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 63
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John Ogden lives in Money Creek township.
Susannah Ogden was married to William Orendorff. She and her husband are both dead.
Samuel Ogden lives on Buck Creek in Money Creek town- ship.
WILLIAM WILCOX.
William Wilcox was born December 26, 1813, in Fayette County, Ohio. His father's name was Edward Wilcox, and his mother's name before her marriage was Sarah Richardson. Ed- ward Wilcox was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Kentucky at an early day. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was one of the party sent down to bury the dead at Fort Stephenson on the Lower Sandusky, after the attack made upon it by the British and Indians. The fort was defended by Major Croghan, who commanded a little band of one hundred and sixty young
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men, and Edward Wilcox says that this little garrison was dis- proportioned to the number of men, that lay dead in the ditch in front of the fort. Many of those in the ditch lay dead with- out a scar of any kind, and seemed smothered in dead bodies and blood. After this battle General Harrison censured Major Croghan, as the former had sent the latter orders to retreat; but it afterwards appeared that the orders were never received. The ladies of Chillicothe presented to Major Croghan a fine sword as a reward for his bravery, and a red petticoat as a sar- casm upon General Harrison.
William Wilcox lived in Fayette County, from the time he was born until he came to Illinois, which was in the spring of 1832. On the fourth of May of that year the Wilcox family started. They came through heavy timbered country in Ohio, where scarcely any grass could be had to feed their horses, and were obliged to pay a dollar and a quarter per bushel for corn. When they arrived at the Wabash, they found many peaceable Indians with their squaws, who had come there to be as far as possible away from the scenes of the Black Hawk war. When the party arrived on the open prairie, they were much troubled by wolves, which hung around them every night. These animals were always on the watch, and during one night attacked a colt belonging to Mr. Wilcox, and injured it so severely that it after- wards died. On the 30th of June, the family arrived at Macki- naw timber and settled where William Wilcox now lives. Their first care was to obtain provisions, and Mr. Wilcox, jr., was sent one hundred and ten miles to Perrysville, on the Wabash, for flour. But this was simply a prelude to the travels, which he afterwards made to mill. He once went to Green's mill, at Ot- tawa, and broke down his wagon with sixty bushels of wheat in the Illinois River. Three other teams were in company with him and the teamsters waded into the water and carried the sixty bushels of wheat ashore, sack by sack. This was in 1836. During the following year, he went to the Kankakee River to mill, in company with a friend, who also had a wagon load of wheat and a team. They mired down very often and were obliged to double teams and pull out. At last the friend mired down completely to the wagon bed, and even the double team would not pull the wagon out. The teamsters then took off the load and carried
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out the wheat sack by sack, but even the double team could not stir the wagon, and the only result of pulling was to break off' the tongue. The teamsters then lifted off the wagon bed and pried up the wheels, two at a time, and brought them out. The wagon was put together, the load replaced, the two wagous fas- tened together and the teams doubled, and in this way they pro- ceeded on their journey. They were a complete mass of black mud from head to foot, but took a good wash at the Kankakee. While the miller was grinding their wheat, they made a tongue to replace the one which had been broken, and returned safely home.
Mr. Wilcox often went hunting after bees. In 1835, he went with a friend to Indiana after honey. On the road their horses ran away and broke the spokes out of a wheel ; but they mended this little breakage and went on. When they came to timber, they hunted bees and found a very old swarm, and among the comb they found a black snake dead and carefully sealed up with wax. Its skin was finely preserved.
Mr. Wilcox has done his share of wolf hunting, and has caught these cunning and treacherous animals in pens, with dogs and horses, and in every way that ingenuity could suggest. He once went with a party after some gray wolves, and killed the mother of the pack and twelve wolves two-thirds grown. This was an unusual litter; the greater number of them were killed as they came out of a hollow log, from which they were driven by fire. One of these wolves was caught by Mr. Wilcox on foot.
He chased wolves on horseback, and once caught one after a run of nine miles ; but it was so stiff, when killed, that he placed it on its feet upright and left it. Mrs. Wilcox has had her expe- rience with these animals and one fine morning saw two of them near the barn. They did not appear at all afraid, but seemed to know that women are not usually dangerous. The dogs attacked them, but they escaped. The wolves still trouble the settlers on the Mackinaw. Mr. Wilcox has often hunted deer and had many interesting adventures. His wrists at the present time show the scars made by the prongs of a wounded deer, with which he had a severe struggle. He once had a struggle with a deer on the smooth ice of the Mackinaw. The deer kicked his
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knife out of his hand and sent it skipping over the ice; but he clung to the deer by one antler and one hind leg, and struggled up and down, on top and under, over and around, until another hunter came to his assistance. Mr. Wilcox went hunting deer shortly after the sudden change of December, 1836. The coun- try was an absolute glare of ice, and he hunted on foot with his dog. He started a drove of deer, which increased to more than a hundred, and they went slipping over the ice, with his dog slipping and scratching after them. They went down hill very fast, as they would spring and slide, but while going up hill they would spring and slip and slide back. The dog would frequently get hold of a deer, but as the former could not keep its foothold it would be kicked loose. Sometimes, while going up a hill, the deer in front would fall and slide back, throwing down those behind, until the whole drove would become a mass of sliding, kicking and springing animals. Mr. Wilcox became very much excited and fired at the mass without taking aim at a single one. But this was not a very effective way, for after a long day's hunt he only killed one deer.
Mr. Wilcox has often hunted turkeys and killed as many as twelve in a day. He once chased a turkey to the bank of the Mackinaw and struck at it with his whip, as it was about to fiy across, and the lash coiled around its neck and held it fast.
Mr. Wilcox has led the life of a farmer, and has been very successful in his calling. In common with many farmers, he is no great lover of railroads, particularly of high freights. In 1867, he made a visit to Iowa, and as he had no baggage he took a box with seven bushels of apples and enjoyed himself by lis- tening to the railroad officials as they used improper expressions while lifting it. It was twice broken open by rough handling, but taken through at last. In Iowa, he saw snow as deep as that spoken of by the " deep snow" settlers of McLean County. He rode over snow drifts twenty feet in depth, and at one time went over an orchard without knowing it until afterwards, as not a tree was visible above the snow.
Mr. Wilcox was married, June 12, 1845, to Mary Young. He has had two children, one of whom is living. She is Mary Ellen, wife of Andrew Steward, and lives in Gridley township.
Mr. Wilcox is about five feet and eight inches in height and
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is rather slim. His head is bald, but well shaped, and shows a good development of brain. His eyes are gray, his whiskers of a reddish cast, intermixed with gray. He is a remarkable man among the old settlers-remarkable for his humor and kindness of heart and his boundless hospitality. His friends are welcome under his roof, and if they visit him he will tell them the inei- dents of his early settlement, the fun and humor of other days, when all people were neighbors.
JOHN OGDEN.
John Ogden was born May 23, 1807, in Madison County, Ohio. He was, in his youth, an active young man, and accus- tomed to work, and had little taste for hunting. His brother Samuel, who now lives north of the Mackinaw, was the hunter of the family. John Ogden went to school in Ohio, but was not a very forward scholar, as it required six months for him to go far enough in the spelling book to come to the word "baker."
He was married in April, 1826, when not quite nineteen years of age, to Esther Stretch. In 1832, the year of the Black Hawk war, he moved to Illinois, and his journey was a hard one through the mud and rain. He was often deep in the mud and water, but says he always felt safe as long as he could see the oxen's horns ! He was more than a month on the road, but arrived at last at Mackinaw timber, where he bought out a man named Carlin, and settled down as a farmer. He worked hard, broke up a few acres of prairie and planted it in corn. A variety was given to frontier life in 1832 by the panies, to which the settlers were lia- ble during the Black Hawk war. When the soldiers returned, shooting squirrels on their way through the timber, the people were universally frightened.
Mr. Ogden made the usual trips to various parts of the coun- try to mill, and went often to Chicago to market. At one time, on his return from Chicago, he attempted to ride one of his oxen across the Illinois River, while the ice was running; but the ice struck his ox and made it plunge, and Mr. Ogden was thrown into the water.
Mr. Ogden had six children by his first marriage. They are :
Benjamin, who died at the age of sixteen years, six months and twenty-six days.
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Hiram, who died in California, when nearly twenty-one.
Elizabeth, wife of Frank Johnson, of Money Creek, died June 22, 1873.
Sarah Adeline, wife of Hugh Hineman, died about nine years ago.
Lafayette lives in Mackinaw timber, near his father's.
Helen, wife of William Orendorff, lives at Blooming Grove.
Mrs. Ogden died October 14, 1858, and on the fifth of March, 1861, Mr. Ogden married Mary Abbott. By this marriage he has two children, Arnettie and Hattie Eleanor, who both live at home.
Mr. Ogden is about five feet and a half in height. His hair is curly and black, and is becoming slightly gray. He weighs about one hundred and eighty-five pounds, and is healthy, with the exception of poor eyesight, which prevents him from work- ing much.
JAMES MCAFERTY.
James McAferty was born November 24th, 1779, in Ken- tucky, but settled in Fayette County. Ohio, at a very early day. He was there during the war of 1812, and was then a soldier, but did not participate in any engagement.
He married, Elizabeth Richardson on the 26th of January, 1804. In December, 1832, he came to McLean County, Illinois, and settled on the east side of Money Creek timber. He lived during the first winter at the house of William Wilcox, but his sons, Ethan and Jonathan, lived in a small shanty about a mile distant in the woods, and there took care of the horses, cattle and sheep.
James McAferty died November 30th, 1853. He had six children, all of whom lived to be grown. They are :
John, James and William McAferty died many years ago, the first named in California.
Sarah MeAferty, who was never married, lives at Normal.
Dr. Ethan McAferty lives between Money Creek and Mack- inaw timber.
Jonathan MeAferty died about eight years ago.
Mr. MeAferty was about six feet in height, and somewhat portly. He was a very kind, accommodating gentleman, too
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much so for his own good. He was always anxious to help his neighbors. He had a large orchard in Ohio, but never sold a bushel of apples. Whenever his neighbors came for apples, the old gentleman made his boys stop work and gather them. He was a man who meddled with nobody's business but his own, and not much with his own.
DR. ETHAN MCAFERTY.
Dr. Ethan McAferty, son of James McAferty, was born De- cember 11, 1816, in Fayette County, Ohio. There he had a pleas- ant life on a farm, but sometimes had his temper aroused, when his father made him gather apples to give away to other folks. In December, 1832, he came with the family to Money Creek timber. During the first winter Ethan and his brother Jonathan attended to the stock.
Ethan McAferty occasionally did some hunting, and one ad- venture is told of him which was considered quite interesting at the time. He was out hunting with two hound puppies, and shot a deer. But it was only slightly injured, and when he took hold of it, it made a most active struggle. It was an enormous buck, and when he took hold of its antlers it started to run, and made the most astonishing leaps, dragging and jerking Mr. McAferty, and making his legs fly like whip-crackers. But he held on to the antlers, and as he was on one side of the deer he compelled it to run in a circle, and his puppies in the meantime kept up their attack, and at last it was thrown from its feet and killed.
Ethan McAferty married, February 15, 1844, Maria Ogden, who is still living. They have never had any children.
Dr. McAferty began to study medicine in 1850 with Dr. Rogers in Bloomington. The former had read medicine before ; but during this year he made it a special study. He studied until 1852, then went to Iroquois County, there practiced until 1854 and then came back to Lexington. Here he purchased a stock of dry goods, in company with Mr. Claggett, who managed the store while Dr. McAferty attended medical lectures at Rush Col- lege in Chicago. In 1865 Dr. Mc Aferty began the practice of medicine, still continuing his attendance upon medical lectures.
Dr. McAferty is six feet in height, and has light hazel eyes. He is tall and slim, has a pleasant expression on his countenance
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and a peculiar humor acquired by the attendance upon lectures and the practice of medicine. He seems to be a man who would cheer a patient by the kindness of his manner and the pleasant- ness of his speech. He laughs at a good joke on himself, and ap- preciates it better than if it were at the expense of some one else.
SAMUEL OGDEN.
Samuel Ogden, son of Albert Ogden, was born August 1, 1809, in Madison County, Ohio. He was early taught to work, for when he was only four or five years old his father gave him and his brother John each a hoe, and set them at work hoeing corn. Samuel made clean work of it, and hoed up weeds and corn in- discriminately.
He was often taken to church by his mother, while he was small, and she tried to cultivate in him the love of orthodoxy. He never joined a church, as he could not decide which was the best. He very much preferred to attend horse-races, and went to see horses run before he was old enough to ride on a race-course himself. At the first race he ever saw, a number of horses ran for a corn purse, that is, every man, who ran his horse, put up some corn, and the winner took the pile. The race-course be- longed to old John Funk, who had cut up the corn around his field and made a track. Two or three years afterwards little Samuel became old enough to ride races himself. He became a good judge of horses, and in after years bought a fine mare called " Clear the Kitchen," which could, indeed, clear the kitchen or race-track either. The first time he put her on the track she beat a fine mare belonging to Colonel Gridley. He traded Clear the Kitchen for his Juliet mare, with which he won every race.
Mr. Ogden began to hunt when he was big enough to ride a horse, and would chase turkeys and pheasants, and was sure to catch them the second time they flew up. He would chase deer across the level, open ground, near Deer Creek. He found a great difference in the speed of deer, as much as in the speed of horses. The long-legged bucks could run very fast, while the short-legged ones were easily caught. Ile hunted with dogs and kept them well in front, in order to give them a fair start, and they always brought down the game. Samuel Ogden hunted
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wolves, and on his first wolf chase jumped from his horse and caught a wolf by the throat and killed it. He never considered it a sin to kill a wolf on Sunday or any other day. These wolf hunts were taken after Mr. Ogden came to Illinois.
In 1830 he married Nancy Vandolah, in Fayette County, Ohio. In the fall of 1833 he came to Money Creek timber, MeLean County, Illinois. He had a muddy journey, but the oxen pulled the wagon through, and it was not very unpleasant. He bought a claim in Money Creek township, on the Mackinaw side, and commenced life as a farmer, but not under the best of circum- stances. He had a mare and colt, and an Indian pony. His mare died, and he was obliged to work his farm by hitching up a couple of calves in front of his Indian pony. He succeeded well and moved to Buck Creek north of the Mackinaw, where he entered the most of his land. He also bought some land, and for a part he paid six dollars per acre. He bought the Daily place of two hundred and sixty-five acres for ten thousand dollars. In buying land he was always careful to see that it was well watered. In 1845 he began to deal in cattle, and before long had two hundred head .. He is now in comfortable circumstances, and everything he owns is paid for. His health is very good, though he suffers occasionally from a fall from a horse, which he was riding on a race-course at Peoria, some years ago. The horse plunged, that is, jumped stiff-legged with its head down. Mr. Ogden takes his brandy occasionally, but does not believe in drinking much. He loves the good old times, when men would fight, not because they were angry, but in order to know who was the better man ; and when the contest would close they would " be friends and take a drink." Those were the days when mat- ters were conducted honorably, and whoever was detected in foul play was sure to be counted out, and was not tolerated. Mr. Ogden takes the best of care of his stock and feeds his horses well, for he says that the man, who negleets his horses, never be- comes rich.
Ile has had eleven children, of whom eight grew up and five are living. They are :
Obadiah Ogden, who lives about half a mile east of his father's.
Mrs. Sarah Jane Coon, wife of James Coon, is now dead.
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Albert Ogden lives about three-quarters of a mile southwest of his father's.
Mrs. Angela Pirtle, wife of James Pirtle, lives a mile and a half north of her father's.
Alexander Ogden lives at home.
George Ogden (named after George Washington, with the Washington left out !) lives about five miles west of his father's, in the Coon settlement.
Mr. Ogden is about five feet and four inches in height, is strongly set and muscular, has a broad face, black eyes, and short black whiskers. He is very active, and few are equal to him in a foot-race. He is fond of good jokes and tells a great many of them. He is exceedingly tough, and will live to be ninety or a hundred years of age.
JONATHAN OGDEN.
Jonathan Ogden was born February 6, 1801, in Pickaway County, Ohio, on the Pickaway Plains, on the southeastern bank of the Ohio River. When he was two years of age the family moved to Madison County. There Jonathan grew up as most other boys did, with a fair development of fun and humor. The Ogden family farmed and raised stock and raced horses, and the latter was very agreeable to Jonathan. He did not wish to make a business of horse-racing, but wished to see what good horses could be raised. He often tested the speed of his horse by chasing turkeys and deer. He once chased a deer into a man's door-yard, and the latter killed it for Ogden, by the time he came up. Everybody chased deer in those days. Once, while gather- ing hickory nuts with his brothers and sisters, they heard the baying of hounds, and hid until a deer came bounding along. Then they all rose with yells, and the frightened deer stopped until the hounds came up and took it.
In 1833, Mr. Ogden came to Money Creek timber, McLean County, Illinois, where he arrived September 22nd. After living here a year, he moved to the Little Vermilion, where he spent another year, and then returned to Money Creek timber, where he has remained ever since.
Mr. Ogden has had some little experience with the animals of the West, and speaks particularly of that vicious little creature,
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the badger, which makes the hardest fight for its size of any wild animal in the West. The back of its neck is covered by a skin so thick and tough, that nothing can hurt it there. This is the very place where a dog is likely to take hold of it; but the bad- ger scarcely minds it and fights harder than ever. It ean never be whipped, until it is seized by the throat.
Jonathan Ogden married, between Christmas and New Years, in 1824, Andria Rutan. He has had eleven children, all of whom are grown up. They are :
Maria, wife of Isaac Coon, lives in Gridley township.
Margaret died in her seventeenth year.
Mary, wife of Adam Hinthorn, lives in Money Creek timber. Delilah, wife of Jacob Coon, is dead.
Sarah, wife of Nelson Manning, lives at her father's house.
Deborah, wife of Hiram Stretch, lives on the east side of Money Creek.
Susan, wife of Joshua Busiek, lives in Gridley township.
Creighton Ogden lives at the head of the Mackinaw.
Elizabeth, wife of Marion Busiek, lives near Towanda.
James H. and Daniel R. Ogden live at home.
Mr. Ogden is less than the medium height, weighs not quite a hundred and forty pounds, has black eyes and hair. His beard, once black, is now becoming gray. IIe feels the effects of age, but his temper is as kind and pleasant as ever.
MADISON YOUNG.
Madison Young was born November 18, 1812, in Fayette County, Ohio. His father's name was William Young, and his mother's name before her marriage was Mary Smith. William Young was born in Virginia and came to Ohio at an early day, where Madison was born. In 1832 William Young came to Mackinaw timber, but Madison Young could not make up his mind to leave Ohio so soon. He had hunted there, and liked the country and the game ; but in the year 1833 he followed up the family and came to Mackinaw timber. He traveled on horse- back, and came through without remarkable difficulty. He im- mediately began trying the quality of western venison, and brought down the deer in great numbers, indeed he almost made hunting his business.
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Mr. Young gave an eloquent description of the sudden freeze of December, 1836, and told how the chickens froze fast in the slush. But he laughed so hard and so good-naturedly while tell- ing it, that it was impossible to remember what he said.
Mr. Young married in March, 1836, Sidney Ann Messer, who died in April, 1850. He married again in June, 1852, Catherine Caroline Young. Although she bore the same family name she was not related to him before her marriage.
Mr. Young has had six children, three by his first marriage, and three by the second. They are :
William Young, who lives in Gridley township.
Isaac Young, who lives in Lexington township.
Sarah Almira, married to George Kemp, lives in Chenoa township.
Mary Jane, married to George Glaze, lives in Money Creek township.
Andrew and Thomas Young live at home.
Mr. Young is about five feet and nine inches in height, has a sanguine complexion and white hair. He is very healthy and exceedingly jolly. He loves to talk, when he can stop laughing long enough to do so, and the man who speaks to him is made to feel at home immediately. He has many queer ideas, and when he hears or tells a good joke he is not afraid to laugh at it heart- ily and strongly. He has a queer philosophy, and takes the world easy. He was once asked by a neighbor why he did not put a new roof on his house, "Oh," said Mr. Young in reply, "when it don't rain I don't need it, and when it does rain I can't do it! haw, haw, haw !"
JAMES ROYSTEN WILEY.
James R. Wiley was born November 21, 1820, in Switzerland County, Indiana. His father's name was John R. Wiley, and his mother's maiden name was Hannah Sampson : both were Amer- icans, and born in Maryland. John R. Wiley was taken to Ken- tucky when very young, and afterwards moved to Switzerland County, Indiana, where James was born.
In the fall of 1835 the Wiley family came to the West. They had a cold, wet journey, and did not arrive until November, after traveling twenty-two days. Young James exercised himself by
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driving the cattle and sheep. The family was often stopped by high water, and the sheep gave great trouble, for they were ob- liged to swim rivers so often that they dreaded the water, and it was frequently necessary to take them by the horns and drag them across. When they arrived at the head of the Mackinaw, their troubles were, by no means, ended, as they could not go to mill and were obliged to pound hominy for six weeks. They afterwards made the usual trips to mill in all directions, sometimes to Ottawa, sometimes to Cheney's Grove, and elsewhere.
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