USA > Illinois > Lee County > History of Lee County, together with biographical matter, statistics, etc. > Part 63
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
has been trustee of the township four years and still holds the office, and was supervisor for two years. They constitute a firm of live business men, who have the business confidence of the community.
SIDNEY BEACH, farmer and stock raiser, Ashton, was born in Delaware county, Ohio, in 1827, and is the son of Israel and Roda (Lockwood) Beach, natives of New York. The former was by trade a shoemaker. They settled in Ohio in 1822 and engaged in the business of farming, which pursuit they followed the remainder of their lives. They were members of the Presbyterian church. Israel Beach served in the war of 1812 as drummer. Sidney Beach remained in Ohio till he was fif- teen years old, then came to Ogle county, Illinois, with an older sister, where he remained three years and accumulated some property, which he lost ; hence he says his "first three years in Illinois were spent in getting experience." He returned to Ohio when eighteen, but after a lapse of three years returned to Ogle county and began trading in cat- tle as much as he was able, which proved to be quite lucrative. Then he speculated in land to some extent. In 1856 he was married to Sarah Vandermark, daughter of Daniel and Anna Vandermark, na- tives of Pennsylvania. By this marriage he has three children : Clement L., Jessie C. and Sidney. Mrs. Beach's father was of Ger- man descent and a button-maker by trade. Her mother was of Eng- lish extraction and both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Beach owns 680 acres of good farming land. He markets some grain, but stock principally. He is a prominent republican, and was formerly a whig. He took an active part in raising recruits dur- ing the war. He and his wife are members of the Free Methodist church. He began life for himself with less than $10, and what he now possesses is the result of his own industry.
JAMES KING, farmer, Ashton, was born in Merrimac county, New Hampshire, in 1821. His parents were John and Sarah (Hill) King, natives of New Hampshire and children of English parents. James' grandfather was Gen. Wolfe's aide-de-camp at the battle of Quebec. His parents came to Illinois, where they spent their last days at the resi- dence of their son. Mr. King received but little educational training in his early youth. He emigrated to Illinois in 1854 and settled in Bradford township, where he remained till 1875 engaged in farming. Having sold his farm of 165 acres he moved to Ashton. He was married in 1849, to Rolana Barnard, daughter of Ezekiel and Judith (Sargent) Barnard. She was born in Warren county, New Hampshire. By this union he has three children : Almon E., Walter B. and Flora D. His two boys are at present engaged in the mercantile business in Red- wood, Minnesota. Mr. King, like most men who came to Illinois in the time of its first settlement, had but little means, but by judicious
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ASHTON TOWNSHIP.
management and industry prospered. After selling his farm he has lived in Ashton, where he has a beautiful home and forty acres near the village. He has held the offices of commissioner and supervisor. In politics he is a staunch republican.
PETER PLANTZ, farmer, Ashton, was born in New York in 1805, and is the son of Richard and Maria Plantz, both of whom were of Ger- man descent, and members of the Lutheran church. Peter was edu- cated in the common schools of his native state. He was married in New York, to Margret Putman, daughter of John and Catherine Put- man, natives of New York, and members of the Dutch Reformed church ; both were of Holland extraction. Mr. Plantz has by this coalition six children : Victor, Margret, Henry, Hannah, and Abraham. He came to Illinois in 1851 and settled in Ogle county, where he re- mained till 1856, when he came to Ashton, where he has since lived. Until recently he was engaged in farming, but has sold his farm and retired from business. He served three years as commissioner of high- ways. The success of Mr. Plantz is due wholly to his energy and in- dustry. He and his wife are members of the Christian church. He has a comfortable home at Ashton, where he expects to enjoy the fruits of his former labors.
MELVILLE BEACH, farmer and stock raiser, Ashton, was born in Essex county, New Jersey, in 1812, and is the son of Israel and Roda (Lockwood) Beach, both natives of New Jersey. The former was a shoemaker by trade, and with his family emigrated to Ohio in 1822. He engaged in farming, which pursuit he followed the remainder of his life. He and his wife were devoted members of the Presbyterian faith. Israel Beach served in the war of 1812 as drummer. Melville received his education in the pioneer schools of Ohio, where he resided till 1852. He was married in 1851, to Eliza Scott, a native of Connecti- cut, and daughter of Cark and Flora (Beckley) Scott, who emigrated to Ohio in 1835, when she was six years old. Her parents were Pres- byterian, and her father by trade was a button-maker, and raised a family of seven children. Mr. Melville Beach has a family of four children : Melville W., three years a student of Wheaton College ; Melva E., music teacher, educated at Spring Abbey, Michigan, and Wheaton College; Cora C. and Esmarelda A. Mr. and Mrs. Beach liave been members of the Free Methodist church since its organization here in 1860. Mr. Beach is one of the active members of the Free Methodist church at this place, having been class leader nearly all the time since its organization, as well as filling other offices of the church and Sunday-school at different intervals. In his early life he followed the trade of his father. Having previously purchased land in Lee county, he moved in 1852 with his family to Ogle county, where
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
he remained two years, and then came to Ashton, where he has since resided. He now owns a fine farm of 1273 acres, upon which he raises hogs and cattle, and owns a very pleasant home in the village of Ashton. He is a radical anti-secret-society and anti-slavery man, and a staunch republican.
RILEY PADDOCK, farmer, merchant and banker, Ashton, is a native of Ohio, born in 1810, and is the son of Ebenezer and Nancy Paddock, natives of Kentucky. They first settled in Butler county, Ohio, then in Clark county, of the same state, and subsequently emigrated to Vigo county, Indiana. Mrs. Paddock was a member of the Baptist faith. Riley Paddock received such educational training as was to be had in the pioneer schools of Ohio. He was married in Vigo county, Indiana, to Eliza Snoddy ; she and her parents were natives of Kentucky. By this coalition he has four children : Bell Jane, Mary E., Victoria, and William E. The girls have all been students of Mount Morris Seminary, Illinois. William E. was educated at Jennings College, Aurora, Illinois, and is now engaged in the mercantile trade with his father, in Ashton. They deal in boots and shoes, and dry goods. Their trade amounts annually to about $25,000. Mr. Paddock settled in Ogle county, Illinois, in 1837, where he remained till he came to Ash- ton. He began life with limited means; he has made farming his principal business. In 1872 he became one of the charter members of the First National Bank at Forest, Illinois, of which he has been, since its organization, one of its directors, and is now vice-president and director. He owns 300 acres of fine farming land, which he has well stocked, and 160 acres of Iowa land. He and his wife were formerly members of the Christian church. In politics he is a republican.
ERASTUS ANDERSON, farmer, Ashton, is a native of Canada West, and was born in 1824. He is the son of John H. and Martha (Mor- gan) Anderson ; the former, a native of New York, emigrated with his father to Canada when sixteen years of age, where he grew up. He served as a British soldier in the war of 1812, and was in the battle of Lundy's Lane. In 1848 he came to Lee county, where he remained the balance of his life. Erastus Anderson's mother was a native of Canada, and died a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Anderson came first to Michigan, where he remained till 1846, when he settled in Ogle county, where he lived till the spring of 1848, when he settled in the northeast part of Ashton township, where he still lives. He was married in 1847, to Mary Halverd, a native of Norway, by whom he has had two children : Roda A., now Mrs. W. M. F. Clark, and John H. Mr. Anderson's education is only such as he has been able to obtain in active business. He began life for himself by working at whatever he could earn a penny, and so continued till he had saved enough to buy
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ASHTON TOWNSHIP.
eighty acres of land; then he began farming for himself. In politics he has always been a republican. Erastus Anderson's grandfather was a ship-carpenter by trade, a Scotchman by birth, and emigrated to Canada. His paternal grandmother by birth was a German; his mater- nal grandmother's people formerly came from Ireland. Mr. Anderson has a fine farm two and one-half miles northeast of Ashton. It is well improved and well stocked.
HENRY SAUNDERS, jr., farmer and stock raiser, Ashton, is a native of Hardin county, Pennsylvania, born in 1826, and is the son of Henry and Mary (Buck) Saunders, both natives of Pennsylvania, and of Ger- man extraction, and farmers by trade. They left to their children a handsome property, but owing to the course pursued by the adminis- trators it was all lost and their children became penniless. H. Saun- ders, sr., was captain of the state militia. By faith he was a Catholic. H. Saunders, jr., came to Illinois in 1845, and remained one year, then returned to his native state, and came again to Illinois after an absence of almost two years. He was married in 1851, to Rachel Morgan, a native of Illinois, daughter of Edward and Nancy Morgan, both natives of Ohio. They have nine children : Winfield B., Joseph J. F., Jerome (deceased), Alice (deceased), Jane, John, Edward, Lucy, and Harry L. He has an excellent farm of 286 acres, situated two miles west of Ash- ton, which is well improved and well stocked. He and his wife are not members of any christian sect, but believe in the practice of chris- tian principles. Formerly he was a republican, but is now a democrat.
A. A. HECKART, grain buyer, Ashton, is a native of Pennsylvania, and a son of Peter and Elizabeth Heckart, both natives of Pennsyl- vania, but now living one half mile north of the village of Ashton. A. A. Heckart was born in 1844. He received a good common school education. He first engaged in the mercantile business in Ashton. He is now employed at Ashton by George H. Taylor & Co., grain mer- chants, where he has been for several years. He was married in 1868, to Mary J. Colwell, of Iowa, and they have one child, Temperance. He served in the war of the rebellion, first in Co. B, 46th Ill. Vols., was wounded at Shiloh, and discharged from the service. Having re- covered he again entered the service of his country in the 75th Ill. Vols., in Co. G. Altogether he served two years and ten months. In politics he is strictly republican. He is a member of the I.O.O.F. at Ashton.
JOHN A. ANDRUS, attorney, Ashton, is a native of New York, born in 1833, and is a son of Elim and Margaret (Mooney) Andrus, both natives of New York. John's grandfather, Benjamin Andrus, served in the revolutionary war. His literary education is that of the common school and the Holly Academy of New York. He graduated
628
HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
in the Bryant & Stratton Commercial Business College, New York. He then read law for some time, and then came west and taught school in Michigan two years, and at Rochelle and Ashton each one year. He was engaged in the mercantile business for twelve years, and in farming for a time. In 1877 he was admitted to practice law in Michigan, and in 1878 was admitted to the bar in Illinois. He was examined before the appellate court at Chicago, in a class of forty-nine, seven of whom were rejected. He has since practiced in Ashton. He held the office of police justice in Ashton for four years. He and all his family, so far back as he can tell, have been members of the democratic party. He was married in 1861, to Rhoda A. Siple, daughter of John and Harriet Siple, of Ohio. They have two children : Dora A., a senior of the class of 'S2 of the University of Champaign, her course being that of literature and science. The second child is an infant.
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP.
CONTRIBUTED BY WILLIAM B. ANDRUSS.
At the time Lee county adopted township organization, in 1850, Hamilton embraced what is now Hamilton, East Grove, May, and the south half of Marion, and William B. Stuart was its first supervisor, he serving two years in that capacity, when R. B. Viele succeeded him for the next three years. In 1855 W. B. Stuart was again elected and continued in the office that and the following year. In 1856 the board of supervisors took off what is now the township of May, still leaving two and a half congressional townships in its territory. In 1859 Marion was organized, taking T. 20 N., R. 9 E. as its limits, thus again taking from Hamilton a half congressional township. In 1865 T. 19 N., R. 9 E. was organized, taking the name of East Grove, leav- ing Hamilton with only the territory of one congressional township, T. 19 N., R. S E. of the 4th P. M., and these are its present limits and it is the southwest corner town of Lee county.
SETTLEMENT.
Prior to township organization, as adopted in 1850, within the present limits of Hamilton there were no settlers except the Indians, and none of the inhabitants can speak of exercising the right of suf- frage at precincts, as some in other townships of earlier settlement do. From the best information the writer can obtain the first dwelling built in the limits of this town was by Charles or Ross Freeman on the S. of Sec. 32, - the date not known, - which was afterward moved to another location and remodeled into a school-house. The first man to
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HAMILTON TOWNSHIP.
build a house and make a home in this township was a German by the name of Jacob Pope, who came in 1854 and settled on the S. ¿ of S.E. ¿ of Sec. 26. Morris Logue, from New Jersey, occupied the N. ¿ of N.E. ¿ of Sec. 27, bnilt a shanty and broke up his land in the same year, and the next season brought his family. David and John Knight came from Ohio also in 1854, and having purchased Sec. 35 at once began improvements. They boarded in Walnut that year, but in 1855 erected a house on their land. In the spring of 1857 David Griggs, another Ohio man, settled on the S.E. ¿ of Sec. 34. His house had been built the year before by a man whom he had sent for that purpose. J. F. McMurray, a Pennsylvanian, arrived in the spring of 1857 and made a home on the S.E. ¿ of Sec. 33. Amos T. Kegwin, of Windham, Connecticut, purchased the N. W. ¿ of Sec. 27 in 1856 and built a house thereon in 1858, and has occupied it since. He and his son, Horace Kegwin, together have added piece by piece until they now have a section or more in all in the vicinity of the original purchase. In the summer of 1858 Anson Stone's house was built by E. D. Carpenter on the N.E. ¿ of Sec. 26, the same now occupied by his son, R. P. Stone. J. Shields bought and occupied the N. ¿ of N.E. ¿ of Sec. 24 and most of the S.E. ¿ of Sec. 13 in 1858. William Sculley settled on the E. ¿ of N. W. ¿ of Sec. 24 in 1858. Michael Dunn came to his farm, the S.E. ¿ and the S. } of N.W. 4 of Sec. 24 in 1859. Bennett Havens was early in the town on the S. ¿ of N.E. } of Sec. 36, and served for several years as supervisor. He is now at Walnut station. L. B. Moore, on the S. W. ¿ and W. ¿ of N.W. ¿ of Sec. 24, and M. Fleming on the S. ¿ of S.W. 4, were also among the early settlers and still occupy the same. J. L. Reed came to the W. ¿ of S.E. { of Sec. 23 in 1862. Rev. N. G. Collins, a Baptist clergy- man for a time residing in Lamoille, figured largely in lands of this town on both sides of the Green river, and still holds some. All the foregoing settlers were south of the swamp. That part of the town- ship lying north remained unsettled for many years and served as a range for large herds of cattle. The first improvements on that side were made by non-resident owners who rented their lands. Of this class A. T. Anderson, of Polo, opened a large farm on the north part of Sec. 7. Perhaps the first to break any of the prairie for cultivation in this part of the town was William Rink, on Sec. 5. He resided in Dixon and rented it. The first to inhabit that portion was John D. Shafer, a bachelor, who built a cabin on Sec. 8 and herded cattle there for several years. James Durr was on the N.W. ¿ of N.W. ¿ of Sec. 19 in 1862.
The Winnebago swamp on either side of Inlet creek covered nearly the whole township while in a state of nature. A few sections in the
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
southeast and northwest corners were comparatively higher and drier. A former writer in speaking of it says: "It is almost entirely covered by what is known as Winnebago swamp, which renders a great por- tion of it uninhabitable at the present time." The lands, however, to quite an extent have been bought up by actual settlers, who resort to drainage. Some parties owning large tracts have made large ditches, and every year the swamp is growing perceptibly less. The probabil- ities are that ere many years it will be the most desirable land in the county. The soil is of the richest quality, and of great depth.
SCHOOLS.
The first school taught in this town was in a room of David Griggs' present residence, by Mrs. Cornelia Mayona, daughter of A. T. Keg- win, in 1861 or 1862, and Miss Lizzie Larkins followed in the suc- ceeding summer, and still later Miss Lavina Swisher followed her. Mr. McMurray moved over into Bureau county, and the house he left was made into a school-house, and Mrs. Mayona taught there. All this was before school districts were organized, and teachers were paid by private subscription. In the fall of 1863 or 1864 school district No. 1 was or- ganized, and the next spring a building was bought of Ross Freeman on Sec. 32, and moved near David Griggs, on the southwest corner of Sec. 34. This was used until 1874, when a new school-house was erected, the site being on the west side of the W. ¿ of N. W. ¿ Sec. 35. It is a beautiful structure, and speaks well for the educational interests of its vicinity. School district No. 2 was organized about the same time as district No. 1, and the first school was taught in a portion of Thadeus May's dwelling, on Sec. 26, by Miss Lydia Havens. The first school-house was built in 1864 or 1865, at the southeast corner of S.E. ¿ Sec. 25. Afterward it was moved to the southwest corner of Sec. 25, where it still is. There are four parts of school districts united with other towns, one each with Walnut, East Grove, Harmon, and Hahnaman.
The first preaching that the settlers of Hamilton township had was in a little school-house known as the Dodge school-house, on the prai- rie south of the county line. The Sabbath was but little respected at first, as nearly everyone went gunning on that day, and to reform this habit David Griggs, William Griggs, Solomon Welsh, J. F. McMur- ray, Johnson Griggs and J. H. Knight contributed to pay for preach- ing, and employed a neighbor, the Rev. Ford, who lived at the east end of Red Oak Grove, paying him fifty cents for each Sunday. The sing- ing was led by Prof. I. B. Dodge, with his violin. It was not a devout congregation; few, possibly none, of those who attended the services were professing christians, nevertheless they recognized the necessity
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EAST GROVE TOWNSHIP.
for divine worship in the settlement, and thus were the sweet influences of better things inaugurated. The Rev. Lumery, who sometimes used strong language, remarked of this beginning that "the singing was fit to be heard anywhere, but the religious propensities of the people be- longed to the devil." There are no religions organizations in this township, but a Baptist church was organized just over the south line in Walnut, in Burean county, at the house of John H. Sayer, in May 1853, and half of the organizers were from this town, namely, Amos T. Kegwin, Alice K. Kegwin, his wife; Ezekiel Sayers, Caroline Say- ers, his wife ; S. H. Sayers, and Mrs. Lyda Stone, while from Walnut there were John H. Sayers, William Mapes, Susan Mapes, his wife ; Thadeus May and his wife, and I. B. Dodge. For a number of years after organizing meetings were held at irregular intervals at the dwell- ings of John H. Sayers, Ezekiel Sayers, Amos T. Kegwin, and some others, ministered to by itinerants ; no regular pastor settled over them until 1870, when the Rev. Mr. First was called, and the village of Walnut having sprung up the location of the church was removed there, and services at stated times were held, and soon after, in 1871, a fine church building was erected, and the means of grace thus used have been blessed, and " numbers have been added to them," until now they have a membership of over 100.
EAST GROVE TOWNSHIP.
CONTRIBUTED BY WILLIAM B. ANDRUSS.
This township was originally in what was known as Winnebago precinct, the voting place being for a time at Samuel Meek's and then at David Welty's. In 1850 Lee county adopted township organiza- tion, and what is now the township of East Grove was embraced with May, Hamilton, and the south half of Marion, all called Ham- ilton. In 1856 May was organized therefrom, and in 1859 Marion, and it was not until 1865 that East Grove was organized in its present boundaries, namely, T. 19 N., R. 9 E., and Fenwick Anderson was its supervisor for that and the succeeding year. It is of the south tier of towns of the county and the second from the southwest corner.
SETTLEMENT.
Esq. Charles Falvey purchased a claim of one William T. Wells in 1836, and occupied it in 1837. This was in what is now the north half of Sec. 34, in the grove that afterward gave the name to the town. On the north his nearest neighbor was a Mr. Robinson, six miles dis- tant in the south part of what is now Marion, who afterward (in 1839)
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
sold his claim to David Welty. Esq. Falvey has resided there almost continuously since. He owns lands also in Bureau county, a little south, near Ohio station, and a portion of the time he has resided there. He is of an active, energetic make-up, and has been identified, in some phase, with almost every movement in not only the township of East Grove but the surrounding towns in Lee and Bureau counties. He enlisted under Thomas Carlin, afterward governor of Illinois, and served through the Black Hawk war. Now in his old age he is with an only child, a daughter, Mrs. Weldon, on his farm near Ohio station, his wife having been dead many years. Joseph Smith (familiarly known as "Dad Joe") settled in 1833 in the grove bearing his name, south- west of East Grove, some three miles in Bureau county. He was a guide for Gen. Atkinson's army, and a spy under Zachary Taylor in the Black Hawk war. H. W. Bogardus was also prominent as a settler of early date. In 1839 David Welty resided a short time in the north part of this town, while erecting buildings on a claim he purchased of a Mr. Robinson, in the south part of what is now Marion. His residence has been in Marion and Dixon ever since, and will be spoken of in no- tices of them no doubt. Fenwick Anderson came from Canandaigua, New York, to Dixon in the fall of 1844, and remained there until 1849, then came to what is now the S. } of Sec. 34 of East Grove. He pur- chased a claim of Robert Tate. This Mr. Tate was a workman in the plow shops of John Deere, at Grand Detour. His family, with a son-in-law by the name of Kyes, worked the claim until Mr. Anderson bought it. This house, a rude log structure, was for a number of years a stage depot on the Galena and Peoria road. When he came his nearest neighbor on the north was 'Squire Falvey, on the east Aaron Kelly. In 1852 he, with S. P. McIntosh, put up a kiln of 200,000 brick in the south part of the grove, which when burned proved most excellent, and from which he built his present residence in 1853. Thomas Shehan came to Bureau county in 1844, and moved to Sec. 35, in East Grove, in 1849, buying a claim of one John Kasbier. S. P. McIntosh came from Alton, Illinois, at the time of the land sales in Dixon, and pur- chased the E. ¿ of Sec. 36 of East Grove township, and the E. ¿ of Sec. 1 in Ohio township, though he did not occupy it until 1856. John Downey, A. A. Spooner, John Flynn, M. Coleman, A. Barlow, D. Sullivan, Henry Hubbell and Samuel Tubbs settled in this town soon after those formerly mentioned.
In 1842 John W. Harrison, a deputy sheriff from Toronto, Canada, while on a visit to this region, was murdered by James S. Bell, near the N. W. corner of Sec. 35. David Welty, then a justice of the peace, held the preliminary examination on a charge of murder, and committed him to jail at Dixon, to await his trial in the circuit court, if indicted
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