USA > Illinois > Will County > The History of Will County, Illinois : containing a history of the county a directory of its real estate owners; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; general and local statistics.history of Illinois history of the Northwest > Part 49
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114
507
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
the prairie winds, and the war-whoops of Black Hawk and his warriors warned them that this was no safe abiding-place. Early in the Spring of 1832, safety demanded a retreat to a more thickly-settled country, and they accordingly returned to the Wabash settlement, or to Lafayette, Ind. McGovney, Moore and Rice were from Ohio, and Osborne had come from Indiana, but whether that was his native place or not could not be learned. After the close of the Indian war, McGovney and Rice came back to their claims. in the Spring of 1834. Moore and Osborne, it appears, however, were fully satisfied with frontier life, and never · returned-at least not to this settlement. Mr. McGovney pre-empted eighty acres of land, and succeeded in getting a " float " on another " eighty," a portion of which is embraced in the present village of Mokena. He is considered the first permanent settler of Frankfort Township. The land was not in market at the time he settled here, and set- tlers chose their locations and "squatted," provided there were no prior. claims Range 11 was sold in 1836, and Range 12 in 1838, at Chicago. Mr. McGovney died on his original place March 11, 1859. W. W. McGov- ney, a son, now lives in New Lenox Township; another son, Ozias, is a prosperous merchant in the village of Mokena ; Thomas G., another son, lives in Joliet, and Elijah, the youngest, lives on the old homestead. The family consisted of eight children, and all lived until the youngest was 32 years old.
Matthew Van Horne settled here, it is said, in 1832, and remained during the Black Hawk war. He was from New York, and was good-naturedly termed by his neighbors a Mohawk Dutchman. He settled one mile west of the present village of Frankfort, in the Hickory Creek timber, where he lived and died, and where his widow still lives, in the same old house where they spent more than half their lives. Peter Clayes came from New Hampshire, and set- tled first in the vicinity of Lockport, but removed to Frankfort Township in the Spring of 1837. Orlando and Levi M. Clayes, his sons, came in the Fall of 1836 ; Charles, another son, came out and worked on their claim during the Winter, and in the Spring the remainder of the family came. They bought their claim from one Robert Smith, who was from Vermont, and settled here in 1835. The elder Clayes is dead, and Charles lives on the homestead place. E. Atkins and a brother, John Atkins, came from Vermont, and were among the first settlers in the township after the close of the Sac war, and about the same time came Weir and Duncan, from the Wabash settlements. Their first names are now forgotten. Foster Kane and Archibald Crowl were from the same section. It is said that Kane was in the settlement all through the Black Hawk war, and settled on the place afterward occupied by Matthew Van Horne; but this we are inclined to doubt somewhat. Crowl settled near the village of Mokena, in 1834 or 1835. He finally moved to Missouri ; Kane moved South in a short time after the war was over, and afterward to Missouri, where he died many years ago. Daniel Wilson came from Ohio and settled in 1834 or
508
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
1835. Francis Owen was from Kentucky, and came in 1835. Phineas Holden and Trueman Smith were from Vermont, and settled also in 1835.
Ambrose Doty came from Ohio, in 1834, and settled on the line between Frankfort and New Lenox Townships. His land lay on both sides of the line, and his first cabin was built just over the line in New Lenox Township ; but when, some years later, he built a new and more pretentious residence, he set it on the opposite side of the line, and thus became a resident of Frankfort Township. As stated, he came from Ohio, but was born in Norris County, N. J. He has been living for some years in Frankfort village. Isaac Francis also came from Ohio, but was a native of the "Ould Sod," and settled in the town in 1835. Allen and Lysander Denny, a Mr. Wood, and David Ketchum came from New York in 1834 or 1835. Wood had two sons, Hiram and Sydney ; one of them, a Methodist clergyman, moved to the Rock River country ; the father and the other son moved away, also, but where, we could not learn. The Dennys set- tled in the Hickory Creek timber-Allen near Mokena, and Lysander on the Creek, where he built a saw-mill, and after a time sold out and moved to the village of Spencer, where he died. Allen finally returned to New York, where he died several years ago. William Knight, also a New Yorker, came in the Fall of 1834, and settled in the Grove, but sold out in a few years and returned to New York. This includes a number of the early settlers of Frankfort Town- ship, and, perhaps, a majority of those who settled in the town prior to the [and sale, are mentioned in this list. After the sale of these lands, the com- munity rapidly filled up until not a section was left unoccupied. There are no bet- ter farming lands in the county, as shown by the following statistics from the Assessor's books for 1877.
Corn
ACRES. 5,721
188,900
Spring Wheat.
24
400
Oats
4,822
175,170
Rye ..
2
60
Buckwheat.
7
126
Irish Potatoes
208
15,170
Apple Orchard
262
Flaxseed
125
Grapes
1,500
Timothy Meadow
2,395
3,050
Clover Meadow
30
30
Prairie Meadow
1,865
2,380
Pasture
.1,664 (not including woodland.)
Fat Sheep sold
.145-average weight,
`90 lbs. per head.
Fat Cattle,
244
1,000
Fat Hogs
867
66
250
No of Hogs died of Cholera.
316
No. of Cows kept
835
Pounds of Butter sold.
25,780
Gallons of Milk sold
185,150
100
BUSHELS.
POUNDS.
TONS.
-
Yours Truly BIJ, allow
JOLIET
THE LIDMARY OF THE UINVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
511
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
John W. McGovney, a son of John McGovney, noticed as the first settler of this township, was the first white child born in the settlement. He was born in the Spring of 1832, just before the settler left the place for the Wabash settlements, at the beginning of the Sac war. As to the first death and mar- riage, the few survivors of the early days, are somewhat uncertain as to who they were, or when they occurred. The first physician who practiced the healing art in the neighborhood was Dr. Moses Porter, of Hadley ; Dr. W. P. Holden was the first resident physician in the township, and practiced many years, but has at length retired and given the field to younger men. The first mill was built by Matthew Van Horne, about 1835-36, and was originally a saw-mill only, but a run of stones was afterward added, for grind- ing corn. A saw-mill was built prior to this by Denny, but it was a saw-mill only.
A store was opened, in 1836, by O. & L. M. Clayes, which was the first mercantile effort in the township. They continued in the business for eight or ten years, when they closed out, and one M. C. Farewell opened a store in the same house they had occupied. The latter did business under the firm name of Farewell & Case. Case lived in Chicago, and furnished the goods, and Fare- well conducted the store. A post office was established in 1837, with L. M. Clayes as Postmaster one of the merchants mentioned above. The name of the office was Chelsea, and after the Clayes Brothers discontinued their store, the office was moved to Van Horne's, and he was made Postmaster, an office he held until some years after the post office had been moved to the new village of Frankfort, as noticed hereafter. When the office was first established, the mail was brought by "horse express fast line " from La Porte, Ind., to Joliet once a week. A village was laid out here in 1848-49 by Charles Clayes and M. C. Farewell, which was called Chelsea. The former owned the premises, and the place had some show of becoming quite a town; but upon the completion of the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad it was abandoned, and the last traces of it have now disappeared.
The first sermon preached in the town was perhaps by Father Beggs, who, as noticed in other parts of this work, was one of the pioneer preachers of the county. The Rev. Mr. Blackwell, another of the early Methodist itinerants, formed a class at Mr. Doty's about 1836 or 1837, just over the line in New Lenox Township, but at that day was included in this settlement, or this was included in that, and all known as the Hickory Creek Settlement. Mr. Doty's residence was a regular preaching-place until the era of schoolhouses, as there was no church edifice built until after the village of Frankfort was laid out. There is but one church-building in the town outside of the villages -- the German Lutheran Church-which is located about three miles northeast of Frankfort village. It, was built in 1877 ; is a neat frame building, costing about $1,500, and has quite a flourishing membership. The church history will be again referred to in the history of the villages. The first schools taught in the town
.
R
512
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
were by Mrs. Knight and Mrs. Hiram Wood, but to which belongs the honor of teaching the first, no one can now tell. They both taught in a little log schoolhouse, which stood on Section 19, built for school purposes, but afterward . converted into a dwelling. The school facilities have somewhat increased since then, and will compare favorably with any town in the county. In 1872, we find there were ten districts and nine schoolhouses. There were 652 pupils enrolled, and fifteen teachers employed, with two graded schools in addition to the- common schools. The amount paid teachers was $2,724.90, leaving balance in treasury of $2,818.14. Further notice of the schools will be made in connec- tion with the history of the villages of Frankfort Township. The first Justices of the Peace were Thomas Lang and Matthew Van Horne. Lang had the precedence by a few years, and after his term Van Horne dealt out justice to the offenders of the law. The present township officers are John McDonald, Super- visor ; J. S. Claus and George Morgan, Justices of the Peace; John Cappel, Town Clerk, and Moriz Weiss, School Treasurer.
In 1852, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad was built through the town. The first freight shipped over the road was consigned to Ambrose Doty and Isaac Francis, and consisted of a couple of car-loads of lumber. There were no stations, and when the railroad men asked where they should put it off, were told anywhere in the township, said they could leave it one place as well as another, and put it off near the present village of Mokena. In 1855, the " Cut-Off," or Joliet Division of the Michigan Central was completed through, and the town has since been blest with unbounded railroad facilities. These roads were built. without aid from the township, and so were independent of the town, and the town of them. There has, we believe, been another road projected, and, per- haps, partly graded, but has been dropped or discontinued. But as the railroads. of the county are extensively noticed in the general history, we will pass with- out further mention of them here.
The cheese-factory of Messrs. Baumgartner & Co. is an extensive establish- ment. It is owned by a stock company, consisting of John and Jacob Baum- gartner, George Geuther, Francis Maue and E. Higgens. They have an excel- lent brick factory with stone basement, built at a cost of $6,000. It is about. two miles north of Frankfort village, and was built in 1875. The manufacture of butter and cheese is carried on rather largely, but not to the full capacity of the factory, owing to the lack of material. About $10,000 is the amount of business annually, but much more could be done if a greater supply of milk could be obtained.
This township was named by Mr. Cappel, an old German citizen, for Frank- fort-on-the-Main, his native place, a name it has always borne. The town is largely Republican, and has always been so. It is remembered by many that at one period of its history there were not half a dozen Democratic votes in the entire town. But the latter party has gained some strength in the last few years, and the National Greenback party at present bids fair to create a revolu-
513
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
tion in its political record. The war history, like all portions of Will County, is good, and many brave soldiers are accredited to this township.
THE VILLAGE OF MOKENA.
Mokena is situated on the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, about ten miles east of Joliet. The original village was laid out in 1852, before the Rail- road was fully completed, by Allen Denny. An addition was made to it soon after, by John McGovney, which was surveyed by A. J. Matthewson, County Surveyor. Knapp & Smith put up the first building, which was used for the double purpose of store and dwelling, and they were the first merchants in the place. The first hotel was built by Charles Gall, in 1853, and was the next next building erected after Knapp & Smith's store, which had been put up in the Winter of 1851-52, before the village was laid out and before the Railroad was completed. William McCoy built the first blacksmith-shop, in the Winter of 1853-54. Ozias McGovney was the first Justice of the Peace in the village, and was elected in 1850, an office he held for twenty-one years uninterruptedly. He is also a lawyer by profession, but has not practiced for a number of years, and at the present time is engaged in the mercantile business. A post office was es- tablished in the village in the Spring of 1853, and Warren Knapp was the first Postmaster, receiving his commission soon after the inauguration of President Pierce. Ozias McGovney is the present Postmaster, and has been for the past three years. McGovney bought out Smith, of the firm of Knapp & Smith, and the firm became Knapp & McGovney, and so continued for a number of years. They were the first grain buyers, and bought from wagons and loaded into the cars without the aid of elevators. Cross & Jones built a steam-mill in 1855, and about 1865, took out the machinery and shipped it to Kansas, when the mill building was changed into the Mokena Elevator, and is owned and operated by Charles Hirsch, the only grain dealer now in the village. Noble Jones speculates in grain and has an office here, but does business mostly on the Board of Trade, in Chicago.
The first schoolhouse was built in 1855, and was a small frame, costing $1,000. James Pierce taught the first school in it, soon after it was completed. The present elegant schoolhouse was built in 1872, is a substantial two-story frame, with stone basement, and cost, together with furniture, about $10,000, just ten times the amount of the first schoolhouse. Mrs. Sarah Baldwin is Principal of the school ; Miss Swalm, assistant teacher, and Miss Clara Williams is teacher of the Primary Department. It is a flourishing school, ably-managed and well-attended.
The Mokena Advertiser, a spicy little newspaper, was established by Charles A. Jones, in 1874, and was published until May, 1877, when he died, and the paper was discontinued. His brother, however, carries on a job office in the old Advertiser office.
The village is not incorporated, though containing about six hundred inhab- itants. Several efforts have been made to incorporate it, but have always been
514
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
defeated, and so it still exists under township organization. The business of Mokena may be summarized as follows: Five general stores, two hardware stores, two drug stores, two blacksmith-shops, two wagon-shops, two harness- shops, three hotels, one furniture store, three millinery stores, two butcher- shops, and seven lager-beer saloons, grain buyers, etc. There are two physi- cians-Drs. Alexander and Joy. A large majority of the citizens are Ger- mans ; are honest, industrious and enterprising citizens, quietly moving on in their own easy way, without interfering in the business of others.
The Mokena Methodist Church was built in 1868, but the society was or- ganized several years before, in the schoolhouse. The present Pastor is Rev. · Richard Gillespie, and the membership of the Church is rather small. The building is occupied every alternate Sabbath by the Baptists, who have quite a prosperous society, with Rev. J. B. Dibell as Pastor. He has been in charge of the Baptist congregation since 1851, except two years. A large and flourish- ing Union Sunday School of these denominations is carried on under the super- intendence of Deacon Rollin Marshall.
The German Lutheran Church was built in 1859, and is a substantial frame building, which cost about $1,500. It was built under the pastorate of Rev. Charles Myer. The present minister is Rev. Charles Schwaub, and the society numbers seventy-two members. The Church supports an interesting Sunday school, with E. Oswald as Superintendent.
St. Mary's German Catholic Church was built in 1864, under the ministe- rial labors of Father Fasbanter, and cost $1,400. About thirty families wor- ship at its altar, under the spiritual guidance of Father Francis Sixen, present Pastor of the congregation. A good Sunday school is usually maintained, though it is having a kind of recess at present.
This embraces about all of the historical facts pertaining to the village of Mokena, which is a neat and tasty little town, though it does not present the appearance of a place that is improving and building up very rapidly.
"FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN."
The village of Frankfort was named for the township, and the township was named for Frankfort-on-the Main, as already noticed. Frankfort village is situated on the Joliet cut-off of the Michigan Central Railroad, about twelve miles from Joliet, and was laid out in 1855-the same year the cut-off railroad was built through the township. It was laid out by S. W. Bowen, who owned eighty acres of land embraced in the village. The first store was kept by a man named Higley, a very small affair (the store-not Higley), and did not continue long. The next store-and the first really deserving the name-was opened by N. A. Carpenter in the Spring of 1855, who also put up the first building designed for a storehouse. The first hotel was built by a man named Doud in the Summer of 1855, and still does duty as a hostelry under the supervision of J. R. Letts. The post office in the village was kept by Carpen-
515
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
ter, as deputy under Van Horne, who was mentioned in the township history as accepting the Chelsea post office from L. M. Clayes. After its removal to this place, the name of the office was changed to Frankfort. Van Horne remained Postmaster for three years, but the duties of the office were performed by Mr. Carpenter, and after the expiration of the three years, William B. Cleveland became Postmaster. At present, Lewis Claus opens the mail-bags and dis- tributes the contents to his patrons. Nicholas Fortmiller kept the first black- smith-shop, in 1855, and is now a farmer in Greengarden Township.
The first grain bought at this place was by N. A. Carpenter, who bought for J. L. Hurd & Co., of Detroit. They built the first grain elevator, in 1856, which was burnt in February, 1878. John McDonald was the next buyer, and is still in the business, a prosperous grain merchant. He bought, for a number of years, from wagons, and loaded in the cars. In 1878, he built his elevator, one of the best in the county, and which cost between $6,000 and $7,000. It has a capacity of about twenty-five thousand bushels, and is supplied with steam-power. McDonald has a large trade in grain, and ships altogether East, over the " cut-off" railroad. The Frankfort Elevator was built in Decem- ber, 1875, by Carroll & Mayer, and at present is owned and operated by D. W. Hunter. It cost about $8,000, and has a capacity of 42,000 bushels ; is sup- plied with steam-power-Chase's patent. There are from ten to twelve hundred car-loads of grain (corn and oats) handled by this elevator annually, all of which is shipped directly East. The business of Frankfort consists of four general stores, viz .: L. & J. S. Claus, B. Baumgartner, Jacob Mueller and B. Bal- chowsky ; A. B. Barker, drug store; T. Herschbach, hardware and stoves ; two hotels, Curtis Williams and J. R. Letts ; Stevens Brothers, manufacturers of plows, wagons and agricultural implements, with butchers-shops, blacksmith and wagon shops, harness-shops, millinery-shops and several lager-beer saloons. Dr. Haas is the only practicing physician since the retirement of Dr. Holden.
The first schoolhouse in the village was built in 1856, and is now used as a dwelling-house. Josiah Carpenter taught the first school after its erection. The first school in the village, however, was taught by Miss Lizzie Kent before the building of the schoolhouse. The present handsome and well-designed schoolhouse was built in 1870; is a two-story frame, and cost about $5,000. The Principal of the school at present is Prof. O. P. Blatchly, with Miss Raver as assistant teacher, and an average attendance of about one hundred and fifty pupils. The Methodist Church was built in 1856, and was the first church edifice in both the village and the township. The society was originally organized in the "log schoolhouse," one mile east of the village, and grew out of the society formed at Doty's, as elsewhere mentioned. The building is a frame, cost about $2,000, and the present Pastor is Rev. George K. Hoover. A Sunday school is maintained, of which John Sinclair is Superintendent. The Baptist Church was built in 1863, a frame building, costing $1,600. Rev. David Letts was the first Pastor, and lives now in Iowa. Rev. Stephen Bar-
516
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
terick is the present Pastor, and has a membership of thirty or forty. The society supports a flourishing Sunday school, of which the Pastor is Superin- tendent. The German Evangelical Lutheran (United) Church was built in 1868. It is a frame building 30x56 feet, cost $2,000, and has a membership of about forty. Rev. T. Walter is Pastor, who is also Superintendent of the Sunday school, which is attended by from forty to sixty children. Our Chris- tian Neighbor is a small religious paper, published monthly in the village, and edited by the Rev. George K. Hoover.
The Frankfort Germania Saengerbund is a society devoted to musical cult- ure, and controlled by a President, Vice President and Board of Directors. It was organized in June, 1875, and incorporated by act of the Legislature. The first Board of Directors were Martin Muff, Jacob Mueller, Charles F. Bau- man and George Fink, and the present Board are M. Muff, C. Kuerschner, C. F. Bauman and - Nettles. Martin Muff is President; Casper Kuerschner, Vice President, and Ludwig Roehler, Teacher. They have an excellent hall, which cost $1,200, and three acres of ground in the beautiful grove north of the village, which cost $265. The society numbers twenty-five members, is in a flourishing state, and the next annual meeting of the Will County Saenger- bund will be held in their hall, in the village of Frankfort. The fee of mem- bership is $2, and 50 cents a month, dues. It is a source of much interest to the German citizens, who comprise a large majority of the population of the place.
The oldest citizens of the village still surviving are: N. A. Carpenter, A. B. Barker and Mr. Ruggles. Henry Dressler is the oldest German citizen of the place.
HOMER TOWNSHIP.
The classical land of Homer-the site of the famous " Yankee Settlement," and peopled from the old and refined States of the Union, is one of the finest townships of Will County. About three-fourths of it is fine rolling prairie, as rich and productive as the sun shines on in his daily journey, while the remaining fourth is covered, or was at the time of its settlement, with excellent timber, mostly white oak. It is bounded on the north and east by Cook County, on the south by New, Lenox Township and on the west by Lockport, with a population, in 1870, of 1,280 inhabitants. No railroads cross its borders, nor are any large villages or towns located within its limits, but it is a thoroughly farming district and still maintains its reputation of Yankee thrift and intelligence. It is described as Township 36 north, Range 11 east of the Third'Principal Meridian.
The first settlements in Homer Township was before the Sac war, during which period some of the settlers fled with their families to the Wabash settle- ments and others to Fort Dearborn at Chicago, but returned to the settlements and joined Sisson's company in the blockhouse so often referred to in these pages. The following names were among those belonging to Capt. Sisson's
517
HISTORY OF WILL COUNTY.
company in the blockhouse during the Indian war: Benjamin Butterfield, Thomas Fitzsimons, James Glover, John McMahon, Joseph Johnson, James Ritchey, Edward Poor, Joseph and James Cox, John Helm, Salmon Goode- now, Joseph McCune, Selah Lanfear, Peter Polly, David and Alva Crandall. Of these, Joseph Johnson and his two sons are supposed to be the first settlers in Homer Township. They were from Ohio, and came in the Fall of 1830, and were in the town during the Winter of the deep snow, and suffered all the hardships of that dreary Winter. The elder Johnson died in the Summer of 1846. James Ritchey came from Ohio, and settled here in the Spring of 1831. He made a trip through the country in November of 1830 and selected his location, and moved out in the following Spring. During his first trip to the .country, in the Fall of 1830, he says, as he wandered through dismal swamps, dark forests and lonely prairies, he for the first time in a long trip wished him- self safe back at home. He made his claim on Section 9, where he has lived ever since, but has recently sold out to his son-in-law, with whom he at present lives. Mr. Ritchey is in good bodily health, but has been almost blind for a number of years. Edward Poor was a North Carolinian, but had lived for years in Tennessee, and came here from Indiana in the Spring of 1831, and is yet living in New Lenox Township. He served in the war of 1812, also in the Black Hawk war, and is now about 84 years of age. Joseph and James Cox came from Indiana in 1831, but whether that was their native State or not we are unable to say. John McMahon is the first who settled in what was termed Gooding's Grove. He made a claim there and sold it to Gooding, upon his arrival in 1832. McMahon came from Indiana, but was originally from Ohio, and was here during the Indian war. Salmon Goodenow was from Ohio, but had lived some time in Indiana before settling in this township in 1832. Joseph McCune was his brother-in-law, and after the war was over, returned to Indiana, where he remained for a time and then came back and settled in what was called Jackson's Grove. Goodenow moved down about Reed's Grove, where, it is said, he got tired of life and finally cut his own throat. John Helm came from Indiana and settled in Gooding's Grove in 1832. He went to Indiana during the war, and when it was over, came back to the Grove and found James Gooding on his claim, and sold it to him for $10, and shook the dust of Yankee Settle- ment from off his feet. Benjamin Butterfield, who lived on the place afterward occupied by Jireh Rowley, and which Rowley bought from him on his arrival in the country, was an Eastern man, but had been living some time in Indiana before removing to Homer. He is noticed in Lockport, also, and as removing to Iowa, where he was living when last heard from. Peter Polly and a younger
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.