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855
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
Somer Township has yet another abandoned cemetery where were buried many well known men of the early times. It is known as the "Adkins Grave Yard" and is situated in Section 21, upon land once owned by Lewis Adkins, but which is now owned by T. B. Thornburn. . Gravestones are still standing which bear familiar names; but the graves of many known to be buried there are unmarked and their exact locality unknown.
The Salt Fork Settlements, in like manner, established cemeteries which were long since abandoned as places of interment, in favor of platted cemeteries, where order in burials in lots is observed, and where permanency in the use is expected. One of these, located in Sec- tion 28, a short distance south of the old vil- lage of St. Joseph, has been pointed out to the writer where large numbers of pioneers and their families were interred. Among those named was Mr. Stayton, the father of a nu- merous family, among whom was David Stay- ton. These grounds, too, are covered with brush and small timber.
Not far to the east of the last mentioned lo- cation, in Section 30, in Ogden, is a cemetery which was commenced upon the land of the pioneer, Isaac Burris, where the owner and some of his neighbors of that early time were laid away. It is said that, before his death, Isaac Burris had resisted with much deter- mination a public demand for the laying out of a road upon the section line just west of his cemetery, and upon his death-bed, as a final obstacle in the way of the accomplishment of the public wish, he verbally directed the inter- ment of his body immediately against the sec- tion line, in the belief that this would effectu- ally block the enterprise. He died as he ex- pected, and was buried on the section line as he had directed; but the effect was not as he had wished. The road, with diversion from a straight line sufficient to avoid the sacred tomb of the pioneer, was laid out and the travel from many miles to the northward rat- tles by his last resting place. The Burris cemetery may be called one of the abandoned pioneer grave yards.
. SUPPLEMENTARY.
[The following matter relating to the par- ticipation of Champaign County citizens in the Spanish-American War, and the local history of telegraph and telephone enterprises, having been received too late for incorporation in the chapters to which they properly belong, are herewith inserted in supplementary form]:
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
The late war with Spain, entered into on account of the cruel oppressions and misgov- ernment of the Island of Cuba, near the Amer- ican coast, while not in defense of the integ- rity of American territory, was truly in de- fense of American honor. No call to arms ever met a heartier response from the people at large, than did this call; and, while the occa- sion at the time seemed of not great import- ance in the national history, its ultimate re- sults have been and are likely to be of the greatest importance. The only trouble that most of our patriotic young men encountered during the progress of this war, was that there was not enough of the war to "go round" and give all a chance.
At the time of the Presidential Proclamation which called to arms, there was, and had been for many years, at Champaign, a company of militia, organized under the Militia Law of Illi- nois, known as "Company M, of the Illinois National Guard," made up mostly from the young men of the two cities. Naturally and promptly the appeal of the President was an- swered by this organization of young Amer- icans, by an offer to volunteer as a body, for the service of the country against oppression and misrule. This offer was made on April 22, 1898, and three days thereafter an order came from Adjutant-General Reece to report at Springfield. This done, with the entire reg- iment (the Fourth), the company was, on May 20th, mustered into the service of the United States, by Captain Roberts, of the Seventeenth Infantry, the regiment being un- der command of Col. Casimer Andel, of Belle- ville.
The roster of Company M at the time of muster-in consisted of Captain William R. Courtney, of Urbana; First Lieutenant Arthur W. Smith, of Urbana; Second Lieutenant Fred E. Thompson, of Urbana; First Sergeant George E. Doty, of Champaign; Quarter Mas- ter Sergeant Sidney G. Choate, Champaign;
1
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
Sergeants-Wallace D. Teeple, Champaign; Albert M. Courtney, Urbana; John W. Frazee, Champaign; Charles W. Neville, Urbana; Cor- porals-Fred H. Hays, Urbana; Albert R. Ekbom, Champaign; Willis I. Myers, Cham- paign; Andrew J. Hendricks, Urbana; and Louis L. Williskey, Champaign.
The Fourth, as a part of the Second Bri- gade, started immediately after the date of muster-in for Tampa, Fla., but en route its destination was changed to Jacksonville in the same State, where it arrived May 29th, being stationed at Camp Cuba Libre under command of Gen. Fitzhugh Lee. While at Jacksonville, Colonel Andel tendered his resignation, the vacancy being filled by the appointment of Col. Eben Swift, of the Ninth. Here the regi- ment remained on provost duty until Oc- tober 26th, when it was transferred to Savannah, Ga., remaining there until about January first, meanwhile devoting time to drill and practice marches. On January 3, 1899, it embarked on the United States Trans- port "Mobile" for Havana, arriving on Jan- uary 5th, and during its stay of three months upon the island being stationed at Camp Co- lumbia, near Havana.
Peace having already been established be- tween the contending powers, and the Spanish rule forever banished from the island, there remained only police, camp and march duties to occupy the time of the Fourth Regiment during its stay on the island, and in this it was engaged until April 4th, when it embarked for home upon the steamers "Whitney" and "Yarmouth." The muster-out occurred at Camp Mackenzie, Augusta, Ga., on May 2, 1899, soon after which Company M returned home and was disbanded ..
The duties our men were called upon to per- form in this service were not as active as they could have wished, owing to the compar- ative smallness of the field and brevity of the contest, but were honestly and patiently per- formed. Good health generally prevailed in the regiment during the service, but three of the men-Herman McFarland and George E. Turner, both of Urbana, and Percy H. Tittle, of Champaign-died before leaving the United States for Cuba.
Honorable mention is made of the Fourth Regiment in the report of the Adjutant-General of Illinois.
OTHER WAR HISTORY.
Black Hawk War .- The Indian scare caused by the rumors of threatened attacks upon the settlers in this part of the State made a pro- found impression upon the few who dwelt here at that time. A few of the Kickapoo Indians still dwelt about their ancient town at what is still called "Old Town Timber," in McLean County, and fears of an attack from them caused the inhabitants of the Sangamon timber to assemble at the cabin of one of the settlers and prepare for defense against their raid. A few days sufficed to allay all fears and they dispersed to their homes.
The following residents of this part of Ver- milion County are known to have joined a reg- iment and gone to the front for defense of the country. James Johnson, Jacob Heater, Martin Rinehart, Thomas Richards, Elias Sta- mey, Thomas L. Butler and Rev. Mahurin, a Baptist minister, who went as Chaplain. All returned at the end of one year's service, ex- cept Mr. Mahurin, who never returned to the county.
Revolutionary Soldiers .- Four soldiers of the War of the Revolution have died and been buried in Champaign County: William Hays, William Kirby, Newton Shaw and John Brown- field. All except the latter were buried in the Clements Cemetery, about four miles northeast of Urbana. Mr. Brownfield was buried in a cemetery near by, which is private property. All of these men have descendants yet in the county.
TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE SYSTEMS.
No element in the modern progress of Cham- paign County counts for more in the esti- mate of its greatness than its many systems of telegraphs, telephones and telephone ex- changes now in use. .
Telegraphs, of which there were none be- fore the era of railroads dawned upon the county, followed the advent of these means of transportation, necessaries to their opera- tion and incidentally made use of by the pub- lic at large. The first line followed closely upon the trains of the Illinois Central Rail- road, and was constituted of but one single wire, which extended from Chicago southward. It followed closely upon the heels of the construction gang, and evoked almost as much
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
wonder and surprise from the people whose country it invaded, as did the locomotive which preceded it. So, at the first, each of the other railroad lines which crossed the county was closely followed by its single line, followed in the course of a few years by the large array of wires which now darken the rights of way.
It remained for the unthought of telephone to invade every home in the county and to put each lip in touch with is neighbors' ears throughout its territory. Champaign County is now almost like any large city in its facilities for intercommunication. At the center, in the cities of Champaign and Urbana are the Telephone Exchanges of the Central Union or Bell System, and also the Home Telephone, which, as its name indicates, is a local insti- tution with such connections as give it a large usefulness. The Bell was the pioneer enter- prise and, for some years, was the sole occu- pant of the territory of the county. It has a long distance connection which enables the patron to have instant communication with the outside world to great distances. The whole State of Illinois, and much of the terri- tory of surrounding States, may be interviewed by the dweller here at any time of night or day, by the use of the wires of this corpora- tion.
Out of the necessity for competition grew up, also, the Home institution. It is less ex- tensive in the amount of territory covered by its wires, but in the number of its local connections throughout Champaign and imme. diately surrounding counties, it excels its older competitor, for it connects with all of the local exchanges of the county, and thus, as a purely local institution, is of the greatest usefulness.
Outside of the two towns there are tele- phone exchanges, which mean other and in- dependent systems, serving each its own terri- tory, at Mahomet, Ogden, Philo, St. Joseph, Sidney, Thomasboro, and perhaps at other points. These serve territory in all directions from the central office, so that probably more than half of the farms occupied by owners, and many of the tenant farms of the county, can be reached at any moment from any tele- phone of these systems. Certainly every neighborhood of the county is reached at some point by these wires. The effect upon the business of the county, especially the farm- ing interest, in the saving of time and labor,
can hardly be estimated. Farmer communi- cates with farmer, far or near, in regard to - their affairs without stirring from his house. It is said that in the matter of the "threshing" season, when it is often necessary to call in the help of neighbors, this appurtenance to the farm house is most useful. So in cases of sud- den or severe illness, the patient is at once put in communication with the distant physi- cian. In a thousand ways is the farming in- terest greatly benefited and aided y this great product of modern ingenuity. Of no. less value is the system to the business man and lawyer in the cities, who may summon his correspondent to the 'phone at any time and, in a few moments of conversation, the busi- ness of a day is done and time and money saved.
The Court House in Urbana, and many other business houses of the county, as well as the University of Illinois, have their "house tele- phone." That is a limited system whereby each room or department may communicate with any other, thus saving time and labor. In the case of the University, where are many buildings and many rooms in each building, its own system of telephones permits calls to be made from one department to another, or from one farm to another, without the neces- sity of a personal call.
All of these modern conveniences and ad- vantages have come to the county, and to each of its neighborhoods, within the few years past, and have tended to make the county great in itself.
CONCLUSION.
Reviewing what appears upon the preceding pages, it will be conceded by the most envious that, while the story as told of Champaign County is perhaps but a parallel with that of many other American counties and communi- ties, yet, judged by the standard of the World at large, it presents a story in many respects remarkable in its details-a history worth the telling, its people will insist.
Beginning with a blank of aboriginally in- habited prairie and forest; remote from any civilized community or navigable river; with only its wealth of soil and mild climate to commend it to the attention of the home-seeker -despite its native death-dealing miasmas, its
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
bleak and cheerless winters and its ravenous wolves, green-head flies and mosquitoes, it has come to the front as a civilized community of resourceful, law-abiding, versatile and intelli- gent citizenship. By its modern lines of travel and its electric wires, it has come into instan- taneous commercial, intellectual and social touch with the whole world. Where, fifty years ago, were a few cabins and cheerless homes clinging to the shelter of the groves and timber belts-shunning the expanses of rich prairie which beckoned the settler to more abundant fields-elegant homes now cheer every section, and orchards and artificial groves break up the monotony of the limitless expanse which then stretched from every door. Where then were the wild grasses, the rosin-weeds and willows, are now waving fields of grain and busy vil- lages, throbbing with the life of the new century. Where then was a community with- out name or influence abroad in the State, ig- nored in public affairs and always counted out in the final reckoning, is now a population which is self-respecting and able to assert and enforce its claims.
Greatest of all, and most to stimulate the justifiable gratulations of the 50,000 proud Champaigners of to-day, here at the centre of the one thousand square miles of alluvium- where then was only the hamlet of Urbana, with but a single improvised school-house-sits its dual capital city (some day to be one) of 20,000 typical Americans, with its twenty churches, its dozen public schools and its many miles of cleanly kept paved streets, bor- dered with beautiful homes and business blocks, an aggregation of Art and Nature which surrounds and fosters one of the greatest ed- ucational institutions of the State, with its Faculty of over three hundred leading educat- ors of the nation and its three thousand stu- dents. And at this educational center-from which, until recently, so little could have been looked for to enlighten the world-not only the accepted truths of science as taught in the schools are studied, but from it the results of new experiments and new truths and discov- eries, wrought out by its faculties, are bulle- tined abroad.
What has, in fact, been accomplished in the
work of civilization will be better understood by looking upon the picture as seen by Runnel Fielder, William Tompkins, Henry Sadorus, Matthew Busey, the Webbers, Thomases, Harris, Coffeen, Scott, Campbell and their fellow-squat- ters upon the public domain, and then by look- ing upon what any beholder may see to-day. The contract presents the true measure of the progress that has been made, and awakens a feeling of awe and wonder, if not distrust, when brought to the attention of one who has not actually witnessed the working out of the change.
Changes no less marked have taken place in the history and condition of the whole country within the period spanned by this nar- rative, which need not be recounted here; for they are better known to the average reader than are those sought to be presented in these pages.
That the limit of national and of local progress has at last been reached, no one but a pessimist will insist. That this Nation, and all of its constituent parts, will go on to even greater achievements than those already at- tained-even to those dreamed of by the wild- est theorist-seems possible, if not probable, judging from the wonderful successes achieved in the near past. Judged by what has been thus accomplished, distrust of possibilities would seem to be out of place, and the largest expectations as to what the future has yet in store is justified. What those changes will be, and in what direction American genius will reach into the realm of the unaccomplished and unknown, the future alone must reveal.
"Who'll press for gold this crowded street, A hundred years to come? Who'll tread yon church with willing feet, A hundred years to come? Pale, trembling age and fiery youth, And childhood with its brow of truth, The rich and poor, on land and sea, Where will the mighty millions be, A hundred years to come?
"We all within our graves shall sleep, A hundred years to come; No living soul for us will weep, A hundred years to come, But other men our land will till, And others then our streets will fill, And other words will sing as gay,
And bright the sunshine as to-day, A hundred years to come.
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
CHAPTER XXXII.
CITIZENS OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
The verdict of mankind has awarded to the Muse of History the highest place among the Classic Nine. The extent of her office, how- ever, appears to be, by many minds, but im- perfectly understood. The task of the historian is comprehensive and exacting. True his- tory reaches beyond the doings of court or camp, beyond the issue of battles, or the ef- fects of treaties, and records the trials and the triumphs, the failures and the successes of the men who make history. It is but an imperfect conception of the philosophy of events that fails to accord to portraiture and biography its rightful position as a part-and no unimportant part-of historical narrative. Behind and beneath the activities of outward life the motive power lies out of sight, just as the furnace fires that work the piston and keep the ponderous screw revolving, are down in the darkness of the hold. So, the impul- sive power which shapes the course of com- munities may be found in the molding influ- ences which form its citizens.
It is no mere idle curiosity that prompts men to wish to learn the private, as well as the public, lives of their fellows. Rather it is true that such desire tends to prove universal brotherhood; and the interest in personality and biography is not confined to men of any particular caste or vocation.
The list of those to whose lot it falls to play a conspicuous part in the great drama of life is comparatively short; yet communities are made up of individuals, and the aggregate of achievements-no less than the sum total of human happiness-is made up of the deeds of those men and women whose primary aim," through life, is faithfully to perform the duty that comes nearest to hand. Individual influ- ence upon human affairs will be considered potent or insignificant according to the stand- point from which it is viewed. To him who, standing upon the seashore, notes the ebb and flow of the tide and listens to the sullen roar of the waves, as they break upon the beach in seething foam, seemingly chafing at their limitations, the ocean appears so vast as to need no tributaries. Yet, without the small- est rill that helps to swell the "Father of Waters," the mighty torrent of the Mississippi
would be lessened, and the beneficent influence of the Gulf Stream diminished. Countless streams, currents and counter currents-some- times mingling, sometimes counteracting each other-collectively combine to give motion to the accumulated mass of water. So is it- and so must it ever be-in the ocean of human action, which is formed by the blending and repulsion of currents of thought, of influence and of life, yet more numerous and more tor- tuous than those which form "the fountains of the deep."
In the foregoing pages are traced the begin- ning, growth, and maturity of a concrete thing, Champaign County. But the concrete is but the aggregate result of individual labor. The acts and characters of men, like the seve- ral faces that compose a composite picture, are wrought together into a compact or hetero- geneous whole. History is condensed biogra- phy; "Biography is History teaching by exam- ple."
It is both interesting and instructive to rise above the generalization of history and trace, in the personality and careers of the men from whom it sprang, the principles and in- fluences, the impulses and ambitions, the la- bors, struggles and triumphs that engrossed their lives.
In the pages that follow are gathered up, with as much detail as the limits of the work allow, the personal record of many of the men who have made Champaign County what it is. In each record may be traced some feature which influenced, or has been stamped upon, the civic life.
Here are pioneers who, "when the fullness of time had come," came from widely sepa- rated sources, some from beyond the sea, im- pelled by diverse motives, little conscious of the import of their acts, and but dimly antici- pating the harvest which would spring from their sowing. They built their little cabins, toiling for a present subsistence while laying the foundations of private fortunes and future advancement.
Most have passed away, but not before they beheld a development of business and population surpassing the wildest dreams of fancy. A few yet remain whose years have passed the allotted three score and ten, and who love to recount, among the cherished memories of their lives, their reminiscences of early days in Champaign County.
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
Among these early, hardy settlers and those who followed them, may be found the names of many who imparted the first impulse to the county's growth and homelikeness, the many who, through their identification with agricultural pursuits and varied interests, aid- ed in her material progress; of skilled me- chanics who first laid the foundations of beau- tiful homes and productive industries, and of the members of the learned professions-cler- gymen, physicians, educators and lawyers -. whose influence upon the intellectual life and development of the community it is impossible to overestimate.
Municipal institutions arise; Commerce spreads her sails and prepares the way for the magic of Science that drives the locomo- tive engine over the iron rails. Trade is organized, stretching its arms across the prai- rie to gather in and distribute the products of the soil. Church spires rise to express, in architectural form, the faith and aspirations of the people, while a university, together with schools, public and private, elevate the stand- ards of education and of artistic taste.
Here are many of the men through whose labors, faith and thought, these magnificent results have been achieved. To them and to their co-laborers, the Champaign County of to- day stands an enduring monument, attesting their faith, their energy, their courage, and their self-sacrifice.
[The following items of personal and family history, having been arranged in encyclopedic (or alphabetical) order as to names of the in- dividual subjects, no special index to this part of the work will be found necessary.]
HENRY C. AHRENS was born in Germany, August 12, 1837, and acquired his education in the public schools and by studying evenings. When fifteen years of age he went to sea, and for thirteen years sailed on the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, all the Eastern Seas and Straits, the Southern Seas, the Gulfs around the West Indian Islands and South America, and touched at the ports of the Porto Rican Islands. In August, 1860, he arrived at an American port, and eight days later left the German sailing vessel on which he had been employed and en- tered the service of the United States Govern- ment as a sailor on the ship Albany in charge
of Captain Lewis of New Jersey, which had been chartered for war service. He was on the Albany for about four years, the boat ran up and down the Atlantic coast, doing such service as was required by the Government. In 1864 he gave up sailing and engaged with a wholesale house in New York City, where he remained nine years. In 1875 he came to Ur- bana and engaged in the saloon business, in which he continued for four years.
Mr. Ahrens was married in Brooklyn, N. Y., April 23, 1870, to Miss Anna Katharine Loun, a daughter of Conrad and Elizabeth (Michael) Loun. One of the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Ahrens, Bertha, suffered severe attack of scarlet fever, being left deaf and dumb, Mr. Ahrens gave up his business and took her to New York City and other places, where he consulted the most able physicians, in the hope of securing the restoration of her hearing. After nearly two years of unsuccessful effort he returned to Urbana and later placed her in the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, at Jacksonville, Ill., where she remained for eight years, receiving the best of educational train- ing. She now resides at home with her father. The youngest daughter, Anna, is a graduate of Illinois College at Jacksonville, and for some time taught German in the high school of Belleville, III. She also attended Brown's Busi- ness College of Champaign. The mother, Mrs. Ahrens, died May 21, 1902.
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