USA > Illinois > Warren County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Warren County, Volume II > Part 66
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SNAPP, WILLIAM L., one of the older and much respected farmers of Warren County, was born in Greenbush Township, February 12, 1842, and is a son of E. M. and Lucinda (Wil- lard) Snapp. His father was born in Kentucky, and his mother in Tennessee. His maternal grandparents were Alexander and Lucy (Liles) Willard, natives respectively of Virginia and Tennessee; his maternal great-grandfather, was William Willard. His paternal grandpar- ents were George and Sarah (McIntyre) Snapp, of Kentucky. William L. Snapp was educated in the public schools and in a local academy. In his religion he has been a Methodist, and in his politics a Democrat. Mr. Snapp was married December 19, 1861, at Knoxville, 111., to Mary E. May, who was born in Indiana, April 19, 1843, a daughter of William and Susan (Harrison) May, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. William L. Snapp's father was born in 1816, and died in 1842; his mother was born in 1822, and died in 1899. To William L. and Mary E. Snapp have been born children as follows: Alice Maud, Thomas J., William L., Carrie M., Delos V., Russell, Ezekiel M., and Sumner. One child, Mary, is dead. William L. Snapp was engaged in early life as clerk and salesman in a general store, afterwards in the saw-mill business several years. He was a Jus- tice of the Peace and a Notary Public through a long period, and did much conveyancing in the Township of Greenbush. For nine years he served as Collector of the town, and was long School Treasurer and Director. In 1878 he moved from the village of Greenbush to his farm on Section 16, where he is now living, and is highly esteemed in the community where his long and useful life is passing. Of his child- ren, his son, Thomas J., married Mary J. Hen- dricks, Alice Maud married Andrew B. Camp, William L. wedded Minnie West, and Russell married Maud Stokes. Mrs. Mary E. Snap died November 21, 1900, leaving behind her sweet and precious memories as a wife and mother.
WINGATE, ARTHUR LEE, farmer and stockman, Greenbush Township, Warren Coun- ty, Ill., (postoffice address, Avon), comes of a long line of ancestors who, for many generations, have lived in Maine, a State which has given to the country at large some of its best business and political blood. His grandfather, Edwin Wingate,
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
married Rebecca Whitney,
also a native of Maine. Their son John Wingate, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Maine, February 1, 1815, and Annis Dibble, who be- came his wife, was born in Chenango County, N. Y., March 1, 1820. They were married in Greenbush Township, March 5, 1844. John Wingate came to Greenbush Township in the fall of while a young man, and.
1838,
for four years was a teacher of district
schools. About 1849 he bought forty acres of the Wingate homestead, and, some three years later, bought the other forty acres which. with his first purchase, is included in the present 525-acre farm of Arthur Lee Wingate. On that farm John Wingate died, March 22, 1891, and his wife May 22, following, and on that farm Arthur Lee Wingate was born, Dec- ember 10, 1851. He was educated in the dis- trict schools and brought up to the hard but useful labor of the farm. He has never lived anywhere except on the old Wingate homestead, which, since his father's death, has been under his exclusive management and which he has managed with considerable success.
John Wingate was a man of influence in the township, who for thirty-nine years filled the various offices of Justice of the Peace, Town Clerk, Assessor and Treasurer of the School Board-the latter during the entire period-of the others sometimes one, sometimes several of them simultaneously. Besides the subject of this sketch, he had another son, named John J., who died at the age of eleven years, and daughters named Ann Eliza (deceased), Laura Ella and Martha Eva. Laura Ella married Cardon Johnson, of Monmouth, and Martha Eva, Edward Singleton, who lives in Cali- fornia. Arthur Lee Wingate married in Green- bush Township, December 25, 1873, Susan Jane Link, who has borne him children named as follows: Arthur Henry, born October 14, 1874: Martin Luther, born February 19, 1876; John Wesley, born December 20, 1877; Giles G., born January 19, 1880; Effie Viola, born December 24, 1881; Lulu L., born November 17, 1883; Rosa May, born January 1, 1886; Emma Z., born October 16, 1887; Edwin Lee, born Sep- tember 28, 1889; Annis Pearl, born June 6, 1892; Alta Arminta, born October 30, 1894; Da- vid Edison, born November 11, 1897. Mrs. Win- gate was born March 25, 1855, in Kingston Township, Delaware County, Ohio. She was the eldest daughter of D. S. and Elizabeth Ann tary.
(Quick) Link, natives of Virginia, who moved to Ohio in an early day, coming to Greenbush Township in 1866. Her father now lives in Avon, while her mother died August 24, 1894, aged sixty-two years, seven months and two days. Arthur Henry Wingate married Lena Palmer and Martin Luther Wingate married Lula Davis.
Mr. Wingate is a member of the Christian Church. Politically he is a Republican and has long held the office of School Director; is President of the Western Illinois Christian Conference, first elected September, 1896, has been re-elected every two years since; has served the township as Road Commissioner for eight years; also President of one of the first Telephone Companies in the county.
WOODS, FRANK C., a very successful farmer and stockman of Greenbush Township, Warren County, and a most excellent citizen of that community, was born in the town of Green- bush, March 8, 1858. His father, John Woods, was born in the town of Sullivan, Madison County, N. Y., March 11, 1824; his mother, Lucy A. Chatterton, in Virgil, Cortland County, New York, March 5, 1819. She emigrated to Illinois with her parents in the fall of 1836. After her marriage she removed with her hus- band in 1851 to Greenbush Township. Asa Woods, his grandfather, was born in New York, and his wife, Mary Wilford, in Connecticut. His great-grandfather was Samuel Woods. His maternal grandparents were Cornelius and Lucy (Ball) Chatterton, both natives of Virgil, Cortland County, New York.
Frank C. Woods was educated in the Avon High School, and was married October 10, 1889, to Hattie A. Holden, in Greenville, Mich. Of this marriage there has been born one child, Ruth Emma, who was born July 22, 1894. Mrs. Woods was a daughter of L. D. and Emma (Lincoln) Holden, both natives of Cortland County, N. Y. They removed to Minnesota, where the father died, March 5, 1862, after which the widow returned to New York, later moving to Michigan, where she died April 11, 1894.
Samuel Woods, the great-grandfather of Frank C., came from Scotland, after having married an English wife. Asa Woods, his wife and seven children-five boys and two girls- came to Illinois by wagon in 1836, being six weeks on the way, and were the second family
Frank BWoods
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
to locate in the vicinity in which they settled. John Woods, at that time only twelve years of age, drove one of the teams a good portion of the way. John Woods was married August 6, 1848, to Lucy A. Chatterton, by whom he had four children: Miss Addie; L. S., who died May 13, 1881; Mrs. Lunette Ross, who died June 1, 1894; and Frank C. Mr. Woods came to own about 500 acres of choice land in Green- bush, on which he lived for thirty-eight years, after which he removed to Avon, where he was engaged as President of the Milling and Manu- facturing Company until the time of his death, August 4, 1894, resulting from cholera morbus. A strange coincidence was, that his father died from the same disease on the same day of the month thirty-nine years before.
All of the Woods have been Universalists. John Woods gave the land on which the Univer- salist Church in Avon is built, and Frank C. is a faithful and devoted member of that body. Mrs. Lucy A. Woods died at her home in Avon, March 29, 1898, having long been a faithful member of the same church as her husband.
Frank C. Woods is a substantial and reliable man, is a Republican, and has been called to serve his district as a School Trustee. He owns 280 acres of land in Greenbush Township, and devotes his attention to grain and stock-rais- ing.
WOODS, EBENEZER W., well-known farm- er and stock-raiser and substantial citizen of Greenbush Township, Warren County, was born in Sullivan, Madison County, N. Y., September 16, 1819, the son of Asa and Huldah (Wilford) Woods, and a grandson of Samuel Woods. His maternal grandparents were John and Ann (Blackstone) Wilford. His father was born in Salem, Mass., January 2, 1791; his mother in New Haven County, Conn., and her father in the same State. Ebenezer W. Woods received his education in the district school and was married January 6, 1852, in Greenbush Town- ship, to Rosa M. Butler, by whom he has had eight children. Mrs. Woods was born in Gal- lia County, Ohio, January 6, 1830, and was the daughter of Col. John and Mary (Adney) But- ler, both natives of what is now Greenbrier County, W. Va., where he was born July 26, 1802, and she November 12, 1804. They were married April 26, 1822. In October, 1839, they removed West, and settled near Greenbush, Warren County. He became a very extensive
farmer and land-owner, at one time being the proprietor of 1,300 acres of land. His last years were spent at Avon, where he was killed by being run over by a team. During the civil war he was Colonel of the Eighty-fourth Regi- ment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, doing valu- able service in Indiana and Ohio. His father built Fort Recovery for General Wayne. In 1835 Ira Woods, a brother of Asa Woods, came to Fulton County and bought a tract of land for the family, on part of which Avon has since been established, to which Asa Woods brought his family to make a home the following year. This land cost the Woods brothers a dollar and a quarter an acre, and is now among the most valuable farming lands in the State. Asa Woods died, August 4, 1854; and his wife, March 27, 1867. Ebenezer Woods, who was eighteen years old at the time his parents sought their western home, accompanied them on the slow and toilsome journey, that required forty-two days for its completion. He learned the carpenter trade in 1842, but has been a farmer all his life, beginning with the cultiva- tion of a portion of the original tract his father and uncle had bought, purchasing at a later period 140 acres in Section 2, and is at the present time an extensive land-owner. His has been an industrious and useful life, in which he long served the public as a School Director. Of his marriage with Rosa M. Butler were born children: Ezra, Willis R., Ellen, John A., Ed- win Stanton, Sarah B., Minnie C. and Alice, who is dead.
CHAPTER XLIV.
HALE TOWNSHIP.
(Township 11 North, Range 3 West.)
The name given to this township when town- ship organization was first voted on favorably was Sugar Grove, but it was found that this conflicted with the name of another township in the state and it was changed to Westfield.
918
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
Later, when township organization was an es- tablished fact, the committee appointed to name the townships gave this one the name of Hale, and it has so remained to this time. Hale lies directly west of Monmouth Township. The land is exceedingly rich and easily cultivated, being nearly all prairie and well adapted both for agriculture and stock-raising. It is watered chiefly by Cedar creek and its branches. There are many fine homes, and a poor dwelling is rarely to be seen. The main line of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad crosses the southeast corner of the township, and the Iowa Central comes in near the center of the north line of Section 2, follows a little south of east, and passes out into Monmouth Township at the northeast corner of Section 36. There are no towns or villages in the township, and trad- ing is done chiefly at Monmouth, Kirkwood and Little York.
The election for the organization of Hale Township was held April 4, 1854, at the school- house in District No. 1. William Nash acted as temporary chairman, and W. S. Weir as temporary clerk. The permanent chairman or moderator was William Cannon, and S. W. Rod- gers was clerk. Fifty-nine votes were cast at the election, and the following officers were chosen: Supervisor, William Fleming; town clerk, Wil- liam Clark; assessor, D. B. Findley; collector, J. C. Ward; highway commissioners, G. H. Smalley, Andrew Junkin; justices of the peace, W. S. Weir, T. F. Lowther; constables, Ira Palmer, D. Vanfleet. The present officers of the township are: Supervisor, Charles E. Tor- rence; clerk, W. E. Armstrong; assessor, O. A. Cavis; collector, James H. Shaw; highway commissioners, George Winebright, C. Steven- son, Robert Balmer; justice of the peace, R. H. McClanahan. The men who have served the township as supervisor to the present time are: William Fleming, 1854; John R. Graham, 1855; David Turnbull, 1856; John Brown, 1857; Da- vid Turnbull, 1858-60; Edward Burns, 1861; Newton Barr, 1862; David Turnbull, 1863-65; Leander Findley, 1866; Hugh Nash, 1867; Da- vid Turnbull, 1868-70; Newton Barr, 1871; H. G. Lord, 1872; John N. Carson, 1873; Newton Barr, 1874-75; C. M. Rodgers, 1876-80; Newton Barr, 1881; C. M. Rodgers, 1882; J. N. McKel- vey, 1883-84; D. A. Turnbull, 1885-88; John Sprout, 1889; D. A. Turnbull, 1890-94; Charles E. Torrence, 1895-1902.
The first white residents of Hale Township
were Adam Ritchie and a portion of his family, who came in the spring of 1828, pitching their tent at the south end of Sugar Tree Grove on the farm afterward owned by John Quinn, the east part of Section 15. They had wintered in Fulton County, near Canton, and after a six weeks' stay here, returned to that place on ac- count of rumors of Indian troubles. They came back to Monmouth Township in the fall, mak- ing their home the next winter in the cabin of John B. Talbot, in the northeast corner of that township, where, on December 23, Mr. and Mrs. Ritchie became the parents of Henderson Ritchie, the firstborn son of Warren County. He still lives at Council Grove, Kansas, where he is Probate Judge of Morris County. Adam Ritchie made his first improvement on Section 8, in Monmouth Township, where Olmsted's mill now stands, selling out in 1831. He then returned to Hale Township, and with his only brother, John, improved the west half of Sec- tion 14. Later he removed to the northwest quarter of Section 6, at the extreme corner of the township, where he built a home and re- sided until his death on June 18, 1835. He went to Quincy to enter land, and took the chol- era while on his way home, dying about eight miles southeast of the present town of Nauvoo. His brother John, who came to the township soon after Adam did, went to attend to some of Adam's business at Quincy and also took the cholera and died June 27, a few days after re- turning home. Both men left large families. Adam Ritchie was known as "Sandy," to dis- tinguish him from his cousin, Adam Ritchey, Jr., who was called "Black," because of his dark complexion, and also because he was a blacksmith by trade. At the regular election following the special election to organize the county he was chosen a justice of the peace. John Ritchie was the first coroner of the county.
In 1829 Adam Ritchey, Sr., (note the differ- ence in the spelling of the name), came from Jefferson County, Ind., with his wife and fam- ily, including five sons, James, Adam "Black," Thomas, Matthew D. and John. The senior Ritchey's daughter, Jane, was the wife of "San- dy" Ritchie, who was therefore both son-in-law and nephew of the old gentleman. Adam, Sr., located across the line in Sumner Township, the oldest son, James, settling over in what is now Henderson County, Matthew D. settling where Little York now stands, and Thomas and
919
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
John also in the neighborhood. Adam, the sec- ond son,-"Black"-also known as Adam, Jr.,- located on the northwest quarter of Section 11, in Hale, and it was there that the special elec- tion to organize the county was held on July 3, 1830. At that time he was chosen one of the first county commissioners, and the first county order issued was in his favor. It was for $3 and was for services as commissioner. The father died in the fall of 1832, and after the estate was settled up his widow and sons, Adam, Jr., and James, and perhaps some of the others, removed to Iowa. Part of the family also went to Oregon. The same year that the Ritcheys came to the neighborhood, came also John Campbell and David Findley, Sr., whose second wife was Jane, a sister of Adam ("San- dy") Ritchie. He was originally from Pennsyl- vania, but had resided a while in Indiana. He settled in the Sugar Tree Grove neighborhood, but later moved to what is now Henderson County, where he died in 1838. His son David, who came with him, married Jane Ritchey, daughter of James Ritchey, in 1829, and they were the first couple married in Warren County. The ceremony was performed by John B. Tal- bot, who held a commission as justice of the peace from Peoria County. The couple settled down on a farm near the senior Findley's, but later also removed across into what is now Henderson County. James Findley, a brother of the older David, came in September, 1832, settling on Section 9, on the tract now occupied by his grandson, William H. Findley. He was the father of the late David B. Findley, who died in 1885, and of Mrs. William Hanna, of Monmouth. John Findley, another son of Da- vid, Sr., was also one of the earliest pioneers. James Junkin came from Ohio in 1829, but went, after a few years, to Washington County, Iowa, then to Oregon, where he died about 1890. John Caldwell, from Bedford County, Pa., but more recently from Xenia, Ohio, came to the township in May, 1830, locating on Sec- tion 11, the place now occupied by J. S. Aven- ell. He died in 1865, leaving a son, John W., who made his home in Monmouth for a number of years, but is now also dead. In the fall of 1830, John Kendall and family came from Greene County, Ohio, the home of so many of the early resi ents of
Hale Township. They spent the winter following in part of Mr. Caldwell's cabin, then settled in Monmouth Township. In 1831 William
Paxton and family, Thomas Gibson and family, and James G. Barton's, came from Greene County, the Paxtons locating on Sec tion 2, the Gibsons on the southeast quarter of Section 24, and the Bartons also in that neigli- borhood. The three Allen brothers, Thomas, David and Isaac N. E., also from Greene County, came early in the '30's. Thomas set- tled in the east part of the township, dying there in 1845 or 1846. David went to Oregon at an early day, and Isaac has been dead for some years. William Nash and his family, including his sons, John H., Albert, Hugh, Addison and William, came from Greene County in 1832, and have always been prominent in the town- ship. The father died in 1867. In 1834 David Turnbull moved into the township from Mon- mouth Township, where he had lived for a year. He was also from Greene County, and was the father of Captain John M. Turnbull, of Monmouth. The next year, 1835, saw two more Greene County families, those of James Nash and Alex. McCoy, and a young unmarried man, John R. Graham. Mr. Nash located on Section 16 and Mr. McCoy in the east part of the township. Both are dead. Mr. Graham married and still lives here. The same year John Hanna came from Indiana, though orig- inally from North Carolina, and settled on Sec- tion 6 in the northwest corner of the township. He was the father of the late William Hanna, of Monmouth factory fame, Captain D. C. Han- na, and O. L. Hanna, who lives on the old place. The father died in 1862. In 1836 the three Rodgers brothers, Aleri, Aniel and Andrew, came from Missouri, to which place they had removed from Virginia in 1822. They purchased large tracts near the corner of Hale, Monmouth and Sumner Townships, Aleri settling on Sec- tion 2, where he lived till his death in 1863. Thomas Reynolds, a North Carolinian, also came in 1836, but only stayed a short time, moving over into Henderson County, then back into Sumner Township, where he died. Sam- uel H. Patterson came from Pennsylvania in 1837.
The first cemetery in Hale Township, and doubtless also in the county, was the Ritchey cemetery, on Section 2, about a quarter of a mile north of C. M. Rodgers' residence. Notli- ing now remains to mark the spot as a bury- ing ground.
In the early years there was a church at Pleasant Green, on Section 6, in the very north-
920
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
west part of the township. The old building yet stands, but is not used for religious pur- poses, the congregation having a newer house of worship across the line in Henderson Coun- ty. The old building has been used in late years for lyceums, and other public entertain- ments. The Calliopean Club existed here as early as 1837. One of the performances read before the club, an address in rhyme, is still preserved. It was read by Miss E. K. Snow, then a resident of that neighborhood, but later a Mormon and one of Brigham Young's wives. Near the old church is a cemetery, and it and the one at Henderson church are the only bury- ing grounds in the township.
Thomas Paxton had a carding and fulling machine on his place on Section 2, which was run for a while by W. S. Weir, Sr., and R. S. Joss. The water supply failed, and Mr. Weir went to the McFarland mill in Sumner Town- ship, and Mr. Joss to Monmouth, where he oper- ated a machine of his own, later adding also looms for making cloths.
The first school in Hale Township, which is also said to have been the first in the county, was opened in 1830 in a little log cabin about a half mile north of the old Henderson church. Miss Martha Junkins was the teacher, and pu- pils came from a distance of three and four miles to school. The building was used as a school for about eight years, when it was burn- ed. Miss Junkins later removed to Oregon and died there.
The township now has eight school districts, with one brick and seven frame buildings, two of them being furnace-heated. One male teacher is paid $45 a month, and the wages of the seven female teachers range from $30 to $45. The last report showed 101 males of school age in the township, 83 of whom were enrolled in the schools, and 94 females of school age, 75 of whom were enrolled. There were two school libraries, with 40 volumes valued at $115; the tax levy was $1,300, the value of school prop- erty was $335,875, and its assessed valuation
The assessment rolls for 1901 show that there were then in the township 1,101 horses, 3,437 cattle, 43 mules and asses, 215 sheep and 4,523 hogs. The total value of the personal prop- erty was $335,875, and its assessed valuation was $66,825. The assessed valuation of lands was $249,980.
The population of Hale Township in 1900 was 776, a loss of twenty-nine from the census of 1890.
HENDERSON CHURCH.
The first religious society organized in War- ren County was the old Seceder or Associate church at Sugar Tree Grove, now the Hender- son United Presbyterian church. Rev. James McCarroll, missionary in charge of the west- ern missions of that church, comprising the states of Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, was in charge at the organization, which took place in November, 1830, at the log cabin of John Caldwell, on the farm now occupied by James S. Avenell, on the south part of Section 11. Some members of the Seceder faith had set- tled in the vicinity that year and the year be- fore, and they could not long do without a church of their own denomination. Twenty- five persons were received as members at the time of organization. They were Adam Ritch- ey, Sr., his wife Abigail, his son John, Adam Ritchie and his wife Elizabeth, John Ritchie and his wife Martha, Matthew D. Ritchey and his wife Caroline, John Ritchie, Jr., David Findley and his wife Jane, William, Samuel and Elizabeth Gibson, John Maley, John Ken- dall and his wife Elizabeth, Jane Campbell, James, Sarah, Martha, Ann and Sarah Junkin, Margaret Temple, and John Caldwell. John Caldwell and Adam Ritchey, Sr., were chosen the first ruling elders.
Mr. McCarroll remained several Sabbaths and preached to the people, then returned to his home in Pennsylvania. During 1831 sev- eral more Seceder families came out from Greene County, Ohio, and Rev. James C. Bruce was sent out as a missionary to supply the young congregation. He was called as pastor and installed in 1832, remaining until 1847. Rev. John Scott became pastor in 1849, and served the congregation for nineteen years, then removed to Monmouth to take a profes- sorship in Monmouth College. Rev. T. G. Mor- row was then pastor until 1872, when he was succeeded by Dr. David A. Wallace, who per- formed the duties of pastor in connection with his work as president of Monmouth College un- til 1876. He was succeeded by Dr. David Mac- Dill, and he in turn by Rev. Robert J. David- son in 1884. Rev. J. T. Wilson was pastor for three years to August 29, 1894. Rev. A. M. Acheson was installed June 1, 1895, holding the pastorate until late in the fall of 1901. The present pastor is Rev. Samuel Brown, who was ordained and installed June 23, 1902.
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