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 73
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William Hilyard, Ridge Farm, farmer, section 21, was born in Greene county, Ohio, on the 24th of October, 1842. He was raised to the occupation of a farmer, which he has followed through life. Mr. Hilyard enlisted in the late war and went forward to battle for the Union. He enlisted first, in 1861, in Co. A, 25th Ill. Vol. Inf., and was in the battles of Pea Ridge, Corinth, and many others. He served three years and four months. He enlisted, in 1865, in Co. E,-150th Ill. Vol. Inf., as sergeant, and was soon after promoted to first-lieutenant. Mr. Hilyard was married on the 8th of December, 1868, to Mary E. Wall. She was born in this county in 1846. They are the parents of four children : Joseph T. and Sam. The deceased are Rufus W. and one infant. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, and his mother, of Ohio. He is a republican. He and his wife both belong to the Cumberland church. He owns one hundred and sixty acres, worth sixty dollars per acre, fifty acres of which is timber.
William P. Reynolds, Georgetown, farmer, section 3, was raised to the occupation of a farmer, and also learned the trade of a mechanic, at which he has worked at intervals through life. He was married on the 9th of April, 1868, to Angeline Holladay. They are the parents of two children : Addison, born on the 27th of February, 1870, and Ma- nervie, born on the 28th of August, 1877. His parents were natives of North Carolina. Mrs. Reynolds' parents were natives of North Caro- lina and Tennessee. He owns one hundred and twenty-two acres of land, worth $50 per acre.
Rev. S. H. Whitlock, Ridge Farm, minister of the gospel, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, on the 27th of April, 1836, and at the age of eighteen learned the car- penter trade, at which he continued until 1863. He commenced pre- paring for the ministry, and became a member of the Illinois conference in 1868, since which time he has been constantly engaged in the min- istry, having charge of a circuit. Mr. Whitlock is a minister of no small degree of ability. He makes a good impression wherever he preaches. He has charge, at present, of the Ridge Farm eirenit. Mr. Whitlock was married on the 20th of January, 1860, to Mariah J. Hor- ton, who was born in Miami county, Ohio, on the 25th of April, 1842. They have by this union three children : Minnie, born on the 29th of October, 1860; Ward B., born on the 18th of June, 1862, and Mabel, born on the 24th of August, 1869. Mr. Whitlock has two brothers who are ministers. His political views are republican.
A. A. Sulcer, Ridge Farm, physician, was born in Butler county, Ohio, on the 28th of February, 1839, and remained on the farm until eighteen years of age, at which time he commenced the study of medi-
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eine. He attended Rush Medical College two terms, at the expiration of which time he received a diploma for the practice of medicine. He was assistant surgeon in the 113th Ill. Vol. Inf. three years, where he had occasion frequently to perform amputations both of the upper and lower extremities. He came back from the army and practiced in Catlin a few months; then went to Danville and there practiced three years. He came to the Ridge in 1869, where he has been practicing since. Mr. Suleer has had an extensive practice, attended with remark- able good success. He was married on the 12th of January, 1870, to Mary J. Duncan, who was born in this county. The Doctor is a repub- lican, and in his religious views he is a liberal. Mrs. Sulcer is a mem- ber of the Friends church.
J. H. Banta, Ridge Farm, grain merchant, owns ten lots in Ridge Farm, four of which have good dwellings on ; also owns a half interest in the mill in Ridge Farm. He was born in Boone county, Kentucky, on the 14th of August, 1831, and spent his early days on a farm. He came to this state in 1852, and settled in this county. He farmed until 1869, at which time he came to Ridge Farm and opened a dry-goods store in connection with J. Darnall, for eighteen months. He con- tinned merchandising until the fall of 1872, when he commenced buy- ing grain, in which business he has been actively engaged since. In 1872 he built the elevator. He is at present in partnership with A. B. Whinrey ; is a thorough business man. Mr. Banta has in his possession a very ancient relic, in shape of a shot-pouch, an article which his grandfather, who came from Prussia, carried. Mr. Banta was married in Kentucky, in 1851, to Mary J. Russell, who was born in this state in 1831. They have had eight children, seven living: James A., Nancy E., William F., Margaret E., Anna, Andrew J., and John H. The deceased was Sally. He is a charter member of the Masons. His political views are democratic, and in religion he is liberal.
John Bolden, Ridge Farm, blacksmith, was born in Kentucky, on the 3d of March, 1836, and learned the blacksmith trade when young. He was married on the 6th of February, 1865. His wife was born in Montgomery county, Virginia, in 1846. They are the parents of seven children, four living: Laura A., Girdner C. G., Vinna A. and John H. W. The deceased were Manena J., Charley E. and Dealy. He came to this state in 1870, and settled in Ridge Farm. He has here established a good reputation as an honest workman and good citizen, and is well respected by all. He owns two town lots in Ridge Farm, on one of which is a dwelling, and also a half interest in a blacksmith shop and lot. This property he has earned by his hard labor, having
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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.
been a slave until the Emancipation Proclamation, and worked all his early days for his master, under the unjust institution of slavery.
Abraham Holaday, Ridge Farm, physician, was born in Parke county, Indiana, on the 2d of March, 1833, and followed the occupation of a farmer until twenty-six years of age. He attended the Academy at Bloomingdale under Professor Hobbs for four years, the Rush Medical College two sessions, and the Long Island College during regular course, when he received a diploma for the practice of medicine. He commenced the practice in 1862, and has followed his profession con- stantly ever since. He came to Ridge Farm, his present location, in 1870. The Doctor has had a good practice, and it has been attended with excellent success. He has been twice married : first on the 21st of October, 1857, to Agatha Outland, who was born in 1839, and is now deceased. Mr. Holaday was then married, in 1862, to Martha Henderson, who was born in Vermilion county, this state, February, 1839. They had by this union nine children, seven living : Effie E., Mary A. Sarkie, Myrtilla M., Samuel A., Anna B., William and Thomas. The name of the deceased is Adaline. The Doctor is an Odd Fellow and a Freemason. He is a republican, and his religious views are liberal.
G. R. Steele, Ridge Farm, practicing physician, was born in Put- nam county, Ohio, on the 1st of October, 1848, and came to this state in 1861. He settled in Edgar county, and for three years studied medicine under Dr. Miller, of Paris, Edgar county. He attended two courses of lectures at the Miami College, at the expiration of which time he received a diploma for the practice of medicine. Mr. Steele commenced the practice of medicine in Paris in the spring of 1875, and continued one year. He then practiced one year in Fairmount, after which he came to Ridge Farm. The Doctor has had quite an extensive practice attended with good success. He was married on the 21st of October, 1872. His wife was born in Edgar county, this state, on the 17th of October, 1853. Mr. Steele is a member of the A.F. & A.M., and his political views are republican.
John Q. Hoskins, Vermilion Grove, minister of the Friends church, was born in North Carolina in 1829, where he remained until fifteen years of age. He moved, with his parents, to the state of Indiana in 1844, where he resided until 1872. He spent his early days farming, and was ordained a minister of the Friends church in 1868. He has been constantly engaged in the ministry since, and is quite an active laborer in the cause. He is a man of considerable ability as a minister. Mr. Hoskins has been twice married : first in October, 1852, to Serem Siler, now deceased. She was born in Parke county, Indiana, in 1834.
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They had by this union four children, three living: Julia S., Ella, George. The name of the deceased is Laura. Mr. Hoskins was then married, in 1865, to Elizabeth Mendenhall, who was born in Henry county, Indiana, in 1839. They have three children by this union : Charley, Emma and Alice. Mr. Hoskins' parents were natives of North Carolina. He is a republican in politics.
W. N. Barkley, Ridge Farm, telegraph operator and express and freight agent, was born in Edgar county, Illinois, on the 13th of Sep- tember, 1848. His father died when he was but twelve years of age, and he was then left to the care of his mother. He acquired a pretty good education by working on the farm in summer and attending school in the winter. He attended the high school at Westfield, Clark county, this state, for two years, and then the school at Bloomfield, Edgar county. He clerked in a store a short time, and afterward went in partnership with Mr. Boles in a drug store, where he remained two years. After this he went into the dry-goods business, and in eighteen months came to Ridge Farm. In 1872 he went in the lumber trade, starting the first lumber yard in the place. He continued this one year. While in the lumber trade Mr. Barkley learned telegraphy, and was soon after employed as operator at this place, which position he still holds. He is also employed as express and freight agent. HIe has been twice married : first, in 1870, to Sarah Porter, who was born in Edgar county in 1852. They had one child, deceased. Mr. Barkley was then married to Naomi E. Banta in 1874. She was born in this county in 1854. They have by this union two children: Harry C. and Ethel N. He has held the office of collector, town clerk, and is a Freemason, a democrat and a Methodist.
A. P. Saunders. Ridge Farm, general merchandise and grain-dealer, was born in what was then Wirt county, Virginia, on the 7th of April, 1850, and. his father being a farmer, was raised to that occupation until the age of sixteen, at which time he commenced clerking in a store. Although he did not have a good chance to get an education, by occupying leisure hours in home study he managed to acquire sufficient to enable him to carry on business. He came to this state in 1874, and opened out his present general merchandise store in Ridge Farm, where he carries about fifteen hundred dollars' worth of stock. He is doing good business, and is also engaged in the grain trade. Mr. Saunders was married on the 25th of April, 1877, to Ada Lewis, who was born in this state in 1856. He belongs to the A.F. & A.M., and his political views are democratic.
A. W. Mendenhall, Ridge Farm, dentist, was born in Butler county, Ohio, on the 12th of November, 1834, and came to this state in 1877,
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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.
settling in Ridge Farm. He received, while young, a good education, which he has applied in the way of school-teaching, commencing at the age of nineteen years. He has taught about fifteen terms of six months each. Mr. Mendenhall learned the trade of dentistry in 1868. which occupation he has successfully followed since. He is a good workman, as well as a straightforward, upright business man, well respected by all who know him. He has been twice married: first, on the 22d of September, 1858, to Sarah Jay. She was born in 1834, and died in 1873. They had by this union five children, one living: Eva L. The names of the deceased are: Mary, Emma, Alice E. and Anna C. He was then married on the 6th of July, 1876. His wife was born in Indiana on the 23d [of February, 1844. They have by this union one child : William, born on the 10th of May, 1879. Mr. Mendenhall is a republican, and heland his wife both belong to the Friends church.
W. R. Nash, Ridge Farm, physician, was born in Hendricks county, Indiana, on the 12th of May, 1841. His father died when he was but five years old, and his mother, when he was twelve years of age. He followed the occupation of a farmer until the war broke out, when he enlisted, ¿on the 1st of June, 1861, in Co. D, 25th Ill. Vol. Inf., as private, and served three years. He was in the battles of Pea Ridge, Corinth, Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Lookont Mountain, Nashville, and then the one steady fight from Chattanooga to Atlanta, he receiving in all these but a flesh-wound. Soon after the close of the war he commenced the study of medicine : first, under P. T. Cellers, for two years, and then he attended the Surgical Institute at Indian- apolis for two years, and afterward, several different courses of lectures at different colleges. He graduated on the 27th of February. 1877, received a diploma for practicing medicine, and came to the "Ridge" on the 1st of April, 1877, where he has been practicing since. Mr. Nash has been practicing at intervals for several years, meeting with quite an extensive practice. He was married on the 14th of May, 1865, to Ruth J. Coy, who, too, was born in Hendricks county, Indi- ana. They have by this nnion one child : Effie E .. born on the 8th of August, 1866. Both of their parents were natives of Kentucky. He is a republican ; in his religion he is liberal.
Isaac T. Hunt, Long, general merchandise, was born in Parke county, Indiana, on the 30th of March, 1856, and was raised a farmer until the age of seventeen, at which time he commenced clerking in a store. He attended Waverly College for one term, and also the Bloom- ingdale Academy for a time. He is a young man of good habits and good business tact, and we may safely predict for him success in busi- ness. He came to this state in April, 1879, opening out a general
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CATLIN TOWNSHIP.
merchandise store at Bethel, on the state line, in the southeast corner of Vermilion county. He has a good stock of goods, and is doing a good business. Mr. Hunt was married in Indiana on the 1st of June, 1879, to Dora Towell. She was born in Illinois on the 10th of October, 1861. Mr. Hunt is a republican, and is deputy postmaster at Long.
CATLIN TOWNSHIP.
Catlin occupies the center of the southern half of the county, and is bounded on the north by Oakwood and Danville, on the east by Danville and Georgetown, on the south by Georgetown and Carroll, and on the west by Vance townships, and received its name from the station on the railroad, which was named from one of the officers of the road. It embraces all of the north half of town 18, range 12; six sections off' the east side of the north half of town 18, range 13; all but section 19 of the south half of town 19, range 12; four sections out of the southeast corner of town 19, range 13, and a section and a half lying out by itself north of the salt works, which ought to be anchored somewhere, or it is liable to get lost one of these days ; making in all somewhat more than a full congressional township and a quarter. The Salt Fork runs along its northern border, having along its banks a belt of excellent timber, varying from a mile to a mile and a half in width. The "points" made by these elbows of timber ex- tending out into the prairie, chief among which was Butler's Point, were a principal attraction to the early settlers. The old salt works, (which is fully written up in its proper place) drew in the first settlers, which, though not really lying in its present territory, was so close by, that that portion of Catlin township was known first of any locality in the county, and long before Danville was dreamed of. Its first selec- tion by the authorized commission as the proper place for the county seat was not due so much as some suppose to its being the geograph- ical center of the county, for it was not. The county at that time extended to the lake, and its geographical center was not far from the thriving city of Kankakee. While the geographical center of the county, by its present limits, is exactly six miles north of the locality indicated (being on section 21, a little north of the original settlement of Mr. Blount, whose name was given to that township), its selection was made on account of its being central to the population then here, and those whom it was then believed would in future occupy the county. The state road, from Crawfordsville, Indiana, to Decatur,
39
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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.
runs through the town, keeping along where the prairie line broke away from the timber, midway between the railroad and the stream. Along this road on either side are situated some of the finest farms in the town, and which have few superiors in the county. These were of course the first to be brought into cultivation, and it was many years after that those on the prairie south of the railroad were settled. The township was laid off from Danville, Vance, Carroll and Georgetown in 1858. This was after the railroad was built, and after the station had been sometime known as Catlin.
The railroad was one of the first chartered in the state. At the time the legislature thought, -an opinion which the people at large shared, - that all that was necessary to develop the state was to make a liberal shower of railroad charters, and a system of state improve- ments was inaugurated which, for extent, has never been equaled by any state in America. Of the lines which were chartered, this one, known as the "Northern Cross-road," was commenced and considera- ble work done on it before the crash of 1837 stopped all undertakings and burst every financial bubble in the country. This road was act- ually graded from Danville nearly or quite through this town; the abutments were built and the timbers hewn to build the bridges before the company failed and left their contractors unpaid and laborers with- ont a dollar. It was a serions time for the men who had undertaken to do this job. From the height of financial hopes in 1836, when it looked as though every one was going to get rich, and the country develop at once into a great agricultural and commercial empire, to the deep despondency of 1837, when all business stopped and no one could get pay for what he had done, or a hope for anything in the future, with what money there was next to worthless and the state itself bankrupt, was a step from the brightest day to the darkest night. Men who were supposed to be, and who really were, rich yesterday, were bankrupt to-day. The state of Illinois, while it never in fact repudiated its debt, could not provide the interest, and for nineteen years was in default ; yet the entire debt was less than the annual taxes now raised in the state. The Northern Cross railroad got no farther at this end of the route than the grading of a few miles of its road, but from Springfield to the Illinois River was finished, as rail- road builders understood the matter in those days, and a kind of a locomotive was purchased that actually run on the old strap-rail track, drawing a few ears nearly as fast as a hen could run. It fell off into the ditch one day, and the officials seemed to lack the knowledge, or the wish, to put it on the track again and put on a pair of fleet-footed mules to do the locomotive work. The timbers which were hewn for
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CATLIN TOWNSHIP.
bridges were carried off by men to build log houses, and nothing re- mained but a bank of earth and a load of debt. Later, when railroad- building was again revived, a company was formed which built the Great Western road on the same line, using this grade as far as it was made.
Along the southern line of the township is a high elevation of land, which forms the " divide " between the Salt Fork and the Little Ver- milion. All the land of the town sheds toward the Salt Fork, except a small portion on the extreme southern edge. As early as 1850 all the portion north of the railroad had been brought into cultivation ; the Sandusky farm had been improved, and the large brick house at the mound south of the village of Catlin had been built. Following the building of the road, all the land along its line was taken up by eastern speculators, and settlers found it to their advantage to go farther south to get cheaper lands. By 1858 all this land southwest of the station was taken and made into farms.
The point of timber running out into the prairie west of the present village of Catlin was the place of the first settlement, and is historic. It was called Butler's, from James Butler, who was the first settler, and in the course of time the whole settlement came to be known by that name, and continued to be so called until the railroad officials called the name of their station here Catlin.
James Butler came from Vermont in 1820. Before the county was organized it was a part of Edgar county, and the people here at an early day found Paris the most convenient place for trade, and had to go there for their official business. Butler, Elliot, Whiteomb and Woodin were the first to live here, and all performed important parts in the early matters which transpired here. Mrs. Stansbury, who is . now the oldest inhabitant of the township, and whose memory is good in regard to affairs here, has placed the writer under many obligations for valuable information. She says that in publications in regard to early matters, the names of prominent actors have been mixed up. The first county commissioners' courts were held at the house of James Butler, he being one of the commissioners. It was here that the com- mission which had been appointed by the legislature to locate the county seat made its report to the county commissioners, wherein they reported in favor of loeating it on the high bluff south of the salt works. Some persons, who thought the commissioners did not know their business, reported around that folks could never get water up there, and a new commission was appointed, which decided on Danville.
Mrs. Stansbury gives the following circumstantial account of the first marriages which occurred in this county before it was organized,
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HISTORY OF VERMILION COUNTY.
which differs considerably from the published account, but which she knows to be correct. Cyrus Douglas had made up his mind to marry Ruby Bloss, and she was willing, but a troublesome brother-in-law, Mr. Denio, objected. After the plan was well matured, Douglas went to Paris and got the license, and bought a pair of shoes for Ruby, for he objected to marrying her bare-footed, - not that he cared so much about shoes, but he thought a decent regard for public sentiment ought to be maintained, and he hated to have it said that the first girl mar- ried in this community had to go to her own wedding bare footed. He hid the shoes at Mr. Woodin's house, and she got away from her unsus- picious brother-in-law, came to Woodin's, put on her new shoes (her other necessary dry goods were on before coming there), which she de- clared were " a mile too big," and walked to'Squire Treat's, where the ceremony was performed. They then went to Mr. Butler's house. Marcus Snow was married the same day to Annis Butler, and the two newly married couples met at Mr. Butler's that evening. Douglas was a hatter by trade, and went to Yankee Point and commenced business. He and Mr. Snow both bought farms there, and each raised quite a family of children. Mr. Snow and Mrs. Douglas dying a few years since, the relicts of each intermarried, and now live happily at Fairmount.
Asa Elliott, who was the first justice of the peace in the county, came here to live at Butler's Point in 1822. He was a man of good business capacity, and a successful man. It was at his house that the first circuit court was held. The house was situated about one fourth of a mile from the west line of Catlin village. He had a log house, which is now used by Hon. J. H. Oakwood for a stable, and was build- ing a larger one when the court came in on him rather unexpectedly, before it was completed. It stood near where Betty Sandusky now lives. The floor had not yet been placed in, and the attendants on court sat on the floor timbers for seats; there being no cellar under the house, they made very comfortable seats. A story is told, which, it is well to say, lacks confirmation, that Abraham Lincoln, who a few years later than this date was in the habit of practicing in this court, eame along to see how matters were going on, and found the court sitting on one of the sleepers, paring his toe-nails; while standing around (for his legs were too long for him to sit with any comfort on the floor timbers), the bailiff' came in and reported to the court that he had got six of the grand jury securely chained, and the hounds were chasing the others through the adjoining timber. Mr. Lincoln, who had not yet got used to that way of serving processes, climbed up a tree near by, and sat a-straddle of a safe limb until they called off the dogs. James Butler died here, and his son afterward sold the farm to Mr.
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