USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion County, Illinois : a tale of its evolution, settlement and progress for nearly a century, Volume I > Part 32
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Francis M. Fairchild was born in Blount township April 20, 1848. He was the eighth son in the Fairchild family. When he was twenty-two years old he married Miss Ina B. Fitzgerald. She, too, was born in Vermilion County. Her birthplace was but a mile and a half from the Fairchild home, and the young people had always known each other. She was the mother of fourteen children. Only three of these died before they had reached man- hood and womanhood. Mrs. Fairchild died in Colorado, where she had gone to have her health restored, in 1894. Mr. Fairchild was again married in 1897, this time to Miss White. She was the mother of three children, but they all died in infancy. Like the others of this family, Mr. Fairchild was ever a devoted Methodist. He and his brother were the first of the farmers in this neighborhood to tile their land and redeem it from the swampy condition.
John W. Newlon was born in Blount township June 13, 1840. His father was Thomas B. Newlon, and his mother was Miss Angeline Griffith, the daugh- ter of Stephen Griffith, and widow of Mr. Makemson. Mr. Newlon, the father of John Newlon, came to Vermilion County in 1837 with his father. The father of John Newlon's mother came in 1826. John Newlon was the eldest of the seven children in his father's family. In June of 1861 he reached his majority and in July he enlisted in the army in Company I, Thirty-fifth Illinois Infantry. He was wounded at the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, and was twice taken prisoner, but both times managed to elude the vigilance of the captors and to make his escape. When he returned from the army he married Miss Ivea Y. Taylor, a daughter of Thomas A. and Ivea Taylor, who came to Vermilion County in 1853 and located in Catlin township. They are the parents of five children, four girls and one boy. In 1888 Mr. Newlon came to Danville and was appointed deputy sheriff under J. C. Gundy, filling that office for two years. In 1890 he was elected sheriff, and during his term the great strike of the American Railway Union occurred, and at the
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same time five thousand miners went out on a strike. His handling of this most unusual condition of affairs was so well appreciated that when his terni of office was over the people of Vermilion County elected him treasurer with- out opposition. He served four years as treasurer and then became chief deputy sheriff, serving for three and one-half years under James Sloan. He was then appointed commissary in the Danville Branch of the National Home for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors. Mr. Newlon has always been a stanch republican and has faithfully served his party. In all his service of the public there has never been one whisper of aught but the most decided adherence to the right. He has been a public officer which is a credit to the county of which he is a son.
Isaac Rees was born near Vermilion Grove on November 28, 1840. Ten years before this, his parents came, with twenty-two others who belonged to the Society of Friends, to Vermilion County. Mr. Rees married Miss Ara- minta Mills in 1868, a daughter of William and Hannah Mills. She was born about à mile and a half west of Vermilion Grove, and represents one of the best known families in Vermilion County. Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Rees were the parents of five children. Unlike the spirit of most Quakers, Mr. Rees en- listed in the army, his loyalty to his country influencing him more strongly than the ideas of his religion.
Henry F. Canady was born at Vermilion Grove December 12, 1840. Like the above-mentioned son of Vermilion County, he did not hesitate when the call to arms came at the time the flag was fired upon. The fact that he had been trained to the ideas of peace, and that those of the society to which he belonged never sanctioned war, his answer to the call by enlisting in the service of the country is more noticable. Mr. Canady enlisted in the Twenty-fifth Illi- nois Infantry, Company A, and was in many engagements. He later served in Company E, Twelfth Kansas Mounted Infantry. Mr. Candy mrried Miss Maggie S. Brewer, in 1875. She was the mother of three children; but one of these lived to grow to womanhood.
William Jasper Olehy was born in Danville township July 24, 1840. He only went to school a short time, and spent his youth on his father's farm. When the war broke out he enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-fiftlı Illinois Infantry and served during the entire term of service. He married Miss Mary A. Olehy and they made their home in Pilot township. They were the parents of but two children. Mrs. Olehy died in 1880.
Henry Davis was born in Vermilion County May 5, 1841. His life has been spent on a farm. He married Miss Cox for his first wife and Rebecca Baird for his second wife. He was the father of three children. Mrs. Re- becca (Baird) Davis died in 1883, and he married Miss Belle Pemberton.
O. B. Gravat was born in Blount township June 16, 1841. He was a hor- ticulturist and first introduced fruit raising into Blount township. His father was one of the pioneers of this section and entered 320 acres of land at twenty- five cents per acre. This land is worth more than $100 per acre today. When he was a boy he had to go to mill at Perrysville, or Covington, Indiana, and many has been the load of produce he has hauled to Chicago over roads in which there were many sloughs and ponds. When he was twenty-three years
JOHN D. CAMPBELL
MRS. WM. COSSAIRT
WILLIAM J. DAVIS
JOHN W. NEWLON
WILLIAM COSSAIRT
D. B. DOUGLASS
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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY
old he was ordained as a preacher in the Christian church and he has preached more or less, but never has taken a regular charge. Mr. Gravat was one of six children in his father's family. It was always a matter of pride that Mr. Gravat, the father, hauled the lumber to build the first court house in Dan- ville. In 1873, Mr. Gravat married Sarah Chenoweth. Mr. and Mrs. Gravat were the parents of nine children.
William Current was born in Newell township November 27, 1842. He was one of eight children and the eldest. When he was sixteen years old he left home to do for himself. He learned the trade of harnessmaker, but did not work at it. When he had his trade learned he clerked in a dry-goods store for a time. During that time the Civil war was in progress, and in 1864 he could resist no longer but enlisted in the Thirty-seventh Illinois Infantry, Com- pany K, under the command of J. C. Black. After returning to Danville he was in the employ of first the Wabash and then the C. & E. I. Railroad for some time. After he had abandoned the railroads, he went on his father's farm and took charge of it. Miss Margaret Ellsworth became the wife of Mr. Current and the mother of three children. She was one of the daughters of Vermilion County. She died in 1878. Mr. Current married Miss Mary A. Makemson for his second wife. She, too, was a daughter of Vermilion County, having been born in Newell township in 1858. Mr. Current, while living in Danville, was city clerk for one year. After going to Newell township to live, he was sent as supervisor of the township.
James A. Current, who also was born in Vermilion County in 1842, lived in Newell township. When he was married, he began his new life on the old homestead. Mr. Current married Miss Mary Lynch in 1859. They lived on the old homestead until 1872, when he moved to Danville and had a grocery store and butcher shop. In 1872, however, he moved back to farming and has continued it since then. Mr. Current was the father of six children.
Thomas W. Blakeney was the fourth child of a large family of children, and was born in Georgetown township July 19, 1842. He was, like the rest of the family, of great strength and fine personal appearance. He remained about his father's farm until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Illinois Infantry, Company K, under the command of Capt. Cook. While in the battles of Chickamauga and Mis- sionary Ridge he was slightly wounded in the thigh, but it was not a serious wound. While charging up Kenesaw Mountain he was seriously wounded and always afterward carried the five buckshot in his body that he received that day. He made the famous march to the sea with Sherman, and while at Atlanta he was promoted on account of special act of bravery. Mr. Blakeney tried living in the new west after he came from the army, but in due time came back to Vermilion County, where he has since made his home at We ... ville. Mr. Blakeney married Miss Matilda Brooks in 1868. She was the granddaughter of Benjamin Brooks, the early settler whose name was given the point of land upon which he settled. Matilda Brooks was born at Brooks Point, in Vermilion County, the daughter of John Brooks. She was named for her grandmother Brooks. Mr. and Mrs. Blakeney were the parents of three children, but one of which lived past infancy.
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George Canaday, was born in Georgetown township November 18, 1842. He was the son of the pioneer who came to this county early in the thirties. He married Miss Mary Jane Smith in 1867. He thought to better his condi- tion by moving west of the Mississippi river in the same year that he was inarried, and he did, entering a good farm in Missouri. They lived on this farm until seven years afterward, when Mrs. Canaday became so homesick they all came back and settled in Vermilion County. At that time, their family included three children. Two more children were born after they came back to Vermilion County, and making the entire family excepting those born in Missouri, sons and daughters of Vermilion County.
November 2, 1842, Ira Babb, was born in the same house in which he spent his life. This house was built by his father in 1830. His life has been spent in general farming and the manufacture of drain tile. He married Minerva E. Canaday in 1882. Mr. Babb made an interesting collection of old-time articles, including an almanac printed in 1829.
John W. Giddings was born in Danville April 21, 1842. His father and mother were both born and reared in England. Mr. Giddings was one of a family of eight children who grew to maturity. He was the oldest son. He remained in his father's employ learning and practicing the trade of carriage painter, until when, in 1862, he went into the service, enlisting for ninety days. After he came home he was sick for a year but again enlisted, in 1864. in the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Illinois Infantry, serving until the fol- lowing fall, when his term of enlistment was over. In 1865 he and his brother Charles, and brother-in-law, Mr. Stewart, formed a company to carry on his father's business. This arrangement continued for four or five years, when he and his brother bought out their brother-in-law, and later he bought out his brother and assumed the entire management of the business. He was a man of shrewd business ideas and his establishment was a pride to Danville. Mr. Giddings married Miss Samantha A. McKee, who was born in George- town. Mrs. Giddings is the daughter of Elijah Abigail (Starr) McKee, and has the blood of the pioneers of Vermilion County in her veins very strong. Her father came to this county in 1838 and settled east of Danville. He was a prominent citizen, being not only an authority in his neighborhood, but had the influence to be elected circuit clerk and holding the office for eight years. Mrs. Gidding's mother was the daughter of Absalom Starr, who was one of the first men to come to Vermilion County. The first deed recorded in the county was that of the property of Absalom Starr. Mr. and Mrs. Gid- dings are of the well esteemed citizens of Danville and live in a handsome house on Hazel street. The other sons of William Giddings all lived in Dan- ville the most of their lives. Some years ago Mr. Charles Giddings moved to Evanston, where their children could be educated at home, but the others all remained in Danville.
William H. Newlin was born in Georgetown September 4, 1842. His father came to Vermilion County in 1832. He married Miss Henderson, and in this way Mr. Newlin is not only the son of one pioneer, but the grandson of an- other. His marriage with Miss Hawes made him yet more closely connected to the early settlers of this section. Mr. Newlin was a volunteer in the Civil
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war, who had more than his share of the hardships of the army. He enlisted in the Seventy-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was in battles and was captured at the battle of Chickamauga, sent to Richmond, smallpox breaking out among the prisoners. Mr. Newlin became a victim and was sent to the hospital. It was then that he and five other soliders made their escape, an account of which is very interesting. Mr. Newlin became a merchant after he returned to Georgetown, and afterward held public office. He married Miss Hawes, the daughter of Dr. Hawes, in 1868. They were the parents of three children.
William H. Mills and his brother Richard Mills were both born in Ver- milion County and have lived their lives here. They have practically lived to- gether, having the same interests. William Mills was born in Elwood town- ship, February 18, 1843. He and his brother Richard, who was two years his junior, took the management of their home farm when they were twelve and ten years old. They had great success, and with all their accomplishments they have been great breeders of Clydesdale horses. William H. Mills mar- ried Miss Anna Woodard in 1879 and afterward went to live on the Holiday farm, which he had bought. The two brothers were the joint owners of nearly 800 acres, and farmed together under the firm name of R. & W. H. Mills. Mr. Richard Mills lives on the old homestead. His mother is yet living there.
Samuel W. Baum, the son of the pioneer, Samuel Baum, and the grand- son of Michael Weaver, was born February 15, 1843. He was the eighth in a family of eleven children, and the first boy. He owns several farms, the homestead including 700 acres. He has been a "cattle man of renown," there being no better stock of short-horns to be found than on his farm. Mr. Baum married Miss Della F. Stewart, who was born in Georgetown. She was edu- cated in that place, coming to the Danville high school when she was sixteen years old.
Francis M. Gundy was born in Ross township, Vermilion County, May 7, 1843. He is a son of Joseph and Sarah (Davison) Gundy. Mr. Gundy be- longs to a family which has been a great factor in the developing of Vermilion County. He married Mary E. Smith, in 1854. They were the parents of three children, two daughters and one son. The son died while yet young. Mr. Gundy began his experience as a merchant in Marshfield, Indiana. He later had an interest in the store in Myersville. Later yet he, in partnership with Mr. A. M. Bushnell, had a general store in Bismarck. He is now the director in banks in which he is interested and is the president of the one in Bismarck. He has kept the old Gundy home place in good shape and preserved the forest trees.
John D. Campbell was born on section 23, Newell township, June 7, 1843. His parents were Joseph and Eliza ( Makesmome) Campbell. His grandfather, Samuel Campbell, was a pioneer of Vermilion County, coming in 1828, and settled on the farm on which John Campbell was born. John Campbell was one of a family of five children, three sons and two daughters. He was the oldest son and the second child. With the exception of a few terms of school that he taught, Mr. Campbell devoted his entire time to farm work. In 1869 John Campbell married Miss Julia Howard, and they were the parents of four
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children. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Campbell married Miss Mary K. Barger. She was born in Newell township October 26, 1861. She became the mother of three children. Mr. Campbell has had a very successful life.
Charles Snider was born in Blount township December 15, 1843. His parents were John and Mary (Blount) Snider. His grandfather was the man for whom the township was named. He has been distinguished as being in- terested in horticulture. He was eighteen years old when he enlisted in the service of his country. He enlisted in Company D, Thirty-fifth Illinois In- fantry, under Capt. Timmons and Col. Chandler. At the close of the war Mr. Snider again took up farming and stock raising. He married Miss Mar- garet Allhands in 1845. They were the parents of nine children, all of whom, excepting one son, died while yet young, although only two died in infancy.
Joseph Col Vance was born in Oakwood township June 2, 1844. His parents were John W. and Deziah (Rathborn) Vance. He was one of a family of two children, his sister being the wife of Samuel Tilton of Catlin. He was a soldier in the Civil war and has held several offices during his life. In 1869 Mr. Vance married Miss Lydia E. Mathewman, and they have been the parents of six children.
John W. Bandy was born in Danville April 8, 1844. His father was Wil- liam Bandy, one of the prominent pioneers of Vermilion County, and his mother was the sister of J. H. Murphey, another pioneer. Mr. Bandy was one of seven children of William Bandy. He spent his first five years on a farm, after which he always lived in Danville. He entered the office of the Danville Plaindealer, of which Mr. Leslie was then editor, and remained there until 1864. He then went into the office of Dr. Humphreys, where he read medicine and practiced a little. Mr. Bandy afterward became a druggist, in which business he continued as long as his health would permit, since which time he has been retired. Mr. Bandy has accumulated much valuable prop- erty. He was married twice and has one son. Of the large family of Mr. William Bandy, Mr. John Bandy and his sister Emma are the only ones left. Mr. Bennett Bandy, another brother, was a very prominent citizen of Dan- ville during many years until his death in about 1904. The family of children were all born in Vermilion County.
Amos Cook was born in Vermilion County, in Elwood township, Decem- ber 15, 1845. His father was Daniel Cook, and his mother was Hannah Hes- ter, the daughter of Thomas Hester, also a pioneer of eastern Illinois. Mr. Amos Cook, the son, married Maria Haworth, a prominent member of the Society of Friends. He never lived outside of Elwood township.
Thomas Haworth was born in Elwood township July 12, 1845. He was the son of Joel Haworth, who came to Vermilion County as early as 1825. Mr. Haworth died July 12, 1885.
James Barnett, another son of Vermilion County, was born April 1, 1845. In 1874 he married Miss Lucinda Martin. They are the parents of five chil- dren. In 1878 they moved to Kansas on account of the health of Mrs. Bar- nett. After a while the land in Kansas rose in value and they concluded to dispose of it and return to Vermilion County. They have been citizens of the section ever since.
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George Prather was born March 15, 1845, on a farm in Ross township. His father was Uriah Prather. In 1862 he enlisted in the service of his coun- try. His term of enlistment was for about one hundred days. At the end of that time he was mustered out. Mr. Prather married Cynthia A. Beebe in 1887. They were the parents of three children.
David Meade was born in Newtown, October 4, 1845. He was the son of .William Meade and the grandson of Nathaniel Meade. He lived through his youth in Oakwood township, going to school in the schools of the day. He early became a school teacher and taught in Oakwood township and in Vermilion County, Indiana, through the most of his life. He taught school in Eugene, Indiana, with great success. He was there in the capacity of school teacher for nine years. In 1881 he went into the Danville schools as prin- cipal of the Douglas building. He remained in the schools of that place for fourteen years, a part of this time as principal of the Franklin school. The year after he was in the Danville schools he was principal of the township high school at Perrysville. When he gave up school teaching, Mr. Meade took charge of his farm northwest of Danville. He also has a farm in Wayne County, Illinois. Mr. Meade married Miss Lucy Hosford in 1873. They are the parents of four children.
John Spouls was born February 26, 1845, on the farm on which he spent his life. He was but a baby when his father fell from a horse and met his death. He grew up on the farm, and when he married he and his brother divided the farm and he took the south half. He has increased his portion from time to time, making much profit from feeding and selling fine cattle.
Martin J. Barger, at present the governor of the Danville Branch of the Home for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors, is a son of Vermilion County. He was born February 11, 1845, in Newell township. He was the son of William J. Barger. His father died when he was quite young, and his mother mar- ried again. Upon this he left home and apprenticed himself to the shoemaker's trade. He did not work at this trade, however. When the war broke out, he determined to enlist, although he was but sixteen years old. He made appli- cation to Capt. Mckibben, but was laughed at. Nothing daunted, he followed the soldiers to Springfield and thence along until they had reached Cape Girar- deau. At every place he insisted on enlisting and was everywhere laughed at, for there were plenty of men ready to go into the service and he was a boy, who looked even younger than he was. He had attached himself to the Twen- ty-fifth Illinois regiment without enlisting, and gone with them as far as For- sythe, Missouri, where he made one more appeal to Capt. Wall of Company B, and was told it was no use, that he would die in a few days. He insisted on following the army whether they would let him or not, and they gave him an outfit and a suit of clothing. In about a week the army was in motion for Batesville, Arkansas. The boy started with them and the first day he kept up; the second day he did not get into camp with his command, and the third day did not arrive until late at night, and the fourth day he lost sight of the army. He had a little money and could get his meals along the way and make in- quiries of directions. He camped out at night and moved forward footsore and weary and went into Batesville but a little behind the army. When he was
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first seen the cheers rang out long and strong. He had not been seen for a week, and everyone thought him either captured or dead. When the time came to pay off the army he was asked if he wanted pay. "If you think I will make a soldier," he answered. "O, you'll do," was the answer, and the boy was given the payroll to sign, and he was legally a soldier. He was wounded at the battle of Chickamauga and taken prisoner. He was held about ten days and then paroled. He was not exchanged until the next summer. He re- mained with his regiment until he was exchanged, but not doing duty. He was discharged in March, 1865. His wound was of such a nature as to in- capacitate him for hard work, and he draws a pension. He has held public office often in his life and has been one of the officers of the Home since its being established here. When Governor Clements died and made a vacancy, Mr. Barger naturally succeeded him, having been his assistant for some time previous to this time.
John Goodwine, Jr., familiarly known as "Jack," was born December 2, 1848, on a farm not far from Potomac. In December, 1870, Mr. Goodwine married Miss Mary K. Alexander, who also was born in Vermilion County. Mrs. Goodwine did not live but two years after her marriage, however. After her death Mr. Goodwine went west to Colorado. He returned and again took up his farm life. Mr. Goodwine was married the second time to Miss Lane. They have been the parents of a large family of children, all but one of whom have lived to grow to maturity. He had one daughter as the child of his first wife. She became the wife of L. D. Lane, a farmer of Vermilion County.
Thomas Watson is a son of Vermilion County, born February 18, 1846, near Danville, a son of John R. Watson, who came to this county from Ken- tucky in 1829. Mr. Watson married Miss Sarah E. Adams, herself born in Vermilion County, the daughter of Samuel Adams. Mr. and Mrs. Adams were the parents of five children, all of whom lived to grow up.
Mrs. Julia (Payton) Harper was born in Vance township, Vermilion Coun- ty, Illinois, February 8, 1847. She was the daughter of John M. Payton, and she became the wife of Albert Harper May 29, 1873.
R. Bruce Smith was born in a house at the corner of Main and Franklin streets, in Danville, December 26, 1847. He was the son of Isaac P. Smith. He was conspicuous in different lines from being a clerk in a general store or even before that time, when he sold the LaFayette papers to the citizens after the 10 o'clock P. M. train came. He had two well known sisters, one of whom became Mrs. Kane, and another who became Mrs. Crane. Both of them were very active in church and social duties.
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