McCown, Illinois

SYLVANUS BRADFIELD, farmer, Sec. 1 ; P.O. Palermo; owns 416 acres ; was born in Columbiana Co., Ohio, Oct. 22, 1820 ; went to Rockville, Ind., in 1852 ; re¬ sided there until 1863 ; during that year he came to this township and settled. Married twice ; first to Am)7 Harrison in the fall of 1841 ; she was born in Columbiana Co., Ohio, May 18, 1821 ; died May 3, 1867 ; had six children by this union, four now living, three in this township and one in Kansas ; C. L. C., Postmaster at Palermo ; William D., farmer; Mary C., in Kansas, and Laura, now Mrs. Carlton; -Simon H. died May 3, 1872, in Kansas ; was a sol¬ dier during the late war, and served one year in place of his father, who was drafted. Mr. B. is at present serving his second term as Supervisor; also held office of As¬ sessor, both in this State and in Indiana. His second marriage was with Mrs. Mary E. Thomas, widow of the late James Thomas, June 6, 1870. Mr. B. is a mem¬ ber of the Christian Church.

Passage source: The History of Edgar County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County--its Cities, Towns, &c. : Directory of Its Tax-payers; War Records of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics; Map of Edgar County; History of Illinois, Illustrated; History of the Northwest, Illustrated; Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c., &c. Illustrated, published 1879.

OLIVER BELL, farmer, Sec. 34 ; P. 0. Newman, Douglas Co.; owns 160 acres ; born Oct. 4, 1842, in Muskingum Co., Ohio ; came to this State with his parents, who settled in Coles Co., this State, where his father resided until his death, which occurred March 20, 1875, aged 59 years; his mother died in Ohio when the subject of this sketch was 4 months old. Mr. B. married Charity McCown, daughter of Jonathan McCown, Esq., of this township, Feb. 4, 1864 ; she was born in this county Dec. 15, 1844 ; have six children - Sher¬ man, Grant, Elmer, Cora, Olive and Elsie. Mr. B. was a soldier in the late war ; en¬ listed in Co. H, 59th I. V. I., in August, 1861, from Kansas Tp.; in 1861-62, was in the Department of the West; was in the battle of Pea Ridge, Farmington, Miss., and Perry ville ; served in that regi¬ ment two years, and one year in the 150th I. V. I. Mr. B. contracted an affection of the lungs during his latter term of service, from which he has never recovered.

Passage source: The History of Edgar County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County--its Cities, Towns, &c. : Directory of Its Tax-payers; War Records of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics; Map of Edgar County; History of Illinois, Illustrated; History of the Northwest, Illustrated; Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c., &c. Illustrated, published 1879.

JOSEPH B. DAINS, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. O. Palermo ; owns 240 acres, valued about $40 per acre ; born in Greene Co., Penn., April 13, 1836 ; when he was 5 years of age, his father died ; he then left home and worked by the month until he was 17 years of age; he then obtained a position to assist in driving a flock of sheep from Pennsylvania to Ver¬ milion Co.; for such service he received $10 per month ; was just thirty-seven days on the road. Was married Aug. 12, 1855, to Sarah Reasor; she was born near Dallas, Vermilion Co., Oct. 12, 1837; her father, Samuel Reasor, died when she was a very small girl ; Mr. D. has five children living and three dead ; the living are named Robert M., Charles B., Ellen J., Annie I. and Clara C.; of the three that died, only one was named, - Ralph. Mr. D. makes a specialty of fine stock ; for fifteen 2-year-old steers, sold to George Hughes

Passage source: The History of Edgar County, Illinois, Containing a History of the County--its Cities, Towns, &c. : Directory of Its Tax-payers; War Records of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics; Map of Edgar County; History of Illinois, Illustrated; History of the Northwest, Illustrated; Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c., &c. Illustrated, published 1879.

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 Young America Township.