Empire Township (part 2 of 2)

Mary Jane Kimler was born November 10, 1838. She was first married to William Ross. During the war he enlisted in the Second Illinois Cavalry and was killed at the battle of Bolivar in Tennessee. Two sons were born by this marriage and live with their grandparents. They are : James Leander and John Orlando Ross. Mrs. Ross afterwards married Louis Stout, and now lives at Downer's Grove, near Chicago.

Hiram Buck, usually known as 'Squire Buck, was born March 20, 1801, in Seneca County, New York. His father, William S. Buck, was a soldier of the Revolution. He volunteered at the age of fifteen, and aasisted at the capture of General Cornwallis at Yorktown. Hiram Buck received his common school education in Seneca County, where he was born. He rem'lean county. 571 members very clearly the war of 1812, as three of his brothers were soldiers in it. One of his brothers, Sherman Buck, was captured at Queenstown Heights, where our army was commanded by General Van Renssellaer. General Winfield Scott, then a lieutenant, was captured there. The raw recruits were frightened at the sight of the wounded at the opening of the battle and were afraid to cross the river to the support of those who had captured the heights. Another brother, James Buck, helped to bury tho dead after the burning of Buffalo. The third brother, William Buck, helped to demolish Fort Erie before its evacuation by our troops.

In 1818 the Buck family moved to North Bend, Hamilton County, Ohio. The journey was made from Seneca County to the head waters of the Allegheny River on sleds. At Olean Point they took a covered flat-boat about ten feet long and thirty feet wide, and started down the river. They began their journey on the water on the 13th of April, and floated nine hundred miles down to Cincinnati, where they landed on the 1st of May. During a part of their journey they lashed their boat to a raft, but at a place called Dead Man's Island the raft was staved to pieces and the boat cut loose from it. They landed at Cincinnati and went from there to North Bend, where General Harrison lived. The General was a very popular man and was almost worshipped by his neighbors. lie was a very wealthy man and kind-hearted and benevolent, but had a high temper, and was sharp spoken when provoked.

Mr. Buck taught school for five winters in the southern part of the countv at the mouth of the Miami River. When he went there he expected a hard time in managing the scholars, for their previous teachers had been driven out of school for two winters. But fortunately Mr. Buck attended a corn-husking previous to entering the school and wrestled with the leader of the insurgent scholars and threw him. The young man's arm was unfortunately broken in the fall, and Mr. Buck regretted this very much, but the school was at peace that winter. This was in 1823. He kept the school for six months.

In 1825-6 Mr. Buck was a flatboatman on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. His flat-boat was loaded with cattle, pork and corn, which he took down to New Orleans. This life on the water was hard and adventurous. In the latter part of January, 1825, his flat-boat was jammed into the ice about eighteen miles above Louisville, and remained there twenty-six days, being left high and dry by the falling water. But during the latter part of February the water rose and took them off.

Mr. Buck married, April 4, 1827, in Hamilton County, Ohio, Mercy Karr, the youngest child in the family of Captain John Karr. John Karr had served in the Revolutionary war as a captain in "Wayne's Legion, and had fought in many battles. In accordance with a queer statute of Ohio, Mr. Buck was obliged to give security for his wife's maintenance. His brotherin-law was married about the same time, and the two happy bridegrooms went security for each other.

In 1833 Mr. Buck came to McLean County, Illinois, to Randolph's Grove, just east of the present town of Heyworth. The journey was quite interesting. He went from Cincinnati to St. Louis and there changed boat for Pekin, but could only go up as far as Beardstown, for there thev grounded on a bar. He left his family there and came to Bloomington on horseback to find teams to bring them across the prairie. During the latter part of his journey he made the acquaintance of Isaac Funk, who showed the road, and traveled more than a quarter of a mile out on the prairie to point the way. He went back to Beardstown with two teams and brought his family. This was in the fore part of April, when the country was so dry that the horses could hardly wet their feet in traveling the whole distance. The season was dry until June, when a freshet came, and everything was flooded. The people on the way seldom thought of charging anj-thing for their trouble in entertaining the travelers, and Mr. Buck's bills for meals and lodging during their journey from Beardstown to Randolph's Grove amounted to only three bits. The people said : "We were strangers once, and we ourselves once needed accommodation." Mr. Buck's family lived for a while in a cabin just east of 'Squire Campbell "Wakefield's house.

Mr. Buck tells some curious things connected with the sudden change of the weather in December, 1836. He had been to the house of a neighbor, and when the cold wind came threw a wet overcoat on his shoulders and started for home. When the cold wind struck him, it blew out his overcoat and froze it immediately in the shape it took when extended. When he arrived home, he had difficulty in pulling his coat through the door. This great wind-storm came from the west to the Mississippi River at about ten o'clock a. m., came to Leroy about three p. m., and reached Indianapolis at about eleven p. m. It will thus be seen that it moved from the Mississippi liiver to Leroy at about the rate of thirty miles an hour, and from Leroy to Indianapolis at about the rate of twenty miles an hour.

In 1837 Mr. Buck went to Leroy and there opened a hotel. The usual price for supper, lodging and breakfast, for man and horse, was half a dollar, but this came near breaking the landlord.

In 1835 Mr. Buck was County Surveyor and helped to lay out Waynesville, Lytleville, Mt. Pleasant (now Farmer City) and an addition to Leroy. He was busy surveying for two or three years. He was postmaster at Leroy from 1838 to 1844 under Postmaster General Amos Kendall. In 1839 he was elected justice of the peace, which office he held for eighteen years almost continuously. He was elected County Commissioner in 1851 and held his office until the township organization in 1858.

Mr. Buck is rather less than the medium stature. His countenance shows the effect of age, though he is still strong and in good health. The lines on his face seem to show resolution, honesty and sound judgment. He is a humorous man and sometimes slightly eccentric. He says he has been a subscriber to the Star of the West for forty-six years and always paid his subscription. He has received two presents for being one of the oldest subscribers. He has lived all this time with one woman, without a divorce ! He says he has never laid a claim against a deceased person's estate. For fifty-six successive years he has been a hand in the harvest field, and can work again quite as well. He takes a great interest in educational matters, and last winter was commissioned by the Governor of the State as Trustee from the Eighth Congressional District, of Lombard University.

He has had six children, five of whom are living. They are : Amanda Melcina, wife of James II. L. Crumbaugh, lives three-quarters of a mile south of her father's. She was born July 10, 1828.

Charles Albert Buck, born August 19, 1849, lives at home. He attends Lombard University and intends to study law. He is a young man of good promise.

Malon Bishop was born December 25, 1810, in Clark County, Ohio. His ancestors were Virginians. His father was a well educated and plain-spoken man, and insisted in spelling his son's name Malon, leaving out the "h." Malon Bishop ,was raised a farmer, and early accustomed himself to work. He obtained his early education at a common school. He was a good scholar and behaved himself well. It was the custom in those days in Ohio to bar out the teacher on Christmas days ; this was the fashion, and of course Malon Bishop used to follow the fashion.

On the twenty-third of March, 1831, Mr. Bishop married Catharine J. Foley. He has had a family of eight children, four of whom are living, two boys and two girls.

After living for a while in Clark County, and afterwards in Champaign, Mr. Bishop started for the Far West. He came to Old Town timber in the fall of 1834, and in the following spring moved to Buckles' Grove, now Empire township. His land had been entered during the previous January. In September, 1835, Mr. Bishop attended the land sales ; there the settlers formed lines to keep every one from coming near until they had bought what land they^wished ; the remainder was left for speculators.

In June, 1835, Mr. Bishop had the roof of his house carried away by a hurricane, at midnight, and the rain came pouring in. His wife was sick at the time and delirious, and it was not until the next morning that reason returned to her. Then she looked up from her bed and saw the blue sky above her and everything wet with the rain and she almost questioned whether reason had indeed returned. The roof was soon replaced and Mr. Bishop, who had been somewhat depressed, again took courage.

Mr. Bishop has occasionally held office. In 1837 he was elected justice of the peace, and in 1842 he was sent to the legislature. During the latter year the Whigs first nominated Matthew Robb and afterwards James Miller, and the Democratic central committee put up Malon Bishop. The latter was very active in the work of electioneering and was voted for by many Whigs and elected as an honest farmer rather than as the nominee of a party. The country was then in a desperate condition; the banks had failed and many thought the legislature responsible for the sad situation. Mr. Bishop, when elected, felt himself in a very trying position ; everything was expected of him and he was supposed to be able to accomplish impossibilities. Political matters were still further confused by the Mormon question and the Mormon war. The country was infested with horse-thieves, counterfeiters, burglars and murderers, and they made their headquarters at Nauvoo, the Mormon capital. The people were terribly excited and thought the Mormons should be driven out of the country. Great depredations were committed by the Danite band and it is supposed that Governor Boggs of Missouri was shot and severely wounded by them. A requisition was made upon Governor Ford for Joe Smith and Hiram Smith, but these leaders of the Mormon church could not be found until Ford offered a reward for them. When this was done they immediately gave themselves up and claimed the reward of their own capture. They were finally examined, but it appeared that they had not been out of the State of Illinois and certainly did not personally assist in the shooting. The Mormons were so terrified by the threats of the settlers that they began arming for defense; but this only stirred up the settlers the more. Governor Ford called out the militia to keep the people quiet, and to one company was assigned the duty of guarding Joe Smith and Hiram Smith ; but instead of guarding them, the company allowed them to be killed at Carthage by a lot of desperate men who wished to exterminate them all. At last the Mormons agreed to leave the country and prepared to do so ; but the set- tiers became impatient and arose in arms and drove them off". All of these troubles increased the difficulties of the legislature; and the responsibilities which Malon Bishop felt resting upon him were indeed hard to bear. At that important session the State Bank of Illinois at Springfield and the Bank of the State of Illinois at Shawneetown were put in liquidation, and these two rotten corporations, which issued so much worthless money and assisted so much to bring financial ruin, were forever closed. The Illinois and Michigan canal also gave much trouble to this overburdened legislature. The canal required $1,600,000 to complete it, but this amount was finally raised and the work done. It was this legislature, which should live in history, that prevented the State of Illinois from repudiating its bonds, and gave them ever afterwards a firm standing in the money markets of the world. Kever before in the history of the State was so much expected of a legislature, and never before were expectations so perfectly realized. It may be indeed a matter of pride to Mr. Bishop to have belonged to this public body which did itself and the State so much honor. Mr. Bishop tells of a queer incident which happened while he was in Springfield during the session. The State of Illinois received three per cent, of all the sales of public lands, and its money, which was kept at St. Louis, increased to thirty-seven thousand dollars. The legislature authorized James Shields, the state auditor, to go to St. Louis, buy a safe, and bring the money to Springfield. He took a two-horse covered wagon and an Irishman as a guard, went to St. Louis, bought a safe, locked the money in it, put it in his wagon and came to Springfield. The legislature adjourned to meet him. He and his Irishman carne following the wagon and carrying their muskets through the mud until they arrived at the portico of the State House. Here Shields gave the order to "ground arms," and he and his Irishman "grounded arms," while the members of the legislature unloaded the wagon. Shields was very tired and did not become rested for several days.

The members of this legislature received for their pay three hundred and ninety-two dollars in depreciated money, certificates of bank indebtedness and auditor's warrants. They used their auditor's warrants for taxes and sold their certificates of bank indebtedness to be used by those who were indebted to the banks.

Mr. Bishop remembers au incident of the Mexican war. "When volunteers were called for in 1846 the whole community was very naturally excited and notice was given at a camp-meeting that volunteers would be called for. But when the volunteering commenced the government could not accept half of the men who were anxious to go.

Mr. Bishop has, of course, a very lively recollection of the sudden change in the weather which occurred in December, 1836. "When the freezing west wind came after a thaw and warm rain, the weather became immediately most intensely cold. He saw a short distance from his house John C. Bradley and Aaron S. "Williams with teams bringing loads of live hogs, and when the storm struck them, they went to Mr. Bishop's house for shelter. Their clothes, which were wet, froze on them instantly, and when they came to the house, "Williams' overcoat, when pulled off, would stand on the floor. The harness on the horses were frozen so stiff that, when the traces were unhitched, they stood out straight. A bridle rein was thrown over a post, but it stood out from the post without falling down. The cold was so severe that the harness could not be removed from the horses for two days. John Bradley succeeded in reaching home with his sled and one yoke of oxen, the other oxen he turned loose in the timber and did not recover them for two days.

Like all the early settlers, Mr. Bishop speaks warmly of the good feeling which formerly prevailed among all Western people. When they met a stranger they were always anxious to take care of him and assist him and his family, if he had one.

Malon Bishop is the picture of good humor. He is of medium stature and not heavily built; his face has on it all the good-natured lines, and his voice has a pleasant ring to it, and even his Roman nose may be described as a good-natured nose. He has a great deal of shrewdness- and is quick to see both sides of a question. He is always on the alert, and gets up at five o'clock in the morning to see that everything is moving right- He has never been troubled with any of the diseases of the country, but has always enjoyed the best of health. He has always

Thomas D. Gilmore was born November 18, 1814, in Warren County, Kentucky. His father's name was Andrew H. Gilmore, and his mother's name, before her marriage, was Margaret Price. The former was of Irish descent, and the latter was probably of Scotch. Mr. Gilmore, sr., lived to the advanced age of ninetyeight, and died in 1870, in Old Town timber. He possessed a strong mind, and was active and a worker to the last. He worked a little too hard, or he would have lived longer. His son made great efibrts to preserve the old gentleman's life for two years longer, to make him a century old, but this was not to be.

Mr. T. D. Gilmore lived in Warren County, Kentucky, until October, 1836, when he came to Old Town timber, McLean County, Illinois. Here he put up a log house with a puncheon floor, a clapboard door, a bedstead with one leg, in a corner of the room, and the other furniture to match. He had moved into this little cabin with his family only a short time before the sudden change of December came. It seemed for a while as if the Gilmore family would be frozen out, and they wished themselves back to old Kentucky ; but they stood the storm and protected their stock, so that nothing froze. After Leroy was laid out, Mr. Gilmore moved there, and followed for some years his profession as a blacksmith.

He did not make the trips to Chicago as the other settlers did, but sent his wheat and corn by other parties and paid them in blacksmithing.

Mr. Gil more never was a hunter. He once took his gun and went after deer, shot six times and missed continually. He returned home and laid his ill luck to his gun, but never hunted more.

In 1846, Mr. Gilmore went to Kentucky on a visit, but became interested in business and stayed until 1850, when he returned to Old Town timber, near the northern boundary of Empire township, where he has lived ever since.

On the second of January, 1834, he married Matilda Sawage, in Kentucky. She died October 5, 1839. By this marriage he had three children. They are :

Mr. Gilmore is nearly six feet in height, weighs about one hundred and seventy pounds, is very muscular, and must have made a good blacksmith. He has a bald head, with a good development of brain, has dark eyes, a nose slightly Roman, and whiskers nearly white. He is a humorous man, very accommodating, very honest and fair-minded. He has been quite successful ; has a good home and enjoys life. He likes his residence in Old Town timber, but has warm feelings for old Kentucky, and for this reason named one of his children after that dear old State.