Brookville, Illinois

DONALDSON WALTER, Far mer and Stock Raiser ; Sec. 36 ; P. 0. Polo ; was born in Northumberland Co., England, Feb. 6, 1819 ; came to this country in August, 1820 ; lived in Washington Co., N. Y., four years; from there to Toronto, Canada, lived there until the Spring of 1839 ; from there to this county ; has 283 acres of land, valued at $14,150 ; is a Democrat; held office of Highway Commissioner, School Trustee and Supervisor ; married Sarah H. Sylvester, June, 1846 ; born May 9, 1825 ; have three children - William W., born Dec. 27, 1851 ; James H., Nov. 30, 1853; and Ella I., Nov. 22, 1855 ; when he first came here he hauled pork to Galena, and sold the best dressed hogs for $2.50 per cwt.; medium brought $1.50 ; hauled wheat to Chicago for less than $1 per bushel ; he went to Oregon to declare his intention to become a citizen of the United States in 1841 ; the County Clerk's office was kept in a tailor shop ; had no blanks and had to write out the papers, which took until near night ; started for home, but got lost on the way ; stayed all night with a man by the name of Pitzer, at Boonsboro ; next morning started for what is

Passage source: The History of Ogle County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois ... Etc, published 1878.

HABRIIS ABRAHAM, Farmer and Stock Raiser ; P. 0. Brookville ; was born in Northumberland Co., Pa., Sept. 19, 1829 ; has 57 acres land, value $2,565 ; Dem. ; married Polly Paul who was born in Northumberland Co., Pa., Sept. 21, 1836 ; came to this county in 1854 ; enlisted in the 15th Regt. 111. Vol. Inf, 1865, under Capt. J. H.Long, Co. K ; was at the surrender of Johnson to Sherman ; his father enlisted in the war of 1812; he was 18 years old at the time; Mr. and Mrs. Harris have not had any children, but adopted and raised three - one Franklin Melect, was in the 26th Regt. 111. Vol Inf; was on the raid with Sherman through Georgia, was wounded twice, once in the leg and once in the thigh, the ball passing upward, lodged near the left lung.

Passage source: The History of Ogle County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois ... Etc, published 1878.

HETFIEIiD WM. A. Farmer and Stock Raiser, Sec. 26; P. O. Polo; born in Sussex Co.; N. J., June 20, 1825 ; came to this county June, 1835; has 180 acres of land, valued at $9,000; Democrat ; held the offices of Assessor and Highway Commissioner ; married Lucy Brand ; born in Scotland, Feb. 27, 1825 ; has two children - Edward J., born June 11, 1849 ; Elizabeth F., April 15, 1852 ; left New Jersey in 1833 ; went to Indiana ; lived there two years ; came from there with teams to Elkhorn Grove ; left part of the family there until he built a shanty on this section. The shanty was fourteen by eighteen, put up in the rough, and within two weeks moved into it, which was not much of a move, as he had nothing but his bedding ; made our beadsteads by cutting poles made in the Grove ; made our tables out of stove boxes ; used fire places instead of stoves. Cut out the logs, put up jambs, and made it outside, so as to save room ; made the chimney by laying up sticks, and plastering it over with mud ; also cut out logs for a window ; had no glass nor sash. The first crop we raised was in 1836, sod corn and garden sauce ; used to do our marketing at Savanna on the Mississippi river, and Peru on the Illinois river ; kept a hotel at Brookville, a large double log house, with a chimney in the center, with fire place on each side; was the first man that took a grist to mill on horseback ; took it to Wilson's Mill, the first one that was built in the county. Has hauled grain to Savanna, and got only twenty-five cents per bushel ; could get no money nor groceries ; had to trade it out fiar dry goods with a man by the name of Luther H. Bo wen. When I first came to this county, I paid $25 per barrel for flour. His father was in the war of 1812 ; died at the age of 90 years. His grandfather was killed in the Revolutionary war.

Passage source: The History of Ogle County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., a Biographical Directory of Its Citizens, War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics ... History of the Northwest, History of Illinois ... Etc, published 1878.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Brookville Township - it names this place 3 more 3 times.