three years old on the 7th of March, 1879, no attempt has been made to establish a publication of any kind until quite recently. On the 29th of March, 1879, appeared the first issue of the Danvers Independent. This journal is issued every Saturday by Dr. D. C. Gideon and George Bunn, who are editors and proprietors. It is devoted to the business interests of Danvers and vicinity. It is a neat, twenty-four column paper, run by energetic business men, and will, as it grows older, no doubt, receive a large patronage and be a credit to the village.

The Methodists were the first to build a church. They built a house of worship in 1852. It was 30x36 feet. It is still standing, but is not put to use of any kind. The meetings are now held in the Presbyterian Church. Preaching is had every two weeks by Rev. Mr. Van Pelt, of Bloomington. The Methodists have their times of refreshing and of religious dearth. At present, the society is not large.

The Congregational Church was organized in January, 1862. Their first Pastor was Jerome D. Jones. They began with about twenty members. Prominent among them may be mentioned I. D. James, Br. Parkhurst and Ira Abbott. The church was erected in the fall of 1862. It is 35x50 feet; cost of construction, $1,600. This was considered very cheap for the times and the character of the edifice. The present number of communicants is about fifty. The Rev. M. M. Longley is Pastor. This is the only Congregational Church ever in the township.

The Cumberland Presbyterians, as noted in the history of this township, were the first to organize a church at Stout's Grove. The society met in the church at the Grove for a great many years ; but after the village of Danvers began to grow, the greater portion of the membership was on the east side. It was decided to build in Danvers. Accordingly, in 1865, a house was erected. This was just at the close of the late war, when everything was costly. The building cost about $6,000. It was dedicated in April, 1865. Size of church, 40x50 feet. First preacher in the new church, J. A. Chase. Since the first, they have had a number of ministers. The present Pastor is the Rev. J. C. Van Patten. The Presbyterians have ever been strong and influential in this part of the county. Besides being the first to organize, they have been the most permanent and numerous of the English churches. Their house of worship is the largest in the village. The present membership is about one hundred.

Although the Baptist Church is the most recently built and its membership gathered together at a comparatively recent date, the edifice is one of the neatest churches to be found anywhere. It was built about five years ago. The Pastor at the time of building was H. H. Ballard. The house cost $2,700. They have a very fair membership and respectable congregation.

It will thus be seen that Danvers has four organized churches in town, with several not far off in the country. They certainly have the opportunity to be a religious people.

The Cemetery

" Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, Where heaves ihe turf in many a moldering heap, Each in his narrow cell forever laid, The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep."

When the Cumberland Presbyterians built their first church, in 1834, they very naturally prepared a burial-place for their dead. This cemetery is located beside the railroad, about two miles northwest of the village of Danvers. It is the principal place of burial for all this section of country. There are other cemeteries, but here are found the resting-places of many of the pioneers. Here, too, with regard to Danvers, " The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep." Many tokens of affection may be seen in .this beautiful country cemetery. It is cozily hovered round by the native forests, and the only thing that would seem to disturb the slumbering spirits is the thundering by of the iron steed. It seems quite out of taste to us that railroad companies must carry their traffic beside the quiet churchyard, where rest the only mementoes of many sacred dead. Among the many tombs - some with elegant and costly, others with humble and touching monuments - we noticed only a few. Here rest the remains of Matthew Robb and wife ; there, those of the Drain family ; and farther along, some of the McClures. Yonder is a poor fellow who was killed by a runaway team ; while here is an inscription in memory of one who died in the Sunny South. Passing on, we find the names Stevenson, Wheeler, Danly, Taylor, Naffziger, Rowell, Wilson and hosts of others, inscribed on glistening marble, bringing to mind days long past, and telling of the sacred memories that still linger in the hearts of the living.

was a small post village, four miles west of Danvers. It was on the old State road, and had, at one time, more than " half a score of dwelling-houses, a blacksmith-shop, two grocery stores and a saloon." The mail was carried by the stage-coach line, in those days, from Bloomington to Pekin, and, as this little place was on the route, a post office was established there in 1861 ; James Dunseth was made Postmaster. The office was afterward moved a mile farther west, but was still called Hamlin. In 1867, James Parker was made Postmaster. But the I., B. & W. R. R. began to carry the mail in 1870. The office was then moved still farther west, across the line, into Tazewell County, and is now at Lilly, the next station west of Danvers, on the I., B. & W. R. R.

was a little village on the old State road in the eastern edge of Danvers Township. It lay on the west side of the Third Principal Meridian. This meridian forms the east boundary of Danvers Township. Wilkesborough was never a place of much importance. It had a little store or two and a post office. Mr. J. 0. Barnard was Postmaster. There was an office here for, perhaps, ten years. It remained until 1848 or 1849. The exact date we could not ascertain. All this time the people of Concord, now Danvers, were obliged to go to Wilkesborough for their mail. When the office was discontinued at Wilkesborough, it was moved to Concord, and called Stout's G-rove Post Office, and so remained till 1861, when the names of the post office and village were changed to Danvers. The village of Wilkesborough is not now recognized. There is nothing to indicate to the stranger. the previous existence of any such place. Its course has long since been run. It lives only in records and the memories of those who still cherish fond recollections of the " good old times in McLean County."

This township occupies the extreme southwestern part of McLean County. It is bounded on the north by Allin Township ; on the east by Funk's Grove ; on the south by Logan County, and on the west by Logan and Tazewell. The surface of country embraced by these lines is, for the most part, undulating without being hilly, and no part of the township is so level as to be termed flat. The land is of an exceedingly productive character, being well adapted to the raising of corn, rye, oxts and the vegetables common to this climate. Hogs and cattle in great numbers are raised ; indeed, Mount Hope Township is noted as a stock region. It is watered by branches of Sugar Creek which flow through from east to west. These branches afford good stock water and drainage for the farms lying adjacent; they also afford sufficient water and fall for mills of moderate power, though they are not utilized for that purpose. The Chicago & Alton Railroad passes through the southeastern part, and furnishes an outlet for the products of this and adjacent townships. The township is now almost devoid of timber. Formerly one or two sections were covered with wood, but the pioneer's ax materially reduced that small area, and it may now be said that this is a region without groves except the artificial ones planted by the early settlers. The township is described in the Congressional survey as Town 22 north, Range 1 west of the Third Principal Meridian, and the north third of Town 21, in same range. The township therefore consists of forty-eight full sections, or nearly 31,000 acres.

When McLean County was first organized, this township, with others in this part of the county, was embraced in what was called the Kickapoo Precinct, extending not only further north and east, but also four miles further south, including within its boundaries all that part of Logan County now called Atlanta Township. The precincts of the county were at various times changed in size and shape to suit the convenience of the inhabitants, until 1858, when Mount Hope Township was formed, with boundaries co-extensive with what we now find them.

First Settlers

In 1824, the Funks had already occupied a considerable portion of the timber lying along the east branch of Sugar Creek. In those times, the timber-land was the great desideratum, and it was occupied first. The southwest part of the grove, however, was vacant, and here the first settlers of Mount Hope Township located. They came at various dates between 1824 and 1835, from the State of Ohio, several of them having been acquaintances of the Funk family, and being guided by their advice to this region. As nearly as can now be remembered, they settled here in about the chronological order in which their names appear.

William Johnson appears as one of the first Justices of the Peace of the Kickapoo precinct, and also as one of the three County Commissioners at a later day. Isaac Baker was a leading man in the early times of this county. The early records of the county testify to his competence as a public officer. The neat and well-kept record of the County Court is one of the very few exceptions to a bungling and almost unintelligible chirography, which graces nearly all of the early county records of the State. The fact is, the office of "C. C. C. C," as Mr. Baker signed himself, was not then equal to that of Township Clerk at this time, either in emoluments or in time required to perform its duties. About three days' work at each quarterly session, at $2 per day, was the allowance of the Clerk of the County Commissioners' Court - an office which now requires the continual services of a Clerk and two or three assistants. Then, too, the county was double the size we now find it; but it will be remembered that the whole population did not exceed one of the most thinly settled townships of to-day.

Philip Cline and James Murphy came about the same time. Murphy was one of the first Justices of the Peace of the Kickapoo Precinct. It is said that Murphy was a noted hunter in the early times, and made a good share of his living by the use of his rifle. Indeed, we may well believe that many of the early settlers were experts with the gun, and that a good many of them were guided to this part of the country by reports of the abundance of game that was to be found here. Deer, wild turkeys, pheasants and prairie chickens could be killed in almost any amount; and some of the stories told by the pioneers, in relation to their hunting expeditions, sound marvelous in the ears of the younger people. Jacob Moore, John and Robert Longworth, Daniel Proctor, Ezra Kenyon and Nicholas Darnall were also among those who located here at a very early date. This settlement was, in reality, a part of the Funk's Grove neighborhood, and had no connection with the grand scheme of colonization inaugurated in the central part of the township a few years later.

Mount Hope Colony

This was a grand enterprise which originated in Rhode Island, in 1835, and had for its object the opening up of Western lands, and of settling the same with respectable and enterprising farmers, mechanics and tradesmen. A charter was obtained from the State and a company lormed, with a capital stock of SI 2,500. A constitution and by-laws were formed, and everything arranged in the most business-like shape. The stockholders were men of means and intelligence, and had for their object not only to make money, but to benefit, financially and morally, some of their poorer neighbors and acquaintances, who might contemplate emigration to a Western country.

At that time there was a perfect flood of emigration setting in toward this State. Hundreds of similar schemes were being organized throughout the East ; hundreds of thousands of circulars, similar in import to what we now see advertising the lands of Kansas, Nebraska and Texas, were sent everywhere, and the eyes of people in moderate circumstances and those without means were turned to Illinois.

A provision of the by-laws was, that each stockholder was entitled to 320 acres of land, to be afterward selected by a competent agent. Each stockholder was also to have four lots in the proposed town or village of Mount Hope. It was further stipulated that the stockholder should either himself settle upon the land apportioned to him or cause it to be occupied by an active, energetic farmer, and that, within a specified time, each tract should be improved to the extent of at least $300.

Accordingly, a committee was appointed, consisting of John C. Cass, Seth Talbot and two other men of the name of Carpenter, to come out to this place and locate the land. Twenty-two sections, as nearly in a block, without interfering with the claims of others who had already settled, were located in the name of John C. Cass, Agent of the Providence Farmers' and Mechanics' Emigrating Society. Then William Peck, their own surveyor, was sent out to survey the lands and plat the prospective town. In this work, Mr. Peck seems, from the record still extant in the archives at Bloomington, to have been assisted by Elbert, then Surveyor of McLean County. The town, with its streets and alleys and public square, was duly mapped out, a stone being planted at the northwest corner of the public square, from which it was decreed that all future surveys should be made. Alas for all human calculations ! The stone is about all that is now left of the once prospective city.

After Mr. Peck had made the survey, he returned to his constituents, made his report, and then the land, to the amount of 320 acres each, was apportioned to the stockholders. This still left some 6,000 acres unapportioned, which was to be held" in trust by duly-appointed Trustees. These Trustees were Koyal Chapin, John H. Mason and Asa Pearce. From these Trustees the stockholders received their deeds. The lands were afterward appraised by disinterested parties, and rebates awarded to such as happened to draw tracts considered of less value.

Under this arrangement, about fifteen families came out from Rhode Island and Massachusetts and settled upon their respective tracts of land. All the preliminary arrangements had been made by the spring of 1837, and during that year and the following, the settlements were made. Only three of the stockholders ever came here to reside permanently. These were John Rathbone, Dr. J. Whipple and Seth Talbot.

But for the crash that came to the country that year, these splendid calculations might have proved a reality. No scheme was founded on a better basis than the Mount Hope enterprise, but business of every kind that year was prostrated, and the founders of the colony had other use for their spare means than the improvement of Western lands. Times were even tharder in the East than the West, and in that one feature seems to have been the secret of the failure. The weak point in the enterprise was in having non-residents for stockholders. Had the stockholders all been actual settlers, who had invested their means in the project, and had they removed to the place, doubtless the result would have been different. As it was, most of the tenants sent out soon became dissatisfied, some returning to their homes in the East, and others seeking new Eldorados further on. The few who remained, struggled along, but accomplished but little of the grand work that had been expected of them. A few houses were erected in the intended metropolis, a school and church were organized by the help of friends in the East, but beyond this the project was a failure. The lands of the company were held in trust until about 1854, when a company of gentlemen residing in Bloomington, of whom William McCulloch, E. H. Rood and Hudson Burr were members, bought the remaining lands at prices ranging from #3 to $5 per acre, and the Mount Hope Colony ceased to be.

Perhaps the event which had the most to do with the immediate abandonment of the company project was the completion of the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad through the eastern part of the township, leaving the nucleus of the company's town several miles to the west. The road was completed through here in 1853, and was the means of building up many thriving and substantial towns and cities along its line and wherever a town was unhappily left outside of its track, it as certainly collapsed. This was notoriously the case with the respective towns of Mount Hope and McLean. The lands of the company, together with all other unoccupied lands in the township, were, very soon after the completion of the road, occupied by a second flood of emigration from the East, and the settlements made subsequent to that date were of such frequency that we do no not attempt to record them.

The next event of public consequence was that of the organization of the township as a separate precinct. This was accomplished in 1858. In November of the preceding year, the act authorizing township organization had been adopted by the county, and this portion of the county had been set off as a separate precinct. The first election in this township occurred April 6, 1858. At this first election, Daniel Winsor was elected

Supervisor; Adam Stubblefield, Clerk; Samuel B. Kinsey, Assessor; E. H. Valentine, Collector; Thomas J. Enslow, Overseer of the Poor; Elbridge G. Clark, John H. Young and Joseph A. Pitts, Commissioners of Highways ; John Kellogg and James Palmer, Justices of the Peace. Of these, John Kellogg has held the office ever since, having held the office of Squire for twenty-four consecutive years, and Samuel B. Kinsey, the then Township Assessor, appears in the list of township officers for 1878-79, as Supervisor.

The full list of officers, as at present constituted, consists of Samuel B. Kinsey, Supervisor ; Lafayette Archer, Collector ; Stacy B. Kinsey, Assessor ; Samuel I. Leach, Clerk ; A. J. Nelson, Edward Stubblefield and Samuel B. Kinsey, Commissioners of Highways ; John Kellogg and Samuel Y. Ewing, Justices of the Peace ; and William Carrington and Charles B. Wright, Constables.

The largest number ol votes ever cast at an election was 335, though the number of voters in the township at this time probably exceeds 350.

A decided cast to the complexion of politics was given by the early settlers of the colony. They were, with scarcely an exception, rank Abolitionists. Indeed, if tradition is to be relied on, a regular station of the underground railroad, with agent and conductor, existed in the neighborhood. John Moss was suspected of being connected with the scheme of aiding and abetting and otherwise assisting runaway slaves in their efforts to gain their freedom. It is said that in Moss' cellar was a secret chamber, of which no man except John Moss knew the location or existence until his old house was removed, when, this same tradition says, it was brought to light. In this dark recess, during the day, at the approach of danger, the dark objects of Mr. Moss' solicitude received by way of the railroad during the previous night, were concealed until the danger was past. The following night. Moss or some other sympathizer would convey the human chattels to Aunt Polly Mahan's station, at Laxington ; or, if the nights were long and the roads and weather good, to that equally notorious nest of Abolitionists in New Michigan, in Livingston, to be cared for in a similar manner by Charles Paget and his coadjutors.

The War

With the next important event in the history of this township, the underground, railroads and their necessity passed away, as at one grand stroke the shackles of those yet remaining in bondage were struck off, and their perilous pilgrimage to Canada thus dispensed with.

It is not to be wondered at that this township, whose political education had consisted largely in means of bringing discomfort to the slave-owners and their hired slavecatchers, should take a deep interest in a war which, though not, primarily, waged in the interests of the colored race, must, nevertheless, result in their liberation. To that end, Mount Hope made a large and precious sacrifice. The alarm of war had scarcely sounded before the able-bodied citizens of the township were seen marching toward the nearest recruiting-stations, as it were, in squads. Most of those who went from this township enlisted in the Second and Fifth Illinois Cavalry and in the Seventh and One Hundred and Seventeenth Infantry. Company A of the One Hundred and Seventeenth was made up almost wholly of Mount Hope soldiers. It is difficult to say, at this time,.

how many actually went from this township, as many went to other towns and enlisted there, and were never credited to this township. Notwithstanding this apparent loss, the township was never drafted, and, at the close of the war, had more than furnished its full quota.

Of those who went out to fight the battles of their country and who returned not, are remembered Daniel Feathers, Adam Hoffman, Michael Kauffman, Nathan Kinsey, J. Ewing. William Stone, John Harley, William Waltman, D. Perstannie, Emanuel Keeve, D. Brock, Peter Burbank, George Brown, Casper Heckard, John Caton, Caleb Chapin, William Haughey, William Owen, Clarence Trott, Edward Butts, Emery Crawford and David Mason. Quite a number of these were killed in actual conflict, some died in rebel prisons of starvation, and others of wounds or disease contracted in the army. Their bones lie mingled with the soil of the country which they went out to rescue from the hands of those who sought the destruction of the Union. The sacrifice was a costly one, but their country demanded and they gave it willingly.

The township was honored by the selection from the ranks of its brave boys of quite a number to fill high positions in the army. In Company A of the One Hundred and Seventeenth Regiment, the commissioned officers were all Mount Hope men. Samuel B. Kinsey, who had resigned his office of Supervisor, was Captain ; H. W. Wood, who had also resigned the office of Constable, was First Lieutenant, and Dennis Kenyon was Second Lieutenant of the same company. Charles Beath was promoted to the office of Captain of Company A. in the One Hundred and Seventeenth Regiment; Benjamin Hieronomous, to First Lieutenant, and George W. Brown, to Second Lieutenant. F. A. Wheelock and C. W. Wheelock were both promoted to captaincies in the Fifth Cavalry. A. H. Dillon was First Lieutenant in the Thirty-eighth Regiment ; James Palmer, Second Lieutenant in the One Hundred and Fifty-second Regiment, and Austin Rollins was promoted to a Lieutenancy in the First Missouri Cavalry.

Mount Hope Township is noted for its good schools. No interest has received greater attention than that of education, and the amount expended for the purpose of educating the youth is greater than that paid out for any other single object of a public character.

A lady of the name of Pierce taught in her own house the first school in this part of the county. She was one of the Mount Hope Colonists, and her house was just east of the village. The school consisted of a few of the children of the colonists, and the branches taught were a little reading, writing and arithmetic.

A schoolhouse was built in very early times on Section 32 in Town 21, which was then in this county, but now in Logan, and near where Atlanta now stands. A schoolhouse was also built at an early date in Funk's Grove, a little west of the present site of Funk's Grove Station. These two schools were attended by the children of Mount Hope Township for several years, when a house was erected in the colony neighborhood. This was a small frame building, and was erected for both school and church purposes. The building was erected partly with means obtained from persons in the East friendly to the colonists. It was used for a number of years as a house of worship and as a school - house. Soon after the village of McLean was laid out, it was removed to that place, where it was devoted to similar purposes until its usefulness had been outlived and more commodious quarters, both religious and educational, had been provided.

Prof. Of Language Ills. Normal University

At the time the boundaries of Mount Hope were fixed, in 1858, there were in the township five schoolhouses, mostly of rather an inferior character. At that time, the school law of the State had been in operation but three years, and a few items extracted from the report of Daniel Wilkins, then School Commissioner of McLean County, will be interesting and instructive, as compared with similar items of the present year.

The people of Mount Hope are proud of their school system, of their comfortable and well-furnished schoolhouses and of their efficient school officers, and believe firmly that they will compare favorably with those of any township in the county.

Mill interests in the early history of the county were considered of much greater importance than at present. The easy communication between neighborhoods, towns and cities by means of the railroad has revolutionized almost everything, but nothing more than that of transforming the grain into flour or meal. To the early settler, one of the most important items in his calculations was the grinding of his grain. There were no steam-mills then, and a site for a water-mill was an important thing. The pioneers were all poor, and, though mill-sites might have been plenty, they could not improve them. Therefore, numerous devices were invented to convert wheat and corn into bread. A few were possessed of hand-mills not greatly unlike those in use some thousands of years ago, and to which allusion is made in the Bible (Matt., xxiv, 41) : " Two women shall be grinding at the mill," etc. By and by, some of the more forehanded farmers brought in a kind of horse-mill, which, though a very primitive affair, was considered a valuable accession to the industries of the neighborhood, and a wonderful convenience. These mills were mostly used for simply cracking corn, upon which the old pioneers lived. Corn was the staple feed for man and beast, and upon it they all thrived and grew healthy and strong.

About fifty years ago, Isaac Baker began the erection of a water-mill on Sugar Creek in Funk's Grove, but for some reason, the enterprise was abandoned. It was at about that time that he was elected to the office of " C. C. C. C," when he removed to

About ten years later, John Caton erected a small water-mill on Sugar Creek, which has not yet ceased its busy din. The mill, though a small affair, had, in its early days, an enviable reputation, and was looked upon as almost an indispensable thing. Things are different now. Mills are now usually extensive establishments, and furnish flour to consumers hundreds of miles away. Formerly, it was the universal custom for farmers to make their monthly trips to the mill with a bag of wheat, and, returning a week later, find it ground into flour for the family use. Now, most farmers sell all of their grain at the nearest railroad station. The grain-buyer sends it to the city, there to be handled and commissioned by the elevator. Then it is bought by one of those extensive grinding establishments, made into flour, put up in barrels or neat little sacks, and sold to a wholesale dealer in flour. From there it goes, by way of the same railroad that carried it as grain, back to the village, where it was formerly bought to be handled by the grocer and sold to the same man who produced it. Everybody who touched it in the long round has made a little money out of it, and this leaves us in a quandary how all this can be done and still compete with good mills near home. Perhaps some of the late disclosures on adulterated food may yet throw light on the subject.

Village Of Mclean

The year 1852 was an eventful one for the region of country through which the Chicago & Alton Railroad was built. Along the completed part of the line, sprang up a score or more of villages and towns heretofore undreamed of. The products of the prairie, in a very short time, from various causes based directly on the completion of this enterprise, doubled, trebled, and then quadrupled. This required a corresponding increase of trades to handle the same, and the railroad company gave every encouragement toward the development of the country and the villages along its route. Though McLean did not at once spring into prominence, it may be said it is, in every sense of the word, a creature of the road.

The town was laid out by Peter Folsom, then County Surveyor for Franklin Price, from the southeast quarter of Section 35, Town 22, Range 1 west. A stone planted in the northeast corner of Lot 1 of Block 1, was planted for the guidance of all future surveys.