Rochester Township

Rochester Township

The village of Rochester is one of the oldest in the county. The lands on which the village was located were entered by Archibald and Robert Sattley, and transferred by them to L. V. Ilollenbeck, one of four brothers - Lawrence V., Andrew F., William Henry and Henry William - who came to what is now Rochester township in 1829 or 1830.

Shortly after arriving here L. V. Hollenbeck erected a carding and corn-mill and distillery, run by a tread wheel, and located on the small branch just at the north end of Water street.

The town of Rochester was surveyed and platted by James Gregory, Esq., December 16, 1831. L. Y. Hollenbeck was proprietor of all north of Main street. A. F. Hollenbeck, administrator, acknowledged the plat before C. B. Stafford, justice of the peace, which is recorded in book H, page 141 of records.

C. B. Stafford built a two-story log cabin, where he kept the post office and stage stand. It stood on the corner of Main and Water streets, east of the Iron Bridge. Robert Sattley built his rude cabin a ehort distance to the westwaid of this, and near the spot where stands the Rochester House. A third log cabin was built by Micas Johnson, on the lot just west of the railroad depot. Several of the primitive cabins of these hardy pioneers may yet be seen.

Incorporation

The town of Rochester was incorporated February 1, 1869, under the provision of the general town incorporation laws of the State, passed in 1831, which were afterwards amended from time to time, and elections have been regularly held since that time.

On the 3d day of June, 1873, under a provision of the general incorporation act of 1872, entitled " An act to provide for the incorporation of cities and villages, approved April 10, 1872 ; in force July 1st, 1872," the organization of the Town of Rochester was changed to that of the Village of Rochester undt r said act. The certificate required by law was filed in the office of the recorder of deeds, of Sangamon county, and one copy with the Secretary of State.

Educational

The first school in the territory now comprising the village and vicinity of Rochester, was in the winter of 1823- '4 and was taught by Richard E. Barker, in a log house built for another purpose, and transformed into a school house, in which religious services might be held. In 1826, this house was burnt down, and for a time the people had no place of meeting, and the children were without a school house.

The first public school building, proper, was also a log cabin, built late in the fall of 1831, eighteen by twenty feet in size, in the most improved style of those times, having greased paper for window lights and one whole end of the house for a fire-place. However, it could boast of a fair quality of seats and desks made of sawed walnut boards. The lumber of the house was donated by Edward Clark, then running a saw-mill. The condition of the gift was that the house should be used as a school house, and if used for any other purpose, he should have pay for the lumber, at customary prices. But, to whatever uses the house was put to, no pay was ever given to Mr. C. for his lumber

This house was replaced by another and more improved one in 1837, and the first teacher who occupied it was Samuel Williams, who had a short time before taught school in a private house. Several succeeding school houses were erected on the same site, and for some years this was the only school for miles around, and the little house was crowded, at times, with sixty and seventy children.

"The second school house in the village of Rochester was of stone obtained at Samuel Williams' quary on the south fork of the Sangamon river. In the same year this was built, one of frame was also built, about two miles west of the village, near the present south fork bridge, and a few rods west of the residence of John Clark, son of Edward, and now constitutes a part of John's residence. The stone house above mentioned, was twenty by twenty-four feet, and was equal to that of any other village anywhere about.

In the autumn of 1865, the old stone house was removed, and a two-story frame one put in its place, being twenty-six by forty feet, and costing $3,600. From that time the school was graded, and taught by a principal and assistant. The following have been the principals: Everett, Hasbrouck, Stephen Goldsmith, A. O. Houston, I, K. Bradley, J. J. Berry, D. W. Binns, W. T, Crow, Robert Bradbury, Wm. R. Corey, Miss L. D. Burroughs, C. P. Johnson, Timothy McGrath, and S. A. Tobin.

On Friday, September, 10, 1880, the house took fire from a defective flue, and was consumed. School had commenced on the previous Monday. No other place being attainable for the school, preparations were immediately begun for the erection of another upon the same site, which was near enough finished by the spring of 1881, to resume the school.

The house is built of brick, and contains four rooms; but at present only two of these are needed. It is thirty-two by fifty feet, and situated on the west side of Main street, in the central part of the village, and presents a commanding appearance, being a creditable ornament to the village. It cost |5,000, which was procured by issuing bonds.

Dr. E. R. Babcock is a physician and surgeon in the village of Rochester, and was born in Lewis county, New York, March 21, 1826, the son of Job and Sarah (Williams) Babcock.

His father was a farmer on the banks of St. Lawrence river till his death in 1834. His mother died in Michigan, 1862. Dr. B. was educated in the common schools of his native county, and at the academy there. At the ago of twenty-four, he began the study of medicine under Dr. Bruster, of Jefferson county. New York, and in 1851 attended the State University at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and for some years practiced medicine in New York, and then graduated at Burlington University, in Vermont, 1861. In 1863, he came to Sangamon, and soon was placed in charge of Post Hospital at Camp Yates, near Springfield, as surgeon, eighteen months, when he resigned (January 1, 1865), and accepted an appointment on the Board of Examining Surgeons for the Eighth District of the State, which he held till the close of the late war. He spent the summer of 1866 in the East, and returned in the fall to the village of Rochester, where he has continued the practice of medicine to the present time. He was married in 185*7 to Martha Bruster, who was born in New York, the daughter of Dr. Bruster, his former preceptor, and has had two children: O. B., who was born March 26, 185*7, in Jefferson county. New York, and married to Emma Merriam, also born in Jefferson county. New York, but at the time of marriage resided in Romeo, Michigan. Young Dr. O. B. Babcock graduated in the study of inedicine, and is now practicing with his father. A younger son, born September 2, 1872, died March 1, 18'73.

son, has a large share of patronage in, and many miles around the villages in which they reside, enjoying the confidence of all who know them, both being good and influential citizens of the county, while the Doctor and his intelligent and amiable wife are useful members of the M. E. Church. Politically, they are all active Republicans.

Jamea M. Sell, a farmer in Rochester, was born August 6, 1856, in Sangamon county, the son of James and Milla (Dotson) Bell, whose sketch appears in this book. He was raised on a farm, and educated in the common schools till 1872. He then attended the schools of the First Ward, in Sj)ringfield, Illinois, and in 1875, he entered upon the study of medicine, under the direction of Dr. H. O. Bolles, of Springfield, and afterwards graduated in the State University, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the year 1879, after which he practiced medicine at the village of Blackburn, in Christian county, Illinois, during one year. He was married April 29, 1880, to Laura F. North, who was born in Sangamon county, Noveml)er 7, 1859, the daughter of Robert North, who was born October, 1814, in Buckingham county, Virginia, and taken by his parents to Jefferson county, Tennessee, when he was a boy. He came to Sangamon county with his brother, John North, who had been back to Tennessee. They arrived in September, 1832, in what is now Cooper township. Robert North was married in Sangamon county March 29, 1838, to America Schmick. She was born February 10, 1816, in Lincoln county, Kentucky, and came to Sangamon county in company with her mother, brother-in-law - John Clemons, one brother, two sisters and two nephews, arriving in the fall of 1829, and settled three miles south of Springfield. Robert North and wife had six children living in Sangamon county. He was one of the most successful farmers in Sangamon county, and was a resident of Cooper township till his death, September 24, 1880. The widow is yet living at the old homestead. Since their marriage they have moved to the farm now situated in Rochester township, and now own nine hundred and twelve acres of land in Rochester, Buck Hart and Cooper townships, which is under a good state of cultivation, and worth $40 per acre. His wife is a member of the M. E. Church. Politically, they are Democratic.

James II. Bell was born November 30, 1822, in Nicholas county, Kentucky, the son of Robert Bell, who was born March 8, 1795, in Bourbon county, Kentucky. His father was born in Ire- land, and had but four children, Robert, and three sisters. After his sisters were mairied, he had no knowledge of any relative in America, bearing his family name. He was a soldier from Bourbon county in the War of 1812. Robert Bell and Susannah Baker were married February 12, 1818, in that county, and moved to Nicholas county, Illinois, arriving in the fall of 1830, and settled four miles south of the present town of Rochester, where he continued farming to the time of his death on June 25, 1872, near lUiopolis, from injuries caused by a runaway team, four days previous. Mrs. Susannah Bell was made a cripple for life by the same accident. They had lived more than fifty-four years as man and wife, and she survived him till February 29, 1876.

The subject of this sketch came to Springfield, Illinois, with his father, and was married in Sangamon county, Illinois, May 7, 1843, to Miss Milla Dotson, who was born November, 1822, in Loudon county, Virginia; they had four children: Eliza A., born February 25, 1844, and married September 4, 1864, to Benjamin C. Gray, who was born August 12, 1832, near Hopkinsvllle, Kentucky; Mrs. Gray died December, 1874; John W., the second child, died under two years of age; Hiram F., born December 17, 1852; he spent two years in California, and traveled over the greater portion of the State, then returned home; he is now unmarried, and lives with his brother, one and a half miles west of Berry station, on the 0. & M. Railroad; James M., born August 6, 1856; studied medicine in Springfield, and attended the Medical College at Ann Arbor, Michigan; after graduating he returned home, and was married to Laura F. North, daughter of Robert North, and resides one and a half miles west of Berry station. Mr. James H. Bell has resided in this county fifty-one years, and remembers well the hardships and privations of the early settler. There were but few schools in his early days, consequently his education was limited. His summers were spent at work on the farm, and the winter time in making rails. To pay for the first land he bought, he made rails at fifty cents per hundred, to raise the first payment. He lived on the farm from the time he was married until four years after the death of his wife, then sold off his stock and moved to Springfield for the purpose of schooling his youngest son, and remained in Springfield three years, and then returned to the farm and continued farming until the present season, and has spent a part of this summer on a trip to Missouri, Kansas and Colorado, and has been twice to the mountains, traveling on different roads in going and coming, for the purpose of making himself acquainted with the west; he has also made several trips to the South, with stock, traveling by rail and boat, and at times by land. At one time, in company with a partner, he purchased a flat-boat at Peoria, and loaded it with pi'oduce, went down the river as far as Vicksburg, remained there three weeks before dispos ing of the boat and cargo, and while there went and viewed the battle-field, and stood under the shade of the tree that was said to be General Grant's headquarters, and near by was the tree where he tied his horse, the ring and staple still remaining as he left it; after disposing of the boat he returned home by rail. He is now living a retired life with his youngest brother, two miles west of Berry station.

Melvin Bell, was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, February 9, 1843; the son of Robert and Susannah Bell, who came to Sangamon county in the fall of 1830, where they resided until their death. The subject of this sketch received a common school education, at South Fork, under the instruction of now Doctor, H. O. Bolles, of Springfield, and was mai'ried October 12, 1865, to Rachel Martin, who was born in Sangamon county, now Cotton Hill, September 4, 1845. About two years after they were married, Melvin was thrown under a wagon returning from Springfield, and had his right leg broken, which crippled him for life. They have had four children, William J., Alice N., Otis A., and a son who died in infancy. He owns two hundred and seventy acres of land, which is a part of the old homestead, and is in a good state of cnltivation, and worth $50 per acre. In politics he is energetic, and is always found in the Democratic ranks.

Preston Breckenridge, a miller at Rochester, was born December 2, 1858, a son of Joseph and Sarah (Matthews) Breckenridge, and grand-son of Hon. Preston Breckenridge. His father enlisted in the One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois Infantry for a term of three years, and was taken sick at Camp Butler, and died at home November 29, 1862. His mother afterwards married Thomas Pike, and they reside in Christian county, Illinois, two miles west of Edinburg. The subject of this sketch received a common school education. He also attended the high school at Taylorville for two years. He then went to Iowa where he engaged as a clerk in a store for about one year. He then came back to Breckenridge, Sangamon county, Illinois, December, 1880. In July, 1881, he, with Wm. B. Hicks, leased the Rochester mill for a term of one year. At the expiration of eaid one year, they bought the Rcchester mill, and also leased the Athens mill for a term of three years. They are now prepared to do a milling business which demands the patronage of the county, and are supplying the neighboring towns with flour not to be excelled by any other mills. He is also a member of the Good Ttmplars at Rcchester, and in politics a Republican.

Henry P. Clark was born November 2, 1823, in Sangamon county, Illinois, was the son of Edward and Nancy Clark whose sketch appears in the township history of Rochester. He was mairied December 15, 1853, to Nancy T. Williams, who was born February 26. 1833. Their family consists of four children, Mary J., Sarah v., Edward S. and William T, He now owns four hundred acres of land which is under a good state of cultivation and worth $50 per acre. Himself and wife are members of the Christian Church. In politics they are Republican.

Ebenezer Coe was born August 25, 1812, in Louden county, Virginia, son of Horatio and Catharine (Grubb) Coe, who were natives of Loudon county, Virginia. His mother died in 1837, and his father in 1841. Jn 1839, he came to Sangamon county, Illinois, with George M. Green, where he remained until the fall of 1843, and then returned to Loudon county Virginia, and was married September 17, 1844, to Jane Grubb, a native of that county. He i-eturned to Sangamon county in 1851, and engaged in farming near Rochester, where his wife died May 10, 1860, and he again married March 26, 1861, in Loudon county to Mrs. Julia A. Edwards, whose maiden name was Conrad. They came soon after to Sangamon county, where they have had five children, Joseph H., Samuel ]?., William C. and Mary C, and John Ebie, who died at eight months of age, August 0, 1870. His second wife died December 25, 1869, and he was again married December 13, 1870, to Harriet Lanham, who was bom in Sangamon county, Illinois, July 18, 1829. He now owns four hundred and sixteen acres of land which is under a fair state of cultivation and worth $50 per acre. Politically, he is a Democrat.

John C. Coe, a retired farmer in Rochester township, was born in Loudon county, Virginia, January 5, 1825; son of Hoiatio and Catharine (Giubb) Coe, who were natives of Virginia, and farmers by occupation. The father, Horatio, died July 24, 1841, in Virginia, and the mother in September of 1836, in the same State.

The subject of this sketch received a common school education in Virginia, and was raised a farmer in Loudon county, Virginia. In the spring of 1842, he came to Sangamon county, when but seventeen years of age, and worked as a farm hand near Mechanicsburg one year, and in the spring of 1843, came to Rochester and worked by the day and month till the spring of 1849, when, in company with Thomas Rucker, Abraham Clark and Henry Sims, be started for the gold regions of California, by the overland route, with ox teams, taking a large quantity of provisions, and was six months on the way, arriving at their destination September 1.

For a short time they engaged in raining, after which Mr. Coe engaged in teaming from Sacramento to the mines north and east, until 1851, when he returned to his home in Rochester. Abraham Clark died in California, and the others came back to Illinois. Mr. Coe thinks he was well paid for the trip. He was married August 11, 1853, to Charity Grubb, who was also born in Loudon county, Virginia, October 1, 1820, the daughter of Richard and Charity (Morrison) Grubb, both of whom have died.

Mr. Coe has haci two sons, Richard Horatio, born February 2], 1855, and now resides on his father's farm; and Theodore Curtis Lincoln, born July 13, 1859, and died June 14, 1870. Mr. Coe now owns six hundred acres of land in the township, which he deems worth $75 per acre, and also one-third of two hundred and fortyeight acres in the State of Missouri. He and his wife are members of the M. E. Church at Rochester, and politically he is a Republican.

William J. Cooper, a farmer of Rochester township, was born in Sangamon county, January 4, 1844, the son of Jacob and .Jane (Kelley) Cooper. His father was a Tennesseean, and his brother of North Carolina. They came to Sangamon county, Rochester township, in 1819, where he located and farmed until the time of his death, August 22, 1864. His mother died August 24, 1864. Her death was caused by a runaway team two days after, and both buried at the old Cooper grave yard.

He was married first in 1865 to Mattie West, who was born in Sangamon county, February 22, 1849, the daughter of Samuel and Lucetta West. By this marriage, they had two children, Nora Belle, and Mattie. His wife died April 25, 1873. He was again married December 31, 1874, to Leonora O'Leera, of East St. Louis. She was born in England in 1852, and was but a child when her folks came to Illinois. Her father died about 1854, and her mother still I'esides at East St. Louis. By this marriage they have three children: Josephus, Guy L,, and Arthur J. He now owns the old homestead of his father, on which he resides, consisting of one hundred and sixty-five acres of land, which is worth $60 per acre. The wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Politically, he is a Democrat.

Robert Dawson, of Rochester township, was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, January 8, 1800; son of William and Sarah (Joblin) Dawson, who were also natives of Virginia, and farmers by occupation. His father moved to Kentucky, where he resided until his death, in 1828, and his mother died in Virginia about 1811. The subject of this sketch received a common school education, and was raised on a farm. He was married in Kentucky in 1832 to Cynthia Luny, who was born in Kentucky. He has had three children, Louis, Robert and William. His wife died in Kentucky in 1840, and in 1844, he came to Sangamon county, and settled in Rochester township, where he now resides, with his son, Lewis. Their farm consists of eighty acres which is worth |60 per acre. He is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics is Republican.

George Deyo, was born in the town of New Paltz (now Lloyd), Ulster county. New York, February 26, 1822, the son of Joseph Henry and Jane (Deyo) Deyo. He is a descendant, both on his father's and mother's side, from the French Huguenots, by that name, who were among the twelve original patentees of New Paltz. His father had four sons and four daughters, Enis,Noah, Sallie, George, Catharine, Harriet, Phoebe Jane, and William Henry. Harriet died at the homestead, September 1, 1851, Ulster county. New York. All the rest are now living and have families, and reside in the town of Lloyd and Plattkill, except Noah and George, who live near Springfield, Illinois. His grandfather, Henry Deyo, was a miller, and owned and carried on a grist-mill at Shadigee Pond, in Lloyd. His father, Joseph H., was born in Lloyd, June 26,1783, inheriting from his father about one hundred acres of land on Vineyard avenue, about one mile south of the village of Highland, to which he afterwards added two hundred acres after his marriage, which occurred May 28, 1812. He settled on the place now owned by his son, William H., where all his children were born. His wife died June 7, 1847. He died July 1, 1858. Both are buried in the old Highland burial ground. The subject of this sketch received a common school education, and was raised on a farm, and was married first, April 30, 1845, to Rachel Delphina Deyo, who also was born in Lloyd, March 19, 1823. By this marriage they had two living children, Ellen, who married Charles J. Craft, and died in May, 1873, and Anna H., who married William Cora, and now reside in Sangamon county, Illinois. His wife died March 12, 1853, and he was again married in 1855, to Mary Ann V\ Deyo, who was born in Ulster county, New York, October 26, 1829, and they have had five children, Adison J., who married Jerry S. Grub, of Sangamon county, and Sarah A., Irwin R., and Levi J., live near by, and one, John William, died November 10, 1862. He came to Sangamon county, Illinois, February 26, 1856, and located in Rochester township, where he has continued to live, where his children were born. He now owns two hundred and sixty acres of land, which is under a fair state of cultivation, and worth |50 per acre. Politically, he is Democratic.

William J). Derry, a farmer in Rochester township, was born in Loudon county, Virginia, November 9, 1826; son of Christian and Susan (Cams) Derry. His father was born in Loudon county, Virginia, and his mother in Frederick county, Maryland. They were farmers by occupation, and he so continued until his death, May 19, 1858. His mother still resides on the farm in Loudon county, Virginia. His father was a soldier in the War of 1812, and his mother still draws his pension which he I'eceives from the government. The subject of this sketch received a common school education, and was raised on a farm. He was married February 5,

1862, to Mary A. Rhodes, who was born in Frederick county, Maryland, March ll, 1827, and was the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Feaster) Rhodes, who came to Sangamon county in

1863. He died in November of that year. The fruits of this marriage were seven children, of whom five are now living: Elizabeth, now Mrs. William Cantrall; Charles M., Nora A., Mary D., and Jessie Gertrude. Two, John W., and James E., have died. He came to Sangamon county in 1853, and located in Rochester township. He bought land and began farming. He now owns four hundred and thirty acres, which is situated in Rochester, Clear Lake and Cooper townships, the home farm consisting of four hundred acres, situated in Rochester township, is in a good state of cultivation and well improved, and worth about $60 per acre. He and his wife have

John S. Uickerson, post office, Berry, was born in Nicholas county, Kentucky, April 2, 1824, son of Isaac and Sally (Smith) Dickerson, who were natives of Maryland. They moved to Shelby county, Illinois, in 1836, then removed to Davis county, Indiana. His mother died in 1836, his father in 1877. John S. received a common school education. In 1847, he came to Sangamon county, and married Mary Jane Bell, born in Nicholas coimty, Kentucky, June 6, 1828, the daughter of Robert Bell. Soon after his marriage, he moved to Indiana, but in 1851 returned to Sangamon county, and located in Rochester township, where he now resides, on his farm of two hundred and eighty acres. Mr. and Mrs. Dickerson have had six children, viz : James H., born June 24, 1848, is a practicing physician near Taylorville, Illinois, married Miss Jane Humphreys in 1875; Isaac S., born August 28, 1850, married Miss Mary E. BornhofF, who was born September 20, 1868, they have two children, Sinae and Emma; Robert P., born December 4, 1852; Sarah E., born November 14, 1854, married Alexander Allen; Mary S. born November 2, 1856; Almarinda, born January 29, 1859, married Jno. Allen, who died in 1876; she was again married to Dr. A. F. Hammer, and resides at Berry. Mrs. Dickerson is a member of the Christian Church.

Charles Fairchild^ a farmer, of Rochester township, was born in Essex county. New York, September 25, 1822, the son of Moses and Adah (llolbert) Fairchild; father born in New York, August, 1793, and the mother in Vermont, July, 1793. They moved to Sangamon county in 1833, and there resided till death.

The subject of this sketch received a common school education and was raised a farmer. He was married January 31, 1848, to Lovina Sattley, by whom he had eight children: Belle E, IViary E., Benjamin S ,Adah E., Charles, Robert, Ralph S. and Winfield S. MaryE. died August 22, 1853, in early infancy; Adah E. died August 22, 1853, at the age of two years. Mr. F. owns two hundred and eighty acres of good land, well improved, and worth $75 per acre. In politics, he is a Republican.

Joshua Graham, a farmer of Rochester township, was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, January 6, 1820; son of Nathaniel and Sarah ( Harbor) Graham. His father was born in Pennsylvania, and when a young man went to Columbus, Ohio, and a few years later to Fleming county Kentucky, where he was married to Sarah Harbor, who was born in Kentucky. He moved to Sangamon county in the fall of 1826; and in the spring of 1827 moved to a farm three and a half miles east of Springfield, between Sugar creek and South Fork of the Sangamon river, and there continued to farm until his death, which occurred on this farm. His mother died in Springfield, this county. The subject of this sketch received but a common school education while residing with his parents upon the farm. He was married September 25, 1848, to Elizabeth A. Branch, by whom he had eight children, five of which died under the age of five years. Those now living are Nancy E., now married to Isaac Troxell, George E., and Rebecca E., unmarried. After the marriage of Mr. G. he lived on the farm on Fork Prairie, and then moved to the old homestead, where he at present lives, and owns four hundred and forty acres of land, which is under a good state of cultivation, and worth $75 per acre, besides one hundred and forty acres in Christian county, Illinois, which is w^orth $45 per acre. His wife is a member of the Christian Church. Politically he is a Democrat. Has lived longer on this j)rairie than any other man.

Nicholas Haynes, was born in Chilicothe, Ross county, Ohio, March 7, 1815; son of Henry and Priscilla (Mclntire) Haynes. His father was a native of Little York, Pennsylvania, and his mother of Virginia; both died in Ross county, Ohio. The subject of this sketch received only a common school education in the old-fashioned log school house, and was raised on a farm. He was married in 1840 to Elizabeth McCarty, who was born in Ross county, Ohio. They have had ten children, viz: Henry, Charlotte, (now Mrs. Reynolds) William, Emily, Nicholas, Asbury, Mary, Ellen, Isabella and John. A son, Lewis, died from injuries received by a runaway horse while raking hay. la the fall of 1865, he moved to Sangamon county and located on German Prairie, where he lived two years, and then to Round Prairie, where he resided for about six years, then to the present farm where he now owns two hundred and forty acres of land which is under good cultivation, well improved, and worth about $75 per acre. His farm is situated on the banks of the Sangamon river, and for water facilities can not be excelled. He had one son in the late war, in the One^ Hundred and Fourteenth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, who served three years. In politics, he is a Republican.

Wm. li. Hicks, a miller, in Rochester, was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, July 29, 1849, son of Jciui ui.d Eliziibtth (Sptck) Hicks. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, and his mother of Maryland. He was a merchant, but the latter part of his life was spent as a clerk in Washington county, Maryland, and died November 28, 1869. His mother yet resides in Maryland.

The subject of this sketch received a common school education in Maryland, and was raised a farmer until seventeen years of age, working as a farm hand; he then entered a mill as an apprentice, in which he served three years, after which he continued in the same occupation in Maryland for about ore year. He was married November 2, 1871, to Maria Ruthrauff, who was born in Pennsylvania, in 1851, and in the spring of 1852, he came to Sangamon county and engaged in milling in the city of Springfield; from there he went to the town of Breckenridge, where he engaged in the same business, running the water-mill and steam- mill both at the same time. Here he carried on milling until July 1, 1880, when he came to Rochester village, where he and a Mr. Breckenridge formed a partnership in the milling business, running the mill there and also one in the town of Athens, Menard county, niinois, purchasing wheat of the farmers around about. Their mills have a capacity of fifty barrels of flour per day. He has three children: Harvey E., Wm. R. and Grace M. He is a member of the Lutheran Church, in the city of Springfield. Politically, he is a Democrat.

Charles F. Jlimiphreys, son of Alexander B. V. and Nancy R. Humphreys, was born February 3, 1833, in Woodside township, Sangamon county, three and a half miles southeast of Sj^ringfield, on the farm now owned by Joseph Shepherd. His school advantages were very limited, but every opportunity was used to a good advantage. On March 20, 1850, he, with his parents moved to what afterwards became South Fork township, Chr-istian county. On August 5, 1861, he enlisted as private in Battery C, Second Regiment, Illinois Light Artillery. He passed thi'ough all the grades of promotion up to Senior First Lieutenant, and was commissioned for that oflice June 25, 1864, but was not mustered as First Lieutenant. Was detached as acting ordnance oiRcer of Fort Donelson, Tennessee, serving about one year. Was relieved about the first of April, 1865, and appointed Adjutant of the regiment, which position he filled with marked ability until mustered out

August 5, 1865. After being honornbly discharged from the service Im- rfturned to his home in Chiittiau county, where he reniaimil \\v\\\ January 19, 18*75, at which time he was married to Miss Jane L. Williams, daughter of Samuel Williams, who was born in Sangamon county, June 1, 1835, After his marriage, he bought a part of the farm of Samuel Williams, his fatherin-law, containing the homestead and lying two miles southeast of Rochester, Sangamon county. He moved on this farm immediately after his marriage, and has lived with his father-in-law and his sister-in-law, and has since bought the remainder of the two hundred acres on which they live. Mr. Humphreys has been a member of the Christian Church nearly four years. In politics, he is a Republican, and cast his first Presidential vote for John C. Fremont, the fij'st Republican candidate for President. During his residence in Christian county, he held several important township offices, and is now one of the school trustees of Rochester township. Mr. Humphreys is six feet two and a half inches tall and is well proportioned; his standing weight is two hundred and fifteen pc unds. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, holding his membership at the present time in Taylorville, in the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Council.

Frank G. Horning, born in Baden, Germany, August 15, 1830; son of Jacob and Christena (Borrell) Horning, who were natives of Baden, Germany, and both are dead. The subject of this sketch received a common school education in Germany, and was raised on a farm. At the age of twenty-two he emigrated to America, and landed in New Orleans. From thence he went to St. Louis, and thence to Morgan county, Illinois, where he engaged as a faim hand for Samuel Westfield. Thence he came to Sangamon county, and located in the town of R*^ Chester, where he engaged as farm hand for Samuel Jones and John Higlimore. He was married in 1856 to Frances Mitchell, who was born in Kentucky in 1837. They have had thirteen children, eleven of whom are now living: Christena A., James F., Laura A., Frank J., John S., Lucinda C, Wm. Riley, George I., Otto, Bessie M. Robert and Viola have died. He now owns one hundred and six acres of land in Rochester township, which is under a fair state of cultivation, and worth $50 per acre. Politically he is Democratic.

John Johnson, a farmer, of Rochester, was born in Rochester township, Sangamon county, October 23, 1828, a son of Andrew and Maiy (Williams) Johnson. His father was from Scot-

The subject of this sketch received a common school education, and was raised on a farm; left to his own resources at an early day, he labored by the day and month, as employment offered, putting forth an unusual amount of energetic industry to maintain himself, and also to lay by something for future need. He devoted his time industriously to farm labor, and in March, 1849, mai-ried Phoebe Bell, born November 1, 1830, the daughter of Robert and Susannah (Baker) Bell. By this marriage they had five children: Isaiah B., John A., Minnie S., Lovina J. and Robert S., who died in infancy. His wife died February 17, 1871, and for his second wife he married Teresa Taff, June 1.3, 1873, Avho was born October 21, 1846, near Mechanicsburg. He is now the owner of three hundred and eighty acres of land, which is under good cultivation, and worth $50 per acre. He and his family are members of the Christian Chm'ch, at South Fork. Politically he is a Republican.

Mr. Johnson's son, I. B., was married to Anna Loveless, in April, 1871, and his father gave him a farm of one hundred and thirty acres, one-half mile distant, worth $50 per acre. His daughter, Laura, married Henry Hedrick, in December, 1870, and he also gave her eighty acres of land, two miles distant; she had five children, all of whom yet live, but Laura died August 20, 1881.

Samuel Johnson, farmer, in Rochester, was born September 18, 1831, in Sangamon county, Illinois, the son of Andrew Johnson, who was born in Dumfreeshire, Scotland, and came to America when he was a young man, and to Sangamon county as early as 1826 or '27. He was a millwright, and built a mill on the South Fork of the Sangamon river for Edward Clark. Andrew Johnson was married about 1827 to Mrs. Mary Barker, whose maiden name was Williams. He died in Sangamon county, Illinois. His mother afterwards married Greenbury Baker, and died May 12, 1842, and he died March 4, 1873.

The subject of this sketch received a common school education, and was raised principally on a farm. He was first married in 1852, to Lovina J. Baker; who was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, and died March 24, 1856, aged twentythree years, six months, and one day; the daughter of Esquire and Margaret Baker. By this marriage he had two children, Jennette F., now Mrs. Joseph Sharp, and one who died in infancy June 20, 1853. His wife died March 24, 1856, and he married again to Louisa Taff, who was born in Sangamon county, the daughter of William and Teresa Taff, both residents of Sangamon county. They have had nine children, eight of whom are now at home with their parents, Mary E., Teresa A., James E., Ida F., Flora A., Martha C, Arthur, and Ira; Dora, deceeased. Mr. Johnson began life in moderate circumstances, and has by industry and close attention to farming, obtained two hundred and eighty acres of land, which is situated in Cooper, Rochester and Cotton Hill townships, under a fair state of cultivation, and worth $50 per acre. He is also one of the strong supporters of the Republican party, and its interests. Mrs. Johnson and three daughters are members of the Christian Church.

Andrew H. Kalb, son of Absalom and Susannah (Larkin) Kalb, was born in the city of Frederick, in the county of Frederick, Maryland, to which place his father moved soon after his marriage in 1809, and where the subject of this sketch was born January 20, 1812, from whence he moved with his parents and three brothers, in the spring of 1817, to Loudon county, Virginia, and in 1819, to Smithsburg, in Washington county, Maryland, and thence to Trough Creek Valley, Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1822, and thence, in 1827, to Franklin county, Pennsylvania, and thence back to Loudon county, Virginia, in the spring of 1830, remaining with his parents and brothers, assisting in farm operations, and received a common school education, as the winter seasons gave him opportunity, till abont the age of nineteen. He learned the business of saddlery and harnessmaking, at which he continued for eleven years. He was married in Loudon county, Virginia, in the year 1836, to Ann James, daughter of Elijah James, and was born in the same county March 17, 1811, after which he changed his occupation and engaged in farming in the same county till the year 1850, when he moved with his family to Sangamon county, Illinois, whither his father and mother, with four brothers and one sister, had preceded him in the previous fall. Here the subject of this sketch tilled a part of a large tract of land owned by his father on the south fork of the Sangamon river, about five miles south of east of the city of Springfield, till about the year 1855. He purchased one hundred and thirty acres of the land, upon which he now resides, and an additional purchase of the original tract has increased his farm to two hundred and fifty acres, worth about $70 per acre, while he also owns one hundred and fifty-eight acres in Christian county, of this State. Mr. A. H. K. has had twelve children, of whom George K , Mary A., now the wife of George Waters, of this county; Elton A., and Edwin M., are living, while the following are dead: John R., James William, (who was killed in the Union service of the late war), Sarah C, Asbury R., Edgar F., Charles C, Supan R., and Emma Jane. For fifty-iive years Mr. K., has been a member of the M. E. Church, and in politics is a Republican.

I). G. Kalh^ the siibject of the following memoir, was born on the morning of the 4th day of December, 1815, in the city of Frederick, Frederick county, Maryland. His father, Absalom Kalb, born March 23, 1787, was a native of the same county; yet, being born in a house through which the State line of Pennsylvania and Maryland passed, there were but about ten feet of the latter that claim him as a native of the State. Absalom's father, John Kalb, was born November 12, 1761, in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, in what is now the county of Berks, at or near a place then called Bottsgrove, not far from what is now Reading, on the Schuylkill river. Here his father, also named John Kalb, settled at an early day, before the Revolutionary war, having emigrated from his native country, that of Polish Germany, where he imbibed the theory and spirit of freedom from political oppression, and left it to join the struggles then engaged in by the British colonies of North America. John Kalb, Sr., was born in the year 1733, and hence was in the prime of young manhood "when the struggle in the colonies commenced, and found him in their midst, imbued with the same spirit of freedom, where he was rearing a family of four sons and two daughters of like minds and spirits; and,M'hether the elder Kalb enlisted personally in the battles of the Revolution or not, it is certain that others of his household did, as numerous anecdotes of them go to show. And, no doubt, he had something in inducing his cousin, the Baron DeKalb, to cast in his fortunes with the people who, like their noble countrymen, the Polish Germans, were oppressed by stronger powders, and offer his gratuitous services, in company with that distinguished soldier and patriot, La Fayette, in freeing the oppressed Americans. Perhaps the readers of this sketch will allow a digression, in order to connect the history of Sangamon county with so brave and philanthropic a man as the Baron DeKalb, from whose ancestors came at least six of his name, who went out from Sangamon county as soldiers in the late war, where they joined a score or more of others of the same name and lineage, from this and other States of our Union, to fight and die, if need be, to maintain what their ancestors procured by treasure and blood, in company with the brave Baron DeKalb, during the struggle for American freedom; but we shall be brief on this point. He died from the effects of numerous wounds, while fighting at his post on the field of battle at Camden, South Carolina, August 19, 1780; and when the British ofticer came to condole with him, as he lay prostrate, DeKalb extended to him his hand, saying, '-! thank you for your generous sympathy, but I die the death I always prayed for - the death of a soldier fighting for the rights of man."

Many years after his death. General Washington, when at Camden, inquired for his grave; and after gazing upon it for some time, he breathed a sigh, and exclaimed: " So, there lies the brave DeKalb, the generous stranger who came from a distant land to fight our battles, and to water with his blood the tree of liberty. Would to God he had lived to share its fruits."

We find that there went out from the county of Sangamon, no less than a half dozen men of the name of Kalb, as true Union soldiers, in the late war of the Rebellion, all of whom came in the same direct line of ancestry, whose blood flowed in the veins of the brave Kalb of Revolutionary fame. The names of the six alluded to are: D. G. Kalb, the special subject of this sketch, and his two sons, already mentioned, also three of his nephews - John William, son of his brother Ezekiel L., and James William, son of another brother, A. H., both in the One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois Infantry, and William A,, son of Jesse D., in the One Hundred and Thirtieth Regiment. James William and William A., were killed in battle.

The great grandfather of D, G. Kalb, moved from Maryland to the wilds of Ohio in 1805, with his youngest son, George, from whom a numerous progeny have come, and many of whom are yet residing in Ohio, and in the late war there were quite a number of chaplains and soldiers of that name from that State.

In the autumn of 1849, the subject of this sketch came to Sangamon county in company wiih his father and mother, and several brothers. The father, Absalom Kalb, was favorably known in this county and city of Springfield, for the time of over sixteen years, to the day of his death, January 7, 1865, for his zealous adherence to the cause of the Union, as also for his fervency in the church of his early choice. The M. E. Church always found in him a true friend and liberal supporter, for more than sixty years. After his death his widow, Mrs. Susannah (Larkin) Kalb, made her home with the youngest living son. Dr. A. J. Kalb, in the city of Quincy, Illinois, and died there, April In, 1873.

D. G. Kalb was engaged in teaching about seventeen years of his life, from September 22, 1837, till 1854, and for about as long a time, from 1847 to 1864, he was a local preacher in the M. E. Church, of which he has been a member nearly fifty-five years. He enlisted as a soldier in the war of the late Rebellion, in Company G, One Hundred and Fourteen ch Illinois Infantry Regiment and served to the close of the war, a term of three years.

Mr. K. was married in 1841, to the widow of George W. Shutt, of Virginia, who, after the death of Mr. Shutt, came to Sangamon county in 1836, residiog in Springfield till 1841, and thus became an old settler of the county, and on her return to Virginia, on a transient visit, she was married a second time, thus connecting her husband, D. G. K., with the Old Settlers' history, till, by a residence of thirty-two years, now he is a bona fide old settler. Mrs. D. G. Kalb died at their residence at Willow Dale Farm, on Round Prairie, Rochester township, February 3, 1881. She had one child by the first marriage, who is now the wife of Philip Shutt, till lately, the publisher and editor of the Edgar county Times, in the town of Paris. By his marriage with the widow, Mrs. Eliza S. (Bennett) Shutt, Mr. K. had three sons, Ethelbert, William Edward B., and George B., and two daughters, Mary Abner and Julia Maria. The son, Ethelbert, enlisted in the Thirty-third Regiment, Illinois Volunteers, August 20, 1861, and served nearly four years, and was honorably discharged at the close of the wa'r. William Edward B., enlisted in the company and regiment with his father, March 26, 1864, and was killed in the battle of Guntown, Mississippi, June 10, 1864. George B,, and his brother, Ethelbert, yet live, as also the daughter, Mary Abner, who remains single, and resides with her father, at Willow Dale. The youngest child, Julia Maria, died January 10, 1859, at the age of four years. Mr. K. respectfully declines to be further interviewed, and refers to numerous older, and, as he modestly says, more worthy and prominent citizens of the city and county, with whom he has had a pleasant and profitable social acquaintance for more than thirty-two years.

B. and Amy (Meredith) Lawley. His father was born in Smith county, Tennesee, June 24, 1811, and came to Sangamon county in 1828. He remained one year near Springfield, and in the spring of 1829, moved to what is now Ball township, where he farmed until his death, in March 23, 1876. The subject of this sketch received a common school education in Sangamon county, and was raised on the farm. He was married in 1859 to Mary A. Gaines, who was born in Indiana June 26, 1842. They have had eight children, Sarah E., Amy J., Mary M., Margaiet L., Albert W., Charles A., Laura H. and Willie I. Willie died December 23, 1879, when an infant. Mr. Lawley moved to the present farm in 1878, and owns eighty acres of land situated in Rochester township, which is worth $50 per acre. Himself and wife are members of the Christian Church and politically they are Republicans.

Milton I). McCoy, an old farmer and highly respected citizen, adjoining the village of Rochester, was born on the spot where he now resides, from which he has never moved his place of residence; his father settled upon it in the year 1818, and here Milton was born October 16, 1823. The land has never been transferred to any other owner than from his father to himself, as heir. His father, James McCoy, was born in Nicholas county, Kentucky, July 25, 1791, but his grandparents, John and Mary (Ebermen) McCoy, were born and raised in Pennsylvania, and were there married, and raised a large family, being the descendants of one of three brothers, who came at an early day, in the time of the American Colonies, from Scotland, two of whom settled in the South and one in Pennsylvania, and from whom all now known to be of kin in these jjarts have descended. John, the grandfather of him who is the leading subject of this sketch, was born July 11, 1763, and died October 26, 1823, and his first son was the father of Milton D. McCoy, and was born July* 25, 1791, as before stated; the next born was Polly, October 13, 1793, who died October 3, 1855; Elizabeth, born November 3, 1795; next Joseph E., born October 5, 1797; John A., born September 13, 1799, died July 14, 1835; Nancy, born November 16, 1801; Prudence, born March 10, 1804; Zillah, born March 5, 1806; Sophia, born October 5, 1809; Andrew T., born November 26, 1811; Jessie C, bora October 9, 1815.

James McCoy was married in 1814, to Jane Murphy, who was born of German parents, and raised ten children: Caroline M., born in Kenlucky, July 16, 1815, and married L. A Grims- ley, August IV, 1834; Sylvester G., born in Kentucky, April 28, 1817, married Mary Robinson, raised two children - James B. and Caroline M. - and died in 1844; Joseph E., born in Sangamon county, March 6, 1819, was the first white child born within what is now Sangamon county; Isaiah T., born in Sangamon county, May 16, 1821; Milton D., born October 16, 1823, on the farm on which he has ever since resided - fiftyeight years - and claims that no other man in the county has lived so many consecutive years on the spot where he was born.

On the farm is a mineral spring, of considerable notoriety, known as the Sulphur Spring, and gives name to the farm. A further account of this spring, by D. G. Kalb, is found in the history of the township. Mr. M. D. McCoy mirried Melcina A. Cooper, in Sangamon county, March 29, 1848, by whom he has had seven children; the fourth one, Valmore, born July 31, 1855, and died September 25, 1857. Of the other six: Sylvester J., born May 3, 1849, was married January 8, 1874, to Pauline Abel, and reside in Rochester. They have had four children: Milton A., died in his third year; Jay, born March 6, 1876; Eddie A., born December 29, 1878; Nina, born December 17, 1880. J. cob C, born October 19, 1850, resides near Cawker City, Mitchell county, Kansas; Louvilta Jane, born December 1, 1852, and married O. C. St. Clair, December 12, 1876, and has two children: Nannie M. and Milton N., and lives in Springfield, Illinois. Jesse K., born May 7, 1858; Mary M., born May 3, 1861, and Lillie C, born May 9, 1865; the last three are single, and reside with their parent.

Mr. McCoy has been an efficient and valued member of the M. E. Church since 1840, having been a steward thirty-eight years, and a class leader about the same time. His first experience as a member of a Quarterly Conference was forty-three miles from home, when Methodist preachers' circuits were much larger than at present. Having been recording steward and Sunday school superintendent for many years, it was his special duty to attend these quarterly gatherings of the official members of his church, and he was punctual in his duties. In politics he has been a Democrat, and as his party have been predominant in his township he has held, creditably and efficiently, many of the offices therein, and has been an advocate of education and tempei'ance.

Tennessee, December 18, 1800, and married Anna Burnett, by whom one child was born in Tennessee, named John Wesley, and they came to Sangamon with his brother. Rev. John Cooper, in 1819, where a second child was born. One child died, and the mother died February 22, 1824, (not 1830, as the Old Settlers' book states,) Jacob Cooper was married again, to Jane Kelly, of Springfield, and they had five children, Melcina A., Melvina C, Elzirah C, Almarida, and Wm. J. Jacob Cooper died August 22, 1864, and his widow, Jane Cooper, died August 24, 1864,both in Sangamon. Mr. M. D. McCoy's home farm consists of two hundred and fortyfive acres, and he owns some land in Macon and Logan counties; making a total of three hundred acres.

Mr. McCoy tells how they did in early times when they raided fiax and cotton, and worked them into clothing without machinery, and that not until the year after he was twenty-one did he ever wear a coat bought from a store. To supply themselves with meat in the summer time, they would stop their plow a little while before sunset and go to the woods and kill a deer, and if they failed in that by night, then they would easily find a wild turkey roost and get a load of that kind of game. To obtain bread they would take a sack of corn on each of two horses and trudge off to a horse-mill and grind with their own team; or, perchance he, when quite a small lad, would mount "Old Ben," the white ox, loaded with sacks of corn, and proudly wend his way to the same mill, and, with the bovine slowly turn the creaking mill as the corn fell from the hopper into the eye of the upper rough mill-stone, and when ground, again wend his way homeward with the coarse meal, whistling merrily as he proceeded over the prairie and through the woods. Often they were compelled, by reason of high waters, and impassable roads, to use a hominy-mortar and pestle, to convert their corn into something' like meal and hominy mixed, and use a punctured sheepskin to separate the coarse from the fine. Thus at night they prepared bread for the day following, and this for weeks at a time.

They attended meetings and Sunday school in their bare feet and without coats in summer time. The men and boys too, and often the women, would go eight or ten miles to house or cabin raisings, which were occasions of glee and gladness to old and young. Mrs. McCoy's grand-father, John Cooper, served in the Revolutionary war and also in the War of 1812, under General Jackson, atid her father, Jacob

Cooper, served in the Black Hawk war from Sangamon county. James McCoy, Mr. D.'s father, was in the War of 1812, and was one of the two who captured General Proctor's carriage, the General making his escape by cutting the harness loose and he and his driver mounting the team. He was also in many Indian skirmishes in those early days, and was the first constable elected in this, then a part of St. Clair county, and often then being obliged to leave Mrs. McCoy alone with the children. She was brave, and kept her gun, axe and other implements ready for use as occasion might offer, but as she treated the Indians kindly when they would occasionally come to the cabin to trade with her, giving them food to eat, she was seldom molested by them. She was a good marksman, and would now and then shoot a wild turkey as it carelessly came near her door, but did not go into the woods to hunt. She had a large family to clothe by means of the cotton and flax goods she manufactured by her own hands, yet she had skill, and found time to make horse-collars, back-bands, baskets, &c., of cornhusks and hickory bark.

Edmond Miller was born in Sangamon county, February 1, 1843, son of John C. Miller, who was born October 19, 1812, in Loudon county, Virginia, and came to Sangamon county in 1835, where he married Melvina Satley, who was born September 3, 1819, in Sangamon county. John C. Miller inherited a part of his father's estate of land in this township and went to farming, which he continued till his death, January 13, 1853. His widowed mother is living in the village of Rochester. Edmond's grand-father, Christian Miller, died September 14, 1842, and his grandmother August 20, 1864, both in Sangamon county.

Daniel Ott, livery, feed and sale stable keeper, in Rochester, was born in Champaign county, Ohio, November 22, 1839, a son of Abraham and Nancy (Shamblin) Ott, who was born in Virginia, and moved to Ohio, where he engaged in farming, until his death, February 1859. His mother still resides in the same county, in the town of Mechanicsburg.- The subject of this sketch received a common school education in the schools of Ohio, and was raised on a farm. In 1856, he came to Sangamon county, Illinois, and worked as a farm hand for two years, and then engaged in farming on his own account. He was married April 20, 1861, to Elvina Betts, who was born in Sandusky county, Ohio. They have had nine children, of whom six are now living: Mamie, Hermon, Elmer, Dan B. and

Bruce and Ashbury Olen. He continued farming in Rochester township till the fall f>f 18 72, when he sold out his farm and engaged in the livery business in Rochester, where he now is pi'epared to do all kinds of work in his line of business, having from seven to ten buggies, and an equal number of horses to meet the demands, and bas, beside, some of the finest stock in the county, which he has lately brought from the State of Kentucky. In politics he is, and always has been, a Democrat. His wife is a member of the Christian Church.

Homer D. Parker, merchant and postmaster, the only child of Darius Smith and Jane (Stagg) Parker, was born in Warren, Washington county, Vermont, May 4, 1853. His father was born in Springfield, Vermont, November 10,1810, and his mother in Panton, Vermont, September 21, 1823. They were married July 23, 1845; his father's occupation was that of a miller. In May, 1855, he came to Sangamon county, Illinois, and located at Rochester, where he was employed as miller and clerk in the Rochester mills and store. He woi'ked in the mill when it was running and in the store when the mill was idle, until his death, December 6, 1857. The widowed mother now lives with her son. He was raised in Rochester and obtained a common school education by working for his board and going to school of winters, and working out by the month on the farm during the summer, from his tenth to his seventeenth year, at which time he began teaching school for a livelihood. He taught school for three and one half years, and in the fall of 1873, engaged as clerk for C. Carter & Co., with whom he remained one and a half years, removing from Rochester at that time to engage in business for R.' Kimball, at Mount Auburn, Illinois, with whom he remained until the 29th of March, 1876, when he opened a drug and grocery store, at Mount Auburn, Illinois, on his own account. He was appointed deputy postmaster there shortly after and held the post oflice in that capacity until March 17, 1879, when he was commissioned postmaster. He was married September 26, 1877, to Margaret Elizabeth Lawrence, who was born in Catawba, Clark county, Ohio, September 24, 1853. She is the daughter of Doctor John Heiskill, and Sarah Ann (Morris) Lawrence. Her father was born March 1, 1830, and her mother February 22, 1835, in Springfield, Ohio. They came to Christian county, Illinois, in July, 1854, and located at Mount Auburn, where the Doctor has since been engaged in the practice of medicine. H. D. and M. E. Parker have two children - Annie J., born August 16, 1878, and Ruth L.,.

born June 28, 1881. In April, 1880, James M. Firey and H. D. Parker purchased the old stock in the store formerly occupied by C. Carter & Co. Parker carried on business at both places until July, 1880, when he removed the stock from his Mount Auburn store, to the store in Rochester, where they (Parker & Firey) are now engaged in selling drugs, groceries, hardware, queensware, etc., and have a large and lucrative business. In politics he is a Republican.

George IV. Poffenberger^ Sen., a farmer of Rochester, was born in Washington county, Maryland, October 16, 181 7, the son of Christian and Mary (Brantner) Poffenberger. His father was born in Maryland and his mother in Virginia. In 1826, they moved to Franklin county, Ohio, and thence to Sangamon county, arriving October 28, 1839, and located in Rochester township, where he resided until 1846. He then moved to Jefferson county, Iowa, where he resided on a farm. His wife died in February, 1853, and he died in October, 1857. The subject of this sketch received a common school education, and was raised on a farm. He came to this county with his father and worked on a farm. He was married February 9, 1841, to Rachel Jones, who was born io Kentucky, September 16, 1814, the daughter of Andrew and Elenor (Goodwin) Jones, who came to Sangamon county in 1824, from Kentucky, and located in Rochester township, where they resided until their deaths. Mr. Poffenberger has had six children, of whom five are now living; John A., Mary E., George W., Eliza A. (now wife of Luther Osborn Meredith) and Edwin. He is now the owner of two hundred acres of fine farming land which is under good cultivation and worth $60 per acre. His wife and son Edwin are members of the Methodist Church. He is in politics, a Democrat.

George P. Sidener, Jr., a farmer, was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, December 10, 1833, and came with his father, George P. Sidener, Sr., to Sangamon county in March, 1852, and settled near his present residence in Rochester township, where his father died in 1865, and his mother in 1866. George P., Jr., married Miss Hannah R, Eider, daughter of Samuel and Pha^be (Clinkenbeard) Elder, February 10, 1858, and has continued to reside in the same township ever since, farming his own tract of forty acres, worth $70 per acre, and at times renting other lands. He has had eight children, six of whom are alive: Charles Lincoln, Ada A., James G., Edward B., William A., and Freddie E., with two deaths, Phoebe, died in 18G0, at two years of age, and one in

Thomas C. Smith, was born in Sangamon county, Illinois, March 31, 1848; son of Samuel B. and Mary E. (Shephard) Smith. His father was born iu Virginia, June 9, 1810, and died January 22, 1880. His mother was born in Shephardstown, Virginia, October 31, 1813. They came to Sangamon county in the spring of 1845, and located near Chatham, on Lick creek, and about 1867, to Rochester township. The subject of this sketch received a common school education in this county, and was raised on a farm. He was married in 1876, to Anna Craig, who was born in Scotland, September 27, 1853, a daughter of William and Mary (McL.iughlin) Craig, who came to Sangamon county in 1856. They have had three children, Mary E., born October 11, 1876; Samuel B., May 24, 1878; and Louella, born January 21, 1880. He resides on the home farm, consisting of two hundred and fifty-two and a half acres, which is under a fair state of cultivation, and worth $50 per acre. His mother resides with him, and has been a member of the Methodist Church fifty-three years. Mrs. T. C. Smith is a member of Christian Church. In politics they are Republicans.

LaxDson H. Smith (deceased), was born in Nicholas county, Kentucky, February 20, 1831; sou of William and Elizabeth (Henderson) Smith, who also were born in Kentucky, and both are dead. The subject of this sketch went to Missouri at seven years of age, in 1838, where he resided for seven years, and from there went to Shelby county, Illinois, when he was twice seven years old, where he remained seven years, thence to Jackson county, Oregon, where he also remained seven years. He returned to Shelby county, where he engaged in farming in 1859, and in March, 1860, he was married to Caroline M. Bell, the daughter of Isaac and Susan (Stokes) Bell, who came to Sangamon county in 1831. Her mother died April 26, 1877, and her father in June 18, 1880. After their marriage they moved to the farm where she now resides. Mr. Smith died December 11, 1876, leaving a widow and four children, Alice, Riley, Anna and Susie. Their farm consists of two hundred and eighty acres of land, which is under good cultivation, and worth $00 per acre. She and her daughter Alice are members of the Christian Church at South Fork, and he was an elder in the same, fourteen years, to the time of his death.

1837, the son of Robert Sattley, Sen., who was Toovn in the vicinity of Vergennes, Vermont, October 21, 1788. He and his brother Archibald Avent with the family of Mrs. Lovina Hawley, a widow lady with two daughters and three sons to White county, near Carmi, Hlinois, in the fall of 1818. He was there married in February 1819, to Eliza Hawley, who was born March 7, 180J, near Vergennes, Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Sattley moved to what now is Sangamon county, in June 1819, and settled about a half mile noith of where Rochester now stands, and then moved to the place where he lived until his death, March 27, 1842. His mother died June 13, 1800. The subject of this sketch received a common school education in Rochester township and was raised on a farm. He was married November 7, 1860, to Margaret J. Green, who was born in Virginia, May 10, 1839, the daughter of George M. and Mary (Miller) Green, who were natives of Virginia, and now of Sangamon county, Illinois, where her father now resides. His mother died in 1879. They have had four children, two of which, Robert and Ralph, died in infancy, and Mary E., Emma J. and Louann A. yet living. He is now the owner of two hundred acres of fine farming land, which is under a good state of cultivation and worth |50 per acre. In politics, Mr. Sattley is a Republican.

Asa Sterling, a farmer, Rochester, was born in County Down, Ireland, April 15, 1816; son of William and Agnes (Irving) Sterling, who also was born in County Down, Ireland, and emigrated to America in 1824, and located at Newl)urg. New York, where they resided until their death. The father of A. Sterling was a merchant, from early life to the day of his death, which occurred about the year 1845. The mother died in 1824, soon after they came to America. The subject of this sketch received a common school education in New York, and at the age of sixteen learned carriage-making, Avhich he followed until twenty-one years of age, when he entered the store, and continued in the furnishing trade with his father till the death of the latter, and afterwards for a term of twentytwo yt ars. He was married in 1839, to Pha'be E. Carpenter, who was born in Newburg, New York, October 23, 1813, and was the daughter of James C. and Jane (McVeigh) Carpenter, both of whom are now dead. They have had four children, William J., and Edmond H. yet live, while two named Edmond and Mary Irving, are dead. On account of failing health Mr. S. quit merchandising and engaged in farming in New York, until the year 1868, when he moved to

Sangamon county, Illinois, where he pnrchased two hundred and fifty acres of land and ei'o^aged in farming. His land is in good cuudiiiwn and worth 175 per acre, being well and successfully cultivated. His two sons, now reside with him on the farm. He and his wife are members of the Second Presbyterian Church, in Springfield. Politically he is a Republican.

William A. Whitesides, farmer, Rochester township, was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, November 5, 1815, son of Charles and Elizabeth (Graves) Whitesides. His father, Charles Whitesides, was born in 1785, in Virginia, and taken by his parents to Fayette county, Kentucky. They traveled in boats from Pittsburg down the Ohio river to Limestone - now Maysville - Kentucky. Charles Whitesides was married in 1810, in Fayette county, Kentucky, to Elizabeth Graves, who was born in 1788, in that county. They had five children in Fayette county, and in 1819, moved to Cumberland county, same State, where five children were born, and the family moved to Sangamon county, Illinois, arriving June 30, 1831, in Springfield. In 1833, they moved to the vicinity of Williamsville, and in 1835 moved to German Prairie, northeast of Springfield, where he farmed until his death, March 31, 1836. His mother died June 25, 1855, in Logan county, Illinois. The subject of this sketch received a common school education in the State of Kentucky, and was raised on a farm. He came to this county with ^is parents, where he has continued to ret-ide ^ver since. He was married February 19, 1846, to Honor A. Branch, born in Nicholas county, Kentucky, March 24, 1827, the daughter of Edward and Rebecca (Cassity) Branch, natives of Kentucky, and came to Sangamon county in the fall of 1830, and resided in Rochester till the death of Mr. Branch, after which the widow made her home at the house of her son-in-law, and daughter for sixteen years, prior to her death, July 25, 1876, They have had twa children, Albert, born December 27, 1846, and died December 7, 1860, and Louisiana, born September 11,1849, who was married October 13, 1870, to Edward Miller, and died November 23, 1871. Mr. Whitesides has been an active farmer, and one of Rochester's best citizens. He is the owner of one hundred and forty acres of fine farming land, which is under good cultivation, and worth $50 per acre. He has given up farming on account of failing health, and now rents his farm, while he retires from active life, having recently purchased a good residence in I the village of Rochester.