USA > Illinois > Vermilion County > History of Vermilion 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 101
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ber, 1807; his mother, Matilda Blackburn, was born on the 4th of March, 180S. Francis M. was born on the 29th of September, 1833, near Cynthia, Kentucky. The Rankins reached their home in this county on the 14th of April, 1834. They lived sixty miles up the Licking River, and two families joined, built a family boat, and came down the rivers and up the Wabash to Filson's Ferry. The family lived east of Fairmount ; then four years at Homer. Mr. Rankin, sr., is dead, but his wife is still living. Francis M. stayed on the farm which his father bought in 1845, till he was grown. He moved to Iroquois county and stayed three years, but has been in Vermilion county nearly all his life. He bought the heirs' claims and now owns six hundred and forty acres including the Young farm. He deals largely in stock, feeding from one hundred to two hundred head an- nnally. He was married to Elizabeth Young, daughter of William Young, on the 15th of October, 1865. She was born on the 30th of March, 1842. They have six children : Gertie is the oldest, then come : Montgomery S., Warren W., Francis M., Lyford M., Alta N.
Thomas W. Deakin, deceased. The early settlers pass away, and their places are filled by new and strange men. Their early struggles may be recorded in history, but the facts of a personal character are remembered only by those whose interest can never flag in regard to the dear ones gone before. Mr. Deakin was one of Vermilion's early settlers - one of her persevering pioneers. He was born in Warren county, Ohio, on the 2d of August, 1811. His father died when the son was quite young. He remained in Ohio on a farm until 1835, when he came to this county with his brother John Q. His first stop- ping point was on the road from Danville to Champaign, on Salt Fork. In 1837 he married Miss Sarah E. Swearingen, who was then living at Hickory Grove, Champaign county. He remained on the same farm until his death. At first he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land, but afterward he began enlarging this territory, until he became the owner of a large property in this section of country. He was also a dealer in stock, trading to a considerable extent. He was a member of the Christian church, and remained a firm believer in its doctrines until his death.
William Mead, a son of Nathaniel Mead, one of the oldest old set- tlers in the western part of the county, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, on the 24th of May, 1822. He remained in Ohio until 1835, when he came with his father's family to Vermilion county. The family stopped at Conkey Town when they first came. William after- ward went to New Town, and from there to Mr. Foster's place. He moved then to Crab Apple Grove, and next to one mile south of
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Fithian. He then came to the farm he now holds on State Road, sontheast of Muncie. He has been here twenty-one years. A portion of his place has been cleared of timber. He married Margaret Tanner on the 16th of November, 1843. She died, and he has married a second time. His children live near him with the exception of one son, who is teaching in Indiana. Mr. Mead has been industrious, and, notwithstanding the hard times, is independent and out of debt.
John MeCarty was born on the 22d of August, 1809, in Virginia. His parents moved to Ohio when he was small. His father was a cooper. Mr. MeCarty was a farmer. He married Miriam Sewell in Clinton county, Ohio. They lived there on a farm about six years and then came west. He came to Salt Fork in 1836. He staid there one year, and then came to where the widow now lives. They were about the first family in this part. Here Mr. McCarty lived until his death, on the 18th of September, 1877. He was school director and a respected citizen in the community for a number of years. He had eleven children, but five only are living; these are James S., George, Alvin N. and two married daughters. Mrs. McCarty is one of the few remaining persons who settled in this neighborhood when the prairies were yet undeveloped wastes, and Stony Creek had no inhabitants but Indians.
Joseph L. Shepherd, farmer, is regarded as one of the most success- ful men on Stony Creek. He was born on the 21st of September, 1825, in Pickaway county, Ohio. His father came to Ohio at a very early date. Joseph L. was the youngest of the family. They came to this county in 1836. Mr. Shepherd put $3,000 into a mill on Salt Fork, but died before the mill began work. He owned four hundred and eighty acres of land. Joseph L. grew up in the neighborhood, and married Louisa Davis in January, 1849. Mr. Shepherd came to the farm where he now lives in 1849, and stopped at the grove at first. He has three children by his first wife. He married Elizabeth Mires in 1861. They have had nine children, four of these are dead ; three died at about the same time with diphtheria, in January, 1879. Mr. Shepherd owns three hundred and twenty-five acres of land at home place, eighty acres near Fairmount, and fifty-eight acres of timber land. His frugality and economy have made him independent.
J. C. Stearns, a son of Seneca Stearns, came to this county with the family in 1836. He was born in Clinton county, Ohio, on the 5th of August, 1835. He grew to manhood on the farm still occupied by his father. He worked at the carpenter's trade for five years. He was married on the 4th of December, 1861, to Susan Snyder, of Mont- gomery county, Indiana. They set up on the farm of Wm. MeBroom.
HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.
After short residences in various places, he bought land on the State Road, southeast of Muncie, where he has continued to reside ever since. He now has one hundred and forty-five acres of good farming land. He has been here since 1866. . Although comparatively a young man, Mr. Stearns can well remember the time when this country was yet in a state of almost uncivilized wildness.
James H. West was born on the 15th of March, 1822. His father was Michael West, who was a native of Maryland, but afterward went to Kentucky, and then to Clark county, Ohio. From Clark county, Ohio, the family came to Vermilion county, Illinois, in January, 1838. The elder Mr. West rented a farm of James Norris, one mile south of Oakwood station. James was brought up on his father's farm in Ohio, and lived in the family in this county till grown. He then went to Ohio, and took part in the campaign of 1840. He came back to Illi- nois, and went to New Orleans, and from there across to Havana, Cuba, with a load of produce, which he sold to the inhabitants at a good profit. He went to New Orleans a second time, and in 1844-5 was engaged in driving beef cattle to New York city. In 1846 he went to Wisconsin, and from this date till 1850 dealt in horse and cattle trade to Wisconsin. In 1849 Mr. West was married to Eliza V. McGee, of this county. He then lived two years in Champaign county. After this he moved to Middle Fork. He came to the place where he now lives in 1867. Here he owns two hundred and forty acres of land. He has seven children living and three dead. Mr. West was elected super- visor in Pilot township in 1866, and served two terms; then elected justice of the peace in Oakwood for two years; he then served as supervisor for Oakwood for four years. He has always held office of some kind. He has also been successful in business.
John M. Havard, farmer, is yet comparatively young, but he is an old settler of Vermilion county. He was born in New York city, on the 31st of May, 1833. His father was from Wales. He was a farmer, and came to this country on account of the opening it presented for any who wished to make a living. Mr. Havard, jr., was brought up on a farm. His parents came to Ohio and stayed four years. They then came to this county, in January, 1838. He stopped on section 25, town 19 north, range 14 west. He had been out in 1834 and bought land; he came on foot. He stayed on this farm until his death, on the 9th of August, 1859. Mr. Havard, jr., stayed in this neighborhood till he was twenty years old. His father bought the William Parris place, and the son and daughter came to it, where they kept together until a short time before her death, which occurred in May, 1872, from con- sumption. Then Mr. Havard kept tenants, and "bached " for five
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years. He married Sarah E. Richter on the 29th of September, 1870. He still lives in the house that William Parris moved from Salt Fork- eight miles-thirty-two years ago. Mr. Havard has eighty acres on his home place, and one hundred and sixty acres one half mile north. He has four children. He is proud of anything he may have done for the support of our country, believing that patriotism is one of the first principles of a trne manhood. He received his education in the log school-house, and although fourteen months is all the schooling he received from the age of six to seventeen years, yet he is a man who delights in books and reading.
Capt. Levin Vinson is well known and much respected by the peo- ple of Oakwood township, both on account of his honesty and integrity as a man, and for the services he has rendered his country. He was born in Parke county, Indiana, on the 20th of February, 1829. He was brought up a farmer. He came to Vermilion with his father in 1840. They came to the same farm that the Captain now owns. Mr. Vinson has been a large land-holder, but sold off recently. He married Nao- mia Ligget in September, 1850. He is a member of the A.F. & A.M. lodge at New Town. Mr. Vinson went out with the 125th Reg., as captain of Co. I. He led the company till they started with Sherman to the sea. His health failed, and he resigned in March, 1863. He came home and remained.
Isaac K. Cannon, Oakwood, farmer, is known as one of the neatest corn-producers of the township and of the county, so far as we have learned. He is an old man, but we found him plowing away in the warm weather, like a young man just beginning in life. Mr. Cannon was born in Delaware on the 15th of February, 1817. His father was a farmer, and the son staid there till he was twenty-six years old. He then came to Ross county, Ohio, and staid about two years on Deer Creek. He came to New Town in 1845. He lived four years near this place, then about two miles west, four years, and then moved to a large farm one and a half miles northwest. This belonged to Mr. Campbell. He then moved to Mr. Craig's place, and staid twelve years; then to the place where he now lives. After staying here five years he tried keeping boarders in Fithian for thirteen months. From Fithian he went back to the farm, and still lives there. He bought one hundred and sixty acres of land first, and then eighty. He now owns one hundred and eighty-seven and a half acres, having given his son a piece. Mr. Cannon married Eliza J. Brown on the 15th of March, 1838. They have had eight children ; six are living, five sons and one daughter.
William Hart, Oakwood, deceased, was one of those brave men who
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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.
sacrificed their lives for the sake of their country. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 20th of February, 1832, but his father soon moved to the country, and William was brought up on a farm. He came to Vermilion county with his parents in 1845. He improved the farm where his mother still lives. In 1862 he volunteered in the 125th Ill. Inf., Co. G. He went out as a private, but was soon appointed sergeant, and afterward second lieutenant. He was in the Perryville fight, October 8, 1862, but took sick afterward, and died of bone ery- sipelas in the hospital at Nashville, Tennessee, on the 2d of April, 1863. His body was sent home by the captain, and interred in the cemetery near the State Road on the south side of the township. Mr. Hart married Sarah E. Dougherty on the 18th of December, 1853. They lived on the home farm till after he went into the army. Since then Mrs. Hart has bought a small farm just north of Fithian, and kept her children there. The youngest was born after the death of his father. Although sixteen long years have passed since the death of the husband and father, his deeds still live, and his memory will ever be cherished, not only by the family, but by all who honor patri- otism.
S. H. Oakwood was born in this county, in Blount township. He is a grandson of the original Henry Oakwood. He was brought up on a farm. He began teaching at the age of twenty. He taught and farmed for five years, and then went into the drug business in New Town in the spring of 1875. He has been postmaster since January 1, 1879. He was married in September, 1878, to Laura Bennett, of Georgetown. He is a member of the New Town Lodge of A.F. & A. M., and also a R.A.M. of the Danville Chapter.
John R. Thompson now lives on the farm first settled by William Smith in 1830. This is one of the oldest settled farms in southwest part of Oakwood township. Mr. Thompson was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, on the 12th of April, 1830. He remained there till grown. He then came to the western part of Vermilion county. He came with a drove of sheep, and continued in the business for six years afterward. During this time he often took sheep to Chicago, and herded them where the main part of the city is now located. He went to farming about 1857. He was on the Boswell farm two years, and also two years on another east of his present residence. He then bought one hundred and sixty acres, and improved it, but sold again, and bought two hundred acres in another place. This latter was known as the David Wright farm. He sold again, and bought six hundred acres where he now lives. He has operated this since 1865. His family have been in Danville three years, but are now on the farm
WILLIAM C. HARRISON.
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again, with the exception of the eldest son, who graduated from the Danville high school in the class of '79. Mr. Thompson was married on the 26th of November, 1856, to Elizabeth Wright, daughter of David Wright. They have nine children.
Stephen Brothers was born in Carroll county, Ohio, on the 25th of September, 1829. His father was a farmer, and brought up his son in the same calling. Mr. Brothers also followed blacksmithing. He came to Vermilion in March, 1851. He came to Bloomfield, and then to Danville, where he worked as a smith. He afterward went back to Ohio, and then to New York, but came back to Illinois. He has also been in Nebraska four years. He married Mary Hall on the 14th of May, 1857. They have two sons. Mr. Brothers is a member of the Methodist church, and was a class-leader in Nebraska. Mr. Brothers was in Co. I, under Capt. Vinson. He was second lieutenant. At the battle of Perryville he was knocked over by a shell, but not seriously hurt. He resigned his commission in April, 1863.
George A. Fox has been more closely identified with the local pol- ities of Oakwood township than any man we have met. He was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, on the 28th of February, 1823. His father was a brick and stone mason. Mr. Fox was taught farming, and remained in his native county till the 2d of May, 1853. He reached the neighborhood where he now lives, on the 9th of July, 1853. In 1854 he bought two hundred and forty acres of land where he now lives. On the 9th of November he married Margaret Oakwood. She was the youngest daughter of Henry Oakwood. They have six chil- dren living; one is a graduate of the Danville Business College and another is teaching. Mr. Fox was elected J.P. in 1856, and served in that capacity till 1870; he was supervisor for four years, 1866- 69; he was the first supervisor from this township. In Vance town- ship he was assessor and collector for three years, 1859-61. He has been school director sixteen years; was first elected in 1858. He was also school trustee for three years. In 1868 he got every vote but one for supervisor. He has been a member of the M. E. church since the 3d of January, 1851. He has been class-leader for a number of years. He is steward and trustee at the present time for Finley Chapel.
Richard A. Friedrich, although not one of the oldest settlers of the township, is one of the first inhabitants of the prairie where he now lives, and is well known throughout the county. He was born in Saxony, Germany, on the 15th of August, 1830. He was brought up on the Hartz Mountains. He went to school all the time he lived in Germany. He came to New York on the 1st of December, 1848:
55
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went to Prince William county, Virginia, and staid five years, coming to Vermilion county on the 12th of June, 1853, and settling just be- low the Gorman school-honse ; he entered a quarter-section there. He moved to where he now lives, three miles north of Fithian, in the spring of 1867. He has been here ever since. He was married to Permelia Allhands on the 6th of August, 1854. They have had ten children. Mr. Friedrich owns eighty acres of land where he lives. He was collector in 1870, '71 and '72, and in '74 and '75 was assessor and collector, and in '77 and '78 was supervisor. He has been school treasurer for this township for the last ten years.
George Boord, deceased. "They live. Although the individual life has lost its identity, its value can never be lost. The nation's life is not composed alone of those who live, but of the many sacred offer- ings that have been laid upon her altars." George Boord was born in Warren county, Ohio, on the 27th of June, 1826. His father was a brick-mason and farmer. Mr. Boord was brought up on a farm. He remained in Ohio six or seven years, and then came to near Covington, Indiana. He came to where his widow now lives in 1854. He mar- ried, on the 9th of September, 1847, Sarah A. Bowling. She was a daughter of one of the earliest settlers of Covington. Mr. Boord en- tered one hundred and sixty acres of land, but the widow has sold twenty of it since. Mr. Boord was a member of the 125th Reg., Co. C; was with the regiment as they marched to Nashville. This broke his health ; he was transferred to the invalid corps and then to a camp in southern Indiana. He then went to Camp Dennison and was sick for some time. Mrs. Boord got word that he was worse, and went to see him immediately. She reached Columbus, and out to Camp Chase, thinking to find him, but he was dead and buried when she got there. He died on the 5th of November, 1863; his remains rest in the cem- etery at Columbus, where the names of many soldiers are inscribed on a suitable monument. There are four children living : Alphens E., Martha A., Elijah J. and Ida May. Martha is married to Joseph Fisher. The other three are at home. Mr. Boord was a member of the Christian church fifteen years, and died firm in the faith and happy in the hope of life to come.
Joseph Truax, Oakwood, farmer, was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, on the 25th of July, 1838. He came to this county in 1854; he stopped first east of Pilot Grove. He married a daughter of Eli Hel. mick. He went into the army in the 125th; he came out captain ; he was all through the thickest of the struggle. He now lives on his farm south of Oakwood Station. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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William B. Dolph was born in Indiana on the 17th of September, 1853. He came to this county with his parents in 1854. His father is a farmer, and W. B. was brought up on a farm till sixteen years old. He then attended school at the Champaign Commercial College. He was married in 1875 to Mary Corwin. They have two children. They now live in Oakwood Station.
Sanford S. Dickson, merchant, was born in the south part of this county, on the 22d of July, 1855. His father was Simon A. Diekson. He moved about with his father until the latter went into the army ; then the mother and children went to Indiana and staid three years. They again moved to the farm and Mrs. Diekson married Dr. Smith. From the age of sixteen Mr. Dickson managed for himself. After two years he went into the store of J. Littler, at Fithian. J. A. Cowles bought Littler out and Mr. D. became partner on the 1st of January, 1877, and then moved to Muncie. The firm is J. A. Cowles & Co. Mr. D. was married on the 29th of January, 1879, to Frances O. Selby. Mr. D. is now the postmaster at Muncie.
John E. Thompson, farmer, was born in Clarke county, Ohio, on the 5th of March, 1824. His father was a farmer, and brought up his son in the hardy culture of the soil. Mr. Thompson came to Edgar county first, and then to Vermilion county, in 1856. He came at that time to the place where he now lives. He married Sarah E. Simpkins on the 7th of June, 1849. They have had six children, but four only are living, three sons and one daughter. The daughter married J. F. Funk. One son went to Colorado. Mr. Thompson owns eighty aeres of land, and farms much more. He is a member of the Fithian Lodge of I.O.O.F., and a man much respected in the community in which he lives.
James H. Black, farmer. We were directed to Mr. Black for the facts in regard to the early history of this country. It certainly was fortunate, for few men are better acquainted with the early history than he. He was among the first to venture on these prairies, and has lived to see their development in a marvelous way. Mr. Black was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, on the 6th of January, 1814. His father was a farmer, and was born in the same county. His father came to Indiana while that was yet a territory, to where Wayne county now is. This was in 1814 or 1815. The family came to Warren county in 1822 or 1823. At that time they had to go south to mill about sixty miles. Mr. Black, jr., remained in this neighborhood till 1856. Then he came to where he now lives. He bought two hundred and forty acres of land, and has lived here ever since. He was married in 1834 to Eliza Ann Odell, a native of New York. They had seven boys and
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three girls,-only two sons and two daughters now living. Four of the boys were in the army. Two of them died there. They also had a son cruelly murdered in the state of Kansas by a man who got into difficulty with him in regard to some land. Mr. Black has divided up his land among his children, and kept only eighty acres for his home- stead. John Black. father of James H., was born in Kentucky about 1785. He lived in Kentucky till he had four children, and then came west. After moving, as noted above, he came to Mound Prairie in 1822 or 1823. His was the third house there. The first on that prai- rie was John A. Lewins, who had come in the spring of the same year. Thomas Cunningham had entered the land previously, and came on with his family soon after. Mr. Lewins' family arrived, and then in the fall of the same year came Mr. Black. Mr. Black also maintains that the first man at Perrysville was Jacob Andrix. Soon afterward came George Hicks, who came in west of Perrysville. Mr. Andrix's house was on the Indian trail from Fort Harrison to Tippecanoe.
John McFarland is known as one of the best farmers of Oakwood township. His farm shows the hand of a careful manager, and his purse feels the weight of successful farming. Mr. McFarland was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, on the 25th of May, 1821. His father moved to Ohio while John was young. They lived in Marion and Belmont counties. Mr. McFarland married Rachel S. Oxford in Perrys- ville, Indiana, in 1849. They had four children. Mrs. McFarland died, and he came to Illinois. In the spring of 1856 he married the widow of Aaron Dalbey. They have four children. Mr. McFarland now owns three hundred and twelve acres of land, including the orig- inal farm of Aaron Dalbey.
Abraham Illk is a native of Germany. He was born in Wurtem- berg on the 2d of February, 1835. His father was one of the princi- pal taxpayers of that country. Abraham went to school till fourteen years old, and then worked in his father's vineyard. He came to New York in 1853. He says that Illinois has the best reputation in Ger- many, so he came to Chicago. After working in several places he came east of Homer, and worked on the T. W. & W. R. R., and lost his work. He came to the place where he now lives, and bought first forty acres. Since he has added to his forty till it is one hundred and ninety-three acres. He was married to Catharine Ford in 1857. They have eight children. The eldest, Julia, is now teaching.
H. C. Wright, farmer, was born in this county. He owns one hun- dred and twenty acres of land in the east end of Oakwood township. His father was one of the first in this neighborhood. Thomas N. was the father's name. He owned considerable land in here. He has been
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dead some years. H. C. lives with his mother, and they operate the place.
John G. Kirsh was born in Bavaria, Germany, on the 18th of Octo- ber, 1837. Like all German children, he attended school till fourteen years old. He left the Fatherland at the age of sixteen, and reached New York in August, 1853. He worked at Terre Haute and Indian- apolis in hotels. At Covington he learned the carpenter trade. He came to Danville in 1857 and worked at his trade. In 1858 he married Eliza J. Kinney and came to the country. They had one child. He then went into the United States army, in Co. I, Capt. Vinson, 125th Inf. He was with the regiment in the fight at Perryville, on the 8th of October. He was left, sick, at Bowling Green, Kentucky, but joined the regiment at Nashville, in February, 1863. He was with the regiment until after the battle of Mission Ridge, but was then detailed to guard a Union man's property, first by Harman, and then by J. C. Davis. He joined the regiment again near Atlanta, and went with it to Savannah. When the army started to join Grant in the north, Mr. Kirsh was captured. He had gone out with a small foraging party, and they were lost and then captured. The first night afterward he and three others escaped, and traveled for some time, nearly reaching the command, but were re-captured and taken to Augusta, and then to Macon, and afterward to Andersonville. Mr. Kirsh was in the terrible prison three months. He more than substantiates all the terrible stories we ever heard about the den. Mr. Kirsh, with others, was taken to Jacksonville and liberated at the close of the war. He was reported dead at one time, but he finally reached Springfield, and was mustered ont. After the war Mr. Kirsh was married to Mrs. Arm- strong, whose husband was killed at the battle of Shiloh.
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