Winslow Township

Winslow Township

Full fifty years ago, Lyman Brewster, a wealthy landowner, who had emigrated from Vermont to Tennessee, where he acquired a competency, turned his face North, and halted not until he reached the settlement then making at Peru, on the Illinois River. How long he tarried here, is not of record ; but, in the spring of 1833, he continued his prospecting tour, finally reaching the present site of Winslow, in Winslow Township, where he entered a claim, erected a comfortable house, cleared 80 acres of ground, and established " Brewster's Ferry," the first ferry in the county, and for many years the only one accessible to emigrants in crossing the Pecatonica River. Mr. Brewster was the first white man who ever made a claim in Winslow Township, and after a brief stay, by which time others had followed in his venturesome footsteps, he rented the ferry and adjoining property to William Robey, and returned to Peru, where he died.

Winslow Township is in the extreme northwest corner of the county, and, though one of the smallest, it will compare favorably with other townships in the amount of improved lands and quality of cultivation.

On the west side of the Pecatonica River, which crosses the eastern portion of the township, the country is gently rolling, being made up of prairies and barrens, with but few wooded tracts. East of that stream, however, beautiful hardwood groves break the monotony of the prairie landscape at intervals, furnishing abundant fuel, fencing and building materials. The prairies are fertile and the soil generally of a rich, black loam, with inexhaustible productive powers for agricultural purposes. The climate is healthful, the grain-growing region furnishes large returns to the farmer, fruits are successfully grown, and the blue grass, which is said to have been imported into Stephenson County by George Trotter, of Buckeye Township, thrives luxuriantly, afibrding rich grazing fields and supplies of hay for the winter season.

Among those who made their adventurous way into the township the same year that witnessed the advent of Mr. Brewster, were' Joe Abenos and A. C. Ransom, the latter going back East for his family, after surveying the outlook, and returning the following spring. Abenos assisted Mr. Brewster in the management of the ferry, while Ransom settled in Section 36, a mile and a half southeast of the village of Winslow, where he entered a claim and laid off the town of Ransomburg. But the town did not prosper as was anticipated, Winslow appropriating the new-comers because of its more favorable site, and Ransomburg in time was utilized for farming purposes, Robert Pilson now residing and farming within its original metes and bounds.

George Payne came to the county and settled at Brewster's Ferry in 1834, as also did George W. Lott, who erected a shanty in the present village of Winslow, and Harvey and Jerry Webster.

The advance thus made by the brave pioneers, and the struggle they encountered in contending for the permanent establishment of the cause of civilization in this uninhabited wilderness, was not without results in paving the way for the rise and progress of this portion of the county through the influence of the immigration that succeeded their coming.

The year 1835 witnessed the arrival of :i comparatively large number of settlers, mostly from the Eastern States. James and W. Henry Eells, made claims and established themselves - W. H. now resides in Section 35 ; Alvah Denton came in the fall and opened a farm in Section 25, removing subsequently to Section 26. Lemuel W. Streator reached the county and purchased the Brewster property, which included the ferry and 640 acres of land, paying the heirs of Brewster, who had died in the meantime, $4,000 therefor. Mr. Streator married Miss Mary Stewart, subsequently, and became one of the wealthy men of those primitive days. During the same year, George W. Lott, with the Webster brothers, commenced the building of a saw-mill in the future village across the creek, the former contracting to complete the mill in consideration of the brothers preparing the dam. While thus occupied, Hector P.

In earlier times the Boston Western Land Company, a corporation domiciliated in Massachusetts, held title to about 72,000 acres of land, divided between the States of Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin. Of this a tract of 700 acres was located in Winslow Township, on the present site of the town. In 1844, Cyrus Woodman succeeded W. S. Russell as the company's agent, and, by authority vested in him, surveyed, platted and laid off the village of Winslow. Lots on the east side of the main street were from 60 to 100 feet front by 300 feet in depth, those on the opposite side varying in size and dimensions ; they were held at prices ranging from $10 to $25 each. At that time there were but three houses within the corporate limits of the village, one standing where the Presbyterian Church now is, another where James Fuller now resides, and the American Hotel. The idea seemed to impress the founders of this town that the future reserved infinite prosperity for the undertaking, and they described the " city limits " with this fact constantly in mind. Streets were laid out and named, squares surveyed and staked, a wharf provided for at the foot of Bridge street, and other labors accomplished tending to attract remunerative, if not immediate, returns. But these returns failed to materialize with amazing rapidity, and in time the title of the company was transferred to individuals for farming and resident purposes.

In 1850, when the township was organized, there was a slight ripple of excitement among the more sanguine, and the hope of future prominence revived for a season. But the looked-for golden age in the history of the village was again postponed, and its arrival is looked upon by the residents to-day as an article too indefinite for grave consideration - one of those things no man can find out. Some hope is felt that a narrow-gauge railroad, said to be under consideration by the North-Western Company, may pass in the vicinity of Winslow, which would have the effect of appreciating business and increasing the value of property ; in any event, the town will remain what it ha& always been, an attractive point for trade and residence, with abundant waterpower, and accessible to all localities for business or pleasure.

The town is well built, the residences suggesting a New England village, and indicating the comfortable competence of the inmates. The stores and warehouses are of frame, brick and stone, of ample capacity for the business transacted, and of the most substantial character. The village contains an energetic population, five stores, one church edifice, and two hotels, which are both comfortable and homelike, and if the wheels of progress have been stayed in the beautiful valley that incloses Winslow in an embrace of hills rivaling the vale of Cashmere in the loveliness of their verdure, the residents are compensated for its absence in the comfort and independence apparent to the most casual visitor or observer.

Religious

The religious interests of the early settlers were considered and cared for, prior to 1840, by the Rev. Asa Ballinger, a Methodist circuit preacher, who came to Winslow in 1837, and each Sabbath thereafter preached the word of God to the pioneers, in the groves, private cabins and elsewhere, as circumstances enabled him. In 1840, the Rev. Elisha H. Hazzard, a Congregational minister, divided the field with Elder Ballinger, and is said to have been quite successful in his efforts at converting sinners or recalling backsliders. From this date up to about 1855, the worshiping portion of the town was dependent upon transients, in addition to the services of the gentlemen cited, but in that year the Presbyterians, to the number of nineteen, met and organized. The society is still in existence, and with the Congregationalists, totalizes the religious interests of Winslow.

First Presbyterian Church. - On the 9th of April, 1855, a meeting was held at the village hotel for the purpose of organizing an ecclesiastical corporation, having for its object the worship of God according to the Calvinistic doctrines. The attendance was small and nothing accomplished. On the 19th of the same month, an adjourned meeting was held, attended with similar results, but two days later, the organization was perfected, and the articles of faith, as has already been stated, signed by nineteen members.

Worship was had in the schoolhouse until fall, when the brick church, now standing, which had been building during the summer, was completed and taken possession of. It is of brick, 35x55, supplied with an organ, and possesses capacity for seating two hundred auditors. Its cost was $2,000.

The following Pastors have served, though part of the time the society ha& been obliged to depend upon the visits of circuit preachers : The Revs. John N. Powell, John Johnson, A. T. Wood, Mr. Schofield, John Linn, and A. S. Gardner, the present incumbent.

Congregational Society - Numbering at present thirty-eight members, was the outgrowth of a season of revival held in Winslow under the supervision of A. P. Loomis during the spring of 1877. The effort of Mr. Loomis is said to have been attended with a most gratifying success, one hundred converts having been baptized by that gentleman while in Winslow. At the close of his ministration, the converts organized the "Winslow Christian Association,"

Services are at present held in Wright's Hall, but the congregation anticipate building a church at a day by no means distant. The Rev. Francis Lawson is the Pastor at present in charge.

Scliools. - The first school taught in the village was begun during the year 1840, in the upper story of Edward Hunt's wagon-shop. It remained here a short time, when a house was built for school purposes by Silas Sears, on the hill southwest of town, which was occupied until 1872, when the presentcommodious school edifice, on the site of that erected by Silas Sears, was completed, at a cost of $3,000, and has since been occupied.

It is of frame, two stories high, about forty feet square, and supplied with every convenience peculiar to similar undertakings. The course of study includes the leading common-school text-books, and furnishes a means of education to an average daily attendance of sixty-five pupils.

Winslow Lodge, No. 56Jf,, A., F. cf A. if. - Was chartered October 1, 1867, with the following members : Benjamin Pym, John Bradford, Jacob Sweeley, P. Sweeley, D. D. Tyler, R. E. Mack, T. Rodebaugh, C. M. Macomber, M. J. Cooper and J. W. Saucerman.

Since that date, the lodge has increased to forty members, acquired property valued at $200, and is otherwise an important factor in the daily life of the village.

Meetings are held monthly on the first Monday, and the following are the officers at present in charge: John Gordon, W. M.; W. Van Matre, S. W., J. M. Rybolt, J. W.; J. Hilliard, Treasurer ; J. W. Saucerman, Secretary ; Charles Elliott, S. D.; A. Kelley, J. D., and J. N. Fuller, Tiler.

in the north tier of townships of Stephenson County, is one of the mos prosperous and highly productive sections of the State. It contains a large acreage, about equally divided between timber and prairie, with Richland Creek coursing the eastern portion from north to south, and other streams and rivulets, furnishing an abundant and permanent water-power for available use. The early settlement of Oneco Township is somewhat involved in doubt. The eifort was made to ascertain to whom was due the distinguished honor of first venturing into the wilderness, at present comprehended within the limits of the township ; but, owing to the fact that none of the earlier pioneers of that region survive the march of events, this labor was attended with a success disproportioned to the importance of the subject in hand. Simon Davis, it is believed, was among the first to settle in this portion of " Brewster Precinct," he coming about the year 1833. After him, it appears that Andrew Clarno followed. Both of these, it is assumed, had previously made claims in the lead regions, further north and west ; but, indiiferent success or a desire to engage in agricultural pursuits, influenced them, about the time above designated, to effect a change of base and open farms, the former near the town of Oneco, and the latter in the vicinity of Honey Creek. John M. Curtis also appeared in this vicinity dui'ing the same year, and made claim to a tract of land in the vicinity of Oneco.

In 1835, JeiFerson and Lewis Van Matre settled one and a half miles west of Oneco, Lewis removing from the lead mines at Galena, and Jefferson coming from Ohio. Morgan Van Matre followed in the footsteps of his brethren a year later, and William Van Matre in 1839, together with Joseph Van Matre.

The year 1886 witnessed a large emigration from the East to all portions of the West, as is well known, and Oneco received considerable additions to her population. Among those who arrived about this time were Alonzo Denio, who settled in the present site of Oneco Village ; a Mr. Lott, Duke Chilton, Lorin and Fred Remay, Ralph Hildebrand, Jonas Strohm, and others. Between 1836 and 1838, James, Henry and George Howe were included among the recent arrivals, as also were James Young and Philip and Warner Wells, all of whom opened farms at the head of Long Hollow ; Henry Johnson, at the northeast corner of the town ; Oliver and John R. Brewster, Ezra Gillett, who erected the mill atBuena Vista ; Joab Morton, identified with the eastern portion of the township ; Isaac Kleckner, with the eastern vicinity of the village of Oneco, James Turnbull, who removed subsequently to Winslow ; " Father " Ballinger, whose son Asa was among the earliest circuit preachers of the Illinois Conference, and others.

The tragic death of one of the Lotts caused no inconsiderable excitement among his neighbors at the time, and is believed to have been among the first deaths, if not the first, to occur in the township.

The Indians occupied camps in various portions of Oneco and Buckeye Townships when their present territories were in that primitive condition in which they were found by the pioneers. They were not particularly demonstrative in acts of hostility or annoyance, yet the first comers experienced some trouble with the impecunious and embarrassed red man. He left his mark on the resources of his neighbors at any and every opportunity, and not unfrequently the mournful notes of a porker broke upon the ear of the settler long after midnight's holy hour, indicating the deep damnation of its taking-oflf by the covetous aborigine. When one of these despoilers of man's happiness and property was discovered in the act, or convicted of crime, he was punished severely ; this discipline, together with the gradual settling up of the country, and his departure for other fields, finally relieved the pioneers of these annoyances and his presence.

In 1839, Lewis Gibler removed from Ohio to Oneco Township, settling on Section 18, on the farm at present owned by Judge Alexander Hinds. William Van Matre, as mentioned above, came also, it is believed, in this year, as did Jacob Stroder, Joseph Van Matre, Jr., and others. William established himself in the western portion of the town, whence he removed to Rock Grove, and Mineral Point, Wis. The following year, it is believed, Isaac Miller settled in the township; also Mike Bolander, Lyman, William and Nelson Hulburt, John Clarno, Joseph Norns and Seth Schockley. The first marriage of which there are any reliable data, occurred during this year. Henry Rybolt and Lizzie McNear were the felicitous candidates, and Squire Gibler performed the ceremony, at the residence of Jefi"erson Van Matre. William Van Matres' daughter, who died in 1840, is stated to have been the first interment made in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Some advise that hers was the first death, but this can hardly be, when the suicide of Mr. Lott is remembered, if the latter occurred in 1838, as is related.

After 1840, emigration became more rapid and generous. The enterprising descendants of those who had built up Pennsylvania and Ohio half a century before, were equally ambitious as had been the parent, to carve out fortune for themselves in the Far West. The growing East afforded too little encouragement to attract them to remain at home, and, prompted by these influences, as also that spirit of thrift, not to say adventure, which predominates throughout the Yankee nation, their "prairie schooners " and pack horses were to be seen daily crowding the trails which were finally lost in the unbroken wilderness of that territory in the direction of the setting sun. With each succeeding year their number increased, and the township under consideration received large accessions to its inhabitants, until the last claim was taken up, and the landscape dotted with the homes of these hardy pioneers. Most of them have gone the way of all flesh - rest from their labors. But their names are preserved among the archives of the past, as among the distinguished few to whom must be attributed the honor of first settling a wilderness, and opening a way for the present prosperity and advanced refinement to be witnessed on every side.

In time villages sprang up in the new township. One of these has become an incorporated town, the objective point toward which farmers and producers living within a radius of many miles, turn for bargain or sale, with the effect of making Orangeville a lively business center, at which an annual business is transacted that would astonish the more pretentious city rival. Oneco Village is scarcely changed, it is said, from what it was nearly forty years ago, and "hardly ever" will. The laying-out and building-up of Orangeville has appropriated the patronage and population at one time tending to Oneco, and the latter remains as it was left when its rival's site was selected a post office center, where the residents of the immediate vicinity congregated to receive their mail, and canvass questions of local or national issue. Throughout the township churches and schools are to be found at nearly every cross-road, and the causes of education and morality are guarded with the same care, and promoted with the same earnestness in Oneco as are the vital interests of life throughout the civilized world.

An inland village, delightfully located in the southeastern part of Oneco Township, handsomely built, inhabited by an industrious, progressive and enterprising class of citizens, containing a population of from four to five hundred, and the market town of the section, wherein it is situated, the village does an immense business, and presents a fine field for investment or residence.

Orangeville, originally known as Bowersville, owes its immediate origin to John Bowers, though the town site had been partially entered and improved, by John M. Curtis, prior to Mr. Bowers' arrival in 1846. About the year 1845, Mr. B. came West, and settled at Walnut Grove. A year's residence thereabout prompted a removal to more desirable fields for permanent settlement, and, after canvassing the surrounding country, he at last selected the present site of the town, where, by entry and purchase, he secured title to 320 acres of ground, including a log cabin, mills (saw and grist), and water-power obtained from Richland Creek.

After a residence at his new home of about one year, Mr. Bowers, regarding the site as possessing many advantages for the purpose, determined to create a town in the, even at that late day, almost impenetrable wilderness. Thereupon, he appropriated fifteen acres of the land purchased, caused the same to be surveyed and platted by Marcus Montelius, and named his venture, as already stated, " Bowersville."

This was in 1849, at which time the brick house on High street, wherein the post office is now kept, is said to have been built. Charles Moore's present residence, a store, presided over by George Hoffman, a blacksmith-shop, built by John Bowers, and occupied by Benjamin Hallman, together with the old Curtis Mills, composed the improvements. The next year, however, Mr. Bowers commenced the building of the present mill, hauling the shingles and better qualities of lumber from Chicago by team, himself acting as driver. The mill was finished the same year at a total cost of about $8,000.

Immediately upon the completion of the survey and the promulgation of the fact that a village was in progress of building, speculators, agents and bonafide purchasers came into the country. Some invested and remained, others departed, promising to return, while others departed without leaving either promises or collaterals to indicate their intentions. Daniel Duck is said to have been the first purchaser of lots in the future town, obtaining that on which is now located the house of Franklin Scott, paying $10 therefor. William Herbert and others came about the same time, and within that decade large numbers of substantial residents settled in the town. Lands were cheap, the village was near Freeport, possessed of valuable water privileges, and other inducements prevailed to meet the popular demand, which found expression in the number of inhabitants who came during the first ten or fifteen years of its existence.

In 1861, the breaking-out of the war caused a large increase in the volume of business done by the merchants, which was materially diminished for some years thereafter, owing to the unsettled condition of affairs throughout the country, the departure of volunteers, and other causes producing similar effects elsewhere. The last half of the decade beginning with 1860, however, witnessed an improved state of public feeling, producing a better market for commodities and correspondingly prosperous times. Orangeville of course participated in these benefits, and so pronounced was the success which attended her development and building-up, that in 1867 the village was incorporated as a town, with such prerogatives and privileges appertaining thereto as by law are conferred, including town officers, the following being the roster of those who have held during the years succeeding :

Official Roster

1868 - Daniel Ream, President; B. H. Bradshaw, William Herbert, Henry Kline and Aaron Boltzer, Associates. William Herbert refusing to serve, W. R. Moore was elected in his stead.

Schools. - The first schoolhouse erected in the village occupied a portion of the lot east of the present site of the Luthern Church. In 1860, the school was graded, and in 1874 the present edifice was completed and occupied at a cost of 16,000.

The scholastic curriculum enibraces two departments, "primary" and "grammar," employing two teachers and enjoying a daily average attendance of seventy-six pupils. The annual expense attending the support of the schools is about $800.

Lutheran and Reformed Church. - The Lutherans and Reformed Lutherans occupy the same edifice located on the main street north of the schoolhouse.

The Reformed society was organized May 3, 1851, by Henry Habliston, with twenty-four members, of whom Henry Ault was Elder and John Bower and M. Bolander Deacons.

At a meeting held the same year, it was decided to unite with the Lutherans to procure the erection of a church edifice, and Daniel Rean, John Bowers and John Wohlford were appointed a Building Committee. The corner-stone was laid in September, 1852, the Revs. G. J. Donmeyer, Daniel Kroh and George Weber ofiiciating, and completed and dedicated September 23, 1855. The church cost $1,900 ; it is of brick, plainly furnished, supplied with an organ, and possessing a capacity for seating about 200 auditors. The dedicatory services were held by the Revs. G. J. Donmeyer, Daniel Kroh, F. C. Bowman, Aratus Kent and J. P. Decker, and the following Pastors have since served : The Revs. John Hoyman, Henry Knepper, C. G. A. Hulhorst and F. W. Stump.

The Lutheran branch of the congregation was established about 1847 or 1848, under the auspices of the Rev. G. J. Donmeyer, with a very small congregation. Services were first held in a log schoolhouse on the Ault farm in Buckeye Township. He remained in charge for a number of years, exchanging occasionally with the Rev. Ephraim Miller, of Cedarville, convening for service in the schoolhouse, mill, etc., until the church above mentioned was built, when it was occupied in part with the Lutheran Reformed congregation in accordance with the terms of an agreement concluded between the several associations.

The following Pastors have served since the society was established: The Revs. G. J. Donmeyer, Mr. Fahr, Charles Anderson, Mr. Cook, John K. Bloom, J. Stoll, A. B. Niddlesworth, and B. F. Pugh, the present incumbent. The congregation numbers seventy-five worshipers.

The United Brethren Association - Has been in existence in Oneco since 1844. The first services were held in schoolhouses and private residences. The Orangeville Circuit was established in 1856, and in 1857 the present church in the village was erected. It is of brick, 36x50, and cost $2,000. Other churches were subsequenlly erected in the circuit, including Boehm Chapel in 1865, at an expense of $1,700, and St. James' Church in 1870, for which $2,000 was paid.

The association property is valued at $6,500, and the congregation numbers 200 communicants. The following ministers have served in the circuit : the Revs. Heman Scott, Jeremiah Kenoyer, Samuel Kretsinger, Mr. Frazier, William Dollarhide, Moses Clifton, Mr. Collins, Mr. Henninger, George Schneider, J. Hiestand, Mr. Pope, J. H. Grim, S. Rogers, J. H. Young, C. A. Philipps, J. W. Burd, Mr. Roe, J. Johnson, J. Dodson, W. R. Coursey, A. G. Loomis and 0. M. Van Swearingen.

Methodist Church - Organized under the present arrangement October 15, 1875, though the sect had held services in the township for many years prior to that date. The charter members were Benjamin Bower and wife, Mrs. Susan Bennett, Mrs. Sarah Heckman, Mrs. B. J. Parriott, Mrs. J. H. Cook, William and Phoeby Frederick, and William Holloway and wife. Services were had semi-monthly, under the pastorate of the Rev. F. B. Hardin, in the German Reformed Church. He was succeeded by the Rev. Bertrand Dickens, under whose incumbency possession of Masonic Hall was obtained and is now in use.

At first, the congregation in the circuit and village was quite small, but in 1876 it began to increase, and has so continued with gratifying frequency to the present time. In October, 1877, the Rev. R. A. Harwood accepted charge of the church, and under his dispensation a new edifice was contracted for, same to be erected of frame at Oneco, to cost $1,100, and be completed September 1, 1880.

There are now 140 members of the congregation in the charge and twentyeight in the village of Orangeville. The church property, including the parsonage, is valued at $2,000.

Evangelical Association. - Formerly the Cedarville and Orangeville Circuits were several ; but increase in numbers necessitated a division at various times, the last one occurring in 1870, when Orangeville was made a separate charge. The Orangeville Circuit now includes Orangeville, Fairfield, St. Peter's Church at Clarno, Wis., two appointments in Wayne County and one at Pleasant Hill.

The present congregation was organized at Orangeville some years ago, but the church edifice was not erected until 1880 ; it having been completed, and dedicated January 18, of that year, and is one of the finest finished and commodious churches in the county.

The edifice is of frame, 86x52, with a steeple eighty-seven feet high and an auditorium capable of comfortably seating 200 worshipers. It is elaborately frescoed, possessing superior acoustic qualities, furnished with an organ, and desirable in every particular. It cost, complete, $2,500.

The following Pastors have served since the Orangeville Circuit became a separate charge: The Rev. J. B. Rife, William Caton, and S. A. Miller, the present incumbent.

Orangeville Lodge, No. 687, A., F. ^ A. i^. - Was chartered October 1, 1872, to the following-named members, though the lodge had been working under a dispensation for some time prior to that date : B. H. Bradshaw, David Jones, James Musser, Benjamin Musser, Charles Musser, I. Gr. Ermhold, J. K. Bloom, H. W. Bolender, P. Scheckler, William Potts and D. A. Schock. The officers at this time were B. H. Bradshaw, W. M. ; David Jones, S. W., and James Musser, J. W.

The order progressed and prospered in wealth and influence, and, in 1876, erected a handsome hall on High street, a decided ornament to the village, and a source of pride to the fraternity and citizens of Orangeville. The hall is of frame, 26x51, two stories high, handsomely finished, and peculiarly adapted to the uses for which it is appropriated. The basement contains a supper-room, equipped with furniture, cooking and table utensils, and is used upon festive occasions. The first floor is occupied for hall purposes, where entertainments, lectures, social and church gatherings are held. It contains a stage, is thoroughly lighted, heated and ventilated, with a capacity for seating an audience of 300. The upper story is devoteil to the lodge-room of the organization, and is superior, in point of finish, to many in cities more pretentious. The cost of the building was $2,500.

The present membership includes thirty-one of the craft, and the lodge property is valued at $2,500. Meetings are convened on the first and third Thursdays of each month.

J. R. Scroggs Lodge, No. 372, I. 0. 0. ^. - Was organized October 13, 1868, under a charter issued to A. A. Krape, Thomas Spriggs, Henry Dinges, J. K. Bloom, J. J. Moore and William Sandoe. The officers then were A. A. Krape, N. G. ; J. K. Bloom, V. G., and William Sandoe, Secretary.

Since the date of its organization the lodge has prospered deservedly, and now enjoys a membership of sixty-five of the order, with property valued at $2,000.

Orangeville Lodge, No. 133, L. 0. G-. T. - Was first organized in 1867, and, after a few years' combat with the world of intemperance, yielded up the ghost. In the fall of 1877, J. Q. Detwiler. an ardent temperance reformer, labored throughout the county, and efi"ected a re-organization of the society, with a total of twenty- four members, and the following officers : J. Cook, P. W. C. T. ; Henry Knepper, W. C. T, ; F. W. Stumpf, W. S. ; Sarah Scheckler, W. F. S. ; Mary Scott, W. T. ; Sadie Seidel, W. V. T. ; Addie Cook, W. I. G. ; C. F. Winchell, W. M. ; B. Dickens, Chaplain.

In addition to the societies which convene in Masonic Hall, its occupation is granted, on the first and third Saturday afternoons, to Excelsior Grange, No. 109, Patrons of Husbandry, which was chartered January 21, 1873, and now has sixty members, with the following officers : Daniel Musser, Master ; Franklin Ream, Overseer ; Charles Cadwell, Secretary ; Reuben Bobb, Treasurer ; and Charles Cadwell, Chaplain.

Orangeville Flour Mills. - The first mills erected in the immediate vicinity of Orangeville, were put up by John M. Curtis, at a date long before the now flourishing village was conceived in the brain of its founder. In 1838, Mr. Curtis "rigged" a very primitive dam on the opposite side of Richland Creek, near the foot of what is now known as High street, and built a mill supplied with one run of stones, and machinery for sawing purposes. He worked this industry successfully until his death,- which occurred along in the forties, when they remained idle until John Bowers purchased the establishment and prepared to lay out the village.

In 1850, after Orangeville had been surveyed and began to be populated, Mr. Bowers razed the old structure, and from its ruins erected the present handsome building on the village side of the creek, at a cost of $8,000. The premises are of frame, 40x60, three and a half stories high, provided with three run of stone, and capable of grinding 200 bushels of wheat daily.

The tight times of 1857 caused a suspension of operations about the mills for a temporary period, and, in 1859, they passed into the hands of Messrs. Hefty, Legner & Co., who conducted them for seven years, when they sold to E. T. Moore & Co., the present owners, for $12,000.

In 1868, Moore & Co. reconstructed the saw-mill, located it north of the flour-mill, and refitted it with new machinery, the improvements made costing about |1,500, and to-day own one of the most complete establishments of the kind, invaluable to an agricultural community in this section of the State.

Orangeville Qreamery - One of the largest and most complete establishments of the kind in the West, was established January 13, 1879, by D. A. Schock and H. W. Bolender, the present proprietors. The buildings consist of a creamery and refrigerator, which were built at a cost of |5,000, supplied with every convenience and detail necessary to a successful carrying-on of the business.

The former is 38x50, containing the manufactory, cooler and other departments. The butter is manufactured by steam-power, and the process is somewhat interesting. The cream is first put in vats of a capacity of 260 pounds each and raised to a temperature of 60°, when it is thrown into a revolving churn and moved so rapidly that in forty minutes the raw butter is removed therefrom and placed in the cooling-room. It remains here about twenty-four hours, when it is taken out, worked thoroughly, salted, loaded into firkins and deposited in the refrigerator subject to order. The refrigerator is 24x40, with a capacity for storage of 180,000 pounds of butter in addition to 180 tons of ice, thereby maintaining an equable temperature of 40° all the year round.

The firm manufactures 210 tons of butter annually, or 1,400 pounds daily, requiring 6,000 pounds of cream therefor per day, and furnishing employment to ten hands at a weekly compensation of $100.

The Cemetery - Was located within the village limits when the same Avere described in the first instance, and so continued until increasing population compelled its removal to some point remote from the habitations of man. It now occupies a handsome site on the hill overlooking town, the territory embraced consisting of an acre of ground donated by John Bowers, which is handsomely laid out and appropriately decorated with emblems commemorative of the virtues of those who sleep beneath its turf.

Post Office. - This indispensable adjunct to civilization was first established in 1854. An effort was made the year previous to procure its location at Bowersville, but without results. The year following, however, a change came over the spirit of the Postmaster General's conclusions, who granted the prayer of petitioners in that connection, directed that the name be changed to Orangeville, and appointed William Wagenhals Postmaster. It is now located in one of the first brick houses erected in the village, with facilities for communicating with the outer world unsurpassed by those of any interior town of similar proportions and importance.

The first marriage to take place after the building of the village was formally inaugurated was that of William Wagenhols and Susan Sandoe ; this was in 1848.

Emanuel Shafer, a lad residing with his parents in this village, was bitten by a snake about the same year, and his is recorded as the first death ; while a daughter to Mary and William Chilton is reputed as the first birth.

CAPT. WILLIAM I. BRADY, druggist and Postmaster, Winslow ; born June 1,1841, in Pittsburg, Penn. ; in 1865, he came to Winslow ; he was appointed Postmaster in 1875. He married Miss Mary Rayhorn, Oct. - , 1877 ; she was born in Pennsylvania ; they have one son - Lester B. Republican in politics.

HEI^RY CH AWGO, proprietor of American House, Winslow ; born Dec. 22, 1829, in Sullivan Co., N. Y. ; in 1854, he came to Stephenson Co. ; followed farming till 1875, when he removed to Winslow, and took charge of this hotel. Married Harriet Vaughn, March, 1849 ; she was born in New York ; they have five children - one son and four daughters. Republican in politics.

liE GRAND M. COX, farmer. Sec. 19; P. 0. Winslow; born Sept. 6, 1829, in Genesee Co., N. Y.; in September, 1839, he came to Stephenson Co.; he served eighteen months in the Mexican war, and received a land- warrant for 160 acres ; he now owns 140 acres ; enlisted in August, 1862, in Company A, 92d I. V. I., as Sergeant; served two and a half years ; was wounded Sept. 19, 1863, at the battle of Chickamauga ; has been School Director, Township Collector and Treasurer. Married Eveline Talmadge April 23, 1856 ; she was born in Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, Nov. 10, 1834; they have six children - Charles T., Hattie A. (now Mrs. F. T. Wire), Nellie B., Frank R., Mary E. and Legrand M.

WILLIAM cox, farmer. Sec. 29 ; P. 0. Winslow; born Jan. 30, 1823, in Oneida Co., N. Y.; in 1839 he came to Stephenson Co.; he owns 140 acres of land, which he entered ; has been Assessor, Collector, School Treasurer, Road Commissioner; he now is County Superintendent - has served eight years; he enlisted in 1862, in Co. A, 92d I. V. I.; served to the end of the war; was wounded at the battle of Chenango, and Aiken, S. C Married Miss Ermina Phillips January, 1852; she was born in Ohio; they have four children - William Jr., Edward, Levitt H. and John. Presbyterian in religion ; Republican in politics.

MRS. LODUSKEY F. CRANDALL, formerly Miss Kennedy, Sec. 19 ; P. 0. Winslow ; she was born March 10, 1832, in Lorain Co., Ohio. She was married May 10, 1850, to Jonathan Lincoln; he was born May 19, 1827, in New York ; in about 1844 he came with his parents to Stephenson Co., and settled on this present farm, which has since been divided; he died June 16, 1877. She now owns about 94 acres, with the homestead ; they had four children, three living - Emeline (now Mrs. Wire), Effie (now Mrs. Wilber), and Nettie May. Her second marriage, to Samuel Crandall, occurred Aug. 28, 1878 ; he was born April 16, 1825 ; he has two children by a former marriage - Adelia and Caddie.

DR. I. L. CUTLER, physician and surgeon, Winslow ; born Jan. 29, 1848, in Warren, Lake Co., 111.; in 1865 he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Whipple, of Nebraska; graduated in 1875. He married Miss Clara Sweely March 19, 1880 ; she was born in Lycoming Co., Pa.

GEORGE C. DE HAVEN, farmer. Sec. 30 ; P. 0. Winslow ; born Aug. 12, 1855, in Nora, Jo Daviess Co.; in 1857 he came with his parents to their present farm, consisting of 540 acres; his father died in 1872, aged 52 years. He married Miss Christie Phillips October, 1878 ; she was born in Pennsylvania ; she came to Orangeville, 111., when a child, with her parents.

OSCAR DE HAVEN, farmer. Sec. 24 ; P. 0. Winslow ; born April 12 1854, in Stephenson County; his father died in March, 1855, aged 25 years; he and his mother own and occupy this farm, consisting of 160 acres, formerly entered by his grandfather; his mother was born in Scioto Co., Ohio, in 1827.

SILAS GAGE, farmer. Sec. 25; P. 0. Winslow; born Nov. 7, 1813, in Susquehanna Co., Penn. ; May 15, 1835, he came to Stephenson County ; he owns 244 acres ot land, part of which he entered. Married Harriet M. Eells in November,

1836 ; she was born in Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. ; she came with her parents to Illinois in 1834 ; they had eleven children ; six are living - Isaac V., Amon S., Amelia, Ellen, Mary and Phebe ; Isaac V. enlisted, in 1861, in Co. G, 46th I. V. I. ; served to the end of the war. Republican in politics.

J. H. GAMBER, farmer. Sec. 29 ; P. 0. Winslow; born April 25, 1825, ia Ontario Co., N. Y. ; when a child he came with his parents to Ashtabula Co., Ohio ; in 1845, he came to Stephenson County; he owns 118 acres of land ; has been Justice of the Peace, Township Supervisor one term, nine years School Director ; has been classleader in the M. E. Church the past fifteen years ; he is also Treasurer and Steward of this church. Married Miss Mary Cox in November, 1850 ; she was born in JeflPerson Co., N. Y. ; when she was 9 years old she came with her parents to Wisconsin ; they have three children - Frank E., Ellen A., now Mrs. White, of Syracuse, N. Y., and Ida F. Republican in politics.

D. C. GAYLORD, farmer. Sec. 16 ; P. 0. Winslow ; born Nov. 3, 1823, in Chautauqua Co., N. Y. ; in 1839, he came to Stephenson County with his parents; he owns 220 acres of land, which he has improved. He enlisted, in 1862, in Co. A, 92 d I. V. I.; served thirteen months; was discharged on account of sickness. He has been Road Commissioner and Collector. Married Mary Taylor in 1848 ; she was born in Bradford Co., Penn., in 1827 ; his father died in 1846, aged 52 years ; his mother died in 1872, aged 84 years. Attends the Congregational Church.

BARNABUN HIND^, farmer, Sec. 25 ; P. 0. Winslow ; born Oct. 4, 1823, in Eden, Lamoille Co., Vt. ; in 1845, he came to Manchester, N. H. ; in 1855, be returned to Eden, Vt. ; in 1868, he came to Stephenson County ; he owns about 62 acres of land ; he is Justice of the Peace. He married Miss Matilda N. Buck in 1849 ; she was born in Coos Co., N. H. ; they have had six children - Lelah M., now Mrs. Taylor; Adie M., now Mrs. Fye ; Eva M., Clara E., Andrew G. and Aldace S. Republicans in politics ; attends the Christian Church.

EDWARD HUNT, Justice of the Peace and Notary, Winslow ; born Aug. 13, 1812, in Norfolk Co., Mass. ; in 1838, he came to Winslow; he followed the business of carriage and wagon making, till about 1859 ; he had formerly learned this trade in Massachusetts. He has served two or three years as Assistant Revenue Assessor, his commission being dated Sept, 30, 1863 ; has been about twenty-three years Township Clerk, and about fourteen years Township Assessor ; five years Justice of the Peace, Married Maria Cox, Sept. 15, 1841; she was born in Oneida Co., N. Y., Aug. 6, 1817. Presbyterian in religion ; Republican in politics.

<;^EORGE X. KEXNEDY, farmer. Sec. 31; P. 0. Winslow; born March 13, 1830, in Lorain Co., Ohio; in 1845, he came with his parents to Wisconsin ; in 1847, he came to Stephenson County; he owns 149 acres of land; his father died in 1856, aged 52 years ; his mother died June, 1878, aged 72 years ; he has been School Director the past nineteen years ; is Commissioner of Highways - has been for the past twenty-five years. Married Emily Barnes, Oct. 1, 1855; she was born, in 1836, in Munson, Ohio; died in 1856 ; had one child - Edward ; second marriage to Elizabeth Wright, in 1857; she was born in Munson, Ohio; had six children, five living - Emily, George, Arthur, Stewart, Luella ; lost Willie, aged three years ; attends M. E. Church.

WILIilAM M. LINCOLlf, farmer. Sec. 19 ; P. 0. Winslow ; born July 6, 1822, in Chenango Co., N. Y. ; in 1845, he came to Stephenson County; he owns 340 acres of land, part he entered; has been School Director, etc. Married Mary J. Goss, in 1848 ; she was born in Chautauqua County, N. Y. ; they have one child - Wilber E. Presbyterian in religion ; Democrat in politics.

MRS. OLIVA MARBLE, daughter of E. H. Watkins Sec^26 ; P. 0. Winslow; Hiram Marble was born October, 1813, in Vermont; in 1838, he came to Stephenson County; he died September, 1869 ; she owns 160 acres of land. Theywere married Sept. 6, 1833; she was born in Bradford Co., Pa.; her father still resides there; he is now in his 86th year; Mrs. Marble has just received a letter from her father, which is very plainly written ; they had eleven children, eight living - four sons and four daughters ; her sons Lyman and Ephraim served in the late war ; Ephraim died in 1878, aged 44 years.

D. B. PACKER, farmer, Sec. 21 ; P. 0. Winslow; born Nov. 29, 1801, in Haverhill, Essex Co., Mass. ; in 1814, he came with his parents to Otsego Co., N. Y. ; in 1828, he came to Lorain Co., Ohio; in 1845, he came to Stephenson Co., thence to Walworth Co., Wis. ; kept a hotel here till 1847, when he removed to Kencsha, Wis. ; in 1851, returned to Stephenson Co. : he owned and kept the hotel in Lena, which he exchanged for this farm of 1 60 acres ; has been Poor Master four years, Justice of the Peace, etc. Married Miss Desire Lincoln, in 1824; she was born in Otsego Co., N. Y., in 1808 ; had six children, two living - Rebecca and Greorge.

ROBERT PILSOX, farmer, Sec. 36; P. 0. Winslow; born July 12, 1816, in White Township, Indiana Co., Penn. ; May 8, 1855, he came to Stephenson County; he owns 219 acres of land. He married Eliza J. Ross Nov. 30, 1846 ; she was born Nov. 9, 1821, in Indiana Co., Penn., and died May 11, 1872 ; they have four children - three sons and one daughter ; his second marriage was to Mary M. Masser, March 12, 1877 ; she was born in Carbon Co., Penn. ; they have one son. Republican in politics; Presbyterian in religion.

JEPTHA PROUTY, farmer. Sec. 31 ; P. 0. Lena; born Oct. 14, 1814, in Bradford Co., Penn.; in 1850, he came to Stephenson Co.; he owns 280 acres of land in this county, also 320 acres in Iowa. He married Jane Wheeler in 1835 ; she was born in New York in 1817 ; they have ten children - seven sons and three daughters. Republican in politics.

THOMAS ROBEBAUGH, retired, Winslow; born Dec. 30, 1824, in Centre Co., Penn.; in 1828, he came to Ohio, following the carpenter trade till 1845, when he came to Stephenson Co., and has continued at this business part of the time since ; he owns the Winslow Hotel and two other residences in town ; has been School Director. He married Lavina Ferguson in December, 1844 ; she was born in Wayne Co.. Ohio, in December, 1824; they have six children - Mary Ann (now Mrs. Taylor), Elizabeth (now Mrs. Wilson), Lovina (now Mrs. Eels), Charles D,, Melissa (now Mrs. Edwards) and . Daniel T. They attend the M. E. Church ; Democratic in politics.

BR. J. W. SAUCERHAX, physician and surgeon, Winslow ; born Nov. 13, 1837, in Coshocton Co., Ohio; in 1844. he came to Green Co., Wis., with his parents ; in 1863, he removed to Winslow; in 1859, he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Carver, graduated at the Rush Medical College, Chicago, in January, 1863, and has been in constant practice since. He married Miss Luella Bradford in February, 1866; she was born in Winslow ; they have three children - John M., Sarah C. and Mary B. He owns his residence in town and 150 acres of land in this county ; also, 20 acres in Wisconsin. Presbyterian in religion.

CHARLE8 8HEARB, farmer. Sec. 23; P. 0. Warren; born Nov. 21, 1805, in Yorkshire, England ; in 1832, he came to New York ; in about 1836, he removed to Canada, where he remained till 1849, when he came to Jo Daviess Co., 111.; in 1858, he came to bis present farm ; he owns 210 acres of land. He married Eliza Thornton in 1838 ; she was born in Yorkshire, England ; they have eight children, seven living - Joseph, Thomas, Henry, Allen, George A., John and James L. ; Eli enlisted, in 1862, in Co. T, 31st W. V. I., and was killed in 1865; Joseph, Thomas and Henry also served in the late war.

WIL.L.IAM SMITH, farmer. Sec. 29; P. 0. Winslow; born Nov. 24, 1844, in Cattaraugus Co., N. Y.; when a boy he came to Stephenson Co., with his parents, where he has since lived ; he owns 120 acres of land. Married Louisa Howe in 1868; she was born in 1847; have two children - Emily and Sarah ; he enlisted, in 1861, in Co. G, 46th, I. V. I.; served to the end of the war ;" was in the battles of Shiloh, Tallahatchie, siege of Vicksburg, and others.

MRIS. CELESTIA' A. STAYER, wife of Jonathan M. Staver, deceased, Sec. 30 ; P. 0. Winslow ; he was born Sept. 21, 1834, in Centre Co., Pa.; in 1875 they came to Winslow Township; he died April 4, 1876. He was married March 24, 1861, to Miss Celestia A., daughter of Thomas Bowen ; she was born in Michigan, Feb. 18, 1834; own 350 acres land; have six children - Oscar B., George B., Mary B., James M. B., Perry B. and Alma L. B. ; lost, Jennie R. B., Dec. 26, 1879, aged 7 years; they had previously lived in Green Co., Wis., where Mr. S. held the oflSces of Justice of the Peace, County Superintendent, etc. Evangelical Church.

D. M. STAYER, farmer, Sec. 30; P. 0. Nora; born May 10, 1849, in Olinton Co., Pa.; when a child he came with his parents to Stephenson Co. ; in about 1856. they removed to Green Co.. Wis.; in 1872, he returned to Stephenson Co. ; he owns 215 acres of land. Married Christina Huver in 1868 : she was born in Clinton Co., Penn.; they have three children - Elery H., Cora H. and Rosa H. Republican in politics.

THOMAS P. STEERE, farmer, and proprietor of cheese factory, Winslow ; born Sept. 10, 1835, in Chenango Co., N. Y.; in 1844 he came with his parents to Winslow Township ; he owns about 300 acres of land, also the cheese factory, which he built in 1875. Married Sarah SpafFord, March 7, 1859 ; she was born in Otsego Co., N. Y.; they have seven children - Fred, Herbert, William, Mary, Martha, Sarah and Annis L. Attend Methodist Episcopal Church. Democrat in politics.

JAMES TURNBUIili, general merchandise, Winslow; born May xJ, 1812, in Jedburg, Scotland ; in 1833 he came to New York City ; in 1834 he went to North Carolina, remained there till the fall of 1835, when he returned to New York; in 1837, he came to Chicago ; engaged in the dry goods trade about one year; in 1838, he to Stephenson Co.; followed farming till 1848, when he came to Winslow; he then carried on the cabinet trade till 1855, when he commenced his present business ; he was elected President of the Freeport, Pecatouica Valley & State-Line R. R.; has been twice elected to this position. Married Sarah Kent in 1842; she was born in Hannibal, N. Y.; have two children - Christie M. and James A. Presbyterian in religion,

MRS. CATHARIXE YAUGHX, Sec 34 ; P. 0. Winslow ; she was born in Denmark, N. Y., April 21, 1820 ; she is a daughter of A. Fry. She was married to Orrin Vaughn, in 1838 ; he was born March 27, 1811, in New York; in 1848 they came to their present farm, consisting of 180 acres of land ; he died April 15, 1860 ; have eight children - Rosina, Oscar 0., Josephine, Adelbert, Charles, Wilber, Romelia and Eugenia ; Oscar 0. enlisted in 1863, in the 46th I. V. I., and served to the end of the war.

JOHN WAIiES, farmer, Sec. 32 ; P. 0. Winslow ; born Aug. 10, 1816, in Union Co., Penn. ; in 1846 he came to Stephenson Co. ; he first bought and improved a farm of 80 acres in West Point Township, now owned by A. Doll ; he sold this farm in 1853 ; the following year he bought his present flirm of 160 acres, which he has well improved ; he has since sold about two acres of this land ; he has been School Director and Treasurer for about thirty years. Married Catharine Romig, Nov. 15, 1838; she was born October, 1806, in Union Co., Penn.; they have one son - Alfred B., born May 2, 1844, in Union Co., Penn.; he married Rachel Armagost, March 15, 1863; she was born in Clarion Co., Penn. ; they have six children - two sons and four daughters.

Source changes here: from History of Stephenson County, Illinois : a Record of Its Settlement, Organization, and Three-quarters of a Century of Progress, by Fulwider, Addison L, published 1910; 1,235 words in this source stream.

Winslow Township

William Brewster was the first settler in Winslow Township. It is likely that he came in 1834, although it has been claimed that he came in 1833. He was a native of Vermont who had lived a while in Tennessee and later at Peru, Illinois. He was a man of means and erected a comfortable house at Brewster's Ferry, cleared eighty acres of ground and established a ferry. He rented the ferry to William Robey the next year and returned to Peru.

This township is the northwestern corner of the county and contains twentyseven sections and nine fractions of sections along the Wisconsin line. In all it contains about eighteen thousand five hundred acres. The township is crossed by the Pecatonica, east of which are many groves of hard wood. Most of the township is made up of rolling prairie. Joe Abenos assisted William Brewster in the running of the ferry. A. C. Ransom came into the township in 1834 and returned with his family in 1835, settling one and one-half miles southeast of the present village of Winslow. Here he laid out the town of Ransomberg which prospered a few years but was soon abandoned. George Payne settled at Brewster's Ferry in 1834 and George W. Lott built a cabin in what is now Winslow in the same year. Other settlers that year were Harvey and Jerry Webster.

In 1835 many settlers came in from the east. Lemuel W. Streator bought the Brewster holdings for $4,000. He married Miss Mary Stewart and became a prominent man in the county.

James and W. H. Eels established claims that year and the family has been prominent and influential in affairs of Stephenson County. In 1835 George W. Lott and the Websters began the erection of a sawmill. Lott was to build the mill and the Websters were to build the dam. Hector P. Kneeland aided in the work and the four owners completed the mill in the fall. In 1836 Stewart and McDowell opened a store in Ransomberg. In the same year Dr. W. G. Bankson settled on Section 35 and set up his shingle as the first physician in the section. He was married to Phoebe McCumber in the fall of 1836. In 1837 the following settlers arrived: Rev. Philo Judson, Cornelius Judson, Charles McCumber, Ephram Labaugh, Alfred Gaylord, Rev. Asa Ballinger and S. F. M. Fretville. The Judsons settled below Brewster's Ferry, Rev. Philo soon moving on west. His daughter became known as Mrs. Governor Beveridge. The first child born in the township was Sara Maria Denton, born in the fall of 1836. I. V. Gage, son of Silas Gage, was born January 10, 1838. Newcomb McKinney, Hiram Gaylord, Cornelius and Johnathan Cowen opened farms and built cabins. May 28, that year, there came from Plymouth County, Massachusetts, John Bradford, Thomas Loring, Columbus and Ichabod Thompson and the Moulton brothers. They came out to build up the land of the Boston Western Land Company on which company's land the village of Winslow was later built. In the summer of 1838 they built a shingle factory and a hotel, the American House. Elias and Edward Hunt came the same year and in 1839 Joseph R. Berry, W. P. Cox, Gilson Adams and A. A. Mallory settled in the township.

The Massachusetts influence gave the township its name, for in 1838 it was called Winslow in honor of Governor Winslow, one of the provincial governors of that state. The name was given by W. S. Russell, the agent of the Boston Land Company in 1838.

The Boston Land Company at one time owned seventy-two thouasnd acres in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Illinois. Seven hundred acres were in Winslow township on the site of the present town.

In 1844 Cyrus Woodman, the new agent of the land company, surveyed, platted and laid off the village of Winslow. Lots on the main street were held at ten dollars and twenty-five dollars each. The real estate company was not lacking in hope and laid off a city with square, streets, avenues, and a wharf. Later the company decided to sell farms instead of town lots, and thus disposed of its holdings.

In 1837 Rev. Asa Ballinger came to Winslow. He was a pioneer Methodist circuit rider, and preached each Sunday in cabins or groves. In 1849, Elisha Hazzard, a congregationalist minister, arrived and had good success as a minister. From 1840 to 1855 the spiritual welfare of the people cared for by transients, in addition to Hazzard and Ballinger. In 1855 the Presbyterian organized with nineteen members. The first meeting of the Presbyterians was at the village hotel April gth. A later meeting, April igth, was well attended and April 2ist the organization was effected. The Presbyterians held services in the schoolhouse till fall, when a brick church, 35x55, was built at a cost of $2,000. Up to 1880, the following pastors had served, though part of the time the organization had services by transient preachers: Rev. John N. Powell, John Johnson, A. T. Wood, a Mr. Schofield and A. S. Gardner. After 1880 the church declined and the organization was broken up. The building was sold to the German Evangelical church, which now uses it.

Mr. A. T. Loomis, a Congregationalist preacher, held a revival in Winslow in 1877. He met with great success, securing one hundred converts. At the close of the revival, the "Winslow Christian Association" was organized. On the nth of May, 1878, this organization became the Congregational church with sixty members. Services were held for a time in Wright's Hall. In 1880 Rev. Frances Lawson was pastor. The organization never became strong and was later discontinued.

The German Evangelical church of Winslow was established as a mission and bought the Presbyterian church building in 1899. At present there is a small but earnest membership of about thirty. The Sunday school is in good condition and has a membership of about the same.

The Methodist church, of which Rev. Charles Briggs is pastor, is an active organization and has a beautiful fram« church building erected in 1891. H. H. Morse is superintendent of the Sunday school.

Library Of The

The first school in Winslow was held in Edward Hunt's wagon shop in 1840. After a short time a schoolhouse was built on a hill southwest of town which was used till 1872, when a larger school building was erected at a cost of $3,000. It is a frame structure, 40x40 and two stories high. The average daily attendance in 1880 was sixty-five students.

IVinslow Lodge, No. 564, A. F. & A. M. The Masonic lodge was established in 1867. The following were charter members : Benjamin Pym, John Bradford, Jacob Sweeley, P. Sweeley, D. D. Tyler, R. E. Mack, T. Rodebaugh, C. M. McComber, M. J. Cooper and J. W. Saucerman.

The Winslow Register is in its fifteenth year. Mr. F. A. Deam is editor and proprietor. The Register is an eight-page weekly, newsy, and showing a liberal advertising patronage.

Fuller's private bank was organized May 20, 1894, by Mr. J. M. Fuller, who died in 1898. The bank is now in charge of Mr. J. B. Fuller and does an extensive business.

The officials of the Modern Woodmen of America, No. 762, are: Venerable counsel, J. M. Gordon ; clerk, C. C. Tyler ; adviser, L. H. Fuller ; escort, F. P. Hymes ; sentry, A. H. Collyer.