Wetzel, Illinois

Aaron. Moses W. and John Darnall were voung men when they came to Edgar County. They arrived in the spring of 1822, w'hen that county was yet a part of Clark County. John cleared a small farm, and made some improvements during jthe summer, but unfortunately took w'hat was know'n as the "Orleans fever,'' a kind of malarial disease, from which he died. His was probably the first death in this settlement. His brothers had settled at first in w'hat is now' Grand View Township, but the next year entered the claim made by John and moved to it. Here they remained about four years, improv¬ ing the claim, when they sold out, Aaron going to Embarrass Precinct (then not named), and Moses to Wisconsin. Aaron remained in Embarrass about ten years, when he moved to Edgar Township, where he resided until 1875, when his death occurred. He was all his life a firm Baptist in his religious belief, was a minister in that denomination, sturdily refusing to accept any pay what¬ ever for his ministry, believing it wrong. Moses is yet living and is also a minister in the Free-Will Baptist Church. Thomas Craig, father of Isaac and William, came to Clark County in 1822. The next year, Isaac came to Big Creek settlement and entered a claim. He lived here till after the close of the late war, when he removed to Charleston, Coles County, where he yet resides. He has lived to see the country he found a wilderness, abounding in plenty, and the abode of industry and wealth. William came to the settlement with his brother. He was a resident here many years. In after life, he moved to the west part of the county, where he died.

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 Edgar Township - it names this place 1 more 1 time.