Prairieton Township

Prairieton Township

' Ills t iwn.ship, as organized, is located in the north-east corner of the county. It is forme<l from the south half of township fourteen, and the north half of township thirteen north, range one east of 3d principal meridian. For civil purposes it was attached, and formed a part of Stonington Precinct. It is bounded on the north and east by Macon ounty, south by Assumption, west by May and Stonington townships. The government surveys were made by AVilliara S Hamilton, U. S. Surveyor, in the summer of 1821. At that jieriod the region round about was one vast wilderness. Clad in nature's garb, no marks of civilization were to be seen on the linings of its timbered streams, or on its extended prairies, over which the deer and wolf gamboled with all the freedom of their native wildness. But as soon as the government permitted, emigration was on the move, and almost before the footprints of the Indian were washed from the .soil, the tracks of the white man were made ; and then the " prairie ship," (the covered wagons) were seen traveling over the beautiful prairies. This was the pa.st ; but at the present time, instead of the buffalo, the deer and the wolf, its plains are covered with herds of cattle, flocks of sheej), and large numbers of swine. At first, the spot selected by tlie pioneer was not always such as was sought by those coming at a later date ; convenience to wood and water was taken into consideration, and the edge of some grove or timber on the Flat Brunch was the location generally selected by the early emigrant. For years after the adventurous pioneers entered the beautiful gi-ovesaud woodlands of Prairieton, the prairies remained in their native garb. But now, instead of one vast inland sea of prairie, it is all fenced into large and small enclosures, and dotted over with farm buildings and school houses. Among the ]iioneer settlers were Aaron McKenzie, John BIcKenzie, George Jacobs, Sr., who came in 1838, the father of George W. Jacobs ; Michael Schneider also came in 1838 ; Samuel McKenzie, Jacob Trauber, ftlartin Stumbaugb, Elijah B. Hymer, John H. Belyeu, Daniel B. Hymer, Ellington Adams, came in 1836. Pious Durbin, David Simons, Andrew Simons, Washington Crooks, Samuel Wydick, Henry Porter, James Strain, Frederick Hammer, in 1837. John Young, Job B. Davis, Thomas C. Skiff, and R. R. Adams, in 1835. The.se people had no postal fiicilities for years after they settled here, but had to go to Decatur for all mail matter. The postage on a letter was 25 cents. Afterwards, it was reduced to 121 cents. Envelopes were not used ; but they folded the letter sheet like to a " thumb-paper," and sealed it with a red wafer. A whole sheet constituted a single letter, but if the same sheet should be cut into pieces it made it double, and postage was charged accordingly.

John Young, and his son-in-law. Job B. Davis, made the first tan yard ; it was located in the south-eastern part of this township. This was a much needed enterprise for the country in that early day. It enabled the old settlers to procure their leather on a cheap basis - and for years it was the custom of each family to do their own slit emaking and repairing.

near Decatur, or Archies' Jlill on the North Fork. There was a "horse-mill" below where Elliugtou Adams settled, owned by Aaron McKenzie, which was a neighborhood convenience to some extent. It was a very crude affair, and consumed a great deal of time to feed it by hand. The capacity for grinding, when run at full power, was calculated to be about one bushel and three pecks per day. The patrons used it day ai)out, in turns, or rather night about, for they ground mostly at night.

Drainage. - Prairieton is well watered by the 1-^lat Braneli and its tributaries. It enters the township in the north-eastern corner, and runs in a south and westerly direction through the township, leaving it on Sec. 6, 13-1 ea.st. The principal fork of this stream heads in the Grand Prairie, near Assumption, and runs in a northerly direction for about ten miles - and empties into the Flat Branch on Sec. 3.5. A. D. Xorthcutt, a pioneer settler of the county, located in this township in 18.^1. At first he lived ou the old Hammer homestead, but now resides in the north-east corner of the township. He is one of the large farmers of the township, and is also a preacher of the Christian denomination.

On the adoption of township organization in 1866, this territory, for the first time in its history, assumed a regularly organized form. It embraced the south half of township 1 4-1 E. and the north half of township 13-1 E. embracing 36 square miles or 23,040 acres. The soil is rich, and is one of the best corn and wheat growing and grazing districts in the county. At the first election, held in April, 1866, W. M. Eaton was elected supervisor aud B. M. Burdickju.stice of the peace. The other justice, John D. Brown, held over.

The Illinois Central Railroad passes through the south-east corner of this township. That, with the Wabash road, affords shipping and traveling facilities for the residents of this section of the county.

Among the older settlers of Christian county, now residing in Prairieton, may be mentioned the following - we also give the date when the}' came to the county. Joseph Adams, a Kentuckian by birth, and one of the leading farmers and stock raisers in the town- settled in the county in 1837 ; his wife, Xancy M. Wydick, is a native of Macon county, 111., and came to Christian couuty in 1833. The venerable Elder A. D. Xorthcutt is al.*o among the early and prominent settlers of the township ; he is a native of Kentucky, and settled in the county in 1837. His wife, Mary J. Hammer, is al.so a native of the same state, and came to the county in 1837. Among the more recent settlers may be mentioned R. R. Gordon, also a Kentuckian, who came in 1856 ; Michael Workman, in 55 ; E. G. Coonrod, in 1861 ; Edward S. Valentine, in 73 ; Theodore F. Malhoit, in 57 ; John Plain, also a Kentuckian, came here in 1855. Prairieton ranks among the wealthy and wellimproved townships of the county.

Biographical Sketches

The gentleman, whose portrait heads this sketch, is one of the old settlers of Prairieton township, and a native of Kentucky. He has been living in Christian, county since 1837. He is descended from a family of English origin, who settled in Virginia at an early date. His grandfather on his father's side emigrated from Virginia to Kentucky at au early period. Plis father, Ellington Adams, was born in Montgomery county, in the year 1804, was raised in the same part of the state, and died when he was at an early age. He married, in Montgomery county, Kentucky, I'^lizabeth Gorden, wlio was also a native of Montgomery county, Kentucky, in the year 1809. Her father's name was Randel Gorden, -who was a native of the state of Virginia, and moved to Kentucky in the year 1791, and settled in Montgomery county. When he made his home in Kentucky it was then wild and unsettled, and the pioneers experienced considerable difficulty with the Indians, were yet numerous throughout the country. The settlers were only able to form a little ground in the near neighborhood of a fort, and they were obliged to carry their guns with them when they did their plowing to guard against the Indian attacks. When Jlr. Adams re-visited Kentucky he saw on the old farm of his grandfather six Indian graves still preserved, where were buried six Indians whom members of the family killed while resisting their at- tacks in the first years of their settlement. Mr. Adams' grandfather died on the same farm on which he settled on first moving to Kentucky. Mr. Adams' fother lived in Kentucky until 1834, and then moved to Sangamon county, Illinois, and went to farming on Lick Creek, "eleven miles south-west of Springfield. He lived in Sangamon county three years, and then came to Christian county and settled in a grove about a mile north of the timber in Prairieton township. The grove was known subsequently as "Adams' Grove." He lived there until his death ^in February, 1876. Ellington Adams was a man who came to Illinois with but scanty means, and at the time of his death had accumulated a sufficient competence to thoroughly provide against all the wants of life. He owned seven hundred and ninety acres at the time of his death. He was a man of considerable industry and economy, and had been a good citizen of the county. His w'idow still resides on the old homestead. He had ten children, of whom four are now dead; six are living, all of whom reside in Christian county with the exception of one who lives over the line in Shelby.

Joseph Adams was born in Jlontgomery county, Kentucky, on Red River, January 17th, 1833. He was one year old on the removal of the family to this state, and about four years of age when they came to Christian county. He has consequently been prin- cipally raised in this county, in tiie vicinity of where he now lives. The schools of that time were of rather an inferior character, and the school he attended was three miles away and held in a little log house, with puncheon floors, and slabs for benches. With such advantages as these Mr. Adams managed to secure the foundation fur a good education. He afterwards attended school one year in Mt. Sterling, Montgomery county, Kentucky. During Mr. Adams' younger days railroads, of course, were not in existence, and St. Louis was their only market, and, when eleven years old, Mr. Adams was pressed into service to assist in driving the hogs to St. Louis ; and this was kept up every year until the building of the Illinois Central Kailroad in 1854. It required from seven tn twenty days to drive the hogs to St. Louis, and on their return trip they brought back a full stock of groceries and store goods for use until the next trip. Mr. Adams lived at home until his marriage, which occurred June 9th, 1856, to Nancy Widick, who was born in Macon county, near the Christian county line, and daughter of Samuel Widick, who was from Pennsylvania, and settled in Macon county at an early date. He bad been a soldier iu the war of 1S12, and served in the North-western campaign against the Indians. On the breaking out of the war of the rebellion he iusisted on going into the armv, although he was then a very old man. He enlisted in Company G, 41st Regiment Illinois Volunteers, and served for two years, enduring the hardships of a soldier's life with comparative ease. After two years' .service he was taken sick, and died in the hospital at St. Louis in 1864. In 1856 Mr. Adams moved on the tract of land which now comprises his present farm in the southeastern part of Prairieton township. He has been farming there from that time to the present, and has been engaged to a considerable extent iu feeding sto3k, and in former years in raising fine hogs. He is the owner of thirteen hundred and sixty acres of land. Mr. Adams is a man of considerable energy and business capacity, and one who has made his own way through life principally by his own efforts. He has had twelve children, eight of whom are living: George W., John Wheeler, Florence, Ira, Jesse, Eva, Elizabeth, Anna May. Three children died in infancy, and a daughter, who married John !Myers, died at the age of twenty-two. In his politics Mr. Adams has always been a member of the democratic party, to whose principles he has closely adhered. His first vote for president was cast for Douglas in 1860. He has been engaged in business largely, and his time has been so taken up that he has had no opportunity to take any active part in politics. He was elected a member of the board of supervi.sors for Prairieton township in 1867, and served four years. He was elected again iu 1870, and has filled that position to the present time. On another page we give an elegant view of his farm and residence.

Edmund G. Coonkod

In making mention of many of the leading farmers and representative men of Christian county, it is proper that we should include the name of Edmund G. Coonrod. He was born in Greene county, Illinois, Sept. 5, 1832, and is the son of Stephen and Caudis Coonrod. As the name implies the family is of German ancestry. Stephen Coonrod was a native of Grayson county, Ky. The fiither of Stephen was also a native of the United States, and spoke German fluently. At an early day he settled in Kentucky, where he married. He subsequently moved to Illinois and settled in Greene county, in 1830, where he resided until his death. Stephen Coonrod married Miss Caudis Lee while living in Kentucky, and soon after his marriage settled in Wayne county. 111., and subsequently removed to Greene county. Ills. A few years prior to his father's arrival in that county, he improved a farm west of Carrollton. He was one of the pioneer preachers of the Baptist church in that part of the state. In the history of Macoupin county. Ills., it is stated that the Rev. Stephen Coonrod preached the first sermon to the pioneers of Scottville in that county. He organized a small church in the south part of the township, holding his meetings occasionally at the residences of the first settlers. He died iu the winter of 1874 or '75, on the farm he had improved, and where he had resided for nearly half a centur}'. Stephen Coonrod had a family of tea children, six boys and four girls, of whom the subject of our sketch is the sixth. Edmund G. lived at home with his father until he was twenty-nine years of age. During his minority he attended the district schools of the neighborhood. On the 7th of February, 1861, he was married to Miss Nancy Doyle, of Greene county, Ills. Mr. Doyle was one of the early settlers in the above county. Mr. Coonrod and wife have been blessed with a family of four children, viz : Edmund D., Orson P., Rena B. and Marv A. Mr. C. immediately after his marriage, in 1861, settled in Christian county, where he now resides, on the land which he had previously entered and made some improvements as earlv as 1857. His farm now comprises 320 acres, well improved, with good, substantial buildings, a view of which can be seen on another page of this work. In pulitics he is a democrat.

John Plain

JOHN PLAIN. Mk. Plain, who is now farming in Prairieton township, is a native of Kentucky, and was born in Muhlenburgh county of that state, December 1st, 1821, the third of four children of David Plain and his wife Sarah, whose maiden name was Ginch. His father came to Kentucky from Virginia, and was born in the state of Indiana. Mr. Plain lived in the state of Kentucky till he was seven years old, and then his father moved all the family to Illinois, and settled in Morgan county four miles north of Jacksonville. After living there two years the family moved from Morgan county to Macoupin in the winter of 1830-31. The)- were overtaken by the deep snow on Apple creek, and were compelled to remain all winter in a log house which had only one room about 14 feet square, with a rude chimney built of sticks and clay. Ten persons occupied the room a greater part of the winter. The snow was so deep it was impossible to get a team out, and the wood to burn was packed on their backs as well as their corn and provisions. As soon as they could start they made their way across the prairies, which were covered with water, to Shaw's Point, eight miles east of Carlinville, where ^Ir. Plain was raised. His father died there. Mr. Plain married, in Macoupin county, Mary Ann Workman, a native of Kentucky. In 1848 he moved to Sangamon county on Lick creek, and was farming there till 1852, and then came to Christian county and settled on the Flat Branch in Prairieton township; in 1853 he moved over the line into Shelby county, and lived in that county till 1863, and then came back to Prairieton township in Chri.stiau county, and lived there till,the fall of 1S65, and then moved to Maryland, but returned the same fall to Prairieton township. In 1870 he again moved to Maryland, and made one crop in St. Clair county, but came back to Illinois the same year, and settled on the place where he now lives, section 13, T. 13, R. 1 E. His first wife died October 17, 1866. His second marriage occurred August 21, 1867, to Nancy M.Teeple, who was born in the state of Tennessee. Mr. Plain had eleven children by his first wife, of whom eight are living, and five by his second wife, of whom two are living. In politics he has been a democrat, though on local elections, etc., he has sometimes voted for the best man for office. Mr. Plain has now lived fifty-two years in Illinois, and is one of the oldest settlers of the state.

AllONii tilt old si.-ttlfr.s (if this couuty umu: better deserve mention in this work th;in Jlichael Sclmeider, of Prairieton township. He was born in October, 1812. His birth-place was at Hoh-eined, about eighteen English miles distant south-east from Zweibrucken, in Rhine-Bavaria, Germany. Hiih-eined was about fifteen miles from the French border. Ilis fluher was also named Michael Schneider, and his mother's maiden nanu' was Mary Sehaeffier. His mother died when the subject of this sketch was six years of age. About the year 1821, his father came to America, and after four years sent back for his children to come over. Michael was then thirteen years old. He came over to America in a sailing vessel, accompanied only by a sister two years older than himself. It required eighty days to make the passage across the ocean. This was in the year 182-5. Landing in New York, he went to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where his father had made his home in this country. After residing two years at Bethlehem the family removed to Cincinnati. While living in Cincinnati he married Margaret Kautz, who was born at the village of Ispringen, within three miles of Ptorzheim, in Baden, Germany, (in the 21st of IMarch, 1811- She was the daughter of Christojiher Kautz and Catharine Lichtenbarger. Her father died when she was about fifteen. Her mother emigrated with the family to America in the year 1828, when Mrs. Schneider was in her eighteenth year. From New York, where her mother landed with the family, they went to Baltimore, and after a residence in that city of ten months proceeded to Cincinnati. Mr. and Jlrs. Schneider were married on the 11th of November, 1833.

this state, and engaged largely in farming and the milling business. Mr. Schneider was induced by him to come to Illinois. He and his wife embarked in a boat down the Ohio river. On account of the Mississippi being frozen, they made a stop of a few days at Paducah, Kentucky, and as soon as the river was free from ice ascended the Mississippi and the Illinois to Beardstown, and from there made their way to Sangamon county. He settled on Lick creek, twelve miles south-west of Springfield.

In the year 1837, he removed to his [iresent location in this county. Christian county had not at that time been organized, and the place where he settled was in the county of Shelby. The old pioneers thought generally that he had made a bad location. It was commonly believed that the " milk-sickness " prevailed in that locality, and his few neighbors thought he would soon be obliged to remove to another place. There were few settlements then in the neighborhood. A few improvements had been made along the timber, but the prairie was all wild and uncultivated, and over it roamed wolves, deer, and other wild animals in large numbers. He would have been considered a rash prophet who would have ventured to predict the development of this wilderness into the rich and prosperous agricultural country which now greets the traveler's eye. The nearest market for hogs was in St. Louis, about a hundred miles away It usually required eleven or twelve days to make the trip. The most of their groceries and provisions were also obtained in St. Louis. He freijuently hauled wheat to St. Louis, obtaining for it only thirty cents a bushel.

Mr. Schneider came to thisstate without any means. On reaching Illinois his cash capital amounted only to eight dollars. It required hard work to get ahead. The first ten dollars he earned after coming to Saugamon county, was by making brick at Springfielil, tramping the mud with his feet. He hauled the rock for the first culvert built on the railroad between Jacksonville and Meredosia - the first railroad constructed in the state of Illinois. By selling a horse and part of his scanty household furniture he managed to increase the amount thus earned to cue huudred dollars, with which he entered the eighty acres where he now resides. After cimiing to this county he hauled part of the rock used in the construction of the first State-house at Springfield. After getting his farm in good shape he bought cattle at Belleville for feeding purposes, an experiment which at that time people considered would not prove profitable. He was accustomed to hard work. Although his education was deficient he jjossessed good business capacity and had good judgment about stock. For a considerable number of years in partnership with men named Ketcham and Middleton, he bought stock, and by careful attention to business and persevering industry, he managed to better his condition and finally to accumulate considerable property. He has owned large tracts of land, part of which he has divided up among his children. He still has about a thousand acres lying in one body in sections twentv-five and thirtvsix, Prairieton township.

The children of ]Mr. and Mrs. Schneider have been eight in number. They have anglicized the family name so as to read Snvder, according to the P^nglish spelling. The oldest son, Michael Snyder, was born on the 2od of October, 1834, and is now farming in Shelby countVi near Moweaqua. Christopher F. Snyder, tlie next son, was born on the 29th of October, 1836 ; in the spring of 1880 he removed to Kansas. Margaret, the oldest daughter, was born on the 1st of September, 1839, and is now the wife of Tom C. Pointing, of May townshij), one of the prominent stock men of the county. William J. Snyder was born on the 28th of May, 1842, and is now farming in Shelby county. Valentine Snyder was born on the 28tli of October, 1844, and for a number of years has carried on the banking business at ^loweaqua. Peter Snyder, was born October 20, 1847, and died in October, 1848. Adam Synder was born on the 10th of Januar}', 1850, and is now engaged in farming in Prairieton township. Mary Caroline Snyder was born on the 2d of December, 1853, and married James Gregory, a merchant of Moweaqua. Christopher and William served in the Union Army during the war of the rebellion. Christopher enlisted in the 41st Illinois regiment, and served over three years ; William enlisted in the 116th Illinois regiment, and was discharged by reason of disability. Regaining his health he enlisted in the navy.

In his political principles Mr. Schneider was formerly a member of the old whig party. When a young man he had a sincere admiration for Henry Clay, the great statesman and favored sou of Kentucky. He was a whig as long as that party lasted, and became a member of the republican party on its organization, voting for Fremont, the first candidate for the presidency presented by the republicans for the sufl'ragcs of the people.

The name of Mr. Schneider may well be presented to the readers of this work and to the rising generation, as a man who has been successful by dint of his own industry, and whose success has not been tarnished by anj' su.?picion of dishonor or unfair dealing. From a small beginning he managed to secure a comfortable competence. In their old age he and his wife can look back over a well-spent life, and enjoy the fruits of long years of successful labor. Enterprise and liberality are conspicuous traits of Mr. Schneider's character. On the building of the Illinois Central railroad in 1854, he donated land to induce the company to locate a station on the site of the present town of Moweaqua. This town was laid oft' on his land, and through his liberality is consequently owing the fact that the prosperous town of Moweaqua has its present existence. He also built the first store-house ever erected in Moweaqua. He has been careful to conduct all the business operations in which he has ever been engaged on a basis of the most rigid honor and strictest integrity. He is one of the few men of large business dealings who have never been plaintiff or defendant in any suit in court. He has gone through life without incurring any enmities, universally respected by those with whom he has been brought in contact. He was raised in the church. In his early life he was a Lutheran. He afterward became connected with the Presbyterians, and for many years has been a Methodist. In early times his house was the place in which religious services were held, and was much frequented by traveling Methodist ministers, to whom an open hospitality was always extended. He was one of the principal contributors to the building of the Methodist Church at Moweaqua, and also assisted in the construction of the Assumption Methodist Church. He began his career with the belief that " Honesty is the best ijolicv." and his life well illustrates the old truth that the most lasting success is only built on the sure foundation of honest and fair dealing.

Michael Workman

Mr. Workman has been a resident of Christian county since 1S55. The family is of German descent. Jacob Workman, the grandfather of the subject of our sketch, was a resident of Maryland before the Revolutionary war. He moved from ^Maryland to Kentucky at an early day, and settled in Bourbon county, where he lived until his death. It is said that he was very fond of hunting, and that was his principal occupation from the fall until the spring. David Workman, the father of Michael Workman, was a small buy when the family moved to Kentucky. He afterwards moved to Overton county, Tennessee. He married Lydia Bilyeu, daughter of Peter Bilyeu. The Bilyeu family was of French descent, moved from New Jersey to Kentucky, and from that state to Tennessee. His marriage probably took place in Kentucky. David Workman emigrated from Overton county, Tennessee, to Sangamon county, Illinois, about 1829. They settled on Lick creek, fifteen miles south-west of Springfield. !Mr. Workman's father died in Sangamon county. His mother followed the father a short time afterward. David and Lydia Workman were the parents of thirteen children; five now deceased; three are now living in Sangamon county, three in Kansas, one in Oregon, and the subject of this sketch now living in Prairieton township. Christian county. Jlichael Workman was born on Lick creek, December 5, 1831, and raised in Sangamon county. The schools of that day were poor in comparison with those of the present. The families were mostly poor, and the boys growing up at that time were obliged to stay at home a greater part of the year and work on the farm. What education Mr. Workman received was obtained in a log schoolhouse, one end of which was taken up with the fire-place, with puncheon floors, and split logs for benches. He lived at home until his marriage, which occurred October, 1851, to Julia Ann Bilyeu, oldest daughter of John H. Bilyeu. After his marriage, Mr. Workman began farming for himself. He lived in Sangamon county until Juh', 1855, when he moved to Christian county. He sold his property and stock in Sangamon county, with the intention of going to Kansas, but, instead, bought eighty acres in township 13, range 1 east. Christian county, which now comprises part of his present farm. He has since been living in this part of the county. His first wife died January 12, 1859. He was married again to Hannah J. Workman, daughter of Samuel and Belinda Workman.

Mrs. Workman was boni in Overton county, Tennessee. Mr. Workman lias had eleven children - Nancy, no\y the wife of Steplieii Bilyeu, Andrew, farming for himself in Prairieton township, David, also one of the farmers of Prairieton township, John, Lydia, now the wife of John Wyckofi', Francis M., Peter, Belinda, Jacob, who died in infancy, Olive J. and Joseph. The four oldest were children hy his first marriage. Mr. Workman is one of the farmers of Chrislian cuuuty who has made his way in the world by his own industry. He Ijegan life with nothing ou which t'l rely except his own energy. By dint of labur by the day in ^^augamon county, he managed to accumulate a little capital, and when he came to Christian county, had barely enough to purchase eighty acres of huid in the Flat Branch timber and brush in Prairieton township. By good management and hard work, he has managed to get along in the world, and now has a farm composed of six hundred and sixty acres of land in sections 4, 5, 8 and 9 of Prairieton township. Mr. Workman is known as one of the representative farmers of Prairieton townsliip, and his farm is among the best stock farms in the county.

In his politics, lie was a member of the old Whig party, and cast his first vote for president for Gen. Winfield Scott, in 1852. When the Whig party went to pieces he became a democrat, and has since supported the principles of that party. He is a man who attends closely to his own business affairs, and is favorably known in his part of the country as a good business man and an upright citizen.

Walter P. Johnson

Is a native of Guernsey county, Ohio, born July loth, 1830. He is the sixth of a fiimily of seven sons and two daughters, of Benjamin J. and Elizabeth C. (Foote) Johnson. Benjamin J. Johnson was a native of London, England, and on arriving at the age of manhood he emigratatl to America, and settled in Guernsey county, Ohio, and soon after married Elizabeth C'. Foote, who was a native of Ireland.

In November, 1849, they removed to Greene county, Illiuois, and ficttled about eight miles east of CarroUton, where they engaged in farming.

In 1859, Mr. Johnson and family removed to Christian county, and settled on land which he had previously purchased. The homestead farm forms a part of the large farm of the Johnson Brothers. Mr. Johnson in his religious belief was a Quaker; his wife was a member of the Church of England. Mr. Johnson died at his residence, January 9th, 1875. His widow still survives him at the advanced age of seventy-eight years ; now residing at the old homestead.

Walter P., the subject of this sketch, received his early education in the common schools of Ohio and* this state. Ou attaining the age of thirty-three he married ]\Iiss Mary Frances Palmer, daughter of P. A. Palmer, of Christian county, Illinois. This marriage occurred April 23d, 1859 - by that union they have had born to them two sons. Mr. Joiinson and wife are both members of the Baptist Church, and in politics he is a republican..

The business of his life has alwa3's been that of a farmer, in which he has been successful, and is now the owner of one among the good farms of this county, a fine lithographic view of which appears on another page of this work.

ISOM ADAMS. This gentleman, one of the old settlers of Prairieton township, is a native of Kentucky and was born in Montgomery county of *hat state, February 21, 1831. His ancestors were early residents of the state of Kentucky. His father, Ellington Adams, was born in Kentucky and raised there, and married Elizabeth Gorden, born in Montgomery county, Kentucky, six miles from Mt. Sterling, February 17, 1810, who was the daughter of Kandal Gorden, born in Virginia in the year 1784, and came to Kentucky in 1796, when twelve years old, and settled in Clark county, and lived there until his marriage, when he moved to Montgomery county, where he died. Isom Adams was the second son of a family of ten children , when he was three years old his father left Kentucky and moved ti^ Illinois; they came to Sangamon county in the fall of 1834 and settled in Loami, southwest of Springfield sixteen miles, where they lived until 1837, and then moved to Christian county, where his father, Ellington Adams, lived until his death. Mr. Adams' mother still survives, and is now living in the old place where the fannly first settled on coming to the county; at the time of their arrival there were only a few families who had settled on the Flat Branch in Prairieton township. The country was inhabited only along the tindier, and people generally thought that the prairie would never be cultivated. The family located about a mile north of the Flat Branch timber in a grove, which from that time to the present has been called '-Adams' Grove." As the country settled up schools were established. The schools were the old-fashioned subscription schools, and offered few advantages for obtaining an education in comparison with the present time. After Mr. Adams got old enough to derive much benefit from schooling, he was obliged to remain at home and help improve the farm ; so that his schooling embraced onlv a short period in the winter months. He lived at home until his first marriage, which occurred November 28, 1851, to Elizabeth .Jacobs, who was born in Sangamon county and raised mostly on the Flat Branch in Prairieton township, as the Jacobs were early settlers in Christian county. She died January 29, 1854, leaving one child, Nancy Isabelle. After his marriage jMr. Adams went to fiirmiug for himself His second marriage took place on the 27th of April, 1859, to Lydia Bilyeu. She was born in Sangamon county, and was the daughter of John H. Bilyeu. The Bilyeu family settled on the Flat Branch in Prairieton township at an early date. The family were from Kentucky, moved from tliere to Tennessee, and from there to Sangamon cijunty, where they were among the early settlers. Mr. Adams' grandfather, Peter Bilyeu, was one of the pioneers of Sangamon county. Mr. Adams moved to his present farm, a view of which is shown on another page, in 1859. This farm he improved himself; he owns four hundred acres in Prairieton townsliip. !Mr. Adams is one of the representative and substantial farmers in the township, and a man who has attended closely to his own business affairs and has participated but little in politics. He is, however, a democrat, and lias always voted that ticket since he was old enough to vote. Mr. Adams has had twelve children ; Isabelle, who married Wra. E. Gorden, Ellington died in infancy, Jo.seph who died at the age of sixteen, Elizabeth, .John A., Lucy Jane, Sallie A., Varinda, Wilbin, James, Minerva and Thomas. JNIr. Adams' life occupation has lieen that of a farmer; lie has lived to witness a great change in the "Flat Branch settlement." When he first looked upon that country, when a boy, it was one vast uncultivated plain covered with tall jirairie gra.ss, and here and there a lonely cabin in the timber's edge; now the entire settlement is under a good state of cultivation, with fine crops of wheat and corn growing where but a few years ago naught but the open and uncultivated prairie was to be seen; and now substantial farm-houses and barns stand dotted here and there in every direction over the land, surrounded with orchards and fine ornamental shade trees.

The subject of this sketch is a native of Montgomery county, Kentucky. He was born on the 11th day of September, 1813. Hi.s ancestors, who were of Welsh descent, were among the early settlers of Virginia. His grandfather, Jeremiah Northcutt, fought seven years in the colonial army during the Revolutionary war, and was present at Yorktown when the surrender of Cornwallis brought an end to the long conflict with the mother country. Jeremiah Northcutt was afterward one of the pioneer settlers of ^Montgomery county, Kentucky, where he died. Elder Northcutt's fother, Wm. Northcutt, was born in Virginia, and was a snuiU boy at the time of the removal of the family to Kentucky. He died in Montgomery county of that state, in the 3'ear 1865. The subject of this sketch was raised in Montgomery county, Kentucky. He obtained a good English education, and, after reaching his majority, taught school for a year. On the 25th of August, 1835, he married Selena Masterson. In the fall of 183G, he came to Illinois, and after living for a few months in Sangamon county, near Rochester, in January, 1837, he settled in this county on Mosquito creek, in the present Mosquito township. There were few settlers then living in that part of the country ; probably not more than eight or ten families. There were no mills, no stores, and no market for produce. He relates that it was no uncommon thing for a farmer to leave home with two or three yoke of oxen attached to his wagon, loaded with as fine wheat as ever grew, to find a market at Springfield, Beardstown or St. Louis, the trip requiring one or two weeks. He would sell his grain at from tweutyfive to thirty cents a bushel, and invest the proceeds in a calico dress and a loaf of white sugar for his wife, a pair of brogan boots for himself, a few pounds of brown sugar for family use, a barrel of salt, a drawing of tea, and a paper of pins, when he would find that the money he received for his wheat would be about expended. Cattle when driven to market four years old would command about eight dollars per head ; horses from forty to fifty, and other stock in proportion. Corn sold at si,^ and eight cents a bushel, and was often used for firewood. Farming products were low, and drygoods and groceries high.

The death of his first wife took place in the year 1848. His second marriage was on the 1st day of June, 1850, to Mary I. Hammer, was born in Clark county, Kentucky, and came to Illinois in 1834, first living in Sangamon county, and afterwards in Christian. From 1848 to 1850, Elder Northcutt lived mostly in Shelby county. In the year 1843 he united with the Cliristian church, and soon afterward began preaching the gospel. In 1854 he became a resident of Frairieton township. In connection with the work of the ministry, he has carried on the business of farming and stock-raising. He has ten children now living. The oldest son, W. H. Northcutt, lives in Texas. Mary is the wife of R. R. Adams, of Frairieton township, and Lucy Ann married L. Messick, of Morrisonville. The remaining are children by his .second marriage : Laura L. was the wife of Dr. J. W. Whitmire, of JMetamora, F. J. Northcutt, residing in Kau.sas, Silas W., Lizzie W., who married J. H. Scril)ner, of Frairieton township, James A., now living in Colorado, Ann !M. and Jesse G. Northcutt.

He is now one of the oldest ministers of the Christian denomination in this part of the state. At the time of the organization of the Christian church, to which he belonged, on the Mosquito, it was the only church of that denomination in the county, and comprised only seven members, of whom Elder Northcutt was one. From this small beginning he has seen the denomination advance until DOW it is one of the largest and most influential in the county. He is an eloquent and gifted speaker, and always commands large audiences. He was raised in a slave state, and with pro-slavery sympathies, but on coming to Illinois, his convictions made him in favor of free soil. He was one of the early members of the republican party. He was an acting justice of the peace in Sangamon before the formation of this county. He was one of the first magistrates elected after the organization of the county, filling the office for eight years from August, 1839. On the adoption of township organization he was chosen from Frairieton township a member of the first board of supervisors, and filled that position four years. He made several canvasses for the legislature and other public positions, but as he was the nominee of a party much in the minority, his election was scarcely expected.

When he first settled in this county, the neighbors were distant and visitors few. Hospitality and sociability were conspicuous traits. He declares that when he looks back to those early times and compares the friendly feeling, the terms of social equality on which he lived, and the plentifulness with which every one had his real wants provided for, with the jealousies of the present day and the wasteful extravagance in dress, living and other expenditures, he feels like exclaiming, " Give me back the days of pioneer log cabin life !"

Mr. Gorden is a Kentuckian by birth. His ancestors were formerly residents of Virginia. His grandfather, John Gorden, was one of the patriotic sons of Virginia who fought in the American army during the Revolutionary war. He served through the whole seven years struggle with Great Britain. His home was on the James river, seventeen miles from the city of Richmond. In the j-ear 1796 he emigrated from Virginia to Kentucky, and settled in Clark county on Four Jlile creek, four or five miles from Winchester. He lived there till his death. Randal Gorden, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born on the James river in Virginia in the year 1784, and was twelve years old when the flimily moved to Kentucky. When the family settled in Kentucky it was a new and wild country, still containing many hostile Indians. The family reached their new home in the wilderness by way of the Ohio river, and in floating down that stream they were obliged to lie in the bottom of the boat to prevent being shot by the Indians from the banks. Randal Gorden was married to Rachel Baber, and moved from Clark to ^Montgomery county on Slate creek, where he resided the remainder of his life, a period of nearly fifty years. He died in November, 185.3, when nearly seventy years of age. The Baber family were from the same part of Virginia as the Gordens. Mr. Gorden's mother was nine or ten years old when she came to Kentuck}', and was accustomed to relate incidents which occurred as she rode a pack hor.se on a trail acrcss the mountains on their journey from Virginia to Kentucky.

Randal Richardson Gorden, the subject cf this biography, was the next to the youngest of a family of eleven children, and was born in Montgomery county, Kentucky, on the 18th of December, 1821. All his brothers and sisters grew to years of maturity, and all married and had families except Mr. Gorden's oldest brother, who was a lawyer, and died at Little Rock, Arkansas. Mr. Gorden was raised in his native county in Kentucky. The schools which he attended when a boy, were of the kind common at that time in Kentucky - subscription schools held in log school-houses with puncheon floors and split log benches. His first marriage occuried in November, 1848, to Isabelle Warren, who was born and raised within three miles of Winchester, Clark county, Kentucky. She only lived eighteen months. When twenty-four years of age he learned the blacksmith trade near Camargo, in Montgomery county.

Kentucky. He ImJ first visitt-il Illinois in the year 1845, but the country at that time oftered so few attractions to the settler, and malarial diseases jirevailed to such an extent, that he had little notion of making his permanent home in this state. In 1800, however, he concluded to remove to Illinois. While on liis way to this state on tlic 28tli of February, 1856, at Cincinnati, Oliio, he married Nancv Frost, wlio was born on the 15th day of 8eptendier, 1833, and was I'aised in jMontgomery county, Kentucky. She was descended from a Virginia fiunily. On reaching lUiuois, Mr. Gorden lived for one year on the farm of Ellington Adams in this county, and then settled on the jilace where he now lives, in section 22 of township 14, range 1 east, where he has since lived. He has ten children living; Martha Elizaln-tb, Belle W., .Jennie, Itandal Puehardson, Rachel, Ishani, Mary, Nannie IMay, Fannie and Annie. The last two are twins. Besides the above-named there are two children deceased.

In his political principles Mr. Gorden is one of the old democrats, who began life as a democi'at, and has never swerved from democratic principles. He is a much respected citizen of Prairieton township, and is a (piiet and peaceable man who has lived on teiuns of friend.ship with all his neighbors, and has never sued any one, nor been sued, in all his life. He is one of the old Kentuckians, who retain a fondness for the noble pastime of the fox-chase. Nothing delights him so much as occasionally to mount a good horse and join in this old-fashioned sport, though opportunities for its exercise arc e(.)mparatively rare.