USA > Illinois > Stephenson County > The History of Stephenson County, Illinois : containing biographical sketches war record statistics portraits of early settlers history of the Northwest, history of Illinois, &c. > Part 69
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Treasurers .- W. Wagenhals, 1867; H. Kline, 1868 ; P. Scheckler, 1869; W. Wagenhals, 1870; W. Potts, 1871; J. Munich, 1872 ; C. Moore, 1873 ; W. Potts, 1874 : W. Sandoe, 1875; James Musser, 1876-80.
Police Magistrate .- William Sandoe, 1877.
Schools .- The first schoolhouse erected in the village occupied a portion of the lot east of the present site of the Luthern Church. In 1860, the school was graded, and in 1874 the present edifice was completed and occupied at a cost of $6,000.
The scholastic curriculum embraces two departments, "primary " and " grammar," employing two teachers and enjoying a daily average attendance of seventy-six pupils. The annual expense attending the support of the schools is about $800.
Lutheran and Reformed Church .- The Lutherans and Reformed Luther- ans occupy the same edifice located on the main street north of the schoolhouse.
The Reformed society was organized May 3, 1851, by Henry Habliston, with twenty-four members, of whom Henry Ault was Elder and John Bower and M. Bolander Deacons.
At a meeting held the same year, it was decided to unite with the Luther- ans to procure the erection of a church edifice, and Daniel Rean, John Bowers and John Wohlford were appointed a Building Committee. The corner-stone was laid in September, 1852, the Revs. G. J. Donmeyer, Daniel Kroh and George Weber officiating, and completed and dedicated September 23, 1855. The church cost $1,900; it is of brick, plainly furnished, supplied with an organ, and possessing a capacity for seating about 200 auditors. The dedicatory services were held by the Revs. G. J. Donmeyer, Daniel Kroh, F. C. Bowman, Aratus Kent and J. P. Decker, and the following Pastors have since served : The Revs. John Hoyman, Henry Knepper, C. G. A. Hulhorst and F. W. Stump.
The congregation numbers about seventy communicants.
The Lutheran branch of the congregation was established about 1847 or 1848, under the auspices of the Rev. G. J. Donmeyer, with a very small congre- gation. Services were first held in a log schoolhouse on the Ault farm in Buck- eye Township. He remained in charge for a number of years, exchanging occasionally with the Rev. Ephraim Miller, of Cedarville, convening for service in the schoolhouse, mill, etc., until the church above mentioned was built, when
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
it was occupied in part with the Lutheran Reformed congregation in accord- ance with the terms of an agreement concluded between the several associations.
The following Pastors have served since the society was established: The Revs. G. J. Donmeyer, Mr. Fahr, Charles Anderson, Mr. Cook, John K. Bloom, J. Stoll, A. B. Niddlesworth, and B. F. Pugh, the present incumbent. The congregation numbers seventv-five worshipers.
The United Brethren Association-Has been in existence in Oneco since 1844. The first services were held in schoolhouses and private residences. The Orangeville Circuit was established in 1856, and in 1857 the present church in the village was erected. It is of brick, 36x50, and cost $2,000. Other churches were subsequenlly erected in the circuit, including Boehm Chapel in 1865, at an expense of $1,700, and St. James' Church in 1870, for which $2,000 was paid.
The association property is valued at $6,500, and the congregation num- bers 200 communicants. The following ministers have served in the circuit : the Revs. Heman Scott, Jeremiah Kenoyer, Samuel Kretsinger, Mr. Frazier, William Dollarhide, Moses Clifton, Mr. Collins, Mr. Henninger, George Schneider, J. Hiestand, Mr. Pope, J. H. Grim, S. Rogers, J. H. Young, C. A. Philipps, J. W. Burd, Mr. Roe, J. Johnson, J. Dodson, W. R. Coursey, A. G. Loomis and O. M. Van Swearingen.
Methodist Church-Organized under the present arrangement October 15, 1875, though the sect had held services in the township for many years prior to that date. The charter members were Benjamin Bower and wife, Mrs. Susan Bennett, Mrs. Sarah Heckman, Mrs. B. J. Parriott, Mrs. J. H. Cook, William and Phœby Frederick, and William Holloway and wife. Services were had semi-monthly, under the pastorate of the Rev. F. B. Hardin, in the German Reformed Church. He was succeeded by the Rev. Bertrand Dickens, under whose incumbency possession of Masonic Hall was obtained and is now in use.
At first, the congregation in the circuit and village was quite small, but in 1876 it began to increase, and has so continued with gratifying frequency to the present time. In October, 1877, the Rev. R. A. Harwood accepted charge of the church, and under his dispensation a new edifice was contracted for, same to be erected of frame at Oneco, to cost $1,100, and be completed September 1, 1880.
There are now 140 members of the congregation in the charge and twenty- eight in the village of Orangeville. The church property, including the par- sonage, is valued at $2,000.
Evangelical Association .- Formerly the Cedarville and Orangeville Cir- cuits were several ; but increase in numbers necessitated a division at various times, the last one occurring in 1870, when Orangeville was made a separate charge. The Orangeville Circuit now includes Orangeville, Fairfield, St. Peter's Church at Clarno, Wis., two appointments in Wayne County and one at Pleasant Hill.
The present congregation was organized at Orangeville some years ago, but the church edifice was not erected until 1880; it having been completed, and dedicated January 18, of that year, and is one of the finest finished and com- modious churches in the county.
The edifice is of frame, 36x52, with a steeple eighty-seven feet high and an auditorium capable of comfortably seating 200 worshipers. It is elaborately frescoed, possessing superior acoustic qualities, furnished with an organ, and desirable in every particular. It cost, complete, $2,500.
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
The following Pastors have served since the Orangeville Circuit became a separate charge: The Rev. J. B. Rife, William Caton, and S. A. Miller, the present incumbent.
The circuit congregation numbers 245 communicants, fifty-two of whom worship in Orangeville, and the church property is valued at $5,000.
Orangeville Lodge, No. 687, A., F. § A. M .- Was chartered October 1, 1872, to the following-named members, though the lodge had been working under a dispensation for some time prior to that date: B. H. Bradshaw, David Jones, James Musser, Benjamin Musser, Charles Musser, I. G. Ermhold, J. K. Bloom, H. W. Bolender, P. Scheckler, William Potts and D. A. Schock. The officers at this time were B. H. Bradshaw, W. M .; David Jones, S. W., and James Musser, J. W.
The order progressed and prospered in wealth and influence, and, in 1876, erected a handsome hall on High street, a decided ornament to the village, and a source of pride to the fraternity and citizens of Orangeville. The hall is of frame, 26x51, two stories high, handsomely finished, and peculiarly adapted to the uses for which it is appropriated. The basement contains a supper-room, equipped with furniture, cooking and table utensils, and is used upon festive occasions. The first floor is occupied for hall purposes, where entertainments, lectures, social and church gatherings are held. It contains a stage, is thoroughly lighted, heated and ventilated, with a capacity for seating an audi- ence of 300. The upper story is devoted to the lodge-room of the organization, and is superior, in point of finish, to many in cities more pretentious. The cost of the building was $2,500.
The present officers are S. R. Pollock, W. M .; C. Musser, S. W .; W. H. Barnes, J. W .; John F. Fink, Secretary ; William E. Eble, Treasurer; P. Rubendall, S. D .; J. S. Hess, J. D., and H. W. Bolander, Tiler.
The present membership includes thirty-one of the craft, and the lodge property is valued at $2,500. Meetings are convened on the first and third Thursdays of each month.
J. R. Scroggs Lodge, No. 372, I. O. O. F .- Was organized October 13, 1868, under a charter issued to A. A. Krape, Thomas Spriggs, Henry Dinges, J. K. Bloom, J. J. Moore and William Sandoe. The officers then were A. A. Krape, N. G .; J. K. Bloom, V. G., and William Sandoe, Secretary.
Since the date of its organization the lodge has prospered deservedly, and now enjoys a membership of sixty-five of the order, with property valued at $2,000.
The present officers are A. Rubendall, N. G .; Charles Worrick, V. G .; J. J. Moore and G. F. Ream, Secretaries, and H. W. Bolender, Treasurer.
Meetings are held weekly, on Saturday evening, in Masonic Hall.
Orangeville Lodge, No. 133, I. O. G. T .- Was first organized in 1867, and, after a few years' combat with the world of intemperance, yielded up the ghost. In the fall of 1877, J. Q. Detwiler, an ardent temperance reformer, labored throughout the county, and effected a re-organization of the society, with a total of twenty-four members, and the following officers : J. Cook, P. W. C. T .; Henry Knepper, W. C. T .; F. W. Stumpf, W. S .; Sarah Scheckler, W. F.S .; Mary Scott, W. T .; Sadie Seidel, W. V. T .; Addie Cook, W. I. G .; C. F. Winchell, W. M .; B. Dickens, Chaplain.
Within three years, the lodge has increased its working force to forty mem- bers, and is otherwise prosperous.
The following are the present officers : B. H. Bradshaw, P. W. C. T .; Sarah Seidel, W. C. T .; Amelia Dorn, W. V. T .; M. E. Bradshaw, W. S .;
1
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
Milton Stites, W. F. S .; Libbie Bower, W. T .; L. Streyfeller, W. M .; Alory Scott, W. I. G .; Mrs. Kate Bowers, W. O. G.
Meetings are held semi-monthly, on Friday evenings, in Masonic Hall.
In addition to the societies which convene in Masonic Hall, its occupation is granted, on the first and third Saturday afternoons, to Excelsior Grange, No. 109, Patrons of Husbandry, which was chartered January 21, 1873, and now has sixty members, with the following officers : Daniel Musser, Master ; Franklin Ream, Overseer; Charles Cadwell, Secretary ; Reuben Bobb, Treas- urer ; and Charles Cadwell, Chaplain.
Orangeville Flour Mills .- The first mills erected in the immediate vicinity of Orangeville, were put up by John M. Curtis, at a date long before the now flourishing village was conceived in the brain of its founder. In 1838, Mr. Curtis "rigged" a very primitive dam on the opposite side of Richland Creek, near the foot of what is now known as High street, and built a mill supplied with one run of stones, and machinery for sawing purposes. He worked this industry successfully until his death; which occurred along in the forties, when they remained idle until John Bowers purchased the establishment and prepared to lay out the village.
In 1850, after Orangeville had been surveyed and began to be populated, Mr. Bowers razed the old structure, and from its ruins erected the present handsome building on the village side of the creek, at a cost of $8,000. The premises are of frame, 40x60, three and a half stories high, provided with three run of stone, and capable of grinding 200 bushels of wheat daily.
The tight times of 1857 caused a suspension of operations about the mills for a temporary period, and, in 1859, they passed into the hands of Messrs. Hefty, Legner & Co., who conducted them for seven years, when they sold to E. T. Moore & Co., the present owners, for $12,000.
In 1868, Moore & Co. reconstructed the saw-mill, located it north of the flour-mill, and refitted it with new machinery, the improvements made costing about $1,500, and to-day own one of the most complete establishments of the kind, invaluable to an agricultural community in this section of the State.
Orangeville Creamery-One of the largest and most complete establishments of the kind in the West, was established January 13, 1879, by D. A. Schock and H. W. Bolender, the present proprietors. The buildings consist of a creamery and refrigerator, which were built at a cost of $5,000, supplied with every convenience and detail necessary to a successful carrying-on of the business.
The former is 38x50, containing the manufactory, cooler and other depart- ments. The butter is manufactured by steam-power, and the process is somewhat interesting. The cream is first put in vats of a capacity of 260 pounds each and raised to a temperature of 60°, when it is thrown into a revolving churn and moved so rapidly that in forty minutes the raw butter is removed therefrom and placed in the cooling-room. It remains here about twenty-four hours, when it is taken out, worked thoroughly, salted, loaded into firkins and deposited in the refrigerator subject to order. The refrigerator is 24x40, with a capacity for storage of 180,000 pounds of butter in addition to 180 tons of ice, thereby maintaining an equable temperature of 40° all the year round.
The firm manufactures 210 tons of butter annually, or 1,400 pounds daily, requiring 6,000 pounds of cream therefor per day, and furnishing employment to ten hands at a weekly compensation of $100.
The goods are shipped to Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee and the Eastern markets, and command an almost universal demand among dealers.
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
The Cemetery-Was located within the village limits when the same were described in the first instance, and so continued until increasing population compelled its removal to some point remote from the habitations of man. It now occupies a handsome site on the hill overlooking town, the territory em- braced consisting of an acre of ground donated by John Bowers, which is handsomely laid out and appropriately decorated with emblems commemora- tive of the virtues of those who sleep beneath its turf.
Post Office .- This indispensable adjunct to civilization was first estab- lished in 1854. An effort was made the year previous to procure its location at Bowersville, but without results. The year following, however, a change came over the spirit of the Postmaster General's conclusions, who granted the prayer of petitioners in that connection, directed that the name be changed to Orangeville, and appointed William Wagenhals Postmaster. It is now located in one of the first brick houses erected in the village, with facilities for com- municating with the outer world unsurpassed by those of any interior town of similar proportions and importance.
The first marriage to take place after the building of the village was for- mally inaugurated was that of William Wagenhols and Susan Sandoe ; this was in 1848.
Emanuel Shafer, a lad residing with his parents in this village, was bitten by a snake about the same year, and his is recorded as the first death ; while a daughter to Mary and William Chilton is reputed as the first birth.
ONECO.
Along in 1840, Henry Corwith, of Galena, acting on behalf of J. K. Brewster, entered a quarter-section of land on the very spot now occupied in part by Oneco. This village, which is located near the center of the township, was thus laid out and platted with the hope that it in time would become a flourishing depot for prosperity to halt at permanently. Some time after its . survey, the land of which the original tract was composed, excepting about fifteen acres, was sold, and is now occupied by the farm of Samuel Stout. Sub- sequently, two additions were made to the town site by Alonzo Denio, and it now contains a population estimated at one hundred.
School was taught in sight of the village as early as 1843. In 1851, a brick building was erected on Denio's Addition, east of the post office, which was occupied until the completion of the present structure, on the Orangeville road. This was accomplished in 1876, at a cost of $2,000; at present, one teacher is employed, who furnishes education and the attendant concomitants to an aver- age daily attendance of sixty-five pupils. The annual expenses incident to maintaining the school are stated at $500.
The residents of the village and vicinity attend church in Orangeville, but the Methodists are at present erecting an edifice, which will be completed in the fall or winter.
FLORENCE TOWNSHIP.
This township is on the south line of the county, being bounded on the north by Harlem, on the east by Silver Creek, on the south by Carroll County, and on the west by Loran Township. Florence contains exactly the surveyor's township of six miles square. In the whole area, there is about 1,000 acres of woodland, the balance being prairie of the finest description. The timber lies
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
principally on the north side of Yellow Creek, and the country there is very productive. The township is thickly settled, and as well supplied with churches and schools as any in the county.
The first settler to come into Florence was Conrad Van Brocklin, who removed from Western New York in the fall of 1835, and, after taking some time to explore the country, settled with his family on Section 17, in the month of March, 1836. He erected a cabin but a little distance from the resi- dence he subsequently occupied, and opened a farm. For some months he was without neighbors, other than those residing at Craine's Grove and Freeport, and was obliged to procure his supplies from Galena and elsewhere.
In August, 1836, Mason Dimmick emigrated into the neighborhood from Ohio, and settled east-northeast of Van Brocklin. That fall, Otis Love and family came in ; the next summer, Lorenzo Lee followed in the wake of Van Brocklin and the rest, and, in 1837, James Hart settled one mile and a half north of Van Brocklin's. These comprise the men who first settled in Florence and began the building-up of that portion of the county.
During 1838, a number established themselves at Liberty Mills. These were followed by others equally as venturesome and enterprising, including a bachelor named Wickham, William-better known under the pseudonym of " Saw-Log "-Smith, etc., etc. A Mr. Strong came in about 1839, as also did Sheldon and Russell Scovill, and C. K. Ellis. Anson Babcock came in 1839, but returned to New York for his family before he improved his claim. There were others, doubtless, who emigrated to Florence during this year, but their names cannot be recalled. Mr. Strong remained there for some years, but eventually disposed of his property and departed for Lebanon, Ohio, where he united with the Shakers, it is said. Other of the early comers moved to Free- port, one or two joined the Mormons, and, prior to 1850, when there were some sixty families in the township, comparatively few of those who came at an early day remained.
From 1840 to 1845, the number of settlers was larger than it had been from 1835 to 1840. Among these were Elli Ellis, P. T. Ellis, the Sheets family. William Boyer, John Turneauere and others. Improvements were frequent and of a permanent character. Mills were built, and, in place of being obliged to visit Chicago, Galena, Mount Carroll and other points for supplies, the same were obtainable nearer home. Kirkpatrick's mills, at Mill Grove, and Van Valzah's, at Cedarville, were sought for the regular " grist," while "Saw . Log" Smith furnished timber for houses, etc. The mail was procured at Freeport, and the luxuries and amusements of life were more readily accessible than they had been ten years before.
After 1850, the population increased rapidly, and the means of education and cultivation were visibly improved. The first school was opened in about 1840, Miss Flavilla Forbes being the teacher, and James Hart's old log house the "academy." The year 1850 witnessed a material increase in the number of schools and scholars, also an improvement in the system employed. Within ten years thereafter, the Western Union road was completed through the southeastern portion of the township, a station established, and an impetus given to emigration, improvements, schools, churches and social amenities. During the war, Florence contributed volunteers to the army, and in other respects aided in suppressing the rebellion.
The township to-day is among the most fertile in the county, thickly settled by an industrious and educated class of inhabitants, possessing every facility for
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
excellence in any department of life, and a monument to the enterprise, intelli- gence and diligence of the pioneers who first assisted in rescuing the northern portion of Illinois from the wilderness.
The village of Florence is located on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road, eight miles southwest of Freeport. It was established when the station was located there, and, though it has been in existence for upward of twenty years, its proximity to Freeport has prevented its becoming more than a village of very moderate pretensions. The most important building to be seen there is the German Evangelical Church, erected during the summer of 1877, under the direction of Presiding Elder Byers. It is a frame, 30x40, with a steeple seventy-five feet high, and cost, ready for occupation, $2,000. The Rev. John Rife is the Pastor in charge, and services are held once in two weeks, the society numbering about fifteen communicants, though the congregation is very much larger, being made up of farmers and residents for miles around.
The village contains a schoolhouse and about twenty-five houses, which, with the railroad buildings, constitute the improvements made thus far.
LANCASTER TOWNSHIP,
one of the most central townships in the county, was settled first by Ben- jamin Goddard, who came during December, 1835, accompanied by his wife, John Goddard and John Jewell.
The township contains upward of 17,000 acres of improved land, and is well supplied with an abundance of wood and water. Of late years, settlements have been made frequently in Lancaster, and real estate has consequently advanced rapidly in value.
Many of the early settlers became identified with the township and city of Freeport, which was set off from the southeast corner of Lancaster ; others went into Buckeye, Rock Run and other portions of the county subsequently laid out into townships. To Benjamin Goddard, then, with those who accompanied him, belongs the credit of first becoming permanently located in the territory now comprehended in Lancaster Township. For months the only neighbors in the vicinity were William Baker, Levi Robey, the early settlers in Buckeye and Harlem, but none in what is now Lancaster. In 1836, Levi Lucas, Rob- ert Jones and John Hoag visited Lancaster, but, after remaining a brief period only, removed to Buckeye and Rock Run. Subsequently, David Neidigh came in and removed to Buckeye. In 1837 George and Robert Hathaway are reported as settlers making claims about that time on Sections 11 and 32. Elias Macomber is said to have settled in the township in 1838, and during the same year a man named Sedam erected a hut on the town line between Buck- eye and Lancaster. In 1839, L. O. Crocker left Freeport and settled in Lan- caster. Andrew Sproule came in later and settled near Section 12; Joseph F. Mckibben and Dr. John Charlton on Section 16; John Stotzer on Section 24 ; Samuel Smith, second, on Section 23; W. B. Mitchell came in 1840, and was followed by Jacob and Mycene Mitchell two years later. All settled in the northern part of the township.
Lucy Goddard, born March 31, 1836, is reported as the first birth ; Rea- gan Lewis, who died in the winter of 1837, the first death, and Thatcher Blake to Jane Goodhue, in the same year, the first marriage.
From 1845 to 1849, the immigration to Lancaster was, with that of some of the remaining townships, reasonably numerous. Thence to the completion
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
of the railroad to Freeport it fell off considerably, to be revived, however, with the celebration of that event, and soon was completely taken up.
In all respects, Lancaster will compare favorably with other townships in the county. In fertility, in its educational, moral and religious interests, it is unsurpassed, and the culture and wealth of the inhabitants are an evidence of the character of those who built up the vicinity and developed its almost inex- haustible resources. Three railroads course the township in various directions, and, with other public interests, are maintained in keeping with the county's development, while its people are continuing in a career of steady, even pros- perity and happiness.
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RIDOTT.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
ABBREVIATIONS.
Co ..... ......... company or county
I. V. I .. Iowa Volunteer Infantry dIr
P. O .. Post Office I. V. A ... Iowa Volunteer Artillery
I. V. C. Iowa Volunteer Cavalry st. ..... street
FREEPORT.
G. W. ACHENBACH, carriage painter, Bridge street, between Chicago and Van Buren streets; is a native of Columbia Co., Penn., and was born July 22, 1852 ; he grew up to manhood in that State, and learned his trade in Milton, Penn; he came West to Stephenson Co., and located in Freeport in March, 1877, and estab- lished his present business, and is building up a good trade.
HON. JOHN H. ADDAMS, President of the Second National Bank of Freeport, is a native of Berks Co., Penn., and was born July 12, 1822, his parents being Samuel and Caharine (Huy) Addams; he received his early education in the common schools, and, witha comprehensive course, at an academy at Trappe, Penn., was well prepared foractive life ; on leavingschool, he was apprenticed to the milling business ; in 1844, he came to Stephenson Co., Ill., and located in what is now called Cedarville, and established himself in business as a flour and grain dealer and miller, in which he is still interested ; he also purchased a farm in the vicinity ; in 1847 he took a prominent part in calling a convention of land-owners and busines men of the district which resulted in a concert of action that pushed to completion the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad ; he appreciated the absolute necessity for obtaining an outlet for the produce of that region by railway, and he exerted himself to draw the attention ofthe people to it and to induce, them to subscribe for stock in the enterprise ; in 1854, he was elelcted to the State Senate as a Republican, and held the seat continuously for sixteen years, retiring in 1870. In 1844, he was married to Miss Sarah Weber, daughter of Col. Weber, of Kreiderville, Penn .; she died in 1863, and in 1868, he married Mrs. William Halderman, of Freeport ; he lives at Cedarville, where he is very highly esteemed as an active and public-spirited citizen ; he was energetic in his support of the Union cause during the war; in 1864, he aided in the organization of the Second National Bank of Freeport, and was elected its President; he retains that position at the present time ; he is regarded throughout the district as a political leader of the higeset type, and, both politically and socially, enjoys the confidence of all classes ; he has b en urged, upon several occasions, to become a candidate for Congress, to which he could have been elected, with but little, if any, opposition, but has declined ; he is a gentleman of fine culture and of sound judgment, and has justly earned prominence in public estimation in both civil and private affairs.
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