Money Creek Township (part 3 of 3)

Matthew Covardale was born August 13, 1807, in Maryland. H's father's name was Matthew Covardale, and his mother's name before her marriage was Nancy Fisher. Matthew Covardale, sr., was of Irish descent. The mother of young Matthew died when he was quite small. His father, Matthew Covardale, sr., was a seafaring man and had very little time to look after his son. The latter had no regular place of abode, but was shifted around from one person to another. When he was nine years of age an event happened which changed the whole course of his life. While Matthew Covardale, sr. , was bringing the vessel, of which he was captain, into Delaware Bay, it was foundered, and he became ruined in fortune. He was utterly broken up by this shipwreck. He took little Matthew by the hand, and they started on foot for the West. They traveled over the mountains to Wheeling, thence to Columbus, Ohio, then out towards Lake Erie, then to Licking River, then down to Zanesville, then across the Muskingum, and then to Chillicothe. There they went on a keelboat down the Scioto River ; but while they were in a sparse settlement the keelboat sunk. This was at night. They remained on the shore until morning, then picked up their knapsacks and went to Maysville on foot, there crossed the Ohio River and went to Lexington, Kentucky, on foot, and from there to the north bend in the Ohio River, below Cincinnati. From there they went to Jackson County, Indiana, and then back to Hamilton County, Ohio. Here they made a stopping place. Matthew Covardale, sr., died here, when his son was only sixteen years of age. The latter worked by the day, by the week, by the month and by the year. He worked every way possible in order to make an honest livelihood. In the fall of 1830 he came to Randolph's Grove, McLean County, Illinois. Here he worked for Jesse Funk until no more work could be done during that season.

During that winter Jesse Funk took a drove of hogs to Galena, and had many adventures, for it was the winter of the famous deep snow. The cold was intense, and Mr. Funk was obliged to wear a false face to protect his nose and cheeks and prevent them from freezing. The snow and frost gathered on this false face as he breathed through the aperture, and it appeared most frightful. When he had occasion to stop at a cabin on the way, the moment the door was opened the children would scream, and sometimes the women also would be frightened.

But Mr. Covardale did not accompany Mr. Funk on this trip. The latter stayed during the winter with a man named Richard Gross, and usually kept pretty close to the house. At one time he saw some prairie chickens some distance, across a slough, and he picked up a gun and started to shoot them. While crossing the slough, where the snow was very deep, he broke through the crust and went down. He threw his gun on the crust and tried to work himself loose. But the more he worked the deeper he went down, down, deeper and deeper, and the snow closed over his head, and in spite of all exertion he continued going down. But he continued struggling until he packed the snow underneath him and obtained a firm foothold. Then, by packing the snow below him, he rose high enough to crawl out on the crust. He returned to the house, and the people there asked whether he was going to shoot those chickens. Mr. Covardale remarked that his ambition for hunting was satisfied for one day. The cold during that winter was severe, and at one time Mr. Covardale had his eyelashes frozen fast, and the tears were frozen on his cheek. During that winter Mr. Gross hunted deer and Mr. Covardale pounded corn. The corn was sifted through a sieve made of finely dressed deerskin stretched over a hoop of white oak, and fastened with a whang. The holes through the buckskin were made with a burning iron. In order to keep warm during that winter Mr. Covardale and Mr. Gross cut wood and kept the fire burning. Their chimney, built of sticks and clay, sometimes caught fire, and they kept water ready to throw up the chimney.

During the next season Mr. Covardale worked for Jesse Funk and for other parties. He worked hard and succeeded well. After working for a few seasons as a renter, Mr. Covardale obtained some land of his own, broke prairie, split rails and made fences. He succeeded in all of his undertakings. He raised stock, which he sold for prices which would now be considered next to nothing. He made the customary trips to Chicago, Pekin, Peoria, and other places, camping out at night and sleeping under the wagon, which he made his dwelling.

Mr. Covardale married Mrs. Anstis Thompson, a widow, who was born in Virginia. Mr. Covardale has never had any children of his own. His stepson, William Thompson, carries on the farm. Franklin Thompson, his eldest stepson, is in Montgomery County, Kansas. Mrs. Mar}- Bishop and Mrs. Elizabeth Cresswell are his stepdaughters.

Mr. Covardale is about five feet and nine inches in height, weighs one hundred and forty or fifty pounds, and has a sanguine complexion and white hair. He is a hard worker, and a most honest and worthy man. He thinks a great deal of the old settlers, and has himself seen some of the severest hardships of the early days. But he had the courage to do and the will to overcome. He is very frank and kind, and likes fair dealing, and possesses the fullest confidence of all with whom he is acquainted.

Samuel Stewart was born May 5, 1790, in Monongehela County, Virginia. His parents were Americans. His father died when Samuel was quite young. When he was twenty-one or two years of age he went to Hamilton County, Ohio, and began farming with his brother, who had preceded him there. He returned to Virginia for a short time, but went back to Ohio. All of his travel was done on horseback.

Mr. Stewart made a visit to Illinois in 1830, and bought a claim of A. M. Stringfield at Randolph's Grove. During the following year he moved to Randolph's Grove with his family in wagons. He immediately went to farming, as that was the occupation of nearly all the old settlers. He also made brick and put up a brick house. The lumber used was sawed with a whip saw, indeed, this was almost the only way to make it. The cabins in early days were built without nails, and were simply pinned together. The door was made of split boards or shakes,

The Stewart family Avere for a long time after their arrival, very much annoyed by wolves, which made such a howling and barking around the house at night that it was impossible for any one to sleep. Mr. Stewart was often obliged to go out and fire his gun to frighten them away, in order that the family might obtain a little rest.

Burins; the celebrated sudden change in the weather in Becember, 1836, Mr. Stewart had great difficulty in getting the children home from school. The Little Kickapoo was overflowed, but he succeeded in getting the children across by bringing them over on horseback, two at a time.

Mr. Stewart was accustomed to hunt occasionally, and kept for this purpose a horse, which had quite a histor}T. It was born in Pennsylvania, and emigrated to the West across the mountains. It was taken by a soldier through the Black Hawk war, and on its return was traded to Mr. Stewart. Having seen many adventures, it may be supposed that the horse was possessed of a good degree of smartness. It could go anywhere, and open any gate or door, indeed if its smartness had continued to increase it might have learned to pick a lock or go through a dwelling. Mr. Stewart hunted with the horse, but after a while the animal became too refined for this, and pretended to be frightened by the report of a gun, and refused to allow Mr. Stewart to shoot from its back. When this horse was twenty-one years of age (its legal majority) it was supposed to have been stolen from its master, but the probability is that it considered itself too smart to acknowledge a master and ran away.

The early settlers of course "went visiting," but their visits were made at times to suit their circumstances and the necessities of their life. They came before breakfast, and when they went to quiltings and house-raisings, they were on hand particularly early in order to do a good day's work, and return home early to feed their stock.

William Curtis Stewart lives two miles north of the homestead. He was a bachelor until thirty-nine years of age, when he did his duty and married Mrs. Amanda Vandevort, who died March 19th, 1874.

Hon. Archibald Evans Stewart is a physician. He lives at Randolph's Grove, at the old homestead, and is a member of the legislature. He served as surgeon in the Ninety-fourth Illinois Volunteers from 1862 until 1865. The homestead house, where he lives, was the first house built of brick in McLean County. It was erected in 1834. The brick was made on the farm.

Air. Samuel Stewart was six feet in height, rather spare, had brown eyes, rather light hair, was not very muscular, had a mild, pleasant expression on his countenance, and was indeed a worthy citizen. He was a strong friend of Governor Moore, and was one of the men who persuaded that gentleman to take an active part in politics. Mr. Stewart died January 8, 1841.

John H. Stewart, eldest son of Samuel Stewart, was born October 28, 1817, in Hamilton County, Ohio. In October, 1831, the Stewart family, consisting of nine persons in all, together with the family of George Thompson, came to McLean County, Illinois. The reason why the Stewart family came West, was a desire on the part of the father of John H. Stewart to secure land for every member of his numerous family.

Air. Stewart, the subject of this sketch, went to school only six months in Ohio, and if his mother, who is a well informed lady, had not taken the matter in hand, his education would have been finished. Mr. Stewart speaks very highly of his old schoolmaster in Ohio, William Bebb, who afterwards emigrated to Illinois, where he died. Mr. Stewart was raised a farmer, like his father, but all the Stewarts are mechanics by nature. They possess great skill in the handling of carpenters' tools. They themselves did all the wood-work of the house of which we have spoken in his father's sketch. Their journey from Ohio to McLean County was without any adventure worthy to relate. They came with one horse team and one ox team, arriving at Randolph's Grove in the fall of 1831, the father having previously (in 1830) bought a claim from A. M. Stringfield. During their first winter here, Mr. Stewart, and his brother, James Newton, slept in a wagon, and the wolves often came when they were in their beds, snuffing and snorting around this primitive couch. Mr. Stewart's father, Samuel Stewart, gave A. M. String-field one hundred dollars for his claim, and as he had brought four hundred dollars with him from Ohio, he entered this claim and two hundred and forty acres besides. Mr. Stewart, sr., also entered eighty acres for A. M. String-field.

Times were hard when the Stewart family came, and they had, of course, to endure all the hardships of a frontier life. When they came to the country they brought as many groceries with them as would last during the first year, which they had purchased at Cincinnati. After that they made their own maple sugar for many years. The family, on the whole, enjoyed good health, and soon found themselves in easy circumstances. All the children of Mr. Stewart, sr., the father of John II., were born in a log house in Hamilton County, Ohio, except Dr. Stewart, the present member of the legislature, who was born at Randolph's Grove, when the house of which we have spoken in the foregoing sketch was about half finished. The Stewart family was a happy, hard working family. The mother of the present stock is still living on the homestead farm, where they first settled. She is a remarkable lady, who now, at the age of eighty-three years, can walk a distance of half a mile as rapidly as a younggirl of twenty. Her life is entirely wrapt up in her children, grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, (Delia, little daughter of Mr. H. C. Horine.)

Mr. Stewart never was much of a hunter, but he occasionally chased wolves, killing them with a stirrup when the chase was on horseback, which was the custom in those days. He also killed now and then a deer, but these animals were already scarce when he came to the country, the winter of the deep snow having made havoc among them.

In 1839, Mr. Stewart commenced farming on his own account - and married, of course. The lady of his choice, who is still living, was Miss Jane Evans, daughter of Owen Evans, of Randolph's Grove. His father made him a present of eighty acres of land, to which he gradually added more. He continued farming up to 1857, when he sold out his timber-farm on account of failing health, and because he wished to give his children an education ; but he still carries on farming about six miles south of Bloomington, on the Main street road, on a tract of three hundred and twenty acres.

He moved to Normal about the time the Normal University began its labors. There Mrs. Stewart kept a boarding-house, which was the first house of the kind established in Normal. During most of this time Mr. Stewart was in partnership with A. C. "Washburne in a meat-market, from which they supplied the whole of Normal with meat for about eight years.

In 1872, Mr. Stewart went into the agricultural implement and machinery business, which is now carried on by him and his son-in-law, Mr. H. C. Horine. This house was started in 1870, by Frank Stewart, a nephew of Mr. Stewart. Mr. Horine became partner of the business in 1871, and when Frank went out of the firm, Mr. Stewart stepped in. The business, under the name of Stewart & Horine, is carried on at the corner of Main and Grove streets, Bloomington.

Mr. Stewart is about six feet two inches in height, is well proportioned, appears to be quite muscular, and has a very erect walk. His hair and beard are almost gray ; he has gray eyes, and uses glasses when he reads and writes. He is a very conscientious man, and thinks well before he decides on anything; but when he sets his mind on doing anything he will do it withm'lean county. 795 out hesitation. He is a kind and indulgent father to his children. He has been, (by reason of care and industry,) successful in life, which is in a great measure.due to his kind and hospitable wife.

David Noble was born in September, 1795, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was of English and Dutch descent. His father was an old English sea captain, who came to the United States and married a Pennsylvania Dutch lady, and became thoroughly Americanized. David Noble was born in Cincinnati, when that place was no larger than Heyworth, that is, a village of two or three hundred people. He had a limited education, and as his parents were poor, was obliged to work his way through the world without learning or wealth. In 1817 he was married to Rebecca Karr. In 1828 he went to New Orleans in company with his brother, with a load of chickens and various other kinds of poultry, and by good managemert and good fortune they did very well with their stock. In the fall of 1830 he came to Illinois to see the country, and visited various points in Sangamon and Tazewell counties. He returned to Ohio during the same fall, and prepared to come "West. During the following year, October 3, 1831, the Noble family started for McLean County, Illinois, and arrived there on the 20th. They traveled with a four-horse team. The}' came in near Squire A. M. Stringfield's place, and saw him chase a wolf on foot and catch it with his hands. Mr. Noble set his dog on the wolf before Stringfield caught it, but the dog was quickly whipped. Mr. Stringfield took the wolf home alive. Their journey was a hard one, as it rained nearly all the time they traveled. During one day they only went ten miles. They traveled long distances over corduroy roads. At one time they were mired down, a little this side of Urbana, and Mr. Joseph Noble (David's brother) was obliged to carry out his wife. Joseph Noble rode an old gray mare, which had a bad habit of lying down in the mud, when it was deep, and refusing to get up. The only way of compelling her to rise was to hold her head under the mud and water for a while.

David Noble lived, during nearly all of the first winter, in a cabin on old Mr. Passwaters' place, about one mile south of where William Noble now lives. After that the family went to the cabin near where John Wakefield now lives. There they did some pretty hard grubbing, as the place joined the timber. David Noble stayed there until 1844 or '45, and then came five miles north, bought some new prairie and made a farm.

Mr. Xoble suffered with a stroke of paralysis a few years before his death, which occurred in September, 1863. His domestic life was pleasant. He had ten children to raise and care for, six by his first marriage and four by his second. They are :

David Xoble was five feet and eleven inches in height, had a large, strong frame, and, before he was afflicted with paralysis, weighed two hundred pounds. He was very muscular, worked hard, and had usually good health. His hair was naturally black, and his eyes pleasing and expressive.

William Crivlin Xoble was born February 25, 1818, in Hamilton County, Ohio. His education was not very liberal, but was all that could be expected at that time. The scholars were then more remarkable for their muscle than their intellect, and had a habit of turning out the teacher on Christmas day. At one time, when they threatened to turn out the master, he compromised the matter by giving them a gallon of whisky and some eggs, and one of them was carried home insensible. Mr. Xoble went to school to William Bebb, who was afterwards Governor of Ohio. The schoolmasters in those days made desperate attempts to teach the children politeness ; the girls were taught to courtesy to whoever they met, while going to or returning from school, and the boys were taught to bow, or as it was called, " make their manners." Mr. Noble came to Randolph's Grove with his father, David Noble, in the fall of 1831, and continued his schooling for two winters in Illinois. The falling of the meteors in 1833 impressed him very much. They fell it seemed by millions, to the north, south, east and west, and some of them made a large blaze. He felt no fear on account of this wonderful phenomenon, but the next morning, when he went to mill, he met so many persons who were frightened by the meteors that he began to be frightened himself. Some people were made crazy with fear.

When he was sixteen years of age, he went to St. Louis and brought a load of goods for William H. Allin. He was gone on that trip about sixteen days, and received a dollar and a- quarter per hundred weight for hauling.

Mr. JSToble married, October 31, 1839, Isabel Jane Stewart, and by this happy marriage had three children. She died, May 10, 1855. On the tenth of January, 1856, he married Eunice Burley, by Bailey H. Coft'ey, and has had three children living and one dead. Very few men are blessed with a more hapyy domestic life.

In the fore part of February, 1856, Mr. Noble went on business to Kentucky. He crossed the Ohio River on horseback on the ice at Portsmouth. This was rather a dangerous matter, as he was obliged to wade his horse three feet deep in water to reach the ice, and it cracked under him while crossing. He rode around among the Kentucky hills, and it seemed sometimes that he must fall into eternity. The hills were exceedingly steep, and nothing but a Kentucky horse could travel among them. A horse from Illinois could never have found a foothold.

Mr. Noble is about six feet in height, is broad shouldered and strongly built, is a hard worker, is very clever and good natured, appreciates fun, is a good neighbor and a good American citizen.

Joseph K. Noble was born October 9, 1823, in Whitewater township, Hamilton County, Ohio. His father's name was Joseph Noble, and his mother's name before her marriage was Nancy Karr. Joseph Noble was born in Ohio, and Nancy Karr in New Jersey. Both were of American descent. The Noble family, consisting of six members in all, came to Randolph's Grove, McLean County, Illinois, in the fall of 1831. There Joseph Noble bought a farm partly improved for one hundred and fifty dollars and two horses and a wagon. During the first winter they lived in a large log cabin with an entry between. But their conveniences were not great, as two other families as large as their own lived with them. During that winter, nearly all the streams were frozen up, so that the mills could not run. Every family was therefore obliged to have its hominy mortar with which to crack frostbitten corn. They had no fruit nor vegetables, except turnips, but had plenty of venison and wild turkeys. Joseph Noble was then a lad eight years of age, but the scenes of those early days are clearly impressed on his mind. He remembers going with a party out to a wolf pen, put up by Gardner Randolph, and there finding a wolf, which was so incautious as to trust himself within it. The following is Mr, Noble's description of the pen : " It was made of logs notched close at the corners, growing gradually smaller at the top, so that when the wolf was on the outside it was easy to climb up, but too high to climb out while on the inside." The settlers usually killed the wolves by chasing them on horseback and killing them with clubs. During the Black Hawk war, the settlers were often frightened, and Mr. Noble tells a queer story of a scare he experienced while out in the woods at play. Said he : " I heard a strange noise and started to the house taking my youngest brother on my back. Looking across the field I saw my father coming on his horse from the plow as fast as possible. We arrived at the house out of breath and found that the bees were swarming, and mother was calling for father and was pounding a frying pan with a large iron spoon to make the bees settle. You may be sure that we were glad the trouble was occasioned by bees instead of Indians."

Mr. Noble did not receive an extended education. He went to school when quite young, and one of his teachers was John Moore, afterwards Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. Mr. Noble learned at an early age what it was to work. At the age of fifteen he drove a team of ten steers, called a prairie breaking team. "With them he broke ground for various parties, among others for James Allin, of Bloomington. He broke the ground where the Chicago and Alton Machine Shops now stand. The remainder of Mr. Noble's sketch may be given in his own words: " I cannot remember precisely all of the settlers who were in Randolph's Grove when I first came. They were usually young folks with small families. But notwithstanding their few children, they were obliged to work very hard for their own and their children's support, for nearly all their wearing apparel was made by themselves, was spun, woven, cut, fitted and sewed. The people here were from many States, but they all appeared members of one family. They endured the privations and discomforts of life together. When any one needed assistance it was always forthcoming. The women had quiltings and sewing bees, and the men had house raisings and corn huskings. In after years the different settlements joined together in wolf hunts, raised a pole on a high piece of ground, hoisted a flag and on a certain day all turned out and drove the game to the center. "When they came near the pole, it was fun to see some on foot with long rifies ready to shoot the first deer or wolf, and others on horses chasing the tired game. Some would be thrown from their horses, and others would fall when their horses stumbled in the active chase. Those good old times will never come again ! "

When Mr. Noble was twenty-four years of age, he married Miss Lemira Hampton, who was born within the boundaries of the present county of McLean. Her father came to the country from Tennessee, the year before the deep snow. Mr. Noble has had six children, of whom five are living. They are :

John S., Charles M., Nannie M., Robert K. and Joseph P. Noble ; all of whom live at home. Mr. Noble is about five feet and ten inches in height, is rather spare and straight, and has dark hair and gray eyes. He appears to be a very good neighbor, and his remarks concerning the old settlers and the condi-

Dr. Harrison Noble was born March 6, 1812, in Hamilton County, Ohio. His father's name was John Noble, and his mother's maiden name was Sarah Price. John Noble was of English descent, but he was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and thereby became cut off from the English branch of the family, and nothing is known of it. Harrison Noble had a fair education, and while still in his youth taught school for a livelihood. He also worked at the carpenter's trade, and a part of the time was a farmer. In after years he was a physician, and also a surveyor. He had a mind evenly developed and well balanced, and could succeed in many professions.

Mr. Noble was married, March 21, 1833, to Miss Abby Cook, in Hamilton County, Ohio. In 1833 he came to the West. His trip was a hard one, through swamps and creeks during a wet season, but by good fortune and good management he came safely through. He settled at Randolph's Grove with Joseph Noble, sr., who had moved out some time before. Harrison Noble sold two horses and obtained money to enter eighty acres of land. Then he built a cabin and moved into it, and worked his land with a horse belonging to his mother. He hired a man to break six or eight acres of land and paid for it by carpenter work. He had knowledge of many trades, and his handiness now stood him in good stead, for if he could not find work to do at one employment, he followed another, and succeeded Avell at everything. He did some surveying, taught school, worked as a carpenter, and did anything at which his hands could be usefully employed.

Mr. Noble was an Old-Line Whig. That party was in the minority in McLean County in the early days. But people then cared less for party ties than for popular men. In about the year 1840 Mr. Noble came out as an independent candidate for surveyor, and of course his merits and demerits were sharply criticized, but it was pretty well understood that if he could show himself qualified for this position he would be elected. About this time a curious circumstance occurred. General Gridley and General Covel had a warm discussion concerning his ability. The rods on one side," &c, and he gave the number of rods on each of four sides. General Gridley took the bet, and as soon as he saw Mr. Xoble, the problem was stated. " Xow," said General Gridley, "how mairy acres are in that piece of land?" "There may be more and there may be less," said Mr. Noble. "Xow," thought Gridley, " Iv'e lost my bet." But Mr. Xoble continued and explained that the angles must be given ; for if they were not given the sides might be so arranged as to enclose a great many acres, or scarcely any at all. Then he picked up a limber switch and bent it into a four-sided figure, and by making the angles sometimes right angles and sometimes acute, he explained the matter clearly. "Well," said Gridley, "Covel and I are both fools." This incident was told many times, and it made friends for Mr. Xoble, for it made him acquainted. The incident was related by Hon. John Cusey. Mr. Xoble held the office of surveyor for three terms. When he was about thirty-five years of age he commenced the study of medicine by himself. He afterwards attended one course of lectures at Cincinnati, and received his diploma. He practiced medicine and was quite successful.

Mrs. Xoble died in about the year 1844. On the 15th of April, 1848, Mr. Xoble married Mrs. Jane E. Marmon. By this marriage one child was born, John Locke Xoble, who lives on the homestead place.

Dr. Xoble died August 12, 1870. He was about six feet in height, had black hair and gray eyes, was very muscular, and in his younger days a great wrestler. His feet were deformed, and toed in, but this was an advantage in wrestling. "While he was attending lectures, a person inquired of him whether on account of his deformity he was not obliged to bear with insults. Dr. Xoble gave the gentleman a proof of his skill, which decided the matter. Dr. Xoble was a very honest man and very popular in McLean County.

Walter Karr was born July 8, 1797, in Sussex County, New Jersey. His father's name was Thomas Karr, and his mother's maiden name was Celia Lewis, both Americans. Mr. Karr was not old enough to be a soldier in the war of 1812, though many of his relatives were in it. He had a half-brother who was captured by the British when Hull surrendered at Detroit. The Americans were very unfortunate at the outset, for, in addition to the calamity of Hull's disgraceful surrender, there came what was known as the cold plague, which carried off nine hundred men in one winter from the command of General Cass, who had only twenty-five hundred men in his command. It was a strange disease, which the physicians did not understand. This, Mr. Karr savs, was told to him by his brother.

"Walter Karr had come to Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, in 1807. The village of Cincinnati then contained sixteen or seventeen hundred people. On their journey from jSTew Jersey the Karr family went first to Elizabethtown, between the Allegheny and Monongehela Rivers, and there built a ilatboat or '-Yankee sled." Mr. Karr's father and brother took the horses there and came through, but the rest of the family went down on the flat-boat. Some other parties on board had attached a keelboat for the convenience of cooking, and all on board went joyfully along to the new country. Xo incident of importance occurred before their arrival in Hamilton County. It was about that time that General Harrison was governor of Indiana territory. The general was a very kind-hearted man, and always willing to do a favor, but wanted it appreciated. Mr. Karr tells a story of General Harrison, which shows the eccentricity of the man. In 1834, when Mr. Karr was traveling, he went with his heavily loaded wagon past General Harrison's premises. The latter had previously changed the road across his premises, but as the fence was down Mr. Karr took the old road. General Harrison rushed out and said : " Stop ! turn about, go back." But a man, named Johnson, reasoned with the general, and asked the privilege of going ahead, when the general replied: "Yes, go ahead, but for God's sake keep off my meadow!" "Xow," said Mr. Karr, "if we had first asked the privilege of crossing his premises on the old road and given him a chance to do a favor, which would be appreciated, he would have said : 'Yes, gentlemen, for God's sake, go ahead." "

Mr. Karr clearly remembers the earthquake of 1811, which shook down Xew Madrid, and sank the lands of the river St. Francis in Arkansas. The shocks were clearly felt in Ohio, but no damage was done.

While coming down the Ohio, in June, 1815, Mr. Karr saw the first steamboat which came up from Xew Orleans to Pittsburg. It was called the Enterprise.

In February, 1834, Mr. Karr started for the West. He went by steamboat to Pekin, and from there came across by team to McLean County with Seth Baker, and arrived at the latter place March 11, 1834. On the day of his arrival the weather was so warm that he killed a snake, one of the jointed kind, which flew to pieces when struck. On the fourteenth of March, two men, Hopping and Torrence, gathered spring flowers, and the weather was indeed beautiful. But on the fourteenth of May a severe frost came and cut the buds on the trees, turned the leaves completely brown and froze a crust on the ground.

Mr. Karr tells some strange facts concerning" the sudden change in December, 1836, When this change in the weather occurred, Mr. John Wesley Karr wras milking cows, as an industrious farmer's boy should. He immediately started for home, a quarter of a mile distant, but on reaching it he became so cold that he could not speak.

Mr. Karr went to farming upon his arrival in the West, and succeeded fairly well, but suffered severely with the hard times from 1837 to 1842. The winter of 1842-3 was the longest of which he has any recollection. The snow came early, and, with the exception of a January thaw, remained until late in March. Mr. Karr did not learn of any plowing done that spring before the month of May. He sowed a patch of spring wheat that year on the fifth of May, and raised fifteen bushels to the acre. The winter wheat was all frozen out and had to be re-sown. But notwithstanding these discouraging circumstances, people in many instances raised during that year more than thirty bushels of wheat to the acre, and the crops were generally most excellent. During the spring previous, in 1842, he sowed wheat about the eighteenth or twentieth of March, and on the last of March it was green. He did not harvest it until August, and obtained from it two hundred bushels from six bushels of seed, or thirtythree and one-third bushels per acre. He hauled one load of it to Chicago in September, and sold it for sixty-three cents per bushel, and thought he made a very good trip. Mr. Karr has been a careful farmer.

Perhaps it may be a matter of interest to the reader to know something of the taxes which have been paid within the last thirty-five years. Mr. Karr gives his taxes as shown by his receipts, and in the list below the taxes after 1843 are all upon nearly the same land. Since 1856-7 he has paid taxes on four acres less ground than in 1845.

property. It will be seen that the average for the first seventeen years, beginning with 1839, was $12.89, and the average for the last seventeen years is $89.06. The reader mil note the sudden rise of taxes from 1862 to '63, when they nearly trebled on account of the war.

gray, though he is seventy-six years of age. His long, full beard is nearly white, and his eyes are very bright. Tins gives to him a venerable appearance. He complains that his memory is failing with age, but many persons would be glad to have one as good as his at present. He is a modest man and unassuming, but possessed of good judgment. Perhaps the most marked trait in his character is his love of truth and honest dealing. In giving some items of the days that are gone, he was very particular to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. Let us all do likewise.

The Rust Family

Mr. Rust was raised in North Carolina. On the 8th of January, 1811, he married Nancy McGee, and soon after moved to Middle Tennessee. During the latter part of the war of 1812, Mr. Rust became a soldier. He was sick during much of his time in the army, but was at the battle of New Orleans at the close of the war. He often described the fight, and said that the British came very close to the works before the Americans were allowed to fire. After the British General Packenham fell, the command devolved upon General Lambert, who was repulsed with frightful loss. At the close of the battle he asked permission to bury the dead, but General Jackson sent the British dead to them.

Sometime after the elose of the war, Mr. Rust emigrated to West Tennessee, where he lived a number of years. In 1829 he moved to Hamilton County, Illinois. Here he first made a halffaced camp in the timber, in which the family lived until they could build a log cabin. This was made of round logs, afterwards smoothed down on the inside. Mr. Rust improved a farm of thirty-five or forty acres, and built a large tobacco house. This was a log house sixty feet long and twenty feet wide, with an open space twenty feet wide through the middle, but covered with a roof. Wagon loads of tobacco were driven into this opening and unloaded on each side. The house held five tiers of tobacco.

In the fall of 1834, Mr. Rust came to McLean County. He stopped first with Jesse Funk, then went for a few days into an old school-house, until he could rent a farm of Samuel Stewart. At the end of two years he bought a piece of land for himself and improved a farm. It is now owned by William C. Xoble. He broke prairie, raised stock, and succeeded well. In the spring of 1847 he went to Lvtleville, and there ensra^ed in the milling business. He first had a mill driven by water, but by the failure of water he was compelled to use steam. He then had two partners, Wooster and Hougham. In about the year 1867, he sold out, and retired to a quiet life. He was constable and justice of the peace during the active years of his life.

Mr. Rust had nine children, five boys and four girls. James AV., John F., and George "W". Rust, live in Randolph township ; Martha Ann, wife of Wilson Lindlev, lives in Cowlev County, Kansas; William M., Harvey J., and Mary, wife of David Housrham, live in Randolph township ; Arnetta and Nancy Caroline Rust are both dead.

Mr. Rust was about five feet and ten inches in height in his prime. He was a good-looking man, was healthy and squareshouldered, and weighed one hundred and seventy-five pounds. His eyes were blue, and his hair was almost black. He was a very honest man, faithful in fulfilling his obligations, and had this reputation among all with whom he had occasion to deal. He died at Randolph's Grove, August 26, 1873, aged eighty-one vears six months and three days.

John Rust was born August 11, 1816, in Murray County, Middle Tennessee. In 1824, the family went to Monroe County, Mississippi, but after two years they went to Hardeman County, West Tennessee, and afterwards to Hickman County. In 1829, they came to Hamilton County, Illinois. During the winter of the deep snow, John Rust amused himself by hunting coons. In the winter season he often hunted muskrats and tore open their houses and killed them with hoes. He first knocked on the houses, and if any muskrats were within they would jump into the water and their plash could be heard.

Hamilton County to buy cattle. John Rust then hired out to Jesse Funk for six months, and was to receive fifty dollars as his wages. He started on his journey with the cattle to McLean County. He carried his extra clothes on his back. As they troubled him a good deal, he pulled off his trousers, stuffed his clothes into the legs, tied the bottoms, threw them over his shoulders and went on. The wages, which John Rust earned, were paid to his father, until the former was twenty-one years of age. For seven years, John Rust worked driving cattle, exposed to all kinds of weather. In January, 1836, he drove hogs to Chicago for Isaac Funk. A heavy snow came shortly after they started. At Wolf Grove they commenced dragging an elm log fastened to the rear axle of a wagon to break the way. The weather was desperately cold, and during one night about six inches of snow fell on them as they lay on the ground. At Sulphur Springs they found the road somewhat broken, and they abandoned their elm log. They found the rapids at the Kankakee partly frozen and partly open, and they were obliged to break the ice clear across. The hogs refused to go into the water until the drovers built parallel rail fences, and compelled the swine to follow down between them and go into the water. When the drivers came out of the water, their clothes were frozen on them in a few moments. They arrived at last at Chicago. It was Mr. Rust's first sight of the place, and he was much interested in Fort Dearborn, which was then standing. Mr. Rust received fifty cents per day for his work. On his return, he went with Gardner Randolph with a drove of swine to Galena. His greatest trouble on this trip was the crossing of Rock River at Dixon, which was attended with difficulty on account of the drifting ice. But the cold was very severe when he returned, and he was sick for some time with rheumatism brought on by exposure.

During the sudden change in December, 1836, Mr. Rush was hauling a load of cord wood from Sulphur Springs, where Mr. Hinshaw now lives, to Mr. Thompson's mill in Pone Hollow at Bloomington. When he arrived at the mill he had difficulty in unyoking the oxen, as the keys were frozen fast in the yoke. When he drove the oxen into the barn lot he found the chickens frozen into the slush. During this winter he worked for sixteen dollars per month, and his father drew his wages. But he worked after time and made extra wages, and with this money be bought his first good suit of clothes. These were the clothes which he afterwards wore at his wedding.

In January, 1838, Mr. Rush went with William and John Lindley with a drove of swine to Aurora. The cold was severe and a heavy snow was on the ground. One of the drovers, named Hiram Reilley, was about to freeze to death on his horse. The men pulled him off, rolled him in the snow, whipped and pounded him into life and took him to the house. During that night he burnt his boots to a crisp while trying to keep warm. He was discharged and sent home the next day. Many of the hogs had become injured or disabled and were placed in a wagon and drawn by oxen. But when they attempted to cross Long Point Creek, the oxen could not pull the wagon with its heavy load up the steep bank. Mr. Rust jumped into the water on that bitterly cold day, pulled out the end board, and the load of disabled swine was dumped into the creek. The wagon was pulled out, reloaded, and the party proceeded. While on their way to Chicago, they were subjected to severe changes of weather. It was first very cold, then warm and then cold again. The drove of swine swam across the Vermilion River, but crossed the Illinois and Fox Rivers, and Buck Creek above Ottawa on the ice. On Mr. Rust's return from Aurora, a winter thunderstorm set in, and he and his brother were obliged to swim Buck Creek. When they came out of the water, they wrung their socks, poured a pint of whisky into their boots and went on. Shortly afterwards it became so intensely cold that their clothes were frozen on them stiff. They stopped at the house of a man, named Clark, at Ottawa. When Mr. Rust pulled off his overcoat it stood up straight against the wall. From Ottawa they came home without further adventure.

Mr. Rust obtained a hundred and twenty acres of land in DeWitt County, as the result of much labor. On the 22d of October, 1840, he married Margaret Elizabeth Lindley, youngest child of John Xindley, sr. When Mr. Rust spoke of his marriage, in giving these items, Mrs. Rust said ; " What kind of a place do you think he took me to ? It was away off, where I did n't see a woman for three weeks, and we lived in a little cabin without any window, and the light Game down the chimm'lean county. 809 ney, and the wolves howled around us !" But Mrs. Rust enjoyed those early days, notwithstanding the rude surroundings. The family now live in Randolph's Grove, near where Mr. Rust, sr., first made a permanent settlement when he came to McLean County.

Mr. Rust is five feet and ten inches in height, weighs about two hundred and ten pounds, has a sanguine complexion, a bald head, and thin, sandy hair. He is muscular, has a great deal of courage, and the best of business qualifications. Perhaps his most marked characteristic is his fidelity, his faithfulness to his trust. Everything entrusted to his care has been well attended to, and everybody by whom he was employed had great confidence in him. He owns about nine hundred acres of land, has a great deal of stock, drives his business carefully and succeeds well.

William Marion Rust was born January 31, 1821, in Murray County, Middle Tennessee. He came with the family to Hamilton County, Illinois, and in the fall of 1834 to Randolph's Grove, McLean County. He was an active, industrious worker and gained a fair start in the early settlement of the county. He enjoyed the sports of the early days, particularly the great ring hunts. A great hunt was once organized, and a month or more was required for preparation. The pole was erected between Randolph's and Funk's Grove, and on it was a banner, which bore the words, "Wolves and Deer," in large letters. The affair came off to the satisfaction of all parties, and the sport was rare indeed. Sometimes these chases were a little dangerous. Mr. William Stewart was severely injured while with a large party after a wolf. His horse stumbled into a hole and fell, and he was so severely injured that his life was despaired of.

Mr. Rust is five feet nine inches and a half in height, and is in good health and spirits. He is a very fair, reliable man and understands well how to manage his business. He has an interesting family, and appears to lead a contented life. He looks back with pleasure to the sports of the early days, and says that nothing at the present time equals the chases on the prairie after the wolves and deer.

Harvey J. Rust was born January 6, 1823, in Murray County, Tennessee. He moved to various places with the family, and in 1829 came to Hamilton County, Illinois. Hamilton County was then a great place for game, deer, wolves, wildcats and elk. The elk were not numerous, but the deer and wolves were abundant. Many people there made their living by hunting. They put up blinds in the trees and built fires there for the purpose of attracting the deer. Such positions were safe, and the hunters were protected from the wolves. The fires were built on platforms of boards, covered with earth, and were about fifteen feet from the ground. In the night time the deer stared at the fires and were shot down. These fires were made near the salt licks. In the fall of the year the deer came into the fields or enclosures and ate the corn and turnips. They were particularly fond of the latter. Sometimes the deer would knock off the rail of a fence while jumping over, and they would always afterwards jump over at that place. The farmers' boys would take advantage of this and kill the deer by placing sharp stakes in the ground near the fence, so that the deer would jump over on them. Mr. Rust sometimes killed deer in this manner, though it seems to have been a very cruel way.

In the fall of 1834 the Rust family came to Randolph's Grove, Illinois, and here commenced farming. Thev first rented land and afterwards bought ground near where John F. Rust now lives. Harvey Rust worked at home until he was twenty-one years of age. Then he went with Isaac Funk and others to take a drove of hogs to Chicago. They went to Wolf Grove, thence to the Mazon, then on the Kankakee and from there to Chicago. The weather was very cold and many hogs froze to death. Mr. Rust earned his money during the early days by hard work. He broke prairie for various parties, for John Moore, Dr. Karr, Isaac Funk, the Stubblefields, Jesse W.m Fell, and many others. He received from $2.50 to $3.50 per acre. But when he broke prairie for Mr. Fell the times were so hard that he could get only $1.50 per acre, and took his pay in Illinois money, worth only forty cents on the dollar.

In 1850 Mr. Rust traded a horse for a land warrant, and entered eighty acres of land about two miles southwest of where Randolph Station now is. He then had only his land and a wife. He was none too quick in entering his land, for the charter for the Illinois Central Railroad was passed during the next year, and the land office was closed for a season. He worked very hard to get a start, and succeeded. In 1852 he built a house and moved into it, and on this land he has ever since made his home.

Mr. Rust was no hunter. He once was passing through the timber when his two dogs caught a lynx, and Mr. Rust pounded it to death with a club. It measured six feet from head to tail.

On the 24th of February, 1848, Mr. Rust married Miss Ruth E. Burroughs. She died in 1862. In 1863 Mr. Rust married Miss Elizabeth Hoover, a very pleasant lady.

Mr. Rust is of medium height, and not very heavy. His face is rather long in shape, and his head is somewhat bald. He is very entertaining in conversation, and it is a pleasure to listen to him. He is a very kind and hospitable man, and seems ready to accommodate his friends and neighbors. He has succeeded well in life, and is in easy circumstances.

Campbell "Wakefield was born February 11, 1804, in Crosby township, Hamilton County, Ohio. His father, whose name was Andrew Wakefield, was born May 5, 1705, in County Antrim, Ireland. His mother, whose maiden name was Margaret Campbell, was born December 16, 1772, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Her parents came from Ireland, though the name is Scotch. The Wakefields came originally from England : thev went to Ireland during the rebellion. When Mr. Andrew Wakefield was eighteen years of age. he came to the United States. He married, 1794, in Franklin County, and immediately went to Xelson County, Kentucky, where he had previously prepared a farm. The journey was made on pack horses. Mr. Wakefield's relatives were well acquainted with the Lincoln family in Kentucky, which produced one of the greatest of American presidents. Mr. Campbell Wakefield says he always admired Mr. Lincoln's social qualities, though he could not act with him politically. In 1803, Mr. Andrew Wakefield went to Crosby township, Hamilton County, Ohio, and lived there until his death, which occurred June 23, 1828. The new country was then infested with horse-thieves, and Mr. Wakefield, sr., was one of the leaders of a band of men who " weeded out,' the pests of society, and wounded and captured the leader, John Long. Campbell Wakefield received his common school education in Ohio. He remembers very little of the war» of 1812, and simply calls to mind that many soldiers went from Hamilton County, and that Hull's surrender at Detroit, caused a very profound sensation. He was never a great sportsman, but sometimes amused himself by hunting coons and opossums with dogs at night. The people there were accustomed to harvest all of their grain with a sickle. Whisky was a commonplace thing in the harvestfield. The people raised all their own flax, and the women dressed and spun it. Campbell Wakefield married, May 24, 1827, Margaret Elder, who was born December 19, 1803, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. They were married by the Rev. Thomas Thomas, in Whitewater township, Hamilton County, Ohio. They have one sou, John Elder Wakefield, who was born May 10, 1828, in Crosby township, Ohio. He is their only child.

In June, 1835, Mr. Wakefield came to McLean County, Illinois, and bought land, where he now lives, near Heyworth. He returned to Ohio and brought out his family in October of the same year. He came with one large ox-team and two horseteams. He immediately went to farming. He lived at first in a double cabin made of round logs with the bark still on. It was a rough dwelling, but it served his purpose for six years. He hauled his wheat to Chicago, took his own provisions with him, and received forty or fifty cents per bushel. There they bought their boots and shoes and leather and other necessaries. He remembers the celebrated sudden change in the weather of December, 1836, and says that the first blast which came from the west froze everything up solid and covered the earth with a coating of ice. He hunted deer on the ice, and as it was everywhere slippery he succeeded in catching them with dogs. Mr. Wakefield has had rare sport in killing deer and wolves, and has frequently participated in the general hunts towards a pole put up in some central locality. He has continued farming up to the present time, has entered some land and bought some, and continued adding to his original tract until he has obtained about fifteen hundred acres nearly all together. A part of it is now occupied by John Elder Wakefield, who lives a short distance west of his father's homestead.

Mr. Wakefield is of medium height and rather solidly built. His average weight is about one hundred and eighty-four pounds. His head is large and English in appearance. He has a large brain, and seems to be a man of most excellent judgment. The lines on his face indicate success and prosperity. He seems to be a very firm and decided man, and appears to be conscious of the fact, that in whatever he does or undertakes, he is backed up by the most correct judgment. He was commissioned justice of the peace, August 25, 1840, by Governor Thomas Carlin. He was re-elected, and commissioned by Thomas Ford, who succeeded Mr. Carlin as governor of Illinois. Mr. Wakefield had very little to do, as the people tried to deal fairly with each other and settle their differences without resorting to law. They had no use for locks on their doors. Mr. Wakefield served as commissioner appointed to divide several large landed estates, and this service he performed carefully and scrupulously. In politics he has been a Democrat. His first vote was cast in Ohio for Old Hickory, (the favorite title for General Jackson.) He has now a circular which was issued by the enemies of Jackson, with a view of influencing voters. It was called the " coffin circular." General Jackson was not a man to stand on trifles, and on one occasion hung two men, by the exercise of military power, when he thought a desperate occasion required it. This coffin circular was sent around for the purpose of striking horror into the minds of the people ; but it had quite a contrary effect. Mr. Wakefield is a man of liberality and public spirit. He owned the land on which the town of Heyworth stands. He made many appropriations for public purposes. He gave the land where the Presbyterian Church now stands, for the purpose of erecting a church thereon. He gave land for the district school of the town, also land to encourage the building of the steam-mill first put up by Caussin and Wilson, and afterwards by Mr. Dice F. Hall. He donated the undivided half of forty acres of land to induce the Illinois Central Railroad to locate the depot in Heyworth, where it now stands. He made other donations to encourage trade and induce business men to locate at Heyworth. This generous policy has had its effect in the growth of the town and the enterprise and thrift of the place. Mr. Wakefield pays a tribute of respect to his wife, and says that his success in life has been due in a great measure to her influence. He has been enabled to acquire some considerable property, and it is due to the prudence and wise counsels of his wife that he has saved it.

Dr. Thomas Karr was born on the twenty-third of April, 1793, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. His father, Captain John Karr, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His mother's maiden name was Mercy Lee, and both father and mother came from old English stock. His great-grandfather knew Philadelphia when it was but a whortleberry patch. Like nearly all of our old settlers, Thomas Karr sprang from a numerous family ; he had five brothers and four sisters. While Thomas was yet an infant his father moved to the township of Mansfield, Sussex County, New Jersey, east of the Delaware River. Here he received his early education in a district school kept in a little log school-house with only one window. Thomas was a precocious hoy in some respects : for whether or not he was very forward with his lessons, he certainly was well advanced in the favor of those troublesome creatures who plague the lives of school-boys - the girls ! When he was sixteen or seventeen years of age, he took quite a fancv to a young girl, and while dancing with her at noon around a bucket of water, they accidently upset it. The teacher took them to task for it, and Thomas insisted that he was to blame, and claimed that he should receive all the punishment; but the teacher punished them both. Thomas bore his own without any trouble, but he cried most bitterly when the pretty girl he fancied so much was punished too. Forty-five years after this little circumstance, he met an elderly lady, who recognized him, and reminded him of the incident - she was the pretty girl of his youth.

When he was about eighteen years of age, his father moved to Cincinnati Ohio, where he arrived on the last day of October, 1810. Cincinnati was then a very small place, and Thomas has frequently shot ducks in ponds, which were standing where Third street now is. In this new country Thomas was set at work. He hauled wood to market in the town, and made himself generally useful. After hauling wood two miles he could sell it for fifty cents per cord ! This occupation he followed during the winter of 1810-11. In the spring of 1811 the family moved up the Ohio River, ten miles from Cincinnati, where he remained nearly three years. It was in the fall of 1811 that Thomas Karr first saw a steamboat. It slowly moved up the Ohio River, about as fast as a boy 'could walk, and Mr. Karr could only express his astonishment by following it for three or four miles and throwing stones at it ! During the following year (1812) war was declared with England. During this war all men were enrolled, and those of the military age, were put on a muster-roll and were liable to draft. They were afterwards divided into classes and graded, and one class was exhausted before another was taken. Men did not volunteer, but were drafted. Dr. Karr was drafted twice, and once he volunteered for a special expedition. But he was not at any time in actual service, as the occasions for which the drafts were made passed without requiring troops.

whence it was taken away on flatboats. General Harrison, who lived there at the time, was a man about six feet in height, and rather slim built. His eve was very bright and expressive, and whoever once saw him never forgot him. He was the son-in-law of Judge Simins, the early proprietor of Hamilton County. The, land in this county was granted to Judge Simms by patent from the government in the year 1800 or thereabouts. The patent covered all the land from the mouth of the Big Miami River to the mouth of the Little Miami, and extended twelve miles into the interior, and was given on the condition that Judge Simms should cause a lar^e number of settlers to make their homes there.

In the year 1814, or about that time, the Karr family moved to Forth Bend in Whitewater township, where General Harrison lived. Here it was that Thomas was married ; but his lovely bride was not the pretty girl of his youth, in whose company he had been punished for upsetting the bucket of water. These little school boy romances are short lived. He married a charming young widow lady, named Elizabeth Kitchell. He has had a family of five children, but they are now all dead except one.

In 1833 Dr. Thomas Karr bought land at Randolph's Grove, McLean County, Illinois, at $1.25 per acre, and in 1835 he came on with his family to occupy it. He arrived on the last day of October, and had at the time neither rail nor clapboard. He lived for two weeks after his arrival with two other families, containing in all eighteen persons, in a room sixteen feet square. But at the end of two weeks he had built a log hut in the woods and occupied it immediately, and felt rich ! The family lived in this little cabin for about two years and a half, when Dr. Karr was enabled to build a frame house of more respectable appearance.

Dr. Karr was in the early days a Democrat, but when his old acquaintance, General Harrison, was a candidate for the presidency, Dr. Karr was obliged to split his ticket and give the general a vote. The political parties prepared for this campaign veiw early. Dr. Karr says that in January, 1840, the winter preceding the campaign, he saw a party of men in the timber viewing the trees. They were looking and pointing first at one large tree and then at another, and finally they selected one, out of which they made a canoe, which was an emblem of the Whig party. This canoe, as our old settlers will nearly all remember, was taken to the various "Whig gatherings during the following summer, and created quite a sensation.

Dr. Karr is about five feet and eight inches in height, is rather heavy set, and his face is red and full. He is now nearly eighty years of age, but no one would think him over sixty. He is pleasant, talkative, and, above all things, jolly. He enjoj-s the world very much, and although he has now obtained a great age, he will live yet many years.

Dr. Karr was twTice married. He first married, December 81, 1814, Elizabeth Kitchell, a widow, and had five children, of whom only one is living. They are :

Dr. Karr married Mrs. Martha Evans, of Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. Her maiden name was Martha Edwards. She was a sister of Dr. Karr's first wife. Mrs. Karr was born December 18, 1802, in Llambrynmire, Wales. She is a very kind lady, and loves to entertain her friends in English style.

Ohio and partly in Illinois. He was rather a precocious scholar and learned his lessons easily. In Ohio he went to a schoolmaster named Dow, who occasionally took his dram. Mr. Dow sometimes felt the effect of spirits in the schoolroom, and once in a while fell asleep. At one time when he went to sleep all of his scholars left the schoolroom and went home without shutting the school-house door. A flock of sheep, which was grazing near by, went into the school-house, and when the master awoke from his slumber he was astonished at the character and appearance of his pupils. This incident made the schoolmaster wiser, and he never again fell asleep in school. When William Karr was eight or nine years of age, he suffered extremely from rheumatism, but being anxious to continue his studies he was taken to school on a gentle horse, by his brother Jefferson. He studied while lying down on two chairs. In October, 1835, the Karr family came to Illinois, as stated in the preceding sketch of his father. At Randolph's Grove William Karr, when only twelve years of age, went to school to Mr. Evans, a good old man, for a few days ; but the schoolmaster said that William was too far advanced for him, and that ended his schooling with Mr. Evans. William Karr continued his education under other teachers, and made good progress. One of his old schoolmasters, Mr. Burrows, is still living at Young's place in Randolph's Grove.

William Karr married, December 24, 1844, Miss Mary Jane Elder, a daughter of David and Hannah Elder. She came from Whitewater township, Hamilton County, Ohio, where Mr. Karr was born. She came with her father's family to Randolph's Grove, October 13, 1842. On the day after their marriage, Elizabeth Karr, William's sister, was married to Captain Scoggin, of Blooming Grove. This was December 25th. On the 26th of the same month they were given a grand dinner by Squire Campbell Wakefield, who had married William Karr and Mary Jane Elder. Squire Wakefield is Mrs. William Karr's uncle.

William Karr is about five feet and nine and one-half inches in height, is a very active man, and has not been sick during the last twenty-five years. His hair is thick on his head, but turning slightly gray. His eyes are light gray, like his father's. His family and his father's live in the same house, and it would be hard to find in McLean County a family wmose familiar intercourse is marked by such consideration and delicacy of feeling. It is the lady who makes the household. It is said that a member of the Japanese government once called on the United States Minister, Mr. Delong, and, observing the fine taste displayed at the home of the American, inquired the reason. Mr. Delong said: "It is because a lady presides over the household." This, perhaps, goes far to explain the happy life and pleasant feeling in Mr. Karr's family.

George Martin was born January 13, 1802, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. His father, Joseph Martin, and his mother, whose maiden name was Nancy Thompson, were both born in County Down, Ireland, and emigrated to the United States at an early day. In 1802, when George was an infant, his parents moved from Pennsylvania to Mason County, Kentucky, and remained there until 1813, when they moved to Whitewater township, Hamilton County, Ohio. He does not remember much of the war of 1812. His brother went into the army as a volunteer. His father lived for a long time in a little log cabin in the woods, and George had a fine opportunity to study nature at his leisure. In 1830, he married Susannah Harvey. In the latter part of October, 1835, he came to McLean County, Illinois, with Campbell Wakefield. He has lived here ever since. He has usually followed farming, and rented land of Mr. Wakefield. He has lived a happy and contented life, has engaged in all the sports of the early settlers, and has been to every wolf and deer hunt in the neighborhood.

hair is gray with age. He is an honest, faithful, hard working man. He has a very pleasant, honest expression on his countenance, and no doubt observes the golden rule to do as he would be done by.