USA > Illinois > Ford County > History of Ford County, Illinois : from its earliest settlement to 1908, Vol. I > Part 9
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THE DAY FAMILY.
The Day family settled on section 13. They comprised Samuel Day, the father; Peggy, the mother; and children-John P., Samuel, N. B. Day, and Cordelia, wife of James Hock. Samuel Day was a native of Kentucky. He died in 1858. He married Peggy Purviance in 1821. She was also a native of Kentucky. They had nine children. They came from Preble county,
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Ohio, to this state. Samuel came here in 1854. He was twice married; first to Susanah Swisher, who died in 1858. Ile married Miss Jennie Lyons for his second wife in 1861. Samuel Day was the first circuit clerk and recorder of Ford county. John P. Day was born in 1824. Ile settled in Patton in 1857. In 1845 he married Malinda Swisher, a native of southern Indiana Ile served as county treasurer several terms. John P. and Samuel Day were engaged in the real-estate and loan business in Paxton. £ N. B. Day was born in Preble county, Ohio, and settled in Patton in 1854. The Day family first lived on the farm that was afterward owned by B. Q. Cherry. N. B. Day married Barbara, daughter of Daniel C. Stoner, an old pioneer of this county. Mr. Day is now living in Paxton. Cordelia married Mr. James Hock, who was a resident of Paxton, and one of the oldest settlers of the township. They were married in 1858. Mr. Hlock was a farmer and stock-raiser, and came to what is now Ford county from Fountain county. Indiana, in 1852.
THE HANLEY FAMILY.
John Hanley was born in Virginia in 1808. Ile was brought up a farmer. In 1829, he moved to Greene county, Ohio, where he lived until 1855, princi- pally engaged in stock-raising. He then came to Patton township and estab- lished a lumberyard and grain office on the west side of the Illinois Central Kailroad. In 1862, he bought a farm at Ten Mile Grove, afterward owned by his son, John M. Hanley, where he lived until 1883, when he came to town and lived with his son, John M. Hanley. Hle was married to Margaret Alex-
ander, a native of Virginia, in 1828. They had four children : Alexander HI. Hanley; William A., who died in 1868 in Xenia, Ohio; Ella M., wife of Alexander MeElroy, of Paxton; and John M., who was a leading hardware merchant in this city. The mother, Margaret, died at Ten Mile Grove in 1876. John M. Hanley was educated in Delaware College, Ohio, and was principal of the public schools in Paxton for six years.
THE STITES FAMILY.
Benjamin Stites was born in Pennsylvania, in 1805. In 1832 he settled in Cincinnati and followed his trade of a mason, besides running a stone quarry. He remained in Cincinnati until 1837, when he moved to Vermilion county, Illinois, and lived on a farm near Danville, until 1856, when he came to Paxton and settled on the homestead. Benjamin Stites was twice married. His first wife, a native of Butler county, Ohio, died in 1828. They had two children. His second wife was Susan E. Stuart, of Hamilton, Butler county. Ohio. This union was blessed with six children: Benjamin F., Hannah S .. Phebe A., Margaret, William HI. and Samuel S.
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STACEY DANIELS was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1825. His father, Stacey Daniels, was a native of Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio in 1821. He died in 1825. He married Lattia Carnahan, a native of Pennsylvania. She died in Cincinnati in 1877, at the age of eighty-one years. They had a family
of four sons and two daughters that lived to grow up; three others died in infancy. The subject of our sketch left Ohio in October, 1856, and settled in Prospect City in the spring of 1857. He built his house on the site that was occupied by G. J. Shepardson's house on College Hill. He was a mason by trade, and helped build many of the buildings in Paxton. In 1859 he went to California; came back in 1862; and enlisted in the Eighty-third Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry; and was in the service until 1865. Mr. Daniels was thrice married-first to Margaret Rush, in 1849. She was a native of Germany and died in 1859. His second wife was Mary Williams, of Cincinnati, whom he married in July, 1865, and who died in 1867. His third wife was Miss Rebecca Kempton, a native of Hartford, Connecticut. They were married in June, 1868. They had two children : Emma, wife of Ed Field, deceased, of Elliott ; and Albert, who engaged in the drug business at Ludlow, Illinois. Mr. Dan- iels was one of the oldest settlers of Paxton.
JOHN M. HALL was born in Washington county, New York, October, 1810. He was brought up on a farm. In 1832, he went to Fountain county, Indiana. He held various offices of trust, being at one time county recorder. In 1860 he went to Kirksville, Missouri, and engaged in the mercantile business for two years, when he came to Paxton in 1862. In 1838 he married Miss Nancy Nichols, a native of Ohio. They had three children. Mr. Hall was super- visor of Patton township for several years and held the office of police magis- trate for many years. He was well liked and enjoyed the confidence of the people.
JOHN P. MIDDLECOFF was born in Wayne county, Indiana, in 1838. Ilis father, Daniel Middlecoff, was a native of Washington county, Maryland, born in 1800. He came to this township in 1861 and died in 1866. John P. came to Illinois in 1857 and settled in Ludlow, Champaign county, and engaged in the general mercantile business. He moved from there to his farm in 1862, where he remained until 1867, when he came to Paxton and engaged in the hardware business. He continued in this for several years. He was elected supervisor of Patton township several times, being chairman of the board. In 1872 he was elected a member of the twenty-eighth general assembly. Ile was at one time president of the Paxton Brick & Tile Works. In 1863 he was
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married to Miss Mary Fox, of Cincinnati, Ohio. To them were born three children, all of whom died. Mr. and Mrs. Middlecoff are still residents of Paxton.
A. CROFT is from Clinton county, Ohio, and settled here in 1877. Ile owns a fine tract of land of four hundred aeres lying adjacent to the city on the west. The buildings and improvements on this farm are of the best.
W. W. BLANCHARD owned a well improved farm in section 29, range 10, about two and a half miles south of the city. Mr. Blanchard was a native of Windham county, Vermont, and settled in this township in 1856.
A. L. CLARK is an extensive landowner, owning about nine hundred aeres of excellent land, most of it lying in the southwest part of Button township. Mr. Clark is a native of New Hampshire, settling in this county in 1864. He makes his home in Paxton.
C. M. JOHNSON, farmer, contractor and builder, and a native of Sweden. came to the United States in 1846, and settled in the county in 1863.
DAVID REEP, a native of Butler county, Pennsylvania, settled on section 28 in 1879.
F. MEHARRY came to Patton township from Montgomery county, Indiana, in 1859. He bought a tract of land in section 10, where he erected buildings and improvements equal to any in the county.
WILLIAM TRICKEL came from Piqna county, Ohio, in 1836. He was a farmer and resided on section 27.
PETER HANSON came here from Sweden in 1863.
WILLIAM GRAYSON, a native of England, settled in this township in 1858, on one hundred and sixty acres of land south of Paxton.
W. H. H. IJAMS, a native of Ohio, settled in this township in 1870, on section 10.
ROBERT STRONG, a farmer and native of Monroe county, Indiana, settled in Patton in 1865.
PETER ANDERSON, a native of Sweden, came to this township in 1864, set- tling on section 31.
CHARLES LEEPER, a farmer and native of Bedford county, Tennessee, where he was born in 1816, came to this eounty in 1869.
ALBERT KEITH, a native of Madison county, New York, settled in this county in 1866. He was at one time mayor of Paxton, and owner of a fine farm in Dix township.
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Another large and extensive farmer of Patton is WILLIAM PERDUE, a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania. Hle came here in 1859. He owns about seven hundred acres of rich farming lands in Patton township. Ile resides in Paxton.
LIN CORBLY, also owning extensive farm lands, is one of the pioneer set- tlers of this township. HIe has for several years resided in Paxton.
C. E. HENDERSON resided at Henderson Station, on the Lake Erie & West- ern Railroad. He was a native of Loudoun, Virginia. He settled in this town- ship in 1865. IIe had a beautiful home and a fine farm.
One of the oldest settlers of Patton was JOHN F. STONER, son of Daniel C. Stoner. John F. came here in 1851 and settled on section 9. HIe was a native of Indiana. His large farm was one of the best in the township.
C. M. TAYLOR, who was principal of Collegiate Institute, was a native of Vermilion county, Indiana, and came to this county in 1878.
J. B. SHAW, cashier of the First National Bank and a native of Grafton county, New Hampshire, came to this county in 1861.
R. BLACKSTOCK was cashier of Ford County Bank. He was a native of Canada West and settled here in 1858.
HI. A. KELSO, physician, is a native of Marion county, Indiana, and came here in 1864.
S. M. WYLIE, physician, a native of Coles county, Illinois, settled here in 1869.
J. Y. CAMPBELL, physician, settled here in 1866.
CHARLES H. LANGFORD, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, settled here in 1881 and was engaged in the abstract business.
G. J. SHEPARDSON, mayor, settled here in 1867.
GEORGE GROVE, engaged in the lumber business, is a native of Pennsyl- vania. He came here in 1875.
1. ILANSON, druggist, a native of Denmark, settled here in 1865.
O. W. SWANSON, stock and loans, was born in Sweden and came here in 1865.
GEORGE W. CRUZEN, farmer, a native of Harper's Ferry, Virginia, settled here in 1868.
W. B. TRAVIS, merchant, was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, and came here in 1868.
CHARLES C. PUTT, importer of horses, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, came here in 1875.
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W. M. Wisox, groceries, a native of Monroe county, Indiana, settled here in 1866.
HARPER & COMPANY, dry goods, natives of Washington county. New York, came in 1876.
N. YOUNGGREEN, merchant, native of Sweden, came in 1871.
F. TELANDER, merchant, a native of Sweden, came in 1869.
WILLIAM R. TRICKEL, gunsmith, a native of Knox county, Indiana, settled here in 1836.
R. S. ILALL, agent for the Illinois Central Railroad, is a native of Middle- sex county, Connecticut.
G. F. SANDBURG, carriage-maker, a native of Sweden, came here in 1868.
E. L. GILL. auctioneer, a native of Jefferson county, Virginia, settled here in 1859.
HENRY PEARSON, contractor, a native of Sweden, came here in 1867.
WHITE BROTHERS, lumber, natives of Washington county, Pennsylvania, came in 1864.
A. C. THOMPSON, banker, a native of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, came here in 1868.
G. E. ABBOTT, agent for the Lake Erie & Western Railroad, a native of MeLean county, Illinois, came here in 1878.
G. W. LEEPER, wind-mills, a native of Bureau county, Illinois, came here in 1869.
J. L. LARKIN, restaurant, a native of New York, came here in 1880. GEORGE SCHLOSSER, grocer, a native of Pennsylvania, came here in 1862.
A. S. HOPKINS, agricultural implements, a native of Onondaga county, New York, came here in 1869.
ANDREW ANDERSON, grocer, a native of Sweden, came here in 1864.
L. II. RODEEN, grocer, a native of Sweden, came here in 1867.
R. CRUZEN, hardware, was born in Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and came here in 1868.
B. F. ILILL, flouring mill, a native of Erie county, Pennsylvania, came here in 1863.
GEORGE M. DIXON, barber, a native of Jefferson county. Indiana, came here in 1866.
D. D. DENMAN, builder, native of Montgomery county, Indiana, settled here in 1871.
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L. S. HOLDERMAN, a native of Grundy county, Ilinois, came here in 1883. Hle has a farm on section 8. He is now living in Paxton.
The above shows the business in which each one mentioned was engaged in 1884.
DRUMMER TOWNSHIP.
Drummer Grove township was organized and set off from Patton township, September 14, 1858, and comprised all of what now composes the townships of Drummer, Dix; Sullivant and Peach Orchard or all of Ford county lying west of range 9 east, and containing an area of one hundred and eighty square miles.
The township took its name from the little grove called Drummer Grove, which lies about a mile northwest of Gibson, and which was so called in honor of a noted hunting dog named Drummer, that became overheated in a deer chase and died and was buried in the grove. The only authentic history that has been preserved in regard to the life and character of the dog is that he was not a "yaller dog."
In 1864 there must have been some congressional investigation or some- thing discovered derogatory to the character of the dog, for a petition signed by a majority of the voters of the township was presented to the board of supervisors asking to have the name of the township changed to Dix, in honor of General Dix, of New York, which was accordingly done, and the township was known by that name until 1869, when upon the requisite petition being presented to the board of supervisors the territory comprised in towns 23 and south half of 24 north, range 7 east, was set off from Dix and rechristened Drummer Grove. thus dividing the honors of the territory equally between. General Dix and the dog.
In 1870 the name being found too long for practical convenience the word "grove" was eliminated from the name by the board of supervisors.
The first settler within the limit of Drummer township was Andrew Jor- dan, who was a native from Kentucky, where he was born October 28, 1828, and came to Illinois when twenty-one years of age, with a horse, saddle and bridle and fifteen dollars in money. He went to work by the month on a farm in Cass county, where he remained for two years, and then came into this vicinity and bought a small farm near the timber in Champaign county. He lived there a year, then married Miss Amanda Devore, and moved on the
1
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prairie in the fall of 1851. Hle added tract after tract of land to his farm until he owned eleven hundred acres of excellent land. all lying in one body. When Mr. Jordan moved here, Ford county had not been organized. His only neighbors were wolves and deer, which were exceedingly neighborly in their visits. Ilis nearest milling accommodations were Danville, Illinois, or Cov- ington, Indiana ; the nearest blacksmith shop or place to get a plow sharpened was Mahomet, twenty-four miles.
About a year or so after he came here, the town of Pera, now Ludlow. was started, which was for many years his only market, a distance of seven- teen miles. Corn was then worth ten cents per bushel and land from three to eight dollars per acre. Mr. Jordan improved all his land, having it thor- onghly tiled with tile of his own manufacture, he having established on his farm one of the largest establishments for the manufacture of tile and brick in the county.
The next settler of the township was William Bridges, who came in 1853 and settled on a farm owned by J. A. Rockwood, of Gibson. During the same year, William Jordan, brother of Andrew Jordan, settled in an old house on section 13, afterward owned by Leonard Pierpont. Lindsey Corbly came next and settled on section 25, south of Andrew Jordan, on what is now known as the Weldon farm.
In 1855 Dr. J. E. Davis settled at Drummer Grove, where he pursued farming and the practice of his profession for many years, taking an active part in all the affairs of the county.
The next early settler was Samuel J. LeFevre, who was born in Montgom- ery county, Ohio, April 16, 1841, and settled with his parents on this farm in the year 1856, being then only fifteen years old. Ford county was not then organized, this territory being a part of Vermilion county, and all called Pat- ton township, with Prospect City, now Paxton, as the only voting place in it. In 1862 Mr. LeFevre enlisted in the Seventy-sixth Illinois Infantry and served until wounded at the battle of Vicksburg in the charge of Fort Blakely, April 9, 1865. His wound rendering him unfit for military service, he was honorably discharged, and returned to his farm again, where he remained until 1872, when he moved to Gibson and engaged in the lumber business. He was almost continually in the discharge of some official trust since the organization of the township, having been school treasurer four years, and trustee six years ; member of the village board three years and president of the board one year; supervisor of the township three and a half years; and chairman of the county board two years.
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JODS CO .:
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SANGAMON AVENUE, GIBSON CITY.
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In the same year, with Mr. LeFevre's family, J. H. Dungan came and settled on the farm adjoining Mr. LeFevre on the south, and alike with his neighbors endured all the hardships incident to that new and wild state of the country. IIe remained here improving his farm and pursuing the peaceful life of an industrious farmer, until he saw the thriving town of Gibson spring- ing up on the prairie near him, and then moved into town and engaged in the grain business, and was one of the most energetic men of the town.
Thomas Stephens came next and settled in the south part of the township, turning his attention principally to cattle-raising, accumulating by successive purchases a large tract of land on the Sangamon. He followed the business of stock-raising and farming until too old and feeble to manage his farm him- self, when he divided it among his children and settled down with them to spend the remainder of his days in a quiet, peaceful way, freed from the care and anxiety of any kind of business.
Among other settlers who followed in a short time were Asa Canterbury, Caleb MeKeever, B. H. MeClure and family, John Pagel, William Reighley, Thomas Holloway and Lewis Weekman.
The first school taught in the township was at the residence of Dr. J. E. Davis, during the winter of 1863. taught by Miranda Holloway. In 1866 Drummer Grove schoolhouse was built, and a school taught there by Mary Ann George. Among other pioneer teachers of Drummer were Miss Arabella Davis, wife of Weaver White; A. Forbes Irwin, of Peoria, and Weaver White.
The soil of Drummer township is the best in the county, although when surveyed by the government a great portion of it was returned as swamp land. Yet, by the system of drainage which has been regularly and steadily followed during the past fifty-four years, its value and productiveness cannot be excelled in the county.
GIBSON CITY.
Jonathan B. Lott was born at Graysville, Ohio, February 14, 1840. He came to Illinois when only eight years old, and located with his parents at Danvers, MeLean county. His father died when he was fourteen, and he being the oldest son at home, took charge of the family. When the war broke out, he enlisted in Company C, Thirty-third Illinois Infantry, and served three years ; then reenlisted as a veteran, remaining until the close of the war, when he was discharged on account of wounds. He was twice wounded at the bat-
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tle of Spanish Fort. Louisiana. On his discharge from the army he returned to MeLean county and entered Wesleyan University, where he remained one year.
January 1, 1867, he was united in marriage with Margaret A. Gibson, and in 1869 purchased from Jesse Whitehead, of Chicago, the town site of Gibson, and in February, 1869, built his house here. Mr. Lott. by his energy and personal influence, secured such changes in the surveys of the different rail- roads that brought about their junction at the present location of Gibson. In 1870 he secured the Gilman, Clinton & Springfield, now Springfield Branch of the Illinois Central. The Lake Erie & Western was surveyed three miles south of this place. and the Chicago & Paducah. now Wabash, was projected and surveyed through Saybrook, but Mr. Lott succeeded in getting them to pass through this town.
Mr. Lott departed this life September 19, 1879. The town was named after his widow.
Gibson owes its existence and prosperity to the untiring zeal and energy of J. B. Lott. The original town of Gibson was platted and laid ont by J. B. Lott, the proprietor, on November 1, 1870, and was called Gibson in obe- dience to the Seriptural injunction, "Remember Lot's wife," Mrs. Lott's maiden name being Gibson.
On making application for a postoffice of the same name, the department added the word "city" on account of the similarity of the name with Gilson, Illinois; hence the name of the town as platted is Gibson, and the postoffice is Gibson City.
The first inhabitants of the town were J. B. Lott and wife.
The first commercial business done in the town was commenced by William Moyer, December 1, 1870. TIe opened a grain office, which business he followed for a number of years. Commencing with a very moderate capital, by atten- tion to his business and the exercise of superior judgment and discretion in its management, he acenmulated a fortune, which caused him to be recognized as the wealthiest man in Gibson.
Wilson Brothers next opened a general store in January, 1871, on the corner south of the opera hall. Next came II. J. Ring in the same month, and in April following his partner, J. H. Collier, and T. D. Spalding. The firm of Ring & Collier opened a hardware store, and Mr. Spalding operated a lumberyard near the crossing of the railroads. About the same time came W. D. Worrell, J. F. Hicks, James Garbett, J. E. Lewis and others followed in such rapid snecession that to particularize would be very difficult.
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The first single lady who settled in Gibson was Miss Mary Thompson, a milliner. The first school in the town was taught by Miss Caroline Williams, and was taught in a public hall.
The first preaching was conducted by Rev. Schlosser, of Paxton, in the Illinois Central depot.
Mr. C. H. Yeomans was the first lawyer; Dr. Anderson was the first physi- cian ; J. E. Cruzen was the first postmaster, and M. T. Burwell the first banker.
The first railroad through Gibson was the Gilman, Clinton & Springfield, now operated by the Illinois Central, which was built in 1871, and was fol- lowed the same year by the Lake Erie & Western, but no regular trains were run until the following spring. The Chicago & Paducah, now the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific, was built in 1874.
The first church edifice was erected by the Methodist denomination, and was followed by the Cumberland Presbyterian, the First Presbyterian, United Brethren and Catholics. There are quite a number of colored people in Gib- son, who have built a church called the African Methodist Church.
The first wedding in the place was that of Bruce McCormick and Miss IIattie Gibson, a sister of Mrs. J. B. Lott.
The first death was that of a jeweler named Angel, which occurred in 1872, who committed suicide by cutting his throat in the rear of the New York store.
The village was incorporated in 1872, with T. D. Spalding, J. H. Collier, S. J. LeFevre. Bruce McCormick and W. T. Kerr as trustees.
In the year 1874 the school accommodations being entirely inadequate to the wants of the rapidly increasing population of the town, the thoroughgoing enterprise of the citizens was shown in the erection of what was the finest public school building in the county. It is a two-story brick, with a full story basement, sixty by sixty, all finely furnished, and heated by furnace, with the most approved plan of ventilation. There are five departments in the build- ing, with a capacity for accommodating three hundred pupils. The cost of this building was twelve thousand dollars. In 1882, this becoming too crowded for effective work, another building, forty by sixty, was erected at a cost of five thousand dollars, with a capacity for one hundred scholars.
January 29, 1883, the town was visited by a destructive fire, which swept away in the course of a few hours about fifty thousand dollars worth of prop- erty, not more than one-fourth of which was covered by insurance.
Here again the enterprising spirit of the citizens evinced itself, for in less than a month from the day of the fire, workmen were busy preparing the burnt
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district for rebuilding. In six months' time there was erected twelve elegant briek stores (all two stories high, except two) from eighty to one hundred feet in length, all furnished with large plate glass fronts, as fine as are to be found in any city in the state outside of Chicago. The improvements made during those six months cost, in the aggregate, nearly eighty thousand dol- lars. Among them, and worthy of mention, is M. T. Burwell's opera hall, on the second floor of the block erected by M. T. Burwell; is fifty by one hun- dred feet, with eighteen foot ceiling, and a self-supporting truss roof, leaving no columns or central supports to mar its beauty or obstruct the view. The stage scenery is, probably, as elaborate and complete as is found in any city in the state, except Chicago. The building-hall, stage and footlights-is lighted by gas.
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