Stark County, Illinois - Chapter 5: The Fauxa of Stark County, 1876 (part 2 of 5)

In August, 1807, about the same class of gentlemen determined to start and sustain if possible a permanent democratic paper within Stark county. Arrangements were made to purchase an office, that is press, type, c^-c, from Mr. John Smith, now of Princeton, the same John Smith who had supplied the antiqua- ted concern with wliich 'Mr. Hewitt liad commenced work in IS;')."), lienjaniin Turner, M. Shallenber<>-er, Patrick Xowlan, James Xowlan and Branson Lownian became responsible to I\lr. .Smith for j^ayment for said press. Setli Rockwell, a young printer took cliarge of the pul)lication of this i)aper, which was to l>e called after its predecessor " The Stark County 1 democrat," and INI. Sliallenberg'er toolv control of the editorial department for a year. This paper seems to liave secured a good circulation and met tlie wishes of its patrons, but jNIr. Rockwell failed to keep his engagement witii Mr. Smith, and the securities took the press off his hands, and in August, 18G8, sold to Benjamin AV. Seaton, an experienced printer; M. Shallenberger continuing to edit conjointly with the new publisher for another year, at which time Mr. Seaton took entire control, and changed tlie name of the paper to that of " The Prairie Chief." At this time he enlarged the paper, and added much to the resources of the office, his management Ijeing considered eminently successful considering time, place and op- 2)ortunities. But early in the year 1S72, finding a larger and more inviting field of effort in Henry county, he sold his Toulon office to Henry M. Hall, who continued to publish a democratic paper here from April, 1872, till January, 1876, when he concluded to remove to the state of Io^\'a, where he now publishes " The Red Oak New Era," devoted for the present to " Tilden and reform." So Stark county democrats are again without a local paper devoted to the dissemination of tlieir principles.

The new sensation in Stark county journalism that marks this centennial year, is the advent of a tiny tri-weekly, called " INIoIly Stark," from the office of O. White, at Toulon. It is yet too soon in the history of this enterprise to judge of its ultimate success. But this we can say, it is commanding a good share of attention, and deserves more than it receives. Mr. AVhite's idea of issuing a small sheet often, filled, not with "Chicago hash," or "patent insides," but with the pith of the latest intelligence, and paragraphs of local importance, meets the approbation of many minds. And this, with liis well known taste in selection, makes " Molly Stark " like a newsy letter, very enjoyable to people generally. A^ an advertising medium, it is also important to business men, and needs only more liberal patronage to secure it as a permanent advantage to many interests.

However, the editor's political prescience tliat led him to set the lamented Lincoln at the head of his columns in 1SG4, seems to have forsaken him in 187G, as we noticed " INIolly Stark " led off

Merchandise

There were shipped from the station at Toulon during the year 1874, 200 cars of corn, 145 cars of hogs, 107 cars of oats, 68 cars of cattle, 30 cars of rye, 10 cars of wheat, 5 cars of household goods, 2 cars of brick, 2 cars of hay, 1 car of flour, 1 car of mules, 1 car of horses, and one car of sheep. Of merchandise, butter, eggs, hides, &c., there were shipped 251,700 pounds.

During the same year there were received 151 cars of lumber, 8 cars of hogs, 9 cars of salt, 1 car of nails, 5 cars of cattle, 2 cars of stone, 4 cars of lime, 11 cars of brick, 1 car of sewer pipe and 1,507,059 pounds of merchandise. The passenger business for the same time was $4,492.80.

The Toulon cheese manufacturing company was organized December 22d, 1874, with a capital of $5,000. The manufacture of cheese was commenced May 10th, 1875, and closed for the winter, October 23rd of the same year. During this first season there were 420,010 pounds of milk jmrchased. From this 41,800 pounds of cheese was manufactured, and proved to be excellent in (quality and flavor, and a ready market was found for all that could be made. The milk and labor cost the comj^any $4,850.74. The factory is one of the best arranged in this part of the state. Its ground dimensions are 40x00 feet, with an engine room additional. The second story, whicli is of the same size as the ground floor is used entirely for drying. There are at present two vats, each of a capacity of 5,000 pounds of milk, and with all the latest improvements in machinery, the factory is perfectly equipped for its work. The season of 1870, at this present writing is just opened, but shows an increase Of more than double the flrst season in receijits of milk. The total cost of the structure and machinery was $3,500.

Among our towns, Wyoming is entitled to the claim of x)riority in order of time ; being founded l)y General Thomas, May, 1830, it antedates Toulon by four years, Lafayette by less than one.

P'or a long time it had little but a name. In a communication to "The Lacon Herald" in 1838, it is spoken of a« having upon its site " one second hand log smoke house " which served the double purpose of store and post oflice. Nevertheless its name appears upon several majis of that time, and it was a prominent candidate for the county seat. It is said that some speculators interested in the sale of lots, had circulars struck off and circulated in the eastern states, in which this town was represented in 1837, at the head of navigation on Spoon river, with fine warehouses towering aloft and boats lying at the wharf which negroes were loading and unloading, giving the appearence of a busy commercial mart. This may be but a story, still it serves to illustrate the speculating mania of those days ; wliich disease has not yet ceased to afflict mankind, but only traveled a few degrees fiirther west.

TJie town of Osceola will never be liyard of again, exce])t as a reniiuiseeuce ; but as to Wyoming, the dreams of her founders have only been slow of navigation. If the last few years have not brought navigable water and laded steamers, they have brought the steam engine and its groaning, creaking train of passenger and freight cars, bringing business and consequent growth and prosperity in its wake. The community which so long existed as a mere hamlet or village, sprang at the shrill cry of the steam whistle into a thriving town, garrisoned with a full and efficient corps of enterprising business men, wiio know no sj^ich word as failure.

For the opening of the Dixon, Peoria and ITannibal railway, now known as the Buda branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railway, they are mainly indel)ted to the imtiring and long unrequited labors of Dr. Alfred Castle.

The completion of the Peoria and Bock Island railway in ls71, doubled their facilities for business, and this together with their immense coal treasures opens an alluring prospect for the future.

Wyoming in 1874, claims a population of thirteen hundred or more, and is incorporated under the "general law," having a president and board of trustees, &c. There is nothing peculiar in the character of this board only as they are supposed to represent the public sentiment of the town by constituting themselves an anti-license board, so far as the sale of spirituous liquors is concerned - and this is true whatever sentiment the individuals members thereof may entertain on the vexed questions of the liquor traffic. Public sentiment is so strongly opposed to it, that there seems no danger of its being legalized for many years to come at any rate.

Every argument has been adduced, every device resorted to, every effort made by the votaries of Bacchus, and those quasi temperance folks who talk about " regulating the evil," to change this legislation, but in vain. Wyoming does not propose to "benefit her trade " by making drunkards of her sons, or raise a revenue by imposing fines upon them, but is so far as her govermnent can make her so a strictly temperance town. This state of things has obtained for ten or twelve years, or ever since the " woman's raid," an episode which though condemned by some, has certainly resulted in good to the community at large. And while good citizens concur in deploring mobs at all times, if the iron of a great wrong is allowed to burn into the very flesh of any class or I)arty however small or helpless, and legal redress is persistently denied, we may expect sueli outtre.^ks. Let our rulers le.^ru wisdom ; tliere is an end to liunian endurance - even woman's .sometimes fails, and then she seeks to avenge her fearful v\'ounds by frantic violence and unwomanly dec'ds.

But Wyoming is determined tliere shall Ije no future necessity for such action, and jnu'sues the wise policy of choosing for her municipal ofticers lier best men, irrespective of party politics. And the business done, the improvements made, the economy observed, the quiet and good order that usually prevail, as well as the evenness of the receipts and expenditures at the close of each fiscal year, all testify to the soundness of her i)olicy.

Before turning to other matters, it may be well to record the names of the present town board - not for the idle compliment of nanung them in this connection, Init because it is the constant aim of the ^^-riter to give names jirominent in any enterprise or proceedings alluded to, in order to give a sort of individuality to these })ages and add to tlieir interest and value in after years, if not at the date of publication.

President and board of trustees of the town of AVyoming 187-3 : President, S. F. Otman ; Trustees, G. W. Scott, J. H. Klocke, C. P. McCorkle, D. H. Stone, A. D. Wolfe; Clerk, W. H. Butler ; Attorney, .1. E. Decker ; Reporter, E. H. Phelps. Other town officials : A. G. Hannnond, Treasurer ; Isaac Thomas, Magistrate ; Harvey Pettit, Constable.

In this regard Wyoming has done well. Of the five denominations represented here, four of them have respecta))le church edifices, the fifth (United Brethren), although weak as regards numbers, has recently purchased a school house and are repairing and refitting it, and will doubtless make it a good house of worship. The others Mill be briefly noticed in the order of their organization, which of course brings the Methodist to the front, as it enjoys the honor of I)eing throughout our land the pioneer church. Writes a correspondent : " There is an air of anti(j[uity about it, that does not pertain to any other, as it had an existence before the town or county was thought of as to name. Beyond, in the twilight of our history, when ' the groves were God's temples,' the itinerant preachers of this faith ' held forth in this part of the moral vinyard.' My recollection goes back to 183o, - forty years ago, when their services were held in the log school house near Mr. Josiah Mofiitt's farm, there being then no meeting house in Wyoming, and extends to some wlio owapied tlieir pulpit* in the olden time and who would have graced any pulpit in the land, men like Phelps, Berryman and ]\Iorey, and the uneducated eccentx'ic, but gifted Pitner, whose oratory, rude though it was, is seldom surpassed by the more polished and hackneyed phrase of later days."

During its early struggles here, this denomination owed much to the hospitality and liberality of General Thomas and family, but has long been on an independent footing, owns its church building and parsonage, and pays its $1,000.00 per annum for the preaching of the gospel. It claims about eighty members, and ninety attendant upon its sabbath school instructions.

St. Luke'S Protestant Episcopal Church

An examination of the archives of the St. Luke's church in Wyoming, shows that the first service of the church was held by the Rev. Richard Radley of Jubilee, at the residence of Captain Henry Butler, commencing in the fall of 18-18, and continuing monthly until March, 18")1, when Mr. Radley left the diocese for that of west New York, and was succeeded by the Rev. Philander Chase, who held service in the public school house until the present church was erected. In September, 1851, the parish was organized, the instrument of organization as follows:

" We, wliose names are hereunto afiixed, deeply sensible of the truth of the christian religion, and earnestly desirous of promoting its holy influence in our hearts, and those of our liimilies and neighbors, do hereby associate ourselves under the name of St. Luke's Parish, in communion with the Protestant Episcopal church in the United Slates, and di(X'ese of Illinois, the authority of whose constitution and canons we do hereby recognize, and to whose liturgy and mode of worship we promise conformity."

"Dated, Wyoming, Septemlier 2nd, ISoy. Signed by IT, A. Hoist, Henry Butler, Charles S. Payne, L. S. Millikei;, Thomas B. AVhiffen and W. B. McDonald."

The parish was admitted into union with the diocese, October 18th, 1855. In May, 1857, the church building was begun, and the first service was held in it on February I'sth, 1858. It was consecrated at the visitation of the Right Reverend, the Bishop of the diocese (Bishop Chase) in August following.

The Reverend Philander Chase having removed to Jubilee, the parish was left without a rector, and services were sustained by lay readers until October 2d, 1869, when Reverend Thomas N. Benedict was settled over the parish. The reverend gentleman having resigned August 2d, 1873, September following the present rector (Reverend F. H. Potts) assumed the charge.

The recent rapid imj)rovement and growth of Wyoming in another direction rendered the old site an inconvenient one for the accommodation of the congregation, consequently in February, 1874, the church was removed from its former location to the present more central and pleasant one on Galena avenue, upon ground donated to the parish by one of its members. Dr. Alfred Castle. At the same time the church was remodeled and otlierwise very much improved, at very near the cost of a new one, and rendered churchly in all its arrangements.

But no truthful history of St. Luke's church can ever be written without an acknowledgment of the liberal gifts and gratuitous services long rendered by Rev. Philander Chase.

Baptist Church

The history of the Baptist church in W^yoming is somewhat interesting, considering its numerical weakness, and its poverty at the start, the obstacles it had to contend with through its career, and its present com])arative prosi^erous condition, with its new church, and neat and tasteful interior decorations, convenient ap- ])ointments and accommodations, its increased membership, its flourishing sabbath school, and the influence it is exerting in the community.

At the time of its organization, which was in August, 18G7, there were only 13 persons who presented themselves as members, and ten of these were elderly women, and only three men, who represented so small an amount of capital that it was thought advisable by one of the elders who took a prominent I)art in the services connected with the organization of the socie- ty, that it bo deferred to some future time, until they would beeome stronger in numbers, richer in i>urse, and more able to i^.ssume the burdens and responsibilities incident to the formation and support of a Baptist church. The elder referred to, who then represented a wealthy and stylish Baptist church in a city not far distant, with perliaps the best of motives, was so earnest in his opposition that it gave offence to the poor but pious and humble members of the society there present, and after a discussion pro and con it was determined to proceed with the organization ; and the sequel proves that it was not only a wise decision, but that small beginnings sometimes result in prosperous endings, that " the race is not always to thes\\'ift nor the battle to the strong." The society met, by permission, inthe Methodistchurch, for the Baptists had none of their own, and aprominent and tolerant jNtethodist preacher, who graced the assemblage, in the course of the exercises added great interest to the proceedings l)y offering up a fervent and eloquent prayer for the success of the church, organized under such unfavorable circumstances. Providentially, an elder of the Baptist church, comprehending the situation, gratuitously offered his ministerial services for a year, at the expiration of which he was engaged for a second year at a meager salary, and thus the soeiety struggled on in its devious course for years until other and wealthier members were added to the little flock, who would no ]nore live without a house to worship in than one to domicile in, when it was determined to build a church. INIen of executive ability took hold of the enterprise ; the liberal contributions of some of the members, or all of them in fact when circumstances are considered, show wliat earnest men and women were engaged m the work ; and, aided by contributions from other quarters in July, 1872, the house was finished and on the 10th of the same month dedicated for public worship. On the day of its dedication every dollar of its indebtedness was either paid or pledged for - some $1,400 - I)r. Evarts, of Chicago, ]Mr. Harris of the C, B. & Q. R. R., and others from abroad taking i>art in the proceedings ui)on the occasion - and contributing liberally towards liquidating the indebtedness of the church, so that it might start upon its career of usefulness, unincumbered.

Congregational, Church

It is no (lisparag-ement to the others to assert (at least none is meant) tliat tliis is the most popuhir cliurch or<;anization in the town, and for various reasons ; prominent among these, is the ability, intellectual and otherwise, of its pastor - Mr. Walters - who is a genial, conii)anionable gentleman, tolerant towards other christian sects, and withal a devoted christian himself, managing the church with singularly good judgment, not only religiously but socially. He is comparatively a new resident, being a native of Derbyshire, England, from which place he came with his family some five years since, locating directly in AVyoming. He immediately commenced business as a jeweller, a calling he had long since adopted, although laboring to some extent from the pulpit at the same time. Being a man of extensive reading, (luick observation, and a most faithful student, he soon made his presence felt for good in the community, and l)ecame a favorite with church-goers particularly, and not one of them all would withhold this passing tribute in connection Avith AVyoming churches. February 18th, 1873, a meeting was called at the residence of Dr. C'opestake, " to consider the propriety of organizing a Congregational church in AVyoming." After electing Mr. John Hawks, chairman, and J. F. Rockhold, secretary, they resolved to carry out their plan of organization, which was completed April 2d, 1873, at the house of the chairman.

The original members were fourteen in number, and consisted of the following named persons : - .John Rockhold, Prudence Rockhold, John C. Copestake, Sarah C. Cojiestake, John Hawks, Augusta Hawks, Henry F. Turner, Charlotte Turner, James Buckley, Susannah Buckley, Ann AVrigley, Mary C. Scott, AVilliam AValters, Mary Ann AValters. "

In the two years passed since the organization, the membership has grown from fourteen to forty-eight or fifty, and they have built certainly the finest church edifice in the county, both as to interior arrangement and external appearance and adornment. It is usually called " gothic " as to style of architecture but as to whether it is strictly so or not, critics differ, though all concede it is a durable and graceful structure, and reflects credit on the designer, Mr. John Hawks. It is handsomely frescoed by Frank Dirkson of Peoria, and the windows of stained glass, are of the latest style and admired by all. This marks a new era in church building in our county, and it is devoutly to be hoped

" The government is vested in the body of Christian ljelie\'^rs who compose it, whose majority vote is final. It is amenal^le to no other ecclesiastical authority." Trustees: John C. Copestake, John AVrigley, H. F. Turner, John Hawks and George Kerns.

There seems to be but one cause of regret with regard to this enterprise, viz : that the edifice was not placed upon higher ground, a more commanding situation ; of which it is so well worthy, and shovild have been procured at almost any cost. Wyoming seems inclined to mistakes of this nature, the south side school house not making the impression it would if placed more favorably. But perhaps the critic should remember hills are rather scarce in that region.

Neither in the matter of schools, is Wyoming willing to be one jot behind her neighboring towns. There is no recent improvement more manifestly due to the liberality of her citizens than that of their present school buildings. The advent of the railroad and consequent influx of population, rendered more school room necessary, and notwithstanding the heavy burdens already imposed upon the people they determined to submit to greater, rather than do any longer without good educational facilities. While individual enterprise was investing capital upon a large scale to advance the material prosperity of the to\^'n, the idea obtained that it was right, while taking these initiatory steps, to foster such institutions as shonld promote the moral and intellectual welfare also. The result is manifest in the churches and schools of which Wyoming is justly proud. The school houses are located quite conveniently for the accommodation of the pupils - one on the "north side," the other on the "south side," representing the two wings or divisions of the town.

The former occupies high ground and is a fine brick structure, imposing in appearance, commanding a view of the country. Its architectural merits are highly spoken of, the credit being due no doubt in great measure to the genius of Mr. Hawks, who continues whenever occasion offers to ornament the town with his fine architectural conceptions. The main building is 84x0(3 feet, with a wing 35x12. It is arranged for seating 216 pupils, and the plans for heating and ventilating are said to be excellent. The work is Avell done, and the cost inchiding- furniture and fixtures is something- over ten thousand dollars. This school o}iened .September, 1S74, with a very callable teacher, Prof. S. S. "Wood as principal. Miss R. Ward, assistant, and a roll of SO scholars, l)ut this number increasing to 120 in November, Miss Carrie Butler was employed to take charge of the intermediate dej)artment. The ?<outh side school house though not so showy as the other, (principally because it is not so conspicuously located) is nevertheless pleasantly situated facing the i)ublic square, which has recently been ornamented with evergreens, and other native trees. It is also built of brick, is a tasteful and convenient structure, furnishing accommodations for 282 scholars. The amount of space enclosed does not differ many feet from the north side house, but the internal arrangement is somewhat dilferent. It has high ceilings, good ventilation, cloak rooms, halls, and indeed all modern appliances for comfort. And the gentlemen ^^-ho superintended its erection, are entitled to a meed of j^raise from all interested, that they completed this work in so substantial and satisfactory a manner, and at so small a cost - as it is estimated, furniture inclu- <led, to have cost less than $8,000. This institution opened its tirst year with Mr. William Nowlan as principal, and if any reader of these pages is not familiar with that gentleman's record as a teacher, let him but enquire of the boys and girls who have been going to school, almost anywhere in Stark county for the last six or eight years ; it will not take them long to agree on a verdict. Mr. Nowlan was ably assisted by Miss Stone, and Miss Hule in the primary department. At present Mr. AV. R. Sandham, another teacher Avith an enviable reputation, presides over the destinies of the "south side" school, with Mr. W. W. Hammond in the grammar. Miss Butler in the intermediate, and Miss Walker in the primary department.

No pains or expense are spared to make these institutions worthy of patronage, and there is no reasonable doubt that pupi of average capacity can obtain therein an education sufficient for all practical purposes ; we may say free of expense to them.

"The Bradford Clirnnu-lo" luul soniG circulation in and about Wyoming- in 1S72. , This was an "east side paper," but AN'yonuns was bent upon liavinj^- a journal of her own to support and advance her interests. So in this year (1S7:2) 3[r. E, H. Plielps was* in(hiced by the business men of tlie phice to locate an office here. This he did, and uniting- the interests both of Bradford and Wyonung- by consolidating- tlie "Chronicle" with the "Post" under the name of "Post and C'hroincle." This was AVyoming-'s tirst newspajjer.

In a short time it changed its name to the " Wyonung Post," under which title it is still i)ublished. The first nundjer of this paper was issued August 9th, 1872, with eighty actual subscribers.

This was a five column quarto sheet devoted to the advocacy of republican principles. For one year and a half it had " patent insides," but is now printed entirely at home, with a steadily increasing patronage and a circulation "grown to 850 ;" so says our informant.

But this question of the circulation of newspapers appears to be one upon which but few agree and we shall put but few fii'-ures upon record touching this point, lest we l>e convicted of error. But that the AVyonnng- Post is a success, financially and otherwise, is beyond dispute. And that the man who could contrive to build up such an interest in so short a time, and from such small beginnings, must possess a rather unusual cond)ination of tact, talent, and executive ability, must l)e conceded by all not blinded by personal piques or political prejudices. 3[r. Phelj^s is an indefatigable worker and must be " a power" in any community.

On the other hand such characters are always i)Ositive, and sometimes rash, and as they move with celerity are lialjle to "get up a breeze" at times, but are usually willing to abide the consequences of their own acts, and repair the damages as far as possible.

Within the last year another claimant for popular favor has ap- ])('ared in AVyonnng - a well printed sheet bearing- the title of "The Stark County Bee." This busy journal is issued under the immediate auspices of 31. M. Monteith, and bids fair to be one of the leading papers of the county. It is understood to be republican in politics, yet independent. Preferring rather to be the exl>onent and promoter of local interests than to make politics a hobby.

And Tts Pioneers

Previous to tlu' year isnc, tliouu'h there were several "Master Masons" aimniii' her pojuilatioii, Wyoniiiiii' liad no or<.',anize<l body of " Ancient, Free and Accepted ^Masons." Those of lier eitlz(Mis who had previous to that date passed throu<;ii tlie ordeal of the "sublime deyree," conferred tou'ether for the purpose of taking- the initiatory steps to form a lod<;t' of Masons, but as no one amon<i' them considered himself sulliciently i>osted to assume the responsibilities of tlu' " master's place," this desideratum was not suj)plied until the return of the Hcv. J. AV. Aj^ard to his former home, as a ]»ermanent resident. At this juncture stei)s weri' taken to or<iani/e a lodyc of Masons, and JNlessrs. J. W. Agard, Henry A. Hoist, Isaac Thomas, W. F. Thomas, T. ^V. Bloomer, S. K. Conover, (1. W. Scott, J. J I. Cox, master masons, and Samuel Wri.u'ley and Henry M. Rogers, entered ai)prentice masons, advanced the necessary funds reipured and made ai)plicati()n to the ])ro])er authoriti(^s to consunnuate its organization.

By permission of the then (Jrand Master of the Grand Lodo(M)f Masons, of the state of Illinois, to wliom a])i)lication had been made by the above named citizens, tlu^ initial meeting of Wyonnng Lodge was held, February 2Sth, A. 1). ISHIj, or in the t(H'hnical language of the secretary's record : -

Such are the details of the history and formation of the first lodge of Masons convened iit Wyoming. And thus it continued with only eight members at the commencement, until its probationary time, "under dispensation," expired, when it was grant-

It was granted, as the document reads, "at the petition of J. " W. Agard, Cx. W. Scott, Henry A. Hoist, 8. K. Conover, Thom- "as W. Bloomer, .J. H. Cox, Henry M. Rogers, John Wrigley, "Simon Cox, Isaac Thomas," who were its charter members.

At a special communication November 14th, A. D. 1866, the first meeting under the charter, the record informs us that " W. " P. Master, 1^-. Tlios. .J. Henderson being present, consecrated " Wyoming Lodge, numl>er 479, assisted by Br. William Low- " man as Marshal, and instituted the following brethren as offi- "cers of Wyonnng Lodge numl)er479: J. W. Agard, Master; " George W. Scott, S. W.; Henry M. Rogers, .1. W.; John Wrig- " ley. Treasurer ; Henry A. Hoist, Secretary ; S. K. Conover, 8. "D.; Thomas AV, Bloomer, J. U.; J. H. Cox, Tyler."

The lodge, organized under a charter, has continued to prosper from that time to the present, and from its eight members at the start has increased to a membership of about eighty. It held its meetings in the first place over the old drug store of H. A. Hoist, afterward over the store of Es(i. Thomas, and subsequently, in the hall over the "Boston" store; changes made necessary on account of its increasing membership, and continued to be held at the latter i)lace until those apartments became too small and inconvenient, when it removed to its present (piarters, on the corner of Seventh and William streets, in a building erected for the purpose of a ]Masonic Hall, by Rev. J. \V. Agard. J. W. Agard continued master of the lodge from 1866 to 1872, and F. W. Bloomer from that date to the present, 1876.

The officers of the lodge for the present year, 1876, are T. W. Bloomer, W. M.; Selden Miner, S. W.; M. P. Meeker, J. W.; John Wrigley, Treasurer ; W. H. Butler, Secretary ; John Ellis, S. D.; Jerry Cox, J. D.; Isaac Thomas and Alonzo INIoffltt, Stewards ; E. C. AVayman, Chaplain; P. H. Smith, Tyler.

AVe are indebted to Mr. W. II. Butler for the above items as regards the A. F. & A. Masons, witliout whose kindness the secret societies of AVyoming- must have passed ahiiost unnoticed.

Koyal Arch Masons

The charter members were J. W. Agard, William Lowman of Toulon, William Eagleston, George W. Scott, Samuel Wrigley, Thomas W. Bloomer, John Ellis, Henry M. Rogers, James M. Rogers, and J. Harvey Cox. The present strength (September, 187G) of this lodge is forty-six active members.

On the 2J)th of May, 1862, a flimily of the Eastern Star was organized at the house of J. W. Agard, styled "Wyoming I'amily Eastern Star," number 134. The first members were J. W. Agard, H. A. Hoist, S. K. Conover, George W. Scott, J. M. Rogers, John AVrigley, Mrs. ]Margaret Conover, Mrs. Mary C. Scott, Mrs. Martha Agard, Mrs. xVnn Wrigley, Mrs. Harriet Rogers and Miss Rebecca Butler. The order was well sustained, and continued to increase in numbers and influence until February 18th, 1871, when by general consent of the members it was superseded by "Wyoming Chapter, No. 52, of the Eastern StiYr." The present strength of the lodge is eighty-two resident meml)ers. But three deaths have occurred in the order since its organization, viz : Mrs. Martha Agard, Mr. H. M. Hoist, and Mrs. Harriet Ticknor. To the objects common to all lodges of this order the Wyoming Chapter has added that of cultivation of a literary taste, and the exercises of this character have become a very marked and interesting feature of its meetings. Great credit is due to very many members of this order for the great success it has attained but especially to Mr. J. W. Agard, who has been its worthy patron since its organization, and to Mrs. Sarah Otman, who for three years served as Worthy 3Iatron. To their interest and ijidefatigable labors much of the prosperity of Wyoming Chapter is due.

Odd Fellows

Wyoming Lodge number 244, I. O. O. F., wt^s organized on October l-lth, 1S")7, in Wyoming, Stark county, state of Illinois, with the following charter mendjers : Henry xV. Hoist, AV. B. Armstrong, John Hawks, C. W. Brown, V. M. AMiitfen and Isaac N. Tidd.

This order prospered nntil October, 1863, the members being called away by the late war, they surrendered up their charter. The lodge was again reinstated by the following members : Henry A. Hoist, Thomas W. Bloomer, John Hawks, Chas. S. Payne, John C. Wright and C. AV. Brown, on February 6th, 1871, with the following as officers for the term : H. A. Hoist, N. G.; Thomas W. Bloomer, V. CJ.; John Hawks, II. S. ; C. W. Brown, Treasurer. Total membership, at this time, nine. At the close of the year of 1871, total membership twenty-three ; at the close of the year of 1872, total membership forty-eight ; at the close of the year 1878, total membership forty-eight ; at the close of the year 1S74, total membership fifty-eight ; at the close of the year 1875, total membership fifty-nine ; at the close of term, June, 1876, total membership sixty-one, with the following officers for the current term :

H. J. Cosgrove, N. G.; Elisha Clark, V. G.; S. B. Fargo, R. S.; AVilliam Lyons, P. S.; J. M. Cox, Treasurer; C. F. Hamilton, representative to Grand Lodge. They have a very fine hall, one of the best in the county, 22x60. The order is in flourishing condition, their rent is i)aid in advance for seven years, with money at interest, and the utmost harmony prevails. Their regular nights of meeting are Tuesday evening of each week.

Wyoming Encampment, Number 174

The first,and only Encampment in Stark county at the present time, was organized and instituted March 24th, 1876, by P. C. P., N. C. Xason. Charter members : J. M. Brown, C. F. Hamilton, J. M. Cox, T. B. AVall, D. S. Hewitt, H, J. Cosgrove, J. D. AVoods, I. P. Carpenter, J. L.Moffitt, Dennis Guyre, and John Hawks.

After what we know of the churches and schools of Wyominij:, one would expect to find tlie people, as a rule social and intellij^-ent if not religious. And it is said that this is eminently true ; that there is a hearty co-operation and commingling of all classes of society in social relations and simple pleasures, somewhat at variance perhaps with conventional rules, but entirely consonant with the spirit of repul)lican institutions. Then they are earnestly cultivating a love of letters and tine literature by sustaining a literary society with this especial end in view.

The fine arts, music and painting, also have their votaries in this busy community ; great attention being given to cultivating these tastes among the youth, almost every household having its piano or organ. Yet the complaint is here, as elsewhere, that church music does not reach as high a standard as it should. It is much to l)e regretted that this l)eautiful and important branch of christian worship does not receive the attention it deserves in many parts of our music loving land. As Wyoming, in common with other parts of the county is still in the active stage of life, intent on making money, l)uilding up business enterprises, &c., not having had time to accumulate a surplus of wealth to devote to luxuries and recreations, such things are still to a great degree undeveloped. Still there are two good public halls, "Central" and " Union," both of which enjoy good patronage, besides a Masonic and Odd P'ellow's hall, " manifesting an admirable e.sprit <le corps:' But after all "the chief end of man " seems to be business, in this region, and we pass to notice the

Coae Trade

Second to the agricultural interests only, as to its commercial and economic value, and as a source of wealth to this place and the surrounding country, is that of coal mining and the coal trade, which though yet in its infancy, as it were, probably contril)utes more to the growth and i)rosperity of Wyoming than that of any other interest, with the exception mentioned. The supplies of coal being inexhaustible, and of a superior quality, the demand steadily upon the increase, both for the local supply and for shipj)ing, one can hardly estimate its intrinsic value in connection with the future of Wyoming. From the foct that there is a mo- tive power, though lying- dormant, commensurate with an unlimited and inexhaustible supply of fuel, with the requisites of cheap living, favorable location, and easy transportation, an invitingfield is presented to capitalists to engage in extensive and varied manufacture at this point.

It would be interesting to give an extended and detailed account of the coal business as it has been developed from year to year from the commencement, giving an exhibit of its annual increase, but as the miners themselves have kept no particular record of it, and can give no very reliable information upon the subject, the speculations of a novice would hardly be satisfactory. The immediate locality of the coal trade, however, is fast fillingup with a mining i^opulation, and as to numbers will soon be a town of itself, containing its average of intelligence, morals, industry and thrift as a community, while its numerical strength is becoming- an object of interest and of competition as to its connection with our trade, and of speculation as a balance of power in the settlement of important questions.

is the most extensive institution of the kind in this vicinity ; employs a heavier force of men tlian any other, or probably all others combiiyd, and of course has invested in the business a very large capital. It has under its control, either by purchase or lease, eight hundred acres of the choicest coal land in the neighborhood, the securing of which, exclusively by sagacious, enterjirising- and wealthy business men, may give one an idea of its present value and of its future importance in a commercial point of view. This company does not interfere with the local trade to any considerable amount, but only as an accommodation occasionally, when there is a deficiency in the latter, but confines its business principally to shipping and sui)plying the rail road with coal. The 'J shaft" and machinery, in all their appointments and arrangements, above and below, are No. 1. For safety and the comfort of the minei's, it has its "escape shaft" and the be.st of facilities in its steam engines, iron tracks, cars, its system of drains, hoisting, and pumping apparatus, screens, chutes, etc., for carrying on the business in a complete and economical manner, and preparing the coal for commerce. The works below are laid out scientitically by a practical surveyor, and order and system prevail. Connected with these \\-orks are a large boarding house and a number of tenement houses, wliich are added to from time to time, and already the "sluift" neighborhood, distinct from any otlier, is Jbeginning to assume the proportions of a respectable village, resulting in a corresponding increase in the value of real estate on the " nortli side."

The capacity of this company at the present time, or rather of its works at Wyoming, for they have several others, is three hundred and fifty tons of coal [X'r day, if the demand should be to tiiat extent; its working force; the past winter was fifty men per day, upon an average; and the shii)ment for 1S71, including supplies to rail roads, amounted in round numbers to G0(),000 bushels of coal.

Connected with this enterprise is tlie " company's store" on the north side, an individual atftur however, where most of the em- I)loyes do their trading, and its proprietor is said to have a " mighty good thing " in securing the patronage of this institution.

Tfie local trade in the article of coal is almost entirely confined to those shafts and banks owned and oi)erated by private individuals. There are seven of them now in op(;ration. Together they emj)loy a considerable force of men, and in the busy season, as the nuner is always a liberal trader and flush with cash, an impetus is given to business not witnessed at any othertime. Portions of both Marshall and Pooria counties are tributary to tliese banks for their supplies of fuel - a trade which is extending in area and increasing amuially, doubtless by reason of the good quality of the article obtainal)le here, and the facilities for meeting any demand. Though it is like "carrying coals to New Castle," ship- }nents have also frequently been made to Peoria and Henry counties, from these mines, or those generally confined to tlu> local trade, facts which may substantiate our estimate of the (luality of AVyoming coal, and that the effect the trade will have upon this as a business point ultin)ately is not merely speculative.

As to the business of the ]>rivate shafts and banks an estimate has been made by several of the miners of the aggregate amount of coal mined and sold by them for the seven months of the coal season of 1X74 and 1875, which has been averaged at 7,000 bushels per weokjOr is, 000 jxt month, ag-jiTOft'ating- 1!)(5,000 bush(>ls for the soiisoii of seven niontlis. I^'roni tliese data, added to the (iOO,(i(i() buslu'ls shipped and supplied by the Latlirop coal nunin«^' company, one can see at a glance the extent of the coal trade at this point, for a given time, and obtain some idea perhaps what it will be, av(n'aging its increase as i)ast experience and facts have developed it, wlien all tiiese coal shafts and banks, with others added to them as the demand increases, will be worked to their full capacity, the effect of which in time also may certainly if not satisfactorily demonstrate the problem so many are trying to cipher out as to which locality will hold tlie ])re[»onderanceof population.

It has been deemed best to give the general business of the towns in a tabular or statisical form, as comprising the most exl)licit information in the least space. The year 1S74 has been chosen, although rather an unfortunate year for many kinds of business, but as the returns of the current year are not yet complete, therefore are uot available, as a basis of calculation, it is probable that 1871, well answered the practical end in view, viz: to furnish a standard of comparison for i)ast and future years.

Tt is to be regreted that there are some serious omissions in the following statement, but as all the reports are acts of courtesy on the [)art of the gentlemen making them, the historian has no 1 tower to comj)el such s(>rvice in behalf of a i)ublic interest.

Milling

The above firms represent a capital in the millino,' l)usiness of $r>0,000 as an investment, but an accurate report of the business cannot be obtained.

As a further evidence of the business of Wyoming-, it may be stated on good authority that during the past six years her citizens iiave invested in buildings alone the sum of $202, o^f). The items to prove the correctness of this aggregate are before us as Ave write.

Lafayette

This town was laid out l)y William Dnnl)ar, in July, 18oG, about three months after Wyoming had been planned by (General Tliomas. At first it consisted of ten blocks, but subsequently received an addition from Jonathan Ilodgeson.

Micheal Fraker was the first white settler in this neighborhood. Pie removed from some point in Fulton county, prior to the settlement of this, and took up his abode at a grove on what is now the Knox county line, which has ever since borne his name. For a time he domiciled with his family in a wigwajii, although how large his family was at that time we have not the means of knowing, but sooner or later this venerable old man is said to have rejoiced in the paternity of no less than twenty-six children. He and his were devout Methodists, and his memory is still esteemed precious by the old settlers of that creed. However a man by the name of Jesse C. AVare built the first house within the town limits, and also a small store on the site occupied by Mr. Lynd. But Theodore Hurd and Barnabas 31. Jackson were the principal business men of this place. Beginning as early as 1838, they sold goods side by side for a long series of years, rivals, yet friends ; even selling goods for one another when occasion required, with a friendship undisturbed even by political differences. They drove a thriving trade in 1838-9, drawing patronage from all the country round, prices were good and business brisk. Then reverses come to the state at large, the i)roducts of the soil hardly l)aid the farmer for hauling them to market ; the heaviest pork would not command more than $1.50 per hundred weight, or the best cow more than eight dollars. Under such circumstances the credit system crept in, but they seldom lost anything ultin)ately by trusting the i)ioneers ; they were almost invariably honest men and expected to pay for everj^thing they bought. The " fast " habits and expensive indulgences of the present time were unknown.

Ira Reed also set up business in Lafayette in 1838, in a little 8x10 room on a borrowed capital of $20.00, but being a good shoemaker he stuck to his lasts till they brought him some torty or fifty thousand.

The first school house here was built of hard lumber, sawed at Leek's mill, near Centreville, and occupied the site of the present improved structure. /

The first church, or house of worship of any kind, was a small frame, built and controlled by Mrs. Eunice Miner, to which allusion is made in another part of this work. There have been several later and l)etter ones, but as we have failed to elicit any particulars concerning them, or the present status of the town, we must content ourselves with recording these reminiscences kindly furnished us by an old settler. Here was the first attempt to establish a manufactory in our county, being one of felt hats, made by Dunbar and sons, as early as 1838. They are said to have made a good article, and sold them readily, until the stringency of money matters in following years, crushed their enterprise.

Lafayette has indulged in ambitious dreams if not schemes, looking' to the possession of the county seat. At one time an effort was actually made to secure its removal to this village on the extreme western boundary of our county. This was through the instrumentality of jNIr. li. M. Jackson, when that gentleman was in the legislature. The law ujion this county seat question was different then, and had not the secret been betrayed, an act might have made the proposed change, before any effort had been put forth to defeat it.

For many years Lafayette grew l>ut slowly if at all, 1»ut awakened to new life at the coming of the rail road, she now evidently does a good shipping trade in farming produce, hogs, stock, d'C, and her streets often bespeak to the observer a l)risk local trade. This much we can read from the car win(lo^v, as the train pauses at her depot ; and this is all the information of which we have the advantage.

Bradford is the " youngest born " of our Stark county towns. It is true there is Duncan, Loml)ardville and Castleton, laid out still more recently, but they have hardly yet arisen to the dignity of towns, l)ut are stations along the line of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railway, and all do considerable shipping trade.

Bradford was laid out by lienj. V. Sewell, July IKth, ISGS. It was incorporated under special charter 18(>!) ; reorganized as a village, under the general law in 1873. Territory, one mile square, and its i)oi»ulation at i)resent date, is something over five hundred persons. It is also on the line of the Dixon, Peoria and Hannibal rail road, as it was first called, now usually styled the Buda branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railway. It is finely located on very high ground, overlooking fertile farms for miles in all directions, and drawing rich subsidies from the same, while far to the eastward Boyd's grove skirts the horizon. Approaching the town from the west, the view is quite imposing, crossing the railroad cut over a fine bridge, tlie train dashing throug'li beneath, the traveler sees crowning the high hill before him a busy village, with anii)le streets, commodious and well filled business houses on either side, and all the bustle and stir of active business life. It is a well established fact that neighborhoods as well as individuals, take on during the period of their growth, certain well defined characteristics ; that of Bradford may be said to be an all pervading hearty liberality, pertaining alike to matters of opinion, and every day afRiirs of business and courtesy. Jt is true there is nothing so good in this world that it cannot be abused, and perhaps even this sentiment sometimes manifests itself in a sort of rollicking dissipation, not commendable, but it is certainly capable of many noble developments, and it has come to be pretty generally understood that nothing "little" or'niean can long withstand the social atmosphere of Bradford. Their public generosity reveals itself in churches and schools, benevolent societies, etc., all of which flourish finely, considering the size of the town. The four denominations established here, are: JNIethodist, Baptist, Universalist and Catholic.

The Methodist church is now in course of construction, and is estimated to cost |8,o00, when completed, and will be capable of seating two hundred persons. The Baptist church is the most tasteful structure in the town and was built in 1870, at an expense of five thousand dollars ; it also seats comfortably aVjout two hundred persons. This body was organized in 18G9, with only eight members, and it is a noble commentary not only on the exertions and sacrifices of the few, ])ut upon the pul)lic spirit of the citizens generally, that the following year this graceful little church was erected and dedicated to the worship of God. The membership has advanced to thirty, and they have afiourishing union sabbath school of over one hundred names, employing as their superintendent Mr. William F. Patt, and as a pastor, Kev. S. D. Fulton.

The Universalists also own a chapel that will accommodate one hundred and fifty persons. This denomination has always been a leading one in Bradford, many of its first citizens (first as to settlement and social standing both) having inclined to the views of this denomination. They have a resident pastor. Rev. Alvin Abbott, and also have at times enjoyed the i)astorial services of other able men, as Mr. Barnes and Mr. T. H. Tabor. They also main-

Tlie C'atliolics are luiildino- here the first church of tlieir own in 8tark county ; it will be (juite large, estimated to seat four hundred persons, and will cost six thousand dollars.

The people of Bradford cannot lioast of g-rand and expensive school edifices. Their school house is a substantial, two story wooden building, pleasantly situated upon a large and beautiful lot (If acres), and convenient to all the pupils in the district. It is contenii)lated to Iniild a " wing " to it next year, as it is already too small to accommodate the number of pupils in the district. While they do not boast of the quality of their school building, they do think that they may justly feel proud of their schools. Mr. J. W. Smith, the principal, is fairly entitled to be called one of the most successful educators in the county, and says a resident: "In Miss M. L.Smith, we think we know that we have the best primary teacher in the county." "Our directors believe it is impossible to make thorough scholars out of pupils who have not received projier training and instruction in the primary, that there the foundation is laid upon whicli they may build their future intellectual edifice, and that it is highly imi)ortant that the foundation contains no imperfections." They will employ none but tbe Very best teachers, as well in the primary as in the higher departments. They pay their primary teacher sixty dollars per month, and will not employ a teacher who is not worth the money. Pretty sensible conclusion !

Axd It.S Pioneers

On the 3d day of August, 1S()(), .Tames R. Doyle, Bradford F. Thompson, Harmon Plienix, Samuel A. Davidson, Charles B. Foster, George W. Longmire and William H. Doyle obtained a dispensation for a Masonic Lodge.

On the first day of October, 1SG7, the lodge received its charter as Bradford Lodge number 514, A. F. & A. Masons. The officers of the lodge for the first year were James B. Doyle, W. M.; Bradford F. Thompson, S. W,; Harmon Phenix, J. W.; George W. Longmire, Treasurer ; Samuel A. Davidson, Secretary ; William H. Doyle, S. D.; Charles B. Foster, J. D.

The present membership (October, 1875) is about sixty. Last year the lodge moved into its new hall, in the brick ])uilding of Messrs. W, F. Patt & Co. The lodge expended $1000 for new furniture, and it is safe to say that no better lodge room can be found in the state of Illinois, in any town of less than one thousand inhabitants. The officers for 1876 are H. Phenix, W. M.; W. H. Hall, S. W.; A. S. Thompson, J. W.; W. P. Dator, T.; A. B. Abbott, Secretary; B. F. Thompson, S. D.; D% P\ Fate, J. D.; George Couhing, T.

Cliarter members : Joshua Prouty, A. M. Mutchimore, W. A. Holman, W. H. Hall, A. .1. Sturm, Edmund Ewing, Cyrus Bocock, H. .1. Cosgrove, J. D. Woods. Present membershii) (August 14, 1875,) 20.

The enterprise of the place is further represented by fourteen stores, embracing all the departments of trade : - Dry goods and general merchandise, hardware and agricultural implements,

Manufactures and other business : - Wagons, gang and sulky plows, boots and shoes, brooms and barrels, harness and saddlery, ai'tificial stone, bank, two hotels^ paint shops, blacksmith shops, barber shops, meat and vegetable market, hay press, lumber yard, carpenters' shops, grain elevators, puldic hall, restaurants, &c. Amounts invested in these several departments not reported. However, the assessed valuation on real estate in Bradford for 1875, is $100,990; personal property, $41,880; making a total of $148,870.

Rail Road Business

Freight shipped from this station for the year ending March 31st, 1875: - 29(>, 440 pounds of way frieght ; 728 cars of grain, 114 cars of stock, 1 car of hay, making a total of 843 cars of grain, hay and stock ; amount of freight, $25,478.55. Of freights received, express and passenger receipts, no reports.

Of the newer and smaller villages that are naturally springing up as our county grows in wealth and population, but little need be said. Their history is yet to be made. Lombardville, Duncan, Castleton and Wady Petra, are railway stations, convenient points of shipping for the productive country that surrounds them. All.doquitea business in giain, stock and lumber, the details of winch we would gladly give could we but command them.

The last mentioned has now a rival, within a mile or so, to be called >Stark, and although this is a good name, two villages can hardly both flourish, even within the rich precincts of \a\- ley.

West Jersey and Slackwater are older, but lack railroad facilities up to this date, though we believe a " narrow gauge" road is now talked of, that will strike these points. The former is however, an important point for the farmers of the townshij^, as it supports a good general store, churches and schools, and shops of all kinds for the accommodation of the agriculturist.

Tills fiiiisliPS the general history of our county and its towns, so far as wo have l)oen able to learn it, and Wv> can but conclude, as we began, by regretting that in soni' direL-tions the record is so meager. We feel that a chapter on our judicial and political history would make a fitting close for t'^ls part of our work. ]5ut it is simply imi)ossible ibr us to make such an addition noM'. It would re({uire an outlay of time, and a careful research we are unable to devote to it under existing circumstances.

Had we known a man who could write a i)oliticaI history of the last twenty-five years, unbiased by party feeling, we might have been tempted to implore his assistance in behalf of a public interest.

But where should wo look for tlie individual? Every one intelligent enough to undertake such a task, has been fully committed to one side or the other, on all the great points at issue between the parties during that eventful epoch.

So i^erhaps the facts and figures of our ai)pendix are after all the safest guides as to the views of our citizens, and for local i)urposes the best history.

However, many pleasant and amusing reminiscences of the great campaigns in whicli our politicians have participated, and the great campaigners who have honored our county with their visits, might be gathered, that would reflect unpleasantly upon no one. We shall merely recall two that richly deserve to become historic, if for no other reason, than that they are associated with the names of Lincoln and Douglas, and the excitingcanvass of lsr)S. Our little county has bean wont to grow demonstrative upon such occasions. When Yates, Oglesby, Richardson, or the Ingersolls, or other greater or lesser lights in the political firmament, visited us as rei)resentatives of great principles, they have been greeted with an enthusiasm and heard with an appreciation that we are vain enough to believe was not common, even for them.

liut in 18oS this fi'oling, call it what you please, patriotism, or hero worship, was roused to the fullest extent, and a perfect ovation was extended to both of these gentleman at the county seat. It was desired by many that a joint discussion should be arranged so that our i)eoi)le could see their great champions meet face to face and measure arms. But it seemed prior engagements defeated that plan, and if our memory serves us correctly, Douglas arrived one day in advance of Lincoln. The Virginia Hous? was, as it often hiis been, reiiublican lieadquarters, while tlie brick hotel, tlien kept by B. A. Hall, performed the sanieoflfic*^ for the democracy. It was chilly Xovemljer weather, a cold penetrating rain fell continually, but nothing seemed to dampen the ardor of the people.

In the early morning deputations on horseback, consisting- of ladies as well as gentleme^i, were astir, otliers followed in carriages, and some equally enthusiastic, trudged on foot to the point designated for the meeting, some half mile outside the town limits. Now the manner in which these two great men conducted themselves on these occasions was so characteristic of each, and so totally different one from the otlier, that at the risk of appearing trivial we shall give the details as we witnessed them, or as they were given us by eye and ear witnesses.

Amidst scenes like these, Douglas was perfectly at home - " master of the situation," and enjoyed the applause of the multitude; or counterfeited enjoyment so well as to answer the purl)ose of gratifying his admirers. Then, he knew the real value of such demonstrations in affecting public sentiment, as well as did the first Napoleon, and pro!)ably fcM' men ever lived Avho better knew the popular heart than Stephen A. Douglas.

So when he made his appearance on our streeis at the head of an imposing procession, he was riding with head uncovered in an open carriage, and ^^'aving smiling resi)onses to the vociferous cheering that greeted his progress. He was accompanied by Lieutenant Governor Payne of Ohio, and other gentlemen whose names we do not now recall. Fortunately, the rain abated for a time as the carriage drew up before Hall's Hotel, and the dense crowd that packed the street, kept silent as Mr. Shallenberger uttered a few words of greeting and welcome in behalf of the resident democracy of Stark county. To this, Douglas responded briefly but gracefully and passed into the parlor to meet the ladies who had asseml)ied there, to all of whom he spoke some pleasant word, kissed the little children, and held them on his knees and told them stories of his ovvn little boys. AVhen dinner was amiounced the same careful politeness marked his demeanor, and all tired and exhausted as he must have been, so near the close of this hard canvass, nothing that was intended to be complimentary to him, escaped his notice. Even the fine vegetables and floral garniture of the tables, which Dr. Hall had the honor of furnishing, received, due attention, which had the effect of making that gentleman supremely happy as he quietly ate his dinner beside a veritable United States senator. At two P. M., the

<?r()W(l collected on the east side of the court house, a<4'aiust the wall of which a high platform had been erected for the speaker, and here they stood for hours despite the cold rain, and listened to that voice few of them ever heard again. He was hoarse from much speaking, but as he warmed witli his subjects his voice regained something of its wonted power.

As the rain came faster and faster, some gentleman stepi)ed up to shield the speaker, but he motioned him back, saying, " not while so many ladies are standing uncovered to listen."

These are all little things, but they mark the man and we know Ave but record the simple truth when we say the impression he made upon his entertainers at Toulon, was eminently a pleasant one.

The next dawned and it was still raining, l)ut Lincoln was coming, so who regarded the rain ? not 8tark county people surely, for they poured in from every township by scores and hundreds, and the delegations rendezvoused on the open prairie, on the Ke\A'anee road near where Mr. N. J Hmith and Mr. Robert McKeighan now reside.

It is claimed bj' many that this was the finest procession ever witnessed in our county ; when the head of the column reached the Virginia House, the rear was just wheeling into line opposite Mr. Smith's. They formed in a hollow square on the i)rairie under the direction of the Chief Marshal, Mr. AVhitaker, and awaited the coming of their hero ; he had given orders to wait until he signaled them to cheer, and when the signal came the cheers were so sudden and so deafening that the horses fairly crouched to the ground in mortal terror and then sprang up in such an affright that for a time, one's personal safety absorbed attention. But order being restored the various delegations paid their re- -spects to Mr. Lincoln, and the ladies on horseback, decorated with state badges, rode up ; the one re]>resenting Illinois was jjrovided with a wreath of leaves and flf)\\'ers, M'ith which it is jn-esumed she meant to crown or encircle the man they delighted to honor, ])ut Mr. Lincoln very quietly said, " wear it yourself dear, they become v<»u ])etter than me."

He declined any formal greeting at the hotel, but with an expression of intense weariness on his face sought the solitude of his own room till dinner.

Of the merits of the two speeches, we say nothiii*;' ; ml' course the widest diversity of opinion prevailed. But it has ever been a sf)urce of satisfaction tliat these two distinguished statesmen visited our county and enjoyed sucli receptions.

Two years later, when the fierce clash of opinion lirought four ticlvcts into the presidential canvass, Stark county rallied for Lincoln or Douglas, with a fervor it hardly could have felt for men it had never known. In this contest Mr. Douglas was defeated, JNIr. Lincoln elected to cope with the terrible vengeance of the slave power.

And no citizen of Stark who was old enough to take cognizance of facts, can everforgetthe day when thetelegraphic wires brought us the terrible tidings that " Lincoln was assassinated." But why dwell upon those sad days ; they are still fresh in the minds of our people, and form ])artof our nation's annals.

General Samuel Thomas And Family

Among- the pioneer.s of Stark county, certainly Oeneral Thomas deserves honorable mention ; not only for what he has done i\s an enterprising public spirited citizen, but for what he has been and still is, even at the advanced age of eighty-eight years.

He was l)orn in the state of Connecticut, February 2d, 1787, removed to the AVyoming- Valley, Pennsylvania, attheage of twenty, and married Miss Marcia Pettebone of Kingston, Pennsylvania, May 10th, 1807.

He served his country as captain of ai'tillery, during the war of 1812, and while thus engaged an incident occurred, which has been used by some to cast a stigma ujion his military record - i. e. , the shooting of James Bird at Erie.

The fiicts are that Bird, who entered the service as a member of Captain Thomas' Company, was a wild frolicsome fellow, "spreeing" at every opportunity, and when intoxicated, was almost l)eyond control. On one occasion, when thus excited by liquor, he committed a grave offence, that demanded punishment ; the colonel of the regiment, (not the captain of his company) gave him his choice of two things, viz : either to undergo trial by "court martial," or enlist in the marine service. He chose the latter. Perry was then equipping for immediate action, the marine department wanted men, and as the discipline was much more severe than among the land forces, it was difticult to obtain volunteers.

Bird fought bravely on the lakes, and was promoted to a minor office, something like " sergeant of the guard." But in the fall of 1813, while Perry's fleet still lay at Erie, he took his squad of men off duty, got drunk and all deserted. They were followed, arrested and brought back, and Bird, as the ringleader, was sentenced as a deserter and shot. Captain Thomas had returned home soon after Perry's victory, and was at home ^\-hen this sad affair occurred, and under any circumstances could have had no voice in the proceedings, as Bird was not under his command at the time. Then, who cannot see that strong drink was responsible for the death of this brave young soldier, and not the officers whose duty it was to enforce necessary discipline.

That the subject of this brief notice was not deemed blameworthy, either in this or any other regard, by those cognizant of the facts of his career, is proven by the Governor of Pennsylvania, afterwards (in 1828) confirming him Brigadier General of the 2nd Brigade, 8th division, State militia, comprising the counties of Northumberland, Union, Columbia, Luzerne, Susquehanna and Wayne. This commission he held at the time of his emigration to Illinois. He was also twice elected to represent his countrymen in the legislature of Pennsylvania, and seems to have filled this position to the entire satisfaction of his constituents.

But satisfied that "The Star of Empire" would westward take its way, he bade adieu to the beautiful valley that had been the scene of his early struggles and triumphs, and resolutely set forward to found another Wyoming among the then untrodden prairies of Illinois.

After a tf)iIsome over-land journey of forty-two days' duration, camping out nights and conscientiously resting on Sundays, he arrived at the house of Sylvanus ]Moore, his brother-in-law, on Spoon river, (where Wyoming now stands) October, 1834. He purchased Moore's claim, entered the land at Quincy, June, 183r>, and commenced farming and merchandising. In the spring of 183G, laid out the present town of Wyoming.

With him came his wife and several children. His eldest son, William F., (lately deceased at Wyoming) then a youth of seventeen; his' daughter, Buth Anne, then 1.") years of age, in May, 188G, was married to Giles C. I^ana, of Peoria, where she died of typhoid fever, eight weeks afterwards ; James M. , then a lad of twelve, has resided most of his life in Wyoming, j)rominent in business circles, as a dealer in and manufacturer of agricultural implements, c^-c. He married, December 2r)th, 1847, Miss Ellen White, also of Peoria.

At the time of the einig'ration hither, four daugliters were already married and presiding- over lionies of their own. Of these but two lived to sliare for any lengtli of time, tlie vicissitudes of western life. ]Martha P., who was married March 1st, 1834, to J. AV. Agard, a native of Tioga county, New York, from which place they removed, (as he writes) "by Erie canal to Buffalo, thence to Detroit by steamer, thence by United States mud scows to Chicago, arriving at Wyoming September 2oth, ISoO."

Here ]Mr. Agard opened a farm ^^'here part of the town no\s' stands, and resided there until 184o; he entered the "itinerant work" in connection with the 31. E. Church, and for some years he held a prominent place in the conferences of that body. But being a man of quiet and studious habits, an independent thinker, and holding i)olitical opinions withal, somewhat at variance with many of his brethren, he ])referred to withdraw from the more engrossing duties of his vocation, to the quiet of his former liome at Wyoming, where he might devote himself more fully to the care of his wife, who had long been an invalid from lung disease, and to which she finally succumbed, September 2d, 1870, regretted l)y all who knew her, and among wliom the memory of her fragile form, and gentk? virtues \^-ill long linger as a living reality.

Mary .Vnne, fourth daughter of General Thomas, a gifted and beautiful woinan, was married early in life to Whitney Smith a native of Wilk(>sbarre, Pennsylvania, with whom she lived many years at Wyoming. But the union proving ap unhai)py one, a s<>paration was effected, and slie was afterwards married to E. S. Brodhead, another Stark county pioneer, widely known and highly esteemed by his friends, for his genial manners and ready fund of wit and luiiuor. This gentleman died in Toulon, 1873, u!k1 the lady under consideration is now married for the third time t') 'Sir. Chase, a man distinguished in ixilitical circles, and in the newspai)er world of New York.

Mrs. Thomas, wife of the general, closed her long and eventful life, at the old homestead in Wyoming, July 21st, 18()r,. She suffered a protracted and painful illness, falling a victim to consumption, a scourge that has proven fatal to many of her descendants. She was a lady who fought life's battles with a (^uiet courage no hardships could subdue, yet wore her honors meekly. Her home was ever the abode of a refined yet generous hospitality which must have often been taxed to the utmost during the first settleanent of the country, but no one recalls an instarice where her kindness failed. The pioneer preachers of her faith were especial- i>ut wo return to theeentral tig-ureof tlus,i>roui) (wiioni it will l»e renieniliered we left on his newly entered land in is;',.")) that we may briefly review Ids course during- the forty years he has lived among lis. Politically the (Jeneral has been an unswerving adiierent of democracy - tlie democracy of Jackson and Douglas. Never seel-cing othce, or condescending to the arts of the dcmigogue, or making his oi)inions otfensive to those who ditfer from him, still he has been a tower of strength to his party. Having been a voter since 1S()8, he must renuMuber the election of .Tefferson and Burr - donbtles,-. voted for ^Madison and Clinton, for ]Monroe, Jackson, and Van Buren, besides a host of later if not lesser lights. Few intleed live to exercise this great right of freemen, the elective franchise, through sncli a term of years, and he stands before ns to-day erect and venerable, without the shadow of a vice to darken his age, his faculties (with the single exception of the sense of hearing), all in full play, a remarkable instance of the poet's idea of " a green old age."

In 184(3, he represented this district in the legislature, the only time so far as known to the writer he has ever accepted an office in this state, liaviiig devoted his attention to the quiet but lucrative pxirsuits of agriculture and trade. In faith, a Methodist, he was with his wife a member of the first "class" ever organi/eil in the county, (which met in the log school house in the Essex settlement, often referred to on these pages), and the first organized in Wyonnng met regularly at his house, where " circuit ])reaching " was also heard for years. In the fall of 1S;]7, he donated one and a half acres of land for a i)arsonage, vvhich was built by (Jeorge Sparr the following year. In ISoG, he also gave land, whereon to place the jNIethodist Ei)iscopal church, which was built and dedicated the same year. The latter service being performed by llev. J. AV. Flowers, of Rock Island.

At a very early day General Thomas beijueathed to the i»ublic, grounds for the burial of the dead, which constitute the Wyoming cemetery still in use. Tlius has he continued to testify^ from time to time his devotion to pul)lic interests, and the highest good of his fellow men. AVyoming is i)ei'uliarly the otlspring of his enterprise and forecast. Founded and named by him in honor of his eastern home, he has always shared its fortunes with unwavering fidelity. While for many years the tide of prosperity el)bod, and others lost faith and sought better localities for business, he swerved not, but continued to invest his means in farms, nulls,

To see two railroads, hring- eoiniueree and wealtii to its doors, de[»ots, warehouses, mills, A-e., all the elements of tinaneial success sprinti'inii' up around him ; a coal traiU- opened, second only in value to the a.u'ricultural i)roducts of the region it sui>plies. And now he naturally feels, at theage of eighty-eight, his life work is nearly done. For one wlio reared a large family to maturity, he will leave comi)aratively few descendants. Four grandsons, however, survive to transmit hisnanieto future gen(>rations, while among the descendants of his eldest (laughter, jMrs. Dennis, in California, it is r(>i)orted there is a great-great-grandchild; known to the writer, howevt'r, are hut two grand-daughters, INIrs. INIarcia White of Castleton, and 3lrs, Louisa 3IcKenzie of (Jaleshurg.

3lany loved ones he has followed to the grave, indeed; he and his faithful friend and son-in-law, Jiev. .J. W. Agard, remain sole renmants of t\\'o kindred groups, still inhahiting the old home near Spoon river, endeared by the associations of more than forty years - the general calmly awaiting the summons, "come u]» higher," for

" 77te ciirf((hi Imlf ([ftcd rentals fo //!.-< .sitjlit The iciiidous ihat look on the kinydoin of liyht, That border the river (jf death. '"'

Dr. Charles C. Dunn, was a native of England, but emigrated to America in early manhood, and settled in Augusta, (leorgia, where he was married to ^liss Ilebecca INloore, and where their five children - Columlna A., (INIrs. Tillson), Augustus A., Richard C., William F., and Caroline F., (Mrs. (). H. Smith) were born.

Mrs. Ilebecca Dunn was of I'uritan descent, though born and reared at the south, and when after a few years of married life, she found herself a widow, with her Ave small children depend- <'nt in a great measure ui)on her efforts for supi)ort, and looking to her for guidance and control, she courageously took up her bur-

In the summer of 1881, she removed the family to Cincinnati, to join an only brother, Augustus Moore, Esq., who had preceded them a year or two, and who ever showed himself a true brother in all her difficulties .

Their aim in comino- north was to remove their families from the influence of slavery, under which they felt it would be impossible to rear them properly .

In Cincinnati they resided on a farm near the city, belongingto Mr. Maore, which was als:) the summer residence of his family. Here the children enjoyed some advantages of education and society, and attended the second Presbyterian church, under the pastorate of the late Dr. Lyman Beecher, v>ith which church several of them united. But the growing boys needed more room. Such an opening the foir prairies seemed to offer, and in the spring of 1836, Augustus, then only eighteen, came into township 12, .">, then a part of Knox, but now A\'est Jersey township, in .Stark county Illinois, and entered a hundred acres of land, three miles south of the village, whicli then consisted of two or three log cabins, and the family used often, laughingly to remark, that they resided three miles from nowliere.

After arranging for the erection of a log cabin, he returned for the family, which arrived in September of the same year, moving from Cincinnati with all their effects, in two covered wagons.

The hard-hips and privations of a pioneer life, at that early period were formidaljle, even when there was the strong arm of manliood to combat them ; what must they have been to this family of women and boys? Mrs. I )uunS resolution and courage in this, entitles her to rank as a pioneer woman of Stark county, and shows lier a worthy daughter of our patron saint, INIoUie Stark of revolutionary memory, Alas ! there are no Washingtons now to recognize and reward such merits. Each of the family went to \vork with a will, at whatever they had strength or ability to perform. One of th'^ daughters taught school, taking her pay of ^l.ot* per week, in such articles as her patrons could spare and the family could use - stocking yarn and flannel, meat, flour and dried fruit, the latter article brought all the way from their former residences in Ohio or New Jersey, and brought out only on special occasion - any and everything except money ; while the younger daughter turned her attention to the outer adornment of the heads of the mothers, bleaching and re-

The brothers commenced improving- their land, but with the inexperience of boys, and the lack of any remunerative market, they succeeded in doing a vast amount of hard work, Avhich never brought them the looked for return. Says one of them : "Our ten years of farm life was a failure!" Not so when the crop produced ripened out, in after years, into men, hardened by toil, and schooled in poverty and self reliance to accomplish such' results, in shaping and moulding- society in its formative state, laying broad and deep the foundations of intelligence, temperance, liberty and religion. " Those who are to help the perplexed and toiling men of their times, must first go down into the conflict themselves."

Augustus married young, and on the organization of the county in 1880, was elected the tirst sheriff, though lacking- a few days of his majority at the time of the election. Subsecjuently lie studied medicine, and settled in Cambridge, Henry county, where he took an active part in public and social life, and met with marked successed in his profession.

At the commencement of the rebellion he enlisted and was elected captain of company D, 112th regiment of Illinois volunteers. He had a portion of his left hand shot off in a skirmish at Kelley's Ford, Tennessee ; was afterwards in the Inittle of Franklin, struck in the forehead by a fragment of a shell, breaking the frontal bone, which wound resulted in his death four years afterwards, on the 2nd day of jNIarch, 1809, aged fifty-one.

He had removed to Chicago at the close of the war, but his remains ^\'ere interred at Camliridge, which had long been his place of residence. Thus closed the life of one of our brave and loyal soldiers, and a noble generous man.

Richard Chapman, was about sixteen at the time of their removal to this county. His early educational advantages had been slight and desultory. At first we find him in a little school in Augusta, Georgia, taught by his mother, to eke out their scanty support.

After acquiring some of the rudiments of learning, -\ve find him imparting them to their house servants; often, for the sake of secrecy, as it was a penal offence, going- under the house, which was, southern fashion, set on stilts ; and this he looked back upon as one of the i)roudest acts of his life, even when he had taken a prominent i)art in etUK-ational nuitter.s, )joth in the' county and state. In Cincinnati lie attended a few terms in log' school houses, 1)ut with little promise of his future scholarship ; Init he enjoyed the pleasures of boy life, roa]niny the woods, hunting, trai)ping and swimming, while his zeal for work developed into a passion for gardening, which remained with him througli life. Indeed his love for the beautiful, botli in nature and art, was always a source of exquisite pleasure, while disorder and lack of harmony were sources of torture.

After the removal to Illinois, his days were full (jf hard work, but the evening spelling schools and debating societies which he assiduously attended, gave him the elementary drill in language and its use, in which he became a critical scholar, and with the few books to which he had access, were all his advantages, until 1810, when he spent a year at the academy at (xalesljurg, working for his board and tuition.

In the summer of 1813, he entered college, working his way through, M'ith but little assistance from friends, and often walking across the bleak prairies to visit his home.

In 1847, he was one of the three which formed the second class graduated by Knox College, and in 1850 received the degree of inaster of arts.

It was on the 10th of May, 18-17, that Mrs. Rebecca Dunn, having removed to Clalesburg that she might make a home for those <jf her children who were studying there, passed to her rest, leaving a memory ever cherished by her family with the most sacred reverence and affection.

For several years, after closing his college course, Mr. Dunn traveled and taught, and in the routine of the school room acquired that practical knowledge of educational matters of which Stark county subsequently reaped the advantage. Oct. 31, 18o0, after an acquaintance of a year in the school room, he was united in marriage with ]Miss 8arah A. Marvin, who shared his fortunes i^.nd his cares through the remainder of his life.

Mr. Dunn had decided on the profession of law, and had made <^onsiderable progress in his preparation, when his attention was called to his duty to engage in the ministry, and laying aside his

Untempted by dazzlins; openinj^s which were presented, even after lie liad commenced liis studies in the Union Tlieological Seminary of New Yorlv, wliicli lie entered three weeks after his marriage, and relinciuishing* all his anticipations of a hojne for three years, he lived over again the self-denials and struggles of his college life.

His ministerial life opened with a pleasant year of labor in western New York, but with several urgent openings for labor at the east, his heart longed for the west. It had been the center of all his hopes an<l i)lans, and thither he resolutely turned his face.

After lining the i)ulpit of the Congregational church of Peoria for three months, there followed a period too painful to be recalled, only as it gave a coloring to all his future life, and furnishes a key to explain what has been misunderstood by many. A period of candidature, in which for months every door of labor, however humble was closed against him, his way wholly hedged up, and his beloved west rejecting him. This produced serious doubts as to his call to the ministry, a morbid sensitiveness as to the acceptability of his labors, and an unwavering determination never tobe placed in such straits again ; and while there was no drawing: back on his part from the service of the church, it led to a more full consecration of all his talents in the service of his Master, iu way he might be used ; looking directly to the leadings, of Providence for work and wages, and doing with his might,, what his hands found to do.

It was at this juncture, that the Rev. S. G. AVright, of Toulon,, who had been his pastor in the earlier times, and ever after a warm friend, decided to leave his charge for a year, and take an agency from the Illinois Home Missionary Society, and transferred his field of labor to ]Ntr. Dunn, and in January, 1855, he again became a citizen of Stark county.

While his position as pastor of a church made large drafts uponhis time and strength, both in pulpit preparations and pastoral visiting, being most of the time the only minister of that denomination in the county, his field extended over its whole area, and he generally had at least one out post, at which he had regular appointments.

The inhabitants, either in settlement or immigration, were I)ut very few of Congregational ])references, and the church has always taken radical grounds in all matters of reform , yet steady l)rogress marked its growth, and at the close of the twelve years labors, he felt that heeouUl congratidate them on their prosperity. But lie never forgot that he was a man, a eitizen and a neiglibor. In his own words: " I felt that I was not only a member of the Congregational cliurch, and its pastor, but a member of the community, and interested in all its interests, in schools, in trees, in public works, in literary matters, in moral enterprises, in rail roads, in all things." " My heart, and time, and purse have been drawn out for every object of charity or of public enterprise;" he could truly record - " I have spoken to the public in various forms and addresses several thousands of times. I have canvassed the county for schools, for temperance, and for the country. I have gone to all parts, attending funerals and weddings, picnics, conventions and meetings of every sort."

Mr. Wright was commissioner of schools when he passed his work over to Mr. Dunn, and after acting as deputy for him until the close of the term, he was elected his successor, which office he held for three terms, six years, doing a vast amount of labor, visiting schools by day and lecturing in the evenings, examiningteachers, giving counsel to teachers and school officers, makingout reports, Ac, con amore, the conpensation never exceeding $200, per annum, and often less.

He was also trustee of the town corporation, and president of the board two years. His wide acquaintance in the county led to his nomination and election to the assembly for the ;5Gth district, comprising the counties of Peoria and Stark for the session of 1865. There he was chairman of the committee on education, and on the special committee to visit Champaign, with a view to the location of the Industrial University.

In October, 1866, Governor Oglesby tendered him a commission as trustee of the hospital for the in^^ane, tiie duties of which he faithfully performed until his death. Tiie same year the republican party in the county were a unit in striving for his nomination to the state senate, and about the same time Senator Yates, in behalf of the collector of the port of New Orleans, tendered him the position of deputy collector of the same port, with a salaxy of $3,000 and perquisites, which he declined.

After a pastorate of twelve years, "Sir. Dunn, feeling that a change would benefit tlie church, he resigned the charge, not without a severe struggle, so firmly had his heart entwined itself with his life's work, f(jr this w.as his only regular pastorate.

After a few months of secular work, receiving a pressing call from the Congregational church of Oneida, Knox county, he spent a year of delightful and successful labor witli them, receiv- ing- all tlu' eiK-ouragenient and affection which a minister could ask, and there, in tlie prime of his usefulness and success, " with his harness on," as he had ardently desired, he was called to receive his crown.

A short but severe attack of spinal nienengitis, lasting but a few days, terminated in his death, 3Iay 24th, 18(iS, and in the forty-seventh year of his age.

His health began to foil towards the close of his college course, but during the second year in the seminary, entirely gave way, iind from that time he never saw a well day, or passed a night of quiet restful sleep. This will seem impossible to those who have Avitnessed the amount of work he performed, or listened to the pleasantries in which he so often indulged.

Another drawback was his meager and unreliable income, which always kept him straightened and in debt, with heavy interest, and yet so averse was he to alluding to his needs, so promptly were his obligations met, and so liberally did he respond to all calls upon his purse, that most supposed that his means Avere ample, and few dreamed of the Spartan self-denial and rigid economy he was obliged to practice in his ex])enses.

His especial gift was in attracting 1»he young, in whom he took the warmest interest, laboring in every way for their improvement. The sabbath school was his especial delight.

The following spring, his family, wishing that their dear departed ones might sleep side by side, removed his remains to the cemetery in Toulon, and this his third and last coming to Stark county was not to work, but to rest, in hoi)e of a glorious resurrection.

This gentleman was b;irii on tlie l)a;iks of Dick's river, in th'.' county of Garrard, and state of Kentucky, on tlie KJtli of November, 1793.

AVe can learn but little of his antecedents, of his early education or history. His parents seem to have led the eventful, adventurous lives, common to the frontier in those perilous times, dying at a g-ood old age, however, at the house of their son, in ]>rownsville, Tennessee.

When this son was born, Kentucky was an almost unbroken wilderness, and the opportunities for acquiring an education, must have been very limited. Yet, he found means to make himself proficient in mathematics and surveying, following the latter as a business during many of the earlier years of his life, and it was said he seldom met his superior as a practical surveyor.

When only nineteen years of age he enlisted in Colonel Richard M. Johnson's regiment of "mounted riflemen," and served with this regiment during the war of 1S12.

He participated with his regiment in the battle of the Thames, Canada West, under the command of William H. liarrison, October oth, 1818. 8oon after his return from this campaign, he removed to Dover, Stewart county, Tennessee, and M'as there married to Miss Lucinda Wimberly on the 11th of January, 181(5.

During his residence here, he served the county as sheriff; in April, 1828, removed to the western district of Tennessee, but lately the dwelling place of savages, and settled near the present town of Brownsville, Haywood county. Here amidst all the hardships that environ the pioneer in a strange and almost uninliabited region, he was doomed to bury his young and lovely wife.

His force of character and versatile acquirements were sure to constitute him a leader in any new settlement, and we soon find him busy here, surveying and platting the town of Brownsville* and then building one of the first houses within its newly defined limits. He was the first "registrar of deeds" in Haywood county^ besides holding several minor offices, and acting as "real estate agent " for several e^xtensive landholders in his vicinity.

bccanic ail lU'tlv;* Opponent to political abo'itionisni, ami to the ends a.iid aims of tiu» okl " liberty jjarty," as many of tlio early settlers here have occasion to rcnicnibor, yet his sons confidently assert, that in his earlier life, and when living- in a slave state, "he was utterly opposed to hutnan slavery." And that, althoufj,ii possessed of ample means for a resident in a nevr country, he steadily refused to own a slave, and even when one was tendered as payment for debt, preferred to suffer a heavy pecuniary loss rather tha:i do viokMice to his convictions of rig'ht. They also state, "tliat at (»ne time, when th.e pi'opleof Teiuiessee were about to elect delegates to a convention to revise the constitution of the state, C'olonel Henderson prepared a circular, addressed to the people of his district, announcing liimself as a candidate for delegate with the purpose of scnairing the incorporation of a provision " for the gradual emancipation of the slaves of Tennessee." A policy then urged by Henry Clay of Kentucky, of whom the subject of this uotice was an ardent admirer and supporter; and finally, he was induced to leave the south, and seek a home in a free state, mainly that he might remove his sons from the demoralizing infiuences of slavery and rear them in a. community where lal)or was not held to be degrading."

liy those who remember the thunderbolts of denunciation this gentleman was wont to hiui, when roused ljy opposition or heated by controversy, at the heads of the unfortunate "abf)litionists" of old, we know the foregoing statements will be receiv(Hl with distrust.

But coming from the source they did, as a faithful chronicler we could not refuse them due consideration, and would furthermore add that his apparently contradictory course u])on this point, after he became a citiz(.'U of Illinois, is explained by the fact that he had a sort of prescience, that the unwise agitation of the slavery question in the free states, would eventuate in civil war, and endanger the Union, which he loved better than life itself. The candid reader could not be unwilling to give him the benefit of these explanations.