White Oak Township (part 1 of 2)

White Oak Township

John Benson wras born in York County, Pennsylvania, March 1, 1778. He was the eldest of ten children, two only of whom are now living. His father was born in Deny County, Ireland, and his mother, whose maiden name was Mollie Taylor, was born in York County, Pennsylvania. Her parents had emigrated from Ireland at an early day. His father, James Benson, was a private soldier in the Continental army, and fought gallantly for American independence. He was taken prisoner at Fort Washington, Col. Magraw commanding, and was confined for a long time on board of a prison-ship, at Philadelphia. James Benson was a farmer, but being anxious to better his condition, he removed to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, when young John was only three years of age. In 1785, he moved to McClellan's Station, Bourbon County, Kentucky. At this place John received all of his schooling, which was none too much. He wTas taught to spell by an old bachelor Englishman, out of Dillworth's spelling-book. At the age of twelve his education was finished, and although it was not very much, it was not by any means to be despised in those days. Those were pioneer days in Kentucky. James Benson hauled the logs to build the first house in Paris, Bourbon County. In 1705, James Benson removed his family to John Mills Station, (now Millersburg,) Xicholas County, Kentucky, where he died. On the sixth of October, 1803, John Benson married Sallie Music, at the residence of Colonel Bobert Berry. He at once removed to near Stirling, Montgomery County, wdiere he was engaged in the tanning business. Three years after this he removed to Gibson County, Indiana.

John Benson was a soldier in the war of 1812, and fought at Tippecanoe under General Harrison. He says that the Indians had been committing- some depredations when Harrison was sent to Tippecanoe with orders not to fight unless it was necessary. The Indians were found drawn up in line of battle, but they signified their willingness to make peace. The whites asked for a place to camp, and the Indians showed them a position which seemed very poor for defence in case of an attack, and a better locality was chosen. Some of the Indians followed the whites, and asked if they had any cannon, and when told " yes," said they knew better. The whites confined a man whom they thought to be a spy, until the battle was over. They lay on their arms that night, and were furiously attacked by Indians in the morning at about two hours before daybreak. The Indians made four separate attacks, and drove the whites back to their horses, but could drive them no farther. The Indians retreated just at daybreak, but the whites considered themselves about half whipped. The battle lasted two hours and five minutes by the watch.

Mr. Benson remained in Gibson County, Indiana, until 1820, when he removed to that part of the county of Sangamon, which now forms Logan County, Illinois. He arrived Xovember 6th, with his brother-in-law, Asa Music. Here he rented a cabin and went to work. He cultivated a garden with ox'es shoes ! AVe have heard of a great many kinds of agricultural implements, but this is the first time we ever heard of ox'es shoes being put to such novel service. The crops were fine, and everything would have been satisfactory had it not been for the fever and ague. The little settlement there consisted of three families only, and the loss of Mr. Benson's daughter Polly, a young lady between seventeen and eighteen years of age, cast a shadow over them all. But the settlers seemed contented with their lot; the game furnished meat, and the groves furnished honey. Mr. Benson had some experience as a peddler. He peddled all over Illinois, flaxwheels, which he took on a debt from his brother William.

Mr. Benson states a curious circumstance about the domestication of the hog. The year before he removed to Illinois, he came out to the State with his brother-in-law and brought a load of hogs. They lost some on the way, and those that were taken through to Illinois became in one year so wild that they had to be shot to be saved. If lie bad not shot them, probably he would have had no more claim on them than on the wild deer. In 1823 he removed to Blooming Grove and entered the farm now owned by Andrew Scoggin. He was preceded a year or more by John Dawson and John Hendrix. Thomas Orendorff came during the spring of that year. They assisted Mr. Benson in raising his cabin.

Mr. Benson has a lively recollection of the Indians. Old Machina, the chief of the Kickapoos, often sang lullabys to his children. With the Indians the culinary art is still in its infancy. On one occasion old Machina came to Mr. Benson's house with a deer which he had killed, and borrowed a kettle to cook apart of it, He cut off the head and boiled it for a short time, and then made a broth by mixing in some meal. It was a mixture which no one but an Indian could eat, and Mr. Benson, jr., says he could not eat broth for twenty years afterwards, because of the recollection of that Indian mixture.

Mr. Benson was a live farmer. Agricultural implements were not easy to obtain in those primitive days, and he had some difficulty in getting a plow. But he finally had one made by Mr. McKnight, of Elkhart Grove; the iron work was done by Mr. White. The mouldboard and shear of the plow were all in one piece. It would be quite a curiosity now. The team which drew the plow would also be a curiosity. It consisted of two small horses and two small steers. The horses took the lead, while the steers were attached directly to the plow. With this queer arrangement he broke thirteen acres of prairie during the first year.

John Benson, sr., taught school two winters in Blooming Grove. He taught one session of three months and one of six months, on the south side of the grove, about a mile east of Captain Scoggin's place. He thinks he was the first teacher at the grove. Another man, Dr. Trabue, taught at the same time on the east side of the grove.

In September, 1828, was held the first protracted meeting at the house of Ebenezer Rhodes. The services were conducted by Mr. Pankas, from Loudon County, Virginia, assisted by Mr. John Green, of Morgan County, Illinois ; both were New Light preachers. The meeting was attended by the settlers from far and near. Mrs. Benson, young James Benson, and four others, joined the church, and an organization was formed which met alternately at Mr. Benson's and at Mr. Josiah Brown's, of Dry Grove. Ebenezer Rhodes was their pastor for many years, assisted by Mr. James Scott, of Kickapoo.

The early settlers paid very little attention to literature. All of their exertions were required in getting a start in the world. Mr. Benson's library consisted of a bible, a testament, a life of Washington, and McCarty's history of the late war.

In the spring of 1825 there occurred an event in McLean County in which ladies will be particularly interested. It was a wedding, the first which had ever been celebrated in the county where white people were the parties. We have no doubt that often before this the Indian lover had won his dusky maiden and celebrated the happy event in his own peculiar manner ; but never before had there been here a genuine white man's wedding. The parties were Thomas OrendorfF and Melinda Walker. We have no particulars with regard to the affair. Jenkins was not there to describe the dresses worn and comment on the appearance of the bride. We have no doubt she appeared charming enough. Ladies always do ; they seem to understand such matters.

In the early days the incidents which now would impress us so little seemed to the pioneers to be great events. Mr. Benson remembers what an import element of commerce beeswax was, as it was gathered from the bee-trees in the groves.

Mr. Benson and his son assisted James Allin in raising his double log cabin, the first house built on the original site of Bloomington. Mr. Allin first intended to use Mr. Benson's house as a store, but was dissuaded from this because some of the neighbors did not like it, as Mr. Benson was a Whig. Mr. Benson has a lively recollection of the winter of the deep snow, in 1830-1, and thinks that on account of the deep snow the farmers of McLean County have never been able to make fall wheat yield a fair return.

On the fourteenth of November, 1841, the wife of Mr. Benson died at Blooming Grove, and as his sons had moved to White Oak, he also removed thither. On the twenty-third of May, 1842, he married Elizabeth Waldron, of Bowling Green, Illinois, who died in August, 1871.

Mr. Benson was treasurer of Tazewell County in 1827. He was very quick with his pen, and a correct speller, and these were considered great accomplishments in early days. He was treasurer for only one year, and assessor as well.

Mr. Benson now lives with his son John at White Oak, surrounded by his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, numbering one hundred and fifteen persons. His three sons now living, John, James and William, are old, gray-headed men, surrounded by their children and grandchildren. They might form a community by themselves, as they live on adjoining farms. The old gentleman was ninety-six years of age in March, 1874, the oldest man in the county. In manner he is pleasing and affable, though somewhat dignified. He is about five feet and four inches in height, and his form is somewhat bowed with age. In other days he was five feet and six and one-half inches in height. His form is not heavy, on the contrary, a little thin. His hair is now very white, as might be expected ; his features are clearly defined and regular. In dress Mr. Benson was always plain ; he never wore boots until he was sixty years of age. He formerly wore the garb so common with the pioneers, a wolf skin' cap, a hunting shirt and buckskin breeches. In fall and winter he wore moccasins, but in summer he went barefooted, and frequently used his bare feet to stamp out the prairie fire. He lost his eyesight when forty-one years of age, and regained it when sixty-five. He was always remarkable for his intrepidity and his adventurous spirit. He is still in good health, and often walks two or three miles in a day.

John Benson, jr., was born October 12, 1807, in Gibson County, Indiana. He lived there until he was twelve years old, and then went with the Benson family to Illinois, to that part of Sangamon County which now forms the county of Logan. In 1823 the family moved to Blooming Grove, to the place now occupied by Andrew W. Scoggin. Old Mr. Benson and his sons James, Jesse and John, had made an improvement at Blooming Grove, and John Benson, jr., returned with his father and brought up the family. They had a hard time at first, as they were obliged to pay a dollar a bushel for corn, and earn the money by splitting rails for fifty cents per hundred.

John Benson, jr., was a great bee hunter. The first bee tree he found was on Salt Creek, and out of it he obtained three gallons of honey. On the day following he found a tree, out of which he took six gallons of honey and eight pounds of beeswax, and after that he found many trees and much honey. In a single limb of a tree he at one time found two swarms of bees. He frequently went to the Vermilion River towards Pontiac and brought home a barrel of honey for his pains.

Mr. Benson often had wolf chases, which furnished great amusement. At one time when he and Thomas Orendorff were near Major's Grove, a wolf appeared near by, sitting on the ground and looking at them impudently. Mr. Benson ran after it and struck it down with an ear of corn, and Orendorff" followed and killed it.

AYhen Mr. Benson was twenty-one years of age, he started with the Funks to drive pigs to Galena. He stopped in Peoria about two weeks, and while there witnessed a little misunderstanding, which sprang up between a Dutchman and a negro, and was settled in the way in which too many such matters were attended to in those days. They fought it out. The Dutchman threw the negro down, but unfortunately allowed his thumb to be inserted in the negro's mouth. Some of the bystanders called out, "Let's part them." "No," said another, " let them fight it out ; one's a Dutchman and the other's a nigger !" But the parties to the misunderstanding thought they had done enough for the amusement of the crowd, and stopped.

The Funks had a hard time in moving their pigs, which broke through the ice in the Illinois River. Jacob and Jesse Funk went after them waist deep in water ; but notwithstanding all their exertions, two of the pigs were drowned. A heavy fall of snow made it difficult to travel, and a wagon going before made a track for the pigs to walk. When the party came to the head of Crow Creek the weather was intensely cold, and all but one of the party was frost-bitten. Here old John Dixon lived. He was the pioneer who afterwards moved to Rock River. By this time Mr. Benson found that he had enough of it, and returned to Blooming Grove, while the remainder of the party went on to Galena.

They stopped at Big Sulphur Springs for several weeks, on account of a sleet storm, which made it impossible to travel. The cold was intense, and the men in charge of the swine were obliged to stand guard to prevent the pigs from piling one on top of another, and crushing those beneath them, to death.

Mr. Benson remembers some queer incidents of old days. One strange genius, called Jake, liked to exaggerate very much, in order to make his entertaining stories better appreciated. Once, while a number of hands were working in a field, Jake was sent for water, and during his absence one of them killed a prairie rattlesnake, and they resolved to tell some big snake stories when Jake came back, in order to draw him out. On his return, one of the party told of the mountain rattlesnakes of Tennessee. Jake roused up and said that when he lived in Ohio, the people were troubled by an enormous snake which they could not kill or catch. At last they drove an ox to the hole of the serpent, which immediately swallowed up the "critter" alive. This made the snake so sluggish that people came up with their rifles and shot it again and again until they killed it. This story was not disputed. Jake once told of a large turkey which came into bis field, while he was harvesting, and troubled him by eating his grain. He killed it, and it was so large that when its neck was stragihtened over his shoulders its feet dragged in the snow. This story also remained undisputed, though the idea of snow in harvest seemed rather queer.

Mr. Benson was in the Black Hawk war, in 1832, having enlisted in Captain McClure's company. They elected their officers at Pekin,and proceeded from there to Peoria and thence on to Dixon's Ferry. On the morning after Stillman's Run, Mr. Benson went up with the army to the scene of the disaster, and helped to bury the dead. The evening of that day in spring time he stood picket without fire or blanket, and was wakeful enough, as may be supposed. Among the funny stories told of Stillman's Run, is one relating to a man named Vesey. A short time before the fight occurred, a lot of whisky was distributed among the soldiers, and they seemed to think as much of this enticing beverage as of their lives. Mr. Vesey carried his whisky in a coffee-pot, which he handled most tenderly. At one time when he found a chance to give the Indians a shot he dismounted, put down his coffee-pot carefully, fired at the Indians, picked up his coffee-pot tenderly, remounted his horse and rode away. The army returned to Dixon's Ferry, and three companies went from there to Ottawa. The day after their arrival at the latter place Captain McClure's company and a few other volunteers went up to Indian Creek and buried the murdered families of Davis, Hall and Pettigrew, which had been previously buried in a shallow grave by the house. After building a fort at Ottawa, the soldiers were mustered out of service.

Mr. Benson has since lived happily at White Oak Grove, where he still resides, without any other remarkable adventure. His domestic life has been very pleasant. In 1830 he married Penina Hinshaw, with whom he has lived most happily ever since. He has had twelve children, of whom nine are living. They are :

Robert Music Benson was a soldier in the Thirty-third Illinois Volunteers. He was wounded in the face at Yicksburg. He now lives in Bloomington.

Mr. Benson is five feet and five inches in height, is quite bald, is very healthy, has small, humorous eyes, is strong, active and industrious, loves fun, and indeed no one appreciates a joke better than he. He remembere clearly and distinctly the events of the past, and his intellect is not impaired by age. He sings to his grandchildren the song he learned of the Indian chief of the Kickapoos, Machina. It was not much of a song, and was hummed in a monotonous way by Machina to the little white pappooses, who sat on his knee. It ran ; " Ile-o, he-o, me-yok-onee, me-yok-o-nee," continually repeated. Mr. Benson has a peculiarly pleasing and cheerful expression of countenance, and has hardly an enemy in the world.

James Benson was born October 26, 1805, in Montgomery County, Kentucky. When he was only fifteen months old, the Benson family moved to Indiana, to that part of Knox County, which is now Gibson County, where they remained until 1820. In that year they moved to Illinois, to that part of Sangamon County which now forms the County of Logan, and there went to tanning.

In Januaiy, 1821, James Benson went on a bee hunt to Salt Creek, and found what would be considered by bee hunters a great curiosity. It was a tree absolutely deserted by bees, but containing more than three gallons of candied honey. During the following March, he went to Kickapoo Creek on a bee hunt with a man named Campbell and another. Campbell found the first three trees and seemed to be in luck, but Benson followed up the matter well, and found a linn tree with a hollow containing a gallon of honey, and then a white oak containing ten gallons. Large flakes of honey, two feet broad, were taken out. He found next a black walnut tree which had been stripped of its bark by Indians who wished to make wigwams. When the tree died, it shrank, and various weather checks appeared, and through them the bees went to the hollow within and filled it with honey. The hunters took out of it seven or eight gallons of honey. The next tree was a burr oak with a hollow about thirty feet from the ground, and out of this they took eight or nine gallons.

Sangamon County was then a very unhealthy section of country and in the spring of 182o, the Benson family moved to Blooming Grove. James and Jesse cut and hauled house logs for ten days before the family came. They were visited by Severe Stringfield and Gardner Randolph from Randolph's Grove. On the last of May, the Benson family came on. They first moved into a linn bark camp, which had. three sides closed up and the fourth side open. The floor and roof were linn bark. That summer the family raised very little grain, and during the following winter many of their cattle died. They were subjected to many inconveniences. James was obliged to go thirty-five miles on horseback to the lower end of Lake Fork to get his plow sharpened. He crossed the Kickapoo by hanging to his horse as it swam over, and then going back with a canoe for his plow. Mr. Benson married, November 6, 1828, Polly Ann Hinshaw, who was born in Overton County, Tennessee, and had lately come to Blooming Grove. Then he went to Harley's Grove and improved a place, sold his improvement, and in 1831 moved to White Oak Grove. Here he and his brother John built a cabin and broke ground. During the following spring, they volunteered in Captain McClure's company, and went to the Black Hawk war. They went up to Dixon's Ferry and were mustered into the regular service. The famous defeat of Major Stillman's battalion occurred on the evening of the day after their arrival. In the middle of the night, Mr. Benson was awakened from his sleep by a voice calling "halloo!" On answering, he was told that Stillman's men were all killed, that the Indians had crawled on them and said " woo, woo," and butchered them all in their camp ! During the following morning, Captain Eades, of Peoria, who had been in the " Run" and lost his hat, came around the camp with a handkerchief tied to his head and his sword at his side. He tried to collect his men, but they were badly scattered, and he pould find but few. The greater part of the troops went up on the battle ground. Nearly all were mounted, but a few out of each company were dismounted, and these formed a company by themselves. After marching to the scene of the fight, about thirty-five miles above Dixon, and burying the dead, the men returned. Shortly afterwards, three companies, one of which was Captain McClure's, were sent to Ottawa, and on their arrival were ordered to Indian Creek, to bury the families of Davis, Hall and Pettigrew, which had been murdered by the Indians immediately after the fight of Stillman's Run. They found these families buried on the outside of the house near the chimney. But they were only lightly covered with earth and were taken up and reburied in a trench. The two boys, who escaped and who, he thinks, belonged to the Hall family, were able to identify the dead, and by their assistance the bodies were separated and those of each family buried together. Shortly afterwards the volunteers were discharged.

Mr. Benson has made the usual trips to Chicago. He hauled wheat -and drove hogs there, and sold them for prices which would not now be considered worth the trouble of the journey. At Peoria, pork brought $1.25 to $1.50, provided the larger part of the pay was taken in goods. Vinton Carlock succeeded in getting $1.00 per hundred in cash.

Mr. Benson is about five feet and six inches in height, is squarely built and quite strong. His hair is perfectly white. He has a sanguine complexion and temperament, is a kind man and a gentleman of the strictest integrity. He has a cataract in his eye, which has been of great trouble to him and has nearly destroyed his sight. He has had several operations performed, and it is hoped that it will now improve and his sight be restored. He has a patient and hopeful disposition, and his affliction has not affected his kindness of manner.

William T. T. Benson was born October 12, 1811, in Gibson County, Indiana. At the age of nine years, he went with his father's family to what is now Logan County, Illinois. In the spring of 1823, the Benson family settled on the farm now occupied by Andrew W. Scoggin and there remained about thirteen years, after which they came to White Oak Grove. Mr. Benson married at Blooming Grove, September 25, 1834, Nancy Hinshaw, a sister of George Hinshaw, jr. He built the first house on the prairie near White Oak Grove, about half a mile south of it. He sawed lumber wih a whip saw and it was the first, he tninks, that went into Bloomington. He helped to make the first brick that went into that town, in the brick yard of Peter Whipp, where George Hinshaw now lives. But as the clay proved to be poor, the yard was moved to the Big Branch. Mr. Benson sawed lumber for Colonel Gridley to build his storehouse, but it was burned in kiln drying. Mr. Benson put up various buildings as he acquired property, and the country became developed in wealth and prosperity, and at present he has a fine, large house, with good outbuildings. He has had some experience with fires on the prairie, but only once suffered from them serious damage. This was at Blooming Grove.

Mr. Benson has been very successful in life and acquired a fair competence. He raised an orphan boy whom he has treated as his own child in every respect, even in the division of his property. He gave to three of his children and to this boy, each ninety acres of land with stock and farming implements, on condition that they should each pay him three hundred dollars. He has acquired four hundred and thirty acres of land altogether.

Mr. Benson is five and one-half feet high, is rather squarely built, has a good head with a good development of intellect. His hair is almost entirely white, and his whiskers are silver. He wears spectacles, is a very pleasant man, is strictly honest in his dealings and friendly in his manner. He lives in the edge

Elisha Dixon was born June 14, 1809, near Romney, Hampshire County, Virginia, not far from the battle-ground of Winchester, where General Shields whipped Stonewall Jackson. There are in that country many stone fences, and it was behind one of these that Jackson's army took refuge after its unsuccessful attack on that of Shields ; but the army of Shields followed up its advantage, and the troops of Jackson were flanked and driven from behind the stone wall and completely routed. Elisha Dixon's father was John Dixon, and his mother's maiden name was Drusilla Harvey. His father was of English, Irish and Scotch stock, and his mother was of German descent. He was a relative of Jeremiah Dixon, who with Mason made the survey known as Mason and Dixon's line. John Dixon was a farmer and stockraiser, was very honest and much respected. In 1815 the Dixon family came to Ohio, and settled on the Stillwater River in Harrison County, near the town of Freeport. Here they saw many of the privations of frontier life. They were obliged to go fifty miles distant to buy frost-bitten corn, for which they had the privilege of paying seventy-five cents per bushel. About onefourth of all the corn raised in that section of country was eaten up by squirrels. The instruction given in the schools was little enough, and only extended to reading and writing. In 1828, Elisha Dixon came to Dry Grove, in that part of Tazewell County, Illinois, which now forms the county of McLean. Here he lived two years, with only one room to his little cabin. He visited Peoria, when it had only four houses. It had a store kept by a man named Bogardus, and very little else was to be seen. A part of the pickets were still standing around Fort Clark. Mackinawtown was simply brush and woods ; it had the name of a town, but the town was not there.

During the fall before the deep snow, Mr. Dixon's stacks were burned to the ground, and he was obliged to winter his stock on bran and boiled turnips. One of his pigs was caught under a drift of snow and lived six weeks without anything to eat. Mrs. Dixon also tells of a turkey that was under the snow during this winter and survived.

During the Black Hawk war, Mr. Dixon enlisted in Captain McClure's company, and was mustered into service at Pekin, in Tazewell County. They went on to Dixon's Ferry, and after the tight of Stillman's Run went upon the ground and buried the dead. On their return to Dixon's Ferry four companies under Colonel Johnson were sent to Ottawa for the defence of that place. Captain McClure's company was then sent up to Indian Creek to bury the three families that had -been murdered by the Indians there. After the burial of the bodies, they went back to Ottawa, and shortly afterwards were honorably discharged and returned home.

After Mr. Dixon's return he went to farming on the place now owned by Charles Johnson, at White Oak Grove. He worked hard and succeeded in keeping the fire out of the grove, and now a fine growth of timber has come up, equal perhaps to any in McLean County.

Mr. Dixon has taken great interest in schools, has done everything to help them along. In 1845 he was elected school treasurer, and kept the office fourteen years. He used to draw money from John Price, who was school commissioner for the whole county. Mr. Dixon took the best of care of the school money, but it sometimes made him feel very uneasy, as two attemps were made to rob him. The care and anxiety after a wmile seemed to him greater than the honor, and he refused to hold the office longer.

In June, 1872, Mr. Dixon was summoned on the grand jury of the United States District Court at Springfield. There he had a varied experience. He came across men who could talk. He first came in contact with a spiritualist, who was quite handy with his tongue. Mr. Dixon does not usually allow any one to get the start of him in talk, and when the spiritualist claimed to have seen signs and wonders, and to have looked on the face of the Almighty, Mr. Dixon called the gentleman's attention to the fact,, that wdien Moses went up the mountain and looked on the face of the Almighty, and returned to the children of Israel, his brother Aaron could not look on his face on account of its brightness; but the most careful scrutiny would fail to discover any such brilliancy on the face of the spiritualist, (except that peculiar brightness which comes from spirits of the " other kind.'')

While the grand jurymen were at Springfield, they had only seven cases before them ; but Mr. Dixon says they were receiving three dollars per day, and wished to prolong their sitting by continually adjourning, in order to continue drawing pay. Mr. Dixon was excused at his own request and came home.

Mr. Dixon married in December, 1828, Mary Brown, of Dry Grove, who came from Overton County, Tennessee. He raised a family of five children, but only two of these are living. They are :

Elisha Dixon is six feet and two inches in height, is heavily built, has a large and well-shaped head, covered with hair thick and white, has a pleasant smile, is kind to every one, and takes pleasure in talking to whoever calls on him. He has done fairly in life, and is disposed to be generous. Mr. Dixon can talk when he gets himself started. He can embellish matters and make them shine by the power of his imagination. When people talk to him, he can see the sharp corners and the inconsistencies of their conversation, and woe to the incautious man who makes wild statements in his presence. He takes a great interest in the events of other days and the doings of the early settlers. In religion he wishes it clearly understood that he is a degree man, and that he thinks the planetary world is a type of the spiritual world. He thinks that men will be different in intellect in the world to come, and that no one will be kept back in order that another may catch up with him in intellectual or moral development.

Smith Denman was born September 6, 1799, in Essex County, !New Jersey. His father was Mathias Denman, and his mother's name before marriage was Phoda Elston. Mr. Denman is, as far as he knows, of English descent. In 1804 the Denman family moved to Washington County, Pennsylvania, where they remained two years, and then went to Licking County, Ohio. There they began farming. Smith Denman married, June 27, 1821, Elizabeth Dixon, and set up for himself in life by leasing land. By hard work he made money enough to come to Illinois, which he did in September, 1829. He had a pleasant journey, and settled at White Oak Grove, McLean County, Illinois. He lived quite comfortably during the winter of the deep snow. He worked well and carefully, though he was not a large farmer.

Abraham W. Carlock was born April 7, 1800, in Hampshire County, West Virginia, near the west branch of the Potomac River. His paternal grandfather emigrated to this country from Germany, and settled in Virginia shortly before the outbreak of the Revolutionary war. During the war he was a soldier in the Continental army. Shortly after Abraham's birth his father moved to Overton County, Tennessee, about fifteen miles from Livingston, the county seat, on the Obey River. Here he began farming on a small scale, and hunting on a large scale. Young Abraham was then quite a rambler. His son, W. B. Carlock, says of him: "He busied himself in rambling over the mountains, hills and valleys, gathering chestnuts, chincapins, blackberries and whortleberries, and chasing squirrels and ground hogs (woodchucks)." If he did all of that in one day, it certainly must have kept him quite busy. But it seems that the big game was left for Abraham's father, for the same good authority says; "There were a great many bear in the country at that time, but that sort of game was left for the old gentleman to attend to, and it is safe to say that bear meat was no rarity in the old man's family." Abraham Carlock was a good, industrious boy, and did not neglect his "chores." He "tended" the farm well, and raised corn, tobacco and sweet potatoes. He raised pork, too, for the Southern market, though his pigs had a bad habit of running wild and becoming, as his son says, "as wild as the wildest deer." At the age of twenty-four Abraham was married to Mary Goodpasture, and in his subsequent prosperity he might exclaim :

In the spring of 1827 Abraham Carlock, with his wife and two children moved to Morgan County, Illinois. They walked nearly the whole distance. After remaining there three or four years he moved to Dry Grove, McLean County, and in 1836 he moved to "White Oak Grove. At White Oak Grove his boys caught many prairie chickens close to his house, even within thirty yards of his door. Sometimes they would catch twenty or thirty in a trap. They were dried and hung on strings to be preserved. Shortly after the Black Hawk war he traveled over the northern part of the State, and especially over the Fox River country, to find land to purchase. While on his travels he met the old Indian chief, Shabbona, who lived on Fox River at the grove which bears his name. This chief had been a warm friend to the whites through good and evil report, and saved many lives during the Indian troubles in early days, by warning settlers of approaching danger.

In the fall of 1833 occurred the celebrated phenomena called the falling of the meteors. Mr. Carlock was at that time in the Fox River country, and the meteors fell at all points of the compass, and lit up the whole heavens. Of course this phenomena alarmed the superstitious, as such things always do, and many people thought the millenium was surely at hand.

In 1836 he sold his property at Dry Grove, and moved to White Oak Grove. His land at White Oak Grove lies partly in McLean and partly in Woodford County. His house stands about one hundred yards outside of the line of McLean County. Nevertheless he considers himself a McLean County man, ae nearly all his interests are connected with it. Mr. Carlock and his careful wife have been blessed with twelve children. Ten of these grew to manhood and womanhood, and eight are now living.

Old Mr. Carlock will be seventy-live years of age on the seventh of April next. He is nearly six feet in height, has round shoulders, a fair complexion and a strong constitution. His hair is perfectly white. He is very active, full of life and humor, and does as much work as any hand on the farm. He is a great hunter, and has been known to kill three or four deer in a single day. He is now worth about one hundred thousand dollars, and has fairly earned it by patient toil and strict economy. He has about one thousand acres of choice land, finely improved and under good cultivation. The old gentleman is jovial, kindhearted and hospitable by nature, and has a great many friends. In politics he is an uncompromising Democrat, one of the strictest kind. There is no milk and sugar about it; he takes his Democracy clear. He cast his first vote for Andrew Jackson, and his last for Horace Greeley, because Mr. Greeley was nominated at Baltimore. He is such a staunch, uncompromising Democrat that many people who are unacquainted with his name know him as the "Old Democrat," and his son says his paper would pass current if signed with that soubriquet.

In religion Mr. Carlock is a Universalist. His son says he has "read the scriptures strenuously '," and believes in the salvation of all mankind. If a traveling minister of any denomination comes along, Mr. Carlock will entertain him most hospitably, but will probably make him sit up until two o'clock in the morning to discuss doctrinal points. He is full of eccentricities. In the presence of his children he pleads great poverty, in order to induce them to study economy. He was never known to make a visit, in the strict sense of the word. He is very much attached to his home, and never gets into debt, and it would be well if people generally had these eccentricities. He has never ridden in a railroad car, a steamboat or even an omnibus.

Mr. Carlock is one of the most hospitable of men, indeed this seems to be the case with nearly all of the early pioneers ; his "latch-string is always out;" in his home there is good cheer, and in his welcome, good feeling.

Stephen Taylor was born in Washington County, Ohio, February 28, 1814. His father's name was Stephen Taylor, and his mother's, before marriage, was Lovisa Rathbone. His parents were Americans, as were their ancestors, so far as he knows. His father was born in New York, and his mother in Maine. Stephen Taylor, sr., enlisted during the war of 1812, at the last call for volunteers, and died at Detroit, Michigan, of sickness. There were four children in the Taylor family, and they had left to them four hundred dollars each. Their money was put into the hands of Squire John Brown, who put it into the hands of some one else, and it went the way of all money.

AVhen Stephen Taylor was sixteen years of age, he started out in life for himself without asking leave of any one, as his mother had married a second time and was provided for. He went to Morgan County, on the Muskingum River, and began chopping wood for twenty cents per cord. It was there that he, with two others, cut and corded in one job thirty-three hundred cords of wood. For the last wood he cut, on the Muskingum River, he received sixteen and two-thirds cents per cord; but it was nearly all tree tops. He remained there for some time, and ran down about three times a year with salt to Cincinnati. He had only one accident, that he remembers particularly. He once had a boat containing salt staved in on some rocks. It was taken near shore immediately, but all except a few barrels of salt were spoiled. Stephen Taylor worked hard, and by his industry earned enough money to come to Illinois' and enter eighty acres of land and buy ten acres of timber. In 1836, he came by steamboat to Pekin, and walked from there to Bloomington, then back to Madison, Indiana. On the Sangamon River, he stopped at a hotel, where he was obliged to sleep in a room with fourteen others, and one of them, unfortunately, had some gold taken from his person. All of the company were searched, but the missing gold was not found. Mr. Taylor wore, at the beginning of this journey on foot, a pair of calf boots, which, becoming alternately wet and dry, shrank and blistered his feet, and he was somtinies obliged to walk in his socks. At Danville, he bought a parr of shoes and cut up his boots, as they could not be sold. At Perrysville, on the Wabash, he went to a saloon and called for a pint of whisky. The barkeeper asked for his bottle, as a pint of whisky was considered rather a "stiff" drink. But Mr. Taylor used the fluid in a proper way, and poured it into his shoes to cure his blistered feet. He went on to Crawfordsville, sometimes wading through water for long distances; but as the country was new, he could not stand upon trifles. At Madison, Indiana, he went on board of the General Pike, one of the fastest steamboats on the river. At Cincinnati, he ran out of funds, but found a friend, old Robert Fulton, who furnished the stamps required for his journey home.

Stephen Taylor married, March 8, 1837, Betsey Dearborn, and in the fall came to White Oak Grove, McLean County, Illinois. He started, October 16, and arrived November 3. He went first to Pekin by steamboat and there paid ten dollars to be transported to his new home. He bought a little split log cabin, about ten by twelve feet in size, with a puncheon floor, and in this he wintered. During that winter, he did some hard work. He made rails, stakes and ground chunks for a fence, and hauled them two miles. He cut out the framing for a building twenty feet by eighteen ; he hauled the flooring, siding and sheeting from Bloomington, hewed the framing timber in the grove, and fenced twenty acres of land, that is, made three-quarters of a mile of fence. This is usually considered a great deal of work for one winter; but Mr. Taylor was a practised wood cutter and understood how to wield his tools to advantage.

In about the year 1839, the farmers all over the country became disgusted with the low prices which they were receiving for pork, and all put their hogs together and sent some of their number to take them to Chicago. Mr. Taylor had eleven hogs in the "bunch," and helped to drive them. On the journey, it snowed and thawed and froze and sleeted, so that the party, which had just passed Big Sulphur Springs, returned to that place. It was so slippery that some of the hogs were carried back to that place. Here they remained twenty-one days, and here, too, Isaac Funk was weatherbound with a lot of hogs. He tried to harrow the ice and make it rough for the pigs to walk, but the experiment was a failure, they slipped on the ice in spite of him. Then he tied the hind legs of some of the pigs together to keep them from slipping, but all his experiments failed. The entire party stopped with a man named Fuller, and in order to pass away the time, held a lyceum and debated all the questions of the day. Mr. Fuller took part and, as he evidently thought a great deal of himself, Mr. Taylor and John Benson, jr., always decided in his favor, whenever they happened to be judges. The old fellow's vanity was so tickled that he always refused to debate, unless Taylor and Benson were \o decide the question. The party was detained at the springs for twenty-one days, and bought all the corn they could find in the country to feed their swine. They went out hunting, and at one time found sixtythree deer in a drove. Mr. Taylor says, also, that it was a great place for bee trees, and that he saw from a single spot thirteen trees which had been cut down and the honey taken out.

After waiting twenty-one days at the springs, a thaw came and the pigs were enabled to travel. They were taken to* Chicago and sold, and when the expenses were paid, the money was divided among those who had contributed to make up the lot. Mr. Taylor had eleven fine hogs, averaging in weight two hundred and twenty-five pounds each, and he received for them in all six dollars and fifteen cents, which is about twenty-five cents per hundred ! The remainder received pay for their hogs in the same proportion.

The early settlers went often to Pekin, to do their trading and sell their pork. Mr. Taylor tells of an incident that happened while he was once on the road to Pekin with a drove of swine. He stopped at the house of a man named Prowty. The latter had a wife, who was indeed humorous to look upon. She had a long nose with a bunch on the end of it as large as a sweet potato, and her eyes might be mistaken for buckshot. She was addicted to alcoholic drinks, and while under the influence of agentle stimulant her Yankee pride swelled in her bosom. Said she: "Do you know what Yankee means? Yankee means enterprise. Mr. Prowty and I are Yankees." Mr. Taylor was charged twenty-five cents for the privilege of sleeping on the puncheon floor, with nothing to eat. He wauted to buy the puncheon, to be used on some other occasion. Mr. Taylor took his hogs to Pekin, and sold them for little or nothing. Louis Stephens also took some there, and, when asked what he sold them for, replied : " Six bits a cord."

Mr. Taylor remembers a great many pleasant incidents of early days. He says that when he first came to the country, he saw Hon. John Moore, who was out electioneering. The latter asked for Taylor's vote ; but when Taylor learned Moore's politics, and that he supported Mr. VanBuren, the vote asked for was refused. Seven years afterwards, when Taylor was hunting a stray horse, he met Moore. That gentleman recognized Taylor instantly, stopped him, jailed him into the house and treated him politely in every respect, and, speaking of the electioneering incidents, said : "You're the man that wouldn't vote for me." Mr. Taylor says that if he had known Moore at first as well as he did afterwards, he would have voted for him, regardless of party.

Mr. Taylor has done some hunting, but never had any very dangerous adventures. He once killed an enormous lvnx, after shooting it four times ; nothing was effectual except a shot through the head. Very many hunters have had contests with wounded deer, and Mr. Taylor once shot a deer which turned on him, with its hair all bristling up and pointing forward ; but the animal was so badly wounded that it made very little of a fight. In 1851 Stephen Taylor killed thirty-one wild turkeys, some of which he shot while standing in his door. Mrs. Taylor also shot at wild turkeys, but never killed any.

Mr. Taylor tells a circumstance, showing the honest simplicity of John Magoun. In about the year 1835, while Mr. Taylor was riding on a steamboat from Cincinnati to Pittsburg, a man came on board, who was eloping with a young lady. . For the purpose of amusement a mock court was organized to try the man. The witnesses were examined, and thev o-ave contradictory testimony, as some of them thought the girl was running away with the man. But at last the man was convicted and sentenced to be hung, and his anxious lady set up a succession of shrieks. But the convicted man took the matter coolly, and was hung, the rope passing around the body. . Stephen Taylor and Palmer Storey saw this performance. Thirty years afterwards, when they met in Bloomington, in company with John Magoun, Mr. Storey alluded to the hanging, but Taylor spoke in a mysterious way, and said they had better keep quiet about that. Then honest Magoun wished to know whether Taylor and Storey had really committed murder.

Otis L. Taylor was a soldier in the Thirty-third Illinois Volunteers. He was at Cache, Black River Bridge, Champion Hills, Vicksburg, Jackson, Spanish Fort, Fredericktown, Port Gibson and Fort Esperanza. He now lives in Hardin County, Iowa, near Steamboat Rock.

The eldest son, Isaac Taylor, is now dead. He was born January 27, 1839, and served in the Ninety-fourth Illinois Volunteers, and died September, 1863. His regiment was stationed at Xew Orleans ; but as he became sick he was allowed a furlough, and on the way home died in a hospital at Memphis. His father went down to him and brought his body home and buried it at White Oak Grove.

Stephen Taylor is six feet and one and a half inches in height. He is slenderly built, has a sharp eye and a Roman nose. He loves humor, as the stories in this sketch indicate. He is a plucky man, and is not likely to be frightened by nonsense. He is perfectly straightford in all of his dealings, and wishes to meet all of his neighbors upon the level and part upon the square. He thinks he has the best of neighbors, and that no other place is so peculiarly blessed in this respect as White Oak Grove. He has been a justice of the peace, but has had little or nothing to do, as scarcely anybody there meddles with the law.

Persons Holding Positions Of Honor Or Trust

Dr. Thomas Pierce Rogers was born December 4, 1812, in Columbiana County, Ohio. His ancestors came from the north of Ireland. His grandfather, George Augustus Rogers, was born about the year 1735, in the north of Ireland, was educated at Oxford for the ministry, but after much thought he decided not to contend against sin in general, but to fight against the enemies of England in particular, and accepted a commission in the British armv. He came to this country as a Colonel in the army under General Braddock, and was at the battle of Bloody Run, (or Braddock's defeat,) where the army was drawn into an ambuscade by the Indians, and the greater part of the soldiers were killed. General Braddock himself being mortally wounded. This was the battle in which Colonel Georsre Washington first tried his mettle, and where he showed the skill and daring which were so conspicuous in his management of armies in later life. The career of Colonel Rogers was quite full of adventures. He was with General Wolfe when his army climbed the Heights of Abraham and stormed Quebec, and was in various fights and skirmishes of the French war. After peace was declared he returned to England, resigned his commission, and came to the United States in about the year 1774. His son, Alexander Rogers, the father of Dr. Rogers, whose sketch we are writing, was born in 1773, the year previous to the emigration of his father to x\merica. The family first settled in Frederick County, Maryland, where it stayed until the year 1786, when it moved to Fayette County, Pennsylvania, on the extreme frontier. In order to reach their new home, they were obliged to travel across the Allegheny Mountains on pack horses. Such a journey would now be considered more picturesque than agreeable. There Mr. Alexander

Rogers married Catherine Wallahan, who was born in the town of Carlisle, Pa. Her parents came from the north of Ireland, and thus it is that Dr. Rogers has sprung from the genuine old North Irish stock. In the year 1798, his grandfather, his father, and all of their connection, moved on the extreme frontier, which was then the wilderness of Ohio, called the Northwestern Territory. There his father settled on a farm, where he remained thirty-six years, and raised a family of eleven children, eight sons and three daughters. All of these children, except four, are now living. The farm consisted of four hundred acres, and lay in a heavily timbered country. The four youngest of the children, including the subject of this sketch, chose the practice of medicine for their profession in life. Nothing of importance occurred during the childhood of Dr. Rogers worthy of being celebrated in poetry or song, except that when about four years old he fell from a split plank bridge into a creek. This was infant baptism. The doctor received such an education as could be obtained in a new country. He was obliged to go two or three miles to school, which was kept in a little round-log school-house during the winter. At the a«;e of seventeen he went to a select school at New Lisbon, and finished his education at a Quaker institution at Salem. He then returned home where he worked one or two years, continuing his course of study. He chose the profession of medicine, and began his study in Tuscarora County, Ohio. He taught school winters and studied summers. He finished his course of study in Philadelphia, and returned to Tuscarora County, where he practiced medicine in company with Dr. Lewis. After practicing one year he earned enough to pay the expenses of his previous course of study, and to bring him West, and leave one hundred dollars in his pocket for working capital. In the spring of 1838, he started for Illinois on horseback, and came to Marshall County. He examined the country from La Salle to the Sangamon River, passing through Bloomington on his way south ; the latter place contained about four hundred inhabitants, living principally south and west of the court-house. At that time he made the acquaintance of James Allin, General Gridley, Jesse W. Fell, Dr. Charles and Dr. Anderson. In the month of March he located at Decatur, Macon County. Dr. Rogers has a very large bump of what the phrenologists call locality. He likes to look over the country and see what it amounts to and what it contains. He traveled over the greater part of Central Illinois, and made the acquaintance of the distinguished men who then were political lights in the State, such as Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, Judge Jesse B. Thomas, Judge Treat of the United States District Court for the southern district of Blinois, Edward Baker, afterwards Senator Baker, who, while Colonel of a regiment, was killed at Ball's Bluff during the early part of the rebellion, John J. Hardin, who fell at Buena Vista, Hon. David Campbell, Lyman Trumbull and Hon. John Moore, afterwards lieutenant governor of the State. The friendships he then formed were life long, and indeed these gentlemen were all men of warm feeling and ever ready to greet their friends.

Soon after coming to Decatur, Dr. Rogers formed a partnership with Dr. Thomas H. Reed, from Nashville, Tennessee, a very estimable gentleman, who is yet living. The practice of these young men became very lucrative indeed. Dr. Rogers soon made the acquaintance of many young men in Decatur, and among them was Richard J. Oglesby, a genial young man, with a manner as hearty and kind as at present. Dr. Rogers moved from Decatur to Washington, Tazewell County, and formed a coparnership with Dr. G. P. Wood. They never had any written agreement or special understanding for seven years. Dr. Wood was a Christian gentleman, and one of the purest men living. He had the confidence of the entire community and was a very successful practitioner. He died about one year since.

In June, 1840, Dr. Rogers married Harriet Wilcox, of North Bergen, Genesee County, Xew York. This lady had been principal of a seminary, and her graces of person were equal to her intellectual acquirements. Her death occurred four years after her marriage. One child, Harriet Julia, born of this happy marriage - died at the age of nine months. Dr. Rogers continued his practice with his usual success. In May, 1846, he made the acquaintance of the amiable and accomplished woman, who became his wife. She was Mrs. Minerva Burhance, a widow lady with one daughter. Her fine sense and cultivated mind have had much to do with Dr. Rogers' subsequent success.

and this decided him to move to Blooming-ton for a permanent location. As the building of the Illinois Central Railroad was a matter of national importance, and was the object of much scheming, a little bit of history may not be out of place in this connection. It was in 1848 that the conversation between Dr. Rogers and Senator Douglas occurred in the parlor of a hotel in Peoria. For twelve years various parties had been working to get a bill through congress donating lands to build the Illinois Central Railroad, but were unable to accomplish their purpose, as it was contended that the matter was one of only local importance. In the conversation alluded to, Judge Douglas spoke of this, and told his plan to efteethis object. He said : " I am going to introduce a bill giving the alternate sections of land to the State of Elinois to build a railroad, and allowing the general government to charge $2.50 per acre for the remaining sections, instead of .$1.25, and by this means it will not only, lose no money, but, on account of the railroad, will sell its land faster and help to build up the State and develop its resources. I am going to make it a national question, and introduce an amendment extending the road from Cairo to Mobile ; also an amendment extending it from opposite Cairo by Little Rock to Texas by wxay of the Red River Raft ; also an amendment extending it from Galena to a point opposite Dubuque, Iowa, (Dunleith), a branch will also be proposed to Chicago and a branch to Mineral Point, "Wisconsin. By so doing I secure the support of the senators from Iventucl<w, Henry Clay and Senator Underwood, the two senators, Bell and Jones, from Tennessee, Clay and Clements, of Alabama, the two senators, Soule and Slidell, from Louisiana, Senators Johnson and Sevier from Arkansas, and also the senators from Texas. By an appropriation to the Hannibal & St. Joe Railroad, I secure the support of senators Atkinson and Benton, of Missouri ; by extending the road to a point opposite Dubuque, Iowa, I secure the friendship of senators Jones and Dodge of that State ; by means of the branch to Mineral Point, Wisconsin, I secure the co-operation of the senators from that State; by an understanding that something shall be done for a road in Michigan, extending from Detroit up to the lumber regions, I obtain the support of senators Cass and Stewart from that State." Mr. Douglas was sure that his plan would be successful. At that time lie was serving; his first term in the Senate, and Mr. Lincoln was serving his first term in the House of Representatives, and by their united exertions the bill was carried triumphantly through. The United States gave the required land to Illinois, and Illinois gave it to the Illinois Central Railroad, on condition that the latter should always pay into the State treasury seven per cent, of its gross earnings. Ground was first broke in 1852, and cars were running from LaSalle to Bloomington in 1853.

In Dr. Rogers' travels over the State he had found no land equal to McLean County, and had always wished to make it his home. He moved to Bloomington im-March, 1849, and continued the practice of medicine up to 1867, when he retired from his profession, having been a successful practitioner for thirty years. He then engaged in agricultural pursuits. While in the practice of his profession, Dr. Rogers was three times chosen a delegate to National Medical Conventions, which were held at St. Louis, Philadelphia and San Francisco, and was in attendance at the two former. He was twice chosen a delegate to State Medical Conventions.

Dr. Rogers has been more or less connected with politics since coming to the "West. While at Decatur he held the office of postmaster for two years, one year under Van Buren and one year under Harrison and Tyler. He resigned his office, partly because his medical duties gave him very little time to look after it, and partly because, being a Democrat, he did not wish to continue to hold office under a Whig administration. The situation was not very lucrative, and the business was done in the office of the circuit clerk. In 1848 the doctor was selected by his party friends at the convention at the village of Waynesville, to be their candidate for State Senator, and Edward 0. Smith, of Macon County, was selected in the same village as his opponent. The district then embraced Tazewell, McLean, Logan, DeWitt and Macon Counties. The Whig majority for General Taylor was about eleven hundred, but the doctor was only beaten by one hundred and sixty-three votes. In 1862 he again received the nomination of his party for State Senator, the district embracing McLean, DeWitt, Macon, Piatt and Moultrie Counties. His opponent was the Hon. Isaac Funk. The majority for Mr. Lincoln in 1860 was about seventeen hundred in this district, but the majority against Dr. Rogers was only two hundred and sixty. The doctor has been honored by his party by being made a member of every Democratic State Convention, except one, since 1844 ; he has been chairman of the Democratic Central Committee of McLean County for eighteen years out of twenty-four ; was appointed a delegate from Illinois to the convention at Baltimore which nominated Franklin Pierce ; he was an alternate delegate to the Charleston convention ; he was a delegate to the Baltimore convention, when Douglas was nominated, saw the division in the party, saw Caleb dishing leave the chair, saw Ben Butler secede from the convention with the Massachusetts delegation, and saw that break in the Democratic party, which resulted in the election of Abraham Lincoln, and precipitated the great rebellion. The seceders organized their convention in the city of Baltimore, and nominated Mr. Breckenridge. The doctor had free intercourse with the Southern delegates, and saw that a civil war was inevitable, unless a compromise was agreed upon. When the Avar eame the doctor took strong ground for the Union, of course, and did much work in getting volunteers ; and in the early days of the rebellion, when many were hesitating and doubting, he took the stump and advocated crushing the rebellion out by the power of arms. In 1864 the doctor was a delegate to the convention which nominated McClellan for president ; he was on the committee of organization, and during the campaign took an active part in the canvass. This wound up his political career until the Liberal movement was inaugurated. Dr. Rogers then moved actively and efficiently in the matter, and by his influence preserved harmony and strength in the movement. So efficient was he, and so alive to the issues of the hour, that the Liberal party placed him in nomination as its candidate for the legislature under the minority representation system. He was elected a member of the lower house of the Assembly, and is at present serving in that capacity. He has been made a member of the committee on finance, the committee on education, and the committee on county and town organization, which shows the high regard in which he is held bv the members of the house. He is recognized in the legislature 'as one of the most active and far-sighted of the members ; in the heat of debate he never loses his self-command.

of business his mind is ever clear. Tt is well known that in the hurrv and confusion many members cannot keep track of what is going on, and sometimes become very much confused, and it thus becomes necessary to have some persons who shall be recognized as leaders, who are able to guide and direct the forces of the party efficiently. In this capacity Dr. Rogers does excellent service, and indeed his presence and influence have on many ocasions turned the tide of victory in favor of the Liberals in the Assembly.

Dr. Rogers is a man of commanding presence, and every line of his countenance, every motion, shows him to be a cultivated gentleman ; his hair is whitened by many years of labor. In political matters he is certainly possessed of those qualities which bring success ; he has great energ}- and resolution, and is a fine speaker. He possesses great tact and skill in the management of men, and has a happy faculty of uniting all forces effectively and carrying his point. He has many friends among all political parties, and it is to be hoped that he ma}7 live yet many years to enjoy their friendship and regard.

Thomas F. Tipton was *bom August 29, 1833, in Franklin County, Ohio. His father's name was Hiram Tipton, and his mother was Deborah Ogden. Both of English descent. Hiram Tipton was a farmer. In 1844 the Tipton family moved to Money Creek township, McLean County, Illinois, and settled down near where Towanda now stands. Hiram Tipton died within a year after his arrival in Illinois, leaving three children, John Tipton, who is a farmer, living in Money Creek township : Jane, wife of William S. Tuttle, living in Saybrook, and Thomas F. Tipton, the subject of this sketch. At the age of sixteen, Thomas attended school at Lexington, taught at that time by Colonel Coler. The latter, who was a fine teacher, is the same gentleman who afterwards made a donation of five thousand dollars to the "Wesleyan Universit3T, on condition that the chapel of that institution should be called " Amie," after his mother. After studying for a year at Lexington, Thomas F. Tipton commenced reading law in the mornings and evenings. At the age of eighteen he read law for a short time in the office of a Mr. Keightley, at Ivnoxville, Illinois. Shortly after this he returned to Bloomington, where he was admitted to the bar.

He commenced the practice of the law at Lexington, in the spring of 1854; in January of 1862, he moved to Bloomington ; and in April, 1863, formed a law partnership with R. M. Benjamin, the present judge of the county court. This partnership lasted until 1870, when Mr. Tipton was elected judge of the Mc- Lean circuit court, to fill a vacancy caused by the election of Judge Scott to the supreme court. In June, 1873, Judge Tipton was re-elected judge of the McLean circuit court, for the full term of six years. Since his accession to the bench, even more than before that time, he has been a close student and a laborious worker. Having the administration of the most important judicial circuit in the State, he is called upon at every term of court to decide a numberless variety of intricate legal questions, requiring diligent study and accurate reasoning. He meets all such questions with a ripe mind, and a breadth of thought, that have made him the most prominent circuit judge in the State, and a man who is personally admired and beloved.

In personal appearance, Judge Tipton is five feet ten inches in height, strongly built, with broad shoulders, and weighs somewhat over two hundred pounds. He has light hair, fair complexion, and a face strongly indicative of intelligence, virtue and justice.

Amasa J. Merriman was born December 1, 1818, in Stanstead, Canada East, about seventy-five miles from Montreal. His ancestors were English. His father, Isaac H. Merriman, was a farmer. Amasa J. Merriman was one of a family of nine children, of whom six lived to be grown. He received his education at a common, subscription school, which he attended during the winter months until he was seventeen years of age.

Mr. Merriman taught school at the age of eighteen, and continued for two years, with a compensation of twelve dollars a month and board. He "boarded around," according to the cus- started for the West. From Chicago he went to Peoria by steamboat to St. Louis. At the latter place he heard of Bloomington, and on coming here, (in November, 1839,) found a place as clerk in the store of B. C. Haines. In 1842, Mr. Merriman bought out Owen Cheney, and commenced business on his own account. He continued until 1856, when he sold out to a man named Augustus. During that year Mr. Merriman was chosen county judge, and this office he still holds. He was chosen first to fill a vacancy by the resignation of B. H. Coffey. "When the office became elective, he was elected first without opposition, and was afterwards elected four times by the Republican party. Shortly after Judge Merriman was appointed to office, the question came up as to the location of the Normal school, which the State proposed to build. It was to be located where the greatest inducements were held out. Mr. Jesse "W. Fell was anxious to have it located in or near Bloomington, and worked for this object unceasingly. The county judges or commissioners then did all the business of the county, and had the authority now possessed by the board of supervisors. They appropriated seventy thousand dollars to be raised from the proceeds of the sale of the swamp lands, as an inducement to locate the Normal here. In addition to this, many private contributions were made, and the effort to obtain the institution was successful. Since the year 1857, Judge

Merriman has been special commissioner for the sale of swamp lands. During his term of office, he paid £70,000 to the Normal school, and $53,000 to the school fund for the different townships.

On the first of November, 1842, Judge Merriman married Miss Clara C. I. Bullock, in Stan stead, Canada East. He has had a family of four children, of whom two are living.

Judge R. M. Benjamin was born June 29th, 1833, at Chatham Centre, in the County of Columbia, and State of New York. His father and maternal grandfather were both of English descent.

but Ins maternal grandmother was of "Welch descent. His grandfather, Ebenezer Benjamin, was a Captain in the Revolutionary war, and removed from Norwich, Connecticut, to the town of Chatham, New York, where he died December 22, 1789, aged 55 years. His father, Darius Benjamin, was a private in the war of 1812, and died at Chatham Centre, New York, April 24, 1850, aged 69 years. His maternal grandfather, Timothy Rogers, was born at Middletown, Connecticut, and moved in early life to the town of Chatham, New York, where he died June 24th, 1850, aged 84 years. His mother, Martha Benjamin, is living at Benjaminville, in this county, and is in her 80th year.

The subject of this sketch, Judge R. M. Benjamin, was brought up on a farm, attending the district school in the winter time, until he was about fourteen years of age. He was prepared for college at Kinderhook Academy, New York, and was graduated at Amherst College, Massachusetts, in 1853. For the ensuing year he was principal of Hopkins Academy, Hadley, Mass. He next attended the lectures of Parker, Parsons and Washburn, at the Law Institution in Harvard University, two terms, and then in 1855-6, was tutor in Amherst College.

Judge Benjamin came to Bloomington in the spring of 1856, was admitted to the practice of the law upon the examination and certificate of Abraham Lincoln, on September 5, 1856. He was married at Chatham Village, New York, September 15, 1856, to Miss Laura E. Woodin, the daughter of David G. AVoodin, who for many years was county superintendent of schools of Columbia County, New York.

In the fall of 1856, he entered into partnership with Messrs. Gridley and "Wickizer, and remained with them until the former retired from the practice of the law, and the latter entered the army. In the spring of 1863, he formed a partnership with Thomas F. Tipton, now circuit judge. In January, 1867, Captain J. H. Rowell became a member of their firm, and remained such until he was elected State's Attorney in 1868. In May, 1869, Hon. Lawrence Weldon became a member of the firm, and since the election of Mr. Tipton to the office of circuit judge, in 1870, the firm has consisted of Messrs. A\Teldon & Benjamin. In November, 1869, Mr. Benjamin was elected a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of this State, and was appointed a member of the Committee on Bill of Rights, Municipal Corporations, State Institutions and Public Buildings, Accounts and Expenditures, and Schedule. He took an active part in the preparation and discussion of some of the most important articles of the Constitution of 1870. Referring to his speech on the Railroad article, Mr. Ross, the member from Fulton County, remarked : " I cheerfully subscribe to the views of the gentleman from Mc- Lean. I think the Convention and the people of the State owe him a debt of gratitude. It has the true ring of the doctrine that should be inculcated by all our statesmen." And Mr. Bromwell, the member from Coles County, remarked: " I agree with the gentleman from Fulton that the community at large owe the gentleman from McLean thanks for the masterly manner in which he has demonstrated the right and the power of the people, inhering in, ever living, and ever present, to command in the name of and for the people, the creatures which they have put on foot, the corporations which they have organized, in respect to the terms upon which they shall enjoy those invaluable franchises which they are lawfully permitted to enjoy." - Debates of Constitutional Convention, vol. 2, p. 1G43.

Judge Benjamin was one of the counsel for the people in the celebrated Chicago & Alton Railroad case, involving the question as to the right of railroad corporations to charge more for a less than a greater distance, and since then he has been employed as special counsel for the Railroad and Warehouse Commission. In November, 1873, he was elected without opposition to the office of County Judge of McLean County, which shows the great popularity among the people and the great confidence the people of McLean County have in him. He ranks among the first lawyers of the State. His term of office is for the period of four years from the first of December last.

In his personal appearance, Judge Benjamin bears the impress of the student. His demeanor, countenance, language and pose, are those of a delver into the mines of knowledge that are accumulated in libraries and law offices. Of medium stature and light build; with hair, eyes and complexion, darker than those of a blonde, yet lighter than those of the swarthy Southern type ; his presence is one that indicates a man accustomed to coolly and carefully consider all the bearings of a case, and from an impartial standpoint to decide it fairly on its merits, regardless of its pecuniary results on contending claimants. During his brief career as judge of the County Court, he has won the admiration of the barand the people, by reason of the rapidity and accuracy with which he dispatches business. The recent important increase in the jurisdiction of the County Court, has more than quadrupled its work, but it is a satisfaction to the people that they have an able jurist at the head of that tribunal - one who is thoroughly competent to administer its affairs with honor to himself and to the county.

" General John McNulta was born in November, 1837, in New York city. His father was of Irish birth, and was of that extraction known as Scotch-Irish. His mother was of French descent. He resided in New York and the immediate vicinity until about the year 1850. At that time, having an inclination for travel, although quite young, under the patronage of relatives, he visited the Southern States and the West India Islands, and made one voyage to England. In 1853 he came to Attica, Indiana, arul, placing himself under the care of General George F. Dick, (now of this city) he learned the trade of cigar maker. In May, 1859, he located in Bloomington, and commenced the same business, under the firm of Dick & Co. Having an inclination for the law, he was permitted to use the library of the late General W. W. Ormc, and devoted his time in the intervals of business to reading law. This continued until April, 1861. At this time he enlisted in the army, and was made captain, May 3, 1861, of company A. of the First Illinois Cavalry, or the first company of the first regiment of cavalry from the State of Illinois. This regiment was assigned for duty in Missouri, where, after a succession of fights and skirmishes, they participated in the memorable nine days battle at Lexington, in September, 1861, which terminated in the surrender of the Union forces to General Price. He, with the other troops of the command, were paroled and re. turned home. He was exchanged in November for Captain J. Thomas Whitfield, a confederate officer, who was one of our prisoners. Captain McXulta then reorganized his company and was assigned for duty in Southwestern Missouri. But as the regiment had so many of its members captured, it was mustered out of service July 17, 1862. Captain McNulta was tendered, by Governor Yates, a commission as lieutenant colonel, of what afterwards became the 91st Illinois Infantry. This he declined. About the same time President Lincoln issued authority to him to raise a regiment of cavalry. Just prior to the receipt of this authority he had, however, enlisted as a private in Company D, 94th Illinois Infantry, and was mustered into service. He was soon elected lieutenant colonel, and on the promotion of Colonel Orme, McXulta was commissioned as colonel of the 94th, and much of the time during the remainder of the war he was in command of the Second Brigade, Second Division, Thirteenth Army Corps. On the 9th of April, 1865, he was commissioned brevet brigadier general 'for gallant and meritorious services in the Held.' He returned home August 9th, 1865, was soon after admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law.

"In 1868 he received the Republican nomination for the State Senate, and was elected by a majority of about 2,700. He represented the district with marked ability for four years.

"In 1870 he was a candidate in the triangular contest for Congress in the Republican convention, which resulted in the nomination of Colonel Merriam."

In 1872 he was successful in receiving the unanimous nomination for Congress at the hands of the Republicans of the new Thirteenth District, and was triumphantly elected.

General McNulta is of medium stature, is well formed, has broad shoulders, has great courage and resolution, is very quicksighted, understands human nature, and sees a person's thoughts instantly. He is very polite to all, and particularly agreeable to ladies. Ho is exceedingly humorous, and it appears perfectly natural for him to interest people by his manner and canversation. He has many friends, and himself has warm attachments.

John L. Routt was born April 25, 1827, in Eddyville, the county seat of Lyon County, Kentucky. While he was an infant, his father, who was a farmer, died, leaving Mrs. Routt with four children, in rather straightened circumstances. Mrs. Routt moved to Trigg County, Kentucky, where she lived a widow until 1834, when she was again married. In 1840 John Routt was apprenticed to his cousin, Samuel B. Haggard, of Bloomington, Illinois, to learn the carpenter's trade. The lad applied himself industriously to his trade for two years and a half. But at this time Mr. Haggard wished to become a farmer, and young Routt was left free to work on his own account. He was very successful, and soon received the highest wages paid, which were seventy-five cents per day, and board himself. He worked for Mr. O. Covel'in building a mill, for carding and cloth dressing. The latter became interested in the lad and induced him to learn the carding and cloth-dressing business. Mr. Covel's establishment consisted of a gristmill, a saw mill and complete cloth dressing machinery. At the end of one year Routt could, in the absence of the proprietors, take charge of the establishment in all its details. The mill was in a great measure the center of local, political and social interest, and young Routt soon became familiar with the ways of the world. But he soon saw the necessity of an education. He went to school during three months in the year, and in addition to this employed all his leisure time in study. At the age of nineteen he married Hester A. Woodson, one of the noblest and gentlest of women, who died two years since. The stock of worldly goods belonging to these juvenile "old folks" consisted of twenty dollars in money and a few clothes suited to their station. They married because they thought themselves suited to each other, an old fashioned reason somewhat fallen into disuse. Mr. Covel's mill was destroyed by fire, and Routt returned to his trade as carpenter and machine worker. In 1854 he was elected alderman of Bloomington. About this time he borrowed twenty-five dollars from his friend, Lyman Ferre, and purchased a quarter of a block of ground and built on it a small house. He tried the life of a farmer for a short time, but returned to his trade. Pie took a lively interest in politics, was originally a Whig, but upon a rearrangement of parties in 1856, became a Republican, and has remained so ever since.

In 1856 and '57 the great financial crash came. But a more serious disaster resulted to Mr. Routt. He had purchased land on the bank of the Missouri River, but the shifting current changed its course and all of Mr. Routt's domain became the bed of the river, and his rich soil was washed away to be added to the accretions at the mouth of the Mississippi.

In 1858, when township organization was effected in McLean County, Mr. Routt was elected collector, and as the office was entirely new, the work required much skill. He was re-elected without opposition. In 1860, Mr. Routt thought of being a candidate for sheriff, and while he was hesitating, it came to his knowledge, that one of his opponents had said : " It would be folly for little Routt to run," and he immediately determined to make the canvass. He was materially assisted by William Mc- Cullough, who was candidate for circuit clerk. The convention met, and while it was in session, Judge Davis, then circuit judge, and now associate justice of the United States supreme court, said to Routt in his peculiar way : " Look here, John, McCullough tells me that you are going to get this nomination. How is it, John ? You are going to get it, ain't you ? Of course you are going to get it; McCullough says so and that is enough." Mr. Routt was nominated on the second ballot and elected.

In 1862, when the second call for volunteers was made, John Routt decided to go to the war. He assisted in recruiting and organizing the Ninety-fourth Illinois, and was chosen captain by acclamation. Judge Davis presided at the organization of the company in the old Phoenix Hall, and it was made the color company of the Ninety-fourth. Captain Routt left the sheriff's office in charge of a deputy, and went to the war. In the fall of 1862, the regiment made the most wonderful march on record, from Wilson's Creek battle-ground to the battle-ground of Prairie Grove, a distance of one hundred and twenty miles, in a little more than three days. There the army of General Herron, to which the regiment belonged, fought the battle of Prairie Grove, one of the sharpest contests of the war. After this, Captain Routt and many others were sent home to recruit soldiers for the regiments. In the spring of 1863, he went back to the army. In the meantime, Colonel W. W. Orme had been made a brigadier general for his services at the battle of Praire Grove, and the army went into camp at Lake Spring. Here Captain Routt was detailed to act as quartermaster, and held the position until after the capitulation of Vicksburg. After this he was commissioned as quartermaster, and served as chief quartermaster in the army of the Rio Grande, commanded by General Herron. After the disastrous Red River expedition of General Banks, Colonel Routt was assigned as post quartermaster at Baton Rouge, and continued in this position until he left the army in 1865. On arriving home he was made treasurer of McLean County, and immediately began the payment of the county bonds and interest as they became due, and in a short time the}T rose to par in the market and remained so. At the expiration of two years he was nominated by a decided majority and re-elected.

At the commencement of President Grant's administration, General Giles A. Smith, of Bloomington, was appointed second assistant postmaster general, and Colonel Routt was selected as chief clerk of this bureau, but did not accept the position until his term of office as treasurer had expired. He filled the place with credit until he was appointed U. S. Marshal for the southern district of Illinois. The duties of the office during that }7ear were especially difficult as the census was then taken. This work was one of great difficulty, and required the best judgment; but his returns were accurately and speedily made out, and he received a well merited compliment from the Commissioner of the census. In the fall of 1871, General Giles A. Smith was obliged to resign his position on account of failing health, and Postmaster General Cresswell immediately selected Colonel Routt as Smith's successor. Col. Routt resigned his office as marshal, and entered upon the duties of his office as second assistant postmaster general, October 17, 1871. To his office belongs the charge of all the mails throughout the country, and he has performed his duties with marked ability. He comes in immediate contact with all the great corporations, and in dealing with them he is firm and decided. When the railroads threatened to throw off the mails, if the former did not receive increased compensation, Col. Routt was determined that the postffice department should not be intimidated by these giant monopolies.

in his office in Washington City, who, as soon as he learned that Col. Routt was from Bloomington, Illinois, enquired after his former schoolmate, John E. McClun, saying that they had heen hoys together, and without any further ado related to him the following anecdote. He said: " Young John was often sent to 'Winchester market by his energetic and excellent mother, with the products other dairy, garden and poultry-yard, and he opened out his butter, eggs, chickens, etc., generally with fine success, and became very expert in selling. One day, however, the youngmarketer was at his wit's end, for among other articles in his stock was a pair of dressed geese, which remained on his hand long after everything else was disposed of. At length, when he almost despaired of getting rid of this remnant of his cargo - for the geese were evidently old and tough - an old lady offered him a certain price for one of them; but John, after making her a polite bow, and thanking her for the offer, assured her that he was opposed upon principle to selling one without the other, for. said he, with seeming earnestness : ' My dear madam, these poor old o-eese have been united together in life in the most amicable relationship for twenty years, and it would be sad to part them now.' This shrewd statement - which linked a financial effect with a humanitarian thought - had the desired result on the old lady, for she at once bought both geese : but how much boiling and roasting she afterwards bestowed upon the venerable pair, John never learned."

Col. Routt, after having related this incident to me, added, in a humorous way : " As Judge McClun for many years sold goods in Bloomington, in early times, I have no doubt many old settlers here could be found to testify that he was as successful in many instances in disposing of ancient articles of merchandize in McLean County, as he was in the sale of the tough old geese at Winchester."

In personal appearance Col. Routt is slightly below the medium height, stoutly built, has a large, well-shaped head with prominent forehead, black hair, dark hazel eyes, and strongly marked features. He is courteous and affable, though firm and decided, and has a pleasing address, which wins him friends wherever he goes. His political common sense enables him to grasp a subject and comprehend it at once in all its bearings, and his decisions always promptly made, are, nevertheless, more than usually safe and correct. He reads human nature with remarkaide accuracy, and seldom has occasion to revise his first estimates of character. He is ever ready to lend a helping hand to the worthy and deserving, but has a thorough contempt for all pretenders and shams, whether the shams be men or measures. There is not in Illinois, perhaps, among our active politicians, a more outspoken man or sincere friend, than John L. Routt.

Henry Honscheidt was born in Cologne, on the Rhine, in Germany, and there received his early education. When he was nineteen years of age he emigrated to America, having been drawn here by the attraction of a new country and a free and generous government, and the opportunity of growing up with a new community. He was then a cabinet maker by trade. In the fall of 1854 he landed at New York city, and there worked at his trade for three years. In 1857 he started for Indiana, because of the great financial crisis of that year. He came to Bloomington in May, 1861, and in August of the following year he enlisted to fight in the service of his adopted country. He served in the Ninety-fourth Illinois Volunteers, entering the service as a private, and being mustered out as a first lieutenant and was afterwards breveted a captain. He was at the battle of Prairie Grove, at the siege of Vicksburg, at the capture of Brownsville, Texas, and at the siege of Fort Morgan and Spanish Fort, He served under General McNulta, and at the close of the war was discharged with his regiment, after which he worked for a while at his trade. In the fall of 1868 he was appointed assistant assessor of internal revenue. He was elected sheriff of McLean County November 5, 1872, by the Republican party, and has filled his position most acceptably. On the 5th of April, 1874, Colonel E. R, Roe, United States Marshal for the Southern District of Illinois, appointed Captain Honscheidt deputy marshal, which position he also fills with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of those with whom he has business relations.

Captain Honscheidt is a man of good muscular development, and is heavily built. Added to this is a certain genial and winning good humor, that is a part of his nature, making him personally popular with everybody who meets him. He has brought to the office of sheriff such efficiency and industry, that the interests of the county have been admirably cared for during his management of this important trust. While he has the tenderest feelings for the land of his birth, he has shown his love for the country of his adoption by fighting for three years in her service.

The author is under obligations for many of his statistics relating to the schools to Mr. John Hull, the present superintendent of schools in McLean County, and a personal sketch of the suberintendent may be desired by those interested in the schools.

John Hull was born February 6, 1839, in Marion County, Illinois. His father, Mr. Samuel Hull, was a native of Kentucky, but has been a citizen of Illinois for more than fifty years. Mr. John Hull is a graduate of the Normal School. He seems to have faith in the sufficiency of the public schools, as he has attended no other. He carefully educated himself for a teacher and caught the spirit of the profession.

He entered the Normal school in 1857, and graduated from it with the first class, in 1860. He was principal of the school of Salem for the year 1860-61 ; teacher of mathematics in the Illinois Normal University, 1861-62 ; and principal of the High School in Bloomington, 1862-64. The following year was occupied among the schools of this and adjoining States. During the greater part of the time from 1865 until 1869 he has been a member of the Board of Education, of Bloomington, and of the committee of school examiners for the city schools.

In 1869 Mr. Hull was elected Superintendent of Schools of McLean County; indeed it seems that his entire attention has been directed to the interests of education. In 1862 he was married to Mary Frances Washburn, the daughter of A. C. Washburn, Esq., an old school teacher, and it is expected that his two promising children will, in the course of time, follow in

Mr. Hull found the schools of McLean County in pretty good condition, and he lias worked faithfully not only to keep them up to their old standard, but improve them ; and has succeeded in arousing among the teachers a feeling of enthusiasm for the profession in which they are engaged. This leads to thorough preparation and fitness for their work.