Twin Grove, Illinois

On the 10th of December, 1X24, Mr. Webb married Penina Hinshaw. They lived in Tennessee until they came to Illinois in 182t!. During that year he made a visit to Illinois with old George Hinshaw. They traveled in a little two-horse wagon over Central Illinois, and started for Chicago, but lost their way and could find nothing but Indians, who wore unable to direct them. They came down the Desplains River to where Ottawa now is, and there found three families. From this place they returned to Tennessee. In June, 1827, the families of Stephen Webb, "William McCord and George and Jacob Hinshaw, started for Illinois with teams. They had a pleasant journey until they reached the Ohio River. While there the wet season set in. and the streams were all overflowing. The travelers were frequently water-bound. They crossed the streams by taking their goods over in canoes and swimming; their horses across with the wagons. At the Sangamon River they determined to make a raft and were obliged to swim the stream and push their clothes across in washtubs. They made their raft and brought over their teams and wagons. When they arrived at Cheney's Grove, old George Hinshaw said he would go no farther, as he was sick of unpacking his goods at every little stream in order to get across. The Hinshaws remained there for a time, and Mr. Webb and Mr. Mc- Cord went on. They were water-bound for a while at Money Creek, but after crossing it they came to Twin Grove. Here they stopped, intending in the fall to go up to the Kankakee River, where Mr. Webb had made a claim during the previous year. But in the fall many rumors came concerning; the difticulties with the Winnebago Indians in the mining; country around Galena, and Mr. Webb thought it hardly safe to go any farther north; so he made a claim at Twin Grove in the southwestern corner. When the land came into market he traded his improvement for eighty acres of entered land on the northwestern corner of the grove. During the third winter after their arrival, Mr. Webb, George Hinshaw and "William McCord started north to the Kankakee. They each furnished a horse which they hitched to Mr. Webb's wagon and started. When thev arrived near Ottawa, two of their horses strayed off during the night. Mr. Webb and Mr. Hinshaw went to hunt for them while Mr. McCord remained with the wagon. The two men followed the trail of the lost horses one day and slept in some brush at night. They had nothing to cat but an ear of corn. Mr. Hinshaw came near freezing to death, but was warmed by a fire which they succeeded in kindling. They came to the Mackinaw and found it waist deep with drift ice running. Thev waded it and came out on the prairie, and there they found a road which Mr. Webb recognized. But he was so confused by cold and the suffering they endured that he could not decide which end of the road led towards home. After traveling on the road some distance they came to some holes where Indians had formerly buried corn, and there Mr. Webb saw that they had been going the wrong way. Mr. Hinshaw suffered so much with cold that he said "Let's crawl into these holes and die." But Mr. Webb insisted on making another trial for life. They turned towards home and came to a creek, which was frozen over with ice too thin to bear them while walking; so they laid down and scratched and wriggled across. While Hinshaw was scratching and working himself over, the ice cracked under him, but he was suffering so severely that he was almost anxious to die, and said: "Let it break, let it break;" but he succeeded in dragging himself over. They went down to Lewis Soward's house, stayed there all night and went home. As soon as possible Mr. Webb took two horses and went to Ottawa and brought back McCord and the wagon. On their return, during one foggy day, their heads became " turned around," and they thought that north was south and east was west, and the first intimation they had of their mistake was finding themselves traveling back on their own track.

Passage source: The Good Old Times in McLean County, Illinois : Containing Two Hundred and Sixty-one Sketches of Old Settlers, a Complete Historical Sketch of the Black Hawk War and Descriptions of All Matters of Interest Relating to McLean County, published 1874.

George M. Hinshaw was only seven years of age when his parents came to the West in 1827. He was not much exposed to the terrible rain storms, hut remained in the covered wagon. He saw the hardships common to the early pioneers. In 1842 he joined the Christian Church. In 1848 he wTas chosen elder, and holds this office at the present time. The Twin Grove Christian Church is strong in numhers and spirit, and its members enjoy good religious feeling. In the spring of 1845, Mr. Hinshaw moved to the plaee where he now lives, just south of Dry Grove and west of Twin Grove. He lives in Dry Grove township, but belongs to the Twin Grove church, and his children attend the Twin Grove school.

Passage source: The Good Old Times in McLean County, Illinois : Containing Two Hundred and Sixty-one Sketches of Old Settlers, a Complete Historical Sketch of the Black Hawk War and Descriptions of All Matters of Interest Relating to McLean County, published 1874.

Mr. Hinshaw is six feet in height, is slim in build, lias rather a long faee, with tine regular features. His hair is partly gray, and is full on his head. He wears spectacles while reading. He is considerate with regard to other men's rights and feelings, and is absolutely honest in all things. His countenance wears the pleasant expression of honesty and content. He has been successful in his dealings, and is an1 example of the care of an overruling Providence.

Passage source: The Good Old Times in McLean County, Illinois : Containing Two Hundred and Sixty-one Sketches of Old Settlers, a Complete Historical Sketch of the Black Hawk War and Descriptions of All Matters of Interest Relating to McLean County, published 1874.

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 Dry Grove Township - it names this place 7 more 7 times.