USA > Illinois > Warren County > Early days in Greenbush : with biographical sketches of the old settlers > Part 4
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Veins of cannel coal were considered very valuable and were much sought after. In 1857 a large vein of this coal was discovered along the ereek north of town by some miners from Pennsylvania who were working in the neighborhood. It had been seen by many persons before, but they supposed it to be slate stone, which it much resembles. The news of the discovery spread rapidly, and attracted the notice of George R. Clark of Chicago, who formed a company of New York and Chicago capitalists, for the manu- facture of oil. called the Avon Coal Oil Company. The capital stock was $50,000, which was afterwards increased. Mr. Clark, who was made superintendent of the company. came here and secured mining privileges and options on a large tract of land along the creek where the coal was dicovered.
In the spring of 1858, a mine was opened under the direction of James Timmons as superintendent, and the company proceeded at once to ereet works for the manufacture of oil. The site oc- cupied by the works was near the southeast corner of the northeast quarter of section 13, in Greenbush township, now known as the
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Saunders farm. The entry to the mine started on the east side of the road and extended under the hill on which the Saunders house now stands. The entry was made large enough for mules to go in and haul out the cars of coal and extended under ground a dis- tance of nearly 40 rods.
The apparatus employed for the manufacture of oil consisted of fifteen large cast-iron retorts, each with its cover weighing more than four tons. These retorts were set in a straight line on fire brick arches with furnaces under each and connected together by a large cast-iron pipe. Each retort held about three tons of coal, the oil being extracted by baking the coal until it became redhot, by which time the oil had passed off in smoke and gases, which were condensed by being passed through cold water, the oil run- ning off in crude form. At first only crude oil was made, which was shipped in easks to a refinery in St. Louis. A ton of coal would make about 15 or 20 gallons of crude oil and it required about two days to work off a batch of coal.
There was a certain amount of gas that could not be condensed and was allowed to escape through an iron pipe, and was kept con- stantly burning. At night the flames would light up the sur- rounding conntry. Many small dwellings had been erected near the works for the accommodation of the miners and other workmen ; and at night the little village, brilliantly illuminated, presented a beautiful picture.
The coal or coke, after being taken from the retorts, was used for firing the 'furnaces, a small amount of bituminous coal being mixed with it.
The second year, a refinery was built near the other works. This was a large building, constructed of stone, procured from quarries near by. After its completion the company did its own refining. The burning oil was much the same as the kerosene of the present day.
In refining the crude oil many different products were obtained; namely, benzine, gasoline, kerosene, lubricating oil, paraffine, coal tar, and asphaltum.
When the works were in full operation. they furnished em- ployment for nearly 100 men.
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The works, however, did not prove to be a financial snecess. for about this time oil wells were discovered in Pennsylvania, which reduced the price of oil to a figure much less than that for . which it could be manufactured from coal.
When it was found by the company that the works could no longer be carried on successfully, they were abandoned and a large number of debts contracted by the company were left unpaid. The works were finally sold at sheriff's sale for the benefit of creditors. They fell into the hands of the Frost Manufacturing Company of Galesburg: and the outfit, comprising many carloads of old iron and machinery. was shipped to that city.
The refinery building was used for a time by David Morse for a barn. but was finally torn down by Dr. Saunders and the stone used for different purposes. Some of them may be seen at the present time in a wall along the road in front of the Saunders house.
At the same time the Avon works were put in operation. similar works were constructed in Peoria county. and with like results.
The work of mining the vein of cannel coal necessitated the removal of large quanities of fire clay underlying the coal. After the oil works had been in operation about a year, a large dump of elay had accumulated ; and a company, composed of James MeDougal. A. Horrocks, and George R. Clark, was formed for the purpose of manufacturing it into fire brick.
The company erected quite extensive works on the land now owned by the JJames Mings estate, consisting of kilns, drying sheds. etc .. and also installed the machinery necessary for grinding the elay. They manufactured a variety of wares, consisting of loco- motive fire backs, cupola brick, flute tops and many different shapes of fire brick, nearly all of the product being shipped to Chicago.
But their venture, like the oil works, did not prove a success financially. The works finally passed into the hands of Jerome Goodspeed, then a prominent merchant in Avon. It proved a profitable investment for him. Ile ground the clay and shipped it to Chicago by the carload, where it found a ready sale. Hle con- tinned the business until the dump was exhausted.
W. Il. ROSE.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
JOHN C. BOND.
John C. Bond was born in Knox county, Tennessee. December 25, 1799. He was married to Miss Polly Grimsley in 1818. To them were born five children, namely :
Susana, who was born Angust 10, 1819; married Walter John- son, November 25, 1836. This was the second marriage in Green- bush township. The ceremony was performed by Moses T. Hand, justice of the peace. Walter Johnson died December 13, 1876. Susana died at the residence of her daughter Arvie Cayton in Youngstown, Illinois, December 26, 1902.
William G., born in April, 1823; married Mrs. Elizabeth Henry, January 25, 1844. She died December 22, 1864. at the age of 45 years.
William G. Bond enlisted in the army in the war for the union in 1862; in August of that year was mustered in as captain of Co. H1, 83rd regiment Illinois Infantry; and was promoted in 1863 to the office of major, which office he held until he was mus- tered out in 1865.
In December, 1874, he was appointed deputy sheriff of Warren county, Illinois. He filled this position for two years and was then elected sheriff three times in succession, elosing his services as sheriff in 1882.
Ilis last marriage was to Mrs. Mary E. Moore (nee Taylor). This marriage occurred at Dayton. Ohio. in 1868. He died February 8, 1892.
Jesse Walton was born in JJackson county, Alabama, Septem- ber 7, 1825; was married in Swan township, Warren county, Illi- nois, February 12, 1848, to Sarah E. Terry. She was born near
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Belleville in St. Clair county, Illinois, and was a daughter of Andrew and Nancy G. (Stice) Terry. She died in Sacramento county. California. JJanuary 28. 1854. Jesse W. Bond's second marriage was to Mrs. Anna C. Smith, October 25, 1863. Her maiden name was Anna C. Harrah. She was born in Belmont county. Ohio, February 25, 1835. and was a daughter of John N. and Ilelen ( Wharton) Harrah, and sister of Charles A. Harrah. dealer in farm implements at Bushnell, Illinois.
In 1850. Jesse W. Bond crossed the plains to California in search of gold. After remaining there two years, he returned. He afterwards made two more trips to the land of gold where he remained until 1862, when he came back to Warren county. Ill. Ile died at Monmonth. Illinois. April 25. 1905.
Ruby L .. born June 30, 1827. in Morgan county. Illinois: was married three times. Her first husband was Andrew Stice, who died in 1848: her second marriage was to Henry Burson; her last marriage was to Andrew J. Caxton. February 15. 1873. She was badly bruised and injured in a wind-storm that occurred in Swan township. May 22. 1873. However, she fully recovered from this. except the bones that were broken in her arm never knit together. She died June 26. 1901.
Anna. who died in infancy.
Major John C. Bond's first wife died about the year 1828. in Morgan county, Illinois. His second marriage was to Miss Mary Singleton of Morgan county. in May, 1829. To them were born three children-Fielding. Mary, and Evaline-all of whom are deceased.
Fielding was a brilliant young man who graduated from Lombard University at Galesburg. Illinois, with honors, in 1857. and was shortly afterwards admitted to the bar.
Ile went to Texas and commenced the practice of law. When the war broke out he returned to his father's house in Greenbush. He was elected county superintendent of schools in Warren county. in 1861. He died April 16. 1862. at the age of 28 years.
Evaline married Joseph Hartford. She died in Neosha county, Kansas, in 1871.
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Mary, wife of John C. Bond, died September 1, 1842, at the age of 32 years. She was a woman highly esteemed by those who knew her. One night during her last days, she had a dream in which the words of this text eame to her: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." This dream so disturbed her that she arose from her bed, rekindled the fire in the fireplace to make a light, procured her Bible and read from Ee. 9, 10: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." She closed her Bible and returned to bed, and again dreamed of the same text. Rev. Peter Downey was called to see her, and by her request he administered baptism. After her death he was called to preach her funeral which he did, using the same text.
Major John C. Bond's third marriage was to Mrs. Nancy G. Terry. Her maiden name was Nancy G. Stice. This marriage occurred in January, 1844. Two children were born of this union : C'anzada S., wife of Mathew Campbell, now residing in Oklahoma ; and Cordelia, the wife of Henry Staat, now residing in Berwick township, Warren county, Illinois.
Mrs. Nancy Green Bond was born in Warren county, Ken- tucky. September 23, 1807. She was a daughter of Andrew and Nancy ( Wilson) Stice. Andrew Stiee was born in 1768, and died October 18. 1818. They were married in 1789. Mrs. Bond's grand- father, Andrew Stice, was married to Katran Collins, in Ger- many, and emigrated to North Carolina before the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Bond's grandfather Wilson and wife came from Seot- land before the Revolutionary war and settled in North Carolina. He was a captain in the Revolutionary war and fought at the battle of Bunker Hill; was wounded in the right knee and made a eripple for life. His brother, James Wilson, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Mrs. Naney G. Bond's first marriage was to Andrew Terry, May 10, 1827. He died June 28, 1836. To them were born four children : George, Sarah, Minta, and one dying in infancy.
Mrs. Bond has been blind for over twenty years. She now resides with her daughter. Cordelia Staat.
Major John C. Bond, the subject of this sketch, was a sou of Jesse W. and Susanna (Crane) Bond, who were married in
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Overton county. Tennessee, in 1798. She was born in Georgia, in 1777. Of this union, seven children were born: John Crane, Benjamin. Joel. Ruby. William Barnet. Jesse W .. and Nathan.
Jesse W. Bond. the father of Major John C. Bond. moved to Jackson county, Alabama, in 1819; from there he went to Morgan county, Illinois: and in 1834. came to Warren county, Illinois, and settled on section 18 in Greenbush township, and resided here until his death, which ocenrred February 26, 1840. at the age of 65 years. His wife was blind for many years before her death. She died January 7, 1859, at the age of 85 years.
Major John C. Bond was commissioner in Warren county in an early day. and was appointed with Samnel Hallam and Robert Gilmore to divide the county into townships, which they did in 1853. In 1854. when township organization was adopted. he was eleeted supervisor in Greenbush township and served in that capacity for fourteen successive years. He was elected justice of the peace in 1835. and held his first court in a smoke-house. He married the first couple in the township-Moses T. Hand to Mrs. Elizabeth Crawford-December 23. 1835.
Mr. Bond was assessor in Greenbush township for several years. He received his title as major in the militia. and was major in Col. John Butler's regiment. He was also a soldier in the Black Hawk war.
Ile purchased from the other heirs the old homestead entered by his father on section 18. where he spent his last years. His hearing was very defeetive for several years before his death, which occurred May 20. 1882. His funeral services were held in the Methodist church in Greenbush, on Sunday afternoon. May 21. 1882, and were conducted by Eld. Isaac N. Van Meter. a minister of the Old-School Baptist church.
John C. Bond belonged to the masonic fraternity and was a member of the Christian church. In polities he was a democrat.
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CHARLES STICE.
Charles Stice was born in North Carolina, February 11, 1795. He was a son of Andrew Stice, who was born in Germany. He was married March 9, 1815, to Patsey Whitley. She was born March 2, 1800.
Mr. Stice moved from North Carolina to Kentucky: then to Madison county, Illinois. In 1833, he went to Henderson county, and in 1840 he came to Greenfield, now Greenbush, where he kept a store and the postoffice, being the first postmaster in the village. He also kept hotel.
To this first union were born the following-named children :
Sarah G .. born August 18, 1817 : married J. C. Jamison. She died August 8, 1879.
Andrew, born March 13, 1819; married Ruby L. Bond. He died April 12, 1848.
Nancy, born February 27. 1821; died September 9, 1843.
Tabitha, born December 31. 1822; married Hanson II. Hewett. He died February 26, 1904.
Diana and James C., were twins, born August 18, 1825. Diana married R. M. Simmons. She died February 1, 1893. James C. died November 7, 1875.
Martha, born January 31, 1828; married Curtis Worden.
Charles, born September 27, 1829; died September 16, 1838.
George W., born July 8, 1832; married Phebe King, January 19, 1860. She was born February 14, 1841. He died June 13, 1899.
Oscar, born January 27, 1837; never married. He died in Linn county, Missouri, February 7, 1905.
Patsey, wife of Charles Stice, died February 21, 1847.
Mr. Stice's second marriage was in 1851, to Mrs. Arixina Wellman. Her maiden name was Arixina Andrews. She was born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, in 1825.
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To them were born the following-named children :
Catherine E., born November 18. 1851: married Alexander Campbell. April 25. 1872. She died February 15, 1878.
David A., born April 2. 1854: married Myram II. King. December 25. 1879. She was born October 30. 1854, and died October 15. 1903.
Warren M .. born July 2. 1860: married Effie Wilson.
Charles Stice died April 1, 1869.
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'SQUIRE JENKINS BUZAN.
S. J. Buzan was born in La Rue county, Kentucky, Septem- ber 21, 1829. La Rue county was named after Jacob La Rue, who was a grandfather of S. J. Buzan.
Mr. Buzan came with his parents to Monmouth. Illinois, in 1831. In 1843, he went to Maeomb, Illinois, where he was engaged as elerk or salesman in the store of N. P. Tinsley until the fall of 1849, when he came to Greenbush and commenced business for himself, running a general store the most of the time up to 1862, when he went west and settled in Missouri.
He was married to Mary E. Walker. August 4. 1854. She was born September 25. 1834, and was a daughter of Abner and Jane (Damron) Walker who kept hotel in Greenbush for many years. To Mr. Buzan and wife the following-named children were born :
Harry Arthur, born September 4, 1856: died February 27, 1879.
Eva, born Mareh 10, 1860; married Galen B. Anderson, November 12, 1884. She died February 12, 1885.
Chauncey, born June 27, 1862.
Nellie, born September 1, 1866; married Charles E. Spooner, October 8, 1902.
Frank, born October 6, 1870.
Pearl, born October 11, 1873; married Frederic W. Kaster, February 10, 1894.
In polities Mr. Buzan was a republican.
He died at St. Joseph, Missouri, June 30. 1893.
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JOHN RUBART.
John Rubart was born in Kentucky, July 21, 1797. In his boyhood days he moved with his parents to Ohio; afterwards moved to Morgan county, Illinois, where he resided for several years. He was married to Miss Phebe Arnold. July 31, 1822. To them were born the following-named children :
Ann. Nancy. James F., Enos, Marion, Asenath, and Jacob. - all of whom are deceased. His wife Phebe died January 17, 1845.
Mr. Rubart's second marriage was to Naney Lahman, which occurred May 24. 1850. She was born October 21, 1827. near Mansfield. Penn. They moved to Greenbush township, Warren county, Illinois, in 1852, where they purchased a farm on sec- tions one and two. To this union were born the following-named children :
Phebe J., who married Aneil F. Griffith, in November, 1879.
Joseph M .. born March 16. 1856: married Effie Armstrong. March 18. 1887.
Albert E., born December 28, 1861 : married Nellie L. Lloyd, September 18, 1887.
Abram L., married Mary Crowley. July 4, 1893.
Benjamin W .. born January 17, 1858.
John Rubart, the subject of this sketch, was a soldier in the Black Hawk war. ITis son Marion died in the Union army during the War of the Rebellion.
John Rubart died December 30, 1872. His wife Nancy died April 21. 1902.
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WILLIAM PALMER.
Wm. Palmer was born in Cayuga county, New York. June 25, 1820. Ile was a son of Lemuel and Martha ( Babcock) Palmer. the fifth in decent from Walter Palmer who was born in Nottinghamshire, England, in 1585, and emigrated to America in 1627.
Win. Palmer was married August 20, 1840, to Mary Ellinger. She was born in Ohio, June 20, 1823, and was a daughter of Joseph and Nancy (Bowman) Ellinger, and sister of Ann Karns, Catherine Ury. Barbara Baldwin, Elizabeth Gladish, and Samuel L. Ellinger.
After marriage Mr. Palmer made several moves, living in Indiana. Will county, Illinois, near Joliet, and Green county, Wisconsin, near Broadhead, from which place his brother-in-law Samuel L. Ellinger helped him move to Warren county, Illinois, between the years of 1845 and 1847.
In 1856. he moved to Chickasaw county, Iowa, near the small town of Jacksonville. His health failing, he moved to Bourbon county. Kansas, arriving there August 21, 1865. IIe then bought a claim on the neutral lands of a man named Cavanaugh, located near the Missouri line, ten miles south of Fort Scott, where his wife's sister, Catherine Ury, and family then resided.
He lived here up to the time of his death, which occurred July 12, 1870. His wife died November 13, 1872. They are buried side by side in a little country cemetery in Vernon county, Missouri.
To William Palmer and wife were born the following-named children :
Samuel Zelotus, born in Indiana, September 18. 1841; died in Greenbush, Illinois, May 30, 1855.
Martha Ann Elzora, born in Indiana, February 24, 1845: married William Asbury Insley, of Tippecanoe county, Indiana. near Appleton, Kansas, October 22, 1872.
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Mary Viola, born May 4, 1847: died at Greenbush. Illinois. December 14. 1847.
Laura Jane, born in Greenbush, Illinois, August 28, 1848: married James Harvey Guliek, near Appleton. Bourbon county. Kansas. December 6. 1868.
James Milo, born in Greenbush, Illinois. November 18. 1850; married Mary L. Earver. September 27. 1573, near Appleton. Kansas, where he now resides.
Philip Henry, born near Jacksonville. Chickasaw county. Iowa. October 6, 1857: died April 1, 1864.
Barbara Rosetta, born near Jacksonville, Iowa, January 19. 1860: married George T. Insley. April 20. 1878. near Altoona. Wilson county, Kansas. Ile was a native of Indiana and half- brother of Wm. A. Insley. George T. Insley died October 18, 1896.
Josie May. born near Appleton. Kansas, May 1, 1866: died July 29. 1866.
Wm. Palmer was a shoemaker by trade. When he was mar- ried he had a kit of tools, about twenty-dollars' worth of leather, and twenty dollars in money to begin with, and when not other- wise employed he worked at his trade. He was in the store with S. J. Buzan for a while: he also kept a small grocery store in connection with his shoe-shop when he resided in Greenbush.
He bought a farm in Iowa and sold half of it to a brother. Here he farmed. working at his trade in the winter until he moved to Kansas. He lost half of his claim in Kansas; he thought this was caused by false swearing.
He was at one time engaged in the mercantile business at Appleton, Kansas, with a man by the name of Stevens. This man wanted to keep whisky, which did not suit Mr. Palmer. So they divided up and Palmer sold his goods to William Emriek, son of Jacob Emrick who kept hotel at one time in Greenbush.
Mr. Pahner was a good-templar. In religion he was a Methodist.
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NOAH CRABILL.
Noah Crabill was born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, December 26, 1818. He was a son of John and Catherine (Hoover) Crabill who died in Ohio. About the year 1830, he went with his parents to Champaign county, Ohio; and in 1850, he moved to Hancock county, Illinois. In the fall of 1851, he moved to Greenbush, Warren county, Illinois, where he settled on section ten; afterwards moved to section fifteen, where he died April 16, 1898.
He was married, in 1841, to Sarah Crabill who was born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, February 23, 1824, and was a daughter of Abraham and Catherine (Keller) Crabill. To them the following-named children were born :
Catherine, who married Alexander Courson, June 24, 1869. She died January 21, 1870, at the age of 27 years.
Mary Jane, who married William Warren. December 31, 1868. She died January 3, 1896, at the age of 49 years.
Edgar, born in Hancock county, Illinois, in 1850.
James, born August 24, 1853, in Greenbush township.
Emma, born May 27, 1856: died November 5, 1861.
Aden Keller, born July 6, 1860; married Rosa Stombaugli, April 3, 1890. She died March 12. 1892. at the age of 22 years. His second marriage was to Ida Damitz, December 24, 1893.
Samuel, born October 10, 1863; died September 20, 1866.
Albert, born December 9, 1866; died May 7, 1867.
Noah Crabill was by occupation a cooper in his younger days ; afterwards a farmer.
In politics he was a democrat. He joined the Christian church in 1859, and was a consistent member up to the time of his death.
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JOHN PATTERSON, SENIOR.
John Patterson was born in Edmonson county, Tennessee. In 1843. he moved to Warren county. Kentucky; and in 1852, he moved from there to Greenbush, Warren county, Illinois. He was married to Jane MeCoppen in Tennessee. To them the following-named children were born :
William, who married Sarah Magers in Kentucky, was killed by the explosion of a boiler at Wm. G. Bond's saw-mill, January 10, 1862.
Elizabeth, who married Elza Magers.
Jane, who married Jacob Osborn, the basket-maker.
Sarah, who died in May, 1879.
Samuel, who married Amelia Jones.
John. who married Samantha Jane Simmons.
James, who married Samantha Acton.
Mary, who was about 16 years old, was burned to death. in 1862. at the sorghum-mill of Jacob Osborn, in Berwick town- ship, her clothing having caught on fire from the furnace where they were making molasses.
John Patterson, the subject of this sketch. was deaf and dumb during his entire life. He died in 1884. Ilis wife died August 6, 1879.
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SIMON SAILER.
Simon Sailer was born in Weisenberg, Germany, December 8, 1831. Ile left his native country, and after a voyage of fifty days on the water arrived at New York, April 20, 1853. He went to the state of Michigan, where he remained until the spring of 1854, when he went to Indiana; in the fall he went to St. Lonis, and then to New Orleans.
In the spring of 1855, he walked from St. Louis, Mo., to St. Augustine. Illinois, where he went to work on the Northern Cross railroad. In the fall of 1856. he moved to Greenbush township, in Warren county, Illinois.
Simon Sailer was married to Matilda . Jane Kelly, March 26, 1863. She was born in Hendricks county, Indiana, July 3, 1839, and was a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Weaver) Kelly. To them the following-named children were born:
Thomas Jefferson, born April 27, 1864; married Alice Lillian Hendricks. February 4, 1890. She was born September 22. 1866.
George John, who was born August 31, 1866.
William Henry, born July 24, 1870; married Agnes May Ryan, January 20, 1892. She was born May 4, 1869.
Simon Sailer has been a farmer and stockman by oceupation ; has also been extensively engaged in the coal trade, having several coal banks on his lands. He filled the office of commissioner of highways for several years in the township. He has now retired from active labor and resides at Avon, Illinois.
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