Iroquois County Genealogical Society

Old Courthouse Museum
103 West Cherry Street
Watseka, IL 60970-1524
(815)432-3730
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The History of the Early Settlement of

Chebanse Township

By

Joseph Haigh

Published by the Chebanse Herald for Free Distribution to Its Subscribers
Heral Book and Job Print
January 1884
Reprinted 1976 by the Iroquois County Genealogical Society
Watseka, IL

PREFACE

. This History embraces a period of ten years; from the settlement of the Township in 1855 to the close of the war, in 1865. The object of the work is to preserve some historical events in the early settlement of the place, that might otherwise be lost. The first settlers are fast passing away, and with them, many historical events that would be interesting in the future. The Iroquois County History has secured some valuable matter, but it is very limited. This work is necessarily brief, but what it treats upon is strictly local and confined to the early history of the place. Persons and events are noticed in the order in which they occurred, as near as possible, and nothing is noticed later than the close of the war, in 1865, unless connected with other subject matter.

. The history is compiled almost entirely from personal knowledge and contact; and for that reason the reader will please excuse the appearance of the writer's name and personal pronoun in connection with some of the matters spoken of. The first part of the work gives the location of the farms and the names of the persons who first settled and improved them; also who and what they were, and what became of them. The last part consists of events and transactions in the early history of the township, that are worthy of remembrance.

. To fully understand the situation it should be stated that the Government land in this township came into market under the pre-emption law of 1854, and it could not be bought or entered by any other means. In that year the Illinois Central railroad was open and running as far south as Chebanse, and in 1855 the cars went to Champaign. The odd numbered sections belonged to the Government and the even numbered ones to the railroad company. A section is a mile square, as surveyed by the Government. On account of half of the land being granted to the railroad company, the Government land was doubled in price, making it $2.50 per acre. Most of that land was taken up in 1855. A few pieces were found in 1856, and by the time it was all gone, the news about Chebanse pre-emptions had spread abroad, and land seekers came in large numbers and found only disappointment. Any pre-emptor who wished to sell his land could do so readily for three times what it cost him. A quarter section was worth one thousand dollars more than the Government price; and that accounts for the land being taken up in so short a time. The railroad company were selling their lead at from eight to fifteen dollars an acre. Previous to 1855, a few settlements had been made on the river and on the creeks; but the prairie was entirely vacant. The township is nearly eleven miles in length, from the river, west, and six miles wide, from north to south. The north four miles is in congressional township 29, and the south two miles in 28.

The History

. The railroad bridge at Langham creek is very near the center of the township. Starting east from that point, on the north bank of the creek, we come to Sec. 26. Early in the spring of 1855, GEORGE M. CUTLER bought land of the railroad company on this section, built a house and improved what is now the late John Myron farm. Cutler knew nothing about the government land at that time, and paid five times as much for land of the Company. He came from Lynn, Mass., where he had been employed in a flour and feed store. He was newly married and brought his bride with him. To get closer to the creek he went back to Chicago and bought forty acres more land; and when he got it surveyed he found the creek went through his first purchase. He moved to town in 1860, and when the war broke out he enlisted. He got sick in about one year, came home and died, and is buried in the Chebanse cemetery. His wife and two children went back East,--one child having been buried here.

. JEREMIAH SYLVESTER Bought and improved 80 acres joining Cutler on the east, and came here at the same time. He was a down-east Yankee, and pre-empted 40 acres south of the creek after he found out about the government land. His first farm is now owned by Bridget (Myron) Zaucker. He was restless and visionary; left his farms and moved to Clifton. He went to Chicago and kept a feed store; returned to Clifton and tried the nursery business. Years ago he disappeared from these parts as poor as he came.

. PATRICK CONWAY lived in a board shanty on the railroad south of the creek, in 1855, known as Howe's landing. He is Irish, and had been employed in the distilling business in the Old Country. His wife cooked for the Howes, W. B. Young and L. A. White, until they got houses built. Pat neglected to make a pre-emption until it was too late, and he bought a part of Cutler's land, where he still lives. His wife is a very hard worker and used to bind more wheat and oats than he could.

. DOMINIC CONWAY was a brother of P. Conway, and lived with him most of the time. He was a very quiet man and seldom seen away from home. He died one year ago and was buried at Chicago.

. JOHN HETTINGER, from Chicago, improved the Jones farm, on Sec. 25. The land was owned by Mr. Jones previous to 1855. Hettinger bargained for the land and improved it in 1856; but a misunderstanding occurred and Jones bought the house and rented the farm to him. Jones sold his farm a year ago to Mr. Hodges, of Chicago, and it is now occupied by Samuel D. Handy. It is a good stock farm of 360 acres with the creek running through it. Formerly that was considered very valuable, but now it is a damage; as a good artesian well and a wind mill pump furnish all the advantages of a creek and none of the disadvantages. Sylvester and Hettinger's houses were north of the creek and just across the road from each other. At the commencement of the war, one was occupied by O. E. Marsh and the other by Mr. Forsyth. Marsh married Chancelor Ingall's oldest daughter. Forsyth got sick and died in the Sylvester house.

. W. SMITH and his family, consisting of his wife and six or seven children, the youngest being twins about three years old, made the first improvement on section 30, and theirs is a sorrowful history to relate. They came here in the spring of 1855, and were from Syracuse, N. Y., but came here from the south part of this State. They brought with them an ox team, ten cows and some young cattle. They settled on the north bank of the creek and bought 160 acres of railroad land. Mrs. Smith was an educated woman and had been a school teacher. They learned that there was government land here, and during the summer pre-empted 80 acres further down the creek, which was afterwards owned by Peter Miner. 1855 was the year of the cholera, and the Smith family was attacked by it when living on their pre-emption. Mrs. Smith was attacked in the morning; at noon Dr. Goachy, of Frenchtown, went to see her, and she died at eleven o'clock the same night. The oldest boy, about fourteen years of age, was attacked about six hours after his mother, and he died the next day. Mr. Smith died a few days later. All three were buried on a bluff near the creek, on the land first settled upon. John Goldtrap took rough boards from the ceiling of his log house, which he and Lyman A. White made into a coffin, in which Mrs. Smith was buried. The day was so intensely hot that the men ran down to the creek and into the water to cool themselves as soon as they had finished burying her. Smith's house was a very poor one, and open like a shed on the east side, some boards being leaned up to keep the sun and rain from beating in. The children were left helpless and the land was abandoned. J. Sylvester took charge of the cows and cattle, and the children and their things were put in the wagon and the oldest girl drove them to Kankakee with the ox team. Mrs. Smith was a relative of Mrs. Loring, of Kankakee, where the children went and were cared for by other friends. Frank Zauker owns the land where the Smith's were buried; and Judson Miner's farm was their pre-emption.

. The cholera year will ever be remembered by the old settlers along the river. Few as the inhabitants were at that time, seventeen fatal cases of cholera occurred. Among them were the three Smith's, Wm. and Joseph Brady, Hiram Darst's wife, his step-father and his sister's husband.

. EBENEZER AND REUBEN TUTTLE bought land on this section in 1856; and made what is now the Nordhausen farm. The Tuttles came from Chicago, and with them their mother, one maiden sister, Margaret Tuttle, and two married sisters, Mrs. Spaulding and Mrs. Hubbard. Ebebezer and the old lady died on their farm here; and the others moved to Goodland, Ind., and are all dead several years ago. Reuben and his son George C. enlisted in the army, and the young man died in the service. Jacob Lang occupied the Tuttle farm for several years after they had sold. While on this farm he bought land in Otto where he now lives.

. JOHN GOLDTRAP and family, located on his sec. in 1854 or 5, and built a log house in the timber near the creek. They came from Ohio, and lived in a log house, south of the creek, on Mr. Gray's farm, while they built their own. John Goldtrap and his two sons, Jerry and David, enlisted in the army. David being only nineteen when he went in; and John died while in service. The widow is married to Thomas Condo, and they now live east of Clifton. Jerry lives two miles north of his mother. David went to Iowa two years ago; and Annie, the only daughter, is married to M. McConnell.

. JAMES TYLER bought the Goldtrap farm about the beginning of the war. He sold to Peter Enos, whose widow still owns it. James Tyler is a brother to Miss Libbie Tyler, and her piano was brought from the east to that farm, and is supposed to be the first one in town. Miss Tyler lives in town and still uses her good old piano. James Tyler started a brick yard on that farm, but it proved unsuccessful. He married Joseph Gleason's daughter, went west and is now in Kansas. His brother, Tamage, also went west and died soon after. Their mother, Mrs. Colburn, still lives in Chebanse with some of her children.

. LOUIS LAMB from Kankakee, pre-empted the 80 acres in the south-west quarter of Sec. 29, after the Smiths had died upon it. Lamb never proved up and paid for the land, but sold his claim. Wm. Bayles furnished him a team of horses to work some land on shares for him. In the fall Lamb cleared out with the team and Bayles did not know of his whereabouts for nearly seven years. Lamb had gone west and done well, and at the end of that time he wrote to Mr. Bayles and sent him his pay for the team with interest.

. PETER MINER bought 80 acres on Section 29, that had been pre-empted by Mr. Lamb. He came from DuPage Co. Ills., about 1859; his son, Henry A., enlisted in the army and died in the service. Their son, Judson, married Miss Ella Colburn, and now occupies the farm; while the old folks live in their little home near town. Their daughter, Clara, is married to Henry W. Adams.

. ZUKER BROTHERS pre-empted the N. W. 1/4 of Sec. 29, in the fall of 1855. They were Germans, four brothers and two sisters, all unmarried: Joseph, Peter, Adam, and Frank. Joseph died three years ago; the other three are married and own adjoining farms. They have accumulated property and are well to do.

. ALEXANDER SWORD pre-emoted the N. E. 1/4 of Sec. 29; he is a Scotchman, "Fra' the east nook O'Fife." He left Scotland in the summer of 1855, pushed out here and secured his land in the fall of the same year. About two years later his sister, Mary, came and brought his son, Alexander, Jr., then a baby. Mr. Sword had never farmed any, but had been engaged in coal mining and stone quarrying. The following spring he hired some breaking to be done on his land, and the contract required the party to do it "Fra the middlemost day in Aprile to the endmost day in Maye." He still owns this farm, and the pre-emption house, with additions, is as yet in use. Fifteen years ago he bought another farm near Watseka, where he now lives with his son. Mary and him fell out several years ago and aired their grievances in court. Mr. Sword never married, but he once sued a woman for breach of promise and recovered damages.

. MR. RITCHIE from Philadelphia, also pre-emoted on this section in 1855; he was here about one year, but never brought his family, and sold his land and went back. He was a packing box maker; I knew him well and bought several lots of boxes from him in Philadelphia.

. AUGUSTUS G. BROADHEAD bought 80 acres of Peter Spink, in 1858, on the State road, in Sec. 28; he built a good house, which was framed for him in Chicago. Mr. Broadhead was a commissioned officer of high rank in the British Army. He left England with a large fortune and went through it in a few years. He was an educated gentleman and never did manual labor of any kind. He could not make his salt on a farm, nevertheless his fancy led him to buy one. His wife was also an accomplished lady, and the daughter of an English family of high rank. After leaving the farm he bought Joseph Leonard's stock of store goods and tried store-keeping; but he had no more capacity for that than he had for farming, and his property vanished from his sight very rapidly. Both him and his wife were accomplished musicians; he played the violin and she the piano and organ. They kept liquor in the house and became intemperate, and much of their time was spent in carousing. She got sick and died in Chebanse; he went to Chicago and died shortly afterwards.

. ALEXANDER RIVARD, French, improved 80 acres in the north-west quarter of this section; he is a peaceable and quiet man and never married. Most of the time he has rented his farm and lived with his tenant, and he still owns the farm.

. From Rivard's farm east to the river there were no more settlements made for several years. Afterwards Henry Girkey and Thomas Butler settled there. A little further north was Wm. Stump's farm, on Sec. 27, and is now owned by P. Murphy. Stump improved that place about 1857. In 1855, and for some time previous he lived in a log house on Wm. Farmer's place, now Mr. Gray's. In 1855, his son. George, then a small boy, was handling a rifle, when it accidentally went off and killed his brother. Wm. Stump died sometime before the war broke out. The widow and some of the children live in Iroquois township.

. PHILLIP LUTES owned the Clabby farm at the mouth of the creek before the settlement of the prairie. His improvements were very poor--a log house and a log stable.

. ELDER TIMOTHY YOUNG bought the Lutes farm, in 1856. He was from the east, and had four sons. Two of them had a blacksmith shop in Chebanse. He built a new house and greatly improved the appearance of the farm. Formerly the travel used to go across lots from Chebanse to the mouth of the creek on this farm, across the river on Jones' ferry. The Elder only stayed about two Years, and then returned to his ministerial labors, and was succeeded by his brother, Daniel Young. He first located at Momence and preached for the Methodist congregation. Daniel Young occupied the farm for several years, until Michael Clabby bought it, and D. Young moved to Pilot, Kankakee County.

. STEPHEN GRACE owned the next farm on the north bank of the river. He came from Ireland to the U. S. in 1833, and worked in a machine shop, in Connecticut seventeen years ago. In 1850, he visited his native country, and on his return to America, his wife and him first got acquainted with each other while on ship board. In 1855 he came from Ohio to Chebanse, and bought the land he now owns, and settled upon it in 1857, and remained upon it until 1883, when he moved to town, leaving his son Edward to manage the farm. He has always been an industrious and peaceable citizen, of very genteel and polite address. Mr. Grace was born in 1810.

. JESSE BROWN AND JOHN VANMETER improved the farm north of Grace on the river, sec. 15, in the year 1854, and sold out to James Vanmeter in 1864. Jesse Brown moved to Chebanse, and John Vanmeter to Milford.

. JAMES VANMETER came into possession of his farm on the river in 1864. He also owned part of the school section, west of his house. James Vanmeter remained on his farm until his death, in 1875. Three sons and two daughters survive him. The farm is now owned by David Lowe.

. HUMPHREY HENNESSY bought land and improved a farm near the river, on sec. 15, about 1855, which his family still own and occupy. He was a very genial and pleasant man, and one of the few Irish men who never voted the Democratic ticket. He came west in 1853, and worked for Mr. Milk, at the Grove farm, two or three years. His son Frank, was the first white child born in Milk's Grove Township. Mr. Hennessy died of consumption, in 1870.

. JOSEPH SMITH was an old settler and had a farm on the river, between Hennessy's and Sugar Island mill. He lost his wife on this farm and things went wrong with him from that time. He married Stephen Jones' widow, went to Nebraska, and both died in the west. Humphry Huckins afterwards owned the Smith farm, and Wm. Gamble worked it for him.

. HENRY OSTRANDER and his brother, Canadians, were the pioneers of Sugar Island. Henry improved the farm just above the dam, and his brother built the saw mill for Mr. Maybe, about 1851. The mill stood on the east side of the river; and several years ago, Mr. Brown turned it into a grist mill. Six years ago, the present owners, Doll & Irps, moved it to the west side of the river, built a new dam, put the mill in good order, and are now doing a satisfactory business.

. OLD MR. BUCKNER kept a wagon shop at Sugar Island, before there was one in Chebanse. His son, Dr. Buckner, practiced medicine, and another son, Charles, moved to Chebanse and kept a saloon.

. DR. DEVELING located at Sugar Island in 1861, and practiced his profession there two or three years before settling in Chebanse.

. J. M. BORROUGHS came there in 1856, and pre-empted land. He farmed and kept store for a number of years; but the place could not be coaxed into a town, so Borroughs sold out and moved to Chebanse, in 1869, where he now lives.

. LOUIS DELMARLE, French, was the first settler on Sec. 21; he built a good house and improved the south-west quarter, on the State road, north of Rivard's farm. He sold out about twenty years ago and moved to Chicago. The farm has since been owned by H. Ostrander, C. O. Bartley, and now by J. Gannon. A few years ago I met Delmarle in Chicago, and not remembering my name, said: "how do you do Mr. Chebanse!"

. On the east half of Sec. 20, now owned by F. Cooley, a large brewery was built by Adolph Poncellet, owner of the "Belgium farm," one mile south. The intention was to feed cattle in connection with the brewery. The building was completed and the kettles in position, but owing to the death of Mr. Poncellet just at that time, it never was put into operation.

. THE BELGIUM FARM on the State road at Langham creek, now owned by W. W. Gray, was improved as early as 1845 or 6, by William Farmer. A log house and some sheds were all the buildings he had. In 1854 he sold to Adolph Poncellet, the Belgium Consul, at Chicago. Poncellet built a new house and large barns, and greatly improved the appearance of the place; and many French people were induced to come and settle in the neighborhood. Poncellet was drowned in the spring of 1857. He was coming from Chicago to Chebanse in his carriage, and was drowned while crossing a stream. The farm then came into the possession of Dr. Henrotin, of Chicago, and his nephew, Louis Henrotin, our present tax collector, came, in 1860, to superintend the farm, and remained there several years.

. OSCAR STRAUB, a German, unmarried, bought land and improved just south of the creek, on the State road. The old orchard is still there, but the house has been moved further east to the timber, and is now owned by Joseph Miller. Straub died and was buried in the Barnett cemetery, in 1856.

. HENRY WIGGARS lived on the east side of this section (33) on the bank of the creek and near the school house. He had a good 80-acre farm and was out of debt, and could live comfortable; but like the dog grabbing at the shadow, he sold this farm and bought a large one, went into debt and lost all. The last time I heard about him he was working out by the month.

. THE BRADY SETTLEMENT was still further east, south of the creek in the timber, and on Sec. 34. B. F. Brady, now of Kankakee, and his brothers, Joseph and William, came from Indiana and settled there about ten years before the settlement of the prairie. Mrs. E. A. Westover was Jos. Brady's widow.

. LOUIS SHOBAR, French, had a farm and lived in that settlement; and died more than twenty years ago.

. Coming back to the State road, it was settled all the way from Langham creek to the town line, by French Canadians. On the west side of the road were, Isaac and Nelson Fortier and their sons. On the east side were Oliver Marcotte, Sr., and several of his sons. Further south, and near the town line, farms were made by Edward Gates, Oliver and Nelson Cowash, Louis Grossant, William and Jerome Labounty, and their father. Many of those people settled there as early as 1854 and 5, and some of them are still living on their farms, made thirty years ago. The old folks never learned to talk English; but the young people speak both English and French.

. PETER SPINK lived one mile south of the town line, near L'Erable (Frenchtown) as early as 1854, and was a prominent man in those early days. He was a Scotchman by birth, but he spoke the French language and married a French lady. He was a man of some means and was looked up to by his neighbors. He had picked up a good many pieces of cheap land as early as 1855; but on account of dull times and heavy taxes his speculations did not prove profitable. He is now living with his sons in Minnesota, and must be over eighty years of age.

. ISAAC SMITH settled at Sugar Island in 1853; about one year later he bought land on the school section, one mile west, moved his house upon it and has lived there ever since. He is a blacksmith by trade, and made the first plow I ever took hold of to work with--and it was a good one. His children have grown up and several of them married. For a number of years he has been a believer in spiritualism, and has fitted up a place in his grove at Sugar Island for meetings and picnic's.

. GEO. W. PUMMELL came from Joliet in 1853; he built a good house and improved forty acres on the State road, Sec. 16, a few years ago he sold this farm to John Franklin, and now lives on the east side of the river, near Sugar Island.

. THOMAS MARTIN bought forty acres in the south-west quarter of this section and improved it in 1864. He is a carpenter by trade, and after a few years he exchanged his farm for lots in town, where he still resides and works at his trade.

. THEODORE BABCOX came from Indiana in 1857, and bought the Luce farm of Mr. Ackley. Failing to comply with the terms of that sale, he gave it up and bought land on the school section, where he improved and made the farm now owned by John Franklin. He introduced the one-horse corn planter, before the two row planter came out. Soon after the war was over he sold his farm and bought the Chebanse House and has lived in it ever since. He has been hotel keeper, horse doctor and auctioneer. As an auctioneer he has been successful, his rude jokes and ready wit always keeping the crowd in a good humor. In his speech at the Old Settlers meeting, he said he was born at Sandy Hook and all along the coast.

. STEPHEN B. DODSON bought the west half of Sec. 20, in the spring of 1857. It was intended for himself, his son, E. W., and his sons-in-law, A. M. Baldwin and J. P. H. Trescott,--80 acres each. They had two more sons, Joel and Fillmore; and two more daughters, Mrs. Charles Snow and Miss Susan B. They all came here in 1857, from Luzerne county, Pa. Simms G. Parker built their house. Mr. Dodson was brought up a farmer and a miller; he was very a social old man, and willing to talk about old times from morning till night. He died in January, 1877, in the 80th year of his age. After his death the farm was bought by H. Coombs, and is now occupied by him.

. E. W. DODSON came to Chebanse in 1856, and could have pre-empted land and got it for one-fifth of what he paid the railroad company for it. But like some others, he had doubts about the legality of the pre-emptions, and allowed the opportunity to pass by. He enlisted in the army and served nearly four years. When the war was over he was elected to the office of County Surveyor, which position he held two terms. He built his house after he came home from the army, has since married and now lives on his farm.

. J. P. H. TRESCOTT came from Luzern County, Penn., in 1857, and went on his land with his father-in-law, Mr. Dodson; but stayed only about two years. He lived in Turner's house, just south of town, and afterwards moved to Sugar Island and taught school several terms. Sickness got into his family and took off several of his children. He returned to Chebanse and kept a meat market for several years. In 1862, he was elected Justice of the Peace, and has held that office ever since; and with the addition of Insurance, Land business and Conveyancing, he has managed to make a comfortable and easy living.

. J. H. TRESCOTT a cousin of J. P. H. came here about the same time and from the same place. He was unmarried and went back after a few years. In 1857, Mr. Dodson raised a crop of spring wheat on John A. Pineo's farm, and at the harvest, J. H. Trescott was one of the binders. He had never seen a reaper before, and when Mr. Burton stopped to oil up, Trescott went to look at it; and his curiosity led him to put his thumb on the sickle to feel how sharp it was; just at the right time the horses made a step or two and nearly cut off Joseph's thumb. He did not bind another bundle that harvest.

. A.M. BALDWIN located in Chebanse, in 1857, and was from Luzern County, Penn. He built the store now owned by Deacon Hall, and put in a general assortment of goods, and kept store two or three years. He then moved on his land and improved the north eighty of the Dodson purchase. While there, he lost his only son, Clarence, which was a sad bereavement for the parents. He sold his farm and went into the grain trade in Chebanse. During the last twelve years or more, he has been employed in the Union Stock Yards, at Chicago.

. WILLIAM BAYLES pre-empted the S. W. quarter of sec. 17, in the fall of 1855. He came from New Jersey, and was a tailor by trade. He remained single, and for many years lived in his little shanty, at the crossing of the roads. A few tall cottonwoods mark the spot. He did not farm his land himself, nor even kept a team. Soon after he built a good house, he sold the farm to Jonas Howe; and it now belongs to the McCune brothers. Mr. Bayles was a remarkable quiet and inoffensive man. When he left here he went to Nebraska and improved a farm there. After that he went to Florida, where he died about five years ago. He had several thousand dollars in R. Nations bank when he died.

. PETER ENOS pre-empted the N. W. quarter of sec. 17, in 1855, and in 1857, he went to Pikes Peak with his team; and from there to California. He was not enchanted with gold digging, and in a year or two returned as he went. He kept "batch" for several years and then married Miss Elma Luce. He was a remarkable hard worker and went largely into stock raising, made money and bought two other farms. In 1874 he built a new house that has no superior in the county. For energy, activity and will power, he had few equals. But his health broke down, and after lingering several years, he died in 1880, in the 54th year of age. His life was moral and his views liberal. Before he died, he wished that his remains would not be carried to a church, and preached over by a minister. His wish was obeyed, and at the request of his friends, the writer made a few remarks at his burial. Peter Enos was born in Cayuga County, N. Y. He had three brothers, all of whom came west at an early day. William married Miss Rachel Hammond, and lives on Langham Creek; Frank married Miss Anna Gubtail, and died nine years ago, from the effects of a kick by a horse; Ratledge, the oldest brother, herded his cattle on the Chebanse prairie before settlement had commenced.

. JOHN LUCE lived on the S. E. quarter of sec. 17, and came here in 1860. He was formerly from Long Island and had been a sea captain. The farm is on the State road and had been improved in 1853, by Albert Kenady; who sold it to Mr. Ackley. It was afterwards bought by Nelson Pummell and then by Theodore Babcox. Ackley had moved to Missouri, but as the two last buyers failed to pay, the farm fell back to him. Mr. Luce, then in Missouri, traded farms with Mr. Ackley, sight unseen, and got a horse to boot. Mr. Luce got on his and road to Chebanse, and was well pleased with his farm when he saw it. He was a very careful and quiet man, and particular to have everything nice. He divided his farm into twenty acre lots with willow fence; but that failed, and he then planted osage, and that succeeded. But such a fence is now considered a damage. He moved the old house across the road and built a new one in 1874. He died in Now York in 1878, where he had gone to have an operation performed for the cure of the gravel. His widow and two sons, John and Daniel, remained on the farm till 1882, when they sold to Mr. Clabby, and moved to Kankakee.

. ALBERT KENADY died in Papineau Tp., many years ago. Wm. S. Jones married two of his daughters. He did not marry them both at once, for that would be bigamy; but he married his deceased wife's sister, which is contrary to the Bible and to English law. But in this country it is both legal and moral.

. DAVID PINE improved part of the N. E. quarter of sec. 17. He afterwards cut the house in two and moved each piece separate to another farm a mile or two south-east, and it afterwards occupied by his brother-in-law, Robert Carr. David Pine and his brother John lived just north of the County line, where the road turns down to Sugar Island. David Pine is a very genial and gentlemanly Irishman. He came from New York city, where he had carried on an extensive dry goods store, employing eighteen clerks. About 1857, he became involved, and seeing no clear way out, he made a proposition to his creditors to turn his store and goods over to them if they would give him money enough to go west and buy a farm. They accepted the proposition, and this is where he located. He still owns the farm where he resided, but for nearly twenty years he has been in Chicago, in the meat packing business, and is doing well. Robert Carr died with consumption, while on Pine's farm, near the river.

. HENRY MARSHALL pre-empted the S. E. quarter of sec. 19, in June, 1855. He came from Philadelphia, and formerly from England, and was a shawl manufacturer. Marshall and myself came west together as far as Pittsburgh. His object was to buy land, and mine to see the west. For several years he had cherished the desire to be a farmer; which his six years residence at Chebanse fully satisfied. He was a large portly man, of about 240 pounds; he bought whiskey by the barrel and always kept it in the house. In 1857 he shot a mule in his corn field, belonging to Elder Young; which caused a long and expensive law suit. By a mistake in stepping off his land, he built his house too far north, and it now stands 200 feet over the line and on the adjoining quarter. When he went to Danville to prove up, none of his neighbors would go to swear for him, because he did not live on the land he was pre-empting. He got Andrew Motter, who was not acquainted, to go and swear for him. He sold to Thomas Jackson, in 1861, and went back to Philadelphia. I called to see him in 1876. He is over 70 years of age.

. THOMAS JACKSON just from England, bought the Marshall farm in 1861. His wife was the young step-mother of nine children, some of them grown up girls. They all came together and brought a lot of goods with them; a piano among the rest. The children's name was Breaks, and their father was a wealthy merchant in England. He married this young woman, and soon after died. Jackson married the widow and brought all the family here. None of them had been accustomed to farm work, and things soon began to go wrong. The parents and the step-children fell out and their property wasted away. In a few years Jackson died of consumption; the widow moved to Beaver Lake country and got married again. The children all scattered, some of the girls got married, and several of them are now in California. Edwin Rosencrans now owns the farm and resides upon it.

. G. R. CALDWELL, an Englishman, from Philadelphia, and a dyer by trade, pre-empted the N. E. quarter of sec. 19. Henry Marshall got him to come here. He built the house and broke up some land, but only stayed about two years. Their son Robert, about fifteen years old, died and was buried here. They were a proud family, and neither farming nor country life suited them; and they soon sold out and went back to the city.

. REV. MR. CASTLEMAN, of Stonton, Va., bought the Caldwell farm, in 1857. He was opposed to slavery, and wished to change location and his business. He was a good man, and used to go to Chebanse every Sunday, with his ox team, and preach in the school house; but I have heard him preach against Sabbath breaking, when his oxen were on his wagon and in sight of his hearers. His family were ill suited with their new home and new business, and after three years they returned to the south. He sold his farm in Virginia, and it has been occupied by renters for twenty years. Thomas Leggott and William Hobson each occupied that farm one year, when they first came to Chebanse. Two years ago James Patterson bought the place and now resides upon it.

. ROBERT SUMMERS pre-empter the N. W. quarter of this Sec. in 1855. He came from Chicago and was a baker. He and his wife lived in a board shanty 12x14 feet, which is still on the farm. Summers was not a pattern of morality. One of his last tricks here was to buy a lot of cows and other things at Pineo's vendue, and leave without paying for them. The farm was afterwards owned by W. Garlock and Geo. H. Allen; and is now the property of Robert Blaney and Joseph Slinn.

. ABRAHAM SELLERS, English, from Kendall county, and blacksmith by trade, pre-empted the S. W. quarter of this sec. in the fall of 1855. He has two sons in Kansas and one here. John Sever, station agent, had made claim on this land and got about $150 from Sellers. The land was flat and wet, and though he had a blacksmith shop on the place, the returns were not satisfactory. He mortgaged the place and after a few years let it go. He moved to Clifton, worked at his trade and kept hotel. He still lives in Clifton and is a very old man. During the war, while John H. Sands was with the army building bridges, his family occupied this place. It is now the property of Edwin Rosencrans.

. JOHN RAPP, a German, bought land in the S. W. quarter of sec. 18, and made the first improvement on that section in 1858. He had a large family, three sons and four daughters; two of the sons died in Kankakee. He was an industrious man, but never learned English and could associate only with his own kind. He remained on his farm until he died in 1882, aged 73 years. Adam Breneiser, a son-in-law, now occupies the farm, which belongs to the heirs.

. MOSES EYERLEY bought 40 acres east of Rapp, about 1858, and made the next improvement on this section. He sold to M. Boxebrger and John Ryan afterwards got it, and lived there for a number of years. Recently it was bought by Robert Blaney, and he has moved the buildings off of it. Rosetta Blaney bought the next 80 acres, and Richard Sanders 40 in the S. E. quarter of the section. John Crawford improved and occupied the forty north of Sanders. Crawford afterwards improved the south eighty on the Summers pre-emption; which he traded to Joseph Slinn for Iowa land. About the close of the war, James McClure, Johm H. Sands and Peter Enos, bought and improved land, on the north half of this section, which they still occupy, John H. Sands has been the town assessor for about twelve years, and still fills the office. One year ago he moved to town to live; their children all being married. His son William is on the farm.

. WILLIAM AND JOSEPH PORTER, protestant Irishmen, from Chicago, and carpenters by trade, bought 40 acres in the N. W. corner of sec. 24. They built their house and moved into it in 1858. In a few years they separated, and William retained the farm. During the war he made a verbal contract with Capt. Schelswick, the R. R. Co's. land agent, to buy the 40 acres east of him. About the same time Saml. Davidson bought the same land in the office at Chicago. Porter took possession of the land and farmed it. He tendered the payment to the company and sued them for a deed. The case was tried in the lower and in the higher courts, and every time was decided against Porter. He reluctantly gave up the land, paid $900 court expenses, which was more than the price of the land. Joseph Porter died in Chebanse, in 1871, and William on the farm in 1880. Both of their widows live in town.

. L. F. RIDER, German, from Chicago, and a stone cutter by trade, bought 40 acres south of Porter's about 1862. He bought Amos Shaw's pre-emption house and moved it on his land. He did not know how to make a living at farming, and in few years he sold his place to Adam Zaucker and went back to Chicago. The remainder of sec. 24 remained vacant for several years, until Erik Nelson came and bought the east half.

. GEORGE SLINN, English, from Chicago, pre-empted the S. E. quarter of sec. 13 in July 1855. Slinn and Summers were neighbors at Chicago, and came here together. I had made their acquaintance that Spring, and brought them here to see the land. They were well pleased with the land and returned to Chicago the same day to bring their ox teams and some housekeeping things to make pre-emptions. It was three weeks before they returned, and I waited and made claims for them; and when they returned helped them to build their houses. Mr. Slinn's business was to make satin shoes to go before the foot lights; when he came here it was driving oxen and breaking prairie; a contrast that he often spoke of. But he was well pleased with the change; and there was no happier man than him in his family. He died in 1859, after a short illness; and was the first person buried in the Chebanse cemetery. He had four sons and three daughters. George, the oldest son, went to Minnesota to marry Adelaide Glover, but got sick and died before the ceremony was performed. John got married and lived on the old place and died in 1877. Joseph lives on his farm, on sec. 19. Henry has half of the old farm and lives in town with his mother and two sisters. Mrs. J. F. Schrader is the oldest daughter.

. WILLIAM B GLOVER, Canadian, settled on the N. W. quarter of sec. 13, just east of town in the Spring of 1855. He bought land of a speculator, and afterwards learning about the Government land, he pre-empted some more on the same section. He had the only horse team in the neighborhood that summer; and much of his time was spent driving people out to see land. He had a petulant temper and was quarrelsome with his neighbors; and often at law with some of them; still he was a methodist and very religious. He had a large family and they were attacked with the ague, which they fought with an ounce bottle of quinine. He sold the farm to John J. Tyler in 1860 and went to Minnesota; and from accounts that came back he did not improve his condition.

. JOHN J. TYLER , bought the Glover farm in 1860, and got possession in the spring. He was a New York man but had been several years in this state. About 1872 he sold his farm to A. J. Foord and got some Indiana land in part payment. Mr. Foord afterwards failed in business, and also failed to pay the balance of the purchase money for this farm. It was secured by a very slow mortgage, but in about eight years it expired and the farm came back to Mr. Tyler. He has built another house and his two sons, Edwin and Frank, work the farm. Mr. Tyler lives on his 40 acre farm close to town.

. JOHN F. SCHRADER, German, came from Kankakee to Chebanse in the spring of 1855, where he had worked for Elder Gay, the summer before. He was brought up a farmer and understood his business. He bought 80 acres of Elder Gay on sec. 13, where he now lives, and boarded at Mr. Glover's until he built his own house. In 1859 he married Miss Jane Slinn. He has made several additions to his farm, but still more to his family. He worked hard, and managed will, and has prospered accordingly.

. RICHARD TURNER pre-empted the S. W. quarter of sec. 13, in 1855. He stayed long enough to secure his land and then moved away; and Mr. Schrader afterwards bought the land.

. JOSEPH HAIGH, the writer of this history, came to Chebanse about the 10th of July 1855; having left Philadelphia on the 15th of April, to visit the western states and improve 40 acres of land at Chicago, bought by Amos Shaw the summer before. The land was about four miles north-west of the Court House. I took a surveyor out to locate the corners, and found the land a mile away from where Mr. Shaw supposed he had bought, and not near so good. The land was very wet, and I was discouraged about plowing and planting it. I wrote to Mr. Shaw and told him how it was, and asked what I should do. He at once sent me a telegraph dispatch. It contained only two words and four letters, and read: "go on." And I did go on. I hired three men and three teams to do the breaking; and two other men to help me build fence and plant corn. In the fall I measured one acre and husked the corn, and it yielded 42 bushels. I sold the crop on the ground. When I got my fence built and corn planted, I was ready to travel and see more country. While in Chicago I got hold of one of the Illinois Central R. R. land books with plats, showing their lands, and offering them for sale; but said nothing about the alternate sections. I knew nothing about it, but thought they must be government land. I went to Manteno to look for Government land. After several days search I returned unsuccessful. But still I had the same opinion and started out a second time and came as far as Chebanse. When I got off the cars I was surprised to meet Henry Marshall on the platform. He had been here several days and I soon learned there was plenty of Government land. Marshall and I had parted at Pittsburgh three months before. I had shipped two cases of goods there and stopped to sell them; and while I was farming at Chicago Marshall was hunting land. He had a Gov. plat of T. 29 R. 13; but refused to let me copy it unless I paid him five dollars. I was not surprised at that for I knew Marshall well. I met with Richard Hanna, then a stranger to me and he allowed me copy his tow plats, ranges 13 and 14, and wanted no pay at all. Now I had found Gov. land and in a good location. It had long been my ambition to own a farm, but did not feel ready to buy one yet. Besides, I had my business in Philadelphia, and expected to return. But here was an opportunity that does not often happen, and I was tempted to embrace it. I corresponded with Mr. Shaw and he disposed of our business. I pre-empted the N. E. quarter of sec. 23 and made a claim on the S. E. quarter for him, and he came and secured it. I had never worked or even lived on a farm; but I was young and ambitious, and willing to do any kind of work, and I succeeded.

. AMOS SHAW pre-empted the S. E. quarter of sec. 23, in 1855. He never brought his family west, though he was here much of the time himself. When we went to the land office to prove our claims and pay up, his money was refused, because he had failed to comply with the law. But fortunately nobody jumped his claim, and at the Gov. land sale one year after, he got all three of the four forties at the minimum prices. All the land buyers withdrew in his favor but Parker Dresser. And to compromise with him he had to let him have one forty. Mr. Shaw was from England, within two miles of my place of nativity. He came to Philadelphia in 1847, and was a block printer. He made himself a loom and began to weave a few shawls and sell them in the market. His business prospered and increased, and at one time he was worth over $40,000. He lost his wife in 1859, and after that he spent most of his time here and in Chicago. He was of a philosophical turn of mind, a great reader and a pleasant companion. for several years before he died he thought a great deal about spiritualism, but never became fully satisfied about it. He said that if he died before I did he would come back and let me know about it. He has never returned, and I have concluded that spiritualism is not true. He died in Chicago, Oct. 9, 1871, just one week after the great fire, in his 53d year. I brought his remains to Chebanse for burial; and administered to his estate, worth$12,000--as he requested me to do. A tomb stone in Chebanse cemetery marks his last resting place. A son and a daughter survive him, Amos and Adelaide. The son was reckless and gave his father much trouble; and when he came into possession of his property he went through it in one year. About six years ago he married and settled down at Onarga, apparently a reformed man. Adelaide spent several years here after her father's death, and was a very prudent woman. She had a worthless husband in Philadelphia, and got a divorce from him in this county. In 1872 she went with me to England to visit her relatives in that country. After returning, she married Richard Cookson, and they keep a clothing store on North 22d street, Philadelphia.

. EDWARD HAIGH came to Chebanse in April, 1857, on the annual town meeting day. When he got off the cars the election was being held in the passenger depot. He had worked several years in a woolen factory in Philadelphia. in 1854, he left England in a sailing vessel for this country, and after making two thirds of the journey the ship was turned back and went into the port they had left nearly six weeks before. On account of bad weather and contrary winds, the vessel had sprung a leak so badly that both the passengers and crew could not lower the water by pumping day and night, and their only safety was to turn around and go back with the wind. Many of the passengers refused to venture on the ocean again, but Ed got on another vessel and tried it once more. He bought and improved eighty acres of land on the east half of Sec. 23, where he still resides; and has lately bought another eighty, in Sec. 24. He has raised a large family of children, and his boys have grown up larger than himself. He has seven children living, four sons and three daughters.

. MATTHEW HAIGH came from England to Chebanse, in 1860; he worked at farming about two years and then enlisted in the army. He belonged to the 113th Ills. Vols., served three years and was discharged at the close of the war. He returned to Chebanse and bought and improved forty acres of land in the South-east quarter of 23, the same land that Parker Dresser got of Amos Shaw. In a few years he concluded that forty acres was not enough, and he sold to Henry Kenworthy, and bought 160 acres of wild land Beaver township, twenty miles south-east of here. He has very good improvements and most of the time keeps a family in his home. He is very quiet and sedate, never married, and spends most of his leisure time with books and figures, and probably is as good a mathematician as there is in the county.

. FRED AND HENRY KENWORTHY came from England during the war, and bought the Phillip Wamback farm, south of the creek. Selling that in a year or two, Henry bought M. Haigh's farm, and Fred commenced a meat market in Chebanse. While they were on the creek farm their father and mother came from England; but they were too old to transplant and soon went back to their native soil. Henry was one of the best flute players here or in England; and Fred was the originator of the Chebanse Cornet Band, and was its first leader. They both live in Chicago now; but Henry still owns his farm.

. PATRICK AND MICHAEL MCMAHAN, Irish, bought 80 acres of Amos Shaw, in the south-east quarter of 23, in 1859, and moved on and improved their land in 1862. Two years after Patrick died, of consumption. Michael still owns and occupies the farm, and has raised a family of good children. At the time they bought this land they were working for the Mr. Hobbie, of Kankakee city.

. PETER SHERMAN bought and improved forty acres of railroad land, in 1861, on Sec. 14, joining Mrs. Williams on the south. He sold to Erik Nelson and went to Iowa with Frank Taylor. His brother, John Sherman, was a renter on the Howland farm, and afterwards went to Missouri and farmed for Jonas H. Howe.

. COL. T. D. WILLIAMS bought the balance of the quarter section lying east of the village plat, about 50 acres, in 1858, and it is still owned by his widow. Mr. Williams was station agent, justice of the peace and grain merchant. He also built a large shed on his land east of the village, where he bought and fed cattle. He was English by birth, and stood several inches over six feet in height. He had a military education, having graduated at West Point. Like Gen. Grant, he was as inveterate smoker, and seldom seen without his pipe in his mouth. When the rebellion broke out he felt under obligations to his adopted country, and he raised a company of volunteers and went with them as their Captain, and soon gained both honors and promotion. He was killed in front of his men at the battle of Stone River, Dec. 31, 1862. It was a great misfortune that Col. Williams was killed, for his excellent qualities would have raised him to the highest ranks in the army, and been of great value to the country. Col. Williams had seen active service in the Mexican war, under Generals McClellan, Beauregard and other high officials; and it was through his favorable acquaintance with Gen. McClellan, that he was given the agency at Chebanse. To show that he was composed of the stuff that heroes are made of, I will relate an incident of the Mexican war, as told by himself years before the Southern Rebellion was thought of. He said that in a hard fought battle in that war, the smoke got so thick and the fire so hot, that the men working his gun were reduced to two in number, himself and another. The situation had become desperate, and he noticed his companion giving side glances, with unmistakable signs that he was going to run away and try to save his own life. Williams put his hand to his revolver and said to his companion: "Look here, if you run away from this gun I will surely kill you. There is a bare chance for your life if you stay, but if you run away you are a dead man." With that positive warning, the man stayed at his post, and the two men worked the gun through the engagement, and held it at the close of the battle.

VILLAGE PIONEERS.

CHEBANSE VILLAGE.

. The village of Chebanse is located on the north-east quarter of Section 14, and extends across the County Line into Otto Township. The following named persons resided in the village before the rebellion, or during its continuance. They are named in the order of their settlement as near as is known; and for brevity, in business groups.

RAILROAD HANDS

. Larry O'Neil lived in the section house and boarded the railroad men as early as 1854. The Myron brothers, five in number, built the house east of the north depot grove, in 1856, lived in it with their mother and worked on the railroad. Soon after that, John Linehan, John Bogan, Michael Conner, and William O'Roarke, each built dwelling houses in town and worked on the track. James A. Thompson was section boss and built his house west of the pond and east of the Congregational church. In the fall of 1855, Larry O'Neal pre-empted land one mile east of Clifton, where he made a farm and stayed upon it until his death. After a few years the Myron brothers left the track, worked on farms, and afterwards bought land. Their mother was an old woman when they came here, 29 years ago, and she lived until 1881. Linehan is still in the employ of the company and lives in Chatsworth. Bogan left these parts twenty years ago; but Conner is still here and living on rented farms. Wm. O'Roark is still living in town, and less than a year ago, he buried his fifth wife; and Thompson died shortly after he left Chebanse.

CARPENTERS

. The first carpenters in town were R. J. Hanna, S. G. Parker, Edwin Burnit, Charles Bigelow, Andrew Jackson, James H. Jaquith, Cornelius Tompkins and G. R. Blanchard. Hanna pre-empted land one and one-half miles north of town, and sold to S. Howland. He is now Post Master and merchant in Kankakee, Parker married Hanna's sister, and afterwards went back to New Jersey, where he came from. Burnit pre-empted land in Ashkum, got married and died before the war; leaving a young wife and one or two children. Bigelow enlisted in the army. After the war he got married and soon moved away, and died a few years after. Jackson had a wagon shop with his carpenter business. He also bought land and tried farming awhile; but soon gave that up and returned to his first love. Jaquith enlisted in the army, got wounded and was discharged. He enlisted a second time and went as captain. He got sick and died in the south. His widow still lives in town and in the house that he built when they got married. Tompkins died of consumption in the Chebanse House, in 1871. He was well cared for by "Pappy" Babcox. His last work was on DeVeling's Blockade Store. He was a single man and an out spoken infidel; and was as firm in his views when death stared him in the face as when health and life was his portion. A head stone in our cemetery marks his last resting place. Blanchard was also a single man, and Mrs. Allen's brother. He went west about ten years ago.

SHOEMAKERS

. The first shoemakers were Silas Moorhouse and his son Jefferson, John Miller and Charles Bard. Moorhouse went blind several years before his death; and his son, Jefferson, died before he did. John Miller married M. Boxberger's sister and moved to Missouri. Charles Bard enlisted in the army and died in the service. John Powers, his brother-in-law, took charge of his store when he went to the war. Mr. Swain and his family, from Louisiana, came here when the war broke out, and improved forty acres of land. When the war was over they returned to their former home, and John Powers bought their farm and still lives upon it.

MERCHANTS

. The first merchants were A. M. Fishburn, Spaulding & Harrington, A. M. Baldwin, Richard and Isaac Hanna, E. S. Richmond, Washington Garlock, H. H. Cooley, B. Sutherland, Jos. Leonard, John DaShiell, and E. W. Warren. D. Hitchcock started the first tin shop. Fishburn went to his farm, (now Jos. McIntyre's,) which he sold and then went back to Ohio. Spaulding & Harrington soon sold their store and went away. Harrington is dead, and Spaulding returned to Chebanse after an absence of twenty-five years. He has taught book keeping school two winters in Chebanse, and is now book-keeper at Johnson's grain warehouse, at Kankakee. Baldwin kept store about two years and then improved his land south-east of town. He sold his farm to Mr. Macdonald and went into the grain trade. Richmond did business here for more than twenty years, in different branches; but on account of bad calculation and loose business habits, he never prospered. He went to Texas five years ago, very poor. Garlock pre-empted land, and also improved the Chapman farm, east of town, and was so porvoked because a hail storm damaged his trees, that he sold out and went back to New York, where he was born. H. H. Cooley, is a nephew of Mr. Milk, and has become rich in commission business at the Chicago stock yards. Sutherland went into the army as Captain, and now lives in Kankakee, Isaac Hanna returned to New York and went into business there; his store took fire and he perished with it. Leonard sold his store to Richmond and went to the army as suttler. He was a shrewd business man but he lacked stability. He was store keeper, grain buyer, farmer and stock raiser. He returned to Chicago after the war, but was still unsteady. He deserted his wife, his family was broken up, and things went to destruction. Several years ago he died in destitute circumstances. DaShiell died in Chebanse, with a cancer on his neck. Warren went to Texas and died recently. Hitchcock married a Chebanse belle and moved to the south part of this state,

MEDICAL MEN

. Medicine was first administered by Drs. Marshall, Warner, Way, DeVeling, Thompson, Gibson and Stokes. Marshall came here in 1856, but remained only one or two years. Warner came about the same time and opened a little drug store, which was burned with Hanna's store and Moorehouse's shoe-shop, in 1858. Warner afterwards located at Clifton; he also went to Florida and to the west; and a few years ago he returned to Chebanse. Way practiced about three years, (selling lumber at the same time,) and then moved to Kankakee. DeVeling came from Canada to Sugar Island, in 1861, and located in Chebanse about three years later, and has remained ever since. Thompson came from Chicago about the close of the war, and continued to practice until his death, in 1880. He graduated in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was a fine scholar. Gibson was doctor and druggist, and he edited a newspaper in the interest of Horace Greeley during his presidential campaign. He was an active little man; married Miss Lucy Huckins, and died in Chebanse, February, 1876. Stokes was a very short man and had a very tall wife. He was well liked by some and much despised by others.

GRAIN BUYERS

. The first grain buyers were A. M. Wilson, T. D. Williams, A. M. Baldwin, G. A. Coquerelle, Louis Shuert, Jesse Brown, John S. Martin and Joseph Leonard. Leonard built the first grain warehouse; others were built by True Bros., Comstock & Co., F. J. Taylor and A. J. Foord. J. Haigh ran the first horse-power corn sheller in Chebanse. It was run by one horse and could shell from 300 to 400 bushels a day. The shelling had been done by hand shellers, and this was thought to be a great thing. A. M. Wilson died in 1861, and was buried in the Barnett cemetery. Shuert moved away about 1862, and died a few years later. R. J. Macdonald married his daughter. Coquerelle moved to Chicago and went into the shirt making business.

ATTORNEYS

. The first resident attorney was John Test. He was an old man, plain and unassuming; but was a good attorney and a reliable person. He lived here several years and left about 1860. Judge Popper located here before the war. His first employment was husking corn for Wm. B. Glover. He soon hunted up some disputes among the neighbors, got them into court and received some law practice. His style was offensive and he got into disrepute. He sued a young widow who had insulted him for his forwardness. The case was tried before Esquire Williams, in the passenger house. Edward Gates was a witness against him, and the first question that Popper asked the witness was: "Are you the gates of heaven or the gates of hell?" The witness answered that he was the gates of heaven. Soon after that time the Judge married Wm. Stump's widow; but acted so disagreeable about the house that the family drove him away. When the war broke out he enlisted and went to fight the "rebs." After the war he returned to Old Middleport and married again. He is now a successful pension agent, but is very old and poorly clad.

BLACKSMITHING

. Michael Haley was the first blacksmith in Chebanse; then came Young Bros., Gubtail & Walker, Gibbeau Bros., Allen, Robinson and Dexter. The wagon makers were, Andrew Jackson, C. Quesse, P. Bauer, J. Grosse and B. F. Fender. Haley is still at his forge and has hammered the hot iron twenty-eight years in this town. His brother, Dan Haley, formerly resided with him. Young Bros., were sons of Elder Young, and soon left. Gubtail & Walker moved from here to Plato, and then still further east. Gibbeau Brothers were nephews of old Mr. Gibbeau, who died here a few years ago. Dexter went to Texas, and Robinson to Arkansas. Quesse and Grosse left wagon making for other business. Bauer came from Kankakee at the close of the war, after serving three years in the army; and he still continues at his trade. Fender was also a soldier in the late war, and is now a carpenter.

LIVERY BUSINESS

. Erastus Roadifer and A. D. Mitchell were early in the livery business, and Roadifer still continues. Mitchell's house and livery barn were destroyed by fire many years ago. He was rather immoral and rough spoken. The Congressional Church was built on part of his lot, and after it was finished he had a dispute with the trustees about the ground, and often swore he would take the church from them and turn it into a livery barn.

HARNESS SHOP

. The first regular harness shop was kept by Michael Geopper. He was a german and owned a good farm opposite F. Schrader's, as well as his harness business. He was of a cheerful and rather jovial disposition; but strange as it may seem, he committed suicide in his own bed room, and no one was able to assign any reason for the rash act. He died in 1870, and his widow still occupies the old home and a few acres of the land.

STATION AGENTS

. The first station agent was John Seaver, and he was succeeded by Dr. Alling; then came Williams, Johnson, Mowrey, Merrill, Smith, Lavery and Dorsey. Seaver stayed only about two years, and Alling is still agent for the company, in the southern part of this state. Williams entered the army as Captain and lost his life on the battle field. Merril was knocked off a car passing the coal shed and his legs were injured so that he died soon after the accident. Mowrey was a single man and died at the depot. Smith was killed by a train backing up when he was looking in the opposite direction and giving orders to the men. He was a very pleasant man and a fine organist.

SALOON KEEPERS

. The first saloons were kept by Geo. Carter, Michael Boxberger, Jno. Creed, Bat Carey, Charles Buckner, Theodore Babcox, Moses Eyerly, Andrew Jackson, Luther Gubtail and C. Quesse. Carter only lived about three years after coming here. Boxberger and his wife went to Chicago, and both died recently. Creed was a plasterer, and kept saloon in winter. But Carey was a rough Irishman, and disappeared long ago. Buckner went back to Canada. Jackson was too good a customer himself and he soon quit. Eyerley is now in Texas. A strong temperance organization gave the saloon keepers a great deal of trouble, prosecuting them in the courts, and even knocking the heads out of whiskey barrels. In those days all the license they had to pay was fifty dollars to the county; but they refused to pay and sold without license.

LUMBER

. Dr. Way kept the first lumber yard in town; and soon Mr. Sisson went into business and kept a moderate assortment. Then came James Wells, who did a large business. Nation & Palmer put in a stock and followed that business for a while. Wells sold out his business to A. J. Foord.

MASONS

. E. A. Westover and his cousin built a cellar for Mr. Halsey, near Waldron, as early as 1856, Jonh Creed, and Thomas Baxter were also masons, and Mr. W. has been doing mason work about Chebanse to the present time. His cousin enlisted in the army and was killed at his gun. Henry Fisher, from Indiana, worked at that business for a number of years, and when asked why he was leaving Chebanse, he said: "In my father's house are many mansions, and the old man is getting very feeble and wants me to go back home."

POST OFFICE

. The post office was buffeted about a number of years, because it was not worth having. John Seaver was the first P. M. Then followed A. M. Fishburn, T. D. Williams, A. M. Baldwin, Mr. Bristol, Jos. Leonard and E. S. Richmond. W. J. Hunter was deputy under Richmond, and afterwards became principal. Hunter has kept the office continuously for about fifteen years, and is a very efficient officer. The office is now a paying one, and is courted instead of buffered.

THE SCHOOL HOUSE

. For many years the school house was the only place in town where public gatherings could be held. Funerals and elections, religious meetings and dances, lectures and entertainments, were all held in the school house. It was finally occupied so much that it became intolerable, and the school directors had to put a stop to it. People used to go in and hold meetings, dirty the house, use the district coal, and the house open when they went away. The Methodist congregation did not build their church until they were shut out of the school house. And it resulted in their benefit for they would not have built when they did if they had not been denied the use of the school house to hold their meetings in.

OTHER VILLAGE MATTERS

. Jesse Brown bought Louis Shuert's house, now Mrs. Williams'. The house west of Mr. Burroughs' was built by old Joseph Platt. He had three grown up sons, Harvey, John and Eli. It was afterwards owned by John DaSheil, Duane Hall and P. D. Hall. Sylvester Lyons married one of Platt's daughters. He enlisted and died in the army; as also did his brother-in-law, Eli Platt. Old Mr. Platt moved to Del Rey; John DaSheill died in that house; and Duane Hall went to Kansas. A. C. Willard came to Chebanse in 1858. Before that he had worked a year or two at Pilot and Milk's Grove. He never married and has always lived alone; and has never been away long enough to lose his residence. He is eccentric, but has been a useful man. He is particularly down on Masons, and on "snake eggs". He was born in the state of New York in 1814. Silas Terry left Wisconsin in 1863, and located in Chebanse. It was the second year of the war, and his son-in-law, Wm. S. Conover, enlisted here. The old man had been a soldier and was discharged before coming here. John Newcomb came to Chebanse, from England, in 1858, and lived with his cousin, Mr. Frith, on the Scott Farm. He married Mary J. Rogers, in 1863, and his wife's father, Richard Rogers, died one year ago, aged 78 years. Newcomb has done mason work and well digging for the last fifteen years. James Webb, English, located here in 1864. He had just got his discharge, after serving three years in the army. He worked awhile on the railroad and bought the yellow house of John Linehan. His brother-in-law, Henry Tilley, cane in 1865. Tilly had just returned from California. Tilley's mother died and was buried here. They were from Saugus, Mass. Webb sold his house to Wm. Porter in 1871, and went back. Benjamin Potwine located one mile west of town, in 1865. He has owned and lived on several places near by, and now lives in town. He is very reserve and unsocial, and is almost a mystery. He has always lived alone and in a humble way; although he is rich and ready to loan money by the thousands of dollars if the security suits him. Geo. H. Allen bought the Summers farm, now Mr. Blaney's in 1863, and built the house that is now on it. In a few years he sold the farm and moved to town, where he now lives. With a few acres of land, a little money and the constable office, he has made a comfortable living. Henry Merril is Mrs. Jaquith's brother, and came here when she did, about 1858. He served his time in the army, and after the war he settled in Nebraska. James McKee came to Chebanse, from Blue Island, 1861. He improved and lived on a farm two miles north-west of town, Several sons and daughters came with him, and are now prominent men and women. Joseph, Frank, John, Robert and Myron are their sons; and Mrs. M. Greene, Mrs. Chapman and Mrs. Rotger their daughters. Jas. McKee got sick and died suddenly, in 1868. His widow, Mrs. McKee, still lives in town and is both active and useful. In sickness she is an excellent nurse, and a real mother of charity. Joseph Moody and his wife, located in Chebanse, in 1860 and lived in one of Dr. Warner's houses. He was a man of means, and made money by trades and speculations. He had a grown up son by a former wife, who did business for his father, and was here occasionally. A report got started that Moody and his wife were not legally married, and the neighboring women had an immense amount of gossip about it; and yet they seemed to live in as holy bonds of matrimony as those that talked to them. When A. M. Fishburn left here his farm came into possession of Mr. Moody. The house was a very good one and he moved in and lived there a year or two, until he sold the farm to Joseph McIntyre, in 1866. Wm. Reben settled in Chebanse, in 1865. He bought a piece of land on the west side of the railroad, and laid out Reben's addition. He is a German and a carpenter by trade, and still resides on his land. John W. Baker located here about the beginning of the war. He bought land and improved the farm owned by Wm. Shoottmiller. He belonged to the Baptist congregation and built their church. As much as fifteen years ago he left his wife and family here, and located in Iowa. Charles Maloy, Irish, came to Chebanse in 1855. He bought a lot east of the depot and built the first house in town. He afterwards pre-empted land in Ashkum, where he now resides. He had been a plantation overseer in the West Indies, and considered himself broken down in health, and here to recruit it. Several years ago he went to Australia to settle the estate of his deceased brother. He is now an old man and is hale and hearty. James Frith, English, came from New York to Chebanse with his family in the spring of 1855, and were among the very first settlers. They improved and lived on the Scott farm close to town. he had three sons, Charles, William and John, and two daughters, Mrs. Hanna and Mrs. Schroder. Charles is farming in Kansas; William is the undertaker, in Kankakee, and John keeps a hardware store in Donovan. All three were in the army. James Frith died at Kankakee last spring, aged 73 years. Geo. Wells located in the village, in 1864. He was of a speculative turn and bought and sold land and town property; and laid out the Wells addition. About ten years ago his father died, and he returned to the old homestead at Glens Falls, N. Y. and bought out the rest of the heirs. He never got all of his Chebanse business settled up and often came here to see to it. On his last trip he got sick on the journey, and died here very suddenly. His family and relatives were far away, and he was buried in their absence by his friends in Chebanse. O. S. Whitehead came to Chebanse from the state of Maine or N. H. in 1856, bought 80 acres of railroad land west of town and in Kankakee Co. All the farming he did on it was breaking up three or four acres and planting potatoes; and they stayed in the ground in the fall until the frost ruined them. For several years he taught school at Streeter and other places, and gave general satisfaction. He married Miss Phoebe Ann Everitt, and undertook to make a fruit and vegetable farm among the stumps on Sugar Island; but it was a failure. He had hard work, and unhealthy location, and the disadvantage of being on an Island. His wife died and then he died; and their two children were taken east by his brother. B. F. Farley came to Chebanse, in 1865, and built the house furthest west on 1st South st. He was a school teacher at that time, and I think taught the first term in the new school house. He left the school and went to studying medicine, and is now practicing at Buckingham. G. R. Caldwell, Scotch, started a nursery in Chebanse, before the war commenced. His wife was Miss Forsyth, but she was not prudent in all things,. They separated and each took their own course. Caldwell is now in south Africa; and his brother from the south Kankakee nursery, also went there a few years ago. E. L. Wright bought the ground were Caldwell had his nursery, and still resides upon it. Previous to moving there, Wright had carried on the Grove farm for Mr. Milk. Thomas Baxter improved the lot now occupied by Jerome Burd. He enlisted in the army, and after the war was over he sold his house and lot to Jerome. Mr. Allen's house was the first one built on the west side of the railroad. Dr. Way built and occupied it during the war. and afterwards sold it to Allen.

OUTSIDE SETTLEMENTS

. Previous to 1855, David Everitt, Zeno Streeter and Aaron Stackpole, lived two and a half miles east of Chebanse. Half a mile further was Humphrey Huckins; and at the end of the road Cap. Styles' farm. On the Gannon farm, a little south, lived Mr. Palmer, and a little north was John A Pineo, his mother and Luther Gubtail. A little log house stood on the bank of Trail creek, just north of Barnett, which served for school house, meeting house, and voting place. Everitt died October 24th 1883, aged 84 years. His sister, Mrs. Aaron Stackpole, survives him and is over eighty. Streeter died in 1882. Stackpole died about 1875, very helpless and very old. While the old man was still living, his son, 70 years of age, came home sick and died at his house. Stackpole was nearly 90 when he died. Mrs. Stackpole is still living, but is very old and feeble. Alvin Miller was raised by them. Barnett is still on his farm and occasionally goes to town. Pineo died of consumption, in 1859. he was a very promising young man. His mother Polly Gubtail, is the oldest woman in the neighborhood. John Dickey lived on the Styles farm. Morgan Hutton bought the Palmer farm, but afterwards moved to town and worked at the carpenter business.

WEST OF THE VILLAGE

. HENRY ROTGER, German, bought the balance of the quarter section lying west of the village. He sold it to George Wells, and doubled his money within one year. He came to Chebanse in 1857, with his brother Herman. Henry bought and improved the north-west quarter of the school section, when it was sold by trustees. While on that farm he lost his wife and sold the place to Anton Schaffer. He afterwards married Miss McKee and improved a farm two miles north-west of town, which he still owns. His brother improved a farm west of town, but he only stayed here a few years.

. MR. COOK, from Canada, bought and improved what is now the Wakeman Nursery, but lived only two or three years, and afterwards his wife died of consumption. She was a sister of Mrs. A. M. Wilson. Their son, Melvin Cook, enlisted in the army, came back after the war was over, but disappeared many years ago.

. A. M. WILSON, Canadian, improved what is now the P. C. Burke farm, north of the county line; and Thomas Barr, also Canadian, the 40 acres a little further west. Mr. W. gave up farming and went into the grain trade; which he followed until he died in 1861. And Thomas Barr sold out to Wakeman, the horse doctor, and went to Minnesota.

. THE HOWLAND FARM has a little history. It is a mile and a half north of town and was pre-empted by Mr. Hanna, in 1855. He made no permanent improvements, but sold to Sylvenus Howland, in 1856. Howland was a young man from New York, and his father furnished the means to buy the land and make improvements. He married Miss Wealthy Ann Everitt, and in 1864 he got killed by the cars on the railroad. His only heir is a daughter, born after his death; and the farm has been held in trust ever since. When but a child she moved to Denver with her mother and step-father; where she has grown up to womanhood and recently got married, and is expected soon to return with her husband to her Chebanse farm. The house is a square two story building, with a chimney on each gable. One of the chimneys was only partly built when Howland died, and has remained in that condition ever since, nearly twenty years. If the young husband is a tasty man he will finish that chimney, which will much improve the appearance of the house.

. CAP SHELSWICK, Norwegian, and formerly a sea captain, located at Chebanse, in 1865; and bought the S. W. quarter Sec. 14, and built the house now owned by Mrs. Jonas Howe. He was in the employ of the railroad company as their land agent. His farm has been divided into several small farms and town lots. When the railroad land was all sold, his business was done, and he left here and moved to Washington Island. Since Mr. Nelson's death, I have heard no word from him.

. A. M. FISHBURN pre-empted the S. E. quarter of sec. 15, in 1855. He was from Ohio and had a nice family. He built a very good house and set out many shade and fruit trees, but did not farm much himself. He rented Charles Maloy's building in town, and started the first store, which he kept for several years. About eighteen years ago he sold his farm to Joseph Moody, and went back to Ohio. Both men and his wife are dead. The farm is now owned by Joseph McIntyre.

. PROF. EVANS, Italian, pre-empted the S. W. quarter of Sec. 15, in 1855. His family was in a log house on Langham creek, while he was building his pre-emption house. He was a professor of music, and called himself the "Ole Bull" of America, and giving concerts and musical entertainments was his business. He was away much of the time, and his wife died in his absence. He never made much improvement on his land, but soon sold it and left. He was a copper colored man, and mild and gentle in his manner. He returned two or three times and gave entertainments in DeVeling's hall, and they were always first class.

. BENJAMIN POTWINE made the first improvements on the north-east quarter of Sec. 15, in 1865. It has since been owned by Robt. Nation, F. J. Taylor and Wm. Lake. The north-west quarter was bought and improved by R. Chapman. Both of these quarters were choice land and had been "gobbled" by E. W. Russell, the Receiver in the Government land office, previous to 1855.

. JOSEPH LEONARD bought the north-east quarter of the school section, when it was sold by trustees in 1859. He came from Canada, but had lived a short time on Beaver creek. He improved his land, though it was only a speculation; as he was living in town and keeping store at the time. About the middle of the war he sold out here and went south with a stock of goods to keep a suttlers shop in the army.

. VALENTINE FULLER came to Chebanse during the war and bought Leonard's farm on the school section. He attended to his business and did well until he had his farm paid for and things in good shape about him; then he became restless, left his farm, moved to town and went into store keeping,--a business he was in no way qualified to handle. The rest was, he lost his property and his business too. He went west and located in Iowa, leaving some of his debts unpaid. He died several years ago.

. ANTON SCHAFFER, German, lives on the N. W. quarter of the school sec. which he bought of Henry Rotger, in 1861. His place is well improved and things look comfortable around him. Geo. W. Gere bought 200 acres on the school section, which he improved and carried on in addition to his home farm.

. JOHN B. MESERVE improved the S. E. quarter of the school section, which is now owned and occupied by William Todd. Meserve went into the grain business, and started a warehouse at Buckley, Ills. He is a brother-in-law to Frank Taylor.

. ANDREW MOTTER pre-empted the S. E. quarter of sec. 17, in 1855. He was an old man and a widower. He never improved his land, but lived in town most of the time. He was of a religious turn, and sometimes would get people together and preach or lecture to them. He died in 1860, at the house of Mrs. A. M. Wilson.

. CHARLES BARD pre-empted the N. W. quarter of this section, in the summer of 1855. He was from the east, and a shoe maker by trade. He did not stay long on the farm, but came to town and worked at his trade; and afterwards kept a store. He enlisted in the army in the latter part of the war, and died in the service of his country. His widow still lives in town and receives a pension.

. LEVI LINDSLEY pre-empted the S. E. quarter of this section, at the same time Mr. Bard did, and they came from Kankakee together. Lindsley was not much of a farmer, and only stayed on his land a few years. He has owned considerable property, but it never stayed with him very long. He now lives in Watseka and has not much to call his own. Mr. Atwood got the S. W. quarter of this section, and he, Bard and Lindsey, built their houses in the middle of the section, where the corners come together. That was done for convenience and sociability during their early settlement. In the fall of 1857, a moving bee was got up, and the houses were moved to their permanent locations. About ten men and as many ox teams were invited to the moving. The oxen were hitched to the buildings, one after the other, and drawn to their present locations. Isaac Vanduzer acted as boss teamster, and he made a good one. Mrs. Lindsley and Mrs. Bard got up a dinner for the men, that would be a credit for any occasion. In fact, there were no two women in the country that knew how to do it better. The table stood on the ground and the dinner was served out of doors.

. HENRY BURNS was the first one to settle on sec. 18. He is German, and came to America, in 1851, and found his way to Chebanse a few years later. He still occupies the same farm, and now has half a section, and is a number one farmer. A few years later, Robert Patrick improved a farm east of Burns', and about ten years ago sold out to him. Deacon Elliot's farm was further west. Elliot traded with Mr. Milk, and got a farm one and one-half miles north-west of town, where he now lives. Robert Patrick moved to Emerson, IA., about the time that Frank Taylor moved there.

. GEO. W. GERE came from Ohio, and located in Chebanse, about 1856 or 57, and improved a stock farm on Frac. sec. 18. He was a shrewd and active business man. He also bought 200 acres on the south half of the school section, which he also improved and carried on, besides his home farm. During the war he traded his school land for goods in Chicago, which he took south and sold to soldiers. After the war was over he moved to Tolono, Ills., where he married. Sixteen years ago he was in the flour, feed and milling business at that place.

. JOHN A. SHELDON, from Ohio, came to Chebanse, in 1857, and went into the live stock business with Mr. Gere, on Gere's farm. During the war Mr. Sheldon bought an 80 acre farm, one mile west of Plato, for $18 an acre. He put it mostly in corn the first year, and in the fall sold the crop on the ground for $20 per acre. He considered that a two dollars an acre would pay him his labor, and the other eighteen for the land; so that he cleared the price oft he farm out of the first crop. When living on this farm, Mr. Sheldon helped John Wilson to build his new barn at Plato. While he was working that building, he fell down and was killed.

. E. LEWIS came from Ohio, in 1857, and located in Chebanse. He improved a farm on the county line west of the village. He was as sharp as a steel trap, and since that time he has made a fortune at the agricultural business in Kankakee.

. Coming back east on the road, one mile south of the county line, most of the land on Frac. Sec. 19, was taken up by L. Milk and A. C. Babcock.

. WILLIAM AND ROBERT NATION came to Chebanse from LaPorte, Ind., in the fall of 1855, and pre-empted two quarters of sec. 19. They were both single, and their sister, Mrs. Joseph Milburn kept house for them. Robert Nation went back in 1857, married Miss Julia Evans, and brought her home with him. After farming two summers here he got disgusted with the country and moved back to Indiana. He said any body that stayed in this country was a fool. Not withstanding, it had spoiled him for Hoosierdom, for he stayed there but one summer, and again returned to Chebanse in the fall of the same year. When he came back he bought Charles Bard's farm, on Sec. 17, west of town. He afterwards bought Andrew Motter's land, joining him on the east, and carried on farming for a number of years. Later still, he bought a farm on mile west of town, which he afterwards sold to Frank Taylor. He was full of energy, ambition and ingenuity. He invented and patented a gang plow, and also made a two row corn planter, a good deal like those now in use, and it worked so well that his neighbors used to hire it of him. He worked hard, managed well and made money; but always had something better in view for the future. About 1870 he moved to town and built the house now occupied by Wm. Nation; and afterwards, the one occupied by Thos. E. Jones. He built the store on the corner, known as the Kingsbury building. It 1872 he started the Citizens' Bank, managed it successfully for five years and then sold it to Jas. Porch. He again concluded this was not the right country to live in. He said the winters were too long, and farmers had to carry feed and carry out dung for their cattle too many months in the year; but instead of going to a milder country he moved to Dakota, where the winters are both longer and colder. In all his operations he was successful and made money; and when he left Chebanse, in 1878, he was worth about $40,000,--the result of his industry, energy and good management. And unless some financial misfortune happens to him he will be worth $100,000 before he dies. William Nation was more steady and sober minded than his brother Robert; he worked hard and steady and made it all tell to his advantage. When he was a young man he often used to come to town bare-footed in the summer. In 1965, and while the war was still going on, he went back to LaPorte and married Miss Ann Eason. They stuck faithfully to their farm and occasionally added another piece of land to their possessions. About 1873, they rented out their farms and moved to town to live. They have raised a family and seem to enjoy life as well as they know how. William Nation owns four good farms, between 500 and 600 acres in all, and all of them convenient to his first location. He mostly rents his farms on shares, and the produce comes to him in town, and is an ample fortune.

. ISAAC VANDUZOR IS pre-empted the north-east quarter of Sec. 19, in 1855. He soon moved to Clifton and went into business there. His father-in-law, L. Millspaugh, improved and lived on the farm for a number of years, and then sold to R. S. Laughlin and Daniel Roadifer. Mr. Millspaugh was a fine old eastern gentleman. He once assessed this township, when it included Milk's Grove, and his bill for the entire job was only eighteen dollars, nine days work at $2 a day. Mr. Millspaugh died about ten years ago and was buried at Clifton. Of late years Daniel Roadifer has lived in town. He has five sons, two of them, Erastus and David, are living in town. The old man died two years ago, aged 78 years.

. JOHN T. MILBURN, Canadian, and his sons, Thomas and Joseph, bought and settled on the R. Nation quarter, of sec. 19, in 1862. It had been occupied several years by Mr. Parks, a very decent man, who owned and ran a threshing machine while he was here. In 1868, old Mr. Milburn died. The widow and Thomas divided the land between them and still own it. Thomas now has three eighty-acre farms, which he rents out, and has moved to town to live. Joseph Milburn bought 80 acres on Sec. 29, and his wife, Miss Nation, another 80, making 160 acres in a body. They also live in town, and also their step-mother, Mrs. Dina Milburn. Wm Nation now owns the south half of Sec. 19.

. LEWIS SHUERT bought 160 acres on Sec. 18, in 1857, which he improved and farmed a few years and then sold to E. H. Foss, and Foss to George Trask. Samuel Sellens improved 80 acres west of Shuert's land. R. J. Macdonald lived neighbor to Shuert and married his only daughter, who died a few years after. When Shuert sold his farm he moved to town and built the house now owned by Mrs. Williams. Mr. Foss had been a foreman on Sullivan's large farm in Ford county. After selling his farm to Trask he traveled over several States looking for a better location, but not finding any he returned and bought S. Sellens' farm, adjoining his old place. He now lives in town and is a very quiet man.

. JOSEPH H. RILEY improved 160 acres, half on Sec. 18 and half on 17. He was a hard worker but not the best manager. He had a threshing machine, reaping machine and a host of other farm implements all standing out of doors about his yard. One of his sons died in Kansas and he went there to occupy the land. He has two sons here, John and George.

. NATHAN ROOT bought Levi Lindsley's land on the south part of 17, in 1857, and occupied it until 1876, when he traded it for town property and moved to town, where he has since kept a restaurant. Mr. Root is a peaceable citizen and a good man. He has three sons and three daughters; Erastus and Frank went west a good while ago, and George is in the restaurant. Etta A. is married to B. J. Wakeman, Mary Ann to Reuben Deuel, and Ida to Frank Huckins.

. JAMES SELLENS, SR, located on the south-west quarter of section 24, about 1859. When the war broke out, his son James enlisted and served until it was over. Samuel, another son, bought and improved 80 acres on Sec. 18. The old man died soon after the close of the war. James married Miss Colburn and went to Kansas many years ago. Samuel followed him a year ago.

. THOMAS LEGGOTT, English, came here from Kendall county, in 1860. He rented the Castleman farm one year, and then bought and improved the south-west quarter of Sec. 20. After that he bought a second, and then a third quarter the same section. He first introduced and used the "corn scraper" in this place. Leggott was a good farmer and a good manager, and accumulated property. Six years ago he moved to Texas, and since that has sold his Chebanse property. His wife died in Texas two years ago.

. J. FLEMMING and E. A. Toppliff's farms are on the west half of sec. 24. Flemming was the first settler on the section and has now 240 acres.

. THE PORTER BROS., Jahiel, John and Charles improved three eighties, on this section. They came here from Galesburg during the excitement of the war, and bought land of the railroad company. Jahiel died several years ago; and Charles went to Storm Lake, Ia. They were peaceable and industrious men, but not very prosperous in their farming operations.

. DAVID PASSELL located here at the close of the war, in 1865. He had been in the army and served his country on the battle field. He married Miss Thrasher, and she died a few years ago. Passell bought the Sellens farm.

. CHANCELOR INGALLS, from DuPage county, made the first improvement on the north-east quarter of sec. 22, in 1857. He bought 80 acres and sold to Byron Skinner, in 1868, and Skinner to Thomas Milburn in 1878. Chancelor Ingalls had two sons, Homer and German, and also two daughters, O. E. Marsh married the oldest. Mr. Ingalls was an elderly man, and only lived about three years after coming here, and was buried at Kankakee in 1860. Mr. Ingalls died in 1868, and was buried at Chebanse. Homer Ingalls was tax collector in this town for several years in succession. In 1862 he went to DuPage county, and married his old sweet-heart, Miss Peck. He now lives in Waldron and is keeping a store. German has a farm about one mile west of Waldron. O. E. Marsh left Chebanse more than fifteen years ago, and returned last summer and bought a farm near his brother-in-law's.

. LOUIS DUNAND, French, improved 40 acres joining Ingalls on the east, about 1859, and occupied it until he died, about ten years ago. He was a peculiarly unfortunate person; several times his team ran away with him, and on two occasions he was very badly hurt and almost killed. In 1868 his barn took fire and burned with several horses and cattle in it. The neighbors made up a subscription to help him in his loss. He left a wife and several small children. His little widow has since married a very large Frenchman, about 250 pounds, and they live in the south-west part of the township. L. Scow, a very stout German occupied 40 acres in the west part of this section, and lived near the Porter brothers.

. RICHARD ROGERS and his large family, just from England, bought and improved the north-east quarter of sec. 22, in 1857. Mr. Rogers was a good sample of the "Old English Gentleman." He had farmed extensively in England, but had much to learn when he came here. He started a large orchard and a great amount and variety of shade trees, which still adorn the place. This country did not produce wheat equal to that raised in England, and he got dissatisfied and sold out. They moved several times, and have finally settled near Kansas City. They have done well and accumulated property. The children are nearly all married and own good farms. Edward and William enlisted in the army and went into Col. William's company. Edward was taken prisoner and was six months in the notorious' Andersonville prison. The old man died in Dec. 1882, aged 78 years.

. CHARLES E. KINGBURY bought the improved part of the Rogers farm, about 1863, and E. A. Hunt farmed it for him two or three years, and the Kingsbury's came on. C. E. and family, his father and mother and an old aunt. They built a new house and furnished it expensively. The house had been finished only two or three years when it took fire and burned down. They never rebuilt, but moved to town, and C. E. Kingsbury bought the corner store that still goes by his name. He did business there for a number of years, until they moved to Texas, about six years ago. J. W. Jeffrey now owns the farm.

. WM. J. FORBES bought the west half of the Rogers farm about the close of the war, and has occupied it ever since. He married Miss ---- Tracey about 1868. He is an intelligent and industrious man, and a good manager, and has fixed up a comfortable home for himself and family.

. P. C. ELLSWORTH bought and improved three forties, in the north-west quarter of sec. 23. This section is cut in two halves by the railroad. On the west half there has never been a dwelling house built; while on the east half there are five, built twenty years ago. Ellsworth bought and improved a 40 joining his land on the west, and occupied the buildings on it. Ellsworth was an active and industrious young man, and had an agreeable way. In 1873 he traded his farm to E. S. Richmond for his agricultural implement warehouse and goods. He also went into store-keeping and grain buying. But his career ended in disgrace. He got all he could into his pocket and went away in the night, leaving many unsettled accounts. The farm now belongs to Mr. Milk. Sam J. Hale owns 160 acres on the west half of this section. He is a druggist from Cincinnati, and has owned this land about thirty years. He rents it out for cultivation, but never put any improvements upon it. He will sell it for forty dollars an acre, but nothing less will get it from him.

. MILK & GREGORY improved sec. 27, soon after the close of the war. Milk had bought the land some time before, and sold the undivided half to W. S. Gregory, who moved on and occupied the farm for several years. The undertaking was greater than he could manage; and he failed to meet his payments and abandoned the place. W. S. Gregory and his brother, married Emma Wilson and her sister, and all went west. A few years ago Mr. Tinslar bought this farm and built a creamery upon it. The creamery with its machinery, and the large barn were destroyed by fire. The barn has been rebuilt but not the creamery.

. MICHAEL AND JAMES HICKEY, Irish, each bought 80 acres of land of the Railroad company, on sec. 28, near the creek, in 1857. They came from Chicago and had several sons, who still own the farms and have more than doubled their first purchase. Michael Hickey died in 1880, a very old man; and his wife died the summer before. James Hickey received a paralytic stroke two years ago, and has layed helpless ever since. They were very peaceable and quiet men, and meddled little with anything but their own affairs. Thomas Hickey is Michael's son, and keeps a store in Chebanse. He has one brother on the farm and another in Chicago. John Hickey is James' son and lives on the farm. Dan Costigan improved 80 acres in the north-west quarter of this section, but he has recently sold it and bought 160 acres.

. MR. PHILLIPS, of Chicago, improved the south half of sec. 28, many years ago, and still owns it. The farm is divided by the creek, and the improvements, which are good, are on the south side. He has used it for a stock farm, and has a good grade of cattle.

. AMOS WILLIS lives on the north west quarter of this section, and Joseph Milburn owns the north-east quarter. They are both old settlers and good citizens. Willis married Miss Riley, and Milburn Miss Nation. Willis first bought land on sec. 25, but he preferred to have his LaPorte friends for neighbors, and sold that land to R. Lane and bought here.

. JAMES AND THOMAS RICE first settled and improved the north half of sec. 30, in 1857. They were brothers, and came from Mass., and were intelligent men and were well educated. Their uncle, Peter Rice, came one year before them, and pre-empted the south-west quarter of sec. 19, joining them on the north. The Rices only stayed about three years, and Andrew Jackson and his brother Lewis, bought part of their land; but soon parted with it again. A. Jackson is not much of a farmer but an excellent mechanic.

. GEORGE BURRILL came from Canada in the spring of 1865, and rented a farm. During the same year he bought three eighties of the Rice land on sec. 30, which he still owns. S. D. Foss bought the east eighty on the same half section. He sold it to W. Nation several years ago and went west; but did not like it and returned to Chebanse. Mr. Burrill left his farm about ten years ago, and with his son started a livery stable in town. He has since sold his interest to his son, John, and is living retired. He has lately bought the R. Nation farm, three miles west of town; and he has a handsome and comfortable residence in town, where he resides.

. THOMAS C. AND BENJ. LEGGOTT, nephews of Thos. Leggott; and Thomas Barham and T. McConnell, first improved the south half of Sec. 30, and they still own their farms. Of late years Barham has lived on 40 acres he bought one mile west of Clifton; but the others remain where they located.

. JOHN AND WILLIAM JACKSON, and J. Carter, first improved on Frac. Sec. 30, about the close of the war. John married Miss Jennie Sands, and then went to war. William married Miss Lutton, and she died in a few years. William has moved away and John owns both of the farms.

. JAMES ROBINSON, Thomas Fitzgerald and William Braden, pre-empted land on frac. Sec. 31, in the fall of 1855. Their land is about nine miles from Chebanse village and six miles from Clifton. There was little or no coal here at that time, and they had to go to the Iroquois river, fifteen miles, for fuel. Sometimes bad storms and deep mud made such journeys impossible, and persons living there and in other remote parts of the township, from necessity, had to burn corn for fuel; and often to grind it in the coffee mill for food. James Robinson and family--three sons and three daughters--came from Ohio the year they settled in Chebanse. In 1863, their two oldest sons enlisted in the army and went to Col. Williams. That same year the rest of the family moved to town, where they have lived ever since. They still own their farm and rent it out. Their two sons both died in the army, which brought sore trouble to the parents. The old man and his son James T., have followed painting for a business. On January 24th, 1883, the old couple celebrated their Golden Wedding, with many friends, gifts and congratulations. William Braden died a few years after locating here. Thomas Fritzgerald and some of his sons are still on his farm.

. WILLIAM AND JAMES MARTIN, two brothers, lived on the south half of Sec. 31. Old Mr. Martin, their father, came from Kendall county about 1860, and bought this land for them. They were active, stirring boys, but very bad managers. They got into debt, their land went, and they went too. James is in Oregon, but William, Lord only knows where. Later still, T. Sellens, R. Wheeler, W. Herst and J. Roke, improved and lived on this section.

. The creek divides Sec. 32 into two nearly equal parts; entering at the north east and leaving at the south-west corner. On the north side, A. Hilderbrant, J. Hepworth and E. Leggott; and on the south side T. Compton, Wm. Pineo, Wm. Donovan and S. Brock, were the early settlers. Pineo improved but 40 acres, and taught school in winter. Donovan, Irish, will be remembered as a commissioner of highways many years ago. He died about 1877.

. The north half of Sec. 33 was owned by W. B. Phillips, of Chicago, his buildings being across the line on his land on Sec. 28. C. B. Lyon improved the south-east quarter of this section. He was an eastern man and had both means and education. Years ago he sold his farm and moved to Chicago. It is now owned by C. H. Sheldon.

. The railroad runs though Sec. 34. But little improvement was made on it until after the rebellion. Jesse Brown improved 106 acres of it west of the railroad. H. H. Sheldon lives on the south-east quarter, close to the railroad. Adam Wombach made the first improvement east of the railroad. He had a hay barn and press there; and about ten years ago he moved to Martinton.

. A. Starkey was the first permanent settler on Sec. 35; he has left his son on the place and gone to California to recruit his health. Mr. Halady built a house and improved 80 acres on this section, south of Heller's school house, in 1856 or 57. It was occupied by Joseph Gleason for several years. The farm is now owned by L. Falter.

. CONRAD HELLER, German, came to Chebanse in the spring of 1859; he rented land of L. A. White about two years and then bought 80 acres of railroad land on Sec. 26, south of the creek, where he still lives. He has two sons, John and Jacob, both married. His wife died about five years ago and he lives with his youngest son. They have bought several other tracts of land. John lives half a mile south of the old place. The old man is in his 73d year.

. PHILLIP SPIES, German, came here in the fall of 1859. He had four sons and no daughters; Jacob, George, John and Phillip. They bought 80 acres west of Heller; but lived in Clifton and farmed P. E. Kingman's land two years before improving their own. They have since bought several other pieces and each of the sons has a farm. Phillip and John are farming, George keeps a saloon in Chebanse, and Jacob keeps one in Cabery. The old man died in 1881, a little over 68 years of age. His widow is still living and is both healthy and active.

. LYMAN A. WHITE located in Chebanse early in the spring of 1855. He came from Massachusetts and was a gentleman and a scholar. He lived at Howe's Landing while Richard Hanna built his house. He bought the whole of sec. 36 of the railroad company, and also Sec. 2, in town 28, cornering together. He was a very active and useful man in organizing this township; he was a practical business man, but all that he knew about farming was learned from books. He hired help and worked himself; he broke up about a quarter of a section and hoped to make enough from that to pay for his two sections. Such a thing may be figured out upon paper, but in practice it will fail every time. He soon gave up one of his sections; then half, and then three-quarters of the other. Before the close of the war he sold the last quarter section and the purchase money was still due to the railroad company. Mr. White is living in Chicago, and was recently in the hotel business on the north side.

. JERRY GOLDTRAP owns the north half of the White 160, and his mother sold the other half a year ago. He came here with his parents when he was a little boy. The south half of this section was the Charles Marshall farm; which he traded to Mr. Colby three years ago for a farm in Indiana. On Sec. 25, south of the creek, J. Sylvester pre-empted 40 acres in the south-west quarter, in 1856, after he had bought railroad land.

. PHILLIP WOMBACH, German, improved 40 acres on the south bank of the creek, on Sec. 25, in 1855 or 56. His wife died with a cancer when he was on this farm; and about the close of the war he sold and went to Kankakee, where he kept a saloon for a long time. He died a few years ago. The farm was bought by the Kenworthy Bros. ; then by a Catholic Priest in Canada, and three years ago it was taken into the Jones farm.

. ROBERT LANE made the first improvement on the south-east quarter of Sec. 25. It was pre-empted by A. Willis in 1856; but he sold this and bought in the Leggott neighborhood so as to be close to his old acquaintances from Indiana.

. JACOB SPIES improved the north-west quarter of Sec. 31, and Tatro the south-west. J. Bechtel's farm is in the south-east quarter, and he has occupied it for about twenty years. He has several married sons and daughters living in the neighborhood. George Bechtel, his son, married Jane Haigh, and has a farm near his father.

. WILLIAM ENOS improved and occupies the north-east quarter of Sec. 31. He did not locate here until sometime after the close of the war. When the rebellion broke out he was a soldier in the regular army, and was doing duty on the Oregon frontier at the time. He entered the volunteer army and was in many of the hard fought battles. After the close of the war he located in Chebanse and married Miss Rachel Hammond.

. HENRY GEENS, Flemish, bought and improved 80 acres of land in the S. E. quarter of Sec. 26, about 1860. He is a peculiar man and perhaps the only one of his nationality in this township. Some years ago, his only child, a daughter, got married and his son-in-law worked the farm. Geens has lived in Clifton and acted as constable for a number of years.

TOWNSHIP TWENTY-EIGHT

. What now remains to be done is that part of town lying in Congressional Township Twenty-eight, and west of the State road; being two miles in width and includes the village of Clifton. To make shorter work of it, the particular location of some of the farms may be omitted; the main object being to bring into prominence the names of the persons who first settled and improved them.

. The village of Clifton stands nearly in the center of Sec. 3, which is divided by the railroad into two nearly equal halves. JEBEZ C. HOWE pre-empted the north-east quarter in the spring of 1855, made good improvements and lived there for about fifteen years. A. PERRY, of the firm of Perry Bros., Bankers of Kankakee, pre-empted the south-east quarter the same year; he built a shanty upon it and stayed there part of the time and secured the land. SOLOMAN STURGES, of Chicago, owned the west half of Sec. 3, and sold it to CHARLES O. HOWE in 1855. Howe sold part of his land to P. E. KINGMAN, and part to WM. A. VEITS. A. TAFT also improved on this land; built a good house and lived there a good many years. The place is now owned and occupied by E. SILL, the station agent. His son, W. W. Taft, succeeded J. Haigh as town clerk--the latter having filled that office from 1858 to 1865. Mr. Veits bought the south-east quarter of A. Perry, and his residence and garden are upon it, including about twenty acres of meadow land. He also laid out a cemetery, including five acres, on the east side of this land. He spent a great deal of time, labor and money, in improving and beautifying it. He says that his expenses in connection with the cemetery will exceed his receipts fully one thousand dollars. But he is pleased that he laid it out, and still takes both pride and pleasure in his old days in keeping it up and in visiting his own family grave.

. CAP. LINCOLN made the first improvements on Sec. 4, in 1856; he soon moved to town and rented his farm to Jacob Fishburn. I shelled a large crib of corn for Fishburn about 1860, on that farm. I also bought 100 bushels of oats of him, at 10 cents a bushel, that being the market price at that time.

. JOHN B. SHELDON and his wife, from Ohio, came to Clifton in 1862, and bought the Cap. Lincoln farm. In 1863, their two sons, Henry H. and Chancey H. followed their parents to Clifton. One of them now owns the J. C. Howe farm, and the other C. B. Lyon's place. John A. Sheldon, their eldest son, came to Chebanse about 1856, and was killed at Plato about 1868. The old folks were nice people and had the means of living without hard labor. Henry and Chancey Sheldon have carried on farming and stock raising largely; they have also been in business in Clifton, and have speculated in western lands, in which they still have an interest. The old people died several years ago.

. FRANK BABCOCK bought the old Cap. Lincoln farm ten or twelve years ago and has occupied it ever since. He is a very intelligent man and well ???? in business and politics. He has served several terms as supervisor of this town, and fills that office at present.

. FRANK W. HOWE settled near Clifton in 1857, and has a good farm and a pleasant home on the north-east quarter of Sec. 4. He is the only one of the three Howe brothers now living here. He lost his wife in 1866, and married the widow of H. K. White in 1867.

. MR. WARD, from Kankakee, made a pre-emption on Sec. 9, in 1855. He got sick and died before he had been twelve months on his land, or got the improvement Patent for it. Some parties tried to jump his claim and get the land and it was in dispute a long time, but finally widow Ward, living in Kankakee, got the patent and secured the land.

. MR. HILL and his family, from England, bought the whole of sec. 8, from the railroad company, in 1858. They had plenty of means, and built a large and costly house on their land. The family moved in before the building was completed and before it was quite finished, it took fore in the night and burned down. The family had to get out as quickly as possible, and had barely time enough to save themselves. They took shelter in the barn for the rest of the night, with only horse blankets to cover them. The same year Mr. Hill died; and the widow rebuilt the house. She was greatly harassed with business and confusion, and her friends came from England and persuaded her to sell the farm and return home with them. The writer bought a yoke of oxen at the sale of her personal property.

. WILLIAM HOBSON bought part of the widow Hill farm. He came from England in 1858, lived in Kendall county, Ills., about three years, and came to Chebanse in 1861. While he was in Kendall county, one of his sons was killed by a threshing machine. He rented the Castleman farm the first year he was here, and in 1862 moved to the widow Hill farm, where he has owned and lived ever since. It is two miles south-west of Clifton, and joining the Ashkum town line. He has four sons and three daughters living. He kept the Clifton hotel several years, leaving his sons and one or two daughters to manage the farm. Mr. Hobson is one of the most peaceable men in the world. He would not hurt anything or take a pin that was not his own. He never joined a church or made a religious profession, but his life and conduct is far above that of many people who do both. Mrs. Hobson died and was buried at Clifton a few years ago.

. THOMAS WHITE also bought land and improved a farm on this section joining Hobson's. He came from England, in 1859, located in Kendall county, and moved to this town in 1862. White is a genial and pleasant man, but he is very off-handed and hasty tempered, which sometimes got him into trouble. He voted with the republican party, and at peddling tickets on election day, he could do as much as a double team alone. He sold his farm in 1881, and went to Nebraska.

. SAMUEL DAVIDSON bought 160 acres on the north half of sec. 8, and improved it during the war. He was an elderly man and had no sons, and he rented his farm to Peter Wright, who occupied it for many years. About four years ago Edwin Hobson married Davidson's daughter and now occupies the farm. Mr. and Mrs. Davidson moved to Cassopolis, Michigan, in 1882, where they formerly lived, and still owned a nice little place close to town. The old man died the same year they moved there, aged 73 years.

. PETER WRIGHT came to Chebanse with his uncle, Wm. Hobson, in 1861, and lived with him until the war broke out, when he enlisted and served until the close of the war. Soon after getting his discharge he married Miss Maggie Sands, and rented the Davidson farm on Sec. 8, which he occupied until four or five years ago, when he bought Peter Betourney's farm, joining him. He is well fixed and is a good citizen.

. WILLIAM A. FERRIS, from Stanford, Conn., came to Clifton about 1861, and bought the whole Sec. 2, of the railroad company, half a mile east of the village. He is a man of means and refinement, and made very good improvements. It was said that he used 36,000 feet of lumber in building his house. He has sold part of his land, but still owns a large farm. He has not lived upon his farm a number of years, but makes his home at a hotel in Chicago, and amuses himself by coming down to look after his farm. His son married Miss Mary P. Veits, and they live in Chicago.

. LARRY O'NIEL pre-empted the north-west quarter of Sec. 11, in 1855. He left the section house at Chebanse, where he was boarding the section hands, to make his pre-emption. He was an illiterate Irishman, and remained on his farm until he died, about 1872.

. JOHN O'NEAL has the north half of his father's pre-emption, where he improved and occupied before his father's death. He lost his wife a number of years ago, but has since married again.

. WILLIAM HARLING pre-empted south-west quarter of section 11, in 1855. He is irish, and was working on the railroad, at Chebanse, previous to making his pre-emption, and has never left his farm. He married the only daughter and only child of Mr. Rinehart.

. PETER RINEHART came from the south, and was one of the early settlers of Chebanse, He lived on rented farms for several years, until he found and bought a cheap forty back of James Barnett's farm, and near the graveyard. But there was no road to it, and Barnett refused to sell him one. He got a lawyer's advice on the subject, and put it into practice. He had a small house, and during the night he got some of his neighbors to help him draw it on his land. When the sun rose the next morning, Mr. Rinehart and his family, goods and chattels, were residing on their land; and as the law does not allow a man to be fenced out from the rest of the world, James Barnett reluctantly sold him a road. About five years ago he sold his little farm and went to Nebraska.

. JOHN M. BALTHIS owns the east half Sec. 11, which he bought of Solomon Sturges. He came here soon after the war and built a large and expensive house. It is two stories with a hip roof. It is also well furnished and surrounded with trees and shrubbery. He seems to have exhausted himself with his large dwelling house as he has not got a good barn on his farm yet. His only son, Harry Balthis, was appointed a Cadet Midshipman in the U. S. Naval Academy, at Annapolis, Md., from his Congressional district, in May, 1879, and has passed a successful examination.

. JOSEPH GLEASON'S farm is on the south half of Sec. 2; he is one of the old settler's of the township. Twenty years ago he lived on the farm now owned by Lewis Falter, a little south of the Heller school house. He has not entirely depended upon farming, but has generally raised a few acres of broom corn each year, and made it up into brooms and sold them in neighboring towns. He has also worked at the carpenter trade, and has built a great many bridges for the township.

. There was no early settlement on Sec. 10, and it is now mostly owned by S. R. Beardsley and C. W. Hutchinson.

. JOHN FOGERTY, a good natured Irishman, made the first improvement on Sec. 1, and a man named CREFCOR, on Sec. 7, east of Clifton, and they still remain on their farms. Several sections west of Clifton had no settlements till after the war. A Mr. Stephenson made the first improvement on Sec. 6, out there.

. LOUIS SANDERSON improved a farm on Sec. 35, one mile north-east of Clifton, in 1856. It was afterwards owned by his son, FRED. L. SANDERSON, who enlisted in the army and lost his right arm. As soon as he was shot he took his lame arm in his well hand and walked two miles to the hospital and had his arm amputated. Soon after the close of the war he married John B. Sheldon's daughter, and carried on his farm for several years. He was very energetic and ambitious, and strove hard to get along with his one arm, but was up hill work. To help him a little the people elected him tax collector one or two years. I called his house one day when he was just finishing a corn crib that he had built with his one hand and alone. Harnessing and feeding horses, cleaning stables, and almost everything, is hard to do with one hand, and he gave it up; sold his farm and went back East. His pension is $16 a month; and for nine years he has been in the employment of the Government, at $900 a year. He has lately moved on a farm on the granite hills of Massachusetts. His Chebanse farm is now owned and occupied by Mr. Linghan.

. M. C. ABILLGARD, Danish, came to Chebanse in 1865, and occupied the Abraham Sellers farm, just vacated by John H. Sands. He now owns a good farm two miles north-east of Clifton, where he resides. Abillgard is a representative man among his country people, and has assisted a number of them to come to this country.

CLIFTON VILLAGE

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. JOHN B. DUCLAUS opened the first store in Clifton, in 1857, before the depot was built, or even a side track or platform. He was french and came from St. Anne. He had been a clerk in Fishburn's store at Chebanse, one or two years; he was a pleasant man and had a family.

. JOHN BARLAND, of Frenchtown, soon after built near Duclaus and started the second store. Since that Barland has been in business in several other towns, and is now back to Frenchtown.

. H. K. WHITE came to his brother's farm (L. A. White) in 1857. In 1858, he bought Barland's store and moved to Clifton. He had been in his store only a few months when a fire broke out and destroyed both his and Duclaus' stores.

. ISAAC VANDUZER built the Clifton hotel in 1858, and after the two stores had burned down, Van commenced a store in his hotel building. He afterwards built a store east of the hotel, and enlarged his business.

. E. G. BOUCHERE & CO. commenced a store about the beginning of the war, with Wm. A. McCree as clerk. The firm of E. G. Bouchere & Co. was a woman, and after awhile she married her clerk, W. A. McCree, and the store did a large business during the war. They afterwards failed in business, with liabilities amounting to $17,000, and assets $25,000. From those figures a person would think the creditors had but little to fear; but it turned out different. The concern was put in the hands of a receiver, (P. E. Kingman,) and the firm got nothing, and the creditors next to nothing. W. A. McCree resides in a Chicago suburb, and is a traveling salesman for a boot and shoe house.

. M. B. PARMETER, J. W. WEBB AND THOMAS BARHAM commenced a store in Clifton and ran it for some time; but it was not very prosperous or very long lived. Parmeter was not a moralist, neither was J. W. Webb. Parmeter was insurance and collection agent, and had the habit of appropriating to his own use the money that he collected for other people. A few years ago a gold mining company was organized in Chicago, with Parmeter as President. The company soon asked him to resign, and his is now in a real estate office in Chicago. Webb once had a farm near Clifton, but it was in his wife's name, --yet that did not save it. He was tax collector one year in this township, and he was several hundred dollars short when he came to settle with the school trustees. Out of sympathy for his bondsmen, the matter was allowed to pass, and the schools lost the money. Yet he had the impudence to ask for the office again. He left here many years ago, and has since been seen in Chicago carrying a large store advertisement in the streets for his occupation. Thomas Barham got away with the "skin of his teeth", and returned to his aboriginal occupation; and is now a good citizen of the township.

. A considerable number of persons settled in Clifton as early as 1855 and 56. But the side track and platform were not built till 1858 or 59, and the depot is 1865. Previous to that time it was a signal station, and the cars stopped to let passengers on and off; and sometimes to receive and deliver freight.

. As the village is on a Government section the railroad company had no land or town lots to sell, and were slow to do anything towards building up the town.

THE FIRST SETTLERS

. at Clifton, were, Charles O. Howe, Jebez, C. Howe, Frank W. Howe, L. A. White, W. B. Young, P. E. Kingman, Wm. A. Veits, C. H. French, C. B. Lyon and a few others. They were all New England people, well educated, and full of theories, but very little practical knowledge. The three Howes were brothers; Kingman, Veits and French, were brothers-in-law; and Mrs., Lyon was related to the Howes. They all had farms on sec. 3, and their dwellings near the village. All of them had means, and all built good houses. Richard Hanna planned and built for them; but he did not work on the depot buildings in Chebanse, in 1854, as the County history states; and did not come west until the spring of 1855.

. THE HOWE BROTHERS were very liberally helped by their wealthy bachelor uncle, J. C. Howe, of Boston. His money bought their land, built their houses and furnished them. Jebez C. got $1000 more than the others for being named after his uncle. He was rich and had no family of his own, so he liberally bestowed his money on his nephews, at Clifton. He gave $3,500 towards building the Congregational church and parsonage; and that was nearly the entire cost. $500 of that money was lost in the hands or in the estate of H. K. White; and was again replaced by him as soon as the fact was brought to his notice. The church was built in 1861, and the parsonage a few years later. The parsonage was built on C. O. Howe's lot, and he afterwards sold the lot and the parsonage too. (The Catholic and the Methodist churches were not built until after the war.) The Howes were nice appearing men, but lacking in business capacity; and since the death of their uncle, have continued to grow poorer. Formerly Frank was looked upon as the renegade of the family, but now he is the only one living here, and is better off than either of his brothers, and is a highly respected citizen.

. P. E. KINGMAN was one of those oily tongued nice men, that wins the favor of everyone. He had everything nice about him, and had to depend on his own exertions; but he was not over scrupulous in his dealings. It was thought that he drained H. K. White, and was partly the cause of the great deficiency in his estate. Nevertheless he was kind and generous for all that. In 1858 one of my oxen got sick and unable to work, and Mr. Kingman voluntarily let me have one of his oxen to use the most of the summer, and refused to receive anything for it. After he left Clifton he became treasurer of a religious society, and several thousand dollars of a church building fund was placed in his hands. But the money slipped through his fingers, and when the society wanted to build their church, they had no money to do it with. He went west several years ago, where some of his sons had settled.

. H. K. WHITE built the first warehouse in Clifton, and went into the grain business soon after his store was burned, in 1858; and was the first grain buyer, the first station agent, and the first post master. He was a very pleasant and active young man and soon gained the favor and the confidence of his neighbors. His business grew large and he had more on his hands than he could well take care of. People had unbounded confidence in him, and as he had the only fire proof safe in the town, any one who had a few hundred dollars on hand, gave it to him for safe keeping; and thousands of dollars were thus deposited with him. He was elected supervisor of the town, and the anxiety of the war, getting volunteers for army, and raising money to pay bounties, together with his own complicated business, was a great strain upon his mind. He died in the spring of 1865; and on his last well day he attended a meeting at Chebanse, for the purpose of raising volunteers and bounty money. He had just been to Springfield to try to get our double quota of soldiers reduced, but had failed to accomplish anything. After the meeting, I stayed with him till train time and went with him to the cars. When he got to Clifton he had to be assisted to his house, and never left it again alive. His business was in a confused state; he was taken off suddenly, and his creditors came to loss; but no one had a harsh word to say of him.

. WILLIAM VEITS settled in Clifton, in the Spring of 1858. And on account of his energy and enterprise in building up the town, he was called the father of Clifton. He is from Massachusetts, but came here from Chicago, where he had been stopping at the Clifton House. He thought that name was smooth and easily spoken, and he gave it to the new village. He is a man of education and refinement, and his house and grounds and the surrounding groves that he has planted, show his good taste. He also took great interest in roads and town affairs in the early settlement of the place. Perhaps Mr. Veits and the writer had more to do with laying out and opening new roads than any other two men. He laid out and improved a cemetery, and still takes pride and pleasure in keeping it nice. The greatest and deepest sorrow that ever came to him, was the death of his only son, Willie, who was accidentally shot, while out hunting, in March, 1879, aged 15 years. He lost his wife three years ago. Hi has three daughters, two married and one single. Mr. Veits is over 70 years of age, but he is remarkably well preserved.

. S. B. WALTON came to Clifton, in 1865, and succeeded H. K. White, in the grain business, and occupied the same warehouse. He also deals in coal and lumber, and has had a good trade. He got married a number of years ago and built a handsome residence, south of Mr. Veits.

. A. B. CUMMINGS located in Clifton, in 1864 or 65, and went into the coal and lumber business, and afterwards bought grain. He was born in Massachusetts, and came west thirty years ago. He was Justice of the Peace, two or three years, but is now retired on his little farm, west of the village.

. About 1870, a Mr. Wickersham came to Clifton and engaged in the grain business. He was one of those smooth tongued, slick men, who need to be watched. He made himself busy and prominent in the church and the Sunday school, and wore the garb of religion. But it was for a dishonest purpose; and when he had got hold of all that he could, he suddenly collapsed and nothing was left for anybody. Several farmers lost large sums for grain they had delivered to him; as well as others who had dealing with him. By changing one letter in his name it will make it read WICKEDSHAM, and that will express his sentiments exactly.

. DR. WARNER moved from Chebanse to Clifton in 1860; built a house and a drug store, and practiced his profession for several years. He also served two terms as supervisor of the town.

. DR. HINCKLY bought Dr. Warner's property and business in 1863. He was a hopeless consumptive, and in a few years moved away.

. DR. SILAS EARLE came from Onarga, and formerly from Michigan, and located in Clifton in 1864. He bought Dr. Hinckly's property, practiced medicine and kept a drug store as long as he lived. He was a noble minded man and had many good qualities,--intelligent, well read, social and agreeable. In 1865, he was elected supervisor, after the death of H. K. White, and he filled the office with credit and advantage to the town. From some cause he had many enemies in Clifton. Mr. Veits was always his friend, but Kingman, some of the Howe's, and some others were against him. I was well acquainted with the parties, and never could see any reasons for their dislike of Dr. Earle, only because he was a gentleman. When he was elected supervisor he had not been a resident of the town quite a year, and they made that a plea to disqualify him. But his term of office expired sooner by limitation, than they could get him out by legal process. After Dr. Warner had left, Earle's persecutors made up a purse of money to induce him to come back; not that they cared to help Warner, but to annoy Earle. It is surprising how people allow their prejudice to control their judgement. Dr. Earle died about 1873. He left a wife, two married daughters, and two sons. The widow still occupies the same place, and her sons are school teachers.

. HENRY D. WALKER came from the East and was one of the early settlers of Clifton; and kept the first harness shop in the place. At one time he carried on a large business in corn husks. He bought them of farmers, threshed, cleaned, bailed and sold them in Chicago for upholstering. During the latter part of the war, when the price of everything was going up, he put up the price of harness making with a vengeance. A man came to town and tied his horse to a post, in the street, and by some means it broke its halter strap. He took it to Walker's harness shop to get it spliced --a job that had always been done for five cents. When it was done he asked how much it was. Fifteen cents, said Walker. I thought five cents was the price, said the man. It was, said Walker, but everything is going up, and we have put up our prices. So Walker put up his prices two hundred per cent at a jump.

. HENRY A. KINSON, French, was related to Dr. Henrotin by marriage; and came to the Belgium Farm when Henrotin owned it. He afterwards moved to Clifton, and remained there until his death, about 1876. He never engaged in any settled business, but preferred to be about the Justice office and town business. He acted as constable for many years; but that was as high as he was able to climb on the official ladder. His widow and children still live in the village.

. HENRY SANDERSON, carpenter, bought the Sylvester pre-emption, south-west quarter of the south-west quarter, of sec. 25, about 1858. He occupied it one or two years and then moved back to Clifton.

. MRS. GODDARD, a widow lady from Mass., kept house for a L. A. White, while he was on his farm. After that she built a good house, in Clifton, and kept a few select boarders. H. K. White boarded with her until he got married.

. GEORGE H. SPOONER located in Clifton, about 1858. He was a carpenter and worked at that business for many years. Latterly he was elected J. P., and gave up his former business. He had a wife and one daughter, and was an intelligent, peaceable, and much respected citizen. He had made arrangements to go to South America, and before doing so went to visit his friends in the east. On his return west he was killed and consumed in the terrible accident at Ashtabula.

. Like Chebanse, the business of Clifton, centered on the east side of the railroad. But unlike Chebanse, it still remains there. The Howes, Kingman, French and Lyon, were on the west side, and tried to draw the business over to them, and it was through their influence that the church and school house were built on that side. In course of time the school house began to be too small, and the district was divided; forming a new one on the west side. The westsiders originated the scheme and felt happy with their success; and repaired and fixed up the house for the winter term of school. The eastsiders felt chagrined at being deprived of their school house. But they were equal to emergency. The thought struck them that their's was the old district, and the school house belonged to them. But how could they get it? That was the question; and it was soon solved. In the peaceful hours of the night, when the westsiders were dreaming of their good luck, the east-siders sallied forth, hitched their teams on the school house, and hauled it across the railroad.

"and what they had got by night,
They managed to hold by right."

NOTE:--This work may not be free from mistakes and omissions; but nevertheless, it will be a foundation for some future historian to build upon, and continue to a more recent period. It will also be a valuable book of historical reference, and should be preserved by every person interested in the town of Chebanse.





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