History of Iroquois County, together with Historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources, Part 83

Author: Beckwith, H. W. (Hiram Williams), 1833-1903
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : H.H. Hill and Co.
Number of Pages: 1180

USA > Illinois > Iroquois County > History of Iroquois County, together with Historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources > Part 83

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Edward Olmsted, farmer, Oakalla, section 32, was born in Connect- icut, May 27, 1822. He came to this state in 1857, and settled on his present farm. His chances for an education were fair. He was mar- ried in Connecticut, in 1850, to Lydia W. Dunham, who was born in Con- necticut, July 18, 1825. They have two children by this union : Isadora T., born in 1852, now wife of John H. Harwood, of Topeka, Kansas ; and Edward D., born March 16, 1856. Mr. Olmsted is of English descent, and is well respected in the neighborhood where he resides. He is a republican, and his religious views are Methodist.

Henry Weaver, Jr., hotel and restaurant keeper, Oakalla, was born in Wayne county, New York, April 20, 1836, and is the son of Henry Weaver, Sr., who is also a native of New York, and who was born November 8, 1798, and is now residing with the subject of this sketch. When Henry Weaver, Jr., first came to Illinois he settled in Kane county, and remained there but a short time, and then removed to Iroquois county, where for about ten years he was engaged in farm- ing. This period includes the time spent in the army, which he entered as a volunteer during the rebellion of 1861-5. He enlisted, in 1861, in Co. F, 8th Ill. Cav., three-years service, Gov. Beveridge being his captain. He remained in the service about eight months, and was discharged at Alexandria on account of disability. After leaving the farm he accepted the position of station baggage-master for the Illinois Central railroad, and for about twelve years continued in their employ, during which time he was located at Loda. In November, 1878, he . quit the railroad and engaged in keeping a hotel and restaurant, in which business he is still engaged. Mr. Weaver was married to Miss Harriet M. Price. They have had seven children, five of whom are living : Abram H., Percy L., Edith, Gertrude and Freddie. The deceased were Bertha and George.

Frederick Kemp, farmer and stock-dealer, Oakalla, was born in Maryland, July 10, 1816, and has followed the occupation of farmer through life. His chances for an education were poor. He went to the old style log school-house, with a fire-place reaching across one end, greased paper for window glass, and clap-board door. He came to this state in 1855, and settled near Champaign. He remained there four years, and then came to this county. Mr. Kemp has held the office of township treasurer four years, and trustee one term, and this office he still holds. He was married in Ohio, April 12, 1838, to Hannah A. Johnson. She was born in.1816. They are the parents of four chil-

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dren, three living : John D., Bartley E. and William J. The deceased was Luther. Mr. Kemp is a well-to-do farmer, and respected in the neighborhood in which he resides. He owns 100 acres of good land in this township.

Robert McFarland, farmer, Oakalla, owns 86 acres of well improved farm land, worth $50 per acre. He was born in Ireland, March 26, 1832. He remained on the farm until fourteen years of age, when he commenced clerking for a grain-dealer. He came to America in 1857, and stopped in Ohio two years. He then came to this state, settling in Iroquois county in 1859, and clerked six years in Loda, then went to farming. He has held the office of school director, school trustee and assessor. Mr. McFarland is of Scotch descent. He was married in New York, in 1861, to Ellen McClelland. She was born in Ireland. They are the parents of three children : Mary J., William A., and Martha E. He is a republican in politics, and in religion a Presby- terian.

John Marvin, farmer and stock-dealer, Oakalla, was born in Indiana, November 4, 1833. He was brought up a farmer, which occupation he has followed through life. His chances for an education were limited. He came to this county in 1860, and settled where he now resides. Mr. Marvin has held the office of supervisor for four years, school trustee for two years, and school director twenty years. Mr. Marvin was married in Indiana, February 4, 1854, to Margaret Newlin, who was born in Indiana, December 25, 1835. They have by this union seven children, six living : William, Jesse, Emma, Edward, Ella and Eliza. The deceased was Charles, who was drowned in 1874. Mr. Marvin is known as one of the most influential citizens of Iroquois county: He is a republican, and as regards religion is a Materialist. He owns 218 acres of fine land in this township.

W. S. Hawk, proprietor of the Reed House, of Loda, and one among the older class of citizens of the town, was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, October 25, 1829, and is the son of Erastus and Amanda (Parker) Hawk, both natives of the state of Vermont. His life was spent on a farm until the age of sixteen years. He was then placed in the position of turnkey, under his uncle, in the jail of Erie county, Pennsylvania. This position he held three years, and then accepted the position of baggage-master on the New York & Erie railroad. This position he held for six years, when he quit railroading and came west, stopping at La Porte, Indiana, for about three years. In 1862 he started on a trip farther west, his destination being Pike's Peak, Colorado, but after having spent about six months in traveling over the western prairies he returned east as far as Illinois and located in

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HISTORY OF IROQUOIS COUNTY.

Loda, where he has since resided. Mr. Hawk has been twice married : first in Indiana, in 1858, to Miss Henrietta Reed, who was also a native of Pennsylvania, and who was born in 1839. Her death occurred in 1868. His second marriage was to Miss Cornelia Dean, a native of New York city, in 1876. She was born May 17, 1854. By the first marriage he has three children : Jay D., Eddie and Clara. Mr. Hawk is keeping the only hotel of Loda, and it is a large three-story house, well furnished and nicely managed. The building, and also the grounds attached, which are quite extensive, belong to him, all of which are the result of his own energy and industry.

Samuel McCracken, farmer and stock-raiser, Loda, was born in Ire- land in 1820. He was brought up to the occupation of a farmer, which occupation he has followed successfully through life. He came to America in 1851, and settled in Massachusetts a short time, then went to Pennsylvania. After remaining a short time lie came to this state in 1863, and settled where he now resides, one and a half miles northeast of Loda. He is a good farmer, and handles some cattle, hogs and sheep. He was married in Pennsylvania, in 1857, to Mar- garet Galo, who was born in Pennsylvania. They have had six chil- dren by this union, five living. In politics he is a republican, and his religious views are Presbyterian. His parents were natives of Ireland, and were of Scotch descent. He owns 320 acres of fine land in this township.

T. B. Kinsman, blacksmith, Oakalla, was born in England, June 24, 1827. His early life was spent at farming. At the age of nineteen years he began learning the trade of a blacksmith, this having been lıis business through life. In 1832 he left England and settled in Canada, where he remained until 1865. He then came to the state of Illinois and located at Loda, which has since been his home. He was married in 1850, while in Canada, to Miss Harriet Cotton, a native of England. They are the parents of eleven children, eight living : Sarah, wife of F. Stroup; Thomas, William, George, Silas, Charles, Gertrude and Minnie. The deceased were : Louisa, Frankie and Freddie. Mr. Kins- man has recently become quite extensively interested in farming, le now having 320 acres of land under cultivation. This work is carried on mainly by his sons, while he attends to the smithing. When he came to Illinois in 1865 he was offered a good position in the shops of the Illinois Central railroad, but preferring to draw his family away from the many temptations of the city, he became a resident of Loda. In politics he is a republican. He is a member of the A.F. and A.M., and of the M. E. church, and a man whose reputation for honesty has been earned by honorable deeds.

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LODA TOWNSHIP.

W. L. Kinsman, salesman, Oakalla, is one of the energetic young men of Loda. He is a native of Canada, where he was born Novem- ber 18, 1857. In 1865 he came to Loda with his parents, where he continued his studies, in which he had made very rapid progress in Canada. For about eight years he continued to attend school, in which time he secured a good education. For a short time after leav- ing school he was engaged in the grain trade, but giving that up he began as salesman in one of Loda's prominent business houses, in which he has since continued. April 24, 1879, he was married to Miss Louise J. Stroup, who is a native of Illinois. In his political views Mr. Kins- man is a republican. He is a member of the Congregational church, and withal a young man of good morals, good habits and a good repu- tation.

T. N. Boue, physician and surgeon, Oakalla, was born in Fountain county, Indiana, May 18, 1837, and is the son of L. D. and Eleanor (Moffette) Boue. He received his literary education at the academies of Waveland and Ladoga, after which he began the study of medicine under Dr. J. Adkins, of Covington. He attended the Rush Medical College of Chicago, during the winter of 1863-4. Again, in 1865-6, he took a second course at the same college, from which he graduated in the spring of 1866, after which he located at Loda and began a reg- ular practice. He has had good success, establishing an extensive and lucrative practice. The doctor is a member of Mount Olivet Com- mandery, A.F. and A.M., No. 38, of Paxton ; Ford Chapter, No. 138, of Paxton; and the Blue Lodge, of Loda, No. 316. June 3, 1867, he . was married to Miss Effie L. Burnette, now deceased. She was a native of Ohio, born in 1842, and died September 29, 1875.

Joseph Holmes, farmer, Oakalla, section 26, was born in New Jer- sey, November 20, 1819. He was raised in the city. His chances for an education were limited. He came to this state in 1835 with his father, who settled in Putnam county. He remained there until 1846, and then went to Henry. He came to this county in 1868 and settled on his present farm. Mr. Holmes has held the office of supervisor of township two terms, and assessor two terms. He is at present com- missioner of roads. He was married in Putnam county, this state, in 1846, to Miss Avis F. Taylor. She was born in Massachusetts, May 21, 1825. They had ten children by this union, six living : Sarah, wife of C. Weaver, of Pigeon Grove township; Ella, Mary, J. H., Asa M., Samuel J. The deceased were : Ruth, Benjamin, Jennie and John L. Mr. Holmes is one of the solid men of Iroquois county. He and his accomplished lady are both Swedenborgians. He is a republi- can in politics.

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HISTORY OF IROQUOIS COUNTY.

B. F. Price, express agent, Loda, is the fourth son of William and Jane G. Price, who are the parents of eight children, one daughter and seven sons, all born in Broome county, New York. They moved to this county in 1860. Menette married Henry Weaver, of this place. Joseph C., George A., B. F. and John D. are still living, and are a credit to their very much respected parents. B. F. was born in New York, May 12, 1843, and was a farmer until Angust of 1862, when he enlisted in Co. M, 9th Ill. Vol. Cav. He served three years, and was in several skirmishies and one battle, at Guntown, Mississippi, in which he received a gun-shot wound in the left arm, which arm had to be amputated June 13, 1864. He has held the office of town collector twelve years, deputy sheriff ten years, constable ten years, and express agent twelve years. He was married in this state in 1867, to Olive Major, who was born in Indiana in 1843. They have by this union had two children : Addie A., born October 31, 1868; and Major, born December 30, 1873. All of the above are republicans, and all liberals.

Jolın B. Taylor, farmer, Oakalla, section 22, was born in Tennessee, November 5, 1825. He has followed the occupation of a farmer suc- cessfully through life. He moved with his father to this state when but two years of age, and settled in Pike county. He staid there twenty-five years, and in 1869 came to this county and settled where he now lives. He was married to Mary Gregory, who was born in this state November 9, 1832. They are the parents of seven children, six living : Joel, David, Martha, Lizzie, Mary and Warren. Mr. Tay- lor's father died when he was but three years old, therefore he has been obliged to make his way through the world unaided. He now owns 360 acres of good land in this township. He is a republican, and a member of the Christian church.

David Burnham, hay-dealer, Oakalla, was born in Warren county, New York, December 29, 1828, and is the son of John and Ruth (Trumbell) Burnham, both natives of New York. His occupation for many years was farming. In 1861 he entered Co. A, 93d N. Y. Vol. Inf., three-years service, as second lieutenant. He remained in the service about two years, and then resigned and returned to New York state, where he raised a company for the 175th N. Y. Vol., and again entered the service, this time as first lieutenant of Co. G, three- years service. In a short time he was promoted to quartermaster of the 175th, and remained in the service until August of 1865. In 1870 he came to Illinois and located at Loda, where for about nine years he has been engaged in baling and shipping hay to New Orleans, ship- ping usually about 1,000 tons per year. In 1871 he was married to

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Mrs. Mary C. Knapp, daughter of Watt C. Bradford, of Memphis, Tennessee. She owned at the time of the marriage quite an extensive property in Loda and vicinity. By this union they have four children : John D., Edward, Ruth and Roy. Mr. Burnham is and has been an honorable and straightforward business man, by which course he has won the confidence and respect of the community.

P. G. Hollister, farmer, Oakalla, section 24, was born in New York, September 19, 1834, and was raised a farmer. He came to this state in 1870. Mr. Hollister enlisted, in 1861, in the 1st Mo. Eng. Corps, and served three years. He was in no battles of any consequence. He .did picket duty most of the time. He was married in Illinois, Novem- ber 29, 1866, to Emma Carr, who was born July 28, 1849. Their children are : Ross O., born September 28, 1874 ; and Grace, born Feb- ruary 6, 1875. Mr. Hollister is considered one of Iroquois county's honored and energetic citizens. In politics he is a republican, and his religious views are liberal.

Joseph Adams, farmer, Oakalla, was born in England, October 18, 1829. He was raised on a farm until fourteen years of age, and then learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked seven years, and in 1852 came to America. He settled in Chicago, where he remained until 1870; he then went to California, where he remained six months. He was married in Chicago, in 1857, to Sarah Vogwill, who was born in England, October 8, 1829. They have had seven chil- dren, five living : Asa, Charles, Harry, Eva and Ida. The names of the deceased are Charles and Mary. Mr. Adams has held the office of school director for five years. His parents were natives of England.

Hiram L. Swick, farmer, Oakalla, was born in New York, May 14, 1839. He was brought up a farmer, and this occupation he has fol- lowed through life. He enlisted in the late war, and went forward to battle for his country. He enlisted, in 1862, in Co. E, 113th Ill. Vol. Inf., and was in the battles of Chickasaw Mountain, Arkansas Post 'and a number of skirmishes. He served until the close of the war. He was married in this state, in 1873, to Ida M. Oaks, who was born in Chicago. They are the parents of three children : Willie, Frankie and an infant, deceased. Mr. Swick came to this county in 1875. He is a republican in politics. He owns 80 acres of land under good cultiva- tion.

D. C. Hull, farmer, Oakalla, was born in New York, December 9, 1850, and was reared a farmer, which occupation he has since followed, with the exception of four years while working on the railroad as a brakeman. In 1852 his father removed to this state, at which time our subject was two years old. The family resided in La Salle county

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HISTORY OF IROQUOIS COUNTY.

for two years, and then for twenty-three years in Grundy county. In 1875 Mr. Hull came to Iroquois county and settled where he now resides, one mile west of Loda. In 1873 he was married to Eliza- beth D. Wilson, of Grundy county, who was born in this state in 1842. They have three children : Fannie, Samuel and Jennie. Mr. Hull is an industrious and enterprising man. In politics he is a republican.

J. C. Dunham, editor of "Register," Oakalla, was born in Con- necticut, July 13, 1831. His early chances for an education were good, and he improved them to the best advantage. He spent the early part of his life in various portions of New England, and came to this state in 1861, settling finally in Loda in 1876. For several years he prac- ticed dentistry. He first edited a paper called the "Iroquois Demo- crat." He commenced the "Register" in 1876. The paper is well sustained in both subscription and advertising. Mr. Dunham has been twice married; first in 1857 to Harriet McBurney, who was born in Canada. His first wife dying in 1877, he again married, in June, 1879, this time to Lizzie J. Knapp, who was born in Tennessee, December 25, 1861. Mr. Dunham has held the office of justice of the peace two terms. He is a member of the Masonic order.

Earl Barrett, farmer, Oakalla, was born in Massachusetts in 1835. He was raised a farmer, and this occupation he has followed through life. His chances for an early education were fair. In 1859 he came west and settled in Bureau county, this state, where he remained eleven years. He then went to Lee county and remained one year, and afterward went to Ford county, where he staid seven years. In the latter county, in 1877, he was married to Mary J. Johnson, who was born in New York in 1857. Mr. Barrett has held the office of road commissioner two years, and chairman of the committee for the destruction of the Canadian thistle two years. He is a republican, and a Baptist. He is a well-to-do farmer, well respected in the neigh- borhood in which he resides. He owns 160 acres of fine farm land, three miles east of Loda.

DANFORTH TOWNSHIP.

During most of its political existence, Danforth was a portion of Douglas township. Two years ago it was erected into a separate township. It consists of a parallelogram, four miles wide by thir- teen long, having the northern two-thirds of townships 27, ranges 10 and 11 east of the third principal meridian, and 14 west of the second principal meridian.

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DANFORTH TOWNSHIP.

About 1852, A. H. Danforth and George W. Danforth, of Wash- ington, Tazewell county, formed a copartnership to buy land, which · was about to be thrown on the market again, after having been withdrawn to give the Central railroad an opportunity to make selections under the law which organized that company. Between 1854 and 1860 they entered from the government or bought of the railroad company nearly 50,000 acres of land, a large body of which lay in what is now Danforth township, and the remainder in the townships north and south of it. They at once set about making it available. George W. soon after came here and made it his home, devoting his time to improving and selling farms. A great deal of the land was wet, that is, too wet for cultivation at all seasons, but a glance at the map will show, what Mr. Danforth's practical eye discovered, that streams run in all directions from it. The Iroquois lies off to the east of it, Laugham creek north, the streams running into Vermilion river flow from its western side, and the streams which flow into Spring creek, have their rise in the southern part of the town. With a soil of marvelous richness and depth, it was evident to him that good, thorough draining was all that was neces- sary to make this a garden spot in fertility and productiveness. It was just this system which he decided to follow, which was contem- plated in the law which donated to the state the swamp and over- flowed lands. Mr. Danforth believed that the Hollanders, who were. accustomed to living on dykes and making canals in their home, would be a useful class of people to help on the work he had to do, and early sent to that country, and offered such inducements'as brought a considerable number of them here, who became purchasers of his lands and laborers in his work. Much of the land he bought was not as dry as some of that which had been selected by the county as swamp lands. Wide, open ditches were made with the old- fashioned capstan ditcher, which was worked by oxen, but that would only work in the water. Something else must be used for making the ditches through dry land, or at those seasons of the year when the sloughs were dry. The Central Railroad Company thought the earth could be removed with a dredge, and tried it on some of their lands, but it would not work. They gave away the dredge and sold their lands. About sixty miles of ditch was made with the old capstan machine. Mr. Danforth afterwards used the Tobias machine, which is worked by direct draught, and finally used the Wauchope grader. The work has been done systematically and understandingly. In the thorough grading of the highways, an eye has been continually turned toward the effectiveness of the road-ditches and drains, and

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HISTORY OF IROQUOIS COUNTY.

have thus supplemented the wider ones which have been made as mains. Under the law of the state, which was passed to aid just such works as this, and which was afterwards declared unconstitu- tional, provision was made for forcing drains through other lands, and assessing the benefits on such lands as were benefited. Under this law the large ditches were constructed, and though the law was overthrown by the supreme court, such decision did not close up the ditches themselves. The act which was passed in 1879 is con- demned as being too complicated to be operative. The people are sorely in want of a simple and affective drainage law, under which all these wet lands can be reclaimed. The main, running to Langham creek, is twenty feet wide and is nearly complete; those in other directions are somewhat smaller. For some years Mr. Danforth was not able to get railroad facilities here, and indeed for a time it seemed as though he did not need them. During the war this entire country was an immense hay-field. With here and there a small tilled field, all these acres were cut over, and the hay was sent forward into the valleys of the Mississippi, the Tennessee, and the Cumberland, to help put down the rebellion. In 1862 Mr. Dan- forth came here to reside, and in 1866 secured a side track and station, and a post-office soon after. The long, low red warehouse was the first building put up, and that and the building east of the track were built that year.

John Huizenga, a native of Holland, was at work on the Central road when it was building, in 1853, and his attention was called to the fertility of the soil here. He lived for some years in Marshall county. When treason raised her bloody head, and the boom of rebel cannon echoed and reëchoed through the country, awakening the slumbering millions to the sad but awful realities of deadly strife, he enlisted for Holland, and staid there till this cruel war was over. Returning here in 1866, in company with Mr. Heersema, he pur- chased and commenced making a farm. Through him and the gen- erous advertising done by Mr. Danforth, some forty families arrived here within the next few years, and have made their strong impress felt on the soil and society of this community. Mr. Huizenga, after working a farm for some years, engaged in the grocery trade. These people display the same stolid determination, industry and persever- ance which has so long marked them in their native land. Slow to conform to the habits of the country, but still quick to appreciate the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, they are recognized as some of the best farmers in the county. They are generally grain farmers, keeping a few cows and raising some live-stock, but none go into

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cattle speculations or stall-feeding. Their women are abandoning their custom of doing field work to a great extent, but do not aban- don the wooden slioe. Here, for the first time in Iroquois county, are seen stacks of these articles for sale in the stores, and instead of going out of use others are finding out that they are a very comfort- able shoe for winter use. Inquiry, however, failed to elicit an opin- ion in their favor as a delight in very muddy times.

All except three of them are farmers, and nearly all are connected. with the Dutch Reformed church. Two families are of the Baptist persuasion. They form a neighborhood of their own, living princi- pally north and west of the village. They readily conform to Ameri- can inethods of farming, but carefully retain their personal and fam- ily habits. They are not teetotalers, either in belief or practice, but are scrupulously free from intemperance and social vices. They readily accept the boon of American citizenship, and are not averse to assuming the responsibility which that term implies. They have naturally attached themselves to the party which is in the ascendancy in the county, state and nation. Among other Dutch institutions introduced here was a wind-mill for grinding grain. In their native land, water privileges as understood here (i.e. water-power) are com- paratively unknown, and before the advent of the steam-engine, wind-mills and the power of man and beast were the only mechanical powers known. Their mills are run by the peculiar shaped wind- mills which are familiar, so far as outward appearance is concerned, to every school child. . The large arms are made about 8×30 feet ; . and it is only necessary for the boy who reads this to recall how his kite, which was only about 2×4 feet in size, pulls under a good stiff breeze, to imagine the tremendous force which these four monstrous fans will carry to the machinery below. This necessitates a very strong structure. The wind-mill frames, which are so common on stock farms all over the country, are puny things compared with the timbers of a Dutch mill. When once inside of one of them, the array of huge timbers slanting inward from a perpendicular position, braced and tied with girts and braces of heavy timber, is confusing to the strange eye. A peculiar and ingenious "governor" counter- acts the unsteady action of the winds, and keeps a very steady motion in grinding, so that as good flour is made as by any other power. They have been introduced in various places in this country, but by the strange variations in nature, the winds have so disap- peared that the proprietors have found it necessary to introduce steam-power of late years.

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History of Iroquois County, together with Historic notes on the Northwest, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and other authentic, though, for the most part, out-of-the-way sources, Part 83

Author: Beckwith, H. W. (Hiram Williams), 1833-1903 Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : H.H. Hill and Co. Number of Pages: 1180

Author: Beckwith, H. W. (Hiram Williams), 1833-1903
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : H.H. Hill and Co.
Number of Pages: 1180