Hunter Township

Hunter Township

In tracing the history of this section of the country for the last halfcentury, one is naturally struck with the vast and wonderful changes that have occurred in that period of time. Fancy yourself standing upon yonder swell of the prairie sixty years ago, taking a survey of the country. It is June. Your senses are regaled with the beauty of the landscape, the singing of the birds, the fragrance of the air, wafting grateful odors from myriads of flowers of every imaginable variety of size, shape and hue, blushing in the sunbeam and opening their petals to drink in his vivifying rays. While gazing enraptured, you descry in the distance a something moving slowly over the prairie, through the luxuriant herbage and among the gorgeous flowers. As the object nears you, it proves to be a wagon drawn by a single team, containing a family and their earthly all. They are moving to the then "Far West " (now almost the center of civilization), in quest of a home. At length they stop, and, on the margin of a grove, rear their lone cabin, amid the chattering of birds, the bounding of deer, the hissing of serpents and the barking of wolves. For all the natives of these wilds look upon the intruders with a jealous eye, and each in his own way forbids any encroachments upon his fondly-cherished home and his long and undisputed domain. From the same point of observation, look again in midsummer, in autumn and in winter. And lo, fields are inclosed, waving with grain and ripening for the harvests. Look yet again after the lapse of sixty years, and what do you see? The waste has become a fruitful field, adorned with ornamental shrubbery, enveloping in beauty commodious and even elegant dAvellings.. In short, you behold a land flowing with wine and milk and honey (metaphorically speaking), abounding in spacious churches, schools, academies, colleges and other temples of learning ; a land of industry and wealth, check- ered with railroads and public thoroughfares. A land teeming with life, and annually sending off surplus funds with hundreds, not to say thousands, of its sons to people newer regions beyond. A land whose resources and improve¬ ments are so wonderful as to stagger belief and surpass the power of description.

History And Settlement

There is no spot is Edgar County more replete with historical interest than this township. In the forests of Hunter, erstwhile Wayne Precinct, was reared the first cabin of the white man built within the limits of the county, and that, too, more than sixty years ago. Far away in the beginning of the century that is now swiftly reeling off into the eternity of the past the last quarter of its course, immigrants began to cross the Wabash, and with the Star of Empire wend their way westward. In the spring of 1817, but a few short years after the close ot the war of 1812, and less than a dozen years after Gen. Harrison had purchased this part of the county from the Indians, five hardy pioneers came from the older settled States to the "Far West," as this was then, in search of the " land of promise," where they might build up comfortable homes in which to spend their declining days. The- five hardy ones above alluded to were Remember Blackman, John Stratton, Anthony Sanders, William Whitley and Aloysius Brown. Brown, Stratton and Whitley were from Kentucky, Blackman from New York and Sanders from North Carolina. Stratton was a brother-in-law of Col. Mayo. Whitley was a nephew of Stratton's, came from the same place, and with Stratton to the county. They settled in what is now' Hunter Township, but, for years after township organization, was a part of Stratton, w'hich latter town was named for Mr. Stratton. About 1852, Strat¬ ton sold out in this neighborhood and removed up on Kankakee, where he died in 1871-72, at the residence of a son who lives in that locality. A daughter, Mrs. Brown, lives in Brouillett Township, and, with Mrs. John Metcalf, a daughter of Whitley, are the only tw'o persons nowr living in the county who came here that first spring. They were both born before their parents moved to the State, and were old enough to remember their removal thither. Whitley sold out in a few years, and removed into Paris Township, where he receives further notice. Brown, though from Nelson County, Ky., to this section, was a native of Maryland, He was a zealous member of the Roman Catholic Church, and has a daughter who is Mother Superior of St. Mary's Catholic Convent, situated four miles this side of Terre Haute. Mr. Brown removed to Janesville, Wis., many years ago, where he died. In illustration of the hard times experienced by the pioneers of the country, wTe give the following, related to us by a lady who was cognizant of the fact at the time of its occurrence. Mrs. Brown, wife of the above gentleman, had but one dress, and, one Satur¬ day evening, w'ashed and hung it on a chair before the fire to dry, before retir¬ ing, in order that it might be ready to wear on Sunday. By some means, the chair fell over during the night, and the dress, next morning, was ashes. This left her, like Flora McFlimsey, with " nothing to wear," except underclothing, and but one change of that. So, as a substitute for a dress, she had to wear her husband's overcoat, although it was the month of May and the weather quite warm. In this attire she dressed until she could weave cloth and make a dress ; for, be it remembered, friendly reader, there were no stores to step out to and buy a few yards of calico, and, ten chances to one, if there had been a store at hand, there was no money to buy the dress. As it happened, she had a piece of cloth in the loom, but she had no " filling," and, robed in her quaint attire, she called on a neighbor to borrow some for this case of extreme emergency.

Remember Blackman, another of these five early settlers, located first at Vincennes, afterward removed up to what was known as the "big field," east of Terre Haute, from which locality he came to this section, as already noted, in the spring of 1817. He has a daughter still living in the county, and another in Coles County. His last son died, on the old homestead, since we commenced our work of compiling this history. His oldest son went West, perhaps to Iowa, and was in the army in the late war, from that State. His next oldest, his youngest and an Irishman, who was a hired hand, together Avith two horses, were killed by the falling of a tree. They had been to Paris Avith the wagon, one very Avindy day, Avere returning, and Avhen in sight of home the wind bleAv doAvn a dead tree that stood by the roadside, crushing them all - a verifi¬ cation of Scriptural lore, that, "in the midst of life Ave are in death." Of twentv-tAVO children born to him, but six of them arrived to the years of matu¬ rity. He is said to have been rather a disagreeable man in his family and hard to get along with, as evinced in the folloAving story : From some cause, which is left to conjecture, his Avife refused to sleep Avith him, and in order to bring her to her senses in this respect, one day, when she Avas absent, he saAved the rails of her bed so nearly in tAvo that when she retired, at night, her couch Avent to the floor, Avith a crash. Both of them have long since passed away.

Anthony Sanders, the remaining one of the first five settlers, married a Quaker lady, it is said, for her money, avIio Avas much his senior. Mayo bought him out Avhen he came to the place, in the folloAving fall, and he removed into Stratton. But after remaining here a short time, he left his Avife and Avent doAvn the river, to the " South Country," perhaps to Louisiana, Avhere he mar¬ ried another Avoman. His Avife heard of it and folloAved him there, brought suit and succeeded in getting the land here decreed to her. She, hoAvever, finally died in the Poorhouse, though not, it is said, on account of poverty, but rather from choice, as she had money on interest. What finally became of him no one knoAvs.

In 1817, Col. Jonathan Mayo came to the settlement, arriving in November of that year, and located on what Avas then and is still called the "North Arm." He was from Floyd County, Ky.. and, together with his Avife, came all the way through from Kentucky on horse-back, an undertaking that Avould be deemed almost beyond the power of accomplishment at the present day. " Stratton, Whitley and myself,'' says Col. Mayo, relating some of his early experiences, "went to the 'Big Field,' east of Terre Haute, to buy corn for bread and to feed my horses on, for which we paid 33 cents per bushel in the field, most of which we hauled home on sleds on the snow, crossing the river at Fort Harrison." Though from Kentucky here, Col. Mayo was a native of Virginia, but at the a'ge of ten years went to Kentucky with his parents, and remained there until his removal to Illinois in 1817. While living in the Blue-grass State, he was appointed by the Governor to take the census of Floyd in 1810, then but eighteen years old. Floyd County at that time embraced within its territorial limits Breathitt, Magoffin, Wolfe, Lancaster, Pike, Johnson and Martin Counties. He removed into the city of Paris in 1827, and is living now in the house into which he moved at that time. On the 6th day of November, 1878, he and the partner of his joys and sorrows celebrated the sixty-first anniversary of their marriage. Their golden wedding is long since past and the diamond wedding is almost in sight, and still they are plodding on together. For more than threescore years they have fought life's battles hand in hand, joining in each others' joys, and blending their tears o'er the sorrows of life. This beautiful little gem, entitled "Growing Old," seems so appropriate in this connection, that we give it a place: ,

Col. Mayo was the first Clerk of the Circuit Court after its formation of the county, and held the position for more than twenty-five years. He also held various other county offices, in which he gave satisfaction. In order to better facilitate the discharge of his official duties, he removed to the city of Paris in 1827, as already noted. When in the chapter devoted to that part of our work, he will be further referred to. Rev. William J. Mayo, the father of Col. Mayo, came here in the fall of 1825. He arrived on the 30th of Novem¬ ber; the fall had been one of almost unprecedented loveliness, without a drop of rain for weeks, but on that night it set in to rain and continued a day or two. He located near the line between Hunter and Stratton Townships, where he died August 1, 1849, lacking but a few'days of being eighty years of age. He had eaten his dinner, shaved himself, chopped some fire-wood at his woodpile, walked to the house, and was scraping his feet at the door, when he dropped dead. Col. Mayo and Mrs. Driskell, wife of Joseph Driskell, are the only survivors of twelve children. Mr. Mayo was a local preacher of the M. E. Church, and is mentioned elsewhere as preaching the first sermon in Brouillett Township. Joseph Driskell, a son-in-law of his, is from Kentucky, and settled here in 1829, but is living at present in the city of Paris. Rev. John W. McReynolds was from Allen County, Ky., and came here in 1822. He was a brother-in-law of Col. Mayo - having married a sister of Mrs. Mayo. For several years after coming to the country, he carried on a cabinet-shop, the first in the country. He was a local preacher of the Methodist Church, and, in 1825, joined the Illinois Conference, which then embraced Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. He bought out Alexander on the North Arm, together with other lands, until he possessed quite a large landed property. He finally embarked in the mercantile business, and, after a time, went into partnership with Munsell in that business. He also bought a tannery which he conducted for a time, and at which he made considerable money. He seems to have been an energetic, stirring man, both in religious and business matters. There was a singular coincidence in the death of him and his wife, in that he was taken sick the night she died, and in ten days he slept beside her, as though not even death should part them.

Otis McCulloch came to the township in 1820, and was from New York. He died many years ago, where he made his first settlement, and has a son still living on the old homestead. John Lycan came from Morgan County, Ky., in 1820, and after remaining in the settlement until 18 - , removed into Paris Township. In 1829. he went to Clark County, where he purchased a distillery, and after devoting some years to the manufacture of the exhilarating beverage, he retired from the business, and at length died. George and Daniel Beckwith were from New York, and came to this section in 1818. They went to the salt works near Danville, Ill., where they spent some time making salt. After the formation of Vermilion County, Daniel Beckwith moved to Danville, where he figured as quite a prominent man. Represented the county in the Legisla¬ ture a term or two, and held other positions of importance. He died a good many years ago, but his brother, George Beckwith, was living at Kankakee at the last account of him. Jacob Jones and his sons Samuel and Richard, and his son-in-law, Samuel Littlefield, were from Maine, and settled in Hunter Township, as early as 1819. They first stopped at Terre Haute ; remained there but a short time, and came to this section, where they made settlements. In 1825, they removed to Brouillett Township, where a more extended notice of them is given.

The Alexanders, who are mentioned at some length in the history of Paris Township, deserve also to be mentioned in this chapter. John B. Alexander, the progenitor of all the Alexanders of this section, came originally from North Carolina, and settled in what was termed the Little Vermilion Timber, em¬ braced now in the County of Vermilion, where after remaining a year or two, he came to Edgar County, and settled on the "North Arm," in what is now Hunter Township. He was a man of high standing, and of considerable prominence in the community. As noticed in another chapter, he was one of the first County Commissioners, the first Postmaster, and the first legislator of Edgar County. He resided in Hunter Township for a few years, then returned to Vermilion County, and finally located in the city of Danville, where he died in 1850. His son, Milton K. Alexander, was the first merchant of consequence, in Paris, and was also quite a' military man, taking an active part in the Black Hawk campaign, as already noticed. Washington Alexander, of Paris, is also a son. Mr. Alexander brought to this country from the South a lot of cotton¬ seed and prepared to grow his own cotton, and for several years did so quite suc¬ cessfully. He also put up a cotton-gin and a spinning-jack, which run thirty spindles, and manufactured all the cloth used in his family for every-day wear. Alexander McDonald came to the settlement in 1820 ; was from Tennessee and a son-in-law of John B. Alexander. He finally removed to Vermilion County, where he died.

Daniel Lane, from New Hampshire, settled in Hunter Township, in 1818. He is said to have been a man who lived within himself ; that is, would have but little to do with the people living in the neighborhood - would not associate with them nor indulge in the least sociability, until a circumstance occurred that taught him the value of neighbors in a backwoods country. A few years after he had located in the neighborhood, he went one day to Quaker Point,* in search of cattle that had strayed away. He rode a large gray horse, and was followed by quite a formidable-looking dog of a dark-brown color, and, reaching his destination in the evening, ^remained over night, and the next morning set out to return, but lost his way. About the third day after, his dog came home, worn out and hungry, and it was but natural to suppose that he had been either killed or captured by the Indians. The morning after his absence had been discovered, about twenty-five of the neighbors, well armed, started in search, and on reaching the North Fork of Brouillett Creek, found a deserted Indian camp. Scouts were sent out to make observations, and soon returned with the information that they had found vrhere Lane's horse had been tethered, as they knew by the color of hair found on the spot, and where bark had been peeled to tie him. The search was at once resumed, and with quick¬ ened steps the trail of the Indians was followed to the Little Vermilion, where another camp (likewise deserted) was found. Beyond this they followed the trail on to Butler's Point, where they encamped for the night, and early the next morning went to the salt works. There they learned that a party of Indians had been there the day before, and were then, as they supposed, camped a mile or two above on the river. Their squad was divided into two bodies, one going up the river on foot, and the other remaining with the'horses and to reconnoiter down the river. The party that went up the river did not return until 4 o'clock P. M., when they found the others in a high state of excitement, caused by their prolonged absence and a belief that they had been surprised and capt¬ ured by the Indians. The party who had been down the river reported they had found an Indian camp, and the fires still burning ; that Lane's horse had there been shaved, as was the Indian custom with their ponies, and they had also seen where he had been tied. A "council of war'' was held, and it was at once resolved to send to Col. Shelby, of Vigo County, Ind., for help. All were to return home and get supplies, and join Shelby. Joseph Curtis and Amos Williams, two early settlers, whose generous offer should be recorded in letters of gold, agreed to carry the message to Col. Shelby before they slept, though the distance was over fifty miles. After their departure, the party set out for home, and upon their arrival found Lane there alive and well. He had been lost all the while, and by the merest chance had found his way to Hall Sims', almost exhausted from hunger and travel, as was also his horse. After this little episode, the old man came out of his shell, as it were, and became quite neighborly and sociable. He figured rather conspicuously in the early courts of Edgar County, but as he has long since gone to his account, we will draw a veil over his faults, if faults they were, and leave all criticisms to others. Upon his old homestead stands a landmark, known far and wide throughout the country. It is a Lombardy poplar which once did duty as a riding-whip in a case of emergency, and when no longer required in that capacity was stuck in the ground, when it took root and grew to a lofty tree. The story is that Mrs. Lane, Daniel Lane's wife, used it as a "riding-switch," in a trip from Vincennes to where they made their settlement in Hunter Township, and upon their arrival she planted it in the ground and it still flourishes ; is fourteen feet now in circumference just above the ground, and, as we were informed by one gentleman, is eleven miles high. This doubtless is slightly exaggerated, but it is one of the highest of these high trees. Both Mr. Lane and his wife are long dead, and sleep upon the old homestead.

Augustin E. Boland is another of the early settlers of Hunter Township, and came here in 1818. He was a native of Connecticut, and a soldier in the war of 1812. At the close of that unpleasantness, he was discharged at Vin¬ cennes, Ind., and, after a few years in that vicinity and at Terre Haute, he came to Hunter Township, as stated above, in 1818. He never went back to the old Nutmeg State after peace was declared between the United States and Great Britain, but came to this settlement after a few years. He was crossing the Wabash one day, and his horse got into quicksand, and but for the timely assistance of some Indians, who chanced to be near by, fishing, he would have been drowned. His son, M. T. Boland, has in his possession an old Presby¬ terian hymn-book, printed in 1800, which his father carried away from home with him, when he entered the army, and during all his weary marches, and his camp life, it found a place in his knapsack. It is still in a state of pretty good preservation. He died in 1873, at the age of eighty-two years, and as a coincidence, died on his birthday. His wife died about two years ago. Of his family, there are left three sons and a daughter. A. E. Boland, and a sister, Mrs. Newlon, are living in Hunter Township ; M. T. Boland, in Paris Township, and another son in Missouri. The following is a true copy of a taxreceipt of Mr. Boland, for 1820, when Edgar was a part of Clark County :

The following story was sometimes told by Mr. Boland to his friends, around the fireside, in illustration of his army life : While in the garrison at Vincennes, and just before news of the peace of 1815 reached the army of the West, four of his comrades were court-martialed, one for shooting a squaw, and the other three for falling asleep on their posts, like Ahisha, or for some other breach of military discipline, and were condemned to be shot - the latter three - while the one for shooting the squaw, had the " wheelbarrow punishment " (whatever that may be) inflicted upon him. Mr. Boland was one of the squad selected to do the shooting, and, according to military law, the guns of a part of them were loaded with blank cartridges, and no one knew whose pieces were loaded blank, and whose loaded with balls. After the verdict of the court-martial, they com¬ menced making cotfins in an adjoining room to the one in which the prisoners were kept, and when ascertained that there were three being made, there was much anxiety and speculation between the four prisoners as to who was the one escaping the death-penalty. Finally, when all was complete, and the appointed moment had arrived, they were marched out to the place of execution, to the music of the Head March, and amid the screaming of women, each condemned man riding backward upon a coffin. The fatal platoon was drawn out, the prisoners caused to kneel by their open graves, and the blindfold fastened on. The most particular and positive instructions had been given the men to wait for the word to fire. All being in readiness, the terrible orders were given : uMake ready," " aim," - "Recover Arms!" The news of peace hav¬ ing reached the army between the finding of the court-martial and the day appointed for the execution, the sentence was revoked, but it was decided to carry it as far as detailed above, for the good effect it might have upon not only the offenders, but upon others.

Barna B. Reynolds was a brother-in-law of Aloysius Brown, and came from Kentucky, but both families were originally from Maryland. Reynolds came the same year that Brown did, but in the fall. Both were Roman Catholics, and Reynolds had a brother, Ignatius, that was a priest He went to Charles¬ ton, S. 0., and finally became a Bishop in the Catholic Church. He (Barna Reynolds) removed to Janesville, Wis., with Brown, and died there years ago, but his widow was living at the last heard from her. John Gillam and two brothers came from Indiana about 1822. They were very poor, had neither homes nor much of the world's goods in any shape, and after remaining for a short time in the settlement, returned to the place from whence they came. The Murphys came from the Old Dominion, and located in this township. Lewis Murphy was the first of the family in the field, and came here as early as 1819. He was the first Judge of Probate after the formation of Edgar County. William Murphy, a brother to Lewis, came in 1820, and settled on a farm adjoining Col. Mayo, where he died many years ago. The first session of Circuit Court in Edgar County was held at his house. James Murphy was another brother, and built a horse-mill near the line between Hunter and Strat¬ ton Townships, and afterward a water-mill in Hunter Township. He finally moved to Brouillett Township. Still another brother was Dr. LTrl Murphy, and the first practicing physician in the township, and perhaps in the county. He came to the settlement in 1821, a young man of promise, and a physician of merit, considering his youth. The next year he died, being the first death in the neighborhood. His loss was severely felt, for physicians were not as plenty then as now ; and although the population was less than at the present day, the people did sometimes require the "balm of Gilead."

William Reed came from the East in 1818, but what particular State, no one now remembers. He was a Lieutenant in the war of 1812, the first Sheriff of Edgar County, and, after the formation of Vermilion County, removed thither, and was Sheriff there for several years, and finally died there. James Johnson and John Laswell settled in the town in 1819, but like Reed their native State is not known. Johnson was the first chairmaker in the county, and made the first chairs Col. Mayo used after his settlement in the country, except some he made himself with a saw and auger. Johnson is forgotten, and no one can tell now what became of him. Laswell went West, but further, nothing is known of him. Nathaniel Morgan, from Kentucky, came to the town in 1821, and settled on land belonging to Col. Mayo. A married son settled in Edgar Township, where he is noticed among the early settlers of that town. They finally sold out and all moved to Texas. Elijah Austin was from Massachusetts and settled in the town in 1818, just on the old Indian boundary line. He was one of the first Justices of the Peace, and also one of the first County Com¬ missioners. His wife died, and he married the widow of Laban Burr, and died about 1842. Jesse Sanders was from North Carolina and came in the spring of 1818. He was a single man at the time and soon went away, no one knows where he went, or what became of him. Alonzo Lapham was from New York, and settled in the town in 1820. He was a half-brother to Edward IVheeler, mentioned as one of the early settlers of Brouillett Township, and is mentioned elsewhere aS operating a fulling-mill in the early times. William Newcomb was an early settler, but of him little is known.

James Hensly came from Kentucky, about 1822, and settled in what is now Hunter Township. In Februai'y, after he came to the country, his niece, Ruth Hensly, who lived with him, and had been on a visit at John Lycan's, living at the time where Abram Risser now lives, set out in the evening to return to her uncle's. Soon after starting, it began to snow ; she became bewildered, and finally lost her way. There were but few roads then, nor any settlements west of the boundary-line and north of Sugar Creek, and it was several days before she was missed. But at length it was found that she wTas lost, and the neigh¬ bors at once turned out in search of her. They first went through the Sugar Creek timber, then through that of Brouillett Creek, and as far north as Stage's Point. The third day, it commenced raining, taking off the snow, and late in the evening her tracks w^ere discovered in the "Sangamon Trace," near Cherry Point. Twelve of the party agreed to continue the search, while the others returned home. The twelve pressed on, and about dark reached Hickory Grove, where they built a fire and cooked supper, when six of the party again took the trace, leaving the others in camp. In about two hours, they returned, bringing the girl with them. She was in a rather deplorable condition. Her shoes and skirts were much worn, and she was almost frozen. When she became warmed and thawed, she suffered the most intense pain from cold and hunger. When she left Lycan's for her uncle's, she had on two linsey dresses, besides heavv underclothes, and when it began to snow and rain she took off one of them, tied the body together with her garters, and filling it with dried prairiegrass, carried it on her back to keep from getting wet. A rather model umbrella, but of considerable value at the time. From the time of her starting out until she was missed, and including the three days they were searching for her, she had wandered in the woods about a week, without food but such as she could pick up in the forest in midwinter. Though not at all frozen, she was so numbed and exhausted that, when brought to the fire, as above noted, her pain became almost unbearable. She finally married John Morgan, one of the men who took an active part in the search, and afterward removed to Texas.

In 1819, Rev. Joseph Curtis, a local preacher of the Methodist Church, came to the township and settled on what is known as* the Curtis farm. He was from Ohio, and made the first effort at planting a nursery in Edgar County, and also organized the first Methodist class in the county, which will be again alluded to. He died more than twenty years ago, but his wife is still living, though quite aged. The Lowrys were from Kentucky, and settled first in Hunter Township, and afterward in Brouillett and Edgar. Joseph Lowry was the first one of the name in the settlement, and came in 1820, and, after a few years, removed to Vermilion, where he died of milk-sickness. Judge William Lowry was a brother of Joseph, and came to the county the next year. He was an Associate Justice in Kentucky, which position entitled him to the prefix of Judge. After living in Hunter for a few years, he removed to Edgar, and later to De Witt County. John and James Lowery were brothers to those already mentioned, and, after a few years, moved to De Witt County. Judge Lowry brought some blooded cattle here with him from Kentucky; but they never amounted to much in this then wild country. The " green-head flies" were too severe for blooded stock. James Dudley was from Massachusetts, about 1819-20, and settled in this township. After becoming unable to work at farming, he embarked in the mercantile trade, and sold, perhaps, the first goods in Edgar County. His first effort was peddling, and afterward he opened a store at Daniel Lane's. Later, he removed to Coles County, and, it is said, became very rich ; went East and married in his old age.

The Hunters came from Greencastle, Ind., to Hunter Township, but were originally from Tennessee. The family consisted of the elder John Hunter, and six sons, viz.: John Hunter, still living in Hunter Township ; S. K. Hun¬ ter, living in Paris ; William, Christopher, Andrew and George, the latter locat¬ ing near the line, a part of his land lying in Indiana and a part in Edgar County. They (the sons) came here in 1828, and entered land, returned to Indiana, and removed to the county in 1832, the elder Hunter coming the year previous. John Hunter is still living upon his original settlement in this township ; Christopher died in Paris ; George, on his farm, near State line, and William and Andrew died in Missouri. The father was of English descent, and died in 1832, soon after removing to the county. His wife was of Scotch origin and died in 1857, at the age of eighty-three years. She was the last of a family of six children, whose combined ages at the time of death were upward of six hundred years. John Hunter is a man of consider¬ able prominence in the community. He served two years as Deputy Sheriff, and later as United States Marshal, to take the census of Putnam County, Ind. After his removal to Edgar County, he was elected Sheriff, in 1846, serving two years, afterward (in 1851 and 1852), as Deputy Sheriff'. He was also the Chairman of the first Board of Supervisors of the county. Hon. A. J. Hunter, of Paris, is a son of John Hunter, and a lawyer of merit, wrho has distinguished himself, not only at the bar, but in the Legislature of the State.

In the early days of the country, Henry Clay, the great Kentucky states¬ man, entered two or three sections of land in this township, embracing what is still known as Clay's Prairie. He also entered Section 21 for Hon. William A. Burwell, Member of Congress from Virginia, and a warm, personal friend. He caused his own land to be improved, well stocked with fine Kentucky bluegrass animals, and placed one of his sons, Thoma-s Clay, in charge of it, as a means, perhaps, of breaking and weaning him away from dissolute companions, about his old home, at Lexington, Ky. But the change of scene effected little chano-e in the course of his habits, and his father determined to take him home and sell the land. Negotiations were opened between him and the Hunters, the result of which was the sale of 1,600 acres of land on Clay's Prairie to John and S. K. Hunter, and which still remains in their possession. This sale was made about 1849 or 1850, and we here give space to an autograph letter from the "Sage of Ashland'' to the Hunters, in regard to some of the pay¬ ments on this land :

I leave home to-morrow, for Washington. You will greatly oblige me by remitting to me, at that city, a check of the Bank of Terre Haute, on New York or Philadelphia, for the amount of the installment due next Christmas for the land you bought of me. The premium on the check, of course, must be paid by me, and deducted by the Bank from the amount remitted. The let¬ ter and the Bank will always afford evidence of the amount of the payment. I herewith enclose your note, canceled, due last Christmas, which I thought you might like to have, altho' you have sufficient other evidence of the payment.

This letter of the great statesman, Hon. A. J. Hunter has in his possession, handsomely framed, and which he prizes very highly. The trip to Washing¬ ton, referred to in the letter, was the last one ever made by Mr. Clay to the national capital. When he returned again to his home, it was in his coffin. As a memento of their friendly relations, he gave Mr. Hunter a pair of fine blooded cows.

James Carney is a jolly old bachelor, and came from Madison County, Kv., in 1834, and located where he now lives. Like all old bachelors, he has his peculiarities, one of which is, that his land lies about equally in Illi¬ nois and Indiana ; his house stands directly on the line, and is so located that he dines in Illinois and sleeps in Indiana. As he sits in his sanctum he can look out of its south window over the plains of Hoosierdom, and a single pace will place him in the dominions of Gov. Cullom or Gov. Williams. J. R. Morehouse came from New Jersey in 1833, in a one-horse wagon, and five in family - his father and mother and three children, himself fourteen years old at the time. They stopped in Indiana, where they remained from November 23, to Christmas, living all this time in the wagon. About the middle of March, moved into an unfinished cabin in Vigo County, Ind., where they remained sixteen years. In the mean time he had grown up and married, and, in 1849, came to Edgar County and settled in this township, where he still lives. This includes the names of all the early settlers whose history we have been able to gather. If omissions have been made, which is altogether probable, with the first settlements extending back to such a remote period, it was uninten¬ tional.

The Early Times

In the early development of a country, the pioneers usually fare hard for a time. They leave all the luxuries and comforts of civilization behind them when they emigrate to a new country and give themselves up to toil and exposures- from which many of us would shrink in dismay. Think of what the people had to con¬ tend with when they came here sixty years ago ! Of going forty or fifty miles to mill ; of half a dozen families crowding into one small cabin for weeks at a time, until each could provide himself a cabin of his own. Says Col. Mayo, "we went to the 'big field' after corn, which we hauled home on a sled." This "big field," was east of Terre Haute, and had been opened by Mrs. Mayo's grandfather. It contained eighty acres - all in corn - and was considered a very large field of corn for those days. Then people grew their flax and cotton, and some raised sheep, and manufactured all their clothing at home. Cardingmills, or machines were established, at which the wool was carded into rolls. The rolls were spun by the wives and daughters on the "big wheel" and then woven into cloth, and by the same dexterous fingers made into garments for them¬ selves and their families. And the men, their mode of farming was so far then behind what it is to-day, that our young men, could they see some of the means used in those primitive times for farming, would, perhaps, deem them a greater curiosity than our fathers did the locomotive, when they saw it for the first time steaming over the prairies. The old "Cary plow," for instance, with its moldboard, part of wood and part of iron ; what a curi¬ osity it would be now to see a man trying to plow with it. Would we not feel a kind of pity for one reduced to such an extremity? "We had to stop," says Col. Mayo, "two or three times in a forty -rod furrow, and scrape it with a paddle carried for the purpose, in order to plow with it at all." Harrows with wooden teeth were quite a contrast to the splendid implement of that class now in use. And the small, inconvenient cabin in which they had to live, glad to get any kind of shelter that would protect them from the rigors of winter and from the wolves and bears. The regulation cabin seems to have been from sixteen to twenty feet square, daubed with mud, covered with "clapboards," a log cut out for a window, with greased paper in lieu of glass, and a kind of partition across one end forming a fire-place the width of the cabin. Often, the cabin had nothing better than a dirt floor. Their furniture was such as the settler himself could manufacture with an ax and an auger ; for the mechanic does not often go to a new country to establish himself in business, at least not till the population will justify the expectation of his getting work. Bedsteads were often made by boring a hole in the cabin-wall, putting in pins, supported by others from the ground, a j>ole laid across the structure, and straw filled in. This composed the bed, as well as the frame, and, though scarcely as soft " as downy pillows are," sufficed the humble dwellers until a more luxurious couch could be afforded. Chairs were blocks of wood, with holes bored in them and legs put in : and tables were puncheons or slabs split out of trees, with similar legs as the chairs. But, even under all these trying circumstances, they enjoyed life better, perhaps, than we do to-day. People were more sociable then, all were neighbors for miles and miles, and the term neighbor came nearer the meaning the Master gave it eighteen hundred years ago than it does now. A man would divide his last crust with another, and loan him anything he had - except his wife and babies ; and, to know that a man needed help to " raise a cabin," or "roll his logs," was all the invitation required. And when trouble came upon one, genuine sympathy was tendered from all around, and in a simple manner that carried with it conviction of its sincerity. Not as it is in the present age, as pictured by a late writer : " ' Is he dead ? ' is the solemn inquiry of a few as they pass to their work. But none miss us but our imme¬ diate connections, and in a short time they forget us and laugh as merrily as when we sat beside them." It is too true. The world is growing more selfish every day, and human nature becoming' more hardened, and more indifferent to the woes and troubles of others. It is rather a dismal view of things, but our daily surroundings prove its correctness and truth.

First Mills, Shops, Etc

The first settlers of Hunter Township used to go all the way to Shakertown to mill, which was near Vincennes, Ind. Maj. Markel built a mill, in 1818, on Otter Creek, six miles north of Terre Haute, which drew most of the custom from this section after it commenced operation. In 1819, John Beard built a mill near the mouth of Brouillett's Creek, near the township-line. This was still more convenient to the people of Hunter. Beard was a Dutchman, and was, perhaps, from Pennsylvania ; but what became of him, no one can now tell. Still later, an ox-mill was built near where the Catholic Church now stands, which was of great convenience. The power was made by oxen on a treadwheel. Alonzo Lapharn added a fulling-mill to the ox-mill, for the purpose of "fulling" such cloth as was manufactured by the inhabitants; and William Newcomb built a carding-mill near by, on which the people had their wool carded into rolls. Newcomb brought his carding-mill from Bloomington, and, after running it several years, moved to De Witt County and took it with him.

About 1820-21, John Lycan opened a blacksmith-shop in Hunter Town¬ ship, not only the first in the town, but the first in the county, as mentioned in the County History. It was near where Abraham Risser now lives, and prior to it the settlers had to go to Fort Harrison for blacksmithing. Rev. Joseph Curtis planted a nursery about 1820, the first effort of the kind in the county, and a business, which is still continued by his son, a notice of which is made in the County History, Rev. John W. McReynolds opened a cabinet-shop in the neighborhood in 1824, but at that early day there were few demands for that class of goods, and most of the people manufactured their own furniture. James Johnson, who settled in the neighborhood aS early as 1819, was a chairmaker, and made the first chairs in the county, some of which are still to be found. Tanyards were also among the early conveniences to the settlement. In those days, the people manufactured everything at home used in the family. Their tea was made of the sassafras, sweetened with maple sugar, their clothing of home man¬ ufacture, and made from cotton, wool and flax. But all those relics of bar¬ barism, if we may use the expression, such as the carding machine, loom, tanyard and cotton-gin have long since passed away.

Elijah Austin is supposed to have been the first Justice of the Peace in Hunter Tow'nship. The first Sheriff of the county was also of Hunter. Indeed, Hunter seems to have furnished nearly, if not all of the first county officers. The first Circuit Clerk, and first Judge of Probate, and last but not least, the first Coroner, George Board, who is referred to in other parts of this work. The first County Commissioners were also from this settlement, as also the first Representative in the Legislature, and the first election in the county was held here. It was for the election of delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1818, and before the county was created, and wTas at the home of Col. Mayo. It was the scene of the first session of the Courts after the formation of the county. Hunter, it appears, was for some time the " hub," the center round which the entire county was wont to revolve ; but with the location of the county seat at Paris, its power, to some extent waned, and its glory departed forever.

Birth, Death, Marriage

The first birth in Hunter Township was a daughter of John Stratton, who was horn in 1817, the first year settlements were made in the country. The circumstance is mentioned elsewhere as the first birth in Edgar County, a fact probably that is undisputed. The first marriage was Narissa Jones and Edward Wheeler, also mentioned in county history as the first occurring in the county. They were married by Elijah Austin, a Justice of the Peace, and the license was from the Clerk's Office of Clark County, "before Edgar was." It is told of this marriage that, when the 'Squire had performed the ceremony, he walked across the room, threw his arms around and kissed his owrn wife, leaving the bridegroom to follow his example if he chose. We do not know if he did or did not. Sylvester Barker, now living in Paris, married a sister of the bride just mentioned, on the authority of the first marriage license issued from the Clerk's office of Edgar County. The first death in the township was Dr. Url Murphy, a young physician, who came to Illinois from Virginia to build up a home and a practice, and died within a year. His death is recorded in 1822. Horace Austin, a son of Squire Austin, died soon after Dr. Murphy. The latter was the first physician in the settlement, and also the first in the county, and it is said was a young man of much promise. He was highly thought of, and his loss wras seriously felt in the little community. Before he came to the country, and for some time after his death, a Dr. Durkey, living across the Wabash, some ten or fifteen miles distant, made professional visits to this section when the state of health required it. With this limited board of health, some of the more hardy of the citizens would console themselves with the reflec¬ tion that doctors and officers were not needed, as " everybody behave^ them¬ selves and nobody got sick." This would not have applied to all parts of the county a few years later.

One of the sources of pastime for the young people in the settlement was Mr. Boland's singing school. To this they used to flock of Sunday afternoons, at some neighbor's cabin, and occasionally at night, each family taking it by turns furnishing house-room for "the singing-school," and the young people taking it by turns furnishing tallow candles, to light the scene. Doubtless our young friends of this fast age would elevate their Grecian, aquiline and pug noses to an angle of forty-five degrees at such simple amusement.

Churches And Schools

The first sermon preached in Hunter Township, and perhaps in Edgar County, was by Rev. Joseph Curtis, a local preacher of the Methodist Church. He came to the settlement in the spring of 1819. During that year, he formed a class at the residence of Col. Mayo, consisting of himself and wife, Col. Mayo and wife, John Stratton and wife, and Sally Whitley, of whom there is still living, Col. Mayo and wife and Mrs. Curtis. He preached occasionally, as also did a Rev. Mr. Love. During the winter of 1822-23, Rev. John W. Mc- Reynolds, who has been noticed among the early settlers, came in, and the next spring succeeded in getting this class included in the regular work by Confer¬ ence, and the Rev. H. Yreedenburg was appointed the first circuit-rider, the house of Col. Mayo being used as the house of preaching until he moved to Paris, in 1827. The first camp-meeting ever held in the county, was near this spot, in August, 1823, Rev. Mr. Yreedenburg in charge, assisted by Rev. Mc- Reynolds and Dr. James. At this meeting occurred more than twenty conver¬ sions. Rev. Mr. Yreedenburg was returned to the circuit, and is termed the founder of Methodism in Edgar County. There are now four churches in Hunter Township - two of the Methodist denomination, one Catholic and one Christian Church. The "Old North Arm Church " as it is called, is the one just mentioned as established by Rev. Joseph Curtis, in 1819. As stated, it was organized at the house of Col. Mayo, but in a short time they moved their place of meeting to Mr. Curtis' house, where, for twenty -four years, they worshiped. At the end of this time, the North Arm Church was built and dedicated. The first ministers to occupy the new church were Rev. Mr. Har¬ graves and Rev. Mr. McReynolds. The present minister is Rev. Mr. Hedges, and the present church edifice was built in 1876. St. Aloysius' Catholic Church is attended by Father Hasse, of Paris. It is a substantial brick structure, and was built about thirty years ago - the first Catholic Church, not only in this, but any of the' surrounding counties. Its membership is about forty families. The other churches are of more recent origin, and are all large and elegant buildings, and have good congregations.

The first schoolhouse in the town was built near where Abram Risser now' lives, and wras one of the first temples of learning erected in the county. Amos Williams taught the first school in it, also supposed to be the first in the county. But as the time has been so long, there is really not much certainty about it. There are now five schoolhouses in the township, which is a tier of sections below the allotted size of a regular Congressional town. They are good, comfortable buildings, and schools are maintained the usual number of months during the year.

As stated in the beginning of this chapter, Hunter was originally a part of Stratton Township, and so remained from the time the county adopted township organization until the March meeting of the Board of Supervisors, 18t>l, when a petition was presented to the honorable Board, by John Hunter, and signed by ninety-three of the citizens, for a new town to be made from Stratton and Brouillett, most of it, however, from Stratton. At the same meeting, Mr. Van Houtin presented a remonstrance, signed by 243 of the citizens. In the face of this remonstrance, the new township was made by a vote - not 8 to 7 - but of 7 to 6. And thus Hunter became a township, and was given the name Hunter for Mr. Hunter, who was instrumental in getting it. It is bounded as follows : north, by Brouillett Township ; west, by Paris and Edgar ; south, by Stratton, and east by Indiana.

The first Fourth of July celebration which took place in the county, occurred in this township. It was held in a grove on Daniel Lane's farm, very near the present line of Stratton and Hunter, and consisted of the usual ceremonies indulged in on the "glorious Fourth " in early times. A regular old-fashioned barbecue dinner, toasts, responses, etc., and the Declaration of Independence read by Judge William Lowry. The usual oration was omitted.

War, Indian And Other Items

We have already said much of the Indians and of the Black Hawk war, in these pages, and hardly deem it necessary to go into details here, as the result would be considerable repetition. There were plenty of Indians in this part of Country for nearly a score of years after white people settled in it. When the Black Hawk war broke out, many of the people of the North Arm shouldered their guns and hastened to the front. In the Mexican War, Hunter sent out a number of soldiers - some who carried muskets, and some, or one, at least, who wore shoulder-straps. A Mr. McReynolds, from Hunter, was a Lieutenant in the Mexican war. In the last great war, when the Southrons raised their impious hands against the Government and the old flag, the brave men of Hunter responded nobly to the call for troops. In another department of this work will be found the names of all who went, not only from this township, but from other sections of the county as well, so far as they could be obtained.

Prairie fires used to be a great source of trouble and fear, and often destruc¬ tive. Stacks of grain and hay, fences and sometimes houses fell a prey to and we have it from a reliable source, that people would actually get lost in daytime, it being so dark in the forests, owing to the thick smoke, they could not see their way. To guard against prairie fires was the farmer's first thought after getting his crops garnered, and his failure to do so often proved dis¬ astrous.

The " green-head " flies were the worst pests the people had to contend with in those early times, and many contend that they were more to be dreaded than prairie wolves. People often had to travel and plow by night, on account of their being so troublesome. Their bites we have been told by many who remember them, were quite as severe as the sting of a yellow-jacket. They made their appearance about the 1st of June, and disappeared between the 1st and 10th of September. Col. Mayo relates how they once played a joke on the "green-heads" by setting an old hair trunk out in an exposed place. They watched it for a time, and Mr. Green-head would make a dive at it, but never succeeded in drawing blood.

Hunter Township is without railroads. The iron-horse has never yet made a track through its forests or over its prairies. Its wagon-roads are as good as are to be found in the county, or, perhaps, in this section of the State, except the many crooks and turns and jogs to which they are subjected. In Hunter, perhaps, more than in another section of the county, is this the case with the roads. Why it is so, we cannot say. The township is drained by Brouillett Creek and some other small brooks, which run toward the Wabash River. It is also well timbered, possessing both timbered and prairie land, and being pretty well divided between the two.

The Villages

Hunter Township has had more villages and hamlets than any other town¬ ship, perhaps, and none of them have ever amounted to anything. Cambridge City is the oldest city or town in the county, the record of the plat bearing date- August 2, 1820. Just where it is or was located (for there is not a trace to mark its site), no one can tell, except by consulting the records. From them we learn that it was on the northeast quarter of Section 9, Town 14 north. Range 11 west, which is now embraced in Hunter Township. This " city " was intended for the future capital, and was laid out with much care. The blocks or squares were 18 rods each way, and a public square of the same dimensions, the entire plat containing 71 acres and 87 rods. The four princi¬ pal streets were 82 feet 6 inches in width, and the four lesser streets were 57 feet and 9 inches. It was surveyed and laid out by John F. Thompson. It presents a very beautiful appearance^ - on paper - and that it failed in becoming the seat of justice was, doubtless, a disappointment to many. It never, so far as we have been able to learn, did anything in the way of business. The lay¬ ing-out of Paris, soon after, and the locating of the county seat there, forever put an end to the bright hopes and anticipations of Cambridge City.

Baldwdnsville, at a later period, we believe, absorbed Cambridge. A post office and store was once kept here, by a man named Baldwin, and went by the name of Baldwinsville Post Office. But it has long passed away, and the site of the place is now a cultivated farm. Huffmanville was called after David Huffman, on whose land it is located, and who kept a store and a post office there since the discontinuing of that at Baldwinsville. The post office has been discontinued at this point, but the store is still in operation and carried on by Thomas McFall. J. DawTson now keeps a small store in the township, and also has a post office, which is called Dawson Post Office. The place consists only of a store, post office and a blacksmith-shop.

A. E. BOLAND, farmer; P. 0. Paris; son of Augustin E. and Ruth W. (Tickner) Boland, who were among the first settlers of Edgar Co., locating upon the farm where A. E., Jr., now resides in 1818; he was a soldier of the war of 1812, and has resided in this and the vi¬ cinity of where Vincennes and Terre Haute now stand, from the time of his discharge to his death, which was in 1873, at the age of 82, and his wife in 1876, at the age of 73. The subject of this sketch was born in the house where he now resides ; he owns seventy-two acres of the old homestead. He served for a time in the army of the late war. He married Miss Charity Galeener ; they have four children - Charles D., Henlie N., Orrie M. and Luella T.

J. H. BLANFORD, farmer and black¬ smith ; P. 0. Paris ; is a native of Ken¬ tucky ; was born June 26, 1847, where he was raised ; his father before him was a blacksmith, and during his early life was put at the trade and has followed it prin¬ cipally thus far through life ; is a good workman, through which he has been quite successful ; he came to Illinois in 1867, locating in Effingham, and removed to Edgar Co. in 1869, locating where he now resides, since which time he has ac¬ quired a good property. He married Miss Laura A. Bruce, of this county, June 4, 1872; they have two children - James E. and Gertrude. He is now Township Commissioner and a respected citizen.

JIRA I. BLACKMAN (deceased); was the son of Remember Blackman, who was one of the three first white settlers in Edgar Co. ; he was born Oct. 13, 1820; received his education and spent his early life in the county. Iu July, 1846, he en¬ listed for the Mexican war ; he was mus¬ tered in at Springfield, and elected Third Sergeant ; he shared the fortunes of the army through their long marches in Mexico, proving himself a good officer and worthy soldier, and, at the end of his term of enlist¬ ment, he received his discharge from the proper authorities. In 1850, he went to California, where he remained six years, engaging in farming, of which he made a success. On June 21, 1863, he married Miss Mary E. Hopkins, of Putnam Co., Ind., who still survives him ; they had a family of six children - Edwin, Charity A., Nancy L., Wallace J,, Jack and Will¬ iam. He was a man who had earned a good name and reputation by honesty and integrity ; was also a very energetic busi¬ ness man, leaving, at the time of his death, which occurred Nov. 26, 1878, a fine property of nearly four thousand acres of fine land. He was a man well known in the county, and at his death was mourned not only by his family, but by a large circle of friends.

CHARLES H. BLANFORD, farmer; P. 0. Paris ; son of W. H. Blanford, a prominent pioneer ; was born in Nelson Co., Ky., April 30, 1834, and came to this county with parents in 1837 ; during his early life, the advantages for a school edu¬ cation were few and far between, but, by experience and the little schooling, he ob¬ tained a good common education. On April 27, 1862, he married Miss Bettie Halsted, of Erie Co., N. Y.; and on July 10, 1862, he enlisted with 71st Ind. V. I., and after eighteen months, the regiment was re¬ organized and made a cavalry regiment, and was iu a number of battles, among which were Richmond, Ky., Muldoze Hill, Ky., siege of Knoxville and Nashville, and was mustered out after the service of three years ; then returned, since which time he has given agricultural pursuits his entire attention. He owns 100 acres of fine land, and is a welFto-do and a much-respected citizen .

W. H. BLANFORD, farmer; P. O. Paris; was born in Prince George Co., Md., June 20, 1805 ; he was taken by his parents to Nelson Co., Ky., where he lived until coming to Edgar Co., Ill. He mar¬ ried Miss Nancy Wraghtmire, on June 19, 1826 ; she was born in Nelson Co., Ky., July 31, 1807 ; they emigrated to this county in 1837, at which time this was a wild and desolate-looking country ; but being possessed with a firm will and willing hands, they set to work to make a home, and for a long time it seemed up¬ hill business; but after a few years of hard toil and many privations, the dawn of -success began to be visible, and by indus¬ try, economy and integrity, have risen to be one among the better class of the county ; he has assisted his children to a good property, and has retained for him¬ self 210 acres of fine land; Mr. B. is a public-spirited man of good business ability ; a kind parent and an affec¬ tionate husband; they have raised a fam¬ ily of twenty-three, twelve of whom are their own ; they are as follows : Elizabeth J. (now Mrs. J. Marrs), Amanda L. (now Mrs. J. Thralls), Sarah A. (now Mrs. H. J. Stewart), Martha J. (now Mrs. W. Dusthamer), Charles H., George W., Mary L. (deceased), Bose A. (now Mrs. Bobt. Anderson), William C., Benjamin

G. and Maria (Satterlee) Collins ; they were natives of New York ; in 1818, they came West and located in Vermilion Co., Ind., where they remained until 1827, then removed to Edgar Co. He, during his life, was an honored and respected citi¬ zen; his death occurred in August, 1877. The subject of this sketch was born Jan. 28, 1825, in Vermilion Co., Ind., and came, with his parents, to this county ; here he has become a well-respected citi¬ zen and prosperous business man. He married Miss Amanda E. Wheeler in March, 1846;- she passed away in June, 1849, leaving two children - Jenette (now Mrs. J. I. Partridge), and Horace (deceased) ; | on March 20, 1850, he married Miss Fanny L. Miller; they have raised four children - Homer, Webster, Oscar and Bollin. Mr. Collins has taken quite an interest in public and political affairs, and had the confidence and esteem of his friends. He has served as Collector three i years, held the office of Justice of the ; Peace four years, and been School Treas- I

MIAL M. CBUM, farmer; P. O. Paris; is a native of Kentucky, Floyd Co.; was born April 8, 1839; lived at his native place until the age of 13, he going to Missouri with his parents, where they remained about two years, then came to Edgar Co., where Mr. Crum has since lived. During his early life, he had but little chance of gaining an education. He was married Oct. 4, 1866, to Miss Me¬ lissa Bodine, a resident of Edgar Co. ; they have a family of four children - two boys and two girls. He began doing for himself at the age of 19; now, by hard work and good management, he has ninety acres of good land, well improved ; Mr. Crum is still a young man, but of good standing in the community, and known as one of the straightforward, honest men of Hunter Tp.

JAMES C ABNEY, farmer and pioneer; P. 0. Paris ; is a native of Virginia ; was born in Norfolk Co., Oct. 3, 1811; he was taken by parents to Madison Co., Ky., where he was raised and educated ; during his early life, he took up cabinet-making; being of a mechanical turn of mind, soon > became a good workman ; he came to Illi¬ nois in 1830, and in 1834, he located where he now resides, with his sister and brother-in-law, and began to prepare a home, at which time there were but few settlers in this vicinity. He has always interested himself in all public matters for the good of the community, and is exten¬ sively known (largely on account of the peculiarity of his living) as his place of meditation and retirement faces south upon the dividing line of Illinois and Indiana, and his place of. supplying the wants of the inner man being in Illinois ; then, on retiring, he sleeps within the jurisdiction of the Governor of Indiana. He has in¬ dulged in this "luxury" for upward of forty years, and remains a bachelor of fine social qualities, and a much-respected cit¬ izen.

M. S. GALEENEB, farmer ; P. 0. Paris ; is a native of Warren Co., Ohio ; was born March 6, 1814, where he was raised and schooled, and, on Dec. 3, 1837, he married Miss Mary A. Scofield ; she was born Jan. 24, 1819. During his early i life, his father died, and he was raised by

Biographical Sketches

Levi Boyer, a farmer, and has always been a faithful and hard worker, the result of which is a good property. They came to Illinois, locating where they now reside in *1864; they have raised a family of seven - Eliza J. (now Mrs. A. Hendricks), Da¬ vid J. (deceased ; was killed in the army, at the battle of Atlanta), Emma (deceased), Charity (now Mrs. A. E. Boland), Joseph P., Moses C., William H. and Albert. Mr. and Mrs. Galeener are members of the M. E. Church, and highly respected by all who know them.

JOSEPH D. HUNTER, farmer and stockdealer ; P. 0. Paris ; son of S. K. Hunter; was born in this county July 14, 1849, where he has since lived; he has obtained a good business education, and, for a young man, is fast becoming one of the most successful and popular farmers of this township. He married Miss M. Ella drove, of Vermilion Co., ind., Oct. 1, 1874 ; they have two promising children - Collett S., born Oct. 28, 1875, and Maude, born Nov. 17, 1877. They have a fine farm of 250 acres, and one of the finest farm residences of the county. They are young people of fine social qualities, and 'tis fair to predict a brilliant future.

JOHN HUNTER, farmer ; P. 0. Paris ; son of John and Susan (Kelham) Hunter ; was born in Granger Co., Tenn., Nov. 7, 1803, where he was raised and schooled; he came with parent's family to Greencastle, Ind., in 1828, where he was deputized U. S. Marshal to take the census of Put¬ nam Co. in 1830, and in 1831 was ap¬ pointed Deputy County Sheriff, and served two years under William McIntosh, dur¬ ing which time his father and family re¬ moved to Edgar Co., Ill., and, in February of 1833, he joined his people in their new homes, his father having died on May 12, 1832, at the age of 69 ; his mother lived until May 31, 1857, and passed away at i the ripe age of 83 ; her people were of Scotch descent, and she was the last of a family of six, whose combined ages were upward of 600 years. His father was of English descent. Mr. H. received a good common education during his early life, and taught school winter months, for five years, and practiced economy and industry, and success followed. He was elected Sheriff of this county in 1846, serving two years, and in 1851-52 served as Dep¬ uty ; then, in 1855, was appointed by the Court Commissioner of the Gen. Sanford estate. He was chairman of the first Board of Supervisors of the county, and has served as Justice of the Peace twelve years. His many official duties have been not only with credit to himself, but those he represented. His entire life has been one of activity and prominence, and, as a family, they are highly respected. His wife was Miss Nancy Dyer, a native of Ky.; they were married Dec. 5, 1830 * they are parents of six - Eliza A. (de¬ ceased ; she was married to Mr. I. Hurst, and left a family of five), Hon. Andrew J., George W., Benjamin F. (deceased), Jen¬ nie (now Mrs. S. J. Burns), and Newton (deceased).

OSCAR HUFFMAN, farmer; P. O. Paris; son of David Huffman, who is a pioneer of this county, and a native of Virginia, and was horn in Hampshire Co. March 22, 1809, and was the son of Adam and Mary Huffman (now deceased) -, at their deaths their combined ages equaled 160 years; they had a family of eleven, five now living ; early in life, Mr. David H. chose the trade of a blacksmith and served a regular apprenticeship, which business he has followed at intervals only. He married Miss Catharine Stover (a na¬ tive of Virginia), April 4, 1833, and they emigrated to Illinois, settling where he now resides in 1837 ; she passed away March 16; 1874, leaving three children - Oscar, Zachary T. and David A. Mr. Huffman has witnessed the entire growth and development of this county, and by industry, integrity and economy has ac¬ cumulated a large property, and now can look back over his past life with satisfac¬ tion, as he has lived an enterprising and useful life, and now lives to see the use¬ fulness and prosperity of his family. Os¬ car, the subject of this sketch, was born in this county May 23, 1846, and received a good business education ; during the late war he enlisted with the 70th I. V. I. (three-months service), and afterward en¬ listed with the 66th regiment, known as the Western Sharpshooters, and was through the Georgia campaign, and was wounded at the battle of Atlanta, which disabled him for some eight months ; he still carries the ball (which is an ounce ball) in his person, and while he lives his memory will be fresh upon the subject of the late war. After the service, he returned and engaged in mercantile business ; he was Postmaster and merchant at Huffmansville for a number of years; also in the mercantile business at Vermilion some two years ; he has served as School Treasurer for five years, and is well-to-do and a re¬ spected citizen. He married Miss Elzora Dyer Dec. 3, 1868 ; they are the parents of three children - Harrie, Sivola (de¬ ceased) and Bernard M. He owns 140 acres of fine land.

DAVID HUFFMAN, Jr., farmer; P. 0. Paris; was born in this county May 25, 1851, and upon the farm where he now resides, which is the old homestead where his father settled in 1837, of which he owns 102 acres ; he has had the advantage of a good education, and is a young man of good physical as well as mental powers, and upon the full tide of success. He has served as Town Col¬ lector two years. He married Miss Jane, daughter of J. F. Myers, of this county, March 4, 1875 ; they have two children - Lola E. and Park M.

Z. T. HUFFMAN, farmer; P. 0. Paris; son of David Huffman, a prominent pio¬ neer of this county ; was born in this county March 8, 1849 ; during his early life, he obtained a good education, attend¬ ing the Paris Seminary, and the academy at Ladoga, Ind. He married Miss Mary McCown, of this county, Jan. 29, 1874; she was born July 27, 1853 ; they are the parents of two children - Edgar C. (de¬ ceased) and James F., born Nov. 25, 1877. Mr. H. owns 100 acres of wellimproved land. He has served as Town¬ ship Clerk two years, and is a young man of good physical as well as mental powers, and 'tis fair to predict for him a brilliant future.

M. KEYS, farmer; P. 0. Paris; son of Isaac Keys, who settled in Vigo Co., Ind., in an early day ; his death occurring when M, was 3 years old. He was born Nov. 22, 1828 ; his father dying when he was so young, he had but little chance of attending schools, though, by his own efforts, he became a fair scholar ; he came to this county as early as 1832, though did not locate permanently until 1843 ;. at this date, he engaged with Col. Baldwin as clerk, which position he filled for thirteen years ; he bought and located where he now resides in 1855 ; he has a fine property of 350 acres of good land, 240 of which he has improved. He was married Sept. 2, 1852, to Miss -Eliza Moss, of Kentucky ; they have a family of six children - Henry A., Erasmus, Abraham L., Lucy F., Thomas and Mary. Mr. Keys has been quite a prominent man ; has served the people in the capacity of School Director, Trustee and Hoad Commissioner ; he is well known as one of the straightforward, reliable men of Hunter Township.

J. Y. McCULLOCH, farmer; P. 0. Paris ; is the son of Otis and Ann Mc¬ Culloch ; they locating on the farm where where J. Y. now resides, in 1820 ; Mrs. McCulloch dying in 1830 and his father in 1860. Mr. McCulloch was an energetic man of good ability ; during his life he ac¬ cumulated a fine property, which he left to his only son. J. Y. was born upon the old farm, where he now lives, Jan. 12, 1826 ; he was here during the early settlement of the county, and can well remember many of the hardships endured by the pioneers ; during his early life, he, by home study, became a fair scholar. He married Miss Olive Plumb, of Vermont, June 20, 1855 ; they have a family of seven children - Mary, Otis (deceased), Sarah, James, George, Esther, John and Julia. He has been an active worker in all public affairs pertaining to the good of the community ; through his energy and industry, he now owns 800 acres of fine land, well improved ; as early as 1828, before the county was supplied with churches as it is now, the people of the neighborhood used to convert his barn into a church for the time being, and thus carry on their religious services. Mr. M. is a man well known in the com¬ munity as one of the leading and prominent men of Hunter Tp.

JAMES A. McCOWN, farmer; P. O. Paris ; son of Janies and Ann (Wood) McCown, who were natives of Kentucky ; they came to Edgar Co. in 1830 and lo¬ cated in Hunter Tp., where he passed away Oct. 2, 1834, she dying Sept. 23, 1845 ; they raised a family of seven children, only three of whom are now living. The subject of this sketch was born Oct. 26, 1811, and came to tfiis county with his parents ; during his early life, he learned the trade of a silversmith ; he served a regular apprenticeship at Le¬ banon, Ky.; when he came to Illinois, die followed his trade at Danville until 1838, then came to Edgar Co. and located on his present farm. On Dec. 30, 1840, he married Miss Emily J., daughter of Wm. Murphy, a prominent pioneer of the county ; they have raised a family of six - Wm. W., Matilda J. (now Mrs. J. T. Allen), Isabella A. (now Mrs. W. R. Bodine), Rebecca E. (now Mrs. L. W. Watson), Joseph M., Mary H. (now Mrs. Z. T. Huffman). Mr.. M. has a fine prop¬ erty, they now owning 240 acres of wellimpr'oved land. He has always given liberally to any enterprise that he deemed for the public good, and has held the office of Assessor for sixteen years, and is well known as one of the straightforward, sub¬ stantial citizens of Hunter Tp.

J. R. MOREHOUSE, farmer; P. 0. Paris ; this gentleman is the son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Buckman) Morehouse, who emigrated from New Jersey to Yigo Co., Ind., in 1833 ; here he followed his trade of weaving ; they raised a family of four children, only two of whom are now living - Sarah (now Mrs. J no. Kizer) and the sub¬ ject of this sketch ; he died in 1843 ; his wife surviving him thirty- five years. J. R. received a good common-school edu¬ cation and early in life began business for himself ; this was in Terre Haute, which at that time was only a small village. He has been married twice, first to Miss Eliz¬ abeth Story, of Greene Co., Ind., April 26, 1817 ; she died Aug. 28, 1870, leaving three children - Martha J. (now Mrs. T. Hepple), Sarah and Elizabeth ; his second marriage was on Dec. 29, 1870 ; his wife's name previous to marriage being Mrs. Catharine E. Squire, of Terre Haute, Ind. ; she was born Dec. 9, 1839 ; they had two children - Lucy J. (deceased) Jonathan R. Mr. M. settled upon his present farm in 1849; he has 211 acres, which, under his supervision has been made a splendid farm, finely cultivated and improved with fine buildings. He has served as Township Commissioner and School Director for several years ; he has taken an active part in the building of churches and schools and always helped to forward any enterprise tending to the public good. He has also been an active |

DR. C. S. McCLAIN, physician, Paris; is a native of Ohio ; was born in Cler¬ mont Co., Sept. 8, 1843, where he was raised and received his early education. In 1862, he enlisted with the 89th Ohio V. I. and was in a number of battles, among which were Chickamauga, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Peach-Tree Creek and with Sherman to Atlanta ; and at the battle of Chickamauga was wounded, which disabled him for a time ; he served two and one half, years, after which he re¬ turned and took up the study of medicine with Dr. P. N. Woods, of Fairfield, Iowa, and graduated at Keokuk in 1870, and began the practice of his chosen profession with his preceptor at Fairfield, Iowa ; he came to where he now resides in 1874, and through his skill, energy and perseverance, has built up a good practice ; he is con¬ sidered a man of good ability. He mar¬ ried Miss Ara Scott, of Vermilion Co., Ind., Nov. 5, 1876 ; they have one child ; since liviDg here, has accumulated a good prop¬ erty, and is genial and social, and upon full tide of success.

F. M. MANN, farmer ; P. O. Paris ; son of Jacob and Abigail (Campbell) Mann ; he was born July 19, 1845, in But¬ ler Co., Ohio; he *was raised a farmer, which business he has since followed. He married Lizzie Scott Feb. 15, 1865 ; they have a , family of three children - Marion E., M. Winn and Jacob W. Mr. M. has a fine property of 180 acres of good land, well improved, which he is cultivating with credit to himself and his family.

THOMAS McFALL, general mer¬ chant, Paris ; is a native of Virginia ; was born Oct. 16, 1848. He was in the serv¬ ice of the late war of the rebellion. He came to where he now resides, and began in a small way, and built up a good trade by industry and square dealing, and, through his willingness to accommodate, has won many patrons and friends ; he has a good place of business and a fine residence, and the citizens in this vicinity will do well to call and examine his goods and prices before purchasing elsewhere. He 'mar¬ ried Miss Mary J. Scott, of Frederick Co., Md., - Oct. 16, 1871 ; they have three children - William R., Anna M. and Ellen F.

BENJAMIN PRO PST, mechanic and farmer; P. 0. Paris ; son of Michael and Mary Propst, who were natives of Virginia, and settled in this county in 1837, and, in 1839, removed to Vermilion Co., Ind., where they lived the remainder of their days ; he died in 1846, at the age of 65 years, and she died in 1865, at the age of 72. The subject of this sketch was born in Page Co., Va., June 8, 1814, and when a young man, being of a mechanical turn of mind, took up the trade of a carpenter and joiner, which business he has made his principal occupation. On Aug. 20, 1837, he mar¬ ried Miss Eve Louder back, of his native county; she died Oct. 18, 1876, leaving three children - Martha J. (now Mrs. J. Griffin), Mary (now Mrs. Job Irish) and James M. ; and on Aug. 20, 1877, he married Mrs. Elizabeth Propst (late widow of R. Propst ; she was the daughter of George Stultz ; she has, by first husband, eight children living - Harriet E., Josiah, Rosetta, Lorenzo D., James F., Benjamin L., Martin M. and Emma L. ; her first husband (R. Propst) died March 6, 1875; left a good property.

J. Y. SUDDUTH, farmer; P. 0. Paris; is a native of Fauquier Co., Va.; March 14, 1803, his parents moved to Lincoln Co., Ky.; while there, he learned the trade of wagon-making, serving a regular apprenticeship ; this he made his business in different locations for about forty years. He was married Nov. 4, 1830, to Miss Sarah Crow, and began do¬ ing business for himself at Danville, Ky., at the manufacture of wagons, where he remained two years ; then removed to Danville, Ind., where he opened a shop and did business at carpentering and the manufacture of wagons, for about four years ; then removed to Greencastle, Ind., where he operated also about four years ; then, in 1840, came to Edgar Co., and bought land, but still followed his trade; he, now owns 160 acres of good land where he lives, which is well improved ; this is the result of his own energy and good management. They had a family of twelve children - eight of whom are- still living - George W., Matilda, Benjamin M., Henry G., William C., Otis M., Strother A. and Margaret J.

H. W. WRIGHT, farmer and stockdealer ; P. O. Paris ; son of Caleb and Eliza A. Wright, who settled in Hunter Tp. in 1856, where he passed away in October, 1870, leaving five children, and a good property. H. W. was born in Fayette Co., Ohio, May 9, 1840 ; being the oldest of his father's family, was fore¬ most in the farm duties while at home. He married Matilda, daughter of Amos Meeks, of Randolph Co., Ind., Aug. 31, 1865 ; they have a family of six - Caleb W., Ida M., Joseph M., Louise B. and Henry W. Mr. Wright is one among the largest stock dealers of this county, and is considered a well-to-do and a shrewd busi¬ ness man ; he owns a fine farm of 185 acres; he is well known, and much re¬ spected.