USA > Illinois > McLean County > The good old times in McLean County, Illinois : containing two hundred and sixty-one sketches of old settlers, a complete historical sketch of the Black Hawk war and descriptions of all matters of interest relating to McLean County > Part 35
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Catherine Cheney was born May 30, 1825, in Ohio, was mar- ried to John Prothero. She has had five children.
Return Jonathan Cheney was born August 24, 1828, at Che- ney's Grove. He married Margaret Green and had four chil- dren. She died, and he afterwards married Maria Rice and had three chilldren.
Rebecca Cheney was born December 7, 1831, was married to Benjamin Prothero in May, 1848, and has had several children, four of whom are living.
It will be seen then that Jonathan and Catharine Cheney have had thirteen children, of whom four are living. Their grand-children are fifty-nine, and great grand-children are fifty.
Jonathan Cheney died March 21, 1862. He was about five feet and ten inches in height, was straight and muscular, had a large forehead, was a very determined man, and his appearance would show that when he undertook anything he tried very hard to carry it through. He was a pleasant, cheerful man, and loved practical jokes. He was the first settler at Cheney's Grove, which took its name from him.
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The information necessary for this sketch of Jonathan Che- ney has been furnished by his widow, Catherine Cheney, who lives at the house of her daughter, Mrs. Benjamin Prothero. The old lady is now in the eighty-seventh year of her age. She complained that her faculties had failed her, but from the infor- mation furnished, she will be seen to have remembered the inci- dents of her husband's eventful life remarkably well. She was quietly attending to her knitting as she talked, for her old habits of industry clung to her. She is a very kind old lady and re- ceives all the care and attention possible to make her life pleasant.
HON. WILLIAM HAINES CHENEY.
William Haines Cheney was born February 18, 1822, in Champaign County, Ohio. In 1825 the family came to Cheney's Grove, in what is now McLean County, Illinois, as is seen by the sketch of his father, Jonathan Cheney. Here Haines Cheney received his limited education. He attended school for some time under the instruction of his sister, afterwards Mrs. Stans- berry. She kept her school at Cheney's Grove during the winter of the deep snow. Ile attended school during the winter sea- sons until the age of nineteen, and studied the old Dillingworth spelling-book. It was the custom in the early schools to study aloud, so that the master could be certain that the scholars were really at their lessons. The result was a noisy, distracting hub- bub of voices. But it is pretty clear that such scholars could never be sick with the consumption. This noisy system was broken up at Cheney's Grove by a certain Mr. Harberson, who introduced the quiet system. He was a very fine teacher and would be so considered even at the present time. He kept a subscription school.
The little Indian boys often came to see young Haines and taught him to use the bow and arrow, and he became quite skillful and could bring down the little birds out of the trees.
Mr. Cheney acquired a taste for hunting and killed deer, wolves and turkeys. The deer are by far the gamiest animals to be hunted, particularly when hunted with dogs and horses. When they are caught, they never give up and put their heads on the ground, as the wolves do, but fight to the last. Mr. Cheney
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speaks of a buck, which was wounded and brought down by the dogs, but which would, nevertheless, have whipped the dogs and escaped, had it not been shot again.
Mr. Cheney was obliged in early days to go a long distance to mill; was at first compelled to go to the Big Wabash and afterwards to Green's mill near Ottawa, seventy-five miles dis- tant. When Jonathan Cheney broke the first prairie he was obliged to go to Eugene on horseback with his plough-irons to get them sharpened. This was about eighty miles distant.
In early days the doctors were scarce, from which it might be inferred, that the health of the people was good and the number of deaths few ; but the hardships of the settlers, the turning up of much raw prairie soil, and various other things, were the causes of much sickness, even in the absence of doctors.
In the early days boys were obliged to work. Haines Cheney plowed corn, when he was seven years old, and it did not hurt his constitution at all. He wore the simplest clothing, for the old settlers made all of their articles of wear. He never wore anything but home-spun, until he was eighteen years of age. In 1840 he won a suit of clothes on a wager that General Harrison would be elected president. The wager was paid and the suit was cut by the tailor in the latest fashion of that day. The ma- terial was mixed jeans, Mrs. Cheney's own make. After he had this suit, Haines Cheney was for some time a popular man among the ladies.
Haines Cheney was married November 10, 1842, to Miss Mary Jane Orendorff, daughter of William and Lavina Orendorff, by B. H. Coffey, the Clerk of the County Court and ex-officio Jus- tice of the Peace. Mrs. Cheney was a lady very much respected and admired by a large circle of friends. Mr. and Mrs. Cheney have had a family of nine children, seven of whom are living. The children are :
Lavina, born March 19, 1844, wife of William Henry Beck- with, lives at Saybrook.
Jay Cheney, born September 18, 1846, died January 11, 1847.
Miss Kate Cheney lives at home.
Charlie Cheney, born May 2, 1851, is married and lives in Jasper County, Indiana.
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Miss Emma Cheney lives at home.
Wiley Cheney, born August 8, 1857, died August 1, 1860.
Harry Cheney, born December 13, 1858, Mary Belle Cheney, born February 1, 1862, and Minnie Estelle Cheney, born De- cember 30, 1865, all live at home.
Mrs. Cheney died August 7, 1868, and was buried in the old cemetery, and afterwards removed to the new cemetery.
In 1867 Haines Cheney was elected to the State Senate to succeed Hon. Isaac Funk. The session was noted for the pas- sage of the State House appropriation, the location of the Indus- trial College at Champaign, and for improving the Illinois canal and the building of the southern prison.
Haines Cheney married, May 28, 1873, Miss Caroline Brown, daughter of Demas and Mary Brown of Medina, Ohio. She is a very amiable and pleasant lady and possesses much tact and judgment.
Mr. Cheney is of medium height, is rather slim, though a man of good development of muscle. He has dark hair and gray eyes. He seems a gentleman of good taste and correct judgment, and is very much respected, not only in the commu- nity where he resides, but wherever he is known and his influ- ence is felt.
GEORGE CHENEY.
George Cheney, son of Jonathan and Catherine Cheney, was born February 18, 1819, in Champaign County, Ohio. When in the sixth year of his age his parents came to Illinois. He received his common school education at Cheney's Grove. He was very little of a hunter, but could chase wolves, as this was really part of the business of the settlers. At the age of twenty- two he married Miss Cynthia Ann Hall, daughter of Prior and Mary Hall, of Old Town timber. Prior Hall was an old set- tler, but in 1850 he went to Sacramento, California, where he died in the fall. When George Cheney was married he settled on a farm, now known as the Harpster farm and occupied at present by Amos Bay. But George Cheney's family afterwards went to live on the Cheney homestead, which was afterwards divided, William Haines Cheney taking one-half and George Cheney the other. In the spring of 1866, George Cheney's
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house was burned, and he immediately began to build anew ; but when he had only commenced the work, he died. His death occurred August 17, 1866, after a three weeks illness with typhoid fever. He had eight children, of whom six are living. They are :
Mary Eliza, born January 28, 1842, died July 19, 1845.
Almira, born September 21, 1844, wife of J. W. Lowry, lives at Saybrook.
Owen Cheney, born November 2, 1848, is married and lives at Saybrook.
Orval Cheney, born December 8, 1852, lives at home and works the farm.
Thomas Cheney, born February 5, 1856, Hellen Cheney, born May 31, 1858, and Lincoln Cheney, born December 24, 1860, live at home.
William Cheney, born July 18, 1864, died July 28, 1866.
George Cheney was of medium stature and rather slim, but was rather fleshy a few years previous to his death. His eyes were dark brown and expressive. He was very quick in his movements, but was quickly exhausted. His constitution was never rugged, as he had the typhoid fever, when fourteen years of age and never fully recovered from the effects of the disease. He was a very kind husband and a very indulgent father. He believed in universal salvation, but did not belong to any par- ticular church. He was buried in the old cemetery, but re- moved to the new cemetery, which forms a part of his farm.
JAMES VANSCOYOC.
James Vanscoyoc was born February 20, 1798, in Mononge- hela County, Pennsylvania. His father's name was Jonathan Vanscoyoc and his mother's maiden name was Hannah Wall ; but at the time of her marriage to Mr. Vanscoyoc she was a widow, and her name was Mrs. Ketchum. When James Van- scoyoc was five or six years old, his parents moved to Colum- biana County, Ohio, where they remained seven or eight years, and there James received such education as could be had in those early days. The family then went to the Mad River country, but it was so sickly that after one year's time they returned to Columbiana County. Shortly afterwards they went to Wayne
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County, where the family lived until they were grown up and scattered. There James Vanscoyoc married in April, 1819, Drusilla Lewis. During the following year he moved to Foun- tain County, Indiana, where he experienced hard work and very little else. In 1829 he moved to Old Town timber in MeLean County, Illinois. There he went to farming, which has been his occupation ever since. He lived there about twenty years and then moved to the old Means place at Cheney's Grove, where he has resided ever since.
Mr. Vanscoyoc has been something of a traveler in the West. He first made a trip to the Red Banks in Illinois on the Missis- sippi River, six or seven years after he came to the country, but had no particular adventure. His next trip was to Texas in about the year 1853. He went with a party of men first to St. Louis, and from there to the little town of Napoleon at the mouth of the Arkansas River. This little place looked as if it were always in danger of being overflowed. They went by water up the Arkansas River about seven hundred miles to Fort Smith. This was then an enterprising little town of whites, Indians and half-breeds, the latter predominating. The Indians were the Cherokees, a very smart tribe. In conversation he found many Cherokees as smart as any white men he ever saw. He found a white man named Geary, who had married a squaw. She was pretty dark colored, but was dressed in silks that rattled and shone. Many of the Cherokees were farmers and seemed half like Indians and half like white men. The most of the Chero- kees, who were in business, owned slaves. They held court and tried cases as white men do. Many of them were rich and owned large herds of cattle. Mr. Vanscoyoc went from Fort Smith to the Red River country, where he visited the Chickasaws on the north bank. He thought them more civilized than the Chero- kees. When they first went to the Indian Territory, they had large cotton plantations, which had been cultivated by negroes. He saw there the finest field of corn he ever beheld. It covered about one hundred acres, was dark green in color and rank in growth, and the blades were long and wide. He crossed the Red River and went on to Texas, but saw nothing of much im- portance except some very fine wheat. On the return of his party they crossed the Arkansas River a little below Fort Gibson.
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The White River empties into the Arkansas a few miles above, and its waters, which are very pure, run for a long distance be- fore they mingle with those of the larger stream. After cross- ing the Arkansas River the party were obliged to send over to the White River side for pure water. Nothing else of import- ance occurred on the way home. In May, 1873, Mr. Vanscoyoc took a trip to Colorado. He went to Kansas city and there saw buffalo hides by aeres hanging on poles, and large squares of them were piled up ten feet high. He went up the Kansas River and says the land there was the prettiest he ever beheld. The bottom lands were from a half a mile to six or seven miles wide, but very little timber grew on them. He says that Rus- sell County was a particularly fine country. The buffaloes were plenty there and the buffalo "wallows" were plentier. The latter were places where the buffaloes rooted in the ground and wallowed as the pigs do. He went to Denver, Colorado, and to Cheyenne, and from there started home. On his return he stop- ped on Grand Island, Nebraska, and was most favorably im- pressed with the appearance of the land, as it was very level. But after all his travels, Mr. Vanscoyoe still clings to old Me- Lean County.
Mr. Vanscoyoc has had seven children. They are :
Perry Vanscoyoc, who was born April 17, 1820, and now lives in Arrowsmith township.
Isaac Vanscoyoc, the next son, died when quite young.
Rebecca Vanscoyoc was born February 7, 1825, was married to Marks Banks, and lives in Padua township, next to the timber.
Rachel Vanscoyoe was born August 29, 1828, was married to John Newcom, and lives at Cheney's Grove, a little east of her father's.
Walter Vanscoyoc was born September 10, 1831, and lives in Arrowsmith township.
James Vanscoyoc was born December 28, 1834, and lives at the homestead at Cheney's Grove.
Hannah Vanscoyoc died when very young.
Mr. Vanscoyoc is about five feet seven and one-half inches in height, has a fair development of muscle and a sanguine temper- ament. His hair is only partly gray, notwithstanding his ad-
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vanced age. He can work yet if he chooses. He seems to be a decided and firm man, and must have been a man of good abilities and very accurate perceptions. He is honest, kind and pleasant, but firm and resolute.
THOMAS CUNNINGHAM.
Thomas Cunningham was born November 18, 1818, in Clark County, Indiana. (For ancestry of the family see sketch of King S. Cunningham.) The parents of Thomas Cunningham were good people and very kind to their children, but were careful to enfore striet obedience and always set a good example. They are both buried in Saybrook Cemetery.
The Cunningham family settled at Cheney's Grove in Octo- ber, 1829. There Robert Cunningham entered four hundred acres of land. The old gentleman lived to see his family of fifteen children grow up to manhood and womanhood. All of them were married and settled in life; twelve of these children are yet living and six are in MeLean County. Thomas Cun- ningham, the subject of this sketch, was the sixth child. His education was necessarily limited. He attended school in Che- ney's Grove every winter after the family moved there, until he was twenty-one years of age. During his last year's schooling he went to Old Town timber. This school was conducted with as much noise as possible. The teacher walked across the floor and whistled and sang, and the scholars exercised their vocal powers in a similar way. The books used were few. Mr. Cun- ningham only remembers McArthur's History of the United States. Thomas only obtained the rudiments of an education.
Mr. Cunningham was never much of a hunter, and only killed one deer, and that was one which came up near his door. But he often chased wolves, and when he came near one he would jump from his horse, catch the vicious wolf by the hind- quarters and thrash it on the ground, before it could curl up to bite.
Thomas Cunningham married, February 21, 1841, Miss Mi- nerva Ann Spencer, daughter of James and Susannah Spencer, of Livingston County, Illinois. Mrs. Cunningham is an exceed- ingly kind lady and her pleasant manner makes the stranger feel easy in her presence. She wears spectacles now, as women
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sometimes must as well as men. She is a lady of fine sense and her husband always listens to her with respect.
They have had a family of six children, four of whom are living. They are :
Phoebe Ann, born December 10, 1841, was married to Henry Warrick of Livingston County, and some time after his death to Granville Michaels.
Lucinda Jane, born April 28, 1844, was married to John Armstrong of Livingston County, and some time after his death to William Vanhorn.
James William Cunningham, born July 6, 1851, is married and lives in Livingston County.
Ellen Catherine died when nine months old.
Harvey Johnson Cunningham, born November 26, 1854, lives at home.
Lewis Harrison Ballard Cunningham, born June 14, 1859, lives at home.
Mr. Cunningham is about five feet ten inches in height, weighs one hundred and eighty pounds and is broad shouldered. His beard is gray and his hair is turning, but is heavy, showing ing great vitality. His eyes are hazel, and he seems to be a quiet, good-natured gentleman, a man who never does things in a hurry, but always takes time to think.
KING SOLOMON CUNNINGHAM.
King Solomon Cunningham was born December 26, 1823, in Clark County, Indiana. His father's name was Robert Cun- ningham, and his mother's name was Aphia Cleveland. His father, who was born about the year 1780, was of Irish descent, and his mother was a Yankee. Robert Cunningham was a sol- dier of the war of 1812, and fought under Harrison at Tippe- canoe.
In 1829 the Cunningham family came to Cheney's Grove from Clark County, Indiana, where Robert Cunningham had lived for twenty years. At Cheney's Grove the family went to farming, and a few years afterwards Robert Cunningham built a water mill on Sangamon Creek. The stones for grinding were the nigger-heads from the prairie, but they did very good work. The water at that time was usually high enough to run the mill
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all summer. Mr. Cunningham was obliged to work, and his boys were obliged to do the same, for the West was no place for idlers.
Mr. King Solomon Cunningham is particularly eloquent con- cerning the sudden change in the weather, which took place in December, 1836, and says that as the cold wind rolled on, it froze the air so rapidly that the frost seemed a moving cloud of smoke. He speaks of the two rainy seasons, when the water in the creeks and rivers rose to enormous heights. In 1844 the Mackinaw was higher than it had ever been known before or since. The Sangamon Creek was too high for Cunningham's mill to run. The year 1858 was another rainy season, and Sangamon Creek was higher than in 1844.
King Solomon Cunningham married February 29, 1849, Cyrena J. Thompson, who lived on the Mackinaw, five miles from Lexington. Her father, John B. Thompson, was one of the oldest settlers of MeLean County. They have had six chil- dren, three of whom are living. They are :
Mrs. Eliza Jane McFarland, wife of J. B. McFarland, lives six miles north of her father's, in Cropsey township.
Henry B. Cunningham lives in Sonoma County, California. He is an active, industrious young man, and his father feels justly proud of him.
John W. Cunningham, the youngest of the family, is the pet and lives at home.
King Solomon Cunningham is five feet ten inches in height, is rather slim in build, is bald-headed, has a bright, clear eye and straight features. He is very kind in his manner, has been obliged to work hard, but has been successful in life, and is a settler who does credit to McLean County.
JAMES RUMSEY MEANS.
James Rumsey Means was born March 22, 1825, in Louis County, Kentucky. His father's name was Robert Means, and his mother's maiden name was Sarah Rumsey. His father and mother were both born in Virginia, and were both of English descent. The former was born in 1785 and the latter in 1795. Robert Means was a soldier in the war of 1812, and after his death his family obtained a forty-acre land warrant on his ac-
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count. In the fall of 1829 the Means family moved to the head waters of the Little Vermilion River in Illinois. In the follow- ing spring they came to Cheney's Grove, where they arrived March 9, 1830, and located on the north side within one mile of the west end. They went to farming, and during the first spring broke forty acres and fenced it, and put up a log-cabin.
During the winter of the deep snow the family pounded their corn with a wedge. This was attached to the lower end of a pole, which reached to the roof of the cabin and was fastened to a spring and was easily managed. The children pounded the corn and were kept at it for hours at a time.
In the spring of 1832 Robert Means went to the Black Hawk war, but stayed only a few days. While he was gone Mrs. Means made the children plant corn between the hills of the preceding year without ploughing. Mr. Means came back be- fore planting time was over, and put in his entire corn crop in the same way and afterwards ploughed between the rows. He raised an excellent crop.
Robert Means died August 1, 1835, and James Means, then ten years of age, was the oldest boy, who could work, in a fam- ily of ten children. One feeble brother, two years older, died shortly afterwards. The following are the children of Robert Means' family :
Mrs. America P. Ball, widow of Snowden Ball, lives in the west end of Cheney's Grove.
Mrs. Keturah McMackin, wife of James MeMackin, lives one mile north of the old homestead.
Mrs. Jemima Stansberry, wife of Andrew Stansberry, lives in Allen County, Kansas.
John Means, twin brother of Jemima, died at the age of twelve years.
James R. Means lives at Saybrook.
David Dixon Means lives about a mile north of the old home- stead.
Joseph Keever Means died at the siege of Vicksburg, two days before the surrender.
Owen Amos Means lives three miles northeast of Saybrook.
Mrs. Elizabeth Green, wife of Jolin M. Green, a soldier under Sherman, lives on the east side of Arrowsmith township.
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Mrs. Margaret Vanscoyoc, wife of James Vanscoyoc, lives on the old homestead.
James Means became the man of the family after his father's death, and they worked the whole of the farm without assist- ance. Mr. Means, sr., had been a skillful hand to stack wheat, and James learned to do it when only fourteen years of age. The Means family made all their own clothing, both linen and woolen, and raised everything they wore.
James Means was raised a moral young man and remembers with what horror he once saw one of his companions steal three nails. He was taught not to swear or use bad language ; but on one occasion he broke away from his early training. He was bitten by a hound belonging to David Ball, and the latter beat the hound and swore at it, and James got the idea that it was the swearing which effectually controlled the dog. Some time afterwards, while going to the house of Mr. Ball, the hounds again came out, and James thought they meant to kill him, and concluded that it was better to swear than to die ; so he cursed them with all his might, in every shape and form. Two girls, who belonged to the family, were not far distant and they heard the fracas and called off the hounds.
Mr. Means was an expert swimmer and remembers one little incident, which shows what men will do in case of necessity. John M. Stansberry, who had never learned to swim, was car- ried by the current of Sangamon Creek down into a deep hole. He hallooed as he went under, and James Means went to his assistance; but Stansberry rose and swam out without help, though Means followed behind ready to assist him if necessary.
James Means was obliged to do a man's work and attend to a man's business while he was still quite young. He once went to Eugene, near the Wabash, to mill, lost a horse, and was obliged to travel a hundred miles to recover it.
Mr. Means has had his experience in going to market to Chicago. He went at one time with three yoke of oxen to his wagon, and those, who accompanied him with horse teams, were careful not to get far ahead, as they might need his oxen to pull them out of the sloughs. But on their return the unloaded horse teams went more rapidly, and as they carried the pro- visions; Mr. Means was left for twenty-five hours with nothing
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to eat. He afterwards carried his own provisions and allowed the rest to go ahead.
Mr. Means tells a good story of Ephraim Myers. He says that on one Sunday Abraham Stansberry's house caught fire, and the alarm was given at the church. All who had teams brought them out, and the wagons were immediately filled with persons who wished to assist in putting out the fire. Among those who jumped into James Means' wagon were Ephraim Myers and a Methodist preacher. Means drove so fast over the stumps that the preacher was frightened and jumped out at the first opportunity ; but Myers was cool, and gave directions quiet- ly, saying : " Go steady, Jimmy," " Put them through, Jimmy," and when they came to a smooth road, Myers remarked that he would tell the preacher that he did not love his Jesus.
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