Petty Township

Petty Township

HETTY Township is bounded on the north by Crawford county, on the east by Bond and Lawrence, and on the south by Bridgeport, Christy township, and on the west by Rich land county. The surface generally is level, and embraces a considerable amount of fine prairie land. Christy String township, and Bogard prairies occupy, respecdvely, the southwestern, the northwestern and the northeastern parts of the township " String township " is a sportive appellation, suggested by the form j of a hunting settlement that skirted the western bordei of the prairie. The principal streams are the Embarras ] river, Little Muddy creek, and Paragin slough, a slug- ' gish stream that flows through an extensively wooded bottom, and at various points widens into ponds. The name is a compliment to the memory of Peter Paragin, the pioneer hunter of -hat region, and was suggested by the circumstance that he slew the only bears, two in | number, ever killed along that stream. The soil is clayey, with a considerable amount of black loam in j the low lands. Timber of a good quality is quite j abundant. The improvements of the township are good, and some attention is paid to improvement of breed in farm stock. David Watts introduced the Poland China hogs about ten years ago. He is the principal breeder, in his line, in the county.

Petty township is the most recently settled portion of the county. In 1818 there was but one cabin north of the i state road and west of the Embarras river. This cabin j was the home of Peter Paragin, and stood on the west half of the southeast of section 9. Paragin was newly married and came from Ohio. He was an excellent type of the pioneer, being six feet tall, heavy-boned, muscular, with retreating forehead and advancing features. Hunting occupied a large share of his attention, and to triumph over the beasts of the forest was his principal delight. He reared, to manhood and womanhood, twelve of his thirteen children, one of whom, Joshua, is a. well known citizen of Bond township. The next settler was Aaron Vanatta, who came from Ohio, with a family, in 1820, and improved the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 10. About ! 1830, he sold his improvement to Thomas Harail- ' ton and moved to Jasper county. Thomas Bowen came from Tennessee to Lawrence county in 1816. About the year 1822 he married Sarah King and settled on the southwest quarter of section 7, township 4, range 12. He reared a large family of children, some of whom | live in the township. His dea h occurred in 1858 in the fifty-eighth year of his age. The oldest living settler of the township is Jacob Lewis, who was born in South Carolina, and moved to Kentucky, with his parents, when a child. In 1820 the Lewis family moved to Lawrence county. In 1824 Jacob married and settled on the northwest quarter of section 25, township 4, range 13, where he lived to rear a family of eight sons and three daughters, all of whom married and settled in Lawrence and Richland counties. Mr. Lewis is now eighty two years of age. hale and well preserved. In 1827 he planted an apple orchard, of which several trees yet remain. In 1823 James Elliott settled on the west half of the northwest quarter of section 17, township 4, range 13. At an early day he planted an apple orchard; a portion of which is yet in bearing. John Lewis married in the county in 1826, and settled on the west half of the northwest quarter of section 25, township 4, range 13, where, after rearing quite a family, he died. About this time Joseph Cummings settled on the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 14, where he reared a family of children He was something of a hunter, and about 1840 built the first distillery in the township. About the year 1828 came Elijah King, James Vermiljion, William James and George C. King. The first was married in the county and settled in the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 18, township 4, range 12, where was his permanent home and the place of his death. He reared a family of three sons and one daughter, who married and settled in the same county. Vermillion was from .Kentucky, and was well-to-do when he came. He settled on the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 20, township

4, range 13. a portion of the " Island," an area lying between the Embarras river and Little Muddy creek, where he reared a family of two children. He was an industrious, thorough going man. His death resulted from " King's Evil," in Indiana, after returning from a trip for medical treatment. William James came from Indiana, married in the county, and made several improvements, selling them when completed. George C. King, brother of Elijah, settled on the north west quarter of the northwest quarter of section 11, and was a farmer and teamster. Henry Vanmeter, iu 1829, settled on the west half of the southeast quarter of section 32, township

5, range 13. Washington Douglas, about the year 1830, came into the township, from Kentucky, with a family of three children, Charles, Nancy and Horace, and settled on east half of the northwest quarter of section 19, township 4, range west, where he improved a good farm. John Laws, from one of the Carolinas, about 1830, settled on the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 17. Just north of his place, on section 8, was a New Light camp-meeting ground, where, at his own expense, he fed the assembled multitudes, at a table one hundred yards in length, and provided sleep ing accommodations at his house and barn. The horses of those in attendance were likewise provided for- Laws was a determined a? well as skillful hunter, and would pursue a wolf for two or three days with as many fresh horses, rather than give up the pursuit.

John Brigman and William Murphy settled in the township prior to 1838. The latter gentleman made an improvement in section 18, township 4, range 12. Sarah James, a widow, with a daughter, came from Indiana in 1834 In 1838 she was married to Edward Fyffe, who settled on the southwest quarter of section 28, township 4, range 13, where he died. The Petty family, from whom the township received its name, arrived in 1838, or '39. Josiah Petty, familiarly known as " old Uncle Jeff," settled in the west half of the southwest quarter of section 11. Joseph Petty, from Perry county, Ohio, with five children, Peter, Mary Ann, Balser, George and William, settled on the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 15, where he resided permanently. In 1838, John Decker, from Indiana, settled on the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 28, township 4, range 13, where he remained permanently, and reared a family of eight children. Samuel James, about 1840, settled and improved a farm on the east half of the southeast quarter of sec tion 30, township 4, range 13. The principal improvements of the township, especially north of Paragin slough, have been made since 1850. At that time Richard Grier, Nathan Fitz, Ferdinand Kyger, William Munn, Nancy Watts, Christian Loss and the Jackson family were living in that region. The west half of the southwest quarter of section 33, township 5, range 13, occupied, at present, by David Watte, is one of the earliest settlements in its neighborhood. There was also an early improvement on the east half of section 32, township 5, range 13. A well marks the site of a former improvement in David Brown's field east of Chauncey. Christopher Dollahan once lived there.

Was so named by Peter Smith, for the second son of Wna. H. Brown. It contains about seventy inhabitants, and is situated on the adjacent corners of sections 28, 29, 32 and 33 T. 5, R. 13. John Bach built the first house, a log dwelling, in 1856. He immediately put up a blacksmith shop and began work. Luther Watts sold the first goods in the Daniel Grass building, moved from a point three miles southeast of Chauncey, in the fall of 1860. Daniels and Waggoner opened the first grocery store, in 1866. A wagon shop was put up in 1867, and wagon making was carried on some two years. Daniel Patton established a drug store in 1879.

Present Business

The post office was established in 1873, and George D. Barnes was the first post-master. The first schoolhouse (frame) was built in 1856. John Wilgus taught the first school. The present two story, two-room, frame school building was put up in 1872 or '73. The Methodist Episcopal Church (frame) was built in 1858, at a cost of 8850. The Protestant Methodist (frame) Church was erected at a cost of about $1,000, in 1860.

| HIS political division of the county is in the west-central part, and is bounded on the north by Lick Prairie, east by Mt. Carrael, south by Coffee precinct, and west by Edwards county and Bonpas creek. It extends east from this creek to the central line of Town 1 south, Range 13 west, and north from the southern line of the northern tier of sections of Town 2 south, to the half section line of the second tier of sections from the north, of Town 1 south. It was formerly called Bonpas, the name having been changed to Bellmont in September, 1881. "Bonpas" is composed of the French, " bon," good, and " pas," bay or inlet, and means, literally, good bay. The creek that bears this name was so called by French boatmen, whose keel-boats, as they plied the waters of the Wabash in the early spring, found safety from the floating ice in the inlet or bay at Its mouth The surface is generally level, and principally elevated Crackles, formerly called Wilson's and Sloan's prairie?, are low areas of land, and subject to overflow from Bonpas creek. They were formerly wet and marshy, but have been improved, aud rendered quite arable ami productive by drainage. Fordyce creek flows through the northern part of the precinct, and with the Boupas, into which it flows, is the principal source of drainage. Timber is abundant, and is constantly being cleared away to make room for the plow The soil is adapted to the growth of the different cereals, and when cleared of timber is easily cultivated. The Evansville, Louitville, and St. Louis railroad extends through the prtcinct, affording facilities for transportation.

The territory of Bellmout precinct was the latest settled portion of the county. Its earliest settlers were one Moturey, Jacob and John Arnold, Staley D. McClure, and Eli Reed, all arriving in the year 1816 Moturey, with his family, settled on the S. E. J of sec tion 24, in Range 14 west. Nothing of importance i.- remembered concerning him, but his name has a placr among the honored few who were brave and hardy enough to become pioneers. Jacob Arnold, a single man, came from Kentucky to the county prior to 1812. In 1818 he married Rebecca Thompson, and settled in section 5, Town 2 south. He was an inveterate hunter, brought down many deer, and captured many a bruin. He is represented in the county by quite a number of descendants. John Arnold, his brother, also came from Kentucky, and brought a family, wife, and three children, Isaac, James, and Lucinda. He, too, like his brother, was a hunter, and changed his place of abode as advantages for hunting dictated. He moved to Missouri, and there died. McClure was also from Kentucky, and came to the county prior to the war of 1812. In 1816 he settled in the precinct, on section 28, T. 1 S. R 13 W. He had a large family of children, none of whom live in the county. He was a man of some intelligence, and was at one time justice of the peace. His death closed a long career of life, most of which was spent in the precinct.

The year 1818 adds six to the list of immigrants. Among their number was William Wilson, who brought a family, and settled on the S. E. i of section 3, T. 2 S. R 14 W. Here he built his cabin, improved land, and lived to a good old age, dying many years ago. He was a farmer, and also exercised the trade of a tanner. The prairie on which he settled, now called Crackles, formerly bore his name. It was originally owned by Uo Englishmen, J. and J. Dunlap. George Wheeler came with Wilson and his family, aud settled on the same section. He also was a tanner. He raised a large family, and died on the place of his first settlement. In the same year came William Tanquary, also a Virginian, with his wife and children, Delila, Reuben, Fielden, Mary, Lydia, William, Alfred, and Amelia, aud settled on the N. J of section 30, T. 1 S. The family had previously lived for some time .in Ohio. Mr. Tanquary was a good farmer, and died on the place of his first settlement, at the advanced age of eighty years. Of the children who constituted a part of the pioneer family, William, Alfred, and Rebecca are still liviug. James, who is a native of the precinct, lives on the old homestead. He has been Associate Judge of the county court for one full, and for one unexpired term. With Tanquary came Jonathan Gilkinson, his son-in-law. He was a farmer and a carpenter, and among the earliest representatives of that trade in the precinct. He had quite a numerous family of children- William Deputy was among the more prosperous farmers of the precinct to which, with his family, he came in 1818. He settled on the S. E. t of section 21, T. 1 S. R. 13 W. He was a man of influence in his community, aud held the office of Justice. He had quite a large family of children, and died on his farm at an advanced age.

of the family had moved to Kentucky. Robert and Samuel came from the former state in the fall of 1817. Robert settled on the N. W. i of section 32, T. 1 S R. 13 W., where he lived all his life, and had a large family. Charles, cousin of the former, came from Vir ginia in the spring of 1818, with a family of four sons, Townly, John, Arthur, and Charles, Jr., and settled in Mt. Carmel precinct. John is living in Bellmont, at the age of seventy-seven years. Townley married Phebe Corry, and settled on the S. W. i of section 20, T. 1 S., where he resided till 1871, when he moved to Kansas. He was among the earliest mechanics, and was the main dependence for repairs in wood. George and James, brothers of Robert and Samuel, arrived from Kentucky about 1819; the former with a family of four sons, Robert, Jefferson, Alfred, and Harvey, and one daughter, and settled about a mile east of Bellmont, where was his permanent home. James brought three sons, Daniel, Harvey, and Stephen, and settled permanently three miles northeast of the town. Andrew F. Dyar came from Wood county, Va.,-in 1820, with a family of five children, Susanna F., Sally R., John D., Elizabeth and Andrew, and settled on the W. i of the S. E. i of section 3, R. 13 W., where he made improvements and lived till 1828. He then moved to N. W. i of section 2, T. 2 S. R. 13 W., where he lived permanently, and died in 1854. John D., the only survivor of the immigrant family, lives on a part of the homestead place. In 1822, Joseph Ballard, with a family of three children, Iri, Asiel, and Jeremiah, now of Bellmont, settled on the S. E. i of the S. E. ! of section 32, T. 1 S. R. 13, W. Mr. Ballard was a minister of the New Light persuasion. He died on his farm at the age of sixtysix. A German came to the precinct about 1821 or '22, and settled on section 29. Being a hunter, he frequently changed his home. He came in company with Samuel Fettinger, a weaver by trade, and a Methodist exhorter.

Rodam Kenner was a Kentuckian. He came to the county as early as 1824, and to the precinct in 1826. He brought a family of five children, Alvin, George, James, William and Bryon. William Hunter came from Kentucky in 1827, brought a wife and four children, Eliza, Caroline, William and Nancy Jane, and settled on the S. E. } of section 24. He was quite advanced in life when he arrived, and died in Wayne county, at the age of 91 years, John Proctor was from Kentucky. He came about the year 1829, and with his wife and children, John, Fanny, Luciuda and Thomas, settled on the E. i of the S. E. i of section 33. He was a mechanic of somedivereity of talents, as well as a farmer. He lived to a great old age and died on the place of his first settlement. William Weir, a Virginian, came to the county in 1818. In 1829, he came to what is now Bellmont precinct, and settled in section 17. His i children, James, Harvey, Mary and Thomas, were brought along. He was a farmer by occupation, but devoted much time to hunting. He was a man of influence, and held the office of county commissioner. He died in 1848. Prominent among the older settlers is A. W. Cory, of Bellmont village. He is a native of New York, and at the age of five years came from that state with his mother and step-father, in 1816, and landed at old Palmyra. His arrival in the precinct dates back to 1829. He is a blacksmith by trade, and in his younger days his shop was sought by the farmers for many miles around. He enjoys the confidence of the people of the county, and in 1841 and '42, he was collector of taxes. He was assessor in 1843, and took the state census for the county in 1845. He also held the office of justice of the i peace for a number of years. Sloan's prairie took its name from Joseph Sloan, who lived and died within its limits. He came to the precinct, from Kentucky, in 1829, having a family of five children, James, Ephraim, Louisa, John and William. The family are now all dead. John Frair was among the early arrivals in the county, coming some time prior to 1812. In 1829 or '30, with a family of several children, most of whom are dead, he settled on the S. i of the S. E. i of section 13, T. 1, R. 14 W. He was a tanner, and at one time had a tanyard in Mt. Carmel.

The first school teacher was probably Oliver Thrall. In 1828, a school was taught by Alvira Kenner, in sec. 32, T. 1 S. R. 13 W. The first house built for school purposes stood on the S. W. i of sec. 18,T. 1 S., and was put up in the year 1837. The earliest justice, whose ju. risdiction embraced the territory of the precinct, was William Tanquary.

The earliest marriage was probably that of Jacob Arnold and Rebecca Thompson, which dates back to 1818. Townley Rigg and Miss Phoebe Cory were married in 1820. The religious doctrine first propagated among the people was the New Light. The earliest preachers Revs. Joseph Ballard, William Kinkead, Elijah Goodwin and Rev. Walsoa. Rev. Moses Trimble was of the Campbellite or Christian faith. The precinct was represented in the Black Hawk War by Wm. Tanquary, Jr., William Eastwood, Thomas Wier, Harvey Wier and Dr. Thrall. James Strahan was in the Mexican War. Friend's Grove post office on the N. E. i of the N. W. i of sec. 21 is the oldest one in the precinct, and was established about twenty-five years ago. William Deputy, the first post-master, was superseded eighteen years ago by the present incumbent, Collins Bredwell. The post-office at Maud, on the N. E. \ of sec. 28, R. 13 W., was founded in 1882, Christian Ameter being the first post-master. In this year he began selling goods at this point of Gett Joachim's in section 31, and oil that of Elisha Brokaw in section 36, the fourteenth meridian extending through the principal street north and south. It was surveyed and platted by Robert Buchanan, county surveyor, and the plat filed for record in the office of the circuit clerk, August 22, 1872. In 1880 it had 213 inhabitants. The first lot was purchased by Mary Crackles and her son Oliver, and Thomas Arnold sold the first goods in a little temporary building in 1872 Shortly after this Harper and Son opened a general store. In the same year the firm of Joachims Bros, began business as general merchants ; Joseph Bare built a blacksmith shop, and Jeremiah Ballard a shop for general repairs. Ballard also kept the first hotel in 1-874. The Bellmont Flouring Mills were built in this year by M. & F. H. See, the present proprietors and operators. The building is a two-and-a-half story, 25x40 feet structure, with shed 23x50 feet, for the engine and cornsheller. It has two run of burrs, and is valued at $4,000. The first school-house, a frame one-room building, 24x36 feet, was put up in 1874, and David Dean was the first teacher, in the same year. The present school-house, a frame two-story six-room structure, was built in the. fall of 1881, at a cost of $1,921, exclusive of equipments. H. H Rigg was the contractor and builder, and H. L. Arnold taught the first school. The Congregational church, the oldest in the village, was moved from a point about two miles south, and put up in 1875. The

Christian church, built partly of the materials of another such building thatstood about two and a half miles northeast of the village, was erected in 1879 at a cost of about $800- The Methodist Episcopal, a neat frame, 34x60 feet, was built in 1880, at a cost of $1853.

Captain William Ulm

THE Ulm family take their name from the following circumstance. There was in the seventeenth century a poor German boy who lived in the city of Ulm. He : was placed on board a vessel shipping from one of the j German ports. His real name was unknown. The sailors and captain called him Ulm, from the fact that he was from the city of that name. He adopted the ; name, and in course of time came to America and settled in Virginia, on the south branch of the Potomac. He there married and reared a family of seven sons and one daughter. Six of the sons became soldiers in the revolutionary war, and fought through the entire struggle. The sister married Sergt. Champ, who, as history records, was selected by Washington to undertake the perilous adventure of capturing Arnold after he had betrayed the patriot cause and gone over to the British. He made the attempt, penetrated the enemy's lines, and was only prevented from carrying out the orders of Washington and seizing the traitor, by the removal of the latter on the night when his capture was to be at- tempted. Of the sons of Mr. Ulm was Matthias, who was the seventh, and grandfather of the subject of this sketch. He was born, reared, and died in Virginia. His son Edward, father of Captain Ulm, was born on the south branch of the Potomac, Va., in 1784. He removed to Ohio with the Rennix family, "who, in their day, were largely engaged in the cattle trade. Edward Ulm settled in Ross county, and there remained until 1820, when he came west to Illinois, and settled in Mt- Carmel. Five years later, he moved to what is known as the Chapman place, in the vicinity of Mt. Carmel. In 1862 he went to Wayne county, and lived with his son Daniel, and there died in 1874, in the ninetieth year of his age. He married Katie Nathan, who was the daughter of Nicholas Nathan. He was a German by birth, and a soldier in the army of Cornwallis. At the surrender of the British forces at Yorktown, he refused to accept the exchange, but declared his intention to become an American citizen. He settled in Virginia, where he married, and moved to Ohio ; and his daughter Katie was born in Ross county in 1879. She died in

Wabash county, Illinois, in 1859. There were nine children who grew to maturity, the offspring of the union of Edward and Katie Ulrn. William, the subject of this sketch, is the fifth in the family. He was born in Ross county, Ohio, Oct. 21, 1814, and was but six years old when the family came to Illinois. He grew up on his father's farm, and remained at home until he married. He then engaged in farming and milling, and remained in Mt. Carmel and vicinity until 1872, when he came to Lick prairie and settled on section 36, where he still resides. On the 29th December, 1836, he was married to Miss Hester M., daughter of Neil and Hester Campbell. They were natives of Kentucky and of Scotch descent. Mrs. Ulm died in 1844, leaving five children, four of whom reached maturity. Harriet was the wife of Victor Wood. She died leaving four children. Sarah Ann married Nelson Wood and left seven children. William Edward was a soldier in the late war. He was a member of Co. I of the 40th Regt. Illinois Volunteers, and was killed at the battle of Mission Ridge. Samuel Neil was also a member of the same company and regiment, and was killed in the charge at Kenesaw Mountains. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Ulm married Elizabeth Payne. She died ill the spring of 1854. On the 27th of July, 1854, he married Miss Sarah, daughter of James and Mary Glenn (Pritchet) Campbell. Her father was a native of Tennessee, and her mother from Virginia. Mrs. Ulm was born in Wilson county, Tenn., Oct. 11, 1837. By her marriage with Mr. Ulm, there have been ten children, seven of whom are living. Their names in the order of their birth are : Benjamin C., who married Ida Root ; they have two children; Mary E., wife of' Nelson Wood; Hester M., wife of William Tiffany, who has one child ; George VV., Matthew S., Frances Rose and Daniel Ulra. Mr. and Mrs Ulm are members of the M. E. church. Mr Ulm was regularly ordaintd a minister of that religious organization in 1860 by Bp. Simpson at Bunker hill, Ills. Mr. Ulm, as shown above, comes of revolutionary and patriotic stock. The love of country, and veneration and respect for the institutions of the best government the world ever saw, is as strong in him as ever thrilled the heart of an American citizen. He gave his two sons - his eldest born - to be sacrificed upon the altar of patriotism. They died at the head of the column, charging the enemy, and fell with their faces to the foe. Nor did he only send his sons to the front when the Union was threatened, but with characteristic promptnets, before the reverberatiots of the first gun fired at Sumter - and whose echoes awakened the slumbering patriotism of the North - had died away, he shouldered his musket and enrolled as a private in Co. I of the 32d Regt. Illinois Volunteers. At the organization of the company he was elected Second Lieutenant. He remained in active service up to and including the battle of Shiloh. In that desperate engagement his command occupied the center. The Union forces were shattered and driven back. His company lost heavily. While falling back before superior numbers, he was wounded, being struck by no less than seven balls. He fell, and the enemy, flushed with apparent victory, passed over him. He lay upon the battle-field from two o'clock, P.M. until seven o'clock next morning. Twice more the enemy passed over him and his wounded comrades. He determined to get off the battle-field. Several of the bullets had entered his hips and back, and when he attempted to rise, he learned, for the first time, that his lower limbs were paralyzed ; but, nothing daunted, he crawled along, dragging his limbs for some distance. This process of locomotion was slow, and, fearing that his strength would fail before aid could be reached, he improvised a pair of crutches. He found a stout stick, about the proper length that would do for one, - and, in looking around, found another, but, unfortunately, it was too long. How to reduce it to the proper length was the query. It was too stout to break, and he had no knife ; but, happily, he recollected that he had good sound teeth. He set to work gnawing it, and in the course of an hour had it in a condition to break. Propping himself agavust a tree, he mounted the crutches, - his limbs barely supporting his weight when standing erect, - and by their aid succeeded in reaching the Union lines. He informed the soldiers of the condition of his comrades, whom he had left, and they were immediately succored and rescued from a slow, torturing death on the battle-field. Lieut. Ulm was sent to the hospital, and on the 3d of Sept., 1862, was honorably discharged. He still bears in his body two bullets as souvenirs of the enemy's regard. After his return home, and during the last years of the war, he was commissioned by Governor Yates as Captain in the Home Guards. Politically, Captain Ulm is a sound Republican.

Hon. John Groff

ONE of the leading and representative men of Wabash county is the subject of the following sketch. He was born in Germany/Hesse Casel on the Rhine, Oct. llth, 1826. His parents, John Frederick and Anna Mary (Baum) Groff, emigrated to America in 1841. They came direct to Wabash county, Illinois, and purchased two hundred acres of land in section 18, township 1 S., range 13 west, for which Mr Groff paid eight hundred francs, or seven hundred and sixty dollars in United States currency. There was a small log house on the place, and about forty acres of the land was cleared. There he lived and continued the improvement of the farm until his death, which occurred June 3d, 1849. His wife survived him and died in March, 1858. Th. ra were ten children by that union. John, the subject of this sketch, is the third in the family. His father being in feeble health after his arrival in this country, and John being the oldest son at home, the work of running the farm devolved upon him, - consequently, he had little opportunities for receiving an English education. But his natural good sense has, perhaps, been of more real value to him than any information he could have obtained from books la 1849 Mr. Groff commenced life for himself. He purchased eighty acres of land in section 19 in same town, for which he paid $200. He built thereon a small log house, and lived there until 1860, when he purchased the homestead where he now lives, and in 1866 erected the large and commodious brick farm-house, a view of which can be seen on another page, and there he still resides. Mr. Groff is one of the most successful farmers in Wabash county, and has a large body of fine land (nearly 800 acres), all well improved and in a good state of cultivation. The accumulation of this property has been effected through the exercise of patient industry and rigid economy on the part of Mr. Groff, assisted and aided by his excellent and amiable wife.

On the 30th. of September, 1849, he married Miss Harriet, daughter of Benjamin F. and Mary (Bratten) Gard. She was born in Bonpas precinct, Wabash county. Illinois, March 14, 1829. Seth Gard, her paternal grandfather, was one of the first settlers in Wabash county, and a prominent man in his day. He was a member of the Territorial Legislature in 1817, and a member of the First Constitutional Convention that assembled at Kaskaskia in 1818. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Groff eleven children. Their names in the order of their birth are : Benjamin F., born August 29th, 1850; he married Miss Harriet Ellen Ingram; they, have had five children whose names are : Benjamin P., John F. (dead), Minnie M-, Lewis L., Eddie E. and Lula Medora. John Frederick Groff, born Jan. 29th, 1853, married Margaret L Brines; they have had five children, whose names are: Harriet Maria, Rosa B., John L. (dead), William L., Carrie M. (dead). Mary Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Groff, is the wife of John T. Davis; they have four children, whose names are : Harriet A., William P., John L. and Nora Belle Davis. Anna Margaret was born Sept. 3d, 1856, and married George H. Rigg ; they have three children, named Harriet E., Laura B. and Lewis Sherman Rigg. Frances Elraira, born August 23d, 1858, is the wife of H. M. Cowling ; they have two children, named William L. and Caroline. Perry Allen, born Feb. 25, 1860. Alfred died in infancy. Harriet Medora, born Feb. 17, 1863 ; William Albert, born Dec. 23d, 1864; Lewis E., born June 9th, 1867 ; and Flora Viola, born March 4, 1872. Politically, Mr. Groff is a Democrat. He served one term on the Board of Commissioners of the county, and while in that position gave excellent satisfaction to his constituents.

Such, in brief, is an outline sketch of the life of Judge Groff. He came here a stranger in a strange land, with DO influential friends to back him ; but by his energy, tact, and strong common sense, has risen, in a few short years, to be one of the leading agriculturalists of southern Illinois.

The strong characteristics of the sturdy German people, which are economy, industry and honesty, are marked in him. In the neighborhood, and among the people who know him best, it is said of him that he is a good, honorable citizen, a kind neighbor and friend, and a man whose word is as good as his bond.

Henry H. Rigg

WAS born May 27th, 1842. His grandfather, Charles Rigg, was a native of West Virginia. He came to Illinois in 1818, and settled in Wabash county, where he died in the year 1842. His son John, father of Henry, was born in West Virginia, March 3d, 1805, and was in his thirteenth year when the family came west. He has remained a citizen of Wabash county from that time to the present, except for a short time in 1854, when he was in Wisconsin. John Rigg married Mary Hunter, a native of Kentucky. She was a resident of Wabash county at the time of her marriage. She died March 4, 1864. Mr. Rigg subsequently married Mrs. Middleton, and, after her death, married his third and present wife, who was the Widow Baird. By the first marriage there were eight children, four of whom are living. Henry H., the subject of this sketch, is next to the youngest. He was raised on the farm, and was thus engaged when the war broke out. He enlisted for three years in Co. G, of the 48th Regiment Illinois Volunteers. His enlistment dates from October, 1861. He remained in the service and veteranized with his regiment, was mustered out and honorably discharged in August, 1865. He entered as a private, and was mustered out as second sergeant. The 48th Illinois was a part of the 16th Army Corps, and subsequently became a part of the 15th. He participated with his regiment in the battles of Forts Donelson and Henry, Shiloh, the Vicksburg and Atlanta campaigns, and was with Sherman in his march to the sea. He was wounded on the 22d of July at the fciege of Atlanta. He rejoined the army at Beaufort, S. C. He returned home and engaged in farming, in which he continued until April, 1871, when he came to Bellmont and commenced the business of builder, and erected the second house in the village. In 1879, he added undertaking to the business of builder. On the 29th September, 1864, when at home on leave of absence, on account of wounds, he married Miss Rachel J. Risley, daughter of Jeremiah and Jane Risley. She died April 7, 1877. Subsequently he married Mary E. Davis, who died Oct. 3d, 1879, leaving one child. His present wife was Miss Jennie A. Hill, born in Licking county, Ohio. The child of the second marriage is named Guy C. Rigg. Mr. Rigg and wife are members of the M. E. Church. Politically, he is a Republican. .

George C. Ewald

JOHN EWALD, the father of George C. Ewald, was born in Germany, April 30th, 1816. On the 1st of January, 1849, he married Anna Catherine Mergle. She was the daughter of Conrad Mergle, who was a forester. Mr. Ewald left Germany in 1860 and emigrated to America, landing in New Orleans in May of the same year. He came up the river to Wabash county, and bought one hundred and eighty acres of land in section 32, of Bellraont township, and here he has lived until the present. There are two sons born to Mr. and Mrs. Ewald. George C. was born February 22d, 1857, and John William in 1850, and one daughter named Paulina, who is the wife of Thomas Newsaud, of Bellmont. George C. was a mere lad when his parents came to America. He grew up on the farm, and attended the public schools in the winter months, and therein received a fair English education. On the 19th of August, 1880, he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Jane, daughter of Jacob Seylar. She was born in Mt. Carmel towuship, Wabash county, Illinois. There are two children, the fruits of that union, whose names are John Jacob and Ida Ewald. Politically the family are Democrats. Mr. Ewald is a member of Eureka Grange. He belongs to the progressive race of men, and is liberal, and a patron of every enterprise that has for its object the prosperity or good of his locality or county.

DR. C. T. McCLANE Was born in what was formerly known as Bonpas pre- j cinct, Wabash county, July 23, 1845. Thomas MeClane ! his grandfather, was born in the north of Ireland. He emigrated to America, and in 1812 settled in Kentucky, and in 1818 came to Illinois and settled at Rochester Mills on the Wab^sh river, in Wabash county, and there | died in 1850. He had a son named Charles, father of j Dr. MeClane, who was born in Maryland, iii 1806. He came with his father to Illinois in 1818. He here married and located on Bald Hill Prairie, and from there moved to a place known as Kitchen's Bridge in Bellmont precinct, and there lived and carried on farming until he came to the village of Bellmont, where he died j in February, 1883. He married Louisa, daughter of \ Joseph and Mary (Hamilton) Sloan, a native of Ken- j tucky. She died in 1856. He subsequently married j Mrs. Anna McClain. There was no offspring of the j latter marriage. By the first there were nine children, four of whom are living. Dr. C. T. is the eighth in the family. He spent his youth upon the farm, working in the summer months and attending the'public schools of his neighborhood in the winter. He remained at home | until he reached his twentieth year, then married and ! farmed. He had determined to adopt the profession of j medicine as the business of his life, and therefore purchased the standard medical works and commenced the study. He also pursued his studies under the direction j of Dr. Strahan, of New Hope, and commenced the prac- ! tice in Lick Prairie. In 1877 he entered the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, and graduated therefrom ! in the spring of 1878, with the degree ofM. D. He contin- '. ued his practice in Lick Prairie for four years. In 1876 he removed to the village of Bellmont, and there he has continued to the present. His practice has grown large and lucrative. As a practitioner he has had much success in the treatment of diseases incident to this climate

Samuel Freeman

Is a native 6f Butler county, Ohio, where he was born October 6, 1809. John Freeman, his father, was born July 4th, 1776, near Monmouth, iu New Jersey. He removed to Ohio, in December, 1797. The trip was made through Pennsylvania over the mountains in wagons. They stopped at the mouth of the Big Sandy and built a boat, and in it floated down the river. His wife and himself with one child named Johanna, who was born on the boat as they came down the Ohio river, landed at the frontier village of Cincinnati. They wintered on Mill Creek, eight miles north of Cincinnati, at a point known as White Station. The following ispring they moved to Sims' Purchase, which land Jay between the Miami rivers, and there located. His maternal grandfather had purchased 800 acres of the above named tract, and divided it among his children. Mr. Freeman's part of the land lay at the head waters of Mill creek. There the old pioneer lived in Hamilton, Butler county, until his death, which occurred in the eighty-fourth year of his age. He was a soldier in the Indian wars from 1812 until their close. He married Elizabeth Seward, daughter of Samuel Seward, of New Jersey. They were closely related to the Seward family of New York, of which William H. was a conspicuous member. She died in 1828, leaving five children. Samuel, the subject of this sketch, is the only survivor of that family. He was born in the pioneer era of the west, and received but a limited education, which at best was confined to the subscription schools of that period, presided over and taught by muscular Irishmen, whose chief recommendation for the place was their ability to wield the birch. Therein he learned to read, write and cipher, which accomplishment made the sum total of his early education. At the age of nineteen he left home and went to work in a brick yard in Cincin- nati, and remained there two seasons, then teamed for a while, and then went to work on the public works of the State. In 1851 he came to Illinois, and secured the contract to build the earth work, tie and lay the track of the air line railroad from Louisville, New Albany, Mt. Carmel and Alton, Illinois. The failure of the contractors threw Mr. Freeman out and he lost heavily in the- enterprise. He then engaged in farming on the Deputy farm in Coffee township, and rented land in that vicinity, and continued there until the 1st of January, 1864, where he purchased 146 acres in section 6, T. 1 S., 13 west, and there he has lived and added to his original purchase until he has now 390 acres of fine tillable laud, all of which is DOW under cultivation. In 1838 he was united in marriage to Matilda Bolander, of Warren county, Ohio. She died in March, 1860, leaving six children. The names of the children in the order of their birth are Wallace A., who was a member of Co. I of the 115th Regiment, 111. Vols., during the late war. He married Ella E. Stevenson, of Xenia, Ohio. Elizabeth, yet at home. Thomas, the second son, was also a member of the same company and regiment as Wallace A., and was killed at the battle of Chickamauga. Samuel D. married Emma Mayne, of Springfield, Ohio. Sarah J. is the wife of .Robert Fenton, of Burnt Prairie, in White county, Illinois. Benjamin A. married Hattie Greathouse. Charlotte is yet under the parental roof. In November, 1862, Mr. Freeman married Mrs. Sarah Rotrammel, nee Johnson, of Sullivan county, Indiana. Both Mr. and Mrs. Freeman are members of the M E. Church. Politically Mr. Freeman was originally a Democrat, and sustained that political organization until 1864, when being a strong Union man, and in favor of the speedy suppression of the rebellion, he joined the Republican party, and from that time to the present has uniformly voted that ticket. He helped to organize, and was one of the charter members and first Worshipful Master of the Mt. Carmel Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and still holds his membership with that lodge. Mr. Freeman during the last thirty years has followed the quiet and peacful life of a farmer and stock raiser. In the latter business he has devoted considerable time and pa;d considerable attention to the breeding of stock, particularly the Poland china breed of swine, and in it has been quite successful.

William Bockhouse

WAS born in Hanover, Germany, April 19, 1836. His parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Dick) B >ckhouse, emigrated to America in 1843, and settled in Auglaize count}-, Ohio, and there engaged in the wholesale grocery business. He died January 3d, 1875. His wife still survives, and is a resident of the above named county. William, is the third in a family of six children, all of whom are livirg. He learned the trade of shoemaking, and worked at the trade in

Wisconsin, Chicago and other places. In 1856 he went to Murphysboro, in Jackson county, Illinois, and took the management of a shoe shop, and continued there until the late war broke out, when on the 2d of September, 1861, he enlisted in Co. G of the 2d Ills. Cavalry. The regiment rendezvoused at Golconda, from there went to Paducah, Ky., then to Cairo, Ills., and then on a scout as far as Columbus, Ky. The regiment was employed scouting up to the battle of Holly Springs, and from there went to Memphis, and in the spring was with Grant in the siege and capture of Vicksburg, and soon after went to New Orleans, where he was discharged on account of sickness. He came up the river and soon after went back to Ohio, where for two years he remained before he was able to work. In the fall of 1865, he came to West Salem, in Edwards county, 111., and stayed there until 1871, then moved to his farm in Wabash county, and six years later came to Bellmont, opened a shoemaker shop, and has continued there until the present. On the 18th of September, 1867, he was united in marriage to Miss Susan M. Bearrier, a native of North Carolina, daughter of Solomon and Elizabeth (Sink) Bearrier. There is one child living named Altha Bockhouse. His wife is a member of the Congregationalist Church. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and belongs to Lodge No. 500, of Parkersburg, Richlaud county. He is a Republican in politics.

Frank C. Manley

WAS born in what is now known as Bellmout precinct> Wabash county, Illinois, July 29th, 1844. The family on the paternal side were natives of Vermont, and from there emigrated to Muskingum county, Ohio, and settled near Zanesville. There Benjamin F. Manley lived until 1842, when he came to Illinois and took up his residence in Wabash county. His wife dying in 1854, he went north to Logan county, in this state, and there died tome years later. He married Julia Ford, a native of New Jersey. The Fords removed to Ohio, and there married Mr. Manley. By that marriage there were three sonsi one of whom was Francis Perry Mauley, the father of the subject of this sketch. He was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, and came with his father to Illinois in the year above mentioned. Here he followed farming for a few years, and in 1854 read medicine with Dr. Paul Sears, of Mt. Carmel, and followed the practice of medicine until his death, which took place Dec. 18th, 1862. He married Maria, daughter of James Wiley. He was a soldier of the war of 1812, and came to Wabash county, Illinois?, with Dr. Baker, for whom he worked one year after his arrival in Illinois, in order to pay him back expenses incurred bringing him from New Jersey. Mrs. Manley was born near Card's Point, in this county. She died in April, 1862, leaving fuur children, whose names are Laura, wife of William Hamilton, the subject of this sketch ; Alfred P. and Dr. Paul G. Manley.

such an education as usually falls to the lot of most boys. Being the eldest of the sons, the labor of providing for the support of the young ones, after the death of his parents, devolved upon him. He taught school for a short time, then engaged in farming, in which he continued six or seven years, also teaching in the winter months. In 1875, he moved to the town of Bellrnont, and for ten months clerked in a store. In 1877, he purchased a grocery store, and continued in that business until Nov., 1879, then sold out, and in the spring of 1880 formed a partnership with W. H. Knowles, in the agricultural implement business, which continued until July 26th, 1882, since which time he has continued the business alone. In 1878 he was appointed post-master. He served several years and then resigned. On the 5th of January, 1883, he was re appointed. On the 22d of August, 1868, he married Miss Louisa M., daughter of Alanson VV. and Louisa (Hunter) Cory. Mrs. Manley was born in this precinct, in 1843. Five children have been born to them, four of whom are living. Their names are Addis, Nora Olive, Lenard, and Bertha. Both Mr. and Mrs. Manley are members of the M. E. church. Politically he has uniformly voted the Republican ticket.

He was elected justice of the peace, but resigned one year after his election. It may be stated that Mr. Manley worked two years in the printing business. In 1863 he was in the office of E. L. Merritt, of Salem, Illinois. Not liking the business he abandoned it after two years trial.

Herny Parmenter

WAS born in Ceuterville, Wabash county, Illinois, Oct. 5th, 1828. Isaac Parmenter, his father, was a native of New York, and came west when a young man, soon after the state was admitted to the union. He was a soldier of the war of" 1812, and held the position of colonel, and was wounded in one of the battles. He was also a soldier in the Black Hawk war, and was an officer. While on duty placing the guard, he was accidentally shot through the leg by a soldier. He was for many years a leading and prominent man in this locality. He was sheriff of Edwards county before Wabash was erected, and also of Wabash county after it was formed. He owned a farm, and his sons operated it while he was in his official position. He was by trade a carpenter and builder, and also a millwright, and built mills throughout this section of the state. When he came to Illinois lie settled in Centerville, which was the county seat of Wabash. He died in 1869. He-married Sar: daughter of Major Henry Utter, who was born in New Jersey, and came with her parents to Illinois in I817i and settled at Bald Hill prairie. She died in 1845, leaving three sons and three daughters, all living, except Adin, the eldest son. He was a soldier in the late war, and a member of the 80th Regt. Ind. Vols., and was killed at the battle of Perry ville. After the death of his wife, Mr. Parmenter married Mrs. Doretha H. Bi»auchamp, by which union there were four children. Mrs. Parmenter is yet living. Henry Parmenter is the third in the family by the first marriage. He was three years old when his parents removed to Bald Hill prairie, and there grew up on the farm. In the winter months he attended the subscription schools of his neighborhood. He remained at home until his twenty-second year, when he engaged in farming in the same neighborhood. He purchased one hundred acres which he kept four years; then sold it, and in 1858 bought one hundred and fiftytwo acres in section 5, township 2, range 13 west. It was only slightly improved, with no buildings on it ex. cept a email log cabin, and a few acres cleared. There he has lived, cleared the farm, erected the fine buildings, which ornament the place, and improved it, and there he_ still continues to reside.

On the 4th of August, 1854, he was united in marriage to Miss N. J. Putman, daugh'ter of Eber and Tryphosia Putman, old settlers of Illinois and Wabash county. Her family were originally from Massachusetts, and from there removed to Ohio, then to Indiana, and in 1818 came to Illinois. Mrs. Parmenter was born in Wabash county, March 18th, 1830. There have been seven children born to Mrs. Parmenter, six of whom are living. Lester, one of the sons, was accidentally killed at the age of fourteen years. The names of the children in the order of their birth are Adin T., who married Miss Mary Alice Bristow, and have two children ; Lettie A., Sarah, Merriam, Henry, and William Franklin Parmenter. Mrs. Parmenter and two eldest daughters are members of the Christian church. Politically the family were originally old line Whigs, then Republicans. Mr. Parmenter votes the Republican ticket on all National and State occasions.

Mr. Parmenter is one of the substantial farmers of Wabash county. He is an old settler, born and bred in Wabash county. Here where he has lived among these people who know him best, he is regarded as a straightforward wide awake energetic and honorable business man, conducting his business on correct principles. He has also lately been interested in constructing ditches for the purpose of draining the low lands in the county.