Mount Hope Township (part 1 of 3)

Mount Hope Township

George M. Stubblefield, son of Robert Stubblefield, was named after'a noted Methodist preacher in Ohio, named George Maley. George was born August 29, 1823, in Fayette County, Ohio. In December, 1824, the Stubblefield family came to Illinois, and George was carried in the arms of his mother, who rode on horseback. They settled in Funk's Grove, in what is now McLean County.

George Stubblefield remembers many things concerning the early settlement of the country, notwithstanding his 'extreme youth, when the family came to Illinois. He remembers the building of the first school-house in Funk's Grove, which was done by Robert Guthrie. Young George carried water for the men, while they were at work. The school-house was eighteen by twenty feet long, was made of logs hewed on one side, had a clapboard roof and a puncheon floor. On the north and west sides were windows which extended the whole length and width of the room. They were made by hewing off one-half of two logs, which joined each other. The lights were formed by placing sticks upright and putting over them paper greased with lard.

On the east side of the building was a fire-place, which was large enough to receive a log eight feet long. It was in this house, that George Stubblefield received what education he obtained. During the winter of the deep snow the teacher in this school-house, Andrew Biggs, was obliged to move up to it and live there. The Stubblefields lived about a mile from the school-house, and Mr. Stubblefield was obliged to go back and forth once a day until it stopped snowing, in order to keep the road broken. This old school-house has long since been torn down, and has gone with the old settlers, who built it. A fine church has been erected on the spot, and Funk's Grove Cemetery is near by.

When George Stubblefield became old enough to be "of some account," it was his business to goto mill. He was accustomed to go to Knapp's mill, near Waynesville. In 1836 he went with his father to Chicago with a load of sweet potatoes and a barrel of eggs. There he saw his uncle, Absalom Funk, who was so well known to the early settlers. Chicago then had no houses north of the river. The latter was simply a large muddy slough full of flags and bullrushes. The United States still kept a garrison at Fort Dearborn. The Indians were plenty, as during that fall a payment was to be made to them by the government. On the road to Chicago, George Stubblefield passed through Joliet, which then contained only two houses.

The sudden change in the weather in December, 1836, is often described. Mr. Stubblefield remembers another change, which seemed nearly as severe. In about the year 1848, as he and his brother Absalom and three others were going to Pekin with a drove of swine, the weather turned cold at about nine o'clock at night, after a rain or heavy mist. The next morning they crossed Mosquito Creek on the ice, which had frozen during the night. The prairie was a sheet of ice, and though they traveled with their swine from sunrise to sunset, their entire day's journey was only three miles.

At the early age of fifteen, George Stubblefield was quite a lady's man, and often went to see the girlish friend, who afterwards became Mrs. Stubblefield. The first deer he killed was within a few rods of her father's door. It will be noticed, that the young men in those days won the favor of women by manly exercises. He chased this deer with hounds, which brought it down near the door of the house of Samuel Murphy, and George killed it with his pocket-knife. George Stubblefield was a gallant young man, and was always moved by beauty in distress. He was once delighted at the opportunity of rescuing a lady, who had fallen from a log into Sugar Creek, into eight feet of water. This, however, cannot be made the subject of a romance, for he never married her, and never will.

The western country was never too new for peddlers, and Mr. Stubblefield remembers when they came round with their tinware, teapots and pewter spoons, which they traded for deer skins, wolf skins, and ginseng. He has spent many a day in digging ginseng, in order to purchase some little trinket.

The settlers from Funk's Grove often did their trading in - Springfield, and it was customary for them to do trading for their neighbors, and take their neighbors' produce to market. Mr. Stubblefield remembers a certain Mr. Alloway, who took some butter, which belonged to a neighbor, to Springfield to sell. The butter was rather old, and when the merchant, who was to buy it, tried it with his knife, the butter crumbled to pieces. Alloway looked on with astonishment, and exclaimed with his lisping tongue: "My God, Mither, that's not my butter !"

The old settlers were usually full of energy and nearly all things related of them show their industry and activity ; but Mr. Stubblefield relates an incident of David Stout, which shows quite a contrary disposition. The latter was once returning home from Springfield with a blanket wrapped around him and tied to his neck with a string. By some accident it fell to the ground. He did not stop to pick it up, but went home and sent back his son for it, a distance of several miles.

Mr. Stubblefield remembers a great many interesting incidents concerning the old settlers, and particularly those which were humorous. He tells one of his uncle, Isaac Funk, which shows the disposition of that energetic man quite plainly. When Mr. Isaac Funk went to call on Miss Cassandra Sharp, of Peoria, who afterwards became his wife, he was obliged to cross the Tlinois River in a boat. Several others were with him, and they determined to upset the boat and make him call on his lady in wet clothes. They knew he could not swim, but supposed he would cling to the boat.. Near the middle of the river the boat was capsized, but floated out of Isaac's reach. But he fortunately grasped a paddle, and whenever he went down, he struck the paddle on the bottom of the river and pressed himself near shore and at last came out in safety.

George Stubblefield tells an incident, which shows something of the Sieroter! of his father, old Robert Stubblefield. Two young men onee came to Robert Stubblefield's house and remained over night. They were not at all respectful, and in the morning Mrs. Stubblefield gave them some good advice, and a motherly lecture on the subject of good breeding. One of the young men, as he was leaving the house, disputed her word - told her she lied! Mr. Stubblefield, who was coming in, heard the remark. He stepped into a shed near by, picked up his horsewhip and caught the young men, as they mounted their horses in a lane, where they could not get out. He was left-handed, but he dusted their jackets fearfully, and almost split their coats from their backs. This whipping made up for what the young men failed to receive in their younger days. Several persons witnessed the performance, and a man, named Mulky, laughed so hard that he was obliged to hold himself up by the fence.

Among the funny stories told by Mr. Stubblefield is one relating to a widow, who lived at Funk's Grove. A doctor in Bloomington occasionally paid his respects to this charming widow, and called twice to see her on the important subject of matrimony. Shortly afterwards, one of her family was sick, and she sent for the doctor on professional services, and when he had given her child some medicine, she inquired his bill, and he said, "two dollars." "Wel," said the widow, "Dr. Wheeler, you have called on me twice and stayed two evenings, and your bill is two dollars; I guess we will call it settled!" Dr. Wheeler went back to Bloomington with a number of large fleas hopping around his ears.

The young men in the early days were "sometimes up to their capers." Mr. Stubblefield tells of two young men from near Waynesville, who were in the habit of coming to Funk's Grove to steal apples from Robert Funk, These young men wished

James Biggs and John Vesey to assist them, and the assistance was promised. But the latter gentlemen made arrangements with other parties to be in the orchard and fire when the apple thieves should come. In the night the party came and filled a couple of sacks with apples, and Biggs proposed to whistle up "Old Bobby," as they called Mr. Funk. When he whistled a gun was fired, and Biggs fell, saying: "Run for your lives!" The parties ran, leaving sacks and apples, and as they mounted their horses a second shot was fired, and Vesey fell, saying: "Run, boys, run!" The apple thieves obeyed the injunction. They stopped at the widow Brock's, about four miles distant, and reported Biggs and Vesey killed, but the latter appeared in good spirits the next morning- The young men from Waynesville neglected to call at "Old Bobby's" to get their sacks.

Mr. Stubblefield tells a good story on his brother Absalom. Absalom, John and George once went to bathe in the east fork of Sugar Creek. Absalom went in and was carried down by the current, to where the water was deep; and as he could not swim he floundered and plashed, until he reached the opposite shore. He came out puffing, and soon the troublesome question arose, how to return. He dared not go into the creek again, and it was amile or more to the nearest crossing. In the meantime the flies and mosquitoes swarmed around and almost covered him. He slapped them right and left, and in his anguish exclaimed : "I never will go into the water again until I learn to swim !"? He was obliged to walk a mile or more up the creek to the crossing, and then back to the place of bathing.

George Stubblefield is about five feet and ten inches in height, and weighs about two hundred and forty pounds. He is a great lover of fun, as this sketch clearly shows. He is very muscular, and has the magnanimity which such men frequently possess. He dislikes to see any one imposed upon or oppressed by persons of superior muscle. He has been very successful in life, and so far as property is concerned is very comfortably situated. He married, March 15, 1850, Eliza Jane Murphy, the daughter of Samuel Murphy. She was born in July, 1832, the year of the Black Hawk war. She is a lady of quick perception and a good deal of tact, and appreciates wit and humor quite as well as Mr. Stubblefield, They have six children, five boys and one girl. They are:

Jesse Stubblefield

Jesse Stubblefield, fourth son of Robert Stubblefield, was born July 30, 1825, at Funk's Grove. He received such an education as could be obtained by the son of a pioneer. His youth was not at all extraordinary, but was spent in life on a farm. In 1851, he began farming and stock raising on his own account on the farm where he now resides in the township of Mount Hope. His land, one hundred and sixty acres, was entered by him in 1851. In 1852, he received one hundred and sixty acres of land from Thomas Cuppy, his father-in-law. The last named gentleman had entered the land and paid for it with a warrant, obtained originally from a soldier who had served in the Mexican war. Mr. Stubblefield has continually added to his land, and now has about one thousand acres. -

Mr. Stubblefield has a lively recollection of the incidents of the early settlement of the country, and remembers particularly the sudden change of December, 1836, and how his father's pigs were frozen by the intense cold.

Mr. Stubblefield's first sight of Chicago was in 1845, when he and his father and Absalom and George, made a trip to the place. They camped out along the way in the primitive style, and their slumbers were soothed by the howling of wolves. They sold their wheat for thirty-seven and one-half cents per bushel and returned.

Mr. Stubblefield tells a few lively hunting stories, for he frequently indulged in the sport of catching wolves and deer. At one time, while hunting, a deer was brought to bay by the hounds, and Lamon Hougham, who came up with a party of others, attempted to kill the deer with a spear. But his horse became restive and threw him on the horns of the buck. He held fast to the antlers, and James Funk attempted to shoot it, but stopped for fear of killing men or dogs. At last, George Stubblefield ended the exciting contest by killing the deer with his pocket knife.

George and Adam Stubblefield once had an exciting wolf chase on the ice of the creek, and Adam succeeded in catching the wolf by the hind legs, but let it loose to see it fight the dogs. The result was another chase of half a mile, to get possession of the wolf.

Mr. Jesse Stubblefield did not begin to pay his addresses to the ladies as early as his brother George. Mr. Jesse Stubblefield married Miss Rebecca Cuppy, August 14, 1851. By this marriage he had five children, of whom four are living. They are:

Thomas, Robert, John C. and Sarah Rebecca, and all live at home. Mrs. Stubblefield died March 25, 1862. She was a most excellent wife and mother.

On the seventh of September, 1863, Mr. Stubblefield married Mary C. Showdy, daughter of George W. Showdy, deceased, of Logan County. She isa most amiable and accomplished lady, very kind in her manner and entertaining in her conversation. By this marriage Mr. Stubblefield has had six children, of whom five are living. They are:

_ Mr. Stubblefield is six feet and two and a-half inches in height and weighs two hundred and twenty pounds. His hair was formerly brown, but now is becoming gray. His eyes are gray and have a pleasant, humorous expression. He is a first class business man, which appears to be a characteristic of the Stubblefield family. He isa man of public spirit and was twice commissioner of highways of Mt. Hope township. He takes an interest in education, and for twelve years has been & school director. He has met with great success as a stock raiser.

William Hieronymus

William Hieronymus was born February 13, 1788, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. His parents were of English and Dutch descent. He was raised on a farm and led a farmer's life. When he was a young man; he and his father went to Madison County, Kentucky, to look at the country, and were so well pleased with it, that William remained to raise a crop, while his father returned for the family, which came out in the fall. William Hieronymus married, August 14, 1811,

Alvira Darnell, probably in Madison County. During the war of 1812, he was drafted, but the situation of his family made it impossible for him to leave, so he hired a substitute. He followed boat-building for a while, as business of building flatboats was one which grew with the growth of commerce. He was a skillful workman with a broadaxe, and could handle it to perfection. In the year 1818, he went to Boone County, Missouri, and settled on the Missouri River. The place is now washed away and forms the channel of the stream. He lived three years in Missouri, then went back to Kentucky to his old home, then, after a few years, went to the Big Bone Lick. This lick isa deep lake of mud and water, the water being very shallow. The mud has apparently no bottom. The animals, which in former years went there to drink, sank down and died. Their bones are so numerous that the place is called the Big Bone Lick. The bones of many curious animals have been found there; and particularly curious were the bones of the large mammoth, which was placed in Barnum's museum. Enoch Hieronymus has seen a bone from this lake, large enough for nine men to sit on. The water of the lake was impregnated with sulphur, and people from the surrounding country came there to drink it for their health. In the fall of 1828, William Hieronymus started for Illinois. His family moved with several other families, numbering in all forty-two persons. The oldest man in the company was George Henline, whose sons John, George, Henry, William and David, all had families. They camped the last night of their journey in Blooming Grove, at what is now called the Nathan Low farm, then owned by a Mr. Latta, and the next day went to Hittle's Grove in Tazewell County, where they made arrangements for locations. Old George Henline and Henry and David remained at Hittle's Grove; but John, George, jr. and William, settled on the head waters of the Mackinaw, where they made a permanent location. William Hieronymus went from Hittle's Grove to Hieronymus Grove, in October, 1828, and there threw up a half faced camp. During the winter, he built a small cabin, in which he lived for some years. In the following spring he opened up a small farm, which was carried on by his sons, while he made looms, barrels, stocks of ploughs, etc. He was very skillful in the use of tools. He worked at

"William Hieronymus was a tall man, standing six feet and two and one-half inches. His bones were large and his features prominent. Hieronymus Grove received its name from him. He had nine children, of whom only three are living. They are:

Enoch Hieronymus was born March 7, 1816, in Madison County, Kentucky. He accompanied the family wherever it went, as stated in the preceding sketch of his father. In his younger days he worked a great deal in the tobacco patch, but acquired a distaste for tobacco and never used it. He thinks young men should all have an opportunity to work in a tobacco patch.

In the fall of 1828, the family came to Ilinois. Here Enoch worked hard; never N he was fond of hunting. He hunted deer and keys , and framed mink and otter. He once came close to a panther while hunting, but did not succeed in killing it. He was watching a deer lick, and heard a deer come plashing through the water, and while watching for it, a panther came up on its trail. The panther stopped within two or three rods of Enoch and sat down. He attempted to shoot it, but the flintlock flashed in the pan, and as he had no more powder in the horn, he stood still, and man and beast watched each other intently. The panther was motionless, except a gentle waving of its tail. Enoch called for his dog, and the moment the bull-dog came in sight, the panther fled. Enoch went home for powder, and wished to hunt the panther, but his bull-dog, which never had flinched before, could not be induced to take the lead. Enoch was then only fourteen or fifteen years of age.

During the winter of the deep snow the: Hieronymus family pounded corn, of course, as it was exceedingly difficult to go to mill, and when they did go, they were obliged to travel on hee 56- back. He made snow-shoes that winter out of boards ten inches square, which were lashed to his feet, and with these he could chase the deer. He could travel over the snow with them very well, though sometimes they would go down with him.

The settlers went to Bloomington for doctors. Enoch Hieronymus once went to Bloomington during the night, for a doctor, and returned the same night.

Enoch was a great rail splitter, and made six thousand four hundred and twenty rails in one lot. He commenced between Christmas and New Years, and worked until the middle of March. During the winter and spring of 1838-9, he made and hauled . rails enough to enclose fifty acres of land.

He married, August 22, 1839, Elizabeth A. Thompson, who was born April 14, 1819, in Dixon County, Tennessee. Her parents came to Illinois in 1829, and lived six months in Sangamon County; then they moved to the Forks of the Creek settlement, in what is now Logan County. There Elizabeth lived until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Hieronymus have never had any children of their own, but raised the orphan children of James Hieronymus, who died in 1848. The wife of James died a few months before her husband. Enoch and his wife took to their house one girl, two boys, and one infant child. Another infant child, twin to the first, was raised by the sister of Mrs. Hieronymus. The infant taken by Mrs. Hieronymus soon died. The two boys and the girl have grown up, and are happily married and settled in life. They are:

Both Benjamin and Thomas served about three years in the army. They enlisted under Captain Kinsey, and served in Company E, One Hundred and Seventeenth Ilinois.

Mr. and Mrs. Hieronymus thought as much of these children as their own parents could, and now are anxious for their welfare and proud of their success.

Mr. Hieronymus has done some hard work. He and his wife, after their marriage, determined "to buy first what they needed worst, and only what they could, and afterwards what they would." They lived seven years in a log cabin, which Enoch Hieronymus built. The material for their present substantial house was brought from many quarters. Mr. Hieronymus cut some of the timber and hauled it to be sawed. He hauled the rest of the lumber from Chicago.

Mr. Hieronymus has done very well in worldly matters. He has had about a thousand acres of land, and has now about four hundred and sixty acres. In 1869 he built a Christian Church at Hieronymus Grove, and it is called the Hieronymus Grove Church. He is about five feet and nine inches in height, and is rather slim. The lines on his face would indicate decision of character and kindness of heart. He is perfectly straightforward in his dealings, and is remarkable for his peculiar tenderness of feeling. In this respect his wife is very much like him.

John Hougham was born November 19, 1810, in Highland County, Ohio. His father's name was Runyon Hougham, and his mother's name before her marriage was Sarah Lamon. His father was of English descent, and his mother of Dutch. John Hougham never cut up many capers in Ohio, but was always a moral young man. He came with the family to the State of Mlinois, to Funk's Grove, McLean County, in the fall of 1831. They had a hard time coming through the sloughs, and were once two days in going ten miles. They were sometimes water-bound, and were obliged to make bridges, When they came to the Wabash prairie they found the sloughs without bottom. When he arrived here, he worked on his father's farm. He has never traveled much, and has had very few adventures. He intended to see a great deal of the world, before he settled down, but failed to carry out this resolution. He remembers the sudden change of weather in December, 1836, and says it was the "avwfullest, quickest change he ever saw." He was then out hunting turkeys, but came home suddenly. He never hunted much, except after turkeys, and he "reckons he has killed right smart of them."

Mr. Hougham is not much of a traveler, though he once drove hogs to Galena. But he- said it hurt his feet terribly, and that "if God would forgive him for going that time, he would never go again."

In the year 1840, Mr. Hougham found the woman of his choice. He married Miss Eliza Ann Brock, on the 4th of April of that year. She is yet living. He says he was only married once, that was enough for him; it was necessary to have some woman to take care of him.

In politics, Mr. Hougham is an old time Democrat. In answer to the question as to how he came to be a Democrat, he said that his father was a Democrat and all the family likewise, and that he came to be a Democrat as a matter of course. He voted first for General Jackson, and continued to vote for him three times, and has ever since voted for Jackson's friends. He says he never pulled wires in his life, or wrote a political document, or made a stump speech. He does not approve of stump speaking, and will not patronize it, as he thinks it does more injury than good. His opinion of Petroleum V. Nasby is, that the latter has done more harm than good to the Democratic party. He thinks the Chicago Times is the best paper printed, and the only objection to it is its fine type. He now takes the Bloomington Democrat, because it costs $1.50 per annum, and he wishes to patronize '"' home consumption." Mr. Hougham did not vote for Horace Greeley during the last campaign, though he considered Greeley a very smart man. But his objection was, that the latter brought on the war of the rebellion. He was the disturbing cause and responsible for it, though the South did not do altogether right. It was Mr. Hougham's opinion, after considering the matter carefully, that Greeley was nominated for the purpose of "running in Grant," so he determined to vote for " nary a one of 'em." .

In personal appearance Mr. Hougham is six feet and one inch in height, and weighs two hundred and fifty-six pounds. He very much resembles Horace Greeley, though the latter did not have the winning smile which Mr. Hougham's countenance wears, and an acute observer might detect' several points of difference in their intellectual development. Mr. Hougham is a kind man, and a pleasant neighbor. He is anxious that his name shall be spelled correctly, and is annoyed to think that a " heap of people spell it Huffam."'

The author would have been glad to have written a sketch of Lamon Hougham also, but the latter refused to give any items of his life, as he " did not wish to encourage speculation in books."

Westley Hougham, the brother of John Hougham, was born March 3, 1820,in Highland County, Ohio. He was always a moral boy, and never cut up capers or shines. He came to Funk's Grove in November, 1831. He had no particular adventure on the way, except difficulties with the mud, which delayed the family for some time, as they were obliged to make a great many bridges. On his arrival he immediately commenced farming and shaking with the fever and ague. Sometimes he farmed for his mother and sometimes for himself. When he became a "chunk of a boy" he ran wolves and deer and turkeys, and sometimes was successful in catching them and sometimes they won the race. When the sudden change in the weather in December, 1836, came, he was chasing turkeys about four miles from home, but made good time back, as may be supposed. He was obliged to swim Sugar Creek.

He married, September 5, 1845, Miss Ellen Smith, and by this marriage has had four children, of whom three are living, His wife died in 1854. He married, February 18, 1857, Kfar garet Ross, and by this marriage has had four children, of whom three are living. Two of Mr. Hougham's children are married They are: ` l at Springfield, when he went to see if he would do for a soldier. He weighs three or four hundred pounds, he does not know precisely which. He is stout and pretty active.

John Longworth

John Longworth was born September 2, 1809, in Marietta, Washington County, Ohio. His father's name was Robert Longworth, and his mother's name before her marriage was Nancy Reilly. Robert Longworth was of English descent and his wife Nancy was of English and Irish. Her father died a soldier in the Continental army, when she was only a child.

When John Longworth was three years of age, his parents moved to Muskingum County, Ohio. He was not old enough _ to remember anything of the war of 1812. He only recollects hearing of a young woman who was captured by Indians, When they were about to kill her, she called on the Great Spirit, by the name which the Indians knew it, and this so astonished them and so awakened their superstition that they released her. During the war of 1812, Robert Longworth was stationed on the river, and it was his duty to hail all boats that passed, especially all that came down. He stayed about seven years in Muskingum County, and there worked very hard, and made money enough to enter one hundred and sixty acres of land in Morgan County, to which place he moved.

John Longworth grew to manhood in Ohio, and received there the common school education, which the country afforded. When he was old enough to be of service, as a workman, he went to the Muskingum River and there engaged in the salt business, and sent the salt up and down the river in flatboats.

In March, 1832, the Muskingum River was very high, and inundated everything along its banks, Houses and fences were floated off. At one time during this flood, two men found floating down the Ohio River, a cradle with a baby in it. They had considerable strife to decide who should have this little Moses from the bullrushes.

In the spring of 1836 he came to Johnson's Grove, McLean County, Illinois. He came by steamboat to Pekin and across by team to Johnson's Grove in the present township of Mt. Hope.

Robert Longworth, the father of John, had come out the year before, had bought a hundred and sixty acres of land, which Johnson had entered, and the latter's claim on eighty acres of timber. When John Longworth came, he made a claim on one hundred and sixty acres of land, and- settled on eighty acres more.

In December, 1836, a company came on from the east, and entered eight thousand acres of land, very nearly in the shape of a square; and as the company had twenty-five shares, this left three hundred and twenty acres of land apiece. They also entered other land and gave the earliest settlers each a premium of forty acres, This land comprised the greater part of the township of Mt. Hope. This land was surveyed in the summer of 1837. Mr. Longworth assisted in the survey. They tried to find the corners, which had been laid out by the governmental survey. These were marked by stakes, holes and pits of charcoal. On the up-land, these corners could usually be found, but on the low-land they were sometimes wanting. This Mt. Hope company entered the land which Mr. Longworth claimed. It was the custom among the settlers never to enter a piece of land on which one of them had made a settlement, but the company entered all of its land together, and knew nothing of Mr. Longworth's settlement. But he succeeded in making terms with the company, by paying about what it cost to enter and survey the land.

In December, 1836, the sudden change in the weather occurred. Mr. Longworth was then at his father's house, about a quarter of a mile distant, and when the windstorm came, he went home, and was sheltered by timber on the way, but thought he did well to get to his house. His brother had been riding that afternoon and was wet by the rain. When the sudden change occurred his boots were frozen into his stirrups, and when he arrived at his father-in-law's house, the stirrups were knocked loose before he could dismount. All of Mr. Longworth's chickens were frozen to death, except one tough old rooster. Much of his stock was frozen, He saw one cow, which seemed to have been frozen as she stood in her tracks, This terrible change seemed to frighten all animals, and take away their other being overcome by their greater fear of the elements around them. A man named Houser had just come to the country with horses, cattle, sheep, and other stock, and they all huddled together in a log stable, and the next morning were covered SA a white frost, Sis was the frozen moisture of their breath.

Mr. Longworth has experienced Wea: all of the hardships to which the early settlers were subjected. He broke prairie and raised sod corn for the first crop. The corn was dropped just ahead of the plough as the sod was turned over. The dropper rode on the plough. The corn was planted in every third furrow.

Mr. Longworth has raised a family of intelligent, happy children, three sons and three daughters. They are full of humor and pleasant, practical jokes. They are:

David Newton Longworth (called Newt!) and Albert Longworth, live at home, though both have farms. Newton is connected with the drug store in McLean, which is carried on by Longworth & Palmer.

Mr. Longworth lacks one inch of being six feet in height. He is a man of very good humor, appears to be very fair-minded, and has the perfect confidence of the community where he resides. He has been school treasurer, and has assessed the township more than all of the other assessors put together. He has been elected constable, and re-elected against his will, and at last refused to qualify.

Old Town

Lewis Case was born, February 27, 1809, in Ontario County, New York. His father's name was Abner Case, and his mother's name before her marriage was Olive Rolland. Both were full blooded Connecticut Yankees. Abner Case was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was aprivate and served under Generals Scott and Harrison. He saw the burning of Buffalo, the blowing up of Fort Erie, and was at the battle of Lundy's Lane. During the latter fight he was stationed in an orchard. During his service under General Harrison he was slightly wounded, having three fingers of his left hand shot off. Mr. Case drew a pension until his death, which occurred January 6,1854. His wife died on the day following, and both were buried in the same grave in Wisconsin, near Madison.

Lewis Case lived in Ontario County until he was sixteen years of age. There he received his education, which was that of the common school. The scholars in that section of country complied with the custom of those days, which was to bar out the schoolmaster on Christmas day. At one time they barred out the master and the contest lasted three days. They fortified themselves in the schoolhouse and stood the siege. The people near by gave the scholars plenty to eat, lots of cake and cider and fuel to burn in the fireplace. The schoolmaster tried to smoke them out by covering the chimney, and for a while it seemed that he would succeed ; but the scholars put dut the fire by pouring on cider, and stopped the smoke. After three days the contest ended in breaking up the school.

In the year 1824, the family moved to Huron County, Ohio. They lived in the woods among the large timber wolves, which were very plenty. At one time a timber wolf was caught by the fore leg in a trap, and the dogs were collected from all over the country to fight it, but it whipped them all.

In July, 1833, Lewis Case came with his wife and child to McLean County, Ilinois, and settled on Kickapoo Creek, on the north side of Old Town timber. When they first came, they went to Bloomington, and the first man to welcome them and give them their dinner was General Gridley, who then boarded at James Allin's. During the following winter, the families of Lewis Case, Abner Case, Charles Lewis and Thaddeus Case, fifteen persons in all, wintered in a little house fourteen feet square. Their household goods were put up around the sides of the room on pins. They had two bedsteads and two trundle beds. A part of the folks were obliged to retire at night before the remainder could make their beds on the floor. During that winter Mr. Case cut, split and hauled logs for a house. In the spring the house was built, and in April they moved into it. It was a small cabin, but Mrs. Case had room in it for a spinning wheel and a loom. She spun and wove the clothing for the family, and when her girls were large enough they also were taught to spin and weave. She made linsey, jeans and linen, and the family lived happily in the rude cabin with their homespun attire. For three years they remained in the little cabin and then moved to where they now live.

For thirteen years, the house of Mr. Case was used as a preaching place by the Methodists. This was the first denomination here. After a while the Cumberland Presbyterians came in and joined with the Methodists and built the Union Church. But the old church having served its time, the Methodists built a new one called the Hopewell Church. The old building was sold for eighty dollars in money, which was divided between the two denominations that built it. George Gar now uses the old church for a barn. The people seemed to enjoy themselves very well at the meetings held at private houses. The congregation often filled the house, and sometimes the bedding and furniture were carried out to make room.

The early settlers were always anxious to have their children educated, and were willing to make all sacrifices. School was kept during one summer in Mr. Case's barn. Mrs. Case was careful to see that her children attended punctually and regularly, and says that one of her children missed only two or three days in the year.

Mrs. Case was an industrious woman, She made clothes tor people and took her pay in work. She made coats for the men, and they in return made hay or ploughed for Mr. Case. She made a coat for Senator John Cusey, and he made hay fora

On the 13th of October, 1831, Mr. Case married Sarah Hendryx, in Huron County, Ohio. He has had five children, ot whom four are living. They are:

Mr. Case is five feet and nine or ten inches in height. His head is partially bald, and his nose is Roman. He is a worthy man and thinks much of his family and friends. He is hospitable and kind to all. He has succeeded well and has accumulated enough property to make him comfortable; but his industrious habits cling to him, and he continues to carry on his farm as in the days of the early settlement.

Harvey Bishop, eldest son of William Bishop, was born August 2, 1821, in Virginia. In the year 1833 the Bishop family came to Illinois. William Bishop wished to obtain land for his children, and it cost too much in Ohio.

Mr. Bishop obtained his education in a log school house during the winters, as all the pioneer children did. The school teachers in those days were severe; and Mr. Bishop remembers an instance where the courts interfered, and a teacher 'vas fined for the severity and brutality of his punishment. He went to school for one winter to John Magoun in Old Town and found him a most excellent teacher. He never punished his scholars, and they all liked him, and he had great success. It was then very evident that Mr. Magoun would remain an old bachelor, as he did not pay his addresses to the ladies of Old Town. He was a very conscientious teacher, and his scholars had confidence in him.

Mr. Bishop was never a hunter, and only killed one deer in his life. This was when he was sixteen or seventeen years of age. A light snow had fallen on the ground, and he asked his father for his gun to go hunting. The old gentleman allowed Harvey Bishop to take the gun, and promised him a dollar for every deer he killed. Harvey Bishop succeeded in killing one, and received his money. He frequently hunted wolves, and ran them down or caught them in traps. Mr. Bishop entered a part of the land where he now lives in Old Town, and a part was given him by his father. He entered one hundred and seventy acres of prairie and forty acres of timber, and he has been very successful in its management.

On the 25th of February, 1850, he married Mrs. Mary Ann Depew, a widow, who died November 26, 1856. One child, born of this marriage, is now dead. On the first of January, 1861, Mr. Bishop married Miss Mary Ann Hart, of Old Town. Their only child, William Henry Bishop, lives at home.

Mr. Bishop is five feet and eight inches in height, is rather spare in build, has blue eyes, uses spectacles occasionally, has hair light colored and rather thin. He is good-natured and very kind in his manner. He has served in various positions in the township. He has always been very independent in his political affiliations and has usually voted for the best men, regardless of party. He does not belong to any church, but is a man of integrity and correct principle. Mrs. Bishop takes a great deal of pride in her husband, and she is in every respect worthy of him.

Frederick Rives Cowden

Frederick R. Cowden was born November 30, 1811, in Allen County, Kentucky. His father's name was James Cowden, and his mother's name before her marriage was Lucy Rives. He is partly of Irish descent. He was raised on a farm and worked in a tobacco field, but had no particular adventure. When he þecame twenty years of age he went to Warren County, Kentucky. There he became acquainted with Mr. John Price, whose sketch appears in this volume. They often hunted together, and killed a great deal of game. They frequently shot at game, both at once, and tramped on each other's toes to know when to pull the trigger. If only one shot took effect it was supposed that Price had missed !

In the fall of 1833 Mr. Cowden came to Greene County, Ilinois, where he lived until 1834, when he came to McLean County. He started with Elias Wall and James B. Price, but left them at Ranellville, Kentucky. After traveling two days, he met two of his cousins going to Illinois, and he went in company with them. When he arrived in Mec County, he went to work sawing lumber with a whip saw. This lumber, sawed by hand, was sold to John Rhodes for two dollars per hundred, and is now a part of his barn. Mr. Cowden sawed finishing lumber of white walnut for parties in Bloomington, and also for the first hotel at Mt. Pleasant (Farmer City). He hunted occasionally with John Price, and killed a great many deer and turkeys. Mr. Cowden tells some jokes on J ohn Price, which caused great amusement. Price was a good hunter, but in some unexplained reason he, at times, could scarcely kill anything. Mr. Cowden says that Brie' once shot some thirty times in one day at deer without hitting a single one. The latter complained of a flaw in the gun, but Mr. Cowden killed three deer in one day with it, and said that the 'flaw was now gone. Mr. Price could kill game afterwards. Mr. Cowden says that Price was very cautious about approaching a wounded deer, and once killed a buck, which ran into a clump of brush and died; but. as Mr. Price had some suspicion as to whether the buck was really dead, he rode around the thicket and fired at it seven or eight times! Mr. Cowden once wounded a deer, but would not shoot again, for fear of being laughed at, and grappled it. The struggle which followed was so severe that Cowden wished he had given the deer another shot.

Mr. Cowden has a lively recollection of the sudden change in the weather in December, 1836, and says that at the time when the ice suddenly formed on the Kickapoo, three travelers came along and attempted to cross, but one of them lost his horse under the ice, as the creek was very high 'and the water flowed

Mr. Cowden is about six feet in height, is rather solidly built, has blue eyes, and hair and whiskers perfectly white. His head is becoming a little bald. In his younger days he was very strong, and a good hunter. He is a man of good business qualifications. He is rather humorous, and particularly enjoys a good joke on his respected father-in-law, John Price. Mr. Cowden was for two years supervisor. He has been in poor health for some time, and thinks this is due to the exposure and fatigue which he endured in his younger days. -While hunting he seldom stopped for any obstacle, but waded or swam creeks and bore every form of hardship, and now he thinks he is paying the penalty.

William Evans, jr., son of William Evans, sen., whose sketch appears in this volume, was born June 3, 1815, in Huron County, Ohio. In the year 1825, the family started for Illinois, intending to make a settlement on the Ilinois River. But when they arrived at Keg Grove (now Blooming Grove) they thought the country so fine that they settled there. They made their settlement about four miles south of Bloomington, where the Orendorffs had built their cabins. Nothing of unusual importance oceurred until 1827, when a storm came through Blooming Grove, tearing down the timber and scattering the trunks and limbs in every direction. Just after this storm Cheney Thomas wished to sell a claim to Mr. Evans, sen., where Bloomington now stands, for a hundred bushels of corn. But it so happened that the corn which Mr. Evans, sen., had planted, was covered up by broken limbs of trees, and was thought to be ruined. He therefore hesitated about making the bargain. But William Orendorff, who was standing near, said: "Take it, Evans, if you haven't enough corn, I have." Mr. Evans made the bargain, and in order to help him fulfill it, Mr. Orendorff gave Evans five acres of gr owing corn. The claim now forms a part of Bloomington, and is worth a large amount of money. Mr. Evans, jr., says: '"William Or LIR was one of the best men that ever lived on the green earth." About nineteen days after the storm, William Evans, jr., James Orendorff, and others, found a hog which had been pinned to the ground by limbs of trees. They cut it loose and drew the exhausted animal home ona sledge. It recovered, and showed its gratitude to its deliverers by making a fine porker.

The Evans family were obliged to go for many years to mill to Attica, on the Wabash, one hundred and twenty miles distant. Afterwards they went to Fox River, eighty miles distant. They frequently went to mill at Peoria and Pekin. Orendorff's mill was put up some time afterwards, on Sugar Creek, about twentyfive miles distant. They could get a little corn cracked nearer home, but not well done. During the winter of the deep snow they aan corn in a coffee- rill, and sometimes pounded it. Dota the snow became packed, hey went four miles to Bailey Harbert's mill, breaking the road both going and returning, for the drifting snow soon filled up their tracks.

William Evans, jr., and his brother, took great pleasure in catching wolves. During one winter they trapped forty-five of these troublesome pests. ~

The education of William Evans, jr., was attended to as well as possible in the West. He went to school to old Billy Hodge, and says that this gentleman was a very good teacher, though a little severe with the scholars.

On the 8th of April, 1836, Mr. Evans married Mary Jane Murphy, daughter of Thomas Murphy. He has a ten children, of whom seven are living. They are:

William Evans stands six feet high in his stockings, has gray hair and whiskers, and clear gray eyes, with an honest expression in them. His voice is firm and clear, with an honest ring to it. He is very accommodating, and left his business, which was somewhat urgent, for the,purpose of giving information for this work- He is one of the most reliable of men, and loves humor, of course, as the genuine old settlers do.

P Daniel Jackson

Daniel Jackson was born in Fauquier County, Virginia, January 16, 1808. His parents were not in good circumstances, and his opportunities for obtaining an education were limited. His time was required for work to assist in supporting the family. When he was twenty years of age he came to Champaign County, Ohio. There he worked for two years, for eight dollars per month. He came to McLéan County, Illinois, in October, 1830. He made a claim of one hundred and sixty acres of land in the present township of Empire, in the present county of McLean. During the winter of the deep snow he lived with John W. Dawson. They pounded their corn as the settlers all did, and . sometimes parched it, by way of a change, until the snow was gone and the roads were clear. Mr. Jackson built a cabin on his claim, and soon broke ground. With a little help he attended to fifty acres of corn. His grinding was done at Baker's horse-mill, at Blooming Grove, and at Cunningham's mill, at Cheney's Grove. He volunteered, during the Black Hawk war, but was sent back to his home, as he was not needed.

On the 12th of February, 1832, he married Margaret Walden, of Springfield. They worked carefully and well, and succeeded in their labor. Mr. Jackson hauled all his grain to Chicago, returning with groceries and lumber. He dealt a good deal in cattle, always keeping a drove on hand. Chicago was his market for cattle until the railroads were built, bringing the market to his door. He acquired, by his care and industry, five hundred acres of land. He did not take much interest in political mat- ters, but was, for some years, supervisor of highways. He was a good citizen, and was one of those who worked hard for the development of the county of McLean. He died March 20, 1861.

Jeremiah Greenman

Jeremiah Greenman was born August 8, 1794, in Providence, Rhode Island. He was of Welch descent. His father, Jeremiah Greenman, sr., served in the Revolutionary war for eight years, and during that time kept a journal of his life, and his sufferings and adventures. The mother of Jeremiah Greenman was Mary Eddy, who was born and raised in Providence. When Jeremiah Greenman was twelve years of age, the family moved to Washington County, Ohio. This course was taken at the earnest solicitation of Mrs. Greenman, who did not wish her children brought up to a seafaring life, as their father had been. The parents of Jeremiah Greenman were not members of any church, but were remarkable for their integrity and correct principle. His father drew a pension for his services insthe Revolutionary war, until the day of his death. The son, Jeremiah, of whom this sketch is written, received a fair education. He married Letitia McCoy, November 26, 1818. She was born in Washington County, Ohio. )

On the first of June, 1830, the Greenman family started for the West. They floated down the Ohio River in a family boat, until they came to its mouth. From there they came to Pekin, by steamboat. From there they came by ox-team to where Waynesville now is. There they spent the winter of the great deep snow, but were not subjected to as many privations as many others, for they lived near a mill where their corn could be easily ground. In the fall of 1831, they came to Old Town timber, to John W. Dawson's place, and in the following spring came to the place where they now live, in the present township of Padua. He entered two hundred and twenty acres of land, engaged in farming and stock-raising, and was quite successful. His health was

Mr. Greenmatt had nine children, of whom eight lived to be grown. Thomas MeCoy Greenman and Sarah Ada, wife of William Moran, are dead; Emaline, wife of Alvah B. Dimon, lives at Thompsonville, Marion County, Iowa; Henry Clay Greenman served in the Ninety-fourth Illinois Volunteers, and was killed at the battle of Prairie Grove ; George Washington Greenman lives in Dixon, Kansas; Sarah Jane, wife of Solomon Gregg, lives in the southern part of Old Town; Jeremiah Greenman, jr., lives at the homestead with his mother. He servedin the army during the rebellion, being fourteen months in the Eighth Illinois and twelve months in the One Hundred and Fiftieth Illinois. He was at the battles of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and Shiloh. He was wounded at Fort Donelson. Mary L., wife of Mr. Van Gundy, is now dead. One child died in infancy.

Mr. Greenman was about five feet and ten inches in height. His son Jerry appears much as his father did, though the latter had rather darker hair. Mr. Greenman was a kind husband and a good father. He paid great attention to the education of his children. He was not a member of any church, but was a man of strict integrity, and his word was sufficient without any bond. His widow, Mrs. Greenman, still lives on the homestead. She is a very kind lady, and thinks much of the " good old times." She possesses much natural shrewdness.

John Bishop was born February 9, 1799, in Fleming County, Kentucky. His father's name was James Bishop, and his mother's name, before her marriage, was Chloe Lake. Both were of English and Welch descent. In 1804 the Bishop family moved to Ohio, to what is now Clark County, but was then Green County, and had formerly been included in the county of Champaign. During the war of 1812, James Bishop entered the army, and had charge of some teams belonging to the wagon train of Hull's army. When the war opened, General Hull was governor of Michigan. He went to Urbana, Ohio, and took command of the army, which was passed over to him by Governor Meigs. Jofin Bishop, then a lad of thirteen, was present at the time, and re- members General Hull as a gray haired, heavy set man. James Bishop served under General Hull, and was at the surrender of Detroit. The captured soldiers were carried on shipboard to Cleveland, and there paroled and sent home. James Bishop afterwards served as quartermaster under General Tupper, in General Harrison's command.

John Bishop lived in Ohio until the fall of 1830, and then went to Fancy Creek, Sangamon County, Ilinois, where he arrived October 22. The first winter after his arrival was the one of the deep snow. It fell there as deep as in Mclean County. Mr. Bishop had then a wife, three children, three cows and four horses, which all needed care and attention ; nevertheless, he looks back to those days as the happiest of his life. During the winter of the deep snow the wheat and corn was carried to mill from four to eight miles on horseback. Before the snow was packed, Mr. Bishop and three others went three miles to mill across a neck of prairie. They took two horses to carry the corn, and eight horses to break the way. The horses walked in single file, and when the foremost was tired, it was placed in the rear and another took the lead. It required all day to go three miles and return. After the snow became packed men could walk over it anywhere, and even horses were borne on the drifts.

In March, 1832, Mr. Bishop came to Old Town timber, Mc- Lean County. In May of the same year he entered his land at the office at Danville, and commenced an improvement on the northwest point of Old Town timber. But as he did not learn precisely the boundaries, he unfortunately built his house and barn on unentered government land, which was next adjoining. This land was afterwards entered by another party, and he lost the house and barn. He built another house on his own land, lived on it fifteen years, and then moved to the south side of the timber.

James Bishop is a carriage trimmer in Hay's carriage shop, in*Bloomington. During the rebellion, he was in the Ninetyfourth Illinois Volunteers, under Colonel McNulta.

John Bishop, jr., was in the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Minois. He was discharged from the army because of sickness, and died eight days after arriving home.

Mr. Bishop is rather less than the medium height, is rather light in build, has a sanguine complexion, seems a very honest man, and perfectly straightforward in his business transactions. He now lives at Mrs. Ireland's place, near Stumptown, in Old Town timber, in the township of Padua. He seems to lead a very contented life after so many storms and changes of fortune. Mrs. Bishop died in the fall of 1865.

Adolphus Dimmick was born in Tolland County, Connecticut, January 13, 1791. In the year 1816, he came to Ripley County, Indiana. There he set out a nursery, the first in that part of the country, and raised a great many apple and peach trees. On the 9th of October, 1832, he married Esther Livingston. On the first of November following, he started for Illinois, traveling in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen and a horse. On the 25th of that month he arrived at Old Town timber, made a claim and commenced farming. He bought a cow and calf, and from this beginning raised a herd of forty or more cattle, besides selling a great many. The cabin was one of the little log huts of the early days, with a pounded clay fireplace, a stick chimney and a floor of linn puncheons. These puncheons were made of rails split thin and shaved with a drawing knife. The windows were of greased paper, and the table was made of a large puncheon. The land, where they lived, did not come into market until 1836. They had very little company. The wild animals came around them and kept them company. The raccoons came up under the window at night; the wolves ate the bones thrown from the house, and the wild turkeys picked up the crumbs near the door. The deer often came around them, and their society was principally that of the wild animals.

Mr. Dimmick died on Christmas day, 1845. He had three children, all of whom are now dead. His stature was somewhat less than medium. He wasstoutly built, had a light complexion, was careful and attentive to business and succeeded well. He had a common school education, and taught school in Ohio and Ilinois. He was always hospitable to strangers and willing and ready to entertain them. He had always good fortune in life and prospered well. His lady afterwards married Mr. Stephen Ireland, but has been a widow for the last sixteen years. She is a pleasant old lady, and her house is a stopping place for a number of elderly people and seems almost an old folks asylum.

Josiah Horr was born October 9, 1807, in Lewis County, New York. His father's name was Jacob Horr, and his mother's name, before her marriage, was Hannah Pierce. Jacob Horr was descended from the Puritans who landed on Plymouth Rock. He was a farmer, and died in Ohio in about the year 1850 or 51. His wife Hannah was born in America, but was of English-Irish descent. She died in 1839, while on a visit to Cheney's Grove. Jacob Horr had eleven children, of whom ten lived to be grown, but only three are now alive. They are, William Horr, of Mechanicsburg, Champaign County, Ohio; Elijah Horr, of Carthage, Jefferson County, N. Y., and Josiah Horr, the subject of the present sketch. William Horr was the youngest son.

Josiah Horr received his education in Lewis County, N. Y., where he attended a common school during the winter months until the age of twenty. In the summer time he worked on his father's farm. While only a boy, he resolved to come to the West. At the age of twenty-one he moved to Champaign County Ohio, where he remained nearly eight years. He worked on k farm and in a woolen factory. In 1836, he came to the West, arriving at John W. Dawson's place in Old Town timber on the first of October. He had made three previous trips to visit the country, enter land and make a few improvements. The family passed through Cheney's Grove, visiting a few days with Jonathan Cheney, an uncle of Mrs. Horr. They lived two months in a house belonging to John Dawson, by which time they made a cabin on the place where they now live; in the present town- ship of Padua. The first experience which the Horrs had of an Illinois winter, was with the sudden change of December, 1836. This was indeed a frightful experience and they were much terrified, but it never came again.

Mr. Horr was chosen justice of the peace and held this office with some interval for about fifteen years. He married William Harrison and Nancy Jane Dawson, and many years afterwards he married their daughter to C. H. Hobart. Mr. Horr always tried to settle amicably the cases which were brought before him, and often guaranteed the constable's costs in order to do so. He has been township trustee and school director, and for ten or twelve years he was supervisor. He is a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Horr employed Abraham Lincoln to manage the first and only case the former evér had in McLean County Circuit Court, and Lincoln carried it through successfully. Mr. Horr belonged first to the Whig party, and afterwards to the Republican. He voted against Jackson, and after the latter retired from political life voted against Jackson's friends.

On the 28th of October, 1830, Josiah Horr married Temperance Cheney, who was born in Virginia, but left that State while she was very young. They have had eight children, four of whom were born in Illinois. Six lived to be grown. They are:

Mr. Horr is six feet in height in his stocking feet. His hair is thick on his head and perfectly white. He has a Roman nose and blue eyes. He is very straight and is still very active. His appearance is impressive, and he possesses great energy and power of endurance. He had a postoffice for some years in his house, but it was discontinued a year ago last April.

Alfred Moore Stringfield

Mr. Stringfield says that his life has three separate sides to it - the adventurous side, the religious side, and the political side, and he wishes the distinction preserved in writing this sketch. The adventurous part of his life he calls his "rough and ready," and this part is given first. This sketch then begins with

Alfred Moore Stringfield was born October 14, 1809, on a farm near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This is the village which gave the name of the celebrated battle fought there during the rebellion. He is of English descent, his ancestors having come to America from England at an early day, When he was very young his parents moved to Huntsville, Alabama, and from there to the Tennessee River, after the war of 1812. There his father kept a farm and a ferryboat, and Alfred, being an active lad, helped to manage it. His father kept two boats, one was large for the purpose of carrying wagons, and one was small for carrying men and horses. The small ferryboat was once crowded with horses and passengers, and some of the latter were careless and would not pay attention to Alfred, and the boat upset in ten feet of water. All were fortunately saved after their involuntary baptism ; and it is to be hoped that they were made wiser for the future.

In 1819 Mr. Stringfield, sr., moved his family to White County, Illinois. In the spring of 1820 he made a visit to Sangamon County, and moved his family there in the fall to a farm within afew miles of Springfield. There he died shortly after his settlement. :

In the spring of 1823 Alfred Stringfield came with his brother Severe Stringfield, and his brother-in-law, Gardner Randolph to what is now called Blooming Grove. But they located at Rak dolph's Grove, and there the brothers Stringfield claimed land for their mother. They were the first to break sod at Randolph's Grove. They put up what is called a half-faced camp, that is, a visited by the Indians and wolves, but never suffered much damage from either. During the next year their mother, Mrs. Stringfield, came to the grove. From that time until 1827 they worked during summers and rested winters.

In the spring of 1827 Mr. Stringfield went to Galena with teams to draw mineral. In some places the roads were very bad. In crossing the Inlet Swamps, which extended for some miles, they were obliged to carry their goods and draw their wagons over with ropes. By the time they arrived at Rock River the company had increased to seventeen teams and fifty or sixty persons. There they saw many Indians, and Mr. Stringfield being very fleet of foot was induced to try some of the fleetest redskins in a race; He beat them without difficulty, and was the hero of an hour with the squaws. They clustered around him and talked in their strange dialect and pointed their fingers at him, called him captain, and considered him the most wonderful of the Long Knives (white men). He was so popular with them that he made the bargain for the transportation of the wagons across the river for seventy-five cents apiece. When it is considered that the wagons were taken across by placing the wheels in canoes, this will be seen to have been a very advantageous / bargain.

They followed the Indian trail to Galena, and there Mr. Stringfield was engaged in teaming, wood-chopping, and whatever his hands could find to do. In April, 1828, he returned on horseback, and in May he moved five families to Galena, and: worked there as before. During the following fall his mother died, and he came back to Randolph's Grove.

In 1829 Mr. Stringfield made two trips to Chicago with droves of hogs. During their second trip the weather was mild and the rivers were cleared of ice. They forded the Illinois River at the rapids, three miles above Ottawa, but on their return from Chicago with a load of salt, they found it frozen over by a cold snap, and crossed it on the ice just above the mouth of Fox River. They took across the unloaded wagon and unyoked oxen separately, and then rolled over the barrels of salt. The ice was so thin that it cracked under their weight, and in some places the water spurted up. Mr. Stringfield carried the next to the last barrel of salt across on his back, as he declared he could do, but was very tired, and would have been very glad to have laid down his load; but the ice cracked under him, and he saw clearly that if he dropped the barrel the ice would break and Mr. Stringfield and his salt would both go under. So he plucked up his resolution and carried over the salt. He made another trip to Chicago in January, 1830, to move a family there. During his trip he camped out, even in the severest weather, and slept on his shoes to prevent them from freezing too stiff to wear in the morning.

During the fall before the deep snow, Mr. Stringfield went on a trip to Chicago, and lost two yoke of oxen in a prairie fire. He hunted for them on horseback, but did not find them during that fall. . The only result of his exertions was the loss of his palmetto hat, which his horse tore to pieces during one night when Mr. Stringfield was asleep. He did not find his oxen until the March following the deep snow, when he came across them near the head of the Iroquois River, where they had been driven by the fire. They had lived during the winter on brushwood and the stems of trees where some woodmen had been cutting. During the winter of the deep snow, Mr. Stringfield did very little except attend to his stock. He hunted occasionally and caught a few wolves and a great many deer. He caught four deer in one day out of asingle pack, within a circuit of five miles, and killed them without shooting. During this winter, Mr. Stringfield, Dr. Wheeler and Jesse Funk, started a deer about one and a-half miles southwest of Dr. Stewart's. It ran into a deep hollow, where Mr. Stringfield followed it and cut its throat with a pocket knife. But it was seen to be a difficult matter to get the deer out of the hollow on to the bank. Mr. Stringfield settled the matter by taking hold of the deer with one hand and twisting the other hand in the horse's tail. The horse then went up the side of the hollow, dragging out with its tail both the hunter and the game. He caught a few wolves, but the crust of snow soon became so hard that they could run around on it and, as Mr. Stringfield says, "make fun of you to your face."

The season following the deep snow was a short one, and the frost came so early in the fall that the corn crop was ruined. During that fall he went with Jesse Funk to Galena with a drove of beef cattle, and returned during the latter part of October, when it was bitterly cold. The road had then been marked outby stakes or poles placed in the ground upright, and as far apart as they could be easily seen from one to the other. During the same fall he collected a drove of hogs, and went to Galena with Absalom and Robert Funk, and Robert Stubblefield and a hired hand. The cold was intense and the snow deep. It fell on them at Hennepin and increased until they arrived at Apple River. All of the party returned home except Mr. Stringfield, who remained until February. He was at that time a very muscular man, and could shoulder a sack of wheat holding five bushels and five pounds.

Mr. Stringfield does not claim to have been a great hunter, but he was sometimes pretty lively in chasing wolves. He caught four wolves by jumping from his horse and running after them on foot, for he could beat both the Indians and the wolves in foot races. The first wolf was caught in the year 1826. He chased the wolf a mile and a-half on horseback, then jumped off quickly, let his horse go and took after the wolf on foot. After chasing it a hundred yards he made a grab for it, but it turned short around and they ran the same hundred yards back, and just as the animal was going out of a snow drift Mr. Stringfield grabbed it. But it settled its teeth in his arm and he carries the scars to-day. He choked the wolf loose, and the brute grabbed his thumb. He loosened his thumb, tied the wolf, brought it home, and a week afterwards it was killed by dogs at his mother's quilting bee. He afterwards caught wolves with his hands, but always grabbed them by their hindquarters and quickly threshed them on the ground and avoided their teeth. The settlers usually 'killed them by striking them with a stirrup, or a pole. The wolves were pretty saucy and came prowling around the house at all hours of the night. Mr. Stringfield threw his shoe hammer through the window at one particularly impudent wolf that followed a sheep to the house during a moonlight evening. He never hunted deer much although they were very plenty. He has seen gangs of seventy or eighty deer going out from the timber to the prairie.

In December, 1834, Mr. Stringfield, Jesse and Absalom and Isaac Funk, collected a drove of pigs, and Mr. Stringfield and James Funk drove them to Chicago. The snow was six or eight inches deep, and in order to make a track in which the pigs could travel, they dragged a forked tree ahead of the drove for fifty or sixty miles, from Money Creek to the Mazon river beyond Pontiac, and there they came to a beaten track.

Mr. Stringfield was always on friendly terms with the Indians. They often came to his house, and if they wanted lodging he took them in and treated them well. He never considered them any more dangerous than white men, and thinks that so far as honesty is concerned there is very little choice between them. He frequently trusted them and always got his pay. He once lent an Indian a meal sack, which was returned after being kept two months. He had a high opinion of the honesty of the Kickapoos and Delawares, but thought the Pottawotomies not so trusty.

The early settlers went first to Sangamon County to do their milling and blacksmithing, and to Springfield for their trading. But after 1830, the course of trade turned to Pekin, Peoria and Chicago. Wheat was drawn to Chicago by oxen until the Illinois Central Railroad was built. The loads of wheat taken there were sometimes enormous. Mr. Stringfield has known one hundred and sixty bushels to be carried there in two loads, and one

Religious Life

Mr. Stringfield's father was an Episcopalian, and his mother was a Baptist; but the old gentleman once listened to a Methodist preacher, and was so pleased with the doctrine and spirit of the Methodist Church that he joined it. He became a strong and earnest member and brought up his family strictly. Mr. A. M. Stringfield followed the example of his father and in his eleventh year became associated with the church, and has remained an active, working member ever since. He has taken a great interest in the events connected with the church and re- members them very correctly; so much is this the case that he has the reputation of never forgetting anything: The West seemed to be the ground most congenial to Methodism. It came with an irresistible force and gained a foothold which it has never since relinquished. The largest camp-meeting which Mr. Stringfield ever attended was held at Huntsville, Alabama. Bishop Paine, Elder Porter and many other great lights of the church were there. Thomas Stringfield, the brother of A. M. Stringfield, was there-and preached to the negroes. The excitement among the people rose to a wonderful pitch, and the entire multitude became so moved by the spirit that it was thrown prostrate as if a hurricane had passed over it. The people jumped about and jerked as if they would throw themselves to pieces, and Mr. Stringfield thinks that this can only be explained by the - fact that they were moved by the spirit of the Most High. When he came to White County, Illinois, he attended camp-meetings which were conducted by the Methodists and Cumberland Presbyterians, and there also he saw great manifestations of feeling, but in a less degree than in Alabama.: He also saw some indications of this feeling in camp-meetings in this part of the country, but they were not to be compared to the tremendous manifestations which he witnessed in Alabama and in White County, Illinois.

Political Life

Mr. Stringfield, sr., the father of Alfred, was a Revolutionary soldier, who participated in some contests which have become historic. He was at the battle of King's Mountain, and assisted in the capture of Ferguson. In politics the old gentleman called himself a Washingtonian Whig and a Jeffersonian Democrat, and Mr. Stringfield, jr., learned his politics from the school of Jefferson. He formed his opinions after careful thought and patient study, and tried to hold himself independent of all special influences. He believes in a tariff for revenue and not a tariff for protection. In the great contest between Adams and Jefferson, Mr. Stringfield believed in the doctrine of an ad valorem tariff, and that a duty should be paid on everything upon which a duty was laid according to the market value of the article. So far as the doctrine of protection is concerned, he thinks that the great purchasing interest of the country demands its abolition. He has remained a Democrat ever since he could vote, but in forming his opinions, he has not been bound very closely by the ties of party. So far as any distinction between men is concerned, he is in favor of considering men according to their ability, intelligence and virtue, regardless of race or color. This is his doctrine, and always has been.

Mr. Stringfield, when he grew to manhood, became married, of course, as a good American citizen should. In 1832 he married Miss Emily Hand, and his later years has been blessed with a fine family of eight children. He has had ten children, but only eight are living. These are:

Alfred M. Stringfield is a man of fine presence. Although advanced in years, he is the picture of health and strength, and seems still possessed of youthful activity and courage. His voice is clear and distinct, and impresses one with his deeision and firmness. He usually takes the name of Squire, as he has several times been elected justice of the peace. His powers of conversation are remarkable, and command the attention and respect of the listener. He is of mediunr stature, and has fine, regular features. He has in him the spirit of the genuine old settlers, and thinks that none of the pleasures of cultivated society can be compared to the manly sports of the pioneers. He thinks that human ingenuity cannot devise a sport equal to that of the early settlers, when they put up a pole in some central locality, and hunted towards it from all sides, and cornered the wolves and deer. He thinks that people who live in a town or city know nothing about real life and enjoyment. "The way to obtain healthy exercise is to get fp in the morning and catch a deer or a wolf - not shoot it, but catch it. That is real natural life, and gives a healthy appetite for breakfast."

Thomas O. Rutledge was born September 17, 1806, near Charleston, a little town not far from Augusta, Georgia. His father was Robert Rutledge, and his mother's name before her marriage was Margarét Officer. In about the year 1811, the Rutledge family came to Henderson County, Kentucky, where they remained until the year 1820. His father and his uncle, William Rutledge, were both soldiers in the war of 1812. Robert Rutledge died in 1819, and during the following year his brother William moved the family to White County, Illinois. Mrs. Rutledge had then a great responsibility, for she was obliged to care for a family of eight children. In the fall of 1823, Thomas O. Rutledge made a wagon of wood, without a nail or any piece of iron in it, and obtained a yoke of two-year old steers. With this team he moved the household goods of the family to Sangamon County. There they planted and gathered one crop, and with the little steers and wooden wagon came to Randolph's Grove, in what is now McLean County. Here he cultivated two crops of corn with the steers, using them singly for ploughing it. Mr. Rutledge celebrated the first day of January, 1829, by his marriage to Cynthia Rutledge. He obtained his license from Mackinawtown. Everybody in the grove attended the wedding ; even a lot of Indians came to see how the white men managed these interesting matters. Mrs. Rutledge has been his good wife ever since. She can make the best bread of any woman in McLean County.

Thomas O. Rutledge was a hard worker, and this was the reason of his success. In 1830 he went to Waynesville, and made rails for Timothy Hoblitt, and his wages for one week's work were three chairs, which he carried home on horseback. The next week he made rails for the same man, and his wages for that and a part of the week following were a spinning-wheel, which he also carried home on his horse. He worked occasionally for Jesse Funk for fifty cents per day, from 1827 to 1832, and earned about five hundred dollars. The wooden wagon, which he made in White County; did him good service in his work, and lasted for fifteen years.

During the winter of the deep snow, Mr. Rutledge had great difficulty in getting wood, and trees were cut by persons who stood on a crust of snow four feet from the ground. When the snow melted away, the stumps appeared six feet high. During that winter the starving deer came up to the stacks of the settlers and were mixed with the cattle. They frequently came up to the house, driven almost crazy with hunger. At one time Mrs. Rutledge picked up a maul and knocked a deer in the head, and killed it right before her door, and she could easily have killed others, but she said they appeared so pitiful that she had not the heart to do it. The deer could be caught anywhere, and they were often found frozen to death while standing. The wild turkeys, too, suffered severely, and some of them came into Mr. Rutledge's yard, and ate with his chickens.

In 1832 the Black Hawk war broke out, and Mr. Rutledge enlisted in the company commanded first by Merritt Covel. They went first to Pekin, where they were organized, and then marched to Fort Clark, (Peoria,) where they drew two days rations, and marched to Dixon. There they were mustered into the regular service, and spent five or six days in training. Then they drew five days rations, and were sent out as a scouting party under the command of Major Stillman, (afterwards General,) who commanded a battalion of about two hundred and fifty men. They started up Rock River to find the Indians, and probably not one in the party thought of the possibility of a fight. They wished to find the Indians, and in this they certainly sueceeded. During the second day in the afternoon they came to a halt, and knocked in the head of the barrel of whisky which they had brought with them, and all filled their canteens with the precious fluid. Then they moved forward, from three to five miles, and crossed Old Man's Creek. Since the fight which occurred that day, the creek has usually been called Stillman's Run. It was about thirty-five miles from Dixon, and at the point where the volunteers crossed it, was a bend, concave towards the north. In that bend they stacked their baggage and expected to go into camp. The guards had been posted, and the men had, most of them, unsaddled their horses, when orders came to fall into line. The guards in front had caught sight of some Indians who were on the look out, and gave them chase. They killed one, captured two or three, and chased the remainder into Black Hawk's camp on the Kishwaukee River, (called by some Sycamore Creek,) about five miles from Stillman's Run. When the guards returned, the men fell into line, but even then they hardly expected a fight. They moved forward to the top of a hill on the prairie, where they halted and raised a white flag. Immediately an Indian appeared about three-quarters of a distant bearing an enormous red flag. Then the whites advanced a short distance and faced to the right, which made them four men deep, and dismounted to see that their guns were in good condition. Herea parley occurred between the Indians and whites, each party sending out a man to hold a consultation, and in the meanwhile the Indians took down their red flag. But the parley soon ceased and Mr. Rutledge never knew what took place or what was said between the two parties who talked the matter over. But when it ended the volunteers were told to be ready for fight. They then awaited the attack and before long the Indians began to fire and yell at them directly in front. It seems that while the whites had been halting and holding a parley and losing time the Indians had been preparing for an attack, and this was the cause of the willingness of the savages to talk and display their red flag and attract their attention. When the Indians began firing and whooping 'in front, the first line of volunteers fired and wheeled to reload. Then the Indians appeared on each side almost in the rear on their ponies and came down on the volunteers, whooping and firing their guns. Major Stillman ordered the volunteers to mount and retreat, and as soon as they were mounted he ordered them to break the line of the Indians on the left. "Then," said Mr. Rutledge, "right there was a confusion." The two Indian prisoners began to whoop in answer to those making the attack, and the guards shot them down, The volunteers paid no attention to the order to break the line of the Indians on the left, but went, as Mr. Rutledge says, "right square for home." Joe Draper, a private, was shot, and Mr. Rutledge saw him fall. It was there, too, Mr. Rutledge says, that William McCullough caught the gun of an Indian who was pointing it at him and dropped his own. The whites rushed on to Stillman's Run with the Indians after them, but as the former were better mounted they distanced their pursuers. The creek was crossed in confusion ; some jumped their horses while some were obliged to dismount and climb the bank. Mr. Rutledge was not obliged to dismount as his horse jumped the creek in fine style. A few of the Indians followed the volunteers across the creek, but the most of them stopped to plunder the baggage which had been piled up convenient for them. The whites ran every man for himself to Dixon's Ferry. They lost but few men in the affair. Joe Draper was shot in the retreat, but in the dusk of the evening he crawled ` away and lived some days afterward, and when his body was found he had marked his adventures and wanderings on his canteen. Andrew Dickey was shot at the creek through the thigh, but crawled under the bank and escaped. Mr. Hackelton, who was also wounded, crawled under the bank. Captain Adams had his horse shot from under him before the retreat commenced, but he ran back, crossed the creek, and went three-quarters of a mile from it towards Dixon's Ferry when he was overtaken by Indians and killed ; but he sold his life for something, and killed one or two of the Indians who followed him. Major Perkins was overtaken and killed about a mile and a half from the creek; he was probably delayed in crossing it. Seven or eight of the Indians were killed and buried; this Mr. Rutledge knows positively. It was in the twilight of the evening when the fight at Stillman's Run took place. That night the volunteers made quick time for Dixon's Ferry, thirty-five miles distant, but became badly scattered. When Mr. Rutledge was within eight or:ten miles of Dixon he found himself with a little squad of five mem They halted' until daylight ; then calculated their course and came into Dixon's Ferry at about ten o'clock. There they found something to eat and by eleven o'clock (Mr. Rutledge thinks,) started back to the battle-field with the remainder of the army and the reinforcements, which had been coming in while they were gone. They buried the dead. While on the field of Stillman's Run they received the news of the massacre of three. families on Indian Creek; those of Davis, Hall and Pettigrew, he thinks, and the capture of the two young ladies, Sylvia and Rachel Hall. They went to Indian Creek and buried those who were massacred, and tried to follow the trail of the Indians in order to recapture the young ladies. They found where the Indians had tied their horses in the woods and where they had retreated to the creek, but there the trail was lost. The Indians had walked down the creek for a long distance and their track was lost. The evening after they buried the families at Indian Creek they marched to Ottawa and built a block-house ; then went to Chicago and built another which required a week; then went to Milwaukee where they stayed three days and then marched back to Ottawa and were discharged. Mr. Rutledge re-enlisted for sixty days, but remained at Ottawa until his time was nearly expired. When the Black Hawk war was nearly closed the company to which he belonged marched up to Prairie Du Chien on the Mississippi River. They arrived there shortly after the battle of Bad Axe, the closing fight. From there his company returned to Ottawa where they remained until their discharge. In his discharge Mr. Rutledge was directed to visit the Kickapoos at Old Town timber to see that they kept their arms stacked and manifested no hostile disposition. He found them as quiet and peaceable as if they had never heard of wars or rumors of wars.

Such was Mr. Rutledge's experience in the Black Hawk war. No very accurate account of the famous fight at Stillman's Run has ever been published, because unfortunately, the most of the gentlemen who were engaged in it had taken too much spirits from the barrel which was broken open in the afternoon of the last day of the expedition.

When Mr. Rutledge was discharged from the service he returned to his plow. He had all the adventures of a pioneer and all the sharp experiences which were common to the early settlers. His experience with the sudden change in the weather in December, 1836, was the same which has been so often described Mrs. Rutledge says, her chickens and geese were frozen to the ground by the sudden cold.

Mr. Rutledge has never been much of ahunter. He has sometimes shot deer and turkey and often hunted wolves. He has oftentimes pulled off the harness from his horse while ploughing and ridden after wolves, when they troubled him too much. This was a common occurrence. The prairie fires sometimes came after them and then it seemed that the whole earth was on fire. He thinks the great conflagration at Chicago is nothing compared to a prairie fire, which blackens everything in its track. It moves slowly at first, but gathers speed as it goes so that it soon moves faster than a horse can travel.

Mr. Rutledge is a very humorous gentleman and appreciates a rich joke as well as any of the old settlers. He tells many humorous things of the Buckles family, particularly. At one time while on the way to Pekin, with a load of wood, he saw Mr. William Buckles at Gaylord's tavern in Bloomington. The landlord was exceedingly polite and wished to do everything to please his guests. As Mr. Buckles was about to retire for the night the landlord offered him a pair of slippers to wear to his chamber; but he could not understand the meaning of such a favor. At last an idea seemed to strike him, and he told the landlord that "hed be dog goned if he'd trade his boots for them slippers."

When William Buckles was young he followed the example of other young men, and occasionally " went sparking." At one time, while he was making a visit to a young lady, the family treated him with great politeness, and at dinner offered him some white sugar for his coffee. But he had never seen white sugar before, and replied very promptly, " No, sir, he didn't take salt in his coffee."

Mr. Peter Buckles, a brother to William, was a great hunter, and sometimes he could not resist the temptation to go after game on the Sabbath day. But after a while, when a revival was in progress, he made a profession of religion, and promised never again to hunt on Sunday, unless, he cautiously added, a wolf should take some of his pigs, or his sheep, or his, chickens, or some of his other stock. With these exceptions, he promised the brethren and sisters faithfully never again to hunt on Sunday.

Mr. Abraham Buckles, another member of this celebrated family, now lives at Buckles' Grove. In early days he had never seen a railroad and never expected to; but in course of time a railroad came working its way through to Bloomington, and although Mr. Buckles lived out at the grove, which bears his family name, he at last came across it, and his experience was most interesting. Shortly afterwards he was taking a young lady some distance in his buggy; but when he came within two miles of the railroad he told her she would have to walk the remainder of the journey, as he would not, under any circum- stances, go nearer than two miles of the track, for he said he had been, but a short time before, on the track with his horse and buggy, and the engine came after him like a threshing machine and whooping like an Indian, and his old mare went faster and faster, and when she left the track, she nearly upset the buggy. Mr. Rutledge has paid very little attention to polities, and never held any office except school director and overseer of the poor. Since coming to Randolph's Grove, he has always lived where he first settled, on the land pre-empted, about two miles east of the present town of Heyworth. He has had twelve children, nine of whom are living. They are: