Whiteside County, Illinois - Chapter 10, 1877

Chapter 10

The township of Fenton comprises all of Congressional township 20 north, range 4 east, north of Rock river, and also so much of section 1, township 19, range 4 east, and section 6, township 19 north, range 5 east, as lies north of Rock river. The territory now forming the township, formerly belonged to Lyndon Precinct, and so remained until the Commissioners appointed by the County Commissioners' Court, gave it its name and boundary in 1852. The Commissioners appointed in 1849 to locate and give names to townships, but whose acts proved to be void for illegality, named the town Eden, and for some reason the people clung to that name even up to the township election in 1852, after it had been named Fenton by the Commissioners of 1852, as the following record of that election in the books of the Town Clerk, shows: "Eden Archives. Township 20 north, range 4 east, and fractional part of township 20 north, range 5 east, being on section 31 and west of the waters of Rock river, and fractional parts of township 19 north of ranges 4 and 5, north of Rock river and east of section 4 in township 19 north of range 4 inclusive. Also that part of township 20 north, range 4 east, lying south of Rock river inclusive. In accordance with the laws of township organization the inhabitants, legal voters of the above named township convened at the house of James M. Pratt, on the 6th of April, 1852, for the purpose of organizing said town, and electing the proper officers in and for said town for the year ensuing, when Joseph Fenton was elected Moderator jc»ro teta of said meeting. The voters then proceeded to ballot for Moderator, when on canvassing the votes Zera M. Emery, was declared elected, and J. D. Odell, Clerk, viva voce, who being duly sworn, the meeting was opened by proclamation, and the electors proceeded to ballot for town officers for the ensuing year." It will be seen by this record that the electors of the town not only adhered to the name of Eden, but gave the boundaries of the township differently from those of the Commissioners of 1852. All this, however, was afterwards duly remedied. The name of Fenton was given to the township in honor of Joseph Fenton, the first settler.

About one-third of the township was originally low, swampy land, but by ditching has been reclaimed, and most of it is now under a high state of cultivation. One county ditch runs through the town, coming in on section 24 on the east side, and passing out on the north part of section 30 on the west. This ditch empties into Rock creek from the east, and the part starting on the west side of the creek runs down through Erie and Newton townships, and thence to the Meredocia. There is also a county ditch running into the town from the north, which empties into Lynn creek, a short distance from its confluence with Rock creek.. These ditches have lateral ones running into them, so that very good drainage is afforded. Among the unbroken parts of this low land, there are about four hundred acres lying in a body, which is used for the purpose of pasturage. This body of land is owned by some heirs living at the East, and they refuse to dispose of it in parcels, preferring to retain it and pay the taxes, unless the whole can be sold together. The price at which it is held, we are also informed, is another bar to its sale. The Cattail, a broad slough originally, runs into the town a short distance at the central part of the north side. The northwest portion of the town is quite rough and hill}-, sections seventeen and eighteen particularly so, and for some time after the organization of the town remained unsettled. They are now only sparsely settled. The town is watered by Rock creek, which flows through it from north to south, coming in on section one and passing out on section thirty-three. Upon this stream, on the southeast quarter of section 15, a saw mill was built in the fall of 1844, by Dexter Wood and Alfred Wood, and afterwards sold to Hiram Harmon, and became known as Harmon's mill, but was abandoned some years ago. Lynn creek comes into the town from the north, and empties into Rock creek, on section three. On the south the town is bounded by Rock river, along whose banks many of the farmers have wood lands. If in fixing the boundaries of the political township those of the Congressional township had been followed, Rock river would have passed through the southeast part of Fenton. Excellent water is also obtained from wells in most parts of the town.

The first settlements were made along Rock river, in the south part of the town, so as to be convenient to both wood and water. The first settler was Joseph Fenton, who came with his family, then consisting of his wife and four children, from Burlington county. New Jersey, in October, 1835. Mr. Fenton first put up a rude cabin in the woods near the bank of Rock river, in Erie township, in which himself and family lived from about the first of October, 1835, until the middle of January, 1836, meanwhile erecting a better one of logs on the road near where the present residence now stands. Mrs. Fenton relates that the first meal partaken of by the family after their arrival at their new home, was prepared in the woods, using a tree that had been blown down for a table, and this primitive way of cooking and eating was followed for sometime. During that fall and winter the family had about forty Winnebago Indians for neighbors, and although they were peaceably inclined, yet caused more or less trouble, and occasionally gave ^Irs. Fenton and the children -'aheap big scare." They were on a hunting expedition, as Rock river in that vicinity was then a favorite resort for deer, and other wild game, and its waters were stocked with fish. They remained all winter, and were followed afterwards for several years by similar parties of the Winnebago and other tribes. Some of the deer paths in that neighborhood, leading from the prairie to the river, remained visible for a long time. It was not an infrequent occurrence at that period for deer to pass up and down these paths every hour during the day. The other early settlers were Lyman Bennett, who came in 1836, and is now a resident of Albany; Charles Clark, John R. Clark, and Wm. L.Clark, in 1837, the latter of whf.m died in 1855. Joseph James, 1837; Earnest Warner, 1837; Theron Crook, 1838; Robert G. Clendenin, 1838; Reuben Thompson, R. M. Thompson, Samuel A. Thompson^ F. H. Thompson, James Hamilton, and G. H. IV'ters and others, in 1841.

Alfred W. Fenton, son of Joseph and Elizabeth Fenton, was the first white child born in what is now known as Fenton township, his birth occurring on the 13th of May, 1837. Robert S. Fenton, by reason of having been a constant resident of the township from 1835 to the present time, claims that he is the oldest Fentonian of the male persuasion living in the town, and the palm has been gracefully awarded to him by the citizens. The first parties to enter into matrimony were Robert G. Clendenin and Miss Hannah Clark, the happy event taking place October 3, 1839, and the ceremony performed by Rev. E. H. Hazard. Mr. Clendenin was the father of Frank Clendenin, Es{(., Postmaster

The first road travelled was the one known as the Dixon and Rock Islandstage road, and ran through the south part of the town. The celebrated Frink & Walker stages used to run upon this road, and in its day it was probably the best known highway in this part of the State. The proprietors of the Frink & Walker line of stages were energetic and broad minded business men, and determined to please the public. Their horses and vehicles were the best that could be procured, and their time table lived up to as near as horse flesh and capable driving would allow. Before the era of railroads these stages carried the mails and passengers from Chicago to different points west, and were considered prodigies of speed and comfort. This old stage route is now known in our southern townships as the Lyndon and Pjrie road, and passes by the farms of Solon Stevens, M. M. Potter, J. M. Pratt, Samuel A. Thompson, and those of the Fenton and Peters' estates in the township of Fenton. This road was also the first legally laid out one after the township organization.

The first school was taught by Miss Arminta Lathe in a log house owned by Mr. James M. Pratt, and situated near his present residence. This was in the fall of 1848. The house had been put up some years before by Mr. Pratt, and occupied by him as a residence. It was a double structure, and when Miss Lathe taught school in it she occupied one part, and a Mr. Hendee and his family the other. It did not furnish the kind of school accommodations Fenton has to-day, but the children who attended there look back with considerable pride to the period when they mastered the rudiments of the English branches in the old log house. The first public school house was built in District No. 1, in 1857, and is known as the Pratt school house. It is a frame structure, and Miss Mary Johnson had the honor of teaching young ideas how to shoot therein, as soon as its doors were opened. Fenton has now eight school districts, and each district has a commodious frame school building.

About the time Mr. Fenton and Mr. John Freek, until lately a resident of Erie, made their claims on section thirty-three, a few persons at Lyndon, purporting to be pioneers of a colony soon to emigrate from the Eastern States, claimed, in the name of the colony, a right to all the land which could be discovered from the tops of the tallest trees in the groves in and around Lyndon, and also the right to determine the quantity which each man should possess. These pioneer gentlemen made Messrs. Fenton and Freek an official visit, addressed them in an official manner, and gave them lines and boundaries, limiting them to eighty acres each, and forcibly implied that a strict compliance with these regulations would be required, or a removal outside the Lyndonian claim woiild follow in case of refusal. Mr. Freek yielded to these imperative demands, and removed west of Rock creek into the township of Erie, built him a house at the head of Lake Erie, where he lived a peaceful, honest, happy, and enviable life, with his latch-string always out, and the poor never turned away empty. But Mr. Fenton, planting himself firmly on the common law of squatter sovereignty, repudiated stoutly this agrarian law, which repudiation was couched in the pointed and forcible language then in use on the frontier, and not yet obsolete, though not sanctioned by Webster's Dictionary nor Dwight's Theology. It had, however, the desired effect of repelling the Lyndonian invaders, and leaving Mr. Fenton " alone in his glory " and the peaceable possession of his two hundred and fifteen acres, for which the Grovernment afterwards received its proper due of $1.25 per acre. Soon after these Lyndonian-Fentonian troubles, a report obtained East that the Indians had murdered and scalped all the inhabitants in these parts, and consequently the settlement of the township, as well as of the country around, was seriously retarded for several years. This report was evidently started for ulterior purposes, as there was no foundation for it, the Indians then being peaceably inclined.

In 1836 Lyman Bennett, now a resident of Albany, made a claim north of Portland ferry, and in 1837 Thomas Gould settled east of Rock creek, on land now owned by James M. Pratt. In 1837 William Clark and in 1838 Robert G. Clendenin settled in the township, the former on the farm now owned by R. M. Thompson, and the latter on the farm now owned by M. M. Potter, Esq. Mr. Clark was the father of Capt. Alpheus Clark, who was so highly esteemed in this county, and who was mortally wounded June 9, 1863, at Beverly Ford, Virginia, and died in the hospital at Georgetown, D. C, July 5, 1863. Mr. Clendenin was a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and remained in Fenton until 18-44, when he removed to Lyndon. A full biographical sketch of Mr. Clendenin will be found in the history of Lyndon township. In 1840 J. B. Peters, now deceased, settled on the east bank of Rock creek, near Mr. Fenton's place, and in 1841 his brother, George H. Peters, also now deceased, arrived from Adams, Massachusetts, purchased a claim of one hundred and forty acres from Theron Crook, and paid the Government price ($175), earning the amount by laboring at the rate of fifty cents per day. Mrs. Peters states that in those early days her husband used to sell his wheat in Chicago and his pork in Galena, receiving for his wheat thirty cents per bushel, and for his pork, after deducting expenses for marketing, seventy-five cents per hundred weight.

As near as can be ascertained, the first export from Fenton was two thousand pounds of beef, by Mr. Fenton, to Galena, in 1836, for which he received two and a half cents per pound. He next exported to Sterling, then a Western city of a few dwellings and a store, a load of pork, which he sold to the firm of Barnett & Mason for six dollars per hundred. The reason assigned for the hio'h price then obtained was that the people of Sterling had been without meat for some time, were " hungry for pork,'' and would have it at any price. Many of the citizens followed his wagon as he drove to the store, earnestly requestino- him to let them have a piece, but he had sold it all to the storekeepers, and to them they were compelled- to go for the coveted morsel.

As a further illustration of the hardships the pioneers and their families had to endure, it is related by Mrs. Fenton that when the family first came to Rock creek they were compelled to live for several months in a little, cold hut, part of the time with and part of the time without food ; getting their potatoes from Rock Island, their corn meal from Henderson Grove, their venison and wild turkey from the Indians (when they had meal to give in exchange) ; going to bed without supper when no meal was on hand, the potatoes all gone, and no kind Indian at hand to hold up his turkey and say " swap," or if one was at hand the meal sack would be empty, and he Avould go away mealless and spiritless, and Mrs. Fenton and the children retire with the setting sun to sleep the sleep of the supperless. The want of money was felt in more ways than one, not the least of which was the wherewith to pay postage upon letters received from loved ones at home. Cheap postage did not then obtain, which added another hardship to the settler. A letter now costing only three cents for mail transportation, then cost twenty-five cents. As an instance of the difficulty of getting letters out of the postoffice in early times, we give the one told to Prof. M. R. Kelly, of Morrison, by the late George H. Peters, of Fenton. The instance will answer for hundreds of others. Some time after the settlement of Mr. Peters on the Fenton flats, it was reported that a letter had arrived for him from the East, and was at the Lyndon Postoffice, awaiting his call. He hastened to the office and called for it, when, to his surprise and disappoint- ment, he was told by the obdurate Postmaster that before receiving it he must pay the postage. " How much is it ? " tremblingly inquired Mr. Peters. " Twenty-iive cents," was the short reply. " Haven't got it," was the melancholy response. Hastily departing, Mr. Peters sought work, found it, earned the twenty-five cents, and with that amount of the coin of the realm released the fond missive from the official bondage which held it from his embrace.

Among the reminiscences of the town is one related of an early settler who resided near Rock river. At that period the lands thereabouts were liable to overflow in times of high water, and the settler to guard his house from inundation built a sod fence around it, leaving only a space sufficient to drive in with his team. This space was protected by bars. A heavy freshet came in due time, and the settler was almost drowned out. When asked how it came that his sod fence did not prevent the water from nearly carrying away his house and family, the reason seemed so strike him at once, and he replied, "I declare, I forgot to put up my bars !" The first constable in Fenton made out his bond in the following form, with the exception of the name which is a fictitious one : "I John Smith, do solemnly swear that I will perform my duties as constable to the best of my ability, so help me God." The Supervisor to whom this unique bond was sent, returned it to the newly elected conservator of the peace with the remark, that while it might do well enough for an oath, it was hardly the square thing for a bond. The constable went away pondering what new fangled notions people would get up next as to officer's bonds and ''other fixins." At the annual town meeting held in April, 1866, it was voted to make "every elector on the poll list a pound master, clothed with the authority to impound all stock, hogs, horses, mules and asses unlawfully running at large, and to advertise and sell the same." This liigh honor was not very highly appreciated by many of the voters, and the next year the vote was reconsidered, and a smaller and more select number of pound masters appointed.

The following have been the Supervisors, Town Clerks, Assessors, Collectors, and Justices of the Peace, from the organization of the town until the present time :

A church edifice was erected on the northeast corner of section 17, in the summer and fall of 1870, known as the New Lebanon church, and is owned by the United Brethren Society. It was built under the superintendence of Rev. Mr. Rogers, a minister of the United Brethren denomination, although persons of all denominations residing in the neighborhood contributed to its construction. The United Brethren Society had been organized, and held meetings in Lynn creek schoolhouse sometime previous to the building of the church. Besides this Society, the Brethren in Christ hold monthly meetings in the edifice, having Rev. A. Good, as their pastor, and also the Methodist Episcopal Society whenever they have a pastor. At present the latter are without stated supply. The building is situated on high ground, and commands a fine view of the surrounding country. The Dunkards hold monthly meetings in the Sand Ridge schoolhouse. The members of other denominations residing in town attend church either at Morrison, Erie, Garden Plain or Newton.

The Rockford, Rock Island & St Louis Railroad, now under control of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Company, and the Mendota branch of the Chicago. Burlington & Quincy Railway, pass through the south part, the latter almost diagonally from southeast to northwest. There are three depots upon these roads within the town limits, one at Pratt on the R. R. I. & St Louis road; one at Fenton Center on the C. B. & Q., road, and another on the same road where the R., R. I. & St Lonis, and C. B. & Q. roads cross each other, a short distance above Pratt. The latter depot is used principally for transfer of freight from one road to the other. Since the R., R. I. & St Louis road has come into the hands of the C. B. & Q. Company, freight coming from the south and destined for Chicago is taken off at this depot, and transferred to the cars on the other road, and when it comes down from Chicago or points east for Rock Island and other points south and west, it is taken from the cars of the C. B. & Q. road and placed upon those of the R., R. I. & St Louis road. By this means freight gathered along the line of the latter road can be taken directly to Chicago by the C B. & Q. road.

Fenton township contains 11,475 acres of improved land, and 10,715 of unimproved. The Assessor's book for 1877 shows the number of horses in the township to be 443; the number of cattle, 1,483; of mules and asses, 40; of sheep, 109; of hogs, 1,888; carriages and wagons, 149; sewing and knitting machines, 79; watches and clocks, 99; pianofortes, 2; melodeons and organs, 13. Total value of lands, lots and personal property, $328,192; value of railroad property, $34,039. Total value of all property in 1877, $362,1 50._

The population of the township in 1870, as appears by the United States census reports of that year, was 758, of which 654 were of native birth, and 104 of foreign. The population in 1860 was 639. The estimated population in 1877, is 1,000.

The elevation of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad track in Fenton township is 24 and 60-lOOths feet above low water in Lake Michigan, and 607 and 60-lOOths feet above the level of the sea.

Soon after the completion of the Rockford, Rock Island & St. Louis Railroad from Sterling to Rock Island, a station was established on the farm of James M. Pratt, and Mr. Pratt appointed Station Agent. In November, 1869, a Postaffice was also established at this place, and named Pratt by the Government, and James M. Pratt appointed Postmaster, which position he has since continued to fill. In 1870 the citizens in the vicinity built a new freight and passenger depot, in which the Postoffice is kept. The place was platted a few years ago, and is called the village of Pratt.

The village of Fenton Center was platted in 1872, by James Usom, who owned the forty acres upon which it stands, immediately upon the construction of the Mendota branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad through the township. The railroad runs diagonally through the village, the land upon which the track lies and the depot and water tank are built, ten acres in all, being deeded to the railroad company by Usom. Before the railroad run through it, the place was mostly covered with scrub timber, and the balance not even broken up. The largest part of the plat covers quite a bluflF, and upon this bluff the buildings at present are nearly all situated. The business places are a general merchandise store, a drug store, blacksmith shop, shoe shop, and harness shop, and one elevator, which, together with the dwellings and the railroad depot, make sixteen building in the village. It has also a physician. Dr. M. D. Allen. The elevator was built in 1872 and '73 by Geo. W. Wood, who commenced buying grain in the spring of the latter year, and continued to do so until the fall, when he sold the building to Reuben M. Thompson, the present owner. After his purchase Mr. Thompson leased the elevator to Mr. Brewer. Abner and M. 0. Hurless succeeded Mr. Brewer as lessees, and at present M. 0. Hurless is the sole lessee. Mr. Plurless buys considerable grain, frequently having the elevator full. It is said that the village acquired its name in this manner: One morning soon after the elevator was erected, a board was found nailed to the building, the work of some one during the night, upon which was printed in bold letters, the words " Fenton Center," and as the name was so appropriate, the village being situated nearly in the center of the township, it was determined then and there to adopt the name.

The Postoffice now at Fenton Center was established in 1870, and then called Fenton. L. S. Burritt was the first Postmaster, and kept the office at his house, a short distance south of the present United Brethren Church. Mr. Burritt continued Postmaster until the railroad ran through the town, and a depot and elevator were built at Fenton Center, when it was removed to that place, and Geo. W. Wood appointed Postmaster. Mr. Wood held the position about a year, and was succeeded by Wm. Miller, who continued in office only six months, when he resigned, and M. 0. Hurless, the present Postmaster, was appointed.

Biographical. Joseph Fenton was born in Burlington county. New Jersey, September 12, 1794, and came to Whiteside county in October, 1835, settling upon the farm in Fenton township where his widow and a part of his family still reside. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Durell, at Burlington city, New Jersey, in April, 1826. The children of this marriage have been: Elwood W., born January 23, 1827; Joseph R., March 27, 1829; Elizabeth H.. July 9, 1831; John D., November 10, 1832; Robert S., October 6, 1834: Alfred W., May 13, 1837; Mary E., December 18, 1839; Sylvester H., August 27, 1841; Henry C, July 3, 1845. The only death in the family has been that of Elizabeth H., which occurred at the old home in New Jersey, on the 25th of July, 1833. Elwood W. married Annette E. Wonser, and lives at Amidore, California; Joseph R. lives at Oakland, California, and married since his settlement there; John D. married Marcia Wonser, and lives at Erie; Robert S. married Josie Cross, and lives at Fenton; Alfred W. is unmarried, and lives at Erie; Mary E. married Elson Medhurst, and lives in Fenton; Sylvester H. married Amanda Medhurst, and lives at Alphage. Henry county, Illinois; and Henry C. married Amanda Smith, and lives at Erie. Mr. Fenton was the earliest settler in what is now known as Fenton township, and one of the earliest in Whiteside county. With the pioneers he suflFered all the privations incident to a new and unsettled country, and with them grappled with all the obstacles in the way with an energy and perseverance born of a conquering will. Men of less determination than our pioneers might have given up in despair, and gone back to the homes where they were reared, but not so with them. They had come to remain, and with that view set themselves resolutely at work to overcome all obstacles. Many of them became affluent in worldly circumstances, and among these was Mr. Fenton. Those who knew Mr. Fenton in his lifetime speak of him as a man of strict integrity, sound judgment, great industry, and of a peculiarly kind and obliging disposition. He was averse to holding public positions, and only accepted some of the minor offices of the township. His great delight was his home. He died on the 28th of September, 187-i, at the age of eighty years. His widow, now 74 years of age, is still living at the old homestead.

James M. Pratt is a native of Aurora, Erie county, New York, and was born April 7, 1822. At the age of fifteen became to Lyndon, Whiteside county, with his parents, and has been a resident of the county ever since. His father, John C. Pratt, visited Lyndon first in 1835, and made his claims, and two years afterwards brought on his family. James M. remained in Lyndon until the fall of 1854, when he moved to his present farm in Fenton. On the 17th of November, 1844, he married Miss Lucinda Emerj', and the following have been the children of this marriage : Beancy L., born August 19, 1845; Mariette M., January 27. 1848; John C, February 11, 1851; Dora V., April 13, 1853; Cyrus E., January 27, 1855; Allen M.. November 12, 1856; Ella J., October 21, 1858; James C, October 21, 1860; Manson W., November 30, 1863; Richard E., March 17, 1866; Volney P., and Viola J., twins, August 8, 1868. Of these Beancy L.. Richard E., Volney P., and Viola J., are dead. Mariette J. married S. S. Chamberlin, and is a resident of Dunlap, Iowa; John C. married Susan Mahany, and lives in Fenton; Dora V. married Wallace Thompson, and lives in Fenton; Cyrus E. married Anna Reisinbigler, and lives in Fenton; Ella J., James C, and Manson W., are still with their parents at the homestead in Fenton. Mr. Pratt is a man of fine executive ability, clear judgment, ready tact, and of unswerving integrity, and hence was early looked to as a proper person to hold offices of public trust and confidence. At the first election after the township organization he was elected Supervisor, and has held that office at different times for a period of about twelve years. For some of the time he was chairman of the Board of Supervisors. He has also been Commissioner of Highways for the town of Fenton, aggregating fourteen years. When the Whiteside County Central Agricultural Society was organized in 1872, he was elected its first President, and has been re-elected every year since. To his energy and influence the Society owes much of the success which has attended it. At the establishment of the Postoffice at Pratt, in November, 1869, he was appointed the first Postmaster, and has continued in the position from that time. Mr. Pratt's farm consists of 1010 acres in a body, lying on sections twenty-two, twenty-three and twenty-six, besides 60 acres of wood land on Rock River. A large part of the former has been brought under a good state of cultivation, and produces abundantly. The possession of this extensive tract of land makes him next the largest landowner in the town, if not in the county. For several years he has been devoting considerable of his attention to raising fowls, and now has the finest varieties and the largest number of any man in Whiteside. His fowls have taken the premiums at every Fair where they have been exhibited. Mr. Pratt is one of the self made men of the county, and travels on the broad gauge in religious matters.

Martin M. Potter was born at Richfield, Otsego county, New York, October 28, 1812, and came to Whiteside county August 11, 1837, settling first at Prophetstown ferry, where he remained four years, and then moved to Union Grove, where he also remained four years, and then returned to Prophetstown ferry. Here he lived until 1851, when he settled on his present farm in Fenton. Mr. Potter married his first wife, Miss Diantha D. Pratt, sister of James M. Pratt, in Aurora, Erie county, New York, November 28, 1836. By this marriage he had the following children: Eliza Jane, born October 17, 1837; De Witt Clinton, July 25, 1839; Charles W., October 19, 1841, and James M., March 6, 1843. His wife died on the 2d of November, 1846, and on the 22d of July, 1847, he married his second wife. Miss Selina Perry. The following have been the children by this marriage: George A., born May 3, 1849; Florence L., June 20, 1851; Henry C, September 22, 1853; Emory D., February 17, 1856; Sarah S., March 9, 1858: Frank M., September 5, 1860; John F., July 11, 1866, and Mary, November 27, 1868. The eldest of the children by the first wife, Eliza Jane, married David P. Perry, who died while in service during the late war, leaving her a widow with two children. She afterwards married Geo. McKnight, and died June 6, 1870. James M. died October 12, 1846, and Mary, December 26, 1868. De Witt C. married Harriet Brown, and is a resident of Shelby county, Iowa; Chas W. mai-ried Harriet Shorrett, and also lives in Shelby county, Iowa; George A. married Emma M. Thompson, and lives in Fenton; Florence L. married Nelson W. Stone, and lives in Prophetstown; Henry C. married Phajbe M. Richmond, and lives in Lyndon; Sarah S. married Caleb B. Smith, and lives in Lyndon; Emory D., Frank M., and John F., reside at home. Mr. Potter was one of the first Justices of the Peace elected in Fenton, and has held the office almost uninterruptedly since. He has also frequently been School Trustee, and School Treasurer of the town. When the project was started to form an Old Settlers' Association, with an annual meeting and basket picnic, he was one of the most active and energetic in its advocacy, and to him the success which attended the effort is in a great measure due. His position at these yearly gatherings of Whiteside's pioneers, is usually that of chairman of the committee of arrangements, which not only involves a great responsibility, but entails a very large amount of labor. These are met by a skill and judgment as creditable to him as they are advantageous to the occasion. Mr. Potter's farm lies on sections 23, 24 and 25, and consists of 320 acres, all of which is in a body, and is under a fine degree of cultivation. He has also twenty acres of wood land on section 36.

Solon Stevens is a native of the town of Standing Stone, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, and was born October 23, 1820. He came to Whiteside county first in 1844, on a prospecting tour, staying one year, and then returned to the East. Visions of the beautiful prairies and their almost unlimited productiveness, however, when compared with the stubborn soil of the Pennsylvania hills and mountains, were too vivid and enchanting to allow him to remain away from them, and in 1851 he came back, and settled permanently in Fenton township. Mr. Stevens was married to Miss Charlotte M. Smith, in Albany, Pennsylvania, on the 17th of March, 1844, and the children have been: Charlotte A., Martha E., John E., Ann C, Ettie M., Emma A., and Susan. All are living excepting Susan. Charlotte A. married Jesse W. Scott, and lives in Montmorency; Martha E. married Charles S. Sage, and lives in Pottawatamie, Iowa; John E.

married Lela Emery, and lives in Fenton; Ann C, Ettie M., and Emma A., are unmarried and reside at home. When Mr. Stevens came to settle permanently in Whiteside he was the possessor of only a little over one hundred dollars, but by industry, energy and perseverance, combined with a clear judgment and keen foresight, he is now the owner of several hundred acres of good land, with nearly all of it under a fine state of cultivation. His farm consists of 340 acres on sections 24 and 25, in Fenton, and 40 acres in Lyndon, adjoining Fenton, making 380 acres in all. He also owns 12 acres of wood land, on section 3. To such indefatigable men as Mr. Stevens, a county owes much for its advancement and prosperity.

George H. Peters was a native of North Adams, Massachusetts, and born March 12, 1812. In 1841 he came to Whiteside, and settled in Fenton, wh-ere he purchased a large tractof land near Rock river. Upon taking possession, he commenced work resolutely to bring it under a proper state of cultivation, and in a few years had a fine farm. On the 6th of May, 1838, he married Miss Charity Smith, at Petersburg, Rensselaer county. New York. The following have been the children: Jerome Darwin, Minerva Jane, Esther H., and George A. The eldest, Jerome Darwin, died while quite young. Minerva Jane married Levi Strunk, and died December 24, 1876; Esther H. married Frank Hamilton, and lives in Fenton; George A. married Mary A. Hamilton, and also resides in Fenton. Mr. Peters died September 8, 1873.

Joseph James was born in Bristol, England, on the 21st of April, 1814, and emigrated to America in May, 1830, settling first at Flemington, New Jersey. In May, 1836, he came to Whiteside county, and located a homestead on section 33, in Fenton township, upon which he resided until his death, October 9, 1875. He helped put up the first log cabin in Erie township, and at the time of his decease was one of the oldest settlers in the south part of Whiteside county. On the 9th of March, 1843, he was united in marriage to Miss Jane Medhurst, in Monmouth, Warren county, Illinois, who still survives him. Their union was blessed with eight children, five of whom are yet living. Mr. James was a kind and aff'ectionate husband, an indulgent father, a genial and accommodating neighbor, a patriotic citizen, and a whole-souled, upright man.

Reuben Thompson was a native of the State of Vermont, and was born January 10, 1794. His parents moved to New York State when he was quite young. He remained in that State until 1818, when he settled in the town of Salem, Meigs county, Ohio, and in December, 1841, came to Whiteside county and purchased a farm in section thirty-five in the present township of Fenton. In 1816 he married Miss Philinda Kent, the following being the children of that union: Mary, died in infancy in New York State; Elisha K., born March 18, 1822; Samuel A., born July 30, 1823; Reuben M., born December 27, 1825; James I., born December 6, 1827. Mrs. Thompson died in 1827 at Salem, Meigs county, Ohio, at the age of thirty-two years. On the 10th of January, 1828, Mr. Thompson married his second wife, Mrs. Esther Robinson, widow of Fain Robinson. She had three children by her first husband, to-wit: Linneus J., born June 24, 1822; Emily A., born September 3, 1823, and AVilliam L., born July 5, 1825. The following are the children of Mi*. Thompson by his marriage with Mrs. Robinson: Esther L., and Sarah T., twins, born November 1,1829; Fain H., born March 4, 1832; Joseph M., born December 1, 1834; Eliza A., born January 6, 1836; Virginia R., born December, 8, 1838; George W., born March 26, 1842; Mary A., born April 22, 1844, and died October 14, 1845; Helen M., born January 15,1848. Elisha K. 7Vto??ipsoH married Miss Nancy Gilman, at Meigs county, Ohio, June 27, 1847, and has had five children, two of whom are dead; resides in Lyndlon, ^arrywl A- Thompson married Mrs.

Biographical

Elizabeth B. Bull, March 28, 1858; has two children; resides in Fenton; he is a large land owner, and extensive farmer. Reuhen M. Thompson married Miss Matilda Dodge, December 25, 1850; has ten children; resides in Fenton. Sarah T. Thompson married Dr. Clinton Pratt, February 23, 1852; has three children; is now a widow, and resides in Morrison; Esther L. Thompso7i married Leonard W. Barker, July 4, 1854; has five children; resides in Erie. Joseph M. 7^/to?npsort married Miss Francis Wood November 16, 1857; has eight children; resides in* Shelby county, Iowa. Virginia R. Thompson married Benj. F. Hubbart, February 11, 1857; has four children; resides in Erie. Eliza A. Thompson married George W. Wood; has five children; resides in De- Kalb county, Illinois. George W. Thomjjson married Miss Susan Farrar, December, 1865; has five children; resides in Dunlap, Iowa. Fain H. Thompson married Miss E. A. Mills, December 23, 1867; has six children; resides in Fenton. Helen A. Thompson married Lafayette Pace, November 25, 1871 ; has one child; resides in Erie. Emily A. Robinson married Nelson Row, December 25, 1842; had three children; died in Scott county, Iowa, December 11, 1855. Linneus J. Robinson married Miss Sarah Jeffers, May 17, 1852; has five children; resides in Fenton. William L. Robinson married Miss Eliza McNeal, November 16, 1849; has four children; resides in Anawan, Henry county, Illinois. Mr. Thompson died May 30, 1850. The widow is still living in Fenton.

Reuben M. Thompson was born in the town of Salem, Meigs county, Ohio, December 27, 1825, and came to Whiteside county in the fall of 1839, stopping first at Union Grove mill. During the same fall he went to Iowa and prospected for a year, and then returned to Whiteside and settled in what is now the township of Fenton, where he has since resided. On the 25th of December, 1844, Mr. Thompson married Miss Matilda S. Dodge, a native of Stark county, Illinois. Their children have been: Esther Philinda, born January 16, 1851; John L., born March 26, 1852; James Amasa. March 13, 1854; Albert Levi, July 13, 1857; Clara Lydia, December 8, 1860; Francis Eli, July 23, 1863; Rhoda M., March 8, 1866; Eva Leona, July 5, 1868; Martin Ray, September 19, 1871, and Henry Clay, September 20, 1875. Of these, James Amasa died August 17, 1859, and Francis Eli, December 28, 1866. Esther Philinda married H. L. Ewing, and resides in Fenton. Mr. Thompson owns 1,863 acres of land, all of which is situated in Fenton township, constituting him the largest land holder in the township, and without doubt in the county. A large portion of this land he has brought under a good state of cultivation. He is also an extensive stock raiser and dealer, owns the grain elevator at Fenton Center, and is one of the go-ahead, intelligent, and successful business men of Fenton township. Mr. Thompson has held the position of Supervisor for Fenton for a number of terms, and has also been Constable, and Collector of the township.

Edward J. Ewers was born October 20, 1813, in Loudon county, Virginia, and came to Albany, Whiteside county, in March, 1839, where he remained until 1843 when he settled in what is now Fenton township. Mr. Ewers was married to Miss Mary Davis on the 22d of May, 1842, in Plymouth, Richland county, Ohio. Mrs. Ewers is a native of Killingly, Windham county, Connecticut, and was born March 27, 1815. The names of their children are: George N., born March 7, 1843; Sarah A., born April 12, 1844; Ellen E., born December 18, 1845; William D.,born October 5. 1847; Mary E.,born November 2, 1849; Amy V., born December 29, 1852; Edward F., born May 10, 1855, and Jesse A., born June 20, 1858. Of these Sarah A. died May 10, 1853. George N. married Miss Jennie Hitt, and resides in Albin, Monroe county, Iowa. William D. married Miss Kate Priestly, and resides in Fenton. Mr. Ewers has always been an earnest advocate of public education, and has taken a commendable interest in tbe public schools of his township. To his efforts in a great degree the citizens of the town are indebted for the facilities they enjoy for the education of their children. He is at present the School Treasurer of the township. Mr. Ewers owns a fine farm of three hundred acres, on gection twenty.