Lyndon Township (part 3 of 3)

The first child born is now the wife of Dr. Augustus Smith. The second was Elisha H., son of Mr. and Mrs David Hazard, born Dec. 8, 1837. He was drowned in a slough on his way to a sugar camp at Rock Creek, March 27, 1847. Mr. Hazard died in in November, 1881. Mrs. Hazard is still living in Lyndon. The first death in the township was that of Liberty Walker, April 29, 1837. He was buried on a mound near the residence of P. A. Brooks. Mary A., wife of Dr. Augustus Smith, was the first female to die. Her death occurred July 16, 1837. Mrs. Lydia Coburn, who died July 31, 1837, was the first person interred in the Lyndon Cemetery.

William O. Dudley taught the first singing-school, which was in the winter of 1836-7. His class met around at the neighbors' houses. The first school taught was by Miss Lucia B. Hamilton, in her father's cabin, in the spring of 1836. The first school taught by a male teacher was in one of the rooms of Mr. Hamilton's house, in the winter of 1837-8. Mr. Knowlton was the teacher. The first school building put up was a log one, near A. R. Hamilton's residence, at the Corners.

The first blacksmith-shop set up was at the " bluff," by Hamilton & Dudley. They had purchased in Chicago, on their way out, an outfit for this purpose. Mr. Hubbard did the work.

These early settlers had a good many privations to endure. They had then to go to Chicago for their supplies. For their mail they went to Dixon ; and then if they were fortunate enough to find a letter there for them, they were unfortunate enough to have to pay 25 cents before they could take it out of the postoffice.

When the Hazards (David and Elisha, with their families), came to Lyndon, there was but one house finished, and none other nearer than Union Grove. David Hazard located on what is now known as the old town of Lyndon, in October, 1837. Elisha Hazard, who had come the year previous, joined them here with his family. They fitted up their cabin, which contained one room, 14 x 14 feet, and the two families - 14 in number - lived there through the winter, and also, as Mrs. Hazard says, took in a boarder, a man who clerked for Mr. Ray and slept in the store. In the spring the main part of their house was finished, which gave them more room.

The first religious services were held in a cabin 12 feet square, covered with bark, and owned by W. D. Dudley. It was built by him for a dwelling. A. R. Hamilton officiated at this meeting, by reading a sermon. The first sermon really preached was also in this cabin, in June, 1836, by'Rev. Elisha Hazard.

C. G. Woodruff was the first Justice of the Peace, and W. D. Dudley was the first United States officer in the township, holding the position of Postmaster and mail-carrier.

The first County Court was held in the spring of 1839, at the Dudley cabin. Elijah Worthington, John Dodge and N. G. Reynolds were the Commissioners, and Guy Ray was Clerk.

James M. Goodhue was the first attorney to settle in Lyndon Township. He was an able lawyer and a man of fine ability. He emigrated to Minnesota at an early day, and become quite prominent in the political affairs of that State. He has been dead some years.

The first Fourth-of-July celebration was at Lyndon, and it was celebrated by a dance at Samuel Willson's tavern. The dances were held in those good old days in the day-time. Liquor was included in the bill of fare, and it was " set up" at the conclusion of every sett. Mr. Willson had supplied himself quite liberally, as he thought, with liquors and wines, having purchased one barrel of whisky, five gallons of brandy, and two gallons of rum, and the wine, which was intended more for the ladies. He had some doubts, however, as to his ability to manage the affair successfully, and accordingly sent for J. D. Odell, and asked him to help him through. On looking over the stock of drinkables, and having a good knowledge of the guests, Mr. Odell at once saw that the brandy would not hold out. He therefore asked the landlord, who reluctantly gave his consent to allow him to increase the quantity of brandy at the expense of the whisky. Mr. Odell then drew out two gallons of the brandy, arid put in its place the same quantity of whisky. They thought the brandy was splendid. The dance went on, and the mirth increased. A heavy drain

I He had the daring to again draw on the whisky barrel, and took from it two more gallons, and put it into the brandy cask. The celebraters then thought it was the best brandy they had ever drank in the West. This enhanced the popularity of that particular cask, and increased the draft on it as the dance went on, and made Mr. Odell very nervous. As a last resort he put in two more gallons of whisky. When they came again to drink, they all declared it was the best brandy they had ever drank, East or West.

This township is pretty well under cultivation, and it is dotted all over with fine farms and good dwellings. At one time it bid fair to become the most populous township in the county. It had the agricultural advantages, the water facilities, and the location. The scenery is very picturesque, particularly that portion which lies adjacent to Rock River, which meanders along its southwestern border. Another stream waters this township, which rises in section 2 and, coursing southward, empties into the river. The people do their trading mostly at the village of Lyndon, which is also their nearest railroad station and postoffice.

This township is rather remarkable for the production of snakes. Mr. G. R. Hamilton has an old well which was dug at the " bluff's," in 1835. For many years it has been dry, and has been taken possession of by snakes. Early in the spring of 1882 a neighbor asked Mr. Hamilton if he knew his old well had become a den for snakes; but he thought it was a joke his friend was playing upon him. Upon examination, however, he says he did find a few. He procured a hook and took out 131 snakes, from 2 to iYz feet long; in 1883 he took out 160, from 2 to 7 feet long; in 1884 he took out HI, from 2 to 6^ feet long; and in 1885 he took out 8g, from 2 to feet in length, making in all 491 snakes, mostly the horned adder, some blue racers, a few water-snakes and one small rattlesnake..

The Rock Island Branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad completed its track through the township in January, 1869. It enters on section i, and, passing diagonally through the township, goes out on section 30. The Clinton Branch of (he Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad passes through the southwest part of the township on section 30, in a northwesterly and southeasterly direction. This track was completed in 1872.

The census reports of 1880 gave the population of Lyndon Township at 1,157, including the village. It is not thought to have increased in population since that time.

The County Superintendent's report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, furnishes the following school statistics : There are nine school districts, each one having frame- school-houses, and one graded school, which is at Lyndon village. The value of school property was $8,300. Of persons under 21 years of age there were 513, of whom 350 were of scholastic age, 278 being enrolled. The highest wages paid teachers was $70 per month, and the lowest $20. The tax levy was $2,073.57. There has been a school library.

HIS village is situated on the western banks of Rock River. Its site is one of exceeding beauty, with superior natural advantages; and had the business affairs of this town gone on as they had been planned, it would now be the foremost town in the county. But men may, with commendable judgment, map out the future of a town, yet, after all, there is a higher power that determines its destinies. The first house put up in the old town of Lyndon was by Dr. Augustus Smith, in 1836. It was occupied afterwards for a store and dwelling.

Iii the winter of 1837-8 John Roy opened the store, bringing his goods all the way from Ohio. It v& was not a very large stock, as might be expected, yet the people felt happy and jubilant over the event.

John Roy must have been an enterprising man, for we find him in 1838 opening a "tavern/'speaking after the manner of those days. This was in a frame building, which is still standing.

The old part of Lyndon was platted in 1836, on the fractional 40 acres of the northeast quarter of f section 21. It was laid out by Mr. Rood, a surveyor. William D. Dudley, A. R. Hamilton, C. G. Wood- ^ ruff, Dr. Augustus Smith and Mr. Lusk were the projectors. An addition, called Sperry's, was laid out on section 16, southeast quarter, in 1848. The next was the railroad addition, laid out when the railroad came through, in 1869. The "mill "addition, which was platted in 1872, was the next. This was followed by Fitch & Wilkins' Addition.

In 1839, the question came up for selecting the county seat of Whiteside County. Chauncy G. Woodruff and Adam R. Hamilton were appointed under the act of the General Assembly, passed in 1839, to superintend an election to determine this question. There were several aspiring towns which desired to be selected. The election was held the first Monday in May, 1839, and Lyndon, Albany, Fulton, Prophetstown, Union Grove and Sterling were voted for, but no choice was made. The act provided that a majority of the votes cast should determine the place for the seat, and that an election should be held every month until such a majority was given. Three other elections were held, with no better result, the minority towns, however, dropping out. By the time the September election came the vote had narrowed down between Lyndon and Sterling. The election was held, and the important issue was decided in favor of Lyndon, and the county seat was accordingly located at this place. The town agreed to give, for county purposes, the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 1 6, on condition that the county seat be located here; which was done.

The first term of the Circuit Court held in Lyndon and the first in the county was in April, 1840, in a partially finished house, which was owned by T. C. Gould. Hon. Daniel Stone presided. R. L. Willson was Clerk, and J. W. McLemore Acting Sheriff.

Three terms of Court were held here, when (he county seat, by order of the County Commissioners, was removed to Sterling, and the Circuit Court and Commissioners' Court was ordered to be holden there. A recount of the vote taken for the removal of the county seat, upon application, was granted by the County Commissioners' Court. Upon an examination of the poll-books it was found that the vote of Sterling Precinct had been rejected, and with this vote the election would place the county seat at Sterling ; and this was the reason given by the County Commissioners for their action. Further history of this Court and county-seat affairs is given in the general history of the county.

The Indians were quite numerous around and about Lyndon during the first years of its settlement. Having large camps across the river toward Prophetstown, they would come over in squads, begging and picking up what they could get. They were not troublesome, however.

In 1869, the track of the Rock Island Branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was completed and a depot made near the town. This gave new hope to the people, and they looked for a rapid development of the place. The line ran along outside of the limits ; and in order that their corporation might b_> within a railroad, or the railroad be within their corporation, they laid out a new addition, taking in the station.

In April, 1872, the citizens met to organize into a village corporation, under the organization act. The election for selecting village officials was held that month, at the Town Hall, and the following citizens were chosen Trustees : John W. Hazard, A. M. McKery, C. C. Sweeney, Leander Church and J. L. Bates. The village Board, composed of these gentlemen, met May 2 following, at the residence of Dr. A. P. Holt, to complete their village organization. J. W. Hazard was chosen President, E. W. Hazard, Clerk, and Wm. M. Burkitt, Treasurer.

During this year the Lyndon Hydraulic Manufacturing Company was organized, with a capital stock of $60,000. Its object was to furnish water power for manufacturing purposes. They constructed a dam across Rock River, a short distance above the town, with a head of about eight feet, and giving a large water-power. A large flouring-mill was also erected by this company, called the Lyndon

Wh1Teside County

Mills. The following year a paper-mill was completed near the dam. It was an extensive establishment, and should have been a success. It'had a capacity of manufacturing 2,000 tons of paper per year. Following this, and located near, was another flou ring-m ill, which was erected by Putman & Willson.

In 1875, the Farmers' Co-operative Manufacturing Company was organized. Their establishment was completed in 1876. They erected a large brick building, and had in it a full set of machinery for manufacturing agricultural implements.

It is sad to write of wrecks, and we pass over these grand prospects of man's brain. They were like the house that was built on the sand. They differ only in this: they still stand as monuments of failure. Failure of plans badly executed, however well they have been conceived, rise up before you. They stand like ghosts of departed hopes. The dam in the first place was poorly constructed, and inadequate to resist for any length of time the power behind it. In an evil hour a break was made ; it was not mended ; the dam went down the river, and with it the hopes of Lyndon.

Good fortune does not always fall to the worthy, yet sometimes it visits thrm, which it did in the case of a very worthy young lady of this town, the daughter of Mr. W. M. Patrick, publisher of the Advocate. A humorous paper in New York, known as the Tid-JBits, offered a reward of a thousand-dollar upright piano for the best story, selected or original, to be decided by a committee appointed especially for the purpose. Miss Mary L. Patrick selected a story and sent it on, merely writing her name on the piece. She thought no more about it after^a few days had passed, until she received a notice from the paper, stating that she had won the prize, and asking how and where to send it.

She received the piano in due time, and it proved to be a very beautiful one, with an excellent tone. The design of the case is very artistic, and is made of bur-walnut and butternut wood. There were 2,241 pieces sent in. Miss Mary justly feels proud of her success.

C. L. Parkhurst has a general store, deals in hardware and agricultural implements, and runs a tinshop. Parmenter & Bros, are general dealers in merchandise, grain and coal. M. A. McKerg manufactures and deals in harness and saddlery. Mrs. M. J. Steward deals in millinery, fancy goods, and has a dressmaking establishment. Blacksmithing is done by A. S. Hazard and James Roach. W. H. Robinson has a restaurant and confectionery store. Ira Sherwood supplies the boots and shoes for the people and does repairing. The meat market is run by Griswold & Hamilton. G. R. Cady conducts the livery and feed stable. John Whallon represents the Bar. The physicians and surgeons of the place are O. H. Bartlett and F. W. Cannon. The Lyndon Hotel is conducted by S. Zimmers. He and his lady are always ready to give the weary, or the unweary traveler, good entertainment. For good beds and table, and careful attention to the wants of its guests, the Lyndon House ranks among the best hotels in ihe county. Lyndon is supplied with two mails each way daily. C. W. Parmenter is the genial Postmaster.

Press

The people of Lyndon have a good organ to represent their interests in the Lyndon Advocate, which is published by W. M. Patrick. The first issue of this paper appeared July 7, 1883. Mr. Patrick moved his paper from Mendota, where it was published and known as the Mendota Index. He is an old newspaper man and knows how to conduct a paper in a manner quite satisfactory to his patrons. The Advocate is independent in politics, is published every Saturday, and has a good circulation.

Educational Religious

Lyndon has a good graded school, of which W. W. Noyes is the Principal, and Miss Dolly Scott teacher in the intermediate department, and Miss Agnes McNeil, of the primary department. This school has enrolled 140 pupils. A full English course is taught, and also vocal music. The Principal's system is to use text-books as little as possible. The school buildings of the place are fair. RELIGIOUS.

The Congregational Church. - This society was organized June 27, 1836, at the residence of Wm. D. Dudley, by Rev. Elisha Hazard. Adam R. Hamilton and wife, John M. Hamilton, Adam R., Jr., Nancy A., Lovica H. and Mary E. Hamilton, W. D.

Whites1De County

Dudley and wife, Louisa, his daughter, Liberty Walker, C. G. Woodruff and wife and daughter Julia Ann, Ephraim A. Hubbard and Orem L. Turner formed the first organization. They held their services in private houses and in the school-house. In 1848 the church building was commenced and the following year finished and dedicated, the Rev. Mr. Wilcox preaching the dedicatory sermon. This was a grout building, and was burned April 8, 1883. Soon after a subscription was started to raise means for a new edifice. The town hall was in the meantime used for holding meetings. The new church slrucUue was completed, and dedicated Dec. 27, 1883, Rev. S. S. Mitchell, of Iowa, preaching the dedicatory sermon. The first Sunday service was held on Dec. 30 following, and in the evening a Sunday-school concert was given. It is a very neat and attractive edifice, and was erected at a cost of $2,600 They have a fine Sunday-school. The Church has about 60 members.

Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1841, by Revs. W. Buck and G. L. S. Stuff, in an old store building. Leanora Hazard and Chauncy G. Woodruff were the first members. Mr. Stuff is still living and preaching. This society was attached to the Union Grove Circuit. Services were held at first in private residences. When the town hall was completed, they held their meetings in it. Their first building was a grout structure. It was burned in 1882. Their present church building was completed in 1884, in the spring. Services were held in the town hall until their building was finished. Their new building is a large, substantial frame structure, 40x60, and cost 2,500. The congregation has a membership of 50. The present pastor is Rev. Edward Brien. A Sabbath-school is connected with the society.

The Baptist Church. - This society was organized in September, 1839. Meetings were held in private residences until the Town Hall was built, when it met there. They had quite a following for some years, but never erected a church building. The society disbanded about 20 years ago, there being so few members, nearly all those active in its organization having moved away or died.

SOCIETIES. Masonic Lodge No. 750. - This lodge was instituted July 18, 1876, with 12 charter members. John J. Hurlbert was Master. It was prosperous after its organization, largely increasing its original number. They have a good large hall for holding their sessions, which is well furnished and equipped.

The Modern IVoodmen of America have a" branch camp in Lyndon, which was organized recently. They have already a large membership. They hold their meetings regularly, in their hall, and are in a flourishing condition.

The young people at one time had a literary society here, and held meetings every two weeks, when original literary articles would be read by its members. J. D. Odell, now of Morrison, was a prominent member of this society. Time has wrought its changes with this society as well as with many others, and it may be recorded now as among the things of the past.

Y)NTMORENCY was set oft as a township by the committee appointed for that purpose on the adoption of the township organization law in 1852, but its organization was not completed until 1859. It is composed exclusively of prairie land, nearly all of which is susceptible of cultivation and the greater part being well improved.

The first settlement made in the township was in 1847, when Asa Scott, a native of Ohio, but who had been living for some years in Hopkins Township, entered a portion of section 7. For nearly five years he was the only settler in the township. In

1853 Edwin Scott located on section 12. Between 1853 and 1856 a number of families came into the township, among whom were those of Tyler Mc- Whorter, J. G. Barnes, Geo. Murray, Herman Sturtz, Robert Adams, Robert Clay, Joel Wood, Dr. Davis, Alonzo and Joseph Colder, and William Hall.

Asa Scott was born in Morgan County, Ohio, and came to Whiteside County, locating at Como, in 1839. There he remained until 1847, when he moved to this township, and, as stated, became its first settler. Mr. Scott was united in marriage with Elizabeth Taylor, Feb. 22, 1838, and 16 children were born to them. He was a great hunter, and went every year to Deer Grove to shoot deer.

Tyler McWhorter is a native of Indiana. He came he-re in 1854, since which time he has been a prominent figure in political and township affairs. A full sketch of him will be found on page 526.

Alonzo Colder is from Dutchess Co., N. Y. In 1844 he moved to McHenry Co., 111., from which place he came to Whiteside in 1855, locating on section ro, Montmorency Township. He has been a representative man among the farmers for years and was the first Master of the State Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. (See page 485.)

Addie B., daughter of Asa and Elizabeth Scott, was born Aug. 6, 1848. She was the first born in the township. Growing to womanhood, she married Nathaniel Wood and subsequently moved to Iowa.

The first marriage was that of Geo. C. Calkins and Mary T. Scott, the ceremony taking place at the house of the bride's parents. The couple subsequently removed to Iowa.

The first school-house was on the northeast corner of section 9, almost opposite the residence of Alonzo Colder. It was erected in 1856, at a time when the settlement was small, indeed. In the following winter, Alfred Snell taught a term of school therein. This was the first in the township. The school-house was but a temporary structure, the design being to remove it in due time and erect on its site a larger and better building. The great tornado of June 3, 1860, which passed over this county, saved the citizens the trouble of removing it. By that tornado it was quickly removed and completely destroyed. The next year the district erected another building, which yet stands. Other schoolhouses were built from time to time.

The Superintendent of Public Schools of the county, in his annual report for the year ending June 30, 1884, reported six school districts, with six frame school -houses, in the township, valued at at $4,400. There were 318 persons under 21 years of age, 217 of whom were of school age, and 128 enrolled in the public schools. The highest wages paid teachers per month was $60, and the lowest $25. The tax levy for the year was $560.

The first religious service held in the township is said to have been in the McWhorter School-house, in 1860, Rev. Zadoc Paddock, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, conducting the exercises. The first Sunday-school was organized in the same house, in the summer of 1860, by Miss Sarah Robinson. Its proximity to various towns that are well supplied with good churches, has prevented any house of worship being erected in the township.

In the War of the Rebellion, Montmorency performed her part, every call of the President being responded to in sufficient numbers to avoid a draft. Wm. Macomber, of this township, was promoted to a staff officer under Gen. McClellan. Alonzo Colder, a son of Joseph Colder, died in the service.

There was an old Indian trail which entered the township near the northeast corner, and running in a southwesterly direction, passed out a little west of the center of the south line. This was the first traveled road through the township. The old stage route from Dixon to Rock Island was another early traveled road. It ran through the northwest part of the township. The " lone tree " was a prominent object on this line. It stood on section 7 , near the house of Asa Scott. It is related that at the root of the tree a jug or bottle of liquor used to be kept by the stage-drivers to " wet their whistles " as they passed, going to or returning from Rock Island. It was understood that whoever emptied the bottle must take it with him, have it filled and put it in the accustomed place on his return. The tree was also known as the " grocery tree " from this fact.

Montmorency Township, notwithstanding its late settlement, is now regarded as one of the best townships in the county, and has an enterprising and thrifty class of people within its borders. The farm houses and barns are generally of a superior character. Of late years much attention has been given to the raising of fine stock, and several farmers have turned their attention almost entirely to this branch of industry. The dairy interests are also represented, C. C. Buell devoting much of his time to this industry.

The Rock River branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad passes through the northeast corner of the township, but has no station within its borders. In building this road, the township was asked for aid to the amount of $50,000. At a special town meeting, held Aug. 28, 1869, at the school- house in District No. 2, the question of subscribing that amount of stock was submitted to a vote of the people. There were 43 votes cast for and 34 against subscription. Bonds were to be issued for the payment of the stock. Soon after the election the railroad company applied to Tyler McVVhorter, who was then Supervisor, to subscribe in behalf of the township. Mr. McWhorter declined doing so. An application was made to Judge Heaton for a wiit of mandamus compelling him to do so, but the Judge refused to grant the writ. On the completion of the road, the company again requested Mr. McWhorter to subscribe, and, on his refusal to do so, sued out a writ of mandamus before Judge Pleasants. The township appealed to the Supreme Court on the ground that at the election held Aug. 29, 1869, a majority of all the legal voters of the town had not voted to subscribe for the stock. The appeal was sustained and the writ was dismissed. No stock was ever subscribed by the township.

As already stated, the township was not fully organized until 1859. The first election was held April 5, of that year, and resulted in the election of the following named officers : Joseph Colder, Supervisor; A. L. Burdett, Clerk; Asa Scott, Assessor; Win. C. Payson, Collector; Alonzo Golder, Benjamin Gushing, Justices of the Peace. Only 20 votes were cast at this election. It was voted at this first town meeting that the name of the township be changed from Montmorency to Arcade, but on reflection the vote was rescinded at the next annual town meeting. The following named have served the township on the Board of Supervisors ; Joseph Golder, 1859-64 ; George M. Sawyer, 1865-7 ; Tyler McWhorter, 1868-74; C. C. Buell, 1875-7; Tyler McWhorter, 1878-9; C. C. Buell, 1880-2 ; A. A. Church, 1883-4 ; Herman SUirtz, 1885.

Source changes here: from History of Whiteside County, Illinois from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908 : Illustrated, with Biographical Sketches of Some Prominent Citizens of the County, by Davis, William W, published 1908; 7,726 words in this source stream.

Lyndon Township

The Scotch poet lived too early, and penned this stanza about a town in Bavaria where the French general Moreau beat the Austrians in 1800. Our Lyndon is fifteen miles from Sterling, down the valley on the Burlington road as you go to Rock Island. Like most railroad towns, the best part is not seen from the cars. It is necessary to walk up and down the streets to get a correct impression of the place. Plenty of shade, and in summer one is reminded of William Finn's description of early Philadelphia, "a greene country towne." No wonder the first settlers were delighted with the virgin prairie, waving with flowers.

Fair as a garden of the Lord. The primitive settlers came as early as 1835, and among the original fourteen, were such men as Chauncy G. Woodruff, Adam R. Hamilton, William D. Dudley, Liberty Walker. Every year following brought a new installment to the promised land. In 1836 came William Farrington, Augustus Rice, Dr. Augustin Smith. In 1837, D. F. Millikan, A. I. Maxwell, David Hazard, P. Daggett, Brainard Orton, R. G. Clendenin. In 1838, John M. Scott, T. Dudley, Marcus Sperry, Lyman Reynolds. In 1839, Charles R. Deming, John Roy, F. B. Hubbard, Solomon Hubbard.

Although these pioneers have long since passed away, their names are perpetuated by worthy descendants or their memories by familiar landmarks. The( Dr. Smith house is still pointed out as doubtless the oldest in Lyndon. There is Hamilton's Grove, and the Dudley homestead, lately repaired. Lucius E. Rice has grown gray by the early fireside. Martha Millikan was still sprightly as Mrs. John Whallon until her recent death. Samuel A. Maxwell, teacher, editor, scientist, gardener, with his intellectual family, is certainly enlarging the usefulness of the Maxwells. Harvey Daggett has lately resumed business on the sacred soil of his fathers. For thirty years until his death in 1867, the name of Robert G. Clendenin stood for all that was pure in morals, or right in principle.

Trying Times

All the pioneers had their tale of woeful struggle. Lucius E. Rice, who came with his father in 1836, remembers the swamps and corduroy roads of Indiana, the mire of Chicago, the scow across that river pulled by two men with a rope, and Dixon's ferry with its solitary house, which would have done for a story by G. P. R. James. Chauncy Woodruff covered his cabin with hay. which was not waterproof, and permitted every shower to soak the bedding.

Mrs. Sarah M. White, now living in Norman, Nebraska, sends the writer some incidents of her pioneer experience. She moved with her first husband, Ruel Hurlburt, to Lyndon in 1845. Their house had only one room. Much ague. She shook so that everything rattled in the building. A rainy season, and the prairies were covered with decaying vegetation. No roads, and no fences but sod thrown up with ditches alongside. Sod was used also for roofs. Church services were held in the schoolhouse. "We went to church with cart and oxen, and enjoyed it as much as in a buggy and horses later. Nothing but wild fruit. Abundance of gooseberries in Lyndon woods. We crossed the river in a dugout. Once I got ten quarts, carrying all the way home.

"Wild plums were plentiful. I. was told to pit them, but when I came to use, there was nothing but skins. Crabapples we secured in Hamilton's grove, blackberries in Morrison woods. Some farmers took their wheat to Chicago with a team, and the trip occupied two weeks. Mr. Hurlburt hauled a load of dressed pork to Peoria, no other way of getting produce to market. When steamboats came up Rock river, some farmers put their wheat in sacks and shipped it. I once helped a -man sew sacks, and although I sewed two to his one, the farmer allowed me only half as much pay." She adds that Mr. Hurlburt died in 1860. and Matthew White, her second husband, in 1884.

between Lyndon and Prophetstown. Although generally peaceful, they were a source of annoyance, became ugly when refused a request, lazy, preferred to beg rather than work. They were the ancestors of our present tramps. Lucius E. Rice, who bubbles over with pioneer incident, speaks of Big John going to the house of Pardon A. Brooks for flour. Alex. Seely killed an. Indian on the way from town, and to save his life from the enraged red skins who yearly hunted for him, left the country.

Early Navigation

Before the days of dams and when water was plentier, Rock river was considered a fairly navigable stream. Lucius E. Rice told the writer that the steamer "Gipsy" from a St. Louis grocery made regular trips with goods, selling on credit for pay in October, stopping at various points along the stream. Then came the "Potosi," and the "St. Louis Oak." The Lighter was a stern wheeler, 1838, and ran all summer. Farmers shipped winter wheat, which then yielded forty-five bushels to acre. His father sent some to St. Louis, then the market, for 4 cents, and received 27 cents a bushel. The "Maid of Iowa" was sent by Mormons from Nauvoo to Dixon after Joe Smith.

Dreams Of Lowell Or Pittsburgh

With a water power in her rapid river equal to that of the Merrimac, there seemed no reason that Lyndon should not be a center of manufactures. So various enterprises were undertaken. The Lyndon Hydraulic Manufacturing Company was organized in 1872 with a capital of $60,000. Justus Rew was president, John Whallon secretary, with seven directors, George P. Richmond, B. E. Orton, John W. Hazard, and others. A dam was built at the head of the rapids, at a cost of $30,000. A flouring mill was erected with five run of stones, at a cost of $35,000. It passed into the management of Church and Patterson, and then to L. P. Johnson. A paper mill was built in 1873, near the flour mill, by Orton Brothers, at a cost of $12,000. In 1875 Johnson and Hubbard took charge, furnishing the machinery at an additional expense of $21,000. Also in 1873, Hoole and Putnam built the Victoria Flouring Mill, stone and frame, at a cost of $18,000. It had a capacity of 75 barrels of flour and 600 bushels of feed per day. Then came the Farmers' Co-operative Manufacturing Company, who fini-hed a brick building in 1876 for the production of all kinds of agricultural implements. The officers at the last election were: S. J. Baird, president; John Whallon, secretary; and W. C. Snyder, treasurer. Alas! for these high hopes. It is sad to relate that not one of these schemes was long successful, and of all these buildings, only a tottering brick wall stands on the bank of the river.

Now a return to the former manufacturing activity is projected by the -erection of a government dam across the river. Capitalists are interested in the movement, and engineers have been called to" investigate the site and conditions. The object is to use the water power at Lyndon in the production of electricity to be transmitted from a common center to places as -distant as Moline or Davenport. It is to be hoped the project may be carried to triumphant completion.

Plato'S Academy

Borne had her Augustan age, and England her era of Elizabeth. None of our present generation know that Lyndon was once the educational center of the county. While Sterling and Morrison were in their academic barrenness, Lyndon was enjoying the advantages of a higher education. Her boys were prepared at home in the languages for entrance at Knox College at Galesburg, and on returning after graduation were qualified to give their younger townsfolk the benefit of their accomplishments. Edward P. Scott, H. H. Smith, and others were examples. The reputation of the school spread, und boys from a distance came to Lyndon academy.

Lyndon High School

The next term will begin on Monday. Students boarded in private families at $2 per week. Miss H. E. Davis, late from Vermont, is a permanent teacher in music, French, drawing, and painting. Terms for common branches $4, Greek and Latin $7, French $5, piano $8, water colors $3. A daily lesson in penmanship. The school is furnished with globes, maps, skeleton, chemical apparatus. The teachers are M. R. Kelly, Miss Louisa Drue, Miss H. E. Davis. Directors, R. G. Clendenin, W. Anderson, Moses Lathe.

Webster And Hayne

Politics also found a congenial spirit in the Lyndon people. Some of the big guns of the times stood on the platform of the town hall. Jonathan Blanchard, then at Galesburg, afterwards at Wheaton, conducted revivals and denounced secret societies. Owen Lovejoy, inspired by his brother's Wood, thundered against slavery. Ex-Gov. Bebb and John Wentworth met in joint debate on the tariff. Stephen A. Douglas came in 1855 to justify liis action in the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, speaking to an audience that packed the house inside, and to an audience that stood on wagons backed to the windows on the outside.

The Lyndon Advocate

This was the village paper, and was published for several years, but like a thousand other good journals, is in the tomb of the Capulets. A -copy dated Saturday, Nov. 17, 1883, W. M. Patrick, editor, is before us.

Among the advertisers are John Whallon, attorney at law; S. Zimmer proprietor Lyndon hotel; E. D. Adams, house and sign painter; Ira Sherwood, boot and shoemaker; L. D. Baldwin, dealer in coal, flour, etc.; G. R. Cady, village liveryman; 8. S. Epla, tonsorial artist; G. E. Swarthout, village drayman; Robinson's restaurant; F. W. Carman, M. D.; Strickler Brothers, drugs (branch store) ; B. F. Myers, druggist; Parmenter Brothers, general store; Howe & Co., fancy groceries; Parkhurst's big column; A. S. Hazard, blacksmith. Only Parmenter Brothers in business now out of the above list, most of whom are dead. Mention was made of the grand double concert under the management of A. S. Morris; John M. Hamilton's sale and a big surprise party given for John Dudley by 'sixty guests on his departure for California.

Still earlier, 1873, was the Lyndon Free Press, an eight-column sheet, printed entirely from the Fulton Journal forms, without alteration, except the first page, which gives Lyndon locals and advertisements. John Gray is editor, and the Lyndon Free Press Company, publishers.

The Queen Of Fruits

Lyndon's sun and soil seem to suit the luscious strawberry, and it reaches a flavor and fragrance that pleases the popular palate. Remember what Dr. Boteler said: "God doubtless might have made a better berry than the strawberry, but doubtless God never did." Miss Edna Sturtevant interviewed several of the growers, and we give the result of her observations. The Osborn Brothers, Lester and Oliver, are the most extensive with seven acres, and in the business seven years. An average yield is 7,000 quarts to the acre. They ship to Rock Island, De Kalb, and other places. Their favorite kinds are Haverland, Warfield, Lovett, Brandywine. J. G. Laxton started 15 years ago with one acre, increasing to seven. He has the usual varieties. The yield depends upon the, soil. Berries suited to clay will not do well on sand. He ships to Watertown. He is also in the bee business, beginning 22 years ago, and at present has a hundred stand. The average yield per stand is 100 pounds. In 1907 he sold 12,000 pounds, sending chiefly to Clinton. He keeps the Italia1!! bee. Another man, Clyde Bowen, has kept bees, Italians, for two years, has fifty stand, selling so far in home market. William Shepherd has three acres of strawberries, Porter Holt one acre, Mr. Hubbard one acre. They nearly all raise the same varieties.

The first religious society organized in the county was the present Congregational, June, 1836. The first meeting was held at the house of William D. Dudley, and directed by Rev. Elisha Hazard, agent of the Home Missionary Society. Among the names enrolled were such early settlers as the Hamaltons, Dudleys, iWiooclruffs, Atkinsons, Millikans, Hubbards, Ortons. Services were held in the bluff schoolhouse find in the homes, until the present church building was erected in 1850 at a cost of $2,500. Rev. Elisha Hazard was first pastor, followed by Nathaniel Smith, Wm. Blanchard, Chapman, Judd, Webb, Gilbert, Gray, Machin, and others. The present pastor, George Thomas Hanna, wad born in Maryland, spent four years at Oberlin College, studied physical culture at Lake Geneva summer school, enjoyed nine months at Northfield in Bible study under Meyer, Campbell Morgan, Mott, and Speer. He has been connected with the Y. M. C. A. at Belvidere and Sterling. This is his first charge. Mrs. Hanna is from Wales. The present membership of the church is .ninety. There are sixty in the Sunday school. Several societies, Ladies' Aid, Missionary, Bible Class of adults, juvenile choral society.

The Methodist Episcopal church was organized by Revs. W. Buck and G. L. S. Stuff in 1841, with Chauncy Woodruff, Leonora Hazard, Dr. Smith, Lucy Ware, J. D. Odell, Samantha Reynolds and Harry R. Smith among the members. At first it was on the Savanna circuit, then on the Union Grove. Preaching in various buildings until the town hall was erected. The church was built in 1874 at a cost of $2,500. Rev. A. D. Burkett, the present pastor, spent three years in Simpson college, Iowa, two at Taylor university, Indiana, has been over three years in the ministry, and is in his second year here. There are 148 members. Both the Congregational and Methodist congregations have neat frame parsonages, convenient to the church. In the M. E. church are the usual societies, the Ladies' Aid, Epworth League, W. C. T. U., and the Sunday school. In 1907 there was a Young People's Bible Study class. In 1908 it has taken the form of a Mission Study class.

The German Evangelical Lutheran church of Lyndon township, four miles south of Morrison, was organized several years ago by Rev. Fr. Lussky. Some of the first members were: C. Strelow, John H. Johnson, Siebelt Arians, Louis Rosenow, Fred Rosenow, John Rosenow, Albert Strelow, Herman Strelow. The church today has a voting membership of 20. Number of families, 34. The church has no Sunday school, but catechetical instruction by the pastor. Number of children present, 25. In October, 1906, the congregation dedicated its new church, 36x50 feet.

Old Curiosity Shop

So many of the early settlers came from New England, and brought their heirlooms with them, that it is safe to say that no other town in the county can show so large an assortment of relics. No tables brought over in the Mayflower, but no end of ancient china and furniture. At a festival held in the summer of 1907 a unique exhibition of these family curios was an attractive feature. Among these were shawls, samplers, dolls, swords, books, pitchers, candlesticks, cups, portraits, spinning wheels, arrows, baskets, Bibles, lamps

Mrs. Helen Greenlee loaned a large spinning wheel, brass candlestick and snuffers. Mrs. Mary Patterson's dishes, candlestick, tray and snuffers were over a hundred years old, and were carefully preserved. Mrs. W. F. Millikan's pewter platter three hundrd years old, sampler, embroidery and foot stove attracted much attention. Mrs. McNett exhibited a rocking chair which has been in use over one hundred years. Mrs. Bouck has a platter and a plate that she can truly trace back over one hundred and fifty years; how much older it is she does not know. Her old pewter platters are probably over two hundred years old. Mrs. Bouck loaned counterpanes, pla.tes, platters, cups, bowls, tureens and saucers, large and small, that are just magnificent, one set of dishes being imported and almost priceless. The dishes are the delft, mulberry and oriental ware.

John Dudley has a bear trap and all who are interested in the early history of the county will be much interested from the fact that its history, so far as is known, began with the days when the first settlers came to ths county. Here is the story : Soon after the Dudleys and Hamiltons settled at the bluff, John Dudley's grandfather found the trap in the wood.?. Tightly clenched in its iron jaws were the bleached bones of an animal, thought at the time to be the bones of a deer. When we think of the years that have elapsed and that these traps are scarcely in existence in Illinois, it really is a valuable relic of other days. It was never known who placed the trap in its place, whether Indian trapper or white man.

A very interesting document, yellowed by age, is possessed by Mrs. Mahala Hicks Cady. The paper in question is a commission granted to the first justice of the peace of Whiteside county. It was granted by Gov. Joseph Duncan and Secretary of State A. P. Sweet on September 13, 1836, to Chauncy G. Woodruff, Mrs. Cady's grandfather. This territory was then undivided and was known as Jo Daviess county. The document is one of many valuable papers much prized by Mrs. Cady relating to the early days of our village and county.

The Langdon School

Five miles south of Morrison in Lyndon township was dedicated with impressive ceremonies in October, 1907, a new schoolhouse which is a fino specimen of modern educational progress. The walls of concrete, the inside of yellow pine. A concrete porch, a belfry, cloak rooms, furnace and warm play room in basement. The building is 24x28, and twelve feet high. A lively program of music, recitations, letters from former pupils, toasts, an address by the veteran John Phinney on "Schools Fifty Years Ago." Miss Augusta Fuller is teacher, with thirty pupils.

The Boys In Blue

A group of active veterans. Win. Ward, Co. G, 156th Illinois, fought at Nashville and Chattanooga, Henry B. Shaw, Co. B, 75th Illinois, Capt. Whallon, was at Stone river, Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga, wounded in ear and coat shot to pieces, good at 81. Wm. Allen, enlisted at 17 at Lyndon, Co. C, 8th Illinois cavalry, wounded in arm and neck in service near Washington. H. Hazard, 78 years old, enlisted at Morrison in Co. C, 8th Illinois cavalry, first colonel, Farnsworth, service in Virginia and Maryland. A. W. Greenlee, postmaster, is of Scotch descent, enlisted first at Spring Hill in Co. I, 8th Kansas Infantry, 1861, the second time in 9th Iowa cavalry, 1833. A remarkable record, as father and six sons all enlisted. His son, H. R., is ensign on the Rhode Island, battleship in the great fleet that lately sailed for the Pacific.

In the cemetery west of Lyndon are the graves of several soldiers. Capt. G. M. Cole, Co. G, 13th Illinois. Capt, Harry Smith, 71, 1854. A. A. Higley, died of wounds, Perryville, 1862. On the tombs may be read the names of old settlers, Lathe, Sands, Bell, Pratt, Emery, Hazard, and others. Martin Potter, 1812-1884. Mary A. Smith, daughter of Dr. Smith, 1837. George R. Hamilton, 1820-1904. On the family lot, the principals of a dreadful tragedy. Albert S. Swarthout, Nov. 10, 1892. John S. died in jail, 1893. Ernest in the penitentiary, 1896. In front along the road is a soldiers' plot, with a cannon for a centerpiece. It recalls the lion on the mound at Waterloo, 1815.

The School

There are two buildings, the main one two stories, three departments, four teachers, seventy-five pupils. Well equipped with piano, globes, maps, various apparatus, portraits of Webster, Lincoln, and other eminent Americans, dictionaries and encyclopedias. J. W. Machamer, the principal, after high school study, attended the De Kalb Normal. He is assisted by Miss Drusilla Parmenter in primary, Miss Bessie Smith in intermediate, and Mrs. Cora Millikan in the high school room.

Lyndon is an incorporated village. A. W. Greenlee is president of the board, and the trustees are R. Allen, C. Gardner, Dr. Harriman, J. Shepherd, W. Austin, N. Mayberry, and clerk, P. Holt. The supervisor is A. E. Parmenter.

Five miles southwest of Lyndon is this station, on the edge of the township. It Ls at the intersection of two branches of the Burlington, from Clinton and from Sterling. The most prominent objects are the coal shoot and two tanks, for the accommodation of the numerous freight trains. The lunch room attended by Mr. and Mrs. J. N. Hogeboom is made unusually inviting by the kindly sendee of these excellent people. Home cooking, mince pies of her own baking, every viand good and wholesome. A cozy sitting room in the rear for retirement, and bedrooms for chance travelers above. They have managed the place for fifteen years.

Two Lyndon Tragedies

Christmas, December 25, 1883, was not a day of peace on earth and good will to men for two young fellows, the assassin and his victim. Christian Riebling, a foreign German, 32 years old, entered the office of G. R. Cady's livery stable, and ordered Albert Lucia to leave, as he had previously ordered him from the store of C. L. Parkhurst. Lucia replied that he would not unless told to do so by Cady. Riebling repeated his order, at the same time pointing his revolver at the boy, who jumped to his feet, exclaiming, "My God, he is going to shoot!" As he passed towards the door, he struck Riebling's arm, and forced the revolver downward so that the bullet took effect in the upper part of Lucia's leg. Riebling was arrested, taken to Morrison jail, December 27, to await action of the grand jury for the March term of circuit court. Eleven days after receiving the wound, Lucia died, and when the grand jury met, Riebling was indicted for murder. The case was called March 25, Messrs. J. D. Andrews, of Sterling, and W. H. Allen, of Erie, appointed by court to defend the prisoner, state's attorney Walter Stager prosecuting. The trial occupied two days, the case given to the jury at nine o'clock on evening of March 26, and after seven hours' deliberation the verdict of guilty was brought in the following morning. The execution of the sentence was fixed by the court on May 16. The gallows was erected in an enclosure near the jail. The prisoner was attended to the last by his spiritual advisers, Sweet of Morrison and Breen of Lyndon, took his stand on the trap with composure, in a short speech spoke of his trust in the Lord and his sorrow for the crime, and with the black cap placed over his head, awaited the end. When Sheriff Beach pulled the lever at six minutes after two, the body fell five feet without a struggle, and in fifteen minutes life was pronounced extinct. The number of persons in the enclosure was estimated at 150. but there was a curious crowd outside. Riebling had dark hair, blue eyes, face pitted with small-pox, and weighed 165 pounds. Not a single relative with him in his last moments upon earth.

The Swarthout Murder

Two miles west of Lyndon is the farm of Albert M. Swarthout. There is a large frame house, and the usual buildings to furnish a farm of 200 acres. He had two sons, John, the older, who was practicing medicine and rooming in Lyndon, and Ernest, the younger, married, who with his wife was keeping house for the father, whose wife died in 1891. For a while his daughter, Rattle, Mrs. Buell Langdon, had been in charge at the old home till the marriage of Ernest.

Morrison, returned at six in the evening, unhitched the horse, took him to the barn, and was seen no more. Shortly afterward, Mrs. Buell Langdon, the daughter, and Mrs. Ernest Swarthout, the younger son's wife, who were in the house, noticed a straw stack to the south on fire, rang the bell and called the sons, John and Ernest, who were at the barn. Charles Sturtevant, a farmer living sixty rods west, also saw the burning stack, and went over to give the alarm. He found the boys in the house, who said they had been to the stack, but could not put it out. Mr. Sturtevant asked where their father was, but they did not know.

No search was made for the missing man until the neighbors insisted upon it. On Friday morning, however, an examination of the ashes of the straw pile revealed portions of the skull and other bones. At the coroner's inquest in the afternoon, the two sons and one son's wife were the only witnesses, and the verdict was that the deceased came to his death from causes unknown to the jury. This was not satisfactory to the community, now thoroughly aroused. Complaint was made, both Ernest and John were arrested on Saturday, taken before Justice Bates, but on requesting that the preliminary examination be postponed till Nov. 18, in default of bail, they were lodged in jail at Morrison.

At the preliminary examination which occupied two sittings, thirty witnesses were examined for the state, and as all the evidence tended to confirm the horrible suspicion that the father was murdered by the sons, they were remanded without bail to the county jail. At the February term of court, they were indicted by the grand jury for murder. At a glance, the boys seemed incapable of such an unnatural crime. They were young, slender, and intelligent. John was 25, Ernest 22. John was inclined to consumption, and confinement aggravating the disease, he gradually declined, dying in the jail at Morrison July 19, 1893.

During the long interval popular excitement had gradually increased, and the opening of court was awaited with intense interest. The case of The People against Ernest Swarthout for the murder of Albert Swarthout, father of the defendant, was called for trial at two on Monday afternoon, Nov. 6, 1893, in the circuit court at Morrison. Hon. James Shaw, of Mt. Carroll, presided. Walter Stager, state's attorney, was assisted by H. C. Ward, of Sterling. 0. F. Woodruff and F. D. Ramsay, of Morrison, appeared for the defendant. By the side of Ernest Swarthout sat his young wife, a mere girl, married just sixty days before the murder.

A special venire of one hundred men were summoned from which to select jurors, and by noon of the next day the following twelve were selected: Frank Plumley of Fulton, W. A. Stsrtzman and M. F. Fell of Fulton. E. L. Booth of Albany, G. Crandall of Erie, Frank Wilson of Newton. John Hunter of Prophetstown, M. J. Ryerson of Hopkins, W. Runk of Jordan, L. Dawson of Hahnaman, H. Cain of Tampico, and C. Minor of Hume. The court room was packed, nearly half of the audience being ladies. In the close of his opening address to the jury, Walter Stager, state's attorney, said in substance: went to the new barn to put away his horse, was murdered there, that he was put on the cart and wheeled down to the sheep shed and left there until he was taken to the straw stack, that the stack was fired, that late that night or early next morning the unburned portions were pulled from the stack, hacked to pieces and buried in the slough, that the cart was broken tn pieces and the bloody portion burned, that if Ernest did not do the killing himself, he must have known of it as he was in the same barn and but a short distance from the spot where the blood indicates their father was killed according to his own statement."

No other trial in the county, civil or criminal, was so hotly contested. The advocates of both sides made long, exhaustive and eloquent pleas. On Wednesday morning, Nov. 14, the judge gave the jury their instructions, and on Thursday morning at the opening of court a large audience with the attorneys, the prisoner and his wife, listened in breathless silence as Circuit Clerk Tuttle read the following verdict: "We, the jury, find the defendant, Ernest Swarthout, guilty of murder, in manner and form as charged in the second count of the indictment, and find his age to be over 21 years, and fix his punishment at fourteen years in the penitentiary."

Albert M. Swarthout, the victim, was born in Fenton township, 1841, and married in 1865 to Miss Frances A. Cuppernell, of Dixon. An industrious man and member of the Methodist church at Lyndon. Tall, muscular, and of fine physique. He was contemplating a second marriage, which the sons bitterly opposed on the ground that it was too soon after the mother's death the previous year. Various rumors for the inhuman act were afloat, but there was never a shadow of doubt that one of the sons fired the shot that ended the father's life. Ernest was in due time taken to Joliet to serve his sentence, but the gloomy walls did not long hold the unhappy prisoner, dying in 1896. Father and boys sleep side by side in the Lyndon cemetery.

A Remarkable Mechanical Genius

Fred Mayfield, who not long ago returned after spending four years in the U. S. navy, has just completed a model of a battleship in miniature. The dimensions and armament of this model are as follows: Length two feet, ten inches; breadth eight inches; mean draught six inches. The battery consists of one thirteen inch revolving rifle, two twelve inch revolving turrets, four orie-poundefs, ten six inch guns, four rapid firing guns in firing tops. These guns, with two or three exceptions, were whittled out by Mr. Mayfield in a correct and precise manner, and are mounted strictly according to regulations. There are also two search lights, two whale boats, two gigs, one steam launch and one sailing launch, also constructed in like manner. Even to the minutest detail the steam launch, not over three and one-half inches long, is equipped with a miniature engine, propeller, a rudder and steering device, as well as a plush lined seating capacity. This launch in itself is a wonder to all who have seen it when one realizes that it has all been whittled out with a pocket knife, and WP will say now that a knife, a smnll saw, wire pliers, a chisel, a paint brush, comprised his entire mechanical outfit. The ship itself is equipped with everything, in a miniature way, to be found on a first-class battleship, consisting of a chart house, conning tower, shooting gallery, executive offices, anchor davit and chains, ventilator and smoke stack, signal halyards and arms, machinery of all kinds, ropes, tackles. Mr. Mayfield has been working at the model more or less for the past two months and the work involved in such an undertaking is enormous.

Hamilton school on the bluff was the first school in the county, 1838, and the Congregational church organized in 1837 was the first of that denomination west of Chicago.

Pardon A. Brooks boarded for a time with Healy, the artist, in Boston, and a copy of Brooks' portrait painted by Healy hangs in the home of Charles Sturtevant.

As Kentucky onoe bore the uncanny synonym of the "dark and bloody ground," so the road leading from Lyndon toward Erie has sometimes been styled "Dead Man's Lane," because of the ghastly occurrences of suicides, untimely deaths, and other dreadful events associated with several of the dwellings. Denrock has been the scene of some distressing accidents.

Various societies are in operation. W. R. C. of 17 members, with Mrs. S. E. Chiverton to look after the widows and orphans for the present year. The Masons number about fifty, with adjunct, Eastern Star, Master, Walter Austin. Thirty Woodmen. One hundred Mystic Workers, prefect, Mr. Shultz.

Two Honored Citizens

In January, 1908, Mrs. Martha A. Whallon passed to her reward. She was born in Ohio, 1832, and removed with her parents to Lyndon in 1838. Mrs. Whallon resided with her parents at the old homestead just north of town until her marriage to Capt. John Whallon Sept. 10, 1831, and since that time has lived continuously in the town of Lyndon.

Before her marriage she was one of the favorite pioneer teachers, she having taught in Sterling, Fulton, Prophetstown, Como, Portland and Lyndon, in all places esteemed by a wide circle of friends among patrons and pupils.

She passed through the schools of our town - then the best in the county - and took further training at Knox college, Galesburg, for some time. In her youth she cultivated many graces of mind and heart.

To Mr. and Mrs. \V ballon was born one child, a son, Hal, who survives them. The father, Capt, Whallon, lived until Oct. 21, 1903. Since then Mrs. Whallon and her son have lived together in the old home.

Mrs. Whallon united with the Congregational church of this place in her childhood and has since remained an active and useful member thereof, always faithful in attendance upon the regular Sabbath services and the midweek service, and especially active in the Sunday school. Her brothers, Fred W. Millikan and Rev. S. Frank Millikan, are the only surviving members of Deacon Millikan's family.

General William Clendenin, whose sudden death in Moline created a sensation, and who was so prominent in Illinois army circles, was a Lyndon boy, born in 1845, and spending his childhood there until his father's removal to Moline in 1859. He enlisted in Co. B, 140th Illinois infantry, April 30, 1864, and on June 18 of the same year was advanced to first sergeant, and on Sept. 17 became sergeant major of the regiment. He was mustered out of the service Oct. 29, 1864. He served with the United States regulars, being mustered out of that service March 23, 1866, having held the following offices: Sergeant major, 108th Regiment, U. S. Col. troops, Feb. 7, 1865; second lieutenant, Co. A, 108th U. S. Col. troops, Aug. 8, 1865; first lieutenant, Co. A, 108th U. S. Col. troops, Jan. 1, 1866.

His connection with the Illinois National Guard began Aug. 24, 1877, rising from one rank to another until at his resignation in 1903 he was brigadier-general. Interment was made in the cemetery at Galesburg.

Some Of Our Early Lawyers Hugh Wallace

Doubtless the first of our early lawyers. He came from Cumberland county, Pa., in 1837, soon after graduating at Washington College and reading law with General Porter in Lancaster. At first a farmer, for there was little business in his profession. Most of wastern Sterling is built on the land he cultivated. He was a member of the legislature in 1846, a senator in 1852 in the same body, and for four years register of the land office at Dixon under President Pierce. His dwelling for many years was a low, one-story sort of cabin, called from its curious aspect the "old fort." It was not far from the present square mansion on West Third street, now occupied by Mrs. Randolph. This he built in 1855 of blocks taken from the river. His wife was Mary Gait, sister of the late John Gait, a thorough housekeeper.

Wallace was a genial man, fond of society, and liked nothing better than to have the' young folks come to his house, and play the fiddle for them to dance. He had great faith in the future of his town, and the writer on a visit in 1851 remembers his taking a map of Illinois and showing us that

Sterling was directly west of Chicago, and that an air line to the Mississippi must pass through this point. He was right, and wisely gave the company land for the station and yard, which at once moved business from upper Sterling, and made Wallacetown the center of operations, which it has since retained. In later years he retired from practice, and spent his afternoons on his broad piazza overlooking what was then a grassy river bottom, now covered with railroad tracks, shops, and tenements.

The writer's first view of B. C. was at Lancaster, Pa., in 1853. He was a member of the class graduated that year from Franklin and Marshall College. Captain Wilberforce Nevin, afterward in the civil war, and a while editor of the Philadelphia Press, was also a member. Coblentz came west soon after finishing his law studies, and had his office with Hugh Wallace in that small annex which once stood east of the Wallace House. He was quite popular, and in 1867 was elected mayor.

His wife was Miss Murphy, from Mercersburg, Pa., an entertaining talker. Coblentz liked ease, was a good liver, somewhat pompous, and in summer was the only man in town who sported a white vest. For a time he had an office in the quarters of the Rock Island Railroad on the second floor of Wallace Hall. Misfortune followed the family after the removal from Sterling to Arkansas. Both he and his wife died, and some of the children.

Edwin N. Kirk

In the summer of 1861 Mr. Kirk gave a large party at the pretty villa which he had erected in the grove in eastern Sterling, now the property of Wash Dillon. As we stood on the south piazza, he said he was not satisfied to be at ease while soldiers were needed to uphold the flag at the front. That fall the 34th Illinois infantry was organized with Kirk as its colonel, and the writer visited the boys while at Camp Butler, near Springfield. At Stone River, Tennessee, Dec. 31, 1862, Kirk had two horses shot under him, was severely wounded in the thigh, and some time after that terrific battle, underwent an operation from which he never recovered.

He was a tall, fine-looking man, and as Mrs. Kirk, who was short, walked by his side up the aisle to a front pew in the old Presbyterian church in Rev. E. Erskine's day, they created a sensation, especially as they came late when the services were in progress.

James Dinsmoor

One of our few college men fifty years ago, a graduate of Dartmouth, the alma mater of Daniel Webster and Rufus Choate. His son, Jarvis, now practicing law in Sterling, enjoyed the same privilege. He was the only lawyer who had an office in town and residence in the country. For forty years, rain or shine, summer and winter, he drove in his buggy from Hazel Hill farm, five miles north of Emerson, to his business in Sterling. For tome time he was associated with Graves, another eastern man, and then with Walter Stager. Mrs. Dinsmoor, in early life a teacher, loved to speak of Emerson, Holmes, and the literary traditions of her New England home. Lowell was their residence before removal to Illinois.

Miles S. Henry. '

He was born in Geneva, N. Y., in 1815, the year of Waterloo and New Orleans, was a schoolmate of Stephen A. Douglas, and began the practice of law in Sterling in 1844. An active citizen, and he filled several responsible positions. He was in the banking business with Lorenzo Hapgood, a delegate to the Philadelphia convention that nominated Fremont in 185B, president of the Sterling and Rock Island Railroad Company, and in 1862 was appointed paymaster in the army. His second wife was Mr.=. Bushnell, widow of Major Bushnell, of the 13th Illinois.

An excellent reader. At a social given by Mrs. McCune in the parlors of the Wallace House, being called upon for a reading, Major Henry recited:

Watson's poem was not then so familiar. He was a regular attendant at Grace Episcopal church during the pastorate of Rev. J. E. Goodhue. He, Lorenzo Hapgood, and Gabriel Davis, as senior members, occupied front seats.

Frederick Sackett

The most jovial of our lawyers, always ready for a joke, never without a cigar. A self-made man, making no pretension to culture, with an intimate knowledge of common law. He laid the foundation for what is now a part of the residence of W. W. Davis, Bellevue Place. Four friends planned a sort of select quarter. Dr. Hudson on the Ed Bowman place, Kirk where Dillon is, Ed Allen across the street. The.-e with Sackett would have made a social ring. But fate determined otherwise. Death and misfortune crushed these fond projects, and Sackett died homeless and desolate.

Jacob Haskell

A slender, delicate person. He used to take walks for his health. The writer met him one morning strolling along the Morrison road. For a time, partner of Dinsmoor, the firm being Dinsmoor and Haskell. Fond of writing for the press. He and \V. W. Davis were proposed as editors of a projected paper during the Farnsworth and Arnold contest for the Congressional nomination. His sons still live in Sterling. William W. was for years assistant postmaster with Thomas Diller. Walter N. is a lawyer, making patents a specialty, and is secretary of the Central school board.

David M'Cartxey

A lawyer of the old school, plain, earnest, rugged, positive, always ready to give a reason for the faith that was in him. Fulton was his home for a long time, and the old handbills announcing speakers, regularly had "D. McCartney of Fulton." An explosive style of speaking, firing his sentences in what musicians would call staccato. When McCartney took the platform, the crowd prepared for something rich and stirring. He came to Sterling in 1865 and died in 1888. At his death, he was state's attorney, the predecessor of Walter Stager. Before the present law was enacted, he was prosecutor for four counties. Mrs. Fannie Worthington, the well known speaker and writer, is a daughter, and also the present wife of C. L. Sheldon, Esq.

John G. Manahan

He was in a law office when the rebels fired upon Fort Sumter, and being young and enthusiastic, he enlisted with numerous personal friends in the Thirteenth Illinois, and followed the flag to the close of the rebellion. On his return he resumed practice. For a time the firm was Kilgour and Manahan, then Manahan and Ward. John failed gradually, yielding to a cruel, hereditary malady, consumption, which carried off his mother at an early age, and also a sister. With only a common school education and law study in an office, John secured an excellent standing in the circuit and higher courts. A ready writer and speaker, industrious, and the soul of honor. For years an elder in the Presbyterian church.

James E. M'Pherran

Fresh from college and law school, in the prime of his young manhood, James came directly to Sterling, and remained here in the practice of his profession to his death a few years ago. He was like Goldsmith's village preacher :

Like Emery A. Storrs of Chicago, Mr. McPherran was not satisfied with the dry details of statute books, but had a natural fondness for literature. He read at night and kept in touch with new publications. He was rightly considered the best historian of the Whiteside bar. For over twenty years he was president of the Sterling library board, and his portrait, presented by

Charles J. Johnson

His father was a pioneer, moving to the state in 1839. Charles studied law with Judge McCoy of Fulton, and in 1854, in company with David McCartney, was admitted to the bar at Sterling in the old courthouse on Broadway, now fallen like Babylon. After eighteen years of practice at Morrison, and a short stay in Rock Island and Chicago, he came to Sterling in 1879, where he remained to his death. Charlie, as he was commonly called, made no pretension to oratory, but was a fine office lawyer, with the principles and decisions of the courts at his tongue's end. His younger brother, Caleb, with whom he was associated, is still in practice in Sterling.

James M'Coy

Coming here from his Virginia home, and beginning the practice of law at Fulton in 1840, Judge McCoy was the Nestor of the Whiteside bar. He was a public-spirited man, and was never so devoted to his profession, as to forget the claims of the community. He showed a lively interest in education as well as in politics. A presidential elector in 1868, a delegate to the constitutional convention in 1869, a trustee of the Illinois Soldiers' College. Fond of mingling among the people. Never forgot a face. The writer met him regularly at the fairs on the Sanborn grounds at Sterling, and he was always ready to give the hearty grasp of friendship.

Frank E. Andrews

After a gradual decline for months, Mr. Andrews passed away in the autumn of 1907. His office was always in .Sterling, where he had grown up, but his death occurred in Rock Falls, where he had resided for a few years preceding. A broad-shouldered man, his early decease was a surprise. His general appearance seemed to indicate vigor and endurance. One of his most striking mental qualities was firmness, resolution. When he entered upon a course of action, he pushed the business to a conclusion, with all his energy, regardless of criticism or opposition. He was high authority on drainage from his long experience as a surveyor, and it was chiefly due to his recommendation that the feeder to the Hennepin canal was placed at Sterling.

At a memorial meeting of the Whiteside bar in Morrison, appreciative tributes to his character were paid by several of his associates. All spoke of the habitual purity of his life. Jarvis Dinsmoor said: "In an acquaintance of twenty-five years, meeting Mr. Andrews in court, in conference, in shop, street, in politics, I never heard fall from his lips, a profane, hasty or vulgar word. When I called to see him in his sickness, the sick man had reached the condition so beautifully portrayed by Whittier:

\V. H. Allen, of Erie, the oldest member of the bar, dwelt on his loyalty to justice, his love of truth, his courage in doing what was morally right, undeterred by argument, ridicule, sarcasm or denunciation. His work was honestly and fairly done in a great profession, and it is well that his brethren should gladly award the praise due a career so fittingly closed.

Miscellaneous

Some of our first lawyers are a vanishing memory. They soon passed from the stage by death or removal. For example, Brooks Ward and Joe Ware. Some came into our court from other counties, flashed like an occasional meteor and then retired. There was Joe Knox of Rock Island, a strong speaker and there was Judge Leffingwell of Clinton, perhaps the most brilliant pleader who ever appeared in our court. He had all the endowments of the orator in aspect, voice, manner, heightened by careful study, and jury and audience were soon captivated by the magnetism of his address. A persuasive talker on the platform, and his services were always in demand in political campaigns.